Vakhtang_Dalsazashvili

May the Fourth be with you. . .That is all.

Where I used to work, the NMCI security protocols were different from building to building, depending on who in the MIS department was in charge of security (namely which types of programs and stuff they liked to use during work hours, most likely). For instance, my building had a SCIF, and even though I wasn't in it, we were just as secure as the SCIF. Yet the building next door, had alot more loose controls. It was a pain.

I feel sorry for Houston. They're tied to the space program just as much as Kennedy Space Center. Huntsville probably should have as well. I understand the Smithsonian getting one, its the national museum. I can understand the logic behind LA getting one, because of all the testing done at Edwards, plus the orbiters were built in most part at Rockwell there in LA, I if I'm not mistaken, so at least there is a tie to the area. It still wouldn't have chosen them over Houston or Huntsville though. I've been listening to people here in the Dayton area complain about it not being awarded to the USAF Museum. I believe it has a better argument than New York, but not over Houston or Huntsville. My only regret is that I would have been able to see the shuttle delivery to the USAF Museum from my office window.

About two weeks later, the day before TBS ends. . . --- The last few days had been surprisingly busy for Vakhtang. The nacelles had been delivered and installed by the Maturin Station crew. Now it was up to the Manticore engineering crew to check, double check, and triple check everything they had installed. The result was longer, busier shifts. Not that Vakhtang minded too much, it felt good to get back in the saddle again. Chief Faldek was also back, and despite his generally Cardassian business like demeanor, he could tell he was happy to be back on his feet and working again. As his shift ended, he set his console to standby and headed off to his quarters. He and Eva were set to have dinner tonight, much like they had been doing most every night over of the past month. They had even started staying over at each other's quarters a few nights. Al Soandso had suggested that they were seeing a little to much of each other, and warned him that they might end up getting tired of each other, but Tang knew differently. The two of them were trying to get as much time together as they could while they could. They both knew that once they got underway again their time together would be limited. He was also quite satisfied that they had managed to fly pretty much under the radar as a couple. A handful of people in engineering knew, so he suspected Faldek knew as well. And given the gossip nest that was sickbay, he was sure that all the doctors and nurses knew, which probably meant 90% of the station did by now as well, but at this point they hadn't, at least to his knowledge, become the top item on the gossip list. He made his way to his quarters, it was his turn to cook. He was making Khachapuri, which was a Georgian staple. It was essentially a cheese pie with other filing and toppings to taste. Today, he was making his mother's red bean Khachapuri. He had made it before, but it had been a while, and he wanted Eva to try it. Eva chimed as she arrived at the door, the smell of the meal escaping the quarters made her mouth water. "Come in!" he yelled from the kitchen. The dish was almost done, it had about 5 minutes to go before it was ready, enough time for him to set the table. "It smells delicious in here" she said, walking in. She walked to the kitchen, putting her arms around Tang's waist. " How was your day?" she asked nuzzling her nose into his neck. Tang kissed her on the forehead. "Busy but good" he told her. "It feels good to actually do something for a change as opposed to just sitting around and watching the station crew work. How was yours?" "Meh, the usual. One broken arm, couple of headaches and lots of coffee." she answered leaning against the counter. " So what's in there?" she asked pointing toward the pot. "Its Khachapuri" he told her. "Its a Georgian dish. A staple really. Its actually red bean Khachapuri, my mother's recipe. I think you like it" he said. "What would you like to drink?" Eva shrugged " Whatever you're having" She leaned in to peek in the pot. "I'm so hungry I think I've started to digest my symbiont." she said "Need help with anything?" she inquired. Tang produced a bottle of Asti Spumante. "Don't ask where or how I got this." he told her with a smirk. He popped the cork and poured some into the pair of glasses sitting on the table. He sat the bottle on the table and headed back into the kitchen, putting on a pair of oven mitts and pulling the dish out of the oven. Eva took a seat at the table, not wanting to be in the way. "I'm going to miss this when get back on our way." she said , loud enough to be heard across the room. She pick up the glass of wine, smelling its bouquet before putting it back on the table, trying to rid herself of the sad feeling creeping over her. "So am I" he said, slicing the dish into two equal parts and sliding each onto a plate. "Might as well make the most of it while we can, though." He brought the two plates over to the table, setting one in front of Eva and the other at his table. He took his seat, putting his napkin on his lap. He looked up and smiled at her, "We'll still be able to spend -some- time together though." "I know .." she said, forcing the a smile. She picked up her glass, raising it. " To the cook! Santé!" He raised is glass and tapped it against hers, taking a sip. "Dig in." he said. "I hope that you like it. Its been a few years since I've made this. I'm pretty sure I did it right." Picking up her fork , Eva looked at the plate, before taking a bite and washing it down with a sip of wine. " It tastes just as good as it smells." she said smiling before quickly taking another bite. "Thank you." he said, taking a bite of his own dish. He sipped his wine, washing it down. "Its a taste of home." he told her, his mind flashing to the places he'll probably never see again. He quickly pushed the image from his mind, flashing a smile towards Eva as he took another bite. "So," he said as he swallowed his food. "Have you heard anything about when we're supposed to leave this place?" Eva raised an eyebrow. "I'll let you in on a little secret dorogoi, Doctors are always the last to know anything. The ship could be overtaken by Romulans and it would be a week before we'd find out." She took a sip of wine. "It's going on a month though. I know Maturin's engineers have nothing on you, but they must be done soon." Tang nodded "They seem to be pretty much done." he told her. "The chief and I have been making sure that they did everything right. We don't want any surprises to pop up once we leave". He took another bite. "And let me tell you something about you doctors." he said with a grin. "It seems that some of your friends are at the forefront of spreading the rumors about you and I." he told her. "So what ever your department lacks in operational information, they make up in gossip." Eva chuckled."It's not only about you and I. I swear Anastasia has a special PADD where she notes who is seeing who and every other bit of gossip she can get out of every crew member she talks to. I'm sure she could tell you what the Admiral had for dinner last night!" After a last bite, Eva put down her fork before picking up her glass. Tang grabbed Eva's plate along with his and put them into the kitchen. He walked back to the table and offered his hand to her, leading her to the couch. "I saw her talking to that security officer from the Pensacola a few days ago. . .Smith, I think." he told her. "The next thing I knew, everyone in Engineering was talking about him and that Klingon scientist there on the station". He took a seat on the couch. "That woman is dangerous, let me tell you." She took a seat next to him, curling her feet on her side. "Aren't we all?" she ask with a mischievous grin. "Oh before I forget, I brought you this" she said , digging in her pants pocket to produce a small data stick. "Put it on, I think you'll like it." He took the data stick from her. "Is it the rock climbing holosuite program from a few weeks ago?" he asked jokingly as he slid it into the console. "No, it's not. Just watch" she said, waiting for the holowall of the quarter to change. "It's the latest concert from the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. I figured you might appreciate." The wall lit up to display the orchestra. Tang took a seat back on the couch, pulling Eva closer to him. "Thank you lapochka" he said, kissing her forehead. "You shouldn't have". "I figured I should get a classical music education if I'm going to spend this much time around you." she said kissing him back. " And this is a start." she added moving closer to be able to put her head on his shoulder. "I still haven't played the piano for you" he said. "How could we have not done that yet?" he asked. "Probably because we were too busy trying to kill ourselves on the holosuite." he said, answering his own question. Eva pulled back, looking at him. "Well , you could play for me now" she said, smiling. " Unless you're too tired" she quickly added, not wanting to be a burden. Tang thought about it for a second. What he really needed was a piano here in his quarters, but there was hardly the room for that, so he always settled for the holodeck. "I suppose I could" he told her. "I believe the holodecks here on the Manticore are operational again". He looked down at her. "Shall we?" Eva grinned, jumping off the sofa, extending her hand as an answer. Tang took her hand and stood up, leading her out the door and down to the turbolift. "Do you have any preference on what you would like to hear?" he asked as the turbolift doors opened. "How about.." she started, trying to recall any composer but coming up short. "How about you surprise me." she said, putting her hand into his as the doors opened. Tang nodded. "Holodecks" he said. The lift started moving. "I think I can think of something to play for you." he told her. The doors slid open, and Tang headed towards the holodecks. As the entered, he spoke again to the computer. "Computer, play program Dalsazashvili 11 Alpha" he said. Their surroundings transformed into the promenade at the Academy. The room was empty save for the two of them. He walked towards the piano which sat atop a dais in the corner of the room. Eva looked around quietly taking in her surroundings. " Thank you for taking me here." she said gently. Feeling like she was entering a very private place; Tang's refuge. "My pleasure, lapochka." he told her as he took a seat at the piano. He thought about what he should play. "Hmmm. . .I guess I'll play some Liszt." he said after a few seconds. "This is called La Campanella". He took a deep breath as he placed his fingers on the ivory, and began to play. La Campanella , which translated into "The Little Bells", reminded Vakhtang of just that. The bells he envisioned were on a wind chime, blowing softly in the wind. The winds would pick up and die down, with the wind chime responding accordingly. It would sway back and forth in the wind, until, at the end of the song, a storm came in, gusting the wind chime violently until it was knocked of its hook, crashing into the ground. Eva closed her eyes, focusing on the music. Tang was truly talented. She smiled to herself before opening her eyes to watch the engineer's hands moving quickly on the piano. As the last notes died down around her, she started applauding. " Bravo!" she said clapping enthusiastically. "It was beautiful." she said approaching the piano. " You must promise that you will play for me again!" "I promise." he told her, motioning for her to sit down on the bench with him. She took a seat next to him, touching the instrument lightly before turning to him. " You have quite a talent..."she said softly. "Thank you" he told her. "I've been playing since I was a little boy. I guess its always come natural for me." He began to play the 1st movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. A simple, yet romantic selection, that Beethoven wrote in honor of a pupil he loved. "Its been a while since I've had the chance to play for anybody though. You're the first one to hear me play in about a year." He didn't know why he chose to play that. It was the first thing that came to his head after she sat down. " You think you could.. teach me one day?" she asked. Her fingers tracing his as he stopped playing. "Of course" he said, turning to face her. He looked down at her, into her eyes. He leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met, softly, yet passionately. He closed his eyes and wrapped one of his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. As they came apart, his eyes locked on hers. Something felt right about that moment, it was something he hadn't felt before in his life. "I love you." he whispered. He didn't mean to say it right then, and he didn't know why he did. But he knew he meant it. "I love you too" she answered softly before leaning in to kiss him softly.

3 days later. . . --- Vakhtang awaited Eva's arrival at the cafe. After the rock climbing debacle, as well as a host of other ill-conceived ideas as chosen by him, the two of them had agreed that their next holosuite excursion would be Eva's choice. Tang and Eva had been going on these holosuite dates every two or three days, along with dinners and/or lunches almost everyday. Given their situation, being essentially stranded on Maturin for a bare minimum of a month, spending time with her had made the time seem to go much quicker. It had also, for the most part, taken his mind off of the other Vakhtang. He hadn't quite worked up the courage to read full report on his other self, but he had at least was becoming more accepting of it. He saw Eva approaching and waved her over. Wondering just what exactly she had in store for them today. Eva smiled as she spotted Tang. She greeted him with a quick kiss on the cheek. " Ready?" she asked before putting her hand in his. Vakhtang began walking towards the holosuite. "Of course I am" he told her. "What have you decided to do today?" "Already told you before you tried to make us both paraplegic with the rock climbing." she said grinning. " Risa!" she added smiling. " But I thought of you too, I won't make you sit on a beach doing nothing I promise. Come on!" she said pulling him towards the Holosuite. Tang raised his eyebrows. "And what exactly does not doing nothing entail?" "Something fun" she said, not really explaining. Entering the holosuite, Eva pulled down her sunglasses over her eyes before speaking up." Computer, Begin Program." As she spoke, the holowalls shimmered and an island setting appeared before them. She pointed to the water. "Ta Da! Wind surfing! You're not the only one with crazy ideas around here, Dorogoi". Tang smiled. "I've always wanted to try wind surfing!" he said. "I always used to see people doing it back home, but I never got around to trying it" he paused, looking down at her, remembering the debacle they ran into while rock climbing. "You did read up on how we're supposed to do this, right?" She smiled sheepishly " I sure did, and at least if we fall it, will be in the water." She walked toward the shore before putting down her large tote under one of the umbrellas. She took out a two towels out the bag , handing Tang one. "In case you do want to just sit around as well" she added. "Maybe after we windsurf." he told her. Walking out towards the water, he paused and turned around. "Are you coming?" Eva quickly removed the tunic she was wearing over her bathing suit and ran toward the engineer. "I'm here! Ok.. so.. we need those!" she said pointing to the wind surfing equipment. Tang shifted direction, taking her by the hand and walking with her over to the board and rigs that awaited them. He surveyed the equipment for a second, grabbing on of the boards and placing it in the water from the dock on which it sat. He eyed the foot straps before sliding his feet in and tightening them. He looked of at Eva and waited for her to do the same. "You've done this before!!" she said pouting before copying what he had done." I guess we will need some kind of wind though." she said realizing there was none. "Computer, increase wind speed to 5 knots" She waited til the breeze started to blow her curls around. " Well, that's better." she smiled. "I've actually never done this before, but I've seen enough people do it" he told her. He let himself start floating away from the dock. "I don't know how to steer though." he admitted. "Did you read up on that part, lapochka?" "Of course I did." she answered. " You must lean backwards to steer into the wind and forward if you're trying to steer away, it seemed pretty easy from what the manual said. But then again, I'm sure rock climbing seemed that way as well." Tang began pulling the rig out of the water, as he grabbed a hold it, he felt the wind start pulling him further and away from the dock. He leaned back, then forward, trying to get a handle on the steering. "It seems pretty easy." he said after a few seconds, looking back at the dock towards Eva, motioning for her to come out off the dock. Tang made it look easy. Eva picked up the other rig and waited for the wind to pull her away from the dock. She started moving before loosing balance about a meter from shore falling in the water. She quickly resurfaced. "Very easy indeed" she said, swimming to get her rig back. Tang circled around back towards her. "You just gotta keep your balance, that's all." he chided her lightly. As he moved, he began to realize that he was on a direct course for Eva, panicking, leaned back to try and steer away from her, only to lean himself back too far, he felt one of his feet slip out of the foot straps, and landed back first into the water. He resurfaced after a few seconds and grinned sheepishly. "Like that." "I see" she said, grinning back. Still in the water, holding the rig and the board, she looked at Tang." You know, I think we should try bird watching" she said laughing while trying to get her feet back into the straps. Tang pulled himself back up on the board, slipping his feet back into the straps. "With our luck, we'll end up getting attacked by some over-sized hawk" he said. Pulling the rig up out of the water again, he began sailing away from Eva. "So if we're going to fail, we might as well fail doing something spectacular, don't you think?" "I would be back under that umbrella if I didn't agree" she answered, pulling herself back on the board and leaning backward, letting the wind carry her. "This is actually fun!" she said sounding surprised. She smiled to herself as she managed to keep her balance leaning back and forth with the wind. The two of them glided about the water, seeming to get the hang of it. After a few minutes, Vakhtang spoke up. "What do you say we add some waves into the water?" he asked her, turning himself to face her. "Feeling adventurous" she said smiling before calling upon the computer. "Computer, Increase waves by 30%". She held on tight, as the computer obliged the request. "Here we go" she said smiling at Tang, before sailing a little farther away. Tang allowed his board to slide into one of the breakers, leaning back into the wind as the wave's momentum carried him towards the shore. He steered out of the wave and looked back at Eva, a subtle grin creeping across his face. "Do you mind if I tried something?" he said, an idea popping into his head. She looked at him suspiciously, noticing the grin. "Go for it!" she said bravely. His grin grew a little wider as he sailed out deeper into the water. "Computer, increase wind speed to 20 knots and increase wave height to 6 feet." he turned to Eva, grinning even wider now. "Hold on, lapochka." he told her as he felt is board start to plane under him. "Did you say 20 knots?" she asked, her question being answered by a gust of wind, sending her flying off balance straight into the water. Tang did not notice Eva's loss of balance. Instead, his attention was focused on the wave forming in front of him. Leaning backward he brought his board around in a full circle, gaining speed as he did. Holding on to the board, having given up on retrieving the rig in the waves forming, Eva looked around trying to locate Vakhtang. She grinned, seeing him plane over the water, clearly impressed. Tang reached the wave as it began to crest, it looked a lot taller than he thought it would be. He leaned forward, trying to angle his board into the wave, only to realize that he was carrying too much speed. His board careened to the side, but not before it passed over the top of the cresting wave, sending him airborne. He let out a yelp of fear, letting go of the rig as his feet slid out of the straps. He came crashing down face first into the water. Coming up after a few seconds, he tried to catch his breath, as he had had the wind knocked of him upon his crash landing. "Computer, stop all waves and decrease wind to 5 knots." he said, panting. As the water settled, he spied Eva about 20 meters away from him. "I guess that wasn't such a good idea." he admitted, paddling his way, board in hand, towards her. "You were pretty impressive there for a moment" she said, trying to get the wet strands of hair away from her eyes. "Beach?" she asked, looking toward the shore. Tang nodded, "That sounds good." he told her, finally catching his breath. He swam up to her, and wrapped his arms around her under the water. Giving her a kiss on the lips. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something." he said to her, his cheeks beginning to flush a bit. "Yes?" she answered. Tang the inner part of his lip, as he always did when he was nervous. "I was wondering if. . .after dinner tonight. . .if. . .well. . ." he paused for a second in a vain attempt to stop stuttering. "I was. . .Do you. . .Would you like to, um, stay in my quarters tonight?" he asked her, silently cursing himself for sounding like a schoolboy asking a girl out to prom. "Oh.." she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. " I think I could do that." she answered gently smiling at him. " Did anyone ever told you that you are adorable when you blush?" she asked grinning. The comment made Tang blush even more. "Not really, no." he admitted, looking away for a second before looking back at her. "Shall we spend some time on the beach first?" "If you don't mind. These spots need some sun, even if it's a holosun. Come on..." she said, starting to swim back toward the beach.

About 10 days later. . . Eva brought Josh up to date on the patients files while glancing at the wall chronometer, anxious to get back on the station. She quickly made her way back to her quarters to change . Eva walked around the station’s promenade, looking for Tang. Spotting him near the coffee shop, she waved and made her way to him. “So what are we doing that requires me to wear comfortable shoes?” she asked. “You’ll see.” He said with a smile, bending down to kiss her on the cheek as she reached him. “Come on, I’ve reserved one of the holosuites.” he told her, grabbing her by the hand and walking towards the suite. She grinned following him. “Better not be another ice fishing trip on Andoria!” she warned him. “My toes were frozen for at least 12 hours.” Tang shook his head. “No, no! Its nothing like that at all.” he assured her as they reached to holosuite. “And that wasn’t -that- bad.” he countered. She narrowed her eyes still smiling. “Yes it was!” she said, reaching the door and stepping into the holosuite. “ Take notes, this gal does not like cold!” Tang nodded and closed his eyes as if taking mental notes. “Doesn’t like cold...Doesn’t like large wild animals with a penchant for slobbering.” he said, opening his eyes. “I learn more and more every time we go out.” he said with a grin. She stepped on her tip toes to kiss him gently. “ Good man!” she answered with a smile. “Ok, what do you have in store for today?” she asked looking around at the empty holosuite walls. “Computer, begin program.” he said. Their surroundings transformed around them. In front of them appeared a large wall of stone and rock, surrounded by a hilly desert dotted with chaparral brush and joshua trees. “Welcome to Joshua Tree National Park on Earth!” he told her. “One of the Earth’s meccas for. . .wait for it. . .rock climbing!” he said, motioning to the crag which now sat before them. Eva closed her eyes for a moment before bursting into a genuine laugh. “You will be the death of me dorogoi.” she said, calling him by the russian pet name Nurse Bellamy had taught her. “ I’m picking the program next time, and it might be a Risan beach where I can rest my poor sore feet.” she added before slipping her hand into his and walking towards the rock. “Bah!” he joked. “That’s no fun.” He took a few steps towards the rock. “Okay so. . .” he began, realizing that he really had no idea on how to rock climb. “So yeah, the umm. . .The goal is to, obviously, uhh, climb to the top of the rock.” She smiled. “And you double checked that the safeties were on? Because I can’t take care of you if I have a cracked skull myself” she said before putting her hand against the rock, trying to figure a way to start climbing. Tang had to think about her question for a split second. “Yeah, they are. Its the beginners program.” he told her. “The safeties cannot be turned off on it.” He motioned to the pair of ropes a meter to his side. “This is where we climb, lapochka.” he said, leading her over to the ropes. She shook her head laughing. “You sound like quite the expert. How about I watch you and try to follow.” she said chuckling. “Ok.” he said. Immediately trying to remember what he had read last night when he was going through the ‘how to’ book he had downloaded onto his PADD. “You take your hook and you hook it on to the bottom of the rope.” he said, doing it as he spoke. And as you climb, there are hooks all the way up the rope that you hook up to so you don’t fall that far if you happen to let go.” he took a deep breath and grabbed the rope, and began climbing. “Oooof.” he grunted as he began to climb. “This is harder than it looks on the holos.” after he made it to the next hook, he unhooked and rehooked and looked down at Eva, who stood about 3 meters below him. “Ok now, you try!” Eva hooked herself to the rope still looking at the wall dubiously. “ Risa is already starting to sound tempting isn’t it?” she asked, hauling herself up the rope. Her cheeks already flushed from the effort, she reached him, unhooking and rehooking herself next to him, her feet against the wall. “I bet I can beat you to the top.” she challenged him, smiling mischievously. Tang returned the grin. “You’re on.” he told her, immediately hoisting himself up the rope further, moving a lot quicker than before. Eva watched him for a second before pulling herself up the rope at a slightly faster pace, having less weight to haul. “Muhahaha” she taunted him, sticking out her tongue. He tried to pull himself up quicker, but to no avail. She was moving up the rope quicker than he could. “See?” he managed to say as the breaths he drew became deeper and more labored. “You’re better at this than you thought!” he said, racing after her, ignoring each passing safety hook as they raced their way to the top. “Yeah, Yeah..” she answered him not letting him slow her down with chit chat. A couple minutes later she hoisted herself up the top of the climbing rock wall. “ Guess who’s owing me a massage for my poor muscles now?” she said smiling waiting for him to reach her, catching her breath. Tang managed to hoist himself onto the top of the ledge, completely out of breath and flushed from the climb. “I think I’ll be taking a massage too.” he said, panting. He sat at the edge of the ledge as he caught his breath, looking down towards bottom of the rock they had just scaled, when suddenly, it hit him. . .He hadn’t read about how to get down off the top of the rock after he had climbed it. “What?” she asked, seeing his expression change. “ Don’t tell me you have no idea how to get down?” she guessed, looking down at the floor below them. He looked at her, then back down to the ground. “No, no. Getting down is easy. . .” he lied. You see, you just. . .climb down, just like you climbed up.” it sounded logical, at least. “Climb.. down.. isn’t that an oxymoron?” she asked pulling out a water bottle from she had clipped to her shorts, taking a large gulp of it before offering it to Tang. Tang took the water from Eva and took a gulp of it himself. “Well, there’s a technical term for it. I just don’t remember what it is. . .” he thought for a moment. “Rappelling, I think its called.” “Uh huh” she answered. “ Remind me why I’m stuck on top of a wall again?” she asked, grinning at him. “Because you climbed to the top of it, duh.” he said sarcastically, giving her a peck on the cheek. “Now, lets get back down.” he stood up and grabbed the rope. Slowly but surely, he began to let himself down off the side of the rock. “See?” he told her. “It’s easy. Just like this.” “Don’t fall” she warned him, not entirely trusting holodeck safeties. She secured the water bottle back , keeping her eyes on him, before grabbing the rope with both hands pushing her feet against the wall. Tang’s hands were already beginning to burn ‘Perhaps you should have worn gloves, idiot’ he thought to himself as he lowered himself a little further. They obviously were not doing this right, but they were stuck now. “Good thing I am not needed in surgery this week, because I don’t think there will be an inch of skin left on my palms.” she called out to Tang below her. Tang waited for Eva to catch up with him. In the time it had taken them to climb up the rock, the two of them had made it not even a third of the way down. Tang did not know how he was going to be able to make it all the way down. As Eva reached him, a he put a hand over to steady her wobbly decent. “I got you, lapochka. We’re almost all the way down.” he peered down. “At least almost half way down.” he corrected himself. Hooking her rope next to him to take a moment for her sore hands to rest, she looked at him. “I think we’re doing this wrong.” she said stating the obvious. “What if we tried pushing ourselves off from the wall, like a swing or something and hooking the rope back up lower?” she ventured, trying to figure out if that would simply bring them crashing down to the bottom of the rock wall. Tang thought about that for a second, before unhooking and attempting the maneuver as Eva had described it. It worked like a charm, Tang let the rope slide through his hands as he slid down. As his legs came back towards the rock, he attempted to grasp the rope in order to stop himself, only to be met with the agonizing pain of rope burn against his already raw palms. He began falling to the floor uncontrollably, unable to right himself. He landed with a thud, a softer thud then what it should have been due to the holosuite safety protocols, but a still a fairly hard thud nonetheless. “Tang!!” she said, trying to see what had happen, still stuck half way up the wall. “ Are you alright?” she asked,a little panic in her voice. He looked back up at Eva, allowing himself time to catch his breath, as he had had the wind knocked out of him. “I’m fine.” he managed to get out. “Maybe next time, we just end the holo suite program as opposed to trying something stupid like I just did.” “Hold on” she said. “ I think I know what you did wrong” she added pushing herself off the wall, using the strength of her legs. She quickly made it down almost to the ground before her momentum brought her back against the wall a little more suddenly than she expected. “Ahhh!” she yelped as her feet tangled themselves in the rope dangling below. “ Help?” she asked finding herself stuck in the rope a meter above the ground. Tang managed to haul himself up off the ground, his back feeling the effects of the fall. He limped over to where Eva hung helplessly in the rope. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, supporting her body weight. “Computer, end program.” he said. Their surrounding abruptly disappeared, and the rest of Eva’s weight that was being supported by the rope transferred into Tang’s arms, which were too weak to really be of any use. He fell backwards, managing to support her enough so that she fell directly on top of him. As they hit the floor, Eva rolled on her side, not wanting to crush him. “Ow!” she said, before turning to Tang who was lying next to her and bursting into an uncontrollable laughter. Holding her ribs that were hurting from laughing too much she managed to take a breath and talk. “ One word..” she stopped, laughing again. “ Risa!” she finished before crawling to kiss him. Tang attempted to laugh, but his body ached too much to even attempt. “I don’t think I like rock climbing.” he managed to say, looking up at her and smiling. She grinned before wincing as she put her sore hands to the ground to get up. “Come on, I know a good doctor that can patch us up.” she said trying to help him get up.

Eva watched Tang as he took a seat on the station bench. "We don't have to talk if you don't feel up to it, you know" she said gently looking at him. She could tell by his expression that something he was told during his interrogation still bothered him. Tang stayed quiet for a few seconds, before looking at her. "No, its okay." he said, his voice soft, "Its probably better that I talk about it, really." Eva turned off her PADD, putting it down by her side before turning her attention back to Vakhtang. "What's on your mind?" she asked softly. He looked down at the floor, not knowing where exactly to begin. But there was one obvious place. "I found out about the Vakhtang of his universe" he told her, looking back up at her. "He's. . . ." he paused. "He's not in Starfleet. He's back on earth. A conductor. . .of an orchestra." Eva nodded slightly, not saying a word, encouraging him to continue. He looked down at the floor again. "I don't know. . ." he said, his voice trailing off. "I guess I'd thought I'd have an easier time dealing with it, you know?" he took a deep breath. "It feels, like. . .like someone. . .I don't know." he let out a frustrated sigh, leaning forward and running his hand through his head. "It feels like someone stole the life I really wanted for myself, and is acting it out for themselves, if that makes any sense." Eva rubbed his back gently. "It mustn't be easy to see the "what ifs", but this Vakhtang is not you. Each choice you made, lead you to the path you're on right now. Made you different from this universe's Tang. He is not you, and you are not him either..." she let the sentence unfinished. Tang let out a grunt, "You're more right than you know." he told her wryly. "They gave me a new 'identity', one that will be of official records. . . .Yevgeni Markov." he said, the name tasting like a bitter fruit as it escaped his mouth. "Its like they told me. 'You aren't you anymore.' Like I'm some sort of impostor." Eva placed a hand on his chin, turning his face towards her. ""What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet..." she quoted before adding: " You know who you are, deep inside, you do. The fact that there is another person in this universe that looks exactly like you does not change that." she added, looking him in the eyes. Vakhtang eyes locked onto hers for a long moment. "When I saw you in sickbay earlier, I thought of our dinner a few days ago." he began. "Then I remembered how I didn't want that evening to end." he said, letting his voice trail off before speaking again. "It. . ." he paused, thinking of the right words. "It made me think about how that night would have never happened if I would have been living the life of this other Vakhtang." he told her. "And, it made me feel fortunate, you know? Fortunate to have been able to spend that evening with you." Eva tried to hide how delighted she was with the comment, she smiled before answering."I thought I was the fortunate one." Tang managed a smile of his own. "I guess we both were." he put his arm around her and pulled her gently closer to him.

And yes, I knew this day from memory. Don't hate me 'cause I'm geeky.

About 12 hours after his initial arrival, Vakhtang still sat by himself in the office. He hadn't attempted to leave, although he had tried to open the door, only to find himself locked in. He had also attempted to comm out, both from the room and his badge, only to find himself denied on both accounts. He had gone through the stage of being claustrophobic, as well as being angry. He figured that he was around half way his stir-crazy stage, and almost to the stage of accepting the fact that he was never going to get out of this room. Then, almost mercifully, the door opened. In walked a human female. Her expression was pleasant and non-threatening. It made Vakhtang wonder if she was just someone they had sent to ensure that he was still alive. "Lieutenant Dalsazashvili" She said in greeting as she walked in. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Doris Melcher of the Bureau of Temporal and Alternate Universe Investigations. I've been assigned to your case." Tang just nodded in greeting. Attempts at being cordial and apologetic might have been effective a few hours ago, but not now. Vakhtang knew, however, that getting angry about it would do him absolutely no good. "I'm going to get down to the facts, Lieutenant" she said as she sat down. "Based on the information we have gathered, the fact that you are a Starfleet officer, and the fact that you managed to go through a vetting process to be assigned to a Black Ops vessel in a timeline that seems to be fairly identical to ours for all intents and purposes means that we have no reason to believe that you are a here of any malevolent purpose." "That's good to know." Vakhtang said, keeping his tone as light as he could given his mood. "However, it does not explain why you decided to come to this universe" she said, implying that she was expecting an answer in return. "I came here because I am assigned to the USS Manticore" he replied, if only for lack of having a better answer. "Yes, you were assigned to the USS Manticore, in your universe" the investigator replied evenly. "However, your presence here is a direct violation of the prime directive, and you know this." Tang did not have an answer for that, for she was right. His presence here in this universe, as well as his conscious choice to come here, was indeed a violation of the prime directive. "I have no other response other than to agree with you" he finally conceded. The investigator nodded, partially not expecting the answers that she got from him. "Well, you're here, though, and there is currently no way in which we can get you back to your universe where you belong. So we'll make due." Tang nodded, and waited for her to complete her thought. "First things first. We've created a new 'official' identity for you" she said, producing a PADD from her pocket. Since we already have a Vakhtang Dalsazashvili in the world, you officially need to be someone different" she handed the PADD to him and allow him to digest the information on it." "Yevgeni Markov. . ." he said, before looking up at her "Am I supposed go by this name now?" "You can go by Susan if it make you feel comfortable" she told him. "All this is an official record so as to not cause any consternation between you and the other Vakhtang Dalsazashvili. . .the –real- one, as far as we here in this universe are concerned. If you or your crewmates want to keep referring to yourself as Vakhtang, that's perfectly fine. Its just not your real name anymore. Tang ignored the dig in favor of a rising curiosity about the other Vakhtang. He silently wondered whether or not he was somewhere on this station, locked in a similar room so as to avoid contact with him. Since she brought it up, he felt now was as good a time as any to ask. "And what about my. . .other self." Melcher leaned back in her chair. "Yes, him." She said, pausing. "Chances are you'll never run into him. But you need to be aware of who he his and what he's doing nonetheless." Tang waited in anticipation to hear about what his doppelganger was doing in this universe. "Vakhtang Dalsazashvili is currently the conductor and music director at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg ." It took a few moments for that information to register, yet he still couldn't truly process it. "Come again?" "Mr. Dalsazashvili is the current conductor and music director at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg ." Tang frowned. "How is that even possible?" he asked. "Even if I had decided to go to the conservatory, I would have barely graduated a year ago. That's not nearly en. . ." "I don't make up these situations, Lieutenant. I just report them" she interrupted him, handing yet another PADD. "You can research more about his career path at another time. However, you are to refrain from having any contact with him, his wife, or his family for as long as you are in our universe, is that clear?" "Wife?" he replied. "That's not exactly the response I was looking for, Lieutenant." "Yes, it's clear." Suddenly, the reality was beginning to set in. No more contact with his family, his childhood friends. He was beginning to wonder whether or not it was a good idea to come here after all. "Good. Now, you're free to proceed back to the Manticore, Lieutenant Junior Grade Markov" she said, taking a little bit of pleasure in using his newly given identity. Tang stood up and exited the office. He was partially numb from the information that he had received. It was a shock, to say the least. Not only did he enter the academy. But he had somehow made is way all the way up to conductor and music director. Such information was most certainly enough to make him second guess his career choice. It took him about 5 minutes to make his way back to the Manticore, and as he arrived he headed straight to his quarters. There was a lot for him to process and think about. It took him about an hour to work up the courage to start going through the PADD about the other Vakhtang. He wanted to know everything about what he had missed.

Petty Officer 1st Class Lorenzo Ruiz sat in the mess aboard Maturin station, enjoying a his lunch. He was about half way finished when he saw two gentleman approaching him from the entrance. They were making attempt to hide their intent either, they strode towards him purposefully, their eyes fixated on him. Ruiz spoke first as they approached. "May I help you gentlemen?" he asked, keeping his voice cordial, even if their presence was anything but. "Your presence is requested with our superior" the taller man said. "Not a problem" Lorenzo replied, his tone still cordial. "Just give me a few moments to finish my lunch" he told him taking another bite of his sandwich. "Your presence is requested –immediately-, Mr. Ruiz." the guard countered. It wasn't a statement, it was a demand. Lorenzo looked up at the man for a long moment before finally standing up. He was still hungry, but figured he didn't have a choice in the matter. "Ok then. Let's go." The two men led him into part of the station he had never been. Then again, one did not just wander aimlessly around Maturin , so there was much he actually hadn't seen. After about a 3 or so minute walk, they made their way into an office where a human female dressed in civilian clothing was awaiting them. "Petty Officer 1st class Lorenzo Ruiz, I presume" she said, her voice carrying a slightly less threatening than that of his escorts. "Yes ma'am" He said, stepping into the office. "What can I do for you Ms. . ." "You can have a seat here at the desk, thank you" she told him, either not wanting to reveal her name or just not taking the hint. Lorenzo assumed it was most likely the former as he took his seat. The door slid shut behind him, leaving his two escorts outside the door. "So you are aware, you are taking part in a temporal/alternate universe investigation" the woman told him. Ruiz, could feel the color leaving his face, it had something to do with the Manticore, he knew that, yet he didn't know how exactly he got pulled into it, unless. . .'Soandso. . .' he thought. It most likely had something to do with his interaction with him. "For the record," she continued. "This is not a full interrogation, just some questions regarding. . .activity. . .of yours that may or may not be relevant to our investigation." Ruiz nodded, making a mental note that he owed Mr. Soandso a stiff knee to the mid-section. "Good," she said, leaning forward, her arms resting on the desk in front of her. "About 1 day prior to the arrival of the Manticore, you downloaded to your personal PADD a certain broadcast, can you tell what that was?" Ruiz assumed she already knew the answer. For this not being an interrogation, she was sure framing her questions as if it was one. "I downloaded the latest episode of a Federation Public Broadcasting program called The First Chair." "And can you tell me the featured guest?" "Maestro Vakhtang Dalsazashvili of the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra" the Soandso connection was now complete. He had asked Lorenzo about Dalsazashvili on board the Pensacola . But he wondered what that had to do with anything related to the Manticore and the investigation surrounding it, other than a Manticore crew member asking him about the Maestro. "Yes," the woman replied in agreement "And why did you decide to download this program?" "I download every episode of this program" he said, producing his personal PADD from his pocket and placing it on the table. "Each episode is on there, save for the newest one being broadcast today." The woman left his PADD sitting on the desk and pulled out her own. Ruiz could not see what she was reading, but he had no doubt she was confirming the information he had just volunteered. There was about 30 seconds of silence before the woman spoke. "Do you have any personal relationship with Mr. Dalsazashvili or any of his family?" Ruiz blinked, not knowing where this was going now. "No ma'am" he said, I know his family runs one of the larger maintenance and parts companies for privately owned starships in the Federation, but other than that, I have never met him on any of his family." "So you would classify yourself as just a fan of Mr. Dalsazashvili's work, then?" Ruiz thought about that for a split second. "Not directly," he replied. "I know of him and knew his rise to music director caused quite a stir within the classical music community, but he hasn't really put out any original works yet, other than the one he just produced as he said in the episode, for anyone to really become a fan of his per se." The woman nodded, she seemed satisfied enough with his answers. There were a few moments of silence before she spoke again "As a member of the Federation Black Ops fleet, you should know that the information I am about to tell you is of the highest levels of security, most definitely above your clearance level. However, given your unique perspective of the situation, I would classify you in the category of "need to know" in this case." Lorenzo just nodded, still not quite following. "The Manticore brought home with them a number of guests not of our timeline" she told him. "One of which is Mr. Dalsazashvili, only this version entered the Academy and became an engineer. He was assigned to the Manticore while it was in the alternate universe, and he was returned with it." Ruiz raised his eyebrows, not knowing how exactly to respond to that. "Oh really?" he heard himself say. The woman nodded. "Yes, really" she responded. "Your orders are to stay away from discussing his other self with him should the two of you come into contact. Is that clear?" Ruiz nodded. "Yes ma'am" he replied. "Good. You are free to leave" she told him. "Thank you ma'am," he said as he stood up, giving her a respectful nod before turning and heading towards the door. It looks like Al was off the hook. The obviously didn't catch his conversation with him. "Oh, and Mr. Ruiz?" she called after him. Lorenzo turned around. "Yes ma'am." "Don't blame this on your friend, Aloysius" She said, a smirk forming on the edge of her lips. "You would have been called in here either way."

It had been 6 hours since the Manticore had arrived at Maturin Station. For about 5 ½ of those hours, Vakhtang had found himself sequestered in an office. It wasn't a brig cell, nor was it an interrogation room, it was someone's office. Its accommodations were more than he had expected them to be. The room was equipped comfortable chairs and a couch, it was well lit, and there was even a replicator, which the officers who had "escorted" him had even made a point to tell Tang that he was more than free to make use of. Yet after 5 ½ hours, the once "hospitable" surroundings was beginning feel like walls closing in on him. Decided to lay down on the couch and try and catch a nap. He figured that, for whatever reason, he was still in the beginning stages of his semi-imprisonment. They had told him that he was to be questioned extensively, but that he had nothing to fear or to worry about. Despite their faux cordiality, Tang could sense their guardedness around him. It was almost as if he was just as much a specimen as he was a living, breathing being. But at the same time, he had no choice but to take everything they told him a face value. He was here, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it for the moment. "Computer" he said, closing his eyes. "Play classical Human Baroque period music, random selections." The computer beeped in compliance and began to play a piece he had heard before, but could not place in his mind. 'At least I don't have to lay here in silence' he thought. Moments later, he had drifted asleep. * * * Petty Officer 2nd Class Aloysius Soandso sat in an office not to far from Vakhtang. He had been pulled off the Manticore less than 10 minutes ago, and his interrogation was to begin immediately. His escorts had not left them room, and seemed to carry with them a slightly less welcoming demeanor and attitude. A figure walked through the door, a female human that Al did not recognize. His first impulse was to stand up salute, but he subdued that urge as he came to the realization that the woman was wearing civilian clothing. Her demeanor was not too far away from that of the guards. "It has come to our understanding that you have inquired about the status of your counterpart's doppelganger" the woman said. No greeting or introduction, no beating around the bush. "Yes I did, ma'am" he said. Keeping his answer short and succinct. He knew the ball game; keep your answers short and sweet, and don't volunteer information that they don't ask for. "Why?" she said, her voice carrying a steely cold edge to it. It wasn't a question as much as it was a demand for more information. "I was curious ma'am" he told his interrogator. "Curious enough to risk breaking protocol?" she countered. "Curious enough to risk putting a dear friend of yours right in the crossfire of a temporal/alternate universe investigation?" Al could feel the blood rushing out of his face. "I didn't want to involve anyone else" he heard himself answer. "The information I gathered was unclassified public domain and did not break any protocol." The lowering eyebrows of his interrogator signaled to Soandso that he had just given a wrong answer. "You're treading on thin ice, Mr. Soandso. If I were you, I'd tread a little lighter." Al did not respond, so as to not inflict anymore damage on himself than he already had. He knew he shouldn't have gone over to Pensacola . "The fact of the matter is, Mr. Soandso, you didn't break protocol" his interrogator told him. "But more out of blind dumb luck than anything else." She stood up, her gaze piercing through him. "Next time, don't let your common sense get overridden by your curiosity" she told him. She let her words hang in the air for a moment before speaking again. "Consider this your warning, Mister Soandso." With that, she turned towards the door and nodded to one of the guards as she walked out. The guard waiting for the door to shut prior to speaking. "You're free to go" he told Al. "Proceed directly back to the Manticore and remain in lockdown on board the vessel until further notice." Al stood up and walked out, barely acknowledging either guard as he exited the office. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to inquire about Vakhtang after all.

Moms Everywhere Trust Tang!

...then don't ask the question. Petty Officer 2nd Class Aloysius Soandso had made his way to the crew mess on the USS Pensacola. He was off to share a lunch with dear friend of his, PO1 Lorenzo Ruiz, engineering crewman aboard the Pensacola. The two had been in tech school together, and had kept in touch over time, especially with both men being stationed on Black Ops vessels. It had been a few months since the two of them had caught up, and this tow back to Maturin was a prime opportunity for that. Plus, Al was curious about something. . . He spied his friend already in mid-meal near the back of the mess. He smiled and gave a friendly head nod of acknowledgement as he approached. "Lolo! How you doing, buddy?" "I'm doing great, my friend!" Ruiz said standing up to greet Soandso, giving him a friendly hug. "Grab your self something to eat and have a seat" he said as he released his friend, sitting back down. Al waved him off. "That's alright, I ate before I beamed aboard." He said, taking a seat across from his friend. "We thought we had lost you guys." Lorenzo began. "We searched for about a month, they called it off. Then all of a sudden, you guys just seem to pop up out of thin air here in the middle of nowhere." He said, taking a bite of his lunch. "I know I'm not supposed to ask you what happened, so I'm not going to. I'm just glad you guys are back." "Thanks, Lolo. It's good to be back" Al told his friend. "I'll be sure to tell you all about it one day." "I look forward to it." Ruiz said in reply, "I'll bet you're not looking forward to that debrief you guys have coming though." Al just shook his head. "Nope." He told him. "One of the joys of being enlisted though is that I probably won't get the worst of it, like some of the other guys on board". His mind immediately raced to Tang, one of the newer arrivals on the Manticore. More accurately, one of the Manticore crewmen that had arrived while the Manticore was still in the parallel universe. He was most likely to receive on of the harsher debriefs. He was also one of the reasons he had come over to the Pensacola in the first place. The other enlisted man raised his glass in agreement. "I hear that" he said in reply, taking another bite of his lunch. A silence settled in has Ruiz chewed his food. Soandso thought it as good a time as any to bring up his new found friend on the Manticore, or at least, this universe's version of him. "Hey listen," Soandso began, leaning forward. "Could you do me a favor?" he asked, his voice lowering so as to not carry through the small mess hall. Ruiz's gaze hardened a little, as if sensing that his friend was about to ask him something that could get him into deep trouble. "Depends on the favor" he said, the volume of his voice matching Soandso's. "It's nothing big, I just wanted to see if you could check on a buddy of mine" he said, his voice still low, but casual. Ruiz, eyed his counterpart carefully, as if trying to catch any deceit in his eyes. "I probably shouldn't access records of anyone," he said after a few seconds of silence. "For both our sakes." Soandso raises his hands up in a gesture of apology. "You're right, Lolo. You're right" He told his friend. "Just forgot I asked." He said, leaning back in his seat. Ruiz, took another bite of his food. "Let's do it this way," he said mid-chew before swallowing. "Tell me his name and I'll see if I know of him just off-hand without accessing any records." "Okay," Al replied, amenable to this option. The last thing he wanted to do was get someone in trouble for satisfying his own piqued curiosity. If, Lolo knew of Tang, then Lolo knew of him. If he was questioned about it, he could say he was just a passing question from an old friend and place it right back on Soandso's shoulders. "His name is Vakhtang Dalsazashvili." It was just the slightest of tells, but Soandso knew that the name had somehow registered. "You know that man?" Ruiz asked. Soandso nodded. "Yeah" he replied. He had to tread carefully now, just to keep from revealing something that could be used against is fellow enlisted man. "Our. . .um. . .paths crossed a while ago," he said, almost coming up a little too cryptically. "We hit it off, and try to keep in touch with him. . .Or at least how his career's going anyways" He said, scratching the back of his neck in a slight fit of inadvertent nervousness. Ruiz nodded. "Well, its going pretty well, I'd say. He was on a holocast on Federation Public Broadcasting a few days ago." Soandso's eyebrows raised. "Really?" he said with slight surprise. He wondered why in the universe a Starfleet engineer would end up on FPB, which normally tended to shy away from military types. Ruiz nodded in response. "Yeah, I've got it downloaded on my personal PADD, I try and catch all of their interviews". He took the last bite of his lunch before standing up. "You want to see it?" he asked his friend. "It's in my bunk, just down the hall from here." Al nodded. "Sure." He replied, standing up, still trying to figure out why exactly Tang would be on an FPB broadcast. "Its funny." Ruiz said as the walked towards the exit of the mess. "I thought you didn't like classical music." 'Wait, what? Did he just say classical music?' "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." Soandso said, trying to make his friend repeat what he said. Ruiz angled his body back towards Soandso as they walked down the narrow corridor. "I said its funny because I thought you didn't like classical music." He repeated. "Yet here you are asking me about the conductor of the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra." It took everything Soandso had not to stop dead in his tracks. "Well, yeah. . .yanno. . .like I said. . .um. . .our paths crossed, and he. . .umm. . .we talked a little bit. . .and uh. . . he seemed like a. . .um. . .a nice guy and all, so. . .um. . .I've been keeping tabs on what he's. . .uhhh. . .been doing" he managed to get out as they reached Ruiz's bunk. Ruiz pulled out the PADD. "Hmm, let me see here," he said as he went sifting through his downloaded media. "Ahh, here it is," he said as he found it. "Yeah, it was less that a week ago." He said pressing the start button. "Greetings and welcome to the 'The First Chair'. Your destination for the best access to the Arts! My name is Anton Weiss" the man said as the playback started. "Today, I am backstage at the Mariinsky Theatre with Vakhtang Dalsazashvili, the current music director of the famed Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, and youngest person ever to hold that title." The camera panned out to reveal the guest, and Soandso's eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the floor. It was Tang. Slightly smaller and carrying a little less muscle than the one he knew, but it was unmistakably him. "It's a pleasure to be here, Herr Weiss" he heard Vakhtang reply. He even -sounds- exactly like him. Soandso thought to himself. He immediately thought back to the conversation he had had with Vakhtang. . .the Tang he knew. . .about a week prior. There was no doubt he would find out sooner or later about it, and Al wondered just how he would respond. He knew that this was exactly what he wanted to do with his life, but fate had chose differently for him. . .Yet at the same time, here he was, right before Soandso's eyes, living that life out. It was beyond his comprehension, really. "So how did you come to the decision of musician?" Soandso heard the interviewer ask Vakhtang as his attention snapped back to the broadcast "I flipped a coin." "You flipped a coin?" "Yes," Vakhtang said, with a smile "I flipped a coin. . .Heads I'm an engineer, tails I'm a musician. It came up tails, and here I am." Soandso almost fell as he tried to sit himself on the bed. His mind was still unable to process everything as he saw. It was the same story he had heard a week earlier, just a different outcome. It was one of the most incredible things that he'd ever seen. There was a part of him that was extremely happy for his friend. He had saw the hidden pain in his eyes when he talked about what could have been, and how he wished that this was the life he had chosen for himself. Yet at the same time, he knew that the man whose image he saw on the PADD was not Vakhtang that he knew. ". . .a sit down with famed clarinet player Eidur Eidursson. Until then, we bid you farewell." The broadcast abruptly switched off, and Soandso sat there in silence. Ruiz turned off the PADD and stashed it under his bunk. "So yeah, his concert was a few days ago and from what I read in the Classical Music Newsletter before we left Maturin to fetch you. It received great reviews." Soandso managed only a nod at first. "That's great, that's great." he said, his voice trailing off. "He's a good guy, and. . .uhhh. . .I'm happy for him. . .very happy" he said. He suddenly realized that he needed to exit the premises quickly before Ruiz started asking questions. "Hey. . .so listen," He began, standing up off the bunk. "I've gotta get back to the Manticore, but. . .uhh. I was great to see you again, and uhh. . .Hey, lets see if we can catch up some more at Maturin. . .Sound good?" Ruiz nodded in agreement. "Yeah that sounds good, Al." he told his friend. "Its just good to see you alive, buddy" he said with a smile and a pat on the shoulder. Soandso forced a smile to the edge of his lips, which, to his credit, looked somewhat natural. "Its good to be alive." He said, making his way towards the edge of the bunk. "I'll see you around." He said, exiting as quick as his unsteady legs would let him. Soandso walked down the hall back towards the TL. He needed to get back to his bunk and lie down for a moment. He knew one thing for certain. The next few days around Vakhtang would be awkward. He wanted to tell him, but he knew he couldn't. It was something that Tang would have to figure out for himself, on his own terms. He had to keep it a secret from everyone else, too. Not only did he not want the information to get back to Tang, but he didn't need the fact that he was spreading temporal related gossip across the ship either, especially with a debriefing up ahead. As he walked, Petty Officer 2nd Class Aloysius Soandso suddenly wished he hadn't come here to the Pensacola at all.

It wasn’t just Tang’s goofy grin that tipped Petty Officer 2nd Class Aloysius Soandso off, it was his posture, the fading redness in his cheeks, and the humming as well. “What put you in such a good mood?” he asked the man. “My guess is its more than your new pip. . .Congrats on that, by the way.” “Thanks.” Tang replied. “And how do you know it’s not just about my shiny new pip?” he said walking back to his console and plugging the PADD in with the data he had just retrieved. “Because I’m not stupid.” Soandso retorted. “I can tell the difference between a proud ' I just got promoted ’ grin. And a funny looking ‘ Hehehe I’m in 5th grade and a girl just talked to me ’ grin.” he told Tang. “So who’s the lucky girl?” Tang’s eyes kept fixated on the console, if for no other reason than to keep still smitten facial expression hidden. “Dr. Jaz,” he told his counterpart. “And I didn’t ask her out, she asked me.” “Waitasec” Soandso interrupted. “You mean Dr. Jaz as in the Dr. Jaz that the Chief spent 2 days grumbling about after the whole Harvester incident?” Tang just nodded in reply, his gaze staying fixated on the console as if carefully analyzing the data it was providing, only the data hadn’t finished loading, and he was staring at a blank screen. “Well good for you,” Soandso congratulated him. “Just don’t tell the chief about it unless you want to hear a lecture on doctors.” Tang chuckled. “I’ll try not to.” He said, as the data finally loaded up on the screen. “Back to the business at hand, I got the data from the doctor regarding Weyl’s medical workups from the other Tesseract jumps.” Soandso slid over to Tang’s console, peering over his shoulder. “Yeah, I was waiting for you to get back. I analyzed the Coxeter records against our test jump records. The sample size is low, but the results seem clear enough. The device seems to pull the same amount of energy each time from its user. It doesn’t seem to be dependent upon Weyl’s strength, however, the weaker he gets, the less energy he has, if his body can’t handle the stress of a jump, who knows what’ll happen to the drive.” Tang nodded grimly. “That’s what I’m afraid of, too.” He pointed to the medical records. “Look at his declining functioning. I mean, I’m not a doctor or a bio-engineer. But I’m smart enough to know that the older or weaker you get, the less your body can handle stress. Based on the numbers the computer came up with, that line between just draining energy and actually causing serious damage is most likely not too far away.” “So what are you saying? Should we recommend calling off the jump?” Soandso asked. Tang shook his head. “Its up to Weyl, really.” he said motioning to the empty chair that the Captain would be occupying in a little less than two hours. “My gut feeling is that he doesn’t care. I think he feeds off the whole reluctant hero angle.” “You mean he doesn’t care about dying?” Soandso asked. “I find that hard to believe.” Tang shrugged. “Maybe the term ‘doesn’t care’ isn’t the proper terminology,” he began. “You didn’t see him down here during the test jump, though. He strolled with this air of melancholy bravery, as if he wanted everyone to think that he didn’t want to it, but was doing it anyway. It kind of rubbed me the wrong way, in a sense.” “How so?” “I don’t know, it’s like he wants us to recognize that ‘he’s’ the one sacrificing his life and health to get this done, even though one of any number of people here on the ‘Core could probably stick their arm in that thing to get home.” The Petty Officer let out a thoughtful sigh, contemplating Tang’s point. “I guess I see where you’re coming from,” he said after a few seconds.” Still, you have to appreciate his willingness to sacrifice for us.” Tang shrugged again. “I never said I didn’t appreciate it. I’m just inferring that his reasons probably aren’t exactly altruistic.” “Point taken. But what does it have to do with the upcoming jump, then?” Tang ticked his head towards the console screen. “Well, I’m going to send my assessment to the chief, the bridge, and medical and let them make the call on how to handle it.” He said. “If Weyl still decides he’s up for it, which I think he will, then I’ll have the CMO send down a med team to oversee the jump from down here.” “With Dr. Jaz?” Soandso added with a grin. “Shut up,” Tang shot back, unable to suppress a smile of his own. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” he added. “Nonetheless, the plan seems sound, I’d go on and go ahead with it.” “I’m glad you approve,” Tang said dryly. “In the mean time, the Admiral wants the ship’s systems checked prior to the next jump sequence. Why don’t you get on that while I write up this report?” “Yes, sir!” Soandso said mock-enthusiastically, throwing in a salute for good measure before heading off to the other side of Engineering. Tang turned his attention back to the screen and began typing up his letter. To: Commander Farrington, OPS Cc: CENG Faldek Cc: CMO Mele From: AENG Dalsazashvili Subj: Captain Weyl and the use of the drive Commanders, I’ve ran some numbers the engineering data from the Manticore’s test jump, as well as the information provided to us from the uses of the device on the Coxeter. I cross referenced that information with the medical work ups provided to me by Dr. Jaz. I have attached the raw data to this memo. To make a long story short, it looks as if Captain Weyl’s current health is sitting dangerously close to the theoretical ‘cut off line’, in terms of safe usage. Be that as it may, I shall leave this data to be used and analyzed by you, the command staff. If the jump is to continue as planned, then it is my recommendation that a medical team be on scene here in Main Engineering for the final jump sequence so as to ensure that the Captain receives immediate medical care in the case on an emergency. Please bear in mind that these readouts are theoretical based on a correlation between the estimated amount of energy needed to activate the drive and a theoretically quantified level of health based on the medical work ups done on the Captain after each jump sequence. It does not take into account variables that may yet to be accounted for. Thank you LTjg Dalsazashvili Atch: Correlational Study Results: Weyl’s Quantified Health Matrix Vs. Tesseract Jump energy usage.

Meritorious Achievement Award How much can one choice affect our lives? How much can that one choice affect the lives of others? If you had the chance to live a choice over again, would you choose differently? Or would you walk down the same path? --- "Greetings and welcome to the 'The First Chair'. Your destination for the best access to the Arts! My name is Anton Weiss" the interviewer proclaimed to the camera. "Today, I am backstage at the Mariinsky Theatre with Vakhtang Dalsazashvili, the current music director of the famed Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, and youngest person ever to hold that title ." he turned to face his guest. "Greetings Maestro, and thank you for joining us here today on 'The First Chair'". "It's a pleasure to be here, Herr Weiss." Vakhtang replied with a respectful nod, utilizing is extremely limited knowledge of German. "Tell me, Maestro. You are entering your 3rd season as music director here. How has the preparation leading up to this season been different than the first two?" Vakhtang took a moment to ponder his answer, when talking to the producers a few weeks prior, they told Vakhtang that they'd provide him with the set of questions that Weiss intended on asking upon their arrival to the Mariinsky. However, the team arrived much later than anticipated, leaving little time for set up and prep. So Vakhtang was not provided with the list, however, he had seen Weiss's interviews before, so he had a general idea of what to expect. "Its actually gone quite well, actually." He began. "During that first season, we were all in shock from the sudden passing of my mentor and predecessor, Fyodor Petrov, as well as, quite honestly, my appointment as music director. However, the shows for the season had already been chosen, and most of the numbers had been rehearsed. So there was really no time for the pressure and gravity of the situation to really set in." he told his interviewer, leaning back in his chair some. "With my second season, I was extremely nervous when it came to choosing the works that we would play. Although I had spent time with my predecessor in seasons past during this phase, I entered it by myself lacking some of the confidence that someone in my position should have. Therefore, I believe I ended up choosing a very. . .safe set of shows, for lack of a better word. One not very representative of the boldness and grandeur my predecessor was known for. This season, however, I believe we've captured that boldness yet again, and I believe the audience will be in for quite a treat here at the Mariinsky theatre." Vakhtang cringed inwardly at the sound of his last sentence, thinking he came off as too commercial. It didn't matter though, Weiss seemed satisfied with his candidness about his performance in previous seasons. So maybe the plug when unnoticed to the audience. "Looking at your selections for this season, it certainly appears so." Weiss said, nodding and smiling politely. "Tell me more about the show you have planned for opening weekend, Maestro." "Ah yes, indeed. For this season, we're paying homage to the aforementioned boldness this theatre has become known for over its long and storied history. We're playing the music of some of the greatest Russian composers whose music premiered right here at the Mariinsky." he said, keeping his eyes on Weiss. The producers had told him to try and refrain from looking into the camera when answering questions. They told him that presenting the interview as a "conversation between two music enthusiasts" was better for the viewer. Vakhtang, never thought of it otherwise. "And I hear the finale of the night is a work actually making it's actually debut." Weiss replied, referred to Vakhtang's concerto. Vakhtang could not help but let a small pride induced grin escape the edge of his lips. "Yes, I have constructed a Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, which will make its debut here on Friday, yes" he replied to Weiss, not really knowing what else to say about it. He didn't want to come across as boastful or haughty about it. "And this is your first original work, yes?" "Yes it is." He kept the answer short again, again at of fear of being boastful. "I for one am extremely excited to hear it, and I must thank you for allowing me to preview it during your final rehearsal tomorrow." Vakhtang bit the inner part of his lip, biting back a grin. 'Who's being boastful?' he silently chided his interviewer. "Not a problem, Herr Weiss. It's a pleasure to have a man with such deep appreciation for the Arts in our theatre." Weiss let out an embarrassed chuckle and Tang smiled inwardly, he had successfully stroked the man's ego. 'The rest of the interview should probably be a breeze' he thought to himself. "Much has been mentioned amongst critics about your meteoric rise, Maestro. Some say you advanced much too quickly and simply weren't ready for such an undertaking. What do you have to that?" Vakhtang, let out quick blink, immediately redacting his last thought. "Well, I'd say that I have to agree with them" he began. "I probably wasn't ready to take on the roll. I was raw, relatively inexperienced, and probably had no business conducting an orchestra of this stature and magnitude so early into my career. However, my predecessor, as well as the impresario of the Mariinsky, Mr. Igor Rostov, saw something in me that maybe I myself didn't, and probably still haven't recognized" he paused for a half a moment. Weiss's expression told him that he was definitely on the right track with his answer. "However, I owe it to both of them, the orchestra, and my patrons to discover whatever the saw for myself, and believe I have, and my Concerto, as well as the musical selections we have chosen this season, will show our community just that." Weiss nodded in approval. "Have you any more original works under construction at the moment?" Vakhtang nodded. "I do, actually. I am currently working in consort with the esteemed Giancarlo Baggio of Italy on a pair of operas, one in Russian, and one in Italian." "You're fluent in Italian?" Weiss asked, surprise creeping into his voice. "I am not, actually. And my dear friend Giancarlo is not fluent in Russian either. We are each writing the librettos in our respective languages, and the music for the other." Weiss nodded in interest. "That sounds fascinating, and when can we expect these two operas to debut?" "Not until next year, I'm afraid. We'll be serving as guest conductors during our respective opera seasons." "So you'll actually be conducting the orchestra at Teatro La Fenice in Venice ?" Weiss asked . "Yes I will, and I can't tell you how excited I am about it, it is an absolute honor to even be allowed to step foot on that stage." Vakhtang said, meaning every word of it. He had to fight the urge to pinch himself yet again at the mention and thought of that trip. "Indeed it is, maestro." Weiss said, before leaning forward in his seat, changing gears a little bit. "Now, your mother and father own a highly successful intergalactic starship maintenance company." "They do, yes." Vakhtang confirmed. "If I may ask, maestro. How does a young man from such a background end up in the Arts?" Weiss asked. "What I mean, is that you probably had a decent path sent for you. From what I've been told, you are quite resourceful in your own right, and probably would have made and excellent engineer. What made you choose the arts?" Vakhtang took some time to think about the question before responding. "Well, my parents had always been big supporters of the Arts. They were donors and regular patrons at the Batumi Opera House, there in our hometown. All of my older brothers and sisters had learned to play an instrument, however, I seemed to have a natural knack for the piano at a very young age. My parents found me an instructor to work with me a few times a week, and that's where I learned to read music and understand the terminology and really figure out –how- to play to piano, because its so much more that just hitting the keys." Vakhtang began. "So as I grew up, I spent much of my time in school, working with father on small engineering projects, and playing the piano. As I grew older, I knew that I was going to have to choose. I had already served as a guest Pianist at the Batumi Opera, as well as some of the other smaller Theatres around Georgia . So I knew there was a chance for me to succeed in music, and that's where my heart truly lied. However, my mind knew that making it in the Arts was an extremely difficult task, while I had at a pretty set future if I decided to go the engineering route. Starfleet Academy had offered me an appointment, not to mention all the opportunities within my father's company. Yet, I couldn't decide. My desire to play the piano was a strong as my practical side, which new that I should become and engineer. "So how did you come to the decision of musician?" "I flipped a coin." "You flipped a coin?" "Yes," Vakhtang said, with a smile "I flipped a coin. . .Heads I'm an engineer, tails I'm a musician. It came up tails, and here I am." Weiss let out a laugh "Well, I think I speak for music enthusiasts across the galaxy when I say that we're glad the coin landed the way it did." Vakhtang laughed as well. "I am too, Herr Weiss. I am too." Weiss's laughing subsided. "Well, that's all the time we have for today, maestro. I want to thank you once again for joining us here on 'The First Chair'. "Always a pleasure, Herr Weiss. Always a pleasure." The two shook hands, and Weiss turned to the camera. "Thank you to our audience as well for joining us here on 'The First Chair'. Please join us next week, as correspondent Diego Sierra heads down to the legendary Sydney Opera House for a sit down with famed clarinet player Eidur Eidursson. Until then, we bid you farewell." --- "You flipped a coin?" PO2 Soandso asked incredulously. "Yup, I flipped a coin." Tang confirmed, taking a bite of his ham and cheese omelet. "If it landed heads, the Academy, tails, the Conservatory," he told the Petty Officer, cracking a smile from the look on his face. "I don't have to tell you how it landed. I'm sure you could figure that part out." Soandso just shook his head. "So I assume that's how you plan on handling this decision?" he asked Tang. "With a flip of a coin?" Vakhtang shook his head. "No, no. This decision deserves much more thought." Soandso chortled as he sipped his coffee "And choosing your career path doesn't?" Tang chuckled a little bit. "I'm not saying I necessarily handled that decision in the best way" he told his counterpart. "But I don't regret it, either." "Not even a little." Vakhtang shook his head. "If I would have gone into music. If I was lucky, I would have probably been buried somewhere in backwater theatre somewhere in Siberia , playing to crowds of less than 50 people and earning a paupers wage for it. Or probably back in Batumi , working as a maintenance tech in my father's company, playing piano in churches and restaurants for free." He said, taking a another bite of his omelet. "The classical music industry is a tough one to break into. People do not part with their seats very easily, and when one becomes open, it is a fierce competition, and largely based on who you know. I really had no connections outside of Batumi , and certainly not in St. Petersburg , where I would have gone" he shook his head again, sipping his juice. "No, I made the right decision. Soandso thought about it for a second before nodding in agreement. "Yeah, you're probably right" he agreed. Letting a long pause set in as he took a sip of his coffee. "Still," he began. "Part of you must feel a twinge of would could have been." Vakhtang paused and thought about that point for a second. "I guess so." He said, looking down at the table in thought. "I love the piano, and I love performing. I did both at the Academy, and I thoroughly enjoyed it." He said, bringing his eyes back up to Soandso thinking about it a little more. "So, I guess the answer is yes. It's what I really -wanted- do, but was scared to do it, for all the reasons mentioned. But like I said, I'm not bitter or regretful of my choice." Soandso nodded. "Good," he told Tang. "As long as you're happy with your decision, then that's all that matters." Vakhtang just nodded, taking a bite of his omelet. He remembered the days in which he labored of the decision, when it got to the point of no return, that's when he pulled the coin out. Even after getting to the Academy, he partially regretted his choice. But after spending some time at the Academy and really diving into his engineering work, that regret slowly washed away. Still, playing in the Academy orchestra did occasionally cause those twinges of regret, and grandiose yet fleeting thoughts of what might have been. He had been successful in burying them deep within his subconscious, until now. Everyone close to him in Batumi told him to follow his heart. Instead, he followed a coin. He wanted to be pianist, he wanted to be a performer, and he had missed out on his opportunity because he was scared to follow his heart. . . .Vakhtang took the last bite of his omelet. 'Not this time' he thought to himself. 'I won't let fear drive me into a decision.' "You know what?" he said, slamming his fork down with intent and purpose. "I'm going to follow my heart." he told his counterpart. "I'm going to stay here on the Manticore. It's what I want to do. I believe it's what I was meant to do. I was meant to be here." He gave a firm and hardy nod as if to finalize it in his mind. "And hey, what's the worst that could happen?" Soandso smiled "Good for you, and I'm glad you're coming with us." Tang smiled back "Glad to be coming with you."