Full Frontal Tattoo Removal
Posted on Sat Sep 12th, 2026 @ 2:29pm by Master Chief Petty Officer Vashti Rao & Petty Officer 3rd Class Dallas Reese
2,845 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Maintenance and Recovery
Location: Corridor, Deck 19, USS Astrea
Timeline: November 5, 2389 | 2105 Hours
Master Chief Petty Officer Vashti Rao, Petty Officer 3rd Class Dallas Reese, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Zal Rixi were the last of the Astrea's crew to return to the ship following the volleyball tournament on Amberwash Beach.
The three of them had made their way aboard via the transporter and each was carrying something. Rixi carried the whiteboard under one arm, Dallas had a small cargo container tucked against his hip, and Vashti was marveling at a volleyball in both hands as they continued down the corridor.
The ball had acquired signatures from nearly everyone who had participated in the tournament from the players, to the referees, to the locals. Some weren't just signatures. Some had squeezed in a few messages into whatever blank spaces they could find. Most were legible, and some were very heroic attempts at legibility. One particular individual had left nothing more than a drawing of a stick figure being struck in the face by a ball.
She knew exactly who had drawn it.
Rixi reached up and grabbed her bare shoulder and feigned sadness. "I've never felt my body so loose," she said. "By the Prophets, it's just what I needed."
Vashti glanced sideways at her. "Mine too."
Rixi had donned a pair of orange board shorts over her bikini bottoms but still was still wearing her green athletic bikini top with the scoop neck. In contrast, Vashti had chosen a gold-coloured, high-neck bikini top for the day and a pair of matching high-leg athletic bottoms that accentuated her curvy frame.
There was something deeply satisfying about simply saying it. Vashti had spent so much of the past year covering for officers on Astrea, whether it was Nash or Daynah or even tactical training with the marines. Just getting three days to lounge on the beach and watch volleyball had been worth the time it took to organize the event.
"Thank you," she said.
Rixi looked at her. "For what?"
"For coming. For helping. For putting up with me while I fretted about whether anyone would show."
They reached the turbolift. Rixi stopped and shifted the whiteboard in her hands, holding it out for Vashti.
"It's all yours now," she said with smile before glancing over at Dallas.
Vashti accepted the whiteboard carefully. It still contained the entire tournament bracket with scores and small notations from each match. She wondered why she was keeping it--she could have left it for matter reclamation but something about it made it feel like a keepsake. For a second, she considered framing it and hanging it in her quarters.
The turbolift doors opened and as Rixi stepped inside, she grinned back at her old roommate.
"Enjoy your new quarters, Master Chief."
Vashti gave her a suspicious look. "I'm going to go ahead and pretend I don't know what you mean."
"You know what I meant."
The doors closed as Rixi grinned evilly at both Dallas and Vashti.
As Rixi departed and left them alone, Dallas turned to Vashti, all sense of bravado gone and replaced with something more candid. "You did an amazing job organising the tournament today, you should be proud of that."
Dallas himself didn't mind that he'd been knocked out early on in the tournament because sport wasn't really his forte anyway and he was more of a casual observer. "I am all yours until tomorrow morning when I have to do and pick Tristan up, so make the most of me while I'm here."
He spread his arms out as wide as possible while still holding the container, and he smiled at her.
Vashti smiled at him and set the whiteboard carefully against the bulkhead of the corridor. She had barely gotten her hands from when she stepped toward him, closing the narrow space between them and gently pushed herself into his open arms.
Time ground to a halt for Dallas as Vashti crossed into his space and his arms closed around her, fitting perfectly as though she was made to be his missing puzzle piece. To him, it was intimacy on a whole different level. But the question was, what were they to each other?
Looking down slightly at her and tucking a stray piece of hair from her face to behind her ear, Dallas noted how it felt like he could get lost in her eyes for eternity, if she'd let him, of course.
"Ah, Vee. You're gorgeous. You know that, right?" He could stay there all night with her but he was starting to feel the cold and had decided for some reason not to bring a shirt. Rookie mistake on his part. And the tattoo stickers were starting to itch a bit. "And smart and talented, and all-round amazing, and I want to keep giving you all the compliments I can think of, but how about anywhere but here in the corridor, so we don't end up in the rumour section of Engineers Weekly?"
Vashti smiled back at him, placing one hand against his chest. "I know the editor of that publication," she said, her mouth curving into a smile. "And if she starts writing about us, I'll rip one of her antennae out."
The thumb of her hand stroked Dallas' chest idly before she leaned up slightly and kissed him. It was a warm but unhurried kiss. Something about spending so much time with him over a three-day period made it much easier to accomplish. Their cute banter while on-duty and the horseplay while off-duty, remained entirely undefined but there was a cozy hearthfire she could feel between them. She felt the need to see just how far they could stoke it.
When she finally drew back, she remained close enough that their noses nearly touched.
Her hand drifted lower as she looked at him, over his toned abdominal muscles and slipping under the waistband of his shorts. Simultaneously, it felt daring and wild to her--the Master Chief Petty Officer who kept crewmembers in line and followed such a strict code that governed her daily life aboard Astrea.
She stopped and raised an eyebrow at Dallas. She could feel several small raised edges in his upper pelvic region.
"How many of those do you have down there?"
Dallas' mind had short circuited when she kissed him and he had to bring it back to the present when her hands went down south. It felt like he was seeing things more clearly than he'd seen in a very long time, and the majority of his vision was filled by her. The deep brown of her eyes, the faint freckles across her nose, her smile...
Reality came around again when Dallas felt Vashti's hands slip beneath his waistband and it made him pull back slightly and gently move her hands out while he laughed. "I think that's something you could find out in a private place, not out here in public view where everyone can see us."
As Vashti put her hands back on him, above the waist this time, Dallas felt her touch his stomach just above the navel and he recoiled involuntarily at the memory that came flooding back causing him pain. It was enough to just about send him into a panic and lose himself to it, and his eyes were the dead giveaway something was going on. Dallas fought it so that Vashti wouldn't see, "So your quarters or mine?" the best grin he could give was on display.
The Chief of the Boat sensed something about her touch had caused him discomfort but didn't completely back away. She removed her hand from his stomach and instead placed it on his forearm.
"Are you okay, Dallas?" she asked, genuinely concerned.
"I am fine," Dallas lied and smiled, nodding his head before giving her a quick kiss. "Nothing to worry about right here and now, it's a story for a different time."
Vashti studied him for a moment after the kiss. She was enough of a people person to know the difference between someone simply saying they were fine and someone actually being fine. Dallas had smiled and it seemed convincing enough, but his eyes betrayed him.
She decided not to call him on the lie.
"Okay," she said softly. "A story for another time."
There was a kindness in the way she said it, and something else beneath it. A promise, perhaps, that another time could exist.
She reached down for the whiteboard and handed the volleyball to Dallas so she could gather it.
"Come on," she said. "Let's get out of here before Engineers Weekly sends a reporter."
They walked together throw the quiet corridors of Astrea. Being back aboard the ship made the usual familiar sounds seem alien--the slight vibration in the deck, the recycled air, and the artificial lighting.
She stayed close to Dallas as they walked but she didn't reach for his hand. That felt like something they could discover later.
When the doors to her quarters opened, Vashti stepped inside and for a moment felt the old strangeness of the place. She has been aboard the ship for more than a year, yet these quarters had only been hers for a little more than a week before the tournament. They were spacious by the standards of an NCO, but then again she was the highest-ranking NCO aboard Astrea. Even a senior officer would find the berth extravagant.
"Look at you getting the major upgrade!" Dallas commented with a whistle as he stepped inside the quarters and took a look around before letting his gaze fall upon Vashti. He was grateful she hadn't pressed the issue but also resolved to tell her in time the why behind his freak out.
"Vee," he said in a bit of a softer tone than before as he reached for her hand to bring her in. Within a moment they were back to being close, only a few inches apart. "We've got something good going between us right now, and I appreciate you more than you realise, but do you think these stickers, especially the ones you managed to put on me underneath these boardshorts, do you think they could come off now?" There was a glint on mischief back in his eyes as he said it but his mind was curious to hear her answer for it.
She grinned and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head against his chest. "I'm happy with what we have too, Dallas."
Vashti's hands then found their way downward, along the small of his back and came to rest just below his waistline on the very top of his buttocks. She pulled back from him long enough to flash a wicked grin, running her fingers along the waistband of his shorts, moving from back to front, and stretching out the elastic.
"Take them off," she said playfully, allowing the elastic to snap back against him.
She turned to a nearby drawer that was fixed into her desk and removed a small tool, checking its calibration with the flick of her thumb.
The shorts fell to the floor as requested, leaving him in a pair of somewhat form fitting black and blue boxers on, "Yes, ma'am." His grin was ticked up on one side of his face. If it was anyone else, Dallas would've felt the embarrassment of being mostly naked in front of another person. With Vee, it wasn't the case.
He was guarded about how his bodily appearance looked but also wondered what it was Vashti actually saw when she looked at him: sun kissed skin and soft washboard abs hidden underneath a layer of scarring in various places; a mess of an artwork made by someone else.
"What on Earth is that you've got?" he queried with a raised brow and a teasing tone. "And don't tell me it's going to be used on me to remove these."
With her eyes fixed on the tool and gently flicking it's single button with her thumb, she answered. "For everyone else, they had just one tattoo. Easily removable with some water."
Satisfied the tool was now calibrated properly, she turned and took in the person standing in front of her. She had seen Dallas without a shirt before. His torso was well-toned, if a little muscly. However, she noted several scars in places that she hadn't yet felt comfortable asking him about. After all, Vashti believed in letting someone share parts of themselves without being prodded into talking about it.
"For you, I'm guessing you've got about eight to ten of these slapped on." She smiled. "This is a dermaline dissolver. Tenzi uses it for ingrown hairs around her antennae. Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
"That is a disturbing thought I never wanted to have about Tenzi." Dallas commented. He let out a deep breath, "Okay then, and I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but so I don't do myself like fifty points of damage in trying to remove them, feel free to have your way with me. Again." He added in a wink and a chuckle for good measure.
Vashti paused a moment, staring at Dallas in his tight blue-and-black boxer shorts. In all her playfulness about removing the tattoos and even in the planning to do it with the dermaline dissolver, she didn't once consider how close she would actually need to be to remove them. If either Tenzi or Rixi were present, they would easily see just how much their friend was faltering.
"Um," the Chief of the Boat stammered, her eyes fixed on Dallas' groin area.
With a bit of courage and a dash of excitement, Vashti stepped toward the half-Rigelian and lowered herself to her knees, looking up at him. She attempted to make things as clinical as she could but it was directly in front of her face. She began perusing the area around his waistband and identified no less than four tattoos, some tucked under it.
"I think the boxer shorts will have to come off too."
"Vee, you look super uncomfortable right now," Dallas laughed as he looked down at her. Normal guy thoughts proceeded to warp through his mind but he neglected to say them out of courtesy. "I'm all for stripping right down for you any day of the week, but if you show me how to use that dermaline dissolver, I can do those ones myself if you want?"
Vashti sat back on her legs and sighed. "You're going to need a mirror for the ones on your butt."
"How." Dallas deadpanned and looked confused as anything: he didn't recall putting them there, "Can... Just, how." It was an absolute mystery. He shook his head, "How about we just don't worry about those ones for a while? I mean, there are so many other things that can be done that don't involve stickers?"
"Oh?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
She came to her feet and slowly leaned in, kissing him gently on the lips. When they parted, she looked longingly into Dallas' eyes.
"Let's forget the stickers for now. I've been waiting for the moment for a long time, Dallas."
Something inside of Vashti had begun to take over. It was more than an urge--it was the culmination of months of teasing, talking, and friendship.
Like a Klingon targ bent on making a meal out of something, she gently and slowly began moving Dallas toward the door to the bedroom.
Dallas didn't pay attention to his hands coming up to her hips and pulling her in before releasing her when she started to guide them both towards the bedroom.
Rolling with the flow, he just accepted it, "I'm all yours."
Vashti had him cornered in the bedroom just against the edge of the bed. She reached behind her back and untied the bikini top, letting it drop to the floor, all while keeping her eyes locked on Dallas'.
She placed both hands against his chest and pushed hard, sending him onto his back as he hit the bed and bounced slightly. Before he could react, she was straddling him.
The Chief of the Boat looked down at Dallas and ran her hands along his chest, a feral look in her eyes.
"You are definitely all mine."
Master Chief Petty Officer Vashti Rao
Chief of the Boat
USS Astrea
(NPC of JB Dorsainvil)
Petty Officer 3rd Class Dallas Reese
Slipstream Specialist
USS Astrea
(NPC of Eirly Andersen)
Petty Officer 2nd Class Zal Rixi
Engineering Officer
USS Astrea
(NPC of JB Dorsainvil)
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