Deception: The lesser part of Valour – Strung Along
by Colonel James Darson & Commander Isha t'Vaurek
Post Details
Rh’vaurek leaned back in his chair watching Isha over steepled fingers. She was perched on the corner of his desk looking rather ruffled like a disgruntled hatham (a type of bird of prey); the word ‘no’ tended to have that effect on Isha.
“You promised,” she said eventually.
He shook his head. “I agreed, which isn’t quite the same thing,” Rh’vaurek said evenly. “You’re approaching this the wrong way. You have no assurance that he will deliver – the word of a lloann'na is worthless, you know that. Give her up and you’ve nothing left to negotiate with.”
Isha slipped to her feet. Turning, she placed her hands palm down on the surface of the desk, “Don’t you think that I’ve considered that?” she said, “It’s a necessary risk!”
“Oh is it,” Rh’vaurek replied, leaning forward. He too planted his hands on the desk as he pushed to his feet. “You’re making this up as you go along, and that’s sloppy.”
In the dimmed light his eyes appeared dulled like the mouths of deep dark holes, “I know what I’m doing, Raedheol,” she said unable to read anything there, “Can’t you trust me for once?”
“Isha, its Iawaain I don’t trust – even in an induced catatonic state. If you’ll wait a little longer we’ll reduce the risk further.”
Isha bit her lower lip. “The exchange is already arranged,” she said folding her arms, “during station night when we’re less likely to run into company.”
Rh’vaurek straightened and joined Isha on the other side of the desk. “Would you care to tell me where,” he said brushing her hair back behind her ear.
His touch was warm and dry against her ear where his fingers lingered a little longer than appropriate, “No, just have Iawaain ready for me,” she said taking his hand in hers.
“You know I can’t do that,” he said gently, linking his fingers through hers, “Leaving you alone with someone as lethal as Iawaain would be foolish and letting you wander off in the middle of the night to meet a psychopath would be criminal.” Pausing he touched his free hand to her lips, “I’m coming with you, d’Ishaal, don’t waste your breath arguing with me.”
Isha leaned against the edge of the desk and looked up at Rh’vaurek through her lowered lashes, “I’m expected alone.”
“One of these days all that coy fluttering won’t work,” he warned resting his hands on her shoulders. Rh’vaurek grinned, his face only inches away from hers. “But it’s your prerogative to alter the arrangements; your ‘friend’ will not object, and if he does the deal is off, ok?”
-----
Until now Verelan Iawaain had been nothing more than a name to Isha, and she found the reality somewhat underwhelming. Iawaain was short and compact, clad only in a stained vest and worn black trousers; her face lacked any animation and it bore the residual tinge of bruising, as did her exposed arms that hung limply by her sides. Isha glanced at Rh’vaurek, she asked for no explanation already knowing the answer.
“The results of her programming,” Raedheol said, “she’ll be like this until I trigger her – she’s safer this way – basic motor functions so we don’t have to drag her and if your friend Darson messes us about he’ll be left with a vegetable.”
“He speaks Rihannsu,” Isha said.
“It doesn’t matter; she’ll react to my voice only. Oh, he might reproduce the trigger in time but she’ll not be much use by then – neural deterioration. Iawaain would have appreciated the irony of that,” Rh’vaurek shrugged. “Shall we go?”
-----
“It’s safer to do this sort of thing in public and in plain sight,” Rh’vaurek muttered, as they waited in the deserted and unused cargo bay.
“Don’t you think it adds to the sense of drama?” Isha said not liking the silence any more than Raedheol.
“The need for dramatics is what gets people killed,” he replied, taking the opportunity to secure Iawaain’s hands behind her back. “Keep it simple. So where’s your pal?”
From his perch on top of one of the shadowy forgotten boxes in the room, Darson looked on with interest. Although he hadn’t expected Isha to actually come alone (he doubted that she was that foolish) the fact that she had brought Raedheol along was very, very unexpected.
He studied the tall man through his visor. Raedheol was dangerous. Not physically a threat, of course, considering Lt. Milarno had been able to match him in a fight, but in the political arena, he had much clout…He would have to tread a bit more carefully than he would otherwise.
He scanned the cargo bay. He had taken the liberty of coming down here an hour early, and disabling some of the lights in the room, as well as preparing a few others…surprises…to be used in the event that things didn’t go exactly as planned. As it was, the whole bay was bathed in dust and gloom, which suited his needs perfectly. He tapped the control panel on his wrist, bringing the miniature speakers he had hidden in the room online, and switching off his helmet mic. He lay down flat on the box, and said, “Don’t you worry yourself Raedheol…I’m right here. You can speak to me as if I was right by your side.”
His voice adopted a rebuking tone, “Isha, Isha, Isha…I see that you did in fact bring the package, but you also brought an uninvited guest…really now, did you think that I would do you harm? Or perhaps…you were worried about me not keeping my side of the bargain?”
Isha cast the slightest glance toward Rh’vaurek who supported “the package” none too gently by the elbow.
“Major Darson,” Isha said pleasantly, ignoring Raedheol’s furious glare. “Such thoughts did not enter my mind, though my Chief of Staff had other ideas. He’s responsible for my safety you see, and I am much too inclined to trust the word of others so what could a woman do but bring him along? I would appreciate it if you would join us, of course. To witness a defection is a rare event, Major. Those who choose to leave the Empire so often run into difficulties after a step or two … and as I deal with beings, not voices I wouldn’t rate her chance of making it beyond the third pace if you don’t make yourself known.”
Darson resisted the urge to chuckle. Here was a woman who really wasn’t going to be pushed around. He did a graceful back flip off the box, and landed on quietly on the blind side. He then walked around the side, and smoothly slipped out into the open.
He deactivated the speakers in the room, and reactivated his helmet mics, “Well well well Isha. I can see that you really do have some insight into the way the game is played…and yet, you remain so cold and distant towards me…well nothing that can be done about that, is there?”
“I can’t help being a good judge of character,” Isha said, silently pleased that Raedheol had insisted on coming with her; she hoped too that Darson had got the theatrics over with.
He began to walk forward slowly, closing the distance between them, “So, how about we get down to business, shall we? You have something I want. And I have the information that you want…however, there is one stipulation. The amount of information you get is tied to the condition of Ms. Iawaain. Raedheol,” He said, suddenly addressing the man, “You wouldn’t have happened to do anything permanent to her, have you? From her docile pose, and her eyes, I can assume that you’ve had her programmed to respond to your voice trigger only…problematic for me, isn’t it? Prolonged use of methods like that results in extensive neural deterioration, which renders her useless to me, and thus to you.”
He stopped about five meters away from her position, “Remove the trigger, and send her over. And after I check her over, you may very well get what you want.”
Raedheol snorted, “She hasn’t been any use to me for a long time,” he said. “When I release her she’ll be in better shape than a traitor has any right to be. You really wouldn’t have wanted her fully conscious and running around the station now, would you Darson?”
Isha’s gaze slipped between Darson and Rh’vaurek relegated to the role of an observer in her own play she watched as Raedheol bent close and whispered into Iawaain’s ear. He maintained his grip on her arm as Iawaain’s personality asserted itself, first as her flat features transformed from to reveal a lively beauty and then in the twist of her body as she tried to escape her captor.
“What have you done?” Iawaain cried as she struggled to adjust to the sudden wave of stimuli that flooded her senses, her voice echoing in the empty gloom.
“Shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you,” Raedheol told her. “OK Darson, you can speak to her now. I’ll release her when I’m satisfied you have something for me.”
The need for theatrics gone, Darson’s voice lost his humor, and came out as cold and sure as a Klingon blizzard, “Iawaain, please calm down. You will be safe shortly. Tread lightly Raedheol. If you lay a hand on her again, I will kill you where you stand. And as for information for you, I have nothing. For Isha on the other hand, I have my initial reports on the information she asked for,” He withdrew a shiny PADD from inside his cloak, and waved it slowly in the air,
Suddenly he stalked forward, gliding across the cold floor, until the distance between them had completely evaporated, and he was toe to toe with Raedheol. Although the man was an inch or two taller in plain clothes, the armor nullified the height advantage. He maintained his stare with him as he thrust his arm out to the side, to hand the PADD to Isha, “Here it is. All of my initial reports, and everything I could gather within the last two days, including several relevant classified files. Keep in mind that some of them have been redacted for security purposes…but it should be enough for you to run with.”
Of course, what he wasn’t telling her was that in keeping this, she was becoming a pawn in a much larger game. Although most of the information she wanted was only lightly sensitive at most, it posed no threat to National Security. However there was a few that could never be allowed to fall into her hands, nor anybody else’s. So he had taken a few…creative liberties…with some of the information. If Isha came back to him for more answers, he would be willing to provide, but only if she had something more to bring to the table.
He had also spiked the PADD with a virus, which would invade any foreign terminal that it connected too and discretely transmit its entire doings directly to him. And as a final insurance policy to him, he had encrypted it with a passkey, just in case Raedheol thought he could cheat Darson out of his prize, which he would give to them as soon as he was sure that Iawaain was indeed in stable condition.
As Isha took the PADD, Darson gently but forcefully grabbed Iawaain’s arm that wasn’t in Raedheol’s grip and said, “I think I’ll take her now Raedheol, if you’d be so kind.”
Isha smiled thinly. “I’ll thank you not to threaten my staff, Major Darson, I take such attempts at intimidation personally,” she said mildly as she turned aside to examine the PADD, “If you wish to beat each other to a pulp do it in your own time, not mine.”
Raedheol grinned broadly, his laughter as flat and humorless as his gaze, "I'm going to have your record amended, Darson. Whoever studied your activities forgot to add that your sense of whimsy borders on the ridiculous. Ihhei, is that what you wanted?" he asked still keeping his hold on Iawaain.
A few paces away Isha shook her head, "I can't tell.”
She turned back to see the rather bizarre sight of the forlorn looking prisoner caught between two very dangerous men, neither of whom appeared willing to give her up.
“Major,” Isha said softly, “I think we need to trust each other a little. If you two continue this way, between you, you are going to tear that woman down the middle. Do go ahead if you think it will help, but really I think it would be more productive to conclude this negotiation here and now. Give me the access code please and Raedheol will release Iawaain, I assure you she will prove quite lucid. If you have done your research on me, which I’m sure you have, you will know that I do not give my assurance lightly.”
Darson’s stare didn’t waver from Raedheol, “The pass code?...” he said in an introspective voice.
Isha shrugged, “As protocol demands I will of course begin formal proceedings calling for Iawaain’s extradition – I’m sure that Tahir and the diplomatic detachment will have some interesting questions for me, but as long as we maintain our understanding those proceedings will remain a formality.”
Darson gave a minute shrug, and said in a distant voice, “Of course. A formality…now, for the pass code. You know, the minute I saw you for the first time on the station, I knew that I had indeed seen you somewhere before, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember where. It took me a little while, but I finally remembered. It was on a holo-picture… carried by a Romulan Commander that I fought with during an engagement during the Dominion War. He once told me, ‘ilhra mnaeri rhae lhoirhe’ (Trust must begin sometime)”
He turned to look at Isha out of the corner of his hood, “You know the pass code Isha. You’ve known it for decades. A piece of information that you should hold intimately close to your heart. The pass code is the birthday of the only other Romulan who ever dared to discuss trust with me. Can you guess?”
The conceit of the man! Presuming to know anything that I should think intimate, Isha thought, but there was only one person likely to have had her image.
Isha did not believe in coincidence. In her philosophy the thinnest threads ran through space and time binding and connecting disparate events and individuals; from time to time they crossed and knotted, causing circumstances that others dismissed as chance or happenstance.
This was one of those times.
Isha lowered the PADD to her side. She cast an uneasy glance toward Rh’vaurek, he was never comfortable with the topic of Nveid and whenever it rose between them, her husband’s specter drew back the curtain that obscured certain harsh memories that both she and Rh’vaurek shared and preferred to forget.
She would not name Nveid; let Darson do it if that was his meaning.
Isha lowered her gaze, “So few of us bother to try and explain the facets of mnhei'sahe to outsiders, they rarely appreciate the nuances, particularly when it comes to such a nebulous and personal concept as trust,” she said her voice barely more than a whisper.
Darson’s voice belied no emotion, save for a slight mocking quality, “Your late husband, Nveid i-Ihhliae tr’Illialhlae. ”
Isha nodded her acknowledgement. Turning away she screwed her eyes closed; she did not want either of them to see her pain.
Digit by digit Isha entered the code. Her breath came quickly.
In the reflection of the screen she saw Nveid’s face imposed over hers, smiling, laughing, features bright in the glitter and glare of a society ball then dark and etched in the intimate glow of candlelight; it was ten years now and she still missed him.
A moment and text sprawled across the screen pulling Isha back into the present. She skimmed the files; it was a start, she couldn’t be sure until she had had time to cross reference them against the incomplete records she had gathered from around the Empire but she had been the one who mentioned trust.
“If you are quite satisfied that my side of the transaction has been concluded, might you order your gremlin-esque minion to release her now?”
Slipping the PADD away Isha turned back, her eyes slipping from Darson to Iawaain to Raedheol.
“Do it,” she said as her gaze came to rest on his, the confusion of feelings she held for Rh’vaurek exacerbated by the new injection of guilt.
“Isha,” he began, but she cut him off.
“Now!”
His jaw tightened. Without another word he slackened his hold and Iawaain’s arm fell, “All yours, Darson,” he said flexing the stiffness from his fingers as he stepped towards Isha. “It’s your game, play it your way.”
“Rh’vaurek,” Isha said, as he walked away, “Stop!”
“You’re on your own,” he said glancing back, an emotion that was a mystery to Isha glowing deep in his narrowed glance. “You want protection, call your family. I’m done.”
Isha watched open mouthed as he walked away.
Darson swooped in as Iawaain’s arm was released, and scooped her up before she could hit the ground. He held her close to him, as he watched Raedheol storm out of the Cargo Bay.
He let out a low chuckle, cold, but at the same time, a hint of disturbing humor, “Well now, darn shame, isn’t it? Know this Isha; I would never leave you in the cold like that. Alone, and against the same person he came to protect you against…very odd indeed…it's almost as if…well, never mind that.”
He turned on his heel, and slung Iawaain’s arm over his shoulder, to carry her, “I’ll take my leave of you now, Isha. I suggest that you get a go and get a good night’s rest…lord knows it would do you some good. And like I said before, if you ever want to talk…you know how to reach me.”
He then hefted Iawaain, and silently strode out of the cargo bay, and back to his fortress at the Marine HQ.
As Darson’s footsteps faded Isha ran her hands into her hair, the only sound in the deserted chamber her own shallow breathing and the blood pulsing through her ears. Wrapping her arms around her chest she turned as if to assure herself that she really was alone.
There was no mistake about it, Raedheol had abandoned her and she did not understand why.
OFF:
Major James Darson
Marine Commanding Officer
Isha t'Khellian, Romulan Ambassador
Rh'vaurek Raedheol, Consulate Chief of Staff (NPC)
Verelan Iawaain, Former Tal'Shiar Agent and defector (NPC)
by Colonel James Darson & Commander Isha t'Vaurek
Post Details
| Title | Strung Along | |
| Mission | Deception: The lesser part of Valour | |
| Author(s) | Colonel James Darson & Commander Isha t'Vaurek | |
| Posted | Sun Jan 11, 2009 @ 10:18am | |
| Location | Deck 1040 - Cargo Bay 358 | |
| Timeline | SD6 0100 - (BACKPOST) |
“You promised,” she said eventually.
He shook his head. “I agreed, which isn’t quite the same thing,” Rh’vaurek said evenly. “You’re approaching this the wrong way. You have no assurance that he will deliver – the word of a lloann'na is worthless, you know that. Give her up and you’ve nothing left to negotiate with.”
Isha slipped to her feet. Turning, she placed her hands palm down on the surface of the desk, “Don’t you think that I’ve considered that?” she said, “It’s a necessary risk!”
“Oh is it,” Rh’vaurek replied, leaning forward. He too planted his hands on the desk as he pushed to his feet. “You’re making this up as you go along, and that’s sloppy.”
In the dimmed light his eyes appeared dulled like the mouths of deep dark holes, “I know what I’m doing, Raedheol,” she said unable to read anything there, “Can’t you trust me for once?”
“Isha, its Iawaain I don’t trust – even in an induced catatonic state. If you’ll wait a little longer we’ll reduce the risk further.”
Isha bit her lower lip. “The exchange is already arranged,” she said folding her arms, “during station night when we’re less likely to run into company.”
Rh’vaurek straightened and joined Isha on the other side of the desk. “Would you care to tell me where,” he said brushing her hair back behind her ear.
His touch was warm and dry against her ear where his fingers lingered a little longer than appropriate, “No, just have Iawaain ready for me,” she said taking his hand in hers.
“You know I can’t do that,” he said gently, linking his fingers through hers, “Leaving you alone with someone as lethal as Iawaain would be foolish and letting you wander off in the middle of the night to meet a psychopath would be criminal.” Pausing he touched his free hand to her lips, “I’m coming with you, d’Ishaal, don’t waste your breath arguing with me.”
Isha leaned against the edge of the desk and looked up at Rh’vaurek through her lowered lashes, “I’m expected alone.”
“One of these days all that coy fluttering won’t work,” he warned resting his hands on her shoulders. Rh’vaurek grinned, his face only inches away from hers. “But it’s your prerogative to alter the arrangements; your ‘friend’ will not object, and if he does the deal is off, ok?”
-----
Until now Verelan Iawaain had been nothing more than a name to Isha, and she found the reality somewhat underwhelming. Iawaain was short and compact, clad only in a stained vest and worn black trousers; her face lacked any animation and it bore the residual tinge of bruising, as did her exposed arms that hung limply by her sides. Isha glanced at Rh’vaurek, she asked for no explanation already knowing the answer.
“The results of her programming,” Raedheol said, “she’ll be like this until I trigger her – she’s safer this way – basic motor functions so we don’t have to drag her and if your friend Darson messes us about he’ll be left with a vegetable.”
“He speaks Rihannsu,” Isha said.
“It doesn’t matter; she’ll react to my voice only. Oh, he might reproduce the trigger in time but she’ll not be much use by then – neural deterioration. Iawaain would have appreciated the irony of that,” Rh’vaurek shrugged. “Shall we go?”
-----
“It’s safer to do this sort of thing in public and in plain sight,” Rh’vaurek muttered, as they waited in the deserted and unused cargo bay.
“Don’t you think it adds to the sense of drama?” Isha said not liking the silence any more than Raedheol.
“The need for dramatics is what gets people killed,” he replied, taking the opportunity to secure Iawaain’s hands behind her back. “Keep it simple. So where’s your pal?”
From his perch on top of one of the shadowy forgotten boxes in the room, Darson looked on with interest. Although he hadn’t expected Isha to actually come alone (he doubted that she was that foolish) the fact that she had brought Raedheol along was very, very unexpected.
He studied the tall man through his visor. Raedheol was dangerous. Not physically a threat, of course, considering Lt. Milarno had been able to match him in a fight, but in the political arena, he had much clout…He would have to tread a bit more carefully than he would otherwise.
He scanned the cargo bay. He had taken the liberty of coming down here an hour early, and disabling some of the lights in the room, as well as preparing a few others…surprises…to be used in the event that things didn’t go exactly as planned. As it was, the whole bay was bathed in dust and gloom, which suited his needs perfectly. He tapped the control panel on his wrist, bringing the miniature speakers he had hidden in the room online, and switching off his helmet mic. He lay down flat on the box, and said, “Don’t you worry yourself Raedheol…I’m right here. You can speak to me as if I was right by your side.”
His voice adopted a rebuking tone, “Isha, Isha, Isha…I see that you did in fact bring the package, but you also brought an uninvited guest…really now, did you think that I would do you harm? Or perhaps…you were worried about me not keeping my side of the bargain?”
Isha cast the slightest glance toward Rh’vaurek who supported “the package” none too gently by the elbow.
“Major Darson,” Isha said pleasantly, ignoring Raedheol’s furious glare. “Such thoughts did not enter my mind, though my Chief of Staff had other ideas. He’s responsible for my safety you see, and I am much too inclined to trust the word of others so what could a woman do but bring him along? I would appreciate it if you would join us, of course. To witness a defection is a rare event, Major. Those who choose to leave the Empire so often run into difficulties after a step or two … and as I deal with beings, not voices I wouldn’t rate her chance of making it beyond the third pace if you don’t make yourself known.”
Darson resisted the urge to chuckle. Here was a woman who really wasn’t going to be pushed around. He did a graceful back flip off the box, and landed on quietly on the blind side. He then walked around the side, and smoothly slipped out into the open.
He deactivated the speakers in the room, and reactivated his helmet mics, “Well well well Isha. I can see that you really do have some insight into the way the game is played…and yet, you remain so cold and distant towards me…well nothing that can be done about that, is there?”
“I can’t help being a good judge of character,” Isha said, silently pleased that Raedheol had insisted on coming with her; she hoped too that Darson had got the theatrics over with.
He began to walk forward slowly, closing the distance between them, “So, how about we get down to business, shall we? You have something I want. And I have the information that you want…however, there is one stipulation. The amount of information you get is tied to the condition of Ms. Iawaain. Raedheol,” He said, suddenly addressing the man, “You wouldn’t have happened to do anything permanent to her, have you? From her docile pose, and her eyes, I can assume that you’ve had her programmed to respond to your voice trigger only…problematic for me, isn’t it? Prolonged use of methods like that results in extensive neural deterioration, which renders her useless to me, and thus to you.”
He stopped about five meters away from her position, “Remove the trigger, and send her over. And after I check her over, you may very well get what you want.”
Raedheol snorted, “She hasn’t been any use to me for a long time,” he said. “When I release her she’ll be in better shape than a traitor has any right to be. You really wouldn’t have wanted her fully conscious and running around the station now, would you Darson?”
Isha’s gaze slipped between Darson and Rh’vaurek relegated to the role of an observer in her own play she watched as Raedheol bent close and whispered into Iawaain’s ear. He maintained his grip on her arm as Iawaain’s personality asserted itself, first as her flat features transformed from to reveal a lively beauty and then in the twist of her body as she tried to escape her captor.
“What have you done?” Iawaain cried as she struggled to adjust to the sudden wave of stimuli that flooded her senses, her voice echoing in the empty gloom.
“Shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you,” Raedheol told her. “OK Darson, you can speak to her now. I’ll release her when I’m satisfied you have something for me.”
The need for theatrics gone, Darson’s voice lost his humor, and came out as cold and sure as a Klingon blizzard, “Iawaain, please calm down. You will be safe shortly. Tread lightly Raedheol. If you lay a hand on her again, I will kill you where you stand. And as for information for you, I have nothing. For Isha on the other hand, I have my initial reports on the information she asked for,” He withdrew a shiny PADD from inside his cloak, and waved it slowly in the air,
Suddenly he stalked forward, gliding across the cold floor, until the distance between them had completely evaporated, and he was toe to toe with Raedheol. Although the man was an inch or two taller in plain clothes, the armor nullified the height advantage. He maintained his stare with him as he thrust his arm out to the side, to hand the PADD to Isha, “Here it is. All of my initial reports, and everything I could gather within the last two days, including several relevant classified files. Keep in mind that some of them have been redacted for security purposes…but it should be enough for you to run with.”
Of course, what he wasn’t telling her was that in keeping this, she was becoming a pawn in a much larger game. Although most of the information she wanted was only lightly sensitive at most, it posed no threat to National Security. However there was a few that could never be allowed to fall into her hands, nor anybody else’s. So he had taken a few…creative liberties…with some of the information. If Isha came back to him for more answers, he would be willing to provide, but only if she had something more to bring to the table.
He had also spiked the PADD with a virus, which would invade any foreign terminal that it connected too and discretely transmit its entire doings directly to him. And as a final insurance policy to him, he had encrypted it with a passkey, just in case Raedheol thought he could cheat Darson out of his prize, which he would give to them as soon as he was sure that Iawaain was indeed in stable condition.
As Isha took the PADD, Darson gently but forcefully grabbed Iawaain’s arm that wasn’t in Raedheol’s grip and said, “I think I’ll take her now Raedheol, if you’d be so kind.”
Isha smiled thinly. “I’ll thank you not to threaten my staff, Major Darson, I take such attempts at intimidation personally,” she said mildly as she turned aside to examine the PADD, “If you wish to beat each other to a pulp do it in your own time, not mine.”
Raedheol grinned broadly, his laughter as flat and humorless as his gaze, "I'm going to have your record amended, Darson. Whoever studied your activities forgot to add that your sense of whimsy borders on the ridiculous. Ihhei, is that what you wanted?" he asked still keeping his hold on Iawaain.
A few paces away Isha shook her head, "I can't tell.”
She turned back to see the rather bizarre sight of the forlorn looking prisoner caught between two very dangerous men, neither of whom appeared willing to give her up.
“Major,” Isha said softly, “I think we need to trust each other a little. If you two continue this way, between you, you are going to tear that woman down the middle. Do go ahead if you think it will help, but really I think it would be more productive to conclude this negotiation here and now. Give me the access code please and Raedheol will release Iawaain, I assure you she will prove quite lucid. If you have done your research on me, which I’m sure you have, you will know that I do not give my assurance lightly.”
Darson’s stare didn’t waver from Raedheol, “The pass code?...” he said in an introspective voice.
Isha shrugged, “As protocol demands I will of course begin formal proceedings calling for Iawaain’s extradition – I’m sure that Tahir and the diplomatic detachment will have some interesting questions for me, but as long as we maintain our understanding those proceedings will remain a formality.”
Darson gave a minute shrug, and said in a distant voice, “Of course. A formality…now, for the pass code. You know, the minute I saw you for the first time on the station, I knew that I had indeed seen you somewhere before, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember where. It took me a little while, but I finally remembered. It was on a holo-picture… carried by a Romulan Commander that I fought with during an engagement during the Dominion War. He once told me, ‘ilhra mnaeri rhae lhoirhe’ (Trust must begin sometime)”
He turned to look at Isha out of the corner of his hood, “You know the pass code Isha. You’ve known it for decades. A piece of information that you should hold intimately close to your heart. The pass code is the birthday of the only other Romulan who ever dared to discuss trust with me. Can you guess?”
The conceit of the man! Presuming to know anything that I should think intimate, Isha thought, but there was only one person likely to have had her image.
Isha did not believe in coincidence. In her philosophy the thinnest threads ran through space and time binding and connecting disparate events and individuals; from time to time they crossed and knotted, causing circumstances that others dismissed as chance or happenstance.
This was one of those times.
Isha lowered the PADD to her side. She cast an uneasy glance toward Rh’vaurek, he was never comfortable with the topic of Nveid and whenever it rose between them, her husband’s specter drew back the curtain that obscured certain harsh memories that both she and Rh’vaurek shared and preferred to forget.
She would not name Nveid; let Darson do it if that was his meaning.
Isha lowered her gaze, “So few of us bother to try and explain the facets of mnhei'sahe to outsiders, they rarely appreciate the nuances, particularly when it comes to such a nebulous and personal concept as trust,” she said her voice barely more than a whisper.
Darson’s voice belied no emotion, save for a slight mocking quality, “Your late husband, Nveid i-Ihhliae tr’Illialhlae. ”
Isha nodded her acknowledgement. Turning away she screwed her eyes closed; she did not want either of them to see her pain.
Digit by digit Isha entered the code. Her breath came quickly.
In the reflection of the screen she saw Nveid’s face imposed over hers, smiling, laughing, features bright in the glitter and glare of a society ball then dark and etched in the intimate glow of candlelight; it was ten years now and she still missed him.
A moment and text sprawled across the screen pulling Isha back into the present. She skimmed the files; it was a start, she couldn’t be sure until she had had time to cross reference them against the incomplete records she had gathered from around the Empire but she had been the one who mentioned trust.
“If you are quite satisfied that my side of the transaction has been concluded, might you order your gremlin-esque minion to release her now?”
Slipping the PADD away Isha turned back, her eyes slipping from Darson to Iawaain to Raedheol.
“Do it,” she said as her gaze came to rest on his, the confusion of feelings she held for Rh’vaurek exacerbated by the new injection of guilt.
“Isha,” he began, but she cut him off.
“Now!”
His jaw tightened. Without another word he slackened his hold and Iawaain’s arm fell, “All yours, Darson,” he said flexing the stiffness from his fingers as he stepped towards Isha. “It’s your game, play it your way.”
“Rh’vaurek,” Isha said, as he walked away, “Stop!”
“You’re on your own,” he said glancing back, an emotion that was a mystery to Isha glowing deep in his narrowed glance. “You want protection, call your family. I’m done.”
Isha watched open mouthed as he walked away.
Darson swooped in as Iawaain’s arm was released, and scooped her up before she could hit the ground. He held her close to him, as he watched Raedheol storm out of the Cargo Bay.
He let out a low chuckle, cold, but at the same time, a hint of disturbing humor, “Well now, darn shame, isn’t it? Know this Isha; I would never leave you in the cold like that. Alone, and against the same person he came to protect you against…very odd indeed…it's almost as if…well, never mind that.”
He turned on his heel, and slung Iawaain’s arm over his shoulder, to carry her, “I’ll take my leave of you now, Isha. I suggest that you get a go and get a good night’s rest…lord knows it would do you some good. And like I said before, if you ever want to talk…you know how to reach me.”
He then hefted Iawaain, and silently strode out of the cargo bay, and back to his fortress at the Marine HQ.
As Darson’s footsteps faded Isha ran her hands into her hair, the only sound in the deserted chamber her own shallow breathing and the blood pulsing through her ears. Wrapping her arms around her chest she turned as if to assure herself that she really was alone.
There was no mistake about it, Raedheol had abandoned her and she did not understand why.
OFF:
Major James Darson
Marine Commanding Officer
Isha t'Khellian, Romulan Ambassador
Rh'vaurek Raedheol, Consulate Chief of Staff (NPC)
Verelan Iawaain, Former Tal'Shiar Agent and defector (NPC)