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Lieutenant Commander Hargen's quarters

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Janice entered her room, feeling much better about her situation. She had a competent assistant chief engineer, and a meeting to get ready for - one that could determine her whole future. She swallowed. Nothing had ever meant this much to her. Staying aboard - staying in Starfleet was all she had now. She never really had a family, and her closest friend... well, Mike was going to be light years away soon. She wished she had a chance to talk to him before she left. Especially now. He always knew just what to say - even if he had to idea what was going on. She smiled. *He would probably be telling me to get a move on and get ready for dinner. I've wasted too much time already.*

Suddenly, Janice realized she had no idea what kind of mood she wanted for this dinner. Anything from friendly to romantic was possible. She sighed - she had never done anything like this before. *Well, I'm an android - I can do more than one thing at a time! Let me decide as I shower!* She jumped in, running all the possible solutions to her atmosphere dilemma through her head.

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Five minutes later

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*Well, I always could take showers faster than all the other girls,* she thought, grinning, as she ran a comb through her long curly hair. *But it always took me twice as long to brush my hair, too.* She finally decided to leave it down, just pulling up the sides in an intricate twist she had mastered over the years, securing it with a clip adorned with fresh white flowers. She left two tendrils of hair trailing down the sides of her face, accenting her cheekbones. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to her closet. *The dress makes the mood, Janice, so choose well...* She checked her internal chronometer, starting when she realized that she only had 20 minutes left to get dressed make dinner and prepare the table!

"Computer, prepare..." she began, accessing her memory banks to find an appropriate meal. "Prepare dinner for two, meal Hargen-34." The replicator began humming as it worked to prepare the intricately designed meal. *Oh, the advantages to being the CEO,* she thought wryly. She turned her attention back to the closet, then finally decided on a simple black skirt. It was long, trailing down to her ankles, and had just enough flow in it that it gently swayed around her legs as she walked. She complemented this with a green silk blouse, which brought out the green in her eyes. She glanced in the mirror as she walked to get the meals. *Wow, I look pretty good. I'll have to keep this outfit in memory.*

The delicate aroma filled the room. She carefully lifted the china plates, and carried them to the table. *Perfect choice for a meal, if I do say so myself.* A large piece of lasagna filled half the plate, garnished carefully with two fresh sprigs of parsley. In a separate matching china bowl, a Caesar salad was carefully prepared - each leaf of lettuce in perfect position. Steamed carrots accented the lasagna, giving color and flavor to the meal. She returned to the replicator to pick up a woven basket of Italian bread, and she placed it carefully in the middle of the table. *Now the final touch.* She opened her drawer and removed a bottle of delicate red wine, perfect with the meal. She placed it in some ice, attempting to chill it before he arrived. *Okay, 5 minutes. The countdown begins.*

"Computer, dim the lights to 65%, and play some classical Mozart in the background." She frowned when the computer began playing. "Computer, pause music. Try...Mozart's Third Horn Concerto in Bb." The music began playing quietly in the background - she smiled. She knew this piece by heart - it was her favorite to play. *Reminder - play French horn a bit. Definitely a relaxation technique...* She sat down to await for Epic's arrival.