Surefoot 05: Secrets & Lies Ch. 01

Kitirik stepped peeling, his red eyes narrowing in thought. "It is pronounced 'Oo-oh-teen', Friend Eydiir. Forgive the correction."

"So who are they, Kit?" Neraxis asked.

"A race on a planet in the same system as we Qarari. We have had numerous altercations over the past century. It is regrettable that actual hostilities have broken out again, although perhaps the Federation may offer mediation in this latest instance, even if we have not yet been formally offered Federation membership."

"You don't know anyone who might be fighting, do you, Kit?" Jonas asked, sounding sympathetic.

"Only the males of the Warrior gender will be involved, Friend Jonas, and our genders as a rule do not intersocialise. It is very sad all the same. I would prefer not to talk about it, thank you."

The door to their quarters slid open, and Sasha and Giles entered, Giles smiling at them. "Away for a few days, and look at the four of you, slumped around like Tiburian sloths."

Neraxis swung her feet off of Jonas' lap and stood up, letting him follow. "Guys! We weren't expecting you back until this afternoon!"

Giles set his bag down. "We made better time than we thought. Good thing, too, we were getting cabin fever in that thing."

"And did the execution of Mr Giger meet your expectations?" Eydiir asked Sasha.

Sasha paled. "I don't want to talk about it - except to say I hope never to see something like that again."

The Capellan nodded, hugging her. "I understand, my friend."

Sasha looked to her, to each of them, sobering as she remembered the sour, cold atmosphere she had left behind her. The business with the execution had temporarily unhinged her, turning her into a Class 1 Bitch. And the thought of it had kept rattling in her brain on the way back. She set down her bag and looked at them as they stood around. "Listen, before this goes any further: Eydiir, Jonas, Neraxis, Kit... I'm sorry. I treated you all like crap before I left. I was in a bad place."

"That much was obvious," Eydiir noted drily.

"I- I don't know how I can make it up to all of you."

"I am not prepared to keep an account, Friend Sasha," Kitirik informed her. "It seems a useless exercise. Perhaps it would be better to put it behind us?"

"Hear, hear," Eydiir agreed, patting Sasha on the shoulder. "You will need to do more than what you've done to shake our friendship. That is not meant as a challenge, by the way."

"Speak for yourselves," Neraxis groused good-naturedly. "I think we should make her use up some replicator credits to get us some snacks for the next Movie Night."

"Failing that," Jonas offered, looking a little queasy. "You can take over rubbing Neraxis' feet."

Sasha felt the relief wash out of hers. "I don't know what the hell that means... but I'm looking forward to finding out. Thank you. All of you."

Standing close beside her, Giles slipped his hand into hers, squeezing gently.

She accepted it - before catching herself out and visibly drawing back, recovering quickly. "So, what's been happening?"

The Squad looked to each other, Eydiir responding first with, "Following the successful passing of our Astrophysics Exam, the other Squad Leaders have requested to commander T'Varik that we have what is called a 'Christmas Party'."

"Christmas!" Giles smiled. "Hell yeah, it's almost Christmas on Earth!"

"I am unfamiliar," Kit confessed.

"I have researched it," Eydiir declared. "It is the ancient celebration of a bearded transdimensional being who visits homes one evening and leaves demigod infants in tiny stables."

"It's... not quite like that," Sasha pointed out. "Anything to drink in here?"

Wordlessly Giles moved to the refrigerated storage box where they kept drinks rather than venture to the mess hall replicators, bringing back an assortment, handing Sasha one bottle, and the rest to the others.

"Thanks, Sport." Neraxis popped the top off her pepper-flavoured ale, watching as Sasha and Giles slid down to the floor together, before the rest of them joined in a circle. "So, how was it? The two of you stuck together for ten days?"

Sasha and Giles looked to each other, saying nothing at first, until Sasha finally replied. "Okay. Stayed out of each other's hair, studied together."

"Yeah," Giles concurred. "Stayed out of each other's hair, studied together, that's all."

The group went silent.

Then Kitirik asked, "What was the sex like?"

Naturally Sasha was drinking deeply when it was asked, causing her to spit tulaberry juice down the front of her blouse. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve. "Kit, what the hell-"

"They had sex?" Jonas squeaked.

Neraxis' eyes widened. "Sex? As in sexy sex?"

Eydiir's gaze narrowed on them. "Did you have sex on the shuttle?"

Sasha frowned back. "No, we did not have sex on the shuttle!" She looked to Giles. "Isn't that right?"

"No," he replied, after a pause. "I mean, that's right, no." But then he looked to Kitirik. "How the hell did you know?"

The Qarari looked confused now. "It seemed obvious: your close physical proximity upon entering the room, when prior you maintained a respectful distance for personal space. You brought Friend Sasha a drink without being asked, and she did not provide an appropriate response of thanks, indicating a level of intimacy beyond your previous relationship. Then there are the reflective denials indicative of deception."

"Yeah," Neraxis agreed slowly, adding, "Not to mention you literally just asked Kit how he knew. I wanna play poker with you, by the way."

Sasha rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling a hot flush through her. Unable to look at any of them, she announced slowly, quietly, "Listen very carefully, because I intend to say it only once: yes, Giles and I slept together. But it was a terrible, horrible mistake, okay? We should never have done it. It was impulsive, immature, idiotic, insane-"

"Sasha-" Eydiir interrupted.

Sasha opened her eyes - in time to see Giles return to his feet and leave their quarters without saying a word. "Giles?" As the door slid shut again, again silently, she looked to the others. "What's wrong with him?"

Neraxis had turned a pale blue. "Are you kidding? You sat here telling us about what a nightmare it was being with Giles, and you did it sitting right next to him! Holy Hraxor, that was the most sorry I have ever felt for any guy, ever!"

Sasha's stomach dropped into her lap. "I- I didn't mean it like that! He knows we decided to keep it a secret!"

"Well, there's keeping it a secret, and then there's talking like sex with him was the equivalent of heart surgery with a rusty Klingon blade."

"Why was the experience so unpleasant, Friend Sasha?" Kitirik asked curiously. "Friend Giles does not appear unattractive, and my understanding of humanoid sex is that it is-"

"Kit, shut up! You don't have to ask about every single thing that pops into your head, okay?" Sasha rubbed her eyes again. "Shit, I didn't mean to hurt Giles' feelings."

"Maybe not," Eydiir conceded. "But you still did."

"And maybe you should go tell him that?" Neraxis suggested.

Sasha breathed in deeply. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd better."

As she rose and followed Giles out the door, the remaining four looked to each other with a mixture of emotions.

"Well," Neraxis muttered, looking at Eydiir. "That was unexpected."

The Capellan nodded. "Agreed." Inwardly, she hoped that it was something that could be mended, or she feared for the stability of their squad.

*

Deck 1, Rec Room:

Giles strode in, walking up to the replicator and ordering a beer. It responded, "Cadet Giles Arrington, you are scheduled to be on duty from 1600 Hours. Do you wish this order completed?"

"Yes," he snapped, not wanting any attitude from a computer. He almost reached in for the glass while it was still being created in the slot, even though the safety features would have automatically shut down and drew attention from the others in the room. He took a huge swallow while he stood there, before finding himself a table alone.

Well, that was a kick in the ass. He knew immediately afterwards that Sasha had mixed feelings about their making love, but he had put it down to the circumstances that had brought them together, and to being in the shuttle with her father - especially after the Captain had admitted knowing what had been going on all along. The Captain at least seemed willing to treat the both of them like adults, which was more than his own father behaves towards him.

But then, to hear Sash talk about them to their friends like that... How the hell was he gonna face them again after this? How was he gonna face her?

What the hell was he doing on this ship anyway?

"Hey, Giles."

He looked over at the nearby table. Jared Miro, the Argelian leader of Beat Squad, sat there with other male cadets: his own Science Specialist Ingalls, and Williams, Beaudine and Orogg of Gamma Squad. Jared grinned, loving being the centre of attention. "Come on over, let's talk."

Giles leaned back in his chair, nursing his beer. "I'm not feeling talky."

"I sympathise, Giles. I've ridden the Sasha Shuttle, too. The girl leaves you exhausted."

Giles looked up. "What did you say?"

The Argelian looked to his friends and laughed with them. "She's a sweet little ride, but she doesn't know when her mouth should be used for other things."

Giles' face tightened, and he set his beer glass down loudly on the table as he rose and strode towards the five of them, his gaze fixed on Miro, who was chuckling at his own joke, the others following suit - until they saw the expression on Giles' face. "You can drop that nasty talk right now. You never slept with her. The only thing you came away with from being with her was a fat lip when she hit you."

"Is that what she told you?" Miro asked, still grinning. "And you believed her? Clearly she didn't want to hurt your feelings. Bet she told you that you were her first-"

Giles reached for him, grabbing him by his shirt and lifting him up, the other cadets rising to separate the two of them, holding Giles back.

"What the hell is going on?"

Giles slipped out of the hands restraining him but ignoring Jared in favour of the new arrival. "Lieutenant."

Chief Helmsman Lt. Irina Velkovsky was a tall, lithe Nordic woman with a personality as glacial as her eyes, though in the weeks since his arrival Giles had shared a mutual love for flying small craft, inspiring him to someday try his luck on the Delos Run as she had done. And as his direct supervisor, he felt a strong desire not to disappoint her. Which, to judge from her expression, was a threat. "I didn't expect you to be starting fights, Mr Arrington. I expect better self-control from a pilot."

Giles flushed - his heat increasing as he saw Sasha enter, having caught the tail end of Velkovsky's criticism. "It's not a fight, Ma'am. Jared and I were merely demonstrating popular martial arts from our respective planets."

Velkovsky made an incredulous sound that matched her expression. "Given what the Argelians get up to, I'd hate to see what sort of moves Mr Miro might bring to such a demonstration. I suggest you boys keep such hi-jinks in the gym. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am." He ignored the boys and Velkovsky - and now Sasha - as he departed, leaving his beer behind, and hoping no one would follow-

"Giles?"

So much for that. He didn't stop, though he had no idea where he was going, until Sasha raced ahead and cut him off. "What was that all about?"

He stopped, considering continuing around her again, before finally giving in. "Jared was mouthing off again."

"So? If someone hit him every time he did that, he'd be in a permanent coma."

"I didn't hit him."

"Velkovsky seemed to think so."

"She was wrong!"

"Okay then, why did you not hit him?"

He breathed out. "He said he'd slept with you. That you were..."

"Were what?"

Giles swallowed now, regretting having started this. "He said you were a sweet little ride."

Sasha's face turned a shade of scarlet, as she looked away - but then she focused on him again, anger rising. "So you thought you'd go charging in defending my honour just because we- we-"

"You can't even say it, can you? Was it that revolting to you?"

"I can take care of myself, I don't need you!"

"That's not what you said on the Sureswift!"

Sasha looked ready to punch him - but then the Red Alert klaxon filled the corridor.

Both of them looked up, seeing other crewmembers leaving the rec room and other areas. Sasha tensed. "We need to get to our stations."

"Not you," Giles corrected. "You're suspended, remember?"

Her face tightened as she glared at him - until she acceded, "Get going, then."

He left her, thanking the Universe for the distraction. And hoping it didn't mean something even worse than the storm that had been cooking in the corridor between Sasha and him.

*

Per the current cycle, Alpha Squad's off-duty stations during a Red Alert was on the bridge; he nodded to the rest of them as he made his way to one of the auxiliary stations, and Hrelle entered, taking the Captain's chair from Lt. Abed. "What's up, Prakesh?"

"Distress signal received from the civilian freighter Beholder, Sir, 1.3 light years distant at 212-Mark-631. Life support failure."

"Helm, plot an intercept course."

Velkovsky had somehow crept in and assumed the post. "Course already plotted, Captain. ETA at Warp 9: 6.2 hours."

"Engage. Ops, send a message and our ETA. Commander, what's their crew and passenger complement?"

Behind him, T'Varik checked the data. "Norkova-class, typical crew complement 12. No passengers listed on the manifest they submitted to Starfleet Command two weeks ago. Captain, our distance from their present coordinates may present a problem if their life support failure is significant. They may need to evacuate via lifepods."

"Excuse me, Commander."

Hrelle, T'Varik and the rest of the bridge crew looked to Jonas Ostrow at an auxiliary Engineering station. The young man flushed but continued. "The Norkova-class freighter can survive on total life support failure for up to 36 hours, assuming no major hull breaches."

"Indeed, Mr Ostrow? And what is the source of this knowledge?"

"Personal experience, Ma'am. My mother's company bought and stripped one of them down. We tested each component for salvage purposes."

"Good work, Jonas," Hrelle nodded to him, focusing on T'Varik again. "Send that message. Unless they have something more to add, tell them we'll be there ASAP."

"Aye, Sir- Sir, we're actually getting another message from the Beholder. They're stating the distress signal was sent prematurely by a junior crewmember, and to disregard." T'Varik paused and added. "They apologise for the error."

Hrelle leaned back. Giles watched him, could almost see the thoughts running around the man's head, making his furred brow crease before he asked, "Thoughts on that, Commander?"

The Vulcan straightened up. "'Regulation 45-C: Starfleet vessels are obligated to respond to distress signals via a physical inspection of said vessel or installation, once a signal is received on an official channel, even if the distress signal is subsequently rescinded, unless the Starfleet vessel is already engaged in a verified emergency.'."

Hrelle nodded. "Do you think taking the Luntanu artefacts to Starbase 154 qualifies as a 'verified emergency'?"

"Unlikely."

He leaned back. "Helm, continue on our present course and speed. Commander, inform the Beholder to maintain their present position until our arrival. I believe it might be an ideal exercise opportunity for our cadets: safety and medical inspections, security sweeps and the like."

"An excellent suggestion, Sir, though I doubt if the captain of the Beholder will be as sanguine to have her schedule interrupted by us."

"Ask me if I care."

T'Varik didn't respond.

"Well, Commander?" Hrelle asked mildly. "Ask me."

The bridge was silent, except for a few people snickering, as T'Varik summoned up the resolve to accede to the request. "Do you care, Captain?"

"Not in the least. They know the regulations. And if they don't like it, they can kiss my furry ass."

"Should I include that invitation in any official response to such protests, Sir?"

"Indulge yourself, Commander..."

*

USS Surefoot, Deck 4, Sickbay Intensive Care Unit:

Sasha stood outside, trying to summon the courage to announce her presence to the only person in the room, who currently had her back to the open doorway, sitting on one of the unoccupied biobeds.

Fortunately, the occupant's superior senses stole any further hesitation from her. "I know you're there, Cadet."

"Uh, Counselor? Are you okay?"

"You mean medically or philosophically?"

"Uh, it's just that you're in here and-"

Counselor Kami Shall still didn't turn around. "This is my assigned duty station during a Red Alert, Cadet, since I'm a medical professional, despite the doubts of Dr Ling. Are you gonna keep standing there, or..."

"Sorry." Sasha stepped in. With the ship on Red Alert, and her suspended from active duty following her recent behaviour, she would have reported to her quarters, alone. But she didn't feel like being alone. She walked around to face the Caitian female, pausing and frowning. "Umm..."

Kami had her right foot up near her face, demonstrating a flexibility that few humans could match, while she ran an autosuture over the padding on the sole. "Thought I'd take the opportunity to deal with some callus. It's welcome protection when walking around on open ground, but it can build up, and affect posture."

"Um... can I help or-"

"What are you doing here?"

The cold, formal reply threw Sasha; the Caitian had until now been open and warm and friendly. But then of course that had been before Sasha practically assaulted her, when the latter had unsuccessfully tried to get her to stop and talk about her feeling about the execution of the killer of Sasha's mother. "I, ah, thought that maybe we could have a talk."

Kami still didn't look up. "I see. You need an assessment so you can get unsuspended. Well, I have a window open tomorrow at 1630-"

"Please-" Sasha's voice cracked, and suddenly she felt like she was going to shatter. It both surprised and scared her. "I need you."

And it made Kami look up, regarding the younger girl for a moment, before setting down her medical tool, rising and moving to the door, activating the manual controls to shut the door and give them some privacy. Then she faced Sasha again. "Okay. But we need to get a few things straightened out before we proceed. Understood?"

Sasha nodded. "I'm sorry about our fight-"

But Kami held up a hand. "I recovered. You did a far worse job on your father. Or is it your stepfather now? Or maybe just 'that son of a bitch on the bridge'? What are we calling him these days?"

Sasha took a step back, feeling her face burn as she recalled the petty, nasty things she had called him when they were arguing about going to the execution. They had made up since then, on the journey back, but obviously Kami didn't realise this. "It's okay now-"

"You think that? No. You have no idea how much he depends on you, on your love for him. He'd rather lose his tail again than think he's lost you." She paused, and then demanded, "Well? What is he to you now?"

"My Dad," she replied without hesitation.

"And is that gonna change again if you don't get your way the next time?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"YES!"

"Good." Kami drew closer, her gaze unwavering on the younger girl. "You had also implied a relationship between your father and me. Let me set the record straight on that too."

"You don't have to-"

Quicker than Sasha could see, Kami shot her hand forward, pointing a clawed finger in the cadet's face. "I'm still talking." The Caitian relaxed her arm and breathed in before continuing. "I love your Dad."