Alex Nain was cheating at poker.
There were six of them in the game: herself, Captain William Drake, Admiral Janus McCaffrey, Captain Nwabudike Lal, Captain Arthur Lowe, and Commander Tholiar, in one of the Andorian woman's rare social appearances. They had been playing for hours, and by now Lowe was broke, McCaffrey was hanging on by the change in his pockets, Drake and Lal had both folded, and Tholiar was regretting having agreed to take part. She didn't fully grasp the game, but she knew that she was doing badly at it.
Alex, the Starship Endeavour's jovial red-eyed helmsman, was making a killing. Yes, she wasn't playing exactly honourably, but there were two people at the table who annoyed the hell out of her, and she would take any opportunity to hurl a little aggravation their way. Her friends would get their money back in the end.
She held her cards close to her face, so that just her unnatural eyes peeked over the top of them, and watched the admiral intently.
"He's got three twos," said the seventh person in the room – the admiral's cabin aboard Starbase Two. She popped her head over McCaffrey's shoulder, grinned, and continued, "An awe-inspiring hand."
Alex grinned, her expression hidden behind her cards – which were a fair sight stronger than three of a kind. She adored games like this, where her other side could give her an advantage. There were so many ways to cheat at card games, but there were always ways to catch such cheats. Having someone whom only you can see and hear feed you what's in your opponent's hand…there was no way to catch that!
Kana objected to being an accessory to cheating at cards. Not because she had any moral objection – Kana and morality weren't close associates – but because she found it demeaning. She had incredible abilities, and what did her host have her do? Spy on playing cards!
Alex flicked a handful of chips from her plentiful pile into the centre of the table. The admiral huffed and tossed what little cash remained to him in. They compared hands; Alex laughed, and left the admiral poor.
He thumped his fist against the felt tabletop. "You're cheating somehow, I know it!"
Alex touched a hand to her chest. "Me?"
"No one can play so perfectly by luck!" He accused, and Lowe nodded alone with him. They were of one mind, as they so often were. Gutless little suck up.
Nwabudike Lal laughed his warm, throaty, highly amused laugh. "You don't know Alex, do you, sir?"
"I think I know her well enough," said McCaffrey, abruptly standing. "Thank you, Gentlemen, but it's getting late."
The three Endeavour crewmen, Nwabudike, and the second Nain left together, the physical people smiling and laughing, Kana still peeved. Nwabudike, a handsome black man in his mid-thirties, round-faced and cheerful, put his arm around Alex's shoulder and pulled her to him affectionately. "Gotta know, Red; how did you play so good back there? You're lucky, but no way are you that lucky!"
"My little secret."
"I knew it!" Laughed Drake. "You were cheating."
"Maybe."
"Come on, out with it. How?"
"Ask me no questions and I'll you no lies."
Drake smiled fondly but doubtfully. "That so?"
Alex's smile was impish. She knew that her friend honestly didn't mind, that much, that she kept secrets from him – a lot of secrets. It was just one of the many things that she liked about him. People she had known in the past had been full of questions – why did she have red eyes? were they contact lenses? why did she talk to herself? who was Kana? – and they had never liked the answers, even when she had abandoned the truth in favour of more plausible falsehoods. Drake just considered her British and consequently a bit odd anyway.
"Here," she handed over a chunk of her ill-gotten winnings to the two captains. "Have fun. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Where are you going?" Drake was disappointed. In the three days since the Endeavour had put into port he had seen almost nothing of his best friend. Whenever he had gone looking for her, she was nowhere to be found. He finally caught up with her, and she ran off again.
She was a little evasive. "Like the admiral said, it's a little late."
Drake gave her his patented 'is that the best you can do?' look.
"I was up late yesterday, and I've got plans for tomorrow. Sorry guys. Night."
She made a quick exit. Drake watched her go and sighed. Nwabudike watched Drake.
"You two really confuse me sometimes."
"What do you mean?"
"You keep saying there's nothing going on with you two, and then you act like this."
"Like what?" The captain said innocently.
"All dopey-eyed and loved sick."
"Keep telling you, I'm not interested in Alex."
Nwabudike smiled, bright white teeth flashing against his chocolaty skin. "Whatever, Will."
"Really."
"Well. I'm interested in her." He earned himself a sharp look for that comment. Was that jealousy? He laughed. "Not like that, Will. Although she's a fine woman. I meant my XO is retiring in a couple of months and I want Alex to fill his shoes."
"Have you told her?"
Nwabudike nodded. "She hasn't mentioned it to you?"
Drake shook his head. "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you, pal."
"Yeah, I sort of guessed she might be like that. It's a shame. She's got a lot of potential; you know that, Will. She could go far, if she just made a smart decision every once in a while."
"I don't think she cares about her career."
"Nope. She wants to be with her friend. It's touching, really." He sighed, clearly displeased. "Never mind. I've got other candidates in mind, but I'd like it to be Alex."
The captain knew why. Alex and Nwabudike were very similar people – both adventurous daredevils with little time for planning or scientific duty. Lal was more popular with the admiral than he was. On the Intrepid Alex would see the kind of action she craved.
"I'll talk to her for you."
"Appreciate that, Will. I'm not expecting miracles, though."
Yeah. Convincing Alex to make a sensible career move? That would take a miracle.
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"Are you still sulking?"
"I don't sulk."
"Yeah? You could pout for Earth."
There were two kinds of fire in Kana's eyes now – the unnatural power that always filled them, and irritation. "I'm not from Earth."
Alex Nain smiled at her very best friend, displaying a different kind of warmth. "Tomorrow is your day, like I promised. And, as a bit of a treat, because you gave such good information tonight…" She produced from the inner lining of her cloak a small bar, wrapped in silver foil and paper, a grinning child on the wrapper.
Kana squeaked like a little girl, her bad mood instantly gone. There were a lot of things that could put a grin on her face, only a few didn't involve drowning an enemy in their own blood, and of those the promise of white chocolate was the easiest to arrange. She had brought the bar earlier in the evening in preparation for this event. Good Belgian chocolate cost a bit this far from Earth, but it was worth it for the look on Kana's face.
The Change brought with it the perfect bliss of having no cares, no worries, and no responsibilities. Kana's consciousness – or her spirit, if one was so inclined – now had control of their shared body; Alex floated as a ghostly form next to herself. Kana tore the wrapper from her chocolate bar and munched on it merrily. She loved the sweet, sugary taste of white chocolate. Alex preferred dark, but she was just strange. It was like eating raw cocoa! It sucked flavour out of your mouth. There was a lot that Kana didn't understand about her host, but the chocolate thing was one mystery that she would never be able to solve.
She really appreciated Alex's gesture, but she wished that her host had stretched her budget to a bigger chocolate bar; that one just hadn't lasted. She had some money of her own, Alex had opened a bank account for her years ago, but she couldn't remember her PIN number. She was almost sure it started with an eight. She could ask Alex, but that would mean admitting her ignorance, and she wouldn't give Alex the satisfaction!
Which, sadly, meant no more chocolate for her.
She had more than one way of amusing herself. She conjured her yoyo from the mini pocket universe in which she habitually stored it for ease of access, and started to play with it as she walked. Alex had rented a room on the starbase, but she hated it, so she made her way down to the landing bay levels and across to the Shadow Wing. She could have blipped aboard the craft directly if she had wished, but the starbase's immigration was a bitch – they would throw all kinds of fits tomorrow when Alex tried to come back aboard when their system said she hadn't left. Bureaucracy was a bitch.
It was comfy aboard the Wing, as homely as it got for someone who had never had a true home. Well…maybe Alex, but that was a little different. Alex was more of a life partner than a home. A partner for Alex's life, that was. She would go on and on, but Alex would not. That always made her sad when she thought about it, which was why she tended not to. What would she do when Alex was gone? Only a century, tops. She had seen countless quantities of those go by, didn't used to consider them all that long. Now, she couldn't bear to think that far ahead. When had she got so sentimental?
Had Alex been drinking? Why else would she be in such a self-reflective mood?
Deciding that if Alex hadn't been drinking, she certainly should, Kana walked into the miniature mess hall and helped herself to a can of premium larger from the fridge. She pulled the tab and poured half the contents down her throat. Bubbles rose in her throat. Alex would have belched, but Kana was more sophisticated. Her ladette host often made fun of her about it.
She took her beer with her into the cockpit. In times gone by, the wonders of the universe could be seen through those forward portholes. Today, the only view was of the flight control tower for the east landing bays. The two men on duty were playing cards. Blackjack, if she wasn't mistaken.
There was a light blinking on the comm panel, a waiting message. Curious, she touched the play button.
A familiar face popped up on the screen. His voice rang around the cockpit, a Liverpool accent dangling from each word. "Hey, Nain. Long time and all that. Listen. I've got some…business I know will interest you. Mansfield. I think you remember the place. I'll be aboard my ship; you can find me easy enough. If you ain't coming, let me know. Don't piss me around, Nain."
Kana thought on Alex's promise – that tomorrow would be her free day, to do with as she pleased. She had made plans. Sketchy plans, but still plans.
The delete button was red and tempting. No message, no problem. Comm signals were lost in subspace all the time.