Working The Starways (Closed for Iscaa)

Jason snorted. "You really expect this to be so easy? For either of us? You tell me what you had planned to take over this ship, and I won't tear your hand off with an arc welder. No one trying to do what you were would leave the other crew out of the equation. So you had or have something you expect to neutralize the rest of us.

"As for selling this ship..." Jason chuckled. "You didn't do your homework very well with that line. I don't sell things, or people, dear to me. I'm tempted to simply vent you into space now and save everyone the trouble of whatever double-cross you're trying to sneak through."

Jason watched him lose conciousness, and debated for a moment about just...leaving him. Letting someone find the body later. 'Oh, did our prisoner die? That's too bad.' But he wouldn't want to live with himself if he became that kind of person. He tabbed the intercom.

"Sive, come to the airlock with supplies for blood loss. I believe our passenger has passed out, but let's not take any chances. You can work on him here with my overwatch."

<tag>

When the intercom came on, Sive opened her eyes, instantly alert from years of being on guard.
Sitting up in Jason's bed a lock of her hair fell forward. She picked it up noticing it was the wrong
color, too red , jumping up Sive ran to the little mirror. When she looked at her face, Alayna looked
back at her. ( Oh gods, the drugs must have done a number on my system to have reverted to my
normal state. Never mind, I'll have to figure it out later.)

Searching about for her cloths, she saw them laying on the floor next to the bed. After throwing
them on she then concentrated on becoming Sive again. A minute later she was on her way to
getting the supplies she needed to tend to Victor's wound. In record time she was approaching
the airlock, while putting up her hair, when she saw Jason waiting for her.

Nodding her head she walked into the small chamber, remarking, “You should have called me
earlier, looks like he lost a lot of blood. I'll just do a quick patch job on him as well as get some
fluids into him so my drugs can kick start his system to into producing blood.

After about 15 minutes she finally looked back at Jason and said, “Well I've done all I can
for him here, looks like his is going to live.” Frowning down at Victor, “We should move his sorry
ass to a more comfortable place. I don't think he will be waking up for at least an hour maybe more.
”Sive stood up and turned towards Jason, “Just what are you going to do with him?”

"That's the question, isn't it? He passed out before he answered most of my questions, and I thought he might be faking it. I'm tempted to let him...expire, then space him. Put in the log that he attacked a crewmember and died in the firefight. Very few questions then, and even teh Unifiers wouldn't take exception to that.

"But I'd have a hard time living with myself after that. I think we keep him here for now, then move him back into his quarters before landfall. We seal his room with the outside key and then dump him in some desert along the way."

Jason resealed the airlock door, using his personal code to override typed or verbal attempts to open the door. Turning to Sive, he smiled ruefully. "I think we should sleep on it. Care to join me?"

<tag>

Sive watched Jason as he resealed the airlock door, frowning, then she heard ,”Care to join me?”
“Oh, yes I would indeed care to join you,” she grinned. While they walked down the corridor, she
kept looking up at him, thinking ( does he have less salt in his hair? Why not test him?) “Jason,
what did you look like say...15 years ago?” She continued to watch him as he thought about
what she just asked him.

Sive saw Jason, shimmer slightly as he pictured himself back then. His hair became totally one
color for a few brief moments. She nodded her head, ( Should I tell him, what I just saw or let
him discover it for himself? No I think I will just monitor his progress.) Smiling to herself, ( At
least I won't be one of a kind in this universe anymore!) Her smile slipped, ( I hope he doesn't
regret or resent what is happening to his body now. I guess time will tell.)

When they came up to Jason's quarters, she waited at the side while he opened the hatch. Even
though she had made herself at home not long ago, it was still his place. She felt a shimmer go
through her body, looked down at her hand and noted that her skin had lightened up again.
Frowning she realized the drugs still in her system were having a side affect. It would seem like
her ability to keep control of her outer appearance was impaired, and connected to her emotions.

She chuckled to herself as she walked into the room, ( I think this night might prove to be very
interesting indeed. I hope Jason can handle it.)

Jason gave her an odd look as they entered his room. "Um, well...I didn't have the grey in my hair of course. Half the scars I have weren't there either. Probably better shape given that I was just entering the military. Why?" He looked at her in time to catch her chuckling.

"Alright, spill it. What's so funny about how I looked 15 years ago? How did *you* look 15 years ago, Miss Smarty Pants? You were what? 10? 5?" He pinches her bottom as she goes past. "Certainly too young for me to to that to legally."

<tag>

Sive jumped when Jason pinched her bottom, still smiling she turned to him, Are you sure you
want to know?“ Seeing the look on his face she continued, “ OK...OK...lets do an experiment I
promise it won't hurt at all.” She walked over to the bed, that she had been in too much of a rush
earlier to make up and sat down, patting the place beside her. “ And just for your information I
was 17 years old 15 years ago.” She chuckled again and patted the bed, “Come here... I won't bite
you.”

When he finally was seated beside her Sive said, “Now I want you to close your eyes and
concentrate on what you looked like 15 years ago, remembering as many details as you can.
Also maybe how strong and vibrant you felt in your prime.” Her eyes widened, “Not that your
not in your prime now!” She laughed and continued, “Just don't think of anything but what
you looked like back then.” She waited for perhaps 60 seconds when he started to shimmer,
and change. His hair became totally black, his face became younger, the lines disappeared. His
body became leaner. Sive smiled as she saw this happening in front of her. She made a mental
note to document his progress.

After a few minutes she said, "Wait one second and close your eyes, I'll be right back", getting
up she went over to the small mirror on the wall and took it down, came back and sat beside
Jason. Putting the mirror in front of his face she told Jason to open his eyes. She held her
breath waiting to see his reaction.

Jason opened his eyes to an image he'd thought long lost to Grandfather Time. He touched his temples in disbelief, then rubbed at where his crow's feet had been. He spent some time looking, then jumped back a bit as he shimmered and the face he knew all too well reappeared.

"Damn, that was quick. When you said there was a chance I'd be like you...I rather thought it'd take a while. This makes us both rather..contagious, doesn't it?" He looked at her eyebrows up. "I guess that means no partners for play...save for each other?" His grin had a sly edge to it. He took the mirror and laid it at the foot of the bed on the floor. "Don't want that breaking." Then he leaned over and kissed her. Hard. He worked his way closer to her to the point his body laid hers back on the bed.

"Let's see what more of this does, mmm?"

<tag>

Sive laughed as Jason laid her back on the bed, but noticed how quickly her body responded
to his touch and close proximity. She had never felt this aroused for any other man, she moved her
lips enough to be able to utter, “You know I think the nanites in my system have altered to respond
only to you. Since all this began 5 years ago, I was not attracted to any men in the least. I just
thought I was too busy trying to keep one step ahead of my pursuers. But now I am thinking
that it wasn't that simple.” Her body trembled beneath him, craving more of his touch. Even her
thinking processes were not as sharp as they usually were, Sive was losing her concentration.
Her heart rate and breathing were accelerating, “Oh never mind just kiss me again.” she groaned.

Wrapping her arms around Jason, Sive pressed her lips on his with a passion, that didn't give
him a chance to respond to her comments. Her hands roamed over his arms and back, then went
to his chest, trying to undo his uniform. As her passion rose, she could feel his matching her's,
Sive cried out, “I want you so badly now.” She desperately pushed her hips up against his.

Jason could feel the heat building up, but refused to give in to anything but his own decisions. He gently pinioned her wrists with one hand, undoing the ship's suit she wore with the other. Once it was undone enough her let her arms go to slide her clothing off, kissing her neck, then immediately moving to a nipple to suck and nibble as he slid the jumpsuit down over her hips and to her knees. He'd let her deal with it from there.

With the suit around her knees he took her wrists one in each hand, holding them above her head as he kissed her. Hungry kisses on the lips then moving to her neck. He ground himself into her, his hips pushing and thrusting against hers. She could feel his arousal, the hard lump pressing into her mound. He worked his way down to her nipples again, hands still holding her wrists over her head. He worked both nipples over, first gently kissing, then sucking, then using his teeth gently. After nipping them lightly he returned to pulling them away from her body with his lips.

Finally he stood up, long after he'd wanted to be inside her. He slowly undid the tabs of his jumpsuit, pushing it off his shoulders and over his waist to the floor. His erection sprang free and seemed to point at her. Precum glistened at the tip.

"Stand up", he said hoarsely. "Stand against the wall and spread your legs."

<tag>

Sive writhed beneath Jason as he worked on her body, her hands ached to touch him stroke him
and make him want her as much as she now wanted him. As his mouth kissed then sucked on her
nipples she arched her back and moaned...her legs wrapping themselves around him moving
against his erection as best she could. She could feel herself getting so wet, so ready, she could
hardly stand it. As she moaned again, she felt him let her wrists go, opening her eyes, Sive saw
Jason stand up. She watched him hungrily as his undid his jumpsuit and let it slide to the floor.
As it went down, so did her eyes, but they stopped at his erection. Taking her time, Sive looked
at Jason's body, it was glorious, every inch of him, she wanted to feel him inside her, stretching
and filling her with his hardness, she licked her lips reaching her arms towards him,
“ Come here luv.” Sive groaned

“Stand up”, he said hoarsely. “Stand against the wall and spread your legs.”

Sive took a deep breath and slowly stood up, walked over to the wall and placed her back
against it's coldness making her gasp. It felt good, against her heated skin, making her nipples
stand out all the more. All the while her eyes never left his, she spread her legs and waited.
Her hands moved to her hips, upwards and touched her breasts, brushed over her nipples, she
moaned again, before travelling downwards to her mound. She was soaking wet, she glanced
quickly at Jason's penis, it was dripping, their eyes locked for long moments before he moved
towards her. She uttered, “ Take me now Jason.”

Jason watched her move, watched her touch herself with her hands. When she all but begged him again to take her he moved. With two steps he was there, but he didn't put himself in her, yet. Instead he spun her around to face the wall, putting her hands up as though he was going to search her. He nudged her feet apart impatiently until her back was arched, easing access. His hand cupped her asscheek, then slid down to play with her mound for a bit. She was wet through. Stepping that last step, he eased himself into her. This time there was no teasing with the tip of his penis, no whispered words. He pushed himself into and started moving his hips, pushing in and pulling out. Each thrust pushed him inside her a bit more until his hips were making a 'slap, slap, slap' sound against her buttocks.

He grabbed her hips and started pulling her back to meet his thrusts, pushing hard now. He was going as hard and fast as he'd wanted to that very first time, not making love but outright fucking her. Taking her hard. His breath came out in little grunts with every thrust. Sweat sheened his skin. His erection twitched, and again, and he gasped, "I'm going to cum, Sive!"

<tag>

Sive opened her eyes wide when Jason spun her around to face the wall, putting her hands
up. She could feel his impatience as he moved her feet apart, it matched her own. She
arched her back for him, feeling his hand first on her asscheek then her mound, it made her
groan again whimpering, “Hurry I need you inside me now!” As soon as she felt him begin to
enter her, she sucked in her breath and closed her eyes, concentrating on what he was now
doing to her. She felt his hard member moving in and out, until he was slapping against her butt.

Her whole body was trembling and shimmering at the same time. She moved against him when
he thrust into her hard, crying out his name Sive's body started to tighten up with her impending
climax. She barely heard him gasp that he was cumming, but knew from his movements that
he was and it was going to be huge... setting hers off at the same time.

She could feel his hot streams of cum coating her entire vagina, her inner muscles squeezed
him over and over milking every last drop out of him. Crying out his name Sive felt her climax
start at her core then slowly spread to her stomach, breasts and the rest of her body.
Finally when it was over she franticly gasped as she slowly sank down to her knees, too exhausted
to hold herself up any longer. Sive's body was slick with sweat from her head to her feet. She
needed a few minutes to catch her breath.

After what seemed like a long time, Sive slowly opened her eyes and whispered, “ Jason
are you alright?

Jason braced his hands on the wall as he came, and came...and came. His breath rasped in and out as though he'd been running hard. Sive went to her knees causing him to pop out of her with a little wet 'plop'. He wanted to stay in her but not this time. After several moments oxygen starting rebuilding in his body, allowing him to breathe normally again.

Sive's question had him nodding. "I'm fine, Sive. Just...out of condition I guess. I should have been able to hold you up." He bent down and helped her to her feet again. His gaze wandered over her naked body, once more taking in her small breasts...the curve of her hips...her lovely legs. He pulled her into a long hug, then lifted her up and carried her to the bed. He laid her down on the mattress, then stretched himself out beside her.

"Stay here tonight, Sive. We can clean up in the morning."

<tag>

Sive sighed as Jason helped her up, she raised her arms to return his hug. Then he lifted her up
and carried her to the bed. She felt him lay down beside her and barely heard him say, “ Stay
here tonight” as she drifted off to sleep. Hours later Sive woke up startled, looking at the sleeping
man beside her, she relaxed. She was safe, it felt good to really feel safe after all the running in
the past five years.

Before drifting off to sleep again, she thought about the nanites in her body and how they
seemed to affect her reaction to Jason, as a matter of fact he was reacting just as intensely.
They were like a couple of magnets when they got going, she chuckled quietly to herself. But
more importantly, what had taken months for the nanites to incorporate into her body, Jason's
nanites seemed to be accelerating in a much faster rate. She didn't know how she knew this,
but she did, their nanites were synchronized that much she did know. Closing her eyes, she
thought, “I will have to get him to work on controlling his abilities as soon as possible.”

As she fell asleep, Sive cuddled in Jason's arms.

In the morning Jason made sure both of them were presentable, then headed to the bridge. He'd eat breakfast later, but he needed some time to think. His feelings for Sive went surprisingly deep and that worried him. He hardly knew her, she'd infected him with some unknown nannites that changed his appearance and had (from what he could tell) nearly killed her a couple of days ago. Despite all that...he hoped she decided to stay on the Angel.

Then they had their prisoner. Yes, he'd talked, at least enough to keep Jason from spacing him. That still left the question of where to set him down and when. He'd talk with Sive. Maybe they could sedate him for the time they were on-planet, then drop him a couple of hundred miles from the nearest settlement. Naked. If he survived he'd come after them, no doubt, but they'd be well away by that time.

And there was the issue of how to keep the ship profitable. He'd been running a semi-dependable route, but they'd have to give that up with Sive aboard. Would the others be alright with that? He decided to call a crew meeting after the next landfall. The crew needed a chance to hear that he was changing their operating mode and allow them the chance to decide if they wanted to stay or go.

His fingers drummed on the console absently as he considered options. And he never noticed the slight shimmer of his skin as he thought.

<tag>

After Jason had left for the bridge, Sive had some time to think as she went about her routine
of checking her medical supplies. One part of her mind was on what she wanted to get when
they landed on the next planet, the other part was on Jason. She had never felt for another
man the way she felt about him. Oh she knew part of it was the nannites, ( they seem to have
taken on a life of their own), but a part of her feelings for Jason were real, something she
needed to explore in depth.

As she added to her list, she stopped and thought, ( how does he really feel about me? Is
this a short term thing or do we have a chance at a life together? And what about affecting
other people? Without my lab facilities how can I know the answer to that? ) She continued
pondering as she checked her list.

Finally completing it, Sive then decided it was time to check on Victor's wound. Lifting her
eyebrow,she wondered what Jason was going to do with him. They needed to get rid of
him somehow, and at the same time, get him off their trail. Maybe she could mix up a cocktail
of drugs that would wipe out his memory for the last 48 hours. That would take him before he
boarded the “ Angel”,and give them plenty of time to put some space between them. ( I
better take this suggestion up with Jason..) She headed towards the bridge.

Stepping onto the bridge Sive looked around for Jason. Spotting him she stood for a few moments,
smiling to herself, remembering last night. Then she noticed his fingers drumming
on the console, and her eyes widened. His hand was shimmering and it looked like Jason
didn't realize it. She quickly walked up to him and quietly said, “Jason, if you have a few
minutes I would like to talk to you about a few things, including that man Victor. I think I
might have a solution on how to neutralize him.”

Jason started slightly. "I was just thinking about that myself. The best I can come up with is dosing him senseless and ditching him in the desert a couple hundred miles from town. If he survives he'll still be on our tail, but that should be a couple days at least and by then we'll be outbound again. We also need to figure out what we're going to do long-term. I've been running a relatively reliable route, but we need to change that now."

He drummed on the console again, a steady strumming of the four fingers. This time his hair color reverted to the dark color of youth without the grey. "I'm tempted to put a bullet in Victor, to be honest. But's he's a symptom, not the problem itself. We need to find out who's hunting you, and I'm not sure where to start looking." He thinks for a minute. "Actually, do you have a way of drugging him to be ready to answer questions? Like who hired him? That would at least start the trail going up. Dangerous to follow of course. But life's dangerous as it is."

He looked up at her, standing there in the hatchway. "What idea did you come up with?"

“Well my idea was actually to do with drugs, I thought I could mix up a cocktail so he would forget the
last 48 hours. But if you want him to answer questions, I might be able to come up with something
that would make him talk.”

As she was speaking her eyes went to Jason's hand and the fact that the gray in his hair was gone.
She continued, “Jason we have other things to discuss, your starting to change and need to control
it. I think unlike myself five years ago, the nanites you have from me now are way more sophisticated.
Your changing at an accelerated rate. I think it's imperative that you practice control....now!

It's really like learning to drive a ship, at first you have to concentrate, but in no time at all,
you'll be able to hold an outward appearance without thinking about it. The sooner you do this the
better, you don't want any of the crew to have a heart attack do you?” She crossed her arms over
her chest and grimly smiled. “It would be quite awkward to explain, plus it has to stay secret or we
are done for!”

Sive sat down beside Jason, “One thing I do know, it took me a lot longer to get to the stage
where you are now, I believe you are getting mega doses of the nanites every time we make love.
So your body is rapidly changing. That brings me to another subject, I think we should avoid
having sex with other partners, at least til we can control the nanites from passing to anyone else.”

Giving Jason a moment to think this over Sive then continued. “Here is a simple exercise, imagine
the look you want, and then try to keep that image in your mind then put it on back burner, it will
take practice but you will find it gets easier with time. Try it now if you have a few minutes.”

Looking back towards the hatchway, Sive turns to Jason, “I'll go now and put those drugs together
and be back shortly. The sooner we get Victor taken care of, the better.” She gets up and watches
Jason for another minute before leaving the bridge.

Jason nodded. "That makes sense, not having any other partners right now. I wouldn't want to get someone else involved." He grinned. "As to Victor...we'll be landing in another day. We'll need to keep him on ice until then. Can you do something to keep him quiet for that long? Then we can ditch him somewhere remote and let nature take its course."

Jason's brow furrowed as he concentrated, and his face returned to the one Sive saw originally. "How is that?" At her nod he focused again, obviously holding that image in his head. As she walked out she heard him mutter, "Always make things interesting for yourself, don't you, DeBois?"

Smiling as she walked back to the med closet, Sive mentally made a list of the drugs she would
need for Victor. Something to make him completely relax and open to their questions. Then
afterwards she would give him a nice strong sedative to keep him out til they found a planet to
drop him on. She really didn't want him to die, just keep him out of commission til they were
able to put some distance between them. Besides, the sedative would have a little something
extra that should wipe out his memory of the last 48 hours or more if they were lucky.

When she got to the closet, she found the drugs she needed , prepared them for the hypo spray.
One to loosen his tongue and one to put him out. She was set. Walking over to the com. “Jason
I have the drugs ready for Victor, do you want to question him now or after lunch? I could go
over to him now, give him his lunch, dress his wound and we could then question him after we've
had our's. It won't take much time for the drugs to do their magic."

"That sounds good, Sive, we'll ask after lunch." Jason finished his morning duties and went down to the mess to eat. He wasn't really hungry, but food was fuel. After he ate he met Sive at the passenger cabin/cell they'd put Victor in. Under questioning they learned what Jason had figured would be the case. Victor's contact was a comm number he'd call when he'd found the girl. Payment to come on vid confirmation that this was the right girl. The payment offered surprised Jason. That was enough money to buy a small ship. Enough to pay his crew for a couple of years...

He shook the thought off. Blood money had a way of coming back at you. And Sive trusted him. He trusted her, strangely enough. And now she held another key. The nanites in her body were now in his. He needed to find out what he'd allowed to happen to him.

So, they made planetfall as planned. He sold out the cargo after checking to see if anyone was waiting to meet Victor. No one seemed to be, so Jason went about business as usual. This leg made the trip worthwhile as he had cargo waiting for him, broken parts from the mine to be shipped out for repairs. The nearest machine shop was a short hop away and they made the arrangements when he'd bought the cargo Angel carried now.

Once they'd loaded the holds he took off...only to 'have engine difficulty' part-way to orbit. They set down on the edge of a forest, 60 or so miles from the nearest village. Jason put Victor out there, leaving him three days food and a gallon of water. He could survive...if he were smart enough. And it was more than he'd offered Sive. He radioed Flight Con that they'd fixed the problem and got back into the air. Once in space he set course for Hongtwoon and the machine shops there.

"Captain to the crew, we'll have a full crew meeting at shift-change. Meet in the mess for a full crew meeting. Thank you." He waited on the bridge for everyone to gather. Time to give them most of the truth and see who wanted to stay. He walked into the mess, seeing everyone there. "I'll keep this short so you can get back to your day. Our recent passenger wanted to take Sive. There's a substantial reward out for her due to her previous work as a doctor. I'm offering her shelter, which puts all of us at risk. I'm not asking you to share that risk with no choice. Anyone that wants off the ship can do so at Hongtwoon, and I'll furnish all back pay as well as the fare to Haven where there's a large port. Anyone staying will need to know that bounty hunters may well stalk us, and we'll need to be more careful. I plan to keep us out on the edges of space for a while. Some of my old contacts are out this way and I think we can keep the ship going with that. No one's pay will be reduced.

"So, you have about 36 hours to make your choice. Stay or go, you'll have my positive reviews on your employment file. Dismissed."

Now to see if anyone left.

<tag>

Sive was glad when they lifted off planet again, she hoped that Victor would survive his
coming ordeal. She also knew he wouldn't remember the last 48 or more hours, so with any
luck, he wouldn't be able to pick up their trail any time soon, if ever. She sighed with relief
as she went back to the med closet to clean up her hypospray gun and make a few notes in
her med journel. ( Now maybe we can get into some kind of routine around here.)

When Sive heard the call for the full crew meeting, she wondered if it had something to do with
her and the problems that came with her. On one hand she was so grateful to have a place
on this ship, but on the other hand, she didn't want to be the cause of anyone getting hurt or
worse. As the shift time came around she put her things away then checking to see that she
was presentable she made her way towards the mess. On the way she met Zlanta and
Donnie, smiling at them both Sive joined them.

Zlanta asked Sive, “ Do you al know what this meeting is about?” Shaking her head, Sive
replied, “ Not really, your guess is as good as mine, we will just have to wait and see what
the Captain has to say.” Donnie nodded at this, as they all continued down the passageway.
By the time they arrived at the mess, Sive could see that the rest of the crew were already
there. The three of them filed in , since there were no seats left they just leaned against the
bulkhead and waited.

All heads turned towards the doorway as Jason came in, seeing that everyone was present, he
got right down to business. As soon as Sive realized that Jason's whole talk was about her and
her problems, she felt like sinking into the floor. She had spent so much time keeping secrets
that this felt like she was being stripped naked before the whole crew. It was very uncomfortable
to say the least. But she also realized they had a right to know that they could very well be in
danger because of her.

After they were dismissed and filing out of the mess, Sive could feel everyone's eyes on her
wondering who she really was and why was she on the run. She didn't want to answer any
questions so she just made her way to her cabin , once there she gave a sigh of relief hoping
that there wasn't going to be too much of a upheaval in the ship

Jason saw the looks Sive got as the others filed out. He felt for her, yet the crew needed to know and Jason'd never been good at beating around the bush. He'd make it up to her somehow, but for now he needed to attend to duty. The rest of the shift he spent working with the others, keeping Angel in the best shape possible. The crew knew he'd do anything he asked them to, and then some. He went EVA for preventive maintenance on the comm antenna, then spent time with Donny down in Engineering looking over some air filters that were going bad early. Once they traced the problem to a tiny coolant leak he help mend that as well. Finally, the shift was over and he went to the mess for supper.

He tracked Sive down to make sure they could have a few words in private. He studied her for a minute, trying to gauge her mood, then offered, "After mess would you like to join me in my cabin? I thought you might like to get out of the spotlight I put you under for a bit. I give a mean backrub. I'd like to work on my...new abilities as well, if you're willing."

<tag>

Sive was glad that Jason tracked her down, she could use a friendly face about now. After hearing
his offer of a back rub, she smiled at him replying, “ Yes, a mean back rub sounds just what I am
needing about now, thanks Jason. I was thinking of grabbing my supper and having it in my
cabin, away from inquiring eyes, but I have to face the crew sometime, so I may as well get it
over with.”

As they walked towards the mess hall, she looked up at Jason and said, “I understand why you had
to be open with the crew, the last thing I want is for someone to get tangled up in my troubles and
maybe get hurt or worse.” She sighed before continuing, “What a mess my life has turned into, but
I always try to make the best out of a situation." Perking up she then added, "Let's go eat, I am
looking forward to getting a great back rub.” She smiled as she added the last bit. “As for working
on your abilities, yes good idea we need to gauge where you are at this point. Lucky for you or not...
depending on how you look at it, your nanites are multiplying at an accelerated rate, you will soon
be at my level and really need to get control of them. Either way we should have a very interesting
evening.” She then winked a him.

When they entered the mess, all eyes turned towards Sive. Feeling somewhat overwhelmed, she
stopped and looked at everyone. After a few moments some of them smiled, others nodded and all
went back to eating their meals. Glancing up at Jason, Sive thought, (this might be a good sign, no
one has given me the cold shoulder yet.) Moving over to the steaming food, she saw that tonight's
fare was “ Stew”, she laughed out loud and helped herself to an extra big portion, taking a bun she
sauntered over with her food and sat down near Zlanta and Donnie. With a broad smile she said,
“ I wonder how spicy the stew is tonight?

Chuckles ran through the mess, and the mood relaxed. Conversations resumed. Donny and Zlanta motioned for Sive to join them, and they talked of nothing much during the meal. The conversation seemed aimed more to let her know they still saw her as the friend they'd made. A couple of the off-shift crew seemed more reserved, but no one outright shunned her.

Jason made it a point to sit apart from the threesome including Sive. He wanted to gauge the tenor of the others' conversation. Mostly the conversations were about the shift to come or just past, and plans for shore leave at the next stop. Nothing he could hear led him to believe anyone had an axe to grind with Sive, but a couple of the crew seemed unhappy with the change she represented. Jason made a note to have a conversation with them before landfall. He ate slowly, timing to be done a few minutes after Sive.

Once done, he cleared his spot and helped clean the mess. Then he headed for his cabin. Sive'd had time to get there before him, but she might have waited to join him later. He opened the door, wondering where she was.

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