Surefoot 19: Star Crossed

"USS Surefoot-A, Captain's Log, Stardate 45300.18, Captain Esek Hrelle, Commanding: We are on approach to a sector of the Federation-Cardassian border bridged by the Arkady Cluster, a quasar-like phenomenon of collapsed stars listed as a Class-6 navigational hazard due to the Murasaki Effect it produces.

We are here ostensibly to refuel and refit the squadron of Cyclone-class border patrol vessels stationed in this sector. However, our first rendezvous, with the USS Tempest, has a disturbing secondary mission involving its commanding officer, Captain Thomas Acres. And it's one mission I'm not looking forward to fulfilling..."

Across the table from him, Kami barely stopped tucking into her Tarkalian bacon to mutter, "Why not?"

Hrelle set aside his Log Book and picked up his mug again, blowing the steam off the top of the contents. "You know why. You always know why."

His wife smiled, picking bits of breakfast from between her teeth with the claw on her forefinger. "And I always prompt others to voice their own feelings."

He sipped at his tea, delaying the inevitable response. "This is a fellow starship captain. I don't have the right to judge him."

"You're the Strategic Operations Officer for this sector," she reminded him. "Appointed by Admiral Tattok; I'm pretty sure that literally gives you the right. And you're not judging him, you're simply investigating the reports that have been raised about him."

Hrelle harrumphed. "Then I guess I mean that I don't have the temperament for it. It's distasteful."

"Why?"

He looked over at her, reaching across for some bacon - until she growled at him, and he withdrew his hand. "You know I've been on the receiving end of such Starfleet inquisitions, when I was accused of collusion with the Bel-Zon, and badgered by the Barstool Admirals: those smug, opinionated little martinets who haven't done anything themselves, but were still strutting around, yelling, browbeating me. I don't want to be that way."

"So who says you have to be? Maybe what you personally went through makes you the ideal person to do this? You won't be the one to strut about and yell. You'll treat him fairly."

He considered her words, making a sound of concession. "You might be be right."

"Might be?"

Then Kami's combadge chirped. "Counselor, this is Dr Ling, would you please come to Sickbay? Mr Ostrow has just been admitted."

Hrelle tensed and sat up; they had only just appointed Jonas into the ad hoc role of Strategic Engineering Officer; had he been injured while performing something related to his new duties? "Doctor, this is the Captain. What's happened? Was there an accident in Engineering?"

He noticed the smirk on Kami's face, but focused on the doctor's reply. "No, Sir, this was more... recreational than industrial."

"I'll fill him in on the rest, Juliet," Kami assured her loudly. "And I'll be right there. Counselor Hrelle out." She popped the last bit of bacon into her mouth, swallowed and explained, "Jonas has been liplocking with Neraxis for days now, ignoring all the warnings about taking precautions against her biochemistry. Now I get to have 'The Talk' with him. Lucky me." She smiled. "Unless you want to swap jobs? I'll investigate Captain Acres, you talk about the effect of Bolian bodily fluids on human physiology."

Just then, First Officer Commander T'Varik's calm Vulcan voice interrupted. "Captain, we are on approach to the Tempest. We will soon be preparing for Airlock Coupling Procedures."

"On my way. Hrelle out." He shrugged, rising. "Better stick with what I know." But then he seemed to reconsider. "Still, it might be good practice for when Misha needs The Talk from me."

"He won't need that for many years to come." She smiled. "On the other hand, he is your son, he'll be very precocious in that area."

*

Deck 4, Sickbay Suite:

Jonas thought he should have felt immediately better after Dr Ling administered anaprovaline for his acute nausea and headache attack. But then came the reactions from the others in the room: annoyance from the doctor herself, smirking derision from the nurses present, and an embarrassing level of enthusiastic support from the Klingon surgeon Dr Kline, who likened what Jonas had undergone to some test of bravery akin to taking the business end of a painstick.

And then the Counselor walked in, her pregnant state adding a slight waddle to her normally graceful gait. She smiled as he slipped off the biobed and stood up, glancing around at the other attendees in the room before indicating the adjacent Consultation Office, which had a door and privacy walls.

For the first time Jonas felt some relief that he would be spared further embarrassment, and gratefully followed, waiting for the door to slide shut on the rest of the Suite before announcing, "I'm sorry you had to be called in on this, Counselor-"

"Sit, Stud." She moved to the office's replicator unit, requesting, "Prophylactic Kit Model 4."

Jonas' jaw dropped, and he felt his face redden, always looking far worse with his mop of silver-grey hair. "Counselor, I don't need this-"

As a small rectangular kit appeared on the replicator pad, she lifted it up and sat herself down behind the desk. "This is the third incident where you've ignored medical advice about taking necessary precautions when engaged in intimate contact with someone of Bolian biochemistry, so I tend to disagree."

"It's not that I've ignored it!" he insisted, growing hot under his uniform. "It's just..." His words trailed away as he could still feel Neraxis' lips on his that morning, following another boxing lesson promised him. They had been growing closer and closer over the past couple of weeks, and though they had yet to rush into actual sex, things had been... heating up. He never would have expected it when he first met her, almost two years ago, that they would end up romantically involved. He sat down. "It's not very... spontaneous... to have to stop kissing someone you love in order to take an analgesic."

She nodded as she opened the kit, removing its contents and lining them up on the desk, and enjoying his reaction as he saw each item. "I can imagine. But it's even less spontaneous knowing that you're going to retch up your last meal afterwards - and less romantic, for both parties, believe me. You can't keep doing this to yourself, Jonas. It can be interpreted as reckless behaviour."

She unwrapped a small square packet. "Now, this is a standard condom, elastic in structure, in order to fit over most humanoid penises, while also being thin enough to not dull the pleasurable sensations you'll experience during intercourse or when your partner performs oral sex on you-"

He held up a hand. "Counselor, this really isn't necessary, we haven't gone that far!"

"Not yet. But if I know cubs your age, that will change. And if you think the effects of swallowing some of Neraxis' saliva during kissing are bad, I can assure you that the effects of Bolian bodily fluids on an unsheathed human penis will be much more irritating - and will provoke a lot more amusement from the medical staff when you're being treated afterwards."

He leaned back, finding something, anything else to look at besides the Counselor's amused visage. So much had been happening in his life lately, with the promotion he accepted - what was he thinking? He was going to mess up big time! - to this with Neraxis.

Suddenly he confessed, "I don't- I don't know if we're doing the right thing. I have all this pressure with the new job as it is. This would be such a change in our relationship." Now he looked at her. "What if we ruin it?"

Kami regarded him back sympathetically. "That's a chance that any two people can face."

"But has Neraxis said anything to you about us? Does she have doubts, questions? Is there anything she'd like me to do? Not do?"

"Maybe those are things you should be discussing with her?" She began unrolling the condom down over her extended fore- and middle finger. "These kits contain a number of condoms and oral shields, required not just for intercourse but for oral sex, but they're all made of parasene, a very light but durable substance that shouldn't puncture or degrade even with the most vigorous use-" At his expression she teased, "Would you rather just whip it out so can I demonstrate how it fits on the real thing?"

"NO!" He stared at the rest of the equipment with apprehension. "This all seems so... complicated... compared with-"

"Compared with just straightforward human-on-human intercourse? Well, it is, especially with birth control implants, Nanite therapies and other modern medical miracles at our disposal. But a few centuries ago, a condom was absolutely essential, to prevent conception and disease - some of them incurable, even fatal. Responsible males had no problem with employing them. And fitting them on could even be part of the loveplay."

He stared at the kit, his thoughts a jumble.

She set down the condom, reached out and patted his hand. "Every relationship, whether or not there's a sexual element involved, requires some effort from both parties to make it work, whether it's using a prophylactic kit, or simply acknowledging each other's individual needs. The key to success is believing that the rewards of the relationship outweigh the effort required to make it work for both parties."

As he met her gaze now, she noted, "For all the bravado and bluster she shows to the Universe, Neraxis is inwardly very shy, insecure and vulnerable. And she's never been physically intimate with anyone before; that she would be willing to let you be her first means a great deal - at least, to her, and I bet to you as well. Respect that, and her." She indicated the kit. "This? This is a small price to pay, believe me."

Then from the corner of her eye, she saw the Vulcan cadet, Falok, enter the Sickbay Suite, obviously looking for Cadet Eydiir, and noted cryptically, "If it helps, yours is not the only interspecies relationship onboard that has hurdles to overcome. Would you excuse me a moment?"

As the young man nodded, she rose and stepped outside, intercepting Falok and intentionally getting closer than usual to put him off. "Are you finally going to tell her?"

Falok drew up, conscious of Kami's pregnant state but trying not to stare. "Counselor, you appear piqued. Perhaps you should have Dr Ling examine you?"

She grinned. "Are you really trying to deflect me? Me? That's adorable!"

Falok nearly frowned. "You have a singular persistence, Counselor. Yes, I have come to speak with Eydiir."

She nodded. It had been an ongoing issue that was long overdue for a resolution, ever since the incident with the anaphasic being calling itself Baron Samedi, when Falok mindmelded with Eydiir.

When Commander T'Varik learned of it, she had allegedly been as harsh to Falok as a Vulcan could be, but stopped short of expelling him from the Surefoot and the Academy, at Kami's insistence. It had been an accidental invasion of Eydiir's mind, after all, brought on by the undeniable attraction between the two cadets (or at least as undeniable as it can be when dealing with a logical race that suppresses its emotions and a warrior race that practices stoicism).

But it was agreed that, though Eydiir had no memory of the assault from Samedi, or the mindmeld, she had a right to know about it - and that Falok should be the one to tell her. It was logical.

But Falok hadn't exactly been brisk about doing it, to the point where Kami was considering brokering the meeting between the two cadets. "Well, I'm pleased to see you're finally taking care of business. But do you think this is the time and place to bring up the subject?"

"Yes, Counselor. Our shifts are only now coinciding with our rendezvous with the Tempest."

"Uh huh. And is there anything you'd like to ask about how to break it to her?"

"Thank you, Counselor, but that will not be necessary. I know Eydiir well enough to accurately gauge the best method to deliver the news."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

Falok seemed resolved at that. Kami sensed that there was something more that had yet to be addressed on the subject, but chose not to pursue it further - suspecting that this would not be the last she'd hear of it. "Well... good luck, anyway."

"Vulcans do not require luck, Counselor."

She raised an eyebrow in imitation of a Vulcan. "Really?"

*

"Eydiir? I trust you are well, and that I am not disturbing you overly?"

The tall, walnut-skinned Capellan woman looked up from her medical monitor and offered a slight smile and a brightening of her expression. "It is pleasing to see you, Falok. Yes, I am fit. I am currently collating the medical records of the crew of the Tempest for Doctors Ling and Kline to prioritise their work. Do you wish to assist?"

"Thank you, no, I am here to inform you that when you were attacked by Baron Samedi and rendered comatose, and I assisted you to the biobed, I accidentally initiated a mindmeld that gave me access to your memories."

She froze in place, staring up at him. "What?"

He folded his hands behind him. "Yes, it was only momentary."

She rose to her feet, pushing her chair away as she glared at him, her voice growing cold. "How could you do that to me?"

Falok took a microsecond to adjust to her unexpected reaction. "As I stated, it was accidental. I informed Commander T'Varik and Counselor Hrelle of the incident, and was cleared of any disciplinary breach of-"

"What did you see?"

"It is not relevant-"

"I will be the judge of that."

He adjusted his stance once again as he replied, "Memories of yourself with your brother, your grief over his death, your suicide attempt, your arrival at Starfleet Academy, your fight with the Ferasans, a moment of sexual gratification you had in the shower-"

"ENOUGH!"

He stepped back, aware of people in the adjacent rooms of the Sickbay Suite looking in their direction. "I do not understand, you asked to-"

"Leave! I am busy!"

"Eydiir-"

"DO NOT SPEAK TO ME!"

After a second, he nodded in acquiescence and departed, glancing around for Kami, but not finding her.

*

Sasha Hrelle had promised herself that she would control her temper with her fellow Cadet Squad Leaders - actually, with just one, Delta Squad's Ledit 137. The purple-haired hermaphroditic Hermat had been seemingly determined to wind her up like an old-fashioned clock from the very first day s/he arrived. Officious, ambitious, arrogant, insulting, manipulative, opinionated... Hir actions had made Sasha more than once wonder if any of the 136 previous Ledits that hir numerical surname implied were better than this one, and if so, could they trade in one of those for the putz they were currently stuck with.

And yet recently Ledit's attitude had appeared to improve: s/he made small talk, offers of assistance to others, volunteering hir squad for additional duties. Sasha suspected it was all part of Ledit's ultimate plan to be a starship captain by the age of twenty (Sasha supposed she couldn't blame hir, since Hermats only lived to age forty, and Ledit was now ten, in Standard years). But still, others seemed to be accepting the improvement.

And today's meeting was progressing without incident. Perhaps it was the busy nature of the duties ahead of them, now that they were on their first tendering mission. Or maybe it was that the meeting was being managed by the earnest and enthusiastic Lt Neheru, the Kelpien Chief Operations Officer and Second Officer - who brought coffee and donuts with him.

But then Neheru began wrapping up the meeting. "And I am pleased to confirm that Cadet Jonas Ostrow has accepted the role of Strategic Operations Officer - during which he will hold the ad hoc rank of Lieutenant." He smiled with his lipless mouth, his sunken apricot-coloured face brightening with his green eyes. "So if I were you, I'd keep an eye on his collar to see if he's wearing his officer's pips, and remember that technically at such times he is your superior officer. Does anyone have anything to add before we conclude the meeting?"

"I do," Ledit declared, folding hir sinewy hands together on the table. "Regarding Cadet Ostrow's promotion: has any provision been made for a replacement for him should he prove unsuitable for the role?"

Sasha, sitting across from hir, frowned. "What in the Seven Hells are you talking about? Of course he's suitable."

"I have not known the young man for long," Neheru admitted. "But he certainly appears quite talented."

"He is, Lieutenant," Giles Arrington assured him, focusing on Ledit now. "Jonas uncovered a hidden hold full of kidnapped Malurian children, he saved the crew of the Rising Star, he developed a means of tracking pirates in a dark matter nebula, he quickened the refitting time on the Limaari better than anyone else... and not that long ago he saved Sasha's life when she was stuck to a Nekrosi mine! How much more qualified does he have to be?"

"Indeed," Falok agreed, appearing to shake himself out of whatever funk he seemed to have been in since before the meeting. "My own Engineering Specialist Nancy Yeager has been quite vocal in her envy of both his experience and his expertise. I have learned that this is how she expresses her regard."

"I am not questioning Mr Ostrow's technical skills," the Hermat confirmed. "Which are obviously considerable, but rather his psychological state. I have been informed that, before the arrival of Delta and Epsilon Squads to this crew, he had a history of self-harm... including an incident where an attempt endangered the life of a fellow cadet."

Sasha stiffened at the reference. Of course she remembered it; the attack from the rogue telepath Aikens had accentuated Jonas' insecurities and self-doubt about his place in Starfleet despite his obvious talents, to the point where he had become suicidal. It had been a terrible time, but with the help of the Counselor and his friends, Jonas had stepped back from the proverbial edge, and had grown in leaps and bounds in confidence since then.

That Ledit would bring that up now raised her hackles. "That's none of your damn business, Ledit!"

Her fellow squad leader looked... hurt? "As I said, I'm only thinking of the well-being of a fellow crewmember. This new role carries with it a great amount of responsibility; should it prove too much for him, a replacement might be necessary." S/He looked to Neheru now. "Which is why I would nominate Delta Squad's own Den Guforg, as the best candidate. She's a Tellarite, traditionally renowned for their engineering skills-"

"Didn't she get us all trapped in the Rec Hall during the Halloween party?" Neheru remembered.

"A minor setback in an otherwise perfect record. With her in the role-"

"As her squad leader you could end up getting lots of interesting assignments to boost your own career?" Giles prompted.

"I'm sorry that you're so cynical, Mr Arrington," Ledit offered in reply. "He may be in Ms Hrelle's squad, but I thought Mr Ostrow was a friend of yours as well?"

"Listen, bubulah," Sasha cut in finally, feeling her face boil as she pointed a finger at him. "Stop pretending like you care about anyone but yourself! This is all about you! Always about you!"

Ledit looked appalled now, and turned to Neheru. "Lieutenant, if my concern for Mr Ostrow is inappropriate, please accept my apologies, and I will withdraw it."

Neheru's gaze was fixed on Sasha; the tiny threat tendrils on the back of his neck were fluttering. "That will not be necessary, Ensign Ledit. Having an alternate Strategic Engineering Officer on hand in case Mr Ostrow is unavailable, for whatever reason, is a suggestion I will bring up with the senior officers. And I am surprised at your undeserved hostility towards your fellow squad leader, Ensign Hrelle. Perhaps you should apologise?"