Voyages of the USS Endeavour

[Sam]

"New Me, New You"

Spoiler: Part 5Show

Brie very much dreaded this day. Valentines Day. She hated it on a normal occasion; star-struck lovers making cookie cutter gestures professing their undying love for each other, only to break up a few months down the line? Or how about the November babies, almost certainly conceived on this day, or, more likely, on this night. No thank you. Going to the bar was a celebration of love, where you couldn't turn your head without seeing two people locked in some sort of kiss. Either that, or it was full of sad loners who spent the night in holosuites.

Neither were things Brie enjoyed on a good day. But this year it was different. This year, there was someone she wanted, and she hoped wanted her too. And if he did, today would be the day he'd say something. He was stupid that way. And predictable.

So Brie spent the entire day on edge, signing up on double bridge shift having nobody but the Captain around. He also signed up for double shifts, letting Amy have the day off to spend with her fiancé who had decided to surprise her by coming up yesterday. The very surprise that Amy loved, but Brie despised. If she could make it through today without any surprises, it would be good.

To be fair to the Captain, it wasn't necessarily boring. They'd played Starship Operation (where participants turned off systems without setting off an alarm), which the Captain was surprisingly good at. Very, very surprising. They'd debated about the placement of a grand staircase on the Endeavour (Brie suggested that the right side strut leading up to the saucer would be the best, because they could install a giant slide on the other side, which the Captain seemed to like, as long as there was a ball pit at the bottom. Child). Vayyolet came up the bridge, and asked what Valentines Day actually was, because she had no idea what love was (Brie explained that it was when a naughty flying creature flew around with arrows and shot people making them go crazy). The Captain was not pleased with her explanation, but was even less pleased when Brie tasked Vayyolet with going around the ship looking for them.

And then the Captain got a call in his ready room, which Brie eavesdropped. It was from his sectors away wife. Brie left him there and decided to sit on his chair, adjusting the height and the recline, before climbing up on top of the viewscreen and sitting there dodging Pippa, Mimi, and Amelie's attempts to knock her off.

Then Samir came up and tried to tell them off, so they took his combadge and played Samir in the middle with it. The game ended when Samir stormed off to his console in a huff, and that also signalled the end of Brie's shift. Great, she thought. Now all she had to do was do a workout and then head to bed. Valentines Bar Night, normally when Brie went around ruining relationships, was off the cards. He'd most certainly be there. She could sit in her room and watch Takeshi's Starship, or I'm a Vulcan, Get Me Out of Here!.

She killed it in workout. Sejanus challenged her to a fight. She won. That put her top of the Endeavour for the first time this year. Brie took comfort that she did break one heart today, along with a bone, she was sure. Sejanus showed very little emotion as he limped off to medical. After an intense session of weightlifting before setting off on a three mile run in double gravity, Brie felt like she was invincible. After packing her bag, she left the gym, sweat glistening across her bare thighs, stomach, and arms. She was two steps from safety when she heard his voice.

"Gabriella?" his voice was deep, a low Spanish rumble, that ignited a fire inside her. "I've been looking for you everywhere..."

Brie turned, her post-workout invincibility shattering as their eyes locked. Diego's eyes travelled up and down Brie's body, and her fire was stoked further. He was still in uniform, but his jacket was slung loosely over his shoulder, his index finger on his right hand hooked around the collar to stop it from sliding down. "Hello Diego..."

"I... had... how was your day?" Diego said.

"Fine," Brie replied quickly, wanting this conversation to end so she could get to the comfort of her bed and that of the antics of Keeping up with the Cardassians.

"I... kinda..." he rubbed the back of his neck. "Happy Valen..." his sentence was cut as the sound of the slap echoed down the corridor.

"No!" Brie hissed. "No, don't say it?"

"Why?" Diego asked, shocked at her slap.

"I don't want to hear it," Brie tried to get away from him, his intoxicating smell, his eyes that were filled with sadness and pain at her slap.

"Okay... okay..." he said quickly. "I... was going to ask are you going to the party?"

"No. I'm not feeling well,"

"Oh? Do you want to go to medical?" Diego asked, his pain suddenly gone, and replaced with concern. "I'll take you?" he took a few steps closer.

"No, I don't need to go to medical," Brie stated. "I just want to go shower,"

"Oh..." Diego said, stopping where he was. "Oh, okay... have a good night," he said, and turned to leave.

Brie's legs forced her towards Diego, and her hand flew up again to slap him. He was quicker this time, and managed to catch her hand moments before it hit him. "Brie?" he asked quizzically.

Brie stood there frozen, her hand in mid-air. Then finally, "just shut up and kiss me," she whispered, her voice shaking and trembling, barely audible.

The kiss was everything Brie wanted and more. It was what she needed, what she craved, her apple of sin. And it was too much. She pushed Diego off her. "Te odio... Haga conmigo lo que quiera," she said, breathless before she bolted into her room and locked the door.

Her breath slowly returned to normal as she stood on the other side, leaning against the door. Her senses returned, radiating from her heart to her extremities. Her brain fought happy and sad. Her lips tingled with the taste of his. She was in the dark now. She was inside the hurricane. And the only way was forward.

[Sam]

"Swings and Roundabouts"

Spoiler: Part 2Show

Amy sat in one of the viewing lounges on the Endeavour, her eyes transfixed on the empty husk of the Shackleton in drydock. She was no stranger to broken ships. During the Iconian War, she spent her time divided between the construction of the Endeavour and repairing damaged ships from the war. She was even part of teams that had to decommission those ships that couldn't be fixed. Working as a drydock manager, she'd done the exact same. Broken ships were her bread and butter.

But her brief time on the Endeavour had told her something that she didn't realise before. These ships had lives outside of them. Part of what made the ship so alive was the crew, the blood cells of the ship. She knew that each ship had a soul, had a heart, had a brain. But it wasn't until she was the First Officer did she realise that the ship was nothing without her crew. And the ship sitting in the dock was nothing. No crew. No Captain. It was empty. It was dead.

Amy felt rather detached from the whole situation. A ship in drydock was a sad sight, like a beached whale. Normally, she was the one pushing it back into the water, but now, Amy was a spectator, and it wasn't a nice feeling. Her heart yearned to go back to the shipyards, to pick up a hammer and spanner and get to work. But her brain knew she had to stay where she was. On the Endeavour. On her ship.

Adjusting to the position had not been easy. Not at all. Amy still felt like an outsider to the crew that had been together since the ship's launch. It wasn't the fault of anyone in particular. But there was a camaraderie amongst the bridge crew that she could never tap into. It was only the calming and steady presence of the Captain that helped her settle in, but as he relied on her more and more to take charge of the ship, Amy was starting to feel out of her depth again. He taught her to tread water, but now he wanted her to swim in the deep blue sea. And for a while, she was able to do more than stay afloat, even able to swim. But then reality came to smack her in the face.

It didn't help that the Captain was visibly burdened with the various issues that had seemed to strike the ship all at once. Vayyolet, Ashley, Gabriella, and now, Josie. Amy felt guilty. She was meant to aid the Captain in these matters but Amy felt lost in the subtleties. Her attempts to befriend Vayyolet fell flat. Ashley's injuries came out of the blue. Gabriella was distant. And Josie was down a road she couldn't follow. What was worse was the fact that Gabriella and Josie were her friends. She felt like she should have foreseen and managed these situations before they had spiralled out of control, but she was as blindsided by them as everyone else. And now they were the Captain's problem, and all Amy could do was sit and watch them unfold without her, just as she was watching the Shackleton out in dock.

The nagging feeling that she was a terrible First Officer had come back with a vengeance, and it caused Amy's stomach to tighten. She had let the Captain down, she had let the Endeavour down. She was trying her best, but her best wasn't enough. And for a brief, fleeting moment, she wished that the Endeavour and the Shackleton could exchange places. At least, if the Endeavour was in dock, she'd know how to fix it. She wouldn't be a bystander.

[Sam]

"Swings and Roundabouts"

Spoiler: Part 3aShow

Amy closed her eyes as she finished the latest batch of crew evaluations. Her eyes were burning from staring at a screen for so long. She gently massaged her eyelids with her thumbs, trying to rub away the letters and numbers she could see etched into her brain.

Who would have thought being a First Officer would require more paperwork than being a drydock manager? In any case, she had finally finished her stack for today. She opened her eyes and yawned, leaning back on her chair and stretching her arms up in the air as she glanced at the time. 22:54. She could grab about two hours of sleep before her shift started. Not ideal, but it could be worse.

Climbing up from her seat, she stumbled over to the bathroom, washing her face and staring at herself in the mirror. Was she getting wrinkles in her brow? She should stop frowning so much. She would also go and ask Kuris for her skin cream, it seemed to work wonders for the little Trill lady. Amy reached up and undid her hair, letting it fall along her shoulders as she turned to leave. She froze at the door. Turning back around slowly, she inched closer to the mirror.

Was that a strand of white hair?

She combed her scalp looking for the elusive silver strand that she had thought she had spotted. It had disappeared. Or maybe it wasn't even there in the first place. Amy decided that it was the tiredness making her see things and opted (and prayed), it was the latter. With a final scan, she settled the matter, deciding it was her eyesight and that her hair was the dark brown colour she knew well. As she made her way to the bed, she thought what it would look like dyed. Maybe blonde? Or she could dye it red, like Tasha's hair. It would be sensible though, not something outlandish and obvious.

Amy grabbed the covers, when she was interrupted by her combadge beep.

"Stai scherzando?" Amy muttered staring at the combadge as if it was an explosive. She hoped if she didn't pick it up, it would go away. It didn't. With great reluctance, she pressed it and assumed her most diplomatic voice. It only half came into fruition. "Commander Samaras,"

"Amy... I hope I'm not disturbing?" Molly's voice came from the other side.

"No, Molly, you're not," Amy lied.

"Great, because we've got a problem,"

Of course they do. She mentally placed a bet on it being Gabriella related. And then she rescinded her mental bet, because she really needed to stop betting, imaginary or not. "I'm assuming it's a big problem if you're not dealing with it Molly?" Amy hoped it was a small problem so that she didn't have to leave her room.

"Amy, if it was a small problem, I wouldn't be disturbing you. We had an issue in one of our hydroponics labs. A plant had a sudden growth spurt and in less than an hour, it had worked it's way through two decks and is now currently making its way along deck 10,"

Amy blinked. "Can we beam it to a secure location? Like off the ship?"

"No. We can't. It's entangled itself into the ship's systems. We have to be careful otherwise we'd be pulling the ship apart. It's like a leech,"

"Okay, so seal the sections it's invaded, and we'll get a team on it. Is it still growing?"

"It is still growing, but it seems to be working it's way along deck 10 at the moment,"

"Okay, yeah, so seal it off, stop it from moving in the first in... ah..." Amy shook her head as the realisation hit her.

"You now see the problem,"

"I now see why you didn't go to the Captain, yes,"

"If that delegation is spooked in any way, we're looking at a potential war," Molly stated.

"Yes, thank you for reminding me. Get an emergency team there. Call all the department heads. And evacuate any section the plant has colonised. Is there any structural damage?"

"No, the plant's been rather clever in how it's moved. It's been working along Jefferies tubes and corridors. It's just going to be a pain to get this out,"

"Where are you?"

"Hydro Bay 1,"

"I'm on my way,"

Amy closed her eyes and looked longingly at her bed. She could just sleep through this.

But then again, the Endeavour was mediating a diplomatic meeting between two hostile groups. And both of them were paranoid. It took weeks for the Captain to convince the groups that the Endeavour was a safe meeting place. Everything was planned so that the Endeavour would not be doing anything during the five hours they were due to meet. If any of the parties felt even three degrees colder, the wars would continue and the Endeavour would be viewed as a hostile party.

Amy was not going to let some stupid overgrown flower ruin any potential peace. It had already ruined her sleep. That's as much as it was going to get.

Throwing on her uniform, slipping her boots on, and clipping her combadge on, she strode out of the room, tying her hair up.

She returned seconds later.

"Coffee, black, hot," she ordered from the replicator and then marched out, drink in hand.

[Sam]

"Swings and Roundabouts"

Spoiler: Part 3bShow

"Well... crap," Amy muttered, her hands on her hips. Standing in the hydroponics lab, she saw a large brown stem, three meters thick, rising out from one of the bays. The stem arched its way to the ceiling, where it snaked towards the nearest air duct and had disappeared into it.

"We trapped it in Section 32 with forcefields, but it just grew another tendril to bypass the forcefield and is still continuing down Deck 10," Molly said.

Amy turned to face Molly. "Where is it heading?"

"I don't know, it just seemed to be growing down that deck,"

Amy shook her head. "No... it's targeting something. And I think it's the peace conference,"

Molly looked at Amy. "You think it's trying to sabotage a peace conference? A plant?"

"I know it sounds stupid..."

"It sounds paranoid,"

Amy opened and closed her mouth. "Well..." she shrugged. "Maybe I am... it doesn't matter right now anyway. We need to try to get the plant to stop growing. Is there anything we can give to stop the growth?"

"Not that we know of," came a voice behind the pair, coming from a Bolian officer. "This is a new species, I was investigating it before this happened,"

Amy's eyes narrowed. "Where were you when it began to grow?"

The Bolian squirmed. "I went to take some plant cultures to Lab 18. I didn't think the plant would grow like this,"

Amy's mouth quivered slightly. "We'll talk about lab procedure later. So you have nothing that could stop the growth?"

"No, ma'am," the Bolian replied quietly.

Amy bit her lip in thought. "How about Narbinybose? My fiancé uses it to control plant growth. Perhaps it'll work here?"

"I don't know if it will, this plant has a very different biology to what I've seen to others,"

"I don't think we have the luxury of hypotheticals now, Lieutenant," Molly said. "Load up the Narbinybose,"

"Commander, injecting the plant with a chemical could damage it, possibly even kill it. With all due respect, I wouldn't go shooting up your animals with unknown chemicals, I would like you to show the same respect to my plants,"

Amy looked at the Bolian. Inside her, a fire of stress, tiredness, and the feeling of failure was burning and sending up a red smoke, which had begun to perforate into Amy's brain. The Bolian was standing between her and failure. She had never wanted to be that First Officer. The one that everyone feared. The outsider who came to whisper poison into the Captain's ears and force her ways onto a harmonised ship. She wanted to be a part of the crew, a part of the family. She wanted the crew to run as smoothly as the parts of the ship they were in. She was not angry at the Bolian for making mistakes. She was angry at the Bolian for standing in her way.

She stepped forward, her voice lacking the softness that was almost always present. "Commander Faraday's animals do not run loose on my ship and put my crew's life in danger. Inject the plant Lieutenant. I'm not going to say it again," Amy's inner demons wanted the Bolian to defy her. Amy's inner angels wanted to apologise. The three of them held their breath for the response.

Molly, meanwhile, decided to not correct Amy on that fact that her animals had, and do, run loose on her ship.

The Bolian looked ready to argue. Amy's demons cracked their knuckles. The Bolian must have heard them, because moments later, he sighed and pulled out a hypo. "Yes ma'am,"

Amy turned to look back at the plant, avoiding Molly's eyes. She'd broken through the bad First Officer barrier, and now she had to maintain appearances. Looking at Molly would send her demons scurrying back into their bolt hole.

The Bolian loaded up the hypo and approached the plant. "Sorry for this," he muttered before he injected the plant. There was no change. The Bolian then dropped to the floor. Amy's inner demons ran. Molly approached the Bolian, her tricorder in hand.

"He's alive, just unconscious," Molly blinked several times, before looking up. "Amy, get out of here. The plant is secreting a chemical, it's going to..." Molly blinked several more times before she collapsed to the floor. Amy's body moved on instinct. The next thing she realised, she was calling an emergency medical beam out for the two science officers, and calling for the room to be sealed.

"Samaras to Dix, we have a biohazard in the form of the plant, I need the areas around it sealed completely and contained. It's secreting a chemical that's knocking our people unconscious. Don't move to bioalert status. Just contain it silently,"

"Understood Commander," Kuris' voice came back.

"We need to keep the chemical from spreading to Deck 10 and disrupting the treaty. Can you seal off that room?"

There was a pause. "No Commander... The plant must have knocked something as it travelled, I'm not able to control anything on Deck 10 from here. Someone has to go and manually deploy those fields,"

Amy was already sprinting towards the turbolift. "Keep the crew safe Kuris. I'm on it. Samaras out,"

Exiting the lift on Deck 10, she ran towards the conference room. As she turned the corner, she ran into Gabriella. "Briella, grazie dio," She had never been more relieved to see the MACO. Ever. Gabriella was in her dress uniform, a rifle slung over her shoulder. Her normally braided hair was tied up, making her look very professional.

"¡Oi, idioma!" Brie replied, and then looked at the Amy. "¿Que pasa, Amelia?"

"We have a situation. No time to explain, but the delegates may be in danger,"

Brie frowned. "Crap... what do you need me to do? Shall I tell the Captain?"

"I can't risk it. When you return inside the room, I want you to seal the entrance with a forcefield. There's a biological chemical that's spreading in this deck, I'm going to try to contain it as best I can,"

Brie nodded. "Understood Commander. Good luck,"

Amy couldn't help but smile. In almost an instant, Brie had transformed from her usual self to a model MACO officer, following orders and asking no questions. It was as if there was someone else inside her body. "You too. Keep those talks going," Amy said, and she continued to run down the corridor, past the room with security guards placed. A strange smell came from the door, making Amy's nose crinkle. "Get your respirators on," she ordered them as she ran past. "And not because the delegates stink," he added, silently. She hoped that security would be as good as following orders as Brie was. They had been the ones complaining the most when the delegation arrived. She couldn't wait for the "I told you so," that was coming from Sejanus.

Amy's run came to a halt as she saw the first unconscious body. Another three followed. At the other end of the corridor, a tendril of the plant was racing towards her. It wasn't long until she had deployed the forcefield around it. Then she noticed something. She saw the tendril advance towards the forcefield before hitting it. It continued to grow for a brief moment before it stopped. Then, moments later, it then began to withdraw back along the way it came, until it came to a junction. A junction that would have bypassed the forcefield, if Amy hadn't put the field up. It was when the tendril kept on withdrawing without even so much as a break in the growth that Amy realised how the plant was moving.

"Samaras to Dix. Kuris, I need you to pump hydrobay 1 with the smell of the alien delegation. Get their patterns from the transporter. Now!"

"On it Commander,"

Amy was already running to the nearest turbolift.

[Sam]

"New Me, New You"

Spoiler: Part 6Show

Gabriella walked along the sloping streets away from Bolivar Square, mixed in with the throngs of tourists and history enthusiasts gathering around the square and the Capitolio Nacional. The Colombian sun was hot, and the thin air around the mountains the city was built around caused her to breath slightly more heavily, as she was not used to it. She wanted to walk, however, to help her grow accustomed to the change quicker. Her walk took her through the familiar paths around the city, and as she passed the tourist trap that was the square and the surrounding area, she knew she was close. Turning onto a side street, the bustle of people subsided. A dog wandered onto the streets, panting, following her a few steps before plopping itself down on the sidewalk and sunbathing. A lady was airing her clothes out on a rooftop. An old man sat at the front of a shop, smoking. He gave her a small nod as she passed.

Halfway down the path, Gabriella took another turn to a narrow street, that was similarly empty. A small embankment ran down one length, opening to a small dusty field. In the background, Monserrate loomed, providing a picturesque landscape. She looked at the mountain, before turning to the houses that run down the other side of the street. Approaching her a grated wire door, she pushed it and climbed the few steps to a stone floor, and turned to the door on the right-hand side, which opened at the touch of her hand.

Gabriella's house was small and modest. A platform ran the length of the top half, with a view of the open reception room below, which served as the kitchen, living room, and dining room. Under the platform, and adjacent to the reception room were three bedrooms and a bathroom. Sofia Álvarez stood in the corner kitchen, her back to the door. A stew was bubbling on the hob, and the smell wafted around the house. Gabriella watched as her mother chopped up some potatoes before sliding the entire lot into the pan.

"Hola, Mami," Brie said, her voice shaking to almost a whisper. Sofia heard it with clarity, and she turned, looking at Brie for a split second before breaking into a huge grin.

"¡Gabriella!" she exclaimed and bustled over to the stairs, wiping her hands on her apron. The woman was tall and thin, her greying hair tied back in a bun. Her eyes were bright amber, just like Gabriella's, as was her gentle bronzed completion, the only flaw in the shape of three diagonal scars on her neck. Gabriella met her halfway, dropping her bags at the door, and embraced her in a tight hug. "Oh, mija," Sofia cooed. "¿Cómo estás?"

Gabriella's response came in the form of a sob, uncontrollable tears running down the length of her face, buried in her mother's shoulder.

Sofia understood.

[Sam]

"New Me, New You"

Spoiler: Part 7Show

The next morning, the two conversed over breakfast.

"What are you planning to do then mija?" Sofia asked.

Gabriella shrugged, leaning back on the sofa and looking at the light coming from the early morning Colombian sun filter in through the frosted windows. "Can I come to work with you?"

Sofia smiled, gathering the empty plates and taking them to the sink, and beginning to wash them. "You're not four anymore, Gabriella,"

Brie returned the smile. "I know... I don't know, maybe I'll go out, see old friends,"

"You should go up Monserrate. Take the Pilgrimage trail and pray at the shire of El Señor Caido." Brie hesitated, and Sofia turned around. "If you want," she smiled lightly. "You used to love the walk as a young girl,"

"I'll see, mami,"

~

The walk up the mountain was refreshing. The fresh morning air was crisp, beginning to be heated up by the sun. Already, pilgrims and tourists were making their way up the mountain, though most opted to use the transporter system or the cable cars. It was only the fit and devout who walked, and Brie had joined their ranks. As she climbed, her thoughts wandered back to a more peaceful time. She recalled the spot where she had once tripped as a young girl and cut her leg. Her mother abandoned her pilgrimage and carried her back down the hill, no questions asked. Brie had always felt bad about that; she knew her mother looked forward to her weekly hikes up the mountain to pray at the shrine. But her mother never complained once.

She saw the fallen tree log that she would often try to balance across, walking up the trail. It was still there. She remembered how she wasn't able to make it across at first without slipping. She would hold her mother back for minutes and minutes, trying to cross it. Her mother, often pressed for time, wouldn't complain once. She would stand and encourage the young Gabriella to cross the log. She remembered how pleased her mother was when she had managed to cross it fully the first time. Brie lived for those moments. Those moments that made her mother proud of her. All the achievements she ever got were worthless compared to her mother's smile and hug when she found out. No matter what the achievement was, from passing an elementary test, to coming first in her bout in Judo, to graduating West Point. Every single achievement, no matter how small or inconsequential, her mother celebrated, and every single achievement Brie cherished because of that fact. Her mother sacrificed her life for her. She wanted to repay her in every single way possible. For Gabriella, her mother came before all else.

Her thoughts took her all the way up the mountain, and by this time, the sun was in full force. The mountain opened up to and Brie found herself staring at the monastery at the top of the hill. She smiled as her mind pictured a younger version of herself collapsing in tiredness on the steps. This place was so familiar to her, but those memories seemed almost a lifetime ago. It was a different Gabriella there, a Gabriella untainted by the life she had chosen to lead. Climbing up those steps, she looked into the church, and wondered if she wanted to even pray. She wasn't the praying type. She didn't like the vulnerability of trusting her thoughts to the Lord. Why waste your time praying for change, when you could spend that time working towards change instead?

"Gabriella... is that you?" Brie heard a voice calling her as she lingered on the threshold. Emerging from the darkness of the church, a young, weathered man came out, wearing worn outdoor gear. "¡Hala!, it is!" he said, bumbling out and coming face to face with Brie. It took a moment for her to recognise the man; he had shoulder-length hair, slicked back. His prominent nose jutted out from his angular face, which was lined with coarse stubble.

"Raúl?" Brie said, almost confused before she smiled widely. The two embraced briefly, and Raúl held her at arms length.

"You haven't changed one bit Chica," he said, his smile genuine and soft.

"You gained weight," Brie replied, slyly, and the pair chuckled.

"You really haven't changed," Raúl laughed. "It's been years; what are you up to now? Still in Starfleet? Working with... what are they... MACOs?"

Brie nodded. "Si, I am," she replied, and she felt the usual pride she took from that fact blossoming inside her.

"You don't change at all," he repeated. "I remember the day you left; everyone in the neighbourhood was so proud of you. My papa used to chastise me; 'Look at young Gabriella, going out and doing stuff in the world. When will you do something useful?' he used to say," Raúl smiled sadly. "He was always a slave driver. May he rest in peace,"

That took Brie by surprise. "Wait, Tío Javier passed? Oh no Raúl, I'm so sorry... when?"

Raúl patted Brie on the shoulder. "It was three months ago. He was getting old and sick, so we expected it. He's buried on the mountain, you know,"

"I thought he didn't believe in this stuff,"

"He didn't, but towards the end he did. I think he just wanted to make sense of his life,"

Brie nodded. "I'm sorry Raúl, I didn't know,"

"It's okay," he smiled. "But look at you... back in Bogotá. When did you arrive?"

"I only arrived back yesterday... oh please don't tell anyone, you know they'll make a fuss,"

"They're all going to find out sooner or later, and then you'll be in trouble,"

Brie shook her head. "I know, but I wanted to go visit everyone myself,"

Raúl laughed, as he led her away from the door and took a seat on one of the steps, reaching for his back pocket and putting on a baseball hat to shield his head from the sun. "That's an impossible job, Gabriella; you're bound to offend someone,"

Brie sat alongside him and smiled. "I'm MACO, Raúl. Impossible is nothing,"

"MACO never had to deal with Colombian families," Raúl replied, chuckling.

"Ay I'll get it done, don't you worry... what about you though? What have you been doing... apart from eating that is!" she poked his stomach.

"Oh, I work here now; I'm a gardener here. Making sure this place is always beautiful,"

Brie looked around. "You clearly don't do a good enough job," she teased.

Raúl was slightly taken aback. "You think?"

"Oh, Raúl, ¡eres un idiota! I was teasing,"

Raúl paused and shook his head, his smile returning. "You really haven't changed at all, Gabriella,"

Brie smiled outwardly, but as she looked over the hills and back down to the city that she grew up in, she knew he was wrong. She had changed. This unchanging city was home to a young Latin girl. It was not the same young woman who was looking over it today.

[Sam]

"New Me, New You"

Spoiler: Part 8Show

Gabriella's head rested in her mother's lap, as the two of them watched a film on the screen. Sofia was idly brushing her daughter's dark brown hair, her eyes fixated on the screen. Gabriella's eyes were also fixated on the screen, but her mind was running laps of the city. It had been a busy few days. Raúl was correct; MACOs did not have to deal with Colombian families. She had tried to visit everyone discretely, so as not to arouse suspicion, but this had failed at the third house. As Gabriella retired home for lunch, she was ambushed by neighbours, coming to say hi to their golden girl. From then, it was a whirlwind of invites and gatherings. Here was her invitation to a Fiesta de Quince, there was her invitation to a lavish garden party. She had even got Senora Díaz' offering the hand of her already married son. And those were just the daytime gatherings. Old friends and companions invited her to parties and dance halls daily, and Gabriella could never say no to a night out.

So Gabriella attended these celebrations as best as she could, but it was slowly getting to her. Her mother had stepped in today, taking a day off, and spending the day with her own little girl. Gabriella appreciated the intervention as much as she appreciated having some time with her mother, who she had really come to see. But sitting curled up on the sofa just seemed to give her brain a licence to roam, and roam it did.

The more time she spent in the city, she was made aware of how much time had changed its inhabitants. The city itself was the same; same buildings, same streets, same skyline. But the people were not the same. The quince she had been invited to was that of Maria Torrez. Fifteen years ago, Gabriella had been the one who had to take Senora Torrez to the hospital and stand by her as she gave birth. Gabriella had been eleven at the time. And now, she was celebrating the symbolic transition of the girl to a woman, the girl she had once held in her arms.

Senora Díaz had been Gabriella's tutor when she was younger. A famed Colombian poet, she had taught Gabriella how to read and write. But a few years ago, after being treated for Alzheimer's, she had displayed symptoms of Edmonton's Syndrome, an advanced form of Alzheimer's discovered in 2213 by Uthbart Edmonton. Though most of the symptoms could be managed, the memory loss couldn't, and Senora Torrez's once perfect memory steadily degenerated. Her son not only had been married, but he had also been killed during the Iconian War.

Those had not been the only changes. People who she had once known, had gone; passed away, or moved away. New faces walked down the street outside her house. Children she didn't even recognise played on the dusty, sunbaked field that she used to play on. Time had changed everything. Gabriella nestled in her mother's lap a bit further. Even Sofia had changed. Her face was beginning to show signs of age, her hair laced with strands of grey. Gabriella only knew her mother as an athletic lady, but even she could see the minute signs of age slowing her down and changing her posture.

All this scared her. She had come home to refresh and regroup, but she found that Colombia was just as scary as the Endeavour. Gabriella did not like change. Change broke through the status quo. Change took away her ability to keep on top of things. And life had changed drastically in the past year. Falling in love with Diego was just one factor. She tried to keep her feelings under control, tried to keep her exterior solid. But it was affecting her life, and it was affecting her job. She had never been content with being "excellent", she always strived to be better than she was. That's what made her a good MACO; the ability to constantly improve, even when there seemed to be no way of improvement. But her social life had forced her to hit a plateau and for Brie, that was mediocrity. A MACO who can't improve is not a MACO at all.

And then, she had faced almost certain death on the Forest Planet. MACOs weren't afraid of death, and neither was Gabriella. Her loss of control was what scared her. They had only survived out of blind luck. Gabriella accepted death as part of life. But she could not accept that she had no control over it. That they would not have died fighting, or died because of a mistake, or died after failing to complete an objective in time. They would have died without a way to overturn the outcome. She could not accept that. She could not accept the fact that there was nothing they could have done, even if that action would have been too late. It was not just a no-win scenario; even the Kobayashi Maru gave you the option of how to fail, even if the outcome was always failure. Here, they had no option. That scared her.

"Mami?"

"¿Si, Gabriella?"

"God knows all, right?"

"Si,"

"So he knows when people will die? There's nothing that can change that, correct?"

"Si, Gabriella,"

Gabriella was quiet for a time. "What's the point of doing anything then, Mami? If God knows all, then he knows how our lives are going to go. Why bother struggling to make a decision, or to take any action?"

"Because God has given you free will, Gabriella. If God predetermined salvation and damnation, then what would be the point of creating free will? He would just throw sinners into the fire, and the righteous would be in Paradise from the start. That's not how God works. He is not evil. God gives you power to choose. It's the action of choosing that makes you who you are. Angels are perfect beings, and they cannot do any wrong because they can't choose. They follow God's commands directly. Humans aren't perfect beings Gabriella. By choosing, we are showing if we are open to God's grace. And it's that grace, if we are open to it, that we know will take us to heaven, no matter what. That has been predetermined. Whether or not you are open to that grace, is shown by your actions. God doesn't force you to accept his grace,"

"So you're saying that I have to try to do things that are accepting of God's grace, just so that I can go to heaven? Mami... you know... I'm not even sure I believe in that stuff,"

"I know princesa," Sofia smiled, placing her hand on Gabriella's chest, where her heart was. "But faith isn't something that you can force onto someone, mija, because otherwise, it's not faith. Not true faith. If you want to believe, you just need to open your heart, and have trust in God to guide you. Don't be afraid of making mistakes, because God will always steer you back towards his grace, if you accept him,"

"I can't just have blind faith in something I'm not sure even exists, Mami," she said, looking at the screen. "I can't trust anyone else with my life, or my soul,"

"Then don't, Gabriella. Trust in yourself. You are God's creation. He won't let you go astray," Sofia looked down at her, stroking her cheek affectionately. "Live your life, Gabriella. Don't try to live the life of anyone else. Not even mine," she said, with a small smile. "You are my beautiful girl. You'll know what's right for you. Don't treat God as a lock and chain on your soul, but treat him as your shield. When all else fails, just know that God is there for you,"

"And if I don't believe in God, mami?"

"God doesn't require your belief to look after you, Gabriella. Just believe in yourself. That's all you ever need to do,"

Gabriella said nothing for a while. "How do you believe in God, mami? Seriously, how do you put so much faith on something that you can't even prove?"

"I don't have all the answers for you, Gabriella. My journey in life has brought me here. My belief in God has brought me here. If religion had all the answers then everyone would believe in religion. If religion didn't have any answers, nobody would believe in it. My religion and belief have given me answers that I'm happy with, which is why I believe. Your own path, and your own belief will guide you to the answers you are looking for. If that is religion and God, then you'll be happy. If it's through other means, then you'll be happy. Whichever path you take, whatever answers you find, as long as you are happy, and I mean truly happy, is the path you should take and stay firm to. Be yourself, Gabriella. That's the only way you'll find the answers, and the only way you'll be happy,"

Gabriella closed her eyes, and memories projected themselves on the back of her eyelids. She wasn't satisfied with the answers. But she wasn't satisfied with not having answers. She figured she'd have to do has her mother said, and just trust in herself. That way, she could be satisfied.

"Te quiero, mama,"

"Te quiero, mija,"

Gabriella smiled. As long as she had her mother say those words to her, she knew that someone who cared was always there, whether or not God existed.

[Sam]

"New Me, New You"

Spoiler: EpilogueShow

*3 hours after Gabriella returns from leave*
Gabriella's hand hovered over the keypad. It was shaking very slightly. She looked at the smooth metal door. Room 59. She took a deep breath and pushed the bell, knocking on the door for added measure.

"Diego? Soy yo, Gabriella," she said lightly.

The door opened and Brie looked up at Diego. Her mouth twitched unbidden, her stomach knotted up, and her heart flexed. "Gabriella!" Diego said, surprised. "You're... back! When?" he asked, his brows tilting in confusion. His hair was damp, possibly from a shower, and his T-Shirt's neck was cut low, revealing the top of his chest. His arms were bare, revealing his slightly toned masculine muscles which were a result of basic academy training and a slim diet. His jaws were covered in light stubble; a result of a few days of not shaving.

Gabriella felt her cheeks flush a little, and suddenly she couldn't bear to look at him. She dropped her eyes down to her shoes, her hands retreating to a safe spot behind her back. "I just returned a few hours ago,"

Diego reached forward and grabbed Gabriella's shoulders gently. "It's good to see you again," he said, smiling lightly. "I was worried. We all were worried. And we missed you. How was home?"

Brie looked up at him. "It was good," she said. Her chest felt heavy, and where his hands touched her body, all she could feel were electric sparks shooting through her. Diego could feel it too, and he gently let go, stepping back.

"Would you like to... come in?" he asked.

Brie closed her eyes briefly, before opening them again. "Diego... I... let's..." she struggled to find the words. Inside her, the gatekeeper that always stood vigil by the gates of her heart and her emotions was ready to close the gate. "Estoy lista, Diego. No more games. I promise,"

Diego frowned again, tilting his head, trying to read her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... us," she said, her voice almost a whisper. "I'm ready to take 'us' serious. If..." she blinked, suddenly in freefall. Did she make a mistake? Was he ready for this? Did he still want this? She had subjected him to months of 'are we, aren't we', months of confusing limbo as she struggled to decide that what she did on Valentine's Day was another kiss and run or if it was something more. The gatekeeper began to push the gate shuts on their well-oiled hinges.

Diego reached out to her again and took her hands in his. His touch seemed to freeze the gatekeeper in its tracks. "Are you sure? You don't have to do this. Not for my sake,"

Brie looked at Diego carefully. This was her last chance to back out. The gatekeeper was close to sealing the gates forever. "I... want this, Diego. I want us," she said finally.

Diego nodded simply. "Okay,"

And just like that, the weight on her chest melted away. As she looked at Diego, and smiled, the gatekeeper inside her disappeared. The gate had been left ajar.