A Little R&R (Part 2 of 3)

Posted on Sat Oct 10, 2020 @ 10:23pm by Lieutenant T'Lul & Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin

1,482 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: Box of Delights
Timeline: MD10 2230

[PREVIOUSLY]

T'Lul noticed the wink and made no acknowledgement other than accepting the drink. "Either you train all of your servers to flirt or they do it naturally," T'Lul told Yolanthe. "There are times where we are biologically not permitted to put it off. It is a subject that Vulcans do not prefer to discuss."

Yolanthe was watching Rowan walk back down the stairs, her colours a deeper shade of blue. "But you want to?"

"I do not know whether I do or do not. There is much to consider about it."

"Well, alcohol helps with that." She raised her own glass, a tumbler with two fingers worth of a rich liquid. "Bottoms up."

Gingerly T'Lul raised her glass and asked, "Did you put alcohol in my drink? I do not generally drink alcohol. It is a depression and weakens the senses."

[NEW]

Yolanthe cast her arm over the crowds below them, people laughing and talking. Cheers from the gaming tables. Excited expressions from guests on their way to see the music in one half of the holodeck, and every so often the sounds of roaring laughter and people came and went from the comedy club in the other half. "There's not much depression here. Take it from a bar tender, it only gives you more of whatever you bring with you."

"Just because it also loosens inhibitions does not mean that it does not have a depressant effect. It is only a matter of how much it effects any given individual," T'Lul replied scientifically.

Yolanthe was looking at T'Lul, clearly amused. "Counselor. Have you ever considered you think too much? Maybe you should try taking part once in awhile, instead of just watching?"

"My observations potentially could be tainted by participating. They would not necessarily be logical conclusions and my ability to derive data would be compromised," the Counselor replied straightforwardly.

Yolanthe put her head back and laughed until she was royal blue. "So, you like to watch. Have you considered you may get more insight from sharing an experience rather than just deriving data...?"

"Such insight would be subjective, though." She thought about the matter for a little longer, while noting that royal blue seemed to be Yolanthe's "happiest color." "And as a counselor, how could I assist others if I do not keep an objective point of view?"

"As a counselor, how can you understand, if you do not experience?" Yolanthe countered.

T'Lul sat up straighter, as if lightning forced her rigid. "You make a strong point; however, I do not need to be an animal to study it. Same is true with being a planet or a river, for example."

"Touche," the bokkai conceded the point. "And to answer the original question, no alcohol is in your drink, As virgin as it gets. "I'm not the sort of girl who spikes drinks."

"I did not think that you were. From my observations, you are a bit risque', flirtatious, and playful. I also believe that while you may be somewhat hedonistic, you are rather intelligent and as humans would say, 'keep your cards close to your chest.' You may push some lines but I did not think that your actions would be criminal or harmfully deceitful." T'Lul took a sip of her drink and then shrugged her shoulders. "What do you think of my analysis, Yolanthe?"

She swirled the liquor in the glass. "Well. You're not entirely wrong. But you could same the same about most of the people in here."

"Perhaps," T'Lul answered. "But is that an atmosphere that you cultivate or one that is natural to the beings here?" She sipped her drink again, letting the flavors wash over the various taste buds in her mouth. "The answer does not matter, though I must admit, that I will likely now consider it. There is much to unravel here at this Starbase. However, I did not specifically come here to study. This is a break from my work and I wanted to hear more of my friend's story about herself."

Yolanthe smiled, and sipped her drink. "so. What would you like to know next?"

"I do believe that you left off with you telling me that 'this was a story for another time,' when I asked you these questions: 'Your species only got as far as your moons but you travelled 50,000 light years to here? How is that possible?'" The Vulcan raised her right eyebrow. "That is an apparent contradiction, Yolanthe."

The other woman stared at her drink. "That is a very long story. Not one I'm particularly proud of either."

"I have the time and nothing that you say shall be repeated. It is the advantage of having a counselor as a friend," she told Yolanthe.

Yolanthe was turning shades of orange then grey as she marshalled her thoughts. "I don't know how they found us, because my world is the arse end of the quadrant. But a group of ...pirates... had a ship that could cross those distances, and they came to our world, and would take women. I don't know if the authorities knew or not, but my world is quite dangerous still. Our fauna is vicious, and the flora is almost as bad. Most of it is venomous or poisoinous or predatory. People go missing out in the wild all the time."

"It sounds slightly less hospitable than Vulcan," T'Lul responded, wondering what orange and grey represented in Yolanthe's emotional spectrum. "Do you know who those pirates were? And how did you escape them?"

"We're wetter than Vulcan. My tribe lives in the equatorial jungle. And I didn't. Their ship broke down, and I was left to die, along with others. The Federation found us. Too late for the others."

"Where were you found and how many others survived with you?"

"The ship was drifting near Theta Cygni," The orange was gone, she was just pale grey now. "I was the only one who lived."

"Can you tell me what you were feeling when you were orange? My observations seem to indicate that you are depressed or sad when you are grey."

"When was I orange?" Yolanthe asked.

"You were orange when you were recalling your memories after I told you that nothing would be repeated. Orange and then alternating to grey."

"Oh, yes. I remember. Not a story I was proud of." She gave a bitter laugh. "Not my finest hour at all."

"So, embarrassment then? Why would you think of something embarrassing?"

"Not embarrassing. But I made a series of mistakes which if I hadn't been so full of pride... Well, I'd still be at home, doing my Duty and living my best life."

"And you are not doing that now?" T'Lul asked, her right eyebrow raising.

"Not as planned, no. And really, I only have my own greedy self to blame. I thought I was invincible, and had the trophies to prove it. And my own hubris brought me down."

"If things all went as planned, we might as well be living a computer simulation, no'? What is not to enjoy about the life that you have? You have achieved much and seem happy. Is that just a show?" T'Lul wondered at Yolanthe. "What trophies did you have back home?"

"That is a story for another day. You want the sordid story of my removal from Cherulan."

"I would like to know everything about you, Yolanthe. You're fascinating. However, I think that we should probably get back to the story of how you ended up here. Tell me more about how you were taken from your world."

"Ah. Yes. Well, I went out into the forests, taking a man with me, to show them to him; I was showing off that I had such freedom. And They were waiting for me. It was a trap, and I fell into it and the man I was responsible for, boy really. He was killed."

"Why were they waiting specifically for you? Of what interest were you to the pirates?"

The bokkai had lifted her drink, but she didn't see it, her mind was away, somewhere in the past. "Someone wanted a... she," searched her memory for the right word. "An Amazon."

"An Amazon?" T'Lul asked, not fully grasping the connotation. "So, would any female of your kind have done?"

"I don't know. But these ones. They'd got to one of our boys, offered to take him off world if he got me alone."

"So, your own male species 'sold you out,' as the human phrase goes." The statement was conclusory but held enough of a question in it that she waited for conformation.

"When I didn't cooperate, they slit his throat. To punish me." Her colours swirled through grey and peach and dark yellow.

[TO BE CONTINUED]


Lieutenant T'Lul
Chief Counselor
DS5

Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner
The Box of Delights

 

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