Somewhere Between Ouch and a Planet

Posted on Wed Feb 5th, 2025 @ 5:12pm by Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami

1,839 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well
Timeline: Past

Adrianna stood beside Vance, arms crossed as she listened to the Orion man speak in his native tongue. She was rusty with the language, but managed as the Orion had agreed to speak slower for her. Vance had always been a reliable man, so the Orion was happy to negotiate in such a way.

The dimly lit dock near a bar on Freecloud hummed with low conversation, the occasional clink of glasses punctuating the tension in the air. She had been translating back and forth for the last ten minutes, her voice steady and professional despite the seedy surroundings.

“The shipment will arrive in three days and it needs to get to the end client within a week,” she relayed to Vance, her eyes flicking briefly to his before returning to the Orion.

The green skinned man grinned, his sharp teeth glinting in the neon glow. He leaned forward, his tone shifting into something almost amused. Adrianna listened, her expression carefully neutral, until his next words made her entire body stiffen.

She didn't translate.

Vance frowned, “What did he say?”

Adrianna’s jaw clenched. She turned back to the Orion, her voice colder now, edged with steel, "That isn't part of this deal."

Vance’s frown deepened. His gaze darted between them, "Adrianna–"

The Orion chuckled, clearly pleased with himself. He spoke again, slow and deliberate in case something had been lost in translation.

Adrianna exhaled sharply through her nose and finally turned to Vance, “He wants to buy me off you.”

Vance went still.

The air between them shifted, charged with something far more dangerous than before. His jaw tightened, his usual easy smuggler's charm vanishing in an instant. Adrianna watched the way his fingers curled under the table, the subtle clench of his shoulders.

Then, in a voice low and lethal, Vance asked, “And what exactly did you tell him?”

Adrianna refocused to look into Vance's eyes in somewhat disbelief that he'd even question what her response would be. She didn’t hesitate, “That I am not part of the negotiations.”

The Orion chuckled, thinking that Vance was considering it– hence the disbelief I'm Adrianna's eyes. His grin widened as he leaned in, his next words slow and somewhat sultry– like silk dancing over a blade's edge.

Adrianna went rigid, her eyes returning to the Orion. The look was a warning shot– an opportunity for the Orion to reconsider his words.

Vance glanced at her, waiting for the translation, but she said nothing. His frown deepened, “Adrianna?”

She didn’t look at him. She was glaring at the Orion now, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. He was still talking, still naming prices like she was nothing more than cargo to be bartered for.

Vance shifted beside her, “What’s he saying?”

Adrianna inhaled sharply through her nose, her eyes never leaving the Orion. She growled, “You don’t want to know.”

The Orion laughed, as if entertained by the defiance in her eyes once more, and raised the offer again.

Adrianna’s fingers twitched. She forced herself to breathe, to keep her voice even as she turned to Vance. “How much do you need this deal?” It wasn’t just a question– it was a warning, a last thread of control before she snapped.

Vance looked at her, his eyes analysing her, watching her temper start to bubble over her usually controlled nature. “Whatever he says you're worth, you're worth a minimum of a million times that to me,” he tried to soothe, “you're not for sale, Adri. I can find other clients to ship for.”

Adrianna thought about what Vance had said for a moment, before nodding to Vance, her acceptance.

The Orion kept bartering, even flirting a little, reaching out to graze his fingers over her hip in a feather-light touch. She didn't translate for the Orion, but offered a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as he laid a finger on her hip. The tension left her body as she made her mind up on how to handle it.

The Orion barely got another word out before Adrianna moved. In one swift motion, she yanked the phaser from the holster at Vance’s hip and aimed it directly between the Orion’s eyes.

The smile vanished from his face and he quickly retracted his hand from her hip.

Silence fell over their table, thick and heavy. The hustle and bustle around them faded into the background, drowned out by the pounding of her own pulse in her ears.

Vance didn’t move, didn’t even flinch. “Adrianna,” His voice was calm, measured– too measured.

She didn’t take her eyes off the Orion. Her hand was steady, her finger hovering just over the trigger. "You still think I’m for sale?" she asked, her tone razor sharp, laced with venom.

The Orion held up his hands, his bravado evaporating. "It was a compliment," he stammered, but there was fear in his eyes now, real and unmistakable.

Adrianna let out a purposeful, mirthless laugh before growling, "Try complimenting me again. See what happens."

The Orion’s gaze darted to Vance, desperation creeping into his expression. It was clear he expected the his long term smuggler to intervene, to call off the woman currently threatening to burn a hole through his skull.

But Vance didn’t move to stop her.

Instead, he leaned in close, making it look like he was trying to talk her down or tell her off. He put a firm hand on her forearm of her free arm. He kept his voice low, for her ears only, his breath warm against the shell of Adrianna’s ear, “Damn, I love seeing this side of you. Feisty. It's something that I love about you,” his voice was low, almost amused, but there was a dangerous edge to it. Then, softer, he added “and I think he might be willing to up his payment now– as an apology for offending you, and in turn, me.”

Adrianna’s grip on the phaser didn’t waver, but she arched a brow ever so slightly. Slowly, she turned her head just enough to glance at Vance out of the corner of her eye, “Oh? You think so?”

Vance smirked, “I’d bet on it.”

The Orion swallowed hard, trying to plead his case and to make this easier for Vance, but when he saw the smirk, he quickly realised that Vance was approving of this threatened demise. “Look, I'm sorry. As an apology– we can keep to actual business. I–” He hesitated, then hurriedly added, “I can offer more. A gesture of goodwill if you will.”

Adrianna tilted her head, looking back to the Orion, she hadn't even had to state and begin negotiating an apology, “That so? He may be interested in that.”

He nodded quickly, “I'll pay him double.”

Now she smiled. Not sweetly– no, this was sharp, predatory. She held the phaser steady for a few seconds longer, letting the weight of the moment stretch just enough to make the Orion sweat. Adrianna kept the phaser in her grip, fingers steady as she stared the Orion down. The man sat rigid now, the arrogance wiped clean from his face, replaced by something much more satisfying– fear.

“Triple,” she corrected in Orion, her tone calm but leaving no room for argument, “and something for me.”

The Orion hesitated, darting another nervous glance at Vance, who was still watching them with an infuriatingly relaxed expression and maybe even some amusement. When he realised no help was coming, he swallowed hard and nodded, “For you?”

Adrianna tilted her head again. “You insulted me,” she said coolly with a small shrug and a soft smirk gracing her lips, “You’ll make it right.”

Vance, still unable to understand a word, exhaled in amusement. “I hope you’re getting us a better deal and not just scaring him for fun– I’ve known this guy for a long time and wouldn't want to watch a man pee himself.”

Adrianna heard Vance but seemingly ignored him for the moment. “The captain is getting impatient. He wants to know if we have this settled yet,” she ‘translated’.

The Orion scrambled for an answer. “I– I have Tellarite pearls,” he offered quickly. “Or a fine Orion silk sash–”

Adrianna barely blinked, “Pathetic.”

The Orion paled. He looked like he was regretting his life choices more with every passing second. Then, desperation flickering in his eyes, he tried again, “a Talarian sunstone. Pure. Uncut. I have one from before the embargo.”

Now, Adrianna smiled slowly, her features softening a little. “That will do,” she murmured in both Orion and Standard. Then, with deliberate slowness, she lowered the weapon.

The Orion exhaled in relief, looking like he’d just been granted a stay of execution.

Vance, still clueless but clearly entertained, smirked. He was enjoying having her as a translator and the closer they got the more he was seeing her true colours which just made him love her more. He finally broke the silence, refocusing to business, “Well? Are we rich?”

Adrianna reached out and tucked the phaser smoothly back into Vance’s holster, letting her fingers rest just briefly against his hip before pulling away. “He’s going to pay you triple,” she said simply, “and I've got a raw, pure Talarian Sunstone which I am sure will buy me whatever the hell I want to calm down from this ordeal, Capitano.”

Vance arched a brow at her but didn’t press. He just chuckled, shaking his head, “Remind me never to play poker with you.”

“I'll also remind you that next time, I won't ask for permission, amore mio,” she kissed his cheek with a mischievous glint in her eye, which caused the Orion to raise a brow, having not realised they were a pair. It would have explained why Vance didn't come to his aide.

She slipped into Orion, her lips lingering near Vance's cheek, her eyes flicking to the Orion, as if to clearly show the loyalty between the couple, “next time, I'll shoot and refuse to negotiate.”

The Orion shifted uncomfortably in his seat, before amending the terms of their agreement and signing it, slipping it to Vance with a small nod. Once complete, the Orion quickly made his exit.

Adrianna dropped into the warm seat of the Orion after he left, “got to admit, he was right about one thing.”

Vance looked up from the amended contract curiously, “oh?”

“It was a compliment to know how much he was willing to pay for me,” she chuckled, shaking her head at the dark humour, “and if you truly believe that I'm worth a million of that, madonna– I'm afraid that I am out of your price range, amore mio.”

Vance snorted, “I'm curious.”

“For you? Somewhere between ouch and a planet,” she grinned.

“Only ouch and a planet?” He teased, before flirtatiously chastising, “next time, don't settle for anything less than a galaxy.”

 

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