A Night at the Theater (Closed, Reyes)

[Kali Reyes]

[Embassy]

There was something strange flickering behind the older man's eyes that made Kali tilt her head when they marched into his office. The Spartan room looked strangely familiar. "Did I come in here when I was drunk?"

"No. But you melted the head of your Andorian Staysha doll right there," he pointed to the corner of his office. A single sad scorch mark sat just above a chair.

Kali blinked at it in recognition and the flash of memory came quick for her. "I was upgrading it." She traded a surprised look at Mahak. "I have been here before. With dad!"

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Embassy]

Colgan turned on his heel as if he was a line officer and not a lawyer. He marched into his office without a word, leaving the pair of them to drift after him.

The JAG officer sat, and when they had entered he seemed to relax a bit.

"I learned a long time ago that the best defense against legal troubles is discretion, not necessarily abiding by the law." Colgan said, unsmiling. "Communications have been completely dampened in this room, so we may speak freely."

"Commander, I--"

"Do you know how much trouble you've caused your father with this drunken assault charge, Reyes?" Colgan asked her bluntly.

[Kali Reyes]

[Embassy]

"Not much. He's kind of dead." She was so deadpan about it, it would probably be perceived as a morbid joke, but she's said it so many times, it might as well be a part of her coping mechanism.

"Grey is still alive," he corrected severely and, oh, that was strange for Grey to be called her dad. God-dad sure, but...

"Well okay, but these charges can be explained," Kali continued. "The arrest warrant was way before I joined Starfleet and Mahak just acted in self-defense, so really do we need to be chewed out on shore leave? Everyone's drunk - well, except for Mahak. Let's just..." She made a shooing motion. "Brush this away with some old fashioned donations to the R&D labs over in Memory Alpha and be on our way?"

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Embassy]

"I wish it were that easy," Colgan said bluntly. "Those men you roughed up were part of the Orion Syndicate. We...have had problem with them recently."

"The Orion Syndicate have been nothing but a problem since we first encountered them." Mahak said, just as bluntly. "I fail to see how a few thugs drunkenly assaulting two Starfleet officers can cause a problem."

"Not a problem for Starfleet, per se, but for the two of you?" Colgan asked. "Very much so. They don't take kindly to being embarrassed. They've ordered your deaths. I'm afraid you'll have to leave Risa and never return."

[Kali Reyes]

[Embassy]

If Kali sipped any liquid right now, she would have spat it out all over Colgan's desk. "Am I hearing you correctly? Leave?! You gotta be kidding me!" she snapped. "Does dual citizenship mean nothing to anyone anymore? Or the entire infrastructure I donated to Klendagon Square that, mind you, helped cement the Federation standing on Risa? I'm not gonna bust out of my own territory just because the halfwit syndicate needs a pacifier!"

And she definitely wasn't going to lay on her back and take it from the Syndicate. Not literally anymore at least.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Embassy]

"You misunderstand. This whole case is already smoothed over." Colgan told her. "The Federation will offer some form of compensation to get you both out of this mess. I'm a lawyer, not a diplomat, so I don't know exactly what the terms are. The government welcomes any and all Federation personnel to Risa."

"So why must we leave and never come back?" Mahak asked.

"The Syndicate doesn't care about citizenship, horse trading, or diplomacy." The commander replied. "They only care about blood. They want you enslaved or killed, both of you. You won't be safe here, and unless you leave immediately you won't be safe anywhere. The Orions have a long grasp, but I believe if you do not return to Risa you will eventually be safe."

[Kali Reyes]

[Embassy]

"Dealing with the Syndicate isn't my first rodeo," Kali replied, standing. "This won't be the last you see me."

Colgan leveled a cool, but resigned gaze for her. "If you were smart, you won't."

Screwing things up was almost a talent for her. No one had a rap sheet like she did, but then again, no one she knew has ever pushed for what she wanted. It was by the grace of luck or karma or maybe she was a selfless martyr in a past life that helped her skirt by danger by the skin of her teeth. But she wasn't going to turn away from something because someone told her to. It wasn't her style.

"I've already sent word to your commanding officers," Colgan continued. "I suggest the both of you return to spacedock and depart. Quietly."

Kali swaggered backwards out the door. "Keep that seat warm for me, Colgan. I'll put a matching scorch mark on that wall for ol' time's sake." And when the door swished shut, she glanced at Mahak. "You're tired of me," she decided sharply. "I would have had enough of me by now." It wasn't every day your date would eject you off a planet.

And she wasn't gonna let him stay. This was kind of her beef she had to squash on her own. 

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Embassy-Turbolift]

"You are incorrect," Mahak declared in his authoritative way. "I am not tired of you. However, I do believe the commander is correct. Never returning to Risa is a small price to pay for our safety."

Since they were alone in the lift, the Vulcan laid a sinewy arm over Reyes's shoulder and hugged her to him, side by side. He felt the sweet pressure of her hip against his and the curvy thigh.

"One thing is indisputable. We must return to our ships at once. We have commanding officers to report to." He said. His tone indicated he was not looking forward to it.