7: Heart Leading Head

Heart Leading Head
by Fleur Le Marc
71202.21
(Two Weeks before "Profit and Liis")


News traveled fast aboard every starship; the smaller the ship, the faster it moved from deck to deck and around through the ranks until everyone on the ship knew just about everything about everyone else- whether everyone else wanted them to or not. This was not unlike the tiny provincial town where Fleur had grown up.

She was used to it, but it still surprised her how fast news traveled aboard the flagship. As big as it was, at the end of the day it was still just a small town.


"Mmmm, Fleur, this is the most delicious, incredible, and amazing sticky bun I've ever had," declared Lair Arie.


Even though the child was made up of half Vulcan DNA, she still expressed herself often in superlatives. But Fleur was accustomed to it, she had, after all, first met the child when she was only three.

"You say that every time you eat one of my sticky buns, Arie."

"It's true every time!" The girl replied, swinging her feet happily as she sat on a tall stool beside the coffee bar. "Every one is better than the last one."

"Merci." Fleur smiled, and brushed a hand through Arie's hair before turning to froth a cup of milk for Lt. Commander Lair's morning latte. She knew that


Lair would be coming into the room at any moment, march to the counter to claim Arie, pretend to scold her for not having something more nutritious for breakfast, and then take her off to school. That is what she had done every normal morning since Fleur had come aboard.


This was not a normal morning.


Kellyn hurried into the lounge right on schedule, but her expression was panicked, and she rushed up to her daughter and spoke in hushed tones. "Arie, I need you to listen to me very carefully because I don't have time to repeat anything." Kellyn began, leaning over to whisper in the child's ear.

Fleur turned her back once more to pour the whipped milk into the coffee cup before her, but she still listened, the only other person within hearing range.

"I need you to go to our quarters, and gather up one bag full of the things that you absolutely cannot live without, and leave the rest. Then I want you to go to Dabin and February's quarters and one or both of them will bring you to the Alchemy bay."

"Oko-mekh," Arie's brow furrowed, a contrast to her gently pointed ears, exaggerating the petite ridges on her nose. "Are we evacuating?"

"Not quite, but we are leaving."

"But, why? I am only just," Arie said, wishing immediately she could take the words back after she saw the guilt-ridden expression on her mother's face. She had been moved around so often in her young life, and she finally felt in the past year as if she were laying down roots, making friends, and building a home here.

"I know, I know. And I hope that we will be back before you know it," Lair leaned over, and whispered more quietly in Arie's ear, about how the Captain was missing, they had to go find her, and they couldn't leave Arie behind this time because she didn't know how long they'd be gone.

Instantly, Arie's eyes reflected a precocious maturity acquired because of the unusual life she'd led up to this point- and also, Salvek's guidance.

"I understand. I will hurry, Mother."

"Thank you, Arie. I love you." Arie nodded.

Fleur turned around suddenly, pretending as if she had heard nothing and set Lair's usual beverage down before her. "Viola. Enjoy."

"I'm sorry, Fleur, no time today."

"But I hate to waste it, here," Fleur poured it into a disposable travel cup and snapped on a lid. "Be careful, yes? It is hot."

"Thank you, and. . ." Lair and Le Marc shared a look. "Take care, while we're gone, won't you?"


"Gone? You are going somewhere?" Fleur's expression was all innocence.


"You heard me," Lair said knowingly, and Le Marc had to smile.

"Oui, oui. Be careful, Lair Kellyn."

"I will."

Suddenly the smile melted from Le Marc's face as she realized that if a rescue for Zanh was being mounted, likely someone else was going, too.

"Lair Kellyn, wait." She grabbed Kellyn's hand across the counter. "Monsieur Le Vedek, he is going too?"

"I can't imagine," Kellyn said softly, "That we could keep him from getting on that ship if we tried." Then Lair was gone. Arie had already left, and Fleur Le Marc knew exactly what she was going to do.


She untied her apron, draped it over the counter, and headed straight for her quarters.


*If I am going to get away with this, I am going to need an excuse to get near the Alchemy.* She thought.

She hurried through her quarters, throwing clothes randomly into a small duffel bag. Then she hurried into Jariel's office, which she found he usually left unlocked, and pulled his favorite Bajoran prayer book from the bookshelf.

When she saw that he had indeed left it behind, she knew that his mind was on one thing and one thing only, and that was rescuing the woman who had his heart- though she did not deserve it.


Fleur tucked it under her arm, and rushed into the lift, and commanded it to take her to the Alchemy's bay. As soon as the doors opened, she was met by two very large and irritable security officers.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but you do not have clearance to enter the bay."

"Oh, I am sorry, Monsieur Security man. I do not mean any disrespect. I need to speak with Vedek Jariel Camen, it is most important."

"I'm sorry, Miss, but the Vedek is not here."

"But he will be here, he is leaving on the Alchemy."

"Miss, you have to leave." A second guard approached, arm extended, as if ready to take Fleur by hers and physically remove her, as were his orders if anyone tried to get past the threshold of the bay.


Fleur was beginning to think that her attempt to get to the ship may be completely futile, but as she turned back to re-enter the lift, the doors opened again and Lair Arie stood before her, with her small arms drooping as she held a cage in one hand and a small plastic case in the other.

She had a heavy backpack over her shoulders, and the figure of a very old and well-loved stuffed giraffe was sticking out of it, head dangling sadly from a neck too weak to hold it up any longer, after all these years.


She was about to drop the cage, which appeared to contain a very agitated and loudly meowing cat, and Fleur immediately tried to help.

"Arie, Arie! You have too many things."

"But February told me I had to take Sparrow for her and I knew that someone had to take care of Bob, it is usually my job when the Captain has to go away. I do not want to let her down."

"Bob?" Fleur asked, puzzled. "Yes, her Bajoran Tree Lizard," Arie held up the small plastic case and Fleur grimaced, seeing the tiny little animal inside. "You will not let her down. I will hold on to Sparrow you take the little Bob and then come back. All right?"

"Thank you, Fleur." The security guards allowed Arie to pass, having already been told by Lair Kellyn, who had boarded, that she would be coming along this time on Alchemy with them.

The lift opened again and Dabin Reece and Vedek Jariel stepped out. "Don't worry, Jariel, if I know Liis right about now she's probably making them sorry that they ever decided on her as a potential victim," Dabin insisted, attempting to reassure the pale and nervous Vedek.

"Okay, now into the lift you go," the first security guard insisted, and this time he took Fleur by the arm and pushed her toward it to be sure she wouldn't waste any more time.

"Hey, there, hi there, ho there, what are you doing there pal?" Reece frowned. "Hands off. She's a friend of mine. Give us a second."

[[Yes,]] Jariel added, recognizing the book under Fleur's arm instantly. [[She's no security threat, and she'll be leaving in a moment.]]

"Just a moment then she has to go, it's orders." the man complained, his hand floating toward his phaser, which he was next prepared to use if this stubborn little blond didn't do as she was told.

[[I brought this for you,]] Fleur signed, feeling a lump in her throat that prevented her from speaking out loud at the sight of how lost he seemed. [[I know that you will need to find comfort in it, in the days ahead.]]

Jariel's eyes became glassy, as all the emotions he had tried so badly to control the past hour threatened to overtake him. [[Thank you, so much.]]

Fleur stood on her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek.

She handed the cat carrier to Reece.

"Monsieur, your félin."

"My wi. . ." Reece stopped short of giving away the still-secret title February held in his life in front of Jariel, who still didn't know about their wedding and stopped. "My, word, you're helpful. Thank you." He recovered, and he set the cat down on top of the anti-grav unit he was pulling behind him, which held a couple of suitcases and what appeared to be a guitar case.

[[Be careful, Vedek,]]

[[I will. Take care, Fleur.]]

Fleur reluctantly moved back into the turbolift. Trying to decide what to do next, she waited and just rode it to see where it would go.

The next floor it stopped at was deck 12, and Micah Samson pushed his own anti-grav dolly into the lift.

This one was much larger than the one that Reece had, and held all kinds of equipment. Samson nodded to her, and he asked where she was going.

"I was just going to the Alchemy bay, Lair Arie forgot something in the cafe and I do not think she will want to be without it."

"I'm going there, I'll give it to her."

"I had better to do it myself, Monsieur Samson," Fleur lowered her voice. "It's a girl thing."

"Ohhh," Micah said, blushing slightly. "Well, then I guess you're going my way." He commanded the lift back to the bay deck, and hurriedly reviewed a PADD containing the list of items that he was supposed to have with him.


Fleur, meanwhile, hurriedly and quietly slipped her duffel bag in between two of the containers on the dolly.

When the doors opened, Micah forgot all about Fleur and began showing the zealous security staff the proof that he had permission to bring the containers into the bay and yes, he was assigned to the Alchemy, and no he wasn't new around here he'd been here almost a freaking year already. . .

"All right, everything seems to be in order," The first security guard finally approved. "Do you want us to help you unload the trolley?"

"No, there's no need, we'll just push the whole thing into the cargo bay." Micah replied. Suddenly, he remembered that Fleur had been there, and looked around. "Huh. That's odd."

"Odd?" the second guard folded his arms suspiciously. "What's odd?"

"Oh, nothing." He realized Fleur must've just changed her mind and left, as the turbolift doors had closed and it was gone. "I've got to go, gentlemen, time's a wasting."

With that Micah Samson pushed the antigravity unit across the bay, up the gang-way and into the Alchemy's cargo hold.

-Three days later-

"Arie," Kellyn said, returning to their cramped quarters to catch a quick nap after another all-nighter trying to keep the Alchemy from overheating, overloading, or otherwise overextending itself. "Where did you get that?"

"This?" Arie held up a small sandwich, something that looked familiar to Lair.

"Yes, that. The replicators on this thing don't make that, believe me I asked them for one for lunch yesterday."

"Fleur made it."

Kellyn's eyes widened, and she sat up on the bunk she had just flopped down on. "What do you mean, Fleur made it?"

"In the little galley on deck four. She's making all kinds of sandwiches down there and putting them into the cooling unit."

Kellyn snarled something the girl couldn't understand under her breath, and tapped her badge. "Lair to Salvek."

[Salvek here.]

"Salvek, please meet me on deck four, section ten," Kellyn snarled. "We have a stowaway."


Fleur Le Marc
Civilian Stowaway
aboard the USS Alchemy