It had been five days since Zef had her first meeting with Kalig Marrov and Captain Cochrane. The meeting in which the Bajeen male announced a marital claim to the counselor by way of his dead brother. After Cochrane sent him back to his ship, the Kestra, Zef returned to her quarters and sent a message to Ganro Fleg, her friend who still lived and thrived on Baj along with his family. She’d asked him to look in to the matter—to find out if such a law existed and if there was any chance at all that she might have to consider Kalig’s claim on her.

It was all very involved. In normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have given it any thought, but keeping tradition and staying involved with Bajeen life was something her mother, Anara, begged her to keep alive in her life. That was the only reason she’d taken time to find out if Marrov’s claim was true or just something made up to put her off guard.

As it turned out, Ganro worked tirelessly to investigate the old laws that covered that particular aspect of spousal responsibility with siblings of a mated pair when there were not children from the joining. That evening when she’d returned from her day of counseling members of the crew, there was a message waiting for her when she entered her quarters.

Instead of running directly to the computer, Zef took a few minutes to change out of her uniform into a lavender colored, casual gown. The strappy top and loose body, and the soft material and decorative lace at the hem, helped her feel ‘normal’ and individual—unlike her uniform did. Grabbing a glass of wine before seating herself at the desk, Zef ran a hand back through her long, white hair and sighed loudly. The next moment or two could change her life…

—Zef (cue the mysterious music…)

Ten minutes later, the message had played out, her wine glass was empty and her heart was lighter. She had a thoughtful look on her face as she walked to the replicator to refill her glass. She took it to the sofa and got comfortable. As she sipped the fruity wine, her mind swirled with how to handle the next bit. Kalig had to be informed that she wasn’t going anywhere with him—that might make his real purpose for showing up at the places she had been assigned, come to light. Truthfully, she didn’t want another thing to do with the Marrov family, not even a short communique with her ex brother in law. However, she could tell the Captain what was going on. It was after his duty shift so Zef was loathe to bother him, but he had said he wanted to know the minute she heard something.

Downing the last mouthful of golden liquid in the glass, she rose from the couch and headed to the vanity in the bathroom to check her appearance. The wine coursed through her system, relaxing muscles and mental barriers as she ran a brush through her loose hair and pulled it all over one shoulder. When she found herself placing a dot of softly scented perfume on the pulse points of her neck, she shook her head at her reflection. “As if. He already told you he just wanted to be friends.” She was fine with the idea of staying platonic with Cochrane most of the time, but there were moments when desire for him caused her some discomfort. =/\=Computer, location of the Captain?=/\=

=/\=Captain Cochrane is currently in his quarters.=/\=

Flinging off the bothersome thoughts, Zef slipped her feet into simple sandals and made her way to deck 2. There were only two sets of quarters on that level, the CO’s and the XO’s. Making sure she took the correct turn, she arrived outside of Cochrane’s rooms. When she reached for the chime and noticed her hand wasn’t shaking at all, she smiled just a bit. Best to try and keep it together for the short meeting ahead. With that in mind, the counselor activated the chime to let him know someone was at his door.

—Zef

There was a long pause and then the door slid open. Cochrane stood in the doorway in a pair of gray sweatpants and a blue zippered hoodie that was partly open, exposing bare skin. He wore an obviously hesitant expression as the doors opened as he wasn’t expecting anyone. But when he saw the Counselor, he smiled and said “Ah, Counselor. Please, please… come in.” and stepped aside and held his right arm out to invite her inside.

The Captain’s quarters were comfortable and spacious, befitting the Commanding Officer of one of the larger ships in Star Fleet. The room was set up with the doorway in the middle of a large living space. A couch sat below the large window that made up the wall opposite the door, and a low but very sturdy-looking table sat in front if it flanked by large chairs on either side. To the right of the door was a desk set so that a person sitting there would have their back in the far right corner of the room which, in turn, was flanked by bookcases similar to the ones in the Captain’s Ready Room. To the left of the door was a small kitchen with a tall table and chairs sat on the door side of the kitchen island which held the sink. Past the sink was a cooking surface and a replicator and cabinets. In the far left corner near the window sat an assortment of musical instruments on stands: a guitar, bass guitar, upright bass, and a saxophone. In the far opposite corner was a small piano and a cello.

There were doors on either end of the room, the one the right being closed but the one on the left was open and the darkened bedroom could be seen through the doorway.

As she entered he stepped away and let the door slide closed and said “What can I do for you, Commander? Any word on the issue at hand?” and he moved into the kitchen area and opened a cabinet. “Something to drink?” he asked politely.

Cochrane, CO

It was her first look at his quarters. The tidiness pleased her—Zef had a problem with messes. It also had a masculine feel with color choices and decor. “This is a nice space you have.” She walked farther into the room and did a 360 to take in the whole thing. Her glance lingered for an extra second on the bedroom doorway, wondering what choices he’d made in there.

Not expecting a drink, she smiled. Might as well continue with the relaxed mood she was currently enjoying. “A glass of white wine, please. Something fruity, if you have it.” Feeling more at home than expected, she kicked off her sandals close to the table in front of the couch and enjoyed the feel of expensive carpet on her bare feet as she walked to the view ports that lined the far wall.

“Yes, there is news. I just heard from Ganro.”

—Zef

Cochrane watched her out of the corner of his eye and when she said she had word, he smiled. “And as you are not storming in here, hands flying and on the verge of committing murder, I take it you have good news then?” He walked to a long, narrow cabinet next to the replicator and opened it: a wine cabinet. He ran his hand down the necks of the various bottle until he muttered “Ah, yes.” and removed a light blue bottle with a dark green wax seal across the top. He set it on the cooking surface and tapped a few commands and the wine chilled almost instantly. He opened the bottle by cracking the wax seal with a wire that pulled the top free, and then drew the cork out. Grabbing two glasses, he carried them in one hand and the bottle in the other and came to the low table made of deep, dark wood. Closer view would ahow it was carved with scowling, toothy, almost demonic faces around the tops edge.

Setting the glasses down he poured them each a glass and then took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs. “Do tell, Commander. And please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable.”

Cochrane, CO

She watched as he moved around the room, enjoying the view. It was fine as long as she kept silent about it. Zef folded herself into the corner of the couch nearest the chair the Captain sat in. She didn’t sink completely into it as that wouldn’t allow her to reach the table where her wine sat, so she sat forward and crossed her legs, the dainty pink polish on her toes very evident on her pale, bare feet.

“Ganro’s a good friend. He spent many hours pouring through old law journals for me. The good news is that there was a law about mating into a family and being passed to another brother after the death of a spouse—if there were no living children from the original union, but that idea was done away with over 400 years ago.” She tasted the wine. “Mmmmm, very nice.” As she gazed at Cochrane and smiled, her eyes lingered on the open neck of the hoodie he wore. It was a double entendre, yes, but he didn’t know that and she was feeling a little bit dangerous.

—Zef

He nodded as she complimented the wine. “Its a Vulcan wine. My mother and father have a vineyard there.” Whether or not he caught her lingering gaze was not apparent.

“So your wayward brother-in-law has no legal legs to stand on… good. One less complication to ha e to contend with. But now the question becomes what do we do about him to keep him from troubling you in the future.”

Cochrane, CO

Zef chuckled. “There’s no way to foresee what Kalig might come up with, but as far as I know, I’m not tied to him or his family at all now.” Another swallow of wine as she thought about possibilities. “He can’t have really been after me because of an old law, but since his claim I’ve done some thinking.” She didn’t like what she’d come up with but it did answer the big question.

Leaning a little more towards Alex, the Bajeen prepared to tell him something very personal. “I’m not anything special here in Star Fleet, but back home…my coloring, or lack of coloring, makes me fairly unique. We are called Azj’don ta—white ones.” She looked down at her feet and wiggled the pastel painted toes, taking note of the pale, pale skin.

“I’ve heard of a few instances where others like me went missing. No trace was ever found… I think men like Kalig might be selling other Azj’don ta to the highest bidders. He IS a mercenary, after all.” What kind of life would those Bajeen have?

Once again, her blue-gray eyes found the Captain’s. “Its a horrible thought, but it makes sense of all that’s happened.”

—Zef

Cochrane scowled and his jaw clenched. “Is albinism that uncommon that your very own people would sell you into slavery to the rich and powerful? Why not just pay for the genetic modification?” The question was logical… the tone was barely suppressed anger. Few things immediately set off Alex’s temper… the practice of slavery was two of those things.

Cochrane, CO

“Yes, I’ve read some of the history that befell your Azj’don ta. They make up less than six thousandths of a percent in your species numbers. The Azj’don ta on Baj make up around 1.5 thousandths of a percent. We are rare and during certain feasts, even venerated—because we are thought to bring good luck to our surroundings. But those with no ethics wouldn’t think twice about making a small fortune by kidnapping us.” The dark thoughts were messing with the pleasant buzz from the wine. In an attempt to keep it going, she emptied her glass.

“Its so strange…I never thought this disturbing part of our history would touch me…” Zef held out her glass for a refill. Everyone had bad memories. She knew that. As she gazed at Alex, she wondered what terrible things he kept hidden from everyone, afraid to admit to them because it might give someone else power they wouldn’t otherwise have had over him.

As he filled her glass, Zef shook her head. “I never expected to talk about this with anyone on the ship. I’m not in danger or anything…I mean, maybe from Kalig, but it isn’t something that hangs over my head all the time.”

—Zef