That's A Wrap

Posted on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 @ 4:52am by Lieutenant Alisha Reno & Lieutenant Commander Brandon Pratt

2,952 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Handling the Fallout
Location: Myogi Gymnasium
Timeline: Current

[ON]

Pratt checked his silver wrist chronometer. He was on a good cardio run in the Myogi gym and was almost ready to cool down. His music device was thumping loud, deep bass beats to earth synth-pop tunes energized him to give his total effort. Brandon's breathing was in sync with his jog, sweat forming now and then being wiped away with his white towel.

In the foreground, a holographic viewer was presenting the latest Federation Sports events in real-time. There was a Hockey Game playing that was of interest to Brandon.

At this time of the evening, the usual personnel came to exercise after their shifts. Some users on the Myogi tended to exercise before a change. Brandon was the opposite enjoying a good cardio jog to release workplace tensions and stress of the engineering day.

His eyes focused on the latest entrance into the gym. A long blonde-haired female, standing around 5'9" with what he could tell from his distance, had blue eyes. They struck him from this moment.

In his jogging, he continued to watch her as she entered, finding her way through the myriad of machines and devices all designed for Starfleet Officers to optimize their health. "I know this person. Where did I see her before?" The Engineer had a profound, familiar notion when he watched her as if he had seen her talking and expressing herself before. Familiar, but where?

"Alexis Silverstar!" Pratt exclaimed rather excitedly. "'Stardust Saga!!" The movie franchise was an incredible display of acting and cinematography as he remembered how well Silverstar handled that rifle!

Almost tripping on himself, he slowed down the treadmill as his heart rate only increased when slowing down. "This… This is wow." He mumbled, not believing what he was witnessing. "Calm down. Calm. Down." Brandon told himself. "You're going to come off as a freak if you hound her here!" He told himself.

It was thankfully, not a crowded location as Alisha cringed with the sound of who she'd been. That was one of the downsides of having been a rather well-known actress who had vanished from the silver screen, especially since she'd never truly bothered to do anything back then to make it difficult to recognize her. She was wearing a tight-fitting jogging outfit despite not having much that could really, truly bounce, but there it was. Her eyes flicked around the room, confirming that it was actually just her and the man on the treadmill before putting on the smirk-smile that had been her trademark for that particular film.

Casually, she tossed the towel over her shoulder as she began her easy confident walk, no... Saunter that she'd had in it too, since she'd already been recognized she had two choices, play to the fan, or try to deny that she was indeed Silverstar. She truly had loved what she'd been, so why deny who she was? "G'd afternoon." She said to the probable officer, the accent somewhat reminiscent of one from Australia, "Commander Terry Knight, Aferin Alliance, at yer service." She said with an easy grin, standing at her traditional kilter, weight on her left leg, "What gave me away?" She had to know.

Brandon had felt a jolt of shame flow through him. Pratt knew after watching various documentaries regarding stars and Hollywood. The Starverse of famed actors and actresses went to great lengths to stay out of the limelight. That’s if they wished. The deleterious torment of never having a moment of peace to oneself, suffice to say, an everyday life. Pratt had done the opposite. He had called Alisha out in his excitement. How lame that had happened. Brand was not that type.

Last reported that Alexis Silverstar had taken up a Starfleet career. This was the only information provided to the entertainment industry due to individual privacy and security matters. The theories went wild about what she would be doing in Starfleet. Where would she be sent? Would she be some inter-regional ambassador of goodwill?

“Honestly. I thought you were going to be some international ambassador of goodwill for the Federation.” Pratt had joked softly, trying to tame down the Stars entrance and her admission despite him forcing it out of Alisha.

Alisha started to laugh, the smirk-smile dissolving into a broad genuine one even as the accent faded away into her natural honey-smooth Texan semi-drawl, “Don’t worry about it, I’m not an actress on the screens anymore, and I wouldn’t necessarily trust myself to be a symbol anymore after that happened during my last movie.” A slightly dark look came to her eyes but vanished shortly thereafter, “Alisha Reno, at your service, my real name rather than what I called myself in that other life.” She tossed her towel onto another treadmill’s arm and leaned over it to set it up to her preference.

Brandon continued on his treadmill as he casually focused on the remnants of the Hockey Game, now in the triple-overtime period. A four, four score going to a shoot-out. “I am Brandon Pratt. The Chief of Engineering aboard our small ragtag bunch on the good Myogi here.” Pratt lent a renaissance-style bow forward mockingly of himself.

“May I ask what position you are… Alisha…… Reno…..” Pratt had to shake his head when he uttered those words again in disbelief.

She grimaced as she hopped onto the treadmill and started it slowly to go from a walk to a run, “Chief of Intelligence.” She admitted, hoping he didn’t have anything against that section, “Mostly an analyst, but I can be a sneaky one when I need to be, as you probably didn’t need to be told, given that you know my alter ego.” She chuckled at that, “It really is my own fault, I never did do much to keep from being able to be recognized back then. I thought I’d be doing that my whole life and since I could be a role model for kids growing up, what sort of role model hides who they are? You’re not the first to see through my… Disguise, you won’t be the last.”

She reached out in mid-jog to pat his hand gently, “You did enjoy my works, right? As long as people enjoyed them, it wasn’t a waste of my time back then.”

Brand broke into a full on grin. "Are you kidding me? I am astonished. You are an actor that went from full on entertainment industry towards that of being a Federation Intelligence Officer." Brandon had shook his head in disbelief. "I mean you have a lot on your plate. Let alone addressing Intelligence department." Pratt was awe struck being beside her.

"I am honored that you have joined us on the USS Myogi Lieutenant." Brand bowed in respect. "And Yes!!" Pratt gushed unrepentantly. "I seen every one of your series, and even shorts. There was a few blooper reels that were just amazing. And was that an ultra bow Electra 9809 tri-cobalt phaser rifle with bio ID imprint hardware with shooter Intel Adaptation Specs?" Pratt was well versed in the Stardust Saga, especially volume II: Terror From The Deep Dark.

Alisha had kept a straight face during the first part of his chatter, but couldn't keep it as he went into technical details, starting with a chuckle before having to step off the treadmill as it grew into a deep long laugh, but she nodded all the same, "Also known as: 'The Rifle.'" She couldn't help herself, "Do you know how many times we had to go through that scene before I could get through that whole description?" She propped herself up against the treadmill, snorting in laughter, "Forty-three times, because I could never get through it all, not with those children staring at me that way!"

She shook her head, "And then after I left, they cast Tiana Vellour in my place for number Three, and she blew it. She turned Terry Knight into a cringing ninny that couldn't seem to seal her own shoes by herself! Star actress indeed..." Alisha made a gagging noise while 'choking' herself. "And the bloopers were some of the most fun I had! Aside from the ride-along I had in the fighters. What we actually used were based off an old Trill design from a couple hundred years ago, just with some add-ons to try to make them look a bit different. But you wouldn't believe what they can do, they were very fun to be in, make you lose your lunch if you're not careful." She grinned widely, "Other than those and a couple other minor scenes, though, I did all my own stunts, as I'm sure you saw in the bloopers!"

Brandon immediately felt embarrassed. Suppose Reno had learned that he had an actual bedspread with the franchise licensed logos and pictures of her as Terry Knight. It might end up being incredibly creepy.

"There were rumors that you even had got to keep the corzanite gem of Ranthar the IV in the series." He ultimately nerded out, leaning to the side of the treadmill. Pratt didn't see Alisha. He saw Knight. His eyes sparkled and glistened as he intently scanned Alisha's every movement and laughter as she was in the movie and her other theatrical features.

"I… Wow. How do you keep your cover when you go undercover or have any intelligence to gather?" Brandon took his towel and wiped down his forehead, suddenly self-conscious of a Federation Star in the Myogi Gym. "I would have been the first to know if the Alisha Reno had boarded the Myogi. How did you get on here without being advertised." He paused a moment. The last thing she wanted was to be advertised.

"You mean if *the* Alexis Silverstar came aboard." Alisha chuckled, "And that's the trick right there. Sure, I didn't quite do much to disguise myself, but people don't know me as Alisha Reno and connect that with Alexis Silverstar." She knew she wasn't going to get much more of a run in this particular morning, instead contenting herself with some stretching, "Mostly what keeps me anonymous is that I don't go parading about flamboyantly. I'm just another officer on the ship, and people don't look so much at the face and body when they see me in the grey of Intelligence." She added a shrug into her routine.

"And you can be certain. I would never jeopardize you're being onboard or the crew. Your secrets safe with Pratt!" He crossed two fingers lamely while clutching his chest subconsciously as he gushed.

She responded with the titter of a giggle that was natural to her, but also was used when she was Terry Knight when she had her enemy right where she wanted them, then snorted in a laugh. This was truly a fanboy and despite his promise, would probably give her away at some point. BUT, she didn't really care if people knew who she was, it just depended on how they acted around her. If they started treating her like a celebrity, then she'd have to probably request reassignment. "Brandon," He hadn't given his first name, but she knew it anyways, "I've come to realize that I'm going to be recognized at some point anyways by as many people as can do it. I'm not keeping it a secret, or else I'd be looking like someone else entirely. But I'm sure you wouldn't recognize Tiana Vellour outside of her makeup, she wouldn't go anywhere without it on and perfect."

"And Tiana Vellour. Did you even have to mention that dinosaurs name!!! She couldn't even do half of her own stunts. She complained the WHOLE time apparently on the set. That is a diva. I heard that you took the entire cast and technical producers out for a resort holiday when it was a wrap?!" Brandon gawked.

This time Alisha couldn't resist laughing, "Not just the producers, anyone who had a part in it. Sure, it cost an arm, but it was worth it, seeing everyone who put their sweat, tears and yes, even blood into that movie. Besides, I've got a good investment guy who takes care of all that, plus the royalties and other income from my tours promoting 'Girardi's Tears', I'm not sure if you're into country-western music, but I did a promotion tour as Elena Girardi, it was a series of twelve concerts." She had another secret that she wasn't going to tell him... Just yet.

"I must admit. I am not a fan of country music." Brandon had resigned to taking drinks from his water bottle now, as he turned to cool down his internal temperature.

He unbudded his ears from the music system he had listened to and turned off the sports' holo-imager.

"But. I did enjoy your renditions of Midnight Moon and Sunshine." He tapped at the earbuds. They are even on my…." He blushed red, embarrassed. "Playlist. Now I feel like a complete… OMG… You must think that I am a convention chaser too!" Well. He had met Alisha at a convention, she did sign a few of his data disks of the box sets, but she wouldn't remember he was sure.

"I've got the guitar." She confirmed, "And I do still play it quite a lot. And yes, I do have that 'corzanite gem of Ranthar IV', along with most of the models of the ships and a replica of the rifle," Alisha flushed a slight red, "I do like having a momento or two or seven from things I liked doing. At some point, I'll have to invite you to my quarters to take a look if you were interested in seeing them. Really they just take up space in my quarters, I might even consider giving some of them away to a fan."

Brandon was awe-struck. "I.. Pardon. You mean you have some of the models from production?!" Like any artist, Reno, Alexis Silverstar, or Commander Terry Knight accumulated momentos from the large productions. "I would be in awe if you showed me. I mean. I don't expect you to open up your quarters to strangers." Brandon tried his best not to hyperventilate under the circumstances. "You mean you have them with you? The Gun?! You're SO lucky. Well. I mean. Like you are the Commander!!" He nerded with a snorting gush. Pratt is the type to be a hulk when warranted, gruff exterior and manly. Yet that went all out the window where the Stardust Saga was concerned.

"I couldn't bring the model of the Spectre, it was just too large, so it's back 'home' in Texas, but I do have Crucible and at least one of each of the fighters." Alisha shook her head with a smile, "Stardust was... Probably the most fun of my roles, got most of the goodies I kept from them all." Her smile transformed to a grin, "But I'm just a person, not a superhero. When I say I appreciate having a fan tell me that they enjoyed my movies, my music? You really have no idea."

She stepped up to him and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek, a genuine, heartfelt kiss, "It means that I made a difference back in the day, that it was all worth it, worth the accusations, the... 'Disgrace' at the end. Thank you, Brandon Pratt, truly."

Brandon had blushed bright red. He felt unprepared. For one he had just finished a jog, and he probably wasn't at his best to be hugged and let alone given a kiss on the cheek. The blushing made it more embarrassing, he felt tingles on his cheeks when he started to blush. It was a natural dead give away.

Shaking his head side to side, just astonished. "Umn. Yeah!" He broke into a dead grin. "No problems! I am, always glad. Always.." Pratt. Had turned toward the sanitizer wall unit near the bulk head in the room, only to slam his face in to the unit. Holding his head, the stinging was incredible.

"Unhhhhhh... I .... Am so Stupid!" He burst into laughter.

Alisha grimaced with a sharp intake of breath as he impacted the sanitizer unit, then giggled as she came around to his face and grabbed his hands gently to move them, looking at the damage, "No blood, don't worry, but you're going to have a heckuva bruise." She chuckled, "Maybe put some ice on it, or possibly a dermal regenerator? I could help if you'd like."

Pratt had felt that the cause of his lapse in coordination was due to the simple fact that he was around Commander Terry Knight.

“I promise. I am fine. Thank you. Lieutenant Reno.” Brandon had held the side of his head. “I always wanted a nice shiner at that side anyways. Highlights my cheekbones.” He lamely joked.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant. I will see you around, I am sure.” Brandon had stated, secretly shuddering at how he would look if there were others around. How embarrassing!

Alisha tittered a laugh, shaking her head. Men. Always trying to be so macho, but it was clear that she was definitely distracting him, "The pleasure was all mine, Lieutenant Pratt. I need to get ready for the day, an early set of briefing papers to review." She shrugged as she retrieved her towel, "Information never stops."

Brandon had left more than bruised ego, he felt completely ridiculous. He was an Officer and he had just melted.

[End]

Lieutenant (jg) Alisha Reno
Chief of Intelligence
USS Myogi

&

Lieutenant Brandon Pratt
Chief of Engineering
USS Myogi

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