The restaurant was small and intimate. Newly opened in the mall area of Jarvik's center geosphere, it was quickly becoming a favorite among the locals. Jake arrived at the maitre'd station and waited to be seated. Drew saw him and waved him back.

The booth was quiet and set in a far corner, not visible to the passer-by. Jake sat with his back to the entrance.

"Nice place," Jake said casually.

"Yes, it is. Hope you don't mind, I ordered for you."

Shortly, the waiter brought a couple of glasses and what looked similar to iced tea. Followed closely by their lunch, the equivalent of steak and potatoes.

"This looks good, too," Jake said, cutting into his meal.

"It's about as close as you'll get, I'm afraid. Add lots of ketchup and you think you're eating the real thing." Drew laughed.

The men continued to speak of non threatening things, mostly just making small talk. When the plates were cleared, Drew got down to business.

"Look, I promised Andrea that I'd give you a fair shot at this position and I intend to do just that. I'm going to ask hard, direct questions, Jake. Don't answer and we'll walk away knowing we gave it our best shot. I'll have a clear conscience, anyway."

Jake nodded, "Do your damnedest, Drew." And the challenge was on.

Drew had obtained Lt. Long's personnel records. He also had a few other pieces of information he had obtained from a discreet inquiry he had made regarding his old friend. If Andy really wanted him, Jake was going to have to prove to Drew he had nothing to hide.

"You had two assignments after we graduated the Academy, both of those went well, I see." Drew perused the personnel file as he spoke.

"Yeah, they were fine. Typical assignments. You make mistakes and you learn. You get things right at the inopportune times and impress the higher ups. All in all, I'd say they were good experiences."

"Your commanding officers all praised you; recommended you for promotions. In fact, up until about 15 months ago, you were a Lt. Commander. What happened?" Drew's question was phrased quite innocently.

Jake responded carefully, "I ran afoul of a few higher ups that weren't impressed. That happens, too."

"What about your service on the U.S.S. Cortez?"

"What about it?" was Jake's noncommittal reply.

"Look, we can end this right now or you can make me stop fishing. What's it going to be?" Drew was going to have no patience for Jake. He wanted explanations for the lapses in the service record and other incidents he had found out about. Jake's honesty in this situation was going to make or break him.

Jake looked down and thought about his reply. The time on the Cortez had been pleasant, to a point. These were wounds he thought he had hidden and under control. Now, here was Drew Davies trying to open up the scars. What did Jake really want? Did he want the possible position on Jarvik Station or did he want to go back to the life he was presently living? He cleared his throat, and began opening up to the good doctor.

"The Cortez was believed lost at Deep Space Nine but it was a cover story developed by the Federation. We were sent on a cartography mission, presumably, along the Cardassian border. It was really a cloak-and-dagger mission where we spied on marauder ships crossing the border illegally. We were out there for close to ten months."

"Your commanding officer was Jenna Prince, right?"

Jake nodded.

"Wasn't there some question about her and what happened to the Cortez?" Drew snooped. He had some of the information. He wanted to see what Jake would provide.

"A court martial attempted to discredit Captain Prince, yes. I refused to be a part of if."

"What are you hiding, Jake?" Drew leaned in across the table, pinning the Lt. with his glare. "I've got to be able to trust you with my life and recommend to Andy that she can trust you too. Hiding little bits of information to make yourself look better, you think that helps?" Drew's British accent did nothing to hide the anger in his tone.

Jake slapped the table in frustration, causing the glasses and remaining silverware to clatter. "Fine, you want the whole ugly story. Then here it is, Doctor. The Captain and I were having an affair."

Drew sat back. He wasn't expecting this.

"That's right, Andrew, an affair. Captain Prince was married and a long way from home. She hadn't seen her husband, also a starship captain, since before we went to DS9. Long hours, longer separation. One thing led to another and we were involved. So when the Cortez crossed into Cardassian space, neither she nor I were on the bridge. We were in her quarters…in bed. By the time the officer assigned to the deck realized what had happened the Cardassians were all over us."

Drew watched Jake's face as he relived what was a pivotal moment in his career.

"When Jen and I got there it was too far gone. She ordered the entire crew to escape pods and she took the helm. I tried to argue with her, convince her she was more important and should go with the rest of the crew, but she wouldn't hear of it. We argued a little bit longer until she…" Jake paused and looked in to
Drew's face, "she ordered me to leave her behind."

Drew spoke carefully, hearing the raw edge in Jake's voice, "She was the captain, Jake. It's her duty to go down with the ship, no matter how much we agree or disagree."

"Yeah, well that wasn't the worst of it. She was pregnant, Drew."

Again, Drew tried not to let the words effect him, but this was information not contained in any of the reports he had.

"Yes, Drew, pregnant. So not only did she condemn herself to death but my unborn child, too. That's what we argued about and that's why she ordered me off. When the court martial was convened, they tried to make her out to be irresponsible and self-indulgent. They also tried to make me be the hero."

"But you were a hero, Jake, don't sell yourself short. You got all seven of the escape pods out of Cardassian space and got them rescued."

"Only because Jenna created enough of a diversion and stalled them long enough to give us a chance."

"But you had to do some fancy flying to get them away as quickly as you did."

"Whatever, Drew. It still didn't justify what they were trying to do to Jenna."

Drew had the transcripts from the court martial. He knew they had questioned Jake repeatedly about Captain Prince's decisions, state of mind. Jake refused to answer.

"Is that why they put you in the brig for six months?" Drew asked.

Jake smiled ruefully, "Yeah, they found me in contempt because I wouldn't answer any questions that were derogatory to Jenna. Why besmirch her memory? Her husband had already lost his wife. He didn't need to know about her infidelity. To explain why she wasn't on the bridge would have been to admit what she…we were doing."

"So, in that regard, you took the fall." Drew supplied.

"Yeah, I testified that I should have been there but had stepped away for personal reasons. They found me derelict in my duties and tacked another six months onto the six I had already served and busted me back to Lieutenant."

"And Captain Prince?"

"They wouldn't completely say she wasn't at error but her record won't reflect any type of derogatory action. Her husband thinks I'm a son of a bitch and rightly so."

"So that gives me twelve of the fifteen months accounted for. The other three?"

Jake again took a heavy sigh before he answered, "I've been on a desk job. Hiding, I guess. Wasn't sure I wanted back in a situation where I would have to make command decisions. Was actually contemplating leaving the fleet altogether."

"What stopped you?"

"It's in the blood," Jake answered simply, "Every time I thought I would leave, a part of me knew it was an even bigger mistake than the ones I made on the Cortez. I knew, deep down, I just needed the right motivation; the right opportunity to get back in the saddle, as it were."

"And Andy called," Drew continued.

"Yeah, Andy presented the right motivation. I knew that whatever happened here it would prepare me for what would come next. I knew she would be tough, wouldn't let me slide. I never dreamed she'd throw me to the wolves first rattle out of the box!" Jake laughed.

Drew laughed, too, as the tension that had previously surrounded them began to dissipate. He knew Jake had been through the ringers, he just didn't realize how much so until this confrontation. He closed his notebook and reached across the table to Jake.

"Whatever happens, Jake, you're ready."

Jake smiled and shook Drew's hand and stood from the table.

"Thanks, Drew. I appreciate that and I appreciate your time. I'll make sure Andy knows you were fair."

Drew stood, too, nodding and smiling as he did. "You should go see her before you leave."

"Thanks, I will." And with that, Jake left Drew standing in the restaurant, contemplating his next move.