Roen's Romeos

[N'rass]

<<Five Tone Bar and Grill, Independent Space Station, Years ago>
Tal was a much needed shore leave, the Andromeda had lent him a type two shuttle and he was on his way to do some small game hunting on one of the federation colony planets. His trip there took him past an independent space station that had a place to eat that was renowned for some excellent examples of alpha quadrant cuisine. Rather than eating replicated food that was missing a spark of life Tal opted for the real food of the space station. Docking his shuttle in the cargo bay he donned his Klingon disruptors followed by his field jacket it was Starfleet issue but had enough character to keep its origins from being looked at too closely. Once he was ready he started heading towards the station proper.

Roen Anara sat at the end of the bar toward the wall so she could keep an eye on the room. Her olive militia pilot's uniform was straight as ever. The bajoran split off from her fighter wing pilots to have some alone time, a thing she considered important in her routine. The Raktigino in her cup was almost gone as she settled down on one elbow to think.

Tal entered the bar and grill, the place wasn't a dive but it wasn't exactly a place to let your guard completely down either. As he stepped through the area he noticed several of the female patrons an Orion and Betizoid heading off to a holo-sweet, a Trill in a corner and finally his eyes scanned over the radiant Bajorian officer in the corner. Stepping up to the bar he ordered his meal, than indicating the Bajorian he said "I'm paying for her's too and make sure she knows about it." He slipped the gold pres latinum across the bar and waited for his food.

She looked up with a surprised look as the bartender handed her a second cup. The pilot motioned to pay and he stopped her with a pointing motion back to Tal. Roen leaned back and looked over to the man with a raised eyebrow. Not normally one to open up to a new man, she waited to see his response. If he wanted her that much he would come as his next move. As a reflex however, she checked her belt for her issue disruptor and it was where it usually was. She moved to a table nearby where she could have her back to the wall to observe.

Catching the bar tenders attention Tal told him "I'll be over there" indicating the Bajorian woman's table. Subtlety and tact may have been a trait common to Romulans but Tal was only half and wasn't raised by them. Despite that he was honest he approached the dark haired Bajorian "Um hi" he said a bit awkwardly a tinge of green filling his saber like pointed ears but he pressed forward "I am Marek Tal."

"Roen." She responded with a flat expression. "The drink is appreciated, but I generally drink alone." Her line was mainly a filter to test his determination. The day's flying was taxing to say the least, so her patience was a little lower than normal.

"Have you ever seen some one that you really wanted to know?" Tal grimaced things weren't coming out right. "Look your uniform if Bajoran Militia, would it help if I told you that I served on with the Bajoran Militia in the Faraan Provence?" Tal was trying at least.

She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "Faraan. Onroe's command." She sipped her drink and resumed her position, curiosity coming through. "What, pray tell would a Romulan be doing in the mountain provinces with the Militia?"

Tal leaned forward deeper into the light letting it spill over his face and he indicated the Bajorian ridges on his face "Not all Romulan." He went to the subject of Faraan provence's commander "Onroe was a behind the lines kind of leader. I didn't much deal with him...was to busy tarring apart Cardies in those mountains.

"That..." Roen sipped some more, then tapped her cup down more intently. "...is what I like to hear." She motioned for him to sit across from her. He passed the first test. "Airman 2nd class Roen Anara, Kendra. A man who fought those animals on the ground has my respect."

Tal smiled a bit more confidently now "well that's a good thing" he took a seat across from her his almost feral eyes looking directly into hers. "Lieutenant Marek Tal Star Fleet Marine Corps" he replied introducing himself "But just call me Tal." He offered his callused hand to her his eyes never leaving her face.

"Star fleet. How does a ground-pounder go to Starfleet?" She asked with crossed arms. The pilot had her misgivings about the Federation and it's policies, but it was better allied with them than it was to face the Cardassian threat alone.

"After we drove the Cardies off of Bajor I was left with little to do besides run down collaborators and the Cardasian hold outs that were dug in like a tick. Star Fleet gave me the opportunity to do what I did on Bajor but on a larger scale, and when things hit the fan with Dominion well I fought more Cardies and Jem'hadar that I ever did in the militia." Tal explained reciving his food and beginning to eat with his hands, half a large grilled meat sandwich with gravy. He offered the other half to Anara.

She nodded slowly at his reply, then had an uncertain expression about the food. "I chose not to chase the fight, at least for the time being." Anara swiftly took the sandwich and began eating it. "This is a lot better than that replicator ration stuff they give us in the fighter bases." The pilot ate a few bites quickly yet cleanly, then asked. "So...tell me Tal, what's it like fighting gem'hadar outside the system? I've only seen them in home turf advantage."

Tal smiled when Anara took his sandwich "They fight just as hard on one planet as they do on any other." He shrugged "but I try to fight harder." Taking another bite of his sandwich he watched his dinner partner and didn't rightly know what to say. "ummm" he furrowed his brow "I'm not good at talking....but" he kind of struggled "I want to spend more time with you."

She had a bit of food in her mouth when she replied. "That...makes two of us." With the mouth full finished she continued. "The talking part anyway." The reply was half joking and half testing to see if he picked up on it. It didn't take an analyst to figure out he had a romantic interest, so far he was doing well enough. "What kind of time do you mean?"

Tal nearly choked on his bite "Umm" he hadn't thought about that part. "How about this. We finish dinner, walk around the station and see what happens?" He grabbed his drink and drank down his bite that was giving him some problems.

Anara smirked at his stumble, then leaned forward on one elbow in a coy way. "I think I have some time to kill." In fact she had until the following day for leave, but she wasn't going to reveal that yet as she worked on the drink he had bought for her.

Finally forcing the piece of sandwich down he nodded "Good to hear. This is a stop off for me, but if you have any place you like to go let me know." He offered her the lead and ordered two things made of chocolate for an after dinner snack and offered her one of the dishes. "One of the benefits of being in Star Fleet is the different foods." He smiled.

She sighed as she smelled the chocolate. "I have never been one for indulgences." Anara said flatly, then continued after a small bite and a smile. "But you are...persuasive." For a while before the pair had met, the pilot had been contemplating the future of her career in the Militia. With the war for the homeland over it was a bit different of a scenario to be a fighter pilot.

"Right now things are changing, the Dominion have surrendered, the Federation is exploring again...Even the Romulan's after what they have gone through are changing. Not all of it is good but it is worth doing something for." He paused a moment to think of something a bit more "A strong Bajoran lady such as your self is worth as much too."

She tilted her head. "What do you mean, worth as much?" By this point her desert was all but done in her characteristic efficiently discreet manner and she had once more rested on her elbows.

Tal had scarfed his as well in his own unique aggressive fashion. "Well I mean you're worth me fighting for....I think." Than again his sandwich was worth fighting for too but she was different. To kind of keep his foot from pressing further into his mouth he took another drink to wash every thing down and stood up. "Got a place you prefer to go?" he asked.

"To relax?" She asked. "I find the cockpit to be the most relaxing, followed by the hangar bay." She paused and took a drink of her raktigino, then looked down slightly embarrassed. "I guess that means I don't have much of a social life..."

"I'm more at home in a battle field some where my self."Tal had an idea "Ever been in the cockpit of a type two federation shuttle?" He asked raising his thin Romulan eye brow. He smiled letting her make the choice.

Anara nodded. "We had a couple delivering allied supplies recently. Pretty sophisticated little things. The Militia has few things on par technologically."

Tal lead the way to his shuttle as he did he mused "people in Star Fleet say the type two is cramped but they are incredibly roomy compared to those old raiders we used to fly during the occupation." Tal even smirked a little "they did a number on my knees."

The pilot laughed subtly as she glanced over at the taller Tal. Her build was not much shorter but considerably thinner. "I haven't had too much trouble in either cockpit, but I will say the upper switch panels get in the way of the helmet sometimes in the raider. The Perigrine is a much nicer design. I'm glad they changed them out, but the typical raider is hard to beat in atmo flying." As they walked, she pulled her uniform straight and dusted the front reflexively. It was doubtful that anyone would mind, but she took it seriously out of habit.

"I spent more time on the ground" Tal mentioned opening the rear hatch of the shuttle. A Kar'taken was tied on top of Tal's duffel bag left in the shuttle along with his bow and some other hunting gear. "Welcome aboard Anara." Tal had to duck to enter the shuttle.

She walked through the doorway, clearing it but barely, then leaned on the frame of it with crossed arms. "Starfleet ships are so clean..." the pilot commented as she glanced around the craft. "It isn't large but it is... practical. Does this one have any tactical arrays?"

"Just basic phasers but it can be refitted quickly when needed." Tal explained indicating a couch for a seat. He sat on the opposite side kind of still watching his conversation partner as he gave a rough tour of the familiar craft.

She looked around intently as a pilot would. Eventually, she settled in one of the mounted console seats and spun it around to face Tal with a crossed leg over one knee in an orderly way. "So what does one do with a Starfleet shuttle...alone?" The question was asked with a slight smirk and curiosity.

Tal scratched his head a moment "I could think of a lot of things." He couldn't think of a thing aside from occupying his mind with bits of different songs or just letting his imagination run wild. "What would you do?" Tal asked leaning forward a bit. His eyes kind of watched her as he rested his hands against the ceiling kind of hanging on to it.

"Depends on the leave granted." She replied with a move of her arms to place her hands on her knee. "If the leave was open enough I would go back down to Kendra. What would you do?" The belongings off to the side told some of the story but she wanted to hear it first hand.

"I'm going hunting, there's a Federation colony world another days flight from here. There's fresh meat there and I mean to get me some." Tal said confidently. Looking at the ship he explained "this is just a way of getting from here to there." He looked around a bit "though I am enjoying this right now."

Anara nodded. "Sounds like fun. I haven't gone on a hunt since the occupation. More than a couple times I had to get some dinner that way, though I've heard hunting Cardies is a little more satisfying. At least that's what my sniper friend says." She said with a rolled eye smirk. "So they just let you take it interplanetary like this?"

"The Andromeda is close by, it's not like I'm going to the gamma quadrant." Tal mentioned and he scooted closer to his companion. He thought a minute "I prefer hunting animals you can eat an animal" Tal said at her statement about hunting Cardasians.

She smirked. "True enough. Prophets would prefer it to be thus, and I would hate to upset them." She shifted in her seat to spread her legs slightly and lean back against the seat back, then rotated her head slowly to stretch. "What's your ship like? Is it large?"

"My ship is one of the oldest in the fleet. An old constellation class that has been refitted so many times that it doesn't have an original part left on her." Tal explained "It's slow, clunky, parts of it don't work right the captain is on his way to retirement." The inflections in Tals voice hinted that he actually liked the ship.

Roen picked up on that and understood. She liked older glass shuttles and fighters for nostalgic simplicity. "I suppose then that the ship would also be soon to follow? I doubt the fleet would be assigning a captain to something that would go less than a standard tour."

Tal shrugged "I'm a soldier not an engineer." He continued "from what the captain says it'll out last the new sovereign classes." Tal smirked a bit "I think he was joking" he gave this side ways nod. "I have a few month left on her before I get transferred" he mentioned not sure of how or where to lead a conversation.

The pilot smiled at his remarks. She knew the kind of prideful talk a captain or well intended crew could say about even the most dismal of ships because it was their own. In the silence she decided the chair was a bit too hard to stay at, so she gently moved over to the other end of the couch that Tal was sitting on. "This is not as hard as I thought it would be." She said with a smile toward her friend.

Tal felt this was a positive sign and moved in closer to the pilot turning to face her he even went so far as to pull his duffel bag off the couch and placing it on the floor with a bit of a clunk.. "Whats not as hard as you thought it would be?" he asked some what intrigued. Tal didn't mind talking he just didn't do much of it and the lack of practice showed in his inflections. What he was good at though was watching he let his eyes look over the pilots face making eye contact as she talked.

Her gaze directed downward with a hands forward stretch to offset a slight nervousness. "I meant the couch, but..." She paused for a moment and looked back up to his face. "...it could mean something else." Anara wanted to see if he would pick up on the hint, implying how it was generally a challenge for her to let herself get closer to people.

Tal kind of cantered his head a moment "come here..come closer". He had no idea if this would work but if not well a nice welt across his face would be the worst he'd get.

She looked at his motion, and the space in between for a moment before smiling again and slowly sliding in. The move was a little uncertain, but she figured she would let it roll.

Tal wrapped his arm around Anara and kind of leaned back against the bulkhead of the shuttle. His other arm wrapped around her waist, it was a firm grip but one that she could easily escape. "You can escape if you want" at this point he was kind of in uncharted territory. He had twists in the trenches and the like but nothing with this much talking. In a way he kind of liked the change of pace.

At first she was ready to block his advance, but the more she thought about it the more she liked it. She settled back against his shoulder and closed her eyes, placing a hand across to his shoulder muscle. They were solid and made her smile all the more. Vulnerability was something the pilot did not allow very often, but when she did it felt good.

Tal tightened his grip around her not so much vice like but defiantly firm. His hand squeezed her shoulder and he gave a kiss on her head. "Uhmm...I'm not exactly good at this kind of stuff" He paused and than a few things clicked "I mean the talking and this" he gave another squeeze," He really didn't like the awkward silences but than again talking was hard for him too.

She smiled and sighed. "It's been a long time since I've let anyone hold me like this." She said softly. "I like it. You are doing fine." The warm firm grip was helping her relax, then the kiss gave her a slight shiver. A good one, and it made her turn her head up to his face with a smirk.

Tal gave Anara another kiss this time his aim was better meeting her lips. He wasn't looking for a twist in his shuttle pod he was just content to be doing what he was doing right than. "Thanks, I'm liking it too" Tal remarked giving Anara another squeeze of her shoulder. He adjusted his body position some. "Thank you." He paused "for coming with me."

"Anytime." She said with a soft tone as she moved her hand down to a more relaxed position, still leaning against his shoulder with her head. "I would join the fleet in a heartbeat if I could get this sort of thing more." In a way she joked but in the back of her mind she thought it possible.

"Do...do you think we could do this again?" He furrowed his brow "I know I have to serve on board the Andromeda and you have your squadron." He paused "I don't know what I'm thinking." Here Tal tensed up not exactly sure how to express himself.

She rolled a little to face him, still being held and holding on. At this point it was more like hanging from his shoulders, hands together around his neck. An action that seamed hardly felt by the larger man. Looking him straight in the eyes, she paused and said after a while, "I know what I am thinking." She pulled up and kissed him for a moment that seemed to stretch out. When she pulled back, she smiled and said "Was that what you were thinking?"

Tal wrapped his around Anara "sort of.....I would like to do this again with ya some time. Do you think that's possible?"

Anara nodded. "If the Prophets will our paths to meet again, I hope so." She enjoyed his strong presence and the ability to let her guard down. "I have leave until tomorrow afternoon, so I can stay here as long as you want me to."

Tal grinned and replied "Well in that case...computer lights" the lights in the shuttle shut off.


JP by
_________________
2ND Lt Marek Tal
Marine Executive Officer
USS Orlando

and

NCO Roen Anara
Bajoran Militia

NPC of

[N'rass]

<Utopia Planitia yards, 2384>

Roen Anara, now a pilot in Starfleet attached to the 33rd squadron of Task force 4, woke up today like any other. Her squadron of fighters was in port on Utopia Planitia for a refit that had been ordered for the older fighters they were using. The Perigrine fighter had been in service for many years, as was the custom of many fleet ships. The typical refits took several weeks, so the flight crews would use it as time to take leave. It was welcome in time of war in particular.

The events following the dominion war had been going harshly for the Federation in recent times, and it had taken a toll on the bajoran and her fellow pilots. She was normally calm and collected, but the stress had made her irritable and sometimes cynical. Today she walked into the food court of the station, still in pilot uniform out of habit. The black and red did not suit her taste as well as her former Militia olive and red, but the Fleet had a lot more going for it.

When she sat down with a large cup of coffee and a data Padd, she looked around and saw nobody nearby. “Fine by me…” She thought to herself as she began to read. The statistics of the last few missions was the usual morning read. Study more to learn for later. The routine was broken by a slightly familiar voice over her shoulder.

Tony Daniels was with a few people at an opposite table talking loudly over his friends. "I was engaged with three of those Reman scorpion fighters two crept up behind me while the third was luring me into the trap. I knew it was a trap but I let em lead me into it. Just before they sprung the trap I slammed on my aft thrust and let them scream by me before rolling a negative plane dive. Getting a simultaneous lock on the two that past me i fired a series of photon missiles right up their afterburners. Blowing through the debris I played chicken with the last scorpion letting my pulse phasers do the work. Iiiii got a little singed but hey it worked."

Anara looked up and shook her head and smiled. Tony was in her squadron and a bit of a story teller. For the most part she found it entertaining to listen to him embellish the details for missions she had been on with him. The opinion was shared by the majority of their wingmen as well.

When she finished her study, the pilot placed her Padd on it's belt holder and straightened her uniform. The group of pilots had cleared from the table and only Tony was left to his food. Anara stood with her hands behind her back, rocking on her feet slowly with a smile. "Daniels." She said simply, wanting to see his response to the attractive bajoran

Daniels looked up and smiled "You need to dance." There wasn't many people in the area so he got to his feet typed in instructions in a near by jukebox and proceeded to lead her in a quick and close dance to the rhythm of a quick tempo'd upbeat song. "Call me Tony" he said giving her a quick twirl.

"Alright?..." Anara said in a hurried follow. The conservative bajoran was amused but a little uncertain how to proceed other than to go with it. "What is this called?" She said between twirls of the swing-era dance.

Daniels smiled amusingly at her "The hot chick two step" he snicker as he guided her between tables and chairs in and out "actually I'm just kind of going off the hip...I figured it was the easiest way to grab your bum" with that he gave her a quick goose before changing directions heading back toward his original table.

Anara jumped a little at the feel and smirked with a wider eyed expression. "I see how it is." She winked and continued to roll with it til she saw the opportunity to return the favor. "Two can tango, I think the saying goes."

Daniels smiled wildly and replied "tango it is...computer switch to a tango." As the music switched to a tango beat he whispered in her ear "just follow this beat t...a..n.g.o" With that he drew her closer close enough for the two bodies pressing against each other just leading her in a real basic tango. "So you're a hot Bajoran, a good pilot, and a good dancer...so tell me who's the lucky guy you're dating?"

She laughed self consciously. "Actually I..." The steps took a little focus."...I've never danced like this before." When the song finished and the music faded down, the pair returned to the table to hang out. It took a moment before Anara's heart rate went down to normal and it was fairly evident. "Nobody." She said between breaths. "The last guy was a long while and a lot of war ago."

"Well that's not a good thing." Daniels said. "I figured all the guys would be fighting over you." he said. "Tell me more, I am interested in you." Taking a drink he kind of waited for more information before he would go off on another tare.

"You can call me Anara as long as it is like this." She glanced around the room, then sipped a small cup of Raktigino she had brought along. "We had a short overlap of leave while I was still in the Militia." The bajoran began. "I kept in touch for a while and it was interesting, he was the tall dark type. The kind of man that makes me feel small yet secure. Last I knew he was on an assignment along the Dominion border. That was over a year ago, so I don't know if he is even still alive." The reminiscent worry was still a little evident in her voice as she looked at her drink.

"Ah well I'm almost jealous, except he screwed up when he lost touch with ya." Than he grinned "So do I have a shot?" He asked ordering another drink.

Anara smirked a little at his question, then sighed. "I suppose I have to move on. You don't think it would be bad luck to date wingmen? I don't believe in the taboo that most seem to, but to each their own." The more she thought about it, the more she thought they might have a chance. They had known each other as squadron mates for a couple months already so it was not a complete mystery, that and she was the only female pilot of the unit.

"So how bout this, I know a restaurant down in New Orleans that makes some excellent food. It's my treat I'm thinking dinner, a stroll down bourbon street and we can see where the night leads us?" He smiled he was the kind of guy that could easily get under a person skin but at the same time be the life of the party. "And if its gonna be a date of a date might as well go all out." He smiled at the thoughts running through his head.

His outgoing nature was in its own way attractive. The karisma of the hot-shot pilot was growing on her. "Well, the squad has three more weeks of shoreleave during the refit, so I guess we could go back to earth for a while." She shifted in her seat to lean back and cross one leg over the other, supporting her neck on her rear stretched hands. "So what do you mean "all out" ".

"Got any thing to wear besides your uniform?" He asked coyly "While you look good in any thing...even naked." He paused before staying on topic "if this is going to be a date date well I'd like to see you in something more relaxed." He explained propping a foot up on the empty char.

"Well, I see how it is, flyboy." She replied in kind. "At least I can't say you hide your feelings. To answer your question, not really. I have my old Militia dress uniform skirt and blouse. Other than that I would have to replicate something. It's been so long since I've bothered going dress casual." Turning the subject a little, she asked "So how many are you away from ace? I heard I had some competition on that."

Daniels thought about it a moment "my last scratch count was twenty six shot down, not including the Galor that I dropped during the Dominion war." He said a just slightly under cocky tone to his voice. "Look it was a suggestion your pretty and would like to show you off" he explained deftly.

"I'll stick to Khakis for now." She said with a wink of equal tone. "I've got 22 if you count my Milita flying. These Perigrines are a lot nicer than those old Raders in-atmo flying. Sometime we will have to holo-sim a one on one in those." She winked in challenge.

"I'm up for it." Daniels said finishing the meal and washing it down with water. "We can even make a game of it." He started to get up "I am having a blast but I've also been up since oh three thirty so I am going to cut it short....but before I go..." He quickly planted a kiss on Anara's lips "I'll see you tomorrow.

"Count on it, Hotshot. Holosuites at ten-hundred. Better bring your game. She stood up to meet his kiss, then gave him a shoulder pat with a flirty smile as she watched the pilot walk away.


JP by

Sgt Tony Daniels NPC of
Fighter pilot
USS Alexander Hamilton

2ND Lt Marek Tal
Marine Executive Officer
USS Orlando

and

Sgt Roen Anara
Fighter pilot
USS Alexander Hamilton

NPC of

[N'rass]

<< Utopia Planitia yards, 2382 back post R'sera playing Roen, Tal playing Daniels>>

Anara walked into the holosuite facility of the installation and ordered up the room, leaving a note with the desk clerk for when Tony would arrive. The room flashed into an old and dirty hangar in the reaches of the Kendra region of Bajor. The air smelled of distant fires and if one looked hard enough there was still an evidence of Cardassian presence.

She was in the process of checking her Maquis Raider over to go flying when Daniels walked in through the arch. "Glad you could join me. Let's see how much of an ace you are in Atmo flying." Roen challenged.

"All right" Daniels made his way to one of the fighters and began to go through a checklist in his head. He shook the wings, kicked the pads and looked over the weapons manifest. "So best two out of three?" he asked raising his eyebrow confidently.

"Better be ready to fly, boy." She remarked, putting her flight helmet on. The Raider was smaller than the Perigrines that Starfleet used but it still was a climb up to mount. Once they were both settled in, she motioned to wind up in the way she usually did during normal missions and they were off.

After pre-flight Daniels kick started the raider and let her rip out of the hanger and off the ground. As he climbed he pulled the raider into a series of rolls and rocks to get a feel of the craft before pulling a loop for good measure.

When they reached altitude, low but workable for an atmospheric craft, the bajoran did a wingover and pulled away to duck down into the terrain. "Rock and roll. Target lock for 3 seconds to score. Ready?"

"Rock and roll!" Daniels strapped his mask to his face and pulled into a steep rolling dive back towards the ground.

Roen knocked the stick down to tree height and followed the contours through a ravine to get some breakaway distance away from the limited sensors of the older craft. This was going to be a mostly visual game.

After a moment she looked over her shoulder and saw him fairly close up but no locks yet, so she pulled a split-s followed by a change of throttle to get him out front. A little maneuvering and the tone was heard though she lost it at one second. "Tricky, tricky." She said over the intercom.

Wen it came right down to a dog fight Daniels had his fun when his partner pulled into her split s maneuver he pulled into a steep accelerating climb. Once he was just a few dozen meters from stalling he let gravity takes over and his craft pulled a one eighty flip and was diving at her from the sun.

Roen looked around to find him amid the morning glare after he zoomed up but couldn't see. In response she pulled a low direction reversal and a pop up with a rotation to hopefully see her competitor. He managed to manipulate the glare well, until she heard the tone alert and it flashed a "One". "Touche, Daniels. Loser buys dinner!" She taunted over the intercom and pulled a counter move.

"I win you wear a dress tonight!" Daniels said performing a barrel roll. He didn't think he just performed the next maneuver that came to mind kind of like word association it made him hard to track in a dog fight. The first thing to come to mind was to rock a half roll before banking hard the other way

Anara smirked at the dress comment. She disliked the girly nature of them, but the game was afoot. "Get ready to buy. I have expensive taste." She taunted, making another glancing lock but not enough for a score.

Easily Daniels rolled out of the way with a chuckle "to slow baby doll.....mmm baby doll would work well on you." He had a lecherous mind, seeing the mountains coming up fast made him get his mind back in the game just in time to fly right into his opponents line of sight.

"How bout that?" She taunted as she pulled in and capitalized on it for a position. "I suppose you want red?" Hopefully the banter would distract him long enough to score. It seemed to work and she engaged enough to make it work. "Some lobster would be nice while your at it..."

"If you win" Daniels replied the score was one to one and now it was ~sudden death~. It was time for a dirty trick...one that would probably hurt especially in the atmosphere but none the less if it worked.....

Daniels raider began to leek either coolant or fuel or something and his raider began to bog. Over the radio Daniels was trying to sweet talk his raider "come on, don't do this now...ya rust bucket...."

Roen smirked at the coaxing. She had been in combat craft long enough to have dealt with them on a regular basis. "Flyin a little dirty there smokey!" She remarked, trying to barrel roll around the contrail to keep the windshield clear but try for a lock. She got a few passing locks but not quite enough to mean anything. "Is that ol thing gonna get you back to base? It's smoking like I hit you for real..."

Daniels smirked at himself "It'll get me back to base not sure about yours though...." He closed the fuel dump valve and popped his upper atmosphere engine off just enough to spark the cloud of fuel behind him. Whiplash city the jolt from the upper atmosphere engine followed by the shock of the resulting explosion threw his body for a loop not to mention singing his craft black. Lucky for him his was moving away from the blast and not through it.

"You okay back there baby doll?" He asked looking back to where she was.

The wake temporarily stalled her engine but she kept flying it long enough to relight. By then he had made a pretty good distance, so she continued the dive to the deck to get the cover of terrain. "A little bumpy but that isn't the first time I've been dusted. Didn't think you had the nerve to pull that one without a G-suit."

Daniels banked hard coming about and pulling higher than his opponent. "A little bumpy but nothing a good message won't cure" he opened fire attempting to pin Roen against the floor of the simulated Bajor. It was a matter of time before she would have to pull up and into a missile lock.

She smirked at the reply-in-kind. "This last shot may take a while." Roen taunted, darting through the treeline. The choice of venue was not accidental, this was the land reserve that the bajoran had earned her flight training in. Home turf advantage, so to speak. As she traced the ravine through the canyon area she remembered particularly deep area with some interesting formations. "So are you just gonna sit up there like a buzzard or come down and play?" She teased to try to get him to follow.

"You gotta come up for air some time." Daniels didn't play patience though he burst fired his phaser cannons to as near as he could figure Roen's position. But he would pretend to play the game her way and eased his craft down toward the tree line but not dropping in it.

She tried her best to see where the opponent's path was since the simulation did not allow detailed radar scans for training purposes. Eventually she saw what she thought to be an opportunity and traced the deep ravine to the bottom to pull a tight immelman to face him. Her altitude barely cleared the top edge of the ravine, so exposure to visual was limited at best. The pair both made visual contact in time to make weapon lock. In an instant the room went blank and back to the hangar bay.

"Airman Daniels wins." The computer announced. Anara put an arm upward as if to talk to the computer.

"HOW?" She blurted as she took the helmet off. "I toned you!" Not realizing the timing was only slightly behind his.

"So? I'm still buying you dinner, only difference is now you gotta wear a dress." Daniels countered "It was a good match any way and if it was real I would have been torn apart by my little stunt." He groaned a bit in jest and in truth "Now about the massage."

She rolled her eyes at the thought of him winning the bet. Anara hated losing at anything, much less an aces match. "Let's work on dinner first, shall we?" She suggested as they made their way to the arch and out of the room. It had been a while since the pilot had to fly in a vintage design and it made her a little tired and energized at the same time. "You would have so been blacked out!" She responded to his stunt reference, the humor evident in her voice. "No doubt about it."

Daniels agreed "I need a shower, but I'll pick you up at six." He said dusting himself off "A long shower." He implied rubbing his lower back that took the brunt of the explosion.

"Alright." She responded with a smirk still evident, this time a little flirting glance added in. "I hope you will be dressed up to match..."



<<2282, Earth, North American continent Louisiana, New Orleans, Bourbon Street. >>

Daniels was dressed in a loose fitting and thin polo style shirt a light blue in color, tan dressy cargo pants and shoes to match. As he escorted his date through the lights and music that was typical of Bourbon Street. Zydigo music was playing every where and the mood was jovial there were people dressed up in costumes and wearing strange hats. And the mixed smell of the swamp and food made the night air alive. Every kind of Creole and Cajun dish imaginable was being cooked and served right on the street, and every thing was fresh from jambalaya and etouffee, fried catfish, and dozens of different kinds of gumbo all being served happily by the cooks using all sorts of meats from craw fish and gator to pork and beef were used. People danced and clapped to the music playing and Daniels escorted Roen through the whole thing.

The bajoran pilot was wearing the prize of the dogfight, a new red dress. Bright red satin with princess stitching and a full length loose skirt that draped and flowed as she walked. It was comfortable in the heat but she was still working on being comfortable in it. To go with the dress she had some medium length lace up sandals and her hair tied back to reveal her traditional earring.

When she took in a breath of the air, at first she had the urge to cough from the smoke smell but smiled at the flavors of it. "What is that smell?" She asked as they walked.

"Smells like home to me cher'" Daniels said pressing his accent forward a bit more than normal. "You have the smell of the Bayou, a kind of swam, and ofcourse all the food wana try some?" He asked guiding her to a vendor.

Not being in her home environment, Roen followed his lead with an uncertain smile. "The food smells good, but I am not sure of that...bayou? smell." When they got closer she saw a display of various hand sized foods. "What are these little things? They look like a fruit."

Daniels smiled and chuckled "I think you may not be ready for one of them raw just yet." Looking at the cook he made an order he did it in Cajun but some key words were etoufee (a kind of spicy craw fish and rice stew), jambalaya (a kind of rice dish made with rice and pork this time) and cayenne (a trademark of most Cajun/creole dishes spicy). The plates were filled with the food with a kind of meaty pot pie made of craw fish on the side and two tall glasses of sweet iced tea. Daniels told her what all the foods were and than ordered his own gumbo with jambalaya and hush puppies.

She looked over at her wingman and with a nervous smile, "I'll have what you're having." The thought worried her a minor amount but she was feeling nervy after losing to him in flying. Anara hated losing at anything, so she was going to eat anything he could. She crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow wink. "Is it 'spicy'?"

"We'll share" Daniels countered taking her to a open air table. There he began to explain the different dishes of her and his meals taking portions of hers while giving her portions of his "not so spicy but for people not used to it well it can give them a good kick" he explained eating his gumbo with hush puppies. Indicating the etoufee he suggested "try some" pointing at a bottle with flames on it "if you really want a kick try some of that."

She raised an eyebrow as she sat down and looked the bottle over. "I'll wait to see you do it first." She ribbed, taking a large spoonful of the dish. It was not the typical Earth cuisine she had been accustomed to, but it was interesting. The expression on Anara's face was a little embarrassed but trying not to show the reaction to the slower heat. "It is...good." She coughed subtly. "This is the mild stuff?"

"I's about middle of the road" Daniels explained about the peppers "Their hotter raw and even hotter dried" he explained more "When cooked down they lose some umphs but still mighty tasty." He took the bottle and splashed some onto his food. and began to eat. "There's way hotter peppers than this too. Like the difference between Photon torpedoes and transphasic torpedoes."

Anara harrumphed with a smirk. "Not sure why you would want that, but to each their own." A few bites later, she got a mischievous thought and glint. "Have you had any of that stuff straight? It sounds rather hazardous." A moment passed and she realized that the plate was empty, apparently a good sign. The slender pilot had a large appetite when the opportunity presented itself.

"Well hey you can really pack it away, I hope you left room for desert!" Daniels mentioned indication all the deserts pecan pie, pine apple upside down cake, key lime pie just to name a few. "Or we can go back for seconds." Daniels added "Or what do you want to do?"

The bajoran woman glanced around and smirked. "You don't let good food go to waste when you grow up in the occupation and militia ranks." She replied with a little note of self consciousness. "Desert? There's always room for desert, silly." Anara picked up her glass and sloshed the drink a little before finishing it off. "I seem to recall Pineapple was good when I was in Starfleet Headquarters. That was replicated though."

"Have at it, we got all night!" Daniels encouraged he too went for seconds getting more jambalaya and finished that off with Pecan pie and a tall glass of cold milk. He let her eat to her hearts content while the music switched to some thing a bit different with songs such as dance little jean and Cajun blues being played in the back ground. The music was lively and up beat. "Liking the date so far?" he asked as he finished off his milk.

She nodded. "Sure." After she finished her mouthful, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you are a lot more interesting than I originally thought."

"Whats that supposed to mean?" Daniels asked some what intrigued and slightly daunted.

"In fact I wouldn't doing this more often." Anara was finding the culture of the area intriguing as more people in costume walked by along with the music. "Is this dancing and festivity...normal?"

"On Bourbon Street it's like this constantly, things going on festivities constant music. The farther from Bourbon Street you go the calmer things become but it's never quiet. the people from this area work hard and play hard." Daniels explained than he smiled "if you think this is festive you should wait till fat Tuesday. Things really liven up than."

Roen looked at the crowd in the street with a subtle laugh. "It is just so...different. In Kendra the feel was so much more conservative. What is the motivation of this celebrating?" She asked with a curiosity as she drank some more of her drink.

Daniels smiled before explaining "Fat Tuesday is the day before one of the Major religious groups of earth start on a forty day cleansing, fasting and purification ritual. It's kind of their last hoorah before they go into it. Looking around he continued "this is just Friday night."

That prospect made her raise an eyebrow and tilt her head as she thought about it. "When the religious fast at home we just had a big meal." She replied with a joking tone, her foot tapping under the table. "The Kai would have a fit if we did this. That said, the energy is quite contagious."

With little warning Daniels grabbed Roen by the hand and lead her to a near by dance floor. The music was energetic and the dance was improvised. "I was going to ask you to dance but I figured what the heck." he said as he lead her around the dance floor. As the songs changed a larger man tried to cut in. Daniels was cleaver in resolving the situation "I'll tell you what we'll flip for her..." he produced a coin and asked "heads or tails? Call it in the air." Daniels flipped the coin and as the other man looked up he punched him square in the jaw. "It was heads" he stated as the guy fell to the floor out cold.

Anara stood there in surprise at the situation with her mouth slightly open at how quick he took the large man down. She waited to see what Daniels was going to say next or if there would be a brawl. "Apparently his head..." The pilot said with a humor tone. Normally she would be one to join in if needed but she was in a dress and low heels. To a degree she found the spontaneity of her wingman impulsive but entertaining at the same time.

"Well?" Daniels asked with a grin "lets dance" he took Roen by the hand and lead her to a clear part of the dance floor just in time for a slower song "Louisiana Saturday Night." He pulled her closer and began a side to side kind of dance to the beat of the song.

At first she was a little bit tense to his lead but eventually they settled into a flow. He was a slight bit taller than her even with the heels which led her to look up to him. Normally the pilot hid her vulnerability from people, but as they danced the wall seemed more and more irrelevant. When he pulled her against him in the slow dance she rested her head on his shoulder, a feeling she had refrained from experiencing in far too long.



JP by

Sgt Tony Daniels NPC of
Fighter pilot
USS Alexander Hamilton

2ND Lt Marek Tal
Marine Executive Officer
USS Orlando

and

Sgt Roen Anara
Fighter pilot
USS Alexander Hamilton

NPC of

[N'rass]

<2282, Utopia Plantitia facility, Back post >

With the fighter refits now completed, the weeks of leave that the fleet had allowed the pilots of the Hamilton were drawing to an end. For many it had been a time to reflect and refocus personally. This had been the case for Roen and Daniels. The time had been enough for them to grow closer than she would have allowed them to be otherwise.

"Alright pilots..." The squadron commander adressed as they sat back in the briefing room. "This is the core of the refits you need to be aware of..." He began in a monotone manner. The rest of the presentation was easily toned out by most of the unit as the hours dragged on. The man went into items about the thrusters, the power system, the weapons and a few other pointers on how to use the new craft. It reminded Anara why she had no interest in becoming an engineer or technician in any way.

She spent more time thinking about the pilot three seats over who was apparently thinking about the same way by his smiling glances occasionally from the focus on his data padd. When the presentation ended, they filed out of the room in a line and she stood in the corridor for Daniels to walk by.

Daniels had stepped out of the class room still looking over the specs of the new peregrine upgrades. New controls here more efficient power systems there and all of it push button flying. It was dry it was boring it was undoubtedly Star Fleet. "Hey baby doll!" he exclaimed as he passed his girlfriend.

She smiled and joined his pace. "Quite a lot of technology for us to take in at once." Anara said with a little sarcasm. "What's that human expression, keep it simple? I'll just be glad to get back into flying them." She paused and looked at him, taking his hand for a moment. "But I'll miss those nights down on Bourbon." To be honest she was apprehensive about going back on active duty since there was the chance of being in a front line mission role.

When it came to combat she was a soldier to the core, but when it came to relationships the soldier turned into a starry eyed teenager. It was in essence what she had attempted to shield herself from for so long but it was inevitable. Hiding this internal conflict was becoming harder by the day.

"Bourbon street was a blast wasn't it?" He stated and asked at the same time. "I got a holodeck simulation of it before we left last time so we can take it with us." He gave a quick smile "I'm hungry" he said making his way to a near by replimat.

Roen raised her eyebrows and made a hand gesture. "You're kidding, right? Of course it was." They continued onward to the replimat, where the others of their unit were already eating.

"There's the lovebirds." One of his buddies shouted and motioned for them to come over. "Drinks on me. Well, they are all free here anyway but the gesture applies." Anara crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow. She wasn't sure if he was pranking or genuinely congratulating but wasn't going to say anything, deferring to Tony for that one.

Daniels made for the group and took a seat. As Anara went to sit down he gently pulled her onto his lap. Looking to a near by server he mad an order for a burger and fries before looking to the girl on his lap "hungry?" he asked.

"Always" she said with a wink. It felt a little odd to be sitting in his lap in front of fellow pilots, but to a degree there was a sense of ownership as she leaned back and put an arm around his neck.

"Well then." his friend said with a laugh. "I see where you two stand. Good for you as long as it doesn't affect your flying. To be honest, Tony I am amazed you scored the likes of Roen." He glanced over at Anara. "I didn't think anyone would interest you, especially this guy."

Daniels quipped "Hey now just because you can't even get a date on Risa with an Orion slave girl doesn't mean that we all can't." His eyes flashed toward the other buddies with a sarcastic smile to his lips. "What ya think?" he nudged Anara "should we pitch in for the poor guy and get him a holo-girl?" It was in jest after all.

"Sounds good to me." Anara replied with a small kiss on Tony's cheek. Then glanced back to the other pilots. "I'm sure we could find a good one for ya." She patted him on the shoulder as she walked away to get something from the replicator, leaving the men to mingle amongst themselves.

Daniels looked at the other people at the table while before taking a bite from his burger. Mouth still partly full he asked "so how much you wanna bet that Roen and I can out fly any other team in the squadron?" He swallowed his bite and awaited a response.

"Always the cocky one, Big-D." one of the other pilots said with a fist bump. "I'm throwin in on your side on that bet, though its more for her than you. She's tough." He glanced over at the female pilot, then commented "And hot."

"That's why I pursued her " Daniels replied "And you know a good bet when you see one. We're the best in the squadron after all." Looking back at his mate he continued "We'll spot you two scratches. Ain't that right?" He asked propping his feet on the table.

"Combat scratches only. War games don't count." The original pilot specified followed by a big gulp of his drink, cocking his head back and hitting the empty cup on the table with a squinty grin. "Let's just hope it's not too long till we get to see."

"You're hungry for death aint ya?" Daniels stated/asked. Daniels was a good pilot and confident in his abilities but he would rather be waiting on combat than in it. He looked over to Anara to see if she was all right.

She walked back up to the table about that time with a pair of drinks and her burger, then slid one drink over to her partner. "Always the Klingon, aren't you?" She taunted. "There is enough fighting around that we shouldn't have to go find it."

"True enough." The combative pilot responded. "But we are fighter pilots not exploring scientists. To fly shuttles is a drag."

"Cramming half a dozen newbi's into a type two shuttle and putting their their first planetary decent before snapping their bellies into their gullet is quite gratifying" Daniels countered. "Even the occasional captain or XO is fair game." He paused and continued "Especially when you hit an "ion storm"". Finishing his burger "just remember you get spotted two scratches head start." With that Daniels made his way from the table.

Anara finished her burger and grabbed her drink hastily to catch up to her companion's departure. He tended to leave suddenly from the squadron banter sessions when he felt in the upper position as a matter of style. Once she caught up to him, the bajoran walked beside with her drink in her opposite hand. "Think we have them on that bet?" She asked with a smirk now that they weren't in the crowd.

"We can take them with a five point head start." Daniels mentioned. "We work well together" Daniels smiled making his way to the hanger kind of leading her on as it were.

She liked it when he was sure of himself and the couple like that. At first it made him seem annoying but now it felt more infectious. They were going to score it, she knew it.

As soon as they were in the hanger Daniels spun around and asked "So how bout it wanna get married?" There was no courtship to it, no beating around the bush just the straight up question. "I mean we are of both breeding age" he winked and continued "and genetically compatible and most of all we work well together."

Anara froze in surprise and stared at her partner without blinking for a moment. The thought had crossed her mind a couple times briefly but she hadn't dwelt on it long. Now she was faced with it head on like a deer in the headlights. When she had gotten past the surprise enough to form a response she said a simple "Uh..." and swallowed, then smiled. "Alright. Sudden but alright."

Daniels laughed "We don't have to go out and get hitched right now. I just asked if you wanted to." He smiled a bit "You need time to absorb and make plans and the like. so yeah lets get married."

She nodded as the began walking again, holding hands. The crews were doing some preparations on the squadron's crafts. Nothing major, just checklist items and they could tell there were some looks from bystanders. That didn't bother her anymore. The pilot was at ease and felt her life was taking a good direction now. Hopefully it would stay that way.


Daniels(NPC)
played by

2ND Lt Marek Tal
Marine Executive Officer
USS Orlando

and

Roen Anara(NPC)
of

[N'rass]

<<USS Alexander Hamilton, 2283, Back post >>

As pilots Roen and Daniels walked their daily routine around the hangar/flight deck together when they were not flying, they talked about their plans for life after the fleet and settling down. For the most part Anara had not spent much time thinking of a life outside fleetwork and it was different for her to discuss it with Tony. For the Bajoran life had been wars and defenses, terrorism and retaliation.

Now life was better and more progressive. She relied on his word often in such conversations of what it would be like, hoping it would be thus.

When they got to their fighter's spots there was a new crewman working on the power systems panels. This one had a tail, she was a caitian to be exact. The bajoran walked up and cleared her throat. "Crewman." She said authoritatively. "What are you doing?"

"Ensign N'Rass, Ma'am." The caitian backed out of the panel to salute the taller woman. "I...I have been assigned to monitor the updates of the power grids on the perigrines. For this tour I am your power systems specialist."

"An ensign specialist? Do make sure you keep it operational. One slip means we don't come home." Anara continued in her borderline mean sound. "As you were."

The pilots turned and continued their walk, Anara turning back to the off duty tone. "So what are we planning when we get to Starbase 11?"

Daniels looked up and replied "Hate to break this to you but the squadron ain't going to the star base just yet. The ship is but we get a rescue mission to perform in joint with a pair of SFMC strike teams."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course they send us to do the joint stuff. Just when I thought we could ride to the station in peace." The note of sarcasm was evident, though with a little humor at the same time. "I suppose the Thunderchild will be joining too? I know they usually keep the rescue craft on that ship." The Hamilton was mostly loaded for assault craft since the pair worked mostly concurrent areas.

"You got it, we'll be rendezvousing with Thunderchild and the strike teams en-route." He mentioned as he made his way to the hanger "You know I hear Strike Team one's leader is something of a maniac when it comes to a fight. Heard during the war he even made the Jem'hadar uneasy."

Roen smirked. "That's quite a reputation. It sounds like we will be on a backup role then. Fine by me." Before they were refitted and had leave Anara would have been up on the front line but now she was growing reluctant. The conflict was becoming more evident to her in her mind and she hoped it wasn't becoming as easily noticed by her companion.

Daniels saw the tension but would ask en-rout "We got about ten minutes before we gotta go, half an hour if we push our engines. I better run my preflight." He kissed Anara before looking over his peregrine. Every thing seemed in order the diagnostics read green but the settings were off a hair there and a trace there if he hadn't fine tuned the settings him self he wouldn't have noticed but he did "who messed with my ship?" He asked looking around some what upset.

The caitian ensign ran over from the back of it and pulled partly up the ladder. "Wait! We aren't done with it yet!"

Anara crossed her arms with a frown. "What do you mean it's not done?!" She asked as she looked up at the ensign, who had gotten Daniel's attention.

"The Relays on this one are still being calibrated. There was a problem with the alloy and we had to make a field fix. I need another half an hour to finish it." N'Rass said with a concerned engineer's tone. She doubted that the time requested would work but she had to ask.

"You have five minutes, Ensign. Didn't you get the mission briefing?" Anara put her hands up expressively then turned to walk back to her own ship, pausing after a step. "You didn't do this to mine, did you?"

"No, Ma'am." The engineer replied. "I have already finished yours. Unit 4 was the last one left. Departure was not supposed to be for another twenty minutes, I thought."

Daniels countered Anara's order "you got ten minutes, I'll recalibrate on the fly now hurry." Looking to Anara he said "If I push I should be landing about thirty seconds after the rest of you."

Anara shook her head as she walked briskly back to her ship and climbed in. She gave him the look of having a bad feeling about the situation but couldn't say it, for that matter she didn't want to focus on it.

The other pilots of the squadron had begun their check lists and the sound of engines and power systems gradually filled the hangar bay. Crews cleared the tiedowns and flitted off to the sides to clear the operating crafts, and she glanced over to her wingman with a hand motion. The question was to launch or wait with him. They had communication radios, but the old-fashioned Roen still liked visuals when possible.

Daniels used his head to communicate "go on ahead". He than looked over to the technician and mentioned "you might wana hurry." He nodded before beginning his preflight check list again.

Anara shook her head in protest but continued on with the others in spite of it. The first part of the mission was to rally on the Thunderchild's hangar bay and group brief for the final details. The squadron had been waypointed there before, so that much was not much different in and of itself.

The pilot did not take to superstition, but it still concerned her to take off with his calibrations being rushed. It was the first mission out of port, so nobody really knew if they would be up to par or not. When they landed on in the sister ship's deck and stepped out of their fighters a moment later with Daniels not in formation, they looked to Anara for the reason.

"I take it you two are fighting?" One of the pilots ribbed.
Anara slapped him behind his head."Don't make me do that again!" She said firmly. "His craft was being fixed and he will be joining momentarily. Prophets willing he won't be long." She looked around the bay to see the other wings crafts lined up and ready to launch.

"He'll be here. We wouldn't launch the mission without him. Besides, we have a score to win!" The pilot gave her an arm around the shoulder hug and they went to mingle with the other pilots as they waited for the briefing.

Back on the Hamilton, L'Randil and her fellow technicians raced frantically to close all the hatches as Tony made his way into the cockpit. The calibrations were executed as well as the young caitian could determine, so the rest was up to the on board computer and the pilot. She waved and motioned the all clear and he left with a faster than regulation surge of thrust out of the bay.

"Good luck." She said to herself quietly, then turned to her other assigned techs who loaded their tooling into the shuttle to follow onto the sister vessel. Since the unit would be ferrying back on the same, the crews for each fighter would be along to make sure the pilots had their care.

Daniels was making his docking run as the rest of the squadron was getting settled doing their post flight stuff and crowding around the strike team as their leaders were going over the mission.

Tal was in the foreground pacing back and forth with a Kar'taken in his hand as he was addressing both teams "The mission is the diplomats, we are here to rescue the diplomats, if there are other prisoners free them for a tactical advantage, if the prisoners are Star Fleet personal free them but our mission is the diplomats. We do not take prisoners we do not make deals, if there is a Breen aggressor in your way do not hesitate to kill it. I say again shoot to kill." He turned and began to "finish up" I will be leading team one, we will be the primary attacking force, Warrant officer Benson will be leading team two they will be covering our back sides. If there's any other questions ask him" Tal pointed to the team two leader.

Anara looked at the presenting officer with a wide eyed freeze. She had not expected to see Tal, let alone be in the same mission. The same mission with Tony no less. Part of her wanted to run up and give him a hug, part of her wanted to lay low and not be noticed in interest of avoiding conflict between him and her now fiance.

Tal finished and stepped off the platform slipping his Kar'taken back into its scabbard. By this time Daniels had landed and finished his post flight. The strike teams and squadron members began to get to know each other and both Tal and Daniels were both making their way to Anara with Tal about ten seconds ahead of Daniels.

The bajoran, now the center of convergence backed up to the nearest shuttlecraft and waited, trying to smile but still very nervous. She knew Tal to be a strong man and Daniels to be impulsive, a bad combination. "Prophets, please keep this civil..." She muttered quietly enough among the crowded room to not be heard. When Tal arrived and she was looking up to him she uttered a soft, "Hi."

Tal the passionate one greeted her in a passionate way by pulling her up to him and kissing her powerfully "Hi" he replied after putting her down. Hows it going?" He kind of leaned over her placing his hand on the shuttle craft. Daniels had gotten side tracked by a few squadron members asking what took him so long and so forth.

Anara glanced over to her fiance then back to the powerful Tal. "We...well..." She stammered. "I hadn't heard from you in so long. It's been alright here, we just came...off leave." A little smile was showing through her nervousness but she could tell he was noticing.

Tal growled slightly "what do you mean we?" At about this time Daniels had finally showed up and greeted Anara "hey baby doll" he gave her a kiss on the corner of her lips and asked "so who's this?" Tal easily put one and one together it being apparent by the look of "I am going to crush this guy" on his face.

"This..." Anara introduced with a hand hold, "is Tony Daniels. He is my wingman." She beat around the matter for a moment then decided to just lay it out. "And my fiance..." Internally she wanted to duck but it was what it was.

Daniels began to introduce him self "I'm..." but Tal gave the look that said "I can shatter every bone in your body" Daniels finished "going to let you two hash this out." With that Daniels departed the scene to his peregrine it needed work any way. The rest of the Strike teams and squadron members gave the pair a wide birth as well. As soon as Daniels was away Tal nearly shouted "When were you going to tell me about this?!"

The woman was a force to be reckoned with when she was confident, but this was the first time she had been in a love triangle of sorts. "I wanted to, I waited a long time but how could I contact you? I can only be expected to wait for so long, Marek. I didn't even know if you were still alive." She glanced over to Tony distantly then back to Tal. "We have a lot in common, we work well together and I know when he is alright."

"All right... fine!" Tal glared "If that's how you want it you can have it. After this mission you wont see me again!" Tal almost roared. By this time the hanger had been pretty much cleared except for the trio involved.

Anara remained in a grasping state for words. While Tal had not directly hurt anyone yet, she felt about as bad as if he had. At least then she would have a physical reason. All she could do was stare into his eyes with an expression of remorse. Not of regret in her choice but in regret of how it was delivered. In a break of character, the bajoran began to tear visibly. Not a full cry but enough to be seen.

Tal was a bundle of confusion as well, if this had been an enemy he could rip through it and not look back. This was different a totally different kind of fight he didn't know how to survive. He growled he didn't know how to fight this fight.

When she looked back up at him, she just uttered a simple "I'm sorry." and waited to see his response. By this point Tony had begun to come closer, a relief to the pilot as she wiped her eyes. "This... is not the right place for this."

Tal didn't say another word after that. Turning he made his way away from he shouldering Daniels into the shuttle as he passed. Daniels umphed as he braced himself; recovering he approached Anara "That could have been worse....I think." He said consoling her patting her head. The sound of containers slamming here and there on the other side of the hanger could be heard.

She leaned on his shoulder and whispered. "I'm not sure." When he held her it confirmed to her how she felt about Tony. "This mission is going to be hard to keep focused on." After wiping her eyes again she commented, "This is why I tried not to get involved. It gets so... complicated. How can I get my focus? Ideas?"

Daniels consoled her "you can't work this close with others for as long as we have and not make connections. That's the point, if you want to be uninvolved with any one go live on Vulcan or a Borg cube." He patted her on the head and pressed her head against his shoulder "We don't have much time, before the mission. We still have a job to do." He tried the best to put her at ease but he wasn't sure how.

The bajoran nodded, then backed up a little to reflexively straighten her uniform and hair, still a bit shaken. "I will try." He didn't have to say much to help her mood. There was a moment of silence as she glanced toward Tal's direction and then back to Tony, then a motion to the fighters. "I guess we have to do this."

"If half the stuff I hear about Tal and his people are true I feel sorry for the Breen on the planet" Daniels mused before Anara went off to her fighter. The mission was simple escort the shuttles down to the planet and clear a path for them back up. As soon as the fighters were ready Daniels lead his flight out of the hanger followed by the shuttles and than the second flight of the squadron. Every thing was going according to plan, up to and including the Breen interceptors coming up from the planet.

"Flight one, break and engage the interceptors. Flight two back those shuttles up!" Daniels ordered, and then this was toward Anara "We got a bet to win." Star Fleet was out numbered twelve to eight, good odds even for Star Fleet officers.

Anara swallowed and blocked most of the previous personal situation from her mind to get back in the moment as the displays began to beep and warnings flashed. "Let's hope these new refits work." She muttered to herself as she broke to follow his fighter from a distance. Hopefully one would come in to try to lock him so she could trap and back him up.

After a moment of following one, a second one fell into the trap. She picked it off in a short burst of cannon and it exploded in front, narrowly missing her own craft. "There's one." She comm'd to Tony.

"Make that two, I got my first scratch of the engagement." There was plenty of groans coming from the rest of the squadron as they worked to "catch up". Than off of Anara's port side a splash of energy the size of a capitol ships weapons blast sent two Star Fleet fighters reeling before erupting into balls of fire and sending one of the shuttles into a tail spin. Coming from behind was a Breen gun ship and a squadron of ten attack fighters. Over the comm's one of the remaining Star Fleet fighters asked at full voice "What the hell is a Breen capitol ship doing here?!"

Daniels replied in haste "Probably trying to shoot us down." A series of photon torpedoes flashed past Daniels shuttle coming from the Thunderchild striking the offending capitol ship on its starboard front. Daniels ordered "Flight two get back into the mix!" Thing just turned into a pilots worst nightmare....A furball!

The situation was the kind that fighters and interceptors always trained to prevent. Normally a carrier ship such as the Thud would not be engaged in direct combat since it had a full compliment of small ships. It was now not only a challenge to keep the shuttles alive and survive but now the home ship was a concern. "Where are those shuttles?!" Anara asked when she found a gap in the action.

One of the other squadron members "Saw one ricochet off the planets atmosphere and tare apart not sure which one it was though." Daniels was engaged with an interceptor and two attack fighters concentrating on just surviving for the moment. The game was called off. He wasn't the only squadron member trying to keep in the sky as every one else were in an at least two on one dog fight. Never the less Daniels managed to keep things up beat "And we thought this was going to be a hard mission."

The bajoran pilot smirked a little at his comment. She looked around for the shuttle and saw it being harassed by a fighter. Since the other pilots were otherwise engaged, she pulled a hard wingover to go down to the distressed shuttle. "I'm coming. Shuttle, break hard left, NOW!" When the shuttle did the commanded action she let looks a full volley head-on into the interceptor's front shields. "Take that, and back off..." She commented rhetorically. It apparently had some effect because the interceptor rolled back to rally. Taking the opportunity, she continued to heavy burst fire on it until it was incapacitated, then focused on getting the shuttle back to the ship.

By now there were no ships without damage, and Anara's seemed to be one of the better ones.

The remaining shuttle was seen pulling in a hard driving free fall toward the planet con trail after contrail rippled as multiple sonic booms resonated through the atmosphere. The Thunderchild was presently hammering away on the Breen capitol ship. Daniels had cleared one of the attack fighters off his back and had taken care of the interceptor. The opposing forces were starting to thin. A Breen fighter erupted near Daniels craft sending shrapnel flying through parts of it.

Apparently the interceptors weren't interested in atmospheric flying since they did not pursue once the shuttle made it in. Instead they turned full force onto the fleet fighters. There were several incapacitated on both sides that had not been finished off, the focus being on staying in the action more than killing. Hopefully some of them would get repaired or rescued. "Who's still up?" Roen asked over the comm. "We need to regroup if we can!"

Daniels replied "They got me nothing critical but close enough, that pakactia patch job that tech did broke free and tore a hole into my nacelle." He smacked his controls a bit trying to coax them back to life. "Well looks like there's nothing for it" he said "engines about to go up, I'm going to win this bet by taking out that capitol ship." Daniels fighter careened passed the interceptors and attack fighters, the fighter's engines erupting just as it collided with the Breen capitol ships nacelle.

Anara didn't even have time to reply when he hit the ship in a blaze. She froze momentarily then shouted "NO!!" but her moment was short lived. A fighter positioned on her tail and got a couple shots in before she managed to shake him loose. She didn't know whether to be angry or sad or hurt, perhaps all of the above. Fortunately there was no time for that now, only to continue to survive.

His sacrifice was not in vain as it seemed to redirect some of the energy of the opposition away from the Thunderchild's squadrons. Hopefully the ground assault was going better.

With the destruction of the Breen capitol ship the battle turned heavily in favor of Star Fleet. The squadron had the tactical advantage of the Thunderchild's shielding and and weapons causing a major distraction against the Breen fighters if nothing else and let the Star Fleet fighters get into formation. The battle was soon won and soon after that the remaining shuttle returned from the planets surface.

The fighters each made their way back to the safety of the hangar bay on board and began to assess the losses. Each pilot stepped down out of the fighter they flew and walked around with their respective technical crews.

When Anara saw the caitian, her countenance changed. She went from shocked and hurt to rage. "YOU!" The bajoran shouted as she made a charge to the shorter engineer. "You killed him!" Fortunately for the ensign there was another pilot nearby who held Anara by the arms.

"Calm down, Roen." He reassured, turning the pilot around and holding her shoulders. "We will figure this out."

"She killed Tony! She did it clear as day." Whether or not it was stress, she wanted to take a disruptor and solve it then and there but knew it would mean a court martial. "He didn't have to die..." Anara said in a trailing off tone as she sat down against the landing gear of her fighter.

The shuttle landed and the diplomats were exiting from the craft followed by some Star Fleet survivors and finally the remaining strike team. The rescued diplomats and survivors were talking amongst them selves.Mostly talking about how glad they were to be rescued and the occasional mention of the crazed half breed that lead the charge.

Tal was the last out, his left arm semi limp at his side with green blood drying and dripping down it. He limped off the shuttle kar'taken clenched in his right hand. His piercing emerald green eyes shot past every one else and stared at Anara an almost fierce gaze.

She glanced up, lifting her head from her hands to show her sadness and then let back down. Not only did she lose her lover, now she was reminded of her other lover living and yet lost. It seemed as if her world of order was crumbling into chaos in her hands. Part of her wanted to run to the powerful Romulan for consolation but she knew in his gaze he would be of no relief at this point.

joint post between

2ND Lt Marek Tal
Marine Executive Officer
USS Orlando

and

Roen Anara(NPC)

of