CHAPTER 8
(this is a short chapter, but it's kind of a filler. The next one's longer)
The rest of the day passed by slowly, but not unpleasantly. For the first time since I had arrived, Riker actually stayed in his quarters for most for the day. He wasn't on duty and, since the ship was only traveling, there wasn't much for him to do. Every that could be done to prepare for the Romulans already had.
Being in the quarters with Riker was interesting. I was treated to a private trombone concert, got to listen to some old Earth music called jazz, and was even taught the finer points of poker.
"Two," I said, tossing two card face down on the table. Riker dealt two cards out to me and then put one of his cards down.
"One," he said.
I looked at the two cards that I had received. A nine and an Ace. The Ace was the only thing that I cared about, as it gave me a pair. Not much, but maybe it was enough.
"I'll bet ten," I said, picking up a green chip and tossing it into the pile. I looked up at Riker, who was surveying me.
"You're ten," he said, "and fifteen more."
I thought for a moment. I didn't have much, but if Riker was bluffing then I could beat him. I called, then, "I'll raise you ten more."
Riker toyed with his chips for a minute. "I'll call, and I'll raise you ten."
I squinted at him. "You're bluffing," I told him.
"There's only one way to find out," he said.
I had to admit, he had a very good poker face. I was sure that it came from years of practice. But it wasn't good enough.
"I call." I put the additional ten into the pot. "Now what do you have?"
"You first."
"Fine," I said, laying my cards down on the table. "Now what do you have?"
Nothing, apparently. Riker laid his cards on the table, revealing a mismatched assortment of suits and numbers.
Grinning, I raked in the pot.
"How'd you know I was bluffing?" Riker asked.
"Your left eyebrow twitches when you're bluffing. No, I'm kidding!" I said as Riker raised his hand to his face. "I can just tell. What, can no one else tell when you're bluffing?"
Riker shook his head.
"Really? Because it's pretty obvious." To me, at least. I tossed my cards to Riker and he started to reshuffle the deck.
"What's the tell?"
"There isn't one. I just know when you're bluffing."
Riker shook his head. Then he handed me the cards.
"You're deal."
I shuffled them a few more times, and then began to deal them. "Five card stud," I said. "Nothing's wild." Picking up my cards, I looked at them. Another bad hand. With my lousy hands and Riker's new inability to bluff, this was going to be a long game.
Late in the afternoon, Riker left to go to the bridge. We had arrived at the Neutral Zone. I wasn't sure what to expect when he left, would there be a battle, but he returned two hours later.
One of the Romulan Warbirds, he reported, had disappeared while the other was staying just inside the Neutral Zone. It refused to answer to hails, but wasn't making any aggressive actions.
Riker left soon afterward, saying that he had to return to the Bridge. Had he returned merely to tell me what was happening? It didn't seem likely, but I couldn't see why else he would have come back. If that was the reason he had come back, it was incredibly thoughtful.
After Riker had left, I read. I was starting to get bored: the days were repetitive to say the least. I still couldn't say that I was sorry that we were at the Neutral Zone.