Time To Breathe

Posted on Wed Sep 30th, 2020 @ 4:43pm by Subcommander Kaiae t'Lien & Colonel Sehan t'Varis

1,255 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Shore Leave: Welcome to Drozana
Location: Drozana Station
Timeline: 238612.24

Raven smiled to herself as she wandered the corridors of Drozana station. Three hours earlier, the Raven's Claw had finally docked. According to their latest message, the Sianna was about two days away still. For now, the only item on the agenda was shore leave.

Shortly before their arrival, Raven had given the Romulan members of the crew a quick introduction as to what to expect at Drozana. Originally a Starfleet research station, it had been disused for many years when a group of enterprising Ferengi had discovered it and quickly turned it into an independent hub of sorts, populated by smugglers, traders, merchants, mercenaries, and all sorts of scum. Drozana offered everything, provided one had enough latinum. Drinks and delicacies from all over the galaxy, gambling, holosuites, girls - if it was for sale, you could buy it here. Although the station was located just within Federation space, Starfleet rarely paid any attention to it - other than as a destination for shore leave themselves.

After stretching her - and Eavy's - legs for a while, Raven made her way to the station's central area, where the main bar and casino was located. Quickly, she found herself a sofa in a corner, and ordered herself a black beer and some hot chicken wings - one of the foods from Earth that she had always enjoyed. With Eavy calmly napping on the sofa next to her, the young mercenary did what she always enjoyed most about Drozana - she began watching the people around her. In other places, her white hair, leather coat, and weapon belt would have stood out. But on Drozana, the only thing that would make one stand out would be a formal military uniform. Raven chuckled to herself. That was one piece of advice she had forgotten to give the Romulans. Ah well, she thought to herself, taking a bite from one of the wings. They would soon figure it out themselves.

A commotion to the other side of the bar had various patrons attention for a moment, causing a stir through the crowd in the "noticed; but not unheard of" sort of way that a bar that's seen it's fair share or brawls or fights between customers--and those who frequent them--do. At the wall to the side of the bar, Kaiae had a Ferengi up against the wall, throat pinned, ear twisted; the Ferengi's weapon already removed and under her boot.

"Perhaps you'd care to explain again why your hand was inside my shirt?" Kaiae twisted the unlucky man's lobe a bit more.

The Ferengi squealed and tried to push the angry Romulan off himself. "I don't know what you mean, you crazy woman! Let me go!"

Raven had noticed the commotion, and, with Eavy in her arm, casually strolled over. With a smirk, she pulled her pistol with her free hand, and put it against the Ferengi's forehead. "You sure? I mean, I would be surprised if a little piece of slime like you had the guts. You chose a good-looking specimen to feel up, but I never thought Ferengi were into Romulan girls."

She pushed the barrel of the pistol into the squirming Ferengi's skin. "How about you buy the lady a drink, and then get your sorry backside off this station, before I vaporise you for the trouble."

Hastily, the Ferengi nodded his agreement, and pulled a handful of latinum slips out of his pocket, which Raven deftly grabbed. "That should do. Kaiae, let him scamper. Unless you want me to vaporise him?"

Kaiae glared at the Ferengi such that it was perhaps surprising he didn't burst into flames on the spot, before finally letting him go with a rough shove that pushed him a meter-plus away and stumbling onto the floor. She did not, notably, turn her back until she'd seen him exit the establishment. "I would have preferred to relieve him of a piece of his lobes, perhaps, but...good riddance."

Raven chuckled as Eavy, who had slept through the whole commotion, opened her eyes and yawned. "You are new to this whole thing, aren't you, Subcommander. Or, I guess I should probably call you Kaiae. Using rank too much will just make you stand out." She held out the handful of latinum. "Here's your winnings, anyhow. How about you join me for that drink the Ferengi owes you? I have a booth over there. Got some food ordered as well, which should be there by now."

"Sure." Kaiae's eyes still flicked at seemingly timed intervals around the various sections of the room and those near them, though she seemed to relax ever so slightly when she noticed the placement of the booth they headed for; it would be hard for anyone to approach unnoticed. "This is...Not the caliber of establishment of which I have previously frequented, no."

When they got to the booth, Raven offered Kaiae a seat on the bench, and sat down herself. Mere seconds later, a young, scantily-clad orion woman appeared, holding a pitcher of black ale and a basket of chicken wings, as well as a small bowl of berries for Eavy. She placed everything on the table, and continued on her rounds.

"Well, you are part of my crew now," the colonel said, pouring two glasses of ale and placing one in front of her companion as her little pet happily munched on the berries. "So you better get used to it." She grabbed one of the wings and took a bite. "Ah, proper buffalo wings. Rare that you get them anywhere other than Earth, but these are good. Help yourself."

"Are there not...utensils?" Kaiae looked half dubious, half confused at the buffalo wings. "Or a skewer to place them on?"

Raven chuckled. "No. There are not." She pushed a small stack of paper napkins towards Kaiae. "Eating these can be a rather messy affair, but the flavour definitely makes up for it. I hope you like spicy food."

"I adore spicy food. But I really..." Kaiae spied a decorative swizzle stick in an empty glass on a nearby table, whipped out a small scanner, and apparently finding the results safe, grabbed it and brought it back to the table, wiping it off and spearing a wing with it. "This will do."

The Colonel could not help but laugh out loud. "You really have no experience of places like this, and it shows." She grabbed another wing and took a bite. "How do you feel your people are settling in with the rest of the crew, then?"

“I have yet to hear of any disputes that ended in permanent damage; so as well as could be expected I would say.” Kaiae speared another wing with her makeshift utensill, and lowered her voice significantly. “We need to discuss the situation with those you have allowed to depart, however. Later, and elsewhere. But soon.” Her voice was flat, for the most part; with the sort of undertones however that implied one was far from pleased to be required to discuss or enact what they were insisting on, but felt bound by either duty, necessity, or both to do so nonetheless.

Raven nodded. "You worry too much, Kaiae. I have acted according to instructions I was given by Areinnye." She took a sip from her drink and noted that the Subcommander had just grabbed the last wing. "For now, let us enjoy a little respite from the ordeals we have had to go through."

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