The Horrors Of Being Security
By Lieutenant (JG) Jack Lawson
It had happened so fast. One of the Breen pushing Mr. Sang into Dr Tash, and then pushing the injured man directly at Jack and the other Security officer. It had been sheer luck that he hadn't fallen over when Sang was pushed into them. Jack quickly withdrew his phaser while trying to keep standing, but the Breen grabbed at the phaser.
The Breen who had attacked, grabbed at the phaser and both he and Jack wrestled for control of it. Jack heard a clang of something metal, and then a thud, but couldn't take his eyes away from the Breen to see what it was. Seconds later, he felt a large flat object strike his head, causing him to fall to the floor. The pain was intense, and he was barely conscious when another blow to the head knocked him out.
**** The Dream Plane****
Jack opened his eyes to the pink skyline. The two suns were setting, and creating the most spectacular sunset that he had ever seen. The trees shone with the last rays of the suns, causing them to take on lighter shades of green and brown. The birds chirped, the sounds of water churning slightly at the base of a waterfall, the hoot of an owl out too early, the scene was paradise, at least a natural paradise.
Rising to his elbows, Jack looked around at the scenery around him, taking in the wonderous sights. "Jack." A soft feminine voice was heard. Jack looked around more closely, trying to locate the source of the voice. "Jack..." There it was again. Jack rose to his feet. He winced at a slight pain at the top of his head. Now an image appeared in his mind. Two cold dark evil eyes staring straight into his soul. Once again the voice could be heard calling his name.
It was too much for Jack, and he slipped to his knees, hands covering his ears. He closed his eyes.
**** Sickbay ****
Jack opened his eyes. The grey ceiling of the Starship had returned, along with the face of Dr Tash standing over him, smiling.
"You took a nasty bump on the head, but you'll live." Jurelle stated politely.
"Thanks Doc. I owe you one." Jack said back, wincing slightly.
"You need to rest Jack." Tash replied, as she patted him on the arm. "I'll check up on you in a little while."
Jack nodded and watched her leave. He could see out of the corner of his eye, Dr Khatroweena attending one of the others, as well as one or two other Medical personnel. 'Should have been alert. Shouldn't have let them get away.' Jack thought to himself.
Lt.jg Jack Lawson
Security Officer
USS Galaxy
By: Si
Door could tell when a day was going to be hard work to get through, and not least from the readings he had when he cast the stones.
So far, he had basically been insulted. Insulted (unintentionally, but all the same, insulted) repeatedly. That's all today had been, one long insult. Insult-Insult-Insult.
And now they seemed to besurrounded by that 'fluidic space' stuff that some of the crew had been talking about, and indeed, were talking about at present as they crowded around 10-forward's viewing port. Door took the oppertunity for a moment of quiet reflection...
After the insults, there was a fight. By now, Door had understandably become rather paranoid, and being told that you stay 'Stay out of this bartender, unless you want to get hurt', was not great for the ego- Like he couldn't handle himself....!
Replicating himself a glass of Alfalfa Tea, he took a short break (due to the fact that the bar had simply become a secondary funtion for the viewing of the fludic space), and sat quietly in the corner so he too could secretly observe- Get up and stand with the others? He was far too smoothe for that!! He then looked down at his drink. Okay, so not that smoothe...
Door, 10-F Barkeep, USS Galaxy * -Internation Velvet, Catatonia
***** Sickbay *****
'Hmmph, Have to get Tash's OK on this request.' Cat was busy looking over the request for more supplies for when they get out of the current situation. She still felt a little out of it from the ride that the Galaxy went through as it fell into the vortex. Life still goes on and a doctor's work is never done.
She was concentrating on her PADD as she left her office, when she saw the ending of the scuffle between security and the Breen. She rushed over to help Jenna, who had been struck by one of the Breen. The four Breen had left Sickbay, 'This is not good.'
"Sickbay to Security. We have a problem. The Breen have attacked some of the crew and have phasers. They have just left Sickbay."
Looking at Jenna, "Hey, Jenna. How do you feel? What happened?" Cat asked as she helped her to a biobed.
"Not the best, Oww they hit hard. I'm sorta of OK! We got worse wounded than me."
Cat looked around and saw Tash lying on the ground, Cat rushed over to her. Tash was already coming around. "Tash, what happened?" Cat began attending to the wounded.
Tash groggily sat up, "The Breen attacked us. They mentioned something about getting 'the information'." Tash shook her head as one of the nurses helped Tash to a biobed. Tash, once she had stood up, refused saying she was fine.
"Tash to Security: The Breen have just left Sickbay. They are armed. They said something about retrieving information and something about the holodecks. They also mentioned about trying to destroy the ship."
[Ok Doctor, We are right on it.]
"Tash Out. Tash to the Captain"
[Yes Doctor, What is it?]
"Captain, The Breen have attacked a number of the crew in Sickbay. We have wounded. Captain they have got weapons. They mentioned something on getting back information in the Holodecks, failing that destroying the ship. I have notified security."
[What? Thank you Doctor. Price Out]
"What do we do now?" asked Cat.
"We let security do their job and we do ours" replied Tash, "they left behind wounded."
*********************
By: "Kornan Rios"
I had felt some what dishonoured by cutting my friend. I turned down a walkway when an Alert came through the com badge.
"All security the breen have escaped. They are armed with phaser."
I ran down a corridor and ran into the security office. I was handed a phaser and was ordered to do a patrol on decks 10 - 14. As I headed down tthe corridor I heard a noice. It was comming from sickbay, I started to head towards there when I heard the sound of phaser fire. I entered sickbay to see a mess. Chen was unconsious, and Dr Tash was starting to pick him up. I looked and ran down the corridor, But I was to late. I moved back to the sickbay door and stood there.
I tapped on my com badge.
"Rios to security. Sickbay has been attacked, i am standing guard. Kornan out"
Ryak awoke to the sounding of red alert. He sat in his cell as the Galaxy was shaken around. The Security officers that were told to guard him were pacing around the brig.
"Oh great. Not like we needed the Jem Hadar here to." one of the security officers stated.
Ryak started to pace around in his cell. He had no way of getting any help to the away team. Now that all of this was going on Ryak was starting to feel like a caged animal.
Time passed slowly. The ship started to become more stable but something was not right. From Ryak's calculation this was taking way too long. Should he talk to security to find out what is going on?
Over the com system Ryak heard that the Breen guests had escaped and have a weapon. Ryak could see that the security guards seemed to get very nervous. Ryak knew that the wished that they were a part of the action out side but no they had to guard the Romulan in the cell. Ryak knew...he could feel the power of a good fight coming over him as he thought of the Jem Hadar just outside the ship. All Ryak could do was pace.
Chris Gagne
[The infestation grows. The disease is spreading. Desperate measures will have to be taken to stop this plague.]
[Yes, yes. I am aware of all. Leave the cleansing to me.]
[Why? You have not been able to rid us of these parasites yet. Your methods are flawed. I would rather see them all die, but I fear we shall die with them if we do not make them understand what they are doing. I shall deal with them. Enlightenment instead of anger. Enlightenment instead of anger. Enlightenment instead of anger. Enlightenment…]
********
“…instead of anger.” The thought rang out in Alan’s head. It was the voice. The voice that had been speaking to him ever since he and his fellow crewmates became damned in this liquid hell. But the voice was different this time, the tone low and gentle instead of overpowering and jagged. AC resisted it though; he knew the pain that he had suffered from the voice. There was no way that these bastards were going to take him back into…
********
A gentle brush of wind on his naked skin awoke Alan. Eyes, bloodshot from all the strain his body was under, took in his surroundings. The vast field of green that he found himself in seemed to stretch on forever. The only intruder in the sky was a bright yellow sun. Alan could have sworn he was on earth, except for the total silence. Even the wind that ran over the plain had lost its voice. Perhaps he was dead.
“Enlightenment instead of anger.” The voice sent a jolt through his body. Alan turned around to be greeted with the sight of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
“I do not understand.” The calmness of his own voice surprised Alan. Normally, one would be quite embarrassed to be standing naked in front of a strange woman. “I do not understand.”
“Peace instead of wrath.” The woman stated. “Open your mind.”
AC nodded his head. Things were starting to come back to him. This was one of the aliens. Not in the physical sense, for none of this was real.
“But why should I trust you? You have done nothing but torture me with your thoughts. What have I done to you?”
“My voice is not the same. The thoughts projected previously came from anger, anger directed towards you. You and your kind have injured space.”
“No,” Alan tried to reason with the alien, “this isn’t our fault. We did not come to destroy your space, we simply wanted to explore it.”
“Then why have you continued to peck away at the opening? Do you not know what will happen?” The woman’s voice was desperate.
“We’re trying to get out. We’re trying to leave this space, but we don’t have the means too. Our kind is trying to rescue us, but they haven’t been successful yet. But I don’t know what will happen? I do not understand.”
The woman remained silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to make it clear to this pathetic species.
“A male and a female.” She stated, pointing at Alan and then to herself. “One, but not the same. Different, yet alike. Without one, the other does not exist. They must be together, but separated at the same time. Your space, and ours.”
“The two would cease to exist if they became one, because they both balance each other out. Is that what you are saying?” Alan now understood why the aliens were so angry with him and the others.
“Yes.” She stated as she took a few steps back. “Enlightenment instead of anger.”
Shortly after the Captain had allowed Lieutenant Thomas to carry out his plan, a comm channel was opened from sickbay to the bridge. Doctor Tash informed the Captain about the Breen breakout and their plan to destroy the ship. After the comm link had been closed Captain Price looked around in astonishment.
Joerg, who had of course heard the conversation with sickbay, addressed the Captain.
"Sir, if I may, I'll go down and try to solve this conflict diplomatically. I have the feeling, that there is still a chance to prevent bloodshed." Joerg suggested.
"Bonzer idea 'mate." Captain Price answered.
"I think I'll also need the service of our counselor down there." Joerg added in an asking tone.
"... since she seemed to be the only person at least one of the Breen trusted." he quickly added to justify his request.
"Acknowledged, but keep me posted of the situation Commander." came the reply from the Captain.
Joerg nodded his approval and was on his way to the turbo lift, where Counselor Wilson already waited for him. Both entered the lift, Joerg being a gentleman, let the counselor enter the lift first, and Joerg told the computer to get them to deck 12.
While on their way down, Joerg tapped his comm badge and contacted Security.
"Sterner to Security."
["K'arta here sir."] came the quick reply.
"Lieutenant, Counselor Wilson and myself will try to help you to solve the current Breen situation peacefully. Please fill us in with anything you found out so far." Joerg ordered.
K'arta told them what she knew about the Breen and that they currently were searching decks 10 to 12, but so far they weren't able to find them. However chances were that they would sooner or later try to access one of the holodecks on deck 11.
"We are on out way down to sickbay to find some clues ourselves, and after that we'll meet with you on deck 11." Joerg suggested.
["That's ok with me sir. K'arta out."]
After the comm link was terminated, the lift stopped at deck 12. Both bridge officers left the lift and were on their way to sickbay. A security guard was posted outside the facility, but they had no problems of getting inside.
The Counselor and the First Officer then were asking several questions to determine possible explanations, why the Breen had suddenly reacted the way they did.
After they had heard all they needed to know, they both left sickbay again to meet with K'arta and her security team. While they were on their way, Leslie explained some of her theories of why she thought the Breen did what they did to Joerg. Joerg listened to her and was sure that this information would come handy sooner or later.
***** Sickbay *****
"Hello Jack"
Jack turned from his introspections to see Cat standing next to him. She was reading the panel above his biobed. After taking a quick look, Cat looked at him and smiled.
"Uh, Hello Doctor" Jack returned a little glumly.
"Penny for your thoughts?" asked Cat.
"Uh, huh? Oh. Hmmmm." Jack grimaced as confusion passed for realisation that Cat was trying to cheer him up.
"Let me guess! This glum attitude comes from the Breen getting the best of you, huh?"
"Not half obvious is it" responded Jack.
"No, its very obvious. But it shouldn't be something to be dwelled upon. I mean these things happen."
"Yeah, they do; but not to me. I should've been more alert."
Cat shrugged, "Knowing what you know now, what would you have done different? What little I know about you, not much. You are a good security officer. Thorough and efficient. I know you did everything reasonable when it came to the security arrangements. None of us were prepared."
Jack snorted a laugh and gave a wry smile. "Next time, I will be though."
"Good! Oh by the way I have been looking over your record. I've noticed you have spent less and less time on recreation and more on your duties. I think it would be better for a while if you spent more time relaxing..."
Jack started to grimace, it wasn't from the bump on his head. He recognised that twinkle that Cat had in her eyes...
"All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy." Cat gave him a smile and a wink and moved to another patient.
Jack watched her walk away, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at that old line. 'It did one thing though,' he admitted to himself, 'it got me out of that sour mood." He gently lent back on to the pillow, wincing, trying to think of some type of revenge on the good doctor for that line.
***** A little later *****
"Cat, could you sign this?" Cat looked around at Christina, one of the nurses, with a PADD. Cat took the PADD and realised that either Jurelle or Nilani had to sign this. "It be best if Jurelle or Nilani looked at this."
"Jurelle is busy right now and Nilani is nowhere in Sickbay. She hasn't reported in yet" returned Christina.
"Strange, OK." Cat confirmed the document and passed it back to Christina. She took it and headed off on her other duties.
Cat tapped her badge, "Khatroweena to Khan... Khatroweena to Khan... Nilani its Cat, answer me." Cat shook her head, wondering what might be wrong with Nilani. "Computer, what is the location of Doctor Khan?"
[Doctor Khan is in Ten-Forward.]
"What the..."
***** Ten-Forward *****
The doors slid aside as Cat entered Ten-Forward. It didn't take long for Cat to find Nilani, sitting alone at one of the tables. As Cat approached, she could see that Nilani had a strong hold on a glass. Cat took a chair from one of the other tables. Most people were looking out at the strange 'space' that the Galaxy had found herself in. She looked up and realised that somewhere out there was Greer, AC and Ronni and time was running out. But first things first, Nilani seemed oblivious to her surroundings.
Cat clicked her fingers in front of Nilani's face as she called out her name. The eyes followed the movement, but 'nobody was at home,' the tears on Nilani face told all that Cat needed to know. Cat took Nilani's hands and removed to the glass. Cat touch was enough to bring Nilani back at little and when she recognised Cat, Nilani came back to reality.
Cat gave her best bedside smile, "Good to see you back, what is wrong?"
Nilani looked up at Cat and forced a smile. "Bad memories."
"What about?"
"Home."
"Oh, I see. Want to talk about it?"
Nilani turned and looked at a Cardassian seated at a corner table and opened her mouth to say something. She decided against it, turned back to Cat and just shook her head. As Cat looked at the Cardassian, she recognised the earring. 'Follows the Prophets, I see' she thought to herself.
Cat turned back at Nilani, "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Cat heard the beginning of annoyance in Nilani's tone. Cat was a good doctor, she knew when to leave well enough alone. It was obvious to Cat that she was tired and seeing a Cardassian would not help Nilani much.
"Nilani, why don't you get some rest. You've been working hard."
Nilani began to shake her head, but before she could say anything Cat jumped in. "I mean it Nilani, go to your quarters and rest. You are still not the best from that injury you took and it has been stressful for everyone. I've had my rest, now its your turn."
Nilani opened her mouth to protest. "Nilani - DO IT! Or I'll call down security to hog tie you and take you to your quarters" interrupted Cat.
Nilani looked at Cat and said "No Hypo?" Cat smiled, "If I have to Nilani."
"OK, I know when I'm beat, I'll go."
"Good, Want me to go with you?"
"No, I'm OK!"
"Right, I'll look on you in about eight hours time, see how things are going."
Nilani looked at Cat, her only reply as she left Ten-Forward was, "Yes Mum."
Cat looked around at the Cardassian sitting alone, he didn't look too happy either. "I should get a double wage, for being a doctor and a counsellor" Cat said to herself as she headed over to Door.
"Hi my name is Cat, can I have a seat?" smiled Cat.
Door looked up, with a dour look upon his face. His voice tired, his only response was "If you trust a Cardassian!" He quickly let his mind see the Caitian's thoughts. Curiosity and concern were the only things he could sense. A concern for him and the Bajoran doctor who didn't react well to his presence. Curious about him and what happened between him and the Bajoran. "Curiosity killed the Cat, you know"
Cat just looked at him and smiled, "Ouch, do you know how many times I've heard that! Far too many. Well, Barkeep - What does a girl got to do to get a drink around here?"
"My name is Door. If you would give me a few moments..." Door headed over to the bar as Cat followed. "What would you like?"
"Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster!"
"A what?"
"Oh boy, does this mean I have to train you as well? Shift out the way. I had to show Electra this one." Cat moved to behind the bar. Door was a little hesitant to let her behind the bar, but he couldn't see any harm in it.
As soon as she got around, Cat grabbed the bottles from the bar. "This should not be replicated. Two reasons. One, it would never get past the replicator protocols. Second, it tastes awful replicated. Take my word for it. Listen carefully." Cat began showing Door how to make a Blaster. He was a little surprised at some of the things that got poured in, especially from a doctor.
As she was mixing the drink, "Door, if you don't mind me asking, what happened between you and Nilani?"
"Nilani?, I gather you mean your Bajoran friend?"
"Yes, what happened?"
"She is Bajoran, I am half Cardassian, that is what happened!"
"Ah, It's happened a bit too often, huh?"
"I have been here, looking after the bar for just a day and the whole day has been nothing but trouble."
Cat finished mixing the drink and swigged a good lot of it down. Door winced a little as he remembered what went in. "Want one?" offered Cat.
"No."
"So how did you end up on the Galaxy?" asked Cat.
"Don't you mean, 'How did a Cardassian get on the Galaxy?'"
"NO. How did YOU get on the Galaxy?" Cat affirmed as she took another swig and returned to the front of the bar.
Walking down the corridor, K'Eytyanna stopped suddenly as her Klingon instincts brushed to full awareness, causing her to subconsciously crouch and draw her d'k tahg. Moving forwards cautiously, she looked around the corner to find two humanoids in Federation EVA suits talking.
Heading back down the corridor, she moved out of hearing range. Tapping her combadge, she whispered,
"Lt Samara to Security, two Breen sighted on Deck ??. I'll take them out for you. Samara out."
Before anyone on the other end could tell her not to attack, she cut the channel and stepped into a nearby lounge area.
*****************************
"Isidro, I thought that you knew the way around these Federation vessels?" Socorro questioned.
The male Breen snapped, "Be quiet, Socorro. We must be careful so as not to be captured." Isidro then adjusted his grip on the stolen phaser and began carefully walking down the deserted corridor. Socorro followed quietly.
*****************************
Once the door closed, K'Eytyanna grabbed a chair nearby and using her Klingon strength, she ripped it out of its housing. Walking to a nearby wall, she removed one of the duranium panels, hoping that it would be able to take enough of a phaser blast to protect her if neccessary.
Tearing off a sleeve from her uniform, she tied the panel to her arm. Grinning, she lifted the chair and stepped outside. Whistling loudly to get the Breen's attention, she crouched in the doorway.
Seconds later, a phaser blast raced down the corridor, missing Samara by a long shot. One of the Breen stepped out to check and quickly received a chair to the stomach, knocking it hard into the wall. A phaser blast flew towards Samara, and she used the panel as a shield.
Springing forward, she closed the distance to the Breen before any more shots could be fired. As she did, her instincts told her that the injured Breen was not in a conditon to fight. Quickly, she charged at the other Breen, who was obviously not used to fighting an aggressive Klingon opponent and dropped the phaser in surprise when K'Eytyanna bellowed a Klingon war-cry. After receiving and giving some fairly powerful punches, the two combatants were both tending towards caution.
Working out that retreat was a far better option, the Breen raced off at the first chance. K'Eytyanna knelt down next to the injured Breen and smashed the duranium sheet hard against it. It groaned so she gave it a hard punch to the head, which seemed to knock it unconscious. It seemed to be the smaller and weaker of the two Breen.
Kicking the chair away, she put her d'k tahg back in its sheath and lifted the Breen up onto her shoulder. Wincing in pain as a sharp pain raced through her hand and her left arm started throbbing from where the phaser blast had burnt partly through the panel, she ignored it and headed off down the corridor.
Growling as she entered a turbolift, she snapped,
"Sickbay, and this had better not become a regular occurrence."
*****************************
Stopping outside Sickbay, K'Eytyanna thought about leaving the Breen and letting them know via comchannel, but realised that it would be more honourable and responsible to take it inside. Growling in disgust, she stepped inside the dreaded room and saw that Sickbay was in a shambles and quite a few people were being treated.
Lifting the Breen off her shoulder, she called out,
"One unconscious Breen." As some of the Medical staff turned around, K'Eytyanna dropped the breen to the deck, ignoring the heavy thump that it made. Quickly, she turned and headed towards the door, hoping that the medical staff would be too busy with their new guest to realise she was injured.
Lt K'Eytyanna Samara USS Galaxy Engineer/Shuttle Pilot
By: gaijinrussell@sprynet.com
Chen had been called away from watching Ensign Sullax. Apparently, they wanted someone fresh to help guard the Breen in sickbay. He reluctantly left Sanchez in charge and headed down to Sickbay. He wasn't sure what quite happened when he got there.
He had just arrived when the Breen and some engineers came out from the ICU ward, the engineers shivering. Chen had guarded the Breen on one other occasion and wasn't expecting any trouble when one of the Breen shoved some guy he hadn't seen before into Dr. Tash. As she fell, the Breen continued on, still holding the other man. He slammed into Chen hard, slamming his head back into the wall.
Chen dropped to the ground. He tried to get back up, but the injury was too much. He slowly slipped into oblivion.
Chen wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when he woke up, he had a monster headache. He groaned and lifted himself to his feet. Dr. Tash came over and helped. He nodded his thanks. "What the hell just happened?" He asked.
Tash shook her head. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Chen heard another groan and looked to where Lieutenant Lawson was lying. Tash walked over to help him. Chen was angry. The events of the past few days had finally pushed him to the edge. He silently cursed the Breen and hoped that he'd be able to work on the search. Right now, though, he had to make sure Lawson was okay. The Breen were in a lot of trouble.
By: john.kirk@cadresource.com (John Kirk)
" Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. " He muttered disgustedly. He picked up a hand phaser and then changed his mind, choosing the phaser rifle instead. The environmental suits would afford them an extra level of protection and the phaser rifle had the better penetrative ability. He couldn't figure out why the Breen had chosen to act up, but the saying was obviously true: 'never turn your back on a Breen'.
Running out of the office he hit his comm-badge. " Sunder to Rios. "
" Rios here. "
" Ensign, where were the Breen heading when they left sickbay? "
" One of the doctors mentioned that they were heading towards the holdecks. "
" Do we know why? " Sunder asked, gasping as he ran down the corridor to the nearest turbolift.
" Negative. Something about 'gaining information', though failing that they were intent on destroying the ship. "
" Doesn't make sense. Why? What would provoke them to attacking the ship that rescued them? What do they expect to do against a ship carrying a thousand crewpeople? "
Just then an emergency transmission cut across the channel. It was Lt. Samara - she had sighted Breen on Deck 11.
" Did you catch that Rios? " Sunder asked.
" Yes. " The Klingon growled. " If I know the Lieutenant, she'll be in here soon enough with either casualties or injuries. "
" Best you stay there and meet up with her then. If you don't hear from her, assign a aquad to watch over the bay and go look for her. I'll scout for the other two. "
" Very well. Rios out. "
Sunder reasoned that if Samara had spotted the first two on Deck 11 then the others couldn't be too far away from them. Given that the clumsy suits would slow them down, he could estimate their distance roughly.
" Computer. " He said, activating his comm-badge again. " Locate Breen life forms between Decks 11 and surrounding areas of the holodecks. "
" Breen life forms are detected on Decks 11 and near Holodeck One. "
Sunder thought for a second. " Computer: current program in operation on Holodeck One? "
" Breen Vessel Analysis Alpha. "
That partly explained why the Breen were making for the holodeck - and for their odd behaviour. There was obviously something about the Breen ship that they didn't want exposed. Sunder had heard the Breen used organic technology and their ships were some sort of life form, but other than that...
It didn't matter what it was. All that mattered was that the Breen scientists had repaid their rescuers' kindness with deception and now violence. They represented a threat to the safety of this ship and its crew and Sunder was determined to bring them in.
He reached the turbolift. Ordering it to Holodeck One, he tapped his communicator badge. " Sunder to K'arta. "
" K'arta here. "
" Lieutenant, can you divert all unnecessary crew away from Holodeck One? Keep the corridors clear save for a few security personell to block access and egress points? "
" Wouldn't be a problem Sunder, except that Commander Sterner is on his way down with Counselor Wilson. They should be leaving sickbay by now and then heading to the holodeck. What do you have in mind? "
" I'm approaching the holodeck now. I'm going to try stall them there and hold them. There's something about the schematic analysis of their ship that they don't want us to know. They'll have to figure out to work the holodeck controls and that'll give me enough time to enter. Once there, I'll use the holodeck controls to confuse them and keep them lost. "
" Assuming they're inside. " K'arta pointed out.
" Exactly. If we initially give them what they want, we can then use the holodeck to prevent them from going anywhere else. "
" I'll grant them access to the holodeck then. How will you get in without them seeing you? " From her security position on the bridge, K'arta could control the access points to the ship's major systems.
" I won't be able to. What I'll need you to do then is to activate some random program the second they're inside. Once in, hide the arch and I'll get in through a service conduit. They'll see me come in, but then I can use the cover of the holodeck's program to lose myself. "
" You're taking a bit of a risk Commander. " K'arta observed.
" Well, they'll only have a second to fire before I lose myself. They're in clumsy suits, using unfamiliar weaponry and in enemy territory. I don't think it's much of a risk. Once inside, I'll stalk 'em and bring them down. "
" What program did you want to use? " K'arta asked.
Sunder smiled. " One that I'm intimately familiar with: Sunder-Hunt One. They may have numbers but I'll have the advantage of the terrain. "
" What's the terrain? "
Sunder approached the service conduit aperture and struggled to squeeze his bulk into the tiny cavity.
" Orion rain-jungle - it's my ritual hunt program. " He grinned as he whispered.
The Breen were in a for a big surprise.
** Bridge **
"Or separate like vinegar from water." Chris added while moving over to the rear Operations station and tapping into the Galaxy's computer system. "I can probably take a quick sample and run an analysis on it. You never know, we might just luck out. Its worth a try sir." Lieutenant Thomas explained to the Captain who stood by and watched.
Placing a hand on Chris' shoulder he nodded, "Good thinking 'mate. Work with Lieutenant Mercury and see what you can come up with. And remember, minutes count. The away team is counting on us."
** Later on the Bridge **
Chris went to work on his idea, and once he had the basic outlay down he would seek out Lt. Mercury's help on this subject. He'd already gotten the captain's approval to attempt to gather a sample and attempt to run some test on the substance and then apply whatever theoretical and factual data was needed to come up with a viable explanation. Chris worked fast setting up a basis for this experiment, time was counting down, but safety was still demanded.
"Captain permission to leave the bridge. Lt. Mercury and I will need to be in engineering to continue this examination." Chris said as he rose form the aft workstation. He tapped a few keys, which sent his just created testing parameters to main engineering.
"Granted." Price said.
"Thank you sir." Thomas replied, "I will communicate my plan en-route to main engineering. David?" Chris motioned with his hand for the Chief Engineer to join him in the turbolift. If he stayed on the bridge to explain it, that would just be wasting time. It made more sense for him to talk while on their way to engineering. The best place to oversee this operation in the best place for it to occur.
** Enroute to Engineering **
"Captain based upon what we know and what we don't know. I believe it is best that we go by the book as much as possible. I believe that the best way we can evaluate what we're dealing with is to beam a sample on board. I have ordered a industrial strength container from the ship's records and we will also erect a forcefield around the container to help control whatever might happen.
Once we have the sample on board and in a safe environment, we will begin to analysis the sample and attempt to gather as much information as possible about the substance. We will also have a couple of emergency contingency plans ready just in case something goes wrong.
However I believe that we should be able to control the environment and provide a safety margin that is acceptable and at the same time attempt gather the needed information." Thomas finished his explanation as the turbolift came to a stop. Lieutenant Mercury nodded silently indicating his agreement with Chris' plan.
["Just be sure and make it quick 'mate. There is less than 20 minutes remaining for the away team if Ensign Sullax's latest numbers are accurate. Price out."]
** Main Engineering **
Chris entered main engineering with Lt. Mercury. They each quickly made their way to the main control room opposite the warp core chamber. "Lt. Mercury." Thomas said, "I have uploaded, a theoretical idea on how to analysis the matter in the vortex, it does mean we'll have to bring a sample on board."
"Aye. I'll arrange to have a sample transported" David said tapping in the key sequence to have site to site transport routed to his master control panel. When it came to the systems on board the Galaxy, Lieutenant Mercury was one of the best.
======
Chris Patton GM --- Fleet Captain William E. Churchill - USS Atlantis
By: Price
A few minutes past while Lieutenant Thomas ran a quick particle analysis on the fluidic substance down in main engineering with Lieutenant Mercury. It was a sample of the fluidic substance that the Galaxy was presently caught up in while she was forced to circle the spinning vortex. Several thousands of kilometers deeper into the vortex, the Jem'Hadar ship was likewise churning helplessly around the singularity. But unlike the mighty Galaxy, the small attack ship had not even regained lateral control.
Captain Price had received word that the four Breen guests had attacked some of the medical staff and had over powered the security guards assigned to escort them around the ship. Two phasers had been stolen and they appeared to have split up into two groups. One group heading for deck 11 and the other group heading for the lower levels of the ship. Lieutenant K'arta and Lieutenant Commander Sunder had begun to get teams together to contain the renegade Breen. Commander Sterner asked to leave the bridge to try and reason with them, to possibly avoid more bloodshed.
Then the comm channel signaled with Lieutenant Thomas' voice. ["I think I have it now sir."]
"Let's hear it 'mate. Good news or bad news?" Captain Price asked.
["I can't really say Captain. There is a high concentration of acidic and trace elements, but it is definitely not similar to blood. At least no blood we know of in this universe."] Chris explained, adding, ["Sorry sir."]
Lee nodded in an understanding fashion. "Okay, well at least we know what it is not. The question is, how can that help us get out of this spot?"
****
*** Main Engineering ***
Looking over Lieutenant Thomas' shoulder, David was reading Chris' monitor when he saw something, "Is that the specific gravity of the fluid Chris?"
Lieutenant Thomas glanced at David and then back where he was pointing at the monitor. "Yes. It seems to be fairly constant through out this fluidic substance."
"Then if we were to lower the specific gravity of the Galaxy, making it lighter than that value, shouldn't that cause us to be pushed out? We would begin to float to the surface..."
"...like a piece of wood on the water." Lieutenant Thomas finished for the Chief Engineer, "Yes, in theory, that is what should happen. The question is, how can we lower the specific gravity of the Galaxy?"
Captain Price listened to two of his brightest officers exchange ideas over the comm channel. He crossed his arms and began thinking about the idea. It sounded almost too simple. Which usually meant that it would probably work.
"Well, we already have the metaphasic shield generators on line. If we were to create a static warp shell around the ship, and patch in the graviton generators, we might just be able to generate enough 'lift' to make us buoyant, reducing our overall specific gravity to less than the surrounding fluidic space. In theory." David explained.
*****
*** Bridge, USS Galaxy ***
Lee gave his nod of approval. "Do it 'mate. We don't have much time."
["Aye sir. If Chris can help me, we can set it up right from here."]
Lee turned and returned to the command well to take his seat.
Within a minute, Lieutenant Mercury hailed, ["Okay Captain, I think we are all set. Chris is on his way back up to the Bridge. He will monitor and control the graviton generators from there. Once we initiate the static warp shell and patch in the graviton generators, we should begin moving towards the center of the vortex. Once we are on the surface, our momentum should carry us out of the fluidic region and into free space. Lieutenant Bancroft will have to make a quick course adjustment to keep us from falling or flying back into the vortex once we are free."]
Lee nodded and then turned to look at Tebrianne where she sat at the helm. "Did you get that Lieutenant?"
The part Romulan, part Vulcan Helmsman snapped her gum and smiled. "Aye sir. I'll be ready."
No sooner than the Captain got a reply from the Chief Helmsman then Lieutenant Thomas exited the turbolift and quickly made his way to the rear Operations Station and brought it online.
"Fair dinkum 'mate. Okay Lieutenant, let's do it." the Captain instructed the Chief Engineer.
["Activating static warp shell now sir."] David called out. Lieutenant Thomas walked from the aft Operations station back to the front of the bridge where he took the seat besides Lieutenant Bancroft at helm.
"So far so good sir. Patching in the graviton generators now." Lieutenant Thomas said when he sat down. "Gradually increasing output from the generators...."
"It's working sir. We are beginning to move towards the center of the vortex." Lieutenant Bancroft explained. "We should be breaking surface shortly. Ease off on the generators Chris. We are picking up speed."
Lieutenant Thomas adjusted his station, "There, I've lowered the output slightly. That should help."
Tebrianne nodded, "Aye, we've stopped accelerating, but we are still moving towards the surface. Hold it steady there love."
Captain Price watched as the Galaxy began to emerge from the billowy streams of the fluidic vortex into normal space in the center of the churning maul. The ship was still very far inside the funnel of the vortex, but it was a relief getting free of the gripping currents that were slowly drawing the ship around the endless circle of the singularity.
"We are free Captain, reversing engines to stop our momentum..." Bancroft explained. The ship rocked slightly upon fully exiting the currents of the vortex. Tebrianne swung the ship around and held position directly in the center of the vortex as she was originally ordered prior to the Jem'Hadar attack. "Holding position Captain." Tebrianne said with a cheeky smile in her voice.
A cheer went up on the Bridge. ["You did it!"] Lieutenant Mercury congratulated over the conn channel.
"We all did it Lieutenant. Excellent work 'mates." Captain Price acknowledged, placing either hand on Lieutenant Bancroft and Lieutenant Thomas' shoulders. He then took a step back and turned to look at the science station and Ensign Idana. "Any luck locating the away team Ensign?" Captain Price asked hopefully.
Alyssa readjusted her station and was looking at it intensely. "I'm sorry Captain. I still don't see... wait a minute." Idana said, making another adjustment, "I have something here, but I can't be sure what it is. However I do know there are three of them sir."
"How far away Ensign?" Captain Price asked.
"Too far sir. Our transporters won't reach them even with the modifications made earlier." the Ensign informed.
"Lieutenant Bancroft, take us in closer 'mate. Slow and easy."
"Aye Captain." Bancroft acknowledged taking the Galaxy in even closer to the eye of the vortex. The crew watched the view screen as the Galaxy went in even further than the Jem'Hadar ship before. The enemy ship was still caught in the churning sides of the fluidic vortex. A glimpse of it could be seen ever so often when it would spin in the violent currents of the vortex and bob up briefly before being pulled back in.
"Anything now 'mate?"
"I believe so Captain. I'm reading three weak life signs..." Alyssa smiled, "two Humans and a Delphinian!"
"Have the transporter room lock on and beam them over 'mate." Lee said squeezing Lieutenant Thomas' shoulder briefly before returning to the command chair and retaking his seat one last time.
"Aye Captain, I'll let Lieutenant Boudreau know." Chris explained while activating his console.
A few moments later, Chris turned around, pivoting in his chair to face the Captain, "Mélissa says we got them sir. Erikson, Morris and Hewson are all back on board."
The news was a welcome relief. Everyone could feel the tension in the room ease up.
"Good work 'mates. Okay Lieutenant, back us out slow and easy."
"Aye aye Captain." Lieutenant Bancroft said happily.
The Galaxy slowly began withdrawing from the vortex. The gravimetric pull of the singularity was causing the Impulse engines to have to work against the strain, but the Galaxy was easily going to be able to break free of the vortex once again as she did before when she rescued the Breen.
"Captain. What shall we do about the Jem'Hadar ship?" Lieutenant Blair asked at the tactical station, "They are transmitting a general distress signal, but I am sure no one outside of the vortex will be able to receive it because of the interference."
Captain Price listened to the Chief Tactical officer before looking back at the swirling vortex that was beginning to grow smaller as the ship backed out of it. Watching, he could occasionally see the tumbling Jem'Hadar ship bob up to the surface of the churning currents before being pulled back into the fluidic phenomenon. It was ironic actually. There she was, the enemy ship that set out to destroy the Galaxy, now signaling a distress call that only she could possibly hear. Lee was tempted to just leave the enemy vessel to meet it's fate for ambushing the Galaxy. But the though quickly past.
"Can we get a tractor beam on them 'mate?" he asked the Tactical officer.
"Sir?" Troy questioned, but then realized that the Captain was serious when Lee glanced over at him and waited quietly for a Starfleet reply. "Yes, Captain. But targeting their ship will not be easy."
"I can think of no one more qualified than yourself Lieutenant. Lock a tractor beam onto the Jem'Hadar vessel. We will try to tow them out as we did the Breen earlier." Lee ordered.
"Aye Captain." Troy responded flatly. His tone indicating he didn't particularly like the order. "I hope they don't attack us for our trouble... just like the Breen did." Lieutenant Blair thought to himself.
Tapping his controls, the Chief Tactical Officer prepared the tractor beam and stood by for an opportunity to obtain a solid lock on the Jem'Hadar vessel. "Tractor beam is standing by Captain."
"The Jem'Hadar ship seems to be surfacing at regular intervals. There is a rhythm to it's appearance and when it breaks surface." Lieutenant Thomas explained, "Keep watching and you'll pick up on it Troy."
Lieutenant Blair listened to Chris advice from the Operations station. Within a couple of appearances of the Jem'Hadar, Troy thought he had the rhythm down pat. "Activating tractor beam... NOW!"
The tractor beam activated and sped out from the Galaxy inside the surrounding vortex. It pierced the surface at precisely the spot that the Jem'Hadar vessel was expected to resurface. With a jolt, the energy beam latched onto it's hull, just as the ship broke the surface.
"We got her sir!" Troy declared triumphantly.
"Pull her in Lieutenant. Miss Bancroft, take us out of here. Steady as she goes." Captain Price ordered.
"Aye Captain. Increasing power to Impulse engines to compensate." Tebrianne explained.
"Lieutenant Thomas, open a frequency to the Jem'Hadar vessel 'mate."
Chris activated the proper sequence. "Hailing frequencies open Captain."
"Jem'Hadar vessel. This is Captain Lee Price of the Federation Starship Galaxy. We are responding to your general distress signal. You will power down your engines and weapons systems until we are clear of the vortex. Please respond."
A moment of silence, and then a staticy squelch sang out over the channel.
"I don't know that they received our signal Captain." Chris informed.
"Ensign Idana, scan their ship. Are we detecting weapons or any sort of power buildup 'mate?"
Alyssa tapped her science stations controls. "Their engines are online sir. But they are not activated. Their weapons are not powered up."
"Aye, but is that because they got our transmission or because they are too damaged to bring them online?" Lieutenant Blair commented from Tactical.
"Hopefully we will know soon enough 'mate, once we are free of the vortex."
"Shall I lock weapons on the Jem'Hadar Sir?... as a precaution?" Troy suggested.
"Negative Lieutenant. I don't want to accidentally provoke them and run the possibility of having another skirmish break out inside this vortex. We all have seen the results that one missed place shot can have on this vortex."
"As you wish sir. I will have weapons standing by in case we need them." Blair commented.
"A wise precaution Lieutenant." was Captain Price's only response while he watched out the main view port as the Galaxy and the tractored Jem'Hadar vessel slowly began to exit the Vortex.
By: "Dianne Heppel"
The Galaxy's rescue attempt was ruined by an attacking Jem'hadar Warship. The metaphasic shields were holding but they found themselves stuck in the currents in the side of the Vortex, which now expanded to triple its original size. It was suggested to the Captain to beam a sample of the fluid from the Vortex for study. Captain Price reluctantly agreed. Alyssa heard Sickbay report to the Captain that four Breen injured some people in sickbay and are now running rampant in the ship. Great that's all we need' thought Alyssa.
One hour later the Captain got a communication from Engineering where Lt. Thomas, and Lt. Mercury were running the Tests on the sample of Fluid Space They determined that the Fluid is not like blood, or any blood in our universe. Then they thought of a way to free the Galaxy by reducing the Gravity of the Galaxy to an amount lower then the Gravity in the Fluid. "Captain that might work" said Alyssa. "Do it mate we don't have much time" said Captain Price. Lt. Thomas went back on the bridge to monitor the Graviton emitters. The theory worked and the Galaxy was raised back to the Center of the vortex. A cheer erupted on the Bridge and Alyssa was part of it.
After that Captain Price asked Alyssa if she was registering the Away team on the Sensors. "Let me readjust to our new position" said Alyssa "Captain I still don't see, no wait a minute said Alyssa when something caught her eye on the Sensor image. "I have something here but I Don't know what it is, though there is definitely three of them" said Alyssa "How far away" asked Captain Price. Alyssa looked and then double checked. "too far sir, even with our modified transports they are still out of range. "Take us in closer" Captain Price told Lt. Bancroft. "Aye sir" said Lt. Bancroft. Alyssa noticed that the Galaxy went even farther into the vortex then the Jem'hadar was, though they were in the center and the Jem'hadar were in the sides still not under control.
"Anything now mate?" asked Captain Price. "yes I am reading three weak life singes, Two humans and a Delphinian" Said Alyssa as she broke out in a smile. "Have the Transported room lock on to their signals and beam them aboard" said Captain Price to Lt. Thomas. "Aye sir" said Lt. Thomas as he contacted the Transported room.
The Bridge then got the transmission that the Away Team is now aboard the Galaxy. Alyssa sighed in relief. Captain Price told Lt. Bancroft to back the galaxy out of the Vortex slowly. "aye sir" said Lt. Bancroft. "What about the Jem'hadar, they are transmitting a general distress call but it is doubtful that anyone outside of the Vortex would hear it. said Lt. Blair. "Captain Price asked if they could get a Tractor Beam Lock on the ship. "Sir" said Lt. Blair in surprise. Alyssa thought that we should just leave the Jem'hadar in there, but there was a time to question orders and a time to just obey them, now was the time to obey them. The Galaxy does get a tractor Beam Lock on the Jem'hadar ship and proceeds to tow it out. Captain Price sent a message to the Jem'hadar telling them not to attack that we are rescuing them but it is unknown if they received it. Alyssa hopes that when the exit the Vortex the Jem'Hadar don't try to finish what they started.
By: "Charles B. Smith"
Ronni swam until her oxygen deprived muscles cried out in agony. Then she swam some more. The growing maw of real time space was the enticing gate of heaven. With a push of desperation, she pushed on.
AC seemed to be dragging / riding along on the pulsing waves of force. Greer and Ronni desperately moving with every ounce strength. Ronni decided now was the time to pull her last ace in the hole. She released the environmental controls so that the stored and recycled water from the three suits rushed into hers. That gave more oxygen for Greer and AC. Breathing deeply of the water that filled her suit, she pressed on with renewed vigor.
Stars. She could finally see stars. Bright and beautiful. "I'm going to die here, but at least I got to see the stars again." she said in Delphinian. Refusing to lie down and die she kept pressing on. Stroke after stroke. The pulse of the fluidic space, combined with their feeble 'swimming' pushed them toward the opening.
Suddenly, a great push from behind them rushed them toward the opening. As they began to near the cut in fluidic space, Ronni saw her companions and herself start to fade to blue sparkles. As she was fading out, she thought she saw a Dominion ship spinning around the opening of the vortex.
Dazed, she opened her eyes. She was on a transporter PADD, on board the Galaxy. Hitting the release on her suit, she pulled off her helmet and water gushed all over. She turned to Greer who had removed his helmet and they both reached over and pulled off AC's helmet. His color was returning and his breathing was normalizing. Ronni turned to Greer and wrapped her arms around him, and with tears of joy in her eyes, she gave him the biggest kiss of his life.
By: john.kirk@cadresource.com (John Kirk)
Bungle In The Jungle
Sunder peered through the grating in the wall. His cramped vantage point kept him well-hidden from the constant scrying of the Breen eyes, but at the expense of his contorted and bruised muscles forcing themselves to fit into the tight confines of the service conduit. He could see them entering into the holodeck looking around wildly for any sign of pursuers. The object of their journey lay in front of them: a three-dimensional miniaturized schematic analysis of their ship.
He waited for them to get well within the desmenes of the holodeck; away from the doors so that they would have no time to react to the sudden movement of the door locking behind them. Once inside, the Breen would be lost within the illusory jungle foliage created by the holodeck projectors.
At least that was the idea. Sunder was hoping that he would be able to take advantage of the familiar terrain and disable the aliens one at a time. Even if he couldn't take them out individually, he was able to prevent them from gaining access to secure holographic information and from leaving the holodeck to more sensitive areas of the ship. Plus, the sudden climate change due to the illusion, would definitely give them some degree of discomfort.
The real trick was trying to sneak out of the service conduit without being seen. The terrain generator of the holodeck would quickly cover any signs of the security officer's entry, creating a bush or a rock to bar the door from opening once Sunder was out. If he wasn't shot squeezing his massive bulk out of the conduit, he could then lose himself in the bush. The Breen would have to come after him, seperating themselves to cover more area.
" No time like the present. " He mumbled to himself. He hit his comm-badge. " Lt. K'arta - this is Sunder. " He whispered. " They're in - seal the doors behind them and I'll take it from here. "
" Okay Sunder. No unnecessary force remember. We don't want them injured. "
" No problem. I'll just have them running around a bit. " An evil grin lit upon his face, hidden in the shadows of the conduit. " If they hit a tree branch or two, surely I can't be held responsible. Sunder out. "
He waited for a minute to see the interior of the holodeck change surroundings. As soon as the Breen approached the central image of the Breen vessel, the scene shifted to that of an alien tropical paradise. Giant wide-trunked trees immediately manifested themselves into view next to the bewildered Breen. The lighting changed to a deep orange hue and the bush was suddenly alive with all sorts of strange wild-life.
The Breen were obviously stunned by the sudden change.
" Isidoro, what is happening? " One of them asked the other.
" I - I don't know Socorro. It is this holodeck - it has to be. I don't understand it, but remember I told you it has the capacity to create shapes seemingly out of nothing. But I did not know that it could do it of its own volition. "
A loud thump far over to their left interrupted their conversation. Socorro brandished the phaser and looked in that direction.
" I do not think it can Isidoro. Over there - look! "
Silouhetted in the underbrush, a man-sized figure could be seen making its way for cover. Socorro fired a couple of blasts wide, fumbling his EVA suit's clumsy handgrip around the unfamiliar weapon. Uttering Breen curses, he motioned another direction with his other hand.
" You go that way. It seems we have a Federationer in here with us. It must be a trick. Try to head him off around those trees while I follow behind. "
" Which trees? There are all sorts of trees in here. " Isidoro complained.
" Those ones - with the vines. " Socorro answered, making his way towards the figure.
Meanwhile, Sunder was thanking his lucky stars that he had managed to land on something soft. In a matter of a few seconds, the air around him was instantly ignited with phaser-fire. He ducked for cover and ran towards the copse of urangu trees that was nearby. The urangu was a tree with a naturally hard bark composed of ferric minerals. Strong enough to give a man partial protection from even a phaser blast, the trees would make an excellent vantage point for a return volley. For now though, he needed it to get his breath and see what the Breen were planning on doing next...
"Hi my name is Cat, can I have a seat?"
Door looked up from his drink to see an attractive looking woman in a medical uniform smiling down at him. She had a strange set of distinctly cat-like ears, he could see a tip of a tail flick out every few seconds. She had very feline movements about her- Half-Caitian he reasoned from her name.
He was quite bemused by the fact that someone had chosen to come and sit with him, especially after the less than friendly receptions he had received from the other members of the crew today.
"If you trust a /Cardassian/!" he curled the corner of his mouth up as he tipped the glass in his hand up, downing the remaining thin liquid. Despite his sarcasm, the doctor took a seat opposite him and smiled a dangerously friendly smile.
Door had been wary of such people, those who offered help where none was really needed. Like his step father, Gruk. He had always said 'Rule of Aquisition...' Door forgot the numbers '...the bigger the smile, the sharper the knife'. And, in Door's experience, the much hated Ferengi were correct in this regard. Although with Gruk, Door never had the advantage of telepathy...
He quickly let his mind see the Caitian's thoughts. Curiosity and concern were the only things he could sense. A concern for him and the Bajoran doctor who didn't react well to his presence. Curious about him and what happened between him and the Bajoran too.
"Curiosity killed the Cat, you know." he again smirked at his own joke. All of this smirking was not giving a good impression in the eyes of the people he was supposed to be befriending he thought, but it was quickly repressed- He was down and there was nothing that could be done to quell that idea. And it wasn't like this new foe was being friendly- he was just the local punch-bag...
*There's a war on with the Cards!! Lets kick some Door!!*
"Ouch, do you know how many times I've heard that! Far too many. Well, Barkeep - What does a girl got to do to get a drink around here?"
Okay, so she sounded sincere.
"My name is Door," he shrugged, reluctantly extending a greeting hand, which was received with a firm grip, "If you would give me a few moments..."
Door headed sullenly over to the bar as Cat followed.
"What would you like?" he asked, taking up his position opposite the following Caitian.
"Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster!" she exclaimed, sliding up onto the barstool.
Door's head spun at the near thought of such a drink- the name alone was baffling.
"A what?"
"Oh boy, does this mean I have to train you as well?" she sighed, demounting the stool and heading around to the end of the bar and joining Door, "Shift out the way. I had to show Electra this one."
Door was a little hesitant to let her behind the bar, but he couldn't see any harm in it. If Electra had let her before, then he supposed it was okay.
As soon as she got around, Cat grabbed the bottles from the bar. "This should not be replicated. Two reasons. One, it would never get past the replicator protocols. Second, it tastes awful replicated. Take my word for it. Listen carefully." Cat began showing Door how to make a Blaster. He was a little surprised at some of the things that got poured in, especially from a doctor.
"Door, if you don't mind me asking, what happened between you and Nilani?" Cat said, dropping various liquids into a tall glass at split second intervals. He wasn't at all sure he was following this... *What was that last bottle?*
"Nilani?," he asked, shaking himself back to reality, "I gather you mean your Bajoran friend?"
"Yes, what happened?"
"She's Bajoran, I'm half Cardassian, /that's/ what happened!"
"Ah, It's happened a bit too often, huh?"
Door sighed. Too right it had happened once too often. He was a Federation citizen too, and this was near discrimination. Of course there'd be a deep routed feeling of hatred to towards Cardassians, but he was only even a quarter Cardassian- and a follower of the way of the Prophets at that. He never thought that life on a Starship would be this bad.
He looked up at the expectant eyes of the drink-mixing doctor and sighed again.... *Spill your heart time.*
"I have been here, looking after the bar for just a day and the whole day has been nothing but trouble."
She had a sympathetic sound, which was actually rather satisfying to Door. Cat's objectivity to his situation was quite a breath of fresh air in fact.
Cat finished mixing the drink and swigged a good lot of it down. Door winced a little as he remembered what went in. "Want one?" offered Cat.
"No."
"So how did you end up on the Galaxy?" asked Cat.
Alarm bells rang and walls shot up again.
"Don't you mean, 'How did a Cardassian get on the Galaxy?'"
"/No/. How did *You* get on the Galaxy?" Cat affirmed as she took another swig and returned to the front of the bar.
"Federation Recreational Program," Door explained, his walls lowering again, "Signed up after I returned from Bajor."
"Bajor?" Cat's eyebrows shot up, "I've never been... What's it like? I hear that some of the more rural areas are astonishing-"
"Yeah, there was the one valley- where I learned the way of the Prophets- where, at dawn you could see right the way to...
"
Cat smiled. She really should see Counselor Wilson about some overtime payment. She was feeling rather pleased with herself, the way that she had managed to get this guy to open up. Now, to her, it was obvious that all he needed was a little friendliness and he was really quite pleasant... She could see how young he was too, and some how marred by his appearance, but from the way he talked of Bajor, it seemed that it was only on the Galaxy that he had suddenly encountered this barrier. It was Fleet though, and the fear of Cardassians that it spread...
"D'You want another?" Door indicated to the empty glass in form of her.
Cat was in world of thought that was her own.
"Doctor?"
She snapped out of it-
"Oh! Yes, Yes, Sorry..." she stammered, "And No- thanks. One is more than enough... and do please- Call me Cat."
"That your real name?" Door joked, now little back to his usual self, thanks to Cat's covert counseling.
"No," she inwardly smiled, "Felicia."
"I think that I prefer that- D'You mind if I...?"
"No, not at all," she said. Cat found it strange that he should want to call her by name and not by the alias that everyone else knew her as, "But on one condition- You allow me the same. Door can't be your real name...?"
"I think re-introductions are in order," Door said, extending his hand for a second time, "Hudson Dorffen, pleased to meet you." he said, bowing a little.
Cat did the same, "Felicia Khatroweena," she said, imitating Door's English accent, "How do you do?"
They both giggled, child-like, at their play but then, as only unfamiliar friends, felt uneasy and discontinued.
"Felicia?"
"Yes Hudson."
"What's a doctor like you, drinking a concoction like that? That could be 'deadly' in the wrong hands."
"Good thing that I'm a doctor then, isn't it. Let's just say an engineer friend of mine introduced me to the sins of drink while at the Academy." Cat smiled as she continued on. "An ensign tried to get us drunk, almost worked. Next time we saw him, we had our secret weapon - the Blaster." Cat laughed at the memory.
"I thought you doctors would, you know stay all healthy and such. All that stuff" asked Door.
"You don't believe that do you? Doctors are the worst offenders for 'doing the right thing.' We know when to break the rules, we think we do anyway! When I was getting my doctorate, I had a lecturer who..."
The two talked for a while, while not the banter of close friends, it was the friendly chatting between two newly made friends.
"...and that was when the Denderite just spat it out, how was I supposed to know that Janxian 'Panther Sweat' tasted like sewerage for him." Cat and Door chuckled at one of Door's stories from his repertoire of bar stories.
"Hey, were leaving the vortex!" came a shout from one of the windows.
Cat and Door moved to the windows, and for sure the Galaxy was moving to safety. A cheer came from the throng gathered around.
"The old girl always comes through!" exclaimed Cat.
As the two returned to the bar, a number of the patrons moved to the bar as well. Door was busy filling orders. As he rushed passed for the upteenth time, Cat called out his name.
"Yes Felicia?"
"It was real fun talking to you!"
"It was, I'll try to remember some of those cocktails" he smiled.
"Hudson, I have to get back to Sickbay. I just want to say that we are a close family on the ship, sometimes like all siblings we fight." Cat's face went serious for a few seconds. "Hudson, please give Nilani and Miran another chance. You'll find them to be good friends."
Door, for a few seconds lost the grin that had pasted itself back on to his face. It returned quickly, but the twinkle in the eyes just wasn't there. 'Why did she have to bring it up?' "I will Felicia, I really will."
Cat grabbed his hand and looked him straight into his eyes, "You're not alone on the Galaxy, Hudson. Just remember that."
Some of the twinkle returned, "I know that Felicia. I have to go. I've got a bar to look after."
Cat left to return to Sickbay.
Trevor Ayliffe
***** Corridor, outside of Ten-Forward *****
Cat had just exited Ten-Forward when her badge beeped for attention. "Khatroweena here. Go ahead."
[Cat, this is Jurelle. Erikson, Hewson and Morris and back on the Galaxy. I'm sending a medical team to Transporter Room 3. I want you there.]
"Right away. Khatroweena Out!" As soon as the channel had been cut, Cat yeowed out in pure pleasure. She ran all the way to Transporter #3. Waiting impatiently for the turbolift to arrive.
***** Transporter Room 3 *****
She walked into the Transporter Room, where the medical team had already arrived. "What's the situation so far?"
Cat suppressed her elation, she had a job to do. All three were either getting out of their suits or getting taken out. Cat heard the findings, Greer and Ronni were fine, their bodies were probably going to be aching for the next few days. They get a few days in Sickbay resting up. AC was the concern, he was unconscious, but his brainwave activity was very high. In Cat's opinion, too high. As the suits were being removed and a close eye was being kept on AC, doing what could be done to stabilise his neural system. Cat moved over to Greer.
Greer was worn out from his ordeal, the kiss from Ronni, woke him up a little. "So the lost sheep return to the Galaxy!" exclaimed Cat. "Hello Cat" replied Greer in a tired but happy voice. Too tired to protest, he received the second kiss from a fellow crewmember within a few minutes.
"I was worried sick about you, when we heard about the explosion... Don't you ever do anything like that again Greer Erikson. I am just so happy that you are back."
"So am I Cat, So am I. You can't know how good it feels to have a solid footing underneath me."
"Hey, What about me? Didn't you miss me?" asked Ronni.
Cat smiled and replied "No!" She moved over to the Delphinain and hugged her, getting her uniform drenched.
Greer turned to Cat, "AC had some form of mental contact with the aliens of fluidic space. It was touch and go for sometimes there."
Cat got serious, "Mental Contact, huh? That explains some of it. Right time to get you three to Sickbay."
*********************
By: "Derek Walters" [huntermc@email.msn.com]
Walking upto the door, K'Eytyanna shifted the bag on her shoulder, tapped the door chime button and leant against the wall, yawning softly. The door openened and she smiled to Hunter. He grinned and stepped aside, letting her inside.
Had anyone been passing by as the door closed automatically, they would have heard a suprised yelp followed by a heavy thumple and a giggle.
****************************
Much later....
K'Eytyanna carefully slipped out of Hunter's arms, moving slowly so as not to wake him. Heading back into the main section, she opened the bag and removed a small light item from inside. Smiling, she crept quietly back to bed and lay against Hunter, closing her eyes. Within moments, she was fast asleep.
****************************
Hunter awoke as he felt the bed move slightly. Opening his eyes slightly, he noticied K'Eytyanna slipping out of the room. Softly, he rubbed the sore part of his neck, expecting that a large bruise with obvious teeth marks would come up by the morning.
Closing his eyes before she returned, he felt her hair brush against him and then she snuggled into him.
His skin picked up a furry item rubbing as she snuggled,
{What the hell is that? I didn't think part-Klingons would even allow fur near them, apart from targ fur.}
Waiting until he thought she would be asleep, he opened his eyes and shifted slightly. Looking down at K'Eytyanna, he saw exactly what had caused the sensation.
Cradled very caringly in his consort's arms was the last thing he would ever see - a soft 15" pink stuffed teddy bear with a blue ribbon around its neck, worn and hairless in many places. Attached to the ribbon was a small silver name-tag with engraving - Temob.
By: Price
The mighty USS Galaxy continued it's slow, rearward movement. Held in it's tractor beam before it, the very Jem'Hadar ship that attacked them just an hour earlier. The attack that failed to connect with the Galaxy, but increased the size of the vortex twenty fold, trapping them both in it's currents for a time.
Tensions were once again rising on board the Starship. The Away Team, now safely on board the Galaxy, was no longer the primary concern. All attention turned to the Jem'Hadar ship that Captain Price had ordered towed out of the vortex, in spite of their hostile actions just an hour earlier. Would they turn on the Galaxy and attack her?, much like the Breen passengers were presently doing after the Galaxy had rescued them? And what of the vortex? Would it continue to grow unless something is done to prevent it? These questions and more raced through the mind of Captain Price while he watched the Galaxy emerge from the maul of the vortex.
Everyone on the Bridge could sense the relief each crew member was feeling when the vortex began to grow smaller in the main view screen and the friendly familiarity of the stars could be seen all around them. Still, there was the Jem'Hadar ship to deal with. Now was the time when their true intentions would become known.
"Hail them." Captain Price said flatly, "Now that we are free of the Vortex, communications should be back to normal."
Lieutenant Thomas tapped the console of the Operations Station. "I have a response Captain."
Standing from the command chair, Captain Price glanced back to Lieutenant Blair.
"Weapons are standing by Captain." Troy confirmed, still following Lee's original orders not to lock weapons onto the Jem'Hadar ship to provoke them. But if the unthinkable were to happen, the Chief Tactical officer's hands stood ready to activate a quick targeting lock.
Lee gave Troy a nod, then looked forward to the main view screen. "On screen Lieutenant."
The star surrounded image of the spatial vortex and the tractor beam suspended Jem'Hadar vessel disappeared and was replaced by the image of an attractive female Vorta.
"Captain Price. Thank you for responding to our distress call. It was most generous of you." she greeted with the tone and friendliness of a politician, with a smile to match. "Now, if you will release your tractor beam, under the circumstances, I will allow you to go on your way."
Quickly rolling his eyes and then crossing his arms, Captain Price responded, "There is still the matter of your attack on this ship, miss?..."
"Oh, how rude of me." She declared, "Kilana, Supervisor of the Akaashi." She explained placing a hand to her chest briefly. "Please Captain Price, I hope you do not hold any hard feeling over our earlier encounter. After such a great gesture of friendship like you have just displayed in aiding our freedom from that spatial anomaly, I assure you I am willing to let bygones be bygones and allow your vessel to go on it's merry way. It seems like the least we could do to express our gratitude over the kindness you've extended to the Dominion." She smiled, briefly glancing off screen to her left, before returning her eyes to the Captain.
"The way I see it 'mate, your ship is no match for the Galaxy. You happened by, saw that we were in the middle of a rescue operation and figured to score an easy kill..." Lee explained in a tone that expressed the dishonor of the tactic.
Kilana's eyes grew wide in shock. Again she pressed her hands to her chest in a feign of innocent protest. "Why Captain, I had no idea you were in the middle of a rescue operation. If there was a way we could have known that I would certainly have offered the Akaashi's assistance. When we spotted your ship, we attempted to raise you on a communications channel, but there was no reply. Unfortunately Dominion policy is very to the point about enemy ships that refuse to respond to hails in 'disputed' space."
Lee's eyes narrowed. He doubted that a signal was ever sent from the Dominion Warship, but given the interference from the vortex, there would be no way to prove it. He knew that the Galaxy outmatched the tiny 47 man Dominion ship in firepower and combat ability. The Akaashi would make an excellent prize for the Federation if he could capture it intact. But he also knew that the vortex was still growing. He'd heard from the transporter room that Lieutenant Hewson seemed to have made some sort of telepathic connection with an alien intelligence on the other side of the singularity in fluidic space. Somehow it conveyed the message that this vortex was dangerous if it wasn't somehow gotten under control to stop the rupture between fluidic space and real space. The Galaxy had no way of securing the Akaashi, and finding a way to seal the vortex. He'd have to agree to let them go to insure the safety of the quadrant, possibly the whole galaxy.
"Strange we received no such hail. And our sensory pallets were tuned specifically for receiving all such signals..." Lee pointed out, making the Vorta feel slightly uncomfortable. "I suppose that the vortex caused more interference than we initially thought."
Relaxing some what, Kilana quickly agreed, "Yes. That must be the only explanation Captain. I am glad you are being reasonable. Now, if you will disengage your tractor beam as a sign of good faith?, we will be on our way."
Captain Price stood there silently, arms crossed for a long time and just stared at the Vorta on the main view screen. The crew members on the bridge watched patiently, looking at the Captain, and then at the Vorta on screen as she hung on the Captain's decision. Behind Captain Price, Lieutenant Blair stood at the tactical arch. His hands perched over the weapons controls, ready to initiate them on a moment's notice. Kilana could just barely see Troy's tense hand as it hung over the controls.
"Lieutenant Blair,..." Captain Price called back to the Chief Tactical Officer, causing the Vorta to swallow dryly. "Disengage tractor beam from the Akaashi 'mate."
"Aye sir." Troy said in an almost regretful tone. "Tractor beam has been disengaged."
"Thank you Captain Price. I thank you on behalf of the Akaashi, and on the behalf of the Dominion to whom you've shown great kindness and wisdom in your decision. I truly hope that one day the Federation and the Dominion will come to terms over these minor boarder disputes. For now we will leave you alone Captain. I hope that the next time we meet, it will be under better circumstances."
Captain Price nodded, arms still crossed. "That is also my wish 'mate. But until that time, this is still the Alpha quadrant, and you are still in Federation space. I suggest you set course back to the recognized boarders of the Cardassian-Dominion Alliance while you still can."
Shutting her politician's mouth, Kilana simply closed her eyes and bowed slightly. "But of course Captain. We shall leave at once."
The transmission deactivated, once again placing the image of the vortex against a star studded back drop and the near by Jem'Hadar warship on the main view screen. The Jem'Hadar ship quickly powered up it's engines and veered off setting a course for Cardassian space.
The Captain finally uncrossed his arms and turned to the Chief Tactical Officer, "Lieutenant Blair, continue to track them to verify they have left the sector. Also keep on alert for any other Dominion or Cardassian ships, in case they should decide to return. I don't think they will 'mate, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."
"I understand Captain." Troy agreed, finally letting his weapons hand come to rest from over the firing control buttons.
Glancing around the bridge, Lee let out an audible sigh. "One problem down." He commented, "That just leaves the renegade Breen, and finding a way to seal off the vortex." Captain Price explained while sitting back down in the command chair.
*****
*** Lower decks of USS Galaxy ***
"Why have we come to this deck?" Erasmo, the older Breen scientist asked from within his adapted Federation EVA suit.
Continuing to carefully negotiate the corridor and noting that the Galaxy had been placed on some sort of intruder alert because of the wailing audible alarms, Graigo replied, "This deck contains the ships most powerful weapons, and is located directly above their main power center. We should be able to rig their weapons to explode on a timer, causing a chain reaction as the rest of the weapons detonate, ultimately destroying the ship." The military trained Successor explained.
"Won't it be guarded?" Erasmo asked. He soon received an answer, not from his Federation suited Breen ally, but from a phaser blast that zipped past his head.
Graigo shoved Erasmo back with a sharp strike of his palm, barely saving the scientist from the phaser blast. Dropping to the floor, the military trained Breen quickly returned fire, striking each of the two security officers in the chest. They fell to the floor just outside of the Aft photon torpedo room on deck 35.
Quickly the two EVA outfitted Breen got up and made their way over to the Federationers. Graigo took their phasers and handed one to Erasmo. "Here, now you have a weapon too." He explained.
"I do not know how to use this!" the elderly scientist responded looking strangely at the hand held firearm.
"You just point it at the target and press the activation switch. Short controlled bursts work best with these types of weapons, or you'll drain the power cells too rapidly." Graigo explained, while dragging the two fallen Federation sentinels out of the main corridor and into an adjoining room. "Come, in here. This is where they store their weapons of mass destruction."
Still looking strangely at the phaser, Erasmo reluctantly followed the Successor into the photon torpedo storage room.
By: "Dianne Heppel"
By Dianne Heppel
Captain Price had ordered the Jem'Hadar cruiser towed out of the Vortex. As they were doing it Alyssa was able to tell that the tension level on the bridge was rising again. Now that the Away team was back the primary focus was on whether the Jem'Hadar will turn around and attack us after we tow them out.
The Galaxy then exited the Vortex. "Hail them, now that we are free from the Vortex communications should have returned back to normal" said Captain Price. "I have a response Captain" said Lt. Thomas. Lt. Blair told the Captain that weapons were standing by. Captain Price had ordered him not to lock weapons on the Jem'Hadar warship becuase it might provoke them into hostilities Alyssa Agreed. When the Communications were opened a female Vorta came on the screen.
She thanked Captain Price for rescuing them. Alyssa thought that coming from a vorta this was just manipulative talk to suit her needs. The vorta said that she would let them go on there way since they resuced the Ship. "On our way" thought Alyssa angrily. Eventualy the Vorta thanked Captain Price and set a course for Cardassian Space. Alyssa was able to tell that the tension level on the bridge dropped now that the Jem'hadar left. Alyssa then began to think how they could close the Vortex.
By: ktarian@juno.com (Civilian Xala)
The Jem'Haddar vessel zoomed away outside of the large window in the Ten Forward Lounge without taking any hits from the Galaxy. The shifting vortex could be seen off in the distance. Since the Galaxy was on red alert, the off-duty lounge was empty except for civilian lounge workers. Electra and a Ktarian hostess named Xala stood closest to the window peering outside.
"I know I haven't been a Federation citizen for that long, but could someone please remind me of something? Isn't the Federation at war with the Dominion?" Xala asked emphasizing the 'war' in her statement. "Why did Captain Price allow the Jem'Haddar to leave unharmed?"
"Yes, we are," Electra said emphasizing the 'we' in her statement. "The Captain is a very intelligent man. I would not question his tactical decisions. I'm sure he knows what he is doing, Xala."
"Of course," the Ktarian added.
Electra turned away and moved back to the bar. Ever since Xala had come aboard the Galaxy she had never gotten along completely with the Orion woman. Xala did not have problems with anyone on the lounge staff, except Electra. There was this tension between the two women that could not be explained. It was almost natural and everyone on staff knew it.
Xala shook her head and got back to wiping off the tables. Her slender body leaned over the table to wipe away each and every one of the spots. She wore a tight black jumpsuit with a chain belt and patent knee high boots. Luckily, Electra did not require uniforms for the lounge staff. The Orion had a unique fashion sense herself. That was the one thing Xala and Electra liked about each other.
Xala buffed the table with a silver rag. Much of the light in the room illuminated from within the tables, esspecially when the lights were dimmed during the "evening hours". She was enraptured moving from table to table. On one chair she noticed a small cylindrical object. Xala took it into her hand and examined the small item. It looked to either be a subspace message or a holo-program. The Ktarian looked around the empty room, to make sure no one was watching, and quickly slid the piece in her bustline. The thought of what could be on the disc made her mind buzz. She leaned back down and continued to scrub the table.
In the background, the Cardassion bartender stood wiping off glasses behind the bar. He noticed Xala finding and hiding the item in the depths of her cleavge. Door smirked and continued working.
By: RC Laven
Every time Greer stood up, he had found himself promptly seat back on the transporter pad of the familiar Transporter Room 3. Although he was initially finding it a little difficult to move with any real coordination, he slowly began to adjust to the lack of resistance in the ship's atmosphere. It was good to be breathing ship air again instead of relying on the EVA environment.
"Well sir, I guess Lieutenant Morris and Doctor Khatroweena left an impression." Ensign Tourelle commented with a smirk on his face.
Greer was too tired to really think of anything witty to say. Instead he raised his eyebrow and looked at the transporter technition. Moments later, his peripheral vision caught the image of AC being stretchered out of the transporter room for treatment in Sickbay. Even if he had been alright, he was sure they wan't to keep him for observation, in case the aliens from within the fluidic universe tried to make one last attempt at contact. Ronni followed them after having received marching orders, her body dehydrated from the lack of consistent moisture applied to it.
Watching the two of his companions be taken away by the medical team he was releived that this entire ordeal, at least from their perspective, was over. Despite loosing Ensign Tholen, they had managed to get back to the Galaxy with the help of their comrades.
"And I think it would be more than appropriate for you to join us in Sickbay too Greer." Cat said as she walked over to her Human friend.
"There's a few things I would like to do before that."
"Whatever it is, I'm sure they can wait." the Caitian doctor replied. "If they're that important, you can always do them from Sickbay."
"I guess you're right." he said as he stood up. It wasn't long after he stood when he fell back onto the transporter pad as his legs gave way under him. Greer sat their with a look of displeasure on his face.
"Come on." Cat said as she helped him back up.
*** Sickbay ***
A nurse he had never met ran the tricorder over his arms, around his torso and head. She repeated the proceesure several times to ensure the medical tool accurately collected enough information for the doctor to diagnose any ailments. Greer sat there as he was examined.
"Thank you nurse." Cat said as she returned. The nurse walked off to assist with the other patients. "So how do you feel?"
"Hungry, tired, a little fatigued."
"I can could imagine you would be."
"So how are Ronni and AC doing?"
"Ronni will be fine. She was a little dehydrated from the length of time she spent out there. She told us that she flooded her suit near the end. It seems to have reduced the impact of such a long time away from water." Cat reported. "AC seems to have gone through the most physical distress."
"The telepathic association he had with the aliens there wore him out with each visitation. I still don't know what they were doing to him, but they appeared to be quite traumatic." he explained to the doctor. "We tried to make him more comfortable but we didn't have anything to help."
"Well, he'll be alright now." she said. "I'm prescribing you rest and food. I suggest that you don't push it or I'll have you back here in Sickbay for a few days."
"Yes ma'am." he said in acknowledgement, watching Ronni argue with one of the medical officers about something.
[Idana to Erikson. You wanted to speak to me sir?] Idana's voice said as it came over the comm system.
"I thought you might want to start analysing the data from the tricorder we brought back with us. It contains everything we encountered in the fluidic universe over the last . . ," he said as he tried to remember how long they had been out there, "well for our duration out there."
[I'm sorry sir but the tricorder is damaged.] the Trill scientist reported. [There appears to be damage to the sensor and data transfer systems as a result to the pressure from the environment you were in. We're not sure if the information is retreivable.]
"I see. It was working when we were there. Perhaps you and Ensign O'Hare can work together to try and recover the data we collected. It would be a shame if after everthing that happened we didn't get any information."
[Aye sir.] Alyssa responded. [Good to have you back sir.]
"I hear you had something to do with that Ensign."
[One of many sir.]
"Well it's good to be back. Erikson out." he said as he continued to sit on the biobed.
By: "B'Elanna Torres"
Realising that visiting Sickbay was becoming a more common occurrence did not do much to improve K'Eytyanna's mood. Now that the missing crew members were aboard and sort of safe, K'Eytyanna had decided to go and check on AC quickly.
Slipping inside cautiously, she headed directly over to the biobed holding the unconscious human. Kneeling down to his ear level, she whispered,
"AC, I don't know whether you can hear me, but I want you to come back to us. I really need help in Engineering or I'm liable to start throwing ensigns through bulkheads."
Standing, she looked for any response but found none. Baring her teeth slightly, she spoke,
"Wake up, dammit!! We all need you."
Turning, she left Sickbay and headed back to the more familiar Engineering decks.
Lt K'Eytyanna Samara USS Galaxy Engineer/Shuttle Pilot
By: Daniel Lawrence Josephs
The noise in Main Engineering was so loud David could barely hear himself think. Everyone was cheering and yelling for joy. After all of the hardwork that the crew did it payed off, Greer, Ronni and A.C. were back on board and the Galaxy was free from the vortex. A smiled creeped across his cheek, David was proud of his crew, but they were not through yet.
"Quiet down, everyone please quiet down." David had a hard time yelling over all of the noise in Engineering. Slowly the noise level lower and David was able to speak at a reasonable tone. "I know that everyone is excited and relieved that we got them home and the Galaxy is out of the vortex but we are not done. This vortex is still dangerous, we must solve the problem and plug this hole! We are back to square one, come on people evaluate the situation and solve the problem." David walked over to his console and began analyzing the information the sensors retrieved from time the Galaxy was in the vortex.
[Thomas to Mercury]
"Go ahead I am here." David tapped his comm badge.
[David do you have any ideas about how to seal the vortex?]
"We are working on it Lieutenant, I will keep you updated." David replied.
Dan Josephs
As I headed to my Quarters I started to get angry. Angry at everything and anything that I wanted to get angry at. I walked into the Turbolift and barked an order to get it to go to my quarters. After a little while I walked out of the turbo lift and into my quarters. As I entered my quarters I moved over to my Table and put my fist through it and it shattered with a large crash. I moved over to my couch and started to cry.
Suddenly everything went white, I was no longer on the couch in my quarters I was in Sickbay.
["You seem restless."]
"Yes I seem restless. My people are being used like yoyo's."
["Bajor will find peace."]
"But when!"
["When the Emissary is ready then we will be ready."]
"What I don't understand!"
["You will"]
The bright light disappeared and I found myself waking up on the couch.
"Computer Time!"
["The time is 1320 hrs"]
I sat up. My hand wasn't sore, I had no cuts on my hand and there should have been. I walked over to the mirror. I was a mess, my hair was everywhere and for some strange reason I looked a little different. I ran out of my quarters and headed to Sickbay. As I entered Sickbay I looked around, I saw Cat looking over some reports.
"Cat!"
Cat turned around a sighed.
"Look go back to bed! You need the rest!"
I looked at Cat.
"I have just had an orb vision!"
"You had a what?"
"An orb vision, It is said that if you are troubled or in danger the prophets will give you a vision that brings back hope and peace."
Cat just looked as If I was insane.
"Don't look at me like that, Scan me!"
Cat looked sceptical, but she opened her tricorder and had the MP scan me.
"Fatigue Toxins, indications of stress, large amounts of serotonin, high neural levels. Indications of new M-Gram, high intensity. OK, Nilani, I believe you went through something. Sure it wasn't a dream?"
I looked at her a little unbelievingly, "Cat, I wasn't asleep. So how could it be a dream? Any way, I smashed the table in my quarters. My hand was cut-up, blood everywhere."
Cat looked at the tricorder again, "There is no indication of trauma of any type."
"It happened, Cat."
"I believe you Nilani. That still doesn't change the fact that you still need to rest. I had a talk to Hudson."
Who! "Who is Hudson?"
"Barman in Ten-Forward."
"Oh, Him!"
"Yes! What happened didn't sound like you at all! Sounds like a stress reaction. Now go back and get some rest. Look I don't want to see you until start of Alpha tomorrow, Right?"
"OK"
"Good. Now amscray."
I left the Sickbay, pondering on the message that the prophets had sent me.
By: Price
Commander Sterner and Counselor Wilson just arrived on deck 11 and were running towards the security guards posted there, when suddenly Joerg's comm badge came to life.
["K'arta to Sterner."]
"Sterner here. Do you have any news for us Lieutenant?" Joerg quickly asked before K'arta had any chance to respond.
["Yes sir. One of the Breen, who escaped from sickbay, has already been put in the brig. The other one, that was heading towards the holodecks, will be caught by Lieutenant Commander Sunder soon, as they are together in one of the holodecks and Ursa has one of his programs running."] K'arta explained.
"Let me guess, his Orion hunting program?" Joerg asked.
["I guess so, but the really important question now is, where are the two other escaped Breen?"] K'arta asked in a serious tone.
"I don't know. Doctor Tash said that they wanted to blow up this ship, before they left sickbay." Joerg replied.
["Perhaps ..."] K'arta stopped right in the sentence and a humming signal could be heard through the comm link.
["Wait a minute."] she said and closed the link.
Joerg looked in astonishment, but before he could say anything at all, he was hailed again.
["K'arta to Sterner. I'm sorry I terminated the link, but I just got information that there has been a phaser fight on deck 35."] she quickly explained.
"Deck 35? That's where the torpedoes are stored!!" Counselor Wilson exclaimed.
"Exactly, and it's one deck above engineering. If they want to blow up this ship, all they have to do is detonate the torpedoes!!" Joerg added.
["I'll send reinforcements to deck 35 and inform engineering about our discovery."]
"But make sure that none of your people shoot first. They may return fire, but only on stun level. I want those Breen alive."
["Understood. K'arta out."]
Sterner and Wilson turned to take the turbo lift again, when one of the holodeck doors opened and Lieutenant Commander Deiran Casey stepped out.
Deiran’s face looked shocked and upset at the disturbance all at once. "What in the world is going on?" his face was red with anger for being interrupted while spending time with his family. A romantic rendezvous at that.
Seeing the Commander he stepped over to his side, "Sir, what’s going on?"
"The Breen have escaped. They spilt up. Coming to the holodecks to break into the system apparently ‘Commander. And the others have gone to deck 35 to try and blow up the ship. That’s what we think anyway. They have threatened the ship, shot at security guards, even attacked the doctors in sickbay. We’re heading to deck 35 to apprehend them."
"May I give you a hand sir?" Deiran asked. The look on Miran’s face turned from joy to sorrow at hearing her husband volunteer. She squeezed his hand, a silent pleading to Deiran not to leave her.
"By all means ‘Commander, join us. I happen to know your good in a fight and in diplomatic situations," Sterner smiled.
With one more bridge officer to talk to the Breen, all three of them were on their way down to deck 35.
****************** Deck 35, Aft torpedo launcher ******************
When they finally arrived on deck 35, they were at once taken out of the lift and behind the nearest wall by several heavily armed security guards. One of them started to hand them all hand phasers, all set on stun.
Joerg at first took one of the hand phasers, but upon considering the situation carefully he returned it to the guard.
"We have to show them that we come in peace and won't harm them." Joerg explained to the group.
"Sir, let me carry a phaser, concealing it behind me? It could get dangerous, we’ll be in there alone against phasers set to max. It would be wise to have at least one phaser sir."
"Agreed ‘Commander," Sterner replied, "Conceal it well." Sterner turned to the guard in charge, "Do you have any idea where they are hiding at the moment?" Joerg asked.
"Yes sir. They are inside storage chamber 3, the last door on the left," he replied and pointed with his hand in that direction.
"Any other way than this corridor to get there?" was Deiran's next question on that subject.
"No sir. And beaming in is also no option, since we don't know if they had already set the torpedoes to detonate," the security officer said.
".. and that might just be the provocation they need to push the button." Joerg continued the last sentence.
"Any other options?" Leslie asked.
"Sir, there is one. Starfleet regulations say in a situation like this to erect a containment field around the torpedoes. If they blow inside the containment field it would maybe blow up the deck and not the whole ship." Casey said the words like a Vulcan, everyone knew that if the deck did blow they were all dead.
"I think we should go back to the original plan. Try to convince them to give up. ‘Commander, erect that containment field." Joerg suggested.
Although it was very risky, all of them agreed on Sterner's decision.
"Ok, Counselor Wilson and myself will now approach the storage chamber ..." Joerg started to point out his plan.
"Sir, I'll come with you. It’ll take a second to erect the containment field and then we can go sir." Deiran interrupted.
"Well, but no more. We must make sure that the Breen don't overreact and blow us all into pieces just because they were 'overrun' by people they don't know." Joerg made his point.
Deiran walked to the computer panel to his left. "Computer, erect the emergency containment field in the torpedo bay on deck 35," he said dryly.
[Containment field has been activated, it is charged to 100% capacity.]
"Computer, charge it to 125%. And initiate a back-up field at the same power range."
[Acknowledged, containment field is now powered to 125% and back-up field has been activated.]
Deiran then hid his phaser behind his back. He made sure it was out of sight, made sure it wouldn’t fall and then turned to Commander Sterner, "Ready sir."
Deiran was looking forward to being in a situation like this, finally getting some action. He smiled like he was just given a new toy.
All three officers started for the torpedo bay doors.
"What are you smiling about?" Leslie asked.
"Isn’t this fun? The tension, the danger, kind of gets the heart pumping wouldn’t you say?" Deiran replied to his ex-girlfriend in his usual brazen manner.
Sterner smiled, he knew as a command officer you always tried to lighten the situation. Casey did a good job of that.
"Do you have any fears Deiran? Or are you just naturally heroic?" Leslie chuckled.
"No fears, none at all. My mother thinks I was a hero once I left the womb. I tend to agree with her," Casey laughed at himself.
The three officers arrived at the door. Stepping out of the entrance way, Sterner activated the doors.
"This is Commander Sterner, Executive Officer. We’re here to negotiate. We are unarmed. Please let us talk this out?" Sterner was going by the book.
"We will listen to what you have to say Federationer," the Breen leader replied gruffly.
All three of the Officers entered the torpedo bay. "This is the second officer of the Galaxy, Lt. Commander Deiran Casey and the Galaxy’s Chief Counselor, Leslie Wilson. We want a peaceful solution to this situation."
"You have stolen our technology for your treacherous invasion. You kept us prisoner, while you studied our ship in your holodecks. We were unable to get the information on our technology back and now we will destroy this ship so you Federationers cannot use it against us." The lead Breen was angry, insolent in every manner.
"We were studying the effects your ship might of had on the vortex. It was just research. If we erase the information from our computer database, can we end this peacefully?" Deiran spoke up, his voice kind and calm as he was pleading with the Breen leader.
The Breen said nothing. Leslie then spoke.
"We do not want to invade Breen, or harm your people in any way. We are a peaceful people."
The Breen were silent. The lead Breen was listening though.
"We have never meant the Breen any harm. Our cultures are different in so many ways, our differences have kept us apart. Can we not see past those differences and learn from one another? We endeavor to achieve peace with your people. Let’s start that peace here, now, saving lives in the process?"
The moment was a tense one. Silence. Pure silence. As the Breen leader contemplated his next move. Across the cramped warehouse like storage chamber of the Galaxy's Photon Torpedoes, Deiran could just make out the faces of the two Breen looking through the helmets of their Federation adapted EVA suits. He noticed one of them turn to the other.
"I can't believe you are listening to their vile lies Graigo! You of all people know what horrible beasts these Federationers can be. Do you so soon forget what they did to our kin before up in the boarder wars of old?!" the older Breen scolded.
Commander Sterner watched carefully while the lead Breen seemed to be considering his comrade's words.
"We can not trust them Graigo! We must carry out our duty as Isaias ordered with his dying breath. 'Tell them nothing'." Erasmo continued in a sharp, bigoted tone.
Trying to intervene, Commander Sterner spoke out, "Think about your situation gentlemen. There are over one thousand officers on board this vessel, and they have all been alerted to your presence..." Joerg paused momentarily when the older, hateful Breen pointed his phaser at him, but when he didn't fire, the Commander continued, "Even if you managed to detonate these torpedoes, a containment field has been erected around this deck. You will fail to destroy the ship and only succeed in getting yourselves killed."
Erasmo seemed unsettled by this information. Counselor Wilson could tell that both Breen were agitated and anxious, having decided that the destruction of the ship, and their deaths, was the only way to prevent the Federation from obtaining the data from their experimental space ship. Now to be informed that even if they succeeded to detonate the weapons, and lost their lives in the process, that the information would still not be destroyed. "Please, we mean you no harm. Put down your weapons and let's talk about this before anyone gets hurt. I'm sure we can work this all out if we try and put our differences aside. You don't really want to die do you?" Leslie asked.
The two Breen looked at each other considering the Counselor's words.
"Of course not." Leslie added before giving the weapon toting terrorists a chance to make any rash decisions, "If that were the case, wouldn't you have destroyed your ship before the Galaxy had a chance to rescue you? Isn't that what your Captain would have wanted? For you to live?"
"Tell them nothing!" Erasmo hissed back. "Tell them nothing is what we were ordered to do."
Joerg nodded. "And that is exactly what you have done. Your Captain would be proud of you. But in order to tell us nothing, wasn't he implying that he wished for you to live? Possibly to return to Breen space and continue your work?" Sterner suggested.
Erasmo's eyes narrowed. The hate was evident in his manner and words, but he didn't look like he was prepared to die. He just looked to be a bitter old man.
Graigo snapped back, "The information in your computer systems can not be allowed to survive. Even at the cost of all of our lives. Had Isaias known you Federationers were recording surveillance data on our vessel, he would have detonated the ship himself."
"That may be," Deiran said, "but as the Commander pointed out, you can not succeed at destroying this ship, even if you do detonate this deck. Agree to give up now, and there is a chance that we both can get what we want."
For a moment, the lead Breen appeared to be considering it. The other Breen looked at him in disbelief. "How can you be listening to these Federationers! They will place us in prison. Torture us to obtain our secrets before executing us or leaving us to rot in some prison colony like they did to our ancestors!" Erasmo reminded.
"That's not true!" Leslie objected, "The Federation doesn't ever treat anyone in that manner, and you would not be our prisoners. You would be our guests until we could arrange to have you safely returned to your home world."
Removing the spare phaser from his belt, Graigo looked for a moment as if he were going to surrender. He then tapped the controls on the phaser and set it to overload. Sterner, Casey and Counselor Wilson were stunned by the coldness of the decision.
"Don't do it!" the Counselor called out.
The whine from the overloading phaser could be heard even while Graigo ducked behind a rack of photon torpedoes and slid the phaser between two of the matter / anti-matter containers of mass destruction. Following the lead Breen's actions, the older Breen took up a defensive position behind another rack of torpedoes.
Realizing that their lives were less than thirty seconds away from ending, Deiran reached for the concealed phaser to attempt to neutralize the Breen. Instinctively, Commander Sterner also began to rush forward.
The older Breen leveled his phaser and shot at Commander Sterner. He didn't lead the target sufficiently, and the blast was well behind the now running First Officer. It harmlessly landed on the bulkhead near the torpedo storage compartment entrance.
Deiran paused, seeing that the bitter Breen had just fired at Sterner, leaving himself partly exposed from behind the torpedo rack. Coming to a full stop and using both hands to steady his aim, Casey fired and hit the Breen, sending him to the floor under heavy stun.
Seeing his comrade fall, Graigo popped up under the cover of the torpedo rack and prepared to blast the Lieutenant Commander, but by the time he got into position, Joerg had already run the distance between and leapt onto the EVA suited Breen. The two rolled backwards and began struggling on the floor, fighting over the hand held phaser set to kill that the Breen was desperately trying to use.
Casey ran to help Sterner as he and the two Breen rolled around on the floor, struggling to gain control. Counselor Wilson came forward and made sure that the other Breen would not be able to interfere, removing the dropped phaser near his side and taking it herself. Deiran stood there for a moment, pointing his phaser at the two rolling on the ground. After a second, he began to get frustrated, realizing that he had no way of shooting the Breen without putting Sterner in jeopardy too. The whine of the overloading phaser was intensifying, indicating that the entire deck was about to explode in a matter of seconds. Abandoning Sterner and the Breen, confident that the Commander would be able to handle the situation, Deiran began searching for the overloading phaser. Following his ears, he quickly spotted it. It was slid back between two cradled photon torpedoes where they sat in the storage racks. Reaching for the phaser, Deiran's eyes widened when he realized his hand and arm was too big to fit in the narrow opening where the devilish Breen had chosen to slide it.
"Leslie! Quick, see if you can get the phaser. There isn't much time!" Casey called out.
Counselor Wilson came running to where Deiran was standing. "It's in there, see it! Quickly!" Casey pointed.
Reaching in with her limber arm, Leslie pressed herself into the narrow opening and was just barely able to get her fingertips on the butt of the phaser. "I can touch it, but I can't quite reach it..." the Counselor explained, straining to extend her fingertips more by pressing her shoulder deeper into the opening between the two racked torpedoes. The whine from the phaser was growing unbearable. The echo through the close quarters of the torpedo storage chamber was only making things worse. Behind Deiran and Leslie, the grunts and thudded blows of Commander Sterner and the Military trained Breen could barely be heard. Wiggling her fingers in a last ditch effort, Counselor Wilson finally reached the phaser. "I got it!" Leslie declared in triumph pulling the phaser out and handing it to Lieutenant Commander Casey.
Deiran took the phaser and quickly looked at it. "It's gone too far. I can't shut it down." Deiran said flatly. Counselor Wilson's victorious smile quickly dropped when she realized they were all about to be killed. Behind them, Commander Sterner and the Breen were still fighting. In a massive upward blow with his back hand, Joerg managed to knock the Breen back and onto the torpedo launcher. The Breen flinched and then dropped back down. Sterner rubbed the back of his hand across his bloodied lip. In a tired stagger, he turned his back on the fallen Breen and faced Lieutenant Commander Casey and Counselor Wilson.
"We can't disarm it Joerg. Either it's jammed or it's gone too far to deactivate." Deiran explained.
Sterner struggled to catch his breath after battling the Breen. He took a staggering step forward, not being able to think and breath at that same instant. Possibly contemplating his own mortality.
"Commander! LOOK OUT!" Counselor Wilson shouted, seeing the Breen beginning to get up and holding a wrench of some sort in his hand as a weapon. Joerg turned around quickly, cursing under his breath at the stamina of this EVA outfitted Breen. Grabbing his arm before he could strike him with the wrench, once again Sterner and the Breen were locked in a strenuous wrestling match.
Noticing the controls on the near by panel, Casey smiled wickedly before moving over and activating the photon torpedo loader. Once the machinery was operating, the torpedo feeder directly behind the Breen began to move. Realizing what Lieutenant Commander Casey was thinking, Sterner started pushing the Breen backwards towards the loader, Finally head butting him, cracking the face plate of the EVA suit the Breen was wearing and clouding his view as fluorocarbons began to pour out of the helmet. The Breen grabbed for his head, dropping the wrench and releasing his grip on Sterner. Joerg spun the Breen around and shoved him towards Lieutenant Commander Casey near the torpedo launcher.
"I believe you dropped this." Deiran commented while shoving the overloading phaser into the holster of the Breen's borrowed EVA suit, and then shoving him onto the moving photon torpedo loader belt.
"Lock and load 'Commander!" Sterner ordered while moving towards the fire controls of the torpedo room and punching in his access codes.
A moment later, the aft torpedo tubes fired, ejecting both the Militant, EVA suited, Breen and the overloading phaser into space in a streak of light. The Breen, realizing what had happened, struggled to reach the phaser even as he streaked away from the Galaxy. But he wouldn't reach it in time. The phaser reaching it's critical setting and exploding in a brilliant flash of energy, ripping the Breen apart in an instant.
The Galaxy rocked slightly from the concussion of the close proximity blast. In the photon torpedo storage chamber on deck 35, Commander Joerg Sterner, Lieutenant Commander Deiran Casey and Counselor Leslie Wilson all looked at each other with wondrous smiles. Each feeling the exact same thing at that instant, having just escaped the clutches of death by a narrow two second margin.
"You look like hell Commander." Deiran finally said to the bruised and bleeding Sterner.
Joerg was still panting and half bent over from the battle with the Breen soldier. "I feel like it Deiran." he sighed, "Have security come and place this one into the Brig." Joerg pointed, again struggling to catch his breath, "I'm going to report to sickbay." he said straightening his creaking back.
"I'll come with you Commander." Counselor Wilson offered, placing her arm around Joerg to help steady his stance.
Sterner looked at Leslie and gave a silent look of thanks before turning to Casey, "That was quick thinking... using the torpedo launcher to get rid of the overloading phaser."
"Thank's Commander. I am just glad everything worked out." Deiran smiled. "Hey, and next time, don't turn your back on the Breen. You know what the Romulan's say...."
Joerg smiled weakly through the bruises and scrapes and gave a gentle nod, "I'll keep that in mind next time Deiran."
Reaching for his comm badge, Commander Sterner activated it and informed the Bridge that two more of the Breen had been dealt with. One was heading towards the Brig, and the other died after being ejected from the photon torpedo launcher when his phaser overloaded. Captain Price personally responded saying he looked forward to reading the full report.
By: gaijinrussell@sprynet.com
Chen had gotten the order to go to Deck 35 soon enough. He made sure everything was taken care of in sickbay before heading out. He took the turbolift down and stepped out to see a dozen other security officers there. He took up position with them. Next thing he knew, Commander Sterner, Lieutenant Commander Casey and Counselor Wilson came off the turbolift.
Chen walked over and guided them to a nearby wall, out of harms' way. Another officer came over and prepared to hand out phasers, though Casey was the only one to take it. They questioned the officer and then headed into the torpedo bay. Chen watched them go and wished he was with them. What good is a security officer who can't keep the ship secure?
He remembered the Breen beating him so easily in sickbay. If he had been a little more alert, he would have been able to take control of the situation easily. Instead, Lawson tried to stop the Breen while he was laying on the floor unconscious. Pathetic, he thought. And then there was that business with Terence. He had fought in Ten-Forward with him. A bar fight! That sure doesn't help the general security of the ship, now does it?
He shook his head bitterly. Then he heard phaser fire and more noise, but they had orders not to move. A few minutes later, the ship rocked slightly and the officers came out, Commander Sterner was bleeding. Chen was frustrated at himself. He should have been in there, helping. It had been a long time since he'd felt so frustratingly damn useless.
They were given orders to take one of the Breen to the Brig and Chen was sent in. Cleanup duty, he thought, Maybe that's all I'm good for. After depositing the Breen in the Brig, he had received a dirty look from Sanchez. He didn't care. He just sat down across from her and stared at the wall. He considered this upcoming fight and he suddenly became aware that maybe Terence was better. Maybe he'd lose.
Chen closed his eyes as he imagined that. Being beaten and bloody by his best friend's hands. He remembered back in Beijing when the two had met in Master Kwan's school. He remembered how the two of them became fast friends. He remembered Terence being caught for stealing and being expelled from Kwan's school.
He remembered a few years later, discovering that Terence had been taught by Admiral Nokuma just shortly after his expulsion. Nokuma gave him his shot in Starfleet. He also remembered finding out Terence was in Beijing when Master Kwan was killed. Chen wondered if he was involved. He blinked away the tears that threatened to overtake him as he thought about Kwan and the possibility that his closest friend may have been responsible for his death.
And then he realized that someone was there. He looked up and he saw her. Liz. She didn't look a day older than when he last saw her. Her auburn hair was a little shorter, but that was it. She fixed her gray eyes on him. He shook his head. "What are you doing here?"
Liz didn't even smile. "Can you and I talk in private?"
Chen looked over at Sanchez. She rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll wait outside," she said. "No more than ten minutes, though."
Chen stood up and looked at Liz. He grinned. "Liz. My God, it's been a long time. Too long. I didn't even know you were aboard the Galaxy."
"That's because I didn't want you to know."
Chen's smile disappeared. "Why?"
"There was a reason I gave you your ring back, you know. I didn't want to see you again."
Chen nodded. "I got that from that little note you left when I got back."
"I always wondered if you got the note. All those casual little looks you tried to make. Poking into my files to see where I had been commissioned."
"I just wanted to talk to you, damn it!"
"Which is exactly why I didn't want you to know where I was."
"Why?!"
"Do you know how many people you murdered? Are you even aware of what you did?"
Realization dawned on his face. "That's it, huh? That's why you left. Because I killed those people."
"Nine people. You killed nine people. Several of them were Starfleet officers. You crippled two more. You are a barbarian, James. That's why I left."
Chen shook his head. "They were involved with the death of the closest thing I had to a father. Maybe what I did was wrong, but I still think I was completely justified."
"Whatever. I'm not here about that. I'm here about Terence."
"Terence? What about him?"
She held up her left hand. There was a ring on it. "This. We're married now, James. I heard about this little fight you two got yourselves into and I came to ask you not to do it."
Chen slumped down on the table and snorted bitterly. "Married now. You and Terence."
"Did you hear me? I said don't fight him."
Chen looked up. "Why not? He's the one that seeked me out. He made the appointment. I gave him every possible opportunity in Ten-Forward to leave without a fight. He didn't."
"You murdered his teacher. The man that got him in Starfleet and taught him everything he knows, of course he won't leave. But I know how good you are. He's been training hard every single day. He's taught himself to be one of the best, and I still don't know if he can beat you. I don't want you to kill my husband."
"What? Is that what you think of me? That I just--just kill anybody that gets in my way. Is that what your opinion of me has degraded into?"
Liz turned away. "It's the opinion you caused. No one else."
Chen rubbed the corners of his eyes. "I'll do what I can. If I can convince him not to fight me, then that'll be that. It's the best I can do. Okay?"
She nodded and turned to leave. He called to her. "Liz," he said. "No matter what you think, I wouldn't kill him. You've got to believe me about that."
She kept walking. Sanchez came back and sat at her place. Chen took a deep breath and tried to keep from screaming at the entire universe.
By: "Charles B. Smith" [charles@sykes.com]
The water in Ronni's tank bubbled a hot 46 degrees centigrade. She stretched tired, sore, and cold muscles. She breathed in deep and let the heated water warm her lungs too.
"I'm in heaven . . . . . . ." she thought.
When she was suffiently heated, she climbed out of the tank, her skin a deep purple in color. At the replicator she ordered a Risian Cherry Fizz. She let the cool liquid ease down her throat as it warmed her stomach and limbs. She put on her two piece stretch suit as the effect of the synthehol began to make her feel much more comfortable. She pulled out a PADD and sat down on the couch.
She thought back to her recent brush with death. It had been terrifying, yet exhilarating. She hoped AC was ok. She wondered what effect extreme telepathic contact would have on someone in that situation and in that environment. She recorded everything into her personal logs and attached the records of the scans she had made.
She stretched again and listened to the various snaps and pops from her joints. She let out a loud pleased sigh. She thought back to Delphi and got an idea. Jumping up from the couch, she hurried over to her desk and composed a notice to all of her friends and to several of the new people on the ship.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
To celebrate the successful return of three of our crew and to celebrate the life of Ensign Tholen, I invite you to a Beach party tomorrow at 1400. Please bring a favorite food of yours and be prepared for the party of the season. Delphinian bathing attire optional. Children welcome (especially Lara and Colby).
Come and have fun!
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The first night in USS Galaxy, Doctor Krovajek, the new councellor spent his lonely nite at the Holodeck, his favorite game room. He was playing the role as Al Capone, the legendary Mob. Here's the story...
In a bar which was smokey, crowded, performing a cabbarete show... "Capone" (or Krovajek) was there with his fellas, Ricco Tarcinni (Capone's competitor), Gambollini (Tarcinni's right hand man), and Esposito (Spanniard, Capone's loyal bodyguard)
Al Capone: "Fellas, I like this damn nite"
Tarcinni : "Al, I've never been seated with you in one table like this before. We're just like brothers"
Al Capone: "Ricco, it's time for us to stop this bloody war. We must think of the future. I'm also thinking how to quit from this damn black business."
Tarcinni : "Illegal business is my specialty. That sounds nice if you quit, Brother Al. You please tell me how much shall I pay you for this goddamn Chicago price, huh?" (Tarcinni took a deep breath and smoking his favorite Cuban Cigar)
Al Capone: "Ha..ha..ha... Ricco Ricco! I will not sell this bloody Chicago to you. You are really funny, Ricco Boy"
Tarcinni : "Please do not ruin this happy situation with our blood, Al. This is a wonderful nite, isn't it?" (Tarcinni hugged Capone, then suddenly he tried to stab Capone with his a knife which was in the form of an ivory pipe)
Tarcinni : "Chicago is now mine, Al... I'm sorry"
Though fat, but Capone still have agility to handle that "common" thing for him, but there was a little tip of blood on his left hand.
Al Capone: "COMPUTER, STOP!!!" Dr. Krovajek: "Huh, that was almost! COMPUTER, RETURN!"
Just by the exit door of the Holodeck:
Security : "Are you OK, Dr. Krovajek?"
Dr. Krovajek: "Thanks, Buddy. I'm OK"
(As the conclusion, Dr. Krovajek thought, once he plunged into black business, it will be very difficult to get outta it. Even for a big man like Capone, he must face such a difficult thing to get outta his black life. That was Krovajek's first experience with Capone on Holodeck, and it was almost killing him).
Ryak kept pacing his cell. As he watched the security guards get all riled up from what the ship was going through. Ryak herd that the away team was finally aboard the Galaxy. The relief that came over Ryak was intense. He felt a tingling through out his body. Ryak new now that he had helped get something done.
Ryak took a deep breath and sat down in his seat. He glanced around the cell and remembered that he was to be taken to sick bay as soon as the away team was aboard. What a good time for Ryak to make his presence known once again.
"Excuse me!" Ryak yelled to the security officers. "UM, hello. I am supposed to be taken to sick bay as soon as the away team is aboard. Um, hello."
Ryak watched as the two on duty paid no attention to him. They seemed to be busy on something else. Ryak thought for a second and sat down again. Was he going to ever get out of this cell. He started to feel alienated once again. Now that the danger of the away team was gone he was able to think that it was all because he was Romulan that this was happening.
Ryak took a deep breath and yelled again, "HELLO, COULD SOMEBODY TAKE ME TO SICK BAY!!!!"
Chris Gagne
"Becoming Outside."
By Door,
Son of Dade, Ten-Forward Barkeep
by Dr. Felicia Khatroweena, Lieutenant (jg), USS Galaxy NCC-70637
Galaxy "Security Alert"
Written by Kornan Rios
U.S.S. Galaxy
"Locked Up With Only the Walls as Friends"
By: Ensign Ryak Sullax
Science Officer USS Galaxy
A.K.A. Ensign Ryak Sullax
Science Officer
USS Galaxy
Contact at: i2qtnot2b@hotmail.com
"The Breaking Ground"
by Lt. Alan Hewson
"Diplomatic mission"
by Commander Joerg Sterner
Executive Officer, USS Galaxy
by Dr. Felicia Khatroweena, Lieutenant (jg), USS Galaxy NCC-70637
"It started it!!"
by Lt K'Eytyanna Samara
"Breen, Breen. All those damn Breen."
by Ensign James Chen
Security Officer
The emergency alert forced Sunder to bolt out of his chair to the security station's arsenal. He remembered the Breen had just been outfitted with some environmental suits rigged to emulate their preferred temperature. Varieties of tactical solutions flew through his mind as he hurriedly unlocked the weapons locker.
"Processing"
by Lt. Thomas
Lt. Commander John Bruce - USS Sulu
Lt. Christopher Thomas - USS Galaxy
USS Atlantis website: http://www.geocities.com/~atlantis-a
"Mercy to the merciless"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
By Dianne Heppel
AKA Alyssa Idana
Science Officer USS Galaxy
"Into the Great Wide Open"
by Lt. Ronni Morris
Space Debris no more
Lt. Commander Ursa Sunder
By Door, Son of Dade and Lieutenant JG Felicia 'Cat' Khatroweena
tayliffe@nexus.edu.au
ICQ: 3722239
***** They're Back *****
by Dr. Felicia Khatroweena, Lieutenant (jg), USS Galaxy NCC-70637
"Surprises..."
by Lt K'Eytyanna Samara
"Political enemies"
By Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
AKA Alyssa Idana
Science Officer USS Galaxy
"Finder's Keepers"
By Civilian Xala
Lounge Hostess
"Good to be back."
by Lieutenant Greer Erikson
Chief Science Officer, USS Galaxy
"Wake up, Dammit!!"
by Lt K'Eytyanna Samara
"Patching A Hole"
Lieutenant David Mercury
Chief Of Engineering
"As I walk through the valley of the shadows"
Written by Kahn Nilani
With Felicia Khatroweena
U.S.S. Galaxy
"More dangerous than expected"
by Commander Joerg Sterner Executive Officer, USS Galaxy,
Lieutenant Commander Deiran Casey Chief Operations Officer, USS Galaxy,
& Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
"One of Those Days"
by Ensign James Chen
Security Officer
"Beach Blanket Bingo"
by Lt. Ronni Morris
Asst. Chief of Science, USS Galaxy
ATTENTION FRIENDS!
"Impatience"
By: Ensign Ryak Sullax
Science Officer USS Galaxy
A.K.A. Ensign Ryak Sullax
Science Officer
USS Galaxy
Contact at: i2qtnot2b@hotmail.com