Serren Tan & Mikali sh'Shar - Andorian Blues: The Deal, Part VI

[David Adams]

(( Sto'Vo'Kor, USS Gorkon ))

Serren Tan had endured enough of Mikali sh'Shar's flattery, nostalgia, and deflection. It was time for him to find out what the chaotic Andorian wanted with him and why she was on this ship in the first place.

sh'Shar: ::nervously:: Maybe I just wanted to see you. Catch up with an old friend I hadn't seen in a while.

Tan: Yeah, right. And I'm a spotted Tellerite. Just tell me the real reason so I can hurry up and say no.

Mikali said nothing for some time, and when she did, her voice was small.

sh'Shar: I need your help, Serren.

Oh wow, that was a shock. Mikali had put her big blue foot in some trouble and needed help getting out of it. 

Despite his previous dismissal, it was so good to see her he didn't mind. Tan leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head, face split in a half-smile.

Tan: Yeah? Well, you know I'm always up for cleaning up your messes, ever since the Indy. ::he smiled goodnaturedly:: Whatcha need? I got some latinum, if that's the problem. You need a place to crash for a bit? There's a floor on my quarters, all yours. Whatever you need, you got. Like I said: the ship has a fantastic support network. Thinking of joining the night shift again? We could use another helmsman.

sh'Shar: No, no. My flying days are done. I-I think.

Mikali ran her hand through her hair, murmuring the words.

sh'Shar: I, um.

She stopped.

Tan: Mikali... what is it?

Finally sh'Shar spat it out like it was a rotten piece of apple.

sh'Shar: I got arrested again. Few years ago.

Well, that wasn't something he could fix like that. Tan closed his eyes a moment.

Tan: What did you do?

sh'Shar: I... ::she rubbed her neck. Her voice faltered:: I relapsed.

Dammit. He had hoped it wasn't this. Hoped it was anything else...

sh'Shar: I had a small stash. Just a little. Enough for me to get by with. Got found out, because of course I did. Six weeks inside, twelve weeks rehab, lost my commission. Avoided the dreaded Big Chicken Dinner, though, so that was... something. General Discharge was the best my lawyer could wrangle.

What a mess. Serren shook his head sadly.

Tan: I'm really sorry. I should have been there for you.

sh'Shar: You were dead and the Avandar was in mothballs, I could hardly blame you or anyone. I wished I could have gotten onto the Garuda but I...guess they didn't need a washed-up helmsman with one good eye and a drug problem. ::she smiled sadly:: It's okay. I'm not blaming you. All in the past.

A remarkably mature attitude for the normally un-mature shen.

Tan: Okay.

Mikali took a deep breath as though steadying herself.

sh'Shar: But now I need your help.

Oh, here it comes. Tan raised his hands helplessly. 

Tan: You know I'm in Security now, right? What do you possibly think I can do about that? I'm not going to alter your record if that's what you mean, and unless your poison was on this particular ship, I have no jurisdiction anywhere else -- I can't even put in a good word for you. I'm an Ensign now. I'm not even a senior officer, and given all that stuff I said before, I'm sure I'd be a terrible character witness for you.

sh'Shar: No, nothing like that. ::she hesitated:: I... need you to forgive me for what I've done.

Oh. Easy question, quick answer.

Tan: I told you, debts don't transfer between hosts. That goes both ways. Mikali sh'Shar, the only thing you have ever done to me is be perfectly delightful company during some shore leave. That's all. You don't owe me a thing.

She didn't seem satisfied by that.

sh'Shar: Is that all that is? Just chalk it up to culture, and we're done? No. I... I need more.

Tan inhaled softly, the pieces slowly falling into place. This was why she had pushed him about the past... why she had been so insistent he bring up everything. She wanted absolution.

Tan: I'm not about to say you're perfect. I genuinely don't think I can after what I said before. But... I also meant what I said after that. You're... odd, certainly, but somewhere deep down inside you, is... a total moron who doesn't know when to quit, who overcommits herself, who overestimates every single part of her abilities, who just doesn't think about practically anything, who... who makes every mistake in the book, personal and professional. ::he paused:: But underneath that person, is yet another person who is terrible. And so on, and so on, and so on, and so on... 

He made a circle with his hands, indicating on and on and on...

Tan: But underneath all those layers, somewhere, is a decent person who just had a bad run at life and who is obviously, very clearly, determined to make things up to those you've hurt. Someone who, as I said... is loyal to their friends. Whose destructiveness is entirely selfish.

He folded his arms.

Tan: So I want my tricorder back.

sh'Shar was clearly not expecting that answer, her antenna twitching.

sh'Shar: What?

Tan: The tricorder. The one I leant to you. It was on the list of stuff you'd done wrong. I want it back.

sh'Shar: That's... it? You just want the tricorder?

Tan: Yep. And then we're square.

Mikali hesitated, then shrugged off her backpack, rummaging around inside it for a moment, then she pulled out a familiar-looking tricorder, one with a purple stripe, and laid it on the tabletop. It had clearly seen better days.

Tan picked it up, curiously, his expression souring briefly as he considered its condition.

Tan: It...has a dent in it.

sh'Shar: Yeah, I dropped it way back. Sorry. ::she paused:: Hey, I bought it back, didn't I?

That would have to do. Tan slipped it into his pocket.

Tan: I suppose. ::he smiled:: So we're square.

sh'Shar: Okay. Great. Because there's actually, um, one more thing I need from you...

--

Ensign Serren Tan

Security/Tactical

USS Gorkon

O238704AT0