Shades of Grey - Part 4

There was a strange sense of being watched, but there was no one in the hallway where they were walking, and no one could be seen on any of the balconies. Still, the feeling seemed to stem from that direction, so it was perhaps those balconies were more secure than they seemed. This place seemed to spare no expense on the matter, and this point was once again driven home as they approached another door which was opened by the Orion’s palm. Here he paused, looked back at Zedd in that judgmental way, then stepped inside and indicated for him to follow.

“Captain Zedd Sykes for you, Vaela.”

Zedd stepped into the large room which, like the restaurant he had originally walked into, had large windows dominating the wall directly across from him. The room itself was a bastion of obsidian, gold, and wood; beautiful and ostentatious without being gaudy. The dark marble floor shimmered with warm amber light from the sides of the room, while the center of the room was softly lit by a soft white light to give visibility and intimacy in equal measure. To the left of the door was a seating area with a chaise, a couch, and a couple of arm chairs arranged to face each other. Black plush fabric and cushions were set on dark wood, dim, inviting light was cast by candles that most certainly weren’t burning a real flame, but they certainly appeared to be. Situated in front of the windows at the back was a small table of gold veined obsidian marble laden with fruits upon shining gold plates with golden cups to match. To the right there was a desk, and stepping from that desk was most definitely who Zedd was here to see.

“Thank you, Rallid.”

The sound of her heels tapping against the floor dominated the room as she approached. She was a stunning woman, and her pale green skin left very little guessing as to why she looked the way she did. Her black hair was pulled back in an elegant half up, half down style that cascaded over her shoulder. The silken champagne colored fabric of her dress shifted and shimmered like water on her, accentuating every enticing curve with each step she took. The neckline was low, the side slid was high. She was dressed to draw the eye and it was an impossibility she didn’t achieve that goal the majority of the time.

She drew close and smiled at him, looking at him with warm, piercing black eyes.

“Hello, Captain.”

“Hello, Vaela.” he replied. He was honestly a bit confused at all the pomp and circumstance over a computer core. However he gave a slight bow just to be safe, small courtesies often went far, and he hoped for the same in this case. Honestly he had expected to be taken to some junk dealer for the core but this was the complete exact opposite. There was no reason to bring him to a woman as gorgeous as the one before him all just to buy used parts. “If I may ask, I was here to get a new core for my ship, is there a particular reason they have brought me to you instead? Is there something maybe I can be of service to for you? Although it doesn’t look like there’s much I could provide out of what you seem to already have.” The Captain continued to keep an eye on those around him but again knew he’d be quickly outnumbered if something were to happen. It was obvious this woman and those that served her were not playing around.

A touch of amusement appeared in those sparkling dark eyes still settled on his face, and it was echoed in the lilt of her voice when she spoke.

“Vaela is only if you want to work for me, Captain. I think you have better things to do with your time. My name is Tiraa Shai.” Finally, her eyes moved and she gave him a once over, but they quickly settled back on his face. “Usually I like to share a drink with a man before he offers to service me.”

She grinned at him then, clearly having a bit of fun at his expense, but not taking it too seriously. “They brought you to me because I wanted you brought to me. It isn’t every day someone comes looking for something so… expensive… especially not for a defunct Starfleet ship.”