The Loser's Club

Posted on Fri Oct 16th, 2015 @ 4:52pm by Ensign Reva Madhava & Niro

Moving about the small guest quarters, Xerena hummed to herself; had she stopped to think about what she was humming, she’d have realized it was an old Romulan lullaby, one she’d sung to her son. Her mind was occupied on her actions, though, as she mixed a powdery substance into a small glass of liquid. Capping the glass, she set it aside. It was a possible solution to her Borg problem.

Washing her hands carefully, she requested a drink from the replicator, sipped it and settled on her couch with a padd in hand. When the door chime rang, she was surprised, could it possibly be Suresh? She answered and saw a man she didn’t know there. “You seem to have the wrong guest quarters.”

“I don’t think so, Xerena.” Niro smiled back at her. “You are exactly who I’m looking for.”

“Why?”, she stared at him.

Niro crossed his arms as he looked down at her. “Because it has come to my attention that you and I have a mutual problem that needs fixing. The sooner the better in my opinion.”

“Who are you? What mutual problem do you think we have?”

His gaze turned intent and suddenly, an image of Six rose in her mind. “That answer your question?”

“Perhaps. It doesn’t answer who you are. Tell me that, or go the hell away.” Xerena stepped back. She wasn’t inviting him in, but was instead reaching for a small weapon she’d stashed near the door.

“My name is Niro. I can explain more inside, but I’d rather not broadcast it out here. Suresh has eyes and ears everywhere, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.”

“It doesn’t. Come in, Niro,” she stepped aside, letting him enter. “This mutual problem... how is she your problem?”

He entered and waited for the door to close. “She is my problem in several ways, actually.” He looked past her to the sofa, then leaned against the door. “She’s cost me two women that I had a good use for and now, she knows something that could put my life in danger if it became known. Also, her lack of...cooperation, shall we say? Is extremely annoying.”

“You seem to know how she is my problem. How are you thinking of eliminating the annoyance?” She crossed the room and took a seat on the sofa.

Niro followed her and sat down. He took a few seconds to browse through her mind, reading the old memory of Suresh the night he’d sent her away, and their recent interaction in Saturnalia.

“That’s why I am here. I know more about her than you do, so I suggest a little collaboration. What exactly are you hoping to gain here?”

“My place at Suresh’s side. I am his wife and the mother of his child. Together, he and I can take over this Station again. To do so, it seems I need to remove the Borg.” She was unaware of his mental browsing.

“So you really want him that bad? Even after what he did to your puny human lover and to you?” Niro laughed briefly. “I suppose there’s no accounting for taste. You should know, however, that he appears to be rather enthralled with her.”

The desire to do to Suresh what Suresh had had done to Victor rose up in Xerena. Her statement that she wanted to be by Suresh’s side wasn’t entirely true - there was a wish for revenge tangled in with all of her other thoughts about the man. “What he did to Victor.... How do you know about that? I doubt that’s public knowledge,” her eyes narrowed as she regarded Niro. “You’re a telepath. Damned telepaths!”

Niro laughed and nodded. “Now I see the other reason. You really want him back? What is it about that man that so attracts women? There’s plenty of gossip on this station about another, before the Borg, that he was obsessed with and who never strayed from him. When she died, he lost his marbles for a while.”

“What is it about any man that attracts women? For him, it’s the power he wields. Whatever other faults he has - and he has quite a few - can be ignored because of the respect and fear others have for him. Plus, he is a sharp dressed man.” Xerena looked Niro over and sneered, as if finding him lacking.

Niro rolled his eyes. “Oh please. I was hoping for a cohort who was more sensible than that.”

“More sensible? What’s not sensible about going for the top boss in the Pit?”

“He’s a sharp dressed man?” Niro laughed once more. “So given what we know, to get what you want, Six has to be taken out of the way in a fashion that makes it clear to Suresh that she isn’t coming back. If he’s affected, all the better. Striking at her is the best way to get to him. I don’t want her dead, however. As long as you get what you want, that’s all you need to be concerned with.”

“What will you do with her, then? Sell her off? Keep her on your ship and bleed her? You’re right, I don’t care what happens to her - I just want her out of my way. I’ll help Suresh pick up his pieces afterward.” She dismissed his derisive comments about sharp dressed men as sheer jealousy.

“There’s enough in her bloodstream to make me a very rich man for the rest of my life,” Niro agreed. “As well as a rather pleasing form to enjoy along the way. What I’ll need from you, however, is keeping Suresh distracted. None of this will be possible if he’s hovering over her as he usually does.”

“Let me know when. I’m very good at distracting Suresh,” she smiled.

“I had an idea about that too. You won’t be able to lure him in under normal circumstances, but what if it appears that something happened, even if it didn’t?”

“I’m not following what you mean,” she frowned, trying to put together what he meant.

“Catch him at Saturnalia alone, drug his drink. When it begins to affect him, help him home. Tuck him into bed and once he is out, I’m sure you can make it look convincing when she gets home. Now do you follow me?” Niro asked.

She laughed. “Oh, now I do. Yes, I can do that. Does Six have a routine or something she goes and does when I’d have time to drug Surie?”

Niro thought about that then shrugged. “He seems to be in Saturnalia a lot and often without her. She’s never far away from him; however, I have someone willing to run a little interference so we can keep her busy long enough I think.”

“Good. Whenever that person is ready, I will be, too.” She was already considering which drug to use and just what dose would be needed.

“I’ll send word when it’s time.” He rose and moved to the door. “See you soon.” He stepped through and the door closed behind him.

Xerena watched him go and wondered whether she’d regret this alliance.

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Xerena
One Sore Ex

Niro
One Sore Loser