Where Art Thou Riley?

Posted on Sun Aug 2nd, 2015 @ 11:53pm by Commander Ehlana Winter & Lieutenant Riley Sukotav & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Ensign Reva Madhava & Senior Chief Petty Officer Edana

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Riley's Quarters / Reva's Quarters

* Riley’s Quarters *

Alpha shift was over and Riley was glad. After the morning at Reva’s, the day had seemed to drag on for an eternity. His thoughts had been scattered to the point he hadn’t really accomplished much so he’d transferred the day’s work to a padd, intending to read it over at home while waiting for Reva to get off at the end of beta shift.

He entered his quarters, already pulling at his collar to loosen it. “Computer lights, fifty percent.” after the glare of the extra-bright light in the lab, he wanted to give his eyes a rest. His jacket was removed and tossed over the sofa as he crossed to the bar and poured a whiskey.

From out of nowhere, a hand emerged and closed on Riley's collar. It yanked him back, into whatever rift or dimension its owner was in. Left behind on the floor of Riley's quarters was the open whiskey bottle and the glass he'd been filling.

Moments later, the terminal in Riley’s quarters beeped. A few seconds later, it beeped again, waited, then continued. Finally, it fell silent.

* Reva’s Quarters *

Thanks to her assignments from Chief Jenkins today, Reva was exhausted by the end of Beta shift. Jenkins had extended her punishment through to her assignments and today had been routine maintenance on the biowaste recyclers. It was a task she usually was able to convince another engineer to take on for her. This time, though, Jenkins had supervised.

Arriving home, Reva tried to call Riley, but didn't get an answer. Figuring he was on his way, she took a shower, scrubbing imaginary biowaste residue from her skin and hair. Once dry, she dressed in comfortable pajamas and called Riley again. Still no answer, so she switched to calling his commbadge. Again, no response.

Puzzled, and a bit worried, Reva sat on her couch a moment. Was he so angry he wasn't even responding to her? The thought sent a shiver of fear through her. She got up and paced. Riley wasn't the sort, she didn't think, to just not talk to her, no matter how mad he was. "Computer, where is Riley Sukotav?"

=^= Lieutenant Riley Sukotav is not on the Station. =^=

She stopped her pacing, a different fear striking at her: Niro. Had he done something? That'd be crazy. "Computer, open a comm to Lieutenant Darwin."

=^= Please specify which Lieutenant Darwin. =^=

"Right, big station," she grumbled. "Michael Darwin, Security."

A moment passed then Darwin's voice came over the comm, "My least favorite Orion and Starfleet Ensign, what do you want? You still have thirty-six hours."

"Darwin! Something's wrong! Riley isn't on the Station."

"And? Did he go to Archadia for a respite from you?"

"No!" She whined. "At least, I don't think so. Could you just check his quarters?"

"Check his quarters? Seriously?"

"I would, but I have these things that'll make alarms go off if I stray from certain paths? Remember? If you won't, then I will - and you'll end up responding anyway," she warned him.

"Fine. Because you have been behaving, I'll go. I'll comm you when I find him." He signed off and kissed Edana's cheek. "Duty calls, Ed, namely: Reva Madhava. I'll be back shortly." He rose and headed for Riley's quarters.

There, after several attempts with the chime and the comm, he ordered a security override and entered the man's place. It had a slight scent of disuse - which made sense, since Riley had been spending the past two weeks at Reva's - and was neatly arranged. All except for a spilled bottle of whiskey and a broken glass. Darwin crouched by the bottle. "Damn waste," he frowned then stood and walked through the rest of the apartment. No Riley. The man's uniform jacket, with his commbadge, was there.

"Lieutenant Darwin to Security, I need a Scene Unit sent to Riley Sukotav's quarters," he called in to the main office. While he waited for the team to arrive, he went back and looked around the apartment again. Throughout the place, he saw classic signs of a bachelor. He also saw little touches of Reva: an image of the two by Riley's bedside; a hair clip clamped onto the arm of a chair.

Once the team arrived, he told them the situation and left them to do their jobs. He headed for Reva's.

She opened the door, looking happy, but then her face fell. "It's just you?"

"Yeah, thanks for making me feel welcome," he said as she let him in.

"I was hoping you were Riley!" She went to the sofa and threw herself into it.

"Yeah, he's not... We're looking for him. Did he say anything to you about going somewhere?"

"No." She sighed. "We ... This morning, he got upset and we were going to talk about it tonight." She knew his unspoken question. "One of the guys I met in the Pit came by here this morning and introduced himself to Riley."

Darwin grimaced. He already knew Riley was unhappy about the other men, even without having met them. "What's this guy's name?"

"Niro. He came by at lunchtime and I told him I don't want to see him again," she told him. "What if he did something to Riley? Darwin, what if I caused Riley to get hurt?"

"Ah...," Darwin realized she was panicking; he was more comfortable with an angry Reva. He sat with her anyway and cautiously put an arm around her. "Calm down, Reva, I'm sure you didn't cause this. Security will check into this Niro. Do you have his last name?"

Snuggling against him, she shook her head. "No, but he bought lunch at that French place on the Promenade. Oh, and he has a twin, Nico."

"Nico. I know him. Or, of him." Darwin made a note on his padd. "Will you be okay tonight? Anyone we should call to come stay with you?"

"Can Seyla come?" She asked, hopeful.

He frowned, but couldn't see why not. "I'll contact her and see if she will." He stood and moved toward the door. "If you need anything, call me. If we have any news, I'll stop by."

She nodded. "I'll be here, or work."

As Darwin stood by the door, the chime rang. When he opened the door, Edana could be seen standing just outside, definitely not in uniform.

“Darwin.” The smile she gave him was slow and knowing. “A little bird told me you’d be here.”

"Ed!" He stared at her, surprised to see her. "What.. What brings you here? So far from the Pit?"

"The Pit?" Reva was off the couch and pressed against Darwin's back to see around him and look at the woman. An Orion! "Who are you?" Darwin swallowed hard as he felt that Reva had no bra on. He wished for Ed's mercy.

Amusement lit Edana’s eyes. “A friend of Darwin’s.” She looked from Reva to Darwin. “I came to give Dar a message is all. You’re Reva, yes?”

"I am," Reva nodded. "You're Six's new friend, aren't you?" Her gaze held some jealousy.

“You could say that yes.” Edana slipped her arm around Darwin. “We need to go. Something’s come up that we need to….discuss.” Her words likely meant vastly different things to Darwin and Reva.

Darwin nodded. "Something has come up, here, too."

"You said you'd call Seyla," Reva reminded him and stepped aside so as to not touch this other Orion. She didn't like this Ed; she seemed possessive. Reva touched Darwin's arm and looked up at him, "You won't forget?"

"Ah... No, I won't. Promise," he said, wondering how he'd managed to get in the middle of three Orion females. Right then, he was thankful Edana wasn't telepathic and he kicked himself as Reva giggled. "I'm glad you have a sense of humor," he said, suddenly smiling at her. He turned that smile on Ed, "Okay, let's go. I'll comm Seyla on the way."

Still grinning from Darwin's thought, Reva watched them walk away before letting the door close. About ten yards from her door, Darwin jumped as Edana goosed him; Reva felt a flash of jealousy.

Edana laughed, the sound husky and low. “Men are so funny,” she murmured. “And I do have a message. Temporal Affairs is waiting for you at Riley’s.” The last she leaned in to whisper at his ear.

"Temp...? Come on," he held her hand and picked up his pace. "Why TA?" He wondered. "Did they tell you anything?"

“I’ve not see Commander Winter yet, just got the call and since I was out and about, I offered.” She laughed once more as they entered the lift. “That kid is trouble, isn’t she?”

"I'm just glad those damned pajamas weren't sheer," he grumbled. "She's worried about Lieutenant Sukotav; if she weren't, she'd likely have made that as tough as possible. She dresses like Seyla in her off hours." He didn't stop to think that that might make Edana want to know how he knew that. "Oh, speaking of," he tapped his commbadge and sent a message through Security to Seyla that she could go see Reva - and that Reva had asked her to come tonight.

“And I wear less than Seyla these days when on duty.” Edana shrugged. “I can tell you Reva was just a little jealous. Interesting...I thought Suresh was being a little hard on her but….” She changed subjects now. “What’s the deal with her and Riley?”

"Boyfriend-girlfriend," he shrugged then asked, "You thought Suresh was being tough on her? But what?"

“Take it from one Orion to another, she’s in a difficult place. I’ve been there, and about her age. There’s so few of us in the Fleet and those of us who are do not have an easy time. There’s always a time when what we are goes to war with what we’ve been trained to be by the Fleet.” She pointed to the large tattoo. “I got this about that time as a reminder to keep sight of what was important, rather than wasting life playing it away as a mattress for a never-ending parade of men. So….she may drive you insane but two things: try and understand, and watch your step.”

"I've been very careful to watch my step! Gods, she's young enough to be my daughter," he griped then looked at Edana. "Maybe you could mentor her or something. Anyone besides Seyla would be a better choice! It seems that the problems we've had with her are thanks to Seyla's pheromones overwhelming her inhibitors. And then Seyla didn't hesitate to introduce Reva to her employees and, it seems, a client."

“What client?” Edana asked.

"I won't be surprised to find out that this Niro is a client of hers." Darwin smiled weakly then let Edana exit the lift ahead of him.

“Remind me to fill you in on Niro,” Edana commented as they started down the corridor.

* Riley's Quarters *

Ahead, a team of Security- and Science-types were in the corridor. He wove his way through them to Riley's quarters. "Commander Winter?" Lieutenant Darwin. I received your message."

Ehlana looked up as they entered. “Lt. Darwin, Chief Edana. Thank you for coming. Just a moment.” She turned away and continued the scan of the living room. Slowly she reached the bar and began to move her hand slower. Finally she nodded. “It was here,” she said, as if that explained everything.

Darwin leaned toward Edana and whispered, "Coulda told her that. That whiskey? Not cheap stuff. Riley wouldn't have spilled that intentionally."

Edana nudged him to be quiet as Ehlana turned back to address them. “Riley was taken off this station though a spatial rift, Lieutenant. In other words, he could be anywhere. It opened up right here,” she indicated the area just to the right of the broken glass, “and he was pulled through. So the computer is correct, he is not on the station, nor is he on Archadia. At the moment, I’m not sure where he is...or when.”

"When?" Darwin, ever the skeptic on certain things, scoffed. "Why would someone force him into being a time traveller? I mean, I've heard of cases where scientists or doctors are forced into other dimensions to help solve a problem or a disease, but... time?" He looked grumpy. "And how do we find him? Just wait for him show up or search through historical records for him?"

“I’ll work on the when,” Ehlana answered. “What might help is if you can find out whether he was working on something important. He’s science, that would be the best place to start.”

Edana nodded and looked to Darwin. “He took over Six’s project, didn’t he? Do you know what it was?”

He nodded, "Translation of some Iconian tablets. He mentioned something about them being like a treasure map." They had talked while Reva was being patched up by Harding.

Ehlana frowned. “That bears looking into and please inform Commander Zeferino and Lt. Leto. In the meantime, I’ll be searching. Let’s hope I’m as good as I like to think.”

"It'll be in my morning report for Oz," Darwin said.

“I’ll fill in Leto,” Edana replied. When Ehlana dismissed them, she turned to Darwin. “Ready to go?”

"Yeah," he nodded and followed her out, glowering at one or two of the other officers who watched her walk by.

Once they were away from the officers in the corridor, Edana laughed once again. “Now who’s jealous?” she teased him.

"It's not jealousy. I just don't appreciate how they look at you like an object." Damned good thing she wasn't telepathic. He took her hand under his arm and held it.

“You’re so cute and you don’t lie worth a damn.” They rounded a corner and now, out of sight of the rest, she leaned in and kissed him. “Do you want to see Six this late or in the morning?”

To delay gratification or not to delay? That was the real question. He mentally cursed Gilroy for that one. "It isn't that late, by Six's new schedule. May as well do ...erm, question her now rather than the morning. Besides, you're supposed to be watching her!"

“She’s at home with Suresh, but yes, they’ll still be up. Let’s get this done. It may yield something Commander Winter can use.” She squeezed Darwin’s arm, then turned to continue walking.

At least he wouldn't be the only one delaying gratification. As they walked, he wondered whether Seyla would bother going to Reva.

********************
Lt. Riley Sukotav
Taken

Ensign Reva Madhava
Panicked

Lt. M. Darwin
In the Middle

SCPO Edana
Wise

Commander Ehlana Winter
Concerned