Flirting with Pandora's Box

Posted on Sat Apr 17th, 2021 @ 2:41am by Federation Diplomat Briya Valriya & Commander Mindo

Mission: The Gauntlet
Location: Engineering
Timeline: current, 1800 hrs (directly following Looking After Family)

[OOC] This one shouldn’t be too steamy, but if you would prefer to avoid all steam, TLDR Mindo and Briya find comfort in each other’s company.

ON

Mindo was just about done finishing the shift summary that he would pass on to Greep at the start of the graveyard shift. He was making the rounds, checking each terminal's data, taking the final reports before the graveyard shift, tonight overseen by Crewman Greep.

Mindo was hungry, and was craving a burger. Mindo's own on-ship restaurant and arcade, named Little Caesar's, was the best venue for that kind of food and Mindo could also catch up on beating Commander Nash's high scores on several of the retro games. Plus, he needed to loosen up, as he had developed a stiffness. A tall glass of tranya and/or some good company would do the trick, and he usually could find both at the barcade.

With all the work he'd been doing, he'd already forgotten the meeting he had arranged with the new diplomat, whose name he never caught. But that didn’t mean she shared his same blasé faire view to their engagement.

The doors to Engineering swished open and in walked Briya Valriya on the arm of a blue humanoid chimpanzee who clearly had avian blood in his family tree. Or so it appeared. Greep was tall; Valriya was taller. She’d run into Greep in route to Engineering, though she’d been strolling in the wrong direction. A quick word with the Ontarion had divulged his duty assignment and destination, and Briya had ‘hitched a ride’ as you might say. The look on Petty Officer First Class Greep’s face was...indecipherable. The yellow apathetic beak no doubt played a large part in that, but Briya’s bubbly delivery of an endless stream of Risian disquisition regarding water reclamation may have had something to do with it as well.

“Pre-treatment, mechanical filtration, separator and evaporation systems...” A few steps into Engineering and Briya abruptly brought her conversation to an end as if it meant absolutely nothing to her. And to be fair, very few would be interested in conversations covering water reclamation. She promptly disengaged from Greep and clasping her hands together, she observed from the entryway the various stations and crewmen manning them. She knew very little of engineering, but she subscribed to the oversimplified notion that it somehow made everything just work. And the men and women who could work that brand of technological magic were right here in this room. Briya though, had her eyes vigilant and watchful for any sign of one particular button-sized Engineer.

"Thank you for walking me here and talking a lot," Greep squawked, adding a few clicks at the end. It was the first time Briya heard his ‘voice.’ Through generosity and grace, she managed not to cringe at the caw and cackle that was Greep’s speakings.

Upon hearing Greep, Lieutenant Mindo hovered his way round the corner to meet Greep halfway. When he got there, he noticed the very tall figure of Valriya and instantly remembered her.

Not unlike a come-hither predator with a fully-active radar homing system, Briya’s head snapped and her eyes fastened on Mindo. Her pulse repetition frequency was increasing without fail.

Mindo handed the PADD with the report to Greep, who squawked, "I relieve you, sir."

"Thank you, Crewman," Mindo replied, the brief ritual thus being completed. He turned to Valriya. "Welcome to Engineering! I remember you, but I forget your name..."

The Risian’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but she was quick to recover. “Your honesty is biting and refreshing, Chief. I had not thought myself nearly so forgettable. I shall henceforth endeavour to keep you abundantly aware of my prenomen; morning, noon and night.” She stepped forward and held out her hand in greeting. “Briya Valriya, but please do call me Briya or Bree - until we come to know one another more closely.”

"And I'm Lieutenant Mindo," Mindo replied, extending a hand. "Down here I'm typically referred to as 'the Chief,' but I'm more known to my friends as just Mindo."

“Remarkable,” Briya murmured as she patently examined the Fesarian’s hand - still held in her own.

He was now at eye-level with the beautiful and eccentrically dressed Risan. "How may we help you? Are your quarters to your liking?"

She finally released Mindo’s hand and affected a sullen pout. “They are ... comfortless at present, Mindo. My chambers are ample and more than adequate, but they could do with the benefit of your unequaled touch.”

"Oh?" Mindo replied. "How so?"

Briya blinked at him. Her veiled remarks and not-so-subtle innuendos showed no signs of landing. Were Fesarians immune to affectionate insinuation? No, she refused to accept such a discouraging theorisation. She would just speak more plainly; or more likely, given Briya’s penchant for wordiness, use twice as many to say half as much. She gave a toothy smile and stood straight and tall as her hands fussed near her waist with the pleats of her silver gown. “In my haste to rendezvous with the Pandora it was not possible to hoist, hall or heft my luggage by myself so I utilised a piece of technology to streamline the process.” She parted the folds of her gown not so demurely and revealed a long-drawn-out leg that pretended towards perpetuity. And strapped to that leg like some sort of abstruse specialised garter was a disk-shaped device with two green blinking lights. “I would like for you to take a look at my…gadget. I would do it myself, but word in the corridors is that you are the expert on these matters. With or without the finesse of your learned digits, I’m afraid this simple smock is at present all that staves off my raw and absolute nakedness. Nevertheless, dignity and decorum debar me from wearing this ensemble for a third day through.” The pale flesh of her banded thigh lingered beneath the lights of Engineering.

Mindo dragged his gaze from her leg to her eyes, while also taking in the rest... all lissome, delicate six-plus feet of her. Perhaps the burger can wait, thought Mindo. The stiffness was starting to be a more pressing matter.

Briya tilted her head and shook out her hair ever so slightly.

"When you put it like that, I can't agree more," Mindo replied. "I think your gadget deserves a closer look. And I'm sure I can find ways to increase the comforts of your cabin. I can make them as adequate and... 'generous' as you like."

Briya had nodded her head encouragingly during Mindo’s offer. “If you truly do not mind, I would like to take advantage of you...of your generous nature without delay. My quarters are nearby so we can pop in at short notice. Would you be needing to collect your toolkit before we slip away?” There was something in the way she said toolkit, as if it were some taboo interest of hers.

Mindo let the ’short notice’ line slip by. He was more puzzled by her ’toolkit’ remark. Based on wild stories from Raven, and wilder nights with Lieutenant Fick, he was well aware Risans often used seduction as a game. Mindo was aware they were playing one now. So he knew to expect the unexpected. It excited him, the frustration in innuendo. It was practically intoxicating. This woman had been in his presence no more than four minutes and already he was firing on nearly all cylinders. He loved and hated it.

Crewman Greep, obviously overhearing the silly banter, came out of Mindo's office and handed the Chief his own personalized Engineering toolkit. The one with the Emergency Flask, which served several purposes.

Briya looked down at her exposed leg and threw Greep an apologetic grin before tucking it away and smoothing the hems of satin and ruche.

Greep made a throatal coughing noise, which Mindo often figured was the Ontarion's equivalent of rolling his eyes, though Greep made several noises that made no sense.

“So...” Briya began awkwardly, faced with a silence between the three of them, and a sudden and proverbial infestation of Orthopteran insects. “…I am glad to have made your acquaintance, Greep.”

Mindo now had the kit, he was off the clock, and the adventure was just beginning. "This kit will do fine," he said to Briya. "Where are your quarters?"

Thankful for the rescue, Briya looked positively giddy. She hadn’t proceeded far into Engineering so she turned and the doorway activated, swishing open obediently. “My quarters are on this deck, just a short ways along the corridor.” She swished obediently out of Engineering, throwing a glance over her shoulder to make certain Mindo was following. She did not quite bite her lip, but the sentiment was there. “I requested accommodations with easy access on the part of Engineering, actually. You may think it silly of me, especially when one considers my distinct lack of technical expertise, but I’m convinced the vibrations from the warp core reactor aid in my nightly bedtime routine. At any rate, I find the buzz hum and vibrations to be stirring and mollifying. Not simultaneously, of course. Here we are.” She stopped in front of a door, turned and glanced down at Mindo’s little toolkit. A personalised toolkit; the epitome of engineering talismans and quite frankly, an item she nearly fetishised for its intrinsic connection to Engineers to whom Briya routinely found herself attracted. She tapped the console adjacent the door and stepped inside her quarters which, while more than a simple crew cabin, still were not large.

The toolkit at his side, Mindo hovered into the room and watched behind him as the door swished shut, ensuring their privacy. He looked back at Briya. "So normally this is where I start kissing you and we begin the vigorous process of removing our clothes, but I can't help but wonder why you need a toolkit..." At this point, Mindo was very eager to know which ’tool’ he'd be using first.

Briya stepped out of her orchid suede ankle strap heels with practiced ease and moved in close to Mindo, though she was unsure whether his levitating boosters were to be avoided. “The toolkit is for you, Mindo, so that you may access my slick slotted contrivance, delighting in its transcendental tendency towards opulent internal margins.” She clicked her tongue and again liberated her leg from the gown by this time loosening the sash at her waist and shedding the dress altogether. It fell to the floor in a pile of gold fabric embellished with metallic lace, and her slender fingers reached out to caress her engineer’s pointed ears. “I’m no expert, but I’m assuming the repairs will require a proficient touch with a precision tool.”

Mindo realized he was beginning to sweat all over, and a cold chill came over him and he nearly started to shake. Enough is enough, he thought as another, more pleasing chill, rocked him from the tips of his ears down to his hovering feet.

Briya’s fingers gently trailed the stiff helix of Mindo’s ear. “I would simply enjoy seeing you use your little tools on my equipment; especially if your multifunction hand-held device is monogrammed? That is, if you feel up to the challenge.”

But her words were enough. Mindo dropped the toolkit and grabbed her by the hair.

“Oh,” Briya rasped in feigned alarm as Mindo wrung her head about. She was no stranger to rough action, though it was not her preferred tack when steering to fore play.

"I don't use little tools, you crazy bitch," Mindo said, and pushed his lips into hers with the most passion and drive he could muster.

Briya’s hands clutched briefly at the back of the Fesarian’s head before her arms dropped to her side in submission. Her pink lips were lush strips of heaven, yielding to him because it cost her nothing to do so and because she tended to put the pleasure of others before her own - in these sorts of arrangements. Harsh enthusiast or no, Briya was getting just what she wanted. She’d encouraged Mindo knowing he’d require very little encouragement and instead of guiding things differently, she succumbed and emboldened the little man even further.

His hold on her hair loosened as he brought his hand gently over to the side of her delicate face and caressed the tender part of her neck under her jaw.

She swallowed hard, her trachea pulsing within his grasp as she unleashed both barrels of fluttering eyelashes. “You are an important man,” Briya whispered. “Your weighty position entices me.”

"Shut up and kiss me," Mindo replied. With surprising strength, he used his lips to open hers with the right amount of force, and carefully brought his tongue to hers, tasting her sweet saliva. She had unleashed his libido with wanton abuse, and now his body responded with a carnal vehemence.

In his excitement, Mindo’s thrusters must have surged for Briya was forced to rise up on her toes to maintain his kiss. It was a good kiss. It was a long kiss. And before it was over, it was a wet kiss. She held onto his bottom lip as long as she could until it popped out from between her teeth. “I think I know what you’re wondering; I’m quite adept at imagining such things with accuracy. But I would like to hear you say it.” She swayed softly, drumming her fingertips against her lips and raising her eyebrows to encourage Mindo towards the next step.

Mindo grinned. "Thrusters at maximum, Captain."

“Oh goody,” Briya brought her hands together in three tight claps, bouncing and jiggling on the balls of her feet. She took Mindo’s hand and pranced into the next room, sailing him behind her like an ion trail. “I think I shall start by initialising your plasma injector, Chief.”

OFF