* * *
“Th’ moon’s awful pretty t’night, ain’t it?” Jack asked, standing beside her.
She shuddered a little at his closeness. “It is. I’ve never seen it like this before.”
“Really?”
“Really. It looks…so beautiful.”
“That it does.”
Jack was tempted to add that the moon wasn’t as pretty as Telsia. She was so intriguing. Jack had never met a girl like her before, and he doubted he ever would again. But there was still that mysteriousness to her that he wanted to find out about her. Maybe he could find out by acquainting himself with her.
“So, what’s your business in Manhattan?” he asked. “Dutchy says ya ain’t plannin’ on stayin’ long.”
“We aren’t.”
“Why not?”
Telsia tensed. She wondered if she could trust Jack. She looked at his eyes and searched. She could use all the help she could find. Perhaps she could talk around the true mission and leave out the part about her and her friends being from the future.
“To tell the truth,” she said, “my friends and I, we’re looking for someone.”
“Anyone in particular?”
“Yes.” She paused. “He’s a…terrorist.”
His eyes widened. “A terrorist?”
She nodded. “He’s constructed…bombs. He’s responsible for many deaths. My friends and I, we’ve joined your newsies because it will be easier to locate him if we monitor your newspaper articles and can search the streets. He’s somewhere within this area.”
“Is there anythin’ I cin do to help?”
“Now that I’ve told you, keeping this a secret from the other newsies. I only told you because you’re the leader. No one else can know.”
He crossed his heart with his right hand. “If I tell one person, Spot Conlon will go bald.”
“Who’s Spot Conlon?”
“Th’ most powerful newsie in New Yawk. Nevada’s ‘is girl. Speakin’ ‘f which, I think ‘e said ‘e was gonna drop by t’morrah.” He paused. “Y’ know, if ya wanted info, Spot could get it for ya. ‘E’s got contacts all over th’ streets who cin locate this guy faster than you cin say ‘seize th’ day.’”
“That’s very generous of you, Jack, but we can’t take any chances. This man is completely unpredictable. If he learns of our being here, he may come after us. And if he learns that anyone else is looking for them, who knows what he’ll do. This is a safety issue. We can’t bring any more people into this.”
“All right. This’ll be between us.”
Telsia smiled, and when he smiled back, she felt it all the way down to her toes. Rick had never made her feel that way before…the smile melted off her face.
“Somethin’ wrong?” Jack wondered, somewhat concerned.
“It…it’s nothing. Really.” She answered quickly.
He frowned thoughtfully. “I dunno. Ya don’t smile like that then suddenly look like th’ president died.”
She turned away from him. “I…just thought of something that I wish I hadn’t.”
“Jus’ thought?”
“It has to do with something that happened. A little over a month ago.” She released a shuddering breath and shook her head.
“Wanna talk about it?”
“We just met this morning.”
Jack slid down to the ground and sat Indian-style. “Well, I’m a good listener. An’ ya look awful pretty when ya smile. I’d like t’ see ya get another smile on your face.”
She blushed, but Jack didn’t laugh. He cracked a soft, barely even visible smile, but one that offered comfort and the deepest trust. Telsia wished Juliet was here. Juliet could sense a phony smile without even seeing it. Could Telsia again trust Jack, this time with her love life?
Then again, it would be nice to life this burden from her heart. Everyone on the Hazard Team and Voyager knew that she and Rick had had a strong friendship. Only Juliet and possibly Tuvok knew of the love she held for Rick while he was alive. Telling someone who didn’t know about this or her feelings could be of some relieve.
The only problem she would have with telling Jack would be to leave the truth of the future out. She would have to speak her story in the way it would have happened had it truly happened a month ago. She sat down across from Jack and kept her eyes on the ground.
“It happened a month ago.” She began. “My friends and I, we had someone else with us. His name was Rick Biessman.” She chuckled sadly. “He was unlike any man I had ever known. He had a one-inch fuse that would ignite with the tiniest remark, and an ego the size of three horses.”
Jack whistled. “An’ somethin’ happened t’ him?”
She nodded. “Yes. Rick also had another trait, but one that was honorable in the right situations: passion. He was very passionate about the things he did.” She swallowed. “I was in love with him.”
He heard the word “was” and knew that whatever had happened to Rick was why Telsia was so upset now. He thought of his own father and his heart sank.
“What happened t’ him?”
“We were been hunted, by…these men who knew of us and thought we should be killed. We found cover but we were outnumbered. Rick started complaining about not having a clear shot, then stood up, starting taunting those men and shooting them down. He killed most of them by himself. I know he was doing it out of his own pleasure, but he must have known that he was protecting us as well.
“But it wasn’t good enough. While he was firing, none of us did. That was our mistake. Because one man was off to the side where Rick couldn’t see him. That man shot Rick…in the heart. He was killed instantly.”
She looked away completely, unwilling to allow him to see her tears. Two fell, and she quickly brushed them away.
“I’m so sorry.” Jack murmured.
“It’s all right.” She gave a humorless snort. “It’s funny. Alex Munro, our team leader who isn’t here, felt responsible for what happened. I went up to him after the funeral and told him that he couldn’t live in the past and look toward the future. And look at me. I can’t get past the fact that I couldn’t tell Rick. I worked with him for eight years. Eight years!”
Jack knew exactly how she felt. Maybe not from the same exact situation, but one from a relationship even stronger than that of an unrequited love. He had lost his own father. He had wanted to tell someone about his true feelings. Telsia had opened up to him, he may as well return the favor.
“Telsia,” he spoke up, “I know how ya feel right now.”
She returned her sight to him. “Do you?”
He nodded. “B’lieve it or not, it happened a month ago. My pa died.”
“Your father?”
“Yeah. When I was a kid, my mama an’ my pa were poor. We lived in this old run-down apartment complex that was cold in th’ winter ‘n’ hot in th’ summer. Pa was never ‘round, ‘e was always busy tryin’ to get money for food ‘n’ rent pay. Mama, in th’ meantime, stayed at home with me an’ schooled me. She taught me t’ read ‘n’ write.
“Then when I was nine, mama got sick. An’ pa was gone, tryin’ t’ make ‘nough money t’ pay for medicine for mama. But ‘e couldn’t do it. ‘E made it back though t’ be with ‘er when she died. Afta that, ‘e promised me ‘e was gonna make money an’ get us in a better place t’ live an’ good food t’ eat an’ never hafta worry again.
“While ‘e was gone, I kept studyin’. I wanted t’ be smart cuz pa wasn’t. That’s why he had trouble gettin’ a job. But afta a while, I found out ‘e was stealin’ from rich folks, and that got ‘im in prison when I was fourteen. I know ‘e made a lot ‘f dumb choices in tryin’ t’ make money, but ‘e was only tryin’ t’ support me. I loved ‘im an’ respected ‘im. An’ I never got t’ tell him.”
A soft, sad smile tugged at the edges of Telsia’s mouth. “So I guess we do come from the same situation.”
Jack shrugged. “I guess so.” He looked at her eyes. “What’re your parents like?”
She looked away again. “I don’t know. They died when I was very young. I think I was six. But I was left in the slummiest place you can imagine. So I know how your father felt. I had to steal for a living.”
“So how’d ya get in th’ business of secret…missions?”
“An old man. He mentored me and helped me get involved.”
She sighed. Several months ago, through Hirogen technology, the Voyager crew was able to receive letters from home. Telsia had received a letter from Xander in that transmission. He had told her how happy he was to hear she was still alive, and how proud he was that she was a part of Starfleet again. She missed him so much.
“He was the closest to a father I’ll ever know.” She continued. “I miss him. I haven’t talked to him in five years.”
“I miss my pa too.” He reached over and took her hand. “Sorry everythin’ happened t’ ya like that.”
His sweetness touched her. She smiled softly and looked up, and found herself staring into his eyes. She felt tremors in her heart.
“I’m sorry everything happened to you like that.” She murmured. “Can we be friends?”
“You betcha.” He grinned. “So how good’s your sneakin’ skills?”
“Excuse me?”
“How well cin ya sneak in an’ out of places?”
She grinned as well. Stealth was her strong point with the Hazard Team, perhaps Jack was in need of her skills.
“I’ve snuck in and out of places swarming with men without them even seeing one hair on my head. Why?”
“Cuz I got a friend locked up in th’ refuge.”
“What’s that?”
“A jail for kids. Well, it’s actually nicer than a jail now, now that Snyder’s gone. But still, one ‘f our newsies is locked up in there an’ now I wanna break ‘im out. Wanna join me?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
* * *
Juliet rubbed her temples. Her head was aching so much from the newsies’ open minds. They were so open that she could read them very easily. Some were overly friendly and willing to let that be known to everyone. Others were concerned about their selling spots and considering finding another.
She had noticed that Mitch seemed to be befriending the newsie known as Race. They were swapping their poker skills downstairs and as it turns out, Mitch was teaching Race things he had never considered. Mike was hanging out with other newsies, learning about the newsies’ ways of life and how to sell newspapers.
“Lights out in five minutes!” Kloppman shouted.
“Does anyone know where Telsia is?” Juliet called.
“I saw her running off with Jack.” Kip said. “I think Jack’s finally gone to break Swifty out of the refuge.”
“Well then, looks like those new boys downstairs will have to sleep on the floor then.” Duchess muttered.
“That blonde boy can have my bunk if he wants.” Spat said, grinning.
“I think we’d all like it if he’d sleep up here.” Nevada spoke up.
“Whoa,” Crescendo said, jaw dropped, “Spot Conlon’s girl, actually looking at another guy?”
“He’s not just any guy! Have you seen the body that boy has?”
Juliet laughed to herself. She had to admit even she thought that Mitch had the nicest body of all the men on the Hazard Team. But she secretly had small feelings for another. She knew he had feelings for her, but pursuing a relationship with another member of the Hazard Team would be inappropriate.
“Hey Juliet, here’s the nightdress I said you could borrow.” Dancer said, handing her the nightwear.
“Thank you.” She said, accepting the clothing.
“Since Telsia’s not here, Nevada put one on her bunk. She can get to it when she comes back.”
“You mean Kloppman won’t wait up for them?”
“He will. He’ll stay up and scold them.”
She nodded, slipped the nightdress and curled onto the bunk. The mattress was lumpy and uncomfortable, not to mention the constant creaking, and Juliet found herself longing for those overly spongy cushion beds assigned to Starfleet ships. But knowing she couldn’t have her own bed, she settled for this one.
Not too long afterward, the lights went out and Juliet closed her eyes. She chuckled at the thought of so many girls falling for Mitch, but she found herself drifting to the feelings she held for Austin. Those feelings were small and insignificant for her, but for him, they were much greater.
She knew of how he came to fall in love with her. When Voyager was captured by Seska and the Kazon, the crew was left on Hanon IV to fend for themselves. While there, Austin’s friend, Hogan, was attacked by a native creature and everyone who was around fled the scene. Austin had to be dragged away because of his wanting to go back for Hogan, but Hogan was devoured by that creature and Austin would have been as well had Neelix not interfered.
As Neelix pulled him away, Austin slipped and slammed his leg into a rock, slicing a deep gash. Juliet was the only crewmember around with medical training and was sent to his aid. She and Neelix helped Austin to safety, then she tended to his wounds and splinted them. This was when they first connected. They had known each other from meeting in the mess hall and on other decks, but this was the first time they really begun to acquaint themselves.
Once the crew was returned to Voyager, Juliet and Austin began seeing more of each other, beginning a gradual friendship. Then a luau was held in the holodeck with the Talaxian resort program that Neelix, Tom Paris and Harry Kim had put together. Juliet had come in a cyan Polynesian styled dress with white and yellow ti flowers and leaves decorating it.
While she conversed with Kes, Lindsay Ballard and Jenny Delaney, she noticed Austin and Alex Munro joining a conversation with Perfecto “Tech” Oviedo, Rick Biessman and Kenn Lathrop. The conversation had begun with weaponry, then somehow became about each young man’s first kiss.
Though Juliet was out of earshot, she was able to hear what they said by reading their minds. Rick and Alex had been most vocal about each of their stories of their first kisses, but Austin was quiet the entire time. Then he spoke up reluctantly and mentioned that he had never been kissed nor kissed a girl before.
Rick found that rather funny and began to joke about it with Kenn. While Alex defended Austin, Kenn suddenly came up with the idea that Austin should try kissing one of the young ladies in the holodeck. Tech suggested Jenny just so to annoy Tom Paris, but Alex brought up the fact that Austin had a small crush on Juliet.
That was when Kenn and Rick became somewhat mischievous. Kenn told Austin he would give him two days’ worth of replicator rations if he would kiss Juliet. Then Rick decided to join in on the fun and also bet two more rations. Before Austin knew it, he was suckered into falling for their bets.
Juliet sensed his approaching her and pretended not to know of his intensions. He stood by while she continued talking with Kes, then politely interrupted and asked if he could speak to Juliet alone. She said yes and he offered her his arm and led her to the beach.
Austin said nothing to Juliet, although she could sense his tension around the situation. She grinned at his adorable vulnerability and clung to his arm a little tighter. He felt her gesture and tensed more.
"So, what is it you wanted to tell me?" she asked.
"Oh…right." he stammered. "Well, uh…I guess that I…wanted to ask you something."
"Ask me what?"
He looked at her face and could tell she sensed he was much too uneasy to fool her. He sighed and decided to give her the whole truth.
"To tell the truth, I was talking with Lathrop and Biessman back there and they said they’d both give me two days' worth of replicator rations each if I kissed you."
She pretended to be appalled. "And just why would they do that?"
"Because…I've never kissed a woman before. Nor have I ever been kissed. Rick said I should break my own record."
"So how is it that you've gone so long without being kissed?"
"My father was constantly being called to different planets, ships and space stations all throughout the Federation when I was a kid. I never stayed in one place for more than a few weeks except on Chyribois, and I've told you about that before."
"Yes, I remember."
"So I was never around girls long enough to really…work up the courage to talk to them, much less ask one out on a date."
"And what stopped you at the Academy?"
He blushed. "You know me."
"That's right, I do know you. But now I have a little confession for you."
"What's that?"
"I overheard your conversation with Kenn and Rick and Tech and Alex."
More red poured into his face. "You did?"
"I heard every word."
His jaw dropped. "I…don't know what to say."
She reached up and set a hand on his shoulder. "Don't say a word."
Slowly, she drew closer to him and finally brought her mouth to his in a tiny lip-lock. And for the one brief instant they kissed, Juliet felt Austin connect with her telepathically in a way she had not known he was capable of. She couldn't even describe what it was, not even now. But the connection was made, and she pulled away slowly.
When she looked at him, she saw that he was still entranced by her sweet gesture. She grinned at him and stepped back.
"Go replicate yourself something really nice."
He opened his mouth to say something, but unintelligible noises were made and Juliet knew her work was done. She began walking away when Austin found his tongue and followed her.
“Juliet, wait!” he called, speeding up.
She stopped and turned, and right when he reached her, he suddenly swept her into his arms with a passionate kiss that Juliet had not expected. She decided to allow him to kiss her once more, but this kiss was rather…long. A little too long by her standards. She accessed her telepathic powers, found what little Austin possessed and spoke to him.
‘That’s enough, Austin.’
Very slowly, he drew back and released her. He was almost completely out of breath, and blushing furiously.
“I’m sorry, Juliet.” He sputtered. “I don’t know what came over me. I was just…so caught up in everything. I liked that kiss and I guess I wanted more-”
“It…it’s all right.” She nodded. “You know I can read your mind, and I understand what you were going through.”
He shook his head, knowing it wasn’t enough. “Look, I know what you must think of me now, so I’ll tell you what. We’ll just say this never happened.”
“Why?”
“Because it’ll be fair for both you and me.”
“No. We’ll just say that last one never took place. But you may tell your friends about the first one.”
“Now I’m not even sure if I want to tell them.”
“You can, or I will.”
She left him then and rejoined Kes and Lindsay while Jenny had her hands full resisting flirtation from Tom Paris. Juliet and Kes continued their broken conversation, and Juliet watched as Austin returned to his table. She cracked a smile when Rick and Tech began applauding.
Shortly afterward, Kenn approached her and asked to speak with her privately. Knowing what he wanted and aware of Austin’s strong opposition, she spoke up in front of Kes.
“No, Kenn, I will not kiss you.”
“Then why’d you kiss Austin? What makes him so special?”
“Because he is special in general.”
From then on, most of the men had left her alone, for it was a fact that Austin had set his claim on her. Even Paris, who had asked her out several times before, had stopped pursuing her. Then again, this was around the time he finally settled with Lt. Torres.
Right before she drifted off to sleep, she opened her eyes and found herself standing in a darkened room, one that was completely bare and eerie. She sensed a presence she had met before and shuddered inwardly.
“Juliet Jurot. Born June 3rd, 2352 on the Betazoid homeworld of Betazed. I thought I warned you about following me.”
She stiffened. Keptik’s telepathic abilities were more powerful than she had anticipated from their last encounter.
“If your abilities are this advanced, you should be able to read my mind and see that for me, my duty comes first. And my first duty here is to protect Earth’s history.”
Keptik allowed himself to be seen by her. Quivers tickled her spine as he circled her. On the surface, he was just like a Betazoid: completely devoid of outward physical differences. However, he did have those orange eyes. He also had a hairline of sandy brown hair that reached the point where his ears were. His Human appearance would be regarded as unusual, but not enough to suggest he was an alien.
“I have no objection to your noble cause.” He spoke sultry. “But I’m aware of the demolitionist who is accompanying you on your mission. Why else would he be here but to destroy my many decades of work hidden here on this primitive world?”
“Perhaps it’s because he has the ability to remain cool-headed in a tense situation.”
“But he’s only half human. His other side is Rigellian, isn’t it?”
“Why is that significant?”
“Unless I’m mistaken, Rigellians bleed green blood, am I correct?”
“Austin is incredibly careful. I’m sure he will prevent any injuries at all costs.”
“But I could induce injury to him should he threaten my work. He’s also partially telepathic, is he not?”
A brief flash of fear shot through her throat. Keptik couldn’t harm Austin. Could he? He was a terrorist, he was capable of doing so.
“Austin would gladly sacrifice himself to protect Earth’s history. If not for earth’s history, he would not even be alive today.”
“As I said, I have no objection to your seeing that I do not interfere with history. If you do only this, I will allow you to leave this planet and I will continue to hide myself and my ship from everyone here.”
“But we were given strict orders from your own government.”
“Have they informed you of my motives behind my attacks? The government has killed thousands of people in a civil war. Only recently have things begun to settle down, but the government must pay for the lives that they took. Including those of my wife and brothers.”
“That doesn’t atone for the lives you’ve taken already.”
“That’s right, you believe that Vulcan axiom that the good of the many outweighs the needs of the few.”
“I believe it in a different way than what you are implying.”
“But still, you would believe it even if I took the life of your precious demolitionist. Austin Chang, the man you refuse to love even though you are aware of his feelings.”
Anger burned within her. “You go anywhere near him, and I’ll-”
“You’ll what? You’re a medic. You are supposed to be dedicated to saving lives. Think about what I’ve said. You leave me and my ship alone, and I will leave you alone.” He paused. “I will tell you, however, that my repairs will be finished within three days. I plan on leaving the planet by then.”
And Juliet awakened with a lurch and a gasp as the telepathic link was severed. She pressed a hand to her head at the overwhelming pressure that had expanded into a migraine. She looked over at Telsia’s bunk and saw that she still wasn’t back.
Enduring the throbbing, she lay back down and pulled the covers over her shoulders. She needed to tell Telsia about this. Even more important, she needed to contact Voyager.
* * *
