In the unofficial junior officers' wardroom, the usual gathering was taking
place amongst the small cadre of junior officers that Ming had joined shortly
after coming aboard the Ronin. The group had just finished a variant of Yahtzee
using eight-sided dice and were in relaxation mode, shooting the bull. Ming
and Ciara sat together on a cushion on one side of the room, watching themselves
because of the company they were in--not that anyone else would have cared,
but with Bob Delveccio in the room most of the group tended to behave themselves.
The priest was working with Benson in one corner, helping the slow-witted lab
tech through a reading primer.
"Why don't you give the poor man a rest, Bob?" Cody Yellowhorse asked from the gaming table. He was engaged in a deep conversation with Jenna Parnell, who had been flirting mercilessly with every male in the room with the exception of Bob.
"I like Bob! He's nice!" Benson said enthusiastically.
Cody rolled his eyes. "And to think they made him a Marine!"
"He does his job; that's all that's required of him," Shara said. She kept her distance from the rest of the group, despite attempts by everyone there (including Benson) to draw her out.
Jenna started up. "And who made you his owner?" she said angrily. "Maybe he's not the brightest but he's still a person with feelings!"
"I'm his keeper because Starfleet has made me his keeper," Shara retorted. "And because I'm the only one who knows how to handle him."
"Excuse me, Ms. Mikori," Ming said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "The last time I looked at the T.O. I was Benson's commanding officer, and I report directly to Captain Evans, who reports to Admiral Pike. Nowhere in that list do you show up! And I've not had a problem with him at all since he came here."
"Neither have I! He's been a paradigm of efficiency and comportment!" Ciara said.
"And neither have I," Delveccio added. "That makes at least three officers who seem capable of dealing with Mr. Benson. And you, madame, are quite out of line right now! Keep in mind the Golden Rule--"
"Keep your superstitious mutterings to yourself, old man!" Shara snapped.
"Now look here! I don't belong to his religion," Varn--hitherto silent in this exchange--said. "I'm not even from the same race! But I respect him and I'll not have anyone talk about him that way!" The Lurian stood up, uncharacteristically enraged.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please!" Bob interjected. "We are all friends here. There is no need for such hostility!"
"He's right," Jenna said. "We've never acted like this before." Not until you showed up, anyway, you heartless bitch! "But I do think you owe Bob an apology."
Jenna didn't know that Shara was a telepath--but Ming, Ciara, and Varn knew that Shara had just read her thoughts. "I apologize, Ensign Delveccio."
"Forget about it--I count it joy to share in the sufferings of Christ!" Bob said as he sat down with Benson again. Benson had remained silent throughout this exchange.
"Whatever," Shara said.
The room remained tense for a while, then the party broke up.
"You goaded her deliberately, didn't you?" Ciara asked Ming on the way out.
"I had no idea she would respond the way she did. I don't like seeing people getting bullied--particularly not people who can't defend themselves," Ming replied. "As powerful physically as Benson is, he doesn't have the mental faculties yet to deal with someone like Shara. Although I'm beginning to suspect that Shara's right--she was sent here as his keeper, and resents our interference."
"Resentment isn't the word! She hates me with a passion and she is extremely suspicious of you," Ciara said. "In fact, she doesn't like either me or Varn--or Karissa for that matter. I was thinking she had it in for aliens in general, but Karissa's basically human stock, same as Shara, literally."
"You're all telepaths," Ming said suddenly. "If she does have something planned, you three stand the best chance of figuring it out."
"You're probably right. I'd be watching my back, though, if I were you," Ciara replied. "Benson thinks the world of you, and Shara's afraid you pose a threat to her authority."
"I do," Ming said, smiling very broadly. "Authority based on coercion is nothing more than cowardice in disguise."
"Or foolishness," Ciara added. "Just be careful," she said, taking his hand.
"I will, dear," Ming replied, squeezing her hand. "There's something in the lab I want to check on; I'll join up with you in a few minutes."
"Okay, I'll be waiting!"
Ming arrived in the lab to check on some exotic crystal specimens he was seeding in an experiment to see if dilithium crystals couldn't be manufactured as opposed to mined. Such an advance would give the Federation a decidedly unbroachable commercial and strategic advantage.
The lab wasn't necessarily a security-restricted area, but Ming was surprised to find someone in there ahead of him. "Shara--what are you doing here?" he asked.
"I needed to talk to you in private, Ming. What are you doing with those losers, anyway?"
"What losers?"
"Those people from tonight!" Shara said, emphasizing the word 'people' with disgust. "They'll never amount to anything; you should surround yourself with power players. 'A's surround themselves with other A's; B's surround themselves with C's.' Didn't you learn anything in your Academy leadership classes?"
"I learned that the true secret of leadership lies in presenting a positive example and not making people feel inferior or unvalued. My friends are good enough for Starfleet; that makes them good enough for me!"
"But 'good enough' seldom is," Shara said, her voice becoming a little more playful. "You know that personally. You content yourself with Ciara when you know what you really want....what you once had, and can never have again..."
Ming was horrified. "How did you--"
"I'm a telepath, remember? And yes, I'm an exact copy of Karissa. And I can be yours," Shara said in a low, seductive tone as she began unzipping her tunic.
"I think you'd better leave," Ming said.
"Why? Afraid I'll remind you of something uncomfortable? I know how you felt, being rejected, and then losing your son..."
"You will never speak of this again," Ming said, his voice dropping into a low growl.
"You are uncomfortable, aren't you?" Shara said as she advanced on Ming. "I can give you everything you've ever wanted...acclaim, rank, status..."
"But at what cost?" Ming said, backing away from her. "My integrity?"
"Oh, nothing so dramatic! Just some notes you've compiled..."
Ming tapped his combadge. "Wang to Security--"
He was interrupted by Shara springing onto him; Ming barely had time to get out of the way as Shara crashed into a condenser column, shattering the fragile apparatus. "You've made your choice, Wang! Now be prepared to live with it!"
Ming launched a side kick at Shara as she came at him; the kick knocked her back momentarily. Ming reached for the nearest item he could find--a geologic core sampler--and brandished it in front of him. Shara came at him again; Ming hit her along the side of the head with the core sampler and parried two more blows from her before she finally knocked it aside. Shara pinned him to the ground, hissing. Ming knew even with his advanced kung fu skills that Shara could easily overpower him. He needed an edge.
Reaching up to the countertop, Ming secured a tricorder and closed it shut on her ear. She reared up, screeching in pain as Ming spun onto his feet and got more distance. He went to activate his combadge again, only to find it missing...
Frantically, Ming looked for another item in the lab to use as a weapon. Someone had carelessly left out a carboy of 5.0 molar sulfuric acid. If this doesn't stop her, nothing will! He opened the carboy and held it in front of him, ready to splash out the contents onto her when the door to the lab opened.
In charged Benson! "You leave Mr. Wang alone!" he yelled as he grabbed Shara by both arms and threw her aside. Right behind him was what had to be Ciara. Ming suspected that, as any le'matyas on board would surely have been brought to his attention. The hissing Vulcan predator stood guard over Shara as Ming retrieved his commbadge and called Security. Moments later, Lieutenant O'Neal was there with a team and had taken Shara into custody.
"Do you wish to make a statement, Lieutenant?" O'Neal said, meaning did Ming wish to press charges.
"I'll make this statement," Ming said, turning to Shara. "Do not attempt to coerce me again, or you'll find yourself facing much worse than a bottle of acid and a Security team!"
"Oh, don't you wish you could back that up?" Shara said, sneering at him as he Security team hauled her away.
"Are you okay?" Ciara asked Ming, tending to a scrape above his forehead.
"I'll--I'll be fine," Ming said. Ciara could tell he wasn't dealing with what happened very well. "I think I just need to sleep it off."
"You're probably right. But
if you need to talk, I'm here," Ciara said, knowing what Shara had tried
to put in his mind.