Dating Games

Posted on Sun Oct 25th, 2015 @ 9:32pm by Ensign Reva Madhava & Robart & Lieutenant Riley Sukotav & Desta

Mission: Further Challenges

* Reva & Desta’s Quarters *

Desta stood before her woefully empty closet and frowned. What was there was little more than casual clothes suitable for wearing at home or wandering the station but it would never do for dinner out, in her opinion. What would do was beyond her experience. She’d spent two years wearing nothing at all, ever. The idea of a date, which is what Reva had made clear this was, made it an even bigger deal. Finally, she poked her head through the door and called out.

“Reva!”

In the living room, where she was sitting on the floor, working on her robot, Reva jumped like she’d been shocked. “What!”, she put the ‘bot aside and stood. “You okay, Desta?”

“I know this will sound cliche, but I have nothing to wear, and no clue what I should wear either. Help?” Desta turned back to her closet with a shrug. “Not that this dinner is a big deal but I should look decent at least.”

“Of course you should look good! And you will. C’mon,” Reva took her hand and led her across the apartment to her room. There, she pulled open her own closet. “Seyla had these made for me. They won’t fit you, but once we narrow down a style you like, we can replicate it according to your measurements,” she said and pulled out a bright blue dress to hold it up against Desta’s body.

“Oh my, that’s lovely.” She ran her fingers over the silky material. “What do you think? Do you think he’ll be put off if my shoulders are bare?”

Blinking, Reva paused. “Put off? Oh, sweetheart, he’ll be thinking about how he can convince you to let him kiss those bare shoulders. Just... Desta, it’s your choice whether he gets to or not. Okay?” She decided the bright blue with Desta’s hair was too much like a child’s drawing: primary colors. She turned and pulled a different dress out, a navy one with small cut-outs along the waist. “Try this one.”

Desta laid the bright one aside and held up the navy blue. “Better?” She considered Reva’s advice and nodded. “I don’t know that I’m ready for that. Really, I don’t think Xavier would be ready for what I...I’m used to. I have a lot to relearn, don’t I?”

Reva stopped and hugged Desta, crushing the dress between them. “You do, but it’ll come.” She stepped back and looked at the dress. “I like that color on you, better than the bright blue. Do you like the style? It isn’t too fancy nor too casual. I have some jewelry you could pair with it.”

Desta turned to the mirror and looked herself over, then nodded. “I think he’ll love it.” She stopped and frowned slightly. “No, I love it. That’s what is important.”

Smiling, Reva nodded. “That’s right. It’s whether you like it and feel good in it, not what others think. Let’s go replicate it in your size.” She went out to the living room console. “And while it’s printing, I’ll do your hair.”

* Lao’s Chinese Restaurant *

Desta had requested to meet Xavier outside Lao’s in order to keep the location of Reva’s quarters a secret. She stepped off the turbolift and began the walk down the Promenade. Some heads turned to watch but Desta was oblivious. She was walking at a leisurely pace, given the high heels Reva had suggested. Finally, she reached Lao’s and waited.


Xavier, a notorious earlybird, had arrived a few minutes before their meeting time and had been people watching while he waited. He overlooked Desta as she came towards him: he was expecting a downplayed redhead, not a bombshell. When the redhead paused, though, he reassessed her and his jaw dropped. “Desta?”

She turned and, seeing Xavier, smiled brightly up at him. “Good evening. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long?”

“No, not at all. You look incredible,” he smiled. “I asked them to set up a table for us,” he added, gently taking her arm to lead her into the restaurant. He was so focused on her that he didn’t see the hooded figure taking an interest in them.

The figure was seated at a table in Lao’s already, watching Desta as she walked in. The table the servers had set up for the two was directly in his line of sight, two tables over. As the Security Officer helped her into a seat, Pash smiled: Desta was facing him.

“Thank you.” Now that they were seated, she looked around the dining room, taking in the beautiful decor, and her gaze settled on the aquarium running along the wall. “Oh Xavier, that’s amazing. Can we go see it once we’ve ordered?”

“The fishtank? Yeah. If you want, you can go take a look; I’ll order for us,” he offered.

“I’d like that.” She rested her hand on his arm a moment, then rose and made her way over to the tank. Soon she was absorbed in watching the fish, especially a large blue one who swam up to glass wall and hovered there, looking back. Slowly she reached out to touch the glass where the fish waited.

Pash followed Desta to the aquarium and went to the other side of it. Through the glass and water, he could see his girl; he dropped his hood and stood watching her.

The movement caused a faint reflection on the other side of the aquarium but the image was blurred for Desta. For an instant, it looked like Pash and she squealed aloud, snatching her hand back. When she looked again but the image was gone. She backed away from the tank, bumping right into Xavier who was coming to meet her.

“Hey,” he laughed, “Did one of the fish scare you? Bare its teeth at you?” He put his hands on her shoulders.

“No, I thought I saw…” She stopped, not wanting to drag Xavier into the mess that was her past anymore than he had been already. “Nothing, never mind.” His hands on her shoulders was surprisingly comforting and she hugged him briefly. “Sorry.”

“Sure. The sake is on the table. Have you had that before?” He put his hand on her back and walked with her back to the table. “Some people think it’s an acquired taste.”

Behind them, Pash returned to his table, smirked under his hood.

“No, but I’m game.” She smiled as she sat back down and took the tiny cup he handed her. The first sip was a little odd-tasting but not bad. She had another and nodded. “I like it. The flavor’s not too heavy.”

“Oh, you’re not a vegetarian or vegan, are you? I’m sorry, I should have asked before ordering for you,” he asked.

The fact that he’d think to ask touched Desta and she shook her head. “No, I’ll eat just about anything.” That was true, she realized. Too long bordering on the edge of deprivation had made sure she was not a picky eater. “Thanks for asking though. That means more than you may realize.”

“Blame it on the sensitivity training Oz makes us go through,” he joked. “No, I’m kidding. I mean, we do go through that training, but I don’t mind it. It is good to be reminded every year that not everyone sees things the same way. Take for example a Tellarite, have you ever met one?”

“No,” Desta answered. “Would you believe I’d never been off my planet until….you know.” She paused to study his face and decided it was a very handsome one, especially when he smiled. “Tell me.”

“Tellarites complain as a way of...,” he looked for the right word, “...greeting another person. If they have nothing to complain about, they’ll insult the person. To humans, that’s... just awful behavior, but to a Tellarite, not insulting them back is rude. So...,” he realized he was, quite possibly, babbling inanely, “Oz put that training in our annual certification requirements.”

“Good for her. I have to say though, I thought she was a little intimidating,” Desta admitted. “Granted, I wasn’t in the best frame of mind when we met. I don’t know that you need special training, though. You seem to do just fine on your own.”

His smile was wide and radiant. “Well, thanks, I’ll let Oz know that her training works well. Ah, here’s the dumplings!” He sat back and let the server put the plates on the table. She pointed at each and named the primary ingredient in them then left them alone to dig in. Xavier used his chopsticks to spear a dumpling and take a bit of it. “Mmmm... so good!”

Desta watched as he took the first one, then imitated his use of the chopsticks. Her first bite was enough to make her agree with Vic’s assessment that the dumplings were amazing. She finished it off and moaned with pleasure. “I think I could live on these.”

Her moan just about derailed Xavier’s brain. “Yeah...,” he cleared his throat and took another dumpling before starting a conversation about his hometown. He asked Desta a few questions, but quickly realized that she didn’t want to talk about her past - any of it. Accommodating her, he talked more than he listened.

When they were finally stuffed, and had put away another bottle of sake, Desta and Xavier emerged from Lao’s. She had thoroughly enjoyed listening to him talk and appreciated that he hadn’t pried when she was hesitant to talk about her own past. When he’d suggested a walk, she readily agreed. Now they strolled along the Promenade and she slipped her hand into his arm.

“Dinner was wonderful, Xavier. Maybe next time I can treat you. Is that allowed?” she asked.

“Is what allowed? Going to dinner again? I don’t recommend it right now, but I’d be happy to go to dinner with you again,” Xavier replied.

Several paces behind them, Pash followed along, growling under his oversized hood. Their pace, best described as ‘slower than cold molasses’, was aggravating him, as was watching Xavier put his hand on the small of Desta’s back. He had several better ideas for where that hand could go, including in a specimen jar on his bookshelf.

“That would be wonderful.” She stopped as he rested his hand on her back and turned to face him. There was a certain degree of safety she felt here, since Xavier had been on the recovery team. He had a good idea of what her story was and that was also a relief, she realized. He knew and had asked her out anyway. “I’m having a great time. I just wanted you to know that.”

He smiled. “I’m glad; I’m having a good time, too. Are you stuffed or... did you save room for dessert?” He knew an old fashioned ice cream shop was just ahead.

“I could be ready by the time we get there.” She smiled at him and then reached up to touch his cheek. “Maybe something with lots of chocolate.”

“Duly noted, we can walk slowly,” he chuckled and drew her to a stop. “May I kiss you?”

Desta’s eyes widened at his question and she took the time to seriously consider the question. She was nervous but she knew Reva had been brave enough to take that step, so she figured that she could too. Finally, she nodded. “Yes, if you’d like to.”

“I would,” he whispered and bent his head to gently kiss her lips.

A few feet away, at a vendor’s kiosk, a large piece of glassware suddenly crashed to the deck plating, smashing into a hundred pieces.

Desta jumped back from Xavier and, due to deep-seated habit, crouched down and covered her head. The sound of something breaking meant someone was angry and that she was in trouble. She remained unmoving, waiting for the blows to fall.

Stunned by her move, Xavier stood still for a half a second before crouching beside Desta and covering her shoulders with an arm. “Desta, it’s okay. No one will hurt you. A merchant or shopper dropped something. Stand with me,” he held her arm and urged her to stand.

His voice soothed her and she stood, looking around warily. She slipped her arms around him and leaned in close, feeling her face grow hot with embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, it just startled me. I didn’t meant to...react…” She fell silent, unsure what else to say, but afraid she’d ruined everything.

“It’s okay. I understand,” he did; he’d been briefed on the conditions and knew her treatment had been horrific. “You’re allowed to react,” he tried for a reassuring smile. What he didn’t know was that, just behind him and in Desta’s line of sight, stood Pash with his hood down, glaring at Desta.

Desta stood frozen as she met Pash’s gaze. Surely she wasn’t seeing this. He was dead. She knew his ship had exploded. Yet there he was and now she wondered if she was going crazy. Her grip on Xavier tightened. “Behind you,” she whispered, “Can you see the Kazon?”

The Kazon threw his hood over his head and turned to stride away; Xavier smiled quizzically at Desta then turned to look where she’d said. “Kazon? No, ...was there one?”, he asked. “Kazon are common in this quadrant.”

“He was wearing a robe and he looked like….” Desta shook her head. “Sorry. I suppose I still have a great fear of them and he stopped to watch us. Never mind. Don’t worry about it.” She still hadn’t let go of Xavier.

“No worries,” He shifted a little so he could hold her more securely. “Maybe I should get you home. We could order ice cream from the replicator....”

“I can’t take you to Reva’s, so could we do it at your quarters instead?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course, I wasn’t sure you’d be okay with that. C’mon, there’s a turbolift not far from here.” He led her towards it.

Pash had turned again to watch them, this time in the reflection on a storefront. When they started walking away, he turned and followed them. He couldn’t join them on the turbolift, but he could search the computer for where this Crewman Xavier lived.

Reva’s & Desta’s Quarters *

The ice cream and conversation at Xavier’s had been fun and Desta had partially calmed down from the visions of Pash that had tainted the night. Everyone was so sure the Fisheries’ crew had been killed and therefore, Pash couldn’t be here. It was that simple. Even so, following a goodnight kiss that had lasted longer than she had expected, she had seen herself home even though she had continually looked over her shoulder. Finally, she entered her quarters and slipped off her shoes.

“Well?” Reva was out of her room in a heartbeat, gleefully expecting a full report on the date, before Desta had her second shoe off. “It’s late, young lady,” she teasingly chided Desta, “Tell me everything!”

Desta smiled and crossed to the sofa, debating on whether to mention Pash. She sat down and pulled Reva down with her, keeping a hold on her arm. Silently, she passed the details to Reva - the wonderful dinner, the kiss on the Promenade, the ice cream in his quarters and finally the long goodnight.

“We had a wonderful time!” she smiled back at Reva. “He understands too.”

Reva had grinned through the whole story, except one part when she’d read a trill of fear from Desta. Nothing she’d said had matched up with that fear. “That’s wonderful, Desta! But... did something happen on the Promenade?”

Desta withdrew her hand and finally, shook her head. “Not really. Someone at one of the shops broke a vase and I sort of...hit the deck and covered my head. Pash tended to break things when he was mad and it somehow always ended up being my fault and meant trouble. I did it before I even realized it, you know?” It was the truth as far as it went.

“Oh, I do,” Reva embraced her friend. “It’ll take a while for us to overcome things like that. Riley did something the other morning that made me freeze up.”

“I was afraid he’d be unhappy but it was okay with him. He didn’t mind at all.” Desta smiled again finally. He wants to go out again. Should I?”

“Is there a reason not to?” Reva laughed. “If you want to go out with him again, then go. He seems like a nice fellow.”

Desta nodded. “He is, and a handsome one too. He wants to do it this weekend. Dinner that is….not….well...he’d like that too but he didn’t say so. He’s afraid of scaring me off.”

“And, again, it’s your choice. He won’t expect or demand sex from you.” She laughed lightly and without humor. “He probably gets an annual training on consent.”

“And sensitivity training too,” he said. Desta shrugged. “I don’t know. Sex became something that really had little meaning anymore for me, but it means a lot to him. I don’t want to jump too soon before we see how things are going. I think that’s the best idea.” She patted Reva’s hand and rose. “Anyhow, I am going to turn in. Thanks for getting me ready tonight. He was really impressed.”

“I was taught by a professional,” Reva smiled, “Good night.”

“I’ll be up early tomorrow. You need breakfast before your first day so I’ll take care of it. Night Reva.” Desta vanished into her room and the door closed behind her.

* OSN Kyllini *

“What reason do you have for rousting me from my bed at this hour?” Robart grumbled at his crewman and tightened the belt of his silky, grey robe.

“My apologies, I know it’s late, but it’s important.” Pash tried to keep his voice level. He knew that pushing Robart was a recipe for disaster.

“I figured it was, otherwise you would have waited till a decent hour. So? Spit it out,” he ordered.

“You promised me the shifter if I swore loyalty to you and and upheld it. I have and now, I want to claim her. I saw her tonight with a member of the Fleet and they were too close for my comfort. I want her now before it is too late and this gets complicated,” Pash stated.

“The shifter is housed with Cyllene, it’s already complicated. You can’t have her until after that changes, if it does. And if Cyllene becomes attached to her, well... you might wish to revise your request,” Robart warned him. “Our instructions are to make certain Cyllene is happy; taking one of her companions would upset her.”

That was not the news that Pash wanted to hear, especially in his current mood - a mood caused by Desta’s behavior and thus was her fault. She would pay for that and suddenly, he knew just how to make that happen. He sighed aloud and appeared to settle down, for Robart’s sake.

“Very well, I will have to be patient then. My apologies for disturbing you.”

“Make sure you are patient, Pash. If you disturb Cyllene, I will complete the task of killing you,” the Orion said, turning to go back to his bed. “Good night.”

“Good night.” He waited until Robart’s door closed, then hurried away. If he couldn’t have Desta tonight, he’d make damn sure that young man couldn’t either.

************************
Desta
Ensign Reva Madhava
Crewman Recruit Xavier Slandala
Pash
Robart