Paper Moon

Posted on Fri Oct 16th, 2026 @ 3:49am by Michelle Erilin & Commander Alexander Espersen

2,838 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: The Next Interim
Location: Michelle's Private Quarters

Michelle made herself busy as she did double duty of preparing one of the more simplistic meals that she knew that Commander Espersen enjoyed, rather than something ornate that she'd have made for another client, especially if there had been one that had hired her over the last year and three months as often as he did. But the fish and chips would still taste wonderful, with some of the last of the beer in her inventory going into the batter. That, along with setting the table and making sure her makeup wasn't smearing as she cooked kept her moving around the small set of quarters she called her own.

They weren't her 'working' quarters, just offset off the lounge, where she entertained her rare clients and even Alex on occasion, but the ones that had been assigned to her upon arrival on the ship. As a civilian, they weren't as luxurious as an officer's quarters, but more meant for a pair of enlisted crewmen, just, instead of bunk beds, it was just her bed. She checked the chrono and noted that she had two minutes until he was supposed to arrive, which meant it was time to turn the fish in the frying pan and take the apron off, leaving her in a blue dress, meant for a modestly nice evening out, along with the sapphire necklace he had given her in place of her Guild necklace.

Alex hadn’t exactly been surprised by the invitation, but he did find the specifics interesting. They had had dinner before, of course, including as friends, but never in her quarters. Indeed, he had made a point to respect her private sanctuary. But he was not about to decline the invite.

His shoulder was still feeling sore, but it was improving. He wore a button-down black shirt that was loose over his arms to keep the pressure off, along with black pants that the untrained eye might confuse for a part of a uniform. He carried a bouquet of flowers wrapped in paper for her to open.

He took a deep breath, surprised as his nervousness, as he chimed her door.

"You can come in!" Michelle called out as she used the tongs to take the fish out of the oil and onto the plates, putting tops on them while she pulled the chips out of the oven and onto the stovetop to cool for a couple minutes, then tossed the oven mitt on the side and came around to the main 'living' area.

Alex stepped inside and was instantly hit with the fragrances of dinner. “That smells amazing,” he said before turning to face her.

Those eyes. That smile. The blue dress. The necklace that he gave her barely a week ago.

“You look…” He struggled to find the words. “Beautiful.”

Michelle blushed lightly at the compliment, "Thank you, I did want to look at least halfway decent for you for dinner, especially tonight. How's your shoulder doing? Everything healing up well?"

“It’s still a bit sore,” he admitted. “Kally’s given me something to manage it though.” He held out his offering. “For you.”

She accepted the flowers and expertly unwrapped them in her arms, blushing an even deeper red, but not nearly as red as the calla lilies that she found herself cradling in her arms. The significance of the color wasn't lost on her and she was certain it hadn't been an accidental pick. He was always too attentive to details. "These are lovely, Alex, thank you." She leaned up on her toes to give him a gentle kiss, hesitating a brief moment before placing it on his cheek. "What made you pick these?"

“I was reading about them,” he explained, “and apparently the red calla lily symbolizes beauty and passion, and also importantly courage and strength, like what you showed in protecting the ship and crew during the hostile takeover. I cannot thank you enough for that.”

While he explained, she was making herself busy pulling an ornate vase from one of the low cabinets and arranging the flowers in them, then bustling back to the kitchen to arrange the chips on the plates with the fish, picking them up and bringing them to the neatly set table, "Honestly, it was mostly Peter, he did the bulk of the actual work, I just distracted them for a few seconds. But I appreciate the thought, truly I do."

“And of course,” he continued, as he stood behind one of the chairs and pulled it out for her, “I remembered that calla lilies are your favourite.”

"And that's something I told you one time about..." Michelle stood there for a few moments, "Eight months ago when you were asking me what sort of flowers I should be laid out across for one of your drawings." She smiled up at him as she delicately alighted in the chair offered to her.

After pushing her chair in, he sat at other place setting. “This looks fantastic, thank you,” he said as he picked up his knife and fork. But before he could cut into his fish, something on the wall caught his eye. She kept it.

“I remember that night,” he said, pointing to the picture on the wall and smiling. “The first time I drew you.”

She looked up at it with a smile, taking herself back to that evening over a year before, returning her gaze to him. He had been at the Hydra for a few weeks before he'd approached her and asked a tangential question about her services. He hadn't been timid about that first contract, but he had been circuitous, only to find that she was more adaptable than anticipated. She got to see a side of him that she suspected no one else aboard had seen previously and it still flattered her about that.

"I remember too, almost like it was yesterday, or at least a couple weeks ago." She giggled as she cut a piece of the fish and dipped it in the tartar sauce placed between them, "You were much more accommodating than the clients I had been used to seeing, especially on Jovash, and even when I made that recommendation about altering my pose? Most artists hate having that sort of input."

“Most artists are wrong then,” Alex said as he dipped his own piece into the sauce. “You never know where a good idea will come from.” The flavours exploded on his tongue, prompting him to close his eyes and savour it.

Michelle chewed on the bite, the batter crunching perfectly and then all but melting in her mouth, "I should have asked you before, but I hope you don't mind that I shared an image of your drawing with some of my colleagues. In fact..." She gave him an apologetic smile, "I replaced my internal profile imagery with it. Clients won't see it, but any of my Guild would see that if they're looking me up before any stock images."

He smiled and finished his bite. “That’s…that’s really sweet actually.” He started collecting a few of the fries onto the end of his fork. “Do Guild members work much together? Compare notes? I don’t know why but I always assumed it was fairly isolated work.”

"We have a network where we share client files so that say... If you were to show up on Trillius Prime and contract with one of the courtesans there, they would have access to any of the comments of previous courtesans and would be able to predict your likes, dislikes, preferred sexual positions, anything they could use to provide you the best experience." Michelle gave a partial shrug, another piece of the fish going in and down, "It's how we also know if someone is a client in good standing, or blacklisted. We can also make recommendations for clients if we know where they're going, especially if we can see who all is where. I can't access my own file, because it's for my client reviews. I mean, I could look at the 'public' portal for any reviews given, but I'm not that vainglorious to need to do that."

“Suffice it to say that it’s all positive,” he said, having seen the public file for himself. “Good gods, these are good,” he said after finishing a taste of the chips.

"Which does bring up another question I have for you, Alex," She picked up one of the chips and nipped off the end of it, "Do you have any plans for the refit? I know I have to go to Levitt to get my recertifications done, so I won't be available for at least two or maybe three weeks and I could actually make some recommendations for courtesans based at Deep Space 16 or within a reasonable distance if you'd like."

“I’m heading to Earth, actually,” he answered. “It’s been too long since I’ve been away. I used to visit my sister in the hospital at least three times a week, but it’s been nearly eighteen months. And,” he added, pausing as some difficult feelings came to the surface, “and I’m going to see my ex-wife again. I’m in a better situation now and it’s time I was able to look her in the eye and apologize. Not to rekindle anything, nothing like that, but just for some closure. She deserves it, and I think I need it.”

He looked into her eyes, smiled sadly, and held another tartar sauce-covered piece of fish to his mouth. “I don’t expect it to be a good time. But it’s what I need to do.” He popped the food in his mouth and chewed quickly before swallowing. “And I’ll get to go in style. Commanders get Gold Package on the Federation Transit ship Pearl of Sirius. Five nights of comfort instead of three weeks working on another ship or alone in a runabout.”

"I'm so sorry, Alex..." Michelle commented as she reached out to cup his cheek gently, "I really wish there were something I could do to make that whole situation any better." 'The Pearl of Sirius?' She thought to herself, 'I can at least make the journey a little better...' "If there's anything I can do... Please, don't hesitate to ask."

He set his utensils down to reach a hand across and gently squeeze one of Michelle’s. “I appreciate that, I really do. But I’ll manage.”

"How about I comm you after my recertifications, just to check in on you?" She smiled at him, "But aside from that, we still have tonight and I have a few plans for you."

“I do so like your plans,” he replied, picking his utensils back up. “And I’d love a call. When do you think your recerts’ll all be done?” he asked before having more of his fish.

"That depends.. We're supposed to have a full exam by a Guild doctor once a year, but that can be done on most major planets, but I'm going in for my five-year and about eight months late at that. I obtained an emergency extension due to where I was, but I'm going to have to have an expanded exam, plus individual tests on my existing skills plus any new certifications I want to add that I've been studying for." She picked up her own utensils again, "If I'm lucky, it'll be a week, but it could easily be two. While I've filed my own observations on everywhere we've been, I'm also expecting a debrief to see if there are likely candidates for Guild expansion. A week there, call it two weeks on planet, a week back and then it's about resupplying the Hydra for our next journey."

“A long journey and a busy couple of weeks,” Alex observed. “If you need any help with resupply, please let me know. I might be back by the time you are.” He considered the proper operation of the Hydra to be essential for crew morale, and thus within his purview to help.

"I have Fulvia looking into potential sources while I'm gone." Michelle remarked, "Legal sources, I might add, but some of what I'm looking for is hard to find, so putting that in the hands of someone who knows the black market just as well as the traditional ones?" She shrugged, "But I'll still accept any assistance, especially from someone as handsome as the Executive Officer of the ship, so that any... Questionable items can still come aboard without issue." She winked at him.

“You do in fact know a handsome Commander that can unstick difficult shipments from overzealous and unpleasant Starbase inspector,” he said, winking back. “I’m sure there are a few young security officers who’re still scared of me,” he added with a chuckle. “And Fulvia’s a good source. She knows her markets. But I think she’s leaving around when I am, so hopefully she’ll secure you some of what you need beforehand.” He remembered having signed off on her leave request. Anyone who asked for permission to leave DS16 was given it, but forms still needed to be submitted.

"Either way, there should be plenty of time." She popped the last of her chips in her mouth with a smile, "But, since I'm supposed to be on a ship the day after tomorrow, I wanted to spend a little time with you tonight so I can use tomorrow to pack. I've gotten used to you being around and I'm going to miss you while we're gone, you know that?"

The comment made him smile, blush, and look down at his nearly-empty plate. "I'll miss you too," he said. "I've always enjoyed our time together. Even just seeing you in Hydra or in the corridors. The next few weeks will be harder with you not close by."

Michelle felt a pang in her chest that she didn’t let show. “The good news is that it’s only for a short period and since we know that ship schedules can be misleading, my appointment book will be wide open for us to block out an array of dates to cover all possibilities.” While her voice was perky, she knew her heart wasn’t fully into the bringing in of business to the conversation, but… It would get a commitment to see him on the record books, let him know this wasn’t going to end while he was away.

He smiled as he chewed his last piece of fish, and then set his utensils down, wiped his lips and hands on his napkin, and reached across to take one of her hands in both of his. "You said you'll be gone for about four weeks," he said. "And I think I'll probably be five-and-a-half or so, maybe a bit less if I don't need to rely on a berth on a Starfleet ship to come back. Refits are going to take around twelve weeks. So the solution seems obvious."

"You want to set up a reservation for when you return." Michelle already read his intentions before he'd even finished his sentence.

He squeezed her hand and gave her a roguish half-smile. "A reservation which starts on my presumptive return to Deep Space Sixteen and ends when the Chimera needs me back."

"Or how about we arrange the paperwork so that it's from the first possible time you could make it back until your return to duty? In fact, let's leave the dates blank, so that we can adjust them to make everything fit." She squeezed his hand back with a bright smile, standing and moving to the side of the table to give him the gentle tug to indicate he should rise with her, "I know the Guild dislikes those open-ended things, but in the nature of interstellar travels..." She gave a shrug, "But I figured that we would have time for a little dancing before you had to go?"

He stood up straight, walked around the table, bowed at the waist and held out his hand to her. "I'd love nothing more than to take you dancing, my lady."

"And we don't even have to go anywhere, but here." Michelle smiled softly, "Computer, execute playlist." Soft music began to play as she entered Alex's waiting arms.

Alex held her close, leading her side to side to the soft melody of the music she’d chosen, his eyes closed, savouring the moment of tranquility and utter contentment.

The sound of the first song came through with Frank Sinatra's crooning voice,

"It is only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me

Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hangin' over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me...."

END

 

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