Silver Tongue Strikes Again

Posted on Thu Jan 17th, 2013 @ 3:41pm by Ensign Reva Madhava & Ensign Ian Bren & Seyla & Lieutenant Riley Sukotav

* * * The Wormhole Bar * * *

There were few things that annoyed Seyla. One thing that never failed to annoy her, though, was having another Orion around. Worse, perhaps, was an Orion on inhibitors who could turn men’s heads just by the way she looked and moved. The one in her territory at the moment was doing just that - and she was oblivious, or pretending to be oblivious, to the effect she was having on Seyla’s male targets.

She frowned heavily and watched the woman take a seat; she wasn’t alone for long. Neither was Seyla: two Fleeties entered the bar, looking like the set up for a bad joke. Recognizing one of them, Seyla gracefully stood and made her way to their table. “Ian, how nice to see you.”

“Ah...,” Ian flushed pinkly. “Se... Seyla, hi. Meet Riley.”

Riley looked up at the new arrival and groaned inwardly. Just great. Of all the things that could strike him dumb in an instant, an Orion could do it in a nanosecond. He opened his mouth to greet her and instead of his voice, the clunk of a glass toppling over to the table top came instead.

Grinning, Ian realized that, if possible, Riley was worse with women than he was. Seyla, too, was amused and she waved over a server to clean up Riley’s mess. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Riley. I haven’t seen you around before.”

Riley blinked at her and closed his eyes, taking a breath to try and chill out a little. “I....I am...Chief. Science Officer...the Hammond. It’s lovely to be...exposed to you.” Oh boy, that was even worse. The dress Seyla wore exposed a lot and it was the only thing Riley could think of, and of course it came right out of his mouth.

“Oh, dear man, I know it’s good to be exposed to me. Just not here, in public, okay?” She leaned in closer to Riley and lightly brushed his hairline with a finger. “I’d hate to have to have Rio put you out on your ass.”

A shiver ran over him at her touch, along with other, baser, feelings. He shot a look at Ian for help because he was in seriously deep water here.

“Ah, hey, Sey...,” Ian started but was interrupted.

“Madame Seyla, you were blocking my view and I didn’t see till just now that you were picking on my boyfriend,” the Orion Seyla had noticed earlier had approached. She was in, of all things, loose-fitting jeans and a white top; her long black hair was down and her green skin shimmered under the low lighting of the bar. “Riley, babe,” she smiled and took a seat next to him before looking at Ian and adding, “Hi, I’m Reva. Engineer here.”

Riley was sure now that the entire universe was having a good laugh at his expense. On the way here it had been Harrali. Now this Seyla who was apparently the local madame, and the icing on the cake was the heretofore unknown engineer named Reva. At least she was throwing him a lifeline. He managed a shaky smile and nodded, afraid to open his mouth.

“You little...,” Seyla started to hiss at the other Orion then snapped her mouth shut and straightened up. “Well, Riley, looks like you’ve gotten the short end of the straw,” she pronounced, earning a glare from Reva. “I’ll leave you alone in your misery. Ian, be a dear and come ‘round and see me when you have time.”

“Ah... right...,” Ian’s brows rose, not only amazed by Seyla’s invite, but also confused as all hell by the Engineer’s comments. As Seyla turned and sashayed away (and, oh, she looked good leaving), he stared at Riley and Reva then asked, “Um... when did you two start dating?”

“We uhh...I mean I don’t...we haven’t...” Riley stopped and sighed. He sure as hell needed a drink and waved down the first waiter that passed and ordered one.

Laughing gaily, Reva shook her head. “You are such a silver-tongued devil, aren’t you?”, she teased. “We’re not, at least we haven’t been. Probably won’t, though he is cute,” she smiled and patted Riley’s hand. “I overheard Seyla. She can be awful.”

“Man eater,” Riley managed to get out at least somewhat coherently. “Thanks Reva.” At least he’d managed to say that without tripping over his own tongue.

“You’re welcome; sometimes the best defense against a man eater is... well... I’m not exactly a man eater,” she shrugged and lifted her glass. “Here’s to being saved.” Once upon a time, she’d been saved from a vile man by a wonderful man.

Riley’s drink arrived and he raised it. “Ditto.” One word answers seemed to be safe for now, at least where Reva was concerned. “We may need to save you soon too, Ian.”

"Me?" At first he wasn't sure what Riley meant, but then recalled, "Oh, yeah. Question is, who will you be saving me from: Jackson or a very irate Chief of Security?"

Reva's brow rose slightly. She knew those names. "You're fooling around with Zeferino's fiancé? I thought you were smart, Ian."

"Ah..., apparently not."

“More in the realm of wishful thinking.” Riley directed the comment to Ian, but then his gaze shifted to Reva. “At least till we get back.”

"Oh, yeah, the Hammond. Gosh, everyone seems so grim about it. But imagine it! If it works, a whole different universe! You're both going, right?" Reva's enthusiasm was, could be, infectious.

The talk of the Hammond allowed Riley to shift back into duty mode, thus making his conversational skills come back to him. He nodded. “I’m the Chief Science Officer of the Hammond. Grim is one description, yes. The uncertainty comes because we’re not sure what we’ll find on the other side and if there’s sufficient power resources to get us back.”

"Plus, we're not entirely sure what the situation will be over there. What if the Archadians have better tech and weapons than they do here?", Ian worried.

"If they do, they do. We'll counter it, whatever 'it' might be. I've volunteered as one of the engineers and just got notice I've been picked to go." She saw it as the chance for a big adventure.

“Congratulations.” Riley finished his drink, glad of the relaxation it brought, which allowed him to talk a bit more easily with Reva. It was to be his only one though, he had a lot to do later. “Janus has been on the Hammond already. Once he’s done, I can give you the rundown, ensign.”

She was sure he could. Turning black-irised eyes on him, she smiled slightly. "That would be a good idea, lieutenant."

Ian's brows rose in surprise. He saw the way she was looking at Riley. Had she just rescued him to prey upon him? He couldn't quite muster any sympathy for the man, though.

“Very well, give us two hours, then I’ll meet you in engineering on the Hammond.” Riley smiled briefly, then looked to Ian. “Ready?”

Amazed that Riley would, or could, ignore the flirtatious look Reva had given him, Ian nodded. "Um, sure. Reva, nice to meet you," he stood, realizing as he did that he hadn't even had a drink yet.

“Oh, sure,” she waggled her fingers at them. “See you on the ship.”

Once they were outside the bar, Riley glanced over to Ian. “Don’t worry, I noticed the look. It’s just...it’s complicated.” He shrugged and left it at that.

“Uh-huh. Complicated? Perhaps you’ll explain that someday.” Ian nodded and walked along with the Lieutenant.

“There was a lady....a while back. I spilled some wine on her when we first met.” Riley smiled at the memory. “It was typical Riley as you can probably imagine.”

“Watching you with Seyla and Reva just now... I can. And... hello? An Orion as our engineer?”

“She got through the Academy, why not?” Riley shrugged. “As for that lady, she kissed me you know. She would make you look twice more than Reva would.”

“Hmm..., I don’t know, Reva makes me want to look quite a few times.” Indeed she did; he wondered about her pheromones.

“I can see that.” There was a few moments of silence before Riley continued. “This one is a reclaimed Borg.”

“Oh.” The silence stretched out. “Where is she now?”

“Here in the Delta Quadrant, further out, exploring, doing what she loves. As I said, it’s complicated.” Riley shook off the memories that plagued him and smiled. “We should get back.”

Nodding in answer, Ian went with Riley, wondering about women, both green ones and reclaimed Borg ones, and Jackson.

***************
Lt. Riley Sukatov
Seeing But Not Giving In

Ensign Ian Bren
Seeing and Amazed

Ensign Reva Madhava
Looking, Deviously

Seyla
Brushed Off