Paul and Ouros - Part Two

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: 1705Hrs - December 6th, 2393

"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.."

Paul noticed that she mentioned her childhood twice, I told you about mine now you can tell me about your childhood." He observed her trying to figure her out.

"You've met Elizabeth... My twin... We were..." she sighed softly. "We should have been parted at birth. It would have made my life so much easier... But that's not true..." as she regarded him with a look. "I do not like to speak of this... and most do not know of this... But I am Elizabeth... Or at least, a version of her, from another reality... who is resettled in this one after being betrayed and left for dead... Same with my mother...and both sisters... Lasarra and Selendis..." she explained. "My mother is a woman named Plataea Lasky... She is Torilla Yamaguchi's double from the same reality, Lasarra is the double of Rachael but Selendis has no native here because of Gabriel... The reverse is also true."

Ouros drained her drink. "My father there was a monster, here he is one of the most caring and supportive people I've ever seen... but in my reality of origin, he was... a monster who preyed on me and my sisters..." she sighed softy.

Paul's demeanor changed, more compassionate for what she went through, "I didn't know that and I'm sorry you've been to hell and back. I guess there are horrible people in any universe."

Ouros regarded him. "I misjudged you." she answered. "I assumed you wanted one thing from me... "

Paul was baffled by her comment, "Oh no. Not that you are not, i mean, I wouldn't do that."

Ouros raised an eyebrow as she moved her hand to her uniform top, as she began to unzip her top. "Why not?" she asked. "Everyone else does... Why be different.?"

"Stop that!" He didn't mean to raise his voice, "Because I'm not everyone else." He hoped no one was looking. He didn't need lookie-loos thinking he was disrespecting a Captain. He didn't need any more problems.

Ouros almost jumped as she had not been expecting him to raise his voice to her, as she flinched, as she quickly zipped her uniform tunic back upon again. "Mmmm..." she paused.

Paul pulled her hands away just in case she decided to try it again and he held them there, "Look. I don't know if you're used to guys throwing themselves at you but that is not me." He looked down, noticing that he was still holding her hands and pulled them away, letting her hands go, "I'm sorry if you thought I wanted something from you."

"I think.... I now understand what Rachael saw in you." Ouros said quietly as she smiled at him. "Id like..... I'd like to know you better..."

"That would be nice. Maybe then, you'll stop trying to get into my head and really get to know me." He wasn't sure if he trusted her yet so he'd keep his guard up until then.

"Getting into your head?" Ouros wasn't sure if she had been caught but she decided that she had to know if he had nabbed her with her telepathic efforts.

"I've learned a lot during my time with Rachael." He took a sip of his drink, "You would be surprised what she taught me." He looked at her, "Don't ask. It's a long story... Needless to say, she taught me much."

Ouros raised an eyebrow. "She taught you how to sense a telepathic presence... I... apologize..."

"Yes, she did. She's a very good teacher." He set his cup down, "Apology excepted."

Ouros knew she did not deserve his forgiveness so easily but she wasn't going to make an issue of it. "Rachael is many things..." she answered. "But I miss her on most days..."

Paul nodded his head, "Yeah, me too." He got quiet as he thought about the day she left.

Ouros regarded in silence for a moment. "It wasn't her choice to go." she commented quietly. "She was with mom when she was reassigned... I think... She didn't tell you that she was pregnant because she didn't know until after she had been on the Roanoke for awhile... I know she tried looking for you but you had already left and your mother didn't tell her where you were..." Ouros paused. "I think it was because she assumed that you and Rachael had a fight and had broken up... or something like that." Ouros paused as she sounded unsure of the details. "Rachael does not speak of what happened, even when pressed..."

Paul sighed, "It wasn't her fault. I told my mother not to. After I hadn't heard from Rachael, I just figured that she was moving on. Besides, long-distance relationships never make it past a month." He added, "I know and what's worse, she won't even talk to me about it."

"Rachael is on assignment to the USS Heart of the Tiger as their Chief of Conn... You can find her there but be wary of her husband, he is the protective type and while Rachael does not need it, he does keep an eye on things around... She has been through a few things with the system... JAG tried taking Saki away... She got really paranoid, even by my standards... It didn't go well..." Ouros chuckled. "Have you ever seen mom lose her shit?" she paused. "Oh, she went crazy..."

"Actually, no but don't worry. I have no plans to go see her." He was still hurt that she married another guy, "She made her choice."

Ouros knew of where he spoke. "For what it's worth... I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry? Did you tell her to move on?" Paul's eyes showed the hurt he was feeling, "There were other ways for her to find me. She isn't the type to give up so easily."

Ouros paused. "It.... felt like the right thing to say," she said softly. "Rachael... She never said why you two drifted apart..." as she paused. "But... I'd like to know you better... If you are okay with that..."

Paul slowly nodded his head. "Yeah..." he admitted. "I always wondered..." he commented before he trailed off.

"I think... With Rachael... It was more of the passing of time... The eight years she spent inside that temporal anomaly forced her to move on, to raise a child alone... When she emerged, she was able to go back to her life, only to find that she needed to completely start again..." Ouros explained. "This was all before my time in this universe of course..." Ouros paused. "But what's not a mystery is how she felt about you... Even Elizabeth, hell even mom was jealous of her."

"Why?" Paul asked. "Why would they be jealous of her.?"

Ouros paused as she sipped her drink. The tall woman contemplated what she wished to say. "I'm not sure, nobody really explained... But... If I had to guess... Then it was because you were gentle with her and you were not rushing to have sex with her." the tall woman explained. "But that's me."

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