AT/D02 - CO & FO Quarters

[Tyra Crawford]

== Separate Quarters designated for the use of the Commanding Officer, and the Executive Officer. The Quarters are located on the same deck as the Bridge, allowing for rapid access by the Command Team in case of emergencies. Spacious, they allow room for rest, refreshment, and casual tasks or hobbies. ==

[Tyra Crawford]

== CO Quarters ==

If Tyra was being entirely honest, she liked Artemis best when most of her occupants were away on liberty, when it was quiet enough that you could hear the hum of the systems in the corridors. When she'd taken command of the Avenger, she'd begun a habit of walking those empty corridors, communing with the ship that was her responsibility, and that habit had carried through to the Gettysburg and now, the Artemis.

On today's her walk, she'd seen a handful of engineers working on minor projects and had stopped to talk to them briefly. As always, Colt was the most popular on these outings, gathering numerous ear scratches from the engineers. In fact, she had nearly had to drag him away from the attention so that she could make it back to her quarters for her daily call home.

The console was already beeping when they stepped inside of her quarters and she let Colt's leash go in favor of moving towards the console, despite the clanging he made as he drug the leash against every possible furniture piece.

"Hey hey, how are the --"

As the channel opened, instead of her husband, she was met with two pairs of large eyes, one a matching set to her own and the other a gorgeous green-blue that reminded her of the Emerald Coast. Each pair of eyes had a matching snaggletooth smile and the cutest set of freckles.

"Well well well, look who it is. How are the doctors today?" She asked, remembering the two running around in the background of her last call with tricorders and hyposprays.

"I'm not a doctor. I'm a sure-ef," Ethan answered, looking down at what looked to be a good star pinned to the front of his shirt. She could see that it said "Sheriff" and wondered where that relic had been dug up from, probably Pops.

"And I'm a ballerina firefighter!" Evie piped in as if that was an entirely legitimate career path. That girl certainly didn't lack in self-confidence or assurance.

"Wow, a real lawman and a tutu wearing firefighter. The Crawford legacy lives on after all," she answered with a grin.

The next five minutes was a chaos of show and tell as each child battled to show what they'd been working on recently. Ethan had proudly shown her a drawing of a misshapen T-Rex and he had beamed when she'd praised his creative color usage, which made her wonder if Rory had ever taken the time to look at his drawings. Evie had shown her one of her paintings that looked very Pollock-esque but at least showed Thomas had managed to channel her new found love of paint on paper instead of the walls. And then, she'd rattled off a series of facts about Bajor, proving that despite her looks and general attitude, she was absolutely Thomas Grayson's child.

There was a routine of sorts once the kids got on the commlink. They'd regale her with their recent adventures -- real and otherwise - before beginning to show her artwork, telling her facts and asking her a dozen questions about anything and everything. It varied how long Thomas would let this go on before coming in to grab the kids, usually as a shuttle headed to an exciting adventure or an ambulance headed to a hospital so the doctors could work on their collection of victims... Patients. They'd be giggling and howling, Thomas would be grinning, and Tyra would feel that tightness in her chest of longing, desperate longing. Her husband, the one that had worried endlessly about whether he was too old to be a good father, had turned into the best father and sometimes, she thought it was because of her absence he'd been able to blossom into the role he'd needed to fill. It was both a warm and bitter thought, one that nestled into that tightness with all the other thoughts of home.

Eventually, the little terrorists would be chased off screen to play with the dogs and Thomas would settle into the chair, usually with that lopsided grin of his still in place. Today, he didn't say anything immediately, watching her through the screen. She'd curled a knee up to her chest and had propped her chin on it as she'd watched and he must have seen that wistful look in her eyes.

"How's the Mighty A doing today?" He finally asked, seemingly deciding to not voice the heavy emotions.

Tyra smiled, appreciating his attempt to think of her ship like she did. Her husband was a practical man and a ship was a ship to him but he knew that was one of the many ways they were different. To her, a ship was never just a ship, it was a vault of memories, a guardian under fire and sometimes a listening ear.

"Good. Maybe a little anxious to be on her way; I don't think she likes the engineers poking and prodding her because there's nothing better to do."

He hummed. "Any idea what the powers that be have in mind for you next?"

The redhead shook her head. "No but I have a meeting at 0800 tomorrow that will likely be rather informative on that front. Its giving me mission brief vibes without anyone saying what it is."

"Well, you know the all knowing admirals do things their way because they know best," he teased, that glimmer in his eye giving him away.

She didn't even give that an answer. Instead, she began filling him in on the recent events on the ship and at home.

"Can you believe that in the current Crawford Discord, I somehow ended up on Team Dad? Just based on that I think I might be making the wrong decision but Mom is being ... ridiculous and manipulative. Which really isn't like her."

"Love will make you act irrationally," Thomas commented, his eyebrow arching rather pointedly.

"I know... I know," she conceded before falling silent, watching him intently as if she was memorizing every little detail.

"I miss you," she finally said, her words barely audible but he knew with the way his smile softened.

"And I you," he answered, his lips pulling to the side as he seemed to consider adding something. However, a timer went off on the background and Tyra knew their time was up as bedtime activities needed to commence.

His expression was apologetic as he leaned forward. "I love you and I hope you come home soon. The house isn't the same with only two terrorists instead of three," he added, the teasing line was meant to cut the sentimentality but all it did was make Tyra want to be able to be able to touche him.

"I love you too. I'll send you a message after my meeting in the morning. And send me the draft of your paper... I need some bedtime reading material," she teased, adding a wink for good measure before ending the transmission with a blown kiss.

The screen died down, leaving her in dimly lit quarters light-years from where she truly wanted to be. There was a heavy sigh as she stood up, noting she needed to rescue Colt who had gotten his leash tangled under the coffee table. She did so before pouring herself a generous glass of whiskey.

There were pros and cons to the life she lived and while she appreciated a husband who was supportive of her desires, she sometimes wished he'd put his foot down so that she wouldn't feel this way, wouldn't carry this longing with her like a ghost. Because she knew, she'd never stop on her own accord; the stars were in her blood and a desire to explore ran through her veins but home wasn't among the stars anymore.

Home was where two wild imaginations ran wild, where her husband lovingly worked on his newest projects, where the circus was really hers as were the monkeys.

[Tyra Crawford]

== Shortly after docking at DS9 ==

It was funny how brave people could be such cowards when it came to matters of the heart. Tyra never truly considered herself to be in that category, not until this debacle, not until she couldn't even stomach sending Thomas more than a cryptic one word message that he only might have understood. And she'd cemented her place in that category when she'd purposefully not called him on the days long journey back to DS9, only sending him a message that she was okay and then, subsequently ignoring all of his messages and attempts to contact her.

She just hadn't known what to say, not with her emotions in such a jumbled mess and not when most of it couldn't be safely discussed on an open comm channel. She knew he'd understand the latter but she also knew that once she took the lid off of the pressure cooker that was her emotional control, there'd be no stopping the avalanche. All those swirling clouds of anger, grief and ultimately betrayal would just pour out unchecked with no where to go but through the screen.

And yet, when she finally forced herself to find some courage and strength to sit down in front of her screen, all she saw was worry and a little glimpse of desperation as her husband seemed to peer through the screen for any sign that she was anything but alive and whole.

[Are you back or is it still on going?] His words were short and to the point, almost like he was still wearing the uniform. Yet, she saw the way he looked past her in an attempt to gauge where she was, how much she might not be telling him.

"DS9," she offered, her fingers curling tightly around the coffee cup that was suppose to be giving her some courage.

His pale blue eyes watched her carefully, looking for the tiniest hints of what might be going on in her head and in her life. If anyone would find those hints, it was him. He knew her better than anyone, even herself sometimes. There was little she wouldn't give at that moment to just be able to touch him, feel that reassuring hum.

[Bad? Carraya bad?] His eyebrow pulled together in concern as he watched her, taking in the drawn expression and the fidgeting fingers. She knew, if he could, he'd be looking for injuries, any sign that she'd fought and won.

She swallowed before shaking her head ever so slightly. "Yes but no. I am physically fine but there's..." Her eyes dropped as she steeled herself, finally looking up at him through long eyelashes. "This isn't a subspace conversation, Thomas. We can't..."

[Tyra,] Her name came out as a sigh. [Please.]

She took a sip of her coffee, the hot burning distracting her from the burning behind her eyes. "We got backed into a corner and asked to perform a miracle. And we did, though it certainly doesn't feel worth it right now and I doubt my methods will be appreciated. In fact, I know they won't be and there are likely going to be shockwaves as a result."

The silence seemed to stretch as he considered her answer and she considered him. She wondered what it was like for him to see this side of it after years of being the admiral asking for the miracle. He'd even asked miracles of her when she'd served under him in the Fourth Fleet but she prayed he'd never left anyone out to dry like they had, like she was preparing to witness further.

She was surprised when he merely hummed in acknowledgement but his next words proved he was no fool. [I heard an interesting rumor that a long lost ship was being towed to DS9, set to arrive imminently. I'm curious if that's true.]

Her eyebrow arched up and her shoulder followed suit in the tiniest of shrugs. "Interesting. I'll have to keep my eye out for it."

He took that as the answer he needed, his shoulders visibly relaxed and he allowed himself to shift back from his screen ever so slightly. It didn't erase the concern that seemed to flow out of him but he, at least, seemed to have enough information to be satisfied for the moment. It was something.

There were a few moments of silence as they each settled in but it wasn't long before he began to fill her in on what she had been missing at home. It wasn't lost on her that his focus was primarily on Evie and Ethan, a far cry from the workaholic that had a difficult time focusing on anything else unless she forced him to on her return. In fact, she'd go as far to say that fatherhood suited Thomas well.

He was in the middle of recounting Evie's recent adventure on the ranch, her first experience with herding sheep, when her computer insistently dinged not once, not twice but three times as tiny notification bubbles floated along the lower right corner. It was the arrival of a fourth shortly after that caused her fingers to hover over the messages.

Her lips pressed together as she saw that the first two, sent at almost exactly the same time, were from two very independent associates at Security HQ with unnervingly similar requests for her to reach out immediately and without delay. For one of them to reach out, might not have been alarming but two of them simultaneously was a red alert situation. However, it was the third message that stopped her dead in her tracks.

[From Lieutenant Commander Cera Morgan, USS Artemis
To: Captain Tyra Crawford, USS Artemis

They picked up Elias for questioning. He sent a full confession to JAG at launch.]

Her alarm must have shown on her face because she could heard Thomas' question to her state as a mere background buzz, barely registering over the sound of blood pounding in her ears. Her fingers shook as she selected the fourth message, an official message from DS9's base commander informing her that one Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Elias had been arrested. The charges listed in the message didn't even register as she felt a swirling vortex of nausea and rage bubbled up into her gut.

[Tyra? Tyra, what's wrong?]

Her next motions were on autopilot as she knocked her coffee back in one mouthful and she stood up. She leaned down, having to push her long hair out of her face so that she could see Thomas. "I'm sorry. I have to go. I love you and…"

For a second, she considered making a request of him but she quickly thought better of it. This was a situation that was teetering on the edge of spiraling out of control and she needed to be very careful about what she did next. "I'll be home soon."

She closed the channel without giving him a chance to answer, snatching her communicator off the desk before storming out of her quarters with little care for her current state.

>> Promenade 2.0 >>

[Damien Coleman]

<< AT/D03-10 - Crew Quarters <<

“...so there just wasn’t a way to really alter the layout, because of how the hull curves in this area. Honestly, I sometimes feel like I preferred my department head quarters. They felt bigger somehow? Though being so close to the Bridge means I can roll out of bed pretty late compared to before,” Damian chuckled as he walked Ju from the turbolift to his door.

There was a mixed set of feelings in his chest. On one hand, he was incredibly excited to spend time with Ju and show her another side of him that most people didn’t get to see. On the other, he was also just slightly reluctant, as his quarters acted as a sanctuary for him. Everywhere else on the ship, people had unfettered access to him. Whereas in his quarters, it was just for him. An escape from always ‘being on’ all the time, as being an FO so often seemed like. It wouldn’t be like that with Ju though, he knew, as he could be himself around her as he already so often was. Bringing her into his haven was an easy choice.

Pressing the access button, the door flew open to reveal his hideaway. The place was immaculately clean, incredibly organized, and meticulously maintained; except for a couple of key areas that showed it was, in fact, a lived-in space. His display with his Championship Belt was hard to miss. Mounted prominently on the wall, inside in a sleek transparent case, was the belt along with a small plaque with specific details on his victory. The belt itself reflected the light with substantial gold hues, and then also deep blues within the logo.

Off to their immediate left after walking in was a small training area, with some weights neatly stacked, some resistance bands carefully coiled, a speed bag mounted to the ceiling in one spot, a full-size punching bag in another, and two pairs of boxing gloves hanging nearby on the wall. The holoemitters were well hidden, though certainly Ju’s eyes would detect them, and they often provided backdrops for Damian to train in. A closer inspection of the boxing gloves would reveal one pair that looked like the ‘working pair’, with hand wraps inside. The other, older and weathered pair, weren’t in use and had signatures from his coach and others on it in black ink. The speed bag was at the perfect height for Damian to use, but it looked worn. While the punching bag definitely looked like it had had better days.

“Mi casa es tu casa,” Damian said with a smile as he brought Ju across the threshold, “feel free to make yourself at home. There’s a little hidden bar by the four seater table there if you are thirsty. Or there is the replicator too… but it ain’t got the good stuff.”

There was a playful tone in his voice as he gestured to the right, though Coleman kept moving through the space as he spoke, heading toward the bathroom.

“Only thing I can recommend is to stay away from the clear liquid in the mason jar…” he said over his shoulder as he ducked into the bathroom and went straight to the sink.

Taking off his tunic, he tossed it toward a bin before grabbing a hand towel. With a quick rinse in some hot water to wet it, he started with cleaning his face, then the top of his clean shaved head. After that, it was to the rest of his torso, trying to do a good enough job to feel refreshed. All the while, Damian kept speaking with the door open, projecting his voice so Ju could hear him.

“...that stuff is Chief Elias’ engine degreaser and hits the taste buds like the solvent it is. But damn if it doesn’t sometimes hit the spot.”

Elsewhere in his abode were other key areas too. At his desk was a picture that rested atop a wooden box. The framed photograph itself was of Damian and two other women, with Coleman holding a surfboard in a wetsuit. There was a familial resemblance between Damian and the women, one who looked to be older, and the other being obviously younger for more than one reason. While his older sister Anita was standing beside him, his younger sister Jessica was in the background making a face. Behind them all was a picturesque view of the ocean, except for one important detail, which was a rather big wave cresting, about to crash into Jessica.

The box itself was an intricately carved heirloom made from padauk wood, polished to a brilliant finish; there wasn’t a mote of dust anywhere on the container, making it look pristine. Though there were some signs of wear the closer one got, particularly where the box was opened. It looked as though Damian had chosen to leave the wear purposefully, which he had, preferring to leave them as marks of character.

“Everything else is up for grabs though, depending on your mood. I got some Takju and Igang-ju too, as I’ve been dabbling in some taste testing!”

On a shelf behind his desk was a glass-front shadow box that contained his Starfleet Commendation Medal. Being his first major medal he ever received, it was the only one on display. There was a framed certificate beside the medal box that laid out some of the details of why the medal was awarded, along with the signatures of his CO and FO from the USS Apgar. To the otherside of the medal box was another smaller photo, framed plainly, showing Damian amongst a group of people in front of a shuttlecraft.

Finishing up in the bathroom, Damian tossed the hand towel into the bin before grabbing a fresh one to dry off. Wandering out of the bathroom, he walked through the room, shirtless, toward where his bedroom was. There was a nonchalant vibe coming off of Damian, as though this was a fairly settled routine for him.

“Definitely also not trying to up my drinking game or anything either,” he joked as he made his way past Ju.

There was one more item in the room. A rather voluminous leather tome that was resting on a coffee table in front of the couch. It was well worn, with obvious spots where it was handled most. Leather straps were neatly wrapped around the whole thing, sealing it from view. Though it was made more obvious what the book was with the item on top of it; a gleaming black fountain pen that nestled between the straps.

Damian did close the door to his bedroom as he finished changing, throwing on a pair of stylish gray joggers and a white v-neck t-shirt that had a graffiti-style wave logo on the front. He gave himself just a little spritz of cologne, and threw on a pair of OG red and black sneakers. Readied up, he stepped back out into the main room wondering what Ju had got into while he was away.

“So, what do you say for dinner? Got anything in mind you’d like? We could have ribs, even though they are messy.”

== tag Juju! ==

[Eun Ju Han]

The ride in the Turbolift had been rather quick, though Damian had made sure to tell her that he had decorated his place as best as he could though with the location of his Quarters on the ship they had oddly shaped walls and thus his options were limited. Ju wasn’t sure if he was nervous or if it was something that really bothered him but it couldn’t be worse than her currently spartan accommodations of her own Quarters. Right now though, she was just excited to be with Damian and working on their very first date. As the lift doors opened she followed him to the premiums suites where only the Command staff were allowed to live.

One day, this’ll be me… she thought to herself as the door slid open quickly and the pair stepped inside. It was a massive space, compared to hers, and even though the walls were shaped like the ship it wasn’t as bad as she had envisioned. With the right furniture and décor he could utilize the space even better. But then, she was an Engineer who saw very well how things could fit together and become more streamlined and useful he may not have those gifts. I think he forgot what it was like in junior quarters…

The place was immaculately clean, she doubted that outside of today hers would ever look like this. She was usually half way into a though process and plotting it out when sleep hit her like a brick or.. sometimes it was time to go to shift. Then when she got back a different idea struck her and she was off on a different path, she had a horrible habit of leaving paper, notes, scribbles, and partial projects here and there. After realizing that she could probably never take him to her place her eyes landed on a large framed belt on the wall straight across from the entrance. It was likely something which he was vastly proud of and rightly so.

The door slid closed behind them and Ju’s eyes shifted around the place. To the left was a work out area, she didn’t look too close at it but it definitely looked as though he used it frequently. She supposed that it was something he used so that he didn’t have to be accosted and probably challenged in the general gym the ship used. She had a feeling that he probably had to fight and spar with a lot of the officers here they seemed to have a lot of fire in them. Damian said something in another language, but she remembered enough of people around the Academy to remember that casa meant house. She kind of wanted to spout of some Korean at him but she felt that would go way over his head at this point, at some point she would have to start to teach him some basics. Ju slipped out of her shoes as per her own cultural standards, it would be something so engrained in her she could not even imagine leaving her shoes on without feeling like her Halmoni was going to come behind her with the long thin bamboo rod she used to slap their legs with when she was angry at them.

He headed off towards a door way off to the side, which seemed to be the restroom shower area. Ju was left to her own devices while he did.. whatever it was he was doing. As he walked he told her that he had booze behind the bar and she could help herself but to steer clear of the Engineer’s special. Immediately, that made her want to try it, but perhaps not on their first .. date? Was it their first date? She wasn’t sure if hanging out while her friend sobered up in Medbay was considered a first date. Was Christmas a first date? She had no idea where they stood so date was used in a very loose way at the moment.

Eun Ju slid her hands into the pockets of her jeans and walked over towards the bar at a slow pace still taking in the place. The standard furniture was there, though even more so because it was a large Command Quarters. A desk caught her eye before she could make it to the bar and she altered her course to head over to the desk to look at what was sitting on top of it. He wouldn’t have said she could do whatever if he hadn’t meant it, surely. On the desk was a framed picture in the lid of a box which was carved beautifully. Where the clasp to the box was it was much more worn down. Her slender fingers picked up the box without thinking about it much and looked at the picture of Damian and what seemed to be family members. They all looked really happy, she smiled softly, thinking about how she had two brothers and it seemed he possibly had two sisters, but it was hard to really tell she wasn’t good at guessing relationships merely from pictures.

Putting the box back down where she found it her eyes shifted upwards and she leaned forward to see the medal he had earned through his service to Starfleet. A smile crossed her face reading through the certificate next to it highlighting his contributions. He mentioned that he had some Igang-ju, and her brow rose. Her eyes shifted away from the medal to see Damian leaving the bathroom, and her eyes followed his every step as his still damp torso headed shamelessly across the Quarters for the sleeping area likely to find the rest of his clothing…. It’d be okay if he was out of shirts though…

The door to his main room closed causing her to blink and kind of recenter herself. Okay.. quit staring at Damian and his commanding mu- ....Bichoso, Eunju-a. Ju chastised herself and put her face in her hands for a moment trying to recenter herself because this was treading on dangerous territory for the moment. She was absolutely nuts for being here, what was she doing here anyway? He was way higher rank than her, could probably pull any of the ladies from on and off the ship that he wanted to, she had some kind of gross misconception that she was the one he would prefer to spend his time with? The guy who had belts and metals..

Booze, booze sounds great. Eun Ju remembered the booze he had mentioned and he even had Korean booze which made it even better for her taste buds. She turned and headed to the bar and began to look for the familiar bottle finding the Igang-ju she pulled it out and found two glasses on the bar top where she was able to pour herself a drink which she tossed back very quickly. The burn helped her brain remember what she was here for a hiss escaping her throat per cultural standards before she poured Damian and herself a glass each.

The door behind her opened and Damian came out in casual clothing which made him that much hotter. He looked even better relaxed than he did when he was dressed in his Command tunic. Honestly, she thought he could possibly only look hotter if he was dressed in his dress whites… she had a thing for fine uniforms. Her throat had dried right up watching him cross the room without a single thought to his impact on the crowd. Damian asked her what she wanted to eat mentioning something about ribs… he has good ribs… no.. no concentrate Ju. Eun Ju put a smile on her face as she handed in the Igang-Ju in a glass before she answered his question.

“I’m not sure I’m confident enough to eat messy ribs in front of you just yet,” she chuckled. “How about a stirfry or .. I’m pretty simple, hamburger and French fries are fine too.”

“But first,” she said as she raised her glass and tapped his with hers, “Geonbae!” she cheered then knocked back the glass quickly before putting the empty one back on the bar knowing she might have to pace herself. Food would help, she didn’t get drunk easily but she also wasn’t sure what their plans were for tonight outside of dinner and she did not want to make a fool of herself or make a huge mistake.

“Your first Korean word, geonbae, it’s like… it’s like cheers in Standard.”

[Damien Coleman]

“Thanks,” he said as he took the glass gratefully from Ju.

“I’m not sure I’m confident enough to eat messy ribs in front of you just yet…”

That drew a grin from Damian. Despite knowing Ju a bit, he definitely didn’t know her yet. They’d had some correspondence after DS9, but it wasn’t the same as actually sitting down and hanging together one on one, in person. Either way, it told him something not just about Ju, but about them.

“How about a stirfry or .. I’m pretty simple, hamburger and French fries are fine too.”

“Damn girl, you are anything but simple; though I could rock a stir fry yeah,” Damian’s smile widened as he let out a chuckle, flashing his pearly whites at Ju.

“But first,” Ju had said before tapping his glass with hers, “Geonbae!”

“Geonbae!”

Damian had exclaimed the word right back out of reflex, even though he had no clue what it meant, though he easily guessed what it might be. There was also the realization that he had probably butchered the pronunciation of it. Then he threw the contents of his glass into his gullet and swallowed, letting the warmth fill him up. If they were going to be crushing drinks, Damian figured it would probably be smart to get some food into them. The kind of stuff that he kept in his bar was proper alcohol, not the synthehol that other ships might expect. Sure he did keep some enzymes in a couple of hyposprays for situations where a Red Alert came up. Though, in recent history, Damian’s thirst for booze had increased exponentially, and it was taking much more for it to hit him properly.

Once Ju confirmed what Damian had thought ‘geonbae’ meant, he nodded his head. A mental note appeared in his mind, telling him that there might be some homework needed when it came to Ju. Though he’d already done some of that even if it was mostly taste testing things to make sure his palette would be good. What he found is that he loved Korean cuisine, particularly the spicier dishes with gochujang and kimchi.

“Well, I better admit this straight up then, I’ve been doing a little studying,” Damian poured them another, smaller amount of the Igang-ju into their glasses.

“Not language studying mind you. That probably would have been the smarter place to start.”

Damian chuckled then took another sip of his drink, before meandering over to the replicator. Once there he started looking through several menu items that were Korean, or Korean inspired, particularly the ones he favorited. It didn’t take long for him to narrow it down to a few tasty stir frys.

“Some people who immerse themselves into other cultures probably focus on the language, cultural observations, you know, the nuances of it all. Me? Food and drink. Well, most food and drinks; anything that isn’t a marmalade or that has too much fruit pulp in it.”

Once more, Damian couldn’t help but chuckle as he placed his drink down for a moment and started replicating things. First thing he replicated was ice cold water in a big pitcher, which he moved to the larger table near the bar.

“Usually we only ate big dinners every once in a while, and then only if I wasn’t off being stupid,” Damian spoke all throughout getting the food ready and on the table.

Then he got onto the banchan: kimchi, bap, gim-gui, sigeumchi namul, and a kongnamul guk. After that, he set out extra gochujang, some ssamjang, lettuce boats, and some other fillings in case they wanted to eat the stir fry like a wrap.

“Anita, my older sister, she’d make us a banquet whenever my parents were away too long. We had to grow up fast as you might imagine. Somehow I always knew when the big meal was coming up, and so I’d make my way back to where we had quarters on the starbase. That’s when Jessica, my little sister, would bug the hell outta me, getting mad at me for being away for too long. ‘Nita would shush us and tell us to come to the table. Then we’d eat this big ol’ meal. It always looked like way too much for all of us kids to eat, and yet, most of the dishes were gone by the time it was all done.”

Finally, he replicated one of his favorited dishes that he had already tried once, some dak galbi.

“Those were always good times. I’d read Jess a story before bed, and then I’d catch up with Nita on all the goings ons. Usually until late.”

Coleman had purposefully placed the seat settings next to each other, that way they wouldn’t be spaced out the whole length of the table. He also made sure that there was some soju on the table too, along with glasses, cutlery, and linen napkins.

“You’ll have to forgive me if I missed something,” he stood at the table gesturing for Ju to sit down in the seat next to him, and he continued standing until she did sit, “I’m still learning.”

Dutifully, Damian waited for Ju to dish some food up for herself first before helping himself to the food. It was something he had done ever since he was a kid, letting his sisters dish up for him. Ever since, it always stuck. Even if courses were served at a sit down fancy function, he still waited until everyone at the table had their plates.

“So, for the first thing, you gotta a choice of questions you can answer. How are you enjoying the Magnificent Artemis?” he smiled warmly up into his eyes, before a more devious sort of grin altered his expression.

“Or. What did you and Tyra chat about regarding us? And me?”

[Eun Ju Han]

Damian topped off their glasses, Ju knew she would be good for another few rounds before she would have to be too concerned. She knew her tolerances very well, the drinking culture in Korea was nearly unprecedented. Her brothers had made sure that she could drink and hold her alcohol because there were plenty of men who would try to take advantage of women and girls by getting them drink they wanted to make sure she was protected in a culture that heavily relied on drinking to get through stressful days and overworking. Damian admitted he had been studying the culture but not the language causing Ju to chuckle and shake her head.

“Korean is hard to learn, there’s formal Korean and informal Korean, and depending on circumstances and age tells you which one to use when… it’s.. a lot,” she grinned. “Even for me.”

He admitted he loved food and drink so that was what he started with. Unless it had a lot of pulp or marmalade. “I like sweet stuff, obviously, but I don’t like pulp either.”

Ju leaned her hip against the table as he began to fill it with all of the great food they would be eating. He started with the Korean staple of Kimchi, the fermented radish was one of those things you couldn’t eat Korean food without. He pulled out the small bowls of rice, or bap. Korean rice was much more sticky and thick so it was easy to pick up with chopsticks. He also brought out gim-gui which were sheets of roasted seaweed used for wrapping meats and rice inside. Sigeumchi namul was a side dish which was spinach with garlic, soy sauce, and sesame seeds you could eat it alone or with the bap. It wouldn’t be a complete Korean meal if it didn’t have a soup, watching him replicate the kongnamul guk brought everything together. Soybean sprouts were a staple for Korean tables, and the soup was commonly found on her table at home. Again and again he brought out more food and even the lettuce boats. Her eyes shifted to him as he finished replicating their feast.

“You really did your homework, it makes me feel at home,” she admitted, just looking at the table and smelling the scents from home. It almost made tears come to her eyes but she was not going to let that happen tonight was a good night.

As he worked she listened as he told her about his sisters and his family how they would eat together. Then he would read the younger one a story and the older and he would stay up for a long time talking. “Are those the girls in your box picture?” she asked pointing at the desk before she sat down next to him.

Back home she would be sitting on the floor they weren’t rich enough to have a full table. But, she was used to sitting in chairs from the academy and it didn’t feel weird to her anymore like it normally did. When she ate alone she tended to sit on her little couch or on the floor in front of a small table. She was about to tell him that they were missing some protein when he brought the dak galbi to the table last. The chicken was actually one of her favorite dishes.

“This is perfect,” Ju admitted with a bright smile on her face. Everything was steaming and delicious smelling. Eun Ju could not wait to dig in.

The thing about eating in Korean is you didn’t use a plate like some families did. You ate on your rice bowl, and you helped yourself to the communal dishes one at a time. So there was no worries about someone eating before the other. Leaning forward she took a lettuce boat and put some rice, chicken, and seaweed in it before she rolled it up and shoved it in her mouth all at once. Biting it was not normal, it was probably why most of her culture struggled with constipation issues.

As she chewed he asked her how she was enjoying the Magnificent Artemis. Well, he actually told her she could pick between two questions, and he gave her the second one which was what did Tyra chat about regarding the two of them… and him. Ju swallowed her mouthful of food and took a sip of her soup to wash it down. Thinking about that now, she reached forward and poured some of the water in a clear glass before taking a sip.

“Well, the Artemis is going way better now that I ran into someone I know and I get to spend more time with him,” she grinned. Reaching forward she used her chopsticks to grab a long piece of seaweed and put it on top of her rice. Then she took it and a little ball of rice and ate it while she made him wait for the answer.

“Oh right, Captain…” she grinned, because she was totally teasing him. “Well, we talked about why I came to the Artemis, and I think she was concerned I came solely because you’re here, which .. I didn’t. It’s just a really great perk. She asked .. what kind of relationship we have and how serious we were. I told her I wasn’t really sure, because we had only been on a couple dates and had a lot of correspondence.”

Eun Ju bit her lip. “We haven’t really talked about who we are together, or .. I mean what we are. I didn’t want to tell her something you wouldn’t agree with, or that didn’t make sense, or that we hadn’t agreed on together. So, I kept it really simple. I also wasn’t sure if you were going to think I was a total creep for transferring.”

Ju took another sip of her water and looked over at him. “I didn’t want to speak on your behalf.”

“What… what would you have told her?” Eun Ju asked curiously, a small pit forming in her stomach at the question.

[Tyra Crawford]

== Day 6 - after the meeting with Coleman ==

The chronometer had rolled from 0024 to 0025 in time with the first door chime but she hadn't budged. It wasn't from not hearing it -- she definitely heard it -- but there was nothing good that came at this hour of night. Her father had always told her that nothing good happened after 2100 and with very few exceptions, she'd come to believe he was correct. Given everything happening, she didn't think this would be one of those exceptions.

However, her late night visitor didn't seem to have gotten that memo and rang the chime again. It wasn't Cera, who would have let herself in already, nor Jenny who would have done something similar. Damian would have called ahead at this hour of night, though he'd know she was awake. It could be Chase but he knew better to beat down her door in a drunken stupor. And she suspected he would also be able to break in. It had to say something about her that her closest associates would all break in.

She flopped an arm over her eyes, begging for whoever it was to just go away before she was forced to vacate her spot on the couch but there was no salvation in sight.

The third and fourth chimes were on each other's heels and she was on her feet, ire raised before she even knew what she was doing. Her finger jammed the door's release with every ounce of pent up frustration.

"What do you want?" Her words were near venom even as they tried to claw their way back into her mouth in a hasty retreat moments later.

Her step forward had brought her eye level with her visitor's chest but it was the deep inhale to set off her explosion of words that stopped her dead, the familiar smell of cedar and something sweet setting her back on her heels.

And then, she just leaned forward, forehead connecting with his chest as that lung full of air pushed itself out.

He shifted around her, arms wrapping around her to pull her more fully against him and his shoulders rounding so that his chin could rest on top of her head. His breath stirred her hair as he settled her closer, hands carefully running up and down her back.

After countless heartbeats, she slowly pulled back, her hands smoothing over where she'd left wet spots on his shirt, as she tilted her head back to look up at him. There was a tiny part of her that needed to make sure the stress wasn't finally driving her to see things that weren't there, leading her to assaulting a poor, tall midshipman, but no, her husband was very much standing there, looking down at her with a look that was all concern and worry.

His fingers carefully brushed away the tear streaks from her cheeks, his thumb caressing along her jawline as he regarded her closely. She could feel that familiar warmth where he touched her, the tiniest sign that he was searching deeper than the surface.

"I would have broken in but I am well aware of how many weapons are hidden in your quarters," he teased, his crooked grin edging out his concern for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" she asked softly as she took one of his hands from her face and used it to gently guide him inside. Fortunately, there was little traffic on Artemis during shore leave and even less at this time but she didn't need more rumors swirling.

"'If the Mountain won't come to Mohammed, Mohammed must come to the Mountain,'" Thomas quoted, still watching her closely. It felt like he could see straight to her soul and despite having done significantly worse things in her life, she felt that trickling concern he wouldn't like what he found.

"No one could tell me what's going on and even Cera has been less than reassuring so I needed to see for myself. I called in some favors and here I am," he answered at her continued silence, using her hand to pull her back towards him.

"You didn't need to," she stated but the sniffle that punctuated the ending belied the sentiment. "But I'm glad you're here."

"Hell couldn't keep me away from you," Thomas reassured, even as he took a step back to assess her. She knew his dark blue eyes were looking for the tell tale sign of injuries and he knew the tiny signs to look for that always gave away her wounds, even if freshly healed. And yet, he looked puzzled when he found none. "You look like Hell but you also look whole and intact."

She arched her eyebrow as she pulled away, moving towards the couch in a lazy saunter. "Boy, you must be a hit with the ladies if you're laying down lines like that," she remarked before collapsing onto the couch, her glass back in her hand without conscious thoughts.

He grinned at her but she could practically see the wheels in his head moving as he assessed the situation and her. He knew her best, he knew her defenses and her coping. He'd know that the tears were red alert territory but sarcasm and bourbon were her armor. If she still had them, she wasn't entirely doomed but if she was crying at the sight of him, it wasn't sunshine and rainbows either.

She could see him in her peripheral pour himself a glass before settling into the corner of her couch, seeming content to wait her out. This was becoming a regular occurrence at this rate, which she was sure wasn't lost on either of them. There was a time when he wouldn't have joined her in the bourbon but those years were long past, buried under more scars than either wanted to acknowledge.

It didn't take long before it just poured out. There were some things that she couldn't actually find words for but she didn't think she needed to. She had no doubt that he could feel the swirling emotions as she voiced her frustration and this general sense of betrayal. Her frustration, anger and this suffocating feeling of helplessness over Elias also seemed to stick in her throat, as did her frustration with Damian being caught in the blast. And yet, she was certain he knew.

"Maybe I screwed up," she said softly. "But when I think about it, I don't know what else I could have done. Oh sure, I could have thrown my pips down like a gauntlet and told an admiral where to stick it..."

"Depending on the admiral, they might have really enjoyed that coming from you," Thomas teased, wiggling an eyebrow at her to break the mood.

She elbowed him slightly but there was no denying the smirk that crossed her lips. Her eyebrow arched as she sent a shot back across his bow. "Are you saying I should have taken one for the team to get us out of that assignment?"

Her husband nearly choked on his drink, his hand coming up to wipe his mouth. "No," he managed to sputter out before finally escaping the choking hazard. "I quite like being the only member of admiralty, former or present, that knows just how flexible and... athletic you can be."

She hummed her amusement as she took another sip, watching him over the rim of the glass as she did. She could practically see the war raging between supportive and attentive husband and a man who hadn't been in the same room as his wife in weeks, much less without children present. She suspected she knew which side would win --he was half Deltan after all -- but it seemed cruel to let him flounder.

After a few more moments, she set her glass down before reaching out and removing the choking hazard from Thomas' hands as well. Now it was his turn to arch his eyebrow at her with an accompanying crooked grin as she leaned close, her finger curling into his shirt to pull him just a little closer before kissing him senseless.

There was an immediate sense of warmth and comfort as their connection, muted without physical contact, snapped to life. Not for the first time, she considered that maybe she should have just jumped him at the doorway and just avoided explaining everything with words. It certainly would have killed multiple birds with one stone. And she had certainly missed him, a fact that definitely wasn't one sided she learned quickly.

"Let me remind --" he started to tease but she'd already decided to preempt whatever corny pick up line was about to come out of his mouth by pulling him rather aggressively back towards her. There was a second of surprise on his part before he rather enthusiastically sought her out, finding warm skin and smiling lips.

Fortunately, he seemed more than willing to put words to the side for the moment and Tyra was all too happy to let her storming thoughts go for the moment to focus on a much more enjoyable task.

Oh, they still had things to discuss but for the time being, this was what Tyra needed, a haven from the storm and what a delightful haven it was.

== Back to your regularly scheduled programming! ==

[Tyra Crawford]

== Day 11 ==

The message had come in at 0600 but she hadn't seen it until 0642. At about 0703, Thomas found her sitting at her desk, seemingly re-reading the message for the hundredth time, but the words were just blurring together. Her face had been entirely void of expression as if someone had just wiped it all away.

She hadn't even registered his presence until he'd placed a hand on her shoulder, both comforting and for balance as he leaned forward to read the message. She knew when he reached the end, when he read that last parting shot by the sigh and the way his hand reflexively squeezed her shoulder. He'd leaned down to press a kiss into her hair, mumbled words of reassurance whispering through the strands, but she couldn't even find the tiniest bit of comfort, not yet at least.

It wasn't until a steaming cup of coffee was set in front of her and he had crouched next to her, grabbing one of her hands in a grip that was much firmer than usual, that she had shaken herself just a little. He'd been so sincere when he'd promised it would be alright that she'd felt the slightest flicker of anything.

Thomas had given her space as he'd begun handling what needed to be handled. She shouldn't have been surprised that he's called Cera and the blonde had appeared as if a genie summoned to grant wishes. She suspected the two would have handled everything if she'd remained borderline catatonic but the resolute energy of her quartermaster, a long with a strategically poured shot into her coffee, had pushed her into action.

This was no way for a captain to act and for at least, the next 8 hours, she was still very much a captain.

Within four hours, most of the work had been done, though Cera and Thomas had done most of the heavy lifting. She'd had to pause to speak to Damian, explaining the circumstances or what she knew of them along with trying to provide some semblance of guidance, before returning to the arduous task of packing up the last few years of her life.

...clear your quarters before departure, she'd recited as she placed another item into a crate. The message seemed to run through her mind on a loop but the orders to report to HQ hadn't been surprising or jarring. No, it was that last order that had done it, though she'd known it was a possibility. However, she apparently had been leaning more heavily into denial than she'd thought.

"Do you want me to get the senior staff together?" Cera asked as she stood on her tip toes to place another item into a crate. It was the same question Damian had asked and she'd only managed a shake of her head then.

"No, I... I can't," she answered, her tone a mix of defeat and resignation.

The blonde had stopped what she was doing to watch and Tyra was certain she was doing more than just watching. However, Cera was always discreet with her observations and made no comment about her findings.

"When you come back..."

The optimism in Cera's voice was enough to make Tyra want to laugh but she knew that was cruel. She envied the half-Betazoid that optimism when all she saw was bleak and dark.

"Maybe," she offered, though it lacked certainty or confidence.

Cera seemed willing to let this go, her head dipping to check her PADD. "Your ready room is packed up. And I think we're almost done here,"the blonde said, dark eyes sweeping the space. "I'll have them start moving the crates. Do you need anything else?"

Tyra shook head head slightly but then managed the tiniest of smiles. "A hug?"

The laugh that escaped Cera at the inside joke was a little ragged but she practically barreled across the space for a fierce hug that belied her tiny stature.

They'd been together for years, long and difficult years. Cera had been there when she was a young, floundering captain and Cera had been a young ensign who thought a hug of all things could solve problems. They'd basically grown up together. Cera had even managed to outlast Jenny, even though Tyra was well aware Cera was not short on job offers, but the blonde had always reiterated that there was nowhere she'd rather be. Tyra could say with confidence that there was no one else she wanted policing her and no one else she'd tolerate mothering her when she absolutely failed to take care of herself.

"You'll call when you make it, right?" Cera asked, eyes a little shiny as she pulled back. "And after... you know."

"You're my first call. Every time. Take care of 'em, especially Damian," she answered, giving Cera's shoulder a final squeeze.

There was more that could have been said and probably should have been said but Tyra wasn't big on words with feelings and Cera had never been inclined to force her.

The sound of duffel bags being set down behind them and then the clanking of Colt's leash as Thomas finished the wrangling of Artemis' former first dog broke the spell.

Tyra offered Cera one more sad smile as the blonde gathered the few wine bottles Tyra had bequeathed her from the table. The blonde stopped to pet Colt, almost losing a bottle in the process, before bidding them a rather watery good bye.

"Ready?" Thomas asked after the door shut, his tone patient and gentle. "We can take the long way, if you want."

"No, I'm not but that's not going to change," Tyra answered, taking Colt from him before hoisting a duffel bag onto her shoulder.

She turned partway to look at the space around them, now void of any sign she'd ever lived there minus the crates that Cera's boys would start moving out as soon as they left.

"Who knew the end of an era would be a whisper," she mumbled, feeling Thomas' hand on her lower back gently guiding her out of the room before it's ghosts made a claim on her.

== ETL ==

[Damien Coleman]

It wouldn’t be hard for Damian to make a mental note that Ju wasn’t big on things with pulp, as that was the same with him and his palate. Though he already knew that she had a sweet tooth, Coleman did have to wonder if there were any kinds of sweets that she didn’t like. So far as he knew, Ju liked just about anything with sugar in it.

An appreciative smile spread out across Damian’s features, pulling more from the right side of his mouth, when Ju mentioned that he’d done his homework. It really hadn’t been all that much. And as he had said to her before, exploring the culinary parts of a culture was much more his speed. Because when Ju had started talking about formal and informal language, his eyes probably had bulged a little. Damian had nodded his head and replied yes to her when Ju had mentioned his sisters in the picture. It reminded him that he needed to rotate the photo out and put something new up. Usually he picked a new one every week, out of the large collection from within the box.

Grinning as Ju declared that the table was perfect, he let out an inaudible sigh. There was a part of him that wondered if he’d gotten everything right. But as soon as Ju started reaching out and grabbing the food, he realized that even if he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have held it against him; something else he made note of.

Seeing her grab some grub, Damian started helping himself too, though he didn’t start eating until Ju began to talk. Then it was a morsel here, a sip of soup there, and just picking out the different parts of the dinner to really enjoy all the tastes on the table. Her comment about running into him, and getting to spend time with him, brought out a look in Damian that was a mixture of charming and mischievous. Though as she grabbed more food, he began to wonder if that was her answer, or if there was more. Coleman was about to swallow his food so that he could speak up, but it wasn’t needed in the end, as Ju continued.

“...and I think she was concerned I came solely because you’re here, which .. I didn’t. It’s just a really great perk…”

The same look from before flashed across his visage, and he couldn’t hide it either. Though as she continued, it seemed that Ju was more unsure of the situation. She had been right in that they’d only hung out a couple of times on DS9. And that they’d sent some correspondence to each other for a while, at least until the mission got in the way. Damian didn’t miss the bit lip as she went further into the what that was their relationship. Ju wasn’t wrong. By all accounts it was hard to quantify what they had. Even more so for Damian because how they grew together was different in many ways from how he usually found romance.

“...I also wasn’t sure if you were going to think I was a total creep for transferring.”

Chuckling quietly, Coleman paused and poured some of the table soju into empty glasses for Ju and then himself. Locking eyes with her as she looked over to him, he found another reason to appreciate her. Finally, she got to her own question: what would he tell Tyra. There was a pause that he took, taking a moment to swig down a couple of sips of the soju to clear his mouth. Then he put his hands together for a moment as he thought.

“If you would have asked me this question before our missions, I think I would have had a different answer than now. That might sound odd, considering we really didn’t get a chance to see each other after DS9. But the way we kept in touch, the stuff that we talked about…”

There was more at the end of the sentence that went unsaid, and so he took a moment to mentally chew on it.

“...I ended up missing you. A lot.”

Letting the last words hang in the air, Damian took a sip of water as he weighed his next words.

“You’ve honestly been an incredible friend. Someone that I could be myself around and not have to be the kind of person that people expect of me. Or that sometimes I have to be in order to do my job. As time went on, we corresponded some, and I confided things in you. Shared parts of me. And, well, I ended up thinking about you quite a bit.”

“They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and in this case, I think it certainly is true. Because when I bumped into you, it certainly didn’t feel like you were just a friend. It felt…” Damian looked directly at her, a soft but serious look in his eyes.

“...it kind of feels serendipitous, you being here. Even if you had asked to transfer or however you coming over here came to be. Especially now, after all the crazy things that happened during my last mission, and some of the fallout that will come from that.”

Damian winced at the last part, not really wanting that to come up in their discussion so early. Especially not when they were figuring out what to call their relationship. So, he decided to jump back in before she could ask a follow-up.

“I’d tell Tyra that we are still figuring things out between us. But I think, in my heart, I know what it is. I just was wanting to figure out what you feel about it all. Which, it is totally okay if we aren’t completely on the same page. I’m willing to put in more work into this, into us.”

Damn, why am I dancing around this so much? What can’t I just give her a straight answer?

“If I was to put how I feel into a singular word, it would be: together. I’m not interested in anyone but you. You’ve got my full attention, and I want to explore whatever this is…” his hands waved in front of him, each pushing from his chest towards her and then back again a few times.

“...and see where it leads us. Cause when I’m with you, I get to be the real Damian beneath the uniform.”

There was more. Maybe a lot more. Though he didn’t want to scare her off either. Damian could think of many reasons why he liked Ju. There were other feelings there too, the kind of stuff that happened when he just clicked with someone. Though what there was with them, in the moment, was different than that. There was a base, a structure, that supported the warmth that he got from being with her.

“When I bumped into you,” he restated, “it certainly didn’t feel like you were just a friend. It feels like we are together.”

[Eun Ju Han]

Damian listened to her talking, even though she was certain it was all over the place, and then poured them both a little glass of soju. Ju took her glass from him and tapped hers with his before she tossed it back to wet her own throat. She was also nervous as to what he was going to say, he could have anyone, anywhere. She hadn’t been on the ship long enough to her any of the rumors surrounding him but she also knew that she was not the best thing he could find. She was young, but they oddly had a lot to talk about. Their conversations went through normal work related venting and talking to deep diving into their pasts, hobbies, morals and more. They had conversations that other than lack of time due to hectic schedules never hit a lull or felt forced.

He began to speak and Ju was hanging on his every word because she was desperate to make sure they were on the same level. She was cautious because he was older than her and might want something more out of this relationship more quickly or worse he could be someone that just wanted a companion briefly and then change it up when someone new and exciting came along. He confessed that if she had asked this question before the mission he would have had a different answer than he did now. However, over the mission they had kept in touch as much as they could, she wrote to him every night before she passed out in her bunk and usually woke up to a message. He told her that he found himself missing her while they were apart causing a oft smile to brush across face.

She had missed him too.

Then he said she had been an incredible friend causing her smile to falter and her brow to furrow slightly because she thought this conversation was going in a different direction. Cautiously she continued to listen waiting patiently because now she was unsure where this was going. He admitted that he looked forward to their messages and he ended up thinking about her a lot. She wanted to tell him that she had thought about him constantly. It helped that the brief time he had been on the Philly and hidden little candies around Engineering for her, she had found them and remembered him so very fondly. He was the one that knew about the Candy situation that got her kicked off the mission, he was the one she had confided her fears.. her worries, and her anger at the situation to. He had been there for her when she couldn’t say anything about it to anyone else unsure of who she could trust on her own ship.

Eun Ju had not eaten since she began to speak earlier and right now she couldn’t even think about the food on the table she was concentrating far too hard on every word that he was giving her. Ju wasn’t sure if he was uncertain of how to say what he wanted or if he was teasing her instead of just saying it.. both could be true knowing his personality. When he admitted that absence makes the heart grow fonder Ju gave a simple nod, it was true, and honestly she felt that the pen-pal method they had gone with while on their respective ships had actually allowed them to open up to each other more. It had also made her long, so many times, to just give him a hug. To see his smile, to let him see her tears and feel him brush them away with his thumbs, to give her a kiss to her forehead when she was struggling.

Damian said he would tell Tyra that they were still figuring it out. Which meant he was in the same thought process as her but.. she wanted to figure it out. Eun Ju desperately wanted to know where she stood with him. He admitted that his heart knew where they stood. Ju looked up, her dark brown eyes, almost black with her half-Betazed heritage, matching his eyes with hers. Finally, he admitted that he just wanted to be together. He wasn’t interested in anyone outside of her, she was the only one he wanted to be with. Giving her the best compliment when he said he could just be Damian when they were together, she didn’t see his rank, she didn’t see his tunic, she just saw the man who was down to drink with gummy bears and hung out with her while Ichika puked glitter all over the Medbay.

Silence fell a moment as he reiterated that he didn’t feel as though she was a friend but instead that they were together. Eun Ju looked at his face, reading his features there, and her empathic abilities brushed against his mind for a moment. Not that she didn’t feel that he was telling the truth but she had wanted to feel what he felt and she didn’t regret it for a moment as his emotions rushed across the bond for a moment before she withdrew.

Eun Ju wasn’t even sure how she made the amazingly smooth movement from her seat to his. Her knee was in the small space between his two legs, her other foot was planted on the floor beside the chair. She didn’t want to put much weight on him, she was slight, but surprisingly dense with the musculature it took to be a substantial engineer. One of her hands rested on his shoulder, the other on the side of his neck with her thumb against his jawline. This position put her slightly higher than him but she shifted so that her forehead and his forehead touched, her hair creating a slight curtain around them.

“I very much like being together,” she admitted softly. “I’ve never felt connected to someone the way I do with you. So many people look down on me because I’m young and new, because I don’t know everything yet, but you never do. You make me feel safe and protected and… I cannot .. will not… imagine doing this without you beside me.”

Eun Ju swallowed heavily. Her mind was at war with itself. She had been raised in a very conservative way, but she also wanted to seal this conversation. The hand on his neck rose to his cheek, and her face tilted so their noses brushed one another’s. Ju pulled back slightly, their noses still touching, so their eyes could meet. She wanted to make sure that he was feeling the same way that she was. Do it.. you can make this move. She had never made a first move before, but this time, it was worth it.

Ju shifted, and her lips brushed his softly, a little shy kiss. She wasn’t sure if he would want the kiss, or if it was best to start chaste and work up to something more. This was uncharted territory for the young Korean, so she allowed him to take a bit of the lead too. So the kiss was soft and gentle, before she pulled back though she didn’t leave his arms or his lap instead she looking into his eyes again. Because, if she was honest, she wanted more.

==Tag Damian==

[Damien Coleman]

== Some written with permission from Eun ==

All through his long, winding, and wordy path to telling Ju that he felt that she was more than a friend, Damian felt awkward. It wasn’t usually that hard for him to get to the point. However, worry had gripped his mind. Was he going too far, too fast? What if Ju didn’t feel the same way about him? There were others in the past that Coleman just knew there was an instant spark, and didn’t take long to explore it. But those fleeting relationships were different. There’d been a spark with Ju too, but it didn’t explode into something carnal. It smoldered as something deeper, as a bond grew and entwined them.

Between all the rambling, he hadn’t noticed Ju furtively moving into his space. He’d been so focused on trying to speak his heart’s truth, that only when he stopped, did Damian realize how close she’d gotten. Feeling the hand on his shoulder, the other touching his neck as her thumb brushed his jaw, Damian drank Ju’s touch. Letting out a short happy sigh, he smiled broadly; his words hadn’t messed anything up. When Ju’s forehead gently touched against his, there was the feeling that they were connected. His thoughts were her thoughts. Ju’s words only reinforced that instinct, accepting that they very much were together. It wasn’t just a thought that they were, but it was now a reality.

Damian’s heart skipped a beat, and he drew in a sharp sip of air, as Ju’s hand rose to his cheek while they nuzzled noses. It was very ethereal, and yet also lent a quality of reminiscence or better described to be a deja vu; not because they’d done what they were doing before, but because Damian had daydreamed of such closeness with Ju. As he met her gaze, his eyes spoke for him when his lips didn’t move, not wanting to ruin the moment with more words. He’d done plenty of speaking already, too much in fact, and saying anything would cheapen the moment that he and Ju were now sharing.

Finally, he felt her lips on his. Warmth spread out from the contact and Damian could feel a flush rise up to his face. It was the smallest of kisses, but it was immensely powerful in what it communicated. It made his lips curl in delight, beaming like he’d just received a present at Christmas. The hardest part was that it hadn’t lasted long at all. A brief peck, the smallest of explorations into a vast nebula. But the courage it would have taken, making the first move, was immense. It wasn’t until his eyes fluttered open that Damian found Ju looking at him, still in his lap, her dark gaze drilling into his mind. What she had done was to open the gates, showing that they were on the same page, and inviting him to confirm what he had spoken before.

One of Damian’s hands found the small of Ju’s back, easily covering the area, and pulled her into him by just a fraction more. The other hand ran along her arm. His fingers went gliding over the exposed skin, dancing like figure skaters moving along a stretch of ice. Up and along they went until he reached Ju’s face. There, he cupped her cheek in his hand, gently caressing as he drank deeply from her eyes. Ju had started the whole thing anteing up what she thought was a good starting point; he was just matching that ante.

Gently he pulled her into him, placing his lips against hers, and gave a peck. If the game had been poker, there was little to hide between them anymore. They weren’t trying to bluff each other, as all of their cards were clearly on the table. Instead of breaking off entirely as Ju had though, he raised the ante. Damian’s lips found Ju’s again, and this time he deepened the kiss. Pressing his lips more firmly against hers, the hand that cradled her face dropped further back, his fingers caressing the nape of her neck. There they played with all the little hairs while the hand at her back pressed on her more firmly, bringing her in just a little more. He titled his head, changing the angle of their embrace to explore her lips more fully. There was an intensity in his chest that made taking things slowly an uphill battle.

Feelings swirled and he felt heady, drinking in everything between him and Ju. Damian reached out with his awareness, taking in Ju’s reaction to the intensity of his desire. There were little hints, and others obvious; satisfied that Ju was in tune with him, he continued exploring their desire. Damian’s lips parted as his tongue gently traced the seam of her lips, seeking permission, and when she parted them slightly a low hum of satisfaction seemed to rumble in his throat.

As their embrace grew more passionate, Damian took notice of how Ju felt in his arms, the warmth of their bodies as they pressed together. If there was a connection before, it had grown by leaps and bounds as they shared their longing inclinations, and vulnerability. When they finally broke apart, Damian found himself breathless, as once more he returned to where they started; he rested his forehead against hers. His eyes remained closed for a dozen heartbeats more, before they slowly opened, looking toward Ju.

Damian’s mouth opened once, twice, but shut each time, unsure of whether he needed to say anything as he held her. So much more had been said in the minutes since they stopped using words. More than anything, he wanted to stay right where they were, entranced by one another. Enjoying how they found a new level to who they were, together.

== tag back Ju ==

[Eun Ju Han]

The kiss, was simple, small, short. It was a seal that words could not fully put on how they were beginning to feel about one another. It was more than a peck, less than a kiss, she wasn’t even sure there was a classification for it. Honestly, it didn’t matter because she just was so glad that he had stopped talking and followed her lips with his own. It was not easy for someone like Ju to make the first move, she had not dated much and when she did it was always the males who made moves. Of course, in Korean culture it was nearly unheard of for a woman to make the move. This time though Ju wanted to show him that she wanted to be with him, to be his girlfriend, to see where things would go.

As the kiss broke, Ju found the breath in her lungs had halted in her throat. Despite her desires to come up with something to say which would be the icing on the cake, she couldn’t find words. He shifted, pulling her even closer now, a hand slid into the thick brown hair behind her cupping the back of her neck. His other hand, brushed up her arm causing the little hairs there to rise in excitement as his fingers traversed her flesh all the way until finding it’s home on her cheek. She had only ever held his hand, it was always warm and strong, and now, cupping her cheek she loved it even more. It was as though her face had been made the approximate size of his palm, it fit perfectly. Again, he was warm and strong but the slight callouses on his hands provided a unique texture she enjoyed.

This time Damian took the lead by pulling her in for the kiss. At first, it was a small peck much like she had given to him and she thought he had only wanted to put his own seal on the situation. However, as his hand slid to the back of her neck he pulled her back in not once really letting her go. The secondary kiss was much better, the kind that melted your internal organs or at the very least turned them to sludge. It wasn’t the hot kind of kiss that sent her mind into things she had only fantasized about but instead it was the kind of kiss that further cemented their relationship. Their lips danced together softly, heads tilted for comfort, as he deepened it a little. Eun Ju lost herself in their kiss a little bit, the food forgotten for the moment as she found sustenance somewhere else. Damian was gifted at keeping her attention on him, though she was pretty sure he had no problems with that anyway no matter where he went. Between his good looks and charisma she was certain he caught the eyes of many. He had certainly caught hers.

When their lips parted, Ju found that breath had failed to enter her lungs for several seconds. It wasn’t until a slight burning that she remembered to breathe. Taking a deep breath, Ju joined in the soft panting sounds of two people who needed to catch their breaths having taken each other’s away. Ju opened her eyes and found his still closed. Her hand softly traced the line of his jaw with her fingertips. It had been far more passionate than anything she had ever experienced. Her body yearned for more but the logic side of her brain reminded her she was Korean and this was also a very new relationship. While she was eager to be his girlfriend and see where that led them, she was not in a rush to do everything quickly. Eun Ju knew that if he was the right man he would be in it for the long haul and not rush her but let their relationship develop a steady foundation.

Finally, his eyes opened and her pale lips curved into a smile. It looked as though he wanted to speak about something but wasn’t able to really, and she was okay with that because she honestly felt the same. Ju tried to find something to say, she felt as though she needed to say something important or poignant at this moment. It was a turning moment for their relationship but words had vacated her brain.

Her stomach though, was not at a loss for words. With the scents of Korean food behind her, her stomach grumbled loudly in an effort to remind her that she had a duty to fill it. The grumbling was loud enough she was fairly certain that both of them heard it. Ju couldn’t help but laugh as her stomach protested it’s empty nature loudly. Falling forward she rested her forehead on his shoulder laughing for a moment before pulling back.

“That’s one way to redirect us,” she smiled as she stood up from his lip and moved back to her seat. The food was still warm, they hadn’t been kissing that long, only a couple of minutes but it felt like far longer. She picked up her chopsticks and began to put meat, rice, and some vegetables in a lettuce boat for Damian. Leaning forward she held it in front of his mouth so he could take the whole thing. Then she made herself one to sate her stomach and it’s complaints.

“I’m really glad we got off of mission around the same time. I was able to transfer over smoothly,” Ju admitted after she swallowed her food. She picked up some more vegetables and put it on top of her rice before eating them together. “My last mission.. my first mission… went badly for me, anyway. I’m sure others had a great time.” Ju’s face fell slightly. “I guess, I can tell you what happened since.. you’re a commanding officer and can probably read it in my personnel file anyway.. and it may come up at some point so.. I guess I should tell you.”

Ju picked up her drink and downed several long sips of the booze before she began to tell Damian about her first mission. “I was really excited,” she admitted her hands falling into her lap. “My first mission out of the Academy. I was working in Engineering under my Chief when we get an all-call to go to the Bridge. There we find out that there’s been a mutiny and we must pick sides. I didn’t.. I don’t know anyone, so I didn’t know what to do with myself and suddenly, one side had teleported themselves off the ship so I was kind of … assigned a side?”

Ju looked down at the booze in her glass swirling it slightly unsure what Damian would think of everything.

“Then, we just got to work. Because, what else is there to do but not die to the enemy right? So .. the Commander tells me to go on the away mission with others representing Engineering. I grab my pack and head to the transport dock. On the way there I put a candy in my mouth because I was really nervous. We were messing with Cardassians and a mutiny, anyway.. so I got there and this other officer, another Commander tells me to spit out my candy because we’re not there to chew gum. I didn’t understand her hostility… so.. I thought this was my moment to stand up for myself. When I told her.. well.. I told her ‘it’s a good thing I’m not chewing bubble gum then’ .. I.. I got kicked off the away team and sent back to Engineering.”

Ju chewed on the corner of her lip for a moment. “It’s not why I requested a transfer, please don’t think that, it’s just.. when you brought me here for Christmas it felt like family. It felt warm. I really wanted that kind of environment. But what happened back there surely didn’t make it hard to leave…”

==Tag Damian==

[Cassandra Givens]

== 10.5 weeks after Artemis' return to DS9 ==

== 1000 hours ==

Cass wasn't sure whether it had been misplaced optimism or a serious lack of comprehension that had led Bill to giving her the assignment timeline he had given her but six weeks later, Cass was still trying to come to terms with the situation that was the captain-less Artemis.

Think what you would about Captain Crawford's command decisions, particularly her most recent, but there was no denying she ran an efficient ship. She'd even managed to fill most of the vacancies before her departure with the exception of Chief Engineer, which had made Cass' job both easier and harder. It meant she didn't need to provide replacement recommendations to the committee but it also meant there were more people to evaluate.

It had only taken her conversations with Lieutenant Commander Morgan and Commander Coleman to realize that interviews of the senior staff and senior members of each department were going to get her nowhere. While both were cordial, there was a guarded defense that no amount of bluntness was going to outmatch and truthfully, she didn't know if she could have stomached the interviews either way. In their eyes, she was looking into the punishment of a martyr or two and she wasn't sure she could disagree with the assessment.

Instead, she'd combed through reports and logs detailing mission upon mission, looking for the breadcrumb that would indicate the Artemis was corrupted from within and beyond help. She'd wandered the ship, looking for telltale signs of disrepair or maybe, another hidden still, and all she'd found was a well cared for, maybe even loved, vessel and junior officers that were just as loyal as their seniors.

During her time aboard the Artemis, she'd mainly spent her time in the ready room, trying to avidly ignore the fact that it felt like there was a ghost present. The wall behind the desk still held impressions of where she knew a formidable weapons collection had hung, there was a coffee stain on the corner of the desk that would just not scrub out and there had been a forgotten, mostly empty bottle of bourbon shoved haphazardly behind one of the drawers.

But if she had thought the ready room was difficult, the CO Quarters were a different type of difficult. She'd avidly avoided the room until base engineering had shoved her out of the ready room on the pretense that the replicator needed to be upgraded the night before. With a report needing to be finished, she'd thought very little of evacuating to the CO Quarters, given they'd been empty for over 8 weeks at this point, but as soon as the doors had opened, the faint scent of coffee had hit her straight in the face. And then, all the little signs of life became almost impossible to ignore. A life that had been boxed up with a speed that had likely been jarring and painful.

However, Cass had shaken that from her brain as she'd settled down on the couch to work out her final report. It was a position she maintained until approximately 0300 when she'd finished and transmitted it to the committee with little fanfare.

And then, she'd apparently fallen asleep on the couch as her next conscious thought involved an incessant beeping.

"Computer, turn off alarm."

[Unable to comply. No alarm currently active.]

It was another solid ten seconds before her brain defogged enough to realize what the tone indicated, a priority message.

Her legs were uncoordinated as she pushed herself off the couch, wobbling like a baby deer before she managed to get some muscle control. Still, her progress to the desk was more like a stumble than anything graceful and she put much of her weight on the desk as she accessed the message.

It was short and sweet, to the point.

[From: Admiral Bill Anderson
To: Captain Cassandra Givens
RE: Artemis

Artemis scheduled for launch at 0800. Recall and prepare crew.]

Attached were encrypted command codes, her command codes.

She took a mouthful of 7 hour old coffee, the cold, bitter substance sliding down her throat much like the dread settling into her stomach. This wasn't what she wanted but when did she ever get a choice? It was just like she'd suspected.

Fortunately, on paper, Artemis was ready. Cass had recently selected a replacement for Lieutenant Commander Elias and Cass was confident that the man, an experienced engineer in his own right, would not succumb to the pitfalls Elias had. However, Cass had hoped to hand that knowledge off to another captain, not witness validation of her beliefs firsthand.

"Captain Givens to Lieutenant Commander Morgan. Can you please meet me on the bridge ASAP? Thank you," she requested, not bothering to keep the channel open for the quartermaster's answer.

>> Bridge >>

[Damien Coleman]

Fitting comfortably against him, Ju seemed happy with how the last few moments had progressed between them, a smile forming on the lips that he’d just finished praising with his own. It wasn’t often that Damian found himself tongue tied, yet that was exactly what had happened to him. Though he was slightly relieved when Ju seemed to be in the same state too. Both of them sat there, unsure of what to say, as they had boldly taken a step forward in their relationship. He wondered if it was better to say nothing at all, and let their actions speak for them. If that was for the best, Ju’s stomach clearly had other plans, as it protested the interruption of their meal loudly.

Damian broke into a laugh, which matched with Ju doing exactly the same. Within, he made a mental note to always make sure he had some snacks on hand during any future dates with Ju. If there was the threat that her stomach could interfere so vigorously, he needed to be armed and ready; as guts never negotiated. Ju’s head hit his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her tenderly.

“It is,” he responded to Ju, helping her up from him and back to her seat.

Returning to the food, Damian was happy to take her offer of a lettuce boat filled with fixin’s in one big gulp. He’d considered doing something similar for her, but Ju moved fast, making sure she made one for herself directly after. Sparing a moment, Damian picked up his glass with soju and took a sip of it. It was then that Ju started chatting, and Damian listened intently to her.

Whatever had happened on the Philly, it hadn’t gone well for Ju. There was a brief moment where he wondered if Ju was even going to give him the details, or if she would have preferred to keep it under wraps. If she had, Damian would have respected that choice. It would be too easy to just launch into her files and read up on her entire life. However, that kind of thing bothered Damian for a myriad of reasons. And now that they were an item, it was an even bigger reason to avoid such a situation; passing it off to Tyra instead would be the likely move in that case.

Ethics aside, it was also because he didn’t want to know absolutely everything about her career. Damian wanted to learn such things from Ju, if she so chose to share those things with him. Not just out of respect to her own agency, but also out of interest. If he magically just knew everything there was to know about her, then a lot of intrigue and mystery would be lost so very quickly; discovering a partner was part of the fun in building a relationship.

Eating some of the food, Damian was grateful that she was going to talk about what had happened. It was something that was in the back of his brain, wondering how it came to be that she had put in for a transfer to the Artemis. It hadn’t gone unnoticed from him, as Damian watched Ju load up on some liquid courage before speaking further. In an act of solidarity with her, Coleman drank several sips from his beer. Then, as Ju started her story in earnest, he kept his movements to a minimum. Both to keep from distracting her as she spoke, but also to more intently listen.

The beginning wasn’t a surprise. Damian had seen plenty of fresh eyed Midshipmen come aboard, excited and sometimes nervous, biting at the bit to get right into things. Every officer was different, yet those from the same departments tended to have similarities. The number of freshly minted security officers that wanted to get straight into combat were innumerable. And Coleman had worked with enough engineers to know that they wanted to see the ship at warp, or in the case of the Artemis to see the Slipstream in action. It did make him wonder what exactly medical personnel wanted. Surely they wouldn’t want to see patients.

“...There we find out that there’s been a mutiny and we must pick sides…”

Damian’s face changed instantaneously. The word hung heavy in the air, and his brows furrowed deeply, while his chopsticks hovered as if the artificial gravity had turned off; his bite of food floating, waiting. He’d heard that something had gone down on the Philadelphia, but not mutiny. A million questions seemed to assault his mind then, wanting to know every excruciating detail about what had happened. Damian held his tongue though, and also lowered his chopsticks as he continued to drink Ju’s words like some drought parched creature.

Under other circumstances, Coleman might have beamed proudly at Ju for standing up for herself. Or even heartily chuckle at the sassy come back regarding her candy that wasn’t at all bubble gum. Instead, he tried to contain his emotions. Somehow, he was going to have to tell Ju about his feelings, as Damian was sure that she would see his reaction. She needed to know that it wasn’t her, or her story, that had caused the raging feelings just barely being contained.

“It’s not why I requested a transfer, please don’t think that, it’s just.. when you brought me here for Christmas it felt like family. It felt warm. I really wanted that kind of environment. But what happened back there surely didn’t make it hard to leave…”

At that, Damian did manage to soften his face, and even cracked a small smile. He was glad he’d sent the invite, and even more so once he heard how it had affected her. That they were able to give her that feeling of warmth and family, it made Damian proud of his crew. The fact that it opened up her eyes to a landing pad, especially after a fiasco like a mutiny, was another bonus too.

“I’m glad that we made you feel at home. And that you are home now,” Damian finally spoke, the smile fading from his face shortly after the words lost volume.

“I should tell you something. It isn’t a story I bring up, especially not on first dates… is this technically our first date? Anyway, I’ve never actually told this story to anyone aside from Captain Crawford. But I need to tell you about it so that you can understand why I reacted the way that I did to your story.”

Now it was Damian’s turn to swig some of the booze on the table, taking and finishing the soju from his glass.

“What feels like a long while ago now, I had served on the USS Atlanta under Captain Peck. He was a mixed bag of a Commanding Officer. Narcissistic, aggressively confident, and honestly he could be pretty damn abusive. For some reason though, he took a liking to me, even though I nearly broke his nose on my first day.”

Damian chuckled as he remembered the surprised look on Peck’s face when Coleman did as was ordered, and threw a punch at his new CO with his boxing gloves on. If the FO hadn’t been right behind Peck, he would have fallen to the floor. Shocked faces in the crowd were uncertain, until they saw Peck smirking like an idiot.

“Do you always follow orders like that?” Peck’s voice was full of mirth.

“Yes sir.”

Laugher erupted from all around them…

“It wasn’t an easy life living under the thumb of Peck, who ran the ship incredibly tight, and if you didn’t perform up to expectations, he made sure that you paid for it. Though the rewards for being in his circle were incredible. Again, I somehow made that cut. Not sure why, or how, but I did.”

Damian let out a sigh and reached for his beer, his throat somehow feeling parched as he came to the part that he hated. His expression changed with the feelings too, as Coleman’s face almost seemed to react to the beer as if it were bitterly sour.

“After a couple of missions, there were several incidents that had come up. The first couple had seemed pretty harmless, and even simple accidents. But once he started putting the pieces together, it was becoming obvious that someone was actively sabotaging the ship. It culminated in an EPS relay exploding half a minute before Peck was supposed to be walking past it. What had been a silent rebellion had turned into a full blown attempt on his life, and mutiny.”

Closing his eyes for a moment, Damian relived the briefing that took place directly after the explosion. Peck wanted blood. And just about everyone in that room felt the same way.

“It was disgusting to me, and still is, how cowardly the officers that tried to take his life had been. There were plenty of ways they could have gone about seeking change. I would never defend Peck’s antics, because he could be a real sonofabitch, but that didn’t mean the man deserved to die. It’s why I react to that word… to mutiny… the way that I do. Not just because of what nearly happened to the captain back then, but what I had to do to help bring the mutineers to justice.”

When Damian finally found Ju’s eyes, he wondered if what he’d just done was smart.

“That’s not fair of me, dumping all that on you,” he said, his voice calming with a hint of worry.

“But… I just felt like you should know. It is something that deeply affected me, and when I hear about similar situations, I can feel myself getting fired up again. As if I was back on the Atlanta and having to look over my shoulder all the time.”

Looking at the table, Damian noticed he’d drunk all the booze on his side. Reaching for some water instead, he sipped at it. It didn’t have any burn, and that was what his throat was craving. Something that would dull the raging inferno in his veins, as he tried not to think of Ju being put in such a precarious situation.

“More drinks?” he offered to Ju, hoping at a chance to stretch his legs.

== tag Ju ==

[Eun Ju Han]

When the word mutiny came out of her mouth, Ju looked over at Damian, not because she was afraid of his reaction but because she could feel it right as it began.  She continued on with her story but she was watching his facial cues and the way the food he had been about to eat hovered in the air waiting still to make it to his mouth.  She hoped that he wasn’t mad at her, she had disrespected an officer who outranked her and was punished for it.  Hopefully, he understood that she was punished and he wouldn’t judge her for being young and stupid.  Even her brother had reprimanded her. 
 
Ju really wanted to put the whole thing behind her, she was tired of rehashing it, but at the same time it felt good to get it off her chest and tell Damian what was going on in her life.  Perhaps it would also make him understand more why she had chosen to make her move to the Artemis.  A lot of people were likely going to think it had something to do with the fact that Damian was here and she had been sweet on him.  But, she would have been foolish to change ships solely on a relationship she hoped would happen but had no concrete reason to believe it had.  That concrete reason had only come into play a few minutes ago.
 
When she confessed to him that she had wanted a home and felt like she had found it here he responded that he was glad she had found a home with the ship.  Her smile flourished for a moment before dropping as he tapered off his voice as though he had something heavy on his mind.  Ju sat back, her fingers twisting so that the glass in her hand spun quietly on the table around and around nervously.  Eun Ju had no idea if this was considered their first date or not, all she knew, was that it was some date and they had finally put a title to what they were. 
 
He began to tell her, what happened in his past.  Something that had clearly affected him heavily judging by the feel of his mind, the tone of his voice, and the creases that found themselves on his face.  The severity of his voice called her attention to him.  He explained that he had been under a Captain that had many labels and none of them were particularly good.  Ju hadn’t really had a chance to get to know Captain Braggins before she had transferred outside of getting in trouble for the drop of alcohol sending a middie to the sickbay.  She felt like she had a fairly good vibe for Captain Crawford but that remained to be seen once they were battle tested together and when Ju was able to prove that her relationships with Damian wasn’t going to get in the way of her job.
 
Damian stated that things would come up, things that were initially, easy to brush off, but eventually began to pile up until he began to wonder.  He said it had become evident that someone was sabotaging the ship.  Ju’s eyes widened slightly in shock, it was one thing to be messing with someone or whatever but to be sabotaging an entire ship was on a massive scale.  She still had no idea what the actual connection with her own story this was going to have but she was fine with waiting it out because she knew he wouldn’t have told her this story without cause.
 
He stated there had been a large attack on Pike which would have taken him out or at least injured him gravely but luckily for him the trap had gone off too early and he hadn’t been as hurt as he could have been.  Ju could not imagine causing someone you worked with harm like that.  But then, she had very limited experience too, she had heard of horrible things happening on s hips.  The Academy was fully of stories which were based in reality and embellished onto the point where the people who lived them probably wouldn’t even recognize them if they were told now.
 
He had helped bring the mutineers to justice, Ju partially wondered if anything had happened to Jensen after his mutiny, but she doubted it.  Afterall, she had heard stories that Captain Braggins often went rogue and could very easily probably be a mutineer herself.  The Philly was a dangerous ship in that regard and Ju was kind of glad that she had been able to put that environment behind her.  The toxicity there had not been welcoming.  Damian seemed to refocus on her face, bringing himself out of the past, and gave her a bit of a smile apologizing for dropping such a story on her during this time. 
 
Ju sat back and let out a long sigh.  “You know, you hope when you grow up that the world really is filled with good people.  You join Starfleet because they accomplish amazing feats, and yet, you hear stories like this which can shake your faith in humanity.”  Damian asked if she wanted more drinks, she felt like, tonight they might make poor choices.  At least, wake up with a healthy headache at any rate.  “Definitely.”
 
As Damian rose to get their drinks Ju knocked back what was left of hers feeling the burn in her throat just the way she liked it.  There was a heavy quiet that settled in the room after their two very serious stories.  She had wanted Damian to know the truth, not just read it in her record, and who knew what commentary and so forth had been put in there because of her insubordination.  For now, she just wanted to make sure he knew the truth.  Ju didn’t like lies, lies grew and got bigger and harder to control, it was easier to go with the truth especially when establishing a relationship.  Ju felt like it was up to her to make sure that she could turn the tide of their evening.  Either they would end up drinking and swapping sad stories or she could help turn the night around and remind them both that they had just reunited on this ship.
 
“So… I want to really get to know people on the ship outside of you and Mara.  Otherwise I’ll drive you both nuts by taking up all your free time.  What do you think is a good idea for me to break the ice around here?” she asked him curiously as she picked up another piece of meat and ate it with a bite of rice.  She wasn’t super hungry any more but she wanted to eat a little bit.  “Also!  You know the Captain….” She said suddenly as inspiration struck her, she twisted in her chair to lay her eyes on Damian.
 
“How much convincing do you think it’ll take to get the Captain to approve me bringing my dog on board?” she grinned mischievously. 

==Tag Damian==