As soon as Andy had finished her conversation with Cameron in the Jefferies Tube, she left as fast as she could to hunt down Maica. There was something important that she needed to tell her! She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before now, but now that she had realized it the words were nearly eating her up inside, so desperate to be spoken aloud. She had to find Maica, fast!

She managed to find Maica in a corridor talking to a couple other officers. Totally heedless of the fact that she might be interrupting something important, Andy came up behind Maica and put her arms around the Android woman. Breathing deep the scent of her lover's hair, Andy let all her troubles melt away. A calm settled over her and she knew without a doubt that the words in her heart were true.

"I love you," she whispered into Maica's ear. And as quickly as she had come, Andy was gone, leaving Maica stunned in the corridor as she made her escape to continue with her duties, her heart skipping in wonderful little beats now that she had managed to say those three little magic words...

It had been a long day for the cadet, getting shuffled from transport to transport. But she'd managed to survive. Her padd carried details of her assignment, and who she was supposed to report to initially. Hmm. A Chief Petty Officer by the name of Andrea Carter. Seemed normal enough, but what was normal these days? Quietly, she decides to withhold any sort of judgement or pre-conception until after she's met the individual.

She passed through the line of people boarding, in her red cadet's uniform with appropriate pips, and is soon left to wander. "An Intrepid class.." she muttered softly. "Not the newest or biggest ship, but certainly a good explorer." Having taken a deep breath, the cadet stretched herself out all over in the empty hallway. "Computer, where is Chief Petty Officer Carter now?"

Receiving a reply in short order, the cadet proceeded to the location.

Chief Carter stood hunched over a console in Environmental controls working through a diagnostic when she spied a young looking thing in a cadet uniform. Oh great! What was a cadet doing in here? this was no place for some kid to be wandering around!

"Oi, what are you doing here?" the surly Engineer said as she stood straight and fixed the cadet with a steely odd-eyed gaze.

"The computer told me you would be here, ma'am. You're my immediate superior officer on this assignment." The young cadet replied with a calm demeanor and princess like posture. Not swayed by the attitude, so to speak. "Cadet Junior Grade Masterson, reporting in as ordered." She would get out of the way if ordered, but her orders were orders...

"Orders," Andy said in a curt tone, holding out her hand to receive the PaDD with the cadet's orders. Once Masterson offered the PaDD, Andy glanced over the data, the exoskeleton encasing her hand tapping lightly along the PaDD's surface. "Yeoman," she said in conclusion, handing the orders back to Mizuki. Now she understood why they sent a cadet to her. "Welcome aboard the Katana, let's get you settled in," Andy said, returning to her diagnostic to save the data and shut down the console, then looked up quarter assignments to find out where to place the girl.

The girl quietly watched as the elder went through the PaDD, "Thank you ma'am." she supplied, once the other was finished. Her posture was formal and a bit of a stiff princess look, while her position was two foot-lengths from Andrea. If there was anything she had been taught well, it was following orders. She knew not to ask too many questions, or to annoy the other officers. Some things she needed to figure out herself. But a set of quarters would be nice...since her body protested her continued activity, or lack thereof.

"None of that ma'am shit," Andy grumbled as she headed out, motioning for the cadet to follow. "And don't call me sir either. If you gotta call me something, just stick with Chief like everyone else does," she told the girl as she led her out of Environmental Controls. "Now, as Yeoman, you'll be working primarily with department heads, doing filing, pushing paperwork, help keeping schedules, especially for the Captain. Most of what you need to know you'll learn on the job, but sometimes I'll take you for a shift to teach you things. Any questions so far?"

She's different, definitely. Especially with her use of language.. she thought, but placed that to the side as she listened. "No, Chief. It seems straightforward enough thus far. If I do happen to have questions, would I be remiss in asking you?" Her posture hasn't relaxed at all, since her acclamation to the elder's personality isn't done.

"That's the point of this assignment, to learn and you can't do that if you don't ask questions," Andy answered earnestly. "There are times and places when you should or shouldn't ask questions, but for the most part, don't be afraid to speak up if there's something you need to know." All Andy could think was that this kid needed to learn to loosen up!

The cadet nodded. "Alright. It's good to be sure, I suppose. Thank you, Chief." So the elder wasn't as scary as she had first believed. Perhaps this would be where she loosened up. Though she might need some help. Mizuki maintains her walking pace and lets her hazel eyes wander around the corridor, taking in the new surroundings.

The rounded a corner and continued on down the corridor a bit further before Andy stopped them at a door which she proceeded to unlock. "Welcome home," Andy said, letting the cadet into her new quarters. "It's shared quarters, but at the moment you've got it to yourself. It's possible you might pick up a roommate in the future, so enjoy the privacy while you can."

Mizuki listened to her, and nodded right after. "Looks nice." she paused for a moment, having had shared quarters of a sort before, but never like this. She bit her lip and inclined her head in understanding. "Understood. I'll get set up in here when I have some free time, Chief." She remained standing, unsure if the Chief was letting her take her quarters now, or wanted to show her something else.

"The rest of the day is yours, Cadet, so settle in," Andy recommended. "Alpha Shift starts at 0800, come find me then. You'll get a crash course in what your duties entail and then I'll put you to work. Sound good?"

Mizuki comes to attention in a brief salute, before nodding. "0800 sounds good, aye." She paused for a moment, taking a couple of steps inside the quarters before turning back to look at the elder. Red hair, signs of the woman's past..it was intriguing to ask about. But, she didn't want to pry. "...thank you for the help, Chief Carter. I appreciate it." She bowed her head, as a sign of respect.

Andy looked at Mizuki like she'd suddenly grown a second head. Shaking her head with a chuckle, Andy waved the kid off as she headed back down the corridor to return to Environmental controls. This kid seriously needed to loosen up!

Mizuki let out a long sigh after the other had left. "Well, at least I wasn't cursed out for calling her ma'am." The girl sighed and began the arrangement of her quarters, bringing in the few things she had. It left her quarters feeling a bit...bare. Like she was, in the realm of being social.

The voices were calling to her, clawing at her, eating her up inside. So loud, it was drowning her out, swallowing her up, breaking her down and replacing her with something vile and twisted. She was surrounded by them now, she couldn’t escape, there was never any escape. Darkness, all around… Stop, she had to shut the voices out, but she couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe…

Help! Someone help, PLEASE!

Andy woke with a start, sitting up with a jerk. She was panting hard, her eyes trying to find focus in the darkness. Her throat felt raw. Had she been screaming? Fuck, where was Maica?

Maica had been jarred from her dream sequence by Andy’s strained screams and for a moment was confused until she realized she was in bed with her love whom was having a nightmare. Not knowing what to do, she sat up in bed and pet at her softly, doing her best to try to comfort Andy. When she suddenly awoke, Maica softly said her name, a hand rubbing at the woman’s back. “Andy… It’s ok. You’re safe here with me. You’re safe, ok?”

Andy flinched at the contact, shaking as her eyes sought out Maica. Sobbing as she gathered Maica into her arms, Andy let out her frustrations with an anguished cry, finding comfort in Maica’s presence.

“I was lost,” she said once her sobs had abated, her voice hoarse and her heart heavy in the wake of memories she had just relived. “I couldn’t find you… But then you were there, but it was all wrong… I had… done things… I couldn’t stop it.”

Maica just clung to Andy, cooing softly as she did her best to calm her down. “It’s ok love. I’m here and everything is ok now. You had a nightmare about the Borg, didn’t you?” Maica was just guessing, but from what she knew it was likely a pretty good guess. She had witnessed the actions of the Borg during a diplomatic mission and though they had assimilated her predecessor, they considered her ‘technologically inferior’ and was all but ignored on their ship.

At first, all Andy could manage in the way of a response was a nod as she heaved a shuddered sigh. She was afraid to let go of Maica, afraid that if she looked at her now all she would see was her tattered remains from the dream.

“Do you want something to drink? Some warm milk and sorghum would help, I’m sure.” Maica was doing her best, but she hated seeing Andy torn up like this but she didn’t know what would help. She felt so vulnerable and fragile in Maica’s arms, she felt like she might break Andy further if she did the wrong thing.

Andy didn’t know how to respond. At first, she just shook her head, but the warm milk did sound nice… But she didn’t want Maica to go! She shook her head more, holding tighter to Maica. “Don’t go,” she said, her voice so small and helpless.

With as many times as Andy had picked Maica up and carried her around the ship with ease, now Maica figured it was time to try to return the favor - she just hoped the new muscles Andy gave her would carry Andy as easily. “I’m not going anywhere without you. Just hold onto me, ok?” Getting her feet under her, Maica did her best to pick Andy up, her muscles and frame flexing with relative ease at the load. A bit more confident now, she carried Andy to the living room replicator and ordered 2 glasses of warm milk with sorghum. “I’ve been sneaking a glass now and then and it helps me relax. I’m sure it’ll help you too.”

Under normal circumstances, Andy hated being carried, she felt it was an assault on her dignity that she couldn’t even carry herself to wherever she needed to go, but she was too far gone emotionally to even care that Maica had carried her to the other room. By the time that Maica had them both on the couch with their milk, Andy was finally starting to calm down enough that she might actually be able to drink it. Andy’s hands were shaking as she accepted the glass Maica offered, but she sipped on it without a fuss. She was just glad she wasn’t alone when this nightmare hit. Waking up alone was always the worst...

With one arm still wrapped around Andy, Maica sipped at her milk, the warm sweet liquid soothing her guts and helping with the constant activity inside herself she was still trying to get used to. She just sat there with the woman she loved, holding her as she slowly calmed down.

Andy finished off her milk and set the glass aside, then cuddled into Maica’s side and let her eyes close. The horrors she had witnessed danced on the back of her eyelids and her trembling began anew. She put her arms around Maica, feeling much like a lost child seeking comfort from a kind stranger. In many ways, Andy was still so very lost.

“Can’t shut them out,” Andy said wearily as she held tighter to Maica. “They’re always there, waiting…”

“Do you want to talk about it? I can’t promise to understand too well, but I can at least listen.” Maica spoke softly, gently squeezing Andy as they snuggled.

For the longest time, Andy said nothing. She simply remained silent as she considered if she wanted to talk and what she might want to talk about. There was just so much that Maica would never be able to understand, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t at least try.

“I still hear them,” And confessed softly. “Not just in my dreams, but when I’m awake too. Most of the time it’s just faint whispers at the edge of my consciousness…” While it was true that her connection to the Hive Mind had long ago been severed, there was a resonance with the all the junk left behind in her and somehow it… sometimes she could just hear them. It was a phenomenon almost all liberated drones experienced as some point.

Maica had an idea of what Andy was hearing. Her own hearing was good enough to hear the voices of the crew of the Katana making similar sounds. She had also heard it on her diplomatic mission. “I know this may sound heartless, but when I was on that Borg ship for that diplomatic mission, I found the sound of millions of voices like that somewhat soothing. It reminded me of my time at Starfleet Academy. There were times I thought I could hear the whole city talking at once and though different, they were in many ways similar.”

Andy didn’t find it heartless, but it did serve to illustrate to Andy that Maica didn’t really understand. Part of her wanted to be angry about that, but in this moment she was far too tired for anger. Anyway, Maica was just trying to help.

“It’s different when it’s inside your head,” Andy said with a sigh. She would try to explain it as best she could. “When it happens, you’re still there, but the weight of the voices drowns you out and you become something else. I had no control over myself, all I could do was scream inside my own head. And then her song… It was maddening… bringing order to chaos…” Andy shivered at the memory of the Queen’s song. Even now Andy could feel their eyes on her.

“I guess being technologically inferior junk to them gives me a different perspective. I wasn’t even useful enough to toss in the recycling bin. I also only saw 3 people assimilated and while that was a horrifying experience...” Maica sighed heavily. This would definitely be a point of contention between them. “And though I got to watch and somewhat communicate with them for about two weeks, I didn’t come away from them with the same fear that so many others have. A healthy dose of respect for what they were and what they could do, but not that much fear. I guess I don’t prize my individuality as much as not being sodomized by the dregs of society.”

“You’re not technologically inferior now,” Andy said, chuckling darkly. It was clear to her now that Maica would never understand, but that was okay. Andy prefered that Maica remained innocently oblivious to how truly terrifying it was to be assimilated. But then again, Andy was right, Maica was now advanced enough that the Borg wouldn’t simply ignore her now.

“I don’t know if you’ll ever understand, but that’s alright… You’re here for me and that’s enough,” Andy said as she finally started to relax, the warm milk having worked wonders to help calm her agitated nerves.

“I’ll be here for you for as long as you’ll have me, my love,” Maica said warmly, softly petting over Andy. She truly loved this woman that had sacrificed and done everything possible to save Maica from expiring. If there was one thing she feared now, it was trying to live without Andy. They may not understand some aspects of each other, but both of them had been through their own personal hells and survived and she felt that if they just kept at it, they would both come to understand each other fully.

“Thank you,” Andy breathed as she snuggled up to Maica’s chest with a relieved sigh. And while Andy had admitted earlier that she love Maica, it still wasn’t in her nature to so easily throw those words around. For now, Maica was just going to have to remain content with the fact that Andy had at least said it once. Andy was still feeling far too vulnerable to venture into such uncomfortable waters.

And Maica didn’t mind. She had her memory of those words and just thinking about that memory brought a smile to her face. “Is there anything else you want to talk about? Anything else I can do?”

“You have nice tits,” was Andy’s muffled reply. At least it was a sign that Andy was returning to her normal self, especially when she gave Maica’s breast a playful bite.

Giggling softly, Maica squeezed her lover tenderly. “You know, I’ve always thought the word ‘tits’ sounded too small so I always think of them as ‘boobs’. It has a nice bouncy round sound to it, don’t you think?”

Andy then proceeded to name off every single lewd name she knew for breasts, smiling as she finally started to feel better. And still her list of offensive names continued. Couldn’t learn that kind of vocabulary at Starfleet Academy!

Maica heard Andy list off a couple she hadn’t expected, but overall she was happy that Andy seemed to be feeling better so she joined in with some of her own she had heard during her early years. Some of them crass enough to curl a Denobulan’s toenails.

Andy snickered as Maica joined in with the names. Eventually, they ran out of names for ‘breasts’ and Andy was tempted to move on to other parts of the female anatomy, but a heavy yawn stopped her. “Sorry if I scared you,” Andy said tiredly as her eyes drooped. She knew she should probably take herself back to bed, but Maica was just so comfy… “Don’t have those nightmares often, but it does still happen. Probably should have warned you…”

“it’s ok love. If it helps any, I had a very unpleasant dream sequence that took place when I was still a slave. I don’t think I could call it a nightmare, judging by your reactions to one… but…” Maica trailed off, becoming silent at the memories. Shaking her head, she petted over Andy’s hair, softly smoothing the flaming bush a bit.

“You don’t have to wake up screaming for it to be a nightmare,” Andy said. “If it upsets you, it’s a nightmare. And you can talk to me about it anytime.” Andy paused then looked up at Maica. “Well, maybe not right this second, but how about first thing in the morning?”

“I’ll make a special breakfast then. Any requests? Comfort foods?” Maica was strangely comforted knowing it was a nightmare she had had. She couldn’t find a reason for most of her dreams and most were stored out of memory’s way but that one had stuck with her. Perhaps it would help to talk about it in the morning.

“Anything and everything unhealthy,” Andy replied, her words again muffled by Maica’s breasts. Mmmm…. nice….

“Then I know just what to make,” Maica said with an almost mischievous grin. Then she said two words that no humanoid could reasonably be expected to understand, let alone pronounce.

“Whatever that is, it better be edible.” Then Andy rose from the couch and in a sweeping motion, Maica was over her shoulder and she was taking her back to bed. Andy was still thoroughly shaken by what she had seen in her dream, but she wasn’t going to let it stop her from being herself.

Giggling at the sudden shift in motion, Maica hung on to Andy as she was deposited back in their bed. This same bed she had offered the Captain if he ever needed to put someone in it. She had no expectations of ever using it herself back then, but now… She was glad she had kept it.

Like a child building a fort to keep out the scary monsters, Andy soon had them both buried under a mountain of blankets, a tangle of limbs in a cocoon of safety. As long as she lived, Andy would never know why Maica made her feel so safe when everything in her head was screaming danger, but she was grateful for that feeling now and soon drifted off to sleep, the rest of her night blessedly free of scary monsters and haunting memories.

Sabrina was curled up on her bed, wrapped in her blanket and reading from a PaDD. She'd been holed up on her bed if she wasn't on duty for days now. The whole experience on Teplan had her feeling out of her league, and vaguely questioning what the hell she was doing out in deep space. She wanted to fix things, she liked fixing things. She wasn't cut out for saving people from crazy Ferengi, or watching Dominion get knifed in the head.

The rest of the crew seemed so cold hearted. Unaffected by the hoards of Teplan's dieing from the blight, callous of death, even that caused by their own hand. She was glad she was roomed with Shira, the gentle woman had a calming affect, and her ever present optimism and thirst for learning helped Sabrina keep it together.

Shira was going through her own crisis, wondering if she had made the right decision to leave her world. She knew she couldn't go back; she knew too much, she would never be content on her world with what she knew now. But still... Things were so scary. Kris has assured her that the attack on the ship wasn't a regular occurrence, but it had still left Shira shaken.

Shira was just returning from one of her lessons with Maica when she saw Sabby in bed. She could immediately tell that something was wrong with her roommate. Dropping her PaDD on the table, she fluttered over to the bed and crawled into it with Sabby. Without a word, she was cuddled up close to the other woman, looking over her shoulder to see what Sabby was reading.

"What are you reading?" Shira asked innocently, like it was completely natural to get into bed with someone and ask them what they were doing. But then again, it was natural for her people. Shira couldn't even fathom just how many times she and her siblings had curled up together in a hammock when times were scary.

Sabrina didn't mind. She had gotten use to Shira's child like innocence. Right now she needed the cuddle. Sabrina put her arm around Shira's, who's arm was wrapped around Sabrina. "I'm reading up on bio-neural gel pack replacement procedures." Sabrina explained.

"Oh," Shira replied as if she could understand what any of that meant. After a long pause she spoke again, "What is bio... bio-neuron..." She kept trying, but she wasn't having any success at saying the word correctly.

Sabrina showed Shira the PaDD. "Living parts of the ship. Bio-neural." She explained simply. "What have you been doing today?" She asked. Happy to talk with Shira.

Much of what was on the PaDD was still beyond Shira's understanding, but she could grasp that this bio-neural thingy was part of how the ship functioned. "I was in hydroponics for a while, then I took some... tomatoes to the galley. And then I had lessons with Andy. She was teaching me about working on the ship. Once she's done teaching me, I will learn about science from Bridget and wear a uniform," Shira informed her roommate excitedly. "Oh, and I just had my lessons with Maica."

"Wow, you've been busy. Do you think you will like working on the ship?"

"Oh, I don't know," Shira replied, looking adorably thoughtful. "It is so different from my world, but some things are the same. I am still learning; it will be easier as I learn more." She certainly seemed resolved to this conclusion. She certainly wanted to like working on the ship.

Sabrina smiled wistfully, wishing she shared the same optimism; normally she did, but recently she just wasn't feeling it. "I miss my home."

"I miss my home too," Shira said resting her head on Sabby's shoulder.


Crewman Sabrina Corbin
Repair Specialist

Shira
Ship pet

Nathan Tonkin lay on the floor in engineering. He was unconscious with an ever expanding pool of blood staining the floor around him. Phaser blasts don’t normally bleed due to the cauterization it causes. Considering the amount of blood pumping out of him clearly something major had been hit and torn.

Three Jem'hadar solders lay around the room with him stunned. Before passing out, Nathan had gotten the job done. He had made it into engineering and sealed the door shut behind him with his security override code. He managed to take out all three solders without killing anyone. Other than the wound in his arm Nathan had done a bang up job.

But now he was sealed inside one of the most important rooms in the ship with three bad guys who clearly had no problem killing him, and who knows when they would wake up. No one could get through the door. Nathan was screwed.
But Nathan was blissfully ignorant of his current predicament in his current state. His unconscious mind was elsewhere.

Finding Tonkin had been easy enough. Getting inside Engineering was the difficult part. The door was opening for no one, not even when she typed her command code into the panel. Frustrated, she hit the 'call' button multiple times, growling half to herself, "Damn it, Tonkin, I'm trying to rescue you!" When she received no response, she instantly became worried, frowning at the door before trying something that Kristopher would hate. Sighing slightly, she tapped in the ship's master override code, a code she wasn't supposed to know about. The door finally slid open, revealing Tonkin to be rather close to death and surrounded by stunned Jem'Hadar. "Oh boy..."

Nathans mind was dreaming, but his subconscious was clearly still picking up on what was going on around him. In his dream he opened up his eyes. He was laying in a forest, the sun light was defused through the trees he looked up threw. He blinked a few times wondering how he had gotten here...as a matter of fact, he could not even remember who he was.

He leaned up and immediately regretted that. Something was wrong with his left shoulder. He looked at it, there was a...stab wound?

But his eyes did not stay focused on the wound in his shoulder. Just off to his left lay a small green man with very long pointy ears. What the hell is that? A goblin or something? Nathan carefully sat up and glanced around. there were three of them. None of them seemed to be bleeding, but one of them had some blood on its little sword.

"Ok..." Nathan said to himself. But he heard the cracking of branches behind him. He whipped his head around to find a beautiful woman standing behind him. Her ears were also pointed slightly but she was tall, and had white skin. He didn't know what to do, so he just sat there looking at her with a dumb look on his face.

"Quit staring and move! They won't stay down for much longer." The woman seemed to have little patience, and she cast a concerned glance at the goblin-like creatures on the ground.

Nathan shook his head and gingerly stood up. He cradled his left arm in his right and walked over to the woman. "Where am I?" he asked once near her. "Last thing I remember I was...I was..." He glanced down at himself. He was dressed in a white shirt, save the blood one his shoulder. It had laces up the chest. He had on dark green pants and soft brown leather boots. "I have no idea what the last thing I remember was..." He looked back at the woman. " Who are you?"

"That's not important right now." The woman shushed him then pulled him into the tree line as one of the goblin creatures began to stir. "Only fools fight those things in packs. You're lucky it's only your arm."

Nathan glanced around then whispered very quietly " I don't have a weapon. I'm not sure I was fighting them." Blood was began to drip at his feet. He moved his right hand up to his left shoulder and began applying pressure. He was not sure why he knew this, but he knew it would help. But god it hurt like hell. It took everything to not cry out, but the agony was all over his face.

"One does not always need a weapon to fight." Plucking a leaf from a nearby plant, she held it out to him. "No one else is nearby. Clearly you did something to them. Now place this over the wound and tie it in place. It's good for healing."

He took the leaf and tried to tie it on his arm with one hand, and failed, so he just held the thing on the wound for now. "Will they leave or should we run for it?"

"Running will draw their attention." After watching him struggle with the leaf, she removed a ribbon from her hair and used it to tightly bind the leaf to his injured shoulder. "We stay here until they leave. Dim-witted creatures... they ignore voices but follow the crackling of leaves."

He could not help but chuckle quietly "Seriously? They won't react to our voices, but will follow the sound of the leaves?" An idea was starting to form in his mind.

"That is what I said." Peering out between the trees, she silently picked up a rock from the forest floor and handed it to him as she picked up a second one. "When the last one stands, throw this. Try to make it bounce a few times... it should keep them busy for a few minutes."

Nathan takes up the rock and grins at her. "Great minds think alike!" he said as he watched the third one start to get up.

Once all three goblins were on their feet, they began arguing in an unintelligible tongue, making angry gestures at each other. She let them bicker among themselves for a moment then whipped the rock in her hand clear across the clearing. As it rolled, the goblins began to follow the sound. "Quickly, in a different direction."

Nathan chucked his rock low along the ground in a different direction. It crashed into the brush and bounced a long ways in that direction.

The pack of goblins split into two groups, chasing the sounds from the tumbling rocks. "Now we run. Before they come back with their hunting beasts."

Nathan stands and prepares to to follow the mystery woman. Now that he is standing up fully she could see how tall he was. " On your heels..."

He was taller than she was, with long legs. Which hopefully meant that he could keep up, despite the shoulder injury. "This way." Without waiting for a response, she nimbly slipped between the trees, taking off at a near sprint to put as much ground as possible between them and the brutish little goblins.

Nathan was fast, but nimble...well that was a a different story. He chose to run around the trees and that put him behind her, but he did not lose any more distance. Though there was no way to catch up to here. He pumped his legs as hard as he could to keep up with her.

He was not close behind, but she could hear him. Slowing only slightly, she quickly led him out to another clearing, where a delicate horse-like animal stood waiting. It looked at them and made a soft noise of greeting, pawing the ground.

Nathan came to a halt and stood at the edge of the clearing staring at the 'Horse like' thing that was there. He was not going to just assume that it was a nice thing. Clearly he was in over his head around here.

"She will not hurt you." The woman held her hand out toward the creature, touching its head when it came close. "She can run faster than we can."

Nathan nodded and moved closer "Ok...what her name?" If it was her 'horse' then it had to have a name right?

"I call her Midnight. She calls herself Wildfire. Take your pick." Sensing his discomfort with the idea of approaching the animal, she gently took the creatures head in her hands to hold it still. "The diversion will not last much longer."

He steals himself and moves up to the woman. " Ok... so then whats your name?" he gently reached out and stroked the...what ever it was nose. "Hi, Wildfire."

"Jhu." She let Wildfire/Midnight greet Nathan for a moment. "We have to move."

He nodded to her " Lets do it, Jhu."

Not certain if he had riding experience or not, she mounted first, leaping onto the animal's back with little effort. "She will carry us both, but you must hold tightly to her. She turns swiftly and has unseated many riders." She held out her hand to help pull him up. "You have to trust me."

"I don't see how I have much say in trusting you right now." He grabbed her hand and pulled himself up behind her. It was instinct, he slid in very close to her and wrapped his arms around her waist holding tight.

The moment both riders were settled, Wildfire sprang away through the trees, but not fast enough. A lone goblin burst into the clearing and hurled a rock at them, hitting Jhu's hip and nearly unseating her. Twisting to see the creature, she produced a bow from her back and shot it dead as Wildfire sprinted into the forest.

Nathan did have experience riding, though at the moment he could not say how or why. When the rock hit Jhu, he was able to lean on her to keep her in the saddle, then when she took up her bow he knew to lean back to give her room. Jhu would know right away that this was not Nathan's first rodeo; pun intended. As Wildfire jumped into the forest Nathan also knew to watch his head and ducked to the right. "Are you ok?" He said over the beat of Wildfire's hooves.

Jhu didn't answer right away, busy with guiding Wildfire's race through the forest. "It will have left a bruise, but I'll be fine."

Nathan held fast to Jhu, his body falling into rhythm with Wildfire's gate. His eyes looked around at the forest. He was not sure, but he just knew that this was all wrong. " So Jhu... did you just happen to find me or were you watching me? Oh and, where are you taking me?"

"Had I been watching, I would not have let them injure you." He seemed suspicious of either her or her intent, but she had no way to prove to him that he was safe. "We have a healer who can repair your shoulder. When he's done that, we will provide food and drink, if you want it."

And how could Nathan, thrust into a situation with no bearings or memory. All he could do is trust that he was not speeding head long into more trouble. The one thing that gave him a sense of peace was that this woman...or what ever she was, was going out of her way to seemingly help him. "Thank you Jhu, I have a feeling I would be dead right now if it were not for you." He meant it too.

Jhu glanced over her shoulder at him. "It would be cruel and unnecessary to allow the Jems to kill you. Or worse, take you to one of their camps. No one deserves that."

Nathan was starting to feel light headed. His head leaned against Jhus back and his grip on her slowly started to losses. He had overexerted himself.

As Nathan's grip loosened, Wildfire slowed her pace to keep him seated. They were already close to the settlement where the healer lived, and they arrived just before Nathan would have slid entirely off the animal's back. A pair of strong men easily pulled him down from Wildfire's back, carrying him into a nearby building.

~< Engeniering>~

Nathan snapped out of his dream as excruciating pain erupted in his left shoulder. There, leaning over him and applying pressure to his wound was the same woman he had just seen in his dream. He was so new to this ship he had not yet meet the Lieutenant Commander. Nathan none the less knew who she was and her name "Jhu..." he muttered as he slowly slipped back into unconsciousness.

"Not even going to ask." She didn't know how Tonkin knew her, but they could figure that out later. Lacking an anti-grav stretcher - and not wanting to wait for a medical team - Jhu hastily tied an improvised bandage over Nathan's shoulder before dragging him away from the fallen Jem'Hadar, who were now dead instead of stunned.

Normally Jhu didn't advertise the muscular strength she'd inherited from her mother, but since this was an emergency... well, she figured she didn't really have a choice. Still, he was a lot bigger than she was, and she strained to lift his weight. Fortunately, sickbay wasn't too far of a walk.

"Corbin!" Andy called out in Engineering one day. The commissioned officers looked at her confused with what she was doing here, but no one spoke up to stop her. "Crewman Corbin, front and center!"

Oh shit. Sabrina had no idea what she had done, or not done. She hurried to the Chief of the boat and stood at attention. "Ma'am!"

Oh, now that was just so cute! Andy grinned. She just loved making the crewmen nearly wet themselves. "C'mon, time to get dirty," Andy said, tossing a yellow jumpsuit to her subordinate. Andy had a similar jumpsuit for herself slung over her shoulder, so at the very least whatever Andy had planned for Sabrina she wasn't expected to do it alone.

Sabrina hesitated. Yes Chief Carter was her superior, but she was not her direct department head. What if Matthews got angry? Sabrina decided she better deal with the superior who was right here, giving orders. "Yes ma'am." Sabrina looked at the yellow jumpsuit, This couldn't be good. She hurried to follow Chief Carter.

"I have a long day planned for you, Corbin," Andy said with a devious grin as she led Sabrina to a Jefferies access junction, pausing to slip the jumpsuit on over her uniform. Waiting in the junction was a container used to collect clogged EPS filters and next to it was a case of new filters. Andy grabbed the container. "You know how to change EPS filters yet?" she asked, pointing to the case indicating that she wanted Sabrina to carry it.

"Yes ma'am." Sabrina answered, stepping into her own jumpsuit. "In theory. I haven't actually performed the process yet." Sabrina went to pick up the case. It was heavier than it looked. She re-gripped it and hoisted it to her hip.

"Well, by the time we're done, you'll be an expert at it," Andy said as she opened the access to the crawlway and set the container in, pushing it ahead of her as she crawled in. "Filters got overlooked during the refit, so they're overdue for some maintenance." She peeked behind her to make sure Corbin was able to keep up.

Sabrina followed suit, crawling in and pushing her case of new filters in front of her. This was one area where her petite stature was an advantage. She had no problem making her way through the Jeffries Tube, but was still glad she didn't have claustrophobia.

With a smirk, Andy led the way through the maze of tubes, eventually coming to a stop and opening a panel. "Bring yourself over here," Andy said as she situated the waste bin in front of the open panel. "Now, can you tell me what you've got to do to change a filter?" she asked to test Sabrina's knowledge.

Sabrina had the procedure memorized, and explained to Andy. She poked her head into the opening. "But this isn't in the manual." She looked at a small device blocking her access to the filter. "Is that the update to the ODN to bypass the EPS filter in case of a power overload?" She asked.

"Very good," Andy said approvingly, both of Sabrina's recitation and how she noticed the bypass. "The bypass comes off easy, then you just do it by the book," Andy instructed, shutting off the flow valve and showing her how to remove the bypass. "Now show me how it's done. And remember your gloves. The plasma byproducts will eat through your hand if it leaks on you." Andy reached into the cargo pocket of her jumpsuit for her own gloves, though she didn't really need them. Years of practice ensured she rarely had filter leaks and she could tolerate small leaks if she cleaned it off fast enough.

Sabrina pulled on her own gloves, and got to work. She had to check her manual once, when she spotted something else she wasn't familiar with, but other than that things went smoothly. She didn't even get anything on her.

Andy double checked the work then nodded her approval to Sabrina's work. Once the used filter was safely stowed in the waste bin and the plasma flow was reestablished for this junction, Andy closed up the panel and they moved on. They came to another junction and Andy opened another panel. "Do it again, this time without the manual," Andy said. This kid was smart, she just needed to trust what she had learned.

Sabrina nodded, then she shut off the flow valve and removed the bypass herself. This filter was a little trickier, as it had a secondary EPS conduit adjacent to it, leaving Sabrina very little room to work with. She followed the procedure, this time by heart, and let out a little screech as this filter leaked on her. She immediately placed it in the neutralizer and then checked the EPS. She had to clean it before putting a new filter in, then she turned the flow back on and reset the bypass. She looked worriedly at Chief Carter, worried that the slight mess was going to get her in trouble.

"Good job," Andy said simply as she closed up the panel. "Now, lets go to Junction 4 of tube 13," Andy prompted. "Show me the best way to get there."

Now this she was confident on. She'd spent enough time in Bob to have found a path to him from anywhere on the ship. She had a mental map of the Jeffrie's Tubes. "Yes ma'am. This way." Sabrina pushed her container in front of her, and took the most direct route to the ordered location.

Andy followed and once they were at the junction, Sabrina was again expected to change the filter. Then Andy named off a list of junctions, to which she wanted to test Sabrina if she could order them in such a way that would allow them to make good time on the repairs. Sabrina did not fail to impress and soon they were done with the EPS filters and stopped off at waste management to dispose of the used filters.

But after miles of tube crawling and the tasks Andy had for Sabrina were not done. Next they stopped by Environmental Controls to clean the electrostatic filters in the air processors. There was no avoiding getting dirty with that one. They were both thoroughly covered in dust after that task. Even still, Sabrina knew what to do even without glancing once at her manual. Shucking their coveralls and shaking the dust from their hair, Andy led the young Crewman through several other tasks until they came to the last test of the day: to replace bio-neural gel packs.

"Here," Andy said, handing a couple new gel packs to Sabrina and taking her down to a corridor that had a conduit rupture during the confrontation above Kendi. The rupture had been repaired, but it had contaminated the gel packs near it. She opened the panel and nodded towards the contaminated gel packs.

Sabrina had done this task, dozens of times at this point. She re-routed power around the area and then scanned the gel packs, after that she pulled out the sterilizer. She soon gathered up the contaminated gel packs, and then replaced them. She re-scanned the packs, then entered the data into the engineering log.

Excellent! Sabrina knew her procedure. "Good job Corbin," Andy said, taking the contaminated gel packs. "Here, you might need this," she added, pressing something into the palm of Sabrina's hand. It was a new rank pip, but instead of bars representing 'crewman' it had a single chevron. Sabrina Corbin was now a Petty Officer.

Sabrina's eyes shot open when she realized what she'd been handed. "Oh my God. But I....and the Away Team..." Sabrina realized she was about to start rambling, luckily she caught herself. "Thank you ma'am." She was still staring at the rank in awe.

"Yeah, you've made mistakes, but none of them have been life threatening," Andy said frankly. "If you were an Ensign, this would be a different discussion, but your rank is a reflection of your skill not your overall performance as an officer. Sure, you could use a bit more confidence and you need to trust what you know rather than looking back at the manual, but you're a good Engineer and you deserve this promotion." Andy had cleared this with Kris earlier; all Andy had to do was test Sabrina's proficiency with a few tasks, which she passed.

Sabrina listened. "I understand ma'am. Again, thank you. I'll work on it."

"Good deal," Andy said with a nod. "Now get back to work, Petty Officer."

"Yes ma'am." Sabrina smiled, feeling better than she had in weeks. Maybe everything was going to work out after all.


PO3 Sabrina Corbin
Repair Specialist

CPO Andy Carter
Chief Ops

ON:

Will knew that he would hate doing this, but he also knew that he needed to speak to someone about this nagging in his mind. And with the Counselor agreeing to meet with him, gave Will a chance to talk.

He sat in the waiting room, ready to be called in.

Lia stepped out of her office door and looked over and saw the officer waiting patiently. "Lieutenant, I'm ready for you now." she called out smiling.

Will smiled nervously as he entered the Counselor's office and took a seat. "Thank you for seeing me, Counselor, my last CO thought it was something that would help me by talking to somebody," he explained.

Lia nodded, "Well lets start at the beginning." she smiled as she sat down on adjacent chair. "I did manage to review your file, my condolences for your loss."

Will nodded as the memory of losing his parents at Wolf 359 came back to haunt him. "Thank you," he said quietly as the memory of the chat with his Uncle Hank returned, the day he told him about their demise on the Alabama. "I think the hardest part about losing them was that I never got to say goodbye. Our last chat was on a comline whilst they were headed out to explore a Nebula, they were all smiles and happy..." Will said, recalling that last call as at the same time a tear began fall down his cheek.

"But I kept asking why...why me...in both losing my parents and being taken... What made me so special?" He asked quietly, still confused.

Survivor's guilt Lia immediately thought. She reached over and grabbed a box of tissues from the table nearby and handed it to him. She read his file, he asks that question every session. She knew the typical responses that one in her position should deliver however for Will, she knew something different was in order. "You're not special."

Will looked up for a moment as she suggested that notion. For a moment he considered that, however it was almost immediately followed by his next thought. "I'm not special? But if thats true, why did she spare me when she took me captive from the Valkyrie? Why didn't the Queen turn me into a drone when she had me? She could've had the whole family then!" he exclaimed.

It still scared and haunted him about the time he spent as a prisoner of the Queen, having watched the crew of the Valkyrie killed or assimilated into drones and it left him with many questions.

Lia looked at him, "What she did to you was worse, not special. She had a different objective with you, what I don't know. You may not have been a drone but you were still a pawn of hers."

Will nodded as Lia pointed that out. "The worst part is that I was there, watching helpless as people were killed or assimilated with no way of helping or controlling them... I was powerless as she watched me and how I reacted... I was helpless..." he whispered, more tears falling.

"Let it out, Will." she whispered, moving closer to him, "let it all out." she repeated as she rubbed his shoulder.

Will let the tears flow as he felt the rub on his shoulder and felt a slight comfort. Its was a difficult subject for him to deal with. "I'm Sorry. Its just for so long I've felt like I'm some sort of eternal target for the Borg since they took my parents. Its even more difficult that the Queen had me and I felt ready, I almost wanted to be a drone by the time she'd abandoned me after my period of capture," he explained.

"Its been so difficult... I just need someone to listen and tell me its not this way, I'm a hard working Officer, always have been... But why me, it just keeps haunting me, Lia," he explained.

"Will... you aren't the only one." She whispered rubbing his shoulder and down his arm. "You aren't alone feeling that way either."

He looked up at her and could see the truth in her eyes, something that meant a lot to him in dealing with such a difficult period of his life. Will felt a moment of comfort in Lia's contact with him and he placed his hand on hers. "Does this get better? Will it get easier?" He asked. Performing his duty had never been difficult, but dealing with this was hard for him.

"It will." She nodded slowly and gave him a small smile while placing her other hand on top of his. "It may take a while, but I will be here for you."

Will gave a small smile back to Lia. "I appreciate that, its been a big burden to carry and try to deal with for so long. I can be dedicated to duty, I do my job to the best of my ability wherever I am assigned and I can cope with that. The worst part is that its keep me from feeling confident about being close with other people... I have nightmares and at times I also feel scared that because of my personal doubt and uncertainty, I don't let anyone close that I don't know," he explained, "I just feel safer alone yet, I often crave that companionship as well."

"I'm a mess."

"You're normal." She smirked, "You had a traumatic experience, no one can say otherwise. You are still recovering from it and whoever you reach out to for companionship will have to understand that."

Will recalled a nightmare that he kept seeing over and over and felt the need to speak to Lia about it. "A recurring nightmare I keep having involves the last person I was close with. He name was Alyssa Chen, she was the Counselor on the Valkyrie. We began a casual relationship towards the end of the mission, but its not something you'll find in my file, I was to afraid to speak to the Counselors on Earth about her" he explained

"She was also the last person I was forced to watch become assimilated. She kept crying my name out, trying to reach for me to save her, I struggled against the drones holding me, all the while the Queen watched and laughed... I still see her reaching out to me in my dreams," he explained, his grip in Lia's hands tightening slightly "I couldn't save her."

Lia couldn't help but feel sorrowful for the man before her. She pulled her hands away from his and moved closer, wrapping her arms around him into a hug. There wasn't anything she could say after hearing that last bit that wouldn't sound like a cliche', so she opted for the physical hug.

Will felt comfort in Lia moving forward and giving him a hug, it helped him feel safe and secure and it also helped him realise that he could share any of his issues with her in confidence and know that Lia would help him as best she could. "Thank you," he whispered to her, "Its been so long since someone hugged me."

"That in itself is a shame." she commented, as she rubbed his back while in the embrace. "The best thing for you to do now Will is to live." she replied pulling back so she can look into his eyes. "You were given a rare chance, you survived the Borg. I'll work with you with the rest of your issues, but I do want you to embrace life. Live."

Will understood Lia completely as she made her point through looking into his eyes. He knew and understood now he had a chance to go and live again, to enjoy and embrace life as much as possible and for a moment, he felt the weight of his pain lift, giving him a chance to smile for a very good reason. He now had a second chance.

"Thank you Lia, thank you so very much for listening to me, you've been very helpful and I am so grateful to you," Will said, before placing a gentle thank you kiss on her cheek. He felt now he had a chance to move on and live again.

[ON]

Lieutenant Commander Cameron Tegan never liked counselors. In fact, in all of his life, there was only one counselor he'd ever been able to tolerate -- and that was because she'd decided to sleep with him. The relationship had been kept professional, of course... at least on the surface. It had to be. If the Academy instructors had discovered the fact that two of their cadets were making off in secret to fornicate, there would have been hell to pay. And as soon as Cameron graduated and was posted to the Poseidon, their status as a sort of "friends with benefits" ended.

As Cameron followed Kristopher Kerouac down the corridor towards the main docking ring where the Katana was tethered, he contemplated the unlikelihood that he'd ever be so lucky again.

Even though the XO's working relationship with Kerouac was still relatively new, and both officers were learning how to work together and anticipate one another, Cameron decided at an attempt at humor. Best to know that the line between Klingon and Trill didn't just meet somewhere in the middle, but that there was a sufficient amount of grey in between. "You know, I've never been too much a fan of a ships counselor. Nobody likes having their head messed with and dissected. And frankly, there's nothing in this universe that can't be fixed with a nice bottle, or a trip to the holo-deck, or even a good-old bar fight," the executive officer snorted, "We could just say there's been some sort of administrative mistake and leave our new Chief Counselor on the station. I mean, I won't tell if you won't."

Humor was not something that Lieutenant Commander Tul Zanaar had ever been known for on Katana. The only laughs that Tul ever got were the quiet snickers from onlookers or crew talking about him behind his back. Sometimes, that was even Kris. It was a nice change for Kris to have a First Officer with a good sense of humor. "Bar fights... ah those were the days" commented Kris as a sense of nostalgia swept over him. "I learned a few lessons in those" added Kris as the two men continued to walk.

"I used to think the same, Commander Tegan. However, after having experienced the full force of temper being thrown back and force between my Senior Staff in some heated meetings... It became quite clear that a Ship's Counselor would be as important to my starship as you or I" explained Kris. He was not sure how much of a joke that Tegan's latest suggestion was. Something had seemed a bit off about the man. However, Kris did not know the man well enough to know for sure. "They would find out. They always find out when I do something questionable."

The XO chuckled as they rounded a corner and finally arrived at the airlock. "Our funerals, sir." Cameron said. He thumbed at the console, releasing the magnetic locks around the door. It hissed to an open.

As soon as Lia heard the Katana had docked, she grabbed her dufflebag and made her way straight to the airlock. She arrived at the port just in time to hear the magnetic locks disengage and the doors begin to roll open. She adjusted the strap on her shoulder and let out a relaxing sigh and then doors opened and her amaranth pink eyes widen as she recognized one of the men before her. "Oh it's you!" She smiled and then pulled the bag off her shoulder and tossed it to him, "Be a gentleman and carry that for me, thank you." She then turned to the other man with the Commander rank pips and extended a hand out to him. "Lieutenant Lia Grae, reporting for duty."

Oh boy thought Kris as he observed the interesting exchange of glances and the peculiar behavior of his First Officer soon made all the sense in the world. Kris knew this behavior... it was how he acted when he saw someone that he had slept with or was in a relationship with at some point in his life. Kris smiled warmly at the woman and took her hand, bending down slightly and bringing it to his lips to gently kiss it. He let her hand go and straightened himself in a more confident posture.

"Nice to have your aboard, Lieutenant Grae" said Kris with a gleaming smile. His eyes soon fell upon his First Officer and Kris was mildly amused by the interaction of his First Officer and the new Counselor. "So... who is to blame for this awkward tension?"

Lia blinked and titled her head, "Awkward tension? Pfft. I only have the fondest memories of K’a’mirh’un." she spoke out his first name perfectly. She looked behind her for a moment and then back at the two men, "Do you mind if we head back to the ship, I got word that the station's counseling department got the recent edition of the Psychiatric Journals and a paper of mine was published in this issue. Lets say when your paper is titled The Negative Effects of Psychiatry: Why Ignorance is Truly Bliss and...well you get the idea."

Kris nodded "Absolutely, Lieutenant... or do you prefer Counselor?" asked Kris with a smile. He could understand that this woman was very much a scholar and thought that she may prefer the latter of the two. "Right this way. If you'll follow K'a'mirh'un and me" added Kris with a small chuckle.

Lia looked at Kris and smirked, "It's up to you Captain. I prefer to be called Lia, but if your prefer titles either one is fine with me."

Looking over at his First Officer, Kris lowered his voice and whispered close to Cameron's ear "I don't think she is very fond of you."

It took a lot to surprise Cameron, and yet the woman he followed along the corridor with Commander Kerouac had done exactly that. Still holding her bag over his shoulder and not entirely certain how he'd so effortlessly placed it there after she had tossed it to him, he became more serious, and looked to Kris. "It's... a long story," the Klingon-Trill said, sounding slightly sheepish for the first time since coming aboard. He thought he saw Lia perk at his words, but couldn't be sure. "Sufficed to say, we have a... history." Cameron decided not to mention exactly how convinced he was that his earlier idea had been a good idea.

"No shit" replied Kris in a hushed tone.

"A word to the wise." Lia spoke up from Kris's opposite side. "I'm a Ven-Xen and I have great hearing considering they aren't pointed. I thought you would have remembered what a good listener I was." She glanced over at her fellow hybrid and winked still smiling.

Cameron grimaced a little further, but he swallowed it and, after a moment, regained his composure. He adjusted the weight of her bag, and stood a little straighter. He carried on to the Captain. "Lieutenant Grae and I attended the academy together, albeit she was a first year while I attended at an accelerated pace due to my prior-enlisted experience. She is... highly competent in her ability to..." he flashed briefly to a moment not more than six years ago. "...listen."

That moment had little to do with listening.

"I'll take your word for it, Commander" replied Kris. He looked at Lia and added "I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I will be more open about how I feel."

Lia reached over and gently patted the Captain on his shoulder, "Don't worry I'm not an empath. Just know that whenever you need someone to vent to, talk to, advice, or just counseling in general. I'm there for ya."

"Good to know" said Kris with a small smile. "Nothing against empaths or telepaths but it kind of takes the fun out of things when they know what you do not want them to" explained Kris. "So, can the two of you work together on the same starship or should I have security on round the clock stand by?" asked Kris with a small inner chuckle.

Lia glanced over at her new Commanding Officer, "Exactly what are you implying, Captain?" She asked.

"I'm not implying anything, Counselor. I simply want to know if there are going to be any physical altercations between the two of you" replied Kris with a small shrug.

Lia lightly chuckled, "Physical altercation...you make it seem like I'm a bitter ex-girlfriend." She shook her head, "Cam and I a good friends, Captain, you have nothing to worry about."

Cameron nodded as the trio came up to the turbolift. He'd been surprised by Lia's arrival (out of all the ship's counselors they could have sent the Katana -- why her?); if there was one person who knew him better than anybody else, it was Lia. It also made things potentially... more complicated. Cameron thumbed at the console, calling for a lift, and they waited. "Sorry if we gave you the wrong idea, Captain," he glanced at Lia. "Lieutenant Grae and I have always maintained a professional relationship," the doors opened, and they stepped inside. "And we are good friends." He looked to Lia. "Speaking of which, you could have told me you'd been assigned to the Katana," he added jokingly.

Lia eyed him, "Right back at ya sunshine."

Kris nodded. He understood that these two loons were going to be able to get along just fine as professionals and officers of Starfleet. It put Kris' concerns to rest. This was exactly what Kris wanted to hear and see. "I am sorry for intruding on personal matters. I was concerned that the two of you on the same starship would be a problem. However, I can see that my fears and concerns were severely misguided and misplaced. I hope that the both of you settle in on Katana nicely and if either of you need anything at all... Well, I am likely to be around somewhere. It is a little difficult for a ship's Captain to hide."

"Well, since I have you now, when would you like to schedule your annual psychological evaluation?" Lia asked, "I noticed on your file it's been a year."

"When Vulcan freezes over and the Ferengi give up any form of currency" replied Commander Kristopher Kerouac. If there was one thing he did not like, it was discussing his past and his feelings on those matters. "Counselor, you do not have the time to delve into my personal problems."

Lia looked up at Kris, "Captain, delving into your personal problems is my job, and when you feel ready to discuss them, my door is open. However a psychological evaluation is not a counseling session; it's a test of your psyche and your ability to make decisions. It's simply to make sure your mind is still sharp. I know a lot of counselors like to mix the two."

"It's sharp, trust me. However, if you find it absolutely necessary... I won't resist. Schedule me for whenever you are free and I'll try to arrive on time" replied Kris.

Lia smirked, "Oh no. You will inform me when you're available. If you would like we can even conduct the evaluation in your ready-room. It will only take fifteen to a half hour of your time."

"I'll have my people talk to your people" replied Kris with a small chuckle. "I'll see if I can take some time out of my schedule."

After watching the two banter back and forth for a while (and knowing better than to interfere with one of Lia's playful-serious attempts), Cameron chuckled lightly to himself. If he'd known that Lia Grae was going to be their new Chief Counselor, he would have given Kerouac more advanced warning. But given the eccentric nature of most of the crew -- Chief Carter and Lieutenant Maica, just to name a few -- the executive officer figured that Lia would fit in just fine.

"In the meantime," the lieutenant commander added to the conversation, eying the counselor with as much feigned-neutrality as he could muster. "How about I escort you to your quarters, counselor."

"I think that sounds like a lovely idea" said Kris with a small smile.

Lia shifted her gaze between the Captain and the First Officer, "Alright... It would be nice to get settled on the ship."

[OFF]

Commander Kristopher Kerouac
Commanding Officer
USS Katana

Lieutenant Commander Cameron Tegan
Executive Officer
USS Katana

Lieutenant Lia Grae
Chief Counselor
USS Katana

[ON]

The personal quarters on board an Intrepid-class starship happened to fit nicely between some of Cameron's past living accommodations. Much larger than his billet aboard the Proteus – a Norway class frigate, and only slightly smaller than those on the Poseidon, the senior officer’s quarters aboard the Katana possessed a main living area, complete with furnishing, a bedroom, and a small bathroom; it was more than sufficient for one or two people to occupy.

The Lieutenant Commander surveyed these accommodations, and smiled as rested his head back onto the bed. His Starfleet uniform, complete with Lieutenant Commander Insignia and comm-badge, was lying in a heap somewhere in the living room, having been displaced with a toss and left forgotten.

Lieutenant Lia Grae’s, as well…

“That… was even… better… than back … at the academy,” Cameron said between breaths – his heart still throbbing in heavy beats inside his chest; few women had the ability to make him spend his energy all in one place like Grae did.

The Klingon-Trill hybrid chuckled lightly to himself as he found Lia’s cheek with his finger and stroked it gently. There was something intimate, and at the very same time, very casual, about the way he did. Lia’s hair was tangled, and even with the sheets covering her, he couldn’t help but admire the way they conformed naturally to her physique. Sufficed to say, they left little to the imagination.

Her eyes met his, and it felt almost like déjà vu as she remembered the other times at the academy. She was still panting heavily, catching her breathe after what had happened. The Ven-Xen hybrid smiled lazily at him. "Yes...it was." she mustered out. "you...you were always great though."

Cameron chortled, took a deep breath, and sat up onto the bed. "And here I was beginning to wonder about breaking my rule with the Chief of Operations," he admitted. When Lia seemed confused, he clarified. "She and the Chief Diplomat, er... appeared to like the idea of enjoying my bed." He made a funny face. "But I'm still not sure if she was entirely sincere."

"The skeptical look was knowing you now have a rule." She chuckled, "You want me to set something up for you again like I did for you when you aced your midterm exams?"

Well that brought back memories. Cameron couldn't do anything but stifle a laugh. While it was no secret that he had enjoyed many successes with women, even he assumed that the limits of that success would prohibit him from enjoying a Bolian, an Andorian, and a Benzite -- at the same time. What Lia had done to arrange that, he could only guess.

"Hehe, no thanks. And yeah, well I came up with it shortly after earning my commission," he stuck a finger into the air. "Thou shalt not bed with members of the same crew you serve with," he winked at her. "Unless you're 100% certain that nothing... accidental, will happen."

Lia smirked, "Good rule. Maybe you might actually get to know your conquests before hand."

Cameron smirked back as he started pulling himself out of bed. He strutted across the room and started gathering his uniform. "Yeah, well so far you're the only exception." He paused and looked at her. "You caught me when I was young, eager, and undisciplined." He added jovially. A memory from back when they were cadets flashed into his skull. "You remember that field exercise we were on? Just how long exactly did you wait in that tree? First woman ever to catch me off guard like that."

"Tree? Ohh!" she chuckled sitting up on the bed. "Well, I didn't wait that long." she smiled, "I knew you were close behind me, so I rushed up the nearest tree." She grinned remembering that, "I am glad you enjoyed being caught."

"Only by you," Cameron admitted with a laugh. He'd already put his pants on and was working on his tunic. "Well, I'd better get back on duty. There's a replenishment list as long as my arm waiting for my signature, and I don't even want to go into our repair schedule."

Lia slid out of bed and started to pick up her her discarded clothes. "Yeah I heard about their last mission. I might as well get everything situated at my new office." She smiled, "It was fun, Cam."

Cameron grinned. "It was."

Lia walked up to him before he left and stole a quick kiss from his lips. "Now get back to work."

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Cameron Tegan
Executive Officer
USS Katana

Lieutenant Lia Grae
Chief Counselor
USS Katana

ON:

Kyle, this just can not go on any longer. I am tired of hearing the stories about you. I believe you, or at least I want to believe you that you haven't cheated, but you know how I feel about that. I don't like being embarrassed. I am tired of all the games you have to play, of wondering whether or not you'll come home at the end of the day, or if I am going to get a visit from some "Grief Counselor". I am mostly just tired of you, or us.

I don't want to be cruel, some part of me still loves you and I don't want to fight you either. By the time you read this I will have transferred off the ship and will be filing divorce. Please don't fight me like this or try to get your fathers involved. It won't work. I have made up my mind. You know me well enough to know I won't be changing it.

Try not just thinking of yourself and just let this go. I am moving on. You need to move on too.

Noah

Kyle read over the note for perhaps the twentieth time. Sure he and Noah had, had an argument or two recently. They hadn't been seeing eye to eye on somethings, but their last argument had ended with some mind blowing make-up sex. Kyle thought everything had been resolved, or at least was resolvable, but Noah had proven him wrong. This had caught him totally off-guard.

He'd cried, he'd thrown things, he'd gotten drunk with the Captain, but none of those things had done any real good. There was a new counselor on board and he had promised Kris he would see her. Maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't, but he was a man of his word. So here he was pressing the chime on her door.

Lia was still unpacking a few of her knickknacks when she heard the chime for her office door. She quickly placed the figurine she was holding on a shelf and moved the box from the floor to the desk. "Come on in!" she called out.


Kyle stepped into the office, albeit a little reluctantly. Clearing his throat he said, "I see you're busy moving in. I can come back later if you want. Its not important. Well I guess it is important, but it can wait. I didn't mean to bother you."

Lia couldn't help but smirk at his reluctance. "Sit down. If I didn't want to be disturbed I would have shouted 'Go away'" She grinned as she moved to sit down on one of the chairs, and gestured him to sit on the couch. "How may I help you, Lieutenant...?"

"Weaver, Kyle Weaver," he said after a pause. "I guess I'm kind of in shock right now. I just got a Dear John letter, worse than that, I was notified, my now ex, is filing for divorce."

Lia's smile disappeared instantly after hearing his problem. "I am so sorry. Do you have that letter with you now?" She hesitantly asked.

"Yes," he replied, as he pulled it out and handed it to her, "we'd been having some issues, but this was the last thing that I expected and he just left. I went to bed and he was there and I woke up and he was gone."

She took the letter and proceeded to read it. She looked up at Kyle and noticed the grey of his collar and then went back down to reread the note. "I am assuming these stories and games he was referring to are connected to your intelligence work?" She asked as her gaze shifted back at him and handed Kyle the letter back.

"Mostly," he replied, "though I think the stories started before we were married. Some guy thought I was available and I told him no. Noah and I were in relationship and he wasn't my type anyway. Anyway he kept trying and I kept telling him no. Long story short I wound up punching him, was even demoted over it, but that wasn't good enough he started spreading rumors. But I never cheated. I couldn't cheat. Look? Maybe. Flirt, sometimes mostly for my work, sometimes, I don't know I'm just friendly. But never cheat. Noah and I were together since we were 14. I've never even kissed another man."

Lia nodded, "You said you two have been having issues.. tell me more. Were the issues constant? Would he still bring up that rumor?" She asked, trying to hold off any judgment.

"Well that's part of the problem I think. Noah, just let things build up inside him. We talked about it a few times but we rarely fought about it, or anything for that matter. He'd been putting up walls, kind of giving me the silent treatment. We had a big fight about it not long ago. I asked him if he wanted me to leave, I even offered to give him the ring back, but he said no. We made up, I thought everything was was fine. or at least better. But I guess I was wrong."

Lia thought it over for a moment, "I don't think you should be blaming yourself. Based on how he wrote that letter, asking you not to fight his decision, and what you just told me. I wonder if your relationship was truly reciprocated." She lifted her hand to keep him from objecting, "I am not saying he didn't love you. I just think based on what you have shared with me; you were the one constantly working on making things work, trying to repair any damage in this relationship. Has he tried to initiate any solution for whatever problems you two maybe having at that moment, or were you always the one trying to make it work?"

"No," Kyle was forced to admit, "He would complain from time to time, though mostly he just went quiet, like I said. But he never did offer solutions, just tell me what he thought I'd done wrong."

Lia rose up from the chair and moved to sit next to Kyle on the couch. "That letter blames you for the marriage ending, yet you were the one trying to make it work. All of this, to me, it just seem he wanted out. I think somewhere a long the way Noah wanted something different and was bringing up your faults was his way of trying to get you to end things. But you didn't give up on him, he just decided to give up on you."

"I guess you're right, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. I could have cheated on him if I wanted to, how do I deal with this?"

Lia frowned and casually reached out to gently rub his back. "You are dealing with it. And of course it will hurt, you loved him. The pain is a reflection on how much invested you were in this relationship. The pain will fade, but you should also start thinking about yourself more. In a crazy sense you're free now."

Kyle barely perceived that she was touching him, though he was mildly comforted by the action. He let out a long breath "Free? I don't know if I want to be free."

"Yeah well you are now. And believe me, you seem to be a great catch. You'll be fine, and remember I will be here for you if you need to talk." Lia smiled as she continued to rub his back.

Kyle started to relax as some of the tension seeped out of him. He ran a hand through his short hair. "I'm not even sure if I'd know how to date or what to say or anything like that. If I decide to go out with someone, I might have to get your advice."

Lia nodded, "Relationship advice is actually the easiest. Just be yourself, Kyle, and it doesn't have to be a romantic fling either. Why not spend time with friends you have of the crew or make some new ones."

"I can do that, it would actually be easier than trying to be romantic. I just don't think I could do that now."

"I wouldn't suggest that either, although the old adage of Getting over someone by getting under someone has proven to be effective but in your case, lets stick with friends." She smiled and gently patted his back.

"Well in my case, I think the adage would have to be tweaked a little, to Getting over someone by getting over someone but yeah, I think we'll have to stick with the friends thing for now. I don't know how much better you made me feel, but at least I'm not going to get drunk again tonight."

Lia looked at him, "Why would we have to tweak it? No one ever rode you like a...never mind. Anywho, yes focus on friends, and I do recommend coming to me instead of getting drunk...though I do think a few drinks never hurt anybody."

Her comment, whether intended or not did cause him to laugh, if only a little. "I simply meant that I'm usually on top and not underneath. But I think I'm in better shape than when I got here. I'm going to go to the holodeck or do something that's exhausting so I can fall asleep. 'Cause otherwise i don't think I can."

"I think that's fine. If you still have trouble sleeping afterwards, I recommend visiting the doctor for a sleep aid."

"Thanks, I might just stop in and see him anyway."

Lia nodded and smiled at Kyle. "The pain will fade, Kyle. I promise you, it will get better."

"I hope you're right. I just feel empty inside."

"Of course you do. If you didn't feel empty I would be more concerned." She rubbed his back again one last time. "It will be alright."

"I know you're right, it just doesn't seem that way now. But I think I'm going to go see Dr. Cohen now.

Lia rose up to her feet, "Very well. Whenever you want to talk again, my door is always open."

"Thanks, I think if I get some rest I'll be better, I'm going to go see Liam now."

Lia nodded, "Alright. If there is anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask." She smiled at him once more before walking back behind her desk.

OFF:

Lieutenant Lia Grae
Chief Counselor
USS Katana

Lieutenant Patrick Weaver
Asst. Intel Director
USSKatana

Maica had just snuggled into bed with Andy and activated her sleep cycle, her dream sequence taking over as she slept peacefully. Immediately though, something was off. This was the Katana, but it didn’t look like the Katana. Looking down, she saw an empty bottle in her hands. Judging by how distorted her vision was and how everything seemed to move, she could only guess at what was going on. Was she really drunk? In her mind, she’d have to find someone else to find out. Her mind set, she started roaming the halls of the ship, not even knowing what deck she was on, wondering if she could get to the galley from here.

Nathan never slept very much, and when he did it was not until very late. He spent most the evening hours wandering the ship. He learned the layout of the ship very fast this way, and had run into a few people in the late hours even. Tonight he was checking out the hydroponics gardens.

Maica was stumbling all over, all but bouncing off of walls and doors as she looked for someone else. Eventually she came to a larger set of doors and entered. Was this hydroponics? There were a lot of plants so it must have been.

Nathans head shot up as Maica crashed through the doors. “Are you ok?”

Finally, someone she can ask! Maica stumbled into Nathan, her speech slurred as can be.”Hey, I need you to tell me something. I think I might be drunk. Am I?”

Nathan caught her as she fell into him, and he pulled his head sharply away from her as she spoke, her breath overwhelming his sense of smell She smelled like a brewerie. “Ugh, yeah...you’re drunk. What did you get into?” He moved her over to a ledge on one of the garden bays and set her down carefully.

“Nothing.” Maica claimed as she let herself be seated. “I have this empty bottle, though.” Holding up the empty bottle Aldeberen whiskey, she held the bottom of the bottle up to her eye and squinted into it.

“Yeah that would do it…” Nathan kneeled down and looked at her threw the other side of the bottle. “You didnt even save any for me.” Nathan started feeling around his shirt, then his pants pockets, “Oh no...where is my communicator. Great.” He glanced over on the floor where he had just been before Maica came crashing in.

Maica remembered something and reached into a hidden pocket in her uniform top, pulling out a small flask. “If you want some, here. Don’t tell anyone though. it’s a secret…. sshhh…”

Nathan took the flask from her and grinned “Hey thanks! Good to know.” He slipped the flask into his pocket. “We should find Andy…”

“She’s asleep,” Maica said, not even noticing he had kept her flask. “I’m asleep too, you know.”

Nathan just stared at her for a moment. That was not the kind of comment he wanted to hear from her while she was acting like this/ “Oh boy.” Nathan stood and held out his hand to her. “I’m thinking that maybe there is something going on here. Like maybe you should run a scan or something.” Nathan was not an engineer in any way and he knew next to nothing about androids.

“I did and this…” Maica made a grand sweeping motion with her hand, almost clobbering Nathan in the head with the bottle. “...Is all part of my dream.”

Nathan had an idea, but could not help but chuckle that he was about to use the small amout of psychology that he received at the academie to help with hostage negotiations on an android. “Ok, so if this is all a dream, then going and waking up Andy is not going to be a big deal, because it will be dream Andy that we are waking up.” He looked hopefully at Maica.

“That’s exactly what I would expect you to say. I remember going to bed with Andy and starting my dream sequence. Then I was wandering the halls like this. That means this is a dream. But by all means, please wake her up.” Maica was starting to rant now, almost frustratedly. Why wouldn’t dream-Nathan believe her?

Great...and when all the counselors were in bed. Nathan rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Ok, calm down now. I’m just worried about you and if this is the first time you have ever been drunk...on a whole bottle of whiskey, we should just make sure you’re ok right?” He was in so far over his head right now.

“I’m fine. I have a new body and everything is fine,” Maica said, swinging that empty bottle around again. This dream wasn’t making any sense at all… After all, she had no memory of even drinking anything.

Nathan caught the bottle this time as it flew towards his head. “Hey watch it, you’re going to hurt someone with this thing.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t think you were that close.” Maica apologised. “Even if you’re a figment of my dream, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Ok, you should wait right here. I’m going to go over to the panel and call someone for help cause I don't know how to wake a sleepwalking android.” Nathan held his hands out “Just stay right here ok?”

“I will be right here…” Pointing to the ground dramatically, Maica nearly fell of her perch.

Nathan reached out to help steady her. “Watch it.” Can androids even get drunk? Nathan had to shake his head at how crazy this situation was. He walked over to the wall panel, hoping he could wake Andy. Otherwise he would have to drag Maica all the way to the room.

Suddenly distracted and no longer wanting to wait, Maica got up and stumbled her way out of the hydroponics bay, waving to Nathan as she went. She wanted to explore this dream of hers a bit more and see what else she could find.

Nathan had not even been able to get his access code into the terminal before she wandered past him. He sighed heavy and turned the computer off and followed Maica out the door. He was not going to leave her alone like this.

Oh, it seemed he was going to follow her. That was fine with her. Bouncing off a wall, she pushed off of it, trying to head down another hallway but instead missing and hitting a wall, her head slamming into a systems display panel, dropping her to the floor. For a dream, that really hurt...

“Shit! Maica!” Nathan rushed over to her. “Are you ok?” He knelt down and gently lifted her head off the floor.

“I don’t think this is a very good dream…” Maica muttered, her eyes heavily lidded. “I don’t feel so good now.”

Nathan picked Maica up in his arms and stood. “Just try and relax. Ill take you to the brig and watch over you until we can get a hold of Andy, ok? Please dont throw up on me…”

Throw up in a dream? Maica hadn’t done that in real life yet. She was feeling queasy enough to do it, though. Apparently being drunk and being carried in a dream didn’t mix well. What was it she ate last? tomato soup and sandwiches? She could almost taste them again in the back of her throat...

Nathan did the best he could. He held her close to his chest and walked carefully, trying not to rock her to much. He made it down the hall and to a turbolift. Is this such a good idea?

Maica knew what would help. She finally remembered Nathan still had her flask so she slipped her hand into his shirt and picked it off of him almost expertly. Popping the cap open, she took a small swig before returning the flask to her own pocket. That was better. She relaxed a bit as they entered the turbolift. “This is the strangest dream I’ve had so far, you know? Andy said I could get drunk now but that that part was still off and that I could shake it off once I do get it turned on.”

Nathan gently set her down once they were on the lift. He was not going to hold her on the trip after she took another swig out of her flask. “Brig.” Nathan said and the lift lurched down as it started moving. He took a step away from Maica holding her at arms length.

“So what’s in the brig, anyway?” She knew what was normally in the brig, though she’d never spent time in one before. She wanted to know what she’d find in there in a dream like this. maybe a giant cake. She hadn’t really done anything for her 10th birthday other than celebrate privately with Andy. She had gotten the best gift ever though - life.

“Its not very exciting. Benches that double as beds. For you there is a nice cold glass of water, cause man are you going to have a hangover in the morning. Have you checked to see if that part that let you get drunk is turned on?”

Maica thought about that for a moment. She didn’t even know how to check since it hadn’t been turned on before. “I can’t even identify it in diagnostics. It hasn’t been identified, which means it’s still inactive.” That was her logic, anyway. That’s how everything else worked, so it made sense her alcohol response controls would also be that way. “So no dream cake waiting for me? That’s a disappointment…”

Nathan shook his head. Maybe this was all a dream because it was very surreal to him. “I’ll replicate you whatever you want. What kind of cake is your favorite?” He did not look forward to cleaning her cell in the morning.

Maica thought about that question a bit before answering. “I don’t know. I haven’t had cake before. What kind of cake do you like?”

Nathan did not hesitate one second with his answer. “New york style cheese cake with glazed strawberries over the top of it. It’s the best there is.”

“Then I’ll try that. And a bowl of tomato soup.” Maica was feeling something new now. Sleepy? Could she be sleepy in a dream? For that matter, would she dream inside of her dream? Closing her eyes, she thought about these things, waxing philosophical as the turbolift finally stopped and opened.

Nathan lead her out of the lift, or at least tried to. He picked her up and carried her out of the lift, again careful not to rock her too much. He walked into a cell with her.

Opening her eyes and looking around the cell, she realized the walls were a different color than she expected… Instead of the greys or beiges, they were closer to taupe and salmon. That definitely meant this was a dream in her mind. Then she remembered something else… “I remember that bottle now. It was almost empty the other day. I wonder why I would dream of it being empty now… And why is my uniform wet?” Indeed, her uniform was a bit wet and even a little sticky.

Nathan went out to a storage nook behind the guard desk and pulled out 3 pillows and 4 blankets. He was going to do what he could to make her comfortable. He didnt want to make an issue of this right now, no paperwork or reports. But he could not let her roam around the ship. He stepped into her cell and placed the pile on the bench. “Use this to make yourself as comfortable as you can. Do you want that cake now?” He grinned at her.

“No, I think I changed my mind…” Wiping her hands on the dampness of her uniform, Maica was really confused now. She needed to rest soon, too. That was also confusing her. Was this not a dream? Was she somehow sleepwalking? This liquid on her uniform smelled like Aldeberan whiskey… Did she spill… Or pour the rest of the bottle on herself? None of this made any sense to her now… “Nathan… Is this not a dream?” she asked just before yawning.

Nathan reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. “No Maica, it’s not a dream. I’m not an expert but I don’t think you're working properly. Until I can get Andy to come down here and take a look at you I need to you stay put ok? I’m not going anywhere, Ill stay here with you until we can get Andy to fix this. I won’t leave you alone.”

Nathan arranged the pillows and blankets for her. “Just lay down for now, we will get this sorted out.”

“Thank you.” This had her worried, but for now she’d do her best to get comfortable and try to get some rest.

“You’re welcome Maica…” He stood there for a moment and watched her settle in and close her eyes. What a crazy night.

Nathan did not activate her cell shield, but he did go over and seal the main door. He then went to the desk and typed out a command to have him woken as soon as Andy was moving about her quarters. He then took a seat in the chair and kicked his feet up on the desk. True to his word, he was going to stay there with her all night.


-=Early the Next Morning=-

Andy had trouble opening her eyes, they were all gummy and crusty from crying after her nightmare, just one more reason she hated crying. And headaches. She always got headaches after crying and she hated that shit. Slowly sitting up and rubbing at her eyes to clear away the gunk, Andy immediately realized that Maica was not beside her. That had her fully alert right away. Fuck, where was she? Still disoriented from her nightmare, she briefly feared the worst. She had to find Maica, NOW!
Lucky for Nathan, he was smart enough to have set that alarm to wake him the moment there was movement from Andy, not something just anyone could do on this ship. He woke with a start as the tiny alarm started going off. For a moment he didn’t know where he was. Then the night came rushing into his head as he looked around. “Ughh..” He groaned as he pushed himself from his seat and punched at the controls on the desk to stop the beeping. He looked up into the open cell to see Maica was still laying in there. “Thank god for small miracles.”

He punched at his controls again and opened a communications channel to Andy “Andy, its Nathan…” He was too tired to be formal at the moment and it sounded in his voice.

Andy flinched at the sound of Nathan’s voice, quickly scrambling at the side table for her commbadge. “What?!” she replied in a surly tone, rubbing the rest of the gunk from her eyes. “Whatever it is, now ain’t exactly the best time,” she added as her eyes darted about frantically, searching for any sign as to what happened to Maica.

Nathan could not help but chuckle a little. He could hear the panic in her voice and he was sure he knew exactly what was panicking her. He got right to the point. “ I have Maica. Andy. I need you down in the brig...somethings wrong with her and I could not wake you last night.”

Andy paled at his words. She stumbled out of the bed and bolted out the room, running to the nearest turbolift without bothering to dress properly or find shoes. Within a matter of minutes she was at the door to the brig, looking every bit like a force to be reckoned with. “Dammit, Nathan, let me in!” she bellowed as she paced outside the door like a seething tiger waiting to pounce.

In the time it took her to get to the brig, Nathan replicated two cups of coffee. He went to the door and walked through it but shut it behind him. His clothes were rumpled and he looked like he had slept at his desk...because, well he had. He held out the second cup to her “Before you go in there I need to tell you a few things. First off you need to be quiet because she’s sleeping.”

“Let me in,” she repeated with a quiet sort of anger, her eyes practically screaming that she was ready to kill. After the night she had last night, she was not going to tolerate anything between her and Maica. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking quite the sight in her tank top and fleece pajama pants. With her shoulders and arms exposed, Nathan could see the extent of her exoskeleton as well as the scars left behind from her time as a drone. “If you think for a second that I would do anything to cause harm to Maica, then you need to shove off. Let me in.” She was doing her best to reign in her anger, to control it, but the madness danced in her eyes and she couldn’t hold that back.

Nathan took a long sip of his coffee while she ranted, it also hid the grin on his face. He knew this was exactly what was going to happen. “I am not going to keep you from her Andy, I just want you prepared, she hurt herself last night and I don’t want you flipping out thinking that I did it. She fell and hit her head on a control panel while she was stumbling through the halls last night. I could not wake you so I brought her here and stayed with her to make sure she didn’t hurt herself or anyone else.” The bottle of whiskey flying at his head came to his mind. “ I’m trying to help, that’s also why I had an alarm set to wake me the second you woke up. Take this damn cup so I can open the door for you.” His voice sounded firm, but he still had a slight grin on his face.

“You can help by letting me in!” Then she saw the cup. Looking at the mug suspiciously, Andy eventually took the mug and sip at it. “This pleases me,” she said as the caffeine helped to ease some of her agitation.

Nathan turned and punched in his access code. “I sealed this door because I didn’t want to seal her in a cell, she not my prisoner. Can she get drunk?” Nathan asked as the doors rolled open with a hiss.

“She got drunk?!” Andy’s coffee was abandoned on the desk and she rushed into the cell. As soon as she was by Maica’s side, all signs of anger were gone. She was gentle as she looked Maica over, being careful not to wake her if she wasn’t ready to wake. Andy sighed in relief; it was minor damage, that’s it, she hadn’t been brutally ripped apart like in her dream. Maica was safe.

“Tell me everything that happened last night,” Andy said softly as she continued to gently handle Maica.

Nathan relayed everything to her in great detail. Including his concerns that she could possibly be sleep walking or something. " But I want you to know, I did everything I could for her and I stayed here with her all night. I was not going to leave her alone like that. I really did try and wake you..."

“I had a rough night last night,” Andy offered in explanation why she didn’t respond to the calls. She rose to get a toolkit from the security desk, grabbing a couple of tools to work on Maica. “Tell me, what did you think I was gonna do that you felt the need to lock me out?” she asked quietly as she returned to Maica’s side to dull some of her sensations, namely what a hangover would feel like.

“I was not locking you out Andy, I was keeping her in.” Nathan replied. “ I would never try and come between the two of you. I was just trying to be a friend and keep her safe until I could get ahold of you.”

“That’s not what it looked like from where I was standing,” Andy said coldly, but her voice was still soft, mindful of the still slumbering Maica.

Nathan watched her for a moment “You were out there for a whole 5 minutes from the time I sent you a message to the time you were in the room. I have a log you know...I didnt think anyone could get down here there fast to be honest.” Nathan took a sip of his coffee then looked back at her. “I just wanted you to be aware of what was going on, you were a little crazy out there.”

“That’s ‘cause last night I had a dream I was back in the Collective and I ripped her apart. When I didn’t see her next to me when I woke, I panicked, alright?! You happy now?!” Andy’s hand briefly shook as she relayed her nightmare. She gripped her tool tightly to still the tremor then took a breath to calm herself. “You said something was wrong with her and my mind went to all sorts of irrational places.”

Nathan kneeled down next to Andy and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. Clearly I had no way of knowing you had a rough night. My intentions were not to scare you. Exactly the opposite to be honest. My concern was for the person that I was dealing with and I did what I thought would be best. Please forgive me, I truly was not trying to upset you.”

“You didn’t know,” Andy said as a way of accepting his apology while admitting to her own fault. “The damage is minor, she’ll be fine,” she added, setting her tools aside so she could brush the hair away from Maica’s forehead. She was just so relieved that Maica was alright…

“I’m glad the damage is minor, but she was still not acting right. She kept telling me she was dreaming, that her system scans said she was dreaming…” Nathan said, still kneeling down near the two women.

“Logical fallacies,” Andy said, finally looking at Nathan. “Her body is capable of simulating inebriation, but I told her that function was disabled. If she didn’t remember waking or drinking, then the logical conclusion was that she was dreaming. Incorrect, but there’s logic for you.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she went through a mental checklist of Maica’s evolutionary progress. “She’s developing faster than I anticipated if she’s drunk-sleepwalking.”

“She had an empty bottle of whiskey with her...you can still smell it on her clothes. But she told me that the part that could make her drunk was still not operating and she didn’t know how to turn it on…” Nathan was just rattling off information now, he didn’t understand any of this really.

“Oh, she was definitely drunk,” Andy replied with certainty. “I’ll have to muck about her autonomic subroutines to find out how that feature got turned on, but I have no doubt that she was drunk last night, and she definitely has a hangover now.”

Nathan stood and walked over to the replicator “Ice water, large glass.” and it materialized in the unit. He took up the glass and brought it back over to the ladies. “She’s going to need this...wait, will water hurt her?” He really had no clue about androids.

“Nah, ain’t gonna hurt her,” Andy said as she took the glass and set it aside to wait for Maica to wake. “Get a shot of bourbon, would ya?” she asked.

Nathan blinked “ Um...what??”

“Did I stutter?” Andy asked. “Bourbon, man, bourbon! A hangover is caused by dehydration, but a shot of alcohol will help take the edge off while she rehydrates.” Her explanation was simply evidence of how much experience she had with this particular matter.

Nathan stared at her for a moment with a look of indignation on his face. “You clearly think I’m stupid, like I didn’t go to Starfleet academy or something. Where do you expect me to get a shot of real alcohol in the brig?” Then a thought hit him “Wait, she’s got a flask on her. I’ll let you reach inside her uniform and get it out though.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Andy said as she searched Maica for the flask, “I think all people are equally brainless.” She was just joking, she didn’t think he was stupid or brainless, but you couldn’t tell that from her tone of seriousness. “And if you can’t get a shot of real alcohol in the brig, then you missed out on the best part of the Academy.” At least, so she had heard, she never went to the Academy.

“Your brig experiences are clearly different from mine…” Nathan walked over to the desk and took a seat. His body was sore from sleeping in a chair all night long and his head hurt from a pinched nerve in his neck. He sighed heavy and rubbed his neck “I want to let you know that there is not going to be any report filed about this from me. No harm no foul.”

Her brig experiences? Oh, if he only knew… “Thanks. She’s got a good record, I’d hate to see it ruined just because of some ‘growing pains’.”

“Nothing like thats going to come from me if I can help it.” He stared at Andy for a moment “I’m really trying to be your friend here. I hope you see that.”

“If I ain’t messing with you, we ain’t friends,” Andy admitted with a grin.

Nathan nodded to her understanding exactly what she was saying. A smile easing over his face. “So now all we need to do is wait till Maica wakes up. Want anything to eat?” He offered. “I can replicated a mean breakfast!” He chuckled as his own joke.

“Nah, just give me that coffee from earlier,” Andy said as she sat on the floor next to Maica’s bunk. She was still too agitated to eat right now.

Nathan stood and grabbed her cup, and his and brought it into the cell, handing it over to her. Nathan took a seat on one of the benches across from where Maica lay.

Slowly being roused by the soft voices, Maica was barely aware when the searing pain in her head hit her. She couldn’t even run a diagnostic, her head hurt so much. The pain snapping her awake the rest of the way, she raised her hand and covered her eyes, wondering what had happened and where she was. These lights were way too bright for… Her internal chronometer said it was morning? “Fuuuck…” She croaked, her voice surprising her mildly as she had never sounded that bad before.

“Lucy, you got some ‘splaining to do,” Andy said softly, again kneeling by Maica’s side with the flask in hand. “Drink this, you’ll feel better.” With Nathan sitting on the other side of the cell, he could clearly see letters spelling out ‘Bite Me’ across the back of Andy’s pants.

Nathan saw the look on Maica’s face and knew exactly what she was going through. “Computer, lower the lights in cell number 4 to 75% authorization code Tonkin 5.” He said quietly, otherwise he just leaned back and sipped on his coffee, watching the two ladies interacting with each other.

“~Ricky~,” Maica moaned softly, instantly getting the archaic reference as she took a sip from the flask. That helped a bit, but her head was still pounding. “Where am I?” she asked as she glanced around as best she could. “Is this the brig? Does that mean last night wasn’t a dream?”

“That depends on exactly what you remember,” Andy said, taking the flask and replacing it with the glass of water. “And don’t worry, Nathan was a perfect gentleman, he used protection.”

“Oh yeah? From me almost hitting him with a bottle, I bet...” Maica muttered as she tried to sit up.

Nathan rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head. There she was, Andy was feeling better now. “I knew something like that was coming…” Nathan stood and walked out of the cell for a moment, going over to the storage nook behind the desk. He returned and handed a small sack to Andy. “When she ready, there is a shower just off the main room. Her uniform is soaked in booze. There is a bathrobe and soap in the bag.”

“Would you have preferred the mayonnaise?” Andy called out after him when he left. She helped Maica to sit up, the gentleness of her actions so out of place considering her usual demeanor.

“Mayonnaise?” she asked sipping the water as her head spun a bit. She didn’t get that reference… “I could go for a tall glass of tomato soup right about now.”

“Yeah, he’s got this weird kink about seeing me covered in mayo,” Andy said, intentionally taking the comment out of context. “And we’ll get you some soup once you’ve had a shower, that’ll help you feel better.”

“That sounds good.” Maica didn’t make any movements to get up, though. She was still too… what was this? “Is this a hangover? I think I remember some of what happened… We were at the picnic with Jhu and Vara and I drank a lot of tomato soup. That was in my dream sequence, but my motor neurons… They have registered activity happening at the same time... The next thing I knew, I was wandering the halls of the ship trying to find… Something…” Maica was barely lucid enough to understand her self diagnostics and it just didn’t make much sense to her…

“Hey, don’t worry about it, you’ll remember what happened better once you’re clear-headed. Let’s get you into that shower then get you fed and then we can talk about it some more,” Andy assured Maica gently, rising to her feet and offering a hand to Maica to help her up.

Taking the offered hand, Maica did her best to get up. She was unsteady, but not in much danger of falling again like last night. "I didn't hurt anyone or anything did I?"

“I don’t think so,” Andy said, looking to Nathan to confirm that as she supported Maica to keep her steady. “Oi, where’s the shower?”

"I think it's over there," Maica said, pointing to the only other exit to the room.

Nathan looked up at the two. " Yeah, it's right over there. Take your time..." Then a wicked grin spread over his face. " I may have already turned off the security camera in there."

Andy narrowed her eyes at Nathan suspiciously. “May have?” She didn’t like that grin… “If I find footage of Maica showering circulating through the crew I better get a cut of the profits.”

Maica just shrugged. "It won't be the first time I've been recorded with someone in the shower. I have several programs dedicated to that sort of thing. Ever shower in water jelly?" She was totally serious, though rather distracted by her hangover.

It wouldn’t be the first time Andy had been recorded in the shower with someone either… “We’ll try the water jelly later, lets just get you clean then we can get dirty later.” She led Maica back to the bathroom, shooting a glance back to Nathan, a warning that she better not find security footage.

All poor Nathan could do was shake his head. Even when he tried to play along with them, they just upped the level of dirty on him and and he was left in in the dust.


Stripping her uniform off, Maica stepped into the shower and turned the water on, instantly relaxing under the jets. It felt so good all she could do is lean against the wall as the water cascaded over her form.

Andy stood off to the side and let Maica do what she needed to do. She was just there to make sure she didn’t fall over. “So…” Andy said after a moment, “anything you wanna talk about?” she asked.

"Is it possible for me to sleepwalk like that?" Maica asked in a sour voice.

“It’s not something I programmed into you,” Andy admitted, “but that don’t mean it ain’t possible. You’re developing in ways I can’t predict. It’s a little scary, but it’s amazing, Maica.”

"I know the dream sequences were programmed originally by a Federation scientist... Broccoli or Berkeley or something." Maica mused at the fact that she knew so little about her original programmers.

“Eh, I’ve heard of the guy,” Andy replied with a knowing nod. That little tidbit put a few things in perspective; Maica’s actions suddenly made a lot more sense. “Brilliant guy, but eccentric. If you don’t like what the dreams are doing, we can alter the underlying program, tone them down. And we can remove the sleepwalking, or whatever it was you were doing last night.”

"That would be nice," Maica said as she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, dripping on the floor.

Andy retrieved the bathrobe in the bag Nathan had given her, draping the fuzzy garment around Maica’s shoulders. “Now I know this probably one of those moments where I shouldn’t say ‘I told you so’, but I did warn you about booze.”

"Yes mom," Maica muttered as she snuggled the robe around herself. "Yeah you warned me. I didn't listen. I consider it a testament to your skill that I can learn this lesson at all."

Nathan could not help but burst out laughing at the exchange in the bathroom.

Andy rolled her eyes at both Maica and Nathan, but decided not to say anything to validate either of them. “Alright, lets get you back to our quarters. No work today, okay?”

Shaking her head, Maica had to object. "No, I've got 2 important meetings later today I can't miss. They're this evening, though."

“I can make it an order,” Andy reminded her. True, Maica outranked Andy, but as her mechanic Andy had an authority over Maica similar to the Chief Medical Officer over the rest of the crew. “We’ll see how you’re feeling later,” Andy offered instead of making good on that threat.

"That works. Thank you." Heading back to the main brig area, Maica looked around, feeling a bit better as she clung to Andy. "Thanks for taking care of me last night Nathan. I owe you."

Nathan looked up from behind the desk where he had already started the days work. He smiled “ Don’t mention it, you don’t owe me anything, and you're welcome.” He punched a code into the terminal and the main doors whooshed open. “Take care of each other.”

Andy gave him a nod. She would definitely take care of Maica. “C’mon, Sleeping Beauty, you look like you need a bit more beauty sleep,” she said as she led Maica out the door.

[ON]

Lieutenant Commander Cameron Tegan narrowly dodged a massive wall of stone held up by an equally impenetrable arm; he crouched low, watching the Brikar's latest attack pass harmlessly over him, before looking for a sensitive spot. He still hadn't by the time Khros, the name of his opponent, had come around for a second strike.

Fighting a Brikar, even a holographic one, was immensely difficult even for a Klingon, much less a half-Klingon. The average Brikar weighed nearly a ton, necessitating that they use personnel anti-gravity generators when off-world, otherwise they'd collapse under their own weight. They also possessed some of the toughest hides -- turning them into living armor. Hit a Brikar in the wrong place, and you risked breaking your own bones as well as its.

Defeating a Brikar in hand-to-hand combat required both speed and cunning; you had to know exactly where their 'weak points' were; Cameron Tegan did. Unfortunately for Cameron, Khros had by now learned how to cover such areas during his attacks, and no matter how fast or agile his Klingon/Trill hybrid of an opponent made himself, Cameron hadn't gotten close enough to do any real damage to Khros in almost an hour.

There was a solid whack of stone against jaw that literally up-ended Cameron over and out of the boxing ring net and onto the padded ground below.

An old fashioned bell chimed overhead, indicating that the match was over.

Bloodied, and with several cuts and gashes across his chin and forehead, Cameron Tegan couldn't help but to stifle a small laugh. He kept his eyes closed while his brain processed the fact that the room was no longer spinning. "One more round, Khros. Just give me a minute." Even though Cameron couldn't see the Brikar, he could hear a contemptuous huff. "It will have to wait. You have a visiter..." Khros said in a deep voice. "... a female."

"Oh?" Cameron asked, his curiosity perked despite the throbbing pain in his skull. He thought he'd heard the holodeck doors open at around the same time he was falling, but his ears had been ringing too loudly from that last punch. "I'm still waiting for the room to stop spinning. Is she attractive?"

The brikar snorted heavily. It crossed its arms. "She might as well be a child."

Only after that did Cameron risk opening one eye. The room jolted back and forth for several seconds. In that time, he saw a humanoid form, although it was out of focus at first. Eventually, the image of a human female in Starfleet uniform eventually took shape. "My eyes seem to be playing tricks on me," Cameron suggested. "Either you are a very young-looking Commander, or you're a third-year cadet. Which is it? I need to know if I should stand up and salute, or tell you that now is not exactly a good time."

The scene was rather..interesting to say the least. Chaotic at best? He was fighting a Brikar. She'd only read about them, but never seen one. As her presence is noted and the Brikar spoke, she mentally bristled a bit. I'm not a child! Mizuki thought ruefully, before her features broke forth into a smile at the lieutenant commander's words.

Instinctively, one hand rested on her hip as she watched him for a moment before replying. "While I eventually want to be a very young looking Commander, I'm a third year Cadet. And I can come back later if you'd like, sir?"

Cameron waved the notion away with one hand as he slowly pulled himself up into a seated position once the room had stopped spinning. "Don't bother, cadet. Besides, young or not, you're a whole lot nicer to look at then that idiot," he jabbed a finger to the Brikar, and then began wiping the blood away from his brow. "I'd, uh, shake your hand, but I think you'd rather me not bloody your new uniform. What do you need?"

"The computer informed me that I might find you here. And since you're the XO, I am trying to, well...start fitting in around here." Her smile remains before she straightens up and salutes. "Cadet Junior Grade Masterson reporting in, sir. And if I may be so bold, you are...nice to look at yourself." Though her last statement wasn't a completely bold one. She was still attempting to overcome her shyness and stiffness in her new environment. A blush had been suppressed, since that was the first compliment she'd received since her arrival.

Cameron shook his head, grinning rather lopsidedly. "I've been called that, but never while a bloody mess." Slowly, the Lieutenant Commander pulled himself up and walked back to the ring, leaning against it for support. He studied the cadet for a moment. She was young looking, and oriental. "Welcome aboard the Katana. How old are you exactly, cadet?"

Well, she had been trying to be nice. But, there was nothing about his current state that displeased her. So she supposed that she had been correct in her words. "19, sir. My 20th birthday isn't too far off, as I recall." Mizuki smiles a little at the welcome. "And thank you for the welcome, sir."

She is just a child... Cameron thought as he tried standing up on his own. Looking at the cadet, Cameron managed one of his smiles, this one polite. "I'm afraid my cut off is twenty-five. Your assignment to the Katana is... what's your assigned duty?"

Cut off? She would have asked, but something told her she'd be better off not knowing, at least for now. "I'm the new Yeoman. Part of the reason I was assigned to that position is the fact that my major is going to be Command. And the CO said that you would be someone good to observe and learn from."

Cameron nodded. "A noble venture," he admitted to her career path, even though he was semi-surprised that Kerouac was willing to endorse his new executive officer so quickly; pawning a young cadet upon him more likely. Then again, having a yeoman wouldn't be so bad, particularly since he hated reviewing reports on his own. At least having someone pester him would have a benefit.

"Alright, cadet," Cameron started. "So tell me about yourself."

Mizuki moves from her position long enough to lean against the wall and cross her arms underneath her chest, her legs intersecting at a slight diagonal angle as well. "Well, sir. My mother died when I was young, and my father is a decorated member of a classified branch of Starfleet that I can't really talk about. With those questions out of the way, I have picked up quite a few things while moving around and learning. Quite a few hobbies as well. So with that in mind I should ask you..what would you like to know?"

Cameron opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by Khros. "Are we going to fight or not, Tegan," the Brikar growled. Cameron turned, having almost completely forgotten about his opponent. "Sorry Khros; it looks like you'll have to wait another day. Computer, end program." In an instant, Khros vanished. In the next instant, the rest of the gym did as well. The cadet certainly did have a unique way of introducing herself, particularly with the sad story of her mother, and the 'I can tell you but then I'd have to kill you' attitude towards her father. It seemed like this ship was getting stranger and stranger.

"Alright then," Cameron resumed. "Why don't you tell me why you think you deserve a billet on this ship? I'm not interested in somebody who sees this assignment as a stepping stone to something better. I want to know what you're bringing to the table to make the Katana the best part of your career."

Interesting. Perhaps I can tell him what I bring. But I'll need to trust him a bit more first. Having cleared her throat, Mizuki brushed her hair to one side, and offered a few words. "The best part of my very young career...well, I would like to say that I was given a chance, by coming here, to do great things. To mature out on the frontier as an explorer. It's partly following my dad's footsteps, but partly for my sake as well." The girl paused, realizing that she probably wasn't making much sense. "What I bring to the table? A bright mind, a willingness to do what's needed. I'm not much of a fighter, but I have a feeling that my confidence will grow here, and I hope to graduate from the Academy while I'm aboard."

It was the best she could offer to an on the spot question.

Cameron nodded. Young cadets like Mizuki lacked experience, but at least she seemed enthusiastic. "Very good. Well, I understand that you're specializing in command, but there's a lot you can gain from shadowing other departments as well. Nobody gets to start out as Captain of their own ship; I'll coordinate with the department heads to see that you spend some time in Ops, Engineering, Security, Medical, and Science, so that you have at least a good working knowledge of those departments. In addition to your regular duties, I or someone else will also be assigning you extra study materials." He smirked. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that your cadet cruise on board the Katana will be an easy one."

"I wasn't intending to make that mistake, sir. Nothing, on the undergraduate road, nor the road of a cadet, has been easy for me. So why should it start now? I'll be sure to read whatever you send. And I'll try to make the best use of the time shadowing other departments." In her mind, Mizuki wonders if she can trust him.

"Very good then," Cameron said, wiping a streak from an open cut above his eye. "Well then, if you'll excuse me. I need to get this cleaned up. Report to my ready room at 0900 hours tomorrow and I'll have your schedule by then."

"Understood sir." She salutes and then turns on her heel to leave. It had been an interesting experience, talking to this man. But she wondered what kind of man he was.

Watching the cadet disappear, the Klingon/Trill hybrid touched a gash on his forehead and regarded it as needing some medical attention. Sickbay would be his next stop. But as he thought about his conversation with Mizuki, he wondered: Was he ever that young?

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Cameron Tegan
Executive Officer
USS Katana

&

Cadet Junior Grade Mizuki Masterson
Yeoman
USS Katana

The cadet walked through the corridor rather slowly, her destination was the turbolift that'd take her back to her quarters. She was sore, she'd worked very hard, and had crawled through several jeffries tubes. She'd uh..had trouble that. For obvious reasons. Regardless, no one said life on the frontier would be easy. Mizupon, for that's one of her nicknames that she's rarely known by, wasn't going to give up.

It was her lack of clarity at that point that made her very nearly run into someone, who she barely managed to avoid. "I'm sorry...are you alright...ma'am?" her posture stiffened as she recognized the rank pips.

Maica steadied the cadet, one hand lightly touching the cadet's elbow. "Careful there. Are you ok?" Maica could see the strain and weariness through the cadet's stiff nature. Maica herself was in no danger of toppling over or losing grip on the bottle she carried, but she did worry about this young woman.

The girl briefly looked at the hand, and then back at Maica. Briefly clearing her throat, she nodded softly. "Yeah. Just a long day is all.." she trailed off, looking at her for a moment. "Pardon me ma'am, but I didn't have time to read all of the crew files yet. What is your name?"

"Maica, ship's Diplomatic officer," she said with a warm smile. "And you're the new Yeoman, right? Cadet Mizuki Masterson? I suppose you've been working with Andy all day, judging by the scuffs and dust on your uniform." Maica could see the same signs on the cadet's uniforms she saw on Andy's every night. She could also smell the jeffries tubes on this young woman as well as a hint of Andy's own scent, though that could have just been picked up from the panels themselves. Andy had likely touched every square centimeter of those crawl-ways.

"That's right." Mizuki replied with a smile to her. "Yeah, I've been working with her." she gave in acknowledgement. "The Jeffries tubes really are something I need to get used to. It's a little difficult for me to move around. It's um, nice to meet you, Maica." She bowed her head lightly, in a sign of greeting, having leaned her body against the wall of the corridor.

"If she gives you any trouble come see me. I'll work some magic on her. Is she taking breaks ok? Is she eating while she's away from our quarters? I haven't been able to check up on her in a few days and I worry." Maica and Andy both had been busy with their own duties so they hadn't seen each other during hours, which was somewhat unusual for them. "On that note, is she letting you eat and take breaks? She's a workaholic, you know. When she was making my new body I had to literally force her to rest and feed her myself."

Mizuki listened, the new information was surprising. "Mmm, I didn't really get a chance to observe her habits. I'm sorry." she gave, the concern was certainly evident, but she had no information to provide, considering she'd been worked quite a bit. "She has let me eat and take breaks, but they were only when necessary. Consistent with what you said." If she was surprised about the new body comment, the cadet certainly didn't show it.

"That's good. I've had so many subspace conference calls lately I haven't been able to get out and about much." Looking down at the bottle of Benthan Ale in her hand, Maica had another thought. "Care to share a drink with me?"

It was a surprising offer. But..it was true that the diplomat was rather busy. "Um..sure. I'll try some of that." She offered with a good smile. Might as well see how her alcohol tolerance was. Would it be nothing, or would what was inside her make her more tolerant of it?

"Excellent!" Maica exclaimed as she all but dragged Mizuki to her quarters. Pulling out 2 glasses and pouring a bit of the ale for each of them, she set the bottle back into the larger forest of alcohol bottles before handing one of the glasses to her new friend. "To the undiscovered country and new meetings," she said, lifting her glass in a toast.

She let herself be carried away by the other's flow, and found herself taking the glass and raising it to Maica's. "To new friends." she nodded, the sentiment that Maica gave was much appreciated. The rivulets of the drink flow down her near perfectly set throat, and the girl took on a cute look for a moment. "It..it's good. I think."

Sipping her drink, Maica cooed at her glass. It was amazingly smooth yet had a good fiery burn to it. "It is good... So... Why did you join Starfleet? Is everything meeting your expectations so far?"

"Family thing." She gave. "Mainly my dad. I wanted to follow in his footsteps. As for expectations, it's been very tough on me through my path towards graduation, but it's also made me a better person. So I suppose it is meeting my expectations so far." Mizuki smiled. Her throat had a light fiery taste to it, but thankfully she would not get bad breath from it.

Nodding solemnly at the confession, Maica pressed a bit further. "I knew a lot of people that joined because of family. I joined to help people and to kind of give back some of the help the Federation gave me. So far, I've had a lot of fun. It's not all been good, but overall, definitely satisfying. What's your specialty going to be in once you graduate?"

"Command. But as that, I'll have to learn a lot about pretty much everything else." Mizuki replied. "Including diplomacy, I suppose."

"Especially diplomacy. You'll have to learn how to stand up for yourself with tact. One of the reasons I'm a Diplomat - I'm not that agressive and I don't like the over-structured system Starfleet uses." Maica was starting to ramble on, going over all sorts of comparisons between command and the diplomatic corps that she had noticed over the years.

Mizuki tried to follow. She certainly did. Even to the point of taking out her padd and recording part of what she could. But after several minutes of letting Maica say her piece, she had to step in. "Ma'am? I should certainly like to speak with you further over the coming days about this matter. And I thank you for being willing to share your knowledge with me."

Realizing she was rambling really badly, Maica shut up. "Sorry, I'm rather long winded at times. The important thing is to try to use tact and be respectful. Now finish that drink before it evaporates." To illustrate her last point, she tipped her own glass back, finishing her drink.

Mizuki nodded. "Good to remember." Then, she took the glass, and tipped it back, leaning her head all the way back and downing the rest of her drink in one go, her throat being detailed in its depiction.

"Warms you up, doesn't it? Even as an android I can enjoy that feel now, thanks to Andy. She's the best engineer this side of anywhere and she has a lot you can learn from her."Maica said with a smile.

"It uh..certainly makes you feel warm and tingly." The little princess nodded, setting the glass down on the table, listening as the other once again speaks well of Andy. "It is the promise of knowledge that will make her manner and attitude grow on me, I would imagine. I will be patient." Then, after a few moments, she bit her lip and asked the question that came to mind. "Maica...do you like her?"

That was an interesting question and one Maica didn't have to think about. "I do. With all of my being, I love her. She taught me what it is to live. She's definitely the best wife I could ask for." Maica spoke with a distant smile on her face. Her wife reference might confuse the poor girl and if she brought it up with Andy she'd get an ear full, but she didn't care right now. She was in love.

Color the poor girl confused and left with even more questions than before. Perhaps she shouldn't have even asked. "I...see." she coughed a bit and shifted a little. Such an earnest expression of affection from an android for a human. Mizuki wasn't against it, but her lack of knowledge on the subject was clearly evident. Since she hadn't had any training or talking to about it at all. "That's good. I'm happy for you." she managed to say, if only for the social aspect that she was trying to work on too.

"Thank you," Maica said, snapping out of her daze. "Andy will be home soon if you'd like to have dinner with us, though I expect that since you worked with her all day, you'll want to shower and sleep."

"I thank you for the offer of dinner, but I'll most likely need to shower and sleep." Mizuki gave, nodding a bit, before looking at her. "Hmm. A personal question, Maica. Since you are someone in love...what would you say to someone who hasn't felt love before? Who..hasn't been told much about it?"

Maica thought about that for a moment. "I would say... Love is blind. Your heart doesn't care who it falls in love with and you have no real control over that. It's also the best feeling there is. It's like you have wings and can do anything for the other person, no matter the cost to you."

"Mmmn.." She trailed off, taking those words to heart. "Sou ka."(So that's how it is.) she muttered underneath her breath, before her eyes looked back to Maica. "Thanks. I haven't met anyone like that yet. I imagine it will be a while, but if it's something I have no real control over...then I'm not going to worry about it."

"It's best not to. If you search for it, you'll never find it. You pretty much have to just wait for it to find you. Not with a bang and fireworks, but silently in the night when you least expect it." Maica's experience had been a little different, but close enough. "Anyway, Andy normally finishes up her reports about this time. She should be home in about 3 minutes.

"I'll keep your words in mind, Maica-san." Her alliterations to old and outdated customs are more of a remembrance of her mother than anything else. She stood, ensuring her equilibrium, and bowed to Maica. "Thank you for speaking with me. I really appreciate it. And I hope you have a good night."

Standing and bowing back, Maica switched to her Japanese. She had gotten enough hints of the girl's lineage at this point so she felt safe in it. "Sayounara, Mizuki-san."

Her eyes lit up in surprise and then she smiled broadly. "Arigato na...also. In an informal setting, you can call me Mizupon. It's my nickname. Now..please have a good night." She didn't know if Maica would talk about her to Andy or not, but tacked on at the end was, "And please tell Andy I said hello."

"I will. Rest well tonight, Mizupon." Maica was smiling brightly as the young cadet left her quarters. That one had a lot of potential and Maica hoped to see her do very well.

She felt better, after visiting the diplomat. At least now, she could rest easily.

Cadet Junior Grade Mizuki Masterson
Yeoman
USS Katana

Lieutenant Maica
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Katana

Bored of having only Vara for company, Jhu had slipped away from the Lagashi security officer and taken a circuitous path through the corridors to mask where she'd been. The freedom was nice, but she quickly grew bored of that as well. Seeing that she was near Maica's cabin, she decided to drop in and say hi. Other than their impromptu picnic on the holodeck, they hadn't spent much time together lately, and she missed talking with her cybernetic friend. Careful not to leave an easily followed trail, she meandered down to Maica's door and pressed the door chime button. Hopefully Maica was home.

Little did Jhu know, Vara had the computer tracking her bio-signs rather than her comm badge so no matter where she went, Vara could locate her and she made sure she wasn't far away. The freedom Jhu thought she had was fine, but Vara would still do her best to make sure Jhu was safe - she had the honor of her family on the line, after all.

In Maica's quarters, the android was tapping away at her desk, working on reports and paperwork. She had been asked to review a twelve thousand page acord by a colleague and she had gotten about a third of the way through it, summarizing it as best she could for him. When the door chime rang, she glanced up from the screen and pressed a button to actuate the door controls, opening them so whomever was there could come in as she finished up the current page real quick.

Okay then... Puzzled as to why the doors would just open without Maica saying a word, Jhu went inside, half-expecting to find Maica 'unconscious' on the deck. But no, Maica was working. At the desk. "Oh. You're busy. Guess I can come back later."

Now at a good stopping point, Maica looked up and smiled at Jhu. "Not at all. This project is going to take me a few more days and I welcome any distraction. What brings you here? Can I get you a drink?" As Maica asked the last question, she waved towards the multi-tiered forests of bottles lining the extra shelves and tables the room now had.

"Something sweet. Maybe that honey whiskey you've been hoarding." Jhu pointed at a cluster of bottles, grinning broadly. "Or... hmm. Have anything with ahel berries? That would be fantastic. Vara is boring after a while." Not aware of how close 'boring' Vara was, Jhu sat down, but immediately there was something off about the chair cushion. Puzzled, she shifted her weight off a hard object and fished it out, finding it to be rather... private in nature. "Maica..."

Blushing a bit, Maica stood and snatched the item from Jhu, tossing it under a couch pillow before grabbing a couple different bottles and a couple of fresh glasses from the replicator. "It's Andy's." Pouring a deep red liquid followed by a few drops of a viscous golden liquid and topping it off with a deep purple liquid, she expertly mixed them up some drinks, handing one glass to Jhu.

"Uh huh. Because I totally believe Andy owns one of those." Jhu snickered a bit, taking the offered glass. "Come on. You can tell me the truth. Who exactly am I going to tell?"

"Ok, the truth is that she's moved in with me and I left it there for some reason. It's ours." Bringing the glass to her nose, Maica savored the aroma of the drink she had mixed. "Let me know how you like that drink. I think it's called a Red Dwarf."

"You both share one? Isn't that a bit difficult?" Watching Maica blush was just too much fun. Jhu couldn't resist teasing her a bit. "Can't imagine what the two of you could have been doing in the chair..."

Blushing a bit more, Maica looked nervously around the room for any other tell-tale signs of their 'escapades' the past few days. She didn't see any, but Jhu was a lot better at picking them out. "I'll leave that to your imagination..."

"...oh boy." Giggling at Maica's sudden shy behavior, Jhu sipped her drink, giving the glass an appreciative grin. "Well. It is a comfortable chair..."

"So were the silk ropes..." Maica muttered as she sipped her drink slowly, savoring the taste.

Jhu choked on her drink, sputtering and nearly spilling the vibrant liquid. "Ropes? No way... really? You like that sort of thing?"

Pointedly ignoring the question, Maica scolded Jhu for almost spilling her drink. "Don't waste a drop of that, ok? There's about four thousand strips of latinum worth of alcohol in it." If she was shocked before, how would she react to knowing she was drinking something worth more than most shuttles?

"Oy! Stop wasting your good stuff on me." Jhu laughed a little, cradling the drink more carefully. "If I didn't know better, I might think this was a date."

"No, not a date - just sharing the wealth of bounty that I got for my successfully living through my 10th birthday and my expiration date," Maica explained as she sipped at her drink a bit more. "Besides, the really top shelf bottles are over there." She pointed to a cluster of about 20 bottles covered in gold and silver leaf that just looked 'different' from the others somehow.

"I do not want to know how much those cost." Jhu knew it was likely far more than she could ever afford; most of Maica's stock had been given to her as gifts. "So... the 'toy' wasn't planned, huh?"

"Let's just say that if I ever wanted to retire on the sale of those bottles, any 3 of them would buy me a small moon. As for the toy... no... I wasn't expecting company..." Maica was almost done blushing by this time.

"...fire and ice. Stop talking. I don't want to know." Now Jhu blushed, not wanting to think about what may have transpired before her visit. "I mean... damn. I think Carter had a little too much fun repairing you."

Now it was Maica's turn to tease Jhu. "It's one of her kinks. She's a technophile in a way. We just need to find my kinks, is all. If you ever want to help..."

"Ahem." Jhu took a sip of her drink. "I don't think I'm qualified."

"Oh?" Maica acted surprised at Jhu's statement. "I figured you of all people would have a vivid sexual imagination at the very least. Especially with your Trill heritage. They're known in some circles to be quite liberal."

"I am also half Romulan, and they're not quite so... free-spirited." Jhu paused, swirling her drink in its glass to make the colors blend for just a moment. "I mean, imagination is one thing. Acting on it... that's different."

Maica leaned in, now very interested. "So you admit to having a good imagination. That's good. As for Romulans being conservative, you've obviously never bedded one. I'd say you're more than qualified just knowing that."

"My mother is about as conservative as they come, and just how would I have sex with a Romulan anyway? They all hate me, remember?"

Maica just had to giggle at that. "Behind closed doors you'd be surprised, i'm sure... Besides that, hatred sex is some of the most passionate out there by many standards. It's said that with most humanoid races, making eye contact for more than 5 seconds reveals a desire to either make love to you or to murder you. Both are acts of passion, you know."

"Yes, Maica. I know," Jhu replied dryly. "I've done both. Once with the same person, but really... that was business. And I don't think I've ever had 'hatred' sex. But it's been a while so..."

"...so... You'd like to get back into the saddle? You realize I've got all the qualifications to be the ship's sex therapist, right? If you want, I can hook you up with a date with a holocharacter or two. It'll all be behind closed doors, too." Maica was more earnest than teasing at this point.

"I can't believe we're having this conversation while I'm sober." At least it was Maica. Jhu knew Maica would keep the details between them. "And I tried the holodeck. Imaginary characters don't do much for me. If you know what I mean."

"I could get you drunk real quick, if you want me to." Maica giggled a bit at that, then sobered up as she thought about the rest of what Jhu had said. Being based on one of those holocharacters, she wasn't sure how to take that so she pressed for more information. "I actually don't know what you mean. Would you mind elaborating?"

"...right. I keep forgetting that you were programmed for that type of thing." Jhu wasn't sure how to answer that question, as it wasn't something she'd ever thought she'd need to explain. "I mean... they're attractive. Pretty to look at. But not... damn it, Maica. I don't know how to explain it."

Maica was silent a moment before speaking again. She was pretty sure she knew what it was now. "Their personalities are 2 dimensional..." That was something she had worried about herself being in her earlier years.

"Yes! But you're not like that. I wasn't implying anything about you."

"And what if I had someone that was more than just a holocharacter in a program? Someone a bit more like me, though younger?" Queried Maica somberly.

"Younger? You're only ten." Jhu giggled a little as she considered the idea. "You have someone like that? You're not just messing with me?"

Maica nodded slowly at that. "His operational time is less than 2 years, but he's been a good friend to me. He's helped me with a lot of my personal projects."

"Hmmm." Thinking about that offer, Jhu leaned back slightly in her chair, savoring the last few sips of her drink. "I trust you. So I'll give him a shot. But if I catch you telling Carter about this, I will toss you into the warp core."

Tapping on her computer a bit, she sent a quick message to his program. "He wants to know if you're available this evening and if you like hasperat."

"My shift ends at 1700. Not sure about the hasperat though. Don't think I've ever tried it... but I don't mind trying something new."

Looking back up to Jhu, Maica smiled brightly. "He'll meet you in the holodeck this evening then. I hope you like him. He's a bit gruff at times, but he has a good heart. And please don't threaten to delete him or anything like that."

"I would never do that. Not on a first date!" Jhu snickered, setting her glass down as she got up. "Vara's going to find me any second and lecture me about running off. Again. Supposed to be working. Anyway..." On a whim, she leaned over and kissed Maica's cheek. "Thank you."

"Any time," Maica said with her warmest smile. "Be sure to ask Mikhail about his instruments. He plays the flute and the viola." Turning her head to the ceiling, Maica continued. "As for Vara, I'm sure she found you as soon as you stepped in here. The internal sensors have been abuzz since you arrived."

"...what?" Internally, Jhu groaned. She couldn't escape from that woman, no matter how hard she tried! And she'd probably heard every word too. "Remind me again why I hired her."

"Because she's a trained wolf and most likely able to protect you from any attackers." Maica answered simply, "And don't worry about open comm lines or audio sensors - as a diplomat I have to keep my quarters clean of bugs. She'd have to have an open comm line to one of us to have heard anything."

"Knowing her, she probably does. Damn sneaky woman... guess I should go back to work then. Before she pops in to drag me back." Jhu chuckled quietly. "Next time I'll call first. See you later, Maica."

"Good luck tonight," Maica called after Jhu as she left. As soon as her doors closed, she sighed and dug back into her current project.

Nathan had just gotten off his shift, went right to his destination as soon as he got off. Now standing outside Maica’s room he hit the call button hoping that she was there. “Should have checked with the computer where she was first…” He said to himself.

Maica was indeed in her quarters. Specifically, she was in her office area buried in PaDDs. “Come in,” she called as she tried to stack the at least 50 PaDDs on the desk rather than trying to juggle them in her arms and lap. She hadn’t even switched from her diplomatic service dress uniform back to her normal uniform, she had so much to do.

Nathan stepped into the room and looked over into the office area of her room “Hey Maica...uh...do you have a moment?”

“I do. What’s up?” Maica said as she tried to steady the PaDDs.

Nathan walked into the room farther and up to her desk. “This place looks like my office.” He said with a grin. “I am off duty and I wanted to check on you and make sure your doing ok from the other night… and I wanted to see if I could get some advice from you.”

"Yeah I'm doing well. I shouldn't be sleepwalking anymore either." Maica just gave up on the PaDDs, leaving them precariously perched on her desk. "What do you need advice on?"

Nathan sighed, he could not believe he was this old and asking this question. “I need advice about girls…”

Maica stared at Nathan for a moment before motioning to the couch and grabbing one of her many bottles and 2 glasses. "I have a feeling we'll both need a drink for this conversation."

“Yeah...that might be a good idea.” Nathan walked over to the couch and took his duty jacket off tossing it over the arm and taking a seat next to is. “Especially when you find out who the girl is…”

Pausing for another moment, Maica switched to a different bottle before pouring them each a healthy dose of amber liquid. Handing a glass to Nathan, she sat next to him on the couch. "OK start talking."

He took the drink, and with out asking what it was took a long draw off it. “Oh thats good…” He said. “ Ok…” He sighed “Its Jhu…”

Oh great... he was interested in Jhu? Maica had just set her up on a date with a holographic friend of hers... Drinking her glass down in one go, she poured herself some more. "How far have things gone?"

"Gone? She saved my life and I came here to talk to you...well there was this one other thing but I don't think I can talk about it...security stuff. But I have not told her anything yet." Nathan took another drink from his glass.

“Ok, so what do you want to talk about then? How to seduce her? If I had known you were interested, I wouldn’t have sent her on a date with a friend of mine…” Maica was a bit relieved, but still worried.

There was a lot of information in Maicas statement. Nathan downed the last bit of his drink while he mulled it over in his mind. “A friend of yours huh… That sucks. Im not really interested in just seducing her, but more like dating…”

“You came to a former sex slave to talk about dating… You know that, right?” Maica asked seriously. “I mean, I’ll do what I can, but my specialty would be better off with sex therapy or something, you know?”

“You were a sex slave? I didn’t know that. I came to you because most of the crew seems to not like her and I had heard that you guys were friends.” Said Nathan with a shocked look on his face.

“Yeah, I was Ferengi property for the first 3 years of my life. Then I escaped and got asylum from the Federation.” She didn’t want to get too far into her old history, but Nathan deserved to at least know a brief summary of Maica’s life after that last reveal. “And yes, Jhu and I are good friends. I probably know more about her than anyone else on the ship.”

“Then I came to the right place...even if I am late.” Nathan went to take another drink but realised his glass was empty. “Got any more to share?”

Maica motioned to the 30 or so bottles on the table before them. “Anything unsealed is fair game,” she said as she took a swig of her own drink.

Nathan looked over to the vast collection of bottles. “ I had heard you had some, but my god Maica, if I didn’t know any better I would think this was a bar.” Nathan selected the first bottle of Whiskey he found and opened up the bottle, pouring a healthy drink from it. “Ok so lay the bad news on me. Who did you set her up with?”

“A holographic guy that’s been my music counselor for some time now. Mikhail is his name. He enjoys spicy foods and is as fully aware as I am, though he’s got less than 2 years of operational time.” Maica explained plainly, not trying to sugarcoat things.

“So...is the holographic guy something I should be worried about?” He was not an engineer by any sense of the word and hardly understood how Maica could have the traits she had, he just accepted her as she was with out trying to understand it. “I mean like, is a holographic guy competition?”

“He’s a registered sentient with full rights under the Federation charter. He’s also based on the same systems I was originally built on. Whether he’s ‘competition’ or not depends on how well their date went. I still don’t know myself, so you might want to ask Jhu herself about that one.” Nathan’s words had bothered Maica and she tried not to let it get to her, but she still let a slight sour note slip into her voice.

Nathan nodded and took a sip of his drink. He could tell that he had said something by the look that slipped over her face for a second. “ Ok so then you are saying that it would be best to just be blunt with her?” He was not exactly sure what he had said so unless she brought it up he would worry about that later.

“She’s an intel officer. She’s so used to cloak and dagger, you’ll need to be blunt if you want to catch her eye.” Maica considered what else she could say along those lines for a moment, sipping at her drink. “And be confident. You already have an advantage in that you’re one of the few men on this ship that are both single and straight, so don’t worry too much, ok?”

“Worrying is in my DNA, it’s hard not too. But thank you, I will try. I will be blunt and open to her and see what happens. Thank you for your advice Maica. I really appreciate it.” Nathan said, then took another sip of his drink. He didn’t look like he was ready to go anywhere yet.

“Then worry all you want.” Maica sipped at her drink again. “And when it comes to sex, I have a distinct impression she’s wild in bed, but very private about it. Do you want to know what sensitive spots I’ve noticed on her?”

Nathan shook his head “No, that spoils all the fun. What I really want to know is what did I say that upset you.”

“You referred to Mikhail as ‘something’ and acted like he wasn’t a lifeform,” Maica said bluntly. “Since I’m so similar to him, that made it feel like you didn’t think of me as a fellow being.”

Nathan nodded and set his drink to the side “I understand Maica and Im sorry. I have not had a lot of experience with androids or holographic beings. Not that it’s an excuse, I’m just inexperienced. Please forgive me. I think of you exactly as a fellow being and think you, and your friend deserve all the rights and privileges as a flesh and blood being. It’s just new to me and my ignorance is showing. I consider you a friend and not a thing. I will do everything I can in the future to watch my words. Again, I’m very sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” Maica said, finishing her drink. “Now what else is on your mind?”

“Nothing else, just the fact that I about to do something that I have dreaded doing since I was in school. Most girls throw themselves at me and I don’t have to do a lot of work. Maybe thats why I’m attracted to Jhu.” He picked his drink back up and took another sip.

“So what new with you Maica?”

Maica just shook her head. “New body, 10th birthday, extra work from old friends. Nothing too spectacular other that I’m still alive.”

Nathan raised his glass to her “ Heres to being alive!”

“Best part of existence,” Maica said as she raised her empty glass.

Nathan downed his glass. “Ok...I guess I might as well get to it. Im going to go see her right now...Well after I change. OH!” Nathan stopped as he was picking up his jacket “ Any suggestions on a holodeck programmed dinner I could take her too?”

Thinking about it a moment, Maica grinned. “Take her to the Talos 4 mountaintop diner.”

Nathan just looked at her for a moment “Stand up…”

Ok, this seemed odd… Maica stood up slowly, not sure what Nathan was wanting now.

Once she was on her feet, Nathan wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big hug. “Your great, thank you.”

Oh a hug! That made sense. “You’re very welcome hon. Let me know how it goes, ok?” Maica was genuinely curious about how things would go between them.

Nathan pulled away from her and smiled “ I promise, its the least I can do for you. And if you still feel like you owe me from the other night; which you don’t, but consider this even. You have helped me far more then I helped you that night.”

“Fair enough.” Grabbing a bottle of wine, Maica handed it to Nathan. “Here’s a little something for if you do get that date.”

Nathan took the wine. “Wow, thanks Maica! If I don’t get that date, I’ll bring it back and we can drink it together while I cry on your shoulder.” He grinned at her joking.

“Then you can have a date with me and Andy.” Maica teased back.

Nathan chuckled “I have a feeling that one of you would be more than I could handle, let alone the both of you.”

Maica couldn’t help but giggle at that. “You have no idea… Now go find Jhu,” Maica said as she pushed Nathan out the door.

Nathan allowed himself to be pushed out the door and went on his way.

Jhu knew Vara meant well, but she was not letting the Lagashi woman interrupt her night. So even though it was unethical, she tinkered with the night shift roster. Carefully choosing people she knew would play along, she sent them all a message asking for help. Once they'd agreed, she put Vara on night shift with them, hatching what she hoped was a brilliant plan. If she could get Vara to stay on the bridge and then put her off her game for one night... then Jhu could enjoy a night alone...

Vara had been sitting outside Jhu's office while she worked for quite some time. She didn't care about her work and didn't have any desire to know what secrets went on in there, but leaving Vara out here like this with all the anti-sensor tech in there on made her a bit nervous. She could hear into the offices on either side but not past the door to her back and though she didn't like it, she supposed it was necessary. Then she got a sudden and unexpected alert on her padd... The duty roster had been shifted? She was now scheduled for night shift duty. Of the 3 people authorized to do that, she had an idea it was Jhu's doing. The woman had done her best to ditch Vara lately. No matter, she could just as easily monitor her there as standing next to her - she just had to worry about getting to her in time if something were to happen.

There was no immediate protest from Vara, so Jhu locked the roster, a slightly illegal trick she'd learned that would keep Kristopher and Cameron from changing it. Then she put her work away, hiding the PADD inside the stack where it would be hard to find. Then she got up and headed out of the little office.

As Jhu left her office, Vara stood and offered a blank look. "It seems I've been scheduled for night bridge duty. Would you happen to have anything to do with that, Commander?" Vara wasn't upset or worried. Just curious, her tone one of innocent curiosity.

"Maybe." Jhu didn't hear any anger or concern in Vara's voice, so she smiled, a bit hesitantly. "Would it matter?"

Raising an eyebrow in a very Vulcan-esque manner, Vara spoke matter-of-factly. "Not in the least. Monitoring you from the bridge may in some ways be easier. I just might not be able to get to you in time if something were to happen. If that's an acceptable risk to you, then I won't press the issue."

"I'll lock the door." Not wanting Vara to guess her plans, Jhu intentionally left the statement vague. "I'll be fine on my own for one night... I've been wanting some time alone anyway."

Now Vara was suspicious... "Time alone? Commander, you're at highest risk when alone. I'll have to insist on extra monitoring while I'm away from you." There was a reason Jhu wanted her out of her hair and if S31 had anything to do with it, Vara was bound and determined to find out and foil any plans they may have for Jhu.

Oh, for Goddess' sake. Jhu smiled tightly. "If you insist."

"I'm sorry, Commander, but I have to. Your safety is my responsibility now." Vara was right about that, though she knew that Jhu could take care of herself almost as well as if Vara was there. "Anyway, I should get ready for my sudden assignment to bridge duty. Is there anything else I can do for you before I go?"

"No, you go ahead. I think I can manage walking home."

"Rest safely, Commander." With a salute, Vara headed off to her quarters to get freshened up for the evening. She hadn't expected to be assigned to the bridge tonight, but it was what it was. Jhu apparently wanted some privacy and though Vara couldn't completely oblige her, she would at least pretend to be distracted.

As soon as Vara was out of sight, Jhu quickly made her way home to set the rest of her plan in motion. She'd already figured out a drug cocktail that would knock Vara out - and that hadn't been an easy thing to find! Now she just had to wait for Vara to order a drink from the replicator.

Once she finished preparing for her night shift, Vara headed to the bridge and proceeded through shift change. It would be a quiet night at least. That would let her dedicate her time to monitoring Jhu. She just needed something to help her focus. Heading to the bridge replicator, she ordered a green tea, extra strong.

So predictable. Sorry, Vara. Jhu felt a tiny twinge of guilt as her hidden program added the flavorless drug to Vara's drink, but she was not having Vara watching and listening if her night with Mikhail took a turn toward the more physical aspects of dating.

Sipping her green tea, Vara sat in the XO chair and started tapping at the console between the chairs. Within a minute she had drank most of her tea and had passed out, having only had enough time to reroute her internal sensor feed tracking Jhu to the console.


-=Eight hours later=-

Vara started coming to, her vision blurred and head pounding. What had happened? Was she on the bridge? Why was it so cold? A bit more aware, she could see a couple somewhat disturbing things. The first was that she wasn't wearing any clothes... The second was that it was mere seconds from shift change. No... She wasn't completely naked... Dipping her hand in the white creamy fluff she had strategically been painted with, she tasted it. Whipped cream? Hearing the giggling from the rest of the bridge crew, she sat up in the XO's chair and surveyed the bridge as if nothing was amiss.

Jhu had already arranged to be the first senior officer on the bridge, and after an intensely enjoyable night with Mikhail, she practically bounced in off the turbolift. Immediately, she had to suppress a giggle at Vara's appearance, but as she approached, Jhu miraculously maintained a straight face. "Looks like you had a wild night."

Vara just stood and gave Jhu a crisp salute as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "No Commander, it was a very quiet night. I barely noticed anything at all. How was your evening?"

Jhu grinned a little. "It was fantastic, thank you."

"Excellent." Snatching her neatly folded uniform from the bridge railing, Vara tucked it under her arm. "If you'll excuse me Commander, I believe I need a shower."

"Yes... yes you do. That stuff gets awfully sticky."

"And difficult to clean from implants..." Heading to the turbolift, Vara didn't even try for any modesty. She just pretended nothing was wrong, though the tension in her heavily augmented muscles was quite apparent as nude as she was. She would get Jhu back for this. She just had to figure out how...

Maica wasn't impatient. She knew things took time. She was understanding. But she was concerned none the less. She had put in a mission planning report and request for personnel and equipment almost a week ago and she had yet to even get an acknowledgement of receipt from the computer that the request had even made it to the new XO. Was he that behind on work?

Either way, she intended to smooth that little rough bit out with her skills and charms. Checking the computer to make sure he was in his office, Maica grabbed a bottle of whiskey from a planet most humanoids couldn't pronounce, let alone read, then headed out, quickly making her way to his office. On her way, she passed several people that gave her knowing smiles and appreciative looks. It seemed that with the lower ranks at least, she was becoming known as the 'Booze Queen' because when one of the bottles from her was seen in the halls something interesting was bound to happen.

Reaching the XO's office she rang the door chime, easily hearing the music within. For a moment Maica wondered if he could hear the door chime over the enthusiastic solos in what she could identify as Gav'ot toh'va.

Cameron was nursing a PADD in one hand while cupping his forehead in the other. As beneficial as it was for the Katana to dock and replenish at Starbase, it also meant a lot of extra paperwork. Thankfully, he had the feeling that he was finally starting to make some progress on all these reports and requisition orders. And the Klingon opera he was listening to helped.

But this PADD required a second glance.

It was a request for a runabout, two long-range subspace telecommunication platforms with regenerative power supplies (a very specific item at that), a subspace emergency beacon, the Arboreal woman -- Shira, plus a science officer and pilot. Someone was planning an away mission.

Cameron checked the name at the top of the request. Lieutenant Maica.

The door chimed. Another visitor.

"Computer, pause." The music stopped. "Come in," As soon as Maica came into the room, with a bottle no less, he chuckled. "Lieutenant. You know I was just thinking about you?"

Surveying the mess of PaDDs before Cameron, Maica could only groan. It was worse than she expected. This man didn't like reading reports at all, did he? "Commander K'a'mirh'un Tegan," Maica said with perfectly fluent klingon gutturals as she moved a stack of PaDDs to set the bottle down. "Would you rather I sing some Klingon opera for you, help you with these reports, or pour you a drink?" She stood there awaiting a response with a hand on her hip and a smile on her face. He had been thinking about her, huh? Too bad she wasn't psychic. She'd just have to use her finely tuned senses to read him.

The Klingon/Trill chortled. Very few people ever managed to successfully pronounce his first name, which was why he decided in his youth to go by 'Cameron' instead. "All of the above and then some, I think. I'm certain you have a lovely voice, and that bottle looks like it cost a small fortune in gold-pressed latinum," He said, even though he wasn't serious about asking for her help with the reports. He raised the PADD and waggled it, trying to keep his eyes above her neckline, even though after several hours of going over reports, he had begun to contemplate another visit with Lia. Eventually deciding that it would be a bad idea, the digression of sexual thought still led him indiscreetly to Maica's... nacelles.

Just how did she stand straight with those?

"First, how about you explain this request of yours," Cameron asked, the PADD still in hand.

Oh yeah, there were the tell-tale signs. For a moment, Maica considered teasing the man, then just settled on getting 2 glasses from the replicator and pouring each of them a drink. She handed him one of the glasses as she spoke. "When we left Arborea, I told the Elder there that I'd like to set up a communications link at the very least so Shira could call home now and then. My hopes are for her to allow a permanent diplomatic relationship and possibly a dedicated Federation diplomatic and science team to visit the planet. I told her I'd try to be back in a few weeks and it's been close to that, what with all that's gone on. As they have no technology, I'd need help with the systems as well, hence the request for personnel and self-regenerating power supplies. I requested the CSO specifically so I could get to know her and have a good private discussion with her and Shira. I think it would be good for her to see where Shira comes from, as well. You mentioned she's a linguist so I'm sure she'd go crazy trying to figure out their language even with the translation matrix I built." Pausing for breath and a sip of the whiskey, Maica sat across from Cameron, her massive 'assets' bouncing as her butt hit the seat. "Any questions?"

Cameron nodded, cupping his chin in one hand while he thought over her proposal. Keeping his eyes from the mesmerizing and voluptuous bobbles was almost painful as he locked his gaze on the amber contents of his beverage. The diplomatic and scientific benefits to Maica's away mission were fairly obvious, even if it was making extensive use of the Katana's available resources and personnel. But there was a lingering question in his mind. "Oh, I'm certain that Ms. O'Connor would be like a kid in a candy store... assuming you arrive. But this isn't Federation Space, and contrary to what the politicians and diplomats suggest, we're operating in the wild west out here," he paused, thinking over his next question. "How close exactly to Dominion space is Shira's planet?"

That was her singular worry. Maica didn't think it was too close, but... "It's far enough away that they haven't shown a presence. It's still a worry, but I think the Ferengi are a larger worry."

"The Ferengi?" Cameron asked skeptically.

"It was a Ferengi slave trader that originally discovered the planet and captured Shira. I learned later that the Captain had let the Ferengi toad go in a shuttle. I would have let him go in an EV suit..." Maica still resented the Ferengi as a whole. They were the one race she couldn't bring herself to discuss in her duties and the distaste in her voice showed.

"The Ferengi know better than to attack a Federation runabout," Cameron pointed out, even though he agreed with her sentiment. "But I suppose that if they're operating in the region, that means they consider the possibility of a Jem'hadar attack as unlikely. If there's one thing the Ferengi are good at, it's about maximizing profit while minimizing risk. You can't spend your latinum if you're dead." He looked back to the PADD and surveyed its contents. "How long do you expect to be gone?"

"Exactly my thoughts. If all goes well, we should be back in 48 hours. If things go poorly, my simulations say upwards of a week." Maica had planned this out as best she could with the variables she had.

Cameron thought about it, and eventually nodded, pressing his thumb to the sensor which approved her request. "Alright then, you have 48 hours. And I want status updates every twelve," he regarded the Orion-bot with an expression of an executive officer, briefly losing that casual gaze he had with women... including Maica. "And just to be clear, if you so much as detect so much as a hint of Jem'hadar activity, you turn around."

"Thank you sir. Now about that Klingon opera... Still interested?" Maica asked with a smile. She hadn't sang any in ages, but she felt up to it.

Nathan made his way threw the halls of Katana and up to Jhu's quarters, well the one that she currently used anyways. He stood out side her door for a moment. It had taken a lot of courage just to get to this point for him, but he was determined to go through with this.

How many times did you chicken out at the academy? Whats the worst that will happen Nathan, she says no? Not a big deal...right?

Nathan reached out and pressed the call button.

Jhu didn't get many visitors, especially not at home. So she gave the door a puzzled look as she set Lydek's dinner down on the deck. Who even knew she was home, besides Vara? Curious, she opened the door manually to find Nathan standing there. "...Lieutenant Tonkin? Something I can do for you?"

"Yeah..." Nathan said stealing himself for the worst. "I was hoping I could take you out to dinner."

You did it! Nathan looked relieved.

"You look awfully scared for someone asking such a simple question." She was so not dressed for dinner, wearing just her uniform pants and a tank top. But Nathan looked so terrified that Jhu gave in. "I haven't eaten yet so sure."

Nathan could not help but chuckle, both because he was relieved that she said yes, and because she was right. "I'm not the best at things like this. Uh... is there somewhere you would like to go? Cause if not I have this holodeck program we could use..." Nathan was dressed casually in tan pants and a loose fitting, light button up shirt.

"Anywhere is fine. I just need to finish changing first." Jhu took a moment to look at what he was wearing. Casual, but not super casual. Dressier than jeans, at least.

Nathan nodded. "I will wait for you."

"Well don't wait out there. Come inside and sit down." By now Lydek had discovered their visitor and was slyly rubbing fur all over Nathan's ankle. Jhu grabbed the cat and picked him up, ignoring his mews of protest. "Don't mind him. He's pretty harmless."

Nathan smiled at the cat and stepped into the room " Ohh I love cats!" He held his arms out, asking to be given the animal " I'm sure me and this guy can entertain our self's while you get ready."

Since the cat entered the picture Nathan's demeanor seemed more relaxed.

"Oh, he'll keep you entertained all right." Grinning a little, Jhu handed Lydek to Nathan, patting the cat's head before heading the bedroom to find something at least semi-nice that wasn't covered in cat hair. After a short search, she found a pair of grey slacks and a light green blouse, both made in a soft, more casual fabric. Green was rarely her first choice, but the poor man was nervous enough without waiting too much longer. Once she changed, she let her hair down out of its tight braid, combing it out with her fingers as she went back out to the living room.

Nathan took the cat and watched Jhu walk away. "So buddy..." He said while taking a seat, then scratching him behind his ears "got any advice for me?" The only response he got back was a purr and the cat walking back and forth across his lap as he demanded more attention. " Well if I was as handsome as you that might work, but look at me! I think we should work out a different game plan." Nathan said to the cat.

"So you speak cat. Interesting." Jhu smirked at him from the doorway. "I see my fierce attack cat approves of you."

Oh crap, did she hear me? Nathan just smiled " Your Cat is great. Whats his name?"

"Lydek. Named him after a Benzite ensign who served on the Mata Hari." Jhu decided not to say why. "I talk to him too. Your secret is safe."

Nathan grinned at Jhu "Yeah, don't tell the Captain I speak cat. Next thing I know I'll be going with Maica to work on some treaty with the Caitians, and the last thing I need is Andy all jealous that I'm going on a trip with her."

Jhu snickered at him. "Andrea Carter is the last person you want being jealous. You'd think she'd know Maica better than that."

Nathan gently picked Lydek up and set his off to the side. "Actually I think Andy knows me well enough now that I would probably one of the few people she might trust to go with Maica." Nathan stood and walk walked over to Jhu " Andy and I have become fast friends, if you can believe that." Nathan looked her up and down, but not in perverted way "You look really nice! I like your shoes." Nathan had once been told to always complement a woman's shoes. Not really sure why but he figured it could not hurt to try.

Jhu gave him an amused grin. "Keep talking about shoes and I might set you up with Kristopher. But really... thanks. I, uh... don't get many compliments." Not being one of the crew's social butterflies, she didn't often see anyone out of uniform, and she couldn't tell if he'd dressed up or if this was what he always wore. "You look better in that than the yellow. No one looks good in security yellow... makes you wonder who picked the colors."

Nathan chuckled, for a moment there she looked as uncomfortable as he felt. Maybe this evening would work out better then he had hoped. "I don't know why you don't get many compliments..." Nathan let the words hang in the air for a brief moment.

"Why do you think I keep in such good shape? If I have to wear the yellow I might as well fill out the uniform well right?" Nathan said with a grin.

"Because half the crew's afraid of me and the other half thinks I'm psychotic." It didn't quite click in Jhu's mind until after she'd answered. Oh. That was... wow, okay. "Better than having to stay in shape because black makes you look scrawny and unfit."

Letting the second half of the conversation drop, Nathan replied " Afraid of you? Thinks you Psychotic?" Nathan thought about this for a moment. "I guess Ill just have to find out for myself." Nathan held his hand out to her. "Come on, let see if you like my little holodeck program."

"If there's food involved, I probably will." Jhu was so not a touch-feely type, but she took his hand anyway, letting him lead the way out of her cabin and toward the holodeck. "And oh yes. Afraid of me. Some of them have good reason though."

Holding her hand, Tonkin, how bold of you. At least she accepted, Thought Nathan. He hid a slight blush on his face by turning away from her and leading her out the door. He lead her through the halls and to a close by turbo lift. As he waited for the lift, and felt the heat from his face subside he turned back to her. He did not, how ever let her hand go. "Well Ill just have to make sure that I don't invoke your ire. Yes there is food. I set up the holodeck to work with the replication system so while everything will be a hologram, the food will be real replicated food."

"Clever. Most people don't think of that... then they wonder why they're hungry when they leave the holodeck." Real food and replicated food were a little different, but Jhu wasn't the type to complain. Besides, replicated food usually tasted great. It was replicated coffee you had to watch out for.

Nathan chuckled "Yeah, tell me about it. Back when I was a cadet I learned that lesson. Its strange how many don't." The turbolift arrived and he stepped inside of it, gently pulling Jhu along with him.

"Well... some people are a bit... naive." Normally Jhu liked to think of herself as more in charge, but sine Nathan had set everything up so far, she was letting him take the lead, wherever this dinner might end up going.

"Deck four" Nathan said to the computer and the lift started moving. Jhu was clearly not in her element here and that put Nathan at ease a lot. He too was not use to being so bold and forthright but he had been told to act this way if he wanted to get Jhu's attention so he would.

Nathan's behavior was a little odd, like he was forcing himself to act that way. Jhu didn't mind, but she couldn't figure out why. "What sort of program is it?"

Nathan smiled "You will have to wait and see. I had some help setting up to be honest. I hope you like it."

"Some help?" That sounded mildly suspicious, but Jhu decided not to push him about it. "Well. I trust you."

The turbo lift came to a stop and the doors opened. Nathan lead them out. "I'm sure you can figure out who the help was." It would not be a big secret when the gift Nathan brought was revealed. He walked up to holodeck 4 and the doors opened. The program was already running. At first all that could be seen was a small room, sparsely decorated. "Come on, this is just the landing spot. The real view is out back..." Nathan said leading her by the hand still into the holodeck.

The air immediately felt thin, one of the holodeck's strange talents. "How high up is this place?" Curious, she readily followed him, wondering what kind of place this was.

Nathan lead her through the room and out a back door that had silken drapes over it. "Really high up." he said as he moved the drape out of the way. Before her was a small patio that had a table and two chairs on it. The floor of the patio was cobble stone. There was a roof over the dinning area made out of slates of wood that were set about 2 inches apart from each other to let the warm sunlight in. But there were leafy vines growing around and threw it, defusing the light farther. In each corner where the supporting beam of wood held the roof up, more silken drapes blew in the wind. The wind was cool, but mixed with the sun light it felt perfect.

But even this was not the true sight. It was clear right away that they were on Talos IV, on the top of a very large peak over looking a very deep and wide valley. The sun lite the valley perfectly so the breath taking view could be seen perfectly, yet the sun was also starting to dip below the horizon. In the next 30 min it would be sunset.

Even Nathan was impressed with the view, even though he created the program. Not bad, Tonkin.

Jhu gasped in genuine surprise at the view of the valley, moving to the edge of the balcony to get a better look. "Talos IV... at sunset. What exactly are you up to?" It was an innocent, curious question, not one born of suspicion.

Nathan smiled and walked over to the table " Just trying to get your attention. Is it working yet?" Nathan took up a bottle of wine " This is real..." He said holding the bottle Trill wine out to show her. If Jhu had not figured out who was helping him yet, she would know now.

"My attention? Why would you--" As Jhu turned to look at him again, her eyes fell on the bottle of Trill wine, something that would be hard to find out here. "You've been talking to Maica. About me?"

"In all honesty the conversation was more about me, but yes you were a big part of that conversation. I asked for advice and she gave it to me. I hope that was ok. Everyone else I asked about you scoffed or just laughed at me." Nathan kind of thought on that for a moment. "Maica was my best bet to get honest information."

"Yeah, it's okay. I'm just not sure why you would..." Jhu trailed off, suddenly connecting the dots to reveal a picture that had been right in her face since she'd answered the door and found him standing outside. Gee, Jhu, you're so observant. "...oh. I get it." She had to laugh a little; how could she have missed his intent? "I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh. It's just... well. Unexpected."

Nathan swallowed hard, this next question was the hard one but he was told to be blunt and put himself out there so here he went " Jhu, I like you and would really like to spend more time with you and get to know you better. So on that note...would you still be willing to share dinner with me?"

"Well. I'm already here." Jhu smiled a little nervously. "This isn't something I do often. But you've put a lot of effort into this, and I see no harm in sharing a meal."

Nathan pulled out a seat for her. "Well the I am very honored that your willing to with me. I don't do this very often either so..." He trailed off.

"So it's new for both of us. I think we'll manage." Jhu sat down in the chair he'd pulled out.

Nathan moved over to his chair. As soon he was seated a holographic man came out. "What may I get for the two of you?" The man took up the bottle of wine, opened it and poured each of them a glass. The man looked to Jhu, Ladies first after all.

They'd only just sat down, so Jhu hadn't had a chance to look at the menu. But this was the holodeck, so the menu really didn't matter. "What I would really love is pasta pomodoro with chicken parmigiana."

"Make that two, it sounds amazing." Said Nathan. The man walked away to get the food. "So you never answered me, is it working?"

"Well, you have my attention, so I'd say it's working." Picking up her wine glass, Jhu swirled the liquid around then took a sip. "I'm a bit curious, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to. But me? Really? I didn't think I was anyone's type."

Nathan chuckled " Well for starters you saved my life, talk about getting someones attention. But otherwise..." Nathan sat there looking into Jhu's eyes for a moment. Then he shook his head. "How do you put this into words? The one thing I have noticed about attraction is it tends to fall into your lap when your not looking for it. Certainly did in my case." Nathan took a sip of the wine and looked at the thick purple liquid in his glass with a nod. "Wow this is really good."

For once, someone was interested in Jhu, not just her spots. "Well I wasn't going to let you die. Wouldn't have been very nice of me. As for the rest of that... I really appreciate your honesty. And I am so glad you didn't say 'because I like your spots.' It's the oldest line in the book, and you wouldn't believe how manybyimes I've heard it."

Nathan set his glass down and shook his head. "Do people really say that to you? Talk about cliche. Your very attractive," Nathans face burned red for a moment as he said that "but who you are is more important to me then what you are. But if you want to know something physical about you that I like, your eyes are amazing." He smiled at her, still staring into her eyes that he just complimented.

"They say it all the time! That or the ears, like I have no other unique features." The heart of his compliment hit home, and Jhu struggled not to blush. She wasn't used to this at all. "No one notices my eyes," she said finally, a gracious smile on her face.

"You cant say that anymore." Nathan smiled warmly at her. Then the holographic man arrived with the food they asked for. With out a word he set the plates down in front of each of them and a basket of steaming garlic knots between them. As if right on queue the sun began falling behind the horizon changing the light from a bright yellow to a dusky orange.

"Okay, almost no one." The smell of the garlic knots was irresistible, and Jhu picked one up to nibble on while she watched the sky change colors.

Nathan also watched the sky for a moment then said " That could not have worked out better had I actually planed it that way." He took another long sip from his glass.

"Maica's idea?" How Maica knew she would like it, Jhu couldn't fathom. They'd never talked about date spots... or dates for that matter. "It was a fantastic choice. A little cooler than I normally like, but the view more than makes up for it."

Nathan set his glass down and grabbed a garlic knot "Only the planet and the mountain top, I went from there. But next time I will take you somewhere warmer, I already have an idea."

"Oh you do? I suppose it's a surprise then."

Nathan shrugged. "Not everything has to be a surprise. Would you like to know?" He took a bite of the bread.

"I prefer to know so I can tell Vara and she won't freak out on me. Sometimes she drives me crazy, but she does good work." Jhu set her bread down to eat a few bites of her pasta.

"You do know that she reports directly to me right? I can tell her to take the night off." Nathan idle wondered if Vara was somehow watching them now...probably. "Anyways, I know you grew up on earth for the most part. Ever make it to Hawaii?"

"You could, but she'll watch anyway, from long range. As long as she doesn't barge in, I don't mind so much." Jhu paused to think about her childhood vacations. "I think we did go to Hawaii once or twice. My mom loves warm weather."

Nathan took a bite of his food while she was talking " Well if she watches, then we should make sure its something worth watch right?" He leaned back in his chair " There are a lot of warm places, take your pick. But you have to promises to try snow boarding with me at lest once." Nathan looked at her hopefully.

"I don't really like snow, but I do like a challenge. So I would do it. Once, at least."

Nathan nodded. Good, that was at lest two more dates, something his father always told him to make sure he did before the end of date number one. Clearly things were going well. "Great, its a lot of fun. But there is a secret to Holodeck snow boarding...what to know it?"

"Sure." If she was committing to a cold weather activity, she'd take any advice she could get.

Nathan smirked " Make the snow room temperature..."

"That's cheating, but it certainly makes the idea of snow more palatable."

Nathan chuckled and leaned back over the table "Yeah you might be right, but I never liked wearing the layers and layers of cloths. I set the snow and atmosphere to warm and make the snow dry. It works better that way."

"I don't blame you. Wet snow is awful... it clings to you, makes you feel heavy." Jhu ate a morsel of the chicken, surprised by how nice it really was for replicated food. "I could deal with snow if it was always dry powder."

Nathan chuckled and shook his head. "Then it's a date, you get somewhere warm, I get to take you somewhere that should be cold but is not." He took another bite of his food.

"Seems fair to me. You wouldn't like me in really cold weather anyway... I get grumpy."

Bold right? "I bet your cute when your grumpy." Nathan took another bite of food to try and hide his red face.

Jhu giggled as Nathan's faced turned bright red. "I don't know. Most people run off, and no one's ever mentioned it."

"Well I have no plans to run off any time soon so I'll let you know." Nathan ate his last bite of food.

"So you have plans to make me grumpy, just so you can see what it looks like? I'm not sure if I be amused by that or not." The portion they'd been served had been rather large, and Jhu slid her plate toward the edge of the table when it was about two-thirds finished. "There's an unlucky few on the crew that have seen me angry. I imagine they'd tell you not to do it."

"I'm sure they would tell me a lot of things... you should hear some of the things Maica tried to tell me." He grind and shook his head " The point is I would rather find out on my own. That's the fun part of relationship. Learning all about the other person. At lest in my opinion."

The sun had continued its decent the sky was now lit up with purples, blues, pinks, reds and oranges. Nathans eyes looked out over the view. "Wow check that out." he said picking up his glass of wine.

"Maica would happily tell you all the tricks of the trade if you let her. Either to embarrass me or make you blush. No sense of modesty, that woman." Jhu hadn't really stopped watching the sky since they'd arrived, and the new purple hues easily held her attention.

Nathan just leaned back in his chair and watched Jhu while she watched the sky and sipped at his wine.

Jhu might be oblivious to romantic gestures, but she knew when someone was watching her. Usually it bothered her, but Nathan was so good-natured that she didn't mind. Casually finishing the rest of her wine, she watched as the sky darkened and settled into night, a sight she hadn't seen since the Katana had left the Alpha Quadrant.

Nathan set his glass down. "We both have bridge duty tomorrow and its getting late, And Tegan wants to do some Holodeck thing that I have to report to. May I walk you back to your quarters?"

"...is that tomorrow morning?" She'd been so busy when the request came through that she hadn't paid much attention to it when she acknowledged it. And she hadn't read the list of requested officers either. "Of course you can... guess I have reports to read over again."

Nathan stood, re corked the bottle of wine and moved over to pull Jhu's chair out for her. "You too huh? Well at lest I'll be in good company."

"Yeah, but I can't figure out why. Wasn't like I was involved in the fight... well. Not much anyway. And I certainly wasn't on any away teams." Still puzzled by her invitation to this training... thing, Jhu set her empty glass down and stood up from her chair.

"Want to take one last look before I shut the program down?" Nathan gestured to the railing overlooking the valley. He was not sure why he was being asked to be there either. He had been in engineering the whole time and had been tasked with filing the final report. Therefore he had watched the even unfold from the security footage at every available angle. He had also poured over the sensor logs for hours. Other then the very short amount of time he had spent with Maica, he had not taken a break until this very night.

"Yes. I should have brought my holocamera." She wasn't normally a sentimental, 'take pictures of everything' type, but there was something about sunsets. She already had a chip packed full of sunset pictures, but she couldn't help it. She liked them, and she took one more moment to admire what was left of this one, leaning against the balcony railing to get a good last look at it.

Nathan walked up beside her and leaned on the rail next to her, but close so his arm brushed against her. "Well the nice thing about this sunset is you can come back and take pictures as long as you have the code for the program. You might know that guy who has the program code." He bumped her shoulder with his gently.

"Wonder who that might be." Jhu flashed him a smile. "When I have some free time, I'll take you up on that offer"

Nathan smiled back at her then sighed " Computer...end program." the mountain top and valley shimmered away and they were left in the grey and yellow room. "I always hate that part..."

"Liked it better the other way. And you'd think they'd change up these colors. Grey and yellow on every ship"

"Yeah, I liked it better the other way too." Nathan reached out and took her hand again. "Ready?"

Either he was getting more comfortable or doing a very good job of faking it. "Yeah. We should go." It felt slightly less awkward this time as he took her hand, and Jhu wondered why. It wasn't as if they'd spent a whole night together... it was just dinner.

Nathan lead her out the holodeck and back to the same turbolift they have used to get down here. He pushed the call button with the same hand he held the bottle of wine in. Then they waited. He could not help but look over at her and smile again. This night went exactly how he had hoped it would.

Jhu wasn't used to that sort of attention at all, but for once someone's gaze was flattering. Not leering or staring. Just looking. And she liked it... though she'd never say that out loud.

The turbolift arrived and Nathan lead her in. The doors shut and the lift started moving taking them to the level of the ship where Jhu's quarters were located. Nathan just waited quietly, liking how it was not an uncomfortable silence, just quiet.

Silence between two people that wasn't awkward? It sounded like black magic, but it was true. Soon the turbolift stopped, opening its doors to the closest corridor to Jhu's cabin. The lights were already dimmed, simulating night on a starship.

Nathan lead the way again out of the lift and down to her door where he stopped and turned to her. "Thank you..."

"Shouldn't I be thanking you? You did invite me to dinner..."

Nathan shrugged "Maybe, but I had a great night and it would not have been if you had turned me down, so thank you." Nathan sighed Remember, bold. It got you this far He looked Jhu in the eyes. "I'm going to kiss you now..." But he hesitated for just a moment to gauge her reaction.

Wait, what? Jhu didn't know if she'd heard him right or not. "On a first date? Sure you want to take the chance?" It wasn't an objection, rather an honest query.

Yeah, he wanted to take the chance. He leaned into her and pressed his lips to her gently. The hand that was not holding the bottle of wine slid around her lower back, gently holding her while they kissed.

Jhu had not expected that, even with his spoken 'warning.' A kiss on a first date! He really had been talking to Maica!

And Maica had been right. His honesty was more appealing than if he'd played games... a thought that made her smile as they kissed.

Nathan pulled away from her after a moment and grinned. "Definitely worth the risk. I might risk it again sometime, fair warning." He chuckled. His arm was still around her waist.

"Maybe another time." Jhu couldn't help grinning, despite feeling rather silly at the moment. "For now... good night."

Nathan released her and held out the bottle of wine to her. "You should take this. Oh and tell Lydek I said good night. He gave me a ear full about treating you well so... Good night, Jhu."

"I'll tell him you were a perfect gentleman," Jhu remarked brightly, taking the offered bottle of wine as she opened the cabin door. Waving goodbye, she stepped inside and let the door close, still smiling the whole time.

Jhu was tired.

Even with Tegan's arrival on board, her workload hadn't evened out since Commander Zanaar's death. After promising Vara she wouldn't try to trick the new tracking system Vara was using, she'd gone to the mess hall to eat lunch, just for a change of scenery. But Jhu wasn't eating. Instead, she stared idly out the window, barely awake at all.

Mizuki passed through the doors, intent on eating something, when something caught her eye. And it made her stop to take notice. The cause of this, was the person sitting by the window. She seemed so..beautiful? Something about how the trill spots and the romulan features went together rather well...and she had no prior hatred of the romulans. Though, the cadet had been cautioned against romulan ale.

Shaking herself out of it, she went to get her food, and then brought it over to the other's table. "Is this seat taken ma'am?" she ventures hesitantly..

"Huh?" Jhu hadn't been paying attention, and it took her a moment to notice Mizuki standing there. "Oh. No, you can sit there if you want."

"Thanks.." She nodded shyly and sat down, gulping just a little as she mouths a small prayer over her food and then begins to eat. "Tired? Or just enjoying the view?" Her first attempt at small talk was a little lame, but...it was there.

"Little of both, to be honest." Jhu poked at her salad, not sure she was awake enough to eat it.

"Well.." she trailed off a bit and smiled. "I'm the new Cadet aboard, Mizuki. I saw you sitting by yourself and thought you might need some company."

Jhu smiled a little. "Company is nice. I'm not exactly a popular person around here." Pointing at her distinctive black collar, she continued, "Jhu t'Dharvanek, chief intelligence officer."

"You know, there's a lot of pre-conceptions around about intelligence, and people that look like romulans, but...I think they're rooted in the past. I um, don't think that way." She said softly. "I'm sorry that you're not more popular, but I won't be like the others towards you. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Don't worry. It's not everyone acting that way. But I appreciate it all the same."

"Yeah. Sorry for blurting it out like that. It wasn't very respectful of me. I'm just..new around here and don't want to offend anyone."

"Relax, Mizuki. It's okay." Jhu couldn't help laughing a little. "You should have heard what the captain said to me when we first met."

"Do I want to know?" She asked, giggling a little with the elder, before taking a deep breath and letting it out.

"Something about Romulans and not worthy of trust." Jhu took a sip of her drink, an aggressively strong and sweet iced coffee. "But we're friends now. Not entirely sure how that happened."

"I imagine that...out on the frontier, eventually old rivalries or grudges can be put aside, because there's external threats that require cooperation." Mizuki offered. "But that's just an opinion from someone with no experience in that area."

"There's that, I suppose. And he likes having someone 'scary and violent' to threaten people with."

"Scary and violent? How about pretty?" Such words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "I mean, I'm not doubting your martial or intimidation abilities.." Way to put your foot in your mouth, Mizuki.

Jhu inhaled some of her coffee and choked, coughing as she put the glass down. Naturally that drew a lot of attention, but she brushed it off. "Okay. Not the first time I've been called that. But damn, girl. Don't spring that on people so fast." She wasn't really sure where Mizuki was going with that comment.

"Ah..sorry." She looked down at her food and wisely shut up. Having spoken the first thing that come to mind..she felt it was the truth. Another instance of her social awkwardness appears.

"I'm not offended," Jhu said gently, hoping her initial reaction hadn't scared the young woman. "Just a little surprised. And I suppose flattered. I get a lot of stares and long, leering looks. But not a lot of genuine compliments."

"Ooh." Mizuki nodded in understanding. "I see." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm just a girl who doesn't know how she goes about viewing people. Who does she like? Who doesn't she like? The questions remain unanswered, but, I can safely say that I truthfully think you're pretty, and would like to talk to you more sometime. That's all. Nothing...sinister. Like you referred to."

"If talking's all you want, my door is always open. You don't have to wait for me to be off duty."

"Well, if you like." Mizuki replied. "So..I know you're busy. But, is there anything you can teach a cadet?"

"Depends what you want to learn." Jhu shoved her salad to the side, giving up on it. "I mean, I have some gifts. But they're not all pleasant."

"The way I see it..everything I learn has a purpose. Somewhere, somehow. And, unfortunately, life on the frontier isn't always pleasant. So I'm open to whatever you can disclose with me." Mizuki replied calmly.

"Physical combat, mainly. And computers, when they cooperate... projectile weapons. Mostly violent things."

"Those have their place. Though the computers aspect sounds interesting. You can probably tell that I'm not very strong, so...I'd rather not be a princess in distress if I could possibly help it." Mizuki replied.

"Strength is something you find inside yourself, but if you prefer computers, that's quite all right."

"That's true.." She murmured softly. "Well, computers is a good place to start. But I'm not averse to doing what needs to be done to protect my friends and fellow crew." And therein was her motivation for wanting to learn more and do more.

"That's a wise position, Mizuki. Don't ever let fear keep you from doing just that." Jhu quietly sipped her coffee, thinking for a moment. "Have you done your phaser qualification yet?"

"I have done some phaser practice. Learned about the type one, a combat phaser, vs the type two, a multi-purpose tool. But I haven't taken the official qualification yet." Mizuki gave, smiling a bit as she's complimented..and she had to hold back a blush.

"I can help you with that then. I'm by no means perfect, but I'm a good shot."

She bowed her head in respect. "I appreciate it, ma'am." Then she leaned back in the chair a bit and stretched her arms out to the side some.

"You're welcome. It won't be today though... you're tired, I'm tired, and that's not a safe combination." Jhu pushed what was left of her coffee over next to her salad bowl.

"Agreed." She nodded for a bit, before deciding to try her luck a little. "So when you're not on duty in black, what do you do?" she asked, in an innocent curious way.

"Lately? Sleep." Jhu shrugged slightly. "When things settle down, I'll go back to climbing."

"Rock climbing, or something else?" Mizuki asked her.

"Mostly rocks. Sometimes trees, if there's a good program for it."

"I don't know if I can climb very well or not. But I wouldn't mind coming along sometime." she replied.

"It takes practice. I wasn't very good when I started either." Jhu retrieved her previously discarded coffee, taking another sip of it.

"Good to know. But again, most of things we have to do takes practice.." Mizuki trails off, sighing a little.

"Well... yeah. That's true." Wondering how much time had passed, Jhu checked her watch and sighed, shaking her head slightly. "I have to get back to work."

"Where're you headed? I could walk with you there." Mizuki offered.

"Back yo my office. You can tag along if you want."

"Thank you." She got up, when Jhu was ready, and followed her.

Much as she disliked going back to the mountain of work on her desk, Jhu hastily gathered their dishes and stacked them at the edge of the table as she got up. Taking one final sip of her drink, she set the glass next to the stack and headed out, with Mizuki close behind.

Nathan was considerably heavier than she was, but Jhu got him inside sickbay before her sore hip decided not to bear the weight any longer, dumping them both in a heap on the deck plating. Somehow, she caught his head before it would have smashed into the deck then rolled him over onto his back in a rare display of raw physical power. Damn Jem'Hadar. She made an attempt to stand and look for help, but the stun blast she'd shaken off earlier must have done some damage to the nerves in her leg. She was quite stuck. "Cohen! Get your ass over here!"

Nathan was so done for he didn't even moan in pain as his left shoulder hit the floor and began a new pool of blood to match the one in Engineering. He was pale, sweating a lot.

"Son of a-- COHEN!" Suddenly feeling rather guilty, Jhu stripped her jacket off and folded it into a sloppy square, pressing it over Nathan's wounded shoulder.

Cohen swore under his breath, "Reya help me get him onto a bed." He shouted, "We need to stabilize and get him into surgery have Doctor Iffar prep stat." He said and the nurse nodded quickly moving away as the doctor began to get to work. "Jem'Hadar?"

"Yeah. Three of them. Not sure what they hit him with." Jhu tried again to stand, then gave up on the idea and sat on the deck, wincing slightly. "Half his blood volume is on the engineering deck."

Cohen swore again, "I need to close this arterial bleed, Reya have the OR prep for a major transfusion, he's lost a lot of blood." Cohen's entire hand was practically inside Nathan's body but finally he managed to get his fingers in just the right position. "Got it!"

The monitor beep as his BP sudden stabilized. "OR 1 is ready, Iffar is prepping." Nurse Onolla said coming back to the biobed.

"Good, vasogenerator." He said holding out the other hand. "I'll repair the artery then send him into surgery to and Iffar can finish and clean up the rest of this mess. Then you're next Commander." He said looking to the Chief Intelligence Officer.

"Not quite sure what they hit me with either. My hip hurts, but below that? I can't feel anything. The fall didn't help either. But I can wait." Jhu knew Nathan was far more worse off than she was, and she'd sit on the deck all night if she had to.

A few moments later Nathan was stable and the CMO activated a site to site transport, beaming him directly into the OR where the surgical team was waiting. "Alright Commander lets take a look." He said gesturing to the next biobed as a pair of technicans began scrubbing down the one now covered in Nathan's blood.

"...you're gonna have to help me up." Here she was, the fierce Romulan warrior, and Jhu couldn't even stand up. She felt ridiculous.

Cohen helped the woman onto the bio bed, "Alright it looks like the you have a fracture as well as some pretty heavy damage to the ligaments and tendons, non surgical but it will take me a bit to repair." He said.

"A fractured hip? Great, I feel like a frail old lady." Jhu sighed theatrically, but she was glad the pain had an easily identifiable source. "Close range stun... something. And it seriously hurts."

A hypospray to the neck was followed by several minutes with an osteogenerator and transdermal microsuture. "There how's that?" He asked taking a step back and checking the readings on the monitor.

"Still a little sore, but better. Feeling's coming back below it." Jhu paused, trying to figure out why it still hurt at all after Liam had injected her with a painkiller. "I'm more concerned about Tonkin."

"He's in good hands." Cohen said, "I'd like to keep you in for observation until I'm sure there's no other side effects."

Jhu sighed, not pleased about being kept in sickbay. "Okay. But only because you asked nicely."

"Good, I'm going to check on surgery and then be back to check on you, keep the weight off that leg." He said.

Mizuki had gone to visit Jhu after their previous, and first, meeting. The elder had been tired and she'd wanted to check up on her. Her new friend was in better spirits and sent the cadet along to do other things. But as she walks down an adjacent corridor, a tingle runs up the back of her neck, and her danger sense goes off. Pausing calmly, she speaks. "You can come out now."

"I'm not hiding," Vara said. Indeed, she was definitely the only other person just outside of Jhu's office and though she was easily missed, sitting in the corner as she was, she wasn't doing anything to hide. The Lagashi woman's radar and scanners had gone over the girl to see if she was a potential threat and maybe that was what had bothered her.

"Not hiding, yet like a shadow. Seen, yet overlooked.." Mizuki muttered underneath her breath, before turning to greet the Lagashi with her best smile. "So? Do I pass with your inspection, ma'am?"

Vara sat there and looked the cadet in the eye without revealing any emotion. "You're not the threat I'm guarding her from. I commend you on your sensitivity, though."

"I thank you. But what are you guarding her from? Despite the different ways that you may take that question, I ask you to consider this one. I'm starting to consider her as a friend, rank or not, and if something is out to get her, I want to help stop it." Mizuki gave.

"Nothing someone so young should ever need to worry about. If you come across anyone with a personal cloaking device, though... Call me immediately." Vara didn't want the young cadet getting into any danger and though she had good senses, Vara saw no outward signs that she had any semblance of true combat ability.

"A personal cloaking device..that's unique enough to be remembered. I'll call you if I see or hear anything related to it." Mizuki gave...but her curiosity was piqued. She wanted one.

Vara recognized the faint signs Mizuki was giving off as human desire... "They're illegal in the Federation, so please do."

She quickly squelched that inside her and gave her a look. "Got it. I won't distract you from your duties further."

"No apology is needed. It's been a rather boring day. I was about to go on a sweep of the area, if you'd like to join me." Vara said, standing up from her chair and setting her PaDD aside.

"Sure, I'll come with." Mizuki gave. The Lagashi was an interesting person, and perhaps she could learn something. Though at that particular moment, Mizuki was unarmed. But, she said nothing about it.

Walking next to the cadet, Vara started her sensor sweeps, scanning bulkheads with her radar as they moved through the halls. "You're new aboard the Katana, aren't you? Are you settling in well?" Yeah Vara sucked at small talk by human standards, but on Lagash Prime, she was considered the talkative one of her family unit. She had picked up a few human habits during her academy years that almost annoyed most other Lagashi.

"I am. I've been settling in well thus far. Made some friends. Learned a few things along the way. And I'm becoming rather adept at dealing with paperwork." Mizuki replied. If the other was bad at small talk, her reaction didn't show it. Perhaps the cadet was different than other humans, in some way.

"If you need training on security reports it would be a pleasure to help. The unusual format can be daunting to most people in how... cartoonish they sometimes get..." Vara was referring more to the status of forces paperwork, but they were all rather diagram-related.

"Hmm. I haven't had to deal with any of those yet, so your help would be appreciated. Cartoonish, though? Like a diagram or something else?" Mizuki asked, obviously intrigued.

"They often require diagrams and the clipart built into them is pretty basic. It's useful, but it can be like reading a picture book or cartoon sketch." Pulling up an example from her PaDD, Vara handed it to the young cadet, the screen showing a rather crude outline of a man labeled 'A' posing next to a similar caricature labeled 'B'.

Mizuki looked at it. "Wow. You would think that with our advanced technology that we'd have something better..but then again, few enemies would be familiar with such drawings. Sometimes simple is best..but not always."

"It's designed for optimal visual understanding of an incident across as many species' understanding as possible. It's effective and efficient for the most part, though some of the pictures are rather vague." Vara turned a corner in the corridor, extending the big circle she normally walked by a little bit by zigzagging on a different path than what she usually took.

"I see..." Mizuki replied, following her as she was corrected by the Lagashi. "That makes sense." Indeed, she had a lot to learn.

"Indeed," Vara said, tucking the PaDD away. "I've heard that many of these images have been in use for over 300 years."

"That's a long time." She admitted, looking around. "Did you find anything out of the ordinary?"

"In relation to the images, the ones depicting sexual acts are unusually basic if that's what you mean," Vara said, her eyes shifting away from the younger woman.

Well, that was out of the blue. "Um.." she rubbed the back of her head nervously, "Where did that come from? I meant if you had found anything out of the ordinary on this sweep.." Though the Lagashi did have a certain look to her. But it was more of the badass type.

"Ah indeed," Vara said, now realizing there was a topic change she had missed as usual. "It sounds like someone's pet cat is hungry. I think it may be the Commander's. She feeds him twice a day so he shouldn't be hungry yet."

Mizuki shrugs a little. "I'm amazed that you can notice such details...but that's good." She supposed that once you had done something long enough, you'd get used to it and even be very familiar with the little things.

"How much do you know about the Lagashi?" Vara asked as they rounded another corner.

"Not much. I haven't gotten that far in my studies." Mizuki admitted.

"It'll likely be brushed over lightly since it deals with the Eugenics Wars on Earth," Vara said a bit coldly. "During those wars, several Asian countries got together and sent a small fleet of sleeper ships with people in cryo-stasis out into the galaxy. Those people colonized a world and founded a society where they could promote genetic and cybernetic augmentation using safe and moral means and with stress on responsibility to the family and society as a whole. Over time, mistakes were made but overall, I think we did very well. Our family units were forced to evolve from the systems used on Earth because of one of those mistakes. Males are only around a quarter of the population so they're forced into safe jobs on the homeowrld while we women staff the fleets and perform the more dangerous jobs. My own family unit, I have a husband, a wife, and 3 children. To bring another man into the family, we're required by our laws to have at least 1 more woman in the family. We dedicate our lives to our families, earning as much as we can so the 2 stay at home members can raise our children well. Most of the Federation views us similarly to the Borg but though we use a wireless cloud of data around ourselves with information we choose to share about ourselves, we don't do that whole 'hive mind mentality' thing."

"Ah.." She trailed off a bit, listening intently. It was a lot to take in, but, since she was sensitive after all, she looks at Vara..and then gently holds her hand for a moment, long enough to say. "It must be difficult...being so far away from home. I may have thought you scary to start with...but maybe we can be friends." before pulling her hand away, still a bit scared, but it was brave to speak up like that, was it not?

Actually caught unawares and with a slight look of sad shock on her face, Vara paused in her walking and looked into the slightly shorter woman's eyes. "Yeah..."She spoke with a slight quiver in her voice as she finally looked away and resumed walking, albeit at a slower pace. "Yeah It's hard, but I know the Federation Diplomatic Corps is sending them supplies every month while I'm here. They make a decent living selling most of those supplies to other Lagashi so while I miss them, I know they're doing well."

Shaking the sadness off, Vara spoke with more confidence and conviction, the wolf back in her eyes. "I have my job here and I'll honor my family by doing it the best I can. Besides that, I am scary. My augments and implants are designed for combat and on my cadet cruise I accidentally punched a durasteel main support for the nebula class I was on too hard, bending it out of place across 3 decks."

That reaction floored her, but she followed along easily enough. "Sou ka.." she muttered under her breath, before catching up. "While that is all well and good...it's not good to be alone, like that. The supplies your people receive don't keep you warm at night, and sometimes the toughest battles you face are those of the mind, not fighting with your fists. Remember yourself too."

This girl knew exactly what to say to get at Vara's heartstrings. She did her best to hide her feelings, especially after 2 lovers had left her like they had, but Mizuki's words just dragged them right up to the surface with ease. She still maintained her composure, but her eyes had softened considerably. "Wise words from a young human. Very unexpected."

"Wise words? I'm just saying what I feel to be right...that's all. Because I know what it's like to feel alone." Mizuki said simply, leaving it at that and giving her a small smile.

"Then it's a natural wisdom, which is even more rare." Vara stopped as they had come back to their starting position in front of Jhu's office door. "I have a space walk planned for tomorrow evening. Would you like to join me?" Vara had no idea why she wanted this child to go out with her, but for some reason she felt that Mizuki might be able to ease some of that loneliness in her heart. Most people gave her fearful looks and kept their distance, but this cadet spoke without fear or preconceptions and had actually tried to comfort Vara.

"Hmm..I accept." Mizuki said. "A spacewalk is something I need to work on. And in good company, it would make it even better." She added with a nod.

Normally when she smiled she had the look of a wolf about to catch her prey, but not this time. Sitting back down in her chair, Vara cracked into one of her very rare moments where she smiled warmly. "Thank you. Meet me at airlock 3 at 2000 hours tomorrow and we'll walk along the bottom of the saucer."

Mizuki gave her a cute salute. "Understood. I'll meet with you there."

Waving off the salute, Vara actually might have had a hint of a nervous blush creeping into her cheeks. "Don't do that with me. I'm barely out of the Academy myself."

She giggled, being unable to help it. "But you are out of the Academy, and I'm not. Just showing respect where I believe it's due. But, I suppose I need to head along now. Maybe to do some more work, maybe to get some sleep. Or I might be on Gamma shift bridge, I don't know. Hope you have a good rest of your shift." The younger bowed and then walked off with a smile on her face. She'd helped out someone, and was reminded of an important lesson. Don't judge a book by its cover.

Cadet Junior Grade Mizuki Masterson
Yeoman
USS Katana

Ensign Cho'ren Vara
Security Officer
USS Katana

She lowered the little headphones from her ears...and pushed her food away from her. Her appetite was gone, blown away by news from all the way back in Sector 001. Having stood up, she walks out of the mess hall with her head down, and after walking a little bit, she began to cry quietly..

Nathan was up to his eye balls in work. Preparing the ship to disembark the station was crazy, he never had any idea how much there was to coordinate. It didn't help that the events of the other night in the holodeck kept replaying in his head stealing his concentration. He had four PaDD's in his left hand and his nose buried in the one in his right when he came flying around the corner, and barreled right into Mizuki. Nathan stumbled and dropped all of his PaDD's on the floor.

Mizuki was sent staggering backwards, but managed to keep her footing before falling to her knees. She reached for the PaDDs quietly, intending to hand them back to him.

Nathan grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her back up, to hell with the PaDD's " Mizuki! Are you ok? Did I hurt you?" He could clearly see the tears streaming down her face.

Mizuki felt like dead weight to him, almost. She looks into his eyes through tear stained hazel orbs of her own and shoves a padd towards him, as if to reveal the source of it. The transmission begins with "Cadet Masterson, we regret to inform you that..." and goes on to reveal about how the aunt she had stayed with in her childhood and who had been so kind to her was now gone... She'd been like a mother to Mizuki, and it hurt..

Nathan fell to his knees and just grab her in his massive arms and pulled her into his chest. "I'm so sorry..."

Her tiny body shook under her sobbing as she simply let it all out. Having not initially planned to tell anyone, this..seemed better for her, at least.. Though finally the shaking would subside..

When her shaking subsided Nathan pulled away slightly. "Come on, my office is just down the hall here." He scooped up his PaDD's and took her by the hand.

Her head remained low as she followed him, her small hand clinging to his. Once they got inside, she waited for the door to shut and sat down in one of the chairs, wiping the tears from her face.

Nathan set his PaDD's down on his desk and pulled open a draw. He pulled out two cups and a bottle of old fashion Whiskey from Earth. "Its all I got, but Ill share. Or I could call Maica down here with something else. Or I can just replicate you something..." Nathan was not exactly sure how to deal with this situation.

She looked at him..and then at the whiskey. Numbly, she nodded her head in acceptance of the whiskey, and once it was set before her...she drank it. All. In one go. It felt like it'd burn her...but her insides were protected...

Nathan leaned back on his desk and swirled the drink in his own cup. "More?"

She shook her head. "No. I just needed something to take the edge off.." Mizuki replies through bated tears. "It's unfair, really. Being all the way out here when someone that was so dear to me has departed. I can only hope that her spirit goes to a better place."

Nathan took a sip of his glass and set it on his desk. "The one thing I have learned over the years is that there is no such think as fair. Is this the first person you have lost while on duty?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "And I suppose I'm learning that lesson the hard way. I would really...really...really want to be there for her funeral. But..I can't. All I can do.." Mizuki wiped a few tears, having spoken emotionally so far, "Is send a subspace message to be played at the funeral. It is the thought that counts, or so she used to teach me."

Nathan picked up his glass and took a seat next to her. "I saw she was your aunt, but who was she to you? I know some people are raised by aunts or uncles."

"She was like a mother to me." Mizuki replied quietly. "My real mother died when I was young. When your dad is always away being a hero for the federation, his little girl had to stay somewhere."

Nathan rubbed the bridge of his nose "Oh man..." He took another sip from his drink. "Was she proud of you when you joined Starfleet?"

"Yeah. She knew it was what I wanted, I chose it, and she supported me in it. So did the uncle, too." Mizuki replied, taking a deep breath. "I'm going to miss her. And I'm going to grieve, for a little while. But.." she sat up a little straighter and pushed her cup towards him, taking a pause..

Nathan took her cup " I wish I could tell you this is the last time this will happen, but I would be lying to you. I know for a fact that every single person on this ship have lost friends or family while they were on duty. Some more then most. Security and Intelligence..."Nathan let out a long sigh and took another drink, this one a little longer then the last few sips he had taken. This was bringing up old wounds from the past for him. But someone had to be there for Mizuki like someone had once been there for Nathan.

"Nathan.." she trailed off, listening to him. His name came softly off of her lips, a very gentle notion for someone who was grieving. She narrowed her eyes and spoke. "There's no need to speak of your past. It is hurtful for you, and I don't wish to bring something like that up. The telling of grief, amidst grief, only returns to grief. It's like a circle."

Her waist begins to glow in a faint, white light, as she continues. "It's hurtful for me..but I know that she would approve of me continuing my current path. So I will graduate. And I will mention her, when I do. I may not be able to help everyone...but I can become stronger and protect those close to me. Whether by words, my intellect...or something more."

The white light dissipates, and she sits down. Maturity having shown beyond her years, she was content to pour herself a little more whiskey.

Nathan just watched this happen, mostly the light that just came from her. He downed the last of his drink. "Ok then, let talk about your glow bug impression instead then."

"Oi oi.." she muttered under her breath. "Glow bug impression? Whatever do you mean, sir?" Her expression betrayed nothing, she'd gotten really good at hiding the fact that the artifact was there, but..the previous moment was a major character moment and it had decided to show itself. Mizuki had been facing Nathan, and thus not seen the faint light.

He got up and poured himself another drink. This has got to be the craziest damn ship in the entire fleet He took a long pull from his glass and then turned back to Mizuki. " Ok, so you went from a young woman floundering in grief to a Buddhist monk who waist line glows in about ten seconds. Being in security I have see some...interesting things. But your the first glowing girl I have ever come across..." He raised his brow at her.

"Glowing?" Mizuki shrugged and shook her head. "I apologize if you find me not normal. It's true that I still grieve, but...I guess I just want to make the best of situations that befall me? To, instead of grieve, put my effort into something she would be proud of." She bows her head, not having wanted to offend her friend.

Nathan shook his head and hooked her chin, raising her eyes to his. " Define normal." He stated.

"Normal, for this case...is...floundering in grief. and feeling down for a time." Mizuki replied, staring into his eyes.

Nathan shook his head, she didn't understand. "Not for you right now, just define normal."

"Normal is.." Mizuki ponders for a moment. "What a person is, I would think. But sometimes societies have perceptions of what normal is, and things go down from there.."

Nathan nodded and released her chin. "Ok, so would you call Andy normal with her Borg implants? What about Maica? Jhu is half Trill half Romulan, is that normal? Kyle is augmented, normal? I just named of four of the closest people to me on this ship. My point is, why would you apologize to me for not being normal? I'm not scared of you, I'm not running away and I'm not pointing and laughing. I'm curious about you. I want to get to know you better. Do not ever say your sorry for being who you are. Ever."

Mizuki remained silent for a while. Contemplating his words. "I feel like...you mean that. And it means a lot. I won't say sorry for who I am anymore...but ever since that one frontier world, sometimes I wonder who I am."

Nathan grabbed his drink and sat next to her again. " Cryptic..."

"Kinda." Mizuki sighed and leaned back in the chair. "You know that one thing that parents always tell their children? Don't wander off in strange places? Well, since I didn't have that luxury, I kinda wandered off one night when I was bored. Though...may I ask you something?"

Nathan nodded " I will answer any question you have for me. Just don't mind my crazy face that loves to turn 4 shades of red if you get to personal. Ill still answer you, just have to do it through a blush." He grinned at her and took a sip form his cup.

"Can you keep a secret? I'm not ready to reveal it completely to everyone. If you are, please make your office dark and secure." She leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"This is main security, where Vara works. This has got to be the most secure; room other then the brig, on this ship. Computer, turn the light off and seal the door." The computer chimed that it had heard them and then they were plunged into darkness. "As long as your not going to hurt my friends or my ship I'll keep any secret you have."

Mizuki steps to the center of the room. "Thank you. On the frontier world, I wandered into a cave. I do not remember much about that night. Only, that I woke up afterwards without a clue of what happened. But I do know...that an ancient power has lain dormant within me for the past several years. I could say more..but perhaps I should show you instead."

She thrusts her left arm downward, and then drags it back up to her right. The artifact belt materializes around her waist. Then, she slams her hands onto the pads on each side of the belt, which comes alive, a cone of the room in front of her being bathed in bright, white light, to the chorus of a distinct sound. The light continues, being willed by her to serve as illumination, before the sound elevates in nature and finally heralds the transformation into an armored figure.

A feminine figure no less, with black, a little gray or silver, and gold, as the color scheme. A white scarf hangs from her neck, though it seems she can choose when this appears. She stands in a regal posture...completely different from the shy girl that he had seen before.

Nathan was blinded by the white light, but when he could see again his jaw hit the floor. " Wow! That's...I dont have words for how cool that is!"

Red eyes stare at him for a moment before a golden light appears briefly over her body, seamlessly reverting her to her normal, human form. "I'm not saying that the artifact was the cause of me getting over things so quickly, but..when someone has a lot of responsibility...you can't dwell too much on one thing, na?"

"Computer lights." Nathan said out to the darkness. "You are right... but I mean wow!" He was still struck by what he just saw.

"I'm weak, as I am. But, when I become what you saw, I'm stronger. I have some kind of danger sense. And I can use various weapons with it, but none of them are futuristic." Mizuki gave. "Other than that, I don't know a whole lot about it."

Nathan perked up. "Do you know how to use a sword?"

"While in that form...yes. A halberd, a bow. and a war hammer as well." Mizuki replied, almost in a trance while naming that.

"Would you like to learn in this form?" Nathan grinned at her

"Sure, I'll give it a try sometime." She smiled and nodded, sitting down.

Nathan looked excited. " I am a red belt in Judo and Jujitsu, and have a black belt in Karate and Taekwondo. I have studied many weapons but my two of choice is the Katana and bow staff. I would love to teach you and spar sometime."

"Mmm.." She nodded softly. "Then perhaps we can meet up and learn sometime. I have a fighting style in that form, and sometimes I can recall elements of it, but otherwise I really don't know any martial arts like that." She was physically weak but mentally strong. That was about all there was to it.

"Sounds like a plan. But for now I need to excuse myself. I have a stack of reports I have to finish before we leave the station and I'm running out of time." Nathan smiled at Miziki. " Thank you for sharing with me. If you need to talk more later please feel free, my door is always open."

Mizuki bowed, and then saluted. "Thank you for listening, sir. Good luck with the reports." she turned around on her heel and walked out of the office. Feeling...better. It'd be a little bit before she was completely healed, but this had been a good start.

Cadet Junior Grade Mizuki Masterson
Yeoman
USS Katana

&

Lieutenant Nathan Tonkin
Security Chief
USS Katana

Nathan sat at his desk in his office. He was running random phaser scans in un-occupied sections of the ship. Suddenly a small warning light lit up on his control panel and an error message appeared. "Computer, run a diagnostic on phaser module number 483."

The computer beeped and a moment later it came back to him. "Phaser module number 483 appears to have been tampered with and has malfunctioned."

"What the hell?" Nathan stood and grabbed his duty coat from the couch in his office, slipping it on as he left main security.

A few moments later Nathan stood in the hall way out side a door to some crew quarters. The phaser scanner had indeed been ripped open and wires hung out of it. On the floor the carpet was burnt and still smoldering.

"What the fuck!" Nathan exclaimed to the empty hallway.

Nathan slaped his com badge

=/\= "Chief Tonkin to Chief Carter..." =/\=

=/\="A-yeah?" Andy responded over the comm. "What can I do for you, Tonkin?"

=/\= "You can come to deck 10 room 1008, your going to want to see this..." Nathan was not aware of it, but Andy would recognize the room right away as Jhu's old room that she had just recently relocated from.

Andy did recognize the room right away. She was almost afraid to ask what she was supposed to see. =/\= "I'm on my way," she said, tapping her com badge to shut off the channel. She wasn't that far from that sector, so Nathan only had to wait a few minutes before Andy swept into the room. "What is it?" she asked, almost worried about what Nathan had for her.

The hall was filled with a slight haze of smoke. Nathan had already made sure that the ship was not going to go on red alert due to a "fire". He stood in front of the door in the hall, right infront of a burned patch or carpet. He pointed up to her now damaged Phaser scanner. "I was running random scans of the ship in area that are empty and I got a error message that his module failed to properly scan. The computer told me that it was tampered with, when I get down here I see all this"

"What the-" Andy muttered as she looked at the burnt carpet. Then she looked up at the module above the door. What the hell was going on with this ship?! "We've got a serious problem," Andy said when she gazed about the room and caught sight of the panel with the device Jhu had shown her. That panel had been fused and she couldn't see beyond the bulkhead. Something was definitely wrong here.

Nathan went over to the hall way control panel and pressed it to activate it, then said "Computer, show me security footage for this hallway. Let start with 24 hours ago. Authorization Tonkin 554." The computer chirped and his request was brought up on the screen. "Alright, lets find out who you are..." The video showed the hall in perfect condition 24 hours ago. Nathan began fast forwarding the feed, watching in particular the Phaser Module.

Andy paced around the room, continuously taking in more data about what had happened here. This was wrong, so very wrong. "They know we know, so what are they doing? Why rip apart the phaser module?" she muttered to herself as she moved. What the hell was up with this room?! As soon as Nathan called for the video, she stopped her pacing and joined him in the hall, watching as he went through the last 24 hours of security footage. "Wait, stop it there!" Andy said when she thought she saw an unusual flicker in the footage. "Take it back a few seconds, then play at normal speed."

Nathan stopped the feed and took it back a couple seconds. The hit play and watched. There was something odd indeed in the feed. What Andy had seen was a flicker of static. It flickered 3 more times before the feed was reduced to complete static. The time stamp on the feed was 3 hours ago. Nathans jaw literally hit the floor " How...I don't understand. I have the highest security clearance on this boat, not even an Admiral should be able to access my records with out a warrant from Starfleet command themselves. How could this happen??" He turned and looked at Andy. "Be careful what you touch, this is officially a crime scene now."

Andy held up her hands and wiggled her fingers to show of the shiny metal plating encasing her fingers. "No fingerprints," she reminded him, then went back into the room. She wasn't going to touch anything, she just wanted to record heat signatures for the room, which was already going to be a bit tricky given the residual energy from the phaser discharge and all the smoke in the room. "I have a few ideas how this could happen, but I'm not sure I'm ready to say," Andy offered as her eyes continued to dart about the room to take in more details.

Nathan was not please. "Computer, seal off this section of the ship to all unauthorized personnel, including jefferies tubes. Also, locate the Captain and let him know there has been an incident on board the ship." Nathan listened to the blast doors roll shut and seal themselves. He then joined Andy in the room "Any information you can provide will be a wealth of help."

Andy was mentally charting their movements through the room to map out the heat signature and any other disturbances. "Heat signatures are consistent with the altered security footage, there was definitely someone in this room 3 hours ago," Andy said, then her eyes fixed on fused panel. She didn't know if Nathan had been appraised of what was behind it, but Jhu has said she would tell the Captain. And it bothered Andy to no end that the panel was even fused shut or that she couldn't see what was beyond it. "That panel over there has been tampered with," Andy said, pointing to the panel. "I'm not detecting any residual heat, so it predates today's incident."

Nathan moved slowly through the room behind Andy. He was looking around the room for and any signs of...well anything "Computer, begin recording. I am Lieutenant Nathan Tonkin, Chief of security of the USS Katana. I have with me Chief Petty Officer Andrea Carter." Nathan always worked a crime scene like this. He found it better to focus on observing and spouting off what he saw verbally then trying to remember everything later. "I was first on the scene and Chief Carter was second. The scene was quickly secured. Chief Carter is an expert with the phaser scanners so she will be assisting with my investigation as a specialist." Nathan then recited off everything that had happened starting with his running the scan.

He approached the panel and looked at it. "What do you think is behind there?" Nathan asked Andy.

"Hardly an expert..." Andy muttered, but she was still more than proficient enough to assist in the investigation. "I could tell you what was on the other side of that panel, but it's a matter of Starfleet Intelligence and I would need permission from either Commander t'Dharvanek or Captain Kerouac before I can reveal that. If it's still there, I can't say either, the panel is somehow blocking me from seeing inside."

Nathans eyebrows raised at this and he thinks for a long moment. "Fair enough. But one thing I want to point out. That phaser was rigged to kill. You saw the carpet out there." Nathan took a step out side the room and looked up into the tampered scanner. "Look at this, they really made a mess of your handy work. Who ever did this was sloppy but clearly smart. I have seen the safeguards you put in place in the scanners."

"I concur with the sloppy comment," Andy said as she followed him. "The... item... inside the wall was sloppily installed, caused a shitload of technical issues for this and the surrounding rooms. Whoever installed it and tampered with the phaser module ain't an engineer, not by a long shot. They are clever, though."

"Ok" Nathan said, "If your not going to tell me whats going on I guess Ill have to call Commander t'Dharvanek down here. But clearly I need some answers because this could have been really bad. Will you please make sure that this is not going to fire off again?"

Andy nodded and pulled out her tools to disable the power to the phaser module. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell Nathan what had been found inside the wall, but she was just following procedure. It really was a matter of Intel and she couldn't tell him what it was.

Nathan taped his com badge =/\="Lieutenant Tonkin to Commander t'Dharvanek"

There was a long pause before Jhu answered, indicative of her working on something that had been unexpectedly interrupted. =/\t'Dharvanek here. Something I can help you with, Lieutenant?"

=/\= " I'm sorry for the interruption but I was hoping you could join Chief Carter and I down here on deck 10 room 1008." Nathan would just leave it at that. He was not sure what was going on here but from what Andy had said, Jhu should know exactly where he was at.

Jhu swallowed as her stomach promptly twisted itself into a knot. My old cabin. What could Tonkin have found there? Why would he be there? =/\=Of course. I'll be there shortly.=/\= Right after I throw up.

Nathan taped his badge to close the channel and turned to Andy. "Ok, while shes on her way here I have a great idea...there is always two sides to every wall. Whats it going to take to get to other other side of that wall?" He asked pointing.

"Getting to the wall? Easy, there's a closet on the other side of that wall, I can have us in in less than 5 minutes. But if you want me to cut through the wall, I'll need a cutting laser, 20 minutes, and a gallon of mayonnaise," Andy replied without having to really think about it. The cutting laser and time limit was legitimate, but the mayo was just for laughs, though she seemed completely serious about it. "Although, if I'm going to do any cutting, I might as well just cut the panel off from this side."

"Is the Mayo to help you slide through the wall, cause I would pay good money to see that." Nathan joked. "I want to see what it is before we go hacking into it...what if it goes boom?"

Andy snickered. She liked this guy! "Back door it is!" She left the room to make her way to the neighboring quarters. Thankfully, the room was unoccupied because of the technical issues in this section, so she was able to enter in her maintenance override codes to get into the room. She found the closet the butted up against the offending wall and cleared everything away so she had clear access to the wall. And true to her word, it took less than five minutes.

Nathan followed her and watched her. She had said that she could not tell him what was behind the wall, clearly she had different feelings about showing him. He was not going to say anything to persuade her otherwise. He hated when red tape got in the way of his job, but he had learned early that it was better to gently work around the red tape the to get pissed and try to chop threw it. Walls were a different story all together though. He had never meet a wall with a problem that could not be fixed with out hacking into it first. He stood and watched her work quietly.

With the wall exposed, she would still need to cut through it to access the device, but Nathan's idea had bourn fruit; Andy could see though the wall, see the device. "I can see it," she informed him simply. "Don't see any sign of explosives or that it's rigged to detonate. I can cut through this wall or the panel on the other side."

That was a load of Nathans mind. This ship... "Your the tech, you do what you think is best. I'm just watching back here."

"Don't. It has a failsafe... it'll beam us all off the ship to prevent its removal." Looking rather worse for wear, Jhu had come up behind them and was leaning against a nearby bulkhead. "It's active again. Its defenses are intact."

Andy looked up at Jhu and nodded. She definitely wasn't going to touch it now. "I didn't tell him what it was, but someone tampered with the phaser module I installed and he started an investigation so I had to mention the tampering to the panel," Andy explained knowing Jhu would understand despite the minimal details. "I couldn't see past the bulkhead so he suggested looking at this way," she offered as to why they were in the closet of the neighboring room.

"One of them is aboard. We're looking at a crime scene here." Jhu sighed, not really wanting this secret in the open. "Section 31 aims to kill or abduct me. And I'm not letting that happen."

"Section 31?" Nathan looked At Jhu. " You're telling me that its real?" Being in security sure he had heard of it, but it had always been a legend around the academe.

"Of course it's real," Jhu snapped, a good deal more fiercely than she meant to. "Who do you think does the real dirty work? Assassinations? Striking into the heart of the Dominion? Someone's got to do it, and Goddess knows Starfleet won't."

Nathan just looked at Jhu for a long moment with his arms crossed over his chest, understanding in his eyes. He was not a dumb man by any means and he could read between the lines. "Ok... well killing you is not an option on my watch, so what do I need to do to help?"

"Hell if I know at this point. We tried disabling it. We tried jamming it. It compensates. Learns. Adapts. And it's listening while we talk. Relaying every word back to them." Jhu scowled at the bulkhead, wishing she knew of a way to disable the device permanently.

Nathans eye went wide. They were listening to them right now. Oh crap. He nodded slowly to Jhu. "Maybe we should repair this hole huh?"

Vara was sitting at her desk when one of the alerts she had set up went off and started playing audio data. Jhu was in her old room and near the device and though she was glad the tap she had sewn into the nearby internal sensors had worked, she was rather distressed that Jhu was anywhere near there without telling her. Leaping up, she sprinted to the location, not bothering with the turbolift, instead jumping down 4 levels of jeffries tubes to get there faster. As she made the last sprint across deck 10, she clearly picked up 4bio-signs near the device. 3 on the back side and the 4th she couldn't pin down. Barely breathing heavier, she stepped into the room and started scanning as she made her way to Jhu. "Commander, I must request that you relocate from the vicinity immediately. All four of you are..." Then it hit her. Nathan, Andy, and Jhu only made 3 people...

Without thinking, Jhu took a half-step back and slid a wicked-looking dagger out from under her sleeve. They were too close together for safe phaser fire, but she felt infinitely safer with just the blade. Now that Vara had announced 'four', she noticed the fourth breathing pattern and began to look around for its source. "No one moves a muscle. Our guest is likely armed."

Nathan held still, but his fists clenched making a popping sound. They didn't know it, but so was he. What he didn't have was the ability to see who ever it was. He closes he eyes and slowed his breathing. Good thing blind combat was one of his specialties...

Vara had already cycled off her own optical sensors, instead relying on her radar, bio-scanners, and auditory senses as she slipped a pair of breakaway straight blades from her own sleeves. Turning her head slightly, she could narrow down the target's position to within 5 meters but that cloak of his was annoying. At least her tweaks to her systems had proven somewhat effective. They were behind her now... Moving towards the door... Instinctively, she snapped off a piece of one of her breakaway blades and threw it into the door where it meets the wall, embedding it so deep it would take Andy several minutes to cut the door open. That would keep them in here with them, but they could still beam away. Whatever they did, the safety of the other 3 were her top priority, even if they were capable combatants.

"You are a bad listener," Jhu hissed, secretly grateful that Vara had kept the interloper from running. She heard his breathing pick up as the fear of being caught began to sink in. And he was close. Taking a chance, she did a quick calculation and grabbed something in mid-air. Something that felt like a jacket. "You screwed up. What'd they do, send a rookie?"

"Wolves don't listen well when their family is in danger." Now that Jhu had a hold of him, Vara pounced as well, grabbing the other side of the person. Now touching him, she could feel the power supply for his cloak so she grabbed at it and ripped it from his person, revealing him for all to see.

Well Nathan was not just going to sit there, he lunged as the person was reviled. Nathan sent his club like right hand colliding with massive force right into the guys jaw, immediately followed by his left into the throat. He wanted to make sure this guy could not call out for help to his buddy's.

Pinned, the trapped operative gagged and reached to activate the beam-out device, only for Jhu's knife to neatly pierce his hand. "No way. Only place you're going is the brig."

Not taking any chances, Vara plucked that beam-out trigger from his outfit and tossed it into a corner of the room as she looked him over for any more tech, pulling what she assumed was a phaser from his hip. "Commander, we need to get at least 20 meters from that device as soon as we can." Looking at the cloaking device still in her hand, she switched it off so it would stop trying to cloak her arm from the wrong side of the device.

"Carter, move. I assume you know how far twenty meters is. You too, Tonkin. Don't worry about our friend here... he's not going anywhere." Jhu tightened her grip on her would-be assailant, ignoring his feeble cries of pain as she hauled him out toward the corridor.

Nathan was on the move. He pulled a pair of cuffs from his jacket and moved besides Jhu. "Here." He said holding out the cuffs to her.

A thought occurring to her, Vara stuffed her fingers into the man's mouth, searching for what she feared she would find. It didn't take her long to locate it, thankfully. Not using any finesse, she pulled the whole tooth out, suicide capsule and all. "He really is a rookie. A professional would have used this as soon as you grabbed him." she said as she held up the hollowed out molar.

"I never used one of those things. Painful death... I'd rather be shot." Jhu took the handcuffs from Nathan, using them to secure her captives hands.

Commander Kristopher Kerouac had been a bit stressed out and overworked the past few days. He had lost his Yeoman recently. The young man had decided to request transfer to another starship, having grown too frustrated with Kristopher's harassment and occasional intoxication. It was something that Kris was not proud of but he was trying to get his act together. However, with his new XO still getting adjusted and with his personal Yeoman having abandoned him, Kris found himself almost neck deep in stacks of PADDs.

Fortunately, he had received word from Sarfleet Command that he was getting a new Yeoman, someone who they felt would be perfect for him. Kris had no idea what he was going to be getting himself into until it was too late. He was expecting someone older, like an elderly enlisted female with two or more decades experience. The chime on his doors rang and Kris unlocked and allowed for the doorway to part. He looked up and found himself looking at a thin and attractive young woman who looked like a teenager. Who the hell is she? thought Kris as he cleared his throat. "May I help you, Ms?" asked Kris.


"Cadet Junior Grade Masterson, reporting as ordered." She replied in a demure manner, but respectful and even professional. Neatly arranging the padds that were strewn on the desk in two columns, the most important one at present comes to rest before his eyes. Her transfer orders, and her file.

While she awaits his reply, she takes in the ready room. It reminded her of some she had seen in previous research. It was rather nice, but..it could be a lot better with a girl's touch. As for the man himself...well he was interesting. Obviously over-worked and frustrated on the surface, but beneath that lay someone with a lot of experience. Someone who could, if she could bear it, help her out towards her major.

Kris looked at the orders and examined them. "Cadet Masterson.... my yeoman" commented Kris with a smile. "Well, not quite what I was expecting to see when they told me that they were sending me a new yeoman. However, I must say that I am quite impressed. As you can see from this mess on my desk... I've been a bit backed up."

"I can see that, sir." The cadet replied, a small smile having arrived on her near perfect face. "Thank you for the compliment as well sir. It is my hope that through this assignment of helping you that I may observe your style of leadership and take note from it for my own progression. Command is my major."

Oh you poor poor thing. You're so fucked and don't even know it thought Kris as he tried to think about what he was going to say to the young Cadet. "Well, I do not know if I am the best person to learn from when it comes to command and leadership. However, I certainly could use your help around here. We have some excellent officers aboard. My new First Officer may be a good guy to get to know."

She remained silent for a long moment, having a thought process of her own. If the captain isn't the best person around here, then at least he will have someone who can help him do better. she thought, semi-naively. Mizuki nodded at the reply. "Then I am here to help, however I can. And I'll keep your advice in mind, sir." As she awaits his reply, she quietly goes through and organizes the padds on the stack closest to her via priority level and date.

Kris chuckled and let the girl go about what she was sent for. "You are a blessing, Cadet... truly a blessing. I hope that you stay here for a while. I could use all the help that I can get."

"I currently don't have plans to leave, sir." She replied formally, having busied herself with the rearrangement and cleanup of the ready room. Three stacks of padds began to form, instead of a mess, they were now sorted by priority and date, in three categories. Critical, Non-critical, and Other. Once she finished, she advised him of the new arrangements.

"Good" said Kris with a smile. "Make yourself at home, Cadet" said Kris as he stood up and vacated his comfortable seat. "Go ahead, come over here and sit in the big chair, try it on for size."

Once she had finished the arrangements, she smiled a little and walked over. "Thank you, sir." Mizuki gave, before sitting down in the big chair. It dwarfed her a bit, but after a little bit of personal rearranging, she turns around, arms calmly resting on the side, one leg over the other. "It's a little big for me, I think. But what do you think?"

Kris looked at the woman and shrugged. "I don't know... I never think about how I look in that chair. I think that it always feels big no matter how much you eat or drink or how many years you sit in it."

"Hmmmn. Very true sir." Mizuki nodded. She was still young, and still had a lot of energy. It certainly put things in perspective. "Well, what would you have me do then? Or are you hungry?" The last question was random, but she would still ask it.

"You just got here, Yeoman. Go have fun. Explore the ship and mingle with the crew" said Kris shaking his head. "If I am hungry, I will get myself something to eat. You are here to help me on clerical matters and keep this ship in order... you aren't some waitress or coffee girl."

"Aye aye, sir." She replied, giving him a salute and getting up from the chair. "Then, I'll see you around." A smile crossed her princess-like features as she bowed and then headed out of the ready room.

Nathan made his way off the turbo lift and onto the bridge. He had in his hand a PaDD the he gently bounced off his leg as he walked. He walked across the bridge and to the Captains ready room and pressed the call button.

Kris was on his way to exit his Ready Room when the chime rang. Kris proceeded forward, opening the entrance and exiting. He saw the Chief of Security was standing before him with a PaDD in hand. "Lieutenant, something that I can help you with?" asked Kris with some curiosity.

"Yes sir, I have my completed report on the boarding incident. I thought delivering it to you in person would be best so I could give you a brief run down and answer and questions you may have." Nathan held the PaDD out to him.

"Walk with me" said Kris as he headed across the Bridge and towards the Turbolift. "Tag along, Lieutenant" added the Commanding Officer. "I cannot wait to here what you dug up on this incident. How are you healing by the way?"

Nathan fell in step with the Captain. "The doctor did an excellent job on my shoulder. Sometimes it still feels stiff but I think that more in my head then any lingering effect of the phaser blast. Unfortunately there was not much to dig up on the situation. It was pretty cut and dry. A changeling got on board the ship by changing its self into some kind of inanimate object. The only thing I was really able to lock down was that it was a PaDD when it made its way onto the bridge. The way PaDD's get passed around and go in and out of personal quarters it was impossible for me to follow the path of a fake one. The Changeling learned our shield harmonics rotation and the rest is history." Nathan paused to make sure the Captain was following along and didn't have any questions.

"Wonderful..." said Kris with some dread. "It came aboard at some point. Shira explained to me that it had made contact with her. She was so innocent that she did not know the danger that she was placing the ship and the crew in. I cannot believe the damn thing took the form of a PaDD and did this much damage. This does not make me feel very safe aboard my own damn starship, Lieutenant" added Kris.

"Well then maybe I can help you sleep better at night Captain. Because what I have done, first is reset our shield harmonics rotation to a randomized pattern that recycles itself every 5 minutes. This way at lest if we have another breach like this in 5 minutes the intruders will not be able to beam over or pummel our ship. Also Chief Carter has fishiness the installation of the phaser scanners and I have begun scanning the ship. Once the ship is fully scanned, I will have a random rotation of scanning that is done daily to make sure this never happens again. On top of all that I have equipped each work station on the bridge, engineering, all transporter rooms and astrometrics with small hidden phasers. I have also began reevaluating the security force's work standards and schedules." Nathan replied to the Captain, hoping that he would be pleased with the precautions that he was taking. As Nathan had stated to Arthur, his second, this will never happen again on his watch.

Kris listened to all the information that the Chief of Security had just dropped into his lap. "Okay... that is a lot to take in all at once, Lieutenant" said Commander Kerouac as he reached up to his head. Hang overs are a bitch thought Kris as he tried for concentrate in everything that the man had been saying. "Please make sure that you send a full report to the First Officer and myself. I would like to sit down and go over it thoroughly" said Kris as the Turbolift came to a stop and the door parted ways.

The Commanding Officer exited the lift with Nathan Tonkin escorting him. "You sound like you really have taken this quite personally, Lieutenant. That does make me feel better."

"The safety of the crew and ship are my responsibility sir, I do take it personally. I don't intend to ever let anything like that happen again to Katana or this crew. Lieutenant Commander Tegan has asked that I get Chief Carter to help me get the recycle cycle down to 60 seconds. I have already taken the liberty of sending copes of my report to Lieutenant Commander Tegan and Jhu..err I mean Lieutenant Commander t'Dharvanek as well as yourself Sir." Nathan held out a PaDD to him.

"Sir, there area couple more things I have for you then I leave you alone. You look like your not feeling well. Chief Carter, Lieutenant Commander t'Dharvanek, Ensign Vara and myself have captured..." Nathan took a moment to look around the halls to make sure no one was around then said in a hushed voice " We caught Jhu's problem sir. Right now its staying off the books because of the delicate nature of the situation but hes currently being restrained and guarded 24/7 by 4 of my personnel in the brig. He tampered with one of Andy's phaser modulators and set it up to kill someone when the scan took place. Lucky for us I only scan parts of the ship that are vacant." Nathan would wait to let this information sink in.

"I am quite pleased with your performance as Chief of Security, Lieutenant Tonkin" said Kris with a tone that reflected as much. "I will make sure that I read all the necessary material and reports in order to bring myself up to speed on the matter. Please make sure that it does stay off the books for the time being."

Nathan nodded " Aye Captain. One last thing." He held out a PaDD to his Captain. "I would like to put in a formal request for a promotion in my section. Ensign Vara has been doing a great job and working very hard. I have seen her picking up double shifts and working around the clock. You and I both know why, but that's not in my request. I was able to fluff it up enough that I don't think anyone would question the promotion."

Kris looked at the man and took his words in. "I will have Commander Tegan look over your request. We will keep the request in mind when we do the next crew evaluations and if the Commander deems the promotions acceptable, I will give my approval then" said Kris firmly. He simply did not know enough on Ensign Vara to make the decision himself. Either way, he would want the matter handled by his new First Officer.

"Dismissed, Lieutenant" said Kris as he left the Chief of Security.