Ballad of JAROS II

Posted on May 26, 2014 @ 8:30pm by Rawyvin Seth & Selyara Chen
Edited on on Jun 05, 2014 @ 8:46am

Mission: The Tangled Webs We Weave
Location: JAROS II
Tags: Selyara, Rawyvin Seth, Section 31

"The Ballad of Jaros II"

(Cont: "The morning after the Morning after)

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“Yet each man kills the thing he loves
By each let this be heard
Some do it with a bitter look
Some with a flattering word
The coward does it with a kiss
The brave man with a sword”

-Oscar Wilde, The ballad of Reading Gaol

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NRPG: Chris and Alix would like to let you know that they may have
been playing with the new "doesn't have to be PG 13" thing. But
Rawyvin Seth is a sick bastard, and as such there are heavy overtones
of potential sexual violence in his interactions with Sely. Nothing
happens. Or even comes close, but be warned that that content is
there.


Location: JAROS II

Stardate: 21.30508.2230

Scene: Selyara's cell

When she slept, something she managed less and less these days,
Selyara was haunted by dreams. Well, one dream, really. Night after
night, after night, after night, the same horrible dream:

**She is young, scared, everything is dark, but she can hear the phaser
fire and the boots of the Orion Pirates as they run up and down the
halls of the space station, hunting down the survivors. She is safe,
hidden from view under the bodies of her parents, but scared to
breathe. Tears run down her face and her sobs come in silent hiccups.
She tenses every time she hears footsteps pass near her, but they
always move on.

But then they stop, and suddenly the world is bright confusion, and
suddenly she is pulled around to face the person that has pulled her
out of the darkness.

In her waking life, it had been Reisa Chen, a Starfleet officer who
had pulled her from under the wreckage, saved her, and given her a new
life.

In her dream, when she can finally see, she finds herself staring into
her own face, filled with anger, cruelty, hatred. A face she doesn't
recognize anymore. And this new Selyara reaches her hands around her
neck and squeezes. She struggles, but it goes black.**

Selyara woke up screaming, her limbs twitching spasmodically, her
hands up to fend off her imaginary attacker. As the dreams flew apart
and reality began to reassert itself, she became aware of a strong
hand clamped over her mouth.

"Don't scream." The cold haughty voice that belonged to the hand
hissed into her ear, the warm breath tickling her cheek. "There will
be plenty of time for that later..." The last part was an auditory
leer that made Selyara feel dirty somehow. "My dear Selyara, how much
you must have missed me," the voice continued in a familiar manner,
purring with every word. His hand was caressing her hair as he spoke

Regaining her wits, Selyara reached up to remove his hand from her
mouth forcibly. The stranger seemed to anticipate her movements and
flowed back easily to avoid her blow, releasing her in the process.
Selyara scrambled out of bed, dropping into a crouch, ready for an
attack. The stranger hung back in the shadows, just out of reach. “Who
are you?”

The shadowy figure shook with mirth. “Oh come now, Sely; surely you
have not forgotten me?” He chuckled, and stepped forward.

Sely’s mind raced as she glanced at him. He was indeed familiar.
Instantly a name came to her mind. *Rawyvin.* Another life ago for
both of them, if what she'd sensed of him in that second of
wakefulness was any indication.

Sely kept her face disdainful. She remembered her meeting with him all
those years ago, and she remembered the rumors and the stories she'd
filed away from the other prisoners. If even half of what they'd
claimed he'd done was true. Cruelty and malevolence lurked behind
those silvery eyes. Her jaw clenched imperceptibly in what might have
been fear if she allowed herself such emotions in her waking hours.

*Section 31… has to be.* She mused. *They want a deal… so they sent
the devil. If I can't play him, I'm going to have to find a way to
kill him.*

Thinking rapidly, she set her face to disgust and annoyance. *Keep him
off balance,* she thought. She wanted him acting on emotion, not
reason- it gave her an upper hand. “Is that supposed to mean something
to me?” She shot back scornfully.

Rawyvin betrayed an almost imperceptible flash of annoyance, but it
was so quickly suppressed, Sely wondered for a moment if she was being
hopeful. But she could sense the annoyance swirling off of him.

“I'm hurt that you've forgotten our time together…” He cooed,
affecting a mock pout. “Sely, my dear, It’s Rawyvin! Rawyvin Seth!”

She theatrically raised an eyebrow, and exaggerated an expression of
dawning realization. “Ohhhh… HIM! I should have recognized it from
your unjustified bravado and smugness.”

This time, Rawyvin’s scowl was more perceptible. His tone however, did
not betray his emotions. “I believe you ordered a white knight to the
rescue.” Rawyvin dropped his voice to a whisper soft as silk, “I'm
it.”

Dangerously, Sely continued on. “I had heard you'd become The
Company's trained attack dog. Hardly my Prince Charming, but I suppose
you'll do." She watched out of the corner of her eye as she swung her
feet over the side of the bed, and stretched. She could feel his gaze
on her skin, nearly hot enough to burn. She shot him her best
disdainful glare and signaled for him to turn around to face the wall.

Rawyvin complied slowly, casting back a lecherous glance in her
direction. She reached for her shirt when she was sure he had turned,
and began donning her clothes. A moment passed before he spoke. “I
like the tattoos,” he commented. “They make you look a little bit
dangerous.” His tone had a lewd quality. Before she was entirely done,
he began to turn. "Tell me, do they go all the way-"

Her open hand rushed to his face to cut his pondering short. He coolly
caught it mid swing, and they faced off for a long moment sizing each
other up. He knew what she was trying to do. *Two can play, my dear,*
his leer seemed to say. His gaze confirmed the dark thoughts that she
sensed. Selyara dropped her hand first, and stepped away from him. She
wanted no part of a mind like that.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out over my dead body." She
hissed angrily, furious at him, and furious at herself for having let
her caught him off guard. “Now if you're done with your poor attempts
at flirting, what's the escape plan?”

“Ah my dear, this is but mere foreplay,” Rawyvin grinned maliciously.
She fought a shudder that was somewher between disgust and adrenaline.
Quietly, she watched him raise his finger to his lips in a gesture of
silence. “Wait for it…” he whispered theatrically.

There was a rush of silence that filled the air between them as
Selyara listened to all the sounds around her. A few seconds passed,
and then a few more. She waited, and began to grow impatient. Just as
she raised her voice to speak however…

Explosions seemed to come from everywhere at once, rocking her in her
cell. She found herself thrown into Rawyvin, who appeared to have been
ready for the event. He coolly gazed down at her as more explosions
rang out. “It’s a pity, really. Budget cuts to maintenance means less
people to scrub plasma manifolds. All that build up… and then, well…”
Rawyvin shrugged.

“Are you INSANE?” Selyara hissed, her eyes widening. This was all she
needed. Something like this could cause a man hunt, and she did NOT
want to be hunted. “Are you TRYING to draw attention to us? If this is
your goddamn plan, I'm staying here.”

Rawyvin shrugged. “Ah, well… stay if you must then. All this work to
arrange your apparent death; I would hate to be called a liar…”
Without a further word, he moved to the cell door. Energy had ceased
to flow there now, as power had cut off in the original explosion.
Selyara slitted her eyes, her emotions fluctuating between shock and
anger.

“FUCK IT.” She screamed to the empty room. She was not spending
another minute in this place. Starfleet wasn't THAT good at finding
people that didn't want to be found.

Barely seconds after she had crossed and found herself on Rawyvin’s
heals, an explosion rang out behind her. She turned to see flames
light up the room they had just left.

They had dashed through the halls. There was little resistance
encountered as they sped along, though on occasion, they would come
across the stray guard, who would meet their sudden end in surprise.
Selyara watched in detached disgust as Rawyvin quietly snapped a man’s
neck.

**No subtlety.** She thought, her lip curling. Not that she'd really
like the guards, but they had families, children. She'd heard them
talking about them as they went by her cell on rounds. And now all
those families would be torn apart. All on account of her. **It
doesn't bother you. It doesn't bother you.** She repeated endlessly as
they ran **Me, myself, and I. Those are the only people that matter.**

At last, they came to the motor pool and had ‘borrowed’ an unattended
hopper. “It is a rather long walk to our ride out,” Rawyvin explained
as the ground blurred rapidly beneath them. He quietly set their
course, and turned to Selyara. Sely was watching the prison behind her
through the open side door, now pouring black smoke into the sky,
detonations still sending reverberations through the air.

She felt cold inside as she watched the destruction of the prison. She
would have thought seeing the place destroyed would have provided a
sense of vindication. Instead, she find herself wondering in a
detached manner how many had perished in their wake.

“You disapprove,” Rawyvin commented idly.

Selyara gave him a coquettish sideways glance. Time to change tact. If
angering him didn't make him controllable, perhaps playing into his
ego and his narcissistic fantasies would.

“Quite the opposite. That place has been my hell for the last eight
years. And I do so love watching things go boom.” She leaned in,
resting her hand on her hand, breathing a little deeper than was
strictly necessary. “I must admit, feels awful good being dead.” She
ran her finger down his arm lazily, feeling his ego fighting with his
caution. His ego won out. Of course she'd be in awe of him, and of
course she'd be attracted to him. She fought the urge to jerk her hand
away as she caught the tail end of the inappropriate thoughts he had
that centered around her. **Fucking sick bastard.**

“You will of course forgive me for being rude to you earlier... You
scared me, and... Well... Being in jail, showing you're scared isn't a
very good survival mechanism.” She gave him what she hoped was a doe
eyed look of vulnerability.

She saw him relax slightly, and she felt relief fluttering in her
throat. She was playing with fire, she knew it. She was also beginning
to realize that somehow she'd stepped right into the middle of
something that was far bigger than she'd anticipated. She might even
be out of her depth. A ball of ice settled in her stomach, but she
kept the flirtatious look on her face.

“Of course...” Rawyvin said slowly. “But you DO know you hurt my
feelings, don't you? You should really... apologize properly for
that.” His soothing tone sent chills down her spine.

“And thank you for my rescue.” She nuzzled his cheek and slid in
closer, playing her game to the hilt. “But darling, that will have to
wait until we're safely out of here because I will be requiring your
full attention.”

He chuckled slightly, and she felt encouraged. He was buying her act.

“Well now, this is certainly more like it,” he mused. “Though I find
myself fully capable of giving you the attention you require right
now…”

“Can you blame a girl for being a romantic?” She teased back. She
fought revulsion as his surface thoughts came to her; of her
undressed; her craving him; her helpless, bound, at his mercy… she
blocked out further thoughts for the moment, internally quivering with
disgust, rage, and fear.

He was laughing in response to her comment, and was nodding his
assent. “Your proposal has merit. Patience is a virtue, after all.” He
leaned in, stroking her hair, and pushed her gently against the wall
to face him. She fought the urge to scream, and smiled instead. He as
caressing her as a lover now, but his mind was anything but loving.
Sely wondered briefly what the years had done to both of them. They
had transformed him into a dangerous predator, and her into… what was
she? That was a question for another time, for now she was determined
not to be his prey. “I must admit,” he was saying, “I certainly have
thought of this moment for a while.”

Sely managed to arrange her face into a careful pout to hide her
sneer. “And yet, you only come for me now? You certainly take your
time in claiming your prize,” she taunted him sweetly. “I’m not just a
job to you am I?”

Rawyvin raised an eyebrow, and for the first time she sensed his
hesitation. He was off balance – he had not expected this. “Why did
you come for me, Rawyvin?” She put her arms around him, getting close,
furthering his distraction.

“I had lost track of you,” he admitted. “Your message attracted the
attention of… mutual friends.” His caution, even now was evident.
“They have a job proposal for you… but of course, it was serendipitous
that the assignment was handed to me.” These words appeared to be
raising his guard once more, and Sely moved quickly to dissipate it.

She moved her face close and pulled his face down towards hers. “Oh,
so I am an assignment…” she murmured softly.

His breath deepened. “You’re twisting my words,” he managed.

“Why don’t you and I disappear Rawyvin?” She was whispering in his
ear. “We’re on the precipice of a war, and the only people in the
galaxy that know right now is you and I.” He was listening. She
continued recklessly. “Weapon stocks, ships, planetary defenses…
someone is pulling the strings. You and I could stand to gain from
that… wealth… power…” she drew her body again him, “… your…. heart’s
desire…”

“I… we…” he paused as she traced her fingers on his ear. “The Company
is interested in what you know. They’d never…” his words trailed off
as she brushed her lips past his. She watched is his thoughts became
clouded and lustful. His self-control was cracking while she played
him like a violin. She had what she needed to know now. Section 31 was
indeed after her. And they would stop at nothing to take her. She knew
in an instant what she had to do. Rawyvin was too dangerous to let
live. She bit his neck softly, and resisted the urge to rip out his
jugular then and there. “You…” He murmured fuzzily. “We…”

“Shhh…” She breathed into his ear. “Let’s not talk… Land the hopper.”

Rawyvin did not react at first. Sely quivered inside, fearing that her
act had been for naught. She was in a dangerous place right now. His
thoughts were filled with violent hunger for her; he wanted to do more
than claim her body – he wanted to consume her, and have her helpless
in his power. Ice filled her veins as the moments passed, wondering if
she would have to reverse course and fight. At least she was touching
him so she'd have a head start. Maybe she could take out his mind
before he got in a fatal blow.

But then Rawyvin made his mistake. With a lecherous smile, he released
her, and turned to the controls, tapping the screen.

Sely reacted with lightning speed. Her hand found the knife at his
belt, and drew it swiftly back, only to thrust it forward wildly. The
knife found its mark, as a pool of blood welled up on the back of his
shirt. The thrill of victory was replaced with sudden alarm, as Sely
realized she had failed to puncture anything vital. Rawyvin was
roaring in pain, and turning now. Her next thrust was deflected, and
the knife fell from her hand.

This was suddenly a fight for her life. Animal instinct took over as
she attacked Rawyvin with a ferocity that she had never known. Her
advantage of surprise contributed to several rapid blows, knocking
Rawyvin against the wall. She pressed home her attack, but with
surprising quickness Rawyvin had appeared to recover his bearing and
was deflecting her blows. He was fighting back now, and it was all
that Sely could do to keep up. For the first time she was keenly
thankful for her Vulcan strength, honed now from years of obsessive
working out. He was fast, but she was stronger.

Memories of sparing matches long ago between them was surfacing. She
was in trouble. But so was he. Despite his rapid counter attack, the
injury he had sustained was slowing him down. She saw this now, and
clamped on to this with hope. Rawyvin’s back was towards the hopper’s
open side door. If she kept him from regaining balance, she may just
be able force him out. She redoubled her efforts, adrenaline giving
her a burst of speed.

“Why don't you just DIE you sick sonofabitch?” She howled at him, a
red mist swirling infront of her eyes, the battle cry of a berserker.
“I will NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS let you so much as touch me
again. Go to hell, and tell The Company to do the same if you survive.
Which I doubt. ”

She watched as one of her wild punches made Rawyvin dance back, only
to have him lose his balance at the edge of the door. And then the
final blow landed. A swift stomp sent him out of the open door and
onto the blurring ground below. He landed and tumbled, and rapidly
became a small figure as the hopper continued to rush on. She was
breathing hard, watching. His prone figure did not stir, and his
shrinking profile was now far too distant to determine whether the
fall had killed him. He vanished from sight. Leaving Sely alone,
shaking… and for the first time in a while, free.

=====

Scene: Space Port

The halls were quiet as the janitor hummed to himself, making his
final rounds of the night. It had been a quiet day, despite the
destruction that had taken place at the prison facility close by (or
perhaps, because of it). The news was filled with speculation – a
maintenance issue they were calling it. A hell of a maintenance issue.

The janitor was just turning off the light when a figure startled him
into flipping the lights back on. A dirty, disheveled man was sitting,
leaning against the wall, favoring an injured arm and looking as if he
was on the verge of passing out. “Oh my God!” The Janitor rushed to
the man, kneeling next to him. “Are you alright son?”

An unfamiliar sound accompanied a sudden pain in his chest. The
janitor looked down in horror to see the uninjured hand holding a
phaser.

“Never better,” Rawyvin croaked sadistically as the man sank to the
floor, dead. He pulled himself off the wall, wincing from the pain of
his injuries, and helped himself to the man’s keys. Thinking for a
moment, Rawyvin keyed up the phaser, and then disintegrated the body.
It would be no good leaving evidence behind.

Rawyvin staggered forward, the knife wound on his back burning. He
needed medical attention, and soon. He made his way to the emergency
medical station there at the port, and gruffly activated the emergency
hologram. "Please state the nature of your medical emerge... my God,
man!" The hologram caught sight of Rawyvin's condition and rushed to
him. "Stab wound, blood loss, dehydration, and I may have fractured my
arm," Rawyvin ran down his injuries in a calm, matter of fact manner.
"The wound isn't fatal, but it has been bleeding for a bit." The
hologram worked rapidly on him, muttering to himself and treating
Rawyvin as he went.

"My God, man," he remarked again, "how are you still standing?"
Rawyvin remained silent. After a few moments, the EMH continued.
"Where is the doctor? I never get activated here. How did these
injuries occur." "All very good questions; unfortunately, it makes for
a long story, and I have very little time," Rawyvin continued in his
matter of fact tone. "Suffice it to say that there is a woman who is
crazy about me. Some words were exchanged, and she threw me out."

"Threw you out of what, a shuttle?" The doctor snapped back. Rawyvin
merely shrugged. By and by, Rawyvin's injuries were tended to, until
only a dull soreness remained where his injuries had been.

"That should do it," the hologram stated. "Now please, follow up
tomorrow with the staff doctor. And stay off your feet tonight. You've
lost a lot of blood, and you require rest." Rawyvin merely nodded, and
watched as the doctor winked out of being. He was tempted to fry the
computer banks that the hologram was stored on, but then decided that
there would be little pleasure gained from this petty act of
vandalism.

Weakly, he pushed himself to his feet, exited the medical center, and
made his way to a shuttle bay. He threw his phaser aside, annoyed.
Such an inelegant weapon... He would need a new knife. He had been
careless, he knew that now. Selyara had never been one to melt so
quickly. No, she only respected power. She wanted to be dominated...
needed it even... but of course, she wanted the fight.

"She is crazy about me," Rawyvin observed to himself, as he tried the
latch on a shuttle door. It clicked open for him, and he slowly slid
inside, running the start up procedures. His fantasies played in his
head as his fingers typed in commands and flourished overrides. Sely
had challenged him. And now, she would see just how serious he was. He
would find her, hunt her down, and take his vengeance upon her flesh.
She would resist of course, but Rawyvin knew that it was all merely a
game.

Rawyvin liked games.

He and Sely would play.

And when he tired of her... his fingers traced where his knife had
been... when he tired of her, he would repay her in kind for the wound
she had given him. It would be slow, and done with love, and he would
be there for her, starting into her eyes, so he could be the last
thing she saw. "Ah, Rawyvin... you are always a sucker for the
romantic..." he chucked to himself as the shuttle lifted off.

================================================================================

Location: EARTH

Scene: The Chen Household, San Fransisco.

Time Index: Several weeks later.

Erik Chen hummed softly to himself as he deftly pruned the persimmon
trees he'd planted two years ago. At his feet an ancient black
Labrador dozed in the sunshine, his greying muzzle occasionally
snapping and contorting as he dreamed dog dreams.

Erik smiled fondly at Briar the dog. His wife Reisa was often gone,
and his daughter had her own family, but Briar was his constant
companion. The faithful dog was like his shadow, ever present, ever
watchful. Every day during the school year, Briar would walk with Erik
to the elementary school he taught at, and wait outside the gates
until it was time for Erik to walk home again in the afternoon. An
ever faithful pooch, but recently he had begun to lag further and
further behind as they walked, and Erik often had to stop to let him
catch up.

**Neither of us is getting younger.** Erik thought wryly as he heard
his knees creak when he bent to stroke the dog's head.

Suddenly Briar's eyes flew open, and he got to his feet. With a sudden
burst of puppy-like energy he careened around the yard until he
reached a small arbor of grapes, where he jumped in wild abandon,
until a woman stumbled out of the shadows and tumbled onto the grass.
Briar let out a yip of joy, and sat himself on the intruder's chest
and began to give her face a vigorous tongue bath.

“Enough! Briar, quite enough, get off me!” The figure said nearly
unintelligibly as she tried to fend off the dog's wet kisses.

“...Selyara?” Erik said his voice incredulous. The woman pushed the
dog off of her and leapt to her feet, an odd mixture of emotions
flitting across her face before it settled on sullen and wary.
Ignoring the expression on her face, he pulled her into a hug. Selyara
hesitated for a second, her hands windmilling in indecision before
returning the embrace gingerly. “Are you okay? How did you get here?
Are you in trouble? Have you eaten? Come into the house, quickly.”

Once she was ensconced at the kitchen counter savaging a bowl of
strawberries in honey and a grilled cheese sandwich like a starving
animal, Erik took a moment to study his adopted daughter.

It had been five years since he had last seen her. He never knew why,
but during her third year of incarceration on JARUS II she had refused
to see him when he arrived for his week long visit to the planet. He
had come back every day of that week, and had continued to make the
pilgrimage to visit her every year, feeling that even if she wouldn't
see him, it would do her good to know that he was there for her. He
knew instantly when he saw her in the garden that his instinct had
been right.

“I'm- I'm in trouble Da.” Her lips twisted as though so many words
were trying to tumble out that she couldn't decide which ones to use.
“I'm sorry, I've probably put you in danger, but I... I needed to see
a friendly face again, just to know one exists.”

“What's happened, how can I help?” Erik reached out to touch her
shoulder. She flinched.

“Stop. Stop being so damn understanding.” She seemed on the verge of
tears. “Why can't you just for once be angry with me. Why can't you be
disappointed with me, why can't you hate me like Reisa? You make it so
damn hard to just let it all go.”

He inferred correctly that 'it' was her past, and who she used to be.

“Because I'm not.” He pushed a glass of lemonade towards her. “And
because that isn't what you need. Sel- Change is inevitable, everyone
changes. But it's just that, change. It doesn't obliterate the past.
The past few years haven't made you into someone else, as much as I
can tell you wish they had. You don't have to believe me, but I know
it is.”

She nearly lost control then. The veins in her neck stood out, and a
harsh hissing noise escaped her mouth as she clamped back the
hysterical tears she'd been holding back for the last 8 years.

“I can't stay. I've already put you in danger.” She stood abruptly and
swirled a trio of small pendants towards him. “Keep this on you at all
time, and give one to Reisa and Lily. Tell them to do the same. It's
an insurance policy. I've put the word out to many of my... friends...
They have secrets that need kept, and I've warned them all that if
anything happens to any of you, those secrets will be sent out to every
security officer and local police force in the Federation. They will
try to keep you safe out of self interest.”

“Alright, but remember you always have a place here when you want to come back.”

“Yes. I love you da. And Reisa.”

“I know.”

She stood, and Briar butted his head into her hand.

**I go with Master now?** He said hopefully, his tail stiffly wagging.

**Not this time, Briar. Stay with Da, keep protecting him.** She
stroked his head, sadly.

** Briar done something wrong?** The dog seemed convinced that she was
leaving him because he had displeased him.

**No, no. Master did something wrong. Master was very very bad.** She
shut the door and fled before she fell apart.

--------------------------------------------------

Joint post by:


Alix Fowler
Selyara, Starfleet's most wanted
Fugitive from justice
Location unknown

And

Christopher B. Del Gesso
Writing as
Rawyvin Seth, Sick SOB
Section 31 asset
Location unknown.