A Rehearsal Of Fun

Posted on Fri Apr 1st, 2022 @ 11:48am by Lieutenant Alisha Reno & Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair

3,120 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Trade Troubles
Location: New Five Forward Lounge
Timeline: The night before "You've Got the Touch..."

It was late when Alisha burst into Jane’s quarters with her normal amount of aplomb and grinned widely at her girlfriend, “Sorry I’m late, Jane!” She managed to get out even as she nearly vibrated with all the caffeine she’d had throughout that day, “But it’s done! The lounge is all set up, but I need your help with ONE thing, if you’re willing?”

Jane had been lounging on her sofa, reading a technical publication while waiting for Alisha, who was indeed a few minutes late. She sat up when the energetic woman burst into her room and she smiled. “What do you need?” She knew the lounge was Alisha’s big pre-launch project but couldn’t fathom what Jane needed to do.

Grabbing her hand, Alisha basically dragged Jane out into the hallway to a chorus of her own manic giggles, and thankfully they were clear. But she waited until they were in the turbolift, “Well, what it is is that I had to commit to getting Elena to perform once we get to Utopia Planitia and… I need to practice at least once, but I also need someone to make sure I’m still in tune and that the acoustics are going to be good. And make sure that my song list is good enough, too, so you’re volunteered!”

“I’ll do my best,” Jane said as the turbolift reached its destination just outside the lounge. Her taste in music was fairly limited but she knew a thing or two about sound pitch and acoustics, even if that skill was usually applied to engine vibrations. “You’re sure we’ll be alone?”

"Ohh yeah, I haven't released the locks yet, because I needed to test it out." Alisha's eyes were bright, "And I'm going to put an acoustic field up that'll keep the sound from getting out as well. After all, I really don't want everyone knowing." She glanced left and right after they left the turbolift before making all but a dash to the new lounge, "I've really been thinking a lot about what to sing, I did have a pretty large selection from the albums, but I believe I got it narrowed down while we were putting this all together." She gestured around the spiffy room, "Even did some choreography planning, but I don't know if you wanted me to run through that as well or not!"

"Sure!" Jane said. Her eyes were drawn to the new lounge, which not many people had seen yet. "This place looks amazing! So much more fun than it was before! Though I'm still surprised they let you do this."

"Well, I may or may not have already gotten most of the old lounge torn down before Ichika walked in and found me out." Alisha flushed a pinkish red, "At that point, I basically talked her into that it was already started, and since I'd gotten my 'good friend Elena Girardi' to sponsor the project, that it would just make sense to finish it up. So she got a couple of engineers in to help speed it along."

"Now," Jane said, grinning as she took a seat, "I do believe you implied I was about to get a private Elena Girardi concert?"

"Of course." Alisha grinned right back as she shook out her arms for effect, "Now, mind you that it's just most of the set, there are a couple in there that Ah'm gonna surprise you with on the night of the concert." Her voice had changed just a bit, enough so that it didn't sound quite like Alisha's, but still had that Texan twang to it. "Ah'd need somethin' to make sure you come to the actual event, dontcha think?" She smiled sweetly, "So just imagine me with red hair and some freckles, still not sure what Ah'm gonna wear, but Ah've got some time for that one." Alisha grabbed a PADD and punched a few buttons, a holographic band flickering to life on stage and she bit her bottom lip gently, then nodded, "Choreography and all, Ah think." She slid a chair over to Jane, "Get comfortable, Suga'Cube, and enjoy!"

Jane settled in, smiled at the accent change, and got herself ready to enjoy a show.

Alisha took a deep breath and waved over at the band as she moved over to the bar and leaned against it casually, a glass of wine and bottle appearing suddenly as she reached to 'take a sip' and a guitar began to spiel, one of the women in the band speaking as if from a distance, "There are many people who drink in moderation with no problems, Social, moral, or medical, They have learned to enjoy liquor without letting it upset, The functioning of their body and mind, It relaxes you, makes you more congenial, This helps make a gathering cheerful and friendly..."

Then Alisha began, "It ain't my fault, so don't blame me..."

**************
Well over an hour later:
**************

A visibly more tired Alisha had gone through ten songs as she'd gone through most of her repertoire, but her eyes were still bright, voice still strong as the song transitioned into the final one, at least the one that she'd figured would BE the last one. A bright, coy smile crossed her lips as the bouncy song began.

***
"I know everybody wants you, that ain't no secret, Hey baby what's your status?, And tell me are you tryna keep it?" She made a motion as if stopping people, "Well, they can all back off, 'Cause I know what I want, And while I got your attention, Did I mention?" She portrayed a quizzical look on her face as she brought her hand up to cup under her own chin.

"If you got a kiss on your lips that you're lookin' for somebody to take... If you got a heart that ain't afraid to love, Ain't afraid to break, If you've got a Friday night free and a shotgun seat, Well I'm just sayin', I ain't got nowhere to be, So baby I'll take whatever it is you've got to give, Yeah, I'm callin' dibs, On your lips," She brought a hand up to her lips, "On your kiss," She blew a kiss at Jane, "On your time, Girl, I'm callin' dibs, On your hand," She flourished her hand, then placed it on her chest, "On your heart, All mine." She patted it twice in time to the last words.

Then she took a couple steps and leaned over Jane, "Make everybody jealous, When I take you off the market, And get my lipstick on your right cheek, 'Cause girl I got to mark it." She planted a quick kiss on Jane's right cheek, "Oooh, So they can all back off, 'Cause I know what I want, And while I got you listenin', Come on and show me what I'm missin', yeah." She backed up a step.

Jane made a show of catching in her hand the kiss that had been blown to her, and grinned as she was kissed on the cheek.

"If you you got a kiss on your lips that you're lookin' for somebody to take, If you've got a heart that ain't afraid to love, Ain't afraid to break, If you've got a Friday night free and a shotgun seat, Well I'm just sayin' I ain't got nowhere to be, So baby I'll take whatever it is you've got to give, Yeah I'm callin' dibs." A short guitar solo from one of the holograms began, Alisha did a slow dance over towards Jane, grabbing a chair and plopping it down next to her and sat.

"If you got a kiss on your lips that you're lookin' for somebody to take, hey." She leaned in, looking at Jane with a suggestive look and a head toss on 'hey', "If you got a heart that ain't afraid to love, Ain't afraid to break. If you've got a Friday night free and a shotgun seat," She bumped Jane with a hip, "Well I'm just saying I ain't got nowhere to be, So baby I'll take whatever it is you got to give, Yeah, I'm callin' dibs, On your lips." She placed her fingers on Jane's lips," On your kiss, On your time, Girl, I'm callin' dibs," She grabbed Jane's closest hand, "On your hand, On your heart," She placed their joined hands on Jane's chest, "All mine."

Alisha's voice grew stronger, "Yeah, girl I'm callin' dibs, On your lips," This time she brought their hands up to her own lips, "On your kiss, On your time, Girl, I'm callin' dibs, On your hand," She squeezed Jane's hand gently, "On your heart," She brought it to her own chest, "All mine!" She leapt to her feet, dragging Jane with her, twirling with her around a shared center of balance, "Yeah, I'm callin' dibs, on your lips, on your kiss on your time, girl
I'm just tryna make you mine, girl, Ooooh, Dibs!" They'd drifted to a stop at arms length from each other, Alisha's eyes dancing.

****
[ link to song is : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3lCzEOy5xs ]

The end of the song was punctuated by Alisha laughing as she pulled Jane back in from where she'd twirled with her at arms length and she held onto Jane for several seconds as she got the laugh out of her system before pulling back slightly, "So?" Her voice had turned back to her own, "What did you think?"

Jane took a moment to catch her breath, having not expected to be pulled onto the stage like that, nor to be laughing so gaily. She clutched Alisha's arm tightly for fear of falling from being a bit winded. "That was amazing!" Jane said as she caught her breath. "The set was great, and that last bit...I'd say it blew me off my feet but it pulled me on them!" She giggled. "Is that going to be part of the show too?"

"I'm not sure about that one, I just.. Got carried away there, wanted to have fun with it!" Alisha admitted, "And I intentionally left two songs out of it. One of them is a dedication to you, the other?" She buffed her nails on Jane's uniform, "Well, that one is a brand new song. One I've been working on for the last few months, so this'll be the official debut of it. I never did much in the way of songwriting, mostly covered older music by better-known artists, but wanted to put something of my own together finally."

"Well, I can't wait to hear them," Jane said. "One is dedicated to me?" she repeated, blushing at the thought of it. "Can't you tell me anything more?"

"Not on your life!" Alisha giggled, "If I did that, then you wouldn't need to come to the performance just to find out about it! I'm gonna be workin' my butt off to keep from being found out as being well... Me. Karen did her best to spill the beans at the wedding and I'm still pissed about that. If I could get away with it, I'd even have a holo-me in the crowd with you, but it would be far too tricky to figure that out."

"Not without spoiling it for more people," Jane agreed. "As for Karen, want me to kick her arse for you? Or next time she's in a flaming spiral with someone cute should I hang her out to dry?"

Alisha considered that for a moment, "No... I'll... Get over it. I don't think more than a handful of people heard, and most of them were holograms, maybe it wasn't a live transmission and the whole thing was just a reactive recording? I'll just adjust her pilot's chair when she's not looking then get her out on an emergency launch sometime."

Jane thought further about the idea. "A hologram might be too hard, especially if someone were to interact with you. But you could fake leaving maybe? Insert something into the transporter log that looks like you beamed somewhere on Utopia Planitia during the concert? Have it register an hour or so into the concert though, so it isn't a 'Peter Parker disappears right before Spider-man shows up' sort of situation."

"I've already got an appointment for a detailed briefing on Mars along with Alistair, and he's going to cover for me, eyewitness and all, along with my commbadge. Oh, and I'll look far different than I do now, so unless someone is well and truly paranoid, they shouldn't recognize me with red hair and freckles. I'll also be using cheek padding, green contact lenses and no one here has seen me dressed the way I'll be dressed, though that reminds me... Jeans or a dress?" She cocked her head to the side as she questioned Jane.

"Good question," Jane said, stepping back to look at her girlfriend head to toe. She tried to imagine her in different clothes, thinking seriously about how she might look in a jeans outfit or a dress for the concert. "I want to say jeans. I don't know much about this style of music but I know jeans are part of the style. But maybe you can do some kind of wardrobe change midway through? Is there a spot in the set where you can disappear somewhere for a moment for a quick-change?"

"I think I can arrange for that, maybe even do it mid-song." Alisha mused, "I'll take a look at my set list again to find the right one to do it with, maybe even add one in if I can't find the right one. Easiest would be to go from jeans to a skirt, boots to heels." She smiled brightly, "Taking the jeans off will be the thing that takes the most time, but I can probably handle it in under sixty seconds! Did I tell you that at one concert, I had to do a grand total of five costume changes? That one was hectic, because three were mid-song, two of them were in a span of two minutes in ONE damned song!"

"Why didn't you use holograms?" Jane asked. "Or a transporter? Surely you can work technology into a quick change."

Alisha gasped in mock horror, one hand fluttering to her chest as if having a heart attack, “Holograms? A transporter? Dear God, Jane, Ah am an actress, a performer! What would the joy of the audience be if I just well… Cheated like that?” She waved as if shooing something away, “Oh sure, there are a lot of singers and even actors out there that’ll use that stuff, but not me, I’m a purist! Besides, out there undercover-like, using those methods for longer than a few minutes is too risky, a slip up can leave you, well… Naked in more ways than one.”

“Maybe I don’t mind that,” Jane quipped with a wink. “But I’ve spent my career relying on technology, and mum’s first lesson was to check your kit before you use it, because you won’t let it fail when it’s your life, or humility, on the line. I think I could make a holo-dress with a near-zero failure chance. Now you’ve got me thinking,” Jane said, tapping her index finger to her chin.

"But not for my performance." Alisha grinned widely, "I can be an old-fashioned girl and besides, the magic of costume-changes in mid-song always wows the audience! Set up a back-lit screen over there so that I'm silhouetted in the process to tantalize the mind, as I said, picking the right song to do it to so it makes sense." She let the shoulder of her uniform jacket slip from her shoulder, "God, it's been too long since I've done something to drive an audience crazy, a couple years at least."

"That feeling of knowing your audience is thrilled by something you've done," Jane said, "it's one of the best feelings there is. I remember watching an audience camera feed after winning the Alpha Centauri Grand Prix in '87. I was in second for most of the race, but in those last few seconds I managed to eke an extra few hundred kay-pee-aitch from my engine and overtook Casen jav Vush. I had my pit captain send me the audience reaction as I flew into winner's circle. It was...I've not felt that in years." She sighed.

"You understand." Alisha agreed, "Thanks for bearing with me on this, I just really want to make everyone happy with this concert. It's not really my job, but as you've pointed out, it's fun to do it right."

"Are you by chance a perfectionist, Miss Reno?" Jane joked. "Because I think you have this down perfectly."

“A perfectionist? Moi?(Me)” Alisha asked, flourishing one hand over her chest as if in shock, “Oh no, Sugarcube, a perfectionist cringes and berates themselves if they make an error! I am that next step above that! I’ll pre-beat myself up before I even attempt anything to make a mistake, that way when it happens, I don’t break character.” She smiled brightly, “After all, perfection is only a means to an end and in this particular case… Avoiding fanboys and girls finding out that I am indeed me!”

"That's a good angle!" Jane said with a laugh. "In my experience, anything short of perfection meant an increased risk of being disincorporated atoms across a starfield or a smear on the landing deck." She chuckled but it trailed off as her mind went to a much darker place than she intended. "Sorry about that." She smiled to try to hide a small amount of moisture in her eyes.

"Don't be." Alisha reached up and stroked Jane's cheek gently, "I'll admit I can't understand as well as you can the loss of someone you care about, but if you'd like, I can pretend I do and dance a jig to show that I really do care?"

That made Jane laugh. “Thanks, but I’m alright. How about instead you keep me warm tonight, so I sleep well before the big launch?”

"Of course! I wouldn't miss snuggling with you for worlds." Alisha grinned devilishly, "It's my favorite part of every day I get to do it."

"Your favourite part, you say?" Jane said, grinning back. "Well, then let's get going. Back to my quarters?"

"Oh yes, Sugarcube, your quarters are definitely closer."

---

Mission Post By:

Lieutenant (JG) Alisha Reno
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Myogi

and

Lieutenant (JG) Jane Sinclair
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Myogi

 

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