"I say that Hitchcock would win," Ben said evenly.

"No way," Miguel replied. "Hitchcock would not beat Xena in a mud wrestling match."

"Yes she would!"

"No chance man! Xena is like, an amazon woman. She'd wipe the floor with Katie," Miguel reasoned.

"What do you think Tim?" Ben asked.

"I'm staying out of this one," he replied.

"Eh...you're no fun Tim."

"Hey, fun for me does not consist of getting punched in the eye by Katie Hitchcock when she walks in and hears me talking about…what you're talking about." Miguel and Ben both laughed.

"It's true, she'd kick your ass," Ben said.

"Exactly," Tim replied.

"Helllooo," Ben said, looking over Tim's shoulder. Miguel and Tim turned around to see Dr. Levin and Katya walking toward them.

"Who's that?" Miguel asked.

"Don't know," Tim replied.

"We're about to find out," Ben quipped as the two reached their table.

"Ben, Tim, Miguel, this is Katya Derevenko. She's my new research assistant."

"Nice to meet you, very nice indeed," Ben said, shaking her hand, then wincing as Tim kicked him under the table. "What the hell Tim?"

"Never mind him, he's a cretin," Tim said to Katya. "Tim O'Neill."

Katya chuckled. "Nice to meet you. You must be Ben," she said, turning back to look at him.

"Yep, that's me."

"I'm Miguel," she heard a voice say. She turned and saw Miguel sitting next to Tim.

"Nice to meet you as well," she said.

"Do you mind if Katya has lunch with you three? She's a bit lost here and I need to get back to work."

"Don't mind at all Doctor," Ben replied. "Have a seat." Katya sat down quietly as Dr. Levin walked away.

"Are you hungry? Would you like me to get you something?" Tim asked.

"Actually, I'm starving. What's on the menu?"

"Cardboard," Ben said with a smirk.

"Sounds tasty," Katya replied.

"There is pretty much the basics; sandwiches, soup, and then whatever mystery dish they're serving up as lunch."

"I'll take some soup, thanks." Katya said, giving Tim a grateful smile.

"Soup it is then. Coming right up," Tim said, walking away from the table.

"So, Katya, what's a pretty girl like you doing here? Seems to me you could find something more worthwhile." Ben said.

"I'm assisting Dr. Levin with some of his experiments. I didn't know that looks played a part in what one would consider a worthwhile investment. It certainly didn't help in your case anyway," Katya fired back.

Miguel burst out laughing. "Ouch, and Ben goes down!"

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Oooo…aren't we a feisty one. Touché Katya. I think you and I will get along well."

Katya smirked. "You can call me Kat."

"Kat. Easy to remember."

Tim returned with her soup and some crackers, along with a glass of water. "Thanks Tim, I really appreciate it."

"No problem. Being the new person can be a bit scary."

Katya nodded, but froze as she felt someone else's eyes on her. Looking to her left, she saw that Lucas had entered the mess hall and was staring at her. He wasn't happy. Were these his friends?

"What's up with Wolenczak?" Miguel asked.

"Don't know. Hey Luke! C'mere!" Ben shouted. Lucas just shook his head and moved off to get his food. "Whoa, he didn't even correct me on the Luke thing. Something is definitely up."

"He doesn't like me," Katya said simply. They all turned to look at her.

"Why not?" Miguel asked.

"Because he doesn't trust 'spyers' as he calls me."

None of the men spoke for a moment. Ben broke the silence. "You're a psychic?"

"Among other things, yes."

"Wow, that's awesome. But yeah, Lucas isn't down with psychics."

Katya shrugged. "There's nothing I can do about that. I am what I am, and I can't avoid everyone on the ship because he doesn't like me."

All three of them nodded and then watched Lucas walk by and plant himself at the table next to theirs. He was close enough to talk to Miguel and Tim, but far enough away that he could avoid any conversation with Katya. Ben shook his head.

"So, tell us about yourself Kat." Miguel said.

"Well, if you can't tell by my name, I come from a Russian family in San Francisco. They left Russia to get away from the revolution, and took their money with them. As you probably know, any wealthy family was a target for the Bolsheviks. We've been in San Francisco ever since."

"Wow, that's quite a history," Tim said. "Do you speak Russian?"

"Yes, but only when I have to. I speak French, German, Spanish and Italian too."

Ben whistled. "Another genius."

"Not quite," Katya replied. "I'm kind of glad not to fall into that category. My life has been hard enough as it is."

"Lucas over there and Sam are both geniuses. Lucas graduated from Stanford last year."

"Really? Very impressive, it's a tough school," she said, loud enough for Lucas to hear her. "I did all of my college course work through home study."

"Why?" Ben asked.

"I'm not sure. I've never gone to an actual school; my parents were worried about security, even at home. I've always had security guards watching me; and for school I always had tutors."

"There had to be a reason for that," Miguel said.

"If there was I have no idea what it was. I feel a bit ripped off to tell the truth. I missed out on a lot of things."

"What is your degree in?"

"I have a Master's Degree in Parapsychology and a Bachelor's in Literature."

"A Master's?" Ben asked, incredulous.

"Ben, I had no life to speak of. When that's the case, doing the course work isn't a biggie," she replied with a smile.

"What do you like to do?" Tim asked.

"I love music, all kinds, except country," she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "I've never gotten into that sound. My favorite is alternative rock; I like a lot of the stuff from the 90's and later on. I love to read and write, though I do mostly short stories."

"Very cool," Miguel said.

Lucas couldn't help but overhear the conversation. They had some things in common. Were she not a spyer, he'd love to talk to her. She sounded interesting.

"Hey Lucas, who do you think would win in a mud wrestling match between Hitchcock and Xena?" Ben called out.

"My money's on Hitchcock," Lucas answered absently.

"How about you Kat? Who do you think would win?"

"I don't know. Who's Hitchcock?"

"I am," said a voice from behind them. They all turned. "Lieutenant Commander Katie Hitchcock," she said, shaking Katya's hand.

"Nice to meet you," Katya said. "You have beautiful eyes."

Hitchcock smiled. "Thanks! Oh, and Ben? I'd kick her ass," she replied before walking away.

Katya started to laugh as the men sat; dumbfounded by the answer they'd just received. Lucas, in spite of himself, started laughing too.

"God I love that woman," Ben said.