: Posted by Lieut (j.g.) Toren Nalar (Chief of Security) in COS Office
: : Posted by Lieutenant Micah Glass (Counselor) in COS Office
: : : : : : : : : : : He smiled and closed his eyes, it wasn't necessary, but he had found that humans generally expected some sort of physical response from a Betazoid during a mind read, and closing his eyes had become Torens "thing"
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: : : : : : : : : : : As her memories became clearer, Toren broke through several layers, hostility, lust, fear, anger, all the things that Micah showed in her personality dissolved as Toren explored the strings that lead from each state, eventually they all converged, overlapping through several different memories until, there it was, a man, face down in a bath tub, Micah standing over him, even though it was a memory, Toren could still feel the powerful emotions, as if he was living them in real time.
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: : : : : : : : : : She didn't know what to expect, really, but she thought 'something' would happen. A pressure in her head, a look of revulsion on his face...something...
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: : : : : : : : : : : Toren nodded and opened his eyes, smiling at Micah "You're a very complex woman Micah...so many memories, so many strings, all leading back to one life changing moment, it's rather amusing really, how a single event can totally change a persons way of looking at the world...I could go further, and see how you were before, but I don't think it's really necessary"
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: : : : : : : : : : Did he say it was amusing? The most terrible thing that had happened in her life was...amusing? She felt her blood pressure start to rise as she thought she'd made a mistake by allowing him into her mind.
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: : : : : : : : : : : He leaned back in his chair and smiled "So, would you like me to arrest you? Clap you in irons and throw you in a dark cell? Your fear certainly tells me that's what you expect...but as far as I'm concerned, Micah Glass is just a pissed off counselor, and certainly not capable of murder...and if you can't trust the word of a Betazoid COS, then who can you trust?" He spoke lightly, despite the severity of his words, his tone seemed to imply that it was a minor issue, best brushed under the carpet, Toren was a difficult man to read at the best of times, and when faced with difficulty, he tended just to smile and keep his real feelings hidden away.
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: : : : : : : : : : : Lt.jg Nalar, COS
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: : : : : : : : : : Micah almost threw the iced coffee onto the desk but managed to just set it down loudly. "I can't believe how lightly you're talking about a horrific experience! And you're smiling too...! What the Hell is wrong with you?" She stood, frozen for a moment before the chair, her hands fisting at her sides, unsure if she should just storm out or reach across the desk and slap him for his lack of compassion. Why had she let him into her head?
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: : : : : : : : : : ---Glass
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: : : : : : : : : Toren stood up suddenly and banged both his fists on the table "Is this better!?" He yelled with a sudden, passionate rage that had all the force of his voice and his emotion behind it.
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: : : : : : : : His sudden movement surprised her into taking a step backwards and bumping the chair with the backs of her knees.
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: : : : : : : : : He as soon as it appeared it had vanished and he smiled again "Micah, you need to learn to stop taking things so personally, you're so quick to look for a reason to be angry..."
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: : : : : : : : "Stop taking things so personally...It WAS personal! It was three months of Hell that summer because I trusted the wrong person!" While she tried to organize her thoughts to express how disappointed she was in his lack of understanding and feeling, he just continued.
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: : : : : : : : : He sat down again "I find, generally speaking of course, that if I smile, it throws people off, the Galaxy is so full of negativity, anger, rage, hate, all that jazz...but me? I'm a little pool of calm in an ocean of disquiet...you want me to be angry at you, because you're angry at yourself, you want me to be full of disgust, because that's how YOU expect me to be...but answer me this Micah, why should I react that way the universe expects me to?" he smiled and rested his hands on the desk in front of him "Your move counselor..."
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: : : : : : : : : Lt.jg Nalar, COS
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: : : : : : : : Standing there in her robe and bathing suit, Micah stared at Toren willing herself to calm down. "I think your 'power to read' is rusty, Lt. This conversation wasn't about YOU so whether you're a pool of calm in this big, bad universe or not, it doesn't matter. For some unknown reason I trusted you and let you see what happened all those years ago, hoping...hoping for what?" She shook her head as if mystified. "Hoping you'd understand why I keep people at a distance, I think. But instead of showing a morsel of compassion, you tell me I'm pissed off in general and angry with myself!"
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: : : : : : : : She pulled a deep breath into her lungs and breathed out slowly. "You're wrong on both counts." It didn't seem like there was any more to say so she turned and headed for the door.
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: : : : : : : : ---Glass
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: : : : : : : Toren smiled "You want compassion? Sure, I can put my arms around you and kiss it all better, but ultimately that won't help you...what you need is a release, something to help you deal with the fear and anger and move on...you see Micah, I'm not "rusty" what I'm trying to do is piss you off, you get angry enough maybe you lash out, verbally or otherwise, and it helps, because every time you lash out, it's one less piece of the pain you have to deal with"
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: : : : : : In a dark corner of her mind, her subconscious realized he was right. Very strong emotions demanded very strong actions.
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: : : : : : : He smiled warmly "Now, of course, you can't walk around the ship kicking the crap out of anyone who crosses you, but you -can- find some other way to let it out, paint a picture, go for a run, grab a man and ride him all night long...beat the snot out of some holograms, ultimately it doesn't matter, you need to let it out, how you do it, is entirely up to you"
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: : : : : : She was almost sputtering with frustration now. What had begun as a friendly conversation over a cup of coffee, had only a few moments later turned into a confrontation where Micah felt attacked. Reason was quickly leaving her and being replaced by a fiery anger that left nothing but red emotions in its wake.
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: : : : : : "You smug son-of-a... How dare you think to know how I should deal with feelings when you don't even HAVE any!!!" She leaned toward him over the desk, almost a mirror image of his own stance. "What did I ever see in you that compelled me to want to open up..."
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: : : : : : Micah's heart pounded in her chest and her blood pounded in her temples. She felt like she was going to physically explode.
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: : : : : : ---Glass
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: : : : : : : He grinned "And you if you want to beat the crap outta me, now would be the time, since I'm off duty as of 10 minutes ago, and it doesn't say that you can't "spar" with the COS when he's off duty"
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: : : : : : : Lt.jg Nalar, COS
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: : : : : Toren smiled "Why are you so keen for me to react the way you expect? Would it be better if I stomped around kicking things over and generally being a pain in the ass? Because I can do that if you like, but it's not a side of me too many have seen and fewer still enjoyed seeing" He said, his tone didn't change, but his eyes flashed briefly in memory.
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: : : : : He was silent for a while and looked her over, her flushed cheeks, her panting chest, he smiled "You're really quite sexy when you're angry aren't you?" he said, completely out of the blue.
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: : : : : Lt.jg Nalar, COS
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: : What the...? Micah hadn't been so riled up in a long while. The last time she'd even tried to get that excited, Alex threw a wrench into the works and wouldn't let himself give in to the wanton desires she'd had for him the first night they met.
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: : Since then, she'd been on her very best behavior...but the sheer weight of emotions crashing around inside of her demanded an outlet. She could hit Nalar or do something long lasting and far more satisfying. Throwing every bit of conversation they'd had out of her mind, Micah leaned forward quickly and closed the distance between them.
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: : The moment their lips met and she felt him respond, she felt her old habits sitting up and taking notice. It would be alright if it were purely physical...right?
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: : ---Glass
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: Toren would have smiled, but her lips pressed against his before he could, there was a familiar stirring, and that little near silent voice in his mind saying "stop" but as he had done so many times, he ignored it and pressed on.
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: Before he could rationalize his actions he was on her, circling his desk without breaking the kiss, he took both her wrists in his hands and near slammed her into the wall, the force of months of emotion and lust behind it as he pinned her there, never once did his lips leave hers.

Micah didn't fight him. She was as keen for the release their joining offered, as he was.
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: He released her wrists only to explore her body, opening her robe frantically he found the delightful seams where the costume met her skin and before to long, his fingers worked his way under the costume, to the bare skin beneath.
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: Lt.jg Nalar, COS

Her breath came fast as her body flooded with desire. She moved with and against Nalar to heighten their arousal. She reveled in the feel of his hands on her bare skin---it seemed like ages since a man had touched her like that.

There was a fierceness in their desire to join...almost a desperation. Micah shrugged out of the robe and pulled at the fastenings of Toren's breeches. She didn't try to talk as the situation had nothing to do with niceties. It was purely physical, a need, like in the animal kingdom. Get it done and go your separate ways.

This was the way Micah preferred it. No emotional involvement...

---Glass