Incommunicado – "What, by the Prophets, are you wearing?"
by (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian
Post Details
ON:
After his strange meeting with the proprietor of the Box of Delights - or should that be intriguing, or flustering... it was a very odd meeting - Relma made his way to level four. The many Bajoran shops and restaurants there were mostly shut or closing, but he noted what each of them had so that he could come back to visit them. The temple, however, though deserted, was still open. Meryn went in and, offering prayers, meditated.
Finally, leaving the temple, he traced his steps back along the Promenade. He wanted to see what trade was like in the Box of Delights now - although he wouldn't allow himself to go in: he had an early start in the morning. He just wanted to see what the venue's nightlife was like so he could have a sense of what the station's community was like. His previous assignments in Starfleet had never allowed him to experience something like this - the amount of rights the civilians had around here unsettled him, but perhaps there was method to what he perceived as Starfleet's madness.
Rianni walked out of the Box on her own power, though a few more drinks and she would've never been able to do it. One of her officers had convinced her she'd had enough and should go home, lest that lizard Getal find out how drunk she was and try to use it to his advantage. As she walked towards her quarters she saw a man that looked very familiar to her. ~Is that..... nah. No frackin' way..... Maybe.~
Approaching closer she looked and saw that it was an old friend from the Hood, Relma Meryn, "Meryn?" She slurred, unbelieving of her eyes.
Relma turned to his left, to where he was sure he'd heard his name spoken. At first all he saw was a Romulan officer, slightly staggering, and so he altered his path to move away as quickly as he could. As he turned, though, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, the woman's face, and stopped dead in his tracks. "Rianni?" he exclaimed with disbelief in his voice "What, by the Prophets, are you wearing?"
"Oh, this?" She laughed, indicating the uniform, "Yeah, I went home after the Federation abandoned me. Family is forever, right?"
Meryn's eyes almost popped out of their sockets on stalks "Abandoned?..." he asked "What happened to Lieutenant Rianni Monteros: fighter ace?"
"They decided they didn't want me around anymore after my... after my accident." Rianni replied, it was still hard to talk about, "So they threw me out."
Meryn put his arm around the woman, partly to comfort her, and partly to steady her shaky balance. "Sorry to hear," he said "damned pencil-pushers don't know what's good from bad. How the hell did you fall in with this crowd though?" He pointed at her uniform. He couldn't recall ever mentioning to her previously about his dislike of Romulans, but on the other hand she had never been a Romulan to him when they had served together before, so he may have done.
"Oh, my father's family...." Rianni began, remembering the last time she had seen Relma her father was nothing more than a concept to her, "I found them, I found him, I have a father now."
"Wow." Said the dumbstruck Bajoran. "That's huge. Congratulations. I'm so happy for you! So what brings you to this corner of the quadrant - beyond the wonderful little bar." Now that he was closer to the woman he could smell the alcohol on her breath. She'd obviously had an absolute skinful.
"I woke up here." Rianni chuckled, "I passed out as XO of the Bismarck, woke up in sickbay here. My ship and my bitch of a girlfriend had all abandoned me, didn't even tell anyone I was here. Not my Mom, not Papa Gregori, not my Aunt Isha, who lives here on this station, nobody. They just dropped me off and forgot I existed." That last part made her sad, she knew it was one of those murderous ex-Borg scum who had done it to her, dropped her here and left her to die, but the worst part was that she had never heard anything else from Leeann, the woman who swore she loved her. ~Bitch...~
"The Bismarck?" Meryn exclaimed "When were you on her?"
"Right before I woke up here." Rianni remembered, "In '84 I think." Had she been sober she'd have been able to tell him, but right then, right then it didn't matter.
Relma nodded "Glad to see they put the old girl back together: we only just missed each other: I was there for 2 years until we struck the quantum filament in '83. Was Captain Kelly given command back or did they pass it to some youngv buck?" He smiled for a moment as he remembered the good times he'd had on the ship, before grimacing as he remembered the tragic final days he'd spent on the ship - and because the off-balance Rianni had trodden on his foot.
"Definitely wasn't Kelly." Rianni shook her head, not noticing she had just stomped all over Meryn's foot, "No, it was some 'freed Borg' bitch. Then she went and found another of her kind, then someone tried to kill me.... Then, I woke up here. Alone."
"Sorry to hear." Replied Meryn as he edged his foot out "Maybe we should be getting you to your quarters. We can catch up on the way." He gestured towards the nearest turbolift. He himself was tired and beginning to turn his mind to the following day.
"Yeah, probably should." Rianni smiled, following Meryn to the turbolift, "So, when did you get here?"
"Today. Finally got away from the Zakdorn surplus depot at Qualor II." He replied as he stood aside to allow her in first. "Nice to be back to the front-lines of duty again. Where're you headed?"
"To my quarters, silly." Rianni laughed, "Why, you looking for a place to crash?"
The Bajoran laughed "Oh no I'm fine thanks: been set up with my own set already. I meant what deck" He answered, not entirely sure if the mistake was his fault for being indistinct or down to her drunkenness.
Rianni, giggled a second then stated her deck for the computer, "It was my Aunt's apartment when she was a reporter, before they made her Ambassador." She stated, leaning back on Meryn like he was the only thing keeping her off the deck, which in this case he was.
"This place must have more embassies than Earth at this rate..." Muttered Relma "First the bloody Cardies, now your lot, who else? It's madness." He steadied her again as the lift started moving - he'd not seen her like this save for a few very celebrations on the Hood.
"The Klingons are here, too." Rianni groaned, the word 'Klingon' like burning dung in her throat, "And the Ferengi are supposedly coming and then who knows who else.... Whole fracking place is going to be crawling with politicians before we know it."
Relma laughed. "Klingons? Diplomacy? What is the quadrant coming to? So beyond your aunt being ambassador what has brought you here?"
"Well, I was CAG for a while... until my accident." Rianni replied, "Then they tossed me out of Starfleet like I was old trash that had started to smell. They never wanted me, I should've known that from the beginning. I was okay to be around when the big war was on and I was dropping enemy fighters at twice the rate of any other pilot, once it was over, suddenly I was the enemy...."
"We're all just flotsam and jetsam out here in the void I guess." Mused the Bajoran stoically "Sorry to hear though. Sounds like they really put you through the ringer." As he finished speaking the turbolift slowed and the doors opened at their destination. "After you..." He said, stranding behind her gesturing to the door."
Rianni exited in front of Meryn, giving her butt a little wiggle as she did, ~See anything you like?~ She thought, giggling aloud, "Want a drink, Meryn?"
The Bajoran rolled his eyes, cleared his throat, and shifted his weight a little uncomfortably. Now he remembered how those celebrations on the Hood had often ended: with some Ensign or other junior officer, who'd also had themselves a rather good evening, dragged off - often with a nudge passing between his colleagues and mentors as he was. For most of that posting Relma had been Boatswain, thus very much an enlisted man still - even after he'd had the warrant conferred upon him - and thus the once, or at very most twice, she had tried it on with him he had extracted himself from the situation. Had she still been in Starfleet most of the qualms he had felt then would no longer have existed, especially after the events of the last few months and the couple of drinks inside him; but she wasn't. She wore a uniform Meryn despised now - and for all he knew this could all be one big plot. Her greeting to him had been extremely familiar given that they had only really known each other professionally on the Hood and, while it was probably down to the alcohol, it could have been put on for whatever reason. You could just never trust someone in that uniform - especially if they had a sob-story to tell. "Thanks for the offer, Rianni," he began slowly, emphasizing her first name as he spoke - pretty sure he'd only used it a handful of times before at most "but I have to be up early in the morning, and there's a hungry cat waiting for me in my quarters who'll be hopping mad at me if I'm not back in the next five minutes. You have a good night's sleep, ok? I think that's probably for the best right now." His tone was almost the one he'd use when talking to Jolan - almost, but not quite, condescending.
"Hey, come on." She giggled, "Just one drink with an old friend? Besides, I remember how you used to look at me." And it was true, she did. At one time she was the most desired woman on the Hood, ~I guess I was beautiful then....~
Relma turned a bright shade of red at her latter statement. He highly doubted its veracity... At least as far as his intentions had ever been concerned, though perhaps they had been misread. At the time he had still kindled hope for things blossoming with Talia thus had not had much time for women beyond that - and certainly not officers. But now he and Talia were just friends, brother and sister almost, and nothing was ever going to happen there. Thus, deep down in his psyche the baser instincts - encouraged by the drinks he had enjoyed earlier - urged him on; but then there was the uniform: a uniform he could not trust - even on someone he knew. Added to that he had to be up and about in the morning. "Maybe," he replied, beginning almost at a whisper "or maybe tomorrow. We could meet for drinks to catch up properly. How does that sound?"
"Oh, okay...." Rianni sighed, "Tomorrow I guess...."
Relma patted the woman's shoulder reassuringly, seeing her disappointment, "Have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow them. before turning back down the corridor to the turbolift to return home himself.
Rianni walked into her quarters without another word, seems they had settled everything already. ~Another night sleeping alone.~
OFF:
Chief Warrant Officer First Class Relma Meryn
Chief Operations Officer
&
erie'Riov Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian
CO IRW Dhelan
by (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian
Post Details
| Title | "What, by the Prophets, are you wearing?" | |
| Mission | Incommunicado | |
| Author(s) | (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian | |
| Posted | Sat Jun 16, 2012 @ 3:57pm | |
| Location | Promenade | |
| Timeline | SD58 2330 hours |
After his strange meeting with the proprietor of the Box of Delights - or should that be intriguing, or flustering... it was a very odd meeting - Relma made his way to level four. The many Bajoran shops and restaurants there were mostly shut or closing, but he noted what each of them had so that he could come back to visit them. The temple, however, though deserted, was still open. Meryn went in and, offering prayers, meditated.
Finally, leaving the temple, he traced his steps back along the Promenade. He wanted to see what trade was like in the Box of Delights now - although he wouldn't allow himself to go in: he had an early start in the morning. He just wanted to see what the venue's nightlife was like so he could have a sense of what the station's community was like. His previous assignments in Starfleet had never allowed him to experience something like this - the amount of rights the civilians had around here unsettled him, but perhaps there was method to what he perceived as Starfleet's madness.
Rianni walked out of the Box on her own power, though a few more drinks and she would've never been able to do it. One of her officers had convinced her she'd had enough and should go home, lest that lizard Getal find out how drunk she was and try to use it to his advantage. As she walked towards her quarters she saw a man that looked very familiar to her. ~Is that..... nah. No frackin' way..... Maybe.~
Approaching closer she looked and saw that it was an old friend from the Hood, Relma Meryn, "Meryn?" She slurred, unbelieving of her eyes.
Relma turned to his left, to where he was sure he'd heard his name spoken. At first all he saw was a Romulan officer, slightly staggering, and so he altered his path to move away as quickly as he could. As he turned, though, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, the woman's face, and stopped dead in his tracks. "Rianni?" he exclaimed with disbelief in his voice "What, by the Prophets, are you wearing?"
"Oh, this?" She laughed, indicating the uniform, "Yeah, I went home after the Federation abandoned me. Family is forever, right?"
Meryn's eyes almost popped out of their sockets on stalks "Abandoned?..." he asked "What happened to Lieutenant Rianni Monteros: fighter ace?"
"They decided they didn't want me around anymore after my... after my accident." Rianni replied, it was still hard to talk about, "So they threw me out."
Meryn put his arm around the woman, partly to comfort her, and partly to steady her shaky balance. "Sorry to hear," he said "damned pencil-pushers don't know what's good from bad. How the hell did you fall in with this crowd though?" He pointed at her uniform. He couldn't recall ever mentioning to her previously about his dislike of Romulans, but on the other hand she had never been a Romulan to him when they had served together before, so he may have done.
"Oh, my father's family...." Rianni began, remembering the last time she had seen Relma her father was nothing more than a concept to her, "I found them, I found him, I have a father now."
"Wow." Said the dumbstruck Bajoran. "That's huge. Congratulations. I'm so happy for you! So what brings you to this corner of the quadrant - beyond the wonderful little bar." Now that he was closer to the woman he could smell the alcohol on her breath. She'd obviously had an absolute skinful.
"I woke up here." Rianni chuckled, "I passed out as XO of the Bismarck, woke up in sickbay here. My ship and my bitch of a girlfriend had all abandoned me, didn't even tell anyone I was here. Not my Mom, not Papa Gregori, not my Aunt Isha, who lives here on this station, nobody. They just dropped me off and forgot I existed." That last part made her sad, she knew it was one of those murderous ex-Borg scum who had done it to her, dropped her here and left her to die, but the worst part was that she had never heard anything else from Leeann, the woman who swore she loved her. ~Bitch...~
"The Bismarck?" Meryn exclaimed "When were you on her?"
"Right before I woke up here." Rianni remembered, "In '84 I think." Had she been sober she'd have been able to tell him, but right then, right then it didn't matter.
Relma nodded "Glad to see they put the old girl back together: we only just missed each other: I was there for 2 years until we struck the quantum filament in '83. Was Captain Kelly given command back or did they pass it to some youngv buck?" He smiled for a moment as he remembered the good times he'd had on the ship, before grimacing as he remembered the tragic final days he'd spent on the ship - and because the off-balance Rianni had trodden on his foot.
"Definitely wasn't Kelly." Rianni shook her head, not noticing she had just stomped all over Meryn's foot, "No, it was some 'freed Borg' bitch. Then she went and found another of her kind, then someone tried to kill me.... Then, I woke up here. Alone."
"Sorry to hear." Replied Meryn as he edged his foot out "Maybe we should be getting you to your quarters. We can catch up on the way." He gestured towards the nearest turbolift. He himself was tired and beginning to turn his mind to the following day.
"Yeah, probably should." Rianni smiled, following Meryn to the turbolift, "So, when did you get here?"
"Today. Finally got away from the Zakdorn surplus depot at Qualor II." He replied as he stood aside to allow her in first. "Nice to be back to the front-lines of duty again. Where're you headed?"
"To my quarters, silly." Rianni laughed, "Why, you looking for a place to crash?"
The Bajoran laughed "Oh no I'm fine thanks: been set up with my own set already. I meant what deck" He answered, not entirely sure if the mistake was his fault for being indistinct or down to her drunkenness.
Rianni, giggled a second then stated her deck for the computer, "It was my Aunt's apartment when she was a reporter, before they made her Ambassador." She stated, leaning back on Meryn like he was the only thing keeping her off the deck, which in this case he was.
"This place must have more embassies than Earth at this rate..." Muttered Relma "First the bloody Cardies, now your lot, who else? It's madness." He steadied her again as the lift started moving - he'd not seen her like this save for a few very celebrations on the Hood.
"The Klingons are here, too." Rianni groaned, the word 'Klingon' like burning dung in her throat, "And the Ferengi are supposedly coming and then who knows who else.... Whole fracking place is going to be crawling with politicians before we know it."
Relma laughed. "Klingons? Diplomacy? What is the quadrant coming to? So beyond your aunt being ambassador what has brought you here?"
"Well, I was CAG for a while... until my accident." Rianni replied, "Then they tossed me out of Starfleet like I was old trash that had started to smell. They never wanted me, I should've known that from the beginning. I was okay to be around when the big war was on and I was dropping enemy fighters at twice the rate of any other pilot, once it was over, suddenly I was the enemy...."
"We're all just flotsam and jetsam out here in the void I guess." Mused the Bajoran stoically "Sorry to hear though. Sounds like they really put you through the ringer." As he finished speaking the turbolift slowed and the doors opened at their destination. "After you..." He said, stranding behind her gesturing to the door."
Rianni exited in front of Meryn, giving her butt a little wiggle as she did, ~See anything you like?~ She thought, giggling aloud, "Want a drink, Meryn?"
The Bajoran rolled his eyes, cleared his throat, and shifted his weight a little uncomfortably. Now he remembered how those celebrations on the Hood had often ended: with some Ensign or other junior officer, who'd also had themselves a rather good evening, dragged off - often with a nudge passing between his colleagues and mentors as he was. For most of that posting Relma had been Boatswain, thus very much an enlisted man still - even after he'd had the warrant conferred upon him - and thus the once, or at very most twice, she had tried it on with him he had extracted himself from the situation. Had she still been in Starfleet most of the qualms he had felt then would no longer have existed, especially after the events of the last few months and the couple of drinks inside him; but she wasn't. She wore a uniform Meryn despised now - and for all he knew this could all be one big plot. Her greeting to him had been extremely familiar given that they had only really known each other professionally on the Hood and, while it was probably down to the alcohol, it could have been put on for whatever reason. You could just never trust someone in that uniform - especially if they had a sob-story to tell. "Thanks for the offer, Rianni," he began slowly, emphasizing her first name as he spoke - pretty sure he'd only used it a handful of times before at most "but I have to be up early in the morning, and there's a hungry cat waiting for me in my quarters who'll be hopping mad at me if I'm not back in the next five minutes. You have a good night's sleep, ok? I think that's probably for the best right now." His tone was almost the one he'd use when talking to Jolan - almost, but not quite, condescending.
"Hey, come on." She giggled, "Just one drink with an old friend? Besides, I remember how you used to look at me." And it was true, she did. At one time she was the most desired woman on the Hood, ~I guess I was beautiful then....~
Relma turned a bright shade of red at her latter statement. He highly doubted its veracity... At least as far as his intentions had ever been concerned, though perhaps they had been misread. At the time he had still kindled hope for things blossoming with Talia thus had not had much time for women beyond that - and certainly not officers. But now he and Talia were just friends, brother and sister almost, and nothing was ever going to happen there. Thus, deep down in his psyche the baser instincts - encouraged by the drinks he had enjoyed earlier - urged him on; but then there was the uniform: a uniform he could not trust - even on someone he knew. Added to that he had to be up and about in the morning. "Maybe," he replied, beginning almost at a whisper "or maybe tomorrow. We could meet for drinks to catch up properly. How does that sound?"
"Oh, okay...." Rianni sighed, "Tomorrow I guess...."
Relma patted the woman's shoulder reassuringly, seeing her disappointment, "Have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow them. before turning back down the corridor to the turbolift to return home himself.
Rianni walked into her quarters without another word, seems they had settled everything already. ~Another night sleeping alone.~
OFF:
Chief Warrant Officer First Class Relma Meryn
Chief Operations Officer
&
erie'Riov Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian
CO IRW Dhelan