Severance

[Khari Vestra]

"Im not so sure, maybe we can ...oh, kriff it."

There hadn't been time to contemplate what he was about to quip, even he saw that. Not that it mattered to Khari, she was all too happy to let that one slide in favour of letting this escalate. Without the droid to interrupt them this time, she felt a little more secure, not to mention thrilled. His arms snaked around her waist cinching her in and holding her against him, sending the fires within raging out of control. There was only one place this was heading, and she wasn't about to stop it either. For now though, she was content to explore and revel in it, allowing his seeking tongue egress, encouraging him to kiss her more, and taking the opportunity to let her hands roam either. She played it safe though, sliding one up to cup the side of his face, the stubble beneath her palm rough in comparison to the softness of her hand.

While her senses drank him in greedily, she hadn't even noticed the odd clunking sound getting gradually closer and closer, louder and louder, until finally, with a long scraping drag-clunk! They heard it...

"Unhand her, ruffian...!."

The raven haired woman nearly jumped halfway out of her skin, abruptly breaking her kiss with Tress to spin around in his arms, facing the direction of the voice....
But that was odd, upon first inspection, she didn't actually see anyone, not at eye level anyway. Had she just imagined that?
Incredulous, she was about to ask Tress the same question, when a rough, metallic scraping sound startled her all over again, and her gaze shot down. It was Bell alright, but not as she previously remembered him. For a repair droid she would have expected he'd actually attach his legs, but he appeared to have opted only for his arms, torso and head. The latter of which was somewhat essential, but he'd clearly dragged himself all this way to give them a piece of his mind.

"He wasn't....we weren't....I....where's the rest of you?"

It was about this time she realized Tress hadn't really let her go, and she was backed up against him like a scared felinx. What did he expect? That droid could see right up her-
She pulled the hem of her dress tighter around herself, why she hadn't decided to pick up something more practical was simple, she had been in a casino, but this problem would be rectified when they reached the next space station.

"I should probably give you guys some space. You look like you have a little talking to do." Slowly, she pried Tress' arms away and slipped his hold with no problems, then edged her way around Bell, somewhat freaked out by his determination and his odd appearence, disappearing back out of the galley, trying to take stock of what had just happened. And just why, exactly, she was grinning like a maniac.

 

[Tress]

"Unhand her, ruffian...!." If it hadnt been for those few words, Tress wondered how far things would have gone. As it was he was already moaning, and not out of the kiss he was having, it was all over the interruption. Why had he left the droid turned on? What had he been thinking at the time.

She spun around in his arms, he didnt let her go but held on to her. He liked standing behind her with his arms around embracing her. He kissed her neck, nibbling on her sweet spot while she stuttered at the droid. Tress wasnt bothered, they had been caught, wasnt the first time the nosy droid stuck his nose in things. Wont be the last tryst they have hopefully either, just next time he would make it so there is no interruption.

"He wasn't....we weren't....I....where's the rest of you?"

"Yeah, where is the rest of you, Bell?" he smirked his chin at her shoulder smirking down at the droid.

"I said let her go, you clout hearted brigade!" Bell was really working himself up as he reclined up on his two hands.

"Calm down before you blow a processor or something. I was just checking something in her eye..." Tress started off by saying. A complete lie to which Bell was quickly on top of.

"Liar! I saw it all..." Bell started off with heatedly. To which Tress chuckled over, but then Khari decided to move away and give them time.


"I should probably give you guys some space. You look like you have a little talking to do." Slowly, she pried Tress' arms away and slipped his hold with no problems, then edged her way around Bell, somewhat freaked out by his determination and his odd appearence, disappearing back out of the galley, trying to take stock of what had just happened. And just why, exactly, she was grinning like a maniac

Tress frowned at Khari, he was of a mind to kiss her before she left him completely but he let her go so he could work things out with Bell. When she left, he rounded off on the droid. "Listen here, Bell. Stay out of this, your job is the fixing of the ship. Everything else is my business. Your free to leave any time you want, but until then you follow my orders to the letter. Do i make myself clear?"


"As an ex-officer you should be ashamed of yourself, preying on that innocent woman under your care."

Tress didnt let him finish since he raised his hand. "Ex officer is right, and I have done nothing she didnt return on her own free will. Im attracted to her, I am a man after all if you havent forgotten that. Leave off already and get to your duties and leave us to what we will...or else." Walking towards the droid he grabs one arm and starts dragging him off back tot he repair bench so he could fix him. "Stop interupting us, stop protecting her we are both free to do anything we want."

"Maybe she has someone back home....Im trying to protect you, too." Bell had the deceincy to say back. Which had Tress thinking.

Did she have someone else back on Kuat? It never crossed his mind, and he never bothered to ask.

 

[Khari Vestra]

"Yeah, where is the rest of you, Bell?" he smirked his chin at her shoulder smirking down at the droid.

"I said let her go, you clout hearted brigade!" Bell was really working himself up as he reclined up on his two hands.

A little embarrassed, she had retreated to the safety of her - Tress's, cabin at a brisk pace. Doing so didn't shield her ears from the conversation at her back though, she even lingered in the doorway down the corridor to listen for a while too. It was almost comical, almost but not quite, they made quite the pair.
Understandably, Tress was annoyed, and if she was being honest, too, so was she. With a burden-laden sigh, she ran one slender fingered hand through her hair, which had to have looked a little unkempt by now. Didn't they have so much as a comb on this tin can? Then again, one look at a military-grade haircut and you realized you didn't require one. Out the airlock with that idea then - she thought, tiredly turning back to face the cabin and everything that lay within.

Behind her, the conversation, or rather argument, continued. Port couldn't come fast enough, perhaps she should go back for that whiskey?

Scrape-schlunk! The sound of Tress dragging Bell back down towards the workshop jarred her from her thoughts as well as jarring her teeth. The raw grind of metal on metal was like nails down a mineral board to her, to such a degree that she had moved to go and complain about it. Honestly, couldn't he just have picked the droid up and carried him there?
Irritated, she stalked off down the hall in the same direction, hoping to catch them up when the dreadful din finally came to a stop with a heavy clank. And that wasn't all...

"As an ex-officer you should be ashamed of yourself, preying on that innocent woman under your care."

Tress didnt let him finish since he raised his hand. "Ex officer is right, and I have done nothing she didnt return on her own free will. Im attracted to her, I am a man after all if you havent forgotten that. Leave off already and get to your duties and leave us to what we will...or else." Walking towards the droid he grabs one arm and starts dragging him off back tot he repair bench so he could fix him. "Stop interupting us, stop protecting her we are both free to do anything we want."

"Maybe she has someone back home....Im trying to protect you, too."

Now she had been on the point of turning the corner, where she would be in plain sight of the workshop bulkhead, and anyone who was in there, but those words stopped her. Not the bickering, that was part and parcel of travelling with these two interesting individuals, but the suggestion. Khari found it made her stomach do uncomfortable flips and none as pleasant as the one's her little interlude with Tress had, either. Stars...thinking of her life back on Kuat actually seemed like a distant memory, and how long had she been gone? Barely a few days.
Part of that life included the lives of others though, each interwoven with her own, forged among the social circles of the Kuati elite. And Bell was right...there was someone.

Sighing, not liking what she was feeling at all, she leaned back against the wall out of sight. It bore the brunt of her weight, which was just as well, thinking about all that just made her want to collapse and sleep for an age. Maybe she should...but back in the cabin, not here.
What about Tress? - The thought shouldn't have even entered her mind, they were business partners, of sorts, and nobody mixed pleasure with business, nobody with an inkling of sense!

Suddenly her mother's words came back to haunt her 'Unfortunately you gained your sense from the wrong side of the family.' But she should have known!

As ironic as the statement was, it was a painfully fair assessment.

Tress didn't know the truth, the full truth anyway, perhaps it was better to tell him what they could be up against, if the worst came to the worst, he'd be in the know.

"He's right, you never know..." Khari called out from her resting place, revealing her presence visually a moment later. Bell was looking considerably more healthy than the last time she saw him, if such could be said of a droid, but her focus wasn't on him.
"But then again, you never asked."

It was unfair to turn this around on him, that hadn't been her intent, but as she sauntered into the workshop, it was hard to do so without looking just a smidge haughty. It just came naturally.

"There is someone, it was what I was trying to tell you earlier, but it's not what you think." And it wasn't, as cliche as the sentence sounded, Khari cringing at just how badly, "It's publically and lucratively beneficial, that is where it begins and ends. An arrangement, convenience, nothing more." Would he understand that? He might interact with her class but understand them was another matter all together. Kuat was a world of two halves.

 

[Tress]

When was it ok to beat your droid? Was it a crime? Did anyone care? These are the questions he asked himself while fighting the urge to beat Bell to a dented mess of broken metal. Always sticking his nose...or since he had no nose whatsoever his big head into his business.

What Bell had been saying hadnt even entered his thoughts, why would it? Maybe he had been thinking only on himself. What if she did have someone else back home, not that he had heard anything, but what if she did? Would it matter? It would if she wanted the other person. What would that make him? Just something to be used?

"He's right, you never know..." Khari called out from her resting place, revealing her presence visually a moment later. Bell was looking considerably more healthy than the last time she saw him, if such could be said of a droid, but her focus wasn't on him.
"But then again, you never asked."


Tress turned and looked out the door and saw her. She was right he never did ask, just assumed. As he was looking at her he realized something, he didnt like the thought of her being with someone else. "What are you saying?" he wanted to be absolutely sure he understood everything. That she had someone back home and that it wasnt just a thing, but something set in stone. "Your engaged or your in a relationship?"


"There is someone, it was what I was trying to tell you earlier, but it's not what you think." And it wasn't, as cliche as the sentence sounded, Khari cringing at just how badly, "It's publically and lucratively beneficial, that is where it begins and ends. An arrangement, convenience, nothing more." Would he understand that? He might interact with her class but understand them was another matter all together. Kuat was a world of two halves.

His shoulders slumped a little before he turned to go help Bell, it was to give himself time to think. She was with someone else, then. Was she like her mother after all? Was he just something to be used and tossed aside? He had to trust her, he did trust her didnt he?


"Political then? Part of the Ten and their business?" where did that leave him, still wanting to kiss her and possibly more. Would he be the other guy? The lover?

Could he even ask what about them? Should he, what were they anyway. They had shared a kiss, he was moving to fast. "I apologize for kissing you. I stepped over the line....." after helping Bell with things, he left them there after making his excuse about seeing to the rescue parties location to them.

"You should go after him." Bell said to Khari. "He might feel....i havent seen him take an interest to a woman in years." he admitted to her. "Finding out you were with someone might make him feel rejected or used."

"He wont be the other guy...."

 

[Khari Vestra]

"What are you saying?" he wanted to be absolutely sure he understood everything. That she had someone back home and that it wasnt just a thing, but something set in stone. "Your engaged or your in a relationship?"

It felt as though the weight of the galaxy was bearing down upon her, like all eyes were on her and she had just deigned to do something highly humiliating. Why she felt this way was a mystery to her, but she could only ascertain that it might be the case, because of just how dejected he looked when he realized what she was saying to him. His conclusions drawn didn't make this any easier on either of them, especially since the term 'relationship' wasn't what he was thinking it was. It was so ambiguous, it could have meant anything from friendship to madly in love with one another, and she suspected he assumed the latter. What it actually was, was a business arrangement, one the other party seemed to hope would blossom into much more than that, but Khari had never seen it that way. Oh she had tried, but ultimately, he was too wrapped up in himself to care about her, or her dealings. She was just a trinket, a possession to be worn on one's arm whenever the media attention was on either one of them. Exactly the wrong impression any self respecting Kuati woman wanted to be giving out.

"Engaged? No....you lived on world for a long time, you must know the outlook on engagement as well as I do. A relationship, yes, but not the way you're..." Why was she even justifying herself to him? He was already walking away and so far as she could see, he didn't have any right to be getting in a tizzy about this anymore than she did. Somehow, though, it DID matter to her, and there was very little justification for that either aside from - oh stars, she did, didn't she? - she liked Tress Odak, a little more than her conscience would give her credit for.

"Political then? Part of the Ten and their business?" where did that leave him, still wanting to kiss her and possibly more. Would he be the other guy? The lover?

"No...well yes, but-"
He didn't give her room to explain, he was already off halfway into the next room before she could have replied.

Could he even ask what about them? Should he, what were they anyway. They had shared a kiss, he was moving to fast. "I apologize for kissing you. I stepped over the line....." after helping Bell with things, he left them there after making his excuse about seeing to the rescue parties location to them.

Maybe she should have gone after him, but something told her it would be the worst thing to do in this situation. He needed to sort his head out just as much as she needed to consider what was going on in hers. There would be time during the trip, they were limping to port as it was. Hours, was something she wasn't short on at the time, and with no other distractions, she took up residence in the seating area on one couch, knees drawn up and gaze distant, while she stared off at nothing in particular at all.
To her surprise, when she heard footsteps approaching, it wasn't Tress at all. Apparently, he'd deemed it necessary to re-attach the droid's legs, because it was Bell who appeared from behind the partition wall.

"You should go after him." Bell said to Khari. "He might feel....i havent seen him take an interest to a woman in years." he admitted to her. "Finding out you were with someone might make him feel rejected or used."

"He wont be the other guy...."

Tiredly, she ran a hand through her loose strands of hair, trying to massage away some of the tension from her scalp along the way. She failed, of course, she wouldn't feel any less stressed until this was sorted. That was the way things worked, unfortunately for their sanity.

"He was engaged to be married, was he not? I would think that was significant interest in a woman." She responded cooly, refusing to believe that she had caused him pain somehow, she hadn't done anything wrong....

Except kissing him back, leading him to believe that - With vice-like precision, she clamped down on her conscience. It would do her no good to over analyze, much less drive herself round the twist thinking about how this or that might be seen. And still her gaze meandered in the direction Tress had left, willing her legs to take her in that direction too. No, she wasn't giving in.

"Me using him should be the least of his worries, it's not like that, there is no 'other guy' in this whole....whatever it is." He was making her flustered, so she persevered as best she could "Valerian and I....it began as a media speculation story, it seemed profitable to captialize on that and so it was done. I would have never considered him as a potential anything outside of business if it hadn't have been for that. And try as I might to feel something, anything for him....you can't force these things. Living beings don't work like droids, we can't reprogram ourselves, not like that."

Could it be, that she had just answered her own questions? It certainly seemed that way. Yet still, she didn't move, feeling a little uncomfortable under the repair droid's unblinking gaze. Avoiding it seemed simple at first, she just kept her gaze fixed on a point on the floor, but after a few moments, it was as if she could feel that lamp-lit stare burning through the top of her skull. It was maddening to think that a droid, a sentient being-made thing, could be judging her.
A disapproving glare in Bell's direction didn't work either, he didn't take the hint, or maybe he just wasn't adept at reading human emotions? Either way, he didn't move, apparently waiting for her to do something about her situation.

After only five standard minutes, it was driving her insane, the silence, the stare, the potential judging. In a single flounce, she threw her gaze up along with her arms, sighing dramatically and tutting, muttering all kinds of profanity under her breath - most of which seemed nonsensical - and then her feet were set firmly on the floor as she rose. Drawing herself up, she didn't waste time with sorting out the fall of her clothing, it was ruined at this stage anyway, and would do nothing to aid her cause.

"Fine! You want me to tell him how it really is? I'll tell him." Kriffing droid, now she was starting to see why Tress wanted to dismantle him so badly.

She eventually found Tress in his newly designated cabin - the co-pilot's bunk - on the other side of the ship. Knocking lightly on the bulkhead, she was in plain sight anyway, watching him sit there messing with nothing in particular, while she peered in.

"Room for one more, or should I remain standing?" Khari asked, trying to keep it light when his mood said this was anything but. Gods it made her feel like the scum of the earth. Stupid droid!
"You never gave me chance to explain before...about Valerian? That's his name by the way. It's all a lie, you know, He might wish it was more but it was nothing but good PR for me, helped business along for a while there when we needed it to. I'm not 'with' him, Tress. Not like you think."