Bad Penny

Posted on Sun Aug 21, 2016 @ 12:47am by Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin & Civilian Ricardo Draxx

2,296 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Interlude - Day 3
Location: Yolanthe's Quarters, DS5 Deck 174
Timeline: MD03 0300

::ON::

Draxx had broken into Yolanthes quarters with a little help from Biggs. He had poured himself a drink of her Kanar before getting comfortable in one of her easy chairs. He turned the lights down fairly low and waited patiently opposite the door. He did just want to talk but was not willing to be hoodwinked by Yolanthe or one of her cronies like that bitch Rianni again so a blaster gun was holstered and in very easy reach.

Yolanthe had had a long day, sorting out the mess left behind by the poor boy falling from her balcony. The Box had been closed all day, but would have to reopen. It wasn't just her livelihood. There was an air of ugliness on the Promenade these days, and giving people an option to blow off steam seemed a wise things to do

"Computer, lights," she said as her door whisked open, and she walked through. Shoes in one hand, a handful of padds in the other, various things she'd been given by her lawyer and by Edward and by security, to read and sign. She tumbled it onto a table by her door, not really taking much interest in her surroundings.

She turned to the rest of the room, reaching for the band that held her swampy green hair out of her face. She saw Draxx, and her body flashed all colours of the spectrum in surprise, and then settled down on a banana yellow. For a moment she just looked at him, wondering what he was doing here, and then she decided she was too tired to care. "I'm pretty sure security take a dim view of breaking and entering."

Draxx didn't bat an eyelid. If she was going to bother calling security she would have done it already. And besides he would just transport out there. "Word on the block is they are pretty tied up sorting out an some incident on the promenade. I figure we need a conversation Princess."

She raised a buttercup eybrow, then dropped her shoes and went to the sideboard and poured herself her own kanar. "I have a safe full of cash and a new chef. I don't think we have anything to talk about anymore." She wasn't going to forgive him for what he did, but she considered the matter closed. She had got Klia back in the end. That was what mattered.

“Exactly,” Draxx stated. “You got reimbursed “as promised”. And I went back for you and your girl “as promised” but someone got there first. You made it out of this rich, with your girl back and Zo’s excellent cooking to boot. So why in the hell do I do the right thing and end up with a crazy Romulan seduce me and haul me in to try get some square with seriously bad Intel for the size of their ship and organisation, get me to play her idiotic games all in the name of you," he demanded.

The bokkai stared at him, and went turquoise. "What? What crazy romulan?"

“Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian,” Draxx spat. “Or better known to me as “Anastasia. A rather not bad on the eyes blond who by the way is a screamer.”

The aqua went teal, and she sat down, "Wait. Rianni t'Khellian went after you?" That made no sense. Why would she even bother? "That was nothing to do with me. I don't want anything to do with t'Khellian. She's psychotic."

“Tell me more,” Draxx demanded draining the last of his drink and leaning forward. “Because the bitch got away with my second ship and my father’s blaster. Or which I will be getting returned.”

Her yellow skin paled, not liking his tone. "Nothing to tell." She repkied, taking a sip of her kanar. "Last year or so i catered for some do of hers and she thought because i was nice to her, the client, that i was hitting on her and wanted a relationship. When i put her right she was upset and started hanging out with Klia. I think thats why she tried to track K down when we were told where she was. Of course i told her what you did. But i did not tell her to go after you. I was just grateful for the lift home."

Draxx was confused. “So she tried it on with beautiful women and got the wrong idea. How does that make her psychotic then?”

He frowned. There had to be something more. Something she was not owning up too. Really if she didn’t want anything to do with her and was branding round the word Psychotic.

"And," he added pointy. "You would have got a lift home. Like I said someone got there before me."

"She glassed her husband for touching her. Not in a fight, premeditated. I call that psychotic. And you may have said you were coming back, but people were shooting at me. I couldnt wait. But i promise you i had nothing to do with whatever crazy shit she pulled with you."

"I believe you," Draxx stated standing up. "But if you see her before me, you tell her I am coming for what's mine. No amount of Psychoticness will get in the way of me getting that blaster back. And that I am going to be getting Intel on Thom's father, I'm getting involved in the new "establishment" now but I am doing it my way. So her ugly ass boss can stop trying to approach me through "other" channels to come work for her. As if," he tutted in disgust at the idea walking towards her door.

He stopped and looked at her curiously. He had expected to be pinned against a wall and screamed at. "Your not really yourself are you? That incident on the promenade. It was your establishment?" he asked. Things adding up in his head.

"Of course it was. Thats the trouble with having the best place on the station. Everything happens at The Box." The yellow skin and hair faded to shades of grey-green. She drained the glass in one gulp. "He was a boy. He fell over the balcony. I couldn't catch him."

Draxx turned around and looked at her again. He was torn between a levy of respect and attraction for this women that his crew considered could be the undoing of him, and the logical thing to do which was get out of there now he had said what he had come to say. He sighed inwardly as he realised two things, he couldn’t make the last 3 steps to the door and leave her like this and, secondly in horror, that Yolanthe fogged things up. For him.

He walked back and grabbed the bottle of Kanar, then refilled her glass. “It wasn’t your fault princess,” he said quietly. “You tried to catch him. You didn’t just stand there and do nothing I assume."

She gave a bitter laugh, and orange sufused the dingy colours for a moment. "No, I hit him first. He'd broken into the bar, and came at me, so I did what came naturally." She stared at her brackish hands. "It was so dark, I didn't realise it was a boy. Didn't see he was going to go over until it was too late." She looked at him as he filled the glass. "Two stories, head first. Nothing left to save."

“So you were protecting yourself and your assets in the dark from a burglar. You weren’t to know until it was too late. You reacted rightly. In self-defence. He could have been a Klingon or huge gorn for all you knew. And if he ran off in the dark, you can’t be accountable for him falling off a balcony. It isn’t your fault. It’s sad and unfortunate and I think you’re in shock princess but you’re not to blame,” Draxx said firmly.

"You sound like my lawyer." She downed half the glass in one go. "She's hopeful they won't bring charges, but until they complete the investigation we won't know. But even if they don't brign charges, I'm ...." she trailed off. "Where I come from, a woman is responsible for whatever men are about. Should anything happen to those men, accident of not, the woman is held resposible. Letting harm come to a man is a big taboo. The punishments are...extreme"

"Hey don't insult me. I ain't no pansy arse, stuck up lawyer," Draxx took offence. "I just happen to be talking sense ... similar to ... one," he muttered actually amazed he had just said that. He figured she was in for the majority of the bottle to get the edge off so filled her glass again and reached for his own empty one filling that. He perched back down again and took a sip before adding.

"And since your wallowing," he pointed out. "You sure pick and choose when you observe your customs when you want to sweetheart. I recall you having no quarms hurting me and lobbing a swift one in the happy sacks in my quarters in the non to distant past."

She turned briefly blue at the memory. "You deserved it. I believe you had just said, 'I'm selling you to Torm'. I call that self defense."

"Right," Draxx grinned. "Ignoring the fact you would give anything to get your hands on my right honourable members of Pantschester and rationalise it any which way ...... that's my point. This was also self defense."

The blue deepened as she laughed. "You have a very high opinion of your honorable members. What makes you think i want my hands anywhere near them?"

Draxx's smile widened. "There you are. I knew you were still in there." He looked down to his crotch. "Hey boys she's back." He sipped the Cardassian drink again and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Well lets see, there's the black hole sized sexual tension. The fact you always want to put me in my place .... " he grinned to himself. "Oh and you gave yourself away already."

"I gave myself away?" Teh blue became the colour of Lapis. "What on earth makes you say that."

"Two things. One you apologised for hurting me in my quarters. If you didn't like me why bother - scummy space pirate remember and two, your face in the mirror when I ran my hands over your stomach removing all that twisted warrior bride of Kronos get up. No matter how much you want to make out you hate me for what I did, well was about to do at that point, that face said otherwise," Draxx finished.

"Oh that reminds me," He pressed a button on his wrist. "Biggs the package. You can have your S&M get up back," he said as a box materialised in her quarters.

She was laughing now. One hand over her mouth, the other one, holding the half empty glass, was shaking. "I apologised to you? Are you sure it was me you were talking to?" She leant forward and unzipped the bag. The armour sat there, dark and reassuringly heavy. "And as for my face, I think you're seeing things."

"There's only one of us in denial sweetheart," Draxx said simply.

"Its not me," she retorted, drained the rest of her kanar and tugged the bottle back from him. "Though thanks for bringing that back. Its a pain to wear in, and I've never been able to replicate the wear in properly."

Draxx laughed. "Tell yourself whatever you need to tell yourself," he said kneeing down and picking up a piece of the armour studying it closer. "You can't fight it forever."

"Do you ever give up?" she asked him, watching him examine the gorget.

"Do you ever stop fighting your feelings?" Draxx stated deciding the neckpiece wasn't really as interesting when she was not in it. And as she didn't want to play ...

He stood up again. Pulling her free hand towards him, he pushed the armour bit into it. "Quit the wallowing princess. Its so not you. Your a warrior remember. Oh and," he squeezed it then let go of her hand again, "when you need help getting that off again you know where to call," he said over his shoulder as he made it to her door.

Watching him leave was no hardship, she had to admit that. It was a nice view. "Are you a gambling man, Draxx?"

Draxx turned round and gave her a look. “You met me at a boxing match trying to get into the pants of two gorgeous women. You tell me princess.”

"I meant do you play cards. Poker, specifically." She rolled her eyes, but the effect was lost since she had no visible irises

“It’s been known to happen, if the stakes are right,” he answered.

"I'm going to run a tournament. nothing fancy, a three strip buy in. Something to take the mind of the mob off the death. IF you've got the cash, I'll save you a seat. You can add some colour to the show can't you? get the crowds in to watch?"

"So basically you want me to come along and be my dashing, handsome, charming, intelligent self. Provide some eye candy and make your game interesting," he said with a rising grin.

"Something like that. Do you come in an ego free version?" she gave him an arch look.

"Nope what you see is what you get," Draxx retorted. "You must like me if your trying to change me already."

She threw a pillow in his general direction, not bothering to aim. "Go! Shoo!"

OFF:

Ricardo Draxx
Privateer

Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner, The Box of Delights

 

RSS Feed