Unable to move past her hands and knees, Mhneia forced herself to breath, but the pain on her right side made it impossible to take a full breath. Hearing the door open she stiffened at Etes’ voice. Not daring to speak when not spoken to she could barely begin to move before Etes had lifted her in the air. Gripping his arm she reflexively dug her nails into his wrist, but it was to no avail. There was no doubt in her mind Etes would kill her. The question was how. At the sight of the Ambassador’s impassive face she tried to speak “Amb-” The pressure of breathing left to nothing more than winces and few gasps. Her eyes widened at Sunsan’s plans for her. No. She refused to be the thing he took out his frustrations. Even death was better than that. Mheia let out a sharp cry of pain when the guards finally lifted her. She could feel something cracking her too deep to alleviate. Grinding her teeth she attempted to speak, but the sudden jerking of the guards made her body give way.
…
Nniol increased his pace, his eyes fixed on the exit of the ballroom direction ahead. “Excuse me, Pardon me.” A stranger’s voice apologized, briefly grazing his hand to steady themselves. Nniol brushed them off well aware the guards were probably already sniffing him out. Stepping out of the ballroom he turned down a hall, not even bothering with the main entrance to the building. At the end of the hall was an elevator, but he quickly pushed through a door and onto a set of stairs leading down to a garage.
..
Tarique has chosen to wear a pair of dark slacks with a dark green knit sweater, and black boots. All of his attire required proper insulation to keep him at a comfortable temperature. When he first arrived in San Francisco he had been told by countless Terrans that the weather was ‘comfortable’ year round. He had found this statement illogical as comfort was subjective and not directly comparable by scientific means in most cases. Hailing from a desert planet the winter here which he understood to be considered mild my many- was quite uncomfortable for him until he acquired the appropriate attire to suite his needs.
Looking at his most recent message from Cadet Wells he quickly ran over the the options. Bother Cadet Zletka and Rao were gone meaning access to their room would not be voluntary. Under the given circumstances it would be considered acceptable to simply retrieve clothing from an outside source. The task of type of clothing’; however, could range. They were a formal event now and therefore it would be logical to discern they were planning to wear the clothing he witnessed them in earlier. Finding clothing of that calibre would prove difficult at this hour.
Another beep came though he noted her comment. Another subjective comment and criteria.
“Understood. I am requesting a guest.” After sending the message he pulled a wool coat over his body and stepped out of his room with a specific destination in mind.
Tarique arrived at one of the female housing buildings and knocked twice. “Cadet Que. I need your assistance.”
…
Zletka thwacked his hand away from her hair, irritation clearly seeping into her features as black eyes focused on him. He didn’t understand. Studying his behavior she began to calm, but the message was clear: she did not want him touching her head like that again. Once seated her fingers deftly unfastened interwoven locks while listening. He was right. She needed to act accordingly, but it wasn’t in her nature to feign and those prior drinks certainly weren’t helping her cause. Tilting her head to allow better access she followed his charade. Marcus was a representative; him exploding could have severe repercussions, but he hadn’t heard what she heard. Felt what she felt…which was for the best. [I-] Her thoughts dropped as she followed his gaze to see Etes- and a smiling Etes at that. His thoughts only made her glance back at Marcus. His reaction towards Etes was giving her more insight into this Romulan while also making her very aware of her past slip ups. Taking Etes’ hand she tried not to let her expressions give herself away. [Lie. True.] She thought towards Marcus in response to Sunsan’s two statements. Swallowing slightly she did everything in her power not to crack any sort of smile or smirk. Holes of asses? WHAT? Her thoughts focused on the fact that Wells and Rao were together meaning act of remaining here was left to them; Marcus and Sunsan. Raising her hand she gave Marcus a small wave goodbye, her eyes widening slightly when Marcus’s internal voice screamed: HOLE OF AN ASS. Not wanting to upset him she forced her amusement down before responding: [I understand. Stay calm.]
The walk with Etes was a silent one on the ears of others, but to her it was gloriously one sided. All of the half finished portions of the puzzle were now becoming one solid picture and it was a disgusting one. His rough handling of her and slamming of the door put her on edge. Not bothering to comment she stayed steady under his glare. Did she blame him for what happened to her friend? Of course not. Was she getting tired of fending off his attempts to gauge her? Of course. Did she fear she would express herself wholly? Absolutely. Closing her eyes she ran her fingers through her hair she thought back to the thoughts she’d picked up on the ballroom; the names, faces, clothing- anything. When she opened them again a drink was in her face. “Thank you, but I’ll manage without it.” Her tone was calm, but then he pushed her and irritation spiked again. Then he made his comment. Internal groaning and a desire to express even a sliver of her feelings one materialized through a soft huff. “She’s actually quite brilliant,” Zletka stated flatly, “So no. She isn’t drugged often.” Rising from her chair she made her way to the windows. Just the sight of outside air was enough to drain tension from her body. “This is the second time you’ve separated me from the guests now.” Sensing the next words threatening to come out she bit her tongue lightly. The words came flooding anyway. “Why? If it’s concern over security of the other guests thoughts then why not have me discreetly escorted out to be with my friend? Unless you’re still trying to gauge me which by now you’ve realized either how much your ploy failed or how uninteresting I really am.” Looking through the glass she observed the city below. “But of course no matter how right or wrong I am: I’ll still be the unfortunate lesser being who just happens to be aesthetically pleasing enough- for a lesser being, that is- to keep you at most mildly entertained from the night.” Running her fingers across the edge of the window in search of a latch she felt nothing but wall.
Spock Insults Romulan Commander