Pre-Mission Mission

||USS Fenris
||Counselor's Office
||1010

"Ensign Marshall, could you make an appointment with Taylor Lucas? He's on board and I would like to make sure he is who he says he is." Alyssa kindly asked.

"Yes, Ma'am." Ensign Marshall answered, getting on it.

"Will you please try to call me Alyssa or Counselor?" Alyssa asked, hating the term Ma'am.

"I shall try, Counselor." Ensign Marshall answered.

"Thank you." Alyssa replied, before heading back into the interoffice.

Taylor wanted a call from the councillor as much as he wanted one from the doctor. At least now he was in a better mood to talk to people thanks to Lillian. Yet the call was made so Taylor find himself going to the councillor's office. Right about now he started craving a cigarette.

Pressing the chimer Taylor waited to be admitted into the room rather than barging in all of a sudden.

"Enter!" Alyssa called, not looking up from her work.

Stepping inside the room Taylor looked at the blonde councillor at his desk. At least he had the time to have a shower and shave to make himself presentable. The wonders hygiene did for people. "I assume you've got a reason for dragging me all the way here?"

Alyssa looked up, and smiled. "I'm assuming that the Captain has informed you that you were listed as dead. Now, I dragged your sorry ass all the way down here to make sure that you are Taylor Lucas. Take a seat."

"I'll stand ma'am." said Taylor icily. "Yes, she did mention that but surely biological screening would also prove that I'm me. But run whatever test you see fit."

"Being an asshole, doesn't mean that you're you." Alyssa replied just as icily. "I'm not here to run any tests. I'm here to make sure that your mental health is in order. You're claiming to be you because of a biological screening. I wanted to know that it's you inside your head and not someone else. You're here to provide proof."

"Some would argue that's the very essence of my being." replied the ex-marine with a shrug. "Well what find of proof do you want?"

"I know. I read your file. Any kind that you're willing to give." Alyssa answered, trying to remain calm and remembering that his an ex-marine. "Like something that's in your file that no one else knows about. You could tell me all about the people you worked with or give me your service record. It really can be anything."

Running through his mind Taylor didn't know exactly what information was and wasn't on his file. He didn't to try and take a stab anyway. "If you read my service record on Starfleet's database you'll see I was wounded by Orion shellfire on Thesa Prime. Some sickbay reports will have me as... uncooperative with being treated. I don't like sickbays. Spent two years in one which was enough for me."

"True. Are you fine with being on the same ship as some of your previous crew members?" Alyssa asked, needing to know that there wasn't going to be any trouble or if there was something that needed to be worked out.

"If anything it makes it easier for me." replied Taylor with a weak smile. It was good to see the old faces...Marlo, Remy...Lillian. At least they knew him well enough to know how to handle him. Unlike this councilor and the two doctors. "It's not exactly easy seeing them after all this time. But so far, so good."

Alyssa smiled. "I'm glad that being around familiar faces works for you. Sorry about being a hard-ass. My door is always open to you. You may leave."

||USS Fenris
||Shuttlebay I, Redemption's Caress
||1030


Lillian was definitely more pale than normal and though Elena had told her to rest, she certainly didn't want to. The first thing she did was seek out Taylor whether it was what she should have done or not. She had a habit of pushing men out of her life in one way or another and this was probably going to be the last straw. Too much, too soon, but she just couldn't keep all of this to herself.

She needed him.

So, she walked into Shuttlebay I and board Taylor's ship, Redemption's Caress, heading for the Bridge of it. She was determined and she didn't know what to do but she was upset. She was upset and everything felt wrong and the only person who ever made it feel worth anything was Taylor. What would she have done had she lost it?

At the bridge of the small runabout Taylor was busy calibrating the sensors. For some reason they always went funny. He figured he'd have to ask some of the engineering department to help him if they weren't too busy.

He heard footsteps behind him and sighed gently, only two people would bother to find him on his ship and one of them was in sickbay. "What can I do for you Captain?" asked Taylor in a professional tone. He stood up from his chair and looked at Lillian, something was wrong. Taylor could always tell when something was wrong with her.

"You alright darlin'?" he asked softly.

Lillian automatically shook her head. "No...no, I'm not."

She walked a little closer to him and then stopped abruptly, shaking her head. It was almost like all she wanted to do was just let it all out, but would it accomplish anything? Really, that didn't matter because right now she had to let it all out. She was tired of feeling stressed and tired.

"What kind of sign is it, Taylor?" Lillian asked him suddenly. "I know you don't necessarily believe in them, but I do. I've always believed that everything would happen the way it was supposed to but why? Why would I almost lose it the same day I get you back? How is that fair? I feel like I should get to be happy. I just want to be happy."

All Taylor could do at that moment was give a puzzled look. What was Lillian on about? Regardless she needed comfort and Taylor was happy to supply that. Taking off his pistol belt and dumping it in the seat beside him Taylor stood up and pulled Lillian to his chest. His small smile and icy blue eyes beamed at the Betazoid near him. She made him human, took away all the self-doubt he carried around with him.

"Tell me what's wrong, Imzadi, tell the idiot that loves you how he can make it all better."

"I almost lost the baby..." Lillian whispered.

It was barely audible, but she'd finally said it and suddenly there were tears coming to her eyes. This was not how she had wanted to tell him but after her long day she just needed everything out there.

"Do you know how the last two months have been on me?" Lillian asked him, shaking her head one more time. "Being without you, finding out, needing you...I need you here. Now I'm supposed to be resting, but I have work to do and honestly? I want this. I want the baby more than any of it, but I just...I need you. I want you. I can't do this by myself, and I don't want to, I want to share it with you."

"Baby...you're..." Taylor's words caught in his throat. Lillian was pregnant. Right then he wanted to tell her she was wrong, that it wasn't his. Somehow these words just couldn't come out. Instead he held Lillian tighter, kissing her forehead. "You won't have to go alone, alright? I'm here...I'm sorry I didn't come back it was...I was broken, needed some time to fix myself. Now I want to fix you. I'm your man Lillian, till death. And we both know I don't die easily."

"I know, part of me is just worried...worried that our 'forever's don't last," she said, feeling herself get a little angry. "Twice you've promised to stay and then something has happened to take you away from me and you didn't come back. I can't handle you leaving a third time, I just can't."

Lillian took one of Taylor's hands and rested it on her stomach, knowing she could read his mind to see what was up, but also not wanting to. She could tell when he was lying or not and she knew she sounded like a broken record, but at the same time she needed to know for certain that he was fighting for this. But what if...what if this wasn't what he wanted anymore? The family, kids, her...

"What are you thinking?" Lillian asked him. "Honestly, what are you thinking at this moment...?"

"You won't have to," said Taylor firmly. He believed himself when he said that, he had to. Someone had to. "I'm sorry I've not been great at staying. You know me, duty first. Well what I'm thinking right now is that you're my duty, my love. I'm going to take care of you and our family like I should have done. Going to fight for you instead of some flag. I don't owe a damn thing to Starfleet or the Federation. I just want you...that's all. For the first time in a while I've got some clarity to what I want. You. Can you take that? Can you forgive a man who's so flawed he doesn't know himself?"

The words that came out of Taylor's mouth made her smile because he genuinely believed what he was saying and so she did as well. For just a moment she felt like things could be better. Her people believed in love and forgiveness and no secrets and it was about time she returned to her roots. They still needed some time, but they were both trying and that was what mattered.

"I can forgive you...I just think we need time to adjust to everything. A lot of things are happening at once." Lillian admitted, still holding his hand to her stomach. "Can we...can we talk about the baby?"

"Of course." he replied, stroking her stomach lovingly. "You know I was half suspecting...well, when I left I thought your Betazoid tendency's would kick in. I also half suspected that the baby would have a beard and spy tendencies, a funny forehead or be a complete stalker and freak out the science staff. Call me cynical." Taylor just offered a shrug as he stood back and folded his arms as he rested against the console.

"Besides we tried and tried and nothing came back. Maybe Lars managed to convince you out to a night of 'friendly comfort' and things just went away." Taylor wasn't usually the jealous type and he was doing all he could to hide irrational envy from her keen senses. "Maybe Victor impressed you with his big guns and his lack of intelligence. I dunno, I guess I thought things changed a lot past few months."

"My Betazoid tendancies?!" Lillian said without so much as a second thought.

For a moment she understood, but the moment was fleeting. They had been trying for a baby and it had happened and he had the audacity to even joke that it wasn't his? She'd waited for him for twelve years and this was what the news of finally getting a baby was bringing out of him.

"I'm sorry, just what exactly are you implying?" She asked him, hitting him in the shoulder. "I didn't just jump right onto someone the moment I heard you were gone! Lars is with Megan, Kroth moved on and Victor? Where did that even come from? And what about you, huh? I mean you were out in the world probably banging anything with legs! You and Nayla seemed pretty friendly, who knows what's happened there."

Blame her hormones, but the anger was present.

"Easy!" said Taylor dejectedly as he back off onto the console as much as he could, trying to get away from the furious captain." It was just a joke; you know to lighten the mood. Maybe I would have been happy if you did rather than pine around sobbing. Least you'd be in a good mood for once."

Taylor didn't understand why she was suddenly so angry. Usually his somewhat tongue-in-cheek humour cheered her up. Now he was afraid she was going to give him one splitting headache. When Nayla's name came up however a prickle of anger boiled. He was protective of the people he cared about and Taylor didn't appreciate what Lillian was driving at.

"What did you just say?" growled Taylor, stepping up to his full height. "For your information I haven't so much as looked at someone else that way. As for Nayla…don't even mention her name unless it's to say something good. That girl has lost more than you ever have. Whatever you're thinking it's just fantasy. She's not the one I wanted to come back to."

He paused wishing he could smoke a cigarette but he wasn't about to risk Lillian's and the baby's health with a second-hand whiff of the toxic cocktail of gases. "You want to know why I didn't come back so badly?!" he snarled. "You left me. All of you. Lars didn't come back, you certainly didn't convince Sora to send a rescue for me. I was alone! In the dark! Those Tholian bastards tortured me and then wanted to ship me to slave processing plant. I was rescued by another ship and when I woke up in the sickbay I wanted it to be your face I saw, not some SpecOps doc. So that's why…make something out of that if you want. But don't ever think I just upped and left to play about."

"You have no idea what I have lost!" Lillian snapped, stepping up to him and looking up at him. "I'm me, Taylor! Two months isn't time for me to just move forward! I waited for you for 12 years the first time that you left and just hopping right onto someone else after hearing that you died is an insult to your memory! I would never do something like that!"

She narrowed her eyes at him a moment and then tried to take a deep breath but she kept on going. He was under the impression that she had just abandoned him and she wasn't about to let him think that. The strings that she had tried to pull...the hope she'd held out. How could he ever think that she would ever give up on him.

"Has it ever occurred to you that I got there too late?" Lillian asked him. "That Lars came back and told me they'd lost you and I was distraught? That I tried to get to you because if there was no body, there was always hope? I would never just abandon you! Don't you know me well enough to know that, Taylor?"

"You didn't try hard enough." growled Taylor before his shoulders sagged. He didn't like fighting with her but somehow it had all just exploded because of one innocent joke. "I didn't mean that..." he added with a hurt tone. That was Taylor all over; diving into situations, saying things he didn't mean all because he never thought before acting. Now he was shouting at the love of his life all because he was feeling sorry for himself.

"Can we forget we had this talk? Can you realize you've made me happy telling me that I have a child on the way?"

"Just take off your pants," Lillian said as she closed the distance between them, crashing her lips into his.

It had just been a joke but they'd needed to let everything out and she felt bad about snapping like that. Now all she wanted was to try and make things better, so she was kissing him, slipping her arms around his neck. She just needed him as close as she could get him and if that meant right there and right now, then it meant right there and right now.

Taylor was as taken aback as any man would be in this situation. First he was fighting with Lillian, the next he was slipping his tongue into her mouth. He placed Lillian onto his helm console, deepening their connection of lips, moaning into her mouth as he fumbled with his trousers till they were loose enough to wiggle to his ankles.

"I've always hated how hard Starfleet uniforms are to get off..." he commented hungrily. Taylor's fingers unzipped Lillian's duty jacket before throwing it behind him. Next his hands made their way to her trousers, tugging at the waist line.

Lillian smirked and helped him to slip her uniform trousers off, pulling off her command red shirt and then moving to get his shirt off as well, the dog tags hanging there between her breasts as always. Now they had the engagement ring added to the chain as well, but they were still around her neck always, to remind her. It was almost like they had been a slight weight, reminding her of what she had lost, but she had liked to be reminded and now they were once again light, reminding her of what was hers.

"By now you'd think we'd have an easier way of removing our clothes down," she teased with a wink.

"You'd think..." agreed Taylor who wasted no time in slipping Lillian's underwear away before pushing her down onto the console and hooking her legs around his waist. "You get some serious kicks from arguments," he teased. Taylor lined up his hips with Lillian's before giving a hard thrust into her, holding her down as he did.

"Remember when we went to help that freighter...we decided to find a new use for a bio bed that day..."

Lillian gasped, relaxing for him. "Seems we've upgraded to consoles..."

She laughed a little bit, pulling Taylor close, reveling in the feeling of closeness and convincing herself that there was a chance for them--a big chance. He was trying, she was trying, and they were going to make this work, she had to believe that. Besides, third time's the charm...

Moving Lillian's hair out the way Taylor gazed at her beautiful face as his hips gently surged forward into her. Small moans echoed from his lips as their love making continued. He smiled deeply, his eyes filled with love and affection which was a sign they hadn't shown in a long time. Not since he was alone. No words were spoken, just the sound of their intimate act filled with rising moans and gasps.

"Never again am I leaving..." said Taylor as he rolled his hips forward.

Lillian nodded, a smile on her face reserved only for Taylor and by then he should have known it. She pressed her lips to his and kissed him lovingly, pouring herself into him, nipping at his lips and keeping his body close to hers. She'd missed this and she could tell that he had to.

"I'm looking forward to you staying..."

||USS Fenris
||Remy's Office
||1100


Remy sorted through some paper work and reorganized herself. She'd allowed herself to get distracted in the vial research Taylor had brought to her; she was curious as to the components and its uses. Looking through the file of the original virus in comparison to the new virus kept her busy for a few hours, distracting her from her chest and the coldness. She had no desire to walk around the ship searching for Mr. Lucas, so she chose to wait till he came to her. She wondered how Lillian was faring, she'd seemed a bit off the wall and all over the place when she'd last been there. Mind you she had just found out her fiance was back from the dead...

Remy sighed and puttered around her office, trying to ignore the presence of weight on her chest. She started rubbing her chest like always, rub the feelings away.

Lillian practically just burst into Remy's Office, smiling at the young woman and plopping herself down in the chair in front of her. She was trying rather hard to keep things to herself, but with Marlo dealing with almost as much as Lillian herself was dealing with, she figured it was time to vent to her other friend. Besides, she wanted Remy and her to be friends and so that meant sharing things about her life--even if it was things Remy might not know what to do with.

"I have some issues..." Lillian said and then she laughed a little bit. "I think I'm coming down from the sex high at the moment and starting to over-think again."

Remy jumped a bit when Lillian burst into her office without warning. She gave her a weak smile, which immediately faded at the mention of sex, "I...uh...um...I beg your pardon?" She asked, her face turning red.

Lillian blushed a little herself. "Sorry, I just...Taylor and I, we...normally it doesn't bother me to say it. I mean it's just sex, but it's not just sex. It's him being back after all this time and I'm having a baby. Aren't you glad your life isn't this complicated?"

She smiled a little bit and then leaned forward, resting her hands on Remy's desk. "How are you, Remy? I mean really--how are you personally?"

Remy took a moment to relax and prepare herself for more 'girl talk', "I am fine, work is good, I'm already keeping busy on my first day. I think I will be content on this ship." She said, all they while knowing that Lillian would want to know about her... issue. "The coldness is still there...the weight too..." She said, unconsciously rubbing her chest again, feeling very awkward at revealing such personal information. But if Lillian was willing to share her personal life, Remy was willing to try too.

Lillian gave Remy a soft smile and then nodded slowly. "You still worried about the transplant heart?"

She didn't know what to say to her because mentally Remy was feeling lost without her heart--there was a foreign one inside of her and it didn't feel right. Physically she was fine, but Remy needed to have someone to help her to accept it and move forward with it. Lillian figured she could be that person and wanted to help Remy as much as she could.

"You know...we have a counselor if you need her," Lillian said with a smile, "and you also have me. I know that I don't know exactly how it feels and I'm not even going to pretend that I do, but I do know you feel like its not yours. How can I help? I am after all the one that gave it to you."

Remy nodded at her suggestion of the counselor, but in her head dismissed the notion. She didn't want to be declared unfit for duty--her job was the only thing that was keeping her going at this point. She was able enough to keep a cool and blank facade during work, leaving the rest of the emotions to deal with later in her quarters. When Lillian asked her if she needed help Remy almost asked her to take the damn heart out. But she didn't. "I'm fine, just adjusting thats all." She said, it had become her usual response whenever asked about the new heart.

Lillian could tell that Remy was holding back--one of the perks and downfalls of being a Betazoid. She pushed her bangs out of her face, tucking them behind her right ear and taking a deep breath. She wanted to talk about this, but at the same time didn't know if it was really going to get her anywhere because of Remy's stubbornness. Still, Lillian wanted to be Remy's friend and that meant helping her through times like this.

"You know...that heart is yours," Lillian said with a sad smile. "It might not have started out that way, but its yours. Your blood pumps through it, it keeps your brain working and your brain keeps it working. What is it about it that bothers you other than the fact that someone else used it first? You're still alive to fall in love and maintain friendships and live your life...isn't that worth it? Isn't it better than being dead?"

Lillian was no counselor, but with a former counselor as a mother, Lillian knew a thing or two about it.

Remy felt agitation rise in her, "But it isn't mine, it was someone else's. I wasn't born with it; my other heart may have been faulty, but at least it was my own!" She shouted.

Standing up and striding out of her office. Emotions were beginning to spill out and she wanted to be alone to suffer in silence. She would die before anyone saw her cry. She went to her quarters, leaning against the wall and rubbing her chest, the coldness turning into a frost and the weight become a ton.



JP by

||USS Fenris
||Engineering
||1015 hours


As the doors opened in front of Marlo, she smiled and took in all the familiar sights and sounds of Engineering. Even though this particular engineering department was not her domain, she still felt more at home amidst the near silent whirring, of the antimatter injectors than she probably ever would on the Bridge. This was now Gabe's space, not hers--and although everyone here answered to her anyways, she missed having her own team of Engineers at her command.

Marlo located Gabe's familiar face almost immediately, doing what she assumed was a diagnostic on the plasma manifolds. Seeing him in the gold uniform, made her almost wish she hadn't jumped at the chance to be on a ship again.

"Moving up in the world, I see, Gabe. So, how do you like being Chief Engineer again?" Marlo asked, knowing that Gabe had been one before he came to serve aboard Starbase 7 under her management.

Gabe smiled, wiping his hands on the leg of his uniform. He'd spent the last few hours deep in the bowels of the ship, making repairs to pretty much everything.

"Being knee deep in lubricant, Isolinear Chips and off cuts of metal? It's like heaven." He replied, "and the chance to get my hands on a Luna class ship is something I just had to take."

After his time on Starbase 7 as Ops Chief he was happier then ever now he was Chief Engineer again.

"I'm surprised ya gave it up, though that red seems to fit ya pretty well."

Marlo laughed, and looked around. "I do miss it--Engineering is my comfort zone,but it's one more step up on the ladder to Admiral--a necessary step I had to take sooner or later. And I figured the sooner I took it, the easier it would be to give it up. One of these days, if you come in and find me here on my day off, don't give it a second thought."

As much as Marlo meant it as a joke, the alloyed fact was that it was true. It was most definitely a trait, all engineers seemed to have. It was nice to know she wasn't alone it that.

"Oh please, the first day I was on Starbase 7 I asked ya for a job." Gabe replied, "So no worries, I of all people understand that this place can be a comfort zone, I've done many things over the years, and that's a fair few things, and yet here is one of the few places I feel comfortable."

"Good luck on that road to Admiral, personally I'm more then content here." He added.

Marlo laughed. "Well I'll leave you to your business--if there's anything you need, just let me know. I'm serious...K'nok said the ship took a beating, but you guys look like you're being run ragged with repairs. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't itching to pick up a hyper-spanner to help with repairs. I am a genius with ship wide repairs."

She gave a shrug and a lopsided grin--not trying to brag, but she did want something to do.

Gabe smiled, "Well ya welcome whenever ya fancy something else ta do X." He'd worked with Marlo before and knew what she could do, in all honesty he was kind of glad she'd taken the job as the ship's XO, it left Engineering open for him to be where he wanted to be. Of all the things he'd done over the last few years, Chief of Operations, Spec Ops Combat Engineer, Support ship commander... Engineering was still the place he felt at his best.

Marlo smiled. "I just might take you up on that."

Joint post brought to you by Aidan (Marlo) and Craig (Gabe)

USS Fenris
|Mess Hall
|1100

Aaron really needed nourishment that day since he had been working his ass off in Engineering. He didn't feel overworked, just exhausted. All he wanted was some good food and maybe some good conversation.

Someone who doesn't think tinkering with a hydrospanner is fun...

He wanted that more than anything else. Someone who knew nothing of his work so he could have a nice conversation that was a bit more personal.

Remy was tired from working and researching and finding any reason to stay in her office. Her stomach growled much to her chagrin. She figured she could walk into the mess hall, grab food, and go back to her office to get the remainder of things organized and put in place. She made her way to the lift to take her to the mess hall, she tapped her foot impatiently and anxiously. She didn't want to talk or interact with anyone. Her chest felt weighty again.

She walked quickly into the mess hall and went over and grabbed the first few items she saw without much consideration. She then stood and debated over drink choices for a second, not entirely sure what she wanted.

Aaron let his eyes scan the mess hall as he ate his food, his eyes landing on a really attractive brunette debating drink choices. She was breath-taking. Something about the way she carried herself was different than the others. Determined. Focused.

Getting up, Aaron headed over to her and held out his hand. "Aaron Garren...and who might you be?"

His eyes scanned up and down her frame. She was definitely attractive and her uniform fit her just right...but he was being pervy. Letting his eyes rest on his face he told himself that he was going to behave and simply talk to her. The last thing he wanted was to scare her away.

Remy stared at the hand held out in front of her. She was more shocked than annoyed that someone had approached her. She blinked a couple of minutes before registering that she was awkwardly standing there and staring at a hand. She blushed and refused to make eye contact, "Remy Life, Chief of Science." She said, lightly touching her hand to his and pulling away before registering contact. She figured he might need science work done, but looking at him she could see he was too well built and muscular to be a scientist, "Can I help you?"

Aaron smiled at her. "I'm just an engineer--no fancy title."

He put his hand down and pretended to smooth down is uniform. It wasn't a rejection, she just seemed incredibly shy and Aaron was more curious than before. She was beautiful and she was shy. He wondered if this was going to be a chase or not. He wondered if the vision in front of him had someone waiting on her...she probably did.

"Forgive me if this is forward, but...are you eating with anyone right now?" He asked her slowly, making sure not to invade her personal bubble. "I just...I'd be honored if you joined me at my table over there." He said pointing to it.

Remy took a second to take in the information. He was an engineer, handsome, and he wanted to eat with her... She felt frightened for a second, remembering the marine on Star Base and not wanting a repeat of that. But then again... He was being polite and asking...

She wasn't sure how to answer, she didn't want to be rude and decline, but she really didn't want to eat with another person right now. She was still feeling emotional and wasn't up to small talk. She started getting a little flustered, "why?" she blurted out, immediately blushing and feeling stupid for sounding obnoxious.

Aaron smiled a little bit. "I just could really use the company and you looked like maybe you could too--unless you have someplace else to be. You could be busy. I'm sorry. I just...I'd really like it if you would join me. Just something quick--you don't even have to stay very long."

Maybe it was a long shot but he really wanted to eat with her.

Remy was confused. He wanted her company, but he only just met her. Apparently she looked like she wanted company, and usually she didn't, but she was unsure. He wants her to join really badly... To be honest it sounded extremely disconcerting to her. A thought flashed through her head, is he stalking her? She couldn't help but be suspicious that he had ulterior motives. "Do you know me? I don't understand why you would eat with a perfect stranger. Please do not take offense, I really cannot handle another......" she trailed off, she'd almost said 'stalker' but stopped herself short. Her chest grew weighty, her hand started rubbing her chest subconsciously.

Aaron was starting to get the impression that he was unwelcome and he didn't want to push Remy into anything. He just wanted to eat with her, but if he was pushing, he was pushing too hard. He could try again some other time when she wasn't so visibly turned off by him. Still, he liked her. There was just something about her.

"I'm sorry, I'm pushing too hard," he told her. "I just wanted to get to know you. Its a new crew and I don't know many people. You don't have to."

He noticed her rubbing her chest.

"Are you alright? Do you need a doctor?"

Remy realized she was coming off as rude. She didn't realize he was new and didn't know anyone. She never took the time to get to know anyone so she could never tell who had been there for years and who was fresh off the shuttle. She stopped rubbing her chest and bit her lip in thought. Maybe this would get Lillian off her back...

She took a deep breath, "I'm fine, I don't need a doctor." She closed her eyes a bit, "I don't eat in the mess hall because its too noisy and crowded, I usually eat in my office. You-can-eat-there-if-you-like..." The last part she said in a rush, she didn't know if he could understand her. She blushed and looked away, contemplating making an escape...

Aaron smiled a little bit and then took a deep breath. "Are you offering to have me eat with you?"

He had to make sure those were Remy's intentions because he really didn't want to push. He wanted to eat with her and get to know her, but she had to let him. She had to tell him it was okay. If not, he'd just eat on his own again. Maybe Marissa would show up.

Remy let out a gust of air in frusteration. He really wasn't gonna make this easy for her... She could pretend she didn't invite him, but judging by his smile she was sure he knew what she was saying and it would be rude to back out....

"I'm going to walk back to my office and eat there, you can follow if you like and eat there to, its up to you" With that she turned and walked towards the lift, not checking to see if he was following.

She was kind of feisty. Aaron liked that...liked it a lot. So he got his food and he went to follow her, climbing into the lift with her with a smile on his face. He hoped she didn't think he was trying to get somewhere with her. As attractive as he found her, he wasn't one to force himself on anyone. At least not within reason.

"So, Remy...anything I should know about you?"

Remy shifted awkwardly on her feet, staring straight ahead without making eye contact with the large man next to her. She thought the Marine had been tall... he had nothing on this engineer...

"I'm not very... talkative..." She said, realizing how dumb that sounded but fact of the matter was, its true. She didn't know what to tell him without sounding like a complete moron.

He smiled at the woman and nodded. "Well, you're in luck because I am. The Chief of Security around here? That's my older sister. She's kind of molded me, I guess you can say. If there's something you want to know about the ship, I've probably got the answer."

At the same time maybe she didn't want to talk. Maybe that was a subtle hint that she'd rather take the silence.

"I think we can find some equal footing here...I like to read. What's your take on that?" He asked cautiously.

Remy pursed her lips in thought. For the most part she read science articles and files. Though in her time off she was a fan of fiction...

"I love reading..." she said in a shy whisper, "Mostly science articles.... but I like fiction when I'm not working" She blushed a bit.

The blush that rose in her cheeks made Aaron smile even more. The woman was beautiful and he was glad he hadn't scared her off. He wanted more than anything to make this work. Could he?

"I haven't read a lot of science articles, I admit--I'm more into mechanics, but I think that comes with my job." he said, winking at her. "Do you ever get out and do anything recreational?"

Remy frowned, he didn't know about her condition or what happened to her on Star Base Seven, she couldn't hold it against him for bringing up the topic, it was conversational. But she felt the weight in her chest once again, the coldness present as ever. She unconsciously began rubbing her chest.

"No I do not" She said quietly. She didn't know what else to say, she felt like she killed the conversation... like she always does...

Aaron noted the change in Remy's demeanor again and watched her rub her chest. "Hey...how about we settle into your office before we do anymore small talk? What do you say?"

She nodded appreciatively, leading him towards her office when the lift landed on her deck. She sat at her desk, "Make yourself comfortable anywhere you like." She said, spreading out her food in front of her. "what do you like to do for....er... fun" She asked, deciding that if he was going to be here she might as well work on her social etiquette.

Aaron noticed this was hard for her and so he chimed in to save her some embarrassment. "I read and tinker...annoy my sister. That kind of thing."

He shrugged and ate some food, giving her a moment to eat too. He was all right sitting in silence with her honestly. She needn't strain herself with conversation. Still, they were getting to know each other...

"You?"

Remy listened, curious about his sister when he mentioned annoying her. Was she working on Fenris as well? She saved that tidbit of information to use as a conversation opener for later if needed. She'd started saving bits and pieces of personal information on people so that she may having something to use for small talk, while it sounded stalkerish to her, it helped in the long run.

"I work a lot so I don't really have time for 'fun'. I spend a lot of time by myself." As she said it she realized she made herself out to be a workaholic and something of a spinster. She couldn't really deny it, it was the truth. "I also read a bit when I'm off work, though we already discussed that." She blushed, wanting to smack herself for sounding like such a incompetent idiot.

Aaron chuckled and then nodded. "Well I think it would be a good idea to get better acquainted with the rest of the crew, Lieutenant...maybe join us all for our recreational activities. Just avoid Lieutenant Garren, as she's kind of a downer."

He couldn't help but make fun of his sister. He loved her very much but the two of them didn't always see eye to eye and Aaron didn't want Marissa to get Remy involved in anything dangerous. Marissa lived on the cuff and Aaron already wanted to protect the beautiful woman sitting with him. If he had anything to say about it, Remy and Marissa would be the kind of friends where Marissa kept things about herself to herself.

Remy knew his offer was just him being kind, a way to get her out of her shell of sorts. But the idea of being around several people and the possibility of humiliating herself during some of these 'recreational activities' scared her witless. She never partook in recreational activities before, her condition never allowed her too. She'd always been fine with that, choosing solitude and peace over friends and rowdiness. She sighed and looked down, thinking for a second over what he said.

"I thank you for your offer, but I'm quite content with spending time on my own." She said, hoping that sounded polite and cordial. He seemed nice, she wondered if Lillian put him up to talking to her. She wouldn't be surprised, she wasn't the easiest person to talk to or get along with. Why anyone would voluntarily talk to her was a mystery to herself. "I find that crowds of people are bothersome. Recreation has never really been my forte." She said, trying to elaborate a bit.

He smiled at her. "Well the offer is always open, Remy. We can always start off just us and add onto the group later if that's better for you." He just wanted to spend time with her so he was willing to compromise. After all he didn't want to scare her off. "You're quite something, Remy Life."

Aaron smiled more and then continued to eat with her, nodding as he went.

Remy nodded, still feeling conflicted about whether she wanted to pursue a friendship or not. She figured he would probably forget about her and move on to some real friends who could do real activities that were beyond her capacity. She blushed at his comment, "I'm not really anything..." She said quietly, more to herself than him. She continued to eat in comfortable silence with him, thinking that this will hopefully appease Lillian for the time being.


JP by the ever charming Aaron Garren and the always shy Remy Life

||USS Fenris
||Sickbay
||1320


Lillian was starting to feel like she needed to set things in order and first thing was first--talk to Nayla. The young woman had been with Taylor through the last two months and Lillian owed her for that. She also felt she owed her for the behavior of her Medical staff...something she'd have to look into.

So, taking a deep breath and smiling a bit at the thought of Taylor, Lillian walked through the Sickbay doors. Elena was just finishing up some work to get Nayla discharged, and Lillian looked over the Orion beauty: it was hard for her. Taylor had said nothing had happened but how could it not have? Just look at her...

"Nayla?" Lillian said gently, a soft smile on her face.

"Mmm?" muttered Nayla who turned to look at Lillian walking towards her. She was still lying on the bio bed in her medical gown looking bored. She didn't like being cooped up in one place for too long, especially around so many cold people. At least Taylor was only cold when the situation called for it.

"Oh sorry captain, my minds just been other places. It was nice of you to help us this way, getting latinum for medical attention hasn't exactly been easy...for both of us." she said warmly.

Nayla knew about Lillian, how could she not? During their nights at dinner Taylor would often tell wonderful stories about his old crew. The laughs, the loss, the love. No pun intended but she was green with envy at the life he had led. She didn't like the war stories however, but she loved to hear about antics during free time. "So you're the one that he's been talking about these past months. He always did say he had a star beyond the horizon whenever I made a move. Didn't actually think he meant a woman to be fair."

"I was going to ask about your leg and apologize for my Medical staff, but alright," Lillian responded, a bit caught of guard but taking it all in nonetheless.

So she was his "star beyond the horizon"? It was flattering a for a moment she started to smile, but it wasn't the time or the place and she knew that. She was worried about how Nayla was feeling in this place because honestly as much as she loved Reius and Elena already, they did need to work on their bedside manners. Still, they got the job done, and that was what she wanted the most--skilled doctors on her ship to fix people when bad things happened.

"If it helps any, I'm incredibly surprised he was able to turn you down." Lillian said, smiling now and genuinely at that. "You've taken care of him and I'm truly grateful for that."

"Yes...it was a somewhat unfortunate development. No offense of course captain." replied Nayla warmly. "He is an extremely...unique human. Rash, romantic...stupid. How he's not got himself killed I'll never know. It has been a hard effort indeed. Still, he's a good man. Just not a thinker. Oh he's intelligent but rational thought long vacated that brain."

"That's my Taylor," Lillian agreed with a soft laugh and a nod, looking at the Orion in front of her. "Nothing you could say would offend me, so by all means don't censor yourself. I'm a Betazoid, after all, so when it comes to sex trust me, I'm not offended. I've also been a captain for only four days so don't feel like you have to give me the respect it takes captains years to build."

She smiled a little more to try and make Nayla comfortable and then grabbed a tricorder, scanning her just to make sure. It wasn't that she didn't trust Reius and Elena--she did--but she was a doctor at heart and she always would be. This woman had been getting Taylor through a lot that Lillian herself couldn't be there for and because of that, she deserved the best care she could get.

"Wanna get up and get of here ASAP?" Lillian asked her.

Nayla gave a small shrug at Lillian's modest reply. As far as she was concerned the Betazoid was responsible for the lives of her crew. That made her worthy of respect right off the bat. "Seeing you come down to talk to someone you know nothing about, taking us in like this. If that's not worthy of respect then I will never know what is."

She sat up during the scan and gabe an almighty stretch and a yawn. Nayla felt groggy but her leg felt metter. She rubbed her eyes as she tried to stand on her leg. For a moment it buckled but the Orion grabbed onto Lillian for support. It had been few weeks she had ever used her once wounded leg and the atrophied was still present.

"I'll be glad to get out of here…pass me my clothes." Said Nayla, pointing to the combat fatigues draped over a chair. "Much as I love raising pulses this medical gown leaves little to the imagination."

Lillian caught Nayla as she stumbled, nodding and pointing back to the bio bed before getting Nayla her clothes. She could have this fixed in no time--it was just a broken bone. Nothing the regenerater couldn't properly seal up so she walk out right out of Sickbay. She'd need another does of painkillers too, however.

"I'm going to fix this up and give you some pain meds and you'll walk on it just fine." Lillian told her with a smile. "Then we can see about getting you to your new quarters. I...I'm assuming you'd like to stay? If you would, there's a place for you."

Smiling at the woman she grabbed her things to get started, hoping Reius wouldn't find her and kick her out of his Sickbay for this. Then just like that she fixed up the Orion and then showed her to her quarters.


JP by the lovely Nayla and of course

||USS Fenris
||Engineering
||1405


Marissa had actually thought twice about going to Engineering. The Engineers had enough on their plates, but at the same time she wanted to make sure that her brother was doing alright. She hadn't figured out yet what it was going to be like working with her brother since they were normally stationed apart, but she cared. She pretended like she didn't the majority of the time but when it came down to it, he was her little brother and she wanted to know he was alright.

"You've got some nerve always hanging out in here all the time," Marissa teased as she neared him.

Aaron had been working on a relay just as Lieutenant Commander Sharpe had told him to. When his sister walked in he heaved a heavy sigh. "Hey, sis...what brings you here? I could bring you up with harassment charges, you know?"

He laughed though--a joke.

Marissa rolled her eyes. "Whatever. What are you doing and where's that attractive boss of yours?"

She craned her neck to try and see if Gabe was around. She'd looked at his file--as she had everyone's now--and she was interested by him. Besides, it would be nice to meet the man who would be bossing around her baby brother. She could give him some tips if nothing else.

"The moment you try to date my boss, I'm clocking you," he said.

He knew her; she'd make it hard on him. Still, the man could be her type, then it wouldn't be Marissa he'd be clocking. Still, the notion of his boss dating his sister made him worry. "Make him promote me if it works out."

"Probably not what I'm going to do," Marissa said laughing. "Still, I will keep it in mind. So...EPS relay?"

"You're such a terrible person." Aaron told his half-sister, shaking his head. "I wonder why I love you."

Rolling his eyes, he nodded and then took a breath. "That and all sorts of things. Whatever happened to this ship before Captain Crae got it, its only being held together because of Lieutenant Commander Sharpe and the rest of us engineers."

"Well, I'm sure in Sharpe's capable hands, the ship will be in tip-top shape once again," Marissa said with a smirk. "The man has such lovely hands."

While she thought such things, she was really just trying to get a rise out of her brother. She just hoped it was working, because teasing him was making her day better.

Aaron laughed a little bit, shaking his head. "You here just to give me a hard time?" While he loved seeing his sister, he wanted to work. They had time to catch up later so right now he needed to get back to work and so did she. "I just have things to do but I love that you visited, sis."

||USS Fenris
||Bridge: Ready Room
||1140


Alyssa stood outside the Captain's Ready Room. She didn't normally have to come onto the Bridge unless ordered. She was trying to decided on how much she needed to tell the Captain about Lydia.

"I should probably keep it short and simple." Alyssa spoke out loud, just as she rang the door chime.

Lillian took a deep breath and looked up as she heard her door chime. "Come in!"

She hadn't been expecting anyone, but she knew for certain that she was a very important persons on the ship. Lillian was the captain now, so whenever someone had a problem they were going to come to her. So, she put a smile on her face and folded her hands on her desk waiting for the personnel to enter.

Alyssa walked in, and was taken back. She hadn't realized that Lillian was the Captain. This was going to get interesting.

"Captain." Alyssa spoke.

Lillian smiled at the young woman. "Come on in and I'll see what I can do for you."

It was after all her job to do such a thing. She could sense the young woman had something important to discuss with her, and she hoped that she could help. If she couldn't, there were other officers on board who could.

"I'm here to inform you about Lydia Shields," Alyssa responded, moving in front of her. "Would you like the straight forward version or the 'shade' version?"

Alyssa was trying to figure out if the Captain would remember where they knew each other and if she needed to get off the ship as soon as possible. She wasn't exactly used to people she did shade work for to be in command.

"What about Lydia?" Lillian asked her, suddenly concerned.

For a moment the woman looked familiar and it would come to her, but right then she was worried about her officer and she wanted to make everything better. She wanted everyone to be good and healthy and of the right mind--she was started to freak out again. No, no...deep breaths.

And just like that she was fine again.

"Lydia won't be joining up with the ship at this time. I'm Alyssa Shields, her cousin. I've been asked to take her place until she can join you. I know that this is sudden, but she does have a family matter that's keeping her from duty." Alyssa answered, wondering if Lydia and the Captain were friends.

She knew that Lydia didn't know about her dealings, so she was beginning to think that they weren't close friends. This still didn't stop her from wanting to leave the room, and get off this ship. Especially if the Captain remembered who she was.

"Oh, a family matter?" Lillian asked her, nodding slowly. "I hope everything is alright. You're welcome to be here, Lieutenant, I just...I worry about her is all. She's a really sweet girl and I'm sorry she's having family troubles."

Then again the familiar blonde woman hadn't told her that there was a "problem", just that Lydia wouldn't be there and Alyssa would be there instead. She had a feeling that the two of them would get along just fine, but that didn't stop her from mother henning like she always did. Perhaps Alyssa would be just as good or better than Lydia at this job, but only time would tell and to be fair, Lillian was happy to be in a place with higher moral than her last posting on Starbase 7.

"To be fair, Lydia is one of the best in her field. You have all the right to be worried. She's just trying to stop her family from tearing each other apart since her brother, Darien, has decided to return home and do his duties. She plans on coming back, but I've no idea when that is." Alyssa attempted to reassure her. "Thank you for allowing me to be here in her stead. Just note that on my last station, I was doing two different jobs. I'll try to do this job to the best of my ability."

"I have faith that you'll do just fine," Lillian responded with a smile, taking a deep breath.

She wanted to change the subject to why the woman was so familiar looking to her but didn't exactly know how to do that. Lillian wondered if maybe she was deliberately focusing on Lydia because she didn't want to talk about it...she was sensing that the woman was avoiding the subject. At the same time, maybe the woman just wasn't who Lillian thought that she was. Where did she know her? Was it related to Marshall? Lillian was really curious now.

Lillian leaned forward a little bit. "I, uh...I get the feeling we've met before. Do I know you, Lieutenant?"

"Yes. May I go?" Alyssa asked, wanting not to talk about this.

She didn't know how Lillian would react to how they knew each other. She could explain and hoped that she wouldn't get kicked off or end up in the Brig.

"I don't know how you would react to how we know each other." Alyssa quickly added.

Lillian smiled a little bit. "I promise I won't snap about it, whatever it is."

She was curious--she knew the woman in front of her and the woman knew that. Lillian was just trying to figure out if it was recently, or some of her past she'd tried to block out all those years ago. She was betting on recently, and suddenly she wondered if this had anything to do with what she'd done for Marshall recently. Marshall. What a pain in her ass.

"I think I know what this is about, but I don't want to make assumptions," Lillian explained to her.

Alyssa studied The Captain, then give in. "We know each other through Marshall. We briefly met when I was cleaning up one of his messes."

She didn't want the Captain to kick her off the ship, but knew that she could be punished for this. She likes her job and likes the extra money on the side. Though, Alyssa doesn't really need the money. Most of it, she donates to charities or gives to families she knows need it. Alyssa didn't want to lose this job because it wasn't really hers; it was Lydia's.

"Do I need to go pack my things? Or do you have a different punishment in mind?" Alyssa asked, uncertain as to why she told the Captain the truth.

Yes...so it was Marshall. Clean up one of his messes, clean up all of his messes. Once you got in with him you didn't get out and though Alyssa was probably not involved with Marshall killing people and didn't know anything about his real intentions as not even Lillian knew that since Marshall kept such things to himself, but Lillian didn't know how deep Alyssa was.

"I'm not going to punish you...you don't report to him, do you?" Lillian asked her, honestly needing to know.

She didn't want Alyssa to know how deep Lillian was in all of this, but she definitely wanted Alyssa to know that Lillian understood more about him than anyone ever would.

"That depends." Alyssa answered. "Just because you're not going to punish me for telling you how we met, doesn't mean that I can't get into trouble. I'm here because my cousin asked me to fill in. Now, is there anything else?"

"No, I have nothing else I need from you right now," Lillian told her with a smile on her face. "You can get back to work, plan your shore leave, all that."

She kept the smile on her face, wanting Alyssa to understand that she was welcome here no matter what it was that she had done in the past. As long as she didn't try anything that would constitute as mutiny or actually working for Marshall now, and Lillian was giving her the benefit of the doubt. She just wanted to go ahead and get everyone settled in and have them know that she was on their side no matter what.