Playacting?

Posted on Thu Aug 6th, 2015 @ 6:46pm by Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Lieutenant Commander Gilroy & Senior Chief Petty Officer Edana

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Saturnalia

OOC note: Hey... so, this was supposed to be posted a little bit ago. Oops! Looks like Peach and I had a miscommunication. Better late than never, right? - Reva


Green women populated Darwin's dreams - though he might argue that the visions were better named nightmares. Three of them danced and writhed around him, each promised pleasure like he'd never known before. When he reached for them, to take them up on their promises, though, one rejected him outright, choosing instead an old man as her partner. The second laughed and taunted him in various ways: from another man's bed; as a far-too-young woman-child: as an out-of-control wild and willing criminal. The third started out promising, but then a broken table entered the picture and Darwin woke from his nap with a violent start.

He rubbed his hands through hair and got up. To work off some of the nightmare's effects, he called Gilroy for a sparring session. The two met in one of Security's many training rooms and went several rounds with each other.

"...she does it again, call me," Gilroy said, offering to take the Madhava Orion off of Darwin's hands. "Technically, she's not part of any special investigation, so you don't need to deal with her."

"Okay, technically, that's true. But she could spoil the whole thing," Darwin argued, though he wasn't sure just why. That Orion was a pain in his ass; he should just kick the file to another officer and be done with her. He grunted as Gilroy's distraction technique worked and he landed a good blow to Darwin's jaw. The conversation stopped as Darwin fought back, tackling the heavier part-Klingon. Gilroy thumped him hard, again winning the sparring match. By Gilroy's count, that made the score ten-to-three; by Darwin's count it was five-to-eight.

Later, showered and sharply dressed, Darwin checked the bruise on his jaw and shook his head at Gilroy's deceptive ways. "Sonofabitch," he grumbled. He didn't, however, ask the on-duty medic to fix it. Instead, he wore it as a badge of some sort to Saturnalia. There, he easily located Edana. "Evening, Orion."

Edana had stopped off to change after her run-in with the slaver and now was dressed for the scene in a low-cut black dress that barely covered the important bits and little else. She looked him up and down and smiled slowly. “Don’t you look delicious,” she said. “Even the bruise. Someone’s fist, I’m guessing?”

"It wasn't a bulkhead," he said. He took a seat next to her in the booth and looked at her dress. More specifically, he looked at what was barely covered by it and smiled in approval. "Don't get in any tussles in that dress. It doesn't look like it'd hold up."

“Maybe that’s the point.” Her smile lingered as she moved closer to him and reached up to touch his cheek. “Besides, there will only be a tussle if I want there to be. No one down here’s going to mess with me. Especially after seeing that I let you sit down.”

"You let me, huh?" He eyed her, amusement showed in the curve of his lips.

“I did. I’ve already scared off several, so the fact that you just strolled in and took a seat will get noticed. How’re things on top?” The question seemed innocent enough, had it not been for the glint in Edana’s eyes.

He chuckled and slipped a strap of her dress off her shoulder so he could trace the tattoo there with a finger. "They're good," he answered the straight question first. "I could show you, later, just how good."

“You sure about that?” She caught his finger and brought it to her lips, then sucked it into her mouth for a moment. “Once we’ve been seen, sure.” She pulled him closer and whispered against his lips. “I think you’re being believed. We’re getting some attention. Welcome to the dark side.”

Her words brought to mind one of his favorite movies and he laughed. None-too-gently, he pushed her away, sneering, "We'll see about that later, Orion." He made a show of hailing a waitress, which let him take a look at the patrons around them. When one came, he ordered for himself, looked at Edana and said, "It's on Suresh's tab. Want something?"

“Whiskey is fine, thanks.” She looked up at the waitress, her expression serious. “See that we’re not disturbed. I’ll make it worth your while.”

Darwin nodded and the server went to retrieve their drinks. Turning his attention back to Ed, he quietly commented, "Two tables over, that's one of Seyla's boys. A new one. His name is Marcus."

Edana nodded just slightly. “I’ve seen him down here the past few nights. I heard he’s the one who got Madhava out of Iapetus, but not much else.” She laughed gently and lowered her eyes as if Darwin had said something incredibly wicked to her.

"He did more than get her out of Iapetus," Darwin whispered, "He took her to Seyla's and got her out of her clothes." He found he was oddly jealous of that. Or, not so oddly.

Edana glanced at Marcus once more and her estimation of him went up. “Interesting. No wonder Madhava thinks it’s so much fun down here. At least until it’s not. How much longer on her house arrest?”

"A few days," Darwin answered. "I know you're working Six's case, but... There's another guy who caught Madhava's attention. His name is Niro; I don't know anything else about him, though. Have you heard of him?"

“I know him and his brother. You likely know his brother too. Twins. Nicolao? He’s Intel on leave,” Edana answered. “Night and day those two are. Niro and I never exactly saw eye to eye either. I’ve had scum on the bottom of my shoes that was more acceptable than him. I just haven’t been able to justify killing him.”

That information disturbed Darwin. "Hopefully it was just a one-night thing and Madhava won't see him around again."

Edana’s expression darkened. “If she’s caught his eye, expect trouble. I’ll keep my eyes open down here but I don’t like it. You seem to want to keep her away from here? There’s your reason.”

"There are so many reasons to keep her out of here. Blue Shirt guy was one; good job landing him in the brig, by the way. Marcus, another; Seyla..., Suresh..., Owain..., this Niro guy..., whoever used a spanner to beat on her...," he listed a few, punctuating each with touch to her shoulder, a move that looked intimate from a distance. "I have to admit, I haven't heard from or of her for a few days now. I'm enjoying that."

“Everyone needs a break on the job, Dar,” she murmured at his ear. “Including me, given the evening I’ve had. Shall we get out of here? Maybe let you enjoy your break a little longer?”

Emboldened by her apparent offer, Darwin grinned, slipped his hand into the scrap of fabric and cupped her breast. "Yeah, just selling it a little more," he whispered before kissing her.

“Gotcha.” Edana laughed aloud and pulled his hand from her dress. Then she slipped out of the booth and tugged him out after her, taking a moment to press close against him. “We have small quarters down here. That will do nicely.”

"Just don't break the coffee table with me," he muttered and goosed her as they headed for the door.

******************
Lt. Gilroy
Lt. M. Darwin
SCPO Edana
Weaving A Tangled Web