Paul and Ouros - Part One

Posted on Wed Nov 30th, 2022 @ 6:09am by Lieutenant Commander Ouros Yamaguchi & Ensign Paul Harrison

Mission: Mission 116: All Along the Watchtowers - Part One
Location: Various Locations - Starbase Vanguard
Timeline: 1700Hrs - December 6th, 2393

Captain Ouros Yamaguchi walked into the lounge, she was wearing the regular duty uniform with the skirt and boots rather than the pants and shoes, as she decided that wearing something different might help her mood.

Yamaguchi got into the line up for the replication, obtaining her meal, she turned and went over to an empty table. She placed her food and then she slid her lithe form into a chair, she smiled as she lifted her glass and drained a mouthful from the glass.

It had been a long day and it still wasn't over. Paul was starving as he had skipped breakfast and lunch except for a small snack consisting of nuts. He made his way to the lounge to eat. He didn't look around but made a beeline to get his food. Once he had what he wanted to eat, Paul sat down and exhaled, not remembering when the last time he was off his feet.

Ouros regarded him, an impish smile on her face. "Mister Harrison, I presume... Rachael has told me much of you."

Paul was startled for a moment. As soon as he heard the name Rachael come out of the captain's mouth, he became slightly nervous, "Sir, um, ma'am. Yes, you are correct." He swallowed, "Rachael? She talked about me? I hope it was good things." Mentally, he started kicking himself for acting foolishly.

"Oh yes, Rachael spoke of you, at length," Ouros answered. "I wanted a chance to meet the man she spoke of..." Yamaguchi gave him a rather sultry grin. "Oh, all good things... Said that you were a gentleman... I confess... I am rather skeptical."

Paul thought to himself, 'skeptical?' He was nervous, at first, but now, she was questioning something that he had always tried to be and that upset him. But he kept his cool as he tried to be respectful, "Sorry Captain but with all due respect, you don't know me except for what Rachael has told you. I had always been a gentleman when it came to Rachael...always."

Ouros knew she had a live one here and it was showing. "Oh... No offense was taken, Mister Harrison..." as she gently began to press into his mind, she was curious about the man before her as the impish smile on her face showed. "So... tell me of yourself... Since you are willing to underline that point for me." she added while she pushed deeper into his mind.

Paul didn't want to do this at separate tables so as a 'gentleman' he asked before doing, "May I join you Captain?"

Yamaguchi regarded him with an impish grin. "Mmm... Please do."

Paul picked up his food and moved across the table from Yamaguchi, "What exactly do you want to know? I could bore you with trivial stuff like when and where I was born or my childhood."

"Boring to you, perhaps," Yamaguchi answered with a nod of her head. "Your childhood has to be better than mine... Living in hell would have been better than mine..." her smile suddenly vanished like a snowball on Vulcan as she let out a sudden sigh.

"Okay then. Here it is." He took a breath and exhaled, "When I was born, my mother decided to go to the academy but once she graduated, my dad decided that he didn't want to be married to my mom anymore, so he divorced her. But it wasn't enough for him and he decided that he wanted me and he didn't want to share. He manipulated and paid off a few to rule against her because my mother chose a career in Security. That was just what he needed to win and he did. She was assigned to the USS Essex which also made it difficult to see me. And that wasn't even enough for him, he had to break her. He told me lies about her as I was growing up, that she didn't have time for me and that she didn't want me. Everything that came out of that man was a lie." He took a deep breath and exhaled again, "At 17, he died and I went to be with my mother and found out that my dad was a liar and a cheat. I vowed that I would never be like him and would respect women and not treat them like dirt." He hoped that was enough to change her mind.

Ouros paused as she lifted her glass to her lips. "So you know fear... and being lied to." she paused a second time. "Rachael said that you were not what you seemed... I asked her for specifics but she said it was not her place to tell me..." she regarded him. "I imagine she knew this... and then you two dated... I'll admit, she made you into something of a legend, it was a little hard to believe... Now... I'm not so sure..."

Ouros felt like she was tapping on a glass wall before she realized that this man before her had some psionic defenses, this was something she didn't expect.

"A legend?" Paul let out a short chuckle, "That's Rachael for you. And yes, we did date, for a while."

"Yeah... She spoke of you giving her everything she wanted in a man... Including Saki... " as she gently withdrew from his mind. More unsure then ever. "I confess.. It was... a lot to take in... Even Elizabeth spoke highly of you, Gabe and mom did too." she paused. "Did anyone ever tell you that my brother... Paul is named for you... You must have really impressed mom..."

Once Yamaguchi talked about Saki, it was still a touchy subject, "I was just being me." He felt weird about the whole thing, "I'm flattered that she thought highly of me."

"Oh... Yes, mom spoke highly of you... Even with the mess of that other drama. But that was not a matter I'm involved with." before she let out a sigh. "Hell..." she sighed softly. "For me, such an event would be trivial... Compared to the childhood I had.."