[G] PNPC Aron Kells & Lt. Alora DeVeau - "A New Partnership" (No Tags, Slight Backsim)

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Amanda Nordstrom

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Aug 7, 2014, 9:05:34 PM8/7/14
to Garuda
(Kells' Quarters, USS Garuda)

::When the doors slid open to Kells' quarters, it was Alora who stood on
the other side of them. The normally cheerful demeaner had been replaced
with something quite a bit more solemn. Lips that generally curled
upward and been turned upside down and an air of determination had
settled about her. That smile did flicker into existence for the
briefest of moments when her eyes caught Kells', a habit that wouldn't
die easily, even among serious matters, but it faded almost as soon as
it had appeared.::

DeVeau: Hey. Mind if we talk?

:: Aron had been in the process of packing the few things he'd brought
with him into the standard-issue blue duffel. He looked up when DeVeau
spoke, surprised at himself as he did so: He hadn't heard the doors
open, hadn't seen the light from the corridor spill into his darker
room. But, he thought, he had been fairly preoccupied. ::

Kells: Not at all. Excuse me while I continue here....

DeVeau: Thanks.

::She'd felt better after some tea and getting to meet Skyfire. Once
that meeting had ended, however, the weight of everything had settled on
her shoulders once more. So she sought out the one name she'd been
given. Kells.::

DeVeau: I'm sorry for bugging you.

Kells: Not at all, not at all.

:: He closed up the duffel and sat on the bed's edge to face her. At the
sound of the zipper she noted the way the quarters were packed. A
glance around and her suspicions were confirmed. If he'd had anything
to make that his home, it was gone, shut away out of the light of day.::

Kells: You caught me at a good moment, actually. I'm heading over to the
station soon, and then....

DeVeau: You're leaving?

Kells: No, I'll be staying around the region, just not on this ship.

DeVeau: Oh.

::Honestly, Alora wasn't sure what to think or how to feel about that.
The strange situation with Kells sort of turned everything topsy
turvy. Again, she wondered why it should matter considering how little
she really knew the man...men...either or both of them. Yet, she'd been
told in Academy her first Captain was always her most memorable. Maybe
that explained some things.::

DeVeau: But...I thought you were thinking of staying on the Garuda. Why
the sudden change?

:: He rolled the duffel around with his foot. It was a good question,
and one of the ones that had been pattering around in his brain for
several days. ::

Kells: I appreciate what you said before, about most of them not holding
what that -- faux-Kells did against me. ::beat:: But I can't help
myself, sometimes, for doing it, too. That's more what I've been running
from, I suppose.

::Everyone had their demons, even Alora, though most might not realise
it. As she delved further into the life of an officer, she was
beginning to see that some demons stirred even among an organisation
like Starfleet. If she hadn't faced hers, could she really ask why he
didn't face his?::

DeVeau: So...that's it?

Kells: Yes, well, I know what I'm going to do now, and I have the
latinum to make it work.

::Latinum? Why would he need latinum?::

DeVeau: Oh? What's that?

Kells: Tol -- you know, the owner of the Anchorage -- has a little
explorer ship he'd offering for, well, an astronomical amount, but it
has some good systems and its defenses are strong. ::beat:: I'm going to
buy it. Hire a small crew. Explore.

DeVeau: Seriously?

::But really, she couldn't blame him. Although that sort of option
would have been available to her, Alora had chosen Starfleet. It was a
combination of being able to explore and have the backing of an
organisation that was large and powerful enough to hopefully make a
difference for the better. If she felt uncomfortable remaining in
Starfleet, would she not have considered doing something similar? ::

oO(Yeah. Yeah, I probably would.)Oo

DeVeau: How much is he asking for?

:: Aron allowed what might have been his first real smile since he'd
come aboard. ::

Kells: Seriously. And it's only fifty bars, which Tol tells me is a
steal. In fact, I failed to mention that there are a few latinum
deposits on the world that was the last I performed terraform management
on. Three years ago, but the project remembered and they were happy to
compensate.

DeVeau: Wow. That must be nice.

::Alora wasn't sure bout the price on the ship, but surely Kells would
look into more details before he actually purchased it.::

Kells: It's especially nice since the Cardassians now own half the
station. Did you hear about that?

DeVeau: No, actually, I hadn't.

::Really. That was interesting. With the tenuous relationship between
the Cardassians and the Federation, Alora couldn't help but wonder what
that might turn into for the future. She supposed she'd be around to see.::

DeVeau: So no chance of sticking with Starfleet at all?

Kells: Oh, well, I'd sort of rather be on my own right now, without
either the Federation or the Cardassians looking over my shoulder. Look,
do you want to come see it some time?

DeVeau: Come see it? Me?

Kells: Sure. It's the ship called Ship -- at least until I think of a
better name. ::beat:: You can maybe tell me a little more about the last
year, though I have to admit, now that I've made up my mind, it seems a
little less important.

::Alora's smile softened and she nodded. She'd come to like the former
Kells and though this one shared some characteristics to the other, he
wasn't the same either, yet she couldn't help but like him too. Perhaps
that was another thing the two shared.::

DeVeau: I'd love to come see it. ::She paused, then her eyes widened and
her smile faded once more.:: Oh, but...but don't leave yet, I actually
came to see you for another reason.

Kells: I won't. Why did you want to talk to me? Not that you need a
reason, but--?

::Alora's teeth worried her lower lip for a moment but finally she
sighed. She couldn't really explain everything because so much was
weird and Nara hadn't seen fit to tell her much.::

DeVeau: It's about Rahman. Have you heard?

:: Aron's gaze dropped at once. In fact, he'd followed the progression
of events closely, or as closely as he could without officer clearances
and while bargaining over subspace with Tol. ::

Kells: Yes. ::beat:: I can't imagine what she's going through.

:: Rahman, like DeVeau, had shown herself loyal to his memory, and he
appreciated that. He wished he could do something now, but.... ::

Kells: There's nothing we can do. Is there?

DeVeau: I don't know.

::She wished there was. For the first time since joining Starfleet,
Alora actually wished she had some rank she could pull to try and figure
things out. Unfortunately, she was once again left in the dark.::

Kells: Well, I wish I could. Especially since I'm not bound by Starfleet
regulations now.

DeVeau: You mean like planning a daring escape?

::Alora managed a half smile. It was supposed to be a joke, but
evidently she must not have sounded like she was joking.::

Kells: No, no, I just mean that -- rather than sitting around, waiting
for her to be carted off to a JAG board -- maybe I could look for, I
don't know, something that would help.

:: Even as he said it, he was frustrated with his lack of knowledge of
the specifics. ::

DeVeau; I hear you on that.

::He sounded as frustrated as she felt. If he only knew.::

DeVeau: She told me to seek you out.

:: Aron's eyes went wide. Why would she have told her to do that? ::

Kells: Why?

DeVeau: I'm not sure. She...well, she said I had to be careful who I
trust, even the higher ups. That there might be more on board, but she
wouldn't give me any specifics. She said there was something bigger,
more nefarious happening. I told her I wanted to look into things, but
she said not to do it alone - and suggested I come to you.

:: Well, that sounded paranoid, and almost perfectly representative of
what one might expect from someone who had just been relieved of duty in
circumstances like Rahman's -- but not at all representative of Rahman
herself. Aron licked her lips. ::

Kells: Well. I don't know what she wanted me to do, exactly -- but I
trusted her, and she trusted me, both before and again now, so I have to
at least entertain the possibility the fact that she knows something I
don't.

DeVeau: Yeah, okay.

::That was helpful. Not. Once again, for as many times as there were
stars, Alora wished Rahman had given her more to go on.::

Kells: You don't think -- maybe she just meant this situation with Ross?
I mean, his betrayal?

:: But that didn't make any sense; she wouldn't give cryptic warnings
about something that had already happened. ::

::Alora shook her head. It didn't sound like that to her - not at all.::

DeVeau: _That_ I think would have been made clear and she wouldn't have
given me the warning not to trust others, even superior officers.
Granted, Ross was a superior officer, but it sounded like...like she
knew there was something more complicated happening and that Ross was
only a part of it.

Kells: Like I said, I have access to information, and ways to get it,
that I wouldn't as an officer. Maybe I can poke around. ::beat:: I mean,
I had planned to, anyway, but if she wanted you to come to me--

:: What could she have possibly meant? Aron shook his head. He had no
idea. ::

DeVeau: Well, I said I was going to look into it. I mean...she's my friend.

::Was she? Alora considered Nara so, even if they hadn't spent that
much time together off duty. If nothing else, there was a sense of
comraderie after what they had experienced together, a link that a
trauma like that formed between two victims in the same situation.
Maybe it was just her, but regardless, Alora felt like she needed to
_try_.::

Kells: ::suddenly:: You could come /with /me.

DeVeau: With you?

Kells: I mean on my ship. You know, I'll have a small crew. I could use
someone with your knowledge and your experience.

::It gave Alora pause. It wasn't as if she didn't have that ability.
After all, she was not destitute and could have taken other measure to
explore space. Yet there was an appeal of Starfleet itself that had
drawn her to the organisation, and it had obvious advantages over going
it alone.

But she wouldn't be alone in that would she? She'd be with Kells,
someone at least passingly familiar.::

DeVeau: That...would mean giving up Starfleet.

Kells: Well, yes, it would mean that. I doubt they'd allow you to keep
your commission and just up and leave.

DeVeau: Yeah.

::There was a great attractiveness in Kells' offer. As he had
mentioned, there would be advantages without the uniform, just as there
would be advantages with it. Yet, there were other reasons to remain in
starfleet, the power of that organisation behind her, the knowledge she
had access to, the ability to make a difference in a manner that was
more widespread. Then there were more personal reasons...::

DeVeau: I don't know...it's tempting but...

::But...but...but...some reasons were stronger than others.::

Kells: But you're needed here.

:: His smile was slightly too understanding. Oh, he accepted that she
had her post, but a part of him insisted: If I did it, why can't you?
But he reminded himself that there had been a very unpleasant year
involved in the middle between his service and now. He couldn't expect
her to make a decision like that when he -- or anyone -- snapped his
fingers. ::

DeVeau: No...I think I need to stay. I think Starfleet is where I
should be, as tempting as that offer is.

Kells: I know. I mean, I /do /understand.

DeVeau: I can do something, though.

Kells: Oh?

DeVeau: I don't think it would conflict with Starfleet's interest for me
to be an investment partner. And if you're willing to investigate into
Nara's matters and share anything else you find that could be...you
know, useful and important...not necessarily related to that...

:: Aron's eyes widened. Investment partner? He wanted to ask her to
elaborate, but if she did, it would only be details. The offer was
there, and he knew what those words meant. ::

Kells: Yes, of course! I mean, you /are /a much more desirable partner
than Tol or any of his associates. ::beat:: And I do plan on looking
into Rahman's situation, as much as I can. Even if that means shadowing
Rahman's ship when it heads back to Fed space.

::Alora's eyes widened, but there was a mischievousness that glinted
within those green depths.::

DeVeau: Oh?

Kells: Well, I don't think it will, but I /would./
/
/
DeVeau: Heh. That's good to know.

::In other words, he was no coward and willing to take measures to
procure information. That could be very, very useful. Alora didn't
want him to risk his life or anything, but a partnership with someone
bold could be profitable in some ways. If he could help with Nara's
situation, it would be well worth it.::

Kells: Anyway. Partners?

:: He offered his hand to her, asking without any further words for a
shake. Alora accepted it without hesitation, her hold firm and unwavering.::

DeVeau: Partners.

Kells: Then it's settled!

DeVeau: Indeed. I'll send you a message with more specifics and details
- and you just let me know what you need.

::And hopefully he'd be able to obtain what she - or really, Roshanara -
needed.::

****************

Aron Kells
Former CO
Current-Past-Always Scientist

&

Lt. Alora DeVeau
Chief of Science
USS Garuda
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