Hargen's Quarters

-------

Janice sat at her desk, staring at the monitor before her. *Assistant Chief Engineer. Lieutenant Kaitlyn Brennan. Let's see who I have to work with.* She frowned unhappily. She would have much rather chosen her own assistant - someone she was sure she could work with. Someone she could confide in - in case something happened to her. She scanned Brennan's official biography. *Not much here - as always with official bios. I will definitely have to talk with her later...* Suddenly, the computer's voice interrupted her appraisal of the officer.

[Scheduled appointment with Commander Terrakian in five minutes.]

*Oh, that. He can wait.* Janice didn't want to answer his beckoning call whenever he wanted - she had to make it clear from that start how this relationship was going to work. Sometimes she didn't like having to play the game with her commanders. Sometimes, she would have just rather be the good officer. Come when you are called. Do the work when and how they say to. But if she ever did, her defiant attitude would be lost forever. And it gained her too much to be lost. *Let's find out a little about Commander Terrakian...* She filed away a mental reminder to make sure she got to know Brennan - well. She then tapped the screen, trying to bring up Terrakian's biography.

"Well... interesting.." she mumbled to herself as she stood, unconsciously smoothing her regulation uniform pants down. She had immediately changed once she had arrived aboard the Grail, but she had gotten some quizzical looks as she walked down the hallways of the ship. Her mother's demise had shaken her more than she could ever admit. Once she had arrived at her quarters, she almost threw herself onto her bed and sobbed. But she hadn't done that since she was... five. Too long ago to regress to. She had sworn that she would never let her mother make her cry again. Nothing ever would. And she had kept that promise - she had never cried since. Not even when she found out the truth... *Enough of that,* she thought, reprimanding herself. *I have to prepare for this interview.* She took a deep breath, calming her nerves. *Now, what exactly does he know about me - and what doesn't he?*

She smiled suddenly to herself. The USS Grail. It was a beautiful ship, at least from an engineering perspective. From any other perspective, it was cursed - a horrible attempt at a joke. But she could also feel its grandeur, its sheer power as she had beamed aboard. She was dying to get down to main engineering to get in touch with the equipment, to become accustomed to handling such a bulky, yet maneuverable ship. She felt a shiver run up her spine just thinking about it. The Grail was such an arrangement of opposites. Beautiful but deadly. Bulky but sleek. A heaven but also a hell. *I should be used to that by now, shouldn't I?* she thought, grimacing. But through it all, she was proud to be placed as the Chief Engineer aboard such a fantastic vessel, although at the same time, she partially cursed everyone that had taken part in her assignment to it. *Not that I have anyone here to care about anymore...* she thought, visions of her mother's death flashing through her head. She shivered.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. *Terrakian won't know about my last minute promotion, will he?* She grinned. *A perfect opportunity to put him in his place. How can I pass it up?* As she had left her last assignment, the USS Roget, the captain, almost as a goodbye present, almost as an apology, had pulled her aside and promoted her. She had been shocked at the time - it was the last thing she expected from him. She never thought that he had respected her that much, that he had found such worth in her. She smiled to herself. *Now that he is gone, only now do I miss him...*

Quickly and methodically, she copied her transfer orders and her promotion letter onto another padd. She then opened her top drawer and removed a small glass box. Opening it revealed a new pip, bestowing upon her the rank of Lieutenant Commander. She crossed the room to the mirror, and almost ceremonially added the pip to her uniform. A feeling of sadness passed over her. *I never thought I would even think this, but I think I almost miss the Roget!* She shook her head, trying to deny the act, but even her facial expression in the mirror gave it away. She sighed, gazing at her own reflection.

Her long, dark brown curly hair cascaded around her shoulders, down her back, and part way to her knee. She loved the length of it. She loved feeling the wind blow through it, the looks she got when she ran down the hallways, her hair flying behind her. Her green brown eyes danced and sparkled with excitement - she really was dying to get down to engineering... and she was curious to finally meet her new XO, even though she would barely admit the thought to herself. *Betazoid!*, she thought, laughing. *Is he in for a surprise!* She patted down her hair, deciding against the traditional french braid that she usually put her hair in, and opting for the more simplistic barrette pulling up the sides of her hair. She finally left her quarters, remembering to grab the padd first. *I must be really excited - I'll only be about twenty minutes late!* she thought, surprised.

-------

Outside Captain's Ready Room

-------

Janice stood outside of the Captain's Ready Room. She took a deep breath, fixed a calm expression on her face and entered. Epic turned to face her. She barely managed to keep the surprise out of her face. *Blue eyes!* she thought, startled. She mentally shook her head, and stood at attention, holding the padd behind her back in the regulation stance. *Well.. he doesn't look too angry - a good sign. This just might work out after all...*

He stood for a moment, just looking at her. Her heart was beating rapidly - she felt like a first year Academy student at her first review. He finally offered her a seat.

*He wants me to sit so he can assert his dominance and position above me. I know it - I'd do the same thing in his place.* Instead of accepting, she simply stated, "Thank you. No. I prefer to remain standing."

For a moment, Janice was startled by Epic's sudden laughter - until she realized that he had easily anticipated her answer. *Am I that predictable?* she thought, suddenly laughing along with him. It was now Epic's turn to be surprised that she had laughed at her own stubbornness. *And why not? He must realize how alike we are, him and I. But if he only knew how different we both really are...* The thought quickly sobered her high spirits.

He sat instead. "Listen, Lt. Hargen. We both know that your disciplines records are atrocious and any attempt I made to `break' you, or `whip you into shape' would be a waste of both our times and energies. So let's make a deal: You don't do anything to make my life Hell, and I will do everything I can to keep your life from being Hell. Deal?"

"First off, sir, I would like to add that my rank is now that of a Lieutenant Commander. Here are my promotion records - it occurred just before I left the USS Roget. Also included are my transfer orders." She handed him the padd in one swift, sharp movement. His face registered surprise, though Janice could not tell whether it was surprise at her promotion or surprise at her preparation. *Probably a little of both.* She smiled. *Well, he should be ready for many more surprises.* She was in a happier mood than she thought she would be. Perhaps it was the enticing thought of a completely new beginning. *Almost completely new. My past has always followed me. But about as new as it gets...*

She waited for Epic to finish examining her papers. "My mistake, Lieutenant Commander," he said charmingly. She blinked, surprised at how he could go from so formal to so charming in an instant. *Definitely someone to watch out for!*

"Secondly, sir, as to whether I agree with your 'deal' or not..." She hesitated, searching for just the right sentiment. "I suppose I agree, for now, until we can see just how well we can stay out of each other's way." She grinned.

Epic seemed to agree with that as well. "That being said and done, maybe you could tell me a little about yourself."

Janice sighed. She had had a feeling this would be coming. *Well, thank goodness he can't read me and know if I am lying or not...* Not that it would matter. Janice had become quite a practiced liar when it came to her past...

She cleared her throat. "Well, I was born in Juneau, Alaska, on Earth. I am 23 years old. My mother, Louise Hargen," she paused, her throat tightening as memories of her death again racked her memory. "My mother was not home often, and my father... I never knew my father," she stated simply. "I joined Starfleet to get out of Juneau. I can't stand the place. Although I don't enjoy following orders - as you already know - I do get the job done better than most. I sometimes tend to get along better with machines than with my commanders." She smiled again. "But I do get along with my subordinates, in case you were worried. I do the job - maybe not exactly the way you would like, but it definitely gets done. I work extremely well under pressure, and you can always depend on me, sir...." She waited for a response on her techniques.