"To know or not to know."
by Doctor Kyla Sorin, Lieutenant JG
and Mikey Dorffen, Lieutenant JG

Kyla sat on a biobed, utterly exhausted. She couldn't remember the last time she had more than 10 minutes rest. She couldn't believe Ensign Oleksandreko was gone... not one of the crew, how could she have let this happen!

She thought about the young blonde-haired Ocero man, in the comatose-like state that they found some other Ocero in.. just staring into space with blank minds. They had been able to get him to sickbay and stabalize him, but she wasn't sure what was coming next...

Talking to the young man would help, but he was out cold. With a blank mind and a blank expression on his face... and none of the Ocero who had entered this stage have been able to communicate. Somehow, she thought that the people who had entered the comatose state did know, but what they didn't know was how to get out.

She wondered how a mind could be so blank, so cold and empty like the endless vaccuum of space, it was errie and unnatural. She walked over to the man and stood over him.

** Can you hear me? ** Kyla pressed on with thoughts, but she knew she was fighting a hopeless battle here. She had tried this every 10 minutes for the last hour, and still nothing... ** Can you hear me? **

She jumped, startled, as the doors to sickbay opened with a soft swish, a sound that would never startle anyone but herself... and in walked Mikey Dorffen.

Mikey was still worried about this kidd that he'd found. It was a measure of his concern that even though the Ocero man was about his own age, he still thought that this was a kid that needed saving. Such was the feeling put out by the disease victim.

"Heya." Mikey said to Kyla as he walked over to the correct Ocero. His voice lowered to a slight whisper. "Am I even allowed in here with a suit on or something?"

"You'll be alright for now..." was the reply. Kyla was too engrossed in the job at hand.

"How's he doing?" Mikey asked her. "Is it just like with Alex and the others?" Kyla looked at him. It was hard to read her expression; it was mixed sorrow, anger, grief, everything. The mention of Alex's name was all there was to it. Mikey felt he had to say something. "Yeah, we've all heard. Brad's in her quarters. No one's tried talking to her yet."

Kyla nodded and looked down to the Ocero man. She sighed, "I can feel it..."

"Feel wha?" Mikey said.

"A cure..." she said, then realized how rediculous that sounded, "Well, I don't 'feel' a cure. I mean, just the way his mind is, like ice on the verge of breaking because of heat... its like his mind could just break open if we could get some sort of message through into his subconscious... or an outside stimulus of come sort, if we could find the right medium.."

"So ... that means what exactly?" replied Mikey, the dumb-ass helmsman.

"It means ..." Kyla smiled nervously, even under the huge medical threat roaming the biological pathways of her crew, "If there's a cure, there's a little hope. I just hope we can find it in time. For now, though, he's stable."

That was good. Mikey turned back to their Ocero. He needed a name really, not just some paitent one-two-three kind of thing. The more Mikey looked at him, the mre he thought the Ocero man looked just like him, an exact replica, lightyears apart. It was kind of creepy. But at least things were getting better.

The computer interupted his thoughts.

["Computer to Mikey. Red Alert."]

Kyla's face screwed up a little. "What was /that/?!"

"D'um ..." Mikey looked a little embaressed. "I'm not thee greatest person in the world when it comes to getting to places on time: it's unusual for me to be at the right place at the wrong time, let alone at the right place at the right time."

He let this sink in, to make sure he had the right order.

"So whenever I've got something to do, like ..." he checked his memory, "... like the senior staff meeting in 5 minutes, I get the computer to let me know." He put on his best I'm-so-cute-ain't-I? face, but he got the impression Kyla was far too busy with their Ocero.

Mikey left with baby names for the blonde man floating around his head.

* Boris? ...No. Davey? ...Hmm. Malieka? * his face cracked, * Rixx no! What's a Malieka when it's at home? *

--

Crissy

=/\= Bloodhunt =/\=
By: Ensign Rotan Heratta
Security - USS Galaxy

"Captain Price is the last of your worries Ferengi." The deep baritone voice of Rotan Heratta was little more than a harsh whisper as the Nausicaan spoke. The Nausicaan stood with Lieutenant Cerxes just outside the force field screen of the detention cell. Rotan had waited until the captain had moved beyond the security hallway of the Brig before speaking.

"Who do you think you are to talk to me in that way!" Hissed Toog as he stretched himself to the full measure of his height.

"I am First Leader of the Province of Breja. I am a Nausicaan Commando of the Torpree order. And I am the one declaring a Bloodhunt on your family line." Rotan waited for the reaction of terror from the Ferengi.

To his credit, Daimon Toog only half stepped away. Composing himself quickly, he spoke in a tone of negotiation. "Be reasonable my Nausicaan friend. Your people and mine have coexisted in peace for some time. We have frequently employed your warriors as our private guard force. We have had many beneficial arrangements in the past." Toog opened his hands before him in an expansive gesture.

"True enough. However, your deceptions dishonor all those that have come before you. Your choice was to work with our mutual enemies for the motive of Profit at any cost. You made your decision...and now I have made mine." The Nausicaan leaned dangerously close to the force field and bared his facial fangs open to emphasize his point.

Lieutenant Cerxes looked from Rotan to the Ferengi, not quite sure what there exchange had truly met.

Turning, Rotan moved to leave the security hall. Lieutenant Cerxes was fast on his heels. Just short of the door leading from Security, the Lieutenant stooped Rotan with a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Yes..Lieutenant." Rotan reigned in a huge measure of aggression he was feeling toward the Ferengi as he turned toward his superior officer.

"What exactly does it mean,..a bloodhunt?" Cerxes asked.

"It mean's that wherever he goes, from now on he will have too watch. Over his shoulder and in every shadow. He will watch because the people of my province will hunt him, as a hunter stalks the weaker prey. He will never know where or when they may strike from the darkness. His betrayal will come at the highest cost." Rotan was deadly serious as he answered the Lieutenant.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Cerxes replied. Together they both left security. "How about I buy you a drink in ten-forward as soon as we are officially off shift....

"The Heart Of The Matter"
Lt. (jg) Benedict T'Kal
Tactical Officer

Lt. Cmdr. Tebrianne Bancroft
Chief Helm Officer
USS Galaxy

***

** USS Galaxy Arboretum, USS Galaxy **

Benedict and Tebrianne left the Austrian Castle scenario hand in hand - looking to all the world like a pair of Musketeers in love. Benedict in his dark blue and gold - and Tebrianne in her matching maroon and gold Prussian military uniforms right out of Earths' 18th Century history.

Seemingly without being conscious of it - the pair found themselves in one of their favorite places aboard the Galaxy. The Arboretum was a large open decked section of the Biological and Life Sciences department - festooned with blossoms from all over Alpha Quadrant. It was a rare display of color and fragrances that was the pride and joy of the science officers that tended it.

It had been constructed to create a place where the Galaxy crew could walk and sit within small grottos and meandering walkways hidden by draping curtains of green, blue, purple and gold. The flowers were a riot of color - a veritable rainbow of cascading hues that unlike a holodeck were real. That reality kept the crew in touch with their homeworlds - and every crew member could identify at least one plant from their homeworld - it was a standing order for the botanical unit - a touch of home for everyone.

Benedict and Tebrianne sat on a small bench cloistered within a falling cascade of green - the Arcacia Blossoms reminding Benedict of one of the Temple gardens of Bajor. Their sweet fragrance filled his senses - but the dark eyes of Tebrianne filled his soul. They sat facing each other - straddling the bench holding hands.

Benedict had been enraged earlier - he'd lusted after the blood of one of the Galaxy's senior officers - because of the way he'd made Tebrianne feel. But she was right. It had been a long time ago now - and before she had met Benedict. But it was Casey's reputation as a ladies man - his charm and his history with Tebrianne - and then his constant desire to keep a close friendship with her - even after their affair that had eaten away at Benedicts' confidence. He did not fear death, he only feared losing his Tebrianne.

Her hands felt slightly chilled in his. He looked down at the bench - no longer able to hold her gaze. It was hard for Benedict to share his emotions at the best of times - but at this moment he felt caught between his love and a darker emotion - jealousy. He had to face that - he'd never felt it's power before. It ate at his heart like a cancer - and he couldn't look into her eyes without her seeing it hiding behind his own.

"I know that you love me," he whispered. "That's not an issue - I just feel.. inadequate." It wasn't really the right word - but it surfaced anyway. He could almost sense her confusion - her slight gasp at his admission told him that she was surprised. "I always feel like somehow I won't be able to keep you." There - he'd said it. In a round about way it was also an admission that he felt that someone might take her from him..and that was the root of his dislike of Casey.

"You've gone mad, haven't you," Teb said, an impish smile forming. "Not be able to keep me? You haven't got a fever, have you?" Teb teased. "I haven't had that much experience with dating and blokes and all that, but I can tell you that you are more than enough to keep me at warp speed. I haven't felt this happy in my entire life, including when I'm on stage."

Ben knew how much Teb loved being on stage - she couldn't remember how many stories she'd told him about her life on the stage. She knew he would understand what she was telling him - and hoped it would alleviate any fears he may have.

"I know what you tell me. I understand what you're saying Teb - but it doesn't stop me feeling this..this..." He couldn't say it. He wanted to. He just couldn't. He shook his head as if to shake loose the word - but it still wouldn't get past his lips. He wanted to say he was afraid - that it was fear - but his whole life revolved around not ever admitting that dark thing.

Teb reached up and caressed his cheek and, once again, their eyes met. She'd never considered herself much of a counselor, but she could read Ben well enough to see what he was feeling. The strength she usually saw in his violet eyes was wavering--diminished from what usually was there. Tala Sebriel--a Bajoran shuttle pilot that she'd gotten to know after she and Ben had started dating--had been teaching Teb about Bajoran customs, and she'd told Teb that Benedict T'Kal's pagh--his spirit--was strong. She could usually see it shining in his eyes, but tonight there was uncertainty. Usually so powerful--so centered--it was unnerving to see Ben like this.

He moved his head so that he could touch his lips to her hand - he felt confused - no other woman had ever made him feel this way - so totally involved, yet so bloody helpless. His eyes fixed upon the Bajoran Pledge Bracelet encircling her wrist - it was a sign of Benedict's love for her - and he felt it's connection to him like a chain binding his heart to hers. He sighed and closed his eyes momentarily.

Without thinking, Tebrianne reached out and brushed a strand of hair from his face. Fingertips brushed his temple. She allowed her own eyes to close as she gently took his head in her hands. With gentle pressure, she pushed past the mental defenses that naturally fought against the invasion of her mind. His resistance didn't last long. He recognized the feel of her mind inside of his from the mind meld they'd shared only a few months earlier on Christmas.

She could see the fear he felt--the fear he couldn't bring himself to admit. The words weren't strong enough to quench the fear--words rarely ever were. She knew all too well how strong fear could be. She hoped that this way was the best way to relieve his fears.

Tebrianne stood before Ben. She appeared completely nude. Vulnerable.

He could understand the words that she spoke to him, but they were little use against the fear that held him back. They couldn't overcome the doubts that his mind felt. The only thing that would overcome the fears that raged like a torrent in their mind were her feelings. She spread her arms wide and opened up the emotional floodgates to him.

He stood against it - like a rock suddenly deluged by a wave. He felt her mind and emotions swirling all around him and he couldn't help himself - he resisted the flow - fought against it because that was simply the way he was - that last surrender almost impossible. Almost.

He might have resisted had he not loved her so much. He could deny her nothing. If it was a blade she wielded against him he would have bore a fatal wound with less resistance--but his mind was strong and individual. She could feel it's slow erosion--a weakening toward her will that was the part of Benedict that ached to meld with her completely. Like a dam suddenly collapsing they fell mind to mind and he was consumed.

He could hide nothing from her--completely open for the first time she knew every doubt--every fear that was his. He was laid bare --his thoughts were her thoughts--his mind was her mind. She could see the future that he wanted to share with her--and knew that he wanted her as his wife--the mother of his children. He was enveloped by her love--caught up in it's gentleness and burned by it's passion - he held nothing back. In that instant his fears died. He had nothing to fear from Casey--or anyone, Tebrianne was his--and that knowledge burned in his blood.

A blink and it was over. Tebrianne could only see Benedict's eyes. Her heart pounded a rhythm in her chest - threatening to leap out through the fabric of her doublet. Her hands slid from his temples to his cheeks. She raised herself up and kissed him deeply. If she were male, she'd think it Pon Farr. Her blood was nearly on fire. Her emotions had been tugged in every direction during the evening, and now the passion of her love for Benedict threatened to overwhelm her.

The impish smile was back as she pulled away slightly. A battle of logic and emotion warred in her mind. Ben's quarters were closer. They should leave the Arboretum and go back to his quarters. Teb was teetering on the edge. She knew what she wanted, but didn't think she could maintain a civil exterior - not all the way back to Ben's quarters.

The arboretum was large, and the foliage would provide adequate shelter. And everyone else was at the party. No one would know. Voices, distant in her mind, screamed at the wrongness of what she was planning. Think of your career. Think of the brig. Think of Captain Price reprimanding for conduct unbecoming an officer--a senior officer. Think of how good it will feel in a bed of Bolian Thunder grass. Logic lost to passion. Teb's lips found his again. Consumed by passion, her hands fumbled frantically for the fastenings on his coat.

He caught her up in his arms - and as she pushed him back onto the bench--he loosened her magnificent mane of raven hair so that it fell like a curtain across their passion. The collar parted at her throat - the cape fell aside--the doublet effortlessly cast aside as his too fell from his shoulders. Her lips were sweet and her skin on fire as they rushed to undress. They were both caught up in the strongest of emotions like a pair of Mayflies caught in the dance of their last passionate tryst.

His shirt opened to her lips. She was the aggressor. Ravishing. Devouring. Consuming him and he was still reeling from the mind meld. She wanted him--no she demanded him--and he wanted her in equal measure!

"Deiran..wait.." A woman's voice cut through the haze of scrambling hands...

"I've lost her Ronni--I just know I have!" It was unmistakable. Casey.

Benedict froze. Tebrianne was kissing his neck and still trying to untie the complicated 18th Century shirt knots. He clutched her tighter and sat up--she looked totally confused and absolutely adorable. They were clinging to each other--both wearing the same pants and the same shirts--everything else scattered beneath them in a carpet of blue, red and gold. Tebrianne's hair was loose--and fell about her shoulders and back--she was flushed and her eyes were bright and still full of passion.

Benedict had never seen her look more beautiful than she did at that moment.

Why had he stopped? Mind reeling, Tebrianne scowled at Ben--started to ask him what was wrong.

"Casey," he whispered. They could hear the heavy footfalls coming closer--the Arcacia Blossom vines blocked out the view, but they were close. Benedict couldn't believe this! Deiran Casey? Here? Now? Of all the bloody.....

Tebrianne looked like she wanted to swear too.... She quickly grabbed her sword belt and snapped it back into place. Jacket and cape over the shoulder, but nothing to be done about the hair. Running a quick hand through it to clear the nastiest of tangles, she quickly got to her feet.

"He has the timing of the drummer for the Ragweeds," she snapped under her breath in Romulan. The Ragweeds--a terran band made famous by the complete lack of rhythm of their drummer. She didn't know if the reference was lost on Ben. At the moment, she had one mission. "Come on," she said to Ben. "If I don't get you back to your quarters soon, I'm going to go mad."

Benedict grinned at her - and in fluent Romulan he replied, "I also feel the madness of the blood. " He reached out and caressed her cheek, "The Pon Farr pales to the fire in my veins.." He stood and slipped on the sword belt - grabbing his doublet and cape in one hand he took her arm and parted the green leaves and yellow flowers.

They stepped out and came into plain sight of Deiran Casey and Ronni Morris - the four people stared at each other for a second. Casey's eyes met those of Benedict and then Tebrianne...

********************************************
Lt. Tebrianne, USS Galaxy, Chief Helmsman
[tebrianne@elsinore.net] UIN# 2172851
*** ** *** ** *** ** *** *** ** *** ** ***
The Tebrianne Bancroft Archive. Now Online!
http:/www.elsinore.net/tebrianne/
********************************************

“A Tormented, Confused Man”
USS GALAXY
Commander Deiran Casey

Ronni led Deiran back to the party. He did not look happy and he did not want to be there. Deiran’s torment was visible at first but as he saw the guests he began hiding his feelings. Deiran Casey was good at that, at least when it counted. He wanted to chase after Miran, take her into his arms and hold her forever. But, Casey had wisdom. Sometimes you just have to let women cool down.

Nothing seemed to matter. His smile was gone. The fun of the party was forgotten. “Excuse me for a minute Ronni, don’t leave ok? I need someone to talk to,” Casey asked and walked to the throne. Well the act didn’t hold up for long. He couldn’t hide when it came to Miran.

The Captain was there in front of the guests. Joerg was there, looking a bit surprised. Deiran took the cylindrical box from behind a 13th century dresser to the right of the stage. Casey handed it to Lee and stood tall. Casey was putting on a performance that could’ve won an Oscar. Inside he was tattered and torn, outside he was a shining, happy XO doing his duty.

The Captain made his presentation speech and slowly opened the lid of the box. Inside was a beautifully constructed 13th century Katana sword, it was an original. Formed almost one thousand years ago. It was priceless.

Joerg was speechless. The man gently took the sword into his hand. Joerg’s respect for the weapon was seen in the slow movement as he held the sword.

“Where did you find it? How did you…” Joerg asked the Captain, you could see the shock on his face. The man was overwhelmed by such a present.

“Deiran found it ‘mate,” the Captain replied.

“I have some very well connected friends,” Deiran smiled. A fake smile because inside he was facing the destruction of his marriage and hardly felt like smiling.

The presentation went flawlessly. The guests erupted in applause as Joerg showed the crowd a display with the sword. Deiran gave Joerg a brotherly hug and excused himself.

The skunk joke really didn’t matter now. People seemed to like it anyway. ‘I guess it must be acquired taste.’

Deiran found Ronni and left the Holodeck.

*** Arboretum ***

“Ronni what am I going to do? I need her in my life. I have paid the price for one night’s mistake. I didn’t have an affair. It was one damn night! That was it! I have beaten myself up for months over it. I’ll never forgive myself for what happened,” Deiran looked about as bad as Ronni had ever seen him. She had seen him at his worst many times.

“I know you love her,” Ronni replied.

“Love her! I worship the ground she walks on!” Deiran replied and started walking faster as his anger grew within the well of his soul.

“Deiran… wait!” Ronni yelled after him.

“I have lost her Ronni. I’ve lost her, I know I have!” Deiran said again as Ronni caught up.

“The Iceman negative? You don’t have a negative bone in your body Deiran Casey! You could be commanding one ship against ten Jem’Hadar battleships, your ship’s shields could be at 20%, your warp engines only capable of warp 2, down to 10 photon torpedoes and the phasers running on aux power and you’ d still be optimistic you would win the day! Ohh no, buck up buddy! You haven’t lost nothing yet!” Ronni replied. She knew Deiran very well and wasn ’t about to allow him to wallow in self pity.

Deiran turned and stared at Ronni. He stood there for a long while, Ronni smiled. “You know me better than I thought Ronni,” Deiran replied, he was a bit overwhelmed. His career had come to the point where his reputation was stronger than he thought. “Thanks Ronni. I’m not letting her go without a fight. I love her too much. That baby will grow up in a loving, stable family,” Deiran’s hope was returning.

“That’s the spirit Deiran. She loves you. How about I talk to her soon? Tell her we talked?” Ronni suggested.

“That’s a good idea. Thank you, at this point I’ll take all the help I can get,” Deiran replied.

As Deiran and Ronni continued to talk, Deiran heard some rustling bushes up ahead. He and Ronni stopped for a moment to listen for the sound’s direction. When they turned the corner they saw Tebrianne and T’Kal a bit disheveled.

Deiran didn’t say anything at first. There were times when even looking at Tebrianne hurt him. She was his friend, but the object of his woe as well. He wanted to stay friends with her so he wouldn’t hate her. He did care for her. Was sorry for what had happened between them. More than sorry. When it came to Teb, Casey was a very confused.

Murphy's Law
Casey Ti Miran

"What could go wrong will go wrong." It was a phrase passed through history. Miran thought it adequetly described the events of the evening. She didn't cry, she didn't run, she just got back to the quarters she shared with her family as quickly as she could without attracting attention to herself.

Bobbie's head peeked out from her hiding spot. She chatted at Miran and went back into her nest. Miran smiled at the creature. She still couldn't figure out how Deiran could not love such a creature as Bobbie. Miran sat on the couch above Bobbie's nest.

"Well Bobbie, maybe coming back to Deiran was a mistake. I wish you could tell me what I did wrong. Want to sleep in the bed with me?" She scooped up Bobbie and stood up to go into the bed room. A sharp pain about made her drop her beloved pet. Miran let Bobbie down on the bed and gentle set herself down.

The pain radiated down into her legs, but as she sat there, the pain eased. She forced herself to continue to calm down. The baby wasn't about to let Miran forget about Deiran, even for the evening.

Slowly, she undressed throwing her clothes into a corner. After pulling on a night gown, she laid down pulling a blanket over her shoulders. She laid there as the baby kicked and squirmed, thinking of Deiran. Bobbie snuggled close and she stroked the sable fur until she gradually slept.

"Les rawk dis Ship!"
By Mikey Dorffen, Chief of Helm, USS St Louis

Mikey sat quietly and listened. In the staff meetings Mikey had sat in on during his time with the St Louis there'd been on or two mistakes that were better best forgotten. SO he'd learned that the best course of action to take in these affairs is to sit back, relax and let the others do the hard work. He told no one this of course, but it's what he was thinking.

* Coolies. * he thought, coming out of himself to listen to what was being said for a few minutes. * This is actually quite interesting. *

Oh, and it was. Mikey dreamed of adventure. Just as long as it was adventure where he got to be the hero with minimum risk to himself and those around him. All the glory, none of the hero-ing. He wasn't a coward, he was just economical with his bravery.

So this while thing seemed kind of exciting to him. They were going to rush off to save these people that were in the cargo hold and the Louis' sickbay. Though Mikey had this couldn't-care-less attitude to a lot of things, it was to these people that he knew their obligations ran. He didn't want to take chances with their safety. That one Ocero was still touching him mind, and he still wanted to know more about him. Even if it was for selfish reasons like that, they needed saving, they all did ...

Mikey'd walked passed Bradly McCree's quarters. Okay, so he might have been trying to catch something, but it was hardly eavesdropping if he made a slight detour on the way to the bridge. Nor if it was a detour by a couple of decks.

The Ocero were heightening his mental abilities, he was sure of it. He could hear her inside there. He couldn't hear words, but he could hear her emotions. If that's what this disease did to people, he thought anything would be better than just sitting here and waiting.

Anyway, the surpressed and distinctly evil part of his mind added, it'll be Thiana's ass on the line if we do get grounded for this little operation.

"Captain, is this a good idea? Are you even going to tell the Caduceus?"

* Respect to the H-man. * Mikey mused. He'd never have asked what he was thinking, and he was thinking about whether or nor it was wise to tell them. Mikey had no problem with doctors in general. Dan Rosenblith was okay. Andrea Furel of the Sovy was one of the best officers he'd worked with. Doc WhiteSong, albeit rather different looking seemed to be the best woman-cat-thing for the job on board the St Louis. His sister was a star.

But (and this was a big but here), a ship full of doctors? That was an accident waiting to happen. If too many cooks spoil the broth, do too many doctors ... forget to stitch people up? Over-crowd the patient? Mis-diagnose the common cold? What? Whatever it was, it wouldn't be pretty when it went off.

Now, a ship full of helmsmen on the other hand ... ((Mara?! ;P))

"If you don't think it is, you may log for a formal protest with Starfleet, after its over. Either we be dead then from the sickness or I will be court-martialed. The lives of the Ocero and of this crew are more important to me. If Starfleet wants my head, they can have it. Its a Damned if I do damned if I don't situation. You have you orders, Dismissed."

Oo. Oo-oo. That was the most he'd ever liked the Captain. It was the one thing that she'd said in his acquaintance that made sense to him as a person. It really brought her home. He still found her the most irritating, self-righteous, mean person on the ship, but that warmed him to her a little.

Mikey rose with the other senior officers and headed for the bridge, not without more than a little spring in his step. Maybe things were looking up for him.

He slid into his seat as everyone else on the bridge took their positions. He had to wait for Tuvek to check up on the engines first, so he just set in the coordinates ready for when the Vulcan got back to them. The was an air or sheer ... well, he didn't know what it was , but it was there. They were there. She was Kirk, he was Spock, and Mikey, well , he got to Chekov. Not entirely unpleasant, but not one of his favorites from his long forgotten history lessons.

Anyway, that was his little trip in nostalgia, here was Tuvek's message on Mikey's screen.

"We've authorisation on warp drive form down in engineering Captain." Mikey explained, firing things up to-

"Engage."

There was a jolt.

Even with intertial dampeners there was a definite jolt. Mikey went bright, dark crimson. It was so embarrassing he wanted every deck beneath him to swallow him up and then eject him out into the blackening depths of space.

Then, like a light had been turned on in his head as if to chase all spiders back into the shadowy corners of the attic ... the St Louis slid forward and went to warp. He breathed out, but he still felt very hot inside his uniform.

"Don't worry about it Lieutenant," Thiana noted coolly, "I think a kew- ewe can to that to a ship sometimes."

Mikey smiled sarcastically to himself as he swallowed his heart from his throat, back to where it was supposed to be.

Lieutenant JG Mikey Dorffen
Chief Helmsman, USS St Louis

Let's think about this
WhiteSong to-Ennine MD
CMO USS St Louis

WhiteSong was on her way to sickbay when a voice came over her combadge. [There will be an emergency senior staff meeting in 10 min] WhiteSong changed her course and headed for the meeting. She was drained and fatigued, but so was everyone els. Tempers were flaring and patience, if anyone had any were running thin. She wondered how long they could go on like this. WhiteSong hoped someone found an answer and that's why the senior staff meeting was being called. She picked up her pace, trotting on all fours.

WhiteSong nodded at everyone already seated and took a seat.

"Sorry to call you all here in such a hurry, Lt. Jackson has something that might be able to help us out... Lt. Jackson"?

Tyler stood and walked over to the monitor in the room. He recalled the image of the plant that would be their savior. "This is the carvi carum, it only grows on Kenda II. It's berries can be crushed to produce a juice which has many medicinal purposes. The natives on the planet used it to fight off a highly infectious and fatal disease, and it proved successful. At the moment, this plant is our only hope. The medicinal juice cannot be replicated and produce the same results. It is my recommendation that the St Louis go to Kenda II and retrieve the berries as a cure."

Punching up a few more buttons, Tyler brought up a star map. "As you can see, the St Louis and the Caucadeus are the only ships in this system. With the St Louis being the faster ship, we should leave at once and get to the planet as soon as possible. The voyage should take approximately 8 hours at top speed."

Tyler stopped and took a breath. "Any questions?"

"Isn't Kenda II a highly populate planet? Are we willing to put more people at risk of getting this..... what ever it is? What if this isn't the right cure and we infect them, we have a responsibility her guys" WhiteSong's tail was flicking madly in back of her, and her fur bristled out. "I don't mean to rain on our parade, I want this just as badly as you. I just don't it to cost more lives"

"Growing Insecurities" by:
Acting Ensign Viara Rhys
Junior Science Officer
U.S.S. Galaxy

Guest Starring:
Lt.Commander Greer Erikson
Chief Science Officer
U.S.S. Galaxy

Viara continued her Shift as red as a Tarkallian Eeel's posterior. The next thing Viara heard was that the Security Team on the "Latinum Prince" had found some container in the Dai Mon's quarters.

*WHAT?!?! How did I miss it?! First I miss the those additional illegal weapons, then this! My word I'm not even out of the Academy and I'm already messing up.* Said Viara trying her best to concentrate, but still making minor flaws- flaws she'd never normally over look.

*****Memory Flash*****

A White epherial light surrounds Viara, then things begin to focus. From Viara's view point it looks like she is flying a Trill Fighter. Viara then hears words come over the Comm. System.

"I need back-up, Harin. They have me locked in their sights!" Said the women's voice.

"I'm on my way. Just hold on, Zani. Initiate Evasive Manuvuers Pattern Alpha 1, until I get there." Said a man's voice; which was much closer to Viara than the woman's.

"I already have...shields are failing...Harin ...Harin...Harin...I...I lov*" Started Zani's reply to Harin.

Then another epherial light engulfs Viara. Viara's view shows her speaking to the Romulan Praetor; the room is shaking violently.

"You see!! I told you that Klingon's could not be trusted!! And to think you want us to sign a Peace Treaty?!?!" Bellowed the Romulan.

"Now's not the time, Praetor!" Came a man's reply, from within Viara.

Suddenly Klingons appear in the Room. Viara falls to the floor; having only dispatched 2 Klingons.

Again an epherial light engulfs Viara. This time when it refocus Viara's view point show's her in front of a large Plasma Cylinder; stuck in it's reproduction cycle.

"Kiala!! The chamber can't handle another 200 MzH of Plasma being Produced! We need to evacuate now!" Said a Man who stood next to Viara.

"I can't Asrin...I can stop the overload...all I have to do is increase the Cylinder integrity! Just give me a few momen*" Started Kiala as a energy discharge threw her to the ground.

"Kiala, NO, NO!!!" Said Asrin as he knelt next to Kiala.

Viara is engulfed in another flash of epherial light. This time she appears in a court room. Six judges sit in very, very high benches; the light and shadows of the court room hide the Judge's faces.

"Viara, you must not stray. You are one with us...fulfill your destiny!" Whisphered one Judge.

"Live wisely my child, don't relive the lifes you've already lived." Said Another voice.

"Do not fear for tomorrow, live for today." Came another Judge's advice.

"You are only weak when you doubt yourself...You will not faulter...You must not faulter." Came yet another Judge's advice.

"I was the first; you are the last. Together with all of our help you shall overcome, my child." Came the last Judge's advice.

Another flash of epherial light engulfs Viara, this time returning her to her body, back on the Galaxy. Viara's body jerks sharply, adjusting to being back where it belongs.

"Thank You" Whispered Viara to herself and those in her.

"Are you alright Ensign? You looked distracted for a moment there." Asked Lt.Commander Erikson as he leaned in from his station.

"I'm fine 'Commander. I was just doing some...soul searching." Replied Viara with a grin.

By Lieutenant (jg) Suder
"Music"

Suder was resting, his mind in a state of peace. He tried to sleep, but couldn't, so he just lay still in bed, his eyes open and gazing out to the stars around the Galaxy class ship. For a long time, it was silent, but he noticed some kind of background noise coming from some where. IThe more he listened, the louder it got. It was music. A piece that was played centries ago on Earth by one of the greatest musicians ever. He thought that maybe it was coming from one of the quarters next to his, but it wasn't. It was too loud to be coming from anywhere but his quarters, and yet too quiet to be coming from within. It was a distant piece of music. He recognized the piece of music - Beethoven's Fur Alise. Very well played. Beautiful. Suder sat up in bed and listened. He had never heard anything played like this before. He was getting even more distant, and quieter the more Suder listened to it. It got a bit slower and then, after a while, he could only just hear it. But a few minutes later, it was quiet again. Although Suder had no idea where the music came from, he wasn't in his normal scientific ways. He had always thought that "everything happens for a reason, even if no one knew why or how."

Suder rested again and thought about the music that had just been played. It began as if someone was happy, and then slightly changed as if it was being played by someone sad. Soon, Suder drifted off to sleep and found himself on a ship at sea.

To be continued...

LTjg Trevor Allen
USS Caduceus
Paramedic Flight Team.

Lt Trevor Allen woke at about 6 am. Not ready to really get up but not able to go back to sleep he ordered the replicator to make a strong coffee as he but on his rob. Sitting at the table with the coffee and a pice of toast Allen brought up his daily scheduel for today.

0800 Duty assignment Med assistant Quarenteen Unit. 1730 Meeting with the councilor.

Allen shook his head. "I don't want to meet with the counsellor." The truth was that he wanted every one to think he was ok but he was still having dreams from escape pods being shot down. he figureing that they would go away with time he sent a message to the councilor. Cancelling his appointment with her.

Taking his time getting ready for work he made his away to the transporter unit. Putting in the Emviromental suite he beamed over and got his assignmnet. He would basicly be a gophor for the doctors along with making Quarter hour rounds and checking the vital signs of each paitent and recording the change any major change would be reported.

Several hours into the shift every thing was going good a couple of patients had expired with no progress on the cure. Allen had never been around a plaque and it bothered him watching people die. Infact it was the only thing keeping him out of med school was that fact he had trouble dealing with death.

With out warning there was a joult witch caught him off guard knocked him against the bulk head. Not realizing he had torn a small hole in the back of his suite Allen looked up and out of the window and realized the ship was moving.

Making a quick route through the QU unit he was checking to see if every one was ok. Finding Dr. Jergeson.

"Dr Jergeson any idea why we are moving I though the St. Louise was to remain At station Keeping?"

Out of instinct Allen moved to the companel that linked the St Louise To the QU unit and called the bridge.

"Quarentine Unit to St. Louise bridge what is going on you are not at station keeping. You need to return to the Cadducies so we can continue are research."

Allen turned back to Dr. Jergeson looking at her while he waited for a response from the bridge. "Dr any idea on how well this thing will hold up against warp travel?"

"I Don't THINK So!"
by Captain Mercedes Manion
and Lieutenant A'lynn Vanx

**Bridge, USS Caduceus**

Mercy Manion was going over the medical reports that had been coming in at one hour intervals for some time now. There seemed to be some ideas regarding a possible cure on a planet not to far away...

She immediately began to plan to send a team in a type 9 warp shuttle to investigate the possible cure. Just as she was about to contact Dr. Lou and Lt. Allen regarding this, she heard A'lynn Vanx clear her throat from the Ops station.

"Captain Manion, I think you should see this." Lieutenant Vanx said.

Mercy rose and moved up to the Ops station to look over the lieutenant's shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Sir, I'm getting some unusual readings from the St. Louis. If these readings are right, they're adjusting the harmonics of their warp core."

"Now why would they be doing that?" Manion replied, almost to herself.

From the Tactical station, Lt. Vetra spoke up, his voice quiet and cold, as usual. "Those readings are consistent with an attempt to adjust the warp bubble to compensate for the mass of something other than the ship."

Manion turned to look at the Andorian chief of Security/Tactical. "Like a Quarrantine Unit, perhaps? That would mean that they are planning on breaking quarrantine..." Her words ran off into silence for a moment. "No....they can't do that. Don't they realize what will happen if they run, carrying a disease *that* virulent aboard? She's GOT to know the consequences..." Mercy Manion rubbed her eyes and said under her breath, "Thiana, don't do this."

Captain Manion was talking mostly to herself as she turned and walked back to her chair. "Mr. Vetra, take us to yellow alert. Vanx, I want maximum power available for the tractor beams. If they try to break away, I want them snagged before they can actually jump to warp. And open a channel to the St. Louis. Tell Captain Thiana I want to speak with her, now."

A chorus of 'Aye Sir's responded. People all over the bridge began taking action, as the subtle klaxon and lights of yellow alert started. Manion sat back in her seat, composing her thoughts in the moments before this conversation. The conversation which every doctor who has ever been in a quarrantine situation dreads.

--

A'lynn hailed the St Louis, at the same time thinking about what was going on. She had never been in a situation like this before but she knew what they would have to do if the St Louis did break the quarrantine. But she could also understand how the people over there could be considering running. At least one of their crew had already died from the disease, and they still weren't any closer to the cure. And they most likely believed that they wouldn't get any closer by sitting here doing nothing. There was only so much research that you could do. Suddenly a reply from the St Louis broke into her thoughts.

"Captain, the St. Louis is receiving, but I do not have a visual contact." Lt. Vanx announced.

"Fine." Manion rose and spoke to the air in the center of the bridge. She knew that Captain Thiana was listening, but witholding the right to make visual contact for some reason. It disappointed her. The two captains had been in almost continuous contact, but Mercy had not thought that the Bajoran captain would make this decision.

"USS St. Louis, this is Captain Manion aboard the Caduceus. I am ordering you to stand down immediately. You are under quarrantine orders, and by the authority of Starfleet Medical I must order that you stand down your vessel immediately, or we will have to use what means we have to enforce the quarrantine order."

Just then, Vetra said simply, "There they go!"

"Tractors NOW!"

A moment of silence hung heavily in the air, and then the Andorian Tactical officer spoke, in his quiet, almost whispering tone. "They attempted to go to warp, but the mass of the Quarrantine unit must have thrown them off. I've got them in the tractor beams, Captain. They did not succeed in their attempt to go to warp, Sir."

"Very good job, Lieutenant. Now, Lt. Vanx, get me Captain Thiana."

--

A'lynn looked at the Captain Thiana on the screen. The Bajoran woman was built small, but sitting in the middle of the screen she portrayed an aura of confidence. Her face was a picture of calmness. After so many life times A'lynn was pretty good at reading people. She was almost positive that this woman, like most other Bajorans that she had ever met, was very dedicated to her beliefs. And she believed that they were going to have to break quarrantine to save her crew and the Ocero people.

--

Captain Manion looked up as the signal came through. As she had seen from their previous conversations, Thiana Zeri was an attractive Bajoran woman, with a distinctive white streak in her hair. Now, looking at the strain on her face, which showed solely around her eyes, Mercy knew that she was under a greater amount of stress than she had first presumed. Desperation showed in the shadows of her eyes, and Mercy knew that desperate people did desperate things.

Captain Mercedes Manion
USS Caduceus NCC-9462
An Allied Electronic Simulations Affiliated Sim
capt.manion@Caduceus.zzn.com

"Isn't Kenda II a highly populate planet? Are we willing to put more people at risk of getting this..... what ever it is? What if this isn't the right cure and we infect them, we have a responsibility her guys" WhiteSong's tail was flicking madly in back of her, and her fur bristled out. "I don't mean to rain on our parade, I want this just as badly as you. I just don't it to cost more lives"

"As I told Lt. Jackson, you too may log for a formal protest with Starfleet, after its over. Either we be dead then from the sickness or I will be courtmartialed. The lives of the Ocero and of this crew are more important to me. If Starfleet wants my head, they can have it. Its a Damned if I do damned if I don't situation. You have you orders" The Captain sternly barked, her eyes boring through WhiteSong

"Understood, but for the record I do not condone this" WhiteSong barked back, holding the Captain's glare until everyone stood up. WhiteSong followed suit. "Permission to return to sickbay, I want to check on my patients" The Captain nodded at WhiteSong "Dr WhiteSong your objection is noted, dismissed" WhiteSong stormed back to sickbay

What the...
By Dana Jergensen MD
CMO USS Caduceus

Quarantine Unit:

Dana sat in the "Clean Room" an isolated area inside the QU that over looked the labs and patients area. It was a place for staff to get out of their E suits and for co-ordination of information. She was still dressed in a t-hirt and sweats, she would not tax the replicators with providing her a uniform.

Dana had no experience with homeopathic medicen and was looking up the information the St. Lou had uncovered when she felt the ship lurch. The lights flickered for a moment and warning lights flashed on the systems console. She looked up and saw Allen enter the clean room.

"Dr Jergenson any idea why we are moving? I though the St. Louis was to remain At station Keeping?" He said.

" I don't THINK we should be moving, maybe we should call and find out what's going on?" She responded.

"Quarantine Unit to St. Louis bridge, what is going on? You are not at station keeping. You need to return to the Cadduceus so we can continue our research."

Allen turned back to Dr. Jergeson looking at her while he waited for a response from the bridge. "Dr any idea on how well this thing will hold up against warp travel?"

" I have no idea. Jergenson to Cadduceus , status please?"

-/\- St. Luis is trying to break quarantine we are holding them inplace with tractor beams at the moment stand by.-/\-

Dana then contacted Michell Lou and sent he rthe infor on teh possible remedy. She wanted to confirm the St. Luis' findings. She couldn't concern themselves about what was going on outside, people were dying.

She went back an noticed a warning light on the master console. She accessed it to see what the problem was. She read the message again making sure she read it correctly. Aleen could see the change on her face.

She got up from the desk and entered the Patient Area. Allen made a grab at her but she opened the door before he could stop her.

" Everbody, the ships movment resulted in a breach of the Quarantine seal. Might as well get comfortable we're in for the duration."

-/\- Jergensen to Cadduceus. Quarantine has been breached there are to be no further rotation of personnel.-/\-

"Can someone direct me to the bridge?"

"A problem to discuss"
by Lieutenant Commander Greer Erikson,
Chief Science Officer - USS Galaxy

Lieutenant Commander Erikson's quarters were being drowned in the sound of Vulcan soprano, T'Penna, singing Violetta's death scene from 'La Traviata'. There was something fascinating about this emotionless woman singing an emotional piece of music about lost love, sickness, and death. It seemed like such a contrast.

Erikson laid on the couch with a wet towel and still dressed in his hockey jersey. He tried in vain to think about something else other than what had happened with Ronni earlier. It had affected him in a way he had not anticipated. He knew that it was going to hurt the pair of them but he felt that his reasons were justified.

"Computer, location of 'Commander Morris?"

["Lieutenant Commander Morris is in the Arboretum."]

For some reason another question popped in to his mind. "Is she alone?" he asked in the hope she was not.

["Negative."]

"Who is with her?"

["Commander Derian Casey."]

Still feeling a little nauseous he had been to Sickbay where Doctor Khatroweena had assured him that there was nothing physically wrong. Returning to his quarters he tried to concentrate on more work. Finally he turned to some music, something he usually found both distracting and relaxing. At least he usually did so.

Removing the towel, the Chief Science Officer stood up and placed the wet cloth in the waste disposal unit for matter reclamation. Turning around he looked out of the observation window and started out, some how hoping to see an object that might catch his interest.

In his mind's eye he could picture the conversation in the Arboretum. Deiran always made a point of how he regarded Ronni like a sister and how she considered him as a brother. That's all he needed now, personal discomfort with the Assistant Chief Science Officer and the Executive Officer as well. He really had no way to know how Deiran would take it.

Greer closed his eyes. 'The Department' he thought to himself. He always understood that there was a professional risk in becoming involved with a member of your department but he never truly considered the implications of what they had done. Now he wished that he had.

"Computer, reduce volume by seventy percent." he requested as he moved over near the replicator. The computer beeped and complied instantly. "Vulcan mint tea." he requested as the machine replicated the beverage. "Computer, what is the location of Captain Price?"

["Captain Price is in his quarters."]

The science officer sneered a little as he toyed with the idea of discussing the situation with the Captain. Since he valued his privacy, how was he going to explain this delicate situation to his Captain? Drinking some of his cup of tea he considered it more and more. Greer finally came to the realization that he had make the current situation clear to Price, to potentially avoid any future problems.

Placing his cup on the coffee table he left his quarters and made his way down the corridor and took a left to the Captain quarters. Standing there he hesitated for a moment. Pressing the door chime he waited for a response. After a few moments the doors swung open and there stood Lee Price. Always of the belief that the Captain was always on duty, he was suprised to see him dressed in casual clothes.

"I am sorry to bother you sir but I . . . we . . . the department . . . well there's a problem I would like to discuss with you. If you are not busy Captain."

Lee gave Erikson a nod. "No worries 'Commander. Come on in."

Erikson entered the Captain's quarters and offered a curt "Thank you sir." as his reply.

"'ave a seat on the sofa there 'mate." the Captain offered, "Can I get you anything from the replicator?"

Erikson shook his head. "No thank you Captain."

Moving over the the couch, Captain Price sat down across from 'Commander Erikson. "So, what can I do for you 'mate?"

By Dr. Felicia Khatroweena, Lieutenant (Acting Chief Medical Officer), USS Galaxy NCC-70637

***** Holodeck1 – Captain’s Sterner’s Farewell Party *****

“... and the look on the Lieutenant’s face when the stem bolts released.” Joerg chuckled with Ursa.

“Ursa Sunder! You didn’t!” Cat looked at him, mouth slightly agape, look of disbelief on her face. Ursa and Joerg were chuckling over old times. Cat was a little surprised to hear about some of the things that Ursa got up to while at the Academy. That would have certainly intrigued all of his people in Security. Cat smiled herself at some of the stories. It certainly was a side of him she didn’t expect. It only made her feel closer to him.

“Well, I don’t know about you two. But I am going to get some punch. You want a glass?” Cat asked both of them.

Ursa nodded while Joerg said “Thank you Cat.”

Cat kissed Ursa and moved off towards the punch bowl, Joerg watched his friend, watching Cat. “You are a lucky man Ursa.”

Ursa returned an embarrassed smile, he nodded, “I know.”

Joerg slapped him on the shoulder, “Tall, beautiful and with brains. You’re lucky she didn’t wear high heels, she’d be taller than you.”

Ursa chuckled, “One of the reasons why I’m with her. I don’t have to bend down to kiss her.”

Cat smiled to herself, hearing the talk about her. Cat couldn’t help it, she enjoyed being the centre of attention. Being the centre of Ursa’s attention just made things perfect. She allowed her rear to sway that little bit more. Her tail swaying in a counter-rhythm. She hoped that Ursa liked what he saw.

She arrived at the punch bowl, she could smell the fruit in it and a tinge of alcohol. Cat raised an eyebrow and shook her head. ‘Well, better be prepared for a few of the crew reporting sick tomorrow,’ Cat noted to herself. She took the ladle and filled a glass. She tasted the punch, ‘Very nice.’

As she refilled her glass and filled Ursa’s and Joerg’s, she couldn’t help but hear the conversation on the other side of the drinks table.

“Well Cathy, you going to tell me about it?”

“About what?”

“Cathy Page! You know exactly what I am talking about?”

“Josie...” Cat looked up to see an ensign science officer looking around with a conspiratual smile with her friend Josie. Cathy grabbed Josie arm and took her a little farther along the table.

“What happened with Benedict T’kal? How did your date go?”

Cathy laughed, “Hmm, wouldn’t you like to know? But lets just say I’ve got a date with him in a few days time.”

“What about ‘Commander Bancroft? What about her? I mean she is his girl?” Josie asked in a loud whisper.

“Are you kidding? Green skin and all. She’s half Vulcan. You know what they’d be like in bed?”

Josie nodded. “So?”

“So what?”

“Did you sleep with him?”

“Josie?” Cathy exclaimed. “What do you think I am? I never on the first date!” She smiled. But next time...” Cathy just smiled, “I’ll let you know.”

Cat shook her head, she had seen the man a few times with Teb. He was at the party with Tebrianne. Pressed, Cat wouldn’t have thought Benedict was that type of man. As she filled Ursa’s glass, she stopped, should she say anything to Teb. ‘Hell, if this was true... But what if it wasn’t.’ Cat didn’t want to give Teb any more pain. Her time with Ben seemed to be good for her. But if he was two-timing her...

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt an arm go around her waist, she turned to see Ursa. Smiling, she kissed him on the cheek and passed him his glass of punch. She looked around, “Where’s Joerg?”

“He’s off being toasted and congratulated by the rest of the guests here.” Ursa returned.

“Well he certainly deserves it. Cat looked around and grabbed his hand, “Come on, let’s dance.”

“No Cat.” Ursa shook his head. He didn’t think much of the idea. He knew he had two left feet, no matter what Cat said.

“Come on honey. Who cares what anyone says? Let’s go.” Cat urged him to the dance floor.

Ursa gave in, as the two headed to the floor. Cat’s badge beeped, =/\=E M H to Dr Khatroweena.=/\= The voice of the EMH came over the comm.

“Yes, go ahead,” answered Cat.

=/\=Doctor Gakor has been admitted to Sickbay. She was found unconscious near Security.=/\=

“What is her condition?” Cat’s concern was obvious in her voice.

=/\=She is awake and she’ll be ready for light duty for tomorrow. I am monitoring her right now.=/\=

“I’ll be up there in a few minutes. Cat out.” Cat signed off. “I’m sorry Ursa. I’ll be back in half an hour or so.”

“That’s alright. You make sure that Endris is ok. I’ll meet you back here.” Ursa tried to cover his relief of not having to dance. He watched as she headed out. He looked around, “What am I going to do now?” he quietly asked himself. Except for Joerg and Cat, he would have rather be at his job, working on the Ferengi. Trying to get what he could from the Daimon.

***** Sickbay *****

Cat rushed in and saw Matthew standing next to Endris, her hand in his. “What’s this you lying down on the job Endris.” Cat tried to cover her concern with her bad humour. Both of them saw straight through it. “Hi Matthew” Cat called to him. Matthew nodded a greeting to her.

“I’m fine Cat. You shouldn’t be down here. You should be at the party.” Endris admonished her.

“I wanted to make sure you’re ok. Look Endris, if you want to take a few days off to rest. That would be fine with me. Look we can activate another EMH to take up the load.”

Endris shook her head, “Look I’m alright Cat. But thank you. You head back to the party. I’ll think about it though. If I need time off, I’ll tell you.”

“Well...” Cat could only stand there feeling a little useless. “Just you remember that.” Cat gave a forced smile. “You’re to be congratulated on all the food. It is wonderful. The Captain told me he wants you to cook his next ‘barbie.’ I’ll talk with you tomorrow.”

Cat headed back to the party, but her mind was on the condition of her friend.

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

Trevor Ayliffe
tayliffe@nexus.edu.au
ICQ: 3722239

"Midshipsmen"
By Lt.Commander Daniel Rosenblith, M.D.

"Thank you, Zeri. I owe you one bridge shift.", Daniel concluded as the Captain's beautiful face flickered and turned into a blank black field. Even though she was about his age, she was still far from his fears of premature physical aging - young-looking, lifefull, and attractive. Daniel found it very hard to frown or even stay serious when near the Captain, although she probably didn't noticed that. He rebuked himself more than once for acting so childishly, so like an overgrown teenager. So like.. like.. a Dorffen!

"Doof.", he whispered to himself in amusement, recalling Mikey's favorite exclamation. Yes.. one day he'll 'Doof' big time and there will be no earth (Or turquoise carpet for that matter) to bury himself under. Reaching to his collar and straightening it up, Daniel regained a professional facial expression, placed the PADD under his armpit, and marched out of his quarters. He had an important job now - to coordinate the personnel deployment and resource sharing between the two ships. He disliked the idea that his department - no, his OLD department - needed a help from the outside, but the little pro inside him kept stating that in an unusual case like the Ocero's, every bit of help would be necessary. Even deeper inside, he admitted to himself that a medical vessel was probably better equipped to deal with it. And as for personnel..

No. He told WhiteSong she had his full confidence and there was no point to start lying now. However, the CMO of a medical ship was probably an expert in medicine, maybe even more knowledgefull than him..

"Hop in, Dan."

He looked up, realizing that he was already in the shuttlebay. Time seemed to support Einstein's theory of relativity; It went by real fast when you're sinking in thoughts. He waved toward the woman in the shuttle, wondering if all Bajorans were so beautiful like Zeri and this fine example over here. "With all the people moving from ship to ship, I figured a little trip will be better.", he said. "But weren't you supposed to..?"

"I'm hitchhiking my way back to my assignment.", Annie Lahav grinned and helped Dan to climb onto the small shuttle pod. Swiftly, she ran a brief preflight which came all clear as usual, and within less than a minute they were crossing the short distance between the two vessels.

"You chose a bad timing, Annie - we just caught another virus.", Daniel commented dryly.

"Really? Why, I hope it's the flu.", she replied, half seriously half jokingly. "Watch out, we're about to stop - we can't dock with the Caduceus, obviously."

Smoothly, Annie Lahav stopped the small shuttlepod between the two ships, and tapped the communications panel. "St.Louis three to Caduceus Transporter control, Give us a minute before launching Dr.Jergensen."

"The Ocero epidemic is worse.", Daniel said, referring to Annie's previous comment about the flu, and slipped into one of the two E-suits which waited for them. "Prepare to open the space hatches once we're done. We don't want the doctor's E-suit to be infected with the St.Louis' air if the thing is airborne."

"Okay, Dan.", Annie said, closing the helmet on her head. She seemed to be comfortable with Environmental suits as if they were her usual close - just like Dan easily slipped onto and moved in his uniform, whereas new officers take time to get used to them. The girl was in her mid-twenties, and looked younger, but she was already a seasoned shuttle pilot - one of the best in Starfleet, if to consider her records. She wouldn't have gotten the rank of Lt.Commander so soon if it wasn't true.

"All air's out. Verifying vacuum.. Okay, we can tell her to come aboard if she's already wearing an E-suit.", Annie said, her eyes not moving from the flickering screens.

"Wait, we got a message from the St.Louis.", Daniel stopped her, and bent foreword to read it. It was a high priority and encrypted one - and it wasn't good news. Not at all.

"Rosenblith to Caduceus Transporter room.", Daniel said after finishing to read. "Don't beam Dr.Jergensen - we have to return to the ship ASAP.". He motioned toward Annie with his hand, and the Bajoran quickly made a sharp turn of the shuttle and drove it back toward the familiar gray-blue hull of the St.Louis.

"THAT was rude.", she said after a short while.

"There's an important meeting going on.. and Jackson looks grim to me.", Dan narrowed his eyes slightly. "But I'll probably miss it. the second part of the message was from WhiteSong, asking me to escort the head nurse to the Q.U.", he looked up to her. "Something is going to get terribly wrong, I can just feel it in my bones."

"Don't get old on me now, Daniel Rosenblith. We won the orb, we'll win this one too. St.Louis 3 to the USS St.Louis, permission to dock."

=/\="Premission granted."=/\= came the voice of the St.Louis' shuttlebay chief. Annie and Daniel exchanged silent glances as the air was pumped back into their shuttle, knowing that they were probably thinking about the same thing.

"You'll have to tell me one day who's uncle Kai.", she added, then giggled as Daniel muttered a juicy swear in Hebrew related to mind links and girls which stick their nose into places it doesn't belong.

====
- Oded Magger
Allied Electronic Simulations
ICQ enlisted 12129457

By Chris Reynolds, Ensign Security
USS Galaxy NCC-70637

***Ensign Reynolds Quarters***

Reynolds entered his quarters. After getting out of his uniform he decided to check his messages. It has been five weeks since he reported on board and the only message he got from home was three weeks ago.

"Computer, any new messages?".

"There are no new messages at this time.". The computer responded and Chris thought to himself about how poetic it was for the computer to sound cold in it's response. Chris walked over to his desk and accessed the terminal there.

"Computer, begin displaying information about the battle of Gettysburg, Earth, 1863.". The computer begin to display information about the commanding officers and the roles they played in the battle. Chris looked at the screen, but he wasn't reading anything. He was thinking to himself.

"Whats wrong with me. There's a party in the holodeck and I am in my quarters reading about some long ago battle. I should be down there.". Even as Chris asked himself these questions, he knew the awnser. He was sad. He was sad becuase he hadn't heard from his parents in three weeks.

"No! This isn't going to happen! I came out here to leave that place, to leave Sara. Im going to that party.". Chris got up and checked himself over. After instilling himiself with more confidence, he left his quarters and went to the party.

NEW BEGINNINGS
Ensign Mohammed Uhura
Science Officer

Mohammed smiled at his reflection in the mirror. It was a bold move. He had never done this before. It was actually believed that by doing this reduced your physical strength but it was time to make changes and start new beginnings. So after being onboard for five weeks he'd finally done it. He'd cut off his dreadlocks. Not only did he cut his dreadlocks...he'd shaved his head bald. As he smiled at his reflection he was aware that his family would be..surprised to say the least.

He looked around his quarters and smiled. He couldn't believe that he was finally on a real starship. He was amazed at how much room he had as compared to the academy's quarters. He had managed to get a few reminders from home onboard like his great grandfather's Desmond Tutu Humanity and Peace medal. The Uhura family crest, which he placed on his wall. But the most prized possession was the picture of his great grandmother in her Starfleet uniform.

He smiled at the photo, her beautiful smiling face and those bright laughing eyes. He was so proud to be from such a fine family.

"Dearest Grandmother, I know you are as proud of me as I'm proud of you. I only hope I can do as much honor to the Uhura name as you did."

There were still things he had to do and adjust to. Since arriving onboard he had talked to his wife and family. The children were doing fine and missing him as much as he missed him. His wife, Tashi, was as beautiful as ever but he did since there was something on her mind and try as he might he couldn't get her to talk about it.

He was excited about being in the science department and from what he had seen so far it was a few group of people. He had met with Lt.Commander Erikson and Lt.Commander Morris, the Chief and Asst. Chief Science Officers respectively. He was really excited about being a part of the team.

He had met the Captain. Capt. Robert Edward Lee Price, whom the crew referred to as "The General" it didn't take long for him to realize why he was called that. Yes, he was going to enjoy this. There was one more aspect about being assigned here. He wasn't alone. His fellow class mate and roommate, Chris Reynolds had been assigned as a security officer. They hadn't had too much time to get together being that they were both very busy.

He had heard that there was a party in the Holodeck and that the crew was invited. He decided he'd find Chris and see if he wanted to go too. He was sure Chris could use a friend to talk to. The few times they did talk he seemed distracted. Mohammed didn't pry, figuring that Chris would tell him eventually.

"Computer," Mohammed said to his computer, "contact Ensign Reynolds in his quarters."

"Ensign Reynolds is not in his quarters at the moment." The computer answered.

Mohammed scratched his freshly shaved bald head in puzzlement. He was certain Chris wasn't on duty. "Find Ensign Reynolds for me."

"Ensign Reynolds is in the Holodeck." The computer said.

He must be at the party. Mohammed thought as he left his quarters. He couldn't wait for Chris to see what he'd done to his hair. He'd die laughing. Mohammed left his quarters and made his way towards the turbolift and inside. "The Holodeck." Mohammed said waiting to arrive at it's destination.

"What's up Doc(s)?"
By Mikey Dorffen, At the Helm, USS St Louis
Approved by Captain Thiana Zeri

Q. What's black and white and red all over?
A. No, not a newspaper. Nor a sunbathing nun. Mikey.

Or at least that's how he felt. Mikey was never the most tanned of people, so that's the white. Betazoid, black. And shamed beyond all that could be compared: red.

The St Louis had rounded, and everyone on the ship undoubtedly felt the movement as she turned towards the correct heading. They all felt the slip and speed as she accelerated. The St Louis was fast, but it seemed that the fingers at tac on board the Caduceus were faster.

The 'Louis jolted again, this time caught in the net thrown out by the Caduceus, stopping the Intrepid class vessel dead in its tracks, dead in space. On top of all of that, Mikey'd bit his lip when he'd been thrown upwards, having been chewing on it moments before hand. It really hurt, y'know?

"Okay," he said loudly, "This is not my fault." He kicked off of the console in front of him and spin on his chair to the opposite end of his station to bring up an outer sensor report. The Terran Ensign Schneider, chief of ops, beat him to it.

"The Caduceus has us locked in three tractor beams." he said, rechecking the screen in front of him. He looked over to Thiana and then spoke again, this time with a hint of knowing humour in his voice. He too was at the senior staff meeting and knew why Thiana was so desperate to get that cure. "Captain, We're not breaking an quarantine while they're in place."

Mikey grinned too at the situation. It wasn't at all funny, but it sure would be something if Thiana followed through her plans and showed those Doctors what saving lives was really all about. He was listening with his back to Schneider, but so as to watch the captain he twisted on his stool. All eyes were on her.

The Bajoran nodded. She twisted her neck to face Schneider's counterpart on the opposite side of the bridge, the acting see-tee-oh, David Morrision. "Ensign Morrision, options. Quickly."

The other Terran had already checked his equipment, and he also seemed to be in the same mind as most of the other crew members on the bridge. But was he going to say the unthinkable? Suggest the on thing that would make Mikey whoop inside for the love adrenaline, but may also put everyone on the ship in danger of a court-martial?

The Terran swallowed. "They won't fire, we've their QU on our backs. But nothings to say that we won't fire that them."

* Score! *

Mikey could feel a few other similar reactions coming from other people on the bridge. Most shared the same opinion as the Captain when it came to this, or at least that's the impression he got when he opened his mind a little to the rest of the bridge crew.

Thiana's mind worked, but she showed on reaction straight away. She finally spoke. "This is what's going to happen. We're going to use force, but as little as possible. Firing on another Starfleet vessel is a treasonable offence, I only hope Captain Manion can be talked around once we get back here with the cure. Anyone who wishes to lodge a complaint may do so, but only after we've gotten out of this. Is that understood?"

The silence answered her adequately.

In his head, Mikey wasn't listen anyway and going 'Yadda-yadda-yadda' as the Thiana Zeri ventriloquist's dummy open and closed it's mouth at regular intervals.

"Alright." Thiana sighed and moved around to her chief tactical officer, yet called over to Ensign Schneider. "Ensign, what's the status of the Caduceus' shields; Up or Down?"

"Down, Captain."

"Good, Manion won't be planning on this I'll bet." She turned now to Morrision. "Ensign, from this distance, I want you to have an exact shot at the Caduceus' tractor beam emitters and main weapons array. We've got to get out of here, and although it's highly unlikely, we may get a few warning shots: we are, after all, casting the first stone."

The Terran religious reference seemed appropriate in her mind, seeing as they were trying to save an entire race from this horrendous disease.

* Gimme a break. * thought Mikey disrespectfully as he waited his turn.

"Lieutenant Dorffen." the small dark woman said as she descended the stairs to the main floor of the bridge. "I'm sure you can handle the rest." She smiled at him.

Mikey aye ma'am-ed her and turned around. He tried to ignore it, but he was sure there was a smile. If it was one thing that really irritated him about people, it was when you try to hate them, they keep doing things that make you think they don't hate you back. It's very disconcerting.

Thiana took her seat. "Okay everyone, on my mark ... Mark."

Morrision fired. The phaser banks out in the airless depths of space flared gold and slashed up and out at the floating hulk of the Caduceus, striking her in a silent flash of spark. A second warmed up and lashed out, and then the rear, each perfectly positioned at the key points along the medical ship's hull, and each striking home with near Lieutenant-making skill from Morrision.

The forth was the clincher, the first phaser bank recharging and re-firing, thin gold leaf against the silver and black page, against the white gray of the ship, against the main weapons array. The shot was just off, so not to cause too much damage, but it served it's purpose: like a dog that had been pulling against a leash that had finally snapped under the pressure, the St Louis slipped effortlessly through space and spun, skidding in airlessness, before shooting to warp.

The Caddy didn't know what had hit it.

Lieutenant JG Mikey Dorffen
Chief of Helm, USS St Louis

S.O.B.
By Dana Jergensen MD
CMO USS Caduceus

Quarantine Unit:

Dr. Dana Jergensen CMO of the Cadduceus stormed through the passage ways of the St. Luis. Her cheecks were flushed and she struggled to control her anger. The ex-model turned Doctor was furious. The games the Ships were playing caused a breach of the QU exposing her and her staff to the deadly virus. Clasped in one hand was the PADD containing QU Protocols she read as she walked. Though dressed in little more than a jogging suit crew members stepped aside. She boarded the nearest Turbolift.

" Bridge." She commanded and the lift slid into motion. There was another flickering of lights accompanied by another jolt sending her sprawling to the floor. " Sonuvabitch!" She cursed and regained her feet. The dors opened and she was standing on the bridge of a Starfleet ship. Normally as a newcomer to Starfleet she would be awed by her surroundings but her Nordic temper was ablaze.

" What the hell is going on and who is in charge of this mess?" She addressed the entire Bridge.

"Preperations"
Lt. Korvin Vetra
Chief of Secuirty
USS Caduceus.

The blue beam of light lanced from the hull of the Caduceus, catching the speeding form of the USS St. Louis, suddenly she ground to a halt.

"They attempted to go to warp, but the mass of the Quarrantine unit must have thrown them off. I've got them in the tractor beams, Captain. They did not succeed in their attempt to go to warp, Sir,"Korvin said his voice quiet.

"Very good job, Lieutenant. Now, Lt. Vanx, get me Captain Thiana."

As Vanx hailed the Captain Thiana, Korvin quietly activated the Cadduceus weapons, and targeted their engines. The Captain wasn't likely to authorize that extream a measure, at least not unless everything else was tried but he wanted to be ready just in case. As another measure, he contacted Ensign Ryn.

[Ensign Ryn, assemble a full security team, in bio suits in transporter room one, be preapred to move with a seconds notice.]

Having that done Korvin looked back to the viewer where the image of Captain Thiana had just appeared.

"May I Return the Complement, Sir?"
Lt. Korvin Vetra
Cheif of Sec/Tac
USS Caduecues

"They're firing sir!"Korvin said as the phaser lanced from the Intrepid class' hull.

The Caduceus shook a couple times as the St. Louis contined it's berrage.

"Zkra"Korvin swore glad the universal translator did not relay the finer points of that word to his crewmates.

Korvin checked his panel, tractor one and two had failed while one held on tight. He calmy transfered power to that beam one handed while his other hovered over the firing button.

"Zkra kumor tal,"Korvin muttered as he worked.

"Status?"Manion asked.

"We suffered minor damage, and tractors one and two our out. They're tactical officer is the consumate sniper,"Korvin reported his voice quiet and intense. "May I return the complement, sir?"

"The Call"
by Captain Mercedes Manion

"Status?"Manion asked.

"We suffered minor damage, and tractors one and two are out. They're tactical officer is the consumate sniper," Korvin reported his voice quiet and intense. "May I return the complement, sir?"

"Under no circumstances are you to fire upon that ship, Lieutenant. Take a look at the boards..." She said, looking at her status panel. The third tractor fried itself trying to compensate for the two that had been destroyed. It burned out and the St. Louis went to warp, the QU attached to her spine like a leech.

"I want that ship traced, Mr. Coghlan, pursuit course, maximum warp possible with the QU missing. Get the repair teams moving, and let's fine the St. Louis. They need to be reminded that a quarrantine means no contact with the outside galaxy. Open a channel to Admiral Miravanelli at Starfleet Medical, I'll be in my ready room."

Captain Mercedes Manion
USS Caduceus NCC-9462
An Allied Electronic Simulations Affiliated Sim
capt.manion@Caduceus.zzn.com

VERY TICKED OFF PARAMEDIC
BY LTjg TREVER ALLEN
USS CADUCEUS
PARMEDIC FLIGHT TEAM

LT Allen looked out the window as the Caddy grabed the St Louise like a child grabing it toy. Allen looked at Dr Jergenson as she studied her pannel his face turned white as he looked at the display that showed the breach to the QU. Allen's face turned white as he looked into the Air lock and back at Dr. Jergenson I guess we won't be needing thouse again.

The ship shook again as it fired on the caddy and leaped into warp. Allen Turned turned to the Dr. What the hell they just fired on the ship.

Dr Jergenson looked at Allen "Is there anything we can do to stop them."

Allen got a confused look on his face "I don't know unless I can disrupted the warp bubble."

Dr. Jergenson said to words "DO IT" As she left the room.

Allen Went to the main computer terminal "Computer show me a schematic of the ship." Allen studied the ship for a minute when he realized they would have to compensate for the QU on the warp bubble.

"Computer show me the status of the St. Louise warp bubble." The screen switched and the display I new I should have paid more attention to warp theriory.

Computer what is the status of the warp field."

The computer responded the Warp field is at 85% compensating for the extra mass of the QU unit."

"Computer what would happen if the QU acctivated its thrusters"

There was a short pause "The warp field would collaps cause a feed back in the primary plasma conduites"

"What is the esstimated damage."

"Damage would be limited to an explostion of the Primary Plasma conduits and sub systems. Warp engines would be off line till repairs could be made."

"Computer what would the repair time be." "Estimated time of repair to establish minimum warp power would be 3 hrs 20 minutes under Ideal condition.

"Alright Allen moved over to the flight deck and powered up the manuvering thrusters "Computer give me adidble read out on warp field."

Allen put the QU unit into full thrust he could hear the moning and creacking as the stressed built up however the effect was much quicker than he estimated. With in seconds the exaused from the thrusters mixed with the warp field and it collapsed there was no gradual bleed off it just plainly popped there bubble.

As the computer projected the feed back was instintanise and the main plasma conduit irrupted on engineering. Causing an automatic and complete shut down of the warp core. The feed back also cracked on of the Dilithium crystals.

Allen looked out the window as the ship shook and shuttered and droped from warp and begun to tumble through space on both it's Y and X axis. All he could do know was hold on and wiat for the bridge to bring the ship under control. As the Impulse and manuvering thrusters are still online.

Ensign Micheal Stevens-Engineering

"Computer! Time remaining!" Stevens said in the most commanding voice he could muster.

"Two hours twenty-one minutes and nineteen seconds," the comupter replied.

"I still have allot of time. I could always go to that party. I guess..." Stevens wasn't sure about going out. after five weeks he felt confident enough to talk to his crewmates about work but a social setting was completely different. He never had gotten along well with others, especially in those types of situations. "Lights..."

Compared to the darkness of his old quarters, light this bright this fast was almost blinding, but he would get used to it. He had to. He walked over to the PADD sitting on his desk. With the touch of a few key places he brought up yesterdays security reports. He didn't even get through the first one and he thought to himself,"Now if Master Matleq were here he'd tell me to get myself to that party, meet people let them get to know you." He could almost see him in front of him shaking his old walking stick.

"Computer! Time Remaining!"

"Two hours nineteen minutes and thirty-two seconds"

"Well, I might as well go. What could happen?"

He grabbed his jacket and while exiting his quarters he said,"Computer inform me as soon as simulations alpha-36 through Beta-53 are completed." the computer chired it's normal compliance response.

As he walked to the holodeck he remembered how his father used to walk him through the USS Saratoga-C. He loved his father. If he could only go back in time to that battle at wolf 359 he could save his father he knew he could. But the only thing he could do right now would be complete that personal cloaking device. Maybe the computer would be able to give him the answers he'd over looked. He felt pretty good about some of the simulations but nothing would hold water for very long. Maybe one these newer ones would be THE one. But he knew not to get his hopes up. Suddenly he was standing at the doors of the holodeck and as the doors opened he thought to himself,"This was a bad idea"...

"Targ Talkies"
by Lt Cmdr K'Eytyanna Samara,
Engineering - USS Galaxy
reviewed by Captain Price and Dr Gakor

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

Walking into her quarters, K'Eytyanna stripped out of her uniform and headed to the replicator.

"Computer, one large tomato juice, four degrees."

The cold drink arrived a few seconds later, and she took a sip before heading to the couch.

Leaning back, she ignored D'Akana's insistent head butts against her thigh and closed her eyes.

"Computer, location of Hunter MacKenzie."

[Hunter is currently on the bridge at the Tactical Console]

Moaning, she finished the drink and looked around her quarters. Lying in pieces on the kitchen table was the inner workings of a device she had started working on months ago and ran out of time to complete. In the corner of her work area was the uncomplete Sphinx motorcycle she had also started working on, but ran out of time for.

"Damn it! I'm so driven with fixing this ship, yet I leave around half completed junk in my own quarters. D'Akana, your item is first on the list."

Getting up, she padded over to the table and picked up the smallest laser probe she had, starting work on the delicate inner workings.

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

A few hours later...

K'Eytyanna wiped the sweat of her forehead ridges and closed up the casing. Grinning, she whistled loudly to D'Akana.

The happy targ bounded over and rubbed his snout on her leg as she knelt down. Rubbing his side, she removed his tracking collar and attached the device to it before putting it back on.

Taking hold of the casing attached to the collar, she tapped the green button and smiled.

D'Akana whimpered and a few seconds later, a soft male voice came from the casing,

[Me hug want.]

K'Eytyanna laughed happily and hugged D'Akana, softly speaking,

"I'm so happy. You can communicate now."

A few barks came from the casing and D'Akana jumped back in surprise, looking around for another Targ. K'Eytyanna broke up laughing,

"It's me, silly. I made a way for us to talk the same language."

D'Akana tilted his head before barking.

[I like. Very happy.]

"I'll be back in a few moments."

As she headed into her bedroom to get changed, she heard the device translater her last sentence. Coming back, she picked up D'Akana and headed to Sickbay for the second stage, turning off the device as she left.

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

Patting D'Akana softly as she walked into Sickbay, she looked around the room. Heading over to the Chief's office, she stuck her head in to find Gakor working on a report.

The Tellarite looked up and blinked in surprise. Smiling, she spoke,

"K'Ey, this is the first time I've ever seen you come in here voluntarily without a Security escort. What's up?"

Stepping into the office, she put D'Akana down on one of the chairs and spoke,

"I have a small favour to ask you. I've been working on a person project, and need some help with the second stage."

Gakor leant back in her chair,

"I assume this has something to do with D'Akana, right?"

K'Ey nodded and tapped the green button,

"It sure does. D'Akana, how about you describe it?"

[Me talkie now.]

Endris yelped in surprise and nearly fell back in her chair. Grabbing the desk to steady herself, she smiled,

"Wow. Its nice to be able to understand you, D'Akana. How can I help?"

A few barks came from the device as K'Ey explained, turning it off before she spoke,

"Due to targs not being too bright, I realised that it might be very disorientating for him to not be able to hear translated sounds in a spatial manner. I have also developed two minituare speakers that could be attached in his ears.

Gakor smiled, "Sounds very sensible. From the small amount of knowledge I know about targs, they would probably use sound much like tigers would in the wild. How does this speaker system work?"

"They would be sent signal by a processor in his collar that would correct the volume in each ear indepdently to allow spatial orientation. It also uses a priority based scheme to make sure that D'Akana won't be overwhelmed by lots of talking in crowded situations. However, my medical skills are downright dismall, especially since I failed the required courses twice at the academy. Would you be able to do the surgical stuff with them?"

She nodded,

"Sure. Sickbay is free at the moment, so I guess now is as good a time as any. Shouldn't take more then 20 minutes anyway."

K'Eytyanna nodded and handed over a box containing the speakers.

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

An hour later..

K'Eytyanna walked into Ten Forward with D'Akana behind, a leash attached to his collar.

Picking him up, she put him on her lap as she sat down at the bar. Door finished wiping a glass and turned to her,

"K'Ey, you know pets aren't allowed in here normally."

"It's a special occassion. Right, D'Akana?"

The speaker chimed,

[Yes. Me talk. Thirsty too.]

The cardassian dropped the glass in surprise, and a few ensigns at the other end gasped, causing D'Akana to turn towards them.

"That was you targ speaking, right?"

"Yeah. I've been working on it for months now."

He smiled, "In that case, this sure is a celebration. One bloodwine and a bowl of water, on the house."

Door brought the items back quickly, and headed off to serve some other people.

The holodeck doors opened and stevens thought to himself,"This was a bad idea..."

Just then he saw Cat coming around the corner. She looked a bit concerned but she looked especially nice. He walked in and she followed close behind. He headed over to the bowl. There were quite a few people around there so he figured,"Why not..."

He looked around and saw some of his crew mates drinking the liquid from the bowl. He poured himself a glass and sniffed it. It had an almost tart tinge to it but he didn't think twice. He took a large gulp and as if it had been planned he felt a burning in his throat that continued to intensify. He at first just tried to ignor it but as the burning sensation grew he became very concerned. He began to cough uncontrolably. He was in pain. He threw his cup down and grabbed his thoat to block the phaser blasts he thought were hitting his throat. He looked up and people were looking at him as if he were somehow haddicapped. He felt his anger begin to grow and he stood straight. He composed himself, still coughing but a little less dramaticlly, and tugged on his coat and left in quite a rush.

"Computer. Time remaining."

"One hour fifty-six minutes and televe seconds"

"Computer, have all of yesterday's and today's security reports downloaded to my terminal. Also have all engineering reports from alpha shift downloaded..."

Suddenlly he heard a voice from the rear,"Hey."

Through the tears in his eyes he could make out a blue collar but that was it,"Who's said that" he said.

Allen was just getting reay to fire the thrusters when A comunication from Claymore came in. "Quickly, the chief engineer tapped his communicator. "Claymore to Quarantine unit. Your thrusters appear to be powering up. If they fire, it will disrupt the seal and contaminate everything in the vicinity. Please check the control panel for malfunctions.

Cadduceus I am following Directions that came from captain Manion through Dr Jergenson our seals have allready been disrupted and we are contaminated. QU out.

Allen put the QU unit into full thrust he could hear the moning and creacking as the stressed built up however the effect was much quicker than he estimated. With in seconds the exaused from the thrusters mixed with the warp field and it collapsed there was no gradual bleed off it just plainly popped there bubble.

As the computer projected the feed back was instintanise and the main plasma conduit irrupted on engineering. Causing an automatic and complete shut down of the warp core. The feed back also cracked on of the Dilithium crystals.

Allen looked out the window as the ship shook and shuttered and droped from warp and begun to tumble through space on both it's Y and X axis. All he could do know was hold on and wiat for the bridge to bring the ship under control. As the Impulse and manuvering thrusters are still online.

Get Off My Bridge
Captain Thiana
USS St Louis

"What the hell is going on and who is in charge of this mess?" Thiana looked up at an officer in blue, unknown, so it must be a Caduceus crewmember.

"Who are you to burst on my bridge demanding answers?" Thiana calmly replied.

"Dr Dana Jergensen, CMO USS Caduceus."

"Well, Dr Dana Jergensen, CMO USS Caduceus, I am in command of this ship. You have no authority to be here. I expect you to remember that this is not the Caduceus and treat it as such." Thiana turned to Lt Harris.

"Lt Harris, please escort Dr Jergensen back to the QU. Secure the bridge from unauthorized personnal. If any of the Caduceus crew try to leave the QU, put them into the brig." Dr Jergensen glared at Thiana. The captain had other concerns to deal with.

Thiana rubbed her ridges. It was going to be a long night.

Fara was sleeping peacefully after a long shift in the QU when the ship shook and she bounced off the edge of the bed onto the floor. She sat up and looked around. It had been a long time since she had fallen out of bed. Then the ship shook again. Yellow alert sounded and she jumped up and quickly dressed.

In the sickbay she discovered that the St Louis had broken Quaranten and had fired on the ship. Then she was too busy with the minor injuries that resulted from people being thrown into things, off their feet, etc., to worry about the ship.

It was sometime later that she discovered that the CMO was on the QU when the St Louis took off. She shook her head. *"Now what,"* she thought to herself as she waited to hear what else was going to be done.

Quarantine the Quarantine Unit
Lt. JG. Aamin Darhe’el
Security Officer, St. Louis

The ship had just stopped rocking and Aamin was trying to put some semblance of order to what had once been his clean and organized desk. Just as he was placing the PADD into the outbox the call came over his comm. badge,

"Lt. JG. Darhe’el, this is Harris. Form up a team and get to that quarantine unit. If any the personnel from the QU attempt to get onto the St. Louis take them to the brig as soon as possiable. Understood?"

"Aye Aye, on my way Lt." Aamin replied.

Several officers who had been in hearing range looked at him expectantly. "All right, I want a team of six men armed with Phaser Rifles ready to move on the double! Move it! Move it!" Aamin barked as he opened his desk drawer and grabbed his phaser. Today would seemed to have some excitement in store for him, thank Cardassia.

In a matter of seconds five men and one female security officer were ready, armed for the occasion, with Aamin at the lead. They ran down the corridor in formation towards the turbolift. They had practiced in the event that the St. Louis was bordered and this undoubtedly cut the time it took for the team to reach their destination. Luckily enough no one interfered with their movement, everyone had the knowledge to move aside.

As soon as the turbolift doors opened the team exited and ran down the hall, Officers moved aside to let the team through and gave them wide birth, but not without a little curiosity. In short time the team was located outside of the entrance to the QU unit and Aamin was issuing orders for what each officer was to do in the event that some of the QU staff attempted to break the quarantine.

It had only taken a few minutes from the time Aamin had received the call for the team to arrive and he was slightly proud of that, maybe all that training they were performing was doing some good he thought. He tapped his comm. badge, "Lt. JG. Darhe’el to Lt. Harris, I have quarantined the QU and have six security officers in position in the event members of the QU attempt to come through. I will stand by for further order. Darhe’el out."

He glanced at the personnel ready, everyone was in position and had the entrance covered, it was not just a matter of time and if the QU staff felt lucky…

Jordan
AKA
Lt. JG. Aamin Darhe'el-USS St. Louis

"Despiration Moves You So"
by Lt. (jg) Fiona O'Keefe,
Ship's Counselor, USS Caduceus

***Turbolift 1, USS Caduceus***

'Why?' was the question Fiona had been asking herself for the last ten minutes.

It started in the gymnasium. She was working on a holographic chef program. Actually, she was working a number of different holographic fine chefs from across the Alpha Quadrant who were to prepare all sorts of delicacies. Rigelian chocolate mousse, Vulcan telak soufle, Bajoran domjoss cakes, old fashion Cajun gumbo. The list of foods could have gone on and on.

Then there was that sudden jolt.

While typing in the final subroutines for a fiesty old Creole chef she remembered from a little bistro in New Orleans called 'Sisko's,' the Caduceus was rocked by a series of explosions that sent the power grid all throughout the deck askew. As the lighting flickered off and the chefs' holomatrixes faded from sight, Fiona ran to the corridor.

The head of a small security team running past stopped briefly enough to mention that the St. Louis had attempted to break quarantine and had fired upon the Caduceus. Having fallen-in behind the team as they made their way to the nearest turbolift, Fiona tried to understand why it had happened.

What would drive the captain and crew of a Federation starship to fire on another Federation vessel?

Standing in the turbolift shoulder to shoulder with one of Mr. Vetra's security teams, she knew the Ocero virus had to have been a part of it. Was it really that bad? Had they really run out of options? Or were they just panicking needlessly? Fiona didn't know.

At last report, the Ocero illness had claimed the lives of several St. Louis crew, but the hourly reports from their Chief Medical Officer seemed to show the virus (if it were a virus) wasn't spreading very rapidly through the ship.

Why had they panicked? Captain Thiana was one of the most experienced captains in the fleet. Certainly she knew the reprecussions of her actions. Breaking quarantine and firing on another Federation vessel was, under any normal circumstances, definite cause for a courtmartial. But, during wartime, Federation law labeled such actions the acts of a traitor and the penalty for treason was...

No. Thiana had to have believed that the results of her actions were worth the penalty. From studying Captain Thiana's psychological profile, Fiona knew that the only thing the Bajoran captain valued more than her career was the lives of her crew.

Of course... the Caduceus had no way of knowing for certain if Captain Thiana was still in command of the St. Louis. If some of the crew had panicked and mutinied...

From the few hours she spent last night sipping a cup of raktageeno and skimming over the psychological profiles of the St. Louis crew, there certainly were quite a few possibilities for mutiny candidates.

As the turbolift stopped at deck 5 where the security team disembarked and a pair of engineering technicians requested the lift to move to deck 2, Fiona made a mental checklist of the standouts among the St. Louis crew.

Both the commanders were suspect.

Lieutenant Commander Rosenblith had an almost impecable service record as a medical doctor. Yet, his reported relations with his father were quite 'strained' at best, his time in the marines suggested a possible loose cannon aspect to his personality, and his inexperience at command could leave him open to influence from other crew members...

Like Commander Strauss. His temporary command of the St. Louis during Captain Thiana's... absence... was certainly a high point in his career, followed by the horribly low point of loosing his entire SEAL team in action. The strain could have built up... and when faced with the possiblity of loosing his new SEAL team members...

No... There were so many people aboard the St. Louis with unique personalities. Personalities which may have come into play in the St. Louis' decision to break quarantine.

A lieutenant jay-gee helmsman whose career was progressing quite slowly in light of his exemplirary record.

An hermaphroditic security officer who by all accounts was fiercely loyal to the captain.

Another security officer who was Cardassian by birth, even the son of a Gul.

Yet another security officer, an ensign, who had a discipline record as long as Fiona's arm.

A Chief Science Officer who was recently posessed by an entire alien population.

An Assistant Chief Science Officer who, according to several rumors, was pregant with the child of the aforementioned security ensign.

A rather shady Starfleet Intelligence attache...

And even the ship's bartender, who lost someone close to her to the Ocero virus, was a possible suspect in a mutiny.

When the lift doors finally opened onto the bridge, Fiona stepped out filing all the thoughts of mutiny in the back of her mind. With so many candidates, and with such a lack of evidence to even suggest a mutiny, the Caduceus had to continue handling the situation under the assumption Captain Thiana was still in command of the St. Louis.

Sitting in the counselor's chair... just one of the things Fiona loved about the old Ambassador-class starship's bridge... she felt thankfull she had a place on the bridge to sit, observe, and be really paranoid.

Captains are SO Tempermental
By Dana Jergensen MD
CMO USS Caduceus

Dana's Nordic temper was blazing. She didn't know what games were being played and she was sure going to find out.

" Captain as the Chief Medical Oficer in Charge of an epidemic that has just jumped species AND so far is completely lethal , give me the right to be here. If there was a fleet of Borgs out there-" she shrugged off the officer trying to get her to co-opperate," I'd agree with you, but your actions may have infected MY medical personnel as well as destroyed the only SAFE place on this ship. Instead of working WITH us you think you are the ONLY one capable of saving the Ocero and your crew. Your actions have endagered us even more and now youy want to risk an entire planet?" Dana drew a breath and calmed herself.

" Captain what do you think Starfleet would order you to do if a ship carrying a deadly disease was headed for Earth or even Bajor? Instead of helping, you have lessoned the odds of our survival." Dana walked off the bridge emotionally spent.

When she went back to the QU another Ocero had died in a fit of bloody convulsions. she went back into what was once the 'clean room'. She saw Trevor Allen looking at her.

" It didn't work. We're still at warp." She said. She then sent out a message requesting that all Medical Personel on board report to the QU.

" We are going to have to do some serious brainstorming to beat this thing. The QU labs are better than anything on this ship and if we are going to live we have to get everyone together on this. Infighting can get us al killed." She spoke to no-one in particular but Allen was still watching her.

" I'm going to take a nap wake me when the CMO gets here. We will need everyone."

"Caught Red, um, Handed"
by Ensign Elaiithin Jii
w/ guests
Ensign Lexana Ral
Ensign Rotan Heratta

Delta Shift had just begun on the U. S. S. Galaxy. Elaiithin Jii was manning the Operations station when the computer reported a glitch in the Environmental Control Systems for Deck 29. He'd have to check it out. Lieutenant T'Zaq was in command

"Lieutenant" he said, by way of getting attention.

T'Zaq stood from the center seat and walked forward. "Yes, Ensign?"

"Internal sensors are showing a glitch in the Environmental Control Systems for Deck 29 - Jefferies Tube 29/D. Should I check it out?"

"I don't see a problem with that. Have someone from Engineering assist you."

"Aye sir."

Elaiithin stood from OPS as Ensign Freeman took over. T'Zaq nodded at him as he entered the turbolift.

"Deck twenty eight"

Jii thumbed his commbadge. Who to help? Ah..." Elaiithin to Scott. Chloe, you busy?"

The Engineering Ensign answered promptly. "Not really, Jii. I was about to check out a glitch in the life support systems that was registered in a Jefferies tube on Deck Twenty-eight."

What a coincidence.

An explanation would perhaps best be served here. Ensign Chloe Scott is a junior engineer, with whom Elaiithin had an on again off again relationship with since his arrival aboard the Galaxy. They had marvelous chemistry...but tended to clash personalities on occasion.

The turbolift arrived at Deck 28 very near the junction he wanted so he simply crossed the hallway to the entrance of the Jefferies tube junction point.

"Well, I'm already there, Chloe."

"Funny, so am I" came a voice from behind him.

Elaiithin, it would be fair to say, nearly jumped out of his skin. Behind him, the blonde, English Ensign was grinning her head off.

"Hi"

"Prophets! Chloe, you scared the hell out of me! You're lucky I'm not halfway to the Celestial Temple by now!"

Scott merely chuckled. "Come on, let's get to work.

The engineering ensign climbed in before Elaiithin. That look she'd giving him. It was a mischievous one. Certainly...she couldn't be thinking.....after all...they were on duty.....

Elaiithin grinned. It was likely his imagination. Oh well. Like the lady said..time to get to work.

The problem was relatively easy to find. One of the bioneural gelpacks had a manufacturing defect and the goop had gotten over everything. A few passes with a molecular sanitizer (a device that functioned as a small scale transporter, converting unwanted mass into energy) it was cleaned up. Scott had brought another gelpack with her, and everything was soon in order. The pair had carried on in meaningless chitchat this entire time, with much innuendo.

They got to the Jefferies tube junction, separated from the main corridor by only a set of doors.

"Jii..." Scott said, turning to the young Bajoran.

That was definitely the look.

"Now...waitasec..we're on du..mmmppphhh"

The last bit was muffled by her lips finding their way to his.

Oh, what the hell, He thought. Why not.

The pair slowly sank to the cold metal floor...

Approximately half an hour later (give or take a few minutes) Ensigns Lexana Ral and Rotan Heratta were patrolling the corridors as part of their standard duties during Delta Shift.

They just happened to be patrolling on Deck Twenty-eight.

This brought them very near to Junction 28/D.

Right outside it, in fact.

Ral cocked her head to the side. "Rotan, do you hear something?" Her empathic senses confirmed what she though she was hearing. Someone was definitely having fun. Hey..wait a sec, she thought...I know that mind.

Heratta listened. His superior hearing had picked it up minutes ago, but he was going to try to be polite. "I believe so, Ensign."

A wicked grin crept up across Ral's face. Oohhh.....this was gonna be fuuuuuun.

"Come on. Let's check it out."

As they passed by the doors to junction 28/D, the doors, activated by the presence of the two security officers, obligingly opened.

Well, that was certainly an interesting site.

"Why hello, Ensign Elaiithin....Ensign Scott. How are you two today?" Ral asked.

Both officers simply blushed.

"You know we have to take you to the Brig, right?"

"Don't. Say. Anything. Lexana. Not One Word." Said the Bajoran slowly as he dressed. "You either, Rotan." He said to his new roommate.

Scott, for her part, simply looked amazingly embarrassed.

As Elaiithin and Scott were escorted by Ral and Heratta- Elaiithin couldn't help but think that there were certainly worse things to be arrested for other than public indecency.........

Command Decisions
by: Robert Howald (Commander Robert Strauss)
CO, SEAL Team 23, USS St. Louis

**********

The medical officer from the quarantine unit had stormed on the bridge. While not as quick as the Security men, Strauss had stood up directly behind the captain, allowing his bulk to accent the captain's position. A short-lived embarrassment at being a step behind the normal security guys was quickly put out of his mind. The order had been given to remove the Caduceus medical officer, a quick nod to Harris got him moving towards the woman, but she had already vented and moved off the bridge.

Before Harris could follow her, Strauss spoke up... for the first time he gave an actual order under Thiana. "Mr. Harris, ensure we are not disturbed again. If you need to seal those people in that damned QU, to make sure they stay in line you had better make it happen. My team is available to assist in any way you need them. Understood"?

Harris quickly replied "Aye sir" as he walked out the door, already making arrangements with his security forces to make sure that no other strange people were wandering the ship. Strauss was glad that with a new screw-up on the ship, namely Randal... Harris had seemed to have gotten his act together.

The captain nodded quickly at Strauss and sat down. He took his seat beside her, glancing sideways every couple seconds, to see her busy at work in her seat. Starting to get into the whole ship side duties, he opened a channel on the ship wide system. "Attention all hands, this is the bridge, make any damage reports to OPS". While they had blown out the tractor systems on the Caddy, he couldn't help but think there may have been some damage that was done to some of the systems, while the ship was straining against the beams.

His worst fears were allayed when engineering reported that the engines had not been damaged during the struggle. A couple of minor conduits had overloaded, but nothing that was too serious, or that would interfere with the business that would keep them busy over the next busy while.

He activated a channel to his 2IC. "Chief, ensure our men are available to help security if necessary. The C.O.S. will be in touch if he needs you. If not, have the team stay ready... we may be needed sooner or later".

A quick [Aye sir] was heard in his head, but not by anyone around him. He was glad that during times of trouble everyone was good enough to just give a quick 'Aye Sir' and get the orders carried out, and know that was what other people would do as well. It said volumes about how well trained not only his men were, but everyone on the Louie was... and they had seemed to gel together as a team.

Usually Strauss was a stickler for the rules... but he had learned a lot from this ship, and those who crewed her. Right now he trusted them with his life, and he started coming up with excuses, for when someone got in touch with him and ordered him to stop the chase. He had already made up his mind that he would follow the Captain to the end of his career if necessary to do the right thing. Strauss hoped that his new people could be trusted as well. With the exception of the few Intel people aboard, Strauss knew no one would get in the way of getting things done.

A silent message was sent from his implant to his 2IC again. He instructed him to keep an eye on the intel folks. This was one of the times he thanked 'Starfleet R and D' for the Mind Transmit feature of the implant communicators. He didn't want to alert the Captain... but once again, he thought it was the right thing to do.

'Do The Right Thing'... Wasn't that something that was drilled into their minds at the Academy? He couldn't remember... the black and white of the rule books had been washed down to a murky collage of greys and dirty whites as he had served over the last... what hundred years? No it couldn't be that long... although it felt that way.

Commander Robert Strauss
CO, SEAL Team 23
Assigned USS St. Louis

Zip ir
By: Ensign Lexana Ral
USS Galaxy

Ral was snickering quietly as she and Heratta walked Scott and Elaiithin back to the brig.. She risked a glance at the Nausicaan who was simply staring straight ahead and rotating his fangs from time to time. Jii glanced behind him, giving Lex a look which read "You're not actually going to arrest me are you?"

The light tap of her phaser on his shoulder assured him she was. "Move along Ensign" she said quietly..

She noticed Ms Scott was biting her lip. It was probably the first time the young engineer had ever been to the brig and Lex felt she was slightly afraid. She felt sorry for her.. but not that much..

The two arrestees were marched into the brig, Ensign Heratta activated the forcefield whilst Lex relieved Ensign Salt, who went off on her duty beat with Ensign Rios.. Astrid looked rather confused.. but Lex promised to tell her friend all later and rushed her off.. Sitting down at the main console.. Lex allowed herself to laugh. She hadn't laughed that much for months. It wasn't just a stifled giggle, it was a deep, genuinely amused laugh. In fact she hadn't laughed that much since.. she stopped suddenly. she hadn't laughed that much since James had left. She felt guilty all of a sudden, she shouldn't be happy without him there.. or laughing. He could be dead.. or tortured.. and there was no way she would ever know. she stared at the desk, lost in thought... untill Heratta informed her the prisoner's had been detained.. She broke herself out of it.. and looked up

"Thank you Ensign" She said.. "I'll handle things from here" She stood up slowly.. she'd been having fun untill now.. She didn't know quite what to do.. She should technically arrest Jii.. but he was her friend.. However.. Lewd and licentious behavior was an offense.. Especially when one was on duty..

She tapped her chin.. "What to do.. What to do?" she muttered

"Lex!" Jii hit the forcefield "Come on.."

"Sorry.. You're under arrest.."

"But..."

"You have the right to remain silent.. and in your case I strongly recommend it.. "

"Oh Come ON..."

"Can it Ensign" She tapped her commbadge and reported in to Lt. Albrecht who was on Bridge Duty.. "Sir.. " She said "I'm afraid Ensign Elaiithin won't be back on bridge duty.. Suggest you find a replacement for his shift.. He's currently detained in the brig.. I will file a report.. "

LTjg Trevor Allen
USS Caduceus
Parmedic Flight team.

LTjg Allen had decided to make another attempt to stop the St Louis and headed for the door. When opening it he noticed 6 well armed security guards standing in front of it. Quickly closing the door Allen shakes his head and moves over to a Communications station.

-/\- USS Caduceus Quarentine to USS Caduceus. Our attemps to stop the St louis have failed the Quarentine unit has been comprimised and me Dr. Jergenson and 3 other staff members have know been exposed to the virus for several hours. It appears the captain has brocken quarentine orders and our destination is unknown.

The Captain and crew on the bridge seam to be in full control of there facuities and have taken up armed position throught the ship. We have an armed contingeiant of six security guards outside the QU.

I am Recomending that this ship be intersepted and boarded. If that is not possible than under starfleet regulation this ship must be destroyed before it can achieve orbit around what ever planet that we are headed to. Captain Manion we await your orders.-/\-

As Allen awaits for a response Allen opens up a channel to the St Louise bridge. "Captain you know you are in violation of the quarentine orders and under Federation regulation I am placing you under arrest along with you FO, Bridge crew and the six guards outside this QU.

"You are to turn this ship back and return to the quarentine locatioin."

Allen Pauses. "Know captain I know you are not going to do that so what is so urgent that you have brocken the Quarenten Fired on MY ship and exposed us to this bug. We are hear to help and we can't do that under these conditions. Lets work togeather I don't have time to walk around this ship and put every one in the brig."

Allen knew he could possible ackomplish that but at the least it might break the tenstion enough that the Captain might tell the research team what was going on.

Allen linked his combadge to the ships system so he didn't have to stand at the coms panel. Allen began making his rounds starting with the CMO who was very much alseep then he found a young ensign starting to go into the convulstion that was the final stage of this plague still no response from the bridge.

Allen left the Coms pannel open so that they would have to listen to the Ensign as Allen did every thing he could to make him comfortable in his last aginizing minuites.

Ensign Micheal Stevens

"Who said that?" he said. The officer just passed him and he then saw another officer in a red collar and they embraced. He knew what that was about. He had seen them around the ship.

"Arch..." The computer recognized the simple command and the exit arch seemed to appear from nowhere.

***Stevens' Quarters***

Micheal had heard some things while gagging on that...whatever it was. That was one good thing about his training. He could do one thing only, or could choose to be very aware of his surrounds. He overheard some of the medical and science officers mentioning the St. Louis. He could hear the details over his constant coughing but he knew something was up.

"Computer, give me an analisis on the beverage in the holodeck. And download any information on the current condition of the St. Louis." A few seconds later the report appeared on his desk terminal and a voice from above him said,"Beverage is compiled of several fruit juices including variaties from Earth, Bajor, and Cardassia". "How ironic." he thought. "A Terran alchoholic beverage called rum is also present."

"Rum?"

"Rum is a..." "Nevermind, computer," Micheal interupted. As he read the report on the St. Louis, Micheal started seeing similarities in some of the symtoms of the St. Louis and ones he'd seen before but wasn't one hundred percent sure. He thought about calling sickbay but didn't want to seem over zealous. He decided to wait and see if was biotechnics controlling this epidimic or not before offering any information. It was almost time for the Delta shift to begin. Maybe they would have a little something interesting for him. He was getting tired of regular maintanace. He had not spent all that time studying the M-class engines for nothing.

Micheal reported for duty and was given regular maintanace, again. He knew every time he picked up an instrument that he honored his father. He felt good about that, yes, but, he felt resticted. While reparing a secondary information conduit he remembered his father coming home one night. He vividly remembered what his father told Micheal's grandmother. He said,"Oh, I don't do much; just keep the damn ship running." Micheal let a smile come on his face. The first since he'd been on board and suddenly, he didn't feel so restricted.

A little later he heard something below him. Something wasn't right in Jefferies tube 29/D. He just decided to let someone else take care of it since it didn't sound all that...um...mechanical.

"A 'Medieval' Party"
by, Lt. (j.g.) Raesene Hermedhie
Tactical Officer, U.S.S. Galaxy

As soon as he caught sight of the surroundings for this party, Raesene was stunned. But he quickly regrouped, quietly slipped out, and made his way to his quarters. There he got in "period costume." Which is to say, he put on the best clothes he had from his homeland. A nice shirt with ruffles and other "niceties." Then he placed his well-crafted long sword, which had been made for just such occasions. It was still quite useful, as it was crafted for paladins of a battle god. Of course, they also made the weapons for those of the noble class... Those who liked to conduct duels of honor.

He had only worn the combination once previously. That time was during the ball of the first Sword and Crown festival held in Seaharrow, Boeruine. The festival in which he had won first prize in the personal combat tournament. Not too surprising, as he had been one of the best in his generation. Probably still was... Well, next to the Black Prince perhaps... Then again no one was even close to his skill level. And at Deismaar, his skill had been ruthlessly evident. For which it was said he had received a great amount of power. And as the old Anuirean adage said, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Suitably dressed, Raesene walked back to the party. En route, he nearly bumped into several revelers heading towards different areas. Some of them were slightly inebriated. He smiled. Seems some things cross all time periods. Finally he arrived a second time at the party. A sizable crowd had gathered to partake in this event sending off a fine officer. Too bad Raesene had never really met him. In the several months he had been aboard, he had rarely bumped into him. About the only time they had been together on a mission had been that impromptu one that Q had sent them on to Sigma Iosha II.

He entered once more into the Holodeck, in its simulated form of a castle, not too unlike those of Anuirean make. All in all, it was quite impressive. Especially in the level of detail. ~I wonder how many people realize how bloody the fights in and around one of these can be...~ He quickly made his way deep into the crowd and took in the whole picture. He had a strange feeling that someday he would be treated to just such a celebration. But he definitely wanted it to happen when he was ready... Being thrust into a different situation just might not do him much good.

He still felt quite tedious about this whole situation. Parties just were not his thing. But he would grit it out. He needed the exposure to such details. For sooner or later he would be higher up in the ranks, and would have to plan such affairs himself. But he was quite miserable. That is up until someone came up to him. And that quite simply was because she was stunning. Lt. (j.g) Dierdren Mhistecai was wearing a sea blue dress of Anuirean make, equivalent to 15th-Century Earth styles, a necklace of pearls around a large water opal shaped like a tear. Quite the compliment for a paladin of the goddess of the sea and mourning. And her beauty... well that was something you had to see to believe.

"So we meet again," she said in Anuirean.

"Yes, milady, so we do," Raesene replied, a little bit shocked.

"Would you care to dance?"

"Of course... Though I cannot say much for my skill."

"It is all right. I can manage." Her eyes glinted in a sort of mischevious manner.

They walked out onto the dancing area, and began to dance in an old Anuirean style. Many of the others stopped to watch, as the pair was quite entrancing. How much more so were the two entranced, looking into each other's eyes. They would continue to dance for quite some time. And when the party broke up, Raesene escorted her back to her quarters where he kissed her hand, then they parted company. Neither would soon forget that night.

"High crimes and Misdemeanors"
Lt. Jg. Jonathan "Lucas" Brandis
USS Galaxy-Operations Officer

Lt. Brandis had just received word. According to a report, filed by Ensign Ral, there had been quite a stir caused by Ensign Jii, a fellow Operations officer. Although, at the moment the Lt. didn't want to acknowledge that fact. He'd been caught in a rather precarious situation and Lucas began to wonder exactly how Ensign Ral would make her case. But, Lucas had to 'fill in' for the Ensign, something he'd make sure that Jii paid for. If anything ticked this Lt. off more it was having to pull a double shift over some measly little stunt.

"Ensign Jii, upon your detainment I want you to report directly to my office. Is that clear?" He commanded in a voice that seemed too big for the body it came from.

=Crystal clear, Sir.= The already embarrassed Ensign replied.

"Good, oh and by the way, you'll be working my shift and yours as soon as you get out. You will retake, along with your fellow accomplice The Ensign's Ethical Code test. Just in case you're wondering, you'll both take it separately, because we sure as hell wouldn't want a repeat 'performance'. And another thing..." Lucas had to be the first, "If you wanna prance around the Galaxy playing Don Juan, I suggest you Do IT off duty." He tapped his badge and wondered if the smirk that ran across his face was sensed on the other end of the comm channel.

Lt. Commander Thomas wouldn't be one to talk in this case. He had actually gone so far as to abandon his post, something Lucas thought was far more of a 'high crime and misdemeanor'. And he'd dated a Cadet, something that would have been okay for an Ensign, but to have a Lt. Commander doing it was insane and seemed to reek of possible 'personal' favors influencing decisions. Making his way up to the Bridge, Lt. Brandis couldn't help but think of how much he disliked his department chief.

The turbo lift opened and he saw that Lt. T'zak was on duty. He'd never served under her, although the thought had crossed his mind. She was one of those officers that Lucas would not mind saluting in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Her uniform seemed to adapt to every curve, every bend, every flex of every inch of the Lieutenant's body.

Lucas had to stop himself from thinking on that train of thought. It would only lead to the same thing the previous ops officer for this shift had done. However, if it was a crime, Lucas would have gladly accepted the punishment. 'Who knows?' Lt. Brandis thought to himself. 'Maybe Operations Officers were just...er...overly affectionate.'

Before running a diagnostic on the Ops panel, Lt. Lucas Brandis had another thought, 'Maybe this won't be such a bad shift after all.' Grinning, he returned to his work.

"Getting your meat where you get your bread"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
Captain - USS Galaxy

*** Captain's Quarters, USS Galaxy ***

The Captain had been relaxing in his quarters after having worked out in the ship's gymnasium. He'd just taken a sonic shower and was enjoying a fresh apple and this weeks Federation News Bulletins when Lieutenant Commander Greer Erikson, the ship's Chief Science Officer, had stopped by. Lee wasn't really sure what the visit was about, but could tell whatever it was, it was troubling Greer.

Moving over to the couch, Captain Price sat down across from 'Commander Erikson. "So, what can I do for you 'mate?"

Greer pulled at the fabric of his trousers and sat down tentatively on the edge of the couch. His posture seemed to be as troubled as he was. "I'm afraid that I've created a situation on board the ship that is both awkward and embarrassing to talk about." 'Commander Erikson started, shifting his eyes away from the floor and looking directly at the General, "But I thought it would help if I talked about it with you sir."

Captain Price nodded back without expression at the Chief Science Officer. His sweat shirt was partially unzipped showing his hairy chest which was also silvery white like his hair. "I'm glad you felt you could share this with me 'mate." Lee finally responded, still not sure what was on Greer's mind.

Summing up his courage, Greer finally began. "Well, it's like this. Ronni and I, that is Lieutenant Commander Morris and myself, we have been... seeing each other on a personal level for the last few months."

Lee was a little surprised to hear this. His duty as Captain usually kept him busy and out of the social circles that often develop on board a starship such as the Galaxy. He did know that Miss Morris and Mister Erikson worked together and got along well. At most he thought they were friends. "I see. Well, there is nothing wrong with that 'mate. What a bloke and his lady do in their off time is of no concern to anyone else on the ship."

"Thank you sir." Greer replied quickly, "But that's not the problem."

Lee's eyebrow rose slightly.

"You see sir, our relationship has recently turned serious. In fact we were engaged to be married for a little while." Erikson explained.

This really surprised the Captain. *Where was I when all of this was happening right under my nose?* Lee thought. "I didn't know that 'mate. Congratulations."

Greer didn't see happy about it. In fact it was obvious that talking about it was making him feel terrible. "Not many people did sir. We kept it to ourselves for the most part... before I broke off the engagement."

"I see." The Captain said in a sagely tone. "So that's what this is all about? Now that you've had a personal relationship with Lieutenant Commander Morris, you find that working with her as a peer is difficult to adjust to." Lee sighed, "That's the problem with getting your meat where you get your bread 'mate."

"Excuse me Captain?!" Erikson asked in a bewildered tone, not understanding the Captain's expression.

"Oh." Lee smiled his warm Australian smile. "Sorry 'mate. It's an old expression I picked up in Sidney. It means it is not wise to seek relationships with the people you 'ave to work with everyday."

"I see." Greer said, still not fully comprehending the odd reference. After a moment of thinking about it, he commented, "That sure seems hard to do on a starship Captain. I mean, that's all we really have a chance to develop any sort of long term relationships with. We are never in port anywhere long enough to get to know anyone other than in passing."

Lee nodded knowingly. "This is true. And having a string of brief meaningless relationships might be one way of passing the time away, but in the end, it's really not all that satisfying except for the moment."

Looking into the Captain's eyes, Greer asked, "I've never noticed you to have a shipboard relationship Captain. Why is that?... If I might ask?"

The question brought a wry grin to the General's face. "That's because I don't want to go through exactly what you are going through right now 'mate. Oh, there was a time, long ago, that Captain Shoak could tell you about were he still alive." Lee explained. His expression grew a little distant as he remembered the Galaxy's first Captain, and his own Vulcan mentor that had just recently died from the deadly Bendii Syndrome. The Captain glanced over and saw that Greer wanted to know more, so he continued. "When I was a Lieutenant I met an attractive young lady on board the Galaxy. She was something to behold. An Operations Officer like myself. I can remember certain details about her even still. Like the way her eyes twinkled when she laughed, or the fragrance of her perfume that she'd always wear even while on duty. Oh, I was mad in love with her all right."

Greer smiled. He'd never really heard the Captain talking about his past like this. It was helping to relax him a little. "What happened to her sir?"

"Well," Lee cleared his voice and pulled himself back into the present, "She got a promotion and was given an assignment on board another starship." The Captain explained staring at his partially eaten apple as if it were a crystal ball or something.

"So... she took the promotion and that was the end?" Greer asked.

"Were it that simple." Lee replied somewhat sarcastically. "No, she told me she would turn down the promotion and remain on board the Galaxy if I would ask her to stay."

The revelation struck a cord with the Lieutenant Commander. "She wanted a commitment then?"

"The biggest 'mate. It was one that I wasn't ready to make at the time. My career path was all laid out ahead of me. I knew what I wanted and where I wanted to go. And marriage was not on the agenda." The Captain explained, finally taking a bite of his apple.

"Well, I guess you do know what I'm going through then sir." Greer admitted, but then added, "The only difference is, Ronni is not going to be leaving the Galaxy, and neither am I,"

With a half smile, Lee slapped his knee. "That's bonzer news 'mate. I wouldn't want to loose either one of you. You are both valuable officers."

"What I meant sir, is... it is going to be extremely awkward working with each other and living on the same ship."

"Yes, I imagine it will be. The Galaxy is like a very small town. Everyone knows everyone else. And people talk. When something like this happens, it's hard to keep word from getting out." Lee agreed. Then he asked, "How is Miss Morris taking this break up?"

"I'm not sure to be honest Captain." Greer admitted, "After I spoke to her about breaking our engagement she ran off. I haven't really seen her since. She was upset about it."

"Can I ask, did it come as a surprise, or were you two having problems 'mate?"

"Well, I'd say yes, we were having problems, but Ronni would likely say no we weren't and it was a complete surprise. I..." Greer paused, "I just know that marrying Ronni doesn't feel right for me. It... augh! It's hard to put into words sir."

"Don't try 'mate. Telling my girl I thought she should take the promotion was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I kept asking myself if I did the right thing for months after that. It hurts. But I think, when the right lady comes along, you know it deep in here." Lee explained, touching his heart. "You'll be one hundred percent sure about it. No doubts. No reservations."

"But what if I'm wrong sir? What if Ronni really is my soul mate and I really am just having cold feet about it?"

"Do you love her 'mate?" Lee asked evenly.

"I..." Greer opened his mouth and nothing more came out.

Lee raised an eyebrow in a fashion that made him look more like a Vulcan than a human.

"No sir. I don't." he said sadly.

"Than you did the right thing. Miss Morris deserves someone who loves her. Beating yourself up about the fact that person in not you is self defeating. Trust me, it can drive you bonkers 'mate.

"That doesn't make things any easier though. Does it sir?" Greer observed.

"I'm afraid not 'mate. When it comes to love lost, things are seldom easy. That's been my experience anyway." Captain Price admitted.

Erikson was about to speak when a hail came in for Captain Price.

["Captain, Commander Casey here sir."]

Lee glanced at Erikson. The Chief Scientist blinked his eyes understandingly, allowing the Captain to reply to the open channel. "Price here Commander. What is it 'mate?"

["Sir, I have an incoming message from Starfleet Command. Admiral Miravanelli wishes to speak to you. Captain's channel sir."] Deiran explained.

"Understood Commander. I'll take it in my quarters. Have it piped down here 'mate. How's Beta shift treating you Commander?" the Captain asked.

["All is quiet sir. Lieutenant Commander Sunder informs me that the tracking device has been installed on board the Latinum Prince. They are transporting the last of the engineering equipment now sir. Which is good because DaiMon Toog and his crew are getting restless in the brig."]

"Fair dinkum Commander. Once Sunder gives the all clear signal, have the Ferengi released and... apologize for the extended delay at inspecting their vessel. Price out."

The channel closed as Captain Price glanced at Lieutenant Commander Erikson. "Sorry about that 'mate."

"That's okay Captain. I know you are a busy man." Erikson said while rising to his feet, "I will let you get to your hail with the Admiral sir."

"I hope I was of some help 'mate." Lee offered as Greer started moving to the exit.

"I think you were sir. Not much has really changed, but it was good just to use you for a sounding board. Thank you Captain." Greer smiled weakly.

"My door is always open 'mate. G'day."

Lieutenant Commander Erikson gave a nod and exited the Captain's quarters.

Turning on his heal, Captain Priced made his way to his desk and activated the view screen on his desktop monitor. The Starfleet logo appeared and quickly faded to the image of Admiral Miravanelli.

"G'day Admiral." Lee greeted, wiping the bits of apple from his mouth and setting the core down on his desk.

["Good afternoon Captain Price."] Miravanelli replied in a curt tone. ["A situation has arisen that requires the USS Galaxy's immediate attention."]

"We are at your disposal Admiral." Lee nodded.

["A few days ago, the USS St.Louis made first contact with an alien race while responding to a distress signal from their failing vessel."] Admiral Miravanelli began, ["They call themselves the Ocero, a very peaceful, majestic people from all reports."]

"I see Admiral." Lee commented while following along.

["Shortly after the two hundred Ocero refugees were beamed onto the St.Louis, it was discovered that many of them were infected with some sort of virus that the transporter biofilters failed to detect. Several Ocero have already died, along with some Starfleet Officers from the St.Louis. It appears that everyone on board the starship has somehow been exposed to this virus even though every known precaution has been taken since the initial outbreak was detected."]

"Crikey, that sounds like bad news Admiral. Has a medical Starship been dispatched?" Lee asked.

["As soon as we were made aware of the situation, the USS Caduceus, our finest medical response vessel, was sent to investigate. The St.Louis has been under guarded quarantine since the Caduceus arrived two days ago."] Miravanelli explained.

"I see. Then what exactly do you need the Galaxy to do Admiral? It sounds like things are all well in hand." Captain Price inquired.

["I just got a message from Captain Manion of the USS Caduceus. A short time ago, Captain Thiana of the USS St.Louis ordered her ship to head for the Kenda system. Captain Manion tried to stop the St.Louis from leaving by securing the Intrepid class starship with three tractor beams. The St.Louis in turn attacked the Caduceus, disabling her weapons and tractor emitters and proceeded to break quarantine at high warp. They are presently heading for the Kenda system now."] the Admiral explained.

Captain Price was surprised to hear of this. A Federation Starship firing on another is unheard of. Something very wrong must be happening with this disease to cause Captain Thiana to feel she needed to fight her way out of quarantine. "Why the Kenda system Admiral? Have you any idea what is causing the St.Louis to go there?"

["Tests on the Ocero refugees and the virus they carry have shown that a certain native plant there may hold the key to curing this deadly virus. Preparations were being made to study the possibility scientifically, however, the condition of the Ocero refugees on board the St.Louis was worsening as their time runs out. I am speculating that Captain Thiana decided to take matters into her own hands."] Admiral Miravanelli explained. Then, after a long pause, she continued, ["Captain, Kenda II is a heavily populated world in the heart of the Alpha Quadrant. There is a large space port on that world that services all trade in that sector of space and they are not a member of the Federation. If the St.Louis gets to that planet and manages to infect the populous there, all life in the Alpha quadrant could be wiped out in a matter of weeks."]

"This infection they carry is that serious Admiral?" Lee asked.

["It is. Most who contract the disease die from the third stage within a matter of days. Our biofilters are useless at detecting it and so far, the way it is transmitted from person to person has not been discovered. Our lack of ability to discover the cause of the virus, or even detect who is carrying it and who isn't, plus the rapid progression from stage one to stage three where the person's internal organs literally explode from within, make this the most serious threat to face the Federation since the Borg."] Miravanelli explained with dead seriousness. ["The USS St.Louis must not be allowed to reach Kenda II Captain. Your mission is to intercept Captain Thiana's ship and use whatever means are necessary to see that they aren't allowed to proceed to the planet. There is too much at stake for everyone in the Quadrant to allow this disease to spread any further."]

Captain Price was not pleased about the assignment. For months now the Federation had been at war with the Dominion. The Galaxy had seen her share of battles, and registered her score of kills against the Dominion. But this was different. Here, the crew of the Galaxy was being asked to confront one of their own. Both Captain Price and Admiral Miravanelli knew that it was unlikely the St.Louis and Captain Thiana were going to be talked out of traveling to Kenda II. They had already attached the Caduceus to get away. When facing a court marshal for attacking a Federation Starship, what difference would one more make? Essentially, the Galaxy was being ordered to destroy the St.Louis, and both Captain Price and the Admiral knew it.

"Are you certain about this Admiral? Captain Thiana may have a very good reason for breaking quarantine and heading for the Kenda system that we are not aware of. What if this cure you speak of actually works at stopping the disease? Shouldn't we at least give the Captain the benefit of..."

["You have your orders Price."] Miravanelli spit out in her usual bitch-like fashion, ["You will carry them out or I will see to it you are relieved of your command. Do I make myself clear Captain?! That last stunt you pulled taking the Galaxy into the Klingon Empire without authorization from Starfleet Command didn't earn you any favors back at HQ. Screw this up and I guarantee the Federation Council will be calling for your head. The entire safety of the alpha quadrant rests on your vessel's actions Price. Stop them or else."] the Admiral hissed.

Lee's eyes narrowed at the tongue lashing he'd received, not wholly undeserved. He had taken the Galaxy into the Klingon Empire without Starfleet's knowledge to help his friend. But Captain Price detected something beyond the Admiral's usual bitchy demeanor. She was genuinely scared. Frightened of the Ocero virus and what it could do to the alpha quadrant.

"I understand Admiral." Lee replied flatly. He didn't approve nor like the orders, but knew he wasn't in a position to disobey an order from his superior officer. "What of the USS Caduceus ma'am?"

["Captain Manion has repair teams working on their damaged systems now. They are presently pursuing the St.Louis at reduced warp speeds. The medical Quarantine Unit is straddled to the back of the Intrepid, which is slowing down both starships to a maximum of warp 6. If you leave immediately you should be able to cut them off before they reach Kenda II."]

Lee nodded. "Fair dinkum Admiral. I'll make preparations to intercept at once. I do have one small request if I may ask?"

["Go ahead Captain."] Miravanelli agreed.

"Can I have all information regarding the crews of the USS

St.Louis, of the USS Caduceus, and of this Ocero virus transmitted to the Galaxy? I'd like my people to review it before we confront them near the Kenda system in a few hours." Captain Price explained.

The Admiral nodded, ["I will have the requested information uploaded to your vessel Captain. It is always advantageous to know your enemy before going into battle."] Miravanelli said coldly.

"Exactly." Lee replied, thinking *you bitch!*, but knowing better than saying such a thing. It was moments like this that Captain Price was glad there weren't many Betazoid Admirals in Starfleet.

["You have your orders. Keep me informed. Admiral Miravanelli out."] she said before deactivating the channel.

Lee slouched back in his leather chair and sighed. This was not an assignment he relished at all.

"Computer, hail Commander Casey on the Bridge." Lee called out.

Two acknowledgment beeps later, Deiran's voice responded, ["Casey here sir."]

"Tell Lieutenant Commander Sterner he's out of time. Prepare to have DaiMon Toog and the remaining Ferengi transported to their ship and then prepare to get the Galaxy under way." Lee ordered in a no nonsense fashion.

["Aye Captain. Where will we be heading Captain?"] the First Officer asked.

"Set a course for the Kenda system. Maximum warp." The General replied to the XO's question.

["Kenda sir? What's happening there if I might ask?"] Deiran inquired knowing that system wasn't a part of the Federation and located in the interior population belt of the Alpha quadrant, normally a very safe place compared to out here on the frontier.

"I'll brief you in a few minutes 'mate. Let me get dressed and I'll meet you in my Ready Room. In the mean time, carry out my orders and get us underway as soon as possible. Every second counts 'mate."

["ASAP. Yes sir. Casey out."] Deiran replied before closing the channel.

Glancing at the remains to the apple core he'd been eating earlier, Lee reached for it and picked it up off of his desk. Rotating it in his hands while his mind was light years away, he finally tossed it across the room where struck against the opposite wall, exploding into a million shattered pieces. With a frustrated release of breath, Lee got up and began putting on his Starfleet uniform before heading for the Bridge.

***** Another One? *****
By Dr. Felicia Khatroweena, Lieutenant (Acting Chief Medical Officer), USS Galaxy NCC-70637
w/ Dr. Khan Nilani, Lieutenant Commander (Chief Medical Officer - On Leave)

***** Sickbay *****

Cat looked at the message on her terminal. Karyn Dallas, Chief Counsellor wanted a current medical on Nilani. Her strange moods, lack of lustre, and a continual depressed attitude certainly were points of concern for all. Cat quickly considered the request. 'We should've done this before! I must be getting a hole in my head.' Cat chastised herself. Her strange moods could have a medical reason. 'Doctor's make the worst patients. Sometimes they also are the worst in looking after themselves. Case in point.' Cat smiled to herself. What was the date of her last medical?

She looked around and called over Karina, one of Sickbay's nurses. "I'll be out of Office for a while. I should be back in ten minutes."

Karina nodded, "Sure. I'll try and make sure that it's still here when you get back."

***** Nilani's Quarters *****

Cat left Sickbay and moved through the corridors to Nilani's quarters. She pressed the doorbell and waited.

A few minutes later she pressed it again and finally she heard a quiet voice call for Cat to come in.

Nilani was kneeling next to the Bajoran shrine that she had in her room. Cat walked in and was shocked to see her. She looked liked she hadn't got any sleep. The bags under her eyes could have been used as AWOL bags. Clothing was on the floor, the room in disarray. A room that was far different than it was the other times Cat had visited Nilani in her quarters.

"Yes Cat?" Cat could see something was missing in her. The larger than life, aggressive Khan Nilani had turned into a quiet, almost tiny shell of the former.

"You alright Nilani?" Cat asked concernedly.

"No Cat. I'm not all right. Do you think I look all right?" The fire was in the words, but not in the voice. Nilani turned back to the shrine and closed her eyes. Cat heard a few words mumbled to the Prophets and watched as Nilani stood. "I'm sorry Cat. I shouldn't make you the target of my anger. The Prophets taught us better than that. What was it you wanted?"

"Karyn wanted a complete medical report on you. I was also wondering when you might come back to Sickbay. You haven't been around for a couple of days." Cat stood uncomfortable. She didn't know what to do with her friend like this.

Nilani gave a quick forced smile and shrugged, "Soon. When would you like me to come for the checkup."

It was Cat's turn to shrug, "As soon as possible, Karyn wants it soon. Before end of Gamma tomorrow?"

Nilani gave a despondent nod, "I'll think about it."

"Well then, I'll see you tomorrow." Cat headed out.

***** Sickbay *****

Cat was surprised to see Nilani enter Sickbay that same day. She walked directly to Cat's office. "I am here for that medical."

Cat took Nilani to one of the private wards for the examination. She had Nilani climb onto the central bio bed. Moving over to the main display, she activated the scans. Very quickly displays appeared, the moving graphs and jumping lines showed Cat the status of Nilani. Cat was busy setting up the process of uploading the scans so they could be put in her report.

Nilani watched the scans from the central bed. She looked closely at part of the display. She frowned as it didn't quite make sense, 'That can't be right.' "Cat, look at the endocrinology scans."

Cat looked up from the panel at the scans. She raised an eyebrow and ordered the computer to run some more sensitive and dedicated scans. She smiled as she interpreted the jumble of data into some happy information. "Um...... Nilani - You're pregnant." Suddenly, it came to Cat, Nilani hadn't had any relationship with anyone. How could she be pregnant? "Who is the father?" asked a totally mystified Cat.

"Why do you want to know?" Nilani responded quite harshly

"I... It's just... Well, you weren't with anybody. I mean you asked me about Ensign Jii. I didn't think, I never knew you were with anybody. It's just... well. I never thought of you having a virgin birth." Cat shrugs, "It's wonderful news, don't you think. I just wanted to know who was the father. He should know." Cat finished

Nilani looked for a second and started laughing. "Cat.... I have been seeing someone since the Breen were on the ship, we have just been keeping it secret. After all it would have been a conflict of Interest, but since he has left the ship I'll tell you. But I'll keep you to your oath that this goes no further than this room!" Nilani continued to chuckle.

Cat nodded

Nilani focused "The father is Captain Joerg Sterner!" Cat just stood there stunned for a couple of min.

Cats mouth opened and closed a few times, sometimes words would stick in her throat. It certainly wasn't something she expected.

"What's the matter Cat got your tounge!" Nilani Said quickly

Cat looked at Nilani, her eyes glaring at Nilani, "Oh Ha ha. Does Joerg know? Of course not. You just found out. Your going to have to tell him. I think he would be overjoyed."

Nilani looked and nodded "He will know shortly, but not until I am ready to tell him. After all we never wanted a child, not yet anyway..... Cat would you be my doctor for the duration of my pregnancy?"

Cat nodded, "Sure, doctors are the worst patients. What are you going to tell everybody else? It's going to be obvious in a month or so."

Nilani looked up and sat up on the bed. "It's dosn't matter what people think and it's none of there concern. I'll tell the people I trust and by the reading I'll start sneezing soon, so it'll be obvious before I show!"

"Looks like I get to be CMO for a bit longer." Cat grimaced, "Oh boy. Looks like Dr Grinch is going to get a real work out. I'll have a second one to be activated."

Nilani looked over at the time and smiled. "Well I need to see the Counselor so i'll see you later." Nilani got off the bed and walked out of the sickbay.

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

"The Dream"
by Dr Kyla Sorin, Ltjg
USS StLouis

Kyla wasn't sure exactly what was going on lately, nor did she care. She heard people come in and out of sickbay, talking of things she didn't really care about, but she probably should have. She was too busy working on their virus problem... Studying the components of the berries and plants that she had been informed may be a possible cure... and still looking for new solutions.

Looking over at the young Ocero man, she was greatful he was still stabal, but mystified since this is the longest anyone who has contracted the disease has stayed so stable.

"Now lets see..." she muttered to herself, going over everything again for the million-and-first time. She had all her work layed out on the bio bed next to the one which held the Ocero man. Not getting past her third word however, she fell asleep ontop of her work, exhausted from days without sleep trying to figure this out.

-- Some time later ---

Waking up and looking around her, Sickbay was completely empty. She asked the computer for the time, and found out that she had slept for 4 hours... 4 hours of waisted time she could have been working on this.

To her shock at turning around, she nticed that the young Ocero man was gone.

"Hello?" she called out, looking for anyone, "Is anyone here?"

"You came..." came a voice from behind her. Turning to look, she gasped at the sight of the Ocero man standing before her, looking perfectly healthy, and very awake.

"What do you mean?" she stumbled over her words.

"You came..." he repeated, "Welcome to the living hell that will steal your soul, and send you to an early grave."

Now frightened out of her mind, she ran out into the corridor, only to run into the man again. He smiled at her, almost knowingly, "Theres no escape, and it will get you. It will get all of you..."

"The v-virus," Kyla stuttered and moved carefully around him, "You mean the virus, theres no escape. Theres no cure? But there must be... am I dreaming?"

"There is escape, but there is no escape," he shook his head, almost in a peaceful manner this time, trying to shake himself out of a daze, "A cure... yes. You must find it! Escape does exist... drive it out! You can drive it out! You all can."

And then...

Kyla woke up with a start. She lifted her head from the bio bed, and looked around. Jumping up, she swung around to see the Ocero man lying on the bio bed, where she had left him. Checking the time, finding out she had been asleep for a total of 10 minutes. It had truly been a dream... or had it been?

She stood over and talked out loud to the man, almost in an angry voice, "You know theres a cure, and we'll find it! I promise..." She quickly made a memo to Mikey, thinking that all this would interest him, and then went back to work. Sleeping was the lst thing on her mind anymore...

----

- Crissy

10-62(Suspicious activity)
By Ens. Tim O'Connell

==USS Galaxy Corridor 25==

Tim O'Connell walked his post looking over at his partner a Vulcan male named Soran. The two officers were walking a normal shift when they saw a shadowy figure exit a property storage area.

Both officers drew their phasers and apprached the figure. Soran ordered the figure to stop. O'connell put the cloaked figure against the wall and began a search of the person. He pulls the hood off exposing Thomas R. Hurlehy son of Dave Hurlehy a transporter chief on alpha shift. "what the hell are you doing stealing a tricorder."

Tom babbled with fear explaining soemthing about a club and needing this as an admisssion ticket. O'Connell looked grim and replied, "it's irrelevant you will now go to the brig to wait for your father.

Soran said, "Tim, it is the logical thing to press criminal charges and bring them up before the captain." O'COnnell turned and faed the Vulcan, "this is not the place for this discussion." Soran nodded and they took their intrepid prisoner to the security office.

==Deck 38 Security office==

Entering the office with their prisoner Tim placed him in the cell. Soran walked over and removed a padd to begin the paperwork.

Tim walked over and looked up where the young man';s father was working. He looked up and saw the vulcan beginnign the process of filing charges.

"Soran, let's cut this kid a break and just turn him over to his father. " THe Vulcan looked up and replied, "he stole Federation property logically charges must be filed."

Tim looked at the Vulcan and replied, "look his father will make his life miserable for a few days, the most capt Price will do is give him some extra duty. Besides; TIm smiled; do you want to do the damned paperwork ." Soran replied,"It is our duty."

O'Connell threw up his hands, "I give up if you want to ruin this kids life go ahead." His partner looked up raising an eyebrow, "explain your statement."

"Look this kid wants to go to Starfleet academy and be an officer, Do you think that having him arrested is going to help his chances of being accepted." The vulcan looked thoughtful, O'Connell continued "so, for this one let it slide but if he gets busted again, we charge him deal?"

Soran placed the padd down and contacted Chief Hurlehy to report to security. O'Connell smiled and said, "thanks Soran I owe you one." He walked over to the force field and told the kid, "we called your father"

The young man had a look of compleate fear in his eyes. O;COnnell shrugged and the officers waited for Chief Hurlehy to report to the security office

"OLD SCHOOL CHUMS"
by Ensign Mohammed Uhura,
Science Department, Lab Supervisor, Beta Shift USS Galaxy

Mohammed entered the party and was struck by the medieval attire most of the partygoers were wearing. He smiled as one of the partygoers accidental bumped into him. He smiled and moved on. There were several people he'd seen around, some he knew by name, others by face, but still some he didn't know at all. Before he knew it he was handed a drink, which he drank. He made a face. Romulan brandy. Not only was someone risking a reprimand for bringing such an illegal beverage onboard, but it wasn't the best he'd ever tasted.

Mohammed looked around, searching for his academy mate and now ship mate, Chris Reynolds. He sipped the brandy again. Cheap Romulan brandy was better than no Romulan brandy. He moved around the room smiling and greeting members of the party. He had a good feeling about being on the Galaxy. This would be a wonderful experience.

"Hey Mohammed!"

Mohammed turned to see the handsome, smiling face of Chris Reynolds making his way towards him. Mohammed flashed a wide broad smile and waved. The two men embraced and smiled. They stepped back and looked at each other. Chris looked good. He still had that devilish Chris Reynolds charming smile, the one that melted the ladies hearts. He was casually dressed and looked very comfortable. Mohammed wondered if Chris had sample any of the Romulan beverage.

"Mohammed Uhura," Chris said with a broad beaming smile. "You look great." Chris stared at Mohammed's head and he knew what his friend was thinking.

"Yeah, I shaved off the dreads." Mohammed said.

Chris smiled, "I like it. It gives you that Shaka Zulu look."

Mohammed smiled. He was surprised Chris remembered their discussions on ancient African history nor the fact that he had admired the great warrior king Shaka Zulu. Mohammed wore one of the ancient African print shirts and pants that he'd had replicated.

"What are you drinking?" Chris asked.

Mohammed leaned close and lowered his voice. "Don't tell, but someone slipped me some Romulan brandy. I'd hate to see someone get in trouble."

Chris smiled, "Don't worry. I'm off duty. Besides Romulan brandy can liven up any party."

Mohammed looked around and nodded. "Yeah, but I don't think this party needs any help."

"I know. So what have you been doing? How's science treating you?"

Mohammed beamed and stuck out his chest. "It's great. you are looking at the Lab Supervisor on Beta shift."

"Lab Supervisor!" Chris said, "Congratulations. This calls for a drink. You want another Romulan brandy?"

Mohammed nodded, "So how's the Galaxy's newest member of security?"

Chris managed to snag another glass of Romulan brandy for Mohammed and a tankard of Klingonese Grog. He raised his glass in salutation and muttered an old Klingon toast. Mohammed replied in Klingonese and they drank.

"Damn," Chris coughed. "There's nothing worse than replicated Klingon grog."

Mohammed laughed, "Yes there is. replicated Romulan brandy."

They both laughed.

"So how's security?" Mohammed asked.

"It's great. I'm on Gamma shift. It's better than I expected." Chris said, sipping his Grog. "Hey, do you ever think about the Red Contact simulation?"

"The one at the academy? Some times. Why?"

"I was just thinking. When you made me your second officer instead of Cohen..why?"

Mohammed smiled, "Because I knew you could do the job. If I had my choice you would have been my executive officer."

Chris smiled. "Thanks. If it means anything. You were a good Captain." Chris smiled again. "I wish we could do it again?"

Mohammed lowered his voice. "Don't tell anyone but I was able to acquire the Red Contact simulation program."

"What!"

"Shhh! Not so loud."

"But how?"

"Never underestimate a scientist. I also have a few old west programs."

Chris laughed, "You like the wild west? 'Six Gun' Mohammed Uhura. The quickest draw in the west."

Mohammed raised his left hand very slowly and held it out straight. Chris smiled and effected an old Texas drawl. "Thar she be. Steady as a rock."

Then Mohammed's right hand came up shaking and quivering. "Yeah, but I shoot with this one."

They broke into peels of laughter. Then Chris raised his Grog once more and Mohammed did the same.

"Here's to Class 8. Destined to make history." Chris said.

"And here's to Reynolds and Uhura. Ensigns today...Captains tomorrow" Mohammed added.

Then the two old school chums drank.

"Orders"
by Captain Manion
with Lieutenant Vetra

It was several minutes since the Captain left the bridge when Lieutenant Vetra reigned in his temper. Even so it seethed beneith his forced calm screaming to get free. Looking down at his display he read the latest damage reports, the damage to the Cadueceus was minimal and the damage to the tractor beams were more the result of the strain put on them than the phaser blasts. It was obvious that the St. Louis' Tactical officer was a very good shot. It was also obvious that Captain Thiana wanted not to spill blood over this, only her crew's saftey. And as a security officer he could not begrudge her that.

Deactivating the Caduceus' weapons, he called Chaikin from his post near the turbolift to man tactical while he went to the Captain's ready room an pressed the chime.

"Not now. Come back in five minutes." Replied the Captain's voice via the annunciator on the door.

It was a full five minutes before the Captain's voice called over the comm unit. "Lieutenant Commander Kozlov and Lieutenant Vetra, please report to my ready room."

Korvin walked across the bridge from his station and did as asked and approached to a meter from the Captain's desk then stood at ease.

"Captain, I want to appologize for my suggestion, it only agrivated the situation, and I should have anticipated your dissaproval of such tactics. So I humbly ask that you present me with some orders, so I may undo some of the damage I have caused."

Kozlov entered right behind Vetra, and stood silently through the Andorian's request.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I understand. Now, if you would both be seated, I have just finished my conversation with Admiral Miravanelli. I informed her that the USS St. Louis has fired on my ship and jumped quarrantine, taking the QU and members of my crew with it. If all reports are correct, those crew members have now been exposed to the lethal virus aboard the St. Louis, which, very much to my dismay indicates that they are willing to risk others in their search for a cure. It was our job to find a cure. It was our responsibility to assist the St. Louis crew."

The Captain sighed, then rose and looked out the viewport behind her desk. Turning to look at the two men sitting there, she continued. "I have been informed that if possible we are to follow the St. Louis. If we have a life contact with our crew on the QU, they are to be ordered to segregate themselves from contacts with anyone aboard the St. Louis other than the patients who they are treating, or new patients who come to them. We may or may not be able to catch up to the St. Louis, depending upon the speed they can actually attain, and whether we can actually pursue, with the QU missing from the aft of this ship's saucer." She grimaced.

"The captain of that ship will face court-martial, of that I'm certain. Admiral Miravanelli will be contacting her opposite number in Starfleet Command. We are ordered to track the ship, pursuing at a distance to prevent further attacks on this ship and my crew. We are to continue with the research, such as we can, and Starfleet will be sending another vessel to assist us in enforcing the quarrantine. I believe that there is a ship which Miravanelli was aware of, in a nearby sector of space. They will intercept the St. Louis."

Captain Manion did not look very happy about all of this. She had been called away to assist a vessel, had dedicated time, resources and personnel to assisting the people aboard that vessel, and rather than allow her ship and crew to do their parts, they'd been fired upon and left to pick up the pieces. Her oath as a doctor required that she render aid where ever and whenever needed, but her sentiments as an experienced captain tell her that the choices that the captain of the St. Louis had made were skewed by the distress she was feeling over the condition aboard her ship. It wasn't an easy thing, having a virulent sickness on a starship, and it was less than ideal to try to operate under those conditions with only your own crew, much less with 700 alien refugees aboard to worry about.

"Commander Kozlov, I want a high warp shuttle to make best speed to that planet they're heading for. It will need to have a medical officer, and a qualified pilot. I was going to send Allen and Jergensen, but plans now have to change. Options?"

She looked at the two men sitting there. One was half Capellan, and a doctor in his own right. The other was an Andorian, and probably the best Security/Tactical officer in Starfleet. How she had managed to get them aboard her ship she would never know. Now, all their resources would be necessary to salvage this situation before the St. Louis needed to be stopped by force. The cure needed to be found, before the St. Louis could reach the planet. It was populated, and Manion could not allow those people to be exposed as her crew had been.

Captain Mercedes Manion
USS Caduceus NCC-9462
An Allied Electronic Simulations Affiliated Sim
capt.manion@Caduceus.zzn.com

"Options"
Lt. Korvin Vetra
Cheif of Sec/Tac
USS Caduceus

"Commander Kozlov, I want a high warp shuttle to make best speed to that planet they're heading for. It will need to have a medical officer, and a qualified pilot. I was going to send Allen and Jergensen, but plans now have to change. Options?"

She looked at the two men sitting there. One was half Capellan, and a doctor in his own right. The other was an Andorian, and probably the best Security/Tactical officer in Starfleet. How she had managed to get them aboard her ship she would never know. Now, all their resources would be necessary to salvage this situation before the St. Louis needed to be stopped by force. The cure needed to be found, before the St. Louis could reach the planet. It was populated, and Manion could not allow those people to be exposed as her crew had been.

It was Korvin who spoke first. "Sir, I have a class two quallification in shuttle piloting, or did when I left the academy. And Lt. Cmdr. Koslov here is a Doctor, perhaps send Doctor Lou or Lieutenant Deplainer as well and we could do it,"Korvin said with some reluctance at leaving the Caducues cripled. "That is if you can spare us."

Lt Jg Zahara Kai
Ensign Vince Randal
-------------------------------------
Visitation Rights....

Zahara stretched within the confines of her suit. Even with the cooling unit, she was beginning to fatigue. She cast a gaze over the motionless, holographic body before her. A quarantine field had been suspended about it and she had personally infected the it, via injection. Waiting was the longest portion of this experiment, but time would reveal many answers. Within 48 hrs, she would have a great deal to report to Tyler. Hopefully, his solution would work faster than the contagion. She tapped several lights on her console, instructing the computer to log a full blood count and organism evolution every sixty seconds. She also set the controls to test for antigen in the saliva and surround air at the same interval. At least they would have a clue on the vector and contagious stage of the pathogen. Right now it was the only weapon that they truly possessed.

A sharp jolt brought the scientist to her knees. She cursed under her breath, scrambling to ensure that project integrity had not been compromised. Satisfied, she came to her feet. Kai made a half hearted joke to herself, a watched fever, never hemorrhages. She needed to speak with Whitesong; she needed to find out what the status of Tyler's cure was and she needed to know how many more disturbances the ship would succumb to. She wiped at her face plate, trying desperately to feel the motion upon her forehead. She needed a break.

Once in the hall, Zahara flagged down a passing security detail. He quickly gave her a run down on the past few hours. Things looked pretty grim for the St. Louis and the Captain, though she could hardly blame her. That is the choice she would have made. Space was a lonely place to watch your universe die. Although, she had placed many a quarantine in her last lifetime, she couldn't help feeling like a lab rat. "Speaking of caged animals..." She brought herself from thought and headed for Vince's quarters. She stood outside his door for several seconds before activating the chime.

Vince had just gotten Nix calmed after the ship urched funny and Vince was frantic. What was happening up there? Were they getting shot at? He was frustrated more in this situation than any he had ever experienced. Then the door chimes went off. He looked at the door a moment and frowned. Rising from the floor he leaned on the door jam and opened the door."What?" He asked the person standing on the other side. He regretted the tone at once.

Zahara's eyes softened considerably, the bags even seemed to fade. "How are you doing?" Her concern for him was paramount.

He smiled back and Nix poked his head around the side and smiled his quiet shy little smile as well. "Hey baby what's goin' on?" Vince said with his most winning smile,"Me and Nix here were just holding down the fort. You know doing guy stuff."

"Vince let me watch Winnie the Pooh and I saw a Tigger." And Nix commenced the bouncy bouncy song all over again.

Vince put his hand over his face, "If I hear that song one more time I'm going to shoot someone. Speaking of shootin'," He said leaning closer to the door, "What the hell was with all the bangity boom a little bit ago?"

Her face became stern, "It's bad, Vince." She dipped her head. "We've broken quarantine and fired on the Cadusues." She lifted her chin to gaze into his eyes. "Starfleet will respond." Her face looked grim and she added, "With extreme prejudice."

"Well Goddamn!"Vince whistled through his teeth,"And I'm stuck in here." He slammed his fist against the quarentine field."Hey Z tell Dr Kittylitter she's gotta get me outta here. These security people are gonna need my finesse or we'll be in trouble!"(The Captain's got guts. Strauss has to be happy)

She looked over her shoulder. "I don't think that's going to happen, lover." She winced as she spoke. "I feel a lot better, knowing that you and the little one are safe."

Vince frowned,"Hey that should be the other way around you nut." He looked at her stomach and his frown deepened. "Why don't you trade me spots? The kids fine. See.."And he motioned with his hand to Nix who was now jumping up and down on Vince's bed playfully yelling,"Bouncy bouncy, bouncy." "He's fine. How's ..you know.."And he pointed to her midsection and smiled.

"I'm fine." She smiled. "Nothing is gonna get through this suit." She tried to reassure him. "I don't think that there is much you could do to resolve the situation right now." She was in thought for a moment, "Unless you could a sample of Nix's blood for me."

"I don't think he'd be too keen on that one." Vince sighed, "But if it helps." He held up one finger and turned to the boy. He snagged the hypospray from the table and walked up behind the bouncy bouncy lad. Nix didn't even see it coming. The boy turned and looked at Vince strangley a moment then started bouncing again. Vince smiled and patted his head and went to the door."Here ya go Doc. You know if anything happens to you or the two of you I'll kill who ever is responsible."He slid the hypo-spray through the field. His tone was very dark and anyone would believe him serious.

She took the hypo. "I know, Vince." She held her hand as close as the field would allow and emulated stroking his face. "I love you." The words sounded so final.

He smiled,"I know babe."He put his hand up where hers was and held it there."Be careful for chrisakes, ok?" He kicked the field in frustration. Being couped up was torture. Nix had stopped his bouncing and came to stand by Vince. Vince looked down and put his hand on the little guy's shoulders. He glanced back at Zahara,"We're going to be fine, all of us. Or else." He laughed at that. Trying to bring a little levity to the whole situation.

She smiled at him and knelt to eye level with Nix. "You take care of that big lug, okay?" She winked at the boy. "He's one in a million."

Vince chuckled,"Your the only one." He said smiling broadley,"You should get going, before you bring down the wrath of Dr Fleacollar." He winked.

"Bite your tongue, Vince. That doctor is going to be delivering your child." She chided him, gently. She gripped the hypo a little tighter. "Thanks Vince." There was a tear in her eye as she walked away from his medically imposed cell.

Vince watched her walk off. He could hear his teeth grinding. Then he heard a smaller grinding sound and looked down. Nix was looking up at him grinding his teeth too. Vince shook his head and picked the boy up,"Hey stop that you'll ruin your teeth. He glanced back and saw his lady love turn the corner and the door hissed shut. He sighed heavily."Come on lets get some grub." And the two roomies replicated a small feast and sat in silence munching away.

Setak emerges from Science Lab 4 approximately 27.9 hours after entering and initiating the transfer of his research work from Starbase 357's main computer banks. While the extremely long shift has moderately tired the Vulcan's stamina, he approves of the progress that the Galaxy's computer has integrated his experimental subspatial spectrum analysis and recombinant pulse transmission programs.

Upon departing the science lab, Setak decides that it is time to meet with his direct superior officer, Lt. Sullax. Tapping his communicator, Setak states "Setak to Lt. Sullax. I request an opportunity to brief you on my ongoing experiments at Science Lab 4 and a request to adjust the project timeline to incorporate use of a long range warp shuttle for off-ship evaluations."

After this conversation, Setak proceeds to the Security office to meet the Chief of Security, Lt. Commander Sunder. "Commander, I am Ensign Setak, newly transferred from Starbase 23. I recently arrived via Starbase 357 two days ago. I wish to have issued to me a Type 1 hand phaser. My request is due to the logical conclusion that our present location along the Cardassian border has a high probability that me may encounter hostil Dominion or Cardassian forces and that we may be boarded. My research deals with highly technical and in some respects classified data regarding subspatial sensor transmission and transtemporal communication methodologies. It may be necessary for me to directly defend, or possibly even destroy my research if necessary."

Setak then returns to his quarters for some much overdue meditation and rest.

Ens. Setak
Science Officer
USS Galaxy

"Idol Worship."
By Lieutenant JG Mikey Dorffen, Chief of Helm, USS St Louis

** Mikey's Head, the Bridge, USS St Louis **

Mikey was thinking about Annie, and he was thinking thoughts that weren't to be thought on the bridge of a starship. It was because he was all hot and bothered over the fact that they were doing some comic book action hero stuff and rushing off against time and the fleet to save a dying race. It was so over the top is was loveable.

Annie had invaded his thoughts once again. His affections towards the blonde Bajoran were odd. Most things about Mikey were odd, but these were particularly odd. He'd been in love with her since he first clapped raven, red rimmed eyes on her at the Academy. She was the sister of his tutor, Tanya Lahav, and therefore out of his reach. She still was.

The reason his feelings were odd were in their nature.

She was much older than he was, even he admitted that. Yeah, only by about five-six years, but when you're twenty-two, that makes her OLD. He also knew that it could never work out. She was so different to him, and maybe the only thing that kept them together most of the time was their respectful and caring friendship.

The images in Mikey's mind at the moment weren't exactly respectful though. He giggled.

The good ship St Louis was literally chugging along towards her new destination. It seemed that things were hindered with a large slice of Ambassador class starship on your behind: who would've thunk it, eh?

He was battling at the helm, pulling back and forth and basically trying to hold on for dear life. His fingers when white every time he stabbed at one of the controls on the panel before him, such was the strength of force with which he was controling the St Louis.

It was like he was playing tug-o-war with a scarp-yard dog: he wanted to go one way, but the dog had a tight hold and wanted desperately to go in the opposite direction.

He'd been listening in on conversations all over the bridge, getting a clear picture of what exactly was going on with the Q-Unit and the Ocero patients. First they were patients, yet in a few short (and at the same time, very long) days, they were now patients. Life's funny like that for a starfleet officer.

As for the QU, he'd had to throw his ear open to the very far corner at the rear of the bridge. At Ops, the officer had been telling of how the QU's seal had been broken, possibly exposing those on board to Am.-class wedge to the Ocero virus: the virus they were supposed to be helping with.

Maybe Thiana had made the wrong decision, but as it was, it stood.

Mikey just didn't want to be there when the CMO of the Caddy came bursting onto the bridge demanding to know-

"What the hell is going on and who is in charge of this mess?"

He didn't even hear her come in. Mikey swivelled on his chair to see where the voice had come from.

* Oh. My. Rixx. *

Angels started playing their harps. Choirs sang. Light burst in. Even on the bridge wind blew up so as to give her hair lift.

* No, it can't be ... but it ... * Mikey felt faint. Mikey pinched himself. Mikey thought that he'd died and gone to heaven. All images of Annie were soon banished to the back of his mind. * Yeah but ... No ... oh, but look at the ... and the ... no, it can't ... *

She answered the bewildered Betazoid's prayers by parting her pouty, perfectly pink lips and saying, "Dr Dana Jergensen, see-em-oh, USS Caduceus."

* Ooo, baby do you know what that's worth ... * Mikey began to chant in his head. He was never a very big fan of Terran nineteen-eighties songstresses, but the situation called a minor revival. This was an occasion to mark after all. This was, and Mikey did his best mental impersonation here:

* Dr Dana Jergensen, CMO USS Caduceus. *

While Thiana and * Dr Dana Jergensen, CMO USS Caduceus. * 'discussed' the St Louis' current situation, Mikey scanned the room for any young, male members of the senior staff who were on hand to discuss * Dr Dana Jergensen, CMO USS Caduceus. * 's arrival.

Harris at security was the closest and most familiar to him as far as he could see. He quickly nodded for a replacement at the helm before casually heading to the rear of the bridge, not once taking his eyes off of the Nordic beauty facing off with (and very much physically down to) the Captain.

"Psst." he tried to whisper, so as to catch Harris' attention. They were a little too close to Jergensen, may she might've heard him. "Psst. Harris."

The security chief looked up form his console and Mikey sidled over to him. "Do you see who Thiana's talking to?!" the Betazoid asked excitedly. "Do you see? Do ya? Huh? Huh?"

Harris casually turned his head over to the verbal exchange at the centre of the bridge. He turned back to the console and tried to get on with his work. "Yeah, it's Doc Jergensen from the Caduceus."

Mikey looked shocked. He would've thought that a man of Harris' age, unmarried and uninvolved as far as he knew, would've known about Dana Jergensen. In Mikey's opinion, she was like a UFP celebrity, a Starfleet pin-up. He hissed back unmaliciously, "It's not just 'Doc Jergensen'! It's Dr Dana Jergensen, CMO USS Caduceus: medical doctor, and /former model/."

Harris took another look at the blonde doctor facing Thiana. She had the looks for it. "Yeah, she looks like a model now you mention it."

"Now I mention it?!" Mikey was practically appalled. "She is only the greatest Terran model the century has ever seen!" Mikey cleared his throat and then began to recite. "Lieutenant junior grade Dana Jergensen grew up in a family immersed in Academia. Her parents, Che Culverson is a professor of law at New George Washington University, and her father Hans Jergensen is a Practising attorney in the Bainbridge Group based outside of Hague. She started out in school majoring in Drama and performing-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Mikey, please." Harris stopped him. "Not a life history. What did you read that somewhere or something?!"

Mikey blushed. "It's in her bio ... I'm kind of a fan ..."

There was a long pause as Mikey rested his eyes, not uncomfortably, on the six foot doctor. After a while, Harris turned and looked at her too, then back at Mikey, and smiled at the kid leaning on his console, arms crossed, contented look on his face.

"So, uh ..." Harris began, humouring the helmsman a little, "Would I have seen her in anything recently? What shoots did she do?"

It took a while for Mikey to clock that Adam was talking to him. "Oh, no. She's not modelled for a while now ... she only did it to pay her way through drama school. I've read that acting his her great l-l-l-l- love ... for the love of Rixx, she's coming this way!"

The utterly fuming doctor stormed past Mikey and Adam on her way to the turbolift. As she passed, Mikey plucked up the courage (in a fit of lust induced idol worshipping madness) to step forward and say: "Lieutenant Jergensen, hi there, I-"

But she didn't her him: the blood was running too loudly in her ears.

Harris clamped a heavy hand on his shoulder when he saw Mikey standing there, his heart broken, his mouth open. "There's always the next time ... the next time a superstar model walks into your life, give me a call: I'll back you up." He grinned before walking away.

Mikey couldn't move his face. He was so sad. His heart was smithereen'd.

However, there was that little devil again, now sat on Mikeys' shoulder and still picking his teeth with his balsa wood pitchfork, whispering in his ear. "It was all that Thiana's fault: maybe if 'Daney' had left with tweety birds singing to her like in that Snow White fantasy of yours, then she would've noticed you ..."

This was true. Everything that Thiana had done in the last few days to warm her to Mikey's affection had gone to pot. She was still the fire breathing, Lieutenant JG eating monster that she had always been, except now she's blown his chances with * Dr Dana Jergensen, CMO USS Caduceus * too.

The voice continued. "But you can still get her. You can still have Dana, Mikey ..."

The devil's eyes blurred red for a moment, and his horns didn't seem so stuck-on-with-selotape anymore.

"Oh, yes you ca-an ..."

The Call I Have Been Dreading
by: Rob Howald (Commander Robert Strauss)
CO, SEAL Team 23, USS St. Louis

**********

Communications had been pouring into the ship, ever since they had pulled away from the Caduceus. First it had started as Admirals and the others involved (Caddy crew and QU Crew). Then other captain's started sending pleading messages to the ship, to stop and let the scientists handle it. Obviously none of them had any idea just how bad this disease was, and that to let things go through the proper channels, it would mean the cure would be introduced to a ship full of corpses. Eventually, a call had come in directed to him. It wasn't a suprise at all, Strauss had been expecting it actually.

Excusing himself from the bridge, he looked into Zeri's eyes. He knew that she was aware of what the message would be about, and her eyes pleaded with him not to abandon her now. The unsaid pleading was not necessary... He smiled back at her with a quick wink, and walked off the bridge, headed towards his private office. The small office just off the bridge was not untidy, but it was apparent that over the last few days other things had taken preference to cleaning and arranging.

He tapped the console on the desk. A list of incoming messages showed up on the screen... Only one was directed only to him, and was still waiting in the queue. Computer Receive channel 275". The computer blipped and beeped a couple times and the face of Admiral Johnson showed up on the screen.

[Commander Strauss, Admiral Johnson here. I have been informed by Starfleet Command that there is a little situation aboard the St. Louis right now. I trust you have had no part in it so far.] The admiral waited obviously expecting a negative answer.

Looking directly into the camera, he answered, knowing that this would most likely be used against him later at the court martial. "I haven't broken any rules yet sir, no. While I didn't lodge a formal complaint, I haven't issued any orders contrary to the rules and regulations set out by starfleet command".

Admiral Johnson was quickly turning red. [Don't give me that petty lawyering crap you learned from holovids, Commander. You know damn well that going along quietly with a captain who is breaking regulations, is a court-martial offense.]

"Negative sir. I feel that by not following the orders of the captain I serve under, I would be committing an even graver offense, one of mutiny". He continued to stare at the screen with a blank look on his face. While this conversation may end his command under Johnson's division, at least it would save him from a long time on a penal colony.

[God damn you commander. You are turning into more of a pain in the ass than a first year cadet running an outfit. You listen to me good, right here, and right now. I am ordering you to disable that ship by any means necessary, short of lethal action if possible, otherwise if necessary. I am transferring the official orders to your inbox now, so that you can't use any of your fancy school yard lawyering on me. They have been looked over and don't bother trying to find a loophole. You either follow them or you don't.] The admiral's tone now grew dim. [What say you?]

The orders flashed up on the side of the screen... They did look in order. Had they not been complete and airtight, he could have used that as an excuse. "Sir, I am unable to comply with these orders. I find them not to be in the best interests of my team or the captain of the ship on which I am currently a guest. My team is involved right now in supplementing the security forces of the ship, as per what I feel is in the best interests of those under my command, the people aboard the St. Louis and the United Federation of Planets".

The Admiral was now speaking in a low voice. [If I was there right now I would see to it that you were in a world of hurt. You are the worst excuse for an officer I have ever seen. The second you get back, you are going to be in a world of career hurt. I have half a mind to hand your team over to your 2 IC right now, but I am sure you have already told him what your plans are and he is probably in on it.]

"No sir, Chief Petty Officer Knight has no knowledge of the fact I am refusing these orders. Sir".

The admiral nodded, obviously knowing that Strauss was just protecting his second in command. It seemed to change the Admiral's demeanor as he knew Strauss was doing the honorable thing. [No need to screw both your lives. I will leave it at that. Needless to say you are putting me in one hell of a position with my superiors. What do you suppose I should tell them?] The mood lightened a little bit. While the Admiral did have his orders, Rob knew he was just playing the hard line to get him to do what he thought was right.

Strauss smiled as he remembered a line from an old movie. "Just tell them I hit you sir".

A quick guffaw came over the channel as it closed. Strauss leaned back in the chair, still unsure of whether he had just sacrificed his career, or showed just the kind of decision making that was what they wanted from him. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the ceiling. He sat there for a few minutes, just deep in thought.

Commander Robert Strauss
CO, SEAL Team 23
Assigned USS St. Louis

“Foolish Confrontation”
USS GALAXY
Ensign Timothy Richeson
Commander Deiran Casey, First Officer

***Beta Shift, USS Galaxy Bridge***

Ensign Richeson was standing at the Tactical post, monitoring the progress of the repairs of the 'Prince'. And of course watching the long range sensors for enemy ships. The rest of the bridge was quiet. Just another day at the office. The only thing that Tim didn't like was that the Galaxy's new 'leader' was sitting in the Captain’s chair in the command well. Now that Commander Sterner had left the ship, Commander Casey was in charge. Answering only to Captain Price.

“What’s the status of long range sensors Mr. Richeson?” Casey asked.

Tim's eyes widened "Sir, WHAT do you want the status of? The 'Prince'? sensors? holodeck?"

“I said long range sensors Ensign,” Casey demanded, a bit annoyed at the fact Richeson wasn’t paying attention.

Tim was a little annoyed, "Well... looks like they are a bit behind, nothing serious. Any thing else, SIR?"

The young commander stood up and looked behind him, "Ensign, come with me."

Tim's eyes rolled to the back of his head, "Yes sir." he said sarcastically. He followed Casey in to the observation lounge. "Reporting as ordered." Tim flashed Casey a evil smile

“Do you have a problem? Are you tired? What’s wrong Tim?” Casey asked, as he sat on the observation lounge’s table, his arms crossed and staring directly into Tim’s eyes.

"Sir? I don't have a problem, I understand that YOU have a problem, with junior officers. Sir"

“You’ve been fed some seriously misinformed information Mr. Richeson. I do have problems with Starfleet officers who don’t show proper respect to their commanding officers. But, I respect all junior officers who do their job efficiently and to the best of their ability,” Casey did not like being challenged by an Ensign. With what happened the night before he was a bit ticked off. Tim picked the wrong time to mess with the Iceman.

"Well then, I guess you won't have a probealm with me then. I don't have any problems with taking orders. And since I've been aboard I've done more then what has been required, Sir. But, at SFA, I didn't have any problems with any officers. Until a very young one, only a few years older then myself. I dunno how he got promoted that fast, but any ways. This young commander made it his personal mission to look down on every junior officer and cadet. I see allot of him in you. SIR, may I go back to my post now?"

“No you may not. I have no personal missions but to serve this ship and Captain Price. I treat junior officers with respect as long as they show me the same. I advise that you develop better judgement of your Commanding officers and learn some tolerance and respect mister or your career will be effected severely!”

"I understand that sir, but you do have pretty much the same track record with the Galaxy's crew. Your only a few years older then me. And not to many years more experience in Star Fleet. Look I don't know what to tell you, if I get to know you my opinion might change. Jus' lemme get to know you." Tim gave him another smile. "Until then..."

Casey looked into the ensign’s eyes, “Why get to know me Ensign? You’ve already made your judgment. Make no mistake it is a judgment on your part. You don’t know me. It’s not an Executive Officer’s job to pal around with the Ensigns. It’s my job to run an efficient ship and see that the crew follows the Captain’s orders. That’s what I do. You’ll have to learn to deal with it Richeson. You have guts. I’ll overlook that mistake out there and in here. One more outburst like that and you’ll be stationed in some lowly position where they’ll forget your name. If I looked down on junior officers you wouldn’t be getting a second chance. Dismissed!”

Tim stood up and started for the door.

Casey could’ve given the man a reprimand. Put a huge blockade in the man’s career. Thankfully for Tim’s sake Casey was feeling generous today.

Tim walked back on the bridge. Several other officers turned and looked at him with a curious look. Tim shook his head, and returned back to watching the long range sensors.

Putting myself in your shoes
Ltjg WhiteSong to-Ennine MD.
CMO USS St. Louis

WhiteSong stormed out of the meeting, she was on her way to see Zahara. She wanted to go over all the data concerning this possible cure. But it does make sense. A medicinal plant could never be replicated exacty,it would have to come from the plant itself to be exact.

As WhiteSong walked she became less and less angry at the Captain. She was doing what she thought was best, and that is all anyone can ever do. Even though she didn't agree with the Captain, her loyalty was unequivocal. WhiteSong understood why the Captain felt like she had to go to such extreme measures. She was trying to save the lives of her crew and the Ocero. WhiteSong was impressed that the Captain put her career and life on the line to save others. It was just such a risk. But if WhiteSong were in the Captain's shoes mabey she would most likely make the same choice.

WhiteSong was thrown off balance by a sudden jolt. WhiteSong feared it would come to this. She just hoped there would be no bloodshed, and that Starfleet would have mercy on Captain Thiana Zeri.

WhiteSong did a quick turn around and headed towards sickbay to check to make sure there were no changes, and that there were no injuries as a result of the jolt. Then she would see Zahara.

“Loose lips…”
by LtCmdr. Hunter McKenzie
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Galaxy

***Shortly after end of Beta shift***

Mac sauntered into 10-forward which was amazingly full considering the hour. Most of the patrons were from the off going Beta shift, but there were still several from Alpha hanging around. Nodding to several of the junior officers Mac headed to the bar.

“Hello Commander!” smiled Door as Mac approached, “This is a surprise. We hardly ever get you in here. What’s the occasion?”

Mac grinned as he pulled up a chair. “Can’t a Starfleet officer come and make fun of the only Cardassian Bartender in the Fleet?” chuckled Mac.

“Only if he tips heavily” piped The half Cardassian. “What can I get you?”

“How ‘bout some Aluvian pork with Ttan’Jow sauce and a glass of scotch, neat.”

“Will do, Commander.” Grinned Door, as he hurried to place the order. Door had been right. He had been away for a long time. With the rigors of being a department head and now a senior officer, he had piled on more and more responsibilities, much at the expense of any social life. He had even lost time with K’Eyt, who right now was the brightest point of his life. As he picked up the glass of scotch, that door had placed in front of him, he made himself promise to start enjoying life while he could. He sipped the drink , as he started to relax. Glancing around the bar, he listened to the sounds of revelry as he waited. Conversations were bandied about as if a voice would unerringly find only one ear to fill.

“…I swear! I saw her rip the entire unit out of the wall…”

“…don’t care if she’s got blue skin or not. With a body like …”

“…wasn’t a Lt. Commander, I’d kick his Orion…”

“…right there on the bridge. I thought we were going to have one less tactical officer, for a minute.”

Mac caught the mention of tactical and tried to “tune in” to that conversation. Glancing up at the Huge mirror that formed the wall behind the bar, he located the two ensigns, one male and the other female, that were having the conversation. The male he knew from Beta shift. The other he had no idea. Concentrating he listened intently to there discussion. It was obvious that they had had a little too much to drink and as such were not worried who heard the conversation.

“No Bullshit! He actually rolled his eyes at the Iceman?” asked the woman.

“No bullshit. And then he actually replied sarcasm. As if he was annoyed with Casey asking for the readings…::HAHA::” laughed the male Ensign, obviously more into his cups than the other. “ Whoever his OIC is, they must be a complete Taurean Ass, because if he was my troop…::uuuurrrrppp::” slurred the Ensign as he belched

It was then that Mac decided that he had had enough. Sliding from his chair he quickly walked to the Ensign’s table unaware. Mac stood behind the drunk officer for a few minutes trying to regain some of his composure that his well known anger had sapped. Taking a deep breath he tapped the ensign on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, Ensigns?”

“Who the Fuc..” started the Drunk when he turned to face Mac. The look on his face when he saw Mac told Mac two things. One; that he hadn’t been drinking Synthehol and 2; he was very, very drunk. The female, though, quickly jumped to her feet, her mind dismissing the potent effects of her Synthehol drink quickly.

“At ease, Ensign.” Ordered Mac. Returning his gaze to the Drunk he lowered his voice. “Is it my understanding that there was a problem with the tactical section during your shift?”

“Ummm…No sir! I mean yes sir!” stuttered the Ensign as his alcohol sated brain tried to answer .

“Would you mind telling me what happened then?” asked Mac, patience quickly slipping from his mind.

“Ensign Richeson, Sir. he mouthed off to Commander Casey.”

“Excuse me?” asked Mac again in disbelief.

“I swear sir! He answered the Commander, sarcastically and was pulled into the Captain’s ready room.”

Mac had heard enough. “Ensign,” ordered Mac , as he turned to the female. “Take your companion to his quarters and put him to bed. That’s an order.” Mac then looked hard at the drunk. “And you. If you can’t handle your liquor, I suggest you stick to the Synthehol and not the real stuff. Go to your Quarters and go to bed. If I ever see you in this condition again, I promise you I will show you how far a Taurean Ass can kick you. Understood?”

“Yes sir, Understood, sir” slurred the Ensign as his friend tried to quickly pull him out the door.

Mac watched them leave before hitting his communicator. “McKenzie to Richeson.”

=/\= Richeson here. =/\= came the delayed reply.

“Ensign. Report to my office, ASAP.” Ordered Mac.

=/\= Now sir? =/\=

“Yes, Ensign. I will be in my office in 15 minutes. I want you there in 10. Understood!”

=/\= Aye sir. Richeson out. =/\=

Mac turned back to he bar in time to see Door dump his dinner order into a large to-go container. “Maybe next time.” He grinned as he handed the box to Mac.

“Count on it.” Smiled Mac, as he left the lounge.

_____________________________________________
Lt. Commander Hunter McKenzie, Chief Tactical Officer, USS Galaxy
ICQ 6758283

"Meeting Mercury"
By Ensign Jordan Arisa
Helmsman
USS Galaxy

Jordan had considered going to Commander Sterner's party, but had decided against it. She didn't even know who the commander was and if she were being honest with herself, she did feel a little intimidated by the immensity of her surroundings. However, the Counsellor, after her psych examination had suggested that she begin to socialise with the crew. Therefore the young ensign now sat at the bar, making small talk with the tender.

"J, you going to actually order something to drink?" the bartender joked. She had been sitting there for over ten minutes and her hands were still empty.

"Of course! Can I have an altair water please?"

"Coming right up!"

She turned her attention back to the group of people, everyone was so busy, chatting, joking, and generally enjoying each others company. They were all so wrapped up in their own lives, so unaware of the universe around them. Jordan sipped her altair water as she observed the world, she couldn't wait until she was a part of it.

Suddenly, she noticed a familiar face entering. Jordan didn't know who the man was, but recognised him from her first day when she had gotten lost. He certainly had quite an air about him, partially due to the two and half pips that adorned his collar.

"This chair taken?" he asked as he approached the bar.

"No, have a seat. I'm Ensign Jordan Arisa, we met the other day..."

--
Camilla Claudia Pretlove

On the way to his late night shift at the Science Station on the bridge of the USS Galaxy, Setak meets an unfamiliar ensign in the corridor leading to the turbolift. "Greetings, Ensign. I am Ensign Setak, a newly arrived Science Officer." "I know who you are." Stevens replies sharply and he knows he made another social mistake. He found it odd thought that the vulcan doesn't even bat an eye. "Are you on your way to engineering?"

"Yes" Stevens says in a calmer manner. "I'm still waiting for an actual assignment." Setek looks at him curiously. "So far I've been stuck with general maintanance."

"Mmmm" Satek replies. "But isn't it logical to say that a general maintanance assignment is in all actuallity an assignment?"

"I guess." Stevens snaps back not bothering to be nice about it.

A few seconds pass, Setak glances briefly at Ensign Stevens before continuing. "I believe I have read in your service reports about your efforts to duplicate the Jem Haddar personal cloak. I myself am curious about the nature of subspace actuated cloaking fields and I have been conducting experiments into chroniton transmission and subspace refraction dynamics. It would be logical to share our experimental data for our mutual benefit."

"Yeah, maybe. But you have to remember, it's a private experiment and not yet approved by the federation although they know I'm doing it." Setek nods once and turns forward as the doors open. As Stevens steps out of the turbo lift he turns to Setek and says,"Thank you for your help. Hopefully it will go a little smoother now." He turn and walks to engineering.

Setak remains on the turbolift after Ensign Stevens departs. Moments later, Setak arrives on the bridge and begins his duty at the primary Science Station during the delta shift. "You are relieved, Lt. Sullax..." Setak states to the Gamma Shift science officer. Setak then stands and begins working at his station behind Ensign Marc at the Tactical Station.

Setak begins his shift by completing a comprehensive long range scan and directing additional sensor energies towards the Cardassian border, searching for enemy warp signatures with the primary sensor array, while keeping the secondary sensor array suite dedicated to the ongoing science systems which are utilizing it.

Mean while back in engineering Stevens relieves crewman Davis and goes about his normal rutine. He can't stop thinking how much he's done by himself and if he should let Setek just waltz into his experimantations. But then he thought,"What the hell. He can't mess anything up."

Ens. Setak
Science Officer
USS Galaxy

"Getting Out of Bed"
by Ensign William McDonald
Tactical Officer, USS Saint Louis

McDonald could not sleep because of a terrible headache he has. He got up put his Starfleet uniform on and went out the door. He walked down the corridor and went into the turbolift.

"Deck 5," he said.

The turbolift took a few seconds and opened the turbolift doors to reveal deck 5. He walked down the corridor and into sickbay. In sickbay he met a nurse.

"Do you have anything that can clear a headache?" he asked.

He sat down at a bed and the nurse came back with a hypospray with some medicine in it.

"If it does not clear up by this afternoon come back," she said.

"Thanks," McDonald said as he walked out of sickbay.

By Lieutenant (jg) Suder
"Alpha Shift At The Beginning"

Suder woke up from the dream of the music and the ship at sea. It had just begun, but apparently, those few seconds were actually a few hours. As much as he would love to get some more sleep and find out what the rest of the dream was, he had to get to Engineering. But that wasn't on the top of his mind. He got dressed after having a rather cool (but not too cool) shower and then left his quarters.

He went to see Adrianna as she was supposed to be working too, however, that's not what happened. He approached the doors to her quarters and tapped the wall panel. A chime rang through her quarters. The door slid open and Adrianna stood in front of her, hair down and barley in her uniform. At this point, Suder lost control, as if his ego had stepped out f his body and pushed him into her. His hands found her waist and he gently kissed her for what seemed to be ages and then he stepped back allowing his ego to step back in. Realising what he had done, he became nervous and shaky. "Um, just stopped by to say I had a great time last night and would you like to have dinner tonight? I'll be in Engineering now." he said and quickly rushed off down the corridor leaving Adrianna with a smile on her face.

He logged on to the computer and looked up recent events. He leaned back in his chair and swung round and looked around. Some people were working, some talking and working. He swung back and faced his console. He was about to begin work when he heard a banging noise. He turned to his right and listened. The banging was distant, faint. He walked by the warp core and found a corner of engineering where the banging seemed to be coming from. But no one else seemed to hear it. "Get us out, their coming!" a voice yelled to someone. Suder knelt down and opened a panel that led to the Jeffrey's Tube. "Hello? Is anyone down there?" he asked. There was no reply, except for the faint echo of his own question. He closed the conduit and turned to get back to his console when he bumped into an Ensign. "Sorry." Suder said. The Ensign smiled and walked off. He could tell Alpha Shift was about to begin because the crew in engineering was starting to stir. New members coming in, tired ones leaving. He took a deep breath and returned to his station and looked up his duties for today. He then grabbed his engineering kit and got to work on diagnostic functions of ship protocols.

"Speeding Through the Desert"
by Lt. Alan C. Hewson, Assistant Chief Engineer

***** Bridge, USS Galaxy *****

“Ensign, come with me.” Casey’s voice ordered Ensign Richeson as Alan stepped from the turbolift onto the bridge. AC stopped for a moment as he watched the Galaxy’s XO lead the disgruntled Ensign off into the Observation Lounge. A smile crept onto AC’s face as he thought about the scene. Although he didn’t know the details of what had happened, it looked like Richeson was a student who had smarted off in class. Now he was out in the hall having a one on one ‘discussion’ with his teacher.

It was tempting to ask one of the other bridge officers what had caused this little confrontation, but AC decided that wouldn’t be very professional of him. After all, he could pick-up the story in Ten-Forward after Beta was over. Given all the factors though, it wasn’t hard for AC to form a hypothesis.

Ensign Tim Richeson was a good officer, even though he was a bit of a hothead. Alan hadn’t heard of Tim causing any major conflicts, but that did not mean that the Irishman hadn’t.

Commander Deiran Casey was a good officer, even though he was a complete egomaniacal asshole who probably worshipped himself in the mirror. Alan knew that Deiran had been involved in many conflicts before, mostly due to his self-absorbed nature. Hell, Alan had even decked the son-of-a-bitch before.

More than likely, Richeson had made some remark that offended Casey. AC pictured Tim saying something to the effect of “Go blow your head out of your ass!”, but it probably wasn’t that bad.

Disrespect. That had to be it. As far as AC knew, having a lower officer show any form of disrespect to the ‘Iceman’ was the worst crime of all. On a strange level, Alan could understand Casey’s demand for respect since Deiran probably never received any from ol’ Daddy Warbucks back at Starfleet Command. Plus Deiran had done enough to rub quite a few people the wrong way on the Galaxy itself. How could his wife even respect him for what he had done to her? At least Junior officers had to show respect to him.

AC moved these thoughts aside as he logged onto the Engineering Station. After he started up the usual diagnostics, AC allowed himself a moment to stretch. The muscles in his back reminded him how sore he really was from playing so much hockey with Greer the last few days. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was sadly out of shape. As a Starfleet officer he had to pass the standard physical tests every year, but beyond that he did nothing but the bare minimum that was required. The workouts with Greer on the ice were quickly changing that however.

Greer on the other hand was in excellent shape. The Chief Science Officer had no trouble keeping up with the pace of each game, while AC played about half the amount that Greer did. But Greer was struggling with his own problems.

Even since Ronni had asked him to marry her, Greer hadn’t seemed to be himself. As his best friend, AC had been there to support Greer. But AC knew how Greer handled his problems, and hadn’t hounded his friend about what he was going through. With the Vulcan influence that Greer had received in the past, he was very good about working his own problems out. More than anything, he had needed AC around to beat up on the frozen pond.

As the Engineering console beeped and displayed the results of the diagnostics, Ensign Richeson made his way back onto the bridge. He shook his head as all eyes turned to look at him. Tim tried his hardest to make it look like this hadn’t affected him, but it was clear he had received a fairly good dressing down. He walked to his post and pretended to be very interested now in the sensor scans. A few minutes later Commander Casey walked onto the bridge. After clearing his throat and straightening his uniform out, a clear sign that Casey was about to spout out orders, he took a seat in the Big Chair.

“Lt. Sharp, set a course for the Kenda system. Mr. Hewson,” Casey rattled off as he turned his head halfway so that he could see AC out of the corner of his eye, “can we sustain maximum warp from here to the Kenda system?”

Alan already had the data from the Helm on his display and ran a few calculations. “Aye sir, the engines are running at top efficiency. We’ll be there before you know it.” It was rare that the Galaxy ever got to show off its true warp power. Most of the time the ship coasted between warp 2-6. Whenever the engines were allowed to let loose, AC got the same sensation as pushing a Dust-Hopper across an empty stretch of the Elmarian Desert at top speed.

“Understood,” Casey acknowledged. Neither Deiran nor AC had any love for each other. They had plenty of problems with each other off-duty, but being responsible officers they put their disdain for each other on the side while on-duty. Now that they were both on Beta shift it had become a necessity to get along.

“Course plotted and laid in, sir.” Sharp informed the XO.

“Engage, maximum warp.”

“What’s up, Commander?” Lt. Brandis spoke up from the Ops station.

“I’m not sure at the moment Lucas,” Casey said as scratched the back of his neck, “But whatever it is, I’m sure that it is big.”

“The Right Place At The Right Time”
USS GALAXY
Commander Deiran Casey
Captain Robert Edward Lee Price

“Sir, incoming transmission from Starfleet Command, Admiral Miravanelli. It’ s on the Captain’s channel and requires CO clearance to accept,” Lt(JG) Brandis informed Casey from the Ops station.

Casey hailed the Captain in his quarters. "Captain, Commander Casey here sir."

["Price here Commander. What is it 'mate?"]

"Sir, I have an incoming message from Starfleet Command. Admiral Miravanelli wishes to speak to you. Captain's channel sir," Deiran explained.

["Understood Commander. I'll take it in my quarters. Have it piped down here 'mate. How's Beta shift treating you Commander?"] the Captain asked.

"All is quiet sir. Lieutenant Commander Sunder informs me that the tracking device has been installed on board the Latinum Prince. They are transporting the last of the engineering equipment now sir. Which is good because DaiMon Toog and his crew are getting restless in the brig."

["Fair dinkum Commander. Once Sunder gives the all clear signal, have the Ferengi released and... apologize for the extended delay at inspecting their vessel. Price out."]

After Casey finished with the Captain he hailed Sunder.

“Casey here, Ursa, we need to release Toog. How’s it coming with the tracking device?”

[“The tracking device is installed and hid well. We’re extracting the last of the engineering crew and supplies now sir,”] Sunder replied.

“You have five minutes Ursa, it sounds like we may have to leave in a hurry,” Casey replied.

[“Understood sir,”] Sunder said.

Casey terminated the comm and turned to Brandis. “Lieutenant release the Latinum Prince from our tractor beam at once,” Casey ordered. Deiran was walking to the Ops station as he gave the order. “Put the Latinum Prince on the main viewer please,” Casey asked. Instantly the ship appeared for all on the Bridge to see.

The blue beam that was enveloping the Ferengi vessel vanished after Casey gave the order.

Casey stood behind Ops and waited for Sunder’s call.

Five minutes later the Ferengi were back in command of the ‘Prince.’

[“Commander, the Ferengi and Daimon Toog are safely aboard their ship.”] Sunder told Casey.

“Thank you ‘Commander. You retrieved all of the engineering equipment Ursa?” Casey asked.

[“Aye sir, their ship is clean. It’s a go sir,”] Sunder replied. Casey knew that Sunder was giving him a status report. The tracking device was installed and operating nicely.

“Good work Ursa, Casey out.”

“Lucas, hail the Latinum Prince,” Casey asked. Casey put his hands on the back of Lucas’s chair as he was looking up at the main viewer.

“What do you want hoo—mahn?” Toog replied, quite irritated.

“Our apologies Daimon for the lengthy investigation of your ship. Have a safe trip back to Ferenginar. Galaxy out,” Casey said with a smile. Toog didn’t waste any time and began his journey the minute Casey disengaged the transmission. The Bridge crew watched as the Latinum Prince went to warp.

Casey began pacing behind the Helm and Ops stations, knowing that Lee was receiving orders from the Admiral.

It only took about fifteen minutes before a hail came through from the Captain. "Casey here sir."

["Tell Lieutenant Commander Sunder he's out of time. Prepare to have DaiMon Toog and the remaining Ferengi transported to their ship and then prepare to get the Galaxy under way."] Lee ordered in a no nonsense fashion.

"Aye sir. The Latinum Prince is already underway sir. Where will we be heading Captain?" the First Officer asked.

["Set a course for the Kenda system. Maximum warp."] The General replied to the XO's question.

"Kenda sir? What's happening there if I might ask?" Deiran inquired knowing that system wasn't part of the Federation and located in the interior population belt of the Alpha quadrant, normally a very safe place compared to out here on the frontier.

["I'll brief you in a few minutes 'mate. Let me get dressed and I'll meet you in my Ready Room. In the mean time, carry out my orders and get us underway as soon as possible. Every second counts 'mate."] Deiran could hear the urgency in the General’s voice.

"ASAP. Yes sir. Casey out," Deiran replied before closing the channel.

“Aaron, set a course for the Kenda System. Maximum warp,” Casey commanded.

A few seconds later Sharp replied, “Aye sir, course laid in.”

“Engage!” Casey said, in perfect precision Sharp took the Galaxy to maximum warp. They were on their way to Kenda in a blinding streak of light.

*** Captain’s Ready Room ***

Casey didn’t have to wait too long for the briefing. The Captain arrived ten minutes after he started dressing in his quarters. War time helped officers get dressed quickly. Once inside the Ready Room, the Captain offered Deiran a seat and began the briefing.

Casey sat down and waited for Lee to begin. “A few days ago the USS St. Louis responded to a distress signal from a race known as the Ocero. It was the First Contact the Federation has had with this majestic race. Unknown to the crew of the St. Louis, the Ocero were infected with a virus unknown to us. Their biofilters didn’t detect anything during the rescue and transport of the Ocero survivors. Originally it was thought that the virus only effected the Ocero. That was a deadly miscalculation ‘mate,” Lee stopped. He didn’t look happy as he told his number one about the situation.

Casey had a PADD in his hand and looking at a pic of an Ocero male. Casey’s ears were peeled to his Captain’s aussie accent as the man continued his briefing.

“About a day or so after the Ocero came aboard the St. Louis, one of the members of the crew became infected with the Ocero virus. It had begun to spread to the crew of the St. Louis. The vessel’s Captain, Captain Thiana Zeri then informed Starfleet of the situation. They dispatched a medical vessel, the USS Caduceus, commanded by Captain Mercedes Manion. The Caduceus put the St. Louis under quarantine.”

“Quick reaction by the Caddy sir, quite impressive. I know Zee very well,” Casey replied.

“Aye ‘mate, Captain Manion is a good CO. As is Thiana. Did you call her Zee?” the Captain asked.

“Aye sir, when I was still on the Glory, she served as my father’s XO for three years, well during the three years I was there, before the Academy. I know Zee… Zeri, I mean Captain Thiana very well sir.” Casey smiled as he was reliving some of his memories of Zee.

The Captain seemed to ponder what Casey told him. There was a short pause before he began again, “This isn’t good ‘mate. Yesterday, Thiana broke the quarantine. She fired on the Caduceus. She took out two of their tractor beam emitters and disabled their weapon systems,” as the Captain spoke he watched as a smile appeared on Deiran’s face.

“What’s funny Commander?” Lee asked.

“Sorry sir, that just sounds like Zee. Hell be damned, she’ll save the galaxy if she has to. She’s quite heroic sir,” Casey replied in such a way that the Captain could see Casey was sorry for smiling. The situation was serious. The tactic sounded like Zee though, at least how Casey remembered her.

“The situation is serious Deiran. If Thiana allows anyone to leave that ship it could be disastrous. The Caduceus reported that the St. Louis was headed toward Kenda. That planet is one of the most heavily populated worlds in the core sectors. If the virus hits there it could wipe out the entire quadrant in weeks maybe even days!”

“This virus is that serious sir?” Casey asked.

“Aye ‘mate, deadly serious. The Galaxy has been ordered to stop the St. Louis. Admiral Miravanelli has given specific orders to stop the St. Louis at all costs, by any measure necessary. Kenda, as you know is not part of the UFP ‘mate. If anything happens it could drive the UFP to the point where we would be facing war on two fronts. We can’t afford that.”

Casey then realized the gravity of the situation. This was probably the most important mission the Galaxy had ever been assigned. It was definitely the most difficult. Casey sat in the chair examining the situation. Starfleet was asking Lee and him to attack one of their own vessels? They had even been authorized to destroy it if need be. Casey couldn’t fire on his own people. He couldn’t stand by and watch Zee die. She was his friend, it was a long time ago but that didn’t matter to Deiran. He was loyal to his friends. Thiana Zeri was one of Deiran’s closest friends he had ever had in his life.

He took up fencing, just so he could be around Zeri. When he was 14 years old, Casey had a boyhood crush on Thiana. He devised a way to spend as much time with Zeri as he could by taking up the woman’s passion. Fencing. She was more than happy to teach Deiran when he approached her with the suggestion.

Since then, Deiran had become a champion fencer. He showed it the night before. He could not stand by and watch Zeri’s life and career be destroyed, he couldn’t let that happen.

“Sir, we have to find a way to solve this without violence. Captain Thiana is a good woman and a great Captain. She’s trying to save a race and her crew. Why can’t Starfleet see that?” Casey asked, clearly frustrated with their orders. Lee could see the passion in his eyes.

Lee saw that Deiran cared for Zeri. It was written on the man’s features. The two old friends had a past, one that meant a lot to his First Officer.

“I know Deiran. I don’t like this anymore than you do. I asked the Admiral to assign another ship. I didn’t want anything to do with firing on one of our own ‘mate. But, she threatened to take away my command if I didn’t follow her orders,” Lee replied, not too happy with the memory.

This infuriated Casey. Here he was forced to choose between an old friend who had been there for him in toughest part of his life, and the Captain who had taught him so much and was so dear to him. Casey didn’t like being put in a rock and a hard place. He would remember Miravanelli.

“The St. Louis is believed to be heading to Kenda because there seems to be a possible cure on that planet. They must think that this plant,” Lee showed Casey a picture, “is the key to finding the cure.”

“My God! Sir, did you say possible cure?” Casey asked.

“Aye ‘mate,” Lee replied grimly.

“Captain Thiana did this for the possibility of a cure? That’s not like her sir. This is bad,” typical Casey understatement. He was well known in SFA to be the master at understatement.

“Sir, we should have our medical team begin research on this virus. The more medical minds looking for the cure, the better. In the meantime, may I have permission to try and talk to Thiana? Maybe I can convince her to go under quarantine again sir?” Casey suggested.

“We’ll have our medical department get on it ASAP. When we arrive at Kenda, I’ll let you see if you can’t talk some sense into her ‘mate. But, I have my orders. Whether I agree with them or not,” Lee replied. “The Caduceus is conducting repairs and will be joining us as soon as possible. The St. Louis is only capable of warp 6, so at max warp we should arrive before Thiana does.”

“Sir, if we have to fire on the St. Louis, I will log an official protest. One that will under Starfleet regulations, go before the Federation Council. I will not condone firing on our own sir,” Casey hated to challenge the man he truly admired but he couldn’t in good conscious agree with Starfleet Command.

“Your objections are noted Commander. Let Dr. Khatroweena know of the situation and get her department researching this virus. Hopefully we will find a better way to deal with this,” Lee said, it wasn’t hard to tell his feelings from the tone of his voice.

“I hope so sir, I’m not looking forward to this predicament sir. I won’t fire on Zee,” Casey replied.

“Your objections are noted Commander. Dismissed,” the Captain raised his voice as he gave the order.

Deiran respectfully nodded to his Captain and left the Ready Room. The Ready Room was tension central from that moment on.

"Death Watch" by:
Acting Ensign Viara Rhys
Junior Science Officer
U.S.S. Galaxy

It was a little bit past the beginning of Beta Shift. Viara remained on the Bridge. Although she could have left 30 minutes ago, she had recieved a much dreaded Communique from Starfleet. It was a Casualty List of recent Engagements with the Dominion.

*So far so good.* Thought Viara as she read the list of lost ships and officers. Viara scanned the list for her Mother and her Ship.

Viara had only recently been to Trill to visit her Father, thinking her Mother and her Ship were lost; only to find that her Mother was in fact there; ship in tact.

It was odd though. Starfleet had even announced that the Ship was to be considered lost, yet there it was...on Trill.

*Ensign R'gust, Lieutenant Rhanz, Ensign Ricks.* Read Viara to herself. *It looks like she made it off the list this time. I hope the loses stop soon; seeing names of acquaintances and old friends is getting old.* Thought Viara as she continued reading the list.

Viara turned off the scrolling list and sat starring blankly at the monitor. *I just hope the Galaxy is never listed here.* Thought Viara as she just sat at the Auxillary Science Station.

Stevens had heard alot about this place called ten-forward but had never been and after talking to Master Matleq a moments earlier, decided that he might want to try it.

The turbolift doors opened. "Deck ten" he said. "Computer, display the location of ten-forward."

The lcars screen showed a schematic and highlighted an area on deck ten on the fore part of the ship. "Of course, ten-FORWARD."

Just then he remembered Stek wanted that research on the cloaking device. "Computer, send information in file 'Stevens: Cloak' to Ensign Setek. Authorization Stevens Alpha 3." The computer chirped and responded,"File copied and transferred."

The turbo lift came to a stop and stevens walked out and turned the corner to see ten ten-forward doors. As he walked in he saw another officer walk out. He immediatly moved knowing that this was the Cheif Tactical Officer. Stevens respected him even though he didn't know him personally, or professionally for that matter. All stevens knew is that this was the guy who was resposible for the defense of the this monster of a ship. That's he needed to know.

He approched the bartender and sat down.

"What's your pleasure?" the cardassian bartender said with a smile. He saw that Stevens was unconfortable. "Come now friend, you must want SOMETHING."

"Your name is Door, is it not?"

"Yep. I didn't quite catch your's though, ensign."

"Micheal Stevens"

"You haven't been in here before have you, Micheal?"Door said trying to be as pleasent as possible.

"No. What do you do here?" Micheal replied, still not very comfortable.

"I get what you need. Food from all over the galaxy. Drinks from everywhere too, from klingon blood wine to terran rum."

"No rum!" Micheal said sharply with a tinge of shock in his voice.

"Ok, ok friend. Relax. what would you like. I have a lovely Bajorian fruit juice blend. Some say it's the next best thing to sex."

"I'll just have a water." said Micheal. He could see how a drink could be compared to something like sex, but then agian who was he to argue. He had not even been on a date much less had that kind of experience."May I ask you a question?"

"Shoot, friend." Door said handing Micheal his water.

"On this ship people are all very professional. All work gets done, and with very little error I may add. Still people have the time to socialize with friends. I over heard one ensign call of the other ensign her sister even though they were clearly not related. How can they this close?"

Door chuckled and said,"This is a small area of space compared to what you see out those windows. People need that kind of relationship with other people because they need that comrodery. That since of feeling someone is there even when it feels like noone is there is what makes extraordinary men out of ordinary people. With out that feeling of belonging what good would it do you to get out of bed."

Micheal sipped his water,"I still don't understand."

"Well, you just need time. Pretty soon you'll understand. One thing that will help is come down here more often. Meet people on a personal level. Let them know you're here and can be a pretty good guy."

Micheal just looked up at Door. After a seconds he downed his water and said,"Thanks, you've been a big help. Have the Bajorian drink recipie sent to my replicator." He turned and remembered who he was and that represented Starfleet at ALL time. Turning back he said, "...please."

Door gave him a wink and said,"You bet; If you do one thing for me. When you're on duty fix this desposal unit it's gone heywire."

Micheal was suprised. He never told Door he was an engineer. He could have been security for all he knew. "How did you..."

"It's my job to know about people friend. See ya in a few hours."

"Yes, sir..." Micheal was still in a little bit of a shock as he walked out of ten-forward. That bartender was amazing. he was definatly going back but not until he tried that Bajorian Juice Blend.

"Confrontation"
by Ensign Elaiithin Jii, OPS, USS Galaxy
with excerpts from
"High Crimes and Misdemeanors"
by Lieutenant junior grade Jonathan Lucas Brandis

["Ensign Jii, upon your detainment I want you to report directly to my office. Is that clear?" ]

Elaiithin thumbed his commbadge. "Crystal-clear, sir" he answered. Might as well wait to point out that the Lieutenant had gotten his name wrong.

["Good, oh and by the way, you'll be working my shift and yours as soon as you get out. You will retake, along with your fellow accomplice The Ensign's Ethical Code test. Just in case you're wondering, you'll both take it separately, because we sure as hell wouldn't want a repeat 'performance.' And another thing...If you wanna prance around the Galaxy playing Don Juan, I suggest you Do IT off duty." ]

"Understood, Elaiithin out," the Bajoran answered, closing the channel first, surprising his department XO.

Elaiithin had a few hours to kill before he was released at the start of Alpha Shift. Where did Brandis get off? Lieutenant Commander Thomas would be responsible for his discipline, not that snot nosed.....Careful, Jii, maybe he didn't realize he referred to you by your first name coupled with your rank. Maybe he didn't know that with Bajorans, the family name comes first. He is technically your superior officer. And he does outrank you. Wouldn't be a good idea to piss him off. I'll probably have to be careful what I think, too...Lex had said that Brandis had tried to read Kalln's minds at the party.

Waitasecond.

He can't read my mind without my permission...that would be against regulations.

So if he does, I can file charges.

With that knowledge, the young Bajoran simply napped. He was tired, after all.

Elaiithin was awakened a few hours later by Lexana Ral.

"Wake up, sunshine. It's Alpha Shift. You're free to go."

Elaiithin stood, stretched, and exited the cell. "You know, Lex, you could have just kept on walking."

"Where would the fun have been in that? You should control yourself more."

'It wasn't my idea! I was taken advantage of!"

"Oh, whatever. That's what they all say. Go report to your CO." she said with a smile.

"I'm going to get you for this, you know. Mark my words. " Jii said, smiling as well.

"Get out of here. I'll see you at dinner later."

"Dinner?"

"You, me, Gartner, and Heratta, tonight, remember? 10-Foward, 2000 hours?"

"Oh yea...."

"Don't be late."

"Hey..trust me..."

With that, Elaiithin left the Brig and headed for the Operations Offices. He was going to have something of a confrontation with Lieutenant Brandis, no doubt. What kind of name for a Betazoid was that, anyway? Calm down..you're in enough trouble already. No need to add insubordination to the list.

After a few minutes of travel through the enormous starship, Ensign Elaiithin Jii arrived at the Operations Offices on Deck 8 of the Primary Hull.

Lieutenant Brandis was seated behind his desk in a room outside of the main one. All the officers in the OPS department had a desk, actually. Elaiithin walked into Brandis' office, wondering where Lieutenant Commander Thomas was.

"Ah," said Brandis, looking up. " Ensign Jii"

Elaiithin cleared his throat. He was standing very sstiffly at attention, something unusual in the largely casual atmosphere of the Galaxy.

"Something wrong, Ensign?"

"My name isn't Ensign Jii, sir. It's Ensign Elaiithin. Bajoran tradition is that the family name precede the surname. It is actually quite an insult in Bajoran culture to refer to us by title and first name"

"My apologies, Ensign Elaiithin, I stand corrected. I did not mean to offend you," said Brandis with a smirk.

"None taken, sir. You didn't know. You wished to see me?"snapped the Bajoran back.

"Yes, I did. Regarding your little stunt during Delta shift last night. Abandoning your post....lewd behaviour whilst on duty. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"With all due respect, the Lieutenant has been misinformed."was the stiff reply.

Brandis's eyes shot up at that one. The heretofore quiet Ensign was certainly behaving brashly. "The third-person rule is not in effect on the Galaxy. Continue, Ensign."

"Permission to speak freely?"

This was a fair enough request. It was hardly ever refused in Starfleet. It usually prefaced a junior officer saying something that would be highly out of line otherwise.

"Granted." It would have been unusual for Brandis to deny the request.

Elaiithin relaxed only a little, and let loose.

"Sir, I did nor abandon my post. Internal sensors reported a glitch in the Environmental Control Systems for Deck 29. I decided to check it out. Ensign Freeman, the assigned back up for Delta shift, took over. Lieutenant T'Zaq approved my request, and upon arriving at Junction28/D, I discovered Ensign Scott had been ordered by Engineering to check out the same glitch. Between the two of us, we fixed the problem. As for the rest...well... Ensign Scott and I have had a previous relationship, and things sort of, just, happened."

"Just happened?"

"Yessir."

"In that case, report to Beta Shift for Bridge duty."

Elaiithin stiffened again. Brandis took it as a sign of displeasure, and rightly so. "Still permission to speak freely?" asked Elaiithin.

Brandis sighed. "Of course."

" I am uncertain as to why you reported to the Bridge during Delta Shift. It simply wasn't necessary. It would be illogical for me to take your shift later in the day, when you chose to be the take over for my shift. Also, if I remember regulations correctly, Lieutenant Commander Thomas is directly responsible for my discipline, being the Department's CO. If he orders me take additional shifts, I will, but I don't feel it appropriate for me to take your shift. I am aware that I was derelict in my responsibilities for participating in such...recreation... while on duty. Is that all, sir?"

During Elaiithin's entire bit, the assistant chief of operations had simply listened.

"Yes, Ensign, we are finished. Be warned, I will be making a full report to Lieutenant Commander Thomas."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, sir."

"Dismissed"

"Aye sir"said the younger officer, and walked out of the Operations office.

"Meeting Arisa"
By Lt. Commander David Mercury
Chief Engineer
USS Galaxy

"This chair taken?" David asked as he approached the bar.

"No, have a seat. I'm Ensign Jordan Arisa, we met the other day..."

"Right you were lost... that seems like ages ago. So have you adjusted to living on the Galaxy?" "Its been a little hectic around here the last couple of days but I think I will fit in nicely. How long have you been on the Galaxy?" Jordan asked

"About a year and a half...a" "That's it, how old are you?"

"Why, how old do I look?" David replied

"I guess late 20s early 30s. I mean you are a Lt. Commander, chief of engineering..."

"I look that old, I just turn 24 two months ago. As for moving up the command chain so fast well I can only claim luck. I was in the right place at the right time. Any you?"

"Just about to turn 23. Well I am impressed, 'Commander."

"Care to move this conversation to a table?" the 'Commander asked.

"I'll follow you."

David and Jordan continued the converation at a table near the rear. Enjoying each others company time seemed to fly by. The conversation ranged from the Academy to blind dates. They covered everything. This was the first time since Melissa was onboard that David really felt comfortable with someone. She was charming, beautiful and very aggressive. What does the future hold...

Duty Time
By Chris Reynolds Ensign Security
USS Galaxy

Chris was still talking to his old class mate Uhura when he decided that he had partied enough.

"Uhura old friend, I must take leave of your companionship for my shift is swiftly approaching and I need to fight back the alcohol in my system before I can report to duty.". Chris had drank a lot with his pal, but he is well known for being able to deal with the alcohol in his system very well. The only problem with this is that people seem to want to challenge him to drink-offs. He has yet to lose.

"Well, stop by the science department when you can.". Uhura shook Chris's hand.

"Hey, no problem. You know, you bear a striking resemblence to Captain Sisko?." Uhura's eyes opened wide, but when Chris and other people around him started laughing, Uhura knew it was just a joke.

"Very funny you.". The two officers bid thier final farewells and Chris exited the holodeck. Chris made his way down to his quarters.

When Chris entered his quarters, he realized that he forgot to turn off his terminal. It showed an amazing picture of the infamous Pickett's Charge. Chris thought to himself about how brave those men were to face death like that. Chris decided that he would have to do a sim on the holodeck of this amazing attack.

Chris changed into his uniform. He couldnt believe how more comfortable he felt in it. He walked over to his replicator.

"Computer, coffee, black.". The replicator responded with a brilliant show of light coming together and forming his mug of coffee. Chris took it and walked over to his terminal. He lifted his mug up to his lips, but suddenly felt a shivering sensation go through his body like a rippeling wave. He thought it was just from the alcohol, but suddenly the room went black. He couldnt see anything for a long while. Suddenly a figure appeared in front of him. He strained to see who it was, but a blinding light was preventing him to see anything but the outlines of a person.

Then the light dimmed, and Chris found himself looking at Sara. He shook his head, telling himself that she was dead. Had been since that shuttle accident, but when he looked up, she was still there. Her long flowing red hair layed lazily on her shoulders. She was wearing the same clothes she wore the day she died. Chris looked into her green eyes and he started cry. She was there. Right there in front of him.

"I love you Sara!". Chris jumped towards her to hug her and as sudden as she appeared, she disappeared. Chris found himself standing in his quarters alone. The mug that carried his coffee was on the floor with the fluid splashed out everywhere.

"Computer, how much time until I have to report to duty.".

"Ensign Reynolds is to report to duty in 20 minutes.".

Chris walked out of his quarters and headed for sickbay.

"Distractions."
by Lieutenant Commander Erikson
Chief Science Officer - USS Galaxy

Typically Lieutenant Commander Erikson was only on Bridge duty in one of three situations. The first was in his capacity as Chief Science Officer of the USS Galaxy each day during the Alpha shift. The second was as shift commander during the Delta shift when his name came up on the rotating roster he shared with the other senior officer of the Galaxy. The third was during an emergency or when the ship was at red alert.

At the time Erikson stood at the auxiliary science station it was neither the Alpha or Delta shifts nor was the ship at red alert. Much to the annoyance of Ensign Setak, the Chief Science Officer seemed to hover around the two stations. The Vulcan scientist had not been on the ship long but he always performed his tasks precisely and efficiently. Whilst he worked monitored the sensors readings from the surrounding space he would occasionally glance over at his commanding officer and wonder why he was there.

The science console beeped a few times and as before Erikson moved over behind the Vulcan's shoulder to watch the information as it came from the main sensor array. "I have it sir." he said politely as he tried to do his job without much distraction.

The Lieutenant Commander nodded and moved back to the auxiliary station. Although there was a security team already on board the Latinum Prince, the Captain requested regular sensor scans of the ship and local region, especially after the recent Jem'Hadar attack.

Setak glanced back over to Erikson. "Sir," he said in the hope of getting his attention, "there are no spatial anomalies in the region, no celestial objects of any intrinsic scientific value, and no unidentified vessels were in the vicinity. Is there something in particular you were looking for?" he inquired.

The Chief Science Officer tapped the console as he rerouted an analysis he was working on over to tactical for a security review. "I am not sure Ensign."

The Vulcan raised an eyebrow to the other scientist's response. "Curious. Then how will you know when you have found it."

Greer continued to modify a few of the variables he had been working on. "I am not sure Mister Setak. I guess I will know as soon as I find it. It is a Human thing. You understand."

Ensign Setak looked a little confused at the remark. "Actually sir, I do not."

The stoic response made Erikson smile a little as he remember the same type of confusion he encountered on Vulcan all those year ago. "It doesn't matter Ensign. It was merely an expression." he tried to explain. "I am trying to keep myself preoccupied."

"Then, sir, might I suggest you try something more constructive? You seem to be having limited success at the moment." the new science officer offered his unbiased analysis of the situation.

"Very to the point Ensign but also accurate I suppose." Greer acknowledged. "I think perhaps it is time that I get some sleep. No rest for the wicked you know."

Standing up the Lieutenant Commander gave the Vulcan a nod. Still trying to understand the last reference, Setak discontinued his consideration of the statement and returned to his work.

Standing on to the turbolift Greer though more about what he had discussed with the Captain. As he considered the words of the older man, the turbolift doors closed and computer awaited an indication of where the Human wanted to go. "Deck Eight." he said as a beep from the computer broke his concentration.

The turbolift powered up and started to proceed to Deck Eight as requested. A slight hum sounded faintly as it went about it's task, the Lieutenant Commander standing their in silence until the carriage stopped and two engineers came in.

"And he just wouldn't stop." one of the them complained. "I swear, I tried everything and couldn't find a reason for the malfunction in that junction . . . sorry sir." the Ensign said as she noticed the Chief Science Officer standing there.

"Don't worry about it Ensign," he said back to her, "Lieutenant." he nodded as the male engineer.

"Sir." the Lieutenant acknowledged. "Main Engineering."

"Computer, halt turbolift." he said giving the two engineers an apologetic look. "I think I'll get the next turbolift."

"That's all right sir." the Lieutenant said as the Chief Science Officer stood out of the carriage. "Computer, resume."

The turbolift doors closed behind him and took the engineers to Main Engineering. "Computer, locate 'Commander Morris."

["Lieutenant Commander Morris is in the Arboretum."]

'Still?' he thought to himself. Although he had been trying to avoid thinking about what he had done and of Ronni in general, he still was concerned for her. No matter what had happened he hoped that they could at least be friends.

Taking the next turbolift to the same deck as the Arboretum he got out and began to look through the masses of botanical specimens in search of Ronni Morris. It took him a quarter of an hour but he eventually caught sight of her bluish form sitting next to Commander Casey. As soon as he saw them together he tried to quietly move closer in the hope to hear what they were talking about.

Although he did not believe in eaves dropping he wanted to be sure that she was all right and find out discretely whether or not she had harsh feelings towards him. Moving through the Terrokas bushes he began to feel more like the Starfleet Intelligence personnel they had on the Galaxy some time ago than he did a scientist.

Personal Log
Ens Coghlan
9902.16

We have been persuing the Louis for half an hour, and she is gaining a lot of ground. By my calculations unless she is stopped and soon the Louis will reach their destination in seven and a half hours, two hours before we will even enter the system. That gives them two hours to begin whatever they are planning......" Whatever they are planning.", I've made them sound like Dominion spies, just because the are trying to save their lives and the lives of the crew.

I keep asking myself would I have done the same thing if I were in their shoes. And I still can not give a definate yes or no. But I should be asking myself a diferent question. If ordered would I be able to fire on the Louis. That is the harder question.

End Log

With the homing beacon secured on the ferengi cruiser, Sunder was content to see the end of his erstwhile prisoners. He signalled Commander Casey to inform him that the ship was prepped for departure. He still couldn't shake the feeling though that he hadn't seen the last of Toog. The ferengi was small, but that didn't make him any less dangerous an enemy in the galaxy.

He gave a thought to Endris Gakor. Matthew Albrecht's tellarite fiance was experiencing complications. Cat was called away from the festivities at Jeorg's departure to attend to her. He hoped that she was alright and that Matthew wouldn't have much to be concerned about.

Even so, it wasn't a good time for Albrecht's arrest. He'd have to postpone the plans until after the baby was fine. Sunder wasn't worried though; there was no other place for him to disappear. No, Sunder's group would wait until there was a better time for them to strike...

Shortly after Chief Science Officer Erikson departs the Bridge, Setak realizes that is has been approximately 5 hours since his initial request was sent to the Chief Security Officer for issueance of a concealable Type I hand phaser. Remembering that Lt. Commander Erikson was having difficulty sleeping and was searching for activity, Setak decides that it is worth the risk to contact the Commander and make an appeal for his request in person.

[Setak to Commander Erikson]

"Yes, Ensign?"

"Commander, there has not been a response from the Chief of Security regarding my request for issue of a Type I phaser. This was a logical request based on our proximity to the Cardassian border as well as our recent attacks by the Jed'Hadar. I feel that it is my duty to be able to defend my experiements or destroy them if necessary if we are boarded, as well as important to the safety of the ship."

While Setak is conversing with Commander Erikson, he is working on an application running at his primary Science Station which is an attempt to make the ship's internal sensors more sensitive and perhaps better able to discern cloaked Jem'Hadar warriors, based on detection of trace respiratory gas emissions.

Setak also has the Galaxy's computer route an acknowledgement to Ensign Stevens stating he has received his research files. Setak routes his current subspace anomaly research files to Ensign Stevens keyed to the Ensign's personal security code, and also keys a message for Lt. Sullax to read when he resumes his duties next evening, requesting that he be given authority to work with Ensign Stevens on a series of side research projects.

Ens. Setak
Science Officer
USS Galaxy

" Didn't even hear about it... ", Sunder murmured as he passed an eye over the mountain of administrative work that was starting to pile up on his desk. He'd offered to watch Matthew's shift as well as his own and was starting to regret the decision. Paperwork tended to multiply at a geometric rate so much that things like individual requests from crew-members tended to get lost in the shuffle.

Apparently one of the new officers posted to the GALAXY - one Ensign Setak, a newly commissioned science officer had barged into the office. Mistaking another security officer for Sunder, he proceeded to demand permission to carry a type I phaser in defence of some science project he had on the go. Owing to the proximity of the Cardassian border, the ensign somehow believed that his experiments were in danger.

If the ensign were anyone else other than a vulcan, Sunder would have tagged him as an impetuous young officer. But knowing how meticulous vulcans usually were, he could only mark this uncharacteristic behavior due to a lack of experience. To simply march into the security office and demand a phaser shotgun-style didn't really sit too well with him. Besides, the vulcan had walked out as brashly as he had walked in.

Unfortunately, no-one had seen fit to record this request into the duty log. Obviously no-one had taken him seriously. But to be fair, no-one probably had time to reply to him given his quick entrance and egress. Setak though, had at least followed up his request to Sunder with a polite, if brusque, memo.

" Deliver to Ensign Setak. " He instructed the computer and began to dictate.

" Mr. Setak, owing to Starfleet security regulations, personal armament on a starship is restricted to Security personnel only during peace-time or when the ship is not in a combat situation. Seeing as you are not a security officer, I suggest that you occupy yourself with the success of your experiments and leave their safeguarding to those in Security. Thank you for your concern and your obvious desire to assist in this ship's safety. Should we require your assistance in it's defence, rest assured that we will keep you in mind. Unfortunately though, your request to carry a phaser is denied. However, if you do have any experiments that are of a particularly sensitive nature, I would suggest that you make a request through your commanding officer for extra security presence in the science lab. "

" End message. " He finished. He tried to sound as polite as possible, momentarily forgetting that the vulcan would not miss the pleasantries. But he couldn't have just anyone carrying weaponry on the ship!

Sunder shook his head and made a note of the request into the security log. Just one more for the books, he thought...

"Repairs and suggestions"
Lt. j.g. Ordell Kincade
Assistant Chief Engineer, U.S.S. Caduceus

In Engineering, Ordell and Belod had managed to adjust the warp engines for the lack of the OU unit. Normally, the maximum speed under such a situation was warp 6, but Ordell had managed to get slightly more, a little under warp 6.2. However, it would still be some time before the Caddy caught up with the St. Louis, since the St. Louis had a significant head start.

Ordell had also sent teams to make the necessary repairs to the hull where it had been damaged by the phaser fire. Then he prepared the usual engineering reports that had to be filed and given to the captain and department head, in this case the chief engineer, and to be filed in the ship's computers.

"Computer, locate Lt. Claymore." "Lt. Claymore is in the readyroom," the computer intoned. Ordell thought that was a good coincident, since he wanted to report in to Lt. Claymore, and to make a possible suggestion to the Captain as to how to stop the St. Louis before they reached wherever it was they were planning on going. It would be killing two birds with one stone, to quote the old Earth saying.

Ordell transferred the reports onto two padds and headed to the bridge. Upon arrival at the bridge, he went over to the readyroom door and pressed the chime. "Enter," he heard Captain Manion say. Ordell entered to find Manion, Kozlov, Vetra, and Claymore in the readyroom.

Ordell handed one padd to Manion and the other to Claymore. "Captain, the warp engines are running at maximum, and I've been able to squeeze a bit more out of them. The damage from the St. Louis' phaser fire has been repaired as much as possible under the circumstances," he reported. "Good work, Lieutenant," she said. "Captain, I have a suggestion," he said. Manion nodded for him to go on. "Now, I may be wrong about this. I'm not too up to date on Starfleet quarantine procedures, and this is the first quarantine I've ever participated in. But from what I understand, when you initiated the quarantine, the St. Louis was essentially put under your jurisdiction as the captain of the Caduceus." "That's correct," Manion said. "When the St. Louis broke the quarantine, this could be viewed - very broadly, of course - as mutiny. Since Dr. Jergensen is still on the QU, you can send a message to her to ensure that the captain of the St. Louis is relieved of duty and that the first officer is in command. The St. Louis conn officer will be ordered to bring the ship to a complete stop, and we can reestablish the quarantine." (OOC: Dawn, Kristi, comments? Good idea, or do I need to go review Starfleet regulations concerning quarantines? Dawn, please insert your reply here.)

"Understood, Sir," Ordell said after Captain Manion replied. He turned to leave, but Manion stopped him. "Lieutenant, I know you've minored as a conn officer when you were in the Academy. How are you at piloting a runabout?" "I am fully qualified shuttle and runabout pilot," Ordell replied, puzzled, wondering why she'd be asking that question.

“Dueling Hearts, Conflicted Souls”
USS GALAXY
Commander Deiran Casey
Lt. Commander Tebrianne Bancroft
Lt. (JG) Benedict T’Kal

** USS Galaxy, Arboretum - during the party for Sterner **

Deiran and Ronni were at the south side of the Arboretum which was close to the entrance of the Arboretum. From this location, the entrance behind Deiran and Ronni was the only way out.

When Deiran saw Ben and Teb, he felt a cross between fear, hatred, jealousy and happiness all at the same time. Deiran noticed Teb’s long, somewhat disheveled tresses. Her jacket and cape were slung over her shoulder and the billowing shirt she wore was rumpled--the top few buttons unfastened. It looked as if Teb had gotten dressed rather quickly.

Then there was Ben. He had hurried dressing as well from the looks of it. Ben wasn’t happy to see Deiran, Casey could see it in the man’s eyes. Quite honestly, Deiran wasn’t too happy to see Ben. Casey’s emotions were conflicted, jumbled and most definitely confused. He was a man full of white hot rage ready to spout at the slightest pressure. Like a volcano erupting.

Benedict was in a similar state of dress - the loose white shirt with the ruffled front was half untied - his hair had pulled free of the ponytail - and it hung darkly over his shoulders - the streak of silver blazing almost as much as his eyes. He was still caught up in the after-affects of the mind meld, and he was furiously trying to dampen down his passion and sort out his thoughts. One hand was caught firmly in his lovers grip - the other held his jacket and cape. The rapier hung at his side. Benedict had never seen Tebrianne react like she had a few moments before! It surprised him - and elated him, and he craved for it to continue - but there was Casey - as always - standing in the way of Benedict's desires!

Deiran couldn’t stand the thought of losing Miran, losing his family. Nothing meant more to him than his family. Not even his destiny. He snapped though, despite his internal efforts to remain silent. He had to find out if she knew anything.

“Teb, I’m sorry to disturb you. Miran has found out that you were the woman I was with. I don’t know who told her or how it all happened but I’m on the verge of my marriage collapsing. Would you know who might have told her?” Casey was pleading with her. He just wanted to strike at whoever was responsible. To sentence them to at least a few months of rehab at a Space station medical facility.

The voice had startled Tebrianne at first, but that quickly gave way to panic and anger. It was Deiran. He was right there. In front of her. Blocking the exit--the only way to Benedict's quarters. Her mind raced. Tell him that she and Ben had an argument at the party and it slipped out accidentally. Then make a dash for Ben's. Her eyes darted to Ben--she felt his eyes envelop her and start to pull her in. Sanity slipping away again. Body on fire. Tingling. Back to Deiran before it got to be more than she could stand.

"I guess it might have slipped out at the party, Commander," she said quickly. "Ben and I had an argument about that agreement you and he came to. I got a little bloody worked up over it and said a few things I shouldn't have. I'm really sorry about that. I promise it won't happen again." She grabbed Ben's hand and tugged him forward. She almost felt intoxicated. Time to have her way with him. An inward smile as she thought of her hair cascading over him. "Excuse us, Commander. We've got to go now."

Benedict was literally stunned by Casey's admission! He hadn't told her? Miran didn't know that it was Teb? Prophets what a fool! She had learned of it in the worst possible way - but didn't the whole bloody ship know who he had been with? Surely someone would have told her - it should have been Deiran! Now the man's attempts at friendship with Teb took on a darker hue . . .perhaps he had it in mind later to continue - once the gossip had stopped. Some kind of strategic withdrawal that would allow him to move on Teb later - that would explain why he'd kept Miran in the dark as to the identity of his mistress!

Now the man was literally groveling to Teb that his marriage was lost! Who'd told her? As if someone else was to blame! He warred with his own expressions at that moment - Casey couldn't have appeared any less of a man! However Benedict was an adherent of Bushido - and Casey was his superior officer - he was wearing the uniform even now - and Benedict owed him a duty of respect and honor. Both of which were hardly earned by his behavior!

He kept his face immobile - Tebriannes' insistent tugging on his arm distracted his thoughts - she had informed Casey of the truth - that was good enough! Benedict started moving around Casey as Teb started walking. He didn't look into the mans' eyes - he didn't need that! One look would show Casey what Ben really thought of him - and he had to keep a cool head himself. He subconsciously moved his body one step closer to Casey than Teb - he'd have to look past Benedict to see Tebrianne.

The first signs of total outrage were beginning to register on the Commander’s face and the sooner that the two lovers could leave him to wallow in his own self pity the better! Benedict turned his back on Deiran Casey as they walked away. Deiran was speechless at first. But the rage that was like a volcano just moments earlier erupted into a great blast of pure anger, “Why would you do that Bancroft?” he roared at the little home-wrecker.

Casey took a menacing step forward to block their exit - Benedict was in the way and he shifted his glare to meet his eyes. "Stand aside Lieutenant." He said in a cold voice - barely controlled.

Benedict had to respond to the man's rank - so he did as he was ordered. He took one step aside - only one - still within reach, but no longer blocking Casey's path. Casey stood a few feet from Tebrianne - he was red faced and shaking with the fury that was brimming obviously to the surface. Benedict instantly relaxed. Casey was angry but he was in uniform - he wouldn't touch her - but he was still ready for it...

Tebrianne had been quite specific earlier in the night - she had insisted on being able to handle Casey on her own - she was a big girl she'd said. Benedict had to respect that - it was different to approach Casey earlier - but now she had expressly told him that she wanted to clean up her own mess. He had to let her.

“You little… What the hell were you thinking Tebrianne? Do you realize what that little slip just cost me and my family? A simple apology won’t do!” Casey was fit to bursting. He took a deep breath and let loose again.

“Everything was fine until your mouth started before your brain did. What the hell were you thinking? I just got my family back together. I love Miran more than my own life. We made one mistake, in one night. Did you do this to spite me?” he asked incredulously. His eyes were wild.

“You not only hurt me. But you hurt Miran! What the hell has she ever done to you?” His finger stabbed at her. “She’d forgiven me, she was in love with me again. My God Teb, she’s having my second child! Everything was beginning to return as it was.” He shook his head and glared at her again. “My daughter! Teb, because of that little slip, Lara could grow up away from me! That slip could’ve not only hurt me, but destroy my little girl’s childhood. We had put my stupid mistake behind us, we were a family again and you had to open that big mouth of yours with my wife standing right next to you!”

Benedict watched the two ex-lovers. Deiran was in full stride now - he was venting his fury at Tebrianne - and she seemed to be wilting as he watched. He was hitting her with every guilt trip he knew . . .but Benedict couldn't fault his argument. In a way they had been irresponsible arguing in public...

Casey was almost snarling his accusations. “My God, what the hell was going through your mind as my life crumbled and my wife’s heart was breaking? How would you feel if Ben there, cheated on you?” He finger stabbed out at Ben this time - but he didn't stop. “He’s not any better than I am!” He shouted.

Ben’s eyes narrowed at the direct insult. Deiran Casey had just insulted Benedict to the core of his being! He'd just called him a Dishonorable Adulterer - a Liar - and a Fool all in the one sentence. Benedict’s hand dropped instantly to the blade at his side and his face went hard. His violet eyes stared unflinchingly at Deiran Casey - he waited until Tebrianne could have her say . . .

Casey continued with one long breath. “It took a lot of strength from her to forgive me. I couldn’t believe it myself. Tebrianne, I don’t want to live without Miran. I need her and your stupid little slip just cost me everything.” His hand cut the air like a blade - his other fist balled and white - he was shouting loud enough for anyone in the Arboretum to hear.

“You don’t get second chances.” He shouted into her face. “I should have never allowed myself to lust after you, but that’s no reason to hurt Miran and Lara!” the words flowed like hot lava running down the side of a mountain. The words were fast, furious and intense. Filled with hatred and pain.

Ronni was speechless at his outburst. She had never seen the man more irate.

He moved close to Tebrianne, nose to nose, eye to eye and asked, “Why?” He was so furious he couldn’t get out anything more. His composure was gone. All he could think about was life without Miran and his two babies. “I wished I’d never met you!” he screamed.

The fires that were burning inside of Teb were snuffed out in an instant. The barrage was unexpected. It came from her blindside. She'd been blinded by the passion she felt for Ben. The need to get him back to where she could make love to him. A part of her--the rebel--screamed obscenities, spit and howled in anger. It was a small part now. He held her eyes with his.

Benedict gritted his teeth as Casey stepped closer to Tebrianne. He had to stop himself from stepping between them - Casey had ordered him aside - but that was before he insulted his honor - and he was getting out of control.

"I wish I'd never met you." The words echoed in Tebrianne's mind as she tried to find the words that might calm the flames, the hatred coming from every pore of Casey's being. "Never met you!" She could feel herself flinching. Her head felt like it was filled with the raw food stock from the replicators.

"I don't know," she said softly. "I didn't mean to-- It just happened, Deir--Commander. I was upset. Angry that you--you and Benedict would make arrangements regarding my life--our friendship--without my knowledge or approval. I snapped and words just came out of my mouth. Look, I'm sorry if I hurt you or your family, but I didn't mean for that to happen. It was bloody stupid of me, and I shouldn't have said the things I did. I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't-- I'm sorry, De-- Commander."

Tebrianne allowed her eyes to drop away from his. She could feel herself crumbling under his gaze. Her legs felt like they could give out. She destroyed his life. It was only fair that he could dig into her. Daft bimblehead. Spouting off in a crowded room full of people. Miran standing only meters away. She was there the whole time. Wasn't she? Whether she was there or not was irrelevant. The world heard, the entire ship heard the whole story, and now Deiran's marriage was ruined for good. How much did I actually say? What did I say?

The thoughts raced through Teb's mind. She couldn't remember the specifics--just that Miran was leaving Deiran for good. And it was because Teb spelled out the affair down to the last detail.

"What now?" The words were soft, forced. She held back the flood of emotions that threatened to overwhelm. A new flood. A different flood. Now she could only wait for what Deiran would do to her for destroying his life.

Deiran was still fuming, but he stepped back to give Teb her space.

“What now?” The question sounded like the thickest of sarcasm sheathed in anger. His body leaned closer to her - like he was addressing a stupid child. “How about you go to Miran, beg her forgiveness and tell her that we just had one night, that I’ve done nothing with you sense the one night and that she shouldn’t let me get away?”

“How about you learn to think before you act or speak!” Deiran shouted. He wasn’t calming down. He just couldn’t contain himself. If it had been anyone else he’d have killed them, he never expected Teb to do this to him.

“I love Miran with all my heart. I cared for you like a sister afterwards Teb, when we agreed to just be friends that was it for me. Yes you have a great body, you were a good person until tonight. I agreed to Ben’s request because I thought you had asked him to speak with me. I just wanted you to be happy after the pain I caused you. I was sorry for what happened.” He cast a quick glance at Ben and then rounded on her again.

“Ben never told me he hadn’t spoken with you. That it was all secret from you. If I had known that I would have told you myself! Teb, I’m sorry for what happened between us, I never wanted to hurt you. But, this is just too much…” he stopped. Deiran wanted to punch something. He put his hands at his side and gripped them both into a fist.

He began ticking points off on his fingers. “I want my family back! I want our horrible past to disappear. I want the hate I feel for myself and for you to fade away into a distant memory. I want peace!” He screamed the last word into her face - his features contorted into a mask of hatred. He took a ragged breath and began pacing before her - still looking in her face, but no longer able to cage the amount of energy he needed to release.

“I want to see my little girl grow into a beautiful young woman,” Casey almost lost it there. The thought of not seeing Lara grow up, that he wouldn’t be with her tore him to shreds.

Deiran couldn’t restrain himself any longer. He stepped up to a tall pine that stood close to the edge of the path and slammed it with his fist. He screamed. “I want my family back!”

He walked back over to Teb, “What now?” He asked her again - emphasizing both words like two daggers he threw at her. “Pray hard that I don’t lose my family, or God so help me I’ll…” Deiran couldn’t believe he was threatening Tebrianne Bancroft. His face was contorted with anger and flushed in red. He stopped himself before he went further. He abruptly turned away - then came back just as quickly.

“I wish I’d never even spoken to you, or even knew your name.” He stabbed at her with his finger once again. His teeth were clenched in his passionate rage. “All I want is my family back!” he roared.

There was nothing she could say to him. She wanted to leave--to run back to her quarters. To leave the Galaxy to get away from the humiliation. Could she leave Starfleet? She'd ruined his life. It was her fault. The jacket and cape slipped from her grasp as she hazarded a look up at Deiran. From beneath the raven's wing that shadowed her eyes, she could see--could feel--his contempt and hatred.

She wanted to find Ben's eyes and lose herself--let them pull her in and consume her. She couldn't face him. The bracelet on her wrist felt like a leaden weight. She'd let him down. She'd told him she could handle Deiran Casey. She'd told him she would handle Deiran Casey. Deiran Casey had snapped her like a dry twig!

Benedict saw it in her face. She was defeated by his anger and his self-righteous accusations - as if it was Tebrianne's fault that he'd not had the guts to tell his wife everything. The man was a bloody coward! He hadn't even had the guts to complete his act of Seppuku . . .and Benedict just knew that it had been a calculated move on his part to win his wifes' sympathy - and that of the rest of the ship. He was a manipulator - and Benedict had just had enough of it. It ended right now!

He stepped in the way - in one smooth cat-like step he was suddenly in front of Casey. Benedict's violet eyes met Casey's ice blue - and for a second they were two men confronting each other over a field of hate.

Benedict reached into his belt - he extracted the sheathed blade of his tanto. The blade fashioned just recently by the Head of House T'Kal on Q'onoS. It had been a gift and Benedict treasured it. He held it out toward Deiran Casey - the black and gold sheath gleamed in the overhead lights.

"Commander - I'd be honored to be your second." The challenge in Benedict's voice was unmistakable - the short blade was known to be the instrument of Seppuku . . .he'd once thought about giving Casey lessons - well now he was offering. "If you truly cannot live with the shame - it would make up for the dishonor you give your family and the uniform you wear. You are wrong Commander - I'm nothing like you. Honor is not a jacket you can take off when you feel like it. Everything that has befallen you has been the result of your failures. One after the other. It could all have been avoided." He paused just a moment... "You should have gotten it right the first time!" Benedict glared at him - a cold stare that showed Casey a complete lack of fear - and a challenge that was laid out in the open. The blade hung between them like an unanswered question. Was Casey man enough?

“It is not the shame I can’t live with. I cannot live without Miran. You are naive, Benedict. You underestimate me,” Deiran held the man’s gaze, read him like a sensor array read a nebula. “You’re a pompous ass. You think you are the definition of honor? Honor is defined in a myriad of ways! No one is truly, completely honorable! Everyone stumbles. I fight with honor, I uphold my families honor,” Casey did not back down from the Lieutenant. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitancy.

It was clear that Casey didn’t fear T’Kal the slightest bit. He didn’t fear anything or anyone. His voice was lower now, he was calm. It was an eerie calm. Deiran took control of his emotion the moment Ben entered the conflict. T’Kal was now an adversary and Casey cooled his emotions. The ice in his eyes showed Ben that Casey was ready for anything Ben threw at him. The Iceman’s soul appeared like an apparition behind the icy mirrors. It permeated the atmosphere and radiated confidence, fearlessness.

“Seppuku is not something I follow or even believe in. I was blinded by grief. We see the world differently. My children will have a father. I will not be stupid enough to end my life because I think it will make me look honorable. No one questions my honor or accuses me of dishonor!” Casey spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes taking in the violet of Ben’s eyes.

Deiran Caseys' words settled Benedicts' first concern. The last time that the man had been faced with the loss of his wife and family the first thing he'd done was take a knife to his gut. Benedict thought that fear might well be circulating around in Tebriannes' head. Casey's admission that he wasn't 'that stupid' again, would belay those fears. Now the question of honor..

"You question mine, " Benedict said flatly. "You blame Tebrianne for all your troubles - when you should look no farther than yourself." He placed the blade back into his belt at Casey's obvious refusal. "You say that I am the same as you. I see you as a man who is an Adulterer. You cannot deny that. You cannot say the same to me! My honor is without question - there is only one way this matter can be settled honorably Commander, but you wear a Starfleet uniform and you are my commanding officer. There are regulations..." He left it hanging . . .it was really up to Casey. This matter had to be settled between them - but it was Casey that had to allow it to happen. His hand dropped to the hilt of the sword at his hip. It was casual - but Casey's eyes saw it - and caught it's meaning.

Benedict adhered to Bushido - he wanted this settled - he also needed to regain Tebriannes' 'face' - he could sense her standing behind him, she was as much a part of him as he was of her. Casey had accused her of destroying his life - it was untrue. He'd started all of this from the very beginning. But it had now escalated into a position which neither of them could back away from. Benedict stared into Casey's eyes. It had gone too far now. The realization was with both of them. To back away was to admit dishonor - and neither of them would do that!

Deiran smiled at Ben and replied, “That’s not a problem.” Deiran removed his Commander’s pips and then unzipped his Starfleet tunic. He even made sure to remove the communicator. There was no one around and Deiran needed to show T’Kal, Ronni and especially Tebrianne that despite his mistakes, Deiran was an honorable man.

“Well T’Kal, I’m not in uniform. You can do anything you want to me now. Try anything.” Deiran replied, his eyes ice and his soul aflame. He spread his arms outward in a manner that said, “take your best shot.” Deiran knew he could handle anything that was coming.

Benedict took a slight step backward - totally relaxed. He smiled slightly. "What are you suggesting commander? That I strike you?" His voice was menacingly quiet. He turned his back on Casey and looked at Tebrianne. They stared at each other for a second - all Casey could see was his back. He reached out and lifted her chin with his palm. He smiled - his violet eyes holding hers - showing her how much he loved her in one look. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly.

As he drew away he turned back to Casey - the anti-climactic delay had cooled him slightly - "Lets' settle this like Gentlemen." He said calmly. Benedict unbuckled the rapier at his belt and held it out to Deiran Casey. He fixed him with a stare. "First blood." He stated matter-of-factly. "I wouldn't want to deny you your chance at marriage counseling."

Casey gripped the rapiers' hilt and drew it in one smooth motion - it was a weapon that he was very familiar with. He stepped away and swung it experimentally.

Benedict turned back to Tebrianne and took hold of the hilt of her weapon. He looked into her eyes as he drew it from her scabbard with a slight smile. He backed away from her and walked to a clearer space - he balanced the weapon in his hand and looked at Casey across a space of only a few meters.

"This isn't a holodeck Deiran." He grinned. "This is real life. No safeties." He faced off and balanced on the balls of his feet. The blade assumed the middle attitude without conscious thought. Benedict eased effortlessly into the Void - that place where attitude was no-attitude. He waited.

Deiran grinned, appearing like a hunter who was stalking prey after weeks of hunger. Casey had wanted this ever since they had spoken in Ten Forward.

“Gentleman don’t need safeties T’Kal. Just the heart of a lion and the strength of the bear,” Deiran walked a few meters and stood not far from Benedict. Deiran bowed his head slightly as was the custom in fencing, putting the blade up in front of his face and then swinging it downward. Casey then got into his stance and waited for what was coming.

To Deiran this was fun, he hadn’t faced a true opponent in years. Few were his equal when he held a sword in his hand.

Deiran began with a lunge and Benedict passed his blade to the right shoulder quarter and met the sliding steel with a 'sticky blade' action. Both blades crossed as they closed distance and Ben’s blade dipped and hilt guards clashed as they spun away. Casey was good. Benedict was practicing the first moves to a new opponent. Testing the man’s limits. Casey was fast on his feet and strong - both men suddenly launched into a flurry of blows and counter blows that rang and spit sparks as they appeared to dance together.

“Playing for keeps Mr. T’Kal,” Deiran grinned, pushing Ben back by shear force of the two men’s blades at a standstill. “I knew you could block that.” He mocked.

Benedict shrugged as they parted blades again. He let Casey talk - it sapped energy and air from muscles - a silent opponent showed no weakness. Casey's weakness was his ego.

“As I said before, no one questions my honor!” Casey spat. He lunged forward and struck several times - yet Benedict was at none of the places his blade tried for. Casey was showing great skill as a classic fencer - obviously more class taught than the combat experience of Benedict's past.

Deiran tried to lash Benedict with his fist as they crossed once again - blades clashing - Benedict blocked it effortlessly with a steel-like forearm - choosing not to reply with the bone breaker counter-strike. It was first blood - not a fist fight. He backed off quickly and fixed Casey with a violet stare. Casey was angry - and that was always a mistake. It lead to openings - over-extensions death . . .

Benedict was certainly not responding to the rapier thrusts with the techniques that would kill - Casey was excellent - but he wasn't a honed killer. Benedict was a trained warrior - it was all he'd ever done. His life was devoted to taking life. It was easy - effortless - and no matter how much Casey thought of himself as a perfect fighter - he was no match for Benedict's style of fighting.

But then - this wasn't a fist fight. Benedict wouldn't resort to that - because he'd kill Casey too easily. He kept the fight to a rapier duel - Benedict's secondary weapon of choice after the katana.

Benedict quick stepped in a classic lower quarter rising strike that Casey responded to automatically - he allowed the blade to shift and then stepped forward - both men came body to body - blades to the side and close - straining to touch. Benedict's violet eyes were mere centimeters from Casey's ice blue stare. Benedict saw the need to win behind his eyes.

Everything that had happened to Casey was coming out in this duel. The affair, the attempted suicide, the pain of possibly losing Miran and his little girl because of Teb’s stupidity. Casey was controlled, but the fire in his eyes was unmistakable. As was the agony of his past.

Benedict shoved Casey away and the blades clashed again - so swiftly that they were a blur faster than the eye could follow. Both men were fighting by instinct and honed skills - they were getting the measure of each other - pushing and falling back - lunging and parrying. Both had begun to sweat with the effort - anyone watching the duel would see two masters seeming to flow and move within a sphere of blurred steel - the clashing blades rang and cast blue sparks during the fierce exchanges.

It was difficult for Benedict to remain within the limits he had set himself. Casey was putting every trick and nuance into his fighting - classical and predictable - and a few that were unpredictable for a fighter with less skill and experience to Benedict T'Kal.

They spun and clashed - parried and slashed - moving like two superb athletes across the Arboretum. The flowers and the trees disappeared to both of them - only the fight existed. Only the steel. It went on...

The furious blows were now becoming more subtle - relying on speed and deftness rather than brute strength. They were evenly matched physically - seemingly just as fast as each other. The duel had lasted for what seemed like decades already but had been only a span of minutes.

Shirts were soaked and muscles were tired - yet first blood seemed still far away. A few cuts were so close as to slash clothing - both wore the badges of ragged tears, yet none were red stained.

Benedict nodded to him as they circled once again. Blades down and breath coming in pants - neither speaking - energy was precious. Casey gave him a lop-sided grin and for the first time Benedict returned it. Somewhere between hate and rage - duty and honor the two men were finding common ground. The duel was necessary for Benedict to regain face - and for Casey to loose his anger. First blood was a thing that Benedict knew both combatants had been avoiding now for the last several minutes - it was more than that now.

It was no longer a test of skill. That was mundane. It was no longer a fight about who was better - or faster - or stronger. That was unnecessary. To the observer it would seem otherwise. The blows were still lightning fast - delivered with paramount skill - yet it seemed to both men that they were now gauging each other on a different plane.

Benedict was aware that other eyes than Ronnie and Tebrianne's watched the combat - no one had interfered. A momentary distraction would seem to be lethal to any observer. It was true that they were locked in what appeared to be a ferocious duet of lethality, but it had changed subtly - no one could possibly see the change - except for the two battling men. They knew. It seemed as if they had reached an understanding - without talking - their blades communicated. Honor somehow seemed satisfied - rage had abated...

There was only duty.

Benedict watched for the chance and it came swiftly. He parried the blow, spun -counter-lunged and drifted. The return blow was predictable and measured perfectly - timed and executed with precision. It entered the hard muscle of h

is side and glanced off a rib as his body twisted. Benedict's shirt blossomed with the red that signaled the end of the combat. He dropped to one knee and let his blade clatter to the floor.

Casey stood back in shock. It was evident for a flicker of a moment on his face. He hadn't expected that move to get past Benedict - he should have parried it. He'd won. He knew instantly that Benedict had allowed it to strike him. Casey stood back further, legs straight, body perfectly upright and then bowed to his opponent. Honor was satisfied. A new respect had grown between the two men.

Casey picked up his tunic, put his uniform back on, including the pips and the communicator, nodded to Ronni and left the Arboretum alone. He gave Teb one more glance, there was no forgiveness in his eyes.

As soon as Tebrianne felt Deiran's eyes on her, she looked away. She didn't want his attention, not at the moment--perhaps not ever.

Casey was tired and headed back to his quarters for some much needed rest.

Tebrianne watched Deiran's back as it retreated from the arboretum. That rebellious part of her wanted to stick her tongue out at him--make obscene gestures. She turned away from him. She moved to Ben's side and gently helped him to his feet. "Let's go home," She said softly. She picked up her blade--the one Ben had been using--and slammed it into the scabbard with a loud metallic clack. Gathering up their fallen clothing, Tebrianne and Benedict left for Ben's quarters.

Tebrianne leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked, and in a barely audible whisper, "Thank you."

Back to the Grind
By Dana Jergensen MD
CMO USS Caduceus

Quarantine Unit Dana had been using the QU's medical database, easily the most detailed in the system. It was an extension of the Cadduceus itself. She was getting no co-operation from the St.Louis' Medical staff. Despite the resources available they refused to see the bigger picture. She checked the files about the Cavi-Carum plant, specifically the berries. It was were the cure is believed to be.

She ran the componets through the medical replicators to se if their increased synthesizers could get close enough to the real thing to maybe get a vaccine. She produced a small dose and checked it with the Data base. It was close but close enough.

" Computer run cuurent sample through Matrix delta 5, in cionjunction with a level 2 stasis field. Coorellate."

-/\- Working...-/\-

She held her breath as the computer did it's thing.

-/\- Result 82%-/\-

Her heart skipped a beat, finally a break. She synthesized a larger dose and took it to the patient area. After administering a measured dose to patients in various stages, she drew bllod samples. She took the samples to the lab.

"Yes!." she yelled. Everyone in the QU stopped to look.

" We're not there yet, but we CAN mimic the Carvi Carum elements enough to afect the virus." Several technicians drew closer as she explained.

" In stages one and two we can retard the growth of the virus. If the Patients are placed into stasis, combined with the replicated serum it slows progression by as much as 80%." She let that sink in. "It's not a cure and we still don't know how it's transmitted, but we got some breathing room."

A nurse steped forward. " What about stage three." she asked. Stage three was the advanced and terminal stage of the virus. Dana grew silent. She wordlessly shook her head.

" Make them as comfortable as possible."

Only the QU's advanced bio-replicators could synthesize the plant's properties. Biofilters were still unable to detect the virus until it was into stage one. The information she now had was the first real progress towards actual treatment.

Dana now dressed in a proper uniform went to the main causeway that led to the St. Louis, PADD in hand.

The guards straightened up.

" Who is in charge?"

" I am." One of the security types piped up.

" I am going to the Main sickbay, where I will deliver IN HAND a treatment for the Virus. You have a decision to make, you can escort me there, or you can lock me in the brig thus delaying treatment that could save lives."

He began to squirm.

=/\= "Irons in the Fire" =/\=
by Lt Matthew Albrecht
Security Officer
USS Galaxy

** Lieutenant Albrecht's Quarters, USS Galaxy **

Alpha shift was nearly over when Matthew Albrecht rolled out of his bunk and stretched his muscles in his darkened room. The ache in his arms reminded him that he hadn't lifted weights in a week. His trainer, ensign Trabuco, would have certainly scolded him if he were up to it. But actually, Gary was part of the reason Matthew was behind in his workout regimen.

Gary was still in Sickbay, recovering from injuries received on the Latinum Prince. Regenerative treatments had shown great success in rebuilding and replacing the surface tissues that had been burned away by the Jem 'Hadar polaron blast. However, despite the incredible abilities of twenty-fourth century medical technology, Gary was still under close medical supervision. Gakor had told Matthew that Trabuco would require months or even years of physical therapy before his recovery would be complete.

When Endris sat down to talk to Gary about his condition and recovery, he had asked Matthew to stay. "No, Matthoo. Shtay. I Wahn yoo t' her thish," he had insisted. The scarred face and swollen tongue of the security officer made clear speech difficult, though the man was much easier to understand than he had been. At least, thought Matthew, his friend was not in any pain. That day, Albrecht fought his tears successfully; there were other days when he could not. Gary was scheduled to leave the ship on their next trip to starbase.

The security officer stood up unsteadily, and ordered a cup of breakfast tea from the replicator. When that materialized, he had recovered enough bodily sensation to realize that his cat Gandalf was rubbing against his ankles in a plea for attention. Matthew lifted the young cat from the floor, and scratched the little fella behind the ears while he waited for the replicator to produce the feline's favorite supplement. As soon as the food appeared, the furball suddenly grew tired of his person's attentions and dove for the floor to eat, leaving Matthew empty-handed and lightly coated in cat hair. Albrecht took a moment to just watch his companion eat peacefully, while his mind moved on to other things.

And then there was Gakes, thought Matthew while he stood in the sonic shower, waves of subsonic energy cleansing him from head to toe. Gakor had spent a day in Sickbay as a patient, as well. She was developing the first signs of difficulty from her pregnancy. Everyone close to the doctor had been dreading the day when her first symptoms would appear. The threat of Teresi-related complications had become a reality, and the question was no longer IF complications would arise, but had become WHAT complications would arrive next?

Doctor Khatroweena and Gakor had both done their best to reassure him that the Tellarite woman and Matthew's child that she carried were both going to be okay. Albrecht was upset that the two doctors spent so much energy concerning themselves with HIS wellbeing, and seemed to not be worried at all about the health of his future wife. Of course, he knew that she was in the hands of the best doctors in the 'fleet.

Matthew put on his uniform tunic, and let loose a great yawn. He had slept only a few hours. The night before, he had worked Delta shift on the bridge and Beta shift was starting in just a few minutes. The occasional double shift was a fact of life on board a starship, even when a department is fully staffed as the Security department on the Galaxy was. What it meant for Matthew was that if he wanted to get any sleep, he had to miss Alpha shift when he usually hung out on deck 38 and went through reports, catching up on departmental goings-on and conferring with 'commander Sunder.

The Ferengi 'passengers' would be released during Beta shift, he remembered. That, at least, offered some promise of excitement. Gandalf must have sensed his revived energy; the cat was meowing animatedly, as if holding a conversation with Matthew. Albrecht looked down at the charcoal gray feline and replied, "Thank you for your input, sir. I will be sure to remember your advice while on duty." He affixed his comm badge to his chest, and headed out the door into the corridor, thinking about the situation with the Latinum Prince and her crew.

While working on the Bridge the night before, he had performed an extensive search for information on the legality of planting tracking devices on merchant vessels. He had discovered that StarFleet officials had employed such a tactic before during several investigations that led to prosecution. However, due to some fluke of litigation or perhaps through clever behind-the- scenes machinations, no one had ever challenged the legality of covertly tracking a suspect when there are no charges pending against him or her. So, even though he worried about the ethics of the idea, he had to admit that such a clandestine device could be an effective tool. With a little luck, they would discover something incriminating when they reacquired the tracker on some future stardate. When that occurred, he would advise Ursa to find corroborative evidence so he did not rely on the tracking device as his sole source of information. Toog struck the lieutenant as the sort of man who skated so well on the edge of legality that he must know a great deal about Federation trade laws. If that were true, he would be a difficult opponent in a courtroom, indeed.

Matthew made his way to deck 38 and picked up the stack of PADDs from his desk. Glancing over the reports, he was surprised to see Ensign Elaiithin's name on one of two disciplinary reports. Jii did not seem the type to get into fights in Ten Forward or go on a binge and need to sleep it off in the brig. He decided he would have to read that one as soon as he had caught up on the day's events with the Chief.

Lt. Matthew Albrecht
Asst. Chief of Security
USS Galaxy NCC-70637

Decisions
Lt. JG. Aamin Darhe’el
Security Officer, St. Louis

Aamin rounded the corner of the corridor after having just requested a change of guards from Security since the current guards had been in position since the beginning of the shift and he wanted fresh men ready in the event something happened. He looked up to see what appeared to be an officer from the QU unit holding a PADD in one hand issuing commands to his men.

"Who is in charge?" inquired the Starfleet Medical Officer who was now looking over all the guards.

Aamin moved forward to answer the question, but the officer he had left in command had yet to notice his return and replied, "I am," replied Ensign Chavez.

"I am going to the Main sickbay, where I will deliver IN HAND a treatment for the Virus. You have a decision to make, you can escort me there, or you can lock me in the brig thus delaying treatment that could save lives.’ Replied the Medical Officer.

Chavez squirmed slightly but Aamin was not about to let the Medical Officer push his men around, "Excuse me, what is going on here?"

Chavez turned, an obvious show of relief spreading across his face, "Sir, this Medical Officer is requesting to be allowed head to Sickbay."

Aamin moved forward so that he was directly facing the Medical Officer, a small smile spreading across his face, "I am under orders not to allow ANYONE to gain entrance from the QU onto the St. Louis. Your last display of anger at MY Captain on HER bridge has resulted in the current situation. That PADD will be delivered to Sickbay, but you will now be escorted to the brig for in violation of the command established by my superiors. If OUR CMO requires your assistance she merely needs to contact me or my commanding officer and you will be released into HER custody." Aamin took the PADD from the Doctor and handed it to Ensign Alyssa Devmore.

"Ensign Devmore, take this to Sickbay. Ensigns Chavez and Redford escort the Doctor to the Brig. If she resist you are allowed to use necessary force to prevent her from harming the crew or damaging the ship. Understood?"

Both Ensigns nodded and quickly moved into positions alongside the Medical Officer and began to escort her down the corridor while Ensign Devmore ran ahead to reach Sickbay with the PADD. He decided to report the incident to his commander, "Lt. JG. Darhe’el to Lt. Harris. I have just sent one of the QU staff to the brig in violation of the isolation placed on the QU. I’ve sent her documents ahead to Sickbay in the event they have some relevance to the current situation. Lt. JG. Darhe’el out."

He shook his head slightly, he didn’t like how things where turning out at all. "Bajor!" he cursed silently, why couldn’t things be normal? Be more Cardassian?

Jordan
AKA
Lt. JG. Aamin Darhe'el-USS St. Louis

Brig Bunny
By Dana Jergensen MD
CMO USS Caduceus

BRIG USS ST LOUIS Dana sat complacently in her cell. In the midst of a medical emergency the person technically in charge has been arrested. Dana was blonde but she wasn't a dumb blond. She had used QU Command protocols to lock out all NON Cadduceus personnel. If the They wanted to use what she found they have to deal with her no two ways about it.

She had had enough. They needed the QU's services. The St Lou had done everything possible to resist the authority of the Medical Staff in Charge. Now the rules have changed. The St. Louis was NOT in this alone. The St. Louis can not cure the Ocero or themselves ALONE. Dana was taking a BIG risk but had she recieved the co-operation from the beginning such extreme measures would never have been necessary.

The First and Second Stage patients on teh QU were stable. The nursing staff would monitor their progress. the St. Louis' SickBay would not be able to duplicate the serum. When whoever in charge realizes this then they could work TOGETHER to beat this thing.

She waved at her guards, one of them blushed.

LTjg Trevor Allen
USS Caduceus
Paramedic Flight team leader turned Sabature

Allen Waited by the com station with no response from the bridge. He had recieved orders to stop the St louis. His first attempt failed and there were 6 fully armed security guards at the door.

Allen made another round of the patients and there was no change. And Dr. Jergenson was still sleeping. Allen found one of the other medics still tightly raped in there Enviromental suite and instructed them to continue rounds and to wake Dr Jergenson up if any ones condition changed.

Allen went back over to the coms pannel and sent another Transmition to the Caddy.

-\/- QU to Caduceus I don't know if you are getting these transmitions or not but I am going to make another attempt to stop the ST Louise. LT Allen out.-\/-

Allen left a note for Dr. Jergenson explaining that he was going to try and sabotage the engines and stop the St Louise. Allen went to a weapons lock removed 2 phasors and a phasor rifle. Along with a hypo spray.

Allen steped over to the Transporter and got the cordinates for main engineering by the warp core control panel.

Trying to limit the response of the ships internal sensors to detect the Beam in didn't work with in a few seconds of the completed thransport the SHips internal sensors went off and the intruder alert sounded.

Allen quick servayed his suroundings ducking behind a control panel. Quickly noteing his exits out of the room. And who was close to him he calculated he had 30-45 seconds before he was found.

Moving to the first control panel Allen began pulling Isolienier chips out of circuit hoping to shut down the core. At the same time wishing he would have paid more attention to engineering class.

To Be continued

Ensign Micheal Stevens-USS Galaxy-Engineering

Ensign Stevens had just returned to his quarters when noticed all of the information from Setek had arrived. 'Good,' he thought,'I'll start on that tomorrow.'"Computer, set wake up call for the beginging of beta shift." Stevens always made sure his shift was the last of his day. He was always alert during the shift just in case. He layed down in his bed and after a few moments of darkness, he found him self back on the bridge of the Righteous-B. Micheal walked over to the new conn station he helped design. He had just punched in his programer's security code when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey there, bigshot" He swung around in his chair. He saw a figure dressed in a starfleet uniform. An engineering uniform. His right sleeve was torn and tattered and in the right light his face looked like...'no it couldn't be.'Micheal thought.

"What's wrong, Trooper? Don't recognize your old man?" the stranger said ominously.

"You're not my father!" Micheal immediately jumped from his seat taking the offensive position Master Matleq had drilled into his head. Almost without thinking Micheal lunged at the imposter. His "father" seemed to counter everything Micheal threw.

"You can't beat a second generation fighter." his "father" said just before letting loose with a kick Micheal had never seen. Micheal was knocked agianst the view screen. As he brought hisself to his feet he noticed a trickle of blood coming from his right eye. His symbol. He'd worked so hard for it and it was cut by his own father. He looked and said,"If you're my father, what was my mother's maden name."

Without a moment passing Micheal's father replied,"Johnson."

Micheal staggered in disbelief. "How can you be alive?"

"I'm not," Micheal's father tried to explain,"I'm just a guide. You created me. You need me."

"I don't need anyone!" Micheal said and once agian attacked. His father side-stepped and Micheal crashed into the Defiant class' solitary captain's seat.

"Whatever, I'll be around if you DO need me." His father said rather harshly. He walked off the bridge and the Ensign was left alone slumped in the chair. When...

=/\= Beta shift beginning. This is your requested wake call =/\=

Micheal shot up like a dart. He didn't feel as though he'd slept at all. He got up, took his shower, got dressed and walked to the turbo lift forgetting about the cloak project.

The doors hissed open and he walk in,"Ten-forward."

***Ten-forward***

Door looked up to see his new friend walk in,"Well. Ensign Micheal Stevens. What brings you here?"

"A bad dream. I think it was a dream. How about the regular?"

"No, I don't think that bajorian drink would do any good right now. How about some coffee?"

"Ok. Hey what do you think about this dream. I was..."

"Whoa, friend. Not my line of work. I'll listen to your troubles but dreams are another story. Maybe you should see a counsiler."

Micheal just gave him a dirty look.

"Well it wouldn't hurt. Did I lead you wrong about the drink."

"I don't know, I've never had sex."

"Oh. Well believe me, I didn't. Just go."

"Alright...",Micheal said in an uncharacteristic, surrendering tone. [Crewman davis to Ensign Stevens] Micheal touch his combadge. "Go ahead"

[sir, can you come to engineering for a second. I know you're not on duty but I have something here you may want to see.]

"On my way." Micheal swiftly departed ten-forward without even bothering to say good-bye to his most gracious host.

***Engineering***

"What is it Davis?" Micheal said very abruptly.

"Well sir, I was doing a normal enegineering systems check when I encountered a little glich in the report. I did the check and got the same reply. This is all I can see that's causing it." The lcars display showed and tiny area behind the brig that was not showing any kind of information.

"Did you tell your CO about this?"

"No sir, I just had a feeling that I'd better call you first. I didn't want to look stupid and I thought you could..."

"First of all, you were right, I'm NOT on duty and second of all you're supposed to contact you CO about something like this," Micheal looked back at the screen," third of all, you... oh damn." Micheal was suddenly drawn in by something.

"What is it, sir?"

"This is not supposed to be..." Micheal touched a few areas on the screen. "Scott," he said to the crewman not realizing he just used the young man's first name,"get in touch with your CO and show them this. NOW!"

"Yes, sir!" the startled young crewman said with a look of panic.

Micheal touched his combadge,"Ensign Stevens to security."

[Security here]

"Were the the crew on the 'Prince ever left unguarded and if so how long?"

[I don't know, why?]

"We have a possiblity of sabatoge in the jeffries tube directly behind the brig. It seems to block systems checks in that area which would tell me that it, more than likely block similar security sweeps. Maybe even the advanced ones as well."

[That's not good. I'll check on it.]

"Good. I'm en route to the site. I can't give you exact location but have someone meet me at the brig. Ensign Stevens out."

[Understood, Security out.]

'Finally,' Stevens thought,'a chance to put some of that training to use on this ship.'

"All the Help They Can Get"
Starring Ens. K. Moses Amenhotep, Counselor-USS Galaxy
Guest Appearances by Lt. Karyn Dallas, Chief Counselor
Lt. Felicia Khatroweena, Acting Chief Medical Officer
w/ Nurse Hali Monroe and Nurse Karina

Moses wasn't feeling very well. Perhaps it was something he ate. The doctors at the Academy had placed him on a low-sodium diet, but he could never resist the "all you can eat" buffet lines. He had heard how Lt. Gakor's cooking was top of the line, and had sampled quite a bit...but something was now disagreeing with him.

He searched around the room for Lt. Dallas. It appeared that she was caught up in watching a joust just outside the castle's main entrance. She was grinning from ear to ear, watching with great interest the medievil sport. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Lt. Dallas?" Moses spoke.

Karyn couldn't take her eyes off the contest. "Yes?" she said still fixing her eyes on the knights doing battle from one end of the lawn to the other.

"I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to stay and escort you back." Moses was disappointed that he had offered, and then couldn't fulfill his promise. "I think I need to check in at sickbay..." he muttered trying to rationalize his breech of promise.

Karyn hardly seemed to listen as she continued to watch the match continue. Moses waited for a response...but there was none forthcoming. Was she upset? Was she not speaking? What should he say? "Oh..." Karyn turned toward Moses, "I'm sorry....that's fine...Don't mention it..." Lt. Dallas turned back toward the match as her eyes sparkled, "I'll see you tomorrow...."

Moses hardly knew if she was paying attention to what he was saying. She appeared to be almost in a trancelike state--glued to the subjects in front of her. ~Oh well, I guess I'll be going,~ he thought.

Moses left holodeck 1 and headed towards sickbay. His stomach was turning.

****Sickbay****

Moses entered to find Dr. Khatroweena and Nurse Karina working together. "Ah, It's about time," Felicia said, "They've been promising us some help from the counseling department for some time now. Nurse Karina finish this up for me, I'll be right back to check on it. Nurse Monroe!" she yelled

"Yes, Doctor?" Hali Monroe appeared through the door way and smiled towards Moses.

"Get us that training information Lt. Khan sent us." Dr. Cat was taking her new role seriously. Even more seriously since the department was facing major staffing problems. "Dr. my name is Cat. I don't think we've had the pleasure of working together yet." She outstretched her hand.

Moses took her hand, startled by her aggressive nature, "Thank you...Dr...but there appears to be some..."

Moses was interrupted by the doctor, "Nurse Monroe will take care of all the forms you will need to fill out." She turned her back to Moses and started to walk back towards her office."In a little bit we'll sit down and look at your background and skills...Oh, yes," Cat swung back around to face the counselor, "We'll need to have you take a few blood tests and..." turning to look at Hali, "Nurse Monroe...you'll take care of all that won't you?" She smirked and winked at Hali. It appeared she was actually enjoying this. Had Hali and Cat talked? What was going on here? Moses' stomach soured. He was feeling much worse.

"So...doctor...what have you been up to?" Hali smiled.

"Actually," Moses began, "I was hoping to see you..."

"You flatter me counselor..." she said with her eyebrows raised. "I was hoping to see you too."

Moses blushed, "I'm sorry the way I acted earlier, it's just...well...you remind me of someone."

"Oh," Hali grinned as she lifted up Moses sleeve to extract a blood sample. She looked into the counselor's eyes. "And who might that be?"

Moses struggled for the words to come out, "Diana....my wife..."

Hali stood back. "So, that's all I am to you...a ghost?"

Moses seemed confused, "Hali...Miss Monroe...I never intended..."

"Never intended what..." Hali interrupted.

Moses slowed his speech, "Hali, you are a beautiful, energetic young woman. What would you want with an old man like me?"

"I've always been attracted to older men. Besides, it's practically all over the ship. You've been asking alot of questions about me." Hali remarked.

Moses took a deep breath. "That picture...you know, the plaque of the children in your quarters."

Hali stood back, "Yes?"

"Well..." Moses searched for the words, "It was Diana's...it was her favorite picture."

Hali's eyes grew wide. The normally bubbly brunette was speechless. She tuned back towards the medical counter and took out a chart. It was as if a light switch had been turned off. Hali's whole demeanor changed in an instant. "Perhaps we ought to fill these papers out before Dr. Khatroweena comes back."

Moses looked puzzled, "Hali, did I say something to offend you?"

"Counselor, " Hali said matter of factly, "We're understaffed as it is, we don't have a lot of time to talk, why don't we get started with your training."

Moses still confused nodded his head. For a moment he thought he saw a tear in Hali's eyes. But Moses couldn't talk. Perhaps later....Perhaps...Viara?

"THE ART OF SCIENCE"
Ensign Mohammed Uhura
USS Galaxy NCC-70637

Mohammed Uhura arrived for duty in the science lab. It was change of shift and the off going shift was leaving and passing on information. Mohammed went to the alpha shift lab supervisor, Ensign David Whitlock, and received a briefing as well. Once the alpha shift cleared out, Mohammed went to work. He turned from his console and faced the other science officer who was in the lab with him. She was a Vulcan. T'Shonra was her name. She was a very capable, intelligent and efficient science officer and rather attractive.

"T'Shonra," Mohammed said, "contact all the labs and on duty science officers and have them check in with me."

"Yes, Mr. Uhura." T'Shonra said going straight to work.

Once all the beta shift science officers checked in he would contact the on duty bridge science officer which was Lt. Commander Morris and inform her that all science officers had reported for duty. Mohammed picked up his PADD and as T'Shonra announced that all science posts had called in and everyone was accounted for, he smiled and made the appropriate notations.

"Great. Ready to work, T'Shonra?"

The Vulcan raised an eyebrow. "Ofcourse, Mr. Uhura."

Mohammed smiled. He turned back to his console and activated his computer. Before he went and checked on the other science labs he wanted to get back to his work.

"Computer. Show program Enviro-studies. Uhura 06-28-19-67 Beta." Mohammed said.

=/\= Program Enviro-studies. Twenty three files found. =/\=

"Locate file Environment. Designation 6-Alpha-12"

The computer screen filled up with the information he requested. Mohammed was working on the effects of artificial environments on the natural environment of planets. Though Earth had long since overcome the threat of complete environmental break down, there were still other environmental considerations to look over when creating new or artificial environments on other planets that were not designed for non-native populations. In his studies of the environments of other planets it had found some interesting things. The one thing he suspected was that those environments would in essence fight back. Much like the human body fighting off an infection or a virus. Could the native environment do the same? And what would be the effect?

There had been documentation that on some planets where the native environment was altered or replaced by an artificial one, there were higher incidents of sickness, new viruses, old viruses with stronger more persistent strains.

Mohammed read over his research information and smiled. "Once an Environmentalist, always an Environmentalist." He said to himself.

"Did you say something?" T'Shonra asked looking up from her station.

"No. Just talking to myself." Mohammed answered.

Again the Vulcan raised an eyebrow. "May I ask why?"

"Why? Why what?"

The Vulcan stood up. "Why do human's talk to themselves?"

Mohammed smiled, "To hear an intelligent answer."

T'Shonra returned to her station. "That is illogical."

Mohammed smiled. He rose from his console and walked over to her. "It was a joke."

"I'm aware of what a joke is." T'Shonra said, not looking up.

"I'm glad. But to answer your question. I talk to myself to help clear my mind and to verbalize what I'm thinking."

T'Shonra looked up at him. "I see." Then she went back to work.

Mohammed shrugged and returned to his console. He closed his program and picked up his PADD. He stood up. "Ms. T'Shonra, I'm going to visit the other labs."

"Yes, Mr. Uhura."

Mohammed turned to leave. He stopped and looked back at T'Shonra, who had returned to her work. He headed out the door and muttered to himself. "Fascinating."

USS Galaxy "Loose Ends"
Written by Lt Commander Kahn Nilani
Chief Medical Officer (On Sick Leave)
and Benedict T'kal.

Nilani walked into the sickbay, she was wearing a long dress and was looking for a padd. It was a novel that Cat had given her a number of weeks back, the book was called the hitch hickers guide to the galaxy. Nilani had reached upto the 2nd book and was finding it rather enjoyable.

As she looked on a small access table the stack of padds on it fell to the floor, right then Benedict entered sickbay. Nilani looked as he walked in, she stood back up and moved over to him.

"Can I do anything for you Lt?"

Benedict casts a glance around the sickbay and smiled uncertainly...he is clutching his side and holding a ragged shirt with blood dripping over his hand.."Yes ma'am...medical attention would be nice,"

Nilani moved over to the table and picked up a medical tricorder. She moved back to where Benedict was sitting and ran a scan.

"Slight slicing blade wound ::smiling:: You wouldn't want to tell me how this happened?" commented Nilani as she walked back to the table and picked up a dermal regenerator.

Tebrianne is standing close - holding Bens hand and staying silent. The cut is across the side of his torso - shallow but bloody and very painful..but Benedict is not acting as though in pain.

Nilani looked taken back for a split second. "Hey, not that I care. What would I know I'm only the doctor. And I'm not even ment to be doing this...... Ahhh that's right, um do you want to do this in my office?"

"I'd appreciate that Ma'am." Benedict says. They both stand up and Benedict follows her in..and takes off the bloodied shirt revealuing the golden tiger tattoo. He smiles at her and says.."It was an accident ma'am. Just one of those things.."

"Look don't call me ma'am, call me by my name. You may of noticed I am not wearing my unifrom" Nilani comments as she works on the wound. "And another thing, I would really appreciate it if this.... me fixing you up while I am on restricted duties is not spoken about outside of this room." Nilani finished up on the wound. She placed the dermal regenerator back on the table, where she spotted her book.

"Yes, I knew it was in here!" Nilani said happily

Ben grins warmly.."I'd appreciate the same favor Nilani. How's Illyana?"

Nilani looked up still in a rather happy mood. "She is good, she has settled down and is moving into life here well."

Right then the door opened and Cat stepped into the Office, she looked at me and then at ben.

Cat looked straight at Nilani who was holding a padd. "You are ment to be seeing the counsellor. And what are you doing proforming medical services?"

Nilani just smiled "I am helping a friend, who need medical attention. Plus I'm going so don't get your tail all in a knot!"

Ben looks slightly uncertain..he smiles at cat and then says, "I'm glad that we were able to bring here here. There's nothing more important than family. He squeezes tebs hand and looks at her.

Nilani just smiles and laughs walking out the office door and to her quarters to try and get some sleep.

Cat looked and smiled. "Nilani is getting wierder by the day!"

Aftermath
by: Lt Tyler Jackson; Chief Science Officer; USS St Louis

Going into the staff meeting, Tyler hadn't really thought about what actions would be taken to get to the plant. When Captain Thiana decided to break quaranteen, Tyler was worried about the decision. When the St Louis fired on the Caucadeus, Tyler was concerned about bringing up the possibility of hope. Had he really done the right thing by raising hope about the possibility of an unknown cure? After this incident was over, if there was an after, Tyler was sure that any hearings on the situation would come back to his decision to introduce the hope of a cure, and his lack of forethought about what would be done with the information. Partial information in a desperate situation caused hope. Hope in a desperate situation typically caused rash decisions to be made. Tyler was hoping that it hadn't come to that, but now was not the time to be worrying about it. What was done is done and could not be undone. The crew of the St Louis had to move forward, and his department in particular would need to be in the forefront along with the medical staff.

Leaving the bridge after breaking free from the Caucadeus, Tyler called an impromptu meeting of the science department. Giving the staff ample time to make it to the science laboratory for the meeting, Tyler did a quick role call, finding a few members missing. "Where are crew members Lindell and Tella?"

Specalist Ridion replied with, "I saw Bob being taken to sick bay, I'm afraid that he's contracted the disease. I assume that Raja has the disease as well."

*Damn* Tyler thought, *There goes our chemical expert.* "Well, we'll have to continue on without them. As some of you know by now, the St Louis has broken quaranteen and fired on the Caucadeus in an attempt to get to the cure for the Ocero disease. I think you all understand the reprocussions of the decisions made by the Captain, and formal complaints can be filed. Should any of you wish to remove yourselves from active duty, you have that option. I would ask, however that you remain and help us work out a cure for the disease. With Bob Lindell taken ill, we'll need all of the help in the chemistry department that we can get, especially when we get some of the berries onto the ship. Are there any questions?"

Light at the end of the tunnel
Ltjg WhiteSong to-Ennine MD.
CMO USS St.Louis

WhiteSong was back in sickbay tending to all the patients when Ensign Devmore came running into sickby donned in an E-suit, "Dr.WhiteSong, I have ordered to bring this PADD to you. It appears that Dr Jennings found an important breakthrough, unfortunatley she is in the brigg. I have orders to release her into your custody if you need her help" WhiteSong's tail curled into a tight helix "Thank you Ensign, I'll go over the information and get back to you"

WhiteSong read the data and almost jumped for joy, granted this wasn't a cure, but if this was right they could keep the infected patients alive untill they did find a cure. She called an emergancy staff meeting.

As soon as everyone exept Ensign Valendras was present, she passed out PADDs containing the data. "I want every patient put into stasis, run the sythesised sample through Matrix delta 5, in cionjunction with a level 2 stasis field, and inject them. It appears that this vaccine will work as long as the patients are in stasis. At least we can keep them alive untill we can get to Kenda II. Dismissed" WhiteSong looked at Dr. Kyla Sorin, I want a full report as soon as the patients are in stasis, and injected with the synthesised vaccine, I'm going to the brig to talk with Dr. Jennings"

The situation just keeps getting worse
By Lieutenant Adam Harris, Chief of Security

Adam remained at his post at the Security station on the bridge. He really wanted to go and check on the situation at the QU but considering what was going on lately, he felt that staying on the bridge would be the best opition.

He had received various messages from Ltjg Darhe'el telling him that the QU was covered. Adam knew that with Aamin in command of that detail, he would have nothing to worry about.

Also during his duty on the bridge, he had seen the CMO of the Caduceus storm onto the bridge giving the Captain her piece of mind only to have to leave again and Ltjg Dorffen approach him telling him of the Doctors fame as a model.

Adam continued his monitoring of the situation.

Suddenly a message came in to him.

=/\= Lt. JG. Darhe’el to Lt. Harris. I have just sent one of the QU staff to the brig in violation of the isolation placed on the QU. I’ve sent her documents ahead to Sickbay in the event they have some relevance to the current situation. Lt. JG. Darhe’el out. =/\=

Adam heard the message and replied

=/\= Lt Darhe'el, which member of the QU staff has been placed in the brig? =/\=

=/\= The CMO of the Caduceus, Lt. Dana Jergensen =/\=

=/\= Ok, very good Lt. Harris out =/\=

Adam then reported the information onto the Captain so she knew of the situation and then decided that it was time that he had a word with this doctor.

He relieved himself of his post letting an Ensign of his team take over the console.

He then made his way to the turbo-lift.

He instructed the lift to take him to the brig and then waited for its arrival.

He left the turbo-lift and entered the brig. He walked over to the brig attendant.

"Ensign, which cell have you placed the Caduceus' CMO in?"

"Cell 4G sir"

"Ok, thank you Ensign"

Adam turned and made his way in the direction of that cell. He arrived at the cell and grabbed a chair that was near-by to sit down on. He placed it in front of the cell and sat down.

He looked in at the CMO.

"Hello Doctor, I hear that you have been causing my men a little trouble lately?"

"Postponed"
By Ensign Yazron Beq
Tactical Officer
USS Galaxy

Reviewed by:
Captain Edward Lee Price
CO USS Galaxy

***Captain's Ready Room, USS Galaxy***

As Lee sat in his ready room another matter came to his mind.

He tapped his comm badge. "Ensigns Yazron Beq and Lorraine Ronald please report to the Captain's Ready Room."

***Yaz's Quarters***

['Ensigns Yazron Beq and Lorraine Ronald please report to the Captain's Ready Room.'] came the Captain's voice over the comm system.

~What now?~ Yaz thought as he looked over the coffee table at his soon-to-be-wife. He had got off shift a couple of hours ago and was sitting having a talk with Lorraine about the wedding.

It was Lorraine who responded: "On our way, sir." Then to Yaz she said, "Let's go then."

Yaz sighed then stood up. They walked out of their quarters together and headed for the turbolift.

***Captain's Ready Room***

The door chime sounded.

"Come," said the General still contemplating what the new orders he had been given.

The doors slid open and Yaz and Lorraine entered. "You wanted to see us,sir?" Lorraine asked.

"Yes, take a seat 'mates." He motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. When they were both seated he continued, "I'm afraid I've got some bad news 'mates, we have had a change of orders and I will be required to spend all my time concentrating my efforts on them." Yaz knew Where this was going and Lorraine wasn't going to like it, not that she'd show it of course. "Due to the delicacy of the new orders I cannot at present discuss them with you but it comes down to one thing - I'll have to postpone your wedding until our orders have been carried out."

Yaz could almost feel Lorraine's dissapointment. " I understand, sir." Yaz said, "Will that be all?".

~Another delay in the wedding process~ Lorraine was thinking ~how long will it be before it happens?~

"Yeah, you're free to go mates," the General looked almost as disappointed as Lorraine.

Lorraine turned and looked at Yaz before they both left together.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ensign Yazron Beq, Tactical Officer, USS Galaxy

"Consequences"
by Lieutenant Commander Viktor Kozlov
First Officer, USS Caduceus
With additional material by Cpt Manion and Lt. Vetra

*****Captain's Ready Room*****

Kozlov sat, seething while Captain Manion reviewed the current situation. The St. Louis had broken quarantine, and had done so in a reckless, cowardly fashion. They had ambushed a Starfleet hospital ship, sent to help save their lives! What could Captain Thiana have been thinking? Better yet… What had the rest of her senior staff been thinking? He had heard she was popular with her crew, but to violate so many General Orders… Her XO or CMO should have immediately relieved her of command! Had the virus affected their mental capacities? Were they all delusional? No. Their attack had been cold and calculated, doing just enough to allow them to escape.

But what they had done was enough. Sickbay had contacted Kozlov with an update as he was riding the turbolift up to the bridge. Two crewmen, Ensign Salliday and Petty Officer Gurnon, had just died from injuries sustained in the St Louis's attacks. While the hull had not been breached, both had been near the contact points of the phaser fire, and with the Caddy shieldless at the time, both had received lethal doses of radiation.

The die had been cast. The St. Louis had taken innocent Starfleet lives in their foolhardy attempt to break quarantine. His Capellan heritage cried out for retaliation. The crew of the Caddy was his family, and no Capellan ever left an attack on his family unpunished. But he was also a Starfleet officer, and the hot blood of the Akaar tribe was tempered with the somber judgement instilled in him by his father. He had a mission to carry out. He would need to leave the doting out of consequences to a Federation tribunal, once the St. Louis had been contained.

Kozlov turned his attention back to the Captain, who was continuing her briefing.

"Commander Kozlov. I want a high warp shuttle to make best speed to that planet they're heading for. It will need to have a medical officer and a qualified pilot. I was going to send Allen and Jergensen, but plans now have to change. Options?"

It was Lieutenant Korvin who responded first. "Sir, I have a class two qualification in shuttle piloting, or I did when I left the academy. And Lieutenant Commander Kozlov here is a Doctor. Perhaps Doctor Lou or Lieutenant Deplainer could be sent as well, if you can spare us."

Kozlov nodded in agreement. "It's a workable plan, Ma'am." He said. "Both the Livingstone and the Salk can maintain Warp 9 all the way to Kenda II. By my estimates, with the St. Louis unable to go beyond Warp 6 with the QU attached, we should arrive nearly six and a half hours ahead of them, if we leave right away."

Captain Manion did not hesitate in making the decision. "Alright, do it. Kozlov, Vetra, you are both assigned to this mission. I'd like you to take the Chief Counselor along as well."

"Counselor O'Keefe?" said Kozlov, surprised.

"She's our leading Xeno-Cultural expert on the ship. Her profiles of Turlan society and the Redeemers were invaluable last mission. From what I understand, the Kendan people are somewhat xenophobic. Counselor O'Keefe should be able to lend guidance on dealing with them once you arrive. She's also a qualified medic in her own right."

Kozlov nodded. "A sound decision, Ma'am. Anyone else?"

"Talk to Dr. Lou. I'll leave it to her to decide if she feels she can best continue her research from here on the Caddy or from Kenda." Manion rose from her seat. "If there are no further comments or questions?"

Kozlov cleared his throat. "Just one thing, Ma'am. You should know. I just received word from Sickbay. We lost Ensign Salliday and Petty Officer Gurnon during the attack."

Kozlov could see Manion and Vetra forcing back their anger. The Captain was doing a much better job of it than the Andorian Security Officer. Kozlov had served side by side with Andorians before and knew that their emotions in such situations were very similar to his own. Well, they would both have time to contemplate dark and nasty thoughts about the St. Louis on their way to Kenda II.

"Thank you for the update." Said the Captain, her face calm but her fists clenched. "I will handle the letters to the families. I believe that Salliday had a wife and two children on the USS Truman?"

"I believe so." Said Kozlov quietly.

Manion turned her back to the two officers and stared out at the stars. "Gentlemen, you are dismissed. Grab O'Keefe, take the Livingstone and get to Kenda II. We need a solution before the St. Louis arrives."

"Understood." Said Kozlov and Vetra in concert.

The two officers quickly exited the ready room and dashed for the turbolift.

***** *****

Lieutenant Commander Viktor Kozlov, XO USS Caduceus
AKA
David Friedland, AGM, USS Caduceus
ICQ# 5805168

"Damn the torpedoes"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
Captain - USS Galaxy

A Galaxy class starship rips across space at maximum warp. Inside, in the Captain's ready room, Captain Lee Price reviews the Starfleet record of Captain Thiana of the USS St.Louis, the Intrepid class starship the USS Galaxy was racing to confront.

Captain Price's brow was furrowed as he read through Thiana's record and accomplishments. Commander Casey spoke very highly of the Starfleet Captain and was not surprised at her breaking quarantine and heading for the Kenda system on a quest to save the Ocero and her crew. It was the sort of swashbuckling tactic that Captain Thiana had become known for. Reading through her service record, Lee could see she was not one to back down once she set her mind towards doing something. Having attacked the USS Caduceus to break free for the chance of reaching Kenda in time before her crew start exploding from the Ocero illness, Lee didn't hold much hope in Commander Casey's ability to talk Thiana out of the reckless course she'd placed the St.Louis on. "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" came rushing into the General's mind.

After a brief interruption to inform Ensigns Beq and Ronald that he would have to delay their marriage ceremony because of the Galaxy's immediate assignment, Lee exited his ready room and stepped onto the bridge.

Beta shift was in full swing. Deiran was sitting in the Captain's chair, along with Chief Counselor Dallas sitting in the adjacent chair. All of the beta shift crew was on the bridge, except for Lieutenant Commander Morris who, for whatever reason, wasn't at Science Station One. Instead, Ensign Kalln, the lizard like Gnalish Elt, was busy manning the Science station.

Deiran stood when the Captain entered from his office. "Sir, I am ready to attempt to contact the USS St.Louis over subspace. Lieutenant Hermedhie has the frequencies ready to go." The First Officer explained.

"Fair dinkum 'mate. Give it a try and see if the St.Louis responds to our hails. Since you know Captain Thiana, there is a chance that she may speak to you." Captain Price agreed.

"Exactly my thoughts Captain. I took the liberty of asking counselor Dallas here so she can give a psychological evaluation of Zee just in case." Commander Casey explained gesturing to Kayrn.

"Hedging our bets Commander?" Lee asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The Casey's are always prepared for every contingency Captain." Deiran smiled weakly, before adding, "I'm confident that I should be able to talk Zee out of this mad dash for Kenda II. I'm going to try my darndest, since stopping Captain Thiana and the St.Louis by force is not something I relish doing. From this range it's doubtful the St.Louis even knows the Galaxy is in route to intercept in a few hours. Our hail should come as a bit of a surprise. Hopefully Zee will listen to reason..."

Lee just nodded while regarding his new First Officer. Deiran was very frank in his ready room about not being willing to fire upon the St.Louis if it should come to that. It caused the General some concern, though he completely agreed with the sentiment. Confronting fellow Starfleet officers who's only real crime was contracting a deadly disease was not very heroic or brave. Yet the larger ramifications remained. All life in the Alpha Quadrant hung in the balance should this disease be allowed to get out.

"Let's do it 'mate." Lee said evenly. "Lieutenant Hermedhie, raise the USS St.Louis."

"Aye Captain." Raesene replied from the Tactical arch.

Captain Price, Commander Casey, Counselor Dallas and the rest of the Beta shift bridge crew watched the main view screen as the USS St.Louis was hailed.

Brig Bunny II
By Dana Jergensen MD
CMO USS Caduceus

BRIG USS ST LOUIS Dana was sat in her cell. Though she apeared calm on the outside, she felt she should have heard from the CMO of the St. Louis by now. Had something gone wrong? Her plan didn't figure for any type of time delay. She shhok her head and regained her confidence. Just then a man entered the cellblock, pulled up a chair in front of her cell. Dana remembered him from the Bridge, she assumed he was the head of security.

"Hello Doctor, I hear that you have been causing my men a little trouble lately?" He said.

" It's not trouble I'm trying to cause, I'm trying to save their lives and for some reason the Captain and crew have done nothing but hinder my and my staff's efforts. Exposing my people to a deadly virus, firing upon my ship, endagering a heavily populated world,no I don't think I'M causing trouble." Dana felt the flush come into her cheeks. She got hold of her temper and calmed herself.

" The QU right now is the only hope any of us has, I sent some information to you medical department but soem of the things need to be explained one on one. So how about being a sport and let me get down to your sickbay?"

"The Best Way To Replicate A Mutiny"
by Lt. (jg) Fiona O'Keefe, Ship's Counselor, USS Caduceus
and Crewman Yvonne Raymond, Engineering specialist, USS Caduceus

***Forward Sensor Array, USS Caduceus***

"All right, let me get this straight," said Crewman Yvonne Raymond, placing the micro-fusion torch on the open circuitry panel and rubbing the already-grimy sleave of her uniform across her perspiration-covered forehead. "You want me to tie-in the ship's communication system with the forward sensor array, initiate a subspace carrier wave bearing a general override protocal, your voice stamp, a low-level computer systems virus, and an entire data stream, and direct it where on the St. Louis?" Her voice was incredulous. "Assuming, of course, I can even coax the forward sensor array into pinpointing the St. Louis, let alone the...?"

Fiona smiled and settled down in the confined space of the Caduceus' forward sensor array. The plan she had concocted was more complex than she cared to think about, and was probably an inevitable failure. But after hearing of the two crewmen who lost their lives in the recent attack on the Caduceus, Fiona had to do something. "The mess hall," she said.

After sitting on the bridge for nearly an hour, ruminating about the possibility that someone on the St. Louis had mutinied, fired on the Caddy, and fled for Federation space, an idea came to her. At the time, it seemed like the best way she could lend her efforts into the cause of stopping the St. Louis from unleashing a horrible plague upon the entire Bajoran sector. While Mr. Claymore or Mr. Ordell could offer technical suggestions to the Captain about ways to mess up the St. Louis' engineering, or Mr. Vetra could offer tactical advice, all Fiona had was her sense of 'human nature' and her ability to say things in just such a way...

Just before Captain Manion entered a closed meeting with Commander Kozlov and Mr. Vetra, she had a chance to tell the Captain about her idea in just such a way that the Captain agreed.

Perhaps a mutiny was just what the St. Louis needed.

It wouldn't be easy. Her review of the St. Louis crew's psychological profiles suggested the entire command staff was fiercely loyal to Captain Thiana, as were the department heads and sub-heads. Fiona thought bitterly for a while that the officers aboard the St. Louis had perhaps forgotten they were in Starfleet, not Thianafleet[:P]. They had a duty to protect the citizens of the Federation, and so far their actions had claimed the lives of two Federation citizens and could very well devastate an entire region of space. Unless someone came to their senses, remembered the oath they swore to the Federation, and stopped the panic-driven insanity which seemed to grip the St. Louis, someone in Starfleet may receive orders to stop the St. Louis by an means necessary. Fiona didn't want to see it come to that.

So, she was now crawling through the forward sensor array after nearly abducting an engineering crew person. Fortunately that crewmember was as sharp as her department head and knew almost exactly what Fiona's plan needed.

"We'll need to re-route at least five hundred joules through the sensor array's secondary ODN coupling to provide for the added intensity of the carrier wave with your subspace message," said that sharp crewman as she moved up further into the sensor chamber.

"All right," Fiona said, looking at the exposed ODN trunk access.

"You know," began Yvonne, "I think I'm beginning to understand your plan... The subspace carrier wave triggers the mess hall replicator unit which uploads the virus into the ship-wide replicator system. The virus then provides each replicator on the ship with your data stream... which is really a message to the St. Louis crew... and which appears on paper in each replicator unit. After that anytime a St. Louis cremember wants to use a replicator outside of our own quarantine unit, the replicator produces nothing but tea!"

Fiona smiled. She loved it when a plan sounded like it could come together!

***Mess Hall, USS St. Louis, one hour later***

The mood in the mess hall was dour at best. Everyone was concerned about the Ocero virus. Had I been exposed? When did I go near the refugees? Are we doing the right thing? So many mental questions and doubts filled the air, and so many crewmembers were so absorbed in their own inner struggles, that no one really noticed when the main replicator unit flared to life.

At first the replicator tray was bathed in the light which always appears before something as simple as a cup of tea or as complicated as a medical tricorder appears on the tray.

Then there was a low buzz.

The low buzz was the key.

Within a few moments, all throughout the ship, every replicator chirped to life and began to work on materializing a small laminated card. After the cards formed throughout the ship, an alogorithm somewhere deep within the ship-wide replicator system's circuitry narrowed the request field of the St. Louis' replicators. The algorithm made sure that only one possible item could ever be produced on the replicators -- tea, Earl Grey, hot.

In one crew quarters, a rather spartan quarters with a cabin temperature set to levels anyone other than a Cardassian might find uncomfortably warm, one of the small cards fell to the floor.

In the light, the words reflected were:

"Dear St. Louis crewmember. My name is Fiona O'Keefe. I want to speak to you today as one Federation citizen to another, and more imporantly, as one Starfleet officer to another.

We all come from so many wonderfully diverse backgrounds. We are Vulcan, we are Andorian, we are Trill, Kaitian, Bolian, Bajoran, Terran, Klingon, and so many others. Something about us, something deep down inside lead us to this life, to this common goal we call the Federation. That feeling within, that calling many of us have felt since childhood we realized the day we became Starfleet officers.

On that day we realized our dream, we said things, we made pledges to certain ideals, we offered our lives to what we know is right. On the day we became Starfleet officers we gave a solemn oath to uphold the ideals of the Federation, to defend its citizens from dangers both foreign and domestic, and to hold the welfare of the Federation above our very own lives.

The cause we would give our lives for, the ideals for which we would sacrifice everything we are, ever were, and ever will be, are good, the ideals of the Federation are right. At one time, each of you believed those ideals were right.

Don't tell me you have now forsaken those ideals.

I know the horrible uncertainty and pain you must be undergoing due to the Ocero virus. The anxiety, the sleeplessness, the thoughts of never seeing your loved ones again. That is a terribly heavy burden, but it is a burden you promised to bear. Please undertand, your worry over the virus and your own lives is a necessary burden. If you do not bear it, everything you promised to protect, everything you hold dear, will end.

The virus mustn't come into contact with the populated worlds of the Federation. For when it does, and it will if your ship continues on its present course, everything we all hold dear will face certain death.

Please don't let that happen.

I appeal to you, to your loyalty, your honor, your duty and your compassion. Please do not put everything we hold dear in jeapardy. Please, drop out of warp and let us help you.

What the Hell is This?
by: Rob Howald (Commander Robert Strauss)
CO, SEAL Team 23, USS St. Louis

**********

Things were getting out of hand on the ship. First he had been walking back from his office to the bridge when a crew member had approached him, babbling something about not wanting to go against the ideals they had pledged when they joined starfleet. After a heavy dose of Strauss' version of counseling (lots of yelling is involved), the young pitiful crew member was sent back to their cabin, with the help of a security officer who had been attracted to the yelling in the corridor. Damned if Strauss wasn't always involved in that!

After a nice yelling session (unlike Starfleet panzies... military officers actually enjoy yelling and getting yelled at), Strauss liked a nice cup of coffee. He turned around and headed back to his office. He walked in and commanded the replicator unit "Coffee, black, 98 degrees celsius". The replicator hummed and Strauss turned to pick a padd off his desk. Turning back to the replicator, he picked up the steaming cup and was looking down at the padd, as he gingerly took a sip of the hot liquid.

He nearly spit it directly on the padd, luckily as he spit, he brought the arm with the PADD up above his head. "What the hell is this"? he asked himself, looking down into the almost transparent liquid. *Some weak tea no doubt, obviously the computer got so many requests for a weak little girlie drink like this on a starfleet ship, it was beginning to fry it's circuits and just spit this gunk out whenever anyone asked for anything*.

The computer in its usual horrible timing asked Strauss [I do not understand... please restate request.] Strauss knew it was talking in reply to his question, but he thought the computer was screwy anyways.

"Computer, replicate one coffee, black, 98 degrees celsius to the replicator in the office of Commander Strauss". The buzz and light appeared once again, and once again the steaming cup held only tea. "Computer, what did I just ask to be replicated"? He asked, obviously thinking the computer would tell him what kind of tea this was... not that he was going to take up drinking the vile substance.

[You requested a coffee, black, 98 degrees celsius to the terminal in your office]. The computer answered, not caring if it was going to get yelled at. That was one thing Strauss didn't like about computers, you couldn't get what you wanted from them with just a little yelling. It took isolinear chips and welding lasers and... bleah, bleah, bleah.

"Computer, what was just replicated in the replicator in my office". Rob felt like a lawyer trying to get an answer out of an especially dumb witness.

[Tea, Earl Grey, Hot].

After a few curses at how stupid the machine was, and the padd being thrown on the ground, Strauss asked the computer. "Well, computer... If I asked for Coffee and you gave me Tea, does that mean something is wrong with you"?

[Computer and replication systems are running at 100%]

After a few kicks at the replicator and throwing the Tea back into the damned machine, Strauss bent down to get the PADD, before running down and tearing the engineering staff a new butthole. There on the ground was a laminated card... After a quick perusal, he put it in his pocket and muttered something about brain washing and how weak starfleet was and walked out of his office... Next stop engineering.

Strauss obviously wasn't the only one experiencing problems with the replicator systems. As he walked into main engineering, standing there, face red was one of the engineering staff. "Let me guess, you will have the replicators ready as soon as possible"?

Looking up from the table where he was working he looked over and just nodded. "I don't know what is happening with them sir, but we are working on it. If you really need something, you can try the QU, apparently theirs are still working normally".

Turning to leave, Strauss let out a loud growl, and exclaimed "Why does that not suprise me"?

Next stop QU... for a nice cup of coffee. But as he turned the corner, and saw the six armed officers, he decided that the QU might not be a good place to get a cup of coffee. *I will need to drink that crap they call tea, I guess* he thought to himself, as he stormed off towards the bridge. He knew that any crew member that got in his way right now was in for some trouble.

As he walked away, he heard one of the security men ask the other why Strauss looked so mean. The other simply answered "Always... Always... Always have a nice hot cup of coffee for Strauss after a good yelling session, otherwise he gets pissed".

Commander Robert Strauss
CO, SEAL Team 23
Assigned USS St. Louis

"Stasis"
by Doctor Kyla Sorin, Ltjg
USS StLouis

-----

Kyla wished she had more time to try and awaken the young Ocero man., but Doctor WhiteSong's orders were clear. To put all the patients into stasis, and give them the synthesized vaccine. At least, if they couldn't awaken the patients already comatose, they could keep them alive. Keep them away from that awful fate the others had been through... it was a step in the right direction.

She looked down at the man... **You keep in touch, I know you can**, she thought, as she attached a small device containing the vaccine to his arm, and then erected a stasis field around him. She watched his bio stats on the console as he was slowly put into stasis. All vital signs lowered, and stabalized, at a safe level of stasis.

*Now Kyla,* she heard her mother's voice ring out in her head like it had been yesterday, *Stasis is like an old grizzley bear... when he hibernates for the winter....* Of course, thats all she ever did talk about. Kyla wondered if she had ever had a normal, non-medical conversation with her mother when she was younger...

[Stasis bio levels have been reached] the computer cut into her thoughts like a knife through tention in the air.

"Computer," she snapped out of it, "Release vaccine at pre-entered doseage. Monitor bio signs, and record to this PADD," she touched her PADD, "every 20 minutes. Compile bio summary and record to Doctor WhiteSong's office every hour." She smiled and looked down, "Looks like you're our lab rat for today."

She turned to set up the next stasis.

---

- Crissy

LT Trevor Allen
USS Caduceus

Lt Allen spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to stop the ship. Unfrotunatly he was hardly familiar with the Caddy's warp drive let allone an intrepid class ship. And there was no dought that security was merging on his location. Looking at the pile of Isoliener chips at his feet and the ship still at warp he figured on trying somthing else.

Entering a Jefferies tub Allen figured he would move to an upper deck. And try somthing else. Moving throught the maze of Tubs Allen quickly found him self lost.

Tapping his Combadge. Allen to QU is Dr. Jergenson up yet."

Mr. Allen Dr. Jergenson left over a half hour ago to go to the bridge."

"Did she get my note I left her."

"I don't know sir however I have been monitoring inner ship communication and she has been taken into custdody and is in the brige. "

Allen shook his head. "From the pan into the fire. Ok can you lock onto her and beam her out. "

"No sir not as long as the security field is in place."

"Ok what is the status of our patients. Any of them at stage 2 or 3."

"No sir they are all at stage 1 we have a Lt Commander that is in late stage 1 could move into stage 2 in the next hour."

Allen sits against the wall in the Jefferies tub. He thought he was doing the right thing by trying to disable the ship but things have changed the CMO is know in the brig and he has know way of really getting her out and with out her he is the ranking officer in the QU.

Shaking his head Allen begins moving finding his way out on to one of the quaridors.

Taping the computer panel "Computer show me the way to the QU." The computer chirps and an indicator flashes. Allen begins making his way to the QU. trying to avoid security patrols.

"Precious Delivery"
by CPO Scott Knight, SEAL 2ic, USS St Louis, and
Ltjg WhiteSong to-Ennine MD, CMO USS St.Louis

Scott walked into Sickbay carrying the Ensign, who by now was barely conscious and had wrapped her arms around him (which was not at all unpleasant). E-Suited figures turned from occupied beds to gape at him.

One hurried over and he could see through the helmet of her suit that she was of a felinoid species.... at least, it seemed to be female... something in the face. The gold-flecked green eyes were narrowed in what seemed to be anger or indignation.

"Just what in the HELL do you think you're doing coming to sickbay without an E-suit! Do you realize you probably just sighed your death sentence! WhiteSong demanded. "I'm afraid you might as well make yourself comfortable. As CMO of the St. Louis I put you in quarantine." WhiteSong was fuming. "How can you be so careless? Don't you know that this virus is terminal?" WhiteSong's ears went flat against her head and as she reprimanded she showed her fangs. Her tail was shaking with anger.

"Get her to a biobed, get her vitals. I'll be there in a moment." WhiteSong ordered a nurse nearby who immediately grabbed a gurney and hurried over to do as ordered. The tone of WhiteSong's was very authoritative and stern. She was obviously infuriated.

Scott carefully set the Ensign down and, seeing the nurse start working on her, turned to defend himself to this... mad doctor. The words shot from his mouth in the sharper version of his British accent that always took over when he was on a short fuse. "Look, Doctor..." he paused as if to allow her to fill in her name, but then decided that didn't matter for now and continued, his own anger building as he spoke and thought of how he'd just been treated. "I just came aboard less than an hour ago, after a disorienting runabout flight away from an exploding ship where terrorists tried to kill me! Now that's my job because I'm a SEAL, but when I go OFF the job, I expect to be able to rest for a bit. I heard nothing about a rampaging lethal virus. I certainly would have appreciated being told earlier, but I don't think that would have stopped me from helping her," he gestured to the unconscious crewwoman, "in here. What would you have had me do - call your people? You look busy enough without having to make house calls. Find a suit myself before I brought her in? I'm sorry, but I don't think I could have let her suffer unattended that long!! And if you can't understand that, then I don't think I ever want to be a patient of yours."

She opened her mouth to reply when his comm badge beeped. He tapped it and Commander Strauss said, "Chief, ensure our men are available to help security if necessary. The C.O.S. will be in touch if he needs you. If not, have the team stay ready... we may be needed sooner or later."

"Aye sir." He tapped again. "Knight to SEAL team. Arm up and be ready to help Security if they call for you. I'll be in Sickbay until further notice. I seem to have been exposed to a dangerous virus that nobody bothered to tell us about. Watch out for other personnel who appear to be seriously ill. Knight out." He looked at the Doctor, not sure whether to expect another angry tirade.

Get Back To Your Post!
Lt. JG. Aamin Darhe’el
Security Officer, St. Louis

He looked up to see Ensign Weston approaching him, several of the other men on post had been whispering amongst themselves but Aamin had not taken notice, he had other things on his mind. Now though he wasn’t so sure if it had been so wise as to allow them to whisper amonst themselves out of hearing range.

Ensign Weston was holding in one hand a piece of paper he must have picked up, and on his face was a sign of determination. The other officers had stopped whispering and were now standing awkwardly, apparently a little unsure of what they were about to do. Weston was the first to speak,

"Sir, we can no longer take part in this treason against Star Fleet."

Aamin stared at the human for a minute before responding, "Who is *we* and what are you talking about?" He already knew he did not like where this was going.

"Lt. JG. Darhe’el, the other security officers present chose me for there speaker, and I am talking about the firing on another Star Fleet vessel…here…I think this explains our position more clearly." He handed Aamin the piece of paper.

Aamin quickly scanned the paper, then crumpled it up into a ball and threw it at the nearest bulkhead, "Get back to your post now!"

Weston and the other officers shook their heads, "Sir, we can no longer be a party to this treason and we wont let you force us to either!"

Now he could easily see where this was going, in a matter of minutes he would be facing an armed security team who believed he was a traitor. He couldn’t argue on that point, he was after all a traitor to his own people, but he wasn’t a traitor to Starfleet. He decided to try and postpone what looked to be inevitable, "Just wait a second, I know where you are coming from. I agree with you, let me contact the Chief and tell him we won’t be a party to this any more."

He then turned and walked around the corner, and after he was out of earshot he tapped his comm. badge, "Lt. JG. Darhe’el to Lt. Harris."

"Harris here, what do you got?"

"Sir, someone is spreading negative material through the ship…I think we may have a problem on our hands. My Security team guarding the QU believes that our actions are treasonous to Star Fleet and no longer wish to be a party to it. I don’t think they are that far from actually working against the Captain. Sir, I think anyone who doesn’t have a strong loyalty to the Captain may be having serious doubts about what we’re doing."

Then over the wideband security channel came Ensign Treymond's voice, he was currently working in the security and managing overlooking the brig, =/\= To all Security Personnel, possiable saboteur on board. Engineering requesting Security Team.=/\=

"Sir, this may be a mutinous crew member. What are your orders, I think I may be able to get some loyal Security Officers together, but this is going to put a hamper on anything we do." He glanced over his shoulder to see the approaching form of Ensign Weston with two other Security Officers behind him, the fates did not like him today...

Jordan
AKA
Lt. JG. Aamin Darhe'el-USS St. Louis

Back in the QU
by LTjg Trevor Allen
USS Caduceus
Paramedic Flight Team.

Lt Allen was tired of trying to find his way around the ship in fact he began to fill tired pieriod. Continue making his way down the quaridor Allen came arround the corner and came face to face with a security detail. Looking for exits he saw there were none other than the direction he was headed and he knew he couldn't out run them.

Quickly taping his combadge "QU beam me back know." as he was enveloped in blue transporter beam he heard one of the officer shout something but was unable to make it out.

Allen shook his head as he found him self back in the QU with another failed attempt to stop the ship.

Putting his weapons back into the lock up except for one fasor he kept on his side he realized for the first time he didn't have his phasor rifle. Trying to remember where he had it last but couldn't. But laying beside a tall stack of isolliener chips was a phasor rifle with the marking of the Caduceus.

Blowing it off Allen began to make rounds with Medical Specialist Anderson.

"Oh No...No...No!"
by Nurse Mary Garrett

***Aboard the Quarrantine Unit***

She'd been treating patients non-stop for thirteen hours now. Somewhere in the middle of that, there had been a short break for a meal, but she hadn't been hungry, so she had skipped it and kept treating the incoming patients. It seemed that they were making their way here in dribs and drabs, perhaps because the QU was closer than Sickbay, or perhaps for another reason. Mary didn't care. They were here, and they needed care.

About twenty minutes before, Lt. Allen had requested emergency beam back to the QU, and had returned, looking very unhappy. She had been assisting a recent arrival to get comfortable and taking his vital signs, denoting his current condition, and making sure that he was settled in for the long haul...so she had not had a chance to speak with the paramedic upon his return.

And, as she was working, she began to regret her choice to skip her meal. She was getting light-headed, and a few moments ago, she'd had a ringing in her ears. That was unusual. She didn't usually have such a strong reaction to missing a meal. Perhaps it was simply the stress. She continued her rounds, providing care and the basic needs of the sick here in the QU.

**Half an hour later**

Nurse Mary Garrett was moving to the last patient in her section when suddenly she began to sweat, the room swooned before her.

She attempted to catch herself on a crash table, and missed it, striking her arm hard on the edge of the table, causing it to fall along with her. The noise was tremendous, and the woman and cart, and all of its contents collided with the floor.

She lay there, suddenly unable to move, knowing that her veins were standing up all along her neck, face and torso. She also knew that her face was swelling, and her eyes were blackening as the blood vessels broke and filled the spaces with blood.

She'd had no idea that she was infected. None. How had this happened without her knowledge?

All she could do was whisper, "Oh, No...No...No!"

And she wept, her tears mingling with blood seeping from her tear ducts.

She heard feet approaching rapidly, but by the time they were close enough, she was no longer aware of what was happening around her.

Fara had been working on the effect of the of the Cavi-Carum Berries on the virus with computer simulations for the past several hours. Ever since she had heard about them. She had come up with several facts:

1. The normal replicator would not be able to replicate them, however the QU replicators should be able to get close to them.
2. Even if the berries were replicated they would be only about 80% effective.
3. More research would have to be done when a supply of the berries were available.

She sincerely hoped it was berry season on the planet that they were heading for.

She was worried about how the QU was riding and what problems might be developing on it. The CMO had been the only Dr on shift when the St Louis broke orbit, and one person can only work for so long with out problems.

She put her report on a padd and headed to the Captain to give her what facts she had been able to come up with.

USS Caduceus: "Talking to the Galaxy"
Written By Dr. Michell Lou

I stood in my biohazard suit while I was working on the console out side of the clean room. Usually the room would have the virus in it, but this time it was the only safe place. I heard a crash and ran out of the lab, laying on the floor Nurse Mary Garrett was laying. Blood leaking everywhere, I picked the somewhat limp body and carried her to the lab.

I placed her on one of the bio beds and started to run full diagnostic tools, the lab had somewhat better systems than the rest of the ship. I looked over the results and they were interesting, they were similar to another couple of viruses that I knew about. I turned my Terminal and brought up the sub space com program. I contacted the USS Galaxy's Chief Medical Officer, a Cat appeared on the screen.

"Beta Shift And Betazoids"
By Lieutenant (jg) Suder
Based upon STAR TREK created by Gene Roddenberry

Lieutenant Suder, junior grade of course, sat at his engineering station staring at the screen. His shift was finsihed, and Beta Shift was already in flow. Things didn't seem right. He was still working, he hadn't seen Adrianna all day - perhaps she had been set up on a different shift, and with all that washappening, Suder thought that maybe a Betazoid would be useful in the situation that was at hand, but of course, there was the counselor that was Betazoid, so again, there was no use for him. He took a deep breath and sighed. There were personal conflicts going on with Suder's past and istory, but he couldn't deal with that right now. And there was also conflict on the ship. Derian and Miran, Teb and Benedict, too much was going on. Every so often, things would explode between this group. He stood up and looked around engineering. Things were quiet as usual. Wherever Suder was, things were quiet. When he first arrived on the ship, he thought it was because of his past, and it partially was. Then Adrianna arrived and he seemed to be less tense around people, but lately, things were back to normal. There was a cold hate somewhere in the room. One of the engineers. Something about him, or her, was strange. Not normal. Suder ignored, as he was used to it, and strolled out of engineering with his engineering kit to check up on some conduits that seemed to be fluctuating.

Relative Information
USS Galaxy
by Lt Endris Gakor, ACMO

*** Deck 8, Officer's Mess ***

Normally, Gakor preferred the comfortable dining of the 10-Foreward lounge. But today, the Tellarite was slumming on Deck 8. She managed to get permission to view the quarters recently vacated by the Zodecas family, and they proved suitable for Endris' needs. Hopefully, Matthew would give his nod of approval also, and they could begin to move things in.

Gakor was surprised to see Ensign Hitchcock weave into the mess area, fumbling under a full load of PADDs. "Afros!", Gakor cajoled. The talkative yeoman approached the table the Doctor was dining and joined her friend.

"Endris! I have something for you", he said cheerfully. He extended a furry arm and handed the immunologist one of the Padds. Gakor turned it on, and the seal of the Yridians appeared. "Snacks, what have those information traders want now?", the bulging Doctor exclaimed.

"I don't know, the message was private", Hitchcock responded trying to peak at the Padd now that the recipient had activated the message. Endris saw what was happening and concealed the device from view.

Learner Jolms appeared on the face of the PADD. "I have the information you requested about the Towelette Babble fish", he said. "The cost is 5 recipes. And no Skunk this time, it seems humans do not tolerate the ingredients. Contact me by subspace, my ship is currently docked at Memory Beta.", the Yridian informed.

*Towelette Babble Fish*, Gakor frowned. As much as she enjoyed her tropical fish, she hadn't ever heard of such a thing. It sounded like something a primitive race might stick in their ears to translate alien tongues. Quickly, she went back to her quarters to contact the trader.

*** Personal Quarters ***

"Computer, establish a private channel to Learner Jolms at Memory Beta."

Seconds later, the Yridian appeared with a huge grin. "How nice to chat with you in private.", the merchant greeted. "I see the baby is developing nicely. Have you planned the wedding?" Jolms quizzed. It was difficult to tell if the information broker was probing for information or not.

"I have an appointment later with Counselor Dallas to talk about details", she commented without revealing too much.

"I understand. But I have more than fish to peddle today.", the Yridian said. "In fact, if you care to thumb scan those recipes, I might be inclined...."

Endris considered a moment. Yridians seldom cheated their customers, and frequently learned surprising trivia from all over the quadrant. After a few seconds of deliberation, she keyed in the transmission.

"I trust you won't be disappointed. In fact, I have someone here that wants to talk to you."

A hooded form, vaguely Tellarite in composition, moved towards the view screen and drew back her hood. The person had been concealed behind a sound proof wall before the Yridian's assistant shuffled her into the room.

"Cuisine!", Gakor said in surprise. She leaned foreward in her chair, almost kissing the viewer. It was the first time since the attack decades ago that she had seen her Mother, Lorania.

"Mother? I thought you were killed in the attack!", Endris said in surprise.

"No, although your father was. One of the Nausicaan ships beamed me up. I have been captive at a labor outpost every since. I tried to sneak messages out, but someone appears to have gobbled them up!"

Endris paused in thought. "How did you finally manage to escape?", she asked.

"It seems a Nausicaan on your ship, one Ensign Rotan, has some influence with the government. He sent a message out that obtained my release, just a few short hours ago." Her mother studied her offspring, and it finally sank in that Endris was pregnant. (Jolms had saved that for another surprise, not telling Lorania what to expect!) Lorania rolled her eyes and made a humorous snorting sound, finally saying "Snacks! I hope I'm not to late for the wedding."

"Dumpling, Muffin and I would love it if you would come", the younger and partially shocked Tellarite responded while rubbing her extended belly. "We haven't set a date for the ceremony, but hope to have it somewhere on Tellar Prime. Matthew's parents, the Albrechts, are the Terran Ambassadors to our home world!", Endris said.

"Wait dear, you better grip your chair, I have a considerable surprise for you!", her mother stated. *What could be more surprising than a sudden reappearance after several decades of absence?*, Gakor wondered, but tensed and gripped the chair for support anyway. It's always best to obey your mother, Endris decided.

"When I was released from prison, I also obtained permission to extract medical information from their computer banks. It seems the Nausicaans obtained the Teresi virus from an unknown third party. The aliens have somehow amassed quite a bit of medical knowledge. I have deposited it in the library at Memory Beta. Look up archive 5401-Epsilon."

Endris belched as the yet unnamed baby kicked. Endris glanced at the chronometer and excused herself. It was time for her to go on duty!

Before she left, all thoughts of fish long since discarded, she composed a message to Albrecht and Counselor Dallas about her mother turning up unexpectedly. She also sent a subspace message to the USS Caduceus and the St Louis suggesting they study the new medical archive...

Slow down the Virus
by LTjg Trevor Allen
Paramedic Flight team

Allen came around the corner and Dr Lou had already placed Nurse Garret on a bio bed. She was already in stage 2 of the Virus. Dr. Lou looked at him do you want me to take her to my section or leave her in yours.

Allen quietly said he would take care of her. Turning and grabing a tricorder Allen asked "Dr. Lou if she should have been in bed hours ago. Did she have any complaints why I was gone."

"No she didn't other than she didn't get to eat lunch."

Ok Thanks Dr.."

Allen quickly gave her some medication to limit the pain and force the blood to clought more quickly.

Leaning against the wall allen servayed his section he had already watched 23 people die since this thing started. He couldn't stop thinking about watching the die like that. At least the people in the escape pods didn't suffer like this.

Allen started to turn to and start rounds on his section again when it hit him like a tone of bricks.

She eat lunch. It couldn't be that simple. Allen started to scan the patients in his section and every one had low blood surgar. Shouting across the QU. "EVERY ONE SCAN THE PATIENTS IN YOUR SECTION FOR BLOOD SURGAR."

Allen Passed the floor for almost 5 mintues as he waited for the results. Looking around the room and survaying his team he saw that him Nurse garret and the Dr. Jergonson were the only ones not wearing bio suites at the time of exposure.

Scaning him self his blood surgar was slightly low but nothing like the readings he was getting hear.

Dr. Lou and 3 other medics approched him and confirmed all blood surgars were rock bottom. Dr Lou I want you back in the lab I wan't to see what the normal glucose levels are for the Ocero.

Allen grabed a hypo spray and loaded it with glucose. Another medic grabed his hand "sir with all due respect you don't know what that will do to her."

Allen turned. "You are right I don't know what it will do to her but I do know this if I don't do it she is dead in a matter of hours. This will do 1 of 3 things. 1. Kill her. 2 Slow the virus.3 Kill her or 4 do nothing. Well ok it could do 4 things."

Allen turned back around and injected the glucose. After about 2 minutes of nervious waiting the nurse relaxed and stopped convulsing. running scans he could see that the virus was still active but slowed significantly but after the body assimulated the glucose the active begain to rise again.. It wasn't a cure but it could slow the virus till we found a cure.

Opening the com chanell to sick bay. "Dr. Whitesong I am sending you data that shows the glucose levels of all the patients hear in QU are extrimely low. we are setting all patients up with Glucose infuser to maintain normal blood surgar levels. I need to know what the normal blood surgar levels are on the Ocero people. I don't want to give them the wrong type of Glucose.

But for all crewmembers including none humans the treatment is working. It is not a cure nor is it going to stop then end result. However the effects are not as violent and we have yet to determine how long we may have extended the life span.

Also people that arn't sick yet should eat foods with high surgar contents. Please pass that on to your bridge. I don't know what is going on up there but they refuse to talk to us.

Dr. Whitesong Please respond. Allen waited to see if he would get a response.

"Saturday Night Fever"
Lt. T'Zaq
Engineer, USS Galaxy

Delta shift rotation on the Galaxy was rarely uneventful, despite being, in general, the least significant of the four. Every 5 cycles, it was T'Zaq's turn to take the Delta center seat. This time around, she was fairly certain something even more interesting would happen. The tension among the crew in general had spiked upward rapidly in the past few days, as she had observed, and she logically speculated that something would occur in order to reestablish the equilibrium.

The first 2.47 hours were fairly quiet, the Delta norm. The Ferengi ship was being thoroughly monitored, Starfleet communication traffic was light, and except for a few small crises in the science lab, there was practically nothing going on.

"Internal sensors are showing a glitch in the Environmental Control Systems for Deck 29 - Jefferies Tube 29/D." Ensign Elaithiin reported. "Should I check it out?"

T'Zaq nodded. "I don't see a problem with that. Have someone from Engineering assist you."

"Aye sir." The Bajoran strolled off the bridge and into the turbolift.

*** 45 minutes later ***

"Security to bridge." Ensign Ral's voice filtered through the intercom speakers.

T'Zaq's right eyebrow ascended a fraction as she tapped her communicator badge. "Bridge, T'Zaq here. Go ahead..?"

"We've... er, got a bit of a situation here. It seems Ensigns Elaithiin and Scott were found in Jefferies Tube 10... out of uniform. Both are in custody at the moment, pending charges."

T'Zaq winced slightly. This was going to be a pain. "On my way, Ensign. Bridge out." she stated laconically before looking around the bridge for a likely victim. All eyes were on her for a long, silent moment.

"Ensign Setak. You have the conn." she announced, rising from the chair and quickly turning on her heel to enter the turbolift.

Minutes later, the commander-pro-tempore strode authoritatively into the Security headquarters. Ensign Ral stood up from the brig console to meet her. Two of the cells were in use, each holding one of the now-separated culprits. The two women stared at the prisoners for a second, then turned to each other, an almost electric flash of understanding passing between them as their eyes met. Lexana held back a smile.

Clearing her throat, T'Zaq stepped forward to get the convicts' attention, hands held behind her back in a superior, authoratitive sort of posture. "Excuse me. What do you two have to say for yourselves?"

Jii yawned. "Oh, lighten up. We were just having fun." He appeared quite unconcerned with their current plight.

Ensign Scott just looked down and blushed a little, embarrassed.

"This is most unbecoming, you realize. Starfleet officers of your caliber should know better than to engage in juvenile behavior such as this while on duty. Now that you have graduated from the Academy, you are expected to comport yourselves in a manner warranting greater responsilibity, not like adolescents. You have disgraced the honor of this organization and tarnished your own good records..." she droned on for quite a while, explaining the magnitude of their transgression.

"...I've notified both of your immediate commanding officers pending disciplinary action of their discretion. Now, do either of you have anything else to note for the official report?"

"With all due respect, *sir*," Elaithiin grinned, "You must have been the only one who didn't get any at the Academy."

"That will be all, Ensign." T'Zaq snapped, turning quickly to leave.

"We'll detain them until their COs come to bail them out in the morning," Lexana murmered in her direction. T'Zaq nodded in acknowledgement and quickly left the room to resume her post on the bridge.

=/\=
Lt. T'Zaq, Engineer, USS Galaxy

Allen was quickly setting each patient up on plasma infusures set to dispurse regular doses of Glucose.

Dr. Lou how are you coming on your section and when you get done can you double check mine to make sure they are setup right. I have only done these 2x in the past and never on this scale.

Waiting for a Response from DR. Lou Allens combadge chirped.

"Dr.Dravis to Lt.Allen. Are the replicators in the QU working correctly? We're having some trouble with them."

"Yes Dr. Dravis they are working fine. however for the glucose you can program your infusure units to produce the glucose directly into the blood stream. (SAME AS TODAYS IV) that is much better than using a medication you have to keep administering other wise the effect will not work. You have to maintian normal to slightly higher blood surgar levels you can't get that with out the IV infuser."

As Allen finnished the report the room began to spin and he fell to the floor with a large crash as a cart and its intire content fell to the deck. that could be heard through the combadge.

"In Transit"
by Lieutenant Commander Viktor Kozlov
First Officer, USS Caduceus

*****Shuttlecraft USS Livingstone*****

The type nine shuttlecraft streaked across the sector at maximum warp, a lone jewel against the blackness of space. It had long since left both the Caduceus and the St. Louis behind. The St. Louis, the ship with which they were racing towards Kenda II, was stuck at warp 6, thanks to the quarantine unit strapped to its hull. Their journey to Kenda II was estimated at eight hours. The Livingstone would be arriving more than six hours ahead of them, assuming Captain Thiana didn't simply jettison the QU into space. Considering that she had already fired on an unsuspecting, unshielded hospital ship and was now taking a quarantined vessel with a deadly virus into a highly populated area, Kozlov wouldn't put the murder of additional Starfleet officers past her. Her actions to this point would have filled any Cardassian Gul with pride.

Kozlov shook his head, trying to clear it of such unproductive thoughts. He needed to concentrate on the mission… A mission ultimately designed to save the lives of the Captain and crew of the St. Louis. He could not allow himself to sink to their level. He had sworn an oath to Starfleet, and he would uphold it, even if that meant risking his own life to save the lives of renegades and murderers.

"Are you alright, Commander?" asked Counselor O'Keefe, a look of concern on her face. Kozlov looked up, startled. Was he being that obvious, even in his silence?

"I'm fine, Lieutenant. Why do you ask?"

"Your jaw is clenched tightly enough to bite a hole in a tritanium bulkhead." She replied.

Kozlov sighed heavily. "I'm just focusing on the mission data." He said. "Nothing to be too concerned about. How is your background search on Kenda II coming along?"

"See for yourself." She said, handing over copies of her research to both Kozlov and Security Chief Vetra. Together, the three of them began to review the data.

Kenda II was the second of seven planets in the Kenda system and the home world of the Kendan people. First contacted by the Federation over 100 years earlier, they were an advanced culture that had developed small, warp capable ships independently three centuries ago. In spite of numerous nearby class-M systems, they had limited their expansion to their home system, establishing colonies and outposts on thirteen other planets, moons and asteroids in the Kendan system.

Located in the heart of one of the most populated areas in the Alpha Quadrant, Kenda had managed to remain independent, politely turning down offers of Federation membership on four different occasions. A number of published articles on the Kendans classified them as xenophobic. In spite of this, they maintained trade and diplomatic agreements with the Federation, Klingons, Ferengi, Rigel and over two dozen independent worlds and had extensive starport facilities on Kenda II, as well as repair facilities in orbit.

The Kendans were humanoid, with dark, metallic tinted skin and twin cranial ridges running along the sides of their skulls. To Kozlov, it seemed as if the Kendan people had been cast from bronze. The Kendans were extremely long lived. Lifespans of nearly 400 years were not uncommon. The Kendans attributed this to unspecified elements in the environment of their homeworld. They had so far resisted any detailed studies of their physiology by outsiders.

While the Kendans had limited their expansion to their home system, they were not a force to be trifled with. They maintained a large fleet of advanced warships, created using technologies purchased from a number of other spacefaring cultures. 100% of this fleet was located in the Kendan home system, where it maintained a vigilant watch for any aggressor force. So far, no race had seen fit to challenge the sovereignty of the Kendans in their home system.

While the Kendans maintained a single world government, Starfleet diplomats had described it as a bureaucratic minefield, filled with rules and regulations, something Kendan politicians seemed to thrive on. Fortunately there was some hope. The research stated that the larger corporations and universities on Kenda II were given a great deal of latitude by the government, and were often allowed to negotiate policy on their own. This suggested another avenue of approach for the away team, should talks with the world governing body stall.

Perhaps the best news of all concerned the plant they were seeking. Carvi Carvn was grown in abundance on Kenda II, where it was used as a catch-all medicinal product. How the plant functioned, its effects on Kendan physiology and on alien life forms was unclear, but at least they would not have much trouble tracking down a sample. That, when combined with the research already gathered, offered a ray of hope for the stricken crew of the St. Louis.

"How much longer?" asked Kozlov, as he finished reading the data.

"Another twenty minutes until we reach the outer edge of the Kendan system." Said Vetra, checking his navigational readings.

"That should be close enough. Let's open channels to Kenda II. Let them know were coming."

"Are we going to mention that there is a plague ship due to arrive in six and a half hours?" asked O'Keefe.

"Let's try and handle that one tactfully." Suggested Kozlov. "Our greatest concern is securing the plants, as well as any knowledge of its properties from the Kendans. I have no doubt they will question the urgency of our needs, but we will cross that bridge once we get to it."

"Opening channels." Said Vetra.

"Alright, let's see what we can find. I'll attempt to smooth things over with the government. Vetra, see if you can secure us an orbit around Kenda II. Counselor, try and contact third parties, including medical research facilities, universities, medical corporations, etc. See what you can get out of them."

The two officers nodded and turned to their consoles. Kozlov quickly followed suit, tucking in his shirt and facing the main view screen as he waited for a reply from his hail to the central government.

***** *****
-David/Kozlov

"This is the Federation shuttle, Livingstone, to Kenda II Starport Authority, please respond."

There was a few minutes pause then a bronze faced Kendan appeared on the screen in some form of uniform.

"This is Starport Authority, what is the matter, Lingingstone?"

"We would like permission to orbit, Kenda II for the next eight hours or so, we have urgent buisness with your government, a matter of security, I'm afraid the rest is classified,"Korvin said sternly.

The alien looked dubious. I will have to talk to my superior, please wait. The screen went black. Korvin ignoring the implicit order to remain away from Kenda II set course to enter orbit of Kenda II. As the course became clear the man returned to the screen.

"Linginstone I gave you no decision on that orbit!"The man said quite shocked at the Korvin's move.

"Well what is that decision?"

"We are going to permit you to orbit until our government, determines what your Commander Koslov, has to say to them, as well this is pending a full scan of your vessel and the satisfactory signing of the appropriate forms."

"Well then I saved us some time and perhaps a few lives setting that course, please send us your forms and scan our vessel Livingstone out."

" This is soooo not what I needed"
Ensign Micheal Stevens-USS Galaxy-Engineering

Stevens met a wide-eyed young security officer just waiting for him at the brig. He almost looked a dog seeing his master coming home. Once he got there he told the young man what was about to happen and briefed him on the situation. He had to talk fast he had no idea about what was going on behind that wall. He wanted to be clear, to the point, and quick about it. After he was done he saw that he completely lost the person he was about to turn his safety over to. "You have no idea what I just said, do you?" The dumb-founded meat truck just shook his head. 'How'd you ever get through the academy?' Stevens thought to himself. "Look, if any thing jumps out at us, shoot it. Now, which cell was the crew of the 'Prince held in." The blank officer pointed to one of the cells.

Stevens walked in and examined the back wall looking for any marks or abrasions. 'I should'a gone into forensics.' Stevens looked at the back wall for what seemed like hours, but only a few seconds had actually gone by. Nothing. He saw nothing. 'What the...What's going on behind this wall.' He walked out of the brig and to the jeffies tube access point. He opened it and crawled in after telling the tank of a secrity officer to wait there and back him up. He crawled through tight space and found his problem. A primary sytems relay had become loose and wasn't connected to the information port. 'Figures.'

He repaired the connection and crawled out of the jeffries tube. "It's nothing. You can return to your post." Micheal had a bit a disappointment in his voice. The security officer turned and walked away. 'He must think I'm nuts. Well off to Holodeck 2. I gotta start those sims agian. Maybe with Setek's input I can figure out why the subspace feild wants to expand so rapidly. I'd rather not have this device pull anyone apart.'

When he got to Holodeck two he saw that was occupied. Not only that one but the others as well. "Computer, please download yesterdays security reports to my quarters."

=/\=Unable to comply. Security records are not accessible at this time.=/\=

"FINE, then just run me over."

=/\= Define parameters of program. =/\=

"What?"

=/\= Define parameters of program. =/\=

"Belay, computer." He said, giving up. He walked to his quarters and put on his tonsaW' HIp, or his fighting uniform, for HIv quv. He had just started a form known as ghuHtay, or preparation ritual, when he received a messege from his old teacher, Pok Matleq.

"Open minds"
by Ensigns Kalln and Gartner, USS Galaxy

The door chimed. Anna Gartner looked up from her PADD, and said, mouth full of cake:

'Who is it?'

'It's me,' came the voice of the reptilian Gordall Kalln.

'Oh,' said Anna, without trace of good or bad feeling, 'Come in then.'

The door slid open and the giant four-armed science Ensign stepped into Anna Gartner and Lexana Ral's quarters. He turned his huge lizardine head ponderously from side to side, surveying the room.

'Lex not around?' half statement, half question. He had an annoying habit of doing that.

'You know,' observed Anna, 'When you move your head so slowly like that it reminds me of an elephant.'

Kalln came further into the room, and the door slid shut behind him. He released the form of his cat, Vaughn, from his four-armed embrace and it dashed off across in the direction of the replicator and set about producing food.

'I'm glad you find it so interesting,' said Kalln, 'My cultural behaviour. We don't have to move like that, you know, but it expends less energy.'

Anna set her padd down on the table, and pushed the plate with the other half of the cake away slightly.

'So,' she said, 'What can I do for you, or did you just come here to ornament the place?'

'I came to see you,' said Kalln, 'It would appear that they let you out of the brig.'

'Ha ha,' said Anna, 'Aren't you clever? They've put me on restricted duty.'

'And what does that entail?' asked Kalln, who had been put on such measures enough times in his career.

'Light duty work only, basically any place where I can do the least damage.'

'Ah, somewhat like me then,' stated Kalln wisely.

Anna looked suddenly interested, 'What do you mean?'

'Well it would appear,' said Kalln, 'That I am beginning to gain something of a reputation for never being on duty. I've swapped around a lot on shifts recently, mainly to cover for people wanting time off. That and the fact that I only sleep one or two hours a night means people see a lot more of me during a lot more time periods than they should.'

'And what do you do when you're not sleeping?' asked Anna with a grin and an implication that Kalln did not see.

'Hang around in ten-forward mainly,' said Kalln, 'Get to know the crewmen, the other Ensigns, and most of the higher-ranking officers. That's one thing I've never had a problem with; authority has little psychological influence. I follow orders because I want to, not because I feel I have to. It's got me into some trouble in the past. Whereas in your case, you-'

'I _don't_ follow orders because I don't want to,' interrupted Anna, 'And that gets me into a lot more trouble.'

Kalln pulled a seat over from near the table where Anna was sat and squatted onto it with some difficulty - apparently it had been designed for Ensign Ral's somewhat lither physique. Anna resumed munching on her cake.

'You know,' said Kalln, thoughtful all of a sudden, or more thoughtful than usual, 'We're more alike than you know, you and I.'

Through another mouthful of crumbs, Anna splurted, 'How do you figure that?'

'We're both pariahs, we don't fit into the system too well.'

'Ha! You've fitted into the system for longer than I've been alive!'

'Have I?' asked Kalln, 'Fifty years I've served in Starfleet, and what am I? An Ensign, admittedly on one of the most important ships in the fleet, but still an Ensign.'

'Well, everyone likes you at least.'

'As they do you, so it would appear,' responded Kalln, suddenly looking her directly in the eye, 'With of course the exception of certain more feline parties.'

'Well, I suppose so. But you haven't lived what I- what I...'

'What you've lived through? Have you read my record? All hands killed, except me. All hands. All fifty of them. Fifty friends and comrades, and we're talking Elt here, kin of my kin and all that, not scummy humans and Tarn. Fifty of my own blood, effectively, slaughtered. And I survived. I survived, alone, and on my own. Not through any particular skill on my part, I am perfectly prepared to admit. Just blind luck, or providence or something like that. I thought about it back then, when I went walkabout. You know they have a special dispensation in the Gnalish Space Fleet? They _expect_ people to go AWOL, and they don't mind. My people certainly know their limitations, that I'll give us.'

Kalln noticed suddenly that Anna's eyes were screwed shut, and her mouth was moving, ever so slightly, making her scar ripple.

'Anna?'

No reaction.

'Anna. Are you okay?' said Kalln, and reached forward and touched her face with one sheathed claw.

She smiled slightly, though only momentarily, before her eyes flicked open and she recoiled from the encroaching talon. With a slight ah of shock, she composed herself.

'Are you okay, Anna?' he asked, a look of great concern, perhaps greater than it should reasonably be, in his massive, dark eyes.

'Of course I am,' snapped the woman, 'Who do you think I am? You? I don't get bogged down in ennui and suicidal depression and all that crap you freaks go for! I'm fine.'

Kalln's expression hardened momentarily, and on his reptilian and rather over-jawed face the motion looked distinctly predatory. But then he relaxed, and put his head on one side.

'Well that's okay then,' he said, 'Hell, I wouldn't wish being me on any human. I mean the body comes with certain... advantages, but the psyche is just bloody awful, to be honest.'

That brought a grin to Anna's face. The idea that these gigantic beasts, stronger than Klingons, stronger than Gorn or Nausicaans, were afflicted by something as downright pathetic as depression never failed to amuse her in a partly ironic and partly sadistic way. Kalln knew this, and had expressed a similar sentiment on one occasion. She leaned forward across the table, looking the Gnalish Elt directly in the eyes, and said:

'Okay, enough of this pseudo-psychological bull. I have been wondering, are you attracted to human females?'

'Well... yes,' Kalln said, a little surprised by her question, 'I do have a deep appreciation for human females. But then we have a deep appreciation for anything female. It's the way we're built. Not that I'm implying you're not...'

Anna smiled at Kalln. Then to his astonishment, she climbed up on the table and crawled over to sit down on the edge, right before him.

'Do you mind if I move over here?' she asked. Kalln noticed that even though she was still in uniform she wasn't wearing her boots or socks when she rested her bare feet on his thighs.

Squatted uncomfortably on the stool as he was, Kalln's eyes were about level with Gartner's diminutive form. Their faces now inches apart, he just gave a nervous smile to her.

'Um, no, of course not. Er, help yourself.'

Gently Anna reached forward with her right hand and stroked the underside of Kalln's enormous chin.

'I don't mind if I do,' she purred.

For a moment Kalln was confused. He thought that Anna was just playing, teasing him. But then he felt her bare, tiny foot gently rubbing around between his legs. He looked her quizzically in the eye.

'What are you trying to find down there?'

The Ensign simply looked up at him and tried to look sensual, 'Well, if you don't know that then you're not much of a scientist.'

'Have you studied my anatomy much?'

'Well that _is_ what we're doing now...'

'Do you know anything about snakes?'

Gartner cut the erotic movement as it was apparently having little impact, 'What about snakes?'

'Well their genitalia are sort of... retractable,' said Kalln with a wry smile.

Anna's foot withdrew rapidly, 'You're not saying...'

'Yes, I am. Well at least we've put a stop to that silliness.'

Anna looked thoughful for a moment, and then to Kalln's amazement pulled herself forward on the table nearer to him. He leaned away slightly, made far more difficult by his position.

'What are you doing?' he asked incredulously.

'It sound like fun,' she said.

'You can't be attracted to me? We're two completely different species.'

'I know that, silly,' Anna said, 'I'm just looking for a bit of fun.'

Kalln gasped. 'You want to "have fun" with a seven foot lizard?'

'Why not,' Anna smiled evilly, 'Can't get much more exciting than that and I know we're... biologically compatible.'

'You are a strange human, Anna,' Kalln said with a frown.

Anna rolled her eyes, 'Duh! That's a big news flash.'

Then she started to show some signs of growing impatience, 'Now, we have an hour before Lex gets back, what do you think we should do with that much time?'

Kalln still found it hard to believe that this odd little Ensign that he found so unnervingly attractive was interested in him...

'I don't know. We could, um, talk about the weather.'

But apparently Anna had something else on her mind. Kalln for some reason hadn't seen it coming. Smoothly she unzipped her black and purple tunic, and slipped it off her shoulders. Kalln gulped reflexively.

'What's the matter?' asked Anna, 'You never been with a woman before?'

'Um, um,' said Kalln, clearly a little shaken, 'Well yes, there was one, but the circumstances were a little different. I think I m-must be the first Gnalish Elt to be seduced.'

'Oh really,' said Anna sloughing her yellow undershirt, 'And how exactly does a big nasty lizard like you go about playing Casanova?'

Kalln said nothing. He was staring at the contents of Anna's white halter top. She must have worked out a lot to burn off the calories with her sweet tooth for chocolate. To his surprise it looked like she really was enjoying herself.

'Hello? Kalln?' she said.

'W-what? Oh, um, you really want to see?'

'Of course I do.'

'Well it goes a little something like this,' the chance to sort out the gender roles brought a little of Kalln's confidence back.

Anna noticed no immediate difference, but leant forward and kissed him gently on the cheek.

'Go on then,' she said softly.

'Well, I did,' said Kalln, 'The pheromones are filling the air right now.'

'Mm, pheromones?' she asked.

Kalln nuzzled against her neck with his huge nose. His lack of proper lips and abundance of teeth made the idea of kissing a questionable, if not extremely dangerous idea.

'Yes,' he said, 'They're quite effective aren't they?'

Anna held him by the shoulders and gently tipped back onto the table, pulling him to his feet over her. Feeling far more comfortable with what was going on with the addition of a few airborne chemical aphrodisiacs, he quickly shucked out of his custom-fitted uniform which was considerably better made than the other Ensigns on the ship.

The huge Gnalish Elt placed two of his hands against her bare stomach. Letting her feel the rough and scaleless skin of his palms and _very_ long fingers against her own soft, silky smooth skin. He then asked her one last time, struggling now to suppress the powerful pheromones.

'Are you quite sure you want to go through with this?'

Then to his relief he heard Anna growl, obviously her willpower was sufficient to ignore at least some of the calming effects, 'For the last time YES!'

Kalln was finding himself becoming very aroused now. He replied by letting two of his hands on her bare stomach to roam, exploring more of her upper body and pulling away her remaining clothing while he used his other two hands to undo her pants. Kalln could heard Gartner's breathing quickening as he carefully caressed her body at twice the normal rate and started to lower his nose to her breasts.

Her hands grabbed his face, suddenly stopping him as she said:

'Kalln, your cat.'

He looked over to see Vaughn watching them intently, a look of great amusement on his face.

'I don't like spectators...' Anna continued, 'Please get rid of him.'

A look was all it took, and the look back said 'I was just leaving anyway. Huh.'

Vaughn sauntered off into the bathroom and the door shut behind him. Then the alien cat curled up into a ball on the floor and started to secretly plan in getting his revenge on Kalln. Maybe leaving a booby trap or two in their quarters. The cat then started to purr happily as he hammered out the details.

From the main room came the sound of Anna's voice.

'Your fingers are HOW LONG?'

***

Tim Fletcher for:
Ensign Gordall Kalln, Science Officer, USS Galaxy

***** Doctor to Doctor *****
By Dr. Felicia Khatroweena, Lieutenant (Assistant Chief Medical Officer), USS Galaxy NCC-70637
w/ Dr. Michelle Lou, Lieutenant (Chief Research Officer), USS Caduceus

***** Galaxy Sickbay *****

Cat was reviewing the data from the St. Louis. Floating just above the desk was a holographic of the UFP, Klingon and Romulan Empires and the other races nearby. An ever-changing amorphous blob of red, Cat knew to be centred on Kenda II. She watched as pseudopods reached out as if to grab systems and suddenly encircle them. It seemed alive as it grew. Cat watched as the first pseudopods grasped for the Klingons, Romulans and other races.

Cat noted the flickering numbers near the bottom tight corner of the map, the time from Day Zero of the first infections on the planet. Earth and Vulcan, it took time for the virus to get to them, but they fell quickly. Planets on the perimeter of the UFP, like Bajor, fell quickly within a couple of weeks after. The larger it got, the faster it grew. So little of the virus was actually known, a lot of assumptions were made for the simulation, some good, some bad but all based on previous similar forms of virus. Cat stopped the simulation and sighed at the reported time. A best case scenario and the UFP was totally stained red within ninety eight days. The truth was likely to be worst than that.

Cat heard her terminal chime, her ears flicked forward in interest as she noticed the normal StarFleet symbol changed to StarFleet Medical with indications of an incoming subspace call from a Dr Michelle Lou of the Caduceus.

"Accept the call." Cat ordered the computer. She relaxed back into her chair, her hands steepled waiting for the computer to complete the connection.

A human appeared on the screen, "Yes Dr Lou? How can I help you?" Cat pupils narrowed as she studied the Dr Lou on the screen. She appeared tired and a little harassed. From the info files from the St. Louis situation, she was aboard the Quarantine Unit. 'That would explain that!'

=/\=Dr Khatroweena?=/\= Inquired Michelle.

"Yes it is."

=/\=Have you received the situation on the St. Louis?=/\=

"Yes I have, you certainly have some problems? I've had a chance to look at the data. Is there anything else that you can tell me?"

--
Trevor Ayliffe
tayliffe@nexus.edu.au
ICQ: 3722239

Sunder watched the engineering ensign for a few minutes from around the corner. He was stunned at what he just heard.

" You didn't understand what I just said, did you? " The ensign said sarcastically to the security officer. Was that Rixe he just spoke to? If so, then the engineer was damn lucky. Rixe was a new crewman, straight out of the Academy and not known for his patience.

Or for his up-to-date knowledge on security procedures, Sunder sighed inwardly. He'd have to talk to the man about checking work orders and approving clearance. Still, he had to admire the man's restraint. He waited until the unknown ensign had finished his tirade so Sunder could talke to Rixe in private.

The engineer's attitude was certainly abusive, not the usual demeanour one would expect from a Starfleet officer, Sunder observed. He blasted commands at Rixe, demanded this and that and then after he had finished his work in the cell, left without as much of a thank-you. Sunder watched the man leave, getting a long, hard look at him. He didn't know his name, but he'd be sure to remember his face. He'd have to have a talk with Commander Mercury about the way his officers conducted themselves.

Sunder walked over to Rixe.

" Rixe... what was that about? " He asked.

The younger security officer blanched a bit. The clearance drills finally coming back to him in one painful moment.

" Uh, that was ... one of the engineering staff wanted to do a routine examination on the cell, the ferengi were in. It turned out to be a loose relay switch behind one of the panels. "

" Did you check his paperwork? " Sunder asked calmly.

" Well, sir, I kinda figured he already had clearance... ", Rixe started, already knowing that this was the wrong answer.

" You figured wrong, crewman. Bad judgement doesn't become a security officer, Rixe. You check his clearance. Then you verify the orders with Engineering and your shift supervisor. '

" Sorry sir. " Rixe said, downcast. " It won't happen again. "

" It better not. I understand he was a superior officer and you were just following orders, but this is security. It's not the hydroponics lab. if anyone wants access into my brig, then you tell me or your supervisor about it. I don't care if it's the Federation Council president himself. You notify someone before letting them in! "

Rixe nodded his head. He wasn't a bad officer; he just made a mistake. One that he had learned from and one that he wouldn't repeat in the future. With the extra simulations Sunder would add to his training regimen for the next two weeks, he definitely wouldn't!

" Rixe, the riot act's over. In your favour though, you showed duty in obeying orders. You also showed that you could take orders from even a stuffed gear-jockey like that. Just know your responsibilities and don't be afraid to show assertiveness in the future. "

Rixe's face flashed a brief expression of gratitude. " Thanks sir. "

Sunder nodded gravely and walked away. He hoped to meet that engineer along the way somewhere...then he shook the thought out of his head. Best to let Mercury deal with him. He'd file a complaint with him later. Mercury wasn't a bad guy. He'd take care of it.

"Ten - Forward"
by Ensign Mike Marc
Tactical Officer

Mike was in his quarters when he felt that he needed something to eat. He didn't want to eat alone so Mike got on his uniform and went to Ten- Forward. Mike knew that in ten-forward he always could find a person to talk to.

When he entered Ten-Forward he saw pretty woman. She was siting alone and Mike decided to come to her.

"May I sit here ? " - asked Mike when he stood near the table.

"Sure why not? "- replied woman.

When Mike sat first of all he asked woman's name. She told him that she would tell him her name only in one condition. She asked him to bring her a cup of orange juice.

"Why not ?"- thought Mike and went to bar.

"What do you want ? " - asked bartender.

"Give me please, two glasses of orange juice. " - asked Mike and watched the bartender go to make Mike's order. Mike turned his head and watched his new friend. Mike noticed that she was from scions.

"Scions , they always know everything " - thought Mike and took two glasses from the bar and went to the table.

"So what is your name ?" - asked Mike

"My name is Ulya and yours ? "

" Mike. You know that you have Russian name ? "

"Of course I know . I'm from Kiev. And you ? " - asked Ulya .

"I don't believe you. You know why? Because I'm from Donetsk. It is big city in Ukraine. You probably know in the past it was coal centre of Ukraine." - replied Mike with big smile on the face.

"Of course I know this city . Why I don't notice you around here before? How long have you been on this ship? " - asked Ulya.

Mike finished his glass of orange juice before answering. " I'm nearly 6 months I came on board before last mission. You probably heard about me . I was putted to Lotia 2 by Q on Christmas evening."

"Sorry I didn't . I came to board when USS Galaxy was at Starbase 357" answered Ulya. Then the computer said to her that in 5 minutes would begin her shift. "Sorry Mike I need to run. It was nice to meet you. See you soon . Bye " - said Ulna and stood up from the table .

"It was nice to meet you too and let's meet here tomorrow in 3 o'clock, it is ok with you ? " - asked Mike

"Maybe at 4 . Wait for me here and maybe I will come " - answered Ulya with wild smile and after it blew Mike a kiss and ran to nearest turbo lift.

" I don't believe it. I need something to eat " - thought Mike and went to the nearest replicator for some food.

Sorting out the doc
by Lt. Adam Harris, Chief of Security

" It's not trouble I'm trying to cause, I'm trying to save their lives and for some reason the Captain and crew have done nothing but hinder my and my staff's efforts. Exposing my people to a deadly virus, firing upon my ship, endagering a heavily populated world,no I don't think I'M causing trouble." Dana felt the flush come into her cheeks. She got hold of her temper and calmed herself.

" The QU right now is the only hope any of us has, I sent some information to you medical department but some of the things need to be explained one on one. So how about being a sport and let me get down to your sickbay?"

"Well Doctor one thing that you must understand first is that my loyalties are to the Captain and she made orders that if any crew member of the USS Caduceus should attempt to leave the QU then they were to be placed in the brig. This is why you are here now. Also as Chief of Security I am responsible for the safety of the ship and its crew, and if you have a possible cure then I think that it is important that you should be in sickbay...."

Adam signelled for the brig attendant to lower the forcefield.

"....but you won't be allowed to just wander around as you please."

Adam signelled again and a security officer approached him.

"Yes sir" was the officer response

"Please escort Doctor Jergensen to Sickbay and stay with her. If she makes any attempt to go anywhere other then she is aloud then just bring her back and place her in this cell. Is that clear?"

"As crystal sir"

"Good"

With that, the security officer walked with Doctor Jergensen out of the brig.

Adam then sat back in his seat to take a breather.

From Adam Harris
Aka Lt. Adam Harris, Chief of Security of the USS St Louis

Old Memories
USS GALAXY
Commander Deiran Casey
Captain Thiana Zeri

Hermedhie sent the transmission to the St. Louis. It went unanswered. He sent it a second time. Still no answer.

“Sir, the St. Louis is not answering our hails,” Hermedhie replied. A bit frustrated.

“Okay, Hermedhie, encode the message for Captain Thiana. Put a signature on it. Casey, slash, and the letter “D.”

“Aye sir,” the Tac officer replied.

The Bridge of the Galaxy was quiet. All eyes were on Deiran. Not even Lee was saying anything. Deiran was standing close to the main viewer, Captain Price was sitting in the Captain's chair. The only sound that could be heard was the low hum of the Galaxy's engines.

The third time was definitely the charm. Zee recognized the “Casey-D” code and answered the transmission. It was a minute before the beautiful Bajoran Captain appeared on the screen.

“Thiana here, Deiran. Good to see you… Commander,” Thiana replied, emphasizing his rank. She was proud of him, though everyone could see only the anguish in her eyes. She was in her Ready Room when the transmission came through.

“Hi Zeri, it's been a few years. It's good to see you again. Nice to hear your voice, you are as beautiful as you were ten years ago Zee. You haven't aged at all,” Deiran said, he was smiling and looked calm, relaxed. You would have never known that inside he was hoping Thiana would listen to him and take his advice. He appeared outwardly, as if it was just a reunion and nothing more.

“This is a friendly call and not business I take it?” Thiana asked pointedly.

“My apologies Captain Thiana,” Deiran smiled.

“People change, Commander,” Zeri smiled ruefully. “You've done well for yourself, I see. First officer on one of the best ships in the 'Fleet.” She knew how to treat a Casey- stroke their egos.

“The St. Louis is a fine ship, Zee. You must be proud,” Deiran stated. Hoping the small talk would loosen her up so she'd listen to reason.

“I am very busy Commander. You encoded the transmission with our sign from years ago. What can I do for you? Who's in danger?” she asked.

The Casey's had made a pact with Thiana when they left the Glory. That if the other ever needed help, all any of them had to do was to encode a transmission. If Thiana had sent the message, she would have put Thiana-Z in the code.

“Actually, I'm calling for a reason. You're the one in danger. I apologize for using that code but it was imperative that we talk Zee. Do you remember when you gave me my first fencing lesson?” Deiran asked, if he could get her to respond to their past, maybe she would respond to him in the present.

“Yes I do, you showed promise on the first day. I told you to always be aware of your opponent attacking from the left. You learned to counter it in three lessons,” Thiana smiled as she remembered the times she had spent teaching Deiran. “You've grown into a handsome and successful man Deiran. I'm proud of you,” she replied.

Casey wanted to stroll down memory lane but he had a job to do. “Thank you Captain,” Deiran smiled. He blushed a little, Zee still got to him a little bit.

“I know about the St. Louis's condition and about the Ocero, Zee. You know that I'm stationed on the USS Galaxy as First Officer. The Galaxy has been sent to handle the crisis. Starfleet has authorized Captain Price to use force Zeri. I have asked the Captain to let me speak with you in hopes that we can come to an agreement,” Deiran was treading lightly, using unthreatening words but giving her the details of the situation.

“My crew is dying Deiran. Did your father fail the Cillarians? He didn't let his crew down, he didn't let them die. He taught me to always do what was best for your crew. You know that, he taught you the same,” Thiana replied. Deiran could see the anguish in her eyes and could hear it in her voice. It was eating her up inside that she couldn't do more. "I will not let this crew die."

“Yes, and I'm sure my father will be happy to help you if you cooperate. Let us assist you. Starfleet has given us orders not to let you get to Kenda. I'm in the middle Zee. Your one of my dearest friends, and what is happening has also put me on the other side of my Captain. I care for your crew just as much as you do. Is there anything we can do? Can you think of any way to solve this without violence?” Casey asked. He truly was having trouble with coming to grips that he may have to fire on his friend. He could not even think of firing on a ship that Zeri was on.

“No Commander, this disease is devastating. I have to get to Kenda or everyone on this ship is dead. This includes me. Being under quarantine isn't going to help us beat this virus. Our only hope is the possible cure on Kenda. Just allow us to get the cure and we could all be saved,” Thiana pleaded.

“Starfleet is concerned about the virus. We can't allow you off the ship. You have my word Captain, that we will do everything possible to save your crew and your ship. Just please don't leave your ship. Don't force our hand. Zeri, I won't let you down. We'll find a way. Remember I'm a Casey,” Deiran smiled.

Thiana Zeri knew the Casey family quite well. She knew that when they put their mind to something that 99.9% of the time they came out successful, but she wasn't going to back down.

“I'm sorry commander, the safety of my crew, their very lives are at stake. Getting to Kenda is our only hope. I will go through anything I have to, including courtmartial,” Thiana replied, melancholy filling her voice.

Deiran's face became somber as he heard the words come from his friend. “I wish there was another way Zee. I don't want to do this. I don't want to take part in stopping you. I don't have a choice Zee,” Deiran said, he wasn’t hiding behind a façade now. He wanted her to see the turmoil within him. He did have a choice, he was bluffing. He already told his Captain what he would do. If he did send a formal petition to the Federation Council it would rock the very foundation of UFP government. It would cause Starfleet to reconsider it's tactics when dealing with dangerous situations.

Deiran had the guts to do what was necessary and what he felt was right, no matter what Starfleet Command's orders were.

“I understand Commander. Hopefully we'll talk again under different circumstances. Thiana out.”

The main viewer switched to the UFP symbol. He thought he had a chance to reason with Zee. But, he underestimated her resolve and her love for her crew.

Now Deiran had to decide what he would do, he wasn't sure himself. ‘Zee, why?’ Casey wondered. Confusion took hold of him as he considered her words. He turned to Captain Price, remoarse clearly taking hold of his features.

“My apologies Captain, I’d thought she’d listen. She has changed. The Zeri I knew would have listened. We were close. Normally she would never put me in this position. Her crew’s plight is more serious than we realize. I would suggest we take into account, sir, that the senior officer’s on the St. Louis have a clean record for the most part. A good ship, good crew, a great captain. I believe there’s a better way to handle the situation sir,” Casey told his Captain. He walked to the command well and sat next to Lee. Hoping with all his heart, he wouldn’t be put in a position that would find his ship firing on Zee’s.

Free at last
By Dana Jergensen MD
CMO USS Caduceus

BRIG USS ST LOUIS

Dana watched as Harris walked away from her. He left her with the guard that was blushing at her. She straightened her uniform and gave the officer the once over. He wasn't as tall as she was but he had that low brow cranium associated with most security types ( hehe, couldn't refuse;)). He was uncomfrtable with her scrutiny. He was new to this she guessed, but he seemed nice enough.

Her mood was considerably better, amybe now they can focus their attention on the real enemy, the virus. "Are you paper trained?" She quipped.

" Excuse me ma'am?" he ensign looked distressed.

" Nothing, well let's get to sick bay. " She walked off with him following behind.

"Kendan Diplomacy"
by Lieutenant Commander Viktor Kozlov

*****Shuttlecraft USS Livingstone. In Orbit Around Kenda II*****

"Thank you for taking time out from your busy schedule to speak with me, Mr. Vice President." Said Kozlov in his most cordial tone of voice.

"Not at all." Replied the stately Kendan politician. "We consider the Federation to be our friends."

Kozlov stared back into the shining dark eyes of Vice President Vutros, one of seventy five Kendan Vice Presidents in their difficult to fathom political system. It had taken more than twenty minutes for Kozlov to track down the correct bureau to talk to.. Twenty precious minutes that brought the St. Louis that much closer to Kenda II. He found it hard to judge the VP's age. He could have been 40 or 400 for all Kozlov knew. And there was no telling how much real decision making power Vutros had. He would just have to play it by ear.

"And we consider Kenda II a valuable trade and cultural partner, one that we hope to one day welcome into the Federation."

Vutros's chiseled face formed an approximation of a smile. "We are an advanced people, but even we can not predict the future, Commander. Who knows what alliances may be in store for the Kendan people in the future?"

Something about his tone gave Kozlov a sense of unease, but he had not raced all the way to Kenda II to discuss future treaties. "Mr. Vice President. We have come on a mater of utmost urgency. A small group of our citizens have contracted a virulent and lethal virus. Our research leads us to believe that a plant native to Kenda II may hold the cure. I believe you call it Carvi Carvn. We would be in your debt if we could gain samples of this plant and access to any research you may have into its medicinal properties."

Vutros nodded. "Clear and to the point, Commander. You get right to the business, without the unneeded pleasantries of so many of your diplomats."

"Thank you, sir." Replied Kozlov. "Will you be able to assist us in this matter?" Outwardly, Kozlov remained sedate and officious, but his internal clock was counting down the minutes of the St. Louis's imminent arrival.

"I will have my under-secretary draft a proposal to the heads of Epidemiology and Immuniology at the Biological Studies Institute in Javameth. I will personally expedite the process so that your plant samples and the requested research data are delivered into your hands in a matter of weeks."

Kozlov swallowed hard. If he was judging Vutros correctly, the man had just gone 'out on a limb' for him, and was expecting the Federation's humble gratitude for his efforts on their behalf. Unfortunately, he was about to be disappointed. "Mr. Vice President." He began. "Your timely aid in this manner is greatly appreciated by the Federation, but I believe I have failed to express to you just how dire our situation is. We need to begin our research now. Even a matter of hours could spell the difference between life or death for hundreds of people."

"I see." Said Vutros, stroking his chin. "Hundreds you say? That is a fairly small number of citizens… A ship perhaps? One of your explorer vessels has contracted a deadly alien virus?"

"That would be correct, sir." Said Kozlov. Impressed that the VP had surmised the fact so quickly. He would have to watch his every word.

"And where is this ship now?" asked Vutros. "Please tell me that you are not amongst the infected! We can not very well allow you contact with our environment if you are harboring some deadly microbe!"

"My crew and I have not been exposed." Said Kozlov. "But another ship has been infected, and they may not have very long to live. Certainly there is a way in which we can avoid the inherent bureaucracy until after this crisis is resolved?"

"You have only partially answered my question, Commander." Stated Vutros. "Where is the infected ship now?"

Kozlov needed to make a judgement call. He could lie or be evasive, but in six hours, if no one managed to halt the St Louis's race to Kenda II, the Kendan government would find out the truth on their own. They were a prideful, independent people who would not take well to any deception on the part of the Federation. Perhaps it was better if he cleared the air now and started dealing with the consequences.

"The ship in question, a Starfleet vessel, is currently en route to Kenda II."

"What?!?" interrupted Vutros, rising partially out of his chair.

"They are still many hours away. It is simply a matter of efficiency." He added, beginning a half-truth. "Once we have a possible cure, we want to waste as little time as possible in getting it to the afflicted."

Vutros looked dubious. "If this situation is as you say, Commander, then we will have little to worry about. Nevertheless. I fully intend to contact Admiral Severad of the System Defense Fleet and put them on alert. You are free to remain in orbit, Commander, but we will not allow any other Starfleet vessel to approach Kenda II until your virus situation is resolved." The VP leaned into the viewscreen for emphasis. "This is not open to negotiation, Commander."

"Understood, Sir." Replied Kozlov. "I do not foresee any problems." He mentally crossed his fingers that it would remain that way. Manion had mentioned that Starfleet was sending a ship to intercept the St. Louis, but he had no idea what ship or if it would arrive in time.

"Very well. I will contact my undersecretary shortly and have them draft a proposal. It will be of highest priority." Said Vutros.

"You and your people have our thanks." Said Kozlov.

"Don't thank us yet, Commander. I have reason to suspect that you will be ultimately disappointed."

"And why is that?" asked Kozlov, cautiously.

"The plant you have mentioned, the one called Carvi Carvn, is a common medicinal remedy, used by every Kendan citizen from the time they are born until the time they die. It as much a part of our lives as bread and water is to yours. However, in a century of research, we have never found the plant to be of any use to species that are not native to Kenda II. Its properties have a unique effect on our physiology. I can not imagine that some benefit to an alien species has been overlooked all these many years."

"Your doctors and scientists willing, we would like to judge that fact for ourselves." Said Kozlov.

"As you wish." Said Vutros, with a shrug. "I will be in contact with you in due time. Until then, please maintain your current orbit and do not attempt to beam down to the surface." The VP closed the connection and the screen went dark.

Kozlov turned and faced his two fellow officers, who had been witness to the conversation. "That could have been better." He said with a sigh.

"And it could have been worse." Stated Counselor O'Keefe.

"Agreed." Said Vetra. "What is our next step?"

"Well, we are certainly not going to wait for the wheels of Kendan political progress to turn. We do not have that kind of time. Counselor, see if you can get in touch with the heads of Epidemiology and Immuniology at the Biological Studies Institute in Javameth. See if you can convince them to help us directly. Vetra, I want samples of that plant, as much as we can get, and I'm not too particular about how and where we get them from. Try to be desecrate, but don't take no for an answer."

"Understood." The two officers replied. Each of them returned to their respective consoles and got to work. Kozlov sunk back into the co-pilot's chair and put his mind to work on contingency plans.

***** *****

“The Sun Shines on Those who Hope”
USS Galaxy
Casey Ti Miran, On Maternity Leave
Commander Deiran Casey, First Officer

Deiran sat in the rocking chair holding his daughter. He spoke in a whisper. Her eyes were half closed with her thumb in her mouth. He was hugging her, no squeezing her. A few tears were swelled in his eyes as he held her, they did not want to fall. He loved Lara so much. He wanted to be with her through all the great experiences in her life. He wanted for her to have a mother and a father. Deiran had never screwed up so bad in his life.

“I’m sorry my princess, so sorry,” he whispered to her as she slept. His little girl was safe in his arms. She didn’t hear his whispers. All she knew was her daddy was holding her so she was at peace. Her love was unconditional.

Miran’s however was not. All of this was his fault. He had no one to blame but himself. He allowed himself to be weak. To see the attributes of another woman with lustful eyes. Why? ‘I still don’t understand why I did it. Miran is sexy, beautiful, she has the best figure I’ve ever seen. She has the best personality and the kindest heart I have ever known. Why did you do this to your family?’ The agony was unbearable for him.

Deiran gave Lara another hug and began talking to her like she could understand. Just to talk and have someone listen. “I love your Mommy. I love her with all my heart. I haven’t noticed any other women. My eyes are on her. My attention, my emotions. I don’t want to lose her princess. I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered and gave Lara a gentle kiss on the head. “I definitely don’t want to spend my lonely nights on this couch.” He tried to laugh but his facial muscles would not cooperate. It just wasn’t in him to be happy. There was no joy without Miran and Lara.

He needed to get ready for his shift. Alpha shift was coming and he had to see Joerg off. He couldn’t miss it. He stood up, Lara asleep in his arms and set her down in her bed.

While he didn't want to risk waking Miran, he had to get a clean uniform. He went in the bedroom, trying to be as silent as he could. Almost tip toeing as he headed for his closet. He picked up some socks, a new pair of boots.

"Hi," he straightened and turned around to find Miran watching him.

He was a bit startled and embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I was... was…I was just getting clothes." He held up the socks he had in his hands to make his case, like he was on trial and looked down grimly. "I'll let you go back to sleep." He started to leave the room, was almost gone when he heard her speak.

"Wait, Deiran, please?" She was sitting up now her eyes pleading with him. "I am sorry Deiran. I know that..." she couldn't finish the sentence and rather than try, she continued. "I was wrong to say what I did. I love you and do not want to lose you." Her lower lip trembled.

"Honey," He came across the bed and took her into his arms, thanking the Higher Power for His Mercy. He kissed Miran on the forehead as he would Lara as he put her down for bed. "I'm sorry too, don't cry please? I love you with all my heart and soul! I haven’t done anything with anyone. Since we’ve been back together I’ve been totally loyal to you. Only you. I always will be."

"I know. And I do trust and love you."

“I worship the ground you walk on. Without you, I don’t want to live Miran. I will never hurt you again. I hate myself for what I did to you…” Deiran took her into his embrace and held her, both of them shedding happy tears.

“Miran please don’t leave me?” he begged her.

“I won’t sweetie,” Miran replied.

The two lovers embraced again. Deiran couldn’t help but give his wife a passionate kiss. He knew she loved him, he also knew he was extremely lucky to still have her in his life. He would never purposely do anything to hurt Miran ever again. She was the only person he needed and would ever want. Deiran was content and knew a good thing when saw it.

Deiran wanted to stay with her but he had to report for Alpha shift.

“I have to go honey, I’ll be seeing Joerg off and then talking to Ensign Gartner, accompanied by Karyn during the session. If you need me let me know,” Deiran informed her and then gave her a goodbye kiss. He then walked out of his quarters with the greatest sense of peace he’d felt in a long time. He wouldn’t let this miracle go by without acknowledging it. He knew Miran truly loved him as he loved her. Nothing could tear them apart ever again. The sun shines on those who hope.

“Covert planning…”
by LtCmdr. Hunter McKenzie
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Galaxy

Mac entered the TL, stating the tactical office as his destination. He continued to run over the situation with Ensign Richeson in his mind when a few short moments later the door opened onto a waiting Captain Price.

“Ah, Commander. I was just coming to find you.” Smiled the Australian Captain.

“Sir, If its about K’Eyt…I’m sure that she didn’t inten..” stuttered Mac, as he prepared for another ‘incident’ with the love of his life..

Price grinned as Mac began to make excuses. “It’s Ok, Mate,” interrupted the Captain, holding up his palm. “This, for a change, has nothing to do with our rambunctious Engineer.”

Mac straightened as he breathed a barely audible sigh. “Well that’s a relief.” He chuckled. “So what brings you to the bowels of the beast?”

“Computer. Halt TurboLift.” Ordered the Captain. Mac stiffened at the strange command, his eyes narrowed as he waited for the Captain to continue.

“A few hours ago we received word that the USS St. Louis had broken from a quarantine zone that had been established by the USS Caduceus. Apparently, it had made contact with a new species, known as the Ocero and an apparent unknown disease vector that they were carrying. At last count the vector had jumped species and was currently spreading to the St. Louis's crew…”

“Starfleet couldn’t stop them prior to the breakout?” Asked Mac, rubbing the back of his neck, a habit he had when he weighed options.

"Capt. Manion of the Caduceus, tried. They had already deployed the Quarantine unit and attached it to the St. Louis prior to the breakout. The ship was secured by three tractor beams, as per regulations. But , in Captain Manion’s defense, She was dealing with a fellow Starfleet Officer, not a Renegade Bio-weapons smuggler. She had no reason to believe that Thiana would go against Starfleet regs, especially by firing at the Caduceus.

Mac nodded in agreement. The thought of one Federation Starship firing on another was very disturbing.

“They are currently enroute to the Vetra system. Vetra II appears to be their precise objective. We have to stop them from arriving. 88% of all cargo for the Quadrant, enroute to other locations. If this unknown disease hits Vetra II than it could be all over the quadrant in days. They have to be stopped before reaching Vetra II.”

"What has Starfleet authorized?” asked Mac, his tactical mind already in full gear.

“We have carte blanche on this one, I’m afraid. The admiral made it clear that, the St Louis must be stopped. She is damaged slightly and the QU is still attached to her, so she is moving at a slower speed. The Caduceus is in pursuit, albeit at low warp, due to the damage from the St Louis and completing repairs. They should rendezvous with us shortly after our arrival in system.”

“In an all out battle,” started Mac. “The St. Louis wouldn’t stand a chance, but in this circumstance we are at a distinct disadvantage. Not only in terms of the SL, but keeping from exposing the contents of the QU.”

“I know, Mate. I’m hoping for a diplomatic solution, but if they behave aggressively, I will not hesitate to bring them in. I want a viable Tactical solution with in the hour.”

“Will do, sir!.” replied Mac.

“I will have all information sent to your PADD. This is still “eyes only,” mate. I wont release it to the crew till we make contact with the St. Louis.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Price nodded as the TL was ordered back in service. Moments later the doors open and Price stepped forward. Turning back toward the Senior TacOfficer he sighed.

“This one is going to dirty a lot of hands , mate.”

Mac nodded in return, “Filthy, sir.” He replied as the doors slid shut.

***Tactical Operations***

Ensign Richeson looked at the chronometer for the 2nd time in as many minutes. LtCmdr McKenzie had said for him to be in his office in 10 mins, but as of yet he was no where to be seen. He had already guessed what it was about and bided his time waiting for Mac.

As the door to the office slid open, Mac strode in casting a glance at Richeson and heading to his office.

“Five minutes and then report to my office, Ensign.” Mac ordered in a firm voice.

“Aye, Sir!” answered the Ensign as Mac walked in to the inner office.

After an approximate 5 mins Richeson smoothed his tunic and tapped the bell.

“Enter!” came the bellow from within.

Lt. Commander Hunter McKenzie, Chief Tactical Officer, USS Galaxy
ICQ 6758283

NRPG:This takes place after the party, and before things begin to heat up on the bridge of the Galaxy during Beta shift the next day. Deiran makes an entrance at the end of the scene, just having come from his "duel" with Benedict.

"The Night that Never Ends"
Starring Ens. K. Moses Amenhotep, Counselor-USS Galaxy
Lt. Commander Casey Ti Miran, Shuttle Operations
Commander Deiran Casey, XO

Counselor Moses walked out of sickbay and stopped just outside the door. He breathed a big sigh of relief as the doors closed behind him. Rubbing his eyes he remarked, "ummph... what a day!"

It seemed that Captain Sterner's party had been a huge success. Just what the crew needed to boost morale after the Ferengi incident. He enjoyed the atmosphere, the reuniting with former pupils, and the his farewell to Joerg. Mr. Sterner was an excellent student at the Academy. Most professors could eye a potential Captain pretty quick... and Mr. Sterner was one of those cadets. Always overachieving, always disciplined. While some cadets spent too much time chasing members of the opposite sex and drinking a few ales, others were hard at work. Sterner was one of those folks. When Moses had the chance to congratulate him on his achievement, he could already see the distant stare Joerg's eyes. Mr. Sterner's mind was somewhere else. Perhaps it was on his new assignment. Perhaps... there was something else.

Moses rubbed his face as he made his way down the corridor back to his quarters. Passing by Mrs. Casey's room, Moses stopped for a moment. It was an awkward scene at the party. Tebrianne shouting, Benedict's face reddening, and Miran... running out. He had wondered just what happened. But then got caught up in the rest of the festivities. ~Perhaps I should check in?~ He thought.

Moses turned to face her door. Reaching out his hand the door chimed.

Inside Casey Ti Miran was awoken from her sleep. Agitated, she winced, "Computer... what time is it?"

[The time is 2400 hours]

Miran groggily looked up wondered who was at the door so late at night. She didn't remember actually falling asleep, just laying down petting Bobbie.

The door chimed again. "Who is it!..." she yelled as she got up and tied her robe about her body.

[Fingerprint analysis complete. subject verified. Dr. Khyan Moses Amenhotep, Ship's Counselor.] The computer answered. Startled by the computer's answer to her question, she stopped for a moment and then motioned towards the door, "Come!"

The door slid open. "Dr. Amenhotep? What brings you here this early in the morning?"

Moses responded. "Forgive me... I know you need to report for duty soon... I wanted to catch you before I headed back to sleep."

"Come in..."

Moses moved over to a nearby recliner and sat down. "So... you left the party in a hurry... is everything all right?"

"Yes, everything is fine," Miran lied.

"Fine?" Moses chuckled, "You had that same look on your face when I told you if you didn't have that Mid-Term essay on my desk by tomorrow morning, I'd fail you for the semester..."

Casey Ti tried to fight back the smile. She remembered how Dr. Moses always seemed to have a way of disarming his students. She turned her back towards him and walked over to the replicator.

"Tea, hot, Chamomile, sweetened."

She turned back towards the counselor, "Can I get you anything?"

"No thank you, ma'am... my digestive system still isn't quite right after Gakor's broiled skunk." Moses replied holding his stomach with a smirk on his face.

Casey let the smile break through. Moses even thought he detected a bit of a stifled laugh. She took her cup and walked over to the couch across from Dr. Moses. "Deiran thought the crew might... enjoy it." Her eyes looked down. Her thoughts betrayed her. She loved him... But she was mad... betrayed... humiliated.

"So..." Moses began, "A penny for your thoughts?"

"Huh?" Miran, was caught away from her thoughts for a moment.

"Why don't you tell me what happened." Moses settled back

Miran took a deep breath. "Deiran and Tebrianne had an affair." She looked at Moses to see his reaction. His eyes seemed distant. "I do not know for how long.... I do not know if it's even stopped... He never told me.... He still... hasn't... told me." Miran's face began to redden. Tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"I do not understand. I have sacrificed everything for him-- for our babies... I resigned my post to take care of our child, while he's been out screwing around. I've been "home" all this time, making sure that everyone else's needs are being taking care of and..." Casey Ti no longer looked to see the counselor's reactions. She could hear him occasionally breath out a muffled, "Hmm." But mostly, she was oblivious to his presence. She was venting.

Miran was tired of being taken advantage of. She was like a mother bear protecting her cubs. She let out all of her emotion. Rage, Jealousy, Bitterness, Hurt. All the years of Cardassian oppression hadn't angered her like this... "Lara... the baby... what was he thinking... I know what he was thinking... He was thinking with his..." her voice trailed off, overcome with sobs. "What's wrong with me?... Haven't I given him everything he wanted? Is it because I'm pregnant?" She sobbed again...

Miran continued her diatribe, "Who would have thought that after I finally trusted him again that he would do this... to me..." She broke out of her trance and look toward the counselor, "Dr... what do you think?" All this time Casey Ti had been oblivious to the fact that the tired old counselor had fallen asleep in her recliner. She had been so absorbed in her own emotions, that she hadn't noticed the counselor snoring across the room.

Stopping for a moment Miran became perturbed by the counselor for falling asleep on her. Then with a glance towards the peaceful face of Dr. Moses, Miran collected her emotions. Forgetting herself for a moment, she wiped the tears away from her eyes with her sleeve. and moved over towards him. She realized that what she really needed was to vent. In fact she was glad that the good doctor would probably not remember most of what she said. She loved Deiran... and...

She bent down to kiss Moses on the forehead. "Thanks..." she said, her eyes still welling up with tears. She held her head down to him for just a moment and then went to get a blanket. "Sweet dreams." she cried as she placed the covers on him. She left the cup on the table and went back to check on Lara before going back to bed. It would be a long night.

***1 hour later***

Moses awoke from his sleep almost startled, "Where am I?"

[Your location is the quarters of Deiran Casey and Casey Ti Miran]

"What the---?" Moses jumped up from the recliner. The room was dark but was interrupted by the door opening to the lights of the corridor. Moses rubbed his eyes to see a silhouette standing in the doorway.

"Lights!" shouted the voice. Moses was blinded by the change in brightness as he tried to regain his composure.

"Doctor? what are you doing here?" Commander Casey said.

Moses strained his eyes to see the commander. Deiran was unusually disheveled his uniform soaked and torn. "Sir... I came to check on your wife?"

"At one o' clock in the morning?... Counselor... can't you show better judgment than that?" Deiran barked. "I thought you were the ethics professor?"

Moses felt caught. Casey was right. Perhaps it wasn't the best time to stop by. But then experience told him that sometimes matters needed to be taken care of "before the sun went down." "Sir... are you insulting me?" Moses looked into Deiran's eyes.

Casey looked away slightly embarrassed. It was odd for the iceman to stand down to anyone, especially a junior officer. But Moses wasn't just any ordinary junior officer. He was old enough to be his grandfather, and he was highly respected at Starfleet Academy. Perhaps Casey had been to bold. Perhaps his rage from earlier had not yet subsided. He looked back towards Moses. "No doctor." He sighed, "Things are just getting a little intense around here."

Moses yawned and smiled, "Then perhaps we ought to talk about it sometime... Maybe another time... not so late." Moses put his hand on Casey's shoulder and grinned. He walked over to the door and turned back to Deiran, "Commander..."

"Yes Doctor?" Casey turned to see him go.

Moses smiled again, "It's going to be alright... she still loves you..." Moses turned back toward the door.

Casey just chuckled to himself, "Thanks, old man...."

"It begins"
By Lieutenant Aaron Sharp
Assistant Chief Helmsman
USS Galaxy

In the murky blackness of deep space hung two starships. One of Federation origin, the other, Ferengi. Inside the Federation ship, the USS Galaxy, situations were changing and orders were being given.

“Lieutenant release the Latinum Prince from our tractor beam at once,” Casey ordered. “Put the Latinum Prince on the main viewer please.” Instantly the ship appeared on the screen in time for them to see the tractor beam released. A few minutes later Commander Sunder hailed the bridge.

=/\=Commander, the Ferengi and Daimon Toog are safely aboard their ship.=/\=

“Thank you ‘Commander. You retrieved all of the engineering equipment Ursa?”

=/\=Aye sir, their ship is clean. It’s a go sir.=/\=

Good work Ursa, Casey out. Lucas, hail the Latinum Prince.” Within seconds the Ferengi appeared.

“What do you want hoo—mahn?” Toog questioned irritably.

“Our apologies Daimon for the lengthy investigation of your ship. Have a safe trip back to Ferenginar. Galaxy out,” Casey said with a smile. Then the transmission was cut. Just as quickly the Ferengi vessel turned around and accelerated to warp. The bridge crew waited for further orders. Shortly a hail came through from the Captain.

"Casey here sir."

=/\=Tell Lieutenant Commander Sunder he's out of time. Prepare to have DaiMon Toog and the remaining Ferengi transported to their ship and then prepare to get the Galaxy under way.=/\=

"Aye sir. The Latinum Prince is already underway sir. Where will we be heading Captain?" the First Officer asked.

=/\=Set a course for the Kenda system. Maximum warp.=/\=

"Kenda sir? What's happening there if I might ask?"

=/\=I'll brief you in a few minutes 'mate. Let me get dressed and I'll meet you in my Ready Room. In the mean time, carry out my orders and get us underway as soon as possible. Every second counts 'mate.=/\=

"ASAP. Yes sir. Casey out," Deiran replied before closing the channel. “Aaron, set a course for the Kenda System. Maximum warp.”

Aaron quickly tapped at his control panel, then replied, “Aye sir, course laid in.” “Engage!”

Sharp's index finger came down on the correct button. This was what he loved about this job. Casey may have given the order, but *he* was the one that made it happen. Not a second early, not a second late, but as soon as he touched the panel. And so the massive starship appeared to stretch out, then exploded in a flash of warp power into the distance, toward their new destination.

By Lieutenant Aaron Sharp
Assistant Chief Helmsman
USS Galaxy, NCC 70637

The QU
by LTjg Trevor Allen - USS Caduceus Paramedic flight team.

As Allen finnished the report the room began to spin and he fell to the floor with a large crash as a cart and its intire content fell to the deck. that could be heard through the combadge.

One of the nurses came over to check on him. "Are you all right sir?"

"Not sure I just got dizzy and lost my balance. what is my blood surgar level?"

she scaned a few seconds below normal.

"Ok grab a portable infuser."

Allen set the infuser to give him a steady supply of Glucose and handed it to the nurse to put it on.

"But sir you should go to bed..." Allen stoped her right there "For get about that set up the infuser and strap it to my arm.

"Laying in a bed is going to help no one."

"But sir with all of your running around you have already progressed the virus several days past what most people would be at."

Allen stood up has he was again able to stand and think. "that is not relevant Thank you nurse Jenkins but you can return to your station."

Allen Rubed his head that was know acking computer what is the status of the Quarentine beacon."

"QU Becon is off line."

Allen shook his head how could we have overlooked that." Moving to the control panel Computer activate QU Becon Hazard is bio level 10 ship is STL."

A few minutes later the Computer began transmitting the following message on all subspace channels and languages.

TO ALL VESSELS AND PLANETS. THIS IS THE USS SAINT LOUIS THIS VESSEL IS UNDER A LEVEL 10 BIO HAZARD QUARENTINE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BOARD THIS VESSEL UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. DO NOT ALLOW MEMBERS OF THIS VESSEL TO BEAM TO YOUR PLANET OR SHIP THIS VESSEL IS UNDER A LEVEL 10 BIO HAZARD QUARINTINE

The message was continues and would be heard by every planet and vessel in the secter with in 5 minutes.

Ok. Allen turned his attention back to the patients. He had another person a LT From engineering moveing into level 3 and even with the higher blood surgar levels with was a matter of minutes before she passed away the only good thing was that the death was not as violent or pain full.

Allen pulled up a chair beside the LT "How you feeling."

There was no question she was in pain "I am ok.

I am going to die arn't aye?"

Allen closed his eyes and shook his head "I believe you are we have done every thing we can do to make you comfortable if the pain gets to bad I will give you some pain killers stronger than what we have on board."

"would you like a padd to record something to your ship mates or familly."

"Yes I would."

Allen handed her fresh padd ."I will check back on you in a few minutes."

Allen moved back to a small table he had set up as a make shift desk. And sat down. updating a marker board he made with the names of patients what bed they were in and what there status were in. 8 patients in stage one 2 fresh just brought in 5 patents upgraded to stage 2. with 3 in stage 3 one in Finnal stage 4 death with in the hour

After a few minutes she handed the padd back to him. There is a message there for familly, The Chief of engineer, and the Captain.

Allen Slowly took the padd away and shook his head in acknowledgement. Turning and putting the padd on the pile of 21 he had already gathered Allen turned back to the patient.

Tapping his combadge Dr Jergenson I know if you can hear me or not because you are in the security cell. But I just wanted to give you an update. Every one hear is moving beyond the state of exaustion almost.

My self and Nurse Garret have both contracted the Virus. Nurse Garret is in late stage 2 and I am middle to late stage 1. I can use your help when you can get down hear Also I have discovered that is you maintain normal levels of blood surgar that it slows the virus by several hours. Allen out.

It was obviouse to Dr. Jergenson that he was drained from the effects of the Virus and lack of sleep. His adjitation level was high and his voice was straigned.

Allen turned back to the LT but it was too late will sending the message to Dr. Jergenson she had passed away.

Allen grabed her hand. "I am sorry I shouldn't have let you die allone. I will not let any one else die alone."

Allen removed the infuser unit and covered the body till it could be moved to the make shift moruge.

Picking up the infuser to clean it up he could feel the rage building up inside him. And with another thought he threw it against the bulk head as hard as he could shatering it into may small parts.

To be continued.

Bonk pt 1
Ensign Jeard Hilton
Enginering, St. Louis

***Crew Quarters***

Jeard sitting at his desk said "This Might work....... Computer save this as a holo-image." ^*beep*^ "Compter display time, oh man I'm gonna be late."

***hall in front of main enginering***

#THUD#

***A Few Seconds Later***

"Did anyone get the number of that wall." he said with a small ringing in his ears.

Jeard peeled himself off the ground " computer display time, OOOH, I ONLY HAVE TWO SECONDS!" . Then Jeard ran in to engineering, But in his hast to his station he trips and falls once more. Again he knocked himself out, This time it was worse.

*** Five hours later***

He starts to open his eyes but they closed again. Suddenly, he got up off the sick bay bed and started to sleepily walk out. Sleep walking, jeard goes back to his quarters.

"Distractions - Part II"
by Lt. Cmdr. Ronni Morris
Asst. Chief Science Officer and Jilted Lover

Ronni was glad she had been able to comfort Deiran. It really helped ease her pain. She still wished she knew the WHY. Why did he suddenly break everything off? They had gone from being engaged to not speaking to each other. When Deiran left, Ronni continued to sit by the bushes.

She stood up to leave, when she heard the leaves rustle behind her. There was Greer, stepping out of the bushes. The absurdity of the situation struck her and she laughed. "Why do I feel like Jane Goodall being surprised by a Silver Back Gorilla?" she said.

Greer took a half step toward her. Ronni tilted her head a little and said, "Greer, don't say anything. Last time we were alone in the arboretum, you broke my heart."

He began, "Ronni I . . . "

"No. You don't have the right. Not right now. No more apologies. No more excuses. " She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down onto the bank that she had just been sitting on. When he had settled there, she stood up and said, "Now listen. What you did was not fair. You never gave me a reason. Right now, it just doesn't matter. Just because your feelings for me have changed, or whatever else the reason may be, please realize that I still love you. You can't expect me to just change my heart like that.

Now, we have a situation. You are the Chief Science Officer. I am the Assistant Chief Science Officer. Now I don't know about you, but I can still work with and for you without any resentment. If you can do the same, then we will be fine.

I turned down the Chief Science Officer position two years ago because I felt then, as I feel now, that you were the best officer for the job. I respected you then, and now that I know you better, I respect you even more. Unfortunately, I still love you. But that is my problem, not yours. Unless you decide to make it your business."

Greer stood up and said, "But, Ronni . . . "

Ronni stepped up and gave him a full kiss on the mouth. Pulling back, she held him at arms length and said, "There. Now I can walk away on my terms." She released him and turned and headed for the door. She released a deep breath as she reached the door, and with her head up, she entered the corridor and didn't look back.