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The Return of JR, Part two

Charlene's engagement to 'Karu is threatened by a dangerously seductive woman from 'Karu's past!




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


Mr. Scott, with his Engineering team of Masters, Brent, and Kyle, has been working around the clock to solve the glitch between schematic reading and alignment of the engines. Scotty refuses to use the warp drive until the problem is solved. He informed Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock that engines were under maintenance and would be online ASAP. Kirk wasn't in any hurry; he was pleased with himself for the safeguard he had placed about testing the engines when they left Earth. Plus the Enterprise had not yet been issued any assignment from Starfleet Command, who were aware of the installation of the new systems.


The next day, Hikaru went on duty without seeing Charlene. He missed her, and he was feeling guilty about what had happened the night before with Janice. He had thought about her actions for a long time; she had changed-she was no longer the fun, pretty woman he had known. The fact that Janice had kissed him in front of the crewmen in the lounge still bothered him. I have a bad feeling about her.

'Karu sat at the helm. The ship maintained sublight speed as he performed his daily checks and logged in his report.

"Hey, Sulu! Since I'm going to be the best man at your vedding, can you let me know if you and Charlene have set a date yet?" Chekov asked.

"No, not yet. Why do you ask?"

"I need to plan your bachelor party," Chekov said, looking over at Sulu with a mischievous smile.

Sulu saw the look in his friend's eyes and instantly knew he would do something wild.

"Oh no, I can't do wild parties, Pavel, or wild WOMEN!"

"Vhy not? I promise to-to keep it harmless," Pavel said, chuckling.

"No! You forget that we've hung out together at clubs, especially on Wrigley's Pleasure Planet. I know your concept of fun. Nooo-you, are not getting me into trouble."

"Okay-Okay, I von't. You are a party pooper."

"I'd rather be a party pooper than single!" Sulu retorted, joining in Pavel's chuckling.

"Besides, my girl would really kill me if she found out some dame was hanging off my neck."

"Charlene is that tough?"

"Yes that tough and more; you haven't met her three over-six-feet brothers!"

"Vhat?!"

"Yeah, I would like to stay on good terms with them," Sulu said, chuckling. They went back to work, but Sulu still had Janice on his mind. He felt unsettled about what she had done. He needed to talk to someone soon, before things got out of hand. He could think of only one person who might guide him through this potential minefield. He turned around and looked at Uhura.

"Chekov, watch the helm."

"Sure, no problem."

He took a deep breath and went to her station.

"Excuse me, Uhura. Do you have a minute?"

Nyota took out her earpiece and looked up at Sulu.

"Sure, how can I help you?"

"I was wondering if I can talk to you in private about something?"

"Sure, when is your break?"

"About 1300 hours."

"Okay, I can talk to you then; is everything OK?"

Sulu gave a deep sigh; "I hope so."

Sulu returned to his post and continued his work.


At 1300 hours, Sulu and Uhura slipped into an empty conference room for privacy. Sulu started the conversation:

"Have you been around Janice lately?"

"No, not really, why?"

"Does she seem different to you?"

"When I saw her the first time in the lounge with you, she did seem different."

"The other night I played poker with Chekov and her. At first, it seemed like old times. We talked about the things we did when she was stationed here before. Everything was fine; we laughed and played cards. Then she asked to go to the lounge for a nightcap, then she ..."

Sulu dropped his eyes to the table. Nyota reached out and touched his hand.

"What happened?"

"Janice kissed me there at the bar, in front of some of the crew. I was shocked, and she said regretted leaving me behind."

Nyota pressed her lips together. "Did you tell her that you are engaged?"

"Of course! I became upset! She sent the wrong message when the other crewmen saw us! Since then I have been feeling guilty and wondering if I should tell Charlene. But mostly, Uhura, I'm wondering why she would do that, knowing that I'm engaged to Charlene?"

"Yeah, you're right; you did introduce her as your fiancé. I had a bad vibe about her, like she's not the same Janice we knew." I'll find out her story and why she's acting this way, but YOU need to tell Charlene before some crewman blurts it out and causes more trouble," Nyota said, pointing an index finger at him

"Char has been pulling double shifts since they called her back to check the alignment of the engines. I haven't seen her."

"Find out when her shift ends and do something romantic; show her how important she is to you before you tell her about the bad scene in the lounge."

Sulu asked, "Do you think it's that bad?"

"Knowing my best friend all these years? Yeah, it's serious!"

"Thanks, Uhura!"

"No problem; just make sure she knows!"

"I will!"


Sulu went to find out when Charlene would be off duty and sent her a message inviting her to a late dinner. While Sulu was hanging out in the rec room waiting for Charlene, he noticed Janice with a group of men talking and laughing. She was out of uniform and she looked nice. Then Janice turned his way, winked at him and gave a slow wave that sent chills down Sulu's spine. He got up and left the rec room. As he went, Sulu noticed the stares. This is not good at all!


Charlene changed into her technician uniform to crawl into the access space in the Jefferies tube. There, she and Kyle relayed and reconfigured circuitry and double-checked their connections. All the top engineers had done double shifts to complete the work, and Mr. Scott had sent his tired crewmen to get some rest. By this time, Charlene hadn't seen 'Karu in 52 hours. She was tired and went straight to bed without taking off her clothes.

When Sulu got to her quarters, there was no answer to the chime., so he entered her code. The door slid open. He walked into the dark room and he heard her soft breathing. The night-light gave off enough light to allow him to see Charlene's sleeping form. He knew she had worked long, hard hours in Engineering. Sulu took off his boots, walked toward her bed and lay down next to her, spooning her. He gently kissed her neck; she moaned, moving her body closer to him and Sulu drifted off to sleep.

When Sulu woke up, the bed was empty, but he heard the sonic shower and Charlene's humming. She came out with a smile on her face.

"Hi, honey! Good morning!"

"Good morning, Char!" He got off the bed and saw the chronometer. "Oh, I have time before reporting for duty. Honey, do I have a spare uniform here?"

"Yes, 'Karu, in the closet," she said, pointing.

"Listen, I need to tell something, so just listen while I get ready, please!"

Charlene saw the concerned look on his face, and it gave her a bad vibe. "Sure, babe."

Sulu jumped up and ran into the shower to get ready. They kept toiletries in each other's quarters in case of emergencies. This was one of them. Charlene continued to get dressed while 'Karu showered. He came out and started to dress.

"Char, what I'm about to tell you might make you mad. I want you to stay calm and be a lady for me. You do love me, right?"

Charlene felt her stomach tighten. "Yeah, babe. What happened?"

The other night, I was playing cards with Pavel and Janice in the rec room. When the game ended, she asked me to join her for a nightcap. We went to the lounge and had drinks-and then-then she kissed me."

"On the cheek?"

"Uhm, on the lips"

"I'm gonna kill the bit*h," Charlene snarled as her hands balled into fists.

"Char-you promised!" 'Karu said grabbing her shoulders. Charlene tensed with anger and started to take deep breaths to calm herself. 'Karu pulled her into a hug and looked into her eyes.

"I'm telling you that nothing happened, but she made me feel uncomfortable. She's not the same woman I knew years ago. She acts like she wants to pursue me, and that's not like her. What makes things worse, she does it in front of the crew."

"She's trying to break us UP!" Charlene snarled. "She's jealous because she missed her opportunity with you!"

"I don't know what her motives are, and I don't care. I care about how you're going to react, knowing about it and possibly hearing about it from the crew."

Charlene looked into his eyes and saw that he was concerned she might actually kill the bit*h. Her breathing quieted as she tried to think. How am I going to deal with Janice?

"For the record, I'm not attracted to Janice in any way, shape, or form. I did tell Nyota what I told you."

Charlene believed him. That he had told Ny was reassuring and strengthened her trust in him. She sagged in his arms and rested her head on his bare chest.

"Thank you for telling me, babe."

'Karu gently kissed her. "Let's get to work before we get written up!"

They both hurried to get ready for duty.


Mr. Scott coordinated with the bridge and Auxiliary Control to do test runs on the engines, Mr. Spock had all departments report and prepped them for the test runs. Kirk executed the plan and the ship zipped across the sector with ease. The Engineering team was relieved to find that everything checked out; reports were completed and handed in to both Mr. Spock and the Captain. At that point, Kirk was waiting for their next orders and the crew had downtime again.

Things were still brewing with Janice Rand and certain crewmembers. The Engineering team was down for some much-needed rest.


Nyota promised Sulu that she would find out what's was going on with their former friend, Janice Rand. She chimed her door and it opened.

"Hey, Nyota. Come in."

"Good evening, Janice, and thanks."

Janice took note of Nyota's demeanor and suspected something was up.

"Is this a friendly visit or something else?"

"Yes, a friendly visit to an old friend."

"Then come and sit and tell me what's on your mind."

Janice led her to a set of lounge chairs near her desk.

"How have you been, Janice, since you left us?"

"I'm back at the Academy to finish my degree in administration; it's coming along well. Tell me how you hooked Mr. Spock," Janice said with a smile.

"I technically fought a couple of women for him and I won, so basically Mr. Spock is my prize or trophy," Nyota said with winning smile. "And he likes it."

"Sounds kind of cavemanish."

"More like cavewomanish. I don't like a woman looking over or prospecting my property-or anyone else's." Nyota glared at Janice and noticed her demeanor.

"I knew there was something mysterious about that man," Janice said, sighing. "So what brings you here?"

"Nothing really. I'm just trying to figure you out. There's something different about you."

"I'm not stupid anymore, if that's what you mean. I grew up after leaving the Enterprise, so I made sure to put myself back in school and waited for orders to complete my internship. A lot of stuff at Starfleet Command got changed at the last minute."

"Are you seeing anyone seriously or are you checking who's out there? I notice you've attracted a lot of new beaus."

"No, why do you ask?"

Just checking. Well, it's really good to see you again."

"That's it? I thought you were here to talk about Sulu."

Nyota stood and walked toward the door, then turned to glance at Janice. "I thought I just did," Nyota said as she left.

Janice stood there and reflected on what Nyota had just said; she had just been told to back off Sulu. She sighed deeply and sat down.


Later, Eve, Charlene, and Nyota met in Eve's quarters for some much-needed girl time. They wanted to have a quiet nightcap before turning in.

Charlene sat with an intense look on her face, thinking about Janice Rand making moves on her man.

Eve and Nyota were looking at her, waiting for her to bust.

"What's with her?" Eve asked, as she sipped her wine.

"Just a little upset," Nyota replied, twirling her drink in her hand.

Charlene turned to Nyota and snapped, "I have a right to be upset. That blonde bombshell tried to make moves on MY man! I don't want to scratch her eyes out; I want to PUNCH her eyes out!"

Eve and Nyota were a little shocked by Charlene's vehemence. "Charlene, calm yourself! We got your back! The most important thing is that you believe and trust Hikaru," Nyota told her.

"Yeah, I agree with Ny. All this means is that Janice finds your man attractive, and that's a compliment to you."

"So, why is she trying to draw my guns anyway?"

"Some women are not happy with themselves, so they do stupid things to get attention," Eve opined.

"And I did speak to her about her behavior toward Sulu, and I used the cavewoman mentality," Nyota added.

"Did she get the message to leave my man alone?"

"I believe so, so put your guns away and let's have some girl time," Nyota said.

"Now that we've got that cleared up, I'm ready to do your manicure and show you my new dress design," Eve said. "Also, Charlene, I have something that will cheer you up."

"What?"

"I found some dresses for your wedding!"

Charlene ran over to Eve, saying "What are we waiting for? Where are they?"

When Charlene saw the dresses, she was stunned by how exquisite they were, and they did distract her from the issue with Janice. But in the back of her mind, she knew that it wasn't over.












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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.