Saving Mar

06 GENUINE

Jon blinked bemusedly, but she put a hand up in an uncompromising gesture.

"No more questions and no more answers until you let me close to you," she shook her head.

"Alright then, sounds like fun," he shrugged.

With the same polite smile, he stood up straight and spread out his arms, as if inviting her into his embrace. Mar approached him sheepishly until she stopped about two inches away. That was when she started sniffing, just like he'd seen her do around his crew. An image of a dog forced itself before Jon's mental eyes and he stifled a snicker.

She inhaled the air deeply, both with her nose and her mouth, as if she was tasting it, as well. Jon watched her eyes hood and her expression rearrange itself into one he'd never seen on her face before: a mix of relief and... what, pleasure?

Jon frowned, but his suddenly dried out traitor of a throat gulped of its own accord. Thankfully, she seemed way too emerged in his scent to notice.

Perhaps she needed to double-check; instead of letting him go, she absentmindedly reached for his face and pulled his head lower. Jon's first instinct was to evade her and get away, but she wasn't armed and her behavior didn't seem dangerous – it would have been difficult to explain without giving away the real reason. He fought hard to not let it affect him, trying to relax, so she could do whatever she needed in peace, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

Mar nuzzled the side of his face, hungrily sniffing at his skin and hair, making half his body cover in goosebumps. Jon wished he could say they were the unpleasant kind, but he'd be lying to himself.

Being so close, he could smell her as well. She gave off a fresh, flowery scent, most likely a perfume, but somewhere underneath he recognized the warmth of her skin itself and impulsively drank it in.

His head was starting to buzz, intoxicated, brain swimming in pleasurable hormones, racking up all sensitivity to eleven. He could sense her with his whole body now: petite figure warming up the front of him, dainty fingers leaving burn marks on his skin, lips grazing over his temple tickled all the way to his core.

His mind fogged over; something old, primal tugged at his guts, whispering dark, carnal suggestions in his ear. He could feel his control slipping.

If she didn't pull away at the next second, he wasn't sure if he could've kept himself from touching her in return.

She took a few wobbly steps back. Jon swayed on the spot, reminding himself to breathe, fighting for the lost command over his own body. Luckily, she wasn't looking at him; she seemed lost in thought, as dazed as him, which gave him time to recover.

When she finally looked up, all her attitude was gone. There was something raw in her expression now, as if her mask fell off and revealed the real Mar under it: torn between fear and desire to trust.

"That was a ride," she chuckled nervously.

Nailed it.

"Did you get what you needed?" Jon asked quietly. "Was it what you wanted it to be?"

"Unless you can somehow perfectly mask nefarious intent, yes," she exhaled. "I sensed it right away, but it just seemed so... surreal. I've never met people who were so genuine, so I was almost sure it had to be some kind of trick, that you had to be hiding something bad."

"I'll take it as a compliment," Jon raised an eyebrow and even pulled off a smile.

He was waiting for her to explain, but she just stood in the center of the room with her shoulders slumped, staring a hole into the bulkhead. He decided to not push. The Enterprise encountered many species and cultures and not even half of them were a shining example of virtues. He could imagine what kind of people she'd met in her life, starting off as someone's property. No one could really blame her for being cautious, even paranoid; it must have been how she survived all these years.

When the pause stretched out into an awkward silence, he decided to restart the conversation.

"That's a nifty ability," he said in a neutral tone. "What else can you detect like this?"

Mar finally looked up and cleared her throat.

"Emotions," she shrugged. "Moods. Personality, I guess. Anything that influences the chemical reactions in a living body and releases an odor. Makes me very good at reading people. But it's harder when they don't blatantly neglect hygiene," she smirked, her eyes briefly taking his figure in. "I couldn't figure this crew out from afar, which is why you caught me in such embarrassing positions."

"That's fascinating," Jon said and meant it. "Is it a racial thing, or a mutation?"

Mar made a comical grimace, eyes bugging and lips curling in an upside down smile.

"Honestly, beats me. I was growing up in a poor family until I was about eight years old, and none of them could do what I can, but... This doesn't really feel random, does it? I can only keep guessing, there's no one to ask. I can't recall where exactly I'm from, my former owner didn't disclose the information to anyone, and no one's looking for me."

"Why would you think that?" Jon frowned at her. He couldn't help but feel for her. Were she anything of his, he'd want her found.

"Because my parents sold me, okay?" Mar retorted resentfully. "That bit I couldn't forget. Please, don't go there, Captain," she put her hand up when she saw him open his mouth again. "I know now that this is something natural for you, but trust me, you're better off leaving this alone. In just a couple of days you'll have me out of your hair and you will never have to think of my tragic past again."

Jon made a capitulating gesture. He would really like to know more, but she was evidently dead set on this fatalistic approach. Opening up to people that weren't going to stay in your life for more than a few days did seem a bit futile, but Jon found himself wishing this wasn't the end of it.

He was considering asking her for some sort of contact information, when she spoke up:

"Are all humans as... good as you?"

She was looking at him with this strange sorrow on her face and he had to smile.

"We try. We've come a long way in the past century, but there are always exceptions and sometimes we fail. I had to face my... 'dark side', if you will, about two years back when we had to visit the Delphic Expanse. The primal nature is always somewhere inside, lurking in the back of our minds, and fighting it isn't always easy."

"Yeah, I get that. You're doing great, though," she sent him a small smile.

"Thank you," he paid her back. "We're new to this galactic playground, so it's really important to show off the best of us - and I think this crew is it."

"I think so too," Mar nodded. "I feel good on this ship, Captain, and I know my friends do, too. I kinda wish we weren't just a bunch of renegade ex-slaves," she chuckled. "If I was a leader of some alien nation, I'd love to form an official connection between us and humans."

"First Contact is not just about governing bodies," Jon shook his head. "We meet all kinds of people and it's often in open space or small villages on tiny planets... But aren't you a Duchess, Mar? Where did you get such a title if you're not some planet's official?"

Her smile waned until it disappeared completely, eyes turning cold and distant. Jon knew he ruined the moment even before she spoke.

"I can't exactly use the title anymore, Captain, and frankly, it meant squat even when I could," she said slowly. "Now if you'll excuse me."

She turned on her heel and exited the ready room without his blessing.

He sighed heavily. His blunt question was born of the impression that he'd finally gotten through to her. Her past was still hers, though, clearly too personal and painful to share with a random acquaintance.

Jon returned to his work, trying his best to not think about the close encounter awakening a range of unwelcome feelings in him.