Contact again.... or no?

Posted on 06 Jun 2010 @ 6:46am by

1,452 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: M4: The Cartaris Strain
Location: CDO's Quarters and DS5
Timeline: Current, early evening

Ayren paced her quarters, fingering the beautiful pendant around her neck, her reminder of what was once between them. Rianni had been on her mind, since she had heard what had happened to her. Checking the chronometer, she hoped she would find Rianni awake.

After asking Ops to open a channel to Lieutenant Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian on DS5, Ayren waited anxiosly for the subspace connection to be established.

When the channel opened Ayren didn't see Rianni, but instead a very angry young Romulan woman who bore a striking resemblance to the pilot Ayren had once loved, "What do you want?" She spat, not about to bother with niceties with this Klingon fracking whore, "And make it damned quick."

Ayren was caught off guard as she did not expect anyone else. ~This must be the sister~ she said. "I would like to speak to Rianni," she stated calmly.

"Well, if you're as smart as my sister said you were before you threw her aside like yesterday's trash to go breed with the missing link you already know that I will never allow that to happen." Ashara shot back, "So the best thing you can ever do is stay completely away from her for the rest of your life. Understood?" Ashara finished, hoping Ayren knew she meant that if she didn't stay away there would be very little 'rest' of her life.

A firm pull formed around the edges of Ayren's otherwise soft mouth. She was not going to simply give up. "Are you also making her decisions *for* her?" she asked unmoving. "If Rianni tells me face to face that she never wants to hear from me again, I will respect that, but I will not back off because *you* say so, regardless of your threats. You. Will not stop me."

"I will not stop you?" Ashara laughed derisively, "All I have to do is turn this damned thing off and simply never mention your call. Now, tell me, what power have you that can counteract that?"

"I will reach her one way or the other," she said simply, not revealing how she planned to do that and moved to terminate the call on her side, her black eyes unreadable.

Ashara threw her head back and laughed heartily, "And you'll find me there like the walls of Ra'tleihfi, inflexible and impenetrable, ready to repel your every attack." ~Good, terminate the signal, tramp. First good choice you've made all day.~

"Strange that you would see this as an attack," Ayren said dryly. She was growing annoyed at this woman. "I am neither in the mood to argue with you nor to oblige your childish bravado. Stop wasting my time and call Rianni, or I will get hold of her some other way," she said shrugging, her fingers on the console to terminate the call. She was not bluffing, but really would prefer to see Rianni now. However, this was perhaps not such a good time, not with this woman around.

"Ashara, who are you talking to?" Rianni called from the outer room, "Hurry, up, I'm starving!"

~Damn!~ Ashara swore to herself, she hadn't been able to get this woman off quick enough, "Nobody for you to concern yourself with, sister."

"Rianni!" Ayren called over the channel, knowing that she was close enough to hear, a very small triumphant smile in her lips for Ashara's benefit.

Rianni knew that voice, ~It couldn't be. What reason would she have to call me?~

Ashara stood between Rianni and Ayren's image on the screen, "Sister, you don't have to talk to her, nobody would blame you if you didn't."

"No, it's okay, Ashara." Rianni sighed, stroking her sister's shoulder, "I probably should talk to her. Can you give me a minute, please?"

"Of course, sister." Ashara nodded, shooting a menacing glare at Ayren as she left, ~Read my thoughts, tramp, and know that if any harm comes to my sister it's the death of you.~

"So, what can I do for you?" Rianni asked, "And if you're calling to invite me to your wedding, hang up now."

If Ayren could have reached through the subspace link to touch Rianni, she would have, but now only a smile formed on her lips. "You have a very protective sister, " she commented with a wry smile. "And no," she said softly, shaking her head. "I only wanted to know how you are, " she said quietly.

"Well, let's see, first, I got drunk and tried to kill myself, then they threw me out of Starfleet for it." Rianni answered, "So Aunt Isha gave me a job, so I'm good on that end. I mean, I'm still painfully alone and hurt and will probably never trust anyone again, but, hey, what the frack ever right? So, how's Mr. Wonderful?"

"D'anal is well," Ayren answered, half dismissively, something else bothered her. "Starfleet dismissed you because of what happened?" she asked shocked. "That is highly irregular!" she said angrily.

"Not really." Rianni laughed it off, "They never wanted me and I was stupid enough to give them carte blanche to get rid of me. To be honest I was surprised it took them as long as it did to throw me out. Least now I don't have to tolerate that racist idiot Gabriel anymore."

"There is that," Ayren said relieved to Rianni her ironic, sarcastic self, well at least some of the old Rianni is there. "Still it is not right," she insisted. "Is your sister living with you now?" she asked changing the subject.

"More like babysitting me." Rianni joked, "She's afraid I might..." Rianni ended that sentence with a simulated cutting of her wrist veins, "You know, that old chestnut."

"Is she right in babysitting you?" Ayren asked the obvious question. "She is certainly good to have around you... very protective indeed and I am not on her most likeble list of people," she said with a wry smile. "But if she looks after you... I don't care what she thinks of me..."

"That's probably for the best." Rianni nodded, "Since if you were the type to lose sleep over it you'd be setting a galactic record for insomnia."

Ayren nodded slowly, at least Rianni was in touch with where she was at, not in denial about what she had done. "Would you mind if I contact you again to check up on you and just to chat? I miss you..." Ayren asked, willing to accept what Rianni felt comfortable with.

"Uh, yeah, sure, why not?" Rianni replied, trying hard to hide her true feelings from Ayren, for as much as she wanted to hate the beautiful empath, she still loved her more than she could imagine.

It was too far for Ayren's empathic senses to work, but she saw something in the beautiful Rianni's eyes. If she hadn't met D'anal before Rianni and felt so deeply for him, she would still have been with Rianni. Was she being insensitive? She asked herself with some irony, especially being a counselor and an empath. Her eyes smiled first and then translated into a soft pull around the corners of her mouth. "I am glad." She did love Rianni, but she had to make a choice.

"What exactly does your new job entail?" she asked.

"I command a Warbird." Rianni answered bluntly, as if there should have been no reason to ask what she would be doing now that the Federation she'd served for so long had betrayed and abandoned her, "The IRW Dhelan, Norexan class."

"Congratulations! I am proud of you" Ayren said with sincerily happy for her. "I could see you in command," She said grinning. "Although," no fighter piloting for you anymore..." she said with a glint of mirth in her eyes.

"Well, at least not for now, I suppose." Rianni winked, she was definitely planning something.

Ayren's smile broadened as she shook her head with with a knowing look. "I am so glad I caught you," she said, not revealing that she was nearly prevented to do so by Ashara. It was important for Rianni to have a support system in place, and she wasn't going to say anything the stir anything. "I have to go," she said as she heard the chime of her door.

"Yeah, I figured." Rianni sighed sadly, "t'Khellian out."

The screen went blank, before Ayren could open her mouth to speak. "Enter," she said absent-mindedly.

"Please repeat the instruction," said the monotone voice of the ship's computer.

"Enter!" she said more loudly and got up to receive her visitor, the very man she left Rianni for.


OFF:

erie'Riov Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian
CO, IRW Dhelan
(NPC by Kistere)


&

Ayren Kelan
CDO
USS Freedom
(PNPC by Sharon)

 

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