Quid Pro Quo, Yes or No?

Posted on Wed Apr 21st, 2010 @ 10:44am by Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti & Ensign Velia Moretti

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: The Orient Express
Timeline: MD04 1900

Velia entered the lounge and took a seat that allowed her to watch the door across the room. She'd beaten Myrin here which didn't really surprise her; she kind of expected him to show up in body armor or something. The idea of him in a knight's gear made her snicker. It was also her pleasure to note that the server boy from the other night seemed to be off duty. The last thing she needed was Myrin making any more assumptions about her personal life. The server who was working the sparsely populated lounge began to head her way but she shook her head. She'd wait for Myrin before ordering anything.

Myrin wandered in with his usual aspect of good humour and tossed a small smile to Velia as he approached her, clasping his hands together behind his back. "Evening beautiful," he said, giving his most charming smile.

Velia rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly. "Just sit down Myrin. I agreed to a public place only partially to appease you. Don't make me regret it by embarrassing me ... or both of us." She pushed the chair across from her out with the toe of her boot.

The young man caught the eye of a young Lieutenant who was sitting at the table next to theirs and gave a very definite wink. He spoke to Velia even though he continued to look at the other woman. "Embarrass you? With a head of hair like this how could you ever be embarrassed to be seen with me?"

The lieutenant tried to hold back a grin and Myrin tipped her his own half-smile before dropping into the chair and turning back to Velia. "Nice view," he commented with a chuckle.

Velia folded her arms across her chest and stared silently at him. Really? "Ah so THAT'S why you wanted to meet in public," she smirked. "Fine, I'll be your breathing prop but if you try to pose me in any way, you'll find yourself learning to navigate a PADD with your nose."

"You think too highly of yourself, Velia." Myrin chuckled and motioned to the server. "You want something?"

"Yes," she answered but didn't comment further. "Since when is having a healthy confidence and self esteem about one's self a problem?"

Myrin pretended to scowl. "It's a problem when it makes this poor server here stand around waiting for you to make up your mind."

"I'll have whatever he's having," Velia said to the 'poor server' without looking away from Myrin.

The server nodded as Myrin ordered his usual and hurried off. The young man wasn't planning on explaining anytime soon what he meant by 'the usual'. Instead he just smiled at Velia. "So how was your day my fair intelligence officer?"

Had it been any other day, or any other time, Velia most likely would have went off on some tirade to belittle Myrin's profession and position. Today, however, was not any other day. "It was actually really great," Velia said with a rare genuine smile. "I spent some time with Commander McNeil today," she trailed off for only a moment before reining in a squeal. "Did you know this ship has an encryption lab?!?!"

Myrin overcame his initial surprise at Velia's enthusiasm and tipped his head back to laugh. He shook his head. "No, Velia, I wasn't aware of that." He grinned. "But if I'd known it was so easy to cheer you up I would have gone looking for one earlier."

"I'm not 'cheered up'," Velia continued to smile. "I'm excited. It finally gives me something productive to do around here, even if it is mostly for personal pleasure, it could be a whole lot worse. How was your day?" Her mood was high enough that she was actually interested to hear about the monotony that was counseling.

Myring raised both eyebrows now and laughed again. "I think that's the first time you've ever shown a genuine interest in my life, Velia." He grinned. "I must be rubbing off on you."

The drinks arrived and the counselor pushed one of the Glenfiddochs in front of Velia then sipped his own. "My day was . . . alright. Although I genuinely think that the nice ones," by which he meant Andeti. "Are always the craziest task-masters." He shook his head and laughed as he raised the glass to his lips again.

Velia peered into the offered glass, scrunching her nose in defense of the scent. "What do you mean by that?" She slid the glass back to him, motioned for the server and quietly ordered an unsweetened iced tea. "Having a ton of stuff to do is better than not having anything to do at all." The last bit was uttered with a dramatic flair that Velia was almost never given to.

"Of course it is, if you don't have more . . . pleasurable ways to keep yourself entertained." He laughed and waggled his eyebrows at Velia as he sipped his drink.

"When's the last time you had an evaluation of your own?" She teased him lightly ... very lightly, since she was pretty sure the man was insane. As a second thought she took back the glass he'd ordered for her once again. He probably didn't need them both at this rate. Her fingertips guided it to a safe distance from both Myrin and the table's edge.

"Hey!" Myrin reached for the glass. "That's good whiskey." He drew it back to him. "And what gives you the idea that I of all people need analysis?"

"Well, you give me that idea," she told him seriously, though still smiling. "But that's no kind of an answer Myrin. When was your last eval? And ... did you pass or did you end up here because you need an eye kept on you?" Now it was her turn to move her eyebrows.

Myrin just laughed. "As an ex-counselor-wannabe yourself, you should know that counselors need to have an evaluation done at least every couple of years." He grinned. "And I'm scheduled to have mine with Andeti in the next couple weeks. So if you want to badmouth me to the woman, now would be the time." His grin turned mischievous. "I think the better question is when you've last had yours. You know, intel officers have the highest suicide rates in the fleet."

"I think I did know that," she retorted eying him solemnly. "I think I also heard there was a direct correlation between that and the ship's counselors." Her tea arrived, giving Myrin and her both a small respite. "The last evaluation was the one I was ordered to do, which oddly enough, will be my next one as well." Velia settled back into her seat. "Why would you think I would badmouth you to Counselor Andeti?" she wondered aloud, putting a fair amount of effort into looking innocent.

The counselor laughed. "I think you know the answer to that question, Velia. It's no mystery to me who told Instructor Miles about who filled his boxing gloves with coleslaw." He grinned, obviously holding no real malice about the ages old slight. "Even if it really was you who had done it."

"Now now," Velia said soothingly, her smile creeping slowly toward her eyes, "that was back in my younger more naive days Myrin; you know, back when I believed that people should and would pay for breaking the rules," a chuckle eeked past her lips.

Myrin laughed. "Which is why now I expect nothing more from you than simple bad mouthing." He grinned. "Otherwise I would be checking my boots every morning before putting them on." He chuckled, enjoying a long drink of scotch.

Velia finished her drink, nudged the glass to the edge of the table where it could easily be refilled and leaned in forward and steeled her gaze onto Myrin's. "Okay so tell me, really, how you're enjoying your posting?"

He grinned. "Trying to steal my job, are you?"

"Not for a moment," Velia said abashedly. "Couldn't pay me to take that job. Besides, how am I supposed to give Counselor Andeti any dirt on you if the most current information I have is about years old coleslaw?"

"Hey hey hey," he laughed. "That was your coleslaw, remember?" He grinned. "And the only way you're going to get any dirt is if we do this the old fashioned way." He crossed his arms. "Quid pro quo?"

Against her wishes Velia's eye lit up and she practically started pawing at the floor with her foot. "Agreed." If he called her Clarice, she would slug him, brig or not.

A grin split Myrin's face. "Alright, what do you want to know, Ensign?"

"Do you prefer this posting over your last?"

"It's different," he responded, finishing off his first Scotch. "My last was on a starbase, you see a lot more . . . transitional action. It's nice to be able to move from place to place, but then the variety of patients is a lot less . . . interesting." He grinned. "How was that, Dr. Moretti?"

Velia brushed aside his tiny barb, even though it was probably just in fun. "Fine." She smiled. She would count that as his question and then worked in one of her own. "How are you finding the patients aboard the Pandora. You know, in general." He wouldn't and couldn't tell her in depth information, and she'd never ask him to.

"Oh no," Myrin waggled a finger at her. "You don't get away with it that easily, it's my turn." He made a show of thinking for a minute. "Who do you think is the most attractive person on the ship?"

Velia scowled. "That is not an appropriate question Myrin." Plus how was she supposed to answer that? She didn't look at her crew members in a manner that led her to question their attractiveness.

"Velia, it's the most impersonal question I could think to ask you." He laughed. "Just for you."

"Unbelievable," Velia exhaled heavily and sat back into her chair, crossing her arms and glowering at the man across from her. "I don't know," she persisted. After one good long glance to make sure no one could overhear her, she mumbled something.

"Excuse me? I didn't quite hear that?" The Trill held a hand dramatically up to one ear.

"I answered!" Myrin wasn't looking amused and so Velia rolled her eyes and bent forward again, elbows on table and face in hands. "Fine. That server that was here the other night was attractive, physically. And ..." she straightened her shoulders and looked at him almost defiantly, or as though she expected him to say something offending, "doctorevansisinteresting."

Instead of laughing or even smiling, the counselor simply appeared thoughtful. After a moment in which he seemed to eye the young woman, he nodded. "Yes, he is." He agreed. "Although I don't know if he counts, seeing as he's attached."

Velia groaned. She should tell Myrin she was wrong about that, but wasn't sure she wanted to. Not because she didn't want to be wrong, but that way she wouldn't have to listen to him list off the benefits of involving oneself with a medical professional. "Yep, just my luck, huh?" she stated dryly. "Do you have any sort of career goal here Myrin or are you simply looking to get a little play on the side?"

Myrin didn't entirely understand either the question, or the groan that had preceded it. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, if memory serves you were quite the social butterfly. And you certainly parade around here like ... well," Velia wasn't going to voice her tainted view. "Like you're this sort of imp who just seems to appear and disappear at will. So what do you want for your career? Why a counselor? Why Starfleet at all? You'd have just as much fun being an interplanetary tour guide, I'd think."

"Ahh." Myrin didn't admit that it was the human phrasing that he hadn't entirely picked up on. For all that he . . . enjoyed humans, he still didn't always pick up on their colloquialisms. He grinned slowly. "I like understanding peoples' motivations." He shrugged. "It's not the most lofty of career goals, but I'd like to study that as closely as I can. And where do you get the variety that you see in the 'Fleet?"

"What do you mean?" Now he was confusing ... oh. "Nevermind." He meant that the variety was better from Starfleet. Well that made sense, she guessed. "My turn," she began to smirk before he cut her off.

"Now that was two questions, Velia, so I think I get two as well." He grinned and sipped his second drink. The ice had begun to melt but the flavour of the scotch was strong around it. He put it down with a very showy pause to hold the silence. "How do you like Cmdr McNeil?"

It was actually three questions, but she wasn't going to point that out. Velia smiled. "I like him quite a bit, actually. I can almost see him rolling his eyes at me sometimes but I think he's a fine department head, although I will admit I expected him to be a little more hands on. He basically offered me the technology in the encryption room at any time I want to use it -- and he doesn't even seem concerned I could break it or somehow inadvertently burn the place down."

"And I'm sure there's a high risk of that." He laughed. "Okay, question number two: so are you going to have much to do with this new mission?"

"Are you?" she shot back. Myrin should know better than to ask her something like that. "It's possible, even probable, though the Commander hasn't held a department briefing or anything." Velia glanced around, wondering where that server was and why she hadn't yet gotten a refill on her glass. "Though the moment we do, I'll be sure to not let you know."

"Well that doesn't exactly qualify as an answer." He laughed. "So I think I deserve another question."

"Oh sure, what the heck," Velia tried to look really annoyed but wasn't sure she was succeeding. "Hit me."

Surprised that she was being so amiable, Myrin raised both eyebrows and took a long drink of scotch, looking around for the server himself. For some reason he felt he needed more alcohol when Velia was being nice, than when she wasn't. "Alright." He turned his head slightly towards one shoulder. "Why don't you like people very much?"

That one was easy but Velia couldn't help herself and had to have a little fun at Myrin's expense. "Because I have trust issues and my father never loved me." Seeing his face she snickered and shook her head. "People are very rarely upfront and trustworthy and I dislike trying to see through a facade or having to sort through information that is offered just to make someone else feel better about themselves. I see no point in fostering any sort of one sided relationship or allowing myself to be a pawn in someone else's plot." Thankfully the server had finally seemed to recall they were on duty, filling her glass from a pitcher and setting another in front of Myrin. "My turn." She took a drink. "What was your first real aspiration for yourself Myrin? If rules and circumstances didn't apply, what would you really want to do with your life?"

He eyed her, wondering if she realised how personal a question that really was. "I wanted to be a Guardian," he responded, but didn't extrapolate. If she wanted to know anything about what that meant exactly, she would have to ask. "My turn. So as far as you're concerned is there nothing that you need from other people?"

"Not ... exactly. Professionally, yes. Interaction with others is something I am required to do. Duty doesn't really care how you feel about it. Personally though, I'd have to say no. I'm doing well enough so far, anyway." Velia captured a piece of ice between her teeth and crunched on it. "Why?"

Myrin snickered, eying her mischievously. "Is that my question?"

"No, why did you want to be a Guardian?" Velia watched him, not smiling but not staring at him either. Just ... interested. Curious, even. Being a glorified pool boy didn't initially seem like something Myrin would enjoy but then again, if anything, Velia did understand the desire to preserve history, no matter the vessel which carried it. Trill joining practices in general did give her the creeps though. She snickered; usually people who had voice in their heads went to counselors, not became them.

"I thought you of all people would understand that." He sipped his drink, but when she didn't speak continued. "It's one of the most important but under-rated professions on my planet. I liked the idea of spending my life doing something worthwhile." There was a pause in which he sipped his drink again. "What are your parents like?" He asked.

And there was the deal breaker. Years of learning to hide the flinch that racked her insides meant that the only thing Myrin would see if he was paying attention was the flash of iced fire across Velia's dark eyes. "That sounds like a session question," Velia noted in an empty tone and rose from her place. "Which means that this particular branch of our conversation is at its end. Thank you for the drinks Myrin, and oddly enough for the company." She was sincere in her thanks, a feeling that she was becoming accustomed to, even if she still wasn't comfortable with it.

OFF:

A JP

by

Ensign Velia Moretti
USS Pandora
Intelligence Officer

and

Ensign Myrin Nezar (NPC)
USS Pandora
Counselor
(Played By: Lt. JG Hannah Andeti)