Disclaimer
I do not own the universe that the Taelons, the Kimera, or Liam belong in, nor do I own Liam, Melissa Park, or the mentioned Ha'gel or Da'an. The characters belong to Roddenberry/Kirschner and Tribune, among others.

The characters of Marianne, Alex, Rosemary, Ra'das, and any other mentioned or appearing minor characters belong to me, though. Ask before using.

Notes
Although long-delayed, this story does fit into Marianne's sequence of stories. As those familiar with the timeline know, "Shifting Gears" is set between "Part of this World", where Mish is born, and "Mated Pairs", where Alex learns the truth about Marianne. I started writing it, got depressed, put it aside to work on other stuff, and am now only starting to get back to that period in Marianne's life.

I'm hoping that this story will cover all the references I made to events happening in this time frame. However, in the main, it seems to be dealing with the burgeoning relationship between Marianne and Alex, before things get serious.