One and the Same

Posted on Thu Mar 3rd, 2016 @ 2:57am by Lieutenant Commander Daniel Divaro & Lieutenant Karen Walker

945 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Pathways
Location: Divaro's Quarters/Engineering.
Timeline: Current

ON:

While waiting in his quarters for the XO's call, Divaro could not help but think that he should know why the name Karen Walker sounded so familiar. Then it hit him--the Morningstar. There had been a cute little cadet by that name doing her Junior-year cruise sometime around 2383 if he remembered correctly. He quickly accessed the computer terminal and, after entering her name, saw that there was indeed an entry in her service jacket showing that a Karen Walker had been aboard the Morningstar in 2383. The question then became one of whether or not it was the same person.

According to the records, the Karen Walker who had been aboard the Morningstar was a tall, willowy blonde, but the one here was a redhead. Not that her hair color was a positive indication. It could have been dyed--either then or now. The only way he would know for sure would be to actually meet with her.

So, with that in mind, he commed her.

=/\= Commander Divaro to Lieutenant Walker...=/\=

=/\= Walker here, =/\= came a vaguely familiar voice. =/\= What can I do for you, Commander? =/\=

=/\= Could you meet me in my office, please? =/\=

=/\= Aye sir. I'll be there within ten minutes. Walker out...=/\=

====== Five minutes later ======

Daniel was sitting at his desk when the door opened and an absolutely stunning red-haired woman walked in. "I'll be damned..." he said involuntarily. "It IS her." In the intervening ten years since he had last seen her, she had definitely changed--and it wasn't just the hair color. She was still tall, but not quite as willowy as she once was. She had definitely filled out--in certain areas especially--and grown into a beautiful woman. "It's been a long time, Karen..." he said.

"I'm not sure what you mean Commander..." she began. "Have we ever..." she hesitated as recognition flashed across her face. "Danny...?"

"One and the same..." he answered.

"So you're my boss now, hmm...?" she asked, a faint smile beginning to show.

He nodded wordlessly as he studied her for a moment. Then, motioning to one of the chairs in front of his desk, he said "Have a seat. We have much to discuss."

Karen grinned at him, remembering back to the time she had spent on the Morningstar. During that time when she was a cadet and he was an Ensign, they had worked together and she had developed a huge crush on him. But he was married to Velah and nothing had ever come of it--not that she had not tried. She had flirted with him heavily, even going so far once as to kissing him when they were working in a Jeffries Tube together. But he had quickly let her know that he was faithful to Velah.

"So how is Velah? Is she assigned here as well?" she asked.

"I have no idea," he said flatly. "She and I have been divorced since 2390 and I'd prefer to not discuss it."

The word 'divorced' definitely piqued her interest and she leaned forward, placing her elbows on the front edge of his desk, then placed her chin atop her hands and gazed directly at him. He too had changed as well. A little older, a bit heavier. 'But still a good-looking man...' she thought. "So you're single now?" she asked redundantly. She hesitated a moment, debating if she should ask the question that was on her mind. Finally she decided that she should. "So--are you seeing anyone currently?"

The question took Divaro a bit off guard and he hesitated a beat before answering. "That's a hell of a question and one that I find to be irrelevant to the situation right now, Karen," he said. "Why would you even ask such a thing at this point? We're both new to this ship and our priorities right now have to be getting the engineering department in order. And that brings me to the REAL reason I asked you here. I'm going to need a capable assistant Chief Engineer. If you were picking a good ACEO, who would you pick?"

Walker thought for a moment. "My choice would be Lieutenant Sher'el."

"Why?"

"He's got years of experience, he's capable, and he tends to think outside the box at times," she said quickly.

"You're right about that. According to his service jacket he's all that and maybe more. But he's not my choice."

"Oh? Then who would be your choice?" she asked.

"You..." he said simply.

"ME?? Why me?"

"Because you have all the things you just mentioned, plus the fact that I know your work ethic. So how about it? You want the job?"

She pretended to think for a minute. Did she want a position that would involve her working in close proximity to a man she once found so attractive that she would have risked the wrath of his wife if she had been able to start an affair with him? HELL YES she wanted the position! "To him she simply said "If you want me to take it, then I will."

"Then the position is yours..." he said as he stood up and started around his desk. She quickly stood up as well and turned toward the door, making sure to purposely brush herself up against him. "I'm still single, in case you're interested," she almost whispered as she hesitated, thrusting her now well-developed chest against him.

"Noted and understood," he said, doing his best to keep the conversation professional. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm waiting on a call to meet with the new Executive Officer."

OFF:

Lieutenant Commander Daniel Divaro
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Hyperion

Lieutenant Karen Walker
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Hyperion

 

RSS Feed