<VPA Alpha Stream> Warriors and Babysitters


_Warriors and Babysitters
_by Lieutenant Selyf, Counselor Ezri Dax, & Ambassador Worf
Worf had not been best pleased at being sent off-world to run errands but he fully understood how concerned General Empet was for her people, especially the betrothed of her dearest daughter. He marched, stiff backed, through the Promenade. He had no interest in meeting with old friends. He simply wished to do his duty and return to Qo'NoS where Martok needed him.
Selyf had been finding, over the past few days, that his free time had not been spent in meditation as it normally and rightfully should be, but rather in the pleasant company of a small and very sweet Trill whom he had met quite by accident. Not that he would complain at the loss of solitude, in truth he found it quite pleasing, but he knew his teachers would be most displeased. He would have to see to it. Perhaps when they were on their way. Perhaps.
He inclined his head to Ezri as they sat, admiring the view of space from the Promenade. "Will you be joining me for dinner this evening, Ezri?" he asked as he sipped his spiced tea.
"I'd enjoy that, Selyf," she said simply. Whatever it was about the man, Ezri found she enjoyed his company. Not that any of Dax's previous hosts disliked Vulcans but she had never been particularly friendly with one, especially one quite so unusual as a Marine. Now Klingons, on the other hand, were a different story. Oh could Curzon and Jadzia fill a book about them! She patted Selyf's arm as she looked out at the Promenade. "It would be nice to have pleasant company after a long day." 

"Then I will cook for you," Selyf told her, his eyes warming.
Worf stomped the Promenade. He had no clue where this Romulan would be. He just prayed the man was not with those damned sisters but he had a sinking feeling he would be. As he marched out, he heard the bright voice of a woman he had not wished to run into today. He instinctively found the source of the voice and glared. She was with a man and it wasn't Julian.
Whether it was a woman's intuition or simply the experience of the lifetimes of all Dax's hosts, Ezri had the knack of knowing she was being stared at and she never did like it very much. She turned her head slightly and she would have smiled at the sight of the man doing the staring but for the fact that his was not a friendly stare. She stood up slowly, nevertheless offering a friendly face. "Worf? I had no idea you were visiting," she said simply.
"I hadn't intended on reunions," Worf said stiffly. "You look..." He twisted his mouth for a moment and ended with, "well."
Selyf appraised the man he knew from reputation to be Commander Worf, close friend and advisor to Chancellor Martok. It was clear the man was not pleased to see Ezri but as yet he had not proven to be a threat so Selyf stayed settled.
Ezri's pretty face drew into a slight scowl. What was bothering him now? She was sure he was past associating her actions as being the same as Jadzia's, and any subsequent jealousy, but maybe she'd been wrong. "I /am/ well," Ezri told him, trying very hard to to use any of Curzon's sarcasm at the word 'well'. "In fact, I was just having tea with my friend and temporary shipmate. Selyf, this is Ambassador Worf. Worf, my good friend Marine Lieutenant Selyf."
Selyf inclined his head to the Commander. "It is good to meet you, Commander." He used Worf's Starfleet title rather than his political one in an attempt to make a connection to the uniform that they both wore.
"I have heard of you." Worf stared at Selyf hard for several moments and then nodded. "You earned many commendations during the war." 

"That is correct," Selyf said.
Worf grunted and nodded then turned back to Ezri. "Julian isn't here, is he? I simply wish to carry out my duty and leave. I always find the Doctor distracts me."
Then Ezri didn't quite frown but her mouth did press into a flat line. Had she become predictable that way? "It isn't quite my turn to keep track of the doctor," she said neutrally, "though you might ask Miles or Vic."
Worf looked between Ezri and Selyf. He had not meant to bring up what were, apparently, bad feelings, so he took a seat. "What happened, Ezri?"
With a sigh, Ezri retook her seat next to Selyf. She hadn't wanted to have him hear this this way but it couldn't be helped. Nor was this the sort of thing that was kept secret simply because she was a Trill. "Julian, for all his denials to the opposite, has a huge ego, Worf. He thinks very highly of himself and it's tiresome."
"I believe," Worf began, choosing his words as carefully as he ever did, "I said that. You are too mature for Julian."
"Thank you for not being smug over being right on that," Ezri said with a smirk. "but that can't be why you were avoiding me." She offered her old friend a soft smile. "Or is it?"
"It..." He ground his teeth a little then glared and finally stared off into nothing as he answered. "No. I'm here as a favour to Martok as a..." he ground his teeth again, "baby sitter for his mate's daughter's fiance. There are things happening on Qo'NoS that put him in danger. I simply want to find the man and get him back so that Martok is not alone."
At that, Ezri bit back a snort of amusement. No Klingon warrior liked busy work or any work that was perceived to be as beneath them. She glanced at Selyf. She doubted even a man as calm as he was would care for such low duty. Instead of needling the man, she said, "One of them is engaged? How nice! I didn't have the chance to actually meet the ladies but Martok certainly has an impressive union there. Jadzia would be impressed."
"Jadzia." Worf nodded and something softened in his eyes but he didn't relax. "She would approve of the General, she is a strong woman. I am not so sure she would approve of this one's choice of mate though." 

"Do we want to know why?"Ezri asked carefully.
"He is Romulan," Worf told her. He found it hard, even now, to say the name of that race without spitting or growling.
"Both the Federation and the Klingon Empire have been allies with the Romulans since the war, have they not?" Selyf asked casually. 

"Oh, they are, Selyf," Ezri said carefully.

"Then I do not perceive the issue," Selyf said.
Worf glared at the Vulcan and grunted. "He's Romulan. I'm here to babysit a green-blooded..." 

"All Vulcanoids are green-blooded, Commander," Selyf observed.

"My apologies," Worf said with a glare.
"Such sincerity," Ezri tsked lightly. Her hand resting lightly on Selyf's arm, she looked up at him, having to do so even when seated. "The Klingons were the first species the Romulans met when they ventured from their home world for the first time and neither of them have forgiven much since then."
"To hold a grudge for so long is not logical," Selyf offered. He looked down at Ezri and his whole expression warmed. He placed one large hand over hers and tilted his head. "But as there are many of my own species that suffer from that exact same condition, I must concede that logic does not seem to hold when it comes to grudges."
Worf couldn't help but notice the apparent connection with the two of them and, for one irrational moment, he felt the same stab of jealousy he had felt when Ezri had been dating Julian. "Klingons are not logical," he said gruffly.
Ezri always felt that other species' hands were too warm yet Selyf's, whose hands should have felt burning hot, felt just right. She smiled at him then fixed Worf with a humorous glint in her eyes. "Then maybe you would prefer that it be said that they are excellent tacticians. I know that to be a fact." 

Worf grunted.  "Thank you."
"And honourable warriors," Selyf said with a nod. "I have battled many times at the side of Klingons and been glad of their ferocity."
She wondered if Worf thought the same as many other people did in that a person such as Selyf was rather unusual: a Vulcan who was a Marine. Worf might not have liked the word but he could be perfectly logical. She knew she would find a way to ask him privately. "So have I actually," Ezri mused. "Three of us really..." 

"Dax is one of the greatest of warriors," Worf nodded.
"I think that may be part of the reason the counselor I'm subbing for requested me. He knows fierce things come in small packages," Ezri said with a grin. 





--
"...and I had done nothing...but shoot an unarmed Cardassian in his 
underwear."-Li Nalas

--
"...and I had done nothing...but shoot an unarmed Cardassian in his 
underwear."-Li Nalas

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