[USS Charon]
It was no secret that booze could dull the sharp edge of pain, physical or otherwise. It had been used for centuries for that exact purpose. Aria liked it because it tasted good and she could control the dosage without ever setting foot in sickbay, not that she had been able to avoid it after the fight. There had been plenty of breaks and fractures to fix.
The mess hall was quiet, surprisingly. Part of her expected to see people talking about the fight, dissecting it detail by detail, but it occurred to her that the fight had been rather short. So there she sat, nursing a Black Dahlia, god she loved that drink, which in turn was nursing her.
Most of the crew had been avoiding the Marines like the plagued- not that they feared the large burly group but mostly because they had grown tired of the ribbing. It was always an endless charade between the Fleet and the Marines- constant ribbing. But for her part Savannah didn't give a hoot and two whistles- when she noticed Aria sipping a drink she invited herself to the table and sat down across from the woman "you sure did a number on the Captain."
Aria swallowed her sip and set the glass down. Her clothing covered most of the bruises, but plenty remained visible on her arms along with one lonely bruise to taint that enticing face of hers. "I could say the same to him about me," she replied.
"True." Savannah nodded her head an1d waved one of the servers over "a Mai Tai please." She smiled sweetly and then looked at Aria "I don't understand either of you- I can't cure stupidity and I can cure aggression."
Aria found the doctors smile quite disarming but was not about to let herself get lectured. She was never in the mood for such things, but especially not now. "It is a poor soldier who lacks aggression. But stupidity? I don't see how what we did warrents that label."
"Hm." Savannah shook her head "no you wouldn't would you?" She scoffed and accepted her drink from the waiter. She took a small sup and looked back at Aria "both of you- are damn headaches."
The marine drummed her fingers against the table, cocking her head to the side in mock confusion. "And you're here to share that joy with me?" No, she was definately not in the mood to be lectured to. Certainly not by someone who clearly didn't understand. "You didn't charge in here screaming, which means your Captain is fine, so what can I do for you?"
"He's alive." Savannah said her eyes looking at the glass as her fingers traced it's rim "luckily." She looked at Aria "you almost killed him Colonel. I'm not talking about that last move- if his bones weren't brittle I'm sure he'd have come out unscathed- no, I'm talking about when you went for his throat."
Aria was sure the doctor was fishing for some sort of an apology. Doctors often did such things, and on some level Aria was sure Savannah was in defend-your-captain mode. "Well medical files aren't exactly public information, nor was I informed of any endangering medical conditions from either he or the XO who, by the way, seemed awful eager to have the fight."
She took a sip from her drink. It was a long sip, partly to enjoy the contents, partly for other reasons. "I was asked to participate in a sparring match by the captain, and I accepted."
"Sparring match!" Savannah shouted and stood up slamming her palms onto the table causing her drink to splash "not a right to try and murder someone!" Her eyes narrowed "I looked into your files Colonel- I know your history with the Romulans. Do you think that gives you the right to try and kill him?!" Several of the people in the mess turned around to watch the display. Savannah's fiery red hair fluttered.
Aria's first inclination was to break the glass on the doctors face. A palm to the solar plexus would follow, might even pop the rib cage open. From there, bodily targets would be aplenty. She didn't follow through with that urge, however, but did rise to meet the doctor face on. She spoke slowly through her clenched jaw. "If he can't hack it, he shouldn't have asked."
It wasn't diplomatic. It wasn't nice. It wasn't because she was a marine. She was just like any normal person. The doctors accusation hurt, so she wanted to hurt the woman back.
"Well at least we see your true colors Aria falcon." Her eyes were cold "don't cause any more trouble on this ship. I can put you out for the duration of this trip- doped up on a biobed in sickbay. The Captain thought it would ease your apprehension if you sparred even though I warned him against it." She cursed "damn Onarin."
"Keep your threats, doctor. I'm not afraid of you, your drugs or your ships toy soldiers in security." It wasn't a lie, but as before, she was really just trying to hurt the woman. She grabbed the glass, hand quaking with anger, and downed the drink. "Just because your ships XO is a conniving little fan-neck bastard doesn't mean you can come and dump those frustrations on me, or your captain for that matter, -lieutenant-."
"How dare-" Thinking better of it Savannah just shook her head "the Captain is in his quarters per my orders. Hash it out with him." She picked up her Mai Tai- drowned the entire glass and then turned around storming out.
Aria rolled her jaw and collapsed back into her chair. A hand went up immediately after. If the server was smart, another of the same would be brought to her. Her glaring eyes shot daggers at the doctor as she stormed out, muttering to herself, "bitch."
Aria was not in the greatest of moods. The CMO had done quite a bit to jostle her up, like a hive of bees she stormed through the ship looking for something to sting to death. She hadn't paid attention to where she was going, her mind arguing with imaginary foes in her head as she walked around aimlessly. it wasn't until she was in front of the Captain's quarters that she realized where she had gone. What was even stranger, especially to her, she pressed the chime.
Khiy had been asleep but it was s short rest. His suddenly split open seconds before Aria touched the chime. His sesative hearing had picked up on her footsteps outside the corridor. With a gently sigh he calmly slid of out his bed and donned a night robe before slowly and painfully making his way to the door. When he reached it he stepped back, checked his grimace, and then said "Enter."
Aria had, she reasoned to herself, shown up as a result of the nagging of that infuriating doctor. She had expected to find the captain in a similar state of consciousness as she was. "Your doctor said she'd locked you up in here," was the first thing out of her mouth, a casual tone about her words. "I came to spring you."
"Spring me?" Khiy's cocked perplexed by her statement and presence. The Colonel was the last person he expected to see. Perhaps someone without knowledge might mistake his reaction has the somber emotionless veneer of a Vulcan but there was a flame that flickered in his eyes any diligent observer would have noticed "I do not understand. The doctor requested I remain here until my injuries heal."
The Colonel eyed the Captain a moment, eyes crackling with suspicion. He seemed fine enough. He was walking on his own and could clearly leave whenever he liked. "The doctor insinuated that you were practically under house arrest. Normally I wouldn't care, but she really pissed me off, so I thought I'd stop by and let you lose." Her gaze fell to the floor, feeling foolish for letting that damn CMO get to her, whether the doctor had planned it or not.
"House arrest would be an exaggeration on her part. I am sorry if you were led here on false pretenses and you may leave." Khiy turned around and then a sudden pop in his thigh area caused him to wince noticeably- with a cautious step he leaned against the couch for support.
Aria noticeably reacted to the popping sound, confused and surprised by it. This foe of hers had been moving faster than she just hours ago, darting this way and that. Now he walked like a 120 year old man. "What's with the pop, storing fire crackers in your thighs? Why didn't you have it fixed in sickbay?"
"That would be impossible." Khiy stated plainly with a frown. He didn't like to discuss personal matters and slowly set himself down into the couch. "It is none of your concern colonel."
"Oh none of my concern, is it not?" She folded her arms across her chest, looking stern. "Your doctor tracked me down and yelled at me for even stepping into the arena with you." A loud sigh escaped the womans crimson lips, her eyes rolling as she spoke, "christ, the woman sounded like a dieing hyena."
"Indeed." Khiy replied simply hoping Aria would leave.
Aria certainly got the hint that this clearly fragile alien was not in the mood for talk. "Well you're clearly fine, or not fine, or whatever the hell you are, but you're in control...nominally. Do me a favor and keep your lunatic doctor at bay? Also, I wouldn't turn my back on that 1st Officer of yours."
Her eyes glanced up toward the ceiling, searching for some witty set of parting words but, too angry and too tired, she found none. She buried her face in her hands with a sigh, "I'll be with my team if, for some reason, you need me."
"Wait." Khiy said suddenly. "There is one thing I would like you to know. Starfleet has lost contact with the Charon. Perhaps it would be wise for you to begin conducting drills?"
It was certainly enough to stop the marine in her tracks. She had wanted to leave, to get back to a bed and just get some rest, but something about the way Khiy said it, -wait-, had made her comply without hesitation. "What? That's it? Do we know anything more?"
"Nothing specific, but Starfleet Intelligence has received information of a large scale Romulan fleet buildup in the area for unknown reasons." Khiy stated.
Aria was about to leave when she was stopped for the second time, but in this moment by herself. "Your thoughts, on the buildup I mean?"
"Close the door." Khiy said, looking over at Aria rather exhaustedly.
Aria didn't hesitate this time, moving far enough away from the door to let the auto sensors shut it. She wasn't about to plop down on the mans couch in a lounging manner, but her lean against the bulkhead signaled well enough he had her attention.
"There is possibly a weapon-" Khiy said recalling his short visit to Vulcan and his discussion with Sokar- who had proven more vague then helpful but at least their interactions provided evidence that something greater was at work then merely an exploration mission "I do not know how much it involves the Romulans but the Vulcans have intense interest regarding the Charon's mission- they influenced it, insisted that Starfleet negotiate with the Romulans to allow it to happen, and recently sent several high ranking members of the science council to investigate it. There have been whispers of something lost, but what it is, I am still uncertain. But I believe whatever it is the Vulcans fear that the Romulans will get their hands on it- and they also fear allowing the Federation to know about it..."
[End]
