Further Scenes From Saturnalia

Posted on Mon Aug 17th, 2015 @ 11:32am by Ensign Six of Ten & Suresh & Niro & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Ensign Reva Madhava & Senior Chief Petty Officer Edana

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Suresh's Quarters / Reva's Quarters / Saturnalia

* Suresh's Quarters *

Suresh hadn't let go of Six the whole walk back to his - their - quarters. They'd drawn looks from the people they'd passed, some whispering to their companions about how angry Suresh looked; others worrying about Six's fate. As the door opened, he pushed her inside and finally let her go.

She had been silent all the way home. She had known a blow-up was coming, they’d discussed it, but this felt all too real. The anger and jealousy that stormed within him was also real. She was aware of the whispers and speculation as they passed and had wisely played the part of the frightened woman. When the doors closed, however, she turned and looked up at him, waiting for the tempest that was brewing.

"..." Suresh was angry - enough so that he didn't have any words immediately. He grabbed her by the arms and kissed her, crushing her to him. When he paused to let them breath, he said, "Six, I love you, you know that. I don't want men like that touching you. Ever."

She blinked up at him in surprise and took a moment to find the right words. Whatever phrase she came up with vanished and her usual blunt words came out.

“That’s the first time you’ve told me that.”

"But you've known it," he said, rubbing her arms where he'd grabbed her. "And it's the truth."

Six nodded slowly. “Yes, I do.” She managed a smile. “I know that you needed to give a typical Suresh reaction but….tell me you didn’t think I’d actually do anything with Owain? That you trust me?”

"With him? Seyla's busiest boy?" He scoffed and waved the idea away. "No, I don't think you would. With him, I trust you implicitly. But he does need to stop touching you. I think he was in on Reva's beating and believed me to be toothless. He'll now know I'm not." There was an edge of hardness in his voice.

“You really think he’d do that?” Six’s voice was hushed. “That’s horrible.” She wrapped her arms around Suresh. “You need never worry, Suresh. Not about me, not about anyone.” Vic flashed through her thoughts for a moment and she pushed him aside. She couldn’t continue to test those waters. “I promise you that.”

"Someone did that, Six. Jonah was elsewhere and most of his other staff were accounted for at the time." His anger had ebbed; his jealousy was still stirred up. "I know I don't need to worry about you doing anything with another man," he said as he lightly kissed her forehead. "We're soulmates, you and I."

Guilt pricked at Six instantly at his words. She tried to keep her expression neutral but she was unsuccessful. She knew, however, that what he said was true.

“We are,” she whispered.

He saw something in her face and paused. "What is it, Six?"

She hesitated, wondering how much to say. She had to be truthful however. A lie was no basis for a relationship. “It’s something and nothing all at the same time. You know that Vic has feelings for me. He and I have discussed it at some length.” She paused, suddenly worried about his reaction. “He hoped I might change my mind and…..he kissed me. It was nothing more than that, I promise.”

Suresh nodded, tight-lipped, and turned away to hide a wildly angry look. "He kissed you?" He turned back to look at her. "According to Darwin, the old Suresh would have killed him for that. Maybe you shouldn't see him again." It wasn't really a suggestion.

“No one knows he did, other than us.” Six moved closer, resting her hands on his arms. “He will abide by my decision. He’s an honorable man, you can rest assured he won’t push this anymore.” Six’s voice softened as she looked up at him. “I’m where I want to be. I love you.”

That stopped Suresh dead in his thoughts. "You...? do...?" He grinned, everything but joy wiped away by her words. He smiled and pulled her into a hug.

“Yes.” She laughed aloud and she hugged him tight. “Yes.”

"Marry me, Six."

Her smile grew and she nodded. “Yes,” she said once more.

* Reva's Quarters *

Having just gotten home from her duty shift - where she was still on her Chief's shitlist, Reva stripped her uniform off as she soon as she made a beeline from her front door to her shower. In the middle of her shower, two things happened: one, she recalled that Riley would not be coming over, nor would she be going to his place; two, the door chime sounded. "Crud!" She grabbed a towel and, hoping it was Riley coming to recant his earlier words, ran for the door.

"Rye?" Her smile faded as she saw Niro. "Oh, you."

Niro smiled down at a damp Reva in a towel. “Hello to you too. How was work?”

"Boring and dirty." She frowned. "Come in. I need to finish my shower, so just have a seat. I'll be right back." She didn't really give him an option: she trotted back to her shower.

Niro watched her go, then followed her to the bedroom. Once there, he laid the large, flat box he carried on the bed. It was white and had a large purple bow on top. Then he stepped back to stand in the door, leaning against the frame to wait.

Reva didn't take long, knowing she had a visitor. Truth be told: she was slightly concerned he'd take it upon himself to join her in the shower. And that'd be awkward. She came back out, wrapped in a towel and drying her hair with another. "I thought we were getting together tomorrow?", she said.

“I wanted to surprise you. I know you’ve had a rough day, my darling. So, I brought you something that will, I hope, lift your spirits, at least a little.” Niro’s smile was gentle. “Open it.”

At his gesture, she noticed the box and smiled. Opening it, she gasped, "Niro! This is beautiful!" She pulled the dress out and held it against her. The black material sparkled with a dusting of gold shimmer. "Shoes, too?" She looked at him and grinned. "So we're not staying in, are we? Where are you taking me?"

“The question is, where am I not taking you?” His smile widened as he stepped closer and ran his finger over her shoulder. “A lady as beautiful as you should be showered in finery, in my opinion. I just hope the dress does you justice.” He leaned down to brush her shoulder with a kiss.

"Let me dress," she said. He knew how to turn a girl's head, that was certain. "Go on," she shooed him out of her bedroom.

He laughed and departed for the living room where he took up residence on the sofa and waited.

Reva was not as quick as Seyla at turning wet hair into a soft, sexy style; nor was she as adept at figuring out the dress' ribbon back, so Niro's wait was closer to an hour than to thirty minutes. But when she stepped out of her bedroom, the dress highlighted every asset she had. "This is... Niro, this is beautiful," she smiled, hesitantly, fearful that he might find fault.

His eyes widened and he gave a low whistle. Moments later he was on his feet and standing before her to take her hands in his. “Incredible. The dress isn’t bad either. Reva….you take my breath away.” He raised her hands to his lips to kiss them.

"Thanks." The way he looked at her made her forget Riley for a moment. "I think my coworkers wouldn't recognize me."

“Where would you like to go first? To see and be seen?” He lowered her hands and pulled her close against him, wrapping his arms around her. “Wherever it is, I am sure to be the envy of every man there.”

"Then let's go somewhere to be seen," she kissed his cheek. "I like the idea of making others jealous."

“Oh, so do I. Care to go down below since you’ve not been there in a while? Don’t worry, I’ll keep you perfectly safe. I promise.”

"I don't doubt that you will. Though, to be honest? In this dress, I feel a little naked," she smiled up at him, knowing that the statement might turn him on.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Niro teased. “Perhaps that was my intent.”

"Shall we go? Going into the Pit like this...," she smiled slyly, "...will feel a little triumphant."

“Perhaps that was also my intent.” He stepped back and took her hand. “Let’s go.”

*Saturnalia*

The doors opened and Niro led Reva in, her hand in his. As usual, those close to the door looked up to see who was coming in and seeing Reva and Niro, the noise level dropped a bit. She certainly drew looks, both envious and hungry. Niro waved as he led her through the tables to an empty one where he held her chair.

“I think you’re having the desired effect.”

"I would agree," she said, laughing. When the waitress came, she ordered a drink, then looked around for Six. She soon spotted Six at what was Suresh’s regular table. Suresh was not present but a tall Orion woman was, and she and Six appeared to be deep in conversation. A few moments later, Six laughed aloud and reached for her drink.

Niro followed Reva’s gaze and smiled. “I see your friend is here.”

"She is, but she has a new friend." Reva's jealousy reared up, as did her pride, making her unwilling to get up and approach Six. She turned her attention to Niro. "But I want this night to be about us. You've already made me feel special."

“You are allowed more than one friend you know, and that one? From what I hear, paid by Suresh to keep her in one piece after she was attacked and her blood stolen. Say hello if you wish, I’ll go with you.”

"She's paid to hang out with Six?" Reva frowned. Patting his hand, she said, "I'll go alone. Just to say hi." As she stood, she bent towards him to kiss him, affording him a good view of her breasts.

She then wandered to Six's table. "Hey, Six," she said.

“Reva!” Six was all smiles at her friend’s appearance. She reached out to squeeze Reva’s hand briefly. “How are you? Do you want to join us?”

"Oh, no. Niro's here with me. He brought me this dress," she tugged at the hem on her thigh. "How are you? It seems like ages since I've seen you."

“It does and a lot has happened. After that incident down here, Suresh has barely let me out of his sight or I'd have been up to visit more. Things are good though. We stopped in to just hang out for a bit. Suresh is due in later.” Six peeked around Reva. “Wow, it’s amazing how much he looks like Nico. He does have good taste in dresses though. You look amazing.”

"Thanks." Reva looked at Edana. "You came by my quarters to get Darwin.... I don't recall your name, though."

“You can call me Ed,” Edana answered. “Sorry to barge in that night, but it was important. Glad to see you out and about though.”

Niro’s arm slipped around Reva’s waist. “I was beginning to miss you.” His gaze fell on the two women. “Hello Ed. And you must be Six.”

Six nodded. “Nice to meet you, Niro.” Edana simply nodded to him.

Reva nodded, "Ed. Right. Niro, I'm sorry, I thought you had met Six before. I forgot. Being out of the loop, I guess has sort of affected me."

“No harm done. Ladies, great to see you but I’m going to reclaim my date for the evening.” He turned Reva around and as they strolled back to their table, he leaned in to whisper in her ear, spicy words intended to bring a laugh. “You’re off tomorrow yes? So we don’t have to worry when we get home?”

She had laughed. "That's right. Would you show me your ship later?" As they sat again, she kissed him.

“I’d love to. I was thinking that might be the perfect place to end the evening, actually.” He smiled and pulled her close for another kiss. “We’ll let you enjoy being a lady of leisure for a bit, hmm? Forget clocks and schedules.”

"I like that idea. I don't have to be back in uniform until... um, the afternoon, day after tomorrow. I have nothing to do and no one to report to till then." Briefly, Riley crossed her mind and she frowned. "Do you have things to do between now and then? I don't really know what you do, Niro. I mean... every time I see you, you have time for me."

“My time is my own,” he answered, “much like your friend Six. I do what I please when I please. As for your question, I am all yours until we have to come back to reality. Till then? We can forget that other world exists and do whatever we like. How’s that sound?” He took her hand in his and kissed it gently.

"Incredible," she laughed. She then asked him about his ship, something most women would find boring, but the engineer in her found it fun.

Talking with Suresh, laughing at something the Romulan had just said, Darwin entered Saturnalia a step behind him, as suited a lackey of the crime boss. He did his usual scan of the crowd and ran right into a waitress as he spied Reva, laughing about something. Reva, who shouldn't be anywhere near Saturnalia, let alone the Pit. Reva, who looked more stunning than any Fleet engineer should. Reva, who, he was suddenly reminded, was young, lithe and highly desirable.

Suresh was several steps ahead of him now and the drinks that had been on Shelly's tray were now dripping down his pants leg, soaking in coldly. He debated: catch up with Suresh, take the napkins Shelly was offering to wipe the drinks from his clothing, or storm up to Reva and drag her out. His inner caveman wanted the latter option. Mechanically, he accepted the napkins and swiped at the wetness, then he followed Suresh, his eyes still on Reva. He was going to tan her hide. That thought brought up a few very unclean thoughts - thoughts a man his age shouldn't have about a girl Reva's age. He found himself at Six's table and then sitting by Ed.

A few of the regulars close by were watching Suresh warily as he approached Six. When he rested his hand lightly on her shoulder before sitting down, and nothing exploded, everyone went back to their own conversations.

“Good evening ladies,” Suresh greeted them.

“Welcome back.” Six leaned in to kiss his cheek.

Edana smiled to Suresh, then turned to Darwin. “You’re just in time, honey. Your little green bird is here with the local wildlife.”

Darwin nodded, frowning. From here, he could easily see Reva and saw Niro feeding her something that looked like a chocolate-dipped strawberry. "Ah, yeah, I noticed, Ed." He glanced in her direction.

“Sadly, I can’t just shoot him and be done with it, and they are behaving. Such is life.” She draped her arm around Darwin’s shoulders. “Looks like a quiet night so far.”

"Behaving?" He gestured at the two. "You call that behaving? She needs a dress over that.... that... whatever she's wearing. She shouldn't even be down here!"

“This place isn’t off-limits, Dar, as long as she isn’t disturbing the peace.” Edana laughed and glanced at her own near-dress. “Besides, I can’t say much about what she is or isn’t wearing.”

"You can't?" He looked at her, at first incredulous, then with some understanding dawning. "Well, yeah, but you're older," he said, for once oblivious about the effects of his words on a woman. "Oh, and Niro isn't nearly as bad as you've said. He was very forthcoming when I asked him about Riley's disappearance. Today, he contacted me and warned that Riley has something wrong in his head. Riley's in Piper tonight, for observation before we send a Betazoid or somebody into his head tomorrow."

“That’s interesting, I wonder what it could be? And what Niro’s angle is. If you need a telepath, you know Niro’s brother has been reactivated?” Edana left the business discussion and leaned closer, giving Darwin a kiss. “As for that older comment, you’ll pay for that later.”

Six snickered at Edana and Suresh laughed. “I doubt he’ll mind too much.”

Darwin looked at the three and smiled. "Depends on if she plans to break a coffee table with me again. Hey, speaking of breaking things... Piper contacted me about one of Seyla's boys. He reported in for treatment of a few broken fingers, a black eye... general injuries. Did any of you hear about a fight?"

Suresh nodded. “He tangled with Patch earlier.” Edana rested her hand on Darwin’s arm as Suresh continued. “He was getting a little frisky with Six in here earlier today. My hand was forced, Dar. I shoved him out and Patch went to make a point.” He leaned closer. “I have no proof yet but I suspect he was one of those involved in Reva’s beating.”

Darwin bent his head down and nodded. "I see. I'll let Security know there's no reason to look for another injured person." He did see, but he wasn't happy. He was now having to, once again, allow a crime to go unpunished. He felt dirty.

“At least everyone down here saw it as just a typical Suresh outburst and most thought I was taking Six off to rip her to shreds.” Suresh shrugged. “As for my suspicions, I’ll see what I can find out. You may have some luck there Ed.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Edana replied. “Since you’re here, you need us any more tonight?” When Suresh shook his head, she turned to Darwin. “Let’s blow. It’s been a long day.”

"It has been," he agreed. "But...," he looked over at Reva and Niro again. He didn't see Niro as the type to hurt Reva, or to let her get hurt while she was with him. "Okay, your place?"

“Mine it is. Goodnight you two.” Edana rose and when Darwin stood took his hand. “Want to stop by and say goodnight to them?”

"Yeah." He nodded and directed her along a path to Reva and Niro's table. "Niro," he greeted the man coolly then looked at Reva.

She beamed at him - she was having fun, being fed chocolate strawberries, drinking some sort of alcoholic concoction, and generally being doted upon by a good-looking man. "Hi Michael! Fancy running into you here." She laughed and affectionately pressed a shoulder against Niro.

"You insolent, stubborn child--," he was ready to lay into her for returning to the Pit but two things stopped him: one, he had a good view down the front of Reva's dress; it wasn't a view he could reconcile with calling her a child. Two, Edana.

Edana slipped her arm around his waist and hugged him to her. “We just stopped by to say goodnight, Ensign.” Her subtle stress on Reva’s rank served to remind Darwin she was a Fleet officer. “And Niro.”

Reva looked Edana over curiously, wondering about the woman's use of her rank. She glowered at the older Orion, for more reasons than just her calling her Ensign. "Interesting. Does Suresh pay you to be Michael's friend, too?"

A slow smile spread over Edana’s face. “No, Darwin has his own….attractions, shall we say?”

Darwin grinned and looked at Ed, laughing, though he was also aware of the ensign's frown. "We're headed out to explore those attractions. G'night, Niro; Reva, behave," he said and pulled Edana towards the door with him.

Niro watched them go and shook his head. “Interesting pair.” He left it at that and pulled Reva close for another kiss. “Want to hit Kaleidoscope and do some dancing?”

"Oh! That'd be fun! Let's!" Reva nodded and kissed him back, willfully forgetting Riley and Darwin.

Niro stood, took Reva’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s do it then.” He led her back through the bar and out the doors, leaving Saturnalia behind them.

Throughout the events of the night, a lone figure sat at a table near Saturnalia's entrance. He had watched the room, never visibly perking up or taking interest in any one thing or person. His actions, or lack thereof, were unremarkable. As for him, physically, he was memorable, though not particularly flashy. Like many green Orions of his size, his head was bald and his forehead and cheeks were adorned with silver and steel piercings. One, placed through his left brow, curved upward and to his left.

As Marabeth had noticed when she'd offered him her services, the suit he wore, a grey pinstripe, was made of high-end materials and, despite the fact that all he ever seemed to do was hang out at Saturnalia or Iapetus, he was always impeccably clean and pressed. The right side of the jacket, though, bulged slightly where his weapon was holstered.

Now, as Niro steered Reva out of Saturnalia, the big man watched, like several others, and counted to twenty before getting up and following the pair.

*****************
Suresh
Ensign Six Of Ten

Ensign Reva Madhava
Niro

Lt. M. Darwin
Edana

Robart