The Wolf and Hound

Posted on Mon Oct 17th, 2022 @ 3:59am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant JG Corvin Hartjin
Edited on on Mon Oct 17th, 2022 @ 3:59am

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Armory
Timeline: Mission Day 27 at 1610
3701 words - 7.4 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Lyra rolled her shoulders, unzipping her jacket as she walked to the security offices and main armory to meet with Corvin. He wasn't expecting her and she wanted it that way. The last she had seen him in more than passing had been at the bar on Anorra where Andrei had decided to toy with the man for whatever reason instead of just outright admitting they were together. Granted it hadn't even been a full day since they had agreed to be publicly together so reverting to a typical reaction was natural - she hadn't and still didn't read into it much. What she hadn't been able to gauge was how Corvin was feeling now that it was much more public that she was with Andrei now. It hadn't taken the rumor mill long to sweep the ship completely with the news after she had come up to the bridge in that lovely red dress just for him and he had blatantly called her his woman.

Her hand came up to the back of her neck and she rubbed slightly, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. She probably needed to eat. Stepping into the armory, she looked around and not seeing Corvin immediately, she called out. "Chief?"

She would hear sounds from further within the armory as she called out as Corvin emerged with a cart of phaser rifles he seemed to be performing maintenance on, having been going about his duties as he normally would without too much mind seemingly being given to the the scuttlebutt being passed around like an Orion whore in a Broadway brothel in San Francisco during liberty week. Though he was careful to listen since loose lips tended to share details of less innocuous plans that might be taking place and as part of security it was important to know where an internal threat would be coming from.

Though he'd heard about the state of Lyra and Andrei's relationship and the way that she caught the attention of everyone on the bridge in the striking red dress she had worn, seeming to finally pry public confirmation of their status as a couple from the notorious Lothario that Andrei was known to be. Though while he wasn't certain of his status with Andrei, he was Lyra's chosen lover and companion, Corvin was loyal to her and he would be loyal to Andrei because of that until such time that Lyra ordered otherwise. This also meant that he had been putting his ear to the ground listening for disgruntled rumblings such a union would draw given their situation and the people that Andrei had undoubtedly crossed in the way he had moved through life previously.

"Lieutenant," Corvin nodded to her, standing up from the cart he was pushing to give the woman his full attention, making a quick once over but nothing more than that since she was still an incredibly attractive woman. "Did I miss a training briefing?"

He wasn't certain why she was here, but was certain that it wasn't anything that he had done to draw her here since he was one of the few truly competent crew in the Security department.

Lyra wasn't blind, she saw the look Corvin gave her, but she displayed no annoyance. He could look - anyone could look - they just couldn't touch. People looked, it was natural; even she looked, Andrei looked, it wasn't about not looking or desiring, it was about making the decision to do nothing more than that. She looked Corvin up and down appraisingly, not completely chaste in it either, then offered him a smile. "Let's go sit down, Chief. We need to have a chat."

"Alright." He tilted his head, pausing only long enough to lock the rifles into their case on the cart before he looked to Lyra. "In your office?"

While there were stools at the stations for working, he wasn't certain as to what kind of conversation this would be. "I've been keeping on top of the maintenance schedule and I left a recommendation for crewman Boseman to receive two hours in the agonizer booth for his lax attention to his duties."

"Here is fine." She said and motioned to the stools at the workstations and in the same breath moved to take a seat in one herself. "I'll read over the recommendation when I go back to the office. Did you get to enjoy yourself on Anorra?"

"I did, found some food there that didn't make me want to stick my head in the warp core, street food it was at the very least passable for food." He shared while taking a seat in one of the stools across from Lyra. "I hope you and the Commander were able to do so too."

"Do you mind if I ask what this is about, Lieutenant?" He sat up a bit more straight in his seat since he wasn't sure how informal this was, though she didn't seem angry, annoyed or possessed of murderous intent.

"You seem on edge, Chief." Lyra said and leaned against the empty workbench. She kept the amusement off of her face, but not completely out of her eyes. Watching him squirm was delightful. "Is something the matter?"

Corvin narrowed his eyes as he watched her relaxing a little as he was wary of this possibly being a set up to have Andrei come in and pounce on him again for being with his woman. Though why would they do that? Would they do that? Was he just being paranoid? He took a moment to simply consider this before deciding to just get it out of the way. "If this is about what happened on the planet, overstepped and was crass, I should have been more respectful of you and had I known about you and the Commander I would have never acted inappropriately."

"Gods, Corvin, have you been sitting on that for the past ten days?" She rolled her eyes slightly and shook her head. "Of course you wouldn't have done anything had you known. You aren't stupid nor do you have a death wish. Sure, it was crass, but that's just how some men are and sometimes it works."

"Not sitting on it...just, I thought that was what this was about." He frowned, a little confused now since he didn't know what this might be about as he watched her reaction and tried to gauge what was going on.

Lyra very suddenly looked bored and put her chin in her hand as she regarded him almost as if she were rethinking something. He didn't have to be the brightest bulb, she supposed, really it was probably for the best in the long run. "If I was going to take issue with it or if Andrei was, do you not think we would have done that by now?"

"You make a fair point Lieutenant." He nodded and conceded to her while not sure where the conversation would be going now.

Lyra rolled her eyes and gave a sigh, sitting up again. Of course she made a fair point, it was the only point. She looked at him hard for a moment more, wavering on if she should even bring his name up now, but he was a hound with bark, bite, and singular devotion. “You’re more than aware I’ve been mulling over who I will make the new assistant chief. How did you like your few shifts on the bridge?” She had been having some of the other staff taking up bridge shifts while in orbit and she wasn’t “allowed” to take them, focusing most on those she was looking to promote.

"It was interesting, most of my experience has been with security details for officers or tactical operations," He replied while considering the quiet tedium of the shifts he'd taken but given they had been in orbit of a resort world that was to be expected. Though then again what was expected to happen and what actually happened tended to be remotely different things. "So it was a different perspective for me, though isn't the new assistant chief usually an officer?"

“Yes, assistant chiefs are officers.” She replied patiently; he had been testing it. “Do you remember what we talked about on Anorra at the bar?”

"To keep my true feelings about aliens tempered since that could impact my ability to move up in the ranks." Corvin answered with a nod as he looked to Lyra, though it did seem like he was testing her patience.

“That’s right. Do you think you can do that?” She asked, quirking a brow at him. It was important given that there were quite a few alien blooded chiefs and assistant chiefs. If she was going to do this, he was going to have to be able to control himself.

"I might not be happy with it, but I'll keep myself in check regarding the non-Terrans aboard the ship since we do need to work together if we are going to make it home or at least make progress towards that." He offered up, was it a resounding affirmation that he would stay in line? Perhaps not but if he needed to play nice he'd do that and she would know that with him being the loyal hound he wouldn't do anything that might jeopardize her position through his own actions.

“Make yourself happy with it, Corvin.” Her voice was cool as she regarded him. Lyra hadn’t missed the tone in his voice, the underlying bitterness over the proposition of having to play nice. “If you step out of line, I will be rather displeased.” She leaned closer to him then, her dark eyes sparkling dangerously. “We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

Corvin couldn't miss the implied threat in her gaze at his feelings regarding the alien members of their crew as he took a deep breath and considered if this was really the hill he wanted to die on as he shook his head negative. "No Lieutenant, I wouldn't want that and I'll find a way to make myself happy with our non-Terran crew."

"Good." Lyra remained just how she was for a moment, studying Corvin's gaze to judge his sincerity and commitment. Seeing that he was genuine in his wish to at least not displease her, she backed off of him to allow him his personal space again. "I'm planning on putting you up for a promotion to assistant chief. You and Simmons. Are you prepared to start acting like an officer and not a grunt?"

Corvin was surprised by the news she shared. While he'd at one point entertained the idea of trying to be an officer, he'd found that he fit in better with the rank and file, though this was also an opportunity to move up in the world. "I'll give it my damned best, can't promise that I'll be spit and polished all the time but I'll work at making sure I'm officer material."

"I can't guarantee you'll get it. It is Commander Petrov's decision on who to endorse and the Captain's final word - and no before the thought even crosses through that head of yours, I am not going to use my personal position as his girlfriend to push through any professional agendas." At least not this one, it wasn't worth it. She also suspected some of the Petrov nepotism had come into play with her promotion; not that she had been undeserving of one in the first place, if she had been Ivan likely would have said no.

"I wouldn't have thought to ask Lieutenant," Corvin truly wasn't going to ask her to do something like that for him, while he did know what nepotism was often the byword when it came to achieving ones rank, he felt it wasn't his place to ask that kind of thing of her or Andrei. "Nepotism is baked into our system but I also understand that my loyalty will earn me greater rewards, no matter where my position is within the department."

“See here’s something you need to understand, Corvin.” Lyra slid off her stool and moved to Corvin. She got very close to him, invading his space and nearly touching him with her body but not quite. Her arms were on either side of him, her hands on the workbench behind him, and her face was close enough she might have been going in for a kiss.

“Your loyalty isn’t about being rewarded anymore, not if you are given this. Your loyalty is your life. If you betray me I will end you without question.” Her eyes were relentless, dangerous. She was serious.

"My loyalty has always been my life." He held her gaze, sitting up a bit more straight even with her being close enough to end him with a quick strike and they both knew it. "I don't give it freely or easily, you're honestly the first officer I've found to be worth a spit, an honest and pure Terran. Someone I can respect."

While he spoke he was acutely aware of how close their bodies were, feeling the heat radiating from her svelte figure while his mind unbidden of any conscious desire recalled the memory of her in the bikini. Remembering the sight of her barely concealed for stirred his desire within him, feeling the front of his pants grow tighter as his mind ventured lazily down avenues best left to pure fantasy given Lyra's status as a spoken for woman of the second most powerful man on the ship. Though he allowed himself an indulgence for just the briefest moments on the thought of what it might be like to bend her over one of the work stations and take her roughly. With a steadying breath and slow, controlled swallow to tamp down his wandering mind, Corvin kept his hands to himself, though she would be unable to miss the glint of lusty desire for her in his eyes.

Lyra held herself there, watching his expression closely, studying his face. She could see the desire kindling there, see the slight tightness in his jaw setting in as the heat of her body warmed him and he caught the scent coming from her clothes and skin. She had the effect she wanted; his desire, his devotion. She pulled back slowly.

“Good. I’m glad you understand. Many would not.”

As she pulled back, he sat forward as if drawn to her by a physical force to follow, nodding as he continued to hold her gaze.

"What would you expect of me were I to become your second, Lieutenant?"

"I'd expect you to perform your duties in an exemplary fashion for the officers and NCOs that would become your subordinates. You will be a model of competence when you are on the bridge. Of course there will be some administrative duties you will be seeing to, and I absolutely will give you the more mundane duties that simply bore me, more often than not." Lyra lifted her shoulders in a shrug.

"But in the end what I demand from you is obedience."

"Understood Lieutenant." This time he didn't show his distaste at the idea of more administrative duties since with rank came more responsibilities and even if he was barely better than a unwashed savage, he had proven that he was quite adept at record keeping from his time as the ships Armory officer

"Is it?" Lyra asked, a brow quirking at his quick acceptance and the little reaction he had toward the demand. "Do you understand that I mean it as unquestioning, unwavering obedience in all things?"

"I learned what it means, as a slave I was forced to understand it and as a free Terran I learned it is something that is given as part of loyalty." He moved to stand and look into her eyes. "If you ordered me to beam over to one of the Kazon or Vidiian ships and ordered me to slaughter the lot of them, the only question I would have is if you wanted there to be any left to merely bear witness to Terran judgment."

"I'm a Terran of no lineage, my life was always going to be spent at someone else's whim and that's a fact that I've accepted and that's why I'm alive now when so many others are dead." He shrugged and let out a slow breath. "I live to serve because I understand that is the need I fulfill, your ambitions are mine. Simply put I'm a hound and there comes a time when all hounds outlive their usefulness."

"A person who knows their place in life is a person who can achieve most anything in their life." Lyra replied, her tone not as cold and commanding as it had been before given he actually seemed to understand and offer his submission to her still. "I am not looking to enslave you, Corvin, I am looking to elevate you. As I rise, so would you." What she would not do was make false promises to him that included that she would never use him or compromise him. There would likely come a time where she would have to.

"You have my full support and I promise to give you and my duties the best I have to offer, even if it's a little rough around the edges." He smirked while accepting his place in the grander scheme, he knew what he was and what his uses were, he didn't put on heirs and he silently felt that he had more to prove because of his parents beliefs even if she didn't share their short sighted desire for peaceful co-existence.

"Good." She of course would make this same offer to Simmons with a few tweaks for the meeker man, but she knew who she wanted of the two and it was the one sitting in front of her. Rolling her shoulders, she looked into his eyes again. "Do you have any other questions for me?"

He pondered for a moment before looking over at the cart of phaser rifles as if pondering them before turning his attention back to Lyra. "Will I be able to name my replacement or at least recommend someone? I want to make certain that there is someone competent and more importantly loyal in charge of the armory."

"You absolutely will not be able to name anything yourself ever, no, but I will always take recommendations." Lyra brushed her dark hair back over her shoulder. "Recommendations which I actually do take under advisement, not just for show like most."

"Understood Lieutenant," He nodded and considered the phasers again. "Crewman Lana Chambers. She is an excellent enlisted crewman and she is one of my Armory crew that I know is more than capable of maintaining our equipment to my high standards."

“Tell me your impressions of her, then.” She prompted him. She noticed his eyes going over to the phasers; he had admittedly done a pristine job seeing to all of the weapons on the ship and she very much hoped that his potential promotion would not see the quality of that task drop. She was vaguely familiar with Lana, the woman was never overly social.

"Solid security officer and definitely someone to have covering you in a firefight, she's proven meticulous and task oriented though she's not the most social, Terran from Earth with family there and on the Luna colonies." Corvin shared a few details with his Chief while pondering the woman he was recommending. "She took part in both the defense of the Vengeance and the seizing of the Vidiian ship, helped to subdue the enemy boarders that had been attempting to take over engineering."

"Well that last part I had no idea. Not like I was there myself." Lyra replied dryly, clearly unimpressed by the second half of Corvin's assessment. She shifted where she stood and looked around again, quickly losing interest in the conversation. "Anything else?"

"Merely letting you know she's not a greenhorn fresh out of training and she wasn't one of the security crew who has had to undergo corrective training." He replied after having delivered his personal assessment for the woman and what he felt was relevant information since even though Lyra may have been involved in both engagements, she also couldn't be everywhere at once or know what every security officer was doing. Though he kept these thoughts to himself as he looked at his rifles but looked back to Lyra.

"We certainly could do worse than her."

"I'll have a look at her." She wasn't dismissing him out of hand even if it seemed like she might have been. She simply would have to look into his recommendation and weigh it against the others she had in mind. "Anything else?"

"Nothing else Lieutenant," He replied while waiting to be dismissed to return to his previous duties, though he did find himself dwelling on the idea of becoming an officer, it wasn't something that he had ever really given any thought to but he was certainly intrigued by the idea.

"I'm going to send you some files and holodeck program recommendations that you can use to prepare yourself for your new position, should you be promoted to it, and the theory behind being an officer." Rolling her shoulders, she started to move for the door. "I'm meeting with Commander Petrov tomorrow to discuss the specifics, we should know within a day who will earn that coveted spot by my side."

"I'll keep a look out for the details and apply myself to learning the information." Corvin nodded as he considered that he would have to apply himself more than he generally did when it came to his studies. He wasn't an unintelligent man but learning hadn't been one of priorities for him. Still he'd made it this far in life and he'd make it even farther.

“Carry on then, Chief.” Lyra gave the simple farewell and left without another word. She had a dinner she needed to prepare for.

END