Chapter 2
Sierra, as expected, didn't eat much at lunchtime and ended up replicating a ham and cheese sandwich as soon as she got back to her quarters. That was sufficient to quieten her rumbling tummy for a while. After a movie and a quick nap, she made her way to the holodeck for her ballet lesson.
She emerged from the holodeck two hours later, ready for a shower. She'd had a good workout and was looking forward to returning the next day to perfect the new dance. It was set to beautiful music from the Nutcracker and she had never felt so attached to a dance before. She had put her heart and soul into her dancing, even more than she usually did, and it had tired her out a fair bit.
Because she was so tired, Sierra didn't notice the person in front of her. It was inevitable that she was thrown to the ground as the other person had been walking very quickly in the opposite direction. She fell to the ground with a dull thud and she was lucky that the other person had managed to keep his balance and stop himself from falling on top of her. Sierra lay on the ground in shock and a part of her was too tired to get up.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Ms Kim," the walking bulldozer said, reaching out a hand to pull her to her feet.
Ms Kim? Who the hell did he think she was? Since when did anyone aboard the ship call her Ms Kim? She raised her eyes to look at him. She took a sharp breath when her hazel eyes met crystal clear blue eyes. She found it hard to breathe as she took in the rest of his features… wavy dark brown hair that was nearly black, a strong nose, strong jaw, slim lips. Involuntarily, she took a step back and saw that he was a well-built young man, probably about twenty centimetres taller than she was, making him an impressive one hundred and ninety centimetres.
If he thought she was pretty, he didn't show it. What he did show, however, was concern. He quickly grabbed her elbow as she stepped back, thinking that she was about to fall again.
"Are you okay, Ms Kim?"
Sierra grimaced. "Please don't call me that. Nobody on this ship calls me that. Just call me Sierra."
He laughed and nodded. "Are you okay, Sierra?"
"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, taking in his full physique. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"
"I'm Ensign Matthew O'Halloran," he replied. "I work in engineering."
"Strange."
"What's strange?"
"I make pretty regular visits to engineering," Sierra explained. "It's funny but I've never seen you there. In fact, I didn't even know you were aboard this ship."
"Well, I tend to work night shifts," he said. "I did see you once before though, when I was working a rare day shift. But you were too busy talking to Lieutenant Wildman to notice me, even if I was just fifty metres away."
Sierra raised her eyebrows at the detail. She could feel the colour rising to her cheeks.
"Well, I'd better get back to my quarters," she said quickly. "I'm in desperate need of a cold shower."
"And I need to report to engineering," Matthew said. "I hope I'll see you around sometime. Soon." He winked at her.
Sierra's eyes widened and he grinned. She froze on the spot and watched him as he walked towards engineering. As soon as he was out of sight, she leaned back against the wall and tried to catch her breath. Hurriedly, she ran to her room and took a quick shower before making her way to engineering to see Naomi.
She caught Naomi just as she was stepping out of engineering. Grabbing her by the arm, Sierra pulled her to a corner.
"Why are you kidnapping me?" a bewildered Naomi asked her.
"How old is Ensign O'Halloran?" Sierra asked urgently. "Where's he from? Is he single? What kind of a person is he?"
"Whoa, slow down there, young lady," Naomi said with a laugh. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Sierra. She smirked. "Does someone have a crush on one of my best engineers then?"
"He's one of your best?"
"Yes, he is," Naomi said, nodding. "He's always on time, diligent and also very smart. He graduated at the top of his class at the academy. Gained the highest marks in engineering in the academy's history."
Sierra grinned. "So, he's a good guy, then?"
"I guess you could say that." Naomi grinned back at Sierra. "How'd you find out about him? I didn't think you'd have met him before. I don't recall the two of you ever being in the same place together since we left Earth.
"We ran into each other on Deck Two," Sierra explained. "I mean, literally ran into each other. He knocked me to the ground and had to help me up."
"When did this happen?"
"About half an hour ago, after my ballet lesson," she said. "I was on my way back to my room and he was on the way here. I didn't know we had such a hunk on board."
"Yes, he's probably the second best looking guy on Explorer. In my opinion, anyway," Naomi said with a smile.
Sierra was going to ask whom the first was but then she realised whom before the words were out of her mouth. She had to admit that Icheb was cute but he was more like an uncle to her.
"So, how old is he?" Sierra asked urgently.
"Twenty-one. He's fresh out of the academy."
At that very moment, the topic of conversation stepped out of engineering. He was pleasantly surprised to see Naomi and Sierra standing just outside and he smiled politely at them. Sierra choked a little when she saw him but managed to recover in time to smile back.
"Where are you off to, Ensign O'Halloran?" Naomi asked in a very professional tone.
"Just to the mess hall to grab an apple, ma'am," he replied. "The tummy's complaining."
"Be back in five minutes."
"Yes ma'am."
As soon as Matthew was out of sight Sierra let out the breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. Naomi could only laugh at the pathetic kittenish look on her young friend's face.
"Good Lord, Naomi," Sierra whispered. "He's so cute."
"Well, he is single and I have heard him talking about you before, so you have a chance with him."
Sierra looked up sharply. "He's spoken of me before?"
Naomi nodded. "I overheard him talking to Ensign Brown the other day. He mentioned that he'd seen you sneaking into the mess hall in the middle of the night. Apparently, he thought you were a ghost but then, after he managed to get a better look, he realised it was you. He does think you're pretty."
Sierra beamed. Then she stopped herself. No bringing your hopes up too high, she told herself. In any case, she knew her father would probably execute any crewmember that tried to make a move on her.
Sierra, as expected, didn't eat much at lunchtime and ended up replicating a ham and cheese sandwich as soon as she got back to her quarters. That was sufficient to quieten her rumbling tummy for a while. After a movie and a quick nap, she made her way to the holodeck for her ballet lesson.
She emerged from the holodeck two hours later, ready for a shower. She'd had a good workout and was looking forward to returning the next day to perfect the new dance. It was set to beautiful music from the Nutcracker and she had never felt so attached to a dance before. She had put her heart and soul into her dancing, even more than she usually did, and it had tired her out a fair bit.
Because she was so tired, Sierra didn't notice the person in front of her. It was inevitable that she was thrown to the ground as the other person had been walking very quickly in the opposite direction. She fell to the ground with a dull thud and she was lucky that the other person had managed to keep his balance and stop himself from falling on top of her. Sierra lay on the ground in shock and a part of her was too tired to get up.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Ms Kim," the walking bulldozer said, reaching out a hand to pull her to her feet.
Ms Kim? Who the hell did he think she was? Since when did anyone aboard the ship call her Ms Kim? She raised her eyes to look at him. She took a sharp breath when her hazel eyes met crystal clear blue eyes. She found it hard to breathe as she took in the rest of his features… wavy dark brown hair that was nearly black, a strong nose, strong jaw, slim lips. Involuntarily, she took a step back and saw that he was a well-built young man, probably about twenty centimetres taller than she was, making him an impressive one hundred and ninety centimetres.
If he thought she was pretty, he didn't show it. What he did show, however, was concern. He quickly grabbed her elbow as she stepped back, thinking that she was about to fall again.
"Are you okay, Ms Kim?"
Sierra grimaced. "Please don't call me that. Nobody on this ship calls me that. Just call me Sierra."
He laughed and nodded. "Are you okay, Sierra?"
"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, taking in his full physique. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"
"I'm Ensign Matthew O'Halloran," he replied. "I work in engineering."
"Strange."
"What's strange?"
"I make pretty regular visits to engineering," Sierra explained. "It's funny but I've never seen you there. In fact, I didn't even know you were aboard this ship."
"Well, I tend to work night shifts," he said. "I did see you once before though, when I was working a rare day shift. But you were too busy talking to Lieutenant Wildman to notice me, even if I was just fifty metres away."
Sierra raised her eyebrows at the detail. She could feel the colour rising to her cheeks.
"Well, I'd better get back to my quarters," she said quickly. "I'm in desperate need of a cold shower."
"And I need to report to engineering," Matthew said. "I hope I'll see you around sometime. Soon." He winked at her.
Sierra's eyes widened and he grinned. She froze on the spot and watched him as he walked towards engineering. As soon as he was out of sight, she leaned back against the wall and tried to catch her breath. Hurriedly, she ran to her room and took a quick shower before making her way to engineering to see Naomi.
She caught Naomi just as she was stepping out of engineering. Grabbing her by the arm, Sierra pulled her to a corner.
"Why are you kidnapping me?" a bewildered Naomi asked her.
"How old is Ensign O'Halloran?" Sierra asked urgently. "Where's he from? Is he single? What kind of a person is he?"
"Whoa, slow down there, young lady," Naomi said with a laugh. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Sierra. She smirked. "Does someone have a crush on one of my best engineers then?"
"He's one of your best?"
"Yes, he is," Naomi said, nodding. "He's always on time, diligent and also very smart. He graduated at the top of his class at the academy. Gained the highest marks in engineering in the academy's history."
Sierra grinned. "So, he's a good guy, then?"
"I guess you could say that." Naomi grinned back at Sierra. "How'd you find out about him? I didn't think you'd have met him before. I don't recall the two of you ever being in the same place together since we left Earth.
"We ran into each other on Deck Two," Sierra explained. "I mean, literally ran into each other. He knocked me to the ground and had to help me up."
"When did this happen?"
"About half an hour ago, after my ballet lesson," she said. "I was on my way back to my room and he was on the way here. I didn't know we had such a hunk on board."
"Yes, he's probably the second best looking guy on Explorer. In my opinion, anyway," Naomi said with a smile.
Sierra was going to ask whom the first was but then she realised whom before the words were out of her mouth. She had to admit that Icheb was cute but he was more like an uncle to her.
"So, how old is he?" Sierra asked urgently.
"Twenty-one. He's fresh out of the academy."
At that very moment, the topic of conversation stepped out of engineering. He was pleasantly surprised to see Naomi and Sierra standing just outside and he smiled politely at them. Sierra choked a little when she saw him but managed to recover in time to smile back.
"Where are you off to, Ensign O'Halloran?" Naomi asked in a very professional tone.
"Just to the mess hall to grab an apple, ma'am," he replied. "The tummy's complaining."
"Be back in five minutes."
"Yes ma'am."
As soon as Matthew was out of sight Sierra let out the breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. Naomi could only laugh at the pathetic kittenish look on her young friend's face.
"Good Lord, Naomi," Sierra whispered. "He's so cute."
"Well, he is single and I have heard him talking about you before, so you have a chance with him."
Sierra looked up sharply. "He's spoken of me before?"
Naomi nodded. "I overheard him talking to Ensign Brown the other day. He mentioned that he'd seen you sneaking into the mess hall in the middle of the night. Apparently, he thought you were a ghost but then, after he managed to get a better look, he realised it was you. He does think you're pretty."
Sierra beamed. Then she stopped herself. No bringing your hopes up too high, she told herself. In any case, she knew her father would probably execute any crewmember that tried to make a move on her.