Ten Forward Lounge - OTA

[writes_with_digital_ink]

It's been a long shift.

Very long.

And frustrating.

As soon as she clocks off, Gaila stalks to her quarters, strips out of her uniform and pulls on a dress. A Terran sundress, not Orion, because frankly, she's over pants and she'd feel undressed if she pulled on one of her tunics without pants.

She'd meant to sulk in her room and chill, but her room is small, itchy, and so she finds herself at the lounge. The lounge has people, but it's after the main time people are here. She can handle it.

And so, Ensign Gaila betIlley commandeers a table near a window, and flops over it. She'll get to her drink in moment. For now?

Flop.

Comments

[writes_with_digital_ink]

This pause is even longer.

"Not even close."

[tript]

He shook his head. "No, it is close. I've seen it." He stood up straight to stand by her table and loom over her a bit, without getting too close.

[writes_with_digital_ink]

Unfortunately for him, she's an Orion who grew up around Orions: she's used to men being a lot taller and a lot bigger than Trip, and ones who could control the slave restrain on her neck.

She blinks at him, and then looks faintly, scornfully incredulous.

At the attempt at looming and the words both.

"Yes. By pirates."

The words 'you moron' aren't spoken, but they don't really need to be.

"And, okay, um, mouth-to-mouth contact isn't even close to being the same thing as being affected by pheromones. It's smell, not touch."

[tript]

"Which is a hell of a lot more powerful the closer you get." He assumed anyway. He probably shouldn't be that close now, but he wasn't going to back off.

He ignored the bit about pirates - as far as he was concerned all Orions were pirates.

"What are you going to do with this Enterprise, once you control everyone on it?" Not that he was expecting her to tell him, but an admission that she was up to something would do for now.

[writes_with_digital_ink]

Speaking very slowly, "Nothing. Because I'm not trying to control anyone.

It's morally wrong."

[tript]

He didn't look impressed. "Hasn't stopped you people from doing it, though, has it?"

[writes_with_digital_ink]

She makes a small sound of frustration and then leans back in her chair, annoyance in every line and curve of her body.

"You got me. I forgot, there are and never have been any human criminals at all. Never. In the entire history of your species has anyone been a criminal."

[tript]

"Oh, we got plenty of those." He shifted uncomfortably, understanding what she was saying, but still not at all convinced she was not up to something.

"So you're telling me you're innocent?" His voice was full of sarcasm. "Even though you can use those pheromones of yours to make me believe anything."

[writes_with_digital_ink]

"Actually, I can't make you believe anything," she says. Without much bite, this time: she's trying to make him understand. "It's more like, I could make you want to do anything for me.

But, it's not exactly like a phaser-blast. If I was doing it to you, I'd be doing it to everyone around me. And you'd be jealous, and aggressive, but not to me. Just to everyone you saw as a threat.

So, you tell me. Do you want to march over there and punch Ensign Gythi for checking out my ass as I walked in?"

[tript]

"No," he said, slowly. But maybe he was still immune to those pheromones, even though T'Pol was two hundred years in the past. And if she wasn't, then what was Ensign betIlley up to?

"So you're saying there's nothing you want me to do for you?" He didn't sound sure about that at all.

[writes_with_digital_ink]

"About the only thing I want you to do is stop accusing a fellow officer of Starfleet of being a damn pirate."

She sighs, bites back a whole host of other things.

"If you want character references, go bother either the Captain, or chase down Admiral Pike."

[tript]

He was hardly going to trust character references from men, when she would have influenced them.

"I'm not accusing you of being a pirate. I'm accusing you of being an Orion. You can hardly deny that."

[writes_with_digital_ink]

"I'm not ashamed of my species," she says, coldly.

[tript]

"Right." So that meant she was condoning them. "I'm keeping my eye on you." Although he turned away to get another drink and sit at a table a bit further away. Not to mention unfold his arms when he had his back to her, so she wouldn't see how much that position had made his shoulder hurt

[writes_with_digital_ink]

And Gaila just stares after him, resisting the urge to bang her head against the table again and wondering which particular god she's managed to offend to be saddled with this.