Seyla's Guide to Cultivating Employees

Posted on Thu Aug 6th, 2015 @ 6:47pm by Ensign Reva Madhava & Seyla

* Saturnalia *

It was a rare night: Seyla was in the Pit long past her usual retirement time. She had told Will that she was staying out to oversee a few things with her employees. These were the hours they worked, usually. Hence, here she was at an odd hour.

A woman with long blonde hair and too much makeup sat with her, nodding and taking notes as Seyla gave her an assignment. Finally, she spoke in response to a question, "Him? Oh, yeah, he ain't a talker, Sey. He's been in here or Iapetus every night the past several days, but he ain't talked to no one. He hasn't taken interest in any of the stock, either. If he hadn't talked to order food and drinks and shit, I'd think he's a dummy." She punctuated this speech by flipping her ponytail over a shoulder.

Seyla watched her, a sour look on her face. "You'll need to speak correctly when talking with Riley."

"Oh, yeah, sure. No worries there," Nemi grinned and cracked the gum she was chewing. "But that Orion guy, he's creepy, the way he just watches, ya know?"

Again, Seyla just watched her. "The gum will have to go, too. As for our mysterious, silent Orion, hopefully Owain will be able to get a read on him. Where is Owain? Have you seen him this evening?"

"Nuh-uh," she shook her head swinging her ponytail. Suddenly, she froze, eyes wide, and nudged Seyla.

Two Starfleet Security officers, in uniform, were walking towards them. They stopped at Seyla's table and one spoke up, "Seyla, message from Lt. Darwin: Reva needs to see you and, yes, you can go." The fellow paused before asking, "Do you need an escort, Ma'am?"

Stunned by the message, and worried, considering the younger Orion's encounter with Niro that morning, Seyla was silent a moment. "Oh! Um, that would be fine. I'm not sure where she is." To Nemi, she said, "Tell the others I'll be back shortly. If they need something, find Marla or Jonah."

Nemi nodded as Seyla went with the two officers. To no one in particular, she said, "That Darwin. Man, he gets creative with his 'come serve me' requests."

* Reva's Quarters *

Reva, pacing her little living room, had worked herself up into what could only be called a 'tizzy' about Riley being missing. Such was her worry that when Seyla arrived, all she could do was cry. Seyla cooed, soothing Reva, and led her to the couch to sit with her. "Hush, kitten," she whispered. "The man will be just fine, you'll see. Shhh...."

"Darwin said they're looking for him," Reva sniffed, leaning her head on Seyla's shoulder. "Sey, I think Niro did something. I told him I didn't want to see him again, that Riley is way more important to me than he ever would be." She shifted to look at Seyla. "What if he hurt Riley?"

Though she was relatively certain Niro wouldn't stoop that low, Seyla knew there was a chance he had. He had, after all, been cocky about ... She changed her line of thinking. "Don't think that way. I'm sure he's better at taking rejection than you think. Riley probably just needed somewhere quiet to think. He was upset with you this morning, wasn't he?"

Reva nodded and Seyla tutted, "He's so sensitive, kitten. Perhaps he's too sensitive to date an Orion?" She brushed Reva's dark hair back with her fingers.

"I was raised Betazoid, Seyla," Reva reminded her, only to be surprised by Seyla's next revelation:

"Hardly. You were raised by a Betazoid, not as one. Your grandmother had you on inhibitors since you were thirteen. She policed your sexuality like it was a plague. That's not a typical Betazoid attitude towards sex, is it? She even sent you to a ...what was it called? A monastery? Nunnery? Whatever it is that Betazoids call it."

Shifting back, so she could look at Seyla, Reva asked, "How do you know all that? I didn't tell you."

"Did you know that your father wrote to your mother?" She chuckled as Reva's jaw dropped. "I see you didn't. He still loves her and wrote to tell her all about you."

"You've talked to her?" If she had, then she'd have managed something not even Reva had managed.

"Oh, no, but the letters are in the prison database. Easy enough to find." Seyla smiled and again smoothed Reva's hair. "He's very dedicated to her, that's obvious in his writings."

"Grandmother always complained that he was a zombie because of her. He was: he never looked at another woman, he never seemed to care about anything."

"She had a while to work on him. Her pheromones, I mean." Seyla saw Reva's confusion and explained some of the long-term effects of exposure. "If you had yours, Riley would be at risk of that. But he wouldn't mind; he wouldn't really know better."

"I'm worried about him, Sey. Where is he? What if Niro did something?" She now had a new worry, one that would pinch at her long after he was safely back where he was supposed to be.

"Try not to worry, dear. Come, let me put you to bed," Seyla stood, drawing Reva into the bedroom with her. "What a small bed!", she commented, even as she directed Reva into it. Seyla went back out to the replicator and returned with a mug of something steamy and green. "Drink this, it'll soothe you. Normally, I'd add a bit of Orion bourbon, but... you aren't allowed to have a bar, are you?"

Reva sipped it, found that she liked the earthy taste of it. "Thanks for coming here, Sey. I've missed you."

"And I, you. You'll need to come see me when you can. I'll show you some of Gravex's letters to Europa." She tucked Reva in and smiled. "Now sleep. And don't worry about Riley. Darwin will find him." She stayed till Reva fell asleep, which wasn't long, thanks to Seyla's drink.

************
Seyla
Exceptional People Manager

Nemi
Not Quite Star Material, Yet

Ensign Reva Madhava
Managed