Bunkmates Again

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 3:05am by Lieutenant Commander Mindo & Lieutenant Ziara Rrareth
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:44pm

Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Little Caesar's ("The Palace")
Timeline: Two hours before "Mindo Stopped Short"

ON

Ziara stalked though Little Caesar's. She wanted to surprise Mindo, she could smell his scent on the air so he wasn't far off. It was risky, but she was looking forward to seeing the look on his face. One of the advantages of being short is that she didn't have to bend down much to be hidden by the arcade games. Mindo was talking to someone and his back was turned to her. As the person left, Ziara pounced wrapping Mindo in a huge hug. "Good to see you again bunkmate." She purred seductively.

Mindo was shocked when he hit the ground, but the hug softened the fall. Bunkmate? he thought. Only one person has ever called me that.

Mindo rolled over and looked into a very familiar face. "Ziara!" he said with a surprised grin. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. "When... why... what are you doing here?!"

"Riaan and I wanted to be on the same ship again. That meant making some changes, but we're together and that's what's important. We sneaked onboard to surprise Cailus and Shae." Ziara explained in a low purr.

"Ah," said Mindo, lowering his voice. "Any more surprises for me?" Grinning, Mindo put his hand on her cheek, moving it down to the side of her neck as he gently brought her in...

"Is that Ziara?!" came a yell from the stairs leading up to the second level. The voice belonged to Zo, who began descending the steps. "Oh my gosh! It is Ziara! What are you doing on the Pandora?"

Mindo looked up at Ziara apologetically. "I didn't know he was here, I swear," he whispered. "Hi Zo, didn't see you there," he said in a raised voice as he rolled Ziara off of him and stood up, noting Ziara's tail still partially wrapped around his right thigh.

Ziara was slightly annoyed at the kiss being delayed by Zo's entrance. However, she was still happy to see Zo, she bounded over to him and gave him a hug as well. "Good to see you too, Zo. Can you keep a secret? That I'm here is a bit of a secret from Cailus and Shae we want to surprise them at the wedding, can you keep a secret?" She asked, with a soft conspiratorial purr in her voice.

Zo smiled as he hugged her back. "I can keep a secret. Are you just here for the wedding? And where's Riaan?"

Ziara shook her head, "Riaan and I decided we wanted to be together again, but not many places have an opening for both of our specialties right now, so I switched to Tactical so we could be together. The Pandora is our new assignment." Ziara explained as she moved back to Mindo. Her tail happened to curl back around his leg.

"I heard about the Tornado," said Mindo. "Do you know anything about Cara?"

Ziara shrugged, "Cara is... doing alright. Now that we don't share a station with her, I don't know if we are still cleared for the information. Riaan is cleared and in touch so I know she's well, but she's quiet about the details."

Mindo nodded and dipped his head for a moment. He'd wondered about the answer to his next question for over a year. "Was Cara... hurt, when I left? We never really got to say goodbye. To be honest, the whole chain of events is a blur."

Ziara considered Mindo for a moment, "I'm not a telepath. That's probably a question you should ask her." Ziara said carefully, but trying to pass it off casually. Ziara flicked her tail, "What have you been up to? I hope I haven't been replaced by your new boyfriend." Ziara said.

Mindo gave Ziara a puzzled look. Behind him, Zo took interest in some racing game. "Boyfriend?" asked Mindo. "You mean Terrekal?" Mindo chuckled. "He's not really a boyfriend, just a friend... though I can understand the confusion to other species. We have spent a lot of time together. And you, bunkmate? What have you been up to?"

"Well, I've been a few different places, the USS Venture, then the advanced flight testing center. Teaching at the academy for a semester, then here." Ziara replied.

"Teaching? You?" said Mindo with a coy grin. "What subject?"

"Particle physics." Ziara said dryly, "What do you think? They had me teaching them how to fly."

"Well I guess they were in good hands," said Mindo. "As for me, I've been here. The Pandora is a really great place. I'm glad you're here, bunkmate."

Ziara hugged Mindo again, this time more sensuously now that they didn't have an audience. "I'm glad your here too bunkmate."

Mindo gave a genuine, wide smile and planted a small kiss on Ziara's lips.

Ziara kissed him back with a grin. It had been a while since their lips had met, and Ziara was happy to see the spark of fun was still there.

OFF