Desperate Man; Desperate Measures

Posted on Fri Feb 23rd, 2024 @ 6:09am by Lieutenant Marikit "Kit" Urso & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov

Mission: S1 Episode 7: Prime Factors
Location: XO's Quarters
Timeline: Date 2371-09-16 at 1030
4416 words - 8.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Andrei had gathered his work and brought it to his quarters so that he would be there when Kit arrived to install his new holo-emitter kit. It wasn’t so much that he wanted a social as it was he simply didn’t want her in his quarters unattended. Something about the idea of anyone going through his drawers and cabinets unsupervised made his skin crawl. He’d stripped off his jacket and stood in his red shirt typing away behind his desk. Russian rock music played in the background quietly; soft would not be an appropriate word, though the volume was low enough that a person would likely be able to remain focused on what they were doing while it was playing.

Marikit was fully aware of the incident that had occurred between Asher and Andrei and the result of said incident. To some, her agreeing to do this for Andrei might have seemed strange, to others it would have made perfect sense given what had happened, but really, Kit just didn’t care either way. None of that was her problem and she didn’t make it a habit to involve herself in other peoples’ problems and stupid decisions. Didn’t matter if she was sleeping with them - though maybe that was involving herself in a stupid decision.

She shrugged to herself as she approached Andrei’s door and keyed in her code. The door opened and she pushed the cart in carrying all her equipment inside. On seeing Andrei sitting behind his desk, she clicked her tongue. “Damn. Well, can I still go through Cassiel’s underwear drawer? I want to know what kind of vibrator she uses.”

“Vibrator? What would she need with a tool like that?” Andrei asked, not looking up from the terminal in front of him. “I would bet you a million crowns you wouldn’t find one.”

“Maybe not in here, but I bet she has one in her quarters. Men are too sensitive to see it. Every woman has a vibrator.” She brushed her short hair back from her face and looked around. “You wanted me to set it up in this room, yeah?”

Andrei looked up from his terminal with a mischievous grin, his visible eye twinkling with the sudden amusement of the banter.

“If that’s the case, then I might need to check myself.” he said, for once deciding not to play the confident card. He had, of course, already checked. He wasn’t particularly worried about what Lyra had in her drawers beyond curiosity. He felt quite confident she wouldn't even have time to use it as often as they spent rolling around together, even if she wanted to.

“This room was the plan, yes.” he responded to her question. “If you have time, it wouldn’t hurt to have one in the bedroom too. One never knows where a fight might lead.”

It wasn’t clear if he was serious, and he went immediately back to his work, the grin on his face fading as the details of his administrative tasks came back to him.

“Uh huh.” Kit just looked at him for a moment, shook her head, and set to her own work. She didn’t seem bothered by the music nor did she seem overly inclined to interrupt his peace with talk.

Andrei continued with his work for several moments as she started her task of setting up the holographic emitters. Considering the requirements for emitters to work without issues, the set-up process would require installation, tapping into the power system, calibration, and testing. He allowed her to get started without interruption, and finished his task within a few minutes. Shutting down the terminal, the glass screen recessed back into the desk and he stood, walking over to the replicator. He ordered two tall glasses of lemonade and an apple, walked one of the glasses over to place on the side table next to her, and then sat down on the couch, watching her work.

“It’s kind of you to visit me in prison.” he said, taking a big bite of the apple and crunching expansively. He placed his feet on the glass coffee table in front of him, knowing it was more than sturdy enough to support the weight.

“Not exactly a social nor completely voluntary visit really, is it?” Kit chuckled as she held a small device in one hand and one of the emitters in the other, the device making a few sounds and the emitter responding in kind. “Are you going crazy?”

“I have my ways when it comes to staying sane.” he said with a grin, “Though some might doubt I wasn’t crazy before in all candor. I think your boyfriend would fall into that camp at this point.”

“Boy- oh, you mean Asher?” Kit asked, finally glancing over to Andrei. She put the device down and picked up the lemonade to take a sip. “Not my boyfriend. Good lay though, nice big dick.”

He chuckled at that, taking another bite of his apple and chewing, his mind musing on the fact for only a brief moment.

“I’m glad he’s got something going for him.” he said with a slight turn of his head. “No great feat, that, though, is it? It’s not hard to have a nice big dick, after all.”

“Not everyone can be above average in everything, Andrei.” Kit rolled her eyes slightly and resumed her work. “Some people make up for it by being dicks… and some possess both big dick and dick attitude.”

“You have a curious fascination with this topic, Kit.” he said, watching her work. “Aren’t you a bit tiny to have such high standards? The last time I was with a woman your size, she had to tap out. It’s not fair to the normal ones, really, for the little women to trade up too.”

Of course, he didn’t care about normal men. Perhaps it was all talk, or maybe he was actually trying to find out how she thought. People couldn’t tell with Andrei. Was he an impulsive and reckless man, or a calculating and careful one? Perhaps it changed with the seasons.

“Stop being so greedy.”

“I’m not greedy, I share just fine.” She rolled her shoulders and picked up another emitter to go through the motions again. “Would you rather talk about tits?”

She stopped and looked up at Andrei, her face scrunching a moment, then she went back to work. “Actually you seem more like an ass man.”

“How would you know?” he asked with a challenging smile, tossing the half-apple into the air and catching it again. “Are you some kind of telepath for the male animal mind?” he bit his lip, forcing back a laugh, “The dick whisperer? Tell me, what did I eat for breakfast this morning?”

“Pussy, probably.” Kit replied as if she had just said the word cereal. “And I say ass man because I have seen your girlfriend’s ass. She’s got a great top end, but the ass is perfection.”

“Not just pussy though. Also egg whites and unbuttered toast.” he said, taking another bite and then blatantly talking with his mouth full. There was something about Kit that made him feel comfortable being gruff and crude. It was a rare trait in a woman. Asher should count himself fortunate Andrei was in a committed relationship for the woman’s attitude alone. “And, how dare you? I adore Lyra for her biting wit and her vicious streak.”

He laughed loudly and reached for his lemonade.

“Those are like… number three and four on the list, sure.” Kit smirked. “Also who the fuck eats unbuttered toast? You probably like it as pale as you are, don’t you?”

“A light toasting is perfect. And the butter is completely unnecessary.” he said, raising an eyebrow over his covered eye. “I’m not a barbarian. How do you take yours? Burnt with strawberry jam?”

“What is the point of toasting it if you’re going to keep it looking like the exact same shade anyways? No, I like mine golden brown and buttered like normal people. You are the weird one here.” She put the emitter down and pulled out what looked like a step from the bottom of the cart. Shoving it against the wall, she tapped at the cross bar with her foot and then kicked it a bit harder, then it opened into a step-ladder. She climbed up, popped a panel off of the wall, and began to work on the wiring inside.

“Not in my house. That is the toast I was raised on.” he said, pulling another bite from the increasingly small apple. “Butter is too heavy for the morning. Breakfast is best when its plain grains with fruit and maybe some milk. And, if you would like some taste at sunrise, eat some pussy.”

That time, Kit did laugh, though it was slightly muted given she was projecting into the hollow of the wall. “I mean, I won’t say I haven’t substituted that for breakfast in my life.”

“You like women too, Kit?” he asked as if he was being given a laundry list. He made a “tisk tisk” sound and shook his head. “Very very greedy.”

“Not my general go to, but I partake from time to time.” She pulled her head from the wall and looked at him. “Again, not greedy if I share.”

“Is that why you keep ogling my girlfriend?” Andrei asked, smiling conspiratorially, as if he’d just discovered a secret. “Do I need to worry about you trying to swoop in searching for a large ass while I’m on duty?”

“Maybe. Why, you wanna watch?” She asked, turning back to her work then stepping down to grab one of the emitters which she began to set up in the corner of the wall.

“Yes.” Andrei answered honestly, and then finished the apple. He stood up and tossed it back in the replicator, turning back around and not bothering to watch it fade away. Picking up his glass then, he stepped over to the ladder and watched what she was doing.

“Don’t you noble stick-in-the-muds frown on that shit?” She asked and then noticed out of the corner of her eye he had drawn close. She looked down at him, her brows raising. “It isn’t a bomb. I swear.”

“We noble stick in the muds frown on everything in public, Kit.” he said with a shake of his head. “Some of us frown on it behind closed doors. We’re more complex than you think.” he said with a grin. “I’m incredibly complicated and brooding. I can’t be understood by you.”

“See, you say that, but that’s a type of person to understand too. Unpredictable, untrustworthy, unreliable because you don’t actually know what they’ll do.” She shrugged and finished setting the emitter in place then popped the panel back on the wall.

“Very good.” he commented, stepping back to allow her room to come down the ladder. “Your social skills are very useful for you, I’m sure, when you’re…dick whispering.”

“Oh absolutely. Though I am a bit picky I suppose.” She stepped down and picked up the ladder, taking it and the cart to another corner of the room and not seeming to care if he followed or not.

He didn’t, but went back to his desk, sipping his drink and leaning back in the chair.

“Considering what I know about your previous choices, I’m dying to hear how you choose.” he said with a smirk.

“Uncomplicated, no drama, fun.” Kit lifted a finger with each item on the list. “Which basically means I’d never fuck someone like you or really any other noble. Didn’t fuck Wolff either.”

“Oh, good to know.” Andrei said with another sip. “Do I strike you as the typical noble, Kit?” The question was genuine and had no shade of self-conscious worry. “I have been called many many things in my life, rarely to my face, but I never heard ‘boring’. I could have even seen me and Stagg being friends if he hadn't been so impossible.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t call you boring, but you’re definitely complicated and full of drama. Typical noble? On the complexity and drama for sure… fun… depends on the noble, I guess.” She shrugged. “What was the point of it all anyways? I’m really curious.”

“The fight?” he asked with a grin. His tone was impish, but his posture was relaxed “What can I say? I’m a terrible loser. I wasn’t given what I wanted, and I just lost my temper. I get that way sometimes, you know. I’m very dangerous when I don’t get my way. It’s safer just to do what the fuck I tell you.”

Kit found it very strange that he admitted to basically being an overgrown child, but true to her nature she just shrugged it off and kept working. “No, I really meant going after O’Shea in the first place.”

Andrei chuckled then and lowered his head, looking down at his feet propped up on the desk.

“You’re not hearing me, Kit. I said I wanted O’Shea, and when I didn’t get him, all hell broke loose. Why does it matter why I wanted him?”

“Just curious, really. It seems like you were just looking for a reason to pick a fight or assert your dominance or whatever.” Kit shrugged, her curiosity seeming light and genuine on the topic.

“Curiosity killed that cat.” he said to her,not seeing more than a bit amused at the rather obvious pun. “Is that why you think I did it?”

“Couldn’t tell you, that’s why I’m asking.” Kit said and briefly glanced back at him then focused on the next emitter.

“I probably wanted it for some complicated, boring, dramatic reason.” he said, pretty obviously not intending on giving her more than that. “Nothing that would attract you, Kit.”

“Too bad.” Kit said but didn’t seem bothered by his lack of explanation - she had doubted he would give it in the first place but if she hadn’t even tried to ask, it was going to be an automatic no.


“Do I get to know why I’m installing these in your quarters?”

“I’m a blademaster, and I can’t train in the holodeck like I typically do.” he said, standing up and grabbing a silvery shashka with a black hilt from a cabinet behind him and walking over to her. “I’ve been dedicating myself reasonly to becoming a one-man strike team. Weapons, exercize, and martial arts. I am practically obsessed with perfecting the art of killing. I only wish we were in the Alpha Quadrant, so I could try my skills against Klingons. But, as we aren’t, I settle for killing holographic enemies.”

He extended the hilt to her, offering it so that she could take a look.

Kit took the blade by the hilt, held it up straight, looked the blade up and down then wobbled it a bit in her hand, then handed it back to Andrei. It was clear she had more or less no appreciation for the weapon whatsoever. “Well I hear you’ve had plenty to kill here, no?” She asked, then moved to the next corner.

“I have, but slaughtering unarmed or untrained opponents is easy. If I want a challenge, I need the computer to generate it. Besides me, there are only a few other highly-skilled fighters aboard including Lyra and the members of Shadow Squad.”

He didn’t mention, of course, his Legionaries still being trained on the Lovarr. That was a secret, and he planned to keep it that way.

“Good with the sword, is she?” Kit asked and waggled her eyebrows with a devious grin. “Lucky you.”

Kit was working quite quickly. Most engineers were good at their work but rather ponderous, in the labor, but Kit was like a master painter with a brush in hand. Her fingers moved with the easy dexterity that came from years of practice.

“I’m training her on swords.”he rebutted. “Her weapon of choice is the spear.”

“Oh, size queen then. Well, I can see that.” Kit chuckled, setting the third emitter into the wall. “I appreciate a woman with talented hands.”

He shook his head, smiling. Kit was singularly purposed, it seemed.

“Yes on all counts.” He said before walking back across the room and returning his sword to its proper place. “How are you finding Vengeance so far? How is the department adjusting?”

“It is a bit hard to tell given we’re floating around a pleasure planet and on leave shifts, but the department is… adjusting. They aren’t used to my demands for performance yet, but we’ll get there. As for me, it’s nice not having to pick between a shower and a meal because of power constrictions.” She shrugged again and moved to the last corner of the room. “Can’t complain much.”

“Yes, it hasn’t exactly been ‘normal’ since you came aboard. Things will get more complicated in about a week, but I’m sure you can handle the strain.” He commented. “How is Lieutenant Ellis adjusting to being an officer?”

“Nairobi? She’s a natural.” The tone of Kit’s voice indicated she almost thought it was a strange question. “She’s been helpful in settling people down when they get their panties in a twist because I’m apparently ‘unreasonable’ in my expectations to some of the lower ranks.”

“Good. We were hoping she would be able to smooth the transition a bit.” He responded. “You’re crushing spirits down there already, Kit? You’re still in the honeymoon phase.”

“I’ve never been one to accept a half assed job. If you do something you have to do it with your whole ass.” Kit wasn’t looking at him, but wagged a finger toward him accusingly. “You remember that.”

“Right. I will remember your whole ass.” He said, thumbing through a PADD absent-mindedly. “I’m not sure what they will do for my work ethic, though.”

“So not what I meant, but you know that. You just want to be trouble.” Kit pointed out with a good natured roll of her eyes. Finally finishing the last corner, she walked into Andrei’s room without any hesitation or warning she was doing so.

“Huh.” She mused thoughtfully, looking at what was in front of her. Wood panel walls and windows that were displaying the city of… Moscow, she was pretty sure.

His primary objective was to protect his territory, so he stood up again as soon as she went into the room. Stepping in behind her, he sat down on the comfortable bed and laid back, directing his fingers back to the PADD again.

“In this room, we go places.” he said with a flair of dramatic meaning. “A hotel in New York; a villa in Barcelona…but mostly an apartment in Moscow. We just need one more projector that is designed for use with characters and moving structures.”

Kit’s eye moved around the room and eventually down to Andrei, lingering there a moment and then moved back to the windows. He might not have fit into her categories of who she would sleep with, but she also wasn’t blind. After considering a moment, she grinned at him, her expression impish.

“Oh Andrei, you could have just been honest with me and told me the emitters are for your weird sex parties. It’s okay. I don’t judge.”

“I am completely unafraid of your judgment.” he said with a lift of his eyebrow, his eyes still on the PADD. “And if I were having weird sex parties, you would have heard about them one way or another.”

“Well I am new here.” She pointed out and then looked around the whole room and out the door again. “So you want this set up in case something you’re doing out there comes in here?”

“You are very inquisitive, Kit.” he said, looking up at her with steely and amused eyes. “The benefits to this installation are without numbers. Anything which happens in there could easily come in here, yes. And what a shame if it couldn’t, and had to stay out there. There are certain rules which can’t be broken, and I’m hoping to get ahead of possible limitations. You know..during my weird sex party.”

He looked down again and started typing away.

“Are you fishing for an invitation?”

Kit chuckled. He was so full of himself, but at this point she found it amusing more than irritating. “I was asking to figure out where best to install the device for your needs.”

That had, in fact, been the only reason. She moved to the wall directly opposite of the door and began to work on setting up again.

“Of course you were.” he said, as if he didn’t really believe her. “Then, to answer your question, yes. Something out there turns into something in here, or vice versa.”

“Yeah, I got it.” Her tone skirted on dismissive, but she was already busy working so it could have been she was simply distracted with what she was doing. After a few minutes of fiddling, she finally got down from the ladder, and then took another moment more to input some commands into a PADD.

“Alright,” she declared, “go give it a try.”

Andrei paused, eyeing her, and stood up. Leaving the PADD on the bed, he reached for the hilt at his side and pulled it, willing the blade to materialize. His demeanor was calm as he stepped past her and into the living room. He pushed the table toward the couch to create a larger clearing in the middle of the room.

“Computer,” he said, “Project the Earl from program Andrei 814.”

A tall, sweaty man with a blood-soaked jerkin appeared before him. There was a cut on his face, and his eyes were wide with fear and hatred.

“You’ll never take this village alive, you barbarian scum!” He shouted, raising his bloody sword to Andrei.

“I will, and then I will take your fields and your sheep; I will take your wives and your daughters as my whores.” Andrei said, looking to Kit and flashing a rather silly and playful grin.

Their swords clashed with a flurry of fast strikes, and it was clear immediately that this holographic opponent was a competent one. He slashed at Andrei, but he had no trouble dodging each blow or blocking them with his blade. He tried the man, testing his skill in the environment of the room, and even stepping onto the couch to see how the program adjusted to furniture. When he was satisfied, Andrei made his sword sing against the Earl’s causing the man to drop his clumsily to the ground. Andrei ran the end of his blade through the man’s stomach, causing him to gasp in shock, fall to his knees, and vomit blood down the front of himself. With one swift, clean motion, Andrei severed the man’s head from his shoulders. The head rolled in front of Kit, stopping at her feet, blood draining from it in great quantities onto the carpet.

“Impressive work, Urso.” Andrei said, retracting his blade and replacing it at his waist.

Kit watched the scene play out in front of her with interest. She could see Andrei was impressive with the sword and he was a man who obviously enjoyed a healthy dose of fantasy, but her main focus was making sure the job had been done correctly. When he was done, she looked down at the head at her feet and then finally up at Andrei.

“Boy you sure showed him.”

“I know how to swing my sword, at the very least, " he said with a confident grin. He looked at the head himself, focusing on the surprise in the features. He had come to love that look, be it brought in by pleasure or pain.

“Meets your expectations, then?” Kit asked and tapped on her own PADD. A vertical line of holographic orbs appeared in one corner of the room and with one input command, they began to move in unison, soaring in a tight grid pattern through the room.

Andrei watched as the orbs moved in unison, offering a small sigh at the idea of being confined to this space for so long.

“It’ll serve, at least until I can leave this prison.” he said, before looking at her and touching her softly on the shoulder. “Thank you.”

Kit jumped slightly when he touched her shoulder, she’d been distracted looking down at the PADD in front of her. Looking up at him, she frowned and then tilted her head. “Aren’t you only in here for like a week? Not even a week anymore?”

“I’m a caged animal.” he said, frowning as if it were obvious. “I can’t stand it in here anymore. This will help.”

She was quiet for a moment, eyeing him up and down with her warm brown gaze. Clearly she was having some thoughts about what he said, but she shrugged and grinned in the end. “Well, whatever bloats your goat there, Andrei.”

The spheres finished their route through the room and bedroom and then vanished. Kit’s PADD beeped and she looked down at it. “Looks like everything is in order and you have full coverage. If there’s any problems just let me know.”

“I will call you if I need a miracle worker in here.” he said, gesturing to the nearest emitter before looking back at her. “Until next time, keep those talented hands busy.”

Kit finished cleaning and packing everything up in her cart, finished off her previously abandoned lemonade, then popped the empty glass back in his replicator. She walked back to her cart and flashed him a parting grin. “I always do. Stay out of trouble, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

With that, she left.


END