Chapter Six - The Crane's Spirit: Part Two

They followed Sivron to a door that reminded Jett of the doors that were on Zuikaku's holodecks. They opened onto the floor of the exhibit itself. Jett was speechless as Sivron led them toward the wreck of the great ship, and out of the corner of his eye he could tell even Kalinara was impressed. He managed to regain his voice and speak to the curator.

"Sir, to my knowledge, visitors aren't allowed here."

Sivron smiled.

"Captain, you and Commander Price are special cases. You're crewmembers of the starship which bears this vessel's name. I can think of no one who deserves this honor more than you, or any other member of the starship's crew. I plan to extend this offer to any of your crew that visit this museum, so you two are just the first people to experience it."

Jett nodded as Sivron directed them to a repulsor lift resting near the bow of the vessel.

"Please, feel free to wander around the exhibit at your leisure. If you stay near the island, you can stand on the flight deck itself. However, if you choose to do this, please be extremely careful."

Jett nodded.

"Enjoy!" Sivron replied, and hurried off, leaving the two officers standing beside the repulsor lift. Not wanting to waste time, Jett stepped on and gestured for Kalinara to follow. She stepped aboard and Jett guided the repulsor lift upwards. When they reached the great gold chrysanthemum crest on the top of the bow, Jett halted the lift's ascent, and walked over to the crest. It gleamed in the flourescent lighting, having been polished to a shine by the current during 66 years of being underwater. He reached out and laid his hand on it, closing his eyes as he did so.

The emotion behind the simple connection was almost too much for him to bear, and two tears leaked out beneath his eyelids and coursed down his cheeks. Out of the corner of his eye, he'd noticed Kalinara watching him with a raised eyebrow, probably thinking his actions highly illogical. Not wanting her to see the tears, he turned his face toward the crest, wanting to savor the connection for as long as possible.

A light touch on his shoulder made him open his eyes and turn. Kalinara was standing beside him, concern evident in her lovely brown eyes. 'I could get lost in those eyes forever,' he thought to himself, 'and I wouldn't mind one bit.' He was jarred from his thoughts by the sound of her voice.

"Captain? Are you all right?"

He nodded.

"I'm fine, Commander...the emotion of the moment just hit me full-force, that's all."

She reached up and brushed the tears away, her deep brown eyes staring into his all the while.

Jethro Thomas forgot how to breathe.

She stared into his eyes a moment longer, then turned away and placed her own hand on the ship's crest as if nothing had happened. After a brief moment, her eyebrow arched and she took her hand away.

"I did not experience any emotional surges when I imitated your actions."

Jett only stared off into space, not believing that she'd felt nothing from their recent interaction. He felt as though he'd been struck by lightning. Nevertheless, he managed to push his reaction to the back of his mind and resume piloting the repulsor lift.

They went up over the bow and hovered over the midships portion of the flight deck before going over by the island, where they hovered just above the deck. Once again, Jett paused the lift and stepped off onto the ship itself.

The deck was surprisingly steady, although most of the wood planking was warped or long gone. He glanced in the direction of the island. The mast behind had broken off long ago, probably en route to the ocean floor, but when he closed his eyes he could see it in his mind's eye, the signal flags snapping in the breeze along with the Imperial Japanese Naval ensign and the Vice Admiral's and Rear Admiral's flags she'd flown on her final sortie.

Lost in his memories, he could almost hear the rattling of the fourteen triple-mount Type 96 25-millimeter antiaircraft guns and the pounding of the sixteen five-inch heavy antiaircraft guns, desperately trying to defend their ship against the fatal attack, even though they knew there was no chance of success. And if he looked hard enough, he could see hundreds of Japanese sailors standing on the slanting flight deck, their arms raised above their heads, shouting a last "Banzai!" as their great ship died around them...

While her Captain was lost in history, Kalinara took the time to compose herself. She wasn't surprised to find the Captain at the Zuikaku Museum, but was surprised to have him confide in her. He'd told her about himself, had seemed almost eager to, and that was something that no man had ever done before.

He'd also asked about her family, something else that had never happened. None of her former captains had done this; they'd read about her family from her personnel record. This man seemed almost interested in her, and she didn't mean in a professional manner, either.

She wasn't going to waste time denying it...Jett Thomas was a pleasing sight. Almost every female on the ship felt the same way. She'd heard comments about him in Ten-Forward, and snatches of conversations while passing through the corridors of the ship. But here, alone with him now, she felt herself wanting this time to go on indefinitely, even though she knew they had but a few hours before they had to return to the ship.

She could see it in his eyes...he was attracted to her, no doubt about that. But was it deeper than just physical attraction? She found herself wanting to drop the Vulcanesque exterior she'd managed to erect around herself, wanting to let him see the side of her that few people in the galaxy had ever seen: her human side. The side that smiled, the side that cried, the side that laughed, the side that loved. Only her family had ever seen that side of her, and that was only in private, away from Starfleet.

She found it hard to put up the exterior, even in public, when she was around her father. She wasn't supposed to act like she did, cold and unwilling to let anyone in, or at least that had been the opinion of most of the young men who'd seen her at functions she'd been forced to attend, either as a Starfleet officer or as one of the daughters of Fleet Admiral William Price, Director of Starfleet's Bureau of Tactical Development.

Her parents had tried to get her to be more outgoing, but she stayed at home, studying for the Starfleet Academy entrance exam, and after lying about her age and submitting her application soon after her fifteenth birthday, was asked to take them in San Francisco. She'd done so without her parents' knowledge; her father was out patrolling the Neutral Zone as captain of the starship Wellington at the time, and her mother was quite used to seeing her eldest daughter leave without telling her where she was going, assuming she was heading to the library to study some more.

She took the exams, and passed with flying colors. Three nights before she was to report for the Academy, she left home and never returned. Her mother was frantic until Kalinara sent her a message, saying she was going to school in Sacramento and that she was excelling in all subjects. Dr. Amanda Price was apparently appeased by this, and let her daughter continue her schooling there as long as Kalinara called regularly. She even managed to convince her mother that the school's curriculum mandated that she'd have to stay a fifth year in order to graduate.

She graduated the day before the Wellington was due to return. As she was packing her dorm room, she received a call from her mother, who was ecstatic that not only was her baby girl returning home, but her husband's ship had come home and Starfleet had promoted him to Rear Admiral. Kalinara promised to meet her parents at the reception for Wellington's crew that evening.

When she arrived, the ceremony was about to begin. She stayed in the back throughout the speeches, the change-of-command ceremony, and her father's promotion ceremony. After the congratulations died down, she approached her family from behind and congratulated her father.

Her parents turned at the sound of her voice. The expressions on their faces at seeing their nineteen-year-old daughter wearing a Starfleet dress uniform, the single pip of an Ensign on her collar, were absolutely priceless. Kalinara simply held up her Starfleet Academy diploma and waited for the firestorm she knew was about to befall her. She was instead met with crushing hugs and congratulatory statements from both parents, and looks of awe from her two younger sisters. Her father never made mention to his superiors of the fact that his daughter had lied about her age and by all rights should only have been a second-year Cadet at the Academy.

Now here she was, seven years and three promotions later, third-in-command of the newest ship of the line and, (like most of the other women on the ship, although she didn't show it), hot for the Captain. It was in that space of time that she came to a decision: she wasn't going to join the ranks of women on board that swooned every time the Captain walked by. She was going to claim him for herself.

Jett was stirred from his reverie by a hand on his shoulder. To anyone else, it was a simple gesture, but to him, her hand on his shoulder was like a hot iron. He turned to face her, and was about to speak when he caught her eyes. They showed confusion, trepidation, determination, and hope. Before he could even begin to formulate what these emotions could mean, especially coming from her, it happened.

The kiss was like nothing either of them had ever experienced. On her part, the sensations that flowed through her were extremely pleasurable. She'd been kissed before, when she was fourteen. One of her fellow students had run up and kissed her before she'd had a chance to react. Her fellow classmates had thought it great fun...at least, they did until she she struck back with a Klingon defense move she'd learned for just such an occasion, one that caused great pain to one's assailant. In the end, she was suspended for three days and her assailant spent the next three standard weeks in the local hospital undergoing surgery to repair his severely-injured reproductive organ, followed by a lengthy recuperation period. From that point on, everyone gave her a wide berth.

This kiss was different. It was as though a warp core had exploded inside her chest and stomach. Fire coursed through her veins, urging her on, and she went with it.

On Jett's part, he'd died and gone to heaven. Her lips were soft and sweet, and were (in his opinion, anyway) extremely addictive. He knew he'd never get enough of her. He wrapped his arms about her waist, and she inhaled sharply at the contact, entwining her arms about his neck, pulling him even closer. She thrust her tongue into his mouth in response, and he growled low in his throat at her move. He decided to go one better, and trailed kisses down her neck, licking, sucking, and nipping as he did so. This time it was her turn to make noises, and he thought the husky purr that she made was the sexiest sound he'd ever heard.

It was agony for him to pull back slightly, and both regretted the loss of contact. He gazed into her eyes and found the chocolate orbs were almost black with barely-veiled desire. Her breathing was elevated, and there was an attractive flush on her neck and face.

For her, there was no mistaking it...he had eyes for her and for her only. He was within her grasp...in more ways than one. Jett, meanwhile, was at a loss for words. He nearly groaned in protest when she neatly extracted herself from his embrace and stepped back aboard the repulsor lift. His heart plunged to his stomach when she spoke.

"Captain? Are you ready to return to the ship, sir?"

'How the hell did she manage that?' he asked himself. 'She's acting like absolutely nothing happened!'

Dazed and heartbroken, he merely nodded and stepped aboard the lift. She piloted it to the museum floor again, then stepped off and turned to him again as she pulled out her comm badge and activated it.

"Price to Zuikaku: Two to beam directly to my quarters."

His reaction was swallowed by the cool wash of the transporter beam.