2386

"Good morning, Jake," said Korena with a smile as she was frying eggs and bacon for him. She turned away from the stove for a moment and put her arms around her husband and gave him a kiss. "I thought I would surprise you with breakfast this time."

"Um, Korena, about the breakfast..." Jake began, but Korena stopped him by saying, "Don't worry, if anything I know how to do something simple as bacon, eggs and toast. It's not rocket science."

"But, Korena..."

"Jake, trust me, I am not infringing on your territory if that's what you're worried about," said Korena.

"Actually, I was going to say the eggs are on fire," said Jake.

Korena turned confused at first until she yelped at the fire right when the fire alarm went off. She ran and grabbed the fire suppression can, shook it and extinguished the fire. She chucked her arms up that dropped back down and cussing how did something so simple turn into such a disaster.

"Did you use replicated Owan eggs?" Jake asked and his wife confirmed. "That's what happened. Replicated Owan eggs catch fire very easily if you fry them. That's why you need to use the real thing. My grandfather made the same mistake once before. It's not exactly common knowledge."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Korena still distraught over the incident which Jake comforted her. "I wanted to do this for you. You're starting your vacation today, I have to go to the art gallery for the rest of the week, and I ruined breakfast."

"Don't worry," said Jake. "We are not short on protein packs. I can throw one into the replicator and get us something."

Korena still embarrassed over breakfast sat down at their table while Jake brought them pancakes with syrup and a bowl of fruit. "I should have insisted on them finding a replacement for me. But no, they need an expert on Bajoran art, and their expert needs to be a career artist herself."

"Look, I've got a 3 week vacation from the Federation News Network," said Jake. "We'll work around the one week. I can come by the gallery later."

"I would appreciate that," said Korena. "But tomorrow I have a flight to Tycho City for another art presentation, and that is a 2 hour flight. I still plan on being home tomorrow night, but... Why did I accept this job?"

"You're promoting Bajoran art for the galactic cultural exchange project," said Jake. "It's a big responsibility."

"A little too big at times," said Korena. "At least they are not taking me to Andoria or Tellar. But if they hint it, I'm going to shoot myself in the foot. What are you going to do while I'm away?"

"Mmm," said Jake as he was trying to swallow his orange juice. "I was thinking of giving space opera a try," said Jake.

"I thought you didn't like opera?" said Korena. "You said it sounded like someone had an icicle shoved where the sun didn't shine."

"Which I would never admit to Worf about," said Jake. "No, no, space opera are melodramatic stories that take place in outer space."

"There is another term for that. It's called life," Korena joked. "Normally you write about the Dominion war or the Maquis. Why the change?"

"I read a story called 'Strangers from the Sky'," said Jake. "It talks about Earth's 'real' first contact with the Vulcans. And I don't know how, but it got me thinking."

"No wonder I smelt smoke," said Korena which Jake returned with a dirty glare, but Korena only chuckled unphased.

"Well," Jake began as he tried to regain his composure, "it got me thinking that hardly anyone writes science fiction anymore."

"Science fiction? I thought you said space opera?" said Korena confused.

"Oh, sorry. Space opera is a type of science fiction," clarified Jake, even though he could tell Korena was still confused. "Basically science fiction altogether used then hypothetical science to tell fantastic stories. Like Captain Proton before we achieved faster than light travel.

"It talked about teleportation, and we have transporters. It talked about artificial humans, and now the new captain of the Enterprise is an android. Even invaders from outer space, and..."

Jake stopped himself when he remembered the hell his wife went through during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor.

"Don't worry, Jake," said Korena reassuringly. "I'm pretty sure other worlds were conquered before Bajor was."

"I read about a movie in my research where a killer cyborg from the future came to the past and tried to kill the mother of the resistance leader before he was conceived, and it reminded me of what many claim was the untold story of what really happened during First Contact. Where the Borg supposedly tried to stop Zephram Cochrane from launching the Phoenix by going into the past."

"I've heard the same rumour myself," said Korena. "How are you planning to write this space opera of yours?"

"I'm basing it off of the H.G. Wells novel, 'War of The Worlds," said Jake. "Basically I'm asking where we would be today if the Martians invaded Earth back in 2005."

"War of the... Is that the story where the common cold killed the Martians?" Korena asked which Jake acknowledged and said, "When mankind was at the brink of defeat because they didn't have the ability to fight the Martian war machines."

"Hold on, didn't the War of the Worlds take place before your atomic era?" Korena realized.

"1898," said Jake. "But there have been a tonne of reinterpretations and adaptations for the movies over the decades. I decided to use the 2005 movie since it was the most recent interpretation before the Third World War. Other adaptations were based upon the original H.G..."

"Oh, I'm going to be late," said Korena as she stood up abruptly when she saw the time. She grabbed her jacket and sash as she made sure her transporter access card was with her. She then went to her husband and gave him a kiss.

"I'll be by for lunch," said Jake.

"And since my flight tomorrow doesn't leave till 9:30, I may have something for you later," she said seductively.

As she left, Jake grabbed his PADD only to put it down as he didn't want to risk forgetting about his wife's lunch date.