Episode 3: Post Mission

||USS Fenris
||Lillian's and Taylor's Quarters
||0320


Lillian was up late with Sareth, who had had a nightmare, stroking his hair and snuggling him as she thought things over. The last mission had been pretty close to home but they'd come up with a cure and Betazed was saved and she wanted more than anything to make sure that things got a little calmer. She had kids to take care of now--well, kids once the baby was born--and she had to deal with Reius leaving and getting a replacement for him, and she certainly thought that Elena could do such things with the right training...she was tired of getting new crew members.

"I love you, Buddy," Lillian whispered with a smile on her face as she kissed his head.

Sareth smiled, his eyes closed. "I love you too, Momma."

"Good," she said with a gentle laugh. "Wanna tell me about your nightmare?"

Sareth shook his head and instead let his mother rifle through his thoughts instead because he didn't really wanna talk about it. Lillian held him close to her and smiled more when Sareth turned over to face her, snuggling closer into his mother, feeling safe and loved and protected. He hated being away from her and now that he was back in the same place with her and with Taylor and was going to have a younger sibling, he was as happy as could be even though he had also been close to dying.

"Taylor and I will never let anything happen to you." Lillian assured him as she read his mind. "We proved that again today, didn't we?"

Sareth nodded sleepily and then yawned. "I know I'm safe with you and Daddy."

Lillian's heart soared when she heard Sareth call Taylor, 'Daddy', and she kissed his forehead and then got an idea, which she knew Sareth would like. So, picking him up even though she wasn't supposed to lift so much pregnant, Lillian took him into hers and Taylor's room and snuggled up with Taylor so that Sareth could have them both close if he needed them. Then she closed her eyes and decided to get some much needed shut eye, taking a deep breath and smiling to herself. She really had practically everything that she wanted and she couldn't be happier if she tried.

||USS Fenris
||Lillian's and Taylor's Quarters
||0705


Unlike Sareth earlier that morning Taylor had no nightmares or thoughts that kept him awake. He didn't suffer from guilt or anything like that. Not even the Betazoids he had to kill for Gabe to get to the bomb weighed on his mind. The marine had a clear conscience from the moment his head hit the pillow and his refreshed look showed that not even Sareth having to sleep beside him and Lillian had woken him up. If this had been the frontlines of the Dominion War he would have slept with a phaser pistol under his pillow and woken up at the slightest sound of a photon shell or plasma burst. Now no one was trying to kill him and he was able to get solid six hours of sleep which was all he needed.

Fully showered and dressed in his duty uniform with his silver oak leaf rank pip polished to a gleam Taylor was sipping down a cup of black coffee reading a PADD. His marine detachment had been posted to Deep Space something or other so he was in a rather dark mood. However SFMC command had given him the chance to piece together a crack squad. It was part of a new line of thought; did starships need seventy-odd marines on them when they had security detachments? The old rivalry between yellow and green had obviously surfaced and Security had won this round. Only planetary garrisons and starbases needed large amount of marines for deployment and protection. Starships would instead get a squad or two of marines. Good squads, no rookies but hardened veterans. Still enough to keep Security down during holosuite training simulations.

Taylor had selected his team already, or at least part of it. He still had to find a medic or heavy gunner he liked. Lieutenant Sondag had high praises about him and his trail run score was impeccable but Taylor raised his eyebrow at the fact the man was genetically enhanced. Apparently everyone in his race had the same enhancements and since joining the Federation they had an influx of Vulnian officers wishing to try their luck within Starfleet. He had also found a steady sniper and Nayla was going to be his tech expert.

"Least it'll be less paperwork..." he said to himself, putting the PADD down on the kitchen bunker.

Sareth woke up slowly and rubbed his eyes, smiling at his mother and kissing her forehead as he woke himself up and then turned to see that Taylor wasn't there and so the boy got out of the bed and then looked at Lillian once more before leaving the room.

"I love you, Momma," he told her softly.

"Love you too, Buddy," she responded as she yawned and then turned over to sleep a little more.

Sareth smiled and headed out into the kitchen, looking at Taylor and smiling a little as he walked up to him, climbing up on his lap. His stomach rumbled and he hugged Taylor close as he smiled to himself, glad to be home and with his parents.

"Morning, Daddy." Sareth said cheerfully. "What are you doing?"

When Sareth referred to Taylor as 'Daddy' the marine smiled bashfully since he was just used to the pointy-eared child referring to him by first name. Kissing the top of Sareth's head absent-mindedly as he looked at the PADD with a sigh he just shrugged. He doubted he could find a medic or a heavy gunner within seconds so he just left the downloaded personnel files for now.

"Marine stuff, son. What can I get you for breakfast?" replied Taylor rather monotonously.

Taylor was a rather good cook and not just with marine rations either. Sometimes he surprised even himself when he made meals for Lillian and now he had another mouth to cook for. All he'd do is replicate the ingredients and then cook it so the smell would waft through the quarters. If that didn't get Lillian up nothing would.

"I don't know," Sareth mused slowly as he scrunched up his nose a little like Lillian did when she was in thought or trying to be playful. "Pancakes?"

The five year old smiled at Taylor and honestly felt a lot better after getting to sleep in their bed because he felt safe with his parents. That was just it too--Taylor was being the dad he didn't have to be and Sareth felt protected and loved and he liked being around the Marine. He looked up to and love him just like he was his real father and he liked that Taylor was back.

"Can I help you cook?" Sareth asked him.

"Pancakes." echoed Taylor who looked down at the boy's face with an almost mystical expression. "One of these days you'll turn into a pancake. Get me some milk, flour and an egg from the replicator. Off you pop."

Letting Sareth down from his knee Taylor went to the sink and washed his hands. Even though he had been to the shower he always washed his hands before he cooked anything in a kitchen. It was a habited drilled into him by himself just to make sure no one ended up ill from his cooking. Fetching the equipment needed to make Sareth's favourite breakfast item Taylor clattered around making sure that the area he was using to cook was spotless. The quarters were spotless since Taylor was a marine and a stickler for detail. Everything was dust-free, folded and pressed to exact specification. He might be rough around the edges but he adhered to everything the Corps had taught him.

"So, I've been meaning to ask you son...what do you want to do when you grow up?"

Sareth got the items that Taylor wanted from the replicator and brought them over with a smile on his face. "Momma and I love pancakes. We should probably have sausage too and maybe add chocolate chips or blueberries to the pancakes. You know Momma. Maybe fruit too?"

The boy started to wash his hands because he was just excited to spend some time with Taylor and he liked to help. He liked to help cook and clean and paint and all of that and he thought for a moment about what it was that he wanted to do and he honestly didn't know yet. Right now he was just being a kid and worrying about the day he turned 7.

"I don't know yet...doctor like Momma or a marine like you. A marine medic." Sareth said with a shrug. "You both help people and I love that about you. You're the best parents ever."

Chuckling at the sugary intake that his step-son was planning Taylor took the items from Sareth and then walked to the replicator to get some chocolate chips as they had been suggested. With his ingredients all to hand Taylor began to place a sieve over the bowl and pour the flour through the sieve. Gently tapping the side he managed to fine the flour. "Pour the milk and get some water in there too. About a hundred millilitres, son."

Taylor was smiling at how clueless Sareth was about what he wanted to do and at the fact he called both him and Lillian 'best parents ever', to him it was the highest praise anyone could give. "A marine medic is called a 'corpsman' Sareth. They're Starfleet Medical enlisted ranked crewmembers who are attached to marine units. They were blue like Mum. Besides...you should do something you feel called to rather than what your parents do."

Sareth nodded and did as he was told, looking at Taylor. "I just...can I tell you a secret, Dad?"

He didn't know how he wanted to say what he wanted to say but he knew that if he told Taylor that Taylor would understand it. Maybe even help him to talk to Lillian about his fear about it all because he was definitely scared. He'd been looking up the whole ritual and he knew that he wasn't going to be able to get through it and he knew that Lillian was scared about it.

"Well I wouldn't be considered a good father for not being able to keep a promise now would I? Lay it on me." he said as he worked with the pancake mix, going through the process of preparing breakfast. The fact that Sareth was confiding in him and not his mother was a cause to raise an eyebrow but he just shrugged it off and awaited for Sareth to say what he had to say.

"When I almost died I...it made me realize that I might not ever be an adult." Sareth admitted timidly. "That Vulcan rite of passage? I don't think I'll make it through it. What if I don't have a future? What if like my father, I don't make it because of some Vulcan thing?"

Sareth was afraid and he was sad, but he smiled and shook his head like he was trying to get Taylor to forget he said anything about it. The kid had been having nightmares because he was thinking about how he was probably going to die and he didn't want to. Maybe he didn't want to do this rite of passage anymore. Maybe he just wanted to live and be a normal kid.

Taylor stopped dead at what he was doing, just stopped in the middle of making breakfast and pulled up a seat. He picked up Sareth and put him back in his lap with a look of concern etched on his features. Personally Taylor wouldn't want Sareth to do any such rite where his life would be in danger but he wondered what if Sareth regretted it later in life?

"Your father was a brave man. I never met him in my life but I knew from what your mother has told me of him...I would gladly fight along side him and give my life for his if it was possible. You see...Vulcans believe bravery is an emotion, something that isn't needed when making a choice. Instead they turn to logic and would say that a man giving his life for others to live is logical. Forget that; anyone risking his life for others is brave because he's fighting fear to do it. Your father fought fear and put on that uniform every day knowing that he could die in it. Nothing Vulcan killed him Sareth, his inability to bow to fear was what killed him and he saved others."

With a weak smile Taylor decided to recall a story. "I was sixteen when I was in my first firefight as a marine. I was so scared then, I always get scared in a fight. My first reaction is to get my shovel and dig a hole to crawl in. My training takes over instead. I do my checks, sight my targets and I shoot back. I'm still scared but if you're trained well then there is nothing you can beat. If you want to do your rites then I'll train you. If not then don't fuss. You have nothing to prove to myself, your mother or anyone. You only have to prove yourself to yourself."

"You'd train me?" Sareth asked him slowly as he snuggled into Taylor and looked up at him. "I don't want to let my father down, but I also don't want to die and Momma...Momma doesn't like to talk about it. She wants to raise me her way but wants me to understand my Vulcan heritage and so do I, I just have never been away from her. We could do simulations on the Holodeck. Use the simulation Momma made that she doesn't really take me into. She's stressed enough with the baby, I think."

Sareth smiled a little and then slipped off of Taylor's lap and went back to the breakfast so they could wake his mother up with food. Besides, he liked eating breakfast as a family and it had been a while since he had gotten to do just that and this was fun. He knew he could confide in and talk to Taylor and he also had his mother there--they would always be there for him...no matter what.

"Course I'd train you, train you the best I could." said Taylor with a nod as he set about making breakfast. Soon he started the put the batter on the frying pan, turning it into pancakes. "I'd train you to fight, to take care of yourself. To be resourceful and to face fear. These things I will give you to. That, and breakfast." he added a smile to his statement as the smell of pancakes wafted through the quarters.

"Breakfast is up!"

Lillian smelled the food and went out into the dining area in her nightgown, kissing Taylor lovingly and then sitting down at the table and resting her hand on her baby bump as Sareth put a plate in front of her. She Eskimo-kissed her son and then kissed his forehead and looked at the breakfast in front of her.

"Looks good. Today is my day off so I'm going to spend time with my men, sound good?" Lillian asked merrily, shrugging a bit. "Just some time training Elena and then I'm all you guys'. You helped Daddy cook?"

Sareth beamed and nodded as he sat down next to his mother. "Yeah...I helped Daddy cook."

||USS Fenris
||Counselor's Office
||0715

"Hi Kat." Alyssa spoke, walking into the office.

"Hello Alyssa." Kat responded.

"I'm just checking in." Alyssa smiled. "Could you, please, let everyone who comes looking for me that I'm out for the next 24 hours?"

Kat nodded. "Of course. But isn't in Lydia Shields showing up in a day or two?"

"Oh, I forgot that my cousin was coming."

"She's your cousin? I don't know that."

"Yah. Well, I've check in and told you what to tell people." Alyssa answered, turning for the door. "Bye."

"Bye." Kat replied.

Alyssa left and headed straight for her quarters. She just wanted to pass out. When she got there, she simply loosen her uniform and crawled into bed. Captain Crae had give her permission to sleep for the next 24 hours, and that was exactly what she was going to do. At least that was the plan, until she was reminded that her cousin was coming.

I had forgotten that she was planning to come. I wonder how things went with her family? Hope she doesn't try to fix my relationship with my parents. She thought before deciding that she would worry about this later. She yawned and got comfortable just as sleep took hold.

||USS Fenris
||Lillian’s and Taylor’s Quarters > Sickbay
||1035-1120


Lillian had made sure that Sareth was pretty much ready to go to class when Aria Grey showed up at her door that morning. She had been warned by Taylor that such an occurrence would take place and yet she knew that she was not as prepared for this as she wanted to be. More than anything, Lillian believed in second chances and the recommendation Aria had gotten from the Captain of the USS Maria was enough to sway her to let Taylor choose her for his marine squad.

“Come in!” Lillian called as she zipped up Sareth’s jacket and point to his shoes.

Aria took a breath and stepped into the quarters, looking around and noticing that they were much nicer than the quarters that she had. Then again, Lillian was the captain and she had a family and it made sense that her quarters be the biggest on the whole ship. Extending her non-implanted hand, Aria offered for Lillian to shake it as she had been taught by an Engineer on the Maria that it was only polite to do such a thing when meeting new people.

Lillian reached out to shake it as Sareth looked the liberated Borg over and then took a couple of steps closer to her. He’d never seen a Borg before except in a picture at the Day Care Center on SB7 and his friend had been saying such terrible things about them. Aria, however, looked young and while the metal was a little bit foreboding to the child, he thought that she looked rather sweet and he wasn’t afraid of her at all.

“Welcome aboard the USS Fenris, Aria,” Lillian told her with a smile on her face. “I am Lillian—or, Captain Crae—and don’t let the baby bump fool you, okay? I am very good at my job and trying to be better all the time. Taylor recruited you and I wanted to meet you and make sure that I could make your stay as accommodating as possible.”

Aria nodded gently at the use of Taylor’s first name. “Lieutenant Colonel Lucas, yes…you are engaged to him it says in your file. For the purpose of professionalism, I shall refer to him as ‘Colonel’ and nothing more.”

“Of course,” Lillian responded as the handshake ended. “Please, have a seat.”

“I prefer to stand if that is alright, Captain,” Aria told her politely, to which Lillian nodded one more time and decided to drop the subject entirely. “I am reporting because it is the professional thing to do and because I would like to meet you and ask about my alcove.”

Lillian nodded as the young woman got right to the point and decided to go ahead and indulge her in professionalism. After all, Lillian needed to start making her crew work more efficiently on duty and an ex-Borg drone could certainly help her to do just that. Here was one crew member that she could rely on to really keep the lines between professional and personal issues where it was—that was incredibly helpful.

Besides, she needed Lillian’s help and her sign off and while Lillian wanted to take the young woman under her wing after all the things her captain had said about her, this was important. They could bond over things at a later time, but she was to meet with Taylor and Lillian needed to drop Sareth off at class and then head to Sickbay to help with Elena. She had a lot to do and limited time to do it in and she had to make the best of everything.

“My Engineers have been instructed to help you to make an alcove and you have your own quarters to do with as you like. I am sure you have been shown to them already?” Lillian asked calmly.

Aria nodded at that. “Yes, I just wanted to make sure that I had permission before I began to put things together. I have several pieces of my alcove with me I simply need to put them together and connect it to this ship. I will work on it before seeking out the Colonel. Was there something else that you needed of me, Captain?”

“No, but I would like to try and have lunch with you sometime…maybe make it a regular thing to help you to fit in.” Lillian suggested with a smile on her face. “I have to take my son to class, but I am glad that I have met you. You will be a wonderful addition to my crew and I hope that putting together your alcove doesn’t take too much.”

They both shook hands and Aria gave her a smile, glad the meeting went better than she had thought—Lillian actually seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. Aria believed that her emotions could lead her astray, but Lillian seemed to know what she was doing and so Aria headed to her quarters while Sareth and Lillian walked hand in hand to his class. The young boy was looking forward to meeting some more kids and he was certainly acclimating back into the swing of things rather easily.

“I don’t think you’ll have much fun with Elena,” Sareth told his mother as they walked down the corridor.

Lillian laughed a little bit. “Her bedside manner will have improved when I’m done with her.”

“Okay,” Sareth replied, but he sounded skeptical and it made Lillian smile even more.

“I promise, now, give me a kiss and run off,” Lillian said, smiling when Sareth gave her an Eskimo kiss and then a kiss on the cheek and bounded into his classroom. “Be good!”

With a smile and a laugh as Sareth promised that he would, Lillian headed to Sickbay and smiled brightly when she got there. The smell—or lack thereof—made Lillian feel at home. She loved the way the medical tricorders sounded when they did their scans, and how the tools clinked and beeped and for a moment this was what she wanted. To be right back here where things seemed easier.

“And the master has come to teach the student,” Elena said wearily. “I told you, I’m a lost cause.”

Lillian rolled her eyes and got up onto the nearest bio bed. “Nonsense, Elena. I told you that you would get this and you would. Now grab the medical tricorder and try to make small talk with me.”

“Yes, Captain,” Elena responded with a heavy sigh, grabbing the tricorder and scanning her with a small nod. “So…how was your morning?”

“It was actually rather lovely. Sareth helped Taylor to make us all some breakfast and then I did some paperwork and met a new crew member and then dropped Sareth off at class and came here.” Lillian indulged the doctor with a smile on her face. “I actually think that Taylor is warming up to all of this rather well and I knew that he would. Somewhere deep down I knew that we still loved each other and we always would, and I’m glad that he wants to have kids with me and marry me. He never wanted that before and I’m more than happy to bring it out of him because he’s a natural at the husband and father role—an absolute natural.”

Elena nodded gently. “I thought that Sarah brought that out of him. He proposed to her before you, didn’t he?”

Something about the words made Lillian’s smile disappear completely and Elena stopped scanning her and swallowed. It was as if that had all just hit her for the first time like a ton of bricks and Elena wanted to take it all back when pain etched into Lillian’s features. Elena was right though—Taylor had warmed up to the idea of getting married and maybe being a family man when he proposed to Sarah back on Starbase Seven and Lillian’s heart had shattered into a million pieces that day, hearing it in her office.

“Then again he was just scared she’d leave him, meant nothing.” Elena said as she tried to fix what she’d said. “Sarah left him when he was in a coma and you were there to pick up the pieces—people on the ship talk. Taylor was always yours.”

Lillian nodded slowly, putting on a brave smile. “Right…some of the crew served on Starbase Seven too so no doubt you’ve heard things. I guess it was always meant to be this way though, right? He’s finally with the one person that would never leave him, no matter what.”

The words came out and yet Lillian was having a hard time believing that this was what Taylor truly wanted now. She didn’t doubt his love—she couldn’t—but there was that voice in her head that was telling her that had Sarah never left, Taylor never would have been with her and Sareth and she would have had to live without him while he was right there. Then again, she would have transferred because the pain of seeing him every day and not getting to be with him would have killed her and now she couldn’t focus on anything but on that: Taylor had wanted a family and a life with Sarah.

“Would it make you feel better if I tried to figure out the sex of the baby?” Elena offered slowly.

Lillian looked at her and forced out a kind laugh. “Elena, I’m fine. Go ahead and strike up another conversation and we’ll keep practicing, promise. Then we’ll run some drills and I’ll get back to the bridge.”

While they both knew that Lillian was anything but ‘fine’, Elena didn’t want to press the issue and Lillian didn’t want to think about it anymore right now.

||USS Fenris
||Omega Squad Rec-Room
||1120


Three figures in green duty uniform and one in grey were going through the motions of decorating their new rec-room to make it more their style. It would be their place to clean gear, do briefings and relax between training simulations. Of course it gave them a place to cool off from the rest of the crew. They were more than marines assigned to a ship in order to protect it, they were the razor's edge, the best of the best. Two men were tacking up a red flag with the Omega symbol on it onto a wall.

Nayla was busy setting up comfortable chairs while Staff Sergeant Katri 'zh'Tar, an Andorian marksman, was getting five glasses and pouring in several fingers of whiskey into each. There wasn't much decoration planned but rather to get everyone acquainted and settled. A new ship and new posting was rather startling. Taylor and Dariak had finished with the flag and had stood back to admire their work.

"Looks good sir." said Dariak with a smile.

"Yeah, it does." replied Taylor to his lieutenant. "We're still awaiting our medic to arrive so I guess we'll have to sit tight and wait until she decides to show up."

Aria was finding herself feeling rather timid about all of this even though she knew that she could do this all rather easily. She was Borg and that meant that she needed more than anything to buck up and show them that she was the best of the best. Her talk with Lillian had gone rather well too and if she wanted to fit in so badly, then she needed to make more of an effort.

She walked into the room with her uniform on and her red hair pulled back out of her face, taking a deep breath and trying to smile. Aria knew from lessons on humanity and greetings that she needed to make it seem like she was friendly and receptive. So she walked into the room and smiled at them all, before she headed over to Dariak and Taylor, as this was Taylor's squad.

"Petty Officer 1st Class Aria Grey," she told him as she held out her right hand...the one without the Borg implants for them to shake.

Taking her hand and shaking it before letting go so Dariak could do the same Taylor nodded at the introduction. "Welcome on board petty officer. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Taylor Lucas commanding officer of Omega Squad, this here is 1st Lieutenant Dariak Sondag, executive officer of the same."

With the new arrival the two other female members began to shuffle closer to the scene before shaking Aria's hand and offering their own introductions.

"Staff Sergeant zh'Tar, also known as Kat. Marksman and scout." said the Andorian who sat on a table with a small grin.

Nayla leaned against a nearby bulkhead after shaking the ex-drone's hand. "Ensign Pena, intelligence. All that metal on your face...you were a Borg drone?"

Her rather forward question had caused some awkward silence to take over the room so Taylor gave a small cough before nodding at Nayla. "Yup. She's a danger to herself and to the crew. You should be locked up petty officer and never be allowed to see the light of day again." Both Kat and Dariak were rather alarmed by this statement but Nayla just punched Taylor's arm and shook her head.

"She'll fit in then." she interjected nodding at Aria.

"Yup, she's a regular social pariah. My kind of person."

Aria was confused for a moment as to whether or not that was a joke, but she had been around humans enough at least to catch some sort of inflection. So she nodded and then looked at Dariak and spent a moment looking at his handsome form before she looked back at Taylor. He was her superior officer and she was happy to be there with him and the others.

"It is very nice to meet all of you," she told them with a nod. "I am looking forward to serving."

"Well I'm just happy to see one more of my unit active." mused Taylor with a shrug. He didn't have a problem with Aria being an ex-drone. All he cared about was her ability to work with the rest of the squad and produce results. "People might not take too kindly to you being on this ship with your...electronics. Honestly I could care less for short minded opinions. You're my girl now, which means I take care of you. We all take care of each other."

Dariak smiled a little at Aria before nodding at Taylor's words. With several centuries under his belt the Vulpine knew the value of soldiers putting aside differences to complete common goals. Now with Starfleet there was so many races and cultures thrown together. How it worked was beyond him. "I'm sure you'll do well here petty officer. The fact that you've been picked for this squad is a testament to your medical abilities."

"Sure, she can work a tricorder. But can she fight?" asked Kat as she folded her arms and seemed to glare at the red-headed human for a moment before looking at Taylor. "You know as well as I do Iceman that if we're called up it's because it's a desperate time."

"And that makes us the desperate measure." added the Orion intelligence officer with a nod. "She needs a name too...we all do. She could be...Clank."

Giving a small shake of the head and a chuckle Taylor couldn't help how Kat called him 'Iceman'. Usually a marine NCO would be spit and polish before a lieutenant colonel but he knew she was testing the water. Besides judging by her record she had earned the honour to call him by his callsign. "We can do names later but Kat is right Grey. Apart from sticking nanoprobes into people who don't want them do you have any combat experience or training? Rifles, hand-to-hand? Aside from the basics Starfleet taught you anyway."

"I was never a part of Starfleet...not really," Aria explained to him. "When I was picked up by the USS Maria I was trained, but there was little that anyone needed to do. I do not believe you are associated with the Borg as much as you think or such questions would not arise. I have assimilated warriors of many species--their knowledge of battle and fighting forms is right here for recalling...my knowledge."

She pointed to her brain and cocked her head a little to one side to study them. She knew their species and their species numbers and had only needed to give their files a once over before she knew their service records--better than they did. Her brain was like a sponge when it came to knowledge and her ever replenishing nanoprobes made her physically stronger than all of them so her strength was not in question here.

"I am Borg," Aria stated simply, looking Taylor in the eye. "I may have begun human and I may no longer be part of the Collective, but I will forever be the best of both. You chose me because I was the best medic that you could find and should battle occur I will endure and survive."

"Maybe I'm just partial to redheads?" suggested Taylor with a shrug. Sure she had the attitude to come with the territory but having only the knowledge to fight was not the same as constantly living it. Not in his book anyway regardless if her mind was a repository of information. She needed the training but right now he had to focus on getting the whole team ready, not just one medic. So with that in mind he began to dish out orders.

"Kat, check our inventory. Last marines that were here probably took all the good stuff when they left so liaise with the Operations department to see about getting us kitted up. Pena, I need you to go to the Intel offices and get everyone the latest lists of hotspots and gossip. I want to know what's happening out there. Off you pop."

Both women came to attention and saluted before leaving. Taylor returned the salute before turning to both Dariak and Aria. "Sondag...you get to take the petty officer to a holosuite and see what she can do. No offense petty officer but I need proof that you're capable. Sondag here will take care of you."

"I am not offended," Aria said with a gentle nod.

"And what will you be doing sir?" asked Dariak with a tilted head. That caused Taylor to chuckle a bit.

"Seeing a man about getting us some new shiny toys. Keep me posted." he replied before leaving the room.

The Vulpine just watched Taylor leave before turning to Aria and then back at the door. "I've never known someone so...chaotic...in all my life."

"He is certainly human," Aria agreed as she looked at the door and then at Dariak.

She was very observant and rather enjoyed trying to figure out what people were about so she could practice being more human but Dariak seemed so very different. Aria knew from his file that he was Vulpine and while she did not want to go to the Holodeck to do anything she knew it was important. She had fought before and was very capable of handling herself but she knew that it was important to know how each individual of a whole worked so she would prove herself.

"I assure you that I can take care of myself and of others," Aria began, cocking her head a little to one side. "I am more than ready to show you how I...tick. I believe that is how humans say it--forgive me, I don't know as much about them as I wish I did."

"I believe you petty officer, I certainly do." said the Vulpine who always wanted to find the best in others. While he was very aware that not everyone was bound by the same honesty that Vulpine were he sensed nothing but good from Aria. Not that he was empathic or anything but rather a hunch. "If you say you are ready then you are ready. I'll just tell the lieutenant colonel that you are prepared for operations."

With a smile he nodded and stood ramrod straight. He was a by-the-book type of person and therefore not prone to the same casualness in comparison with the rest of his squad. "I've known humans for some time now and they still confuse me. With Vulpine it's simple; be honest. With humans there are white lies, dark lies and deceit everywhere or there is honesty. They vary so much and it makes judging them difficult. Even the lieutenant colonel. But....is there any questions you need answered or anything you wish to do?"

"I appreciate your honesty," she told him with a small smile on her face as she looked at Dariak with intrigue on her face. "I do not see a point not to be honest. Borg have no secrets and we find no reason to have such--we are all connected. As a liberated Borg I stand by the same principals--honesty and duty. Because of that I believe we should do as the Colonel wishes and run me through my paces. If that is not too much trouble..."

Aria was glad to be around people so easy to accept her and because of that she wanted to actually make a difference here--she wanted to actually do what was expected of her. She looked at Dariak with kindness and determination and liked what she saw and hoped to be as good as her record said that she was. While she was young, her time with the Borg had made her experienced in battle and knowledge, and she wanted to prove her worth to her new family.

"It is no trouble at all petty officer." beamed Dariak who took off his duty jacket and rank pin, revealing his green duty shirt. To him there was no real test of someone's abilities who has already been trained up and he guessed Taylor wouldn't pick someone he thought was green. Amongst these veterans there was no one really who was just out of basic. "See if you can hit me. Don't worry, I won't use too much of my enhanced strength."

"You wish to spar?" Aria asked him slowly, unzipping her duty jacket slowly and tossing it aside.

She supposed it couldn't hurt--it was still seeing what she had and she could prove herself, she was sure of it. Even if the spar ended with her on her back she would have given all that she had. In fact she was fairly certain that Dariak's enhancements would make him stronger than her nanoprobes and she was still a woman, but she had taken out Klingons and Cardassians before on her own in hand to hand combat, so she got into her most comfortable stance and looked him in the eye.

"I am stronger than I look," she said as her right hand came towards him with precision and grace--it was almost like watching a dance the way she moved herself.

"I hope you are, because you will find yourself in many fistfights and not with people only looking to test your abilities." said Dariak who took up his own combat stance. Vulpine were already naturally quicker and stronger than humans without their enhancements. With thicker bones and larger amounts of muscle it was like a bipedal freight train of power when it came to a punch or kick. They were a warrior race with an extensive military force who took in recruits as young as fourteen. Trained in all forms of combat a Vulpine guardsman or sailor was a capable combatant for any situation.

Unlike Aria, Dariak's movements lacked grace but were backed up by their sheer presence. A lumbering tall wall of muscle who held himself in close to prevent his limbs from being grabbed and twisted. Like a cannonball he charged into her, grappling her waist before flipping her onto the floor behind him.

With most species, Aria simply knew where their weak points were and that came in handy most times but the Vulpine...the Vulpine had never encountered the Borg. Therefore she knew almost nothing about them except for the things she had been researching since finding out that her MXO was Vulpine and therefore wanted to know so much more. So as she moved she realized she didn't know exactly where it was she should aim to knock him off balance, and next thing she knew she was being flipped onto her back.

However, it took her less than a moment to recover, getting up in one smooth motion, and then taking a chance to see what would happen if she gripped him in Human vulnerability spot. With that in mind she jumped onto his back, legs wrapping around his torso as she brought her arm around his neck, trying not to hurt him, but also knowing that there was a way to cut off airflow to make a human fall to their knees, but more than likely it wouldn't work on a Vulpine man...but she was ready to learn because she didn't mind if she lost, she just wanted to know more about him and prove that she was more than some young, petite redhead and so much more than some ex-drone.

Dariak hadn't expected Aria to attack in such a way so he didn't bring his chin down to protect his throat. He attempted to shake her off by violently bucking and swaying, trying to breath before jabbing his elbow into Aria's guts. There wasn't much else he could do since she had him in such a vulnerable way. Determined to win however he kept up his jabbing and bucking.

Now that she knew that he also had to breathe this way, she quickly let go and slid off of his back, her cheeks flushed. He had needed to breathe and was caught of guard and that hadn't been her intention at all. She turned him around to cheek his pulse with her fingers to his throat, her blue eyes peering into his and stroking his face gently with her fingertips. If she was to be their medic, she needed to study his physiology better than she had studied it so far.

"I apologize for such a tactic," Aria said, blushing a little bit more. "I need to better acquaint myself with your physiology."

With a cough Dariak nodded and sat down on a nearby chair. He might have enhancements but even he needed to breath. "It's excusable. I'd expect you to fight with any tactic at your disposal. Replicate yourself a medical tricorder and I'll let you take some scans. Better now than if I've got a hole in my chest."

"I am one step ahead of you," Aria informed him, going for her shed duty jacket and pulling the tricorder out of her pocket. "I am always prepared...which is why I should have studied more before coming today. I feel as though I have made an error--I do not take kindly to such feelings."

She chewed on her bottom lip a moment and then pushed on her bangs, looking down at the floor and then back up at Dariak and gazing at him gently. Aria normally did not admit defeat out loud and it was important to her that she make sure that he knew that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and others. She was Aria Grey and she was once Eight of Twelve of Borg...she could do anything she put her mind to.

"You are rather sturdy for a being," Aria told him as she started to run her scans, her Borg fingertips gently stroking his skin as she once again checked for a pulse.

"No error was made petty officer. You went for a target and it paid off." said the lieutenant calmly with a smile. Dariak tilted his neck to let Aria feel for a pulse while she ran the scanner over him. "Besides, mistakes happen to us all. It is our duty to learn from them, not to treat them as a negative occurrence." he added with his kind tone. He liked to remain the calm, stoic warrior against Taylor's more bottled emotional leadership style. At least he was enjoying himself.

"Strong bones, organ redundancies and genetic enhancements. Can't get sick, natural regeneration rate quicker than a human's, strong and fast. Before joining the Federation we've bet back the Klingons, Kzinti and Romulans. I've spent three centuries defending my people as a naval guardsmen...marine basically. What about you? I pinned you for a human but I didn't know they used cybernetics. They are rather interesting."

Vulpine didn't have the same concept of personal space as most species so it didn't seem odd to Dariak to stroke the eyepiece on Aria's face. "What is it made of? What does it do?"

"I was once human," Aria explained to him as she took in his vitals and noted it all in her mind for future reference. "Then I was assimilated by the Borg and I have these to mark me. Nanoprobes were injected into my bloodstream and I got my work on my hands, that by my ear and then..."

She blushed a deep shade of red as Dariak stroked her cortical node, not expecting anyone to be so fascinated by her implants, but it almost seemed obvious. He didn't know of the Borg and she didn't know of the Vulpine as much as she wished that she knew of them, so they were both curious. Still, it was how forward he was that took her by surprise and yet she didn't flinch or move away at all...she simply blushed.

"...and my cortical node, right above my left eye," she told him slowly. "It helps me to see all sorts of things on different levels. I can see what makes up holograms, I can see subparticles...it is actually rather handy. How do you all enhance yourselves? What does it do exactly?"

"Genetic enhancements." said Dariak with a small sigh. "Due to humanity's somewhat poor experience with genetics Vulpine tend to be treated at arm's length. They expect us to try to become arrogant rules or use our abilities for nefarious deeds. What they forget is that human Augments had these personality flaws not because they were Augments, but because they were human. Their traits were merely enhanced and grew out of control. Human scientists were trying to perfect humanity. You cannot perfect what is imperfect by design. My people simply sought to give our soldiers an edge in defending our territory but over millennia civilians started to apply for them. Now our entire race is enhanced."

With a smile he retracted his hand away from the implant and folded his arms. "Faster reflexes making our pilots the sharpest, increased strength and stamina to make our soldiers the toughest, increased intelligent to make our scientists the most inquisitive. However people think it's these things that make our culture when it's our warrior culture. Much like Klingons we dream of glorious battle however we don't simply seek battle for the sake of it. Rather than sing songs and drink ourselves into a stupor we follow the Warrior's Way...I suppose akin to ancient human samurai or knights. We're expected to act a certain way outside and inside battle. However I noticed that crew reactions to you being aboard were...worse than my presence."

Aria nodded at him and listened to all of his words, very aware of what he was doing and saying. She was fascinated by him and learning more about him, which made her feel happier about vowing to protect him and the others and she simply gazed at him, eyes never leaving him. He was an intriguing specimen and Aria felt comfortable with him, which was rare for her because most people saw her and treated her unkindly out of fear and aggression...but Dariak, Lillian and the rest of Omega were so different.

"That would be because your people simply enhance their own natural abilities and it works for you--you are different so they look at you with a different look than that of the one they use to look at their own, but at the same time they do not believe you will lash out and attack them at a moment's notice. The Borg, however, are a terrifying and unrelenting race and 'assimilate'--they create drones against the will of the individual becoming a drone. As much as I feel for and miss them and the security that they brought me for so long, they took my childhood and more than half of my life from me just so I could serve them. I lost my parents to them. Nanoprobes did this to me and now I cannot live without them and as they course through my veins and I still have my assimilation hand so...they are afraid of me. They are afraid I will try to make them Borg too."

Nodding Dariak absorbed the information that was being said to him by Aria. It made his heart heavy that humans, who claim to have shed their prejudice and ignorance from their ancestors to bring it back simply because one of their own returned to the fold with some extra hardware. Putting on his duty jacket, zipping it up and putting on his silver bar rank pin he fidgeted with Aria's rank pin to right it up. Smiling at the correct he folded his arms again.

"I'm not afraid." he said in a tone that made him sound sure that Aria would never try to assimilate him out of some repressed instinct. "They will learn to trust you. The captain trusts you enough to let you on the ship and the colonel trusts you enough to let you take care of his wounded. I trust you enough to work together for the benefit of this ship. Give it time and the rest of the crew will."

"Thank you," Aria told him honestly as she gave him a gentle smile and closed the tricorder. "I am used to people being afraid of me and treating me as a threat, so it is nice to be in an environment where I am more accepted. Especially to be treated with respect and to have someone not know what kind of terrifying people I was once a part of. It is refreshing."

She wasn't sure what the next step was but she thought she'd try something. "I do not know how this works, exactly, but in trying to get back to my human roots I have been trying to do more human things. I believe that I should invite you to dinner to show my appreciation--if you are interested and that is not too forward. I just wish to thank you for your kindness."

"Well, Vulpine military crews allow officers and enlisted ranks to socialize in terms of dinner and other recreational activities. Actually both the RVGC and RVNF encourage that type of interaction. There are no split messes or some such. So I would be honoured to dine with you, perhaps this evening or the next time duty allows." replied Dariak with a small smile. He liked the idea of teammates getting together and bonding. Maybe he'd ask Taylor to lead them on a good field day next time the ship got shore leave.

"Any particular attire? Uniform? Casual?"

"Casual," Aria said as she mulled it over a little in her head. "I do not wish for you to feel as though you are at attention and you need to be ready for anything. Just a dinner."

She thought a moment about her schedule, but she didn't really have one as of late since she was new to the ship and to the crew. Lillian wasn't making her speak to a counselor and she didn't really have much to unpack and so she made sure to just smile a little. Aria decided that it was about time she mingled a little more and why not with the sweet man that was to serve with her?

"Tonight is available," she responded with a nod.

"Then tonight it is." said the Vulpine with a smile. "I suggest you make your way to Sickbay and get to know the crew there. You may find yourself in there tending to the wounded so it would be best to do that. 1800 hours petty officer and not a moment earlier. I will be around your quarters at that time. But until then...attend to your duties."

"I will work and prepare," Aria told him gently. "I have been told by you and the captain to visit the CMO and it would be beneficial for me to meet her. 1800 hours, I will be ready for your arrival."


Dariak Sondag
Aria Grey
The Blue and Green one

Marlo/Lilly 1135ish

||USS Fenris
||Main Engineering
||1230

After dishing out orders to his new Omega squad Taylor was feeling rather happy about having another crème de la crème unit under his command. While he felt jaded that SFMC headquarters had shuffled his original command from him due to the changes of the fleet protection policy, he was happy at having such a fine group to work with. Sometimes however he wish he would be able to have James, Erlin, Jenn and Arytom under his command again. Smiling at the memories of their mischief he decided to pay Gabe a visit in engineering, walking along at a rather timely pace.

Most people forgot engineers did more than run simple maintenance and repairs. They were also good at building things and having a squad rather than a company to equip meant that Taylor had more resources at his disposal. He decided to talk shop with Gabe about getting some new, tasty equipment to fill gaps in Starfleet's armoury that had bugged him for a long time.

Upon entering the engineering deck the men and women in yellow uniform glanced up before returning to their work. By now they were used to him visiting Gabe for whatever reason. This time however it was professional. More or less. "Looking for the new commander, where is he at? Or do I have to crawl through the nooks and crannies of this ship?"

Gabe stood with Ensign Polski running a check on the warp core as he saw Taylor walk into Engineering, He quickly ran through the last of the checks, making notes on a PADD in his hand as he did so.

"Ok Ensign, looks like I have a meeting." He said with a smile, "Would have been nice if I'd had some notice but nevermind. Run a level 3 diagnosticon the intermix chamber and we'll see what pops up."

The Ensign nodded and set to work on the console, "No nooks or indeed crannies today Colonel." Gabe called from behind the warp core. He handed a PADD to the Ensign and walked over to Taylor.

"So to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well, I've decided to take advantage of your skills commander." said Taylor with a shrug. "Comes to my attention that we have phasers of all shapes and sizes to do all kinds of different jobs. Now with a smaller team we could be send on missions were stealth is key. As you know Starfleet really isn't big on stealth weapons. I was wondering if you could whip up something...I dunno, suppressed projectiles?"

"Ah a connoisseur. Step into my office Colonel and we'll see what we can do." Gabe said, already making his way to his office.

The door slid closed behind them as Gabe stepped towards a small table set into on of the walls. He tapped a few keys and a holographic display popped into life.

"Okay. Suppressed projectiles ya say. Computer give me a pistol based on current marine sidearm specs." Said Gabe as the display changed to the marine pulse pistol, "Ok. now give me a side by side, secondary image, A gas powered projectile weapon of similar size with sound supression."

The display shunted the phaser to one side and created a crude looking pistol with an enlongated barrel.

"Ok that's the basic idea, granted it doesn't look like much at the moment but give me time and i'm sure I can have something in prototype form soon. So what ya want it to look like?"

The question caused Taylor to cock his head to one side as he studied the image. He instantly recognised the marine phaser which was shaped like a traditional pistol rather than the more elegant fleet design. It was a classic, a brilliant weapon. Now he looked at the other projection like someone in an art gallery giving their dues to a painting. "Think functionality overcomes fashion in this case commander." said Taylor with a smile. "I'm looking for a pistol and rifle design for close quarters and something for our designated marksman to handle."

With that in mind he decided to expand on that. "Computer, also display American M14 battle rifle and Israeli Tavor TAR-21 assault rifle." At his request the two weapons appeared beside the two pistols. Taylor then looked at Gabe with a small smile. He loved weapons, from flintlocks to phasers. From bat'leths to broadswords. If it maimed, killed or wounded he was all over it. "Some 24th century designs and materials? What would you suggest for the construction materials and the projectiles?"

Gabe thought for a few seconds, measuring up the best materials to use, "For the weapon itself I'd say Tritanium, stuff's tough as nails, even you groundpounders'll have a hard time breaking 'em." he chuckled, "The rounds Nitrium may be best. I have a few things in my workshop I can try ... Gimme a few days and i should a few working prototypes for ya to try, see how ya like 'em."

"We don't have an active op or anything so right now it's mainly team building. Great selection. Got myself a Vulpine and an ex-Borg drone. Nayla is covering my tech skills since she was my mechanic on that ship that's still sitting in one of the shuttle bays. Still need someone to take care of heavy weapons....repeater phasers, isomag launchers that kind of thing." said Taylor with a small grin. "By the way, good job on the bomb. Might have been a dud but you did your finest work."

"Glad ya think so." he said with a weak smile, "Can't believe we were dooped like that." He rubbed his temples, feeling the annoyance he'd felt during the defusing of the fake bomb rush back.

"Shame Jason didn't survive, I can think of a few things I'd have liked to ask him."

"It would have happened to anyone." offered Taylor in a bitter tone at the mention of Jason's name. He hadn't liked the man from the very first moment of meeting him. At first he figured he was just some sleazy Betazoid freighter doctor but it had become more and more apparent that he was in league with Doclin and a rather dangerous man. The fact he was willing to so easily be involved in a plot that could have meant the extinction of his species only proved his resolve or madness.

"It's better that he's dead. All he would have offered were lies and half-truths. He's like Lars."

"No argument there, maybe ya right." Gabe conseeded as he picked up a PADD from his desk, "This Doclin shite is really started to get on my wick. I'd like the idea that this guy's pulling the strings from behind his little curtain, Placing his little puppets in our midst so we're always on the backfoot."

"I've half a mind to start background checks on my own people, not that that'd turn up much I'm guessing."

He finished with the PADD and handed it to Taylor, "In the meantime, I think I can come up with a solution to ya heavy weapons problem. His name's Thaklar, Andorian with a perchance for big guns."

Taylor barely glanced at the PADD before he placed it down with a rather sour expression on his face. The only person he wanted for heavy weapons on his squad was James Corden but he was no longer with the SFMC and any attempts to reach him had been unsuccessful. "I already have an Andorian." he said with a small sigh but then decided to add something else. "I'm picky about my heavy weapon guys alright?"

"Fair enough, forget i mentioned it." Gabe replied, he had a feeling he knew who Taylor meant.

He sighed again and leaned against a nearby bulkhead before staring at the holo-images of weapons as he spoke. "Doclin is a smart man. No one part of his operation is connected to the other. I know from personal experience that he has a significant military force. We saw today he possesses at least one heavy armed starship. He's sneaky and he's smart but as soon as he got too close to us he overestimated his chances. Now I've got two of his high ranking lackeys' deaths on my belt."

"Yea well he's not the only smart person around here." said Gabe as he activated on of the moniters that almost completly covered three of the four walls of his office. "I've been keeping a 'scrapbook' for lack of a better term on all the incidents I've had with that guy or his lackeys."

He pulled an isoliner chip from the inside of his waistcoat and plugged it into the terminal. "I see it or hear it, I remember it, great party trick. I've transfered all that data to this chip and this chip alone, Given enough time and data I'm hoping I can either track him or at the very least understand the way he thinks. I even have some sensor data on his ship from when he attacked us directly, sure ya remember that day. He killed some of my people and he threatened my friends, I'm not going to let that slide."

"He underestimates everyone else and that is his greatest hubris." said Taylor as he looked at the terminal screen with a look of scrutiny. Gabe might have had some data about Doclin but Taylor had a feeling it was barely scratching the surface. "He thought I'd be an easy target for his hit squads, that this ship and crew would be helpless against him. Time and time again we've defeated his plots or inflicted some kind of loss against him. That should make him scared or angry, and scared or angry people make mistakes."

Stepping away from the terminal and returning to his spot against the wall Taylor remembered about how he had cut a bloody path up the chain of command to find one of Doclin's Sixes, his head lackeys that supervised his organisation. He already had two to his name and he was looking for more but they were the whet stone to sharpen the blade, Doclin was the prey. "Keep that in mind if you intend to go after him." said the marine who headed towards the door. "My advice? Be patient. A good hunter doesn't risk startling the prey before the kill. Do you need anything Gabe? Anything you want to talk about before I head off?"

"A real beer maybe." Gabe chuckled, "But nah i'm good for now, I have a few things to do and a date to keep."


Jp by

||USS Fenris
||Shuttle Bay + Crew Quarters
||0230


T'Vola, or 'Vee', as some people at the academy liked to call her, stepped out of the runabout. It was a new mission for her, first posting, and she didn't look the least bit scared despite having no idea what was going on around her. She stood at just over five feet tall, a slender frame and a form fitting engineering uniform tightly hugged her body. Her hair was in a ponytail revealing pointed ears. She re-adjusted the bag over her shoulder so it wouldn't slip off and picked a hardened case off of the floor as she walked down the ramp to the main shuttlebay and looked around.

Even with shuttle engines coming to a roaring halt to deposit their passenger Taylor was too busy working on his ship, the Redemption’s Caress which was more akin to a runabout in size than an actual ship. It served its purpose well and Taylor had felt that he had neglected the ship that had treated him right in his time away from Starfleet. Right now he was running a diagnostics program to ensure that the weapons were working. So far everything was running as it should but it paid to make sure. Then Taylor looked out the window he saw the shuttle and a woman in a yellow duty uniform looking rather lost within the shuttlebay. Dariak and Aria had both come by shuttle so they must have been taking on new crew. “Time to play tour guide.” he grumbled to himself, unwilling to tear himself away from the ship but doing so anyway.

When He stood up from his seat and left the ship, combat boots banging on the deck as he walked to the woman who he pinged as Vulcan. The ears were a hint.

“So, you’re one of our new crew members. I’m Lieutenant Colonel Taylor Lucas, I command the marine squad on board. And you are?” asked Taylor in his Scottish accent.

"Ensign T'Vola," the girl said. She put the clunky container down with her right hand and held her slender arm up to shoulder height and parted her middle and wring finger in the typical Vulcan greeting. She put her hand back down to her skinny thighs a moment later. "It is agreeable to make your acquaintance, Lieutenant Colonel."

“Yeah, sure it is.” mumbled the marine who didn’t know the proper response. He liked Vulcans well enough, hell his own step son was half Vulcan. They managed to keep their cool in the most difficult of circumstances and often managed to make the choices that some more emotional species would balk at. Folding his arms he narrowed his eyes at T’Vola’s yellow collar. “What department ensign?”

"Damage Control," T'Vola said. Her dark eyes looked him up and down and she actually smiled for a moment when she said, "Not security. It is logical that both are of the same job description." Her smile quickly went away and it was obvious that there was more to her than a cold heart and a dull black-and-white outlook. She she gripped her container and tapped it with her other hand. "I specialize in Extra Vehicular Activity walks, Zero G, and Vacuum damaged compartments both in and on the ship." She explained further as she walked toward him.

The mention of EVA caused Taylor to shudder slightly. Even though his full marine armour would protect him from the effects of vacuum and that he had been trained for shuttle jumps into atmosphere he hated the idea of being inches away from a silent death. “So engineering.” he said stonefaced as he eyed up the container with something mixed between apprehension and curiosity.

“I suppose you and I can get along unless you start offering romantic walks along the deflector dish. I like to keep myself inside. Personally I prefer a planet, the air and gravity can’t be taken away from you with a well placed disruptor shot.”

"It is logical to be afraid when dependent on a capsulated environment with little to no backup. For me, I was instantly drawn to being inches from infinity," She walked with him and assumed that he was showing her to her quarters to at least drop off her carryon's while they talked. "... however, my idea of what you would consider to be -- a 'romantic' walk, doesn't include the EVA suit so that too, is understandable. In all likelihood, I consider a romantic walk to include wearing nothing at all." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Preferably on a planet without decency restrictions, or of course, the holodeck. I, however, endeavor to find a suitable mate considering you are the first person I have met on my first posting. Logic suggests it may happen, however, it may take time to conclude to that juncture." She explained it in a way that any Vulcan would; difference was that it was an oddity in and of itself for a Vulcan to explain their sexual interests at a drop of a hat. However, it was put fourth in a manner expected from a Vulcan when those extremes have been met -- with her, they easily were. "Romantic walks do not of course, result in phaser-fire exchange." She joked.

“Yeah, inches from ebullism, hypoxia, hypocapnia and decompression sickness.” countered Taylor with another shiver. He walked along the shuttlebay as he tried to remember what type of quarters she’d come under. Probably the junior officers since she was an ensign.

That was fine by him and he continued to suppress the need to shiver again as he listened to her. She was rather open and sexually driven for a Vulcan which caused him to raise an eyebrow in a form of skepticism. Maybe she was Romulan in disguise. Giving a small ‘hmpf’ noise as he escorted her before smiling. “Yeah, I’m not your type. I’m partial to phaser fights myself.” said the marine.

“Just make sure you leave a note at the holodeck door if you’re going to be wandering around stark naked. We don’t need anyone having a heart attack or any arousal-related symptoms on duty."

"I’d love to roam around the corridors hanging loose but obviously someone would end up getting offended. And notes go a long way. Sadly someone forgot to do that when he wanted to indulge in Orion women...”

She actually smiled for a split second and then nodded.
"I would have to find a reason to do so. I highly doubt those reasons would be readily available any time soon," She raised an eyebrow as they came to an empty quarters. She walked in with him and looked around as she placed the EVA suit-box on the bed.
"I have a personal question to ask you, however." She walked close to him.

Taylor propped himself up against a nearby bulkhead and found the question rather strange. Usually fresh-from-academy ensigns didn’t try to pry personal details out of someone who ranked as a Fleet commander so it caught him off guard. Of course he was neither the CO, XO or CEO.
The chances of them sharing a chain of command was less than likely. Both of them would have little to do with each other in terms of duty since his job was to cause damage and the Vulcan’s was to repair it. “Speak your piece.”

"Is it possible I could have a punching bag installed in my quarters without the crew knowing about it?" She raised an eyebrow. "... I understand that it's not disallowed to have such equipment but I would rather nobody knew."

“I see no problem in it.” mused Taylor with a tilted head. “However I’d like to ask why exactly you’d be so loathe for the rest of the crew to know. We also have a gym so it wouldn’t be required for such an installation but if you did want such alterations I’m happy to file a vague request form for you.”

"It's a -- personal problem." She looked away and actually blushed and her hands clenched. She took a deep breath and looked back to Taylor. "Something that I don't necessarily want known. It's nothing that will hinder the effectiveness of the crew, the ship, or it's safety." She shook her head as she said it.

A small noise in Taylor’s throat sounded to say that he was more or less satisfied from an officer’s point of view but somehow he was too curious for his own good. He couldn’t imagine how a punching bag would serve personal issues apart from stress. “Convince me it’s nothing and I’ll let it lie.”

"I could never fully integrate myself into the Vulcan practice of suppressing one's emotions. We were a warring race before we were capable of doing so. I require a buildup of certain brain chemicals, either one or the other, in order to clearly operate. Much similar to the way a diabetic requires insulin, I require the occasional buildup of one of the chemicals to maintain my calm." She explained "It's either that, or find a mate. I'd rather punch a bag," she said.

“I’m sure someone in the crew will fancy a horizontal tussle.” teased Taylor with a grin before settling his face to a more stoic expression. A member of the crew obviously had some form of problem and making jokes wasn’t going to help solve it.
“But in all seriousness I can raise the form with as much discretion required. Obviously you’d be best making the medical staff aware of this just in case. That isn’t negotiable. Is there anything else you want to know before I decide to get three hours sleep?”

"That will be all," she didn't respond to the joke with more than a half-smile and a raise of an eyebrow to let him know she at least acknowledged it and wasn't offended. "I will attempt to let the chief medical officer know of the condition, however, I would rather nobody else know -- not because I can be dangerous, but more for the fact that I wish to be treated like a Vulcan. Have a good night," She nodded.

“I’m sorry, what were we talking about?” said Taylor with a smile, feigning ignorance about the whole subject. It wasn’t his way to spill people’s most private secrets behind their back nor betray trust. That was for the likes of Intelligence. “You take care ensign, I suggest reporting to Commander Sharpe in the morning since he’s the Chief Engineering Officer as well as sickbay for a physical.” he suggested before leaving the room, missing Lillian and the idea of sleep already.


JP by T'Vola and Taylor

Gabe/Marissa 1805

||USS Fenris
||Aria's Quarters
||1800


It was the way of the Vulpine to be punctual without cause. They took great care in ensuring that they ended up where they wanted to be, when they wanted to be. With that in mind Dariak had made sure that his duties had been tended to, reports for Taylor finalised and equipment checks carried out flawlessly. He then went to his quarters and prepared himself to meet Aria for dinner at her quarters. It was a simple social function between two serving members of Starfleet and a good way to get to know one another. However despite her obvious cybernetics she was human and therefore Dariak was confused if he should try to adhere to human customs in this matter. With that in mind Dariak had 'borrowed' flowers from the hydroponics bay and tied them with a slip of ribbon he had replicated. Humans appreciated gifts, right?

Dressed in a white tunic and black trousers with a green waistcoat it was casual Vulpine attire. The tall, muscular alien moved through the halls and ended up with confused looks at crew members passing him. A man carrying flowers through a ship was not a usual occurrence. With a small cough as he tried to keep the flowers away from his nostrils Dariak chimed Aria's door.

Efficiency. No matter how long she had been trying to be human, Aria was still guided by some of the basic Borg principles and after she had made sure that her regeneration alcove was complete and that her work was finished, she had come back to her quarters to set up. It didn't look as homely as it could have and she certainly wasn't dressed fancy--she was just wearing tight trousers and a blouse--but there was a table set up for two and he could have whatever he could replicate.

She still didn't know as much about Vulpine as she wanted to, but part of the time spent with dinner would help her with that. So when she heard the door chime she opened it up and then she cocked her head to one side a moment, her hair down, looking at the flowers that Dariak had in his hand. She supposed it was proper human conduct, but for a date situation, was that what this was? He was Vulpine, maybe he simply didn't know and she didn't feel the need to turn this into something uncomfortable so she just smiled and welcomed him inside.

"Good evening, Sir," she said politely.

"Evening petty officer." replied Dariak with a beaming face. Gently he thrust the flowers at Aria in a bid to get them away from his nose as soon as he could. Then it occurred to him that his highly sensitive sense of smell would pick up their scent no matter where he was within the quarters. Still there were worst smells in the galaxy than a collection of flowers. He stepped into her quarters, took a quick look around before finally placing the flowers down on the middle table.

"I got you these. Humans have a strange need for gifts constantly so I decided to follow that tradition."

"It was very thoughtful, though unnecessary--I am not accustomed nor used to gifts and you should never feel obligated to give me anything." Aria told him honestly and then remembered some of her training on more human things. "I am thankful for them. I believe they need a...vase."

She went to the replicator and made a vase for them and then made sure there was a little water in it and put the flowers in it. They were very lovely and she was thankful, she just also felt as though others might get the wrong impression--he was her commanding officer and this was to get to know each other. This ship, however, was a powerhouse for gossip she had heard from the captain and that meant they would be being talked about.

"The others will believe you are courting," Aria said slowly.

"If they do believe that then it's of no consequence, we can just reassure them that we are not." he countered with a smile. "However even if we were, vicious rumours are a part of such relationships. On a ship this small everyone would know everyone else's business." added Dariak with a smile.

He stroked the petals of the flowers with a thoughtful look on his face. His gentle eyes seemed to study the flowers as if scanning the image to transfer them onto a canvas with a paint brush. "You mentioned that some crew members may feel somewhat uncomfortable about you to the point that they may be rather forward about it. I hope you know I'm here to prevent that from happening as the executive officer of this squad."

"All very sound and rooted in fact," Aria agreed with a small nod of her head. "I just thought that I should warn you as the flowers are a sign of courting and I do not wish to offend the person you are if there is one. I do not wish to be out of line."

She smiled, blushing because she was embarrassed and wondering why on Earth she was blushing so much when she never did. Aria was very in control of her emotions because she rarely showed them, even though she was trying to be more in tune with them as she tried to be more and more human. Ever since meeting the incredibly handsome Vulpine, however, she had been smiling and blushing and talking more than was usual for her, though when she did get onto a subject nothing could keep her quiet.

Dariak's words in her defense just made her blush a little more and nod. "I know that you would protect me just as you would protect any other, but you cannot be everywhere at once. If I am at all attacked or harassed I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself and you need not worry about my well-being. I assure you that I am well equipped to defend myself and any of the crew. I...appreciate the sentiment, though." She smiled and then looked at the replicator. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm not married or in a relationship, casual or formal." stated Dariak who proceeded to pace around the quarters. Even though he was a patient person he was prone to wandering due to his pent up energy. He hadn't had the chance to put his body through its paces in some time. Dariak wasn't that hungry but he would eat to keep up the social action to make Aria feel at home. After all she had invited him to dinner and that would include eating.

Of course it wasn't the Vulpine way to simply skim the truth to make someone feel better so Dariak stopped his pacing and turned to Aria. "It will be several days from my last meal till I feel the effects of hunger but I'll be happy to dine with you. As for your safety I have every confidence in your abilities to defend yourself. Our sparring session was evidence of this."

"I can simply have a supplement shake if you prefer not to ingest a meal," Aria told him blushing. "I admit I did not know about Vulpine eating habits and I shall put that information to use for the future. There are other things that we could do. I invited you here to thank you and to get to know you, so perhaps there are other activities that we could partake in. Say, dancing? An intellectual debate? Alternate asking about each other? You could ask me any questions that you want to. I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the alcove..."

The ex-drone paused and looked over at her alcove, indicating it to Dariak with her eyes because it took up a significant part of her quarters. It was why it seemed so much less homely in her quarters than it must have in others because she didn't even have a bed in the bedroom--instead that was a study and it was hard to explain such things to people. Aria could sleep--she could--but it didn't rest her and she was an incredibly light sleeper.

"Anything will do petty officer." he said happily as he redirected his attention to the alcove. In all honesty Dariak had assumed it to be a piece of artwork, a large piece but still artwork nonetheless. The fact that Aria mentioned it meant that it was obviously of some sort of importance. It was a rather strange looking device or statue that was now being studied by the Vulpine. "I suppose we can dance. But first you have to tell me what this is. I thought it was some art you were partial to."

"Dancing it is," the redhead said gently.

Aria reached out slowly and then grasped Dariak's hand, leading him over to the alcove and looking up at it as the lights worked away. She was used to people asking about it because they knew so much about the Borg, but she was once again reminded that Dariak knew nothing of them. It was a rather nice break from all of the picking about it she got from everyone else.

"This is called a Regeneration Alcove. Borg use it to replenish their strength--like a bed for normal individuals...so as you can deduce I do not 'sleep' as other species do. Because of my nanoprobes, I am in need of the alcove so that I may go about the duties at my full capacity. I am used to being asked about it because it is part of what makes me different from the rest of the humans and because it takes up a little extra energy from the ship. I had to build it myself."

Gently Dariak pulled the ex-drone to him and began to waltz around the room. It was a dance he had witness other fellow officers take in so he assumed it to be a part of their culture. A point to learn really. "So it makes you a much more efficient member of the crew. You require less sleep than a human does. An admirable trait. Even I have to get my head to a pillow in some time."

With expert footwork Dariak danced Aria around the quarters, twirling her around at random intervals to an internal tune. "I'm not much of a dancer I'm afraid. Not really my thing but I do try."

Aria hadn't expected to transition into the dancing so soon, but she blushed as Dariak pulled her to him in a waltz and then began to match his steps. She was not entirely used to dancing, but she knew the steps that went with the dance just fine. Looking up at Dariak she smiled a little bit and let him lead, following his every step and feeling rather comfortable with the Vulpine.

"How long does it take for Vulpine to need sleep?" Aria asked him gently and then smiled a little bit more. "You dance just fine. This is actually my first actual one--I dance once with my parents when I was little, but I barely remember that and it was not as formal a dance."

"If I was to do my standard duties with no extra physical training, a week before I'd need to sleep." replied the Vulpine. "It all depends on how much physical activity I undergo. The faster I move and the harder I hit? The more I need to eat and sleep. You cannot break the rules of biology." As he explained how his body worked Dariak moved with agility around Aria's quarters with her in tow.

"I trust you to take care of my life should it be in danger. The crew will too, despite your implants. I find them interesting to the point of envy."

"The crew or my implants?" Aria asked, blushing because it was embarrassing.

She'd lost track of what they were talking about trying to keep up with the steps, moving gracefully and yet something was off. Normally she would be right on top of the conversation and yet right now Aria felt more comfortable than she had in days...maybe weeks. Dariak had a way of propping her up just as much as she needed to feel useful and she appreciated it more than he would ever know.

"I am not entirely worried about the crew," she managed as she slowed them down a little bit. "They will adapt and I am a very patient individual. I simply do not wish to disrupt the order of things on the ship."

"Your implants of course." said the Vulpine with a tilt of his head. He smiled softly at her, nuzzling gently. To a Vulpine tactile contact between their people were something that wasn't seen as some type of faux pas. In fact Dariak hoped that the redhead wouldn't see it like that, instead a source of comfort against her self doubt. "You will not disrupt the ship just by being on it. They will come to value you as the squad has."

The nuzzle caught Aria off guard and she flushed red, not because she was embarrassed that he would do such a thing, but because she was embarrassed by how much she wanted the contact. She had been trying for years to become more human and really all she had needed was some kind of tactile comfort and she was receiving it from a Vulpine. There was nothing wrong with that in the slightest, Aria just found it curious that it was not a human that was showing her what she needed most.

She let out a gentle sigh of content and then wondered if she should pull away because it was improper of them to be this close. He was her commanding officer and it would be wrong of her to get so close to him so soon--she had been taught about boundaries--and yet...and yet he had initiated. Perhaps Vulpine were used to such gestures and it didn't mean to them what it meant to humans.

That confused the ex-Borg drone. "Do you wish to be close to me?"

There was no tact in the question, but Aria still didn't know what tact was, she simply spoke when she spoke about whatever she wanted. Even saying it, she rested her head on Dariak and hoped that his answer was positive, not knowing what to do in this situation and hating looking unintelligent for any reason. It just seemed to her that their actions seemed like those of humans on a date and if that was not what he intended, then she knew she would have to stop whatever they were doing.

"Is it a problem?" asked Dariak who had confirmed that he did indeed want to be close to her. She was attractive, caring and interesting but his nuzzle was merely a social interaction tool. "We're a tactile people and often touch one another to show our...affection. Trust. So yes I do wish to be close to you Aria. Why, do you wish to be close to me?"

"No, it is simply that I am not used to such things," Aria responded, pulling away from him and moving to sit on the couch.

She motioned for him to join her, not wanting him to think she was rejecting him, but wanting him to understand where she was coming from right now. Aria even felt so comfortable with him that she didn't go out of her way to use her human hand to offer to him to pull him down next to her, she used the implanted one and smiled at him gently, her cheeks flushed. The ex-drone had feelings swirling around inside of her and wanted to make herself heard and clear and hoped that Dariak wouldn't take offense as so many were inclined to do when she spoke.

"You make me feel normal and I am no such thing," Aria began to explain, tucking her loose hair behind her ear with her human hand. "I have always wanted to be human and be close to people and while I understand that the nuzzle meant nothing, I am used to human standards. Dinner, the flowers, the dancing, the nuzzling...I have never partook in such events. I have never been on a date or been courted or been kissed and I do not wish to make you feel uncomfortable that I am so awkward at this. I am aware this is not a date and we are not courting, but I am unaccustomed to the behaviors that your people partake in..that any species partakes in. I want to be close to you because you make me feel good--you have been doing that since we met."

Blinking for a moment Dariak bit his lip at what Aria was saying. There was only one instance that humans were so blunt and forward but this couldn't be one of those moments. She was going on about courting to that made Dariak wonder what exactly she was driving at. As he sat on the sofa Dariak's hands gently touched hers, both of them. Keeping a hold of her metallic hand the Vulpine stroked her cortical implant with a small smile. "Nothing is normal, everything is spectacular." he said softly. "And...are you asking for a sexual relationship?"

Aria felt like her whole face had gone another shade of red when Dariak asked not because the subject embarrassed her--very few did if any--it was because she thought that he thought that she was trying to get him to sleep with her. That had not been her intention at all and suddenly she was wondering if that was a common question for Vulpine. She was feeling very much like she had just gone and embarrassed herself and maybe it would be best if she just started all over and tried to salvage the evening.

"No, I am not," Aria said gently shaking her head. "I have never been in such a relationship nor would I know the first thing about it. I was simply apologizing for my awkward behavior. You do not need to feel as though you need to coddle me or anything...I know I am not pleasant company, you only came because you thought that you should, not because this was how you wanted to spend your evening. I am used to it, I understand."

The blush that Aria was showing off made Dariak smile a little kindly but her words of saying that he'd just spend time with her as some form of pity move. With a stern look on his face the Vulpine shook his head. "I came here because I wanted to Aria. Vulpine are very, very honest. If I didn't want to spend time with you I would have said so. I'm here because I want to be here. It's just you seem to be showing affection yet distance so I wondered if you wanted me to ask."

"I do not know what to do," she told him as she reacheup to cup and stroke his face.

It was true, she didn't--she did not know how to act to seek a relationship because what she had heard on the subject of relationships and what she should actually do seemed like two different things. So, she leaned in and kissed him, trying to show him in a way she knew he'd understand that she wanted to be close to him. This way he couldn't possibly think that she was being distant for any reason other than she simply didn't know what to do.

"I will try to be less confusing," she told him, not really thinking about the fact that she had just given him her first kiss without much ceremony.

"Your confusing nature is alluring." admitted Dariak who returned the kiss without a moment's hesitation. He moaned into her lips as he stroked her face, running his fingers through her fiery hair. "However if you'd like you could slow down and think about it or we could just tumble and see where we end up. I'm open to both ideas."

"My inexperience is anything but attractive," she told him softly.

Aria kissed him again as she thought it over, reveling in the taste and feel of him and letting her hands roam along him because she liked it. She was curious about him and he had offered a tumble--she had a strong feeling that he meant sex and she was sure she would never get this opportunity again. So, she had to be quick on her feet and decisive, slowly unbuttoning her blouse and pulling him down on the floor with her since she had no bed to take him to.

"I have no bed, the floor will have to be sufficient," she whispered as she kissed his jaw gently, hands sliding down to his trousers. "I have never done this before, so you will have to teach me...teach me?"

Nodding Dariak wasn't interested if their was a bed or not. All he was interested in was making Aria feel comfortable for her first time so as their clothes were slowly discarded he kissed her soft skin, tasting it with his tongue as his hands wandered. His duty jacket and shirt were cast away leaving his tanned, muscular flesh for her assessment. "You are beautiful," he told her before kissing her fully, placing himself between her legs once he had managed to get her trousers and underwear off. "Mil Chial..."

Something about the feel of his hands and tongue made Aria take a deep breath that was cut off by his lips on hers, making her moan into him. Her whole body shuddered pleasantly and she held him close to her, nipping at his lips because it felt like the right thing to do in the moment, but she had no idea what to do exactly. Aria smiled at Dariak as she pulled back a little, her legs running along his, wondering what he thought of the random little implants she had--they were non functional, but she had two more small, round ones that could have been mistaken for tiny scars had they not been metal.

"You are beautiful as well," she responded as she stroked his hair and ran her thumb along his lip.

Most would be nervous, shaking because they didn't know what to do or because they knew it would hurt, but Aria wasn't shaking. She was flushed and she was nervous, but there was no pain worse than assimilation in her mind and that meant that she could take whatever pain would come and she would make the best of it. Besides, this was all about the experience and Aria wasn't about to let fear ruin it--she wanted this to be about her and Dariak and she was going to make this as close to perfect as she could.

She kissed him gently, lips brushing against his as she spoke. "If you are certain that this is what you want...I would like you to stay as long as you wish."

"Then I'll be staying until duty falls us." replied the Vulpine who continued to kiss her, gently tugging on her bottom lip as he looked into her eyes. Her implants on her legs sent tingles along his nervous system, causing Dariak to stroke them with affection as he looked her her, his length poised between her legs. Holding her close Dariak delivered one, firm thrust into her, robbing her innocence in one swift stroke.

Aria let out a gentle, whimpering cry as she found herself being invaded, all the while trying to take in every single feelings Dariak let her adjust before continuing. They both knew that with their stamina and curiosity, they would continue this until they both grew tired, or until Dariak had said, 'until duty fell upon them'. It might have seemed rather rash to most and perhaps it was, but Aria was curious and trying to be human and she couldn't ignore something like that...she couldn't let an opportunity pass her by that she might never get a chance to do again and Dariak was kind and thrilling.

All night they would explore each other and without realizing it, Aria was becoming incredibly attached.


JP by Dariak and Aria, the Forward and the Curious

|| USS Fenris
|| Corridors
|| 1830

Lars had beamed up to the Fenris to tie up some loose ends before he departed, and now there was one final thing he wanted to take care of. He checked the display on his PADD again, verifying that the individual he was tracking was still walking steadily through the corridors towards him.

"Well, Lieutenant Shields, let's see what your angle is," he murmured to himself and pocketed the device. She was close enough. So, as Alyssa was rounding a corner, Lars stepped out into the corridor to block her path. Grinning a toothy grin, he nodded a greeting.

"Hello lieutenant. How is your day going?"

Alyssa stopped and stared at him. "Hi, my day is fine. What do you want?"

She didn't like walking on eggshells, and simply wanted to know why he was talking her. She remembered her request, and promise which she didn't want to do. She guess that she should apologize for her request, but she really didn't care and only needed to apologize to the Captain, which she did.

A frown flickered across Lars' face, but he quickly disguised it with his practiced smile. "Direct and to the point. I like that," he said pleasantly, if untruthfully.

"Well, I was thinking about seeing you for some counseling after what I've been through on this latest mission…" He looked forlorn for a moment, and waved his hand as if to indicate the direction of Betazed and all the suffering from the disease. "But I hear you're not Counsellor any more. How about that." Lars shrugged, and took a few steps closer to her.

"I also thought I might need some counseling on another matter, one you might still be able to talk to me about," he said in a lower, more severe voice. "I had a downright rotten time in the briefing, everyone accusing me and saying they hated my guts. Now I can understand all that from Colonel Lucas and Captain Crae, but I was surprised to hear it from you." He fixed her with a piercing gaze and lost his cool smile then.

"So now I'm just wondering…what exactly have I done to make you want to avoid me so bad you'll say it out loud like that?" Lars asked pointedly, his expression dark.

She glared at him. "I think I now understand why my cousin wanted me to hurt you. I was avoiding you to protect you, but now I think I was the one mistake. I believe in giving second chances, and I don't personal know you so it's not my place to harm you."

She had to breath and try not to yell at him. "I don't give a crap about what you've done or how this mission has affected you. I do, however, care when it comes to you putting my family in danger. So let me make this as perfectly clear as I can. You harm or put any of my family in danger, I will hunt you down and kill."

She knew that threatening someone higher in command was bad, but her couldn't help because her short temper was in control. 'Now, excuse me. I've got better things to do than to improve your pride."

She then moved around him and continued down the corridor.

"Stop right there lieutenant!" Lars snapped, always touchy about others respecting his rank (even if he didn't always do likewise). "You are out of line! Now maybe there is some personal issue affecting you at the moment that I don't know about, but regardless, you just threatened a superior officer! So if you don't talk to me I'll have you thrown in the stockade - or worse!" he said menacingly.

With a scowl and narrowed eyes, he continued. "We don't know each other, so let me tell you how things work with me. You can do it the easy way or the hard way. You've heard that one before, right? Well it works for me. So let's do it the easy way and get it taken care of quick so we don't have to do it the hard way, because the hard way is really hard. Now I just have one question," Lars snarled, jabbing a single gloved finger in the air.

"Who-" he asked then, genuinely puzzled "-is your cousin?" The existence of some unknown enemy was always worrying to Lars, and he wanted to get to the bottom of this no matter what. And he was also mystified as to why she thought he was putting her family in danger, although to be fair he did put lots of people's families in danger pretty regularly.

She turn slightly. "Darien Shields. He got shot on the mission where you left Taylor for dead. Not to mention when you tried to kill everyone on the Starbase. I'm not holding anything against you. Frankly, because I don't know you, and you don't know me. You may go ahead and do your worse. Please note that I'll be filing a harassment charges against you when you do. You want respect, then you should respect others as well. Sorry for the threat, but I happen to be a short tempered person and I meant it as a warning. And this is me respecting you as much as I possibly can since you haven't show any respect to me."

She sighed. "I'm sorry for offending. I mostly take the hard way because the easy way is for lazy people. I also know for a fact that you can do your job, and I respect you for it. There was something in the air on the Starbase that made everyone crazy, which is probably why my cousin is hold something against you. I know that it was most likely his own fault for getting shot. My cousin may be good at his job, but he's sometimes stupid. And that's lightly putting it. Is there anything else you'd like to know? Darien Shields is not a threat to you, and is no longer in Starfleet. I'm also not a threat to you as long as you don't put me or my cousin Lydia, who's the new counselor, in danger."

Lars blinked in confusion. "Who?" Her words sunk in, and he played back the mission in his mind for a moment.

"Oh, the engineer!" he said, grinning in comprehension. Relief flooded into him that he wasn't being targeted by some kind of intergalactic mafia or something. Still, inwardly he scowled at the thought of more fallout from that damned away mission. As if he was the first officer to have things go wrong on the ground.

"Well, I can understand his concern, but if you and he will take another look at the official reports, you'll see that my actions on that mission have been cleared by an independent Starfleet review board. So I suggest you and whatever family members of yours are worked up about it just relax, yes?" he said airily and waved a hand, unconcerned. So what if a few goldshirts were upset with him? They could join the club, as far as he was concerned.

Nevertheless, he could take her words with a kind of grudging understanding and nodded amicably, no longer worried about any threat from her. "Well, I can respect your stubbornness and loyalty to family. The whole thing was a difficult situation, I'll admit. And, I don't suppose it matters, but I remember this cousin of yours did a decent job as engineer aboard the Furling in the battle over Baicephorus VII. So he breaks even in my book, I suppose."

Lars changed the subject a little, relaxed now. "You know, I have to say, you made a good call transferring out of counseling. You'd make a much better security officer…or marine," he said, suppressing shudder at that last word. "Because you're right...only the lazy people take the easy way."

She laughed. "I wouldn't dare to be a marine. I know that I have what it takes to be a security office, not a marine. I don't want to do their job. By the way, I did read that report and Darien just needs a grudge to hold on to. He'll soon have a grudge against me, and forget what he ever had one against you. Like I said, I'm not holding anything against you. We don't know each other. So consider this being our first chance of getting to know each other... sort of. We're both bad at this, aren't we? Well, maybe just me. I'll take the blame."

He had changed the subject, so she felt like she could try being light hearted about them attempting to know each other. Well, her sad attempt anyways.

"I'm happy to hear that. Last thing we need is another marine around here," Lars said jovially, his posture relaxing. He shrugged and leaned against the bulkhead slightly. "Well, everyone makes mistakes of judgement. I've made them before. Colonel Lucas did a good job of exaggerating those mistakes in the briefing, but you get the idea." He looked forlorn for a moment, but waved it away soon enough.

"Well, I'm happy to have cleared things up, Lieutenant Shields. Now then, I'm leaving soon with the Mitterand to transport the decoy bomb to Starfleet for analysis. Good luck with your new security assignment. I'm sure you'll do fine as long as you keeping avoiding the easy way, but if you ever run into anyone or anything that seems to require more than the hard way…just give me call and we'll see if we can't take care of that together." He clicked a finger at her and winked. "It's the least I can do."

Lars was more conscious about making allies wherever he could these days, and in this case such an offer might lead to an unexpected intelligence bonus down the road. And it was the nice thing to do, he told himself.

"I'll keep you in mind." She nodded. "Good luck with your assignment. If you need anything, let me know. I've got skills that you may find useful."

She could help smiling. She turn and walked away. "Bye Lieutenant Commander Janssen." She called over her shoulder.

"Goodbye, lieutenant." Lars watched her go, grinning appreciatively. Tough girl, he thought. She showed promise. Still, he'd have to remember to ask Marlena to keep an eye on that one, just to be sure. With that he turned his thoughts to other matters, and made his way down the corridor in the opposite direction.

jp between

Lilly/Taylor/Sareth - 1920

||USS Fenris
||Alyssa's Quarters
||1930

Ever since he had returned from the planet, Kalen's thoughts had been of the ship. The crew. Alyssa. Alyssa was the thought that dominated the forefront of his mind. The way she smiled. Everything about her, everything in his mind's eye seemed more and more perfect the longer he spent away from her. And yet he knew that she could live up to all his emboldened visions of her. He just..couldn't seem to get to the chime for her door. He had been pacing the hall in front of her quarters for more than half an hour. The exact amount of time had been lost to him long ago. He just paced. He didn't know what to say to her, what do you say to a woman you built up all your hopes for? Hello? It's nice to see you again? I missed you? He sighed and grimaced. He was so bad at these interpersonal relationships. He was more than able to talk and flirt with her in person, he just couldn't bring himself to ring the chime. He halfway thought about keying in and disabling the door security and opening it himself. He probably could do it if he really wanted to. But he couldn't just barge in. He had to. He had to press the button. He stomped his foot, made up his mind and reached for the door to ring the chime. After he did ring it, he wondered what she thought of him. Where this was going. Why on earth did he ring that chime? No no, he wanted to ring it. He was just afraid of what may come when it opened. He had an idea though, and he would implement it on seeing her, if he could. Spontaneity was what he knew best, and this was certain to be one of his crazy ideas.

Alyssa heard the chime and groaned. She didn't want to move from her bed. Better yet, she was unavailable and that meant no counseling. She slowly got out of bed, knowing fully well that she had to answer the door. She hated moving and wanted to turn around not bothering to answer in hope that whoever was outside her quarters would go away. Yet, she didn't. She didn't even bother to straighten out her uniform because she had every intention to go back to be once this whoever was outside left.

She opened the door. "This better be good or you just given yourself a death sentence." She warned, then realized who was at her door. "Lieutenant Gespard. What are you doing here?"

She now wished that she had at least made it so that she didn't look like she crawled out of bed. She hadn't expected it to be Kalen. In fact, she expected it to be the Captain or one of the crew members that she saw on a daily basis. This was definitely unexpected surprise.

He smiled softly and pressed his finger against her lips. The fact that she probably thought she wasn't in a fit state to be out, he didn't intend on having her seen by too many of the crew. "Shh..no more questions." He grinned at her and swept her off her feet, letting her door close behind them as he walked away with her, into the hallways and towards his intended goal. "Now I know you're tired and I am probably keeping you from your well earned rest, but I have something to show you." He took them towards the holodeck where his further surprise awaited them. As he got to the doors, he set her down. He looked into her eyes, "Do you trust me?"

She looked at him. She couldn't believe that he just carried her to the holodeck, and she freely allowed him to. What the crap was going on? She didn't normally allow any guy to do this, and yet she was letting him do it. "Um... I don't know. Could we... um..." She wasn't communicating well, and frankly was still in shock. She held her hands up, not wanting him to speak or change his mind. She shook her head, and began to think. It's a simple question. The answer is either yes or no. Since I freely allowed him to carry me here, it means that I trust him to some degree. Doesn't help that I'm curious as to why we are here. She pulled her hands downs. "I trust you. Which you should know is very hard for me to do."

He smiled at her, "I can understand that. Don't worry, I won't get you into anything you can't get out of if you just say the word." He touched the panel and as the doors started to open he moved to her, one hand taking hers in it, the other covering her as as the holodeck doors opened. "This is where you trust me." He walked her into the room, hoping he still had some sense in what a woman desired for a surprise romantic dinner. Wooing someone wasn't in his repertoire as of late, so he was rather unused to the whole thing. There were flowers, candles and a table set for two. He of course had tried his best to set this up so no one would interfere and as the doors closed behind them, he took his hand away from her eyes to let her soak in the room. "Computer, begin simulation." He stated simply. A waiter opened a door to their left and walked to greet them. "How's this for an escape?"

She looked around. Couldn't believe that she was going to share a meal with Kalen, alone. "Wow. Must have taken you a while to set this up. What era did you use?" She was actually happy about this. Probably because she knew that their would be food soon, not to mention a chance to get to know Kalen a little better. She had a lot on her mind, and would need to decide very soon if she was going to stay.She shook her head to clear her mind. She didn't want to worry about that, besides she believed this to be a date so she was going to enjoy it... at least attempt to.

He pulled out her chair and pushed her into her place at the table. He smiled softly and sat down across from her. "It took a fair amount of planning, but the actual execution wasn't too terribly taxing." He waved his hand around at the room, "Twentieth century American restaurant. I picked the 1980s because it seemed to be the most appropriate for what I wanted." The waiter stood by their table, "Would you like anything to drink, Lieutenant?" He grinned at her, hoping that his attempt to get some time with her alone was going well. "Glad to be back?"

She smiled. "It's good to be back, even if it is just for a little while." She hadn't decided rather or not she was staying. "Water is fine. Are you glad?"

He asked the waiter to bring them two waters and nodded, "I hope you decide to stick around, though don't take this as a move to influence your decision. I just..wanted to be with you." After what had gone down on the planet, he was glad that the majority of them remained unharmed. He smiled, "I'm glad to see you, to be here with you. That's all that really matters right now." He took a sip of his water upon the waiter's return, and relaxed in his chair, comforted by her presence and the atmosphere of the room. It just seemed right.

She laughed. "It's amazing how easy it is for you to be comfortable. I'll try not to let you wanting me to stay influence my decision, but no promises." She couldn't help smiling. She liked that he was able to relax around her. It made her comfortable enough to relax as well. So she relaxed while she debated what question to ask first. Taking a slip of water, she decided the basic questions should probably be asked first. "So... what's your family like?"

He chuckled warmly, "I just want you to know that I'm not trying to guide your hand or force you one way or the other is all. But we already talked about that." He grinned back at her until she asked her first question. A somber expression took over his face and he sighed softly. He shook his head and waved his hand around the room, "This ship is my home, it's crew is my family. That's all I have. My parents were killed by Borg. I don't have any siblings, and as far as I was ever aware, I never had an extended family. They never really talked about it. My father was a cold, calculated man. I think emotion must have pained him." He shook his head, and smiled at her, "But lets move on to happier things. This is after all, a very happy moment for me."

"Sorry, I forgot. This is weird for me." She shyly smiled. "I haven't been on a date in almost two years. So I'm a bit uncomfortable, but trying. Family isn't a happy subject, so I guess that means I get to ask stupid questions." Now she had to think of some stupid questions to ask. Mainly because she didn't want to talk about her family. She was fidgeting with her napkin that was still on the table. "Okay, what's your favorite color?"

"Don't worry about it. It was just a somber subject and I don't want to ruin a good thing by talking about sad things." He thought for a moment about the last time he went on a date. Like a date date. "My last one was probably about the same amount of time or close to it. So it's been a while for us both." He avoided talking to her about her family so he smiled at her question. He grabbed the neckline of his uniform, "I dunno. I really like the red. But before getting used to it, my favorite color was a rich, deep purple." He thought about what he wanted to ask her, "Where would you go, if you left?"

She coughed. She had to look at him to confirm that she had heard him correctly. "Where would I go?" She repeated. "Either back to my old station or home. Though, I would prefer to go back to my old station. Home isn't a good place to be. So I'd pretty much take anywhere over going home." She hoped that she didn't have to explain, but knew she probably would need to sooner or later. "Favorite food?"

He pondered what she meant by that, but assumed it had something to do with her family and therefor an equally nonessential subject about which to breach. He assumed she would talk to him about it when she felt comfortable enough with him. So he would wait. He pondered for a moment, "I love a good Iowa bred steak. Though there is so much in the galaxy to try and to sample. I have had quite a bit of good food that I didn't even expect to be good. Yourself?"

"Pasta. Anything that has to do with pasta. My mom's homemade pasta salad is the best. I do agree that their is a lot to sample. I just don't know if there's enough time to try it all." She responded without having to actually think about. She found it a bit weird that she had mention her mom. She didn't want to. It just came out. "Did you always want to be a pilot?"

He chuckled softly, "Oh yes, pasta can be quite amazing at times." He shook his head, "I never intended to even be a pilot. They gave us basic lessons on how to fly shuttles and the like at the Academy, but I was an engineer. But when I was given my choice of assignments, with what little power of choice I was offered by Starfleet, something about this ship called to me. So I went through the training to be the pilot for this ship and met up with her as soon as I could. Maybe it was what I was meant for." He smiled at her and nodded to the waiter who had of course just replicated what they desired for dinner. He didn't ask her anything else, he just considered what they were, and what they could be together. If she had more to ask, she very well could do that.

"If only that's how I got my duties." she smiled. "At least you're doing what you want. That's the important part. Is there anything you wan to discuss?" She was the one asking questions, and learning a lot about him. She thought it only right that he at least gets to ask her questions. Though, somethings weren't open to discussion... not yet anyways. She felt like she could tell him things, but she just wasn't ready. Or she was simply being a coward. Either way, it was his turn to pick the topic.

He grabbed his silverware and dug into his steak with vigor. He was hungry, wondering what she meant by her first statement. He nodded, but kept his mouth closed to finish his bite. He smiled softly and wondered what he wanted to ask her. What did he want to know about her? Well there were a few things, but he wouldn't let his thoughts stray there. Taking it slow was the better option than letting his mind wander to what could be. He had to keep his mind in less..soft..warm..he shook his head. He cleared his mind and focused on something inane. Baseball..baseball. Yes. That was better. He chuckled softly and gazed at her over their dinner table, "Well, let me think for a moment. Well for one, after tonight..when can I see you again?" He thought over his shifts for the next while, hoping they could find a time that would work for them.

She didn't want to get his hopes up incase she chose not to stay. But she did want to know how he would react. "Well, I'm off for the next 24 hours so we could see each other later tonight. After all, our quarters are sort of in the same location." She watched as he nearly chocked on his food. She grinned, and tried not to laugh. "My cousin comes in some time tonight or tomorrow. And the Captain would most likely want to know rather or not I'm staying. Making it so that you probably have the next 24 hours to be with me. I'll be able to tell you more when I make my decision." She had to focus on something other than staring into his eyes. So she simply started eating her pasta, and focusing on the plate.

He pondered for a couple moments, he didn't really know the right move here. He thought about chess, and how one move could be a game changing event. He wanted to change the game, but he wasn't sure how to change it or where to go with it. He smiled at her and decided to say something to see what she had in mind. "Well this doesn't have to end you know. I know I interrupted your sleep, but there's plenty of time for that." He took another few bites and tried to gauge her reaction. He didn't know what gear to be in when the two of them were together. Part of him wanted to stay in first gear and go slow...but other parts of him wanted to shift to go a little faster. He wished like the Betazoids from the planet's surface, he could glean what she was thinking. But that would be unfair, so he would have to do things the old fashioned way.

"True." She replied. She was debating rather or not she wanted sleep. She knew she needed it, but she didn't want to leave. Which was very unusual. She also knew what staying would do, and she didn't want to go through that again. Everyone had baggage, but she didn't believe anyone was actually capable of understanding all of hers. She shook her head to clear it of such thoughts. It was too early in 'their' relationship to think about that. She looked at him, and shrugged. "I don't know what we'd do. Do you have any other plans? Because a bed sounds really good."

He shrugged his shoulders and finished his meal. He cleaned up and left the table to be disassembled by the holodeck. He took her hand and walked out towards the door with her. He smiled warmly at her, "I don't know either, but whatever it would be would be perfect because it would be us together. But as to your question, no I have no other plans. And if you need to sleep a little more, I will walk you to your quarters and you can sleep. But you should come find me after you're done so we can resume from where we left off. I leave it in your more than capable hands." He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it.

She blushed. "Okay. I'll most likely come and find you after I deal with my cousin. Family stuff is always fun." She tried to laugh, but knew her family stuff wasn't fun.

He nodded, "Alright then. I will see you as soon as you do. I will most likely be in my quarters, and as you pointed out, they are rather close to yours." He chuckled softly and shook his head, wondering what it would be like for his family to still be a pain in his ass like hers. He escorted her to her room and kissed her softly before he let her go back to sleep. He walked down the hallway and into his quarters and sat down, wondering if he too should catch a quick nap.

JP Between:

||USS Fenris
||Shuttle Bay
||2000

Alyssa waited in the shuttle bay for her cousin. She was happy to see her, but at the same time she didn't know what she was going to do now on the ship. She needed to make a choice and let the Captain know asap. She just hadn't really decided rather or not she was actually staying on ship. There was just too much to think about and she wanted to know how things went with Darien and his family.

Lydia could tell that her cousin was lost in thought, but she decided to scare her anyways. So she came up behind her and poked her sides causing her cousin to not only jump but scream as well.

"You shouldn't do that. And how did you manage to get behind anyways?" Alyssa shirked.

She hated that her cousin had manage to catch her with her guard down, and make so that they had some attention from crew members. She knew that Lydia would get attention because she was, now, the Chief Counselor and a new member of the crew.

"You were lost in thought. It was easy to catch you off guard, Aly." Lydia laughed. "Now, how have you been? I hope this last mission hasn't caused you any problems."

Lydia knew where and when to poke into Alyssa's personal business. Plus, she hadn't expected to see her cousin so soon. She only hoped that everything was all right. She knew her cousin well enough to know that she hated having others feel free to go through her thoughts and use her mind as their personal playground.

"I'm all right. This last mission didn't bother me as much as I thought it would." Alyssa answered. "Now, this is the shuttle bay. I'll be showing you where your office and quarters are. How's your family doing?"

Lydia smiled. "It was rough at first, but we worked out our problems. Well, most of them."

She followed Alyssa to the lift. She was debating rather or not to actually bring up her parents. It was the one things she left out of the conversations with her. Her parents had worked out their problems with Alyssa's, so Darien and her got to spend a lot of time with them. The lift door closed behind them. This would be the only chance Lydia got to actually tell Alyssa about her parents, but she knew it was going to be a hard discussion.

"I got to see your parents. Well, actually I spent a lot of time with them while we worked out our problems. They want to speak with you." Lydia spoke, hoping this wouldn't cause Alyssa to leave the ship faster than she had planned to.

"How does it feel to want?" Alyssa asked.

This was a conversation that was not going to happen. She could remember with perfect clarity what her parents had said to her, and she was not willing to relive that for anyone.

Lydia shook her head. "They just want to talk. Their your parents. Why can't you at least talk with them?"

Lydia didn't know the actual reasons as to why they hadn't talked since Alyssa's second year in the academy. All she remembered was that Alyssa up and disappeared for a while. She also remembered that when Alyssa showed back up again, she was very different. It was like Alyssa had shut down or locked her emotions away. Lydia didn't like it and was going to figure out a way to fix this.

"Because their not my parents. And that's the end of this discussion." Alyssa answered, getting off the lift.

She knew that Lydia was going to continue to talk about this, and she wasn't willing to. This made her want to run, and to tell everyone to let her die. She knew that running wasn't the answer, but she couldn't believe that her parents wanted to talk. Some things just can't be undone, she knew that better than her cousin.

"Not the end of this discussion. Why won't you talk to them?" Lydia asked again, following Alyssa.

Lydia knew that Alyssa was avoiding this. Alyssa needed to face this, and Lydia was going to help her. She saw that Alyssa was ignoring the question, and walking a bit faster. "I'm trying to help. Your parents have changed. They're not like they use to be. Both of our parents are actually getting along. You know that's a hard thing, since my mom and your mom really don't get along. They worked out their problems. Your parents want to do the same with you. So why won't you?"

Alyssa turned and walked into the Counselor offices. "This is the Counselor offices. Kat tells you who you're seeing and when. She's very good." Alyssa then walked to the door to her right, and opened them. "This is your office." Lydia followed her as Alyssa grabbed the box off the desk. "You can find your own way to your quarters. I'm not talking about my parents, and you have no right to press the issue. Family or not, my parents are not open for discussion. I'm glad you fixed your family, but it won't work with mine. Kat will be able to give you directions to your quarters when you're ready. Goodbye."

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Lydia asked.

Lydia hoped that Captain Crae had the chance to convince Alyssa to stay. Now, she felt that she may have pushed her cousin to leave. She really hoped that her cousin would prove her wrong, and allow her to help with her parents.

"I'm leaving your office. Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm staying on the ship." Alyssa spoke over her shoulder.

Alyssa didn't really understand why she was staying. She just hoped that things worked out this time, and that her cousin would get the hint about never talking about her parents. She was happy to hear that the family was getting along, but it also made her sad and caused her to think about painful memories. She wanted nothing to do with her parents. She reached the door. "Oh, you should probably talk to the other crew members from the mission. It was a hard one. Bye."

"Bye." Lydia called a bit late.

She was glad to know that her cousin was staying. Now, all she needed to do was get her brother, Darien, to show up with Alyssa's parents. Even with Alyssa refusing to talk about it, Lydia knew that Alyssa wouldn't be able to hide with her parents here.

JP Between myself &:

||USS Fenris
||Kalen's Quarters
||2025

Alyssa didn't even bother to go to her quarters, but went straight for Kalen's. She was upset and needed to be as far away from her cousin as possible. She stood outside his quarters. She swallowed her pride, and pressed the door chime, more than once. She had already decided that if he wasn't in his quarters, she would wait.

Kalen awoke from his half nap and yawned, stretching. He had taken off his uniform and pulled on some jeans and a polo and went to answer the door. He figured it was Alyssa, but he still wasn't quite sure what to say or do. It was such an interesting push and pull for them, he was just happy to be in the moment with her. He opened the door to see her and she looked very upset. He had wondered what had happened in the last few hours, since she had probably not slept as much as she wanted by the looks of things. He didn't say anything, he just pulled her into his arms and held her tight, letting her know that he would protect her if he could from whatever was upsetting her.

She hugged him back. Tears began to slide down her face. She couldn't handle keeping things bottled up anymore. And she wanted to stay more than anything. She wanted to know where this relationship would go and at this moment, she had no choice but to tell him everything. Well... mostly everything. There were a few things she would leave out if she could control herself. Right now, all she wanted was to cry and tell him everything.

He stood in his doorway with her, just holding her. He pulled her back further and wished his quarters had some more furniture in them. They were pretty much standard, chairs and a replicator and a bed. That was really just about it. He would need to get some sort of couch at some point if he kept entertaining people. For the moment though, he could think of nothing better so he walked with her and sat her down on the bed. "Don't get any funny ideas." He smiled at her and winked, sitting down next to her. He wiped her tears away and wrapped his arm around her again, rubbing her shoulder and holding her close. "What happened, Alyssa?" He felt after having a first date, using her first name was appropriate now. He hoped she would agree.

She breathed. She didn't know if she could do this. "My parents want to talk to me. And Lydia, my cousin who's the new counselor, won't drop the subject. My parents are separated and both told me flat out that I was disowned. This happened at the end of my first year at the academy. I went on a illegal spree after that happened for like six months. No one knew where I was or what I had done. It's good that I was able to get my criminal record sealed, before I went back for my second year at the academy." She breathed again, as more tears fell. The memories of that day were still too painful. "I was missing for a year, and my parents didn't care." She sobbed. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm dead to them." She buried her face into his shoulder, and cried. This was the first time she had said it out loud and it hurt.

He held her tight and stroked her hair and her back, just content to be there to comfort her. He listened to her woes but could only relate in the slightest. "My father always tried to get me to become a younger, smaller version of himself. In all of our interactions, it seemed that all he wanted was a clone. But I didn't want to be a clone, so I rebelled, like you. After doing my own adventuring of that sort, I too tried to return home. But the trouble was, there wasn't a home to return to. I found out when I went back that my parents had been killed just weeks before that. I hadn't ever gotten to show my father what I had accomplished in Starfleet. He died thinking I was a degenerate and a fool. You have an idea how much that can hurt. Alyssa, talk to your parents. Because one day they'll be gone, and you'll always regret not saying anything. Trust me...I know." He wiped a tear away from his face and sighed softly, resting his head against hers as she cried into his shoulder. "I know it will be hard. But they still love you. I will come with you to talk to them however you please if you want." He smiled softly and kissed her cheek. "If there's anything I can do to smooth this over and help you, I won't waver from standing by your side."

She shook her head. She knew and understood that he was trying, but she didn't want to. They told her, she was dead to them, making it so that she believed them to be dead as well. It had been too long to make things work or right. It also didn't help that she went and did what they wanted her to do anyways. "I can't." She whispered. She didn't know how to explain that her parents used her against each other, and that their separation had been since she was ten. Plus her parents hated each other and hated her even more. Her dad had learned that she was different from both of them, and tried to fix things a few years back, except she was into too much pain and too closed off for her dad to be able to do anything. "I just... can't." She whispered again. She hoped that he would understand that, but knew that was most unlikely. "I'm dead to them and they're dead to me. It hurts too much. Frankly, I don't believe that they want to speak to me. Ever since I can remember they've used me against each other, and told me often that they hate me. My mom even said that she wished she hadn't had me. I knew that I was unwanted and unloved by the time I was twelve. Just because my parents separated when I was ten, didn't mean anything. They use everyone they come in contact with. I want nothing to do with them." She pushed her face into his shoulder. She cried more. She was having a hard time believing that she was actually telling him this, and that her parents were on speaking term with each other.

He frowned slightly but accepted her reasoning. He was sure he wasn't aware of the full situation, but from how it sounded, it seemed like she was far too wounded to ever consider reconciliation. Perhaps with time and his help she could reach a point where she could talk to her parents again. But he wouldn't press the issue. He didn't know very much about these kinds of things. The people whom he got close to in his past had a nasty habit of dying. He was changing that with this ship though. He wouldn't let that happen here though. He considered all her comments silently. Sometimes the best thing to say wasn't to say anything at all. He just hugged her tight and wondered what spurred this sudden interest in talking to their daughter if her parents didn't like each other as much as she believed and didn't like her even more. He was curious, but he wouldn't interfere in her family life.

She pulled away from him, and wiped her face. She was trying to stop crying. "Sorry for telling you all of that. I just didn't think I could handle it anymore. If you want to know more, I'm sure Lydia would be more than happy to tell you. She'll probably get you to help with whatever plan she has. She wants me to talk to them too." She knew being alone was a dangerous thing, but she didn't want to ruin his night or their relationship by staying. She was already afraid that she had ruin their relationship by telling him about her parents and part of her past. She was more afraid of doing something stupid than anything else. Then realization hit her. They were sitting on his bed. She swallowed and closed her eyes. "You may want to think about getting a couch." She had to keep telling herself to breath, and to fight back the tears that were still coming.

He sighed softly and cupped her cheek with his palm, "Alyssa, I want to be open and honest with you and I want the same in return. Don't ever apologize for telling me things. Especially if they're things that hurt you. I want to be here for you, to help you deal with that pain. I won't betray your trust or try to get you to do something you don't want to. I was just making a suggestion. I wouldn't ever deem to know what's best for you. You know what's best, and I will always be on your side in that." He chuckled softly, "You know? I was just thinking about that earlier. I will have to replicate one or something. I would like you to keep coming back. I want you to feel just as welcome as you would in your own quarters. I have nothing to hide from you." He smiled softly and leaned in, kissing her forehead. "You don't have to go if you're not ready. I'm still here if you want to keep talking. You won't scare me away, Alyssa."

She looked into his eyes. "Kalen, I don't know how to trust someone. I've always been betrayed. I barely talk to my cousins, and they're the family members that I keep in contact with. You've manage to find out about my parents when they don't even know. Lydia would literally kill to know what you know." She had to close her eyes again and breath. "How can you betray my trust when I don't even know how to give it? And how can you say that I won't scare you away? I came to you because I'm afraid I'll do something stupid." She shook her head, then rested it on his chest. "I don't know even know why I told." She knew that the tears were sliding down her cheeks again, but this time she didn't care. She wanted to know what he thought about all of this, and why he's bothering to let her stay. She couldn't even figure out why she was staying.

He looked right back at her before she broke eye contact and held her close again. "Well I will do my best to never let you question me. I won't betray you. Already you've put things in my hands and that's where they will stay until you say otherwise. I appreciate how much you care and trust me, and I feel the same way in return." He shook his head, "I won't tell her. Not a word from my lips, I promise." He smiled softly and ran his fingers through her hair. "I can say you won't scare me away because there is nothing in heaven or on earth you can say that would put me in a place where being with you wasn't my top priority. I see that so clearly that there is nothing to even cast a shadow of doubt in my mind." He laid back with her, not for any physical activity, just to put his back on something. It had started to twinge and he needed to not sit up for a moment or two. "I won't let you go until you tell me to. I'm committed to this relationship, and I'm not going anywhere. I care so much about you Alyssa, and unless you can look me in the eye and tell me you don't feel the same way, I won't ever stop."

She couldn't help but feel that he was right. "Okay. Thanks for promising. Lydia and her family just got patched up. I don't want them to know." She laid there with him. It felt natural and it reminded her that her body was getting close to falling asleep. She yawned. She knew that either they keep talking or she was going to sleep. She sighed. "I lied." She bit her lower lip, as she listened to his breathing. "I've got one memory of my parents that is happy. Well, it was when I was five. But we were happy. I don't remember where we were, but I remember that it was a lake. We have or had, I don't know if my parents still own it, a cabin/huge house by a lake. We went there one summer, when I was five. It was just the three of us. My parents had taken a week off of work to spend time with me. It was the first summer that I learned how to swim. My dad was teaching me while my mom attempted to make us lunch. My mom can't cook. It was the only time I can remember them not fighting. That one week during the summer. By the way, I'm a terrible swimmer. I know all that's needed to survive." She laughed softly before yawning again. She'd stop crying, but her body was overly tired.

He smiled again, "You're welcome. Like I said, I'd do anything for you. I wouldn't jeopardize your relationship with your cousin. It's important to you, I can see that." He pondered what she said for a moment, and the only thing that came to mind was a flippant joke, so he decided to try to lighten the mood a little. "Well I guess that means you won't come play water polo with me then, now doesn't it?" He grinned at her and returned to his own memories of his family. His father pushing him to be better, to know more. To be everything he could be. Well he was striving for it now. He would be everything that he could be and he would be that way with her. "That's a good memory. Hold on to it. Maybe one day if you're ever ready to talk to them again, that memory will help you know what to say. Not saying you have to, but if you want to you always can." She was yawning, but he wasn't terribly tired having woken up from a nap. "You can sleep here if you want to Alyssa, I won't leave you if you don't want me to. I'll be here when you wake up, and tomorrow will be just as good of a day as today."

"I wouldn't call today a good day. It was a good day gone wrong that end with me here." She yawned again. "I might take you up on your offer. With me yawning so much. I would play water polo, but I don't know how." She admitted. She liked trying new things, and she wouldn't mind doing something he'd enjoy, even if it meant that she had to learn it. Which would be interesting to see. She moved into a position that allowed her to see his face. "No offense, but could we discuss something that isn't my family?" She knew that she probably looked terrible since she had been crying for most of their chat, but she didn't care. She liked the fact that he was allowing her to stay and willing to be there.

He chuckled, "Well alas despite your trials and troubles, I think it was a good day. I got to spend the majority of it with you." He shrugged his shoulders, "There is plenty of time for all that. We have all the time we need to do whatever we want." He ran a hand over her forehead and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, "Certainly. What do you want to talk about? I'll answer any questions you have. Though with my limited time on the ship, I'm afraid I don't have very many interesting stories quite yet." He pondered for a moment or three to try to think of anything he hadn't told her yet. His life seemed rather bland and boring short of his two traumatic experiences. Those were the only two stories he could think of to tell.

She did something that he wasn't excepting. She kissed him. "When was your first kiss?" She was curious to know, and he had said to ask him anything. So she was going to take advantage of that. Even if it did get he into a little bit of trouble. She was will to risk it and it was the first question that came to mind.

He smiled softly after she pulled away from the kiss. He pondered her question for a moment, "My first kiss was when I was fifteen. You remember how it was as a teenager. All awkward and such." He laughed, remembering that day. It wasn't incredibly important, not like this was. This was special and he knew that in his heart. "It wasn't anything special, we were just young and thought we knew everything about love. But now, I've learned so much more." He leaned in to return her kiss from earlier. "Now I'm ready to be in love, I don't think I ever was before."

She smiled. "I don't know if I'm ready or not. I guess we'll found out." She laughed softly. "Teenagers always believe they know everything. That hasn't changed and I doubt it ever will." She rested her head back on his chest, wondering what question she should ask next. "What did you do for your first date?"

He nodded, "I hope so. We'll just have to see how it goes and roll with whatever comes our way." He grinned widely, "We were invincible when we were young. And we did know everything. It was the best of times." He stroked her hair and pondered her next question. He shook his head, "I honestly can't remember. I think we had a dance together and dinner. But that was it. How was yours?"

She tried not to smile. "We went to one of the national parks, walked around, talked about everything, and I can't say if I remember having dinner." She sat up and looked at him. "Do you miss being on Earth? I know that the holodeck can do whatever you want it to, but it's just not the same." She looked down at her hands, and sighed. She had already told him stuff, so why did she have to ask if he missed Earth. Every human as far as she knew miss Earth from time to time. She didn't even bother to wait for him to respond. "Favorite dating activity?" She needed the mood to be light or she'd start crying again.

He pondered her question, still lying on the bed looking up at her. "I don't really know. I mean I guess sometimes I do a little bit. But after I graduated there was nothing left for me on Earth. I had no family, nowhere to go and no one to see or talk to. I could have met random strangers but..I thought maybe the stars were where I could find my calling." He sighed softly and went to her next one very quickly, "I haven't honestly been on too many dates, and of those they were mostly dinner. Sometimes there were other things after dinner, but usually that's all it was. This will be a whole new experience for me. I want to do things with you. I don't even care what they are. We can go rock climbing or scuba diving or anything you can wish to do, the holodecks will provide. I think my favorite date though was one girl, all she wanted to do was play chess to see if I was a worthy perspective "mate". Needless to say, she beat me easily three games in a row. After that she left, but I learned a lot, and had fun playing something I never really had before."

She nodded. "I don't like chess, so you're going to need to find a friend that will play with you." She still hadn't looked up from her hands. "Well you know about my parents, so I probably need to explain my missing of Earth. I just like nature, a lot. Earth, along with many other planets, are just beautiful and full of life. If I had my way, I wouldn't have left. Sorry, but I'm just miss Earth. I'm here because this is what my parents wanted. I still did what they wanted even after they disowned me. I guess this sort of proves that I still care what my parents think." She sighed and look at him. "Let's have a light subject. What are some of your favorite activities?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe I'll ask the Captain about it. Chess is a good way to learn about people, and an excellent teacher of strategy. It's quite an efficient tool." He looked at her, "That's one of the reasons you wanted to leave, wasn't it? To go home, to see life and love and live in a beautiful world. I can understand that." He thought about her second statement before answering her next question, "Well we went over my primary polo hobby. Other than that I don't get a whole lot of time off duty to expand my retinue of hobbies. Though I did always enjoy creating rockets and flying kites as a child. I will have to try that again in the holodeck. What do you like to do?"

She smiled. "I never got the chance to fly a kite. I guess I missed out." She thought about what she liked to do. "Ballroom, reading, sleeping, modeling - which is a hobby that I can't do right now, turning the holodeck into an old movie theater and watching the classics. The last one is my favorite. Though I do watch the old films in my quarters sometimes. All depends on rather or not I want to walk to the holodeck." She wondered what to ask him next. "I'm sorry but I have to ask this. Have you seen some classics films? When I say classic, I mean The Godfather or Gone with the Wind." She needed to know if she had to educate him on classic films.

He laughed softly, "Indeed you did. We will have to change that. It's a very thrilling experience, even if you know in the back of your head that it isn't real." He nodded, "I enjoy dancing, reading and sleeping as well. Though the first is something I'm still working on." He shook his head awaiting her disappointment, "No they didn't have a class on classic film in the Academy and my father would have rathered me study physics than have any sort of free time to exercise any hobby or passion that wasn't a hard science or mathematics related activity. You will have to show me. Perhaps that can be another one of our dates."

She was stunned. "I feel like I need to hurt your father, but I can't. Classic films. I can totally make that science or mathematical related. I'm so sad that you never got to enjoy classic films. Several of our dates will be watching classic films. There's so many of them, that I'm really going to need to pick and choose which ones that you have to see. And I would love to fly kites since you say that I've missed out." She knew that she probably offend him by saying that she felt like hurting his dad, but she couldn't help not saying it. "As for the dancing, If you're willing I'd be more than happy to teach you. I'm sorry for saying what I did about your father. I know that if I knew him, I'd probably understand a bit better. Did... never mind. So you had to study math and science. Two subjects that I'm not that good in. I think that'll be my reason for not playing chess with you. Besides the fact that I suck at it. If you don't believe me, I can give you the contact information on my Academy roommate who plays chess all the time. She's actually very good." She figured that this wasn't making the situation better since her comment about his dad. She really didn't mean to sound so surprised or insult his family. "I forget that everyone grows up differently." She didn't know what else to say.

He chuckled softly, "He was respected. But that doesn't hardly go hand in hand with being well liked. I think most of his friends wanted to do him physical harm at one point or another. But I really didn't ever know. We never had those kinds of talks." He shook his head, "Don't be offended or apologetic, you can't hurt him. Nothing can now, his memory lives on in whatever annals he has affected. But other than that..his legacy will be in his work. That is what he wanted." He smiled, "We can do all those things. There's plenty of time for everything. I won't make you play chess, I just thought about it is all when you asked." He sighed, "Well that's true. And everyone hopes to be better parents than theirs were to them. Or at least I would like to think so. I don't really know though. My mother always tried to tell me it was the way my father was with everyone. She was a kind soul. And maybe it was just the way he was. I won't ever know." He shrugged his shoulders, it was really not that important to him anymore.

"Well, you'll love your parents more when you meet mine. If you ever meet mine." She rubbed her neck. "It was still wrong of me to say that. You care about your parents rather or not you realize it. Plus, you'll always have a part of them. I do, even though I wish I didn't." She look away. "I don't know if I could handle being a parent. I'll most likely turn out to be like my parents. Cold and distant." Memories of her childhood and teen years, played a crossed her mind. She felt like crying again. "No one really knows how much time we have. For all you know, I could leave tomorrow and we'll never see each other again. No one can prepare you for the future, even though we all try to anyways." She was debating rather or not to go. A strong part of her wanted her stay, but she had a dumb voice in her head telling her that none of this was going to work out and that there was no point in hoping it will.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Perhaps. I guess we'll just have to see if and when that time comes." He leaned forward as she had and massaged her neck and shoulders for a few moments, "Don't worry so much about it. It was said, and I don't mind. Yes I care about them, but they won't ever know it now." He leaned over and kissed her cheek, "You have a lot of time to figure out if that's what you want. I don't see you as being cold and distant." He rested his head on her shoulder, "Yes, you very well could. That's why I wanted to spend as much time with you as I could. It's your decision to make and I won't stop you. I'll be here waiting if you decide to stay. I can promise that much."

She kissed him. "Thanks. There's something I've got to tell you." She sighed, and bit her lower lip. "I already told my cousin that I was staying. I just don't know what I'm doing yet. There's already two counselors and I haven't talked to the Captain yet. So I guess there's still a good chance that I might not be able to stay. It's really the Captain's choice." She didn't exactly know how he would take it.

He nodded to her and smiled softly, "Well I think that she will let you stay. Or at least I hope so. If that's still what you want to do." He leaned in and returned her kiss, "I'm just happy to spend every moment with you that I can. I wouldn't change that for the world." He wanted to stay in that moment with her forever. But already it was continuing forward through time. "She'll keep us together. But if not..I don't know. I'd be half tempted to follow you, you know that?" He grinned.

"You would?" She asked, a bit surprised. She had never met anyone who would follow her. She breathed and rubbed her eyes. "I can't believe how tired I am. And I find it hard to believe that you would quit this ship and follow me. I've got a good feeling that I'm going to be staying and I'm going to hold onto that feeling. I just hope that Lydia doesn't bring family problems on board. Some things are just left off ship." She laid down on his bed. "You really should get a couch." She was debating on rather or not to fall asleep here or attempt to make to her quarters. She knew that she could sleep on the floor. She did most of the time anyways; just never made it to the bed fast enough.

He nodded, willing to admit that fully. But he felt in his hear that she wouldn't be going anywhere if she didn't want to. He watched her for a moment and chuckled softly. "We'll both hold onto that feeling, and I hope also that she doesn't bring those things around. Drama isn't necessarily the easiest thing to deal with. We will if we have to, but I hope it doesn't come to that." He grinned and pondered making a joke and decided not to. He looked around the room, "I'll get right on it. Maybe tomorrow." He smiled softly, "But if you're so tired you're welcome to stay. I won't invade your privacy, I'm a man of honor. Or I can carry you back to your quarters." He winked, knowing that one way or the other, their night was over.

"You may have to do that. Mainly because I'll probably pass out in the hallway." She replied sleepily. "I'm probably going to be asleep when you decide rather or not to move me. This is why a couch would be good. Because I could be passed out on the couch and you'd still have your bed to sleep in. Wait... that sort of made sense yet not. I'm tired." She knew that she was falling asleep, and she couldn't get her body to move into a sitting position.

He shrugged his shoulders and played with her hair for a moment before coming back to the real world, "Well whatever you want Alyssa. I won't invade your privacy if you sleep up on my bed. That will be fine. But yes, tomorrow I will get that couch." He laughed, "But we're adults, we can sleep in the same bed without being intimate if you don't care." He just smiled at her and offered his hand if she wanted him to take her back to her quarters.

She stared at him then looked at his hand. "Are you being a gentlemen?" She hoped that was the right term. She rarely used, so she didn't know what exactly to do. Didn't help that she was falling asleep, and wouldn't mind staying if the 'I should go sleep in my own quarters' feeling would go away. She signed, and took his hand.

He smiled softly and pulled her up into his arms after he took her hand, "There's no rush for anything. We have time enough to explore all our avenues. But yes, I am being a gentleman." He smiled down at her and slipped his arm around her shoulders and under her knees, lifting her from his bed. He carried her to the door and exited out into the hall, careful with her as he took her to her quarters so she could sleep in her own bed.

She stood in her doorway. "Thanks for being there. My breakdowns can be fun." She kissed him, then went into her quarters. She knew that they had time, and she would get use to dating a gentlemen. The last time she dated one, was back in the academy. It didn't end well, but she was more than happy to try again. She had a feeling that Kalen was different. First time, since she got here, she actually made into her bed with pajamas on.

JP Between:

||USS Fenris
||Lydia's Office
||2030

Lydia had asked Kat to contact Taylor, Lillian, and Gabe. She felt that these three crew members needed to check in with her. This had been an interesting mission. Plus she knew that getting Taylor to talk was going to be tough. It was something that needed to be done. So she decided to finish setting up her office while she waited.

With a grumpy expression glued onto his face Taylor made his way to the councillor's office after being called by her assistant. Apparently there had been a change of hats and this new councillor was looking to get inside his mind. He had even protested to Lillian that he had gone through a check up with Alyssa but she was having none of it. So the captain had pointed him out the door and away he marched to the office. Inside he ambled up to her assistant in a manner that someone would when they are somewhere they'd rather not be.

"Lieutenant Colonel Lucas here for his booking." he said flatly.

"Good to see you again. It's been awhile." Lydia replied, more happy to see him then he was. "According to the report, you killed someone. Do you have any intention of harming the crew or the Captain?"

The question was so badly strung onto the statement that Taylor couldn't make heads or tails of it. Lydia might have well spoke Klingonese for all he could care because he was left in a stunned mode of trying to find out what exactly she was looking for. "I'm going assume lieutenant that you have a basic grasp of communication skills since you're the chief councillor." said Taylor through gritted teeth as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who are you referring to and what report are you referring to? Do you mean the report about Betazed? If so then I killed a lot of people. You might have to be a tad specific. It's my job to kill, it's how I protect the ship. The captain...I'm marrying her. The crew are like my family. Why would I harm them?"

"I know you well enough that to be specific, would make it so that you stop talking altogether. It's good to know that you and the captain are still getting married. It also good to hear that you won't be killing any of the crew." Lydia answered, knowing that she was probably making it hard for her to get him to actually talk. "Now, explain to me how it is that you killed someone named Jason, and everyone with him? Simply wish to know why, and to understand so that you can still work. I know that you're in the right frame of mind, so this should be a very easy to get out."

"It's a simple tactical need to kill an enemy force when presented with a dangerous device such as explosives. If we were to stun them they could be revived by their comrades and give them another shot at killing us. I've been killing people for years and down on Betazed I wasn't the only one 'killing'." replied Taylor with narrowed eyes. "You make it sound like I went on some wild killing spree. Jason was one of the terrorists with the device and he presented a threat. I took him down like I would any other target. I can 'still work' lieutenant because all I've done is my job."

"I know that. Please don't talk to me like I don't know how to do my job." Lydia irritatedly replied. She didn't know who pissed him off but taking it out on her for doing her duties was getting pretty old, fast. "I've been talking with all of the crew members that were part of your team. I simply needed to know that your head was in the right place, and for my report to equally match yours. If that is a problem for you, then take it up with Star Fleet Command. I'm simply doing my job. You clearly know how to do yours, so stop trying to do mine."

"Ok lieutenant, sorry." apologised Taylor with a shrug and a sigh. "In my own opinion my head was in the right place as it always is during a battle. I do my stuff, command my marines and then go home. I don't go around collecting teeth or fingers. I don't see red during every battle. I just do my job. That's all it is. My job."

"And that's all I need to know. It's not like I'm trying to dig up all of your past. I simply need to tell Star Fleet and the Captain that you more than capable of doing your job. If you need to talk about something else, we can do that. I just gotta make sure that you can do your job." Lydia replied. "I know for a fact that you can do your job, and that this isn't affecting you in bad way. Since that's all I need to know for my report, is there something that I should know that you want to talk about?"

"I think it's obvious I'm not really the sharing type." said the marine sheepishly. "Especially with people in blue uniforms. No offence. I just don't do hyposprays, medical tricorders, cortical stimulators, councillors, doctors or nurses. Unless of course that doctor is the captain. I just hate sickbays and hate councillor officers. It's like I'm under the microscope being poked and prodded at. Plus that lack of smell in sickbays it's...perverse."

"I understand. I don't ever want to be in sickbay. Counselors, I can deal with because I know how to play with theirs minds." She replied with a nod. "Just out of curiosity, why does it bother you?"

The question had cropped up so many times that the answer just ended up leaving his mouth automatically. "I was part of the marine force to remove Orion elements from Thesa Prime. During the last battle for a major city I was badly injured and got sent to a hospital ship sitting in orbit. I mean badly injured....my chest was ripped open and my face was mashed by a fragmentation shell. So I spent two years getting treated for my wounds and the obvious psychological trauma. The councillors constantly said they wanted me under observation and so did the doctors till finally two years later they let me do light duty on a ship to see if I'm fit and ready. After that it was back to normal."

"Wow. I'm surprise you didn't make a break for it. I would have. I spent a year in the hospital for some weird virus that the doctors couldn't figure out until my cousin, Alyssa, showed up yelling at them for being stupid and not looking at my full medical record. They made a common cold much worse. I actually made a break for it six months in. I didn't get very far though." She replied, remembering her experience then shaking her head. "I don't like being under observation, yet I'm a counselor and it's my job to put people under observation. I rare do because I know that everyone hates it and frankly, it makes life a bit hard for everyone on broad. Not to mention a lot of paper work goes into. There's too many crew members that actually need someone to put just one of them under observation. I'm not here cause problems, and under observation causes them."

"It was a hospital ship, not a lot of places to go." pointed out the marine. "But that was then and this is now. I'm a lot older and probably going to get a lot more grey now. So...am I cleared lieutenant?"

"Yes, you're cleared." She told the marine. "You may leave. Remember that my door is open if you need it."

JP Between myself &:

lydia/gabe - 2045

(all the alyssa and mine post are subject to change. waiting on captain's approval.)

||USS Fenris
||Lt Garren's Quarters
||2100

Gabe walked down the corridor leading to Marissa's quarters. He had no idea why but he was nervous, it wasn't like this was the first time they'd met, they'd been on 2 dates since meeting on Tercius Prime. He put it down to the nerves he'd had during the mission on Betazed.

What's ya problem Sharpe, why are ya getting nervous now?

Since meeting Marissa he'd been happier then he had in years, it was an odd feeling but he was getting used to it. He smoothed his dark blue shirt as he came to her door, taking a deep breath he pushed the buzzer.

Marissa was particularly dressed up: black blouse and a beige skirt. She'd changed three times already and when the door chime signaled she was busy brushing her hair so she cursed under her breath because she hated that cliche about women always being late for things like this.

"Coming!"

With that said, she hurried to the door in her black heels and opened it up, smiling at Gabe standing there and then ushering him inside. Just seeing him made her stomach twist up into pleasurable knots and she gave him the warmest smile she'd ever given anyone.

"Make yourself comfortable," she told him pleasantly.

He stepped inside and took her hand, kissing the back of it. "Why thankyou." He said with a smile as he showed her the bottle of mead he had behind his back, "Sorry i didn't have any wine hanging around so i brought mead."

"Anything is perfect, Gabe," she responded as she smoothed her skirt down.

He placed the bottle on the table and quickly brushed down his clothes again. He wore a dark blue dress shirt, black trousers and a pair of black boots.

"Thanks for watching my back down there Marissa, i wasn't at my best, especially towards the end." he said rubbing his chin, "I haven't worked EOD in quite a few years, and my last mission with the Corps didn't exactly go well. I'm glad ya were there to make sure i stayed on track."

"The important part is we got everything taken care of and got back safe and sound," she told him. "Now..." she said with a smile moving closer to him, "we get to relax and spend time together."

She was just glad that no one had died and she had Gabe to come back to.

Gabe smiled as he placed his hands on Marissa's hips, "Now that is very true." he said as he pulled her towards him and kissed her passionately, the thoughts and worries of the past day gone as he lost himself in the moment.

Marissa returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around Gabe and nipped at his lips with her teeth before returning to the gentle, passionate nature he had started the kiss with. She was so happy that he was here and she just wanted to make sure that he felt at home here...relaxed here.

"Now, hopefully you're planning on staying awhile..."

Gabe smiled slightly as he pulled away from her and picked up the bottle of mead he'd brought, pouring them out a glass each. He handed one to Marissa and took a drink himself.

"I've told my team I'm not to be interrupted unless we're all about to die." he said with a wink, "I'm all yours."

She smiled too as she drank some of the mead looked at the glass, nodding in appreciation of its taste and loving that she was here with him. Then she looked at him and smiled a little more as she watched him there in her quarters being all perfect and pulled together even after what he went through that day.

"Stay over," she said happily.

She took another drink of the mead, smiling the whole time.

All she could do right then was smile.

Gabe nodded and took a drink, letting the honey based alcohol run down his throat.

"If that's what ya want ya that my dear is what ya get." He replied as he placed his glass down on a sidetable, "As ya said before tonight is all about us."

After the day they'd had, he was glad he'd been able to talk to someone before heading here. He was drained and a little tired but tonight... Tonight meant a lot to him and he wouldn't have missed it for the world. He sat down on the sofa, his aches easing slightly. He motioned for Marissa to join him.

"That's what I want," she told him.

Marissa nodded at Gabe and began to move toward him, assessing his body language and knowing that he needed to be relaxed. So she sat down next to him and immediately set to massaging his shoulders as she sat there, kissing his cheek and playfully nipping his ear.

"How about I give you a massage, we eat dinner and then we go to bed?" she asked. "I just want to spend time with you and then wake up to you."

He felt the pressure on his shoulders loosen as Marissa massaged his shoulders, an action he didn't know he needed quite so badly until she'd started. He let out a slight sigh and his hand moved behind him to stroke Marissa's leg.

"Now there's a plan i can go with." He chuckled, "So what's for dinner?"

"Anything you want, I'm a master replicater," she laughed. "I'm in the mood for seafood, maybe and then we can snuggle all you want." She made sure to keep massaging his shoulders and back and then stroked his hair. "I'm just glad you came and you're okay."

"Seafood and snuggling sounds good to me." He replied, "You'll have to forgive me if I seem a little out of sorts... it's been a long time since I last dated someone so I'm having to pretty much relearn everything again. I've spent so long doing little more then working has left me a little...out of touch with people." He added, he wanted Marissa to know the truth, before he really did do something stupid.

"Been a bit for me too," she admitted with a shrug. "We'll just have to go through the motions of it all together right? You've been wonderful so far and I doubt this will be like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde so we're good, promise."

She kissed him gently and then decided to get up and replicate them some food, drinking a little of the mead as she did so and smiling to herself. Aaron would be having a cow if he knew she was letting his boss spend the night and yet she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I should warn you, my pajamas are unattractive..." she warned.

Gabe laughed at the comment, "Oh I'm sure they'll be fine." he said as he stood up and joined her. His arms looped around her stomach from behind as he kissed her cheek, "After all, you'll be the one wearing them."

Marissa smiled as she leaned back into Gabe and took a moment to really take in the fact that they were together right now, even after such a battle. She was definitely going to start seizing the day a little bit more and as she replicated the shrimp, she turned around in Gabe's arms and kissed his jaw.

"Hey, on a completely serious note: you can always come to me." Marissa said. "When you're having a crappy day or you're sad I want you to know that I want to be that person for you that you can come running to. Doesn't matter what is is, Gabe. I am here."

"Ya know ya may regret saying that later, I'm not exactly what ya would call a normal person.." he replied with a smile, "Until recently i was either working, reading reports in my quarters or on the holodeck. Never really had the need for a 'real life', never really knew how to live one."

"I won't regret it--we're a good team." Marissa responded, grabbing the food and motioning to the couch. "Looking forward to some down time?"

She didn't know quite what topic to start on tonight but she knew that talking to Gabe made her feel good and tonight was all about the two of them feeling as good as possible. So she smiled as she began to eat, one hand on his thigh to keep physical contact between them so he knew she wanted to be as close to him as it was possible to be close.

Gabe chuckled, "Sure but ya may have to teach me downtime is. Not done too much of that over the years either." He said as he ate. His placed his hand on Marissa's, squeezing gently. He had to admit he was enjoying himself, a nice quiet evening with nothing more then some food and good company, had he been alone he'd probally been in his office going over reports or sleeping in his chair, this however was much better.

"i'm glad ya invited me over Marissa, i have a feeling tonight is going to be a good night."

Joint Post brought to you by :-
And

|| Bridge
|| USS Mitterand
|| 2105

From his captain's chair on the bridge, Captain Wierzbowski felt insulated from the hustle and bustle of the bridge yet still connected in the event of an emergency. From here he could compose a report in peace while still remaining in touch with his beloved ship. And compose a report he did, typing away the final lines of a debriefing report that would be transferred to Starfleet Command.

-and while these instances certainly give cause for concern, they are not damning in and of themselves, merely the inevitable result of a fresh captain commanding a diverse crew. I believe that additional command experience will provide her with the skills necessary to prevent them in the future. I would also recommend Admiral Flynn monitor her condition and if necessary temporarily relieve her of command when the time comes, to ensure that her duties do not interfere with her pregnancy and recovery…and vice versa. Still, it is nevertheless my opinion that, given her experience and talents, Lillian Crae will be an unparalleled asset to-

The captain stopped, sensing a presence over his shoulder and turning to see Lars standing there. The Intel officer appeared to be waiting patiently and gazing blankly at a distant bulkhead, but Wierzbowski was convinced the man had been reading over his shoulder.

With a sniff he asked with forced politeness "Well Commander, what's the status on that device?"

"Initial analysis was correct, captain. It's a decoy, just a diversion. Still, the orders stand. We're taking it to Starbase 56 for eventual transfer to a dedicated research facility. Starfleet intends to learn what it can from any bomb, even a dummy bomb." Lars waved a hand dismissively, not caring much about it all anymore. The dinner party he had attended had given him a number of things to ponder, none of them really work-related. No, this was personal.

The Mitterand's captain grunted. "Understood. We're turning over relief operations to local forces and recalling personnel on the surface. I think we'll be ready to depart …" he paused to key his console and check. "…within the hour. Is that acceptable, commander?" the captain asked sarcastically, expecting some impatient protest from Lars but instead being surprised when the intelligence officer nodded his mute acceptance. Lars walked over to a bridge console and stared at it, not really processing what it said but instead losing himself in thought. Once the bomb had been delivered, he needed to arrange transport to Earth, and after that Starbase 7 to meet with some old colleagues of his. It was time to do what he did best.

Conspire.

||USS Fenris
||Just Outside Lilly/Taylor's Quarters
||0754 hours


Marlo stretched as she approached the door to Lilly's and Taylor's quarters. She gotten off her night shift on the bridge, napped for about an hour and decided to go try to fix the almost broken friendship with Taylor. they didn't really talk anymore, and there was a time when they talked about everything.

It was out of character for Marlo to let one of her friendships hang on by a mere thread, especially when that one person she was letting fall through the cracks was the one marrying her near sister. Something had to be done. And that was why she opened the door now.

"Good morning! I've actually not come to see you Lil. I'm going to steal your fiance for the morning." Marlo said, her voice oozing cheer.

At the mention of himself, Taylor peeked around the corner to see Marlo at the front door bold as brass. Taylor wondered what exactly she was after. She barely spoke to him in a professional way let alone personally. For all he knew it was going to be a normal working day so he was showered and dressed in his duty uniform when the redheaded apparition had stumbled through the door.

"And what exactly are you stealing me for commander?" he asked in a professional way, standing at ease with his hands clasped behind his back. "Not done something wrong have I?"

Marlo raised her eyebrows, because she couldn't raise just one like she wanted. "No, you haven't done anything wrong. We were friends once--I want to repair it. I remember when we used to talk about everything, our families, our friends, our love lives. but now it's all professional all the time, and I figure since you're going to become part of my second family, we should rebuild."

The Bajoran's statement made Taylor raise an eyebrow in an almost mocking fashion as he tried to fathom exactly what Marlo was getting at. "We're in Starfleet, we're suppose to be professional commander. You're the executive officer and outside these quarters Lillian is the commanding officer. But I hear what you're saying, we can't always be Starfleet officers all the time. So what did you have in mind, Red?"

Marlo actually hadn't thought it completely through to be honest. She'd thought about the holodeck, but that was as far as she got. She'd woken up from a nap twenty minutes before.

"Well, I figured we could go spend time in the holodeck, run some holonovel or something, Oaf." Marlo laughed, going back to what she used to call him when they were friends.

"A holonovel." said the marine with a raised eyebrow once more. The thought of running one of those with Marlo seemed tedious at best. However an evil smile seemed to cross his face. "We used to spar a lot and I think you're getting soft. You Bajorans are all good with rifles but up close and personal it's like fighting a Ferengi. How about we get some boxing in?"

Marlo scrunched up her nose. The last time she had fought someone, she'd ended up near death, with three broken ribs almost puncturing the lower chambers of her horizontal heart. She hadn't known it at the time, but after she'd been in sickbay and looked at her scans, she'd promised herself that she wouldn't get up close and personal when she fought anymore. She knew Taylor would never hurt her that bad, on purpose or otherwise, but she was more careful than she used to be.

"Fine." She sighed. "Have you eaten? We could stop by the mess hall; workouts always make me hungry."

She could always stop if she felt like it.

"I wake up at 0500 hours everyday. I'm showered and fed." replied Taylor with an almost winning smile. He enjoyed hand-to-hand combat with Marlo and now that she was game for sparring with him again it was like old times. Taylor knew that a marine and an engineer was no fair match for anything to do with combat so he often did take things easy, using the sparring sessions as lessons rather than actual fights. "I'll go easy on you alright? Then we'll cool down, shower and see what the day brings. C'mon, lead the way."

"I don't want your pity." Marlo joked as she laughed.

She opened the door and ushered Taylor out in front of her, she turned then waved at Lillian, and followed him out the door, falling instep with him as they walked down the hallway. They must have looked like the odd pair, the XO and the Marine Co, but Marlo didn't care. She was well rested and ready to take on whatever the day threw at her.

Shaking his head with a small smile he walked along the corridor. There wasn't much else Taylor could say about it until they got to the holodeck. When they did reach the room Taylor replicated boxing dress for them and proceeded to change. As he did he decided to speak. "So, how are you feeling about going from CEO to XO. That's got to be a hell of a transition. From going from the factory floor to the office. How do you cope?"

"It's weird." Marlo admitted as she pulled her long red hair into a ponytail. "Some days I find myself in Engineering, without really knowing how I got there in the first place--I've been late to so many bridge shifts that way. But I can't deny loving sitting in the seat of power. Why do you think I went through eight years in the academy for my captain's training instead of the standard four?"

It hadn't been for the studying that's for sure. Marlo hated tests, but she loved having all the power at her command, even though she wasn't captain, she was still just as powerful. She also couldn't deny the thrill of using something she'd created, be it ship or technology while in the seat of power--she was itching to use the transferred phase cannon, but also was avoiding causing destruction with it.

"So are you looking forward to your coming weddings? You realize that by the time this is all over with, Lilly will have had four? One Vulcan, one human, and two Betazoid."

"I wouldn't be getting married to her and not looking forward to our weddings. And I'm aware of her previous marriage, sometimes I think her last husband was a better man than I. He stayed after all." answered Taylor who looked rather solemn as he put on his boxing gloves. "Hopefully you'll be getting your own ship soon. I know Reneé has gotten her ship back but what I'm not looking forward to is seeing my parents at the wedding. Hopefully their invites will get lost in subspace. Should I be so lucky anyway."

Marlo coughed and rubbed her neck with her right hand. She had never actually boxed before and the gloves felt weird. She didn't want to put them on.

"Yeah, you never get used to seeing your parents naked. I don't know how Betazoids do it...and I know you know about her previous marriage. I was the one who told you about it in the first place...Remember? I don't think he was--he may have stayed but, it was only after she had changed everything about herself. Megan is more like Lilly was, before she wanted the challenge of going after a Vulcan; unafraid to read minds, and an incurable flirt." Marlo admitted. "She slept with you when you guys first met didn't she?"

"Put your gloves on, they'll protect your knuckles and my face." pointed out Taylor with a teasing smile. He got into his stance as he nodded at the question. "She did, I just assumed it was the Betazoid thing. We met at some ball that my battalion commander was so keen to get me involved in. Had a dance, went for a walk...ended up in bed. I had a good feeling about her and I knew Lillian was the one."

Marlo crossed her arms over her chest and eyed the gloves suspiciously.

"You humans find this entertaining? If I have to..." As she put the gloves on she pretended to gag at his last comment. "So why didn't you go back like you promised? I know everything."

Marlo mirrored Taylor's stance, although she had no idea what she was doing...she would've preferred a good sparring, or a tennis match, but she'd agreed to boxing and wasn't going to back down, now. She sighed reluctantly and put in what she assumed to be a mouth guard just in case. If only she'd had time to study boxing before partaking in this barbaric human activity...

"Well, entertainment is one aspect of it." replied Taylor rather defensively. "It's a good muscle workout and it's great for cardiovascular. No offense Marlo but ever since you got that comfy chair beside Lillian you've been getting love handles. Time to get you into your fighting fit shape again." he added as a way of teasing her. However her question seemed to take him aback as he tried to settle himself enough to answer.

"Duty, really. After the Dominion War there was a lot of clean up to be done. Peacekeeping, humanitarian missions...marines can go from a combat role to a peacetime one in the snap of a finger but that war left a lot of broken homes and bad memories. No marine within my platoon had opted to see family or take leave and as their officer I had to show them that I was willing to make the same sacrifice. By the time the clean up was done my recon platoon was the first boots on the ground for Thesa Prime. Pain of being a Spaceborne Ranger."

With a sad shrug he raised his hands. "Come on commander, lemme see what you've got."

"I think I should be offended. That's the second time you've called me fat today." Marlo joked, trying to ease him past the memory. "I still don't know about this...but okay. Here goes."



JP By Marlo and Taylor