"Yes Captain." Chiron turned and exited the Captain's ready room.

Chiron wasn't happy, but it could be worse. At least it seemed that the Captain believed him, he didn't call for an immediate Court-Martial, just a temporary relief of duty. His thoughts wandered ahead to his next meeting with Admiral Blair. He hoped the Admiral would be as understanding. He had not heard from the entity for quite a few hours, now, and he felt relieved. That... thing... had caused more internal problems here on the Galaxy than Chiron would have liked. He hoped that with Shivok and Rousseau's help, they could... 'excorsise the demon'.

The Schizoid Man
=/\= Lt. JG Tal Breno, Assistant Cheif Science, USS Horizon, IRC, E-Mail =/\=
=/\= Lt. JG Chiron, Assistant Cheif Engineer, USS Galaxy, E-Mail =/\=
=/\= Lt. Cmdr. Varin Reix, Cheif Science, Station Beta 2, E-Mail =/\=

***Bridge***

Things had finally cooled down...the Romulans were headed back to Romulus and the Galaxy was out of danger of a Romulan attack. At present, a bulk of the ship's personnel had transported over to Outpost Station 53 to assist in repairs of the station and aide station personnel who were injured in the Romulan attack.

Lt. T'Lein entered the last commands into his console to verify that all shipboard systems and operations were in specified parameters and efficient operating capacity. After he had finished, he decided to beam over to the station to assist in the sensors repairs and coordinate efforts with engineering staff to reinitiate power to all major station systems. This would be the first time the Lt. was off the Galaxy ever since he was welcomed aboard by the captain. He was pleased to get a chance to leave the ship for a while.

***Transporter Room 2***

Before transporting to the station, Lt. T'Lein decided to ask Lt.jg Casey if he wanted to join him. He raised his right hand to his comm badge:

"Lt. T'Lein to Lt.jg Casey."

[Lt.jg Casey here, sir.]

"Lt.jg would you like to join me on a trip over to the station? I've decided to assist in station repairs and I require your assistance."

[Yes, sir. When do you plan on beaming over?]

"Right away, Lt.jg. Meet me in transporter room 2."

[Aye, sir. On my way.]

Lt. T'Lein stood (patiently) on one of the transporter pads as he waited for Lt.jg Casey to walk through the doors.

Lt. Stovok T'Lein
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galaxy NCC-70637

"What?" A man appeared. He was Bajoran complete with a high ranking earring. His eyes showed no color.

"Come with me." He slipped his hand into her's. She glanced behind her and was startled to see herself still on the biobed.

"Am I dead?" The man let out a chuckle.

"Heavens no, child! I want to show you your past. The past you have forgotten. How many siblings did you have?"

"Three brothers and a sister. Why? Don't you know?" Ti didn't know why this man had came to her.

"You're wrong there my dear. You are the youngest of six. The oldest son of your parents was named Amain. He was with friends when your family was taken by the Cardassians. He lives. He joined Hamenit Underground. He fought the Cardassians believing that his family was dead. The was true, with the exception of you, by the end of the occupation and your release from Hutet. Did you know that you were one of the lucky ones, that many of the prisoners were not released until Ben Sisko lead a raid to free the rest a year later?"

They stood in a beautiful home. Five children of various ages and heights were gathered around a beautiful woman and a man radiating pride. They were showing off the newest member of the family. She reconized as them as her parents. How young they looked! Hutet must have been extremely hard on them. Miran took the baby to be herself. The tallest of the children must be Amain, she thought to herself. He looked to be a miniature version of their father.

"We have more to see." They now stood on a porch. It was early evening. Her mother was giving a lesson about the prophets to the children gathered at her feet. Next to her sat their father holding a baby Miran. Amain was not among her siblings taking in the lesson. Suddenly, a Cardassian patrol transported in. The Cardassians trained their weapons on the family. They placed the entire family under arrest. The family was then transported to Cardassia IV to Hutet.

"Please. I don't want to see anymore of this. Let me return to the Galaxy." Ti was beginning to lose what composure she had. She did not want to relive the painful memories again.

"There is still more to see. Okay we'll go back to the Galaxy." Ti looked about. The viewscreen showed three Romulan Warbirds. She was on the bridge. Ensign Kolrami was at the helm.

"This is what would have happened if your doctors performed the abortion the Romulan woman wanted." N'Prng stood next to Admiral Blair and Captain Price. The ship was rocked by disruptor fire. The ship went immediately to battle stations. Blast after blast hit the Galaxy as Ensign Kolrami tried in vain to out manuver the Romulans.

"Captain, we have a warp core breach. Core ejection system isn't responding."

"All hands, abandon ship. Repeat, all hands....." The Galaxy blew in a dazzling display of color. The two Bajorans stood in a field of grey.

"Without the child, there was nothing stopping the Romulans. They destroyed the outpost and went to war with the Federation. They created their superweapon. With the Federation already fighting the Klingons, they were soon conqured. The Romulans soon eradicated the Klingons, leaving themselves as supreme rulers of the quadrant. A few Federation members escaped to the Gamma quadrant."

"Why show me this? I had nothing to do with the Romulans." Ti was upset, angry, and confused.

"I want to keep you here with me forever. Do you want to see the timeline were you married Robert Stephin and serve abroad Voyager? You had four children." Around Ti flashed scenes from lifes that she had not experianced. He smiled, "I know the perfect scene." They now stood on a bridge of an unidentifible ship. She stood next to a man that was obviously the Captain. In this timeline she was first officer on a Bajoran Military ship. Their target- the USS Galaxy. They were attacking the very ship that she served abroad and found a part of herself that she had thought lost.

"The Bajorans got aggressive after repulsing a Cardassian invasion that threatned the homeworld. They began attacking everybody not Bajoran."

"Take me back NOW."

"No, Cherie. You belong to me. You are trapped in my world."

"NOOOOOO......."

When the tests were done, Ronni told K'arta that she would like to go back to her quarters and change before going horseback riding on the holodecks.

As she entered the turbolift, she met Lt. Casey.

"Hello Lieutenant, where are you going?" she said.

"I'm on my way to transporter room two. Lt. T'Lein is gathering a crew to go over to Outpost 53 for repairs" he said.

"If you will give me 10 minutes, I'll join you. I want to get some of my design plans for shield modifications. Since I helped design the shields on this ship, maybe the Outpost could use the same modifications." she said.

"O.k., 10 minutes, be there or we'll leave without you!" he laughed.

Ronni left the turbolift at her stop and ran to her quarters. She told K'arta that their plans would have to be delayed due to work on the Outpost. She changed her uniform, brushed her hair, downloaded some information to her PADD and ran off to meet Lt. T'Lein and Lt. Casey at Transporter Room Two.

[Lt. Morris to Ensign K'arta]

"K'arta here" she responded with a smile, remembering the dinner they'd had.

"K'arta, when you're done with your shift, please come by the auxiliary weapons control station. I'm doing some work here and could use the company!" Ronni said.

"Fine. See you then! K'arta out."

She wondered what kind of work Ronni was doing. Quickly she left her post and headed for the weapons control station. When she arrived she saw Chiron being escorted away. Curious as to what had happened she approached Ronni.

"What's going on?" K'arta asked, concerned.

"I don't really know. He snuck up on me, then some people came and took him away." Ronni answered.

"I hope he'll be all right. So, what did you want to see me for?" K'arta changed the subject.

"I was hoping you could keep me company while I work on the weapons system. And maybe give me your opinion." Ronni explained.

"I'd be glad to.. As long as we aren't just doing work." She answered grinning evilly.

"Of course not! What kind of being do you take me for?" Ronni responded, sounding offended. Then she smiled.

"Ah, good. Then maybe later, if you're up to it that is, we can go for a ride on the holodeck. What do you think?" K'arta proposed.

"I think it's a deal. But, only if you will come swimming with me sometime." Ronni countered.

"I suppose we can work something out. Now, tell me what you're working on." K'arta asked.

Erin
AKA
Ensign K'arta-Security Officer-USS Galaxy
Ensign Sonayan Kel-Security Officer-USS Crusader
Lt.Commander Shea Lorran-Head of Security/Tactical-USS Freedom

For the next hour, Hutchcraft was busy filling in reports about the incident. 'Why am I writing this?' Hutchcraft thought to himself 'I don't want to be doing this. I want to be saving the ship from Romulans'

The report was an uninteresting rambling gathered from what Lieutenant Hutchcraft was told about the incident. Even the Ensigns knew more about what was going on than him.

Finally, Gamma Shift came to an end. The Lieutenant shoke himself out of a boredom-induced trance, before getting up out of his chair. Outside of his office he could see Ensign Paran quietly waiting. 'Of course' he recalled 'I have some training to do with the new kid'

------------

"So, Lieutenant, what your saying is that you'd rather be an ordinary Security Officer than an Assistant Chief" queried the Ensign. The two had been talking about such things on their journey to the holodecks. It wasn't quite Hutchcraft's usual subject of conversation (Which was 50% bad humour, 50% strangeness)

"That's right Paran. Actually, I'd rather be a Security Officer or plan and simply the Chief" he continued "Assistant Chief is like the worst of both worlds. No action, no recognition for your work"

Paran looked up at Hutchcraft "Then why did you take the job?"

Hutchcraft thought for a while. That was a valid point. He hadn't really considered his career much. After all, joining the Federation was simply a way of letting Hutchcraft explore the galaxy.

"Guess I didn't realize what I was getting into..." he mumbled quietly.

------------

Ensign Paran and Lieutenant Hutchcraft arrived at Holodeck 4, noticing that the Holodeck was no longer closed.

"Did you say you weren't good at Melee, Ensign?" the Lieutenant asked. The Ensign simply shoke his head. Hutchcraft beared a sinister grin. Paran looked slightly scared. He barely knew the human beside him, who knows what he was planning.

"Lets see how repaired these holodecks are .... Computer, play Lieutenant Hutchcraft Fitness Simulation Gamma" Hutchcraft ordered the Computer with his grin still intact. He prepared himself for the look on Ensign Paran's face, as the holodeck doors opened.

Ensign Paran saw an image from his worst possible nightmares. Destroyed buildings, dead bodies and fires littered the landscape.

"Lieutenant .... this is evil ..." he began.

Hutchcraft looked at the Bajoran. "Thank you Ensign, I designed it after some 20th to 21st Century ideas about the future. Quite scary I think. Certainly a suitable place for a fight, don't you reckon"

The shy Bajoran simply nodded.

"Computer, go to Area 7" Hutchcraft continued his tour of the apocalyptic scenerio. The background changed from destroyed buildings to a flat field, with a small amount of light emitting from a camp fire. Several drunks sat around the fire, and a starving dog slept near a hand-built tent. Ensign Paran spoke ...

"So what kind of training is this?" he asked.

Hutchcraft smiled. He couldn't believe the bajoran didn't know much in the way of hand-to-hand combat. He decided that while he wasn't the master, he could teach the new Ensign something.

"Judo, Ensign" Hutchcraft smiled. The scenery was anything but a place to learn a form of self-defence, but in reality a hand-to-hand combat fight wouldn't be held in an oriental practice room.

Within minutes, Hutchcraft began teaching the Ensign the art ....

Dead Clare,
aka Ensign Leslie, Special Borg Security Agent, Outpost 77
aka Lt.Jg Andrew Hutchcraft, Assist. Security, USS Galaxy

"I hope she's allright I'll stop by and check on her after I get off." she says to herself.

Putting on her uniform Morgan prepares to go on Alpha shift. Tapping her com badge she says... "Ensign Kalriesen to Ensign Helms."

"Helms here."

"Mr. Helms, I've just been contacted by Lt. Ti, she says that she's not feeling well and I'm to take alpha shift today and you are to relieve me for beta shift."

"Understood, Morgan."

"Oh, by the way Sherman, is the party going to be rescheduled? I'm looking forward to seeing this program of yours."

"I'll let you know about that. Helms out."

Morgan left her quarters and headed towards the bridge.

Corine Mindigo
aka Morgan Kalriesen USS Galaxy
Jordan T'Lain Siencia Colony
Denna Templar Outpost 77
Corine Mindigo Diablo 1

Ensign Kolrami sat still and tense as she watched the exchange between the Romulan woman and her husband on the screen. So much hung in the ballance because of these two people and their own private issues. Ensign Kolrami did not know the details of the woman's attempted defection, but in order to bring the Romulans to the brink of war with the Federation, it must have been a matter of some consequence. She released suddenly that her speculation served no purpose, and instead concentrated once more of the tactics of the situation, entering escape courses, attack trajectories and angles of approach.

Then, as sudden as that, it was over.

The Romulan woman was giving up upon her defection, and was immediately taken from the bridge. The Warbird stood down her targeting systems. Communications to the station were resumed.

Working at the flight controls, Kolrami smiled. "Any battle from weakness avoided is a victory." she remembered from her Homeworld's schooling. Just now she felt that this was an understatement. Her first alert on the bridge of the Galaxy felt akin to a turning point. Though the ship had not been taken into battle, every evetuality had been prepared for, and every step possible had been taken.

For a moment, Emilia Kolrami was struck by the strange dignity of the Romulan traitor, and she shivered at the strength she had exhibited in her acceptance of the aparent neccessity of her return. Again, without the facts she could only wonder at the causes of this unusual confrontation, but still, she felt disquiet at what fate the woman and her undesired child would face in their future. In spite of the male Romulan's reassurances. Emilia felt a chill come over her. Romulans did not consider lieing wrong in achieving their goals.

She noted the sensors and the communications update screens on the console in front of her, and turned to speak over her shoulder, "The shuttle craft has cleared the hangar bay Captain."

"Understood Ensign. Let's keep a close eye on the ships until they are safely back in Romulan space." Price replied. The Captain exhaled in a sigh of relief. Kolrami smiled to herself again, nodding at her previous judgement of the captain. A man who is happy at a battle avoided, yet not backward in taking nessisary steps. He is proving to be a man worthy of repect.

Several away teams were organized and sent to the Station to aid in the repairs, and aid the wounded. Ensign Kolrami monitored the sensors, checking on the headings of the retreating Warbirds and the status of the station. The latter was an area for joy, the station showing clear hits in several nonessential areas. She had been right in her earlier assessment. The Romulans had merely wanted the Galaxy and her passenger, and were just getting their attention. Fortunately, the Romulans never used excessive force, and the hits showed the usual Romulan precision. The Away teams would have a lot of work to do, but Emilia doubted there would be any fatalities.

After such a beggining to a shift, the hours seemed to pass a great deal slower. But, several hours later, when she was releived by Ensign Kalriesen, Ensign Kolrami was almost too excited to notice that Ti was not replacing her. Briefly she asked what had happened, and was told that her superior had reported in sick. Satisfied with that, Ensign Kolrami went straight to her quaters and had a quick shower.

Smiling, she got dressed in a traditional creme brown top and pants, and went in search of ten forward. A celebration of some kind was definately in order, and it was about time she met some of the others of the crew. She breifly remembered Ensign Helms message of a party, and wondered if it was still going to happen.

If she had something to say about it, it was.

Then, as sudden as that, it was over.

The Romulan woman was giving up upon her defection, and was immediately taken from the bridge. The Warbird stood down her targeting systems. Communications to the station were resumed.

Working at the flight controls, Kolrami smiled. "Any battle from weakness avoided is a victory." she remembered from her Homeworld's schooling. Just now she felt that this was an understatement. Her first alert on the bridge of the Galaxy felt akin to a turning point. Though the ship had not been taken into battle, every eventuality had been prepared for, and every step possible had been taken.

For a moment, Emilia Kolrami was struck by the strange dignity of the Romulan traitor, and she shivered at the strength she had exhibited in her acceptance of the apparent necessity of her return. Again, without the facts she could only wonder at the causes of this unusual confrontation, but still, she felt disquiet at what fate the woman and her undesired child would face in their future. In spite of the male Romulan's reassurances. Emilia felt a chill come over her. Romulans did not consider lieing wrong in achieving their goals.

She noted the sensors and the communications update screens on the console in front of her, and turned to speak over her shoulder, "The shuttle craft has cleared the hangar bay Captain."

"Understood Ensign. Let's keep a close eye on the ships until they are safely back in Romulan space." Price replied. The Captain exhaled in a sigh of relief. Kolrami smiled to herself again, nodding at her previous judgement of the captain. A man who is happy at a battle avoided, yet not backward in taking necessary steps. He is proving to be a man worthy of respect.

Several away teams were organized and sent to the Station to aid in the repairs, and aid the wounded. Ensign Kolrami monitored the sensors, checking on the headings of the retreating Warbirds and the status of the station. The latter was an area for joy, the station showing clear hits in several nonessential areas. She had been right in her earlier assessment. The Romulans had merely wanted the Galaxy and her passenger, and were just getting their attention. Fortunately, the Romulans never used excessive force, and the hits showed the usual Romulan precision. The Away teams would have a lot of work to do, but Emilia doubted there would be any fatalities.

After such a begining to a shift, the hours seemed to pass a great deal slower. But, several hours later, when she was relieved by Ensign Kalriesen, Ensign Kolrami was almost too excited to notice that Ti was not replacing her. Briefly she asked what had happened, and was told that her superior had reported in sick. Satisfied with that, Ensign Kolrami went straight to her quartets and had a quick shower.

Smiling, she got dressed in a traditional creme brown top and pants, and went in search of ten forward. A celebration of some kind was definitely in order, and it was about time she met some of the others of the crew. She briefly remembered Ensign Helms message of a party, and wondered if it was still going to happen.

If she had something to say about it, it was.

Jamson felt better hearing Admiral's Blair announcement through the comm system. "At last..." He thought to himself. A mutiny was "out of the question", that's what Captain Price said, but as a First Officer Jamson felt he should have done something to defend the Outpost while the Captian was gone, he couldn't sit around doing nothing only because the Admiral was blind.

["Price to Bridge. Status Report."] The Captain's voice beeped.

"Jamson Here Captain. We are heading back to Outpost 53 Sir. The Outpost station is under attack by 3 Romulan Warbirds. So far Commander Harrison reports they are holding up, but they don't know how much longer their shields will last."

The Captain asked for the current speed and Jamson shouted the question to the Helm and responded "Warp 8 Sir. And still full 10 minutes away from the Outpost." Jamson felt that the Captain wasn't going to like it.

"Stand by Commander." Price said and there was silence.

A few moments later the Captain entered the Bridge, you could feel the stress going away as everyone looked at the Captain. "Captain" Jamson said with a smile and nodded while standing up.

"Commander, take the ship to maximum warp. Lt.Kane says he'll personally keep the warp drives together." The Captain ordered.

"Yes Sir Captain." Jamson said and smiled "I thought that I'll never hear the voice again" Jamson said in his mind as he turned to the Helm "You heard the Captain's order. Maximum Warp Ensign Kolarmi."

Kolarmi set the controls and reported.

Meanwhile the Captain took his seat and asked for a report from Coe. The Galaxy was 3 minutes and 25 seconds away from the Outpost with Phasers fully charged and all the turpedo tubes loaded, and the shields were at 100%! "It's going to be an exciting battle! to the death!" Jamson could feel his blood rushing and his heart jumping.

Suddenly the Admiral and the Romulan female entered the Bridge accompanied by 4 security officers. It was a good sight looking at the Admiral and the Female Romulan under heavy guard.

The Captain gave the Admiral a look and said "Sound red alert Commander. Let's look sharp 'mates. Outpost 53 is counting on us."

"Red Alert!" Commander Jamson said loudly as the crew was prepairing to the upcoming battle.

****2 minutes later****

The crew was restless, the last 2 minutes were hell and just then Coe reported on the Romulan warbird cloaking.

N'Prang said something but Jamson didn't care, he just watched the view screen and went to the Tactical position near Coe.

The Galaxy raised shields and went out of warp.

The Captain hailed the Romulans telling them to return thir ships to the Romulan side.

Of course there was no response and then out of nowhere in the middle of the screen, exactly infront of the Galaxy...a Romulan warbird appeared.

The warbird wasn't armed, they only hailed the Galaxy and on the screen appeared a Romulan male. he looked rather...Romulan, more honorable then the others who stood near him, he had to be something importent.

N'Prang fell to her knees when she saw him, Jamson couldn't understand how can a Romulan cry like that...after all it seems like she does have feelings...but Jamson didn't feel any sympathy or remorse toward her. "No regret or remorse..." he thought.

The Romulans argued with each other for a few moments, as soon as the Romulan Male said "I know you too well" Jamson understood the he was her husband, how typical to a Romulan to lie and say that he will not hurt her. It was obvious she was already dead, in both ways : or that the Galaxy will be destroyed by the 3 warbirds or that she will return to her Home and be punished by death. So suitable for the Romulans...death with no Honor.

Jamson was suprised and so did everyone else to see the N'Prang agreed to come back home with her husband, she knew she was about to die...but she didn't care...why? was that because she had Honor?.

Coe broke the silence "Captain, I am receiving a hail from the B'Yton."

"On screen 'mate." Price said looking at the screen while Admiral Blair escorted N'Prang to the turbolift.

Commander G'Hal appeared on the screen. He said he was expecting a battle with the Galaxy. "I wish he would have asked for a hand to hand combat." Jamson whispered.

The Captain and the Romulan Commander exchanged goodbyes and Price turned his look to Jamson who took his seat near the Captain "Commander, let's stay on alert until the Romulan woman is back in Romulan space and the Warbirds have left."

"Agreed Captain. You don't think they'll try anything once she's on board their ship sir? after all they are Romulans..." Jamson was concerned.

Captain priced answered after a long moment "I don't think so Commander. The Romulans talk a good fight, but when it comes down to it, the thought of War frightens them as much as it does us. I don't think they are going to start one right this minute if they can avoid it." another small moment and he continued "But be ready just in case."

Jamson grined as he sits back down in his chair "I see Sir."

Noam Brosh aka
Commander Michael Jamson
FO/XO
USS Galaxy
aka - Captain Mike Johnson,Commanding Officer USS Crusader . USS Crusader Web Site http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/7489/

But best of all, to Shtik, was the move to senior officers quarters. He set his belongings down and took a moment to look out the tall vertical windows that let a view of space into his domain. From here he saw the damaged space station with the stars of romulan space shining behind it. Several of the crew were assisting in repairs at this moment, but the transition of rank, position and quarters had occupied most of Lt. Shtiks time.

But that did remind him of one important duty.

"Computer," he stated, "Notify Lieutenants Mitchell and Morris of a brief department meeting at the end of Beta shift."

Troy glanced around the lounge, and found his grandfather sitting at a table by a window.

"Mind if I join you?" Troy asked.

William motioned for him to sit down. A waiter came over to Troy to ask if he wanted anything, he ordered his usual, Vulcan Tea. The waiter left then returned with the cup.

"Troy, I wanted to apologize to you. I put you in a difficult spot when I relieved Captain Price, and ordered the abortion. I don't know what came over me, normally I wouldn't do a thing like that. I...." William was interrupted by Troy.

"You did what you thought you had to do. Your orders were to make it work at all cost, it wasn't an easy decision" Troy said.

"That's the thing, I've been in Starfleet for 42 years and I've never had a mission as difficult as this one. If you hadn't come in sickbay and stop me, I would have made a decision I would regret for the rest of my life."

"Hey, as you once said 'there's no such thing as an easy mission'. It could have been worse, but luckily it turned out well."

"Not for N'Prng. She's going to be killed after her child is born. She knew it and went anyways. Romulans...we'll never understand them." William said while looking at the stars in Romulan space.

"She had her reasons." Troy said.

"Hmm" William replied as he shook his head.

"Have you talked to Starfleet command?" Troy was trying to change the subject.

"Yes, I sent a report about an hour ago."

"What did they say?"

"They're not happy about the defection not working. However, since I still got the information no disciplinary actions will be taken. They consider this mission successful." William replied.

"Well, in a way it was. Now that we have information on their weapon, we can save many lives." Troy said.

William looked around the packed Ten Forward "... You're right, in a way this mission was successful. And there's a lesson here for you, one that I just learned. Just because you're a higher rank doesn't always mean you're right. Listen to everyone, they just may prove you wrong, and keep a mistake from turning into a disaster."

Troy smiled, that was the grandfather he remembered and admired.

Lieutenant JG Troy Blair
Tactical Officer, USS Galaxy

***Outpost Station 53***

After a successful transport onto the station, Lt. T'Lein instructed Lt.jg Casey to began running a few diagnostics on station sensor arrays damaged in the Romulan attack and implement the necessary action, in a logical manner, to make sure the affected systems are up and running within specified parameters before the Galaxy departed the station in less than 38 hours. Lt.jg Casey went right to work and Lt.jg Morris, who had accompanied the two operations officer over to the station, headed down to engineering to run some shield modification programs she had previously installed onto the Galaxy. Lt. T'Lein felt that Lt.jg Morris was a dedicated science officer and he deducted that she would have a long and rewarding career as a Starfleet Officer.

Lt. T'Lein walked over to the operations area on the station's bridge and began running diagnostics on all vital station systems. The station wasn't very badly damaged during the attack by the Romulans, so there was little damage to vital systems. However, after Lt. T'Lein finished running numerous diags, he ran across a minor fluctuation in the station's main computer core. He, logically, performed as many functions as he could using the controls from operations, but finally realized he couldn't entirely correct the fluctuations. The Lt. decided that the next logical course of action would be to inform the engineering repair crew of the problem, if they hadn't already known about it, and to continue to assist in the repair.

After contacting Lt.jg Kane, down in station engineering, Lt. T'Lein informed the him of the problem and began telling him of the course of action he had previously implemented from the operations console. After a joint effort using a link between engineering and operations consoles, the minor fluctuations was easily corrected. Thank yous were exchanged and each team went back to performing more diagnostics and implementing a limited number of systems repairs.

Lt. Stovok T'Lein
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galaxy NCC-70637

"Hmmmm, I don't think I'm very good at this." he states after his 4th mistake of the session so far. The training continues until Chanor is completely exhausted.

"I also don't seem to have your stamina either sir!" he exclaims, panting for breath.

"Maybe not then" says Lt. Hutchcraft. "Computer, exit. End simulation." The post-apocalyptic setting disappears to be replaced by the familiar holodeck walls.

"Thank you sir. Perhaps you'd care to try a missile combat session one day?" I'll begin designing one if you'd like?"

"Yes, I believe that I could certainly take you up on that." states the Lieutenant.

"Excellent sir. Thank you."

Chanor and Andrew leave the holodeck and head back to their respective quarters. Chanor arrives on his quarters on deck 3 and throws himself down on the bed.

~Agh, that was extremely difficult. Why did I volunteer for that punishment?~

Chanor continues to test for bruises on his body and thinks how good Lt. Hutchcraft is.

Ensign Paran

The crew however was relaxed and content after the completion of their last mission. There were still some lingering debates going on regarding the subject of abortion. Questions like "Should cultures and beliefs that accepted abortions be allowed to do so?" and "Didn't the prime directive give them the right to that choice?" could still be heard where ever crew members gathered. Shtik enjoyed listening to the debates but it was time to move onto other business now.

When he arrived at his tiny office just off Science Lab One, he found Lts jg Mitchell and Morris already waiting for him.

"Good evening and thank you for stopping by." Shtik said waving for them to remain seated as he settled into his own chair. It was strange suddenly outranking those who had been peers only hours ago. It had been a busy day. "I don't know if you have officially heard yet, but Lt. T'Nevin has transferred to outpost 53 leaving me with the position of Chief Science Officer. I simply wanted us to meet to verify schedules and responsabilites."

"Obviously I will take over Alpha shift. Lt. Mitchell, I would like you to take Beta Shift." Shtik paused for a moment. James Mitchell was half Bajoran, was it proper to refer to him as Lt. Mitchell or was it suppose to be Lt. James? This was his staff now and he couldn't afford a faux pas this soon. Deciding he had always heard the former he continued.

"Lt. Morris will take over Gamma Shift. In addition to being science officer of the watch, Rr'lonii, I would like you to use your technical background to take charge of all maintenance, programming and repair of all science equipment; computer core, sensors, lab equipment, ect. You will also be responsible for the examination and evaluation of any alien technologies we may encounter. Working with the engineering deptartment will probably be required on this so you may need to become aqainted with some of their personel as well. I will be assigning Ensigns Storm, Syrain and Petty Officer Stuart to assist you."

"Mr. Mitchell, I would like to put you in charge of all planetary sciences. Botany, meteorology, xenobiology, geology, ect. You will be responsible for analysing and catalogueing any data gathered during planetary surveys. I will be recommending you for any landing parties that require this. I am assigning Ensigns Zane, Wolf and Specialist Burns to your team."

"As for myself, I will be focusing on the space sciences; Astronomy, Astrophysics and Stellar Chartography. I will be responsible for the study of any stellar activity and spacial anomalies. I will be haveing Ensigns Waugh, Brant and Specialist Langman assisting me."

"When the ship goes on alert. I will be taking the bridge station. Rr'lonii, I would like you to be standing by for repairs or emergancy realignments or reprogrammings which may come up. James, I want you at the Science station of the battle bridge backing me up and standing by to take over should the main bridge be neutralized." Mitchell and Morris looked at each other as Shtik so casually mentioned his own demise.

"In the event of saucer seperation, Mr. Mitchell and I will change places. James, I'd like you to assist the saucer section to safety while Lt. Morris and I stay with the fight."

"I have looked over your records and this seems to be the most logical division of responsabilites. I look forward to supervising such a talented and dedicated division. Are there any further suggestions, questions or observations?"

Ronni was a little scared and very excited. She was used to science facilities and labs but not much field experience. But here she was on here first real away mission. She introduced herself to the Chief Engineer and explained who she was and what she wanted to do. He expressed his thanks and sent her over to one of the only undamaged LCARs.

As she sat down, she pulled up the schematics of the Outpost and ran a comparison with the damaged sections. Engineering and the shield generators had been hit the hardest, as usual, and there was chaos everywhere. As she worked, plasma bursts still occurred randomly and she could smell burning plasteel.

When she found out which areas had been hit the hardest, she pulled up a list of needed materials and available materials. The needed list was much larger than the available list. Ronni commed over to the USS Galaxy and asked for the un-available materials to be beamed over to the Outpost.

The shields were fortunately on-line again, but they could only be raised to 22%. There seemed to be an intermittent power flow problem. She tried to divert power through another relay, the alternate relays had all be damaged. She went over to where the shield generator was but it was blocked by a fallen beam and some panels.

Checking for stability, she lifted the beam and moved it over to the side. When the beam was moved and the panels fell, she found the source of the power flow problem. There laid the body of a burned Engineer. He was an Ensign and had blue eyes. His body was causing the power to arc over him. Ronni turned and gagged. The acid smell of burnt flesh burned her nose.

Ronni contacted the sickbay and they came down and identified and removed the body of Ensign Jackson. She then went into the shield generator and replaced the damaged components with the upgraded parts. The whole procedure took about two hours.

Then going back over to the LCAR station, she added in the software side of the modifications. With the assistance of some of the local Engineers, they replaced the damaged power relays and shield emitters with the upgraded parts beamed over from the Galaxy.

After verifying that the Outpost's power was running up to specs, Ronni turned on the new self modulating shield array. Not quite as powerful as the Galaxy's shields, but the USS Galaxy was working with more efficient power and state of the art equipment. The new shields were now running at 150% over the previous shields with only 80% of the power consumption.

When she was getting ready to leave, she gave the Chief Engineer some recommendations on additional shielding designs to be added whenever possible, and some alternatives for power use. He thanked her and invited her to dinner if she came by this way again. Ronni smiled and thanked him and then beamed back to the USS Galaxy, tired and thirsty, but satisfied.

Captain Price and Commander Jamson sat in the ready room discussing the current events. "So we are going to leave soon, Sir?" Jamson asked.

"Well Commander, in a day or two. We still need to complete the repairs aboard the Outpost. But we will be relieved by the USS Agamemnon." While the Captain finished his sentance his Communication console beeped.

"Price Here" The Captain said while he pressed the console's button.

"Captain. Good to see you again." It was the voice of Commander Harrison. Harrison was very calm, you could tell by hearing his voice.

"Commander Harrison." The Captain nodded and added "What can I do for you?"

"Well Captain, we still need more engineers and science officers to complete the repairs." Harrison requested.

Price smiled as he answered "Of course Commander. Take everything you need. By the way, when will the Agamemnon will arrive to relieve us?"

"Well...the last time I spoke with Captain Kintu was 5 hours ago. I believe she said that they will arrive tomorrow at 12:00 hours, at noon." Harrison repiled.

"Understood. Price out." Price pressed the console and looked at Jamson with a smile. "This answers your question?"

"Yes Sir." Jamson replied "I was thinking maybe..." Jamson wqas interrupted by Admiral Blair that entered the room.

"Oh oh....." Jamson thought and looked at Price. The Captain was also suprised to see the Admiral. Both the Admiral and the Captain were standing looking at each other without saying a word. After what happened they weren't exactly 'friends'.

Jamson looked at Blair and then at Price, and again from Price to Blair. He expected some sort of response from one of them but nothing.

"Well..heee....Sir." Jamson stood and looked at the Admiral.

"Mr.Jamson" the Admiral said.

Jamson turned back to Price and said "I'll be in the...." Jamson thought what to say, it was suppose to be like 'I'll leave you two alone' and when he found the first word that was suitable for this kind of discussion and continued "Outpost! yes, I'll be in the Outpost Captain, if you need me Sir." Jamson said and hurried to the door.

Price spoke just when Jamson passed near Admiral Blair "Commander, take a few engineers and science officers to the Outpost."

"Aye Sir." Jamson answered and took a last look at both Price and Blair before leaving the room.

**** Transporter room 1 ****

Arriving to the transporter room Jamson could ee another 5 enngineers and science officer waiting for him.

As entered one of them stood up and said "Commander" and all the others followed him. "At ease...Lieutenant." Jamson looked at the rank of the officer.

"Report everyone." Jamson ordered the small group.

"Lt.Merrow standing by."

"Ensign Green ready."

"Ensign Crow ready to go Sir."

"Lt.jg Bon. I'm ready."

"Lt.jg T'Ran standing by."

"Lt.Merrow? you're incharge of this team?" Jamson knew the answer but still he wanted to see how Merrow will reply.

"Yes Sir, I am." Merrow replied with a small smile.

"Where are the other? I thought we were suppose to be 12." Jamson glanced from one officer to another checking them out.

"The other are already down waiting for us to arrive." Merrow said.

"Ok, let's go." Jamson said and took his place on a transporter pad. So did everyone else.

"Mr.Cher, engage." Jamson ordered the transporter chief and within seconds he could feel the transporter lock.

Noam Brosh aka

Captain Mike Johnson,Commanding Officer USS Crusader .
Commander Michael Jamson,Executive Officer USS Galaxy.
USS Crusader Web Site http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/7489/

Fire. Pure fire...no fuel, no oxygen to keep it alive...a pure, bright, burning flame...

And then her face felt hot. It wasn't bothersome at first, but the intensity grew, until she felt, no, *saw* the flames dancing on her face...

The pain lasted a lifetime, but really endedafter just a few seconds, the pain recepters in her face melting away along with her flesh...she scremed more in horror over what was happening than anything else.

She hit the floor, writhing, praying for the fire to die, for her face to stop melting, for her to lose consiousness...ANYTHING...just as long as she didn't have to face this anymore.

And then she finally heard the hiss of a hypospray at her neck...

After the ships had turned away and left for the Neutral Zone, we were faced with the daunting task of assisting the Outpost in its repairs. The engineering crew had managed to stabilize the stations power core long enough for the Galaxy engineering crew to beam over and effect repairs. I voluteered to assist. I had some medical training previously and offered to assist their medical unit. In my beam over, I materialized on a burned out transporter platform. Commander Harrison was there to meet me. After talking casually for a few moments, reminiscing about memories, he guided me through the station to our destination. Force fields had been built up around the serious breaches and some of the bulkheads had been sealed, closing off sections of the station that were deemed to serious to repair. The bodies had been either cleared away or sucked into space, but evidence remained. There was still blood on the walls and broken beams. There were cables and power conduits strewn among the debris, and the lights still flickered. Harrison and myself were silent, quietly mourning the dead out of respect for the lives lost here. A war had almost started. A war that would have claimed millions of lives.

We stopped at the entrance of the Outpost's sickbay and the two entered. Moaning and screaming met them, the smell of burnt flesh and anesthetics slammed into us with the force of a backdraft. I coughed and had to cover my mouth. I was assaulted my a sudden wash of memories from my childhood. The screaming, the sights, and smells almost made me gag. I suddenly realized that my troubles seemed mild in comparison to the people here. I could sympathize with their loss, I went through the same thing. I had been lost in my thinking since the Bajorans had retaken their world, but now my mind came into focus. This is the Starfleet way! I thought, suddenly feeling a burden lift off my shoulders. I know they can't do much from here. These people are on the brink of destruction every day, every minute of their lives, and they have no one to come to their aid in time. I will fight the fight for them. I will be the bearer of their vengeance. Commander Harrison looked at me and asked if I was alright. I guess I had a look on me, that, mixed with the pungency of odors and the revelation I had found, probably looked pretty bad.

Shaking my head and returning to my senses, I took my leave of the Commander and set to work on assisting Dr. Tonal and his nurses on tending to the injuried. I got a crash course in treating plasma burns and repairing damaged tendons. After several hours and a few dozen patients later, events calmed down enough for the staff to relax. Dr. Tonal approached me. His mock was covered in blood, the lines on his ace were deeper and it seemed more had appeared. I would guess he doesn't see much action here. He gestured for me to come to his office.

Entering his office, he removed his mock and threw it into the trash disposal unit to be recycled.

"You were a great help, Lt. I really appreciate the work you did." Tonal sat in his chair and slumped.

"Thank you, sir. Is there anything else you need?" I was still standing and my back began to hurt.

"Sit, down, sit down." Tonal gestured to the chair. "Take a load off, you deserve it."

I gratefully pulled the chair out and fell down into it, sighing in pleasure.

"Lt. You did an excellent job in there. You are really in the wrong field of expertise. You should be a medic." Tonal was smiling now. "If you would like a recommendation, I'd be happy to provide it. But even more so, I would like you to consider transferring here when your tour is done on the Galaxy."

I was shocked. I didn't expect an offer to come through like this! Stuttering out an answer, he responded.

"Sir!" I pulled myself up in my chair. "I am honored you think that of me that way, but my reponse will have to be no." I got up and walked to the viewport. "I belong out there, among the stars...not trapped on a station that could be destroyed without notice. I'm sorry , sir, but I have a personal mission to fulfill and it won't be satisfying to me here." I looked at the Doctor. He had an expression I couldn't recognize, it seemed like a mixture of anger, despair, and expectance.

"I thought you would say that, Lt., so I made this up already..." Tonal opened his drawer and pulled out an isolinear chip. "This is a recommendation. If you can't be a medic here, you might as well be one in training on the Galaxy. Good luck on your personal mission, Lt. And Godspeed." As I grabbed the chip, the Doctor offered up his hand. I shook it and he left me to my thoughts.

As Commander Jamson awkwardly excused himself from the company of Captain Price and Admiral Blair, The Captain stopped him momentarily.

"Commander, take a few engineers and science officers to the Outpost."

"Aye Sir." Jamson answered and took a last look at both Price and Blair before leaving the room.

As the door hissed shut, Lee looked back at Admiral Williams Blair. Nothing was said for a long moment as the tension in the room heightened. He was mad at the Admiral for undermining his authority in front of his crew. Being thrown in the Brig was quite a humiliating experience, one the Captain would not soon forget. Still, he understood the pressure Admiral Blair was under by Starfleet to make the defection a success.

"Captain,... Lee, I wanted to apologize for having you relieved of command and placed under arrest. I was very upset when you questioned my judgment and over reacted." William's head bowed slightly, "I'm not used to being wrong."

Captain Price looked at Admiral Blair for a minute before replying. In a odd sort of way, this had to be harder on the Admiral than on himself because of the way things had turned out.

"I understand Admiral. You are a Starfleet officer and were following direct orders. I am sorry I was unable to allow you to complete the mission objectives in the way you had ordered. But I don't believe Starfleet wants, or would be happy with, officers that blindly follow orders without any conscious thought."

Admiral Blair nodded. "I was so wrapped up in completing the assignment, that I never stopped to think about what it was I had ordered done. If it weren't for my grandson..." He shook his head back and forth slowly as he thought of what might of happened. How far the Romulans might have gone to retrieve or destroy the defector and her information, and the consequences between the Federation and the Star Empire.

"He's a fine officer Admiral. Just like his Grandfather."

Admiral Blair straightened up and looked at Captain Price. "In this case, better than his Grandfather. I acted so foolishly."

"Not to worry. I have already filed my report to Starfleet command. I failed to mention anything about our internal communications problems..."

Williams smiled for the first time since the whole ordeal had ended. "Thank you Captain. But being an Admiral, I will have to mention it in my report. The walls have ears, and someone will eventually find out. I like the term 'internal communications problems', perhaps that will be enough... as a small foot note. I believe all Starfleet will be interested in is the information on these chips."

Captain Price nodded. "You are probably right Admiral. The Agamemnon is supposed to be arriving mid day tomorrow to relieve us. I expect we will be departing then to return to Earth?"

"Yes. We need to get this information to Starfleet head quarters for analysis. Captain Kintu and her crew are more than capable of completing the repairs to the Outpost Station."

"We will get you there Sir." Price said as he smiled slightly and nodded assuredly with his eyes.

"Thank you Lee." Admiral Blair said solemnly. He then turned and began walking towards the exit, pausing before opening the door.

"The Galaxy is a fine vessel Captain. She has an excellent crew. Their loyalty to her commanding officer speaks volumes."

Lee watched as the Admiral spoke, complimenting his crew men and women. "Their a good lot 'mate. G'day Admiral."

With a nod, Admiral William Blair exited the Captain's ready room.

*********

The USS Agamemnon arrived promptly the next day to relieve the repair efforts of Outpost Station 53. All of the Galaxy personnel were recalled with the exception of Lieutenant T'Nevin. He had requested a permanent transfer of duty to Outpost 53 so he could more closely monitor the activities of his Romulan cousins.

Once everyone was back on board the Galaxy, command of the repair efforts was turned over to Captain Kintu and her crew before the Galaxy broke orbit for the return trip to Earth.

Captain Price was glad the mission was coming to a close. It had been quite stressful and emotionally charged. He was looking forward to returning to Earth and giving the crew some much needed shore leave. He knew they had earned it.

* Later *

After finishing the last report, Ryan stood up and stretched. "Ahhhh." He sat back down and checked the time... Almost the end of his shift.

Quall thought about what he was going to do after his shift was over... Target practice?... nah... `I'm not in the mood for anymore work`, he thought. 'I guess I'll head down to Ten-Forward after.' Quall smiled, remembering the joke he heard from Liam, the bartender.

In fact, Quall was still grinning as Hutchcraft came in to take over. "What's so funny?", Hutchcraft asked.

"I'll tell you later" replied Quall, as he left the Security office and headed for Ten-Forward.

Lt. jg. Quall
Assistant Cheif of Security
USS Galaxy

'Sit down, sir, I'm Dr. Dassaut. I'll be giving you the preliminary exams, then Dr. Rousseau will examine you more thouroughly.' Chiron could not help but notice that Dr. Dassaut avoided any kind of eye contact, and managed a wry grin. 'I understand, Doctor.' The security guards, who were probably thinking of more fun things to do at the time, kept a close eye on him in every move he made. Chiron sat down slowly, and waited for the exams to begin.

The Schizoid Man
=/\= Lt. JG Tal Breno, Assistant Cheif Science, USS Horizon, IRC, E-Mail =/\=
=/\= Lt. JG Chiron, Assistant Cheif Engineer, USS Galaxy, E-Mail =/\=
=/\= Lt. Cmdr. Varin Reix, Cheif Science, Station Beta 2, E-Mail =/\=

I) Morgan Kalriesen request for a session (Sorry you had to wait so long)
II) Breakfast with Commander Jamson asking Shivok the probable most difficult question of the Galaxy :-)
III) Chiron motifs to attack the Admiral! At least an idea of.

RPG:

I)
Lt. Liito , the Betazoid Counselor who was in charge for the Operations Personnel, checked the agenda and found the request from Morgan Kalriesen to have a session with Shivok. As she knew her superiors full agenda she took over the call and replied to Morgans mail. She offered her an appointment for the next morning.

She wished Morgan had been more precise with the description of her "problems", so she could better prepare herself. On the other hand her Betazoid senses have already detected Morgans primary problem the last time they have met: loneliness and problem finding new social contacts. And there was something more, something Morgan has repressed successfully for many years...

II)
Shivok looked at him "Michael, you had no interests with Humans before, you had Klingons friends and you used to live in a Klingon environment. It is possible that you only discovered this feeling after you made contacts with Humans and adjusted your life according to the Human life style."

I see..." Jamson looked suprised "Shivok...what is love?"

Shivok took a deep breath: "Michael, this question can't be answered. Humans are looking for an answer since they have left the trees to become Humans. It is the motivating power behind their cultural achievements. Poetry, art and music would not have evolved to such a rich extent, if this question was ever answered."

He took another slip of his Saya before he continued.

"Love is an emotion and like every other emotion it can only be felt not reflected. All words on the nature of love can only barely touch the truth and leave a very incomplete image. Love has many facets and the love for a member of the opposite gender is only one variation. There are others: the love of a parent for his child, and vice versa, the love between member of the same gender without any sexual motifs, and many more. To understand the concept of love doesn't mean by all to know what love is. Love is more than just a physiological reaction. "

The more he told the more Shivok felt Jamsons growing insecurity. New sensations, new feelings and emotions he didn't have before and didn't match with his philosophy. Jamson was not exactly scared (the Klingon would never accept such a description) but he felt irritated. Shivok prepared himself for many discussions with Michael about human feelings, a matter which Shivok could only reflect or experience with his empathic senses. But he never had and never will sense most of the human feelings and therefore he knew his limitations in helping Michael discovering his feelings.

III)
Shivok was in Sickbay talking with Nurse Jomal. Soon after his assignment to the Galaxy, he got to know that she was a rich and fertile source of what he called "off-shore" information: rumours and stories abroad from any chain of command and duty life. Like Liam, the Host of Ten Forward, she was a talented listener and many people come to Sickbay just to talk to her. And so she knew a lot more of what's really going on on that vessel, than most others.

Of course she knew how to could keep a secret and Shivok would never penetrate her personal dignity to read her thoughts. But she normally knew, what the Counselor was up to and often gave him the right background information about a person to help him better understand the situation. As it was at now.

"I don't know very much about Chiron. He is not the social kind of type, if you understand, what I mean. He's very talented, but I also think he's lonely. He has difficulties to make friends onboard."

Shivok thought about the talk he had with Liam earlyer that day and found a coincidence. Liam too said, that Chiron often sat lonely at a table, gazing to the stars all the evening with only one drink. And Liam mentioned, in the last days before he attacked the Admiral he wasn't there at all.

"Have you noticed any changes in the last days in Chirons behavior?"

"You mean, before he attacked the Admiral?" Shivok nodded. "No, nothing in particulair, maybe a little more depressive than usual."

Taryn, his deputy for engineering hasn't told him anything unusual about his state, but the young Bayoran Lt. Jg. was more doing engineering work than counseling work in the last Days. Lt. Kane needed every hand to bring the Galaxy back in shape again.

At that moment the door wings hissed and Chiron was brought by two security officers by the Captains order. Doctor Rousseau left her office and threw her meanwhile feared gaze towards the two guys guarding Chiron.

"It's allright, Gentlemen, you can leave now, I take care. Come with me, Chiron, please have a seat on the Biobed." She layed her arm around Chiron shoulders, turned him around and left two rather confused young officers behind. Shivok raised an eye brow and looked at Jomal. She shrugged her shoulders, grinned and her eyes said something like: "Isn't she brilliant?".

Shivok released the officers from their desperate situation. "What are your commands?"

They looked at each other. Finally the one of them said: "We have order to bring the prisoner to Sickbay and afterwards back to Brig."

"Why don't you wait outside, until Doctor Rousseau and myself have talked with LT. CHIRON?"

Obviously pleased by the chance to get out of Sickbay they saluted, turned around and left the room. Shivok went to the Biobed and looked at the Doctors professional work.

"Chiron, how are you doing?"

Chirons face didn't show any reaction, but his emotional ?exhausts" were clearly readible for Shivoks empathic sensors. He noticed emotions of fear, excitement, guilt and something he couldn't define. But he felt, it was definitly not pleasant.

"Not very well, Counselor. Maybe you don't know, but I have attacked an Admiral and I will be court-martialed soon. But I wasn't me, something else has taken control over my body and it is still within me. Don't you feel anything?"

"Chiron, I respect your personality as much as I respect everybody else's. Without your permission I will not read your mind or do anything else, which would break the basic rule of every self-conscient life being: the freedom of thought. But to bring light into this situation, I hope if you allow me to gather more information about your emotional behavior. I'd like to apply the old Betazoid mental technique of "Sharan Zaan", also known as "Mental Van-Eycking", gathering mental radiation with extremly narrowed input sensors."

Chiron thought about his own situation and finally nodded. Shivok softly moved his mental focus on Chiron. He narrowed the empathic input channels and concentrated on Chirons mental flux. As usual he reached for the melody to establish a media channel with anchor points between his opponent and himself and soon he was successfull. He found a very indvidual melody mostly based on musical associations, with tunes reliying on others, similar to the Tamarian language. Shivok thought back at that time, when he was member of the first negotiation team between the Federation and the Tamarians soon after Capt. Picards break through. He became knowlegeable with their way of communication and thinking and found familiar patterns in Chirons melody.

Unlike to the Vulcan mind melt "Sharan Zaan" allowed him to remain an anonymous and a passive spectator of his opponents mind. He couldn't get as far as he would with melting his mind, but on the other hand he was not exposed to eventual hostile powers. And what he knew so far about Chiron situation, the probability of a hostile power is very high.

At first Shivok received a real information cocktail with pictures, sceneries and sounds mixed without any logical order. But his experience helped him to understand Chirons world better and soon he was able to control what kind of information he received. Nothing so far revealed anything about the presence of an external power, but suddenly he became aware of a striking effect. From time to time he noticed something like an "absence of information", as if information is there, but somehow blanked out. His sensors weren't able to receive any information from particuliar regions of Chirons mind.

Shivok began to focus on these specific regions. The further he came the less information he received, until he arrived at a place, where nothing was seen nor heard. And suddenly a ... tremendously roaring thing ... broke the void and jumped right into Shivoks face. Shivok stumbled back holding his face with both hand.

Doctor Rousseau came to him: "Shivok, are you allright? What happened?"

Still holding his face, Shivok answered: "I don't know, it shouldn't have happened, but..." He lowered his hand and Jacqueline saw four black stripes on each of Shivoks cheek. Shivok heard a voice in his head saying: "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra, ha! The walls will fall when Thonga rides!"

Shivok murmured: "The walls will fall when Thonga rides... the walls will fall when Thonga rides... Chiron, who or what is Thonga?"

Stephane,
aka Counselor Shivok
USS Galaxy

When he entered the room he found a table and sat down, ordering some warnog and some gag.

While he was waiting for his food and drink he started to look around, there where other crew there, relaxing and enjoying themselves.

After a while he received his order and hug in with great appetite, during his meal a female human Ensign from the Engineering came into the room, stood in the doorway and started to look around the room, probably for a place to sit, she saw K´Bal and moved towards him.

"Hello, is this table free?" she asked when she stood in front of him.

"Sure!" he said with his mouth full of gag.

She sat down and said, "I´m Elena Brax."

"Hi, I´m K´Bal Sobra."

"I see that you are Security." She said after the introduction.

"Yes, and I see that you work in Engineering." He replied with a big smile.

"Yes, that´s right, since you work in Security, I must ask, what is all this talk about holodeck injuries among the Security personnel?"

"Well, it seem that many of us where injured during some standard holodeck training exercise, I personally only received a minor leg wound but a college was hurt pretty bad."

This conversation continued all through dinner, and when K´Bal had to leave to get some rest he stood up and said "Maybe, we could do this again some time?"

"I would like that very much."she answered with a smile.

He then left Ten-Forward and headed towards his quarters to get some rest before the next shift.

He fell asleep thinking about Ensign Elena Brax.

Ambassador Z´beryl, Station Beta 2
Lieutenant (jg) K´esta, Security Officer, USS Sovereign
Ensign K´Bal Sobra, Security Officer, USS Galaxy
Ensign Jacob Stevens, Security Officer, USS Crusader