Steppin' Out

Posted on Sun Mar 10th, 2013 @ 7:00am by Commander Dae Nalas & Marla

Mission: The Struggle Within
Location: Dae's Quarters / The Nexus Club

* * * Dae’s Quarters * * *

Dae left the meeting, glad to escape the emotional turmoil that swirled around Nick and Leto, and hurried back to his quarters to get changed. Jens was good - he’d apparently had Dae’s things, which had been in storage, loaded up on the ship when he’d been picked up and now, the crates were all sitting in his living room, stacked neatly against one wall. He’d unpack later, he had more enjoyable things on his mind now.

Thirty minutes later he stood before the mirror in his bedroom, clean, pressed and dressed. The tux was black tails, white tie and vest and he had to admit that he looked damn good. He was a trifle nervous and that was both sad and funny. In Dae’s life, it had been a long time since he’d been on an actual station or ship for more than a layover on his way to some other assignment. He tried to recall the last time he’d taken a woman out and the information just wouldn’t come.

“You are pathetic,” he told his reflection. “You can face down ten men armed to the teeth and you’re nervous over dinner with a woman you are paying to go out with you. Now get your ass moving.” He saluted himself in the mirror, then hurried out to meet Marla.

* * * Promenade, Near the Nexus* * *

One thing Seyla had taught her girls was: “Make ‘em wait and leave ‘em wanting more.” (The boys under Seyla’s tutelage had received different instructions, namely: “Don’t keep a lady waiting. Ever.”) Under that advice, Marla was a touch late arriving at the appointed meeting spot. She’d made sure the wait would be worth it: her hair and makeup were perfect, understatedly elegant; her dress seemingly hid nothing and yet showed very little. It was glossy black and ran over her curves like a liquid. Reaching Dae, she smiled and held out a gloved hand to him, “Commander Nalas, it’s good to see you again.” Indeed, it was and her mind was already imagining what they might do later.

Dae was speechless for a moment as he looked down at her. She was absolute perfection and Marla’s mental wanderings were taking the same path as Dae’s. He raised her hand for a polite kiss.

“Marla, you are absolutely breathtaking.” And she was. It was a good thing, he reflected, that they were standing in public.

“Thank you, dear. You look ravishing, yourself. Shall we go in?” It wasn’t often that Marla got to go to The Nexus Club; usually, her evenings were spent... well, just where didn’t matter. Normally, that ‘where’ wasn’t the Nexus and she was eager to see the performances.

“Absolutely.” He tucked her hand in his arm, gave her a slow secretive smile and led her in as if she were the local visiting dignitary. The hostess, who had a noticeable Scottish accent showed them to their table and it was a good one. Dae held her chair for her, then took the seat just to her left. He had to admit the decor was lovely, rich and decadent, the lighting soft, though it caught Marla’s earrings, bringing them to sparking life. “What do you think?”

“It’s wonderful, Dae, and I’m thrilled that you’d bring me here,” she leaned in close to brush a kiss on his cheek. “Have you had time to explore any of the Station, yet? Report in for duty?”

“No and yes. No time to explore yet but I am all official. Perhaps you’d be up for a little exploring to show a guy around?” A waiter appeared with a silver bucket on a stand that held a bottle of champagne on ice. Once he’d poured it for them, he left the ice bucket there and withdrew from their table.

He didn’t go far, though: he wanted to hear Marla’s response. He’d already gotten a hefty dose of her glee at being asked the question and wasn’t surprised to hear her answer, “I’d be happy to give you a tour. I know of all sorts of interesting little places to go, places to be alone with a ...’friend’.” The waiter’s brow quirked slightly; he could see why Seyla had asked him to watch Marla this evening. He returned to his waiterly duties.

“Good. I am looking forward to it more than you know.” Dae smiled; the waiter wasn’t the only one who’d caught a whiff of her excitement. He raised his glass for a toast. “To the loveliest lady in the place.”

“And to the most handsome man with her,” Marla answered before touching her glass to his and taking a sip. A quiet moment passed between them, with Marla simply enjoying the atmosphere of the Nexus and watching some of the people near them. Food was delivered to them and, as they started to eat, she said, “You could have told me your position, you know. Instead of letting me find out through other means.”

“Old habit. Does it matter to you?”

"No," she shook her head, possibly too quickly. Matters to my boss, though, she thought to herself.

“Good. Those in my department often put people off when they learn what I do.” He wasn't sure why it mattered since he was paying her for her company, but somehow it did. That was something he’d need to examine later, when Marla was gone and he was alone. “I didn’t want you scared away.”

She gave him a quizzical look, since she'd just had the same thought: he was paying for her company, why would it matter what he did? "The business I'm in means I usually don't quibble about what a man does or what uniform he wears in his working life. You, I imagine, look particularly stunning in your uniform," she flirted with him, sliding one hand up his thigh under the table.

“True on both counts.” Laying his fork aside, he reached under the table to take her hand. “Shall we dance? It’s a great way to let me put my hands all over you and no one will care.”

"That sounds quite nice," she said and let him get up first; she followed his lead, unaware that they had an audience that was particularly interested in her and her reactions to Dae.

Dae led her out to the floor where an old Tony Bennett tune was playing and took her in his arms. As they began to move, he held her close against him, enjoying the feel of her and the heat that it brought to life deep within him. It was excitement, yes, but far more than that. It had been ages since Dae had actually allowed himself to feel anything for anyone. His lips brushed her cheek gently and he whispered at her ear. “This is divine, Marla.”

"Mmmhmm, it is, Dae." She had to remind herself it was business. All business. Part of her scoffed at that, though, knowing it was something more, something dangerous to a woman like her.

“You are in your element tonight I think. I also think you deserve such a life, something better than where you are now. I hope that doesn’t insult you.” He smiled down at her and couldn’t resist a quick soft kiss.

Letting the kiss linger on her lips a moment, Marla didn’t say anything. Finally, she admitted, “This isn’t exactly a life most women choose. Sometimes, I like it; sometimes, I don’t. It’s honest, at least.”

“And if something came along that could tempt you to leave it, what would it be?” The music had slowed and Dae still held her close, their movements fluid. “Could something do that?”

“What could tempt me from this life?” A man like you, was the surprising answer that rose up immediately; she quickly quashed it and smiled at him, shaking her head slightly, “I’m not sure, I haven’t ever thought of it. What about you? Would you ever give up Intel as your way of life? From what we talked about yesterday, it hasn’t been easy for you.”

Her mental answer jumped out and hit Dae’s thoughts without his reading her, so strong and immediate was it. He smiled for a moment, enjoying the revelation. Finally he answered her question. “No. When you take the path I have, there is no leaving.” He didn’t want to tell her the truth, that unless you ended up on a station running a department, most didn’t live long enough to retire.

“Oh,” there was the tiniest edge of disappointment in her voice. “I suppose, really, there’s no leaving my position, either. Sey said... um, Seyla is my boss... said I could buy out my time, but otherwise,” she shrugged and her gaze went to a point on his shoulder, “I’m here, doing this.” Smiling, she softened the revelation, “‘Course, Sey has a good retirement pension for us. Our health plan is stellar, since we’re Federation citizens.”

“Buy? Last time I checked, slavery was illegal. I think that includes indentured servitude too.” He turned her under his arm, then drew her back close. “Seyla, huh? Good to know.” He knew all about Seyla of course. His time after his visit with Marla had been put to good use. “Does she keep close tabs on you?”

“She doesn’t own me,” Marla protested. “And, no, she trusts me. I’m sort of... what you might call her executive officer, second in charge,” she smiled, no small amount of pride coming off of her. “When I started with her, she paid for my schooling, housing, whatever I needed. And now I work for her.”

“I see. What would she say about having your time monopolized?” Dae was surprised at his words but now they were said, he waited for her answer. The question had been asked in part because of the shifting emotions he was sensing from Marla. Her professional detachment was ebbing and he discovered he didn’t mind at all.

“I don’t think she’d mind at all. Right now, she has a client who is taking all of her time. We’ve had to scramble to rearrange her other clients’ appointments. Worst part is that she won’t even tell us who her current client is,” Marla pouted lightly and turned her brown eyes up to Dae. “As for my time? If you want to monopolize me, feel free.” Not a single layer of her tone sounded innocent.

He gave a low, soft laugh. “Oh I intend to, trust me.” He laughed once again as he began to move her around the floor.

Laughing with Dae, Marla didn’t notice as they drifted close to their waiter, who had conveniently placed himself near them - as close as he could, what with them on the dance floor and him... well, serving drinks. He was attuned to Marla, though, and was surprised by the lack of professionalism she was letting off. He’d have to report back to Seyla that her suspicions were dead on: Marla was smitten by the new guy.

Dae finally led Marla back to their table and they took their seats just as Jackson took the stage and introduced Eli. When Eli stepped up to the microphone, he began with a classic Sinatra tune - Witchcraft. Dae smiled and pulled Marla close.

“Very fitting song for you, I think.”

She settled against him, liking their fit, and purred, “Hmm, you flatterer. You’d do well as one of Seyla’s men, you know.” She smiled slyly, though the idea of Dae bedding women for pay... would he bed men as well?... bothered her.

“I’m not really the sleeping around type. And while a man like me could tempt you, a man like me wouldn’t tempt me.” He whispered the words at her ear and waited for realization to dawn.

Realization was quick to hit Marla. Turning towards him slightly, pushing away from him at the same time, she smiled and said, “Excuse me, I need to powder my nose.” With that, she disappeared from the table.

In the ladies’ room, Marla paced, cursing the man. A Betazoid. She should have figured - Betazoids had a hidden advantage in Intel work. Some of the curses she came up with were unrepeatable and, thankfully, untranslatable by the computer. Getting her reaction under control, she finally did what she was in the bathroom for - to powder her nose - and returned to the table, where she sat slightly apart from Dae. “Really? We spend how many hours in bed and you didn’t find time to tell me then?”, she smiled sweetly, but her words were clipped and spoken low so that they wouldn’t carry to other tables.

He refilled their champagne glasses as he considered his answer. Once the bottle was back on ice, he lifted her glass and held it out to her. “Because then? I had no idea it was anything more than what it appeared on the surface. Things have changed.” He kept his voice low as well, mainly because he had a habit of keeping everything private. “You and I both know this is not just another entry in your schedule. If so, you wouldn’t be bothered by this discovery, nor would the idea of my sleeping with someone else bother you either. And I wouldn’t be tempting you to consider other...alternatives.”

Glancing up at their waiter as he surreptitiously checked the level of their champagne, Marla sipped the liquid in her glass and turned towards the singer on the stage. As the singer went through two more songs, she remained quiet, though her thoughts were running away from her. Finally, she looked at Dae, “Let’s not spoil this, whatever ‘this’ is.”

“My thoughts exactly. And don’t worry, I’m usually locked down tight. Just sometimes things jump out at me.” He set his glass aside and took her hand. “Whatever ‘this’ is, is what I want to find out.”

“Then we will. Find out what this is, if anything,” she agreed with a smile.

“Good. She’s not expecting you back tonight is she?”

“Seyla?” She shook her head. “Oh, no, she’s off with whatever client. I think he works the Alpha shift, ‘cause Sey hasn’t been coming home till morning and then she acts like she needs to be back, wherever, right around the beginning of Beta shift.” She squeezed his hand lightly. “We have plenty of time to meet up and monopolize each other.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear. I suspect you two may be getting home about the same time in the morning, unless I keep you later.” He looked deep into her dark eyes and smiled. “That looks like a stronger possibility with every passing moment.”

“Perhaps we should go ahead and get started, then? Your place, this time?”

“Sure if you don’t mind the ‘I just got here and all my stuff is in crates’ style of decor.” Dae drained his glass of champagne and taking her hand, pulled her to her feet.

“Consider this a house warming, then,” she quipped and stood with him, gazing at him for a moment before they headed out of the Nexus.

*************
Lt. Commander Dae Nalas
The Voice Of Temptation

Marla
Tempted

Waiter
Watching