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

"Are you ready to come with me?" HE was back. She turned around to face him.

"No, I don't want to go."

"You have no choice."

"I said I don't want to go. GET OUT OF MY MIND NOW!"

She woke with a gasp. The lights in sickbay were blinding. She blinked a few times to get her eyes adjusted. She had overcame the demon. A nurse nearby came over.

"You're awake. How do you feel?"

"Better."

***Later***

Ti was released from Sickbay on the strictest orders to take it easy and get some more rest. She found out that the Galaxy was heading home to Earth. She hoped that it would be possible to get shore leave. She had been off the ship, what, twice since she came on board and that was Rigel and the Borg incident in the alternate timeline. Both were definitely not for pleasure.

Bobbie was overjoyed for her to be back. She chattered at Ti for leaving her alone. Ti set out food and sat and played with the ferret.

Jan arrived at holodeck two and inserted the disk he had brought with him. This was a program he had made on shore leave the last time out. The computer responded with ["You may enter when ready."]

Janar walked in to see an open field with a large lake in the middle, a collie was standing next to him wagging his tail. The warm breeze and late evening sun made a calm and warm atmosphere, now the relaxation would begin.

Jan walked to the far end of the lake and sat down on the beach. A small fire was glowing in the sand and added to the ambiance. He could feel the stress leaving his shoulders. He was grateful to be on the Galaxy. This crew was certainly coming together and he was looking forward to working with them. He was also looking forward to the upcoming shoreleave. It had been a long time since he had been skiing, oh well the medical staff was excellent as well. As he leaned back on the beach the collie laid down next to him and Jan fell asleep.

I was still going over the idea that Dr. Tonal had put in my head. "A medic...hmmm...." I was still gripping the isolinear chip in my hand. Opening my fist, I gazed at it, then glanced out the window to the stars and the magnificent ship orbiting about. The Galaxy looked intimidating, yet beautiful. The sleekness of her shining hull glittered in the bright lights of the re-construction team assembled in orbit around the Outpost. Shuttles passed to and fro across the viewport I gazed out of.

Looking back down to the chip in my hand, I remembered a past. A past of horrors and screams of the injured and dying. I may have been 5 years old at the time, but the imprints of the screaming and agony of death still haunted me to this day. And there was nothing I could do about it. Now there is. I could stay here. Request a transfer from Captain Price and assist in the effort of peace to the Neutral Zone. I know Sickbay gets its fair share of work once in a while, but never of the magnitude that it had faced earlier. I had a lot to think about.

Just then, my comm badge chirped.

"Galaxy to Mitchell" It was a voice I didn't recognize. Maybe I didn't want to recognize it. I was lost in thought and past nightmares.

"Galaxy to Mitchell, respond please." I snapped out of my reverie and tapped my badge.

"Mitchell here." My voice sounded hollow and distant to me.

"Please report back to the Galaxy. We'll be rendez-vousing with the Agamemnon shortly, then we'll be departing. Mr. Shtik would like to see you."

"Aye, Mitchell out." Tapping my badge, I took one last look at the Galaxy and awaited my beamout.

***Galaxy Transporter Room***"

I materialized on the platform amidst a mess of equipment. Engineers had been beaming down supplies to the Outpost. Now it was down to the last minute and the room was filled. Stepping off the platform, I greeted an engineer and moved on my way. As I left the room and entered the corridor, I took a long look at the people around me. It would be hard leaving this wondrous ship with all of its great people aboard. I had begun to even make friends, but most of them had left to other opportunities. Maybe I should too. Walking into the turbolift, I ordered my destination to the computer. The lift stopped a deck short and a young blue-skinned Lt. in Blue like myself stepped in with me and announced the same destination.

"You're a Delphinian, aren't you?" I spoke, to break the silence.

The woman turned around and stared at me with deep intense blue eyes. She seemed to stare right through me and it began to make me uncomfortable. She didn't speak until the lift doors opened.

"I'm part Delphinian." She snapped. "My father is human. Do you have a problem with that?" her eyes sparkled with an almost mischievous nature.

I stammered out a reply as we exited the lift. "Uh..no! It's just that I've never seen one before. Sorry, if I offended you." I reached out my hand in an show of courtesy, if not apology.

She looked down at my outstretched hand, then grasped it. The grip of her shake made me wince, but I tried not to show it.

"I'm Lt. R'Ronni Morris. Practical Sciences, and you didn't offend me. It's just that some people react oddly when they see a Delphinian." A slight smirk appeared at the corner of her mouth. My friends call me Ronni."

Releasing my still hurting hand, I rubbed it and introduced myself. "I'm Lt. James Mitchell. My specialty is Xenobiology, but here I generally do everything else but." They walked to their destination.

"You've quite a grip there. And my friends call me Mitch."

"Are you here to see Shtik, too?" I ask.

"Yes, I am. He has called a general meeting of the higher level Science staff."

"I wonder why T'Nevin didn't?" I was extremely curious.

"Well, I guess we'll find out. Here we are." The two officers entered Lt. Shtiks quarters, completely unaware of what was about to happen.....

To be Continued..........

Lt. James Mitchell
Asst. Chief of Science
USS Galaxy

Deiran knew he had an hour before he picked up Miran. He headed down to holodeck 3 to check his program, he wanted everything to be perfect. Deiran was surprised at how much smoke there was in a Kansas City Jazz club in the 1940’s.

"Computer, remove smoke from the entire room."

[Processing request.]

Several seconds later, Deiran could see and breath again.

"Perfect," he said. "Computer, save Casey program 117 and shut down program." The computer did as it was told and Deiran left for his quarters.

When he arrived at his quarters, Casey began to feel some anxiety about his date with Miran. Would she like Jazz? Did she like to dance? Well, he had two other back-up programs just in case. Casey was always prepared for any situation and would get upset with himself if he wasn’t.

Casey dressed in his best 24th century suit and tie, picked up the bouquet of Roses and started for Miran’s quarters.

When Casey exited his quarters he almost ran into Ronni. He just barely missed her. Ronni had a portable science lab in her arms and couldn’t see where she was going, well at least not that well.

"We have to stop running into each other, Ronni," Casey laughed.

"Sorry, this thing is heavy and I can’t see that much of what’s in front of me." She laughed and almost lost the lab. Casey caught it and took it from Ronni.

"I’m old fashioned, so let an old-fashioned guy help you with this, okay?" Casey asked, a wide grin on his face.

"Sure, why not? It’s not like I enjoyed it much." Ronni laughed. Deiran gave Ronni the roses that were for Miran as they started walking to Ronni’s quarters just down the hall, about four doors down. Ronni noticed that Deiran was dressed in a dashing black suit and couldn’t help but smell the roses.

"What’s the occasion? Where ya going?" Ronni asked.

"I’ve got a date with Lt. Ti Miran." Casey blushed red, his infatuation showed through his features like a light shining on an empty glass.

"Yes, I’ve met her. She’s beautiful," Ronni replied.

"I think so," Casey beamed.

"What do you have planned?" Ronni was really curious.

"A nice dinner and dancing in the 1940’s. She has the day off to rest, doctor’s orders, so she can be out all night. I changed shifts with Freeman."

Casey and Ronni arrived at Ronni’s door. They both went inside, Casey set the lab on Ronni’s desk. "Have fun with your lab experiments," Casey said as he walked for the door.

"You too!" Ronni laughed at her own joke.

"Thanks, see you tomorrow," Casey said as he left Ronni’s quarters and started for Miran’s quarters.

Casey arrived 10 minutes early. Casey paced the hallway for five minutes, knowing she probably wasn’t ready and would make him wait anyway. After the five minutes was over, he pushed the comm. The door opened.

Deiran almost fainted when he saw how gorgeous Miran looked in her blue back-less gown. She wore her hair down, with a touch of curl, not too much. Her face was radiant, he could tell she was happy. Deiran could only get out the words,"Wow!"

After a few seconds he recovered,"You are a vision, absolutely stunning Miran! You are so beautiful."

Miran blushed at the compliment and smiled at him,"Thank you." It was a flirtatious smile that Casey picked up right away.

"I brought these roses for you, can I put them in water for you?" Casey walked over to the replicator, "Computer one vase with three cups of water?" The replicator presented the item. Casey put the roses in the vase and walked back to Miran. He put his left arm out, presenting it to her,"Shall we go?"

She smiled, took Deiran’s arm and they both exited Miran’s quarters.

"You look handsome tonight Deiran."

"Thank you, I bought the suit on Risa, before I came on board the Galaxy. It’s comfortable."

As they walked along the corridors, they received glances of awe, smiles and looks that seemed to indicate that people thought they looked great together.

Once they arrived on Casey’s floor, they proceeded to His quarters.

They entered the room. Casey had prepared a nice candlelight dinner, everything was perfect. The entire table was set in blue and white, even the candles were sky blue. Casey thought long and hard about how the table should look and Miran could tell.

"This is beautiful Deiran. It all looks so nice. You think of the littlest details," Miran knew he wanted some recognition. Casey smiled in response, "she noticed" written all over the smile.

"I thought it would be hard to compare to our first date. So, I have an exciting, and I might add, romantic evening planned. It will all be a surprise from here on out!"

Deiran pulled out Miran’s chair for her, she sat down and he eased her up to the table. "You can order anything you want," Casey said.

"Anything Bajoran," Miran replied. Casey remembered what her favorite Bajoran meal was and would order that for her, he had vegetarian lasagna. The food was replicated and he brought Miran her meal.

"I wish I could’ve cooked this myself, but there aren’t very many ovens in this part of the galaxy."

"How did you get the replicator to make this taste so good?" Miran asked.

"Well, I didn’t reprogram the whole ship, but I did remodify the replicator to recognize each molecule of the spices that go into the food and the food itself. I refined the programming and helped the computer recognize how a meal should taste. This is as close as I could get. I’m thinking of sending the results to Starfleet Science Journal."

They continued with their dinner, they talked about everything from Bobbie to Casey’s sister Alexa. It was a delightful conversation. Although, they could’ve been silent and just look into each other’s eyes and they still would’ve enjoyed each other.

After dinner Casey helped her out of her seat and they left Casey’s quarters for the holodecks.

*** Holodeck 3***

The doors to the holodeck swooshed open. Miran’s guess was wrong but she seemed pleasantly surprised. She never expected to see a Jazz Band on stage.

"This is a beautiful room. Where is this suppose to be," she asked Casey.

"This is the fanciest, most popular Kansas City Jazz club of the 1940’s. It’s called the Shine Room. You can see why," Casey pointed to the mirrors and the lights, the room sparkled.

"I haven’t danced since Robert!" Miran said as the music started. It was slow and created a romantic mood in the entire room. "Just let me lead, and you’ll be fine."

They stepped on the dance floor. Deiran danced just as good as Fred Astaire, but looked macho and dashing.

"Where did you learn to dance?" Miran asked.

"My mother was into Ballroom dancing of the 20th century and dragged the whole family into the holodecks on the Glory. She tormented my father and I. But, I actually grew to like it after awhile."

The song ended. A black man walked out onto the stage. The entire room started to reverb with the sound of cheers and clapping. "Who’s this?" Miran wondered out loud.

"My favorite singer of all time, Nat King Cole."

The man sat at the piano and began the intro to "Sweet Lorraine."

The lights dimmed, as the couples started to slow dance. Miran stepped closer to Deiran as he led her across the dance floor. They seemed to glide across the floor, each step coordinated by Deiran. Miran was picking up the steps and was starting to anticipate Deiran’s next move. The more they danced the more in tune they became with each other, like swans wading through a clear blue lake.

"His voice is beautiful," Miran commented, not losing a step with Deiran.

"And you are enchantingly beautiful," Deiran moved closer to her and then he kissed her soft and tender. Time seemed irrelevant, their surroundings disappeared as they continued. Neither one wanted to stop. They finally expressed their passion for one another. The kiss lasted for a long while.

After they were tired from dancing. Deiran escorted Miran out onto the terrace. When they reached the terrace, the holodeck changed programs and they were now on a secluded beach. The waves could be heard in the background, but didn’t reach the beach where they stood.

Miran smiled. She looked up and noticed the full moon shining above their heads and the stars glistening in the sky. They walked along the beach. Miran removed her shoes. They held hands and talked about anything that came to mind. After some time Deiran stopped. He turned and looked into her eyes, making sure she was looking in his. He pulled her close to him.

"I’m falling in love with you." And then he kissed her.

Sitting down at the station she updated the array to incorporate the power relay upgrade she had just finished. The Ops station's holo-emitters would occasionally blip during attack simulations, causing the controls to be reconfigured. Not very convenient in battle.

Ronni decided to break down and contact her old mentor, Karen Jeppo-Davies.

"Computer - Please send a message to Specialist Karen Jeppo-Davies on Beta Station Two."

"Dear Karen- I hope that you're recovering well from your recent injuries. My sister told me that the station has hit pretty hard in your recent attack by the Klingons and Orions.

I need your technical assistance. I am including the spec.s of the holographic Ops station that we started working on a few years ago. I'm still having trouble routing the power to the emitters so that they don't blink during ship wide power cuts, i.e. while under attack.

Any ideas that you might have would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks and get well soon!

Ronni
USS Galaxy"

"Computer - send message." she said.

[Message sent]

Ronni quickly straightened her lab, brushed her hair, and drank a large glass of water. Then she hurried for the turbolift to get to the Bridge. In the turbolift were Ensigns Cole and Freeman, also on their way for the beginning of Gamma Shift.

Tarnel said pointing, "What is the big point of flashing light?"

"That is Teraknor", she said this in a cool distant voice.

Then the darkness and peace of the night was shattered by a roar and a ship descending from the sky.

"It's a Cardassian transport!" Gelena said, pulling Tarnel with her down the hill to a rig that over looked their house. The transport landed in the open alpine Field that stretched before the house. Six Cardassians stepped from the ship. By this time, Gelena had the binoculars to her eyes. She inhaled sharply as the first Cardassian descended the ramp.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"SH" She hissed. "That is Gul Macet. Now keep down and stay quiet!"

The 5 other Cardassians kicked in the door and went into the house. A couple of minutes later they returned with my Mother, Father, and both brothers.

"We need to help them!" Tarnel said.

"No, you will only get yourself killed." Gelena said.

He started to stand up to yell but strong hands clamped around his mouth and pulled him to the ground again.

One of the Cardassian officers emerged from the house, "They are all here".

Gul Macet said, "You planted a bomb on the transport Golorn. For this you will die by my hand." He took a disrupter from his side, pointed it at my family one after an other and pulled the trigger again and again.

Gelena said "We are alone now." and started to cry.

Ensign Lon Tarnel woke up breathing hard. That had been a terrible night. He recalled what had happened next. His older sister, Gelena, had taken him in to fight the Cardassian in the under ground. Now she was marred with four kids of her own. One of them, Denise, was hoping to join Star Fleet this year.

He looked at the clock. It was time to get up any way.

Ensign Lon Tarnel
Engineer -- USS Galaxy NCC-70637
E-Mail: Anthonylp@geocities.com

Lt. Commander Coe spoke slowly and meaningfully as he sat at the bar in ten forward.

" Another one thanks Liam." The tall bar tender walked soon produced another vodka in his hands.

" I've got to ask you something JT, why do you drink that old earthly drink, when you could have a modern predecessor, without the side effects? "

" Simple Liam..... These taste better." Coe smiled before he slammed down yet another punt. Feeling quite emotionally run down, Coe's limits and beliefs had been stretched and turned over the previous few days, resulting in a dumbstruck Coe that sat silently in ten forward. Coe looked over at the doors to ten forward and saw Lt. Ti Miran walk in. She smiled and approached and soon their where in a friendly conversation about the previous events on the ship.

Chris N
AKA: Lt. Johnathon Thomas Coe
Chief Tactical Officer USS Galaxy
NCC-70637
Indentification: Foxtrot delta 769

"There you are." Shtik was startled by the sudden voice echoing in the cavernous room. Turning he saw Dr. Dassaut crossing the walkway to the center platform where Shtik sat. "I should have known I'd find you here."

"Hello Janar." Shtik said. The doctor looked around the holographically reproduced universe around them.

"Wow." he stated, "Makes you feel kind of small doesn't it."

"'Feel?'" Shtik said.

"You know what I mean. Isn't stellar cartography conn's responsability?" Janar asked.

"The storing and cataloguing of library information is the responsability of the science department."

"I think it's just an excuse to hang out in here." Janar jibed.

"That's presuming an emotional reaction to this environment which I do not possess." Shtik said.

"Uh huh." Janar simply said. "The real reason I wanted to track you down was to congratulate you on your promotion. CSO and full lieutenant, I'm impressed."

"Yes, you're accusations of sentimentality clearly demonstrate the respect for superior rank which the medical division has come to be known for, Lieutenant J.G." Janar laughed.

"Well, I understand we're going to be heading for earth soon." Dr. Dassaut said.

"That would stand to reason." Shtik said. "The Admiral would have to be returned."

"So are you going to see her while we're there?" Janar asked.

"I was not planning on it." Shtik said focusing on his work.

"You weren't?" Janar sputtered, clearly surprised. Shtik turned and paused for a moment.

"Were you refurring to D'tarna?"

"Yes."

"Oh, yes of course I was hoping for a chance to visit her at the academy." Shtik said, turning back to his console.

"Who were you refurring to?" Janar asked. Shtik was silent. "Is your grandmother back on Earth?"

"She may finally be accepting the promotion she has been turning down for so long." Shtik said avoiding his friends eyes.

"I can't believe she has held the rank of commodore this long just so she could keep command of a starship."

"A lesson she said she learned early in her career." Shtik stated.

"And you still think she was responsible for your fathers death." Janar stated. "Such an accusation would be illogical." Shtik said focusing on his work.

"That's not a denial." Janar observed. Shtik was silent.

She changed from the evening gown and pulled her hair up. Deiran had loved her hair being down so much. It felt good to be cared for again; to be loved.

As she walked into Ten-Forward, Commander Coe waved and she went over and joined him.

"Good morning, Commander." He began talking about recent events and his feelings towards them. She listened adding comments of her own occasionally. Then Liam came up.

"Hey guys, are you interested in snow skiing at all?" Liam sounded enthusatic about this upcoming event.

Ti finished sipping her drink. "I've only been once. But, it sounds fun."

So, they would be getting a week long shore leave. That would be fabulous. If Deiran would go it would be dreamy. Did Deiran ski? Ti had no idea if he would go but if he did he could help her out or be just like her on the slope- not very good.

Ti signed up to go skiing. It would be a blast.

"Chief of Security's Log: Stardate 49702.21

After solving the latest Romulan incident peacefully, the personal of the Galaxy, including some security staff, helped the attacked outpost with their repairs. Those repairs are now completed and the Galaxy is on her way back to Earth, where Admiral Blair will have to present his report about the mission to his superiors."

"Computer close log." Joerg ordered.

While the last days were quite busy, coordinating the security staff with those on the outpost, Joerg was glad that it was finally over. He just thought about taking some shore leave in the near future, when a new message appeared on his screen.

It was from Liam Sketcher, the ship's bartender. He invited the crew to a ski trip, as the Galaxy will be passing a famous skiing paradise in the Moudini sector on their next mission, after the return to Earth.

Joerg, being a moderately skier, thought that such a shore leave, together with some of his colleagues, would be very much fun and quickly wrote a note to Liam, that he will gladly join the trip.

After answering that message another one arrived on his display. It was from Starfleet Headquarters concerning two new security officers, who will come aboard once the Galaxy returns to Earth.

The first one was a Cadet Christopher Isaac Campbell, who will doing his cadet training on the Galaxy. Joerg thought about putting him in either Beta or Gamma shift, but came to the conclusion, that Alpha shift might be best to show the cadet what the life in security aboard a starship can be. He was even starting to make plans for his first weeks aboard when he decided that perhaps it was better to wait and see what situations were coming for them on their next assignment.

The second new security officer was an Ensign Andreas Mohler. When he read the biography of that ensign, Joerg could help but remember the old earth drama "Goetz von Berlichingen" from Goethe. He could only hope that this ensign was less trouble than the main character in that drama was, so he decided it was in the best interest of everyone, that he should start his career on board the Galaxy in Beta shift under Lieutenant Quall's command. Therefore Joerg wrote a quick note to the Lieutenant to inform him about the new ensign.

After the personal arrangements were finished and inspired by the new ensign's bio, Joerg decided to relax and train in one of his medieval holoprograms. He especially wanted to try if the holodecks were save now.

But before going to one of the holodecks he returned to his quarters to dress properly for his upcoming adventure. After that he was on his way to a holodeck, when he met Ensign Enquist.

"Hello Lieutenant. Are you going to try one of your famous holoprogs?" Thomas greeted him.

"Yes, that's right. I thought it's about time to use one of my favorite programs again and improve my fighting skills by the way. You wanna join me?" Joerg asked.

"It would be a great pleasure to join you on one of your holoadventures, but what about the Chief? Won't he miss us?" Thomas smiled while saying that.

"If we don't tell him, he will never know." Joerg replied.

"To be serious I would really appreciate it if you would accomplish me on my quest. And as Chief of Security I could also show you some tricks with the sword."

"Ok, will the holoprogram provide me with the proper clothes for the scenario?" Enquist asked.

"Yes it will. I however prefer to use my own medieval clothes, but that's just my personal opinion. The ones created by the holodeck are also very comfortable."

After that the two officers went to holodeck 4 and entered it. Joerg ordered the computer to load one of his programs and to start it at once. After the computer acknowledged the start of the program, Ensign Enquist's clothes changed to ones similar to those of his superior officer. The surrounding also changed from the black and yellow grid to a dark and foggy middle age village with few houses and a big castle in the distance. Joerg quickly explained some details of the program to Enquist before the two entered the small village.

************ Some time later ************

After they had successfully concluded Joerg's holoprogram, without being killed or seriously wounded by the program, the two officers left the holodeck and discussed their latest victory together.

"You really did a good job with those two tower guards Ensign." Joerg said, not without being a little proud to have such a good officer in his team.

"Thank you sir. But this program of yours is quite good programmed. You did a very good job especially with the interior of the castle itself. You must have studied the medieval architecture very hard." Thomas replied, still impressed by those images he just saw.

"Yes it really was the hardest part of the program. Finding information about structures that old wasn't easy, but I somehow was able to find it after all." Joerg said while the two entered the turbo lift.

Joerg returned to his quarters to take a shower and afterwards change back in his duty uniform, as it was still Alpha shift. But now he felt much more relaxed and happy than before the holoadventure.

Lieutenant Joerg Sterner
Chief of Security - USS Galaxy NCC-70637

"Ok..well I'll see you tomorrow. Good Night." Troy replied.

"Good Night....Computer! Lights!"

The Admiral's quarters darkened and Troy exited. He roamed the corridors for a while because he couldn't sleep. He was excited about the up coming ski trip, it had been about two years since he last went. Up until graduation, Troy and his friends from the Academy would pack up every winter and go skiing at some resort on Earth. But now it was time to test Moudini's powder, something he always wanted to do.

He continued to roam around the ship, running into a few of his friends, when he found himself in front of Ten Forward. Troy entered and saw Commander Coe, he took a seat next to him.

"Evening, Commander" Troy said.

"Hello Troy" Coe replied then continued, "I see you're going on the ski trip?"

"Yes sir, it's been a while since my last trip." Troy said with a smile.

"Ah..so you ski a lot?"

"Yup, ever since High School some of my good friends and I would go skiing every winter, we even managed to go while at the Academy. The resorts dreaded seeing us checking in, 'cause they knew we were going to be trouble!" Troy let out a slight chuckle.

"Got into some mischief, huh?" Coe said with a smile.

"Some?!? If we didn't get kicked out of the resort it wasn't a good trip! Like this one time when we grabbed my friend Ron from the shower, and threw him out into the hall just as the girls from the room down the hall were passing by. Man he was steaming! But he got us back when he transported us to a black tie banquet, while we were in the resort's massage parlor!" Troy exclaimed.

Commander Coe shook his head.

"How about you Commander? I'll bet some of your ski trips got mischievous!" Troy said.

Lieutenant JG Troy Blair
Tactical Officer, USS Galaxy

The ideas she had received from Specialist Jeppo-Davies had worked great. The power relays of her holographic based Ops station were now fully stable. Even if the power went out ship wide, this station could still see, communicate, and fire weapons for approximately 15 minutes. Long enough usually for the backup power to kick in.

She had had dinner in Ten-Forward tonight and Liam, the scoundrel, had dyed her halibut a deep blue color, just for her. He kept calling her cannibal throughout dinner. He had showed her the roster for the skiing trip and she had jumped at the chance. She hadn't been skiing since she had been on Mars and she was dying for the chance.

As she entered the Turbolift and headed for the Bridge, she wasn't paying attention and started dancing the Lambada by herself, humming loudly. She was really enjoying herself, getting louder and more wild with each floor. Suddenly, the turbolift stopped and the doors opened.

Ronni froze in a half back bend position. The reverberating music slowly died down. Slowly Ronni turned her head toward the now staring Bridge crew. She smiled. Straightened up. Tugged down into place her uniform top and walked onto the bridge and over to her station, relieving Lt. Jg. Mitchell.

She set to work quietly checking for any work that had been requested by any departments while running a diagnostic on one section of the science databank. She intentionally ignored the snickering as people walked by.

As the shift went on, she quietly started humming again.

Waking up, he checked his mail. Nothing. He stepped towards his mirror, which involved climbing across the vast amount of junk the Lieutenant usually collected. He had noticed that the facial hair that he had been growing for a while, was not looking the way he pleased. 'Well, moustache, time for you to go' he muttered to himself.

Whilst there are many ways to remove facial hair in this time, Hutchcraft still used a razor. Another querk, someone had pointed out to him. He was full of querks.

Hutchcraft took a look at himself. The old him. All that was left was to re-grow the hair, and he would look like the man he was before the academy. Hutchcraft picked up his standard acoustic, and set about making melodies until the Gamma Shift.

-----------

Despite it only being around 4 months since Hutchcraft was a mere graduating Ensign, things had certainly changed. Most of the Security team in Gamma Shift had changed. Today, Hutchcraft was to write reports on the Gamma Security team.

He had already gotten through most of the reports, he had only three left. Ensigns Taylor, Paran and Sobra. Ensign Taylor had been on the ship for a lot longer than he had. It felt ironic that a slacker like Andrew Hutchcraft would be promoted over Ensign Taylor, let alone become his superior.

The other two were newer officers. Ensign Sobra had come on around the same time as Hutchcraft. A friendly character, at least friendly compared to some other Klingons. Ensign Paran had also proven to be a friendly individual, but unlike Sobra, tended to keep quiet.

Hutchcraft was begining to notice that Sobra and Paran were almost like opposites. While both were very loyal, and relatively friendly, they were quite different. Sobra was a strong melee fighter, but a lousy shot with a phasar. Paran was the opposite. There were many differences in personality, too.

Hutchcraft decided to note down in the reports that both needed to make their weaknesses less costing. Maybe Ensign Sobra should teach Paran a thing or two about fighting, and Ensign Paran should help train Sobra in the ways of missile and phasar weapons. If not, things might get tricky for Security. A lousy shot and a poor fighter may cost lives.

Responsibility. Hutchcraft cringed. He was beginning to almost like the job.

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

Another shift over. Hutchcraft stroked the skin under his nose, noticing that it wasn't the same feeling as usual. He smiled, before approaching a bajoran and a klingon nearby.

"Hey Paran, K'Bal, do you want to go to Ten Forward right now?" he asked them in a rather non-Hutchcraft way.

The two officers looked at him and nodded, and the three walked towards Ten Forward. "I believe a certain Lieutenant Quall has a joke to tell ....." he smiled.

"Hey Paran, K'Bal, do you want to go to Ten Forward right now?" he asked them in a rather non-Hutchcraft way.

The two officers looked at him and nodded, and the three walked towards Ten Forward. "I believe a certain Lieutenant Quall has a joke to tell ....." he smiled.

They left for Ten Forward, with Chanor being very quiet. However, he was thinking over three things. The first was how to tell Lt. Hutchcraft that he had made a mistake. He'd called K'Bal by his firstname, but him by his family or surname. He knew Hutchcraft didn't know these things, but maybe it wasn't a mistake? Maybe him and K'Bal where friends? In the end, he decided to say nothing about it for the moment, and turned to his second thought.

What did Lt. Hutchcraft mean about a joke? It was really academic at the moment, and he decided to wait and see.

Finally, he was hearing reports from passing crew members about a ski trip. He'd never skied in his life, never having fought in those sort of conditions on Bajor. He'd like to try it someday, but not now. He was still to new. However, he believed a lot of security personnel where going on this trip. It raised an important question.

"Sir?" he venture. "I've heard talk of a ski trip coming up and, well.."

"You'd like to go on it?" asked Hutchcraft.

"Err. No sir. Actually, I was wondering. Who is going to be left in charge of security as I believe a lot of security staff have signed up?"

Hutchcraft thought for a moment before replying.

Ensign Paran
USS Galaxy
Steven

'ZINDA!!! his face BLACK his EYES RED!!!' Were the last words heard by the Ensign as he collapsed to the floor. The being absorbed the extreme pain felt by the convulsing Ensign. Tailor flopped about on the floor like a fish out of water for another 5 minutes, before he died. To focus its attention fully to the victim, the intruder dropped his guard just a little bit, but that was enough for Chiron.

[Kekta. Your name is...]

{Silent!}

The Tamarian's body was suddenly wracked with pain, and he made his way back to the BioBed. He laid down and attempted to sleep.

{I grow stronger with each passing moment. Not you or that meddling Vulcan will stop me.}

[Kekta, what IS your purpose?]

{To live. Is that not the underlying reason for everything that lifeforms do?}

[I suppose it is, but we have learned to thrive without the necessary destruction of other species.]

{Hmph, your 'species' is hardly worthy of the title. You are but mere meal grubs, bred for the kill. We kill you, and your pain, anguish and anger sustain us. Humans once had murderers and people who just went around torturing one another, right? They were under our influence. They have been somewhat extinguished, but still there are those who kill, torture, even down to the smallest insult sustain us. You will never extinguish those people.}

[But we CAN extinguish you.]

{I have had enough of this debate. Be silent, and wait. Do nothing, for I may need to release control of you from time to time. If you step out of line, I WILL detroy you and find another host to feed on.}

Chiron silently ticked off the hours in his mind. Waiting for someone to come and possibly expell this thing from his mind. He had committed a murder, and that would not be easy for his concience to live down.

He would have to wait.

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 =/\=