If there was one thing Ylana Eviros was grateful for, it was that her boss, while wildly eccentric, was also incredibly organized. It was a pretty useful trait to have as a scientist, and an even more useful one to have as leader of a department as large as Science and Terraforming.

The other bonus to Cosgrove, was her office, which Ylana had admired greatly before, but on more than one occasion had envied the large personal lab they often worked in. She was in there now, standing at a large table with a holographic display of the colony. She pinched one section, making the new agridome expand into a more detailed display.

Construction was progressing well, and the foundation plus the perimeter were now intact. Her instructions from Halai were to make sure the nest layer was up and base work for the power systems were in place. It would require coordination with several parties, but she was pretty comfortable with that, both as a Starfleet department head, but also now that she was well and settled into this Deputy role.

The lab door was directly in the main office, which took up the entire floor of the White Tower, though on the tapered building it wasn’t quite as huge as it sounded. Still, it was spacious and offered incredible views of the colony.

Before she left, Cosgrove had told her that one of the security guards, usually Ensign Elaine Anderson or the civilian, Ruan Graeys, would come up within a specific period of time to check in with her if she was still working at night. Then it was procedure that she had to check out with them, so ensure there was no one in the building that shouldn’t be there. Especially after the attcak at Cosgrove’s villa, security around the scientist, and the White Village in general, had been amped up, if quietly. Cosgrove was nothing is not discreet and she hated people making a fuss, even if it was in her best interest.

So when she felt a presence nearby, Ylana fully expected it to be one of the two. They usually comm’d to announce themselves, but they also knew about Ylana’s abilities, so it wasn’t entirely strange that they might just come up to the floor.

Moving out of the lab, Eviros got one step out before she found herself being pushed back into the lab. Things happened fast and she had been caught entirely off guard! The next thing she knew someone was holding her and trying to cover her mouth.

But she hadn’t made Lieutenant Commander in Starfleet by being an easy target, and she fought back, driving a heel into her attacker’s shin. A cry of pain sounded behind her and she freedom had becomes hers once again. But she only got a couple steps before her arm was wrenched back.

It was unfortunate that the person chose her as a target, if indeed she had been, because if there was one thing that most people didn’t know about the quiet and mild-mannered scientist, it was that she was exceptionally dangerous under the right circumstances.

The person, a man she had figured out, suddenly went flying backwards a couple of feet and fell in a heap on the floor. She bolted for the door.

Ylana, please! Wait! I’m not trying to hurt you!

Had it been anyone else, she would have kept running, but Ylana stopped dead in her tracks and let the sound of his voice echo in her head. Without looking, she reached out her mind and brushed his for confirmation. Yes, it was him. Give me one reason I shouldn’t call security and have your ass hauled off to a cell?

I’m in trouble, Ylana. I need your help. I think… I think lives are at stake, and not just mine.

Slowly, she turned, her heart still beating fast, but her interior reserve of calm had spread over her exterior. That would have worked had the man not been Betazoid and not one so personally connected to her. But there he was, the dark hair and eyes still the same, but his handsome face looked worn. Her emotions fluctuated and she felt a pang of worry and regret. What had happened to him these last years?

To be continued…

Ylana Eviros, CSO