New to the Beat

Posted on Sat Feb 8th, 2014 @ 10:05pm by Captain Liarra Von & Ensign Sivity Dar-Barriun

Mission: Picking Up the Pieces
Location: Promenade

[ON]

The Promenade was quiet, but then the hour was late. That suited her just fine. Whilst Sivity enjoyed attention, she didn’t like large crowds; there was simply too much noise. Consequently the click of her high heels was distinctly audible as she slowly patrolled the main thoroughfare. Her presence did not go unnoticed. It rarely did.

Looking around she saw four individuals that looked to be assessing their chances for a successfully shoplifting. She lazily tapped her phaser as they studied her and noted her high heels and subsequent inability to effectively give chase. She smiled slightly to herself. They were likely operating as a gang and would no doubt set up a diversion. No sooner had the thought occurred than a very flustered, rather fat man rushed up and started berating her.

“Security? Security!? You call yourselves Security and look what’s happened! My livelihood is-“

He didn’t get any further. Sivity spun on her heel and swept his feet from under him, dropping him to the floor. Squatting low, she picked up three of the other four suspicious characters immediately. The look of shock and surprise on their faces made her smile. A moment later the fourth emerged. He was a slight man, swathed in a long robe: ideal for sequestering items.
She shot him.

Sivity then casually sauntered over to the fallen figure, ignoring the outraged figure behind her. She rolled him over with the pointed toe of her boot. By now there were a great many curious faces staring at her. The robe clinked. She guessed he was stealing alcohol. She pointed her phaser at the others in turn and crooked her finger beckoning them to her. They reluctantly complied.

She removed the bottles of alcohol. There were five in all. She was impressed.

“You three, take him away.” She spoke softly. It was mostly a high pitched whisper, but they heard.
“But we’re not…I don’t know him..”
“It’s nothing to do with me!”

She looked up at them from her squat near the unconscious man.

“Fine. You have two choices. Take him away. Disappear. This never happened. Or, I shoot you all, charge you – the usual.”

“You can’t do that! I’ve done noth’-”

He stopped abruptly as she raised her weapon and pointed it at him.

“I think that’s a poor choice, but if that’s what you want.” Her tone remained unchanged.
“We got this. Come, grab him. Let’s go.” The tallest of the trio spoke decisively. The others were somewhat bemused, but then complied.

“Just remember, if I see you here again, I WILL shoot first.”

They hurried away muttering things about crazy, gun happy Andorians.

As she expected, nothing further happened. The indignant man she dismissed with a wave of her phaser. He seemed even more outraged, if such was possible, but it took two to have an argument and so she simply wandered off continuing her patrol.

The incident did nothing to alter her conviction that she’d been assigned to the Star Base as a punishment. At least they’d not demoted her. The incident did however, improve her mood: it seemed that the place was not to be as devoid of excitement as she’d expected.

Ten minutes later she found herself leaning against a door frame. Her ankles were crossed and her hands were loosely held behind her back. Her attempt at a low profile failed miserably. The pose showed off her stunning form exquisitely. She’d taken a few liberties with her uniform. It was still basically the same, but the pants clung to her legs like a second skin and disappeared into her high heeled knee high boots. The top too was form fitting, but otherwise entirely standard issue. Her pose also displayed the myriad charms, fetishes and symbols that she wore. Her ankles and wrists each had a charm bracelet/anklet festooned with bizarre items. Further strange tokens adorned her necklace and a trio of purple feathers depended from her left ear-ring. Bone bangles and rings completed the cornucopia of eccentric accoutrements. Her long, shiny, white hair was worn up in a high ponytail. She also wore more make-up and perfume than did other on duty personnel. In fact she wore more than most off-duty women.

She checked a nearby clock; just another three hours to go. She suppressed a sigh and checked her painted nails for the umpteenth time. The sound of purposeful, measured steps brought her head up. The uniform instantly informed her of who those steps belonged to. She endeavoured to slowly slink back into the doorway. She’d no desire to meet the Commander of the Star Base. Her past experiences with Command had generally not been that smooth. It wasn’t that she didn’t follow orders; she did, just not all of them, all of the time.

So far it had been a relatively quiet night on the station, Liarra reflected. Commander Gunning was out investigating a possibly crashed ship, and Commander Ratchford was putting together a medical team to investigate a viral outbreak. Other than the potential threat of Corrine Steiner, though Liarra wasn't sure the major had been completely open with her, there didn't appear to be any major threats against her station. It was reassuring, at least somewhat, though their work was far from over.

On this particular evening, Captain Von was taking a stroll through the Promenade. She was still amazed by the changes in the Promenade from just over a month ago. It was depressing to see all of the empty stores. Petty crime had doubled as it became harder and harder for people to make a living under the circumstances.

As she walked along, there were murmurs of recent commotion. She traced the happenings to a nearby shop, and one of the security officers leaning against the bulkhead. Liarra didn't recognize her, but judging by her appearance, she would have remembered if she had met her before. While the uniform itself was technically per regulations, the heels and the other adornments certainly were not. Liarra decided to do a little investigating. "Good evening, Ensign. I don't believe we have met." Liarra couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the aroma of the officer's perfume.

Sivity stepped forward and saluted. That always seemed to be appreciated by superior officers and now she was faced with THE foremost of those.
"That is correct, Commander." She answered simply. "Ensign Sivity Dar-Barriun." She answered in response to the implied question.

Sivity was again very grateful for the extra inches her high heels accorded her. The Captain was still taller than her, but the height difference was far less than it would have otherwise been.

"You look tired Commander," She continued with rather inappropriate familiarity, but unable to constrain her superstitious and instinctive nature, "You should wear more yellow - during the day, that is." She continued rather obliquely. Her intent was twofold: to deflect further inquiry into her activities that night and a genuine desire to assuage any fatigue affecting the woman. Being prettier than her Commander, she did not expect the latter to tarry long. She had a tendency to make females uncomfortable. For once she was grateful for that effect.

"Captain, actually," Liarra calmly corrected. She was still trying to size up the ensign. She certainly had confidence. "I appreciate the concern, Ensign, but my days of wearing yellow seem to be behind me. It's been a long time since I've been in your shoes." Von paused a moment and took at look at the Andorian's footwear. "Well, not those shoes, exactly. How long have you been stationed here, Ms. Dar-Barriun?"

Sivity paused before answering. She wasn't sure whether she was being asked how long she'd been on patrol in the Promenade or been assigned to the Star Base. She figured that it was the latter.

"Two days, Captain." She answered simply and quietly. Whilst her appearance practically shouted for attention, her voice was almost the opposite. She wanted to extoll the merits of colour therapy, but said nothing further. The sooner that the Captain moved on, the happier she'd be. Her dealings with Command were usually far from enjoyable, but despite the Captain having clearly scrutinised her attire, she'd yet to be castigate Sivity. She hoped that on such a large Star Base she'd find some measure of anonymity from the censure of her superiors.

"I see." Liarra studied her for a moment. She wasn't sure if she should be reprimanded for being so blatantly out of uniform, or if she should be left to her own devices. She wondered how Alex would have handled things, but quickly shook those thoughts out of her mind. It was her command now. She couldn't spend all her time worrying about her old friend would have handled things. She decided that it would be best to take it up with O'Connell. He was short handed as it was. Liarra didn't need to make things worse by running off some of his officers because they were excessively decorated. Besides, it was his department, and not her place to be handling those type of issues. Instead, she decided to change the subject. "Has there been any commotion in this area? I heard some whisperings of a scene. Do you know anything about that?"

Sivity's heart sank. She didn't want to have to start filing reports which would lead to questions and analysis of her actions.
"Oh, yes, Captain; that was just a minor incident. Some shoplifters. They didn't get anything and I gave them a reprimand. I figured the last thing we need is more legal proceedings and resentment."
She fingered her bone dice charm; she needed the luck. Of course she'd have to repay that with some ill fortune, but given the events of the recent past, she reckoned she built up a good supply of fortune. However, it wasn't as simple as that: whilst there were balances at the cosmic level, some people simply enjoyed greater fortune than others. Sivity clearly hadn't been at the front of that particular line.

To Liarra's keen eye, it seemed that many of the strange items adorning the unusually attractive Andorian were of religious or quasi-religious significance. They didn't mean much to her, but she learned long ago not to question someone when it comes to faith. Bajorans had to fight hard for the right to wear their earrings while in uniform, but Liarra still wasn't convinced that this Andorian had earned the adornments in that much excess. "I suppose your right. Commander O'Connell has been complaining that the holding cells are too full. Just make sure you report the incident in your log." Captain Von glanced around. It was getting late, and she still had that meeting with the Archans in the morning. "I'll let you get back to your patrol then, Ensign."

"Yes, Captain." Sivity responded, not at all sure what else to say. As soon as the Captain turned, she again checked the time. How was she supposed to remember what to put in a log when her shift didn't finish for another two hours? There was no chance of her returning to the Security office earlier than that; she hated desks. Her thoughts turned to more pleasant topics. The captain was far more pleasant than she'd expected. She hadn't chided her for her apparel, as most of her superiors were wont to do. Perhaps the Star Base wouldn't that bad after all. She gave mental thanks to the spirits that had brought her such good fortune and set off back the way she'd come. The trouble makers wouldn't expect her to do that.

[OFF]

Captain Liarra Von
Commanding Officer

Ensign Sivity Dar-Barriun
Security Officer

 

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