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littlegreengirl (littlegreengirl) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-05-23 20:34:00

"what did you do?"
Who: Gaila and Janice
What: Confessions, Gaila’s adventures continue!
Where: Texas
When: A day or two after Gaila talked to Scotty on the phone
Status: Complete
Rating: PG-13 for language and break ins



Gaila's finger hovered over Uhura's number, but she couldn't go through with it. She couldn't stand the thought of losing her friendship, and she thought there wasn't any other outcome. But she wanted advice. Needed it.

She dialed Janice. She didn't remember as being on the Enterprise at all, and from some offhanded comments of Kirk, she thought she knew why, "Hello?"

"Hello?" Janice said into the phone, unsure of what was going on. She'd been keeping to herself lately, other than adhering to her schedule and keeping appointments with clients. But during the evening hours, or off days, she had a lot on her mind. Her dreams had taken a somewhat disturbing turn, and not merely with events, but with what her job actually entailed.

The last person she imagined would call her, was Gaila. Especially considering the last time they talked, it was to have a debate, while in Las Vegas. It hadn't ended on the best of terms and the ride back after they were escorted out of the hotel, was a very quiet one.

"Hi, Janice? It's Gaila. I uh..well I'm in Texas right now and I was hoping you could give me some advice."

So the runner had ran, just as she suspected. The bad thing was, Janice had liked Gaila, from day one. She seemed pretty upbeat and chatty, animated and happy, when they had met at The Green Maid for the first time. Even so, this meant there was probably one exceedingly mopey and or snappish engineer roaming around California. If he hadn't already went back to Scotland, to get even further away.

"Yes, hello. I'm not sure you'd like the advice I could give you, Gaila. Last time, it hadn't gone over well, if you remember."

"It's just we had this argument. There was was a lot of bad blood..." She frowned, "I did call him later. We're kinda on shaky ground. But uhm..there's no one else I can talk to without everyone hating me."

"It seems you two argue a lot." Or maybe it was simply her as the catalyst, spelling out to Janice that Orions really were all the trouble her emerging memories dictated as true. A little background in Starfleet Intelligence with a cover as a Yeoman hadn't hurt her any, especially when there was a potentially dangerous situation that could happen if this went unchecked. So it was with that in mind, that Janice simply leaned back in her office chair - in the safety and comfort of her own home - and said in a very calm and collected way, "Why don't you start with what happened, so I can get a better idea of what's going on?"

Gaila frowned, then shifted. She was sitting in the bed of a pickup as it was moving down the freeway, "We were celebrating his new truck. He brought up visiting the stars, and my homeworld. I told him I hated the idea. I never want to go back. I want to forget it ever existed." She chewed her lip, "He wouldn't drop the subject and I got more and more upset."

"Did he specifically hammer away at going there? Or was it because you wanted to forget that it existed, that you found any form of him asking 'why' to be an assault against your sensibilities?" asked Janice, listening closely. If it was a bed of a pickup, on the freeway, then that would get pretty noisy due to the wind, and Janice could tell that the girl was on the move.

"Yes," Gaila replied, meaning mostly the second part. "I wanted to talk a walk, clear my head. Cool down so we could talk about it before I said or did something I'd regret."

She gathered it was the second part, but that was because she knew a fair amount about everyone who was part of the Enterprise's crew, except for one. And that was Gaila. Some divergences had happened, quite obviously, in certain cases.

"What was this something you'd regret? Did you even have anything in mind that you would have done?" she asked, while placing one hand on her mouse, and moving it into the search box on a website, so she could look up roadways in Texas and get a possible idea of which direction Gaila might be heading in. And when all else failed for stalling and further information, Janice played stupid and as though she needed things spelled out for her. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand. You're going to have to tell me more about it so I can get a grip on what's going on, here."

"I have a problem when I mouth off and say things I regret when I get pissed...so if I go for a walk I can cool down, and then we can talk like rational, normal people. He doesn't really understand that sometimes though. I sort of...threw our engagement ring at him."

Janice couldn't facepalm. Instead, she simply closed her eyes for a moment and sighed almost silently, before she concentrated back on the task at hand. She kept talking, even as her fingers moved slowly and silently over the keyboard, so she could begin typing.

"That may be problematic, that's true. The Mr. Scott that I knew was more the sort who wants fast resolutions to problems, because he's often forced to work under swift circumstances. It seems like you two simply haven't found a way to make things cohesive, quite yet," Janice mused aloud, sounding perfectly relaxed and thoughtful. "However, with someone like him? Throwing the engagement ring at him, was a profoundly unwise move. How did he react?"

She knew she had to keep Gaila talking and get in her good graces, to find out what her plans were.

"How do you think?!" She snapped back, then sighed, "I don't know any more. I thought maybe we could still work things out, but after the things I told him, I dunno anymore.."

Interesting. Janice sounded unaffected when she next spoke, even if she had frowned for a moment.

"You said you talked to him afterward. I'm sure, even as bad as that is to do, he probably caved and forgave you." Or she guessed as much, at least. "So, if I'm guessing correctly, that would leave what you want to do with the situation. And, not to diverge off topic, but I'm really wondering why you think everyone would hate you, Gaila. I'm sure if the two of you split up, you'd still be able to keep your respective friendships intact with everyone else."

"That's not the problem." They passed out of Texas and into Louisiana, and she breathed a little easier, "I don't think I can say the problem."

"Gaila, I'm not involved with everyone else. I hardly think you saying what it would cause a problem, and I can be very discreet," she reassured her. "I can't really give advice, if you don't tell me what's really going on in that scenario."

"......" Gaila frowned again, "What would be your first gut reaction to an Orion child randomly being found by Starfleet, then eventually joining Starfleet."

"First reaction would be that it's a child, and therefore less chance of harm being caused because it's not an adult," Janice pointed out, without hesitation. She already could jump ahead a few moves and see where Gaila might be going with this. "I'm certain the choice would have been offered to admit her into the Academy, given that so little is known about Orion culture. It would be a benefit to have one of the first Orion or Orions join Starfleet as a goodwill gesture, and improve planetary relations."

It was a textbook reading, because that's the way Starfleet and the Federation rolled. That would've been rudimentary considering that Orion was said to have a lot of knowledge of medicines and space routes - and plenty of other things considering its long history - which would have been of equal interest to the Federation.

"There were several of us, yes."

"Why are you running away to Texas over this? It doesn't seem like an issue." Janice waited for a response.

"New Orleans," She replied. "I want to....I guess figure some things out. And I've always wanted to go there so it seemed as good a time as any. Flash a little boob and you can go places!"

Only an Orion would think that, Janice thought to herself, with eyes half opened. If she could've gotten away with it, she would've facepalmed.

"That sounds like...a good place to figure some things out. I have some stuff to figure out too, lately. But that's another story," she said, tapping a finger over the enter key before pressing down on it. "Anyway, why would anyone be angry at you for being found as a child and you joining Starfleet?"

Gaila fidgeted, "What do opposing nations like to do to each other when not shooting?"

"Keep a close eye on one another, naturally. But Orion usually kept to itself, and it was left to it's own devices. The Federation didn't push for anything more than neutrality, since the Orions kept to their own agendas."

Run in's with the Orion Syndicate and their own pirates, however, were another story.

"Things can always change, at a moment's notice."

"So you're saying you were planted there specifically, at a very young age?" asked Janice, while scrolling through listings from a search listing. "That must have been pretty tough. I imagine, if you're calling me, you must feel pretty alone in all this."

"...yeah..."

Gaila hugged her legs, "Scotty wanted to tell everyone right away. But I don't..remember enough. I don't know all that I did." And she hadn't even told him the part that made her throw up.

"Would it make you feel better, if you told someone about it? I promise not to tell him."

In a way, she did feel sorry for Gaila, because she knew that - while it was said the women secretly ruled over the men on Orion - it could be a fine line between ruling and manipulating so one thought they were in control. They did, after all, traffic slave girls, as well as dealt with forced labor in underground settings, and a whole lot of smuggling. Neutrality let them get away with that, and any Orion smuggler who thought they were in danger of getting caught, tended to pull a suicide maneuver.

"I can understand why he said that, though," Janice patiently added. "It might make it easier, for everyone to understand, later on. They can't really blame you, if you don't know everything yet, and they don't remember it all, yet, either. Even I have some blank spots, that I'm trying to fill in. But this isn't about me. I'm only trying to explain why he might say that. This is about you. And if you want to tell me, I'm willing to listen."

"I specialized in computer sciences, and engineering. My being on the Enterprise wasn't an accident." She was having trouble elaborating in any more detail. It had been easier with Scotty.

"Oh, so you were able to have it set so that you were on that ship, in particular." Janice rubbed her fingers against her closed eyes for a few seconds. It wasn't like she wanted Gaila in this sort of mess, and it wasn't the best feeling in the world sometimes to try to get close to people, only to find out what makes them tick and if they were a threat.

"Yes. It was easypeasy. I mean Uhura had it easier, she was boinking the Vulcan in charge of crew assignments. But it was still easy."

Janice snerked at that, ever so slightly, but she said nothing. Wow, some things really were different!

"I can imagine so. I had no idea about Spock and Uhura, but I think there's still plenty that I don't remember." She got back on track again, after admitting that tidbit to Gaila. "So what did you do while you were aboard the ship, finally?"

"My job? Then get hurt and be stuck in Sickbay for most of the good stuff."

"Your job according to Starfleet or your job according to those from your homeworld?"

There was a long, long pause, "Both."

"Gaila," Janice was speaking in a very gentle tone of voice, but still loud enough to be heard, "what did you do?"

Even when Janice focused on her reflection on the monitor screen, in a darkened sidebar of a webpage, the contours of her face stared worriedly back at her.

"I gave them everything."

"Schematics, codes, weaponry? All of it?" Janice actually sounded sad about the whole thing. "Was that all or did you do anything else?"

"The scans of that Romulan ship."

"And that's all, then. Right?"

Janice simply leaned forward, still with the phone in hand, and rested her face on top of her desk.

Gaila felt like she was on trial, but the next words spilled out before she could stop them. In a whisper, she said, "I made Ensign Giles kill himself when he caught me."

Janice simply listened, rendered momentarily speechless.

"I didn't WANT to do it! I didn't have a CHOICE!"

Janice's eyes were wide open, as it sunk in a smidge more. She abruptly sat upright.

"You did what?" she asked again, even if she was sure of what Gaila had said. It was like she was hoping, or praying, that she'd say something different. The yelling, however, was only cementing the facts. The facts being, "You somehow got around the shot and used your pheromones, didn't you?"

Janice now knew that she had to act. Quickly and decisively, and as quietly as possible.

"I didn't want to die."

"It's a high offense, I'm not going to lie." She didn't even tell her that there were some ways out, before, but killing a Starfleet officer when caught spying was pretty much the icing on that cake. "This probably isn't a good time to be alone, Gaila. That's a lot to cope with. I've also got some stuff on my mind. So maybe we can meet in New Orleans, have a few drinks, and try to come up with some ideas on what your options are, now."

"If," Janice added, softly, "you'd like that. If not, I'd understand if you don't want some company from an outsider."

"No! No I'd like that. I'd love that actually." She didn't want to be alone.

"All right. Do you know what hotel you'll be staying in?" She turned to her computer and began looking up hotels on one monitor, and pulling up the information for a last minute plane ticket on the other. If anything, Janice was efficient. She could have this matter handled, in just one night.

Gaila gave her the address of the hotel she'd reserved a room at.

"Great, thanks. Let me see what I can do really fast and then I'll tell you when I'll be in. This shouldn't take long." She looked up close places nearby, and wisely didn't book a room in the same hotel. Like she'd do that, much less even get a plane ticket under her real name? Please. She had told Jim that she worked for some oddball cults before and they had always insisted on anonymity, as well as being careful to cover their tracks and contacts. She did have some aliases to go by. Which was the precise reason she opened a drawer and drew out some disposable identification. She was done with a room set up for appearances sake, and done with the plane ticket. She still had one thing to do before she left.

"I won't be in until after midnight. Closer to one. I hope you'll still be up for a drink or two, and maybe we can see some sights? I'm afraid I can't stay very long at all, since I have a meeting in the afternoon. But it's enough time to talk things over." She was certain to add, in a very reassuring voice, "It'll be okay, Gaila. We can figure something out."

"There's a bar a block away apparently, we can meet there!"

"Sounds good." She looked up on the map where it was, and then methodically began erasing all of her tracks. Janice liked keeping people's information private and secure, including her own information. "I'll meet you there around one-fifteen or one-thirty, at the latest. See you then."

Gaila hung up, and sighed. She got out of the truck, thanked the woman driving, and then starting making her way through the city.

And Janice had already looked up where Jim Kirk lived, packed a backpack with everything else she'd need, and headed out of her house. The woman clearly has a schedule to keep. She only hoped that Jim wasn't home, because that might get awkward. Even more so because they hadn't really talked too terribly much, since they began waiting for the annulment paperwork that seemed like it would never get there.

Fortunately, Jim was not home!

Good! Because Janice was about to do some breaking and entering. She was just bendy and limber enough and strong as well (from way too many karate classes), to get in through a window. Second or third story? No problem. Janice is a very, very, very determined woman. And where there is a will? There is a way.

She really just hoped he left a window unlocked, like the cocky hot sonnuvabitch bastard he was, waiting for someone to enter so he could beat them senseless. Or, rather, she was counting on him to do that.

The window was unlocked! In the living room was the captain's chair!

Janice entered, gloves on already. She stood there, in black yoga pants and a black tank top, hair pulled up into a neat ponytail, staring blank faced at the captain's chair. It was like he had it set there as the focal point of...everything. There might as well be spotlights shining down on it, and maybe a disco ball, and a choir singing a hallelujah chorus, for effect.

Janice facepalmed so hard, it hurt her hand, under her glove. And it left a red mark. She didn't have time to wonder at Kirk's hot ego or his thinking processes for too long. She had to find that phaser, and she had to find it fast. She began to search the area, and rummage around, making sure to keep things in their places so he wouldn't be suspicious!

The phaser was in a place of prominence!

Janice took it, and made sure it was all safety locked up, so there was no danger of it turning on. Look, ma! It's just a prop! I'm going to comic-con! Please don't ruin my costume mister airport security, you can cop a feel even if you let me through with it?

She wasn't sure she could get it on the plane even then, but with all the hubbub about airport security, they'd probably be more concerned about lotion bottles making a mess than some geek chick with a Star Trek phaser she was taking to her terminally ill brother as a gift, on her way home from epic movie adventure times in southern California! Cover story. She has them.

Out the window Janice went!