Hockey Night On Dreadnought

Posted on Sat Mar 15th, 2025 @ 12:57pm by Lieutenant Commander Victoria Aries & Lieutenant Commander Ferrand Beaulieu

4,287 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Let That Be Your Last
Location: Holodeck 14

Victoria jumped over the boards and back onto the ice as one of the forwards on the team came into the zone and shot out like a bullet. Finding enough people aboard Dreadnought for an actual game of hockey had been tough, even just to make two less-than-full teams of 8 forwards and four defensemen, with someone willing to play in the goal for each and a third person who would sub in for either team in case of injury. The fact that there were three women playing was even more shocking, though two of them had only played in high school.

The plus side was that she was getting one heckuva lot of ice time and she'd made good on it. The score of the makeshift game was Torpedoes 6, Nameless 6 (the names had been chosen by the team captains and the opposing team's captain hadn't had any good ideas) and Victoria was sitting on three points already: Two goals and one assist, with time winding down in this the third 14-minute period. She'd logged twenty-three minutes already, but no one had begrudged her a single second given her experience in the past. Of course, she wasn't in the right shape for these sorts of minutes, despite trying to keep in form.

She tapped her stick on the ice signaling her d-man that she wanted the puck, but he sent it towards one of her linemates, who immediately flicked it over to her as she caught her stride and carried it over the line before she had to brace for the impact of one of the other players and lost her footing, not before pushing the puck deep into the offensive zone. She saw the grin on the man's face as he pushed himself to his feet and skated off towards the play and got to her own skates as if nothing had happened, but the ache in her ribs told her that she'd definitely have another bruise from that one. The puck squirted out past the blue line again and she was back in pursuit as she glanced up at the scoreboard. Forty-eight seconds remaining in the third period.

One of the defense collected the puck once more and took it behind the net as she came back around, feet constantly moving to maintain speed and headed back towards the opposing blueline. This time, the puck landed directly on her tape and she saw that same opponent coming back for her, clearly intent on again flattening her against the board. With a flick of her wrist, she flipped the puck on it's edge and gathered it on the flat of her puck blade and with precise timing as he committed to the hit, cut in and jumped, over the leg that was flung out in desperation as he tried to adjust, and with a single spin went over it, reaching out with her stick to keep the play onsides as she came down with no one between her and the goalie.

The puck went back to the ice and she settled it as she put on a burst of speed and went wide, looking back to see if she had support coming, which she did, but they were being covered so it was her one on one against the goalie. Her eyes went back to the netminder and she put on even more speed as she cut in, spraying ice and stickhandling while he maintained being squared up to her, challenging from the edge of the crease and starting to move back. She faked a shot, then drew the puck out ahead of herself, forcing the goalie to commit to the shot and sliding up against goalpost. She then pulled the puck back between her legs and in a deft move took the shot towards the far goal post, right past the desperate swipe of the goalie mitt and into the back of the net.

Lights shot on behind the net and she raised her hands as she let her momentum take her into the boards as her teammates on the ice raised their own and swarmed her. "Great hattie!" one of the other girls shouted in her ear as she got a hug from her and the group broke, slapping her on the back as she skated over to the bench for the line of teammates ready to congratulate her. Her eyes went over to where she'd seen Ferrand sitting before, flashing him a grin marred by the mouthguard as she pumped her gloved hand at him.

While ice hockey may have not been of interest before, it kind of became one when he started dating someone with a background in it. Victoria had skill there was no denying that by any means, though for a pilot the stars were where he felt at ease. Seeing her celebrations Ferrand smiled, waved. He hoped being here would show that if its important to her, it is to him, even if he didn't fully understand the intricacies of the sport.

For the last thirty-five seconds of the game, Victoria was sitting on the bench while her team played a purely defensive game even while the other team pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, but to no avail. The final buzzer sounded as the puck was once again drifting towards the open end of the ice and both teams emptied from the benches to give the post-game congratulations and friendly formalities. She even gave the one that had given her a particularly hard hit a tap on the shins with her stick and a pat on his shoulder with a smile to let him know she didn't hold it against him and the truth was, she didn't. It was part of the game.

As she skated away from the lines, she angled herself over towards where she'd seen Ferrand and shook one of the gloves off into her armpit and gave him a few hand gestures. Three flashes of '5', with directional gestures that told him that she'd be out in about fifteen minutes and where she'd meet him. Especially because the first thing she needed to do was to take a shower. The game was played on ice, yes, but she'd worked up a hard sweat.

15 minutes, that was fine, it was enjoyable to watch her do her thing, at least he had a little bit more of an understanding of this sport over her main role in engineering. She was good but he'd gotten that vibe from how she spoke of the sport before and her participation in it.

It was actually seventeen minutes, because she'd forgotten just how long it took to take off all of the gear and especially the skates. All of it went into a duffel bag that she had transported to her quarters and she'd just showered quickly, not bothering to dry her hair all the way, but leaving it free to air-dry. She wore a fresh version of the jersey she'd worn during the game, the name 'Aries' on the back with her traditional number on it and the image of a sparkling photon torpedo on the front to indicate which team she'd played for. It was large enough that it covered most of the pleated skirt, but did nothing to hide her legs or the stockings she wore with them. Her eyes flicked around the designated area that she'd tried to direct him to, looking for Ferrand.

Ferrand was a little late to that area but he didn't keep Victoria waiting long, at least when he snapped out of his little daydream moment. He walked to the area she'd indicated and rounded the corner just as it seemed she was on the look out for him. "Hey." He spoke with a smile, taking in the view of what she was wearing, she looked really good.

Ferrand was a little late to that area but he didn't keep Victoria waiting long, at least when he snapped out of his little daydream moment. He walked to the area she'd indicated and rounded the corner just as it seemed she was on the look out for him. "Hey." He spoke with a smile, taking in the view of what she was wearing, she looked really good.

Without hesitation, she bounced towards him and threw her arms around him in a bear hug, even as she grasped a hockey puck in one of her hands, "Hey yourself!" She stated jubilantly, "They gave me the game puck, because of the hat trick! Not my first one ever, but still, always exciting to get one!" She gave him a big smooch on the cheek, then released him and presented him the small rubber disk, with images like the one she wore on her chest and a ghostlike creature side by side to commemorate the game, "I think dinner is in the cards for this one, isn't it?"

He wrapped his arms around her once the hug was made, the kiss made his smile broaden. He looked at the disk she was showing him, an honour indeed to get it at the end of a game. "I think dinner is a good idea, anything in mind?" This was her moment, so anything was on the cards at this point.

"Fooooooooood!" Victoria crooned, "Don't care what, don't care where, but so long as it doesn't take a long time, or else I'm going to slather you with ketchup and mustard just to buy you some time to feed me!" She winked at him as she hooked her arm into his to get him moving along.

This girl was hungry and needed food so it was in his best interest to get her some. "How about we stop off at a place, pick something up and eat at home where we can relax?" Eating out was an option to, and he'd do it if she wanted, but wanted to give her the choice first.

"Works for me!" Victoria half-skipped a couple times to get their momentum up, "Burgers. Barbeque bacon burger, double patty, onion rings on the side." She swallowed hard as just the thought of that made her want to start to drool, "I just skated over four miles, so I've earned the calories." A laugh escaped her and it almost seemed manic, but her adrenaline levels were also still high from the game as well as the exhilaration of the win. She wasn't afraid that he'd think she were a glutton, if he thought that, it was his ordeal and she wouldn't be bothered by it in any case so long as she kept her figure for him.

He chuckled hearing her order, and it was an 'order' and a half. "Well we better go get you that then." He knew of just a place, a small burger joint on the Promenade that was more of a order and pick up than eating in, but it was popular amongst the pilots for that very reason. The walk itself was only a small one but when they arrived Ferrand ushered the hunger forward to the counter, standing behind her, his hands on her sides. "This lady needs feeding, urgently. Order away."

"I need, and I do mean NEED, one of your double barbeque bacon burgers, extra bacon, onion rings, chili-cheese fries and the largest Shirley Temple you can make as a to-go order." She'd added more to her order even as her stomach rumbled clearly. "Plus whatever he wants, of course." She clamped her arms down on his hands. He wasn't going to get away from her now and she loved the attention he gave her. If only it were more than just this sort of attention... She smacked that thought on the head with a shovel, then proceeded to dig a grave to bury it in her mind with a mental sigh.

He ordered a simple burger and fries, a chilled drink to go which was a far smaller meal than hers but he'd not just done what she had on the ice. He felt the clamping down on his hands by her arms, he liked it, even if it prevented him from shifting his hands to slip all the way around her. "You going to have room for that or you thinking left overs for tomorrow?" Pilots often joked about how some meals were bigger than the persons eating it, especially one of the female pilots where some of the smaller munitions were bigger than her.

"I wouldn't dally over your own too long, else it might come walking over to me." Victoria chuckled, his lack of hands meaning that she'd been able to slip her fingerprint over the scanner to pay for the meal. That didn't bother her one bit either, "And while we're waiting for them," She tugged him over to the side where the pickup window awaited them, "You can tell me if that new fighter's performing as well as she should, or if I need to make some alterations to her."

"I have my first test flight scheduled tomorrow." Ferrand replied after being led to the pick up window by his trapped arms. "If there are any problems, I'll be sure to raise them with the manufacturer. I'm sure it comes with new build warranty and guarantees of service." He joked with a grin. He was looking forward to it though, this craft was different to the run of the mill, off the production line craft.

Victoria had personally helped build it.

"SHE does have the warranty, unless you crash her in which case a suitable punishment can be arranged." She finally released his hands and spun in place to face him, her voice coming down to something far more personal , "And let me know when you're going out? I want to monitor the readouts and performance data during your flight. This is the first one I've ever built personally and if we're going to build more and try to get shipyard certified for it, I need to see what needs improved upon." Her eyes met his, more than a little worry in them.

He could see the worry but understood it. Every time he went out it came with a risk and there didn't need to be a foe or target to present it. "That shouldn't be a problem." Test fights were always the most challenging, it was a brand-new craft, a number of things could go wrong even if the instructions were followed to the letter. With her facing him now his hands rested on the base of her spine holding her. "Can the ship get that, that kind of certification?"

"We're large enough with a manufacturing volume capability to be able to get it, but we first have to prove that we are capable of producing a working ship. Oh sure, a shuttle would have been easier, but I doubt we're going to have that much turnover unless really start losing them to 'causes unknown.'" She twitched in his arms slightly, "So fighters would be the best option to get certified with. I'm sure Their Worshipfulnesses that realize that we can become even MORE self-sufficient would see it as a good thing, because it doesn't stress their own priorities for starfighter placement." She glanced down for a few seconds, "And Emily would want to take over that aspect of engineering. I know that she wants to get out from under Xavier's thumb in Small Craft." She shook her head to get out of business mode, "But, you haven't told me what you thought of the game! I'm not going to pretend you understand Icing at all, but whatcha think?"

He listened to her talk, she made some solid points on the why's and what for's but that sat firmly in her realm and all she needed was his test flight data. Then came the question about the game, she was right in that he didn't understand much of icing, most of his interest stemming from her passion and participation in it. "It's very full on isn't it?" He spoke. "And fast." There was plenty of shoving and pushing and very fast skating from some of the players.

"Oh it is, and that's why my mother hated me playing it, but so long as I put as much time into her desired skating time for figure skating, she was willing to suffer." Victoria made the mention, "Still, it's exciting to be out there with the puck on your stick and fast is an understatement. Sometimes it's really hard to keep track of the thing and you only know where it is when it lands on your tape. Getting hit sucks, but as you saw, I'm usually agile enough to avoid that. Woops, order's up!" She saw their number pop up and released him to grab the bag and the large drink that already had a straw in it, "Your quarters or mine? I think we were in yours last time."

"Let's go yours then." Ferrand spoke with a smile watching grab the food. It didn't really matter where honestly, for him it was about the company he was with. "Figure skating." He shouldn't have been surprised, given her skill on the ice already. Still even now the food smelt good, he could see why many pilots frequented the venue often, if it tasted as well as it smelt.

"Figure skating." Victoria repeated, "And yes, I was rather good at that too, even if I didn't really enjoy it as much." She took a drink from her cup even while they were on the way, "I guess I never told you that I almost my the Olympics when I was sixteen, did I? I'll have to dig the Trials up at some point, I've got them recorded, but it's the last time I ever competed."

"And look at you know, still playing ice hockey and Chief Engineer on a ship such as this." It was a stark contrast, but she put a lot of hard work and effort into getting where she was. "Do you want me to hold the food bag while you start eating some of what you ordered?" He offered giving her the chance to start giving she was rather needy for nutritional sustenance earlier.

"I'll be good to get home without starving, I've got sugar!" She raised her cup, "Besides, I tend to eat faster than you anyways, but what should we watch while we eat? That's the real question!"

The pair settled for a movie though mostly unwatched as food was the priority, wrappers and messy sauce covered napkins lay across the table like a messy experiment, but it was worth it. She was right though, she ate faster than he did. The food itself filled a hole, just the right amount without feeling over full but not feeling like something else would be needed. "That, was good. I can see why pilots go there so often."

"Oh, I can agree with that." She patted her stomach which actually bulged out slightly from where she'd managed to stuff everything into it, "I think I've got a nice little food baby here right now, may have to go get more exercise to burn a bit of this off." Victoria leaned over and into Ferrand as her legs curled up on the couch, "What do you think?"

There had been a few times where Ferrand had eaten too much, sat in his quarters with his pants undone just to make sitting there easier with the quantity he'd consumed. "It's that, or the Doctor puts you on a diet plan and work out regime." Nobody liked those, they were the bane of any officer and rating that wore the uniform, and they could last a while until the Doctor pulled them from use.

"All a diet is is 'Die' with a 't' at the end." Victoria grumbled, but relented, "An hour in the gym for the next couple days it is then." Another twitch and she shifted in her seat again. "Ferrand, we've been dating for what? A couple months already, right?"

The question caught him a little off guard, almost like he was suddenly being tested out of the blue. "Uhhhh." He thought, and quickly. "Yeah, about that." He answered. "Why?" He asked wondering where this swift line of questioning came from.

"No need to worry, everything is good." She patted him on the leg as she spoke and thought. Yes, now was the right time, because she'd gotten her frustrations out on the ice. If he said 'no', well, she'd handle that as it came. She twisted on her hip to swing her leg over to straddle his legs on the couch so she was facing him, "Well, mostly good." She corrected herself.

Before he could ask or even say anything, she placed a finger on his lips to silence him, "No talk, just listen for a minute. Look, I know you want to take this slow, but I'm not used to that. I've been trying to give hints here and there, to get things going a bit more, but I don't think you've been getting them or just not understanding the signals, so I'm going to just come out and say it."

She took a deep breath and placed her hands on his shoulders, to hold him down even though he could throw her off without any problem if he wanted to, no doubt, "Look, Mister Beaulieu, I've been a good girl for the last couple months. I've been patient and understanding and all and don't worry, I'm not going to cheat on you, but Dear Sweet Baby Jesus I've been waiting longer than I ever have before. Most of the time, I've been the one that's had to resist from jumping in bed with someone right away, never had to be patient. A girl has needs, you know."

She rocked back slightly dragging him up with her from the couch by an inch, before pushing him back against it again gently but forcefully, "So you know what we're going to do tonight? We are going to go to bed together tonight and we are going to do a helluva lot more than just snuggle, got it?"

Ferrand was initially put at ease when she said everything was good, it wavered slightly when 'mostly good' was added at the end. He straddling him took him by surprise but went with it so that he was looking up at her face now that she was a little height over him in this position. His hands rested on the outside of her thighs and he could feel the stocking tops on his fingertips. He was about to say something until the finger to his lips stopped him, he just had to listen, which he did.

He was keenly aware of his own short falls, intimacy was one of them since he'd been soo focused on being a pilot, and a good one that relationships, even friendships outside of his immediate circle of pilots and techs were not a thing. Even in it the relationships were purely work based. She was telling him she had needs, she'd been patient which was true but it was him holding things up.

"Vic...." He shifted a little, or as little as he could in this position. "I..." There was frustration but not at her, but at himself. "I've..."

"You've got nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to be embarrassed of." She recognized the tone of his voice and needed to soothe THAT if she were going to win this... Argument? "Look, I know you don't have much experience in any of this, that's fine, I don't care about that, I can teach you. I can be patient, you've seen that."

That was true, he had, his issue was disappointing her. He didn't want her to have been that patient with him only for him to let her down. Like an unclimactic ending to a tensely charged wait. "Yeah. I have." He replied.

"Any other objections then?" Victoria asked, her dark brown eyes working hard to meet his.

"No." Ferrand replied, shaking his head. He couldn't keep her waiting, she'd been patient for him so he had to do something to meet her in the middle.

"Thank God." Victoria muttered, releasing him and grabbing the hem of her jersey and pulling it over her head to show that she hadn't bothered with anything under that, "I was even prepared to argue that if you'd wanted to wait to get married first that I'm no virgin and I didn't intend to be, even if just because I was sleeping with you!"

In true Ferrand fashion his eyes went wide as her top lifted off, bare under it. He remembered feeling his face burn when he saw her in lace lingerie, now she was topless in front of him. His eyes lifted to her face, down to her bare chest, swallowed and then looked back up again.

Deer in the headlights, yes, this would take some patience, but she was determined. She smiled and leaned forward to give him a kiss on his lips before backing off of him and sliding a hand down his arm, gripping his hand as she stood up in front of him, dragging him up with her, knowing he'd come willingly, even IF nervous and terrified. "Come on, we've got all night if we need it and we'll get you relaxed and rested for your flight." She kept a solid grip on his hand as Victoria dragged Ferrand to her bedroom.

Like a lamb to the slaughter.

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