From: rneces@mastnet.net (Lynnaea AelCaymarth)
Date: Sat, 7 Jun 1997 18:24:08 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Hollow Birthday

SD 90607.2335 GMT
MD 06.1715
Scene:  CSO's Quarters, after "Pandora's Box" incident
______________________

It was a pale, listless, and emotionally drained CSO who returned to her
quarters from Alpha shift to find her message board blinking. 

Her mother had left a message for her.  Aelyria stared blankly at the screen
as the familiar, worn red-haired visage rezzed into view.

"Hey darling.  Just wanted to wish you a happy birthday.  I didn't forget --
you're 25 today!  You must be so excited.  Well, I'd go out for a drink
tonight with your buddies, if I were you.  You must celebrate.  

"You must be wondering where your gift is ... well, I decided to go
practical this year, and instead of something that you can't use or that
they don't allow, I just deposited 5,000 latinum slips into your
Interstellar Banking Account.  Spend it however you like, m'dear. 

Well, I must run.  Happy birthday, darling -- talk to you soon.  Love you." 

5,000 latinum slips.  Not bad.  A shame she had no burning desire to shop
right now. 

She flicked off the viewscreen and proceeded to crash.  

[Four hours later. -- 2120]

Aelyria had begun to fall into her old college rhythms:  Work only when you
were scheduled to during the day, crash in the evening, and do your most
best work at night.  So when she awoke from her nap, she checked her
messages, deleting most of them and replying to the appropriate ones.  Among
the messages was an invite to the Counselor's Poker Night.  

A grin shot across Keyrin's face -- and, for once, it reached her eyes.  

*Yee ... Ha.*  

It had been forever -- since Academy, actually -- since she'd played a good
round of cards with her friends.  She had been the quintessential shark,
with a memory for the cards that had been played, a keen sense of strategy,
and an unreadable poker face.  

Oh, those had been The Days.  

Smiling, she shook her head as she sent her RSVP to the Counselor.

Then, she settled down to study the Corellians in more detail, and to work
out a feasible Security detail.

Respectfully submitted, 

Lynnaea AelCaymarth
Ensign Aelyria Keyrin, CSO
USS CHESAPEAKE
<rneces@mastnet.net>

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