[Shadowdancer] Hidden Agendas
- From: scurrdi@xxxxxxx
- To: shadowdancer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2005 01:16:42 -0400
Hidden Agendas
by Cait Ross and Oridian Starfire
The turbolift doors opened as Oridian stepped out slowly. After a few hours of
intense probing of the Alliance system it was time to try new measures. Plus
that screen with the mindless data was starting to get annoying.
Stepping into engineering Oridian looked around carefully. He remembered what
had transpired on the bridge so he knew to be on his guard, but it did seem a
bit... empty down here. "Hello there, anybody around?" He called out.
"No, we've all evacuated and gone to Quarks for tea and chuckles." Cait popped
her head out of her office and tried to smile.
"Ahh well in that case I'll have to join you, Quarks doesnât sound like that
bad of a place." He returned a slightly easier smile. "I don't think we've had
the pleasure of meeting each other, though I've seen and heard you a few times
already. Oridian Starfire, I help out Isabella at ops and other little things."
He offered his hand as he walked up to Cait.
Isabella, two-faced little... Her venom flashed through her eyes but she took
his hand anyway. "What can I do for you, Mr. Starfire?"
He read her facial expressions but decided he'd ask her about it later. "Well,
I've been tracing and hacking my way through the Alliance Network System to see
where they've taken Sianar to, but whoever scrambled the code did a damn good
job. Its possible to get a definite fix on where she went, but that could take
us days... But" he spoke again before she might explode or something. "I think
I've figured out a way to at least narrow the search a little bit."
"Go on..."
"Well..." He leaned against one of the consoles. "From what I've heard about
Sianar she seems like a good and responsible person, so I figure she had her
commbadge on her. If a possible power boost to the sensors I should be able to
track her commbadge, which should at least give us some sort of clue as to
where she is. I figure its better then nothing." He smiled, I just hope my
hunch is right.
Nodding, Cait was already calculating the possible ways to give the sensors the
boost they'd need. She turned away from him and started tapping commands into
a console, lost in the worlds of her ship. Suddenly remembering her companion,
she said, "Any more bright ideas?"
"Well, not in those regards, at least not yet. I was wondering about your
reaction to my mentioning Isabella. It didn't seem to happy."
"Don't trust her, don't love her and certainly never allow yourself to be
fooled into believing she is your friend." With cold eyes, she nodded. "If
you follow my advice, you'll do well on this ship."
"You don't seem to like the majority of this crew, at least the ones in
charge." He watched her. He wasn't very convinced, but it was obvious there
were two warring factions here.
Anger flared in her eyes and she took a step toward him, her fists clenching.
"Our Captain, the Lord God Almighty, is a fool, his lover is so far up Nate's
arse, he can see out of the man's ears and Bella is..." She stopped, it was
too unspeakable. "And who are you, Mr. Starfire? Why are you here? What do
you really want?"
Well now, she gets worked up easily. Shifting his weight slightly, Oridian
matched her eyes with equal intensity. "Oridian you can call me, and as for me
Chief? I'm just a lost man, I don't really have a goal as of yet, aside from
possibly finding my home at some point and finding someone who was taken from
me. No side motives, no hidden agendas, thatâs it right there." He continued
to match her eyes, he did not feel the need to back down at all.
A smirk suddenly replaced her anger. "Everyone has hidden agendas, Mr.
Starfire... Oridian... so you'll excuse me for not believing you. Would you
like to know mine?"
He smiled. "If you feel so inclined to tell me."
"Would I have offered if it were otherwise?" she snapped. Her flarings of
anger appalled her. Covering her eyes with one hand, the other instinctively
went to her stomach. "I'm sorry, I must seem insane to you." Her voice
dropped to a whisper. "Maybe I am."
"Well now I wouldn't go that far Chief, you seem fine to me." He smiled as he
moved a little bit closer, noting her hands.
"Family..." Her eyes stared away into nothing. "That's my motive, Mr...
Oridian," she said as she smiled into his eyes. "A safe place where I can feel
the people around me will help me and love me the way a family should. I
thought... I once believed that this ship held that for me."
âA ship like this HAS to be family in order to survive." Oridian moved over
closer to her. "I can tell ya now, I barely know you but if you ever needed a
favor or an ear to talk to, I'd be here for you and I'm sure there are other
people onboard who will do the same. Sure you'll have disagreements and
differences among each other, but thatâs how a family is. The fact is that
people come together in times of need, like now. Everyone's working round the
clock to find Sianar, no matter whose fault or who messed up or anything."
"She's the only family I truly have." A single, unwanted tear tracked down her
cheek. "I didn't tell her, I couldn't..."
"Tell her what?"
"I'm..." Her words caught in her throat. "I'm pregnant."
He blinked. Pregnant? Well now, thatâs a hidden agenda to be sure. She does
not need all this stress. "Well..." He paused a moment, thinking of what
exactly to say. "I wouldn't worry about telling Sianar about it because before
you know it she'll be back with us and then you can tell her, alright?"
"Promise?" God, I sound so weak. Her tears began to flow freely, quiet sobs
making her shake.
Oridian moved over and put his arm around Cait. "Promise." Poor girl just needs
someone to talk to. She's been having a rough time so far.
She leaned into him, laying her head on his shoulder. "Thank you."
"Anytime Cait, anytime. Its what family is here for." He held her there for a
moment and it seemed for almost an eternity. Finally he gave a little squeeze
and smiled. "So how about it Chief? Think we can get that boost and find
Sianar?"
Her grin swept the sadness away and she sprang to her feet. "Of course, all
we've got to do is reroute power. Hmm... I once read a paper on using the
deflector dish as a signal booster, although that might be over kill and could
just be complete bollocks." Her fingers danced over a console as ideas flashed
through her mind, were assessed and discarded when they proved unworthy.
"Okay, Mr. Starfire, I think I may just be able to help you."
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