Star Trek: Theurgy

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Early in the afternoon, the Romulan woman traipsing through the corridor looked exhausted but distinctly cheerful. Clad in simple exercise gear, a loose shirt and silk trousers with a sheathed sword slung around her back, Lillee had just spent a hard couple of hours training. Recent events had made it abundantly clear that she needed to train harder, and as such, Lillee had thrown herself into training with gusto. To be sure, Lillee had never been truly out of shape or weak in a fight, but there was no denying that six years of motherhood and comfortable work far away from danger had softened her, both as a combat pilot and as a soldier.

Temporarily, at least. By the time the Theurgy saw combat again, Lillee was determined to be better. She'd survived the insanity in the Azure Nebula more through luck than skill, and that couldn't happen again. There was a way to go before she got back into the fighting trim of the old days, certainly but Lillee smiled as she walked, recalling her own swift improvement over only the past week.

Not far from her quarters, Lillee saw an unfamiliar Orion officer standing in the corridor, and she walked past with only an automatic smile of greeting. Then her brain caught up to what she was doing, jerking Lillee out of her thoughts, and she glanced back at the officer, who looked for all the world as if she was completely lost.

"Hello, Lieutenant?" Lillee said politely. "May I help you?"

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le needed coffee.  And not the shit replicated stuff, either, the real kind that she couldn't get out here because the damn ship was in hiding in the ass end of the galaxy. 

That, or she needed to stop staying up to 0800 working on dossiers. 

Now where the heck is the mess hall?  She'd been to the crew lounge on vector 3, but not the actual mess hall yet.  New ship blues, she supposed.  That, and the fact that this ship was three times the size of her first posting. 

Anh-Le stumbled out of her room, her uniform rumpled, and rubbed her eyes with a yawn.  I'll just ask around.  Somebody ought to know where the mess hall is, right?  She saw someone approach out of the corner of her eye...and did a double-take.  A sword???  What the...  Then she caught the pointed ears peeking out from behind the gorgeous blonde's hair.  Oh, Vulcan or Romulan.  Probably a traditional combat junkie. 

The blonde--an enlisted woman, Anh-Le registered, and therefore inappropriate for thinking of as "gorgeous"--stopped when she saw the disheveled Orion, and asked if she could help. 

Help?  Yeah, I could do with some help.  Figuring out how the heck Command got infected with alien parasites without anyone noticing, I could do with some help with that.  "Uh, yeah, Petty Officer, could you show me where the mess hall is?  It's my fourth day on the ship and I've been pretty busy."  Anh-Le forced her mane of uncontained hair back in one fist and tried to tie it off, but missed several locks that flopped down by her ears. 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Bemused by the rather frazzled Orion, Lillee raised an eyebrow at her question. "Of course," she said with a small smile. "I was about to eat as well, so would you care for some company? I was only going to eat alone in my quarters, anyway. I am Petty Officer Lillee t'Jellaieu, or simply Lillee, if you prefer." As she introduced herself, Lillee bowed her head formally for half a breath. It was something of a swerve away from Rihannsu custom to freely give permission to use her first name, but it was far preferable to hearing endless aliens mispronounce her family name.

With that, Lillee set off down the corridor, patiently keeping pace with her companion. Only a few doors later, however, she stopped at a door labelled 'NCO Quarters: 11-22-B', saying casually "A moment, please. Even on this crazed ship, I think that it's improper to enter the mess hall with a sword." She entered and was back out in seconds, this time without the honour-blade, and she continued on down the corridor.

"I am curious, Lieutenant," Lillee said mildly as they reached a turbolift and entered before Lillee ordered the turbolift to Deck 13. "How did you guess my rank when I am out of uniform? Are all intelligence officers so perceptive when they have just rolled out of bed?"

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Rihannsu: Romulan

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

"Jolan'tru," Anh-Le replied, dipping her head in the Romulan fashion.  "I'm Lieutenant Dantius, and I'd love a dining partner.  I'll try not to mangle your mhashe-name, I know people can sometimes have trouble with unusual names."  She chuckled at the thought.  "I mean, I've got an Orion family name and the rest of my name's Vietnamese, those don't exactly mesh.  Best mispronunciation I had was from this Klingon who mangled my personal name so badly he accidentally insulted me in Orion." 

"Of course."  Anh-Le hid a yawn behind her hand out of sheer habit as the Romulan ditched her sword.  Crap, I should've brought my meds with me.  Ah, well, I'll pick 'em up before I go to work.  Anh-Le had always been paranoid about taking her hormone suppressants, but after the incident with the Talarian terrorists where she'd had to use her pheromones to save crewmates, she'd been downright religious about it. 

Anh-Le flushed deep green.  "Uh, actually, your sword's strap has your rank and clan name on it.  You had that over your, um, chest.  As it happens."  Please don't ask why I was looking at your chest...please don't ask why I was looking at your chest...I have an excuse, I'm tired and overslept and need caffeine....  Being reported to the Captain for sexual harassment would be a fantastic way to start the new job...

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mhashe--High Rihan for "clan", in this case clan s'Jellaieu. 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Lillee was completely unfamiliar with Orion skin tones, but did Dantius just...blush? Her skin seemed to grow a darker green, but...could Orions blush? It was such an oddity that it took a moment for Lillee to process how Dantius how discerned her rank from her sword strap, and the Romulan winced in embarrassment. "Oh. Yes. I forgot about that. It seems silly to forget that in retrospect. Perhaps that is the reason you are the intelligence officer, and I am just a pilot." The lieutenant's awareness of Romulan customs was a distinct surprise, although Lillee mused that it was perhaps to be expected. It was Dantius' job after all, right?

The turbolift doors opened and the pair continued on down a corridor. "How do you come to be so tired?" Lillee asked curiously as they walked. "Forgive me, Lieutenant, but you look as if you've been wrestling Gorn for three days straight. I haven't seen anyone so much in need of caffeine since before we fought the Borg, and we had just fought a half dozen different battles in the space of a week."

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall| Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le seized upon the out with the desperation of a drowning woman.  "Yes!  Yes, um, I just, uh, trained to pick up on little details, yeah.  That's exactly it.  Also it's been a wild couple of days.  So, yeah.  I'm sorry."  Brilliant, Dantius.  Brilliant.  Foot directly in mouth.  Genius.  Normally she would be more professional, but when she had a job to do, little things like sleep and good manners all too often fell by the wayside. 

Anh-Le snorted.  "I wish I was wrestling a Gorn.  I've been compiling dossiers on the movements of senior admiralty, the ones we think are infected.  So far, I've got no clue how they got infected, no clue of how to get to them, and I'm about eighty percent sure that the Vulcan Admiral Ross's been meeting is an agent of an ultranationalist domestic terror group that Admiral Anderson's been sniffing out since the Dominion War."  After a moment, she added, "I also give it a thirty-five percent chance that she's actually his mistress." 

"Anyway, where're you from?" Anh-Le asked the blonde rihanha.  "did you emigrate from the Shiar i'Saeihr Rihanor was it your family?"  She stifled another yawn.  I don't mind exhaustion, as long as I get something out of it...  But she would work through the frustration.  That was what she always did.  Push through, get the job done. 
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rihanha--Romulan, singular
Shiar i'Saeihr Rihan--Romulan Star Empire

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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At the quip about Ross' possible pointy-eared mistress, Lillee laughed, a short and sharp sound of amusement. However, her grin faded at Dantius' question, and she was quiet for a moment as they approached the mess hall. "I am a defector," she finally said quietly, looking anywhere but at Dantius. "Not that I had much choice at the time. I was a soldier of the Empire, and I was...seduced...by a Starfleet spy. He was trying to stop a calamity. I helped him after he explained his mission, but an accident happened on the warbird after we left in a scout ship. My fault. The Sunheart was destroyed, with all her crew. My name was thrice written and burned in the Senate, if you...if you understand what that means."

They reached the mess hall but Lillee stopped outside, smiling sadly. "I was nearly captured by a couple of Tal Shiar operatives, in fact, a couple of weeks ago. The Klingons killed them, but it is clear that the Empire has not forgotten my...um...betrayal. They  tend to remember little things like 'treason' and 'mass murder'."

Lillee pondered why she was being so open with the lieutenant, but shrugged it off. What did it matter? The woman could surely learn of it anyway if she so desired, being in Intelligence. And truly, Lillee rather found herself liking Dantius, who was endearingly friendly and certainly easy on the eye.

"I am sorry," Lillee said, bowing her head briefly in apology. "I am sure you don't want to talk of such deep things before you have even had breakfast."

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall| Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le winced.  Thrice written and thrice burned, a formal un-personing.  Petty Officer t'Jellaieu could never go back to ch'Rihan.  "Ah.  Yeah, um, sorry to hear that.  I hope that we're helping you feel at home, my family adjusted pretty well to the Federation but I know it can be a challenge sometimes." 

The Orion froze.  "Imperial state security?  Were they hunting you?"  If so, Anh-Le needed to report that to Commander Fisher immediately. 

"It's fine," Anh-Le replied, brushing off the Romulan's concerns.  "If the Tal'Shiar are in the sector and hunting you, the Captain and Commander Fisher need to know immediately.  Because if ch'Rihan knows where we are, then there's no reason why the enemy can't find out, and that means we aren't safe here."  She ran a hand through her hair, tugging at the hasty knot.  "Fuck.  And we still don't know how they infect people.  Now I know how people felt right before the Dominion War." 

At least the Romulan was being honest, as far as Anh-Le could tell.  I must have a trustworthy face.  Or maybe it's my accent.  The topic was pretty clearly uncomfortable for the blonde, and Anh-Le felt like a jerk for pressuring her, but if the ship was at risk, it was justified. 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Now it was Lillee's turn to blush a faint green, this time from embarrassment. "Oh, it was all reported up the chain of command. There is nothing to worry about, truly. The Tal Shiar team was here for an unrelated reason, and their capture of us was coincidental. They had no idea that I was at Aldea, or that the Theurgy was here as well." Then, with a distinctly satisfied gleam in her eye, she said softly, "And they both were killed before they could send any messages to the Empire. Two less Tal Shiar filth is a good thing for the galaxy, to be sure. You probably weren't told because it mattered so little. The Klingons investigated and were certain that there aren't any more Tal Shiar nearby."

Now distinctly uncomfortable for having given the wrong impression, and for adding yet more stress to a clearly stressed Dantius' shoulders, Lillee shifted awkwardly on her feet before moving into the mess hall. Walking up the replicator, she only considered for a moment; after some hard training, she was downright famished.

"A large cheeseburger, well done, with typical Earth vegetables and...oh, a berry cider, Andorian blend. Chilled." The replicator promptly brought the meal to life in a fizzle of blue, and after patiently waiting for Dantius to make her own order, the two women sat down at an empty table. The mess hall itself was reasonably busy, the air full of chatter and the occasional tinkle of metal cutlery touching plates, while the expansive viewports offered an incredible view. The blue curve of the planet itself was striking, the sun just rising above the terminator to illuminate the planet surface, while Klingon and Aldean ships were a bustle of activity in orbit.

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le visibly relaxed.  "Good.  Pity you couldn't take them alive, we could've pumped 'em for intel and put them on ice until we could transfer them to a proper facility."  Tal'Shiar wouldn't give much under normal circumstances, but theoretically...nah.  Not worth dwelling on.  I don't like the needless death, but once you get Klingons involved...  Which was a little unfair to Klingons, but the KDF did preferentially take aggressive applicants, which led to certain discipline issues. 

"Cà phê sữa đá, coconut topping,"  Anh-Le ordered.  "And give me a pint bowl of beef pho, Hanoi-style, and a six-inch bánh mì trứng ốp-la, with pepper and fried tofu."  A bowl of noodle soup with shredded beef and a fried-egg sandwich materialized, and Anh-Le poked the egg.  "They never can get these right, the egg always feels too much like hard-boiled.  At least it usually tastes alright." 

Anh-Le took a minute to admire the view.  "I have to admit, the facilities here are nice," she remarked.  "How long have you been on-board?"  She took a bite of her sandwich--savory, hot, and just greasy enough to be satisfying.  Even if the egg was still the wrong texture. 
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OOC: edited prior posts tot fix details

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Lillee took hold for cheeseburger with both hands and took a deep, indulgent bite out of it, moaning softly in relish as she chewed. There was something distinctly incongruous about the typically elegant Romulan demolishing a cheeseburger, but Lillee didn't feel much like maintaining appearances. There was a time and a place for such things, after all, and this was most certainly not it.

Although eyeing Dantius eat her own meal with considerably more composure than her companion, Lillee at least felt shamed into not making more undignified noises as she ate. At Dantius' question, Lillee took the opportunity to come up for air. setting what was left of her burger back on her plate.

"Since Earth," Lillee answered, taking a sip of her lightly fizzing yellow cider, "but I was in stasis for most of it. I got hurt a couple of days after we left Sol during a battle with Starfleet, and they only woke me up for surgery in the Azure Nebula. With all the rape plants, sex gods, evil future dreadnoughts and psychopathic murder cults, I was quite happy to sleep through it all." She hesitated, frowning. "I did fight a few battles in the Azure Nebula, though. Asurians, Klingons...I flew through a Borg cube too, in a Valkyrie. That was...um...fun." Lillee paused, looking into Dantius' far-too-perceptive eyes, and laughed self-consciously. "Okay, it was the most terrifying experience of my life and I'm embarrased to admit that I was screaming the entire time, but it's fun to talk about afterwards, yes?"

Lillee lapsed into silence, finishing her burger in a far more composed and restrained manner than earlier, considering her meal companion. "So. How did you react when you were told the truth about us? And when they told you that you were coming to join this insane ship?"

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le's right eyebrow was trying to escape her face.  "Rape plants?  Murder cults?  Clearly my briefing was lacking some rather significant details."  She shook her head in bemusement.  "Anyway, you seem to have survived intact, and hey, there's no such thing as courage without fear.  If you have no fear, you're not brave, just a fucking robot." 

Anh-Le licked her lips.  "I was delivering a crook into custody when I got the call from Admiral Anderson.  Nausicaan by the name of Lurtz who thought it was a good idea to smuggle a tube of red sand up his cloaca.  That was fun to deal with, let me tell you.  Anyway, Anderson calls me up, and he says that the ship that Command claims defected to the Shiar i'Saeihr Rihan for no apparent reason is actually trying to stop a group that's infiltrated Command.  I trust Anderson, and what he was saying made more sense than the holonovel villain rant that Command was claiming your Captain Ives sent across the Federation through the early-warning network.  So I hopped on the transport he set up and now I've officially 'gone rogue'."  She tore off a bite of sandwich, chewed, and swallowed.  "As far as the rest of it goes, well, I'm having a couple of second thoughts now that you mention rape plants and time-travelling future ships, but still...job's got to get done.  The Federation won't protect itself."  She took a drink of coffee, already starting to perk up.  "This almost tastes like the real thing, they've patched things up since I had the same order the other day." 

"So what about you?" Anh-Le asked.  "What do you do around here?  I'm, well, a spook."  She gestured to her uniform.  "Which mostly involves digging through the admiralty's dirty laundry at the moment." 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Lillee was smiling as she (rather more tamely) began eating her vegetables, although her eyes considered Dantius with amusement. When the green-skinned woman remarked the last, Lillee couldn't help but laugh, needing a good few moments before she controlled her giggling.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I used to work at Starfleet Command, and I knew a few of those admirals," she got out inbetween giggles, "and I am just envisioning you actually rummaging through those rusty old admirals' underwear! They're such a stuffy lot that you have my deep sympathies." Lillee chuckled again before regaining control, taking a drink to calm herself. "Oh, I am just a shuttle pilot now. It's much less dramatic than flying a Valkyrie or the Theurgy herself, but I am content with it. Saving the galaxy and being big beautiful heroes is for people like you and the other officers."

Lillee leaned forward slightly, still grinning, her head tilted to the side. "So. You are an Intelligence agent. What dramatic adventures have you been on before this one? Are you one of those agents who is infiltrating terrorist networks one day, seducing enigmatic alien men the second day and wrestling Gorn on the third?" She paused for a moment, the grin fading slightly. "And joining rogue dreadnoughts on the fourth to wage war against extradimensional galaxy devouring Parasites on the fifth?"

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le chuckled along with the Romulan.  "Haha, oh, man, you wouldn't believe who some of 'em are in bed with.  Like I said, I'm fairly sure Ross is either fucking or working with a domestic terrorist--Anderson's had an entire unit trying to track these guys down, but last I heard there wasn't anything actionable."  She shook her head.  "Frankly, with how many assholes are trying to either destroy us or fuck up the entire point of the Federation from the inside, I'm surprised we've made it as long as we have." 

"And hey.  Don't sell yourself short!  Look at me, I'm an office drone who sometimes gets to prance around in costume eavesdropping on people.  Black ops are way overrated in the media.  At least you get to fly around in a metal can equipped with phasers that can burn through tritanium.  I'm lucky if I have to stick a holdout pistol in my boot."  After a moment, she added, "Not that I want there to be a need for me putting a phaser in my boot.  But, you know, the adrenaline rush of being at risk, it's seductive. 

"As for dramatic adventures...well, I once caught a guy who was smuggling ex-Borg as slaves with this Ferengi creep.  Other than that, my coolest story is being born on the transporter pad at a museum, that one wins me a lot of drinks.  As for seduction..."  She grimaced.  Just thinking about that made her uncomfortable.  "I take my meds, I get my 'nads off by playing Vulcan Love Slave like anyone else, but I'm not comfortable with seduction.  Or very good at that.  And we actually try to avoid that anyway, the whole, 'you just bedded a gorgeous babe but she's really a Colonel in the Obsidian order' thing, it doesn't work as well as Kirk's record advertises, and it's loaded with ethical issues, since you're basically asking your agents to go and fuck a bunch of horrible people out of patriotism.  It's not cool, or sexy, it's like being a Bajoran comfort woman except with a little bit more consent to entry.  There was a pilot program back in the 23rd century but it got shitcanned after internal review, recruitment problems, and a series of mandatory mental health leaves.  The dipshit who thought it was a good idea was shitcanned too."  Anh-Le shook her head, then took another sip of her coffee.  And then there was the personal part of it, which was also an uncomfortable topic.  "I've only actually seduced people on the job once.  And even then it was half an accident, I was off my meds 'cause of an active terrorist attack and hostage situation on the ship I was posted to, I whammied all the goons on the Bridge, and the entire assault party I was with, with my pheromones.  Never doing that again.  I was apologizing to people for weeks, and you know, they said it was OK, but they were a whole lot more wary around me after that.

"So.  Yeah.  I don't do seduction.  Sorry to, uh, burst your bubble.  But it's just...not a thing I'm willing to do." 

She turned back to her sandwich, sure that t'Jellaieu was about to bolt.  Nobody wanted to be around the sexy mind-melting green babe.  Unless they had a kink for that or wanted to gawk, of course. 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Lillee listened as Dantius talked, occasionally poking at her vegetables or sipping her cider, but as Dantius explained, Lillee's stomach churned. Of course. How could she have been so crude and ignorant?

Pheromones. Fvadt. I should know better. No wonder I am so relaxed...but she is so friendly. I'm not attracted to this woman...am I? Lillee's eyes traced the Orion's eyes, her mouth, her jaw, and only earnest effort kept her eyes from dipping lower. Oh fvadt, yes I am, but how much of that is from just...her...and from pheromones? She is surely attractive enough. Has she taken her medicine today? She seemed like she'd just woken up...but how would I know?

Lillee's memories drifted to years long past, to an utterly ancient Rihannsu doctor droning on about the dangers of aliens. It had been a dreary lecture, to be sure, in the stuffy hall on ch'Rihan, full of trainees who were eager to learn more exciting things, but who duly paid attention anyway. Humans were dangerous in their innovation and idealism, but easily manipulated and physically weak. Andorians were formidable warriors, but pride-bound and narrow-minded. Deltans were particularly concerning and should be avoided like the plague except when holding a disruptor. Orion women had pheromones which could induce biochemical slavery, and should only be dealt with by those not attracted to such women or those with protection against their effects.

It took a solid minute or so before Lillee even registered that Dantius had stopped talking, and she frantically rewound her memory. The realisation was like a cold splash upon her, ending all thought of attraction or the complexities thereof, leaving only another faint green blush in Lillee's cheeks.

"I respect this," Lillee said quietly, looking down at her nearly empty plate, the chatter and bustle of the mess hall around them continuing unabated as an odd and annoying contrast. With effort, she looked back up, meeting Dantius' eyes. "I made an awful insinuation upon your honour, and I beg your forgiveness for it. It is a stereotype about spies and...about Orions, it is true, especially among my people. After all these years in the Federation, a sharp Romulan should know better than to judge by stereotypes."

Lillee hesitated, leaning back in her seat, plainly uncomfortable herself as she worked out something in her head. Absent-mindedly she reached up, nervously tucking some blonde hair back behind a pointed ear, before smiling weakly at Dantius. "I did not know it was not standard...procedure? Policy? For Starfleet Intelligence? I assumed it was. My husband was a Starfleet infiltrator, and he bedded me to gain access to my biometrics. It led to my defection, to the Sunheart's destruction, to everyone dying. I know it was important to his mission, to saving many more lives, but I was absolutely furious with him afterwards. He was the first alien I ever bedded, and I didn't even know he was human at the time. It was a betrayal of the heart, of mnhei'sahe. Everything that came after was in spite of that. I cane very close to not marrying him."

Lillee sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "So...I have been on the other end of this. I understand, and respect."

---

Rihannsu: Romulan
ch'Rihan: Romulus
Fvadt: Damn
Mnhei'sahe: a deeply complex word without direct translation, unique to Romulan culture, related to Romulan concepts of honour

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

The Romulan was quiet for over a minute.  Anh-Le's right foot began to twitch as she focused on the sandwich, which suddenly seemed a lot less tasty.  And they say comfort food's good for anxiety...  She really was opening mouth, inserting foot today.  Over and over. 

Then the Romulan replied, and Anh-Le felt even lower.  "Hey, no, it's fine, we were joking around, people sometimes make crude jokes.  There's no need to bring honor into it; I won't hold it against you."  And sure, it was a hurtful stereotype, but Anh-Le hadn't exactly been scrupulously polite what with probing into the blonde's past. 

She shook her head in disgust at the story.  "Yeah, that's a big part of why we don't run seduction ops, as a rule.  Nothing in the universe more dangerous than an angry ex.  Leads to unpredictable reactions, revenge plots, all sort of things.  I'm so sorry that happened to you."  And I can't even IMAGINE what your husband must've done to apologize enough for you to marry him...

Anh-Le licked her lips, feeling a faint itch at the hard-to-reach spot on her back that she resisted the urge to scratch.  She was really bad at small talk when she was frazzled.  "Hey, let's talk about something lighter, yeah?  We've got a hard mission ahead, best not to depress ourselves early.  So, um...you like training with a Romulan honor blade?  I'm a bit of an archery buff myself, did it a lot at the Academy in my spare time." 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Lillee seized upon the lifeline with the eagerness of a drowning woman. "Another archer?" she said in amused exapseration, an angular eyebrow shooting up. "What is it about bows and arrows that is so attractive? You are the second person I have met this week with a love of that weapon. Lieutenant Petterson and I sparred with her bow and my blade just recently. She is skilled, but a sword just feels...natural? It can become a part of yourself, an extension of the body. Romulan swordswomen are trained to move their blade with their subconscious, which is rewarding, yes, but sometimes hilarious. I once decapitated a garden gnome in my back garden without even meaning to, and I didn't realise until it was gone just how much I hated the evil little thing. The children were giggling non-stop for ten minutes."

Lillee became silent for a moment, looking wistful, before shaking it off. She reflected with relief that she had been able to think of something other than the beautiful alien woman across with her, suggesting that the pheromones weren't affecting her, or at least not much. Logical, but nevertheless, a relief.

"Is the bow traditional or common where you're from, like an honour-blade is in the Empire?" Lillee asked casually, her meal and drink now quite finished, leaving the blonde Romulan to do nothing but chat. "Or is it just a pastime you enjoy?"

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Oh, nice!  Something she could talk about with this beautiful woman without feeling incredibly awkward!  Anh-Le grinned as she took a sip of pho.  "Nah, I got into it when I was younger.  Did some competitive sports involving the bow when I was at the Academy, too!  It's the focus that draws me in, just zeroing in on bow, drawstring, arrow, target,  et cetera." 

On hearing t'Jellaieu's next comment, Anh-Le shook her head.  "It's not a tradition, no, it's just fun.  Good exercise, forces you to learn how to calm yourself, great for practicing focus, and the ladies love the muscles you get from extended practice."  Not that she'd ever really taken advantage of that personally (her own anxiety surrounding her hormones and being on the same team as a six-foot-two Capellan muscle goddess with natural blonde hair down to below her ass had together left Anh-Le dateless at the Academy), but she flexed her right arm for emphasis anyway. 

"You have kids, by the way?  Adopted or biological?  I always wanted a little brother or sister myself, growing up; but after having me on the transporter pad at Angkor Wat, I can understand why Mom said 'that's it, never again'."  She finished off her sandwich, savoring the crunch of the baguette.  It was a little weird, imagining the woman in front of her with children old enough to be left to their own devices while their mother flew around saving the galaxy, but such were Vulcanoid lifespans.  I wonder how old she really is..probably no more than ninety...

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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"Biological," Lillee answered with a proud smile. There was a tinge of sadness to it, but nevertheless, the smile was there. "Ahnlai and Monoui. They are twins, the most beautiful children you can imagine...and such crafty devils when they have the inclination. You wouldn't believe the antics they get up to. They team up as well! Truly, there are times when I wonder if those two are telepathic, somehow, as if they've accidentally rediscovered telepathy for Romulans! One of them will distract me in the kitchen, completely without planning to, while the other enacts some scheme in the living room. I'll walk in and one of them is taking apart a padd, or they've painted on a window, or they're eating some stolen cookies...."

Lillee giggled, unable to help herself before settling down again. "They are only five, and I do worry about them. Leaving Earth was not my choice, and by the time I had the choice to leave this ship, it was far too late. The twins have their human grandparents to take care of them, and I feel so sorry for them. Ahnlai and Monoui are surely terrorising them at this very moment."

With that, Lillee changed tack, realising that she was rambling a little and smiling in apology. "Excuse me, I do love to gush about my devils. I do understand why your mother may have made such a decision; bearing even a single child is all-consuming. So, how does an Orion girl come to live in the Federation and serve in Starfleet? Is Angkor Wat a planet, or some place on Earth? I have lived on that strange world for years, and I still do not know many places there."

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le sighed wistfully.  "Oh, they sound adorable!   I'm so sorry that you've had to leave them--no mother should have to do that."  She forced a smile, thinking of her own parents back home on Earth.  "Hey, at least they'll be safe until you get back, right?" 

In response to t'Jellaieu's question, Anh-Le shook her head.  "As for my family history--we came over from the Orion Syndicate well before I was born.  My mom still has a fully Orion name, but Dad's fully integrated, doesn't even speak much Orion.  Dantius Thi Due, he's a baker with a bánh mì shop attached."  She took a bite of noodles from her pho bowl, chewed, and swallowed.  "Angkor Wat's an archaeological site in Cambodia, the province next to Vietnam, where I grew up.  It's this ancient giant temple complex that used to be part of the biggest city on Earth.  Mom was on this 'fetal osmotic learning' kick because she watched too much Doctor Mok on the holovision, so she's wandering around ready to pop, trying to pre-educate me in cultural stuff.  Her water broke in the refreshment line, I was delivered on the transporter pad by a Horta medic and a Xindi-Insectoid intern, neither of whom were super confident in their ability to safely deliver a placental."  She took a drink of her coffee, and added, "I still have a picture of the aftermath in my quarters.  Dad looks like somebody repeatedly punched him between the eyes.  Mom was passed out cold, she basically named me and was out like a light, and Dad was holding her so the Xindi was carrying me 'cause Horta don't have arms." 

Anh-Le cleared her throat as she finished the story.  "So, yeah, that's me.  Mom always said I was a go-getter from birth.  Uh...I could show you the picture in my quarters, if you want a laugh."  She mentally kicked herself immediately.  Fuck, Dantius, that sounds totally desperate.  Where's your discipline?

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Having listened to Dantius' story with amusement, Lillee's reply was almost automatic. "I would enjoy that," she said, the words leaving her mouth before she'd even properly processed them, the implication only striking her afterwards. Still, Lillee reflected, she didn't care. Dantius was sweet, razor sharp and made Lillee smile more than...well, anyone, since she'd been awoken from stasis. It didn't matter, really, that the woman was undeniably beautiful, even if the issue of pheromones sparked an unpleasant suspicion under Lillee's brow, and even if her skin was quite disconcertingly the colour of blood.

Curse it all, Lillee had found someone she liked, who seemed to like her in return, someone with whom it felt natural to just eat and chat with. Sure, Lillee had found the occasional friend in the squadron, had even played around with other women. Actually forming a serious connection with someone though, regardless of whether it led to friendship, more bedroom games or something else, was a sufficiently rare experience that Lillee felt the urge to grasp it with both hands.

Steady, Rihanna. You only just met this woman, and she is a complete stranger. Go easy. Never get close to an Orion woman, even if you don't mean to bed her. It's a good rule. Don't break it.

Having been alone and mostly friendless for the past five weeks, Lillee didn't care a whit.

---

Rihanna: a female Romulan

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le flushed in sudden embarrassment.  "Um, thank you, uh, I'll show you when I finish this?"  She went back to her pho, feeling like an idiot.  Damn it, you're hitting on a petty officer, and a widow, and you can't even do it well enough for her to pick up on it.  Brilliant work.  This was a new record on the 'Anh-Le is a disaster lesbian' list of embarrassments. 

She went back to her pho, shoveling noodles into her mouth to prevent some other stupid comment from falling out.  Well, how much worse could it get? her cynical side pointed out.  I already threw my professionalism in the shitter, I won't have much of a reputation left by the end of the day at this rate...

"Do you have pictures of your kids, at least?" the Orion asked as she swallowed the noodles.  "That ought to make it a bit easier to be away from them, at least."  Kids were safe.  The universal wet blanket, making people stop and catch their breath before they did something stupid. 

She really ought to come clean, though.  Just admit her screwup and hope for the best.  Anh-Le licked her lips, trying to formulate an appropriate 'sorry I hit on you even though it's clearly against regulations' that wouldn't see her reported for sexual harassment.  Three days.  I didn't even make it three days before screwing it up!  That, too, had to be a record. 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Again, the blush, and there was no denying this time that it had to be a blush, Dantius' green cheeks visibly darkening. Lillee titled her head to the side slightly, smiling again; she was almost criminally cute and endearing, the way she dived into her food for refuge. At Dantius' offer to visit her quarters, Lillee nodded in assent, still smiling. She wasn't certain if Dantius might have meant the other thing. Certainly, it seemed as if there might be attraction, but how could she know? Lillee ruefully admitted to herself that, for all her own skills in the cockpit and elsewhere, she never had been good at reading people. The fiasco in the spa with Thomas Ravon had been evidence enough of that.

Not mention being lied to and seduced by a Starfleet spy, then having sex with a human for months without even realising he wasn't Romulan...urgh. No, Lillee wasn't going to live down that willful stupidity for as long as she lived. At least the stupidity with Thomas Ravon had resulted in a savage but educational beating.

At Dantius' question, Lillee lapsed into silence, plainly mulling something over, before reaching into a pocket in her pants. She pulled out a thin rod, barely the length of a finger. "I keep this with me everywhere I go," Lillee said quietly, looking up from the rod to meet Dantius' brown eyes. "I originally wasn't assigned to this ship, but to Starfleet Command. Well, mostly to an engineering annex in Somalia, but Command. I was only meant to be on the Theurgy for an afternoon, to inspect the new Valkyries. I only had my honour-blade because I was meeting a Vulcan friend at the office afterwards, and he wished to see the sword."

Lillee fingered the rod gently, rolling it through her fingers. "I didn't have anything with me when the Theurgy fled Earth, and there were no pictures of my children on the Theurgy's computer. We didn't have access to the Federation data nets, either. I only got this picture because...well, truly, I don't know precisely, but it required some effort from Admiral Anderson's people. I only got this a couple of weeks after we arrived at Aldea."

For the first time, Lillee seemed oddly nervous, her smile slightly tense. "I do not show this picture to anyone, now. I do not trust others easily with them. You are Intelligence, though, and you are used to handling classified materials, yes?" Lillee's smile turned conspiratorial, glancing around them at the increasingly crowded mess hall. "Not here, though. Sharing a picture for a picture is a good trade, I think."

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le chuckled in spite of herself.  t'Jellaieu was easy to get along with, and...hopefully wouldn't be too pissed.  "That's a fair trade.  They sound like cute little munchkins."  Anderson had slipped personal items along to the Theurgy somehow?  Right, she'd need to ask someone to do a little extra double-checking to make sure that operational security was still being maintained. 

But she had to apologize, first.  Anh-Le finished her soup and cleared her throat nervously.  "Um.  OK, this is going to sound terrible.  But I'm sorry for hitting on you.  I'm not trying to seduce you, and I wouldn't act on it even if you were the hottest woman in the galaxy, not that you aren't attractive, I mean, but, uh, I was just trying to be friendly..."  No, stop, that sounds like you're trying to handwave being a creep!  "That is to say, I think you're attractive and sweet but I normally wouldn't even flirt across the officer/enlisted line or break regulations like that at all, and I would never try to abuse my rank...or do anything against regulations for that matter, and I totally understand if you're upset, I just hope that it's alright if I apologize to you now instead of this having to go up the chain of command, and...I'm just going to shut up now."  And that wasn't the most humiliating such ramble Anh-Le had ever spewed.  (see: Attractive and muscular six-foot-two Capellan teammate on the Academy ladies' decathlon team)

Anh-Le buried her face in her hands, part of her noting an oddly scratch sensation of her uniform on her skin.  Probably a psychosomatic sensation rooted in wanting to crawl out of her skin and die.  She just knew that anyone who'd overheard was staring at her now.  Three days.  I didn't even make it three fucking days before humiliating myself.

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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It was a day for blushing and embarrassment, apparently. Lillee's cheeks burned as she watched Dantius expose herself so thoroughly and with such plain humiliation. In public, no less! Of course there had been attraction, it was so stupendously obvious in retrospect, but the poor woman obviously had some issues expressing it. It was a harsh contrast to the sharp, endearing and beautiful woman that Lillee perceived and had just been talking to, but clearly Dantius had her own demons.

Lillee glanced at the nearby tables, glaring at a couple of people who were watching in concern. Pondering what to say, she leaned forward slightly, setting her empty plate aside and folding her hands on the table.

"I am not upset at all, and I do not feel there is anything to apologise for, but I accept your apology in the spirit that it is given," Lillee said softly. "To be true, if an officer were to use their rank to try and coerce me into something improper, I would break their spine there and then. You are not that, not at all." She paused, leaning forward a little more, but pointedly staying far outside Dantius' personal space. "But this is not the proper setting for such a talk, yes? Are you comfortable going to your quarters? I would like to share our memories in those photos, as I do so rarely, but...only if you are comfortable doing so. And only to talk. As new friends. I have so few of those now that I...I cherish the ones I have, and the ones I meet. I would not risk losing the chance of knowing one such as you."

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le nearly fainted with relief, and felt a tug in her gut at the mention of breaking spines.  That image is much hotter than it should be...no, bad thought, she's enlisted, off-limits, pervert, pervert!  "Thank you so much," she replied quietly.  "Yeah, uh, let's do this however you want to.  I mean, as friends.  If you like."  She pinched the bridge of her nose; what a disaster.  "I'm sorry.  I was up late working last night and I'm a little frazzled.  Thanks for eating with me, let's be friends, and if you're done I'll show you my ridiculous baby pictures." 

At least those had long since stopped being embarrassing and become amusing. 

Anh-Le stood, gathering her dishes.  "Nothing to see here, folks!  Just me being a bit fried.  Late night of work last night, you know."  The sooner she could get out of this room, the better.  "And, uh, Petty Officer t'Jellaieu, if you want to try your hand with a bow and arrow, I can teach you.  You know, to make up for me being a total mess today." 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Mess Hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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As she took her own dishes, Lillee smiled gently at the offer. "Yes, I would enjoy that," she replied as she walked with Dantius to the replicator. It took a couple of seconds for Lillee to realise that she hadn't hesitated in the slightest to accept further contact with Dantius, the woman simply being far too adorable, fascinating, comfortable and beautiful to resist knowing further. Naturally suspicious, Lillee wondered if pheromones might be playing a part, but...she knew herself, surely. Right? Her interest was purely based on Dantius herself, her personality and mind...yes?

Putting her plates in the replicator for recycling, Lillee sighed. Find your strength, Rihanna. She is attracted to you, and you to her, but she's uncomfortable. Taking advantage of her like this would be dishonourable and disrespectful; you've just met the woman! Be her friend, nothing more, no matter how beautiful and fascinating she may be. Respect what she wants. Don't push yourself upon her...and don't push her away!

"If I am to learn the bow, then I could teach you something of Rihannsu swordplay," Lillee said lightly as the two women left the mess hall. "I am no expert or master, but I can show you ways to have fun. We could find a place on the planet and...um...train." Lillee's sentence faded off awkwardly as she remembered a similar outing with Donna and Mickayla from just two days past, and what that had turned into. Wringing her hands slightly as they walked, mindful of the promise she'd just made to herself, she swiftly changed course to a topic far away from such things. "And I was an aide for a time to Rear Admiral Tomas Sobral, of the Corps of Engineers. I can't imagine why you'd want to know about him, as he's just a sweet old man, but if you wish to know something, then I can help."

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Leaving the mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Oh thank fuck...  Just Friends was safe.  And a mess of crushes and moping and throwing herself into work to the point of exhaustion, but damn it, it was safer than constantly worrying if she was accidentally affecting someone.  "Great!  Um, I can replicate you a decent practice model, you're a Vulcanoid so you probably have the upper-body strength for it already, it's just a matter of form."  Everybody needed a few adjustments at first.  Sure it would probably require some close contact, but if they were Just Friends it should remain professional. 

"Swordplay?  That sounds fun, actually!"  Anh-Le tried to sound excited and Just Friends even as the thought of swords clashing and sweaty tank tops jolted through her mind.  Professional.  I am professional.  Just Friends.  I can DO Just Friends, damn it!  "As for Admiral Sobral..."  She sobered, then licked her lips.  "I might need some information at some point.  Corps of Engineers isn't what I'd take over first if I were the enemy, but then, they don't seem to have suborned Intel yet, so what the hell do I know?"  She shook her head at the thought.  The mere fact that the enemy hadn't done what she considered to be the most logical and least risky way to suborn the Federation--indeed, the mere fact that the enemy had been partially exposed by this ship, meant one more unknown to deal with.  And unknowns were inherently dangerous. 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor/Turbolift | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Lillee sighed as they walked along. "I can still hardly believe it. I met admirals sometimes, just briefly, whenever I worked in San Francisco. I must have talked to Parasites, face to face, but I had no idea! They all seemed normal, like Dr Nicander, and he saved my life. None of them acted strangely at all. If the rumours hold true, Nicander even bedded half the crew and nobody realised what he was. I am just grateful that he never got me."

They reached a turbolift and entered, Lillee waiting for Dantius to order the turbolift to its destination. Feeling pleasantly full and satisfied after hard exercise and a meal, not to mention with the surprise of very good company, Lillee was rather content. She was almost resentful that she had to report for duty in a few hours, especially since no shuttle flights were scheduled, meaning a dull evening of paperwork lay ahead. After the games with Donna and Mickayla, and the pleasantness of time with Dantius, Lillee found that perhaps she was enjoying shoreleave a little too much.

We need to leave and start shooting things again, she mused ruefully, or else I'll get far too comfortable with life like this.

"It must be driving you and the others insane," Lillee said sympathetically, glancing at Dantius as the turbolift sped along. She tucked a strand of blonde hair back behind her ear, briefly annoyed; after an all-too-brief sonic shower in the gym, her hair was being typically difficult. "It's like the Dominion, isn't it, and those Changelings? Except worse?"

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Leaving the mess hall | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le shook her head.  "So they probably have access to memories.  That's almost worse than a Changeling.  Deck 11."  She grimaced at the thought.  "You say the infected doctor...bedded half the crew?  Is that literal or a figure of speech?"  Probably the latter, but in Starfleet it paid to make sure.  Sometimes, 'alien god-thing with a mariachi band and scantily-clad women on the Bridge' meant exactly that. 

I swear, if they didn't have video evidence I wouldn't believe a word of some of those Enterprise logs...

Anh-Le admired the Romulan's ear as the blonde brushed her hair back, then her hearing caught up with the rest of her.  "Yeah, my thoughts exactly.  The real problem, though, is that we know so little about them.  We don't know how they think, how their bodies work, how they infect other people, heck, we barely have an idea of what they might possibly want, and even that makes no sense because it boils down to 'they're evil'.  We know nothing about their society, what little we have of their ideology is dubious at best--frankly, I suspect that most of the intel we have on them is bogus to some degree.
 We don't know for sure how long they've been active, but they've had elements of the Fleet suborned for at least half a decade, probably longer--they could've infiltrated the Founders and started the Dominion War, too, and we may never even know."  Anh-Le paused for breath, shuddering at the thought of just how deep in the shit the Federation--and by extension, Anh-Le herself--was in.  We don't even know how they nab people.  They could nab right here and make me do whatever, and there'd be nothing anyone could do to stop it.  They could nab me and make me watch as they use my body like a meat suit!  That thought chilled her to the bone. 

"Our society's entire point is bringing people together, it's something we're damn good at.  But we deal with hard, flesh-and-blood reality, the pain and rage of real people who've been fucked over, by bridging the gap and communicating with people we can see and touch and relate to on a fundamental level, not these...I don't even have the words to describe them.  Normally, when we encounter something like this, the Q or the Metrons or the Organians or some other alien god-things show up, smack us around a bit, and we have to prove that we are not, in fact, godawful people when push comes to shove.  I don't know why the Q haven't intervened in something that's clearly their wheelhouse, and I'm starting to think that we might not be able to win.

"And this is my third day on the job," Anh-Le concluded with a rictus grin.  "I think I'm doing alright, all things considered.  Want to talk about something less existentially depressing?" 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor/Turbolift | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Lillee winced at the last as the two women left the turbolift, striding down back to Dantius' quarters. She caught how Dantius' gaze seemed to linger for a moment, causing a very familiar heat to build in Lillee's stomach. There was something deeply arousing and empowering about being desired by a woman who was, herself, so remarkable and attractive. Again, Lillee forcefully reminded herself of her earlier promise.

"Forgive me," she said as they walked, "I do keep talking about serious things, don't I? I am perhaps not a good friend to just relax with. But Doctor Nicander...oh, you wouldn't believe the stories I've heard! Maybe I am exaggerating, but if he actually has slept with half the crew, I could believe it. He was just so handsome and charming when I met him! I don't know if you enjoy men too, but he is absolutely gorgeous, and I heard while flying with the Wolves that he is...very well equipped. And he seems to enjoy men and women equally. He may be an evil beast whom I would enjoy cutting apart with my blade, but even so..."

Lillee grinned, nudging Dantius playfully with her elbow. "I'm sorry. I could gossip all day long about this ship. Honestly, it's as if everyone was a supermodel before joining Starfleet! And because everything has been so dramatic and life-threatening before getting to Aldea, it has become an Elements-be-laughing love boat, more than any warbird or starship I've ever served on before. I've heard so many lurid stories..."

Of course, happily rambling as she was, Lillee was careful not to mention her own adventures. Gossiping about others was fun, given a certain respect while doing so; discussing one's own erotic play was just boastful and inappropriate, not to mention unwise.

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Corridor/turbolift | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le chuckled nervously, blushing deep green at Lillee's commentary.  I never wanted or needed to know that much about an enemy spy's sexual prowess...especially not one I might have to interrogate at some point.  "Well, I only bat for the same team, but, uh, I can understand what you mean about a love boat.  Every woman I've met here's been ridiculously gorgeous."  Yourself included, Petty Officer...off-limits or not.  She shook her head.  If only this fight were a beauty contest, we'd win for sure unless the judge was a Horta or something.  "And hey, everybody needs their rec time; my poison of choice is Vulcan Love Slave.  That chick who does the modeling and voice for Dominatrix mode is hot."  She flushed deeper as she said it, but it seemed appropriate to the increasingly inappropriate conversation, and besides...subbing to that holoprogram was hot. 

But something about the beautiful Romulan's demeanor had shifted, and Anh-Le eyed her critically.  "Hey, are you feeling alright, Petty Officer?"  The gorgeous blonde's grin looked almost too wide, her eyes unfocused and general demeanor almost dopey as she swayed in place.  Wait--I took my meds earlier, right?  Anh-Le usually took them like clockwork, but she'd been a total mess after rolling out of bed late and throwing on her uniform...Fuck, if  I forgot my meds and drugged her...I'd need to have myself thrown in the Brig for sexual assault.  She prayed that she'd remembered the drugs and hadn't doped Lillee up by accident...

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Having just reached Dantius' quarters, Lillee blinked, momentarily confused by the question...and then realised what she'd just been talking about. How did she keep talking about such things? Especially when she was trying so very hard to stay away from anything suggestive? Lillee felt a profound desire to talk more about the holoprogram, and Dantius' experience with it, but that wasn't safe conversation. That was, by every possible definition, the worst kind of conversation right now. And she'd just been discussing the beast as an object of desire...how...she despised Nicander...

Nevertheless, Lillee was far too relaxed and comfortable to give it much thought, dismissing it as overenthusiasm and much-needed silliness. Instead she took a breath, disciplining herself to stand straighter, to force her mind away from how Dantius' uniform slightly hugged her breasts and hips. The very real concern in Dantius' brown eyes was enough to sober Lillee somewhat, enough to drop her near-giddy demeanour.

"I am alright...um...Lieutenant," Lillee said, invoking rank at the last second and smiling politely, looking Dantius in the eye. "I suppose I got carried away." She glanced at the door to Dantius' quarters "I can visit you another time, if you prefer...as much as I would like to talk more, I would not do so if you are uncomfortable."

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Well, now she felt like an ass.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a buzzkill...I just thought you looked a little...damn it.  OK, cards on the table, I think I might've missed my meds when I rolled out of bed this morning."  The mess of her hair certainly made that seem more likely.  "I'm fine, but I need to know--Do you feel any sort of...unusual attraction, desire to please me, that sort of thing?  The weird thing about the pheromones is that it seems normal at first, so anything that's even a bit unusual, please let me know." 

Anh-Le looked over at Lillee again, and tried to fight back another blush as she saw the Romulan's nipples tenting out her top.  OK, screw it. I'll take more meds and if I double up, I double up and deal with the cramps.  Hormone blockers could cause painful abdominal cramps if you took too many of them, but compared to the consequences of not taking them, that was an acceptable risk. 

"And, uh, Petty Officer t'Jellaieu, if I have whammied you, I really am sorry and it's an accident--I must seem like a total jackass, but I promise, I'm not normally like this."  She palmed the panel next to her quarters' door, unlocking it.  "Here, just give me a second..."  Perhaps unwisely, she turned her back on the blonde as she entered, but in Anh-Le's defense she was now freaking out internally, again, and single-mindedly focused on getting her medication. 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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It was hard to miss Dantius quite blatantly looking Lillee over, and the Romulan woman's stomach fluttered anew. Nevertheless, pheromones...cursed pheromones...but would it be so bad if...

Then Dantius turned around, Lillee's eyes dropped, and so did her jaw. Oh...oh my, she thought, her mind quite thoroughly blasted. That is the most magnificent ass I have ever seen! It didn't help that Dantius was moving, taking that same ass further away, and the motion of her buttocks and thighs...

"Fvadt!" Lillee cursed loudly, facepalming violently with a loud smack. A passing human crewman stopped in his tracks, startled by the swearing, but Lillee shot the man a death-glare that had him quite hurriedly decide that it was none of his business and move on. Feeling a tingling in her breasts, Lillee glanced down and stared, dumbstruck, at the rather unmistakable outline of her nipples through the thin red fabric. That was what Dantius had been looking at...

"What is this?" she whispered, unable to believe what was happening to her. Such a horrendous lack of control, weakness, indignity, but it took a great deal of effort for Lillee to concentrate enough to care. Shame and anger built within her and she let it, privately swearing more to build the fury, to focus more. Anything was better than being some animal, some hyper-repressed Vulcan in the grip of pon farr, unable to control herself!

"Fvadt fvadt fvadt...uru Areinnye Lillee, veer nash..." Lillee continued whispering to herself, struggling to keep her feet planted and not follow Dantius into her quarters, where she could seize her and drop those pants to expose those glorious green buttocks... "Dhat!"

---

fvadt: a curse approximating the English word 'damn'
uru Areinnye: go to hell
veer nash: a rare regional phrase common in some Romulan colonies, approximating to 'be better!'
Dhat!: No!

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le heard Lillee curse behind her as she dug through her dresser for her hormone suppressants.  I wish I could get one of those dose-regulator implants...  But those showed up on most scans, and she'd tested positive for allergic reactions to some metals, so for health and work reasons it was pills for her.  "Are you alright back there?" the Orion asked, bending over to check the second drawer.  Where the hell did I put the damn thing?  I know I took my twenty-hundred last night...  OK, she'd been on the couch with her PADD...yep, there were the six empty repli-coffee mugs...and the dirty plate of bánh xèo she'd eaten...worked for a few hours...taken a shower...worked for a few more hours instead of going to bed like a sensible person...

Shower.  Damn it!  She'd taken the pill, tossed the bottle on the vanity, and gotten in the shower.  Before getting out and spending a few hours working.  I need to stop doing that, one of these days.

And of course there was her dirty uniform from last night, lying out in full view with yesterday's underwear on top.  Anh-Le's cheeks burned with humiliation as she bent over to quickly shove the whole embarrassing pile under her bed.  "I'll be right back, I'm sorry, I just left my pills in the bathroom last night.  It's a dumb story!" 
-----
Bánh xèo = stuffed rice pancake

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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“It’s alright, I’m fine,” Lillee called back weakly. Another passer-by gave her a strange look, and despite her better judgement, she finally yielded, stepping forward into the doorway but no further. The quarters beyond were distinctly messy, tupperware and clothing spread haphazardly, at least providing a distraction aside from Dantius rushing around. The open door was helpful; if it was open, Lillee couldn’t do sometning stupid.

“It’s...okay, truly,” Lillee said, leaning against the doorframe and crossing her arms to hide her breasts. “Mistakes happen and are...are...understandable. Forgivable. I will not attempt to...act. You will not...act. I still have my...my mind. My will. Rihannsu are skilled at withstanding this. We mastered the passions of the pon farr...” Lillee’s sentence trailed off as she spied a pair of underwear poking out from underneath the bed, idly wondered if they belonged to Dantius or a bunkmate, then swiftly closed her eyes to banish the thought.

“This will make a good story one day, yes?” Lillee laughed softly, keeping her eyes firmly closed. It helped at least a little, but her anger was fading. To replace it, she imagined the mundanity of flying a Valkyrie for added distraction. Taper the impulse flow to 45%, adjust the warp core intermix to an asymmetric burst-decline ratio for sublight cruise, tetryon cannon offline and retracted...

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

So she was pumping out pheromones.  Damn it.  "I'm so, so sorry, Li--Petty Officer.   If you want to report me, please do, I'll do it myself if you like."  Anh-Le gulped down a pill and drank directly from the sink to wash it down.  "I hope that I didn't throw too much of a wrench into things--I do like you, I just don't...goddamn it.  I don't mean to pressure, I'm sorry, I will be satisfied with however you want to proceed."  She walked back out towards the door, seeing Lillee standing with her eyes squeezed shut, arms crossed tightly over her breasts.  "Hey, it'll be alright in five or ten minutes, alright?"  She resisted the urge to reach out and touch the Romulan to calm her down, that would only make this worse.  "Just try to breath shallow and I'll stand over here on the other side of the room.  Oh, and think of a Horta playing Hamlet, that's a guaranteed libido killer."  Unless the blonde were into that, which, hey, no judgement, but Anh-Le was pretty sure that Lillee  preferred humanoids. 

"A good story?"  Anh-Le managed a chuckle.  "Yeah, uh, I kind of have this one beat already--Oh, right!  I was going to show you the picture of me screaming my newborn lungs out on the transporter pad."  She headed back to her dresser to rummage through it again.  "It's pretty hilarious."  She licked her lips, debating whether to continue with what she wanted to say.  "Look, uh...Lillee.  I hope that's still OK.  Um.  I am attracted to you, I just...really don't want to sleep with you while you're  doped up on pheromones.  So, uh, if you don't hate me, um, yeah, maybe drinks sometime?"  She cringed internally.  So suave, Anh-Le.  Why the ladies aren't dropping their panties for you on proximity is a total mystery, you useless lesbian dipshit...

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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"A Horta playing Hamlet?" Lillee repeated, perplexed, her eyes still fixed shut. Involuntarily she took another step further in, the door closing behind her. "How do you play a slice of ham? The Horta don't eat ham, they don't even have limbs, so how would one-oh yes, I remember! Hamlet! The play by that man...Shakey Spear. Is that the name? Some ancient human? No, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare! I love that play. The intrigue, the betrayal, the insanity of it all. It's genius."

Her own rambling was countered by Dantius' own, until Lillee's nose twitched as the Orion woman came closer. Even though her arms were crossed and her eyes were shut, just knowing that Dantius was close was enough for Lillee to subconsciously knead her breast with one hand before she caught the motion, locking her arms even tighter.

"Treacherous hands," she muttered to herself grumpily. When Dantius began talking again, though, Lillee simply had to open her eyes, and as Dantius suggested drinks, Lillee smiled automatically. "Yes, of course we can have drinks," she said without thinking. Then she frowned at the unquestioning acceptance; since when was she the type to make things easy in circumstances like these? "But," she added, "you must earn drinks with sweat and work. I remember mutual offers about bows and blades, yes?"

Then, no longer smiling, Lillee looked at Dantius in a way which, despite her best efforts, could be described as nothing other than sultry. "So do not worry yourself. It is an honest mistake after working yourself to exhaustion to save the Federation. I do not judge. And if we are to know each other, I would have you call me Lillee when we are off-duty. Dantius is not your familiar name, I think?"

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

"Wow, you're really out of it," Anh-Le chuckled before she could stop herself, then sobered as she saw the Romulan squeeze her own breast.  "OK, Lillee, I need you to do something for me.  Don't, um, stimulate yourself.  Hands at your sides, maybe grab your pant legs.  Think about a Horta sitting next to a humanoid skull with its vocalizer saying 'alas, poor Yorick; I knew him, Horatio' in, you know, the toneless way Horta vocalizers sound."  Unsexy thoughts to kill Lillee's libido ought to keep her from doing anything, and the pheromones would make the Romulan extra obedient and eager to please.  (which was a thought that Anh-Le didn't need, as she immediately felt guilty for finding the though of an eager-to-please Lillee hot.  What a mess of a morning)

Anh-Le grinned at Lillee's demand, with a heady mix of relief and excitement.  "Earn drinks?  I can do that.  I'm still really sorry for screwing up like this, I'm normally much more responsible about taking my medication."  After a moment, she added, "And I swear I'm much tidier."  Which might be a bit of an exaggeration, but now wasn't really the time to admit that she had a working-late problem. 

"And you'd be right.  Dantius is my family name."  Might as well actually get a start on cleaning up the mess--Anh-Le moved over to the sitting area and started clearing up last night's coffee mugs.  "My personal name's Anh-Le, and yeah, that's fine as long as we're off-duty.  Which I guess we are now.  Do you want to go down to Sickbay and get checked out, by the way?  Just in case?" 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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Following Dantius' (no, Anh-Le's) advice, Lillee gripped her pants tightly, bunching the fabric. Smiling meekly, Lillee considered for a moment at Anh-Le's question about Sickbay. "If you think it's wise..." she said slowly. Compared to the sharp and composed woman that she'd been an hour earlier, Lillee was now a mess; unsure, her mind slow, her confidence ebbing, her dignity in tatters. She knew it, could do nothing about it and hated it. She knew, logically, that she should be angry at the Orion woman who had compromised her through carelessness, but she couldn't find it. Instead, she was a mix of frustration, bliss, potent arousal and confusion, blended into a person without the faintest idea what to do about it.

"I am an idiot," she muttered as realisation (finally) struck. "Who needs dramatic Horta?" She reached into a back pocket and pulled out a rod, tapping one end with her thumb, and immediately, a high-quality two-dimensional hologram appeared between Lillee and Ahn-Le. Two blonde children, both no more than five years old, were sat atop a grassy hilltop, a spectacular savannah stretching out for miles behind them. The children, and a boy and a girl, were both grinning at the camera, their pointed ears, blonde hair and amber eyes almost identical. Lillee rolled the rod in her fingers, gazing at her children, but the hologram remained fixed in mid-air, the image even copied on the other side for Ahn-Le to see.

"I should have known better," Lillee said with a sad smile, and indeed, she seemed to stand taller, spirit returning to her voice. "When I look at my devils, I know why I am fighting. No ridiculous pheromones can wipe that from my mind." Her eyes flicked up over the hologram to Anh-Le, and for the first time since leaving the mess hall, Lillee seemed to have regained some real control over her faculties. "Anh-Le, the girl on the left is Monoui i-Khartoum sa'Jellaieu, my firstborn. The boy on the right is Ahnlai i-Khartoum si'Jellaieu, my secondborn."

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le's face melted at the cuteness.  "Awww!  They're adorable!  I hope they're easy kids, at least.  I was always getting into stuff, trying to crawl away from wherever Mom had me situated."  Really, it was no surprise she was an only child.  "Here, this is the one I was telling you about."  She tossed Lillee a framed hard-copy picture, which showed a transporter pad at a Federation building, a few of what might've been acid burns in the walls.  A slender female Orion lay unconscious in the arms of a bald, worried-looking Orion man, her hair a mess and blouse soaked with sweat; her legs were covered by a blanket, but a towel soaked in blood and other fluids was visible under her splayed limbs.  To the pair's left, a gray lump of jagged rock permeated by reddish-orange veins sat, and to its left, a jet-black insectoid biped stood with a bundle of blankets in its hands, held at arms' length. 

The bundle of blankets was topped by a little green head, eyes shut, mouth open, apparently screaming with extreme displeasure. 

"I was born angry that I couldn't walk, Mom always said," Anh-Le said with a rueful chuckle.  "Not as cute as your little munchkins, but that picture wins me a lot of drinks.  The story behind it, too.  Oh, and the doctor got so anxious that they started spraying acid at one point, that's why there are a few holes in the wall.  They had to take the transporter offline for servicing.  The whole mess lasted days, made the local news.  The best part?  I wasn't even 'pre-educated' in all the history and culture and stuff when I came out, so Mom's entire reason for being at the museum was completely pointless.  Last time she ever watched Doctor Mok's Doctor Mok Show or bought the pseudoscientific crap he peddles, at least." 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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"Spraying acid?"Lillee repeated with amusement, grinning, her eyes flicking up from the picture to Anh-Le before back down to the picture. "Oh, that is so precious. Your father looks so overwhelmed, the poor man. To have your child delivered on a transporter pad by a bug and a rock! An acid-spraying rock! It was stressful enough to do so in the hospital; I can't imagine what that must be like." Lillee lapsed into silence, considering the picture with a smile. "A happy family. Your parents look wonderful. You do look like such an angry little one there."

With that, Lillee deactivated the hologram of her twins and stepped forward further into Anh-Le's quarters, handing her back the photo. Finally Lillee seemed to have calmed somewhat, her shirt no longer propped up by perked nipples, although she did seem to be sweating a little, making the Romulan seem slightly unkempt, if now more controlled. There was, nevertheless, a distinctly enigmatic look in her eye as she met Anh-Le's eyes, halfway between curiosity and challenge. Indeed,  leaning against a bulkhead, her arms crossed, Lillee hardly looked as if, just a few minutes past, she was on the verge of losing herself. She looked much more like a predator eyeing her soon-to-be-prey.

"Do you still have the temper that you did then, Anh-Le?" Lillee asked with a smirk, her brown eyes bright. "Because I must warn you: if you don't have spirit when we teach each other the blade and the bow, I am going to beat you silly. I do not like losing, no matter how cute my opponent was as a baby or is now. Do you think you can keep up?"

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

"Yeah, Horta spray acid when they're nervous.  Wonderful people, but maybe not the best for handling an incredibly stressful situation around fragile technology.  Then Mom basically checked out for the day once the afterbirth was out; Dad managed to get us to the hospital, pulled an all-nighter to make sure everything was done properly, then took us home just in time for Mom to wake up, then he was out like a light for two days."  Anh-Le shook her head with an embarrassed chuckle.  "Apparently I screamed nonstop the whole time, the doctors ran every test and figured I was just a pissy baby.  Mom finally got me to sleep after she fed me the first time, she says, but I was still a hard baby.  Born angry I couldn't walk, that was what she always said." 

Then the Romulan got closer, and Anh-Le gulped.  Somehow, Lillee sizing her up like this was ten times more terrifying than Lillee high on pheromones, despite the latter being a potential career-ender for Anh-Le.  "Um," she squeaked, very professionally.  "I have spirit, don't worry."   Her cheeks burned, trying to banish impure thoughts of off-limits dates and flexing sweaty muscles and what the extremely off-limits Petty Officer might look like without her clothes on... No!  Bad thought!  Bad thought!

Anh-Le cleared her throat, certain that she was as dark-green as a zucchini.  "I'll keep up, trust me," she said in something approaching a confident tone.  "And, uh, I'm sorry again for drugging you with my pheromones."  She'd never live this one down, that was for sure. 

[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu (https://uss-theurgy.com/w/index.php?title=Lillee_t%27Jellaieu) | Corridor | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @GroundPetrel

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"It's a unique experience," Lillee answered with an amused smile. Oh yes, that was most definitely a blush, and it wasn't hard to guess what was running through poor Anh-Le's mind. Payback, perhaps, for Lillee having spent a good few minutes doing the exact same thing. Flirting with Anh-Le was outrageous fun, even if it was cheating a little. More and more, Lillee was determined that it would be up to Anh-Le to cross that line, should she wish to. A promise was a promise, and she would see it through.

Any flirting and adorable blushing that happened in the interim was purely incidental.

"Well, I am going to do as you say, and report to Sickbay," Lillee finally said. "And you are forgiven. If, when I get over this, I am angry with you...well, we shall be training with weapons. Beating you senseless with a training sword is sufficient punishment, yes?" There was a distinctly predatory gleam in Lillee's eye at the last, but finally she relented to having to leave, moving to the door. She was clearly still somewhat whammied, as Anh-Le had put it, leaving Lillee feeling much like she was slightly drunk, even if her judgement had returned to her.

Then she stopped at the door, pausing, before glancing back over her shoulder at the shapely Orion and bowed her head in an oddly formal gesture, still smiling. "A pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant. Until next time."

With that, Lillee left, walking with a slow but steady gait to the turbolift, which was blessedly unoccupied when it arrived. "Sickbay," she with a sigh, wincing at the tingling of her skin in the aftermath of...whatever that had been. Oh. What was that she said earlier? Vulcan Love Slave?

The turbolift reached its destination, the doors opening, but Lillee hesitated, hating the thought of going there so...charged. She still had a couple of hours before she had to report for duty...enough time to take care of herself before going to Sickbay, surely...

With a growing indulgent smirk, Lillee instead said "Holodeck One."

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Personal quarters| Deck 11 | USS Theurgy | Attn: @Griff

Anh-Le heard her heart thundering in her ears, her mouth suddenly dry, and managed a nervous smile.  "If that's what you want, sure.  And if you want to report me, please do so.  Thank you for the forgiveness, but I'm still so, so sorry.  If you still want to when you've been to Sickbay, how about, um, we meet for drinks and a little traditional combat in two days?  I'll message you with a time tomorrow." 

As the Romulan left, providing an altogether unreasonably distracting view of her svelte form, Anh-Le collected some of her dignity and saluted.  "Nice to meet you too, Lillee.  I mean, Petty Officer."  Damn it, woman, where is your professionalism? 

Now alone in her room, Anh-Le slumped against the back of her couch, staring at the ceiling.  Three days.  I didn't even make it three days without screwing up.  She was incredibly lucky that Lillee hadn't been pissed.  Or maybe that was the pheromones. 

She eventually forced herself to rise and started cleaning up the mess of her room.  The thought of a...date?  Training session?  Whatever it was, the thought of one with Lill--Petty Officer t'Jellaieu--was both exciting and a little terrifying.  A brief image flashed through her mind of standing inappropriately close to the Romulan woman, showing her a proper bow stance... Damn it!

Now if only Anh-Le could keep the very definitely non-regulation thoughts out of her mind before she actually crossed a line and was thrown off the ship before she could accomplish anything...

FIN