hormonal imbalance

[warpfairy]

They study Klingon. They work out a sleep schedule. They approach Betazed.

They are two days away from the system when Isabella notices something - troubling.

She takes longer than usual to compose herself that morning, and emerges from the living quarters with carefully measured steps, and avoids eye contact.

"Do you," she asks Lalita quietly, "have the ability to fly this class of ship?"

Comments

[warpfairy]

"You're welcome." Pause. "Do I now get to know what other things you told me were cover for your age?"

[dream_me_up]

"Oh - anything about family is either a flat-out lie or actually meant successive imaginary generations of me. I won the Harlequin in a game of poker the year she was commissioned, for example; I'm older than warp drive, let alone that ship. But the book's real, and it really has been with me since childhood. I can show you if you want."

[warpfairy]

"I'd be interested to see a book that old."

[dream_me_up]

He gets up and goes to where he put his belongings and brings back the case.

[warpfairy]

"Interesting illustrations," says Isabella.

[dream_me_up]

He laughs. "Aren't they just? This book was my favourite thing in the world as a child."

[warpfairy]

"The standard history don't suggest that any of the augments from the 1990s survived. What happened with you, if you don't mind my asking?"

[dream_me_up]

He shrugs. "I ran away, what else?"

[warpfairy]

"What enhancements do you have?"

[dream_me_up]

"Just about everything. I learn faster, think faster, move faster, react faster, heal faster, I haven't aged since I was thirty, my memory's almost perfect even coming up on three hundred years - I never looked it up and the records are long gone, but I'm half convinced genetic engineering is the reason I'm so pretty."

[warpfairy]

"Wow."

[dream_me_up]

He shrugs.

"Oh, and the name is fake, naturally. But I like it. I'd rather you keep using it."

[warpfairy]

"That will be no problem."

[dream_me_up]

He smiles.

[warpfairy]

"You must have led a fantastic life."

[dream_me_up]

"Oh, I have," he agrees, laughing. "Want to hear about it?"

[warpfairy]

"Yes, please."

[dream_me_up]

"I've been to see a Klingon opera," is the first thing that comes to mind.

[warpfairy]

"On a Klingon world?" breathes Isabella. "I didn't think relations were ever that good."

[dream_me_up]

"Between the Klingons and the Federation? No," he says with a slow grin. "Between the Klingons and me? Oh yes. Or should I say - between a Klingon and me. Her name was Shenara."

[warpfairy]

"Ah. It's still not obvious how a human would manage to get into the audience of an opera without trouble, but an escort would help."

[dream_me_up]

"It's amazing what the rich and eccentric can get away with. I find that's true across any culture where the concept of 'rich' is relevant," he says. "Bringing her alien concubine to the opera was the least of her exploits."

[warpfairy]

Isabella laughs softly at 'alien concubine'.

[dream_me_up]

Lalita giggles. "Well, I was. For almost a year."

[warpfairy]

"How did you wind up in that position?"