"Strike and Counterstrike"
by Ensign Soushonn Arcas and Lieutenant JG K'arta

*** Shuttlecraft Liftoff ***

"Everybody hold on back there, this is going to be one bumpy ride!" advised Ensign Barker, beginning to power the shuttle's engines.

Soushonn checked to make sure that everyone's weapon was slung either across their back or in their holster. His eyes took in everything that mattered in a few seconds and he was satisfied that despite the rough takeoff there would be no weapons discharging by accident.

The half-Rigellan seemed almost comfortable during the bumpy liftoff, probably the result of his experience as an HAF pilot. He blinked happily as the shuttle attained attitude control under Barker's skillful hand and mentally saluted his fellow officer's work.

With a few moments to kill, Soushonn checked his phaser rifle again, slung it and procured a TKL pack from one of the shuttle compartments. Tearing off the top, he glanced around to see if anyone was paying much attention to him.

Satisfied that he wasn't the centre of attention, he made short work of the standard Starfleet rations quickly and quietly, drawing an occasional glance from the other members of the strike team.

It was on his third 'snack' that K'arta decided to determine exactly what Soushonn was doing...

"Ensign, what are you doing? We're about to board the Galaxy and you're eating emergency rations?" K'arta was very confused by his behaviour.

By this time everyone in the shuttlecraft (except for Barker and Casey) was regarding Soushonn's little 'meal of preparation' and the subsequent conversation it had sparked.

He indicated with a finger to wait for a moment, swallowed the last of the third ration pack and then self-consciously reported:

"Well, I wouldn't want my stomach growling and ruining the element of surprise for us."

*** Nearing the Galaxy ***

"Commander, shields of the Galaxy are down." explained Casey from the Operations Management console. "The sensors are showing Ferengi life signs on decks 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 18 and 36 sir. But,these readings are unreliable do to the amount of interference we're experiencing from Sigma's upper atmosphere."

"We'll have to go on these readings Lieutenant." answered Coe, "Are there any Ferengi on the battle bridge?"

"Negative sir, they seem to be in several crew quarters sir, probably ransacking."

Soushonn stood and readied his phaser rifle, nodding to K'arta that he was ready for action.

"There will be three strike teams..." explained the Commander, "Barker, Mercury, and Boudreau will comprise the Engineering force and will assume control of deck 36. Lieutenant Casey and I will take the Battle Bridge on deck 8. K'arta and Arcas will be responsible for securing everything in-between until both target areas have been secured. Once our objectives are taken, we'll beam aboard reinforcements to storm the saucer if necessary and anything that hasn't been taken care of."

It seemed that everyone nodded simultaneously, in understanding and in meditation for the endeavour they were about to embark upon.

"Everyone prepare for transport!" the Commander said, making sure he was heard.

*** USS Galaxy - Deck 12 ***

K'arta materialized next to a turbolift on deck 12. Silently she rechecked her phaser to make sure the safety was off and headed down the corridor... A little uneasy about taking on any Ferengi alone on this deck, she cautiously proceeded. The Klingon didn't get far before a disruptor beam shot past her head.

Dropping and rolling K'arta fired toward the source of the blast. Trying to get a good shot out, she crept forward on her stomach until she saw the agressor. A short Ferengi was trying to hide in a doorway. He hadn't seen K'arta yet. Quickly, she fired a single shot, taking that Ferengi out of commission.

A few minor fire fights later on deck 12, K'arta was finished. She found a tricorder in one of the storage panels and scanned the deck to make sure no one was lurking about. Satisfied, she went to the turbolift to meet Soushonn.

*** The Galaxy - Deck 18 ***

Someone had heard him.

Soushonn had blundered in taking it for granted that his superior hearing skills would always be 'superior' to every other adversarial species and the phaser blast that had just arced across the corridor had proven that quite clearly to him.

"They've even stolen our weapons!" he mentally raged... "Nobody steals from this ship while I'm supposed to be Security!!!"

Bursting out into the hall, he lashed out with several stream-fire shots from the phaser rifle. Two ferengi fell and a third began to scramble for his life... Soushonn's aim knocked him out before he could reach the turbolift and the excited ensign fumbled with his tricorder attachment for a moment before discovering that the next closest conscious ferengi were eight decks above him.

K'arta had obviously finished off her share of the little monsters on deck 12 just as fast as he'd cleared this floor of the ship. He resolved to rendezvous with her on deck 10.

*** Deck 10 ***

K'arta found Arcas on Deck 10. The pair of security officers were about to proceed when they heard a door hiss open. Both knew that none of the Galaxy's team should be on this deck, so they silently crept toward the source of the noise....

Sure enough, a Ferengi was standing in the doorway, his attention directed towards a companion within the room. From her side of the corridor, At that moment, K'arta thought she could get a clean shot off and take the Ferengi out. Just as she was satisfied with the angle of the shot, the Ferengi moved and the door to the room hissed shut.

A short Klingon curse word escaped, prompting Soushonn's lips into a relieved smile... At least he wasn't the only one mad about having these pests on the Galaxy... They'd have to storm in and make their attack.

K'arta and Soushonn had to dispatch the Ferengi on this deck before they could continue their mission. They walked cautiously towards the door behind which the Ferengi had disappeared. K'arta edged around the sensor mechanism while Soushonn shouldered up against the opposite die of the door... Phasers at the ready, they nodded in unison and barged through the door.

Five Ferengi met the two Starfleet security officers' surprise attack with disruptors blazing. Despite their small size and unimpressive stature in other facets, they were quite fast on the trigger... K'arta fired and dove for cover. Soushonn's burst phaser shots passed millimeters away from one Ferengi's earlobes, prompting a very unwarriorlike scream... As K'arta landed, she looked over her shoulder for her partner... The Klingon wasn't sure where Soushonn had ended up, but trusted him to take care of himself.

She'd landed behind a console that quickly erupted into sparks as another disruptor blast sailed into it. K'arta ducked again trying to avoid the searing energy. She peeked above the console just in time to find the location of one of the intruders. Instinctively, she fired and scored a direct hit... The Ferengi flew back into the bulkhead and slumped to the floor. One down...

Phaser fire mixed with disruptor fire again as K'arta hid under the console. A series of short shots from Soushonn's rifle laid two of the Ferengi out just as more began to arrive in the room from a Jeffries tube... K'arta hoped to get at least one more good shot off before having to move. Her eyebrows singed from the flaming console, she stood and fired at anything resembling a Ferengi.

Five down...

Before the remaining intruders could get a good fix on her location, she dove behind the next console. There she found an equally singed Soushonn Arcas. K'arta looked into his eyes and read what their next move was. It was the unspoken language between all security officers.

Arcas nodded to signal his readiness and after drawing a short breath, darted out from the cover of the console with rifle firing. At the same moment, K'arta laid down a barrrage of phaser blasts to cover for him. Her lay took out a surprised Ferengi before the poor soul had even realized she was there.

Several blue-green disruptor blasts mixed with the red-orange beams and bursts of the Federation weapons. K'arta assumed that Soushonn had taken out another Ferengi intruder as she heard the sound of a body thudding against the floor.

Suddenly, the whine of disruptors vanished. The Klingon used that moment to leap over the console. She was across the room like lightning and in mere seconds more, towering over an injured Ferengi. The little man cowered on the floor, his disruptor out of reach. The Klingon's battle lust was in full swing as she grabbed the Ferengi's lapels and hauled him up.

She slammed him up against the bulkhead and demanded answers. The intruder muttered something about salvage rights and sabotage before he passed out. Disgusted, K'arta let the Ferengi fall to the ground.

There was a yelp and the familiar sound of a rifle butt being brought down across someone's head... Soushonn stepped out from behind a metal column and approached K'arta, singed, bloody and looking for another fight...

"Somebody has to get to Deck 6 to insure that the Transporters are still functional and not blocked by another group like that." spoke Soushonn roughly, bleeding from a ferengi bite-mark on his lower jaw.

"We still have to rendezvous with the others on the Battle Bridge." replied K'arta, her own urge to find more fighting nearly prompting her to agree with him rather than herself.

"I'll get the transporter rooms clear, you inform those on the Battle Bridge of the situation thus far... That is, if there's anyone left up there... We haven't heard any communications yet and if Casey and Coe are dead, you're the senior officer... That's where you should be." rushed Soushonn, his eyebrows dampening with slight perspiration.

As usual, his explanation had a fair degree of logic to it...

*** Battle Bridge ***

K'arta arrived on the battle bridge to find Casey piloting the ship and Commander Coe contacting the team sent to engineering. Once he closed the connection, Coe asked her where Arcas was.

"Sir, Ensign Arcas is headed for deck 6. There are several Ferengi there that he went to dispatch." K'arta stated gruffly.

Coe's eyes widened, but he said nothing about Arcas. Instead, he gave a few orders to those of the team still on the battle bridge and asked K'arta to accompany him to the bridge...

*** Deck 6 ***

Soushonn's phaser rifle blazed golden again as he shot forth a barrage into the ranks of Ferengi that had somehow managed to activate the Galaxy's security fields...

"Get one up BETWEEN us and him you idiot!!" screamed one of the lesser-respected Ferengi as Soushonn's rifle targetted him...

"Surrender yourselves now and you may not have to wake up with headaches and phaser burns!" yelled Soushonn as he recalibrated his weapon for continous emission...

"Quax! Now!" Yelled an unseen Ferengi...

Suddenly, Soushonn was trapped between two force fields... The Ferengi had somehow managed to gain control over them enough to get the edge over him... But it wouldn't matter, K'arta and the others would eventually come across the scene and wipe the Ferengi threat out... Nevertheless, he set his rifle to its highest setting, 32, and began firing on the field directly in front of him...

Quax, meanwhile had stepped close to the other side of the field...

"It will be more than ten minutes before you can get through that field, hew-mann... At which time, you will have to deal with the next one... We have captured two of you now... How many more are there...?"

"I'll tell you, but first, how did you get control of the force fields?"

Quax held up a cyindrical device with a diametric bar across the top...

"It's a Federation Galaxy Class localized systems hack... Bought from the Maquis for a reasonable supply of trilithium... I always knew it would come in handy..." boasted Quax, obviously quite pleased with himself... "And now, hew mann... How many of you were there?

Soushonn decided to employ an ancient earth politician's trick... 'Double bluffing'...

"Oh, there's about seventy of us... Yeah... seventy..."

"Ha! You lie badly hew-mann... That shuttle could never have held more than ten or so of you... Where are the rest of you...?"

Soushonn didn't let up on firing the rifle, but he let himself slump visibly...

"There's just... Me..."

Quax laughed in a most deliberate sounding way...

"Then you will make a good slave!"

Just then, Soushonn keyed in the overload command and tossed the phaser at the field... It would explode in a matter of seconds and take the forcefield out in the process... If not Soushonn and Quax as well...

"You fool!" yelled Quax as he watched with horror... "That will kill us both! Blox! Beam the phaser away!"

Just before the weapon could explode, the familiar shimmer of the Federation's transporter technology enveloped it and it disappeared from view...

"No more chances!!!" yelled Quax... "Beam the Krecht`ar in there with him..."

Soushonn's eyebrows raised...

"What's a Krecht`ar?" he thought before again hearing the crystalline sound of the transporter beam...

The answer was one Soushonn hadn't quite expected...

"There... Let's see you take your ship back now, slave!" yelled Quax triumphantly as the hulking hairy beast snorted a challenge to the trapped ensign.

Soushonn backed up against the wall of the corridor and readied to defend himself, but the beast was upon him in a single leap...

There was a struggling of the security officer's arms against the massive creature's head as it attempted to rip his neck out from under his skull... Ultimately ending in a deflection of the krecht`ar's jaws... Soushonn had momentarily thwarted disaster...

Immediately it was back after his face... His hands caught both the upper and lower jaws this time, though, and he exerted all of his physical force into snapping the two laterally away from one another...

With a sickening crunch, the creature's jawbone broke on the right side, the other half driving diagonally into its brain... It shrieked and fell to the deck plates, shaking its head back and forth violently...

Its first head...

By the time Soushonn had taken the combat blade from his boot, the creature's second had already taken over and brought its attention on its aggressor...

Pouncing and turning in mid-air, the krecht`ar caught the poor ensign off-guard...

Soushonn felt a warm sensation as the beast's horns tore through his abdomen... He gasped and stabbed the knife down into the creature's forehead, but it was already too late... It was ripping and tearing through his body cavity with the two large horns...

As the monstrosity fell limp to the deck plates at last, Soushonn reached down to feel how severe the wound actually was... His jaw dropped in shock as he realized that he had almost been split in two... The horns had passed clean through him on both sides of his body, and the rapid throwing and thralling of its head had forced the wounds to run more than a few inches longer...

The last thing he remembered as he sunk to the floor was wondering if all of his organs were still in place, which they most likely weren't...

Quax gaped at the sight of the two dangerous creatures lying atop of one another in a heap... He had not expected the krecht`ar to be killed... And it would definitely cost him... He contemplated lowering the force field, but stopped short as he heard a low moaning coming from the half-human who lay on the ground...

"Y-y-you can die first, hew-mann... " spoke the Ferengi bitterly, rubbing his ear lobe between thumb and forefinger...

"Problems from the Center"
by: Ensign Thomas

Chris was sitting down on top of the building as he was talking and listening to the crewmembers that were still trapped. If they had more time then he'd have ordered the teams to continue digging, but twos they'd never even come close to finding or door or an exit for them to get off. Then there was this reactor core that was nearing critical. Chris was working with his padd running the computations on the time parameters given.

He firgured that given the time constants they'd never get everyone of the surface in time, even if Coe's team had succeded. He didn't like the that outcome so he decided to change it by adjusting his calculations. They'd have every availble transporter on the Galaxy on-line, including all availble shuttlecraft transporters. He then noted that the ship would have to assume either a stationary orbit or circle the planet using impluse drive to come around again so that the windows merged together enough to allow near continous report.

He tapped his comm badge to see if it was working beyond this point and found that it was. "Ensign Thomas to Captain Price I need to speak with urgently and in private, can you please come to the center of town." Chris inquired. He had learned the captain had been injured somewhat in the past.

He then hollowed down into the hole, "Lt. Mitchell, the captain is back on the planet. I've been working on calculations about transport time back to the Galaxy and I strongly ugre you everyone else down there to find away to turn that thing off or to stall it, otherwise we going to be pushing it to get ever back to the ship before that thing goes." Chris said as he considered the situation, the captain need to know as he would have to make some decisions only a captain could make.

He prayed that Commander Coe, Lt. Casey and the others had managed to regain control of the Galaxy and he set his comm badge to open a channel as soon as they hailed. As they hadn't a clue about the situation that Chris had learned of only a short time ago. He also knew that he could't let anyone else know of the problem, as it would likely casue a panic that would't do anyone any good.

Chris Patton

"Home at Last, Home at Last"
by Ensign Tony Grump

Greer.....Greer....Greer wake up. They are about ready to transport us back to the Galaxy.

Greer (Ensign Erikson) woke up with a start, ["How are the patients, the doctor."]

"Whoa big guy. They have already transported back to the ship with a medical team. They should all be doing alot better by now. Your quick thinking saved the Doctor's life you know." says Grump.

["It was nothing, you would have done the same thing if our roles had been reversed."]

"That is nice of you to say, but I am not sure. Now come on we need to get over to the transport site."

["Okay. Lets go."]

Erikson and Grump walked as quickly as they could without running to the site where other crew members were waiting in line to be transported back to the ship. Finally, after about 20 minutes of waiting, their turn came and they were whisked away in a flash to the Galaxy and then to their quarters for a well deserved shower.

Submitted by: Ensign Tony Grump USS Galaxy Science Department

"Jasey Penny"
By Ensign Chan
(Reviewed and Approved by Ensign Erikson) Ops Officer U.S.S Galaxy

The sky was dotted with tiny specs of silver, it was dark, the last vestiges of sunlight had disappeared hours ago. It was night, the moons glowing to light the sky. Good thing the team carried flashlights, tied around their wrist it was useful AND fashionable !

After walking through the rain forest, they had stopped where the Jungle and the swamp meet. They were taking time to insulate their boots and pants before heading in. Dryness was a major issue when you wish to take a walk into a place as damp as a swamp. Making sure you’re dry when you come back out was as important as breathing. Because right beyond the swamp was the desert. And at night, temperatures in the desert could hover around 0 degrees Celsius.

The two Anticans they had re-captured, were really quiet during their lengthy walk in the jungle. Funny how gentle they become once domesticated. Of course, domesticating them was not a task to be taken lightly. While the team had fumbled around the forest, looking for something to tie the Anticans with. Kamin had to nerve pinch the two several dozen times before Janus dug up some roots and used them as ropes. By then, the cats were ecstatic to be doing anything, instead of being rendered unconscious.

Blair and Kamin had been called back to camp for some emergency discovery they made in the dig site. Being the senior officers they are, they rushed out of sight the second the long range communications cut off, putting Chan and Janus in charge of bringing the con-men to the shelters for proper punishment.

"This should do…" Said Chan, carrying what looked like a model display out of the Smithsonian. A hollowed out tree, about 2 meters in length . "What do you think of our canoe ?" The Bolian was the first to point out its flawed appearance. "I think it looks awful."

It wasn’t intended to look good, just sturdy enough to carry the two cats across the swamplands.

"A federation phaser isn’t the most perfect sculpturing tool you know." Replied Chan hastily putting on his waterproof pants. Which would supposedly stop water from rendering his clothes all wet, supposedly.

"Why should we bring them back anyway ? Why don’t we just leave them here to die like they killed Ensign Luger ?" The Bolian pointed out.

The two Anticans grimaced to retort Janus comment. But he was right. These two did help kill a federation officer and for that they should be punished… The federation way.

"I bet if we untie them, the first thing they’ll do is to jump on us and try to kill us." The Bolian said again. Ignoring the fact that they are domesticate and would hate to suffer to the nerve pinch again.

Janus had made a valid argument. These Anticans needed their help to get through the swamp. Their lack of swimming ability and their inability to stand water forced John and Janus to build a raft to service the prisoners.

Chan’s attention was suddenly on the shrubs, it was moving. He pulled his phaser out and aimed at it. The Bolian got startled by Chan’s sudden gesture. "Shhh…. Look…" Chan said.

"What is it ? " Asked the bolian, pointing his wrist mounted flashlight at it. It seems to be moving in a faster motion now… The leaves slapped one against another, louder and louder. "I don’t know" Replied Chan. A cat leapt out !

" Another one !" The Bolian yelled. Jumping into a nearby water puddle, hoping that it would save him from being harmed. Chan was startled, and accidentally fired the phaser. The beam bolted past and did not seem to have hit anything, except a tree about 50 meters away.

The cat, however was not an Antican. It paced around the campfire, the glimmers of its whiskers showing , its dark fur blending in with the pitch black ground.

"W-w-hat is that ?" Asked the Bolian, still hiding in the water. Drenched.

Chan kept his phaser angled towards the animal. " I think it’s a cat…" " Are they… dangerous ?" " No, they’re not. " Chan relaxed his arm and lowered his weapon. "It’s probably from the Galaxy. Must’ve been transported here like all the others. " Chan approached the cat, trying to make it climb on his arm. " Oh… Goody. Let’s leave it here and get on with it !" Janus newfound phobia for cats made him … Careless.

Chan’s welcoming motion attracted the cat, but it still stood a good meter or two away. "Come on kitty." . It was reluctant, not willing to be subdued by a stranger. "Come on, I won’t hurt you." He leaned down, Chan’s fingers flapped one against another, he recalled that this attracted zoo animals in a safari tour he had taken several years back. He did not know whether it would work with cats.

The cat graciously dashed at the motioning hand.

Chan lifted it, close to his chest. "This thing is so cute !" The cat made a distinct rubbing motion with its head. Chan patted its furry back.

Janus was noticeably annoyed, getting up, he gathered that his uniform was in awful condition, layers of mud covered most of it and it was tattered in some places. Chan’s uniform fatigue was mostly drenched but condition wise, it was great.

"Here give it a try…" Chan asked, softly as if not wishing to provoke the creature.

Janus wasn’t nearly as considerate. " No, no thanks. In case you have forgotten, cats tend to be aggressive toward me."

" This one won’t hurt a bit…. " Chan’s voice softened, directed at the cat. " You won’t attack the angry bolian now will you ?"

" No matter how affectionate you might make this encounter look, my answer is still no. " Turning Chan’s attention back to Janus.

" Afraid ?" He said, almost as a passing remark, not a question really. Chan’s inquiry struck a deep cord within the Bolian, he didn’t appreciate being treated as a coward. Something he had encountered a lot in the academy. Chan was counting on it. " I mean if you are, I’d understand perfectly. I’d be afraid to hold a Tholian spider…But that’s another thing altogether…" His voice trailed off, to somewhere distant to let the bolian think.

" Alright ! Alright give it to me ! " The Bolian accepted the challenge.

Chan softly handed the cat over. Making sure it does not bump into anything that might be of annoyance, he had seen enough cat fights lately. But, even with Chan’s courtesy, Janus couldn’t be more hostile. It looked as if he was going to hold the kitty by the neck, strangling it.

Janus hated cats, as he has stated several times during the past hour. The Bolians were known to make quick judgments of everything, including animals. That’s why their judicial system lacks credibility. If someone committed murder on Bolarus IX, they’d be trialed, prosecuted and sentenced in ten minutes.

The cat, meanwhile didn’t look very pleased about its new host. " You should try and be a bit more…." Chan paused as if to emphasize something Janus would not know about."… Friendly." " Why don’t you try to be friendly to something that nearly killed you two hours ago !" Janus replied still holding the cat by the tip of his fingers. It was dangling, strained by the grip the bolian was holding it.

Then the cat fell.

They were known for their dexterity , "Always lands on their feet" they say. But not when they were held some 1 meter in the air with its back turned against the ground. The first thing the cat did after it fell in the humid soil was to get up, the second was to get back at its assailant.

It jumped at the bolian and clung to his leg, tearing more holes in the Bolian’s already Swiss cheesed uniform. Thin strips of fabric on Janus pants tore open. Another vicious attack !

Janus was in a state of total panic, he did not dare hit the kitty with his fist, so he attempted to push it away. Slapping it awkwardly . " Get off ! Shoo ! Shoo kitty ! "

Chan again pursued the cat with a welcoming stance. It stopped attacking Janus and leapt onto Chan’s arm.

" If I were human, I’d be sorry for you. " Chan responded, rubbing the cat’s white underbelly fur. "If I were totally human."

" If you are referring to my apparent lack of handling skill for the local wildlife. " Said Janus, the recent ‘attack’ has heightened his mistrust for cats. "Then you are absolutely correct."

" Not just the local wildlife…" Chan said, emphasizing Local.

" So what are you going to do with it ? Bring it along ?" Suggested Janus, bearing an almost mocking tone.

A long pause.

" I haven’t thought of that, but now that you mention it…" Chan picks up the name tag. "Jasey…"

To be truthful Chan already had that in mind, but just for the sake of annoying Janus he had to say it. The animal shouldn’t be left here anyway. The ecology wouldn’t support another predator or prey, whichever the case.

Then static came through Chan’s comm badge. Something was calling out, but it was very hard to make out. The comm badge then adapted, phasing into something more audible.

" zszzszsfsdfzs….Ensign Chan ? Please respond !" A voice crackled through.

At first Chan thought it was from the camp, to tell them to hurry up. Which doesn’t explain the crackle. Logic dictates that the interference could only be caused by the beryllium in the atmosphere. And the message was from

The Galaxy !

" Chan here ! Boy I’m glad to talk to you !" Chan knew the only logical person that would occupy the task of finding and beaming isolated crewmen aboard was Darren Streb, transporter specialist.

The Bolian figured that out himself. They must work together in Engineering. " Darren ! Darren ! Please get me off this muddy planet ! " He said, wiping some of the mud that had clung onto his uniform.

" With pleasure Janus…" We can hear the distinct sound of the computer chirping in the background. We could at least deduce the ship was fully functional. Who knows what the Ferengi might have done to it." Wait, I read 3 other life signs. Two five meters away… One… Inside Chan ?!?!?" The readings, in reality, detected two Anticans tied down and the cat Chan was holding in his arms.

" Beam the two others directly to the brig. As for us three, " He paused to as if to dramatize the moment. "Get us home." He saw the dark rain forest around fade into a vivid shade of blue, dancing in a indescribable pattern of glistening dots. Light from a thousand stars, glimmering as he materialized on the transport platform of the Galaxy.

It was good to be back.

Janus sped out of the room, waving at Mr. Streb as he passed, eager to take a sonic shower. And get rid of this uniform.

"Nice to have you back, sir." Said Mr. Streb.

" Good to be back. " Replied Chan. Definitely glad to be in the luxury of the Starship.

" What was the Alien creature that was inside you ?" Asked Streb smiling.

Chan was taken aback by the question, then realized what the officer meant." Oh, it was a cat, named Jasey." He was going to take a long long shower and spend long long time in his quarters catching up the replicated food he had missed while in the planet. Nothing left to do except to report the missing cat to the lost and found… " Where is it !?" Asked the officer confused, looking around.

Chan’s idled expression altered, his eyes glanced around the room…

He did not know.

"Home again, home again, jiggedy jog"
by Jurelle Tash

Jurelle's awareness came back to her and she realised she was lying in the dust and sand of the planet Sigma II. She sat up and looked around, noting Will flat out on his back not far away and what looked like a camp in the distance. Squinting her eyes in the hot sun she could just make out figures in the distance and she slowly got to her feet, groaning at the pain in her joints and went to wake Will.

She felt relief at leaving the ancient earth behind them but very weary as it seemed they had a trek in front of them. And then, what was happening with the Galaxy? Will and herself had not been the only people beamed off the Galaxy. What if the whole crew was? The ship had been in a precarious orbit, was it still up there? Jurelle sighed, so many questions, would she ever get home.

Jurelle took a moment to wonder at what point the Galaxy had become 'home' to her and poked Will awake. A moment later they were on their way toward the distant camp. Niether of them spoke as they slowly made their way forward, covering the distance in twice the time it would normally have taken them at a standard starfleet dogtrot. Getting closer to the camp they could determine that it was indeed the archeologists quarters with many starfleet uniforms running around at a frantic pace.

Stumbling into camp the two were given water by a kindly soul and recieved with many sighs of relief. There was no rest for the wicked however and they were shown the makeshift sickbay where the honerary medical personel were busy at work. They were just in time to witness the beam-out of the critically injured doctor before being put to work treating the cuts and bruises and the more serious injuries of the crew returning from the past. Jurelle was exhausted but people needed her help so she did all she could as her shipmates filled her in as to what had been happening over the last few days.

Many hours later Jurelle was taking a break, eating some much needed food and talking with some of the other crewman, they all had unusual tales to tell and all were glad to be almost home. The evacuation of the planet was going slowly, many were needed to continue trying to free those trapped underground, and still many more were unaccounted for. It would be some time yet before Jurelle would see her quarters on the Galaxy. All she could do for now was daydream about the sleeping and the eating she would do when she finially made it off this dust-ball of a planet.

Ensign Jurelle Tash Medical officer USS Galaxy

"Tears Come Forth"
by Ensign Alan Hewson

"You are without a doubt the most beautiful person I have ever seen." Alan said to the transporter chief as he stepped off the transporter pad. "If you weren't a man, I would kiss ya." AC was so happy to be off the floating rock called Sigma II. It felt so good to be back on a starship, the low hum of the engines music to the engineer's ears.

"Glad to see you made it back alive, AC." Specialist Darren Streb's deep voice boomed. "Hang on a minute, I need to check you off the list. Gotta make sure we get everyone back you know." Streb erased Alan's name from the list of those who hadn't beamed back yet. So far, about thirty-five percent of the crew had been beamed from the planet. Alan made his way to his quarters, dying to take a sonic shower and change clothes.

As he walked through the hallways, a huge smile swept his face. This was his home, and he was glad to have it back. His room was just a little down the hallway, and his pace quickened just a bit. The smile on his face vanished as he saw the doors to his quarters were open. A bottle of wine that had been placed between the doors kept them from closing.

"Tonne Mon Pak, 2311." The label on the bottle read. "This was some of my finest Blood Wine!" A feeling of dread came over Alan as he stood at the doorway, not wanting to look inside. With a couple of deep breaths, he prayed that nothing else was missing. His courage built up and he turned to survey the damage.

The loudest curse to ever escape Alan's lips sounded as he saw all of his belongings scattered all over the room. All of his belongings that the Ferengi hadn't taken, that is. Tears almost formed in his eyes as he saw his wine rack was almost completely empty. He fell to his knees, burying his face in his hands. The picture of a fat Ferengi downing the bottle of Triston Red Water that had been Alan's graduation gift from his parents popped into his mind. The tears came forth.

There he sat for sometime before coming to his senses. He found one of his uniforms still hanging in his closet. It was a little wrinkled, but at least it was clean. The thought of taking a relaxing shower was gone now. It was time for him to get to engineering.

The feeling of joy that Alan had felt when he came onboard the Galaxy was no where to be found. With a face full of sadness, he entered the doors of engineering. His mood lightened a bit. The blue glow of the warp core warmed him inside. Then it struck him that there was no one to be found.

"Hello?" He shouted, "Anyone here?" There was no response for awhile, but then Mèlissa came sliding down a ladder from the deck above.

"Alan! I'm so glad you're back!" The young ensign said as she lept off the last ring of the ladder. "Hardly anyone from engineering is back. In fact, right now I'm in charge."

"Where's Lt. Hutchcraft?" Alan asked. He had figured the senior officers would be the first ones to beam up, and it worried him that Hutch hadn't yet arrived.

"I don't know. He hasn't reported back to the Galaxy yet. Why, do you think he could be in trouble..."

"Answers"
by Ensign Greer Erikson, Science Officer

------------USS Galaxy----------

After being transported back to the Galaxy the first thing Erikson looked forward to was getting back to his quarters. It felt as if he hadn't slept for days and this was pretty much the case. As he approached his quarters he noticed Jasey pacing in front of the door, her small body unable to activate the sensor to let her inside and she seemed extremely frustrated - at least as frustrated as this cat could express.

"Hello cat" Erikson said with relief. He was too tired to care how she had gotten out of his quarters but he was certainly glad she was alright. Erikson approached the doors to his quarters and as soon as they opened Jasey ran in and straight in front of the replicators.

"Nice to see you too Jasey" Erikson said sarcastically to her lack of her enthusiasm. "I guess your hungry?" he asked rhetorically as he approached the replicator. "Feline supllement 76" he requested. A dish with catfood appeared in the chamber. Jasey could smell the food as soon as it materialised and she responded to the smell eagerly. "Here you go" placing the dish on the floor.

"Computer, play Jazz Program Erikson-3A". The sound of Billie Holiday's voice filled the room with the song 'Strange fruit'. "Computer reduce volume by 30 percent".

Erikson contemplated the word 'strange' as a context to describe his first mission onboard the Galaxy. During the mission he had gotten lost, been temporally displaced, and acted as a temporary medical officer. He kind of liked it. Before being assigned here he had been in a laboratory in a Starfleet science facility. The job was interesting but it hadn't offer him the adventure of the unkown he yearned for. But at what price. Several members of the crew had been killed and some mortally wounded - this wasn't the usually practice when he was in the lab.

"Macchiato, hot, two sugars" he requested at the replicator. A cup full of dark, caffeine-rich, aromatic coffee materialised within a few milliseconds. Taking a sip he moved over to a chair and sat down. Everytime he closed his eyes he saw the hieroglyphics which seemed to have burned onto his retina - he knew there was one more thing he had to do.

"Computer, access historical database and analyse sensor reading 9876.43.9008.1" he requested, hoping to find the answers to the hieroglyphs which had eluded him on Sigma II.

[Working]. He love the sound of the computer's voice. It was so familiar and so 'comforting'. [Analysis complete]

"Describe" he asked.

[Sensor readings indicate the data to be a variation of the written language used by the ancient Egyptian civilisation on Earth]

"What was the level of variation?"

[10.038 percent variation detected]

"Computer, extrapollate from linguistic database using all Federation and non-Federation graphical texts and translate. Audible readout".

The computer worked on the text which had annoyed Erikson since he found it. It wasn't the text that actually annoyed him, it was the inability he had at deciphering its meaning.

[The sun rises to the heavens. It travels the day it's journey. It gives the earth life. It declines down from the heavens. It ends it's journey. The sun rises again to reclaim the heavens. It renews the life].

"Computer, log results with the Federation archaeological database and send a report to Lieutenants Mitchell and Morris" Erikson asked as the computer answered with sounds of it processing the command.

Erikson contemplated the meaning of the message. There was no conclusive evidence to suggest it was definitely ancient Egyptian in origin, however, it did raise some interesting archaeological questions if it was indeed from that era of Earth's history. Although he would be interested in pursuing the answers himself, Erikson felt it appropriate to allow the professional archaeologists to do their work without his amateur abilities on the subject - he had delved enough outside his own professional field while on Sigma II. It seemed to him that the text described the journey of life. Although he had not known her long, Erikson thought of Dr. Rousseau. Her life onboard the Galaxy was concluding but her life would just beginning somewhere else. The young man seemed to understand the meaning - we begin a chapter in our life, we live that chapter of our life, the chapter ends but through the ending begins a new chapter. Whether it was the meaning it's author intended seemed irrelevant to him. He thought about his mother, his career, his own personal experiences, and the lives of those he knew. This meaning seemed to hold in each case.

"Computer, access sensor readings 9876.43.9008.32 through to 9876.44.9323.9 and log with the Department of Temporal Investigations" he requested. He had no doubt they would be interested in his experience aboard the Melbourne. "Send a copy of the analyses to Lieutenants Mitchell and Morris" he added. The computer processed his commands accompanied by the usual sounds.

"Computer, open personal subspace communication. Dr. Paul Erikson, Exobiology Department, Starbase 133" Erikson said deciding to tell his father what had happened on the Melbourne after all. He owed his father this much.

[Ready] the computer responded. Erikson began to find the word to describe the event he had experience only some time earlier. It was hard at first but the words seemed to flow from his mouth.

---------A little while later---------

"Take care of yourself Dad. I'll hear from you soon. Greer" he concluded his communication "Computer, end subspace communication and send".

Erikson felt a little lonely. He had spent some of his time isolated and needed some company. Jasey was there but she was more engrossed in her cleanliness that keeping him company. Standing up, Erikson tapped his communicator. "Erikson to Grump".

[Grump here.]

"How about that game of 3-D chess you challenged me to on the planet surface. Still up to it" he asked.

[Indeed. I will met you in Ten-Forward shortly.]

"Great, Erikson out". Erikson left his quarters to respond to Grump's challenge in Ten-Forward. He wasn't expecting too much of his ability in the game. At the Academy his friend T'Raal had beaten him most of the time and he suspected that Grump would do the same. Not because he was a Vulcan but because he just didn't have the skill of the game. It wasn't the pleasure of winning he enjoyed, rather, it was the challenge of attempting to beat a player more skilled than himself.

"Rerouting Trouble"
by Lt. Ronni Morris
Asst. Chief of Science, USS Galaxy

Ronni crawled through the floor plates of the battle bridge and was able to bypass the forcefields erected by the Ferengi. Her first goal was to reach one of the shuttlebays.

It only took about fifteen minutes to get to shuttlebay two, but from there it was easy to use the colbax cable from the shuttlebay's transporter to reroute command from the Ferengi controlled systems to the shuttlebay doors. Her PADD reported that two Ferengi were outside the shuttlebay doors. She quickly overrode their lock out to the main doors so that the shuttle could enter when it arrived. She also added a little command sequence to the ship's phaser systems so that if the command to fire the phaser was overridden by the Ferengi, the system would perform a 10 second self diagnostic before firing. Any half witted pilot could surely avoid being hit then.

Her next step was to get back command of the ship. Through the Jefferies tubes, she crawled to a little place that she and Karen Davies, Major Jeppo's wife, had called the 'Rat's Nest'. It was a 2 meter by 2 meter wide area at the center of the ship. Outside of the WARP core, it was probably the most heavily protected place on the ship. It was where Karen would spend 18 hours a day programming and re-routing systems.

Ronni chuckled to herself as she remembered having a picnic there with Karen and talking about their love of travelling the stars, joked about Karen's recent marriage, and talked a Delphi, Ronni's home. She had spent some time even teaching Karen some of the Delphinian language. She also blushed to herself remembering climbing up to the Rat's Nest to find Karen and Tinnian there . . . together.

She pulled herself up and within 20 minutes, all the the Ferengi controlled systems were purged. It wasn't long after that the sensors showed that the Galaxy crew had freed the ship. She set the computer to running a diagnostic to purge any possible traps left by the little bat earred morons and allocated more power to the transporters. Hopefully they would be able to quickly pull everyone back up from the Sigma IV.

Ronni soon caught up with Miran. She was happy for the Bajoran when she saw her reunited with Deiran. Miran sneezed quite a number of times and all of a sudden it dawned on Ronni what that meant. Miran was PREGNANT!! Miran turned and left. Miran walked out of the room. Ronni looked at Deiran and smiled.

"She's been sneezing a lot, is she okay?" Ronni asked, swallowing back a laugh.

"I hope so Ronni, I'm concerned about her." Deiran really was concerned.

"Bajoran women sometimes have those sneezing attacks, interesting huh?" Ronni said as she walked towards the door, laughing at Deiran.

Deiran ran to catch up to her,"What are you laughing about?" he asked.

"Hey if you can't figure it out hotshot, I'm not going to ruin it for you," Ronni laughed at Deiran again.

Out in the corridor, Commander Coe was there speaking with Ensign Washington. When the Ensign walked off, Cmdr. Coe said sternly, "Lt. Morris, I need to have a couple of words with you about your un-authorized teleporting to the ship during a crisis . . . . . "

Ronni just sighed to herself. It was going to be a long day.

** Starbase 123 **

Lt. Kane was busy packing his duffel bag in his quarters on Starbase 123. He breathed in deeply, then let out a great sigh. He was going back to the USS Galaxy. He'd spent the past months on Starbase 123, working on a classified Borg-related project. It was unfortunate that the project was unsuccessful. Kane thought that the Federation was really starting to become desperate for a weapon that would work against the borg repeatedly.

It was all very well to work on a Starbase he thought, but Lt. Kane was born to work on a Starship. He couldn't imagine life anywhere else. He had counted the hours till he returned to the Galaxy. And he was still counting. And the count was getting smaller.

Kane really liked the Galaxy. It was the only Starship where he ever really felt "at home". Sure, the other Starships were good. But none more so than the Galaxy. It was the best of the best. As far as you could go. And Kane was very thankful that he had made it there. And he wanted to repay the Federation for its gift to him.

Kane's thoughts were interrupted when the door chime rang. "Come..." he called. A yeoman entered. "Sir, your transport to Earth is leaving in 10 minutes from Shuttlebay 4. I'll take your bag, if you like sir."

Kane handed over the bag. "Thankyou, Yeoman..." Kane glanced at his nametag. "Gareth." As the Yeoman left with Kane's bag, Kane followed him, and took one last glance at his quarters, knowing that he was moving back to something bigger and better.

** 8 minutes later **

Kane was seated in the long-range shuttlecraft, along with another Lieutenant, and a computer technician. The technician's job made Kane reflect on where he had come from, and where he was going. Kane's seat bumped, and he looked up to find the shuttlecraft drift out of the shuttlebay and into space. Kane looked at the thousands of stars and felt at home once more. The stars could do that to you.

When the warp drive kicked in, the shuttlecraft flung off into space. The Phoenix had been reborn.

------------
Julian King
king@fl.net.au http://jking.home.ml.org

Galaxy Log
Ensign Kahn Nilani
Uss Galaxy

As the shimmer effect stopped she knew she was back home. This was a great feeling after all those days on a nother planet and in medievil times she could now rest in her bed. She then realised that she needed to get changed as she was still in the cloths that she was in when they were in the 14th century.

*****1 hr later*****

She walked into Ten Forward and approached the bar.

"Iced Coffee please"

"Yes mam" was the response. A couple of seconds later she had a tall glass of Iced Coffee and she was walking to a table, as she sat down she looked down at the planet and for a breif second thought about her experiences on it.

In a blue swirling mass, Colby, along with an ensign appeared on the transporter pad. As the haze quickly died down, the transporter chief could see that the young boy was in the middle of action. When they came to, Colby quickly finished his motion and kicked the ensign swiftly in the shin.

His face was flushed with color. "Why didn't we wait for my daddy?!?" he demanded.

The ensign still held his knee in pain. "For the fifth time, your dad is busy. I was instructed by the counselor to bring you onboard so that you could get a check up at sickbay. Now could we please just get there and without kicking me AGAIN?!" he said out of frustration.

Colby had ignored half of the statement. He was busy trying to stare down the transporter chief. "It's about time! What took you so long?!" Colby was obviously annoyed with everything around him. Anything that seemed to move could set off his last nerve. Again.

The ensign stepped off the pad, as did Colby. He motioned with Colby to follow him.

Moments later, they were at the doors of sickbay. "Now," the ensign started, "there are alot of other hurt people, and you are just going to have to wait your turn until one of the doctors can check you over."

Colby's face turned into one of fear. The same fear that any other child has when he goes to see a doctor. "What... What are they going to do?" He looked up with large eyes.

"They're just going to treat you for your sickness and then make sure that you're still not overheated." He looked down into the child's eyes and sighed. He thought of how funny it was that just a few moments earlier, he was acting like the toughest kid on the Galaxy. Now he was almost ready to cry when he found out he was going to sickbay for a simple checkup.

"That's it? You promise?" Colby said with a whimper in his voice.

"I promise. I'll make sure they won't do anything besides that, ok?"

Colby just nodded and took the outreached hand of the ensign.

The doors opened, and they slowly made their way into the horror that is known as sickbay!

"Beam-down"
by Ensign K'Eytyanna Samara

K'Eytyanna raced into her quarters after she heard that Lt Hutchcraft where was and threw her sword down on a couch.

A quick examination found that the Ferengi hadn't messed it up too much. As she quickly removed her chainmail armour, her Klingon side mentally spoke,

'Bajoran, Human, we have to go down there and help get the Galaxy crew out of that underground facility.' The two other sides quickly agreed as she put on a fresh uniform. Less then a minute later, she was racing down the corridor towards the nearest transporter room. Entering the room, she saw that some of the crew had just beamed up. Heading over to the transporter operator, she barked out,

"Specialist, beam me down to Sigma II now." The man looked up and said,

"Ensign, all the transporter rooms are working to bring the crew members that are on the planet back up here. It's crazy to beam down there! The planet is going to explode, and I don't have orders to let anyone down." K'Eytyanna growled softly as she reached for her d'k tahg, a look of pure anger on her face.The man gulped and replied,

"Certainly I can beam you down." She nodded and pulled a phaser and engineering kit from one of the cabinets in the room. Stepping onto the padd, she ordered,

"Energise." Five seconds later, she re-appeared on the surface of Sigma II and headed towards what she believed was the infirmary, hoping that Captain Price wouldn't be too annoyed about her beaming down but driven on by Klingon loyalty to her CO. Her Klingon side growled,

'If anyone asks, we beamed down out of loyalty and courage, not stupidity.'

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ensign K'Eytyanna Samara,
USS Galaxy NCC-70637 Engineering Department

"The Ship Is Ours"
By Ensign Gary Barker Helmsmen, USS Galaxy

Gary ducked as a phaser blast flew by. He responded, by growling a low growl and firing right back. A ferengi howled in pain.

A short time later it was over. The ferengi scum beamed away leaving the Galaxy. For a short time Gary remained in main enginering helping an any way he could.

His commbadge buzzed. "Ensign Barker here," he responded. "Ensign Barker, report to the bridge," the voice of Commander Coe announced. "On my way," Gary replied. He hit the badge again, closing the line. He walked over to the turbolift and entered.

"Main Bridge," he said.

The lift started up, taking him to the commmand center of the Galaxy.

When he arrived, Gary was ordered by Commander Coe to take the helm, and keep them in orbit.

Gary slid into the helmsmen seat. He tapped a few controls bringing the Galaxy into the proper orbit. They had just begun to drift back down towards the planet, when Gary had arrived on the bridge.

It looked as though things would be ok. He hoped things would be back to normal in a few days, and then they could get away from this planet. Gary had not enjoyed his trip back in time. Ending up in 1778, he had almost been shot by one of those old muskets. He only wished that if he was going to travel back in time, it would be during the civil war. His favorite spot in history.

Gary turned from the board, looking up at the main viewscreen, and wondering what was out there, in the far reaches of space.

"Leaving finally?"
by Lieutenant Commander Joerg Sterner
Chief of Security, USS Galaxy

'We are running out of time.' Joerg thought while Lieutenant Mitchell, Doctor Currie, Fitzpatrick, and himself were busily trying to find a way to understand the symbols on the walls. Finally Fitzpatrick and the Doctor found out, that by pressing some of the symbols in the correct order, a destination can be assigned to the transporter field, they found earlier.

"However, we still have to find out where these destinations will lead us." Joerg said.

"The best thing would be, if we could find a way to evacuate our people from the planet with the help of these devices." he added.

"I'm sure some of those symbols will show us where this transporter will lead." Doctor Currie said, still very enthusiastically.

"Could you try to find some more scientifically ways to determine where it leads? I'll check with Hutchcraft again, perhaps he has some good news for us." Joerg said and left the group to head for the stairs again.

'That's quite an interesting training.' he thought while climbing up the stairs once again.

******************* Meanwhile in the control room *******************

Lieutenant Hutchcraft was nervously scanning all the devices again and again. 'There has to be some way to stop or at least stall the overload.' he thought. While he was looking for some engineering tricks to prevent the disaster, Professor Hallmark studied the symbols very carefully, much like the other group one floor below.

He also was certain, that by understanding the meaning of these symbols, they would be able to understand and even partly control the ancient technology. He was just about to press one of the symbols, when Lieutenant Hutchcraft was looking at him.

"Don't touch that!" he shouted at the expert.

"But I think that may help us with our current problem Lieutenant. I'm quite certain, that this will shut down the energy core at once." he said with a expression of a teacher giving a lesson, on his face.

"But if you're wrong you might as well end up like Ensign Enquist. You surely remember what happened to him after he pressed one of those buttons?" Andrew said sarcastically, knowing that the professor won't listen to any other argument than his own safety.

"Yes, perhaps you're right Lieutenant." he said, but kept his look on that particular symbol.

Joerg just entered the room, when suddenly his comm badge came to life.

[Captain Price to away team.]

"Sterner here, sir." he quickly responded.

[Give me a quick report of the situation 'mate.]

"Well, it looks like we found a way out of here. Doctor Currie is quite sure that she can interpret some of the symbols near the transport. We may be able to transport even back to the ship ourselves." Joerg reported as ordered.

[And what about the reactor overload?] the concerned captain asked.

"We have found no real clue of how to deactivate the core, sir." Andrew answered.

[That's too bad. However keep trying Lieutenant.]

"I'll do my best, sir." Andrew answered.

[And Mr. Sterner, I want you to see that everyone on this planet, Starfleet or civilian, will be evacuated to the Galaxy. This is your first priority. Understood?]

"Yes, sir. I fully understand." Joerg replied.

[Good. Coordinate the evacuation with Ensign Thomas here. I'm beaming up to the ship with Doctor Rousseau now Commander. She needs medical care. Good luck to you. Price out.]

'Great. I'm in charge now.' Joerg thought, but quickly remembered, that they were still running out of time. He tapped his communicator to talk with the rest of the away team.

"Sterner to Mitchell."

[Mitchell here.]

"Lieutenant, I just spoke with the Captain and he ordered me to evacuate the whole planet as soon as possible. Tell me you found some way to control the transporter."

[Partly. We were able to transport some stones to different places on the surface. Although we don't know where they rematerialized, we are quite sure we know how to handle this machine.]

"Ok, I want to test that transporter very soon, but meanwhile please share your informations on the symbols with Professor Hallmark here."

[Yes, sir.] Mitchell just added and the connection terminated.

Shortly after that the Professor was busily talking with Doctor Currie about her discoveries. While they discussed, Joerg tapped his comm badge again.

"Sterner to Thomas."

[Ensign Thomas here.]

"Ensign, please give me a report on the current transporter activity situation with the Galaxy." Joerg ordered.

Ensign Thomas informed him, that they still had the problem with the limited transport window and that there was not enough time left to transport all people to the ship in time.

"Damn. Thanks for the report Ensign. I'm planning to send this away team directly back to the Galaxy. Perhaps that will buy us some time, should it work. Sterner out."

Joerg turned to both the Professor and Hutchcraft again.

"I hope you have some good news for me gentlemen?" he asked them both.

"We think that we can stall the overload of the reactor another half hour. I think it might be possible to reroute some of the energy through ..." Andrew began to explain.

"Yes, yes. No detail right now. Just do it and we'll see if it was the right decision afterwards." Joerg said in desperation.

"Alright 'Commander." Andrew just answered and began with the modifications on the reactor.

Joerg prayed that he wouldn't press the wrong button this time, but he still had to overlook the work on the transporter. He gestured Ensign Kolra to follow him, and turned a last time before leaving the room.

"Once you have done your job, I want you both to go down the stairway in the next room. We'll have to hurry to get everyone out of here in time." he said and both Hutchcraft and Hallmark nodded in approval.

A short time later both security officers were with the second group again.

"Any progress in shutting down the reactor core?" Mitchell asked.

"No, I'm sorry. But Andy is just about to do some miracle work up there. Perhaps that will slow down the overload long enough to leave the planet in time." Joerg explained.

"You mean, all these artifacts will be destroyed and you are not trying to save them?" Doctor Currie said unbelieving.

"No. We have done everything to prevent this disaster, but we can't do anything against it." Joerg said.

"But these structures and technology, we have to study them, evaluate the data, try to understand the people who lived there." Currie babbled in some kind of scientific trance.

"You don't understand this, do you?" Joerg was growing angry.

"What do you do with all these informations when you are dead? We have to get out of here, or we'll all be dead!" Joerg almost yelled at her.

"No, I won't leave here. There is so much left to do." she said hysterically.

Joerg saw no other option than to grab her with both arms and shake her a little.

"Listen, if you want to die, that's ok with me. But not now and not here. Captain Price put me in charge of evacuating this planet and I'm going to follow his orders. Since you are part of this away team it is my duty to see that you'll return safely to the Galaxy. Either you calm down now and we'll leave here like civilized people, or you leave me no choice than to carry you back to the ship conscious or unconscious. The choice is yours Doctor!" he yelled at her, in a voice he himself was astonished to hear.

"Ok, I'll promise to behave myself." she answered shocked and Joerg released her from his grip.

The next problem was who was going to be the first person to be sent to the surface. Ensign Kolra stepped forward.

"Sir, if I may, I want to be the person to be sent to the Galaxy first." he said.

"Has everything been checked again Lieutenant? Are you sure this will work?" Joerg asked Mitchell.

"Yes, and there is a 78% chance that it'll work." Mitchell answered, cool as a Vulcan.

"Ok, let's give it a try." Joerg said without questioning Mitchell's calculation.

Ensign Kolra approached the field and looked back a last time. Joerg hoped to see him again soon. Kolra entered the field and was gone seconds later. Joerg tapped his comm badge.

"Sterner to Hutchcraft. Are you still in the control room Andy?"

[Yes. What do you need?]

"Contact Ensign Thomas and ask if Ensign Kolra had arrived safely on the Galaxy."

[One moment please.]

There was a small pause, which seemed like hours to most of the group standing near the place where Kolra disappeared moments ago.

[Hutchcraft to Sterner.] finally came the answer.

"Yes, Sterner here." he answered nervously.

[Lieutenant, I have to inform you, that Ensign Kolra ...] he paused for a moment.

[... has made it to the ship safely.] Andrew said with a relieved voice.

Everyone cheered up. But Joerg still had to ask another question.

"How are your modifications, Andy?"

[I'm nearly ready. I'll be with you in about 5 minutes. Hutchcraft out.]

The next to transport up was Fitzpatrick. After him Lieutenant Mitchell left the underground city. Before Doctor Currie had time to enter the field, Hutchcraft and Hallway joined the group. The three of them were beamed out in a matter of seconds. The last one to leave was Joerg himself. He nearly had to force himself inside the field, but finally he did it.

It was a strange feeling, nothing like the transporter beam from modern transporter systems, but it also worked obviously. Some seconds later he materialized in main engineering. Since he had to oversee the rest of the beam out, he quickly ran to the nearest turbo lift and was on his way to a transporter room, leaving the rest of the former away team standing there.

From there he oversaw the return of all of the Galaxy's crew members. He hoped that all the modifications were sufficient to save all the people who were currently still on the planet.

"Control Factor"
by Lt.(jg) K'arta

As the team gathered in the rear of the shuttle, K'arta and Arcas handed out the phasers they'd found on the planet. A few of the phasers were small personal phasers, but most were the standard type used on away missions. Soushonn and K'arta retained the more powerful weapons for themselves and passed around the others. A few of the techical crewmembers chose the smaller phasers for themselves.

Soon the team dematerialized from the quaking shuttlecraft and appeared in the corridor outside of the battle bridge. Several engineers and Soushonn Arcas headed for engineering while the rest of the officers entered the battle bridge. After a brief fire fight with the Ferengi over the battle bridge, the team had control.

The Klingon woman still didn't know about her friends, but took her frustration out on some of the unconscious Ferengi as she dragged them from where they'd fallen. One of them started to wake up, so K'arta tried to get information. Her Klingon anger and frustration was let loose as she gripped the Ferengi's lapels and demanded to know what was going on. The little man with big ears sputtered something about salvage rights before he lost consciousness again. Disgusted, K'arta discarded the Ferengi and reentered the battle bridge.

She caught the end of a conversation between Commander Coe and engineering. It looked like she was headed for the bridge. She fell into step slightly behind and to the side of the Galaxy's executive officer as he led the way to the turbolift.

They arrived on the bridge with phasers drawn just in case. K'arta was surprised to find that no one remained aboard. The Ferengi were gone. Coe took up a station while K'arta headed to the bridge's security console. She checked to confirm that all Ferengi had left the ship. After informing Commander Coe of this, she waited for orders.

"Time's a Wast'in"
By Civilian Electra

Frustration built and spread across her face as the wait for transport seemed unending. That face, that could light up and warm the heart of the most ill tempered when happy, was sour and miserable now. What had she gotten herself into this time? The transportation to the USS Galaxy had gone without a hitch, and she had fully expected to be reproducing the arch by now, enjoying the company of crew and civilians, only to have landed on this God forsaken planet.

Electra's foot tapped impatiently, her feet shifting as she waited. When at last it was her turn to be transported she looked at the ensign in charge in a haughty manner that took him aback. He gazed at this woman who's green skin shined irridescent in the light of the Sigma Sun. He had never before seen a woman so seductive and beautiful, yet so reprehensible in manner.

The Orion beauty was beamed aboard the Galaxy and as she stepped down from the transporter pad her mood began to change. She stepped gracefully down and glided across the room, mearly acknowledging the ensign on duty who watched continuously as she crossed the room.

She needed to return to her quarters first, and walked with long flowing strides down the corridor until she reached the turbo lift. Stepping into the lift she was becoming more approachable and she smiled a warm greeting to the Human male Lt. Thinking to herself "this ship is primarily human, I wonder just how many of these dear souls will be spending more time in Ten Forward". She had become very aware of the propensity of Human males to find Orion women irresistable and had made great use of this valuable asset in her time at Station Beta 2, much to her own loss in the end.

Reflecting back, she remembered the first time she met Captain Joseph Zahn, her Joseph, the man who....

It was a day when she had decided to gain an ally at the top, and she managed to find out that Joseph Zahn the Captain of Station Beta 2 would be in the holodeck with a skiing program in the afternoon. Electra spent two hours in the early morning learning the basics of skiing. She had never been able to ski on Orion, as her circumstance of childhood had kept her in the city. But her love of the natural environment and woodlands and her quick mind and body allowed her to quickly learn how to ski and she did not look out of place upon meeting her future lover.

Joseph was immediately taken with her and the relationship they formed grew far deeper than Electra could ever have imagined.

Her eyes fought back the sting of a tear as she thought of the day she lost her love. She was on the biobed having just received the news... there on the screen as she watched was Joseph. Therio speaking to the viewing crew and civilians with the phaser rifle pointed at his head. The agony that wrenched through her body as the horror of his disintegration took place. That agony of heart and soul and mind had stayed with her. Even months later when the Doctors spoke in hushed whispers around her swollen body, she knew that the loss suffered on that day.... the day she lost her Joseph... was the reason for the unending bleeding and finally the miscarriage of her lovers child. She had not grieved over that loss as she should. It had stayed deep within her and still festered. From that moment on, she had determined that she was not going to stay at Station Beta 2, and that her persuits would be purely for profit.

"I will never again allow myself to be hurt that way " She thought wiping that single tear... the first shed since the loss of Joseph's baby.

"Added complications"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price

Captain Price was impatient to get back aboard the Galaxy. Not so much for his own needs, as much as to get Doctor Rousseau the medical attention she desperately needed. The make shift stasis field Ensign Erikson had cobbled together from a tricorder was holding, but there was no guarantee how long it would be before the tiny computers circuits would overload. Jacqueline needed to get back to the ship and have her body placed in one of the ship's stasis chambers until she could be transported back to Starfleet Medical for proper treatment of her head injury.

"The Ship is beginning the first of the transports Captain." Ensign Dana explained in her melodic Deltan voice.

"Good. Have them beam myself and Doctor Rousseau directly to Sickbay. We need to get Jacqueline into a more permanent stasis chamber as soon as possibly. The power cells on this tricorder are already beginning to fade."

"Understood Captain. I'm told that Doctors Tash and Kahn have already beamed up to the ship." Dana explained.

"That is good. I doubt I could of figured out how to operate the stasis chamber on my own anyway. At least not without the help of the EMH. Ensign, you help evacuate the others. Lieutenant Hutchcraft says the reactor at the center of the city is going to overload within the next hour or so. I want to be sure we get everyone off of the planet before that time."

"Yes Captain. I'll see to it. You had better stand by. I'm getting a signal from the ship that they are ready to transport you on board Captain..."

"I'm ready 'mate." Captain Price said, noticing the concerned look on Dana's face after learning of the pending reactor explosion. "No worries Ensign."

In a shimmer of light Captain Price and Doctor Rousseau faded away while the Deltan officer watched. When they were finally gone, Dana rubbed a hand over her smooth head and glanced around. Something was not right, and she could sense it... almost as if she had some kind of sixth sense. Just then a small tremor shook the area. In the distance an eruption through the planet's surface is both heard and felt as a geyser of Beryllium reactor coolant shoots up into the surrounding atmosphere some miles away. Ensign Dana struggled to maintain her balance as the tremor stopped. Placing her hand above her eyes to help aid her vision, she could see clouds of the Beryllium chemical ionizing in the atmosphere. "So that's where that contaminant came from..." the Engineer thought. Glancing around, she observed that the prevailing winds were presently blowing away from the city, and where the Galaxy crew were presently evacuating from, however that good fortune could change at a moments notice. Evacuation for the planet had suddenly became even more urgent than before. For if the winds were to change, not only could the away team suffer from the effects of Beryllium poisoning, but the additional ionized particles could render transporters completely useless. Realizing the urgency of these new events, Ensign Dana quickly went to report them to Ensign Thomas who was presently in command on the surface of the planet.

*** City Center, Sigma II ***

Having been informed that the Captain had ordered an evacuation of the planet based on his own assessment of the ancient, alien reactor core condition, Chief Engineer Hutchcraft still struggled to try and discover a safe way to shut the energy source down. While he did so, 'Commander Sterner had taken charge of the Away team, in order to carry out the ordered evacuation of the planet. Lieutenant Mitchell readily agreed, however Doctor Currie was not so easily persuaded. Joerg did manage to convince her, however, after shaking some sense into her.

It was only a few moments after Doctor Currie agreed to leave that a tremor rumbled through the central part of the city. Huge stone statues shook loose under the stress, crashing down onto the massive floor of the control room. Doctor Currie let out a scream as a giant half man, half cat statue came falling down towards her. Sterner saw it coming out of the corner of his eye, quickly grabbing the Archeologist and jumping to the side, physically tossing both of them out of the way of the massive stone statue, just as is crashes into the spot they were standing.

"Are you all right Doctor?" 'Commander Sterner asked.

A shaken Doctor Currie nodded. Her face beginning to show a hint of realization at the seriousness of their present situation.

Joerg watched the Archeologist for a moment, before calling out to Andrew, "Hutchcraft! What's going on with that reactor?"

From across the room, now filled with a swirl of dust from the fallen statues about the walls, the Chief Engineer hollers back, "The Core is still holding, but it looks like the coolant system is loosing pressure."

"What does that mean Lieutenant?" Sterner inquired while rising to his feet to make his way over to where Hutchcraft was.

"It means that if we can't stabilize the pressure, this baby is going to overheat sooner that I originally estimated... Sir." Hutchcraft's tone was a little sharp at first, but he quickly added a respectful 'sir' at the end, realizing what he was doing, falling back into his old habits.

"See what you can do Lieutenant. I'll try to step up our evacuation efforts. Keep me informed."

"Aye 'Commander." Hutchcraft said, as he returned to scanning the various control panels, trying to make heads or tails out of the Egyptian like writings on them.

"'Commander!" came a yell from the central chamber Sterner himself has discovered a short time ago. It sounded like Lieutenant Mitchell.

Joerg looked at Doctor Currie. She still looked a little frightened and shaken from the near fatal accident with the statue. "Doctor, stay right here. I'll be back in a minute."

The Archeologist's eyes grew a little wider. "I'm not staying here. I'm coming with you 'Commander." Marie said, as she reached out and grabbed onto the Lieutenant Commander's arm.

Rather than argue, Joerg just nodded and went towards the chamber where Mitchell had just called out from.

"What is it Lieutenant?" Sterner asked as he and Doctor Currie slowly descended the steps leading into the massive chamber that housed all of the bio-beds.

"Look!" Mitchell exclaimed as he pointed to the alien chambers that their crew members were being held captive in.

Both Joerg and Doctor Currie watched as they saw each bubble like enclosure fog up in a red mist, then clear leaving the beds empty. In the back ground, a warble like tone was wailing in the back ground.

"What is happening Lieutenant?" Sterner asked. "What is that alarm?"

Mitchell shook his head from side to side. "I don't know. It went off when that tremor shook the place. Soon after the people began to disappear as you see here."

Stepping down, Doctor Currie pressed close to one of the Galaxy crew members. Pressing her face and hands against the glass like enclosure, she watched as it mystified, and then cleared, transporting the occupant to some unknown destination.

"It must be some kind of a safety feature. The quake must of triggered some sort of mechanism to release the occupants of these chambers." Marie speculated.

"If that is so..." Mitchell thought out loud, "then these crew members might be returning to the surface of the planet, or even the Galaxy."

Joerg nodded. "That may very well be, but right now we all need to get out of here before another quake levels this place. We can use the transport system we discovered to get back onto the surface." Sterner glanced at Mitchell, then back at Doctor Currie before adding, "That's an order people."

Mitchell nodded, and reluctantly, Doctor Currie agreed to follow the Commander out of the chamber and to the evacuation area.

*** Sickbay, USS Galaxy ***

Captain Price and Doctor Rousseau materialized on the floor in the middle of sickbay. Doctor Kahn was standing by as they appeared.

"Captain, it's good to see you sir." the Bajoran Doctor greeted.

"It's good to be back on board 'mate. We need to get Doctor Rousseau into a stasis chamber immediately. She has been shot in the back of the head with a projective weapon."

"I've already set up a chamber in preparation Captain." Kahn said while bending down to examine the tricorder set up that was presently keeping Jacqueline alive. "This is an ingenious piece of work here Captain. I didn't realize you were so skilled with medical practices."

"Actually, that is Ensign Erikson's handy work Doctor. He's the one you should be impressed with."

Kahn nodded. "I'll be sure to let him know sir. Now, if you can help me lift Doctor Rousseau, we can place her into the stasis chamber and begin."

"Right 'mate, let's do it."

Captain Price and Doctor Kahn lifted Jacqueline's body and placed it onto the extended stasis bed. Once in position, Doctor Kahn deactivated and removed Ensign Erikson's make shift tricorder / stasis field. While she did that, Doctor Tash came over and ran a quick tricorder scan of Jacqueline's head and vital signs.

Captain Price took a step back in order to give the Medical staff room to work on Jacqueline. He felt himself going numb as memories of his former first officer, whom died a meaningless death, began to plague his consciousness. Lee wasn't a skilled medical officer, but he did know a lot about reading people. And right now, he could tell from Doctor Tash and Doctor Kahn that Jacqueline's injury was indeed very serious.

"I trust that Jacqueline is in excellent hands Doctors. If you will excuse me, I am needed on the bridge." Captain Price managed dryly.

The Medical staff were too busy working on their friend to both acknowledging the Captain with anything other than a wave. Lee walked away hearing various medical terms being thrown around. Even after the doors to sickbay swished closed behind him, he found that his thoughts and worries were still largely resting in that room, watching over his friend and college, Doctor Jacqueline Rousseau.

Standing alone in the turbolift. Lee gazed back down the corridor he just walked. Back at the Sickbay entrance. As the doors slowly slid shut, he uttered one word that helped to changed his focus.

"Bridge."

"Finishing up"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price

Captain's Log Supplemental:

"I have just returned from the surface of Sigma II. Myself and every member of the Galaxy crew were mysteriously whisked away from the ship and sent back in time to various points in history. No doubt a debriefing with the Temporal authorities back as Starfleet Command will be in order, though I do have my doubts about what had actually happened to us. Sure, everything seemed real enough, especially Ensign K'Trall's death, however, I can't seem to shake this feeling that something else was going on. Almost like some sort of game or exercise revolving around those ancient riddles that ultimately sent us all home.

Chief Engineer Hutchcraft is still planet side with the rest of the away team. He informs me that the main power source for this alien city is overheating. A melt down is imminent with no hope of shutting the reactor down safely. As such, I have Placed Lieutenant Commander Sterner in charge of evacuating the entire planet before the power reactor destroys the city. I am told things are proceeding well, and all of our people should be back on board within the half hour.

Ensign Grump reports that a Beryllium cooling line has erupted several miles away from the area of the city where the remaining Galaxy crew are located. However, prevailing winds are currently blowing away from the city, so it shouldn't present any problem in extracting the remaining crewmen as long as we do not delay.

Doctor Jacqueline Rousseau is presently in one of the Galaxy's stasis chambers under the care of Doctors Kahn and Tash. I am told it is important that Jacqueline be rushed to Starfleet Medical back on earth for a delicate operation if there is any hope at all of saving her life. As soon as the last of the crew are safely on board, we will set course for sector 001 immediately. With so many lost lives already, I'll be damned if we are going to loose anyone else if I can help prevent it."

Captain Price reached across his desk and deactivated his computer terminal before pivoting around in his leather backed chair and gazing out of the observation window behind his desk in his ready room. The stars could be seen in the distance, as well as Sigma II below as the Galaxy maintains a nearly geo-synchronous orbit over the continent and city below.

"There's no place....."
by Ensign Hunter McKenzie

When Hunter awoke, the first thing he noticed was the extremely bright white light.

"Great!" He mused sarcastically, "Now, I'm dead"

From somewhere off to his right was a slight chuckle.

"Well, if you are. You have a lot of company." stated Doctor Kahn Nilani, matter of factly.

She stood a few short feet away from him holding a medical tricorder and a hypo-spray. As Hunter's eyes became more accustomed to the light he saw that he was in sickbay, likely on the "Galaxy." Hunter attempted to raise himself up on his elbows when a wave of nausea swept over him. As he collapsed back to the Biobed, Nilani was there with the working tricorder.

"So, what's the prognosis, Doctor?" he said dully, trying to sound humorous. "Am I going to live?"

"Yes, you are." Nilani said smiling, trying to be professional "But you will be in a lot of pain. You've suffered a severe concussion, several broken ribs and several very deep lacerations. Not to mention multiple contusions. What in the name of the Prophets happened to you?"

Hunter smiled weakly "When a Gorn asks you to dance, never tell him, No!" he started to laugh, only to grimace in pain.

Nilani, quickly approached with the Hypo-Spray when Hunter began trying to back away.

"OH! No you don't. Your not putting anything in me I'm fine" he sputtered, trying to hide the pain.

Nilani stopped. A look of patience quickly fading on her face. She lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper.

"Hunter! it's just a slight sedative, just to help you sleep" she said in the low voice. Hunter appeared to relax, mostly from the fact that he knew that he didn't have strength to resist.

"So now what happens?" he asked as she placed the Hypo against his neck until they heard the familiar hiss.

"You'll stay here a couple of days while your ribs heal...and I'll check in on you during the day." she smiled, "You'll be fine, you just need rest."

Hunter smiled, "Thanks! I owe you one." he winked as she turned to leave the room.

Stopping at the door, she turned and said "You don't owe me anything." A large grin forming on her face.

"Why?" asked Hunter quizzically.

Mustering all of the seriousness she could she looked him straight in his eyes. "Who do you think undressed you." she said devilishly as she turned and exited the room..

The look on McKenzie's face would be one that would bring laughter to her face for several weeks. After all laughter IS the best medicine.

"Beam-up"
by Ensign K'Eytyanna Samara

K'Eytyanna pushed the door of the building open and looked around when she found it empty. Stepping outside, she saw a crewman walking past.

"Crewman, where is Captain Price?" The man turned and replied, "He just beamed up to the ship. I was sent to tell everyone I could find that the alien reactor is beyond repair and we have to beam upto the Galaxy. Ensign Thomas is in charge from the reactor site. A beam-up site is over here." Her Bajoran side cried out mentally in despair as they headed to the site,

'Just great, Klingon!! You and your stupid honor were wrong AGAIN!! Leading us on another wild goose chase. We are going back to the Galaxy now.' Stopping at the site where three other crew-members were waiting, she picked up a nice-looking rock as a souvenir before tapping her combadge, "Ensign Samara to Galaxy, five to beam-up. Energise."

***************************************************

A short while later, they all arrived on the transporter pad, and K'Eytyanna groaned when she realised that it was the same one she had beamed down from. Gripping the rock tightly, she walked down from the pad as she gave the transporter operator a very nasty glare. When she walked past him, she crushed the rock in her hand as a signal for him to not make any smart-alec comments about her short and dismal attempt to help repair the reactor.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ensign K'Eytyanna Samara, USS Galaxy NCC-70637 Engineering Department

"Doctors Nightmare"
Written By Kahn Nilani Medical Doctor

The shimmer effect of the transporter beam stopped to reveal the Captain and the Doctor Rousseau,

"Captain Glad to see your back"

"Yes, it is glad to be back" responded the captain

"Look Captain help me to get her onto the stasis bed?"

"Aye mate"

As the Captain helped get the Doctor onto the stasis bed Tash walked over with a Tricorder and scanned the CMO.

"Look Captain sorry to say this but could you leave us alone for a while we will notify you when we have finished"

"O.k. Kahn"

As the Captain left the sickbay Rousseau went into cardiac arrest. They worked on her untill her heart started again once done, the stasis field was engaged.

+taps+ "Kahn to Price we have everything under control her condition is critical and unfortunatly we can not do anything to her here we just dont have the equipment. We need to get her back to Star Fleet Medical."

"Understood once we have finished beaming people on board we will go. Price out"

As Kahn got up she looked at Rousseau and muttered to herself "Poor thing". She Walked out of Sickbay and headed towards her quarters for a long deserved break

"Absent Friends"
by Jurelle Tash

Jurelle watched the door iris shut behind Dr Nilani as her collegue left the sick bay for a well earned rest. The next shift had arrived and bustled about, taking over care of the casualties from the trips back in time. Jurelle sat suddenly on a empty biobed as the last week seemed to catch up on her with avengence. She looked miserably at Dr Rousseau lying in the stasis field and wished things hadn't turned out as they had. She wondered if this was just a taste of things to come. Is this what being in starfleet meant? Loosing friends and even strangers, friends not yet met, to the dangers and horror of unfamiliar things.

Jurelle's senior officer looked so young and innocent, lying in stasis. She looked so peaceful it was hard to believe she was not just sleeping. Jurelle was confident that the specialists at starfleet medical could give the doctor back the life that the past had taken from her, but what sort of life would it be? The doctors injuries had been extensive, and lack of immediate medical attention had taken its toll. Jurelle hoped Dr Rousseau would be okay and that the specialists at Starfleet medical were the miracle workers everyone supposed them to be.

Jurelle sat for awhile, the prospect of making her way back to her quarters a daunting one. She looked through the door of the CMO's office, dark and empty now, and wondered what changes were to come. The doctors and nurses of the current shift started giving Jurelle strange looks and the young doctor could tell that if she didn't make a move soon, someone would suggest she lie down on the biobed she was sitting on and wave a tricorder over her.

She stood, passing her tricorder over the still body of the CMO and checking the stasis field one last time before walking slowly out the door. Walking along the corridor she concentrated on putting one foot before the other as she made her way to her quarters.

Her door opened obligingly for her and she breathed a sigh of relief that the room was how she left it and hadn't been violated by the Ferengi. The replicator beckoned her and she chose a high energy bar to curb her hunger and collapsed on the bed.

The exhausted Trill was asleep before remembering to say "computer, lights out."

Dr Jurelle Tash USS Galaxy

"Reunion"
Lt Casey Ti Miran

"Hello Miran," he smiled at her. Miran's heart seemed to jump for joy. She went to him and they embraced. She felt like cry and jumping for joy at the same time. She had missed him so awfully much. It had really been hard from being alone.

"Are you okay, honey? Did they hurt you, or touch you?" he asked. Miran could see the worry and concern in his eyes. She hadn't wanted him to worry about her and she felt a little bad.

"Well, they wanted to take my clothes but I showed them what I thought of that!" There was absolutely no way she would undress for anyone but Deiran.

"Heaven help anyone who comes up against you babe," Deiran laughed. Miran playfully punched him and then broke out in another batch of sneezing.

"Bless you honey, are you coming down with a cold?" Deiran asked. She had a hard time holding the laughter. Wouldn't he be surprised? She didn't know how to tell him. He was so career orientated and Miran didn't know how he would react to becoming a father.

Miran just smiled at him. "Are you hungry? Let's go eat?" she asked him. She was famished and really tired. She really wanted to lay down and sleep.

"Okay, that's fine. I have to check in with the Commander first and see if it's okay to go to our quarters. We still have a lot of people to get back up to the ship." Ohh, couldn't she have him alone for oh, say, an hour? She hadn't had but maybe ten minutes alone since before being taken from the Galaxy.

"Well, go ahead and do that. I am going to rest, I will fix you your favorite dinner and we will spend some time together, okay?" He agreed and she went back to their quarters.

Miran washed herself and dressed in a comfortable outfit. Her eyes felt like hundred pound weights. She laid down and slept peacefully.

She woke to find that Deiran had laid down with her and was sleeping pretty deeply. She felt a comfortable warmth spread through her. She loved this man next to her really deeply and with all of her heart and soul. She never thought she would ever feel this happy. Robert had brought light to her dark world. He had taught her how to love. She would have been happy with Robert but the prophets had decided that it wasn't in her life to be with Robert. They had someone equally as special in mind for her and she would never regret loving Deiran. He made her feel complete, calm, and at peace. She didn't know what she would ever do without him.

She silently crawled out of bed without waking Deiran. She went to the replicator and started her preparation of dinner. It wouldn't take the computer long to replicate the food but she didn't know what to fix him. She thought about perhaps fixing baby-back ribs for him and perhaps a salad for herself.

The computer had started replicating her choices when Deiran came out. His arms circled her waist as he laid his head on her shoulder to watch what she was doing.

"That smells really good. What is it?"

"Baby-back ribs. What else do you want? Did you sleep good?" She set the food out on the table. After he had finished most of the meal, she asked him about the meal.

"Well, how do you like it, Dad?"

"Dad?" A glow spread through his face as he grasped the meaning of her question but she said the words.

"Yes. Deiran, you are going to be a father."

"Headaches"
By Ensign Thomas

Chris watched and counted as many people as he could see beam up to the Galaxy, as he was trying to keep and accurate account and verify transporter time needed to complete the evacuation from the planets surface. They were fighting time, his son Colby and already beamed back to the ship and Dev would be transporting up soon as well. The Captain was already back on the ship and doing what captain's do best, though he hadn't ever come up with a solid answer to this question beyond providing leadership.

He figured they'd be cutting it close, but they just might be able to get everyone back to the ship before the reactor core sitting in the center of town went critical. He tried push that thought away and focus on making sure that everyone got of the planet's surface before time ran out.

Transport complete, he thought to himself, 75% of the Galaxy's crew had been transported back to the ship and that 25% with just under half an hour to go before everything went. The Galaxy had been using every available transporter on the ship and was also using the ship's thruster to keep the window open for transport. The thrusters would likely require extended maintenance to repair them after this heavy usage, Chris suspected. Though he was no engineer by the technical definition he did know enough general engineering that he could hypothesis a conclusion.

Chris decided to make a personal log: His will.

*** 15 minutes later ***

They now had less than 15 minutes left before things went into a tail spin, but they now 97% complete on transport. He figured that now was a good time to check in with both Captain Price and Lt. Sterner.

"Ensign Thomas to Captain Price, 97% of the crew is back on the Galaxy by my account I'll be coming up with the last group of people outside of Lt. Sterner's away team."

[Understood mate, Captain Price out.]

"Ensign Thomas to Lt. Sterner, I'm transporting back to the Galaxy everyone else is clear except your group, sir."

[Acknowledged Ensign.]

"Transporter Room, this is Ensign Thomas beam me up." Chris said as he picked up a some of the small bags that contained some of the artifacts that were dug up by his rapid excavation. He knew the archeologist were going to be disappointed at this lost opportunity to study these ruins future, but at least they'd have something to prove that this wasn't a hoax.

Without realizing it, Chris was also bringing back something to help clarify and support the entire crew's log's be they personal or ship log entries. This would provide Captain Price with hard evidence that at least some of what the crew was likely to report or talk about in the coming months really did happen. It would also help the crew themselves to believe that what they'd likely experience was real some level. They'd have to check the historical database to verify that history hadn't changed or if it had the change had been minor and therefore didn't cause serious repercussions.

Chris Patton

USS Galaxy
Lt. Deiran Casey
"Fatherhood"

When the last crew member of the Galaxy transported back to the ship, Casey was relieved. The last thing he wanted was for another person to die. He had lost too many crew mates, each loss devastating. Doctor Rousseau was in critical condition, the ship didn’t have a CMO with her desperate situation and life hanging in the balance.

Deiran still couldn’t get the Cardassian who hit Miran, off of his mind. He wanted to kill the fiend. But, Deiran knew better. Sometimes, Starfleet and the "New" human philosophy of peace and bettering one’s self was overbearing and outright lunacy. Humanity was, at its core, debased and wretched. And there was nothing they could do to change, no matter how they "evolved." Those aspects, those sins, would always plague mankind.

Deiran believed this. This is not to say he didn’t appreciate the endeavor. But, Starfleet still engaged in war, espionage, racism when it came to certain species. After four hundred years of bettering the civilization, they still had the same vices to contend with, they just seemed to put them aside and ignore their presence, like an innocent child.

It had been a long day. One that Casey wanted to just forget. But, he had a gorgeous woman at home who was waiting for him to return to her. He hadn’t spent much time with her in the last week since all of this began, he missed her deeply.

Deiran headed for the nearest turbolift. Once inside, he asked for deck 8.

Since he and Miran were married now, and both were senior officers, their quarters were quite large and some of the biggest quarters were on deck 8. It was a far cry from his cubby hole on deck 14 when he first came aboard as an Ensign.

He entered his quarters to find his love on the bed asleep and peaceful. He looked at her for awhile. The woman was even gorgeous when she sleeped. He was tired also and laid next to Miran. Several minutes later he was in dreamland.

*** Casey Quarters – an hour later***

Deiran awoke to a dark room. He looked to his right to find Miran gone. He stood up and walked into the dining room. He watched Miran replicate some food. He wasn’t sure what the dish was. But, he was totally entranced by his wife. He loved her more now, than he did the day they were married. Her beauty, at times was overwhelming. But, her inner beauty could outshine the sun and the stars. He was so proud of her.

He slowly walked up behind her and encircled his arms around her torso. "What are you fixing?" Deiran asked her. Miran smiled at the feel of his touch and warm embrace.

"Baby back ribs, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and gravy and cheesecake for desert," Miran seemed to be glowing.

"Wow, I’m impressed. That’s an authentic Terran meal, where’d you learn about that?"

"Hey I’ve been to Terra, attended the academy. I’m familiar with Terran customs, strange as they are," Miran smiled, and just enjoyed the warmth of her husband as he embraced her.

"Well it looks great! I’m starved, is it ready?"

"Yes, sit down." Miran was enjoying this time with her husband. It was like they were on a planet far away in a little house in the middle of nowhere. As far from Starfleet as they could get, or so it seemed. The low hum of the warp engines doused that fantasy.

"I’m ready to dig in!" Deiran said. Casey started eating like he’d not eaten in days, indeed it was the best meal he’d had since the morning before the pink light engulfed the crew days ago. He’d eaten since, but not this good.

"Honey, this is delicious! Did you input your own recipes into the replicator?" Deiran asked.

"I’m not telling!" Miran said with a flirtatious smile. "Eat up Dad!"

At first it didn’t register in Deiran’s head, he was so hungry. Seconds later it hit like a brick. "Dad?" Deiran’s eyes bugged out, his face turned red, and his hands started to trimmer.

"What do you mean Dad?" Deiran asked, looking into his wife’s eyes.

"You are going to be a father!" Miran said, the most beautiful, glowing smile on her face as she said the words.

Deiran smiled, it was so wide that it seemed his mouth grew a few inches. He stood up, as did Miran. And they hugged each other.

"I’m going to be a father?" Really?" Deiran asked Miran, still shocked, not really believing it.

"Yes, Deiran. I’m pregnant." Miran was nervous now, Deiran looked too shocked. Miran wondered if he wanted to be a father at this point in his career. Miran had never known a man so ambitious and career oriented in her life. "Are you upset, is it the right time?" she asked in a low voice.

"What? Miran, I’m overwhelmed with joy. I’m proud. I’m shocked. I’m happy. I’m shocked. And I love you with all of my heart. It’s time, I want to have this baby. It’s a part of my heart, and a part of us. Besides you, the life inside you is the most important thing in this world and my life."

"Do you know what it is yet? Is it a boy or a girl?" Deiran asked with enthusiasm.

"I don’t know, I thought we’d find out together."

"That’s great we should make an appointment with Dr. Rouss……" His voice trailed off as he realized that Dr. Rousseau wouldn’t be able to see them. It tore at his heart. "Which doctor should we go to?"

"Who’s ever available," Miran said, smiling.

"What should I know about Bajoran pregnancies?" Deiran asked.

"Well, for one thing, when a Bajoran woman sneezes as much as I have in the last several weeks, that means she’s pregnant. . ."

"Oh…well I didn’t really put it together. My med. classes weren’t my favorite at the academy. I know it now. I feel stupid though, I don’t like that feeling," he smiled.

"My gestation period is 5 months."

Deiran almost fainted at the sound of that. "Five months!" he stood there, turning from a deep red to a pale white. Deiran’s face didn’t look good pale. "How far along are you?" he asked her.

"No more than a month, maybe less," she said.

"Wow!" is all he could get out. Total shock on his face. It would take a while for the Iceman to thaw out.

Miran sat on Deiran’s lap, looked in his eyes with adoration, "Are you really happy about this baby?"

"I could not be happier!" he said with a huge grin on his face, "I’m just a little shocked is all."

"Will you still love me when I’m big? Bajoran women get very big when they are pregnant. Can you handle it?"

"Well, when we were married, I promised to love you for better or for worse." Deiran laughed at his own joke. "Of course, you won’t be big forever. Besides my love for you is too strong to notice." He laughed with her.

She kissed him. He kissed back. He carried her to the bed, and they kissed some more.

*** Ten Forward ***

Deiran walked into the room, a bustle of activity. Muffled voices and strained laughter echoed through the room. Deiran went up to the bar.

"Hi Liam! Give me a Jaktaran Hin juice." He turned around as he waited for his drink. It seemed everyone was here. Which was unusual. Troy and Ronni were playing 3-D chess, competitive to the last. Troy might as well give up. James Mitchell, Hutch, Dev, Ensign Thomas, Sterner, K’arta, Nathan Kane and most of the rest of his friends were here. Even Commander Coe and Captain Price were here enjoying some relaxation time.

"Here’s your drink, that’s real sweet, can you handle that?" Liam asked.

"Of course I can," Deiran said. Then he got everyone’s attention. He waited for Miran to arrive. She had changed into a comfortable Bajoran dress and looked radiant.

"We have an announcement to make," Deiran said, his arm around Miran.

"I’m proud to announce that Miran and I are going to be parents! I’m going to be a father!"

Deiran couldn’t hide his happiness. Everyone came to congratulate them.

"Are you ready for fatherhood?" Dev asked him in a counselor’s typical, analyzing way.

"Drinks for everyone!" Deiran exclaimed.