"Doctor, we're losing Lieutenant Tigre!" Toren Len shouted.
"Olantapine, 5 cc's--stat!" Dr. Cherrin ordered as he rushed to the biobed. "The poison's spread throughout too much of her system. Damn Tanzaran physiology!" he swore.
Toren walked over to the drug locker but did not find what he was looking for. "Doctor, we don't have any olantapine in stock!"
"What? Our last inventory said we had fifty doses available!" Cherrin said as he walked over to the cabinet. "What the hell is going on here?"
He went to the replicator. "Computer, 5 cc hypospray of olantapine--medical override, authorization Cherrin-Beta-256."
<Unable to comply.>
"Give me the closest thing available, then."
A hypospray emerged. Cherrin looked at it. "Penicillin? Whose sick idea is this?" he stormed. Cherrin was not a man of great passions, but when the life of one of his patients was in jeopardy this could change rapidly. When it appeared as though the patient had been deliberately placed in jeopardy, that was another matter entirely.
Talia went into convulsions. "Get a cortical stabilizer on her now!" Cherrin ordered. No sooner than the order came through than Toren, already at hand with the device, applied it to her temple.The seizure abated quickly.
"Computer, where is the nearest supply of olantapine?"
<Thirty-five doses are aboard the USS Ronin, currently in drydock.>
"Excellent! Put me through to the Ronin's captain at once!"
The comm station in Sickbay revealed not the older Captain McConaughey, but a younger officer, an Asian man in Science blue. [USS Ronin, Lieutenant Wang speaking.]
"Lieutenant, I presume your captain is unavailable right now since you're standing the bridge watch. Get me to your chief medical officer."
[At once, sir.] The screen changed over to that of the Ronin's medical facilities. [Dr. Hancock speaking. How may I help you--Dr. Cherrin! A pleasure, as always.]
"Doctor, I haven't time for niceties. We have a Tanzaran in full neurological arrest and our entire supply of olantapine has gone missing. We need at least five cc's on the double!"
Will looked shocked. [You'll have it at once!] Cherrin could see Will Hancock move to his drug locker and retrieve five loaded hyposprays of olantapine and place them in a case. [Transporter Room, I need a site-to-site transport of this case from our sickbay to the station's.]
Moments later, the case appeared on Cherrin's exam table. Without hesitating, Toren Len opened it, prepped a hypospray, and handed it to Cherrin. Almost as soon as the drug hissed its way into her bloodstream, Talia's convulsions stopped and her signs began reading weak but normal.
"Thank you, Doctor. Your assistance was most appreciated."
[I am at your service. If you need anything else, let us know. If I didn't know better, I'd think someone may be trying to do in your Tanzaran patients. They're the only ones who use olantapine.]
"Yes, I know...and I think you may be right."
Meanwhile, in another part of the ward, Shannon Vansen was taking her own precipitous dive into eternity. Nathan Fletcher was doing his rounds when he saw Shannon's vitals suddenly dip. Quickly, he grabbed a medical tricorder and scanned her. "Dammit! Nurse, we're prepping for surgery! Her vena cava's ruptured!" The knife had passed very close to the large vein leading into Shannon's heart, nicking it slightly. Fletcher had hoped the wound would seal itself with the proper drug therapy, but the trauma had been too severe.
In moments, Shannon's chest had been cracked and Fletcher was using a protoplaser to seal the ruptured vein while a nurse suctioned off the blood and fluid that had accumulated in her chest cavity. However, the surgery had required that Shannon's heart be stopped.
"Okay, the wound is sealed and it looks like it's going to hold. Let's bring her back."
The nurse handed over the shock paddles and Nathan jumpstarted Shannon's heart. It wasn't long before the heart started beating on its own. "Doctor, we have a pulse. It's weak, but regular."
"Thank God!" It was as much a prayer as an exclamation. "Let's close her up."
"What's going on?" Morgan demanded of Dr. Cherrin.
"Talia's been hit with a systemic tranquilizer. I don't think I have to tell you just how touchy it is to use these things on Tanzarans. The level she was dosed with could have put down a mugatu," the doctor told him. "Thanks to some help from the medical staff aboard the Ronin we were able to get olantapine into her system and stabilize her."
"The Ronin? We don't have enough supplies aboard the station?"
"That's just it. Our supply was either destroyed or stolen, and the replicator protocols altered. Fortunately the Ronin was in dock and had olantapine in stock. Security is looking into the matter, but I understand the culprits may well be in custody."
"Yes, I witnessed their...apprehension myself."
"Talia just started regaining consciousness a minute ago, which is why I decided to call you. She's been asking for you."
"Understood," Morgan replied as they approached Talia's bed. "If I could have some privacy, please," he asked.
"Of course. I need to check on my other patients. If you have any questions or need any assistance, feel free to call for a nurse." Dr. Cherrin drew a curtain around Talia's biobed and left the ward.
"Talia, how are you feeling?" he asked, not really knowing how to approach her under these circumstances. Morgan didn't think the Klingon approach would be welcome or productive at the moment.
"Everything's a blur, Morgan," she replied. "Dr. Cherrin wasn't very forthcoming with how I ended up here. Just that I should rest and not upset myself. What exactly does that mean?" Talia asked. She looked worn and the irritation of not knowing echoed in her voice.
"You were poisoned," Morgan said. "Apparently you've been a difficult patient. He probably wants to keep you here to ensure that the poison has left your system."
A troubled look entered her aqua eyes, but images started coming into her mind. She remembered Jakey all bruised and battered. She remembered her fury and wanted to strike back. She then remembered getting Shannon's help . . . but for what? The poison was tied to it somehow. "How's Jake?" she asked as a lump grew in her throat, blaming herself for what had happened to him.
"He's doing okay," Morgan said, for once thankful that being Klingon had also allowed him enough discipline to be objective about the situation for the moment. "He was discharged earlier this morning and he's resting in his quarters. He probably won't be surfing for a while. I notified his parents and they're coming here from Earth."
She nodded and sighed. At least he was out of sickbay. But something else kept nagging at her. Shannon . . . She had wanted to get these men and they wouldn't come after her. She had walked everywhere in Marine Country and they wouldn't come near her. The memories were starting to come back now. She had gone to Shannon with a plan . . . Only, the plan had gone wrong. It had gone right to the point as is the men had come for Shannon, but they had hurt her! She remembered taking one of them down while in Tiger-form. Her great paw raking the man across his torso, but then, she was struck in the back . . . that was the poison. It all fell into place. But Shannon had been hurt as well. "What about Shannon?" Talia asked. "My plan . . . It all fell apart and she was hurt . . ." Talia was beginning to get agitated. It was showing in her voice.
"I don't know. I presume her condition remains unchanged since Dr. Cherrin did not tell me anything. You really should not have tried to set up this trap on your own."
"I wanted them to pay," Talia replied. "They need to pay! They hurt Jakey, and Shannon and me! Who else are they going to hurt?! They had to be stopped!"
"They will pay," Morgan told her fiercely. "The two who attacked you are already in custody. Regrettably, they weren't more badly hurt during their capture."
Images leapt to her mind as she saw them in the brig. They were images from Morgan's mind. "There are more of them," she replied almost too quietly. "Like the one that shot me with the arrow from a crossbow."
"And we will find them, and we will deal with them. You know I'm telling you the truth."
She nodded, but had a feeling that these men were like chameleons. They would not be found unless they wanted to be . . . She sighed. She felt tired and just emotionally distraught. She felt responsible for so much pain and injury. There had to be something she could do, she thought. After all, wouldn't it take a chameleon to find a chameleon? Suddenly a plan started forming in her mind.
"I recognize that look, Talia. Whatever it is, don't do it. They nearly killed you this time. Suppose it's a phaser next time, or a grenade? There won't be any last-minute saves!"
She looked at him trying to put on her most innocent face. "I wasn't thinking anything," she replied. "Just idle thoughts of nothing . . . so maybe you don't know my looks as well as you think you do." Suddenly, she moaned in pain and made a grab for her temples. A stabbing headache hadhit her like a starship doing warp 9 through her head.
"Nurse!" Morgan called immediately. A medtech came to the bed, checked her vitals, and administered an injection. "The poison's still affecting her brain," he told Morgan. "This is another shot of olantapine. It'll slow the poison long enough for her liver to process it, but she will get very groggy very soon."
Within a few moments the pain was gone and Talia was very thankful. She took a deep breath and readjusted herself on the pillow and looked at Morgan's concerned face. She could already feel the drug working in her system as her eyelids began growing heavy. Tenderly, she reached for Morgan's hand and held it. "Everything will work out," she said. "One way or another . . ." She didn't know if she said it for his benefit or her own as she gazed at him.
"On that we are in agreement," Morgan said. "I will deal with this situation personally."
Talia was fighting to keep her eyes open as she sighed. "Personally . . ." she echoed almost under her breath. At that, her eyes shut and didn't open again. She had drifted off into a drug-induced sleep that would help rid her body of the tranquilizer she'd been shot with.
Morgan stayed with her until he was sure she was asleep. Then he left Sickbay. On his way out, he tapped his combadge. "Lieutenant MacLeod, this is Bicardi. I will be needing your assistance.I will meet you at your quarters."
Talia awoke in sickbay. She was groggy, but had her wits about her. Events came back to her with clarity. She stopped a passing Medic.
"How's Lt. Vansen?" she asked.
"She's still critical," the young man answered.
As he walked off, Talia's green eyes threw daggers of anger. She was angry at herself for allowing her plan to fail, but she was especially angry at the people who had placed them here. Not her just and Shannon, but Jakey too. And she'd had enough. She shifted into a uniform, undoing the gown and letting it fall right to the ground around her feet. She then looked around. Making sure no one was watching, she walked right out of sickbay and into the station . . .
She knew where she was going. Talia wanted answers and if she couldn't get them verbally, she'd settle for pulling them out mentally.
Jakey had brought Talia a small bouquet of flowers with a strong sweet scent. Though he was still sore, he was getting around better. As he rounded the corner expecting to see Talia in bed, he found it empty and the gown on the floor. Immediately, he knew and a knot developed in his stomach.
Talia . . . No . . .
Talia went straight to Security. Though she knew she couldn't enter as herself, she took up a position and watched several of the personnel come and go. Finally, she saw the Chief of Security walk out and leave. This was her chance. She knew it! She shifted into Tara Carmichael's appearance, uniform and all. She then adopted her regal stance and entered security.
"I thought you'd left for the night, Ma'am," said one of the new transfers.
"Forgot something in the back," she replied, even getting Tara's accent perfect.
Without stopping for any other person, she went to the holding cells. There she faced the two people in custody.
"Oh, look whose back," Private Rodriguez sneered.
"You're not going to learn anything else from us, Ms. Carmichael," Corporal Zenker added with a laugh.
"Who says I need to play nice this time?" she replied with a smirk.
"Uh, rules and regulations?" Rodriguez replied. "Which you seem to cherish!"
"The rules just changed," Talia replied, shifting into her normal appearance.
Suddenly, as the men looked at her, their eyes grew wide.
"Holy shit!" Rodriguez cried. "It's her! It's her!"
But before anything else could be done, she shifted back into Tara's form. "Now, boys, I'm going to ask one simple question. I want to know the name of the person with the crossbow, or his second in command . . ."
"NO way!" cried Zenker. "No fricken way, bitch!"
"To late!" she replied with a smile as she had pulled the information from their minds. As soon as she had asked the question, their mind has produced the answer making it easy to glean. She didn't have the top man, but she had the guy next in line . . . "Thanks for you help. You've been dolls!" With that she blew them a kiss and walk out of the holding area.
"Guard!!" They cried. "Guard!!"
Talia assumed different faces as she walked through the station making her way to the right quarters. She reached out telepathically and scanned the room, finding one occupant. She was getting a headache, but she wasn't about to stop. She shifted into the form of the sexiest woman she could think of and announced herself. As the door slid open, a man with dark hair and blue eyes looked her up and down.
"Well, honey, where did you come from?" he said with a smile that looked like the Cheshire cat's.
"Maybe your dreams," she replied as softly as she could with a teasing smile. "Are you going to invite me in, or am I going to be left out in the cold?" She playfully pouted.
"Oh come in! By all means, come it!" he said as he moved and allowed her entry. As soon as she was in and the door slid shut, "Do you want a drink, Gorgeous?"
Looking around his quarters, she assessed what was there and what she could use. "I'll have anything you are," she replied back. "Nice place . . . Is the bedroom as nice?"
"You don't waste any time, do you?" he laughed.
"When I see what I want, I take it," she replied.
He looked at the bottle in his hand and put it back down. "How about we leave the drinks for later then . . ." With that he grabbed her hand.
A shiver ran down her spine, but she allowed him to guide her to his bedroom. There were weapons on the wall. Nice . . . and rope in the corner. Perfect. Just as he began kissing her shoulder and neck, she purred and then said. "You might not want to do that . . ."
"And why is that?" he asked, playfully, matching the mood she was projecting.
"Because I didn't come here for this," she said. Suddenly she shifted into herself and shock went into his eyes.
"YOU!" he said as he backed up.
"Yeah, that's right!" she replied, her green eyes flashing her anger. "ME! Talia Tigre!" At that, her hand turned into a tiger paw and slashed at him. Her nails raked across him and he began to bleed. "You terrorized Shannon, you beat up Jake! I want the name of your leader!" she almost yelled as she raked her nails across him again.
"NO!" he said reaching for a dagger on his wall.
She easily dislodged it from his hand. She wasn't going to be dissuaded tonight. This time she really did have the upper hand. And she knew who she needed to go after. He tried to make another attempt toward his wall, but she shifted into a tiger and leapt at him. Once his back was on the mattress with a very pissed off Tanzaran on top of him as a tiger roaring into his face, tears formed in his eyes.
"I don't want to die . . . I don't want to die . . . Please . . . I don't want to die!" he began whimpering like a child.
Shifting back into her normal self, she went for the rope. "Good, boy. Now I'm going to tie you up and you're going to stay out of trouble."
"Don't you want his name?" he asked.
"I already have his name . . . and his accommodations and his approximate schedule. Thank you so much for being so thorough with me, Bruce!" she said, patting his shoulder before gagging him.
Before she left she tests the restraints on his arms and legs, making sure he wasn't going to be able to get out of them. She had at least left him on the bed. He should be happy about that, she thought. Of course, maybe he'd roll off, she thought with a smirk. She then left to go hunt her next pray. It was the next one she wanted. He was the one that had to pay for everything that had happened. He was the one that had to pay for Jakey and Shannon . . . And he would, if she had anything to do with it.
Jake had left Sickbay after letting someone know that Talia was gone. He also overheard the doctor say that the poison probably wasn't completely out of her system yet and she would begin to get worse if not treated with more of the drug they were giving her. That didn't sound good, Jake thought. But where would she have gone, he wondered. Then he realized the first place. He headed toward Security.
"Sorry, Sir," replied the new transfer, Ensign Kevin Sabara. The same transfer Talia had spoken with as Tara Carmichael. "I haven't seen Lt. Tigre."
"Has anything strange happened?" Jake asked. "Anything? I'm sure she would have come here."
Suddenly from the back, Ensign Ben Mazo came up front. "They're still at it. They claim they saw a Tanzaran in there. The one that's in sickbay."
"That's her!" Jake cried. "She was there!"
"The only person who went back there was the Chief. Tara Carmichael," Sabara said.
"I'd check, if I were you," Jack replied.
With a sigh, the young Ensign relented. "Computer, who was the last female officer to enter the holding area?" he asked.
<Lt. Talia Tigre> the computer replied.
"You have to let me back there to talk to those guys!" Jake said in almost a panic and the Ensigns both had a look that would have frozen a pond. They were scared.
"We can't do that. We're already in enough trouble."
"You might be in more if I don't get to talk with them!" Jake replied. "This Tanzaran is on the Warpath . . ."
Talia watched the quarters of one Trevor Phillip Kroeger. He shared the place with a not too intelligent blond that worked at a place called The Candy Store on the station. It had an interesting reputation. You could find almost anything you wanted in there for pleasure, as long as it was within the bounds of the law. Anything that wasn't, was strictly at the buyers discretion and risk. In this case, it was illegal. The girl was lonely and she wasn't too smart and she was getting used for a place, thinking she was getting loved in return.
Talia had already gotten into the place and looked around. It was nice, except for the weapons decorating it and the several kilos of Dust he had stashed to sell, along with several codes to several transport lockers. She didn't even want to guess was in them. Probably not what was on the manifest, no doubt. And low and behold . . . hanging on the wall in a place of honor was the crossbow that had shot her . . . Around it were several swords. And on a desk was a beautifully crafted dagger. She decided to take the dagger.
She had also gotten into the terminal and had checked the schedules they'd put in for themselves. She knew his was probably wrong, but would hold some truth.The woman's showed her working until early in the morning. It was just what Talia needed. For Trevor, he was due back any time now. She had found a place and melted into the shadows and waited with the dagger, not knowing what she was going to do when he actually showed.
Suddenly, he was there by his door. Only instinct took over. She took the dagger and went after him. She managed to land one cut across his arm before he was able to block her.
"You, huh?" he said, not impressed with her. "I thought I'd taken care of you."
"Guess you'll have to try harder next time," Talia replied, as they began to circle each other, getting ready to attack.
"You know I can't let you live," he said. "You know too much."
"To be honest, I don't know shit, but you know what? Who says I'm going to let you live? You terrorize my friend? You beat another friend of mine up? Then you almost kill me and my friend . . . You think I'm going to let you live if I get a chance to kill you?" she said.
"You won't kill me," he sneered. "You're Starfleet. Fleeters don't kill unless absolutely necessary."
"Just watch!" she hissed as she lunged at him.
Easily he blocked her, but she swept his legs out from under him and he fell back, but recovered quickly. He attempted a side kick, which she blocked and then attacked with her own jump-front kick and a quick knife-hand to the chest. The kick was blocked, but the strike got through. He threw a strike at her face and she blocked. He swept her legs, making her fall backwards, but instantly she was on her feet, landing a roundhouse kick. Followed by a temple strike and a strike to his throat. As he fell to the ground, Talia had the knife to his neck.
"Play time's up," she said between breaths, not noticing a crowd had started forming around them.
"Don't kill me," he pleaded.
"And just why shouldn't I, after everything you've done?" she hissed, letting the blade draw blood.
"PLEASE!!" he cried.
But if fell on deaf ears.
"This is for Jakey and Shannon!" she hissed, but before she could end it, she heard someone.
"Stop! Talia, stop! You don't want to do this!"
As she looked up, she saw Jake, looking at her with concern. "Why don't I after everything he's done?" she asked.
"Because, then you become like him, Talia. Think about it!" he said.
"But, Jake . . . Look at everything he did! He hurt you! He terrorized and almost killed Shannon! He almost killed me too!" Suddenly her green eyes turned as cold as stone. "He's got to pay!"
Just as she was about to finish the job, Jake put his hand on hers. "No, Talia . . . You're not a killer . . ." he said.
As she looked into his gray eyes, she nodded. He was right . . . This might feel right now, but what about later. Suddenly, she put the knife down and began to cry. Jake pulled her into his arms as her head began to throb.
Before Trevor Kroeger could do anything else, Morgan appeared with Ryan. He looked at Talia in Jake's arms. Then he saw the person he was after subdued on the floor, afraid to move. He went over to them and knelt down.
"Talia, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"You might want to ask later, Sir," Jake replied as Talia continued to cry.
Morgan nodded, a little perturbed and then secured Trevor. At least it was good to know they had found the people responsible for the problems.
"Are there any others we should know about?" Morgan asked.
Talia merely shook her head. This was it. This was the end. There would be no more death threats. No more beatings and no one trying to kill them anymore. And they had learned that keeping secrets from one another especially from friends, just didn't pay off . . .
As Talia was settled back into sickbay before she collapsed, she was greeted with good news. Shannon was out of critical condition. She was finally making a recovery. Talia's eyes were still red from crying as Jake sat beside her.
"Everything is all right now," he soothed her.
The nurse gave her another shot for the last of the poison in her system. Because the headache was caused by the poison, then it would go away shortly she knew. She tried to believe everything was okay, but how could she. She was changed.
"I don't know, Jakey . . . I was going to kill him," she said. "I was really going to do it."
"But you didn't," he reminded her.
"Thanks to you," she said, taking his hand in hers. "Thank you . . ."
"Any time . . ." he smiled. "Just hang in there. We're in this together, you know."
She gazed at him. Somehow they always managed to get through things together . . Even back then . . . With a sigh, she could feel the medication taking affect as she got drowsy again.
"So we're together forever?" she smirked.
"It might not be a bad idea . . . Just no more secrets . . ."
"Secrets . . . No more secrets . . . Yeah . . . No more secrets . . ." At that point, her eyes closed and her mind drifted into sleep.
After securing the prisoners, Captain Bicardi went to see Major Boyle and Colonel Tarik to debrief them of the situation.
"What's the news, Captain?" Boyle asked.
"Lt. Tigre's back in sickbay," He informed them. "But because of her, we have the last two members of the group in question and we can piece together what happened." He explained that the five men were running not only an illegal drug operation on the station, dealing in Dust, but they were making plans to sell weapons to anyone that would buy them. Three of the men were in the Marines. Two were Ex-Marines, having been thrown out by the Corps. It wasn't hard to see what had happened. The five had always met in Marine Country's back areas where not many people went. The ones with clearance got the other two in. "That's when Lt. Vansen had stumbled upon them," Morgan said, the pieces all fitting together. "They thought she had seen something she didn't see. Or maybe just seeing them was enough to start their threats. When Lt. Tigre stepped in, that's when things seemed to accelerate. They believed Lt. Vansen had talked. When they saw Lt. McIlhenny speak with Lt. Vansen they assumed the same thing again. They attacked Lt. McIlhenny, sending him to sickbay. Lt. Tigre didn't respond well to this and tried to draw the assailants out on her own."
"She didn't tell anyone?" Boyle asked, none-to-happy with her actions.
"No. I believe she wasn't sure she would be able to get help for this. However, her plan backfired, though it did bring a majority of the group out. She took down one of them on her own before being wounded. However, Lt. Vansen was wounded in the process as well. Things almost were worse, as you know, had Private Benson not been there. We apprehended two more of the group. While in sickbay and for reasons we're still not completely sure about, Lt. Tigre left sickbay. She then went to the Security holding cell, posed as Chief Carmichael, spoke to the prisoners and left. She went and found the next man in the hierarchy and subdued him. Finally, she found the leader of the group. She was not stable at this juncture in time, I should point out. Lt. McIlhenny found her as she had taken down Trevor Kroeger, the head of the group. I arrived on the scene just after that."
"Lt. Tigre has bent several rules, Captain Bicardi," Boyle said, his eyes dark and unhappy.
"Yes, but in the end, she did what was necessary," he replied. "We might not have found these men otherwise."
"And your report will reflect this?" Tarik asked.
"Yes, sir," Morgan replied.
Tarik was quiet for a moment. "You're dismissed, Captain."
Morgan walked out of the office.
"What do you think, sir?" Boyle asked.
He contemplated the situation carefully and thought about everything that had gone on. "We'll give them a slap on the wrist this time. They've been through enough at the moment. Let them recover . . . But I want an inquiry with Captain Alcon set up as soon as possible. Those were two rotten apples in her midst."
The day Talia got out of sickbay Jake was there to meet her, and again he brought her flowers. She smiled as she took them.
"Thanks," she replied, as they left and started heading back to Marine Country. "You know, I don't think I ever properly thanked you for not letting me do anything stupid . . ."
"I think you did, actually," he said with his boyish smile.
She shook her head. "No, I don't think I did . . ." With that, she stopped walking and tenderly caressed his face. Without a moment's hesitation, she kissed him . . . tenderly at first, but then she allowed her emotions to take over. People began to stop and watch. As she finally pulled away, they heard many applause. Talia just smiled and nibbled on her lower lip.
"That was quite a thank you!" he said, blushing a bit.
"I know!" she replied, with a giggle.
Finally Shannon and Talia had both received a clean bill of health a week after they had been brought into sickbay and were released, Talia two days before Shannon, though they were placed on light duties for the next 24 hours. Then there was one more physical. Once that was complete they were back to full duty. They could hardly wait!
In celebration, they had decided to get settled at Soma for a couple of drinks.
"Talia Jake and Morgan told me the story how you left medical to finish cleaning up my mess...it should never have happened if I hadn't kept secrets about the threats in the first place." She took a sip of her drink
Talia shook her head and took a long drink before she answered. "Well, cleaning up your mess wasn't exactly what was on my mind when I left sickbay . . In fact, it was sort of cleaning up mine," she smirked a little. "I suppose we each had our own mess out of the deal."
Shane looked around and saw captain Alcon enter. She finished the sip of her long island ice tea and said to Talia, "yeah but friends shouldn't keep secrets--I've learned my lesson." With a thrust of her chin she indicated incoming... "Jayme care to have a seat?"
Jayme had just come from commanders mass and was strung out and tired. "I apologize to you both for the actions of my platoon and any injuries you suffered for that." She took the indicated seat and a glass of 151 arrived with ice.
"A toast to friends....May we live long."
"Definitely!" Talia agreed. "May we live long and may we always remember that if nothing else, we can always rely on our friends!"
"Here, here!" they agreed as they clinked their drinks together and took good long sips.
"And may those assholes get what they deserve," Talia added.