Two Weeks Ago
Amojen walked into a large chamber. Instantly one of the priests walked up to her and informed her, "He's been there for several weeks . . . I worry about him."
Amojen's eyes burned red as she looked at him. "Worry about yourself, Priest! The plights of the gods are not your concern." She then turned to the far end of the chamber. "Leave us! All of you!"
They acolytes all looked at each other perplexed.
Amojen's voice became low and demonic. "Get out!!" she growled.
The acolytes and priests humbly walked out of the chamber. Amojen began to walk to the end of the chamber where Kalimar floated in a pillar of red-orange flame above an alter. Amojen waved her hand and the flames disappeared, depositing Kalimar on the floor nude and breathing heavily. Amojen walked over to the wall where one of the acolytes robes were and took it, throwing it at him. She looked at him with indignation.
"You stink!" she said, "You stink like these mortals!"
Kalimar replied without looking up, "You don't understand. It's like a pounding inside me. The screaming. He wants -"
"Who cares what he wants!" she said. "He's human and you're a god! We're going to win this and I won't let your weakness get in the way! Do what you have to, but get your power back, or I will rid you of your pain myself!"
With that she walked out of the chamber.
Excellent, Mazar thought as he decrypted the contents of the diplomatic pouch from Mullura Prime. This should prove just the thing!
Using a maintenance code he'd paid a rather steep bribe to obtain, Mazar hacked into the station's replicator system. He transferred the data from the pouch into a PADD and then downloaded the PADD into the system pattern buffer. He entered a few additional lines of code to explicitly exempt Mulluran food and medical supplies. Jonas will just have to fend for himself, he thought. Then again, seeing Jonas in rut might be entertaining...
"Want to stop for lunch before checking Deck 33?" Crewman First Class Arturo Salazar asked his coworker.
"You're lazy, you know that? Deck 33 won't take another hour! Your stomach can hold out that long!" his coworker, Crewman First Class Yasmine Jafari replied. The two had just been paired last week, and the working relationship was uneasy at best.
"Oh, you're no fun! Come on! Have something, live a little!"
Yasmine sighed. She knew she was going nowhere until Salazar ate. "Maybe a little something." The two stepped up to a replicator. "Coffee, cream and sugar," Yasmine ordered.
Arturo ordered a submarine sandwich and a large soda. Great, he'll be having to go to the bathroom all night! Yasmine thought.
As soon as she sipped her coffee, her thoughts changed. Arturo took a swig of his soda...and soon the midnight snack was forgotten...
Mazar waited all night for reports of the effects of his little alteration to the replicator protocols. He expected no serious outbursts until morning, when most of the station's occupants had the traditional morning meal of Earth, breakfast.
He'd hacked into the station-wide comm system some time ago, and was listening for unusual events. Soon, he found them...two maintenance crewmen were caught in flagrante delecto on Deck 32...the Security officer who found them went offline shortly after...two more Security officers were sent, and failed to report back until the two crewmen reported situation normal.
Mazar smiled. Everything was working exactly as Dr. Mikori promised...
Kitty was at her desk going over several daily reports. As the lunch hour approached she wanted to try to knock out as much of this work as possible. She got up and went to the replicator. She got herself a sweetened, herbal tea and sat back down.
She tapped her commbadge. "Captain Mallory to Ensign Saila, please come to my office."
[Yes, ma'am] he replied.
"Bring your reports, I want to go over them with you," she said. As he entered her office she motioned to the replicator. "Why don't you get something to drink and make yourself comfortable."
Charles went to replicator, grabbed something to drink and sat in the chair opposite the desk. As she looked at him she smiled gently.
"Okay, now what's happening today?" she asked.
After 15 minutes, Ens. Saila had delivered his report to her. She had given him a couple of orders and he had left. But she was starting to feel warm. Warmer than usual, she noted, and her mind kept wandering to Troy. What was going on? Were her hormones out of whack, she wondered.
Quince Morgan was going over the ropes again with Katianna hovering over him.
"Good," she said, "I think you have the idea."
With that, he got up and went to the replicator, getting some water to drink. As he sipped it, he asked, "Do you want any?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Anyway, if you get notified of anything, just make sure to run it by me first. Unless I'm not available . . ." she said ominously.
"What do you mean, not available?" he asked.
"Don't worry about," Katianna replied. "Anyway, I'm out of here! Welcome to the Intelligence Division on SB901."
With that, she disappeared out the door.
Miranda and Ryan had gotten a free moment to have some lunch together and decided to grab something at Harry's. They sat at one of the tables outside and watched as the other people walked by, and yet it seemed as if there were a lot more people kissing, they thought. Not that that was a bad thing. Ryan leaned over to Miranda and kissed her gently.
"Do you think they know something we don't?" he asked. "Is it kissing day on the station?"
Miranda laughed. "I don't think so . . ." she replied.
The waitress arrived with their order. But even the waitress seemed as if her mind was elsewhere.
"What is going on here?" Ryan asked with a smile as he watched the waitress walk away.
Miranda just laughed and took a sip of her soda.
Seven members of the Special Ops team were in the Holodeck assigned to them, following a rugged training program that threw them into a virtual reality simulation of the station where they were running and climbing through the station. Katianna arrived late and joined immediately.
Thirty minutes later, Lt. Commander Lee called a halt, and everyone fell out and went about their own cool down routines. Katianna followed the first four team members to the replicator where they took bottles of water before moving off to the locker room. Katianna took the bottle the replicator spit out at her, she waved to Lee and Alicia and stepped out into the corridor.
Slowly Lee helped Alicia with her stretches and cool down while everyone else slowly left the Holodeck. Lee walked over and accessed a bottle for both himself and Alicia. He walked slowly back to her and saw her laying on the deck with stray locks of blond hair escaped from her ponytail holder laying in ringlets. He took a sip from his bottle as he handed her one...their hands brushed lightly as she sat up and took the bottle. Moments later the air seemed to weigh heavy, and the couple looked around, and he watched as Alicia crawled to her knees and slowly and sensually made her way to Lt. Cmdr. Lee's position where she took his face in her hand and kissed him passionately...
"I don't want to be any trouble," Alexandra said as they sat down at a table in front of Chez Orleans.
"It's no trouble at all," Kassia smiled. Since the incident with Tara several months before, Luis had never refused her a table since, or had made her wait unless it was absolutely necessary. And besides, she had plans of her own for this lunch. "I just figured I'd surprise you."
"It's a surprise all right," Alexandra replied.
Kassia laughed softly. "Well, the surprises aren't completely over with yet," she said as she sipped at her drink.
Alexandra's eyes opened wide and she almost spit out the water in her mouth. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"You'll see," Kassia replied with a smile. "Don't worry. I think you'll enjoy the surprise."
This put Alexandra on edge. Suddenly a man walked in. He was talk and well dressed with light brown hair and blue-green eyes. He came up to Kassia and kissed her cheek affectionately.
"Hello there," he said. "You didn't tell me we would have company for lunch." He smiled as he looked at Alexandra and decided quickly that she was rather beautiful.
"Actually, I have a surprise for you," Kassia replied as she got up and sat Gregory down in her seat. "Gregory Thorton meet Alexandra Faal. She's a new counselor to the station . . . I think you two should talk and have lunch. You might find you have some things in common."
At that, she leaned over and kissed Gregory's cheek. "Enjoy lunch," she whispered into his ear. With that they watched as she walked away.
"My dear, I think we have just been set up," Gregory laughed.
Alexandra smiled. "She did say she had a surprise. I guess you were it."
"Well, I know Kassia and if nothing else, I think we should go ahead and have lunch. What do you say?" he asked.
She nodded her agreement.
Karissa was taking the afternoon off to do some window shopping on the promenade. Things, for the moment, were quiet aboard the Ronin, though the Ronin was scheduled to leave in two hours for a patrol. The patrol wasn't going to last longer than a day and they weren't roaming far from the station. One of the things she knew was that they were to pick up someone and bring them to SB901. A new science office named Tyvek. But for the next hour she planned to window shop.
Along her way, she bought a drink at a vendor, who replicated concoctions and added ingredients on the spot. All she remembered was it was fruity. She then found herself in a baby store looking at the clothes and toys, wondering if she should get something for her little ones.
But then, she felt a flushed heat go throughout her body. She knew it was a signal. One she couldn't ignore. She didn't think her body was suppose to go into heat yet, but her body obviously thought otherwise. She forgot about getting anything and left the store, making her way back to the Ronin as quickly as possible.
Once back aboard ship, there was only one place she could go and be safe. She knew it. And it was the only place she wanted to go. She ran to the holodeck. Quickly she initiated the cottage program and ran inside. She tapped her commbadge.
"Lt. Bentara to Lt. Wang," she said.
[What is it, Karissa?] he asked with concern. He could hear the distress in her voice.
"Ming . . . I think I'm in heat . . ."
[Where are you?] he asked.
"I've sequestered myself in holodeck 2 . . . But this doesn't feel right. Something is different about this one."
[How?] he asked.
"I'm not sure . . . Just the feel of it is different, like it didn't start naturally . . ."
[Stay there and wait it out] he suggested. [At least you'll be safe there. I can have Ciara watch the kids for you.]
"Thanks . . ." she replied as she closed the commline. She then called for her program of Ryan to start. Instantly, he appeared.
As he saw her he went to her. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"I'm in heat . . ." she said, her dark eyes looking up at him.
Tenderly he caressed her face. "It's all right . . . You're here now, with me."
Just then, she felt a presence. Will walked out of the shadows. She hadn't even heard him enter.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I followed you," he said, coming up to her. "Karissa . . . I want you, as much as you want him."
Her breathing was coming fast as liquid heat spread throughout her body. "Oh god . . ." she said, as he came up behind her, pushed her dark hair over to one shoulder and kissed her neck.
"Is this what you need, Kari?" Ryan asked, as if understanding what was happening.
After all, she had programmed him to respond to her heats just in case . . . She hadn't know why she had done that . . . Not until this moment. For a moment she couldn't speak, as Ryan caressed her face and kissed her lips tenderly.
"Do you need us both?" he asked.
She moaned, hating herself, hating her genetics that made this happen. But she couldn't deny that now he was here with them that she did.
"Yes . . . God forgive me . . . yes . . ." she said.
Dr. Cynda Amory had just arrived on SB901. Her belongings had been transferred to her quarters, and she had decided to walk there herself. She enjoyed the size of the station and looked forward to joining her colleagues in sickbay in the morning.
As she reached her quarters, she found that most of her things had been put in the middle of the room. She quickly unpacked what she knew she would need the most and decided to leave the rest for after she explored the Promenade and got a bite to eat.
She quickly learned that the Promenade was just as big as the station claimed. Anything and everything could be found along the shops. She stopped in many, including Kassia's Kave of Curiosities and Mystery. She was pretty sure she had heard the name Kassia before. Then she remembered that Kassia was the name of the Chief Counselor aboard the station.
Finally, she was ready to eat, but she wasn't sure where to stop. She passed many places, but finally settled for The Easy Inn. It looked like a good place to relax, grab a drink and a bite to eat.
"Hi! I'm Jovani, I'll be your server today, how can I help you?" asked a young man as she looked over a menu.
She smiled. "Hi, Jovani, I think I will have a grilled salmon platter with a glass of white wine."
He wrote it down and walked away. But it didn't take long for him to return with her wine.
"So what's fun around here?" she asked.
"You don't know?"
"Nope. I just arrived on the station today," she smiled as she sipped her wine.
"Well, there's lots of things."
"Like?"
"Order's up!" Laz called.
"I'll be right back," Jovani said as he went to get her food. He brought it to her and then turned to Laz. "Hey, can I take a break?"
"Sure," Laz said, noticing that the place wasn't all that busy at the moment, But the Promenade seemed to be full of people.
Jovani sat down in the booth across from Cynda. "Now where were we?" he asked.
"I asked you what was fun around here," she smiled.
"Oh yeah! Well . . . There's Holo Pursuits and there's a lot of dance clubs . ."
As Cynda drank her wine and ate her lunch, she felt funny. She kept looking at Jovani and felt his energy. He was attracted to her and she was very attracted to him. Slowly, she slid around the booth until she was right next to him.
"You know, I can sense you like me," she smiled and bit her lower lips for a moment. "And you know what? I like you too." With that, she leaned over and kissed his gently.
As she pulled away, he looked into her aqua colored eyes. Without hesitation, he caressed her face and kissed her passionately, sweeping her away. They separated once again, and stayed only a breath apart, looking at each other completely blown away by the other's kiss.
Jovani looked into her eyes. "You know, I've got a pretty nice apartment. Do you want to check it out?"
"Thought you'd never ask!" she replied with a smile.
Together they got up out of the booth and ran off hand in hand.
Troy had served lunch to Shara Mikori and Cody Yellowhorse of the Ronin. They were catching a last meal on the Promenade before heading out on the Ronin. Only, as he watched them, something seemed to change. Shara seemed to be reacting to the music. Soon, as he watched, she was standing on the table, dancing away provocatively. What was stranger to him was that he was starting to feel strange himself. All he could think about was Kitty and how fast he could get to her . . .
But as he looked again, he noticed a crowd had gathered around Shara. They were beginning to whistle at her and howl. She merely smiled and laughed and danced more erotically.
"Take it off, baby!" someone called.
She looked at Cody.
He shrugged. "Go for it, if you want to, babe," he said, enjoying the view himself.
With that, she smiled brightly and laughed just a bit. Soon she began to work her shirt off very erotically. Troy wondered if he should stop it. Then he wondered if he could . . . Then he thought how fast could he get to Kitty?
Kassia walked along the Promenade. Her afternoon was free for the most part, as Claire was watching the office and seeing patients. But as she walked, she felt strange. Thoughts of Tarik permeated her mind. She was thinking of his kisses and the way he held her. The way her touched her that brought out such wonderful feelings. Suddenly, as she realized that this obsession was growing, she noticed that there were many people on the promenade making out on the various benches. This was not just her problem, she realized, as she felt the emotions coming from everyone. She was going to head to Sickbay . . Talk to whoever was there. Hopefully they weren't in the same condition as these people . . . but one could never tell.
As she walked through the promenade, she kept getting visions of the people making out. Several times she had to stop and pull a woman away and lead her to another man, and take the woman he was with and lead her to someone else, finally getting the right woman to the right man.
"I'm sure you'll be much happier now," she had simply said.
No one had said too much to her with her playing musical partners. They merely smiled as they looked at the new person and began kissing them . . . It was strange, she thought, and yet in an odd way it made sense to her . . After all, she was thinking of Tarik. She wondered if she should go to him . . but then remembered, she wanted to go to sickbay, and began heading there once again.
Toren Len had replicated different meds for several patients that the doctor had ordered. But as time went on, his thoughts were of Kassia and Danni . . Mostly Danni. All he could do was think about getting to her.
He had slipped out of sickbay and at a run, had made his way to Kassia's shop. He didn't stop until he grabbed Danni by the waist, pulled her body close to his, and kissed her with the passion that was consuming him. He had to have her and have her now . . .
Talia and Jakey sat on one side of the booth in the bar/lounge that's within the 58th's area. The barkeep arrived with a tray of food they'd ordered and Shannon reached over and took the Katchup from Talia and dumped some on her plate and dredged a fry though it... Jakey snagged one of Talia's fries, and some of Shanes sauce.
Talia ran her hand along the inside of Jake's thigh and laughed as she picked up her sandwich and took a bite. Shannon shook her head and concentrated on eating lunch and relaxing after her mission. Shannon had direct view of the enterance and saw Morgan enter. Shannon gave Talia a kick under the table and when eye contact was made she indicated incoming...
Morgan arrived at the table, "Lieutenants. Talia I need to speak with you, privately." He walked off and to the replicator to wait for Talia to join him he spoke, "Raktajino." He took the cup when it materialized.
"What?" She asked, arms crossed, upset at being dragged away from her lunch.
He set his cup down on the counter and said, "...I want to talk about us." He stepped into her and she stepped away. "Talia, don't keep walking away from me."
"Morgan, I don't want to talk about us. I want to finish my lunch and plan my mission for later...if I can find you later we can talk. Okay?" She turned and walked away from him and kissed Jakey as she slid back into the seat. Jake saw Morgan storm out of the lounge and reached up and tussled Talia's hair. He knew that she was upset by the confrontation and he was beginning to getting flashes in his mind on how he could remedy the situation.
Paul was busy going over reports. He hadn't stopped for lunch and finally decided to grab a bite to eat. He went to the replicator and got himself a Roast Beef Dip sandwich and something to drink. He took it back to his desk and ate as he continued to work.
Nicole had gone out for drinks with Jason the night before but was in a funk and feeling sorry for herself and really just wanted to talk to Stephen. It had been over a month since she'd been released from the dust exposure and he'd had her grounded.
Nicole walked back into the Easy Inn and saw Laz, "Hey, I'm looking for Stephen."
"He's in the back." Nicole walked around the counter and through the swinging double doors. "Thanks," she said with a smile and a wink. She entered and found him leaning against the counter sipping a brew. He stood up surprised to see her, but smiled and silently offered her a brew... She actually wanted a cup of coffee but took a sip off his bottle.
He set the bottle down and leaned in and tasted the brew from her lips as he pinned her against the counter. She kissed him back and then rested her hands against his chest, and breathed, "Wow...I guess you missed me." She was a little surprised by this welcome. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the Easy Inn. It was the middle of the afternoon but Laz pasted a grin on his face and waved as they left.
They kissed on the Promenade and both laughed and ran the rest of the way to the space dock as it was closer than his quarters. She pulled him into her ship and before the hatch closed items of clothing were dropping on the deck...
Corran was in the gym in Marine country. He had a sense that something was going on. He wasn't entirely sure what, but there was something. But he also had a feeling that whatever was going on, he might want to head to sickbay.
The door sensor chimed in Katianna's quarters. Kara went to the door and let it slide open. Suddenly, before her was Kalimar. Fear immediately went into her aqua-colored eyes. Kalimar immediately reached out and grabbed her neck.
"Hi!" he said. "Long time no see!"
He threw her against the sofa. As she made contact, the sofa flipped backwards. Kalimar entered the room. The door closed behind him as he sniffed the air.
"Nice fragrance. Did you pick it yourself?"
She immediately scrambled backwards and ended up in a corner. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
Kalimar walked over to the side wall so that he could get a good look at Kara. "Oh, you know, just paying my Ex a visit."
"She's not here," Kara said. "Though I'm sure she'd like to know you're here." In fact, with a sudden move of bravado, she called out, "Kara Lac to Commander Nadira!"
Kalimar chuckled. "Think about it for one second. Of all the bodies I could have inhabited, I inhabited the body of a Section 31 Officer. Do you really think I would come here without disabling the comms?" He walked a little closer to Kara and said, "Now lets try to be civil, shall we?"
Kara's eyes misted, but she wasn't going to cry. "Yes, sir . . ." she said, not knowing what else to say.
"How are the kids?" he asked.
"They . . . they are well," she replied, her voice shaking badly, as her body shook.
Kalimar nodded his head slowly. "Yes . . . Are they here?" he asked a bit patronizingly.
Kara immediately shook her head. "No," she replied. "Laurissa is at school, and Daniel . . . Katianna has taken him with her today. One of the other mother's on the station invited him over for a playdate."
Kalimar nodded approvingly and stood up. "There! Now you see what happens when we answer questions directly and when we're courteous to guests?"
"Yes, sir," she replied, still not moving from the corner. "I see."
Kalimar walked over to the dining table and took a seat. "So what is it that you normally do for guests around here, being that I don't come around all that often."
Slowly, she stood up and walked over to him. "What is it you wish? I will replicate anything you'd like to eat, providing it is programmed into the replicator." She didn't meet his eyes. She was too frightened of what she would see there, which she was sure was her death.
"And what if what I want isn't programmed into the replicator? What will you do then?" he asked, in a subtly threatening tone.
She visibly shook more. "We . . . don't have a lot in the kitchen . . . If it's not available . . . Sir, I don't know . . . What can I do?" she asked, trying hard to keep the tears from her eyes, but failing to keep the fear from her voice.
Kalimar laughed. "I'm just joshing you. Something to drink will be fine. Whatever you think will be good. Surprise me."
She quickly went to the replicator and got a drink. She placed the glass full of the pink liquid before him. "I hope this is to your liking," she said, as she swallowed hard trying to get her fear in check, but it wasn't working.
He smiled and lifted up the glass as if to make a toast and then brought it to his lips, taking a sip. Visibly pleased, he said, "Wow! This is really -" Suddenly his demeanor changed. He tossed the glass to the wall. The glass shattered and the pink Lemonade splashed on the wall and carpet below. "Jovan's favorite drink." He stood up and looked at her menacingly. He placed his hands on her shoulders tightening his grip. He tried to compose himself. "Well, our pleasantries ended quickly. Where's Katianna?"
"I'm sorry," Kara said, almost crying. "I did not know that would offend you! Honestly! I don't know where Katianna is! This is during her duty shift. I assume she is working . . ." Tears were again shining in her eyes. She was right, he was going to kill her, she thought.
"So where does she spend her on-duty hours these days?"
Kara shook her head. "If she's not in her office, I do not know."
Kalimar took a deep breath and let go of her shoulders. "Okay. Why don't you go take a seat?" He walked over to the sofa and turned it back upright and motioned for her to come over and sit.
Kara obliged. She didn't want to invite his wrath.
He grabbed onto the sofa and leaned over her interrogatively. "Okay, where has Katianna been spending most of her time lately?"
For a moment Kara was silent, unsure what to answer.
Kalimar grabbed her by the chin and said, "That tongue of yours is for talking. If you do not talk, then you are not using it properly, which says to me that you wouldn't mind having someone rip it out."
A tear trickled down her cheek. "She has spent much of her time in the holosuites lately," she replied softly.
He stood up quickly and raised his arms. "Thank you! You just saved me some soap and water." He began to walk to the door. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Laurissa gets home safely. After that, well, it depends on how fast you can run." Then he vanished out the door.
For a moment, Kara didn't move as tears spilled from her eyes. She shook as sobs suddenly wracked her body. She had to warn Katianna . . . She had to warn her. But how? Kara couldn't even think anymore, her mind was still numb.
Dr. Nathan Fletcher was on duty, he was the senior medical officer for the station for the afternoon watch, he had two other junior physicians and over a dozen phyician assistants and nurses working the shift. He wandered into the staff lounge and took a seat on the couch with his feet hanging over the edge. The door opened and he looked over expecting one of the others but smiled when he saw 'his wife', Captain Jayme Alcon walk through the door.
"Hey, how's my wife doing?" He looked at the time and knew she was off duty and asked, "Shouldn't you be home resting?"
"I was hoping we could have a little dinner and spend some time together since you won't be home tonight." He was sitting on the arm of the couch and she moved in and kissed him. "So, what are you hungry for?"
Nathan rested his hands around her waist, and asked, "Whatever you're having." She smirked and pulled away from him and walked to the replicator and ordered, "Two Ham and Provolone cheese, with mustard, and pickles. Replicate a bowl of fresh whole strawberries and chocolate dip. Two cups raktajino, light and sweet. She leaned against the wall and waited. Nathan returned to the main room and took a seat at one of the tables... She carried the tray of food over and he picked up a strawberry dipped it in the chocolate and ate half and then fed his wife the other half... several minutes into the meal she smiled and said, "I'm not really hungry are you?"
"No." He stood pulled her to her feet and dragged her by the wrist into the sleep room, backed her against the wall and kissed her...
School was out. All the kids were leaving and many were being picked up by parents. Laurissa was wandering through the crowd looking for Kara, but couldn't seem to find her. It was strange, she thought, considering that Kara was never late, and she was always there to pick her up, or her mother was . . . Not that she didn't know the way home or anything.
She found her teacher and said. "Kara's not here and neither is my mom."
Her teacher looked at her and smiled. "Well, you're a big girl. Your mom told me that it was okay for you to walk home should no one be here to get you."
"Okay," she replied. "Thank you."
With that, Laurissa made sure her backpack was on securely and started for home, by way of the arboreum. She would pick some flowers for momma. Maybe they would make her smile, she thought.
Laurissa walked through the park portion of the arboreum and waved as several of her friends called out to her. But what she wanted was to walk through the flower beds. She found a nice secluded area with several species of flowers in shades of pink, lavender and yellow. She began picking a few as she hummed to herself. She leaned over to pick up a very pretty flower that was a light shade of blue. When she stood up, she found someone standing before her. She looked into his eyes and knew it was Kalimar.
"Hi, honey. I bet those flowers are for your mom. You were always such a thoughtful child."
Immediately Laurissa dropped the flowers and began to run. Laurissa suddenly ran into someone. As she looked up, she found it was him. She quickly, turned tail and ran the other way and ran into him again. This time, before she could get away, he grabbed her.
"Thoughtful, yes, but a little slow."
"Let me go!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "You let me go right now!"
Kalimar turned her around and crouched down in front of her. "Now why would I do that? Am I really so bad that you have to get away from me before you say hello?"
"Yes!" she replied and kicked him in the knee and began to struggle in his arms. "Let me go!! Let me go!!" She kicked at him again.
As she struggled against him, he grabbed her firmly and brought his lips to her ear. "If you don't stop struggling, I'm going to have to kill your mommy," he said calmly.
For a moment she was still and quiet. "You won't kill her," she said as she met his gaze. "She'll kill you first." But she stopped struggling. She fixed him with an angry gaze that was very reminiscent of her mother.
Kalimar smiled. "You're just like your mother. Tenacious," he hesitated for a moment, "And stupid." He then stood up and grabbed her hand. "Lets go see what your mommy's doing right now."
Tara and Jayson were eating a late lunch over her desk, going over reports and talking in between. Just as Tara took a sip of her soda, she heard a report come in on some rambunctious civilians on the Promenade just outside the Get-It-All Mart.
"Lets take this one," Tara said as she stood up.
"You've got it," he replied. "How about we take Leret and Kalvin with us too?"
Tara nodded. "Good thinking. The report didn't say how many civilians were involved. Just that there seemed to be a few."
They immediately rounded up Jonathon Leret and Michael Kalvin and headed out.
As they walked down the Promenade they noticed many amorous couples kissing. But as they approached the problem area, they saw two men fighting over a woman, but many more couples were concentrated here and blatantly making out for the station to see.
The security officers all looked at each other wondering just what they were suppose to do.
"Well, lets at least stop the fight," Tara said.
Jayson pulled off one man, and Jonathon pulled off the other.
"She's mine!" cried one man.
"I'm the one in love with her!" The other man cried.
"NO! I am!"
"You're both going to spend some time in the brig cooling off," Tara replied.
"Oh, don't take them . . ." cried the woman. "I love them both. I just can't seem to chose between the two of them! I'll die if you take them away!"
"I'm sorry, dear," she said, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "But it has to be done."
With that, they marched the guys back to Security and put them in the brig where they continued to argue. However, those that touched the men and the woman were starting to have thoughts and feelings that didn't belong on duty. Tara stole many looks and Jayson and had to force herself not to think about running off to a dark corner with him . . . Oh how she wanted to!
Michael began to think a lot about Norinne Tara, his first love. But somehow the image of Norinne Tara changed into the image of Lazarus Tara. He suddenly got the urge to run to the Easy Inn. As soon as Tara Carmichael was out of sight, he did exactly that.
Lazarus was tending his bar at the Easy Inn. He was suppose to have dinner with Michael Kalvin after he got off-duty, and yet he found himself wishing that Michael were off-duty now. Suddenly, he saw Michael run in. Lazarus was shocked.
As Michael approached him, he said. "What are you doing here so early? I thought you didn't go off-duty for another two hours."
Michael quickly walked behind the bar and grabbed Lazarus' hand. "I need to talk to you right now." He then pulled him into his office.
Lazarus shut the door behind them. "What did you want to -" But he was interrupted as Michael kissed him passionately.
Michael began to kiss Lazarus' neck. "No . . . what are you doing? I'm working . . ." Michael stopped kissing him and quickly whispered into his ear. Lazarus' eyes opened wide. Lazarus immediately pushed Michael off of him and walked out into the main section of the Easy Inn and cried. "We're closed!! Get out!!"
The few people there emitted groans of displeasure as they got up.
"Come on! We're in a hurry here! Everyone! Out! Out! Out!" He pointed to a couple making out in a corner of the Easy Inn. "You two! OUT!"
Lazarus was shooing the last couple of customers out as Michael came up behind him and began caressing his back and chest. Lazarus grabbed Michael's hand.
"Hold on, honey. We're almost done here," Laz said.
Finally, everyone was out. He pushed Michael out and then quickly locked up shop. Michael tenderly caressed Laz's cheek and asked. "Are we going to the trio's apartment?"
Laz tilted his head and smiled. "Oh yeah!" Lazarus tapped his comm. "Computer, site to site transport for two to my quarters. Authorization Maruu-2-Phi-Theda-6-S." Michael looked at him questioningly and Lazarus hugged him. "I'm a Trill. Photographic memory." Then they disappeared in the shimmer of a transporter beam.
Katianna was in the holosuite, totally engrossed in her Joan of Arc program, like she'd been for the last month or so. She was in Joan's armor and held two swords in her hands. It was better for her to work with. As she was attacked by the English soldiers, she went to work taking them out. She gutted two as they charged her and then she swung around cutting an arm off at the elbow and then with another turn she decapitated another. Arrows whizzed by her head. She merely dodged them and continued the fight. This was that battle she always came back to. It was the most intense of Joan's career, or so it seemed to her.
But for the first time in awhile, she called for the program to freeze. She was going to spend dinner at home with her children. Something she had been neglecting a lot lately and that Kassia was pushing her to start doing again to help her reconnect to the world. But suddenly she heard applause. Katianna looked around to see where the applause had come from and found Kalimar standing off to the side against a building, crouched over Laurissa. His arms were around her, holding her in place as he clapped his hands before her.
"Well, isn't that nice. You see what you mom is doing in her free time? Great Work! Excellent Massacre! I especially liked the part where you chopped the guy's head off. You don't see enough beheadings in the 24th century," he said.
"Let her go, Kalimar," she said. "If you want to talk, you don't need to hide behind a child." She tried hard to keep the emotion out of her green eyes, but her mind was frightened for her little girl.
"Who says I'm hiding?" he replied, "I just wanted to make a point about how the school system will let your child walk out with anybody these days. You should really be more careful. Someone could very well . . . I don't know . . Hurt your kids when you least expect it."
"You made your point," she replied, taking only a single step closer. "Now let her go. Wouldn't I be a far more interesting playmate?"
Kalimar smiled. "Now you're speaking my language." He stood up and shuffled Laurissa's hair. "Why don't ya go see if Kara is okay?" He turned to Katianna. "I think I might've scared her a little."
Laurissa looked at her mom for direction. Immediately Katianna called for the arch. "Laurissa, RUN!" Without argument, Laurissa dashed out of the holosuite.
Kalimar watched Laurissa run out and then looked back at Katianna. "So all this is for me?" he asked.
"A girl has to keep her skills sharp," she replied, watching him carefully.
Kalimar walked forward smirking. "And you really think you can hone your skills enough to beat me in a fight?"
"I don't know," she replied, gripping the swords once again. They were the only protection she had and they weren't much. "But I'll certainly try."
Kalimar nodded. "Fair enough. Computer, remove all characters."
Instantly all the characters disappeared from the program.
"Never been to Orleans." He then spread his arms. "All right. Give it your best shot."
For a moment Katianna was frozen, as if mulling over her options. The one thing she was sure of was that if she didn't try to do something about him, he would eventually kill her children. But she also knew that there was a good chance this would be her last fight. But she had to act. Taking all her anger, she swiftly moved forward, ready to strike with her swords. She thrust at him, but he swiftly moved away. She thrust toward him again and again he moved away. Finally, she jumped up to kick him. But suddenly, he grabbed her leg and held her. He then punched her stomach. She flew back and went threw the wall of the nearby cottage.
Kalimar made a face. "Ouch. That had to hurt." He walked toward the cottage and tore a hole in it so he could walk through. He walked inside and saw her stumbling around in pain. He grabbed her by the shoulders and rammed her up against the chimney.
"Just get it over with," she said, just above a whisper, trying to keep the defeated tears from her voice. But they still misted her green eyes. All she could think of was how she had failed . . .
Kalimar looked into her eyes and said. "This is the end." He grabbed her head with his hands and he moved forward and kissed her. She returned his kiss and wound her arms around his neck.