Universe 378

They walked down the quiet hallway towards Jane's quarters, laughing. Shafter and Konif shared a knowing look as Jane opened her Omnicuff's Holoscreen making sure the Charkgin were getting settled.

"Still always working?" Shafter asked Konif. All three eyes closed; questioning. Then reopened them slightly squinting them; humor. Konif nodded cracking a smile. The doors opened to Jane's apartment and Konif dived onto the couch that was sunken into the floor, barley missing the table that sat in the middle. Shafter joined Jane in the small kitchen grabbing glasses as Jane grabbed a bottle of clear liquid.

"Ah, I see you still have the Charkgin Devonu wine that I gave to you on your strange holiday, Christmas." It closed two of its eyes leaving the third open; pleased.

"Yeah I did. I wanted to save it until we were able to see each other again." Jane smiled over at the tall alien. Shafter noticed Jane was still in her armor, making her movements a little awkward.

"Jane, please, allow me to, you need to change out of your armor." Jane nodded at Shafter going down the three steps until she was in her open bedroom. She looked over her shoulder spotting Konif sprawled out, a book in her hand, confusion on her face.

"Jane, where did you get this? And how come you never told me you were a reader. That would have made your birthday gifts so much easier." Jane laughed, removing her gloves. Sounds of glass clinking together came from the kitchen.

"I'm not, well not really. I was going to talk to you about that actually." Jane stretched out her arms and legs as the metal started to retract into her breast and back plate. "I met this strange little man. His name is Professor Palmer-" Shafter stepped down the steps; interrupting her.

"A Professor on Hapsha? What does he study?" Jane let out a grunt, trying to unclasp the plates. After handing the glasses over to Konif it pushed Jane's hands out of the way helping her.

"He says he study's ancient Human History. Dr. Charles brought him aboard to help him study Uni 201." She let out a sigh as the plates finally came off allowing her to breathe a little easier. Shafter hummed in thought.

"Shouldn't he have ran that by you first Jane?" She set the armor down next to her helmet; waiting for the closet to align to the right section.

"Not really. I mean, it would have been nice for a head's up. But Admiral Jones told him to bring anyone he needed along with him."

Turning her eyes landed on Konif in the middle of taking a bite of some food Shafter had also brought out, her hand filled with chips, her cheek bulging with food. Konif froze and then slowly started to chew again, her eyes wide. The humming coming from Shafter got louder as he spotted Konif's face, it was happy to be back among its friends again. Rather suddenly Jane cried out and fell to the floor gasping. Konif forgot about the food and dashed over.

"JANE!" Jane grabbed her chest, her heart thudding; she felt like it was going to explode.

"I'm alright. I'm alright." She sat up slowly, Konif and Shafter's arms helping her up. "My…My suit just shocked me." Shafter's eyes quickly changed. All three filled up with blue, half closed; confusion and worry.

"Jane, is your Simitu suit still causing you trouble?" Jane nodded solemnly. When Humans first made contact with the Charkgin, the Charkgin offered their creation as a welcoming gift, the Simitu suit. Shafter gently pulled on Jane's shoulder so it could look at the fixed tears that were on the back of her suit where it had come in contact with the Flux's tongues. Most of them seemed like a perfect fix to Shafter's skilled eyes. But two of them looked like they were torn open again, breaking the link of the Simitu suit, causing it to glitch and not fully link with its wearer.

"Jane," it hummed, "It seems you have re-opened the tears in the back of your suit."

"Shafter, please tell me you can fix it." Humans could only accept one Simitu suit, for some odd reason their bodies wouldn't accept another one and if they tried they would go into massive seizures.

"I think I can," squint in two of its eyes, the third closing; honesty. "We have some engineers aboard. Hopefully they can assist me in fixing it." Jane sighed, finally standing up. Her Simitu suit quickly changed colors, making her blend in.

"Right, I might as well change out of this thing before it kills me. I'll be out in a second." Shafter and Konif nodded their heads and headed over to the sunken in couch, settling in. Jane grabbed some of her casual clothes and headed towards her bathroom.

Jane ran her hand over the front of the suit, the hidden zipper following the path of her hand, coming undone. Goosebumps rose on Jane's skin as the cold air assaulted it. She let the light material fall to the floor. She stood there naked in front of the full length mirror. Her skin had lost the redness that it was when she was first defrosted. She roughly pushed her hair out of her face; reveling the small scar that sat on her eyebrow. She wished she could grow her hair out longer; it sat just a little past her shoulders, long enough to put in a ponytail and that's it. She cupped a tiny breast; they seemed to have gotten smaller from being in Cryosleep for solong. There where soft white lines that marked her body in places, others where more circles than anything; old scars from missions. She fingered a small crescent shaped one, right next to her belly button. That one had been from Frankie; he had tackled her when they were playing Qwolf. She sighed and bent down, grabbing the pants.

Jane stepped out at Konif laughing and Shafter humming in its odd laugh. She threw the suit onto the bed and sat down next to them grabbing the cup and taking a deep gulp from it. Before Jane had fully known Shafter she had questioned how it ate and drank without a mouth. To say she was shocked when she saw Shafter open its hidden mouth for the first time would be an understatement. Shafter had explained that it was rude to show one's mouth in its culture. The aliens didn't have any lips and the line that would show that they had a mouth was so thin that you couldn't see it. One minute the aliens face was smooth except for its eyes, the next a section opened up to revile two rows of sharp teeth and a tongue. Whenever the Charkgin would swallow the holes in its neck would slap close before opening up again allowing it to breathe.

Jane finished up her story about her encounter with Professor Palmer. Shafter hung on her every word, sipping on the Devonu saying that it would have to visit this Professor and speak with him. The three friends were stiff with each other at first, staying on safe topics. But as the hours wore on, Shafter became more and more relaxed falling into Human habits again, like eating in front of them and telling jokes, not staying so formal. Konif got a little tipsy and laughed loudly while Jane stayed quit most of the time. She watched the playful banter between Konif and Shafter, now on the topic of marriage.

"Dude! You have to get a mate soon! I want to meet them!" Konif said taking a bite into some food Jane had grabbed from the kitchen. Shafter shifted.

"Oh my gosh, are you showing awkwardness right now?" Jane asked, laughing along with Konif.

"Yes, I am Jane." It hummed. Two eyes closed the third open; pleased that its friend understands its body movements more. "Konif, you know not to call me 'dude' for I am neither male nor female. Well in the sense of the Human anatomy." Konif and Jane scrunched up their faces saying a joint 'Yuck.' The holes in the alien's neck vibrated with its silent laughter. "I'm too young to find a mate Konif; but what about you and Jane? Getting rather old, you two are." Slight squint in its eyes; humor.

"Hey don't look at me! I fly a ship across the Milky Way for a living; it's kinda hard to get laid, but Janie over here!" She poked Jane in the side. Shafter leaned forward eager to hear about what Konif was talking about.

"Admiral Jones." Jane mumbled embarrassed that the attention was turned towards her. Konif paled, suddenly remembering that-

"Casey?!" Shafter's eyes pooled with black as its pupils expanded; hurt. All three friends remembered Casey's first interaction with Shafter. It hadn't been very pleasant for the alien and it was before all three of them had become friends. Jane had always felt guilty for getting with Casey knowing that he wasn't warm towards the Charkgin

"Before I left on this stupid mission," Jane grumbled.

"This is not a stupid mission and you know it Jane," Konif scoffed. Shafter leaned back into the couch, opening its thin mouth taking a sip of its drink. Although Casey had apologized to the alien for making a rude commit towards its people. Shafter was still uncomfortable when this topic was brought up.

"Shafter," Jane said softly, ignoring Konif. Dark eyes turned on her. "It just happened. We didn't plan for it to." Shafter blinked twice, its eyes going back to their normal blue; forgotten.

"It's alright Jane. I know these things happen." They grew silent. Jane looking down at the table, rubbing her hand across it, fidgeting. A large three finger hand covered hers. "Jane, it's alright. But just so you know; if he ever hurts you..." The alien trailed off closing its two eyes leaving its third open, its pupil filling it; protective.

"Thank you Shafter." It took them a little longer to get away from the awkwardness of that conversation. At around one in the morning Shafter said it needed to head down to its quarters to unpack and get some rest, Konif joined it. She said her goodbye, Shafter's arm around her shoulder helping her walk, Jane's Simitu suit resting in its other hand, it hummed a goodbye as well when they stepped into the elevator.

Jane let the doors slid close behind her as she rubbed her face, her fatigue finally catching up to her. She quickly dressed into her PJ's and collapsed onto her bed, staring out into the Charkgin's solar system. They stayed in orbit around Shni, the massive planet with its never ending oceans. They would be leaving in a few hours, continuing towards their destination. Jane sighed closing her eyes forgetting all about the book Professor Palmer and loaned her.

People were cheering from the upper floors of the H.C.C. Humans standing among Charkgin's, Jungken's, and Oper's. They all were yelling placing bets on the two figures below them running. Jane could see the finish line just ahead, two engineers holding it and a group of people whistling; egging her on. Shafter ran besides her, its long leg's pumping itself forward. Jane leaned forward trying to out run her friend. She knew Shafter was going to win; it was ahead of her by a few inches. She quickly coiled her legs underneath herself and pushed off, diving over the finish line. The H.C.C. broke out into loud yells and cheers. Jane lay on the ground panting, Shafter bent over breathing heavily. The room grew quite waiting to hear Andi's call.

"I believe the Charkgin won," the robotic voice said. The hall erupted in cheers and groans. Shafter helped Jane up, both sweating heavily.

"Better luck next time Captain." It hummed slapping her on the back.

"Check," Jane rasped turning her attention back to the book she held in her hand. She had finally picked up The Great Gatsby last night, only a week after it was given to her, and had yet to put it down; the old story sucking her in. Konif rubbed her chin staring down at the board. Shafter was stretched out on the couch fiddling with a silver sphere. They had stopped asking Shafter what it was, the alien not telling them.

"How do you do that? Be able to read and kick my ass in chess?" Jane looked over at the frustrated red head.

"I have a beautiful mind." Konif knocked over her king and crumbled to the floor, mumbling a,

"I give up on life."

Jane walked into the starboard observation deck; the books where in much better organization then they had been two weeks ago.

"Professor Palmer?" Jane said, hesitating at the entranceway. There came a shout around a pile of large volumes, Alex Palmer stepped out, seeming to be smaller than ever.

"Captain Rizzoli!" Jane smiled and held the novel up as an excuse for her presence. "Ah! You've finished it then have you? As well, come tell me how you found it." The man bustled over to one of the couches that sat next to the window, patting the space next to him. Jane sat down, handing the book over.

"It was good. For something that's so old," she glanced at him. "It was good."

"Now deary, you have to give me more than that." Jane chuckled at him. She looked out the massive window. Whips of blue passed the glass, showing just how fast they were going, she saw the soft white sheen of the ships shield and off in the far distance a light twinkled with the possibility of life. They sat in silence, Palmer not pressing Jane as she mulled over the story. He stared out the window with her, soaking up the company of each other's presence.

After five minutes of silence Jane finally spoke. She told him everything. Each thought that passed through her mind, her guesses that she had at the time and she spoke often of how confused she was by a certain characters actions or backgrounds. Palmer sat there nodding his head and encouraging her to go on when she grew silent again, but he never interrupted her. After talking for thirty minutes straight Jane finally finished with,

"….And that 'Old sport' thing; what does that even mean?" Palmer let out a wheezy laugh.

"Ah yes, how our language used to be so different. I do believe 'old sport' was just a phrase they used, a sort of nick name if you will." Jane let out a soft 'Oh' and went back to being quiet.

"You don't talk very often do you?" Palmer asked softly.

"What do you mean? I just talked for thirty minutes straight." She shifted in her seat.

"Only because I pressed you dear." He quickly stood up, making Jane jump, and walked away. She watched him go to a large bookshelf, as he craned his neck, trying to see the top shelf. The way he jumped a little when he saw what he was looking for made her smile. He climbed on top a pile of books, carefully balancing grabbing a hefty volume. She stretched her arms out as he dropped the book on her.

"I will not tell you what this is about, but read it and come back." Jane glanced down at the title, One Year Crazy by Josh Lathing. "But I will tell you it was written in 2002, this however is not the original copy. Just read it and come back." Jane ran her hand over the dark purple cover. She opened her Holoscreen and read it.

"Professor Palmer?"

"Yes Captain?"

"Do you mind if I read it here? I don't have anything to do right now and I….Well… I mean…" Palmer gave Jane a soft smile, pushing the glasses high up on his noise.

"Only if you don't mind me running around." He chuckled at his own joke, knowing all too well he couldn't run at his age. Jane sat there for two hours completely absorbed into the book's story.

It was about a man named Craig who had acted like he was mentally insane just so he could go inside a insane asylum and observe the true 'Challenged People' has he put it. He just met this woman named Hilary who didn't speak when a green light blinked on her cuff, Konif's face popped up.

"uh… Captain…. We sort of…" Jane raised her eyebrows at Konif's formal tone. "We sort of have a problem." There came shouts in the background and a grunt followed by another yell. "Were in the cafeteria. Just come quick I think you're the only one that can break this up." Konif turned her Omnicuff to show a very angry Officer Umlinth swinging its fist at Zaq Carlson. Jane slammed the book closed and set it on the couch dashing out of the room yelling,

"I have to go Professor, I'll be back." The elevator didn't seem to go fast enough. She stepped off onto Wing C bolting down the hallway. She froze when she stepped into the Cafeteria. The handful of people yelling,

"Surprise!" A red banner spanned out it read, Happy Birthday Capt' Rizzoli. Konif threw her arms around Jane's shoulders smiling at her shocked face.

"Oh come on Jane, you think we would forget." Jane shook her head.

"No, but I forgot." This received a chuckle from the crowed. She saw a small pile of wrapped gifts sitting on a table next to a cake. Jane was only truly friends with Shafter and Konif but people she knew well where there also. They told her when she got back to Earth she didn't have to count this birthday, laughing at their own jokes about Cryosleep. After people wished her happy birthday everyone mingled, music played in the background and drinks where handed out. Jane stayed close to Konif's side.

"Jane, Happy Birthday." Shafter walked over, a very rare moment when it pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks Shaf." Jane rubbed the back of her neck, calming her nerves. At one point Zaq and Umlinth walked up, grinning, she glared at them as they laughed.

"Boy, Captain you should have seen your face in that Holoscreen." Zaq laughed as Umlinth bowed low to her.

"Happy birthday Captain Rizzoli." It clicked at her. She returned the gesture saying a fast thanks. A bunch of people personally gave her gifts; others simply wished her a good day. After a while people had to leave to go back to work, so soon it was just Shafter, Konif and her again.

"Alright, whose idea was this?" Jane asked, crossing her arms. Shafter hummed in glee.

"It was I actually, not Konif this time." Jane gapped.

"I remember not too long ago you did the same thing for me and how it scared me so bad." Konif and Jane burst out laughing remembering the shocked looking alien. Konif's Omnicuff blinked, one of her minions summoning her back to the H.C.C.

"Ugh… well I have to go, but don't open my gift until I'm there!" Konif said, hurrying off. Shafter helped Jane take the gifts back up to her chambers.

Jane let her pile fall onto the table without grace, while Shafter was softer about it. A small movement caught the corner of Jane's eye. Shafter was being awkward, when she looked at its face, all three of its eyes where half closed, worry and it was being unsure.

"Shafter, are you OK?" Jane asked confused at her friend's sudden change in attitude.

"Yes…" It hummed softly. "Jane I was able to fix your Simitu suit. You will find it in the box that is marked from me…but…" Jane's stomach dropped, worried something had happened.

"But?" She prompted. Shafter finally slipped something out of its pocket; it was the silver sphere it had been playing with for so long.

"This is my true gift to you. I well… I remember…. I…" It huffed taking a few steps away from Jane until it was standing in the middle of the living room. It bent over placing the sphere on the ground. She leaned over watching it fiddle with something; suddenly there was a blinding white light. Jane threw up her hands to cover her eyes. She stood like that, afraid to open her eyes until she felt Shafter's smooth hands tug at her own away from her face.

"It's alright Jane, you can look." Jane slowly opened her eyes, her mouth falling open. She turned looking around herself. She wasn't standing in her apartment anymore; she was standing in a forest, a large meadow to be more specific. She could hear the creaks of the massive trees move as wind passed her face bringing the smell of damp Earth with it. Tall grass tugged at her legs, there where small purple flowers dotting the wild grass. She felt the soft dirt move underneath her weight and when she looked up at the sky, it was a vibrant red with wisps of orange, copying a sunset. The wind blew again and she closed her eyes, bird's tweeted off in the high branches and she could hear the flow of a river somewhere.

"A long time ago you said you loved visiting Shni and spending time in the forests there and you talked none stop about how different they were from the forests that you had learned about in school. That was the most I had ever heard you talk in one sitting without someone else saying anything. These past two weeks I have been meeting with Professor Palmer and he has helped me build this. I wanted…. I wanted to give you something that would make you feel at home." Shafter said softly. Jane finally opened her eyes looking up at her friend, tears falling silently down her face. Shafter's face changed, all three of its eyes half closed; worry.

"Oh…Jane you're crying. You don't like it." Shafter quickly grabbed the sphere turning it off. They where thrusted back into Jane's dark apartment. Jane wiped at her face.

"No, Shafter, no." She said forcefully as her friend started to leave. "I love it." Shafter closed all three of its eyes; unsure.

"But you were doing that thing Human's do when they are sad." Jane laughed, sniffling as the last of her tears fell.

"Shafter, I was crying because I was happy." Shafter cocked its head, using a Human expression. "Humans, we, we cry when we are sad we also cry when we are happy."

"Your race is very confusing." Shafter deadpanned. Jane threw her arms around Shafter's waist pulling it into a hug. After she pulled away she looked into its eyes.

"You… you have no idea what this means to me. I don't even understand how you made that but… this is the best gift I have ever gotten Shafter, truly. I don't even know how to thank you." Shafter's hums turned deeper into a purr, expressing pure happiness. It held up the sphere placing it in Jane's hand. It was lighter then she would have thought, but it fit perfectly there. One side was flat, allowing it to stay still where ever you placed it.

"Here is where you turn it on and off." Shafter grabbed the top part of the sphere and pulled it up, turning it. Jane anticipated the light this time, laughing out loud as she opened her eyes again. She breathed in deeply, truly happy for the first time since she saw Shafter again. Shafter hummed as Jane placed the sphere on the ground and grabbed its hand holding onto it tightly.

"It acts as a clock. So whenever you open it the sky and your surrounding areas will reveal what it would look like at that time. I took the liberty on studying what your night sky looked like and put as many stars as your people have catalogued. Night time is my favorite part I have to admit." The brunette simply sighed, pushing her hand through the tall grass, feeling it tug at her skin. Jane heard the door to her apartment open and Konif's voice.

"Jane….What are you and Shafter doing standing in the middle of your living room….and….why is there blue lines everywhere?" Jane couldn't see Konif, but waved her over moving so there would be room for the small red haired woman. Konif's form appeared inside the bubble of a forest, distorting it for a second before it went back to its mirage.

"Oh…," was all she said. Jane let go of Shafter's hand and lay down in the tall grass. Clouds hung in the darkening sky, soon Konif and Shafter joined her pointing out images from the clouds that weren't really there. After awhile they shut it off and Shafter showed her that it needed to be charged and she could only use it for up to six hours. That was absolutely fine by her. Jane was thrusted a red box by Konif who had a huge grin on her face.

"It's no silver sphere but…" Jane just as eagerly ripped off the paper.

"Oh… oh my gosh." It was a brand new chess set. Jane had mentioned that she felt a little bad for using Konif's set, her last memento of her father, and how she wanted her own. As she pulled the set out of the box Konif started to talk quickly.

"It's really awesome. It's made out of glass; I know how you hate the interface sets. But the best part is we can play from anywhere. If you're on a mission or something you can move the pieces through your Omnicuff and I'll have the board and can play you back, it's awesome." Jane chuckled as she set the pieces in place.

"You know we can just put it on our Omnicuff's and not deal with a board at all." Konif scolded at her.

"I'm kidding. Now we can play more often up here more often. Thank you Konif, really." Konif and Shafter stayed for a little long. Jane was thrilled to learn that the Charkgin's where able to fully fix her suit, getting rid of the possibility of the tears re-reaping ever again. Konif yawned and said she was going to head out.

"Oh, I'll come with you guys, I wanted to talk to Professor Palmer." Jane said goodbye as they stepped off onto Wing C and she headed farther down to D.

Jane stepped inside the room looking around for the Professor.

"Up here Captain!" He called from a top of a bookshelf. He slid down the ladder before landing in front of her. "Not too bad for an older gentleman eh?"

"You knew," was all Jane said, taking a seat on the observation couch again.

"I don't know whatever you mean." But the Professor was smiling at her.

"Where you able to see the finished result?" A misted look fell upon Palmer's face.

"Indeed I was." She turned her attention to the window, the book she was reading weighing heavy in her lap.

"I do suppose a gift is in order." Before Jane could tell him 'No that's OK, really.' He handed her a small package. Fiddling with it she finally got the paper off of it. She pulled out a long rectangular piece of plastic, with a gold string tied to the top of it. Symbols laid on the length of it.

"It's a bookmark," Palmer said. "It belonged to my daughter before she passed away." The brunette snapped her head up.

"I can-" He cut her off.

"Yes you can and you will. You remind me so much of her really. She was reluctant to start reading also, saying it was all pish posh and just a waste of time." Jane looked down at the bookmark again, slipping the string through her fingers. Jane tested her luck by asking,

"What happened to her?" Palmer took so long to answer Jane thought he wasn't going to.

"She died while she was in child birth. Odd isn't it. We've come so far into the future and things like that still happen?"

"I'm sorry Professor." Palmer smiled at her.

"There's no need to be. It was her time, just like it will be mine soon and I can see her and my grandson." He paused looking about out the window. "The symbols are Chinese, they mean 'I don't like books, I like the stories they tell.' I thought it was rather fitting."

"Thank you for the bookmark and for helping Shafter with its gift." Palmer pushed his glasses up smiling at her.

"No trouble at all and I was more than willing to help Captain." The brunette paused before saying,

"Jane. Please, call me Jane."

How do you organize a space party?

You planet!

*snort*

So, I've been wanting to say this:

Shafter's voice sounds like when you talk through a fan and it goes up and down in pitch. That's the best way I can describe it really.

Also, Professor Palmer talks like the Blue Raja from Mystery Men, but looks like Artie from Warehouse 13, but older, much much older.

Ok, So as always thank you to the people who read and to the people who read and review. If you have any questions I will answer them for you.

Take care. - FTP