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Posted on Mon Oct 5th, 2015 @ 8:58pm by Ensign Reva Madhava & Ensign Six of Ten & Falasin & Senior Chief Petty Officer Edana & Desta

Mission: Further Challenges

* Archadia *

Night had come and the fire Reva had started had already consumed several logs and was starting to burn low again. Along one wall of the patio, the women had lined up their empties: four plates with knives and forks, nine bottles of beer, two bottles of wine and a half-empty bag of marshmallows. They were pleasantly drunk and mellow.

Six sighed aloud and stretched out on her lounge chair. “That was amazing. I may have to have some of you roll me to my bedroom later.”

That was greeted by a chorus of laughter. “That chair has wheels on it, that should do nicely,” Falasin teased her.

“I could always flag down Farco.” Six grinned. “Maybe one more marshmallow. Anyone else?”

“Ugh, no thanks!” Reva patted her belly. “For the first time in weeks, I’m full.”

Desta smiled and lightly gripped Reva’s forearm. She knew what Reva referred to. “Me, too. Though I could just ...,” she shook her head, “Nevermind. I’m pretty stuffed, too. I haven’t had such good food in a long time. Steak done on a grill... wow. Six, thank you for hosting us here.”

“My pleasure. After what we’ve all been through in recent weeks, we sure deserve a vacation.” Six got up and refilled everyone’s glasses, then got busy toasting her marshmallow over the fire. “So, story time, who’s first?”

A spark of fear rose in Desta’s eyes; Reva noticed it only because she wasn’t being careful about her empathy. She held Desta’s hand and reassured her. “Falasin, you and I should talk about Niro. He gets away with a lot of shit because no one talks - although maybe that’s because he tends to wipe memories from people.” She wondered, not for the first time, whether she should ask him to wipe Fisher from her memories.

Falasin nodded. “We do, especially for Desta’s sake. He won’t give Six any trouble but Desta’s new and I don’t want her being his next target.” She frowned for a moment, then began with when she’d first met him weeks ago and how nice he’d been. “He showed up at the shop, I guess it was right after you were gone, Reva, and took me out dancing. Mamu has always hated him and I should’ve listened. She even came to the ship to take me home and he threw her out. He has this...thing he does...mentally that makes you want to do anything he says.”

“A push or a nudge,” Reva nodded. “One moment, you’re saying no, then he smiles just so and you find yourself saying yes....” She frowned. “I’ll bet he’s angry. I came back and told him to get lost; Riley warned him off, too. You’ve left him, haven’t you, Falasin?”

Fal nodded. “Mamu asked Six to do something and she found me, told me to call if there was trouble. That same day, he took me back to the ship and it was there that he…” she stopped and her forehead wrinkled in thought. “Something...frightened me. He was at his terminal and I….I can’t remember now why I ran away. He was so angry and shouting at me and sent his engineer chasing me. I got off the ship and got to a security guard. He called Six and she took me to her place.” She looked back at Reva. “I had to have a reason for running off but…” She shrugged.

Glancing at Six, Reva sat forward a little and asked, “Didn’t you say he hurt Eli?” She looked at Desta and explained, “Eli, the Cadet I mentioned earlier, was in Piper when we came home. He’d been sick - dying - from something sudden.”

“That’s part of my story so I can fill you all in on that,” Six answered. She, too, looked at Falasin, concerned. “Fal, when I came to get you when the security officer called, you said that Niro had been talking to someone about Eli and that he was dying, that the job was done. You remember that?” She blew on her toasted marshmallow to cool it off and popped it into her mouth.

Fal looked from one to the other and her eyes widened as she thought back over that day. “I...I remember being in the living room and then...it’s all fuzzy. I can’t...oh no! He came to Suresh’s wanting to talk to me. Before Mamu and I got rid of him he touched me. Do you think he took that?” She sounded truly distressed now and grasped Desta’s hand as she reached over.

Feeling Falasin’s distress, Desta touched Falasin’s shoulder. “He touched you? Did he hit you?”

“That’s not Niro’s way,” Reva said. “If he touched you, he could have wiped your memory. It sounds like he did. Six, he might try that with you.”

“Mamu was worried he might try it with Suresh. She gave me a pendant that prevents him from reading whoever has it. It works. I ran into him at Saturnalia and he was really annoyed that he couldn’t read me.”

“You should be careful Six,” Falasin warned. “He’s blaming you for all of this. He thinks it’s your fault that I ditched him, that you’re turning Reva against him….none of it’s rational I know but he’s got you in his sights.”

“Let him try.” Six shook her head. “Better than striking at you two. He will regret it, I promise you that.”

“And yet... he’s not that bad. He can be sweet,” Reva found herself defending him, recalling how he’d been right after Riley had broken up with her and told her it was too late for them. “Although, I think whomever he finds to fulfill his fantasies this next time is going to pay dearly for what Falasin and I have refused to do.”

“Which brings us to you, Desta.” Falasin turned to her. “You can read people, do me. You can see him in my mind so you’ll know him and can avoid him. But be aware, he has a twin brother who’s Fleet and a great guy. At this point? I’d avoid them both in case he’s trying to fool us.”

“I have seen him in Reva’s head,” Desta said, even as she delved into Falasin’s thoughts. “I will have no problem avoiding him. Men... they are not something I wish to be around. Except Raj,” she smiled and in that expression, the others could see she was smitten.

“But Raj is a counselor, Desta,” Reva said. “Don’t make it difficult on him.”

“I understand, Desta,” Six said. “I see him too and he’s awesome. It’s like he always knows exactly what to say or do. He really understands. I suppose if he is interested, you could always see Robin.”

“I could. I like Raj, though.” Desta shrugged.

Reva hesitated a moment then asked, “Desta, how long were you on Fisher’s ship?” She felt Six’s and Falasin’s interest spike.

Closing her eyes, Desta leaned back and sipped her wine. She’d had enough to deaden most of the pain. “Two years. Not exactly, but just about. I was on a transport from Del...,” she saw Reva shake her head and altered her words, “...ta... Delta, my homeworld, when we were attacked and boarded. I don’t recall what happened next; I think I was put in stasis. When I woke, I was on Fisher’s ship and had a collar on my neck and Fisher on top of me.” She looked at Reva. “Probably the same for you?”

Reva nodded. “Well, except for the Fisher part. I woke up alone, chained to a bulkhead. When he showed up, that’s when he showed me how the collar worked.” She drained her glass.

“Fisher liked pain. That’s what it was, then, till he tired of me and passed me to Pash. All new rules to learn.” Desta looked into her wine glass.

“Two years?” The very idea made Six a little sick. “I’ve felt the affects of Reva’s time there and...,” she shook her head. “I’m so sorry that you both had to suffer through that. I’m glad Riley killed him. He deserved to be torn into little pieces, in my opinion.”

“Reva had it worse - she fought him,” Desta said, not looking at Reva, who grimaced and nodded.

“Well, you’re here with us now.” Falasin smiled. “No one’s going to lay a finger on you...well unless you want them to.” She blushed a little deeper blue.

Reva laughed. “Yeah. Riley was relieved when I ...oh, well, he was relieved in more ways than one.” She was the one blushing darkly now.

That brought a round of laughter from the other three women. “I know he is over the moon to have you back, Reva. He’s had a rough time of it too, but he has you back home. You’ll both be alright I think.”

“And he’s glad you talked to him yesterday, Six. I’m just worried about how Suresh will handle that now, since he likes to take revenge,” the Orion said.

“I think that might be alright too,” Six answered quietly. “We’ll see. I won’t let anything happen to him.”

“Thanks, Six,” Reva said. “Tomorrow, let’s head to the lake,” she pointed toward the body of water visible down the hill. “Six are there boats we could rent or use down there?”

“There are. Suresh taught me how to row one when we were here.” She laughed again. “Can you believe I had never been out in a boat? Sad I know, but there weren’t many lakes on my cube,” she joked.

Desta smiled. She’d known of Six and her Borg history since she and Reva had been on the Takei, so the reference to a cube didn’t phase her. “I used to sail with my family often. Rarely did we ever use power boats - it was usually a sailboat.” She smiled slightly. “Aren’t Borg usually heavier than normal? So being on a boat or over water... Can Borg swim?”

“The regular ones would sink, yes.” Six nodded. “I still don’t like to swim but a boat’s okay.” She looked to Reva. “My story or yours?”

“Yours,” Reva said. “I think I know it from Riley’s side.”

“That one? Or Eli?”

“Oh... well... either,” Reva shrugged.

“Eli, since this ties into Niro and Falasin.” Six took a sip from her glass, then began. “Eli collapsed at Kaleidoscope, it’s a dance club on the station Desta, and Niro was there with him, Chance and Fal. He was degenerating so fast that they put him in stasis. It was some poison that as yet there is no antidote for. He’d been in there for a day or two, I think, when I got a call at dawn from sickbay. What they were proposing was to give him some of my nanoprobes, reprogrammed to neutralize the poison and then repair the neural damage. It worked and Eli’s fine now. But this ties into Niro. I’m sure he’s blaming me for the failure of his little mission, since I know he’s seen Eli around the station. One more strike I suppose.”

“That’s amazing!” Falasin smiled. “I’m glad he’s all good. He and Chance are great guys and it was so horrifying when he just collapsed.” Once more her brow furrowed as she tried to recall and simply could not.

“Wait... Eli is walking around with nanites in him?” Reva sounded jealous - hell, she was jealous. “I want -- okay, I don’t want to need them, but I want some! I wonder if they could be used to help Ignatius.” She shuddered playfully, “A Borg spider,” and laughed. Another shiver hit her, this one from her nerves firing randomly.

“Do we really want at sentient spider who’s as smart as Iggy with nanites?” Six actually giggled. “It would be fun to see the effect of that on Commander Leroy. He has a little problem with spiders.”

“Does he?” Reva laughed. “Well, I’ll try not to help Iggy fuel his nightmares.”

“I want to meet this spider,” Desta said. “You two talk of it like it’s amazing.”

“She is but be prepared, she’s huge.” Six had toasted another marshmallow and held it out to Falasin. “We’ll track her down when we get back so you can meet her. And, you know what? We should go to the Nexus. Celebrate you two being home.”

“When we get back, perhaps,” Reva said. “I miss Riley.”

“Oh, great, we’re not company enough?” Desta said, smiling to make a joke of it. “You’ll see him soon enough, sweetheart.” She touched the Orion’s hand. “How about telling us about Robart?”

“Robart? Oh. Well, but Six has met him,” Reva said, looking at her friend. “I think you’ve talked to him more than I have. All I really know is that my mother sent him here. And he has a ship that can hit warp ten. How awesome is that?” She grinned.

“Can we see it?” Six asked. “I can’t imagine going that fast but I’d sure like to.”

“I’ve seen him,” Falasin added. “Big green fellow who wears suits? Down in the Pit?"

Reva and Desta shared a look then Reva shook her head. “Suits? We saw him in armor - sort of like what Klingons wear, which fits since the ship is a design knocked off from the Bird of Prey. He wears suits in the Pit?” Reva looked confused and shook her head. “My mother, Europa, is in prison on Earth. She’s been there... well, I was born in that prison. Fortunately, my Betazoid grandmother agreed to raise me, so I didn’t have to stay in the prison with her. And now she’s sent Robart... it’s weird.” She leaned forward to look over at Six, “And, yeah, we’re going on that ship and we’re going warp ten as soon as he gets back.”

Six smiled at Reva and touched her hand. “I can’t wait.” I want to talk to you before we go to bed. I have an idea. She then looked at the other two women. “Shall we get all this cleaned up?”

“Of course!” Desta was quick to get up. She grabbed the pile of plates and carried them to the kitchen. Falasin followed, though a hair slower.

Reva sighed and looked at Six. “And there’s the indoctrination still....”

“Give her time,” Six murmured. “What do you think of introducing her to Vic?”

"Des? I think you're feeling guilty and that she needs more time," Reva gave Six a flat stare. "I'd rather introduce her to Eli and Chance first. Let her go into the Nexus knowing them then meet Vic and the other bartenders. I think if she meets someone wonderful and kind and caring like Vic right now, she'll be hooked on him, like she is on Raj. But she'll be hooked by the idea of having a man, as a caretaker or protector, rather than by Vic for himself."

Six sighed aloud and nodded. “I was thinking more to expand her social circle at this point but you’re right. One step at a time I suppose. Shall we go help them?”


"Yeah. I agree with expanding her social circle. Right now, she knows Raj, Riley and the three of us. She's met a few others, but when she saw Bryce, she ducked under a table. Raj said that when they were out shopping, she was okay till a Kazon brushed by her. Maybe we could start with non-threatening guys like the boys and move from there." Reva stood, retrieved several bottles and waited till Six was ready to head inside.

Six grabbed the last of the leftovers and followed Reva in side.

* * *

Edana stood and stretched in her spot farther up the hill. “I think my ass is asleep.”

"I can help wake it up," Farco offered with a leer. "I'm good with my hands, I promise."

“So is Darwin.” Edana grinned at him. “How’s Suresh like the idea of this little outing? He must be a little worried about something to send you as well. What gives?”

"Darwin? He's a Fleetie," Farco made a face. "I don't think Suresh is worried about this bunch. None of those three are going to hurt Six. No one knows where they are, so there's nothing else to worry about."

“Then why are we here?” Ed rubbed her backside, then leaned against a palm tree. “Not that you’re bad company, quite the contrary, Farco.”

"To make Suresh feel better." The big Orion shrugged. "I'd rather be on 900. Me and Patch, we're gonna get Sukotav for what he did."

“Oh? Suresh ordered that did he?” Edana kept her tone casual but she was paying close attention to Farco now.

"Nope. But I think he's still waiting to see if the Fleet is really gonna let him walk. Either that or for Reva to get back. Maybe make it a two-fer."

“You know as well as I do that he doesn’t want Reva touched, for whatever reason,” Ed answered. “I’d think something like this? He’d want to see to it personally.”

Farco grumbled. "Yeah, yeah. He does that a lot now." He looked Edana over. "You sure you don't want some help waking that ass up?"

She gave him a stern look. “Maybe that’s another thing he could see to personally.”

"What? Your ass?" Farco, never a quick thinker, was now utterly confused. "You're doing Darwin and Suresh? At the same time?"

She had to laugh once more. “Just messing with you Farco.” She raised her small binoculars and looked back down the hill at the patio where the four young women were talking. The small listening device Farco had planted there earlier was broadcasting loud and clear. “Looks like Niro’s antics are being shared. There’s someone who should watch out for Suresh.”

"Eh, he hasn't messed with anything that belongs to Suresh yet. If he does, then we'll fix him. You want in on that?"

Edana nodded slowly. “Yes, I do. I know him from other times and places and I wouldn’t give him the the privilege of being my door mat.”

"I'll keep you updated on that, then. Soon's we get the okay to fix him," he said, plugging in an earbud to listen in on the women. "Now they're talking about that spider. Ugh," he shuddered, "if I ever run into it, I'm stomping on it."

“Yeah...good luck with that.” Edana had a feeling he’d scream like a little girl and run if he ever met Iggy. Finally, she settled back down on the grass. “It’ll be bedtime soon.”

"Good. I don't think I wanna hear anymore women's talk." He grunted a few minutes later. "Maybe that's why Suresh wants to keep Reva unharmed: her mother's Orion Syndicate. Not a good idea to piss them off."

Edana nodded her agreement. “I can vouch for that. He has to watch his back, after all. Plus, she keeps Six entertained, yeah?”

"Yeah. And now the clean up. Glad they didn't leave that stuff out. The chipmunks around here can get aggressive." Farco pulled his earbud out. "Time for bed. You'll take the upstairs room?"

“Downstairs. Six knows I’ll be dropping in late. What about you?” Edana pulled out her earbud and packed away the field glasses.

"Um. Oh. I guess I'm taking the garage?" He'd been told not to get close to the woman, Desta, because he'd likely terrify her. He rather liked the idea that he was terrifying, though he didn't like the reason why Desta would be scared of him. "There's a comfy bed up there. I'm close enough that a yell will bring me running."

“Sounds good.” Edana stood and patted Farco on the shoulder. “I’ll come get you up in the morning so we can check out the lake before they get there.”

"Yup. G'night, Ed." He stayed put a few minutes longer while Ed made her down to the house and inside.

************
Ensign Reva Madhava
Ensign Six of Ten
Falasin
Desta
SCPO Edana
Farco