Checking on Orin.

Posted on Sat Oct 17th, 2026 @ 6:36pm by Lieutenant Orin Sempton & Lieutenant Lily Marlow

4,021 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: A Day In The Life
Location: TBD

Lily felt a strong need to seek out Orin. That unexpected meeting with Erik when she went to see family, brought to her mind of the gentle and wonderful nature of Orin. She'd not had a chance to catch up with him having been so caught up in her personal tribulation. She wasn't certain if he knew she really liked him. She'd not truly spoken to him about anything of that nature. She wondered about her reluctance as to speaking of it. Was it due to her being scared she'd drive him off? She couldn't wait in fear of that anymore. Perhaps he was in his quarters upon the ship, the USS Orcrist.

There was a chime at Orin's door, Lily hoping that he would be there. From the other side of the door she heard a bang and a muffled shout, followed by a crash and a moment of silence before a groaned "Enter" was heard. When the door opened Orin was there, back on the floor, his legs bent over a storage container. He rubbed the back of his head with one hand while the other was reaching above him, searching the ground until he found what he was looking for. He put his glasses back on and stared up at Lily.

"Sorry about the mess." Was all he said before he started to untangle himself.

The door closed quietly behind Lily, just looking at Orin for a moment, moving closer she offered her hand to give him a little bit of help up from the floor.

"Looks like you are getting situated." the only thing she could come up with to say.

"Attempting to." He replied as he untangled himself and stood up. "I usually like to set these things up in the lab." He gestured toward the series of clear cubes housing a number of artifacts from various time periods. "But I haven't had the chance to see it yet. I didn't arrive on the ship till a day before launch. I've been told I missed quite the party, but time flies when you're excavating the tombs of the children of one of the most successful and powerful Pharaohs, who also happened to have the most children. Truth be told, I'm still finding sand in places I shouldn't."

Eyebrow raised at what Orin had mentioned her eyes sparkling with interest.

"That sounds amazing! And probably a place can be found for these to be placed. I'm sure Commander T'Par wouldn't be against it nor the Captain." Lily drew in a breath letting it out slowly. "So, Orin" her cheeks going slightly pink. "C-can we find a place to sit. I'd like to talk to you about something."

Orin noted the catch in her voice and the look of worry on her face. Something's wrong. He thought, and began attempting to make her feel more at ease. "I'm being a poor host. I apologize." He motioned over to the small work table his room had, currently covered with odds and ends, and quickly moved the bits into one of the storage containers before offering Lily the single chair. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Some water please." Lily's mouth suddenly feeling a bit dry.

Lily was so nervous about what she wanted to talk to Orin about. She worried that she was going to chase him away. Did she really want to saddle him with her trivial problems? Well the aspect of her old flame popping up, the one she didn't like anymore. Best to get things sorted out, then Orin could decide if-- he wanted to associate with her anymore.

"You're not being a bad host, not at all." Lily taking the seat. Her thoughts were in a slight scramble then she decided without anymore preamble. "Orin, I came here to let you know that I like you, I like you a lot." there she said it. It wasn't a smooth delivery. No not at all.

Orin's mouth opened as if to say something before his brow furrowed and he closed it again. He looked away, then back to Lily before attempting to say something and failing again, repeating the motion a few times as if stuck in a loop. After a minute he reached up and removed his glasses with one hand, setting them on the table, while running the other through his hair and pushing it back and out of his eyes.

"Water, right. Computer, one large glass of spring water, 14 degrees Celsius." The replicator beeped and buzzed as the glass materialized. He walked over and gently picked up the glass before stepping through the mess of his room again and set it down in front of Lily. As there was only one chair in the room, he closed one of the storage crates before dragging it across from her and sitting down.

"I, uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck, still trying to find the words. "I've explained before that I'm not good with this." He motioned between the two of them. "Interpersonal interactions. It is easier for me to understand the intentions of people from thousands of years ago through their writings and culture than it is for me to understand people. I can read your body language, and understand the intonation of your words, but I cannot link them to an emotional state leading me to misread situations and basically be a massive ball of anxiety." He sighed and squinted at her blurry face trying to make his poor vision focus without the glasses to help. His dark brown eyes stared at her light brown ones. She looked downcast and with what looked like fright? She looked like he felt, wanting to bolt out the door from the fight or flight reaction.

"I figured I should reiterate this, so you understand before making any decision about us taking the next step, as I do like you too and very much enjoy the time we spend together."

Lily was grateful for the glass of water, feeling the chill of it through the glass. She took a drink before she said anything else. She truly cared for Orin deeply, there was no doubt about that.Just she needed to open up a bit more with him.Then, if needed, she'd set him free from her. Lowering the glass, Lily drew in a soft breath.

"Orin, I do understand what you are saying." her eyes not leaving his. "I've been wanting to tell you how I've been feeling towards you for sometime now." she set the glass of water onto the table, her hand shaking a little bit. "I've been hesitant, as I have some personal baggage I didn't want to drag you into."

She looked down at the water, her hand not having let go of the glass, acting as if the glass were keeping her anchored. "I've not told you much about myself, only being content in getting to know you. That isn't fair for you. You've been open and honest with me from the start, letting me know how things are with you." lifting the glass up to her lips once more, the liquid inside moving erratically as if being affected by a small tremor. Lily moved her other hand to steady the glass.

"I-I've found myself being hunted. Hunted by someone I used to care for deeply. That was fourteen some odd years ago. Someone who decided to leave me when I was sorely injured." She paused seeking to moisten her dry throat once more.

Orin realized as she spoke what he was seeing. It wasn't anything as simple as fright, it was fear. Primal fear. He reached back into his mind for what the doctors had done for him after his time on the Bliss planet. He slowly reached over with his left hand and placed it atop Lily's right and with his other picked up his glasses and placed them in their proper place. "Lily, I need you to take a few breaths. Breathe in, count to four, breathe out, count to four." He waited. "You can explain this at your own pace, as you feel comfortable. It does not need to be now."

The warmth of his hand touching hers in a comforting way, Lily took a few breaths. It was something she'd done for others, even Orin. She blinked back the sting of tears which suddenly came up.

"Orin." setting her glass down, her voice trembling. "I'll tell you, I'd rather you know and be able to process it. I don't want you to be blindsided."

Lily then spoke of losing her friend, Annabelle, or so she thought, to when her friend's cabin exploded. Lily having been caught by the outer part of the blast. She spoke of thinking that Annabelle was dead. Lily's ex-boyfriend breaking up with her when she was in the hospital. Then later on finding out that her memories had been manipulated to where memories were hidden from her. Her memories have been restored.

The desire to cry was washed away by her ire of having her mind manipulated.

"My former boyfriend, from what the clues and information that has been gathered, is wanting to track down my friend Annabelle, utilizing me to do so. I found to my shock and dismay that he's in contact with my brothers, in order to find me. And I encountered him when I went to visit family. I am glad I had Tara, the assistant chief of security come with me when I went to visit family. Who knows what would have happened if she wasn't there. He wanted to try to rekindle our, relationship." Lily giving a shudder at that very thought.

She was much calmer now, still holding Orin's hand.

Orin sat there processing what he'd been told, attempting not to accidentally crush Lily's hand with the surge of anger coursing through him. With effort, he took a long breath and managed to force the emotion down, swallowing it like a bitter drink. "Is it likely that he was the one who made the first attempt on her life, leaving once the job was believed finished and now returning once it was realized he failed?" His eyes moved around as if focusing on something only he could see as his mind worked to create connections in the story. "Who or what does Annabelle know that makes her such a target? And what is the probability that this 'Eric' as you called him will suddenly show up on a planet we stop at in an attempt to get at you or contacts you with demands and a hostage?" He stopped himself before he managed to get spun up. "I'm sorry, that was discourteous. It's difficult to turn it all off, and not try and fit the puzzle together."

"Orin it is okay, and you weren't being discourteous. My brain has been going though those questions as well. From what has been pieced together is, her fiance', whom she had been engaged to, he is the connection. Also-" she took in a breath before she said the next part. "There is a plan to utilize his weakness for me, in order to capture him. I need to be the bait to bring him down and take care of him following me, or even harming my family. His arrival at my hometown has given me a determination to stop him. He threw me off, it had frightened me. "

Lily placed her glass down, taking Orin's hand with her now free hand, and looking into his eyes. A soft smile appearing. "this situation also made me realize I needed to let you know. And to let you have the choice to step away, if you choose to do so. As I said earlier, I come with baggage."

"I'd say you're not the only one, but you already know the weight I carry." He replied. "We can carry our burdens together. 'No one is useless in this world, who lightens the burdens of another.'" His head quirked to the side, as if something struck him and he stood and quickly made his way to one of his storage boxes. He tossed the lid open and began to rummage inside. "Sorry, one second, just thought of something." He removed stacks of clothing, a few books and PaDDs and finally his gladius and pugio, stacking each on his bed. "Ah, there you are." he said, pulling out rectangular box. Orin turned back and placed the box in front of Lily.

Inside was a short knife in a leather sheathe and a single small coin. The sheathe was stamped to look like a woven basket while the white hilt of the knife was carved in intricate patterns and twisted silver wire was inlaid into them. "This," Orin said, "Is a puukko. In Finnish traditions it is given to someone you care for, signifying that you care for their well-being with the gift of an important tool."

Lily had watched Orin's action, with curiosity then when he placed his gift in front of her, she looked in wonderment at the puukko. She reached out to gently touch it, with her fingers feeling the handle. She looked up from it at Orin, this was significant, her eyes going misty.

"Its beautiful." she murmured softly. Her eyes lowered towards the coin that was with it. Then back into Orin's. "Please tell me more, and in what way do I wear the puukko?"

"Simply put, any way you wish. This isn't a knife in the conventional sense, it's a tool for everyday life. An item to help you in everything from trimming your nails to cutting bait, gardening or..." He lifted one leg and pulled what looked like an intricately carved elliptical dowel from within his boot. He pulled the two ends of wood apart, unsheathing his puukko. "Freeing yourself from bonds with something your captors don't expect."

"That is very handy, and I'll put mine in my boot as well, and when not wearing boots, perhaps a hidden area where I can reach it." She wasn't wearing boots at the moment, she was wearing slip on shoes. Perhaps she needed to wear a pair of boots, soft leather ones.

She picked up the coin, to examine it, "This coin, I've not seen anything like it before. There must be a story behind this i would like to hear the history of it."

"It's a Japanese coin known as a 'go-en', a five yen coin." He coughed and his cheeks turned pink. "It's... It's also a term for what is essentially seemingly serendipitous encounters leading to long and meaningful relationships." Orin stood up quickly and nearly went backwards over the storage container again, but managed to keep his balance. He began speaking quickly, as he walked over to the bathroom and splashed water on his face. "The gift of a knife has a superstition attached that the knife is severing ties or friendships between the giver and recipient. It's an old custom to include a coin with the gift that is then given from the knife receiver to the giver as a version of 'payment', making it the sale of an object instead of a gift. This specific coin was chosen to..." The pinkness in his cheeks turned to a fiery red across his face. "Not only counteract the superstition, but to help maintain a lasting relationship to the one I'd give this tool to..." He trailed off, grabbing a towel to dry his face and hide it, his feeling of embarrassment finally becoming too much.

Lily watched with a great amount of concern when Orin almost fell over the storage container. She quietly listened to the story of the coin, her eyes going rather round, and feeling touched by its meaning.

There would be the sound of the chair moving backwards, the one that Lily had been sitting upon, soft steps approaching where Orin stood with his face covered.

A warm hand took one of his hands, the coin was pressed into that hand. Lily gave a quiet command to the computer to turn down the lighting to that of softly glowing stars, the lights dimming. Arms went around his waist, Lily snuggling up against Orin, hearing his heart beating very fast. She said not a word, letting the quietness of his quarters settle around them.

Orin froze up, not knowing what to do. His mind, normally as neat and ordered as an excavation was instead a jumbled mess. He brushed the towel back and looked down at Lily now pressed against him. He tried focusing his mind, and failed. He tried thinking of the lamp and flame to narrow his thoughts, and failed. His fingers twitched, putting together a puzzle in his mind, and the pieces fell apart like loose snow.

His arms slowly and unconsciously encircled her, and his head dropped to rest on hers.

For Lily, Orin's arms around her felt so natural and warm, it gave her great comfort. There was a sense of home, sense of security, something that she had been longing for.

She didn't know how long they had been standing there, Lily then whispered, "Orin, shall we go sit down?" the only place that she could think of and would be comfortable. was either the bed or the sofa. Sofa would be best, Lily didn't want to make Orin more uncomfortable, than what he was feeling.

Lily moved some items to one side, and took a seat, tugging at Orin's hand to encourage him to take a seat next to her.

He followed, moving rather stiffly, and sat ramrod straight next to her. "Sorry for the mess." he managed after a few seconds of quiet.

"The mess it is nothing, no apologies necessary." Lily responded quietly. She knew that things have gone into unexplored territory for Orin. He allowed his personal walls open up just enough to allow her entrance.

"Want to listen to some music while we sit here, quietly? " Lily gently reaching out to take his hand once more. That was all that she felt she should do, nothing more, nothing less.

Little steps, and that was good enough for her.

She could feel the knife he gave to her safely tucked away in her pocket, giving her a soft smile.

"Music, yes. Music would be nice." He stammered. "Computer, play Franz Liszt, Liebestraum number three."

As the piano began to play its melody, Orin began to relax slightly, closing his eyes and allowing his mind begin to clear by focusing on the music and he began to feel less anxious. After a minute he traded the hand Lily held with the other, and after a few heartbeats that felt like an eternity, reached his arm up and over her head, moving it to her opposite shoulder and leaning his head over to rest on hers. His heart hammered, and he was sure she could hear it over the music.

Love Dreams, was the rough translation of this piece's title. Lily knew this piece as she had played this before, many times. One of three pieces, nocturnes This was her favorite of the three.

Lily didn't make a sound when Orin drew her close to him, though her eyes widened slightly, then her eyes closed, concentrating on the music. Concentrating on the warmth of Orin. Her heart swelled along with the music, love can be so complex, it being reflected in the music.

Lily was contented with staying right where she was, savoring this moment, this moment of tranquility.

Four minutes later, the last notes of the nocturne played. No longer having something to focus on, his anxiety got the better of his and he quickly sat up straight. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten to let go of Lily before doing so and dragged her to the side. Making an attempt to right the both of them, Orin only manged to knock their heads together. Seeing stars, he made an attempt to fix the problem by shifting is body, before over-adjusting again and taking them both off the couch.

Orin's back his the floor and once again his glasses went skittering off, this time going under the couch. Once his vision cleared, he blinked a few times, before looking right into the eyes of Lily, who'd landed atop him.

"S-sorry." he managed to squeak.

Was it an impulse or acting upon a desire she's had for quite sometime? Whatever the reason why, would anyone be able to answer this later on? It didn't matter, Lily leaned in and kissed him. It was a gentle kiss,like a butterfly landing upon the petal of a flower.

A moment later Lily's eyes widened realizing what she had just done, moving her lips away from his, her cheeks turning dark pink. She didn't know what to say, could only just stare into Orin's beautiful dark brown eyes.

Then she moved off of him. "Oh! Um...I'm not going to apologize for that. "

LIly felt so embarrassed, perhaps it was too soon for her to do that. She covered her face with her hands, feeling her cheeks heat up.

Time had slowed to nanoseconds in Orin's brain, which had short-circuited the second Lily had kissed him. Half thoughts and malformed ideas piled up against emotions he hadn't felt in a long time, dulling everything but the feeling of her. Only after she moved off of him did the world speed back up, and a thought smashed through the pileup in his mind like a commandment from a ruler; Kiss her you absolute moron. He knew there wasn't enough time to look for where his glasses had disappeared to, so he fixated on which blur was likely Lily and moved over to her. Only when he was close did he see her hands covering her face, and the crimson color reaching her ears, much like his. He reached out and slipped a hand under one of hers, moving it gently enough to cradle her cheek, and staring intensely into her eyes.

"Never apologize for something like that." He said, twisting his hand to bring his fingers under her chin and lifting it slightly before tenderly bringing their lips back together.

The simple gesture of Orin's touched Lily,

When his lips met hers, Lily's eyes briefly widened then drifted closed as she savored this moment. She felt warmth, shyness, exhilaration. All of those at once.

When their lips parted, she leaned her forehead against his, her eyes still closed.

All she could muster out was "wow'

"You have perfectly summed up a myriad of thoughts and feelings in a single word." He answered, his thumb still tracing the outline of her jaw. He tried to focus on the warm feeling, instead of the ever cold anxiety that teased the back of his mind asking the question he felt the need to parrot. "So, what now?"

Lily opened her eyes at his question, looking into his. What now? It was a good question, one she wasn't entirely certain she had an answer for.

Her smile grew slightly as she placed her hand over his, the one still resting against her cheek.

"Well..." Lily began, her cheeks warming once more. "We could sit here and try to figure out what this means."

There was a slight pause, a playful glimmer entering her eyes.

"Or, we could snuggle on the couch until we fall asleep."

Her smile turned a little more shy.

"I think I like that idea better."

Orin closed his eyes and with an effort, forced that cold feeling and the 'what-ifs' back into the dark space at the back of his mind. It could be a problem for another day.

"Yeah, I think I like that idea better too. Computer, new musical compilation. Chopin, Nocturnes, play all and reduce lighting to 20%." He looked back at Lily. "Now, the important question, blanket or no blanket?"

With a soft chuckle Lily simply said. "Blanket."

---

Lieutenant Lily Marlow
Assistant CMO
USS Orcrist

Lieutenant Orin Sempton
Xenoarchaeologist/Xenoanthropologist
USS Orcrist

 

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