Date Night
Posted on Sat Oct 18th, 2014 @ 1:36am by Lieutenant Lynsi Mason & Lieutenant Colonel Edward Maxwell
Mission:
Vagrants, Vagabonds, and Thieves
Location: Private Quarters
Flight Operations:
If there was one thing that took getting used to going from a full time Squadron Leader to Commander, Air Group it was the lack of stick time. Sure Ed has his own Squadron, but he hardly got to spend any time with his pilots. The Squadron Exec actually ran the Squadron and was actually the Squadron Leader in all but name. Ed spent the majority of his time in Flight Ops where he oversaw the entire Wing. His Deputy CAG was mainly that in name only. Blaze was always leading her Squadron on sorties, so Ed watched the shop and did the paperwork. In a way it was almost like a marriage, she was the working mom and Ed was stuck playing the stay at home dad.
"Chief." He called over to the Master Warrant Officer who was the Senior Flight Controller. "Take over here. If I don't get out of here I'll go stir crazy. I'm going down to the hangar to look over my bird."
"Aye aye Skipper. Better hurry though. Blaze and her bunch are inbound from their mission. You aren't down there pronto you'll get stuck outside until they're all landed." The Warrant said looking up from the sensors.
"Roger that Chief. Thanks for the heads up." Ed waved over his shoulder as he left Flight Ops. Tomorrow he was definitely putting Blaze behind a desk and he was taking the Exocets out himself. The Claymores would just have to make do without their boss for a day.
Hangar Bay:
Ed made it inside the hangar with about thirty seconds to spare. No sooner did he get into the safe zone and head towards the Exocet's locker room than the force fields snapped into place as the first of the Claymore's came in on their final. Ed paused at the doorway to the locker room to watch the squadron landing. It was always a pleasure to watch birds coming in or going out. He watched as they each landed and taxied to their, well they weren't revetments in the true sense of the word, but each fighter did have his own designated place for holding. When the fields dropped and it was safe to move around the bay again Ed walked over to lean against his bird, which just happened to be stationed next to where Blaze's was.
"You've had enough fun Blaze." He called up to the woman as her canopy opened. "Tomorrow you man the desk and I'm going out for a spin."
"Good evening to you too, boss," Blaze replied with a laugh as she removed her helmet. "What did I do to get stuck with the promotion?" She left her helmet in the seat of her bird and climbed down from the Peregrine-class fighter. She loved being out on missions, and hated the idea of getting stuck behind a desk. But she also knew that Reaper felt the same way. It was hard for him to deal with not flying, so she understood why he wanted the stick time.
"You got stuck with the promotion because I'm taking a demotion and getting some time in myself. Gotta keep my currencies up." Ed grinned at his DCAG. "So, I was thinking about what Ryan said the other day." He said in a lower tone to minimize the whole Squadron hearing, even though he knew someone was going to hear or see something and it would be all over the Wing inside of twenty four or forty eight hours, that was unavoidable in the close quarters of a fighter squadron. "What do you say we either head for Alexander's or we go get out of these flight suits and into something presentable for dining at one of the Promenade's best restaurants?"
Blaze considered the question for a moment. "Well, I'm the kind of girl that could always go for a drink at Alexander's, but there is something to be said about getting all dolled up for a change. Which of those two options were you hoping for?" she asked, a sly smile on her face.
"I'll be honest." Ed said with a smile. "I was hoping for the Promenade. I wouldn't object to seeing you in something besides a flightsuit."
"Believe it or not, I can clean up nicely when I want to." Blaze said with a little laugh. "All right then, Reaper, it sounds like we've got ourselves a date."
"I never doubted that for a minute Blaze." Ed smiled. "Pick you up in an hour?"
"You better make it an hour and a half," Lynsi replied, checking the chronometer on her flightsuit. "I clean up nicely, but I never said I do it quickly."
"I'll pick you up in an hour and a half then." Ed agreed and went to go give his bird a look over. It wouldn't take him long to get ready.
Mason's Private Quarters:
By the time Lynsi had changed from her flight suit to duty uniform in the locker room and made it back home, she had already lost thirty minutes. That was the trouble with travel on a station so big. Getting from point A to point B, even when traveling direct, often took a long time. But it was not going to be an issue. her time in the shower was quick, and in no time she was standing in front of her closet wearing just a towel. She had promised that she could clean up nicely, but it came to her attention that she didn't have nearly as many formal clothes as she had remembered. It had been too long since she had gone anywhere formally. She gave up and instead replicated a dress and a pair of stappy black heels to match. The dress itself was nothing too fancy or elegant. It was a simple black dress with a halter around the neck. It was knee length with a loose, flowing skirt. She wasn't a huge fan of the really tight dresses sometimes seen in the club areas of the promenade. She'd rather be comfortable than spend a long time on appearance, though she did splurge a bit on the shoes.
As the end of her ninety minutes she was fixing up her hair. Normally she wore the blonde strands in a ponytail, but she decided that tonight she was just going to let it lay loose. She did blow dry it and brush it out to remove any tangles before stepping back to admire her handiwork. She didn't look half bad, but she really hoped that she lived up to the, for lack of a better term, bravado she expressed down in the hanger. For a woman who usually acted like one of the guys, she was a little worried that she over exaggerated.
Maxwell's Private Quarters:
Ed walked into his quarters still wearing his flight suit. He was a fighter pilot and by all rights was eligible to wear it as his daily duty uniform. He had to admit he was looking forward to this. He hadn't been on a date per-say for quite a while. Ryan was sitting at the kitchen table doing his homework from school when Ed walked in.
"Don't wait on me tonight Ry." He said with a grin as he got himself a glass of water. "I took your advice from the other day in the hangarbay."
Ryan looked up from his coursework with a confused look on his face. It took him a minute to remember what he had said, but it dawned on him and he grinned in return. "About time you went out on a date Pop. You and Lynsi?"
"Yup." Ed said and drained his glass. "Promenade in forty five minutes. So I'm gonna shower and get changed."
Ten minutes later, Ed was standing in front of his closet with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was looking at his off duty clothes and trying to decide what to wear. In the end he opted to keep it simple and began to pick out his selections. His black dress pants, a black long sleeved silk shirt and his favorite hunter green vest to wear over it. Items in hand, Ed went back into the bathroom to change. He even went so far as to add a little cologne to the mix. If Blaze was getting all fancied up, he could at least do the same. He emerged a few minutes later and sat on the edge of the bed to put on his dress shoes, not his dress uniform shoes, but a more comfortable civilian pair. He walked back out to the kitchen and grinned at his son.
"How's the old man look?"
"Looking sharp Pop. I guess you clean up pretty good yourself for an old timer." Ryan grinned, teasing his father.
"Smartass." Ed laughed and ruffled his sons hair. "Okay bud, I'm out of here. Back in a couple hours."
"Don't rush home on my account. Have fun."
Mason's Private Quarters:
Back in Lynsi's quarters, she was still wondering if she looked alright. But the question was very much unlike her. She had never been too concerned about her appearance, and even after climbing out of her fighter she'd take off her helmet and brush back her hair. Now she was standing in front of the mirror contemplating earrings. But before she could ever make any kind of decision, she heard the door chime. She quickly brushed off any fuzz or dust from her dress and moved to the entrance to her quarters. With a deep breath, she pressed the controls to part the sliding doors.
Ed felt like he was back in high school picking a girl up for a first date. Though technically this would be the first time he and Lynsi had gone on a date, he did feel slightly foolish at his nerves. He had done this a dozen times or more in the past, he and Lynsi had a great working relationship and were friends off duty, so what the hell was there for him to be nervous about?
"Evening." Ed said with a smile as the doors opened.
"Good evening," Lynsi replied with a smile of her own. She stood there for a moment, confused as to why she felt so nervous. "Would you like to come in, or shall we get going?"
"Up to you." Ed allowed with that same confident smile. "We've got plenty of time before our reservation at Antonio's if you need to finish getting ready or anything?" Ed had been pleasantly surprised when he arrived on 332 to find that a squadron mate of his from the early days had indeed accomplished his goal of starting his own restaurant. It was even more surprising that it was here on 332. After drinks one night in the bar rehashing old war stories Ed had ended up with an open dinner reservation any night he wanted it as often as he wanted it.
"I think I'm as finished as I'm going to be. Unless you think I still have more to do?" This was partially aimed as a joke, but for some reason Lynsi was actually a little concerned that her cleaning up still needed some work. "But if we have some time, you can come in. My quarters aren't quite as nice as yours. Rank has it's benefits, after all, but it's home."
"You look fantastic to me Lynsi." Ed complimented her. She indeed cleaned up very well. "I've got an open reservation at Antonio's. We can show up whatever time we want and as often as we want."
Blaze actually found herself blushing, something that didn't happen very often. But she wasn't really sure if it was because of the compliment, or the way that he called her Lynsi. Most people called her Blaze, Mason, Boss, or some expletive. But hearing him use her first name felt special, somehow. She returned the compliment with a smile. "Thanks, Ed. I was actually worried with all that boasting earlier that I would get home and not have anything to wear."
"I'm sure you could have replicated something fitting for the occasion." Ed smiled at her. "Trust me, you lived up to your boasting."
"Maybe we should get going then, since we have that open reservation," she replied, worried about any awkwardness of just standing in her quarters. "I've never actually been to Antonio's, but it's usually too fancy for a night out with the other pilots."
"Part of why I picked it. It's usually got a waiting list to get in, it's more formal than your average fighter jock wants to get cleaned up for, especially when we can just walk into Alexander's in our flight suits. All in all, it's that much less likely any of the pilots are going to see us. We can't be having rumors running through the Wing after only our first date." He said with a wicked grin.
"First date. That implies that you're pretty confident that there will be a second," Blaze said with a grin. Her usual arrogance was starting to come back, though she still had some butterflies. "Besides, we don't want any rumors. Firefly has already been asking if you're boxers or briefs." She followed up with a laugh to let him know that she was joking, mostly.
"And which one is Firefly again?" Ed asked with a grin. "I might let her know myself." He teased her in return.
"Ensign Veillon is the other girl in my usual flight. The one with the dark brown hair," Lynsi replied with a bit of a glare. "She's a pretty girl, though a bit younger than me, if you're interested in that."
"Jealous Lynsi?" He teased with a smile. "Why would you be jealous I wonder?"
"I never said I was jealous," she replied with a smile. "Just letting you know that you had options."
"Do I have to pick one or can I have both?" He asked with a wicked grin. He expected to have to pick, in which case Lynsi won hands down, but on the other hand, she might surprise him.
She gave him a glare and a slight smile in return. She didn't need to say anything; the glare along told him that he'd have to choose. "Shall we be on our way?"
"Whenever you're ready dear." He said with a grin.
Major Edward Maxwell
Commander, Air Group
SVW-17, Starbase 332
Lieutenant Lynsi Mason [P: Von]
Deputy Commander, Air Group
SVW-17, Starbase 332
