Meanwhile, In The Hot Tub

Posted on Tue Feb 3rd, 2026 @ 4:45am by Lieutenant Commander Alexander Espersen & Captain Calypso Skyie

Mission: Lower Decks
Timeline: Simultaneous with "Girls' Night"

It was crucial for effective starship operations that a Captain and their First Officer remain in sync. Simply seeing each other on the bridge and in staff meetings might be enough for some, but for others, that relationship best flourished if it included after-hours socializing, permitting conversation (both related to work and not) in a less rigid setting.

Cally Skyie and Alex Espersen had a standing item in their calendars. Dinner was usually part of it. It was either preceded by something athletic or followed by something relaxing. Tonight it was the latter. Dinner at the Hydra—Michelle always treated them well—followed by a drink or two. They then migrated to the holodeck, where the Captain's best hot tub program was already running for them.

"I need to use this program more often," Alex said as he sank into the hot water, the surface bubbling, the jets hitting him in the right places along his back.

"I suppose that I can share the program with you, Alex, though just try to invite me along, unless you're going to bring someone special in with you." Calypso waggled her eyebrows suggestively as she laughed, "It's really relaxing and you can't imagine how the sex is in here."

“My imagination is quite vivid,” Alex quipped. “So I should be okay.” He took another deep breath and sighed. He might indeed need to bring someone in here at some point.

"You know, with the girls having their sleepover tonight, I don't think I'll have to be wary of them causing trouble, because they're all lumped into one spot." She leaned back, her red bikini fully underwater, arms stretched out along the back of the hot tub, "I feel sorry for Jenna though, so straight-laced and innocent, even after Rene."

“They’ll either eat her alive, or she’ll come out stronger for it,” Alex said. “That said, I wouldn’t discount their ability to cause trouble. All together like that, they’ll just feed off each other. Never underestimate the Kellermans or the Misfits, Cally.”

"I've got faith in them to behave tonight, Alex." Cally said solemnly, "They also have Tessa with them, I know Kally invited her along, and I can't foresee them anything too untoward when she's there."

“If you say so,” Alex said, unconvinced. “Regardless, I won’t let anything ruin this. I’m just too comfortable.”

The comm clicked on and there was only a slight hesitation before a voice came over it.

“They say it’s your birthday
I think we should play
I’ll make sure you’re feeling good
You’ll be screaming my name.”

"What the?" Cally stated, trying to figure out the voice, "Who is this?"

“It’s your birthday I’m told
You look like a centerfold
You’ll pant and you’ll mo-oan
With my tongue in your folds.”

There was a cutoff giggle as the comm died and Cally's eyes were wide and her jaw had dropped, "Why those little twats! Who was that?" She started to stand to get out of the hot tub.

Alex bit his lower lip, stifling a laugh. He recognized the voice. It was a good prank, he had to admit. “You were saying about behaving? How many birthday spankings should you get?”

"Me?" Cally spluttered, "How many spankings will whoever THAT is get when I find out who that is? It's not even my birthday! That's in about three months, and I'd better NOT get any spankings for that, at least not from you." She stuck her tongue out at him.

A gesture, which he reciprocated. “Well, after the unicorn you got me for my birthday a few weeks ago, I had to make the offer. Should we alert security of the potential for more pranks?”

Cally pursed her lips in thought for a few seconds, then smiled, “I don’t think so. If the pranks they’re doing are something like this?” She laughed and sank deeper into the water, “By the Four, if I were younger and lower in rank I’d be there with them.”

A few moments later, the computer intoned that Alex was receiving a priority-one message. With a sigh, he stood and sat on the edge of the hot tub, keeping his feet and calves in the water. From here though he could reach his clothing, among which was the PADD he’d brought for their dinner meeting.

He opened the message. His eyes went wide and his cheeks went red.

Her eyebrows raised and a smile crossed her face, “What did they do this time? Must be something interesting.”

He thought about it for a moment but then turned the PADD toward Cally, revealing what it was.

The caption read 'If you can guess who this is, you win the prize.'

The rest of the message was a detailed photograph of one of the Kellermans, nude, a wide-eyed innocent expression on her face, her arms positioned to accentuate her chest. A small amount of red ribbon barely covered her genitals.

The belly laugh that came out of Cally was loud enough to echo in the room and Cally went under to her nose as she slipped slightly, coming back up quickly, “Oh my gods, those two are cruel!” She glided over to get a closer look at the picture, “Of course, do you know who that is?” She asked knowingly.

"I have a pretty good idea," Alex answered, awkwardly adjusting himself. "They both like to mess with me, but one more than the other."

“I can tell you, for a price.” Calypso smirked, taking some delight in the mild torture of her Exec, because it was all in good fun, “In the meantime, you seem to have a problem going on.” She placed a hand on his leg, “You know, I could help you with that if you really wanted.”

"You know that I always appreciate your offers of help, Captain," Alex said with a smirk, setting down the PADD and pulling down his trunks. "Meanwhile, what's your price for knowing exactly which Kellerman that is?"

Cally reached out and took him in hand, casually beginning to stroke him up and down as she gave him a thoughtful look, “You know? I don’t have a clue. Can’t give you more paperwork, because there isn’t much more, don’t want to overwork you anyways. I really don’t know. Could make it that you owe me one?” She moved around to directly in front of him and began to apply her mouth to aid her hand along.

Alex tilted his head back and moaned. She knew exactly what she was doing. "Owe you one?" he got out. "Between this and the Kellerman name, I might need to owe you several." He ran the fingers of one hand through her hair. "Don't stop."

She mumbled something even as she added a twist of her tongue to her bobbing and then bottomed out as she felt him spend himself inside her mouth. Slowly she withdrew from him, swallowing a couple time as she did before grinning up at him, “Problem solved?” Calypso asked with a quick cocking of her head, “And I can tell from her eyes, it’s Kally.”

He slowly caught his breath and sank back into the water. “She was my primary suspect,” he said. “And thanks for the help.”

“My pleasure.” Cally returned to her former position, grabbing a drink from her water bottle. She knew better than to spend a lot of time in the hot tub without one, “Willing to bet they’re playing Truth or Dare, I’m not sure she’d do that just as a personal prank.”

“You and her have been getting close, right?” Alex asked. “And I don’t mean sex. Well, that too, but not just that. She’s special to you, isn’t she?”

“Officially, as the Captain of the Chimera? I can’t answer that question.” Calypso stated very carefully, “Unofficially? Yes, very much so. I’ve been letting my guard down a bit around her, a big mistake no doubt, but I just feel so comfortable around her, she’s easy to talk to, really gets me. Of course you know about Katie and Jadizon, but have you heard how Kally fits into that menagerie at all?”

“Captain, believe me when I say I know basically nothing of the crew’s romantic interconnectness, and that’s how I like it,” Alex said with a chuckle. “But your happiness and well-being are important to me. Not just as your XO, but as your friend. So if you’re able to feel special and comfortable with someone, I’m happy for you.”

"Now if we can just find someone to make you happy." Calypso grinned at him, "On more than just a temporary basis, that is. From all reports that I've been getting, and there are quite a few, no one is pranking you anymore, at least not any more so than they are me. But I think that's just an uptick in the morale of the crew, the Four help us if I were some hardliner that sticks to the regulations, don't you think? I'm actually quite happy with how the ship and crew have turned out."

"I was talking about this with Rala not that long ago," Alex said. "It's interesting how many of us were sent here as punishment, but we've thrived under these conditions." He cocked his head. "What reports have you been getting about my, to use your words, 'temporary happiness'?"

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you the sources of my reports.” She leaned back in the water again, “Confidential Informants are so hard to keep when the subject goes and confronts them about said information and then the source dries up. A Captain needs all the information she can get, so you’re not hearing where it came from.” She gestured at his now submerged crotch, “Clearly you’d gotten riled up pretty easily.”

“I don’t need to know where the info came from,” he replied. “Just wondering what people are saying, is all. How much sex do they think I’m having, and with whom. Maybe I can corroborate. As for my ease at getting riled…well, you saw the picture.”

“And one that she doesn’t realize she’ll be repeating for me.” Cally grinned, “Though I’ll demand to be the one to unwrap her. But as for the other thing? That’s the whole thing, people aren’t saying that you are getting your rocks off, I get a bit worried about you sometimes, Alex.”

“I… I’m able to take the edge off when needed,” Alex said. “Case in point,” he added, gesturing to the Captain with a smirk. “But no, please don’t worry about my sex life, Cally. I may not get it most nights, but I’m happier than I’ve been in a decade. And when it does happen, it’s damn good. For all involved, I’d like to think.”

"Then I won't push the issue." Cally gave way on the conversation, closing her eyes as she relaxed in with the heat, then cracked an eye open, "Do I at least get to know who you're seeing on occasion?" She teased slightly.

“May as well,” Alex answered. “Not much to tell really. There’s one I’d prefer to keep in confidence, but I’ll tell you that I see Michelle sometimes. She and I have dinner, or go dancing. I’ve drawn her more than once. Sometimes there’s sex, but not always. She got me a surprisingly sweet gift for my birthday.”

"Michelle is a good sort." Cally agreed, her eyes shut again, "I wish I'd known about her a couple decades ago, but I gather that her mother didn't think we'd have accepted her because she and Raiden weren't married at the time. I think Michelle would have made an excellent officer in Starfleet, maybe even as a counselor. I've had some talks with her and she's got a good head on her shoulders."

“We should consider making better use of her,” Alex suggested. “In a counseling or diplomatic role. She’s sharp, engaging, and insightful. We could do worse putting her on an away team or two.”

Cally grimaced at the thought of her niece being put into potential danger, especially just as a civilian and that sentimental reasoning. “Are you sure?” She temporized, “She doesn’t have the training that Starfleet personnel have and yes, she’s smart and very attentive to detail, but she’s a civilian. She didn’t sign up for it.”

“I don’t mean send her into war zones,” he clarified. “There just may be circumstances where her education and expertise may be useful. It wouldn’t hurt to ask her.”

"I think I may be a bit close to this situation." She admitted with a shrug, "But you have my permission to ask her if she has any desire to do anything of the sort." Cally leaned back again into the hot tub.

Alex nodded. "And I'll accept a no with grace and civility," he assured her. He sank back into the water himself, the edge of the tub having cooled him off. He let out a short laugh and then a sigh. "You know, I'm not sure I ever had the kind of fun that some of our junior people are having, like the Kellermans are having now. Sure, plenty of boys' nights over the years, but it's probably been more than twenty years since the last crazy one."

"I did once as a Lieutenant when I'd started flying starships... That was um... Hattery Bay, not a lot of us on board that ship, but it devolved into something of an orgy after we'd gotten enough drinks in us." Cally smirked, "Something tells me that isn't happening tonight with them. And if so, I should have accepted the invite that Kally gave me."

“Knowing them it’s difficult to tell,” Alex said. “I’ve heard some of their stories. I don’t know who’s all participating but I expect a few of them are keeping some order. When they go home though…honestly you should consider dropping in on them,” he suggested with a smirk.

"No, I think I'll let the girls have their own fun." Cally gave a shrug, "I'll get the skinny from Kally over the next few days. Should be a few good stories to come from this one."

"I'm sure I'll hear more details than I'd prefer from my misfits," he replied. "But they deserve their fun. Don't they? In the meantime...this is nice." He sank further into the water, content to spend time with his Captain, and his friend.