03-14-2026, 04:21 AM
"Gray and his husband Mitchell," she began, "I've known them for about ten years now, ever since I first started hiking in the Lake District. They're a lot of fun, love a good gossip, and I'm looking forward to showing you their pub later, it's where I've been staying since I got here."
“Pub? Sure. Be cool to see how they do it here. All I’ve ever known were dive bars,” Mara replied with a grin. “Good to meet you both,” she added before turning to Hally. “And sorry for bein’ so hard on ya. You were just askin’ a question, I snapped. Old scars. Everyone just assumes I drink ‘cause I fit the mental image they got. My issue, not yours. Apologies.”
Just as she picked up a fork, Calleja heard the shouting from the lakeside. She turned her head and saw Beka Sydesh getting into it with someone that the COS didn’t recognise.
“For fuck’s sake. Why is it always her?” Mara said, her cutlery bouncing off the bench as she stood. “That ex of yours is absolutely incapable of stayin’ out of trouble,” she called to Aeryn.
Long strides carried the Amazonian officer across the grass. She was close when the other woman fetched Beka a slap that sounded like a whip-crack. Mara put on a burst of speed and quickly put herself between the two women.
“Alright, fuckin’ knock it off!” she shouted, shoving the aggressor back and going to do the same to Sydesh.
The redhead apparently had other ideas. She twisted to avoid the shove, her eyes never leaving the face of the person who hit her, and actually pushed Mara back.
It was a course of action that caught the Chief of Security by surprise. She went to take half a step to steady herself, but unfortunately for her she was right on the edge of the jetty. There wasn’t half a step of land for her to stand on. With her balance suddenly thrown off she fell backwards with a furious yell, and there was a splash as she landed in the lake.
== Beka Sydesh ==
Beka’s entire focus had been on punishing the cheap shot from the prude - she hadn’t actually clocked who it was who had tried to break up the fight. The taekwon-do blackbelt was a fit and strong woman so her shove had enough behind it to knock the interloper backwards, and apparently gravity had done the rest.
It was the yell that caused the redhead to pause and process the voice that had spoken. Her eyes widened, her cheek still bright red from where she’d been slapped, and she turned to see Calleja climbing out of the water.
“Oh shit…” she managed, her blood running cold as she realised what she’d just done.
== Mara Calleja ==
As Mara pulled herself up, she was absolutely soaked through. Water ran freely from her clothes and puddled on the wooden jetty.
There was murder in her dark eyes as she started forward towards a rapidly back-pedalling Sydesh.
“This time I’m gonna fuckin’ kill ya,” she hissed. “When I’m through wi’ ya there ain’t gonna be ‘nough left fo’ ‘em to bury.”
It was suddenly very clear that, however funny it had been to see the normally untouchable Security Chief take an unscheduled bath, there was about to be a death unless her friends could get to her before she got to Beka and dismantled the doctor right then and there…
== I thought it was a bit quiet. How about some drama?
==
“Pub? Sure. Be cool to see how they do it here. All I’ve ever known were dive bars,” Mara replied with a grin. “Good to meet you both,” she added before turning to Hally. “And sorry for bein’ so hard on ya. You were just askin’ a question, I snapped. Old scars. Everyone just assumes I drink ‘cause I fit the mental image they got. My issue, not yours. Apologies.”
Just as she picked up a fork, Calleja heard the shouting from the lakeside. She turned her head and saw Beka Sydesh getting into it with someone that the COS didn’t recognise.
“For fuck’s sake. Why is it always her?” Mara said, her cutlery bouncing off the bench as she stood. “That ex of yours is absolutely incapable of stayin’ out of trouble,” she called to Aeryn.
Long strides carried the Amazonian officer across the grass. She was close when the other woman fetched Beka a slap that sounded like a whip-crack. Mara put on a burst of speed and quickly put herself between the two women.
“Alright, fuckin’ knock it off!” she shouted, shoving the aggressor back and going to do the same to Sydesh.
The redhead apparently had other ideas. She twisted to avoid the shove, her eyes never leaving the face of the person who hit her, and actually pushed Mara back.
It was a course of action that caught the Chief of Security by surprise. She went to take half a step to steady herself, but unfortunately for her she was right on the edge of the jetty. There wasn’t half a step of land for her to stand on. With her balance suddenly thrown off she fell backwards with a furious yell, and there was a splash as she landed in the lake.
== Beka Sydesh ==
Beka’s entire focus had been on punishing the cheap shot from the prude - she hadn’t actually clocked who it was who had tried to break up the fight. The taekwon-do blackbelt was a fit and strong woman so her shove had enough behind it to knock the interloper backwards, and apparently gravity had done the rest.
It was the yell that caused the redhead to pause and process the voice that had spoken. Her eyes widened, her cheek still bright red from where she’d been slapped, and she turned to see Calleja climbing out of the water.
“Oh shit…” she managed, her blood running cold as she realised what she’d just done.
== Mara Calleja ==
As Mara pulled herself up, she was absolutely soaked through. Water ran freely from her clothes and puddled on the wooden jetty.
There was murder in her dark eyes as she started forward towards a rapidly back-pedalling Sydesh.
“This time I’m gonna fuckin’ kill ya,” she hissed. “When I’m through wi’ ya there ain’t gonna be ‘nough left fo’ ‘em to bury.”
It was suddenly very clear that, however funny it had been to see the normally untouchable Security Chief take an unscheduled bath, there was about to be a death unless her friends could get to her before she got to Beka and dismantled the doctor right then and there…
== I thought it was a bit quiet. How about some drama?
==