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014 [Location: Jack's Cabin][Visual][Locked to Inara and Jack]

Vala is dumping her things in Jack's cabin. He doesn't know about this yet, he's out blowing things up. It'll be a nice surprise for him! She'd spend more time putting her own personal stamp on the place, but she has an agenda, that can come later if he'll still have her after what she's about to do. An agenda that she hopes won't be necessary, but she's pretty much resigned to the fact that it will be.

She opens up the tablet and 'accidentally' cc's Jack in on the private message to ~~Adria~~ Inara, making sure the background image is not ambiguous in any way. It's definitely his cabin. Also he knows that the message doesn't match with her feelings towards Inara. Two reasons to bring him running.

"I think we should talk Inara. We didn't really get chance to talk at the time, and I'd rather get some closure on this whole nasty affair. I mean obviously, if you don't mind that is. Perhaps we could meet somewhere, start over? I'd like to be friends."

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Inara has been, quite frankly, hiding. Once Daniel let her loose, the shuttle was returned to Serenity and profuse apologies were made to Mal and River in particular for things she didn't remember, she has stuck to her hermit routine again ever since for fear that she would run into people who had a score to settle with that Adria person.

People like Vala.

She smooths out her skirts and her expression before she responds, trying to be pleasant and friendly but she is frankly so relieved to hear her words that she doesn't pick up on all the little tells that something might be off about her offer that she otherwise might.

"I would like that, I really would...I don't know if I can apologize enough for what happened. You...weren't hurt, were you?"

Vala wasn't surprised at all that she was quick to take her up on the offer. It was probably what she'd been waiting for. 'Adria' was playing the part to perfection, and for a fleeting moment it made her doubt whether her suspicions held any truth. The hesitation in 'Adria's' speech, how contrite she was. She certainly took after her mother with her ability to lie so convincingly.

No, she wasn't going to fall for this. Distance Vala, stop thinking about her as your daughter, you were just an incubator. You'd be a fool to think you have any chance of reforming her. You've failed twice now.

"Nothing that won't heal," she smiled as genuinely as she could muster, a smile edged with sadness. There was so much that would never heal from this.

"Are you busy in an hour or so...?" She added the same hesitance to her own question, it was a nice touch, one she'd used many times before. It upset her that they were both so similar in that respect, thankfully it ended there.

"My social calendar is woefully empty," Inara said with a slightly sheepish smile. There were no words for how terrible she felt about the whole incident, even if it wasn't anything she could have controlled. She still had no idea of everything that had happened and she was more than a bit nervous about what she'd find out, but she needed to try and set things right. She owed that much to the people who were affected.

"Where should we meet?"

"Oh. I hadn't really considered that..." Vala pauses to feign quick thinking. "Umm, there's the Taxon Hotel, in Central. They'll have a coffee lounge I presume."

Inara's smile warms and she nods. "That sounds like a very good idea. Were you thinking now or sometime soon?"

Yes, getting along, getting out. All of it sounds like just the thing. And she's not a fan of coffee, but presumably a good coffee lounge would have tea as well.

"Good," Vala smiles only a little fakely, but it could be attributed to a certain amount of hesitance with the whole situation.

"I have a few loose ends to tie up here," quite literally, "so I'll see you there in about an hour?"

"All right," Inara says with genuine enthusiasm, nodding. "I'll see you then."

An hour would give her just enough time to make herself a bit more presentable, and to go over all the things that she would want to say. Things like, I'm really very sorry that I likely harmed you, and I'm not certain that I ACTUALLY want to know, but do you think that you could explain to me exactly what I did so that I know precisely what I'm feeling guilty for? Only somewhat less hostile. There had to be a way to make that properly contrite.

Vala can't quite work out if it's Adria putting on a good act, or if this is more of a 'possession' deal, and she can suppress her own personality to allow Inara's to come through. For a moment, she observes her curiously, trying to see past the smile. Either way though, Adria's in there. And Adria has the answers she needs.

One thing she did learn about Adria, during her own incarceration, was that she has no shield here in Taxon. And that was the key, that was what made this easy.

"Definitely." Vala closes her tablet after offering yet another forced smile, then exhales as soon as she's off screen, running her hands through her hair. Stage one complete.

That may have been the fastest Jack has ever left from one location to another. Seeing his cabin clearly in the background of that message is what did it. He dropped everything and didn't bother to open up his tablet.

He just went home. Cursing under his breath when he got to the door and pushed it open, "Let's pretend you're telling her the truth for just a second... Why--Why are you doing it here?"

Edited 2009-08-18 01:31 (UTC)

Time to play the distraught, depressed, in need routine. Vala sweeps the carefully placed splashes of water from her face and after a moment of apparently composing herself, looks at him like that question was a huge unexpected blow.

"I thought..." She looks the picture of confused rejection. "Well, obviously I thought wrong, didn't I?"

Jack just stared for a second. He read her sudden change of expression, "...what?" Eloquence isn't his strong point.

He throws up his hands, "You. Can be here." Just to clear that up, even though he suspects she already knows that, "But--" He raised a finger, "Let's say you're right... She's still Adria. Why are you advertising where I live?" forgetting for a moment that there is a map. He doesn't use the map.

"Oh." It's hard to tell when Vala's playing the fool and when she's not. "I can? Well we're good then."

She can't resist a small smirk to herself as she turns to look at the cabin wall behind her.

"But come on, Jack." She turns back around and gestures to the wall like a game show hostess displaying a grand prize. "Showing the interior of your cabin is hardly giving away your location. Besides, my tablet's set to automatically cloak my location. Isn't yours?"

Jack's jaw dropped then closed... then dropped. Actually, it was more like he was doing a fish impression. Finally, he gets his wits about him to respond, "That's... That's not the point! You--" He gestures at her with both hands.

He paused then decided, "You're planning something."

"I might be." She shrugs indifferently, a devious look in her eye.

"I don't think it's quite what you think it is though," and with that she saunters off towards the bedroom. She only hopes he'll follow, but with a statement like that he's hardly going to leave it hanging and let her waltz off without expanding further. At least that's the plan.

Jack is now a bit confused. Well, a lot confused would be more accurate. More than his normal state of general confusion. This all followed by his near trademark, "What?"

It is enough to follow her. He really has no idea why she just stalked off to his bedroom. He assumes it's because she claimed it for her own. Which wouldn't surprise him. He braces himself for his bedroom having gotten a complete girly makeover.

Girly makeovers would probably be less surprising than what does greet him. Vala is standing there with a look in her eye that can only mean one thing. She smiles at him lasciviously, and steps closer to go straight for the jugular - well if Jack's jugular is located in his pants, that is.

"I think we need to let off some steam, my way, Jack." She whispers in his ear, fingering his collarbone and starting to undo his shirt buttons.

Edited 2009-08-20 02:08 (UTC)

Okay. No girly makeovers to his room is a good thing. His brain does a little short circuit a half second later. He doesn't a quick glance to his right then left, he takes a small step back... that doesn't do much to keep Vala from doing what she's doing.

He hasn't... uh... done anything with anyone for a long time. He ends up freezing up at first, "You're..." Despite the drastic blood reroute Vala is causing, he manages to bring his hands up to try halt her, "....You're trying to distract me." ... and it is working pretty well.

The momentary freezing allows her to finish his shirt buttons and searching fingers were dangerously close to attempting belt buckle unfastening when he tried to stop her.

"Would that be so bad?" Vala doesn't desist that easily though, she continues in earnest, breathing the words softly down his ear with a lazy smile. Her hands come up inbetween his and gently push at his wrists, hoping to push them back to his sides.

"We could both do with the distraction if we're honest." She's back at his belt and pushing just enough to edge him closer to the bed hopefully.

Jack's brain is having trouble, what with the lack of blood to it and all. About the time he sees her hand near his buckle he made a less than manly noise. Something like a squeaking gasp.

He remains a bit resistant but his hands do eventually get pushed aside, "Pretending that's true... there's something to be said for... Oh, I don't know, timing?" He ignores the point his own brain is bringing up about this.

As far as getting him where she wants him goes. Jack does allow it... in so much as he's backing up.

"There's no better time than right now." Vala smiles mischievously, pressing a hand quite firmly against his, as yet, still fastened pants. With a quirk of her eyebrow at the aforementioned blood re-routing, she adds with a smirk, "I don't think I'm alone in that belief, either."

"Infact..." She pushes his shoulders forcefully backwards, they're close enough to the bed now that if he does fall backwards, it'll cushion his fall.

"...I always think there's something to be said for spontaneity."

Edited 2009-08-23 15:44 (UTC)

Jack's current thought process looks more like a keyboard smash than anything coherent. Internal flailing is a fair estimate too. Not much time to protest any further before he's on his back on the bed.

A little surprised maybe, he gathers himself enough to raise a finger, "Hey, hey... wait a second here. I mean... seriously, why?"

"Because..." she's taking full advantage of his inability to think with any coherence or clarity as she clambers astride him, internally justifying this with the fact it was the easiest way... actually no, she's not really internally justifying anything. She's just doing this because it's necessary and a means to an end. Vala's not very good at empathy, or wearing anyone else's shoes.

She grabs the wrist of his finger objecting hand and pins it above his head, looking like she's leaning in to kiss him, "...Adria is my problem, Jack."

Clunk, that was the click of handcuffs, Jack. "And this is necessary." Still astride him, she shrugs apologetically, albeit not very sincerely. It was more a 'girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, sue me' shrug.

Despite all of Jack's black ops training to control himself. Vala did just seem to know right where to strike. Although, a split second after he's down on the bed and she's looming... he seems to figure out what is going on. I mean, what is really happening. Not what his libido wishes was happening.

He started to struggle and protest, "Vala, whatever you're trying to do it--" clunk. He looks up to see the cuff, "Crap."

"Vala. Don't do this," he said in a deadly serious tone, "I am not losing another one of my people." This preceded by the fastest reverse in blood flow ever. It's nice to have blood to the brain again.

"I got us into this mess, and I'll get us out of it." Thighs tightly clamped around him to stop him struggling too much, while she talks.

"If she's got Daniel, then either I get him back, or I'll do a deal. Me for him. I doubt she'll refuse that. I can't let her take another of my friends, Jack." At that point, she actually runs a hand through his hair and smiles at him sadly, before getting off.

"I'll be fine. I'm sure you can think of something to do while I'm gone." She glances at his crotch with a smirk, but it's all just a show. She's not as confident as she's making herself out to be, and the innuendo, well that's back like an old friend helping her from expressing her true feelings.

Edited 2009-08-31 19:45 (UTC)

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014 [Location: Jack's Cabin][Visual][Locked to Inara and Jack]

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[Location: Jack's Cabin]

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