When you're dead...

Posted on Mon Jan 31st, 2022 @ 1:58am by Remal Kajun & Captain Rhenora Kaylen

Mission: *CD*
Location: Bajor
Timeline: Current-ish

“Ahhh, you big lump of a man! Why do you gotta pull so hard?” She screamed.

He placed his hands in the air, “You know fighting me is not going to help you heal any faster. The hard part is almost over, now hold still!” He yelled back, matching stubborn for stubborn.

Somewhere from behind him, Rhenora snickered as she sipped on her soup. Patin heard it, her eyes snapping to the culprit. “You think this is funny do you? Next time, you can be the one getting stabbed in the rib cage.”

Remal took the upper hand and pressed Patin down on the bed. Her eyes lit up in a surprised moment of pleasure and pain. “Now, hold still.” He demanded. He had worked on her back for almost an hour now and she had fought him relentlessly. Bucking like a wild bronco.

She responded to his man-handling with playful curiosity. Rarely had she met a man who could handle her in this fashion and something in her brain said, yes please, give me some more. “She winced as he pulled the last bit of tree bark out of the wound.”

“There, see, if you had remained still, I could have gotten that out a long time ago. Now, remove your shirt.” He orderly proclaimed. Without missing a beat he stepped back and watched. This was so he could not only wrap her wound, but also check her movement ability. An open wound in the rib section would limit her arm movement for a while.

Patin looked to Rhenora as if seeking help and permission at the same time. Her eyes were full of mixed emotion, though she knew this needed to happen. “I don’t suppose you could liquor a girl up first. You know, to dull the pain?” She asked of Rhenora.

“ That’s what the hypo was for” Rhenora retorted with a twisted smile “ Can’t have you all slurry when he’s trying to assess just how badly you tried to meet your maker this morning. When he says you’re done… then you can by all means find the bottom of a bottle” She gave Patin a glare that meant there was no argument with this one.

She had to admit it was mildly amusing to watch the battle of wills from an observer's perspective, Remal took no prisoners when it came to healing, and would do his utmost to ensure he achieved his goals. Patin on the other hand had spent so long on her own that having anyone else attend to her was a foreign and unknown situation.

“Well, whatever was in that hypo-thinggy wasn’t near strong enough.” She whinged.

“When you are done complaining, I’m still waiting for that shirt to come off. Obey your doctor and you can have all the alcohol you want. And if you’re really lucky, I’ll make it so it doesn’t come out of this large hole in your back before you get the chance to enjoy it.” Remal spoke without sarcasm or smirking in the slightest.

Defeated, Patin looked from Rhenora to Remal, then turned her back and began stripping off her top. She struggled as she lifted her right arm high above her head, but with a bit of squirming and wiggling, she managed. Then she spun around, bare chested, arms at her side.

“There, happy now?” Her skin was scarred, many of them old enough to indicate a time of her youth. But some were more recent. The scratches and claw marks indicated a rough life possibly even after the occupation had ended.

“I’ll be happier when I know you’re healed and back in working order. Now, turn around and let me close the wound, then we’ll get you wrapped up and back to working order in a day or two.”

She was almost sullen at the idea they would be leaving and in resignation she turned around to allow him to close the wound. “I was… I don’t know, just hoping ya’ll would stay for a while, maybe do a bit of soakin in the hot springs? I hate to admit but the company has been nice.”

“ The company of shoveling animal dung, the company of blowing up snowpacks, or the company that tried to kill us?” Rhenora mused as she watched Remal finish patching up their host. She handed her husband the items he would need just before he needed them, staying out of the conversation that had been thrown between the two of them.

As he wrapped Patin in a supportive bandage Rhenora ducked into the kitchen and spied what she thought was the smallest most empty bottle of whatever moonshine Patin had been making, poured a small nip, and returning to where their host was finally getting dressed.

“ I believe this is yours. Not that I’d drink it, it smells like… heck I don’t even know what it smells like” She wrinkled her nose and handed it to Patin.

Patin took the class and eyed it for a moment before downing the drink. She winced at how strong it was, then savored the drink as though she hadn’t had one in some time. “Ro’s Whiskey.” She said simply. “Made by a family up North. Hard to import, hard to traffic really.”

She looked at the glass before setting it down. “You know the company I was talking about is you and your wonderful husband.” She winked at Remal who ignored her and continued packing his medical supplies. “I miss seeing you and now that your enemy believes we are dead, maybe they’ll leave you alone for a bit.”

Remal looked at Rhenora, “Wait. What do you mean they think you’re dead? What the hell happened up there? You’ve told me a story, but it seems you’ve left out certain details.” He said, referencing Rhenora’s quick rehash of the ambush. To his understanding they were clearing a snowpack, then some goons attacked but her and Patin managed to fight them off. Somewhere in the fight the snow runner was destroyed and Patin had been injured. Sometimes he disliked her lack of detail.

She had the decency to blush a little, having definitely glossed over some of the more intrepid and dangerous parts of their morning.

“ Well there was a snowpack… and some explosives, and there may have been some phaser rifles and a godawful sled ride down a hill after the snow mobile got gone.” Rhenora attempted to feign innocence and failed miserably, as usual. “ Oh and there was a point where Patin tried to get dead yet again. But she got the goon good!”

Patin turned around, eyes wide. “He’s right though. That bastard shot us, which I’m oblivious to how we survived that by the way, but that means IF he makes it back to his boss they will think us dead. That means we, well you, have the upper hand now. Maybe they will leave us alone?”

Remal pondered her words and focused on how she included herself initially. “Perhaps, for now at least. They didn’t come after me, though maybe killing the Mother of the Future was enough. This means our friends should be safe, but it could also embolden our enemy. And a bold enemy is one who is bound to make a mistake, or one who finally comes out of the shadows.” He finished by looking to Rhenora for direction.

“ It may give us the upper hand at least in the short term - if they think we’re dead they may let down their guard, or at least slow their approach on their next intended target” She agreed with him before looking at Patin again. “ Could you put up with us for another night until we can get a transport ride outta here and back to somewhere less… frigid?”

Patin was instantly dismayed at the thought of them leaving, but she sucked up her emotion and corked the bottle. “I think I’ll have some of that soup now, and yeah, both of you can stay as long as you want. I’ll find another room for Buku to sleep in.” She pushed past Remal and shoulder bumped Rhenora roughly as she exited the room, then headed into the kitchen to find a stiffer drink.

TBC