The Game Is Afoot

Posted on Sun Apr 7th, 2013 @ 5:41am by Commander Dae Nalas & Camille Ross & Marla

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: The Promenade

Promenade Near Palaxia

Amid the cries of the afternoon hawkers, enticing potential patrons to “Come in! Try the dabo tables!” and to “Come! See our goods!”, a lone female idly window-shopped. Dressed in a simple dark purple dress, she could have been anyone. But she was Marla and she was waiting on Dae. Chewing her bottom lip, she glanced about nervously, unused to cloak-and-dagger type meetings.

Stepping out of the turbolift, Camille tried to make her way through the crowd to Palaxia’s Playground, all the while searching for Marla in the crowd. Suddenly, as she drew nearer to Palaxia, she noticed a woman with black hair and dark brown eyes, wearing a dark purple dress. Marla! Camille thought, and started to make her way over to her.

Walking up to her, Camille knew by the look on her face she was searching for Dae’s face in the crowd, and wasn’t paying attention to anybody else. Trying to grab her attention, Camille tapped her on the shoulder.

“Marla?” she asked, hoping she had got the right woman. “Me name’s Camille, I’m a friend of Dae’s,” she finished, hoping Marla would catch on that Dae had sent her in his place.

“A friend?” Marla looked Camille up and down, much as Seyla had the night before. “Is that friend or friend?”, she asked, warily.

“Plain and simple friend,” Camille replied before adding “I’ve me eye on someone else so donnae be worryin’. I’ve a message from him explainin’ why he’s not here himself. Can we go somewhere a bit more quiet so we can talk at normal decibels?”

Still wary, Marla nodded and gestured with both a wave of her hand and a nod of her head, “This way. We’re one of the silk merchant’s best group of customers; she’ll let us use her backroom.” She led the way on the short walk, then ducked into the merchant’s shop. Within a moment, they were out of the public eye and promenade noise.

Making sure no one could hear them, Camille took a breath and began, “Dae’s sent me as he got your email. He didnnae want tae reply in case Seyla would read your mail, or catch ontae - tae quote Dae - “excessive use of the public terminal” or watch your quarters. So he came tae me asking fer my help in passing messages tae ye, so that you can still see each other.”

Pleased that he’d gotten her hidden message, Marla was still mildly irritated that he hadn’t just come to meet her here himself. Nevertheless, she smiled. “Good thinking, I suppose,” she said, though she was not entirely sure what part of his thinking had been good. Oh yes: that he wanted to see her, no matter the hassle it might present. That was good. That was better than good. Her smile broadened. “Is he coming here, then?”

“Not exactly here. He told me tae tell ye tae go tae the shop that has all the Risan goods in two hours. Oh wait, sorry, that would be in an hour’s time now.” Camille didn’t mention her trip to Temporal Affairs that kept her from coming here straight away.

“Risan, huh? Nice.” Perhaps it was just the sex he wanted, then. “Thank you for delivering the message.” She had an hour to kill. And was in her favorite silk shop. “I’ll meet him there,” she said, smiling at Camille.

“Glad I could. Oh, he also suggested that me being the messenger wouldn’t look suspicious, that you meeting up with a friend wouldnae be out of character. Easier for me to pass on the messages in person too rather than risk Seyla reading them on ye.”

“Ok,” she nodded. “I’m going to shop here for a little bit, maybe get a new robe, before heading over to that shop. Do you need to rush off?”

“I can stay for a wee while, but I’ll have tae leave enough time tae let Dae know you’ll meet him. And so that I can get ready for work.”

“What’s work?” She asked this as they passed through the doorway back into the front of the shop. An array of silks in various patterns and colors and creations lined the walls.

“Yer lookin’ at the hostess at the Nexus Club. Moved here just about a week ago. Oh my...” Camille trailed off seeing the silks on the walls. “Some of these are gorgeous,” she nearly screamed with glee.

“Yes, there’s a reason why so many of Seyla’s employees come here,” Marla touched a boldly blue fabric that had glimmers of gold woven into it. “The Nexus ...oh, you seated Dae and me when we ate there just a few days ago. I might get a dress made of this...,” she mused, thinking out loud.

“Ahhhh,” Camille said recognising their faces now. “I thought I’d seen yers and Dae’s faces before. Sorry I didnae recognise ye, a lot of people come in and outta that place. That colour suits you by the way,” she added with a smile.

“No worries about that. It isn’t like I would have recognized you.” She blinked and laughed. “Obviously, I didn’t.” She called the shop owner over and they started the process of getting a pattern picked out. After a few minutes, Marla looked over at Camille and asked, “Do you see anything you want here?”

“There’s plenty that I see here, but they’ll have tae wait ‘til next time I’m afraid. Got tae run and do a few things before work, but I’ll message ye when I next have some free time,” Camille said, hoping Marla would pick up on what she meant.

“Ok. Thanks for coming out with me, Camille!” Marla waved as Camille headed out. She hurried the shop owner to finish their transaction then hurried on her way to the Risan shop.

******** Camille’s Quarters ********

Arriving back home, the first thing Camille did was get to her computer and message Dae, careful at what she said in case the message go into the wrong hands..

Dae, I took your advice, and went to at Palaxia’s Playground, and you were right, it was well worth the trip. I didnnae get time to look at the shop with the Risan goods in it, but may get a run there shortly, in just under an hours time to get a look before work.
Ta for helping the newbie out, yer a great friend.

Best regards, Camille.

Hitting send and hoping Dae would pick up on Marla being where he wanted, Camille went to get a shower and get dressed for work. All the time hoping it wouldn’t be long until Pat returned home, as all this romance was starting to make her think of him even more.

* * * Suraya * * *

The Risan shop was just a few doors down on Deck 276. The display windows were an enticing array of Risan goods set out to lure in passing customers. It was named for Suraya Bay on Risa and the interior was done in cool blues and greens with lots of plants. As Marla entered, a woman in a multicolored dress paused in arranging a shelf and looked over to Marla. She smiled immediately.

“Come in, come in. I have something that might interest a lady so beautiful.”

Smiling in return, Marla wandered into the shop and almost immediately reached out and touched a strange little statuette: a man with a large phallus; he was standing on one foot, the other raised as if he were kicking something or dancing. Laughing lightly, she looked at the woman and noted the small ridge on her forehead: a Risan. “I’m just looking right now.”

“You like the horga’hn, you might prefer the larger size I have in the back room. Shall I show you?”

“Oh, um,” she glanced towards the front door of the place then back at the woman. “Alright, just for a moment, though,” she said and followed her through a curtain hiding a short hallway.

The woman led her down the hallway and to a bead curtain into a lavishly decorated sitting room. She stood aside to let Marla enter, then returned to the front. The moment Marla stepped through the beads, a strong hand reached out, taking hers and pulling her against a tall, muscular body.

“About time.”

Just barely stifling a scream, Marla yelped then pushed away from Dae and smacked his bicep. “About time? I’m here on time!” Her demeanor was more playful than anything else.

“I know, it just seemed like forever.” Dae pulled her back into his arms. “So what gives with Seyla?”

“Ugh... she’s a bitch,” Marla muttered and willingly went into his arms. She went up on her toes to kiss him. “But we can work around her, right?”

“Oh yes, it most definitely will.” He kissed her deeply, then spoke again. “And I suppose this answers the question I asked you in my kitchen.”

“Does it?” She wasn’t sure; after all, he had her meet him in a place that was all about sex - sex was nearly a religion for Risans.

“Yes.” He picked up on the thought and shook his head. “No, it’s not about that. My cousin owns this shop, I figured it would be a safe place to meet you without anyone noticing and word getting back to Seyla.”

“Oh. You’re part Risan, then?”

“Half, yes.” He grinned down at her. “Does it show?”

“Um... no, not really.” She laughed. “I mean... the males who hire one of Seyla’s have one thing on their minds and would fit right in here. Though... there is one similarity between you and the Risan artwork.” Glancing at the dancing figure against one wall, she grinned.

“Flatterer.” He lifted her off the floor and whirled her around. “So, since you are now banned from entertaining me, I am assuming she would be even less pleased to see you in my company at all? I have ways to get you to my quarters. And no, not for business. As a lady, Marla.”

“She would be--,” she stopped as the last of his words filtered in. She was always a lady, business or not. Her brow furrowed. “Yeah, she’d be livid. And not because she isn’t getting income from you.”

“My lady,” he added softly. “And why?”

“Oh.” That made her feel better, lots. “Seyla?” She shrugged, “Because I’m going behind her back and seeing you, for one. For another, this would still leave me in the same situation she’s worried about: invested in you, and a loss to her if something goes wrong. Or goes well; not many men would allow a girlfriend or wife to continue in this profession.”

Dae nodded. “I am not most men, though. But out of curiosity, would you ever give it up?”

“I suppose, someday. But I like my work. It isn’t just about sex; Seyla has us all trained as ...Humans have a word for it: ‘geisha’ or ‘courtesan’, companions, really. We help some of our clients unburden themselves. Mentally, not just physically.”

“I suspect you do a lot of that. We all have that need for companionship and it’s not always easy to find someone willing to listen and keep their mouths shut afterwards.” Dae reached up to stroke her cheek. “And if you’re wondering, no, I don’t mind. My heritage is such that I understand better than anyone could. What I have a hard time with is why Seyla seems so intent on cramping your social life.”

“Social life? She isn’t cramping my social life. She doesn’t want ...well, this,” she gestured between them, meaning whatever it was they were doing or starting, “Crosses the line between business and personal. You’re a client, to her, so it’s within her purview to cut me off from seeing you.”

“For business purposes. Can she tell you not to do it on your own time?” Dae sighed aloud. “I don’t like putting you on such shaky ground my darling. I just want....you.”

She kissed him, deeply and urgently. When they surfaced, she asked him, “With your career, are you ever really ‘off-duty’?”

“That’s the next thing, Marla.” Dae frowned slightly. “Your choice of career is far less worrisome than mine. There’s going to be a lot I can’t tell you. They will be times I can’t tell you where I’ve been or what I’ve been doing. Can you deal with that?”

Considering that quietly for a moment, Marla stepped away from him and moved over to the statue. “There would be things you couldn’t tell me?” She spoke as if the idea of that was something new. To a degree, it was; most of the men she saw talked too much, told her too much. It helped in that she then had something to report back to Seyla, but at times the talk was just mind numbingly boring. “I think I could deal with that, Dae. After all, there would be things I can’t tell you.”

“It will require a lot of trust.” He crossed to stand behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. “We can make it work if you want me. What Seyla doesn’t know is none of her business.”

“I do want you,” she said, turning towards him.

“Then enough said. We’ll work it out. And while Seyla offered herself for my distraction, I suspect I’ll be a little too busy for the foreseeable future, unless I need to distract her. Let’s get home, I need dinner. Among other things.”

“Whatever you want, Dae,” Marla said, smiling up at him.

“Good.” He tapped his comm badge and ordered a site-to-site transport to his quarters for two. Moments later, the back room of Suraya was empty.

******************

Marla
Playing at Cloak and Dagger

Camille Ross
Successful Messenger Pigeon

Lt. Commander Dae Nalas
Getting Exactly What he Wanted