Isaura Meets The Dragon

Posted on Thu Jan 7th, 2016 @ 2:44pm by Captain Li Hawke & Lieutenant Dara Sahli & IKS Ning'Tao

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: The Arboretum / Guest Quarters

* The Arboretum *

Rafael shortened his stride so that Isa could keep up with him. They were nearing the small lake in the Arboretum and he hoped this outing would help relieve her growing urge to climb the walls of their quarters. He felt it too, actually. Neither of them were used to doing nothing for more than a few hours. Besides, in such a public place, it was unlikely that they’d run into trouble. That’s what the Pit was for. He kept alert as they strolled through the trees, but so far, saw nothing to alarm him.

Isa was using the walk to stretch her legs - which was the only way she could keep up with Rafe, even his shortened strides. Ahead was a dog and, like a kid, Isa skipped forward so she could pet it. "Hey there, pup," she whispered. Once Rafe caught up to her again, she flashed a smile at him then stood and fell in step with him. "I suppose it'd cause bedlam on the Ning'Tao if I wanted to have a dog."

“Well, Olivia’s quarters are empty and we did have a load of pigs, how could a dog be worse?” he asked. “Though I was hoping to find another engineer to take her place. I know Ro’s looking.”

"Oh... Yeah, I should be looking, too. Do you think you can't handle her alone?" To Isa, the ship was a she.

“Let’s just say there was enough to keep us both busy, especially with bigger cargo runs.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “Especially if we have livestock again. We’re lucky Joe jumped in to help.”

"Hey, I said we have a new rule: no livestock! Trust me, that pig shipment wasn't a walk in the park for me either." Granted, she hadn't had to shovel shit or risk a maiming by feeding the things. "Fine, we'll find someone handy." Her walking pace slowed as she spied a man coming in their direction. He was a Cardassian and she recognized him as Zikar.

“What is it?” Rafael followed her gaze and saw the Cardassian moving in their direction. It wasn’t either of the Cardassians attached to the Ning’Tao, so he was left to assume it was the real problem - Zikar. Immediately he stopped and reached out, putting Isa behind him. “I am not in the mood for this.”

“What--?” Isa was surprised he’d pushed her behind him. But, then again, it was rather manly and sexy. She smiled at him, not caring that he was paying more attention to the approaching Cardassian than her.

“Trouble,” was Rafael’s only answer. There was no getting around it; Zikar had seen them and was approaching. He was also wearing a chilly smile that didn’t do a lot for Rafael. In his opinion, when a spoonhead was smiling, it meant he was up to something.

Zikar reached them and stopped, looking from Rafael to Isaura. Despite his smile, there was noticeable tension in his face.

“Hello Isaura. Hiding behind your guard dog I see.”

Wincing, Isa did the only thing she could at the moment: she grabbed hold of Rafe’s arm as he swung at Zikar. Rafe hauled her along with his arm, but her weight made him miss the Cardassian’s face. Isa ended up in front of Rafe, facing Zikar. “Ah... not at all, Zeek. See?” She smiled and wished for a weapon. “So... what brings you here?” For the safety of her hide, she hoped it wasn’t her and Rafe; if he was, she knew Kaeli and Ronin would read her the riot act.

Zikar’s glance at Rafael was withering. He let it linger, then finally looked down at Isaura. “Several things actually. And apparently I’ve been a good boy because fortune has dropped the lot of you in my lap.” His voice was harsh. “Believe me, Isa, I am in no mood for games at the moment.”

“Oh? Not in the mood for games, huh? Well, that’s just too bad,” she said. “I was going to invite you to a game of Squash with us. You could bring your wife along to play on your side.” She had no clue what Squash was; she picked the word because she wanted to squash Zikar like the pest he was.

Zikar tensed visibly, his pseudo-smile turning to a grimace. “My wife is none of your business. She is far too good to be spoken of by the likes of you, but I see Kaeli has been up to her old tricks - reading people and running that fresh mouth of hers.”

“We rather like her fresh mouth,” Rafael commented. He wasn’t about to touch the comment about Zikar’s wife, though. He wasn’t suicidal.

“Far too good for the likes of me? Ooo, I’m wounded,” Isaura taunted him, unknowingly using the same phrase he’d just used several times with his wife. “Gosh, Rafe, don’t you just feel lesser now? But, really, it’s you who doesn’t measure up, right, Zeek? After all, she must have had some reason to run from you.” She couldn’t help but think of how she’d run from Drekkar. ‘Course, he’d threatened to kill her at the time.

“That is enough,” he growled. Stepping closer to her, he lowered his voice as he continued. “You planning to ruin this one like you did Drekkar?” When Rafael frowned, Zikar continued. “Or does he not know that story? Shall I share?”

Isa resisted looking back at Rafael; she could feel his curiosity and it was enough to make her worry about the story. “Shut up,” she growled at the taller Cardassian. “We don’t have time for your fairy tales. You approached us, so you can turn around and leave.”

Zikar reached up and ran his fingers over her cheek, the touch an intimate caress. “For now, yes, as I have something to attend to that is more important.” He fought back the rage that had been on a rapid boil since Nyyar left him by the lake. “But we are not finished Isa. You might want to enjoy what little time you have left with Drekkar because that time is very short.”

“I have plenty of time with Drekkar, all I want, really. How do you see this ending? We’re on a Federation station, so you can’t just grab whomever you want and run off with them, unlike a Cardie station.” She felt Rafe’s hand on her shoulder, pulling her back slightly.

”Perhaps not, but a Cardassian war criminal that even Cardassia wants to capture? I suspect Security will gladly hand him over, along with Jarad and his little Romulan spy. You? Will just be a bonus. Besides, pirates vanish all the time, don’t they?”

“Let it go, Isa,” Rafael murmured.

Eyeing Zikar, Isaura nodded and said, “We do disappear all the time. Just watch us disappear with Drekkar and Jarad and Kaeli.” She answered Rafe’s request by leaning back slightly. “It’ll be like a magic trick.”

Zikar snorted. “We’ll see about that. In the meantime, give my regards to your Butcher. He might want to keep a close eye on his little chew toy.” He looked up to Rafael now. “Same goes for you.”

Clenching her teeth, Isa tensed; she could feel Zikar’s fury rolling over her and all she wanted was to get away from it. “Ouch. Now I’m a chew toy?” She reached behind her for Rafe’s hand and took a step back. “See you around, Zeek.”

“Not if I see you first. It has been….interesting to see you again.” He gave them a curt nod and moved past them, now in something of a hurry.

Rafael watched until ZIkar was out of hearing range, then turned back to Isa. “Damn.”

“Bastard, right?” She looked up at him.

“And then some,” he agreed. He was silent for a few seconds, watching Isaura. “So are you going to tell me this story?”

“Ah... well... you won’t like parts of it,” she started as they turned and continued in the direction they’d been going.

* Civilian Quarters *

“Kae?” Jarad nudged her as he spoke at her ear. “Someone at the door.” She mumbled something incoherent as the chime came again. “Wake up,angel. I’ll go see who it is.”

He left the bedroom and crossed to the door. He had been up for a few hours already and was fully dressed. Old habits die hard he supposed. When the doors opened he began, “We don’t want any -- oh, it’s you two. Come on in.”

Isa bustled in past him, saying, “That’s how you answer the door when there’s a nutcase after you? You just open it without knowing who’s there? What the hell is the computer for?” She stopped in the middle of the room and glared at him. “Not very security minded, are you?”

Jarad shrugged. “That nutcase is more frightened of me than I am of him.” He smiled and motioned them to the sofa. “What’s up? Kaeli’s waking up and should be out in a few.”

Rafael moved past him, still silent, and sat down.

“One of those days, Isa my dear?” Jarad asked with a glance at Rafael.

“Don’t be so sure, Jarad. We just ran into him at the Arboretum - it’s amazing what sort of riff-raff they let in there! - and he threatened all of us,” Isa warned him.

“Is that so?” Jarad frowned and glanced to the bedroom door. A still-sleepy Kaeli wandered out wrapped in his oversized robe that dragged the floor.

“Hi gang.” She brushed back her hair and passed by the sofa on the way to the small kitchen. “What’s eating you Zorro?” she asked.

Rafael answered the question with a growl. He actually liked Kaeli, despite not understanding her fascination with Jarad. “Long story.”

“By long story, he means the Drekkar-Isaura love affair, before things went all to hell,” Isa explained. “Go ahead, ask what’s eating me, now,” she called into the kitchen.

“You had an encounter with an asshole who threatened you and all you hold dear,” Kaeli called back, sounding more coherent. Apparently she’d found the coffee Jarad made for her. She reappeared with a mug in hand. “Am I close?”

“You’re good at this game!” Isa beamed at her. “Hey, should you be drinking coffee in the middle of the night? You’ll never get back to sleep.”

“It’s the middle of the night?” She looked over at Jarad. “But you’re dressed. I figured it had to be late morning.” She settled on the arm of Jarad’s chair and had another sip.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he answered her. He left it at that, not wanting to go into details of his plotting and planning. “So, tell us what happened Isa.”

“We were taking a stroll when we happened on Zikar. Nothing really happened, we simply exchanged words and then went on our ways.” She brushed off the encounter. “He was annoying in that he brought up the story of me and Drekkar. And he threatened us.” Isa didn’t want Kaeli to get mad at her for taking a constitutional.

“Taking a stroll...without me? Very dangerous Isa.” She shot a glance at Rafael. “Please tell me it was somewhere public?”

Rafael nodded. “The Arboretum. He didn’t lay a hand on her. Couldn’t really with people about but he got in some good verbal swipes. He sure as hell doesn’t like you, Kaeli.”

Kaeli shrugged. “No surprise there. Let me guess, I should watch my step?”

Rafael nodded. “He said to give his regards to you Jarad, and to keep an eye on your chew toy.”

Jarad’s expression turned stormy and he slipped his arm around Kaeli as if he expected Zikar to pop out from under the coffee table.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that. Whatever.” Kaeli waved that aside and had some more coffee. “What did you get from him Isa?”

"Fury. He's at a rapid boil with his rage; I don't want to be around when that pot tips over. I hate to do it, because we haven't restocked the pantries yet, and we have no cargo, but we should recall everyone and get the hell away from here. Let Zikar and his wife work out their issues without our help or involvement. If we move fast enough, we could be on the ship and out of 900's space before Zikar has even been notified," Isa said. It wasn't like her to pack up and run, unless she'd looked death in the face, and that was just what she'd done. She joined Rafe on the couch, her smile gone as she sought comfort from him. She added the one thing she had the feeling would send Rafe into a fit: "Everyone includes Drekkar."

“No.” Rafael spoke immediately. “You intended to dump him in Krenim space, why not leave him here? He can vanish on the planet until Zikar is gone, then he’ll have a much better place here than the Krenim homeworld.”

“He has a point,” Jarad agreed. “It’s not like Zikar is going to stay out here, or return. At least not if he has any sense.”

Isa looked at the two then shook her head, "I have an issue with leaving him where there's someone who wants to kill him." The irony: she would take him on a ship where there was someone who wanted to kill him.

Rafael snorted at that. “Fine by me, at least he'll meet his end at my hands instead of Zikar’s.” He smiled sweetly at Isaura. She gave back a pouty glare.

“I see your point.” It was Kaeli who spoke and she looked sharply at Jarad at some thought he had. “You gave your word so we have to stick to that. So what now? Can I go kill him? Zikar that is, not Drekkar.”

"Killing a Legate on a Federation base could cause some serious problems for us," Isa worried. "For one, Station Security would likely search every ship and the guest quarters for evidence. Can we make it look like his wife did it?"

It was Jarad who answered that. “No. If you’d ever met her, you’d understand why I say that. She’s Bajoran and she is also a very gentle creature who’d never raise a hand to Zikar for any reason. I saw them out on official social occasions quite often and it was obvious she was seriously wrapped around his little finger. As he was around hers.”

“Hmm,” Kaeli mused. “If one of us stirred him up enough, which should be easy right now, we could make it a self-defense situation.”

"We'd have to get to him while Farak isn't around," Isa said. "It'd likely be best if one of us did it, Kaeli. Lesser physical strength means we could use a weapon."

“Do you actually mean to have the two of you go parading around the station hoping he’ll strike?” Rafael asked. “Have you lost your mind, Isa? No offense, my darling, but no. Absolutely not. Send Kaeli.”

“Gee thanks, Raf,” Kaeli replied.

"I didn't lose my mind! You've simply worn me out...," Isa teased him. "But, yeah I did just volunteer the two of us to go parading around looking for him. At least we'll be dressed."

“There is that.” Kaeli’s tone was dry.

“I’m with Rafael. I cannot allow you to do this Kae.” Jarad’s expression was stern. “It’s dangerous and you could get killed and….I’m talking to the wall aren’t I?” He knew that determined look she now wore.

“I knew you’d see it my way,” Kaeli joked. “But I don’t know, Isa, it bears thinking about before we do this. Jarad is right. We shouldn't take any unnecessary risks.” And by that I mean yes, but we won’t tell these two till we’re done.

Nodding, Isa agreed, "No unnecessary risks. Okay, Rafe?" She kissed his cheek. "We'll be careful."

Jarad looked from Kaeli to Isa and back, more than a little suspicious. That had been too easy and it was not like either of them to give in so quickly. He decided to keep a closer eye on things and definitely warn Rafael.

“Very well then,” Jarad answered. “That’s settled. By the way, where’s Ronin?”

“Off doing his thing,” Kaeli answered. She finished her coffee and rose, however. “I am going to get dressed and go find him.” Want to come along Isa?

Does a polecat climb poles? "I'll go with you, Kaeli. I have an idea where he might be," Isa said. "Jarad, it'd be best if you stay here. Rafe can keep you company."

“As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. Just be careful.” Jarad looked up at Kaeli, his expression worried. “Go.” He wasn’t thrilled with the idea but it would give him time to talk to Rafael.

“Just let me get dressed, Isa.” She hurried off to the bedroom.

Rafael was none too pleased either but knew better than to argue the point. “At least the killer is with you,” he said, meaning Kaeli. “But if we don’t hear from you in an hour, we’ll come looking.”

Isa looked at him strangely; Kaeli wasn't the one she thought of as the ship's killer. "Okay. We're headed to the Pit; that's where I think we'll find Ro." A few minutes later, she and Kaeli left the two men alone.

***************
Isaura Panossian
Rafael Hernandez
Kaeli
Jarad
The Motley Crew

Zikar
The Dragon