Posted by Captain Kelly Shultz (Commanding Officer) in A Diplomatic Mission to Redemption
SNIP

Kelly leaned back in the seat stretching. This was the first time she didn’t have to worry about preparing for the arrival add of some random dignitary. Yes, she would be introduced as Captain Kelly Schultz but her official function was the girlfriend to Lieutenant Ian Bordeaux. Several weeks back Ian had received orders to visit Redemption II . Redemption II was a planet that for centuries had been ravaged by war. After years of conflict, an accord was made between the two opposing factions from the war. Redemption II began to rebuild and prosper. Seventy-three years after the peace accords were signed Redemption began the process of applying for Federation Status. Lt. Ian Bordeaux had been assigned the task of meeting with the leaders and beginning the first of several diplomatic meetings to aid in this process.

Propping her feet on the shuttles console, she smiled at Ian. “So you will still be able to bring me coffee during this little mini excursion right,” Kelly grinned at Ian. “I mean it is perfectly acceptable for a,” Kelly felt the words catch in her throat and coughed to hide her mistake. Kelly had no idea how to finish the sentence. So much had happened since they had gone to Turquois Mountain. None of it bad. Still, the events of that weekend had changed them even if Kelly and Ian claimed not to notice.

“You have two feet love, I mean why do you think I got that transporter replication tool for you? ” he said as he eyed her with a smirk. “I love you Kel… I do.” he said as he leaned from his pilot seat giving her a kiss on her cheek.

“You know what, how about I get you some coffee for a change,” Kelly said standing up from her co-pilot seat.

“Oh that sounds great, do you know how to still use a replicator though?” he said to her as she walked by, glad she came with him. He knew Atlantis wouldn’t need them and Relann could handle it for now.

“Of course,” Kelly said. “I was single once. There are a few things we single girls never forget how to do,” she said walking towards the cockpit with two cups of coffee and a plate with three cookies. Taking a seat she put her mug on the console and extended the other cup of coffee and cookies to Ian.

“Oh I am sure, your delicate sensibilities can’t forget the basics of coffee. You could be stranded on a planet and still somehow find a cup of joe.”

“Acorn, Dandelion, Carob, and Brudock,” Kelly said nodding to him. “All of those plants can be brewed down and make me some Joe love. I learned int in Botany 101 with Dr. Sebastian Grant,” she almost purred his name wearing a sly smirk. “Turns out he was a coffee connoisseur who knew how to brew backwoods coffees as he called it when you were short arabica beans. That was a very informative weekend for extra credit.” Kelly savoured the memory before realizing Ian was giving her an inquisitive side glance.

“Oh did I tell you your Gra-mere called last week,” Kelly said nodding at the cookies quickly changing the topic. On the plate would be three rectangular, yellow shortbread cookies with a dent in the middle. “She told me that if I were gonna be dallying with her favourite grandson that I had better be able to give him his favorite cookies.” Kelly took a sip of her coffee letting out a small chuckle. “She also went on and on about some woman named Margret Rutherford and how she stole the recipe from your family back when they were still using pen and paper to write. She gave me the recipe but it was not only coded so that I can’t make a copy but set to expire in one year,” Kelly cocked an eyebrow at Ian. “Remind me never cross her because that lady can sure hold a grudge or mention Pepperidge Farms this Christmas which she asked me about.” Kelly immediately took a sip of her coffee not sure what else she wanted to say. It had been two years since she had made any sort of Christmas plans involving anyone other than Rick. It was not that she didn’t want to spend the time with Ian. In fact, she could not imagine spending the time away from him but meeting the family was a huge step. Maybe one she was not ready for.

“She… can be something. Trust me you are getting off light. So far everyone approves of you, they think I am punching above my weight class with you as it is.” he said as he leaned over snagging a cookie and a kiss from her.

Kelly felt a smile spread across her face. It had been a long time since she had butterflies and enjoyed the pure flirtation of a new romance. Ian was something special. She was lucky to have him and even luckier to have him return interest in the same way. The idea of a new romance with a classic holiday seemed better and better.

“I told her,” Kelly began but was immediately stopped by a beep on the console.

“Shuttle Blaze please continue on your current course to St. Denis and welcome to Redemption II. You are clear to land. Chancellor Pinkerton is waiting on the platform to greet you. Safe travels,” a happy voice said.

“Understood, diverting course. We will be down at the coordinates monetarily.”

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St. Denis Spaceport

“I am not sure this is the best idea. I just want to say this again for the record,” Ross grumbled pulling at the sleeves of his coat. “I don’t think that we should be parading the Federation’s delegates,”

“And we do not want them to see us as hiding things. The war was brutal but our reconstruction has been as smooth as one could expect. And what issues will they encounter in St. Denis. St. Denis is the gateway to the west where our most adventurous are settled and to the east where business and culture thrive. It is a far better choice than the capital where things can get out of control from time to time,” Pinkerton sighed heavily already bored with Ross’ protests.

As Kelly descended the ramp of the shuttle she tried to remember this was Ian’s mission and not hers. After years of these things, she was on auto-pilot. Instead, she thought about matching her stride to Ian’s this did, however, become problematic and showed her a glimpse at what her captaincy looked like. At five foot four inches, Kelly’s stride was not as purposeful as Ian’s appeared to be at this moment. It was then she let her mind wonder what her senior officers looked like falling in step behind her. Their strides were obviously longer but they never outran her to the destination and until now, Kelly never felt like she was racing to catch up with them. Kelly managed to keep up with Ian but made a mental note for him to lessen his stride length the next time they were walking about. It was not like she could take his hand as she did in less official situations.

“Lt. Bordeaux,” Pinkerton said with a happy tone. “Welcome. Redemption is happy to receive you. This is my Vice Chancellor Edgar Ross,” George Pinkerton motioned for his second in command to greet Ian.

“Mr. Pinkerton.” he said as he nodded at the man, then looking over at Ross. “Pleasure to meet you Mr. Ross.” he said, staying pleasant but trying to not seem to familiar. Each location took unique approaches, he was wanting to find his footing at this location.

“Lt. Bordeaux,” Ross said in a neutral tone.

“I hope it is okay, let me introduce my guest Kelly Schultz, she is … my … ” Ian paused, he wasn’t sure how to decribe her. “She is my… lover, she insisted I don’t take her out nearly enough.” he finally said, settling on that term. They didn’t know her and for once he didn’t want to feel shy about her to others. He often wanted to shout out to all. On top of this, there was a deeper feeling behind that phrase for him, she was far more but now wasn’t a time to ponder that.

Lover, Kelly said feeling something run up and down the base of her spine. It was a cross between excitement and something else. She knew what the something else was but unlike Ian, Kelly was not brave enough to verbalize it. She tried not to squirm as she felt his hand find that small region of her back. The spot all women loved and the spot men found on instinct. Kelly smiled and nodded hoping the slight unease she felt would be interpreted as flirty embarrassment.

“We have prepared a full itinerary for your visit here over the next week. We have selected our best hospitals, universities, access to our public education system, museums, and a virtu-tour planned to break up the monotony of the meetings on our schedule. If you follow me,” Pinkerton gestured for Ian walk towards the large white ornate building before them. As they entered the building, they would be surrounded in architecture which used glass, white marble, and silver metals. The walls, rails, stairs, and elevators had a liquid feel to them. It was as if their flowing lines could be broken with a single touch like a still pond. Plants and art decorated the area making it feel like an atrium.

After some small talk and several elevator lifts, the group ended up in front of a large set of double doors. “So unless you have an objection, you and I can start going over the preliminary reviews required by the Federation in their application process,” Pinkerton suggested.

“By all means, is do you prefer having Mrs Schultz outside or would she be allowed to come in with me?” Ian asked, he was gauging at how sensitive they wanted this all to be.

“Is she here in an official capacity or just for entertainment,” Pinkerton said in a neutral tone.

“Mainly entertainment, but she has been known to have some interesting moments. I like to think of her as a life partner I can ditch.”

Any embarrassment she had felt about the lover comment instantly evaporated. “Did you just call me an…escort and did you just say I am your life partner that you can ditch? Wow you both sure know how to talk to the ladies.” Kelly felt a laugh burbling up in her chest.

“Well, your name is Shultz and his Bordeaux. He is your boss. You are his assistant. I just assumed you were taking advantage of a quick and private excursion,” Pinkerton said clearly confused.

“Well her name maybe Bordeaux on a few other pieces of paper… ” Ian said under his breath, but loud enough Kelly could hear.

Kelly got stiff next to Ian and she felt like she was back in elementary school and was just singled out for passing notes. “Whaaa…whaaaa…ere you talking about,” Kelly let her words ramble together. The sentence was a mismatch of several thoughts rolled into one thought that was barely grammatical. Did Ian know she didn’t sign the papers? His comment made Kelly think that somehow he had found out she submitted the paperwork without her signatures but the tone of his voice did not indicate happiness or anger. It was neutral. Was that due to his expertise in diplomacy? She tried not to look at Ian but the blank expression on her face told the men facing them something was out of the ordinary.

“Mrs. Shultz by entertainment, I think Pinkerton meant having you were someone that would help Mr. Bordeaux sample the less governmental aspects of Redemption and the more social fun side,” Ross extended his elbow. “Maybe I can show you around a bit. Besides I am sure your husband would not allow you to go galavanting off if he did not trust the man at your side.”

“You have no idea how loaded that sentence is,” Kelly looked at Ian with half a smirk. This was why she hated diplomatic events. First, they bored her to tears. Second, she was not always the most diplomatic when things went sideways. So far Pinkerton and Ross had no idea that she was Ian’s boss or that Ian was the Mr. to her Mrs. Kelly was not about to undermine Ian’s position so she just waited for Ian to give her direction on the situation before them. It was nice not being in the spotlight or having to make a decision. Her marital status had no bearing on the mission so Kelly let it ride and waited.

Ian felt awkward a bit, she didn’t know everything… and was unaware of how truthful that statement was. “Yeah, they sure don’t know… and you think you can have fun love? Stay out of trouble? Not start an intergalactic struggle.”

Bordeaux, Yeoman/Diplomat

“Honey that is a lot to ask. How about you pick one,” Kelly said facing Ian. She had a coy look on her face as she rose up and kissed his lips softly. As Captain Shultz, she could no go around kissing Ian even if he was her husband during official away missions. As Kelly Shultz, the rules blurred. “Stay out of trouble or starting a galactic incident. The two are not mutually exclusive.” She did not give Ian time to respond but immediately took Ross’ arm and walked away.

“She seems like a handful,” Pinkerton stated rhetorically as he gestured towards the meeting room.

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8 hours later in the suite at the Parlour House

Kelly walked into the room and a smile spread even farther over her face seeing Ian there already waiting for her. “Hey you,” she said dropping several bags off at the door as she moved across the room to the desk Ian was sitting at. “How lucky can I be to have you here waiting for me,” she said happily pushing him back from the desk so she could sit on his lap. “You must really really like me. Not just really but really really,” she teased with a grin before pressing her lips to his. The kiss was simple and soft but the fact she had kissed him upon her arrival showed how much she missed him. The truth as Kelly liked to come home to someone.

“Well aren’t you as happy as a peach.” he said before her lips could grace his. Eagerly he pulled her close, letting the tender moment wash over him as he felt joy and happiness just to have this moment alone with her. On the ship they could be, but it was much harder to be open. Holodeck or quarters was where 90% of their intimacy stayed at. On this mission, with her just as his lover no propriety needed to be

“Well have I got some news for you,” Kelly leaned back and rested her head on his chest as she spoke. “I did some shopping for tomorrow. Ross and I spent the day in their version of a holodeck only it is like a holodeck on steroids. They combine all the special effects of an outdoor holodeck program but in an actual outdoor setting. There is bad weather, bugs, genuine breezes in the air,” Kelly had a tone of excitement and mystery in her voice as she spoke. “Ross’ program was amazing but I think you are going to love what I choose for you. So bright and early tomorrow we embark on a three-day excursion into fun.” The last part she said with enthusiasm only rivalled by a kid at Christmas.

Captain Kelly Shultz

“Are you sure about this? No turquoise mountain resort level shenanigans right? Though…” pausing he smiled widely. “I must admit, that is the best damn choice I ever made, no matter how odd it was at the time.” he said as he put his hand under her chin to let him look down at her off from his chest. “I wouldn’t have gained you, and there is nothing more in the world I want than you.” he said softly, leaning in to kiss her once more with the same hunger and passion she always brought in him.

Bordeaux, Yeoman/Diplomat