Unfinished Business

Posted on Wed Jan 7th, 2026 @ 5:51am by Lieutenant Drake Yarrow & Lieutenant Kailani Young

1,683 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 9 - Unearthing Life
Location: Drake's Quarters
Timeline: MD 1-20:00

Kailani was still in her uniform when she came to Drake's quarters. She beeped the chime. "Hey, I wondered if we could talk?"

Drake allowed Kailani in. "Hey," he told her noncommittally. Should he hug her? Kiss her? Shaking her hand seemed wrong. They were well beyond that. She was an attractive woman but what exactly were they? After all, what they experienced, was it real or just a lust filled moment due to some alien pollen.

"I'm glad you stopped by," he told her while gesturing openly into his quarters. "Would you like to sit on the sofa? Make yourself comfortable."

"Yeah," she said, sitting on the sofa and crossing her legs. She folded her hands on her knees and looked at him. "I hadn't really talked to you since...you know." She was beating around the bush. She knew that.

"I know...." Drake answered. He sat near her, but left at least a half a foot between them, not certain whether she wanted him near or not. After all, things had moved extremely fast between them due to alien pheromone enhancement.

He looked at her warmly. The day they had was incredible. She was a beautiful woman and the moment had been incredible, but was it just that? A moment? Or was there something more? It was hard to tell. "It is kind of weird, isn't it?" he asked. "Not knowing, well, whether that was us, or, whether alien pollen was the sole reason.... Huh?"

"I mean...look..." Kailani blushed faintly and looked to one side. "I did think you were cute before. And charming." She took a deep breath. She didn't like being so direct. She liked to play it a bit coy, normally. "But I wouldn't have gone so fast, normally, and I wouldn't have wanted you to come at me quite so fast, probably."

"That was fast, even for me," Drake admitted, noticing her blush. Somehow, it made her even cuter. "I mean, I do not even really know what you enjoy." He turned his head to the side and cleared his throat, "Well, besides me...." He turned his head back to Kallani and gave her a self-satisfied, but silly grin. "If only we had a planet that we could have some shore leave on.... Maybe go on a long hike or climb a mountain...."

"Oh, you seemed to know exactly what I enjoy," she teased him, getting over the awkwardness a little. "I like canoeing, swimming, flying, even in atmosphere and in archaic vehicles. I like soccer. And, yeah, hiking might be nice. Is that what you're into?"

The innuendo broke the ice and Drake smiled genuinely. "Well, I won't say no to giving you more enjoyment." His eyes widened as he learned of her interests. "Are you certain that you have not been reading my dossier? You named almost every interest of mine. I like most outdoor activities. I can't say anything about flying, but yeah, I like soccer too." He moved closer to her. "Maybe...well, just maybe the pollen whatever just made us see our commonalities much sooner?" he offered.

"Oh, like you were thinking about hiking," she teased him. "But the pollen didn't create desires, I guess. It just lowered inhibitions." She leaned in a little.

"Either way, I stand by my assessment that you're one fine looking woman and getting more interesting by the second." He moved closer to her and cupped her face with his hand.

"Well..." she started to lean in and then she couldn't help but laugh a little. "My rhythm is still all off because of the pollen."

Drake removed his hand from Kailani's face and chuckled awkwardly. "I understand. Things are a bit topsy turvy in how they occurred." He bit his lower lip, as he considered his next words. "I'll tell you what. If this M Class planet is what it promises to be, then we can go on a more normal first date. Perhaps pretend the pollen events did not happen? What do you think about that?"

"It's worth a try," she agreed. "Maybe they have a nice beach down there or somewhere we can go hiking. What do you think?"

"I think it is a great idea," Drake answered sincerely. "Maybe try to sort things out in a bit more normal fashion, such as it may be...."

"I'd like that," she agreed, and she reached for his hand. "I think I'd like that a lot."

"Great!" Drake beamed a stupid grin over at Kailani, as he let his hand intertwine with hers. He felt like he should say something more but words started to fail him. He scooched closer to Kailani, his body aching for what his mind told him that it should not be doing at this time. He gave Kailani's hand a little squeeze, hoping it would comfort both of them for the time being. "Do I have to worry about any siblings coming to kick my ass?" he asked, trying to do or say anything to relieve his lingering awkwardness.

"No," Kailani said as she did let herself lean into him. She rested her head against his chest and leaned to the side. She smiled softly. "Not that it'd be any of their business if there were. I'm a big girl."

Drake put his arm around Kailani to support her and keep her close. "Are you, now?" he asked playfully before kissing Kailani on the top of her head. "That does not mean that nobody would not want to protect you, regardless."

"Do I need protecting from you?" she asked him softly. Then she tilted her head up and pressed her lips to his. "I hope I don't."

"No, but I want to protect you." Drake just realized that was probably stronger than he desired and might be pushing. So, he inquired, "I know that might seem weird, but, well, everything became a bit topsy turvy and, well...." He heaved a large sigh. "Well, that's just how I feel, I guess."

"No, no," she said gently. "I like it. I like this side of you." She just leaned into him. She seemed comfortable in that position. She was silent for now. It was a comfortable silence. Cozy.

Drake just held Kailani close. He should not feel so much so soon but that pollen. It made him question everything, especially since they were just starting to get to know each other and then, got to know each other so well. Was it lingering feelings of lust or the development of something much more, as he said. He hoped it was the latter. Kailani was so similiar to him in so many ways. Perhaps that was it. After all of these thoughts, he merely kissed her again on the forehead. It will sort itself soon. We just need time with some ordinary conversation and being together. Then everything will feel right.

Kailani lay there for a long moment. She thought, for a moment, she might fall asleep there. Somehow, that didn't seem upsetting. After all, she already had. She finally stirred slightly but she didn't rise immediately. "This is nice."

"It is. Seems so natural...." Drake told her, his voice elongating a bit at the end. "Do you want to watch a holo or something? Or, you could just fall asleep there...."

"We can watch a holo," Kailaini said lazily. "If we fall asleep here, we'll probably wake up all sore." She shifted slightly against him and then straightened a bit. "What should we watch?"

"Should I be less comfortable?" Drake asked with a small snicker. "As to holos, what do you like? Action, adventure, romcoms, scifi...." He let his voice trail off as he considered the possibilities and wondered what she would select.

"What about some old science fiction?" Kailani suggested. "Like, what people in the 19th and 20th centuries thought the future would be like?"

"The supposedly scary kind like where aliens come and blow everything up on Earth or something else?" Drake asked.

"The campy kind where humans go to another planet but it's not all like it really was," she said. "Like when they still thought there was life indigenous to Mars and Venus."

Drake bit his upper lip, trying to think of something like that but was coming up empty. "I'm not sure that I know any. Perhaps I could put Mars or Venus into a computer search and come up with something. What do you think? Unless you know something offhand...."

Kailani shook her head. "It feels just on the tip of my tongue." She paused a second, considering. "How about Buck Rogers?"

Drake entered the words into a search. "Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century? Is that it?" he asked. "Sounds intriguing. What's this from? 1979? I wonder how this survived the third world war...."

"A lot of media did," Kailani pointed out. "If it was mass produced or ever made digital, really only one instance has to survive."

"I can't say that I would know. I never spent a lot of time thinking about the past."

"I think a lot about the past," Kailani admitted.

"Why is that?" Drake asked curiously.

"Where we've been tells us a lot about where we're going," she said. "And I'm fascinated by all those old explorers and aviators, some of them just in outrigger canoes."

"I cannot say that I thought too much about it. I guess that I'm much more focused on the present and what is in front of me." Drake quickly wondered if he insulted Kailani's interest and added, "Perhaps I had poor history teachers?"

"Do you like what's in front of you right now?" she asked teasingly. Apparently she wasn't too offended.

"How's this for an answer?" Drake asked, wrapping his arms around Kalilani and kissing her passionately.

Kailani kissed him back, rolling to the side slightly and pressing her body intensely again his.

Drake enveloped Kailani. Whatever awkwardness had started this evening had ended. He pressed back warmly against her and returned the kiss. Nothing else mattered now: just Kailani.


FADE TO BLACK

 

RSS Feed