Renovations

[Kes Akiena]

A gentlemanly smile, and Kes gave a deferential bow.

"Akiena, Rrou'eita. Commander Kes Akiena."

He could feel the woman's critical eye going over him from head to toe; it was to be expected, and Kes kept his smile ever-present.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

The woman looked unsure, glancing back to T'yeellaa before returning her attention back to Kes.

"Well."

Smiling more politely, she attempted the same jovial encounter she'd plied T'yeellaa with, taking the Commander by the arm.

"jI am Suurritaa Maillanarro, prroprrjietorr of Maillanarro'ss Fjine jImporrtss. jI thjink jit'ss jusst loveljy that we have a forrejignerr jin command herre, and wjith ssuch an agrreeable appearrance."

T'yeellaa turned slightly to roll her eyes at the gland-handing, knowing full well what was going on. Rrou'eta Maillanarro continued unabated, urging the commander on with her.

"Sshould jyou fjind anjythjing jyou fancjy, jI want jyou to onljy thjink of one name to ssatjissfjy jyourr needss. Come, we've onljy jusst sset up, but jI thjink jyou wjill ljike what jyou ssee."

[Kes Akiena]

It wasn't really unexpected, but there was still a small amount of interference that had to be applied in the face of such instances as this. It was simply the way things went, and while Kes had not had to deal so closely with Cizerack in his last posting, he was at least knowledgeable enough on how these things went.

With a warm expression and a careful bit of extrication, the commander slowed himself to a stop while placing a hand to the woman's shoulder in a show of good faith.

"Perhaps another time, Rrou'eita."

Still he smiled, though now it was a measured expression.

"I promise you though, once Captain Meorrrei and I are finished with our current projects, I'll be visiting your shop."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Oh but of courrsse." The jowly shopkeeper nodded in understanding as they stood before her shop space, already in the process of being arranged into proper form. Shelves were being stacked with crates and jars of myriad contents, and a few other Cizerack women paused in their work to gawk at the trio at their threshold.

"jI'll be ssurre to make note that jyou and jyourr sstaff get a sspecjial djisscount on account of all jyourr harrd worrk. And jI sshall be calljing on jyou to have tea wjith me. jYou won't want to mjisss that ejitherr."

Finally allowing the Commander to extricate himself fully, Rrou'eita Maillanarro excused herself to attend to her shop's business, never fully taking the Commander out of her attention until he was no longer in sight. Captain Meorrrei had already picked up the pace, shaking her head as they went.

[Kes Akiena]

Moving down the main merchant alley, Kes allowed himself a breath of minor relief. He supposed that he'd gotten off light, all things considered. By the shake of T'yeellaa's head though, he suddenly found himself having second thoughts.

"Am I doomed?" Came the rueful question as they sidestepped a gaggle of Quarren shop owners.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Do jyou even know what tea meanss?" T'yeellaa hissed, straightening the lapels of her uniform as she walked.

[Kes Akiena]

That got his attention, and Kes stopped abruptly as his eyes darted back from where they'd just been.

When he spoke, his voice held a sort of hope that was already dashed to pieces.

"...well, generally it involves hot water and some sort of spiced leafy blend mixed in... "

He blinked as his gaze shifted to T'yeellaa, staring at her with the beginnings of a morbid look on his features. A moment later, and he gave a sudden gesture as if to wipe away the air between them.

"By the stars it can't be that."

A nervous laugh as he shook his head.

"Nice joke though. Funny."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"jYou humanss arre a verrjy ljiterral people."

Sighing with some defeat, Captain Meorrei's ears drooped.

"At anjy rrate, unlesss jyou'd ljike to get to know the good Rrou'eita morre than jyou sshould, jI would poljiteljy decljine that jinvjitatjion..."

A feat that was easier said than done in Cizerack context, and T'yeellaa stuttered.

"...ssomehow."

[Kes Akiena]

His eyes closed tightly as a pain began to manifest at the bridge of his nose, and reaching up, Kes gave it a pinch.

"Well."

A defeated sigh hissed out from between a thin-lipped frown, but his expression soon enough eased.

"That particular matter I think should be left to one who knows the best ways of doing such things."

He gave her a very slight yet crafty grin then, his hand coming away from his face to give her a hearty pat to the side of her shoulder.

"Congratulations Captain, you've just been upgraded to my personal liaison of cultural affairs. Your first task will be to get me out of whatever I've just been invited to."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

It was a joke, but T'yeellaa didn't laugh. Instead her expression turned distant and thoughtful.

"Commanderr, do jyou underrsstand how djiffjicult thjiss wjill be?"

She paused, making sure no passers-by were within earshot, and continued, standing directly in front of her superior.

"To rreach mjy people, to gajin thejirr rresspect. jYou'rre not plajyjing a fajirr game. Everrjy encounterr jyou'll have, jyou'll do so wjith thrree djissadvantagess."

[Kes Akiena]

"Well, the first two I can guess well enough," came the slightly groused answer. Not only being human, but as well, being of the male persuasion had its' particular drawbacks when it came to dealing with the Cizerack. But the third?

The redhead grimaced as he gave up trying to divine whatever it was she was speaking about. Instead, he started walking once more, hands clasped sharply at the small of his back as he set a steady pace through the merchant-way.

A sideways look was sent her way.

"What's the third, dare I ask."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

T'yeellaa turned to look at her superior, blue eyes glancing up and down before she turned eyes forward and expressionless.

"That jyou'rre a rreasonabljy attrractjive example of rreassonss one and two."

Before the Commander would have time to parse that as a complement or any other needlessly complicated nonsense, Captain Meorrrei continued her point.

"jIf jyou don't make jyourr fjirrsst jimprresssjionss frrom a possjitjion of authorrjitjy, thejy'rre ljikeljy to conssjiderr jyou a bauble orr an orrnament. Makjing frrjiendss jiss njice jin theorrjy, but jI would cautjion jyou to choosse jyourr frrjiendss carrefulljy."

[Kes Akiena]

The only outward sign of reaction to her first words was a single raised eyebrow.

"Then I suppose it's a good thing I have you to help me navigate the peculiarities of your people."

They rounded a bend that seemed to open up into a wider area, and along the far bulkhead was a sort of viewing area. Expansive transparisteel viewports lined up together to afford an impressive view of the inky blackness beyond, peppered with glittering jewels and the comings and goings of Alliance and Pride personnel ships. Every so often a civilian freighter could be seen in the mix. Low couches, some booths and other free standing tables littered the common area, and as the two officers made their way down the shallow stairway that spilled into the area, Kes slowed to a stop.

The hustle and bustle of bodies hurrying about was significantly less here, as most were busy situating themselves.

"So. Tea is not really tea, and I must keep from being seen as a decoration."

He hmphed in thought before finishing.

"Anything else I must know? Or is this a 'learn as you go' situation."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"jI could prrobabljy fjill a book."

T'yeellaa joined Kes in watching the space traffic pass by from the viewport. In this moment of bewilderment there was strange comfort in mutual confoundedness. Commander Akiena hadn't a clue about the Cizerack, and T'yeellaa had equally little exposure to forrda. The crossroads that Jovan station represented were more than geographical.

"jI wjill be asss honesst asss jI can be, Commanderr. We arre verrjy djifferrent, jyou and jI. But jI have taken mjy oath, asss jyou have no doubt taken jyourrss."

She looked up to him.

"That jiss ourr common grround, sso we wjill sstarrt therre..."

T'yeellaa paused, unsure for a moment, before continuing.

"...ssjirr."

The moment of reflection was cut short, as the voxcomm speaker overhead crackled to life.

"All command sstaff to Operratjionss Deck. Rrepeat, all command sstaff to Operratjionss."

[Kes Akiena]

Was he surprised at the interruption? In all truthfulness he wasn't. It seemed as though emergencies of any size and nature were commonplace; especially these days.

A thin-lipped smile, and Kes inhaled deeply while half-turning, one hand gesturing for T'yeellaa to lead the way back up the staircase.

"After you, Captain."

And as an afterthought, "... we'll finish this at a later time, I think."

Both officers made short work of navigating through the mass of bodies once more, heading for the lift that they'd previously exited from. What awaited them in operations was anyone's guess, and as the lift dorrs opened, Kes once more allowed T'yeellaa to go first.

One last look at the buzzing hive of activity behind him, and the redhead stepped into the lift.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Operations Deck sat at the hub of the gear. The elevated superstructure above the habitation levels and the outer spire superstructure, it dominated over the immense form of Jovan, affording the command crew a full 360 degree view over the station from an unbroken line of windows that towered over the circumference of the immense dome-shaped deck. Raised on a dais over substations was the command deck, which housed the most primary station controls and the main access turboshaft. When Commander Akiena and Captain Meorrrei exited, they stepped onto a space that was crawling with activity. Cizerack and Alliance personnel weren't yet fully acclimated, but they functioned well enough in an orientation setting. The recent events, however, changed all that. A heated debate was underway, with a Rodian lieutenant and a Cizerack lieutenant both asserting their opinion on procedure and course of action. Their argument was cut short by an Alliance yeoman shouting "Commander on deck!"

[Kes Akiena]

Whatever harsh words were being spoken instantly fell silent, each individual turning to look at the new arrivals.

For his part, Kes fell into a roll that he was mostly familiar with, and the corners of his mouth ticked downward in a stern grimace, his brow furrowed as his measured gait allowed him to skirt a command station and the tech officer sitting at it.

His voice held a granite tone as he spoke.

"Is there something wrong?"

It was most assuredly not a question despite the upwards inflection he'd placed on the last word.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

The pair of lieutenants paused, turning to face the commander. There was an awkward pause, a dance around protocols that didn't yet fully exist. And then the dam burst, and they both started in at once.

"Commander, we're just getting set up..."

"...ourr ssenssorrss pjicked up grravjitjy well djisplacement..."

"...they're not calibrated. If they're not calibrated, it could be anything, it could be..."

"...jI have ssjix jyearrss of carrtogrraphjy experrjience and jI know what a sstellarr bodjy lookss ljike..."

"...a dynamic stellar event could be anywhere. It could be comets, it could be asteroids, a coronal discharge..."

T'yeellaa had enough, her ears angling back as a sharp "Enough!" belted out over the pair of officers. Glancing at each of them, she settled on starting with familiar territory, addressing the Cizerack officer first.

"jYou...errr..."

It suddenly occurred to the Captain that she didn't yet know the names of the command crew. An embarrassing oversight that was mercifully corrected.

"Preita'rrou Maotorri, rrou'a."

"...Maotorri." The Captain faintly nodded, determined to remember the name. Fair-skinned, bird-boned. Chestnut hair worn a little too out of regulation for her liking. "Gjive the Commanderr jyourr rreporrt."

Stepping a half step away from the Rodian, Preita'rrou Maotorri's tail nipped the air behind her skittishly as she tried to parcel her racing thoughts into a bite-sized briefing.

"We brrought the sstatjion'ss massterr ssenssorr ssujite onljine. Ljieutenant Juta jiss corrrect, jit jiss not jyet caljibrrated and that wjill take tjime to do, but ten mjinutess ago, the actjive ssweep pjicked up mass djissplacement jin ssectorr eleven."

[Kes Akiena]

Crossing his arms over his chest, Kes looked at the pair in turn, letting a silence linger as Maotorri's short summary filled in the gaps of this spat. His grimace seemed to deepen as he gave a nod, then set his eyes on the Rodian.

"While our sensor suite is not calibrated, Lieutenant Juta," he started, "... would it still not be prudent to investigate? If there is nothing there, then very well."

Before the officer could interject, Kes went on.

"However if something is there... "

He deliberately let his sentence hang in the air.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"I'm not saying we shouldn't investigate, sir."

Juta's enormous dark eyes were inscrutable, but his ear probuscii tilted forward and to the sides in an expression of conflicted feelings.

"I'm just saying that it's probably not worth going to battle stations over a ghost story. We can't even get telemetry to triangulate a definite position, much less a vector if it even has one. All we have is a displacement of about two million tons, and even that is probably a guess."

Captain Meorrrei glanced back to Kes, a troubled expression on her face.

"Ssectorr eleven doess ljie on the frrontjierr."

The frontier, of course, being the bleeding edge. The border between the Alliance of Free Planets and the Galactic Empire. Even if the ink on the maps was still wet to some respects, everyone on Jovan knew that in addition to the station being at a crossroads, it also sat at a salient, the farthest inroads on the Hydian to the galactic core that the Alliance held.

T'yeellaa headed toward a large circular dais set off to one side. Atop it was a lighted circular console, disproportionally huge to the smaller banks of computer terminals that flanked the command deck. At the epicenter, a digital token glowed blue against synthetic white. This point zero. Home. Around them, to a radius of fifty light years, the fixed reference points of the galaxy glinted color-prioritized shades of the rainbow. These were the known quantities. The slice of space around them they could display with confidence due to star chart archives. Closer to home, a few smaller blue tokens displayed the friendly vessels broadcasting transponders.

"The Hjydjian rrunss between ssectorrss ten, eleven, and twelve. Honesstljy..."

T'yeellaa looked up from the map study at Kes, a shrug and a shake of her head.

"jIt could be anjythjing. Therre'ss alwajyss trraffjic passjing thrrough."

Maotorri wasn't quite willing to shake her gut feeling, crossing her arms as she paced about.

"Commanderr, the onljy tjime we'd even detect djissplacement jiss frrom a masss jin rreal sspace. Hjyperrljight wouldn't causse that."