"Tapdancing Through a Minefield"
By: Ensign Mason Farrell; Operations Officer
Ensign Nathalie Gui; Communications Officer

Location: USS Sulu, Arboretum
Stardate: 57907.15 01h00

***

Nathalie stepped through the doors of the arboretum, the doors whooshing closed behind her, breaking the silence of the room. Stepping forward she looked around searching for Farrell. "Hello? Mason?" No answer. Deciding to do a bit more searching Gui walked into the arboretum deeper.

"Evenin'," Mason said seriously as Nathalie rounded a meter-high potted tree. He was sitting on the floor of the arboretum, leaning against the bulkhead.

She froze the minute she heard the familiar accented voice, though not actually registering for a moment until she looked in Farrell's direction. "Hey." Nathalie swallowed hesitantly before stepping closer to Mason. "You came...after the way I acted I thought you wouldn't want to speak to me again..."

"We need to talk no matter what I want," said Mason. "Sit down." He patted the floor next to him.

They both started talking at the same time, each getting halfway through a word before stopping with embarrassed smiles. They tried again, each starting to speak, then stopped again. Finally Farrell held up a hand.

"You go first. I'm listening," he said.

Nathalie nodded and looked at the ground briefly as she thought over what she had planned on saying. Taking a deep breath she looked up immediately feeling those blue eyes bore into her soul. Feeling her heart beat quicken, Nathalie mumbled a sorry before proceeding to speak again.

"Mason...when I first met you on the Holodeck I really didn't know what to think of you at that time; I really didn't. As I got to know you more I found that there was something different about you and I realized what it was: you were actually willing to listen to me and treat me like a real person and not like some object that was there to take advantage of." Nathalie squeezed her hands briefly, tears forming in her eyes. She was more than certain she could feel butterflies fluttering madly about in her stomach, nervousness, fear, she didn't know. Taking a deep breath she began again.

"And although we only knew each other for a short while you trusted me, to help you and although the endeavors were risky, you made sure that I wouldn't get hurt. I-I ask so much of you I can't help but wonder what I can do, what I want to do to show how thankful I am in return for your kindness, your warmth, you...you mean so much to me...I don't know what I would do without you..." Nathalie shuddered as she took another breath.

Mustering her courage Nathalie looked up at Mason and moved so that she was facing him. "Mason...I...I..." Nathalie lowered her eyes fearfully before contemplating her next action. She had to know. Looking back up she moved closer and lovingly pressed her lips to his; her kiss, unlike her flirtations, were not that of desire, but of love and longing.

Mason let the kiss run its course. She clearly wanted to kiss him. He could at least give her that. But it couldn't go farther. She didn't deserve for it to go farther; that had apparently been done to her enough. He disengaged at the earliest opportunity.

"Nat," Mason began, "you are a good woman, and a good friend. You are not just a sex object. You're smart, witty, and a damn fine flybiker," he smiled, "and you can kick people's asses in five different languages."

She laughed through her tears, and he continued. "You said you made some mistakes in the Academy. I need to stop you before you make another one here. You're my friend. I'm yours. We respect each other. We trust each other. Let's not mess that up with sex. You've got my friendship whether you want it or not. I don't need sex as payment."

Physical? He only thinks I want this to be physical? Nathalie looked down and let her head rest on Mason's chest as she felt the tears falling down her face. "No, Mason...I..." She looked up as she continued to speak, "I...don't want to mess things up...Mason...I want you to let me...love you...I mean that, I really do...and I want your friendship just as much..."

He looked up at the ceiling, grimacing, glad her head was on his chest so she couldn't see. "Nathalie," he said softly. "I can't change how you feel, but what you feel doesn't have to include sex. You know as well as I do that sex would change everything. And I--" He hesitated, considering his next words. "I don't want things to change. I want to be your friend, Nat. I want to be able to trust you and depend on you. We don't need sex in order to have that. I want to be your friend, not your lover," he added uncomfortably.

Having her spine shattered again could have been less painful than the words he said to her. She felt the tears well up in her eyes as she closed them, not knowing what to do or say. One single word repeated itself over and over again in her mind: Why? Choking back a sob she nodded. "I'm sure you have your reasons...but...no matter what I'll always love you." She buried her head in his uniform jacket, not certain as to what she would do next. Wrapping her arms tightly around his waist she remarked, tears still falling, "I'm so messed up, what am I'm going to do if I just make the same mistakes over again?"

Mason chuckled affably and put his arms around her in return. "What are you going to do?" he asked rhetorically. "You're going to come to me for advice, like good friends do. You're going to ask me for ideas when you're out of them. You're going to lean on me, and I'm going to be here for you. I'll share your troubles. And I'll do it with a smile. But we don't need to share a bed, too."

Nathalie laughed in spite of herself. "Thank you, Mason...I appreciate that. I really do...you seem to know me better than I do." Sitting up Nathalie wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's late, we should get to bed...separately, of course." She gave a sheepish smile. "I don't want to sound terribly forward but can you at least walk me back to my Quarters? I don't want to face the gossip mill out there alone..."

"Alone is best if you want to avoid gossip," Mason said, rubbing her shoulder. "If we walk out there together after our encounter in the lounge, tongues will wag. We'll need to give it a day or two for people to wind down about me making you cry."

"You're right. You take care too, okay? I mean that..." She stated covering his hand with her hand.

"Oh, you know me," he smiled, patting her hand. "I get beat up, but I make it."

"Yeah...well goodnight." Nathalie squeezed his hand before standing. After making sure her uniform looked normal enough, she walked through the arboretum, leaving the way she had come in. As she stepped through the doors she sighed heavily; it was far too long a night. She hoped sleep would come easier to her despite the circumstances.

---

"Grrl's Best Friend"
Ensign Nathalie Gui; Communications Officer
Ensign Taylor Bennett: Security Officer

Location: USS Sulu, Crew Quarters
Stardate: 57907.15 01h26

***

Something wasn't right here, master rarely cries. And if ever this much. Joji whimpered sadly as she stood from her bed and looked over to where Nathalie lay on her own bed hugging a pillow tightly to her body, tears streaming down her face. Walking around the side of the bed so that she could face her, the little dog let out a long wail of worry as she watched her beloved master cry.

Sniffling, Nathalie looked over to her pet and feigned a smile. "It's okay, sweetie, ju...just go back to sleep." Barking in retort the corgi placed a paw on the bed causing Nathalie to immediately swat it away. "JUST GO AWAY!!"

Tears welled up in her eyes and Joji howled mournfully uncertain as to why she hit her. Tail tucked between her legs the small pup padded out of Nathalie's room and into the living area. The door opened automatically for the pup, allowing her immediate entrance to the living area.

Continuing her journey onward Joji stopped at the door that led to the room of the Quarter's other occupant. Whimpering nervously Joji pawed at the door with her front legs frantically as she demanded entry.

The door to the other room slid open and Taylor glanced out. Her hair was mussed from sleep and she wore a thigh-length nightshirt. She glanced down at the mournful sight at her feet and tilted her head to the side. She squatted next to the whimpering canine and reached out a tentative hand. She scratched the small Welsh Corgi behind her ear and frowned. After a moment, an amused smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "What's that, Lassie?" she asked. "Timmy's fallen down the well?" She watched the dog for a moment then sighed. "So, why have you come to visit me tonight, Joji?"

Lassie? I don't know anything about this Timmy or well though you sure have funny ears. Happy for affection Joji licked Taylor's face. Turning her head to the direction of Gui's room Joji looked back over to Taylor before gently taking her hand into her mouth. Backing away Joji guided Taylor halfway across the living area and she immediately stopped, instantly letting go of Taylor's hand. Joji stopped just a couple inches outside the door's sensor range and she looked at the door worriedly before looking back over to Taylor. Woofing, Joji looked at her pointy-eared companion before looking back to the door itself.

Taylor looked at Joji, then at the door. An arched eyebrow raised and she smirked. "Not Timmy," she mused to herself. "Nathalie." She approached the door and tapped on it lightly. "Nathalie, it's Taylor. Is everything alright?"

"I...I'm fi-fine...really..." came the muffled reply from the other side of the door. A soft thump was heard followed by silence. Just then the door opened and Nathalie appeared from the other side; her uniform was a rumpled mess and the makeup around her eyes was dark from her tears. "Who am I kidding!?" Nathalie wept. "I'm heart broken!"

Taylor chewed the inside of her lip as she watched her roommate for a moment, then offered a weak smile of encouragement. "Whomever he is," she said, "he must be not only blind, but must possess the intelligence of a tribble if he's broken your heart. Would you like to talk about it? I've heard that a big mug of hot chocolate and talking it out is one of the best cures for a broken heart. On some worlds, they also claim that shopping is a proven therapy for such things."

Nathalie wiped her eyes as she looked at Taylor. "Shopping is a proven therapy? I think the first option sounds much better...give me one minute first, will you please?"

"One minute," Taylor said with a grin. "I'll go warm up the replicator."

As Taylor went to replicate two mugs of hot chocolate for her and Nathalie, Gui walked into her bathroom and removed her uniform jacket before she proceeded to splash some cold water on her face. Looking in the mirror Nat sighed heavily as she patted her face dry; she must have looked hell when first answering the door. Leaving to enter the living area, Nathalie was met by Taylor who held out one of the mugs of hot chocolate in her hands. "Thanks."

Sitting down on the couch Nat immediately felt her legs become covered as Joji snuck onto her lap. "This is all your doing isn't it?" she asked, looking at the little corgi who promptly snorted in response.

"Guilty as charged," Taylor said with a glance at the dog. "She was quite persistent and persuasive. Now, we've got the hot chocolate, so it's time for the talking part. What's his name and how many pieces should he be sent home in?"

Nathalie took a long sip of her hot chocolate before sighing and then replying to Taylor. "I think the real question is...how many pieces should I be sent home in." Nathalie looked into the dark liquid as she spoke.

"To answer your question however...his name is Mason...we met onboard sometime early on in the month; the two of us flirted quite a bit, things got somewhat deeper and before I knew it, I ended up falling for him. Until just recently I fessed up to him about how I really feel and he'd rather we just remain friends..." She looked back up at Taylor. "A large part of myself is happy that he wants to remain friends but the other half is worried..."

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Why worried? I know how difficult 'just friends' can be. I had two of those relationships, one before the Academy and one during. Before, it was my decision to remain friends. At the Academy, it was his. It hurt, but we still talk when we're able. I'm hoping that he will be at Deep Space Nine when we get there; he said his ship might be. But, why does it worry you, Nathalie?"

Raking her hand through Joji's fur Nat contemplated her next words. "Promise not to let word get out about what I'm going to tell you next?" she asked, tone serious.

"Of course," Taylor answered. "I would never seek to reveal something spoken to me in confidence by a friend."

Nathalie couldn't help but smile. "Spoken like a true Vulcan...er whatever..." A beat, "Anyway I'm worried by all this because of past occurrences. Of the relationships I was involved in, the majority of them were only physical...I believed I was in love but I was only fooling myself, here I thought I was in love but it turns out I was only someone's sex toy...only one or two actually felt like love...the others they felt more like I was being misled. So the reason I'm worried by what's happened today is, I'm worried I'm going to repeat the cycle all over again....only the next time I'm worried I'm going to end up being taken advantage of instead..."

"Such patters are merely a perception of perceived events," Taylor answered. "To conclude otherwise would be an affirmation that fate is an inescapable reality and that we have no free will to choose our own paths in life. If I were to walk around this ship, turning left at every corner I reached, at the next corner I reach, despite my past, I am still capable of turning right. Your future relationships are what you make of them, Nathalie. Do not believe that because you have determined that there is a pattern of behavior in your past that your future is destined to follow that same pattern." Taylor sighed and laughed. "Sorry, too much mother. Do you think that you can recognize the signs? That you're getting into one of these sorts of relationships? If you can, that's a victory right there. And, don't for a minute think that you have to go through this alone."

"I think so...after having gone through this so many times I think I can recognize the signs by now, it's just a matter of avoiding the whole denial stage with myself. It can just sometimes be all so confusing for me and sometimes not." Nathalie looked back up and smiled at Taylor. "Thank you, Taylor, I appreciate having you as a friend very much...and knowing that makes me feel better...to know someone cares."

Taylor reached out and scratched Joji behind one of her ears. "Just make sure you remember that it's two someones. Right, Joji?"

Arfing Joji licked Nat's hand at this. Nathalie smiled, looking at the dog, "You're a pest sometimes but I know you mean well. Come on let's go to sleep." Standing up Nathalie headed back to her room. "Thanks, Tay, I promise to let you sleep now..."

"You too, Nat," Taylor said with a smile. "See you in the morning." As Nathalie disappeared, she quickly collected their mugs and deposited them in the replicator. They vanished in a swirling blue cloud of energy, then Taylor headed for her own bedroom.

Nathalie sighed as she crawled back into bed and let her head hit the pillow. It had certainly been one Hell of a day.

---

"Holo(ow) Hugs"
by Ensign Amy Reese - Nurse
Ensign Cristobel Sefton - Nurse
and Crewman 1st Class Shyla Lynn Moreau - Astrometrics Technician

Location: Haven Resort, Risa and Holodeck Three, USS Sulu
Stardate: 57907.15, 04h41

***

Sleep had taken Amy and Kit quickly that night following an especially rambunctious "gymnastics" session in their Risan hotel room. Both were now heavily asleep, with the sheets a crumpled mess on the floor around their bed, but the cool night air drifting through their open window was refreshing as it caressed their bare skin, and not at all chilling. With Kit's body pressed up against her back, she would always be warm.

In the darkness, there was the familiar chirp of her communicator, followed by the ship's computer voice: "Ensign Reese, please report to Holodeck Three aboard the USS Hikaru Sulu."

Amy groaned and flung herself over onto her back, her arm dropping limply across Kit's face as she did. He murmured a protest in his sleep, and Amy returned a just as incoherent apology. She sighed, and with eyes still closed managed to sit upright in bed. "I have to go," she said sleepily. "Don't wait up." Then she slid her legs over the edge of the mattress, rose, and blindly stumbled off in the darkness to find her uniform. The computer had given no details, and she had been too dazed to ask, but she hoped whoever had dragged her out of bed had a good explanation.

***

Outside of holodeck 3, and still looking ruffled from her interrupted sleep, Amy Reese waited. Was she to simply walk in, not knowing what to expect, or who was waiting for her on the other side? Was it a prank and did she just leave? Clearing her throat, and rubbing one tired eye, Amy dragged her feet as she made her way towards the double doors. They parted for her and she entered, grumbling the entire way.

Amy stepped into a slightly battered version of Main Engineering. In looked like the "Intruder Alert" simulation was up and running, though the corpses had been deleted. That was tactful: Engineering had suffered a couple loses in reality and their presence would have been morbid beyond words.

In the middle of the mess, Shyla Moreau stood with a PADD in her hand and a smile on her face. She greeted Amy with and annoyingly chipper, "Hi, sir!"

Amy frowned at the scene and stood in place as her eyes shifted from the left, to the right, then centered on Shyla. "Crewman...what's going on here?"

"It's a bit of a surprise, sir," Shyla said, before dropping all protocol. "Amy, I don't think you noticed but I was upset with you. The way you talked to Ethan at the surprise party...it was just wrong."

"Okay..." she said slowly, then again looked around apprehensively. "We're not going to duke it out or something in here, are we?"

"We'll see," Shyla said, still smiling but a little put off that Amy wasn't expressing any regret. "Mostly, there was something I wanted to share with you." At a few taps on Shyla's PADD, a figure came into existence in the shadows and stepped towards them.

It was Cristobel Sefton, clad in his Starfleet uniform. For just a second, he warily eyed his surroundings, before grinning broadly to say, "Hey."

Amy glanced warily at the hologram and uttered a hesitant 'Hey' in return, then groaned mentally at having to face yet another 'Cris' simulation. "Crewman Moreau...would you please tell me what's going on here? If you're mad at me for chewing out Storm, then we'll talk about that. But this" --she gestured to Cris-- "I don't get."

Cris pouted at Amy's dismissal and all-around lack of enthusiasm. If he didn't know better, he might have thought Amy was a simulation.

Shyla had planned for Amy to misunderstand, though she hadn't been privy to Reese 'jumping' the 'EMCSH' in sickbay. "Amy, this is Cris...sorta. I set up a communication with him and routed the signal here. Then I created this simulacrum and linked our emitters to the proximity sensors on his holodeck on Betazed. He moves there, it moves here. He talks, it talks. It's him."

Amy's features softened, and her once lethargic mind snapped into focus. Again her eyes fell upon the hologram, and already they filled with tears. "Crissy?" she whispered. Her hand reflexively reached out to touch her friend, but she pulled it away at the last moment to refrain from disrupting the image. Instead, she held both hands to her heart and smiled softly. "Where are you? When are you getting back? Is everything okay?" She laughed to herself. "Sorry. I just...it's good to see you, Crissy."

"Everything is...fine," Cristobel assured her. "I'm definitely going to be meeting up with the Sulu on DS9. But that's too long to go without seeing my girls. How have you been? How's Kit? And Ethan?"

"Kit's good," Amy replied with a beaming smile. "We're taking counselling together, and I'm working at not being such a big slut. And as for Ethan..." Amy glanced sidelong at Shyla, then leaned in towards Cris and whispered, "Sort of a touchy subject."

Cristobel offered Shyla a sympathetic look and smile over Amy's shoulder, before telling Amy, "It's shiny to hear that you and Kit are working on staying together. Oh, I discovered something! About the root-word for 'slut' back on Earth! Three hundred years ago, it was reclaimed by promiscuous people as an empowering term. So it's not actually derogatory."

"Really?" Amy giggled. "So when someone calls me a 'slut' I should say 'thank you'?" Resisting the urge to embrace Cris, she instead blew him a kiss. "Thanks. See? I totally need you, Crissy!"

"And I will be there soon enough," Cristobel promised with another broad grin. Looking to Shyla, Cris asked, "How about you? Keeping the sensor palettes aligned?"

"Ethan is fine," Shyla said, ignoring the euphemism Cris had created when they had last spoke. "Well, actually...he got himself in a bit of trouble but he's working it out. We're working it out, I should say." The emphasis on the word we're said volumes as did her growing grin.

Beaming back at Shyla, Cristobel suggestively asked, "Just how well might this situation be working out?"

Shyla's cheeks flushed pink, as they usually did at the slightest innuendo. Still, she managed to excitedly say, "He called me his girlfriend, Cris!"

"He called you his girlfriend?" Cristobel asked completely incredulously. "Ethan? 'Girlfriend'?" Cris practically squealed with delight and wrapped his arms around Shyla's shoulders. He jumped up and down with Shyla, slowly spinning in a circle, all the while chanting, "Girlfriend girlfriend girlfriend..."

Amy watched the scene with delight, even more so when she realized Shyla hadn't slipped right through Cris. Squealing herself, Amy threw herself at the two and latched onto them to join their twirling dance of joy.

Without pangs of sleep deprivation to drive him to claustrophobia, Cristobel simply enjoyed when Amy put her hands around him this time. He threw one of his arms around her shoulders, and continued jumping with Shyla and Amy, still chanting, "girlfriend girlfriend girlfriend girlfriend."

Shyla spun out of the impromptu dance and landed on the deck with a slightly controlled fall. Her chest rose and fell at the slight exertion which may have worried her normally but she was simply too happy. She beamed at holoCris, knowing that back on Betazed, Cris was smiling that smile and holding on to a holoAmy.

"You know, I did a pretty good job. He even smells like him." She looked him up and down and her grin grew mischievous. "Maybe a little better. He's definitely taller than the real Cris."

"Hey! I'm the perfect height," Cris sassed.

Amy giggled and rested her cheek against his shoulder as she gazed up at him. "Of course you are, Crissy," she assured him. "And you'll just have to prove her wrong by coming back to us, now won't you?" After an extra hard squeeze of the hologram, Amy pulled back and smiled at her missed friend. "There's so much more to tell you, and so much gossip to pass on!"

Shyla repressed the urge to roll her eyes at Amy's willingness to indulge in an activity that had supposedly caused her so much emotional pain. Then, as the thought of emotional pain drifted through her head, Shyla remembered Corran and part of the reason Sefton had left in the first place.

"How's Dr. Quezith?" she asked, her voice concerned.

Cristobel turned instantly sombre to express, "Corran is doing hugely better. Among his people and their Community, he can expunge the psychic toxins from his system. But it's proving to be...complex to arrange his return to Federation Space." Cris half-shrugged. "There aren't very many ships that can make the entire journey between Achicari and Earth."

"Why didn't you go with him?"

Cristobel tightened his jaw in a moment of consideration, and said softly, "Andraia needed me more. ...And they put Corran in stasis; I wouldn't have been able to be with him."

Shyla's face went sympathetic as she reached out and took holoCris's hand. "I'm sorry, Cris. I know you wanted to be there."

Amy nodded solemnly and murmured a heartfelt apology as well. "But," she added thoughtfully, "he will be okay, right? I mean...he'll be back eventually?" She sighed. "I know I could never be happy without Kit. I bet you feel the same way, huh?"

Nodding weightily, Cristobel's gaze wandered over scorch-marked consoles as he rasped, "I've been hurting ever since I had to leave Corran behind on the Delphin. You'd think that since I'm on Betazed, practically a pleasure planet itself, I could find a random sex puppet to keep me company, and yet I don't feel like looking. I'm not lonely. I just miss him."

"He's important to you, Cris," Shyla whispered, as she leaned in to hug the avatar. Many light years away, her own avatar duplicated the move with the real Cristobel Sefton. "You're not going to find that from just some random person. It takes time."

"And I of all people know that," Amy chimed in. "I've been with countless men and none of them can compare to what Kit means to me now. But, don't worry" --she grinned-- "we'll try to make the hurt feel not so bad." She again trapped Cris and Shyla in her own embrace.

Clinging to them, Cristobel giggled, "And if you two can't manage it, I'll have to at least try the 'countless men' method. Sounds classy."

As Shyla blushed sheepishly, Amy grinned slyly. "Oh, I think I can help you with that. And Kelli too. She's become quite the hussy lately, you know."

"I wouldn't exactly need help with that," Cris said just as slyly. Jokingly covering Shyla's ears with his hands, Cris asked, "Didn't I tell you about that brief phase I went through at the Academy where I'd walk into a student lounge, pick out the cutest guy who was most attracted to me, and tell him that he wants to take me back to his room. Direct method's quite effective."

Amy snickered and nodded vigorously. "Oh, you'll have no trouble at all, Crissy. I already know Ensign Grewal from operations has been eyeing you." She winked at him and echoed, "No trouble at all, you sexy hunk of man."

"Um, well, Operation: Countless Men is still in the theoretical stage," Cristobel said a little uncomfortably. "But maybe Kit would be up for sharing Grewal with you?"

Amy snorted wryly. "Unlikely. We're on an exclusive basis currently." Then she grinned. "So looks like you get all the men to yourself." And adding playfully, yet loudly for Shyla's benefit, "Even that Ensign Storm. Oh, that butt of his..."

"Are you pimping me out already?" Cristobel asked of Amy tauntingly.

Shyla pulled holoCris's hands from her ears. "Hey!" she exclaimed, her tone a little too shrilly for what she intended to be only a joke. "Ethan's butt is not open as a topic of conversation! It's not open at all!"

Cristobel snickered and let his hands fall to his sides. Shyla talking about Ethan's butt? "Have you been spending a lot of time with Amy while I've been gone?" Cris asked.

Amy snickered. "Not enough!" she announced. "Or else she'd already have been caught making out with him in a turbolift or somewhere else in public."

"We're a little more private than that," Shyla said, coming as close as she did to a sneer. "Besides, I can't hang out with Amy. She doesn't like my boyfriend." She looked at Cris. "Neither do you, to hear her tell it."

"I never said that!" Amy shrieked indignantly. "I mean I may have alluded to it, but I never!"

"You did say it." Shyla leveled a glare at Amy. "But I knew it wasn't true. I just don't know if Ethan did."

"Ethan knew," Cristobel assured Shyla, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "We talked on Risa, and I'm sure we'll talk again."

"And...and I didn't really mean what I said that night," Amy admitted. "I was...upset and stuff because Cris had left and...." She sighed. "I should probably tell him I'm sorry if I see him around."

"I'm sure he wouldn't expect you to go out of your way," Shyla said, a tad snidely. The 'probably' and the 'if I see him around' rankled her and she was getting upset with Amy all over again. Shyla hadn't wanted this - she had intended this session with Cris to be a peace offering. Maybe what was making her angry was the fact that Amy seemed blissfully unaware there had even been a problem requiring a peace offering.

"Maybe you two should get yourselves back to sleep," Cristobel suggested, trying to sound diplomatic, but coming out more like condescending. "It's bright and sunny outside the holodeck here, but it must be late in the night on Sulu."

"It is," Amy admitted with a giggle. "Me and Kit were all cozy when the comm came through. I bet he's feeling pretty cold without me pressed up against him." She reached up and kissed the Cris simulacrum, noting how it almost felt like him. "I'll be counting down the days till you come back, Crissy." Grinning, she added exuberantly, "Love ya!"

When Amy pulled away, Shyla gave holoCris yet another hug. "I miss you, Cris," she whispered. "And Corran. Make sure he comes back too."

"I'll...be trying to will it to happen," Cris offered softly. With half a smile, he said, "We'll have to wait and see how well my experiments into reality warping turn out."

"I can help," Amy called back from where she stood in front of the holodeck's doors. "I'm the most warped individual you'll find!"

"I know some warped individuals, Amy Polly Reese, and you are far from warped," Cristobel stated with conviction. "Have you ever crushed the windpipe of your lover? Or mindmelded with people against their will? Or refused to have sex if you couldn't have it in a bathtub full of gelatin?"

Amy glanced curiously, and somewhat perturbed, in Shyla's direction, and answered hesitantly, "No...can't say that I have...."

From Amy's vantage point, all she saw was Shyla's lips move but Cris heard the Crewman clearly: "Give her time. She's a relatively young woman."

"Good night!" Cristobel just blurted out cheerily.

Amy waved briskly as she stepped back through the doorway, and before the doors fully closed, she called out: "See you soon, Crissy." Then, she was blocked from sight.

As soon as the door slammed, Shyla dropped all pretense of civility and flushed instantly with anger. "She doesn't even think she did anything wrong!" she exclaimed, more to herself than to Cris. This was about as animated as he'd ever seen the young Crewman. "She's so unbelievably self-absorbed."

"I wouldn't quite say 'self absorbed,' " Cristobel defended Amy gently, without outright disagreeing with Shyla. "She just focuses all of her energy on the people who are closest to her. But, I suppose, her energy is seeming...irregular. Ricocheting between tears and squeals of delight and salivating with desire even more than when she was concerned about Kit discovering her secret Dwayne dalliance. I know the two of you haven't been spending time together, but has Amy been playing a featured roll in the Sulu's gossip since I've been gone?"

"My guess would be 'yes,' " Shyla said, lightly shrugging. "But you know I don't really go in for gossip." Her brow furrow with this as she trailed off at the end, recalling something. "I think I heard something about her and some Ops officer but I wasn't listening to the details."

"That could be something," Cris nodded as he played out simulations in his head. "...Unless it was just old rumours about her with Dwayne." Cristobel shook his head; he wouldn't be able to figure what was going on now, but he wouldn't just forget about it.

"How is Ethan?" Cristobel asked sincerely, before flippantly adding, "Other than his butt."

"Right now, his butt's in a sling," she said, trying to recall the ancient saying and hoping Betazoid Sefton didn't take it literally. "He arranged to get some vidlogs regarding Collins from Risa illegally and then he turned himself in. He had his hearing and he got a reprimand, some required counseling, and some restrictions." Her face grew curiously intent as she tried to puzzle out what she was about to say next. "And he even got a special assignment from Captain Salinger."

"His only punishment would be a cuddling and a light spanking if he were the one sleeping with the Captain," Cristobel muttered, before more clearly telling Shyla, "Tell him that I think he'll be able to perform Salinger's chores with panache, and that he'll be threatening me with bodily harm in no time. Actually, no, tell him... Tell him that I'm impressed that he turned himself in for something he probably got away with. But, y'know, say it to him in a way he'll actually appreciate."

"I think he'll appreciate all of it," Shyla said. A clear grin broke across her face again. "He really is different, Cris. I mean, he's still Ethan Storm...a little too serious and a little quiet but he actually smiles now." As if to demonstrate, her smile grew even larger.

Chuckling and shaking his head in mild disbelief, Cristobel affirmed, "Seeing that, I have to come back for."

Shyla almost squealed with impatience. "Make it quick, Cris. Before it all changes. I want you to meet this Ethan."

"I promise to be waiting at DS9 before the Sulu gets there," Cristobel told her, wearing his own broad grin.

"I can't wait," Shyla said, going in for one last hug. In the midst of it, her smile faded when she sensed something was wrong. She pulled back to look at the hologram; the face was frozen and all the light had gone out of the dark eyes. The Sulu had lost the communication and the strings had been cut. Back on Betazed, Cris was hugging an equally lifeless holoShyla.

Shyla brushed her fingers along holoCris's cheek. "I can't wait," she repeated.

---

"Heads Up"
By: Commander Lyrr Tayla
Lt. Mark Thaine

Location: Captain's Ready Room, USS Sulu
Stardate: 57907.15, 10h45

***

Lyrr smiled at the chief engineer as he strode onto the bridge, but behind the mask of congeniality was a trace of anxiety. She gestured for Lt. Thaine to follow her into the captain's ready room and proceeded towards it.

She could anticipate the man's reaction to her news; he was an engineer and as possessive of the ship as a mother was her child. She could appreciate that he wouldn't tolerate another getting anywhere near his territory down in main engineering, but there was nothing to be done except reassure him that his ship and her engines were safe and sound. Once in the ready room, she motioned to the chair opposite Matt's desk and took a seat in the large chair behind it. She could only imagine the ranting and raving that would soon ensue. "Everything running smoothly today, Lieutenant?" she began, hoping to achieve a calm in him.

Thaine gave her a suspicious look, which wasn't really what Lyrr had hoped for. "As smoothly as ever..." he responded, carefully, like someone navigating a mine field.

"Good." She smiled, nodding in approval, and in an attempt to stall. Noting his skeptically narrowed eyes, she sighed and pushed a padd across the desk towards him. "I hope you don't mind company down there...because you're about to get some."

Thaine looked down at the PADD, his dark eyes widening in surprise, and then annoyance. He looked back to the Commander. "What the hell?" he said.

"Actually," she corrected with an almost admonishing smile, "it's Lt. Commander Zareb from Utopia Planitia. He's on assignment - temporarily. You'll be responsible for having space set aside for him to perform his experiments and assisting him with whatever he requires. Of course you can assign a junior officer as his assistant if he requests one, but it's your department, and I want you available to him if necessary."

"What sort of...." Thaine frowned, obviously defensive of his ship. "Experiments?"

Lyrr shrugged. "Starfleet hasn't submitted his proposal yet, but they will be once we're en route to DS9 so you can begin making preparations. But don't worry, Lieutenant, you will have some veto power regarding any changes or modifications he wishes to make, or anything he might wish to do that could potentially harm this vessel. Is that satisfactory, Lieutenant?"

"No," muttered Thaine. "I don't want anyone messing with my ship...she's been through more than enough in the last month. But..." He gave a resigned shrug. "Just don't let him think for a minute he's got a free run of my girl."

"Don't worry, Lieutenant, he doesn't have authorization to make any modifications without your prior knowledge." She smiled sympathetically, knowing how possessive most engineers were of their ships. "If there are any problems, you know you can come to me or the captain, Lieutenant. The study may be important, but keeping this vessel safe and fit for travel is more so."

Thaine gave a deep, heartfelt sigh; apparently letting some of his defences down. "I suppose so..." he said quietly. "But I'll be keeping an eye on him... Hell, I'll be keeping both on him, for as much as I can."

Lyrr chuckled softly, nodding. "I would expect nothing less of our chief engineer. I'm appointing you with the task of informing me if Lt. Commander Zareb does anything you feel is inappropriate or dangerous."

Thaine nodded soundly. "Good. I'm glad to hear that." He even sounded a little satisfied. "Was there anything else you wanted to mention, Commander?"

Lyrr shook her head. "If it will give you some peace of mind, though, review that PADD; it details Lt. Commander Zareb's qualifications and past studies. You'll see that he's quite good at what he does, Lieutenant. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"I guess we'll see, huh?" He stood up, giving her something in between a wave and a salute in a gesture of farewell. "Thanks for the heads up, Commander."

"Not a problem," Lyrr replied. "I figured it would give you enough time to encrypt all engineering systems before he can get his hands on them." She laughed lightly. "I'll let you know when he's on board so you two can face-off."

"Thanks." He paused, as if waiting for something.

Lyrr regarded him expectantly, and when nothing seemed forthcoming, she said quizzically, "Dismissed?"

Thaine gave her a nod. "You've still got the three pips," he said, amusement showing in his eyes, and faintly in his deep baritone as well, before he turned to the door. "You've gotta say it before I leave! See you later, Commander."

Lyrr chuckled softly to herself and watched the closed doors inquisitively. Lieutenant Thaine modelled himself as a surly, gruff man who felt more passion towards a starship than he likely would another person, but he had a sense of humour she appreciated. Though, she imagined he wouldn't be in a joking mood when Lt. Commander Zareb came aboard. She sighed heavily and refrained from groaning audibly upon anticipation of the headache that would afflict her when that did happened.

---

"Baby Steps"
by Ensign Ainsley Chambers - Counselor
and Ensign Ethan Storm - Security Officer

Location: USS Sulu, Counseling Officer
Stardate: 57907.15, 11h00

***

Ainsley paced around her office going over what she knew about Ethan Storm. She'd gone over his file and reports that previous counselors had made after appointments with him. They all said that he was pretty much a loner who was only interested in advancing his career. That didn't quite seem to jive with the recent events, but she was pretty much looking forward to a quiet session where she had to pry everything out of him.

The chime rang suddenly, interrupting her thoughts and she stopped where she was pacing and faced the door. "Enter," she called.

Ethan Storm stepped through the sliding door and into the Counseling Office with a curious look up at the ceiling, almost as if he expected it to collapse on his head. Seemingly satisfied that it was safe, his eyes went from top to bottom and wandered around the office until they fell upon Chambers looking at him expectantly, her hand upon a high backed chair. There was another chair just like it closer to him, presumably the one where he would be sitting while he spilled his guts.

Ainsley Chambers herself was a pleasant enough sight; a lovely blond woman with high cheekbones and strikingly large blue eyes. She was an Ensign though Storm guessed she was a good four to seven years older than most Ensigns in the fleet, black sheep like Mason Farrell (and perhaps himself) notwithstanding. More than likely, she had attended some university prior to Starfleet Academy but failed to meet the requirements for receiving advanced rank. When he saw the degree in Philosophy from the University of London, he almost gave a satisfied nod at his speculation: A change in career would have warranted a full Academy course load and she would have been commissioned as an Ensign like everybody else.

She looked the young man in the eye. He appeared to be a very confident one, which she had assumed already from his file. "Hello, Ensign Storm. It's great to meet you. Please, have a seat anywhere." She motioned to the chairs and the couch.

Storm went for one of the chairs and settled in, making sure to move it a bit. He made a habit of doing so with counselors as kind of a subconscious cue to let them know he wasn't intimidated by the setting and was willing to make changes in the environment. The reason he did it was because he actually was intimidated but he knew that most counselors were so inside their own heads, they wouldn't guess it was intentional. During Advanced Tactical Training, Storm must have moved half of M'Tov's office.

Ainsley watched as Storm sat, noticing the slight movement of the chair, making note right away to watch for any other subtle movement that she could make a pattern of. "So tell me what you've been doing."

Storm nearly laughed; it seemed such a kind genuine question. "Well," he began, drawing out the word as he gathered his thoughts. "I've been busy becoming the scourge of the Galaxy. And you?"

"Certainly not the scourge!" Ainsley replied with a grin. Storm appeared to want to delay this as long as possible. "I've just been visiting Risa a lot, getting a lot of fun activities in before we have to leave here again. But tell me more about what happened, from your point of view."

"I took matters in my own hands," Storm shrugged dismissively. "It was a mistake."

Ainsley smiled encouragingly but internally prepared for a long series of questions from her side and avoidance from him. "What exactly did you do?"

Storm tilted his head slightly, his face a question mark. "You do know, right? I really have to go over it again?"

She smiled sympathetically and gave a small nod. "It would be best."

Storm exhaled long and noisily but his frustration didn't dissipate. When he spoke, it was almost formally and a bit mechanically. "I arranged to have vidlogs stolen from the Risan Detention Facility. I was of the belief that Ensign Collins was in grave danger and may not have left the Facility against her will. I had hoped to prove that with the vidlogs."

"And did the logs prove what you wanted them to?"

"Not conclusively," Storm admitted, considering just what a fool's errand it had all been. "Ultimately, the information proved useful in a small way but it really didn't get us to Collins any quicker. It's only by the Ryuck's strange graces that we have her at all."

Ainsley wondered briefly if they would be sitting here having this conversation if the logs had shown what they needed. "Why did you feel that you had to take matters into your own hands?"

"Official channels would have taken days," Storm said, his blue eyes meeting hers. "We had no idea who had her or what they planned to do. We didn't have days to play around with the Risans to find out."

"Certainly there is a middle ground in there somewhere," Ainsley pointed out, not really trying to get into a discussion about politics, but more about why he felt he was the only one who could solve the problem. "Everyone on this ship had as much to gain and lose as you did if they couldn't find her."

Storm started to shake his head out of instinct but the memory of his talk with T'Kal stalled it. Maybe he didn't give the rest of the crew enough credit. Still, he ended up saying, "I'm not convinced everyone would have taken failure the same way. I know how I would have felt. I couldn't have it."

"Did you try to get anyone to look at it your way before going out on your own?"

"No," he said, not even thinking of Farrell. The Ops officer had pointed him in a direction but Storm had kept him away from the details. It seemed truthful, even if it felt otherwise.

"And why wouldn't you, when you knew that you could get into so much trouble?" she asked, thinking that he must have known what might happen.

Storm laughed. Not a long laugh but genuine and without bitterness. "I can come back from trouble, Counselor. Collins can't come back from being dead. The trouble never mattered."

"Alrighty..." Ainsley responded. "From another direction then. From what I've been looking at in your file, you certainly look to be very career minded. I get the impression that promotions mean a lot to you. You could have put your career in jeopardy over this. Why would you risk something that you've work so hard for, for so long?"

Storm leaned forward and considered the question. He'd asked himself it enough times. Ever since he got assigned field training aboard the Yeager his fourth year at the Academy, Storm had been a model cadet and officer. He had been promotion minded...he had sought to undo years of lackluster Academy performance. And he had been succeeding, until now.

"I can't really explain that," Storm said slowly, the words forming with his thoughts. "All I can say for certain is that it didn't seem important anymore, considering what Collins could have been facing. I just know if the situation had been reversed and someone had it in their power the ability to save me, I wouldn't want them worried about when they'd be getting their next pip."

Ainsley looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Okay," she said simply.

"Just 'okay'?" Storm said, a little suspicious.

"Sure," she said, smiling. "You've obviously given this a lot of thought. I won't try and argue with you. It's not why I'm here."

Storm leaned back in the chair and studied the Counselor with a wry smile. "Why are we here, Counselor? I did a mandatory year of this during ATT. I've talked to Jhenal and F'Zal and I'm sure they both thoroughly probed my mind. It's all..." -- he indicated the PADD on her desk -- "...right there. I've already been dissected, Counselor. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Alright..." Ainsley responded with a nod. "I have gone through your file, as you said. I think what you need to understand is that you are not alone. It is not your sole responsibility to solve the problems of this ship." She paused then. "The trouble that I was referring to earlier was not just trouble with your superior officers. Obviously there were people on Risa who were trying to silence Collins, powerful people. If you'd been found messing around down there then you could have gone missing too. That would have taken resources away from finding Collins. You have to rely on others.

"Counselor F'Zal's notes mentioned that you are not close to anyone and believe it best that way. Is that how you still feel?"

"That's changing," Storm said, smiling at the thought of Shyla. "Slowly. But it is changing."

Ainsley smiled in return. "I'm very glad to hear that!"

"I'm not so sure I am," he said, his smile not matching his words. "I still have to think it's best to keep shipboard relationships on a professional level."

Ainsley thought about that for a moment, her thoughts briefly turning to Mason. "I'd have to disagree with you on that point," she said. "Life onboard a starship is not only about doing a job. We live here, we do our jobs but we also have our lives to live. We need to relax and socialize between shifts. Most officers are signed onto a ship for multiple years, and although shoreleave comes on a fairly regular basis it's not usually in the same place. It's at the nearest starbase or, if we're lucky, the nearest member world. We get home usually only once a year, and then it's not for very long. If the only personal relationships an officer has in at home that's not fair to anyone involved and I would depend on the person at home being there for you when you get back."

"There are officers who actively avoid the entanglements," Storm pointed out. "They devote themselves to their ships and their duty. Some of the great ones in fact; Picard, Urias, Narr. James Kirk."

"Everyone knows that Kirk had his fair share, maybe more then his fair share, of entanglements as you call them," Ainsley pointed out.

"Fair enough," Storm laughed. "But my point is that the only thing that earned his long term devotion was his ship. I can respect that."

"Something else that most everyone knows is that, though James Kirk was never married, he formed very close ties with his crew. He was surrounded by his best friends in Ambassador Spock and Admiral McCoy. The personal relationships I am talking about are not solely romantic in nature. You also need to have friends, people you can rely on. Not just while on duty but in personal problems as well."

Storm went quiet at her point as it was a good one. Silently he counted his close friends aboard the Sulu. One. Shyla. The idea was depressing even if the thought of Shyla was not.

"I'm working on it," Storm repeated himself, his thoughts darker than they had been. He tried to lighten his mood by adding, "I'm taking baby steps, Counselor. Give me a little time."

She nodded. "Certainly, it takes time." She smiled then. It felt to her like he was making some sort of break through. He was opening himself up to the opportunities around him. He said it was baby steps, but she considered this first one a huge step.

"Was there anything else that you wanted to discuss?" she asked.

Storm looked from side to side, a little like he almost expected a security force to appear. His voice went low. "It is required counseling, Ensign Chambers. Don't we have to keep talking until time is up?"

Ainsley grinned. "We keep talking until time is up or until I think we've actually discussed something of merit. So we can end today's session any time you want."

Storm was on his feet before she finished her last sentence. "Well, that was virtually painless, Counselor," he said with a backwards step towards the door. "I'm sure you're already aware of my assignment to ferry Ambassador Serek back to the USS Spector. So, I'm guessing our next session will be at Deep Space Nine?" His question trailed off a bit at the end since he was a little unsure if the sessions were to be weekly or biweekly.

Ainsley nodded as she stood up. "Yes, we'll meet on a weekly basis." She smiled at him as he inched closer to the door. "Have a safe and uneventful trip with the Ambassador."

"Thank you," Storm said as he bolted through the door. In the corridor, he leaned against the bulkhead and looked down at the deck. It hadn't been so bad. He could get through it. Again. He just had to go slow and do it in his time.

Baby steps.

---

"Caged Animal"
By: Ensign Andrea Collins - Security Officer

Location: Brig Cell, USS Sulu
Stardate: 57907.15, 12h15

***

Andrea paced around the cell. God she hated being locked up like this. She checked around her and found herself alone, although not completely alone. There was bound to be a security officer outside her cell just waiting for her to mess up again. Just what you didn't need to do, Collins. Irking a Superior officer isn't the way to advance.

She sat on the bench that was against the wall and leaned her head back. When was she going to learn? She was not an idiot, she was certainly not stupid. But here she was in a cell all because she didn't know when to keep her mouth shut. Which is why I was cut on the chest in the first place, because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

She stood up again and began to pace once more. Her hands balled up into fists as her anger got the better of her. And as in the cell on Risa, she punched the bulkhead of the cell she was in and she winced as she heard a not-so-satisfying crunch of bone as her hand broke again.

She didn't scream, she didn't beg, but she did sit down and held her hand cradled against her chest...

---

"On the Horizon, Part 1"
by Lieutenant (JG) Arthas Hex - Deputy Chief of Security
and Ensign Cecily Torsten - Yeoman

Location: Corridor; Holodeck 2
Stardate: 57907.15, 13h00

***Arthas Hex's quarters, Deck 13***

Arthas looked at his reflection in the mirror of his quarters and straightened the collar of his Shemlok-riding outfit. He smiled at how he looked; his mother had always said that he looked very fetching in his Shemlok-riding gear.

The outfit comprised of specially-tailored shoes, which fit the rider as if they were a second skin, with a slice out of the bottom where the hooks fit and kept securely. Looking up, well-worn brown/grey trousers clung to Arthas' tall legs. A thick, Trill material similar to wool yet not as fluffy, comprised his shirt, essentially a long-sleeved t-shirt with a large collar. His leather gloves and specially designed helmet completed the set.

Many a grass stain had stained them and although he knew he could get them off by simply placing the trousers in the replicator, he had always washed them personally, childishly fearing that the replicator would take something away from them.

Smiling at his memories, Arthas spun on his heel and walked out of his quarters...

And walked straight into a short blonde-haired woman.

"Cecily?" Arthas said in bewilderment, the event still settling in his mind. "Cecily!" he said a bit louder as he realized what had happened.

He bent down and helped the Ensign up.

Cecily took Arthas' proffered hand as he helped her stand up. "I must be becoming a downright klutz; you're the second person I crashed into," she remarked, blushing.

The two laughed as they both asked each other at once if the other was okay. Smiling, Cecily held up her hand and remarked, "I'll go first...I was stopping by your Quarters to see if I could get any Trill literature that you told me about...I guess I caught you at a bad time."

Arthas looked down at what he was wearing and laughed. "I was just going to the Holodeck, I've got an hour and a half of time there."

Arthas laughed as Cecily looked him up and down and before she could ask: "I ride Shemloks. They are horses essentially, but they have partial intelligence, they know a little Trill. It's a really good past-time."

"Shemloks...Shemloks...I don't think I have ever heard of them well at least ever seen one...horses I have though." Cecily looked down at her feet uncertainly before looking back up at Arthas. "I think I caught you on your break and I wouldn't want to intrude on your off-time...I'll-I'll leave you be."

"No, no. Don't go," Arthas said instinctively. Now was his turn to blush. "Uh, why don't you come with me? You don't need the outfit and we can program a Shemlok for you in minutes."

Cecily blinked before looking at Arthas again. "You mean you wouldn't mind me going with you? I mean it sounds like fun and all...but...I really don't want to be a bother if I tag along..." she remarked, looking down again.

Arthas smiled. "Wouldn't mind? Don't be silly. If you want to come then just say yes."

Taking a deep breath Cecily looked up and said, "Yes I would like to go with you."

"Great then," Arthas said. "Follow me." He smiled.

Nodding Cecily did just that and followed alongside Arthas. She hadn't noticed up until now just how dashing he looked in his riding gear.

Arthas felt uncomfortable and was unsure as to whether or not he should put his arm around Cecily. He definitely wanted to but he wasn't sure how she would react.

***Arthas Hex's Symbiont***

Go on, you can see she likes you, Arthas, the voice of Clavain spoke with an impish smile.

Don't push her into anything, Arthas, the reason-filled voice of Ashly spoke to him straight afterwards.

I agree with Ashly, don't push too much, the agreeing voice of Gredala spoke next.

Oh come on, have you seen the woman!? Clavain shouted.

Look, Arthas replied, looking straight ahead while he concentrated, I appreciate the advice, but when it comes to any relationships with friends can you please argue amongst yourselves, it's quite distracting.

Friends, bah! Clavain taunted. So you don't fancy her then?

Shut up! Arthas replied.

***Deck 13***

Cecily looked over at Arthas who currently appeared to be very deep in thought; it seemed as though he was perhaps troubled by something. "Arthas? Are you okay?" she asked, looking at the Trill worriedly.

"Uh, no nothing's wrong," Arthas replied, slightly surprised at her noticing. "It was my Symbiont's past hosts, they were talking to me. How did you notice?"

"How did I notice? Oh you just seemed troubled by something, almost like you were having an inner argument with yourself...or umm past hosts. Were they talking to you about me?" she asked, a playful smile on her face.

Arthas laughed. Picking his words carefully he replied, "They think that you are a nice girl. And the male ones..." The pair entered the Turbolift. "Deck Two," he spoke. "The male ones add extremely attractive to the girl's thoughts."

"And what do you think, Arthas? Of....me I mean..." She blushed, looking away, suddenly wondering to herself what prompted her to ask the question.

Arthas smiled. Waiting until Cecily looked back, he answered, "I couldn't fault the male's thoughts."

Cecily smiled shyly and wrapped her arms around Arthas' free right arm. "Th-Thank you...I think you're nice too..." Feeling a little braver she rested her head on Arthas' arm; he seemed very nice to her indeed and his presence was comforting to her.

Hex relaxed as Cecily's head rested on his arm. He hadn't been close to a woman in many years, since he had entered the academy, and since meeting Cecily, he had felt almost intoxicated by her beauty and personality.

***Turbolift***

The door opened and another crewman walked in.

Cecily snapped to attention as the crewman walked into the Turbolift, seeming somewhat caught off guard by the two officers standing next to each other so closely. She relaxed a bit as she realized it wasn't someone she knew from the Command department though she still stood a little straighter upon the other officer giving the duo an odd glance.

Arthas also stood a little straighter, as he did know the crewman. If it had been a stranger he wouldn't have been bothered, but this man was someone he had welcomed on board, and talked to a few times. His name escaped Arthas.

The doors slid shut and the crewman asked for the Bridge. As the lift did its duty and took the trio to their destinations, an atmosphere the thickness of a cake filled the lift.

When deck 2 arrived, Cecily and Arthas left the lift almost running down the corridor.

***Deck 2***

Arthas laughed as the doors closed behind them, and he noticed the corridor was empty.

"That was..." Arthas said. "Uncomfortable."

"It was...somewhat unnerving...I'm sorry for the way I acted in there all of a sudden," she added, looking down, her face flushed.

Arthas smiled, putting his arm around her as they kept walking. "Don't worry; I think I did it a little too."

They arrived outside of Holodeck 2.

Arthas took his arm back from Cecily and worked the console for a few seconds.

Walking back to stand next to Cecily; Arthas said enthusiastically, "Come on! Let's have some fun!"

***Holodeck 2 - Stable-Yard, Hex property - Planet Pilot***

The pair walked into the Holodeck to be surrounded by lush green-yellow grassland. In front of the pair lay a large open area, which seemed never to stop, a wooden stable lay to the right of them and to the left, and an elegant stream trickled its way into the distance.

Arthas walked over to the stables, as Cecily took a few more moments to take in the scenery.

As she approached him Arthas said, "That's my Shemlok there, Tuqel. It's female and her name is related to a flower."

Arthas indicated to a very horse-like creature, which now approached the Trill. Purring almost like a cat, its large white head looked up at him and spoke, "Hello."

"Hello, Tuqel." Cecily reached out to pet the animal on its head. "You're very pretty. They can speak?" she asked, turning to look over at Arthas.

Arthas smiled, petting the animal also. "It should be in Trill, but I altered it so you could understand. They are quite intelligent, about in the middle between Primates and Humans on Earth. They understand simple instructions and can become quite attached to their owner. Tuqel here was my first and only Shemlok, given to me when I was 9 years old."

Cecily nodded as she continued to pet Tuqel. "In a way than, they're somehow smarter than the horses back on Terra. Well, evenly matched perhaps would be a better term."

"That's right." Arthas smiled.

"She's dead, in real life I mean." Arthas' jaw gave an almost unnoticeable twitch. "But Rick, my friend from home, made this program for me, before leaving himself. He's a very skilled holo-novel writer now."

Cecily's features softened as Arthas told her about what happened to the true Tuqel. "I'm sorry to hear that. It was very kind of your friend to honor her memory this way for both of you."

Arthas smiled. "Yeah, Rick was a cool friend. Haven't seen him since I left for the academy though. Anyway, let's get you a Shemlok shall we?"

"Okay but I should warn you, I have never ridden a Shemlok before," she remarked, following Arthas into the stables.

"Bah, it's easy." Arthas laughed.

He approached a Starfleet console, which seemed extremely out of place in the stable.

"Gender?" Arthas asked.

Cecily laughed. "For you perhaps!" Snaking her arms around his waist she asked, resting her chin on his shoulder, "Which is easier to work with? From your experience?" she asked, indicating his first question.

"I've only ever rode Tuqel here," Arthas said. "So I couldn't say, but I doubt this is much different."

"Okay then, surprise me!" Cecily replied.

Arthas laughed. "Male it is! I'll set it at the same age as Tuqel, that's 9 years old. Colour?"

Chuckling, she stated, "Fair enough, give me a black Shemlok."

"Sounds like a drink," he chuckled.

"Here we go," Arthas said as he tapped the final button.

A black Shemlok appeared next to Tuqel. Arthas' Shemlok approached the frozen animal tentatively.

"Give it a name and it will unfreeze," Arthas said.

Letting go of Arthas, Cecily walked over to the darkly colored Shemlok. She looked over at Tuqel before holding her chin with her hand as she looked to the other frozen Shemlok. "You look to me like the name Oskari would befit you best."

"Oskari doesn't sound like Fed. Standard," Arthas said, a puzzled look on his face.

"It's Finnish for leaping warrior," Cecily stated, looking over at Arthas.

"Ah, I see. Good name," Arthas replied.

"The most common phrases recognized are: Hello, how are you, I'm OK, and directions such as ahead, left, right and behind," Arthas said to Cecily. "Get yourself acquainted; I'm going to feed Tuqel."

Cecily stepped closer as she held out her hand to Oskari to sniff who was now unfrozen. "Hello there, Oskari, I'm Cecily." The Shemlok sniffed Cecily's open hand and looked up at the young girl. "Hello, how are you?"

"I'm OK, you?" Oskari bobbed his head up and down indicating yes. "I'm OK," the animal replied.

Arthas laughed from somewhere behind Cecily. She turned around to the laugh as Arthas shouted a heads-up just before he threw a vegetable at her, not too hard but fast enough to cause her to startle.

Cecily was caught off guard by suddenly having the vegetable tossed in her direction and she quickly put her hands up as she albeit clumsily caught the vegetable and breathed a sigh of relief. "Arthas! That wasn't funny!" she shouted before stopping to giggle.

"Sounds funny to me," Arthas laughed.

"Sorry," he said a few seconds later. "But if you feed Oskari, he'll like you better for it, and you may get more than 'I'm OK' out of him."

"Okay thanks, I guess..." she replied, still chuckling. Turning to Oskari she held out the vegetable to the animal. "Here you go, enjoy." Oskari ate the vegetable from Cecily's hand, eating with relish. He nuzzled her cheek happily. "Thank you I really liked that. Anymore?" he asked.

Cecily giggled as she patted the animal's head. "If you be nice to me maybe I'll give you one later, okay?"

Oskari nodded vigorously. "OK, I'll behave."

Smiling she said, "Good! It's a done deal!" Turning to where Arthas called from earlier she then shouted, "It worked!"

"Told Ya'." Arthas laughed.

He walked back over to her and asked, "Have you ever ridden a horse at all?"

Nervously Cecily shook her head. "Can't say that I have."

"Right." Arthas frowned. "Do you trust me?"

"I trust you, Arthas," she remarked, reaching to hold his hand in hers.

Arthas felt a slight tingle in his hand as he held hers. Tuqel sniffed what was almost a chuckle behind the pair and Oskari made an expression similar to a smile.

"Then we have, uh, no problem then," Arthas replied to her, taking his hand back.

He walked up to Oskari, knelt down and whispered very fast into the animal's ear. The words that Cecily picked up were totally alien, and, she presumed, must have been his native language.

Standing again, Arthas motioned Cecily to come to him.

When she stood in front of him he said, "Trust me, trust Oskari, and don't be afraid. And you'll be fine ok?"

Nodding hesitantly she said, "Okay, I-I'm ready when you are."

Arthas nodded encouragingly. He put his arms out and placed his arms by her armpits, to lift her. Feeling the warmth from her breasts made him hesitate for just a second.

Cecily wrapped her arms around Arthas for support as he lifted her; he seemed stronger than he appeared. She had recalled being close to Arthas awhile ago in the stables but this was as close as they had ever been.

Arthas placed Cecily on her Shemlok and reluctantly pulled away from her.

"Uh..." he said, gathering his senses. "Uh, as you can feel, the Shemlok doesn't require a saddle. It's got a soft back, that shouldn't be too uncomfortable. Holding onto its neck is the most common method of staying on. I've told Oskari that it is your first time and to be tolerant. You will feel him tense if he is uncomfortable. But at the speed we are going you won't need to hold on tight.

"You still ok?" Arthas asked, with concern.

She nodded to Arthas as she settled onto Oskari's back, and listened intently to Arthas as he spoke to her as to how to ride the Shemlok properly. She looked back over to Arthas and then asked, "Are you and Tuqel going to be riding with us? I m-mean y-you will, right?"

"Of course," Arthas replied, getting on Tuqel's back with ease. The Shemlok visibly brightened to have its beloved owner on her back; she proudly trotted over to stand next to Oskari and her somewhat nervous rider. "You're sure you are ok?" he asked again.

"Yes, I'm, I'm okay," she then added, certain her cheeks were flushed from either shyness or embarrassment, or perhaps both.

"Right then, off we go." Arthas said, "Tuqel, let's trot toward the fountain, nice and slow."

Arthas and Tuqel began down the slight hill. Arthas said to Cecily, "Just ask Oskari to follow."

Cecily put her hands around Oskari's neck. "Oskari follow Tuqel and Arthas, slowly." Nodding the Shemlok followed after Tuqel and Arthas at a slow trot.

***Holodeck 2 - Old Fountain***

After about five minutes, an ancient fountain appeared in the distance. A few minutes later the Trill, Human and two Shemloks arrived at their destination.

"Face Oskari," Arthas asked Tuqel.

Now facing Cecily he asked, "How was it?"

Cecily turned to face Arthas. "It was fun, took a little getting used to after awhile but I enjoyed it!" she answered, smiling.

"Wonderful!" Arthas said, genuinely ecstatic. "Confident enough for a jog?"

Eagerly nodding, she said, "I think so. I have you and Oskari with me so, yeah, I'm up for it!"

"Great," Arthas said. "I wanted to show you somewhere."

Arthas whispered into Tuqel's ear.

"Don't forget to tell Oskari to follow. And remember - Relax. It's meant to be fun," Arthas said, reassuringly.

After a nod from Cecily he shouted, "Go!"

Immediately Tuqel went up onto her back legs and swiveled into the opposite direction, the Shemlok screeching some words in its own language, seemingly enjoying the movement. Arthas, expertly remaining on the back of his Shemlok shouted a yee-haw, as Tuqel, jogged off toward the place he wanted to share with Cecily.

Thankfully for Cecily, Oskari didn't perform the same acrobatics as Tuqel, as the newly created Shemlok jogged after Tuqel, remaining about 2 meters behind.

---

"On the Horizon, Part 2"
By Lieutenant (J.G.) Arthas Hex - Deputy Chief of Security
And Ensign Cecily Torsten - Yeoman

Location: Holodeck 2 - Arthas' Childhood Hide-Out, Planet Pilot
Stardate: 57907.15, 13h30

***

Arthas Hex rode his Shemlok, 'Tuqel,' expertly and with a lot of style as the pair of them led the way for Cecily on her Shemlok, 'Oskarim,' as they rode to a location he had kept secret from his friend.

Close friend, friend, partner? No, friend or is it close friend, Arthas thought, shaking his head.

They arrived at their location. Arthas smiled at his memories of the place as he looked around. Asking Tuqel to slow, he leapt off the Shemlok, smacking its back softly. Tuqel knew what to do now. The pair of them had frequented this particular place many times throughout Arthas' childhood.

He walked up to the pair of Cecily and Oskari. Bending down he whispered some Trill into the Shemlok's ears, and it made an appreciative noise. Next he walked up to the side of the animal, and offered his strong arms for Cecily to use to get herself down from the somewhat tall, horse-like Shemlok.

Cecily looked around, admiring the scenery as the two Shemloks slowed to a halt. 'Oskari' her Shemlok though not rode as often as 'Tuqel' had indeed made a wonderful traveling companion. Looking to her side she spotted that Arthas had approached her and offered to help her down. Offering her arms in return she wrapped her arms around Arthas, allowing him to lift her down; Cecily blushed as the side of their faces lightly brushed against each other's.

As Arthas lifted her down, they came very close once again, feeling the same strange feeling running through his body. Arthas set her down on solid ground and took his arms back. He smiled.

"What do you think?" Arthas said, indicating where they were.

"It's pretty, where are we at?" she asked, looking around.

Arthas smiled. "Come here," he said, turning around and heading for a small hut-like structure.

Cecily nodded and followed Arthas.

Before they entered the hut, Arthas called the Shemloks over, and asked them to wait by the river. The pair nodded, obviously looking forward to getting to know each other themselves. They did as they were asked.

The pair entered the small hut and Arthas smiled as he looked around. In the small area was a computer terminal, a small bedside-table like desk, and a small air-filled bed, which both he and Cecily sat on.

"This is my hiding place," Arthas announced proudly.

Cecily sat down next to Arthas, taking in the sight of the room. "Your hiding place? From what?" she asked, looking over at Arthas' brow slightly furrowed.

Arthas frowned as he lay down on the bed. Cecily lay next to him and he looked at her face as they faced each other.

"My father," Arthas replied honestly. "My father wasn't around much and when he was he could barely look at me."

"What happened?" she asked gently as she reached out to touch his hand. A deep part of herself wondered what it was that pained Arthas so as he mentioned his father.

Arthas smiled at the comfort. "I'll start from the beginning shall I?"

He took a breath. "This planet is called Pilot; it's a Trill colony, about 4 days from the Trill home world at warp 5. I was born here, a few years after it was founded. Let's just say that this planet, although supremely beautiful, was in the wrong place.

"The planet sits on one of the most active Ferengi trade routes in the Alpha quadrant, and therefore has a massive smuggling ring for such a small colony. My father was a politician; he was in the political party that beat the party which quietly endorsed the pirates.

"Although I didn't realize it at the time, my mother and father became deeply worried about what may happen in the future. Terrorists were intent on bringing an end to the honest government that my father worked highly on. And my parents feared for the family's life. My mother bought me Tuqel, and had this hut built. She said that it was a place I could go when I was scared, or simply wanted to get away."

Arthas smiled at the memory of his mother and then put his face into his arm, trying in vain to gulp down the lump in his throat.

Cecily listened intently to Arthas speak; it seemed as though they two had both had bad experiences concerning their families. Sitting up she moved closer to Arthas and cradled his form gently in her lap. "You and I share a similar pain; where you actually knew your family I never knew my parents, my real parents..." Rubbing his arm soothingly she then asked softly, "What happened to your mother? Is sh-she still at home on 'Pilot'?"

Arthas looked down at his hand, the other one still clasped in Cecily's.

"I've never told anybody before, any of this." Arthas said, wiping away a tear.

"It's okay, I promise not to tell anyone..." she replied, squeezing his hand in reassurance.

Arthas took in several gulps of air and he attempted to start.

"A month after my father's party won the election, the leader of the party, and now the president of the planet stepped down from power and disappeared. My father was voted into the party." Arthas kept breathing deep breaths, defeating the lump in his throat. "3 days later my...my, my, aahh!" Arthas shouted, forcing the words out "...my mother and my sister were killed!"

Cecily's face was expressionless as she listened to Arthas speak of what had happened to his mother and sister. In response almost out of instinct she hugged Arthas and rubbed his arm in an attempt to soothe his nerves. "Arthas, I...I'm so sorry, I can only imagine h-how hard all of that must been for you when you were young..." Cecily rested her chin on Arthas' head and whispered comfortingly as she continued to hold him. She couldn't help but feel terribly sorry for Arthas as where she had only lost her parents; Arthas virtually lost his entire family.

Arthas couldn't stop them now, tears fought to be first to burst from his eyes as he told someone of the deep scars that he had never told anybody for 20 years.

"I still have nightmares. The intense heat and glare of the fire, the scream of my sister from the other room, and the even worse silence that followed when she stopped. Every time I opened my door I was blown backward. I couldn't save them, I wasn't brave enough. I should have. I...should..."

Arthas gave up talking as the energy of what flowed out of him took control.

Cecily shifted her position and wrapped her small arms around Arthas in a hug. Stroking his back she spoke softly to him as he cried. "There's only so much one can do at s-such a young age, Arthas, you sh-shouldn't blame yourself for your sister's death. If you yourself had ran in after your sister to save her, who's to say that you yourself would not become trapped and face the same dreadful fate as she did? You're not a coward...you were only a child...and I'm s-sure your sister knows you did all that you could to try and save them..."

"No!" Arthas said, ripping himself away from her. "It was my fault!" he shouted. "I wasn't brave enough, I could have saved her!"

He stood up, turning his back from her, ashamed of himself for both his past and for his show of immense emotion.

"Arthas! Listen to yourself, no listen to me to Hex and its hosts. Do you honestly believe that they themselves died because they were cowards? Everyone dies, we just don't know when and sometimes why. Ask the Symbiont, they could tell you likewise," she stated firmly, standing up next to him.

Arthas spun around to face her, his face contorted in a suppressed rage neither of them expected.

"Gredala and Ashly died of old-age in their sleep, Craz died saving the crew of my first starship and Clavain killed himself in a fool-hardy race. No one could have saved them, but I could have saved my sister, she was a meter away. I could have done it!" Arthas shouted into her face.

He knew these facts from previous experience with his Symbiont. Right now the past hosts were trying to talk to him, but he had practiced blocking them out a lot, and now he was doing it almost sub-consciously.

Cecily held her gaze with Arthas despite feeling the tears forming in her eyes. "A-Arthas...even if you had saved your sister, do you even think you could save yourself? Y-you told me th-that the fire was uncontrollable, even if you did manage to save your sister, who's to say that you would not die with her in the fire? I...I may be wrong and I may be right...but if anything I'm sure your sister is grateful not for you not saving her, but knowing that you yourself are alive..." Stammering, Cecily looked to the ground uncertain of what else to say.

Arthas' contorted face changed as he realized what he had done.

"Cecily, I...I'm really sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to say that to you, not like that...I, I...I'm really sorry."

She looked back up, tears staining her face. "It...it's okay...I know what it's like to l-lose someone...I sometimes blame myself for ne-never trying to find my father, even though I-I know he's probably long dead...my mother...I never even got to know her...y-you I envy...you knew your real family where I never did..."

Arthas put his arms around Cecily this time as she cried, dry tears still on his face.

"I was selfish," Arthas whispered into her ear. "You mentioned something about not knowing your family and I ignored you. I'm so, so sorry."

Cecily returned the embrace and rested her head on Arthas' chest. "I know, I believe you...Arthas...I know you wouldn't...you didn't mean to try and hurt me..." Sniffling she pulled back and stood tiptoed as she leaned up and kissed Arthas gently on the lips, not altogether certain why she did so, out of instinct or something else altogether.

Arthas, out of instinct, leaned down and kissed her back, longer this time. Hungry for comfort as much as hungry to provide it. Arthas' reaction at first caught Cecily by surprise; she was not certain he would or would not return her kiss concerning the earlier events. Threading her hand into his hair she moaned into his mouth and lovingly deepened the kiss, feeling her heart hammering in her chest.

The long kiss lasted for 20 seconds or more.

Arthas, reluctantly withdrew from this kiss.

"That..." Arthas whispered. "Was wonderful."

Cecily rested her head against Arthas' chest, her head felt as though it was swimming.

"It...it...was...my heart, feels like...it's dancing..." she answered breathlessly.

"Hmm," Arthas said as he breathed out, feeling much the same.

Remaining in the same position for a few minutes Arthas finally broke the silence after a look at his watch.

"My Holodeck time ends in about two minutes..." Arthas said. "And then my shift at tactical starts an hour after that. But I want to see you again, tomorrow?"

Cecily looked up Arthas and nodded. "So do I, where and when do you want to meet?"

"Well tomorrow I have a day off, what's your shift?" Arthas asked.

"I'm on Alpha shift tomorrow, I get off at 1600 hours."

"I'll cook you something. Meet me in my quarters at 16h30?" Arthas replied.

"I promise I'll be there..." Standing on tiptoe again Cecily adoringly kissed Arthas again before reluctantly pulling away. "We should probably get going..." she whispered, hugging Arthas, not wanting the moment to end.

Arthas returned the embrace and after a few seconds pulled away and said 'Arch.'

The Holodeck Arch and exit door appeared and the two of them walked through it holding hands. Looking at each other one last time they parted company and walked down opposite ends of the corridor.

---

"Black Ice: Part 2"
By: Lt. (jg) Natalia Druschev - Science Officer

Location: Holodeck Two, USS Sulu
Stardate: 57907.15 21h38

***

The thrust of the Northern Alliance Jetlifter pushed Natalia back in her seat as the sleek jet climbed above the Earth in an arc that would take it to the South China Sea. She was now dressed in a chameleon suit and the paraphernalia of the HALO jumper. Her helmet and breathing apparatus lay in her lap and she had finished checking the other devices she would need. The H&K Blitzkrieg Pulse laser rifle sat on the seat next to her. Everything was a dull black. They carried no patches or identifying markings to give away their country of origin. Both Natalia and Martel were politically deniable. If they were captured they wouldn't survive it anyway, and there was no hope of rescue.

Martel was sitting opposite going through his equipment check after talking with the pilot. He gave her a quick smile as he re-packed the explosives and detonators. He looked handsome. Dark hair and dark eyes and a killer smile. Natalia smiled back at him, remembering her last foray into the holodeck and the first chapter of the current adventure. In real life she was a science officer, and in here - she was Natalia Alexandra Druschev, agent of the Eastern Bloc KGB. She loved holodeck adventures - especially this series. Martel had been the main character since the start, but Natalia had altered him along the way. Incorporating the best parts of several other programs, Martel stood alone as a holo-character. His personal program took up more space than the whole series put together.

The trip did not take long. The co-pilot's voice came over her ear-comm link. "Standby for exit. Drop Zone in one minute." The lights in the VTOL jet turned red to allow night vision.

Natalia nodded to Martel who was already pulling on his helmet. She did the same, looking like an insect with the full coverage breathing gear and the enhanced vision filters. They were checked over by the 'handler.' She packed her rifle in the leg sling. Together they walked to the rear of the lifter as the ramp dropped slowly with whining hydraulics. The wind buffeting was still light as the jet's slip stream was angled to cut the drag. The night was a blanket of green haze under the low light amplification of her visor systems. This was the fun part. Doing a HALO jump in the dead of night over a small island in the South China Sea. She had to apply everything she'd learned over the many jumps she'd done in other missions. Her heart rate soared and the sheer rush of the approaching jump made her feel giddy with excitement.

The light above the ramp went from red to green.

The handler gave them both a snappy salute. She nodded as she followed Martel out the door. Both ran into the night, the wind hitting them like a hammer as they exited the aircraft. She was curled in a tight ball as she dropped. Her arms and legs snapped out in a star that gave her maximum spread to the wind. It was dizzying and she managed to orient herself correctly the first time. Her HUD showed a thin line that extended into the dark-red square showing the island from her current position. She angled her arms back and stared at the red square, legs pulling back and slightly bent at the knees. Her body arrowed across the sky.

The cloud layer was far below them, the stars and rarified atmosphere totally clear. Martel was below, his image showing clearly in the image intensified visor. As they headed down to the flat layer of cloud it was as if Natalia was approaching a solid wall. All she had to do was follow the red line through it. Suddenly they were in it - and just as suddenly through it. She saw Martel open his arms and legs momentarily and he slowed his descent.

He pulled alongside, matching her perfectly and they were twin missiles that sped soundlessly toward the sea. Her comm-link was close proximity and scrambled, but they had to remain silent until they hit the ground. The jump itself was the main point of this chapter, Natalia had to accomplish it correctly, angling her body so that she and Martel made it to the island, dropping under the radar before deploying their chutes was the tricky part. The sea was rushing toward them at 9.8 meters a second; the air buffeted her roughly and she could hear her own ragged breathing through the full face helmet. It was exhilarating!

Natalia was grinning inside her helmet. She was doing it! Not once had she felt the computer lending her assistance - the auto correct feature was beginning to become obsolete these days. She just enjoyed the thrill of the HALO jump. As the minutes went by, and the altitude counter on her HUD ticked down swiftly, she found that her speed was deceptive. The thirty second warning appeared on the HUD and it counted down. She splayed her arms and angled back to slow her speed. The dark patch of land in the sea was growing larger.

The seconds ticked away. The island was an elongated volcanic outcrop that was bordered on the south by white powder beach and a boulder strewn landscape, emerald jungle and a volcanic plug that reached three hundred metres to the north. Their landing co-ordinates were to the south - the beach. They had to avoid the sea and the shark infested waters, and the sonar detectors in the lagoon. There were three warships somewhere in the region and so they had to drop well below the radar coverage - that made the jump dangerous.

The flashing warning came. She pulled her rip cord and immediately the chute deployed. The crack of sound and jerk on the lines as her body snapped into an upright posture was painful. The harness tightened between her legs and her blood went straight to her feet for a second. She almost blacked out. It hurt!

Martel was spiralling, angling his chute so that it lost height faster and spinning as he went down. Natalia copied him, pulling forward on her grip handles and opening the vanes in the black parachute. It was a fast descent and at the last second she pulled up and let the chute take her weight again. She came in low and fast, hitting the beach running before she contacted the sand. A few steps and she was already turning to pull in the shroud. Martel was doing the same, acting quickly so that they could leave the sand as soon as possible. The waves hit the beach with a resounding crash - it was loud when she tore off her breathing apparatus and helmet.

They ran bundling their chutes into the treeline of the jungle. Dropping to their knees they commenced burying their gear. Martel took over as he gave her the hand signal for watching - she unholstered her Blitzkrieg, looking through its night sights as she scanned the beach front. The pulse laser emitted an x-ray laser beam that could not be seen by the naked eye. It was silent and very efficient for intrusion missions. It was also Natalia's weapon of choice - totally unlike the Starfleet phaser rifle, it was harder to use, but more satisfying. It felt like a weapon. There was no one. They could well be on a deserted island. The cry of the gulls was shrill.

She checked her wrist chronometer - they had three hours until dawn, but she only had ten minutes of holodeck time left. The trip out here and the jump had taken her two hours. That meant she had used up her whole holodeck allotment already - and she was barely into the mission! She'd have to wait a week to get in again, unless she could scrounge some unused time from someone who was spending their time on Risa.

She touched the comm-link and changed frequency. "Computer - halt program, pause for resumption and store. Druschev Alpha Three Nine." The holodeck grid appeared.

Natalia stood, dressed in the black leather skin-tight suit but missing all the equipment. She was flushed and hot, the jump had been good exercise. She looked around the blank grid of the bare room, and felt disappointed. There just wasn't enough time allocation. The computer told her that her session time was over and opened the doors.

She gave a polite smile to the couple that were waiting outside. They were dressed up - obviously for dancing or something equally mundane. She felt a little jealous - and walked out without a backward glance. She decided to go to the mess hall for a late drink, not bothering to change. She loosed her hair and brushed it with her fingers as she walked into the turbo-lift.

The bar was quiet and she was thankful for it. Only a few crew were using the Sulu during off hours. Most were on Risa, only coming back on board for their duty shifts. She ordered a vodka martini and sat at the bar, wanting to be on a beach with Martel rather than on a Federation Starship.

---