The Saga Begins - Conclusion

Posted on Wed Jul 8th, 2015 @ 1:18pm by Suresh & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Ensign Reva Madhava & Seyla

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Seyla's Quarters

Seyla returned to her quarters, as she always did, just after the start of Alpha shift. It was coming to be her routine: breakfast with Will, then once he left for Piper Medical, she came here to check the previous night's receipts. This morning was slightly different: when she entered, her bedroom door was closed. Smiling, she set about her work, only to be interrupted by the main door opening. "You," she muttered as Suresh entered, "Now what?"

“Good morning to you too.” Suresh smiled and took a seat. “I understand there was a little trouble last night with your little project at Iapetus. Two of my men were entering as Reva and your boy dashed out. Everything alright?”

"Hush," she said, a touch harshly. "I'm well aware of what happened." She looked toward the door as it opened again. This time, she got up and reset the controls to require permission. For this visitor, though, it was too late. "Morning, Darwin."

"Morning!" He grinned. "To you, too, Suresh. I suppose you've both heard about Iapetus? Pain in the ass there. We have four Klingons in the brig who are claiming a very potent Orion made them go nuts." He looked at Seyla, a brow raised.

"I assure you, it wasn't me," she said, retaking her seat at her desk.

“From what I heard, that wasn’t the issue.” Suresh looked up to Darwin. “Two of my men got there while things were still going on. They said that the two who caused the uproar were the same two we saw at Saturnalia. They also saw Reva being carried out to get her away.”

Darwin frowned as Suresh told him this information. He'd already drawn the conclusion that the "potent Orion" wasn't Seyla. For one, the Klingons said the Orion had black hair; for another, and this one he wouldn't tell Seyla, but they'd also said the Orion was young. Those descriptors put Seyla out of consideration. "Did you give Reva pheromones again?"

"What?! No! She went out with her girlfriend, met a couple of boys and... That's the story. So far."

“I suspect it was one of those boys who was carrying her out. She’s lucky,” Suresh commented. “Which brings up my other reason for being here. Why was one of your boys walking Six home at 0200?”

Darwin shot a glare at Suresh, "At least she made it home; Sukotav reported that Reva didn't show up at his place and he can't reach her. She's not at her quarters either." He glanced at the closed bedroom door; Reva's commbadge, at least, was showing up as being here, in Seyla's place.

Seyla almost shot a glare at Suresh as well. "Perhaps he was being polite?" Briefly, she turned to her accounting then stated, "I don't show any charges for Six of Ten. If he's one of mine, then he was on his own time." She calmly looked at Suresh then called out when the door chimed, "Enter." Glancing at Darwin and Suresh, she muttered, "This is Grand Central this morning."

The doors opened and Owain strolled in. “Good morning Sey --” He stopped, seeing first Darwin, then Suresh. Oh boy. “Lt. Darwin. Suresh.”

Suresh’s eyes narrowed and he nodded at Owain. “Seems I am encountering you all over, or almost encountering. At least down here is somewhere you are supposed to be.” His tone was chilly.

"Need to talk to you about that, too, Surie," Darwin said as an aside to Suresh. He spoke up, "Who is this, Seyla?"

"He's one of mine. An employee," she was getting testy from all the questions and the sudden spike of testosterone in the room. "Owain's place is wherever he needs to be for a client, Suresh," she educated him coolly. "Or, wherever a friend may need him to be, as the case may be."

“I appreciate the thought but that won’t be necessary in the future Owain,” Suresh informed him. He rubbed his forehead and looked to Darwin. “Care to share?”

"Not here, no." Darwin dismissed Suresh's question. Instead, he looked at Seyla. "Reva is here, isn't she? If she isn't, then you have a lot--"

"I'm right here, Lieutenant!" Reva stood in the doorway of Seyla's bedroom, dressed in what must have been one of Seyla's robes. It wasn't nearly as opaque as Reva might have thought. "Thanks for the concern."

Darwin's concern was the first thing to leave his mind. His ability to form words was the second. He stared.

Seeing Owain, Reva smiled and waved, "Morning! How was the rest of your night with Six?" She turned her gaze on Suresh as she finished the question.

“It was fine,” Owain answered. He glanced at Suresh and left it at that.

Suresh smiled at the question. “Her night ended with me as it should have, thanks. And hello Reva, you seem to be the subject of much speculation and worry this morning, including Riley.”

She frowned and glanced back into the bedroom. Riley... she would need to talk to him as soon as possible. "Well, speculate all you like." She walked to Seyla's side and leaned down to hug her. "Thank you for the bed."

"Anytime, kitten," she patted Reva's arm and turned an amused look on Suresh.

Having kept his eyes on Reva, Darwin had missed what Suresh had said. Indeed, really all he heard was, "You... the bed," and that phrase caused all sorts of thoughts to flood his head, none of them able to be aired in polite company. A few even included both Seyla and Reva. It wasn't fair, the way she strolled about in that thin robe....

Owain looked at Darwin and raised an eyebrow. He then coughed. “Lt. Darwin? Was there something you came down to address?”

Despite his intense dislike for Owain, Suresh had to laugh at his question. Indeed, Darwin looked as if he’d been stunned by a phaser as he watched Reva. “Too innocent I think you said, Dar?”

Jarred aware by Owain's cough, Darwin sneered and growled, "Fuck you, Surie." It was almost good-natured. He stepped forward and grabbed Reva's arm. "Ensign, get dressed," he said, leading her back to the bedroom where he shouted, "My Gods, man! Is there a problem with your clothing!?" He came back out, sans Reva, and tossed a glance at the others, pointed a thumb into the bedroom and said simply,"Naked man."

Smirking as she tried not to laugh, Seyla said, "Naked men are a common thing in that room, as I'm sure you recall, Darwin."

"You're not helping," Darwin growled at her.

Both Suresh and Owain were still laughing and trying not to, unsuccessfully. Finally, Suresh spoke.

“Well, at least we all know that no one kidnapped Reva in the night and we know where she is. I suppose we can go about our business, yes Darwin?”

"I'm starting to think that Gilroy has the right of it: arrest her and let her department CO deal with her," Darwin said.

"Hey, I haven't done anything to be arrested for!" Reva, who had made a quick change into jeans and a T-shirt (maddeningly for Darwin, she hadn't put a bra on), argued.

"Ask the Klingons! They say you started the fight last night," Darwin said to her breasts.

“I can vouch for the fact that she did not.” It was Marcus, who emerged from the bedroom in his boxers. “She was trying not to get taken out against her will.”

Surprisingly, since it was Reva, Suresh defended her. “I know those two men, and she’s lucky they didn’t just shoot her and haul her out. So if she got in some good hits, then more power to her.”

Feeling impotent, Darwin looked at the five, tossed his hands up and said, "Fine! I won't arrest her. This time. You," he pointed at Reva, "Watch yourself."

She glared at him and said, "I did, last night in the mirror." This close, she could read when that sent his thoughts swirling down into the gutter. She laughed.

"Kitten, don't tease the bear," Seyla lightly admonished her, though she was amused. She pulled Reva over to sit by her. "Did any of you males have more you wish to discuss with either us?"

“Right now? No. We’ll talk a bit later when it’s not so busy,” Suresh answered. He stood and looked at Darwin. “We should leave them to their..ahh...business.”

He was about to protest that Reva wasn't part of their business but... then again, the way she'd just spoken to him was more like Seyla. Darwin nodded. "Ensign, let Sukotav know you're okay. If he contacts me, I'll tell him where you are." He left with Suresh close behind him.

Suresh and Darwin left Seyla’s quarters and the doors closed behind them. “Get a grip, Dar. Or give in and throw her over your shoulder and carry her off. But damn, man, you’re drooling.”

"She's an Ensign! And young! And apparently not very bright!" Darwin lamented, trying to keep the conversation just between them. "Seyla cut me off... I need to find a girlfriend. As for drooling... What male wouldn't?" He kept walking. "As for your girlfriend - she has to stop telling people to check with me or Kendrick about you. We can't vouch for you being a good guy, Suresh. It defeats the purpose."

Suresh nodded. “We had that conversation last night. She wasn’t aware until then of what’s going on and why she can’t tell people that I am not the old Suresh. I gather that her department XO told her point blank that as an officer, she cannot associate with criminals, which is why it came up.” He glanced down the hall and seeing it empty, continued. “We’ve worked out a few things so as not to endanger my position down here. Mainly, that means I won’t be seen on her deck or going in and out of her quarters. We’ll be down here, which you need to know if you need one or the other of us.”

Darwin shook his head. "That might work for you, but for her...," he scoffed and again shook his head. "Her XO contacted me. I contradicted what she told him... which makes it look like she's either gettin' played by you or is lying. Really, more the former than the latter, but still, it isn't good for her career."

Suresh sighed and nodded. “So what’s she supposed to do, being caught in the middle? She knows the truth and is fine with it but her department command is going to have a collective aneurysm over it. Having them think she’s either lying to them or too stupid to know the truth is not good either way.”

"I told you to leave her alone. But, no, will you listen? Nope. Big dumb Romulan goes and... You know, it would have been better for me to take Reva to bed than for you to date Six. And make no mistake: both are dumb ideas!"

“No one is saying you can’t,” Suresh answered. “But things happen, Darwin, and it would take a long time to explain to you just how it all came about and where we stand. I can tell you, though, that it’s not just casual dates anymore. Ever think about deputizing her? Or sending her to Intel?” He smiled at the idea. “Her field was never science anyway and since she’s already involved in this, whether we like it or not, why not make use of her talents if she is willing?”

"Deputize her?" Darwin eyed Suresh and was glad the Romulan wasn't telepathic, otherwise, Suresh might be thinking about hitting him. His version of "deputize" most certainly was not what Suresh was thinking it should be. He rubbed his forehead and decided that he really needed to look for a girlfriend, even if she was just a one-night version. "I'll talk to Oz about it, who'll probably take it to Li, who'll possibly take it to Nalas. But don't get your hopes up about that. There's a lot of training to do for those positions. Besides, would she even want to play girlfriend to the seedy Suresh, king of the underbelly? Oh, wait... she already is."

“No one is playing,” Suresh grumbled at Darwin. “Good thing I like you. Go….get laid or something. You’re wound so tight you’re about to pop, and not in a good way. I’m going to see if I can sniff out those who were hassling Reva last night. I’ll keep you updated.”

Catching Suresh by the collar, Darwin turned him to face him. "You need to remember that you aren't Station Security, Suresh. If you're defending your territory as Suresh would have, fine, but don't do Gilroy's or my job for us. If the folks Down Under get wind that you are, then we'll be back where we were: facing a power struggle."

Suresh reached up and gently removed Darwin’s hands from his shirt. “So I can tell you where they are? Remember? Suresh wouldn’t have given a rat’s ass about Reva so I can’t rush out to defend her. He would care, however, if they are causing trouble and making Security get too interested down here. You follow?”

"Fine," Darwin straightened his own tunic. "The old Suresh probably would have already caged Reva for his own fun. Or sold her himself. She's taking on some of Seyla's mannerisms and attitudes."

“She is and that concerns me,” Suresh agreed. “She doesn’t seem disposed to listen to you or me, however. Maybe Six can talk some sense into her, but if those goons have made one attempt on her, there will be more. An Orion is too good to pass up, especially a young one.”

"It's a damned good thing she's on inhibitors," Darwin grumbled. He knew he'd have no chance of resisting her if she had those. "Add to it that she's a touch telepath, Suresh. I can see why Seyla is trying so hard to get her on her payroll. Imagine what some men would reveal, unknowingly, during a pheromone-fueled tryst with a Betazoid."

“It’s a scary thought, yes.” Suresh nodded. “So, convince her to leave Seyla alone, turn her head and convince her you’re what she needs. It doesn't take a telepath to see that’s what you want.”

"She's dating a science officer, Surie. Well... Maybe. Who knows what she's doing after spending the night with Seyla's boy - uh, man. Besides, she's a brat; I think she just wants to sow some oats and Seyla's offering a way to do that."

Suresh shrugged. “Could be. I suspect she might make you want to kill her at least twice a day.” He smiled and patted Darwin on the shoulder. “Good luck with that. I have some things to do, like making some room in my closet. Then I’ll see what I can find out for you.”

"Okay. Just remember to be mean, Suresh!" Darwin said then went off to the turbolift.

*****************
Ensign Reva Madhava
The Targeted Brat

Marcus
The Hero

Seyla
The PlotMaster

Owain
The Annoyance

Suresh
The Idea Man

Lt. M. Darwin
A Frustrated Man