Half A Truth

Posted on Feb 06, 2015 @ 12:18pm by Selyara Chen

Mission: Limbo

"Half a truth"
(cont. "Shadows")
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"Half a truth is often a great lie." -Benjamin Franklin
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LOCATION: LIMBO
SCENE: Ferengi Trade Mission
STARDATE:2.150205.2240

The interior of the Ferengi Trade Mission was worlds apart from the exterior of the building. Instead of hardened metal and angry lizard guards, the place was full of cushy couches and chairs, draped curtains of silk, fine art, and soft, peaceful music piped in from speakers overhead. In addition to the sights, sounds, and smells, there was also large trays, covered in food from a dozen worlds, served by an assortment of women dressed in the manner of old Ferengi custom- which is to say, nothing at all.

Snek led Raxl through the antechamber and down a corridor to his private office. Along the way, Rax could see rooms lining either side of the hall. In each one, creatures of various races sat, often with one of the women close at hand to offer bits of food (and more, Raxl guessed), while a series of unctuous Ferengi sat in a chair nearby. Rax only overhead snippets of conversation, but it all sounded like boring trade talks: product quantities, delivery schedules, territorial disputes between rival merchant factions, that kind of thing. Rax wondered just how much these delegates of various trade organizations could focus on the negotiation when beautiful women, good food, and fine wine seemed always to be at hand, but then he decided that was probably the point.

"Is this a trade mission or a strip club?" Rax commented, stepping to the side of the corridor as a young woman, with a large, scary, but somehow giddy-looking Klingon in tow moved past them and into one of the rooms.

"Rule of Acquisition number 214," Snek said. "Never begin a negotiation on an empty stomach."

"I think that's supposed to be about food," Rax commented, stepping aside again as another customer/woman pair made their way down the hall past them.

"It's about *hunger*, my boy," Snek said. "There are all kinds of hungers. I like to satisfy them all... that way, negotiations can proceed more smoothly. And besides, they *have* food."

"So what's the deal with their dress code?" Rax asked. "I thought the Ferengi had abolished that old tradition about females having to be naked."

"Unwisely, in my opinion," Snek said, sounding rueful. "Fortunately, we're far enough away from Ferengenar that nobdoy bothers to check up on how I run things. As long as the latinum flows out of the Triangle, it keeps the politicans happy. And nude hu-mahn females keep *me* happy."

"I'm sure they do," Rax frowned. A young woman had stepped out of one of the rooms and stood before him in the hall, running her eyes over him in a way that Rax didn't find entirely uncomfortable, but he did his best to hold on to that sense of righteous indignation. It had always helped him in his dealings with Ferengi in the past.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" the woman purred at him. "Food? Drink? Something else?"

"No, thank you," Rax said.

"Feel free to help yourself," Snek said, looking back at him with an ugly grin. "You're a guest, after all."

"Well, I'm here on business, and I don't like to multitask," Rax said.

"Suit yourself," Snek shrugged, and then he actually shooed the girl away with a dismisive flick of his hand. The woman seemed to melt back into one of the private "negotiation" rooms that lined the hall. Up ahead, Snek had come to a stop before door. As Rax watched, the Ferengi input a code on the small keypad near the door. The door slide open, and Snek motioned Rax inside.

Snek's office was large, with more of the curtains, artwork, and comfy couches that Rax had seen throughout the rest of the mission. There was also a large desk at the center of the room, with a highbacked chair that Snek seated himself in as Rax followed him into the chamber. Snek gestured at the chair opposite him and poured himself a glass of wine from a decanter on the desk as Rax took his seat.

"Brak told me about you," Snek said, swirling the wine in his glass. "He said you always deny yourself the things you want when you think you're making a point."

"Well, Brak's an idiot," Rax said. "So there's that."

Snek stared at him for a moment, then burst out in an ugly-sounding laugh.

"He is," the Ferengi nodded enthusiastically. "Waste of potential, if you ask me. He's always had a keen mind of profit, but it's always been tempered by an irritating sense of decency. He would have gone far if only he didn't take so my principled stands."

"Brak?" Rax asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Standing on principle?"

"Oh, indeed," Snek nodded. "Won't deal in weapons, refuses to become involved in the slave trade... he seems satisfied to act as intermediary for whatever unsavory criminal enterprise comes his way, but when the opportunity comes to make real profit, he always balks at getting his hands dirty. Such a pity."

"Huh," Rax said, genuinely surprised. "I guess I'd never thought of it like that."

"And he used to be a bounty hunter himself," Snek said, shaking his head. "Rather a low profession for a man of intellect. No offense, of course."

"None taken," Rax said, giving him a strained smile. "Are we here to talk about Brak?"

"No, of course not," Snek said. He took a sip of his wine. "You're looking for someone, I understand?"

"A woman," Rax said.

"It didn't look like that in the hallway," Snek remarked.

"A very *specific* woman," Rax clarified. "She has a price on her head, and it's big enough to drag me all the way out here trying to collect it."

"Selyara Chen," Snek said.

Rax blinked. "Brak told you?"

"No he didn't," Snek said, giving Rax another yellowed, pointy grin. "He wouldn't want to give me too much information, I could use that to cut both you and him out of the deal."

"But you already have the info," Rax said.

"Rule of Acquisition number 74: knowledge equals profit."

"Okay, so you know who I'm looking for, but you still agreed to see me," Rax said. "Why not just go after her yourself?"

"Mr. Dretyon, I'm a *merchant*," Snek said, reeking of false-modestry. "A very influential merchant, yes, and with more than a few thick-necked dogsbodies at my disposal, but I'm not in the business of hunting down dangerous criminals."

"Good, because I don't like competition," Rax said.

"Neither do I," Snek said. "Which brings me to my proposal."

"What proposal?"

"You help me, I help you," Snek said. "A fairly straightforward business transaction."

"Brak said you owed him a favor," Raxl frowned.

"I owe *him* a favor," Snek said, raising a single finger as if to clarify his point. "I owe you nothing."

"I see," Rax said, his frown deepening. "And that finder's fee I assume Brak sent for you?"

"I really have no idea what you're talking about," Snek said, though his sly smile told Raxl all he needed to know on that subject.

"Once you have their money, never give it back," Rax sighed.

"You'r familiar with the Rules of Acquisition?" Snek asked. "How fortunate. Not enough hu-mahns study them, I think. That's part of why your species makes such reliable customers."

"I think the word you're looking for is 'rubes'," Rax said. "So what is it you want?"

"Nothing serious," Snek said, pouring himself another glass of wine. "I have a business rival aboard Limbo and I'd like very much if he were taken out of the picture."

"I'm not an assassin," Rax said. "Believe it or not, I don't like it when people get hurt."

"Tell that to my poor guard with half a hand," said Snek.

"Not liking something and not being good at something are two different things," Rax said. "But I'm not killing anyone for you."

"Who said anything about 'killing'?" Snek asked, trying to sound genuinely shocked and failing miserably. "Anyway, you couldn't if you wanted to. I don't know who he is. He's proven rather difficult to track down, actually."

"So you want me to find him," Rax said.

"No, no," Snek said. "He'd see you coming and have you shot, or poisoned, or blown out an airlock. I'm more interested in what some of my more... *mundane* competition knows about him."

Rax sighed again. "This is sounding complicated."

"Not really," Snek said. "The Orion, Harad-Sar. I assume you know of him?"

"He was going to be my next stop if this conversation doesn't pan out," Rax said, "By the way, it hasn't panned out so far."

"We haven't reached the end of it yet," Snek grinned. "The Orion is in the same business as this mysterious 'Shadow Master' person... quite a melodramatic nickname, don't you think? Anyway, Harad-Sar has his people searching for him. Now, I could commit my own resources, do my own search, but that all would be rather redundant, don't you think? Much easier to simply help ourselves to whatever intelligence he's collected. It would be more useful in my hands anyway."

Rax couldn't help but laugh.

"So let me get this straight," he said. "You want me to do a cold-approach on Limbo's most powerful information broker and help myself to his files? I'm not sure who you think is dumber, him or me."

"I thought you hu-mahns were supposed to have a can-do attitude," Snek said. "Anyway, it wouldn't be a cold approach. I've got someone to, shall we say, 'warm' Harad-Sar up a little bit."

Snek thumbed a control built into the surface of his desk.

"Aella, my dear," Snek said into the comm. "Please come in."

The door to Snek's office slid aside again, and in walked a stunning Romulan woman. She was wearing clothes, which immediately set her apart from all the other females Rax had seen inside the mission, but the fabric hugged the curves of her body in a way that Rax actually found more alluring than the brazen nakedness of the women in the hall. She moved gracefully, deliberately, as if each step or gesture was a math problem that she'd solved down to the last decimal. Rax found he couldn't take his eyes off her as she moved around to Snek and traced the tips of her fingers lightly across the Ferengi's ears. Snek shuddered a little at the woman's touch, and Rax couldn't blame him.

"Aella Navarron, this is Raxl Dreyton," Snek said, leering up at her from his seat.

“Mister Dreyton. A pleasure to meet you. We don't get many Terrans out this side of the Triangle. I suppose the proximity of Romulan space is enough to deter many. Now, let me see. What did the other girls tell me was the customary greeting for Terrans? Was it a handshake, or a kiss on the cheek? I can't remember.” She held out her hand- the wrong hand- and smiled at him. Raxl stood hastily, reached out and took the proffered hand, and shook it.

“Well, I had better be sure I've done it correctly. What's the saying you Terrans have, cover both
my bases?”

She leaned in, gently using her long, elegant fingers to gently maneuver Raxl's head to allow her to kiss his cheeks, continental style. He felt a peculiar sensation as her lips touched his cheek, as though his brain had skipped a beat, and he was left with only the impression that she smelled very nice indeed.

“I think you'll find Aella, that a handshake is MORE than adequate for greeting a Hu-mahn.” Snek said sharply, stepping in between them. He sounded a great deal more testy than he had before.

“I didn't want to make a mistake, Airai. I wouldn't want to reflect poorly on you by offering insufficient hospitality to your guest.”

She pouted shamelessly at DaiMon Snek until the Ferengi relented.

“Mr. Dreyton is not a guest. He's here for some information, and in return he's going to help me steal something from Harad-Sar. Since our eminent Orion seems to have taken a shine to you, judging by the amount of overpriced dross he's had the gall to send to you right in front of my face, I thought that you might be the perfect partner to
make sure Mr. Dreyton is able to keep up his end of the bargain.”

“He certainly looks like he can keep it up without my help,” Aella said, her face so serene that Raxl was left wondering if she'd intended the double entendre.

“Very well, for you, Airai, I'll cozy up to Harad-Sar. Now, how about we treat Mr. Dreyton to the use of one of
your private bathing rooms?”

“Treat?” DaiMon Snek seemed about to argue, but she turned and draped herself along the back of his chair, a finger tickling his ear. Any protest on the part of the DaiMon quickly died.

“We'll never get whatever it is you want if he goes up to Harad-Sar stained in Gorn blood and reeking like last weeks dinner,” she pointed out. Snek sighed in defeat.

“It's settled then. Follow me, Mr. Dreyton.”

As Raxl followed her out the door he got a glare from DaiMon Snek. He ignored it. But when Aella had left the room, Rax lingered for a moment at the threshold, and pulled the collar of his shirt up to his nose and sniffed.

"Last week's dinner?" he muttered to himself.

* * * * * * * * * *


Scene: DaiMon Snek's personal baths.

Aella waited by the entrance, holding the basket of towels and soaps as Raxl entered the luxuriant bathing area. The steaming pool was ringed with blue tiles edged with gold, and the toiletries cost more than Raxl cared to think about.

The Romulan woman put the contents of her basket on a sandalwood shelf next to the edge of the pool.

“If you would please put your clothing here, I will have it replaced with something clean for you,” she told him, placing the towel next to him. She crossed her arms, and they stared at each other for a long
moment.

“Are you going to go?” He finally asked.

“No. DaiMon Snek would be displeased if I left you here on your own. Especially if anything went missing. But I'll turn around if you're uncomfortable.”

The woman turned around to face the wall, and didn't turn around again until he had submerged himself in the perfumed water. She turned around, kicking off her shoes, and sat down at the
edge of the bath, legs dangling into the water.

“Why don't you join me?” Raxl waded over to her, giving her his best roguish smile. She raised an eyebrow at him.

“You're either incredibly brave, or you're incredibly stupid,” her voice was amused. “Which, I'm not entirely sure.”

“I'm not sure I know either. Beautiful women tend to bring out both in me.” He propped his hands on her knees, forcing her to look down to meet his eyes.

"Mr. Dreyton, has that line ever actually worked for you?" She laughed openly at him now, a warm laugh that seemed more like an invitation to try harder than an outright rejection.

"Nope, but you can't blame me for trying."

"I suppose I can't. But I will blame you if the DaiMon starts getting nervous as to why this is taking so long. He's a very jealous man, at least when there is no profit to be gained by sharing," she picked up
a bottle of something from the shelf. "Turn around and I'll wash your hair for you, if it will speed the process."

He turned around and Aella poured a generous amount of spicily scented something into his hair, and worked it into a lather on his scalp. Just as he was relaxing into it, she suddenly leaned in, her breath
tickling his ear.

"Tell me, Mister Dreyton, what exactly is it that my boss wants you to steal from Harad-Sar, and what is he promising to give you that makes taking such a risk worth it?"

Her lips brushed lightly against his ear as she spoke, sending a not-unpleasant shiver down Rax's spine. He closed his eyes and leaned against her, feeling her fingers working through his hair, massaging his scalp.

"Snek want's the Orion's data on some new underworld figure," Rax said, the word's tumbling slowly from his mouth as he felt his body relax.

"The Shadow Master?" Aella said, her lips still close, but not quite touching, his ear.

"That's the one," Rax said. "Espionage isn't my usual gig, but when the perks are this nice, I guess exceptions can be made."

"I'm glad you're so... flexible," Aella purred in his ear. She was deliberately pushing his buttons, Rax knew, but the feel of her soft fingers in his hair and her warm breath against his skin was enough to make him not care very much.

"And what are you getting out of the arrangement?" Aella asked him.

"Snek's supposed to help me find someone," Rax said. "An escaped criminal named Selyara Chen."

For just a moment, Aella's fingers stopped working through his hair, and she seemed to tense up a little. The moment passed quickly, and Rax was almost too relaxed to notice.

Almost.

But then her fingers started working again, and he could feel her breath against his ear, feel the tips of her dangling hair tickling the nape of his neck, and his concern melted away.

"Is she dangerous?" Aella asked.

"Mmmm... who?" Rax asked.

"This criminal, Selyara."

"Darlin', they're all dangerous," Rax said. "Makes no difference to me. You just gotta' know pay attention, stay alert, and never let them get the drop on you."

"Is that so?" Aella asked, sounding amused.

"That's why I'm so good," Rax continued. "I can outthink them, you know what I mean? I see all the angles. Nothing gets past me. I don't care how smart you are... you have to get up pretty early in the morning to put one over on Mrs. Dreyton's baby boy."

"Most impressive," Aella said. "You must know your trade very well, Mr. Dreyton."

"That's why the pay me the big bucks," Rax said. Then, remembering the current state of his finances: "You know. Eventually."

"And once you've done this thing for Snek, and he's pointed you to your next payday, what then?"

"I go get her and bring her back to prison."

"And what if there was another payday?" Aella asked. She picked up a nearby bowl, dipped it in the bathwater, and slowly poured it though Raxl's hair.

"What did you have in mind?" Rax asked.

"May I be frank with you?" Aella asked. Something in her tone made Raxl open his eyes and turn to look at her.

"Of course," he said. "It's just us in here."

"I'm... not working with DaiMon Snek purely out of choice," Aella sighed. Her eyes met Raxl's, and for a moment he found himself lost in them.

"That makes two of us," Raxl mumbled.

"I'm trying to find someone," said Aella. "Before they find me."

Rax opened his eyes and turned to look at her.

"You're in trouble?"

"I wouldn't have come to someone like DaiMon Snek if I wasn't," Aella said. Her eyes met Raxl's, and for a moment he found himself lost in them. Looking at her was like taking a slow drink of some heady, exotic wine. "And I don't need to stay with him."

She reached out and gently stroked her fingertips across the stubble on Raxl's cheek.

"I don't know..." Rax said slowly. "I mean, I still need Snek's help." It was true enough, though at the moment Rax could barely remember why.

"Of course," Aella smiled. "I'll help you, and you can help me."

Raxl thought about it. For about five seconds. All things considered, it was far from the worst job offer he'd ever gotten.

"Okay," Rax said. "Tell me about it."

“Have you ever heard of a man called Rawyvin Seth?” She held her arms protectively around herself, as though she'd grown cold despite the steam that filled the air.

“Anyone in my line of work has. But I'm pretty sure he's a bogeyman, a mixture of the exploits of several unknown criminals that have been attributed to one person.” Raxl said gently. Her eyes darted away from his, and looked at the floor for what seemed an eternity.

“He's real, and he has a bounty on his head from every major government and organization this side of the galaxy. The Romulans, the Klingons, the Federation, not to mention most of the criminal organizations including the Orion syndicate. He's worth enough money to last a lifetime, even with the most extravagant of lifestyles, and he's wanted dead everywhere,” she named a figure that dropped Raxl's jaw.

“And why are you so interested in finding him? Is it for the bounty? You don't exactly look like the bounty hunter type, no offense,” he added hurriedly, remembering that Romulans took extreme pride in their fighting abilities.

“He's hunting me.” her voice cracked, and she wouldn't meet his eyes.

“Why?”

“He... He thinks he loves me,” she flinched like she'd been hit as she said it out loud. “I know what you're thinking. I didn't lead him on. On the contrary- I did everything I could do to get rid of him. I even tried to kill him myself. My family may be caste-less, but I was at least brought up to fight like a Romulan.”

“I didn't think that, Aella.” He said calmly.

“I've always had a thing for dangerous men, but Rawyvin is a sick, twisted bastard. Somehow trying to kill him only convinced him that the feeling was mutual, that I was playing hard to get, as though I were a Klingon female, or something. My family wouldn't lift a finger to help me. As far as they're concerned if I am unable to kill him, then I'm not fit to live anyway. Love isn't very much in the Romulan family vocabulary,” she took a shuddering breath, and then it was like something inside her crumpled. “If Rawyvin Seth was just going to kill me, that would be one thing.”

Rax hadn't sailed through 30 something years of chasing after woman without developing at least a rudimentary ability to read women, so he remained silent, waiting for her to finish.

“But he won't kill me. Not for a while, anyway. First he'll make me pay for running, then he'll break me, and once he gets bored with me- and he will, no matter how hard I try, because no woman will keep him interested for long- he'll take pleasure in torturing and killing me, slowly, to afford him one last amusement.”

Raxl searched her face for some sign that she was, trying to manipulate him with her tale, but her voice was flat, inflection-less, and her eyes were a million miles away as though he didn't even exist. She looked painfully young and scared. He averted his eyes, feeling like he was somehow violating her privacy.

“I feel as though I've been running forever, but I can't keep it up. Hiding, seeing him in every shadow. He'll catch me, it's only a matter of time, and there will be nothing left for me to do but take the Final Honor.” She fell silent again, but didn't volunteer more information.

“Hey, hey, wipe that look off your face, alright?” He reached out and squeezed her hand. “Beautiful women shouldn't look so sad. Besides, now you've got Raxl Dreyton on the job, okay? Big scary boogey men don't stand a chance, even ones with a rap sheet the length of my arm.”

She made a sound that might have been a sniffle, but when she looked back up a little of the flirtatious assurance was back in her face, and she managed a smile and a nod.

“I'm sorry unloading all of that on you,” she said softly, standing and shaking open a towel for him. “I've been so alone this whole time, I-”

“No more moping. We'll get that information from Harad-Sar, we'll use it to find the Shadow Master, get information on Rawyvin Seth, be ready to get rid of him once he gets here, collect a giant ass bounty, and then we'll go somewhere nice and enjoy some of that money,” Rax took the towel from her. "Now I believe you promised me a new pair of clothes, so I didn't smell like... Last week's dinner?"

* * *=/\=* * *
NRPG: Pheeeewww. Look at the heavy dialogue on this puppy. Mooooooving the plot along.

By

Shawn Putnam
a.k.a
Our Dashing Hero,
Raxl Dreyton
Bounty Hunter

and
Alix Fowler
a.k.a
Our damsel in distress/Federation's second most wanted criminal
Aella Navarron/Selyara Chen