<div align="center"><strong>~ Sasha Dearing, First Officer of the Gamble - On Persephone with Si and Steve, in the back room of The Best Little Hot House in Town, negotiating with Ferret about a job ~</strong></div><br/>Although a number of years past her prime, Ferret was still a strikingly beautiful older woman. However, her own mature beauty was effortlessly overshadowed when displayed too closely to the much younger beautiful woman in front of her, her supple body and flawless youthful skin naturally drawing the eye away from the waning glory of the forty-something woman’s allure.  Time was no friend to a woman’s beauty.<br/><br/>Sasha contained a warm chuckle within her throat as she carefully watched and listened to the woman react to her opening shot, her senses taking in all of the woman’s subtle cues as well as her overt actions. Ferret was good -<em>very</em>good. She would expect no less from the former Companion and merciless criminal. But this weren’t her first time at the rodeo. Sasha had years of experience at navigating tough negotiations, and more often than not she emerged from seemingly intractable confrontations as the victor. Sasha excelled at intuitively knowing just where and how to deliver a strike, and just how far to take things in any given direction.  A little sting of pain followed by a generous dose of pleasure was often the perfect combination to achieve what she desired.<br/><br/><strong>“I think you are forgetting who you’re dealing with, Bao bei.”</strong><br/><br/>Sasha acknowledged the warning rattle of the snake who was well within striking distance of her tender flesh with no more than a slight tilt of her head, continuing to play the dangerous game of snake-charmer fearlessly.  As the older woman’s hand slithered toward her to brush her ponytail back over her shoulder, Sasha leaned almost imperceptibly forward against the woman’s brush of fingertips, instead of flinching away from her touch.<br/><br/><strong>“You’re going about this all wrong. A beautiful woman such as you would do much better for herself, and her compatriots, to play nice with me. I assure you it would be in your best interest.” </strong><br/><br/>Ferret lifted her palm to caress the younger woman’s cheek, and Sasha allowed her lingering touch. She herself often infringed upon the other person’s personal space during a confrontation; such a touch was a gently aggressive maneuver designed to communicate power, no matter how softly that touch was delivered. And ever since...well, for about a year now, Sasha had danced a dark dance with aggression and violence and was in some ways deeply addicted to the adrenaline rush those emotions provided. In a one-on-one confrontation - with only herself to suffer any consequences - she might have allowed her own propensity for combativeness off-leash, would have indulged in savoring the intoxicating rush of untempered aggression. But...as it stood she was responsible for the safety and well being of the entire crew of the Gamble, and every action she took, every decision she made - that responsibility weighed in heavily, tightly constraining what choices and actions she could make.<br/><br/><strong>“Otherwise, the Cap’n’s gonna be mighty unhappy to learn his overzealous first officer got him blacklisted from ever finding work on Persephone again. So, whatta’ya say, Bao bei hu li jing? Can we play nice, or do I have to make things ugly for you and yours?”</strong><br/><br/>Sasha lifted her own hand to cover Ferret’s hand where it lingered against her face, letting her palm curve over hers for a few moments in subtle dominance, before slowly removing the older woman’s fingers from her cheek without releasing her hold on her hand.  Turning her hips sideways against the workbench while still facing Ferret, Sasha slid one lithe thigh up to lounge on the workbench top, one cheek of her backside resting atop the wood and her foot dangling casually below, her other booted heel pressing into the floor to provide stability in her casually provocative position.<br/><br/>The soft drape of black lace whispered across her legs as her movement caused her dress to partially fall away from covering her legs, the parted fabric revealing an enticing expanse of the smooth whiteness of her shapely legs, the barely seen tease of the black fabric of her panties almost visible at the apex of her thighs.  Bringing the older woman’s hand to rest on her partially lace-covered thigh, Sasha idly stroked along the top of Ferret’s hand, her fingertip trailing lightly up and down the woman’s arm as she traced the slightly raised trail of a delicate vein, then circled softly around a darkened spot near her wrist.<br/><br/>“I do love how wonderful you are with your flowers, Ferret.” The younger woman spoke softly, letting a sultry tone shape her words. “They are so beautiful and bring such pleasure.”  Not taking her eyes off the older woman’s hand, Sasha continued to lightly caress Ferret’s skin, her fingertips barely touching her as she slowly stroked along her arm and hand, gliding her fingertips up and then brushing down with just the tips of her fingernails.  “It’s such a shame, though, to be forced to witness their beauty fade - don’t you think? Personally, I prefer to replace a bouquet before their exquisite blooms have started to wither, before their delicious perfume has soured. To enjoy them only at their peak. There are, after all, always fresh flowers available to replace them, hmm?” A cutting smile ghosted across her lips as she raised Ferret’s hand to her mouth, softly pressing her full lips to the woman’s fingertips, opening her mouth ever so slightly to allow a hint of the moist warmth within to caress against her skin as she softly kissed then released her hand.<br/><br/>“But, I digress.” Slipping gracefully off the workbench, Sasha casually walked around it to stand in front of Ferret without the piece of furniture between them. “In answer to your question, there’s certainly no need for ugliness, Ferret, especially in the presence of such beauty as yours.  Of<em>course</em>I want to...play nice...with you.”  Sasha reached her hand up to stroke the woman’s soft hair as she spoke, letting the silken strands drag softly through her fingertips as the back of her hand brushed against the side of the woman’s slender neck and down over the soft swell of her breast. Letting her spread fingertips linger lightly over Ferret’s exposed sensitive skin sensuously rising and falling above her bra, Sasha prowled behind the woman with deliberate slowness. Pulling out Ferret’s chair with a gallant flourish, Sasha gestured invitingly to the comfortable seat. “Please, make yourself comfortable. Shall we continue to discuss our mutually beneficial relationship? I’m sure you’ve got more important people to see, and I’d hate to take up too much of your time.”<br/><br/>While standing behind Ferret, Sasha’s gaze slid to Si for a brief moment gauging his alertness and temperament. She knew Ferret was beautiful and bewitching, but she hoped the man who was so close to the older woman’s age didn’t hold a fascination with Ferret.  Sasha knew well enough that sometimes simply the allure of what was off-limits was enough to draw a person inexorably toward it. But a no doubt ill-fated liaison between the untrustworthy and treacherous Ferret and one of her crew would be much too dangerous - for them all.  Glancing at Steve briefly as well, Sasha wondered what the man was making of his first experience as a member of her crew.<br/><br/>Bringing her attention fully back to Ferret again, Sasha was eager to get the details about the job and be on their way. It’d been a long span of time since their last evening of free downtime planetside, and she found herself very much looking forward to spending some relaxing time unwinding from her normally austere persona which she held herself to as First Officer. Gui, it’d actually be nice to spend a some casual time with her crew. There’d been some subtle nuances she’d been picking up lately from Si that she’d like to explore a bit. And then of course there was the new guy...McPherson. She definitely wanted to spend some time with him, find out what kind of man he really was.  And she had no doubt that her crew was more than ready themselves to let loose with a bit of fun. Even Si.<br/><br/>Smiling brilliantly at Ferret as she leaned back against the workbench, elbows bent and supporting her casually as she rested her upper body against the tabletop, legs crossed at the ankle, Sasha encouragingly prompted the woman to conclude the business at hand without affronting her in the process.  “So tell me, my beautiful hu li jing, how may we be of service?”<br/><br/><br/><em>Gui = Hell<br/>hu li jing = vixen</em><br/>