Minotaur of Mischief

Posted on Thu Jan 30th, 2020 @ 4:26pm by Lieutenant Mona Gonadie & Az'Prel & Maica III 47 & Kodria Mizu & Commander Rita Paris & Jaeih Dox-t'Aan
Edited on on Wed Feb 5th, 2020 @ 9:40am

Mission: Bachelorette Bash
Location: U.S.S. Hera
Timeline: 2397

“Minerva? Minerva, where have you toddled off to?” Jaeih Dox said with the hint of concern in her voice as she looked around the baby’s mid-sized bedroom in Briaar Gavarus and Fiona O’Dell’s shared family quarters on deck 14 of the U.S.S. Hera. The reinforced crib that the child had been sleeping in was getting a bit small for the rapidly growing child. The elder Romulan babysitter knew that she had just put the child down to rest after a light dinner, but now she was gone.

Looking around the sparsely decorated room, which wasn’t too surprising as they were still unpacking from the move, Jaeih moved out into the corridor to the main living chambers. There were still boxes and assorted crates strewn about and far too many things for a baby that could waddle at just under seven months to get into. “By Al’thindor, your mothers don’t need a nanny, they need a housemaid. Minerva, you are beginning to make me nervous, I…”

Then, the elder Romulan in the blue R&D tunic’s sensitive ears picked up the slightest of giggles from behind a stack of crates marked ’engine shit’ just past the door to the baby’s bedroom and she realized that playtime was evidently not over. “Hmmm… now where would I go if I were looking for a little baby named Minerva? Perhaps… she is hiding… here!?”

The giggles continued before Jaeih could hear the sound of the tiny tot covering up her mouth as the canny former intel master spy purposely looked behind the wrong crate. “GASP! I have been evaded! How clever my quarry must…”

Then, as Jaeih was speaking, the chime at the main entrance to the family quarters chimed. “Well… that’s poor timing.” Turning around to peer behind the crates where Minnie was crouched, Jaeih rolled her eyes comically and held out her hands. “I’m afraid we must go see who that is interrupting our fun, my dear. Come here.”

Flumping down with a pout onto her bediapered rump, Minnie shot a raspberry at her caregiver and crossed her fuzzy arms to sulk as she muttered out a string of incoherent gibberish, “Mppphhrrgle BaFppppbtt Figgleefrffer.”

“Be that as it may, your mothers seem to have a visitor, so we must inform them that they have been whisked away for an evening of frivolity.” Pretending to answer the rambling, Jaeih picked Minnie up, who was a bit fussier tonight than normal and made her way to the main chamber, navigating around the boxes to press the pad at the side of the door. “Perhaps you will be staying in my quarters this evening, my dear. This is quite the labyrinth, and Minotaur or not, it is a mess.”

The door opened to reveal the Captain’s wife, Maica, as she held their daughter and Jaeih’s own Goddaughter, Moira. The holographic mother looked a bit more frazzled than usual as Jaeih spoke, “Maica? Is everything alright?”

"I... Yeah... "If you don't mind... Could you look after little Moira for a while?" Maica's attention was obviously not there as her eyes were distant and unfocused. Instead, she looked like she was expending a great amount of thought elsewhere. "I've got ten copies running around the salon helping out Sharonne right now so..."

"Of course, of course. Come in and set her down in the crib. This one is far too fussy to be put down as of yet, anyway." Jaeih said, stepping aside to let the overworked holographic lifeform in with little Moira. "Ten copies? My dear, that sounds.. extreme to say the least. Allow me to remove at least one of those tasks for a bit."

"Thank you," replied Maica, stepping inside and glancing around before being able to identify the crib and heading towards it to set Moira down inside of it. As soon as she saw that her baby girl was safely in bed, she sighed and went to sit down herself. "She'll need a bottle soon. It's almost feeding time."

"Of course, my dear. And if you forgive my saying so, you look as though you might need more than rest." Jaeih asked as she stepped over to the replicator, setting Minnie down, who simply clung to her nannies hip like an adorable barnacle as the elder Romulan ordered up a bottle of formula for Moira. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

The jade woman nodded slowly. "Could you shut off the micro-tractor emitters in this room? This is my main body and I can still feel last night's... Ahem... I don't want to feel right now. Not with my attention split like it is."

With a nod, Jaeih stepped over to the computer interface panel and began punching in commands quickly. After a few short moments, there was a chirp and she looked over to Maica. "I promise I won't even pry as to what happened last night. Is that better, my dear?" As she spoke, Jaeih stepped over and picked little Moira up and began feeding her as Minnie remained glued to her pant leg, looking up at the much smaller, green and spotted baby with wide eyes and a cooing smile.

As Maica shimmered slightly, she slumped in relief just the slightest. "Thank you. That... Sigh... That's at least one distraction I don't have to worry about anymore. I swear, if there were any other way to turn off my pain receptors... And if I could do it myself..."

Rocking the baby in her arms, Jaeih raised and eyebrow and tilted her head slightly with a slightly irritated expression, adding in a minor Romulan curse. "And why in Areinnye can you not? If I'm in pain, I can order up basic medications to assist in that regard. How would that be any different for you?"

"A weird agreement that Enalia and I have," Maica started to explain as she leaned back on the couch she'd plopped onto, waving one hand absently. If she hadn't been so focussed on things in the salon she'd have never even spoken of the topic, but distracted as she was, her tongue had been loosed. "It's part of this whole BDSM thing. She doesn't heal her bruises further than cosmetically and I do the same. We let them heal naturally so we can enjoy the pain of our pleasure longer. She's had a lot of hardship in her life and I've faced very little so... No, no... It'll come out the right color with your complexion..."

"Ahem..." Maica paused a moment, trying to organize her thoughts on this end. "We enjoy it. She enjoys the thrill and I enjoy experiencing life to the fullest."

"BDSM?" The knowledgeable former intel operative knitted her eyebrows as she searched her memory for that particular initialism before the information finally came to her. As it did, she shrugged lightly, rocking little Moira to sleep. "Ah, yes. That took me a moment to recall, but some of my more interesting customers in my smuggling days found that predilection to their liking. I, for one, suppose I come from the Tal'Shiar school of torture: If the recipient is enjoying it, you're doing it wrong."

"Still, I place no judgment, my dear. Simply concern. This particular pain has nothing to do with your pleasures and you should be able to control it without permission. Especially if it impedes your ability to function to your needs. I may need to have a little talk with Enalia when..." Then, Jaeih looked down at her leg, noticing that Minnie was no longer tugging at it. "Minerva? Where did you get to, now?"

"There's not much point to the whole thing if..." Then Jaeih's last statement hit the emerald beauty and her eyes snapped open wide as she realized that she too had lost track of the baby minotaur. "She's not in these quarters."

"Imirrhlhhse." Jaeih cursed under her breath as her head snapped around, looking for the miniature Minotaur. She couldn't hear her anywhere in the chamber this time and when she stepped out of the baby's bedroom into the main chamber, she saw that the door to the corridor was, inexplicable, still open. "Kreldanni HNAEV!"

It was clear where Jaeih's daughter picked up her predilection for cursing as she rushed into the corridor with Moira in her arms. "Oh, you great feanna. A little over a week as her nanny and you've lost the kreldanni baby. This is simply lovely. Computer!"

Listening for the telltale chirp, Jaeih stepped back into O'Dell and Gavarus' quarters as she continued. "Locate Minerva Carrot."

After a moment, the computer chirped a reply, =^=Cannot locate Minerva Carrott.=^=

"I could look for her... But I'm already stretched enough." Maica furrowed her brows in thought. "You could ask for Maru's help. They'll likely be able to find her easily enough."

"My dear, you look as if you can barely walk. I can track down criminals and Syndicate gangsters as an Intel agent, I shall find Minera easily enough. She's likely just gone toddling down the corridor and is just out of sight, no doubt. You rest and I'll be right back, and I shall check with this... Maru. Thank you." Jaeih said, doing a professional-level job of covering up her mounting anxiety at losing the baby.

Rather than replying, Maica just nodded and closed her eyes, tuning out everything around her to focus completely on everything in the salon and trusting Jaeih completely with the safety and well being of the children. After all, she knew what she was doing and Maica trusted her completely, as did Enalia.

Leaving the beleaguered holographic mother to do what appeared to be resting, Jaeih narrowed her eyes and stepped into the main chamber and O'Dell and Gavarus' replicator. Punching in some instructions, a small Tricorder and a bundle of straps and a canvas appeared.

Pulling the straps around her torso and tucking Moira safely in the front, she tucked the tiny tot to her chest in an overwhelmingly tactical looking Baby Bjorn and made off into the corridor with the Tricorder active and scanning. After a few seconds, she muttered to herself, "Ahhh. There's your heat signature, little Minerva. You toddled off this way."

Then, tapping her comm badge as she power-walked down the corridor, following the heat trail, Jaeih called out. "Jaeih Dox to Az'Prel. Are you inordinately busy, by any chance?"

There was a brief pause before the freedom fighter from another universe responded. "I was meditating. However, if you require my assistance, it is yours." There was the barest of emotion in the last part of her statement which implied that it would always be hers, but few would even be able to pick it up, let alone know to look for it.

"Yes, well... I could, indeed, use some... discrete assistance. I am currently on Deck 14 and... one moment." Jaeih stopped before the nearest Turbolift, where the heat signature stopped. After a second, the doors opened and a lift appeared, but a lift lacking Minnie's heat signature, meaning the miniature Minotaur got on a different lift and could be anywhere on the ship, in theory.

Pulling the panel off of the control PaDD outside of the lift, Jaeih used the TriCorder to access the transport records of the last ten lifts that had serviced this location before speaking again. "Pardon me. I am... looking for something that has escaped my current attention and require the application of your skills. I am on my way to Deck 4 now. Please meet me in the corridor near the Flight Deck and I shall explain in greater detail momentarily. Thank you."

"On my way," was the simple reply from Az'Prel as she hastily and efficiently gathered a few supplies and headed out.

Meanwhile, on deck 4, Mona was looking over some of the recent testing logs in the R&D offices when she could have sworn she heard the scurrying of tiny hooves run past her. Glancing up, she tapped her comm badge. "Mona to Jaeih. Are you..." But that was all she got out as the room went dark and her badge went silent.

Exiting the turbolift on Deck four, Jaeih began scanning again and, while it was faint and almost completely faded, she was able to pick up a scant few readings that indicated that Minnie was, as Jaeih suspected, heading towards the R&D lab. Folding up the tricorder and slipping it to her back pocket, the seasoned intel operative walked calmly to the door as she looked down to little Moira who was dangling from the harness on her chest, looking up at her guardian with a smile, brushing the elder woman's chin. 

As Jaeih stepped up to the doors to the deck, however, they failed to open. Looking them up and down, Jaeih tapped the entry panel, then noticed that the panel itself was inactive. Pondering the situation, she turned as she heard the only footfalls on the Hera as delicate and stealthy as her own. "Ah, thank you for coming so quickly, Az'Prel."

"I arrived as quickly as I was able. What trouble are we facing?" The Vulcan woman took everything with the same level of seriousness, no matter what it was, so she considered the call for help to be of critical importance. Plus, she was able to spend time with her sister in arms.

"I... lost a baby." Jaeih said, blushing a light shade of green as she turned to face Az'Prel, showing off the carrier with Moira strapped to her chest. "Obviously, not this one. The young Minotaur child, Minerva. She has never run off like this before, but with my new duties to safeguard these children, I am understandably concerned. And to make matters worse, the ship's computer cannot seem to actually locate her."

"I tracked her heat signature to this flight deck where the R&D department is located. Her parents work here and as such, as do I usually, so I suspect she's looking for them. However, the room seems sealed and the mechanism is unpowered." Jaeih said, looking at the door. "Annnddd, if my Daughter-in-Law asks me what's wrong and I have to tell her, she will automatically know I'm lying. She is literally a living lie detector. I need to get in that room and find that baby, Az'Prel."

"Yes, the abilities of the race as a whole are indeed fascinating," Az'Prel replied thoughtfully. "Perhaps it may be best if I enter the labs from this point and you enter from another point. If Lieutenant Gonadie questions me, I am confident I will be able to evade any direct queries without lying."

"If anyone could, It would be you." Jaeih said, looking around at the corridor thinking through her options. "Yes... yes, that could work. There's a Jefferies Tube access port behind this panel here that leads up and above the lab into the ductwork."

"This is fundamentally insane. I know it is, but..." Jaeih looked over at Az'Prel and her face relaxed ever so slightly. "I need to do this. I need to find that child and make sure she's safe. They trusted me with her and they never will again if they know I lost her."

"Understood. I am here to assist in any way possible," Az'Prel replied, her voice a bit softer than usual as she turned to the door controls. She removed the lower panel and yanked on the emergency release handle so the doors would slide freely. She then wedged her fingertips between the larger double doors and easily pried them apart before slipping inside.

Inside the offices, the door behind her slid shut slowly from the light spring action still in place, leaving Az'Prel now in complete darkness. The only sounds to be heard the cycling of the deck plating, a few random electronic storage containers, the breathing of an avian in distress, and what sounded like a child giggling.

Fortunately, Az'Prel could see well enough in complete darkness - she just had to wait a moment for her eyes to adjust.

Meanwhile, Jaeih found herself scooching up the ladder of the Jefferies tube that lead into the overhead working space above the R&D department. With Moira still strep to her chest, the elder Romulan couldn't believe what she was doing, but she had committed to the ludicrous action and would see it through. 

As quietly as possible, she found herself in a crawlspace that ran adjacent to the power couplings in the ceiling of the landing bay. Inching along, there was no light to speak of coming up from the air vents every few meters, but like Az'Prel, she could hear what was happening below. In her office, Mona seemed to be reaching around for a tricorder in the dark. But at least it sounded like she had not tried getting up and was doing so from the safety of her seat. And across the bay, near the break room, Jaeih could hear the sound of scampering hooves and a somewhat energetic giggle. The same kind of giggle Minnie made when they were playing earlier. 

Scoffing lightly in the duct, Jaeih shook her head and looked down at Moira who was reaching out towards the vent. Whispering, the Romulan nanny almost chuckled herself. "Your little playmate is playing a game herself, it seems. 'Find the Minotaur in the Labyrinth.' Interesting."

Pulling out her tricorder, Jaeih deactivated the sound circuit so it would run silent and tucked it in close so it's light wouldn't shine out of the vents. There was Minnie's heat signature. She was waddling away from the control console where Briaar Gavarus worked. Az'Prel was down there as well, inching through the space towards Mona's office. Recalling the layout, Jaeih quietly opened the vent cover and crawled out to a ladder that lead back to the main deck. But as she put her foot on the first rung to head down to the control panel Minnie had just been at, little Moira let out a tiny giggle that echoed eerily through the darkness.

"Hnaev..." Jaeih whispered as she froze on the ladder for a moment. 

"Ok! This is starting to get more than a little creepy!" called out the Miradonian woman in the dark, still fumbling around on her desk for a tricorder. She could see quite a bit given the barest amount of light, but in complete darkness she was lost.

By this time, Az'Prel had gained her night sight and was able to walk normally to Mona's office door. "My apologies Lieutenant. Mrs Dox informed me that there was a possible emergency in your offices so I am here to investigate. Please stand by patiently while I do so."

"Ah... So at least a bit of my call did make it out. I guess... Just... Please be quick?" The quiver in Mona's voice and the rustling of feathers as she scrunched up to hold herself tighter belied her inner fears of being in the dark like she was.

"I will endeavor to be as efficient as possible," replied the Vulcan woman as she headed towards the last place she had heard Minnie's hooves.

Hearing the exchange from the ladder on the wall with her exceptionally keen, Romulan ears, Jaeih whispered down to Moira in the carrier on her chest. "You're going to get us caught, little one. Shush." Then, taking advantage of the brief conversation happening in the distance, she made her way down the ladder quickly, hoping the sound would be covered well enough.

At the bottom, she felt around with her feet and immediately knew what had happened. Flipping open the tricorder, she scanned the console and it appeared that Minnie had removed about half of the isolinear chips from the wall panel and had been firmly but consistently chewing on them. "Well, that will disrupt power to be sure." She whispered to herself as she began to re-insert the chips that were still intact.

In the distance, she could hear Az'Prel following Minnie, but she couldn't see a thing as she kept looking at the backlit Tri-Corder display and ruining the work her eyes did adjusting to the darkness. Then, after a minute, she realized an additional problem: one of the chips was gnawed on beyond being useable. "Of, for Al'thindor's sake, this is intolerable." She whispered as Moira giggled slightly, grasping for the colorful lights of the Tricorder.

"Ah, excellent suggestion, little warrior." Jaeih whispered with a smirk as she deactivated the device and, in total darkness, popped open the back and felt for the device's own circuitry, and the single chip inside that would solve, at least, temporarily, the problem.

As the lights came back on, Az'Prel was right behind them with a very mischievous looking Minnie in her grasp. Handing the child off to Jaeih, she headed over to Mona's office door. "I believe I have discovered the issue. There seems to be a problem in your office isolinear circuitry. It has been temporarily repaired. I recommend an engineering team go over it for full repairs."

Her brows furrowed, Mona stared at the Vulcan woman for several moments before replying. Nothing she said was untrue, but she couldn't help but feel like there was more to it than that. "Yes... Thank you... Since Gavarus is out for the day and I'm in no shape for it, I'll put in a request."

From behind Az'Prel, there was the slightest sound of metal clanging on metal. Faint and distant, but still enough to attract the curious R&D Chief's attention, but when she glanced over there was nothing to see. But above both women, in the darkness of the ducts that ran over the department, Jaeih slowly crawled on her hands and knees. Strapped to her chest, Moira was reaching around as, clinging to Jaeih's back and enjoying every second of the minor adventure, little Minnie leaned over and nuzzled her flustered Nanny's cheek with her own.

Whispering faintly, Jaeih shook her head lightly and smiled in spite of herself. "Well, my dears, let it never be said that I will not go to great lengths OR heights to protect you two."

-------------------------

On the couch in Ensign's O'Dell and Gavarus' quarters, Maica was finally simply resting as it appeared that her processing was no longer being stretched thin among several copies in the ship's salon. Slowly, she opened her eyes to the sound of giggling children as Moira and Minerva were sitting in the center of the floor in front of her playing their favorite game as the little green-skinned baby swung her toy sword at the fuzzy Minotaur who parried the attacks with her own horns.

Sitting at the table opposite, each sipping a beverage, was Jaeih and Az'Prel, overseeing the children and reading the large tome that Hera had bestowed upon the Minotaur babe's parent to instruct them on the ins and outs of raising such a child. With a raised eyebrow, Jaeih tilted her head and spoke softly. "How was your rest, my dear. According to the security reports, the party has officially moved off-ship so I am assuming the preparations went well?

"Yeah... Yeah, everything is ok. I think I finally know what exhaustion really is." Maica smiled weakly as she looked around the room. "My core unit got up around two hundred celsius. I'll have to run some diagnostics while dreaming tonight."

"A wise precaution, to be sure," Jaeih said, sipping her coffee as she betrayed on her face nothing of what had occured. "Might I suggest getting some rest. Enalia is off having a no doubt fine evening. And I'm sure that if Az'Prel wouldn't mind assisting me, that we can watch two children tonight as well as one."

"I think I may take you up on that offer,. Thank you," the jade woman replied. Without even getting up, she waved one hand in the air as if accessing a menu only she could see and tapped at the air a couple times. With a tired grin at the two other women, she dissolved into the air, leaving nothing behind for now.

Az'Prel pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I truly hope that she finds the rest that she seeks. I have never before seen an artificial life form look... Weary."

"NOr I. But I'm sure she will get her rest. And if not, I shall speak with both Enalia about how much she tasks her wife and to Mona about possibly upgrading her power systems." Jaeih said taking another sip of her coffee before putting it down to look at the book, opened to a page on some of the unique abilities of Minotaurs. Smiling slightly, she shook her head and chuckled. "Well, now we know that if you wish to play hide and seek in a labyrinth of any kind... like the corridors of this vessel... you become invisible to sensor detection. It's a good thing your little hooves still left heat behind you."

Pausing to glance up while playing, Minnie giggled almost as if she understood and was proud as she bounced up and down on her rump. While doing so, Moira took advantage of the distraction to bop her opponent on the top of the head as her toy sword gave out a squeaky honk. 

As the kids went back into their playtime with renewed gusto, Jaeih turned to her Vulcan companion and nodded slightly. "But again, I must give you my thanks. You did not have to put yourself or your reputation aboard this ship in danger to help me protect my... reputation. I am, as always, in your debt."

The Vulcan woman merely bowed her head humbly. "As I consider you a sister it was only logical. I am at your service, should you ever have need of me."

Raising her eyebrow, Jaeih shook her head. "Logic? You helped me deceive an officer for no reason other than to help me protect my... wounded pride. That was more than logic, my Rinam."

Using the Romulan word for "sister", Jaeih put her hand on Az'Prel's and smiled warmly. "Since our first mission, you have had my trust, Rinam. Since then, you have had far more. I would... have you know this, though I admit... I do not know what it means."

The interdimensional Vulcan woman nodded, taking the Romulan woman's hand in her own. "I admit that I have a similar feeling and that I have meditated on it for many days. I believe it is a bonding of the heart. Perhaps as kindred spirits as we have faced similar hardships in our lives and understand each other better for it."

Az'Prel paused a moment, obviously wanting to say more, even to one unskilled in reading Vulcans. After a moment she finally gave in. "It is illogical... but when you were kidnapped... it took all of my control not to go after you alone and to suppress the rage in my heart that I had for these Tal'Shiar."

"But you acted logically. I know that Commander Paris would have had to lock me up again to have kept me away, as well." Jaeih said, blushing slightly. "I cannot pretend to understand what it is to be Vulcan. Too many generations separate our people, but I long ago accepted that our people needed each other again to be complete. As I find I need you. Perhaps... a bonding of the heart is the best way to describe it."

"This is... different... from what I felt with Dra'lath... with Mnhei'sahe's father. But I could not ignore its strength. And... thank you again for your help this evening. Knowing I can count on you means... much."

"I believe you would have done no less for me," replied Az'Prel simply before another thought came to her - a bit of a comparison that had arisen in her meditation. She had previously dismissed it as illogical, but after having seen the people of the Mol Krunchi colony, the thought had arisen again and she was curious as to what Jaeih thought of it.

"Perhaps..." The Vulcan woman looked deep into Jaeih's eyes for a moment before continuing, her voice softer than usual. "Perhaps being a logician from a universe where Vulcans did not embrace logic, but instead embraced their fiery passions, I am in a way... Not unlike the embodiment of the reunification that you seek for your own people. And perhaps you are not unlike the passionate people that I have lost."

"And as such... we fulfill yet another need we each share. ANd in that, there is... completion." Jaeih said as, in the center of the room Moira and Minnie were still playing but both looked like they were keeping going in spite of their mounting fatigue. "That is... logical to me. Now, let me attend to my duties and put these two little gekha to bed"

Referring to the dueling children with the Romulan word for 'warriors', Jaeih stood up and adjusted her blue uniform tunic that she was learning to take considerable pride in, emblazoned no longer with the Romulan sigil but with the Starfleet Delta, and stepped over. Kneeling down, she gently picked up the fuzzy bovine babe who fussed in vain in her arms. As she did, Moira continued to swing her tiny, toy sword about while yawning.

Hoisting the tiny tot on her hip, Minnie quickly shifted from fussing to tucking up against Jaeih's chest and starting to drift. Adjusting her slightly to account for the weight, Jaeih smiled lightly and turned back to Az'Prel. "If you would, can you bring the little one with me. There's more than enough room in Minerva's crib for them both, but this one is quite heavy on her own. Thank you."

The Vulcan woman simply nodded and stood, straightening her own rust red and grey padded Vulcan-esque casual attire. From there, she moved over to stand almost ominously over the Captain's daughter for a moment before picking her up and tucking her into her own prodigious bosom. Ominous, but only to those that missed the momentary haunted look in the lost Vulcan's eyes wondering what Starfleet Intel was doing with her own daughter.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Moira snuggled in tighter and her toy sword let out a long, slow 'squeeeeee......' as the babe clung to her. Clearly she had chosen her place to nap, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Az'Prel.

"Ahh, you have something in common with her mothers that she seems to have taken to." Jaeih said with a light smirk. As she did, she set Minnie down gently into the crib eliciting a slight bit of fussiness from the dozing Minotaur babe before she settled back down, curling up into a ball and making a positively adorable sound, not unlike the mix of a cat's purr with a cow's moo.

Then, the former Intel agent turned towards her bond-sister with the spotter green babe nuzzled to her breast and held out her hands to take the sleeping Moira.

"A logical assumption," Az'Prel whispered, doing her best to disentangle herself from Moira's grasp and hand her off to Jaeih. "If you require the use of my assets for this purpose in the future... I am not opposed."

"I may just do so, shall I need your... skills... again." Jaeih replied, quelching a light chuckle at the double entendre of the use of the word 'assets' in the current scenario. "Although... I believe I am... what is the human expression... getting the 'hang' of this somewhat awkward new position."

"Two intelligence agents trusted with the children of the future." Jaeih said, setting Moira down on her back next to Minnie, who immediately reached over and hugged up against her little green friend, cooing as the slept. "Welcome to the future, little ones. Hope we all survive the experience."