There was a sort of somber simplicity which brought Tw'eak back to normal just before breakfast the next day. Her focus was almost exclusively on the mission at hand. It had helped that Leo had woken up with a massive hangover, although Tw'eak had felt relatively fine. He had hoped to work out the discomfort by using the sonic shower, allowing Tw'eak to go first and finish before he was even up. She had dressed, sat quietly, and worked the replicator to make herself a cup of katheka, waiting for Leo, thinking of the mission, of being a return to command... to being in control. Tw'eak felt like most of the night before had served as a welcome respite from control. She rebuked herself, in her own mind, for once again falling into old habits. She had once again felt the need to play the role of some sort of rebellious "bad girl", reckless and wild, everything she knew herself not to be. While she had no reason to regret her decision to share the night with Leo, she felt she had once again stumbled into a recurring pattern which had been established early on in her youth. Her decision to study sculpture on Vulcan and force a deferment of her Academy admission, her occasional nights out while at the Academy, usually as a stress reaction just before a major event or, eventually after she had graduated, on the night before big missions. It was an insecurity she had grown to fear giving into, not least because of a few poor choices in partners. At least she could say Leo wasn't the worst that she'd had. Once again, she chided herself to keep from thinking about those others. They hardly mattered now.

Separation from that sphere, by elevation into command, had helped. She had kept herself in check with a firm grasp of regulations for command officers. No more was she the typically quiet, surprisingly hard-partying lieutenant or ensign. It had been events on the Repulse, first the opportunity to command and then the necessity of being in command after the Undine infiltrator that had replaced Captain Corlett had been dealt with, which had changed her attitudes. And now, it seemed, being away from command for the first time since her promotion to captain eight years earlier had led the newly-minted rear admiral down the same path of dalliance which her younger self would have taken. Was there something special, or unique, about Leo? The possibility was there, but the more Tw'eak thought about it, she didn't want it to be true. This was a man who put himself in harm's way with a vengeance. Their conversation the night before showed as much - he was here not because he believed in it, but because he had to achieve something by his time with Selkirk Rex.

She heard the sonic shower's distinctive whirring noise deactivate, and after a moment, Leo appeared in a state of half-dress. "Well, that was disappointing. I thought for sure you'd come and join me."

"Sorry," Tw'eak replied. "I figured out the replicator. Does that count?"

"What is that, coffee? Raktajino?"

"Katheka. It's not bad. These replicator patterns of yours need some serious help."

"I've never tried katheka. Think it might help with this headache?"

Tw'eak pulled her mug back towards herself. "Not this stuff. There's better to be had. Start there, believe me."

"I'm just gonna-" Leo tossed a thumb over his shoulder.

"Yeah." Tw'eak took a sip. "So... I was thinking."

"Uh-oh."

"I don't think you really like Selkirk Rex all that much."

"What, you mean Kwazii?" Leo ducked around the corner but leaned out to make eye contact with Tw'eak as he spoke. "You do know that Selkirk Rex thing is just for show, right?"

"But it's an important show. To him, to the crew."

"Yeah, I hate it. He's far too hesitant. No command experience, that's his problem. It's part of the reason I was hoping you'd be here to stay. Would be nice to actually get things done for once."

"I think he's handled things brilliantly. He's created a persona, yes, but those sorts of affectations are a normal part of being in command. I can remember meeting Captain Picard for the first time, and waiting for him to tug on his uniform, or get a cup of Earl Grey, hot, out of the replicator. Sometimes part of being in command is giving people something comfortable to cling to, mentally."

Leo stood up, intently listening. "You served on the Enterprise?"

"Yeah. Years and years ago. My first assignment, just after the refit. She was the first Sovereign-class starship I served on. Was on another, the Nelson, for ten, eleven years, I think? It's where I lost my arm."

"See, I... wow. I had no idea. I mean, I knew about your arm. Never mind."

"Picard was an excellent captain, and I learned a lot serving under him, but he wasn't without his affectations. The same way I'd imagine your hero Ben Sisko would've been. There's a baseball in his office. Have you ever been to DS-Nine? They kept his office just as is. I had to look it up in order to find out what it was - I'd never seen one before." Tw'eak chuckled. "I can imagine it must annoy Captain Kurland to have to leave a whole section of his operational deck as a museum."

"It's not so much the pirate thing, Tw'eak. It's that he's only a leader when it's for show. He's all yo-ho-ho and rum-tum-tugger when the crew's there, but trying to actually organize anything and he's just ridiculous. Every last detail has to be just so... You and me, together, we could liberate every slave holding in this sector block in a week."

Tw'eak took a sip and considered. "I'm flattered you think that way, but that's not how it'd go down."

"Well, you know what I mean- he just dithers and waits, like he's more concerned with everything else other than dealing with these slavers."

"It's a smart tactic. To go back to your example, if you and I declared war on every slaver within a hundred parsecs, they'd learn to work together. And we'd be done in a day, and half the quadrant would know we'd failed. He's picking his fights and he's tending to the people you save. But he's also not making enough of a name for himself as to motivate the Orions to actually do something about him."

"It shouldn't matter. These people are slavers. They need to be stopped."

"Yes, but you've got reasons for feeling that way."

"Damn right I do." Now fully clothed, Leo stepped up to the replicator. "I don't think it's unreasonable for me to feel that way, either." After a moment, he took a platter bearing a plate of steak and eggs, and sat down to eat. "Did you eat yet?"

"No, I wasn't all that hungry yet. I usually do better to eat something just before we leave."

"Understandable. You're worried."

"We've gone over this plan. We've got this."

Leo nodded, mumbling something despite a mouth full of steak. He swallowed hard. "Sorry. Yeah. We do."

"Okay." Tw'eak drank the rest of her katheka. "Figure we've got... what, three hours until we get there?"

"About that. We could check with the boss if you wanted."

"No, I'll just head back to the shuttle, get everything ready, maybe take a bit of a nap. I'll see you." She stood up and moved towards the door.

Leo reached out for her hand as she passed. "Hey! That's it?"

"That's what?"

"After last night and everything we had- and you're just going? Just like that?"

"I'm sorry, there's a lot to do. Just felt I should get to it. Besides, I don't want to eat anything, and that smells really good, so I'm going to leave you to it."

"You just- okay. Okay, I'll see you."

Tw'eak fought the instinct to roll her eyes. "Look, I just want to check off a few of the boxes, get a feel for what we're doing down there." She shifted her weight onto one leg. "I can't just sit at a time like this."

"Sure." Leo cut a piece of steak and ate it, seemingly ignoring Tw'eak. For whatever reason, this made her feel incredibly insignificant, and it angered her.

"And go easy on Selkirk, okay? He's doing the best he can without any safety net out here. Take it from me, that's not easy to do."

Leo continued chewing for a moment, then interrupted. "You don't think we're going to be able to support you?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Tw'eak gave Leo a foxy smile. "Big bad ex-Marine, charging in all hard and ready to roll up the entire Orion Syndicate... should I go practice my damsel-in-distress routine?" Tw'eak made a few twitching motions, her face feigning terror.

"Wow, okay. Don't make that face again."

"We're more than capable of handling this. Once we get Dashii out of there, you're welcome to go on in and do whatever you think will help whoever else is there. But I don't want any complications." Tw'eak felt a building anger in her tone, and she wondered where it came from.

"Complications? You think I want to complicate this?"

"You want to know what I think? The only reason you're part of this mission is because the very man you just got through criticizing saw fit to put you in my way."

"In your way? Who's in-?"

Tw'eak didn't let him finish. "I will not -will NOT- be looking for your inputs or appraisals while we're down there. You're along to provide us with a secure line of retrieval, not to come crashing in whenever your sense of valour decides it's time."

"Hold on a minute-"

"Hold on, nothing. I'll be on deck. Get your team and your gear, and be ready for the drop."

Leo leaned back from the table, arms outstretched before his half-eaten meal. "Where did that even come from?"

Tw'eak didn't bother to answer. She already regretted all that she had said. Her insecurities had gotten the better of her, and she had lashed out at, and wounded, a man who had been so tender, so intimate with her just a few hours before. She knew exactly what T'Uni would have told her - that she was forcibly putting an irrational distance between herself and him, in case the worst should come to worst. But it didn't stop the ache in the pit of her stomach, or the feeling that she had just made a massive mistake.

She hadn't been fast enough moving down the corridor. She heard a door open behind her. "Just hold on a minute. Hey, Tw'eak!"

Tw'eak turned to see Leo standing in the door, dressed save for his bare feet. "What?"

"You don't get to just tell me what to do. This is my drop as much as it is yours."

"Oh, really?" Tw'eak felt her anger boil over again. "Even here I can't just do what needs to be done - I have to answer to you, too."

"Yeah, you do. What the hell is this? Why are you so upset?"

"Why am I so upset? You just don't get it, do you?"

"No. Now can you please come back in here and explain it to me? I don't need the whole crew knowing, for Christ's sake."

Tw'eak crossed her arms, half-tempted to walk away. She could feel a rising sense that if she did just that, everything - not just her mission, but so many other things - would be completely different. She took a few steps, sulkily, and went back inside Leo's cabin.

Leo moved around his cabin. "Now, I'm gonna get my boots on. You talk."

"Talk? About what?"

"About what just happened. You seriously thought you were just going to yell your way out of here?"

"Who says I was thinking," Tw'eak snarked.

"That's exactly it. God, I don't get you. You show up and I think to myself, this woman's amazing, she's so much in command, and that is so, so sexy."

"In command. That's the problem. I'm always in command. I always have to be in command. I carry myself through the corridors of my ship, and I go through the motions of command, but I can never be who I am, never let anyone hurt me, or feel anything - I can't..." Tw'eak pressed a hand to her face. "Last night I felt... like I haven't felt in years. I felt young and in love, and I-"

"Whoa," Leo interrupted, strapping his boot closed. "You are young. Aren't you?"

"I'll be forty-seven in a few months."

"Jesus. I... thought I was older than you. You're even more beautiful than I thought."

"Oh, just- just shut up, will you? This would've all been so much easier if you hadn't been so... so... damn it."

Leo closed his other boot and stepped over to Tw'eak. "What, handsome? Debonair?"

Tw'eak looked up at him, and replied, "No. Sincere." She stood up and put her arms around him. "I don't want anything to happen to you today, down there."

Leo returned her embrace. "It won't. I'm more worried about you anyway. I can barely stand to be apart from you, y'know."

"Well, I meant what I said. No complications."

Leo brushed her hair aside and kissed her softly on the cheek. "No more complications, I think you mean."

"Yeah."

"I don't think either of us were expecting this to happen. But we're here. And I'm not going to let you down today. I promise."

Tw'eak looked up at him, his big dark eyes radiating with concern. "I meant what I said, you know. I think I want this to be more than just a one-night thing."

"Sober, right?"

Tw'eak laughed. "Yeah. Sober."

"What'd you mean by all that 'command' stuff? I didn't really follow you."

"I'm a rear admiral now. There's a whole task force of people who look up to me. I'm... I'm not comfortable there. Never really have been. I like parts of it, like being in combat, or going to diplomatic functions, or even just being able to support my crew. But there's so much more - mediating other people's problems with each other, survey missions, all that other stuff."

"I know exactly what you mean. I think half the time I was a Marine, I was on guard duty or patrol. Not much ever happens there. The other half the time was meals or sleeping. It's why I went Recon - and that still wasn't much more fun."

"But you're in command here. Sort of, right?"

Leo brushed some of Tw'eak's hair to one side. "Not exactly. But I see your point about Selkirk. He's really up against it, isn't he?"

"Yeah. Believe me, it's hard. At least he was smart enough to pretend to be someone completely different from who he really is when he's on that deck. I wish I'd thought of that."

Leo reached up and placed one hand over Tw'eak's right eye. "Yeah, that look doesn't suit you."

Tw'eak turned her head to one side, blushing. "Stop."

"It's those eyes of yours... so blue, so expressive. I can tell you a thousand stories about you just by looking into those eyes."

"You can?" Tw'eak blushed, hesitating to make eye contact, then locking on and refusing to look away.

"Yeah. I want to hear more of them. I want to know everything about you. I really mean it."

Tw'eak felt herself flushing. "See, that's just it. It's not that you want to know. Not just that, anyway - I'm sure lots of people want that from me. But I want you to know. It's the first time I've felt that way about someone ...in a long time."

"Same here. I'd just gotten used to me being me. But I like I am a whole lot better now that I'm doing it for you."

Tw'eak pulled Leo close and kissed him, softly, yet passionately. Unlocking from their embrace, she said, "same here," in a tiny voice, then straightened herself up. "Anyway, I... haven't checked my combat suit yet. I'm gonna need it to stay cool on Nimbus."

"I'll be down in a minute." Leo looked back towards the table. "I was kind of enjoying that."

"Sorry I... sorry I ruined it for you."

"It's okay. You came back. That's what matters."

Tw'eak pulled herself back closely towards Leo once more. "I will, you know. Just saying."

"You bet," Leo replied. "And I'll be watching for you." Another quick kiss, and Tw'eak left, back down the corridor once again, this time with a lighter heart than before.

On the shuttle deck, Zed was already in his combat environmental suit, calibrating his medical equipment, when Tw'eak came in.

"Hey," she said to him. "Where's K'Vor?"

"In the shuttle. Still asleep, if you can believe it. Everything all right?"

"Yeah, I just... never mind."

Zed gave Tw'eak a frustrated look. "We're still a go? Don't tell me I'm calibrating this for nothing."

"Still a go, don't worry."

"No last-minute changes to the plan, I hope? I hate last-minute changes."

Typically, Tw'eak found Zed's ability to take almost any turn of events in stride to be a reassuring, even admirable trait. Today, though, it matched her mood perfectly. "No changes," she said breezily.

"Good. Just like we planned, then." Zed looked up. "You get accommodations on deck last night or something? We didn't see you come back to the shuttle."

"Something like that, yeah."

"Made more room for me and Aewon that way. As it was, we had to shut the doors. K'Vor makes an awful racket when he's drunk. The boy likes opera."

Tw'eak nodded, smiling. "I can understand that." She looked over at the shuttle, confused. "He's not noisy now."

"That's because I gave him a little help sleeping when he wasn't looking. A big heaping Klingon-sized dose of sedative. It'd put you or me to sleep for a few days. You know Klingons... they do better when they're rested." Zed made a noise that was half-guffaw, half-snicker. "Makes you wonder what Commander duBois sees in him, am I right?"

"C'mon now, Zed."

"Sorry. He's behind me, isn't he?" Zed looked over his shoulder in the direction of the shuttle, at the softly-snoring Klingon. "Good. But seriously, you okay? You seem a little more... I don't know, mellow. Not what I was expecting this morning."

"Mellow?" Tw'eak feigned indignation. "That is a hell of a thing for you to call me."

"You know what I mean. We've done hundreds of missions like this, usually you're like a caged sehlat at times like this."

"Well, I did have some Andorian ale last night. It was just like I remembered - good stuff. It'd been a long time since I'd had it. Felt great"

"Yeah, I can understand that. I get the same way about Saurian brandy. My family, we're all about the brandy - it's what we do. I worked in the distillery, as a kid. Replication's great, but not for brandy. Has to be just right. Like we do it."

"Oh, it's not like that in my family. In fact, I didn't try the stuff until I got to the Academy, if you can believe it."

Zed leaned back slightly, astonished. "I thought little blue kids were raised on the stuff."

"Yes and no. Synthehol was readily available by the time I came of age."

"Yeah, me too. Never hurt profits any, mind you. People know what they like. I know I do." Zed smiled. "Anyway, that distillery was part of the reason I went into science - loved watching how all those tubes connected to each other, the processes at each length and turn of the pipes. Maybe that explains why I decided to be a field medic, too. It's just different pipes, after all."

Tw'eak laughed, pinching her arm as if in examination. "Yeah. Never thought of it like that."

Zed leaned forward. "You know, I want you to know that, whatever happens down there, I'm right behind you."

"I know. I'm glad you came along." Tw'eak patted Zed's knee.

"She is your sister and all. To hell with regulations when it's family." Zed considered for a moment. "Hey, what do we do if we find they have other hostages there?"

Tw'eak shook her head. "Sorry, what?"

"Other hostages. You know, at the base."

"We'll figure that out when we get there."

Zed nodded, but his face registered concern. "Just seems likely."

"Worst case scenario? We've got a full-scale civilian evac into a desert environment. We'll have to call for support, I guess."

"From who? Selkirk?"

"No, probably the Republic. We'll have to try and hold the position until they can send reinforcements. I don't know, I... I mean, I considered it. We'll have to check the operations plan with Operative de Salaberry."

"Right." Zed looked down. "Never heard of that one before."

"Of what?"

"A salaberry. I've heard of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries - those are all just from Earth - and tulaberries-"

"It's an old Earth name, from France. Has nothing to do with berries like you're thinking."

"That's too bad. I could go for a nice set of tulaberries right about now." Zed looked up. "Hey, how'd you know that? France, I mean."

Tw'eak smiled enigmatically. "Admiral's prerogative. Come on, help me get suited up."