<Snipsies>

Lazol smiled at the child and said, “It only reacts to those wavelengths child because the specific structure of these crystals acts like a filter to other light and only hold onto that specific range.”

Cerenity thought for a moment then responded. Like the filter on a fishtank or how the membraon of the cell only lets some particals through.

” I need to tank you for that its entertaed her for hours” Luna said with a smile. Seeing the drink infont of him.

Taking the glass and sipping it he noted, “I’m surprised that a Starfleet officer has contraband so readily available, good vintage though I must admit, and thank you.” He said with a smile, “My pleasure to help entertain, your daughter is something of a curiousity to me, but she is ever so precocious”

Luna giggled ” you have no idea Cerenity once took apart my phaser. She hid in the Jefferys tubes it took my self and the COS two hours to find her” Luna said shaking her head. ” if she wants to do sumthing she will find a way to do it” Luna said.

” I just wanted to know how it worked” cerenity said.

“Child you do need to understand that there are bounds and limits in place for a reason. Understanding how something works is one thing. For example, say I want to know how this ship works. If I took apart the bulkheads I would be sucked into space as my quarters depressurized. Now that is dangerous even if I didn’t know that ahead of time. You are supposed to be curious but you need to understand limitations.” Lazol said, gently chiding the little girl.

” why would you do sumthing so obviously suicidal?” Cerenity asked.

Lazol understood that, perhaps, the child didn’t intend to come across as patronizing and said, “That is exactly my point child. If I knew it was obviously suicidal I wouldn’t do it. But if I had no idea that’s what was the potential outcome, I would never know not to try. You do your best to circumvent your mother’s protections and explore a ship that, according to many, is obviously suicidal yet you still do it because you are unaware of the dangers. I will not frighten you child but do understand that there are limits in place to keep someone as curious as yourself safe.” He replied, knowing full well that the child was, if she kept on with her wanderings of the ship, simply takin apart those bulkheads and growing closer to the vacuum of space.

Cerenity chose that moment to chime in. ” Mr. Lazol come meet luner mommys had him since befor I was born.” She said happly. Then seamed to think better and called the owl to a closer pitch. The child smiled carefully petting the animal. ” his wings are super quiet to like mine and mommy’s. ” she said.

Lazol rose and walked over to look at the owl, it was an unfamiliar creature that he stayed back from for a moment, “Well hello there creature. She is what now?”

Cerenity giggled. ” his wings don’t make much noise owls are good hunters for there saposid silent flight. He’s a barn owl and he knows lost of tricks” cerenity said excitedly.

He studied the creature and said, “Has this ‘barn owl’ been verified Ensign? Any pet onboard must be verified as non anomalous to be kept in personal quarters. I would be happy to have one of my staff do that for you.”

” No he has not I was unaware. Though there’s no way he’s going to let just anyone get close to him. He may listen to me but he’s still stubborn when he wants to be.” Luna said consurn creating into her voice. ” we will need to find a way to do it that won’t stress him out to much birds are sensitive” Luna added.

“I will set an appointment for you regrading the process. It is fairly standardized and whether or not the bird is sensitive or stressed is not my concern. I will not go out of my way to purposefully harm the creature, but understand I cannot bend the rules on testing.” Lazol said, not wanting to cause undue stress but conveying that the process would be completed as intended.

” i did not say bend rules i said we would need to work together to get it done? For his and the safety of everyone involved.

“Nor did I suggest that you had said that, simply that there are procedures to the test and if you object to one of them I simply cannot avoid it because you find it potentially distasteful. I am content to work with you on making sure that safety for all is high on the priority list, however I meant to convey that the process will need to be done according to proper testing procedures.” Lazol was not in the business of harming living creatures out of some sadistic purpose or subjecting anyone or anything to displeasurable circumstances if he could help it, but the test involved common triggers for anomalies like high pitched and loud noises, as they have been shown to cause reactions in anomalies before.

” He can and will bit you please be careful if you want after Cerenity gose to bed i can introduce you two properly.” Luna warned hoping he would not reach for the animal. That’s what a sudden panicked look crossed her face. ” oh my im so sorry I forgot to introduce myself im Ensign Luna. Its been a long day, full of bird and child antics” she said.
Ensign Luna
He held out his hand and said, “Pleasure to meet you Ensign Luna, I am Daimon Lazol. Daimon is the title, equivalent to your Captain, and you wouldn’t believe how many people on this ship think that’s part of my name.” He said with a twinge of irritation. As he sat back down he looked around the quarters. “Tell me Ensign, what do you do with your young while you’re on duty? This ship does not contain any facilities for children as this specific ship was refitted for the purposes of the ARU and those, as well as many of the recreational facilities, were removed.”

Lazol, CSO

Luna hesitate befor shaking his hand. ” its nice to meet you as well” Luna said with a smile. ” so do you prefer Lazol then? ” Luna asked wondering since he made a point of mentioning that. She also noted his agitation. Luna tensed her wings opening slightly. Luna could be a little jumpy especially when she had a scientist with in arms reach.” You are welcome to call me luna?” She added Cerenity sat down between the two and started to eat her pizza Luna had dished eveyoone some at this point. ” well the consuler has offered to let her spend time in on the consulting deck and my department head has also offered to watch her from time to time. And a friend gave me a holographic babysitter hopfuly she doesn’t figure out how to bypass the sheald and take the emitters apart again.” Luna said relating again.

” Mr. Lazol where are you from” cerenity asked.

Lazol smiled and said, “Child I am from a planet called Ferenginar. It is a dreary world covered in rain and muck. It is about 60 light years from Bajor, and a little ways away from the Badlands.”

Ensign Luna

” your lucky to be from a planet and have one to call home. But if it rains all the time doesn’t your large ears make you susceptible to ear infections?” She asked remembering what she had learned about the subject months ago.

“Luna it is, and yes Lazol would be preferable” Lazol replied as he began to eat the pizza, not fully understanding it’s appeal but the child seemed to like it. He finished his slice and downed his glass as he said, “So tell me Luna, what should I expect to find if I were to look into your records?” Lazol quipped, trying to spark a conversation.

Lazol, CSO

” not much a few broken bones, iv only served on the Viking. The rest of my records are sealed i can’t even get into them” Luna admitted. Cerenity happly eat her food then wondered off to play because the adults were talking and she was bord.

Once cerenity had left and Luna could hear the girl playing she gave Lazol a series look. “My records were sealed by section 31. what exactly are your intention when it comes to Cerenity? Why are you so interested?” She asked. The ensign was calm but her poster and words secession she was being protective like most parents would be.
Ensign Luna

Lazol sat back after finishing his contraband drink and let a wry smile form on his face. “Ah yes, Section 31. The boogeyman of your Federation that is so often blamed for being the evil that people want them to be.” He admired Section 31, they were not so much different then the standard Ferengi when it came to morals. If morality could be bent for profit, it surely could be bent for their mission of keeping the Federation safe. “I have no special interest in your child Ensign Luna, please don’t mistake me for someone in your past.” Lazol said, hinting that he had read some of the files she had no access to. “I don’t know much and before you ask it’s nothing that the ARU doesn’t have access too. If you are looking to have me give you classified documentation I do not have anything beyond what the Section deemed necessary to pass along to the ARU. Regarding your child? I find her a fascination. An intelligent little child with curiosity like hers could be molded into a fantastic scientist and I see myself in a position that I can assist with that.” Lazol sat forward and said, “There is something else. I never had children of mine and as such no grandchildren either. She makes me think of what I never had and in a way, perhaps, I want to foster her interests in a positive way that would see her grow in a positive way where she can channel that curiosity. Do not mistake what I say to be a parental or grand paternal attitude, she is your child and I do not want any responsibility for her nor would I accept it if requested. Just know that I see her as many things. A liability, a risk, a danger, and a curiosity among them. But I also see her as innocent and curious. Know that is how she is seen.”

Lazol, CSO

Luna glared at Lazol. Its easy for you to have that aditude you were never taken apart and put back together by them. They are evil and you would do well to stay away from them.” She said letting her words sink in. When his answers turned to Cerenity Luna’s expression relaxed she almost cried some one had realy just sean Cerenity for who she was. ” your the first to ever see her for who she is as a pose to what she is thank you. You have no clue what that means to me. Why have you never had children i would think a man like you would want one” Luna asked cerously.
Ensign Luna

Lazol sat forward, placing his elbows on the table, crossing his hands under his chin as he said, “You give a blanket assessment to an organization that has many facets, and like a dilithium crystal if one facet is cracked or blemished you don’t simply throw the entire crystal out as worthless because of the flaw of one part of it. Should you try to use that facet as the focal point for plasma regulation the warp system would be destabilized and explode. That does not make the entire crystal bad, as long as you take appropriate care to use the crystal in a fashion that avoids that crack or blemish the warp system will work perfectly fine.” Lazol let that settle for a moment before saying, “I do not at all want to diminish what has been done to you and your daughter. Those acts were illegal, violent, torturous, and demeaning to say a few. I sympathize as much as I possibly can, however just know that it does you no good to solely focus on the evil acts that were done to you by a select few within the organization, being so focused on them as the boogeyman only limits your abilities.” Lazol felt almost like a father giving advice to a daughter, he carefully chose his words because he knew there were people on board that, should Luna know their alliances or pasts, could cause far more problems than were necessary. He wanted to teach Luna that while yes, her past was awful and what was done to her was terrible, it was not healthy to focus on her hatred and paranoia. He wanted her to grow past this for the health of both her and her daughter.

He paused and sat back as he heard her reaction to Cerenity and cracked a small smile. “I’m glad that my words have not simply brought fear to you Luna, and I’m sure as a scientist this isn’t the most easy meal you have ever had.” He did understand the waters he was treading, but would prefer to make allies than enemies, “Let me tell you that the ARU has files on every report of an anomaly and that both you and Cerenity have a file. As Chief Science Officer onboard this ship I am the highest ranking ARU officer aboard, even above that of the Captain. I saw that file and you have to understand that we investigate all reports of anomalies. Cerenity was found to be unanomalous through observation, you as well. Genetic manipulation is illegal in the Federation but not the purview of ARU. As far as we are concerned she, and you, are oficially uninteresting. Your file within the ARU has been closed. You also need to know that the ARU and S31 operate on different modes of keeping the Federation safe, and while I cannot say that you are perfectly safe here, given that you’ve been able to have a career within Starlfeet and that Cerenity has been able to stay with you I doubt that they are interested in your files anymore. Should either of you have needed to be captured, it would have been done long before either of you made it onto a top secret ship in a department they do not have oversight over.”

Now came the question of his parenthood, “I do appreciate your words, and I’m glad that what I have said has brought some joy to you. Regarding my own children I had an empire to build. I started my journey as a very poor child and worked up to where I was, with my own fleet of ships, capturing and selling anomalies to the highest bidder. Now any of the anomalies that were deemed disastrously dangerous I never sold onward, and I have a small containment center far from prying eyes. I am a man who’s wealth is beyond that of some planets, I operate a small fleet of ships who, to this day, are still doing business with colonies, supplying governments, and working to capture anomalies. I focused my life on those desires, as such a family fell by the wayside. I can take heart that there might be a child such as yours who I can spoil from time to time, but I never did have time for a family myself.”

Lazol, CSO