Title: Familiar Strangers
Author - Christal


The Starbase was crowded, but overcrowding wasn’t an unusual scene when
emergency evacuations popped up. The last shipment of refugees had arrived,
but they were stopped up, having trouble finding them all quarters. At the
moment they were trying to fit four or five people to a room, regardless of
regulations. So like those who had come before them, this last batch would
have a few hours wait before being accommodated. They were advised to head
towards the bar where they could eat and rest, and those needed it could get
a stiff drink.

She was at home in all the commotion, blending into her surroundings. She
was seeking out her current mission, and the sudden influx of bodies, at
first an irritation, had turned out to be an advantage. She used the crowds
and noise for cover. She thought she would find the Starfleet officer at the
bar, but now she wasn’t so sure. Just as she was about to leave she spotted
him, in a corner booth. He was dressed exactly as her superiors had said he
would be.

Commander William Riker was draining his third glass of synthehol. His
mission, though successful, hadn’t gone exactly as planned. Security had
been tighter than expected, and the sudden reappearance of the Director had
been an unfortunate change in plans.

Will took a swig of his refilled drink and wished again that events had gone
differently. If the Director had only stuck to his schedule and gone to his
conference…

He closed his eyes and blocked it all out. He had joined Starfleet for
adventure, knowledge, and above all to protect life, not to destroy it. But
as the heads of Command told him, sometimes sacrifices had to be made, and
ideal compromised, for the greater good.

He threw the chip onto the chip onto the table and glared at it.

// And it was all for this… this stupid piece of silicon. We have thousands
of these aboard the Enterprise, but this is the one Starfleet needed, no
matter the price. //

He sighed and downed the rest of his drink, tucking the chip back into his
shirt and getting ready to return to his quarters. That was when he saw her,
making her way towards him. He smiled, in need of a distraction. He noticed
her dress and realized she was one of the refugees, and a peasant at that.

She made her way towards him, keeping her gaze focused only on him. She
sashayed right up, stopped at the edge of the table so as to block his
escape, and smiled. He smiled back, relaxing and deciding to see where this
lead to.

“Hello” he said, turning on the Riker charm, “Can I help you?”

S31 agent Troi recognized by the twinkle in his eye and the tone of his
voice the kind of man he was, and now she knew how to manipulate him. She
noticed he had nonchalantly backed up as he had greeted her, so she decided
not to disappoint him. She sat down next to him in the booth, snuggling in
close. She half-turned, giving him her full attention.

“I noticed you were all alone, have your companions left you?”

“No, my companions… they couldn’t exactly make it.”

“Your family then, have they gone to rest?”

“No. No family either. I’m here by myself.”

She took hold of his hand, lightly caressing the edge of his palm.

“That’s terrible, no one should be left alone at a time like this.”

Will smiled and confidently put his arm around her. She was showing interest
and he needed a way to pass the hours before the Enterprise returned to pick
him up.

“I am a bit lonely,” he pouted, playing along, “but I’ve been managing. What
about you? I’m sure your husband must be looking for you.”

She sighed and lowered her smile, “We seem to have something in common. I’m
alone here too.”

She turned towards him again and looked directly into his eyes, and stopped
breathing. Those eyes, she had looked into those eyes before, and his voice
sounded so familiar. He reminded her of a man from her homeworld, but he was
in the past… and clean-shaven. The man in front of her had a face covered in
fur. Not exactly her taste, but she would do what she had to, to obtain the
chip.

She ran her hand up and down his arm lightly, turning up the charm. She was
going to try and make the switch here first; it would be the easiest way.

“I couldn’t help noticing how sad you were looking at something.”

Warning klaxons sounded in his head.

// She wants the chip! // he thought immediately, going on the defensive. He
pulled back, trying to distance himself. She silently cursed. She had moved
too fast and had to regain control.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know it caused you so much pain. I keep mementos of my
family too. I know how the pain feels.”

She sounded so sincere, her training the best Section 31 could offer. Her
previous experiences with and knowledge of the psyche and various alien
emotions gave her an advantage, and her superiors helped her to hone her
skills. She could express any emotion at anytime, and no one, not even her
own mother, could tell it was a façade. It worked on him. His shields went
down. Of course she had asked about the chip, he had been practically
twirling it between his fingers not more than five minutes ago. He had to
come up with something so as not to seem suspicious.

He took the chip out and held it between his thumb and forefinger.

“This? I guess you could say it’s a reminder of a time that doesn’t bring me
much happiness. It’s brought me nothing but pain and sadness.”

She frowned slightly, half putting, and ran her fingers through his hair
while softly cooing. She seemed genuinely concerned for him, upset that he
was supposedly hurting from losing so much. He felt a little bad at first,
knowing he was pulling her leg. But why couldn’t he get a little sympathy
every now and then? He hadn’t lied to her, the chip reminded him of the
steps he had taken to recover it, and how he had to become someone he wasn’t
so that other could survive. It had brought him pain and sadness.

Deanna was inwardly smiling; he was eating out of the palm of her hand. She
had another chip, a blank one, on her, ready to make the switch. This could
be the opportunity she was waiting for.

“Then why bother keeping it?” she asked, innocently plucking it from his
fingers. “No one should suffer needlessly, why not throw it away?”

She was about to make the switch when he panicked and lunged for the chip,
almost pushing her out of the booth completely. He grabbed it from her.

“NO! I mean, no, don’t. I need to keep it.”

She looked suspiciously at him. “Why? Is it that hard to let go? Come, we
can do it together, I’ll help.”

She went to reach for the chip again, but he held it out of her reach.

“I want to kept it. Right now it brings me grief, but it’s all I have.
Later, it won’t be so bad anymore.”

He tucked it back into his shirt and out of her reach. She sighed. It looked
like she would have to move on to Plan B. She shrugged her shoulders as if
to say ‘whatever’ and then smiled again, re-placing her hand on his.

“Well at least let me help you to lighten your mood. Let me buy you another
drink.”

Will laughed, “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

She grinned, going in for the kill. She leaned in close, rubbing her leg
against his underneath the table, and placing her lips next to his ear.

“When I want something, I get it. And when I want someone, I take him.” She
whispered.
His eyes widened slightly, he hadn’t expected such brutal honesty. He turned
on his patented Riker smile and played along. He leaned in as if to kiss
her, but stopped when their lips were barely touching.

“I HAVE managed to obtain quarters,” he whispered back.

“Are you sure have the time to devote to such an… endeavor?” she smiled
coyly as she lightly caressed the back of his neck.

He was in heaven. This woman, whom he had just met, knew just what he
wanted. She had a style that seemed familiar to him, from someone in his
past. But then he’d known many women, not many with original styles either.

“Ample enough time” he growled back and nipped at her neck.

She sighed, having caught him, and rose out of the booth, motioning for him
to mead the way. When they got to his quarters they didn’t waste time,
shedding clothes as they made their way towards the bed. Taking control
Deanna pushed Will down on his back and climbed on top. She attacked his
lips, and when he had captured her lips she plunged her tongue into his warm
mouth. She let go, breathless, and began trailing kisses along his jaw line
and then down his neck, alternating between biting, kissing, and licking,
while he ran his hands over her. He had succeeded in removing the last of
her clothing and had begun to lightly run his fingertips over the sensitive
parts of her body, teasing her, eliciting small sighs that encouraged him.

She kissed her way down to his nipple and bit, teasing it while he growled
in approval. He ran his finger down her spine, causing her back to arch in
delight. He took the opportunity to flip her onto her back and return her
ministrations ten-fold.

Will took his time, starting with her mouth and kissing his way down as he
caressed her breasts, cupping one with his right hand, and using his thumb,
played with her nipple until it hardened with arousal. She moaned, sighing
as he proceeded to take the nipple in his mouth and suck, using his teeth to
tease and then his tongue to soothe.

Deanna, running her hands over Will’s muscles, made her way down. She ran
her nails over his cheeks and stopped at his upper thigh. She knew the spot,
right above the middle of his upper thigh and right below where his thighs
met, and slowly caressed the skin in a circular motion. The effect was
immediate, he groaned in pleasure, and she felt him harden. It was the
easiest and quickest way to get him erect.

Somewhere in him, way, way back in his mind, he went to alert mode,
wondering how this stranger knew about that one super sensitive spot of hi.
But his mind was being overruled and the thought didn’t come to his
awareness until he was back in his own bed, replaying the events of this
night happily, wondering why as if he had met the woman before.

She was still caressing his inner thigh when she began to slowly move,
rubbing her thigh against his fully erect penis. It felt so good. But he
wanted this to last a little longer, and though it seemed so hard, he
shifted, stopping her movement. He began kissing her again, making his way
down her taut stomach, stopping to kiss her lips. She hissed in
anticipation, and spread her legs, aching to be relived.

He breathed in her scent, allowing her arousal to cloud his mind, and began
to tease her, nipping at the tender flesh on the inside of her thighs. He
licked and nipped his way up to her sex and plunged his tongue deep inside,
savoring her flavor. He held on while she arched her back, crying out in
ecstasy.

He continued to stroke her with his tongue until she was on the edge, and
then he pulled back, kissing his way back up to her lips, eliciting a
strange mixture of gasps and curses from his lover. He laughed deep in his
throat, knowing full well how he had affected her, and turned it into a
growl as he kissed her again, bruising her lips, and responding to her
questing tongue.

She opened her legs and he lowered between them, eager to enter her. She was
fidgeting, desperate for him to continue, but he wanted her to ask for it.
He played with her mouth, stalling for time, and began to rub his erection
against her. He knew it was killing her, he could feel how wet she was and
hear her whimper. Finally she relented.

“Please” she begged, her voice heavy and breathless.

It was all he needed. He thrust into her until he couldn’t go anymore. She
cried out and wrapped her legs around his waist. She started to move, not
wasting any time, and he complied with her wishes. He slid in and out,
working up a rhythm that caused her to moan with every other stroke, the
moans steadily getting louder in pitch with each thrust. It drove him wild,
he loved a woman who wasn’t afraid to voice her appreciation.

“Faster” he heard her hiss, and happily obliged, seeking his own release as
well.

She grabbed onto his ass, holding on as he increased his speed, pounding
into her. She arched up and cried out as she climaxed, getting the relief
she had been anxiously searching for. Her muscles tensed around his cock,
giving him what he needed, and he tensed as he groaned and released inside
her, feeling himself soften inside her.

He lay down beside her, both of them panting, and smiled. He kissed her,
this time less violently, and pulled her into his arms as they fell asleep.
Before he nodded off he was sure he heard her purring.

Thirty minutes later, after making sure he was asleep, Deanna untangled
herself from the bed sheets, and Will’s arms, and slipped into the other
room to gather all her clothes. She watched him sleep, as she got dressed,
wishing she could stay for another round.

When she was dressed she searched for his shirt. She found it near the
doorway and picked it up. Will turned onto his back, startling her. She
froze and waited to see what he would do next. She relaxed when she heard
his breathing, deep and peaceful, return. She continued her search and soon
began to panic. It wasn’t there! She looked around, her alarm increasing as
she covered more and more empty carpet. Then she silently laughed s she
caught sight of it near the couch. It must have fallen out when she tore his
shirt off earlier in the evening. She picked it up and prepared to leave.

Before she left, she walked over to the bed and kissed his lips.

“Goodbye Bill” she whispered sadly and left him, again.

An hour later Will woke up and stretched, rested and relaxed. He rolled
over, preparing lines to convince the woman for a quickie before he had to
leave, when he noticed how empty the bed was. He sat up and looked around,
he saw that her clothes were gone. He sighed, resigned to the fact that she
had skipped out on him.

// It’s better this way // he thought as he rose to take a share, ultimately
happy for no awkward goodbyes. She has made it possible for no regrets, and
nothing but pleasant memories to recall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Will went straight to Picard’s ready-room when he beamed aboard. They needed
to know if the information he had stolen was worth anything.

He entered and gave the chip to his captain, and together they silently
waited as the computer analyzed the chip, and the data displayed on Picard’s
personal viewer.

Both men gasped.

“I don’t believe this” Will said angrily.

Picard just shook his head in disbelief.

“Will,” he began, a serious tone in his voice, “for the record, I don’t want
to know what you had to do to obtain his information. A… brief summary of
your actions is all that is needed.”

Will nodded, relief flooding through him. “Understood.”

Both men were silent as they watched clips of unimagined evil and viewed
files of multiple conspiracies.
~*~*~*~*~*
S31 agent Troi rendezvoused with her superiors. She briefly explained how
she acquired the chip and what the man she had taken it from knew of her and
her mission. Satisfied with her report they let her go, allowing for some
vacation time so she could visit her mother before her next assignment.

They never found out about her moment of weakness when, instead of switching
out his chip with hers, she copied the information, deleting a few essential
files and tampering with a few others.