Shifting Sands (A Star Trek: The Next Generation Fan Fiction)

Chapter Three

The next day passed by in a relative uneventful manner. Riker was apparently off duty, for he slept in and then made plans with someone to go to the holodeck. He spent most of the morning eating breakfast and then showering. He left at a little after 1100.

As for me, I spent most of my day alternating between lounging on the couch and running around the quarters trying to get exercise. Cats' bodies aren't made to be sedentary for so long, and I was beginning to get cramps from all the sitting around that I'd done.

I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision to stay. I tried to several times, but every time I did I just ended up telling myself to shut up.

I had to admit that it was getting rather boring: sitting around doing nothing. I had done it for the past day and a half, and it wasn't as interesting as it sounds. If you're a cat, there isn't much that you can do in a Starfleet officer's quarters. I spent most of the time sleeping.

I was six years old, and was playing in my secret spot with Sebastian. I had just finished my first day of school. Sebastian was two years older than me and thus had been going to school for two years, so it made me feel like I was finally grown up to be able to say that I went to school, too.

"I already know how to read," I was saying, "so Mr. Davner said that I'm ahead of my class."

Sebastian talked about school a lot, and I'd always felt like a baby because I didn't go. That wouldn't happen anymore.

"You wait until you have Mrs. Charleston next year," Sebastian said. "She makes you read five pages every day."

"That won't be that hard," I said, which was a lie because inside I was nervous. Five pages?

"Aw, don't worry about it," Sebastian said. "You'll do fine. Hey, did you get any chalk?"

I smiled mischievously as I drew two sticks of yellow chalk out of my pocket. Sebastian's grin widened.

"Good job, Tasha!" he said, grabbing on of the sticks. "They don't let me use the chalk anymore without having a teacher watch me."

Sebastian was the best chalk stealer that I knew, but even he got caught sometimes. When he did, I had to come through. We spent a few happy hours coloring on the sidewalk at the park.

"Hey, Tasha, wake up," I heard, and suddenly felt someone scratching my head. Jerking awake, I saw Riker leaning over me where I lay on the couch. I relaxed.

Why did he have to do that? I asked myself. Didn't he know how unnerving, not to mention frightening, it was to have someone wake you up in that way? Apparently not.

"Have a seat," Riker said. "This is Tasha, my cat." Looking past him, I saw a variety of people seating themselves around the large, glass table. I recognized Data and Worf, but there was also a blond-haired woman, a dark haired woman who was not in uniform, and a black man with some sort of visor over his eyes. All were human.

Standing up, I watched as the dark-haired woman went into the bedroom and returned with the case of poker chips. On the way back, she looked over at me.

I froze as my eyes met hers. Her eyes were black, pure black. Even I knew that humans didn't have eyes like that. She was a betazoid. This must be Deanna Troi, the ship's counselor.

I quickly cleared my mind of thoughts, and then started the process of blocking my mind from hers. I knew how to do it, and once I was done then she wouldn't be able to read me at all. I wondered if she had read anything before I had noticed her, and mentally cursed myself for my inattention. That's what I got for letting my guard down.