The forward lounge was full of the sounds of laughter and conversation. The tone was quite different from hours before. It was the sound of the ship releasing the tension as it passed back into Federation space and towards the starbase. A party sat at one of the longer tables. At the head was newly minted Lieutenant Ashram Estelo, still wearing the dress uniform from the ceremony earlier. To his right was Ensign Celes. The two were holding hands under the table, giving each other quick squeezes and glances at each other throughout the celebration.
Ashram looked down the table and saw his flight team. They had performed excellent, finally getting a chance to showcase their skills. Ensign Salkonna sat at the foot of the table, back in her uniform grays. Chief Sterling was to her right. Both watched the rest of the team enjoy the dinner and drinks. Joran had already lifted many a toast to the team, to the Lieutenant, to Chief Sterling, to Salkonna. When he was about to lift another glass for a toast Talas grabbed his arm to sit him back down.
Syldra lead most of the conversation, as she usually did. Mostly with gossip of course. When the question of the Chief staying aboard. She seemed to avoid the question. Ashram hoped that she would stay. She offset Salkonna's coldness nicely, and if his new rank kept him away from the flight deck too often, then the chief would stay in her role of Executive Officer.
He didn't want to dwell too much on personnel moves tonight. Tonight was a celebration, tonight was about a job well done. Ashram thought back to the old saying, “Eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow we may die.” When the thought crossed him mind he felt the pressure on his hand from Celes' hand. They hadn't had a chance to talk about the kiss in the corridor, the bridge wasn't the best setting for that conversation.
The night wound down, as did the drinks. Joran had his fill and was starting to pass out. Salkonna and Talas carried him off to his bunk to have him sleep it off. Chief Sterling looked like she was about to fall asleep as well. Syldra continued going, Ashram had no idea where her energy came from. Ashram stood and stretched, the rest followed his lead. Ashram walked over to the Chief and shook her hand.
“Thank you,” said Ash
“For, sir?” she replied
“It's still Ash, for Keeping them together, doing what you did. I want you to stay with us, we could use you.”
The Chief nodded and smiled, and glanced at Celes behind him. “Have a good night sir, see you in the morning.”
Ash and Celes left the lounge and started walking. They were quiet, their hands intertwined as they walked down the corridor. They reached the turbolift and after the door closed, he couldn't wait anymore. He looked over to Celes, and she looked back. They kissed long and hard. When they stopped, they noticed the door was open, and they were on their deck. They had no clue how long they were there.
They composed themselves as best they could. They went to his quarters, and as soon as the door closed behind them they resumed the kiss from the turbolift. The two thew themselves into the passion and to the moment. There were no words, there were no need for words.
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