SIM:B'Sara Learning Curves

((Captain's 'Quarters', Deck 787, Outer Ring, Starbase 118))

Nicholotti: 'Little Miss Thing Cody'? I guess that sounds alright.

Incredulous, B'Sara wasn't sure who to send daggars to first. Dad... or the Captain. She looked away for a moment, twisting her mouth pondering the unfairness of the universe.

B'Sara: I don't believe this. Him, maybe. You, not a chance. I'm not putting up with that from the both of you!

David's amused eyes landed briefly on his newest member of the family, struck by the moment and a feeling of... hope, and a ranging fierce pride. He didn't quite understand it himself, maybe he never would. All he knew was this sharp sense the universe had righted itself to give him a rare opportunity to be something more, outside of any career he had. He knew he would lay down his life to ensure hers.

Cody: ::rumbling:: That's "I'm not putting up with that from the both of you", dad.

B'Sara snapped her head at him about to retort, and stopped as her throat constricted. She swallowed with swelling pride and found herself smiling before even realizing it... and losing the retort she had for that.

Grinning, Kalianna took the padd from him and added what was needed to push the documents through. After it was said and done, she handed the padd back to B'Sara.

Nicholotti: Congratulations, Miss Cody.

Now it was her turn to wink at the woman, which she did just before yawning.

Miss Cody. B'Sara closed her eyes feeling a sweeping sensation down the length of her back. It wasn't just a name anymore. It meant, and was, family. Her family... someone she believed, a man who helped define her world and was always there, and a man she could really call her father. There were some out there who still didn't have mothers or fathers. Her gaze lingered on her dad, who met hers with his own. Nothing really needed to be said right then and there. Miss Cody... she liked the sound of that.

B'Sara: Thank you, Capt--, I mean, ah... Kalianna.

Raising his brow, David studied B'Sara a moment before glancing at Kalianna. Oh really... That was a conversation they would have before seeking beds.

Nicholotti: I know there is still plenty to talk about, but I dare put out there that we have time. I...::She paused a moment and glanced towards the stairs that led up to the near empty rooms she'd never been in.:: If you want to stay, you can pick your room.

David paused to give Kalianna an even longer look, attempting to assess her intention with those words. He was beginning to feel decisions were being made without him in regards to his own family, which just rubbed the wrong way. He wasn't necessarily opposed to this. Hell, if they hadn't decided to live together, he would have offered up a room if B'Sara was looking for one. So... he did what anyone would do in such situations.

Cody: If I were you, I'd grab it. You know how hard it is get a privy suite on this starbase?

B'Sara blinked, looking between the two of them before looking around the room again. She had absolutely no idea what to say to that. Granted, she had arrived literally as they were flying off to Thracian Space, so it was unlikely she had been assigned housing. She just assumed she would be assigned to some kind of apartment style housing. And dad wasn't exactly helping, either. She leveled a look at him, suddenly torn. Home...

Home had always been a transient thing in her life. B'Sara looked around the place again, somewhat nervous to what she might find upstairs.

B'Sara: Um... let's try it for a night and we'll see how it goes.

Nicholotti: ::Shrugging slightly.:: Maybe tomorrow you can help me put some life into this place.

Her eyes glanced towards the boxes David had brought in.

Oh, this house definitely needed that. Might be kinda fun... and suddenly B'Sara brightened. That meant a trip to the Commercial Section... and shopping! She found herself grinning thinking about it. At once dozens of things lept to mind, from furnature to decorations... her eyes darted around while she mentally assembled a list of possibilities.

B'Sara: Oh yeah. We can definitely do that.

David narrowed his eyes, listening to the change in his new daughter's voice, which bespoke of suspicions that there was a lineage of ideas brewing behind those browns. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

Cody: Window shopping only. Remember, Miss Cody. Other people do live in this house.

B'Sara jerked, somewhat alarmed, looking back at dad. Last she remembered, he wasn't telepathic. Blanking her expression, she smiled warmly extending loving emotions.

B'Sara: Of course. I wouldn't do anything without your input first.

David didn't buy it, and judging from B'Sara's attempt to blank herself (which nearly made him laugh - oh where did he see that expression before, if not in his own mirror?), he'd bet a couple bars there was a master shopping plan at work. His smile for her didn't touch his eyes.

Cody: Hmmm... somehow this isn't inspiring me.

Nodding and with a smile, Kali stepped over to B'Sara and hugged her.

She didn't know what hit first. Surprise, or the shock. B'Sara froze up, not from the contact, but from the open display of caring where it wasn't expected. She had a brief flash of snow capped mountains and the warmth of feelings that just, accepted. Her eyes closed to bask in this strange feeling. She hadn't felt this... since her mother died.

Nicholotti: Goodnight, B'Sara. ::She stepped back and smiled warmly, once again brushing the hair from her face and behind her ear.:: Never alone again, just remember that.

B'Sara blinked in Kalianna's direction, momentarily distracted from her dad's somewhat predatory and penetrating gaze (she didn't remember that) before her heart ached, touched and found herself soaring. She nodded, returning Kalianna's smile.

B'Sara: I'll remember. Thank you.

David took Kalianna into a hug before she left and a swift kiss.

Cody: I'll be there in a bit.

And with that, Kalianna retreated towards her own room.

Once out the door, David returned his gaze to B'Sara and closed the distance to the table. The woman standing in the kitchen only had a faint resemblence to the child. The years between definitely changed her appearance. This wasn't the teenager he remembered, scared of her abilities, but determined to get to Starfleet.

B'Sara cocked her head slightly, watching him watch her. It was a small smile, but a good one. She had an idea what he was doing though, so she stood there and waited. Not for approval... she knew him better than that. She waited because she had pursued, and changed the dynamic, and made happen the things left unsaid.

Cody: You've changed.

B'Sara: Kinda happens, dad.

David indicated the table. She pulled out a chair and sat. He chose one directly across and pulled it out to join her.

Cody: You know, had you brought this up before leaving, I would have done it there on the spot.

She didn't have to sense his emotions to know the truth of that. Which was what puzzled B'Sara, looking into features she could recall from memory. Without the shock and the fatigue, she felt the man, the mind, and the heart. There was just something off, and she was no longer certain what it was or why.

He reached across the table and took her hand, just holding it.

B'Sara: ...at the time, what I really needed to do was get my abilities under control. It wasn't because I didn't want to--

Cody: --but because it was something you needed to do, yourself.

There was a ghost of his crooked smile that B'Sara caught herself reflecting. She pulled her hand back and took a breath, picking a spot on the table while subconsciously brushing her hair back.

B'Sara: ...what... what happened to you? Dad, where did you go?

Ah... David reclined in the chair and glanced away, seeing a wall of darkness as his mind sought to remember the last thing he could. Some kind of thing surviving on instinct, in a tattered Starfleet uniform, wielding a crude pair of knives made from some kind of volcanic, tougher than titantium, rock. Fleeting glimpses of the intruders in his land, their clothes similar to his, and carrying small arms.

Cody: I don't know. They found me on some speck of a planet that hadn't been investigated. Through my communicator. I wasn't...

The shouts, and the screams, war cries and out of surprise-- flashing between them and striking. He caught the away team unaware. Slashes and phaser fire, the smell of blood, David clamped those memories out.

And replaced them with turning his chair around within a starship Ready Room, padd in hand, looking towards--

Darkness.

Cody: I wasn't in my right mind. Before that, my Ready Room on the Independence. That's really all I can remember clearly. I get bits of flashes, a corridor, a room, white wisps of fog. ::an apologetic smile:: They tell me I'll some day remember. Until then, there's not much I can do.

B'Sara chewed over his words, watching him as he shared his story. She didn't want to invade his thoughts, but she wouldn't mind taking a look. She studied him, then returned the gesture by taking both of his hands in hers.

B'Sara: ::softly:: And then there's Anya.

David's brow shot up then. How the hell did she know about Anya? He suddenly glanced in the direction of the bedrooms and inwardly swore. oO Kalianna... Oo

B'Sara glanced in the direction of his gaze and pulled his hands to get his attention.

B'Sara: No. It wasn't her.

David returned his gaze to B'Sara, stern and somewhat disturbed.

Cody: You want to tell me how you're in knowledge of a classified situation, B'Sara?

It was her turn for a dodge, looking away because she wasn't proud of it, as well the damage it ended up causing.

B'Sara: Let's just say I borrowed one of your tricks.

Alarmed, David let go and sat back. oO One of my-- ? Oo The answer hit him in the next minute in the image of an engineering padd and a couple of wires. He closed his eyes and slowly started shaking his head.

Cody: ...you picked the lock.

((Flashback: FTU Base - Access Shute))

He didn't spend more than a second on the platform. Grabbing the rails, Cody hooked his feet on the sides and let his gloved hands and feet slide down, disappearing into the hole as rock walls slid by... it wasn't a lot different from the canyons back on Mars Colony. A swift pang of emotion rushed... thinking about a different time and place.

Back in the bar, under different circumstances, Cody would have enjoyed that. On a face that rarely showed anything at all, except for when deeper emotion ran, he liked the four of them sitting around a table knocking back a couple... and if he had to admit it, he enjoyed that brief moment with the Commander-

Squash it, bub...

Mentally counting to the ten one thousandth, Cody swung himself onto the next platform and landed on the creaking metal frame. Checking around him, he moved for the panel embedded into the rock wall and dropped on one knee, eyeing the colorful bridge of winking lights.

He pulled his slim padd from inside his black jacket, a small, thin box from a pocket. Extracting wires, Cody attached them to the padd, then through the engineering pad Mar had handed to him, then patched the pair into a socket set in the rock panel wall. Hacking into a computer wasn't a difficult thing... what was tricky was making sure the hacker didn't get caught in the process.

((Present: Captain's 'Quarters', Deck 787, Outer Ring, Starbase 118))

David shook his head. It was a fun memory, for him. Not so much learning his newly acquired daughter picked up one of his bad habits.

Cody: Let me guess... manufacturer's hardware code.

B'Sara had the good sense to blush, but she didn't deny it. David crunched his jaw and worked it, thinking about how to phrase this given his somewhat unique and unusual history with electronic locks and such. He didn't particularly like the idea of her doing something that technically he shouldn't have been doing. But when he broke into databases, he was on the clock and with Starfleet's knowledge.

B'Sara: Um, isn't there a line that says self-incrimination isn't allowed?

He wasn't sure to be amused or irritated with that response. David held off barking a laugh, even though he wanted to. This was much more serious than she was treating it. Hell, it was more serious than he was treating it. He held up a hand, mostly to hide the smile, and took the moment to get his thoughts in order.

Cody: ...you understand what you did can put you in the brig and has legal reprocussions, right?

B'Sara: Look who's talking. I'm not the one who used the transporter buffers and the base form matrix constructs for creating holodeck characters. I still don't entirely get everything you did, and I went to the Academy for this stuff.

He almost forgot she wore a blue collar. Part of him thought, however, it should be the Engineer's gold.

Cody: ::slightly growling:: That's not the point.

B'Sara: My point is I know... I was wrong, it was stupid to do it in the first place... and if I hadn't opened the door when the shockwave hit, the explosion wouldn't have spread throughout Science-- ack!

David grabbed her arm, incredulous.

Cody: What? What about the lab?

B'Sara cringed somewhat, biting on her lower lip.

B'Sara: Um... that shockwave the Klingon hit us with blew up your lab?

The helmet... his tools... David closed his eyes. The power requirements brought his memory to the forefront. She was right. The shockwave would have caused an explosion.

Cody: Injury report.

B'Sara: I don't have it. Mr. Livingston might.

David nodded. He would need to retrieve that helmet. He visibly let his breath go. Subject for another time and place. He managed his best "don't mess with me" stare down and met B'Sara's eyes.

Cody: Do not hack into anything else unless you've been given permission to--

B'Sara: But dad!

Cody: Stop. Right. There. Don't hack. You don't want the kind of trouble that brings. I'm not saying it isn't a useful skill. If either Kalianna, or Captain Walker, or myself give you the go ahead, that's one thing. What you did broke the law. You broke into a classified, restricted lab. Don't ever do that again. Are we clear?

B'Sara glared, feeling a surge of dispersing anger. Who was he to take on the moral highground when he was guilty of countless hacks... some of which she was present for! She smiled at him then, not thrilled with the direction this was going in.

B'Sara: Clear... sir.

David blinked. Wildcat... was his first impression. With that came the thought that he actually didn't know much about B'Sara's last few years, and what kind of guidance and support she had. He shook his head.

Cody: Not sir. Not in this moment. There's a fine line between the ethics involved and how easy it is to cross it. I'm not a shining example of this. I admit it. As your dad, I don't want you going down the same path I did. I know where it goes.

Cooling somewhat, B'Sara stared at him before shaking her head into a nod.

B'Sara; I know... I'm not proud of it. I just... ::looking past him before sniffing a laugh:: I'm not used to having this kind of talk, okay?

Fair enough. David nodded and stood, covering his own yawn as he came around to bend and kiss B'Sara's forehead. He paused a moment as he felt her take his arm, a little scared about the responsibility, even though she was in uniform now and off on her own. They grow up too fast.

Cody: I'm tired and it's late. Let's call this one filed and move on, okay?

B'Sara held on to his arm a moment longer, resting her head against him. She nodded as some of her own emotions settled.

B'Sara: ::nodding:: Sounds good to me... and I'm sorry.

David smiled then, rustling her hair as he padded off. B'Sara yelped and swatted his hand off.

B'Sara: Not my hair!

Cody: Why don't you grab one of those rooms? 'Nite kiddo...

He left B'Sara in the kitchen and went off in search of what bedroom Kalianna was curled up in. What a long strange trip it's been... thinking not of the old Jerry Garcia song, but rather the long journey from the time he left home to right this moment. A daugher, and a woman he was learning about and loving every day that might one day down the road make a permanent thing.

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