Camille
Posted on Tue Oct 29th, 2024 @ 10:29pm by Commander Rhupert Tyree
Edited on on Tue Nov 5th, 2024 @ 4:49pm
1,298 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
The Foragers
Location: Liner Savant Royal
Timeline: Day before Get the Party Started
Rhu glanced at his chrono, a Nemont/Olatto model that had been a gift from Nadia on his last rotation on Betezoid. Looking out the window of the Savant Royal he took in the streaming lights. They were currently at Warp, on the way to Bajor at a leisurely warp four. The Deep Space cruise ship was a new addition to the space lanes in this region and so far he’d been impressed.
A corporation out of Spica had went to a lot of expense to setting up a liner that could hold thirty-five hundred souls, plus crew. He’d toured about for the first hour aboard, then a liveried attendant had escorted him to the private dining room, telling him Camille would be joining him within a quarter hour.
The private dining room was well appointed for a small space that held a table for two in front of a large, round view port that sat on the first deck of the ventral, port side of the vessel.
Very firmly set within the VIP levels. Rhu was very glad he wasn’t paying the tab for this. Not on his salary. He’d dressed in a subtle patterned black suit of clothes. Evening wear. That had been dictated by his invitation.
Taking in the room, Rhu recognized the furnishing as something from Betezoid’s Tekkiddian period, but after that it was beyond him. It consisted mainly of hardwoods and a rainbow of pastels that made the room seem bigger and comfortable. The room even came with its own liveried steward who had filled a delicate crystal flute with a rather good champagne before leaving him to watch the stars stream past.
After five minutes of contemplation and listening to the light chamber music that was being piped in, he felt a change in the rooms air pressure as the hatch cycled and the whisper of silk as a svelte brunette paused dramatically in the entry. Rhu could see her reflection in the portal glass and turned to look at Camille as she smiled at him.
She had a concert coming up so she’d dressed simply in a dove grey silk gown and left her hair down. As he stood she stepped forward, kissing his cheek and then let him help her into a chair before he resumed his own seat.
“You look stunning as always, Cami,” Rhu told her, letting his eyes roam for a moment before returning to her…hazel ones?
Raising his eyebrow toward her, he waited until the room’s steward filled her glass then slipped out before asking, “Change your eye color again?”
“You noticed!!,” Cami congratulated him, “So few do and we haven’t seen each other in what…two years?”
“Something like that,” Rhu said. “Which, after getting your invitation, saddened me. One shouldn’t have to wait so long to view something so lovely.” He raised his flute in salute to her.
Camille raised her own, touched his glass with a crystal ting then sipped and set the glass back down, tossing her hair with a straight back, giving him a whisper of a wink. “Such lovely prose for bad manners, Strategos. But I forgive you. We haven’t exactly been in the same space.”
After taking another sip of his own champagne, Rhu said, “I did more or less keep up with your career. You’ve been busy. Like a hummingbird flitting from flower to flower. If high capacity, high paying venues could be called flowers. I’m glad you’re doing well.”
She just smiled at him and said, “You too, though it seems odd you’re still a Star Fleet Commander after your tours on Betezoid. Though little birds do tell tales. Captain Froyce met with you I understand. And your new command, the Valiant is it? Has some new shot callers. I wonder how the Admiralty feels about that.”
Rhu raised an eyebrow toward her and didn’t say anything. Cammi was Betezoid Intelligence. . A rare, non-telepathic member of the world’s Intelligence net. She marketed herself as a very high end entertainer and as a free lance information broker and courier, but Rhu knew that was cover. He’d noticed the desert primrose she wore in her hair and now watched her reach up, take it and set it between them, stem toward the door.
The flower was correct for the week, as were the colors. The flower had twelve different colorations as it worked through its life cycle and the positioning was specific to the time of day. Glancing up he pointedly looked around as she was taking another drink.
“This space was chosen randomly by me and swept an hour ago, then sealed by the steward who works for me. We’re secure,” she stated.
Rubbing at the back of his neck, he shook his head, “Don’t tell me someone else is going to try and stir this pot.”
She shook her head and smiled sweetly at him, “No. Nothing so crude. My contract aboard the Savant and with Freebooter Limited is for eighteen months. I’ll be performing on Bajor, Empok Nor, DS9, and other ports of call as well as the liner. And your contact, should you require it.”
Rhu didn’t blink as he looked at her and recrossed his legs. Cami was a Null. He only knew three of the rare, unreadable beings that stumped any Telepaths. She was human. Pure female (once or twice upon a time, Rhu had checked) and totally unreadable by telepaths. Further, if they were in a crowd, you couldn’t pick them out for their lack of telepathy. Her mind was unreadable.
Finally Rhu blinked and said, “Well, I suppose that’s something. We all have our secrets. How’s the kiddo?”
Now it was Cami’s turn to stare and she put down the crystal flute and finally said, “How?” She was less than happy and it didn’t take a telepath to pick up on that.
“Calm your horses,” Rhu said, “The Duchess mentioned it, by way of check, cross check and verify. And told me it wasn’t mine, for whatever reason.”
Cami reclaimed the flute and drank half of it down, settling herself. She knew Rhu and he could be trusted but that he knew about Cordelia had disturbed her. No one was supposed to know, but Rhu had surprised it. She bit at her lip as she looked into his eyes and then relaxed.
He’d told her so that she knew he knew, rather than save it to spring it on her at a later time or for his own devices. Which meant that the Duchess had trusted him enough. If Delia’s own god mother could trust Rhu, then she could.
She was glad for that and told him so as the steward delivered their first courses. Glancing at her own chrono, and said, “I have about an hour before my performance. I have a balcony reserved for you, as my guest establishing that part of your cover. The seats will be available anytime you need, as will a state room.” Then she grinned impishly at him, “And since you didn’t bring a date, I enlisted a companion for you. She goes by June aboard.”
Rhu let her change the subject. He’d been surprised to learn that she had a daughter and it was her right to protect her. They took to conversing old times until she had to leave for her performance and Rhu watched as the liner dropped from warp and moved toward a mid orbit around Bajor. When the steward came to direct him toward the performance hall, he stood. The night was young.
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