One Inch Of Love Is One Inch Of Shadow

Posted on Tue Dec 11th, 2012 @ 6:51am by Cadet Senior Grade Eli Ziyad & Commander Oralia Zeferino

Mission: The Struggle Within
Location: Promenade

* * * The Promenade * * *

Eli had gone to Vor’s quarters to leave his things for the night and, after a shower to clean off as much of the scent of pheromones as he could, he decided he wanted a little something to eat. And to be surrounded by people. Most may be strangers, but it was life and activity and he needed some of that. He took a seat at one of the tables out in the patio area of his favorite coffee place. This table was what could be considered his and Chance’s table. It was here that the waitress had slipped him a note about the two Enarans who’d been asking about him too.

As he sat waiting for the waitress, he caught the faint whiff of pheromones still and sighed. Great. And right on cue, the usual waitress appeared. She smiled at him even more than usual.

“Hi Eli. It’s good to see you as always. I was sorry to hear about Chance. I know it’s hard on you.”

Eli nodded. “Thanks.” He ordered his usual drink and noted that she lingered a little longer than usual before finally wandering away. He stretched his legs out before him and rubbed his eyes. He hoped that once she brought his food, she would leave him alone with his thoughts and people watching. His gaze swept over the tables around him that were occupied, then to those walking past and let his mind wander.

In a far corner of the coffee shop, dark eyes watched the young Enaran from under a hood. Those eyes coveted Eli’s form, caressed over the young male’s features. The Hazari wasn’t sure why he was here, exactly, but he’d felt drawn here and, now, watching Eli, he wanted, more than anything to comfort the man. Comfort? Where is this coming from?, he thought, but it was there, inexplicably.

The waitress arrived with a large mug of coffee, pulling Eli from his thoughts. “Thanks,” he murmured and took a sip. Once she wandered away, he took another sip and closed his eyes. He was keeping his mind closed for now. It had been far too overloaded since he’d stepped into Jackson’s office and his world had been ripped apart. He needed a break. So many times they’d sat here, whiling away the time, speaking of this and that and now, it was just him. Alone. His gaze swept over those around him, settling for a few moments on a hooded figure alone at a table.

Barely aware he was doing so, the Hazari used one of the writing implements on the table and scratched out a fast note; what he wrote didn’t register with him at first, not until after he’d done his next action: he gestured to the waitress and slipped the note to her, with instructions. A moment later, he was up and moving out of the coffee shop. He resettled outside, but where he could see Eli through the front windows of the shop. An unfamiliar emotion hit him as he watched and he didn’t bother to examine it.

Eli looked up as the waitress arrived and laid the note on the table. It was all too surreal, too much like that day she’d brought the other note. Eli covered it with his hand and sat up straighter, hastily looking around. No one seemed to be paying him any attention, but he noted the hooded figure was gone. “Who gave you this?” When she described the hooded man, a jolt of fear shot through him. “Thanks.” He waited until she left, then finally opened the note. He looked down and felt his heart almost stop. The handwriting was unfamiliar, but the words...

To hell with talking. Actions speak louder than words, right?

Eli felt dizzy, as if the floor had shifted, threatening to throw him from his chair. Those words had been thought only, passed to Eli by Chance the morning after he’d told Chance he loved him, then ran away from their quarters. What the hell was happening? He realized he was on his feet, the note still in hand. He hurried away from the table, his steps unsteady as he left the coffee shop and stopped outside, looking for the hooded figure.

Alarmed, the Hazari saw Eli looking for him. He thought of the words he’d barely glimpsed before passing the note to the waitress; though he’d written them, what they were, the message they sent was one he didn’t know the meaning of. He didn’t even know where the words came from. Glancing at the hand that had written the words, he wondered what had possessed him to send the note to begin with. What was happening to him? Quickly, he dropped his hood then got up to hurry away before Eli saw him. Yet, he wanted Eli to see him, to ...love him.

The movement caught his eye as the man stood and revealed his face. Eli had never seen him before. So why would he sent the note? How would he know of those words? He dashed around a group of people passing, aiming for the man.

“Hey! Wait!”

A lone female in the group Eli was navigating around reached out and snagged Eli’s arm. “Hey! Eli!” It was Oralia; on her way from her office to the Exec’s office, she was getting real coffee. “You okay?”

“Oz?” Eli barely glanced at her before turning back, searching the crowd for the man. “Let go, I have to catch him! He’s getting away!” He pulled away from Oz and turned to run after the retreating figure.

“Who?” Confused, Oz let Eli get several steps away then gave chase. As she followed Eli, she scanned the crowd ahead, looking for someone else who was running away. “Eli! Who are you chasing?”, she called.

“A man who sent me a note back there.” He paused as he’d lost sight of the Hazari, and cursed aloud. “A note that said....something he can’t possibly know.” He continued to look every which way but the man was gone and Eli slammed his fist against a metal support column several times. “I have to find him!”

Catching up to him, Oralia, too, looked around before turning her full attention to Eli. “What note? What did it say?”

“It said something that Chance once said to me....but in my head, not out loud.” His voice was muffled as he he leaned his face into his arms against the column. “Something no one could ever know.”

Worried for him, Oralia put a hand on his shoulder and looked around one more time. She hadn’t seen anyone else running ahead of them. “Eli,” she said softly and urged him to turn towards her, “If no one else could ever know it... how could someone send you a note with those words on it?”

“That’s my question.” He turned to face her, eyes red and bright with unshed tears. “It was...something important and very personal.” He shook his head. “I don’t know Oz.”

“But you saw the person who sent the note?” When he nodded, she asked, “What did he look like?”

“Hazari, that’s about all I can say. They’re a little hard to describe otherwise.” Eli looked out over the promenade once more but seeing nothing, gave up.

“Do you have the note?”

Eli held out his hand and there in his palm was a folded piece of paper, slightly crumpled. “The waitress brought it over.”

Taking the paper, Oz uncrumpled it and read the message. If not for the presence of the piece of paper, she’d wonder if Eli was cracking up. “A Hazari?” That worried her; Hazari were notorious for being bounty hunters and contract killers. “I’ll have Security look for him. Would Chance have told him he had said this to you?”

“I don’t see why. When he told me this it was...the day after things were a little unsettled with us. I ran off and was gone all night. Darwin found me, remember? This was the next morning when I finally went home.” Eli closed his eyes, the memory of that morning now sharp and painful.

Eli was projecting his emotions and when these hit Oz, she choked on them. Blinking back tears, she quickly pulled Eli into a fierce hug. “Eli, I’m sorry. I know you are... were important to him. I have a little bit of a clue as to how hard this is on you. Have you talked to Jackson about this or about talking to a counselor?”

“I’m going to see Jackson, I just needed some time to myself, you know? I guess I thought if I got away from everyone it would leave me alone for a while but it came with me. No surprise there.” He hugged Oz a bit tighter, then let her go and stepped back so as not to overwhelm her further. “Then this happened.”

She nodded. “Either go talk to Jackson or go see the on-call counselor, kiddo. I’ll contact security and get them to be on the lookout for a Hazari. Can I keep this?”, she asked, holding up the note.

What neither of them saw was the Hazari watching them from the second level of the bar they were standing in front of. He’d hurried down an alley, easily losing Eli, then doubled back and come up the backstairs to overlook the Promenade below. He couldn’t explain the desire that rose in him to go talk to Eli; seeing the Chief of Security there... Oz... only doubled that want. He clamped down on it, refusing to give in.

“Sure. I don’t think I could handle having it close by. And if you need me and I’m not with Jackson, I’ll be in quarters. I’m staying with Vor tonight. I’ll go home tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she nodded and quickly hugged him again. Stepping back, she paused, “Oh, hey... usually, Iggy is with Chance.... Have you seen her?”

“Not in the last day, no. She’s not in your quarters?” Eli frowned a moment. “Did she hear about Chance and start poking around?”

“She heard about Chance all right, but... I don’t know where she went off to. There’s only so many places she can go, though; her little vest chip doesn’t open too many doors yet. I should be thankful for small favors, right?” She smiled, referring to the fact that if Iggy could go through any door she pleased, then there’d be no telling where she was on the station. “She’ll come ‘round when she’s hungry, I’m sure. Hopefully there aren’t any colonies of roaches scurrying around the station. All right, Eli, I’ll talk to you later. Maybe we three could plan dinner together.”

“Sure,” he nodded. “Just let me know when, okay?” He squeezed her hand, then let her go, watching as she walked away. An odd sensation swept over him then, that feeling of being watched. He turned in a slow circle, casually surveying the promenade around him.

Above him, the Hazari kept his eyes on Eli. The young man was fast becoming an object of devotion for him. He knew the man’s name, and found himself thinking it: Eli.

His name came, almost a whisper in his thoughts and he froze immediately. Whoever it was was close. Only his eyes moved as he looked around, then looked up to the decks just above. As his gaze travelled along the gallery, he spied the Hazari. What the hell was happening? Pushing his way through the foot traffic he approached and looked up.

Who are you?

The answer shocked the Hazari even as the thought slipped from his mind: Chance.

No, you can’t be! Eli pressed his hands to his temples. I don’t know who you are but that’s beyond cruel. Leave me alone! He turned, blindly pushing through the crowd, trying to get away.

Dumbfounded by what had just happened, the Hazari let Eli run away. Several moments passed before he trusted himself to leave the upper floor of the bar.

___________________
The Enforcer
In The Twilight Zone

Cadet 4th Class Eli Ziyad
Fighting The Shadows

Oralia Zeferino
Wondering if Eli Isn't Losing it