Having any sort of romantic relationship on a vessel the size of a Raven; wasn’t easy.  Between them they made up a tenth of the ship’s crew complement and a third of the bridge staff.  Somehow Ensign’s Harris and Cho had made it work, were making it work.  It hadn’t affected their ability to do their jobs, so the captain was happy to let it continue even whilst on a mission, and everyone else seemed to have got used them being together.

Chad’s parents knew rather a lot about what had been going on.  How he’d met the young Korean Communications Officer on his first day aboard the USS Jaxartes.  The interests they’d discovered each other shared, and how chatting together casually had developed into something more.  Chad had told them about how she’d been attacked and a Changeling had taken her place.  That part had been hard to grasp, but the stories of this happening all throughout Starfleet had slowly leek out and become public knowledge; forcing official conformation regarding a lot of what had gone on before and during Frontier Day.  He’d spoke to them about being apart whilst she was recovering from her injuries and how that had made them both more determined to make it work.

Cho hadn’t been so forthcoming when it came to communicating with her own family, despite that being her roll aboard ship and something she was generally skilled at.  Born on a rural farming colony, Gwangju Saeloun; life for her there was simple, harking back to times long gone. Her Grandparents had helped get the whole project off the round, and it was they, who ran the colony.  So when she’d set her sights on joining the Academy roughly five years ago; it had come as rather a shock to the family.  They’d flatly said ‘no’ to any of her wild and fanciful dreams.  Cho’s life was planned out, at least in her parents and grandparents mind.  Who she’d marry; out of the young eligible farmers within the community and her roll on the family farm.  

She’d brought much shame to the family by running off, as she’d done.  They’d never understood the drive for adventure that had made her want to leave in the first place; despite it being that very drive that had took them and a few dozen other families to an alien world.  Cho suspected to, that it had been her mother who’d reported her as being kidnapped.  It had nearly got the freighter captain and his crew arrested and Cho sent back on the next available ship.  For the first two years of Academy life, she never contacted them once; cutting herself off from the family completely.  It had been tough, but she’d thrown herself into her studies and strove to be one of the best linguistics experts in her class.

Cho sent them messages from time to time after that, had spoken with her father twice via video link; once from the Academy at Christmas not long before she’d been told of her first assignment on the ‘Jax’ and again after her recovery on Starbase Bravo.  At no point had she ever mentioned the danger she’d faced or how close to death she’d been.  No, she’d kept much of what had happened, a secret from them.  As for Chad; despite her telling him otherwise, they knew nothing about the man from New Zealand.  One mention he was white would have their hands flung up in the air and their faces aghast; that was an indication of how far they’d fallen into long abandoned traditions.   As for telling them his place of birth!  It wasn’t like everyone living in New Zealand was a dangerous criminal or some made scientist bent on world destruction.  But it’s what her family would think, she could guarantee it.  Like the duck in the meal she was sharing, on the water they looked so calm on the surface; but below the water line it was all frantic kicking.  That was basically her life, frantic kicking.

She tried to imagine their reaction had she fallen in love with one of the many none human races she’d encountered.  Take the ships Caitian Science Officer; he could be rather sweet, if just a little shy at times.  Introducing him as her boyfriend and the family would be having kittens!

Cho half coughed then choked at the joke she’d accidently made, swallowing a mouth full of tea, rather than spit it out across the table and into the lap of her companion opposite.  She tried to smile and reassure Chad as she saw the look of concern on the young man’s face.  My ‘pretty boy’ she thought to herself.  The phrase had first been used by Navaar Orci; an Orion pirate who’d attempted to steal the USS Jaxartes and sell the crew into slavery.  But despite that, when Cho said it, it made the New Zealanders heart lift; because he knew she meant it.       

Chad gripped one of her hands lightly, in that way he always did when they sat together.  It said; ‘I nearly lost you once, I’m not doing that again.’ It comforted her and made her feel safe.  She’d have to tell him one day she’d ran away from home, he’d asked not long ago about seeing her family.  For now though, Cho was doing her best to put him off the subject.  Why spoil what they had together, just because her family couldn’t understand and support her wishes. 

It was not long after that when the two of them noticed a disenable change in the ships course and speed.  Despite being off duty the pair of them instinctively reached to tap their comm-badges; Cho got to hers first.

            **********

Ensign C’Rren turned from the console he was sitting at. “Captain, Ensign Cho wishes to know if everything is ok.” 

Lieutenant Devron tilted his head slightly in the direction of the Caitian Science Office. “Please inform her that everything is under control and not to worry.”

“Are you sure?” Was the next query routed via C’Rren, who was a little embarrassed to be asking the question.

“Quite sure tell Ensign Cho.”  Jason couldn’t help smile. There she was enjoying a drink and a bite to eat with her boyfriend; after completing a long shift and she was still willing to run right back to the bridge, if that’s what he asked of her. No, let them spend a few moments together and relax, for these opportunities may be in short supply if things turned sour. 

Not three minutes ago a Romulan freighter had reported something odd on its scanners.  Their equipment was a lot less sophisticated than those of the ‘Jax’ and even the corvette’s weren’t the most powerful available.  But whether the Romulan captain was paranoid, his scanner was faulty or this was something genuine; the man felt his freighter was being flowed by a cloaked vessel, it could be Klingon in.

Though if he was being shadowed by a ship that was cloaked, surely he shouldn’t have a clue about it?  Not with his scanners. So what did that mean, was someone playing games, where they heading into a trap?

“ETA 27 minutes and 15 seconds.” Called out Lieutenant  Stuart. “We Have a Republic Valdore responding to the same distress call.  It should arrive 6 minutes after us.”

Well just over 27 minutes to find out!