Author's Note: Thank you all for your wonderful support!
The next two-parter is intended to be 100% fluff and fun. It is partially inspired by the M*A*S*H episodes of Bottoms Up, April Fools, and The Joker is Wild.
I ask that you suspend your disbelief a little with this chapter. It's a wee bit silly. But I couldn't fight temptation.
I wanted to do something for April Fools Day and it's to balance out some of the heavier subject matter we'll address in the upcoming chapters that are centred around Too Short A Season and Home Soil.
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"What's wrong?" Worf asked, noting a sour look on Tasha's face.
She was chewing on her lip as she read through the latest Federation news on her PADD tablet.
Worf, Tasha, Commander Riker, Data, Geordi, and Miles were sitting around a table together at Ten Forward.
They had just completed a joint Operations and Security training on the holodeck, and everyone was now relaxing with a cold pint.
"Commander Olivia Jalinski was killed in an accident onboard the Kyushu," Tasha read. "During a maintenance cycle."
That's odd. Tasha thought to herself.
She had flagged the suspicious story as soon she had seen her name listed in the death notices. Ever since her conversation with Captain Rixx, Tasha had been reading the Starfleet KIA and MIA daily reports with keen interest.
"Wasn't Jalinski on the Hood?" Geordi asked.
"Yeah, she was a good officer," Riker commented. "Not much older than me. Just made Commander a year ago."
"Maintenance cycle?" Miles asked in disbelief. "Are there any other details?"
Tasha skimmed through the report. It was pretty scant on specifics.
One more fishy death. Tasha thought darkly.
She was pulled from her thoughts as Guinan brought over a tray of food.
"Alright, I've got two fish and chips, an Andorian seafood starter, the pork pie, a Klingon protein platter, and a meatless hot mess burger for the lady," Guinan said as she slid the plates out around the table.
She shot Tasha a look as Tasha snagged the hot sauce before Worf could grab it.
"You know some chefs might be offended by somebody trying to kill their taste buds," Guinan quipped.
"Thanks," Tasha replied.
She was truly grateful.
When Guinan had first added her famous hot mess burger to the menu, she couldn't figure out why Tasha didn't bite. After learning Tasha was a vegetarian, Guinan set to work developing a way to mimic the same unique blend of spices and peppers with a bean-based burger.
"May your gut rot be glorious," Guinan said as she left them to their dinner.
"So, how are things going with Sonya?" Riker asked.
Geordi smiled shyly and nodded his head side to side.
Ever since their holodeck trip for Data's birthday it seemed like the Chief Engineer and the eager Ensign had really hit it off.
Worf reached for the salt. As soon as he tipped the shaker, the lid came off and covered his food in a pile of the small, white crystals.
Worf closed his eyes and sighed in exasperation.
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The Complication
Fanfiction"Am I the 'complication'?" Data asked. Following the events on Ligon II, Data struggles to reconcile the discrepancies between Tasha's verbal and nonverbal communication. Furthermore, his attempts to better understand what's happening lead to him fr...
