As 'Karu and Charlene packed up to end their shore leave, they sat on the back porch of his Aunt Mayu's house. They discussed the events that they shared with both families about their engagement.

"I'm so glad that the family drama thing is over; it takes a lot out of you!"

"I totally agree, sweetheart. My uncle was tough! I did not see that coming. He shocked me when he objected to our engagement."

"I wonder what changed his mind?"

"I think my aunt had something to do with it; she's something!"

"Well, our shore leave is over. According to my notifications, the Enterprise has had its dilithium crystal array upgraded, requiring a new console to be installed in Engineering. I bet Mr. Scott will want to check that the crystals and the controls are working properly before we warp."

"Yeah, you're right. Captain Kirk will want to do test runs before we leave the Sol system. No screw-ups on new equipment."

'Karu turned to Charlene, smiling: "I put in our request to be stationed together; I'm just waiting for Starfleet to approve it. I believe they will grant it."

"That would be wonderful. I mean, it's the beginning of our lives together. Thanks, 'Karu. I love you!"

Charlene leaned in and gave him a passionate kiss.

"Well, with that, let's make the most of the time we've got left here," 'Karu said seductively. He stood up and led his future wife to back into the house enjoy the last part of their shore leave.

"All systems check for the testing of the dilithium crystals, Mr. Scott," Charlene said, handing Scotty her Padd so he could verify her work.

"Good job, lass! Now let's test-run all the components connected to the new array. I'll give the Captain the OK. Notify Kyle that I want all systems to be monitored for any differentiation from their nominal levels from the bridge."

"Yes, sir; I'll get Kyle on it."

"Mr. Sulu, reconfigure your astrogator settings and recheck your warp factor panels," Spock ordered.

"Yes, Mr. Spock. Right away!" Sulu got up from his chair and pulled out his toolbox to unscrew parts of his helm panels.

"Mr. Chekov, with the new installations in engineering, check your plotter controls and verify that they have been their updated."

"On it, Mr. Spock." Chekov too left his chair and pulled out a Padd to check the circuitry at his station.

Lt. Uhura left her station to give Mr. Spock a Padd. "Mr. Spock, these are the updates on the new personnel assigned to the Enterprise.

"I also completed the work on the communication arrays and tested the new alignment to the Cygnet system; they are rebooting and should be online in 2.756 hours."

"Has the universal translator been updated?"

"Yes, the new languages have been installed and the processors have been upgraded."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. You may continue your work."

After hearing Uhura give her precise update, Chekov and Sulu looked at each other and mouthed "Wow!"

Spock was sitting in the command chair reviewing the list of new personnel arriving on the ship when a familiar name caught his eye. His brow lifted as he slowly turned to his wife, who stared at him knowingly. Through their bond, he said just one word: Interesting.

The Enterprise headed out of space dock and accelerated to sub-light speed as it moved through the Sol system. Captain Kirk put the ship through her paces in a test run, bringing her to warp speed and having the crew perform drills and maneuvers to make certain the ship was in perfect order for its mission near the edge of the solar system.

At the end of the shift, the crew started to settle down and was looking forward to some leisure time to relax.

'Karu headed out to his fiancée's quarters; the couple was planning to hang out with friends to catch up on each others' shore leave. He reached her door and pushed the chimer:

"Hi, honey! Are you ready? You look great!" 'Karu said smiling.

"Yep, I'm ready. And thank you, you look good yourself! Where are we going so dressed up?"

"I heard they updated the bar to look more like a nightclub. I was thinking we could grab a couple of drinks and dance."

"Sounds good. Let's go!"

'Karu grabbed Charlene's hand and leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek. They took the turbolift to the lounge deck and found that everyone else had the same idea. It was packed.

"Oh wow! It's crowded, but it looks nice, 'Karu!"

"Yeah, it does. Let's try to find a table." Sulu led Charlene through the crowd, with everyone saying hello as they went. They saw a hand waving at them and started moving in that direction.

"Look 'Karu! It's Nyota and Eve-they have a spot!"

They wove themselves through the sea of bodies until they reached Nyota and Eve Brody and finally were able to sit.

"Hey, you two! Welcome to the club," Eve said in greeting.

"Wow! This place is packed, and it's nice!" Char commented.

"Honey, I'll go and get us some drinks at the bar." Sulu said with a winning smile and left.

"So how was your shore leave, Char?"

"Nyota, at first I thought it would be a disaster, but in the end, it turned out all right."

"How was Sulu's family?" Eve asked.

"Wow, at first I thought it wasn't going well, but then the family took a liking to me."

"Meeting in-laws can be a challenge," Nyota agreed.

"Where's Mr. Spock?"

Nyota sighed and smiled, saying "You know my man is not a public person; it took great courage for him to appear and speak with so many people at our reception on Vulcan."

"Your man let you go free?" Char asked, laughing.

"Uh, huh. Look, Charlene, Spock knows exactly where I am, and he doesn't have to hunt me down!" Nyota said, pointing to her head.

"How about you, Brody?" Charlene asked, laughing.

"Because of you two, especially you, Nyota, I've been receiving lots of orders for my clothing line."

"Wow, that's great, right?" Nyota asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Sarek, Nyota's mom, and many of the delegates want me to design their clothes!"

"Eve! You're an intergalactic clothing designer!" Charlene said.

"I never thought of that; you know, even some of the commanders in Starfleet are interested in my designs, Eve replied.

Sulu returned with their drinks.

"Whew, it's wild in this place!"

"Yeah, and the music isn't bad," Eve commented.

The four of them enjoyed their drinks and traded stories about their shore leaves. Char and 'Karu even strutted their stuff on the dance floor. Nyota and Eve sat back and enjoyed the view as everyone mingled in the lounge. With the music thumping and the bodies gyrating, it was magic.

Char and 'Karu came back to the table and ordered more drinks, laughing about the their dancing skills and the things they did on shore leave. It was relaxing. Two men and a woman approached, and one of the men bumped into Eve. She looked up while the man looked down.

"Excuse me, miss."

"No problem."

The woman looked at everyone at the table and gasped: "Nyota?" She then turned to look at 'Karu. "Sulu?"

The woman had shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes, and a smooth completion. She smiled at both Uhura and Sulu. She wore a dark pink sheath dress and matching bangles on her arms. Nyota responded:

"Janice,- Janice Rand. It is nice to see you!"

"Girrrrl, it's good to see YOU, and congratulations on your marriage to Mr. Spock, for goodness sake! I've wouldn't have thought it possible!"

Nyota giggled, saying, "Nobody did; it was quite a shock!"

Charlene recognized the name right away and pressed her hands together. Sulu looked shocked; he started to stand to greet the party. Janice turned toward Sulu, giving him a big smile. She stepped forward and hugged him.

"Sulu, it's great to see you again; it's been about three years!"

"Yes, it has. Let me introduce you to my fiancée, Charlene Masters."

Janice turned to Charlene and looked her up and down. The critical glance didn't go unnoticed by Nyota nor Eve.

"Hi, Charlene, nice to meet you and congratulations!" Janice said before introducing her two guests. "I want you to meet Greg and Hector."

"Hello, ladies," they said in unison.

"Look, Sulu. I want us to get together and catch up; let me make arrangements, whatcha say?"

"Sounds great."

"Nice meeting you, Charlene. You're one lucky girl! Bye, everyone!"

Janice left with her two guests in tow and disappeared into the crowd.

"Who is Janice?" Eve asked.

"She was a yeoman about three years back," Nyota answered. "She was one of the most popular people on the ship."

"Janice and I worked in the Botany Lab together at the time. Beauregard* had a crush on her," 'Karu said, chuckling.

"Beauregard? Who is that?" Eve asked.

"He was an animal-plant that made this purring sound when Janice was around."

"Why is she back?" wondered Charlene, who was not too fond of her.

"I think she's on assignment or something," Nyota explained, taking in Charlene's crestfallen demeanor.

"Let's have fun-the night is still young!" Eve ordered, snapping her fingers and looking around at the table. "Let's all dance this time!"

The four of them headed to the dance floor and started moving to the music. But in the back of Charlene's mind, she couldn't help wondering if Janice would be a problem. She knew 'Karu had had a crush on Janice in the past. Is she looking to start something?

A few days later, the three senior officers were sitting in the Briefing Room after their shift had ended. McCoy was the one to break the ice; he and Spock were both aware of the former relationship between Janice Rand and the Captain.

"So, Jim, have you spoken to her yet?" McCoy asked, sitting with his arms folded across his chest.

"Spoken to whom?" Kirk asked, giving an innocent smile.

"Dr. McCoy is referencing crewman Janice Rand and your previous encounters with her; he is wondering about the status of your relationship with her."

Kirk and McCoy stared at Spock, surprised by his bluntness, however much his statement was on the mark.

"Uh, thank you, Spock. That was to the point."

"You're welcome, Jim."

Kirk gave Spock a glare, warning him not to push it. It's just like Spock to go straight to the punch.

"Gentlemen, there's nothing to worry about. I'm not going down that path."

"Is that what you're telling yourself, Jim? McCoy demanded in disbelief. Have you seen the woman? She is still beautiful, with those blue eyes of hers and those plush pink lips. You know pink is her color."

"Shut up, BONES!"

"Just recently, I have seen her with a couple of beaus, one on each arm; she's running with the fellas," Bones said, twisting the knife a bit.

"Janice is old news; she means nothing to me."

Spock's brow shot up, and McCoy burst out laughing.

"Right, is that your story? Okay," McCoy said. Then he got serious and leaned over toward his best friend:

"Just remember what you did to her last time. You strung her along, Jim; you hurt her feelings. She left the Enterprise because of YOU. So don't start something if it's going to end up like that! If you're not interested, leave her alone! No one deserves that!"

"Why are you telling me this? Do you like her!" Jim demanded to know.

McCoy shook his head and snarled back, "It's all about you, Jim boy; it always is."

McCoy left and headed to his quarters, leaving Spock and Jim staring at the door.

Jim looked at Spock, waiting for him to comment. "Well, are you going to tell me what to do too?"

"Jim, I do not monitor human emotions or speculate on human relationships. I state the facts. It is a fact that you were involved with Ms. Rand, and the relationship was terminated. Those are the facts."

With that, Spock stood up to leave.

"Where are you going?"

Spock looked at his long-time friend: "Have you forgotten that I am married? I will attend to my wife now. Good evening, Jim."

Jim sat alone in the Briefing Room and reflected on his relationship with Janice. She is still beautiful and sexy. Could we pick up where we left off? Or should we keep moving on as if nothing ever happened?

Meanwhile, two friends were discussing the encounter with Janice.

"So who is the blonde bombshell?" Eve asked with an edge.

"As I said before, she was the Captain's yeoman for about a year; then she transferred to earn her degree."

"I noticed that she has a way with the men."

"She did have a following back then, and it looks like she has another one," Nyota said, chuckling.

"Ny, I'm gonna be honest with you. I don't trust her. There's something about her."

"I have to agree with you; I sensed something different about her."

"If she hurts Charlene in any way, I will forget that I'm a famous fashion designer and take her out!"

"I'm with you on that; we were friends back then, but I know people change. In her case, I wonder whether it has been for the better or for the worse."

At the same time in Sulu's quarters:

"Should I be worried about Janice Rand, 'Karu?"

"No, you shouldn't; there's nothing between us."

"A woman knows when another woman is checking out her man."

'Karu chuckled and pulled Charlene into a hug. "We are friends, and we shared the same interest."

"Okay, you are on notice: if she gives ANY sly or improper remarks, I'll clean her clock!"

"Char-are you jealous?"

"No, I'm just taking care of what belongs to me-making sure she knows that we are together."

'Karu saw the sparks in her eyes and realized that she was serious.

"Honey, you and I have been through a lot; old relationships, your brothers, my family-mostly my uncle. We will do this together, and there's nothing between Janice and me. So let's put that to rest!"

He kissed her cheek to comfort and reassure her about their relationship.

But Janice had other plans; she knew she had failed in her attempts to have a relationship with James Kirk. That had almost ruined her, but it had made her a stronger woman. She really wanted to try again with Sulu, but now she had found that he was engaged to Masters. Sulu had been honest and shy when they first met, and she now regretted that she hadn't pursued their light flirting. She had saved her best for Kirk, her biggest mistake. Now she was back; she now understood that Kirk was a womanizerand she had fallen for him; lesson learned. Now she wanted an honest man. She knew that men still found her attractive and she liked it.

The next day, the Enterprise did more drills and exercises to test the new equipment. But there were some glitches with the new console in Engineering, and Charlene and Scotty had to find the faulty circuits and repair them, which meant they had to work long past the end of their shift, leaving Sulu on his own in the rec room.

Which was just inviting trouble.

"Pavel, that was a good game, want to play another?"

" Sure, Hikaru; You think your vife vill let you stay out?"

"Ha ha, you're so funny. You should put together an act for talent night!"

Sulu shuffled the cards for another game. Then Janice entered the rec room wearing her short work uniform, which revealed her slim legs.

"Wow, Rand looks hot!" Pavel whispered. 'Karu turned to see Rand strutting toward them. She did look nice, and Sulu noticed that she seemed different. She smiled and sat down at their table.

"Hi, Pavel, how are you?"

"Great, Janice, and you?"

"Wonderful. It's great to be back on the ship again. How are you, Hikaru?"

"Not too bad; just playing cards with Pavel."

"Mind if I join you?"

Sulu and Chekov shrugged their shoulders; "Sure, vy not? The more, the merrier," Pavel said giving her a big grin.

"Thank you!" Janice said, sitting at Sulu's elbow. "So tell how much we're playing for?"

Sometime later, Pavel threw his cards on the table:

"Vell, I'm out!"

"Me too!" Sulu said. "Plus it's time for me to turn in."

"Wow, this was fun, Pavel and Hikaru. We should do it again," Janice said.

"That would be nice, Janice. Vat do you think, Hikaru?"

"Not a problem. I'll see ya," Sulu said, getting up to leave. "Good night!"

"Good night, Hikaru," Janice said. Then she called after him, "Hey Sulu! How about a nightcap in the lounge for old times' sake?"

"Okay, just one. I'm on duty tomorrow."

At the lounge deck, they both ordered a drink and sat at the bar.

"Janice, what did you do when you left three year ago? It seemed kind of sudden."

Janice took a deep breath and formed her thoughts before answering.

"I had to reinvent myself; I didn't want to be a yeoman forever."

"Well, that's good, right?"

"Depends on how you look at it. I made some mistakes."

Janice put her glass down and leaned toward Sulu.

"One of them was leaving YOU," she said, placing a kiss on Sulu's lips and catching him by surprise.

"Hey, wait a minute! I'm engaged!" Sulu was shocked for a second, but then he made up his mind and gave her a stern look:

"I have to leave Janice, good night."

As he was leaving, he saw a couple of other crewmen pretending that they hadn't just been looking at him and Janice. He knew this was not going to over well with Charlene. He wondered as he walked back to his quarters, why Janice kissed him, when she had the opportunity years back? Hikaru didn't know how to take this versions of Janice, his one time friend.