The shuttlecraft, a type 9 vessel released from the USS Ponce de Leon near Bajor, had dropped off Tom Paris and his pilot, who would be ferrying the both of them to the Voyager. She was blonde-haired, and had deep blue eyes; she was a total beauty, the kind Tom would've bought a drink for in a bar, had she even responded with more than a cursory glance during shuttle prep. All he got from her was that her name was Stadi, and her pips gave her away as a Lieutenant. "Ice queen" came to mind.
The trip to the vessel was remarkably silent...almost uncomfortably so. From Stadi's perspective, she could almost feel Tom's eyes on her, and she could even hear his thoughts, even though he was trying (unsuccessfully) to think about the ship or something else. Her golden-blonde hair was done in a low bun, and her uniform did not hide her figure much.
The shuttle approached DS9, and Stadi did a passby of the vessel docked at the upper pylon.
"That's our ship," she finally said. "That's Voyager. Intrepid class; twenty decks, crew of 192. Sustainable cruise velocity of warp factor 9.975. Bio-neural circuitry."
"Bio-neural?" Tom asked, not having heard the phrase, and also surprised she was finally speaking.
"Some of the traditional circuitry has been replaced by gel packs that contain bio-neural cells. They organize information more efficiently, speed up response time."
"What would your response time be to an offer of a drink at Quark's before we shove off?" Paris smiled as he looked out the window at the ship, leaning over her left shoulder.
"Only five nanoseconds to return a null response," Stadi replied, a bit of sarcasm in the otherwise prim voice.
"Ouch," Paris joked. "How about a first name, at least?"
"Lieutenant Stadi should be enough for now, Mr. Paris," Stadi replied, preparing her final approach to DS9's runabout pads. "I'm on duty, and I have work to do other than ferrying you about on an errand of mercy."
She might not have meant it, but that bit stung Tom, who sat down for the rest of the trip on the bench in back of the shuttle as it landed on DS9. This wasn't going to be a joyride, he thought to himself.
The trip to the vessel was remarkably silent...almost uncomfortably so. From Stadi's perspective, she could almost feel Tom's eyes on her, and she could even hear his thoughts, even though he was trying (unsuccessfully) to think about the ship or something else. Her golden-blonde hair was done in a low bun, and her uniform did not hide her figure much.
The shuttle approached DS9, and Stadi did a passby of the vessel docked at the upper pylon.
"That's our ship," she finally said. "That's Voyager. Intrepid class; twenty decks, crew of 192. Sustainable cruise velocity of warp factor 9.975. Bio-neural circuitry."
"Bio-neural?" Tom asked, not having heard the phrase, and also surprised she was finally speaking.
"Some of the traditional circuitry has been replaced by gel packs that contain bio-neural cells. They organize information more efficiently, speed up response time."
"What would your response time be to an offer of a drink at Quark's before we shove off?" Paris smiled as he looked out the window at the ship, leaning over her left shoulder.
"Only five nanoseconds to return a null response," Stadi replied, a bit of sarcasm in the otherwise prim voice.
"Ouch," Paris joked. "How about a first name, at least?"
"Lieutenant Stadi should be enough for now, Mr. Paris," Stadi replied, preparing her final approach to DS9's runabout pads. "I'm on duty, and I have work to do other than ferrying you about on an errand of mercy."
She might not have meant it, but that bit stung Tom, who sat down for the rest of the trip on the bench in back of the shuttle as it landed on DS9. This wasn't going to be a joyride, he thought to himself.
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