He really didn't want to do anything that could hurt her chances at healing. And he really wanted her to be able to clearly thing her choices through. Nic just hoped she would and could. Again with that disappointment hitting him but he nodded without a change in expression. "Offer's on the table if ever you want to avoid the Rec," he said as he grabbed his cap and put it on. He tilted his head towards the door after and smiled at her. "Come on. Pretty sure your friends are worried about you."

[To Rec Dec]

[From Rec Dec]

Nic kept a hold of her hand, fingers lightly soothing over the back of Harry's hand. When the lift stopped he drew her down the hall to his quarters and coded in, guiding her in with a hand to her lower back. He let go of her hand in the middle of the living area to walk over to a console and punch something in. Music started, the kind that could be slow danced to and then he walked back over to her and offered his hand to her. "May I have this dance?" A slow smile spread on his face. Was this normal enough for her? She seemed to need some sort of thing that would help her get past things. "I figure this might help a little, Harry," he said softly.

---> Rec Dec

Curious to see what Nic had in mind and more importantly whether it would land her in trouble as she had enough of that already. Once the lift had stopped he would then lead her down the hall to his quarters and usher her inside where he would then deposit her in the middle of his living area. Ok, so it's not the bedroom so at least that's not on his mind she thought to herself as he set some easy listening music playing before asking her for a dance. She would laugh partly at the silliness of it all and partly out of relief that he hadn't been luring her into bed, because as much as she'd admired his bare chest she didn't think it would be a good idea for them to do that just yet "you're bonkers you know that right?...and yes, I'd love to" she said with laugh as she took his hand and moved in close to dance with him.

Within a few minutes of stepping into his arms, Nic would be able to feel her starting to relax as she slowly moved in time with the music "You know this is probably the first time a guy has ever invited me over to his place for a dance without it being a euphemism for something else...which probably says more about my poor taste in men before joining the Navy" she softly spoke with the class of man she was attracting having dramatically improved since setting foot on the Hermes with even Grit having treated her fairly well...or at least to begin with.

She should have figured Nic wouldn't try and get her in trouble. He had just remembered the other night had brought that smile to her face that had literally made his heart skip a beat when it first appeared. When she took his hand and moved closer, he slipped his arms around her only after giving her knuckles a light brush of his lips. "Am I? Or you just haven't had someone woo you like this before?" The grin said he was teasing as they started to move with the music. "Hmm, woo is such a old fashioned word," he said, questioning his own usage of it.

She relaxed in his arms and he was enjoying the way her body pressed against his, arms around her waist. "An euphemism? I guess dancing between the sheets...," he trailed off and smirked. "That might come later," he added and the way he said it seemed to mean another time, not their current time. "Besides I really would like to get to know the woman in my arms a bit better before really getting to know her intimately." One arm rose, fingers brushing lightly against her temple as he brushed her hair back. "From what I see, this ship might be the one bastion of good manners. Gods know that the Heimdall had its share of rotten to the core assholes. That's why a lot of them called me a boyscout, I have my honor and refuse to go against it. I am here to save our lives and make the Empire loose lives."

His hand drifted down her back and came to rest where his other was at her lower back. "I wouldn't mind you being my girlfriend, Harry. Right now I just want you to be my friend who happens to be a girl. The other stuff muddies the water going to fast." He went silent a few minutes while they continued to move. It seemed so easy to dance with her, like she knew exactly how he was going to move. His head lowered at that point and he rested the side of it against hers.

”Uh-huh thats the one...though most of them were more blunt about what they wanted” Harry softly replied as she moved to the music, enjoying the feel of his hands on her slender waist and the kiss he’d placed upon her knuckles with it being a far cry from I think you’re dead fit Harry, a knowing smile coming to her face as he hinted that he would like to use that particular euphemism himself once he got to know her a little better.

As he spoke of the Hermes being the last bastion of good manners and the behaviour of the Heimdall crew, Harry would give a slight nod before speaking herself “I spent my first year of service on Etna, it was not a good place for a woman to serve...the only way you got a promotion, or a spot in a combat flight or even the cockpit you needed to sleep with your superior officers, and sometimes they wouldn’t even ask you first...needless to say putting a lieutenant into the hospital because he wouldn’t take no for an answer didn’t go down very well” she said recalling how she had been ostracised by the entire station as a result.

As Nic spoke of how he would like her to be his girlfriend Harry’s heart would skip a beat as she shyly smiled up at him ”Well...maybe you should ask me sometime...we can take things slowly if you want to get to know me better” she quietly suggested as she gently rested her head against his shoulder.

Nic would have told her that being told she was in good shape was the weirdest and worst come-on in the history of come-on's if she had mentioned it. Then she mentioned her first posting and a jolt of rage ran though him at that. The only indicator of that was his arms tightening around her before he forced himself to relax. "I keep on finding things I didn't know that makes me wonder why the hell I enlisted." Alas, not ever ship was the Hermes and he even came from one where the ranking commanders allowed that to happen.

"I can only say that I've never done anything like that and I am absolutely horrified you had to go through that." Nic was but his people were very progressive towards the opposite sex and always had been. He admired her bravery and courage to fight against it when the military did not promote individual thinking. And the simple fact is, he said she said only went so far when rank was concerned. What a cluster-fuck.

His soft chuckle would hit her ear, a deep tone that let her know he was amused at her suggestion. But then he considered it a little more, going on autopilot to think it over. She wasn't wrong at all and just because he asked didn't mean she would accept or that they had to go in hot and heavy. He lifted his head up as one hand rose to cup her face, thumb lightly brushing over the ridge of her cheek. "Would you accept, knowing we've only really known each other a few days?" It felt like longer already.

"I know you wouldn't" Harry softly responded, feeling his arms momentarily tightening about her as he gave voice to his fury and disgust of how Etna station had operated and treated it's female personnel amongst whom she'd been a member "...and to be fair they cleaned house last time the Hermes docked so it's a lot better than it used to be, but it was pretty awful there and I'm glad I left when I did" she continued, though she suspected that there would still be those out there that had slipped the net...for now at least.

Despite initially chuckling at her comment, Nic would drop into a contemplative silence, clearly realising that she was only partly joking when she'd made the suggestion with him obviously finding some merit in the idea as he tenderly cupped her head his hands and almost cautiously asked if she would actually say yes if he asked the question with them having only known each other for a few days. "Hmm I might" she replied with a mischievous smile, with it clearly being her turn to do a little teasing before asking a question of her own "Would you ask, knowing what little you already know about me? After all you've seen more of my skeletons than most" Harry said as she looked up into his eyes.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:35, Wed 10 Mar 2021.

Nic had thought over her words and thought pretty deeply in that silence between them. He considered their first meeting. A desperate woman at the end of her figurative rope and he could see she needed help. He was a good guy though and it had been natural for him to want to help anyone. She was a pilot that he didn't know at that point. Then the next few days found them both together quite frequently. It had started with him checking on her and quickly changed to helping her try to push past her problems.

"Well," he began, hesitating a moment with a glint in his eye that said he was about to say something outrageous. "... asking you to be my girlfriend is better than saying you have a smashing ass, lets go out." The corner of his mouth twitched at that. "And everyone has skeletons. I might know a lot more than most of your friends by now about you. I mean, I want to be there for you and I find your smile the best part of you. Its like watching a flower bloom when you do." His thumb lightly brushed over his lower lip at those words. "Will you, Harry?" He had stopped moving to the slow music, eyes locked on hers.

At some point they had stopped dancing and instead were simply standing in one another’s arms as they softly spoke to one another with the tempo of Harry’s heart slowly increasing as he spoke ”Well I do have a smashing ass” Harry joked with a laugh that said she was trying to hide how nervous she was. Feeling very much like a teenage girl again she would smile in response to Nic’s comment about it being her best feature with him then asking her if she would be his girlfriend ”I’d really like that...um...we’re going to take things slowly right? And we’ll keep it quiet for now” she nervously asked, praying that she wasn’t being silly and rushing into anything. After a few moments of nervous indecision she then lean up and give him a single tender kiss.

Nic snorted a laugh at that response, smiling down at her. "Ah there it is," he said softly as she did smile. He had expected her to be a bit leery of him asking. Hell he had really surprised himself in asking that question and not unlike her, his heart had sped up a little with his own nerves making a rare appearance. She could feel him relax when she agreed. He nodded slowly. "At the pace you feel comfortable with Harry and I see no reason to let others know. Eventually they might figure it out but they wont hear it from me."

She utterly surprised him when she leaned up to give him that single kiss and his breath caught in his throat a moment before he sighed, smiling. "Damn Harry," he murmured in appreciation. He could not stop himself, he lowered his head down too return the favor. Lips lightly brushing against her own before he pulled back with reluctance.

With Nic giving her a kiss of his own Harry would step back with her cheeks flushing bright pink in response "Oh wow...I really didn't things going this way when I got up this morning" she softly said with her totally caught off guard by the recent turn of events and feeling more than a little giddy over the idea of Nic being her boyfriend. Though with him agreeing to take things slowly and not to go announcing it to the world, things weren't liable to change that much between them other than the fact that they would no longer be kidding themselves that they could remain friends and that Harry now had someone she could have a quiet kiss and a cuddle with, and make her feel pretty again. More importantly she had someone she felt she could trust and talk to about her problems that wouldn't judge her or simply dismiss what she said as being foolish as had been the case for so long.

Lightly placing her fingertips against her still tingling lips she would shyly smile up at him before lowering her hand and speaking to him "So...um...thank you, you certainly know how to take a girl's mind off of things...I...um...I should probably go and see Roy now, but...um...perhaps we could go for that run tomorrow morning, if you like?" she asked, with her being in a better mood than when she'd walked into his quarters.

He gave her a rather wry smile. "Neither did I." He was entirely surprised by every event that lead up to this moment. And he paused to think about it. He was ok with it. She kept doing things entirely not expected with the flush and the shy smile and his heart did skip again. "I try," he said with a smile at her. He had taken her mind off things and his own was all over the place.

A nod was given to her then. "We can... but...," he hesitated a moment. "If you want to show him you can change Harry, get presentable. Shower and get a clean and neat uniform on. Presentation is everything. Look, if you want to make it back to flying, you have to prove to him and the rest that you can be a team player, I bet. And I will always be here for you Harry if you need to talk or anything else."

As Nic advised her to go and smarten herself up so as to make a good impression and prove that she could be team player Harry would give a slight shrug of her shoulders, clearly unconvinced that that would make things any better ”That's not going to be easy when the rest of the team refuses to play with you...or they stuff you in a back room to rot” She replied in a bleak voice that said she wasn’t holding out much hope that they would ever allow to fly again ”I’d better get going, I’d hate to be late for my bollicking...I’ll...um...probably see you later” she quietly said suspecting that she would need someone to talk to by the end of the day.

Once Nic was finished with her, Harry would take his advice and grab a quick shower and a fresh uniform before heading towards the rec dec to see if she could track down the SM and get it over with before she lost her nerve and put it off entirely.

——> Rec Dec
This message was last edited by the player at 18:26, Thu 11 Mar 2021.

Nic frowned at her slightly. "We have a demon on board Harry. The only reason I didn't pull a weapon on him is because no one else was reacting to him in fear or anger. And I doubt he had a happy welcome at first. If he can do it, you can, treló korítsi." She needed a pep talk and honestly he might need to speak to her friends to see how they could help her. The worst part is he had to let her do this.

Taking a step towards her, he reached out and curled his fingers around the back of her head. "No matter what happens Harry, you do what you need to to get back to flying which means a lot I am sure but I will be here for you." He pressed his lips lightly to hers and then dropped his hand and made a shooing motion, smiling at her.

After she left, he headed down to the hanger to check over his fighter, make sure everything was good and to clean up the nose so he could actually legitimately paint something on it.

[To Hanger Dec]

---->>>> From Hanger Dec

 Lizzy was covered in paint and after she returned everything to the QM locker she walked onto the Officer's Dec and headed for her quarters.  Once inside her quarters she would remove the paint covered uniform and then jump into the shower and get cleaned up. Once she was done she would think about Nic, yeah she blew up at him but she meant every word and was so worried about Harry. Lizzy hoped Harry would come through and the SM would help her rediscover herself was the best word she could come up with.

 Once she was dried off and dressed in a clean duty uniform she got out her comms, checked it and then sent Izzy a comm text: " Hi I am done with my nose art I am in our quarters, if you are busy going to get some food then maybe hit the Simms again, Love you and hope things are going well in SEC. Love you Lizzy xoxoxoxoxo."

 Lizzy got Izzy's message and decided to head to the Rec Dec and get something to eat and if Izzy was still busy she would hit the Simms again. Lizzy then checked on their fish and fed them. She then headed out of her quarters to the Rec Dec.

--->>> to Rec Dec

Nic entered his quarters and started cleaning up what minor mess he had left. Once everything was back to military clean he turned to check what he had to eat or could make since he wasn't feeling up to the Rec dec. So a quick sandwich would do which he made and took to his desk so he could continue to read up on his fighter.

<===Hangar Dec

Nikki entered her quarters and put her paints away.  Taking her grungy painting clothing she got ready to take a shower and sent discarded clothing to be cleaned.  In less than 15 she had showered and cleaned up.  Now putting on a clean pair of off duty duds she put more stuff away and cleaned up the billet.  Last thing she wanted was her quarters unclean and stinking.  On the wall in the bedroom were her flight uniform with boarding armor.  Above the couch on mag hooks supporting a small shelf were things and art projects Haley had.  On the wall near the main billet door and kitchen were her guitar (plus strings) and the Victa Mitch got her with extra strings, as well as a few photos and a framed clip of Haley and Roll all dressed up for a ball that was shown in a flyer news in the bodega in the civie dec.  Now she was ready for a light late lunch (being after 1pm or so).  After she was going to pick up Haley.


===> to Rec Dec

Nic finally set the padd down and got up, stretching the stiffened muscles in his back and then rubbing his hands over his face. A quick look at the time said how late it was and he turned, snatched up his cap and walked out of his quarters. Slipping the cap on, he headed to the lifts and took it down to the Hanger Dec again.

[To Hanger Dec]

  <<<<<<<  shoey, meari, Zob from SEC  after  Non coms.

 Shoey had let Tucker and Minnet  go..  the  doors  hiss open , the three  walked  down the corridor.. Max asked,..something  wrong  shoey?

 yeah?  seems ;like  every  box  of  fruit  we get from somewhere, was  some  rotten pieces in side...

   they found Frost's   Quarters, Shoey used his  card...

 Max?   Stiffy?... no one  comes in this room unles its  Frost  or  one of us  with a card?..... if you see  any  Heimdall folks  come off that elevator, don't say anything, let the  come in... might save us some trouble..

 and they entered..

Meari take the extra Bed Room and closets ..Zob you check the  bend  and  furniture  in the   sitting area, I do the bathroom and the Kitchen,,

---->>>>> From SEC

  Meari followed Shoey to Frost's Quarters, and after they entered Shoey asked her to check the extra bedroom and closets, Meari smile dan d replied, " You got it Shoey my pleasure."

 Meari then began carefully searching the closets, looking for hidden anything, she searched thoroughly but minimized damage for now.

 Meari walked out of the spare bedroom with three items, a shoulder patch from the Hades in a plastic bad, with a pair of  combat awards. Then she also found, a small book, there is a picture of Lady V in 'bathing Suit' like   uniform, it  is  signed by Lady V   with an added note "...from Humanity's  Heroine  to  another hero , keep  fighting" and lastly she found a   packet of  pills, that have a demonic mark on them. When she comes out she shows Zob the Demonic mark on the pills.

Zob who was searching around stopped and took the pills from her and he shook his head, "Its a demonic aphrodisiac, its used to drug and rape women... highly addictive substance and very illegal"

 After Zob tells her what the pills are and what they are for, Meari's eyes turn grey and she replies," Oh I hope they let me 'talk' to that." Meari says several unknown words in Ancient Udenese, she stops and says," Sorry translation would be lowlife mother fucking bastard is the closest I can get." Meari will then wait for everyone to be finished she really wanted to be the one to try and get information out of Frost and she really hoped he wouldnt talk because she wanted to test her medic skills as she would torture him for as long as she could keep him alive. On Uden sexual crimes where considered the worse crimes you could commit except complete treason of course and with the Udenese the punishment always was tailored to the crime, and usually the victim would get to decide how the rapist would die.

Nikki and Haley chatted as they made the way to their billet.  Haley was nearly all rapid fire chattering about the snittens.  she liked them both, and both a bit different in color.  Genghis in his all black coloring made him look very regal and commanding, and Katrina with her dark purplish blue tones gave her the touch she needed to be to look like Czarins Catherine the great.
Eventually they got inside.  cleaning up as they came in Nikki helped unload Haleys backpack and check assignments.  Haley went and washed up real good.  As usual Nikki allowed her to bring a toy, this time a jump rope.  Almost ready to leave Nikki got the victa to play.  both then headed out to go to the Rec Dec.

===> Rec Dec