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A Mirror Shattered #185-186 - ""Engineering, Operations and Bodyguar-=On=- [Same Cargobay] Kitty sat back on her heels, temporarily abandoning her search through the wreckage, when the ship's counselor left the cargo bay. "I think that went well," she said cautiously. Then she gave a funny half-smile, looking at Evans. "I'm sorry for embarrassing you like that. I.. thought it was funny... but I hate the uncomfortable feeling I get when people do it to me." Evans was a little angry with Kitty for embarrasing him like that, but the humour of the situation was trickling through, even for him... "You know, that was pretty mean..." he said, but a smile was already shining through: "Ah, forget it, I would have done the same to you..." "I'd deserve it," she said honestly. At his smile, she smiled back, eyes lighting up, feeling forgiven. "I'm silly, you know I am. I.. did something silly, earlier today." Kitty dropped her gaze, thinking back to the communication she'd made, and the answer she'd had. "I just couldn't quite get it out of my head, I suppose," she said mysteriously. Evans feigned a sigh:"What did you do this time?" His eyes betrayed his good humour, though... "I... wrote to my father," Kitty admitted, looking back up at him earnestly. "I mean.. the man who would have been my father. I..wrote to him and I sent him my file. I just wanted to make a connection... to say hello... to.. well..." Evans immediately felt for Kitty. "You wanted to know why he... eh... didn't save you?..." he asked seriously... "Yeah.. I did. I might as well admit that honestly." Kitty glanced down again, sounding uncertain. "But he responded. He said that he wanted to meet me, to talk to me in person." "Well..." Evans thought for a moment... "I think that's a good thing..." "I hope it is," said Kitty. "He said to let him know when we would be in the area. He's on one of the other planets. There's a huge building there that he said would be easy to find.. he said he'd meet me there. I think it's a casino." Kitty delivered this bit of news with the same naivete that made her so charmingly bizarre. "So I plan to ask if I can go down there." "A casino?! Who in their right minds would open a casino here? There's no money to go around... At least, I think so..." Evans commented, not aware of the irony... "Well, I hope it's a respectable business... I would hate for you to walk into one of those grubby strip-joints..." "Grubby whats?" That caught Kitty rather off-guard. "Casinos aren't like that, are they? I mean... well... I've never actually been to one, but I've seen pictures in advertisements." Evans looked at her in a funny way. "You still have to learn a lot, my dear... Commercials are not always an exact representation of the truth, if my experience serves me right... I guess this place is fine, or your dad wouldn't have chosen it..." he mused "Oh..." Kitty frowned. "I don't really know anything about my father in this universe. Can.. casinos be.. dangerous places?" asked the slender, pretty Asian geekette with large, innocent eyes and no combat training whatsoever. Evans gave her the same look he gave her a few seconds ago... "Like I said, you have a lot to learn... Casinos can be pretty bad places if managed badly or in a grubby neighbourhood... Have you looked at our guest federation lately?" he hinted, cocking an eyebrow... "Uh, no, I haven't." Kitty started looking troubled. "It sounded so easy, but now.. I don't know what to do. I really want to go..." "Well, then you should, but I really would like you take someone with you. I don't like the idea of you walking around there all alone..." "I.. can't say I like the idea of it either. So then I need to find someone who's willing to go with me and can handle himself in a crisis." Kitty said this while continuing to look through wreckage.. and then she stopped and slowly looked back up at her boyfriend. She smiled. Suddenly Evans understood what she meant... "Me?" Evans squealed... He cleared his throat, and tried again... "Me?"... He thought about it for just one second. "Man I should have seen that one coming a mile away..." he mumbled... "Eh, well, I would like to accompany you... No problem..." "If you don't mind." Kitty was a bit quailed by his surprised response. "You know about these places, more than I do. I know I'd feel safe with you there." Evans smiled nervously... "...Well, I'll try to do my best at keeping you safe... I must warn you, I'm not a regular at those places... The house tends to always win..." "Well, we wouldn't be doing any Gambling," Kitty answered readily. Then she paused a moment, thinking over all that he'd said. She started to speak, then stopped... and started again, then stopped again. He could almost see the thought making it's way to her mouth and hitting a logjam. Evans was getting a little impatient... In a friendly lovable cute kind of way... "Yeeeeeesss?" "Uhm.. you haven't ever been... uhm..." She blushed slightly. "Have you ever been.. to one of those? A 'grubby strip joint'?" She looked as if she was more than a little nervous about hearing his answer. Evans' eyes grew wide, then narrowed, grew wide again... "... Good heavens, no, of course not... Well... Some of my friends talked about going to one of those... I must admit, I was kind of curious..." He shook his head. "No, I haven't! I swear..." "Oh." Kitty smiled in relief. "Well, I didn't think you had! I didn't figure you for that kind of guy." That last phrase, 'that kind of guy', was said in a sort of disgust that sounded downright cute, the way she said it. "But sometimes you never know. I've met guys... well, you know." "Nope, not me, uh-uh... Like I said, I was always curious, but it was just too sleazy for my taste..." he elaborated. "I am really glad I found a cute innocent girl like you... You are nice too, and unimaginably more classy..." Kitty blinked at that and blushed, smiling brightly. WIth the smile, the light in her eyes, and the blush, she practically glowed. "Thanks, Evans. I... really appreciate hearing that." She shifted closer and leaned up to give him a shy kiss. She'd remembered how much she really liked the last one... the first one. Evans noticed Kitty's move, and wrapped his arms around her, returning her kiss lightly. It felt sweet and nice, although a bit odd, surrounded by tonnes of scrap metal..."mmmmh" "Hmm..." Kitty closed her eyes, hugging him back, then shifting once the kiss was finished to rest her head on his shoulder. She remained there for a little while, just finding a spot of calm rest, until her combadge chirped and she sighed, freeing up one hand to tap it. "Yes?" "Sorry to bother you, Lieutenant, but we've had reports of more relays blown, and a bunch of people looking to have their replicators checked. How should I divide up the chores?" It was Williams, and he was right.. there was plenty of work to be done. Kitty sighed slightly and answered back. "I'll be there in a sec..." and closed the channel. "Need any help?" Evans offered. "I have some engineering skills, that ship will still be there tomorrow, and I don't expect heavy loads to be hauled any time soon..." He still held her loosely, and caressed her shoulders. Kitty smiled and leaned into the embrace. It felt good... "It would be a funny switch, wouldn't it? You're supposed to be the one telling Me what needs doing." She chuckled lightly, drawing back reluctantly. "Sure, if you'd like. I'm sure there's plenty of burnt relays to go around." "Ok... Let me get my kit, and let's start cracking, then." he said, finally breaking the hug. He walked towards his case, and he seemed to disappear as his foot got caught behind another wire of that loom he ripped out. He was still there, though, lying in the rubble, coming up with all kinds of... interresting... words to describe the piece of wiring he tripped over... Again... Finding our feet: Lieutenant Jg Ronald Evans Chief Operations Officer USS Pegasus "ARGH! STUPID OVERCOOKED EXCUSE FOR A STRAND OF SPAGHETTI!" Lt. Kathleen Black Chief Engineer USS Pegasus The One That Lived |
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