Back to normal. More or Less

Posted on Tue Jul 28th, 2026 @ 5:11pm by Lieutenant JG Deezell Vox & Cadet Freshman Grade Micheal Taggart

1,321 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 121 - "Where There's A Section, There's A Way"
Location: Bajoran Cafe
Timeline: Current.

Dee was taking a break at her favourite café but now she was expecting, she had to go easy on the spicy hasparrat and she could no longer have caffeine which seriously sucked.

She sat there looking around, with one hand on her, small but clearly showing and steadily growing, pregnant bump, people watching. Looking for anyone new.

Though he had been on the station for a short while now, the sheer size of the place still boggled Micheal's mind. He had finished his studies and had decided to go exploring. Along the way, he found himself on one of the promenade decks. It was clear, by the way he kept looking around, that he was new to the place.

Dee's gaze caught Michael's from a distance. She wave in a friendly manner, motioning him to come on over.

For a moment, Micheal was caught off guard by the attractive red head waving him over. Especially when he saw that she was pregnant. Still, he did possess good manners, so he made his way over. "Yes, Ma'am?" He asked as he stopped by her table.

"I can spot a new face light years away. Join me for a beverage and I can help you get orientated."

Unsure at first, Micheal finally moves to sit in the empty chair opposite the woman. "I've only been here a short time. Just started training at the Academy. Freshman Cadet Michael Aggart," he said with a shy smile, though he didn’t offer one of his gloved hands, keeping them instead on his lap.

"My, my, you are really new. I'm Lieutenant Junior Grade Deezell Vox. I'm the Assistant Chief Engineer for Starbase 400. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm going to dispense with formalities and if ok with you, address you as Micheal."

Micheal nodded quietly. "Yes. Ma'am," he replied quietly, suddenly feeling that he had taken her partner's seat. He looked around quickly, but didn't see anyone approach.

"I'm on my own right now. My partner is busy. We don't often have breaks that coincide. 400 is huge but you will get to know her well soon. I know her really well being an engineer. Happy to help."

Turning to look back into Vox's face, he had a look of confusion on his own face. "You're Trill," he said with a slightly confused tone to his voice. "Your species isn't telepathic. How did you know that I was looking for your partner?"

"After five lifetimes I've seen that look a number of times. I wasn't 100% certain. But it was either that or you were distracted by the sheer number of people here. " Dee commented.

Nodding to himself, Micheal replied. "Five lifetimes...you mean that you are joined?" He asked, unsure if he was being rude or not. "You don't look much older than me."

"That's right. I am the 6th host to Vox. As for my age, I'm 32. 33 in a few months time. My becoming joined to Vox was not, how shall I put this, in the normal process. The Trill Symbiosis Commission refers to hosts like myself as EJT's. Emergency Joined Trill's. Some are fortunate to have had some training and be part of the Initiate programme but the majority of EJT's, like myself, are very much unprepared but willing recipients. Anyway, do you know where you need to go for orientation?" Dee asked.

Micheal took in the information as Lieutenant Vox spoke. He had learned about the various species in the United Federation of Planets during his primary schooling, however, it was mainly just general facts. "If I may ask, why were you an EJT? And I already had my orientation. The station is still enormous. I doubt I'll ever see all of it."

"Well, my previous host, Raekwon, was a dealer and collector of antiques and art. He had a shop here on the promenade. He had his own ship which he used to travel to different places so he could pick up new items. Sadly, on one such trip, his ship hit a quantum filament and was crippled. He was badly injured. As luck would have it, the ship I was on, picked up his distress signal and we managed to rescue him before his ship exploded. He died from his injuries and so we had to change course from SB400 to Trill to get the Vox symbiont back for a new host. The health of Vox started to deterioate rapidly and as I was the only Trill on-board, despite not having any initiate training, I had to join with Vox. All I got was a 15 minute talk from the ship's CMO. Not the months of training an initiate would normally receive. The only other EJT I know of and have met, is Captain Ezri Dax, who was kind enough to help me a little with adjusting to things. ". Dee sipped her fruit juice.

Micheal nodded as he listened closely. When Deezell was finished, he responded. "I can't imagine what its like to have all those extra memories and experiences," he said quietly. He then asked, "Do you hear the symbiont talk in your head, or is the connection more than that?" He absentmindedly reached up to touch the scar that covered his right temple.

"It's much more than that. Upon joining, the minds of the Symbiont and host merge as one consciousness. Like yourself, as I was heading to my assignment here, before becoming an EJT, I was worried about navigating a station of this size. But after joining, I already had a good knowledge of the station thanks to the memories of Raekwon. " She noted his scar. "Sorry to pry, but how did you get the scar?" She asked.

A look of surprise flashed across his face quickly, then he lowered his hand, seeming to grow quieter. "When I was a boy," he said softly, clearly feeling pain with the memory.

"Do forgive me. My curiosity gets the better of me sometimes. I have around 15 minutes before I need to get back on duty. What are you plans next?" Dee asked, rubbing her belly gently.

He nodded silently, then thought for a moment, before replying. "I've got a few hours until I have to be back in the barracks, so I was thinking of finding some real food to try, maybe look around some more."

"Well, there's great food here at the Bajoran Café, but there are also Klingon, Andorian and Bolian restaurants around the corner. All worth trying out. " Dee replied.

Micheal nodded as he looked around. "I've only ever had Human food," he replied softly. Looking back, he asked, "Do you have any recommendations?"

"Well, the Hasperat here is very good. Just watch the spices. I have had to cut back on my consumption of Hasperat. Turns out the spices give me an upset stomach now that I am pregnant. Its quite a bummer. As for the Klingon restaurant, their food is good too. They definitely have fresh Gagh. I have not yet tried the Bolian or the Andorian places yet." Dee replied.

Micheal made mental notes of the various restaurants that Deezell mentioned. He then asked, "Well, for now, I could go for a greasy cheeseburger. Is there a place I can get that for now?"

"Mmmmm that sounds so good. If you go that way from here." She pointed left from the Bajoran Café. "You will spot an American styled diner 'Joes'. Burgers galore in there. ".

Micheal looked over his right shoulder, in the direction that Deezell was indicating. Then, turning back to her, he nodded ans smiled softly. "Thank you for that, Ma'am."

"No trouble at all." Dee replied.

Feeling that there was nothing more to discuss, Micheal quietly stood and dipped his head towards the young officer respectfully. "It was nice to meet you, Ma'am. I'll be on my way now. Please enjoy the rest of your day."

"Likewise." Dee replied.

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