DISCLAIMER: Grrr...don't own, don't sue.
So. It's a story.
But I need your help.
A lot.
It was a big help when I actually got reviews, y'know...
I've decided that since I know I have at least 5 readers, I'm going to ask for 5 reviews per chapter or else I won't post. Since I didn't get my five reviews last chappy, I'm asking for ten. Please, people.
Hahaha...yes, I know I'm a Sith. Or an evil little Norse-god loving meeping being. Speaking of meeping beings...fear the birds. They will eat you...sitting in their trees and watching us...carry umbrellas, as they can't figure them out.
Thanks, Mr. Dailey, for warning me of (insert doom music here) the birds...
This is your chapter. Take it or leave it.
Read and review. The Captain demands it.
"HE THAT DIES PAYS ALL DEBTS"
-from The Tempest
"Junior Lieutenant Joann K'Valot. Half-Klingon, Half-Terran, female, age 23. Centurion Sean Nile. Trill, male, age 29. Junior Lieutenant Marek Paolar. Half-Romulan, Half-Vulcan, male, age 30," she said, rolling the names off her tongue as she began to name her attackers.
"Any other witnesses, Commander?"
"Not that I'm aware of. Aside from Junior Lieutenant Malia Joseph," she said to the grinning face of Tapel Enaren.
"Malia Joseph? What was she doing there?" he asked, not just curious but jealous if it was what he thought...
Jayvin flushed, clearly embarrassed.
"Well...nothing really, just talking..." she said, blushing furiously now.
"Nothing. Right. It's not like I really mind, anyway," he replied, his gentle voice now filled with a rich under-purr.
"Tapel," she groaned, hoping the use of his last name would calm him down, "what's wrong?"
"Nothing, actually," he responded, just now realizing how short Jay came up on relationships. She had no idea...
Sitting cross-legged, the monster of human creation pondered the day's events.
Was he the only one who already saw what would happen? The only one who realized just how threatened the ship was?
Apparently not.
He could 'hear' the thoughts of one particular mind.
What if this happens to me again? Why can't everything go right for once in my goddamned life? Just once! When I was just a child, things didn't go right, I was always hurt, always hated, always loathed, and stared at by all the other people just because I wasn't a full Trill..I was 'contaminated' by my Vulcan blood. Nobody ever wanted to play. Nobody ever did anyway. Why do I even care? The only way I can be loved is by using the power I wield to make other people powerful too, but then I lose power and nobody cares and I'm just the seven-year-old girl on the street again...after Mom and Dad died. It was the extremists' fault. Mom and Dad were forced back into active duty. And then the Borg threat sent them on the wings of the 'fleet to die at Wolf 359. Picard...that beast...Picard killed my parents...
He quickly dropped out of the commander's thoughts, realizing he had heard what he should not have.
Jayvin was a lonely girl, but did she honestly deserve this? But then, he found himself eavesdropping...again.
And then, all of my officers, they're all just there because they owe me something from sometime in their past. I would even guess that Enaren would leave if I hadn't unchained him from that lab. I felt sorry for him, so sorry...and my intuition always ends up wrong...everyone thinks I'm so naïve. I'm not, I realize what's happening around me...and now, attempts on my life...maybe I should be the one who dies.
A wave of sadness filled his mind, coming from the same place the thoughts had been. It was Jayvin, all right. She was depressed. Everyone could see that, though. With the way she treated others and herself, it was obvious that either she was much wiser than her years (of course, that was true), depressed (true as well), or in posession of a Trill symbiont (which meant nothing, really). She didn't have a symbiont, though she had always envied Dax, Fal, Liga, Gard, and Mat. Dax was in the hands of the Federation; it was off-limits. Fal was in a mere child; Jay might not like kids, but she would never kill them on purpose. Liga was a military leader, but heavily guarded enough that she was too smart to even try. Gard was an insanely violent symbiont—every single one of its hosts had been either killed in battle or committed suicide. And Mat...Mat was a symbiont she had once been contacted by while meditating in the symbiont pools, if he remembered correctly. It had never been joined.
But for now...he knew that he could comfort her. His insane mind came up with a plan that would at least lighten her up.
Reading the Shakespeare play, Othello, Jayvin calmed her raging emotions down. Gently petting the small kitten she had just found in the hallway, she watched contentedly as it purred.
One of its ears had been injured, and it had surprisingly grey eyes, just like herself. Grey fur, grey-green eyes. And a pink button for a nose...the said nose was damp and cold.
Such a cute little wee beastie, she mused, allowing herself to act the age she was...for once.
Petting it right between the ears, the little kitten yawned and resumed purring, managing to fall asleep on Jayvin's lap. She knew that, by her own rules, she wasn't allowed to have the little kitten here. But it was so sweet...and who else would take care of it?
"Wake up, little one," she spoke quietly, as if someone might actually hear her. "I need to get rid of you, you funny little thing." As if it understood what she was saying, it mewed softly and settled back down on her lap, rolling on its back to look at her.
It's a female cat.
Maybe I can keep it.
"I'll name you Tenshi," she murmured. "You're my little angel, that's what Tenshi means, did you know that?" she asked it while rubbing it between the ears. "Little Tenshi. No, wait. Akutenshi. I ought to name you Akutenshi. Aku means bad. You're not supposed to be here, little Tenshi. You're not supposed to," she smiled warmly while petting it. "How about your name's Tenshi, but I call you Aku when you're bad? Hmm? What do you think, little one?"
She didn't get a response, as Tenshi was already fast asleep, curled in a little ball.
"Commander on deck!"
Enaren moved out of the command chair, yawning widely and displaying sharp, catlike canines as he sat back down in his own chair. The metal bridge of the Azrael left no room for comfort, really; without paint or padding on the walls, one could see the bulkheads. Yet at the same time, it left a sort of comfort. She allowed a lieutenant who was apparently obsessed with plants grow a simple ivy vine around the side of one of the bulkheads. Nothing else decorated the bridge though, with the metal command chairs being padded only with black leather cushions of a sort.
"Status?"
"We received a call from Engineering about twenty minutes ago, sir. They claimed that the warp field was malfunctioning enough that we're 'sitting ducks', in Sub Chalmed deBoer's own words," came the fast report.
"Great. No warp drive. I trust that we have phaser and disruptor banks charged?"
"Yes, sir. It's not a problem at all should we need to defend ourselves."
"Like now?"
A ship had just flashed out of warp near their warp nacelles.
"A thousand miles and closing, Commander."
"Federation vessel, New Orleans-class. Identification number NX-09654. It's the USS Hermes, sir," advised a centurion.
"Be ready to fire, lieutenant. On my mark," she called behind her.
"Yes, sir. Phaser and disruptor banks are on-line," came her reply.
"Excellent. Shields up! And ready...fire!" she called again, watching the beams of energy lance out in front of the Azrael. The said beams were intercepted by shields, but it only took a few more minutes and only a little bit of their own shields to destroy the vessel, or at least leave it in salvagable pieces.
"Belar to Transporter room Six. I need an away team assembled," she said into her combadge, nodding to Enaren and waving him to the turbolift. "Tapel's on his way, I want Chalmed there, as well as Centurion Brock. Lieutenants Indigo, Reede, and Melora should be fit for a security drill, be advised that the area is hostile. Out," she finished, sighing and slumping into her command chair, absently picking a few grey cat hairs off of her uniform.
It was a deathtrap waiting to happen.
The former USS Hermes was freezing cold, leaking air from various finger-sized holes. Nevertheless, the Azrael's away team had ventured into worse before. For instance, the Borg sphere.
It was an eerie space, though, Chalmed deBoer thought. It was much like the fields of graves on Bajor, or the Fire Caves, where the Pah-Wraiths dwelt.
Shivering, she placed a hand on her slightly swollen stomach. Her child, Chalmed Kiran, would be born soon. She never wanted Kiran to have to experience this. Sure, Belar was a responsible and often wise commander, but she was so young. Where is her mother now? Dead, or grieving for the child she once held within her? Wondering this, she nearly crashed into a large device. Now what the hell is this..?
"'Ay! Tapel! Haul over here!" she yelled. Hopefully he would recognize it.
"What, Chalmed?" he asked, leaping on all fours to clear a fallen beam, leaving the four humans behind.
"Take a look at this," she requested, whipping out a tricorder.
"It's a Romulan cloaking device. No, wait. This isn't Romulan... what's it doing on a 'Fleet ship?"
"I didn't know, that's why I asked."
"Well, this is now our prize. Not the Federation's. Let's get out of here," the Sub-Commander commented. "Tapel to Azrael, six to beam out. Home onto this signal as well, beam it to Cargo Bay Two. Initiate," he said, shimmering as the room began to cave in until the air was completely gone.
"We have a cloaking device, deBoer. Why can't we just use it?" questioned Belar.
"I'd like to run a diagnostic on the power transfer core. It's different from what your typical Romulan would use. You see here, here, and here," she said, pointing out both readings on her tricorder and areas on the device, "and you see our problem. The Feds aren't exactly big on experimentation, and I don't want this thing to blow a hole in the ship or anything, Commander."
"Whatever you wish, Chalmed. When's the child due?"
"Four months."
"Starting in five weeks, I want you off-duty. Spend some quality time cleaning your quarters up. I'm sure your husband will agree...you don't want the little one to tear up everything he sets his hands on!" With that, she laughed, a lilting one that was accompanied by a genuine smile.
"You know, Commander, I've never seen you smile or laugh before," she wondered aloud, curious.
Immediately Jayvin's mirthful expression fell to a depressed one, which was quickly re-covered by a commanding face.
"There's a reason for that," she muttered. Raising her voice, she talked a little louder while exiting the cargo bay. "I'd like your scans done by 1600 hours, Chalmed, if it's not too hard to manage. I'll sign the orders for your time off tonight. Have fun."
With that she left the room with a depressed and sad air about her, leaving the young Bajoran engineer to wonder aloud once again, saying the same thing many times to herself, puzzled at the enigma of a commander she had.
"What did I do wrong?"
She sighed gently, brushing a hand over her head, since there was barely any hair there for now. Her pale skin was cool, and as a result, she was cold. Entering the hallway near her room, she swore that she needed to change the regulations. Again. The corridors were required to be anywhere from 7 to 10 degrees Celcius, or from 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit; she had liked it at first, but now...it was cold. The again, space was cold. As was the universe. Turning a blind eye to life wasn't a very warm or friendly way to greet it. Instead, it slapped life in the face. Go figure.
Finally entering, she sighed happily, feeling the almost-tropical warmth of her room now. Seeing the exotic plants she had recently acquired made her feel happy, and the small waterfall-fountain of stone in her bedroom/work area's corner made the whole area feel serene and safe. As she marveled at the scenery around her, a small mewing animal brushed against her foot, licking her uniform pants and begging to be picked up.
Cupping the little kitten in her hands, she held her close. Laying on her back, she picked Tenshi up and began to play with her, making her dance. The entire time, Tenshi didn't complain or try to bite. And of course, there was the reward at the end, the small saucer of milk and the ear-scratch which was a reward to both of them; it ended in purring.
"Tenshi, you're honestly the best little friend I've ever had. All you ask for is love and a little attention here and there, and you love me no matter what...sweet little beastie." A small mew came from the kitten as it heard the silence. Jay smiled, not neglecting to spoil Tenshi with affection. "I'll always be here to take care of you, angel. Little angel." Of course, Tenshi responded by being a little angel and licking the girl's nose. Jayvin giggled, a slight sound, and smiled again, for the third time that week. Before, no one had ever seen her smile, except for her parents. Her father, though...
He had never liked to see her smile, and had scolded her for it.
"Jayvin, you are an exceptional compilation of two races, could you manage to perhaps control yourself a bit more?" Or maybe it was, "Daughter, in the history of Vulcan, we were once emotional people but eventually evolved to beyond that..."
He had hated it, just as she had in turn loved him and changed to please him, though it was never perfect. Never. He had loathed her for being too emotional and not Vulcan enough until the day of his death. And even then, she had mourned, wept, sobbed, and loved him, even missed him.
But now, she had someone to love, for once in her life.
"Tenshi, if only you could talk...you could ask me for anything and everything and I'd do it. Yes, I mean it, silly. You're such a gentle baby kitty, you know that? You remind me a lot of human babies, you're so innocent and sweet right now, but who knows what you'll be like when you grow up. I hope you're still innocent and adorably sweet," she remarked with a passing thought. Soon though, they were both asleep, Tenshi curled around Jayvin's head on the pillow.
Awww...kitty...I adopted a fish. It's cute. I have creatively named him 'Fishy'. Yep. Fishy. He's an adorable goldfish. Hee (smiles).
And I frighten my Geometry teacher.
It makes me sad, because he's like a dad to me. Maybe someday I can convince him to read this fic. Dunno. I'll probably take this part out though, I don't want to make him feel weird or anything just because of me. Go figure...that's just me.
It strikes me just how much I'm writing the Jayvin character to be like me. That in itself scares the crap out of me. I'm MPD, just like she was before assimilation. I love cats, and animals in general. I'm depressed a lot of the time, much like her. And I love Shakespeare. But no, you couldn't tell THAT at all from the titles, could ya? There's so much in her that I idolize. She can accept her own faults, take life as it comes at her. Not only that, but she knows what it's like to lose loved ones, and to let down a family that never really loved her anyway. She really is quite an amazing character.
I only want five reviews for this chapter, and I'll publish the next one. I promise...
And remember...fiftieth reviewer gets a letter and a picture...plus their name in the fic...please review...if I know you personally I'll give you cookies...no joke...
-Anij Jinn