Being Social

Posted on Thu Jan 14th, 2021 @ 9:56am by Lieutenant Xia Idris & Lieutenant Kaol Ralaa

1,225 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Chapter III: The Hunt is On
Location: Drozana
Timeline: 238701.18/Afternoon

Kaol was sitting in a restaurant on Drozana because Dr. Gable gave him a direct order to leave Sickbay, get off the ship, and go do something not medically related. He would have scoffed at such a demand had she not threatened to send Rogers after him. Knowing that the two were friends and the general unease he felt around the sociopath was enough to make that a credible and terrifying threat.

There was so much to do. Yet here he was wasting time when there could be patients to see and medical journals to read. He looked around carefully to see if Rogers was around before pulling out a padd to review patient charts as he slowly picked at his meal.

Suddenly a giant milkshake appeared in front of Kaol, and someone settled into a chair across the table from him. Xia Idris smiled at the Romulan doctor. “Loco Rakta-Mocha,” she said, indicating the milkshake. “Enough chocolate and caffeine to put you in Sickbay.” In deference to the fact that the air conditioning on Drozana Station was out, Xia wore shorts and a tank top, which was already stained with a nice sweat V, and her skin was flush and dewy. She plucked the cherry off of her own milkshake and popped it into her mouth. Her mouth made interesting configurations, and then when it opened again, the cherry was gone, and the stem was in a nice knot on the tip of her tongue. “So what are you reading? Please say it’s some trashy Rommie bodice ripper, because if it’s work related, I’m supposed to call Rogers and tattle. I hate tattling.” She paused. “Do Romulans have bodices?” she wondered.

Kaol practically fell out of his chair trying to hide the PADD he was reading. It wasn't until he took a breath before he realized it wasn't Rogers in front of him, but instead a very... forward woman who just tied a cherry stem into a knot and said something about bodices... and Rogers... surely he misheard. Staring at the milkshake and the woman in front of him, "E... ex.. excuse me?" he stuttered, completely stunned.

“You don’t need to sit there with your mouth open. I know I’m amazing,” Xia said, reaching over the table and using a finger to press his chin up and close it. “How’s your poker face?” she asked Kaol. “I need a patsy -- er, fall guy -- accomplice! for something tonight,” she told him. “If it’s an incentive, it might get you laid,” Xia said with a wink.

Everything happening was overwhelming Kaol. He could be operating on a patient with multiple internal injuries and be fine, but this woman in front of him was short circuiting his brain. "My... my... poker face? What? Who are you?" He tried to regain his composure. "Surely you've mistaken me for someone else. I am Doctor Kaol Ralaa, considered to be the best in the quadrant." The woman was undeniably attractive, that's for sure, but why him?

“Yes, yes, I know that. Rogers told me, and I’ve been to Sickbay,” she pointed out. “Xia Idris, comms officer,” she told him. “I’ve had an interesting opportunity fall into my lap, but I need a partner to pull this off. Everyone else is busy, but I saw you’re here not doing anything, so thought I’d ask.”

Kaol furrowed his brow as he continued to gawk at Xia. "What is this interesting opportunity?" His interest, among other things, had definitely been piqued. Perhaps Gable was right, it was a good thing to get out of sickbay every now and then.

“High stakes poker,” Xia said. “Texas Hold ‘Em. A job for a friend. It is an opportunity to net me the latest translation encryption software from the Daystrom Institute. The Ourainavassa is woefully out of date. So what do you say? Do you know how to play poker?”

"I am familiar with the game. I can't say I have much experience playing though. However, I think I can manage. How difficult can a Human game be?" Kaol said arrogantly. "I'm in."

Xia smirked. “Well, I’ll be in the background,” she said. “And if you need it, I can download some of the details into your brain.” She sat back and smirked at the Romulan doctor. “Yes, I’m quite beyond the normal abilities of my species,” she told him. “Anyway, they aren’t going to let a Betazed anywhere near the table, so I’ll be your date. You’re a high roller. I’ve already got a backstopped identity for you.” She pulled a small pad out of her bag and slid it across the table to him. “We’ll need to get some threads. You play, I’ll read the other players. I can feed you information telepathically if you need it. What I’m really looking for is this woman.”

Xia flipped the screen to another dossier, a gorgeous blonde woman. “She’ll be on the arm of the Ferengi at the table, Dys. He’s an arms dealer. She’s his arm candy and chauffeur. I can’t read a damn Ferengi, but I can read an El-Aurian woman. There’s a recent power vacuum in the arms community that Dys and some other old hands are scrambling to fill. Dys is a hard Ferengi to pin down, and there are folks that would pay good money to know where he’s holed up. I get some information to my friend, she gets me the translation encryption, and we keep any winnings from the poker game.”

Kaol's eyes widened. This was very far from his comfort zone. "Download details into my brain? Feed me information telepathically?" he asked incredulously. "You are quite an extraordinary person, aren't you? I have to say I am very intrigued," he admitted. This did sound more exciting than catching up on medical journals. "So what is my new identity?"

“Kept it basic, since you’re a first timer,” Xia said, flipping to his dossier. “Still Kaol. Kaol Graeca. It’s a large enough family to get lost in, and prominent enough to garner some respect. Tal Shiar ties at least one branch, and ambitions on growing more prominent in the fractured Romulan community. You’re some cousin a bit removed from Enrily Graeca, and work for him as an advance man. Enrily is one of those arms dealers grasping for territory in the vacuum. He’s former Tal Shiar. Has his own system protected by a nebula. He’s a bad guy. It will keep people from asking too many questions. If anyone asks, you’re making the advance security arrangements for a deal and you can’t talk about it.”

Kaol raised an eyebrow, "Interesting. Seems straightforward enough. When is this poker game? I am looking forward to having a bit more spending money."

“Tonight at nineteen hundred,” Xia said. “So we have time to get you and I looking like a million latinum,” she said. “But not much time, so we best be going.”

"I don't look a million latinum now?" Kaol asked, a bit offended. "What exactly do you have in mind? I look perfectly respectable!"

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