Truths and Understandings
Posted on Fri Feb 28th, 2025 @ 10:47am by Commander Steven Greco & Lieutenant Dashku Zhevou
2,935 words; about a 15 minute read
Mission:
Year One: Strange Bedfellows
Location: USS Moore - Dashku's Quarters
Timeline: MD 029: 21:30 hrs
It was later in the evening and Dashku had gotten back to her quarters after her shift, gotten changed out of her uniform into a burgundy Andorian silk pajama set, a simply pair of shorts that tied in the front and a short sleave, button up shirt that had the top couple buttons undone. She'd taken her raven colored hair out of the braid and brushed it so it was flowing down over her shoulders and back. She was about to settle on one of the sofas in her quarters when the chime rang and she couldn't help the slightly exasperated sigh.
She grabbed a black robe she had and slid it on and tied it in the front, before heading to the door and hitting the open. The doors slid back and she was about to give a fairly grumpy greeting to whoever it was, when the surprise of seeing the first officer caused her to open her mouth slightly. After a moment she recovered and cleared her throat.
"Commander," She said evenly. "What can I do for you?"
Commander Greco knew it was later in the evening but took a while to get the transmission he was looking for and upon review knew this couldn't wait. He didn't like surprising Zhevou in her quarters, but given the sensitive nature of the conversation, felt it might be best if it was a private meeting.
Steve remembered the private exchange he had with the Orion and gave a polite smile, standing tall as he cleared his throat. "Lieutenant, I'm sorry to disturb you. I was hoping you had a few minutes to go over something." He said as he showed the woman his PaDD.
Dashku furrowed her brow, she didn't particularly like it when she had PaDD's shoved in her face and if he'd been one of her staff, she'd have chewed him out. He was, however, the XO and after a second she snatched it out of his hand and looked at it for a second before stepping aside.
"What do you want to go over at this late hour? I was getting ready to turn in for the night."
Greco lifted his own eyebrow in reaction to the woman's response. Seeing as Dashku wasn't going to invite him to sit, Steve took it upon himself to find a chair and sat in it comfortably. "Given the nature of our current assignment, I thought it best to bring myself up to speed... I reached out Captain Malik," he said casually, his eyes on the Orion's face, "anything you'd like to explain to me, Lieutenant?"
Really? He was going to come to her quarters, flash some PaDD around, casually mention Captain Malik and use her rank? Her lips tightened at the sides for a moment, but she remained neutral. Reid knew a lot about her, but not everything. There were things she knew he'd pieced together but never bothered to ask her about. He also was good at keeping his mouth shut and she suspected Greco was putting a few things together and was trying to get her to speak out of turn.
"Since your going to stay, would you like some coffee?" Dashku asked him with a tone of mild displeasure.
It had only been a few seconds since he asked for an explanation. She walked over to the replicator and ordered an Orion tea and waited for his response.
Greco watched the green skinned woman as she made her way to the replicator. He could tell she was avoiding the question. Steve knew he was on to something. "No, what I'd like is to know is how my Orion officer's mother is a high ranking member of the Syndicate and captain to the very ship we are escorting into the heart of Federation space." Steve said firmly but decidedly staying in his chair. "You can explain it Starfleet Security or to me, Dashku. They'll find out eventually." He added softer. Greco didn't want to threaten the woman but given the state of the quadrant, this was bound to catch up to her.
"You assume they don't already know," Dashku replied simply, she turned to look at him again. How much did she tell him? It was a game of who knew what and she knew she had to tread carefully. "Her name is listed on my application. Now, do you want a coffee or not?"
Steve as he took back the PaDD from where the woman left it. “Dashku, you know how this looks. We already found one of them in the auxiliary engineering. Let me help you by letting me understand the situation.” He said softer, more sincerely. The lieutenant was a good officer. He didn’t want to see her career go out the airlock because of where she came from.
"What it looks like is my mother is a Starship Captain and is allegedly a member of the syndicate," Dashku turned towards him with a drink in her had, mildly annoyed he never answered her and that he'd switched from bad cop to good cop so quickly. He wasn't very good at interrogation. "Are you asking I am a member or are you jumping straight to treason? Ask me directly what you want to know."
Steve didn’t like the woman being so evasive. She knew damn well what he was asking her and trying to spare her some dignity and give her a chance to explain herself in her own way. But the smart mouth spurred him to stand so he could be eye-to-eye with the officer. “I want to know why you abandoned your people to join Starfleet,” he said bluntly. “I don’t believe you are a spy, Zhevou but I can’t say that for all of Starfleet. These are difficult times, Lieutenant. Everyone is being judged by the company they keep. You are a good officer and I don’t want to see you ultimately lose your commission or have something worse happen to you. We all know it’s nearly impossible for someone to walk away from the Syndicate.” He added, trying to convince the Orion she could trust him and that he was on her side, whatever it maybe.
Dashku had been a good judge of character most of her life, she knew who she could trust and who she couldn't. Steve was someone she could trust to a point, but he would be loyal to Starfleet first. She couldn't help but be slightly irritated that he was pressing. She walked away from the replicator and set down two cups, one was coffee for Steve and the other was her tea. She pulled her robe off and sat down on the couch and shot him a look.
"And why would I tell you anything that I haven't already told Starfleet Security? Do you think it was easy for me to join Starfleet? I didn't hide who I am. I spent hours being questioned, years with everything I did being analyzed by people who were looking for any slip up. I wasn't angry about it, I understood because of who my family is. Starfleet has put itself in this position, but that's not the point of this discussion."
"The only reason I can give is that my Mother let me go. I can't tell you why, because the truth is I don't know. She shouldn't have and she would be thrilled if I rejoined her," She pursed her lips for a moment, before leaning forward and letting her long hair flow over her shoulders. "I left because my father taught me another way, he is a good man. Despite what most of you assume, very few Orions are actually in the Syndicate. I wanted a very different life than the one my mother was grooming me for and I knew I had to run."
Hearing the woman finally give him a straight answer, Greco took his seat again. “And what life was that? The one your mother had set out for you?” He asked, getting comfortable in the chair but not taking the coffee. It was far too late in the evening and he intended to get some sleep eventually. He was mindful to keep his eyes on the Orion’s face and ignore the fact she was in her sleepwear as they conversed.
"It's very rude not to at least try the coffee, or would you prefer some Orion herbal tea? I will be deeply offended if you drink nothing," Dashku gave him a look indicating he shouldn't argue, he might be the XO but these were her quarters.
Onto the subject at hand, she wasn't sure how much she wanted to tell him. There were true things she could say and a great deal of other things she knew she should not. "Even among the non-syndicate homes, Orion women are dominate. The men are often far too aggressive and emotional, they need our strict guiding hand as my mother loves to say. Daughters are taught to lead, how to run their own homes and how to represent their families."
"As the eldest and first born daughter, my mother wanted to ensure I could take over for her should I need to. That meant a great deal of education, learning how to fight and how to bend others to my will. It was far more boring than it sounds. I didn't get my first taste of real adventure until I met Reid."
With a resigned sigh, Steve took the mug of coffee and took the brief of sips to be polite. “And what exactly were you expected to take over?” He prodded, knowing the woman was still being evasive as he sat back in his chair, crossing his legs as he got comfortable with his coffee. Steve had to admit, if nothing else, Orions were enchanting storytellers.
"Everything my dear," Dashku watched him for a moment, quietly considering how much more she wanted to tell him. She was satisfied he finally relented and took a drink. After a moment she pulled her legs up under her and turned towards him. "Look into what Sayssus controls, she's got far more than a ship and most of the records shouldn't be that hard to get a hold of. I haven't looked in some time, but when I left she wasn't the Captain of the Stalker."
As a final show, she pulled off her communicator and tapped to disable it, she didn't say anything but just dropped it onto the table. He was either smart enough to follow suit or this was the end of the story. Orion culture wasn't exactly a secret, but it unless someone was in the know there were aspects few understood.
Steve considered, understanding that Dashku was being cautious but understandably so. He watched her place her deactivated combadge on the table and considered his options. If he ever wanted the woman’s trust he’d have to show her he’d earn it. Glancing at the mug he lifted his eyes over the rim to look at her. “You didn’t poison the coffee, did you?” He teased wryly before copying her in deactivating his own combadge and placing it on the table for her to see.
"If I was going to kill you, Steven, I wouldn't use something so mundane as poison. There's no fun in that," Dashku teased him, She took a sip from her own mug before letting out a sigh. "I don't know how much you know about my people. Like I said, most have never been in the syndicate and if they tell you that they are they're probably lying. The syndicate has been lost to the Orions for some time. There are still members and a few higher up, but the Farians hold a great deal more power."
"As the eldest daughter I was the prime daughter. I was trained as a warrior, an assassin and a leader, meant to protect the Zhevou family by any means necessary and lead should something happen to my mother. I would take over the family, the business, the slaves... All of it and my first act would be to seek revenge for her death. My sister sits in that place now."
Greco stroked his cheek absentmindely as he took this in and considered. He was surprised to learn the Orions had no real power in Syndicate, but his priority was on Dashku before asking any questions about that. "Are you in any danger?" he asked sincerely, not knowing the situation. "From the Syndicate, or your family?"
"That's sweet," Dashku slowly shook her head and gave him a warm smile. She was close enough to lean towards him and gently caressed the back of his hand. "If they were to try anything, they would be the ones in danger. I suspect the reason why my mother did nothing is because she wants me to come back and retake my place. My sister is impulsive and would rather seek her own hedonistic desires than lead. None of this can leave this room, no reports or you'd see me transferred to a part of Starfleet Intelligence that has been trying to recruit me for years."
Steve nodded in understanding, sighing softly at her stroking of his hand before he realized he was enjoying the intimate touch and gently pulled away, taking a sip of his coffee as an excuse as he sat back in his chair. “And the Syndicate? What do you know of their current state?”
Dashku didn't make an outward sign, but was a little surprised he pulled away. That didn't usually happen unless the man was into other men or was already in some sort of relationship and even then it was only those who were actually decent men who were actually loyal. That only made her all the more attracted to him, which she cursed at herself mentally for. The idea of crawling into his lap and just pushing herself on him crossed her mind but she knew he'd either try and stop her or entirely regret it the next day.
It was also curious that she hadn't heard about Steven seeing someone, she was either out of the loop or he wanted to keep it quiet. A smirk crossed her lips, which she hid behind her mug of tea. "I'll tell you, if you tell me who you're seeing."
Steve’s eyes snapped to Dashku’s. “I don’t know how to tell you but I’m sorry to say I’m not seeing anyone. It’s hard to maintain a relationship when you’ve been in the fleet as long as I have.” He offered, blushing at the fact he’s technically single as he took a long sip of the coffee, hoping the Orion didn’t read too much into his visit and their conversation.
"While there could always been an outlier, I call bullshit," Dashku said bluntly. "I was trying to be affectionate and you pulled back. Most men in a relationship wouldn't even do that. I'm going to find out eventually, hiding it will do you no good."
Steve just gave an embarrassed laugh as he smiled and blushed. “I’m flattered, Dashku but like I said, I’m not in a relationship. And I have no intention to be in one with anyone on this ship.” He said a tad firmer to make it clear where he stood with her. “I’m the first officer. It would be…inappropriate of me to start seeing a subordinate under my command, regardless of how beautiful they are or tempting it may be.” He added, admitting that the Orion was attractive at the very least.
Dashku clicked her tongue at him and just shook her head, she gave him a look before taking another sip of her tea. Why did he have to be like that? If he acted like most and was after her the moment he'd laid eyes on her she'd likely have been done with him already.
"Stop being so damn noble," She finally blurted out. "I had every intention of just screwing with you, assuming you were they type to go after all the pretty young ensigns and you're not. There's also nothing against it in regulation, it would only cause a problem if you showed me favoritism."
Steve gave an embarrassed smile again and put his hand over Dashku’s emerald one, looking at her. “Dashku, I’m flattered, truly. But I respect and value you too much as both an officer and a friend to take advantage of you like that.” He said sincerely.
With a sigh, Steve picked up his combadge and got to his feet. “If there’s nothing else to discuss I won’t further take over your evening.” Heading for the door, he stopped and turned back to the Orion. “I meant what I said, what we discussed stays between us. Always.”
Standing up as he started to head for the door, she followed him towards the door. She was tempted to be aggressive with him, but she couldn't completely surrender to her own nature.
"Oh, I would be the one taking advantage," Dashku said in a honeyed voice before smirking at him, she knew she should stop and respect his wishes but him trying to be the good guy was almost infuriating. "And I'm glad it'll stay between us."
Steve gave a small smile and nod in agreement before wishing the lieutenant a good night and heading out the door.