It's Okay, I'll Kill You Later... [Ilana/Jiseth]

[Main Shuttle Bay]

Jiseth stood in front of the USS Monongahela. Her travel bag at her feet and a cigar in her mouth. In her arms was a PADD that she had just finished reading. A personal request by the Captain to transport one of the medical staff. Suddenly being the best pilot had a drawback.

The EPH stood near her as all other living beings stayed the hell away from the irate Romulan. Just because she would be gone did not mean her iron grip would disappear. Fornell was quite the enforcer and Meru, though substantially quieter, was no less strict in expectations.

"Otto, do I look like a taxi driver?"

"No, my lady, but you would do well in a limousine."

Her eyes drifted over to him as she let out a jet of smoke from her lips. The hologram's smirk was half at his own joke and the other half the satisfaction that a punch would go right through him.

"Well, hopefully the prom queen will tell me just where I'm supposed to be taking her at... Vorta Vor, what time is it?"

"0327, my lady."

There was a sudden and undeniable desire in Jiseth to end the life of this individual who had awoken her at this unholy hour.

[Main Shuttle Bay]

She had never liked the shuttle bay. It was large and bustling and generally full of people who gave her distrustful sideways looks. After all, why would a small, skinny Cardassian in a blue uniform need to be in the shuttle bay?

Ilana clutched the strap of her bag, keeping her head down as she made her way to her assigned shuttle as unobtrusively as possible. That seemed to be her goal in life as one of the few Cardassians in Starfleet, to get through life as invisibly as possible.

She glanced up from her feet long enough to see a Romulan with a thunderous expression standing next to her assigned shuttle and immediately felt her heart sink further. This was going to be a long, long, very long trip. Even longer than the time she had taken a shuttle to the colony with Raynor.

Wishing that somehow the deck plates could open up and swallow her, she stepped up to the Romulan and the man standing with her.

"H-h-h-hello," she murmured, still looking at the deck plates and not the Romulan, trying to make herself seem as small as possible. "I-I'm E-Ensign Ilana T-T-T-Telak."

The holographic man gave a wry look at his Romulan superior.

"I can see this will go splendidly. Haven't even left the ship and already your passenger is a stuttering mess. Just remember, my lady, the war's over. Don't shoot someone who's on our side now."

Jiseth's lips knotted as she glared at him, trying rather hard not to smirk or grin.

"I will flense you photon by squirming photon, now sod off..."

The Romulan picked up her back as the EPH vanished and proceeded to the open cabin door of the runabout.

"Let's go, Ensign!"


[USS Monongahela]

Tossing her half-finished cigar into the trash bin, Jiseth looked around to inspect the cabin. Everything was in proper order. She stowed her bag in one of the personal compartments before proceeding to the cockpit. At least she got a kiss goodbye from Zero before leaving their quarters.

At the Romulan's invitation, Ilana waited until she had stepped up into the craft before she followed, clearly keeping a submissive position. She was familiar with Archangel, who was a good indicator of Romulan temperament, but this one was an unfamiliar one. Of course, Ilana had seen her around the ship, even in sickbay when she came to visit Lieutenant Alpha, but never really interacted with her.

She quietly stowed away her pack and medical kit in one of the lockers in the rear of the shuttle, keeping watch on the Romulan out of the corner of her eye. Once everything was secured, she picked up a PADD containing a little reading for the trip and headed for the cockpit, taking the co-pilot's chair. She left the controls well enough alone though. She was no pilot, not in the slightest, and she got the impression that this woman would probably tear out her jugular if she even touched the console.

She hugged her PADD to her skinny chest, looking down at the plates between her feet as she waited for the Romulan to complete the pre-flight checks and get them into space for the day's travel back to her colony.

[USS Monongahela]

Taking a chilled cup of iced coffee from the replicator, Jiseth sat in her seat and worked her magic over the controls. The cabin door shut and sealed with a hiss. The impulse and warp engines came to life with a hum. The computer's voice confirming each completed diagnostic as they went down the list in a rather jovial tone since being modified by Meru to have a touch more personality.

"You ready, Mon?"

"Yep."

"Klara tells me you don't say much..."

"Ensign Telak talks plenty for both of us."

Jiseth glanced over to Ilana as she moved the runabout to the launch position. There she held and waited. Tower control waited. Everyone's eyes seemed to be on the Cardassian.

"I'd love to be able to plot a destination solution at some point, Ensign... Where are we going?"

Ilana's head shot up with an expression similar to an Earth deer caught in the headlights of an approaching vehicle as the Romulan spoke to her. Destination solution? A dark flush crept over her cheeks as she realised that no one had informed the pilot of where she where she was supposed to be flying to.

"S-s-s-sorry," she stammered, jumping to her feet and scurrying into the living space of the shuttle where she pulled an isolinear chip from her pack before darting back into the cockpit and handing it to the Romulan. "W-w-w-we're h-heading f-f-for th-th-the Ch-Ch-Cheron s-s-s-system."

Taking the chip, Jiseth looked at it for a moment and then to the Ensign briefly before setting her attention back on the console as she plugged the chip in. A course became outlined as the two endpoints appeared as pulsing lights on the display.

=/\= Oddball to Control, transmitting flight plan. =/\=

=/\= Acknowledged. You're clear to depart. Safe travels, Lieutenant. =/\=

With a few taps at the controls, the runabout sprang forward, past the shield barrier and into space. They were about a kilometer away when the Romulan aligned the ship to their desired warp trajectory. A few seconds later the runabout darted away into a flash of light.

As stars streaked by, Jiseth reclined her chair and sipped some more of her coffee. Contemplating what to have for a far too early breakfast, she swiveled back and forth in her chair for a few minutes before deciding to engage in some form of conversation.

"They wouldn't let someone into the medical program with shell shock, so what's your story Ensign Ilana Telak?"

It was both a relief and a source of discomfort for the Cardassian as the shuttle left the bay and jumped to warp speed. On one hand, she was heading home, but on the other hand, she was now trapped in a rather small space with someone she didn't know who had a reputation that terrified her.

Terrifying reputation or not, Ilana did shoot the Romulan a particularly dirty look as she homed in on one of the few topics that the medic detested discussing: her stammer. It was a sore subject for her, more so since it was deteriorating again.

"Th-th-that is a v-v-very l-long s-s-story, and n-n-none of y-y-your b-b-business."

"I bet."

The Romulan's response was as cold as it was curt. Perhaps it was prying a bit. Everyone of the officers seemed to have their own skeletons and ghosts. T'Koris seemed to draw in all the wounded souls, but she got them to work well together at least. Though there were a few individuals she would not mind jettisoning into space, Jiseth was uncertain about how she felt with this Cardassian.

Zero rarely spoke of her subordinates unless something occurred that required her attention away from their personal life together. There were rumors, nay, Jiseth had witnessed it herself... This young woman and the Romulan's acquaintance of the hairy persuasion.

"I suppose we all have our secrets. Raynor tends to become a touch chatty when he drinks though, don't you think?"

The dirty look was directed away, morphing into an almost hurt expression at the mention of the Klingon. He had been called back to the Empire just as they had started to figure out how their relationship was going to work, just after she had met his father and he had met her parents. She missed him desperately, all the more for not being able to speak to him with any regularity over subspace, or even knowing if her regular letters got through to him.

"I w-w-w-wouldn't kn-kn-know. H-h-h-he w-w-was n-never d-d-d-drunk around m-m-me," she admitted. "H-h-he n-never l-l-liked t-t-t-to b-be out of c-c-control."

"Sounds like him. Always letting out his emotions so they didn't ensnare or poison his soul. Helped me with my anger. We fought with those Klingon blades of his. Almost took his head off. You should be glad for his quick reflexes. I don't really recall what happened after we started in on that bloodwine... He likes to sing. That much I remember."

Bringing the cup to her lips again, she took another sip of the coffee. Eggs sounded lovely with a side of bacon and Cardassian tears.

The silent glare came back as the Romulan mentioned almost killing her Par'mach'kai, but Ilana knew better than to try to strike her. Raynor's combat lessons had been gentle and focused on defense rather than attack. In any case, she had no strength, no muscle. The Romulan would easily win in any kind of physical contest between them.

It took quite a surprising amount of effort not to reach out and slap the Romulan. Instead, she let out a quiet breath and lifted a hand to brush a few errant strands of black hair out of her eyes. She refused to rise to the taunting. Dignity. She had to keep hold of what little she had left. With that in mind, she decided to ignore the Romulan, powering on her PADD and bringing up a paper on the Macrovirus discovered in the Delta Quadrant.

There was a wily grin across Jiseth's face as she tried to take another sip. Silence or vicious mockery in rebuttal, she could get the Cardassian to react. To feel discontent. Angry. The attempt to ignore her somehow became more comical as time went on. She sputtered and her coffee sprayed around her face, though most of it made it into the cup. Then came the outright laughter as she clutched her sides.

"He would, wouldn't he! What a wonderful union! That thundering, mountainous meathead and a shy, meek little thing. I always assumed there was some blood-crazed woman back in that zoo of an empire of his, but no. And you know what? He's the only Klingon I didn't think was a complete animal though. Probably the sleep deprivation talking, but he's one of the kindest souls I've ever met."

Ilana looked up as she heard the spluttering, although is was only in a professional concern. She didn't want to have to perform a post mortem on board the shuttle. It tended to get rather messy if not done exactly right with enough space to move around.

Her jaw clenched as the Romulan went on to talk about Raynor again. Wasn't she getting the message that she didn't want to talk about the Klingon? She looked back at the paper she was reading, letting the dry information calm her emotions. "If y-y-you are s-s-sleep d-deprived, y-y-you sh-should n-n-not b-be f-f-flying," she stated in as even a tone as she could, casually tapping her screen to turn the page.

"Mon, take the stick."

"Roger that."

Slouching comfortably in her chair, Jiseth reached out and placed her cup on the console. The stars coming at them and flying by had this calmness that cleared her mind. It was indeed burning and in need of dreams to slake its thirst for rest. Still, one last thing puzzled her about the medic next to her and her tone suddenly became more subdued and professional.

"What do you think of Doctor Alpha?"

There was a slight uneasiness in the way Ilana shifted in her seat as control of the ship was handed over to the autopilot. If this Romulan was truly in lack of sleep, chances were that her reflexes wouldn't be as sharp as they should and it would be all to easy for something to go wrong without her being able to react in time. The Cardassian was not a fan of computer-controlled flight.

She looked up briefly from her PADD as she contemplated the question about the strangest of her colleagues. "I h-h-haven't r-r-really w-worked w-w-with h-her Sh-she s-s-seems l-like a c-c-capable d-doctor, if a l-l-little abrasive at t-t-times."

"A little... Tsh. I guess that's progress. She used to call me Pointy because of my ears. Somehow I found that endearing."

Reaching over to her own PADD, Jiseth looked at their destination. Something else peaked her curiosity that thus far had not. The whole reason she was awoken and sent on this errand she had thrown into the back of her mind. Her focus was getting the ship ready and reassuring a naturally worried lover that she would indeed return in a short time. It was time to find out.

"Not to be abrasive myself... But what tiny, backwater hellhole are we going to anyway, Telak? The Captain seemed pretty insistent that I get you there and back in one piece, but so far it seems you could have taken a much smaller craft by yourself. The speech is one thing. Pity really. Not much one can do about the scales however, or history. And they call us Romulans the treacherous ones..."

The surge of anger that boiled up in Ilana's chest came as quite a surprise to the Cardassian. She was used to people mocking her speech, distrusting her because of her species, but she wasn't used to having it all rolled in to one and cracked around her head.

Very calmly, with pinpoint precision, she laid her PADD to the side and turned to face the Romulan fully for the first time. "I am n-n-not a p-p-pilot," she stated calmly. It was a fact. She had scraped passed the mandatory tests at the Academy, but since not taken any further courses nor practised. She had never seen the need and in any case, had always been busy with her work. "W-w-we're h-h-heading f-for m-m-my c-colony, s-so y-y-you m-m-might w-want t-t-to g-get used t-t-to b-b-being around s-scales."

Mirroring the woman in the copilot seat, Jiseth seemed a touch more awake and alert. Focused at the very least. It was not on flying, however. The ship could do it just fine on its own. Even Zero had snapped at her during their first encounter. She had done things that went so far under Archangel's skin that she sometimes wondered how she was still alive, let alone on the active duty roster. She studied Ilana for a moment before offering her hand.

"You really should be a pilot. I rarely encounter someone who can keep their composure so well. Even Vulcans can snap, but you... I would love to have you on my team if I could somehow avoid the wrath of the Chief Medical Officer. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ensign Telak."

"Th-th-that w-w-will n-never h-h-happen," Ilana replied curtly. "I h-h-have n-no interest in th-th-the m-mundane w-work of a p-p-pilot. M-m-my c-c-current p-position is f-f-far m-more r-r-rewarding."

The snippiness of her voice, even through her stammer, came as a surprise to the Cardassian. It wasn't in her nature to say things like that. She quickly grew uncomfortable in the Romulan's alert gaze and turned away, picking up her PADD again.

"Yes, Vorta Vor forbid you have to fly yourself on this excursion..."

Shifting back in her chair and closing her eyes, Jiseth wondered how things would be different if she followed her mother's wishes to be a doctor. Or lawyer even. Neither sounded too good after a while. There was an inherent noblity to medicine, but Jiseth knew her needs for adrenaline quite well.

"I'm sure first aid and colonoscopies are quite rewarding."

Although her head didn't turn away from her reading to look at the Romulan, Ilana glared out of the corner of her eye at her. The view was slightly obscured by her eye ridge, but it was enough for her to observe her traveling companion.

"As is b-b-bringing n-n-new l-life into th-the universe, or alleviating a p-p-patient's s-s-suffering, or p-p-putting b-back t-t-together a t-t-tactical officer or s-s-say, a p-p-pilot, wh-who w-w-was t-to s-s-stupid t-to kn-kn-know wh-when t-to qu-quit."

"That's Chief Flight Officer Lieutenant Jiseth to you, Ensign."

There was a temptation to put the girl in a headlock until she went quiet and hopefully remained that way for the rest of the trip. Pulling rank out of the blue was uncomfortable though, and perhaps she had antagonized the medic enough. For now anyway. Taking off her commbadge, Jiseth flicked her wrist and sent it spinning onto the console in front with a soft klack.

"Ask Zero or Raynor, I'm not just any stupid pilot. I'm the work of some of the Romulan Star Empire's greatest minds in aviation to create the dumbest pilot who ever lived."

There was a giggle she could hardly suppress which sent her shoulders shaking with delight.

The pulling of rank did nothing for Ilana. As a medical officer, she was just as capable of doing the same in return if she deemed this Jiseth unfit for duty, even though she was technically outranked. It was one of the perks of her department.

The removal of the commbadge, however, came as something of a surprise to the Cardassian. It didn't make much sense to do so, since it was generally accepted that taking off one's commbadge meant that the succeeding conversation would be off the record, or indicated that one was going off duty. Ilana doubted that either was the case here.

"I w-w-will f-form m-m-my own opinions, th-th-thank y-you."

"I'm sure you will... Good night, Mon."

Jiseth yawned and folded her arms over her stomach before closing here eyes. A whirling sound came from the replicator in the back of the cockpit. A blanket had appeared there and it was pulled from the device and held by a ghostly, glowing figure.

She was a pale blue and semitransparent. She wore what looked to be a loose fitting blouse and baggy trousers. Through her veins courses streams of data and her eyes were vibrant azure spinning rings. Stepping toward the pilot's seat, she draped the blanket over the Romulan.

"Good night, my lady."

Staring at her for a few moments, she seemed to be making sure Jiseth was comfortable before turning to Ilana.

"I'm Mon."