A Chance Encounter

Posted on Sat Feb 5th, 2022 @ 3:12pm by Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov & Lieutenant JG Revana Nazar

Mission: S1 Episode 1: Caretaker, Part I
Location: Officer's Mess, Deck 2
Timeline: MD 21, 1230 Hours
913 words - 1.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Andrei Petrov nursed a glass of cranberry juice in his hand, a PADD in front of him in a room full of Officers grabbing their daily lunch. He rarely chose public places in order to work, preferring to be seen at play most of the time and to do his work in secret, but today was a rare exception. Sometimes it was good to be seen actually doing something. After all, one didn't want to give the impression that they were only around for entertainment and witty banter. He took a sip of his drink with a bare hand, having set his gloves off to the side.

The next time the doors parted, Revana Nazar entered through them, a look of poised superiority on her face, like she was a supermodel or a goddess. She walked with swinging hips as she always did, and approached the counter. She picked up a bowl of whatever the chef had made, a stew of some sort, and looked it over with interest for a few seconds. Once she decided it was safe, her eyes scanned the room looking for a seat.

Andrei had immediately noticed the new arrival, his mind deftly focused on the presence of any beautiful woman. This one, in particular, took his notice immediately. His eyes traced her entrancing curves with such interest, in fact, that he forgot to guard his gaze and entered into a sort of slack-jawed stare which he only reigned in when she turned around. Noticing she was looking for a seat, he raised his hand in the air and waved her over.

She saw the handsome man with a mane of dark Raven hair waving toward her to come over and she offered a slightly pleasant smile. Terrans were a tossup for how they might treat her. Since she was half Orion, some were quite mean to her and made her feel like she wasn’t worthy to be an Imperial Officer; some others were kind out of a good nature; some others still were kind because they wanted to discover for themselves what the whole quadrant knew about Orion women. She sat down, wondering which one this man was.

“Thanks.” She said simply, her eyes scanning his with audacious confidence. His looked back at hers with the same confidence and she knew, in that moment, that she was going to like this man. “It gets pretty crowded in her, doesn’t it?”

"People tend to move in groupings." he said, turning his head to the side. "You're Revana Nazar, aren't you? Not spying, just security."

"That's me." she answered, her brown eyes focused on his as she she moved the spoon around in her bowl. They hadn't broken eye contact since they started looking at each other. There was a challenge there, she found, as each of them tried to feel out the other. More had been said between them with looks than with words. "Don't worry, Andrei Petrov. I'm used to spooks and spies."

Her grinless delivery of that last line caused him to become even more curious about her. She knew who he was and didn't condescend to introductions.

"Being the daughter of the Deputy Director of Imperial Intelligence would do that to you, I imagine." he said. "Does daddy still read your private messages?"

"Why?" she asked, turning her head to the side and smiling flirtatiously for the first time. "Would you like to send me some?"

"Perhaps I would, at that." he stated, sipping his drink again. "That remains to be seen. But for now, we might get to know each other. You seem to think you know me so far."

"Of course I do." she said, finally abandoning the soup for a while. "You're the Captain's son and you walk around the ship like the big dick on campus; like you own the place."

He chuckled, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. He bathed in her eye contact like it was sunlight. He didn't waver at the comment either.

"You're right on one count, love." he said, turning his head slightly to the side. "But I don't own the place yet."

She laughed and broke the eye contact, blinking to the side and looking almost shy for a moment. He wondered if it was real or strategic. Either way, he shared her laugh and then stood up.

"Well this was fun, Revana, but I'd better be going."

"So soon?" she asked, looking up at him with her large eyes.

"Yes, I'm very busy, actually."

"Oh, lots of important things to do." she said, puffing herself up, almost mocking him.

He looked at her wordlessly for a moment with a smile on his face. He found her interesting in the extreme, but he knew when to make his exit with women like her. They liked to be teased.

"Hope to see you again soon, Ensign. Perhaps we can bond much better in a less crowded room." he said, and then he turned and exited through the crowd.

Revana's lips parted at the audaciousness of the suggestion. She felt her cheeks flush a darker green and knew she had to see him again soon. She'd heard rumors, of course. The man got around better than anyone else she'd met on the ship. She typically didn't flock to the boy with the biggest following, but she might have to make an exception. The thing with her is that she refused to share.