Eyeing the Vulcan that stood in her doorway, Nightsea again felt a pang at the thought that this being might know of her fears regarding the intense lack of atmosphere just meters away, beyond the ship's skin. She supressed any outward signs of her thoughts, and coolly invited him to sit on the one chair that her room contained. She didn't wish to waste any more space on furniture than was strictly neccessary, given the fact that a good portion of her alloted space had been devoted to the water-filled tank.

Noticing that Nightsea would remain standing, the Vulcan shook his head in the almost universal sign of negation at her gesture to be seated. It was uncivilized to tower over a guest, and she should be made aware of this fact, if she was not already. "Shall we begin with the mind link, or do you require that I uphold my portion of our agreement beforehand?", he inquired.

"I trust you to deliver as promised today. We may share a seat on the floor. I prefer to be comfortable while exploring our telepathic differences", she replied to his words and body language, as she eased onto the carpeted floor. Today I'll learn what he knows of me, and the area behind that wall!

Still holding himself rigid, the Vulcan nonetheless managed to sit cross-legged without awkwardness. His posture was stiff, and typical of his desire for self control and emotionlessness. Logically, correct positioning would result in maximum efficiency in his body. "I wish to initiate the mind link, and then to understand the differences in our control", he conveyed verbally.

His thin, five-fingered hand reached for her temple, and she closed her eyes to reinforce her own mental focus as she felt his awareness float toward her own. She made a slim mental corridor for him to travel, and envisioned him walking through this hallway, without being able to open the many doors that were closed on eachside. He saw her image, and his own persona matched the image to harmonize the encounter. He wished to know what was behind the barred entryways, but knew that to even imagine the act of knocking would be unacceptable to his host.

The fact that she could construct such locked doors was impressive, and part of the discipline he wished to master through her tutelage. He envisioned his mentally projected self meeting a construct of Nightsea's self in the hallway, so that he could ask questions without prying into dangerous areas.

Approving of this tactic, she made the small inner image of her reappear in the Ten Forward environment, and placed both of them in seats, facing each other over a table top laden with food and drink. If I lull him thus, with comfortable and familiar surroundings, he may not even notice my intentions to remove part of his memory.

How did she move us so fluidly?, he had time to question, before hearing her voice speak in his mind, "You wish to be able to control the flow of thought between us, yet you are unwilling to use all your self to enforce the link.You keep a part of yourself always closed, and that part of you cannot help to rule the pattern. You close off your emotions, and thus leave other parts exposed, while protecting yourself from yourself. Your shield should cover what is vulnerable to the outside, keeping you whole and safe from an enemy, instead of partitioning your feelings away. You must unlearn what you know to use the patterns of thought to your advantage."

Her assessment was truthful, but she knew that the Vulcan would not take her advice. He wished to keep control of sections of his being that he considered base and undesirable, and would not question this narrow focus typical of his race. She thus risked nothing in her honesty.

While he was countering her views, she began, first under the guise of proving her theory, to invade his being on a deep level. She carefully avoided that which she knew would hold an emotion, and subtly attacked him through his naturally photographic memory.

He was totally unaware that she shifted through images he had stored unconsciously. She scanned for images of herself first, desiring to erase that crucial first mind-link image and memory. Finding that he had few images of her, she was surprised to see that in each image he associated with her, the human, Amanda, was also present. I had not realized that he linked us so closely. I must be careful that others on board also do not note our contact. The human woman is meant to be a tool for me to gain the secrets aboard, and not a liability to me! But while I am here, let me erase this perception on the good Doctor's part.

Delving into the memory engrams behind the last image of herself and the Ensign, Nightsea found a new image of the woman. This disturbing visual memory showed the human with contusions and bruises lying on the table in the infirmary. The Doctor's thoughts on the cause of these injuries were not hard to find. He assesed the damages as being caused by the lover, the Science Officer, Notah Ingotay. This male human was also thought by the Vulcan to ingest too much of a certain illegal substance, and the resulting loss of self-control contributed to the Ensign's recurring injured condition. At this point in the memory, his detachment wavered and a touch of sympathy, and a repulsion for the violence was felt by the Elf.

Recognizing the emotions that the Elf mirrored, the Vulcan was now suddenly aware that he did not hold her full attention in the mind-meld. His focus expanded, and threatened to find her intrusion. He had such a strong empathic sense, that her reaction to his previous emotions could lead him to her current "location" in his thoughts, something she feared might reveal her true intentions.

She jumped into the mentally simulated bar, and reinforced her own barriers once more. Worried, she realized that she had again failed to account for this strange ability of his to read emotions, even if he did not desire to feel them himself. Abruptly, she ended the contact entirely.

The fast push left the Vulcan confused and he gave the female a sincere and regretful look as he came back fully into his own shell.

Unable to pretend that the image she had uncovered did not bother her, she decided she would not hide her finding. "Why does the Captain allow such behavior from a senior officer on board this vessel? If you are aware of Ingotay's actions, surely she must be!"

The Vulcan was not shocked by her statement, and began to explain that the fact was widely known on board, and no-one wished to interfere in what was a private matter. He stated that he concluded from recent excesses that it was only a matter of time before some action was necessary for the smooth operation of the ship in general, but that he was not intending to involve himself in any such action.

"Well, perhaps it is time that someone else take a more active stance." she said, squinting her eyes speculatively.

"I believe that we should resume this exchange at a later time. I wish to consider your assessment of my limits, and understand your own demonstration. Will you accept a datapad with the code now, or am I free to accompany you into the force-shielded compartment adjoining this room? The latter option is preferred by me, as it will leave no physical evidence of our tampering."

"What? Oh, yes, by all means, I suppose you can come along. We might as well be arrested together," she smiled still distracted by the image of Ensign Laverton in her mind, battered and small, vainly trying not to sob in front of the Vulcan as he tended her wounds.

Waiting for the foot traffic to round the corner of the hallway, the pair turned from her doorway, to the smaller entryway next door. The unassuming panel was unmarked by any identifier, or other hints to its purpose.

Stepping up to the keypad set into the wall, the Vulcan punched in a sequence of numbers, allowing Nightsea to observe over his shoulder. She noted the numbers well for future use.

The interior of the narrow chamber was dark. Glancing again at each other, and reaching to their respective caches of weapons, they gave a hurried look down the empty hallway, and then peered back into the gloom within the no-longer restricted room.

Seashells, here I come, she mocked herself mentally, remembering her earlier guess as to the contents of this secret place.

First through, she had just a moment to adjust her vision before seeing the green arm reach for her.