"This Is No Laughing Matter"
[Previous post: 'Foolish Games', written by the never sleeping Serena Switt]
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Stardate: 60320.2130
Setting: TANGIERS ORBITAL, 2nd Floor, Bar
Lea leaned over the small table as bellowed laughter filled the air.
After leaving the roulette table, Lea and the Talarian had come here to
continue the evening. Classion, as he had introduced himself, had been
very generous offering to pay for all of Lea's drinks. Since he had
won a small fortune at the roulette table, Lea had been more than happy
to accept the offer. The SFI Agent also hoped that the Talarian would
become as generous with information as he had been with the drinks.
As a 12th empty mug joined the other 11 on the table with a loud crash,
Lea began to fear that her plan would not work. Initially the Halanan
widow had thought that after a few drinks Classion would be more
talkative. What the CMO found instead was that Talarians had an apparently
very high tolerance to alcohol.
Lea had nurtured her drinks to the point where she had finished only
two compared to Classion's 12. Looking at the couple at the table though
no one could have guessed this. Used to synthahol, Lea had found that
her two drinks had affected her more than Classion's 12. As happy as
the Halanan was, Lea did her best to remember her true identity and
purpose so as to not blow her cover.
"So, tell me more about yourself," Classion said ordering another two
mugs from the waitress. "You spoke of your dead husband but did not say
anything about the manner in which he died."
Lea looked at the Talarian trying to make sense of her own thoughts.
The memories details of Brendil Nanuska's life and her own history were
becoming one thanks to her reduced capacities. When Classion mentioned
the dead husband, Lea's first instinct had been to point out that she
was not married. Luckily for her, the Halanan caught the words before
they were spoken out loud. "I would rather not talk about that," Lea
said, her slurred words taking her by surprise.
"The pain brought on by the lost of one dear to your heart," Classion
said, taking Lea's hands into his own. "I understand that as I have
shared this pain more than once. Maybe we could help each other through
this time of hardship?"
Lea wanted to say no, to come up with some sort of excuse, but her mind
could not form the words. With each second that passed Lea could feel
her mind slipping. Being drunk was one thing, but being at the mercy
of the Talarian was truly frightful. Classion had been nice, and maybe
even sweet to the Halanan widow, but that meant nothing. Lea, as a
Starfleet officer, knew of the warrior mentality of the Talarians and their
love for more physical pleasures. In that field the only race worse
than the Talarians were the Klingons and not by all that much.
"Sweet lady, I have been searching all over the casino for you," a
charming man, taking Lea by the arm as she rose to her feet. As her knees
had been ready to give out, Lea turned to thank the man. There had
been something familiar about his voice but given her present state of
mind, Lea just smiled.
"The lady is with me," the Talarian growled at the Edo, knowing that he
could break him without any effort.
"I had thought that the members of your race enjoyed more *challenging*
women," Rixx said, having watched the two for a while. "I just wanted
to remind this charming person of the request she had made of me
earlier."
"Request, what request?" Classion asked angrily.
"To make her feel like a woman once again," Pravat said, playing the
role of the charming con-artist to perfection. "When we spoke last she
told me that she had not felt the caress of a man in *years*."
Classion seemed ready to challenge the Edo's claim but suddenly lost
interest when Lea passed out on the table. "She is all yours," the
Talarian huffed before downing the last of his mug and leaving the Edo and
Halanan alone.
As Rixx checked on Brendil, he saw the Talarian heading towards a
gathering of man. A cornered grin formed on the Edo's lips when he saw an
Orion woman standing in the middle of the growing ground. **She's in
better shape to take care of him than Lea,** Pravat thought looking at
the ANUBIS' ExO.
"Where are we going?" Lea asked while being lifted onto her feet by the
Edo.
"You, sweet lady, are going to bed and rest," Pravat said sorry that he
had to intervene. The MCO hoped that the CMO would forgive him for the
lost opportunity to gather Intel. Maybe Lea would not even remember
what had happened, something that the Marine might enjoy teasing her
about in time.
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Ensign Lea Summers 2005 post #168
Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
