Proposals of Bloodshed
Posted on Sunday, 3 January 2021 - 4:27pm by Lieutenant JG Adrianna Eberhardt
It was exciting but also nerve racking knowing that Mr Eberhardt was considering proposing. Adrianna couldn't deny her feelings there. She could see a future with him. He seemed to be helping her maintain her best self and indeed highlight her personal growth. He was no stranger to the darker aspects life could be and therefore seemed to have an understanding of the roller-coaster that was life after moral change. Her mother had been right about a few things about him, but she wasn't going to admit that and nor would she translate properly for him. It was weird enough he called her 'cougar'. At least he knew that if Adrianna held the rest of her mother's genes, she would bypass the cruelty of time and age gracefully.
With all the talks of the future, Adrianna could help but think back to the man that broke her heart properly. Sure, she was hurt by someone wanting to make her number five, but she was young and dumb. It was Dan Harrison that left her broken for months. Technically, they never broke up, he just ghosted her and left her for dead to fuel his ego on other ventures. The Italian often wondered where he was now.
***
Unhappy about it, but watching on through his home office's window, Dario Baciami sighed, "she's going to say yes, isn't she?"
Tanina emerged with a crystal tumbler of grappa for him, "yes, she loves him."
Dario groaned, then sipped his drink as if to numb the pain of losing his only daughter, "I don't trust him, Nina. He's a Fleeter for starters. That doesn't look good for us. He also says he's an engineer but his hands are pristine. I cannot find any record of him with our contacts."
"At least he was thoughtful enough to ask your permission," Tanina listened, hearing woes and anxiety, "perhaps you're being paranoid. There are thousands, tens of thousands and counting, members of Starfleet." She sighed and looked out at the couple, seemingly reminiscent about their own courtship, "but she is happy. That is the priority--our daughter is so much happier and more settled since Dan arrived in her life. Before, you thought she was a flight risk-- her heart wasn't in the business anymore, she was distracted. Now she's more involved than ever, and so passionate. Eitherway, if he breaks her heart or hurts her, you'll kill him. So what difference does it make? You've not let anyone slip through the net yet, I doubt you'd start with him."
Dario put his arm around his wife and kissed the top of her head. She was right, but his gut was usually right too. He sighed but was soon distracted by an incoming call from… Starfleet? He shooed Tanina out, before answering.
***
Adrianna looked to the stars in the clear night sky. It was a warm, summer's night and the Baciami home seemed to be above all the light pollution, allowing for even the milky-way to grace the couple with its presence. She put her arm round Dan's muscular waist, enjoying the walk around the grounds and being close to him.
"I didn't think that when we met, you'd be anything more than a mission," Dan smiled, wrapping an arm around her too. He ran a hand over his stubble and let his his hypnotically blue eyes look her over. Adrianna was beautiful, the tailored jacket and dark red dress seemed to compliment her figure so perfectly. Her hair was just like a description from fairy tales and her eyes, he could stare into them for eons.
Adrianna smiled up to him, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "Don't talk like that, walls have ears and I sense my father at least is watching on."
He kissed the top of her head, "let them listen." The tall, ruggedly handsome man let go of her waist and stood in front of her, holding both her hands. "I've felt like I've toured the universes and never found something, or someone, constant. You are adventurous, courageous and you have such a soft side. Adrianna, you are the most passionate, caring and intelligent person I know. I would be a fool to not consider what we do in our future. I'm up for reassignment, and I have requested, I go wherever you are. If that doesn't happen, we'll run away together. We will keep running. We'll run until we are somewhere no one will find us. Just you and I. Somewhere safe."
"Dan-," Adrianna’s heart pounded and a smile crept onto her face. Was this going where she thought it was?
"Adrianna Nani Baciami," Dan continued, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a delicate, diamond ring, "will you run away with me and become Adrianna Nani Harrison?"
***
Dario looked back out to the couple, seeing Dan go down on one knee. The call with an informant at Starfleet had his temper on the edge of bubbling over.
The man had made a deal to take care of the Lieutenant, but as for his daughter, that was a personal matter.
After the call, Dario had gathered Adrianna's brothers into his office. Don Baciami growled as he finished explaining the contents of the informants call and the deal made. His eyes narrowed and his darkened soul and aura became an abyss of pure, bloodthirsty rage. He would not rest until the craving to restore order.
Finally, came the orders that would change the family dynamic between father and daughter. His husky, aged voice finally broke the silence. The words tasted like vinegar as they dripped from his cursed lips like a kiss of death, "prepare for a hunt, boys. We have a traitor in our midst."
