Earth – the home of the Federation – was perhaps the most important world in the galaxy. The homeworld of Humanity, the spinning blue orb of mostly water had gathered a diverse collection of species all working together for a common goal. For many to visit the planet Earth had been a dream, for others it had been a very distinctive ambition. It was, after all, perhaps the most important world in the galaxy and that was a drive all in itself to embrace its wonders.
For most people at least. For others, like the Risan woman known only as Cyn, it had been her lot in life that she’d ended up here. Cyn had been a very successful businesswoman on her homeworld of Risa and had amassed a personal wealth that was impressive for such an unassuming woman. Most people had underestimated her as just another pretty face and she’d used that to her advantage over the years. It was her attributes that had made her so appealing. Her skin was the color of coffee and her eyes reminded most of delectable chocolate just waiting to be unwrapped. She’d always been told that her smile could power a Warp Core and that her hair, with its fiery streaks of crimson, could heat the coldest of hearts. The problem was that her heart was coldest of them all. Using all her untamed benefits she grew in power, slowly taking over as an underworld Empress on her world.
Then the Orion Syndicate came. Apparently drawing too much wealth and strength on a world that they considered theirs was a bit of a no no. Things could’ve gone very badly for her, but, for some reason, the Syndicate decided to spare her by letting her keep her life. They ransacked her Club – the famous Cyndrome in Suraya Bay – and stole most of her personal fortune. Then they gave her an ultimatum: she would help them as a silent partner in an attack on a Federation official, or she would be exiled from her world. Not much of what happened next was known to her. She knew that she’d agreed to their terms and helped them against the official, but he was far from helpless. Instead he got the upper hand on both her and the Syndicate, taking them down and ordering her memories wiped.
Now she was here: trapped aboard Metropolis Station and running the latest iteration of her Cyndrome. It was nothing like she wanted. The Federation believed in a free economy where there was no money to be made. Worse still the people who came and went to her club were idealists, much more interested in the benefits to the galaxy than benefiting her. It was a nightmare.
She sighed as she looked around the bar hoping to at least illicit some sort of reaction or spot something that excited her. She didn’t hold much hope though. She’d at least had some fun since coming here, but even that was few and far between. It was just another day at the office though. Patrons sat around her spattering of tables drinking her watered down drinks. A few people gazed through the windows at the Earth below and the San Francisco Fleet Yard that Metropolis oversaw – pointing out sights as the station slowly orbited the Earth.
Then she saw him. Seated at what many considered the best seat in the house at this time of the night was a man, Human by the looks of him, staring at his drink and not the window. He was a tall man with hair the color of space and a beard of about two days growth covering his jaw. His clothes were ornate. The shirt and jacket were made of Tholian silk and his pants were perfectly clinging to his body. Being in the business she could tell that he was a man who took care of himself. He wasn’t muscular but he wasn’t overweight either. He’d make a nice diversion for an hour or two.
Cyn walked over to him, her emerald dress shimmering as she approached in the light. “She break your heart?” The Risan asked the man as he looked at the sapphire colored drink.
The man broke free from his spell, but didn’t look at her, “Something like that.” He took another sip from it, “Can I have another?”
She motioned for the waiter – a Bolian – who came running, “I thought that I’d come over to help you get over your broken heart.” She looked at the alien, “Bring him another, and I’ll have one too.”
He ran off to accommodate and Cyn pulled up a chair. She slinked down into the chair, using every skill she’d ever learned of seduction to garner the man’s attention. “My name’s Cyn and I’m the owner of this establishment. Now who might you be? You look awfully familiar.” It wasn’t entirely a pickup line. There was something about him that she couldn’t put her finger on.
“A patron,” he answered at the waiter brought him the replacement. He downed the drink in one swift swig.
“Take it easy tiger,” she said resting her hand atop his forearm, “we have all night to get acquainted.”
The Human pushed the drink forward, “I’m afraid I don’t have that much time. I have a lot to do.”
“Well let me be a nice distraction for at least an hour.” She looked at her own drink, “Doesn’t Human chivalry make you compelled to at least share a drink with me? To wait until I’ve had a chance to at least enjoy my drink before you go running off?”
“I’m not Human,” he quipped.
She grinned, “What a coincidence! Neither am I! I’m a Risan – and I’m a very bad one. How about you?”
“I’m not a Risan,” the man answered finally looking at her, “but I’m a very bad one too.”
She looked into his dark eyes, “Look at that! Another thing we have in common. How amazing. Should we try for three?” Cyn motioned toward the window, “How about the view? You know a lot of people think that this is the best view in the house.”
“Let me guess,” her target interrupted, “not your favorite though.”
“You’d be right,” she leaned back in the chair and brushed her foot against the man’s leg. “There’s just something about staring down at the Earth that puts chills in me and not in a good way. I still don’t get people’s fascination with it. Hell, we have people from the Delta Quadrant that want to visit it desperately even. I’d rather be anywhere else. How about you?”
“I love the Earth. It’s the ship in the middle that’s brought me a lot of pain,” he answered as he finished his drink.
Cyn peered out the window and searched through the ships that were gathered there. San Francisco Yards was one of the largest in the Federation and dozens of ships were being actively worked on there. Actually, from what she could tell, most of the ships here were still under fresh construction. How could one of them have gotten on this handsome stranger’s bad side?
“You’re not planning to blow it up are you?”
The man let out a deep belly laugh, “Not at all. Too much paperwork.”
“All these ships are new,” she challenged him. “What could they have possibly done to make you all broody?”
“Not all are new,” he pointed up at one in the distance. “That’s the ship I have the problem with.”
Cyn leaned over toward the window, squinting into the distance to try to make out the ship. There was one that wasn’t new out there and, of all the ships in the vastness of space, he had problems with the Enterprise.
Not that she was surprised there were people out there who would. The Enterprise had been in service for over 16 years and had served as Federation Flagship for almost that entire time. She was at the shipyard because of major damage that she’d experienced during her last mission where she came under attack by a hijacked Starfleet ship. An Admiral and his wife had been killed in the process, a Cardassian outpost destroyed, and the Enterprise severely damaged. That was the rumor though, but the relationship between the Federation and the Cardassians was still strained.
“Enterprise to the Admiral.”
Cyn’s eyes got to be the size of saucers with the interruption, “the Enterprise?”
The man, an Admiral no less, reached under his coat and pulled a Starfleet Communicator from beneath it. “What is it Ziva?”
“Admiral, Engineering reports that the Warp Core is ready to be brought back online,” the cold voice of a Vulcan answered.
The Admiral slumped into his chair, “Very well. Prepare to bring me back aboard, Commander.”
“Aye Sir.”
The channel closed as the patron pushed his empty glass forward on the table, “Thanks for the drink.”
“Do I at least get to know your name?” Cyn asked as he walked toward the door.
“The Admiral,” he answered as he stepped through the open door and joined the crowds in the station’s promenade.
For most people at least. For others, like the Risan woman known only as Cyn, it had been her lot in life that she’d ended up here. Cyn had been a very successful businesswoman on her homeworld of Risa and had amassed a personal wealth that was impressive for such an unassuming woman. Most people had underestimated her as just another pretty face and she’d used that to her advantage over the years. It was her attributes that had made her so appealing. Her skin was the color of coffee and her eyes reminded most of delectable chocolate just waiting to be unwrapped. She’d always been told that her smile could power a Warp Core and that her hair, with its fiery streaks of crimson, could heat the coldest of hearts. The problem was that her heart was coldest of them all. Using all her untamed benefits she grew in power, slowly taking over as an underworld Empress on her world.
Then the Orion Syndicate came. Apparently drawing too much wealth and strength on a world that they considered theirs was a bit of a no no. Things could’ve gone very badly for her, but, for some reason, the Syndicate decided to spare her by letting her keep her life. They ransacked her Club – the famous Cyndrome in Suraya Bay – and stole most of her personal fortune. Then they gave her an ultimatum: she would help them as a silent partner in an attack on a Federation official, or she would be exiled from her world. Not much of what happened next was known to her. She knew that she’d agreed to their terms and helped them against the official, but he was far from helpless. Instead he got the upper hand on both her and the Syndicate, taking them down and ordering her memories wiped.
Now she was here: trapped aboard Metropolis Station and running the latest iteration of her Cyndrome. It was nothing like she wanted. The Federation believed in a free economy where there was no money to be made. Worse still the people who came and went to her club were idealists, much more interested in the benefits to the galaxy than benefiting her. It was a nightmare.
She sighed as she looked around the bar hoping to at least illicit some sort of reaction or spot something that excited her. She didn’t hold much hope though. She’d at least had some fun since coming here, but even that was few and far between. It was just another day at the office though. Patrons sat around her spattering of tables drinking her watered down drinks. A few people gazed through the windows at the Earth below and the San Francisco Fleet Yard that Metropolis oversaw – pointing out sights as the station slowly orbited the Earth.
Then she saw him. Seated at what many considered the best seat in the house at this time of the night was a man, Human by the looks of him, staring at his drink and not the window. He was a tall man with hair the color of space and a beard of about two days growth covering his jaw. His clothes were ornate. The shirt and jacket were made of Tholian silk and his pants were perfectly clinging to his body. Being in the business she could tell that he was a man who took care of himself. He wasn’t muscular but he wasn’t overweight either. He’d make a nice diversion for an hour or two.
Cyn walked over to him, her emerald dress shimmering as she approached in the light. “She break your heart?” The Risan asked the man as he looked at the sapphire colored drink.
The man broke free from his spell, but didn’t look at her, “Something like that.” He took another sip from it, “Can I have another?”
She motioned for the waiter – a Bolian – who came running, “I thought that I’d come over to help you get over your broken heart.” She looked at the alien, “Bring him another, and I’ll have one too.”
He ran off to accommodate and Cyn pulled up a chair. She slinked down into the chair, using every skill she’d ever learned of seduction to garner the man’s attention. “My name’s Cyn and I’m the owner of this establishment. Now who might you be? You look awfully familiar.” It wasn’t entirely a pickup line. There was something about him that she couldn’t put her finger on.
“A patron,” he answered at the waiter brought him the replacement. He downed the drink in one swift swig.
“Take it easy tiger,” she said resting her hand atop his forearm, “we have all night to get acquainted.”
The Human pushed the drink forward, “I’m afraid I don’t have that much time. I have a lot to do.”
“Well let me be a nice distraction for at least an hour.” She looked at her own drink, “Doesn’t Human chivalry make you compelled to at least share a drink with me? To wait until I’ve had a chance to at least enjoy my drink before you go running off?”
“I’m not Human,” he quipped.
She grinned, “What a coincidence! Neither am I! I’m a Risan – and I’m a very bad one. How about you?”
“I’m not a Risan,” the man answered finally looking at her, “but I’m a very bad one too.”
She looked into his dark eyes, “Look at that! Another thing we have in common. How amazing. Should we try for three?” Cyn motioned toward the window, “How about the view? You know a lot of people think that this is the best view in the house.”
“Let me guess,” her target interrupted, “not your favorite though.”
“You’d be right,” she leaned back in the chair and brushed her foot against the man’s leg. “There’s just something about staring down at the Earth that puts chills in me and not in a good way. I still don’t get people’s fascination with it. Hell, we have people from the Delta Quadrant that want to visit it desperately even. I’d rather be anywhere else. How about you?”
“I love the Earth. It’s the ship in the middle that’s brought me a lot of pain,” he answered as he finished his drink.
Cyn peered out the window and searched through the ships that were gathered there. San Francisco Yards was one of the largest in the Federation and dozens of ships were being actively worked on there. Actually, from what she could tell, most of the ships here were still under fresh construction. How could one of them have gotten on this handsome stranger’s bad side?
“You’re not planning to blow it up are you?”
The man let out a deep belly laugh, “Not at all. Too much paperwork.”
“All these ships are new,” she challenged him. “What could they have possibly done to make you all broody?”
“Not all are new,” he pointed up at one in the distance. “That’s the ship I have the problem with.”
Cyn leaned over toward the window, squinting into the distance to try to make out the ship. There was one that wasn’t new out there and, of all the ships in the vastness of space, he had problems with the Enterprise.
Not that she was surprised there were people out there who would. The Enterprise had been in service for over 16 years and had served as Federation Flagship for almost that entire time. She was at the shipyard because of major damage that she’d experienced during her last mission where she came under attack by a hijacked Starfleet ship. An Admiral and his wife had been killed in the process, a Cardassian outpost destroyed, and the Enterprise severely damaged. That was the rumor though, but the relationship between the Federation and the Cardassians was still strained.
“Enterprise to the Admiral.”
Cyn’s eyes got to be the size of saucers with the interruption, “the Enterprise?”
The man, an Admiral no less, reached under his coat and pulled a Starfleet Communicator from beneath it. “What is it Ziva?”
“Admiral, Engineering reports that the Warp Core is ready to be brought back online,” the cold voice of a Vulcan answered.
The Admiral slumped into his chair, “Very well. Prepare to bring me back aboard, Commander.”
“Aye Sir.”
The channel closed as the patron pushed his empty glass forward on the table, “Thanks for the drink.”
“Do I at least get to know your name?” Cyn asked as he walked toward the door.
“The Admiral,” he answered as he stepped through the open door and joined the crowds in the station’s promenade.
so I don't know exactly what's cool here and what's not.
outs::
