Lt Commander Samantha Palmer Mission Specialist USS Chimera NCC 96899 = Samantha’s Quarters Samantha sat on her bed and looked at the door. Her fingers drummed nervously on her knee as she waited for her visitor to arrive. She had been assigned guest quarters on Deck 3 for the duration of the mission, allowing her to use an adjacent room for an office. Her room was still rather impersonal. There hadn’t been time for unpacking any personal things yet, and she hadn’t brought that much along in any case. As she sat on the bed she suddenly felt quite tired. The last two weeks had been so busy that she hadn’t been able to do anything else besides work. Even sleep had become a luxury and something she only got a few hours of each night. All the problems with the modifications weren’t helping either. It was affecting almost all of the ship’s systems, and she had to take the blame... even for the disturbing replicator malfunction that left the ship smelling like a waste recycling plant. She was starting to think that the Chimera was too old for this kind of experimentation, but she had no authority over which ship was chosen and why. She was just following orders like everyone else... like Nicolas. Samantha had been told at the beginning that a shadow agent would be assigned to the Chimera to assist her in case it was necessary, but who that person was would remain a mystery, until now. As if it hadn’t been bizarre enough that a strangely large amount of Chimera crew were former Archer crew, a ghost from her past had to resurface as well. Samantha lost contact with Nicolas after he graduated from Command School. She had sometimes wondered what had become of him, but after she met Daniel, Nicolas pretty much left her mind for good. Now, suddenly, after almost ten years they’re working together. But something about this was strange. He was in naval command school with his heart set on becoming the best commanding officer in Starfleet, but was now a marine captain? It didn’t add up for her... but maybe he changed, like she had changed. Then her door chime rang. She glanced at the chronometer on her nightstand; he was still as punctual as back then. “Enter,” she said, standing up from the bed. The door slid open and the tall figure of Nicolas Harker stepped inside. She was surprised by how much he’d aged. The last time she had seen him, his hair was dark and wavy, and his face clean shaven. Now he wore a light beard and his hair was cut short with grey flecks at the temples. There were light wrinkles around his eyes, but the mischievous sparkle within them remained exactly the same. “Commander Palmer, I presume,” he said with a smile as the door closed behind him. Samantha felt her heart warm slightly. She’d prepared herself to be cool and collected for this meeting, keeping it strictly professional, but Nicolas always had a way to break through her walls. Their relationship hadn’t been a very stable one, going on and off for about a year back at the Academy, but neither of them had been very focused on a relationship back then. She remembered feeling sad when he left, but had moved on quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. “Nicolas,” Samantha smiled, not really knowing what else to say. “Well, this is awkward... the Chimera is a nice little ship, but she smells like shit,” he replied, still as straightforward as always. She couldn’t help but laugh. “There was an unfortunate replicator malfunction a while back. It’s taken a while to get the smell out of everything.” Suddenly Nicolas pulled out a small device from his pocket and pressed it. Samantha was about to ask what he was doing when he stepped closer and hugged her. She was about to push him back when he spoke quickly into her ear. “This device is an audio jammer. We have twenty seconds. Be careful what you say and where you say it. Your room is undoubtedly under surveillance and mine will be too. You have your orders, and I have mine. If all goes well with this mission, my purpose on this ship will not have to be revealed. To this crew, I’m just a Special Forces flyboy who knows his way around the Marsh; I’d like to keep it that way. You’re going to have to be a good actress, Sam. You’ve never been good at lying, but you’ll have to learn very quickly, especially with the Betazoid counselor. Avoid her if you can. Read my biography and learn it by heart... I’ll see you at the briefing in thirty minutes.” He kissed her on the cheek and then turned to leave. Before walking out, he turned to her and said, “You still look exactly the same after ten years.” Samantha just stared as he left and the doors closed behind him. What was that? She didn’t know whether to be insulted or flattered at his concern. Realising there wasn’t much time to spare, she walked through the open door to her left to the small adjoining office. Sitting down at the desk, she looked up his biography in the database and started to read. One thing she had forgotten was how stubborn they could be with each other, to the point of stupidity. That was a long time ago, however, and maybe they could avoid it this time around. = -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.8.1/28 - Release Date: 2005/06/24