An Actual Interview

Posted on Thu Feb 13th, 2025 @ 1:43pm by Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami

2,547 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well
Timeline: Past

—Aftermath of “Dear Diary, I just Met My Wife” Post—

As Vance ushered Adrianna out of the chaos that was the poker game they'd just met at. He'd promised her dinner, she'd said her name was Adrianna. He spotted Lutz watching and soon joining them.

The streets of Freecloud were quieter now, save for the faint hum of distant machinery. Adrianna walked a few steps ahead of Vance and Lutz, her expression calm, though her mind remained sharp. The chaos they’d left behind was already fading, but she knew its consequences would linger. She’d seen men like Vance before: charming, confident, and too used to getting their way. She wasn’t about to make it easy for him– she had to make him think she was the real deal and not just someone to fit the part so easily.

“Still can’t believe you saved my life,” Vance said, his tone light but his grin telling, “guess that makes you my future wife.”

Adrianna glanced over her shoulder, her brow arched, “You don’t even know me, Capitano, but I'll accept the compliment.”

“I know enough,” he shot back with a wink, “besides, never say never.”

“If you say so, cucciolo,” she muttered, turning her gaze forward again.

Lutz, walking at Vance’s side having followed him out, cleared his throat, shooting the captain a look, “If you're done flirting, Cap. You need to focus, Vance. We’ve got business with this one.”

They entered a small bar tucked away a street up. It was dimly lit and far removed from the chaos outside, with a low hum of conversation and the occasional clink of glasses. Vance gestured to a booth near the back, and Adrianna hesitated for a moment before sliding into the seat, her eyes quickly and subtly ensuring that she could see an exit.

Lutz sat beside Vance, and the two men exchanged a look. Finally, Lutz spoke, “Captain, allow me to properly introduce Adrianna Reggimi. She’s the translator and negotiator I mentioned.”

Vance raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his seat. “The one you’ve been chasing down? I thought she’d be more…” he paused, giving her a once-over, his grin teasing, “…well, older.”

“I have good genes,” Adrianna’s lips curved into a faint smirk, “you thought wrong though.”

Lutz stifled a laugh but quickly sobered, “Adrianna’s built a solid reputation among mechanics and traders. She’s good at getting people what they need and even better at getting them a fair deal. Word is, she’s saved a few people from getting fleeced– and not just once or twice.”

Adrianna leaned back in her seat, her arms crossed, “Nice speech, cucciolo, but if you are trying to butter me up, I should also get to hear the catch.”

Vance poured them each a glass of wine, his movements casual but deliberate, “no catch, little dove. Just questions. My last hire didn’t exactly work out, so forgive me if I’m a little cautious.”

Adrianna tilted her head, studying him and spotted how Lutz’s smile seemed to falter a touch, “you’re saying your first officer vouched for someone, and they were merde? That sounds like a ‘you’ problem.”

Lutz groaned but didn’t deny it, “the last one oversold himself. I admit that. But, Adrianna’s different.”

Vance swirled the wine in his glass, his eyes on her, “so you say, but you’ve got to understand my position. I’ve got a ship to run and a crew to protect. Why should I trust you to deliver?”

Adrianna took a slow sip of her wine, leaving a subtle lipstick stain on the rim before responding, “you shouldn’t. Not only because you're actively hiring someone on Freecloud, which is dumb as hell, but you shouldn't until I’ve proven myself. But I don’t need this job, Capitano. I’ve got plenty of work, plenty of people who already know I’m good at what I do. It's steady, it pays and it's safe minus the occasional bar fight.” She set her glass down, her gaze steady, “you’re the one who has something to prove.”

Vance blinked, and then a low laugh rumbled from him. “She’s got a point,” he said to Lutz.

“I told you she was sharp,” Lutz replied, a trace of smugness in his voice.

Vance turned his attention back to her, his grin returning. “Alright, Miss Reggimi. Let’s say I believe Lutz. You’re good with traders, engineers, mechanics. How do I know you can handle the kind of people I deal with? Smugglers. Black-market dealers. People who don’t exactly play fair.”

Adrianna leaned forward slightly, her tone cool and yet somehow edged with flirtation, “you don’t, but considering I’ve already saved your life, I’d say I’ve got a better track record than your last hire.”

Lutz smirked, muttering to Vance in amusement, “told you she doesn’t pull punches.”

Vance nodded slowly, clearly enjoying the challenge. “Fair enough. One last question, then,” he paused, his gaze locking with hers, “why should I hire you? You don’t seem like the kind of person who’d want to stick around or show loyalty– merely a woman on the hunt for the next best pay cheque.”

Adrianna met his gaze without flinching, “maybe you shouldn't. Maybe I am the kind that just wants to get paid– loyal to ourselves strings not people. But if I take a job, I see it through. If you’re looking for someone to stroke your ego, I’m not it. If you’re looking for someone who’ll get results, I’m your best option.”

For a moment, Vance said nothing, his expression unreadable. Then he lifted his glass in a silent toast, “welcome aboard, Miss Reggimi. Let’s see if you’re as good as you say.”

Adrianna didn’t return the toast, but her faint smirk was enough to show she’d accepted the challenge. But Adrianna wasn’t about to make this easy for them.

“Not bad wine,” she said coolly, breaking the silence that followed, “but if you’re expecting me to agree to anything after a drink and a chat, you’re wasting your time.”

Vance chuckled, setting his glass down, “you’re a tough one, aren’t you?”

“Tough enough to know talk is cheap,” she replied, crossing her arms, “especially from smugglers with a reputation for not playing nicely with others.”

Lutz leaned forward, clasping his hands together, “then maybe we skip the talk and move on to action.”

Adrianna arched her brow, “I thought you wanted to hire me, not put me through some cazzo di circus.”

Vance’s grin widened. “That depends. Lutz here has a knack for finding talent, but like I said, his last recommendation was… lacking,” he looked at Lutz with mock disdain, “I’m sure you remember that disaster.”

Lutz rolled his eyes but waved it off, “Fine. Fair point.” He turned to Adrianna, his expression sharpening, “You want to prove you’re worth it, and you want to ensure that we remember this even after a bottle of wine. How about a little test? If you pass, we will write the contract tonight and give you a down payment for a minimum of 3 runs.”

Adrianna leaned back in her seat, watching them both with suspicion, “what kind of test?”

Lutz gestured subtly towards the far end of the bar, where a shady looking man was nursing a drink. His shoulders were hunched, and his posture screamed that he was someone who didn’t want to be noticed.

“That’s Tavor,” Lutz said, “He owes the captain here a sizeable amount of latinum. He’s been dodging repayment for weeks, always promising he’ll ‘get it soon’. We’ve tried the usual tactics– persuasion, threats– but he’s slippery. Too good at disappearing.”

Vance picked up the explanation, “he’s in here tonight because he thinks we’ve given up and because we’re letting him think that whilst we hatch a plan.”

Adrianna glanced between them, her expression unreadable and her tone rather flat, “and you want me to do what? Talk him into paying up?”

Lutz nodded, “or at least get him to admit he has the latinum somewhere. If you’re as good as I’ve heard, you’ll find a way.”

She gave a short laugh that seemed rather amused but it didn't quite reach her eyes, “so, let me get this straight. You want me to walk into a situation you’ve already incasinato-ed and attempt to clean up your mess, when you could be lying about who he is just to put me in a tight spot… for free?”

Vance leaned forward, his grin turning wolfish. “Not for free. Consider it your interview. If you pull it off, you’re hired. Full pay, full trust. If not…” He shrugged, “we finish the wine and go our separate ways.”

“Here's me thinking that my future husband would not abandon me so soon,” she teased, referencing his earlier ‘joke’. Adrianna took a slow sip of her wine, considering her options. She could feel both of them watching her, waiting for her reaction. Finally, she set the glass down with deliberate care.

“Fine,” she said, her tone calm, “but if I do this, you’ll owe me more than just a job offer– I want a cut in whatever I retrieve from him if it's more than what is owed, and something only you, as a capitano, can promise.”

Vance tilted his head, intrigued, “what do you want?”

“To not have to prove myself again,” she said firmly, “if I pull this off, I’m not your rookie, your pet project, or your gamble. I’m your equal. Also, I'm not a fan of sharing. I want my own place to stay on your ship. I don't speak standard before coffee.”

Lutz whistled softly, “You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that.”

Vance’s grin didn’t waver, “Deal. He speaks standard, but his first language is betazed by the way.”

Adrianna slid out of the booth with a smirk, ignoring the lingering gaze of Vance as she made her way across the dimly lit bar. Tavor sat slumped at the far end, nursing a drink like he wanted to vanish into the shadows. She approached with the kind of confidence that made heads turn but kept her movements deliberate, controlled.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked, sliding into the seat beside him without waiting for an answer.

Tavor barely glanced at her, “not interested.”

“Oh, I think you might be,” she replied, easily in his native tongue, her voice low, sultry. She traced the rim of her glass with her finger, letting the silence hang just long enough to make him uncomfortable.

Finally, he looked at her, his eyes narrowing, “what do you want?”

Adrianna leaned in slightly, her perfume subtle but noticeable, “you’ve got a debt, Tavor. A big one, I hear. I’m here to make sure you don’t walk out of here without settling it.”

He stiffened, glancing toward the exit and then to his bag, “Look, I don’t have–”

She cut him off with a soft laugh, her eyes sparkling with amusement, “Oh, don’t play me. I know you do. If I had to guess, I would suggest that you are storing it in one of the lockers on dock C. One of the safest places for cash on Freecloud as it's constantly guarded, close to the gambling joints and other places of ill-repute. I'd suggest that you looked at your bag because the key is in there. Sound right?”

Tavor’s jaw tightened, his eyes darting nervously around the bar, his eyes finally landing on Lutz and Vance. “How–” he stuttered as the men waved from their spot in the back, as if teasing his resolve.

“I’m very good at what I do,” she said, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, “and right now, what I’m doing is saving you from what happens if you cross Capitano Adams one more time. Trust me, you don’t want to find out what that looks like.”

Tavor’s hand twitched toward his drink, but Adrianna was faster. She leaned in closer, her lips just a breath away from his ear, “here’s how this is going to work. You’re going to sit right here and be a good boy while I go collect what you owe. And to make sure you don’t get any ideas–”

She reached under the bar, her hand brushing against a coil of thick wiring left behind by some careless mechanic. With a deft twist, she looped it around his wrist and the bar’s sturdy rail, knotting it tightly.

Tavor sputtered, his voice rising in protest, “You can’t just–”

She silenced him with a sharp look, her smile turning icy, “oh, I can. And I am. Don’t worry, it’s only temporary. Unless, of course, you decide to test me. In which case–” She let the implication hang, her gaze daring him to argue as she gestured to the men watching on.

He didn’t.

Adrianna straightened, dusting off her hands, signalling the guy behind the bar to watch him. She then went through his bag, grabbing the key with a reference number on a fob.

Walking back to Vance and Lutz, who were watching with barely concealed amusement. “I’ll be back,” she said lightly, brushing past their booth and out the door, “wait here.”

It didn’t take long to find the locker and retrieve the latinum. When she returned, the bag in her hand was heavier than she’d expected. She placed it on the table in front of Vance, letting it hit the surface with a satisfying thud.

“I don't know how much he owed you, but it looks like your friend was holding out,” she said, opening the bag to reveal its contents. The latinum was neatly stacked, and it was clear at a glance that it was more than double what Tavor owed.

Vance’s eyebrows shot up, “That’s… that's unexpected.”

Adrianna plucked a single bar from the pile, slipping it into her pocket with a smile, “Consider this my down payment. If you want the rest of my services, we’ll need to discuss terms.”

She took another bar and sauntered back to Tavor, who was still glaring at her from his seat. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the bar onto the bar in front of him.

“That’s for staying put,” she said sweetly, “not that you had much of a choice.” Tavor scowled but said nothing, his hand curling around the bar of latinum as Adrianna untied him.

Back at the booth, Vance was watching her with a mix of admiration and amusement. “I think I’m in love,” he said with a grin.

Adrianna rolled her eyes, sliding back into her seat. “You’d better hope not, Capitano. You couldn’t handle me.”

Vance laughed, raising his glass in a toast. “You’re hired.”

 

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