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Chapter Text

Though her dorm room at Starfleet Academy was tiny, especially compared to the accommodations she could have commanded if she’d remained in the family business, there was no where else D’Vana Tendi would rather have been.  As immersed in her studies as she was, she hadn’t even left San Francisco since she’d been on Earth – in fact, she rarely left the Academy grounds.  Why would she need to?  The key to her future was right there, and she had everything she needed at her fingertips.

…Everything she needed except fun, apparently, at least according to her roommate, Remy.  Tendi tried to argue, repeatedly, that she found studying to be fun.  She could be convinced to go out to the parks, sometimes, and enjoy nature – another form of studying, Tendi figured – but parties were not her thing.  However, she’d been talked into this one.  Remy’s sister, Aurelia, was an ensign on the Quito, and the crew was enjoying some shore leave on Earth.  One of Aurelia’s friends was hosting a party at his family’s home in San Francisco, and Remy had begged Tendi to join her.  Though Tendi had just downloaded several back issues worth of her favorite biomechanics journal and would have been happy to spend the evening reading, the idea of getting to spend time with actual officers from an Olympic-class ship was exciting. 

“Are you sure they’ll want to talk to us?” Tendi asked.  “After all, it’s a party, not a networking session.  They’re probably way too cool for us.  I mean, your sister can introduce you, but…”

“But nothing!” Remy insisted.  “You’re with me – and you are cool.”

“It’s, just, people usually go to parties for the drinking and the dancing, and not telling stories about work.”  Tendi’s concern was twofold, honestly; she didn’t want to be a bother, but she also knew what many humans might have thought an Orion at a party was…well, hired entertainment. 

Remy snorted.  “Please.  Starfleet officers love to tell stories about work.  Especially at parties!”  She’d been friends with Tendi long enough, though, that she was able to guess at the second part.  “And if anyone says anything rude to you, let me deal with them.”

“Okay.”  Tendi nodded.  She wanted to think it wouldn’t be an issue, but…stereotypes persisted.  And that wasn’t the only thing that had her nervous.  She didn’t want to make a fool out of herself in front of actual Starfleet officers, but maybe if she just found a quiet corner and hoped fellow wallflowers would join her, it would work out.  And she did want to hear the crew’s stories. 

As it turned out, however, it was hard to hear anything over the music inside.  Tendi didn’t hate it – some of it was pretty good – but she’d heard a group of junior-grade lieutenants had wandered out by the pool to chat in a quieter place.  Frankly, the lieutenants were an even more intimidating group to consider socializing with than Aurelia’s ensign friends, but she was still hoping her wallflower theory would pay off. 

The benefit of it being a party, at least, was that no one was in uniform.  Though Tendi was sure her nerves gave her away as a cadet, there were no protocols or ranks to officially acknowledge.  The more she considered it, the more Tendi was able to tell herself that it didn’t matter who she encountered or what their rank might have been.  They were all just people, and that was why she’d come here.  To hear about the thrills that awaited her from someone who was living them.  There was only one person out by the pool when Tendi got there, sitting at the edge of the pool with her legs dangling in.  That wouldn’t have been strange, except that the young woman was fully dressed.  Her dark pants and leather jacket weren’t exactly swimwear, and Tendi frowned as she drew closer.  “Are you all right?”

“Oh, fine,” the woman replied, swirling the drink in her hand around in its glass.  “Just freaking great, actually.”

The sweet, tangy smell of Orion delaq was unmistakable, and Tendi blinked.  That definitely hadn’t been one of the offerings at the bar inside.  It was known to have mild hallucinogenic properties for humans, hence its appeal to them, and the synthetic version didn’t have nearly as strong a scent.  Tendi was both immediately intrigued and a little more concerned.  “Um, do you mind if I ask where you got that drink?”

“I have my connections.”  The woman turned to look at her, squinting drunkenly.  “Heeey…are you Orion or have I had too many of these?”

“I’m going to go with ‘both,’” Tendi said cautiously, watching as the woman reached into her jacket and pulled a flask out of the inside pocket after finishing off her drink and setting the empty cup down.  “I’d warn you to be careful with that stuff, but I feel like I’m a little late.”

“Oh, m’not drunk,” her new companion insisted, holding the flask out to Tendi.  “It’s a vicious rumor.  I’m just…lightly toasted.  This is nothin’.  Now, chech'tluth…that’ll fuck you up.  But I was fresh out.”

Tendi wasn’t familiar with the exact drink, but given that it was Klingon, she didn’t doubt that.  If she was honest, the offer of delaq was a little tempting, a taste of home, but she shook her head to decline the offer.  Her nervousness was gone, replaced with a desire to help.  “Do you work on the Quito?”

“Oh, yeah…it’s great.  Explore strange new worlds…meet new civilizations…watch ‘em kill your friends!”

Tendi blinked; she hadn’t been expecting that.  And the pain in the woman’s eyes suggested it wasn’t just drunken rambling.  There was trauma there.  “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be…s’part of the job.”  She took another long drink from the flask.  “Seventh Fleet blown out of the sky?  Unfortunate.  Dude eats Angie?  Sounds like another Tuesday…”

Tendi winced in sympathy.  The reference to the Seventh Fleet immediately suggested that the woman had been involved in the Dominion War, unless she was simply using it as an example…but a friend getting eaten was a little too oddly specific to be the same.  “I’m sorry.  Did you want to talk about it?”

“Hell, no!  That’s why I’m drinking.”

“Fair enough,” Tendi allowed.  She wasn’t sure she had the skills to unpack all that anyhow.  She could certainly lend a listening ear, but she didn’t want to get in over her head and accidentally make the situation worse.  “By the way, my name’s D’Vana.”  She rarely even heard her own first name anymore, but it seemed right to start out casually, set aside thoughts of Starfleet, specifically, and offer friendship.

The woman regarded her for a long moment, as if making a decision – or maybe she was just wondering if Tendi knew where to get more delaq.  Finally, she nodded, murmuring her own name.

“Becky?” Tendi asked, confirming. 

“No, it’s…”  A smile crossed her face and she shrugged.  “Actually, Becky’s fine.”

Tendi frowned.  “No, really, if I got it wrong, please let me know.”

“No, it’s…just something they called me when I was a kid.  And I’m drunk and in my feelings so let’s go with it.” 

“Okay.”  Tendi decided not to call attention to the fact that Becky had just admitted she was drunk after insisting she wasn’t.  She slipped her sandals off, rolling up her pant legs so they wouldn’t get wet, and settled beside Becky, putting her feet in the water as well.  “It’s nice out here.”

“Guess so.”  Becky shrugged.  She took another drink from her flask, peering into it curiously.  “Huh.  Gotta get more of that…”

“No offense, but I think you might have had enough to drink tonight,” Tendi suggested.  She tried to keep her tone light, sound amused instead of judging, but she was a little concerned, especially as Becky produced a second flask from a different jacket pocket.  It definitely wasn’t delaq; Tendi didn’t know what it was, but the smell was acrid and strong when Becky opened it.  “Maybe I ought to grab us some water?” 

Becky grinned at her.  “No, grape juice!  It makes a great mixer.”

Tendi sighed, standing up and putting her sandals back on.  She did like juice, and maybe she could convince Becky to try some on its own.  “I’ll get the juice.”

It took Tendi a few minutes longer than she’d have liked to get back to the pool, once Remy caught sight of her and wanted to introduce her to a few people.  Tendi made a little polite conversation, but she was anxious to get back to Becky.  If someone else had been out there to keep an eye on her, it would have been different, but Tendi felt a sense of responsibility to make sure her new friend made it back to wherever she was staying safely.  She heard a splash just as she was approaching the pool and sighed, picking up her pace.  “Becky?”  She scanned the water, waiting for Becky to surface, and the glasses of juice fell to the ground as Tendi saw her.  She was underwater, but not swimming or struggling.  She was just slowly moving toward the bottom of the pool.  Was she even conscious?  Tendi jumped in, swimming to Becky and dragging her back to the side of the pool, using a ladder as leverage to pull them both to the top.  Becky sputtered and coughed as she got a lungful of air, thankfully, and Tendi took a deep breath.  She hadn’t had time to think; she’d just acted.  Becky seemed to respond again, whether she’d snapped out of it or her adrenaline had finally surged, and she climbed the ladder, rolling onto the cement bedside the pool.  Tendi followed, her own adrenaline beginning to drop off.  “Oh, my stars…are you okay?  What happened?!”

“I…fell.”  Becky seemed stunned and was starting to tremble, but at least she was awake and responding.  “And it just seemed so peaceful, just…floating.”  Still, she seemed to have a sense of the gravity of the situation, and her eyes locked onto Tendi’s.  “Thank you.”  Would she have had a last burst of energy to get herself out if Tendi hadn’t come back when she did?  Tendi wasn’t sure and she didn’t want to think about it. 

Tendi was shaking a bit herself.  In the moment, she’d been on autopilot, but now that they were safe, the close call was beginning to crash down on her.  She blinked back tears.  “You…you could have drowned.”

“Yeah.”  Becky sat up slowly, Tendi moving to support her, and stared down at the ground, her gaze unfocused.  “I…shit, maybe you were right, I had too much, it just hurts so fucking much sometimes and it’s easier not to feel.”  Her eyes filled with tears as well and she wiped them away fiercely, despite the fact that she was soaking wet everywhere else.  She picked up the second flask, which had been on the ground beside her and appeared empty, shoving it back into her pocket.  “I just like to get to where it’s numb and warm and look at the stars…”

Tendi wanted to be angry, on some level, at the foolish risks Becky had been taking, but mostly her heart broke for the young woman.  She moved closer, putting an arm over her shoulders, which Becky didn’t resist.  “Where are you staying?  I can help you get back there…”

Becky nodded, her expression still distant, but not as blank as it had been a moment before.  “My dad…down the street, actually.”  She laughed, though it sounded bitter.

“Do you think you can walk or should I call for transport?” Tendi asked.

“I can make it.”  Becky pulled herself to her feet; she was unsteady, but she allowed Tendi to help support her.  “Isn’t far.”

“Okay.”  Tendi slipped an arm around Becky’s waist for further balance.  “Let’s go.”

---

There wasn’t a gate to the backyard, so they had to go back through the house to get outside.  It gave Tendi a chance to let Remy know she was leaving, but what Tendi noticed more than anything were the reactions of those who noticed her assisting Becky.  Some looked worried or sympathetic, but too many more exchanged glances and began to whisper to each other.  Clearly, this wasn’t unexpected from her, but if her shipmates knew, why wasn’t someone trying to help her?  Or maybe it was some unspoken Starfleet bravado thing she’d learn about later.  Tendi hoped not.  Becky didn’t seem like the type who reached out to others easily, true, but friends noticed when friends were hurting. 

They made it to her father’s house, which was indeed down the street, without further incident.  Becky looked at Tendi again.  “Thanks sounds…like so not enough, but…thanks again.”

“Of course.  Anyone else would have done the same.”

The soft noise Becky made suggested she didn’t necessarily think so, but she nodded and gave Tendi a Vulcan salute with a weary smile before heading inside.  It wasn’t until she was back at the Academy that Tendi realized she hadn’t gotten Becky’s contact information or even her last name.  She’d wanted to stay in touch, to remind Becky that someone did care…but maybe it was better that way.  Maybe Becky preferred to forget.  If they were destined to find each other again, Tendi was sure they would.

Four years later...

It was generally accepted that if you’d seen the Great Koala of the Universe, you didn’t talk about it. 

Very few things that were “generally accepted” seemed to apply to Mariner.

By now, this was generally understood, if not always accepted.  But, among friends, did it matter?  Mariner usually dismissed her traumatic experiences with a breezy joke, but she’d grown introspective as the friends, now reunited after the Aledo incident, shared drinks together once most of the crowd had dissipated from the Cerritos bar.  “Yeah, man, I’ve seen him.  Her?  Them?  Hell, it’s an intergalactic koala, probably transcends gender.”

“Really?” Boimler asked.  “Because I definitely did, when I nearly drowned.”

“Yeah, couple times.”  Mariner shrugged.  “Except the one, I didn’t see him so much as feel him.  Like, holding me, all fuzzy and shit.  I think I was drowning, too.  Hell, I don’t actually remember most of that night; I was in a bad place and I was pretty fucked up.  Except some Orion chick saved me.”  She nudged against Tendi affectionately.  “Always did like Orions.”

Tendi nudged her back, smiling, but then it clicked and her eyes widened.  Becky.  Beckett.  She’d thought of that night now and then since and hoped “Becky” was doing well, that she’d gotten the help she needed.  And…well, honestly, maybe she hadn’t, not right away, but she was definitely where she needed to be.  And the universe had brought them back together.  “Yeah, well, this Orion’s pretty fond of you, too.”

Mariner froze for a moment, staring deeply at Tendi, before her eyes filled with tears and she hugged her fiercely.  “Thank you,” she whispered into Tendi’s ear. 

Tendi hugged her back.  “That’s what friends are for.”  It didn’t seem to matter that Rutherford and Boimler probably had no idea what that exchange was about; after a moment, it turned into a group hug anyway.  Because no matter where the future took them, one thing felt certain.  A friendship like theirs was always meant to be.

Chapter Text

Alonzo Freeman loved having his daughter home, but even if it was shore leave, she quickly got restless on Earth.  And Beckett was at her most chaotic when she was restless.  He was a little relieved she’d gone out to spend the evening at a party with her crewmates from the Quito, giving him a little quality time to catch up with his wife – and discuss some of their mutual concerns about their daughter without worrying she’d overhear. 

“It’s getting worse.”  Alonzo sighed.  “I know she and Angela DuBois were close, but since the Harvongian incident, Beckett’s really gone off the rails.  It has to be difficult for her.  I know she likes it on the Quito, but there’s only so much more she’s going to be able to get away with.  Maybe she needs a change of scenery, if we can get her to agree to a transfer.”

In her quarters on the Cerritos, Carol nodded with a sigh of her own, but then she stared at the screen for a long moment, crossing her arms over her chest.  “No.  I know that look, ‘Zo.  Absolutely not.”

She’d always known him too well.  “I’d get her a position here, but she’s been on Earth two days and she’s already climbing the walls.  It’d be a great chance for you two to bond.”

“And probably end up trying to kill each other!”  Carol shook her head.  “You know she and I can be like oil and water.  And if you think she’s going to curtail her shenanigans on my ship, you’re overdue for a reality check.  If anything, she’ll up the ante.  I’m worried about her too, but transferring her to the Cerritos?  No.  Not happening.”

Alonzo shrugged.  “We’ll table it for now.”

“We’ll table it for good,” Carol countered.

Alonzo wasn’t so sure about that; if the situation didn’t remain theoretical and Beckett was truly in need, he was sure Carol would give in.  His wife and daughter clashed as often as they did because they saw so much of themselves in each other – even if, to be fair, Carol’s rebel streak had been magnified a thousand times over in Beckett.  “Okay, okay.  I’m not sure she’d go for it, either.”  He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.  “She’d probably worry you’d try to squelch her personality.”

“Oh, I’ve already tried that all over the place.  Didn’t work.”  Carol was quiet for a long moment, contemplative.  “But, seriously.  She used to be confident.  Now it’s just turning into this…reckless bravado.  Her career aside, that’s the kind of thing that gets people killed.”

“I know.”  Alonzo was concerned about that as well.  “She’s drinking a lot more, too.  Real alcohol…and not exactly lightweight stuff, either.”

Carol nodded.  “Yeah, she’s been drunk the last few times I tried to call her.  She needs therapy, but good luck getting her into it.”

“Exactly,” Alonzo agreed.  He turned his head at motion from the front door; Beckett was back earlier than expected.  She was clearly intoxicated, from the way she walked, and even more so than usual.  She waved to him, then Carol, distractedly as she walked through the front room but continued straight to the guest bedroom and disappeared inside without a word.  He watched the doorway for a moment, shaking his head as he looked back at Carol.  “Case in point.”

Carol frowned.  “Was she wet?”

So she’d noticed that as well, even across the video link.  “Soaked – and it’s not raining.  That’s new…”

Carol’s communicator chirped, and she turned away to answer it.  She shrugged, tugging her uniform jacket into place as she stood.  “Duty calls.  And I’m sure you’ll have your hands full tonight.”

“She’s probably going to sleep.  But I’ll try to get her to talk.”  Alonzo blew a kiss at the screen.  “Take care.  I love you.”

“Love you too.” She smiled at him once more before the video link disconnected.

The only good thing about synthehol was the lack of a hangover.  Beckett Mariner winced as she awoke, raising a hand to block the light that streamed through the window of her father’s guest bedroom. After getting home from the party – and the close call she’d had there – she’d tumbled straight into bed, not even bothering to change out of her wet clothes.  It was pretty pathetic, but at least they were dry by the time she awoke.  And her dad must have gotten her shoes and jacket off her at some point; they were sitting on the nearby chair.

A bright flash of light made Mariner turn away with a groan, and she immediately grabbed a pillow to throw it at the being who materialized.  “Oh, absolutely fucking not.  Get out of here!”

Q caught the pillow and threw it back onto the bed, his grin cocky.  “Becky!  Is that any way to greet an old friend?”

“We are not friends,” Mariner insisted, “and I have a headache the size of a starship, so go bug Picard or something.”

Q shrugged.  “Jean-Luc’s off giving some painfully boring speech.  And, yes, I’m aware of your human frailties, particularly following a night of combining alcoholic beverages that would have incapacitated some beings twice your size.”  He looked at her jacket, which was still damp.  “Enjoy your swim?”

Mariner rolled her eyes.  She’d encountered him once on the Enterprise-D, as a child, and he had, annoyingly, added her to his list of humans he appeared to enjoy following around.  Eventually he’d latched onto her mother as well, but that seemed to be more in line with his hobby of pestering Starfleet captains.  He’d never really bothered with her until she’d gotten her own ship.  “And just how do you know about that?”

Q scoffed.  “What part of ‘omnipotent’ do you keep failing to understand?”

Well, she’d walked into that one.  “And I suppose you’re going to try to take credit for getting me out of that mess?  I know that Orion chick wasn’t you in disguise.  She was way too nice.”

“Ah, no.”  Q shook his head.  “I tried appearing as a female once, centuries ago.  It wasn’t for me.  And, yes, as you so correctly observed, you benefitted from the kindness of someone you’d just met, when your own shipmates left you well enough alone.  Amazing, the range of the human – or, in her case, Orion – condition."

Not all of her shipmates were human, either, but Mariner didn’t want to argue semantics with him.  She didn’t want to deal with him at all, really.  “Why are you here?”  Q stepped forward, pushing her gently, only enough to make her take a step back.  She growled in annoyance and shoved him much harder.  “What the hell was that for?”  Luckily, her father was usually out of the house by this time of the morning; she definitely didn’t want him to stumble into this and further complicate the situation.  Thinking of him, her brain jumped tracks.  “And why do you never bug my dad, if you’re so obsessed with me and my mom?”

“Your mother is reactionary; she’s fun,” Q replied.  “As for the admiral, he absolutely never rises to the bait.  It’s dreadfully dull.  Why bother?  And to answer your previous question, I know how up in arms your precious Starfleet gets about revealing future events, so I’ll keep it vague.  But there’s going to come a time someday where the universe will need Beckett Mariner.  Since you seem hell-bent on destroying her, I thought a wakeup call might be in order after the stunt you pulled last night.”

“It was an accident!” Mariner insisted.  “I was trying to stand up and I fell in.”

“And, yet, if you’d had an ounce of self-preservation, you wouldn’t have been sitting next to a significantly-sized body of water after combining Orion delaq and Andorian whiskey in, frankly, dangerous quantities,” Q argued.

Okay, he had her there.  Mariner crossed her arms, glaring at him.  His comment about the universe needing her had her intrigued – but, honestly, that was way too much pressure for her to think about.  She wasn’t sure she was ready to know more.  “All right, you’ve made your point.  Weird for you to care, but fine.”  It felt nice that someone did, at least enough to show it, but she wasn’t going to give Q the satisfaction of admitting that.  “Please leave.”

“Fine, ma chérie.  But remember what I said.  You still have a part to play; don’t blow it.”  With a wave, he disappeared, leaving Mariner alone again with her thoughts.

There were a number of things Carol Freeman did not have the patience for, and Q’s bullshit was chief among them.  She was displeased, to put it lightly, when he materialized in her ready room just after lunch.  “Ugh, I am so not in the mood for your shenanigans.”

“Well, you might want to get in the mood, Mommy Dearest,” he argued, leaning casually against her desk. 

Despite his fascination with her daughter, Q hadn’t called her that since their first encounter when Beckett was a child.  Carol jumped out of her chair, leaning forward to confront him.  “What have you done with Beckett?!”

“With her?” Q shrugged, his expression the picture of innocence.  “’For her’ is more like it.  Your little troublemaker is getting herself into a lot of trouble lately.”

“Don’t remind me,” Carol groaned.  “I thought you liked trouble.”

“Oh, I do.  Quite a lot, actually.”  Q fixed her with a serious look.  “But the self-destructive type isn’t my speed.  And, as I told her, there might come a day when her skills prove quite necessary in a crisis.  Which would have been terribly hard if she’d drowned last night while you and her father were wringing your hands uselessly over what to do with her.”

“What?” Carol snapped.  A combination of outrage at his jab and fear at the implications filled her chest.  Beckett had been soaking wet when she’d returned home the day before, but Carol told herself it must have been the result of something she’d gotten up to at the party she’d attended. 

Q rolled his eyes.  “I suppose I have to spell everything out for you, hmm?”  He reached out, touching her temple before she could swat his hand away, and Carol’s mind was filled with a series of images…

A young girl, her green hair wet and sticking to her forehead, crawling over to check on Beckett…

Except she’d stayed home that night and now it was a group of junior lieutenants, returning to the pool and seeing someone at the bottom…

Alonzo calling her, looking devastated, as he had to break the news to her that their little girl was gone…

Years had passed, and her ship was under attack.  Panels were sparking, ceiling tiles were hanging by a wire, and intruders she couldn’t yet identify were beaming in.  Her side ached with an injury, but she struggled to her feet.  They were out of options; her ship and crew were dead if she didn’t come up with a plan, but this was beyond even her ability to think outside the box…

Carol had fallen to her knees as she saw the brief glimpses of the past that was, one that could have been, and…the future?  Was that going to happen either way or was it what Q had meant when he referred to Beckett’s skills being needed?  Either way, her heart ached at the thought of how close she’d come to losing her daughter, without ever realizing it.  Her cheeks were wet as she reached up to them, and Q was uncharacteristically gentle as he reached out a hand, helping her to her feet.  “Q, I swear, if you’re fucking with me…”

“As a parent myself now, the last thing I would taunt another about is losing a child,” Q said quietly.  “Fate spared her last night.  But Fate is alarmingly fickle; you can’t count on that happening again.”

“Who was that girl?” Carol asked. 

“Oh, just someone whose kindness has been forged in the fires of adversity.  Who knows?  Maybe you’ll find out for yourself someday.”  Q shrugged, disappearing before Carol could ask him any more questions.  She sat back against her desk, her head swimming.  Maybe she’d been wrong, being so adamant that Beckett not transfer to her ship.  If it came up again, she’d at least consider it.  It might risk throwing a match into the powder keg of their relationship, but maybe here, she’d be safe…