PNPC Alexander Williams: The cup of poison is not empty yet.

[Roel Willems]

((Federation Headquarters Ballroom, Bolarus IX))

Alex's eyes occasionally wandered through the crowd, searching for Braya. When he finally caught sight of her, he pushed himself off the wall with his back and slowly made his way to her, hoping to avoid the attention of the others in the room.

 

Williams: Hey there… you are hard to find these days.

 

She turned to Alex and wiped her mouth with the back of her gloved hand. The look in her eyes told him she was not happy to see him, which was to be expected.

 

Braya: ::Scowling:: Ain’t that for the best? Word is you asked for transfer.

 

Williams: I did. I don’t think I have anything left to do here after what happened.

 

Braya: Ya’ don’t? Huh? That’s it?

 

Her brows lifted; she was clearly mad at him.

 

Alex wasn’t looking forward to defending himself again. Especially not to Braya, since she had sort of got him into all this.

 

Williams: I don’t. It was my choice to wait with the report… In fact, I didn’t even have time to write it so soon after the mission. I was going to ask the captain something, and then suddenly this came up. I told him… and resigned my position. All in less than a minute.

 

Braya: ::Incensed:: I could’a got away with it, y’know. Without showin’ ya. But I did. Not for havin’ to, but b’cause I TRUSTED ya’. B’cause I thought we ‘ad somethin’. Ya’ sure made it seem like we did, b’neath my ship.

 

oO She couldn’t have gotten away with it? Clearly she doesn’t know the captain already knew about it. Oo

 

Williams: Got away with it? If that was your intention, it seems I misjudged you. And no, you couldn’t; the captain already knew!

 

Cutting in before he could finish his thought, Braya’s words erupted like a volcano, fiery and mercurial. So loud that everyone nearby had no choice but to hear.

 

oO This is getting out of hand. I have to find a way to calm her down… Oo

 

Braya: Then, not only do ya’ try givin’ me the runaround an’ spill y’er guts while I’m in a bloody ‘ospital. But y’er runnin’ off like a frightened tika cat. An’ as if that weren't enough, y’er tellin’ me. Me! That there ain’t nothin’ here left for ya’?! Well ya’ got that wrong, Alex. There’s somethin’ left. An’ ‘ere it is.

 

As she spoke it hit Alex. She wasn’t mad over the cloak, or about him telling the captain about it. She was mad about something else. The fact that there was something to stay for. Something that he couldn’t see. When he realized she was talking about herself, it was already too late. With a jerk of her hand, Braya threw her drink in his face, slammed the glass down on the table, and stormed off.

 

oO Guess the poison cup wasn’t empty. Time for the last sip. Oo

 

As the liquor dripped from his face, Alex ran his arm over it, hoping to wipe most of it off on his uniform. Then he looked around, hoping no one had noticed. The majority of the room seemed to have missed it, but a few people were looking at him, clearly shocked.

 

As he watched Braya storm off, he considered his options. The first was to chase after her, explain himself properly, and ask her forgiveness for not seeing what had been right in front of him. The second came as a sharper, darker impulse: to follow her, take her by the arm, and pull her out of the room before either of them made an even bigger scene. Whether that ended with her in the brig for disrespecting a superior officer, or somewhere far more private if her feelings for him were still there, was a thought he pushed away almost as quickly as it came. The third, and probably wisest, option was to head for the men’s room, clean himself up, and make himself presentable for the upcoming ceremony.

 

======================
With great pleasure written as:
Lt. Cmdr. Alexander Williams
Former Tactical Officer
USS Eagle - A
https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Alexander_Williams
A239006AW0