Blossoming Love In The Line of Duty.

Posted on Mon Jul 14th, 2025 @ 9:28pm by Lieutenant Commander Victoria Aries & Lieutenant Commander Ferrand Beaulieu & Penelope Haskell
Edited on on Mon Jul 14th, 2025 @ 9:29pm

2,342 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Let That Be Your Last
Location: Hanger Bay 1
Timeline: En Route, prior to orbit.

It took some effort to ensure everything looked presentable, even if it required rearranging some of the fighters to create the illusion of full racks of craft. The area was thoroughly cleaned as well, but he understood that it wouldn’t stay that way for long due to the hard work the crews put in. Ferrand arranged for a table to be brought out along with three chairs, a chilled bottle of water, and three glasses, along with a Padd or two to enhance the appearance, though they were blank. The main hangar door was open, the shield raised but only about a meter away, providing a beautiful backdrop of stars as they neared the planet. As he made his way back to the office, he glanced at the floor and recalled the dent and scratch he had left behind on that fateful day when he nearly lost his life. It felt eerie, standing there, remembering how close he had come, and then thinking of Victoria rushing towards him, witnessing the wreck of the craft he had barely flown back…

He still kept a piece of it in his office as a reminder of the dangers of his job, which had to be faced. His role came with risks and hazards, but without his training and skills, he wouldn’t be standing there today, looking at that small imperfection on the floor.

He was aware that he would catch some flak for Victoria’s appearance, as everyone knew they were together by now. It was a kind of playful teasing, a way to give the boss a hard time when the ‘Mrs’ was around, knowing they could push it to a certain extent.

Now, all he had to do was wait.

It was the voices that were heard first, the bright cheery question audible from the entry door that slid open as someone approached it, "Would you say that the damage done to the ship was critical? Or was it just an inconvenience to be dealt with?" The camera drone flew ahead of the two women that traipsed through the said door, one in a golden uniform that ended in the short black skirt, the barely-there looking stockings covering the legs. The second was in a dress of a muted pink, modest, but still rather fetching.

"Primarily it was cosmetic, buckled armor plating, but some of the projectiles were bound to hit something fragile. The bridge was all but destroyed, the other hanger was damaged severely, then our own impulse drive was damaged and the worst damage was to the warp nacelles. We've already repaired the functionality of the ship to full, but we're still working to bring her back to the looks she ought to have." Victoria glanced past the camera drone, which slid to the side with a micro-gesture from the reporter next to her and she smiled broadly as she saw Ferrand, a skip to her step as she sped up towards him.

Behind her, Penelope Haskell smiled as she recorded the upcoming scene. It would be perfect, seeing these two interact as if no one was watching, a real human piece to her documentary.

Ferrand noticed the voices that drew his attention; it appeared that the interview had already begun, at least for one of them. He could already sense the glances and smiles directed at him with Victoria present, but he was somewhat grateful that Penelope was there to help distribute the focus between them. Still, it wasn't a bad way to share a moment with two charming women.

He had taken some time to contemplate what he would say or how he would respond to her inquiries. However, each time he tried, he found himself coming up empty, as another question would arise in his mind to counter his thoughts. "So, I guess I'm going in blind," he accepted with a sigh.

He noticed that the two were already engaged in conversation, so he stepped to the side of the table and pulled out a chair—the one for Victoria, placing it next to his own on the opposite side. He would have greeted the duo, but he didn't want to disrupt the connection they were sharing.

Penny slowed intentionally as Victoria half walked, half skipped up to Ferrand and threw her arms around him, whispering in his ear, "She's pretty and nice, and pretty nice too." She planted a kiss on Ferrand's cheek, "And this is Commander Ferrand Beaulieu, our Commander, Air Group, also known as the CAG." Victoria stated simply.

There was that kiss, yes...cue the comments and the looks from the crew. The flattering remark took him by surprise for a moment since he didn't realize she appreciated other women in that way, but to each their own in this modern era. "Victoria." He grinned as he embraced her back.

He then focused on Penelope. "As you heard, Ferrand Beaulieu, CAG." He introduced himself, still holding onto Victoria. "Please, have a seat; I hope this environment and lighting meet your expectations."

"Thank you for the kind welcome, and they will be perfectly fine, the drones may adjust the lighting slightly, purely for the fielity of the image." Penelope perched on the edge of the chair as had been recommended, "Clearly you two are quite well acquainted with each other, an item even." She continued on, smile on her face, "If you don't mind me prying into that, how did the two of you meet?" It was clearly a question that she'd been dying to ask as soon as she'd known they were a couple, which had been prior to arranging this interview.

Victoria gave Ferrand a look, then gave a little bit of a chuckle, "It was a surprise meeting, a couple days after I got on board, I'd been having a pretty bad day." She trailed off to give him a chance to pipe in.

Ferrand smiled as he recalled that day and the events that unfolded. "It was a tough day; I was sketching when a frustrated scream shattered the quiet. Victoria was furious, yet there was a certain beauty in that moment, so I allowed it to inspire me and began to draw. I have always enjoyed drawing; it was a passion of mine in my younger days. It took nearly an hour, but I captured her likeness—her face, her hand, and how the tree appeared to protect her from the harshness of the world around her."

He took a moment to reflect on the instant he removed the drawing from his sketchbook, folding it before presenting it to her. "I felt bold intruding on her moment, but I offered her my drawing. She looked taken aback, as if to say that even amidst her anger and fury, someone could perceive something different."

"And I was at a complete loss for words." Victoria squeezed the hand that she'd captured from Ferrand, smiling at him, before looking back to the camera, "It wasn't my best first impression on someone, but it didn't drive him away and he decided to take me to dinner to soothe the savage beast. I suppose that it really was a surprise that things turned out better than expected. It was our first date, even if it hadn't initially been intended as such."

Penelope gave a knowing smile, one that told Victoria and Ferrand that she knew where things were likely to go with them. In a way, it wasn't a surprise in itself, despite the two officers being senior ones on board the ship, especially a ship this size. "And from the looks of it, it's something that's going to last for a while. Any potential wedding bells in the future?"

At that, Victoria's eyes widened and shot over to Ferrand's with a nervous laugh, "I think it's a bit premature to be thinking about that, don't you think?" Though, she really was curious as to his thoughts on the matter.

Inwardly Ferrand was looking at Penelope with that 'cheers wingman' for being thrown under the bus like that. "Yeah, still in the early stages of things at the moment and heavens knows our duties keep us busy much of the time, but I've not discounted it." Which was true, he had not, but it was early and while things were indeed going well, there was still time before they had to decide on something like that.

"I'll mark that down as a 'maybe' then," Penny kept her bright smile as she got what was an uncomfortable moment, but mentally decided that if she used it, it would be edited down a fair bit, "Would the two of you say that being aboard Dreadnought is a challenge worthy of your abilities? Not just in your relationship, but overall, since the ship is the size of a small space station in her own right. What would you say the biggest challenges you could have would be?"

"I think, at least for me, the biggest challenges are the expectations both internal and external. You're right she is large for a starship and comments made about her have both been positive and not. There is a drive to prove those people that had a negative view wrong but also the expectation that to do that we have to perform. The expectation for excellence coupled with the position we are as an Admiral's flagship means we have to be the peak of example to others. It's easy to say, harder to do." Ferrand answered.

"That would be what I would say, but I'd add one thing." Victoria chuckled as she squeezed his hand, "While Ferrand here rarely has to be in more than one place at a time, being a pilot and all, I find that I'm always in the wrong place at the wrong time whenever something does go wrong. I've got some amazing sub-department heads, but there's always something breaking and usually it's a system that shouldn't be breaking. Of course, there are also those times when someone decides to break something that I'm not technically responsible, and then I just have to stand back and watch."

"That sounds horrific, and I have to assume you're talking about when Lieutenant Beaulieu here came back with a damaged fighter?" Penny got a slow nod from Victoria and gave a sympathetic look to her, "I would love to say I've never been in the same situation, however I know all too well the helplessness of not being able to affect the wellbeing of a significant other. "Would you two say the danger that the other could be in constantly has affected your decision to form this sort of relationship?"

"Not at all." Victoria stated quickly, no hesitation at all, "I understand Ferrand's duties are dangerous and while I'm not the biggest fan of it, there's very little I can do to change that. I just hope that his luck holds out and I think his new fighter gives him as good a chance as any."

"Danger I think comes with the uniform, we accept it as part of what we do. Sure its a constant but I feel if you dwell on it too much it will eventually rule you. There are going to be close calls, near scrapes, my old fighter for example but its part of what we do." Ferrand spoke.

"Has it had an impact, sure, it would any relationship. Do we let it control and dictate our relationship, no. We are aware of it and cherish the time we do spend together." He spoke. "If anything Victoria has the bigger task, she has to keep all this running while I have just a single, 1 seater fighter."

"Ha!" Victoria rubbed the nails of her free hand on her uniform jacket as if preening, "I just have to make sure my people are getting their jobs done, then take the credit for it. But yes, there's a reason I get jealous when he stays out late, even if it's for a good reason."

"I suppose then I just have one more question for the two of you: " Penelope paused for a moment, "Where do the two of you see yourselves in the next decade? Any hopes and dreams that you're looking forward to?"

"I've...not really thought about it much honestly with everything that's gone on. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with having hopes and dreams but I don't know.....make Commander would be nice, maybe a new fighter when my current one gets wrecked.....a still patient partner perhaps....I didn't come with a receipt so there are no returns, refunds or exchanges you see." Ferrand joked.

Victoria nudged him with an elbow, "You break that fighter and you and I are gonna have a long talk behind closed doors, bub." She spoke in a half-growl, but the smile on her face was at odds with the words coming out of her mouth, "I suppose for me it's too late to make a National Hockey League team, so I'll settle for a nice posting on a starbase with this lug stationed there as well. Maybe a nice shipyard where I can build the ships that the Fleet sends out."

"Isn't love just grand?" Ferrand replied with a smile at her own answer.

"That it is, to which I can attest to my own self." Penelope grinned widely, "Once again, Lieutenant Commander Ferrand Beaulieu, and Lieutenant Commander Victoria Aries of the USS Dreadnought, thank you for joining me today, may all your dreams come true!" She made sure that the camera had caught the two of them once more before patting her leg in the signal for them to stop the recording and begin the recovery process. "But seriously, you two, thank you very much for being here, I really am trying to put together something to let the rest of the Federation know what Dreadnought is all about."

"Thank you for having us." Ferrand replied with a smile, then one to Victoria.

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