"Red Or Black"
[Previous post: 'Swallow Your Losses', written by the amazing Lisa MacIsaac]
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Stardate: 60320.1745
Setting: TANGIERS ORBITAL, 3rd Floor, Roulette Table #325
Brendil Nanuska, AKA Lea Summers, AKA CMO of the USS ANUBIS, had been
indulging in the game of roulette for only a few minutes and was already
down by over 5K credits. To Lea this had been a fortune, but for
Brendil, it was nothing more than pocket change. The Halanan widow had
arrived at the casino carrying 250K credits, 50K of which she had
transferred into chips. Even after having lost the initial 5K, the mound of
chips on the table in front of her had barely diminished.
Lea had a very general knowledge of the game which kept her from going
wild on her betting strategy. Those who had been at the table before
her had been more daring, betting 2 to 3 times more than she had. For
some this had meant that they had lost more while others had won small
fortunes. With each spin of the wheel, Lea understood a little more
about the thrill of the game. Unfortunately that did not help her make
the right decisions when it came to which number would come up next.
While trying to fit into character, Lea also tried to make the credits
she had been given last more than a couple of hours. To help with this
task, the undercover CMO began placing additional bets on what she
thought to have better odds. With the odds being 50/50, the woman filling
in for Brendil figured that playing the colours would be safer than
actually trying to guess which number would come out next.
The first bet following this new method proved to be a winner,
something that surprised Lea. After the spin her single 100 credit chip had
been joined with another. The thrill of that win had been all that the
undercover agent needed to increase her next wager. Instead of guessing
what number would come up next, Lea concentrated on figuring out on
which colour the small white ball would land on. Looking at the way her
stacks of chips had been growing, it seemed that Lea was getting good at
it.
After 10 successful wagers, the last one having been of 1K credits on
Black, Lea felt as if she had figured the game out. So far the sequence
of Black and Red had followed a predictable pattern, landing on one
twice before landing on the other once. The undercover agent was
surprised that no one else had figured this out. Sure that she held the secret to untold riches, Brendil smiled at the table's attendant and placed
another bet. The 20 chips of 500 credits each made for an impressive
sight on top of the red coloured carpet.
Lea watched with confidence as the ball was sent around the wheel,
ready to reach for her winnings the moment it stopped.
"Eight Black," he attendant called out. "Winner Eight Black."
Lea watched in horror as all of her chips were taken away, as many of
the other players grinned.
"That is why they call it a game of chance," a Talarian man said,
looking at his piles of chips on the eight explode in size.
"I am starting to realise this," Lea sighed. "I am also noticing that
this game is a lot like my dead husband."
"How so?" the Talarian asked. The smile that had appeared on his lips
made it clear that he had been happy to hear that the Halanan woman had
no longer been 'attached'.
"Can trust them to do what you want or need them to do," Lea said,
immersing herself in her role as Brendil Nanuska. Maybe the undercover CMO
would be able to learn something of interest from the Talarian. Maybe
he held secrets to ship designs or fleet deployments. Maybe he was
some high-ranking officer with knowledge that would make Lea's blood grow
cold.
The idea of betting on colours seemed less thrilling suddenly, Lea
having found a more interesting game to play.
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Ensign Lea Summers 2005 post #161
Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
