Erratic Nerd Writings

{{Birthdays, vacations, road trips...but Chapter 4 finally emerges!  Enjoy, folks. =-)  }}

The overhead lights came on as he stepped into the room, the door shutting behind him.  They were far too bright.

“Computer, dim lights by half.”

The computer complied, and while it wasn’t quite the Klingon societal norm, it was acceptable.  He verbally adjusted the temperature in the room, as well; it was much too cold.  Klingons and Vulcans were both preferential to higher heat levels than humans.   While Kanor was part human, his “comfortable” range was definitely more in line with typical Klingons and Vulcans.  He heard an air circulator kick in to pump more heat into the room.

The food units were where Skid said they’d be, just to the left upon entering.  While his stomachs rumbled, not having been filled for quite some time, it was ingrained in Kanor’s nature to fully investigate his surroundings before he could feel comfortable, so he put eating aside for now and continued into what would be his new living space for a while.  He found it disconcerting the small foyer of the quarters opened directly into the bedroom area; from the doorway, one would have a considerable line of sight onto the bed and its occupants.  That wouldn’t do at all; he’d have to come up with something to force anyone to come closer, thus lengthening his tactical choices and responses for intruders.  Further investigating, Kanor discovered a lavatory area to his right that seemed to be comprised of several ridiculous luxuries he would probably never use, and, separated by a transparent door and walls, an office area to the left of the entrance.  The office area made up half of the space inside the quarters, and was what most interested him. 

There was a personal communications station against the far wall, across from the entrance to the office.  A desk that was large enough to serve as an adequate workbench just to the right, complete with computer access, and a decently sized storage area behind the wall the desk was elbowed in to.  There was also a small table with a couple of chairs on the left wall of the office, the wall parallel to the corridor, but it seemed to be primarily intended for socializing.  Kanor didn’t value the table’s sturdiness or surface area that much.  He was intrigued by the fact there were windows showing the vast vista of space streaming by outside; one above his bed, and one above the storage area and desk in the office.  They seemed purely aesthetic in nature; a luxury he hadn’t encountered aboard a Klingon ship before.  There was also a rounded out corner area across from the desk along the same wall as the communications station; he wasn’t sure what to make of that.

He found the container that had his possessions sitting at the foot of his large bed.  His shield generator belt, his disruptors, phasers, and blades, his tool kit, the mek’leth, his tricorder; they all seemed to be there, though his grenades were missing.  A good precaution; he’d have to applaud Skid on that one.  Sh’lan had assumed the computer interface built into the armor on his left arm was ineffective without his tricorder or access to a friendly computer system.  If he didn’t have Cypher, that might have been true.  He investigated his tricorder first, checking to see if it had been tampered with.  Not finding anything, he activated the device, did a systems check to verify the software hadn’t been modified, then scanned the room thoroughly.  Once everything checked out, he finally felt reasonably secure.

“Cypher?”

“Yes, Kanor?”

“You got everything?”

“I have been recording everything since you left the ship, affirmative.”

“Could you operate relatively freely in privacy aboard this ship?”

“I have detected a self-aware artificial intelligence aboard this ship; however, it does not seem to be directly tied into the Enterprise’s normal computer mainframe.  In fact, it seems to be secured behind very strong protective walls virtually.  Due to the secretive constraints inferred, I did not actively pursue investigating its physical location or presence.  Barring this, or more concentrated scans on behalf of the Enterprise personnel, I believe I can operate safely.”

“Do you think this other AI detected your presence, as well?”

Cypher was silent for a few moments; at first, he thought it could be a part of her speech algorithm, or perhaps a malfunction, even. 

“Unlikely.  Reviewing our mutual experiences aboard, my passive observational data gathering, and the nature of my program’s communication processes, I do not believe the chances of my having been detected are significant.  This does, of course, depend on the nature of this other artificial intelligence, and the contingent the Enterprise crew would react in some observational way if they had detected my presence, especially after the incident in Sickbay.”

Kanor closed the palm-sized tricorder and sat down on the edge of the bed.  He had gotten used to discussing things with Cypher even though there was no physical manifestation of her presence, but the idea of developing one for her flitted across his mind as an appealing one.

“How could you recognize this AI as being self-aware if it was behind protective shielding, while still remaining undetected yourself?”

“Much in the same fashion you can observe a sentient humanoid’s shadow, know it is self-aware, and all without its knowledge.”

“This AI casts…a virtual shadow?”

“It is not currently directly connected into the Enterprise’s mainframe; it has, however, been so before.  Due to the strong defense surrounding it, and the current disconnected state, I would speculate it is intended as a protective counter-measure of some kind for the Enterprise’s computer, though defensively or offensively in nature is indeterminate.”

Kanor nodded his head as he lifted his face up to the stars streaming by outside the window above.  It was a mesmerizing sight, especially the way the trails of light from the stars during warp-speed travel left lingering lines across his vision even when he closed his eyes.  “It sounds aggressive.  That would make sense.”

“Should I scan the room to ensure it is free of traps, listening, or monitoring devices?”

Kanor let out a slow sigh as the aches of the day’s events seeped in.  He wondered if the medications had/were wearing off, or if he was simply just beginning to let himself feel everything that had been thrown at him today.  He lay back onto the bed; cushy, as he was afraid of.  He would need to look into taking out the cushion before sleeping; at least it wasn’t as bad as those velvety things Kaz had in his office.  He closed his eyes for a moment.  This was supposed to have been an easy in-and-out retrieve mission.  He hadn’t slept since before he had begun tracking the pirates down.

“Sure.  Pretty sure I got everything, though.”

His stomachs rumbled, reminding him, again, it had been far too long since he had eaten well.  He was tempted to try out the food dispenser Skid had mentioned, but decided it would probably be safer, for now, to eat the replicated food. 

“I have detected three separate devices within these quarters.”

Kanor’s eyes flew open as he sat straight up.  “You what?!  Locations?  Purposes?”

“They are highly sophisticated in nature; the tricorder would not be capable of detecting them.  I am unable to pinpoint their exact locations or functions, however I believe closer proximity will alter that.  The closest one is near the foyer.”

Kanor got to his feet, his eyes narrowing as he scowled and headed that way.  He hated surprises.  He just wanted to eat and sleep, dammit!  He stopped in the entryway, eyeing the door to the ship’s corridor, the frame, the replicator and food dispenser machinery.  His right hand reached over to his left forearm to activate something on the computer interface, and he closed his left eye.

Immediately, his vision became a dizzying stream of electrical currents that followed, to a degree, the physical items he was actually looking at, if he could make sense of it.  Over there, the doorway and its control panel.  Along the wall, the power conduits that lined the area between his quarters and the corridor beyond.  There, the food dispenser and replicator.  It was disorienting, and difficult to view at length, but was useful for tracing electronic devices and where live power was coursing.

“It is almost directly above your head.” Cypher said.

Kanor looked up, keeping his left eye closed, and peered around.  Just to the right of his location…there was an unidentifiable, independent current of power.  He closed his right eye, and opened his left, his cheeks alternatingly scrunching up.  The framework of the foyer entryway itself.  He tapped his left forearm, deactivating the contact lens in his right eye, and then looked with both eyes open.  After some scrutinizing, he found a piece of the molding that, when standing directly beneath it, did not appear to be fully flush with the rest.  Prying at the piece with his fingers, it finally swung down on one side, and a thin black device fell down onto the floor.  He replaced the molding piece, which now sat flush, and bent down to retrieve it.

“You were right, Cypher, this IS sophisticated.  Haven’t seen anything like this firsthand.”

“It does not appear to be transmitting.”

Kanor brought the device over to the bed, sat down, and reached for his toolkit.  It was a small kit; for infiltrating, not repairing major machinery.  It would have what he needed to crack the casing open and investigate this thing’s insides, though.

“Good.  Would you be able to detect the other two if they were?”

“Inconclusive.  Given the level of sophistication for this one, it is possible one, if not both of the others, are capable of transmitting in a way I could not detect at this range.”

Kanor sat the device and his toolkit aside.  “I’d better find them, then, before I start dissecting them.”

After more searching, with Cypher’s guidance, Kanor found the other two devices.  One was literally buried inside the communication console’s machinery, directly hardwired into the device.  The second was deftly hidden within the socializing table in the office, and had a good line of sight to the computer screen, even if someone was sitting in front of it, as well as the entry to the storage area.  After he had retrieved them, Cypher confirmed that none of the devices were transmitting currently.

“Okay, so either the person who planted these would have to come in and physically transfer the data off, or they would do some sort of short range burst transmission that could be retrieved, then purge old info for new data.  Judging by the placement of the devices, I’m going to lean more on the burst transmission method.”

“I concur.  It would also facilitate less noticeable data retrieval.”

“I know the Independent Fleet is not a backwater group of mercenaries, but this seems like hardware they wouldn’t be able to get their hands on.”

Kanor began carefully taking the devices apart, wary of damaging them or tripping some sort of safeguard.  As small as they were, however, he didn’t expect them to be equipped with much in the way of physical defenses.  Their primary defense mechanism was their secrecy; that having failed, it should be pretty straightforward.  Still, it never hurt to be cautious.

“The likelihood of the Independent Fleet having access to technology and equipment of this sophistication is incredibly small, especially when you factor in the odds of that exact equipment being present aboard this ship.”

He was quiet while he got all three devices open, and picked up the first one, the one that had been in the foyer, to investigate more thoroughly first.

“For the most part, I’d agree with you; however, we can’t rule out what Kaz mentioned in our discussion.  Perhaps this was something they got in trade for some nugget of information they were able to sell or something.  Still-bit of a stretch.  The one from the foyer appears to be pretty standard visual monitoring.  No audio, but I’m guessing a very high quality of video resolution.  No controls of any kind, but there’s memory, and a small transmitter.  I’m guessing it simply records everything; the person sends a transmit code, downloads the data, and it resets the recording again.”  He picked up the device he had found within the table inside the office area.  “The one from the table appears to be of the exact same design.”

“There are no identifying markers on any of the inside components?”

“Haven’t seen any, but…”  Kanor reached out to withdraw a magnifying stone from his kit, holding it up to his right eye.  “Ahh…no.  None whatsoever.  This has got to be government issue.  Cutting edge tech, and no manufacturing markers at all?  Yeah, nothing else it could be.”

“It could be an independent contractor, inventor, or purchased off of the black market.  Possibly even technology from a race we have not encountered before.  There are several representatives aboard this vessel alone.”

Kanor shook his head, replacing the stone.  “Nope.  I would know if stuff like this was on the black market; and independent contractors or inventors don’t make things like this.  If they did, we’d be business associates.  Same thing goes with unknown races.  You don’t have technology of this caliber available for the masses, and people like us having not heard of or seen it before.  No, this is big government.  Any of the major powers have a sudden collapse or suffer some hit or raid you decided not to mention to me?”

Though Cypher’s speech was inflectionless, Kanor imagined her responding indignantly.  He really needed to complete his voice emote software for her; he was curious how she’d sound with it. 

“Negative.” 

“Let’s run through the list, then, shall we?  We can strike Klingons off immediately.  Too sophisticated, and besides, it’s in the realm of subterfuge; against the Code of the Warrior and all of that nonsense.”

“The Cardassian Union is not in a state they could produce something of this caliber at this time.”

“Agreed.  And it’s too cutting edge for the Obsidian Order to have produced it back when they had some clout.”

“Since you were able to readily identify the major components of the device easily, it would likely not belong to the Breen, the Dominion, the Borg, or an unknown alien power.  There is a slight chance it could be from the Delta Quadrant, after the exposure of our region of space to inhabitants there from the Federation’s Voyager, but highly improbable.”

“Again, agreed.  I’m thinking Federation, Romulan, or Ferengi.”

“The odds favor one of those three.”

“We really need to work on you quoting odds and probabilities; it comes across as too…calculating.”

“But it is a basic function of my programming.  Don’t biologicals use those words as well?”

“Well yeah, but…not as frequently, not like you do.  We say ‘I believe’, or ‘it is…blank’.  It sounds artificial when you use it like you do.”

“But if I don’t possess the full knowledge to know something with a near-absolute certainty, isn’t it morally careless and irresponsible to assume the most likely candidate ‘must’ be correct?  That would inevitably lead to errors.  I would be wrong.”

Kanor sighed, smiling a bit with the corners of his mouth.  “Yeah…yeah, inevitably you would be.”  His stomachs protested yet again in Cypher’s silence.  “I need to get some food before I continue fooling around with these.”

He set everything aside and got up to head over to the replicator unit.  He pulled up the built-in menu and started looking for things he could recognize.  Skid was right, there were no Klingon dishes programmed, though he did find some familiar Vulcan dishes.  There were also Human dishes he recognized his mother having made variants of, but he was less inclined to try those.  Still, Vulcan dishes were almost exclusively vegetarian, and he needed meat.

“Pok tar, hot, with a…sir…loin.”

“Please specify size and temperature of sirloin.”

“Aha, that’s how it’s pronounced…uh…five hundred and sixty grams.  And hot.”

“Please specify one of the listed temperature settings for the sirloin.”

Kanor read the list that popped up on the screen of the replicator.  “Why would anyone want their meat burnt to a crisp?  Rare!  And throw in a large helping of some Vulcan spiced tea, hot.”

“Please specify size of tea in liters.”

“One and one half liters.”

With a soft humming sound, a steaming dish of Vulcan Pok tar, along with a slab of some oozing meat, appeared in the food alcove, with a tall, heavily scented flagon of spiced tea.  He felt his mouth water.  He grabbed the two items and headed into the office area of his quarters, the transparent door sliding aside at his approach. 

“Alright, Cypher.  So, most likely, a representative of one of those governments is aboard the Enterprise, and wants to keep tabs on me.”

“The odds still favor an independent operator, as well.”

Kanor sat down at the small table and reached for the chunk of steak with his right hand.  “Not convinced; going to stick with the government operative angle for now.  We need to identify this individual; catch them when they attempt to retrieve the data on their devices.”  He took a huge bite into the bloody meat, tearing at it with his teeth.  Just as the description had specified-slightly fatty, and flavorful. 

“Assuming they have not detected you have already deactivated their devices.”

Kanor shook his head as he continued to eat, talking around the food in his mouth.  “Soon as we’re done looking them over, I’m reassembling them.  I’ll remove their memory so they can’t actually record anything, but that way if the individual, or individuals, I suppose, stop by to verify they’re in operation, they can still receive a ping signal.”

“Then we need to establish our own surveillance outside in the corridor.”

“Could be tricky, but I can probably do so tomorrow, though probably not until the night shift.  I would think the memory will last at least that long.”

“It is more likely the operative will attempt retrieval during a more heavily trafficked period of time in the corridor, to better blend in.”

“Agreed.  So we’re looking at, most likely, the day after tomorrow.”  He dove into the Pok tar; while it was certainly not his mother’s recipe, or his father’s either, it was serviceable.  “What has been the status with the Hunt?”

“As the Commodore stated, it has not been disturbed, short of being loaded up for moving down to the cargo bay.  The cargo bay has remained the only detectable object in the bay.”

“Good.  I’ll journey down there tomorrow morning before meeting with Skid to retrieve my things, and the parcel.”

“Would it not be safer if you left the object aboard the Hunt?”

Kanor grunted as he ate; he had been mentally debating the merits of both for a while.  “Possibly.  However, Kaz knows I didn’t have it on me when they brought me aboard, therefore it would have to be on my ship.  I’ll let him go on thinking that’s where it is, and move it here, instead.”

“Kaz mentioned sharing his information on the ringed object with you, but you did not offer to share your knowledge of what lies inside the Federation parcel.”

“Nor will I.  If I do, I lose my main bargaining chip, and become a relatively disposable asset.  He knows that, which is why he didn’t press me on the matter.”

“You should make your visit to the ship to retrieve your personal belongings very visible, then not visibly return to it.  Or, if you do, make it clear you are not leaving with a large Federation package, for instance.”

“Good point.  I could bodyslide there to retrieve the object, then make a point of going with Skid to retrieve my personal effects later tomorrow.”

Kanor proceeded to talk with Cypher as he ate the rest of his meal, going over details about the Enterprise and her crew they had noticed, as well as speculating on things he had not been able to determine the importance of, such as James Brown, JJ Cale, and the circular plaques in the corridor.  Once he was finished, he belched loudly with satisfaction and stood up to begin removing his armor.  Stripped completely, he stretched and yawned before making his way over to where he had left the devices on the bed.  The office area would be a better place to look them over, now that he had pretty much secured the quarters.

After having moved them all, he sat down in the chair at the desk, finding the frigid contact with his bare flesh uncomfortable, despite the higher temperature he had enabled earlier.  He squirmed as he worked, his bruised genitals making the situation even more unpleasant.  Either he would install new chairs, or he would need to cover this one in some textile that would retain the warmth of the room better.  He preferred being nude in his home space, especially since he almost always wore armor outside of it.  Besides, he had locked the doors to the corridor upon entering.

Cypher helped him analyze the devices and their components as much as they could with their equipment at hand and the time constraints.  He found himself wanting to succumb to actual sleep since it had been so long, so he quickly reassembled the devices minus their memory units.

“Alright, Cypher.  Wake me at 0500 hours.  I’m going to…”

“Wow, you REALLY like it hot in here, don’t you?”

Marcie’s voice rang out from the foyer of his quarters, and Kanor’s head snapped towards the doctor as she came up to the open doorway separating the office area from the rest of his quarters.  She was wearing an overly large fuzzy-looking shirt that seemed to drape all the way down to her knees, almost like a dress.  It had some sort of animated anthropomorphic animal on the front, and was a slightly faded light blue.  She had slippers on her feet that had a representation of the character on her shirt on them as well.

Kanor shifted in the chair, attempting to use the desk and his hands to cover himself as much as possible.

“How DARE you enter my quarters unannounced and uninvited!”

Marcie only grinned, her eyes running over his frame for a brief moment.  “Oh please, it’s nothing I haven’t seen already today.  Besides, I’m a doctor; I see people without clothes all the time!  This place is like a sauna; it’s no wonder you took them off.”

“What are you doing here?  How did you get in?”

“I’m the chief medical officer on board; I have access codes to get into anyone’s quarters at any time, in case of a medical emergency.”

“I assure you, there is NO medical emergency!”

“You sustained injuries earlier today, I was checking up on you.  You really should be in bed by now, you know.  I wasn’t expecting you to be awake still.  Were you talking to someone?”

Kanor frowned as the young woman leaned against the doorframe and looked around.  Why would she be coming into his quarters, expecting him to be asleep?  Perhaps she was the one who had planted the devices?  He nudged one slightly with his shoulder towards her, trying to draw her attention to them, wanting to gauge her reaction.

“I talk to myself at times, it helps me think.  You stated I’d be fine with the balm you gave me, and that you expected me to be asleep.  You aren’t here to ‘check up’ on me.  Unless you make it a common practice to visit your patients in their quarters, in your sleepwear, late in the evening?”

Marcie’s face flushed a little, and she shrugged.  Her eyes drifted towards the piece Kanor had sent her direction, and she reached out to pick it up.  She handled it awkwardly, and after fiddling around with it, she tossed it back onto the desk absentmindedly.  If she was acting or putting on a show in regards to her ignorance with the device, she was doing a superb job of it.

“I…I was lonely.”  After tossing the device down, she stepped into the office and leaned against the edge of the desk facing him, clasping her hands in front of her, shifting her fingers nervously as she looked down at them.  “Jax and I hang out sometimes, but he’s so obsessed with his career, it’s not very often.  Skid and I talk, but it’s usually more like a…a mother and daughter or something.  Kaz has got Drei, Sh’lan is…was, an untrustworthy brute, and Selorus is just…well, Selorus is a coldhearted jerk, most of the time.”  Her eyes lifted to look at him.  “It’s hard to get too close to the rest of the crew when you know you might have to order them to their deaths as a member of the senior staff.  And…like I said, I like you.  I think we’ll be really good friends.”

Kanor’s eyebrows rose up significantly.  Did she want to sleep with him, was that what she was suggesting?  She was certainly very attractive physically; her personality was not something he was used to, yet he found her to be attractive in that manner as well.

“I was hoping you’d be asleep, so I could crawl into bed and curl up with you.  It’d…be nice to cuddle up with someone, you know?  I know Klingons aren’t exactly softies, but…well, like I keep saying, I feel like there’s a connection here, a trust.”

Kanor shifted in his seat as he weighed those possibilities, slightly aroused by the situation.  She was right, she had seen him already; and if she was going to engage in bedroom activities with him, she would undoubtedly see him more.

“I…was about to retire for the evening.”

Marcie’s eyes seemed to light up when he didn’t outright demand she leave right away, though they didn’t drift down over his body the way he thought they would.

“Really?  I knew I was right about you…it’ll be nice to sleep with someone who isn’t just trying to fuck me.”

Kanor’s brow furrowed in confusion as he stood up. 

“This ‘cuddling’ you speak of isn’t some form of intercourse?”

“Of course not!”  Marcie’s face scrunched up.  She glanced down as Kanor stood, her eyes widening.  She looked back up at him, stabbing a stiff finger against his torso as she frowned.  “We are NOT going to have sexual relations of any kind, so get that out of your ‘heads’ right now!”

“I…I don’t understand.”

She sighed in frustration.  “Were you honestly heading to bed to sleep?  As your doctor ordered you to, instead of sitting in here screwing around with these toys?”

“Yes.  I am fatigued.”

“Fine.  Go on, get in bed, then.  And if you dare try to take advantage of me, I will make what Skid did to you seem like a frolic in the park!  I’m a doctor, I know my anatomy!”

She glanced down at him again, but his initial arousal had faded completely, especially with his lack of understanding for the situation, and this seemed to placate her.  She followed behind him from the office area towards the bed.  Since she was apparently going to be joining him, he made sure he positioned himself on the right side of the bed.  In case this was an elaborate trap, she would be first within the line of fire from the doorway; he might even be able to use her as a living shield.

“Bleh.  This is normally how hot you prefer it in here?  I’m sweating.”

He looked over at her on the far side of the bed as he crawled in on his side awkwardly.  He wasn’t sure what to make of this situation, especially if they were not going to be engaging in sexual activity.  As he looked at her, she seemed to almost lift her long shirt up, but thought differently at the last second.

“It is the customary range, yes.  As both part Klingon and Vulcan, I am more comfortable in higher temperatures.”

She frowned.  “This’ll take some getting used to…computer, lights.”

The lights in his quarters shut off at her verbal command.  He found that annoying.  They were his quarters, they should only respond to his vocal commands.

“You can’t see me, correct?”

               The stars streaming by above outside the windows illuminated the cabin to a degree, but not directly over the bed.  It was probably very dark to her human vision.  He lied; he would not mention that tactical advantage.

               “No, only a vague outline, I think.”

               He watched her pull up her long shirt in both of her hands, bunching the material up, then tying it together just above her hips and navel.  She was wearing some form of undergarment around her posterior that also covered the area between her legs, though it left her thighs exposed.  It seemed to be joined to a thin blue band that encircled her waist.  That same animated character seemed to be featured on the material, as well.

               “Good, I hope that helps…”

               She mumbled under her breath, though he could hear her just fine, and crawled into bed with him.  She flailed a hand around over the bed for a minute until she found him on the far edge, and then turned her back to him, lying down on her side facing away from him.  She lifted his left arm and squirmed backwards until she felt his front press against her back.  To his surprise, she then draped the arm over her own body, tucking his hand against her bare stomach.

               He was really unsure what to make of the situation now.  This seemed so…intimate.  She maneuvered around a little to make herself more comfortable, even resting her left arm over his as it lay over her.  She reached up with her right arm to tug the pillow down so she could rest her head upon it, angling it so he could use it as well, despite their height difference.

               “Your body is practically a furnace, this is almost unbearable.  Computer, lower temperature to twenty-six degrees Celsius.”

               “That is FAR too…”

               “So hold me closer and absorb my body heat; you’re part human, too, you can learn to tolerate and be comfortable with the temperature.  This is cuddling; NON-sexual proximity between two individuals.  It’s meant to be comforting.  You’re just lucky I get cold easily and like it warmer myself normally anyways.”

               Kanor frowned, but had to admit, the physical closeness was…oddly pleasant.  That tingling sensation seemed to extend to everywhere their bare flesh came into contact with each other, but, given the situation, he was growing accustomed to it.  It still intrigued him, made him wary, even, but at least the uncomfortableness of it was diminishing the more it occurred.  Again, his nostrils were filled with that same cinnamon-like scent that seemed to come from her body.

               “You didn’t shower tonight, did you.” she said.

               “No…”

               “You really should do that tomorrow.  I like your…musk, but it’s a bit pungent at the moment.”

               Kanor wasn’t really sure how to respond to that, or the fact the fingertips of her left hand were moving to…stroke the skin of his left arm, the back of his hand.

               “I…was intending on doing that tomorrow anyways.”

               She sighed a little, and he felt her head shift back to lean against his chest. 

               “Good, it’ll be nice to simply enjoy the smell tomorrow night, instead of be distracted by it.”

               “You intend on doing this again tomorrow night, as well?”

               “Of course.  Doesn’t this feel nice?”

               Kanor didn’t respond.  He wasn’t sure how to.  He was naked, in bed with a strange, attractive human female who was partially clothed, and whose flesh contact seemed to illicit tingling tactile responses in his own body inexplicably.  And they weren’t having sex.  He was on board a ship surrounded by people he had entered a temporary, tenuous working relationship with, one of whom was extremely interested in his actions for unknown, seemingly sinister purposes.  He was in the midst of a group of mercenaries on their way back to their home base, where even more of their kind would be swarming.  He had been kidnapped and coerced; he felt like he was a pawn in someone else’s schemes, which did not sit well with him at all.  He had been fully aroused by an alluring redheaded woman who seemed almost Klingon, then promptly injured in a very demeaning and ego-deflating manner, to say nothing for the pain.  And, most important of all, he had still not been paid.  He would need to bring that up with Kaz tomorrow.  Marcie shifted slightly against him, refocusing his thoughts.  Her voice sounded…sleepy.

               “I hope you don’t snore…”