What was it?

[rosetto 0]

What was it? What was so important that he join this crew? He had plenty of money to wait for the next gig to come along. He wasn’t a desperado down to his last credit or some lone wolf ditching the law for a past deed of indiscretion. He was just an honest joe looking to regain his sense of self.

 

What was it that the doc had said? “…be wary of the QoB... She's cursed…” The doc seemed like a good sort, just issues with telling the difference between reality and the bottom of a rocks glass. Sal had two or three old service buddies who had found similar excuses. And Chris, well Sal didn’t really know Chris but he did seem like a decent sort, someone he could work for, someone who was probably quite faithful and who you could rely on to be there when you were in a fix. So what was it? Why did he feel uneasy, like a man without clothing as he returned to the table?

 

Sal’s mind was firing on all thrusters as he tried to sort out the night’s events. Joe had made it perfectly clear that they didn’t need a pilot. He should just wait for another opportunity to present it self. He didn’t know any of these people, really. That was the best play, the safe move. It was settled. He was going to turn them down. There really was no good reason to jump on the first flight off this rock. He didn’t need this job, not as badly as some he’d met in Tranquility. It was settled.

 

The Rom Ale was going down real smooth. Sal lifted his mug to take another swig and brought back that painted smile that he wore so well. Now he thought. Who was he going to approach? Would he simply come out with it to Nickles here, thank ‘em for the refreshment and take his leave? Or would it be best to wait until the captain returned and politely decline? Sal didn’t think heartburn would be involved in either case, not theirs. As he sat back down he decided that he would wait.

 

It wasn't gone. It wasn't settled. Not in the least. Sal knew that there had to be a reason that he was placed there, in this situation. What was it?

[rosetto 0]

Trying not to stare, Sal eyed the Deltan as she spoke with the first mate. He couldn’t figure out her game but it was a game indeed. It had been some time but he had remembered getting trapped in a Deltan lure. She was not a fleeter, not bound by the ‘Oath of Celibacy’ and so her pheromone emissions were not cutailed. Deltan’s not only aroused other species, they were able to tap straight into their prey’s mind. This was a quite natural thing for a Deltan but had proven to be ultimately distasteful to others. This was the primary reason that the oath and its chemical applicant were established by Star Fleet.

 

He looked again at Redera as he quietly sipped his ale and then told a silly joke that had the whole table laughing. Everyone thought of him as a suburbanite and the joke had poked fun at that lingering ideal. In reality, Sal was raised in a rural community on Mars. Milankovic was not part of the mainstream culture there. It was a backwards little settlement of farmers who were quite conservative in their views toward others. He had been influenced by his mother’s genes, however. She was not from a rural community like his father. Sal often thought that she ha sacrificed too much to raise him; that she had given up on her dreams. This dream-seeking trait had definitely been passed on to Sal and that was why he was here.

 

There was a rumor concerning Deltans that was just on the edge of Sal’s mental focus. He could not remember the details, only that he’d heard something about an age of ascension. This was a mental age in the Deltan species where they passed into enlightenment. Before such age, a Deltan could be considered dangerous if exposed to another race who could not manipulate the world of subconscious thought. The rumor, as he remembered it was that there was a sect of Deltans who had rejected ascension. The details eluded him as he tried to regain focus on his surroundings.

 

Could this be ‘IT’? Could this be what was bothering him? Why should he be casting suspicion where there was no apparent cause for it? Sal thought about it for a long moment as he assessed the room in general. He was most likely over reacting. Jealous? He hadn’t been jealous since… wow. Sal remembered Jill, the woman he almost asked to marry from Preenos. He chuckled to himself as he mused about his youthful behaviors. She was already engaged, he’d found out, but still his young heart had pounded for her. This wasn’t jealously, though. What ever it was, Sal felt like he needed keep it to himself for now.