[greaterfrost]

--> Consequence
 
                The room hovered at nearly 23C as it usually did, but Jada shivered as though there was ice in her veins.  She remembered her time on the Orion colony ship; she had spent so much time in those warmer climates, her blood was considerably warmer than those of her cousins to 40C enough to make an average trill delirious and in some cases suffer severe weakness.  Pauc’ was still sleeping next to her, but it was unusual for her to sleep more than two to three hours at a time, as other Orion’s did on average.  He was warm and comforting, and he had helped her come down from her freak-out.  Jada almost felt familiar even though she was always aware of her uncle and mentor moving around near her liver and pancreas.  She was beginning to feel the sense that there was a much larger universe out there that she needed to see. The sensation of exploration and learning consumed her more than ever.
 
                “I could kill em’ ya know?” Shavi said, startling Jada a little.

“Kill who?” She whispered, still cradled against the large Half-Vulcan in her bed.

                “The ambassador that caused you to cry yourself to sleep a few hours ago” She was perched on the second deck of the bay looking down at her bed from four meters up. “I know you wouldn’t do anything to endanger our uncle sis’. If you need some time to think, I’m happy to arrange an accident for our stuffed shirt ambassador.” She seemed almost passive in her tone, like she had been considering it already, regardless of what her sister wanted.

“He might be a stuffed shirt, and he might be the most offensive well-wisher I’ve ever met, but he has information I might need, things uncle never told me, things he might never reveal to me.” Jada looked worried as Shavi nodded and wrapped her leg around the railing of the risen deck, lowering herself slowly from above with a mug of ‘raktajino’ for her sis, dropping the rest of the way to the floor without a sound.  Her muscled form was seemingly beyond mortal perfection as it became evident to Jada that Shavi had been holding back with just how dangerous she could be if pushed.  Shavi offered her sis the mug and smiled as Jada took it.
                
              “Maru had already had the potential for implantation set up when he got hurt, sister.  Natl would have been fine to make it through the journey to the nebula.  Or Toi’lynn could have accepted him, or any number of other things could have happened to make sure Natl was safe.” Shavi crouched up along again as her anxiety was showing.  She was acting more feral than usual. She wanted the hunt, Shavi knew it wouldn’t be a problematic hunt, but the thought of killing something soothed her thoughts a bit more than she was letting on. “Maru wanted you to accept him and continue your life as you already are.”

               Shavi was so precise in her movements she could move through the furs to cuddle up with her sister and not disturb Pauc in the slightest.  She pressed against her sister's naked body giving Jada the rush of heat that came with Shavi’s feverish blood with dense but supple creamy skin completely devoid of hair smoothly excite the appeal of her closeness.  Shavi kissed her sisters’ shoulder as she drew in the scent of one, she cared so much about. Shavi wrapped her arms around her sister’s naked abdomen, where her mentor now resided and spoke barely above a whisper. “Maru made mistakes, but I don’t think this was one of them,” Shavi purred, pulling her sisters closer against the deceptively simple fabric that separated their two bodies.

                “Natl led an amazing life, sis’ I’m just a slave girl who he rescued, no hope, no future, other than what he gave me.” Jada seemed as though she would cry again. Shavi kissed caressed her sister exposed neck, and gently stroked her abdomen. Physical touch and scent were the primary ways loved ones communicated on Botchok.  Shavi was intoxicated by how good her sister’s natural smell comforted her and how she could control her pheromones to calm her sister just as easily as she could cause her to feel sick.

                “I remember Maru catching me in the galley one night trying to get another one of Toi’s famous Vani’bars. I was ashamed, and I even broke down into tears, thinking I had let him down.  He told me then: there was a reason the fates brought us together. It wasn’t to second guess or to wait until we went back to where we came from. It was to make use of our skills and talents, never to stop being who we are regardless of how our circumstances change.” Shavi drank in her sister’s smell while Jada enjoyed the Klingon coffee before whispering again. “Toi’ was pissed the next morning, and I got a sound whipping, but between Maru and I, I learned more in that beating than I think I had at any time before it.” Shavi chuckled before her tone softened. “I see it in your eyes, sis’, you don’t feel like you deserve this life, but as I see it, the only way you don’t deserve to appreciate the life you’ve lived is if you waste it.”

“Shay, I don’t think you understand. You’re always happy, you’re always playful, carefree, it used to irritate me, but sometimes I wish I could be just ten percent as spontaneous as you are.  I go on our adventures mostly because I know you’ll go whether I do or not, and someone has to be responsible to make sure you don’t get yourself killed.” Jada was exaggerating slightly, but she did think Shay was a loose cannon much of the time.

                Shavi nodded with a little laugh in her voice. “We do have fun, though?” Jada smiled and nodded in return, turning to look at her sister as they touched foreheads. “Jade, there are two ways life goes if you let it:  You can either give it control over your fears and live with whatever consequences come with it.  Or you live your life the way you want, and deal with the consequences as they come with a story and a lesson learned.”
 
Shavi moved to sit at the edge of her furs caressing her sister’s legs almost as an afterthought as she smiled, seeing Jade and Pauc together.  At one time, Shavi wanted him for her own, but she only had limited control over him, unlike nearly everyone else she wanted. That was precisely the attraction that kept her at him.  She had even gotten her way with him a few times. Still, the imagery was always better than the act itself. He was strong and gentle at times and aggressive and rough at others, but she knew he was hers because he allowed it, not because he desired her among all others.   There was a time this made her viciously upset, but then she noticed how he acted around Jade, and everything made sense.   Now she looked at them as the cutest couple she could imagine, almost like they were destined for one another.

              “Jade, the more carefree I seem, the less control I have. I am playful because I know you are serious, and if we both frowned all the time, it would be a really boring day.” Shavi grinned a bit more playfully. “I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure you have a good day, and we both know there isn’t anyone who can turn your grumbles into laughter faster than me.” Pauc began to stir as they talked.  “ You should talk to him ye’ know, I don’t think he knows how you really feel, and you’re going to need to say an awful lot to the people you care about before you make a decision about anything.  For what it’s worth, Maru couldn’t have picked a better host.  Your life will change, but I don’t think anyone expects you to be the person Maru was.  Anyone who does, doesn’t deserve my Jade!” she smiled and climbed out of the furs slipping into the deep shadows of the cargo bay, and she was gone, no vents opened, and the door to the cargo bay never triggered, but Jada knew Shay was already elsewhere on the ship.
 
Jada grinned at how her sister really could turn any moment into a good time. She was feeling dramatically better than she had. Jada began to realize that deliciously zany Orion was a lot wiser than she wanted people to figure out.  She turned towards Pauc and pressed her ample breasts into his chest, kissing his neck, encouraging him to respond so she could properly thank him for his help the night before.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
                Hazean Hux was obsessively tidy. Everything that mattered to him was unmistakably displayed with prominence in his large quarters on the station.  His many commendations Federation, Romulan, and Klingon alike all displayed with equal reverence near the door, His coveted symbiosis commission fellowship as the honorary administrator of the Trill archives.  On the wall behind them was a shard of Kahless, a symbol of the highest honor in the Klingon Defense Force, everyone who mattered to him ‘loved’ him.  He entered his quarters after an exceptionally average day of people fawning over him. He noticed one of his commendations lying on the floor cracked and discarded like an old shoe.
“Computer, who has been in my quarters?” Hazean called out.  There was no answer.

                Hazean perhaps not so much, but Hux could smell an ambush a sector away, he quickly turned to try and leave his quarters, but the door wouldn’t open.  The lights cut out as well as Hazean let out a yelp of surprise.

“Computer! Lights!” he cried to no avail.

                His sleeping quarters door seemed to be ajar, and it smelled like incense and candles had been burning.  Cautiously he made his way to the room and carefully made his way through the doors.   Four candles had been lit around a small bowl that he didn’t recognize.    Inside it was the remains of a parasite commonly found along the power conduits on the station. It had been cut in six even pieces, floating on top of its own blood.
 
                “I found him chewing on your light fixtures ambassador” A young female voice came from behind him. It caused him to jump almost to the point of his knees buckling as he turned his attention to the voice.  He was too stunned to do much more than stare. He saw a woman of incredible beauty mainly hidden under a deep red cloak. A steel brazier barely concealed her creamy green-skinned breasts enticing him to lose focus on the rest of her skin, how it seemed to be hidden by a light grey fabric. He stumbled and moved closer to his bed, fumbling in the pale light for his emergency disruptor.  The woman smiled and waited saying nothing at all as he reached his side table and felt the small weapon inside.

“Who are you to break into my room? I should kill you right now!” He screamed in a panic.

                “Since I haven’t decided whether I’m here to kill you or not, that might be a good idea.” The woman smiled as she took a step towards him.

                He fired the lethal weapon, its strength on the highest setting, and the woman did not attempt to dodge or otherwise avoid the blast. It simply struck her right side; he could see her wince in pain but shrugged it off before charging him.

                Orion’s were no stranger to conflict. They enjoyed being the victim often as much as they wanted to inflict it on others.  Death, however, wasn’t as enjoyable as a sadomasochist might think.  As a precaution, the Orion came up with a brilliant idea; they create passive looking clothing that was explicitly designed to diffuse and mute even the most potent blasts from energy weapons. The woman took the Ambassador off his feet in a flash; her strength and skill were far higher than a girl of her size would realistically possess.  Even before he touched the ground, she had him by the throat, looking down into his eyes as he could see her bright blue eyes glowing from the deep burgundy of the cloak and hood hiding her face.  Black wisps of hair escaped the hood hiding her green skin while accentuating her impressive musculature underneath.  The weight of Hazean’s clothing, while costly enough to make a Ferengi blush, was heavy enough to begin choking him as he found his entire body suspended above the air by a single grasp of his collar.
                “My mother told me a story once that seems to apply to this very moment ambassador…” The woman was using a voice scrambler and a mask to hide her identifiable features, so it made her sound and looked like an unskinned synth from the rebellion on mars 20 years ago.  “If you trap a rat in the cellar eventually, it is sure to turn and fight, but if you wear gloves and carry a big stick, it’s likely to matter much less.” Metallic laughter came from behind the mask. “I like money, and lots of it Ambassador, someone paid me about as much as this rather silly looking jacket cost you to kill you and make it look like an accident.  I have no issues killing you or any issues making it look like a horrible accident in the bathroom.” The voice continued mechanically as the Ambassador’s eyes grew wide with fear.

“I have trade, Latinum, and Federation and Klingon credits, all you could possibly want!” he gasped, losing focus as the hypoxia was beginning to affect him.
                
                The woman dropped him hard to the carpet as he gasped in surprise at how easily she had held him a meter off the floor. “I’m listening. I would be quick about it, though; my client isn’t as forgiving as I am.” She took a step back and pulled out a small datapad from what appeared at first to be her bare thigh. This wasn’t the first time he had seen holography but having it used in this way was incredibly unnerving. He didn’t know what they really looked like or what species they were behind the tech.

“H… how much?” he asked, fumbling to put some space between her and his person.

                She pulled a knife from behind her back. It was smooth and thin, quite beautiful if it hadn’t been so lethal. She slowly slid the blade into a nearby chair leg as it moved through the dense mokwood with virtually no resistance? “Surprise me.” She glared from within the hood.
“I’ll need my computer to make the transfer… if you could just activate the panel, I’ll-” she loosed the knife expertly as it hit the ground, sinking deeply into the deck plate below between his legs only millimeters from his groin, and held the datapad out to him.  He reached for it and quickly started looking for what might satisfy this woman.

                She smiled; he could see it even behind the mask.  “Your skin has been dosed with a particular poison that will turn your stomach acid ten times more corrosive; within thirty minutes, your symbiote will be dead, but your host will be as well, so it won’t matter much.  Just in case you think about notifying anyone you shouldn’t, you’ve already seen how ineffective disruptors are, and I hear your Nausican bodyguard’s blood is challenging to get out of the carpet.  Before you bubble into the floor, I will give you the antidote if you do as you are told.” She seemed movable on the sparing of his life part of the deal.

“Why are you doing this?  The Federation, the Klingons, even the Romulans, will hunt you down whether you kill me or not.” Hazean returned, assuming he had any negotiating room here.

                She stood and sat against the table, watching him work. “My mother said something else I remembered before the Federation took my family hostage.  You get what’s coming to you once your victims have outgrown their fear, every time.”  She moved to the window, looking away from him. “I have a friend like you hybrid. She thinks her mission is the only thing that matters, that appearances mean everything, and that proof of your accomplishments is the only evidence that you exist.” 
      
                The Ambassador was looking around for an exit, but he remembered that the computer was offline, and the doors were locked as she continued.  “I told her the same thing I’ll tell you: if no one liked you while you were alive is doesn’t matter if they remember you after you die. Except that they’re glad you’re not around anymore…” She turned to face him again as he put the pad on his dining room table and nodded.
  
“Give me the antidote!” He demanded.  “I gave you your money!” He sneered and backed away from the table.

                She turned to face him and walked seductively and slow to the table, lifting it and noticing that he had put 2000 bars of Latinum from the extranet commodity exchange into an escrow account.

“You give me the antidote; I transfer the money anywhere you want!” he was heated and without any sense of decorum.

                “I’ve been a criminal a long time; I am rather insulted that you think I’m going to trust a politician to be true to his word.  We have so much in common, you and I; neither of us has any concern or ken for the life of others, and we’d just as easily go back on our word because we felt like it regardless of the agreements we’ve made. “ She was centimeters from him; he could feel the heat off of her body and smell the thick musk coming off her skin.  She was an Orion alright; the longer they were together, the more he would be able to tell the authorities, or so he hoped.

                He swallowed hard and backed up to the wall as she pulled yet another knife from the sheath behind her. “I used to be terrified of men like you; now, I feel sorry for you.  I don’t know a single trill, but anyone who lets a slug live in their gut just for longevity isn’t all that interested in the betterment of others.” The woman growled as she put the knife to his neck. Upon feeling the very edge, he could hear and sense the vibration of the blade and the taste it had for blood. “Last chance Ambassador.” She grinned and used her other hand to grab the datapad while her knee crept between his legs to tease his manhood.  “Something about death always makes me want that kind of satisfaction…” Her knee ground gently against him as even in this terrible moment, she could sense her attentions were being appreciated.
 
                He nodded and touched the keypad, and the transfer went through.  The datapad he was using was a Romulan cipher scanner. It used complex algorithms to give the impression is was looking for standard environmental controls. Without a specific key sequence, there was no indication it had any other functions than proximity scanning. Still, if they knew the encryption, the extent of its activities was readily apparent.  The commodity exchange account was instantly dissolved. The amount was transferred to a series of shell companies established in Freehold specifically for the use of the Tal’ Shiar, once an investigator ran into that bit of information; they wouldn’t sleep for the next year in fear of assassins.
 
                She smiled and looked back at him, stepping back and pulling back her hood.  He could see her bare shoulders and delicious upper torso.  “Pour yourself a drink Ambassador; you just saved your own life.  If you’re lucky, you may find this is the best investment you could make.” He grinned like a schoolboy heavily under the effect of her pheromones and moved to take a seat.
 
                She removed her grey shielding cloth revealing an outfit of thigh-high boots and a steel corset and garter set. It covered the appearance of her desire but not the effect it had on men.  He fumbled around for a decanter of whiskey and took his eyes off her for only a moment until he could feel a tightening of his chest and a warmth collecting around his heart. He looked down to see one of those knives burrowing into him, bathing the chair and his legs with his blood as it reached the other side of his body.

                She removed her mask and pulled her hair back. Careful to reduce the amount of blood oozing out of him as she retrieved her knife and made sure not to kill the symbiote, she wanted to make sure it remembered sometimes pawns could kill the king.

                He died with the blood-soaked look of betrayal in his eyes and the dim realization that someone he was trying to manipulate, had in fact, manipulated him.  He had been played.

                She knew that the symbiote could survive for forty-two minutes without medical intervention, so she wasn’t in any great hurry to clean herself off.  she used a DNA scrubber to eliminate biological evidence.  She dressed and pulled back a sleeve of silken green skin to open the cybernetic components underneath. She disengaged the spike that shut down the computer at nearly the same moment she activated an Orion site to site transporter to the changing rooms of one of Quark’s Dabo girls.

                Within minutes she was back at the bar throwing back Romulan ale while she artfully disengaged several holographs one at a time, going around corners or into rooms, showing her likeness throughout the promenade during the time of the murder.   She was going to give the holo decoy to her sister for her birthday, but at this moment, it was a useful toy she happened to pick up.

                All important dignitaries had health monitors in their quarters (as long as the computers were working) in case of an emergency, so within moments of her first drink, she saw the dying Ambassador beamed into the medical bay. There was precious little they could do for the host, but the symbiote was salvageable, and since there were twenty Trill in the delegation, one could easily take the Ambassador's place, but at the very least, they would be out of commission for a while.