FS:Scorpius/Braca, Post Family Ties

It was late when Braca received the summons to Scorpius' quarters. It was for that reason that his arrival was without its usual alacrity. If he had known what would be asked of him ... a cycle later, and he still does not know if he would have rushed towards this meeting or away.

"Lieutenant Braca." Scorpius nodded at him, a trifle less carefully than normal, and took a sip of calenth. Braca knew now that Scorpius' high internal temperature rendered the inebriating ingredients in the bright yellow liquid harmless, but at the time, he'd thought his commander was drunk.

"Sir. How may I serve you?" Braca blinked once and stifled a yawn. He'd been sound asleep when the comms had chirped.

Scorpius smiled, a smile which seemed to arise from actual amusement, rather than a detached form of malice. "I'd like to make a few things clearer to you, before telling you what service I wish."

Braca nodded briskly, hoping that whatever it was wouldn't take long.

"As you are no doubt aware, I am a Scarran/Sebacean hybrid. Because of my loyalty to the Sebacean species, the Purity codes do not strictly apply to me, and I have been allowed to enter the Peacekeepers and advance quite far within the ranks."

Braca nodded again. All of this was common knowledge.

"However, because of my," Scorpius pursed his lips, "unique situation, I have never in fact held the rank of captain." Scorpius sighed and finished off his calenth. He looked at his now empty glass with apparent surprise and reached for the cut glass container of calenth. "Would you like something to drink, Lieutenant? Something which will not lead to your inebriation."

Braca blinked a few times rapidly, then pointed at a plain looking pitcher in a corner of the wet bar. "I don't suppose that's nappa juice, sir?"

Scorpius quickly poured his subordinate a tall glass of green liquid and another of yellow for himself. "Captains have certain prerogatives, sexual prerogatives, over their subordinates, as I'm sure you're well aware. I do not have those prerogatives, but I do have those," he paused, and Braca could see him carefully considering the alternatives, "desires."

"Sir?" Braca was terrifically pleased that his voice hadn't cracked, but he was not as thrilled by the smirk on Scorpius' face.

"I realize that my body is unattractive to both Sebaceans and Scarrans, Lieutenant. But others have often found my power to be a sufficient aphrodisiac for competent sexual performance."

"Sir?" This time Braca's voice did crack. He was being propositioned by a terrifically ugly alien, who was also his commanding officer, who seemed to imply that he didn't have to accept the invitation. But what would happen to him if he refused Scorpius', uh, request? The average Peacekeeper project leader had unsatisfied subordinates transferred out of their unit, but those that disappointed Scorpius tended to end up deceased.

"If you find my proposition unacceptable, you will retain your life and your rank, Lieutenant Braca, but you will no longer be my second in command. To be honest, you were not my first choice, but a high percentage of my original project team perished in the Gammak base destruction. I suspect that capturing and extracting the information I require from John Crichton may be a long term project. I find that if I lack suitable ... companionship for an extended period, my moods become unpleasant and my destructive impulses arbitrary. This is. Unacceptable."

"Sir, I, Sir." Braca stammered to a halt at Scorpius' raised hand.

"I wouldn't dream of asking you to make an uninformed or hurried choice." He produced a data rod and handed it to Braca. "Report to me at this arn in two solar days. Observe that," he pointed at the rod, "before that time. Give me your answer then." He put his hand to the side of his head and shuddered. Then he downed his entire glass of calenth. "Drink your nappa and go to bed, Lieutenant Braca." He turned away from his subordinate, and picked up an anonymous stack of reports.