Kindred Spirits

[Scribe]

Stardate: 01102170

It was possibly the first time she had ever entered Shark territory.

Being Starfleet, she knew about the Sharks and the place that the MACO held in the hierarchy of Gaia and Starfleet. In recent years, particularly during the Xindi War, the importance of the Sharks in the combat zone had unbelievably displaced the standing of Starfleet Security in the eyes of the civilian population, not to mention Starfleet itself. The Sharks with their aggressive training methods and do or die mantra had polarized the morale of most civilians, to say nothing of the fact that most Gaians identified with the Sharks more than they did with Starfleet officers.

Before the war, she would have a problem with this. Like most Starfleet officers, she considered Sharks to be little more than ground pounders. They didn’t go the Academy. They didn’t sit through four year of intensive study, learning everything there was to know about star ship operations, combat and interstellar races, before being even let on a mission, let alone a ship. All a ground pounder needed was 13 weeks of grunt work and they were ready to kicks ass.

Most Security personnel resented the hell out of that.

Then the Klingons attacked the colony and Starfleet, hell everyone, saw what the ground pounders were made of. Somehow, they had held off the Klingons and during the Xindi War, they had held Bajor from the enemy while Starfleet Security was free to take the fight to Expanse and drive the Xindi to their home world once and for all. That war had resulted in two things, the creation of the Federation and the realisation that someday Starfleet Security would be a mixture Fleet and Ground Pounder.

Once upon a time, Lt. Commander Lea Lynch would have feared such a thing, these days, she welcomed it.

Crossing the main courtyard, she took a moment to observe the activity in the barn. The ground pounder recruits were doing drills on the course and in the firing range. Disciplined, young and so very hungry. For a moment she watched them, understanding the attraction. You could tell a cadet from the Academy and Shark maggot as easily as you could distinguish night and day. It was all in the attitude. Sharks had a lot of fucking attitude. Starfleet had discipline and too much civilisation.

Civilisation was something Lea had very little need for these days.

Those who saw her, Sharks at least, weren’t quite sure what to make of her. Lea wore Starfleet blue but there was something about her that wasn’t quite Fleet. Jellico said it was in the eyes and in the walk. She didn’t amble or saunter like most women did, she moved like a hunter on the prowl, her steps were cautious as if at any moment, she could break into a run without any warning. He said she reminded him of the lioness on the savannah, just before the kill.

Lea was trying to figure out if that was a compliment.

She stood there, arms folded watching the recruits, watching the way they trained and realised that the difference between Sharks and Fleet was the ability to stay hungry. Sharks knew how to smell the chum in the water. Fleet had no fucking idea what that was. In the last two years, Lea had learned the hard way and the experience had changed her, some might even say damaged. Though fear was not something that frightened her no more. Fear was a tool, you used it, like rage. A little healthy fear kept the human animal sharp, made you learn to stay alive just a little longer.

God knows it had kept her alive.

***

The Captain was pissed off. Not Derick, best friend to Tom Merrick or anything else. The Captain. The Marine who had seen approximately 15 years of combat and some of the worst atrocities in intergalactic history. He who had been Gunny and had remained here on Gaia instead of being rotated to ship duty because he was damn good at what he did; training the recruits into something a little more than an organic organ carrier.

Which only worked if they fucking listened to him.

Currently, Derick was breathing like a bull down the neck of one of those that hadn't listened. "We've been over this Roberts. What the fuck aren't you getting??"

Pinned against the bigger man, Maggot Roberts swallowed against the stock of his very own phaser rifle, a sweat on his brow that hadn't been there before.

"Well??" Jerking the rifle a bit, Derick grinned sadistically.

"Don't know..." the kid breathed.

"That's Don't Know, SIR. Daniels!!" Derick snapped, calling out to one of the other maggots standing in a circle around the training pit.

"SIR YES SIR!" A short, stocky kid stepped forward at attention, gusto coming all the way from his toes. The Captain was not a man to mess with, especially in whatever this mood was that he'd been in for the last few weeks.

"What did Maggot Roberts fail to do?"

Daniels frowned in concentration. "He failed to pay attention, SIR!"

"And?!" Without batting an eye, Derick looked up to the line of recruits. Someone was watching them. Blue-green eyes flicked to the person standing there and back to his maggots, taking note of the woman in Starfleet uniform. "Serck!!"

This time, it was a Andorian that stepped forward. "SIR YES SIR. Maggot Roberts failure lay in the fact that he underestimated you."

"Good point, Maggot Serck." Combat honed senses picked up a discreet movement behind Daniels, where the quietest of this batch stood, brow furrowed up in concentration as she watched the ongoing session. "Maggot Daniels. Opinion?" The kid reminded him of several others he'd trained. Sean Randolph, whose lack of speech was often made up by his brother. Ren Richards, the quiet young lady looking for someplace to BE.

"Sir Yes Sir!" Daniels moved out of the way to reveal the speaker, a lithe young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. "Maggot Roberts failed, above all else, to pay attention to his commanding officer and follow instructions, Sir!"

"That is correct!" Derick let Roberts go, rifle and all, suddenly, letting the young man drop to the mat. The rifle clattered away but Derick refrained from yelling about losing your weapon. The kid had had enough for today, even though there were times Derick felt the loss of every new arrival in the field personally. Like the circle of life, their deaths gave birth to the will to keep these kids, and his comrades, alive. "He failed to follow instructions. Until you can follow instructions, you can't make up your own shit!" Glancing up above the pit, where that woman still watched them, Derick narrowed his eyes. He didn't recognize her and she'd stayed in that same stance the whole time.

"Lorio!" Derick called over his shoulder, continuing when the Corporal answered. "Five laps and take them to lunch. An hour free time afterwards and meet me in the classroom at one."

As the other man hustled the maggots into formation, Derick leaned down to pick up Roberts' rifle. "Take it. We'll try again tomorrow." This time, there was no bastard in his voice, the tone instead that of a mentor and a teacher. Roberts nodded and hurried off after the others.

Turning, Derick peered up at their audience, noting her uniform again. "Can I help you?" he asked, toeing up a discarded banta stick for clean up.

She watched the display between the captain and the maggot with interest. Oh yeah, she knew that's what Sharks called their cadets. Maggots. Derogatory, humiliating to say the least but designed to make you aspire to be considered human. Once again, it was a training tactic, crude but effective.

As soon as you were a cadet in Starfleet, you were somebody. A maggot was a nobody and it made you work twice as hard to become a somebody. Their training was unlike Starfleet training, even security officers didn't get ridden so hard and Lea supposed that's what separated Sharks from Fleet. She knew he had seen her but made no move to hasten their meeting by approaching the Captain. He seemed vaguely familiar and she had probably run into him before but that seemed almost a lifetime away.

"Five laps around this course or Mayweather Trail?" She asked ignoring the question. She knew the Sharks did that trail on an almost daily basis. She saw them sometime when she ran.

Most Marines might have bristled at the question, well.. more who it came from than the content. Derick didn't. Only his eyes narrowed. "This course," he answered, kicking up the mated stick to the one he held in his hand. "Trail's off limits for training at the moment." Off limits for most actually due to all the rain they'd had recently.

"Didn't think the rain slowed you blokes down," she replied, not quite smiling but a hint of amusement in her voice. "I'm just observing. I was on my way to see Colonel Merrick."

"The Colonel is..." Doing something terribly stupid. "Off world at the moment," he answered, amusement twinkling in his eyes. Cute accent. "Captain Rickman," Derick continued, using the sticks to indicate himself. "I'm in charge while he's gone." Scary fucking thought.

"Lt. Commander Lea Lynch," she shifted her gaze and her stance slightly his way. "Chief of Starfleet Security, Jellico suggested I drop by and say hullo, made a bit of point of it. Know why?"

Mid-glance, Derick froze, gaze swivelling onto Lea like a laser. Brunette, stood that certain way all Security chicks did.... Chief of Security. Not many things could steal the words or the breath right out such a seasoned Marine but that news, the similarities he picked out in a moment's observation did.. Ones Jellico obviously saw. Recovering, Derick shrugged one shoulder. "Probably since it's our guys you'll be calling about the most," he said, trying to look past the wall that came up in Alex's memory.

"Boys will be boys Captain," she shrugged, noting something in his eyes (which were blue), "I'm not going to be losing too much sleep about how your lads decide to let off steam. As long as no one gets broken too badly and property damage is kept to a minimum."

"We try," Derick offered her a grin, forcing himself to think about this woman, Lynch and not Alex. How would Tom take this..? Of course, a note would be sent to his friend immediately, so this wasn't the shock it might be.. hell, it WOULD be cold. Frowning, he ran the name in his head again. Lea Lynch, hadn't he heard that name before? Probably some memo he hadn't read. "Colonel Merricks' off world and won't be back for a few days." Tucking the sticks into the crook of an arm, Derick headed up the ramp to the rail where she stood.

Up close, Lea Lynch was pretty, her features not model-like but still drop dead gorgeous, if dampened only by that shadow in her eyes that gnawed at Derick's recognition. "Did he say anything else?" he asked. "Jellico, I mean?"

"Only to play nice with the Sharks, Although I always thought Sharks were more interesting when you didn't play nice with them, " she looked at him, a small curl at the corner of her lips. "So you're in charge Captain, do you have an office or can we conduct our business here?"

Oh boy. "That depends. Are you going to play nice with me?" Derick returned in the same vein of amusement, reminding himself belatedly that this was a senior officer he was addressing. And before he could stop it, Derick found his gaze drifting downwards before… Ellie.

Slightly disturbed that he had to give his current girlfriend effort in his thoughts, he continued on. "What kind of business?" he asked, clearing his throat, using that darkness in Lynch's eyes to focus on.

"Nothing earth shattering," she noticed the flirtation but left it at that. Flirtation she could handle. Anything else...well that was the great unknown wasn't it? "Your training methods mostly. Some of my security people have been talking about becoming Sharks...surprising isn't it. They like the training regimen and maybe they think we're a little too restrained to be effective. Most don't know how to handle a rumble. Sharks do."

An eyebrow went up, Derick's eyes following as he made a show of checking the sky before dropping back down to her. "We should go into my office then. If only to avoid the flying pigs," he grinned. "Maybe.. turn the heat on, because I think hell just froze over." He indicated the nearest entrance to the building with one hand.

She uttered a short laugh, "don't let the Tellerites here you say that," she gave him a look. "They think flying pork is an indication of a national holiday." Nice smile, she thought off handedly as she walked towards the building he had gestured. "Personally I think its a good idea. Most Starfleet officers are used to safe and comfortable. I want them prepared for what's not."

Damn if that wasn't Alex talking right there. Derick's step faltered only slightly as he fell in beside her. "I can probably speak for the Colonel on that. I know he would consider integrating training," he said as they entered the building. "This way." Derick nodded down the hall to an open door. "We're also in the process of overhauling our training. If you have officers that have had dealings directly with the Jem Hadar, he would want their input." Maybe he wouldn't have to go to Klingon for it. Hopefully, Tom wasn't being used as a narg chew toy.

"Have a seat." Derick indicated a chair as they entered his office.

"Not many of them do," Lea said taking a seat in the chair in front of his desk. "Most of the engagements have been via ship. I believe your Colonel Merrick and McRae are the only ones who have encountered them directly thus far, oh and the Sharks on the Vanguard I hear." She leaned in. "From what I understand they're a warrior caste which means death before dishonour sort of nonsense. Similar to the Klingons and possibly the Tellarians and..." she paused, "some Nausicaans." The word tasted like bile in her mouth.

Nausicaans? He didn't dismiss that pause of hers but instead filed it away. "We've got the reports from Captain Mercer and his unit and I got the same picture of them. Warrior caste although if there's other castes, we haven't seen them." Snagging up a free padd on his desk as he dropped his long frame into a chair, Derick pulled up the reports. He saw no reason why the head of Security for Gaia shouldn't have the information. "Here. That's Mercer's reports and those of his second, Lieutenant Rigby and the ship's Captain Houser. Not sure if you were sent a copy." He slid the padd across the desk to her, mostly serious now that they were talking business.

"Thank you," she said picking up the pad from the desk. "I appreciate the reading material. In any case, its clear from Colonel Merrick's report that we've got to pick our game, Sharks or Starfleet. I doubt that they'd come this far for awhile but we never saw a Klingon attack on Gaian soil either so I'd rather we were prepared then let them come after us with our shorts around our ankles."

"Starfleet held their own during that attack." Derick shifted in his seat, getting comfortable. A hard something settled in his eyes at that, the shadows made from grief with no other outlet but anger. "But I did see a certain amount of .. surprise that shouldn't have been there." He shrugged. "Ship warfare is fairly.. clean compared to ground combat."

"Depends on how you're trained to fight it," she replied, thinking deeply for a moment. "There's a switch in a person's head that keeps you from going the extra mile to win, or to survive. You Sharks know how to throw that switch on when its necessary. Fleeters don't. We try to remain civilised, try to be the bigger person but we both know, when you're faced with an enemy that could care less about any of those things, those ideals are going to get you killed. Ideals are good for politicians, not for combat. When you fight, you have to be prepared for it to get filthy. They don't teach us that in Starfleet."

"No..." Shaking his head, Derick contemplated Lea for a moment. So many similarities to Alex, yes.. but in that little bit of speech, Lea had taken a hard left turn away from being Alex's double. Oh she'd believed in getting dirty, but she'd held to those ideals and 'filthy' was a last resort. This one sounded like she wanted it filthy from the get go.

That was a wrongly worded thought in SO many ways. Mind out of the gutter, Marsrat.

Especially since now he recognized that darkness that lurked behind her eyes, how they never lightened up, belying any smile she might have. Lea Lynch, Derick realized, had thrown that switch. "Well, that is one thing that the Marines are here for," he said finally. "But yeah, I think I can speak for Colonel Merrick on that. He'd want the cross-training. But it's just like what you saw out there," he said, indicating the outside. "It's hands on, physical, in the dirt. No computer simulations or guys dressed in fight pads. You think your Fleeters can handle that?"

“For those who sign up for it,” She threaded fingers together on the desk, “they’d better, don’t you think? Anyone who signs up, does not leave. They do the full thirteen weeks, no exceptions.”

Lea was serious about that. Part of being Shark was the endurance of training. A Starfleet officer under her watch who couldn’t take three months of intensive training after making a commitment, was not someone she wanted. She needed to know the people who served her could watch her back and wouldn’t cut and run the first time things got tough.

Whoa. "Sounds like a plan but they'll have to know they won't get any special treatment. Out there, there's no difference between my officer candidates and the enlisted ones. Alpha Squad is part of the training so you're going to have sergeants and corporals and even lance corporals out there, running your officers into the ground. I don't want any rank pulling." Derick could just see that happening with some of the Starfleet officers he'd met. Being told to do 100 push ups by a sergeant or lower might not go over so well.

“Trust me,” she smiled with a hint of menace in her eyes, “they’ll understand after I explain it to them.” Her voice was somewhat enigmatic before she perked a bit, as if drifting someplace she hadn’t planned on going. “I’ll make sure they know what’s expected. Besides, some of people need a kick in their complacency. Problem with Starfleet is, you tend think the uniform protects you from the meaner things in life. It’s a bloody long way to fall when you learn otherwise.”

And Lea had learned otherwise, hadn't she? Derick narrowed his eyes at her unconsciously, wondering if she knew how much those words revealed about her. Where had she been that Starfleet mantra had been so shattered? "Good," he continued, not prying and not commenting on the rest. "So when do you want to implement this?"

“I’ll have a few arrangements to make,” Lea replied, noting the look he was giving her and shifting in her seat a little. Pretty blue eyes, she thought. A real heartbreaker, no doubt. Realising she was staring, she blinked. “Two weeks maybe three, shall I continue this through you or would you prefer me to go through Colonel Merrick. It would be simpler if you acted as liaison since you’re familiar with my intentions.”

Familiar.. uh-huh. "It would be but I'll leave that up to the Colonel," Derick said. "We'll have to make some arrangements ourselves and probably have a meeting or.. four..." he said, with an air of distaste for having to sit through bureaucratic crap. "I know it's not all Fleet but the current bunch running Personnel seem to want to meet to plan meetings...." he grumbled.

"I know the feeling," Lea nodded. "How about we get a head start on this? At least that way we can get the mechanics of it out of the way before the actual red tape nonsense. Do you eat?" She looked at him, not considering how it sounded until it came out of her mouth.

Bugger. Now he was going to think that she was hitting on him.

What? Derick's eyebrows went up at Lea. Don't say it, Der. Don't say that either. And definitely NOT that. "It depends," he said dryly, cancelling out several things that came to mind. "We sharks usually prefer babies and kittens but we've been known to actually eat something resembling a meal." Shooting her a quick grin, Derick chuckled.

"Well I need to check out the menu at Beasts then," she said with a small laugh. "I thought they only served burgers." Okay, he wasn't a egotistical jerk that just jumped to the obvious conclusion that a woman was hitting on him. "I was going to suggest, we nut this thing out over a beer and pizza. Seems to work better than us staring at a data padd? What do you think?"

"A working dinner?" Sounded better than staying here for another few hours. "Sounds like a plan. How about the Grill? Word on Sharkbait says it's pretty good." Derick smiled at her, nothing too charming, just peer to peer. "Oh, Sharkbait.. it's what we call the Marines forum board."

“Sharkbait, I hadn’t heard it called that before,” she mused, but then she’d been out of the loop for sometime. It was jarring how much had changed since Azati. “The Grill sounds good although you did spark my curiosity about what Beasts were serving then.” She smiled faintly.

Was that a... hint? Choosing to ignore any innuendo that might be there, Derick nodded. This one smiled like.. she'd forgotten how and what he was seeing was the residual of memory. "Well, they serve normal food... but the cooked stuff is usually junk food. The Grill's chef cooks everything fresh and I've wanted a BLT all day. Plus I heard she makes her own bread." And he was a sucker for fresh, homemade bread.

A memory surfaced inside her head as Lea remembered the mornings in the kitchen, over a cuppa listening to mum ramble on about the soaps, while making bread. She made the best bread. “Alright, you’ve sold me. A working dinner then?” She replied. “Shall I meet you there?”

"Sure, give me .. an hour to wrap things up here, make sure the maggots didn't explode or anything," he chuckled, indicating the padds spread out on the desk. And a date... but it was a working one. Date.. the D word... which technically, he and Ellie were together although Derick wasn't sure if the little they had seen of each other in the last eight months still qualified them as a couple. Catching himself drifting, Derick returned his attention back to Lea. "An hour?"

“An hour will do me,” she agreed with that, thinking that she’d like to get out of the uniform into something more innocuous, when surrounded by civilians. The uniform singled you out and in any crowded environment, Lea like to blend in. “I’ll put my Starfleet expense account to use for once.” She remarked, lifting up from her chair. “I’ll see you there, Captain Rickman.”

"Sure..." He didn't have to but something drove Derick to his own feet as she dismissed herself, only to drop back into his chair once she'd left. A frown replaced his smile as he watched her go. Okay, he knew it was work. She knew it was work.

Okay. Work it was.

But.. damn, she had a nice ass.

****

An hour later, Lea walked into the tavern called the Grill and was immediately assaulted by the tantalising aroma of good food. Fresh bread, just like he said but other things too, the smell of meat roasting, the aroma of spices and the faint tinge of alcohol in the air. The establishment itself was cosy, reminding her of the pubs back in Tolga, when she was younger and her mum used to pick dad up on the way home from doing the shopping down at the Big W. Lea had worn her hair down and her Starfleet uniform was replaced by a plain white singlet, khaki pants and a pair of white running shoes. It was casual wear to ensure there was no mistaking this for a working dinner even if it might seem otherwise.

Her eyes searched the place for him, even though at the same time, she was running a threat assessment of the place on reflex. How many people, who were Sharks, who were Fleet, who were aliens she didn’t recognise and where the exits were. Or if anyone of them were armed. The scrutiny had become second nature for her these days.

Having finished up his work sooner than expected, Derick had taken the time to grab a shower himself and change into the jeans and shirt from his locker. For the last several years, that had been habit to keep an extra set of clothes where he could get them if needed. Though he loved his job, time away from the uniform was a good thing too.

As it was, he hadn't been late, having arrived early enough to greet Hannah and her father before most of the night's diners came in. Sitting in a booth, with a good view of the door, Derick raised a hand to get the Lt. Commander's attention. She was scoping the place out, like a kitten in a new home, studying every little thing with a keen intensity, still managing to look as if she would bolt at the next loud noise. "Have a seat," Derick said, moving his padd off to one side of the table.

She sighted him during her survey but opted to continue her assessment until it was completed and was satisfied that she knew everything she needed to about the establishment. Once again, her approach was cautious, Lea didn’t know how to do casual anymore, even when she tried. She noted the stretch of his t-shirt over him shoulders, something that hadn’t been apparent earlier and determined he could probably wipe the floor with most of the people here in the tavern.

“Hullo,” she greeted. “Nice place.” She slid into the space across him.

"It is, isn't it?" Maybe kitten wasn't the right analogy. Kittens hadn't learned how to hunt yet and in Lea, now that she was closer, Derick could see the raw assessment in her face that only came once a being had tasted blood. Interesting. Interest definitely piqued. "Nice to have a place that's more casual and not really a bar." Damn, he was getting old.

“Reminds me of home a little,” she agreed, indicating to a passing waitress that she’d have what he was having by pointing to his beer. “Little place in the middle of northern Queensland. Next to the post office, the pub was the most important building we had.”

"Earther, huh?" He'd pegged the accent right. Kind of like Tom's.. only not really. "Oh..." Spotting something past her, Derick pointed out the dark brunette they could just see in the kitchen. "That's Hannah Galloway. She owns this place."

Lea stared at the girl and didn’t think she recognised her. “Is she from Gaia, I don’t recognise her… at least I don’t think I do anyway.” She shrugged, another reminder of how much she’d missed while she was away. Damn, where the hell was that beer. She could really use a cold one about now.

"Uh..." Derick frowned for a second. "No, I don't think so. Think she came from Acheron or something like that," he said, offering a smile because her tone went serious for a second there. About to say something, he was interrupted by the waitress arriving with a cold beer. "It's Fabien's," he said, indicating the bottle.

“Red eye,” she remarked, picking up the bottle and studying it for a moment and took a deep sip of it, “he still makes the best beers in the colony. Glad that’s not changed.” Maybe this was a bad idea, too many things that she wasn’t used to. Socializing hadn’t been a priority and she knew she’d been given this job because Jellico wanted her to rejoin the land of the living and this position wouldn’t give her a chance to hide.

"That he does." Studying her for a moment longer, Derick sat up slightly and pushed his padd over to her. Lynch was sort of opening and closing sporadically and Derick figured that was because she just wanted to talk shop. He could do that. "I went ahead and made some notes. For starters, your people can get the same documentation the normal recruits do. That will at least tell them what to bring or not bring, the training agenda, and things like that."

"Good," she agreed, glad they were back on track. For the most of the evening, they discussed what he had mapped out on the padd which Lea had to say was quite impressive. More than she would have expected from a ground pounder but then he was a captain and she had studied his file when she had gone home to get dressed. He'd seen action and was one of the best DIs' in the place. He knew his stuff. Lea outlined her own plans, reiterating what she'd said earlier about the security officers understanding the commitment they were undertaking when they signed up, the fact that they'd have to take orders from lower ranking personnel. She understood that chaffed egos would happen but she was giving Rickman and his trainers the license to pull them in line when that happen and she plan on
on reinforcing that fact when she spoke to them as well.

"Alright..." Halfway through his beer and a plate of nachos, Derick studied the padd for a moment. "I like your idea.. should be security personnel only at first but we'll have to cycle them in and out, just like we do the recruits. They'll have to wait for classes to form, that kind of thing but then again..." Derick shrugged. "With those numbers, they won't have to wait long. However, I don't want to have a class of just Starfleet security. I've got kids chomping at the bit to get in. That sound okay?"

"Absolutely," she replied. "Its about time, Fleet and Sharks get used to the idea that we're all knee deep in the same stuff anyway." She remarked biting into a chip. "So," she eased back into her seat, putting down the padd. "So are you getting many non-humans wanting to join Starfleet now that we're...the Federation?"

"Some. Probably../ten percent or so," Derick answered truthfully, leaning back, arms resting on the table. No reason not to tell her that information. "Very few Betazeds, mostly Andorians and Bajorans. Couple of Vulcans and Cardassians. Numbers are picking up now that the Xindi are done with. We think that's not the only reason, that people are pretty pissed at Bajor being under siege. Bajorans are peaceful types, you know? So it ticks people off that they'd be attacked."

"Yes," she nodded in agreement, "that was a bit of shock to come back to I have to admit. I thought we were done with the fighting for awhile but I guess not. There are always enemies out there, wanting to have a blue." Lea mused. "I suppose it keeps us sharp."

Wanting to have a .. what? "A.. blue?" Derick's eyebrows went up, the corner of his mouth quirking into a smile. He hadn't heard that one, even around Tom.

"Sorry," she laughed remembering that he was a Marsi, "blue...a fight. The Aussie is creeping into my sentences. Your Colonel Merrick's...he's English isn't he?" She asked.

"Alpha Centaurian," Derick replied with a nod. "The British colony there. A blue..." He made a show of entering that into his padd, tapping it when he was done. "There. Made a note so I won't forget. Ground pounders tend to forget smart things," he joked.

"Fleeters too," she smiled. "I'll try not to sneak any Aussie terms on your when you're not looking. Well Aussie speak and Pommie speak is a little different, even though most can't tell the difference between the accent sometimes."

"I can tell. Been around Tom..." Derick grinned, drawing off his beer. "Colonel Merrick too long. He's the.. Pommie, I take it?"

"Yes," she nodded. "It an abbreviation of 'Prisoners Of Her Majesty'." Lea explained and realised, it had been years since she thought about it. "Referring to the English being the guards transporting us colonials to Australia as convicts. We often refer to them as whinging Poms. You can call him that if you dare and then duck."

"I won't duck." Derick chuckled deeply at that, a sparkle to his eyes that said he was going to do as soon as he could. "He tells me I have the accent," he continued. "Marsi, says it sounds like I have rocks in my mouth sometimes."

"Really?" She raised a brow. "You sound more Yank to me than anything else. Well you can always call him bloody whinging poms," she added. "That's what we Aussies call them."

"Oh it's there. Depends on how drunk I am." Nodding, Derick grinned. "Bloody whinging pom, got it," he said. "And Mars was populated by a lot of the miners and oil workers coming out of the Gulf of Mexico and off the Appalachians," he said. "Somewhere in that, Marsi came about. Didn't even set foot on Earth until I'd joined up."

"Well I hadn't actually been anywhere other than the plantation my parents had up in Queensland," Lea replied. "First time I saw space was when the ships came to evac us off Earth. What a day that was. Work up one morning, had to feed the chooks and help with the washing and oh...mass exodus from Planet Earth."

"Pass the salt, the Xindi are the coming?" How had that been? Growing up on a plantation, with real grass.. lots of real grass? "Chooks would be.. chickens, right? I was already joined up when they hit Mars and my brother, my twin...was already on Vulcan at the academy. Ended up on the Bonaventure for the trip to Gaia."

"Oh I was on a boomer ship, the Galatea. She was recruited to take refugees off Earth and wasn't expecting to get the numbers they did. "But yes, it was actually pass the vegemite luv, the Xindi are coming." She joked. "It's not a story we haven't heard a thousand times already haven't we?" She met his gaze. "The story of everyone's life since Earth. But Gaia's in one piece," she thought with a smile. "Worth the price paid at Azati." She wasn't sure it was worth the price she paid but it would do for conversation.

Uh.. huh. Derick filed away his observation for later thought. She hadn't been cold when she'd said that. Just.. dead. Emotionless. Traumatized. Oh, he recognized it easily enough, having seen it in so many faces, especially after Azati. "Here's to Azati.." he said, holding up his bottle.

She paused a moment, trying to decide if she would toast that day. "To Azati," she said quietly. "To the ones who died quick." She found herself saying.

Nodding solemnly, he took his drink for the toast and settled back, silent for the moment. Alright, Marsrat. Change of subject. "So... you run the trail at all?" Derick asked.

"Yeah," she looked up, the shadow falling from her eyes. "Every morning."

That was better. "So do I, when I don't have to be at the Barn to wake the dawn up," he grinned before a thought hit him. "Not to be.. offensive but do you carry a weapon up there? And a comm? I mean.. we haven't had issues with the MULKs in a while but you never know..."

"No coms but I have a weapon and I've seen a MULK but you can get around them," she said easily. "You just have to be extra quiet and not draw their attention." In truth, she had seen one and decided to observe it. The beastie hadn't known what to make of her. It was accustomed to prey running, when they didn't run and stood their ground and started falling you around, the pattern was confusing.

"Where there's one, there's at least two more. They hunt in triads." He eyed her for a moment, figuring Jellico wouldn't have made her chief of security if she couldn't handle herself. So for now, he'd respect that. "Just.. be careful. If you die, that means I don't have a witness to your grand scheme here," Derick chuckled, indicating the padd. "Tom's gonna think I made it up."

"I'll try not to," Lea chuckled, "I just got back to Gaia, I don't plan on dying at least until I have a Beasts burger again. Even if I have to go in there pretending to inspect the place for health violations or something." She teased.

Laughing, Derick grinned. "You can come in with me. I'm used to controversy," he said. "And you'll be glad to know, they haven't changed," he said, filing away that line about just getting back for later. Jellico hadn't yet responded to his message about her before he'd left to come here.

"So I hear," she paused and then added, "but I might be a little ordinary for you after Elena Rose." She teased.

.. Elena. Ellie... Derick went quiet for a moment before faking a grin. "Every woman I see is extraordinary," he covered up smoothly.

She spotted it easily, largely because she had learned to read expressions into the last year. It was a survival trait that had been very necessary during her time away. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply anything untoward. At least you date. That's something isn't it?" She admitted, feeling a little guilty about broaching what was a sensitive subject.

"You didn't imply anything, no offence taken." Ellie.. was a chapter he'd probably have to close, despite being very fond of her. Maybe, in another time, another place, it would have worked out... where there weren't restrictions on civilian travel due to the siege and her schedule wasn't so complex. "I guess it's something. Haven't been on one in several months." Stop the presses, alert the media. The man who used to get laid all the time had become... NOT the man who got laid simply by smiling.

There was real affection there and she felt sorry again about upsetting him. "Well you can date...I," she felt the need to share as an offering of apology. "I don't."

"Nothing wrong with that," he replied, adding that response to the file already developing in his head. Change of subject, Drick and not about where she was the last year or so. That, he sensed, was off limits. "Well, you're still invited to the Beasts," he said. That was pretty safe.

"I might take you up on that," she laughed and then replied. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm a bit evasive. I've spent the last year or so in what could be called a POW camp so I'm a getting used to the whole notion of social niceties."

Prisoner of war?? Holy fuck... no wonder. "I.. wow..." Derick sat up straighter. "Welcome back," he offered.

"Thanks," she noted the look and he didn't ask about it which was good. "I figure I better tell you now because it might become an issue sometime later. Some of my people have been talking about it behind my back so I prefer to get it out in the open...instead of leaving any unanswered questions."

"They have?" That pissed Derick off on principle. Rankled slightly, he nodded. "Thank you, for telling me. Personally, I don't see it becoming an issue," he added confidently.

"Thanks," she shrugged. "I didn't think it would be but if there's talk about my...ability, I rather explain myself the reasons for the doubt than let speculation do the talking. The fact is, after Azati - myself and a handful of Starfleet officers were taken by Nausicaan pirates. We were held for a year until I escaped." That was the clean sanitised version she presented to everyone.

The rest of it, that she would keep to herself.

He'd been a soldier too long to know her escape hadn't been that easy but Derick didn't fault her for keeping the details close. Nausicaans pirates were some of the worst out there plus he hadn't missed that she'd said 'I escaped' and not 'we escaped'. "Well, I tell you what," he said, leaning forward on the table. "If I ever do question your ability, I'll come straight to you. Deal?"

The smile that escaped her was genuine, one she hadn't used in a long time but she liked this Derick Rickman and his lack of bullshit. "Deal." She nodded. "And if I ever have the urge to blow Nausicaans head off his shoulders, I'll give you fair warning to get clear." She winked before tossing back a swig of beer.

"You can use my phaser," Derick grinned in return. Now that smile had reached her eyes. Barely but he was fairly certain it had.

"It won't be a phaser," she returned and this time the smile was lethal in its intensity. "That would be too quick."

There it was. That taste of blood that had made her... feral. Derick grinned slightly and nodded, wondering if yet another change of subject was due. He was both curious... and wanting to respect her privacy. "You want another beer?" he asked after a moment, indicating the bottle.

"Sure," she nodded, shaking off the bad memories and the black hatred she felt towards the Nausicaans because it was wasted energy when she had no use for all that rage at this moment. "So, tell me about you? Other than you're an extremely accommodating Marsi who dates movie stars ands serves with a whinging pom for a colonel?" She teased.

"Thank god you got it in the right order." He chuckled and shrugged. "Not much to me, I guess. My brother's the genius. I'm the dumb grunt. Was enlisted before someone, who's name I won't mention, decided I'd be a better officer."

"It was a good call," she remarked, sensing as much. He didn't have that polish that career officers did and he reeked of non-com but it worked for him. "I saw you on the field today. You're good." She complimented.

"Thank you. I try and what you saw today, is only the beginning for them. That one kid, Roberts has a lot of potential." And it was up to him to bring it out, to keep the kid alive.

"They have to start somewhere," Lea remarked. "Besides, sometimes pushing hard is what gets them to realise their potential. Most of the time people don't know what they have inside of them until the moment comes and you have to step up to the plate."

"True." Hailing the waitress, Derick indicated both his bottle and Lea's. "Most of them are just kids, wanting to know their existence isn't some existential mistake."

Resting her hand on her chin, the second beer was downed easily and the third was feeling her with a pleasant little buzz. "Existentialism is a question for philosophers. Existence and life is pain. Anyone else who says any different, is trying to sell you something."

"In a foxhole, everyone is a philosopher," Derick grinned, chuckling. "So what about before this past year. What about you?"

"Before this year," she thought about it. "Pure optimist. Fucking Snow White with blue birds chirping around me and shit. Unfortunately, Prince Charming soon worked out that what came back from Azati was pure Vulcan sehlat."

Whoa.. "Prince Charming?" Derick asked, raising his eyebrows. She did say she didn't date. Truth be told, he hadn't expected that reaction. "We could probably find a bird, but I don't think it would be blue," he teased lightly.

"Nah, no more birds, they went with Prince Charming," Lea shrugged. "Well not his fault. He fell for Snow White but she got shot to pieces by the Big Bad Wolf or whatever. He's happier with some other girl, someone whose got perky nose and says things like oh gosh, you're so wonderful." She laughed.

Fuck, alcohol, she was never good with it.


"Uh huh. So who was this Prince Charming?" God, that had to suck. Coming back after being a prisoner of war to find that.

"Oh Lt. Matt Whelan and to be fair, I dumped him not he dumped me. But he'd be happier with Miss Perky Nose Cheerleader type. I mean my idea of fun these days is to run a trail until I puke. Not girlfriend material."

"Whelan??" Derick knew the man. But…perky nose cheerleader? Who the hell was that? Derick decided not to pry. "Depends on the guy," he teased. "Some guys like a girl that's driven."

A haunted look fell over her eyes then. "I'm not driven. I just don't fit the way I used to." In truth, she was broken. A marionette with no strings. "I think he's better off with someone who isn't me. I'm just a lot different than I used to be."

Why the hell was she telling him this? Part of it was the drink but part of it was the way he didn't ask, he just let her talk.

"That's okay, you know." While he was glad to know that it appeared Whelan hadn't been an ass, Derick saw something else. "Not everyone fits the way they used to." Hell, look at him and Sloane. They fit and after a while... they didn't. "Nature of the beast."

"I don't fit with very much anymore," she admitted, finding that it was nice to talk to someone who wasn't a counsellor and she couldn't connect with any of her friends any more either. They didn't understand and what she might tell them would freak them out. "Even the uniform is taking some getting used. Jellico seems to think giving me this job is going to help because I know thing and seen things that most officers haven't'. That's supposed to make me qualified."

"Qualifications aren't always picked up in books or training certs," Derick offered, smiling at her. "And Jelly, well... I used to think the man was nuts but he's pretty smart. He knows what he's doing." Somehow, this had gone past work and into friends territory. He felt for her, not sorry but he still felt for her all the same.

"You know something," she met his gaze with a smile. "This is the first conversation I've had with a person that didn't make me one to go eat glass or something. Thank you for that." She said gratefully. "Your girlfriend is a pretty lucky girl."

That was a compliment. Strange but he'd take it. "Any time," Derick nodded, not commenting on Ellie at the moment. "Besides, there's no nutritional value to glass," he added with a wink.

"True," she took another swig of her beer. "You're the first person I've met whose just happy to have a conversation, people around me tend to walk on egg shells, that if they say the wrong thing I'm going to cry or something. They think I ought to be fragile and they can't understand why I refuse to let it get to me. I've decided I am not going to be a victim and I refuse to let people treat me like one. Okay," she looked at the bottle. "You are cutting me off friend, I talk too much when I drink."

Laughing, Derick nodded. "Deal," he said, though really, Lea Lynch had nothing on one Tom Merrick. "You know, I treat people like I'd want to be treated. I think, in your situation... I'd want to get on with life and having people treat me like that would only drag me back." He chuckled. "We could use you with the maggots," he said.

"You could?" She raised a brow. "How?"

"Marines are different than Fleet," Derick began. "Starfleet Academy is a prestige thing, being a Shark is more they have to prove something to someone, most often themselves. Some of them are there because they don't want to be a victim anymore." Who knew, Derick Rickman was a shrink. "And they have no idea on how to NOT to be one. They don't come on their merits. They come to the Sharks because they feel they have none."

She nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "Do you freak easily?" She asked. His words were deep which surprised her and maybe it would help to talk to him.

Derick laughed out loud at that. "I've been a gunny, I've seen bugs the size of skimmers and larger and ugly fucking lizards that are smart enough to hunt in packs. Plus, I run the maggots. I'm here because I do NOT freak easily," he told her. Years ago, had a chick started in on this stuff , he would have labelled her psycho and been gone but now, he saw Lea as someone who needed a friend. The need wasn't in a bad way, not clingy or hyper, just... raw.

"Fair enough," Lea replied. "I'm probably feeling the need to talk to you because it sounds like you actually get it which is unusual." She took a deep breath. "When I was captured by the Nausicaans, the men were killed first. They women they kept. I was the last one alive. I got out of there because I made a decision it took a whole year for me to learn, that if I wanted to escape I always could. It was just a matter of how far I was willing to go to get free. That day, I found out just how far I could go. Once I made that decision, I walked out of there. I didn't leave anyone alive but I walked out there."

He did get it, and that was why Derick stayed silent for a moment. There had been a few times in his life when he'd been pushed to that extreme. His father. Avery. Christ, how could anyone be prepared for that kind of decision? For that situation? For the ones Lea must have made during her time. And being female.. fuck. Derick could only imagine, after months of training courses in order to train his recruits. "Sometimes, it's how far we do go that make us who we are," he offered. "Not always about honour."

"That's what I need my people to learn," she said meeting his gaze. "When I was...away...I kept thinking that I'm a Starfleet officer, I don't do the things I had to do. Starfleet is about honour and high minded ideals that have no place on the battle field. Its an ideal, not a strategy and I saw others die around me because they couldn't make that decision. I won't have my people learn that lesson the hard way. Everything I was, changed in those months, I'd like to spare others that if I can."

Everything she was, was destroyed. That little girl running through the cane fields, she died in that Nausicaan ship. What came back was a person Lea didn't recognise in the mirror but she was here to stay. She wanted Rickman to see where she was coming from, the place she had been was somewhere he grew up in.

Now, Derick saw the reason Jellico had chosen Lea. The man's decision garnered faith and respect in her abilities but this was the concrete proof. Derick didn't need to know the details, just like she didn't need to know his. They didn't have to because they were already kindred spirits. "I'll do my best to see that your people are prepared," he promised her, reaching a hand across the table, palm up and open, to take hers.

At first she wasn't' sure about the hand offered, staring at it like something she hadn't thought about in a long time. Tentatively, she put her hand in his, realising that it didn't hurt to participate in that simple human gesture. She lifted her eyes to him, trying to come to grips with the step taken. "Thank you." She said softly, uncertain how to regard the action. "I'm glad to know you Derick." She admitted.

Gently, Derick gave her warm, soft a squeeze and loosed his fingers, in case she wanted to pull away. Feral, blooded, she was like a wild animal, ready to bolt at a fast movement or a loud noise. He hadn't mistaken that keen assessment of his hand, knowing now why she reminded him of the tigers in the zoo. Threat or no threat. Pain or no pain. Very base thoughts but when you came to the level she had, you were stripped of everything else. "Likewise, Lea."

Loosening his fingers helped and the pounding in her heart that wanted to snatch it away and kick the crap out of him for daring to touch her passed. Christ, she thought she was over that shit, thought the screaming, the nightmares and the trauma was over. Of course, it had been safe when she prevented anyone from making physical contact but when he had spoken to her, when he had listened without judgement or better yet, without pity, Lea had opted to trust him.

However, none of it mattered in the face of that first hurdle.

The simple gesture of returning his hand was a momentous one that perhaps he knew because no sooner than contact was made, he had let go. She calmed down. "So," she smiled, "what else do we need this thing happening?" Lea held those blue eyes again, and smiled.

Smiling in return, warmly and void of the normal swagger, Derick leaned forward, pulling the padd back in front of him. "First, we need Colonel Merrick's sign off. I can approve a lot of things but something like this, he'd have to sign. And probably the Governor's but I think I can get that." He had an 'in' with the man. As in a certain red head. "Oh.. and funding. We probably shouldn't drop salaries back to what the maggots earn. Some of these officers are fairly established and we don't want to cause any hardships in that department."

"Absolutely," she replied, giving him a long thoughtful look and thinking that it was nice to have a friend.

Even if he was a Shark.