361 In Need of Sleep

"Good morning to you, Monda!" The door to the condo swung wide open as Monda made to knock a second time, drawing her ever so slightly off balance.

"Oh, um, good morning!" She stepped forward slightly to prevent a stumble, but still teetered enough to be noticed.

"Woah, sore legs?" Fortunately for her, Diana was not in a judgmental mood - and had even made her own excuse for the behavior. It wasn't entirely incorrect, Monda's legs did indeed feel sore after yesterday's bout of volleyball, it just wasn't the primary reason. "An ice bath will help, but keep it to a few minutes. Frozen capillaries aren't good for the skin."

"I'm not that sore, I don't think." A gentle tug on her forearm was all the invitation Monda needed to enter. "I'm just a bit tired."

That was obscuring the truth a little bit. 'Tired' might be a technically correct summary, but she hadn't actually had the chance to sleep last night. The term 'effective at earliest convenience' might seem like it would allow some leeway. It didn't, at least not without an active mission. Nothing short of an active threat to her life could postpone an assignment with such verbiage, so Monda had spent the entirety of last night packing her trunks and cases for an extended stay at a foreign location so she could be ready to leave in the morning. There was a nonzero chance she would have already departed had there been a galley ready, however all of their spare tonnage was currently occupied ferrying materiel to Nectar - it would be a few hours before a vessel suitable for her station could be requisitioned.

"Did you not sleep well?"

"I spent most of last night preparing to leave, actually. I'm just here to bid you farewell while they get a galley ready." A twang of envy struck Monda as she sat down on the couch. She could stomach not being allowed electricity or a gas line or fancy furniture, but a crumby mattress? After the last three nights a part of her legitimately wondered if trading the availability of water for a good night's sleep might be worthwhile.

"Oh? Where to?"

"The Sanctum. I'd have liked more notice, but I imagine they were on the fence until you arrived." Monda could hear the faint pattering of a shower coming from Titanyana's quarters, but she could not tell where Donovan was. "If my aides are to be believed, Donovan must have lit a fire beneath them yester- the day before last. They never come to decisions about these things with any degree of urgency."

"Mm, yes, the behemoth known as a bureaucratic apparatus rarely accelerates quickly, but once moving it becomes unstoppable." Diana could be heard to fill up some vessel with water in the pocket kitchen, not that Monda could contort her head far enough to see. "Is there a blend of tea you prefer?"

"Tea? Oh, any is fine, thank you." Even if brewing tea was not something she should allow a state guest to do in her presence, Monda was far beyond the point of caring. Besides, Diana had taken the initiative here, it would be rude to refuse. "Um, maybe something more fragrant if it is available."

"Hmm, well I can't read any of the labels . . . this one smells good." The all too familiar ripping of paper packaging graced her ears twice as Diana fumbled around with the bags. "Sugar?"

"Three . . . four please."

"Is five cubes okay?" Diana upped her ante with a giggle. Evidently her sweet tooth had been exposed at some point. "The cravings of a distressed young lady should always be sated."

Two cups and their respective saucers were placed on the table before her, the gradual staining of the water visible against the white porcelain. It would be a few minutes before the ichor could relieve her fatigue, but the anticipation was already working wonders. 

"Might I ask where Donovan is?"

"Hm? Oh, he's on a call with Seppard at the moment. It's their weekly update meeting, first of its kind." Diana took her spoon and pressed it against the bag, the act itself irking her somewhat. She loathed her lessons in proper tea etiquette greatly, yet found herself irritated by the eagerness with which Diana acted. These were good leaves! Regardless of whether or not she preferred a stronger, more bitter flavor, squeezing them this early in the steeping would only be a detriment to the overall profile. "Well, first of its kind to not be in person. I'm sure he's tearing his hair out about a resource survey of some sort or another, so now's probably not the best time to speak with him."

"Ah, yes, of course. It had slipped my mind you possessed that capability." Monda knew little of such topics, so she would be incapable of understanding his frustrations. Their farewell could wait a few minutes.

"My deepest thanks for last night's restaurant reservation, by the way. I think calling it 'magical' might be a step too far, but it was a wonderful view." Diana took a sip of tea before it had been given proper time to steep, leaving Monda conflicted. "I get the feeling he was quite impressed by the waterfall window even if he didn't make a big deal out of it. He kept muttering something about weirs and laminar flow once the food was out. Probably for the best he didn't bring it up beforehand, because I would have not understood a word he said."

Monda offered a weak chuckle, panicking internally. She could not recall the number of times she was informed about how that sort of information could be used in small talk, or even just to placate the curiosity of visiting dignitaries. Considering how often she frequented that place for practice with the archbishops, she really should have known more about it. What if she'd taken them there? Being less familiar with your castle than a guest could be a serious gaffe!

"The food was fantastic as well! I had this fish dish, I think it was called Brabket? Brabken?"

"Brakebt." At the very least she was familiar with the food. "It's a bottom feeder from the south seas, hard to get a hold of but wonderfully tender."

She left out the part about that fish supposedly being a psychostimulant of sorts. As far as she could tell such claims were nothing more than rumor, so they did not warrant parroting. 

"Yes, Brakebt! I asked for something that would make us a bit livelier in bed, and the waitress suggested that." Ah, so it had been sought out for those properties. Monda should have guessed. "Personally I would have ordered it even without the secondary effects had I known, but I won't say it wasn't effective! He kept me up until the wee hours of the morning, but I think our swim suits were part of it. No matter how good he is at keeping his cool - and he is very good at putting a lid on it - three pretty ladies bouncing about in revealing clothing is enough to break just about anyone."

Monda beheld Diana, blushing and grinning like some mischievous succubus, and for a moment entertained the frankly absurd notion in her head. It was dismissed just as soon as it appeared though, surely there wasn't any chance Diana would make use of her to arouse her fiancé. To even suggest so would be patently absurd.

. . . 

. . .

. . .

Right?

The prospect alone tore Monda's tired mind from the stream of words leaving Diana's mouth, her eyes instead focused on the fading hickey. She did not know enough about Diana as a person to come to any firm conclusions as to her 'true' nature, but evidence and circumstance pointed to her being substantially less that saintly when it came to Donovan. 

"I'm back." Diana's stream of consciousness paused when the door to the condo opened, her tea (half gone and still unsteeped) placed neatly on its saucer. "Good morning Monda."

"Good morning, Donovan." Her mind wandered to the tea before her, wondering if it would anger anybody if they found she started drinking it early. "I'm just here to say my farewells, I'll be leaving as soon as a galley is made ready."

"Really?" The lack of surprise in his voice completely slipped Monda's notice. "Where are you headed?"

"The Sanctum, same as you."

"In that case, why don't you hitch a ride with us?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't impose like that." Her will broke, and a shaky hand clenched the handle of her teacup. "There's lots of luggage and a whole entourage of people I need to bring with me."

". . . you do realize how much space the Pegasus has, right? A truck full of clothing and a dozen people are barely worth mentioning." He dropped down onto the couch next to Diana, who subsequently snuggled right up next to him. "I'd much rather that galley carry a load to Nectar."

The first drops of tea into her stomach coincided with the faint rumbling of Titanyana's shower coming to an end. Perhaps it was a placebo effect of the tea or a result of there suddenly being less background noise, but Monda felt as though she'd achieved a moment of serenity and mental clarity. Why hadn't she thought of that? She couldn't recall any rule saying she couldn't, and it would perfectly fit with the objective she'd been provided. The only issue would be getting all of their stuff from the port to the Pegasus . . . which could be solved by a truck or two, way easier than nabbing a galley.

"Would you please excuse me a moment? I need to go speak to someone."

"Of course, then you'll be returning to take a nap."

". . . pardon?"

"You've got bags deeper than the Mariana's Trench under those eyes." His spare hand pulled down on the skin of his cheeks to imitate what he saw in her, the act drawing her attention to his own sullen eyes. Evidently he hadn't slept much either. "We're headed to the Pegasus in two or three hours, and you can sleep all you like when we get there. Plenty of time to get some rest."

"I couldn't possibly sleep in someone else's quarters, I-"

"Just take a nap. We'll cover for you."

- - - - -

"For all her inexperience, I am incredibly glad to see she took the hint." Archbishop Envers tossed the card onto a nearby table, the brief missive read in its entirety before the deliveryman could leave the room. "I take it you can handle her security en route?"

"I'll handle her security while there too, unless you'd like me elsewhere." Kayes kicked his feet back up onto the cushions now that the interloper was gone. How fortunate for his image that tile made footsteps much louder. "And I doubt she was the one to broach the subject of travelling along with them. If I had to guess, Diana was responsible."

"What makes you say that?"

"She's more of a follower than a leader, not that we should be expecting her to make decisions like that just yet. Diana's far better at plotting and scheming, so in all likelihood she heard where Monda was headed and put together enough of the dots to understand what we wanted." He put his wine back down, smacking his lips. "Though, in all fairness, it could have been Donovan."

"Is he also a schemer?"

"I'm still uncertain of his true nature, he keeps his cards so close to his chest they may as well be in his lungs, but I'd wager 'schemer' is not an adequate descriptor of how he operates. Donovan repays honesty with honesty even if he doesn't like what's offered, yet at the same time he strikes me as the type of person who would make your life a living hell by any means necessary if ever you got on his bad side."

"And this doesn't concern you?"

"He's not an idiot, Envers. The kid knows what he is and isn't capable of." He rolled his shoulders back, utilizing the more rigid armrest to unleash a few pops from his upper spine. "Besides, I've never actually seen him get pissed off enough to start scheming. The worst was that one creep who raped a little girl, but he ended that one with a bullet to the skull."

"I recall a report about him breaking both the arm and jaw of a nobleman who threatened Diana."

"Then maybe he's more about killing anyone who gets on his bad side, but we are getting off track. Point is, I feel like he'll be a nasty opponent for anyone who takes it too far. For the moment, however, his motivation would be nothing more than wanting another galley of supplies headed for Nectar."

Envers reclined in his seat, as far as his old joints could manage to return him from, and made a little temple with his hands. There was much they needed to do to make Monda a proper Archbishop of Chastity and it was apparent they simply did not have the time. She was perfectly sweet that little lady, diligent in areas she lacked and eager to show how much she had grown in topics she excelled, she just hadn't displayed an aptitude for the role in the same way her predecessors had. Now perhaps that was nothing more than a result being blessed by a string of rather more capable Archbishopesses during their lifetimes, but it was difficult to shake the notion that Monda might simply not be cut out for it.

They wouldn't oust her from the role if such ability never manifested - the position could be relegated to a figurehead role - but not having such a tool in their kit when heading into what promised to be turbulent times left a horrendous taste in all of their mouths. Her hitting it off with the Terrans (Diana particularly) was fantastic. Her constantly being on the social backfoot? Not so much. This being her first test was certainly part of the problem, as was Diana's strategy(?) of playing hard into luxuries and amenities so frequently denied to the poor girl, however she did not appear to have recovered or improved in standing at all during their interactions - at least as far as Envers could surmise.

"Do you think . . ." He stopped himself mid thought, recognizing the proposition to be somewhat absurd.

"Do I think what?"

"Nothing. Twas a ridiculous idea."

"I'll be the judge of that." Kayes sat straight up, elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. "Tell me, what was your idea?"

"Oh, nothing, I simply thought she and Donovan might grow close enough to, well, you know." Discussing the marriage prospects of the Archbishop of Chastity was frowned upon by just about everyone in an office high enough to drop by. Not a taboo per se, the High Council often deliberated about which promising young men would ultimately find themselves among her entourage when Monda was not present for a meeting, but suggesting she be taken by one with certainty was a matter reserved for tavern hypotheticals. "I don't imagine Diana would take kindly to the proposition."

Envers shook his head. For him to even suggest a thing, truly he must not have slept well.

"I'd give it a shot."

". . . pardon?"

"I don't think it's as unlikely as you believe." Kayes scratched his chin while looking towards the ceiling. He was genuinely deliberating the proposition. "She gave the go ahead for Titanyana, you know?"

"My understanding is that Titanyana is a special case, her status among the Nekh combined with an unfortunate reality of her biology. Surely she hadn't done so because she wanted to."

"Mmmm, maybe, but I recall Diana being damn near ecstatic once their whole thing was made official."

"You . . . aren't suggesting-"

"I'm not saying Diana's got a thing for girls. I mean, maybe she does, maybe she doesn't, but she and Donovan make so much noise at night I'd call it criminal were they not an endangered species, so she's definitely not a homosexual." Envers raised an eyebrow as Kayes paused, struggling to form his next words. "I just don't think she has any qualms using Donovan's body as a tool to get what she wants."

"Is she perhaps . . . into that sort of thing?" This topic had no business in the halls of power, but he just couldn't help himself from asking.

"Diana probably thinks herself secure enough in her position as Donovan's wife that she would not view these sorts of relationships as cucking, no." Had Envers any wine in his mouth, it surely would have painted the carpet. "There might be a subconscious urge somewhere in there to secure their species through interbreeding, but I'm no psychologist. It might just be a power thing now that I think about it. Something like showing that her man can have all these other beautiful women at his beck and call, but still love her the most."

"I think that's enough of this topic!"

"Yeah, you'd probably have a harder time convincing Donovan than Diana."