Ranul Keru (ranul) wrote in star_trek, @ 2009-08-04 00:17:00 |
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Sebastian smoothed down his uniform one last time before buzzing on Ranul's door. The Science officer had casually asked him to drop by as he left the bridge, leaving Sebastian doing his best not to gape after him as he disappeared from sight. Once his shift was done, he had gone to his quarters to refresh and come over. He was confident that he should now be able to make up for his perhaps less than stellar first impression. Although if Ranul had asked him over, then maybe that first impression had not been quite as bad as he'd feared. "Come in," Ranul called from his seat by the window. He had finally gotten around to reading the PADD Camille had given him and was so absorbed his reply was practically an involuntary response. Morris was lying next to him on the sofa with his feet in the air. Ranul looked up when Sebastian entered, breaking his concentration. "Have you ever read this?" he asked, waving the PADD in Sebastian's direction. "The Odyssey by Homer," he added, glancing at the title page to make sure he got the author's name right. "I can't believe we're serving on a ship named after this. If I was superstitious I'd say it wasn't a very good omen." It took about a second and a half for the title to ring a bell in Sebastian's mind. Grade school had been a long time ago. He snorted softly and smiled, entering Ranul's quarters with his hands loosely clasped behind his back. Sebastian cocked an eyebrow slightly when he saw the peculiar little animal at Ranul's side. "Ah. Don't let it discourage you, sir. I'm afraid the ancient greeks had a penchant for tragedy." Ranul grunted and tossed the PADD on the coffee table. "Well, let's hope we fare better than they did. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not get eaten by a giant monster. And by the way, don't call me sir, especially when I'm not on duty." As he spoke he scratched Morris' belly and the creature's hind legs started twitching in a peddling motion. "As you wish, s... Ranul?" Sebastian said. He winced inwardly when he called the man by his first name, but he figured if he called him Mr. Keru he might make him feel like an old man. "Call me Sebastian. Or Bastian, for short, if you wish." There was a pause before he added, "What species is your pet, if I may ask?" Yes, please. Change of subject. "They're commonly called Lurian sloths because the actual name is not easy to pronounce. Not that they're related in any way to Earth sloths. In fact I'd say they're closer in relation to the duck-billed platypus, if only because they appear to be mammalian but lay eggs. Genetically they're similar to reptiles, but not cold-blooded. To be honest, it's not easy comparing them to typical Earth-bound critters." Never ask a pet owner about their pet unless you're prepaired to listen for awhile. Ranul looked up at Sebastian who was still standing by the door as if he were guarding it. "Feel free to sit down," Ranul said, giving him a funny look. Sebastian blinked at Ranul once, then laughed. He was laughing mostly at himself. He was acting like a schoolboy with a crush, wasn't he? Thank god he'd gotten laid, or he might have made an even bigger fool out of himself. "Thank you," he said through a small grin. Sebastian walked over and took a seat roughly across from Ranul and his pet Morris. "Platypus, huh? They never imported those into the Caldos colonies, I don't think. Why Morris?" he asked casually. Ranul felt a wave of relief when Sebastian laughed. The security chief's stiffness reminded him a bit of Commander Aldridge, but he couldn't imagine that woman cracking a smile much less cracking up. "Are you that stiff around everyone?" Ranul asked, ignoring the question about Morris' name for the moment. "Or just me?" "I... uh... like to think of it as being firm, yet fair," Sebastian said jokingly. He shook his head and snorted, looking down at his lap. "You got me. It's you. Sheesh, I can barely make myself say your first name." He cleared his throat and looked back up, straight into Ranul's eyes, grin still firmly in place. "There. I'm over it now," he added with a wink. "Good," Ranul said, moving to the edge of the sofa. He sat there for a moment, staring down at nothing in particular as he contemplated Sebastian's interesting personality. "This is about the Borg thing, isn't it?" He asked, standing and crossed the room to the cabinet near the kitchenette. He picked up a pair of glasses and large, unmarked bottle filled with a milky liquid. "That obvious, huh?" Sebastian replied. He had already brought it up in their first meeting, so it wasn't a huge leap of logic, but it was still a little embarrassing to be called out on it. Good thing Sebastian was good at keeping steady under pressure. He shrugged slightly and watched Ranul serve them drinks. He hoped bringing up the Borg wouldn't be a complete mood killer, considering the evening had barely started. "Trust me, I'd trade 'my place in history' to have avoided the whole mess in an instant," Ranul said, walking back to his seat. "Here, try this. " He handed one of the glasses to Sebastian and put the bottle on the table between them. "It's from Trill. A fairly... unique concoction." There was a twinkle in his eye, as if there was something he wasn't saying. He looked up at Ranul through his lashes as he thought about what he had said. "Thank you," he said, taking the glass. He couldn't help cocking an eyebrow at the look on Ranul's face. "Unique? Is this unique as in boy, I'm glad we're off duty for this or unique as in I'm going to wake up naked and tied to someone's bed?" he deadpanned, glancing down at the glass and taking a whiff of the drink before looking back at Ranul. The scent was vaguely musky, but it was hard to tell without sticking his nose in the glass. That might not go over very well, not to mention it would look silly as hell. He licked his lips, a quick flick of the tongue and waited. "Unique as in only a few hundred living people know it exists," Ranul replied and tossed back his glass, downing the liquid in one gulp. It was certainly not a refined vintage that was meant to be sipped. "But it's also a good thing we're off duty." Sebastian nodded. Ranul seemed to have no trouble with it. He wondered if it was like the many variations of moonshine indigenous to every planet and region he'd ever tried. He prepared for it to burn his throat and make his chest feel like exploding. He tossed back the drink as well, and his chest was on fire for a moment. He let out a low whistle as his eyes teared up some. "Interesting," he said in a breathy voice, unable to identify the taste. He cleared his throat once more. "Trill you say. You are right. I don't think I'd ever had anything like it." Ranul poured himself another glass. "I don't know how much you know about how I spent the last 6 or 7 years. I was a Guardian; we take care of the symbionts when they're not being hosted. We live in the caves with the symbionts. Needless to say, there aren't many recreational activities available so some of us make this." He raised his glass in the style of a toast. "They use the liquid from the breeding pools to give it that extra special something." He reached over to pick up the bottle. "More?" "Did you just say breeding pools?" Sebastian asked carefully, unsure whether to be horrified or amused. His sanity decided on the latter. He snorted and grinned, still not sure if Ranul was perhaps having some sport with him, trying to shock him. He cocked one eyebrow high and extended the hand holding his glass towards Ranul. "Sure, why not?" "You know, the males in many ancient human cultures used to eat bull's testicles to enhance their virility. Some still maintain that it works wonders for the sexual drive," he continued calmly, tongue firmly in cheek, as he waited for Ranul to pour. He shrugged slightly and added, "Others just see it as an archaic delicacy." "The Guardians who make this stuff are just looking for a cheap buzz," Ranul said with a chuckle as he refilled Sebastian's glass. "Actually, calling them breeding pools isn't really accurate. We've recently discovered that symbionts who are small enough to be joined are actually too young to breed. But the liquid has properties that allow them to survive without a host." Ranul downed his second glass and set it down on the table next to the bottle. "But it's still pretty gross if you think about it too hard." Sebastian laughed and raised his glass. "Here's to not thinking too hard." He downed his second glass too and sat back in a contained sprawl. He watched Ranul now, the liquor taking the edge off his tension. "Here here!" Ranul agreed and poured himself another shot. He looked up and noticed that Sebastian seemed to be staring at him. "What?" he asked with a crooked grin. "Do I have something on my face?" "Not at all," Sebastian countered, grinning back at Ranul. "I was just trying to picture you as a monk. Well... Guardian, to be precise. You don't strike me as the quiet contemplation kind of guy that much, if you don't mind my saying so." "Well, that's your mistake," Ranul pointed out. "Being a Guardian isn't about quiet contemplation. Primarily it's about taking care of the symbionts, but there's no vow of celibacy or silence, or any of that nonsense. We do — they do tend to cut themselves from Trill society but I think that's mainly to remain objective. It wouldn't do to have family or friends pressuring one of us to sneak a symbiont to one of them." Ranul paused and poured himself another shot of the unnamed beverage. "And to be honest, when I joined them, the isolation was exactly what I needed." Sebastian nodded, sitting forward and holding his glass out for a refill. No one would ever say that Sebastian Caine was afraid of a little symbiont love juice. He winced inwardly at the vulgar choice of words, but didn't let it show. "Isolation?" he offered, leaving the question vague and open. For now. Ranul poured Sebastian another shot and drank his own in one gulp. For a moment he stared at the empty glass as it dangled between his thumb and forefinger. When Sebastian paused, Ranul looked past the glass and gave Sebasitan a funny look. "I'll tell you what. I'll tell you why if you tell me something personal about yourself." Ranul leaned forward in his seat. "After all, I don't really know anything about you, Mister Caine." Sebastian squinted one eye and scrunched up his nose for a moment. "Please. Mister Caine is my father." He shrugged. "As I said, not much to tell. I pretty much put my personal life on hold to focus on my career at Starfleet, and here we are." Oh, he was not going to make this easy, was he? Not intentionally, of course. Sebastian truly did not like talking about himself. Ranul leaned against the armrest of the sofa and regarded Sebastian and smacked his lips thoughtfully. "Well, it's not a very even trade, but what the hell! I became a Guardian because I was sick to death of Starfleet. I got bombarded over and over with the dark side of the Federation. It was just too overwhelming. I tried to resign, but Captain Picard talked me into just taking an extended leave, which I guess was a good idea, since here I am again." Sebastian's only external reaction was to blink at Ranul a few times, but inside he was shocked to hear those words coming from Ranul's mouth. Of course, he wasn't a baby, and he could perfectly understand how it would be possible for a man such as Ranul, who had lost so much, to feel that way about the Federation. He was hardly the only disenchanted officer Sebastian had met in his short career. Still, Sebastian would have never expected his idealized version of Ranul Keru to ever have felt this way. The student in him was disappointed to hear this. However, the grown man in Sebastian was rather intrigued by this fresh, humanizing new look he was getting at someone who had been something of a textbook idol. It somehow made Ranul more 'real' in his mind, for lack of a better term. "I won't lie and say I saw that one coming. Not in a million years," Sebastian said through a lopsided grin. "I can see myself needing a break at some point down the road," he added thoughtfully. "But, I can tell you I'm glad you changed your mind, because it gave me a chance to meet you in the flesh." He winked. "I'm selfish that way." |