Stress Tess (Tess/Rayek) (COMPLETE)

[Rayek trLhoell]

Cmdr Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Promenade/ Outside Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega'] (after S1M6)

When Tess called him up earlier saying that his test results were in, Rayek had expected to be called to her office or for her to suggest his office.. but no, she must have been famished at the time, because she'd suggest a restaurant.  Rather than debate the location, Rayek had agreed to meet her there.

By the time he arrived, Tess was already waiting, busying herself with reading something on her PADD.  Rayek called out to her as he approached so as not to startle her.

"Lieutenant." Saying her recently upgraded rank caused a slight smile.  He was quite proud of her quick rise up the ranks.  She'd earned that full pip and her promotion to Second Officer.  They would see a lot more of one another now what with daily briefings with the Captain on the stations day to day operations.  And of course he was the one who would be required to groom her to her duties as Second Officer.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting"  That said he motioned her towards the restaurant entrance.

Rayek understood why Tess had chosen this Greek styled restaurant. It was the only one currently open that gave the option for a completely private dining experience.

[Tess tLhoell]

[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Promenade/Outside Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega']

Tess looked up when she heard that familiar voice calling out to her. She saw Rayek approaching her, a small smile on his face, which made her smile in return. She wasn't sure what made him smile but she liked to see it.

Putting the PADD on standby before she lowered it she waited until her reached her. "No, it's only been a few minutes", she replied with a smile before she stepped into the restaurant ahead of him.

[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Tess asked the waiter that stood near the door to welcome the guests for a private booth and he led them into the back of the restaurant, offering them a spot where they would be undisturbed.

She sat down at the upholstered bench and put her PADD aside. Waiting until he had taken a seat too she looked over at him. The light was dimmed only slightly, leaving it bright enough to be able to read without problems but it nonetheless gave a slight comfy atmosphere to it.

"I hope you don't mind this location but I had to have lunch, I already skipped breakfast because I had to catch up on yesterday's work ... yesterday wasn't the most productive day for me ... so I had to do it today which made me delay today's work." She sighed with a soft chuckle. "But I didn't want to have you wait any longer."

It actually had taken over two months until she had received the results from Vulcan. It hadn't been even an hour ago when she had gotten the mail and had contacted Rayek immediately.
"Shall we order first? I wont' be able to focus on anything else before I know food's underway", she grinned apologetically at him. As she reached her hand out to pick up one of the old-fashioned menu cards she noticed that - for some reason - there was only one of them there.
Glancing back at Rayek she pushed the card in the middle of the table and leaned forward a bit so they both could have a look in it together.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Cmdr Rayek
[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Rayek smiled and nodded towards Tess in understanding.

"Of course, this is likely just as private as sickbay anyways," the Romulan remarked with a slight sadly amused tone.   Too often in Sickbay, Rayek found himself very self-conscious of the other medical staff passing by.  This he hoped would be better. Time would tell.

At Tess' suggestion to order first, Rayek inclined his head in acceptance.  However there was only the one menu. Rayek had been prepared to wait, when she pushed the midway between them in offer.   Rayek smiled, but pushed the menu card back towards her side, before moving sliding out of his side of the booth to join her - at least temporarily on her side.

"I'm not quite proficient enough at Federation Standard to read it upside down or sideways." he explained as he looked over the card. His shoulder brushed hers as he sounded out several of the unfamiliar dishes.  Greek was not something he'd tried before.

"Avgolemono soup? A chicken soup with egg and lemon juice" Rayek read the description off the menu.  The soup sounded flavorful.

"Chicken Souvlaki - season chicken breast grilled on a skewer on a bed of lemon greek rice. Served with Pita and Tzatziki."

Rayek was familiar with the farmed fowl called chicken.  Many Terran dishes were made with such, and he'd had lemonade in the past and liked that.  Combining the tartness of the lemon with the chicken flavor sounded appealing.

"I believe I know what I am ordering.  You?" he asked turning to look to Tess beside him.

[Tess tLhoell]

[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

When Rayek pushed the menu card back Tess looked quite irritated for a second until she realized what he was trying to say when he moved from his spot around the table to sit at her side for picking a dish. "I see", she chuckled at his comment about not being proficient enough to read it upside down or sideways. "This is much nicer anyway."

He sat so close to her that their shoulders touched and Tess could feel her heart starting to pound in her chest. While he focused on the card and read out different dishes she glanced up at him, picking up the scent of something she wasn't quite sure what it was, perfume, aftershave or something else, but it was manly and it smelled so good on him.
Her eyes rested on his lips that moved while he spoke and since they were so close ... would he turn his head to her, their lips would only be inches apart from touching.

"I believe I know what I am ordering.  You?"

The question drew her back to the here and now so suddenly that she blinked at him for a second with wide eyes before turning her focus on the card. Luckily she had been listening with one ear what he had been reading out. She started to look over the variety of offered dishes herself while she hoped the flush wouldn't be that obvious on her cheeks.

"That all sounds so nice ...", she said, biting her lower lip while she thought. "Layers of eggplant-slices, with cheese and meat sauce, topped with a light white sauce", she read out quietly. That sounded delicious.

"I've picked what I want", she said and happened to look right at him when she said that while a waiter was approaching from the far corner of the room. "And I think I'll have a glass of red wine along with that."

[Rayek trLhoell]

Cmdr Rayek
[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Rayek followed along with her reading of the Spanakopita description and nodded. That too sounded it good.  Obviously he would need to come back to try more options on the menu.

As the waitress arrived to take their drink order first, Rayek asked for two glasses of the house red, before mentioning that they were ready to order.  The waitress, a Bajoran woman possibly in her mid-20's smiled and nodded pulling up the order screen on a handheld PADD.

Rayek opened his mouth to order on Tess' behalf then paused thinking that was rather presumptuous of him.   He turned to Tess, "After you, doctor."

After Tess ordered, Rayek put in his own request for the chicken souvlaki.  He had considered adding the soup as an appetizer but had spotted something else that caught his attention more.  "And an order of your Calamari as an appetizer. With an additional plate, please"  The waitress repeated back the order to which Rayek nodded before the woman slipped away to get them their drinks.

A minute or two later both had a glass of red wine poured and Rayek was cautiously sipping at it.  He'd never tried grape wine before.  The Romulan equivalent was quite potent.

[Tess tLhoell]

[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Tess picked up her own glass of red wine while the Bajoran waitress left and moved her gaze to watch Rayek trying the wine while he still sat next to her. She observed his expression curiously to try and read in his face if it was to his liking. "Well?", Tess asked with a grin that started to grow wider by the second while she swirled the glass under her nose to take in the scent. "Is it any good?", she asked before taking a small sip of the wine of her own. The wine was fruity with a hint of mild acidity. That Tess liked it was obvious when she took another sip and then another. She had to stop then though because she had a low tolerance to alcohol, even more so when she hadn't eaten anything the whole day.

Tess started to become a little nervous when she realized this seemed to be the moment to hand Rayek the gift she had bought for him. She wanted to do it before they started to talk about more serious things like diseases.
She put her right hand into the pocket of her uniform and left it there as she looked to Rayek next to her. "I didn't have the opportunity to congratulate you on your promotion", she started as she looked at him. "You've gone a long way and you have achieved a lot you can be proud of. So instead just wishing you all the best I wanted to give you something to accompany on your way."

She pulled out a little black presentation box that was about the size the one he had received for his promotion. Tess felt her cheeks flushing with nervousness as she gave it to him.

If he would open it he would find a silver necklace with a small but rather impressively beautiful pendant on it which was undoubtedly of Romulan design and thousands of years old.

Tess subconsciously held her breath as she looked at Rayek hesitantly. He probably wondered how she got her hands on such an ancient piece of Romulan wrought ironwork. While she usually was a patient person and had no problem to wait for people's reactions she was so nervous that she continued speaking before Rayek could say anything.

"I've been told it is a symbol of your Romulan moons - Pirek and Elvreng", she chattered. "It shows Pirek eclipsing Elvreng." She leaned into him more, pointing at the greenish-white shimmery inside of the pendant. "This is made of Romulan glass that had been formed through the centuries by the fire falls, it is depicting Pirek. The outer lines ..." She brushed her finger around the metal lines with thin gapes betwen them, "are depicting your second moon Elvreng. It was considered a lucky omen when a Romulan was born with the moons showing this constellation - Pirek eclipsing Elvreng." She looked up at Rayek, her cheeks flushing a deeper shade of red. "I'm sorry, I'm sounding like I want to teach you your own culture."

She pulled back again, clearing her throat quietly. "I wanted you to have this to bring you luck. I know, Romulans don't believe in luck." She smiled fondly. "But maybe they do a little bit anyways."

~~~~
OOC: Here's the link to a better pic of the pendant https://www.romanglassjewels.com/products/silver-necklace-with-ancient-roman-glass-round-hammered

[Rayek trLhoell]

Cmdr Rayek
[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Rayek could feel Tess' eyes on him as he sipped at the wine.  The drink was tart and dry to his taste-buds.  Given the source of the alcohol was grapes he had been expecting something sweeter. The wine also had a slightly acidic aftertaste that he wasn't sure if he liked or not.  He refrained from answering immediately Tess' question of it if it were 'any good'.  Instead he took another cautious sip as he watched her sip at it.  She apparently enjoyed it, so it wasn't that the wine wasn't good, it was that it wasn't quite to Rayek's taste.

Not wishing to disparage her drink of choice, Rayek nodded silently as he took another sip.  Maybe it was a flavor that one grew to enjoy?  The one thing he did find pleasing about the drink was it's alcohol content.  It seemed twice the content of most ales he'd tried.

As he mused on how he wished he'd ordered a Jamieson Irish whiskey instead, Tess turned to speak to him, congratulating him on his promotion - which only served to remind him on how ill-deserved he felt it was.  But it was her wording at the end of 'accompany on your way' that caught his attention.

Had the doctor heard something?  Was he being given the promotion because he was being moved again? That troubled him.  He was finally in the same place as Saqa7 - he didn't wish to be transferred again.

While Rayek worried, he was completely oblivious to the overall meaning of her words and her wish to present him with a gift until Tess handed him a small presentation box.  He blinked in surprise. But at her flushed and nervously expectant looks - much worse than her inquiring over how he liked the wine - Rayek opened the box not knowing what he would find within.  In the back of his Romulan conditioned mind though he felt somewhat awkward; feeling like their roles were reversed and it should be him presenting her, as the woman, with jewelry (he assumed it was such just by the box).

The box revealed something of wonder however.  The silver and gemstone pendant, glittered beautifully in the soft lighting of the private booth. Rayek was speechless at seeing the familiar Romulan design.

He listened dumb-founded as Tess explained about the pendants design. All he could do was nod mutely at first.  Where had she found such an item?  Part of him was skeptical that it was genuine... no it had to be a replica... something Ferengi sold as a trinket.  But the slight scent of recent silver-polish still lingered on the necklace and the swirl within the glass was too familiar to be anything other than real Romulan glass.

Rayek finally dragged his gaze away from the gift.  "How? I mean... thank you. This is .. unexpected and much more than I have a right to accept.  This piece, Tess, is an artifact".

It would have been an artifact just by it's age alone, but to be one of a few surviving Romulan pieces...  It deserved to be in a museum.  But to hold it, Rayek and know that Tess had given it to him, made him slightly possessive of it - even after so short a time.

If it were to have been found by the current Romulan government, there was no guarantee they wouldn't sell it off for money.  That was likely how Tess had gotten hold of it in the first place!

He couldn't express to her how much this pendant meant.  His mother had worn as a brooch a similar piece.  Or maybe she had... Tess had shared many of his memories of his family, his mother included.  Had she sought out such a brooch or pendant specifically for him?  This gift was not something that was picked up in a day.

"I know it is considered rude to ask, and I apologize in advance.. but I must know where did you find such?" His voice was quiet as he spoke, and thick with emotion that he tried to keep at bay.

[Tess tLhoell]

[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Tess had watched Rayek attentively the whole time, watching his face eagerly and curiously for a reaction. Though there was none at first. He just kept staring at the pendant and Tess wondered if she had put her foot in it ...

But no. Rayek finally looked at her, obviously rather speechless. Which was new. When he said it was an artifact Tess looked at him with wide eyes. Oh. She has assumed that it was a precious piece but not that valuable like Rayek described it now. It surprised her too but also made her even happier.

When Rayek spoke again after a while she could hear the emotion in his voice, it touched her that he was so moved. It was what she has been hoping for.

"Well, it was luck really", Tess replied, watching Rayek struggling to control his emotions. "So you know the little shop a deck below? There's an antique shop. I wanted to get a present for you so I went in there. The shop is run by an elderly Bajoran, he's been nice." She smiled. "Well, I told him I was looking for something real special." The Bajoran had found out quickly that Tess had been looking for a gift for her crush and she mentioned that he was Romulan, but she dropped that part of the story. "From the back of the shop, not offered openly for customers to buy, he brought this." She looked at the necklace  "You are aware some other Romulans, civilians, are on the station? One of them had been killed during the Dosi attack" Tess paused, out of respect when speaking of someone who lost his life. "His wife wanted to leave the station afterwards but had no chance to finance the journey. All of their stuff had been destroyed by fire or explosions. So she saw no other way than to sell this."

She searched Rayek's eyes as she looked at him. "The Bajoran salesman said he had kept it in the back to wait for the right person to get it. And obvious he thought that person would be me." She smiled weakly. "The moment I saw it I knew I wanted you to have it. I knew it would be well kept by you."

[Rayek trLhoell]

Cmdr Rayek
[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Hearing the story of how she had found the pendant, Rayek lowered his head a moment.  Yes, of course, the recent Romulan couple tr'Thraiin, that had only just arrived a few weeks before. The man had been an enlisted crewman and despite Rayek's efforts to find information on the man's past prior to joining Starfleet, he had found nothing.

Rayek looked back down at the pendant.  He wondered if he should attempt to track down the woman and seek to give back the pendant.  But then thought perhaps she gave up this because it held remembrances of her late husband. Being young she should be able to move on from the loss,  but perhaps not with ties to constantly drag her back.

He looked back to Tess.  "Thank you again, Tess."

Since he had no safe place to put such a valuable item with him at the moment given that the presentation box would fit uncomfortably in his pants pocket, Rayek instead slipped the necklace over his head and tucked it out of sight under his uniform.  He would secure in his quarters later.

Lifting his wine glass once more he took another small sip.  Nope, the taste didn't improve with being 'aired'.

"So shall we get to the bad news or would you prefer leaving it until after our meal?"

[Tess tLhoell]

[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Tess noticed he looked thoughtful, though she wasn't sure what it was he was pondering about. Perhaps a moment to remember his dead fellow Romulan. At that she lowered her head too, closing her eyes for a second. When he then thanked her once more she gave him a heart-felt smile. "I'm glad you like it."

She watched him slip the necklace over his head and looked at the spot where it rested under his uniform. Too bad she couldn't see it on him. Anything that would decorate that neck of his ... dangling from it ... him on top of her, moving ...

When Rayek dragged her back to business with his question her cheeks flushed slightly. "Oh ..." Probably a good idea to focus on something else. "I don't want to spoil your apetite", she said as she glanced back at him, hinting that his premise of it being 'bad' news was right. "On the other hand we got it over with, hm?" She tried to sound positive.

Leaning forward she picked up her PADD and called up the results she had received from the Vulcan Medical Institute. Tess scrolled down the documents, there were a lot of analysis reports, scan diagrams and more medical jargon. But there was also a summarization of all that. With that called up she looked to Rayek and handed him over her PADD. On the document was the insignia of the VMI at the right upper corner, the name written out in both English and Vulcan. The text of the findings was in English though and there was one line she had marked in bright yellow on her PADD.

Medical findings: Pan'ar - positive.

Tess watched Rayek's face for a reaction to that. What she didn't tell him was that she sent scans of her own brain patterns seperately to the VMI too. And that too came back positive.
She quietly cleared her throat as she began speaking quietly. "In the findings they write that the affliction shows an uncommon way of progression in your case. They say that it had taken uncommonly long to break out but now that it has the process of degeneration will be much quicker and more aggressive if nothing is being done."

That was part one of the bad news. For part two she wasn't sure how it would go. It could be okay or it could be a little disaster, depending on how Rayek would take it.
"As for the treatment", Tess started hesitantly. She knew Rayek expected a whole list of doctors and healers to pick one among them. Tess herself had been surprised to read only one single name on the list. She wasn't sure if that meant that they considered only one of all the doctors they had to be capable of treating Rayek's Pan'ar or if only one of them came forward to do the treatment while the others refused for whatever reasons.
"They suggested Senva." Let's try to put it the positive way. At least they suggested someone. "He is a well-recognized Vulcan healer and also approved of the Federation because he was nominated for the Carrington Award." She watched Rayek as she waited for his reaction to all this.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Cmdr Rayek
[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Just before Rayek drew the discussion back to his results of his test, he noticed Tess' eyes linger a moment to where he had tucked the pendant away.  For a moment she looked almost disappointed, and then flushed in seeming embarrassment.

He pondered that reaction while he watched her scroll through her PADD for the information she sought.  Perhaps it was rude not to display her gift... his tucking it away had been meant to keep it safe but things of beauty were meant to be seen.   That would explain the disappointment but not the embarrassment ... unless she thought it was a culture misunderstanding and was embarrassed by her disappointment.  It was possible but not likely there was something else here he was missing... but regardless he could fix at least part of the issue.

He could display the pendant.  Since he figured the pendant would look awkward and out of place overtop of his uniform, Rayek relaxed a bit on the uniform regulations - especially since he was off-duty at the moment - and opened the collar and upper portion of his jacket so that the pendant could be viewed more naturally.

Having done so, he reached out and accepted the PADD she offered him.  There highlighted in yellow were the words he dreaded.  Pa'nar was confirmed.  If left untreated he would die a slow, agonizing death as the disease spread from his synaptic pathways to his endocrine and immune systems unchecked.

Rayek swallowed back the feeling of panic that threatened.  Though he had told himself to expect this... it's reality was a bit overwhelming.  He concentrated on the sound of Tess' voice as she went on to explain his had been an odd case, with it's delayed onset.  Learning that the disease would progress faster and more aggressively only made Rayek all the more keen to start on a treatment right away.

But there seemed to be only one recommended name provided.  Tess' explanation said the same thing... only one doctor was willing or able to help him.

Tess described the doctor in terms of his accolades.  Rayek just wanted to know one thing... would this Dr Senva pass a Starfleet Classified security clearance?

Rayek slowly nodded. "Then it would seem we need to contact this Dr. Senva and make arrangements.  I need to know how invasive this correct meld is... whether it is just surface thoughts that are shared or if it is deeper and if so how much deeper.  He maybe required to obtain Starfleet Security Clearance before I am able to commit to the procedure.  Those can take some time to move along so the sooner we start on it the better."

Rayek needed to focus on taking charge of the process so that it didn't feel so overwhelming. And part of doing so determining how many others he infected over the course of 3 to 4 years.

Rayek looked to Tess apologetically. "You will need to be tested as well. As will a number of the crew. I have a list I drawn up in anticipation of such a result."

[Tess tLhoell]

[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Tess glanced over at Rayek when she saw a movement from him in the corner of her eyes. Him opening the collar of his uniform revealing his appealing neck to. Tess flushed a deeper shade of red at the thoughts that were now flooding through her mind.
If she wouldn't know for sure that it was impossible, she would have worried he had been reading her thoughts. She couldn't help but take in the rare sight of his neck - now with the pendant at it. Feeling her cheeks burn she forced herself to look back into his eyes. "It ..." 'Looks incredibly sexy' was what she almost said out loud but was able to control her tongue. "... suits you." She simply said which of course was a huge understatement of how she really found it. Part of her wished he wouldn't have opened that collar at all, it was very distracting. Immensely so. But on the other hand a nice one. Why should she not enjoy the view instead?

She watched him while he read through the report and thought she could see concern and fear on his features. Which wasn't surprising. She was worried too. After all it was not proven that the corrective meld worked to heal Pa'nar patients that were not Vulcans. It was not likely there was a difference but if the course of the disease already showed differences with Rayek - maybe because he is a Romulan or was infected by a Romulan - the disease could have mutated - and if it was just slightly - to become a whole new thing to deal with. But that were thoughts Tess kept in the back of her mind. She didn't want to panic everyone. And not herself. Those were questions Senva might be able to answer.

Tess nodded at his suggestion how to proceed. "If you like you can come back to my office after lunch so we can set up a message to Dr. Senva together, so we won't forget anything to include of what you must know and what I must know. Also if you want, you could start to arrange the procedure for Dr. Senva to get that clearance." She figured it might help him to be included actively into the process.

Tess noticed his apologetic look he gave her when he suggested for her to get tested to just like the others. "I already am tested", she said quietly, holding his gaze. "I sent scans from me seperately at the same time like yours." She hesitated to continue, fearing he might feel bad or guilty about it. But now that she mentioned it, she had to tell him. He would know sooner or later anyway. "The results came back positive for Pa'nar too." She held up a hand. "It's not your fault. You didn't know you are ill."

She paused briefly as she looked at him. It was good he already prepared a list. "May I see it?", she asked quietly.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Cmdr Rayek
[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

The suggestion to contact Dr. Senva together after lunch was met with a mix of apprehension and appreciation.  At least he wouldn't have to do this alone.

He nodded.  "Yes, that sounds good."

The fact that Tess had already sent in her own scan to be tested wasn't surprising, however to learn that she too was affected ... because of him... struck hard.

The tried to tell him it wasn't his fault but it was, and they both knew it.

When she requested his list of those he'd potentially infected, he nodded and with a brief "May I?" he took over Tess' PADD, signing in on his account and pulled up his list.

USS Pasteur:
Saqa7 Mountain-Kahn 2392 -2393,

Academy
(none.  Self-medicated)

Challenger:
Bonnie Moors* (deep connection) Oct 2395
Dylan Torngate (surface - intentional). Sep 2396
Alieth* June 2396
Ocras Abisa* July 2396
Liz (surface)  May 2396
Alys (surface) June 2396
Dr. Stroreck (dead)*   Oct 2395
ShranLahr 2396
Frank Burke 2396
Erika Jonston 2396

Katra:
Admiral Rellek (surface). Oct 2396
Tess Moreno* Jan 2396 - 2397
Hrafn Falleg (surface) Jan 2397
T'Vesh (surface) 2396 - 2397
Ensign Rolas (surface) 2397

Starfleet Intelligence
* 2 unknown officers (questioning after Omega)

"The list is rather extensive... especially since there were only two that I intended." he  commented.

As the server returned with the appetizer of calamari, freshly made not replicated, Rayek flipped over the PADD to hide the list.  Only after she had left once more did Rayek hand the PADD back over to Tess to review.

As she looked it over, Rayek picked up his fork and stabbed at a calamari ring on his plate then moved the dish closer to her so that she help herself to some if she chose.  The breaded and deep fried squid was served with a seafood sauce that he dipped the ring into.

His appetite had waned with the recent knowledge but he tried to seem unconcerned, but he tried the new food regardless.

[Tess tLhoell]

[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth]

Tess handed him over her PADD without hesitation when he asked for it. While he logged in with his own account she mused about his reaction to her attempt to have him not feeling guilty that she had contracted the disease too. Of course, that reaction was not unexpected. And yes, she was scared, deep down inside her she wasn't sure if the treatment would work, there was no data to rely on and that scared her. But she tried not to show that, it would make feel Rayek even worse.
He was good at hiding it but she believed he was scared too. She knew it, remembering his reaction when the idea of that possibility had come up the first time at their meeting a few weeks ago.

When the server brought the Calamari dish she noticed Rayek flipping over the PADD but then her eyes were drawn to the food. She had not eaten anything today and now the sight and even more so the smell of the delicious food made her stomach growl loudly in anticipation. Self-consciously Tess pressed her flat hand against her stomach as if it would stop it from making noises, but of course it didn't. She felt quite embarrassed about it and her cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry", she mumbled with an embarrassed smile and took the PADD from Rayek. She would eat, but wanted to look at the list first.

Indeed, it was quite long. His comment about only two of the connections having been intended had her wondering. She took her time to read through the list thoroughly and finally put the PADD aside. She picked up the second fork and stabbed one of the Calamari rings, dipped it into the sauce like he had done it and ate it. She made a quiet satisfied sighing noise, not only because the Calamari were delicious, but for the reason to finally eat something. She picked up a small piece of white bread that was served along with it, dipped it into the sauce and put that into her mouth too.

"I have to say", she spoke quietly to him, "I'm impressed of your memory skills." She really was amazed that he remembered all the names and even which year that had been. That must be his vulcanoid heritage. "I was wondering about a few things. What do the asterisks behind the names mean? You marked some of the connections as 'surface' and some of them 'intended'. With the other names you can't remember? And if you say only two were inteded ... one was me, the other you marked as inteded with Mr. Torngate. On the other hand you had a deep connection with Dr. Moors. Was that deep connection not intended?" The question was, how did that happen at all if it wasn't intended, Tess was wondering.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Cmdr Rayek
[Katra Station - Deck 14 - Restaurant 'Alpha & Omega' - Private booth - after S1E6]

Rayek was surprised at Tess' stomach grumble and smiled slightly at her embarrassed 'I'm sorry'.  He shook his head in amusement and nudged the plate of Calamari nearer still.  But his offer was ignored at first as she chose instead to look over his list.

As he chewed and swallowed the deep fried breaded squid ring, he watched her face for reaction. Her expression however wasn't clear and Rayek was left wondering what she thought of it.  He speared another ring with his fork and took another bite.

When she set down the PADD, he glanced at her but her attention turned to the food and he couldn't fault her for that, she obviously was hungry.  Another bite and then Tess spoke.

At first she complimented his memory skills.  He gave a slight shrug.  Being able to spot, identify and remember details with very little notice had been a very important requirement with the Tal'Shiar.  He just did so automatically now.

Then she queried about some of the details of his list.
"The asterisks indicate those whose connections were likely deepest - either because they were initiated by the other or I was given permission. Alieth and Ocras were attempting to help me control my ability while I was on Challenger. Dr. Stroreck assessed my abilities when Dr. Vaughan learned of my gift."

As much as he disliked the taste of the wine, Rayek reached for the glass and took a swallow before answering more about his list and it's meanings.  He set the wine down and look beside him to Tess.  Her inquisitive blue eyes watched him without judgement... for now.

He inclined his head slightly. "I wasn't certain if I should include yours as an intentional connection since it began unintentionally.  But yes you and Captain Torngate were the only two for which I have permissions for.  In your case, by you, with the Captain, it was on the order of Commander Solluk though it was Ocras who was supposed to read the Captains' intentions.  At the time, we believed he might be still following Leyton. My reading of him proved he wasn't and that his claims of being 'brain-washed' was truthful."

He pause to take up another calamari ring.  "Of all the connections, my most invasive would be with Miss Moors. It was my first mission with Challenger and her crew.  We had been abducted by some unknown entity and awoke in a cargo hold. Miss Moors was kept isolated from the rest of the crew though she reached out to me - well to anyone really - telepathically because she was in pain mentally.  She said there was nothing physically wrong but her mind was in agony which I could feel somewhat through the connection... so I intervened without permission and temporarily 'switched off' her pain receptors."

This was a skill he'd learned to do mostly in reverse - a torture technique taught to him by the Reman.

"By the time we escaped my fix should have long end... and I anticipated a return of her pain.. but it did not return.  I assumed it was something about her prison cell. that has caused the pain."

He glanced down at the list and pointed to the three names with nothing but a year beside.  "These three I'm uncertain if I made a successful connection to.  I had felt my mind slipping forward when these three were present... I drew my mind back without any clear impression of their thoughts so I don't know which of the three I might have connected to but it might have been enough to pass along the disease."

Rayek looked over the list noting Hrafn's name and recalling with some embarrassment that night... and how he'd connected with her (almost in more ways that one).  Oh but that wasn't his first time he'd had telepathic communication with Hrafn or ...  oh my! "I forgot to add Tidu to the list!" Rayek blurted out. "The child was calling for his mother telepathically while we were moving the station.  I picked up his call." He reached over and added the name to the list.