"Commander, may I speak to you in private?"

"Yes, Ensign. What seems to be the problem?" Coe inquired.

"Sir, as you may now, I was once a member of Starfleet Special Operations. Give me twelve hours and I can have a strike team ready to take out Mudd's headquarters and save Lt.jg Morris. We'll been in and out before they know what hit them." Coe could tell Mohler was serious about this strike, and he didn't doubt that Mohler could pull it off, but still, it seemed rather risky.

"Ensign, in case you haven't noticed, this isn't exactly an army we have to work with. The rest of us don't have your training or experience. I'm not certain you could take out Mudd's HQ without getting Morris killed."

Mohler seemed rather upset. "Sir, I have never lost anyone under my command."

"Alright Mohler, I'll tell you what you can do. You....." Coe was interrupted by the gasps of various crewmates. Cadet Campbell even muttered, "My God!"

"Hey don't be selfish. He's my God too." Mohler then realized that everyone was staring at him. Commander Coe then saw what was occupying everyone's interest. There was Ensign Mohler's metallic hand, missing all of the fingers. "I hit that android and it shattered part of my hand. No big deal."

"Ensign," Lt. Ti said, "It may be a bigger deal than you realize.

Jonathan Hanover
ae238@seorf.ohiou.edu
E-mail me, or die a slow and painful death

After breakfast Coe, Sterner and Jamson agreed to meet outside the hotel.

"The broken neck?" Jamson thought and hoped that he won't make a fool out of himslef.

The three of them stepped onto the transporter pads and soon they were on the top of the mountain. They were not the only ones to be there....there was a big line of people ahead.

Looking at the other skiers Jamson could easily understand that they were all excellent skiers and he...he was just begining to understand how to ski. Coe and Sterner were stairing at a women about 30 yards away. 2 Ferengies stood near her, like guards..."Ferengi? in this cold weather?...and as guards? Be carfeul, or your eyes will fall out of your head." He laughed at both of them.

"Have you noticed the 2 bundles of winter gear next to that woman?" He continued but this time with a serious expression on his face.

Coe and Sterner's face experessions changed from a smile to something unknown. After a few moments of stairing at the woman it was Sterner's turn to ski down. He wished them good luck and skied down the slopes.

"Next!"

It was Coe's turn but he could see that Jamson was pretty nervous "I thought you said you'd never skied before?"

"I haven't" Jamson smiled at him.

"Just be careful...for the interest of pulic safety" Coe showed and pointed him the road down and the both laughed and exchanged smiles.

"Ok..." Jamson said and jumped ahead...it was amazing...the feeling of the wind down the slopes...it was scary at start but once he got used to it it was much easier to go down. The skiers passed him and soon Coe passed him too. "Woooo!" he fell down the mountain at the last 20 meters.

Coe laughed out loud while Jamson tried to understand what happened but the only thing he said was "Man, that was fun!"

Coe continued to laugh and helped Jamson to get up "Come on you old man, get up."

They both continued to laugh when suddenly Jamson felt a sharp pain in his leg "Damn! I think I pulled a muscle."

"I warned you!" Coe smiled again.

Jamson was in pain "Yea! Yeah...enogh already. just get me down to the nurse to get this damn thing fixed up."

Coe pulled out some sort of ski badge, he then activated the com system and they both were beamed directly to the Medical facility.

**** Medical Facility ****

"That should do it" The nurse said and finished the treatment and added "Just so you won't do it again, stay off it for 3-4 hours."

Jamson jumped from the bed to the floor feeling much better.

"Hey! I said be careful" the nurse said loudly.

"I will Honey" Jamson returned a smile to her and exited the room with Coe.

"You really are...." Coe stopped and though for a second "Daring aren't you."

"Yep. Say, I might check up the town below. Wanna join?" Jamson asked.

"No I don't think so. I want to fill the rest of the day with skiing and I also wanna check the others and see how they are doing."

"Ok, then I will see you later." Jamson said and left Coe to his way.

**** Town ****

The town was small but rather nice looking. It was a typical small town that used to live using the ski resort as the basic sponser. People were all over the streets, the white snow was every where and in some places it was not easy to walk. Jamson was looking for something unusuall, something that will capture his eye andfor a while he only looked at the gift shops and restaurants. Then it hit him....He looked ahead and there it was...a Bar! and a big one too...it appeared to be the local bar so Jamson entered.

It reminded him of the old Klingon typical bar...all the dirt and the smells....the curses and the fist fights...."Ha! it's good to feel home..." he took a big breath and sat down at the closest table.

"Bartender! Wornagh! DaH!" he screamed toward the fat bartender.

The "Wornagh"=Warnog was usually after battle, but Jamson felt great, like he defeated the 'broken neck' track and he wanted to feel good.

**** some time later ****

It's been awhile since Jamson noticed the time, he was drinking a few more drinks when a tall Starfleet Officer entered the place. He was an Ensign and he approached Jamson "Commander, you are to come with me."

It was dark and it pretty hard to see who it was, but he was a Starfleet Officer. "Ensign, why don't you have a drink before we go back."

The Ensign answered seriously "I don't drink. Besides, it's urgent. You need to come with me now."

Both of them got up and headed out when suddenly two Naussagans stepped in front of them. "Going somewhere human? I don't want you to leave before I have a chance to get to know you."

"Look, veQ, unless you want to get intimate with the floor, move aside."

All the bar laughed and the situation was exactly what Jamson needed. One of the Naussagan send a fist to Jamson's face. The tall Ensign walked out of the darkness and grabbed the two Naussagans, he said a few words and a few moments later Jamson and Ensign Mohler returned to the resort.

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/

After the holographic projection of Mudd had dissipated and the Ferengi departed, the room fell quite. Everyone stood looking at one another, wondering what to do next. Ensign Mohler began talking to Lt.Cmdr Coe in a low voice, but not low enough for his voice not to be heard by some of the crew. After a number of gasps were exalted, Cadet Campbell spoke out and protested against the covert mission Ensign Mohler was trying to get Lt.Cmdr to approve. A number of other members of the crew began arguing; some in favor of the covert mission and others opposing it.

Lt. T'Lein stood in a corner of the room and replayed highlights of the conversation that went on with Mudd. He began forming logical questions in his head and countered them by forming answers or hypothesis based on the facts given. One thing he remembered caught his attention strongly. It was when the Ferengi said that they would know when the processed Trilithium resin had been attained and brought back. T'Lein thought about why the Ferengi had made such a statement. He logically deducted that there could be only two reasons; the Ferengi have a spy watching the crew or the Ferengi are monitoring the crew with sensors or some kind of monitoring device. The question was--"Where was the device or the spy?"

The Lt. raised his voice and, very commandingly, demanded everyone's attention. He instructed everyone to form a circle with the chairs in the room. After the circle was formed, he began telling everyone about his thoughts and what he had concluded. Everyone, in total silence once again, pondered over what they had just heard from the chief operations officer. Lt. T'Lein, patiently, awaited a response.

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

"My mind to your...mind? My thoughts to your thoughts." Shtik gained focus as he drew into the link. Once again he saw Maltz as he attacked his father, the long fall off the cliff and the icey embrace of the water. Unconciously replacing his fingers he probed deeper. Again the scene played out the attack, the fall, and the water. Shtik probed deeper and again felt the scene replay; attack, fall, water. And again, attack, fall, water. He drew deeper and deeper into the link, experiencing the scene over and over. Attack, fall, water, attack, fall, water, attack, fall, water...

Suddenly he felt the pull of Shivok's mind pulling him back. Attack, fall, water, attack, fall...

"Shtik, let it go." Shivok mentally commanded. Shtik found himself caught in the middle. Water, attack, fall, water...

"There is nothing here." Shivok said, "It is illogical to continue." Shtik fought to find some kind of logical loophole that would allow him to continue his search. Water, attack, fall... There was none. Finally, he pulled his fingers from the meteorite and found himself back with Counselor Shivok.

"Your father's katra is not there, Shtik." Shtik was silent at Shivok's statement. "It would appear that the meteorite holds a psychic imprint of your fathers final moments. That is all." Shivok said comfortingly. Finally, Shtik stood up and confronted the Counselor.

"You are correct. Thank you, Counselor, for your assistance. I at least have the answer to many questions." Shtik packed the rock back in it's container and left Shivok's quarters.

Arriving to the resort into the fire room Jamson found most of the crew discussing on the current event.

"It's about time you'll get here." Coe said angrily.

"Sorry, I had a few Klingon and Naussagans business." Jamson looked at Ensign Mohler with a smile.

"Well? are we going to do something?" Sterner got up and asked.

"What happened?" Jamson asked.

"Didn't Mohler tell you?" Coe was suprised.

Jamson looked at Mohler and then at Coe again "No...he just said the the matter is urgent and that I should come with him."

"Well...you better seat down." Coe said.

"No, tell me. What is it?" Jamson insisted on standing.

"Kristen was murdered...by a phaser shot. And Ronni is missing." Sterner completed Coe's words.

Jamson didn't show any kind expression on his face "The woman who helped Liam arranged the trip, the tour guide? pitty...do you have any idea who did this?"

"No. We don't have a clue...but we called the Galaxy." Miran said.

Coe, Sterner and Jamson sat down "And?" Jamson asked.

"The Captain expects us to solve this situation along with the local authorities." Coe said when suddenly there was a door knock.

Jamson looked at Sterner who looked at Coe.

"You guys..." Coe said and got up to open the door.

The 2 familiar Ferengies and the blond woman entered through the door.

"I knew something wasn't right!" Sterner got up.

"Hello Hue-mon. May we come inside?" One of them asked and the other continued. "Yes.We have some information for you Hue-mons. Importent information."

Sterner exaimned both of the Ferengies before he answered "What information? you can tell me now, right here."

Jamson looked at the smiling woman. She didn't move like she was one of those blonds who had the beauty but not the brain.

The second Ferengi said something and they both started to leave.

"Wait. Ok, you can come in." Sterner gave up.

The 2 Ferengies stepped back inside grabbing the blond woman along with them.

Jamson didn't like this "What is it all about?"

After standing near the fire and saying stupid comments the Ferengies finally got to the point. "We understand you Hue-mons have lost something."

Everyone looked at each other in the room. Jamson felt his blood warming, he felt the need to kill the bastards, well...they are Ferengi so...Jamson grabbed one of the Ferengies and smashed him to the wall. "Verengan Ha'DIbah! what do you mean!? What have you done with Lt.Morris!? Where is she, you HuH!?"

The other Ferengi screamed "Unban him Hue-mon, the Lieutnant woman is unarmed...so far Hue-mon, but if..." he couldn't finish his sentence and Coe and Sterner smashed him too onto the wall.

"What are you doing?you can't....Alice! help!" he screamed to the blond woman. The blond woman walked toward Coe and Sterner that kept smashing the Ferengo onto the wall and grabbed Sterner. She threw him across the room still smiling!

"I got to meet this woman..." Jamson thought.

Coe left the Ferengi and headed to grab the woman, but she was too quick and she grabbed him first and lifted him up to the ski. Mohler didn't like this, so he sent his metalic fist into her mid-section but nothing happened.

"My god....she's perfect!" Jamson was amazed by the blond.

The blond woman threw Coe on Mohler and they both fell to the ground. On the other side of the room Sterner recovered and pulled a phaser from his pant leg. He shot the blond woman in her mid-section and after a second she collapsed to the floor exploding to pieces.

"A robot?" Jamson looked at Sterner.

Everyone were shocked by this event.

"No! you've ruined her!" The Ferengi shouted and approached the destroyed robot while Jamson smiled "We'll br ruining more than that if you two don't start talking, NOW!"

A voice came through the robot's mouth followed by a holographic image of a man. "ENough! unhand the Ferengi or Lt.Morris dies."

Jamson felt the neck if the Ferengi in his hands, the desire to kill him by snapping his hands or to leave him alone and save Ronni.

"Let him go Sir. This may be Ronni's only chance." Joerg put his hand on Jamson's shoulder.

Jamson drop the Ferengi to the floor and turns around to the Holographic figure "Who the hell are you?"

"Superman" the man smiles and then adds "The name is Mudd. Harcort Fenton Mudd. And if you want to see Ronni alive again, you'll exactly as I say."
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/

After Miran changed she and Deiran headed for the lodge’s huge Fire Room. They were the last ones to arrive. Commander Jamson and LtCmdr Coe acknowledged them and started the meeting. Deiran found himself to be tired as he listened to everyone. He hardly knew Kristen, but then he thought she was a nice woman and didn’t deserve to be shot in cold blood for no reason. Deiran’s thoughts began to ramble, a regular occurrence when he was tired.

He cared about this person dying, but was too exhausted to do anything about it tonight. Or was he, Deiran wasn’t about to give up, he couldn’t do anything for Kristen but he could help Ronni. As he was thinking about what he could do someone spoke up, it was Miran.

"Lets just get a couple of those containers and substitute some other compound for the Trilithium resin."

Casey shook his head at Miran, not rudely, and he placed his fingers to his lips,"Shhhh, May be bugged," he said as he pointed around the room. Casey then walked over to the LCARS interface on the wall situated near the door and pressed a button. Two seconds later music was playing in the room. Casey held the volume button until it was loud enough that if the room was bugged, no one would be able to make out the words being spoken. Casey then walked to the middle of the room and motioned everyone to come next to him so he could speak.

"This room might be bugged. We should watch what we say in this room and everywhere we are until we know exactly what we’re up against and how Mudd is ‘watching’ us." He emphasized the word watching as he said it. Then Deiran looked at Ti. "I don’t think Mudd and the Ferengi would be fooled by a substitution Miran, they have taken the time to plan this thing out. If we want to beat them we need to do the same. Anyone have any ideas? We have to realize we have just 36 hours."

That fact fell heavy on all the vacationeers. Starfleet took care of their own. Deiran was willing to do what was needed to free his friend from the clutches of that mad man Mudd.

"I have said it already but I’ll say it again Lieutenant, I have Special Ops training. We can take this bum!" The colossal ensign held up his finger-less metallic hand, making a fist and holding it in front of him. His zeal was evident.

"And what about Ronni? I have Special Ops training myself, as does Mr.T’Lein Mohler, but if Mudd is using a surveillance system Ronni will be the first casualty of your private war! You want Ronni’s blood on your hands?"

Mohler didn’t like that statement and showed it by a cold stare in Casey’s direction. And he was even more upset that Casey’s cool head was right. It dawned on everyone that T’Lein and Casey had Special Ops training, as did Sterner, Jamson and Blair. Ops, Security and Tactical all took extensive training in that field while at the academy.

"What do you have in mind Lieutenant?" Jamson asked, still recovering from his anger with the Ferengi. But he was beginning to calm and it showed on his face.

"Well, sir. The way I see it is we either steal the Trilithium resin as Mudd has demanded in return for Ronni’s life or we go after Mudd directly before our time expires." Casey didn’t like those options to be honest. He wanted to do something more clever, but he was tired and out of ideas and they were all out of options at this point.

"But the Tyrell complex is a Starfleet secured facility, it’s a impenetrable fortress!" the Romulan ensign exclaimed.

Casey turned to her, making eye contact with Shanika,"I know that Ensign. We don’t have a clue where to find Mudd. And we’re out of options and running out of time. And we are also in a looking glass. Besides, if we went after Ronni, we don’t even know where Mudd’s keeping her. Even if we knew where she was, chances are Mudd would see us coming. Looking glasses have a way of betraying it’s subject. But, we know where the Tyrell complex is and I’m positive they won’t expect us." "What you are suggesting could get us all court-martialed Lieutenant," Chief Sterner proclaimed, shocked at Casey for even suggesting this course of action. Sterner was right it was an offense worthy of a court martial, but any good Starfleet JAG could get them off with the evidence of their testimony, especially Ronni’s, once she was returned. Admiral Casey knew the best JAG lawyers in the Galaxy. Casey knew Starfleet and it’s sense of Justice. He also knew his history. Kirk and Spock and the hero’s of Starfleet constantly went against regulations when lives hung in the balance and were always cleared. Casey was confident in all of this as he made this suggestion to his crew mates.

Casey let out a sigh of impatience. Then he looked around at everyone in the Fire Room,"I’d rather risk a general court martial than risk the life of Lt. Morris. Who’s with me?"

The room was silent. Casey waited and put his hand, palm down, in the middle of the circle they’d made when huddling in a group earlier. After the long silence, Ensign Mohler put his hand on top of Casey’s. Then Ti followed and then K’arta. Soon everyone extended their hand in the circle as a show of solidarity. Chief Sterner was the last to hold out, not because he wasn’t loyal to his friends, he was a chief security officer on a Starship and had taken an oath to protect the laws of Starfleet. He also took an oath to protect his crew mates in times of peril.

Sterner was thinking one word,"Duty." He put his hand in with everyone and said,"Some vacation this turned out to be." And then smiled at everyone.

"We have plans to make, lets get to work." Casey looked to Commander Jamson, he was the commanding officer,"Sir, your orders?"

"Anyone have a laptop here?" Jamson asked.

"I do sir," Deiran spoke up.

"Get it and see if you can tap into the Galaxy’s main computer. Get the specs for the Tyrell complex. We’ll study them and determine the best way of infiltrating the facility."

Ten minutes later Casey had the specs on Tyrell. Doing this without an access code was the first violation of this mission. Casey felt like a 20th century hacker and he wasn’t proud of it. He hoped history did, indeed, repeat itself in their favor.

*** Two hours later ***

Casey and Miran left the Fire Room and started for their rooms. When they reached the two doors, Miran stared at Deiran, "Would you like to come in and talk?"

Deiran was tired but not that tired. "Sure, not too long, we have to be up early tomorrow," he smiled. He followed Miran into her room and sat in the chair near her bed. Deiran put his face in his hands, leaned over and sighed.

He heard some soft, romantic music in the background. He looked up and found that she’d turned on the fire and was laying next to the hearth, her head on a pillow. She was laying on her back and in her robe.

"Wow!" He thought to himself and walked over and knelt down beside her. She moved so her head was laying in his lap. Deiran wasn’t tired anymore.

Miran leaned up, turned around and kissed Deiran passionately on the lips. The kiss was long. They stopped for a few seconds and Deiran said,"You have completely changed, you know that?" Deiran smiled at her, so she knew he was kidding.

"You bring out the animal in me!" Miran replied as they locked lips again. The fire crackled in the background as they kissed, the music was soft, the ambiance was perfect and Deiran just surrendered to the moment and let all his thoughts about recent events go out of his mind. He was with his girl and that was all that mattered right now. The vacationeers couldn’t put their plan into action until tomorrow anyway.

Ensign Thomas Enquist was in his right element, snow. The slopes were just as good as those at Åre. Everybody was having a great time, skiing and playing pranks on each others.

Then suddenly something bad happens, a murder. Thomas was furious. Who the H*ll could do a thing like this? The order came, "Security, make a search Party." Thomas wished he brought some kind of weapon, but he had to do with what was available.

They were divided into groups of four, and they set out, looking for any clues of the murderer left in the area. The troop set out, with grim determination to find the evil creature, that murdered their friend, and Thomas was to make sure that the culprit was regretting the deed, all the way back to the Galaxy.....

Lieutenant Commander Teshir Bajoul, Chief Counselor, USS Sovereign
Lieutenant Svetlana Andropova, Chief Counselor, USS Crusader
Lieutenant JG Jack Straker, Computer Engineer, Station Beta 2
Ensign Thomas Enquist, Security Officer, USS Galaxy
Beta 2 Engineering http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/3335/B2_Eng.htm

There had never been a true funeral for his father. Having disappeared on that far away world, there was no body to bury and therefore no locial reason to hold a ceremony, there was no proof of death. The emotional need for release was not the vulcan way. The lack of finality however was now ended.

Shtik closed the lid on the wooden box and placed it on one of the transporter pads. Moving behind the console, he set the controls to extreme molecular dispersement. Lt. Shtik raised his left hand palm out to the Genesis fragment and spread his center two fingers in the vulcan salute.

"Peace, Father." he said as he used his right hand to energise the transporter and the box shimmered out of existence.

T'Lein found Lt.jg Troy's plan to be the most logical thus far. As the Lt.jg spoke with Commander Jamson, T'Lein decided to walk over and back up Troy and his plan.

"Commander, I feel that this diversion plan would be the most logical course of action, in that it is the most likely to give us enough time to unveil the monitoring device and, possibly, locate Lt.jg Morris. If you allow us to implement this plan, I volunteer myself to travel to Draxon III with Lt.jg Troy."

The commander stood there and thought for a while before informing T'Lein and Troy of his thoughts.

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

All the crew was outside freezing.

"I think we should go back inside....I'm freezing" Jamson said and headed back toward the facility.

"Sir? you didn't answer my question." Troy said.

"We'll discuss it inside. Now let's go back." Jamson replied.

Everyone looked at the Commander like he was crazy, the Fire room could be bugged. The Ferengies and Mudd could be watching.

"I think I know what he's doing..." Lt.Casey said and followed the Commander, and so did the others.

**** Fire room ****

Casey entered the room after Jamson and hurried to the LCARS console on the wall. He pressed a few buttons and music came out of nowhere, it was loud just enough so that everyone to hear each other.

"Good." Jamson smiled to Casey and the looked at Troy "Troy, it's a good idea but I want some of the crew to stay in here to keep an eye and some to go to Draxor 3."

Mohler bursted in "I have said it already but I'll say it again Lieutenant, I have special Ops Training. We can take this bum!"

Casey answered him and Mohler appeared to be angry.

"What do you have in mind Lieutenant?" Jamson asked Casey.

Casey explained his plan which was like Troy's plan. Sterner was against it but after everyone moved to Casey's side he was also convinced and joined in.

"Anyone have a laptop here?" Jamson asked.

"I do Sir" Casey asnwered.

"Get it and see if you can tap into the Galaxy's main computer. Get the specs for the Tyrell Complex. We'll study them and determine the best way to infiltrating the Facility."

After a few moments Casey got back from his quarters and started working, all of them were violating Federation laws, but they didn't care because of Ronni.

"Sir, I'm in." Casey reported.

"Good. Coe! Sterner! get over here." Jamson addressed their names.

"Listen, I want to leave in two hours in a Runabout. Some of the crew will stay in here and some will go to Draxor 3.Sterner, analyze the specs of the Tryell complex, find the best way to enter there and report in 2 hours."

Jamson turned his look to Coe "Coe, I want you to help me determine who should stay and who should go."

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/

She was begining to be concerned because she refused to ask for a tank to sleep in, but she was seriously begining to dry out. After several hours, a VERY handsome human came over to her cell and lowered the forcefield. He was wearing an outfit like an Earth 18th Century pirate and had blond curly hair.

"I'm most sorry to have in opportuned you my dear lady, but your assistance is required. Oh, forgive me, Let me introduce myself. My name is Mudd. Harcore Fenton Mudd, at your service." he said with a deep bow.

Ronni, gave him a half smile and gave him a full speed spin kick. To a normal human, it would have removed his head, instead he only gave a little grunt and stood up. Ronni felt like her foot was broken.

"Now, now my dear, that's to be expected, but it isn't very lady like." he smiled.

Ronni did a full Starfleet double fisted punch to his jaw and tried to run past him. He grabbed her lightening quick, but gently and didn't let go. "Now Lt. Morris, we're not here to hurt you. In fact, this whole exchange can be mutually beneficial. I came to take you out of this cell, like I had commanded the Ferengi to do two days ago. I would like the doctor to attend to you and then I would like you to join me for dinner. I will explain everthing at that time." he released her and said, "Here, let me carry you to our medical station and then Issac #31 will show you to your quarters."

He deftly picked her up and carried her to an obvious sickbay. The Ferengi doctor said , "Mudd, why should I treat this WO-MAN."

"Because I said so. I'm bringing you a LOT of profit. Now treat her or do I need to speak with your captain?" he said as he rasied an eyebrow.

"No. Put her on the table. Woman, remove you clothes immediately for examination." the Doctor said.

Ronni noticed that Harcore blushed and said "I'll leave you now. I'll see you at dinner at 1700 hours." he quickly turned and left.

The Doctor on the other hand refused to turn around as Ronni removed her ski suit. She refused to give him the satisfaction of being embarrassed. As the snow suit came off, she noticed the amount of dry skin that came off at the same time.

"Hmmm. Normal signs of Delphinian dehydration. Sit there." he said pointing to the metal table. It was very cold.

He quickly scanned her. The probes weren't mean or crude, but definately not gentle. With a T'chukal slougher, he quickly sloughed off all of the dry skin. He then went over to the replicator and brought out a cream and applied it to the dry patches. He also put a rehydration cuff on her arm. She couldn't help but sigh from the relief. He then quickly healed the foot he had broken and repaired the catusions to both hands.

When he was done, he hit a signal on the computer and an absolutely beautiful man walked in. Like the three woman she had met previously, he too was wearing a lighted necklace on his chest.

"Hello." said the strong chinned brown haired man. "My name is Issac #31. Please follow me." She REALLY wanted her clothes now, but as she turned to pick them up, the Ferengi Doctor was putting them in the medical disposal unit. Ronni just sighed and followed the human. "I really am confused here . . . " she said to herself.

But something still nagged at Shtik's mind since he had "buried" his father. He understood that most sentient beings went through a period of morning after the death of a loved one, but he was unsure how long this feeling would continue in a vulcan. After all, it had been almost 15 hours, surely it should have passed by now.

The final burst of data for alpha shift appeared at Shtik's science console as Lt. Mitchell arrived on the bridge. Something was strange.

"Evening, Lt. Shtik." Mitchell said moving to take over the science station, "Time to take off for the night."

"Just a moment, James." Shtik said as he brought up a scematic showing the alpha waves being transmitted from the nebula. "I seem to be picking up something rather odd. I see no logical explanation for alpha waves of this type to be present in a gaseous nebula." Mitchell leaned over Shtik's shoulder for a look.

"They almost look like brain waves." Mitchell muttered, drawing a look from his Chief, "Xenobiology, remember? Try a spectral analysis."

"Please take station 2 will you, Mr. Michell. It appears we will need to work together on this." As Shtik gave the sensors the proper commands, a wavy blue line appeared on one of the screens before him. Losing his vulcan control, Shtil let out a gasp... Brain waves were as individual as fingerprints but this could not be.

"Sir." Mitchell said from the seat next to him, "There's something else out there."

T'Lein felt that by Commander Jamson inplementing Ensign Mohler's plan, the entire crew and the mission the retrieve Lt.jg Morris would be in grave jeopardy. The Lt. quickly calculated the chances of complete success: retrieving Lt.jg Morris, successfully breaking into the security complex, and returning the resort safely....the chances of success were 1.2 million to 1. But, the Lt. was a loyal Starfleet officer and whatever his commaders ordered him to do, he would do.

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

Cadet Christopher Campbell hurried out of the lounge. Lt Commander Coe had told him to put together a list of people (well, not just people, he thought) that could have a reason to murder Kristen.

"Here is your first assignment." Commander Coe had told him. "Bah! How the hell does he expect me to do that?" Christopher asked himself. "I don't have access to the ship's databanks from here!" He took a deep breath. "Wonder if it would help if I looked on it as a challenge? Probably not."

The young Cadet decided to talk to the people that knew Kristen: Tim, the guy that worked in the kitchen, Nick, the ski-instructur and Liam Sketcher. Sketcher was there when she was shot.

He had questioned Tim and Nick without results. Niether of them could think of any reason Kirsten had been killed, or anyone that could be considered her enemy or anything useful at all. Nothing.

"Nothing!" Christopher sighed. "I still got Sketcher to talk to, though. Maybe he knows something he forgot to mention earlier."

He knocked on the bartender's door.

"Come in" the Sketcher said with a tired voice.

Christopher opened the door. "Hi. I'm very sorry about...." The Cadet didn't want to finish the sentence. Liam nodded slowly. "I'm Christopher Campbell....Cadet." Christopher continued.

"Commander Coe asked....well, more like ordered me, to look into the...." another hesitation. "....the murder. I just wondered if there were any details you might have forgotten. Or if you saw.... Anything."

"I didn't see anything. She was adjusting her bindings when suddenly she was dead. I didn't see anything!"

"I see. Did you know if anybody had a reason to kill her? Or you? I mean, you were shot at too, right?"

"I can't think of anyone that would want to kill here.... No one."

Christopher could see that the bartender was having a hard time already without him questioning him, so he said:

"Thanks for your help. Bye." Christopher didn't wait for the reply before he left the room.

The Cadet sighed. He didn't have any information to give Lt Commander Coe. Nothing. He had tried his best, but he had failed.... His first assignement and HE HAD FAILED! He just wanted to prove himself as a good security officer. He could feel tears burning in his eyes. Tears of disappointment. Tightly he pressed his eyes shut. He wasn't going to let anybody see him like this.

As he was standing there in the corridor Ensign Mohler walked by.

"Hi!" the large Ensign said.

Christopher tried to sound natural when he greeted Mohler. He managed pretty well. Before Mohler could say anything more Christopher quickly left him.

*Outside of Lt Commander Coe's room*

*Knock*, *Knock*

Coe opened his door to find Cadet Campbell outside waiting for him to open.

"Can I come in, Commander?" The Cadet asked. Coe dould see that he was troubled by something.

"Sure, come in."

"I just came to.... You know the assignement you gave me." Christopher was obviously nervous about something.

Coe nodded. "Yes, what about it?"

"Ehm... It's...." Christopher took a deep breath. "I haven't found anybody with a motive, sir. Nobody at all." His face was red, of shame probably, Coe thought.

The Commander's face was motionless. "I see", he said.

"Sir, it's not like I didn't try. I asked everyone I could think of and...." Christopher realised that he was almost shouting at the commander. He swallowed. "I'm sorry, sir"

"I'm sure you did your best, Cadet Campbell" Coe said.

"But it wasn't good enough" Christopher thought as he left the room. "It wasn't good enough."

"I think T'Lein is right." Troy spoke up. "But, uh..let's don't say anything. I like silence"

Everyone stared at Troy as if he had gone insane. Noticing the stares, Troy mouthed the phrase 'it could be anywhere', without making a noise. It took a few tries, but eventually everyone got what he was trying to 'say'. He then got out of his chair and motioned for everyone to follow him. After a few minutes they found themselves standing in the middle of a forest.

"Troy, what's the point of coming way out here?' Jamson asked.

"Well sir, if the Ferengi do have a spying device, or a spy, then we should assume the resort is no longer safe to discuss plans of any kind." Troy said while blowing on his hands to keep them warm.

"Lieutenant Blair is correct sir." T'Lein stated "If there is any kind of spy, then the logical choice is to talk in an area where eavesdropping is unlikely."

"I see your point Troy. So what's on your mind?" Jamson said.

"I think as a diversion we should send atleast two of us in a runabout to Draxor III. They'll probably watch the runabout more than the rest of us here on the planet. Giving everyone else enough time to possibly find the device or spy."

"If we were to find the device, then we'll be able to find Mudd and his Ferengi" Deiran said.

"Exactly" Troy replied.

"Wait....we can't just send someone to get the Trilithium that would be a violation of Federation Law." Jamson said.

"Who said we'd actually get it? From what I know about Tyrell Complex's security, it's next to impossible to break into. " Troy stated.

"Exactly what do you mean Lieutenant?" Coe asked.

"Well, for starters all unscheduled guest must have atleast level 2 security clearance. And we all know that only the Admiralty and the Commander in Chief himself have security clearance this high. Then once you've landed, you have to under go intense blood screenings and identity checks to make sure you are who you say you are. And you can forget transporting to the planet, they've got transporter scramblers everywhere. That's all I know because the other security measures are classified, so who knows what else they have." Troy stated.

"So what's your plan?" someone asked.

"At warp one it should take about six or seven hours to get there. Once you arrive at the planet, orbit it for another 6 hours or until detected, which ever comes first. Then once the patrols have been avoided, if need be, you'll return to the planet at warp one. That would give whoever remains anywhere from 18 to 30 hours to find where they're keeping Ronni. It may not be enough, but it's all we have to work with."

"And who do you expect to go on this diversion?" Jamson asked.

"I volunteer myself sir, and if anyone else wants to come they are more than welcomed to. But I have to say it is risky and I understand if no one else wants to go."

Everyone began contemplating going on the diversion mission. But before anyone could speak up, Troy went over to Commander Jamson "Well sir what do you say, may I take a runabout?"

Lieutenant JG Troy Blair
Tactical Officer, USS Galaxy

"Sterner, analyze the specs of the Tyrell complex, find the best way to enter there and report in 2 hours." Commander Jamson ordered.

Joerg took the laptop and signaled Ensign Shanika to come with him. They both sat down at a table and started to discuss the security installations of the complex.

About ten minutes later, Joerg has been informed about everything important he should know about the installation. He summoned his security team to inform them of the situation and to get some help in developing a plan to get inside the complex.

"Ok everyone. This is our current situation. 'Lord Mudd' has left us with no choice but to do as he wishes. For now we need to get to a Federation refinement complex named 'The Tyrell Complex' located on the planet 'Draxor III' in the Draxor system of the Moudini sector. It is a high security complex where waist Trilithium resin from Starship's warp engines is taken and refined into a stable, and highly explosive compound normally used in explosive devices. Because of the destructive and dangerous nature of this substance, the Federation keeps a tight security hold on it's processing, refinement and manufacture for use. And that's our problem, we need to get inside this facility to retrieve the amount the dear 'Lord Mudd' wishes us to get."

Joerg paused to take some breath and to turn the laptop to show everyone a map showing the security details of the complex.

"The outside perimeter of the complex is protected by a force field that prevents transporter beams. This 'dome' extends over the whole complex and .75 of a kilometer past the complex's outer gates. So there is no way of directly beaming into the complex. Inside the 'dome' the complex is surrounded by a electrified fence that is 30 feet tall, and extends 6 feet under ground. There is only one entrance, and it is guarded by four security guards, and electronic surveillance equipment at all times. Whoever wants to get in there has to pass through the main gate." Joerg said while pointing at the portion of the map where four dots where located.

"Once inside the main gates, the road forks off into three main routes. One leads to the raw trilithium resin facility, marked as '1' on the map. It is very remotely located and heavily reinforced with concrete buildings and blast walls."

"The second fork leads to stabilization vats where the partially processed trilithium resin is stored while it become a stable compound. More blast walls are erected here, but not as huge as at the raw facility." Joerg pointed at the '2' marking the smallest buildings on the display.

"And finally the last fork leads to the final processing facility. This road is heavily guarded. There are four double gated 'check points' along it's path where proper papers, passes, and ids must be displayed before proceeding into, or out of the facility. Here is where the stabilized and processed end product is kept before distribution. This is where 'Lord Mudd' wants us to get him the two kilograms of processed Trilithium compound." Joerg ended the explanation of the complex structure.

"The complex itself is run by a full crew of scientists. It is guarded by several squads of trained Starfleet security officers under the command of Chief of Security Thomas Brenner. The Chief of Operations Manager is named Charles Wilcox, and he runs the entire complex." Joerg added to the information he already gave his team.

"Now it is our job to find a way inside this building and another one out with the processed compound. Does anyone of you have an ideas how this could be accomplished?" Joerg asked, while having some ideas of how they could get in himself.

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

He drank his coffee, while thinking about what was happening. There were too many different explanations for what was occuring. Hopefully the meeting would sort some of it out.

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

Five officers gathered in the Chief Of Security's office. Hutchcraft felt silly, trying to act like the Chief when he was still only a young officer. Semanka was only to happy to point out this fact every time they met.

Ensign Paran and Ensign Mulich stood at either side of Hutchcraft's desk, while Dr. Rousseau and Lt.Kane stood in front of the desk, making an almost formulated pentagon shape. Hutchcraft began to speak.

"Okay, I've just heard word that a fourth death has occured. No one was there when the death had occured, as far as we know. It's starting to look like something more than a coincidence" he spoke, trying his best to sound formal.

"There has been almost no connections between each death, except each death being extremely gruesome" Hutchcraft's mind continued to flow towards the third death, and his mind could see floods of organs. Hutchcraft tried to snap out of it.

Lt.Kane decided that now was a good time to point out his recent discovers "My engineering staff checked up on the forcefield in the Medical Bay. There was no sign of sabotage or malfunction. It looks totally fine."

Hutchcraft thought for a moment. Four deaths. No connections. Little explanation. It was time to sort all this out.

"Doctor, have you been able to find anything out about the first two victims?" Hutchcraft continued.

"Only the causes. There is little explanation of how they happened" The Doctor replied. Hutchcraft was running in circles.

"Okay then, has anyone got any ideas about why this is happening?" Hutchcraft queried the officers.

Lt.Kane spoke up, again "It could be sabotage, that would explain the last three deaths perhaps. But there has been no evidence around the forcefield ..."

"Could we have a bug that leaves little trace after altering the piece of equipment" Hutchcraft continued.

"Possibly... " Kane replied "I'll have Engineering look into it... "

"They could of been murdered" Hutchcraft looked towards Ensign Paran, as the Ensign spoke "That would also explain it."

"We have had a lot of people coming on and going off in the past few weeks" responded Kane. This could be a possibility. What if someone had boarded the ship in the past few weeks?

"Let's not rush into that yet. If there is a murderer, surely he would of been found by now?" the Lieutenant suggested.

Mulich spoke up "He could be disguised, un-scanable, there are plenty of explanations for that" Hutchcraft felt like a fool.

"The deaths could all just be accidents." Rouseau painfully suggested. "It's unlikely but could be the case."

Hutchcraft went back into thought mode. Did Lt. Sterner go through this everyday? Hutchcraft felt like he had picked a wrong straw.

"What about Lt.Chiron?" Ensign Paran spoke once more.

"He's still missing. He could of be dead for all we know. A fifth victim" Dr. Rousseau said.

"Or he could be part-responsible for all this" retorted Ensign Mulich. "He had been acting strangely recently."

"Injuring people is one thing, killing them is quite another ..." replied Dr. Rousseau. She could still remember what had happened to Chiron. Hutchcraft had had enough talk.

"Well we aren't going to solve anything sitting down. I think it's time we did something about this" Hutchcraft spoke with a firm voice. He was getting a better grasp on the whole Chief concept.

"Lieutenant, I'll have engineering continue to look for bugs in the relevant equipment" Kane was eager to get this whole incident out of the way. He had a lot better things to do than sit around talking.

"Thank you, sir." Hutchcraft made sure to state that he knew where he stood "Ensign Paran, I'd like you to find out the location of Lieutenant Chiron, whether he is dead or alive" The Ensign simply nodded with approval. "Ensign Mulich, you and I shall start questioning people about the death of Ensign Leary."

Hutchcraft looked up at his superior officers "It might be a good idea to keep these incidents fairly confidential. We don't want to cause any panic."

Kane and Rousseau agreed, and the heads of each department went about solving the mystery.

Hutchcraft looked into the black abyss of his coffee, before again taking in it's goodness.

Issac #31 continued to walk as he talked. "Our creator only used the basic 10 patterns. There have been some additions like the Stellas and Lord Mudd, but most come from the basic patterns."

Ronni tilted her head a little and said "Your creator?"

"Yes." stated Issac #31. "We are what your type call androids."

"Androids!" thought Ronni. "Well that explains a lot."

"Here is your room. Before dinner begins, I would request your assistance. One of our number was injured by your friends. Alice #101. From your records, you may have some experience that could be useful." Issac #31 said.

Ronni had to turn away. She had conflicting emotions. Starfleet teaches that you should never assist your captors, but her curiosity wanted the opportunity to work on such wonderful androids. Commander Data had come to McKinley Station for a lecture while she was there, but she hadn't been able to speak with him. She had read some of Data's creator, Soong's, work, but this would be completely different. She turned back to him and said, "I will assist you as much as possible. I will need clothing though."

Issac #31 walked over to the closest and pulled out the only article of clothing in there. Lord Mudd may be embarrassed by naked women, but this dress wouldn't cover up much. It was a gauzy red, orange, and yellow off the shoulder floor length dress. "Just lovely...." she said sarcastically half to herself.

"If you say so." said Issac #31.

Ronni quickly dresses and put on the jewelry that Issac #31 handed her. She could almost feel the soft glow lens effect start around her.

Ronni left with Issac #31 and entered the lab. Issac #31 introduced her to the various androids in there. On the table was an Alice model , #101. She looked perfect except for the hole in her side from an obvious phaser blast.

Ronni took the tricorder and did a scan of the damaged Alice and then did a scan on an undamaged Alice. The damage seemed to be minor, except the undamaged Alice had what appeared to be a power pack located where the injury was on the damaged Alice.

"Do you have an additional power pack? I think the repair will be easy. All we have to do it to repair the connections to the other hardware and replace the power pack. Then it should be easy to replicate the plastics of your skin and she should be go to go." Ronni said.

Everybody was silent. From the doorway came Lord Mudd's voice, "That is our main problem. We can live forever, but we are running out of power. That, my dear beautiful Ronni, is why you were brought here. If your friends don't return with the Trilithium Resin, we will all die."

"Come with me to dinner and I will tell you the full story." he said.

The security team had been out for almost an hour when Commander Jamson walked through the doors. Coe was glad to see him.

" Commander, you have been informed of the situation, yes?"

" No. Ensign Mohler only told me it was urgent."

" It is......" And Coe continued to fill Jamson in on what had happened.

**** 30 Minutes later ****

The security detachment had returned and the crew had also been visited by some ferengi and the beautiful women Jamson, Coe and Sterner had seen earlier that day. Now. they all had a fairly good idea of what was going on, the crew was being black-mailed.

The crew was discussing idea's of a course of action and so far, Lt Blair's seemed the most...... logical. Coe spoke up as the crew huddled in a small circle in the centre of the fire room with the drone of loud classical music in the background.

" I think Lt Blairs plan seems the most logical." Coe thought he was beginning to think like a vulcan!

" A diversion of some kind might just give us the time we need. The fact remains, we cannot allow the Trilithium Resin to fall into the hands of this... Mudd. God knows what kind of destructive power he would posses once he had it. Even if it meant the life of Ronni....." Coe finished softly. Then Lt T'Lein spoke with his ever unemotional voice.

" The needs of the many, out weigh, the needs of the few." Jamson nodded his head.

" Or the one..." Coe finished the famous vulcan phrase.

A plan was agreed apon and afterwards Jamson asked Coe for his opinions on the away team manifest........

Ronni regarded Mudd silently as she looked at him. Compared to the other androids, he seemed to be different. More full of life.

"I would prefer to return to my friends Mudd."

"Now, now. No sense being bitter over your situation. You should be honored that, out of all the people at that resort, I picked you."

"PLEASE." Ronni thought. She hardly thought being shang-highed off of the ski lift transporter and held against her will was something to be honored about.

"Whatever Mudd. Now what is this all about anyways? Why have you kidnapped me? If you're thinking my family has credits, you are badly mistaken. My sister has a career in Starfleet, same as me."

"Funny you should mention that miss Morris,... or do you prefer Ronni? May I call you Ronni?" Harry was being his usual, fast talking self... he didn't pause long enough for the Delphinian to answer. "Of course, Ronni it is then. Well, if you'll join me, we can discuss that very subject over dinner."

Mudd extended his elbow for Ronni to hold with her arm. After a short pause, she decided she didn't have anything to loose. Besides, she wasn't really in a position to refuse, and Mudd was about the most interesting person on the ship. Herself not included of course.

She placed her arm around Harry's and with a gentle pat on the back of her hand, they exited the lab. Issac #31 followed behind several yards to the rear.

"This is a Ferengi ship isn't it Mudd?" Ronni asked in a pleasant voice.

"Oh, please child! Call me Harry. I have to listen to 'Lord Mudd' constantly. It would be nice to be just plain 'Harry' for a while."

Ronni looked into Harry's eyes. They had depth. Character. Not the glassy marbles of the Issac unit. "Okay then. Harry, this is a Ferengi ship isn't it?"

Harry smiled. "Much better my dear. The name has such a lovely ring to it when spoken by such a beautiful woman."

"Harry... you haven't answered my question."

As the corner of Harry's mouth twisted slyly, Ronni couldn't help but to become more curious how this android could have so many 'human' qualities that the other androids lacked.

"Persistent... I like that in a woman. Yes, a Ferengi Marauder to be exact. A fine ship... if not for the low ceilings. I think you'll like it in here." Harry pointed to what appeared to be the mess hall. The ceilings here were very high. High enough to let them both stand freely with no worries of bumping their heads.

"Here we go. Please, have a seat Ronni."

Lieutenant Morris took her chair as Harry slid her in. The table was set for two and there were two glowing white candles on the table. Ronni felt uncomfortable as she unruffled her napkin and placed it on her lap. "What was this all about?" she wondered.

Harry then took his seat. "Issac, please have the others bring in the food, then leave us."

"Yes Lord Mudd." Issac then quickly turned and left. Moments later several beautiful androids entered carrying many different platters of food. There must have been enough there to feed an army.

Ronni giggled as more and more platters were placed on the table separating her from Harry. "Do I really look THIS hungry Harry?"

Harry laughed. "No my dear. I just wasn't sure what sorts of food you liked, so I had them prepare a variety. Please, help yourself to whatever you want."

As Ronni filled her plate from the smorgasbord of food on the table, she asked, "So Harry, what is this all about? Why am I here?"

Again the twinkle in his eyes. "There will be time enough for that after you eat child. Please, dig in. You must be famished."

Ronni knew he was avoiding her questions, but rather than argue, she decided to go along and eat. Beside, he was right. She was hungry and the food all looked so delicious.

As Ronni enjoyed the meal that Harry had prepared in her honor, she noticed that he didn't seem to eat very much. He would pick with his fork at a piece of food here, or there. He'd occasionally take a drink of his wine, but other than that, he didn't show much interest in the food.

"You don't eat very much Harry. Are you on a diet?"

Harry let out a sad sigh. "Not really. I just don't seem to enjoy eating as much as I once did in my youth..."

Ronni felt as if Harry wanted someone to talk to. Not just order around, but to talk to and listen to what was bothering him. She wanted to listen.. but just when she thought he was about to open up, his communications device chirped in a hail. Removing it from his belt, he answered it, staring at the small view screen. Ronni couldn't see, but could hear what was being said.

"Lord Mudd! I am sorry for disturbing your lordship, but there seems to have been a small accident that we failed to account for in our plans with the other Hue-mons."

"Accident? What are you talking about Thom? You guaranteed me that your plan would work."

"It will your lordship. You can be assured of that. On my profits!, I guarantee you will get your merchandise."

Mudd physically relaxed a bit. A Ferengi guaranteeing deliver on his own profits sounded like a sure deal. "Then what was this accident then?"

"In the planning of the first meeting with the Hue-mons from the Federation, it failed to occur to me that the vacationers might be armed."

Harry frowned knowingly. "What happened?!"

"I regret to inform your lordship that Alice 101 was damaged while delivering your holographic communication." Thom cringed in Mudd's view screen as he said it.

"You incompetent fool! That's the third unit you and your assistants have broken in the last week!"

"Yes my lord."

"What has maintenance had to say about Alice 101's condition?"

"Unrepairable my lord. But he thinks she may be salvageable for parts!... my lord." Thom's voice peaked, then trailed off as he looked at Mudd's grim expression.

Ronni hid a smile.

Mudd looked away from the device he held in his hand and at the lovely Delphinian woman sitting across the table. His facial expression lightened noticeably as he winked at her as thanks for her help.

"I've already been informed of the damage to Alice 101 you lug head. The damage is mostly superficial, except for the corrupted power unit. Have Alice 101 preserved. When we get the Trilithium resin from Starfleet, we can create a new power unit for her."

"Of course your lordship! Excellent idea. I will see to it immediately!" Thom groveled.

Harry deactivated the device and clipped it back onto his belt. Then, with a slightly surprised look, glanced back at Ronni.

Ronni picked up her napkin and patted her mouth gently with a corner. She had heard everything. Trilithium? Is that what Mudd was after? She knew it was a deadly explosive, but never even considered the possibility of using it as a power source. Pondering these thoughts, she noticed Harry looking across the table at her once again.

"This was a wonderful meal, thank you Harry. Now there was something you wanted to tell me?" She said with a smile.

Harry sighed. "It's a long story my dear."

Ronni smiled as she took a sip of her wine. "Then start at the beginning Harry. I am a good listener, and I appear to have nothing but time."

Harry smiled.

Mitchell had gone right to Beta lab after the Meteorite had been analyzed. Shtik had come down to the Geology lab, where James had reported his findings with the mysterious rock, and then, without uttering a word, except in acknowledgment of his report, Shtik had packed it up into his box and left. Shaking his head and glancing at the chronometer, James went off to his reassigned post of studying the Nebula.

***Several hours later, Beta Shift***

After running routine anaylses of the Moudini Nebula and storing it in the Main Databases for the computer to resolve, James reported to the bridge for Beta Shift. Strolling out of the Turbolift he reported to Shtik to relieve him.

"Evening, Lt. Shtik." James awaited for Shtik's response. "Time to take off for the night." Shtik was deep in thought at the station.

"Just a moment, James." Shtik was looking over a schematic of some sort of energy wave emanating from the Nebula. "I seem to be picking up something rather odd. I see no logical explanation for alpha waves of this type to be present in a gaseous nebula." James leaned in for a closer look. There was something familiar about them...Scratching his head, James thought of something. Punching up a request from the computer, a similar type of schematic came up under the energy pattern that Shtik had found. The were the same general type pattern.

"They almost look like brain waves." Shtik finally looked up from his console to stare at the Lt. "Xenobiology, remember? Try a spectral analysis."

"Please take station 2 will you, Mr. Mitchell. It appears we will need to work together on this." James pulled around the other stations chair and sat down to power up the secondary console.

"I'm going to launch a Class 2 probe into the nebula to give us more detailed readings." Mitchell programmed the probe for a wide-scan reading of the Nebula as well as use its main programming of utilizing beam emitters to scan for life in detrimental climates.

"Probe away..." He launched the probe and the telemetry almost started coming back immediately. Shtik gasped and James turned to look at the Vulcan's...show of emotion? Suddenly, James console let out a strong beep which forced his head back to it. His eyes opened wide in amazement and awe.

"Sir, there's something else out there." James couldn't read the information quick enough, so Shtik broke out of his trance long enough to redirect the information to his console. While this was happening, James had turned around and looked at the viewscreen.

"The Nebula seems..to be..expanding. And contracting?" Shtik was trying to follow the information at hand, but James could very easily concur with the anaylsis.

"I would say so, Shtik, take a look at the viewscreen..." Shtik glanced at the screen as was everyone else on the Bridge.

The once fiery orange Nebula, which had been a slowmoving gaseous cloud before, was now changing colour and roiling across the expanse of space before the Galaxy. They watched the probe enter the cloud and was immediately sucked up inside the twisting fury only to see a sudden flash of light and the information stopped, but no one noticed this, for the cloud was reaching out to them with its bluish tendrils of mystery licking at them as if in shy curiousity, but soon to envelop them...

Lt. Mitchell
Asst. Chief of Science
USS Galaxy

"Sir, I have an idea. One time, I needed to get into a Cardassian prison camp. So, I captured a Cardassian frater and made it look like it was badly damaged. I also sent out a false dilithium signal. The Cardassians thought that my ship was in need of help because of its cargo. Then, when they lowered their shields to beam aboard, I beamed into the compound. What do you think?"

Jonathan Hanover
ae238@seorf.ohiou.edu
E-mail me, or die a slow and painful death

Meanwhile, the nebula was beginning to transform and mutate in much the same way the meteorite had; changing shape, color and consistancy at an ever increasing rate.

"The Nebula seems...to be..expanding and contracting?" Shtik said, still confused by the illocial situation.

"I would say so, Shtik, take a look at the viewscreen..." The nebula seemed to be reaching for them. Shtiks mind raced, surely if he was correct about the identity of the conciousness in the cloud it could not be a hostile action, but still, he had a responsability to the ship...The needs of the many...

"Yellow Alert! Captain to the bridge!" He ordered.

Casey was pondering all the details of the Tyrell Complex when a brilliant idea hit him. He’d have to check the replicators of the resort, but this idea just may work.

Casey did a level four diag on the replicators and found they’d be adequate for his plan. Casey then walked back to the Fire Room and approached Commander Jamson.

"Commander I was wondering if I might speak with you. I have an idea that may save everyone’s rear. It should save lives and keep our records intact."

This intrigued the Commander,"I’m listening Deiran."

"Well sir, the way I see it there are two people who have ties to Starfleet Command on this planet. I don’t mean to hog all the fun, but…Blair and I have admirals in our family. I know the code for my father’s level 2 clearance. Keep in mind it’s his clearance, and they’ll check the identity of anyone who uses it. I just need a few bits of info from Troy and I think he and I can assume the identities of my father and his grandfather and infiltrate the complex without anyone at Tyrell ever suspecting a thing." Deiran paused for effect, this was sounding daring even to Deiran as he heard the words slip off his tongue. But, he was confident this could work.

"This is the way we can pull this off. I can program the resort’s replicator to create a lifelike mask of my father and Troy’s grandfather. We can tell Wilcox that we’ve come on a surprise inspection. I already know my fathers security code and I can get Admiral Blair’s. Once we have that I can replicate all the ID’s, passes and papers we’ll need. I can even create a device that will replicate DNA in blood and we can use it in case they have a blood screening. The only thing is it won’t hold up very long so we’ll need to inspect the place and get out of there. We can take some of the security team with us posing as escorts and I can create ID’s and passes for them also with aliases." Deiran was on a roll.

"Once they take us to the processing facility we have one of the security officers sneak off to collect 2 kilos of the T-resin. It’s risky, but I can have it all configured in about two hours. That still leaves us 27 hours to get to Draxor III and back in time to deliver the resin. What do you think sir?"

Deiran waited for Commander Jamson’s reply. He looked at his commanding officer, who was now in deep thought, probably looking at it from all angles. Casey was patient as he waited for an answer. This would work, but it would take some good acting. Casey could nail his father, but could Troy imitate his grandfather well enough to pull it off?

'Computer, acknowledge command disable, Authorization Skell Gamma 2 Epsilon.'

[All command protocols have been disabled, please restate request.]

Why was the computer so illogical? He had given the correct code, he gave it again, but to no avail.

'Computer, whose override code has been used to terminate command functions?'

[That informationn is not available at this time.]

Skell heard the soft rustling of a uniform nearby, and turned to the buffer control buffers, but no one was there. Knowing there was a murderer on board, he readied himself for a fight, and then stepped around the console.

A shadow leapt out at him, and caught him hard on the chin. He stumbled, but recovered as his Vulcan metabolism kicked in. He dealt a firm blow to the side of the attacker's head, but the attacks didn't stop. Blow after blow landed on Skell's body, and finally he collapsed, his green blood flowing on to the transporter pad. He tried to get up, but just didn't have the strength left.

The emergency containment field leapt into existence around the pad, and the unknown assailant walked over to the control board. He called up a recently used program of a wide dispersal of the energy, and engaged.

The Vulcan began to disappear, but then froze on the pad as a pillar of light. The pillar slowly expanded outward until it filled the entire chamber inside the force field. The attacker then disengaged the Transporter beam, and the spattered remains of the former tranporter cheif adorned the walls.

-=+The Schizoid Man+=-