The BLTS Archive - Admiral on the Bridge by Jungle Kittyjkitty@comcast.net --- Posted: 1/28/08 Acknowledgements: Beta by Wildcat. Ms. Brandt's gown by Lene Taylor. For more of my Trekfic, please visit http://www.invisibleplanets.com The Star Trek characters and universe are the property of Paramount and Viacom. This not-for-profit piece of fan fiction is not intended to infringe upon that. The copyright applies only to the author's original characters and creative content. Feedback is welcome. COPYRIGHT 2008 Jungle Kitty --- The turbolift came to a halt and Brandt reached for the controller that was barely attached to the wall. There were two buttons marked "OPEN/CLOSE" and "NOT THIS ONE" in large handwritten letters. She resisted the urge to press the forbidden one just to see what would happen. If "NOT THIS ONE" was a serious warning (which triple underscoring would seem to indicate), stumbling out of a smoking, crumbled turbolift in a seriously sexy dress wasn't the entrance she had planned. So she pushed "OPEN/CLOSE," the doors scraped apart and she stepped onto the bridge. To her surprise, the only occupants were two technicians who were at the engineering console--"at" in the sense that one was lying on her back with her upper body hidden inside the access hatch and the other was kneeling among a collection of tools. He looked at Brandt uncertainly. "Ma'am? Can I--" "I said hand me the tri-megalyte, dickhead!" came a muffled demand. "Shut the fuck up, Colter!" he responded. "There's a lady here. Sorry, ma'am." He stood and wiped his hands on his trouser legs. "Can I help you?" "I'm Admiral Kirk's..." She hesitated. Admiral Kirk's what? Lover? Date? Girlfriend? Roommate? She shuddered and rephrased. "I'm here to see Admiral Kirk." The woman on the floor pulled herself out of the hatch and sat up. A look passed between the two techs. Brandt stood a little straighter, silently daring them to smirk. "Captain Suzanne Brandt," she said firmly, "admittedly out of uniform, but the admiral is expecting me." That was a lie (sort of) but she *was* a captain and she did have a date with the admiral and sooner or later, he'd remember it. Therefore, "expecting her." "Sir, he's down in Engineering, sir." Colter scrambled to her feet. "With Mister Scott," her colleague added, snapping to attention. "Sir. Shall I escort you--" "As you were, both of you. I'm really not dressed for an engineering room in mid-refit, don't you agree?" He grinned. "No, sir. I mean, yes, sir. I mean, um, uh...nice dress. Sir. If I may say so." "Permission to push this jerk out the airlock, sir?" Colter asked. Thank goodness for Colter! Her intervention meant Brandt didn't have to slap down Truong for his impertinence. Not that she wasn't flattered. She chuckled. "No need. Please page the admiral to the bridge, Mister--" she glanced at his badge. "--Truong. It took him a couple of tries to find the intraship comm channel (another victim of over-specialization, Brandt thought) and he was noticeably relieved when Kirk's voice came back with "On my way. Kirk out." Brandt instructed the two technicians to carry on and once they were busy disemboweling the console, she stepped down to the main level and approached the center chair. Smiling, she ran her hand along the back and noted the absence of dust despite the surrounding clutter. Had Jim been here, wiping it down? No, of course not. He wouldn't give a damn if the chair was spit-shined or not, as long as it was his once more. In fact now that she thought about it, he probably hadn't even been to the bridge yet. He would have started in Engineering with the intention of working his way up. While she'd been primping for the latest official function at which his presence was required, he and Scotty had most likely been reviewing every switch and relay in loving detail. Well, let him, she thought. He's waited a year. And when he sees me in this dress, he'll have something else to review in loving detail. She shimmied her shoulders, feeling the slinky fabric move with her. After a quick glance to make sure Colter and Truong weren't watching, she slid into the captain's seat, crossed her legs and arranged the slit in her skirt to better display them. She leaned back and shivered as her bare skin touched the cool leather. Although definitely not the dress to wear in Engineering--deep rich blue, low-cut in the back and clinging everywhere else while somehow looking more classy than slutty--it was absolutely the thing to wear for a celebration--not that she'd known that when she bought the dress earlier in the week. But when she'd slithered into it this evening, she'd realized how clearly it conveyed everything she wanted Jim to know. Naturally she was happy for him but she wanted him to feel a little bit of regret--well, more than just a little bit-- A loud grating noise announced the arrival of the turbolift. She swiveled and faced Kirk as he stepped off. "Admiral on the bridge," she said with quiet excitement. Truong and Colter scrambled to their feet. "As you were," Kirk said. He looked at Brandt for a long moment. When he said nothing, she shifted uncomfortably. There was no pleasure or admiration in his gaze. She glanced at the techs and saw they were pretending to work, each with one ear cocked in Kirk's direction. Catching Kirk's eye, she nodded toward them. He went over to them and cleared his throat. "Give us the bridge, please. Leave the tools. We won't be long." Obviously disappointed, the techs made their exit. Once they were gone, Kirk smiled at Brandt and said, "You look lovely." Lovely? Just *lovely*? she thought. I look fan-fucking-tastic. And he looks-- She couldn't read his expression. He was as emotionally opaque as a Vulcan. "Jim, are you angry?" "Angry?" "Because I came looking for you." He waved his hand dismissively "No, no, not at all." His tone puzzled her. He seemed distracted, even unhappy. Was he worried about telling her the news? "Jim, I--" "Are *you* angry?" he asked. "That I forgot about the party?" "No!" she laughed. "I knew where you'd be! But it's getting late and we should put in an appearance." "You knew I'd be here," he repeated thoughtfully. "Of course. Well, I was starting to wonder if you'd decided to take her out for a test run..." His pained expression stopped her. "I won't be taking the Enterprise out. For a test run or anything else." "What do you mean?" "She's not mine." "But Nogura promised her to you!" "Well, he's changed his mind. And that's the end of it." "But I thought--I mean with Nogura shuffling his staff and reviewing assignments--when he called you in today--everybody thought--" "So did I. But he has 'other plans' for me. Chief of Fleet Operations." He smiled ruefully. "Nice title, isn't it?" She nodded, thinking Fleet Captain was a better one. "My first assignment is to recommend a new commander for the Enterprise. I came aboard to consult with Mr. Scott." She moved closer to him and placed her hand on his arm. She caught the faint smell of scotch. "I'm sure he had some excellent ideas," she said. "Maybe an entire bottle's worth?" He shook his head. "We were just getting started. I took a long walk first." "Oh. Well." She suddenly felt foolish. The dress she'd been delighting in moments ago now seemed like a mockery. She couldn't imagine walking into the reception, knowing everyone would be watching Jim for signs of anger or disappointment. "I'll let you get back to him--" "No. I'll get cleaned up and we'll go to the--reception, isn't it?" "Jim, we don't have to." "I want to." It was almost a command. He took her arm and led her to the turbolift. He looked her up and down, then kissed her softly. "Look at you," he whispered. "That dress is incredible. *You're* incredible. And everyone who sees us tonight is going to think only one thing--who's the lucky son of a bitch with her?" Together, they left the bridge with all flags flying. Falsely but flying. --- The End