Darwin's And Suresh's Awesome Return Home - Part III

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2015 @ 1:40pm by Ensign Six of Ten & Suresh & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Ensign Reva Madhava

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Turbolift / Six's Quarters

As soon as Suresh, Reva, and Six cleared the doors of Saturnalia, he spoke.

“Keep walking until we get to the turbolift and no looking interested in anyone.” This last was directed at Reva. He greeted a few here and there as they passed along the corridor and most they met seemed to give him a wide berth.

Sullen and irritated, Reva followed the man, but only because Darwin had told her to do so. Maybe she should have taken Seyla’s offer to have someone else escort her home. At least then, people wouldn’t be getting the idea that she was with this vile Romulan. As they entered an otherwise empty turbolift and the doors closed, she turned on him, “Who do you think you are, ordering me around?”

Suresh leaned back against the turbolift wall and crossed his arms. “Would you rather I let those men drag you off and have their way with you till you were beaten to a pulp? Then tossed in a cage in a cargo hold to be sold on Stameris to whoever came up with some pocket change ?”

“Six and I can hold our own,” she held her head high and looked at Six for verification.

Six was now shaking her head. “I know of that place Reva. It’s a slave market. Some of the drones on my ship….they knew and so we all knew, you know?” She stood with her back to the wall, looking from one to the other. “Perhaps we should just say thank you and let it go. We’re good but not invincible.” She really wasn’t sure what to think, either of Saturnalia or the man who stood before them. He seemed angry now, but it was tempered with concern.

Reva turned her back on both of them and stood facing the lift doors, her arms folded in front of her. “Whatever,” she spat out.

Suresh smiled slightly. “Be more careful where you wander in the future, both of you. However,” his tone softened slightly. “If you do decide to go back to Saturnalia, no one will cause you any problems. Do not tell Darwin I said that, he’ll think I’m encouraging you.”

“Thank you,” Six murmured. She touched Reva’s shoulder a moment, the touch conciliatory. She appreciated Suresh’s concern but she was more worried that Darwin might mention the incident to Bryce. If so, she would be in so much trouble. She was also worried about what was buzzing in Reva. Her ire over the idea of belonging to someone could be a problem. You belong to Riley… She wasn’t sure if that would help or make it worse.

“My pleasure,” Suresh answered, turning his attention back to Six. The idea of a Borg that was no longer Borg made him really curious. Other things about Six made him curious too, and he knew Darwin had picked up on that. The thought made him smile more.

The lift slowed to a stop and the doors opened. Reva stepped aside for Six and Suresh. “I’m going to go up and see Riley, Six. Since you reminded me,” she was still irritated, even more so now with Six’s nudge. “We’ll talk later.”

Six nodded. “See you tomorrow.” She exited the lift and made her way along the corridor with Suresh at her side. A quick glance back showed the lift doors closed and she looked up at Suresh. “She’s really mad.”

Suresh sighed aloud. “Yeah, I got that. She just doesn’t seem to understand the danger down there, especially for people like you two. I think I’ll let her take up that fight with Darwin, however. Maybe he can get through to her.”

“Maybe,” Six answered. “I do appreciate your stepping in though. I know what they wanted and it was...as you described. Will you tell Lt. Darwin thanks for me when you see him?”

“Of course,” he kept pace with her, glancing over to catch sight of her dark hair. He wanted to touch it, see if it was as silky as it looked. He noted the pointed ears. Vulcan?, he wondered. “What species are you? Prior to being Borg, I mean.”

“Halanan,” she answered. “I was born in the New Providence colony on Jouret IV. The Borg took the entire colony when I was three months old. They were the only life I knew until three years ago.” She stole a quick glance up at Suresh as they walked. She could sense that he had no fear of her, nor did he revile her as others did at first glance. In fact, what she sensed in him was interest. That surprised her but then again, he was Romulan. If anyone understood what being an outsider, and a hated one, was like it would be him.

“Just three years? I suspect you’ve had quite the learning curve in being able to socialize with others.” He paused and considered his next words carefully. “You might want to be careful who you make friends with. Your angry Orion companion could get you hurt.”

“She’ll settle down, she’s just a spitfire and high-spirited. Telling Reva what she can’t do is the fastest way to get her wound up.” Six smiled as they reached her door. She unlocked it and stepped through, expecting Suresh would follow since they were still talking.

He paused at the threshold then followed her in. “And you? What’s a quick way to rile you up?” He smiled, thinking about what she might be like when excited.

“Well, a man at the Wormhole found that out when he started a fight he couldn’t finish. He got very insulting about what I am and learned that you cannot judge by appearances. He won’t bother me again, mostly because I held a knife to his throat.” She laughed and slipped off her shoes. “Have a seat.”

He thought about the last person he knew to have held a knife to someone’s throat and had to suppress a shudder. At least he’d been able to kill that man. He sat beside her. “I see. So, insult your heritage. I can see that as a reason to be upset. Personally, I favor going for kneecaps. Slightly easier targets, no risk of actually killing the person, and it’s unlikely they’ll chase after you.” He was only partly serious.

That got a laugh from Six. ”Makes sense. This one needed his legs to run out of the bar, however. Bryce told me that next time I should let security handle it and not pull knives on people. As you said, a big learning curve and it’s still a little bumpy at times.” Her expression turned serious. “Things like that don’t scare me. Those men tonight though...they did. It wasn’t hatred in them, it was predatory. No one ever looks at me that way and I didn’t know how to react.”

“It’s okay, Six,” he put an arm around her shoulders, taking a moment to touch her hair; it was as silky as he thought it might be. “I’m just glad I was there to prevent anything bad from happening to you.”

“Me too. Don’t worry about Reva.” Six hesitated before she continued. “She is a good friend. She was one of the first people here who looked beyond my past and appreciates me for who I am, not what.” The interest she sensed in Suresh had grown stronger and it was coming from him in waves. Six was both curious and flattered. She also knew Reva would have a heart attack if she were here right now and seeing this. “Can I get you anything?”

“Oh, no, I’m good. I’d just like to sit here with you. That okay?”

“Sure. It’s not often I have company here, other than Bryce. Normally these quarters are shared but the other officer moved out.” Six shrugged. “It’s nice to have a visitor.”

A spike of jealousy lanced through him. “Who is Bryce?”

“Oh, a friend of mine. We worked together on my previous post and now he’s here. He works with Lt. Darwin in Security.” Her eyebrows shot up as she sensed Suresh’s jealousy. “He is somewhat like Darwin though, in that he sees me as a kid. He’s sort of become family for me. I don’t really have any others - no one knows where they are.”

“I’m sorry for that. It’s difficult being without family.” He took her hand in his. “Would you like to go to dinner sometime?”

She looked down at their joined hands as she considered the offer. She had so many questions about this man who’d practically appeared out of nowhere. Everything she read from him, the conflicting emotions, was confusing. On the other hand Lt. Darwin trusted him, that much she was sure of, and that was a mark in Suresh’s favor. Finally, she nodded.

“I would love to. Very much.”

“Lovely,” he smiled and started telling her where they’d go, that he loved the music at -- then there was a knock at the door. He paused and asked Six, “Visitors this late?”

“And I was just saying I never get any.” She looked at Suresh and shrugged, then called out. “Enter!”

The door opened, admitting Darwin. He stepped in and saw Six on the couch with Suresh crowding her on one side, holding her hand. “What are you doing?”, he demanded of the man. “Walk them home, not keep them company till odd hours of the night.”

“Odd hours? On a station?” Six asked. Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at Darwin, who seemed more than a little uptight. “What’s the problem?”

Suresh started to speak, then stopped, hiding a smile. Six seemed to have the situation in hand well enough.

“Hush, you,” he dismissed Six. “I’ve been looking for you, Surie. Seyla’s taking the deal. You need to meet with her tomorrow. And stay away from the ensigns. They’re too young for you.”

That was good news for Suresh and his smile broke through. “Excellent! I’ll see her first thing in the morning, then show my face around a bit.” Darwin’s demand chased the smile away, however. “Is that so? Why would you think that? Have you seen Admiral Wegener’s fiancée lately?”

Six looked from Darwin to Suresh. Their conversation made absolutely no sense to her but she assumed it was some station business that was none of her concern. The request to stay away from the ensigns, however, was her business but she waited to see what Darwin would say.

Pausing and considering his argument options, he looked at Six then Suresh. “Maybe ‘young’ isn’t the word I should be using, Surie. Perhaps I should say ‘innocent’. Too innocent for the likes of you. And me.”

“He just asked me out to dinner, Mr. Darwin, not to strip down and run off to the bedroom.” Six’s tone was matter-of-fact. “I asked him in because I was enjoying his company and you trust him or he’d never have set foot in here.”

Suresh covered his mouth with his hand, doing his best not to laugh at this point. He cleared his throat and finally spoke. “What she said.”

Hung on his own petard, Darwin sighed. “Look, Ensign, I trust him with regard to some things. With a gi-- woman like you, no. You don’t need the hassle that is Suresh. Believe me, dinner is just a first step to asking you to strip down and... ah,” he’d given himself a mental image of that and lost his train of thought. He was too tired for this. And, just possibly, too old. “What’s Bryce going to say?”

“Is it his business? He’s my friend, not my father, nor are you.” Six was annoyed now and she grumbled. “At least someone would be asking…” She let that go when she sensed a flare of embarrassment in both men. “Forget I said that. Look, it’s just dinner, alright?” She’d said the same thing about her dinner with Vic and it had been true. “Are you here to pull Suresh away? Because last time I was talking to a man, someone else came and pulled him away to go deal with something and interrupted a very nice dinner.”

Was he there to pull Suresh away? Well... no, though he took issue with leaving Suresh with the young woman. He was sure Suresh would corrupt the girl, if not in mind, then in body, and if not that, then in reputation. But she was right: he wasn’t her daddy. In any sense of the word. “No, I’m not. Though if Suresh has an ounce of decency in him, he’ll leave of his own accord. I just had a message to deliver. Now I’m off to my own bed. Suresh, you should be too.”

As much as he hated to admit it, Darwin was right. It was late and he was exhausted. He turned to Six and smiled. “He’s right, I should go. He and I just got in from a two-week away mission and I’ve yet to get home. I’m wiped out. But dinner, tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at 1900.” He raised her hand to his lips, brushing a soft kiss over her skin. The contact lit him up like a supernova and it took him a few moments to gather his senses.

“Very well.” Six remained seated as Suresh stood. “Tomorrow then. Goodnight Lieutenant.”

“Good night, Ensign. Come on, Surie,” Darwin pulled Suresh out the door and down the hall.

Out in the corridor, Suresh looked at Darwin as they began to walk. “So what was that all about?”

‘What?”

“The whole ‘she’s too young, too innocent, all he wants is to drag you back to the cave’ stuff.” Suresh’s tone was casual, despite the question. “I thought you’d be happy I might be interested in someone who isn’t Li.”

“Well, yeah, that is a good thing. But, seriously, Suresh, these ensigns are... if they’re more than half my age, I’d be surprised. And this one, she’s just three years out from being a part of a hive mind.”

“I am thirty-eight, Dar,” Suresh responded. “That’s young by my species’ standards, just as it is for Vulcans. However, you’re right in that I’ve lived through and seen a hell of a lot in those years. But think about Six. I suspect what she’s experienced dwarfs anything you or I have done.” He paused a moment and smiled. “For the record, I was kidding. Li is not on my list.”

“I’m glad to hear that, about Li.” They walked on in silence as Darwin considered Suresh’s point. “How do you raise a kid in a collective? That’d be a fucked up childhood; you’d know all the adult things way before you should. What I said still stands for the Orion, though. And it still stands for both as far as not pulling them into the Cherry Pit’s politics and such.”

Suresh nodded. “I don’t want her anywhere near the maneuvering in the Pit, and you need not worry about Reva. She doesn’t like me very much.” Darwin’s observation brought to mind a terrible image and he shuddered. “I find the idea of growing up in the collective horrifying, Darwin. How did she live through that and not come out completely crazy? She’s not the smoothest in the area of social interaction but she does surprisingly well all things considered. Who is this Bryce, by the way?”

“First, did you drop Reva off at her quarters?”

“She took the lift on up. She was going to see Riley and Six seemed to think that was okay,” Suresh answered. “So who is Bryce and should I be concerned about him?”

“Bryce works with me and Gilroy. The only concern you should have about him is him thinking that you’re the old Suresh. If you’re thinking that he’d be competition for Six, I don’t think he’s into her that way. He’s more the big brother type and, like a lot of Security folks, he’s protective.” Darwin eyed Suresh, wondering if he’d take the hint.

“In other words, watch my step and don’t hurt her. I get it, I get it.” Suresh patted Darwin on the back. “Stop worrying. As she said, it’s just dinner. Though now I am curious who this other interrupted dinner was with.”

“Ask her,” Darwin shrugged.

*************************
Lt. M. Darwin
Ensign Reva Madhava
Ensign Six of Ten
Suresh