JP - Lt. Talos Dakora, Lt. Robin Hopper, & Lohani Vananth-Polgonz: Revelations (Part 4)
Robin Hopper
((A Few Hours Later – Biological Projects Flex Lab, Level 14, SRC – Amity Outpost))
Talos made it to the lab Robin had specified a few minutes earlier than she’d requested, just to be safe. He’d entered to find Lieutenant Robin Hopper, Chief Science Officer of Amity Outpost, alone, standing at a workstation, focused on some seemingly important task.
He announced his presence by way of clearing his throat first.
Dakora: Ahem. Robin? ::He tried her first name, but it felt like somehow in the last 12 hours their familiarity had been downgraded.:: Lieutenant Hopper? I’m here for the DNA test…
As soon as she’d heard the sliding doors of the lab behind her whoosh open, Robin had felt herself tense – and she hated it; hated how it bothered her. They hadn’t done anything wrong and yet, through circumstances outside of their control, the entire thing felt somehow perverted. None of that was her fault. Nor was it Talos’. She tried to keep that in mind as she turned around.
Hopper: Right. Okay… ::Indicating the screens behind her:: Just finishing the last sequence from our first subject here. ::Gesturing to a stool:: You can take a seat, if you want, um, Lieutenant, or you can stand…
She leaned against the panel behind her and crossed her arms. Last night it all seemed so easy. The banter, the knowing looks, the natural energy that had pulled them together. Now, though? It all seemed to have evaporated.
It was sort of amazing– in a bad way– how comfortable he’d felt with her the previous night in contrast to the awkwardness that seemed to hang in the air between them now. Alone for the first time since the curtain had been pulled back on who they actually were, an uncomfortable silence stretched out between them.
Talos raised a hand, splaying it palm first in Robin’s direction.
Dakora: Ok… I’m just going to say it. ::He took a deep breath.: I had no idea you were going to be involved in this… investigation.
He dropped his hands to his sides and sighed.
Dakora: This was all just an unfortunate coincidence.
Immediately, Talos regretted his word choice.
Robin breathed a discontented sigh. She looked at him with uncertainty.
Hopper: So, you regret it, then?
He lowered his voice a little, letting his dark eyes settle on hers.
Dakora: That is not how I meant it. ::He edged closer to her.:: What I’m trying to say is… I had a great time with you. ::Beat.:: The whole time. From the first drink, to the yacht you almost convinced me to buy, to the tattoo show and tell… all of it. I’d hate for some random chance thing to ruin all of that after the fact. You know?
Hopper: ::Looking down to the side:: I guess I never expected there to be an “after the fact…” ::Looking back to him with a somewhat guilty look:: I figured you would be going on your way, and I’d be going on mine.
Talos held her gaze for just a second longer than he intended to but there was a certain coldness to her words that finally made him look away.
She was right, of course she was. In a couple of days he’d be transiting back to the Borderlands. He hadn’t really expected to see her again. He’d made his peace with the idea of his time with her being a pleasant memory when he looked back on his trip to Amity.
But now that he had, he wasn’t sure what to think.
When he replied his expression was the slightest bit downcast.
Dakora: Yeah. No. ::He shook his head at his own word salad.:: Yeah. ::Beat.:: Totally. You’re right..
He trailed off.
A tone sounded from the station behind Robin, indicating the computer had finished sequencing Vananth-Polgonz’ samples. She turned to it, grateful for the brief interruption to collect her thoughts, and confirmed with a glance that the datasets were consistent.
Hopper: ::Over her shoulder:: I guess you’re up.
She walked across the lab space and opened a sealed container, drawing out a pair of swabs housed within sealed tubules. Walking back over, she placed the tubes on a sterile table surface and turned to face Lieutenant Dakora, possible Son of the Sixth House of Betazed. Things were so much simpler without strings. She liked things better when he was just Talos.
Hopper: ::Removing a swab, walking up to him:: Open up.
Feeling her discomfort and the overall awkwardness he made an ill-advised attempt to lighten the mood.
Dakora: I’d say you should buy me dinner first bu-
Hopper: ::Cutting him off:: Don’t be cheeky.
She placed one hand on his chest to keep him steady then, with the other, took the swab and placed it against the inside of his cheek, rolling it and swiping it, before moving on to the other side and repeating the process. As she did, she felt his pulse quicken under her palm. Inadvertently, she lingered a moment.
He raised an eyebrow.
Dakora: Now who’s being cheeky?
He’d felt it. She could deny it, all she wanted, but some remnant of the chemistry they’d had the night before had tried to re-emerge as she touched him.
Hopper: ::Catching herself:: Sorry…
She withdrew the swab from his mouth and placed it back inside the tube, then turned and inserted it into the biological analysis processor and began the first of several tests.
There was a brief pause that lingered in the air, before she turned to face him once more. This time, when she leaned, her arms were by her sides, propping her up against the terminal behind her.
Hopper: We’ll run a few tests – Daughter Vananthz-Polgonz insisted we do a blood genome comparison as well. I hope you don’t get squeamish.
Talos cocked his head, just a little. With no socially acceptable way to say that he’d been around enough bloodshed for it not to bother him all that much anymore, he took the easy way out.
Dakora: I’m uh, ::One side of his mouth quirked up in a lopsided smirk.:: I’m not really the squeamish type.
A tense silence rose between them and Talos found himself a little worried he’d said something wrong. He could feel her mind working, but opted not to pry. Quietly, he waited out the agonizingly long few seconds.
Hopper: I don’t regret it either.
The response had just sort of spilled out of her, unexpectedly. By the look on his face, even he hadn’t sensed it coming. She continued, not quite sure what she was saying – or why.
Hopper: Actually, Talos, it was… ::Grasping for words:: I really needed that. And I don’t just mean the sex, which was honestly, kind of a godsend, but also just… I had a lot of fun letting loose with you. ::Clasping her left arm with her right hand:: Things have been complicated and, uhh, busy lately and last night I got to let that go… So I wanted you to know that, even now after things got weird – ::a sympathetic look:: things did get weird, right? – I still wouldn’t take it back.
His expression softened and there was a little sadness to his smile. A part of him felt oddly guilty for unwittingly dragging her into this uncomfortable situation, while the other part of him was just glad to have some kind of confirmation that he wasn’t the only one that had enjoyed every second of the time they had spent together last night.
He let out a breath.
Dakora: Thank the four. ::A look of relief played across his face.:: I was starting to feel like you might’ve been happier if you’d never met me.
He leaned closer, but not too close.
Dakora: Yeah, things got a little weird. ::He shrugged.:: Who cares? It was a little weird that this all worked out like it did. But if you enjoyed yourself and I enjoyed myself then…
He trailed off as he felt her mind react strongly to where he seemed to be going. In her head, little ‘yellow alert’ warnings were sounding. Robin had done this song-and-dance before and, considering how willing he’d been to jump into bed with her, she expected so had he.
Hopper: Look, Talos… ::wincing:: I really need to know what you expect from this.
Trying not to let the pair of gorgeous eyes staring across at him throw him off, Talos shifted on his stool just a little.
Casual flings had been a way of life for Talos for the majority of his Starfleet career. Longer term relationships brought complications and baggage and… In general, he’d decided after a few unsuccessful attempts that they were more trouble than they were worth.
With that in mind, he wondered why it was taking him so long to respond to her question. Maybe, if it was the right person. Maybe if they were compatible enough.
It didn’t matter. She was stationed literally across the universe from him and in a few short days he’d be gone.
He answered cautiously.
Dakora: What do I expect? ::He gestured to her with an open hand.:: Nothing. ::He blew air out of his nose, laughing to himself a little.:: What would I like from this? Well… ::He rubbed at the stubble on his chin a bit, nervously.:: The way I see it, we’ve got a hard expiration date. One way or another, I’m on my way back to the Alpha quadrant in a few days…
He leaned back on his stool slightly, dropping his hands onto his lap as he did.
Dakora: There’s nothing saying we can’t just see where… ::He echoed her word choice.:: this goes until then…
She squinted and chewed the inside of her cheek a little as she tried to read between the lines. Eventually, she sighed and walked over to him, placing one hand on his chest and another on his cheek. Gazing into his dark eyes, she let down her guard for the first time since she’d walked into that unintentional ambush with Vananth-Polgonz earlier, letting her thoughts flow freely.
Hopper: ::Earnestly:: I don’t think there’s anywhere for this to go…
He gave a single nod.
He understood completely.
Talos had been on other side of this awkward conversation more than once.
Then why did it hurt to hear her say it?
He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
Dakora: You're right. ::He shook his head.:: That probably came out wrong. I think I'm just in a weird headspace right now. ::He gestured at the DNA testing machine:: Understandably…
Her feelings felt oddly familiar to him, the unease at the other parties' potential attachment. The defensive desire to keep an emotional distance between himself and those who tried to get too close. They were moves straight out of his own playbook.
Hopper: Life comes at us pretty fast. Something tells me that a few weeks ago, you wouldn’t have believed you’d be across the galaxy spitting into a tube to find out if you were a Betazoid noble… ::Raise of her brow, tilt of her head:: …A few weeks from now, maybe all this will just be a distant memory.
He quirked up an eyebrow.
Dakora: I imagine you'll take a bit more than a few weeks to fade away, but I get your meaning.
This time his smile came easier. When all was said and done, he'd thoroughly enjoyed his time with her, even if it was shorter than he might've preferred. It wasn't hard to find the joy in that.
Hopper: I don’t know about you, but I’m comfortable being a distant memory… ::A little smirk:: As long as it’s a good memory.
Talos let out a little laugh and shot her a slightly devious grin.
Dakora: It is a very good memory.
She stepped back and placed her hands on her hips, her ‘yellow alert’ finally fading.
Hopper: Yeah… And you know, if I’m ever swinging by the Borderlands… who knows? Maybe we’ll make some more memories. ::Half-hearted smile:: Can you live with that?
Still smiling he shifted his gaze from her to a neutral spot off the side somewhere, then back to her.
Dakora: Yeah. I think I can...
A perfectly-timed chime sounded from the console behind her, and she turned to look at it, nodding appreciatively, before spinning around. She wore, for the first time in hours, a genuinely excited smile.
Hopper: Well, looks like you haven’t been disqualified yet.
His mind still processing the ramifications of the talk they'd just had, it took him a moment to realize what she meant.
Dakora: Huh? ::Beat.:: Oh! ::Another beat.:: That's good. ::His tone betrayed his mixed feelings on the subject.:: At least, I think that's good…
He eyed her curiously.
Dakora: What now?
Robin walked across the room once more to the shelf of supplies, fetching a specialized hypospray device used to draw blood samples into vials. Returning to stand in front of him and pulling up his sleeve, she gave him an impish smile.
Hopper: I’m afraid this ‘Round 2’ isn’t going to be quite as fun as yesterday’s.
TBC in part 5/6…
Lt. Talos Dakora
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Artemis-A
O238811CD0
&
Lt. Robin Hopper
Chief Science Officer,
Amity Outpost
V239806K11