The Night Has Eyes

Posted on Sun Jun 16th, 2013 @ 6:08pm by Seyla & Marla

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Saturnalia

For the last few weeks, Seyla had been burning the candle at both ends - seeing Harding during the evenings and nights, managing her business during the mornings, seeing clients besides Harding in the afternoons, and taking care of herself somewhere in between all of that. It was no wonder then that she was starting to show some of her fatigue, some of her unexpressed grief over Suresh's forced departure from the Station. Her hair was longer than normal, the red of it wasn't quite as red as it should be, and the green of her skin was washed out, like the leaves of a plant bleached by the sun.

Despite her desire to go home and soak in a bath of hot water and rose oil, Seyla found herself in Saturnalia, staring at a plate of far-too-spicy fried peppers and waiting for Marla to come with her daily report.

It wasn’t long before Marla’s shadow fell across the table. She sat down and clucked her tongue at Seyla.

“No offense honey, but you look like hell. What gives? I’ll have what she’s having,” she said to the waitress, then shooed her away.

"Nothing more than usual. Seeing clients, watching after the girls." She shrugged a bare shoulder. "Same as always. How is your day?"

“When was the last time you slept?” Marla leaned closer, her expression serious. She was worried about Sey on one hand, but on the other, the fact that Seyla was stretching herself too thin meant she didn’t have time to worry about Marla and Dae. “This mystery man...does he understand you only have the same number of hours in a day as the rest of us?”

Seyla's laugh was genuine. "Yes, he does. This isn't his fault; it's mine. I've been seeing other clients, too." She ate one of the peppers and immediately panted to cool off her mouth; the pepper's heat made her sweat a little. Referencing a PADD in front of her, she commented, "Your dailies are down, Mar. Everything okay?"

“I’ve been helping oversee while you’ve been so tied up everywhere else.” She paused as her plate of peppers were delivered and took a bite, panting as Sey had done to relieve the heat. “The chef never fails to please. Now you listen.” She pointed at Seyla with a pepper in her fingers. “You’re exhausted, rundown...you cannot keep this up.”

"Hmm..., I'll chat with Harding," Seyla said and ate a pepper to keep a slow smile off her lips. "He can probably give me something to keep me going." Something like a night off, perhaps.

“I bet he’ll tell you to take some time off and slow down.” Marla nodded with satisfaction, completely unaware of the irony of her words.

Across the bar, which was quickly filling up, a lone figure sat at a table, a single drink before him. He was dressed in a dark hooded robe which, among the natives here, wasn’t unusual. His attention was focused on the two women, however, undistracted as patrons passed between them. Slowly he raised the glass and took a sip, a faint smile appearing on his hidden features as the dark haired one pointed at Seyla with her pepper.

Seyla's smile was sly and she nodded. "Probably. Maybe I'll go to a beach on the planet. You know Orion is a tropical planet? We do best in hot, humid places, like hothouse orchids." She didn't notice the fellow at the table watching them.

“It would be nice, you’re right.” Marla smiled and took another bite, visions of Dae in nothing at all cavorting on a beach filling her head. Yum. She cleared her throat before she said something too revealing.

A waitress stopped at the table where the lone figure sat, leaving a fresh drink before him. He nodded slightly as she moved away, again giving him a clear line of sight to the two women. He had a talent for lip reading and so far the conversation, while not all that deep, interested him. A pair of Bolians wandered in, blocking his view. A few growled words had them moving along with haste.

The more Seyla thought about it, the better the idea felt: two or three days on a beach, all by herself. It was a luxury she didn't normally afford for herself. She watched Marla a moment, until two Bolians moving quickly drew her attention. Bolians didn't normally move quickly, so it was an odd thing to see. She couldn't tell what had prompted them to do so but as she looked in their direction, the shape and size of a man sitting alone made her catch her breath. She nearly said, 'Suresh' aloud, but the idea was absurd: Suresh was light years from the Station.

Dismissing the thought of Suresh and of the lone male, she addressed Marla, "You've convinced me. I'm going to take a few days and go to Archadia. Maybe Jackson knows of a good spot down there."

“Good for you. Don’t worry, I’ll handle things here while you’re gone. You just go relax and forget all about this place.” Marla took another bite of the hot peppers and smiled. The idea of a few days with Seyla out of touch would be a little vacation for her too.

The figure at the table muttered softly, drained his drink, then stood and made a swift exit, brushing by their table with a muttered excuse. Moments later, he was out the door.

"Should I get Lazan to fill in?"

Marla’s eyebrows went up at the question. “Please, he’d be lost completely, especially when dealing with Bella. And I think Lisann would make him homicidal. You enjoy your vacation and don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”

"'kay." Of course, she'd still worry. For the first hour, at least. "I'll be available by comm if you need me. Get Marabeth to help you. Seems she has a head on her shoulders and might be interested in learning some of the book keeping."

“Good idea.” There was another little project Marla wanted to discuss with Marabeth too, just as soon as Seyla was safely off-station. “And to celebrate, dinner is on me tonight.”

Casting a quizzical glance at Marla, Seyla joked, "Sounds like someone is paying you too much." She smiled and braved a double dose of the peppers.

“Just working my ass off, literally. Here, use some of this.” She passed a dish of a pale green sauce over. “It eases the burn.”

A crash outside interrupted the conversation and Marla turned to look to the doors.

Seyla did, too, but saw nothing beyond a hooded figure hurrying away. There was something familiar about the fellow; she just couldn't put a finger on it. "Who says I want to ease the burn? Maybe this'll make W--my nightly client happy to go a few days without me."

Over by the door, two patrons were helping a man to his feet. “Wonder what that was about?” Marla purposely didn’t mention that little slip of the tongue, but it made her wonder. “I doubt that, but eat up. You still have to go break the news to your fellow you’re taking off.” She motioned for another round of drinks.

"I'll stay tonight with him, then head out in the morning. Its not like he has much room to complain... or anyone to make a complaint to." She chuckled and the waitress came with their drinks and took their dinner order. "Dae hasn't contacted us about scheduling a new girl. He must like that Nexus hostess."

Marla shrugged. “She hasn’t seen him either. I think they’re all tied up with the visiting dignitaries. If you’re curious, I can ask her though.”

"No need for me to ask her," Seyla brushed off the suggestion. No, instead, she would ask Jackson, determine whether he was burning in on her market. "Wait, you could ask her? When do you talk with her?"

“I see her here and there on the station, she’s a nice kid. Has the hots for Major Smith too, which I can certainly understand. I introduced her to the silk merchant too, so he’d know not to overcharge her like he does most of the people around here.”

"Sometimes, you're as trusting as Bella," she muttered and fell silent as their food was delivered.

“It’s nice to talk to someone with a brain in her head, unlike Bella, let me tell you.” Marla shrugged.

"And who isn't trying to put a hand up your skirt," Seyla agreed.

“Especially that,” Marla agreed. “ There’s a lot to be said for moving outside the circle sometimes.” Marla prepared to dig into her dinner. “Eat up, I have a call in an hour.”

_______________

Seyla
Overworked

Marla
Under-satisfied