***Time Is Too Slow…***

~Chapter 3~

Ocala'Dhael awoke face down on the hotel room bed, face buried in the pillow, and a knock at the door. Hadn't she been in the bar? She certainly reeked of liquor. She flipped over on the bed, feeling the throbbing between her ears. Hangover. Great.

"Ocala? Are you in there?" The knocking continued, making her head hurt more.

"I'm coming…" Ocala rolled off the bed, half standing, half falling to the floor. She struggled to reach the door, and pressed the button to let the visitor in.

Captain Draconis Tempest of the USS Deity stood in the doorway, calm expression on his face. His tranquility had saved their butt in battle more than once. The six foot Trill wore a green tunic and black plants on his slim figure. His green eyes that matched his tunic perfectly gave her the once over, lingering perhaps a little too long. Pulling his eyes to her face, he took her hands and led her toward the clothing cluttered couch.

"Are you OK? I came earlier and no one answered. I've been knocking at the door for five minutes before you came! What's wrong? Is it me? You rushed so quickly from the negotiations I just didn't know…" His tranquility slowly melted to fear.

"I went down to the bar and…well…got drunk." Ocala hid her reddening face. She knew he would never forget this.

"Ocala, you know what alcohol does to you…" He tried to appear serious, but a smile played on his lips. And this, coming from the man who could down bloodwine flagon after flagon. He put Klingons to shame. After all of their dinners together, she never knew how he managed to hold it in so well without becoming the slightest bit tipsy.

"I know…I just was so mad today. Those damn Romulans!" In spite of herself, she was shocked at what she said; her language wasn't normally so…colorful. She was so calm and collected that people sometimes thought she was Vulcan, a notion she wasn't too quick to expel.

Tempest's face went back to its mask of neutrality. "I know how much you dislike Romulans, but you are crucial to this mission, otherwise I would have left you on the Deity. But you know how Romulans work, and not many people know that." He leaned back, putting his arm around her. Ocala laid her head on his shoulder, surrendering. Her head hurt so much. "But your negotiating skills aren't that bad. They're almost -" That smile pulled at him again. "– as good as your fathers." Ocala's head shot up. Her eyes seemed to bore into him in a way that said, "Don't talk about him." Tempest's smile was wiped from his face when he started again. "You know, being the half daughter of the Romulan Senator Tremok is an advantage. And he controls the majority that resents us on the diplomatic board. The fact that you're part human could really help. Not that I would exploit you – " He looked at Ocala'Dhael with tenderness. " – But if it comes out, it's out. We might as well use it to out advantage. If that happened, no doubt that Tremok's side will fall, and the part that wants this treaty will become the majority." Was that a tear in Ocala's eye? She had never cried. This was so…un-Ocala, un-Romulan, and yet so human. Tempest was unsure about this person lying on his shoulder. She didn't seem right, but he couldn't pin down the problem.

"Can I stay here tonight?"

The question caught Ocala'Dhael off guard, even though it shouldn't have, considering he had stayed the night before,

"No…my head hurts..." And with that, she seemed to fall asleep.

Tempest carried her to her bed, tucking her in with her uniform still on. He then picked up some of the clothes, trying to tidy the place. He didn't want her to be so shocked when she woke up. Laying the diplomatic robes over a chair, he spotted his boxers on the floor and stuffed them in his pocket. He had wondered where they had gone. Glancing at the PADDs and the box on the dresser, he went over and collected all the PADDs into a single stack before look inside the box.

Ocala'Dhael loved her daggers more than anything. The only thing she collected, it was one of the two parts of her Romulan heritage that she seemed to embrace; the other was religion. The daggers were placed in the plush velvet with the tip of the blades cushioned in between more velvet so as not to damage them. They depicted great scenes of Romulan mythology: The quest for a home world, the twin brothers founding Romulus and Remus, the first great civil war, the Birth ceremony given to every Romulan, the Spirit ceremony where a bird was chosen to watch over the new Romulan – Ocala'Dhael literally meant fire bird in Romulan and was her own bird - and the splinter group leaving the planet to find a world that was much more habitable. Today, they had evolved into the Mintakins, a mix of Romulan and Vulcan, not much unlike Ocala herself. This last blade was the longest, the artisanship the most intricate, and it was given the place of honor in the middle position, slightly elevated. Closing the box with regret, for Tempest loved to examine the history of other cultures, he turned to leave, looking one last time at the figure that rested in the bed before letting the door shut behind him.

*****

Keei watched the red head stalk out and shook her head. Some people were sooo tetchy! She sighed wistfully. And he HAD been cute to.

Shrugging she turned to survey her surroundings once again. Exercise machines in one corner. Hot tub in the other, and pool in the middle. Nothing special, but all hers!

"Mwe-he-he-he-he-he-he." The chuckle was evil and power mad. the science officer cut herself short with a small cough and looked at the PADD holder next to her chair. With nothing else to do she took them out and skimmed their titles.

"'In space no one can hear you scream'. Yeesh that's old. Hmm...'It came from PYX752' Nah. Already read it. OOH!" She dropped the others back in the container clutching her find.

"Frozen Kisses! OHMIGOD! I can't believe it! It's stayed in print this long! Yay! Now I finally have it in my collection!" She squealed and settled down to read.

*****

After a quick check of the database by Aerial, Sarah employed her super-stealth to assign herself to the floor with the diplomats. Score, she told herself. Now it's time to spy. You like to spy, right? As she thought on this, she entered the elevator with her little pushcart of cleaning supplies. She hated getting on an elevator with anyone else around or people getting into the elevator while she was in it. She didn't know why, but when the elevator stopped on the lobby floor (she had come from the basement), Sarah was not very happy. Of course, that was before she looked at the man and noticed the Starfleet uniform. After being a bit indignant at the changes to the uniform to make it look so... different, she tried to discreetly memorize his face. If she could talk to him when she wasn't the maid...

Of course, then it crossed her mind to wondering why this man was not negotiating somewhere. It was late morning, and the talks typically would have begun by now. Perhaps he was the one they were looking for...

*****

Elenna poked her head into the hotel management area. "I can do this," she mumbled to herself. Her crew was counting on her to lie and to be deceptive so that the past could be restored and so that the future as she knew it would exist.

In the room, Elenna found a middle-aged man in a burgundy suit screaming at another man in navy blue. "What do ya mean that the shipment of clean linens is late? There's at least two hundred delegates here, not to mention the other guests!" screamed the manager.

"I'm sorry Mr.Chitnebers, that's what the cleaning staff told me to tell you," replied the younger man.

"Get the *#$ out, you *&#$#!" screamed the manager as the younger man darted out of the room.

"Excuse me sir; my name is Númora E. Súprimes and I have been told to help the management department as part of the internship for my college." She patiently waited with an outstretched hand for Mr. Chitnebers' response.

"Great! Just what I need, a $#$# college student on top of this insane &##0042 mess this *#$ hotel has dumped on my already chaotic &#*$ workload!" he bellowed.

"Mr. Chintebers, as an extra-circular activity I study peer meditation, conflict resolution, and other such things," she calmly stated.

"Oh really, that just *#$ peachy!" came the heated response.

"You need to calm down, sir." Elenna's natural instinct as a counselor jumped to life at his obvious need of help. "Is there anyone you could call in to temporally fill in for you? It's obvious that you are going through a lot of stress and some time away from work may help you to calm down."

The enraged man glanced at the young lady and through a loosely controlled voice stated, "Miss Súprimes, for all I *&#$ care you can run this god-awful ##0042#$ hotel. I'm leaving." And with that he huffed out of the hotel.

*****

Waking, Ocala'Dhael could still feel a sharp pain behind her ears. Trying to ignore it, she dragged her self into the sonic shower. Getting out, she put on her diplomats robes over her standard issue Starfleet uniform. She hated these robes, so cumbersome. But Starfleet felt the need to look, well, pretty. They were black, lined in gold and the color on your uniform, so Ocala's was a solid gold braid. She tried to do something with her hair, but it just wouldn't stay put. Pressing a hypospray against her neck, she relieved herself of the pain of a hangover. Apparently, Tempest at left it the night before.

Down in the lobby of the hotel, she met Tempest in his red edged robes. He gave her a slight grimace. Everyone hated the uniforms. They were given permission to transport over to the building that negotiations were going on in.

When the transporter shimmer faded, Ocala found herself being looked over by two guards, the same ones that had always been there. As per regulations, they searched them, scanned them, and did all but turn them inside out checking. They were given permission to pass, and they went wordlessly down a hallway, robes billowing behind them.

"Feeling better?" Tempest asked, twitching his lips. Ocala'Dhael shot him a look.

"Yes."

"Good. We'll need you today. We're going to start the good part, the bartering. We need a good deal on this one Ocala." He stopped right in front of the doors, preventing her from going in. He looked her straight in the eye. "Put aside whatever feelings you have for the Romulans in there, good or bad, and do your duty to Starfleet."

With that, Tempest pushed open the doors and walked down the blue carpet towards the center table.

*****

Keei finished the book and sighed. She'd been on duty all night! Where on Earth was her replacement? Looking around she spotted the red headed man again, this time in red swim trunks, a white tank top and a whistle.

" . . . Crud." She got down from the chair and bowed smiling.

"You come most carefully upon your hour!" To her surprise he grinned, replying,

"'Tis now struck twelve; get thee to bed." The small Science officer shivered slightly as a draft blew in from somewhere.

"For this relief much thanks: 'tis bitter cold. And it's a heckuva lot later then twelve!" They both chuckled at that and he nodded.

"Sorry, Got held up in the elevator, so many drunks heading back to their rooms, took me forever to get down." Keei grinned.

"Well now that you're here, I'm gone!" And she skipped happily to the bar, ignoring the stares she got from the remaining patrons and the few morning drinkers trickling in.

*****

Amid the sea of files, PADDs, and folders, Elenna found herself slowly becoming frustrated with the myriad of problems the hotel created.

"I wonder how Sarah can handle the crew! The hotel staff can be at times the most incompetent beings I've met. They complain, but don't try to resolve their own problems; they always need someone to hold their hand through this process or be given the answer. Don't these people have brains?"

Elenna paused; why had she just lashed out to the air? The mounting frustration annoyed her to no end.

"When I get back to the ship, I'm going to go to the holodeck," mumbled Elenna. "I could finger paint or make confetti. Yeah! That could probable relieve the stress I'm feeling! A jump into the plastic ball pit could also be fun."

Childhood novelties like finger painting and model building never ceased to bring a glimmer of joy to Elenna.

*****

Keei plopped onto a barstool, braid swinging back and forth.

"Shirley Temple, please!" She hummed happily slowly swiveling around on the stool.

"Keei, you're going to screw it in to the ground if you keep that up." The miniature science officer/life guard grinned.

"Heh heh heh." Tana rolled her eyes.

"You pervert."

*****

Sarah supposed she should become more stealthy after the man in the elevator seemed to notice her interest in him. Wait, had she just given herself a wonderful cover idea? Yes. Yes she had. When he looked over her way she turned and thought as hard as she could about... embarassing things. The man smiled a little. She supposed he was thinking about how much she dug him.

This went on for a few more excruciating eternities--I mean, seconds until the lift came to a stop with a ding. Sarah pushed her cleaning cart out of the elevator and down the hallway briskly. When she turned the corner and waited quietly, she didn't hear footsteps. She had lost him. For now.

Berating herself at her clumsiness, she found her way to the diplomatic suites. She knocked, "Housekeeping." No answer. At this point, she unlocked the room and proceeded inside. This room was just a bedroom. She resigned herself to cleaning it thoroughly. Oh, and spying. That too. It just was going to take some time...

*****

"Now, sir, it really wasn't that bad ..."

Kinta fumed. "WASN'T THAT BAD, ARIA? WASN'T THAT BAD?"

"Well, at least you're safe!"

He replaced the bandages along the side of his left leg as he quietly cursed, counted to ten, and replied. "At least until the next drunk throws me out a second story window onto the sidewalk! Aria, honestly, why the hell did you send me to a bar? I asked for a hotel, for God's sake."

The cheerful, dark-haired officer laughed as she bashfully answered, "I'm sorry! I got the addresses to the 'Hotel Commodore' and 'Thar She Blows' mixed up."

An eyebrow raised. "Why would you have the bar's address anyway? You don't seem like the drinking type."

"Sure I am! I mean, I don't drink often, but I have to have a place to unwind once in awhile, y'know? I'd been meaning to take you there after work sometime. It's a fun place!"

Kinta rolled his eyes. "You have excuses to unwind? Pfft. And that's a stupid idea. You know I'm allergic to alcohol."

"Sorry, sir."

"Another thing," he continued. "That wasn't exactly a bar young ladies would be safe visiting." He raised his left arm which was covered in a cast. "How is it you get out of there alive and a virgin?"

She giggled. "Daddy owns the place. He makes sure nothing happens to me."

"Right. Anyway. I have to go look for my new crew. You take care of yourself."

Aria saluted. "I'll be with you once my transfer papers go through."

"Good God. Aria, why do you have to follow me around?"

"Someone's gotta take care of you, sir! Heaven knows you take care of everyone else."

He snorted. "Right. Later days."

He signed off and finished replacing the last of his bandages. He picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, then carried his suitcase with his good hand. He headed to the elevator so that he could check out of the hotel at the downstairs lobby. He had no clue where the Empire was, or where he should've started to look.

As the elevator door opened, there seemed to be a small point of light hovering in the center of the space inside. Kinta leaned forward to investigate. "What the--?"

The light grew and swallowed him up.

*****

"OH SHIT!" He screamed as he landed on his hurt side. Pain shot through his arm and leg as he twitched in the elevator. The elevator was different, though. The one he had been in had blue painted walls and carpeting while this one had a dark maroon.

The elevator doors opened once again and Kinta limped out. He was still in a hotel, very similar to the one he had stayed in just 5 minutes ago. He scanned his surroundings when he spotted through an open room's door ...

"Captain Cosmo? Good God, please tell me it's you...!"

*****

One of things Sarah did not miss from Earth was blinds. Every time she used them, she pulled the string somehow so they never worked. So, she was getting annoyed (for a Vulcan), and Kinta yelling her name behind her did not help.

"I do not know why you are yelling at me, sir, but if you could calm down, perhaps I could speak with you." She turned around, and Kinta seemed to shrink under her gaze.

"Um, I'm sorry, must have mistaken you for someone else," he said loudly. Then his eyes darted from side to side, and he entered the room. "Are you really not Captain Cosmo?" he whispered.

Sarah prayed for patience. "I am undercover. How did you get here?"

"I dunno."

"Great." It was at this point that she noticed the bandages running up his side. "What happened to you?"

"I was thrown out a window."

"Did you see a doctor?"

"...Not really."

"Then go down to the bar and make yourself useful."

"But... Bar..."

"I said, go to the bar. Now, Mr. Sun."

Kinta sighed but moped himself away. Sarah almost sighed and went back the blinds of doom. Katana could deal with him.

*****

Aerial looked up at the never-ending line of people and swallowed hard. She really had no information to help them with, so she was in for a creative morning – making everything up. She stepped up to the counter and called out, "I can help the next person!"
A mass of 30 people fought their way into her line, dragging heavy suitcases and battling for places. First person in her line was a young couple, who kept muttering something about a "lousy honeymoon". Aerial finally gathered that they were on their honeymoon and since the hotel and the city were restricted, they couldn't go do anything. She searched really quick for an idea, and all she could find within arms length was the cup of kiddie crayons, so she handed them three and said, "Draw some pictures, it's good for the soul."
"Huh?" they accepted the crayons, bewildered and she brushed them out of line, "Next please."

*****

Keei swirled her drink around in the glass. She'd been up for a full day, but since she was past the four AM hurdle she could go for another day without sleep. . . as long as she didn't slow down...She set the glass on the bar liquid untouched.

"On second thought Tana, Can I have a root beer?"

*****

Katana blinked as the man sat down at the bar, mumbling softly in a pitiful tone. His bandage covered appearance reeked of 'bar fight', and yet, no reek of alcohol over him.

"Can I get you a drink?" she asked, as timidly as she would, and the man winced.

"God, no. Unless you have something not made of the demon drink back there," he muttered. Katana blinked, and slid him over a glass of water. He sniffed it delicately, and took it with a light nod of thanks.

"Uh, is there something I can do you for?" she asked, and he sighed.

"Unless you happen to be a surgeon or something, I don't think so," he grumbled. Katana smirked slightly. Keei shuddered from her seat a few stools down, and sighed down at the root beer which had just lost its taste.

"And if I was?" she asked, and he really looked up. He quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, one... Do I know you, and two, help?" he said. She grinned.

"Name's Katana McCoy," she replied. His eyes widened slightly. "C'mon," She said with a grin, "I'll put up the be right back sign, and we'll get you patched up better." She left the sign she'd created as part of her drunken passenger ferry system, and escorted Kinta firmly out of the room.

*****

Keei sighed as Tana left and rested her forehead on the bar. So long, away from home. No E-letters from her parents or little brother. Dammit, they didn't even exist anymore.

"Show me the way to go hoooome. . .I'm tired and I want to go to bed. . ." She took another sip of the root beer.

"No rest for the wicked and the officers." She chugged the last of the carbonated drink and trudged out to see what was happening around the hotel. She passed a young married couple coloring happily together in the lobby, and had to punch a pervert who tried to pull down her shorts. His friend shook his head sadly.

"Stupid, man."

"It was worth it!"

She passed the room where the negotiations were going on and stopped for awhile just to admire some of the invective being used, what she could hear of it anyway. Then she nodded to the guards and moved on. It took all her will power to act like she didn't know Sarah when she saw her in the hallway, exchanging polite nods and raising a rather eloquent eyebrow.

"I need chocolate." With that as incentive she was off to find a vending machine.

*****

Elenna dignifiedly walked to the bar. One negative aspect of her job as a "manger" was that she had to make monthly rounds to check up on the quality of the hotel's services. According to the schedule left by Mr. Chitnebers, the bar was due for a check up.

Upon arriving, Elenna noticed the sign the Katana had left. "Great! I'll come back later. Maybe the bartender will be back," said Elenna out loud. Inwardly, she was quite happy with Katana for taking care of the drunken patrons. Somehow she could write this up in her "report" about the reliability and the service of the hotel.