No Greater Plan

Chapter 3

Nathaniel had managed to sleep off his headache. His mind floated back into consciousness, aware of a tapping on his door. He rolled over on his side and his eyes fluttered open. “Who is it?” he asked sleepily.

“Me,” came the simple reply

Nathaniel sighed and rolled back over onto his back, hands behind his head. “Come in Amaris."

The door opened and Teal walked in, a smug look plastered all over his face. “Get that lazy backside of yours up and come with me.”

Nathaniel gave him the most perplexed look. “Why?”

He pulled the small scroll out of his top pocket and undid the ribbon, unrolling the paper and showing it to his friend.

Nathaniel sat upright and stared. “That’s…. that’s….” his eyes widened. “How the hell did you get a hold of that? Zeeana’s sure as anything going to have your head served on a platter. Your father…”

“My father is dead! How many times do I need I say it and why is it that every one has to bring him up all the time? You… I would have at least thought, could see things my way, Nathaniel.”

Nathaniel exhaled a frustrated breath of air. “Your father was a good man, Teal. “ He declined to continue as his friend gave him the glare of the century. “So then… what have you got that for anyway?”

“I can prove it exists.”

Nathaniel grinned. “Ha! Now I know I’m having a bad dream. Mainly because my best friend doesn’t usually suffer major delusions of grandeur during my waking hours,” he said sarcastically as he lay back down and closed his eyes.

*THUD*

“Ow... What the... why’d ya do that for?” Nathaniel said as he looked up at the ceiling from his new position on the floor.

Teal reached down and pulled him up. “Follow me, stupid and I’ll show you.”

Reluctantly Nathaniel allowed himself to be dragged out of his own quarters and into Teal’s next door. “This had better be good, buddy!”

Teal smirked and dragged him into the corner where the computer was buzzing away unattended. ”Just watch, “ he said with a smug look as he punched a few coordinate numbers in. “Do you remember that legendary citadel my father was talking about once?”

Nathaniel nodded in confirmation. “The one that he told us was supposedly used as a sacred Jedi temple and that the Emperor believed it actually existed?”

“It does exist, Nathaniel. My father found it!” he replied in all sincerity.

Nathaniel stepped back, a worried look on his face. ”Either you’ve gone completely insane or you’ve been working to hard. Teal, the place isn’t even real my friend. If it were the history records would show it as such, but they don’t; you’ve seen them for yourself.”

Teal shook his head adamantly. “The records are wrong, you see for yourself,” he replied as he punched one last number into the computer and then moved back so that Nathaniel could get closer to the screen. The computer screen flickered and hummed as scenery flashed before their eyes and suddenly…

“It can’t be…” Nathaniel’s jaw dropped a little, his eyes widened with pure awe and within less than a split second of the picture appearing before him he had convinced himself that a holiday would be good right about now.

It stood before them in all of its many centuries of untouched glory. A citadel of great proportions; a massive stone building, large enough to house their entire fleet.

“But… how?”

Teal turned to face his friend and smiled, holding up the unrolled scroll. “See this?”

Nathaniel, still a little numb with shock, nodded.

“What do you see?”

Nathaniel sighed. “Your sister’s name written in Callonian, and then in the universal language. Why?”

“Take a closer look at it, think about it you idiot! Look hard. Try using that dormant brain of yours for something other than wondering what you’re having to eat next.”

Nathaniel took the piece of paper in his hand and began to study it. “Do I at least get some kind of hint as to what I am looking for?”

“Numbers you fool, numbers!”

A dawning of realization washed over the young man and he gave his friend a sheepish grin. “Oh, I get it. In the universal language Zeeana’s name is spelt this way. Z…e…e…a…n…a, and in Callonian it’s spelt X…i…y…a…n…a.”

“Which means?” Teal urged him on.

“Well, if we take the fact into consideration that in both languages each letter has a corresponding number. For example, in the universal language… Z is number twenty six, e is five, then of course five again, then a, is one; n, is nineteen and a is again one, so we have there… twenty six, five, five, nineteen and one; then we have her middle initial which is L, the same as your father's…”

"That's not a number a number though,” Teal forewarned.

“Why not?”

“You’ll see. Just keep going. I want to make sure that you understand all this perfectly before we approach Yale and Bathaden with it.”

Nathaniel made a move to open his mouth in protest.

“Just shut up and keep going, airhead!” Teal pressed.

“Fine,” Nathaniel retorted. “I’ll just carry on shall I?"

“Please do.”

Nathaniel humphed a little. “So, anyway, in Callonian, the numbers for her name are totally different. X, is eighteen, I, is seven, y is fourteen, a; is six, and n is fifteen. So we….” he paused staring at the paper in front of him.

Teal watched in amusement as it finally hit the blond git in front of him, what he’d been getting at.

“H - her name… her name is the coordinates to the Citadel; and the initial… the L, initial is the grid reference for longitude and latitude am I right?”

Teal nodded. “Exactly. And Amaris in Callonian means toward the north and her middle name...”

“Towards the south…”

“Top of the class, Nathaniel. All I had to do after working the rest out was add the longitude and latitude to the correct numeral coordinates and there you have the end result.” Teal smirked as he shut his computer down and grabbed the unraveled scroll back from Nathaniel. “I’m convinced now that my father had more than one reason for keeping my sister’s existence so quiet. There has to be more to this than meets the eye.” He waved the scroll about. ” Now the only thing left to do is get this to the Admiral.”

Nathaniel sighed. This was definitely starting to get weirder by the minute.

~*~

Finishing the list, Leia had sent Mara and the Lieutenant ahead to the Senate hall to make sure that everything was in order and safe enough for Zeeana to venture out. Reports had come back stating that everything was ready and security had been doubled. No one was taking any chances this time.

Leia headed for Zeeana’s quarters, armed with her paperwork for the meeting. She knocked on the door frame and waited.

The door slid open and Zeeana left the confines of the small room slowly and nervously.

Leia smiled. “You look great.”

Zeeana grinned sheepishly as she looked down at her white robes, her hair flowing down over her shoulders. “It’s white," she stated. “White and I don’t get on all that well.”

Leia laughed. “They were supposed to be brown.”

Zeeana gave the older woman an odd look.

“So that they don’t show up the dirt after we walk way to the meeting place.” It was obvious by the stunned and confused look on the Callonian woman’s face, that she didn’t get the joke.

“Never mind, Zee,” Leia grinned, stepping back and allowing the young woman access to the corridor. “Luke and I will be escorting you to the Senate. Mara and Darien have already gone on ahead and reported that everything is safe and in order, all we need to do now is get there ourselves.”

Zeeana sighed as she walked alongside of Leia. Her mind raced; a thousand thoughts danced about inside of her head. What would happen if she failed in her attempts to get this treaty agreed upon? What would happen if her brother and his Imperial friends tried something funny? What would happen if….

“Relax,“ Leia smiled placing her hand over the young woman’s shoulder. “Everything will be fine.”

Zeeana swallowed nervously as they walked slowly out of the Falcon, clutching her meeting agenda tightly to her chest. “I just don’t know what to expect. I’m so nervous.”

Leia led her to their awaiting land hover. They had opted not to use the official Senate craft for fear of being too conspicuous. Luke stood quietly by it as they approached.

“Don’t worry too much about it Zee. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Leia reassured her young companion.

Zeeana automatically reached out as Luke offered her his hand. A small set of steps had been placed at the side of the land hover and he ushered her up them so that she could enter the hover itself.

“Let go of your fear,” Luke added softly

Zeeana stared at him as a wave of contemptuous familiarity washed over her, and suddenly she stopped still as if in a trance of some sort.

It was happening again and still nothing was clear in her vision.

The young child stood its ground as a hand from its tormentor flew up and to the side, tossing the child into empty cartons. The child scrambled up, still standing its ground and two small hands shot up into the air scattering the cartons in all different directions at high velocity. Again the child was lifted by seemingly unseen forces, but this time tossed mercilessly back to the floor. Zeeana watched, horrified as the young child struggled to pick itself up from the floor. Time and time again she watched this happen and time and time again the child would continue its useless defense and retaliate, ending up a heap on the floor.

Muffled, angry cries of determination were all she could hear as again the child retaliated. Then suddenly Zeeana found herself standing face to face with the child a small hand reaching out to her, but before she could fixate her gaze upon it, to get the image clear in her mind, Luke’s voice called her back into the present.

“Zee? Zeeana, are you alright?” The concern in his voice echoed the look on Leia’s face as she helped her to sit on the side of the land hover.

Zeeana’s heart raced and she struggled for a few moments as she tried to regain her composure. No matter how many times that happened, she still wasn’t ready for it when it hit her. However, it was the child she was concerned for. If only she could get a clear picture of the place and faces in front of her, then maybe… just maybe…

“Senator, do you want me to call off the meeting today? We could move it to tomorrow, if you like?”

“No! I’ll be fine, but…” Zeeana looked up at their worried faces, her eyes clouded with sadness and confusion. “The child,” she began. “The child was reaching out to me, I’m sure now that it was asking for help.”

“Mara said you’d mentioned something about that before she left,” Leia informed her. “Look, I suggest that after this meeting we sit down and you tell us everything you can remember.”

Zeeana nodded in agreement. “As you so desire, Leia. I’ll cooperate in any way that I can.”

“Are you alright to continue on now?” Luke asked, giving her a hand up.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

Leia gave her a stern look.

“Honest,” she replied as she maneuvered her way into the land hover's back seat. “And besides, I need to prove to the older members of my Senate that a younger person has the capabilities of handling this kind of thing.” She glanced at her elders.” No disrespect meant to either of you of course!”

Luke and Leia both smiled at her as they took their positions in the hover and she knew that they understood.

“Alright then,” Luke began, starting up the hover. “It’s time to show them all just what you’re made of.”

~*~

The meeting hall was fairly small; the few members of the Callonian Senate present, sat quietly in their places awaiting the arrival of the only person who could get them through this treaty with a high chance of success.

Mara and Darien stood watch, closely monitoring everything that went on. Mara checked that all observing members of the Senate were present before walking over to her counterpart. “That’s it, Saunders. All those attending are all accounted for and present except for our two delegates who should be here any minute now.”

Darien nodded in understanding. “So Luke’s outside guarding and when they walk in we do that whole announcing thing, right?”

“They do the announcing. It’s our job to make sure that Senators Organa-Solo and Amaris are kept under close watch at all times, and if you dare let me down, Saunders, I swear, I’ll string you up by your family jewels."

Darien laughed. “Go ahead, they never get used any way. I’m still pure.”

Mara shook her head. “Pure in body maybe, but the rest of you…” She never had the chance to finish her words as a loud fanfare started up. “Get ready, Saunders, here they come…”

Darien nodded and took his place by Zeeana’s chair. The doors opened and Leia was the first to appear, her Senate robes flowing behind her. Darien watched closely as Zeeana followed Leia into the room and his eyes set upon her slender frame. This was not the grubby little girl he had met hours earlier, or the shy farm girl that she scrubbed up to being after her shower. This was an accomplished young woman: A woman full of dignity and grace. He swallowed hard and Mara grinned, noticing the stunned look on his face.

The Senate caller stood tall in the center of the hall as they entered. Leia smiled over at Mara; she couldn’t help but feel that the small hall room was a pleasant change, considering the size of the senate back on Coruscant. She watched as the caller stood to attention and began his task of introductions.

“Presenting Coruscant’s Head of State; Senator Leia Organa-Solo." Leia walked casually into the middle of the room and bowed slightly before walking to her seat, which Mara pulled out for her to sit down on. Zeeana swallowed nervously as she waited her turn. A casual glance around the room caught her an encouraging wink from the Lieutenant and she grinned, a slight tinge of crimson sweeping over her cheeks.

“Presenting Callan 3’s Senate Elect; Zeeana Loa Amaris.” Zeeana regained her composure and walked into the middle of the room, she to bowed slightly before heading over to her seat. Darien moved her seat out for her to sit down in. Leaning in as she reached her position by the chair, he quickly whispered into her ear, “You look stunning!”

Zeeana dropped her head in a downward glance at the chair. She could feel the burning sensation coursing through her cheeks. “Thank you,“ she whispered as she hurriedly took her place.

From her position over by Leia’s seat, Mara grinned. She might have to warn the young Senator to watch out. Mara had known the young man for many years. She knew his mind and the way he acted, the way he did things. He was such a terrible flirt, although it surprised her that he was being a little more reserved than usual. Probably because they were in a public place.

The caller walked forward and stood by Senator Amaris’ seat. “This Senate meeting is now declared officially open. Senator Amaris,” he began with a respectful nod. “You now have the floor.”

Zeeana returned the nod of the head and stood. “Senator Organa-Solo. Welcome to Callan 3.” Her head bowed slightly and remained in that position. “It is with grateful thanks and humble hearts that we receive you here in this meeting hall. We wish to form a treaty with the New Republic. What say you to this?” she returned her gaze to the front.

“What is it you wish to propose, Senator Amaris?”

“For some time now we have wanted to move forward in our culture. As you would already know, we are a fairly peaceful race and as a result our weapons are primitive and would be of no real protection if ever an attack on our planet should occur. Our planet cultivates and grows many different kinds of food sources that are sold throughout this quadrant and are rated at the highest level of quality; being a five-point level. My proposition to you, Senator, is that we are willing to cultivate extra crops and harvests especially for the New Republic. There will be no costs involved to the New Republic at all and all we ask in return is to be provided with the support of your defense teams if we ever should require it. We are also willing to cooperate in any way, shape or form with the New Republic and allow them access to any resources, political or otherwise that they would find helpful.” Zeeana paused momentarily taking in the reaction of her Senate superiors, before continuing, they seemed satisfied enough. “I realize that what we have to offer you in return is more than likely nowhere near what we are asking from you, but all we ask is that you consider the proposal. It will not offend us, and we will understand if you can not accept.”

Leia watched the young woman sit back down and then she herself stood to reply. It was a much different system to the one back on Coruscant, but she hadn’t studied their culture and laws for nothing. Acknowledging the rest of the Callan 3 Senate with a bow of her own head, she smiled over at Zeeana. “Firstly, let me say how well I feel you have handled this situation, Senator Amaris. I believe that you have been put into this situation because of circumstances beyond your control. Is this correct?”

Zeeana nodded. “Yes, Senator, that is correct. We are already having problems, and as you are aware of what they are, forgive me if I do not go into details.”

Leia grinned at her. “No need to ask forgiveness, Senator Amaris. We… that is, my colleagues and I, understand the precariousness of this situation perfectly. This is another reason why I was anxious to meet with you and your Senate after we were notified of the situation. The Senate on Coruscant and I myself have already been over the request you sent in written form to us and we have discussed it in detail and at length. There was only one concern that the others of my Senate did have and in all honesty, it was your age and your ability to handle the responsibility. It was nothing personal, but as your laws stated that you had to be a certain age before performing these duties, and you of course were well under the age, they had their doubts. I, on the other hand, did not agree with their attitude. I also began my career as a Senator at a young age; younger than yourself I might add, and in my opinion, Senator Amaris, you have proved their theory incredulously wrong!”

Zeeana blushed; she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. “Thank you for your kind words, Senator Organa-Solo. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that. My age has always been of concern in this Senate also. Most young women my age are either married, raising a family or off studying elsewhere, so I can understand their concerns all too well. I could do those other things too if I so wish, but my planet is important to me, so I choose to stay and work towards a safer environment and continuing my father’s work in the fields. I have no malice towards any culture or race. Each to their own is my motto!”

Leia motioned with her hand for Zeeana to stand again and the young woman complied, not knowing what to expect. She watched as the New Republic’s Head of State walked around to meet her and swallowed in uneasy anticipation.

Reaching out, Leia grasped Zeeana’s hand in her own and squeezed gently. “Senator Zeeana Loa Amaris, I find your attitude to be a breath of fresh air and I don’t think I have ever met any other who is as young as you with that kind of mature reasoning. Therefore, it is with a glad heart and welcoming arms that I, on behalf of the Senate of Coruscant, accept your proposal. Welcome, Callan 3, to the New Republic.”

Zeeana’s mouth dropped open a little, she was shocked and surprised to say the least. The room was buzzing with conversation and congratulations as the Senate members gathered around them.

Both Mara and Darien closed the distance between the two Senators and themselves, better to be safe than sorry.

~*~

Nathaniel stopped in his tracks as he followed his friend towards Yale’s office. Teal stopped and turned, glaring questioningly at the younger man. “What?”

Nathaniel headed off in the other direction. “I need to talk to her again. I have to try, Teal.”

“You’re obsessed, Nathaniel… leave it for a while,” he called out to his friend “Anyway she’ll be in the Senate meeting by now.” It was too late though, the other young man was already gone from earshot. Sighing, Teal continued to Yale’s office alone.

~*~

It was several hours later when the excitement started to wane.

All but the four remained plus another Senate member, Na’mara. She had known Zeeana since she had moved to Callan 3 a few years ago with her husband and two children. She was older than Zeeana and the two were like sisters. Mara and Leia were discussing the meeting with Luke and Darien in the corner of the room. They had to organize for Zeeana to come back to the ship and finish signing the required paperwork.

Na’mara stepped a little closer to her friend and grinned. “You really were wonderful, Zee. You certainly earned your right to be here today!”

“But, I barely did a thing; that had to be the shortest meeting in history.”

“You’re too modest, Zee.” She noticed the younger of the men glancing their way and grinned as he nodded politely. She acknowledged him with a slight nod in return. ” So, that young man by Senator Organa-Solo, who is he?”

Zeeana turned her head and glanced over at the Lieutenant. “That,” she began with a smile, “is Lieutenant Darien Saunders. He’s my bodyguard while they’re here.”

Na’mara looked at her younger friend in disbelief. “That… dreamy young thing is your body guard?”

Zeeana laughed a little. “You shouldn’t be thinking things like that, you’re already married; and besides, what would Adura say if he knew you were eying off younger men?”

“Hey, I can look… I just can’t touch, that’s all,” she replied with a wink, “But you on the other hand...”

“Now don’t you go match making me again, Duran was bad enough.”

Na’mara pouted playfully, “But he was cute, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, but he also happened to like people of the same gender as himself," Zee laughed.

“Slight technical hitch, that’s all!”

“You’re incorrigible, Na’mara Leone`.”

Na’mara grinned and shrugged. “And I also need to get home to Adura and the children.” She gave the younger woman a hug. “You should be proud of yourself, Senator. You’ve forged a historical event here today. I’m proud of you!”

“Thank you, Na’mara. That means a lot to me. Give my love to Adura and the twins.”

“I’ll be sure and do that for you, Zee.” She gave the young woman a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye!” Zeeana watched her friend leave and it was only a matter of seconds before Luke and the young Lieutenant had made their way over to her.

“Zee… Leia, Mara and I need to meet with Callan 3’s President. You and the Lieutenant will need to remain here until we return for you.” The Jedi master faced his young counterpart. “Don’t let her out of your sight and do whatever you need to in order to protect her, is that under stood!”

“Every word, Admiral,” the young man replied solemnly.

“Good. We should be no longer than an hour.” With a curt bow of his head he motioned for the others to follow him.

Zeeana glanced around the now empty room. She was still a little overwhelmed by the whole affair. Saunders watched her as she walked back towards the table that she and the others had sat at. He grinned as she reached out and tentatively touched the table and sighed with relief.

"Glad it's over?" he asked her as she sat her self down on a chair facing him.

"You have no idea just how glad. I was so worried about everything. To tell you the truth I expected to have to sit through hours of negotiations, but it never happened."

Darien laughed lightly. "It was a straight forward and simple request. According to Mara, Leia likes those kind of treaty signings the best."

"Me too. Some of the signings I attended before all of this trouble started went on for days." She patted the chair beside her. "Sit down, you're making the place look untidy."

Darien raised an eyebrow, "Oh, is that so?" he chuckled, noticing the mischievous look in her eyes as he joined her at the table. "A bit of a trouble maker I see. I think maybe it's I who needs protecting from you."

"More than likely, Lieutenant. I can be a bit of a handful," she replied sweetly.

The Lieutenant smiled at her. "I can imagine." He winked at her. "So, what made you want to become a senator?"

Zeeana pondered the question. All the reasons flew through her mind and she gave the young man a wistful smile. "My father mostly."

Darien gave her a puzzled look. "Your father?"

She nodded. "My father was a kind and generous man, very influential in the community. My brother once told me that our father had built the homestead and planted and cultivated all of our land by himself. He was well respected and looked up to and it was rumored that he was the Emperor's bodyguard and close friend for a while, but a clash of ideals caused them to fall out."

"The, the Emperor's friend and body guard? You mean that bastard actually had friends?"

Zeeana bit her lip to stop the laugh escaping. The look on the poor fellow's face was beyond description. "That's what I said when I first found out from my brother, minus the profanity of course."

Darien blushed slightly, a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry about that."

Zeeana reached out and placed her hand on his. "It's alright, Darien, my brother quite frequently says exactly what he's thinking so I'm used to worse than that." She smiled at him and he grinned.

"I think I'd like to meet this brother of yours, he sounds like an interesting person," he replied, laying his other hand over hers.

"Interesting is an understa..."

Darien sat upright and placed his finger to his lips. He stood; hand on his weapon, keeping it at the ready, making sure that Zeeana was behind him... "Can I help you?" he asked the young gentleman as he came into the room.

"I, er.. I... I'm looking for Zeeana Amaris…"

Zeeana's body stiffened and her stomach churned. "Nathaniel!!" She moved from behind the Lieutenant and faced the young man a 'not so pleased to see him' look on her face.

Darien stood back, seemed to him like the next war was about to begin. "I, er, gather you know this person, Zee?"

"I'm her fiancé!" the young man blurted out.

"F, fiancé....?"

"No, he isn't, Darien. He has this delusional idea that he and I are still an 'itemized account', which is absolutely not the case."

"Well we are, you're the only one denying it and who is.... this?" the other young man asked.

Zeeana glared at the young man. "We aren't, I'm not and this... as you so lightly put it is..." Her mind raced and she simply blurted out what came next, " is my new love interest, Lieutenant Darien Saunders..." She immediately kicked herself but it was the only thing she could think of to get him off her back.

Darien and Nathaniel both glared at the young woman. Zeeana watched Darien's face as he bit his lip then laughed. Well at least she wasn't going to end up with a laser shot to the head for it.

He turned to face the young woman and winked, he'd picked up on her little game and placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him. "I thought you were going to tell him last week sweetheart."

"I haven't had the chance yet. I've been flat out with the homestead and everything, Darien."

Nathaniel's eyes blazed and he stepped forward. "I came here, Zeeana, to ask you to come back. I had all intentions to forgive you for your stubbornness and headstrong attitude. You belong with me and you know it."

Darien suddenly felt his temper rise and he too stepped forward. "Who the hell do you think you are? She belongs to no one. Zee isn't a possession, friend, she's a free spirit and no one has the right to own her. So I suggest you turn your scungy little face back that way and walk out of here while you still can." He turned back to face Zeeana and then, to her surprise, as well as Nathaniel's, Saunders gathered the girl in his arms and without giving her the chance to protest, pressed his lips firmly to hers.

Nathaniel's eyes raged with anger as he stormed from the room, his voice tainted with malice. "This won't be the last you'll hear from me, Zeeana Amaris. Your destiny awaits you and there is nothing you can do to stop it!"

Once it was safe Zeeana pulled away from the young man and stared at him, her heart pounded in its sanctuary. She didn't know whether to hit him or thank him. "Just what the hell do you think you're playing at?" she asked, a little shaken from the power she had felt in the Lieutenant's kiss.

"Playing along as requested. He's gone now, isn't that what you wanted?"

"Well, yes, but kissing wasn't part of the agenda."

"Neither was I suddenly becoming your ‘love interest'; and besides, you're the one who dragged me into this. I was only trying to help."

"Well, next time warn me before you kiss me, at least then I'll know it's happening."

"Fine. I will!"

"Fine, you just make sure you do!"

The two of them locked eyes and glared at each other, then all of a sudden Zeeana started to giggle. Darien bit his lip and attempted to stifle a chuckle but the two of them began to snicker and seconds later laughter resounded loudly out from the meeting hall.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Darien asked as he remembered the look in Nathaniel's eyes.

"No, because from some strange reason, if you care to remember," she began with a grin, "my lips were otherwise engaged and I was facing the other way," she said cheekily. "Although, Lieutenant, I will give you credit where credit is due..."

"Oh? Credit for what?" he asked curiously.

"You're a much better kisser then he ever was," she laughed, a red tinge forming across her cheeks

The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow at her. "Does that mean I'll have the privilege of tasting your sweet lips again?"

Zeeana laughed, her face a little more crimson than before. "Now that, Lieutenant," she replied with a cheeky smile as she cocked her head to the side a little, " ...is something you may never know."

TBC