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Soltarian System, Planet Damar IV.

9 April, 2157

The morning sun shone through the windows, gently waking her from her restful dreamy state. Another beautiful day but she just could not bring herself to move and get out of bed, not just yet. She was still stiff and sore but seemed to be feeling a little better than yesterday. She let out a long sigh and took a mental inventory. Her mood seemed to be better much to her relief. She didn't feel bright and chipper but she rarely felt that way anyway, atleast not until she had her morning dose of caffeine. She felt better though and that was all she could hope for.

Maybe today will be a good day after all. God knows I deserve it.

Her computer started to chime in the next room. Who could be calling at this hour? It was probably Matix, she thought.

His work ethic amazed her to no end. He was always first to arrive at the shop, always eager to make a sale. Matix was her employee in a small shop that she owned down in the village. He was more than an employee she thought with a slight smile crossing her face. He was her best friend and closest confidant. He knew her more than anyone. It seemed that most people never really bothered to get to know her. She knew the reason was mostly due to her tendency to not allow people to get too close, become too friendly. It wasn't that she didn't have friends or relationships, she preferred not to allow too people to see who she really was. It always seemed to end badly when she did.

"Ah, another subject to bring up with doc." She said aloud, teasing herself, knowing she would make some physiatrist very rich if she decided to become a patient.

Her relationship with Matix was different. He never pushed or seemed to want anything from her. He was just there, always willing to listen. It seems silly to think of him as a good listener because he could cut you down to size in a heartbeat with that sharp blue tongue of his. He was well intentioned though and it was truly a joy to banter back and forth with Matix on a daily basis.

Best of all, Matix was a great engineer. The best she had ever seen. Well, except for her of course and maybe one other person but no need to go down that memory lane. She forced her thoughts to focus back on Matix. He was talented and could fix anything. Not just fix it, he could make anything run better than the designers intended it to. He could work on everything from a replicator, to a desert runner, to the largest battle cruiser. Even better, he was a great salesman. Always out to make a buck. This is why she made him her partner in the shop. Not 50/50 ofcourse, it was her shop after all. No, she gave him 20%. No need to go crazy and give everything away.

The computer continued to chime so she reluctantly pulled herself out of bed, with the full intention of giving Matix a piece of her mind for calling at this hour. She threw on her robe and plodded down the hall to her office. She dropped down into her desk chair with the little body weight she had. Her back immediately retaliated by sending a sharp stabbing pain up her spine. She let out a little screech of pain. Without looking she pushed her computer's pickup button and reached over to open the blinds that covered the window next to her desk. She wanted to see the second sun light up the valley, which her house overlooked. It truly was shaping up to be a beautiful day in Cynthian.

"Matix, I swear the shop better have burnt down for you to be calling me this early in the morning." She said with all the irritation she could summon but still enjoying the wonderful view outside.

"Good Morning, Claire." A voice came out of the computer and echoed in her ears.

Claire slowly turned her head towards the computer monitor.

It wasn't Matix' face staring back at her. It was Simmons, her supervisor of sorts with Section 31.

"What do you want?" She finally blurted out, knowing her day had just turned to crap.

"Well, Good Morning to you too. Aren't we a little ray of sunshine in the morning? Didn't get enough beauty sleep, I see."

"I'm sorry Simmons, you must not have heard me. What do you want?"

She and Agent Simmons never got along. She first met him when she was recruited by the Section just over 15 years ago. She thought of him as an arrogant bastard that didn't have what it takes to work out in the field. He on the other hand, thought she was a far too unpredictable for this type of work plus, she obviously hated authority. He was still at a loss at understanding why the Section decided to recruit her. He clearly saw that she was only going to be trouble even as a young cadet at the Academy. Her latest screw-up only proved it.

"Well, I see we shall get down to business first thing then. You are being re-assigned."

Claire's heart sank to the floor as he said the word, re-assigned.

"What are you talking about? I have had enough of your crap for one morning." She wanted to sound indifferent but she doubted that she pulled it off. He got her attention if nothing else.

"The Section has decided that after your last mission, you should be assigned to a more controlled environment." He spoke slowly and with a smug attitude. She wanted to reach in and strangle his fat sweaty neck. But then what would the doc say about that? Instead she attempted to remain calm.

Breath…, big deep breaths, she thought to herself, although she felt her heart pounding away in her chest.

"A mission, is that what they call it? She spat at him. Her jaws clenched tight.

"Yes, a mission, what else could we call it? A mission you failed, I might add." He said in a calm and cold voice. She knew full well that he loved every minute of this little conversation.

"I would call it a desertion, a desertion on the part of the Section. Ya'll knew that I was rotting away in that hell hole and yet you did nothing!" She yelled with a slight Southern accent. It always came out when she was mad and yelled. She couldn't control her anger anymore. It was on full display. Every cell in her body was fully charged. She felt every beat of her heart now.

"Are you sure we did nothing, Claire?" He was still as calm and cool as an iceberg.

"What 'a ya fucking talking about! I was beaten everyday! I was almost killed you fat asshole! The Section did nothing!" She shouted at the screen, but as suddenly as the anger rose it dropped back down as her mind drifted to the one person that did help her.

"Thank God for Peter." She said it so quietly he almost didn't hear her.

"Yes, it was a fortunate event that Peter was able to rescue you from your predicament."

Snapping back to the current moment, she glared at him and in a cold voice, "Don't you ever say his name to me again. You know nothing about Peter."

"So you say. Anyway, let's get back to the business at hand shall we?" Without waiting for a reply he continued. "As I said, the Section feels that while you are in this vulnerable state of mind that it would be best for you to work in a less stressful environment."

"You said that already. The Section doesn't give a shit about my state of mind, so what is the real story? We both know that agents aren't given the option of leaving."

"Well, this is a special situation. The Sections feels that you are too great of a risk at this point. So as of today, we no longer have a need for your services. Not to worry though, we hope that this is only a temporary assignment. When you are feeling better we will be glad to work with you again." She couldn't believe it but this idiot was actually smiling at her.

"Is this a re-assignment or a test to see if I might just go off the deep end completely?" Though truthfully, she wondered the later to herself every day.

"Well we certainly can't have you going rouge on us now can we?" Simmons answered, trying unsuccessfully to empathize or atleast sound like he cared.

The sooner she was gone the better for him, he thought.

"Fine, where am I being re-assigned?" She said, sounding defeated.

"You are being re-assigned back to Starfleet but don't worry, you have been promoted." He said, sounding smug again.

"Starfleet? Promoted? What are you talking about you crazy bastard." Her heart was racing again. She suddenly felt the need to crawl back in bed and pull the covers over her head.

"Yes, Commander." The smugness was now spewing out of his pores. He loved this. "We couldn't send you back to Starfleet as an ensign, now could we? You are entirely too old for that."

"That was very thoughtful of you." She said, choosing to ignore the age reference. All the fight in her was now gone.

"Oh, one more exciting piece of news." He said, with a slight devil smile. "You are being assigned to the U.S.S. Enterprise."