Private Orders Are Orders

[Yeshua]

THE JERICHO II - BRIDGE

According to local time, the hour was late.​

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Perhaps that is why the white-maned Commander felt fatigue tugging at his eyelids. It was the first time in literal weeks that he allowed himself to acknowledge being tired. Though recent years had been characterized by peace in the region, vigilance was demanded among the fleet. Any momentary slip could spell disaster for so many innocent lives. Yet now? His vessel was finally docked at a friendly facility. The comms channel was alive with messages from allied ships who were nearby, keeping up the good fight.​

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For the few hours that he had, Yeshua could allow himself to rest.​

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He pushed off of his Command Throne and took a few steps on the Bridge. Pausing, he gave his back a long overdue stretch before rendering a salute to one of his subordinates. "Bridge is yours, I'm retiring to my quarters." he said. The officer snapped a salute back and Yeshua strode into the turbolift. He waited until the doors hissed into place behind him to tap his personal comm. His voice would rattle within the earpiece of a certain engineer working within the innards of the Jericho.​

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One who had also been burning the candle at both ends and deserved a break. "Caf at my place?" he said, lips curving into a bemused chuckle at his wording. Militant formality was the bread and butter of his daily words - but with her, he could be casual. Humorous even. With the invitation rendered, Yeshua moved in silence to his quarters. The quiet was only interrupted once he was finally situated within his personal abode.​

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The doors slid shut and he melted onto his sofa.​

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Before he could so much as close his eyes, an electronic voice roused him. Yeshua groaned aloud. "What now?" he said, refusing to move just yet. The voice, the personal assistant program situated within his desk, buzzed accordingly. "New orders received from HQ." The Commander quickly forced himself upright. "Continue."​

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The assistant proceeded to rattle off the latest orders from the Capital. Yeshua expected a continuation of their current assignment. Or perhaps being moved to an area that was under more direct threat. But this? He ran his hands through his hair, releasing a deep sigh. He didn't like it, but what he liked was inconsequential. Orders were orders.​

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One thing was for sure.​

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She wouldn't be thrilled.​

Finnea Virlee

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[Finnea Virlee]

THE JERICHO II

«Caf at my place?»


His voice and choice of words threw the engineer completely off her current track as it sounded through her personal earpeace and forced her otherwise wellknown stoic expression to crack. A seldom hint of emotion flared over her feminine features before the girl briefly inhaled through her nose and closed her eyes to reset her current expression.

Moments before, she had been challenged by another engineer who questioned her latest decision regarding the set sequence of repairs and updates she had put down. She was tired but refused to appear weak in front of this team even though they all could tell. The otherwise structured and effective engineer had been blankly staring into nothing several times over the last hours and seemed to loose her track of words mid sentence.

And now, she didn't have the will to make up the words to go around the fact that the reason she knew which task was the most pressing was due to her connection to the force and so she let out a sigh and let the man change it around the way he prefered it. After all… they were safe here. They had time.

«Caf sounds perfect.» she voiced with her index finger to her ear as she left the room to head to him. To have some peace.

But it seemed that she was mistaken if peace was what she expected to find.
Finnea stepped into his quarters, unseen, and heard the sound of the doors sliding shut behind herself as she stared over at the Commander. «Is 'Caf' a codeword for 'bad news' now? If so, I must inform you that you forgot to inform me of these changes.» Finnea tried on a smile and made her way over to the large sofa with the grand view. «I thought you liked to use various of creative swear words for delivery of bad news but I do like a more elegant approach. Its refreshing.»

Yeshua​

 

[Yeshua]

THE JERICHO II - COMMANDER'S QUARTERS

As the doors to the Commander's Quarters slid open, the tail end of the personal assistant's orders concluded. They were to report somewhere - and Yeshua would of course fill in the details momentarily. For now, his head whipped around when the ashen-haired woman strode into the room. For one who was defined by being at attention, Finnea's presence brought him a modicum of ease. After all, they had been through literal hells together - if anyone could help him face a new set of orders like this, it was her.

Her words and smiles caused a chuckle to erupt from the man. He shook his head as she descended onto the sofa and briefly rubbed his temples. "I'd be lying if I said this was me turning over a new leaf." he began. "I really did intend on sharing a mug of caf with you. But alas, HQ had different ideas."

Yeshua rose and took a few paces forward. His dominant hand waved nonchalantly, but she'd feel the Force roar. This was something they kept quiet - an understanding between the two of them. He taught, she learned. He led, she followed. There was a bond there. Respect. Admiration. Love. And in this moment, he demonstrated it by spurning his caf machine to life across the room. "I won't sugar coat it." he said, striding over to the machine and procuring two mugs from beside it.

"If you told me this was a prank, I'd have believed you." The mugs were placed underneath the machine's dual nozzles. Sugar and cream were added, per their usual tastes. He said nothing until the heavenly liquid began to pour into their vessels. "HQ has reassigned the two of us, alone. A support mission, if you can really call it that." Yeshua then stirred their beverages and returned to the sofa, offering the engineer her favored crimson mug.

"We are to leave the Expanse and to ensure that the second prince doesn't get eaten by the Galaxy at large. But, Command doesn't want us sending an armada after him, lest he retreats further and further away from the Crown. Instead, we are being given a Corvette, funds to hire a crew, and the best of luck."

Yeshua punctuated his words with a hearty sip of his caf. And then, as Finnea had predicted, he swore.

Loudly.​

Finnea Virlee​

 

[Finnea Virlee]

THE JERICHO II
She only let her back rest against the sofa once he handed her the crimson cup which they had, without saying it out loud, come to a natural conclusion was hers. It was nice to have something that somehow belonged to her within his quarters. It made her feel like she somehow belonged here. Well. Not here, but by his side.

And it was only made more clear that she was destined to be by his side as the new orders from HQ reassigned the two of them to a support mission together. Her small hands switched between the warm ceramic and the handle as he explained to her what this mission was about and her expression grew more and more stern.

She only flinched once his sudden loud voice filled the room with a curse she had picked up in many forms before. Under his breath, from pure surpise and even at happy occations.

«A support mission to chase down the second prince.»

Finnea raised an eyebrow while tilting her head.

«A Corvette?»
She put her cup down as her tired head went over his words and what this meant.
«And the best of luck?» she repeated, shaking her head now. Unbelivable. «The best of luck?!» she said again, obviously offended. The crimson cup on the table started to shake slightly, like it was under a lot of unseen stress. «How dare they? It's like they're actively trying to get rid of you in a less than dishonorly discharge.»

Yeshua​

 

[Yeshua]

After the myriad of colorful language had finished spewing from the Commander's lips, he took a moment to settle down in his seat. His thoughts were a blur - all seeking to answer a single question: where had he gone wrong? Yeshua poured over a birds' eye view of his service record over the past few years. There had never been a moment where he wavered. Never been a momen where the crew of the Jericho had not performed admirably.

So what was it then? Had he grown careless in other regards?

It was the tilting of Finnea's head which stole him from his own turbulent mind. His gaze found her own, before quickly gliding down to the mug which began to tremor slightly. He reached out, placing a palm upon the cup. It wouldn't do for her to shatter her mug - the cleanup would have been irksome after all.

"Without knowing the political landscape of the capital, I can only conjecture." he said with a sigh. "Either we - mainly I - rubbed someone wrong, somewhere down the line. Or. The situation with the second prince is truly terrible, but the Crown is attempting to keep this under wraps."

But, there was a silver lining. He set his own mug down upon the coffee table and placed his offhand upon her knee. "Assuming we hire well away from the Expanse...we wouldn't have to hide anymore, right?"

Finnea Virlee​

 

[Finnea Virlee]

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[Finnea Virlee]

THE JERICHO II

Her eyes followed his hand that covered her trembeling cup. She inhaled deeply and the cup stopped shaking as he calmed her down. Just like him, she had too tried to figure out if there was something he had said or done to put the two of them in this situation but nothing came to mind. He had always been so professional. She settled with the idea that this assignment must be about someting more than a simple offence.

Finnea was about to share her thoughts when Yeshua put his cup down and put his hand to her knee. Whatever thoughts she intended to share vanished in an instant and she smiled at him. «I won't mind all the risks this universe could throw at us during this assignment if it means that we can stop hiding. Stop pretending to be less than we are.» she moved a little closer to him and allowed herself to put her hand to the side of his face, feeling his beard, feeling unique and safe. «You know that wherever you go, I'll always follow.» she assured. «We became one a long time ago, obviously even HQ knows we're good together.»

Yeshua​

 

[Yeshua]

It was almost poetic.

During the rare moments when Finnea's emotions raged, when the Force was at its most dangerous, Yeshua's touch could ground her. Conversely, when the taste of blood sent the Commander into a frenzy, it was her voice that could snap him back to reality. There was a beautiful balance there. A completeness. And it all had to be hidden. There were many days where he wanted to live, truly live, but he was bound by the confines of his office. They both were.

Perhaps this was a gift and they shouldn't look it in the mouth.

As these musings bounced around in his mind, Finnea graced him with a smile. Her words reaffirmed how he was feeling - though the assignment was certainly out of left field, it presented an opportunity that they would have never attained through regular service. Yeshua parted his lips to speak, but soon found her hand on the side of his face. To say that he all but melted was an understatement.

"I'll do my best to lead you to good places." he began, smiling. "In the meantime, what is your experience with Raider-class Corvettes? I like the look of them, but I won't invest in it if they're a hassle on you."

His words were already on the future, already accepted their fate. Or rather, already embracing the tomorrow where there was nothing to hide anymore.

Finnea Virlee​