Shadows on the Wall

Posted on May 26, 2014 @ 6:29pm by Rawyvin Seth
Edited on on Jun 05, 2014 @ 8:36am

Mission: The Tangled Webs We Weave
Location: Various
Tags: Rawyvin, Selyara, Section 31

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“Shadows on the Wall”
(Con’d from: “Cutting Room Floor”)

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LOCATION: Dessica II
SCENE: Seedy Bar
STARDATE: [2.14] 0412.1849

Duško idly thumbed the PADD in his hand, his eyes unfocused on the data in front of him. He had already read its contents; it no longer held his interest. Rather, he watched the bar around him, noting everyone’s position, watching for threats. He had already pegged a group of Klingons with their boisterous attitudes as a group to watch, but hours of bloodwine had made them barely able to rise to their feet, let alone make their drinking songs intelligible. The Andorian sitting closer by bothered him; he had been nursing the same glass for several hours, and appeared to be waiting for something. Duško had finally decided that while the alien was sitting just out of earshot anyway, but all the same, Duško was wary.

A silhouette framed the doorway, with a pair of silvery eyes gazing in at the smoky dark scene. Duško watched the eyes take in the room before they landed on Duško. They lingered briefly, but moved on, as if they had dismissed the man. Duško knew better, and watched him carefully. The figure moved into the bar with the grace of a shadow sliding across the wall. As he stepped to the bar, Duško could now see the man in a better light. A cascade of straight black hair hung immaculately back into a neat ponytail, while two bangs curtained his pale face. He was tall and lanky, but showed all the awkwardness of a ballet dancer as he moved with deliberate purpose.

Duško watched him linger at the bar for several minutes. Abruptly, Duško stood, and play acted a stagger on his way back toward the back of the bar, for all the world appearing to be a drunk on his way to the bathroom. He turned the corner and paused. The hallway was quiet, and poorly lit. Duško walked a little further, and exited out of the rear door into the cold night air. He settled with his back against the alley wall with a sigh.

“We could have met in a much friendlier place,” a voice hissed quietly from his left.

Duško checked himself, though he barely managed to keep himself from being startled by the man’s sudden appearance. Annoyed, he surveyed the man with silvery eyes. “That’s not how this works, Rawyvin; you are not in charge here.”

A silent chuckled rippled through the tall man. “Duško. How nice to see you again. You never call, you never write… you don’t send me flowers any more. I had feared that you had moved on to younger, prettier ass…ets.”

Duško brushed this off. “We have a job for you.”

“So I surmised.”

“There is… a target of interest that we need you to acquire.”

A silent pause. “Acquire? A change from the normal hack and slash you seem to bring my way…” Rawyvin purred. “I don’t do… acquisitions. Go talk to a Ferangi.” With that, Rawyvin turned to leave.

“I think you of all people would be interested in what I have to say, given your knowledge of the target.” Duško challenged. Rawyvin stopped in his tracks, reconsidering.

“You have my attention, Duško, but just barely.”

Duško offered the man the PADD. Rawyvin turned his gaze to the screen, considering.

Things have changed. I want out . –Selyara

He was silent for close to two minutes, as he read the contents of the PADD. “I see that you have had your eye on the target for a while. You are right, I am interested. How is good old Sely doing these days?”

“We believe she knows something of incredible value. And in any case, we are interested in bringing her into the fold.” Duško leaned forward. “We want you to find out what she knows, and if possible, bring her in as an asset.”

Rawyvin raised his eyebrow. “We? My dear Duško, are you saying you’re finally going to tell me who has been pulling your strings all these years?”

Duško turned a contemptuous look on Rawyvin. “You have no need to know, Seth. You just do as you are told.”

The rush of movement was swift. Duško tried to react, but was amazed by the speed that Rawyvin struck with. He found himself winded against the wall, his feet dangling inches from the ground, and an iron grip circling his throat. The tableau held for an eternity of seconds, before Duško started to gag for breath.

“Duško, my dear comrade, you have no idea of what I know, or why I do what I do.” Rawyvin’s growl was almost imperceptibly low. “Never mistake me for a puppet; you may just find out how much play I have with your strings. Ponyat'?” After a few moments, the vice on Duško’s neck ceased, and he found himself on the floor, gasping for breath. Rawyvin had vanished.

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Scene: Unregistered Starcraft
Location: Between Worlds

Lines of star streaked by on Rawyvin’s view screen as his craft sped ever onward. The tall man rested his boots on the consul, thinking about the situation.

It had been many long years since he had ventured on his current life. Like the trajectory of a comet, Rawyvin could see his entry into Starfleet, his brief trip through ACT, his assignment as SEC/TAC officer, and finally, the creation of the SEAL team that he had lead for nearly a year. It seemed that, despite Rawyvin’s distaste for authority, he had always been destined for great things. And that is when the offer had come.

‘They’ had been watching him. It was no good asking who ‘they’ were – they were no-one. Why not make a REAL difference? The offer was incredible: no rules, no regulations – just the greater good. Within the week, during a mission, Rawyvin ensured circumstances conspired to isolate him from his team, and subsequently, he had vanished.

Well… partially vanished. The years had left a growing trail of bodies in his wake, broadcasting what he was sure was an echo of his activities to Starfleet.

Not that it mattered. Rawyvin had no fear of getting caught.

The question of morality had long been settled for him. There was a greater good to consider. Sometimes, the galaxy needed a martyr. Rawyvin would give them that martyr.

Rawyvin’s influence with his employers had risen high over the intervening years. While intermediaries like Duško would come and go to serve as his ‘handler,’ Rawyvin knew where the real power lay. In time, even Duško would outlive his usefulness, and Starfleet would be rewarded with the capture or death of a new criminal. Rawyvin would endure.

But now this new wrinkle.

Selyara. It had been a while since Rawyvin’s thoughts had landed on her. The woman had always held a certain fascination for Rawyvin – her brusque manner, and her talents on the sparing mat… she made for an interesting and attractive opponent. *Who knows. Perhaps she will consent to ‘thanking’ me for her rescue.* He paused for a moment, considering. *And if not… well, perhaps we can match our wills against each other, and I can take my thanks anyway.*

The thought curled his lips into a brief smirk.

The smirk faded slowly. He still had to pull off the rescue. Rawyvin had studied the situation, and had reluctantly admitted to himself that perhaps it would be best to recruit a partner. A quick search had given him an answer. An old… acquaintance of Sely. Rawyvin fingered a knife at his hip contemplatively, considering his next moves. He was more than certain he would be able to convince the man to accompany him into what he would craft as a fool hardy adventure. And when the mission had been completed… well… there would be a need for someone to blame, wouldn’t there?

Rawyvin shook his head and chuckled coldly. He was getting ahead of himself.

Sely’s information… that was the main target. All side pleasure, whether carnal or cruel, would have to wait.

Something big was happening, and Rawyvin would be in the front row of things. The shadows were against the wall of great deeds still to come.



**Just what do you have up your sleeve, Edgerton?**

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NRPG: Sorry it took so long to get this out; I had this half done last week. I hope I got everyone on the mailing list… and that my format is right. It’s been a while.

Tay, you and I are up next, I’ll try to write up more with Russ tomorrow. Also thinking that the DISCOVERY may need the best damn FCO in the galaxy back at its helm….

As you can tell, I went *way* dark with Rawyvin, who I see as another ‘bad guy’ character for our use in all this. A few more posts are planned here… hopefully Sely gets released soon. J



Christopher B. Del Gesso
Writing as Rawyvin Seth
Section 31