Unwanted Pests

Posted on Sun Nov 24th, 2024 @ 12:22pm by Lieutenant Evelyn Stewart & Lieutenant Tollan Yara & Char & Lieutenant Commander Keishara Davaris & Lieutenant Dashku Zhevou & 1st Lieutenant Kes Th’relnal & Lieutenant JG T'Mara

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Year One: Strange Bedfellows
Location: USS Moore - DMZ
Timeline: MD 010: 18:45 hrs

Stewart walked into the lounge with Yara to meet Keishara for their customary rounds with the others before settling in at their usual couch for the night to unwind. After placing her order for her and Kei at the bar with Char, Stewart went to follow Yara to join the others. Her smile dropping when she saw with the El Aurian, Trill and the Andorian, the newest Vulcan and ship’s chief doctor sat with the group.

Shot glasses and pints in hand, she walked over and handed Keishara hers and glanced around the crowded room as she took her usual spot in the corner of the leather couch. “Seems they let just about anyone in here now, don’t they?” She asked rhetorically of the group, not bothering to clarify if she meant the crowdedness, the Syndicate members specifically or T’Mara before she downed her whiskey without another word.

"Agreed." Kes replied absent mindedly, almost quietly as he took a sip of the rum he'd ordered. It was spiced, but smooth. From an area of Earth called Jamaica. It was good and he might have to visit there one day. He wasn't looking at Stewart and probably didn't even register that it was her who had made the comment.

His gaze were on the others. The guests. Syndicate members had made no time in making themselves at home. Kes remembered when the Romulans had joined the Dominion War and that for the most part still kept to themselves. They knew decorum at least. As if to put a point to his thoughts, there was a burst of loud raucous laughter from an Orion as one nearly fell from his chair in what Kes could imagine was a drunken stumble.

Keishara huffed. She hated letting the Orions on board and already she'd had to caught one in a sensitive area, one of the auxiliary warp cores. Within seconds half of her drink was gone and she looked out across the room. "Lack of respect for boundaries, lack of manners and we are just supposed to let them do what they want because Starfleet doesn't want an incident?" she asked rhetorically. "Get me an Admiral in this room. Let them spend a week with them snooping around faking getting lost and see how their patience fares..."

T'Mara meanwhile said nothing as the other members of the crew voiced their opinions on the topic of there being Orions on board. She had only met one Orion, and her opinion of Dashku was a positive one...surely she wasn't an outlier for the majority of the Orion species?

She opened her mouth to say something but--perhaps wisely--chose not to say anything and instead looked down to her glass of water in contemplation. There were times she wished imbibing the ethanol filled drinks would give her a measure of intoxication. For the most part, that she had observed anyway, it did appear to be a fascinating experience.

"Are we speaking of the Orions present here, or all Orions in general?"

Dammit.

Stewart’s attention was drawn from the Orion being picked up off the floor towards the young Vulcan doctor at her question. “Green bloods in general,” she commented dryly before taking a sip of her ale and shifting. “Besides, it’s not just Orions proving to be a nuisance. All the Syndicate members are entitled and obnoxious.”

"Only respectable Orion I know is Dash, and I'm happy with that." Keishara commented as she watched the stumbling Orion was steadied by his companions. "I have nothing against the species itself, just those that engage in piracy and slavery." she took a looooong sip of her drink.

There was the distinct feeling within that T'Mara was suddenly having two distinctly different conversations. This 'Stewart,' again was being passively antagonistic in a most disconcerting manner, and then the...other, currently unnamed. Not Human, not Centauran, not Betazoid...unusual - her response was somewhat...dis-congruent.

T'Mara looked down as she inwardly debated herself on how best to handle the two vastly different fronts she was facing. She could see no easy way forward.

Facing the unusual female first, T'Mara responded, "Well, as both practices are patently prohibited in the Federation, I would postulate that a statistically significant majority of those serving within Starfleet would find such practices abhorrent. I simply desired to understand why the statements were being made. Such vehement surety often comes a place of deep personal injury." Vulcans generally only spoke about things that they understood--through knowledge or personal experience--as true.

Stewart smirked slightly as she listened to the Vulcan, though her attention on the swirling of the contents in her glass. "Like Vulcans?" She asked the doctor rhetorically, "Such violence that nearly drove your species to self-intinction is considered abhorrent by most in the Federation. Your entire culture is built around it - not that different than the Orions when it comes to piracy and slavery." She commented with a shrug before taking her own long sip of her ale.

T'Mara's eyes sharpened. She didn't get through her residency or surgical fellowship by being a marshmallow. Marshmallows...they were curious confections...

"We also engaged in enslavement...but not much wholesale piracy. Standards, perhaps? I am uncertain. Humans, meanwhile...I believe your people have engaged in both, and quite vigorously as well. What does that say about all of this, exactly?" Nondescript brown eyes sparkled in intrigue.

Stewart held T'Mara's gaze as she shook her head. "That's not of a brag," She noted dryly about Vulcan's history with enslavement before continuing. "But to answer your question...it says that the Orions have embraced who they are, come to terms with it and found a way to make a profit off of it, as abhorrent as that may be. And while we Humans are ashamed of our history we have accepted it and taken steps to better ourselves and adapt, learning from our mistakes. We don't deny what we are, nor do we resort to extremism to prevent such atrocities from happening again. We accept who we are, our faults and we move on." She added pointedly about the Vulcans' dogmatism to logic and their necessity to suppress their emotions.

Keishara's deep personal history was none of the doctors business and nor was she going to make that point in such a public forum. She had her very valid reasons for her hatred of pirates and slavery stemming from her incarceration by them and subsequent physical, mental and sexual abuse over a period of many decades. El Aurian's have long, accurate, memories.

Getting up Keishara walked away from the conversation and to the bar to get a refill of her drink whilst the Human and Vulcan dug in their heels about each other's species violent and destructive histories. As she did so the same Orion fell at her feet. Looking down at them she simply shook her head and stepped over them.

T'Mara watched the unknown female leave the group, and somehow wished she too could get out of the prickly conversation with this Stewart. The second out of two meetings and the woman was outright antagonistic towards her on both occasions.

"According to Surak, it was deemed necessary, and I dare not speak against such traditions." All Vulcans were warned of the consequences of nonconformity. Even here, light years from Vulcan, the rules that were infused with just about every aspect of Vulcan society would not broken. "As you are not Vulcan, I would not expect you to comprehend. Nonetheless, I wasn't discussing my people...I was inquiring about the overt animosity towards the Orions in attendance. I see that a satisfactory answer is not forthcoming. I will take my leave in the hopes that it will improve your mood."

T'Mara stood and strode off in the direction of Keishara and watched her step over the downed Orion in her path. With a curt brow raise, she walked over and crouched down to the toppled Orion, "Do you require medical assistance?"

Tosrah was laughing about his landing on the floor along with his fellows, when the lovely vulcan asked him he needed help. He took a second to look up at her before giving her a grin. He moved up to a sitting position and shook his head, "If all of the medical staff look like you, I'd very much desire medical assistance. Perhaps you should come back to our ship and we can play doctor?"

The neutral expression didn't falter, but her dark eyes glittered with some sort of intent not easily discerned. "You make it sound as if you could handle more that what I might offer. A foolish inference, to be certain. However, using your words, I would find it most 'agreeable' to play doctor. I have always wanted to perform an exploratory laparotomy on a conscious patient. Do Orions have any redundant organs that won't be missed?"

T'Mara, of course, knew the answer to that question, given her training, but it was satisfying to ask if for nothing else than to see how her words would affect him.

Tollan gave Stewart a look that spoke of his disapproval of her behavior as much as any words could and he simply shook his head and left it at that.

"Oh Darling," The Orion chuckled as he openly looked her over, not hiding the hunger he held for the Vulcan. "I was thinking more of an anatomy lesson, find out just how repressed you vulcans really are."

Any interest--surgically or otherwise--T'Mara might have been exhibiting shuttered immediately. Although she quickly squashed the irrational postulation, it appeared as if there was nothing worthy about her except what she could do physically for others. She pushed herself up and adjusted her clothing.

"You, no doubt, would be disappointed."

Kes shook his head at the conversation and animosity turned inward within the group. No one in the Federation had gotten to where they were with completely clean hands. But they'd come together for the greater good or something. To be better than they had been. He watched the Orions. Were they better than they had been? He repressed a shudder at the thought. At least Dashku wasn't like the Syndicate crowd they had to deal with now.

His antenna waved a little as the two women left the group. He took another sip and glanced at Stewart. "There are two people on a ship you don't piss off. The cook... and the doctor."

Stewart quickly finished her pint in silence as the Vulcan got up from the group. She personally didn’t care if the entire ship disagreed with her but Kes had a point about common sense. She held the Andorian’s gaze for a moment and gave a small nod of understanding but otherwise quietly reflected on his words.

Char had had enough of the brutish behavior of these pirates in his lounge. He had put up with their obnoxiously rancorous behavior day in and day out for weeks now. Having them harass him was bad enough, but seeing them bother the young Vulcan doctor was too much to keep his mouth quiet. He had no doubt Doctor T’Mara could handle herself, but he couldn’t stand by and not be a gentleman.

“That’s it!” Char’s voiced boomed as he blustered his way out from behind the bar. He had worked himself up into a frenzy and made to stand between the Vulcan and Syndicate thug. “You gentleman have worn out your welcome here. I won’t stand for any abuse or harassment of anyone, but especially a lady in my establishment. Now I kindly ask you to leave, before I call security.”

Dashku placed her hand on Char's shoulder, where she'd come from was anyone's guess but it was as if she'd transported in next to the Bolian. Her uniform was freshly pressed and her uniform boots were shiny enough to reflect the lights from the ceiling. "I have no doubts about your bravery, but sometimes it takes a pirate to deal with a pirate."

She took two steps towards towards the Orion that was harassing T'Mara. She looked him over briefly, a look of disdain on her face. "Were the rules explained to you?" She asked in Orion.

Tosrah puffed out his chest as he looked at Dashku, he knew who she was but she was wearing that uniform and that made him angry. "I don't answer..." He started to respond in Orion.

Before the words had finished coming out of his mouth, there was a loud thud as Dash landed a lighting fast backhand on the man. He looked slightly stunned as she leaned closer to him.

"If I have to ask more than once I'll come visit you in the dark of night," She clicked her tongue at him.

He shifted on his feet, his face stung from the blow and the look in her eyes. He'd seen that look before but from another of her line. "Yes, it was..."

Another strike, "Yes, what?"

"Yes, Mistress of the Spring Seas."

"Better," Dashku decided to push it, she was still her mother's daughter. She knew she was in front of the crew and that this might invite questions, but the rest of the pirates needed to see this. "Kneel."

This time Tosrah dropped down on his knees and bowed his head his head. He'd gone for arrogance to terror, the fear on his face was evident. The blows had stung, but the speed at which she moved was enough for him to realize her skills had not waned. He'd thought she'd gone soft.

"This is my ship," Dashku barked at the Orions, much louder than she once had been. "My turf. If one of you steps out of line again on my turf again, I will deal with you personally. My Mother will simply get what's left."

She snapped at the Orion and pointed to the table he'd gotten up from. He scrambled up to his feet and back to the table. She turned to Char and switched back to English, as if what just happened hadn't. "Can you be a dear and get me my usual."

T'Mara watched Dashku's intervention with curiosity. Mistress of the Spring Seas, indeed... There certainly more to the Orion woman than she understood - although truthfully, she knew very little of her other than the woman really appeared to enjoy neuropressure...amongst other things.

Dipping her chin slightly in a nonverbal gesture of greetings, T'Mara stepped away to take her leave. She had hoped that tonight's outing would have yielded more positive results. Oh, who was she trying to fool? An outcast belonged nowhere. At least as a Starfleet physician she had a sickbay to call 'home.' Thinking ahead, T'Mara considered returning to her office...perhaps she could figure out what to do with all the empty space surrounding her there?

Kes eyed T'Mara as she left and took a beat before finishing his drink. The interaction between the syndicate and Dash was interesting. Might have to look into these Spring Seas. He looked at the gathered group and sighed. "I will take my leave before the brawl starts in full. Don't break too many of them without me."

The burly Andorian stood up and managed to suppress the wince as pain shot up his side. His antenna waved around slightly and then focused on the grumbling syndicate crowd as he turned to leave. Ship security and he didn't want to step on Keishara's toes by throwing a punch that started a fight. He wasn't a Mistress of the Spring Seas after all. He smirked to himself as he walked out the door. Master of the Arctic Winds maybe?

Moving back towards the Orion Keishara looked him once over. "Time to get off my ship and sober up. Otherwise its a night in my brig... please give me the opportunity."

Realizing he was the smallest person in this growing group, the Bolian knew he would be no help if there was going to be a fight. Instead Char nodded as he looked up at Dashku. "Of course, Lieutenant. I'd be happy to." He said with emphasis, as if it meant something that he would serve this particular Orion over the others, his loyalties clear before he made his way back behind the bar to prepare her drink.

Seeing the tensions getting out of hand and knowing things would go array quickly with Keishara taking such an aggressive stance, Stewart got up to intervene. Quickly she moved to stand between the Starfleet officers and the Syndicate members, making sure to be directly in front of Keishara. "You don't want to do this, Kei. Just walk away....walk away." She said more to the security chief, but eyeing the Andorian and Orion officers as well.

"Move out of my way, Lieutenant." Keishara said calmly. "I want to see how smart this Orion is. He either chooses his own ship, or my brig for behaving the way he has towards Dr T'Mara and being drunk and disorderly here in the DMZ." she said loud enough for the whole bar to hear before leaning in to Evelyn. "I am hoping they choose my brig." she whispered.

Stewart held Davaris' gaze as she slowly shook her head. "Don't do this. We need this trade agreement to work. The Federation needs this trade agreement to work. We can't have an incident here, believe me I understand. I want to take them down as much as you do...just let it go and walk away..." she offered just as calmly but held her ground. She promised Stryvek she would do everything she could to maintain the peace while they escorted the Syndicate. She hated it, and it went against her every instinct, but it was necessary.

"They won't get out of line," Dashku tried to reassure Davaris, she was still close enough to the situation. She wasn't sure what the best course of action was, or if she'd gone too far but she felt like she'd had little choice. "I can order him back, he will listen."

"I don't need you to tell me how to react to disorderly behaviour Evelyn." Keishara arched an eyebrow. "The trade agreement does not ignore bad behaviour from our guests on board and I will not see them abuse their position here by harassing our crew. This is not about taking them down, it is about respect. Which they are clearly lacking." She said looking at the male Orion once again until Dash spoke.

Looking at the Operations Chief she sighed. "Dash, get him off this ship. He needs to sober up before this escalates. I have no desire to put someone in my brig unless I have to but he's treading a very thin line." Keishara was not inflexible and as she looked at the rest of the Orion crowd. "That goes for the rest of you as well. You will behave on board this ship or you will not have the privilege of being here, and I have plenty of room in my brig for those that think otherwise."

As the Syndicate crew began to disperse and the crowd walked away, Stewart stood her ground as she looked at Keishara. She was far from pleased at Kei's comment. "Watch it, Davaris. I'm not going to have you do something reckless we will all regret because of your issues with your past." She said with heat in her tone as she held the security chief's gaze.

"Back off Evelyn." Keishara said sharply. "You have no idea about my past and I won't be lectured by someone who's yet to live a life at all." she turned to face her squarely. "Reckless would have been me losing my cool and dragging that idiot out of here by the scruff of his clothing. I can promise you I am showing more restraint in these past few days than you could possibly imagine. You've got a problem, you bring it up with Greco or the Captain. Otherwise you stay out of my way and I'll deal with security matters as I have done for over 20 years." she exhaled deeply through her nose as if to calm herself. She needed some holodeck time, now was the time. To blow off some steam. With those words uttered to Evelyn she turned and walked out of the DMZ before another word could be said and a potential escalation occur.

Dashku quietly watched the security chief leave the lounge. It was a stark reminder that while they were shipmates, Keishara could have easily been one of her mother's slaves. She finally took a deep breath and shook her head, she turned her attention to the Orions and set about kicking the trouble maker off of the ship. She didn't feel the need to involve herself in Dacaris' business, if the woman wanted to talk to her she could. The two of them weren't on bad terms and digging up the past unprompted might just do more harm than good.

Stewart watched Davaris leave the lounge with a heavy sigh. Calm or not, Keishara clearly had strong feelings about both her time as a slave and the Orions. Stewart couldn't risk the security chief losing her control and putting the trade agreement in jeopardy. Once the Dashku saw to the Orions, Stewart went to her normal couch and sat in her corner before leaning her head back and letting out a sigh about the situation, quickly picking up her pint to down the rest before ordering another.

 

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