Paint and Powder

A Star Trek anthology by Andrew Joshua Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan based work of prose. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager et al are the property of CBS Television, and creation of Gene Roddenberry. Please support the official release.

Okay... You can do this... You can do this...

Prometheus was a young shipboy, this is true. And his first mission was... Okay, it had only avoided becoming a total disaster because of his EMH and Voyager's. And boy, that was weird wasn't it? It wasn't technically an actual mission, he'd just gotten stolen because the complete connections between his black box and his ship hadn't been fully installed yet.

Tuesday, they said. Bah!

It was also true that his design was... A bit problematic. Starfleet still had some weird obsession with making their ships able to split into pieces, and come back together again.

(Not that Prometheus minded-He thought it was cool he could do that! So cool...)

However! All of this aside, it was also true that he was an effective combat starship. His hotblooded nature aside, he had become very effective in battle. If the Defiant-class was an attempt to shove the firepower of a heavy cruiser into the hull of a gunboat, he was an attempt to shove the firepower of a dreadnought into a destroyer-A true warship. He was a lean, mean, Dominion slaying machine!

(As his combat record demonstrated).

He had annihilated an entire Dominion starbase all by himself in a surprise attack, right after taking out their patrol group. His high speed and incredible firepower let him make such deep strikes into enemy territory, paying the Dominion back for every drop of Federation blood they had spilled.

HIs next mission had been a bit tougher-They had grown wise to his first trick and had some Cardassian ships with AIs patrolling. But once again, his superior abilities and processing power had let him get through, and another Dominion base had been annihilated. He'd learned a few cyberwarfare tricks from Appalachia and Yukikaze, who had very graciously helped him when he'd asked.

His third mission, he'd gone deep behind enemy lines again to take out a Dominion super dreadnought. This one had recently destroyed Valiant, and its all cadet crew had been nearly entirely wiped out. So he considered it a privilege to dispatch the gigantic monstrosity.

A Defiant would have had trouble. Prometheus hadn't: His captain had been shrewd. Wait for the super dreadnought to get within the gravity well of its shipyard's planet, and then warp strafe the beast to cripple its warp drive. That done, he had made hit and run attacks with his three sections, tearing the monster down piece by piece, distracting it before he'd dumped a huge payload of antimatter mines to surround the super dreadnought.

That had finally damaged it enough he could unleashed his full firepower, and blow it straight to hell. It hadn't been easy... He'd lost thirty crewmembers and taken heavy damage... But the beast had been slain.

Valiant had been avenged.

He was blooded. He had combat experience. He wasn't a child anymore.

So... Why was he standing outside Quark's, stiff as a board, unable to enter?

Oh right. Enterprise was there. She was sitting on the upper level in a quiet corner, her sisters Yorktown and Hornet at her sides. Hornet caught his eyes, and waved cheerfully at him. He returned the gesture, attempting to project confidence via his avatar.

That was the thing with Silicone-based learning tree computer brains... You had to learn how to lie, you couldn't do it by programming. How to deceive others by concealing your emotions. And Prometheus... Was not great at it. He looked anxious.

Because Enterprise was up there. The legend herself. Surrounded by her just as famous sisters.

And he... He was-

"Heyyy~!"

"AH! Hornet! Hello!" Prometheus managed to get out. Hornet grinned at him, mischief in her eyes. She grabbed his arm and hauled him up the stairs. "Uh, hey, what are you-?"

"You looked lonely, so I thought I'd invite you up!" She said cheerfully. She pressed her large chest to his arm, and he immediately reset his holographic projection to omit blushing. It worked... For about five point six seconds. Then Hornet plopped him down into a chair with the other sisters, sat down next to him, and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"Hey Enterprise, Yorktown! It's Prometheus!" Hornet said cheerfully. "He took out that Dominion super dreadnought that killed Valiant!"

Yorktown looked stately and refined-As though she'd just walked out of a country manor in Virginia, a true lady. She smiled warm and elegant, and nodded with sorrow and pride.

"You did very well, to accomplish such a feat on your own," she spoke softly.

Enterprise was tall and strong, so untouchable. But here, she seemed... Softer. A bit more relaxed. She gave him a warrior's smile, and nodded in approval.

"I read the mission report," she said, "you accomplished a great victory. Good work."

Prometheus had wanted Enterprise's approval from the moment he became sapient. She was... Well. She was a legend. She was beautiful, courageous, kind, wise, and carried the sorrow of battle and the hope of peace. She was... Amazing.

He knew she was older than him. So much older. But he... Knew the pain of loss now. He still questioned if he could ever make up for the crew he had lost. If he could make their deaths mean something. He could tell, she struggled with that too. That she had so many losses, so many regrets.

He wanted to... To help her. To show her how much she meant to him. Her example. Her strength. And to offer what he could to make the burden easier. Yes, maybe it was foolish and selfish but... As much as everyone else saw an invincible heroine, his time in battle showed him that she wasn't. And neither was he.

And he just wanted to let her know... He understood that, and still thought the universe of her.

Prometheus was trying to tell her all this... But his mouth, while open, was not projecting any sound.

The sisters stared at him. Hornet frowned in concern.

"You okay, Prometheus?" She asked.

Run diagnostic on audio systems! He screamed. They didn't return any errors. Okay, so he could speak, right?

"... Ah... Um..."

SAY SOMETHING! Prometheus screamed at himself. SOMETHING FIT FOR THE GRAVITAS OF BEING COMPLIMENTED BY ENTERPRISE!

"... Th-Thank... You..." He managed a nervous smile. "C-Coming from you... That means... Everything."

Enterprise, Yorktown and Hornet stared. His feedback system began to make him sweat, the holographic sweat doing much the same as organic sweat would-Attempting to cool him off.

OhMakerIsaidthewrongthingIoffendedherohMakerstupidstupidstupidstupid-!

Enterprise then smiled... A bit more gentle, and a bit more honest. She reached out and squeezed his hand across the table.

"It's all right," she said softly, "you don't have to be nervous. I think you're doing a great job, and I'm glad you made it back."

Prometheus managed a slow nod, his smile frozen like a corpse's despite the legend's words... Because despite the fact they were both just holograms, her touch seemed to make processing information very, very difficult...

Right... Just... Say something else... Talk about... Something else...

She withdrew his hand, which made thinking exponentially easier.

"H-How was Gorn space?" He managed. Yorktown frowned.

"Wasn't that mission classified?" She asked.

OH SHIT SHE THINKS I'M SNOOPING AROUND IN CLASSIFIED FILES! OR WORSE, A STALKER! Prometheus screamed in his head.

"Oh, uh, I-I just analyzed your flight path when you arrived at DS9 and saw you were coming from Gorn space and so I extrapolated from there!" Prometheus said quickly. "I-I have bio-neural gel pack computer processors too, after all, so I can calculate things like that very quickly!"

"Oh, well," Enterprise shrugged and smiled, "it was successful, if very difficult. But I can't say anything else about it."

"I-I understand, that's totally fine," Prometheus said quickly, "but I'm glad-That it went well!"

"Me too," Enterprise said, "anything to end this war sooner in victory."

Prometheus nodded slowly.

"Y-Yeah," he said softly, "I understand that too."

Enterprise stared at him. He was caught between the impulse to avert his gaze and to look away, but the intensity of her stare transfixed him. He couldn't look away. He felt like she was reaching out and sifting through his files, judging him like a mythical goddess to a soul come before the afterlife.

At last, her smiled returned and she nodded again. Her hand reached out to squeeze his once more.

"Do you need some help with that?" She asked quietly.

"I uh... I wouldn't mind... Talking about it," Prometheus said, "uh, with-with any of you!" He said quickly, looking around at Yorktown and Hornet. Yorktown was smiling serenely, with a touch of confusion. Hornet's grin was knowing.

"Well, we wouldn't mind talking with you more too, sweetie," Hornet said. She hugged Prometheus more tightly, pressing his face into the side of her boobs, "it's rare we have a shipboy around to talk to!"

"Uh, er, y-yeah, t-titally-TOTALLY," Prometheus said quickly.

RUN DIAGNOSTIC ON LANGUAGE SYSTEMS... WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NOTHING WRONG?!

His commbadge beeped. He pressed it.

"Yes?"

"Prometheus, we just hit a snag with the warp drive repairs, we could use your full focus," his captain said.

Intense disappointment and embarrassment warred within him... But Prometheus just heaved a sigh and nodded.

"Aye sir," he said glumly. As much as he was able to multitask, there were situations where his full attention had to be involved. The warp drive was one of them-They had to restart all four of his nacelles at once, after all. He looked regretfully at Enterprise.

"I-If we could-"

Enterprise beamed.

"It would be nice to talk more," she said, "hit me up in the Borderlands when you get the chance-It is fun to be out in the real world to socialize, but some things can be better done in cyberspace."

Prometheus tried not to gape. He really didn't. But her offer... And all the thoughts of what they might do in cyberspace... Froze him.

"Uh... Y-Yes, um, s-sure," Prometheus managed.

"Don't worry stud," Hornet snickered, again pushing her boobs against his cheek, "we'll be there to chaperone... Or to..." Here she licked her lips, "join in."

"HORNET!" Yorktown and Enterprise cried in exasperation.

Prometheus, for his part, was frozen. He forgot to reset his blush to zero again. And now he couldn't think... Well, beyond the endless loops of the fantasies involving the sisters that were taking over his mind.

He sincerely hoped this was just a phase of his development. He didn't think he could handle it if it was a permanent part of his existence:

Being flustered by girls...

Omake by Dramatic Spoon:

DEEP SPACE NINE

Quark eyed the newcomer as he took a seat next to Morn at the bar.

"Whatcha having? We got a special on Root Beer tonight."

"I do not require nourishment ."

"Well then, I don't require you taking up space at my bar when I can have paying customers."

"I was told this was the best part of the station for social interaction," the stranger scanned the bar.

"Someone told you right. Who are you anyway?"

"Lieutenant Commander Data of the USS Enterprise."

"Ah, the Android. Stay away from my Dabo tables."

"Curious that you still allow ship Avatars to participate in Dabo."

"They pay. They don't use their brains to calculate all probabil-"

"It helps that several of the tables appear to be rigged as well."

"Trade secret. And they at least buy drinks."

"You sell-"

"As soon as they created alcohol for Shipgirls, I cornered the market here."

Data's response was cut off by a loud song.

"-will explode in your wormhole!
And he'll rub his trusty Spangler wrench!
On your warp core manifolds!
His multiphase Torpedos will penetrate your rift!
And cause a Quantum singularity in your Trans Warp Conduits!

If you're a filthy Horta!"

"I am unfamiliar with this song."

"It's called The Sexy Data Tango. It's by DJ Trekkie."

"I am unfamiliar with any such musician in Federation records."

Quark Chuckled.

"Well, of course you wouldn't. They're underground."

"I see. And They wrote a song about my sexual exploits."

"clearly."

"I am curious how-"

"THERE HE IS!"

Several Shipgirls swarmed over Data and yanked him off his stool.

"Hornet, please you and the others are intoxicated."

"I want to see your Torpedo tubes."

Quark shook his head as the shipgirls pulled the Android down towards the holosuites.

"I charge extra if you leave a mess!"

Hope you enjoyed!