candor1 | Open RP Post

From:

"Oh I'm pretty sure you don't know how this seems to me," she said dryly. Because if he actually did understand? That would mean he was Federation. She set down the parts that were in her arms while they spoke, because she realized that she could chec that easily enough. She crossed her arms, making sure her jacket opened just enough to show the comn badge as she gave him a look. Mostly to see if he recognized the insignia as anything other than just a pin. If he was undercover studying native culture then she could accept the help and he might have something that could actually help. If he didn't recognize the insignia, she was no worse off than she had been before.

From:

candor1

He didn't recognize the insignia—but he recognized that it was an insignia. Another slight eyebrow arch, and, mirroring her, he opened his jacket to show her his ID transponder with its notation of his rank. Different than hers but perhaps along similar enough lines.

"How young did they get you?" he asked quietly.

From:

ro_laren

Not Federation. Not any insignia she knew. She wished for five minutes with the Enterprise's database. Forget that. Two minutes with Data. She'd have a minute and a half to spare.

She sighed and fixed her jacket, shaking her head. "Young enough. But again, not as young as I look."

From:

candor1

"Aha." He let his jacket fall closed again. "I was six."

From:

ro_laren

Six. Not an age she wanted to remember. "I'd just as soon forget my childhood, if it's all the same," she said. Yes, she had actually managed for a whole moment to forget she was trapped in the body of a twelve year old.

From:

candor1

Whereas he saw a twelve year-old, but still had no difficulty believing she would speak of childhood as something past and gone.

"You see now, at least," he said, "why I want to help you?"

From:

ro_laren

This was an easier topic. Which said a lot about that childhood she was ignoring.

"And you see now why I can't let you any more than you already have."

From:

candor1

Caught between the impulses to frown and to smile, he settled for shrugging. "Not really. No."

From:

ro_laren

She rubbed at her forehead. Of all the races in the galaxy, after the Q the humans seemed to be the best at giving her headaches without seeming to mean to. Or maybe he was just too much like Riker. Hard to tell. She sighed and took a risk. A bit more of the truth than she had intended to offer.

"Let's just say my Captain wouldn't be thrilled if..." she cut herself off. Actually...

She looked around a moment, then looked back at him. "How fast does this ship go?" No she's not actually asking for an escape.

From:

candor1

"Lightspeed?" If that was even what she was asking. But along the lines of what can I say to convince. Part of him wondered why he was going to such lengths. But right now, he could afford to.

From:

ro_laren

"What kind of engine is it using?" She hadn't been able to ask outright before. But if she could find out once and for all if they had warp....

But calling it Lightspeed out loud implied the answer. Still, if Geordi was here she could have left this to be his call, as the one more knowledgeable about engines and the one less likely to be locked in the brig for the rest of his career.

From:

candor1

"Incom 4J.7 fusial thrust engines with class 1 hyperdrive motivators. What are you really asking?"

From:

ro_laren

She sighed a bit and lifted everything again carefully. "You just answered it."

Not Warp. Not even close. Which meant the Prime Directive was clear. She could not let their technology influence the development of his people's technology. Which meant that she had to remember all she could from her Engineering electives and hope she could fix the shuttle on her own. There would be no help unless someone answered her distress signal.

From:

candor1

He shook his head. He thought he saw the road she was on and he hated it. He would have loved to know he was wrong. But he couldn't. What was happening with her was beyond his understanding of the universe.

"Would it make a difference if I gave you a lift and just dropped you off? Is your ship far enough away for that?"

From:

ro_laren

She considered that. Then settled on a compromise. Hey, at least she no longer suspected he was trying to kidnap her. Well okay. It was still a consideration, just not something she thought was as likely as other outcomes. "Closer to it, perhaps, but the last of the travel I must do alone." But the shuttle should be far enough from the town that she should have no issues with pickpockets.

From:

candor1

"Okay, then." He crossed to the door control and hit the panel. The ramp retracted and doors slid closed. He came back and put the remaining parts back in the carton, then slid it back into its niche and closed the panel. Then he nodded, to her, toward the cockpit. "Come strap in." He wasn't worried about her seeing how his ship worked. He was more concerned with keeping eyes on her.

From:

ro_laren

She watched the odd archaic way the ship closed up. But the words he said to her next...

"Strap in?" What? Wait. For acceleration? She stepped forward to eye the seats with trepidation. How low tech was this? Could it even get her to the shuttle craft without breaking apart or killing them? She'd been in Cardassian slave freighters that were in better shape....

Edited Date: 2019-06-05 09:31 am (UTC)

From:

candor1

His eyebrow sure was getting a workout. He wished he knew what to make of her confidence she could fix her own ship paired with her unfamiliarity with his. He was confident she wasn't Imperial—from things said, not just her being female and nonhuman. Whatever group she was with… He wondered if he should put on his Fulcrum side and try to recruit or negotiate. He didn't think she'd be terribly receptive. Still…

"Yeah," he said. Climbing into the pilot's seat and indicating the co-pilot's. "Strap in."

From:

ro_laren

She managed not to mutter under her breath, but if he was part betazed she was dead for her thoughts. Then again, if he was part Betazed he'd be part of the Federation. She got into the seat and took a few minutes to try and figure out the straps. Primitive. How did his race even survive?

From:

candor1

He didn't try to help her, but he did put on his sabacc face and secure his own straps a bit slower than usual so she could watch.

"Okay. So where are we going?" He needed coordinates, or at least a heading.

From:

ro_laren

She finally figured out the straps and did some quick mental calculation for where he could put down far enough from the shuttle craft to not see it, but still be out of the way of the town and other people. She then gave him the coordinates.

From:

candor1

Liftoff and flight were hopefully smoother than she'd expected. The ship, lower tech or not, didn't shudder or jerk and the transitions were fluid.

He set down where she'd instructed, which was a helpfully broad, flat stretch clear of people or structures. He released his restraints to accompany her back to the exit, where he palmed the wall control to set down the ramp.

"Hey." He caught her attention before she started away. "I don't know what your organization does. But if you ever want to join the fight… gain allies and assets… ask for Fulcrum in the Albarrio Sector. It'll get back to me. Or comm me—" He rattled off his personal channel, not knowing if she'd be able to memorize it from that or not, but hence the backup.

From:

ro_laren

She almost asked him what fight, but there were voices now coming from the open exit. Nasal voices that generally only meant one race. Especially once she heard the word "lobes". she set down the box she had just picked up, and the bag. "Stay here, stay inside, close the door as soon as I leave. Don't let anyone but me in unless you know them." And with that she was racing down the ramp, hand dipping into the pocket where the phaser was but not yet drawing it.

And sure enough there seemed to be a half dozen Ferengi trying to dismantle the shuttlecraft. She drew her phaser but kept it within her coat in case he disobeyed and was watching.

"Did you fail to see where it says Enterprise on the side?" she asked, stalking to the scavengers who froze when they took in her uniform, then started laughing when they saw her size. "That's a Federation ship you are attempting to dismantle, and you don't have the best track record with the Enterprise do you?" she asked.

"They allow children on their vessels. They are weak. And that is why they will lose."

So. Didn't just LOOK like the same Ferengi they'd just defeated then. She drew her phaser and aimed it at the one in the lead. "Odd. That's not how I remember it going when you idiots tried to take the Enterprise last time. Do you really care to underestimate us again?"

From:

candor1

A clear of a throat somewhere behind her: he'd disobeyed. Cassian was standing before the ramp of his ship with his own blaster drawn, aimed at one of the Ferengi that had been poised to… who knows what it meant to do, and maybe she could have stopped it herself, but he didn't need to wait to find out.

From:

chicklet

The Ferengi narrowed their eyes and backed off closer to the shuttlecraft. She caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, having also heard him, but things were a mess now anyway. But maybe she could salvage something off the Ferengi to help her get back home.

She advanced on them, they backed off until the shuttle was fully in veiw. And then with a bright flash of light and an odd sound they were gone. A single human looking man in a uniform that mostly matched hers stood in their place.

Laren bit back the urge to swear at him in Bajoran. "Q," she said, voice cold and hard.

"In the flesh. Well... sort of." He looked down at himself. Then he smirked at her. "What? Did you think I was just going to let you fly off and ruin all my fun?" He then sized up Cassian dismissively. "You and your stray. It's almost cute enough to be sickening."