Royal Flush (Part 3)

Posted on Wed Feb 3rd, 2021 @ 12:06pm by Lieutenant Xia Idris

1,159 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Chapter III: The Hunt is On
Location: Drozana Station/The Lonely Star
Timeline: 238701.18/Evening

Back at the game, the Human male at the table, who went only by the name Maverick, leaned forward to rake in a large pot of chips he’d just one -- many of them from Renee, though Glynda Nash, the Bolian woman, was looking at a quickly dwindling pile in front of her, as well.

“Heh-heh,” Dys, the Ferengi, chuckled. “You females can’t play. Why do you bother?” Just give me your chips now,” he laughed, holding up his glass.

Cassandra hurried forward to replace the Ferengi’s glass with a fresh drink.

“Isn’t that right, Graeca?” Dys asked, looking at the Romulan at the table. “How is Enrily doing? On his deathbed, I hope!” Dys cackled. “Say, does he have any theories on what happened to Moia Ilmater?” he asked Kaol curiously, studying the Romulan man as Hepzibah gathered the cards and started shuffling for the next hand.

Kaol tried to maintain a stoic appearance as he mentally screamed for Xia. "Well..."

Renee watched the interaction of the dopey Romulan with the Ferengi. He was definitely not who he said he was. She had seen Section 31 recruits do better on their first day of training. Renee spoke up to give the Romulan a chance to compose himself. "Well, Mr. Dys, the game is young
and you're already trash talking, trying to get into our heads, but in response to your comment about women, if you just prefer the company of men, I'm sure I can go elsewhere to spend my evening.” She smirked as the next hand was dealt.

This time her cards were significantly better, a great opportunity to win back some of the chips she had lost in the last hand, and to wipe that sexist smirk off Dys' face. She played it calmly, letting everyone around the table place their bets. The flop definitely was in her favor; time to milk these bastards for everything she could.

Xia did a quick delve into Kaol’s short term memory for the conversation. Moia Ilmater. One of the Big Four. Cardassian woman. Former Obsidian Order. Dealing in Cardassian and Dominion tech and weapons after the war. She’s the reason there’s a power scramble. No one knows if she got pinched, or retired, or what. She just...disappeared. Your guess is as good as anybody’s what happened to her. Xia informed Kaol. Oh, and the Human woman is emoting pretty hard. She’s got a good hand.

Kaol was still getting used to a voice inside his head that was not his own, but he did appreciate the Human woman giving him some time to compose himself. "In the current political climate, it could be any number of things, and any number of parties involved. I find that one should keep an open mind with theories, or else you'll find yourself blind to reality," Kaol said.

Dys scoffed at Renee and nodded at Kaol, "Well said." He then glared at Renee and continued, "Some people simply aren't aware of what dangers lurk around them."

Renee just smiled politely at Dys and winked at Kaol, suspicious of him and his true purpose at the table

Xia caught Cassandra at the bar. “You okay?” she asked the blonde. “I got the Betazed out of the room for the moment.” She didn’t let on that she knew Lexianna.

Cassandra shook her head. “Dys has her do randomized telepathic scans,” she explained her fear. “I’ve been under for so long, I wasn’t expecting to get out.”

Xia frowned and quickly scanned Cassandra. “You’ve gone native…”

Cassandra winced. “I’ve done some things I’m not proud of to stay alive, yes,” she said coldly. “And now you trounce in here raising my hopes.”

Xia shook her head. “Pierce is very sorry you were left in the wind,” she said. “Lots of shit went down after the war. But he is ready to pull you out. He just needs to know where to come get you. Where is Dys operating from?”

Cassandra bit her lip and looked over at Dys. The Ferengi was scowling fiercely at Renee as she dragged in a bunch of his chips.

“There’s a small rogue planetoid in a nebula in the Typhon Expanse,” Cassandra said quietly. “Hidden. Mined. He calls it Dystopia.”

Xia pulled a face. “Really?”

Cassandra shrugged.

“Give me coordinates and anything security related we need to be worried about. Then sit tight.”

“Angel!” Dys yelled angrily for Cassandra.

“He’ll get suspicious!” Cassandra said.

So Xia grabbed her and kissed her, hard, running her hands over Cassandra’s body, pressing against her. She felt Cassanra give in to the kiss and open her mind, and Xia grabbed the information she needed.

“Oh-ho! That’s my girl!” Dys shouted. “Why don’t you bring that sexy on over here!” The muscled Ferengi slapped his lap, and from her vantage, Renee could see him touch himself. There was definitely no Ferengi Curse on Dys!

Renee was disgusted at the Ferengi, and even more intrigued by the dopey Romulan's accomplice. She has been a part of more than her fair share of covert operations; the woman was good. But the Romulan? Where the hell did she find him?

Kaol wasn't doing particularly well. This Human game of chance was more complicated than he had anticipated. And that Human woman was quite good at bluffing, which led to a significant number of his chips in her possession. Looking around, he sees that the Human man known as Maverick is in a more dire situation than he was. When the next hand was dealt, Kaol was glad to see his hand was quite strong. Perhaps he could win back some of his chips after all.

Renee looked at her hand, garbage. She folded immediately to watch the interaction among the players, particularly the Romulan, and definitely not the Ferengi still touching himself. She had never preferred males, this night has further confirmed it. When Kaol won the hand, he looked surprised and happy he did. He was unlike any Romulan she'd ever met. But his latest win knocked out Maverick, bringing her one step closer to getting some prize money.

"Aww, Maverick is out. There goes your goal of having a table full of men, Dys," Renee taunted the Ferengi.

Maverick chuckled. “Good game,” he said. He did slip a hotel number to Renee, though, and gave her a wink. “If ya wanna celebrate after,” he told her with a handsome smile.

She rolled her eyes and slid Maverick's hotel number to Dys. "Maybe you'll appreciate this more."

Xia settled down at the bar with another drink, her job concluded, though she did cover for Cassandra as the blonde and her Betazoid lover snuck out for a quickie.

Time to settle down and make some latinum, she thought to Kaol.

TBC

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