All Saints Day

Posted on Sun Dec 31st, 2023 @ 7:19pm by Captain Calypso Skyie & Lieutenant Commander Alexander Espersen

Mission: Lower Decks

The Chimera Halloween party had been a great success. While some crew over-imbibed and would probably regret it the next morning, overall the crew made merry in the company of good friends. Well past midnight, the party had wound down and the ship’s two seniormost officers, staying late both to have fun and to make sure the crew did too, were finally ready to go.

In the corridor outside the Hydra Lounge, Alexander offered his arm to Cally. “May I escort you back to your quarters?” he asked.

The demon-lady, who had herself had likely more than her share of the alcohol during the preceding evening gave a small laugh as he made the offer. Nonetheless, she slipped her arm into his at the right height since her heels got her to his height for once, her tail just dragging behind now, twitching occasionally, "It almost seems like we're a joke waiting to happen: 'A Vampire and a Succubus walk out of a bar..'" She giggled girlishly, "But I wanted to ask how the 'other' party got along?"

With his other hand, Alexander quickly doffed the head piece from his costume, which had been bothering him for the better part of the evening even if the contact lenses and teeth had not been. He tucked it into the bag at his hip.

“Honestly, it wasn’t bad,” he said. “I was ready to be annoyed at you but the kids loved it. Plus some of the Lower Deckers got soaked in the dunk tank, which was good to watch.” He smirked. “Still, I intend to get you back for sticking me with that job.”

"Oh of course you will." Cally patted his arm with his free hand, "Then I'll have to get you back for that and so on and so forth." She grinned at him, "Or you can just suck it up and we can let it go until the next time! Besides, it had to be one of us, or maybe another senior officer and as the Captain, I had the ability to pawn it off onto someone else, so I did!" She was very cheerful about the event, "Did you learn something from hosting that party?"

“That you are indeed as demonic as your costume implies,” Alexander joked. “And that The Wizard of Oz is apparently about murder.” He paused a second to think, and then added more seriously, “And that our crew of misfits can do incredible things with the right guidance. I probably should have seen that before a kid’s Halloween party, but in all seriousness we did better than I had any right to expect.”

Before he could forget, he added one more lesson. “Also, that not everyone can suck it up, as you say, as well as I can, and that I should expect some act of revenge from Benvenuto. Possibly from Tanikawa and th’Qevis too.”

"Excellent! And when they execute their pathetic attempts at vengeance upon you, you and I shall make our own counters cause tremors of terror in their forms." Her eyes were bright with anticipation and humor, "But the Wizard of Oz about murder? Oh sure, the house fell on that first witch, but it was an accident! The second? Well.." She wavered her hand in front of them, "Meh, I still think water shouldn't have worked AND if the sequels are right, it didn't! So Attempted Murder, okay, actual? No."

“My—,” Alexander stopped himself and reset. “Someone I used to know once dragged me to musical theatre performances. Truth be told, I didn’t mind the story of the Witch as told from her point of view, ending with the rumour of water melting her being used so she could escape with the one she loves.”

"Exactly! So overall, it was a rather enjoyable evening, I presume?" She asked him, "I'd say the costume party turned into a rather interesting time. Makes me wonder what'll happen with Nat and Rei.. I didn't see that one coming from a mile away."

“I’ve never been able to predict these things,” Alexander said. “But that one did surprise me more than most, yes. Hopefully they’ll do well. And yes it was an enjoyable evening. Thank you, Captain, for hosting it.”

"It was a guilty pleasure, if I'm being honest. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate, just because everyone is expected to let loose and not be themselves." Cally chuckled, "I thought I'd be the worst, but Minerva put my own outfit to shame. Not surprised that Jenna was as much of a prude as I figured she'd be, but getting engaged to young Mister Rouen? I think that'll be good for her and him, and those two kids, too. She's more a big sister in that regard."

“The Rouen kids will certainly benefit from more of Miss Jade in their lives,” Alexander agreed. “And they’ve done excellent work keeping our guest Tessa happy.” They reached the turbolift, and he set it to go to the Senior Officers’ Quarters deck. “And while Ensign Delacroix was certainly out on display, she holds no candle to you, if I may be so bold to say.” Wow, he thought to himself. It seemed 42 year old whiskey and time with Michelle gave him quite the confidence boost. But was it earned?

Cally ran a hand over her chest and down, "Why thank you, Alex, I'm glad that I can keep up with the younger generation. To be fair, you look rather nice yourself, even with the trench coat. But I've been planning this particular outfit for the last couple months, took that long to get the fabric right." She took his hand and rubbed the back of it down her side, "Just about feels like it isn't there, doesn't it? I can't remember what the replicator said it's made out of when not synthesized, but it's just as light as that feels."

He let his hand, both the stronger part of his palm but also his more sensitive fingertips, linger as he felt the fabric. “I read papers about this,” he said. “An ultra thin layer of aerogel encased in a nano-scale matrix. Lightest fabric invented to date. I heard that the fashion industry was as interested in it as the materials scientists. Was it hard to put on? How tear resistant is it?”

"Third one I replicated." Calypso admitted, "In the end had to tape up my fingernails to keep from ripping it. Maybe it's something in the replication process that's why it's so fragile, but until someone decides to whip up a batch here on board." She let her hand slide down his arm until where her skin began and the fabric ended came into contact with virtually no sense of the seam being there, "It really is wonderful to wear, but also hard to grip once it's on."

The turbolift stopped and Alexander guided Cally into the empty corridors toward her quarters, which were just a few steps away. “So held on by glue and prayer. How were you planning on removing it if you can’t grip it?”

"I hadn't gotten that far yet." Cally admitted, "I was going to come back home, take a shower to dissolve the glue and go from there?" Her eyes glinted mischievously, "Of course, I'd be at square one if that didn't work, wouldn't I?"

"What you need is someone you trust to help," Alexander offered, a bit daringly. "After all, you might need extra hands to peel the material away and get the last of the glue off."

“And I suppose that you’re volunteering?” Cally’s eyes brightened. She hadn’t quite been sure about this one, he’d seemed so strait-laced that she’d not made the advance that so many victims, ahem, had fallen for, “I would more than happily accept it! Though, I must be wary.. You may seek vengeance for that whole kids’ party thing.” She snickered.

"Vengeance? Me?" Alexander held his hand to his chest. "Perish the thought." A week earlier, he would not have found himself in this position, but empowered by self confidence and a bit of whiskey and the other drinks he'd had, he was not backing down. "I'll help you, Cally. It's the right thing to do, after all."

Cally gave a look both ways down the corridor, then grabbed his hand like a kid and slapped the controls next to her door and dragged him in. No one had seen them and now no one would. As the door slid shut behind them, her arms went around his neck and she laughed as she spun him around, "The Four bless you, Alex, we'd never hear the END of this if anyone found out I had you in here while I was dressed like this and planning on getting out of it!"

"Your secret is safe with me," he said with a laugh as he let his hands continue to trace the difference between skin and material, still trying to find the 'seam' and amazed that he couldn't.

Her breath hitched as his fingers ran down her shoulders and then her front, tracing down trying to find where the super-thin fabric was. Of course, she did know how to take it off, but she’d needed an excuse. These sorts of things were intended to be worn only once and he did have nice sharp fangs in at the moment, “Bite me.” She commanded him, offering a shoulder to him. Her voice had changed from playful over to something hungrier, whether in tune with the costume or not.

He did not need to be asked twice. With her exposed neck and commanding tone -- commanding presence, even -- he had no doubts about what he was about to do. He pulled her close and clamped down where Cally's neck met her shoulder, the false vampire teeth latching on and drawing the smallest amount of blood, what he expected was just enough pain to complement the pleasure.

There was a yip as the fangs penetrated both the fabric and the skin, but was immediately replaced by a moan that belied that spot of pain. As soon as he let go the pressure, she reached up and smeared some of the oozing blood as she grabbed one of the ripped holes and tore it open further, then stopped as she backed up a step, eyes in him and wondering how much fun this was gonna be. Hers flashed brightly as she licked her lips, “Did you ever wonder who’d win between a vampire and a succubus? I know I’m definitely going to need help taking this off, but you’re going to have to catch me first.”

“I get the feeling that the vampire and succubus will both win,” he said with a smirk as he reached forward to grab her as she tried to run. She slipped away, but he caught a handful of the outfit from the tear at her neck and ripped it further. Tossing it aside, he chased her in, leaving his coat, bag, and boots at the door with a handful of tattered, bloodied shreds of costume.

Most of the costume was just hanging off her, attached from the front of her as she laughed and successfully dodged from his grasp. She stayed on her heels as he advanced on her further, her now bared rear bumping up against the door to her bedroom. Then she went on the offensive, meeting him halfway, kissing him hungrily as he tore the front from her outfit with a slight yelp as it tore the glue from her skin. Once she broke the kiss, she wiped her mouth and it came away pink, "Time to lose the teeth, Vamp-Boy."

Out they came without a care, tossed toward a table. “Just the teeth?” he asked before shedding his coat and shirt in one move and then pulling her close to him and then backing her to the closed bedroom door.

Her eyes seems to glimmer, “No, not just the teeth.” She triggered the door to open behind her.