Welcome to Port Royal, Mr Smith (Part 3)

Posted on Fri Apr 3rd, 2015 @ 12:27am by N'alae t’K’manatran & Khiy Tal'ehrihn

2,126 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Trader Games
Location: Port Royal Station, border of the Kassae and Donatu sectors
Timeline: Back-post

[CONTINUED]

[OLD]

Khiy suddenly felt dirty. But he had work to conclude. "No, I'd imagine i'm not too popular here. But then I've never been one for winning popularity contests." He flashed his winning smile as he pulled the hood over his head. There was no point to wearing it now. "I'll be quick, but I need to ask some questions first." The smile he wore faded a bit as he tilted his head to the side and examined her. "Why are you here, N'alae?"

[NEW]

N'alae looked away from his scrutiny, knowing that his question was more than it seemed on the surface. No simple answer would suffice, but she gave it to him anyway. "I'm looking for work, same as all the other pilots in this sector." She waved her hand in a grand sweeping motion, attempting to take in all of space if she could. She paused only for a moment before continuing.

"I worked in Federation territory for a while, but that well is all but dry now. Crack-downs, new regs, pirates...doesn't make it easy." She picked up a PADD from the table by the bed then stuffed it into her bag, a little more roughly than was necessary. Those were the surface answers, the ones she told other people - not the ones he needed or deserved. She sighed and then sat on the bed with one leg crossed under her, and looked up at him. "It's about as far from the Empire as I can get, Khiy." she admitted "It's this or Cardassians; there's no working for the Klingons."

"When we parted, I tried to get away from it all. I'm still not ready to forgive them. Not the Empire, and not the consortium either. One cast me out and the other left me to die." Her tone wasn't more resigned than angry. "It was better for a while, but you and I were on different paths and we had to go our separate ways." She smiled at him, "You've done well for yourself Khiy, and I'm happy for you and I'm proud of you."

N'alae looked back down and slowly zipped the bag closed, since there was nothing else to put in it. The noise it made sounded loud in her ears. More softly she continued, "I needed to be on my own; needed the quiet. Perhaps it's been long enough."

Shaking her head she stood up from the bed and crossed her arms, her somber mood evaporating. "But you're here now with trouble sniffing after you, and that's okay. Sometimes quiet can be louder than a casino hosting a Tongo tournament." She smirked. "So tell me Khiy, if I take that drink, what will I be getting myself into?"

Khiy had kept tabs on N'alae and knew of the kind of jobs she was taking. She was damn good at her trade, far better than the work she had been signing on for. He could have approached her years ago with an offer, and almost did on many occasions. In the end, their history together always stayed his hand. Many years ago he walked away from her to pursue his career. He understood that she too had walked away from him and the path he was on; in many ways it was a clean split. For a while he thought he was okay with that, business partnerships don't always last forever...but then it wasn't all business, now was it.

He had shaped his life by either walking over or away from people who stood between him and his goals. He used to pride himself over the notion that nothing touched him. The people that suffered because of his actions mattered little, if anything to him. Over time his emotions were pushed down so deep that he wondered if there was any soul left to him at all. Despite himself and all the time that had passed he couldn't help but feel terrible for his old friend and the part he might have played. If this was a reflection of the soul he had thought lost, he didn’t like what he saw.

N’alae watched his reactions with a measured gaze. He seemed far away, no doubt rehashing the past in his head. She hadn’t intended to make his feel bad...or had she? Perhaps after all this time she wanted to see something in his eyes, but she never cared for sympathy. The smirk still held on her face, but the amusement behind faded.

Khiy suddenly realised that several heartbeats had passed since she asked him about the offer. He blinked twice to centre himself and hoped she didn't notice that his eyes lingered a bit too long on her. "I can't tell you too much here." He said evenly, preparing to deliver his pitch. "But I can tell you that you will have a ship, crew and the ability to take on the jobs you want; within reason. For the most part the crew will be hand selected and managed by you. Your ship will be run hard when on the clock, but I can guarantee plenty of downtime for everyone between contracts to do whatever you want. For this, you and your crew will be very paid extremely well."

He stopped and relaxed his posture a bit. That was the pitch he had given a number of times before to other Captains in his fleet. It was almost a carbon copy. He knew, though, that her ship and situation would be very different from anything else in Grey Star Securities's fleet. For what she would have to do there was no pitch, only the truth. "I will never ask you to do a contract that violates your conscience, but I suspect there may be some that will come close. You will have to choose your crew very wisely because once they are in there is no going back. They will be held accountable for their actions on and off the ship." He paused for a moment to let the implied threat sink in. "The work you do, for the most part, will be legal. That means you won't have to be on the run...but you will need to hide."

A deep breath of air escaped from Khiy’s lips. The next part he had to tell her would be the hardest sell. So much of who N'alae was today had been forged by her relationship with the Romulans and anyone could tell that she still felt haunted by their influence. The kind of ship she would be in command of and where it operated would put her right back in their sphere. Deep down he hated himself for even asking this of her. "N'alae," He started slowly "I have to be honest, if you do this there is a chance that the Romulans will take notice." Khiy stopped "...No, I can pretty much guarantee it." He admitted.

His eyes dropped to the floor and he shook his head. If he had to put a word to it, Khiy felt ashamed for asking her this of her. It had been a long time since he had felt ashamed of doing anything.

N’alae held his eyes with hers until he looked away. She felt a slow chill run up her neck at his admission, followed by a hot flush. He knew very well that she wanted nothing to do with the Empire; he did not know the full reason why, but he knew that she did her best to avoid contact. She quashed a brief moment of anger at his apparent audacity, before drawing in a breath and taking a couple steps across the room to calm down. She turned back to listen to the rest of what he had to say.

A number of seconds passed before he felt that he could look at her again. It didn’t take a telepath to know that she was uncomfortable with what he had just asked. "Look, since this opportunity came up I have made a number of lists as to who I thought could handle the responsibility. Every time your name was at the top of the list. No matter how many times I revised that list...N'alae, you are the only person that can do this. I wouldn't be here of all places if I didn't know so."

Khiy was finished. He knew there was more he could say, should say, he was a businessman after all. But no matter how the words sounded in his head he knew they would come out hollow. It wouldn't be fair to try and play her, even if he thought he could. In the end it would be her decision and it would have to be a decision she wouldn't regret making. He owed her that.

It was her turn to let the silence drag. About a full minute passed while N’alae stared at him across the room, weighing what he had said in her mind. The proposition was no doubt lucrative - even if she really cared for the money - and she’d be lying to herself if the prospect of running her own ship didn’t appeal greatly. It was the danger of discovery by the Empire that made her pause. Should she be found out by the Tal Shiar...she didn’t even want to think about the consequences. In the end it all came down to one thing: was the obvious risk worth it the possible gains?

She looked around the room; at the worn and grungy carpeting, the stained blanket on the bead and the faded chair in the corner. The tiny cabin on her ship did not hold much more appeal either. Granted it was in better condition, but it was a far cry from what she had grown up with. Her time in the military had given her some perspective on the difference between comfort and luxury. She did not need the later. She did not need wealth either...but company...was it worth it to have someone to talk to again? Perhaps that was it, but perhaps she missed the danger also.

The work she had been taking might be safer, but she was on the verge of losing her mind. She was not cut out for it, and she knew it. Half of her screamed to take the offer, while the other wished Khiy had never sought her out.

N’alae ground her teeth as she faced the reality that she did want it. With all the reasons not to accept, she kept coming back to the thought of returning to her ship all alone for another quiet run to who know where, with nothing but the hum of the engines and the stars passing by. it was as though the thought had weight, and would push her to the floor. She leaned against the wall and looked back at Khiy. She should say no, but she could not.

“Khiy…” she started, but failed. She felt trapped, and yet at the same time she felt as though someone had just oped a door and told her to run free. “Khiy”, she said again, “You don’t know. I never told you why…” She was going to have to say it; she had run from it once before. “I don’t know if I can. I want to, damn it I do, but…” She took a breath. Get it over with. “You remember the accident I was in years ago, the one where I was exposed to some experimental biogenic compounds?”

Khiy nodded “Yes I remember. You were exposed and then your ship and crew abandoned you to die.” Khiy knew there was much more to the story but he didn’t want to dissuade her from her train of thought. It looked like she was struggling to get at something and he wasn’t about to derail her.

“I recovered, but I have never been the same since.” She held up a hand. “I don’t mean from injury. I mean in here.” She tapped her head. “When I woke there was something different. It took me a while to sort it out; everything was so confusing and a not a little frightening. Though it was more so when I finally figured out what was happening.” She sat back down on the bed. “I can sense people Khiy. Sense their presence before I even see them.” She pause for a moment to let her confession sink in.

(to be continued)

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Khiy Tal'ehrihn
Trans Galactic Trading, Owner and C.E.O.

N'alae t’K’manatran

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