Chapter 2
Phoebe tugged at the hem of her uniform. She wasn't sure whose archaic idea it was to put female Starfleet members in short dresses but whoever it was she'd like to strangle them right now. The blue dress hit mid-thigh and though it covered her up conservatively it wasn't comfortable to move around in. She was a doctor, she had to be comfortable to do her job. With an irritated sigh she stepped forward to the table where a commander was checking in everyone before they boarded the shuttle.
"Jacobs, Phoebe." He said in a bored voice when her info popped up on his screen. He scrolled through her file with a lazy flip of his finger. "Senior medical officer and ship psychologist." He didn't sound impressed. "That's a new one." He motioned for her to get aboard the loading shuttle with a flick of his wrist.
Phoebe found a seat near the back of the small shuttle. This particular shuttle would only seat about twenty people, the last of the crew members to board The Enterprise. Most people had already been on the ship for at least the last two weeks.
Her assignment had been last minute. Admiral Jensen had called her into his office specifically to appoint her to the crew. Not only was the ship in need of a medical officer, her background in psychology was what they really wanted. The senior officers of The Enterprise had recently been through a lot. Admiral Jensen had been apprehensive of letting them go on a five year exploration mission.
"You understand my hesitation," the admiral had said to her in their meeting. "Kirk has never been known for his stability and they have all suffered a great loss, not to mention the stress of the situation that happened merely months ago." He had sighed in resignation. "However, Pike had pleaded his case so passionately and a few of my senior commanders have agreed with him. Kirk should get this mission."
"So I will be the ship's counselor?" Phoebe had tried to clarify his intention. "I didn't know ships needed those."
"In the future I think all ships should have a psychologist of some sort. There is a lot that goes on out in space. A safe place, a safe person, to talk to is essential. The longer the missions get, the more I think someone like you will be critical to have on board." The admiral then stood from his desk. "You will still have senior medical officer duties, rounds in the med bay, and Dr. McCoy will still be your commanding officer. But you are to meet with all senior officers at least once every two weeks and send reports every four to six weeks. The crew has been apprised of these orders."
"Reports?" Phoebe had frowned at him. "Sir, doctor-patient confidentiality precludes me-"
He had raised a hand to stop her. "You don't have to give me details. Just updates, let me know that the crew I sent out is stable and mentally healthy. It will put my mind at ease since I am worried about this mission. Five years is a long time. The first mission of this capacity in our human history." He had given her a purposeful look before finishing. "The Enterprise crew can't screw it up."
In the shuttle Phoebe closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall behind her. She wondered if she should have refused. She felt the weight of his words even now, days after they had spoke. It was a large responsibility he was putting on her. Still, she was determined to be up to the task.
As the last crew member boarded she sat forward to buckle herself in. The short red dress caught her eye; another female crew member. Her eyes went up to the girl's long dark hair, pulled back into a pony tail, her tan skin, and serious expression. Even though she couldn't see detail from this distance Phoebe knew her eyes would be green as new leaves in springtime. Eyes that matched her own.
Milani.
Phoebe didn't say anything to her sister. The shuttle was getting ready for takeoff so there was no way to talk to her. Instead, Phoebe was left to wonder. What was her sister doing on this ship?
Phoebe and her sister Milani had been close growing up. When they went to Starfleet Academy they had drifted apart. They had been in two very separate fields. Phoebe had been diverted into the medical field almost immediately. After a year of basic engineering, Milani went into tactics and combat training. Two years of that and she had been recruited into Starfleet's answer to the CIA: the Intelligence Corps, or IC. Phoebe barely saw her sister after that. She assumed she was off being a spy or secret agent or whatever it was the IC had its operatives do.
To see her here, now, was startling. Phoebe had always assumed that IC employed short term missions. Five years on an exploration ship didn't sound like something that would hit on IC's radar. Maybe her sister had gone in a different direction without telling her about it. Maybe she was just a normal member of the crew.
Something told her that was false hope.
The shuttle docked and crew members filed out the door, Milani the first to go. Phoebe tried to hurry to catch up with her but she was blocked by other bodies trying to disembark. By the time she hit the loading bay floor Milani had disappeared from view.
Not that Phoebe was going to let that stop her. She pushed her way through the crowd of people who trying to figure out which way to go. She made it to a doorway and one step into the corridor when a large object blocked her path. A large man-shaped object. She looked from the blue shirt to the black hair to the surly look on his face. "Dr. McCoy." She concluded, recognizing him from his picture in the files she had been given after she had left the admiral's office.
"You're my new senior officer, Dr. Jacobs?" He asked, looking her up and down. It was more of a 'sizing up' look than 'checking out' look but she still felt compelled to tug on the bottom of her skirt again. Why did they make them wear these short things again?
"That's me." Phoebe replied, tacking on a "Sir," as an afterthought. She glanced over his shoulder to see if she could spot Milani down the hall. No such luck.
"I need you to report to med bay immediately. There is a small crisis with supplies and Dr. Wainwright is next to useless in this situation. The man can stitch an artery in record time but can't organize an empty box." McCoy informed her.
Phoebe blinked. She really needed to hunt down her sister but she couldn't refuse a direct order from her commander. She chewed on her bottom lip in momentary indecision.
"Is there a problem doctor?" McCoy raised an eyebrow at her. Apparently he was used to people hopping at his orders.
"Well, I was going to find-" She started to explain but the look he gave her stopped her mouth from moving. With a nod and apologetic smile she finished, "No problem, Sir. On my way."
She slapped her forehead when she was out of his line of sight. Great first impression with the boss. Defying his first order. Replaying the map of the Enterprise in her head she followed the signs on the walls and her memory to med bay to see what she could do to solve the crisis.
It was two days before Phoebe caught up with her work enough to go looking for her sister. It was the day after launch and Dr. McCoy had dismissed his entire staff so he could reorganize the medicine cabinet in peace. Phoebe had to smile as she thought about him placing each vial carefully in its place, making sure the labels were perfectly centered, facing outward. She barely knew him but she could tell he was a perfectionist.
She wandered down to engineering, taking a moment to marvel at the size of the warp core. She was terrible at mechanics; that had always been her sister's forte. The fact that the glowy lights and steel made this big hunk of metal catapult through space at unimaginable speeds astounded her. The mere thought of the physics behind it made her head hurt.
She was shooed out of engineering by a rather fanatic guy with a Scottish accent. He was insistent that he never bugged the science officers so they had no business nosing around his warp core. Fair enough. She hadn't seen Milani around anyway.
She tried to locate her via the ships terminal but the computer insisted that Milani Jacobs was not aboard the vessel. Frustrated, and now hungry, Phoebe headed toward the mess hall for a brief lunch before she set out on her search again.
The Enterprise had a chef but for dinner meals only. All other meals were made by a replicator. Phoebe ordered a sandwich and a Coke and turned to find a table to sit at. Her eyes landed on a girl sitting by herself at a table, already halfway through a bowl of mac and cheese. Milani.
To look at the two girls you would never know they were sisters. Milani was taller by six inches, not saying much as Phoebe was only five foot one, but still it was a significant difference. Milani's hair was long, dark, and straight; Phoebe's was chestnut, cut at the shoulders, and wavy. Milani had their mother's darker, tan complexion. Phoebe took after their father with pale, porcelain skin and a spattering of freckles. The only thing that matched were their emerald green eyes, a gift from their grandmother as both their parents had blue eyes.
Phoebe had forgotten how stunning her sister was until she slid in the seat across from her. Milani had inherited their mother's exotic looks and beauty. Phoebe considered herself cute enough, but she could never compare to Milani. People had always thought they were joking when they told them they were twins.
"Phoebe." Milani couldn't hide her astonishment. Her eyes were wide and worried.
"Not happy to see me?" Phoebe asked, taking a drink of her Coke to hide the wince of pain at the less than warm welcome.
"I-I," Milani was speechless. Gathering herself she inhaled sharply. "I didn't realize you'd be aboard the Enterprise." Her expression softened a bit. "I've missed you."
"Whatever, Milani, don't be sentimental for my sake." Phoebe frowned.
Her sister returned the frown. "Don't be obstinate, Phoebes. I truly have missed you. We haven't talked in forever."
"Might have something to do with your job." Phoebe answered, still not buying that her sister cared to see her.
Milani's eyes dropped to the table. "I know. It's been difficult to do much but work lately. I always think that I'll visit you when I get back to Earth but then I get sent on another mission. It's a bad excuse, but it is my job."
Phoebe felt a pang of guilt at making her sister feel bad. It wasn't like Phoebe tried to get in contact with Milani either. They were both at fault for that. "Yea, it's ok." She sniffed before taking a bite of her sandwich. "I guess I just missed you, too."
"Gee, thanks." Milani rolled her eyes but smiled. A second later she looked around the room as if trying to see if they were being overheard. Satisfied she turned back to Phoebe, her expression serious. "Listen, Phoebes, you can't let anyone know we're sisters."
Phoebe felt a tingle of apprehension. She asked the question she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to. "Why?"
Milani leaned closer over the table and dropped her voice. "You know why. You know what my job is."
"You're spying on your own faction-"
"Shhh! Keep your voice down."
Phoebe dropped her voice to a whisper. "Why would you be doing your job on a Federation ship? A Starfleet ship?"
"Admiral Jensen ordered it." Milani replied. "What else could I do?"
"Admiral Jensen..." Phoebe trailed off, thinking about her own meeting with the admiral. He was determined to keep tabs on the Enterprise crew no matter what the cost.
"Yes. So I would appreciate it if you could pretend like we are just friends from the Academy that lost touch. You know nothing about me, about what my job is, about my life before Starfleet. We're just casual friends." Milani's eyes continued to dart around the room, looking for people who may be eavesdropping.
"The same last name kind of messes that up." Phoebe pointed out.
"I'm Milani Adair here." She replied. "We always keep our same first names. It's the last names that change. So no one will even think to investigate further because I'm not a Jacobs here."
Phoebe couldn't stop herself from asking, "So what is your mission?"
Milani looked at her pointedly. "You know I can't tell you."
"If I am going to keep your secret you have to give me something in return."
"Oh, is that how it works in this family?"
Phoebe stared at her, silent a moment. "You can't pull that card now. You just asked me to not be your sister. So, yes, I need something. So I know I'm doing the right thing."
Milani pressed her lips into a thin line, considering Phoebe's words. "Fine." She hissed. "I will tell you that Admiral Jensen is not sure of this crew's stability. He wants them monitored. Closely."
Phoebe blinked. Her sister had the same mission she had. They were keeping tabs on the crew and reporting back to the admiral. For the next five years. In this way, both girls could be considered spies. "How?" She asked, keeping her own assignment to herself for the moment. "I mean, what is your job on the ship?"
"I'm a senior engineering officer, specializing in weapons control and maintenance. I rotate from engineering to bridge's weapons station, depending on the shift." Milani explained.
Phoebe nodded. "Using those classes from first year." She pointed out.
"And all my knowledge of advanced ship weaponry since then." Milani sighed. "So far it's been easy, but it's only day two."
Phoebe noticed that her sister did not ask her why she was on the ship. She felt a small sense of pride at that, since it meant that Milani figured Phoebe was smart and talented enough to get this assignment without any ulterior motives from the brass. She wished that were true. She would always have to wonder if she was only assigned to the Enterprise due to its need for a psychologist or if it was due to her merits.
Both girls finished their lunches in silence. Milani stood up to leave first, giving her sister a small smile as she left.
Phoebe began the return trip to med bay lost in thought. She would have to be careful not to slip up and betray her sister to the rest of the crew. While it was unlikely that the two girls would run in similar circles, everyone made it down to med bay one way or another.
She walked into the medical facilities to find Dr. McCoy staring at the finished medicine cabinet. As she suspected, every label was centered perfectly to the front, the bottles evenly spaced along the shelves.
"Looks good, Dr. McCoy." Phoebe greeted him, nodding toward the cabinet.
He turned to look at her, startled. He offered her a rare smile. "I may be just a simple country doctor but I can still organize the hell out of a spaceship med cabinet."
"Indeed." Phoebe agreed, returning his smile. It was nice to see him in a cheerful mood. It made his eyes light up and his whole demeanor look more relaxed.
"Let me show you what I did so you can tell the others," he motioned her closer. "Because so help me, if these get out of order-" His expression turned tight at the thought of his cabinet getting messed up.
She rolled her eyes at his back, stepping forward to hear him explain as she muttered under her breath, "There's the Dr. McCoy we all know and love."