Thanks to everyone for reading and especially to campy, mattb3671, surfost, kemiztri, Acaykath, daywalkr82, swiglo3000, JPMod, whitem, JMAN2.0, Ace Ian Combat, WesUAH, Zaratan, Cabriel, TexasDad, Mobius97, TAZER ZERO, Theta-Alpha-One, WhiteLadyoftheRing, conan98002, chefjet, Paulo-j1983, jasminevr, JeanieBeanie33, Dixon-San, Louis Mielke, happyendingsmabye, nmorgendorffer, Markv1.0, pookie-poo, Aldea Donder, Taechnunsa, Wanderer3, Emerald Dark Knight, and bluegman for reviewing.
Thanks also to campy for his indispensable beta and proofing work.
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Looking for some seasonal fun? You might want to check out my other story, It's a Ronderful Life.
KP belongs to Disney, TNG to Paramount.
I.
Captain's Log, Star Date 45051.3. We are heading to the Zygolon sector to determine why the sub-space communications relay has gone off-line. Remote diagnostics have failed to yield an answer to this mystery. Though communications in that region have not been affected due to redundant systems, Starfleet Command is understandably concerned about the failure of the relay, which was deployed just three months ago.
II.
Ron had been confused before. For example, high school mathematics had enabled him to experience confusion on an almost mystical level. But math-inspired confusion was nothing compared to the way he was confused by women.
He'd never quite understood them, which was odd given that his best friend was a woman. Of course, for most of his life, Ron had never thought of Kim as a woman but simply as his best friend, even if, objectively, he knew she was a woman. There had been the exception of when they were high school juniors and he'd found himself attracted to her and daydreaming of their dating, but he decided at the time that it was a combination of crush and raging male hormones and he set aside any ideas of him and Kim as an 'item.' Soon after, old habits and perspectives reasserted themselves and Ron saw her once again as his best friend.
That had changed. He now found himself thinking of Kim as very much a woman and wished she'd think of him as a man. He knew he might not be the smartest or best-looking guy around, but he thought loyalty and compatibility and the sheer pleasure derived from one another's companionship over nearly two decades should count for something. He'd been there for her for almost eighteen years, not because he was hoping for something in return, but because he cared about her and he knew she cared about him. They'd done so much together, experienced so much together over the years.
Kim had stuck by him, despite his weirdness, his goofiness, his laziness. She accepted him as he was – yet she never stopped encouraging him to do things he never would have tried on his own. He knew he was probably the only chef in San Francisco to have climbed Olympus Mons (that had been a bear) and gone solar sailing (that had been terrifying). Kim often got him to do things that scared him silly, but he kept doing them, partly to impress his friend, but also, because deep down he liked them and hoped someday he might be able to do extreme sports and the like without being scared. Ron Stoppable, it turned out, had two secrets: his feelings for Kim and his desire to be an action-adventure hero.
Unfortunately, the world of the 24th century, with its sprawling governments, behavior modification programs and Starfleet, left little room for heroes. And as for Kim, she always wanted to be with the hotties and the so-called leaders. Intellectually, Ron knew he should try to move on; otherwise, he would wind up feeling depressed and might very well damage his friendship with Kim, which he still treasured more than anything else in his life.
But knowing what he should do wasn't as easy as doing it. He'd found that out the hard way the night before when Yori had kissed him. Talk about an opportunity to move on, Ron thought.
Ron had been taken completely by surprise. One minute they were sitting on the bench, the next they were smashing lips. He'd first been shocked, then found himself enjoying himself. But that was because he was imagining he was kissing Kim. Once he realized he wasn't, he pulled away. He was flattered, but to kiss one woman while dreaming of another wasn't right. Ron felt Yori deserved better.
She said she understood when Ron explained that while he wasn't involved with anyone, he had strong feelings for someone and needed to first work through his emotions. Yori confessed her disappointment – then made clear that if Ron changed his mind, she was still interested.
III.
By the time Kim and Ron were getting ready for their breakfast, Will Riker had already been up and working for two hours. Enterprise's Executive Officer may have had a reputation as a gregarious man with a fondness for womanizing, but he was also known as the man who made the ship run, and keeping a space-borne city operational took a lot of work. Riker was now sitting on the couch in his quarters, drinking a cup of coffee, and talking with Deanna Troi about crew evaluations.
Deanna was holding her padd, looking at what the First Officer had written about Ensign Possible. "I think you should hold off on this one, Will."
"Why?"
Deanna looked at her fellow officer, one-time lover and unparalleled friend. "Ron Stoppable."
"Her guest?" Riker's curiosity about the young man had already been piqued at the previous evening's poker game. Deanna Troi was the most perceptive person Will Riker knew and he felt he'd still believe that even if she wasn't half-Betazoid.
"Yes."
"How does he fit into this?"
"Did you know that Ensign Possible and Ron Stoppable have known each other since they were four?"
Riker shook his head.
"He wrote an unsolicited letter of recommendation to the Academy on her behalf. Just raved about all the things she had done during her life. It's really rather sweet. But what caught my eye was that he'd been by her side for every major achievement in her life until she was assigned to Enterprise."
"You're not saying that he's responsible for her success?"
"No," Troi said with a smile. "And neither did he. His letter was all about how his 'incredible' friend did 'amazing' things and how Starfleet Academy would be 'awesomely stupid' not to accept her."
That made Will smile. He approved of loyalty in friends.
"But here's what's interesting. Ensign Possible really has done a number of truly extraordinary things in her life. Let me give you an example: In 2362 the planetary weather system on Mars failed. Several groups of climbers were stranded on Olympus Mons in terrifying conditions. Professional teams, including Starfleet personnel, were sent in to save them. But there was also a fifteen-year-old member of the Martian Red Cross Mountain Rescue Squad on the scene. At great risk to herself, Kim Possible went in and saved one of the groups.
"The newsnets ate it up. Pretty, bright young woman braves the odds helping others."
"I vaguely remember that," he said. "It was a real feel-good story."
"Will, there was one thing missing in those reports. Ron Stoppable. He was there by her side. Look in the pictures. Nobody bothered talking to the apparently awkward, less-than-telegenic boy, but if you look at him, he's as scraped and bruised as Kim, wearing rescue gear, his clothes as torn as hers. He was there with her."
Will looked at the images on the second padd that Deanna handed to him. He looked up at the counselor. "You ever look that proud of me?"
Deanna smiled. "Once or twice, I think. Pretty powerful stuff, isn't it? If you had that kind of support behind you …"
"You might even wind up the First Officer of a Galaxy-class starship," Will suggested.
"Will, I believe Ron gave her the confidence to be herself. To do the things she loved, on her own terms. He's been by her side almost her entire life."
"So how does all of this relate to Ensign Possible's performance?" Riker asked.
"Will, Ensign Possible is one of those classic examples of a smart, talented, attractive person with a deep-seated insecurity. Two things can happen to people like that. They find themselves with people who help them overcome those insecurities. Or they find themselves with people who, intentionally or not, feed them. In the former case, the person in question enjoys a remarkable sense of freedom and can do truly incredible things. In the latter, the person in question can dig an ever deeper hole as she seeks approval and acceptance from others. Her confidence will slowly ebb, her potential to lead fade. She will still be smart and capable, but she won't charge ahead.
"Ensign Possible's assignment to Enterprise is the first time in her life that she and Ron Stoppable have been separated. I believe he is the person with whom she can be insecure. And as a result, actually be herself: strong, confident, at ease."
Troi took a deep breath. She was about to venture into territory she preferred to leave unvisited: the love lives of the crew.
"Will, are you aware that Ensign Possible has been romantically involved with Lieutenant Thomas Carter?"
"Carter? Yeah. Smart, good-looking guy on the command track."
"He may be smart and good looking, with lots of potential, too. But he's also smug and overly sure of himself. He is the kind of man who sees a woman like Ensign Possible as an ornament. He may not realize it, but that's the bottom line. Her role is to boost his ego and prospects. I will bet this ship that while he may have been giving her sound career advice, none of it has been designed to help her trade in her gold uniform for a red one."
Deanna watched as Will rubbed his chin. She then said. "Lieutenant Carter feeds and exacerbates Ensign Possible's insecurities. Ron Stoppable, on the other hand, recognizes them, but deals with them in a way that lets her feel safe. For most of her life, he has been the port in the storm for her."
"Except for the last year she's been without that haven," Will offered.
"Yes," Deanna offered simply.
"Another metaphor you could use, Deanna, is a crutch. And now she has to walk on her own. Kim has to grow up. She's not a kid anymore. She's a Starfleet officer."
Deanna decided to play her trump card.
"Will, he is her imzadi. And their bond makes the one we have shared pale in comparison."
Riker stared at Deanna. He understood the implications of what she was saying.
"I sensed it the moment we walked out of Captain Picard's ready room and into the discussion about the bathroom …"
Will, caught up in what Deanna was saying, didn't even grin.
"… Even though I sensed embarrassment and frustration on her part, I could feel a resurgent confidence on Ensign Possible's part, like she was struggling to regain her lost footing, even without knowing it. Having Ron with her seemed to feed something inside her. And I could detect similarly strong feelings on his part."
"So you think he can help her regain that spark?"
"Yes."
"He's here for less than two weeks. What happens when he leaves?"
"I honestly don't know. But I think you owe it to her – and to Starfleet – to explore this." She paused. "Will, I believe that under the right circumstances, Kim Possible could be as successful a captain as Jean-Luc Picard. Hold off on her review and see how she reacts to situations over the coming days and weeks."
"Okay …"
"Picard to Riker."
"Riker here."
"Number One, I need you to assemble an Away Team …" The Captain then explained the situation to his First Officer.
"Consider it done, sir. Riker out."
Will looked at Deanna. "Well, looks like we have a chance to put your theory to the test, Deanna. Let me talk to Worf about assigning Possible to this mission."
"Thanks, Will."
IV.
I can do this, Kim thought as she put on her uniform. I can tell Ron what I've been feeling. I can take charge of this sitch. That's what I do, I'm Kim Possible. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed, recognizing that she'd been taking charge less and less in recent months; it was as if some essential part of her had been draining away into the empty reaches of outer space. While she was with Tom … and away from Ron.
Once again, she looked at her graduation hologram. Ron. He'd always been there for her. Always told her she could do anything, be anything, ever since they were four years old. When she wanted to join the Martian Red Cross Mountain Rescue Squad, and was told she'd need a partner, he went with her, even though he was scared silly. When she decided to compete in the Academy's Titan Games, he showed up with T-shirts bearing the legend Team Possible, and told her he was ready to start training. He'd spent his break mucking about in EVA suits with her; she smiled as she remembered that. Ron was definitely not graceful in a Zero-G environment. He really had always been there for her. They'd had their disagreements over the years, but he'd always come back. And she realized she'd always just assumed he'd be there, even when she was yearning for other guys.
But then she'd been assigned to Enterprise. Though they'd been in regular contact the entire time, things weren't the same. They were now less a part of one another's lives. She saw that Ron had changed in the intervening months. The confidence that had finally begun to emerge when they were in San Francisco was now in full bloom, though there were still flashes of the old Ron, as she saw in his initial encounters with Worf and Picard – and his jarring worries about their friendship. She saw the ease with which he talked with O'Brien, Data and Guinan, how he held his own when disagreeing with Tom. She remembered when Ron would have shied away from that kind of discussion; not anymore. How else has he changed? she wondered.
Kim ran her finger along the frame of the hologram, thinking about the previous evening's conversation with Guinan. When Kim returned to her quarters after talking with the enigmatic bartender, she realized the emotions she'd been feeling since Ron's arrival weren't so much new, but unacknowledged, and once she acknowledged them, she began to recognize their intensity. In retrospect, Kim saw that all the signs had long been there: her determination to win the prize just to see Ron; her mounting excitement at the prospect of his visit; the increasing amount of time she spent looking at old photos and rereading letters; her impatient anticipation of his communications; her unalloyed pride in his success as a chef; the inexplicable sense of annoyance when he mentioned he'd been on a date or met some woman; and, of course, the flood of unfamiliar feelings she had been experiencing from the moment he materialized on the transporter platform.
Kim had always wanted to meet someone with whom she could spend the rest of her life. She had to go into deep space to realize that he might well have been next to her for seventeen of the past eighteen years. Thinking of Ron in such terms was novel, even jarring, yet seemed so … right. She knew she needed to take things one step at a time. But she was determined to take those steps.
She got up and left her quarters and headed to the turbolift to go to Ron's for breakfast. I can do this. I can do this. I CAN do this. I'm Kim Possible. And I can do anything!
V.
"Two plates of scrambled eggs with bacon and whole wheat toast with butter and blueberry jam."
As the food materialized, Ron slapped his forehead. "Aw, me busted!" he groaned, remembering that Kim had apparently given up meat because of the Pretty Boy. It bothered him that she'd never mentioned that. He'd planned on making her filet mignon, among other things, during his visit. He shook his head, disappointed more than angry as he looked at the food, then ordered the computer, "Make it go away." He watched as the breakfast vanished.
"Two vanilla yogurts with granola, two bowls of Earth fruit – cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pineapple, blueberries, raspberries, and kiwi." Ron learned a long time ago that failure to be specific with a food order in this kind of situation was tantamount to playing replicator roulette. "And two fresh-squeezed orange juices and coffees. And not in the same glasses."
Ron watched the new selection appear, then removed it from the alcove and brought it to the table. He had set places so he and Kim could both enjoy the view. She might be destined to be his just-a-friend but he still wanted to do things right. Just as he lit two candles in the center of the table, the door chime rang.
"Come in," he called.
The door slid open and Kim entered, wearing a smile. Ron's heart melted and began to race. That uniform. And, oh man, she's wearing her hair up. I could kiss her neck … Yo, Rondo. Stop. Now. You can take the cold shower after she leaves. Geez, what a way to think of your best friend.
Kim looked at Ron and found it hard to breathe. This was the same guy she'd known for the last eighteen years. Tickle fights. Trick or treating. Adventures in the mountains with the rescue squad. New Middleton Mad Dogs cheer squad. San Francisco. Listening to one another's dating woes. And now she really was seeing him in a wholly different light. All of a sudden, his eyes weren't brown; they were a deep, rich cocoa. I could lose myself in those eyes. I can do this. I can tell him, can't I?
"This is lovely, Ron. You sure know how to serve breakfast in style," Kim finally said.
"Hey, uh, nothing is too good for my best friend," he offered, before pulling out her chair. "Anyway, I know you've got a busy day and all. Somebody's gotta keep this tub afloat!"
"Watch it!" Kim said playfully. "My father designed this tub."
"Yeah, and your brothers probably stole half the engine parts before it was launched."
Kim laughed, comfortable in Ron's company. I CAN do this! she thought. "This looks great, Ron."
"Thanks, I spoke to the machine myself."
Kim smiled. She had missed Ron's sense of humor.
"So, uh, did you, uh, enjoy the holodeck?" Kim asked, suddenly a little nervous, wishing she hadn't asked that question.
"Oh yeah, it was, uh, badical," Ron answered, beginning to feel uneasy.
"What did you see?" Kim asked, taking a spoonful of yogurt.
"Some temple in Kyoto. It was really nice. You'd like it. Peaceful. Relaxing." Ron really wanted to shift the discussion away from anything that involved Yori.
"So, uh, what do you think of Yori?" Kim wondered, trying to sound nonchalant.
"She's, uh, nice. Friendly. She, uh, likes VR games. And she cooks. She even likes baseball."
"Oh, that's right," Kim said, feigning enthusiasm. "I think she once said that she and Commander Riker were the only ones on board who actually know how the game is played. So you had lots to talk about."
"Oh yeah, talk, talk, talk, late into the night."
"Good," Kim said, trying to be cheerful. Nice work, Possible. You set them up. What were you thinking? she thought. And why is he skittish? I wonder if they … No. Don't even go there. You so do not want that image in your head …
"So, you and Tom enjoy the rest of the evening?"
"Oh, yeah, it was great."
"Good," Ron replied with a smile, noticing that Kim seemed distracted. She's probably thinking of being with Pretty Boy and … You don't want to imagine that. That is sick and wrong. Wrong-sick! Aw man, there goes the appetite.
They sat in awkward silence for what seemed an eternity. Kim reached up and played with a loose strand of hair before her eyes settled on the padd she'd brought along. "Here, I put together a schedule of things for you to do today." She handed the device to Ron.
He looked at it and nodded at the many interesting activities she'd planned for him. She'd even arranged for him to have dinner with Miles O'Brien that evening – while she would be off celebrating with Pretty Boy; he tried to keep the scowl off his face. It never occurred to Ron that Kim had arranged the dinner with O'Brien at the last minute, solely to preclude Ron from spending the evening with Yori.
"I hope you enjoy visiting the galley," Kim said. "Maybe you could give the ship's cook some pointers."
"Yeah. Maybe," Ron said.
Both Kim and Ron were uncomfortable, recognizing that something was amiss. They both resolved to say something.
"Look, Ron …"
"KP …"
"Worf to Possible."
Kim frowned as she pressed her comm badge.
"Possible here."
"Ensign, please report to the Observation Lounge in five minutes for a briefing. You will be leading the security detail on Commander Riker's Away Team."
Kim's eyes opened wide. Ron's curiosity was piqued, too.
"Yes, sir. I'm on my way." Kim sighed. "I have to go."
"Yeah."
Kim felt terrible. She'd worked up the courage to say something, but now she had to leave. She was tempted to just blurt things out, but she knew they'd need to talk; she didn't know how Ron would react to what she had to say. The matter would have to wait until she got back. And she had that dinner with Tom that evening. Tom. She didn't even know what she was going to do about him. This is so ferociously frustrating! a voice screamed in her head.
Ron saw the expression on Kim's face, assuming she looked sad because she felt she was being a bad host. "Hey, Kim, smile. This is a big deal, going away on a team," he said with genuine enthusiasm. "And you're going to be the boss lady! That's badical."
Kim chuckled, her spirits boosted by Ron's attitude. "Away Team, Ron. And I'm not the 'boss lady.' Commander Riker's still in command."
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. At least you now know I read your letters. Betcha thought I skipped over all of the confusing Starfleet stuff. Anyway, I still think it's cool. Worf wants you to be the leader."
She looked affectionately at her best friend, grateful for his excitement and confidence. "I never doubted that you read my letters, Ron," she said, still touched by the knowledge that he evidently had been reading everything she wrote.
"Well, get going. Go kick some Romulan or Cardassian or whoever-the-bad-guys-are butts for me. You gotta go save the galaxy. And remember, you need some help, give me a shout. I've got your back."
She smiled, got up and walked to the door. "Thanks. See you later?"
Ron grinned, and though he could feel a pit opening in his stomach, he felt he needed to be gracious and do the right thing for Kim. "Yeah. But only if you have time. You don't want to forget that big date tonight. We can always catch up tomorrow. Gotta hear how my best friend did riding shotgun."
Kim didn't want to leave. She stood by the door for what seemed a very long moment, looking at her best friend of nearly two decades. For the first time since she'd put on a Starfleet uniform, she felt resentment towards its claim on her; she wanted to be with Ron. Suddenly, like the tide rolling back in, the confusing awkwardness reappeared.
"Well, I'd better go …" Kim said.
"Yeah, see ya …"
Ron stood there and watched as the door slid shut behind her.
VI.
Kim hurried down the corridor to the turbolift. Though she was disappointed to be torn away from Ron, there was no denying that her excitement was mounting. Lead security officer on an away mission! This is so incredibly cool! And just before my promotion review!
She collected her thoughts and instinctively slapped her comm badge.
"Possible to Carter." Despite her emerging feelings for Ron, Tom Carter had been an important part of her life these past three months; Kim wanted to tell him about her assignment, sure that he'd want to know.
"Kim?"
"Tom! I've just been assigned to be the lead security officer on an away mission being led by Commander Riker!"
"You're kidding?" he asked.
"No! I'm so excited! I'm going to the briefing now."
"Well, I'll, uh, see you tonight. Good luck. And be careful."
"I will. See you later."
Kim entered the turbolift, bothered by Tom's reaction to her news. "You're kidding?" What did he mean by that? she asked herself. He actually sounded surprised that Commander Riker gave me this assignment. While she was pondering that thought, it occurred to her that Tom had sounded patronizing, rather than concerned, when he told her to be careful. His response to her being asked to join the Away Team was so different from that of Ron, who was both impressed and excited that she had been chosen and confident that she would go do a great job.
Kim felt like she'd been hit by a photon torpedo.
Guinan's right, Kim thought. Maybe it really is easy, if only I want it to be.
VII.
Kim entered the Observation Lounge. Commander Riker was seated at the head of the long, curving conference table. Ranged along the sides of the table were a number of officers from the communications and engineering departments.
Riker looked at Kim and offered an inviting smile. "Thanks for joining us on such short notice, Ensign."
Kim nodded and, as she sat down, watched as two other officers from security joined the meeting.
"Here's the situation," the First Officer explained. "The relay went off-line at 0235 local time. We don't know why. But we're going to find out. The relay is large, so we're going to divide our forces and search for any signs that might explain the failure." Riker looked at Kim and her fellow security officers. "You may wonder why I asked you to join us …"
Kim, excited, couldn't help but jump in. "There's the possibility of malicious activity."
Riker looked at Kim, mildly surprised that she'd interrupt him, but still pleased. This sounded more like the Kim Possible who'd boarded Enterprise almost a year ago. Maybe Deanna was onto something, he thought. "You got it, Ensign. Make sure that each party is fully armed, just in case."
VIII.
"Sir, come here," Kim called to the lieutenant from communications. "Look!"
"Well, well. It appears that you've found something," he acknowledged with a grin. "Garcia to Riker."
"Riker here."
"Commander, Ensign Possible has found something that you should look at."
"On my way."
Will Riker arrived a few minutes later and looked at the damaged wall panel.
"Lieutenant?"
"The microlinear servoprocessors have been removed."
"Any idea why someone would want them?"
"None, sir. They're pretty much pointless on their own; I'm surprised that the rest of the unit was left, to be honest."
"What do you think, Ensign?"
"I'm not sure, sir," Kim said. "It's obvious someone came looking for them. Whoever it was was careful when they removed them," she noted, pointing to the now-impaired device. But she couldn't help but also notice the ragged cut in the panel. She held her tricorder to the bulkhead and looked at the readings. Plasma?
She turned back to the communications officer. "Sir, is there anything distinctive about these processors? Power capacity? Resiliency? Anything in particular that might make them attractive on the black market?"
He furrowed his brow in thought. "The uses are limited. But they are difficult to fabricate. And these were state of the art."
"Black market, Ensign?" Riker asked.
"Yes, sir. The cut burns. Not from a phaser or any other Federation-issued tool, nor from the known weapons or utility stocks of known Federation adversaries. It could be an unknown threat, but given how deep we are into our own space, I'd suspect black marketers."
"Any recommendations?"
Kim nodded. "Yes, sir. We know we're not dealing with equipment failure. We need to do a thorough top-to-bottom search of the relay to determine whether anything else has been removed; that means we're going to have to look behind every panel, under every console. Somebody must plan to use these processors in conjunction with something else. And we need to figure out what that is. That will be easier to do if anything else is missing; it will give us another piece of the puzzle."
"Good thinking, Ensign."
Riker pressed his comm badge.
"Riker to Picard."
"Yes, Number One. Any news?"
"Yes, sir. Ensign Possible found something …" Riker then explained the situation. "It looks like we're going to be here for a while …"
Kim sighed inwardly. She knew they had a mystery on their hands. And she was now the lead investigator. Her personal life would have to wait.
TBC …
