The Game Changes

Posted on Sat Jul 28th, 2012 @ 10:39am by Lieutenant Commander Kh'ali & Ensign Kai Sarkozi & Lieutenant Commander Gilroy
Edited on on Sat Jul 28th, 2012 @ 5:38pm

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Conference Room

* * * Conference Room * * *

Kai moved about the conference room, straightening up this, tidying that, following the latest meeting with Kh’ali and the Prime Minister, but her mind wasn’t on the job. In fact, the things she removed or put back in their proper places didn’t register at all. Her mind kept circling to Chase, the night she really didn’t remember, the morning after when she’d awakened at his side. He had declared again that he was interested in far more than just a one night stand, then departed and she hadn’t talked to him since.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. There were no telepaths in her family tree, but she’d learned long ago to pay attention to her female intuition. Something prodded at her where Chase was concerned. Something else was involved too - Gilroy. She had watched him for as long as she had been here, hoping....and now she likely had screwed that up. And how was she to tell Chase that he just wasn’t what she wanted? On top of that, why had she done what she did with him? It was not like her. And eventually she would have to face Gilroy and what then? She grumbled softly at the thought as she returned to the table to start sorting through the pile of padds.

Kai’s ‘eventually’ turned into ‘now’ as the conference room door opened and GIlroy entered. Glancing about the room before finally letting his gaze come to a stop on Kai, Gilroy appeared to be frowning heavily. He wasn’t, not really; it was just his usual part-Klingon ‘thinking about nothing in particular’ expression. However, his frown did deepen slightly as he looked Kai over. “Ensign Sarkozi,” he nodded in greeting, “I hope you are well.”

Ensign? Kai looked up and, noting his frown, her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. She had a bad feeling about this. Great, it could keep her other bad feeling company. She nodded slightly.

“Hi Gil...Gilroy.”

He fidgeted and, since he wasn’t sure what else to say, an awkward silence filled the room. It wasn’t as if he could just blurt, “I hear you and Lieutenant Chase are... dating.” Only, he did blurt that out, with a hard swallow between ‘are’ and ‘dating’.

The pile of padds beneath her fingers were scattered when her hand shook. She blushed deeply as she tried to straighten them again. “It’s...complicated. It’s not what I intended.” And that admission jumped forth from her lips before she could stop it.

Nodding, he wondered just what she’d intended, then. How does one unintentionally end up in bed with someone else? Discomfited, he glanced around the room again and hoped someone else would show up. Surely he wasn’t all that early for the meeting.

Kai closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This subject was not really what she’d wanted to go into but it apparently was on Gil’s mind, which made her wonder. “He’s not the one I wanted.” And there went her mouth again, just saying whatever popped into her head.

“Pleasure and action make the hours seem short,” Gilroy quoted Shakespeare, though he couldn’t recall which piece of writing it was from right off hand. And he ignored that the quote didn’t quite fit the situation. “Someone to pass the time with then, I suppose.”

“‘No!” Kai slammed down the padd she held and turned on him. The blush had become two bright spots of color in her cheeks. “I’m not that sort at all! I didn’t even remember it when I woke up with --” Her eyes widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth. Oh merde was the only thought that rose in her mind.

She’d made him jump; she was possibly the only female who could make him that skittish. Her confession, however, had him leaning slightly toward her and he asked, “You remember nothing of it?”

“No.” She shook her head slowly. “I’ve been through it in my head over and over and it’s just not there. He invited me to the Nexus for drinks and I went, but I didn’t really think it was anything like that. I remember feeling pretty tipsy while we were there and not feeling like myself. Then... nothing. I heard that I... was crawling all over him when he took me out though. When we woke up, he said that he’d sworn he wanted a relationship and that I agreed. Then he left to go to work and I’ve not spoken to him since.”

Grunting noncommittally, Gilroy seemed lost in thought. “Work? He’s been put on Admin Leave. Oz demoted him and gave him a week off to think about what he wants to do.” Large parts of what she’d just told him disturbed him. Drinks plus not feeling like herself plus not remembering things the next day? He knew of some drugs that could do that to a person.

Kai was obviously embarrassed now and she looked away from Gilroy, fidgeting with her uniform. Chase had been put on leave? What had he done? “I didn’t know,” she said quietly. “He asked some questions about what was happening with the Prime Minister and the Admiral but I couldn’t tell him of course. This is...all wrong.” Suddenly realization dawned. “And he told you all about it.”

“He made his point without going into detail,” Gilroy nodded stiffly. An idea was forming, but he refrained from voicing it just yet. “The devil’s in the details.”

“What details, Gil? The ones I screwed up? Ruined?” She turned away to carry a coffee cup back to the recycler.

Details? He puzzled over what details she might have screwed up or ruined. “What details are you talking about?”

“The fact that it’s you I always wanted? And never said anything? This would have ruined that, not that it matters. Chase made it clear that you and Kh’ali are quite happy together.” She dropped the cup into the recycler with a sigh. “It’s my mess, I’ll deal with it.”

GIlroy was rooted to the spot, thinking on the many things she’d just said in those few sentences. When he moved, it was with a suddenness and speed that both belied his size and demonstrated why he was so effective in his role of security officer. What he did when he moved, though, was uncharacteristic for him: he took Kai by the shoulders and kissed her.

So surprised was she that she stiffened in his hands, panic blooming in her head. She pulled back to draw breath, her eyes wide. “What was that? Kh’ali will be here any minute now.”

“‘A man’s kiss is his signature’,” Gilroy muttered, quoting a long dead actress from Earth. “What do I care if Kh’ali arrives? She and I are not ‘together’.”

“You’re not? But Chase was so certain and.....” She stopped and groaned. “And I got played just so I’d lose hope. Mon dieu, how naive am I?”

He didn’t object or assure her she wasn’t. He simply shrugged and stepped away, lest he kiss her again to stop the flow of words. He now, at least, had confirmation that the distrust Oralia had of Chase was warranted. Chase had played Kai, like a fiddle, if his boasting were to be believed. “Did you lose hope?”

She reached out, taking hold of his arm to draw him back to her. “I had, till just a moment ago.”

“Then he did us a favor, in a way,” Gil reasoned and looked down at her. “I should check... something... whether the other security officer is here or on his way...,” he said, slightly ruffled now that they’d cleared the air and knew, roughly, where the other stood.

“So what now? I can apologize but I didn’t do it purposely. Even so, I’m sorry.” She tugged on his uniform jacket, pulling him down to her level and giving him a much more relaxed kiss this time.

“No worries, Kai. We’ll figure out what he was up to and... if I can pull some hair from your head, what he used on you.”

“Used. I see.” Reaching up to her hair, she tugged out the few pins and let it tumble down around her shoulders. “Go ahead.”

He’d thought about running his fingers through her hair before, but not like this. Not in a conference room that was about to fill up with their superior officers. Still, he smiled slightly and it looked vaguely like a sneer as he touched her hair and felt its soft silkiness. With a wince and a quick yank, he pulled several long hairs from the back of her head. “That should do it,” he muttered, holding the strands up.

“Should do what?” Kh’ali stepped in, coffee in hand. She stopped, noting Kai’s sudden blush and Gilroy, who seemed to be holding something unseen in his fingers.

Snapping upright to his full height, Gilroy quickly turned to face Kh’ali and guiltily hid his hand, and the strands of Kai’s hair, behind his back. “Ah... Commander, good morning,” he stammered, “What should do what?”

Kh’ali’s shrewd gaze moved from one to the other. She looked back over her shoulder, then back to them. “I seem to have interrupted something so I could go out, get some fresh coffee, and come back in? Or is this something I should know about?”

Gil glanced at Kai. “No, no need, Commander. I need to head to Medical for a few minutes. I’ll make certain Security is in place here, then return just as soon as possible.” He nodded to Kai then headed for the door, getting close enough to Kh’ali for her to see the slight lipstick stain on his lips.

She watched him go, then smiled as she turned back to Kai. “So, he finally noticed I see.” She moved on over to the table and sat, beginning to arrange her notes for the meeting. “I like your hair down, you should wear it that way more often.” She looked up at Kai, who still stood, speechless. “Kai?”

“What?” She shook off the daze left by the developments of the last few minutes. “Oh, sorry, I just...yeah, let me get some coffee. There’s a few things I wanted to show you.”

“Sure.” Kh’ali’s lips twitched with amusement. “And schedule some time with both Admirals, there’s a development they need to know about.”

“Of course.” Kai hurried to the table and poured a mug of coffee. Not like she needed it, she thought, since she felt as if she could fly from here down to Archadia on her own power. What a difference a few minutes could make. She smiled as she stirred her coffee and when Kh’ali cleared her throat, she had the sinking feeling she’d been stirring it for far too long. “Coming.”

At that, Kh’ali couldn’t hold back her laughter as she watched Kai. “Not yet, maybe after this meeting is over though.”

Kai closed her eyes as the heat rose in her face once more. It was going to be a very long meeting.

********
Ensign Kai Sarkozi
Well-Played

Lt. Gilroy
Tangled

Lt. Commander Kh’ali
Highly Amused