He looked up at the counselor, “Yeah sorry, she can be a little demanding at times, but the woman makes a fantastic second officer. I will never take that honor away from her.” He then grinned to ease the mood in the office a tad. “Actually, if either of us drank, I could use the bloodwine a bit more at this time. However, we do not, so water will do me just fine. In addition, Commander Atoded could more so use a nap at this point.”

Brenna took a very slow deep breath. “Lt Eleyr. I was coming to welcome you but I see I’m a bit late....” Richard’s words interrupted her....

As the doors opened to the office, Richard cut the encounter short right there, “Computer, site to site transport of Commander Atoded and the three huskies to the XO Quarters. Energize! Please and thank you computer.” He made direct eye contact with Brenna before she de-materialized, “Go get some rest, I will see you soon. You’re a doll.” He then waved at her casually, “Goodbye for now Commander Atoded.”
Lieutenant Commander Marsh, XO

What? What did he just order the…and she was gone in a swirl of blue. ‘Rick,’ and she only called him Rick when she was mad. ‘I am too tired for your games today. What…CRAP!’ her voice faded from his mind. She was in his quarters. Which was fine with her. She’d go poking around except for one thing. A very very frantic Fenris. He’d been ordered to guard Richard and his charge had disappeared. Fenris was racing the room tearing at the door and was now using his massively powerful jaws to rip the moving crate apart. He could smell Richard’s scent on the items inside. It was a scary and overwhelming situation for Brenna. Betazoid’s could sense the emotions and passions of animals, and often could get lost in them. It was only years of training and working with dogs like Fenris, Geri, and Fekri that allowed her the sense of self to not help the dog rip open the crate in panic. Poor Fenris thought Richard was trapped in there. =^=Computer lock onto K9 Fenris and transport immediately to Counselor Eleyr’s office!=^= Once Fenris was gone she sat on the floor, head between her knees, till the spinning stopped.

Brenna sat on the floor for awhile, Geri and Fekri pushed up close to her sides. She breathed deeply and lifted her head. Oh man....Fenris damaged the box. She rolled foward onto her knees and pulled the box closer to her and cracked the lid, okay nothing seemed broken. She looked around, he’d not had time to decorate or unpack yet. It didn’t take her long to figure out that was because he’d wanted to surprise her before she found out he’d come on board. She stood up and walked to the replicator, “Berry punch.” The glass with reddish purple juice appeared in a gold swirl. Brenna picked it up and carried it to the couch where she sat down sipping it. That particular experience making her a bit shaky. While she sat there she realized Tony was getting off duty. She left the glass on the table and left. She’d get Rhyolite and take him home, talk to Zarcal and figure this out.

After indulging in truffles and punch Brenna left Zarcal’s quarters. Nothing really resolved but she left and moved down the corridor finding herself outside Cmdr Marsh’s quarters again. She shrugged, he sent her there, she picked the lock and went in her eyes sweeping the room again. There was the box with Fenrir’s things. First she programed the replicator in his quarters to recognize the vocal patterns that would allow Fenris to request food or water. The computer was programmed to give water at any time and food only when Fenris was allowed to eat. It would also recognize vocal cues for medical or security emergencies. And the door would now recognize his pet combadge and allow him in or out. Not every pet could get in and out at will, but Fenris like Geri and Fekri had special training. Geri and Fekri helped themselves to the water bowl she put down and then the food. It was past time for them to eat anyway. Then the bed went into the bed room. There or not Fenris would stay in the room unless ordered to guard the door. The PaDD containing information on his health, training, command words, work schedule, and more she set on his desk. She also took out the various ‘toys’ which were really games to keep Fenris’s mind and instincts sharp.

Then she turned to box that had been damaged. She opened the lid and found mostly work things. PaDD upon PaDDs of information, mostly tatical reports and results of the most current training methods. Oh! A new holodeck training program. She’d have to check that out. Just for fun. She moved them to the desk, and because she knew him so well, they went in the left drawer, just to irritate him. Brenna was left handed and preferred her important things close to hand. Richard was right handed. She moved to the next stack in the crate and it was medals and commendations, even some certifications for different clearance levels, special operations training and the like. She sat down in the chair opening each box and recognizing each medal. He’d had an impressive career. All of these things she put to the side. Richard was not one to brag but these should all be seen in his office. They would inspire confidence in his abilities in the crew. It might make some envious, but that was good, they would work harder to impress the command crew.

The next crate was clothes. She laughed, “You know boys I shouldn’t do this but I’m going to anyway.” She began to put them away, the total opposite of how Richard kept his things. Why? Because she could and he’d literally transported her into his quarters. What did he expect her to do? Plus Fenris could have been hurt - pay back.

Amongst the clothes were several pictures. His sister, his parents, him and some woman she’d never seen. He looked happy and Brenna was thankful for that. She put them on a shelf and returned, delving more. Lifting out a blanket she could feel another picture. The blanket was familiar, thin but heavy and warm. Wrapped in the blanket was a picture of the two of them, wrapped in the blanket, roasted marshmallow and melted chocolate smeared over both their faces. She could almost hear the laughter coming from the picture.

At the bottom of the crate was hiking pack. Full of climbing gear. Brenna smiled. They’d spent a lot of weekends in the mountains of Earth, climbing, hiking, and camping.
She lifted the pack out and looked down at the sound of a heavy thud as something fell out. She looked down, “Oh.” She set the pack down and picked up the silver and red Swiss Army knife. She opened each blade one by one expecting them to be stiff from lack of use, but they were well oiled and the blades clean and sharp. She didn’t think he still had it. She’d given it to him after the first time they all went camping. He’d kept complaining “why didn’t we take this or that or the other thing.” and this little knife seemed to solve all his woes. She placed it back in the pack, her hand found a smooth round object and she pulled it out. She flipped open the compass as the needle spun aimlessly from being moved but not finding north. Not in a spaceship. But the lid caught her attention. There was picture of her tapped to it. “Oh Richard…”

She stacked the empty crates, repacked his medals and commendations (using that transporter he was fond of to send that create to his office), and placed the pack in his closet. She returned to the living area, wrapping the blanket around herself, tucking her legs under on the couch and picked up the picture, studying it for a long time. Eventually, she set aside, the compass clasped in her hand, the glass of juice still forgotten on the table, and finally succumbed to the sleep she so desperately needed.
Lt Cmdr Atoded, CoP