"A New Years Resolution"
Mr. Shtik
Science Officer

Once Lt. Comdr. Shtik had seen to the safety of Ensign Lockhart, the Vulcan had requested clearance and a flight plan from the bridge as he ran to the hanger. Once there, he found the science runabout already being prepped for him and within minutes he had taken off and was searching the asteroids for his escaped counterpart.

Shtik still hadn't found out about D'Tarna. He had gone down to the security office in order to find a casualty list. But the discovery of the situation with Lockhart and his evil twin had disrupted his pursuit of the knowledge of her status. He still didn't know if she had survived among the tremendous casualties within sickbay.

Out among the asteroid field, there was quite a bit of wreckage from the destroyed starships, but as Shtik piloted the runabout around an extra large piece of rock, he came into view of the rear fuselage of the Thomas Paine with the shuttlebay doors open. The science officer tightened the modified sensors and continued his scan of the nearby area.

A momentary flicker caught Shtiks attention and he altered course toward a slight movement among the asteroid field. Tightening the field of the sensors, Shtik maximized the range and found the small Starfleet shuttlecraft that was weaving through the obstructions toward Romulan space. The runabout picked up speed and closed the distance.

"Starfleet shuttle, heave to and prepare to be boarded." Swerving around the floating boulders made catching up to the smaller shuttle a slower process than Shtik would have liked. But logically, the runabout would eventually catch up to the smaller ship.

"Well, well. Mr. Shtik I presume." The image of Kiths appeared on the small monitor of the runabout. He still had the stolen space suit on, but without the helmet.

"I must order you to halt. I must take you into custody in order for you to face charges on the violation of a number of Federation Laws and Starfleet regulations."

"Or what? You'll open fire? That wouldn't be logical would it?" the evil Shtik smirked, "You know, I was trained as a Romulan and romulans don't allow themselves to be taken alive. And of course you can't let anything bad like that happen to me. Matching objects from parallel universes share a bond. If I die, part of you dies too. It'd be like committing suicide yourself wouldn't it."

"You have proven to me that you know nothing of logic. You are nothing like me." A small snarl slipped into Shtik's voice.

"The old nature vs. nurture argument, huh? I think I'm more like you than you are willing to admit. That's why I've gotten you so worked up." Kiths smiled.

"I beg to differ. I am not 'worked up'."

"Oh come on, you're turning positively melodramatic compared to a real Vulcan." There was a long pause as Kiths sat jeering at the silent Shtik.

"You may be right." Shtik finally admitted. "In recent months, I have been attempting to allow my feelings and emotions to bypass the self censure process that is entrenched in Vulcan society. I have allowed myself to experience several different forms of sensations and pleasures as well as pains and fears."

"Well, I'm proud of you." The evil Shtik stated. "The greatest moment of my life was when I dropped all that tight ass Vulcan crap."

"I however am not proud of myself. My pursuit of self-indulgent pleasures, as well as fears for the welfare of loved ones has interfered with the efficient performance of my duties. I am finding myself reminded of the motivation for the teachings of Surak."

"Surak was an asshole!" Kiths exploded. "He was the one that fucked it up for the rest of us. Why do you think Spock fucked up our whole universe? He was trying to follow that fucking logic. The only real logic is that every one is out for themselves. It's survival of the fittest. Worry about yourself, Shtik."

"I consider you to be the most powerful argument for my return to the Vulcan way." Shtik stated in a dry monotone. "You have no idea of the illogical nature of your actions. You're lies create an inefficient form of communication that creates complications at an exponential rate. And your selfish motivations prohibit you or your colleges from truly working together in order to complete your objectives. You're lack of acknowledgement of the values of those around you prohibits you from benefiting from the potential they have to offer."

"Uh huh." Kiths moaned. "But on the other hand, your 'needs of the many' shit is your weakness. Take this situation. I'm not going to come along peacefully. You're going to have to either kill me or let me go. You're logic is in conflict with your duty. How logical is that? Why don't you just join me? Just think about the kind of things we could accomplish together!"

"I especially wish to purge myself of all emotions in order to disassociate myself from the disgust I feel at your existence." Shtik stated.

"Aw, you know how much that hurts me?" Kiths sneered. "Look, I'm getting a little sick of listening to you talk. I'm going to be on my way. If you want to fly along side me and tell me to stop some more, go ahead, but I won't be listening." The shuttle and the runabout both emerged from the asteroid field and were moving directly toward the Romulan neutral zone.

"Think about what I said." Kiths offered. "You're always welcome to join me. I'd be more than happy to teach you the fine points of pure self-indulgence. You'd be amazed what a great survival tool it is." Kiths arched an eyebrow in a cool expression that was all too familiar to Shtik.

The phasers from the runabout hit the shuttle with a solid efficiency that turned its small warpcore into quite a powerful ball of fire before the vacuum of space snuffed it out. Of course the explosion was silent, but the force wave shook the runabout slightly as Shtik stared at the point in space where the shuttle had been.

"I will start to be logical tomorrow." He stated flatly.

"Heroic Klingon actions"
By Lieutenant Commander Michael Jamson, Tactical Ops

The threat was finally eliminated, as the pirates, some of them dead and the rest captured, were taken to the brig by the security forces of the Galaxy, that were wandering through the lower corridors of the ship. Jamson joined the Security forces after watching the massacre in Engineering. He too helped to grab some death bodies and bring them to sickbay for examination.

There was a lot of confusion through the ship, since all of the pirates or the "bad guys" from the mirror universe were identical to the crew members from the Galaxy and other ships. Watching pale familiar faces and white bodies being dragged to sickbay wasn't good for the crew.

If it was up to Jamson, the captured pirates would be taken and interrogated brutally, just for the fun of it. Not only did they cause the destruction of several ships, they've also murdered innocent women and children, including many Starfleet officers. They should suffer for what they've done, they must pay in one way or another...and the usual 'Starfleet' way of punishing would probably be to throw them to a prison/labor camp or a facility on a remote planet at the outer rims of the Federation. That was not enough...Jamson could feel his bones and blood crying and calling for a sweet revenge.

'What a pity...' he thought as he stared at a dead body of pirate, lying near one of the stations in engineering. He wanted to participate in that fight, but instead he was on the bridge, helping Brandis and manning the secondary Ops station with other Ops and Tactical officers.

While watching the teams of engineers and maintenance working to repair the damage in engineering and throughout the ship, Jamson looked at the mess which was once the Chief Engineer's office. There was one brave soul on this ship who saved them all, Lieutenant Commander Samara. Not only did she warn the entire ship of the intruders and fought them alone, she was also able to get the warp core reactor coolant flow before a meltdown could occur. She risked her life...it was obvious she had some Klingon blood in her veins. Jamson made a note to visit her the next time he's in sickbay.

"Commander..." someone called.

Jamson turned his head to see Lieutenant Commander T'Zaq approaching him. He just nodded and turned back to look at the ruins of Engineering.

"Quite a....battlefield, isn't it?" she commented.

"Yes" he said and then added "I wish I could be here...".

"Why?" she raised an eyebrow.

"The action...the blood, you name it" it seemed like Jamson was reconstructing the battle in his mind as he spoke. He was calm, not excited, and for a moment he could swear he can see the battle as it happened...the commotion and the phaser blasts, the yelling...

T'Zaq just stared at him "You're weird...".

Jamson smiled for the first time since he came back to the Galaxy "We all are...especially Vulcans...".

"Getting out of the cargo bay"
By Ensign Peter Lockhart

"Okay Ensign, you can go now, I think you're fit for duty." Dr. Bellen stated, as Peter finished up getting a wash from the communal area in the triage unit.

"Yes sir." he said, a little disappointed that he hadn't been able to get more time off work, but he also felt a little glad to be back at work again. He looked around the area, and thought it was about time to get out anyway. He area smelled of death from patients that the doctors had been unable to save. He put his top back on and headed out of the triage unit. He'd better report to security straight away. Last he remembered, it was on deck 31.

He headed for the turbolifts, glad to find that they had restarted, and headed down to deck 31. He entered and found that Lieutenant' Sanchez was on duty still. Did the woman never rest?

"Ahh Ensign. Glad you found the time to report for duty." she said sarcastically.

"Yes sir." he replied, deciding not to get into a slanging match with the boss. "I've lost both my phaser and comm. badge. I'll need replacements for both."

Sanchez's look told him he had said something very bad. "You've lost your phaser? Where is it Ensign? Do you realise that we've now got an unaccounted weapon floating around the ship!" she said carefully.

"I know where it is sir. It's in main engineering. The fake Captain Price took it off me, so he should still have it." he replied quickly, hoping that it was there.

Sanchez eyed him carefully, and seemed to let him off the hook. "Yes, we did recover phasers from there, along with numerous other rifles. Seems the pirates managed to get their hands on the armoury. You where there Ensign. Do you know how?" she asked.

Peter realised that this was it. He was about to lose his commission. "I let them in sir." he said slowly.

Sanchez said nothing. She just waited, expecting a further explanation, as her face started to show an expression of extreme disgust for the Ensign standing in front of her, who may have been directly responsible for all the deaths in engineering.

"Sir. You have to realise, that when you see Captain Price, Lt. Gartner and Lt. Commander Shtik asking to be let in the armoury, you don't disobey orders." Peter replied. "Besides, if I hadn't, they probably could've got in anyway. Their hand scan would let the captain in anyway."

Sanchez looked at him for a minute, digesting what he had said, and realised that anyone probably would've done the same. She passed him a phaser, and new comm. badge. "I'll have to include in the report to Albrecht and it'll probably go to Captain Price. Head to deck 38. Start helping the cleanup operation." she finished.

"Yes sir." he said, hoping that he'd got away with it. Peter Lockhart had always managed it before, he'd do it again, he was sure. He turned and headed down to deck 38. He found it in a bit of a state, several fire fights had occurred on the deck, and phaser scaring lined the walls. One section had finally been closed off by emergency bulkheads to contain the hull breach. He headed along the decks, carefully.

"Halt, who goes there?" a voice called from up ahead of him.

"Stick it up your arse Mark. It's only me." he replied, recognising the voice of Ensign Mulich. As he turned another corner, he saw Mark and Ensign McQueen, two phaser rifles in their hands. Mulich lifted his, but McQueen kept his aimed at Lockhart.

"How do we know you're the real Ensign Lockhart?" John McQueen asked.

"You don't! In fact, given that I'm reporting for duty, I can't be the real Lockhart. He's such a lazy git, he'd never do that. I say shoot me quick." he replied quickly.

McQueen snickered and Mulich just smiled. "Okay Pete?" he asked.

"Not so bad. Had some fun and games mind. Decided to check out the hull breach from the outside." he said. "Everything okay here?"

"Fine. At the moment, Lt. Brightspot is in charge. But Albrecht will be down here shortly to check things out." Mark said, as they started to move towards security.

"And so he can give me my termination papers." Peter said.

Mulich just nodded slowly, knowing something very bad had happened. The trio arrived at main security and started tidying up, in time for 'Commander Albrecht's arrival.

GALAXY
=TRIAGE CHILDREN'S UNIT=

Jake Olson found himself very popular with the scared children of the galaxy with his ability to make balloon animals. Naturally, he used a device to blow air into the things but his nimble fingers were expert. As a kid, he got work at kiddie functions for needed dollars and now he worked for the Galaxy's little ones.

He told wild stories that managed beautifully to keep their attention despite their living in an age where story telling was all but dying out.

T-Prea recognized a few tales from her Cherokee homeland and remembered that Jake was good friends with several of the elders. She felt a connection to home hearing them.

Others were from Siovan lore about Cloudshape the trickster who was forever in trouble. One or two of the children laughed so hard the tears ran down their cheeks.

Several adult patients joined the little group of children as Jake knew how to engage a room. Some of the tales were true stories with added flourish, such as the time the first Star Ship named Enterprise ran into trouble with tribbles. One of the cheeky things actually was sitting in the Captain's chair at one point.

JJ Kirk was less than thrilled. While not obviously slick as was he, Jake had a kind of charm that made every one like him. He had close buddies in the most unlikely places. Jake wasn't a threat to anyone. He should be, as he was atop some unlikely heaps!

Jake was enjoying himself immensely, no effort on his part was seen. He loved doing what he did, charm and snowballs and science, everything.

Lt.jg Jake Olson
Craftycorner ICQ #36247063

Based on STAR TREK created by Gene Roddenberry
Story by Lieutenant Suder - Assistant Chief Engineer

"Engineering"

"Your not going anywhere Lieutenant!" a nurse snapped pushing Suder back onto the bio-bed. "You need rest."

"I know that. But right now Engineering needs to be repaired. Most of the team is dead or criticaly wounded. Compared to them I got off easy. What if we had another attack right now. With the ship in it's current state, and with very little personnel in Engineering, we could lose the ship. I'm not goign to let that happen. So give me something for the pain and let me get ba-"

*** Suder found himself in Engineering. Something didn't seem right. There was no damage, no bodies, nothing in Engineering. Everything seemed to be really quiet. The main doors to Engineering open and the main team walked in. Lieutenant Commander T'Zaq, Lieutenant Gillings, Lieutenant McDowell, Ensign Phillips and Cadet Charlton.

They walked to their own stations and began working. Just like it was a normal day. What was going on? This couldn't be real. But it seemed real. Suder didn't question what was happening. It was as if these things were supposed to happen and the Galaxy had never been attacked. Engineering shook and the lights flickered until the jolt stopped.

"Report!" T'Zaq snapped as she raced to the lower deck.

"We've been attacked. Shields are not operational, power systems all over the ship are down. Life support, turbolifts, the warp core, weapons, propulsion." Suder explained.

There was a sound of energy humming in Engineering. Suder turned to see several beings beaming on to the ship. He looked surprised but didn't hesitate to react. Several Jem'Hadar had beamed on to the ship. They had their weapons ready and began firing at the crew.

Suder had to dive behind a console to avoid being hit. He grabbed his phaser and began returning fire.

But before long, more Jem'Hadar had beamed on to the ship. Engineering was over run quickly. The Engineering crew were pushed together in the middle of Engineering, weapons stripped from them.

Another being transported on to the ship. Suder quickly recognised him. "Well, it's good to see that we're all here." the small man said clasping his hands together. "I need a favour from you all. We need you to give control of the ship to us. Yous ee, we need information about the Federation and anything you can give us about the Klingons and Romulans."

"Tough chance." T'Zaq spat out.

"Now, now, can't we all get along?"

"Weyoun." Suder whsipered.

The Vorta looked at Suder and tilted his head slightly. "Yes?"

"You died on Cardassia and your cloning facilities were destroyed, how did get cloned again?" he asked.

"I'm afraid your mistaken. My previous clone was killed by that horrible Klingon officer on Deep Space Nine." the Vorta explained. "Him and his friend escaped, and that brings me to this ship. It was an easy target. We need to know what those officers have told the Federation."

"But the war is over."Suder explained.

"I don't think so. You see, are fleets are still destroying yours. And now we have a new ally that will crush you once and for all, the-"

"Breen won't help you at all. They'll disable countless ships, attack Earth and retake-"

"How do you know all this?" the Vorta asked.

Suder hesitated to answer. It seemed that the events that Suder had experienced hadn't happened yet. This timeline was differen't. Events had gotten as far as the Breen entering the war. This couldn't be right.

*** Sickbay ***

"Doctor, he just collapsed. He must be exhausted. I can't find anythign else wrong with him, except the injuries he suffered during the atack." the nurse explained.

"Well, keep an eye on him, the moment his status changes..."

"I'll let you know." the nurse said. She grabbed a hypospray nad injected it into the unconsious Lieutenant Suder...

To Be Continued...

= = = = = = = =
Lt. jg T-prea
ACMO
USS Galaxy
= = = = = = = =

The triage unit that had been set up in cargo bay 2 was full. Only a few were trickling in now. T-prea had finished up with the last of the seriously injured needing surgical care. And began a sweep of the wounded from the lesser to the more serious.

She had given orders for the other medical doctors to make rounds as well giving them a section to do. From the pediatric wing to the intensive care.

While she scanned over it all....

She saw many ready to be released....and yet many still on the verge of deaths door. All in all things went as well as could be expected under the circunstances.

Finishing up her rounds she saw Lt. Suder now down for the second count...and K'Eytyanna being treated for her radiation burns.

As she went through the final area.....the pediatric.....T-prea saw Jake as usual trying to make a happy moment out of something horribly tragic.....

The youngsters ranged in age from infant to teen, and were cut off from the rest of the triage area deliberatly. They had suffered enough trauma that they didn't need to see the things that went on there...let alone possibly their parent injured or dying...or dead.

She stood and watched Jake.....as he made those silly balloons...but oh how it brought a smile to a tear ladened face.

She thought of how many of them lost parents through this...and how many would be orphaned. She dreaded even more the task of having to repcord all the children who had died....many as she tried to save them.....

T-prea couldn't help but begin to cry.....her eyes welled up with tears as they began to trickle down her cheeks.

And what would be just as hard would be telling the parents of those children...who had left them in the care of the ships day care center or in their quarter's as they defended this ship and it's crew that their children were gone....

T-prea turned and walked away......maybe the emotional response was finally hitting her......she was now able to pause and think..... Yes many lives were saved here....but so many were lost....and so many will be scarred for their rest of their lives....

T-prea looked around and found a small empty alcove where some supplies were being kept.....she pulled the curtain across and sat on the floor and began to sob as she hadn't done since her father died so many years before.

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

About an hour later T-prea came out from her solitude to find things still under control....she put Dr. Ames in charge while she stepped out. Telling her she would be in sickbay if she was needed.

As T-prea headed out the door another crew member was coming in with a none serious injury, one she knew would be handled just fine.

Walking down the corridor the devastion was quite evident all around. The corridor was not full of personel moving to and fro from destination to destination.....instead.....it was full of debris, lose panels, wires and the blood of so many souls.

Making her way to the main sickbay, T-prea wanted to check out the damage first hand now that what seemed like a major war was over.

Upon arrival the doors wouldn't open...T-prea had to manually open them....And what she saw when she did sickened her.

Sickbay was gone.....completely destroyed....A whole new one would need to be built....

As she walked through, over and under the debris she began to take mental notes....All of the equipent that remained was completely damaged...beyond repair...And so much of it....

Bio-beds....and smaller equipment from hyposprays to tricorders....

And the medicines....gone...

The nursery unit.....gone....

T-prea made her way through the tangled mess of wires dangling from the destroyed ceiling.....to try and find the office.....

The room was darkened from lack of light and the dust from the devastion still lingered in the air stirring as T-prea made her way through....

Finally coming to what was once the office she moved some things to find the computer.....still in tact....and by some ironic way...still functioning....How she had no idea since all other power seemed to be gone.....

She moved away more debris...and sat on the floor.....bringing up what she could on it....Trying to find out just how much devastion had been done to what was her home....

Her quarter's she began to think....were they still there.....All the treasures she had brought with her from home on Earth..The memories of her father....Her little box....the one that held all her scared ritual things....She couldn't bring herself to go and find out...not just yet.....

Maybe she would ask Jake to come with her just in case everything WAS gone..... It would be too much for her alone.....

Seeing that the computer was functioning enough to transfer everything she needed to Padds.....T-prea gathered everything she needed to know about the crew and their medical files....

Then taking one last look around....she shut the terminal off, got up and made her way through the debris and tangled mess of wires out the door taking one last look at what was once such a great master piece of a sickbay.

She headed back to the temporary triage unit that had been set up in cargo bay 2....which now seemed to be the sickbay, at least for a while.

Upon entering things were just as she had left them....She let Dr. Ames know she had returned and headed over to a small alcove that had been equiped with a computer and small desk.

T-prea sat down and downloaded everything from all the padds into it....saving the padds just in case they would ever be needed again.

Then came the horrible task of naming the dead....Something T- prea dreaded, but knew it had to be done....

But shew thought it could wait...just a few more moments....

She tapped her combadge.....

+Triage to Bridge+

+Bridge here....what can I do for you came a voice....+

+This is T-prea...I was looking for the Captain....+

+The Captain is preoccupied at the moment.+

+Very well....please let him know for me that I have surveyed the damage in sickbay...and have deemed it as completely destroyed...I was able to recoup patient files...but that was all.

And that everything seems to have calmed down here in the triage unit in cargo bay 2....Which we will be using as sickbay for a while I presume. Also let him know that I will have the names of all those who have....... Lost their livesduring this tragic event. Including many....many children....too many lives.....+

T-prea found it hard to hold back her emotions.....as the sniffles could be heard through the com....

+Message recieved and will be given to the Captain.....+

With that T-prea left the alcove and headed over to check on Dr. Gakor....

As T-prea approached her she bagan to bring a small smile to her face.....noticing that Dr. Gakor was awake and talking...

"Dr...I am pleased to see that you are back with us.....for a while there you had given us a real scare....." T-prea remarked

"Well I must admit that I am feeling much better....." She replied.

"But I want you to know Dr. that you are still not completely out of the woods yet.....the damage you suffered was so great....you will need a long period of recouperation....as I am sure you are well aware of...." T-prea said in a caring fashion.

"I can feel my body telling that...as much as I want to get out of this bed and help.....I know I won't be doing so for sometime...." Dr. gakor replied with sorrow in her voice.

"I promise, I will keep you abreast of everything...." T-prea told her.

"I am sure you will....I have heard nothing but good words about you and this entire medical staff... I am pleased...." Gakor answered with a smile....

With that T-prea nodded her head in that traditional Vulcan fashon...something that has always remainded with her from her youngest upbringing....then left to go back to the alcove and begin the terrible task of recording the dead.....and notifing their families here on the ship as well as those from whereever they come from.

As she came to the alcove she pulled back the curtain tom find a surprise....There sitting on the small desk was a boquet of flowers....and not the usual ones but ones made from balloons. They were beautiful...and she didn't need a tag to tell her who they were from....When she suddenly felt arms come around her waist....

"If You Knew Anna Like I Knew Anna"

Lt. Commander Karyn Dallas
Chief Counselor

Anna Gartner (AKA- the bounty hunter)
USS Galaxy

***Cargo Bay Three, USS Galaxy***

Karyn had never thought this day would come. The amount of casualties was staggering, normally in a situation like this Cargo Bay Two was used for the overflow of wounded while Sickbay was at its full capacity for patients. Now, with Cargo Bay Two overflowing and Sickbay out of commission, another Triage Center had to be used. The Main Shuttlebay had been chosen and Karyn was grateful to have been assigned to the currently less crowded space. She was able to move about a little easier, though reports from Dr. T-Prea indicated more injuries were being sent there momentarily.

Karyn didn't think this would ever end. She had been treating the wounded from this nightmare longer than she cared to remember and if the truth be told, her actual work wouldn't begin until after this was all over. She just hoped that she was going to be able to get some sleep before then. She knew at the moment she was not in the most suitable mood for counseling...but then again she had been through worse, and surprisingly one always seems to find the strength when one has to.

Currently, Karyn was busy taking inventory of their dwindling medical supplies. Her back was turned, but she was soon alerted to the sounds of scuffling behind her.

It had happened so quickly Karyn hadn't known what was going on. One moment she had been taking stock of their supplies, and the next moment she was an unwilling witness to several acts of 'random violence' in the cargo bay. She had barely enough time to register the civilians being herded into the room, before just as easily one of the med-techs was blown away by a phaser set on heavy stun.

A ragged man staggered into the bay, slightly swaying to either side. His clothes were torn and his black hair contained flecks of fallen bulkhead. He was bleeding from several wounds, but he wasn't about to take his eyes off his newly found hostages.

"Nobody move! It took us a lot to get this far and I for one don't intend to give up without a fight." Karyn's breath caught in her throat as she realized she seemed to recognize some of their captors as members of the Galaxy crew?

"Who are you and what the hell do you want?" yelled Karyn.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that princess, if you play your cards right, you might just prove to be the insurance we need to get off the damned ship!" his eyes darted wildly. He was clearly nervous and not thinking straight. It seemed he had suffered numerous lacerations and bruises on his way up here. He needed treatment badly as his blood seemed to be leaking on to the floor.

"You're hurt, let me treat your wounds...you'll be much more comfortable then perhaps you can tell me how this mess all started." She smiled her best reassuring smile. "But first, you'll have to put down those weapons, this is a place meant to preserve lives not destroy them. If you have any hope of surviving to fight another day, you'll do as I ask."

The man seemed about to comply, as dizziness seemed to overwhelm him, but in desperation he fired a shot at a brave but hasty med-tech who had tried to intervene. The blast startled a young girl, whom Karyn only knew as Tina. She immediately threw her arms around Karyn and jumped in her lap. Karyn tried to comfort the girl, while at the same time attempting to formulate a plan to neutralize the new threat. Though the personnell in the bay outnumbered the Galaxy duplicates, Karyn would be damned if she was going to open fire on a room full of wounded people and in front of civilians. The medical personnell had limited weapons and even with two type two phasers from the fallen tactical crew, there was no way they could take them down. She would just have to keep talking to them until Security personnell could arrive or she had a better opportunity to take them out.

Before Karyn could say anymore, her head snapped around at the sound of a very angry, but somewhat familiar voice.

"WHAT THE HELL GOING ON!" The bounty hunter shouted as she entered the cargo bay.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Karyn was grateful to see Anna in front of her, but just as she was about to express her gratitude for the Security crew's 'last moment' arrival, she realized it wasn't the Anna she knew. Karyn bit her tongue, ignoring the urge to speak until she knew more on the situation.

The pirate lowered his disruptor and turned to her. "Alias." He said with a slight smirk. "I think our chances in getting off this ship have improved with you here."

Alias walked right up to him. "In case you didn't hear me," She pointed to the body of the dead man, who couldn't be no older than a boy. "What happened here?"

"He didn't move when he was told."

"And he deserved to die?" Alias almost hissed through her helmet microphone, pointing to the body. "He's still just a boy."

"What's wrong Alias?" The pirate grinned in amusement, showing his yellow teeth. "Losing your nerve in killing? You have to be ruthless in dealing with hostages to get your point across."

Karyn watched as this 'Alias' ignored the comment and proceeded to check on the health of the other crewmembers, turn murmured to the pirate. "Are you in charge here?"

"Yes." He replied with a grunt. "And don't you forget it."

Karyn was surprised as the smaller woman suddenly lunged at the taller man. Her arms snaked about his neck and snapped his neck before he could make a sound. As the dead pirate's body collapsed to the deck, the double of Anna loudly announced to the remaining pirates in the cargo bay.

"I'm in charge here now! Do any of you have any problems with that?"

Karyn was holding her breath, not knowing what might be coming next. The pirates stared dumbfounded at the bounty hunter, then to their dead leader and back to the bounty hunter again but they remained silent.

"Good." Alias nodded. "Now, ease up on your trigger fingers!"

Alias moved to the hostages. "I'm sorry for the treatment you received but this is necessary." She said to them. "If you just remain calm, the rest of us will all get out of here alive. I promise you that, my word is my honour."

Stopping by Karyn, she asked, "Are you all right?"

"Oh, sure. Considering the fact that I've just been taken hostage by a group of look alike bad asses. Yeah, I'm just fine."

"What? No thank you?"

If you're looking for a thank you at the moment, I wouldn't hold your breath." snapped Karyn. Alias looked away for a moment.

Karyn's voice softened, "Look, I'm sorry, I'm not exactly sure why the hell this is happening...I haven't exactly been in the loop down here. I'm just trying to keep these people alive. I can't say I'm surprised that you would take such tactics, but the face of my enemy looks a little too much like someone I thought I knew well."

"You know my double?" asked Alias.

"Look, why don't you tell me who you are and how you got into this mess and then I'll tell you what you wish to know. But while you and your friends are trying to decide whether or not to do us in, I'd appreciate it if you'd do your share, or stay out from under foot. If you plan to kill me, just get it over with because I don't have the time or the energy to beg for my life." Karyn moved away, trying hard not to stare at weapons Anna hung beside her.

The bounty hunter was impressed by this woman who seemed determined to get through this ordeal by completely ignoring there was a problem at all.

Karyn's heart was pounding. She didn't dare try her combadge. Sensors must still be off-line, otherwise Security would be on their way now. The best Karyn could hope to do was keep this Alias talking until help could arrive. Alias didn't strike her as the type willing to kill on a whim, only when it seemed absolutely necessary or it served a purpose...whenever that was. The move was hers now...the other 'lookalikes' seemed to be in no real condition to fight anyway. With luck, some of them would pass out putting the odds more in their favor.

Moving over to where Karyn was Alias said, "Contrary to what you might think, I do not kill for the fun of it or murder without feeling remorse. We're doing what we have to do to survive this nightmare. All I want to is get out of this alive."

"Well, you sure picked the wrong line of work." quipped Karyn.

"I have those thoughts from time to time." The bounty hunter replied. "Then I get over it."

"Look Alias, or Anna or whatever your name is. I know for a fact your double would never be such a follower. You have your own mind to make your own decisions. Don't be such a damn martyr. It doesn't suit her and it definitely doesn't suit you. Your life is in your own hands, you just need to make your choice."

The two stared at each other for a moment and then Karyn was alerted to the sound of incoming wounded. Upon seeing the mirror universe intruders their mouths dropped. "Don't move," said Alias drawing her weapon. The medics looked to Karyn who just nodded to them to comply.

"If you'll excuse me," said Karyn, moving over to treat the severely injured Samara and some of the fallen Engineers. Alias moved over to be by Karyn to make sure she didn't do anything drastic.

Karyn set about treating Samara and the others for radiation exposure, trying hard to forget about Alias breathing down her neck.

"Are you a doctor?"

"Not a full fledge MD." Karyn replied as she checked over Samara. "I'm the ship's chief counselor." She placed her hypo full of sedative into the pocket of her smock.

"And you know my counterpart here."

"We're friends and… " Karyn hesitated in telling her the rest but had to be honest. "And her counselor."

"The Anna here is nuts!" The bounty hunter said incredulously.

"Oh yeah, she's nuts...and somehow the Anna I know has never taken me hostage...think about that." said Karyn dryly. "Tell me, are you always this indecisive?"

Suddenly, without warning, Alias slapped her across the mouth. Startled, Karyn tasted her own blood then said with a smug tone. "Acting like a true psycho."

The change in Alias' temperment was instantaneous. "How dare you insult me! You know nothing of who I am, nothing!" said Alias drawing her disruptor. "You smell a world of trouble. You might be just a counselor but you strike me a person that I should not dare turn my back on, and I trust my instincts. " Alias pointed the weapon at Karyn, "Any last words?"

Karyn shrugged, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. "I totally agree, you should have killed me when you had the chance." Karyn reached her hands back and with a mighty push she propelled the manual chair forward, successfully knocking the wind out of Anna which forced her to drop the disruptor. Unable to stop her momentum, Karyn continued to move forward, only stopping after hearing ten sickening cracks. Alias legs buckled under her and she began to slide down the wall...laughing bitterly she said, "Well done, Counselor. I'm rather sorry it had to come to this."

"Me too, " replied Karyn, removing the hypo from her pocket and pressing it to the bounty hunter's neck. Mercifully, she drifted into unconsciousness. Backing away, Karyn couldn't help but feel she was glimpsing into a possible future...it was a little too strange for her. Unable to take her eyes off Anna's fallen twin, Karyn backed up....

...into a Security Officer. "Woah...Counselor, are you all right?"

Rubbing her jaw, she replied, "Yeah, these people just got a little desperate is all. Listen, I don't really feel like talking about it now. I'll file a report later...suddenly I'm not feeling too well. I trust things are under control for now?" She would get the full story when she had more energy. Right then she felt as if the life had been sucked out of her.

He nodded. "Repairs need to be done all over, but the intruders are all being taken into custody. Can I walk you to your quarters?"

"No, thanks, I'm fine. I just need to lie down for a while. I'll be in my quarters if anyone needs me." With that, she left the cargo bay, wanting very much to get out of there ASAP.

Based on STAR TREK created by Gene Roddenberry
Story by Lieutenant Suder - Assistant Chief Engineer

"False Images"

*** Suder's Mind ***

"I remember everything, the end of the war, the celebration, the sorrow everyone felt, the anger, the events that happened after the war. Everything!" Suder snapped quietly as the Engineering crew discussed the situation. The Jem'Hadar stood guard at the doors, but made no attempt to listen in on the conversations.

"So when does the war end?" Lieutenant T'Zaq asked.

"Soon. Give it several months. The Breen will attack Earth. Then a fleet of three hundred ships will attempt to intercept them, but we'll lose every ship but one. The Breen have some kind of weapon that disables all vessels." Suder explained. "For a long time, the Klingons were the only wall between the Dominion and the Alpha Quadrant. We finally found a way past this weapon and took the offensive when the Dominion attempted to regroup in Cardassian space. They were forced to regroup at Cardassia Prime when the Cardassian fleet turned their backs on the Dominion fleet and joined our side. After a while, we won the war."

"How many will die between now and then?" T'Zaq asked.

"Millions. Cardassia will be devestated, not to mention the ships lost in the final attack." Suder replied.

"This is strange. How come you know all this?" Gillings asked.

"Look, all I know is the Galaxy was attacked by pirates, um, people from the Alternate Universe. I was injuried, taken to Sickbay. I was argueing with the nurse saying that I need to get back to Sickbay. Then I appeared here."

"You will come with us now!" a Jem'Hadar soldier ordered.

Suder didn't argue and followed the warrior out of Engineering and up to the Captain's Ready Room where the Vorta Weyoun was waiting for him. On the way to the Bridge, Suder saw no over officers. Not surprising since the Dominion had captured the ship.

"Well, Lieutenant Suder, Assistant Chief Engineer, soon to be Chief Engineer." Weyoun greeted him. "Please, sit down." the Vorta gestured to the seat across the table.

"You want me to thank you?" Suder asked.

"Come now, let's be friends, afteral, tha's the only way we're going to get along."

"Friends don't order the deaths of millions, they don't order destructions of fleets. So it looks like we're not going to get along." Suder explained.

"Always trying to be a hero."

"I'm not trying to be anything. Just a Starfleet Officer." Suder snapped back.

"I'm here to fill you in on things. Your going to help the Dominion. We need to get back on the offensive after losing most of our fleets at Cardassia." Weyoun said. Suder wasn't expecting this kind of response.

"Then what is this place?" Suder asked.

"Your mind." Weyoun replied. "Do you remember the attack at Vedra II?" Suder hesitated, as if reliving the events at the battle that killed three hundred and seventy four people. Only twenty four people survived. "Yeah." he whispered back.

"You put up one tough fight. But you were injuried. We knew that the Jem'Hadar troops stationed there were going to lose so we had to find a way to get someone inside Starfleet who could help us. We found your injuried body and placed an implant inside your head that would create this simulation. Your midn would brake and you'd help us. Become an agent of the Dominion." Weyoun explained.

"The war's over. I can't help you."

"That's a trick. How could the Dominion lose the war?"

"Your fleets attempted to regroup, but we beat you. You ran back to cardassia, but we beat you there too." Suder said standing up. "You died there too. Killed by a Cardassian. The Founder, signed the end of the war. The Dominion failed. And you know this already. Otherwise you would have activated this implant ages ago. Not to mention the fact that if there was an implant, the transporters would have picked it up." Suder snapped.

"All right. This is your mind, but there is no implant. I am simply a respective part of your imagination. I'm going to release your fears untill you crumble. You've been preoccupied with fears since before the war. But the war gave you an excuse to ignore your fears."

"So your the dark side of myself. Well, you couldn't have picked a better representitive." Suder replied.

"I see I'm going to need to prove it to you." Weyoun replied.

Suder turned to find himself in Engineering again. Only this time, things were different. The ship was under attack. Engineering Officers were dead, scattered across the room. Commander Samara and Lieutenant McDowell were working at the console near the warp core. It looked like the warp core was going critical.

"Come on, sir, we have to evacuate!" McDowell yelled.

"We can do this, Ensign!" the Chief snapped back.

Suder raced over to them and looked at the sensor readings. But he noticed that neither of the officers could see him.

There was another big explosion in Engineering and the console overloaded. McDowell was thrown against a bulkhead and hit the deck with a horrible thud. Samara ran over to the warp core and then over to a conduit. "Rerouting that's not going to work!" Suder snapped as he raced over to the Chief to stop her from opening the conduit.

But he was late. The conduit exploded with a plasma fire and the Chief fell back and hit the deck. Suder looked around. All of his friends dead. The ship disabled and about to be destroyed.

Weyoun came walking into Engineering and waved his hands at the dead. "One of your fears. One of many." he said.

"You can't destroy me, not with these fears. There are not real." Suder said.

"In time, your mind will break. You'll destroy yourself. Afteral, I am you and I will be returning, everytime you sleep, everytime you close your eyes. I'll be there with a fear."

*** Sickbay ***

Suder woke up and tried to sit up but was pained to feel a nagging sharp pain in his lower back. He looked around. There were a lot of wounded people. He reache dover to a table near the bio-bed and grabbed a data padd. He looked at it. The reports of the injuried and ship systems. Several of the Engineers survive, most did not. And the ship was going to be fine.

Suder sighed with releif. He shook his head and layed back down. Perhaps now was the time to talk to his friends, explain everything he needed to, get things off his chest. Perhaps that would stop his own mind from melting what was left of Suder's pride and self respect.

"A Testing Time"
By Lieutenant James Chen
And Ensign Peter Lockhart

Chen stood in one corner of the gym, where he'd laid down some training mats. He wore his gray training uniform, and had been there for nearly an hour, warming up and preparing for the exercises to come. A few days back, Chen had noticed the reports on one Ensign Peter Lockhart. He'd noticed that he'd taken to hand-to-hand training with Kornan Rios. Chen wasn't surprised when Lockhart didn't improve right away. Learning from a Klingon was never exactly an easy and enjoyable experience. So, being the good-minded officer he was, he offered to help out with this young man.

Which he was all set to do, if Mr. Lockhart ever decided to show up, which at this point was beginning to look doubtful. Chen took a deep breath and started running through some more advanced motions, arms and legs pumping as he tried to work up something of a sweat. His knee still ached, but the magnetic brace the doctors had given him was working wonders. That's when the doors opened and in stepped Peter Lockhart. Chen stopped and looked up at the younger man as he came in. He looked around, curious. Chen waved him over, calling his name. Lockhart came over. Not in much of a hurry. Chen smiled and held out his hand. "Ensign Lockhart, I'm Lieutenant Chen, Assistant Chief. I understand you've been taking hand-to-hand lessons from Kornan?"

Lockhart shrugged. "More or less, I suppose."

Chen nodded. "Well, I've taken notice of your records. I think that maybe I could help out with some of your training. With all due respect to Mr. Rios, he's a great officer and a good fighter, just not much of a teacher. Hopefully I can make this type of experience a little easier."

"Yes sir." Peter nodded, readying himself for the second worst time of his life.

"Also, Mr. Lockhart, a prompter appearance from now on will be required." Chen said, making a comment about Peter's lateness.

"Yes sir. I'll try and be here on time from now on." Peter's usual fudge, but one that Chen probably hadn't heard about yet.

"Good. Then if you'd like step over to the mats, we can begin. We'll start with something simple." Chen said.

Peter merely nodded and stepped over to the mats. Chen faced him opposite and said, "First we'll start with something simple. I'll attack you, and you defend against my attacks. There won't be anything fancy, nothing that a first or second year cadet shouldn't be able to handle. It's just to see how good you are at the moment."

Peter wondered that he probably wasn't even up to this standard at the moment, but prepared himself anyway.

***************** Five minutes later **************************

It had become apparent to Chen, and to Peter, that the young Ensign needed a lot of work. His early attacks had met little resistance, and Chen wondered how the Ensign had got through the academy. Unfortunately, to boot, the Ensign wasn't up to fitness either. He could tell that he wasn't going to last the full hour. He wondered how he managed against Rios, but realized that he actually hadn't.

"Ensign, you're not as fit as I'd like you to be either. We'll have to work on that as well." Chen stated. He was surprised that the boy had passed through Academy physical training regs. No, surprised wasn't the word. Astonished fit the situation better. He had virtually no defensive capabilities whatsoever. Though he did fall down well. That was always the first part. And he knew how to cover up to prevent too many blows.

Peter's eyes flashed momentarily with anger, quickly repressed. "Yes sir. I'm probably not up to spec. But I'm not yet that tired."

"We shall see Ensign. Now, let us go back to basics." Chen said, and started again, this time on a lower setting. Chen scratched his chin thoughtfully and eyed the Ensign. Finally, he nodded slowly. "Okay. First off, we're going to do some conditioning. Get you warmed up. Then, we're going to practice defense a little. Okay?"

Peter looked very uncomfortable, but just nodded. Chen sighed. "Okay. First off, why don't we run through some basic warm-up exercises. It's very simple. Ever hear of Tai Chi?"

Peter nodded. "I've heard of it."

"Good. This is similar. My style doesn't really prescribe to any warm-up or peaceful actions, so basically we just practice some moves in slow motion. This'll get you an idea of what's going on. Just follow my lead."

Chen took his position with Peter behind him. Chen started the movements, all of them basic. Not anything complicated at all. These were the moves he'd learned when he was a child. Peter started moving along with him, slowly mimicking the punches and kicks. After a few moments, he ceased following along as well, feeling like an idiot. Chen kept going before saying, "You might want to keep up, Lockhart. This is the best chance you got not to get your ass kicked today."

Peter sighed slightly, and took up the movements again. He felt this was a waste of time. He didn't seem to be learning anything, and to be fair, he'd rather be in Ten-Fore with Ensign Mulich than waste time here. But he had to keep up appearances, at least for the moment. So he actually started paying attention. Not much, but a little. Maybe he was learning something?

After a few more minutes, Chen stopped and turned to Peter. "Why'd you join Starfleet, Ensign?"

Peter was taken aback. "What?"

"Why did you join Starfleet. What made you want to join with this outfit? Everybody on this ship's got a reason. They want fame or fortune. They want to explore the galaxy. They just like the military aspects. Everybody has their motivation. What's yours?"

Peter didn't like this sudden line of questioning. "Well, sir, perhaps you should tell me yours. Maybe give me an idea what you mean."

Chen frowned slightly. This kid was smart, if not all that tough. "I joined because I wanted to see what was out there. When I was a kid, I didn't get much that wasn't on earth. I was only off-planet once or twice. I joined because I wanted to know what else there was. Now. Your turn, Peter. And no ducking the question this time."

"To explore the galaxy sir." Peter replied enthusiastically.

"No Ensign, I don't think it is." Chen replied.

Damn, Peter had put all his effort into that little lie. But Chen had read him like a book. He just stood there, waiting, till Peter looked down. What the hell, it mattered little.

"To not disappoint my parents sir." Peter said.

"That's better. Go on." Chen coached.

"My parents sir... or rather my brother, Andrew. He's a really great scientist sir, and he stayed out of Starfleet." Peter said.

"And the problem being?" Chen prompted.

"Well, my parents always wanted one of us to enter Starfleet. Not a tradition or anything, just no Lockhart has served in Starfleet since my great-grandfather about 75 years ago. So they hoped one of us would enter. I though Andrew would. He's really good at his job sir. Make a great science officer, but he didn't want the unstable and unpredictable nature of Starfleet. So it fell to me." Peter finished.

"So you're here because of not wanting to disappoint someone?" Chen looked at him hard.

"Yes sir. I mean, it's not all that bad here, just I'd rather just be left alone, if you understand sir. I don't care about progressing, I just wanna get by. I'm still only 23. I'll figure things out in the next few years, and then consider.... Is that all then sir?"

Chen frowned. "Well, Ensign. I see you really don't want to be here. For today, we'll call it quits. But every week, twice a week, you and I are going to meet. Not here, in the gym anymore. We'll meet in a holodeck. From there, I can run my own personal training programs. And we WILL go the full hour. If you are more than five minutes late, that means we go the next day. I'll go everyday if I have to. I'll come into your quarters and wake you up if necessary. It'll be like your worst Academy experience ever. You will see my face in your sleep. I won't give up on you, Ensign. I think you have great potential, despite your shortcomings. I won't leave you alone. I won't forget you. You will become my hobby, Ensign. And by God, by the time I'm done with you, everybody will be impressed with you, including all your family and friends back home. And always remember, Peter. I'm here to help. Whenever and wherever you need me, I'll help out. Remember that. Now get out of here. We meet day after tomorrow. I'll let you know which Holodeck. Until then, take care of yourself."

Peter looked a little sick. Chen wondered silently what the boy was thinking before turning away and gathering his things. He'd have plenty of time to learn more about the young ensign. They were going to get to know each other very well.

Lt.jg Jake Olson

Jake Olson found a sad T-Prea and enveloped her in his arms tenderly. "I know it hurts, sometimes the 'Circle' can be cruel."

He held her while she cried, she cried for all the children lost and orphaned, and the parents who've lost their children. It was a release that she badly needed. He didn't say anything, just allowed her the freedom to feel what she needed to feel.

The pair was interupted by a toddler seeking out Jake the balloon man. He asked why T-Prea was crying. "It's ok little one," Jake reassured the little one. "Sometime it hurts to get better, that is why people cry." The child wrapped himself around Jake's leg, and he stroked the child's head and held T-Prea close.

"It is the nature of the Circle of life, life will always follow death in a new beginning."

More children came looking for Jake. He was all but dragged back to his story telling, but only after he saw T-Prea get her equilibrum back.

=====
Craftycorner ICQ #36247063

THE FINAL CONFLICT

Lt. Mohammed Uhura
Asst. Chief Ops Officer
USS Galaxy

----OPERATIONS----

Mohammed couldn't believe what was going on. The Galaxy attacked, breached, boarded and under an intruder alert. Mohammed couldn't help being concerned about his family. He knew they would be safe but still he was...scared. Suddenly it didn't seem like a good idea to have his family with him onboard the Galaxy. Suddenly he wished he had left them all back on Earth. Of all the selfish things to do. As worried as he was he couldn't leave his post. he tapped his comm badge and contacted Tashi.

=/\= Tashi this is Mohammed. Are you and the children okay?

=/\= Yes, Mohammed. We are safe. There is a security team at the end of the corridor.

=/\= Tashi....Tashi, I am sorry that I brought you and our family here. I should have known that it was not a place for my family. My father was right.

=/\= Mohammed Salassie Uhura. I will not hear any such talk. We are your family and we are supposed to be with you. You have taken care of us before and I know you will take care of us now.

=/\= I love you, Tashi. Tell the children that I will be with them as soon as I can.

=/\= I love you too, Mohammed. We will be okay.

Mohammed signed off but there was something telling him that there was danger.

---- Deck 11....Residence Level ----

Dr. Mohammed Uhura had managed to slip away from Hoglip's invading force. He had sat around long enough doing her bidding but now it was time to do what he needed to do. Still dressed in his Starfleet Doctor's uniform and as he moved through the ship, even with the commotion going on no one seemed to notice him. He did get an odd glance but nothing more. He had his destination and goal in mind and nothing was going to stop him. Nothing this time. he could feel his heartbeating excitedly at what was about to happen. Soon he would rid this universe of the Uhuras.

Dr. Mohammed looked at the PADD that he had with all the information on where The Uhuras lived. A sinister smile crawled across his face as he made his way towards the Uhura residence.

Then Doctor stopped when he saw the three man security team at the top of the corridor. Damn! So close. He had to get rid of them. He removed his phaser and stepped out in front of the security officers. They looked at him and before the look of bewilderment could leave their faces Dr. Mohammed fired and killed them. He would have loved to have tortured them but he would save that for the Uhura family. Quickly he ran to the Uhura apartment and activated the entry code that he had acquired. Dr. Mohammed was amazed at how easy it was to get the information he needed. After all, as far as the computer was concerned, he was Mohammed Uhura of this century. The door hissed open and just as Dr. Mohammed stepped in he was greeted by a beautiful girl of around 8 or 9..he couldn't tell. But he knew her face and he knew it very well. It was Ayah Uhura...Mohammed Uhura of this Universe's daughter. In another universe Ayah...Dr. Mohammed's daughter was dead. Dead at his own hand. He remembered the sounds his daughter made we he choked her to death. It thrilled him that he would get the chance to do it again.

'Daddy! Daddy! You are home! What happened to your uniform? Where is the red one you wear?' Ayah ran over and gave her 'father' a hug. Dr. Mohammed was taken aback by this. He reached down and stroked her hair. So soft. So sweet. Suddenly Ayah stepped back and looked up at him and into her eyes. Dr. Mohammed looked down and he say it. He say the flicker but when he heard it he knew he had to act.

"You're not my daddy? Where is my daddy?"

Dr. Mohammed slapped Ayah and the young girl fell to the floor. 'Your daddy is dead and you will be joining him!'

Ayah screamed and cried her hand on her stinging face. Tashi with baby Nyota in her arms and her son, David right behind her.

"Ayah! What is the...." Tashi stared at her daughter and the man standing over her. He wore the uniform of a Starfleet doctor but what caught her..what struck her was that he looked like her husband. Almost identical except for the fact that there was a sinister, evil aura around him that she could feel and the look in his eyes was not the look of a man who loved his family nor himself. This was evil. Tashi Uhura was looking into the face of unadulterated evil and she was scared.

"Lucccccccccccy! I'm home!" Dr. Mohammed said with a cackling laugh as he drew out his phaser. "Now, everyone on the floor. This won't take long."

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

Tashi, David, Ayah and baby Nyota Uhura all sat on the floor of their apartment and had been sitting there for half an hour now. This man, who looked like her husband but wasn't stood over them with such evil and hatred in his eyes. Tashi had never been afraid as she was now but it wasn't for herself but for her children for her husband.

"Who are you?" Tashi asked. Her answer came as a slap to her face. She felt like she was going to faint but she didn't...she fought it.

"Shut up, Tashi! My name is Mohammed Salassie Uhura. Doctor Mohammed Uhura and I am here to kill you, your family and your husband."

"You aren't my daddy!'" cried Ayah as her brother held her.

"How touching." Dr. Mohammed looked at Tashi who was holding baby Nyota in her arms. He blinked and pointed. 'Who's baby is that?"

"This is my and my husband's new baby." Tashi answered, defiantly.

"Nyota? You named the baby after his great-grandmother? Wait...wait a minute." Mohammed began to pace a worried expression on his face. 'This universe is supposed to be a mirror of my universe. I didn't have another daughter. I mean my wife was pregnant before I killed her but she lost the baby. No! No! NOOOOO! That's it! That's it! The baby lives. There is still an Uhura back there and she lives. And if she lives then there will be more Uhuras. After I kill you all I will have to go back there and find her and kill her and anyone with her. Yes, yes. That is what I will do."

Tashi held her baby tight and hugged her children and whispered. "We will be okay. Your father will save us." She only wished she believed that.

Mohammed Uhura was at the Operations Station when the feeling came over him. It was a familiar feeling. It was the one he got whenever Tashi or the children were in danger. he tapped his comm badge and was about to contact Tashi when he stopped. He tapped a few buttons on his console and found out where and who the security officers were that were guarding Deck 11. He attempted to contact them but he got no response. He was about to contact security when he realized that they would have their hands full. He had to handle this. He called for a replacement and made his way to the turbo lift and went to deck 11.

Stepping off the turbo lift onto deck 11 he was greeted by a grisly sight. Three security officers...dead. He didn't like the feeling he was having. Reaching down he takes a phaser from one of the dead officers and cautiously walked down the hall to his apartment. He tapped his comm badge.

=/\= Computer. How many lifeform readings are there inside Uhura Apartment.

=/\= Currently there are five lifeforms in Uhura apartment.

=/\= Identify all lifeforms.

=/\= Tashi Moyenda Uhura, David Michael Uhura, Ayah Uhura, Nyota Uhura and Mohammed Salassie Uhura.

Mohammed's blood ran cold. That was impossible. He was not inside there. What was going on? Mohammed changed the setting from stun to kill on the phaser. He then tapped in the entry number and as the door hissed open Mohammed rolled in with his phaser at the ready. he sprang up and was looking at his wife, and children all laying on the floor. He checked their pulse.

"Don't worry Lieutenant. They aren't dead...yet." Mohammed turned around with his phaser pointed towards the intruder. At first he thought he was looking in a mirror. Standing there with a phaser in his hands was his reflection...except he was wearing a Starfleet doctor's uniform. He looked exactly like him.

"Who are you?" Mohammed gasped.

"I am Mohammed Salassie Uhura. It's nice to meet you or rather me. Now that I have made my introduction...it's time for you to die."

"You are...are you from..."

"I am from the mirror universe. I am sure you heard of it. That was where I had escaped from when you found me and saved me."

"What?"

"Oh...I am Salassie. Remember...well, no I guess not. My face is healed and I shaved my head. How are you?"

"But how? I don't understand." Mohammed said.

"Good. Not to worry though. You will be dead and it won't matter. I must thank you though. Because of you and your wife I have realized that I have some unfinished business back in my universe once I have killed your entire family." Dr. Mohammed said.

"Why? Why? Are you going to kill us?"

"Because...you are Uhura and all Uhura must die. Now...put down the phaser or...." Dr. Mohammed turned and aimed at the baby Nyota. " I will kill your baby."

Mohammed had only a second. Only a second and it had to work or else it was all over. If he was wrong....God forgive him.

"Lights out!"

Suddenly the room went black just as Lt. Mohammed Uhura pulled the trigger of his phaser. He heard a thud and saw the flash of another phaser flash. Panicked he called for lights on. The room illuminates he immediately looks where his baby daughter was laying and she was gone. Mohammed turned around again to see Tashi holding baby Nyota. Mohammed ran to them and held his wife and baby.

"Oh Tashi! Nyota!" Mohammed hugged them and then he went to his other children, who were just waking up.

"He drugged us." Tashi said. "He was going to kill us."

"Don't worry. Don't worry. He is not going to hurt anyone." Mohammed said.

"Really? Well, I have a different look on things."

Mohammed turned to see Dr. Mohammed standing holding a very long and menacing knife. His right shoulder was burned and bleeding. He had not killed the Doctor. He had only grazed him.

"No phasers. I will do this the fun way. With a blade."

Dr. Mohammed charged then. Mohammed jumped and intercepted the Doctor catching the blade of the knife across his chest. Mohammed screamed but managed to grab Dr. Mohammed's arm and they struggled over the knife.

"Tashi...Kids! Get out! Get help!"

Tashi grabbed the children and ran out of the apartment screaming for help as loud as she could.

The two Mohammed's struggled over the knife each one trying to gain the advantage.

"You...will...not....win, Lieutenant....I will torture and kill your family but not before I rape them...repeatedly! hahahahahahahahaha!"

Lt. Mohammed let out a blood curdling scream. He summoned all his strength and threw Dr. Mohammed across the room. The evil Doctor jumped up and charged Mohammed again and they collided and they both fell to the floor.

Dr. Mohammed raised the knife high over his head and laughed. " At last I will be rid of you! At last you will DIE!!!!"

"Not before you!" Mohammed replied as he punched Dr. Mohammed in the nose with all his strength. The evil Doctor's nose exploded with blood and cartilage.

The evil doc jumped to his feet and Mohammed delivered a powerful punch to his stomach then a right cross to the doctor's jaw.

'Pilgrim!' Mohammed snarled. 'You caused a lot of trouble here and tried to harm my family." Mohammed delivered another shot to the doctor's face.

'I will kill you!!!' The doctor screamed. He swung the knife at Lt. Uhura but he sidestepped it and hit the evil Dr. in the back causing him to stumble and fall...right on top of the knife.

Mohammed rolled the doctor over and he saw that the knife had impaled him. He felt his pulse. He was dead.

"Mohammed!"

Mohammed turned to see his wife with three security officers standing in the threshold. He ran to her and embraced her as the two security officers removed the dead body of Dr. Mohammed Salassie Uhura.

The End.

=/\= "No Shortage of Work" =/\=
by Lt Cmdr Matthew Albrecht
guest-starring the Mirror Darian McGee
and several NPCs

Corridor thirty-two, dash eight, was quiet except for the constant stream of chatter coming from the control panel Matthew had rigged to serve as a Security situation board. The comm. signal of each security officer was routed to this panel so he could eavesdrop on their tactical maneuvers. Several times, he was able to coordinate the moves of officers near possible intruders.

He also received continuous updates of their location and physical conditions from the transponders in their badges. Occasionally, one or two badges would cease transmission of life signs, each time causing a lump to form in the 'commander's throat. When it happened, he updated the nearest team to the presence of the enemy in their vicinity.

Suddenly, a communication from Astrid Salt alerted Matthew to the presence of a murderous intruder on deck 35. Before he could contact Kornan Rios's team, Heidi Mason's voice came on, and she alerted Rios to the threat. Matthew thumbed off the board, and ran full tilt to the nearest turbolift, leaving Heidi to finish directing the defenses on that deck.

Down three decks he dropped in the turbolift, before the capsule slid two dozen meters to the nearest accessway to Astrid Salt and ensign Jean duBont. He found a brick-red streak on the bulkhead where the two had bean, but no officers. On a hunch, he palmed open the doorway nearest the blood marks. The portal slid open with a hiss, and Albrecht found Astrid and the other 'meat truck' on the floor.

Ensign Salt was applying a hypospray full of meds to duBont from the open emergency med-kit in her lap. Jean's head was lolling over to the side, as he was fully unconscious from the anesthetic. Astrid's shoulder was raw and red under the charred fabric. That she was alive at all was purely a lucky break.

Matthew knelt down. "Site-to-site transport is still inoperative. I'll have to carry Jean to the temporary medical triage in the cargo bay. Are you up to the walk?" he asked his friend.

Astrid nodded, "Yes, commander. We're both lucky, his phaser was set to 'kill'," she explained. Several tears were on her cheeks; she had obviously been crying from the pain of her wound.

Matthew slid his hands beneath the body of the male ensign. "Yes," he commented wryly, "that can ruin a person's day." Lifting with his back straight, the commander silently thanked his faraway friend Gary Trabuco for getting him into weightlifting. Albrecht was not a body builder at all, but had developed a taste for increasing his physical strength. Lifting the ensign and carrying him quickly toward the turbolift was no challenge.

The turbolift doors opened, just as Heidi Mason's voice rang out. "Commander, Kornan's team has been disabled! Go to sector six, your deck to assist immediately!"

Matthew set his burden down. "Astrid, you're on your own. Get to the triage facility, like yesterday!" The turbolift doors snapped shut as 'commander Albrecht dashed toward the sector where the intruder remained.

On the way, he passed the carnage of an overloaded phaser in an enclosed passageway. Two ensigns lay there, who would never see their families again. A third officer was on the deck ten meters away, but he waved the lieutenant commander along, saying, "I'll be okay, 'commander. Kornan is alone, sir."

Matthew kept on, and found the Klingon, Kornan Rios, with his back to one bulkhead, consulting his security tricorder. Rios, with typical brevity, said, "Sir, the intruder is heading for a dead end."

The Security Chief nodded, quickly reviewing in his mind the layout of the deck. A true 'dead-end' didn't exist in very many places on the ship. It didn't make engineering sense to have a corridor abruptly end with no doors or access panels at the end. It's wasted space if it doesn't lead somewhere.

With a bit of quick thought, he recalled that the corridor they were on gave access to several sealed, unused laboratories, as well as ports for boarding escape pods. If the intruder could break the simple access code, he could activate an escape pod, Albrecht realized.

"Let's go, this is our only chance before he escapes," Matthew declared. The two men turned at a junction of two corridors, coming face-to-face with the intruder who was retracing his steps out of the dead end.

Matthew's eyes widened. "McGee! My God, you look just like him," he exclaimed.

The cornered animal from the mirror universe raised his phaser rifle and gritted his teeth. It was suddenly very obvious that the mirror Darian would not surrender.

Matthew struck out with his left arm, shoving Kornan aside and effectively shoving himself aside as well just as the villain fired his weapon on setting four. The high-powered shot burned the air as it streaked past Albrecht's ear, scorching a bit of hair as well as it did so.

McGee, maintaining the upper hand, pressed on his attack. His phaser shots tracked his target around the corner. Matthew rolled, and came up ready to peek around the wall. So did Rios, a bit faster. Albrecht watched Kornan peek around the junction, and saw the phaser blast come from his unseen enemy.

Matthew also noticed one other thing. The last blast fired by the evil Darian McGee was underpowered and less than standard burst length.

Taking the chance that the pirate was out of energy in his rifle, Matthew dove into the open space of the corridor junction. Stopping prone, the 'commander braced his phaser for careful aim and fired one time on maximum stun.

The pirate Darian McGee from the Mirror Universe collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Mission accomplished.

Twin Dragons....the battle rages....."
Lt. Elaine Stone
Mistress Elaine O'Hare
Lt. JG Franklin Stone
Enforcer Frank Stone

The bay was hushed, other then the obscure humming that appeared to come out from the far corner of the massive room.

Frank studied his newest opponent for a moment. He had been trained not to ask questions about the person he was told to kill, but looking at his mistress's twin, it was hard not to feel a little sympathy towards her. The two looked remarkably similar. From the Starfleet uniform, to the way they styled their hair, to their sneering glances. He approached her, knowing full well that if he thought any more about not wanting to kill her, he wouldn't be able to fulfill his mistresses wishes.

Elaine Stone regarded her opposition and smirked. She and Frank had never had a disagreement, let alone a drag out fight. Looking at him, it was hard to not think of the man that was told to kill her as her husband. Shaking her head, she readied herself in a defensive stance. Bringing her hand to her side, she frowned as she looked down and realized that in all the excitement, she had dropped her Phaser. Glancing up for a mere second, she noted how far away Frank was to her, and decided to take the chance of bending down and retrieving her weapon. He was almost completely across the bay from her, and by the time he reached her she would be able to fire right into his abdomen. From the looks of the man, with the sheer determination that was etched on his face, Elaine would welcome the chance to blow him into oblivion.

Mentally, she ran through the steps that she would have to take to make this successful. Drop, grab the Phaser, flip the controls to kill, aquire her target, and fire. She wondered if all those hours in the Galaxy's Phaser range were going to help her. If she couldn't get off a shot, she knew she was dead just by looking at the corpses that were heaped into a pile on the floor.

Exhaling a massive breath, as quickly as she could, she executed bending down. She heard no footsteps, no noise, nothing. Reaching for the Phaser, she was successful at grabbing it and setting the controls, but that was all. Bending at her torso, she quickly raised her hand and her eyes. The look of utter shock was once again apparent on her features as she viewed her enemy standing inches from her. Her Franklin's speed had always amazed her...this Frank seemed to have it too. The blood in her veins froze as he quickly reached out and grasped her hand the held the Phaser.

Seeing his opportunity, he stealfully approached her as she bent to retrieve the weapon. In every fight, there was one moment that determined the energy and strength of the opposition. He knew, as she reached for her Phaser, that she was no match for him physically. She was reaching for her only defense, and once he took that defense away, she was his play thing.

Elaine felt the Enforcer's hand engulf hers, gently at first. His touch was strangely warm and tender. She knitted her eyebrows as this strange twin of her husband held her hand for a moment. Elaine Stone didn't understand what was going on, but she did notice that a tad of tenderness had expressed itself in his eyes. Maybe, this was his weakness. Perhaps, Elaine could play upon her likeness of what ever that woman called herself.

Glancing up, she forced softness and a fake love look into her eyes. "You don't have to do this Frank."

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

Mistress O'Hare viewed what was transpiring with great distaste. Her lip snarled. How dare that woman! To play upon HER man. Straitening her posture, she spoke one word with a sweet venom to her voice. "Frank."

His name entered his ears, and at that precise moment, The Enforcer's eyes glazed over. Elaine Stone knew she was in trouble, and she closed her eyes for a moment, preparing herself for some sort of pain.

And then it came, the immense feeling of discomfort. She winced, still keeping her eyes shut, not knowing exactly what Franklin had done to her. Elaine knew it was her hand, but the extent of the injury, she had no idea. She felt her hand get extremely warm, with the pain still teasing her in growing amounts. Elaine gasped out a shriek as she heard the bones in her fingers and hand crush. She felt the blood rush forth, from the Enforcer mating the Phaser with her hand.

Frank Stone's grip got tighter, and tighter, and tighter again. His one and only wish, to please his mistress. He stood, his feet shoulder length apart, his shoulders squared, his face stoic. His hand easily closed around hers, his outstretched fingers crossed the length of her palm. No remorse filled him, no sympathy, just the unrelenting urge to please. As his grip tightened further, easily crushing the soft flesh in his grasp. Even the Phaser bent under his massive strength. He wanted desperately for her to feel pain like he felt when Elaine stunned him. He wanted her helpless.

The Mistress couldn't help but let a hiss like "Yesssss" escape her ruby lips. Her eyes narrowed, and filled with a passionate longing. Pain, to inflict pain on another species was absolutely wonderful to her. It gave her power, knowing that she could order whether someone lived or died. A simple word or phase was all it took. She saw the pain that Elaine was experiencing and it thrilled her.

Letting his grip loosen, the Enforcer let his victim experiance a moment of relief. Taking a step back, he stood still.....just for a moment.

Elaine Stone staggered back, cradeling her hand. What was left of the Phaser dropped to the floor, covered in type O positive blood. Droplets of the liquid splashed the floor as the Phaser dropped, decorating the steel gray deck plate with a hint of bright color. Looking down at what was left of her hand, her eyes grew wide. Would she ever be able to use what was left of her hand? Would she look at Franklin, and relive this moment, if she survived?

She glanced up, her eyes full of tears as he approached her once more. She saw his hand, open palmed, coming towards her face. She did not have the strength to duck, shock over her injured hand was weaving its way through out her body, causing her to get dizzy.

The crack resonated through the air as the body of the security officer flew the length of the room. The thud that sounded next was sickening.

O'Hare saw the body come flying towards her, and grinned as she slightly side stepped her twin. "Incoming." She spat as Stone hit the side of the shuttle and slid down the shuttle's hull. Raising her hand, she stopped Franklin as he approached for another round of one sided volleyball. Elaine O'Hare's face held a smug expression as she approached the injured security officer.

Elaine Stone's eyes fluttered open and attempted to focus. Her face felt like it had been hit by one of the Galaxy's hull mounted Phaser arrays, and her body felt like some free floating space garbage. The woman that resembled her stood beside her crouched body. Elaine Stone was able to shrink into a fetal position, guarding her bad hand with her good arm. The pain was nothing like she had experienced before.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest Elaine of all?" Mistress O'Hare slyly stated as she came to stood by her twins side.

Elaine Stone looked up and glared. "I am wench."

Arching her eyebrows, Elaine let out an evil laugh. "Wrong answer Lainey." And upon saying Lainey, O'Hare brought her boot back, and executed a kick to Elaine Stone's ribs. After the kick, with Elaine writhing in pain, O'Hare leaned down and whispered into the security officer's ear. "I'm going to enjoy seeing you die...slowly...."

Stepping back, The Mistress motioned Frank to step forward. Nodding, he came forward obediently. With a sweeping motion, the Enforcer brought his hand up and outstretched his fingers across Elaine Stone's face. Tightening his grasp, he proceeded to lift her off of the floor, until she was standing with her toes barely touching the floor. She felt his grip tightening, and the increasing pressure of his hands, bending her very soul.

The Enforcer could feel Elaine Stone's flesh molding to his fingers...it wouldn't be long before her skull gave way under the pressure of his grip. More than once, he had killed in this fashion...to him, it didn't matter but he learned long ago that this form of death gave his Mistress great pleasure. He was sure to be rewarded for his gift to her. Just as Elaine Stone's eyes began to bulge from the strain, the Enforcer caught a hint of movement from the corner of his eye. It was too late to avoid the blow as one of the Galaxy's large cargo containers flew through the air, slamming into the fake Franklin. The Enforcer's grip loosed on Elaine as he staggered back from the impact.

The Mirror Universe pirates in the Shuttlebay' froze in place from the sudden turn of events. Mistress O'Hare turned towards where the container had come from. The sight made her smile in a strange form of lust. "My my...what have we here?"

Elaine Stone slumped to the deck...her vision was blurred, and her head felt oddly misshaped. She too turned towards where the container had come from, but she already knew who had sent it flying...the only other man on the ship that could have lifted it. Somehow she could feel his presence...it was her Franklin.

The Enforcer slowly rose to his feet, shouldering the cargo container off to one side. His eyes locked with his own twin's. Somehow, he knew he wouldn't be getting off this blasted ship without running into the man...deep down inside, he had been counting on it. It was the perfect chance to prove his superiority to his Mistress.

"That hurt" the Enforcer hissed as he began to stride towards his twin. The Frank Stone of this universe stood on uneasy legs, leaning against the massive archway that served as the shuttlebay's door. The Enforcer knew from the body language that his opponent was injured, or sick somehow. He was out of uniform, wearing some sort of hospital clothing...this would be a quick fight.

She arched her eyebrows and smiled gamely as she held up her hand to stop her Frank once more. Her high heels clicked on the floor as she seductively made her way over to the good Frank. Licking her lips, she pouted slightly. "Does that have an opening in the back?"

Franklin eyed the Mistress blankly.

Placing her hands lightly on his shoulder, she stepped around to his back. "Oh, it does." Coming in closer to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and moved them lower, giving him a lustful squeeze. "You two might be the same class starship, but you definitely have the larger torpedo."

Pursing her lips, she backed away from him.

Upon viewing the evil Elaine groping her husband, she tried to raise up. "Bitch."

Arching her eyebrows once more, O'Hare walked back over to where Elaine Stone was slouching. Kicking her once in the ribs again, she retorted. "That's Mistress bitch to you."

"Bite off you mental furball."

"Mental furball? That's the best you can do Elaine? Please."

Turning her attention back to the two Stone's, she watched the battle ensue.

"Good guys don't always win!"

Lt. J. Lucas Brandis, Zea Toa
Chief Operations Officer

Zea J. Lucifer Brandis
Mass Murderer Extrodinair

Cadet Alexa Casey
Counselor (NPC)

* * * * * Jeffries Tube Junction 17c * * * * *

"What are you doing here Lucas? You should be on the bridge, with a cup of earl gray. But, no. Here you are crawling through some jeffries tubes about to capture renegade crewmembers of the USS Griffin." Lucas spat out. He had already stormed through 10 junctions, 13 crawl spaces, and some over heated plasma conduits. Needless to say, he was not in the best of spirits and, considering he had been roused out of a warm bed with a gorgeous young counseling cadet, you really could not blame him.

"Here we go." Lucas continued talking to himself, figuring it would help to talk out his frustrations. "Ah, vass sarcist!" He cursed, noticing the hull integrity shield he was inches from his face. It was a rude awakening to see out into space from a hole in a starship.

"Oh, well, just go the long way, right Lucas. You've been through worse. Remember that girl back on Risa with the huge...personality." Taking a few back tracking steps Lucas found the last junction and made for a not so direct route. "One way or another, I've got to get to the SSB."

* * * * * Secondary Shuttle Bay * * * * *

Lucas had made excellent time, especially considering all the detours and blown out relays. The jeffries did not have a outlet junction on this side of the bay, but Lucas did not want to waist time. Taking the phaser rife he had picked up from the Bridge, Lucas set it to cutting the panel. In a smooth and almost perfect circle, the phaser made an incision through the way and Lucas kicked the cutout through. He was careful not to touch the edges, which were still red hot as he made his way through the bulkhead.

“Freeze...”

Lucas paused. The phaser rife pointed inches from his face was not a welcome site.

“Lucas, what the hell are you doing here?” Lt. McDowell asked. “And why didn’t you use the door like a normal person? I had you pegged for one of the bad guys.”

“Well, then I’m glad the academy teaches you to look before you shoot. Smart policy.” Lucas replied. “Do you have any back up?”

“No, most security teams are scattered throughout the ship. Secondary Shuttle has been quite, actually.”

“Buckle up, cause it’s going to get pretty loud in a minute. Something tells me we’re in for some visitors from the Griff. Take the high point on the tower and I’ll go behind the shuttle. Any one you don’t know comes in, they’re the reason we’ve got these things set to stun. Ready?” Lucas finished quickly, knowing time was of the essence. It had already taken him fifteen minutes to get here.

“Got it.” Lt. McDowell replied running up to the control tower in a hurry.

* * * * * Corridor outside SSB * * * * *

"Well, here we are Lucas." Alexa stated, perspiration from the climb up the turbo lift shaft gleaming off her forehead.

It was driving Lucifer insane. He wanted have this girl right here and now on the floor. She was so tamed and timid, innocent and unaware. He could break her in like no one else. Walking up to her, he made his mind to...

"Lt. Brandis, I thought you'd be on the bridge after the Red Alert?" Chief Clinton called out from down the corridor. Lucifer pulled himself together; there was business to attend to. "Yes, well a situation has occurred in main engineering. I need to take a shuttle out reinforce some of the outer hull's integrity shields." It was a stretch but the lie would have to do for now.

"I didn't hear of any trouble with the integrity shields. I'll have to clear the release of the runabout." The Shuttle Ops officer decided.

"Listen I don't have time for this." Lucifer pointed out.

"That's the only way I can clear it, Lieutenant." The Chief headed into the bay.

He never saw it coming. Lucifer pulled out the phaser and fired almost instantaniously. The highest setting available on a hand phaser vaporized the officer where he stood. A smoldering film of plasma marked the floor where he stood a second ago.

Alex froze in horror. How could Lucas do that. Without a second thought he had just destroyed a man... without a second thought he...

“Come here, Alexa, my sweet.” Lucifer stated, grabbing Alexa’s arm and dragging her into the bay in front of him. “I’ll need a midnight snack for the long ride.” He said, giving into his lust and licking her from neck to forehead.

Alexa could not understand. This was not the Lucas she knew and loved. Something had happened, and whoever this guy was... he was not Lucas. “Who are you?”

“Oh, so you’ve finally caught on.” Lucifer held her arm in a painful loop around her back, every whence of her pain turning him on. The sliding of the oversized doors hissing their way open followed. “Well, I’m not whoever this Lucas guy is, although from all accounts I hear he’s one sexy looking guy. But, no, my sweet, I am Zea Jonathan Lucifer Brandis, Holder of Alexa.” The way he finished was more than freighting; menacingly holding the phaser pointed to her breast.

Lucas saw Alexa coming through the bay door. Not noticing the pirate behind her, he walked up to her, his phaser rifle strapped behind him. “Alexa?” That was all he got out, before noticing the phaser at her breast. He instinctively hit the floor as the phaser turned on him and fired.

“HOLD YOUR FIRE!!!” Lucas called out to the tower, his palm out to Lt. McDowell from the floor.

This was something he hadn’t expected. But, his training had prepared him for it. In the Betazed Global Guard, there were many psychological tasks and ploys used to train the elite, anti-terrorist team that Lucas had headed so many years ago. One of the ploys was a hostage having control of a loved one. Some how Lucas thought the training paled in comparison. The softball size lump that managed to lodge itself in his through seemed to weigh heavily on him.

“LUCAS!” Alexa called out, grimacing from the grip, Lucifer had her in.

Lucas was too close to the situation. He had to pull back. Taking cover behind a run-about, he grabbed hold of his phaser rifle. ‘Okay, Lucas, what do you do when the love of your life is taken hostage by a murderer.’ He began to access the shuttle’s primary command codes, realigning each so that the engage warp drive command now served as a self-destruct sequence. All this he did out of instinct not thinking, merely doing. He was not sure if he had missed any code structured, but prayed he had not.

‘Well, you could stop talking to yourself.’ Lucifer stated telepathically. ‘It appears you have something I want.’

‘What might that be?’ Lucas replied the bay seeming deathly still and quite. He could sense the desperation Lucifer had to get off the ship and he knew that Lucifer could sense the desperation he had in wanting Alexa safe.

‘We both know. How about a fair exchange? The ship for the girl. You can both go on a live happily ever after. Even have some wild passionate sex! Gods know I’ve been thinking about it since I met her. I surprised you can stay away from her.’ Lucifer snively stated, turning to his hostage. “Really my sweet, wouldn’t you rather be with me. I’d never leave you out of my sight, not for all the latinum on Frocus three.” Again he licked her face, a vicarious replacement of what he really wanted to do to her.

Alexa was scared. She could not do anything, though. Lucifer held her tightly. “Luca...” She managed to say before Lucifer pushed her forward.

Lt. McDowell needed a few more feet to make a clear shot at the villain. The only thing was that Lucifer knew, just as well as Lucas did. There telepathic minds seemed to be scanning the room, constant and aware, in search of any opportunity.

Lucifer was inching his way forward, closer towards the run-about. Lucas tried to keep a good vantage point, close enough, but not too close. That was when McDowell lost his edge. Running out of the covered tower, he bolted for a good shooting position. Taking aim, he fired.

Missing Lucifer’s right ear by millimeters. He quickly decided to run for cover. Too late, Lucifer had dropped to the floor taking Alexa down with him. Taking aim, he fired, catching Lt. McDowell on the right side of his chest. On a lower setting, it would have just stunned him. But, instead the shot managed to kill him instantly. Lt. McDowell’s body lost it’s balance and he fell over the railing onto the deck of the shuttle bay with a thud.

Lucas acted immediately. With Lucifer’s attention lost, he ran up with almost lighting speed, kicking the phaser out of Lucifer’s hands.

“Alexa, get back.” Lucas ordered, throwing himself on top of Lucifer.

“Lucas, what’s going on!” She screamed running away, picking up the dropped phaser. Turning around, she could not get a clear shot at Lucifer, even if she knew which one of the two was Lucifer. Her mind raced trying to figure out what to do. “Lucas?”

Lucifer seized the moment, listen to Lucas’ mental response. He said it before Lucas. “Yes, Lexa get back! I don’t know what’s happening. But, he’s not me.”

“Don’t fall for it. Alexa, I’m Lucas. He’s just trying to trick you.” Lucas said, in desperation, realizing Alexa was poised to shoot him.

“Shoot Alexa, Lucifer’s got to be stopped!” Lucifer stated in an equally exasperated tone.

“You know you could realize you’re caught and just give yourself up.” Lucas said, lunging at Lucifer, who blocked and returned a blow to Lucas’ chin. Staggering backward, Lucas decided he would have to out smart himself to win this one.

“So, Lucifer.” Lucas started to say. “What’s your game?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing. Funny how when you can read someone’s mind, it’s easier to mimmic what they do and say.” Lucifer relished the play. He seemed to have replaced the evil glint in his eyes with a feverish notion of playing the part of Lucas. He was adamit to say the least.

Then, Lucas saw it first. A compressed phaser rifle just a few feet away from them both. Taking a running leap. Lucifer managed to get a loose grasp on the butt of the rifle. Lucas followed suite, landing roughly and harshly on top of Lucifer, forcing him to lose his hold on the rifle. Lucas knew that he was not going to win a grudge match with this bad guy. But, he could make it harder on him. More than anything, Lucas wanted Alexa safe. Without thinking, acting totally on instinct, Lucas sprang into action, kicking the phaser rifle further down the bay. Jumped up and bolted for Alexa.

“Lucas get back.” Alexa shouted, before firing blindly. Lucas dived for the floor sliding a few feet, knocking Alexa down to land directly on top of him. He quickly took hold of the phaser in her hand and fired back at Lucifer, who was forced to hit the deck in his pursuit of the rifle.

“Come on Alexa, we’ve got to take cover!” He said, lifting Alexa off of him. They ran behind the few cargo containers that littered the sides of the bay.

On the opposite side of the shuttle bay, Lucifer did the same, having successfully retrieved his weapon.

“You’re one damn good looking guy there Lucas. But, I am in way too much of a hurry to play around. So, if you don’t mind, could you hurry up and die!” Shooting out a volley of compressed phaser fire, Lucifer knew his time was running out. Sooner or later, Hoglip’s rag tag team of bungling loser criminals would be captured and sent back to Damnation Alley. Not Lucifer, he had better things to do that rot away in some hell hole that resembled his concentration camps. Ironic how you could wind up in the place you put others. He hated karma. “All I want is the shuttlecraft; give me what I want and I’ll go away.”

“You know what? I have a better deal. Why don’t you just give up or die.” Lucas retorted.

Lucifer had had enough. Firing at the cargo containers, he was going ballistic. Vaporizing what little Lucas and Alexa had as cover.

“We can’t win this Lucas. That’s a type II compression phaser rifle he’s got.” She seemed to have regained composure, realizing she was with Lucas. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

Lucas did not want to, but he had to agree. “There’s a jeffries tube junction, behind us.” He said, and set his phaser back to the job of cutting through the bulkhead. ‘If you can’t go around, go through.’ A senior cadet had told him at the Academy, he started to wonder just where Deiran was. “Plus, he’s got no where to go with the bay doors closed.”

The job complete, Alexa kicked down the now excess piece of bulkhead Lucas had cut out. She dived in, leading the way into the tube. Lucas followed suite just as a cargo container exploded, sending bits of ash and sparks behind him that singed his already torn and tattered uniform.

“Keep going Alexa, don’t look back!” Lucas yelled, as they continued down the corridor.

* * * * * Back in the Secondary Shuttle Bay * * * * *

Lucifer when down behind his cargo containers. The explosion came as a complete surprise, throwing him up against the wall and back on to the floor.

The smoke had barely started to dissipate when he got up off the ground, shaking the dust off. He had to get a move on. Security would no doubt be on their way to the bay after that explosion. He ran up to the runabout and got in. Powered up the impulse and warp drives.

“What’s this?” Lucifer asked himself, noticing an odd command code structure. “Sabotaging bastard!” Lucifer said. “But, you forget that you’ve meet your match.”

He charged the runabout’s phasers to blow his way out of the shuttle bay. He could not open the doors, but the runabout’s phasers sure could. The bay doors shattered like plastic as the phasers blew it to molecules. Rocketing out of the USS Galaxy, Lucifer made it past the warp nacelles, still in one piece. The Galaxy must still have had Hoglips to worry about.

“I am not going to get caught.” Lucifer demanded.

A small warp core breach ensued. From the hollow of space, the white hot light eliminated the void of space for several seconds before becoming as deathly dark as before.

Robert Brandis
ICQ # 15584849

"Wake Up"
by Lieutenant j.g. Darian McGee
Medical Doctor

~~~~Cargo Bay 2~~~~

Darian McGee was drifting in and out of sleep. His dreams were haunted with savage images, an exploding sickbay, dead littering all around him. He tossed and turned in his sleep, not wanting to see the horrible images that filtered into his dreams.

He awoke with a start, bolting up right in his bed, screaming a silent scream. Air escaped him, and he struggled to breath as he went into a mild shock. Instantly two nurses converged on him, holding him down and administering a hypo spray. Darian fell back down, and into his nightmares.

The same thing again. Except this time he saw himself doing the damage. It was horrible, his dreams spread out, but all having one common theme, Darian as a butcher of innocent lives.

His eyes fluttered open, and he breathed in a deep breath. He looked around at what was the temporary sickbay in Cargo Bay 2. And the thought hit him like a bolt of lightning, he was sick of all of this death, all of this destruction.

He didn't dwell on the thought much, but tucked it away in the back of his mind. Besides his friend Geoffry Harper was sitting by his bedside. The Civilian Doctor had been assigned to Darian's tent on Cardassia Prime. The two had been good friends ever since.

"Darian, it's good to see you're awake."

Darian's throat was dry as he replied, "I....What is the status..."

"Easy," Geoffry replied, laying a hand to restrain Darian as he tried to sit up. "You took quite a beating. Being presumed dead and all, almost seems like you came back from the dead."

Darian managed a smile at the joke. "Guess I look like I was dead too, huh?" Darian laughed, looking down at his tattered uniform.

"I think you'll be ok Darian, but your luckier than most."

Darian's slightly good mood disappeared. "Status of sickbay?" he asked.

Geoffry took a deep breath. "Sickbay is totally destroyed. Over a third of the medical staff injured or dead. The mirror universe counterparts did quite a bit of damage, but they've all been neutralized."

Darian nodded. "What's bothering you?"

Geoffry got a sad look on his face. "Your counterpart...he killed at least three people. That's confirmed, no telling how many he killed that can't be confirmed."

Darian took a deep breath. 'Three people' he thought to himself. 'How could his counterpart live with himself.'

Darian didn't want to hear anymore, and he asked Geoffry to go get him a glass of water. As his friend left his bedside, Darian considered what had happened over the last couple of days. At that very moment he came to a decision...

"Introductions again..."

Lt Tim O'Connell
Security

Lt(jg) Mike Palika
Chief Helmsman

Ens Brooke Ames MD
Medical officer

His eyes opened again. The pain was still there, intense and strong. Cutting through that was the light. His eyes squinted, that and he felt foolish, being ambushed like that, duped by a psycotic version of Brooke. He should have been on guard. Tim looked to his right searching for a familiar blonde haired vision. Instead nothing. He was alone.

"Brooke?" he croaked out.

Brooke hastened her steps towards Sickbay. She was hoping to be back in case Tim woke up. The walk back to Sickbay seemed so long. Finally, she arrived but it was too late. She saw Tim's eyes searching for her. She ran over to him, "Tim, you're awake. I'm sorry. I really wanted to be here when you woke up." She gave him a sweet, soft, and tender kiss.

Tim returned her kiss. His head was still sore and he looked around. No one was around to see him. He just accepted it and looked in her face, "so when do you want to get married Mrs O'Connell.?"

Brooke looked at him and smiled. This was an easy answer. "As soon as this whole mess can be cleared up, cleaned up and the dead are laid to rest. I don't want to be just your live in lover anymore. I've been made to realize that life could end in a second and I want to spend whatever time I have left with you as your wife." She had seen people die in her arms, people stabbed, shot, and almost crushed by falling bulkheads among other things.

Sure, she had seen one or two die in her line of work before Starfleet but not so brutally or while in her care. It was unsettling.

Tim reached up and touched her cheek then looked over to his right and saw a familiar figure in the biobed next to him. "Mike?" he asked, a confused expression on his face, "when did you get in sickbay?"

"That's a very good question." Mike replied, wincing as he propped himself up on one shoulder. "I blacked out around twenty five minutes after the initial storming of engineering, probably from blood loss. So figure out what time it is now, and you have your answer I suppose." Mike had been awake for nearly five minutes, the longest he had managed to stay conscious since crawling to the triage center in the cargo bays. He was glad to see his friend Tim alive and from the look of things, in good spirits. "So, this must be the lovely Doctor Ames that Tim can't say enough good things about." Said Mike with a broad grin. "A pleasure to finally meet you ma'am."

She gave him one of her famous smiles, "Well, he never mentioned you but still, it's a pleasure to meet you." T'prea left her in temporary charge and so she had to keep an eye on things.

"You were involved in the re-taking of Engineering?" asked Tim. "I thought that was a security operation?"

"Yeah, well." Said Mike with a bit of a shrug. "Not much for a pilot to do after the battle, especially when the Chief Engineer has locked out all of the flight control systems. "Couldn't very well let Casey grab all the glory, now could I? He laughed softly, but the laughter degenerated into a fit of coughs and a wave of dull pain. The triage teams had done a good job of knitting him back together, but some of the wounds had been deep and would take a while to heal completely. He noted the look of concern in the Doctor's eyes and smiled. "No worries, Doc. Compared to many of the crew, I got off light."

She looked over just in time to see another blanket being pulled over some poor soul's head. Neither Tim or Mike saw it. "You can say that again. Some of them are dead." She realized the tone she said that in. "I'm sorry, I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed right now. Excuse me." She kept a watchful eye on both of them while she helped out a patient in another bed near them.

Mike sympathized with the Doctor. It was bad enough that the medical staff had to deal with the seemingly endless stream of dead and wounded pouring into the makeshift sickbay, but to do so under the current conditions, with many of the doctors and nurses on the ship dead from the conflict with the Griffin, had to be especially trying. Hopefully, he'd get the chance to meet Tim's fiancée again under better circumstances.

"She looks more worn out than we do." Mike said to Tim.

"Yeah, she's taken the brunt of this, plus the baby,"

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Baby?" Hadn't those two just gotten engaged he wondered. Things sure moved quickly on starships!

Tim grinned, "I'm gonna be a father. She's expecting our first."

"Well congratulations!" Mike replied with a broad grin. "That's the first good news I've heard all day!" He was relatively new to the Galaxy and could easily count his friends on one hand. How many had survived the battle and the invasion? And what about his staff? How many had made it through? Mike felt a sudden overwhelming urge to get to the bridge. "Manaka! I'm just taking up valuable space here Tim. I should get back to work and leave the triage for those who really need it!"

Tim reached over and put his hand on Mike's shoulder, "Relax, you have internal injuries. Trust me Brooke wouldn't keep you here if you didn't need it."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Said Mike, not completely convinced. "Maybe another day would do me good." He stifled a yawn and rolled over onto his back. "I'd better try and get some sleep, before lying here awake and useless starts to drive me nuts!"

"It always drives me nuts..." Tim grinned then noticed his new friend falling fast asleep. He shook his head interesting person Mike, a real dichotomy.

"Puppy Luv"

Lt. J. Lucas Brandis, Zea Toa
Chief Operations Officer

Cadet Alexa Corrine Casey
Counselor

* * * * * Temporary Sick Bay * * * * *

"Well, it looks like you two are A.O.K. I'm surprised that you aren't more hurt than just a fractured rib and some plasma burns, Lucas. Especially after the mess you left in the Secondary Shuttle Bay." Doctor Ames smiled. "Come by for another check up in a month or two just for protocol's sake."

"Speak for yourself, Doc. I can still feel the burns." Lucas joked, rubbing the side of his leg where a 1st degree burn had been expertly removed.

"Well, that's a psychological post traumatic disorder. I'm sure Alexa can take care of that for you." Dr. Ames laughed, knowing the two love birds would no doubt be spending more time together.

"I'll definitely be seeing to his 'emotional' scars, Doctor. Thanks." Alexa beamed, looking at Lucas the entire time.

Dr. Ames knew she was out of the conversation before it started. "Well, that's it. Why don't you take Lucas to his quarters, Alexa. He'll be out of work for at least a day or two."

"Doc, come on, is that really necessary..." Lucas asked, now wanting to be bed ridden.

Looking over at Alexa, who by the look on her face, knew it was necessary, Dr. Ames replied. "Of course it's necessary, Lucas, that's why I'm the Doctor." She skidded away, a sly grin on her face.

"You know, something tells me you had something to do with this sudden medical leave." Lucas said, embracing his belle.

The shocked expression on her face was enough to make Lucas sure of it. "I would never, ever do such a thing Lieutenant." She said, her fingers dancing on Lucas broad shoulders.

"Well then, I suppose I'll just have to make due. However, I will require a nurse for this badly bruised shoulder." Lucas faked a deep pain in his left shoulder.

"Aw, well, I will have to take care of you then. After all, I would hate for that intro to medical sciences course at Star Fleet Academy to have gone to waist." She said leaning in for a kiss.

"Ah Hem..." Dr. Gakor broke in. "Could you two take this outside, the patients are complaining of nausea."

"Yes, ma'am." They said in unison, smiling as they walked out with a skip in their step.

Robert Brandis
ICQ # 15584849

"Visiting Hours"

Lt. Tim O'Connell
Ens. Roman O'Neil, MD

Roman returned to Sickbay, checking on patients as he went. He was slightly surprised to see Tim O'Connell in a biobed. He studied the vitals, then looked at the chart. "Cerebral hemorrhage? Lucky to be alive."

Tim smiled, "Ahh I've had worse headaches' after a night of bloodwine. A good thing it hit in this sickbay."

"Considering you were within a percentage point of either brain damage or death, you certainly have a morbid sense of humor." Roman ran a medical tricorder over Tim's skull.

"Comes from having a large family of cops. We all have a morbid sense of humor." He looked over, "Keep an eye on Brooke." He said seriously

"My turn for a morbid sense of humor. She'll get use to it. Death is a doctor's adversary and you have to deal with that. If you want, I can talk to her." Roman said, glancing over his tricorder.

"It's not the death I'm worried about it's the life." Tim said quietly.

Roman was confused. "You must still have a blocked artery because you're not making sense. Life is the problem?"

"No it makes perfect sense, the new life, the baby." Tim said still being purposefully cryptic.

Roman looked stunned for a moment then a smile began to spread across his face. "She is pregnant . . . You . . . you are the father?!"

Tim grinned and said with his usual smart ass self, "I would hope so or that could be a bad thing."

Realizing how he stated it, Roman laughed. "Yes, I can see how that would be a bad thing. Congratulations, you lucky bastard."

"Thanks," Tim grinned, "we just found out ourselves." He looked at the father and husband, "got any advice for me on this whole dad thing?"

"Patience, a whole hell of a lot of patience. Really there is no 'bible' on the topic but you'll find that it will eventually fit you like a glove or a very worn sock." Roman glanced at the next patient then returned his attention on the expected Dad. "You'll do find."

"Thanks." Tim smiled, "It's still sinking in.. I'm sure it will eventually soak through, right now I'm stunned."

"Have any experience with babies?" Inquired Roman with a mischievous grin.

"Well I'm a brother and an uncle, but not much." His eyes narrowed, "Shouldn't be too hard."

"Well, there's changing diapers, early mourning feedings, burping the child, and oh yes, get used to excessive crying. Then of course there are colicky babies . . . "

"Well then there's the first smile, the first steps, the first words. The good stuff."

Roman smirked. "Yes there are those things. Mikey is already eight, they grow up so quickly I almost expect to turn around and see him in the Academy already."

Tim smiled, "Yeah I saw my brother becoming a father, and the look in his eyes."

He then picked up a padd he had been doodling on, "check it out. Our honeymoon, a small rustic cabin, we're gonna be the only people around for the area."

Roman looked at the PADD. "You're a lucky man. Brooke is an exceptional woman."

"Thanks . . . " Tim grinned, "We're just lucky we finally got together."

"Do you plan to stay aboard the Galaxy after you're married?" The doctor took another PADD from a nurse, quickly looked it over then told her to give the patient 20cc of cordrazine.

"Yeah we do. We're in separate departments. It's a good place to raise a family."

"At least during times of peace. After being forced to abandon ship twice in my life, one wonders whether having my family share the dangers is prudent. On the other hand, I get to see them off duty, a real gift. Yeah, a paradox." Mused Roman.

Tim looked over at Roman, "that is a quandary now isn't it. But I don't want to be separated from her."

"I'm not trying to put ideas in your head. Brooke's Starfleet, you're Starfleet. I'm sure everything will be fine. Hell, they'll even give you a family size quarters, which feels like a suite compared to what we had at the Academy."

"Hey anything looks like a palace compared to academy cadet quarters. I think they designed them that way on purpose."

"You just got to remember to be focused on your job, regardless what's happening. I wanted to protect my family when the Griffin was firing rounds at us but I'm a doctor." Roman waved his hands to encompass Sickbay. "These people require my skills and there will be a time when you will face the test. It comes to every newly married officer or a new Dad: Duty or family. Be careful what you choose Lieutenant."

"Duty has to come first." Tim nodded, "but even during this mission I worried about Brooke."

"If you didn't worry, I'd have to check you for pointy ears and green blood. I was a lieutenant once myself. Had dreams of glory and all that bull. I gave it up when I shoved my fist down some alien's mouth for making moves on my wife. Duty or family. You're higher on the food chain than me but I don't envy you; I don't salute every single time anymore."

Tim chuckled, "and just so you know, I'd do the same thing if our situations were the same." He sat up slowly. "I hope I can get back to work soon."

"Well we doctors don't take kindly to another MD discharging our patients, so I'll just have to let your particular doctor do the evaluation. Have no worries, your wound has healed perfectly and I can't see why you won't be but you will have to take an easy. It was more than a bump on the head you know."

'Easy, me?" Tim had an amused expression on his face, "it'll be soon I hope. I have a wedding to plan."

"Considering how damaged prone you are, maybe you should forego the chapel and have it right here in Sickbay. Well how many departments can boast of having their very own hologram?" Roman said grinning.

"The EMH does a wedding." Tim laughed, "please state the nature of your matrimonial emergency."

Roman laughed. "You can look to Engineering for building those things. Sometimes I feel like the wagon maker most have felt with the invention of the automobile; a Doctor Dunsel." He added, referring to the old adage, Captain Dunsel, meaning someone no longer required or serving no function.

"I don't care what they say about EMH or LMH, a friendly live face is just what the doctor ordered." Tim voiced his opinions.

"From your mouth to SFC's ears." Roman was interrupted by the presence of Nurse Opel.

"Doctor, Ensign Bacher is regaining consciousness." She reported.

"Well Tim, duty beckons. Try not to mess up the sheets too much, after all you're just renting the space after all."

"Yea yea." Tim grinned, "go do the medical thing, I need to sleep anyway."

Roman followed Nurse Opel to his patient, leaving Tim to the tender mercies of Nurse Dawson as she checked his vitals, then transcribing them onto a PADD.

"Needing a Break"
by Ens, Brooke Ames, MD

Brooke was totally exhausted. She looked over at Tim and Mike, both of which had fallen asleep. She saw Dr. O'Neil and decided that she needed a break. T'prea had put her in charge and she had no idea when she would be back.

"Dr. O'Neil, T'prea put me in charge but I really need to get some fresh air. Would you cover for me?"

He nodded and Brooke left. She went to their quarters which fared very well considering the shape of the ship. She had a few bouts of nausea all day but this time, it was overwhelming. She ran to the restroom, just making it. She hadn't eaten for almost 10 hours which she knew wasn't good for the baby but the sound of food didn't agree with her right now. She tried to think of something else.

She prayed that the replicator was still on line but it wasn't. She kept some water somewhere in case of emergencies. A chair had fallen and she picked it up, trying to remember where she put it. Finally, she found it, went back, rinsed her mouth out and brushed her teeth. She longed for a glass of gingerale but at this point, water would do.

She sat on the floor in a corner of her quarters and put her head down between her knees, fighting the nausea and churning of her stomach. Thinking about the crewmember that died in her arms, tears rolled down her cheeks. She needed to release some pressure before she could carry on helping others. Thirty minutes passed and she was feeling a little better. As she got up, her legs felt a little shaky.

She went back to help out Dr.O'Neil, getting him off the hook of being in charge. She put back on a facade and walked in with a smile. She looked around for T'prea but she didn't see her. She spied Dr.O'Neil working on a burn patient and motioned to him that she was back. Tim was still asleep so she went around checking vitals and seeing who needed pain meds and such while fighting her own hell.

= = = = = = =
Lt. jg T-prea
ACMO
USS Galaxy
= = = = = = =

It felt so good to just be held for those few short minutes by Jake....even if there were children hanging on him and all around. Soon T-prea composed herself and Jake went on his way doing something he does best....making people feel good.

T-prea came out of the alcove she had been in for the past 2 hours working and did a scan of the makeshift sickbay.

She knew the medical staff was fatigued and needed rest....Hell so did she for that matter.

Seeing that the worse was now over and the only thing left to do was kep watch over who remained T-prea decided to relieve all the medical staff except for 2 nurses.

Approaching all the medical staff one by one she sent them back to their quarter's to eat, sleep and freshen up....assigning a rotating shift of every 8 hours till all recieved the necessary rest needed.

Most of the patients were alseep...including the children now....it was 2030 hours as she watched Jake fatigued as he was tuck the last of the children in as they fell asleep.

T-prea went over to him as he turned and she put her arms around him....gave him a tender kiss and sent him back to his quarter's as well....

"I want you to get something to eat and drink and get some sleep....oh....and Jake....." she said as he was walking away.... "I love you..." T-prea smiled.

"I love you too..." Jake said with a smile as well then turned and headed out the door.

T-prea went over to the two nurses whom she had chosen to remain on duty with herself....It had been about 14 hours of straight work, no nourishment, no rest and all three were feeling the ill effects of it...

T-prea explained to the nurses that they were to find a alcove, put up two cots and get some sleep....if they were needed they would bew awoken....But at least they were here.

The nurses left and T-prea tapped her combadge.....

"Triage to Bridge...." T-prea spoke.

"Bridge here" came a voice.....

"Sir....everything is now under control medically....all the wounded were either sent on their way or are here resting....And talking about resting....The medical staff is in desperate need of rest.... I have sent all but two nurses and myself back to their quarter's. That leaves only three of us here who also need sleep. The nurses are sleeping and I too need rest. Would it be possible for you to send someone who could monitor the patients while we rest....alerting us if there was a problem...?" T-prea asked her voice sounding hoarse and tired.

"Goodbyes"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price

The hydraulic sounds of the pressurized cargo bay doors opening was the only sound emanating from the hold that had been converted into a make shift morgue.

Captain Price soberly walked into the normally spacious hold, which was now crowded with the caskets of the dead the Galaxy had been collecting from throughout the ship and from the wreckage of the various Starships in the Eudamii asteroid field. Most of the sleek, black, torpedo-like caskets remained closed, with only the small index card sized 'toe tag' at the end of the casing identifying the remains that lay inside. Some caskets had no tag, or were scribbled with the initials TBD; "To be determined".

Lee made his way through the maze of hastily deposited caskets. They were spread out across the entire cargo hold floor. Lieutenant Commander Jamson had commented on the need to start stacking the caskets soon, if more bodies were recovered from the Sarek, Missouri and Lexington. Working his way through the hundreds of coffins, Captain Price believed it.

So many names of young, vibrant officers that he recognized. Many from the Galaxy, and still others from the rest of the ships that had been destroyed or badly damaged by the Butcher's rampage and quest for revenge. It saddened Lee to think of the huge waste of life that demented soul had caused. He had no regrets at seeing her killed before his very eyes.

When Lee found the casket he was looking for, he stopped walking and stood absolutely still. Before him was his lover's coffin. The tag stated "Yeoman Jamie York KIA". The Captain forced a swallow of his parched throat. Killed in action wasn't quite correct, but Starfleet protocol followed a strict set of guidelines in the classifications of death. "Murdered in cold blood" wasn't one of the standard codes prescribed by the Medical staff of a starship such as the Galaxy, but that is exactly what had happened to Jamie. She was brutally murdered right before Lee's very eyes. A cruel harsh stab at his sanity by the seductress of Evil herself.

Lee depressed the latch and opened the coffin after taking a long, calming breath. It didn't help. Upon seeing his still lover peacefully embracing death's eternal sleep, the Captain's eyes began to water. Lee let out a gentle sob as he looked at Jamie. Her eyes were closed and all tension and fear had drained from her face as he remembered last seeing her on the Engineering room floor. Her arms were laid across her chest inside the casket, in almost Egyptian fashion. The Captain reached for one of her hands and held it in his own. It felt cold and lifeless to the touch, which only made the Captain's sobbing that more intense.

"Why?!" Lee called out. "Why did you have to be taken from me?"

The Captain leaned nearer to Jamie's casket, and brushed the back of his hand across her gentle cheek. "Oh how I loved you Jamie York. You were the sunshine in my day. The reason I looked forward to tomorrow and every day after that. How can I go on knowing I can never hold you in my arms again? Never see you smile or hear you laugh, never comfort you when you are afraid or warm you when you are cold?"

Lee ran a finger across Jamie's forehead, brushing away a lock of her dark hair. He didn't even hear Counselor Dallas enter the hold, being too busy expressing his feelings and saying his goodbyes to miss York.

"Even in death you are the picture of beauty. An angel of kindness and passion." The Captain leant over and gave Jamie a tender kiss. His eyes closed so tightly, streams of tears flushed down his cheeks. "I will always love you my sweet. Sleep well my princess." Lee whispered tenderly.

Withdrawing from Jamie's casket, Lee stood erect, finally realizing Counselor Dallas was near by from the sounds of her hoverchair. Without looking away from the deceased Yeoman York, Lee called out, "Can I help you Counselor?"

Karyn was sad for the Captain's loss, and had overheard most of his private conversation with Jamie. She didn't make it a habit of eavesdropping, but in this case she couldn't help it.

"No sir." Counselor Dallas said in a quiet, compassionate voice. Then after a brief pause she added, "Though I might be able to help you sir. When you are ready."

Lee turned and looked at Karyn from in front of Jamie's casket. The Captain wasn't his usual strong commanding self. He looked tormented, sad and heart broken. His face was wet from his tears, and his eyes, his eyes held so much compassionate love for his dearly departed that Karyn was nearly moved to tears just looking at the General.

With a sob, Lee answered curtly, "Thank you Counselor. Maybe later on. . ." The Captain stated, returning his attentions to Jamie's body.

Karyn nodded, as she summed up all her professionalism to keep from sobbing herself for the Captain's loss. "Whenever you are ready Captain, I'll be available."

With that Lee could hear the Chief Counselor exit the cargo hold on her hoverchair, giving him time alone with Jamie.

Lee stared at the Yeoman's still face for a long time before speaking again. "I know I need to say goodbye,. . . but I can't seem to find the words. . ." the Captain admitted. "I will never forget you my love. You are my soul mate. You will always be a part of me here." Lee pointed to his own heart. "Goodbye Jamie York. Sleep well my love."

Slowly Captain Price closed Yeoman York's coffin for the final time. The seal activated with a slight hiss. Lee took a few steps backwards and partially sat against an adjoining casket and just sat there in the cargo hold, all alone, staring at the Yeoman's coffin. He'd said his goodbyes and now all that remained was the long road of healing that laid ahead. He knew that, but somehow if didn't make it any easier. Not any easier at all.

"Life Goes On"

Lt. Commander Karyn Dallas
Chief Counselor
USS Galaxy

***Karyn's Quarters***

Karyn had been lying in bed for almost two hours now, no longer trying to sleep but just trying to absorb it all. She felt bad about leaving the Cargo Bay so suddenly, but after the incident with the mirror Anna, it was a wonder she could focus at all. Her head was spinning with visions of all the wounded that had come before her and she was beginning to wonder whether she was going to be able to continue to serve on the Galaxy as both a nurse and a counselor. This constant exposure to pain and suffering was taking it out of her, and she was getting the feeling she was becoming numb to the entire situation.

Karyn wheeled on a thin line everyday. As a counselor, she had to understand the pain others felt, while maintaining a certain professional distance. As a nurse, it was the same thing, there was so much going on around her, to keep moving was a survival mechanism just as much as it was practical.

She needed information, the only thing that could keep her emotions in check was if she went back to work. It wasn't her time to grieve. If she thought about it, had it ever been her time? She got through times like these with a firm reminder to herself that she was needed, and that later she would allow herself to rid herself of the pain that had been hers to bear with other people.

In a matter of minutes, she had pulled on a fresh uniform and was heading out the door to the Bridge, the best place to get the latest. There were no messages sent to her terminal...probably Deiran's idea, not wanting to disturb her after the earlier incident with Alias and the hostages.

Stopping by sickbay she tranferred into her hoverchair, which was no longer needed now that getting power to Sickbay was no longer relevant since it was now a complete writeoff. She looked around, took it in, filed the images away and then headed toward the Bridge.

***

***Bridge, USS Galaxy***

The turbolift doors opened and Karyn emerged, making sure her reassuring calm was securely in place before exiting the lift. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot and there was some puffiness, not quite hiding the strain and fatigue she was feeling.

"Long time no see," she muttered, feeling as if it had been a lifetime since she poked her head up to see what was going on with the upper decks.

"Counselor, good to see you again." said Deiran, with no trace of his usual cheerfulness. The strain had obviously gotten to him too. "Glad you could join us."

"Me too." said Karyn somberly, making reference to the fact that they were still alive when so many others were not. "What's the latest?" A crewmen handed her a PADD.

"It's all there, including casualty reports. You probably could read it faster than I could tell you." Lower he said, "There's so many Kar."

Karyn silently nodded, reading over the names. She stopped when she came to one. "Yeoman York...my God...how?"

She really had no idea what all had happened, learning only the basics from her encounter with Alias and her short conversation with Deiran when they were in the thick of it.

Deiran filled her in as best he could. Straightening her shoulders, thinking it would help her to put her resolve in place. Karyn knew how much Lee cared for Jamie and from Deiran's description, her death had been quite brutal...and Lee was a witness. "Where is the Captain now, Commander?" Her sudden formality caught his attention, she had jumped straight to her work.

"He's out taking a walk, said he needed to say goodbye. He needs some time...we all do."

"I understand, I'll come back later, I should check in with Cargo Bay Two anyway...I left rather suddenly after--"

["Triage to Bridge...."] T-prea spoke.

["Bridge here."] came a voice.....

["Sir....everything is now under control medically....all the wounded were either sent on their way or are here resting....And talking about resting....The medical staff is in desperate need of rest....I have sent all but two nurses and myself back to their quarters. That leaves only three of us here who also need sleep. The nurses are sleeping and I too need rest. Would it be possible for you to send someone who could monitor the patients while we rest....alerting us if there was a problem...?"] T-prea asked her voice sounding hoarse and tired.

Karyn tapped her badge. ["I'm on my way, Doctor. It's your turn to lie down."]

Dr. T-Prea was surprised to hear from Karyn. All she had heard from Security was that she had run into some earlier trouble and had returned to her quarters. ["Great, I'll see you in a few."]

Karyn did a complete 360 and drove straight back up the ramp, stopping to say, "Let me know if you need me,"

"Will do."

***

***Cargo Bay***

Karyn was on her way to the Triage Center when she was alerted to the sound of a voice. Normally she probably wouldn't have been able to detect who it was, except that everything in the room was absolutely still. But this time, she recognized it. It was the Captain's voice, though it was filled with more emotion then she had ever heard him express before. She really wasn't trying to listen in on him, but she was concerned and felt compelled to offer her support.

When she entered the bay, the first thing that struck her was the actual number of dead. The sleek caskets were closed and lying side by side. It was overwhelming and Karyn was sure the image would be burned into her memory forever. When she found Lee, he was standing over Jamie's coffin, openly sobbing. It broke Karyn's heart to see such raw emotion and it was everything she could do to keep her eyes from watering, wanting at the same time to comfort him.

"Why?!" Lee called out. "Why did you have to be taken from me?"

The Captain leaned nearer to Jamie's casket, and brushed the back of his hand across her gentle cheek. "Oh how I loved you Jamie York. You were the sunshine in my day. The reason I looked forward to tomorrow and every day after that. How can I go on knowing I can never hold you in my arms again? Never see you smile or hear you laugh, never comfort you when you are afraid or warm you when you are cold?"

Lee ran a finger across Jamie's forehead, brushing away a lock of her dark hair. He didn't even hear Counselor Dallas enter the hold, being too busy expressing his feelings and saying his goodbyes to Miss York.

"Even in death you are the picture of beauty. An angel of kindness and passion." The Captain leant over and gave Jamie a tender kiss. His eyes closed so tightly, streams of tears flushed down his cheeks. "I will always love you my sweet. Sleep well my princess." Lee whispered tenderly.

Withdrawing from Jamie's casket, Lee stood erect, finally realizing Counselor Dallas was near by from the sounds of her hoverchair. Without looking away from the deceased Yeoman York, Lee called out, "Can I help you Counselor?"

Karyn was sad for the Captain's loss, and had overheard most of his private conversation with Jamie. She didn't make it a habit of eavesdropping, but in this case she couldn't help it.

"No sir." Counselor Dallas said in a quiet, compassionate voice. Then after a brief pause she added, "Though I might be able to help you sir. When you are ready."

Lee turned and looked at Karyn from in front of Jamie's casket. The Captain wasn't his usual strong commanding self. He looked tormented, sad and heart broken. His face was wet from his tears, and his eyes, his eyes held so much compassionate love for his dearly departed that Karyn was nearly moved to tears just looking at the General.

With a sob, Lee answered curtly, "Thank you Counselor. Maybe later on. . ." The Captain stated, returning his attentions to Jamie's body.

Karyn nodded, as she summed up all her professionalism to keep from sobbing herself for the Captain's loss. "Whenever you are ready Captain, I'll be available."

With that Lee could hear the Chief Counselor exit the cargo hold on her hoverchair, giving him time alone with Jamie.

Once out in the corridor, Karyn cleared her throat and let a few stray tears fall down her cheeks. "Nope, not numb... definitely not numb." said Karyn to no one in particular. Wiping away her tears, she headed toward Cargo Bay Two.

***

***Cargo Bay Two***

Karyn entered the Triage area and was again surprised at the stillness. All the patients were indeed sleeping, resting comfortably. She found Dr. T-Prea standing in the middle of the room looking at a PADD.

"I'm here to relieve you, Doctor."

T-Prea was startled to hear Karyn's voice, but she quickly recovered. "Hello, Counselor." Then she saw the puffiness of Karyn's eyes and asked, "Are you all right? I heard you were in trouble earlier."

Karyn placed a hand on T-Prea's forearm. "Occupational hazard. Really, this is what I have been training for. You'll actually be doing me a favor, you can never get enough OJT. Now, go get some rest and that's an order." She said with a smile.

"Promise me--"

"I'll notify you if there's any change."

T-Prea nodded and left to get some rest. Once again, Karyn was left alone in Triage.

OUTSIDE TRIAGE

JJ Kirk was doing what he did best when Jake took control of Triage, or that which didn't need a professional MD. He hated children, but Jake was as usual having a blast.

JJ sat in a corner persuing a padd of material noted by some officers but decidedly not for gentlemen. It was about Orion women and what they could do, and oh was it ever a fun read! Jake, of course, took one look at the padd, scratched his head, and wandered off. Naturally, he didn't get it.

Raesene was wandering down the corridors of the Galaxy, on his way back from his shift, when he decided to look into the children's area of the Galaxy. He knew that some had been injured, but he liked to see them anyways.

Arriving there, he noticed two figures he was not aware of before. Going up to the one reading some sort of magazine, he went up and harumphed softly.

"Yea?" Kirk was underwhelmed. "Jake over there has everything under control with the kiddies. Don't worry about them coming near me." JJ gave a slight leer that was meant as a smile, and 'kiddie' sounded like a filthy word. Kirk didn't like kids, that was clear.

Loud guffaws could be heard from the children's area, even the injured, no cries could be heard from them. Bad singing could also be heard. Jake couldn't carry a note in a bucket, a trait he was using to great effect on the kids.

One or two adults passed the pair, one trying to hold in a snicker. Laughter was the best medication, because Snicker had a very painful but healing phasor burn in a bandage.

"Well, he seems at home. You, however, look like a lazy lutin, who is more interested in how some women are clad than in your duties."

"Au piss, Jake has his idea of break time, I got mine. What's your bleedin' problem? You don't even know me!" Kirk put the padd face down.

Kirk would have stood up to confront the guy but that would have been problematic, as things were up allready.

More guffaws came from Jake's little gathering.

"I don't do well with kids." Kirk didn't like them, that was clear. "Jake is running an SRO show for the short set and has the whole med bay goin' so there ain't nothin' really to do." Kirk's english went downhill as he was angry at this,....

"I can see that. But they are the light of the Megaverse. Without them, we would descend into chaos and soon die off. As for knowing you, I can tell right away what you are. You are like some of the soldiers I knew in my previous existance. Worthless and good for nothing."

"Say what?" Kirk looked at the other with irritated curiosity. Your from -where-?"

The conversation was interupted when a makeshift nerf ball came flying past. It's last incarnation was a sergical glove but it now had a face and several surgical sponges inside, making it bounce. "Ah, excuse me," Jake grinned sheepishly as he cut into the discussion.

JJ gave the object a dirty look and handed it to Jake. Makeshift toys, JJ thought disgustedly.

"I'm from Aebrynnis. A world not of this universe. Or if it is, we have not found it. We have our own gods and monsters. Including the lutin, or elves. In their language, Sidhelien. I ended up here because of a rift in space and time. Like nothing you will ever experience. Hopefully. You would not like the feelings it causes."

Jake was a frail Human with soft, white hair and the most unusual blue eyes. He took in Raesene Hermedhie blankly, clearly not remembering him.

Olson looked rediculous with his hair wild and a silly toy in hand. He didn't look like a hero, nor did he carry himself like a hero. He left heroics to those with the strength and stamina to do it well, he was a clown.

Jake asked Kirk to help him a moment with something to heavy for him to lift. Kirk was stocky and strong. The latter thought he was out of Raesene Hermedhie's hearing range.

"Are you playing the dancing fool in there?" JJ muttered under his breath. "At least you got the squealing brats to shut up,"

"That's what clowns were called back in the middle ages." Jake clearly didn't hear the insult. "It's actually an art form, not too many people outside of show business know about the actual art. Kind of like tap dancing?"

Jake disapeared, and Kirk thought he'd be able to enjoy a long read. Olson never had a grain of sense, and Kirk could insult the blithe twit all he'd like.

Raesene winced, as he realized it was some sort of insult. "You know, bards were a good thing in our lives. Without them, we would go insane."

"He can't sing!" Kirk laughed. Bards were singers of some sort, he learned that in interspecies communications. Many felinoid races held bards in highest esteem, as in fact did many warriors. That part Kirk forgot!

The silliness of the group in triage seemed to grow with the number of patients. Adults jumped in with the hilarity of the kids. Jake managed to pull out the funny in every one, kids doing impersonations to effect, then adults.

Kirk asked and got permission to go to 10-4. Maybe he could loose this wierdo who talked like he was out of a bad fantacy novel.

Raesene dismissed him. After all, he couldn't cause too much trouble in 10-foreward. And it would get him away from the kids, which he seemed to dislike immensely.

Kirk walked down the corrodor, in a glum mood. That Jake seemed to find friends in the oddest places.

Jake sat down in 10-4, watching Electra move about with grace and ease. She was a beautiful specimin of Orion. She was a mystery too, because Kirk never heard about her having so much as a date. She hardly ever spoke to anyone outside of her job, but the key exeption to that was Jake Olson. Jake was in the intertainment business somewhat and they were talking.

=====
Craftycorner ICQ #36247063

= = = = = = =
Lt. jg T-prea
ACMO
USS Galaxy
= = = = = = =

T-prea was relieved to have found the chance to rest....as she climbed onto the makeshift cot....uncomfortable as it was it still felt good to T-prea's sore aching muscles....

As she layed down she pulled the blanket up around her and snuggled her head into the pillow....Before she knew it she was off into dream land.....except too tired to dream....

Only a short time had passed when she found herself awoken by none other then Jake's friend Kirk....

"What is it...is something wrong....is Jake alright....?" T-prea asked as she sat up...

Kirk was one who liked to do the uncanny...and there were things about Jake that really bothered him...Kirk wanted a woman...and after looking at the orion female pictures he was well beyond horney....Then going to 10-forward and seeing Jake speaking to one when he already had a woman of his own angered him...

"So Jake wants them all huh....well we will just see about that..." Kirk said to himself.

Turning his attention to T-prea....

"Oh I would say that Jake is doing just fine....seems your lover boy is having some fun of his own....after looking at this...." Kirk showed T-prea the same pictures he had been looking at earlier....

T-prea took one look and turned her head away...

"That is disgusting....Why do you men have to take pleasure in looking at this paraphenalia...." She inquired...

"Hey...I wasn't looking at it....it was YOUR boyfriend......and I guess he just wasn't satisfied with just looking at the pictures either...." He said in a low tone...

"And what do you mean by that....?" T-prea asked.

"Well you might as well see for yourself....You told him to go back to his quarter's and rest....well he went to 10-forward instead...I just saw him there...and guess who he is with....A rather beautiful Orion female....that looks like she is hot to trot...." Kirk said laughing to himself....Thinking chalk one up for Kirk...this will get Jake good.... Should be a lugh and a half to see Jake get himself out of this one....

T-prea was confused...the Jake she knew wouldn't do that to her...she loved him and he loved her.....But why would his friend come in here and say these things....?

"I don't understand...you call yourself his friend yet you rat on him....why would you do this....?" She wanted to know.

"Why...I think it is a crewl thing that he is doing to you....After all when you are with someone and say you love them you shouldn't be going around cheating on them....And I think you are a very special lady....and I just don't think it is fair to you...." Kirk told hewr lying through his teeth.

"T-prea arose from the cot....

"Computer......Locate Lt. jg Jake Olsen...." T-prea asked.

"Lt. jg Jake Olsen is in 10-forward." the computer resounded as if it were over and over in her ears....

"See...I told you....If I were you, I would take care of this situation right here and now..." Kirk said.

T-prea was tired...well past the point of being rational....her brain felt like mush...and all she knew was she had told Jake to get some rest...After all he was always complaining about being fatigued andn how his body was so frail....

And T-prea was always worring about him...and after all the long hours they had just put in this triage unit he needed rest...if not moreso then the others....

T-prea was hurt...and upset that he could find the time to be with this Orion female but not her...and not to get the rest he always complains he needed....

Kirk watched as T-prea let the counselor know where she would be if there was a problem and then headed out the door towards 10- forward...

Upon arrival she was hoping that everything was wrong...that when the doors swooshed open she would not see Jake anywhere...

But as she feared....there he sat....smiling and laughing...his hand on top of the Orion females one....

This was more then T-prea could stand....In her fatigued state of mind as well as physically she was in no way capable of dealing with all this...but she could not rest in peace knowing it either....

T-prea walked towards the pair sitting cosy at a corner table....

the Orion female saw her coming and didn't move a inch....Standing next to him all she could do was stare...then as she felt the tears begin to well in her eyes she spoke....

"I never want to see you again Jake Olsen...."

With that she quickly left leaving a shocked Jake at the table and a laughing Kirk at the bar watching the whole thing unfold...

T-prea sobbed as she made her way down the corridor to the turbolift....entering it alone she stood there a moment to try and compose herself....

After doing so she spoke were to go as she felt the lift start to move.....the doors opened and T-prea stepped out and entered the closest set of doors....Cargo Bay 2....Letting the Counselor know she had returned...and finding that everything was still quiet T-prea returned to her cot....pulled the blanket up and buried her tearful face in the pillow....

"Inner Longing And Heartfelt Loss"
USS GALAXY
by Commander Deiran Casey
and Captain Lee Price

It was now Beta shift and Deiran was going to take a break. He had been spending most of Alpha in the Big Chair as Lee was grieving for his love lost. Deiran had known what it was to lose someone special, someone that brightened your day and made the future a better place, full of hope and love. He wasn't sure, but Deiran may have been the closest friend Lee had right now, now that Jaime was gone.

Karyn hadn't known the Captain that long, not as long as Deiran, all of the senior staff was mostly new in the last several months. Deiran was the only constant person in Lee's life the last three years. He saw Lee as a father, a brother and a friend wrapped up in one man. He felt compelled to go to Lee and offer his support and friendship.

Casey wasn't na‹ve. He had experienced great personal loss and knew that no words could ease the pain Lee was feeling. There was nothing anyone could say to help the man, but Deiran could be there for his Captain and friend. He would always be there for the man, nothing would change that.

So, he asked the ranking officer on duty to take his place for about an hour and he went to find Lee.

There was this intense melancholy on the ship. Casey could cut it with a knife as he walked through the bowels of the vessel. It was like being in deaths living room. so many lives lost. Casey did all he could. He had long ago learned that one man can only do so much even if his heart is in the right place. Casey inwardly grieved for every life lost, he had been grieving far too much lately. But, as the XO he had to keep a stiff upper lip, appear to be the tower of strength. But, he knew that would not be the case with Lee. Fact was Jaime was his friend too. She had been on the ship before he joined as an Ensign. He remembered the first time they met.

The doors of the Cargo Bay opened and Casey walked in. There was no swagger to Casey's walk, there was not even an air of confidence. He was just Deiran Thomas Casey, friend. For once, Deiran would let down his guard, take off the mask and show the man before him the meaning of friendship.

Casey was standing next to Lee now, Lee was still staring down at the closed coffin of Jaime York.

"Hello Lee," Deiran began, he did not say Captain, he did not say sir. he was here as a friend and knew that calling him Lee would show the Captain why he was here. Lee didn't have to ask about the ship, and he knew that because of Casey using his first name, which he had never done before.

"Hello," the Captain replied.

"I wanted to speak with you Lee. I really don't have any fancy words, or poems, or even any grand advice or wisdom to give you. All I have to offer is my friendship and my support. In the last year, I have lost so many men and women who mean a lot to me. I lost my son as well. I am still not over that loss," Deiran paused, even as he said the sentence he got a lump in his throat.

"But Lee, it's not going to go away. You'll move on and by some miracle, or just sheer willpower you'll learn to get by the days. I still see my son's last breath, every ten seconds it seems. I won't stand here and be all rosy with you, Lee. Jaime was a great woman and a wonderful friend. I have never seen you glow and brighten except when you were with her or even speaking about her. I will miss her too. Please know that. She was my friend. So I am grieving as well. Grieving for all of these men and women who lost their lives in this. this.this crazed plot of revenge," Deiran wasn't taking this well. For the first time since he had known Lee Price, Deiran let his guard down and showed the man before him that Deiran Casey had a heart. That he was not indeed, made of ice and stone and all arrogance.

Deiran Casey had a heart, he had grown one over the years, given to him by the most beautiful, wonderful and sensuous lady he had ever known, his wife, and the most precious gift he could possibly imagine in life, his daughter Lara. It was strange for Deiran, but it was something he needed to show his Captain and friend. Only Karyn, Miran and Alexa had ever seen this side of the man.

"Thanks 'mate. I appreciate your concern." Lee managed to reply while staring at Jamie's now closed coffin. The shinny black finish on the torpedo shaped casket reflected the image of the two senior officers of the Galaxy in a surreal fashion. It only made the situation seem that more unreal to the Captain who was still struggling with his feelings of emptiness and pain.

Straightening in an attempt to snap himself out of his melancholy mood, the Captain inquired, "How is the recovery operation going Commander?"

Deiran nodded. He knew what it was like to try and immerse yourself in your daily work to try and forget. Lord knows he'd done it often enough on board the ship. It didn't help very much. . . but what little distraction it did offer was better than feeling sorry for yourself.

"Very well sir. We have recovered all of the escape pods from the Thomas Paine. She's badly damaged, but Captain Rixx insists she's space worthy enough to make it to Starbase 172. We also recovered a few pods from the Missouri. The Sarek, Potemkin and Griffin were lost with all hands except for those few that beamed over with the Butcher. Amazingly, Captain Andrews' Lexington made it through. She's badly damaged though. Almost as bad off as the 'Paine." Deiran explained.

Lee nodded. He looked numb, as if he was hearing the Commander's words, but they were barely registering in his mind as he stared at Jamie York's casket.

"Once we have finished with the recovery operation, have the ships set course for Starbase 172. We need to reestablish long range sub-space communications to let Starfleet know what has happened." the Captain explained in a passionless monotone.

"And then sir?" Deiran asked.

"Then we will head back to Earth. McKinley station most likely, as it's the only facility that is equipt to perform the structural repairs to a Galaxy class starship 'mate."

Commander Casey nodded. "I'll see to it sir. Take all the time you need. I have everything under control on the bridge." Deiran offered a warm, friendly smile.

"I know the Galaxy is in good 'ands Commander." The Captain stated.

Deiran nodded and turned to exit the cargo hold, when Lee called out, stopping him.

"Oh and Commander,. . . thanks 'mate."

"My pleasure Lee." Deiran smiled before exiting to leave the Captain alone to grieve for his lost loved one.

"Kolinahr"
Mr. Shtik
Science Officer

The Vulcan's quarters had always been spartan, but now it was even more so. Candlelight flickered on the dark barren walls and starlight fell on the solid sleeping pallet and storage chest that were the lone surviving pieces of furniture. The rest of the science officers living area had been stripped clear and soft matting was placed in the center of the room.

As the USS Galaxy went about its business of repairing and rebuilding; Mr. Shtik carried out his duties as usual. From repairs to the computer core to the completion of the runabout now assigned to the science department (it really should have had that tractor beam installed before this whole affair began), Shtik's activities kept him too busy for much interaction among his crew mates.

But when his duty shift was over, Shtik would always make a direct path to his quarters where he would remain until the start of his next shift. Sleep, meditation, and study became his sole functions once behind the door that separated him from everyone else. Shtik had been able to download the complete works of Surak as well as most of the exercises used by the Kolinahr masters. Although it wasn't the same as having a master lead him on his journey of complete logic, Shtik felt safer with his attempt to teach himself, no one needed to know how he had let himself go emotionally.

The darkness was broken by the sound of the door chime, which brought Shtik's dark face up from his deep meditation. With out getting up from his kneeling position, he verbally acknowledged the signal and allowed the door to open. He did not turn to look as he heard the footsteps enter.

"Hi, Sie. Mind if I come in?" the voice belonged to Doctor D'Tarna Bellen.

"What is the purpose of your presence?" Shtik droned.

"I…uh…" D'Tarna was momentarily stunned by the dry coldness that her former lover presented to her. She wandered around the kneeling Vulcan and tried to make eye contact. "Well, things have been kind of scary lately and I wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"I continue to function." Shtik rose and turned away from her, avoiding the contact she was attempting to initiate.

"That's a bit of a vague answer. What have you done to your quarters? Where's your Buster Keaton poster?"

"The residence accessories were not logical necessities. They were sentimental distractions that interfered with efficiency."

"Shtik, what are you doing?" D'Tarna finally grabbed his elbow.

"I am attempting to master the discipline of Kolinahr, a state of perfect logic." Shtik still refused to look at her.

"That doesn't sound like you? What happened to infinite diversity in infinite combinations?"

"Infinite diversity only occurs when each of us accepts our role within the combinations. As a Vulcan the pursuit of emotional frivolities does not fit within our area of expertise."

"Isn't that playing into stereotypes? It sounds to me like you're becoming a racist."

"Racism would imply an emotional motivation. I am shedding all emotion in the pursuit of logic."

"Since when did you become an extremist?"

"I am what I am."

"Popeye quotes. Now that sounds more like you." D'Tarna smiled.

"I apologize." Shtik mumbled in his monotone.

"Shtik, what's wrong?"

"There is nothing 'wrong.' Although it could be argued that the disruption of my meditation by your line of questioning is inhibiting the completion of my goal."

"Fine!" D'Tarna finally spat in irritation. "I thought that with half of the medical department dead or injured that just maybe you'd be at least a little bit worried about me."

"That was not my area of responsibility." Shtik droned. D'Tarna was stunned into a moment of silence.

"You bastard, just as I begin to think that maybe there's a chance for us to get back together, you turn into this inhuman prick. I wonder how I could have ever loved you." D'Tarna turned on her heal and stormed out the door.

Shtik stood silent for a long moment before he took a deep breath and tried to swallow past the small lump that had formed in his throat. He returned to his mat and began to repeat his mantra to himself.

"There is no emotion, only logic. There is no emotion, only logic. There is no emotion, only logic…"

GALAXY

=10-4=

Jake Olson glanced at Electra, "Excuse me, something's wrong with T-Prea." The Orion nodded and Jake moved off at a clip. She, as was every one else acquainted with Jake, knew the two were in love.

Jake moved as quickly as he could, following the computer's instructions on how to find T-Prea.

"T-Prea," Jake spoke softly, her ears were very sharp. She had a bee in her bonnet about something and she was over tired.

T-Prea looked up, staring at Jake. He had the gall to come after her. A slip of latinum was held and forgotten in his hand. The look of confusion was clear, and made her angrier. "What in HELL do YOU want Jake!"

"To ask you what was wrong. You accused me of things and left. You stated there was a reason you didn't wish to see me again. You looked at Electra as if she did something intolerable." Jake spoke reasonably but softly. It wasn't patronizing.

"You, you were holding her goddamn hand Jake!" T-Prea all but shouted, the tears running down her face. "You were holding that Orion woman's hand!"

"You do make contact when you exchange goods for latinum. I have been doing that for a very many years." Jake said openly. "Electra lost a close friend in the recent mess. She has memorial customs that involve a type of shell, I reconstructed it for her, as there wasn't a genuine one about. I don't know if it is specifically Orion or a custom of Electra's own. You saw her give me a strip of latinum and I held her hand a moment because she was extremely unhappy."

T-Prea digested this information. It sounded much more like the Jake she knew and it was logical knowing what he did to earn extra latinum as he didn't have wealthy family as did many of the others in his rank. He was also upfront and honest, telling her that in fact he was holding her hand, although not in a sexual fashion. Still,

"The magazine. What about the magazine Jake?" T-Prea sniffed. "All those green...Orion...in your magazine, then you go and..."

"My slugs are from Betazed. Not Orion. Orion wildlife is generally too dangerous to keep on Starships as is their fauna." Jake answered, looking utterly baffled. "You have never objected to them before, despite their green, slimy appearance. In fact, they are sitting in my quarters. You barely gave them a second glance."

"Women Jake, not slugs." T-Prea valiantly fought laughter. If his obtuseness was an act, it was award winning.

"Green women? Magazines involving green women? Electra's entry in Business Bazaar hasn't been published yet, and she's the only Orion, or green woman that I know." Jake was looking thoughtful. "Who told you I was reading magazines full of green women?"

"A -porno- magazine of green women, Orions doing the disgusting things to each other, then I see you with an Orion..."

"Kirk." Jake stated flatly. "He subscribes to something called Xeno Ecstasy. The women in there are actually Human spray painted green to look like Orion women to what end I am not sure. You can tell by the color green, as I use the same color to spray cultures to make them visible under microscope but he insists they are the genuine article. For some reason, Human women aren't 'wild' enough." Jake's candid, if scientific explanation of the magazine itself seemed strange. He made no secret about having seen such a magazine.

"I don't understand." T-Prea said flatly. "If it was his, why would he tell me it was yours? And you admit to talking to an Orion woman... I don't understand. He's your friend,"

Jake sat beside T-Prea, his sad expression kept her from pushing him away.

"JJ Kirk isn't my friend, he is the son of my friends. I was asked to keep an eye on him, something he resents because in fact I am younger than he is. His parents and I have gone back over 10 years and I consulted with them on the cruse line industry.

"Kirk sees me having 'everything'. He sees me do well in business and I am able to maintain long term relationships with a very wide range of friends. Kirk doesn't feel like he is the 'hero' and he desperately wants to be like the dashing Captain Kirk to whom he is distantly related."

"Why did you go to 10-4 instead of your quarters?" T-Prea was rapidly calming down.

"Dr. Ames caught me and told me to go eat something, she hit the roof cuz I am down to 107. My replicator's busted." Another answer that made perfect sense.

"Electra, there's nothing going on? She...those magazines,"

"You mention one of them you'll fry her eggs." Jake choked on a laugh. "Xeno Ecstasy is a pet peeve. JJ had a copy fall out of his duffle bag and the shit hit the fan.

"Electra had to face a lot of stereotyping because she's Orion and people see an Orion woman and think one thing only. She feels that magazines like that make the problem worse. JJ is on her list.

"Electra wants to be thought of as more than an exotic, well, sex creature. She like most people want to be thought of as more than what is 'stereotypical' of a specific species. Klingons want to be known as more than just brutes who think nothing of killing and death. Back in the early days of the Klingon/Federation alliance, there was a lot of 'labeling' of Klingons that way. Cardassians have problems being seen as out to kill you, arrogant and racist, you know the story, and how Door is not a good fit for that label. Orions came in much smaller numbers into the Federation sphere of people, so actual Orions are seen a lot less than their stereotype."

T-Prea looked at Jake for a long moment. Then, she took him in her arms and both, happy that the misunderstanding was cleared, fell asleep happily. He did anyway. She was left with much to think about, about Electra and stereotypes.

Lt.JG Jake Olson
Craftycorner ICQ #36247063

"The Ref, " part two

Lt. Commander Karyn Dallas, Chief Counselor
Lt. Neil Bolitho, Security Officer
Lt. Tim O'Connell, Security Officer
Lt. Elaine O'Hare, Security Officer
Lt. JG Franklin Stone, Security Officer
Ensign Dr. Brooke Ames, Medical Officer
USS Galaxy

***

***Counseling Conference Room, USS Galaxy***

Karyn looked at the faces that greeted her. For the most part, everyone looked as confused and frustrated as Karyn felt. The whirlwind that had brought them to this point seemed unreal, but as she looked at this angry confused group, it was all too real.

They sat at the round conference table, seemingly avoiding each other's gaze. Elaine and Frank sat next to each other, while across from them sat Tim and Brooke. Neil sat next to Brooke, while Karyn took her customary spot at the head of the table.

Clearing her throat and squaring her shoulders, she began, "I'm so happy you all could take time out of your busy schedules slamming each other to be here today." Everyone avoided her gaze. "Let me start off by saying, this is not going to be a major blame session. I realize there are a million issues that have caused the situation we have now...and we are going to have to talk openly about some of them, but the purpose of the meeting today is to figure out a way to work through these issues, so that all of you can learn to work together as professional Starfleet Officers. Because no matter how you feel about each other personally, you're expected to work beside each other as mature adults."

Mrs. Stone arched her eyebrows and snorted rather loudly. At the time, that was the furthest her comments would go. As for Frank he maintained his silence as well, though his mind was reeling with the events of the past little while. He followed his heart, as did Elaine, and the result had been...surprising to say the least.

Upon hearing Elaine's snort, Karyn turned to her and said, "I realize after your reaction just now Elaine that acting maturely may be difficult since you've been so out of practice...but do try your best, it's all I can ask." She held Elaine's gaze a moment longer. Karyn chastised herself for letting fly like that, but what was done was done and all she could do was do her best to stay objective now. Karyn was especially concerned about Neil and Elaine, as neither one seemed to know how to deal with the conflict, which almost certainly would be brought into future relationships. Neil and Elaine would have to attend couples counseling to mediate the custody issues and help to heal the unfinished issues between them.

She looked at each one in the eye. "I don't have to tell you that how well you get along with others is a major part of your crew evaluations and can seriously affect how well this ship performs in a crisis. With that said, I have been given full authority as Chief Counselor to do whatever is necessary to stop the pettiness between all of you...and if that means pulling you off duty, then that's what it means." Neil looked about to protest but thought better of it. "I don't want to do that, but nobody is getting special treatment because they can't work together. Now is the time to lay it all on the table...civilly. You've all proven you can push each other's buttons...I don't want that...talk to each other honestly with the respect that each of you demands. The minute this thing turns into a circus, all bets are off...and you can consider yourselves on hold until further notice."

"Neil, perhaps you'd like to start us off?" said Karyn patiently. This was going to be a long day.

Tim looked at the assembled group; he wanted to say something, but knowing he'd probably end up slugging Neil again so he kept his mouth shut.

Brooke on the other hand had no problem stating her opinions. She glared at Neil and gave Elaine the same glare. "Yeah Neil, why don't you start us off. You're good at starting things." Then she rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

Neil returned Brooke's glare but not before shifting uncomfortably in his seat at her words. Neil sneaked a glance at Karyn silently cursing her, and being extremely glad she wasn't an empath at the same time. 'He had been on the wrong side of Karyn Dallas before! Again because of Elaine!'

Bolitho turned to study the expectant faces around the table. He couldn't quite yet make eye contact with Elaine; Frank seemed to be sitting there his hands steepled in front of him bidding his time. Tim's glare was angry, they hadn't really resolved anything in their little altercation in the holodeck, other than to act like complete Neanderthals and try beat each other into a pulp. O'Connell punched like a mule, Neil's aching ribs bore testimony to that fact.

Tim's angry gaze was echoed by Brooke's as they all sat there expectantly waiting for Neil to 'start something'. Bolitho turned and looked at Elaine and Frank, seemingly studying them for a few minutes before doing the same with Tim and Brooke. Bolitho turned his emotionless eyes back to Karyn and spoke in a monotone voice. " I have nothing to say to any of them Karyn, they so obviously deserve each other!"

*Like pulling teeth!* thought Karyn to herself, though she couldn't really be surprised. If they survived this, which she was determined to do (even if she had to hog tie some of the group herself.) she was damn sure going to redeem some of the R and R she'd earned...just she and Michael. Time to lay it on the line...again.

"Perhaps no one heard me correctly. Let's pretend your future careers on the Galaxy are at stake here," Karyn slapped her palm to her forehead, as if remembering something. "Oh, wait, they are."

Franklin arched an eyebrow at that comment. He had been considering his future in the security department for some time now, ever since his stint at the tactical board of the USS London...perhaps this was a sign of sorts? Could he really work in the Security Department with all the upheaval his marriage to Elaine had caused?

The Chief Counselor continued by saying "It seems to me you and Tim had a lot to say to each other yesterday when you were slugging it out. Tell me...what was all the fuss...or was this some Neanderthal male bonding ritual I don't know about?"

Karyn looked to Tim and Neil for an explanation. Brook looked like she was going to say something, something about this topic made her uncomfortable but she was in no hurry to disclose what it was. "Really no explanation," Tim said, "we were simply ironing out a difference of opinion, he thought running a background check on my fiancee was a good thing I thought it was pretty damned stupid." He then shot a glare at Elaine, *No thanks to you* he thought.

Neil stared across at Tim openmouthed before clamping down his mouth shut, and shaking his head sadly. Bolitho had at least thought *that their little disagreement would remain between them and not become ship's gossip, and certainly not come to Karyn's ears!*

"Oh, don't look so shocked Neil, the minute ANY of you people decide to make complete asses of yourselves in front of God and everybody, is the millesecond I know about it...that's my job. It's not as if I wasn't watching you two since the whole mess began anyway. You know it amazes me that the people on this ship can have arguments and discuss their sex lives in one of the ship's corridors, and then have the nerve to say word one about privacy!" She looked at all of them, driving her point home as everyone there had been guilty of that at one time. Karyn continued, "But I digress," turning toward Brook, she asked a question.

"Brooke, do you have something to say?"

"Well, if you ask me, which no one has, I think this whole thing is stupid. It is a simple case of Mr. Jealous here, sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and I am stuck in the middle. As for Elaine here, I think she needs a shrink...big time. And that's my medical opinion."

Elaine lifted her head defiantly as to challenge the last statement made. "In my professional security opinion, you are a bitch." She stated it plainly, drawing attention as her derogatory comment split the air, causing anger to slowly rise from the people seated around the table.

Brooke looked Elaine straight in the eye, "First of all, you are far from ever being professional. You wouldn't know how to if your life depended on it. And as for me being a bitch, you know what they say...it takes one to know one and since we all know you wrote the book on it." Okay, Brooke new that she was being childish but Elaine was being just as childish...if not more. Brooke's body language was saying, "give me a reason to kick your butt Elaine" and she would if she could get away with it without a court-martial..

Karyn listened to the venom between Brook and Elaine, realizing that as low as the tactics were, at least they were getting to the bottom of it. Choosing her words carefully, she asked in a voice so quiet and even you would think she was contemplating the meaning of life, "Are you two quite finished?" Elaine was about to send back another sarcastic retort but knew better than to cross her former CO when she got like that. The two just nodded.

Karyn looked at Brook. "First of all, I am giving you a chance to speak now...and you're just as much a guilty party in this as everyone else...that happened the minute you started slinging your own mud, so I'd appreciate it if you'd skip using cheap tactics. As for your medical opinion, I'd like to see the genuine medical evidence you used to come up with your 'professional diagnosis' because unless you're qualified and have done a thorough and complete psych eval on Ms. Stone, I'd refrain from volunteering information on things you know absolutely nothing about and aren't prepared to maturely support! And that goes for all of you!"

Tim thought about saying something in defense of Brooke, but he shut up, he was getting rather sick of this silliness, actually he was here because he wanted to help his friend, no matter how pig headed he was.

Franklin sighed and closed his eyes as he rubbed his forehead.

He loved Elaine with all his heart...he just wished she had a bit more tact in these situations. Frank was quickly coming to the conclusion that he was the most stable person here.

"The Ref," part three

Lt. Commander Karyn Dallas, Chief Counselor
Lt. Neil Bolitho, Security Officer
Lt. Tim O'Connell, Security Officer
Lt. Elaine O'Hare, Security Officer
Lt. JG Franklin Stone, Security Officer
Ensign Dr. Brooke Ames, Medical Officer
USS Galaxy

***

Karyn listened to the back and forth between Neil and Tim, clearly getting nowhere with this approach. "It seems that both of you have a different version of reality. "Neil, since I know you're so eager to get this over with and I don't ever want to be accused of not getting everyone a chance to speak, why don't you take us through things, starting from the very beginning. If any of you have something to add, please wait until Neil is finished to do so." instructed Karyn, feeling very much like a kindergarten teacher.

Brooke, as usual, just had to put another two cents worth. "I don't know why Neil should start. He wouldn't know the true facts even if they bit him in the ass." She put emphasis on "ass" while looking straight at Neil.

Karyn rolled her eyes at Brook, *Yep, this is kindergarten all right.* Rising to the occasion, Karyn retorted in voice she used for children, "Now, now Brook honey, we all have to wait our turn to speak. It's part of being a big girl. If you're good, Karyn may let you finger paint later."

Brooke was furious. She hated to be talked down to. "Screw you Counselor. I thought that there was still something called freedom of speech."

Karyn leveled her gaze at Brook. "On the contrary, Doctor, everything anyone says or does comes with a price and results in some type of reaction based on the information other people provide. Nothing is ever really free, that's why most people choose their words carefully and think before they speak, something that is difficult to understand given the situation. I apologize for patronizing you, I was simply playing opposite the role you insist on portraying." Karyn turned her attention to Neil who readily reacted to Brook's comment.

"Tough!" Growled Neil matching Brooke's stare, before noticing Tim's knuckles going white clenching the top off the table, obviously not too impressed with Neil's indifference to Brooke.

"Relax O'Connell!" Smiled Neil quite falsely. "Your gonna break the table?"

"OK where to start, umm " Neil sat back shifting his frame in the chair until he was comfortable, giving a wry smile to everyone seated around the table. He then stared at the ceiling for a few seconds getting the facts straight in his head. Neil kept them wating deliberately for a further few seconds before letting out a large sigh. "I suppose Elaine and I have our little temper tantrums." Stated Neil pausing slightly and turning to look at Karyn. "Unfortunately as Karyn has so accurately pointed out we know how to push one another's buttons."

Elaine brought her hand up and covered her mouth, suppressing a smile. She did indeed know his buttons, both emotionally and physically with the time they had spent together. There comes a time in any relationship where someone knows the person so well, they know what stings and hurts the most, and Elaine had refrained from using those weapons until a time ever arose where she would have to draw out the big phaser rifles in order to defend herself.

Neil gave a small smile aimed at Elaine before clearing his throat and continuing."However I strongly believe that both Elaine and I can work out our problems without...." Neil emphasized loudly the last word "...other people's interference, no matter how well their intentions are!"

"Where the hell have you been Neil? Or have you forgotten the shouting match you two had in Ten-Foreward a few weeks ago? And let's not forget the drunken duet you and Tim performed for the audience in Ten Fore before that. If any of you knew how to handle this, we wouldn't be here now."

Brooke just rolled her eyes, crossing her arms again and sighing. At Neil's statement, O'Hare leaned over and kissed Stone passionately on the mouth, then proceeded to look over to Bolitho and widen her eyes in a teasing manner. Franklin didn't mind the kiss...far from it actually. His low temperature level was starting to rise, and he didn't regret Elaine's show of affection.

*Go ahead, Elaine, pour salt into the wound.* thought Karyn. If you didn't love someone fine, but at least have the decency to respect the other's feelings by not rubbing your new relationship in the ex's face. Didn't Elaine think Neil had a right to be angry and hurt? Karyn wasn't sure Elaine would have reacted any differently if their positions were reversed. As a matter of fact, Elaine had gotten drunk once herself...admittedly she knew it wasn't the best way to react, so why was she coming down hard on him now?

"Decimation"
By Lieutenant JG Mikala Pailaka

***Cargo Bay 2, Triage Unit***

Perhaps it was the absence of sound that finally brought Mike out of his slumber. For the first time in many hours, the alert klaxons were silent, the bulkheads were not protesting, and the remaining wounded had been sedated. He gingerly pushed himself up to a sitting position and looked around. To his right, Tim was still asleep, recovering from his own injuries. Row after row of patients filled the vast cargo bay. Some had no doubt been rescued from the other ships in the fleet, but many were his comrades from the Galaxy. Thankfully, the dead had been moved to a different location, so as not to further haunt the living.

There was a sense of exhaustion and gloom permeating the bay. Even the doctors, the few that were not asleep themselves, moved around like tired automatons. Across from him, he saw Counselor Dallas speaking softly to one of the wounded, who was covered by an emergency blanket. The form under the blanket ended abruptly, just below the patient's knees. Mike turned away and took a deep breath. He'd seen death before, he'd killed more than once in the last twenty four hours and seen others die around him. But the deathly pall of the triage was simply too much for him to take. He slowly rose to his feet, pleased to see that he could stand and walk without pitching over. Good, he told himself. If he could walk, then he could leave.

He looked around for his belongings. His uniform, slashed and blood soaked, had long since been discarded. He was currently dressed in a pair of light cotton boxers and a loose fitting gown. Next to his bedding, on a PAD containing his medical records, he found what he was looking for... His comm badge. He palmed it in his hand, took a quick look around to make certain no one was paying attention, and then made his way out to the corridor.

He immediately felt a wave of relief after exiting the cargo bay. The clean, uniform, generic ship corridor was a welcome site. He did his best not to think about the blood trails leading to the cargo bay doors. Which one of them had been his? He shook off such notions and made his way to the turbolift.

Power had been restored to the lifts, saving him the trouble of having to climb multiple decks to his quarters, something that would have surely landed him back in sickbay. The ship felt nearly deserted in the wake of the battle. Most officers were either helping with the wounded, amongst the wounded, or were sleeping off their exhaustion. A handful of two-man security teams patrolled the decks, eyeing everyone they met with suspicion, paranoid that one or more of the mirror universe pirates had slipped though the cracks.

The mirror universe! Mike had read about it, but to actually encounter living breathing people from the other side! Mike thanked the gods that his own doppelganger had not appeared amongst the murderous lot. He liked to imagine that his own mirror counterpart was cut from different cloth than the ones encountered on the Galaxy.

Back in his quarters, Mike quickly changed into a clean duty uniform. He felt numerous stabs of pain below the skin where his wounds had been recently mended. He'd have to take it easy for a while and begin a regimen of physical therapy as soon as he could. Assuming there was still a gymnasium to work out in, he reminded himself. The gym was on the same deck as sickbay, and sickbay had taken a pounding.

While he might not have been ready to hit the weights, he was definitely ready to get back to work. And the more the better. He wanted to push the events of the last days as far from his mind as he could until he was ready to deal with it fully. "Let's see who's manning the helm in my absence." He said, strolling over to his computer console. "Computer. Please list the active roster for the Flight Control department, including each individuals current status."

"No!" Mike said as his eyes went wide. He took a faltering step backwards and grabbed the edge of his desk for support. His department had been decimated! Maxwell and Archer, his two newest officers, were dead! Archer had only been a kid for god's sake! Lieutenant Arisa was critically wounded. Loomis, Wolcott, Okuda... All injured and in triage. Even the new shuttle pilot, Warrant Officer Fox, had been wounded. He noticed his own name on the department casualty list. There was nearly no one remaining! He had been promoted to Chief, just in time to see his department destroyed!

He sat down on the edge of his bed and cradled his head in his hands. He hadn't even had the time to write up their first performance evaluations. Now instead, he'd be writing letters to the families. He took a deep breath and tapped his comm badge. "Pailaka to helm. Who's up there right now?"

[Sir, it's me, Ensign Kolrami.] came a muted response.

"Emilia, thank god!" he exclaimed, happy to find at least one of his officers up and about. "Are you alright?"

[Yes sir] she replied wearily though the comm badge. [Sir, the rest of us, when the attack came...]

"I know, Ensign." Said Mike. "There will be time to grieve soon enough. How long have you been up there?"

[Sixteen hours sir.] The Zakdorn replied. Mike could hear the strain in her voice. She was hanging on, but just barely.

"I'll be right on up to relieve you." Said Mike. Just hang in for a few more minutes."

[But sir, I was told your injuries...]

"Are minor." Mike lied. "I'm healthy enough to sit in the chair and fly the ship around."

[Aye sir] came the reply. [And sir... Good to hear you are alive.]

"You too, Ensign." Said Mike. "You too." He closed the connection and forced himself to stand. He felt numb inside as he made his way up to the bridge. As he stepped out of the turbolift, he nodded quietly to Commander Casey, who seemed lost in thoughts of his own. The XO glanced his way and nodded in return. The two of them had been shoulder to shoulder when they stormed engineering. Both had faced death yet again, and managed to survive. But Mike knew that the impact for Casey must have been even worse. Mike was new to the Galaxy. The Commander had been on board since he was an ensign. They were not only his responsibility, but his family as well.

Mike walked over the helm station and laid his hand gently on Ensign Kolrami's shoulder. "Take a break, Emilia. We'll meet up in a few hours in 10-Forward and talk things over. We have a memorial service to plan, and I'd appreciate your help. But first, get some sleep, as much as you like. You're relieved until you feel rested enough to return."

"Aye sir." Kolrami replied gratefully as she rose from the chair for the first time in nearly a day.

Mike took her place and reconfigured the console to his personal specifications. He quickly checked the mission logs. They were en route to Starbase 172, after which they would be heading to Earth Station McKinley for repairs. A cakewalk of a trip, from a flight control standpoint... As long as nothing else unforeseen happened.

"As if it could get any worse!" Mike mused. His staff was dead, wounded or exhausted. Flight Control would need to be rebuilt and retrained from the ground up. How could it get any worse? It was then that he thought of Viara. With a trembling hand, he brought up the casualty list for the operations department. What little color remained in his weary face drained away as he read the results.

"Aloha No!" he quietly. "Not her as well!" Mike switched off the list and leaned back in his chair. He felt very old and very tired. He stared out at the main view screen, at the stars set against the blackness, and thought of all the names and faces he would never see again.

*** ***

Lieutenant JG Mikala Pailaka
Chief Helmsman, USS Galaxy
AKA
David Friedland
ICQ# 5805168

"The Shape of Things"
LtCmdr. Alex Shepherd
ACSciO, USS GALAXY

"McKinley Station"

Alex glanced over the PADDS that cluttered his desk in the main science lab. Most were on the needed repairs caused by the doppelgangers from the Mirror Universe. Alex, Like most of the crew had heard rumors of the Mirror universe, but nothing had ever been relae\sed other trhan short security briefings from SI and SFC. Alex had only witnessed the final remains of the crew's conterparts and had wondered if he too, had a "double" on the other side.

He flexed his his mechanical hand as he stepped through the door to his quarters. His quarters, like a majority of this deck, had escaped with only minor damage. A few minuts of straightening odds and ends and his quarters were back to normal.

"Cocoa, Hot. Double dark." Ordered Alex as he stood in front of his replicator. Retriveing the steaming cup, he turned to move to his desk.

"Its about time you came home." Stated the large Bolian that stood in the middle of the room "I must say I was a little concerned."

Alex grinned. The First Contact Hologram was enjoying his new programs. Alex had recently released the the ships, cultural database for use by the program and since he had been greeted by a female bajoran, a horta, a klingon and his least favorite, a borg combat drone. Atleast, the Bolian wore a Starfleet uniform.

"Sorry. Been a little busy, you know, sabotuers, doppelgangers..Etc.etc." Added Alex, nonchalantly.

Alex glanced out of the corner of his eye as he watched the Large Bolian did an almost human "hummph."

"Besides, I gave you all of the ship's cultural database to play with. I doubt you were bored."

"Yes, but how would you have liked it if your mother and father stopped in the middle of your creation, hmm?" added the FCH.

"If you know my parents, you wouldn't ask that." grinned Alex.

The FCH shrugged. "Well I do need to run, I have the whole Orion fashion archives to assimilate. Will we be dining together tonight?

Alex smirked. He and the hologram had begun to chat during dinner and as such it had became a welcome break of his tedious life and after the past several days, it was desperately needed.

"0700?" asked Alex.

"Perfect!" gleamed the Hologram as he shimmered out of the room.

Alex spun back to his desk before the shrill beep of the ship's computer demande his attention.

=/\= Incoming secure message=/\= signalled the generic voice of Starfleet

"From who?"

=/\=Unknown. Unable to decrypt sender ID. Do you wish to receive the message? =/\=

"Yes. On screen." Ordered Alex as he turned the viewer.

The face on the screen was one that Alex hadn't seen in several years, much less talked to for any length of time, and now to have him nonchalantly force him in to his new assignemnt. Alex could feel the anger beginning to well up in him, just like last time.

The aged human looked very tired, the Federation Seal and tailored suit did little to modify his look. The old man coughed hashly and then regained his composure; his eyes carried what looked like the weight of a hundred lifetimes.

"Hello Ambassador." Stated Alex a little too sharply

"Hello," answered the Ambassador, pausing slightly before continuing, "Son."

***To be continued***

"Are we home yet?"

Ens Roman O'Neil, MD

Roman returned to his quarters. He had been on his feet so long he had no concept of time. All he knew was that he needed a much needed break.

It was late when he walked in. Angie, however was doing her martial arts routine; she knew so many techniques that he no longer could tell them apart.

She suddenly stopped in mid stroke. "The war over?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "If you mean we beat the bad guys, yes. Is Mikey sleeping?"

"Yes, been asleep for several hours now. Were you expecting to wait up for you at 22:30 hours?" There was an edginess to her voice.

"I'm going to take a shower." Roman said as he slipped into their bedroom. Angie watched until he disappeared from sight, then returned to her routine.

After 15 minutes, he returned, wrapped in a robe. She was doing stretching exercises and he found himself watching her movements. He knew that the past few days had been hectic and that the months on Cardassia had not been Angie's first choice. She wasn't as charitable as he and at one time used to ride him on his career: from CMO of the Sutherland to junior MD, a set back. She knew he had wanted his own Sickbay and when he finally got it, that he was in seventh heaven. Though he struck the alien leader who was making passes at her, it had been his down fall.

She was startled when she saw him. "Roman, are you happy here?"

"What? Where did that come from? A Galaxy class starship is a virtual palace. Captain Price seems to be a rather competent CO, saved us again.."

"But Dr. Gakor is CMO."

She said it, brought his resentments to the surface. "By now you would have been a lieutenant commander and knowing you, would be studying for the commander's exam. You can fool everyone else Roman but I know you."

He was getting angry as if Admiral Sanderson himself was standing there, stripping him of rank and position, blamed for a diplomatic fiasco that the Federation had never recovered from. Price had given him the chance to return to the real world, leave the starbase the inquiry board had sent him and start over.

As a junior officer, he had no view of the stars, something he missed. He would look out at them at marvel how huge the universe really was. He needed to see the stars. "I'm going to Ten-Forward."

"Roman . . . " "I'm fine. You're right I was once ambitious, maybe I still am but not like it was. I'll never have that back so I'm learning to fit in with younger, ambitious ensigns and tell them the errors of their ways."

"Bull." She went over to the replicator and ordered a glass of cold water.

"Tim O'Connell is getting married to Brooke Ames. They're expecting."

She smiled. "That's great."

"Well.." Roman slipped back into the bedroom, slipped on a fresh uniform, he rarely was out of it, something about being a doctor 24 hours a day.

She met him at the bedroom door, kissing him deeply. It took him by surprise, dropping his jacket in the process. He never made it to Ten-Forward that evening . . .

"Da"
Lt. JG Franklin Stone
Lt. Elaine Stone

Elaine moaned as she cradled her injured hand across her chest. Laying on the couch of her and Franklin's quarters, she turned her head slightly and took in the rest of the room. The newlyweds had hardly settled into the place before the events of the past few days landed them both in sickbay. She still couldn't believe that she had met her mirror twin face to face...

Franklin quietly wandered into the living area, cradling Gillian in his arms. With Elaine's injuries being so severe, Frank had taken over the brunt of the care for his stepdaughter. His own injuries had healed quickly, with the worst effects being a slight dizziness from the lingering radiation poisoning. The doctors in sickbay had assured him that it would pass within the next day or so.

As Franklin moved across the room to the empty rocking chair, Gillian cooed and aimed for his nose. Her fascination with Frank's face had never failed to amuse Stone, and both he and Elaine shared many a laugh over it. Elaine sighed contentedly at the scene...it was quiet and peaceful. It was home.

The room was quiet, the only sound being Gillian's babbling. From out of nowhere, Gillian looked Franklin in the eye and, in total baby innocence, spoke.

"Da" she said. The word hung in the air. Franklin blinked and looked over towards Elaine.

"Did you hear that?" he asked in awe.

She arched her eyebrows and smiled. She couldn't help but let a small chuckle rise into the air as she observed his surprised expression. "Yeap. She seems to agree on who her true "da" is."

Turning her look from her husband to the floor, she sighed. The work appeared endless, ever since Gillian had arrived. Gone was the "grown up" look of the living quarters, covered by baby blankets and bottles. Things of value were put up high, even though Gilly couldn't even walk yet, replaced with multicolored toys of various sizes and noises. Elaine was content with the new mess. She preferred her and Frank's place to look lived in. Gone also were the intelligent programs, replaced with one's of a child's choosing. Elaine swore, she knew ever word to every kids song ever thought of, and Gilly wasn't even a year old yet.

Franklin gently placed his stepdaughter down on the floor, sitting her up on her favorite blanket. The burly security officer followed her down to kneel on his hands and knees next to Gillian. He looked her in the eye and grinned. "Come on honey...say it again."

The sight of Frank's massive body all hunched down on the floor next to Gillian's tiny frame was amusing, to say the least. Elaine hoped that the room's sensors was picking it up...she would just *have* to get a holo-copy of this picture! She turned on her side to better observe the interaction.

Gillian flapped her hands in the air and brought them down again in a very definite baby way, clearly saying "Da" as she did so.

Franklin laughed and sat up on his knees. His face was almost glowing with the excitement. "She said it again!" he claimed triumphantly. The show of emotion caught Elaine slightly off guard...she knew her husband pretty well, and knew he did indeed have emotions, but she also knew of his constant battle to control them. Ever since the battle in the shuttlebay, she had noticed his iron discipline waning somewhat.

"Yes, dear." She stated with a soft smile.

Meanwhile, Gillian being the O'Hare that she was, had busied herself attempting to grasp her favorite rattle. The rattle had been given to her by her biological father, and it was quite noisy when she was in one of her energetic moods. The toy was rather heavy, silver plated with her name engraved on the side with her birthdate. The amusing part was, the rattle resembled a Bat'leth with dull edges. Elaine had laughed the first time she saw it, and just shook her head.

Gilly herself had grown quite a bit in the last few months. Being a premmy had taken it's toll on her. She was small for her age, but still developmentally appeared to be right on the mark so far. Her hair was definitely red, and previously curly. Headbands had been a daily adornment for her, practically since the day that she was born. Her green eyes, large and innocent, could melt the heart of any cold captain. Her personality was aggressive at times, due largely to the fact of the gene pool in which she swam in before she was born.

Elaine looked past Franklin for a moment, taking in the view of her daughter. Upon seeing the back of "Da's" head, and not having his full attention solely on her, an interesting expression crossed her face. Elaine knew that look well, the look of envy. She had seen it develop whenever little Gilly was not getting paid attention to. Pursing her lips, the mother watched the daughter with interest. Elaine smiled when she thought of what she'd do if Frank wasn't paying attention to her and she had a rattle in her possession.

Shifting her position again to get a good view of the event that was about to take place, Elaine opened her mouth to warn her husband, but then clamped it shut quickly as she viewed her daughter about to make her first move.

Her pudgy little soft hand drew back with the rattle, a short ways from the back of her head. In one fluid, very O'Hare move, Gilly flung the rattle at her target. "Da, da, da, da, da."

Hearing his official name, Frank turned around just in time to get kissed by the rattle in the middle of his forehead.

Shaking her head, she covered her mouth with her hand. "Nice strategy Gilly." Elaine giggled.

Gillian blinked innocently twice at Frank as the rattle hit it's mark. Upon impact, a big gummy grin crossed the little red head's face. "Da!"

Franklin sighed and smirked at Gillian. "Looks like I have some competition for my marksmanship trophies."

"Come on Da, she just wants to play." Elaine eased herself up into a sitting position on the couch. The pain killers had helped, but the stasis bandage around her hand and begun to get annoying. "Besides, the way you're acting lately, I thought you'd enjoy goofing around."

Franklin turned, his smile still visible through the confusion on his face. "The way I've been acting? What do you mean love?"

"It's like you lost your Vulcan edge. You appear to be getting more and more emotional. You're worse then I am when...well, you know."

Franklin smirked as he moved himself back into the rocker. "As I keep reminding people, I'm not Vulcan. I'm not even Vulcanoid...I admit the radiation damage may have made my discipline a little lax, but I just need to get back into my routine of meditation. With all that has happened..." Frank's voice trailed off, his face growing serious.

"Yes, I know. Sometimes I wonder if Starfleet is involving us in some weird sort of experiment. Let's put em on a Starship and see how long it takes until they crack. Sort of a moving asylum. I can name a few crewmembers that can definitely meet the "nutty" requirements. And no, I'm not naming them. Who knows who's watching us as we speak...right now." Her eyes grew wide in a teasing manner.

Growing serious for a moment, she sighed. "So what exactly did happen after I zoned out? I mean between you two. I wish I would have seen both of you side by side, it would have been like a weird fantasy come true. All I remember was getting kicked in the ribs by evil wench woman. Geez, I thought I was bad. That woman was worse then me on PMS."

Elaine's attempt at humor didn't lighten Frank's mood much. He had refused to speak about those events, other than what he had described in the security reports. Still, he knew that this conversation was going to come up...best to get it done and over with.

Taking a deep breath, Franklin started speaking, describing the events that happened just a few short days ago in the Galaxy's shuttlebay. How he had awoken in sickbay in time to see his wife leaving. He still didn't know what had made him follow her, but he wasn't surprised by it. As his Mar-Do masters had taught him back home, sometimes the mind picks up on the subtle cues of danger that the conscious part of us miss.

He had followed Elaine to the shuttlebay, but not quickly enough to stop his mirror twin from injuring his wife. While he had a memory of the events that followed, he also felt strangely disconnected from them. As if Franklin had been watching his body from a distance. The words of his Mar-Do master rang through his ears again, cautioning him to the dangers of his people loosing their discipline...and the chaos that could result from that. The blood of Khan Singh still ran through his people's veins, and his discipline was the only thing keeping the madness of the genetically enhanced at bay. The meeting with his mirror twin only served to bring that to light in a very graphic way. Frank shuddered at the thought of becoming like that...

Frank shook his head as he continued his description. "It was sheer luck that I was able to stand toe to toe with my twin...I was weaken from the radiation, and somehow he seemed even more powerful than I expected him to be. Maybe his Mar Beta Prime has a heavier gravity then mine...anyway, as we fought we kept getting close to the cargo transporter. I knew I wasn't going to be able to beat him in a stand up fight. So, I ordered the computer to activate the transporter...and tossed him into the beam. It scattered his molecules into space...I killed him."

"Oh." She stated silently. The room got quiet, all except for the cooing of their daughter.

"Um, how did you know where I was at?"

Franklin shrugged, turning his gaze to his step daughter. "I can't really answer that...I simply don't know. I just knew that I needed to be near you. It's not the first time that I've....." His voice trailed as he smiled softly at daughter.

This time, Elaine shrugged. She didn't have the energy to push the subject, not at this particular date in time.

Glancing over at him, she held a perplexed look. "Where did my evil twin go? And did she try and grope you again?"

Franklin grinned. "You really don't remember do you?"

"Nope, did you suck her out an airlock?"

"No, not quite. You don't remember her going after you when she saw her Franklin killed?"

"Uh, not really. I kind of was in a fair amount of pain at the time dearest." She stated rather sarcastically.

Franklin chuckled. "Not in enough pain to keep you from almost taking her head off with a hydrospanner. Does the phrase 'I don't like you either.' ring a bell?"

Lifting her head, she held her gaze up at the ceiling, trying to recall. A minute slipped past, then a small evil grin lit up the corners of her mouth. "Oh.....wait a minute...." Nodding her head affirmatively up and down, the grin widened. "Yep, yeah, I do remember now."

Nodding, Franklin finished off the story. "You knocked her out completely. Security showed up shortly after and dragged her away. Apparently there was several other mirror twins already in the brig."

Standing up slowly from the couch, she went over and sat by her daughter. Sitting down, she tasseled her daughters hair. "Da." Gilly spoke as she kept her line of vision on Franklin.

"Uh, no. I'm mom. Anyway dear daughter, a word of advice. When attempting to injure your evil twin by using a hydrospanner, remember which end of the instrument is the sharpest."

Gillian just went on studying Franklin, ignoring her mother's soothing voice. Shaking her head, Elaine spoke. "One track mind, just like your father....."

"Holodeck Games"
By Ensign Peter Lockhart

"So is this going to get us very dirty then?" Ensign Mulich asked.

"No" Peter lied. "Not at all." Mark just looked at him suspiciously.

The two officers headed through the corridors of the Galaxy, getting the occasional odd look. The yellow and orange T-shirts and shorts they were wearing did look odd (and clashed badly). Peter carried a football under his arm (or a soccerball as he'd had to explain to Mulich). Both carried a pair of football boots in their left hand.

"So, go over this offside rule again." Mulich asked, still not fully understanding it.

"Well, it's relatively simple. If a player from the attacking team passes into the oppositions half to a friendly player, that player must not be ahead of any opposing player, excluding the goalkeeper." Peter said quickly.

"In English!" Mark said.

"Okay, well think of it like this...." Peter started.

**** Five minutes later ****

The pair arrived outside holodeck 4. They'd both booked it for a full 2 hours, and Peter started the programme loading.

"Okay, can you tell me now?" Mark asked. "Who are we? When are we? Where are we?"

"The who is easy. You're Barry Blackman, Sutton United left attacking midfielder. I'm Richard Skelley, Sutton United central defender. As to when, well, 3pm on Saturday 7th January, 1989. And where? Well, The Boro Sports Ground, Sutton!"

Mark took a look at his shirt. "I've never heard of Sutton United. Who the hell are we playing? And who designed such an appalling kit?"

"We're playing Coventry City." Peter said nonchalantly.

"Programme ready." the computer said.

"So, how good are Sutton United really? And how good are Coventry City?" Mark asked, suspiciously.

"Sutton United are very poor. No, in fact, they're worse than that. They're so bad, that calling them a football team requires a stretch of the imagination. A very long stretch." Peter said, smiling. "And Coventry City are a superb team. They're presently in the top division."

"So if we're so bad, why are we in the same division as them?" Mark asked.

"We're not. This is the FA Cup. The English have a special football tournament. A knockout competition with every club, good and bad, competing in it every year. That's why bad can play good." Peter explained.

"So we're going to be battered?" Mark asked. "Who won this historically?"

"We'll be battered, but historically, Sutton United won 2 goals to 1. So we've got to at least equal that!" Peter said, as he opened the holodeck doors and stepped inside. The opposition team in all sky blue, where ready, looking like they were going to kick the stuffing out of the two starfleet officers. "Ready?" said Peter jogging to the centre circle.

"No." Mark called back. "But do I get a choice?" He said, running to catch up.

*** 105 minutes later ***

Two mud caked figures emerged from holodeck 4. "We only lost 6 - 1!" said one. "That's amazing! We were great! When can we do it again?"

"Soon Mark. Next time, we'll do the 2337 match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nuneaton Borough." said the other figure.

"Albrecht to Ensign Lockhart" suddenly came over the comm. system.

"Lockhart here." Peter said, not liking the tone of the voice he heard.

"I want to see you in my office now Ensign." Albrecht said.

"Uhhh. I'm little tied up at the moment." Peter replied.

"No getting away from this one Ensign. My office, five minutes." he said.

"Yes sir." Peter said and the comm. channel closed. "Looks like Albrecht is going to get mud all his nice clean floor. And you know what? I don't care."

Mark looked at him. "Shouldn't you get clean first?"

"No time. You heard the 'Commander. If he wants to interrupt my leisure time, he can pay the price with a muddy carpet."

"And he'll probably make you clean it." Mark replied. "With a toothbrush."

Peter just let out a loud, "HA", threw the ball to Mulich and headed for the nearest turbolift. Albrecht was in for a surprise.

"The Ref, " part four

Lt. Commander Karyn Dallas, Chief Counselor
Lt. Neil Bolitho, Security Officer
Lt. Tim O'Connell, Security Officer
Lt. Elaine O'Hare, Security Officer
Lt. JG Franklin Stone, Security Officer
Ensign Dr. Brooke Ames, Medical Officer
USS Galaxy

***

Neil looked away and gritted his teeth refusing to rise to Elaine's little theatrics. Karyn felt for Neil, how was he supposed to get through this if she refused to let him go?

Brooke put her hand over her mouth, loudly saying what she was thinking. "I think I'm gonna' be sick." She looks at Tim and whispers, "Good thing I'm not Neil. If I was, I'd tell Laural and Hardy over there were to go."

"This is exactly my point," said Karyn, giving a sigh of relief. "you're not Neil or Elaine or Frank. No one here knows anything about what it's like in the other's shoes! Neil interfered when he shouldn't have with the background check because of his distrust of women, which by the way is understandable...given what had just happened...though Tim had a right to be angry. Tim would promise to hate anyone who hurt his best friend and defend him like a bear defending her cubs no matter who it was! In your efforts to defend your own friends and loved ones, Gillian included, no one stopped to take the place of the other...even for a moment."

Tim watched Elaine and Frank make complete idiots of themselves by making out in the middle of the counseling office, plus he saw the look in Neil's eyes, it hurt him and he couldn't believe how petty and immature Elaine was being. But he decided to shut up, just wanting to get over this.

Bolitho took in a deep breath and turned to look at Tim. "As for Tim I merely don't want him to go through the same thing that Brooke forced him to go through before! Yeah, yeah he claims he loves her and it won't happen. But I'm sitting here in front of you, living proof that it does happen....and no before you jump to conclusions I'm not blaming Elaine or Frank in any way!"

"Oh, thank you, you royal Klingon Ambassador. My life would not go on without knowing that you don't blame me in the least. Thank you!!! Thank you so very much!" Playing her little drama act to the hilt, she removed a Kleenex from her pocket and wiped her dry eyes and she sniffed loudly. Glancing over at Frank, she sniffed once more. "Honey, isn't it wonderful that Neil doesn't blame us?" Drawing her face into a false very emotional frown, she blinked her large eyes. "Thank you kind sir." This time, the venom was apparent as she leaned back in her seat.

Franklin chuckled openly, leaning in a bit closer to his wife and gently nudging her in the ribs. He gave her a wink and settled back in his seat.

Sending a glare that would dent the deflector toward Elaine was all it took to convey Karyn's disappointment. Karyn and Elaine shared a look that said it all. Karyn was very good at getting her message across without speech...somehow it always stung more. It was one that said 'I knew better to expect more from you, but still, I was hoping...'

Brooke clapped her hands, "Bravo, bravo, very good acting Elaine. I guess you've had a lot of practice. It's a shame that our Counselor here doesn't give out trophies."

Neil smiled inwardly 'For once he and Brooke actually agreed on something'.

"If we could all stop our Emmy winning performances now and get back to the here and now...I don't like dementia clients," snapped Karyn wryly.

"Fine Elaine what do you want to hear? That I won't be happy until I hold your cold lifeless heart in my hands?" Snapped Neil." Oh wait a minute I forget ...you don't have one, so you don't have a clue what its like to have it wringed out for you!"

"Why don't you tell her how you really feel, Neil?" asked Karyn sarcastically, for the moment lightening the mood but at the same time urging him to continue.

Neil took in a deep breath struggling to remain in control of his temper. "Maybe I did go too far, and for that I'm prepared to apologize. But I still think I am right in making a total 'Ass'... Bolitho switched his level gaze to Brooke for a second before looking back to Karyn and Tim..."out of myself than seeing Tim shot down in flames again by you!" Neil ended his little impassioned speech pointing at Brooke.

"Point at me again and I'll make sure you never use it again!" She didn't like his tone whatsoever and Elaine and Franklin was just being total asses. "For your information Neil, Tim and me both made mistakes in our relationship in the past but that was then, this is now. I'm very committed to him. I am not planning now or in the future to leave him. I believe that any problems we may have, we can work it out because that is how much love we have for each other...true, unadulterated love." She takes Tim's hand and gives it a squeeze, then looks over at Elaine, her voice and body language softening. "Like I said, I'm committed to him...for better or for worse, till death we do part." She looked at Tim with tear filled eyes and smiled at him, mouthing the words, "I love you."

Tim gently squeezed her hand back and smiled knowing how she felt because he felt the same way. He mouthed "I love you" back and smiled again.

"The Ref, " part five

Lt. Commander Karyn Dallas, Chief Counselor
Lt. Neil Bolitho, Security Officer
Lt. Tim O'Connell, Security Officer
Lt. Elaine O'Hare, Security Officer
Lt. JG Franklin Stone, Security Officer
Ensign Dr. Brooke Ames, Medical Officer
USS Galaxy

***

Elaine gagged, expressing her true emotions once more. The show in one word was pathetic.

Ignoring the semantics, Karyn asked Neil, "Neil, do you have reason to believe Brook is going to leave Tim? Do you know something your not telling us...and before you answer me, consider I'm losing patience as fast as a breached warpcore loses containment." she warned cautiously.

Neil swiveled in his chair to face Karyn a wry grin on his face. "Almost sounds like your ready to get join us in this 'Catfight' Karyn." Neil caught the warning look from Karyn and rasied his hand defensively. "No Karyn, Brooke hasn't done anything ...yet."

"And now, you want to avoid the rush by making allegations....even if you have no proof? You're a Security Officer, what happened to innoocent until proven guity?"

"I operate on hunches, and intuition...let's just say I have a hunch." said Neil.

Brooke noticed Elaine's reaction, "What's wrong Elaine, hate the fact that me and Tim have something that you will never have with Franklin?"

"Here's what's confusing the hell out of me." stated Karyn slowly, "forgetting the fact that no one knows the whole story besides Neil and Elaine and the fact that any of you didn't know when to leave the hell enough alone, why is it so hard to believe that two people like Frank and Elaine can't love each other like you and Brooke? I mean, if I remember correctly, no one to include Neil, was happy when you and Brooke got back together...some even questioned how much you loved him, and what did you say to them? Brook?"

"Well first of all, the only person that has ever doubted my love for Tim is Neil. Everyone else thinks it's great...our families included. So I really can't answer that."

"What did you say Tim?" asked Karyn.

"I say people need to understand that yes we made mistakes in the past and Neil knows that. But things change, I want this to work, I know Brooke does too." Tim sighed and looked at Elaine and Frank, "I guess people can find love, I did."

Neil watched what he considered was a superb acting performance from Brooke. Tear filled eyes, clutching at Tim's hand, whispering sweet little nothings. Neil shook his head catching Karyn's attention, where he merely shrugged helplessly at her, before adding quite sarcastically. "What male can remain angry at that?"

"Bottom line guys is this: You're wasting your time if you think hating each other is going to solve anything. The only people you're hurting are yourselves. I don't pretend to understand everything that someone does or says all the time, but I do know that once we start blaming everyone else for our problems, we end up caring too much about what's going on with others and lose sight of the important things going on in our own lives. People are going to going on with their lives and relationships no matter what anyone wants."

Neil stood up suddenly pushing his chair back and leaning on the table. "I guess we're all finished then, Tim goes off and lives happily in fairy land with Brooke. Elaine and Frank go...where ever they go ...'To hell was the unfinished thought!' ....and me...well I guess I'm outta here!"

"No doubt to spend your salary on the Alpha quadrants prostitutes and the finest Klingon blood wine your meagly earnings could afford. Neil, I'd never thought I'd see you wallow in defeat. Act like a Klingon for once man." O'Hare kept her gaze hard at Bolitho.

"What do you care?" Growled Bolitho back at O'Hare returning her stare. "What I do in my spare time is my business! Not yours or anyone's elses for that matter" Said Bolitho scanning the rooms occupants.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "That's right Neil, leave. Just because you can't stand the heat, you want to take off. Why can't you be happy for your supposedly best friend and me?" She could see from his expression, he wasn't going to budge. She stands up as well.

"Hello and Greetings" (JP)
by Ensign K'Alin Aldrea Noras and Lt.jg Jake Olson

JJ Kirk was laughing at the upset T-Prea and idiotic Jake going after her in true lovesick fashion. Electra gave JJ a filthy look. She knew JJ had done or said something.

The newcomer walked in shortly after T-Prea left, and saw a very beautiful Orion woman glaring at a generically handsome Human male who was gleefully smirking about something.

K'Alin raised her Vulcan eyebrows, showing that she wasn't very impressed with the visible portion of the situation. Sensing that a practical joke was obviously involved, she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the level of maturity (or lack thereof) of the human who was obviously responsible. Shaking her head at the occurrence and allowing those involved to work it out for themselves, she approached the bar, trying to shake her first impression of ten-forward from her mind. Her mouth began to perk into a small smile as she looked around for the barman. K'Alin held a certain mysterious and hidden feature that left her rather eye-catching, so it wasn't long before someone approached her and asked what she wanted.

"Vulcan tea, hot, please," she answered, nodding in gratitude.

The tea was prepared quickly and brought to her by a young barman, who she smiled and conspicuously winked at in thanks. Holding the small cup in her hand and blowing gently at the tea to cool it slightly, she took the opportunity to have a small look around ten-forward, hoping that her second impression would be better than her first.

The sharp Vulcan ears heard a clatter and pornographic noises as the Human put on a headset and took in a PADD.

JJ Kirk was simply absorbed in the filth he was reading. He hoped that it couldn't be seen by others. It was set for 'eyes-only' but he didn't realize that Vulcans can see past the 'static' that kept others from 'seeing' private material.

In this case, it was a pair of women, made up to look like a Vulcan and an Orion in an interesting tangle. As his back was to the bar, K'Alin got a beautiful view of the PADD.

Electra herself discreetly checked on the locations of Jake and T-Prea. Together. Seemed that Jake managed to put a reality check on whatever was bothering her. Had Electra had a view of JJ's reading PADD, she would have hit the roof as it was as stereotypical as one could get!

JJ turned and glanced at the two women at the bar. He gave a classic Kirk smile, turned off his PADD, and approached.

"Hi, my name's Kirk, JJ Kirk." Kirk introduced himself with all the charm he could muster. He noted that perhaps this Vulcan wasn't strictly traditional.

K'Alin raised her eyebrow at Kirk, obviously not impressed with the famous Captain's distant relative. She cast a look downward at the PADD he held in his hand, then at him with a look of superiority and slight slyness.

"Ensign, if you believe that you have any chance of getting as far with me as the characters in your current reading have ventured, I can tell you now that the mathematical probability is seemingly nonexistent."

Taking the last sip of her tea, she stepped down from the barstool and nodded triumphantly at Kirk as his mouth dropped to the floor. "Good day, Ensign."

Walking with a slight flutter in her step, K'Alin walked into the corridor outside ten-forward, smiling slightly as the door closed in Kirk's face.

Her lips curved into an inconspicuous grin as her aggressive Klingon spirit danced in her eyes. "I think I'm going to like this place," she thought slyly to herself.

"That BITCH! How in HELL did she..." JJ muttered.

Electra started to giggle. "Shut up!" JJ snapped at her. JJ was really pissed, that woman now was on his personal list of people that he was going to FRY the shit out of!

Ens. JJ Kirk followed the woman out the door and down the hall, and ran into Lt.jg Jake Olson in a junction of the hall. Olson looked at JJ, then at this apparent Vulcan that managed to raise JJ's personal ire. Lt.jg T-Prea stood behind Olson, staring at JJ in a manner that if looks could kill...

K'Alin just realized that she was followed. She saw a very angry Human, one concerned Human, and a very pissed partly Vulcan woman.

"JJ, what's going on here?" Jake Olson asked quietly. He knew that T-Prea was this side of a very big blow, and despite his own anger, his negotiation instincts were stronger. He had been in business negotiations far longer than he had been an adult. Olson stood, thin, frail, hands behind his back. He glanced at the other Vulcan woman politely, allowing her into the discussion should she desire.

K'Alin was somewhat glad that Olson and T-Prea were there to keep Kirk occupied. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with him. She was glad that he didn't outrank her; that way, she couldn't get charged with insubordination if she insulted him. With that thought, she entered a nearby empty turbolift, turning toward the doors after stepping in and watching them close behind her.

"Deck two," she said, in a rather pleasant tone. One thing in particular that she admired about the computer system aboard Federation ships was that its "ears" were always open. It also certainly didn't lack common sense. "Unlike some recent acquaintances," she thought silently to herself.

Realizing that she'd been standing there for nearly a minute, she stood up straight and fixed her uniform, attempting to look professional and match her voice to that manner. "Deck Two."

The turbolift sprang to life as it followed her command. Her ride was brief, and the turbolift opened right in front of her quarters. She felt lucky to get quarters so close to transportation. It was her experience that, in life, some things just fell perfectly in front of her, and she was thankful when they did.

Not being much of a procrastinator when it came to getting from one place to another, K'Alin entered her quarters quickly. Grabbing a nearby PADD on her night table, a mischievous smile crossed her face as she recorded a message to Kirk, "thanking" him for his generous welcome...

To: Ensign JJ Kirk From: Ensign K'Alin Aldrea Noras Subject: Suggestion From our recent encounter in ten-forward, I've hypothesized that you might have neglected to pay attention in Xenology at Starfleet Academy when the unit on Vulcans was taught. You may want to go over that data in the ship database. Your attempts at welcoming me to the ship are appreciated to an extent that could not be explained in words. Ensign K'Alin Aldrea Noras

Sending the message, Noras lay on her bed with a smile to relax until her first duty shift...

"T-Prea, would you excuse us please, we have a few things to discuss: regards, conduct, and protocol." Jake said calmly, leaving the irony plainly heard. Jake had to get Kirk away from T-Prea before she blew up in the Human's face.

"What was your idea for telling T-Prea that magazine was mine?" Jake asked calmly once they were tucked in a lounge. "I'm certain you knew her reaction to it."

Jake waited calmly for an answer that didn't come. "JJ, one of these days you are going to get the wrong person's ire in your direction and none of your high profile rich contacts are going to get you out."

"That a threat Jake?" JJ stared down Olson's delicate frame.

"I wish that was all it is," was the weird answer.

"Return to Normal"
By: Lt/Cmd Ryak Sullax
CSO USS Galaxy

Ryak couldn't get any reading from his tricorder. Engineering was completely sealed off and it seemed that the tricorder was damaged. Ryak got up and made his way to his science labs to check and see on there status.

Most of the labs had lost the experiments that where on the go. There seemed to be some minor hull problems as well as some electrical problems that may have resulted in there demise. As Ryak made his way through the department he made a note on what tasks needed to be completed.

Ryak walked into his office and picked some of his things off of the floor. Ryak sat down at his desk and began to type.

TO ALL SCIENCE STAFF:

I will be going over your progress with you on your training initiatives as well as your current and future goals. Be they experiments or personal development goal. These meetings will begin on stardate 57601.18. I will be working my way down the chain of command. There will be five of these meetings a day unless the situation arises that my duties are needed else where. I will be calling on you five minutes before your meeting so be ready. These will be conducted on the shift prior to your duty shift. Any questions be welcome to talk to myself or Lt/Cmd Shepherd.

Jolan' Tru Lt/Cmd Sullax CSO.

Ryak rose from his desk and made his way down to pick up his son.

"Computer locate Sullar Sullax."

"Sullar Sullax is in his quarters."

Ryak was very concerned. Why was Sullar at home. He was not supposed to be there for a while. Then Ryak remembered that the ship was in a crisis situation and that his instructor's assistant was to take him home and stay with him until the crisis ended.

After retrieving his son and relieving the assistant Ryak made his way with Sullar in his arms to ten forward. He was going to have a dinner with his son away from their quarters. Ryak was glad that the mission was over. Ryak now had the job of getting his ship up and running before their next mission and before his talks with his crew. At least this time of repairing the ship would allow him to get to work with them.

Chris Gagne
ALSO KNOWN AS:
Lt/Commander Ryak Sullax, Chief Science Officer, USS Galaxy.
Email: i2qtnot2b@hotmail.com
ICQ: 25686024

Recovery
by LCDR Endris Gakor-Albrecht, CMO

*** Cargo Bay 2 ***

Endris was cranky and ordered a huge Oinkus for breakfast. A technician pressed to duty from the security department retrieved the food on a tray, and Gakors mood improved as she bit down on the awesome sized meal. Two days had past since her major surgery, and the staff was insistent that she take it easy. Gakor had not been let out of bed before this morning, after the devices monitoring her new artificial heart showed a clean bill of health for a full 24 standard hours. And they also were griping about the Tellarite's fatty diet. With her digestive enzymes, the Doctor could probably eat a Jeep without too much difficulty, but here her junior staff were bossing her around!

She was then free to roam the ward, but not up to the duty of treating patients. Still, hearts were cheered seeing the CMO back on her feet, especially since rumors buzzed around about her death. It was a testament to the Galaxy medical staff that they had been able to revive Gakor after the demise of her natural heart.

Feeling a bit dizzy after not walking two days, Endris decided she should sit down, and accessed a computer terminal the engineers had hooked up in the temporary medical facility. She read Captain Price's report about the incident with the war games, including the vile acts of Hoglips the Butcher. It was hard to understand that she could be so evil and vindictive in any reality. But her mirror universe counterpart was a bitch in every sense of the word.

Endris had already heard about the Butcher from her tiniest visitor. Adam demanded to know where Mommy's bad eye boo boo went after the family was allowed to see the recovering wife and mother. Matthew then explained in more detail what happened, and further facts were revealed by the Captain's report.

The casualty list was too extensive to mention. Gakor scrolled past name after name. After seeing some of her regular Oinkus companions on the list, she was forced to rest. The agitation of seeing her friends there caused her to hyperventilate, causing a warning beep to sound from the new heart.

Two Doctors, 3 Nurses, and a Technician were on the manifest of the dead. Hoglips had killed way too many friends! If by some chance she survived her mysterious disappearance, Gakor wished she would meet something equally malicious and die a slow unpleasant death.

Endris returned to bed to rest, waking the next morning with a new sense of purpose. Her leave request had been approved, and a type 2 personal shuttle from Star Base 172's shuttle bays would be used for transport, leaving the Galaxy's now depleted supply intact. It seems the mirror universe counterpart of Mr Shtik had blown up one of the runabouts attempting to avoid capture.

With the Starbase unmanned due to Hoglip's liquidation of the facility, Price requested temporary use of some of SB 172's shuttles and runabouts until a more permanent solution could be found.

Endris was still not quite steady on her feet. After all, her heart had been replaced only days before. Matthew and Adam met her to send her off. But first, Gakor requested the family walk through the ruins of Sickbay.

The Medical equipment was smashed beyond repair. Endris saw the bulkhead which had collapsed and wounded her, wondering how she had survived. As customary, the surgeons had saved the piece of molding which had wounded Gakor. The Doctor decided to preserve the item as evidence of her mortality. When a new CMO's office was built, she would put it on her desk.

Medical computers, including the EMH program, had also been crumbled by the damage to deck 12. Fortunately, required OptiChip backups of the information had been performed per regulation and stored off site. The information would be restored once new computer banks were built.

Matthew noticed something unusual. Towards the center of the room, a dome of material seemed to be covering something. It reminded him of the 'Hirroshima effect'. Directly below the center of the first Nuclear Bomb drop on Earth, material had survived. Perhaps something useful was under the pile.

Minutes later, repair crews had uncovered the aquarium! Miraculously, the aquarium remained untouched, unlike the time it was smashed in the Argonii system. All the fish survived, and seemed a bit fatter than normal. (It seems the autofeeder had been stuck on by the damage, causing continuous delivery of food to the watery creatures.) Endris arranged for proper care, and requested the Engineers construct a new larger fish bowl to be the centerpiece of the proposed Sickbay. It would be good for people to see what had survived the battle, and she could purchase additional fish....

Glad that something familiar would join her in the new Sickbay, the CMO and her family set off for the shuttle bay. Gakor waved goodbye, as the shuttle zoomed away on course for Bajor with its pilot and single passenger.

Ensign Alex O'Conner
engineer
USS Galaxy

"Knowing the truth about honor"

Alex had been down on the lower decks running maintenance on the EPS Power taps in the attack. He was also on the damage control teams during the boarding. He wasn't in engineering when his fellow crewmen were attacked. When he returned to engineering, he saw that it had been turned into a shooting gallery, crewmen and security all over the place. They had just finished securing this section of the ship, and it was time to get back to work.

*****Elsewhere on the ship*******

Ryan looked around, the big man's heart was racing, he was looking for a way to escape the horror of this place. It was all like a bad dream to him. His entire life was one meaningless act after another. He beileved that in joining the terran resistance in his reality, he would play his part in saving his people. But he was a doctor, a man devoted to ending pain and suffering of others. The horrorable memories of his own reality made his life seem like a continuing nightmare, a theme park funhouse for the twisted.

*******3 years ago, alternate universe*******

"Dr.O'Conner, the virus has spread to over 56% of the population. There is now way to stop it in our estimates the colony will be wiped out in 3 weeks." Dr. Nara Tia, a bojarian doctor spoke.

"Doctor, there has to be a way to cure this virus or at least slow it's progression down. We've been at this almost a month and there has been nothing, no progress. There has to be a way to cure this damned thing and save lives." Ryan smashed his hadns down his desk nearly breaking it in two. He looked through the window at one of their patients, his daughter only 2 years old and already, because she was half bajorian she was dieing."Why would the alliance create this virus to kill any one with bajorian DNA? It dosen't make any sense."

"The alliance told me that they wanted to see if their DNA re-sequenceing protein would work if just made to affect certain DNA, They decided to check it on a few bajorian subjects in the colony and....." Nara tried to explain again to Ryan for to understand her reasons for doing this.

"You gave them our daughter to use as part of this experiment!! And Now she is dieng and everyone else here from this outbreak!!!"

*****Now******

Ryan's mind snapped back to reality, Nara died two weeks later and their daughter 5 weeks. All together 47, 892 dead and only 56 survivors after a cure was found. Ryan joined the resistance shortly after and was arrested and thrown in the Tantanlus Prison for for developing a bio-toxin that killed over 3000 Klingon and Cardassian soldiers. He escaped and joined the Butcher's crew because it was the chance for freedom from his death sentence. So much blood on his hands that he no longer wanted. This alternate reality was a chance for him to start over, help people rather than watch them die, to heal rather than kill. He was going to take it.

He had wandered aimlessly the whole time, when he walked through a door into an emergency triage. He saw injured and doctors running around. Something clicked in him, he was going to help these people no matter what the cost.

"Is there anything I can help you with ensign, we dodn't need an engineer here." Ryan turned to see a doctor speaking to him.

"I'm not an engineer, I'm a doctor, and I'd like to help you if you could use a spare set of hands." He spoke removing his tunic. casting off the false illusion he was carrying.

to be continued....

=/\= "First Day Alone" =/\=
by Lt Cmdr Matthew Albrecht, CSec

*** Albrecht's Quarters ***

Two days had passed since the battle with the USS Griffin, and the crew of the USS Galaxy was still hard at work putting humpty dumpty together again. Sickbay was a near-total loss, save for the miraculously saved aquarium. Security's main operations center on deck thirty-eight was in terrible shape after its multiple hull breaches and the attending exposures to vacuum. And one of the armories had suffered a plasma fire to top it all off. Other areas of the ship suffered as well, but they were not his department, nor his wife's.

While the starship could be reassembled after only a month or so at McKinley station, her casualties were not so easily resurrected. Over a thousand people had died in that battle, including the crews of the Sarek and the other ships that fought the evil mirror version of Matthew's wife.

Endris was on the subspace terminal, talking to Adam Delorbius. Matthew was holding his son on his lap, positioned before the video pickup so that Gakes could get a good look at him. She was on the shuttle headed for Bajor, but wanted to make sure she had an opportunity to speak to her boy before his bedtime. The small family had a short conversation before both Adam and his mother were too tired to continue. Endris blew a kiss to her spouse, and signed off. Once she arrived on Bajor, they would not get to speak so frequently.

Adam sleepily murmured some gibberish while his father placed him in his porta-chair. The compact device was a parent-on-the-go's best friend. Adam's general health, location and surroundings were monitored constantly while in the chair, which kept in constant contact with the parent through a wrist-mounted display screen. The 'stroller' also contained a supply of childcare necessities, including towels, spare clothes and a small supply of food. His parents liked to joke that the only thing it lacked was a tequila spigot.

The two Albrecht's headed off to Security, where Matthew had many small jobs to complete before his workday ended. The father put his son in a quiet corner of the department: his own office. While the boy slept, the security chief reviewed reports.

He was looking forward to his trip to holodeck two after he completed his work. He and Deiran Casey had plans to play some eightball; a billiard game that the executive officer had little experience with. Matthew knew just the setting for the evening. The gentleman's club he had programmed in a year before would be perfect. There were plenty of tables, a lively assortment of patrons and a very select staff of waitresses and dancers. The appointments of the facility were first-rate. It was luxurious in a green and gold, mid-twentieth century way. It would be perfect.

The last report on his PADD caught his attention. The report was not a surprise; in fact he had specifically requested it. It wasn't shocking, for there were no new revelations in the document. The eye-catching feature of the report was its startling inadequacy.

It was ensign Lockhart's report on the events prior to the assault on Engineering, and subsequent events. The document was negligently brief. It left out countless details that even Matthew, nowhere around when the armory was raided, knew more of what happened from rumor. There were no references to ship's logs and no descriptions of several of the pirates. All in all, it was amateurish and embarrassing for Matthew as Peter's CO.

The security chief tapped his comm. badge. "Albrecht to ensign Lockhart," he began, before making his demand for an immediate meeting more obvious. *We'll see how he plans to explain his way out of this,* thought the 'commander.

"Cardassian Scum"
by Lt Cmdr K'Eytyanna Samara,
Second Officer & Chief Engineer
-------------------------------------------------------

Groaning, Kay opened her eyes slowly, shielding her eyes.

Her arm felt uncomfortable and she looked to see that a new layer of skin had been regenerated over it.

Her internal organs felt sore and she glanced over at a mirror. Her face had a very pale gaunt look and a lot of her hair had fallen out. Nasty brusing had appeared on the visible parts of her body.

Shifting a bit, she bit down hard from the pain, due to the damage to her internal organs.

Her mouth and throat felt very sore and inflamed, as well.

Looking around, she suddenly realised where she was - in one of the makeshift Sickbays in one of the shuttle bays. Anxiety and fear quickly set in, as all her childhood memories of terrible Cardassian experiments and torture rushed to the fore.

Combined with the effects of the anti-radiation medicine and the fevers, Kay's mind was becoming jumbled fast with conflicting emotions and thoughts.

A machine next to her was connected by an high-tech intravenous drip, since a slow release of chemical was need rather then the quick burst that hyposprays gave.

Ignoring the pain, she yanked out the drip. Pushing herself up slowly, she found that most of her strength had been sapped away.

By sheer force of will and determination, Kay pushed herself up, set on leaving this place as soon as she could.

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

Quickly, some Medical staff noticed her and a nurse came over.

"Lt Cmdr, you need to lie down so we can put that drip back in."

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

Kay looked up, seeing a tall Cardassian doctor who was speaking some language she didn't know. She started yelling and punching outwards,

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!! Not again, you Cardassian p'takh."

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

The forcefulness of her tone stopped the ensign, and three others heading over to her.

However, it did not stop the ensign from motioning to a bunch of five Security guards who had just entered.

The highest-ranking of them, a Lt, walked over and spoke,

"You are not in a state that you should be leaving here. This nurse knows what is best."

*********

Kay moved forward and the Cardassian soldier put his hand on her to stop her. As quick as she could in her condition, she shoved him hard out of the way, even despite her condition.

Two others stepped in and she elbowed one in the face. Three more quickly moved in and Kay started struggling as much as she could, snarling and yelling out curses in various languages.

"Noo.. Let me out of here NOW!"

Punching when she could, she tried to break away but failed.

Eventually, the doctor was able to step in and shoot a load of sedative into Kay via a hypospray.

Her last sight was of a tall familiar human moving over towards the scene before she blacked out, wondering why a human was in a Cardassian genetics facilty and why was he letting them torture her.

-------------------------------------------------------
Lt Cmdr K'Eytyanna Samara USS Galaxy Engineering, 2nd Officer
D'Akana T'Mok (NPC) USS Galaxy Targ

= = = = = = =
Lt. jg T-prea
ACMO
USS Galaxy
= = = = = = =

T-prea just stood there for a moment looking at Jake...and then at Kirk....

"If I were a Klingon...I would rip your heart out and eat it....consider yourself fortunite...." T-prea told Kirk as she looked to Jake still obviously angry and upset....then turned ans walked away....

Jake knew he had his work cut out for him in repairing this mess.... And to start he was going to deal with JJ Kirk and make sure this never happens again to him, T-prea or any other forsaken soul aboard this vessel....

T-prea went back to cargo bay 2, seeing everything was still under control, and that Dr. gakor was up and about she went over to her to make sure she wasn't over doing it...

"Dr...I see you are feeling much better....? T-prea stated.

"Somewhat.............I want to thank you for helping to save my life." She said.

"All in the line of duty Dr...you would of done no less in my place...I'm just glad that you are still with us and on the road to healing....And that is why I think you have been up long enough for now...Your vital signs are elevated slightly....I feel you should take a rest....and get alittle more exersize in the morning.... Dr. Orders....." She told her.

"Your probably right Dr...And I'm really in no condition to disobey orders...>" Dr. Gakor stated with a smile moving back to her bed....

T-prea watched as Dr. gakor made her way back to her bio-bed, making sure she would be alright....then with everything else under control she found her little alcove, climbed back onto the cot again and was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Getting the much needed rest she well deserved....hopefully undisturbed....

"Reconcilliations"

Lt Tim O'Connell
Lt Elaine Stone

==10 foreward==

Tim slowly walked in, his first meal not in sickbay he watned it to be special, he had left messages with Neil to get in touch with him ASAP, they had to patch a few things up,as for Elaine, he would go talk to her personally, but let's face it he had probably blown it with a friend. He slid in to a booth and ordered a sandwich and soup with an iced tea. Light food, his stomach was still pissed at him for the loss of balance and the neuro surgury.

Frank had basically told her gently to go for a walk and get some fresh air. Her arm still in it's stasis cast, she really didn't feel like conversing or eating, but to stall time, she headed down to ten foward. Her face was still bruised from the slap that the evil Frank had delivered on to her delicate face. Her ribs still hurt a bit, and her hand, well, that was a totally differnt story. Walking into the bar, she recieved several sympathic glances from other security officers. She felt a little bit embarrased at her face and cast. Her, the person that had the excellent marksmenship with a phaser, and who had Chen teach her several martial arts. Sauntering up to the bar, she sat down gingerly and ordered an iced tea. It had been a while since she had partaken of the simple beverage, and it always had soothed her in the past.

Tim looked up and saw a battered and bruised Elaine sitting at the bar. He thought for a second, if this had been before the whole hoglips thing, or his news with Brooke he'd be happy to ignore her and eat in peace, but lately life was too short to be so damned petty. Picking up his cool glass he walked over to her. Setting the drink down he hefted himself next to her, "Hey." he said quitly, "you doing ok?" He asked her his face showing his sincere concern.

"Yeah, got into a fight with Frank." She stated quietly.

"Frank did that?" His eyebrows went up and he was suddenly at full alert, "or was it one of those mirrors running around?" That manner of brutality was not in character for Franklin Stone and he'd be damned if he'd jump to some dumb ass conclusion.

Glancing over casually, she muttered. "The evil Frank of course.....duh...." Taking a sip of her tea, she looked over at Tim and offered a small grin.

Tim grinned back just as small, "hell I got stunned by Brooke, the mirror version of her, apparanly my double is a real asshole." He rubbed his head, "So I spent this battle in brain surgury." He'd make the first move, this crap had to stop, "Elaine, for what it's worth I'm sorry I stuck my nose in where it didn't belong, I had no right to say a thing..." he was looking at her and she knew what he was infrencing.

Waving her hand in the air non-chalantly, she blew it off. "In the past Tim. Let's just drop it and move on."

"Glad to hear it Spud." He grinned using her familiar nickname for the first time in a long while, "Considering I'm gonna need some baby handling lessons."

"Just don't drop them on thier heads......everything else will come naturally."

He sipped his tea and his sandwich ws dropped off by a confused waiter who saw him change tables, taking a breath and beginning to eat he said, "Brooke's expecting our first."

"That's nice. I'm happy for you." Glancing over, she looked him straight in the face. "I can make up with you, that's fine. But don't expect me to be all cheery around her. In my opinion, she doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut for the good of the ship. She has no tact and to be frank, I don't like her at all. I'm glad that she's for you, but don't expect us to be best buddies. Not like Eshar and I were....."

"I never expected that Elaine." Tim looked in her face too, "I would be a fool if I did, she's not Eshar, I know that. I don't want that." He took a breath then sighed, "I miss her. I always will."

Saying nothing, she brought the cool glass up to her lips and took another long drink. Glancing over at the door, her gaze stayed on it as some other crew members walked in. At times, she just wished she could wipe all her memories of the times that she had lost someone dear. She never had to mourn like this on Earth, everyone showed up, day in and day out. Sure, it was boring at times, but at least she felt secure enough.

Tim finished his sandwich and sipped his tea, the ironic thing is Elaine and Brooke had things in common but Elaine was right Brooke could use some tact lessons, he checked the chronomoter and then realized, "Damn I got to get back to sickbay before they send out a search party."

"K, see you around. I have to get back to Gillian. Frank and I are taking her for her checkup later."

He got up slowly and then smiled, "I'll see you in sickbay later then, I guess the want to make sure my brain surgury hasn't effected my judgment any."

"You had judgement skills to begin with?" Elaine asked chuckling.

Tim grinned, "That's the hypothesis at least, some do disagree with that." He gently patted her shoulder in a friendly gesture, "hey, tell Frank I said Hi." Then he began his slow walk out of 10 foreward.

Dreams by the tactless
Dr. Brooke Ames, MD
USS Galaxy

Brooke was in bad shape. Between not eating for a long period of time and working herself to exhaustion, she was overly tired and sick. Tim wouldn't be released until much later. She couldn't eat anything so she took a shower, trying to fight off the waves of sickness and climbed into bed. She drifted in and out of sleep. Finally, she fell into a deep sleep.

Time passed and she began to have a terrible nightmere. Eshar came back with Elaine following right behind her with a big smirk on her face. Then Neil joined them. Tim stood with Brooke but when he saw Eshar, he ran to her, not saying a word, just a big grin on his face. Then they all faded into the darkness. Brooke yelled for him. She yelled so loud that she woke herself up, "Tim!"

She looked around and realized that it was all a dream. After sometime, she fell back to sleep, thus, another nightmere occurred. This time she dreamed that she lost the baby and as the dream unfolded, Eshar had Brooke's baby in her arms, telling her that "Tim, her and the baby were going to have the life that they deserved which didn't include Brooke." Brooke watched as she lost everything that she loved.

She woke up, drenched and breathing hard, almost hyperventilating. Her heart rate had almost doubled. She got out of bed and took another shower. Afterwards, she put on a soft, fluffy robe and ordered the room temperature up. Then she curled up on the bed but couldn't fall asleep. She was too afraid that the next time she'd wake up, she'd find that it wasn't a dream. Unfortunately, it didn't last for long as she fell again back to sleep for round three.

"Dierdren's Discovery"
by, Lt. (j.g.) Dierdren Mhistecai Hermedhie,
Medical Officer

Dierdren did not feel well. She had not felt well since slightly before the events in the asteroid field. It seemed to have grown from out of the strange feeling she had had since slightly after the consummation of her marriage.

This could only be trouble. Perhaps she had caught the Risan flu, but she knew that she should have fallen ill much sooner. Unless her immune system were much more resiliant than she was aware of. But still it had been a long time since Risa.

So she decided to test herself. She tried every ailment known to her, and she came up negative to every one. Then, as a last ditch attempt, she tried an old 20th Century test. And this one came up positive. The implications caused her head to swim.

She was pregnant. Knowing that these old tests might not be totally reliable, she deemed it important to have a second opinion. For that, she made sure everything was in place, and headed for SickBay. Arriving there, she waited for one of her co-workers, then asked them to test her for... a condition.

"The Ref, " part six

Lt. Commander Karyn Dallas, Chief Counselor
Lt. Neil Bolitho, Security Officer
Lt. Tim O'Connell, Security Officer
Lt. Elaine O'Hare, Security Officer
Lt. JG Franklin Stone, Security Officer
Ensign Dr. Brooke Ames, Medical Officer
USS Galaxy

***

"Is that what's bothering you, Neil? You don't feel like you have anyone? Is that why you had the background check on Brook...because you needed Tim?" asked Karyn gently.

Bolitho scoffed annoyingly."Oh please Karyn your making it out to sound so melodramatic.Tim was, still is my friend."Bolitho glanced over at Tim. I just don't want what happened to me to happen to him thats all! Nothing sinster, no evil underplots....sorry to disapoint you...Brooke."

"Okay Neil, you win. Your right, I'm not in love with Tim. I'm just in it for the free sex. I also just want to make your life hell and I am planning to leave Tim after I give birth so I can make him suffer too and do to him what Elaine did to you. Is that what you want to hear? I swear Neil, you are so pathetic! You'd rather believe this crap than the truth. Fine." She sat back down in her seat, trying to hold back tears of frustration.

Tim looked at Neil then spoke, "Sit down Neil. Let me tell you some facts. You were there for me last time and I am TRYING to be a patient person with what you are going through." He sighed, "Look I know Elaine decided to use your heart to play dom jot and that hurts. But dammit man, you can't run-around being a suspicious paranoid twit your entire life. Brooke and I love each other and we're going to be together, for a long time, not in O'Hare time but a real long time." He took a breath, "Since I stopped my basically whoring around I have tried to find what I had in Brooke and I couldn't. Now I have it. But when you run a background check after I ask you not to it hurts because you don't trust me. You didn't respect my wishes and that is what really pissed me off."

Karyn nodded, relieved Tim and Neil were talking about this openly, instead of trying to kill each other.

Bolitho stood at the edge of the table staring blankly firstly at Brooke then at Tim. When they were both finished. Neil shrugged his shoulders and sank back in to his seat. His eyes were blank devoid of any expression. "Tim, Brooke..." Started Neil in a boring montone voice"...go ahead live out your lives together, I've said what I have to say. I apologize for anything I have said and done which may have hurt you both in any possible way. I will not say another word of it again!" Neil glanced at Karyn to indicate he was finished..

"Well, has everyone slammed me enough? Frank? You have anything to add? After all, you married the slut of the security department." O'Hare raised her eyebrows and waited for a response.

"Yes, I do love." Stone stood from his seat, taking his wife's hand as he did so. "Counselor, this has been a tremendous waste of time. No one here can deal with each other in any manner that will allow progress in this situation. Until such time as they can or until *you* can maintain control, I'll not be participation in further sessions. Take me off duty if you wish...right now, considering the people I have to work with, I would prefer it." Stone turned his gaze to both Neil and Tim in turn before looking at his wife and giving her a soft smile. His face had grown darker as the last few comments flew through the air. Now his dark eyes nailed Karyn with a cold look that left nothing to the imagination...Stone had finally had enough.

Ignoring Franklin for a moment, Karyn faced Elaine."No one has said you're the slut of the Security Department, Elaine, and you know it. " said Karyn, not surprised that that was her perception of herself after all that had been said. She continued quietly, "I wish people would stop playing victim and recognize their responsibility in this. When you broke it off with Neil, you hurt him...anything that Neil has done after that is his responsibility...and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with his relationship with Brook and Tim or your relationship with Tim and Brook...but don't expect him to take things like a Klingon man, if you're not ready to reap what you sew and take it like a woman."

She turned to Frank. "As for you, Lieutenant Junior Grade Stone, let's you and me get one thing straight right now, and I'm so glad everyone's here because I hate repeating myself, you don't have to come to any more sessions, no one does. But if you think the worst thing I can do is pull you all off duty, then you are sorely mistaken...I can get you transferred out so fast you won't know what happened. I won't have this constant hostility among this crew. The truth is, getting along with others is a life skill, and any future CO is not going to want to put up with someone who is insubbordinate...I know I sure as hell won't and nothing says I have to. As far as maintaining control goes, I haven't heard you contribute anything except your own childish amusement to this discussion, so when you've been on this ship as long as I have and have earned highest honors in Counseling then, and only then, will I even entertain your criticisms of my technique. I can be your best friend or your worst enemy, Frank, and by your blatant disrespect of me, a superior officer, I see you've made your choice. I believe, Mr. Stone, you've just done what is known by people everywhere as 'shooting yourself in the foot.' Stone blanched and both Elaine and Frank stepped back.

*So much for staying neutral...but he walked right into that one. You'd think Elaine would have warned him.* thought Karyn. She let the silence envelop them for a moment, everyone still seemed to be stinging from Karyn's words, then Tim spoke.

Tim finally had enough, "OK Frankie sit the hell down and come off your damned high horse. Let's cut to brass tacks for everyone, the only reason I got involved in all this was simple, for some reason that lunk head over there." he gestured to Neil, "is one of my best friends, and he was hurt and then Elaine starts making threats about his child so I jumped in, did I make a mistake in talking out of turn, yes. However we all need to take a breath and relax because I don' know if people remember here but there is the small matter of a child who is going to be hurt through all this if we don't all grow up, myself included. Elaine, accept it Neil will always be in your life, stop the sniping and petty crap and for crissakes grow the hell up. If it makes things better I apologize for even bring up custody, I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn and stuck my nose in where it didn't belong, and Mr. Stone." Tim looked at Franklin as if examining a specimen for dissection, "the high horse you are on..... doesn't suit you." He then sat down and watched the crowd.

Despite Frank's mass, he was quite fast. Before Tim knew it, the massive form of Lt. Stone was next to him. Frank's face bore the expression of a man struggling hard to maintain control. In the short time Stone had been on the Galaxy, he had earned his reputation of being solid and controlled. The Vulcan jokes had all been told by this point, and as a result everyone at the table was surprised by Frank's obvious anger.

Bolitho rose swiftly to his feet warily keeping an eye on Frank Stone as he towered over Tim. Karyn thought it was interesting that despite the anger between Tim and Neil, they still went to protect each other when either was in trouble.

Leaning in close to Tim, Frank spoke in a low and quiet voice. It was steady and controlled, but the hint of danger ran just underneath. "You don't know what suits me," the security officer growled. "You don't know jack shit about me or who I am...all any of you know is that I'm the source of this 'problem'. Let me fill you in on what I am Mr. O'Connell."

The sudden sound of a sharp snap caused most in the room to jump involuntarily. Elaine stood and gently placed a hand on Frank's shoulder...she could see from her vantagepoint the broken piece of Tim's chair in her husband's hand. The armrest of the chair snapped easily under Frank's powerful strength. For a moment, she feared for Tim's safety and for Frank's future here on the ship...while she knew her husband wouldn't hurt a fly, she had also never seen him reach him limit. And it looks like he just had.

"The Ref, " part six

Lt. Commander Karyn Dallas, Chief Counselor
Lt. Neil Bolitho, Security Officer
Lt. Tim O'Connell, Security Officer
Lt. Elaine O'Hare, Security Officer
Lt. JG Franklin Stone, Security Officer
Ensign Dr. Brooke Ames, Medical Officer
USS Galaxy

***

Brooke stood up and move right next to Tim, ready to help defend him.

Dropping the broken armrest onto the table, Stone stood up fully and spoke to Tim, loud enough for the other's in the room to hear him. "What I 'am' Mr. O'Connell, is sick and tired of the comments and the remarks about my wife. Whether you or Neil or the rest of the ship like that I'm married to her doesn't matter. I don't care...we love each other, and we are together. And any further derogatory comments about Elaine will be dealt with...by me."

Neil actually scoffed outloud in amazement

Turning to Karyn, Stone nodded. "If you'll excuse me sir." With that he headed to the door, not bothering to wait for responses, or for permission to leave for that matter. Elaine gave everyone at the table a final look before following Frank out of the room.

Brooke picked up the broken armrest and looked at everyone. "I don't know about all of you but it sounds to me like he was threatening big time. I don't think either one of them are stable people, if you want to call them...people." Brooke for the first time was worried.

"If I ever had cause to fear for anyone's safety, it's definitely now. I swear, do any of you know when to keep your mouth shut? Even when you're apologizing you have to get your digs in. You don't want this to stop, you're too busy trying to figure out who's right! Well newsflash ladies and gents, the answer will never be found in your own reflections!" snapped Karyn. She was losing her cool and she knew it. It was not the most professional reaction but the whole thing was wearing on her last nerve.

O'Hare stopped short in the corridor and turned, re-entering the room. Her body language softened as she slumped her shoulders. "That's it, I give here. I'm waving the white flag. All this name calling and other shit is going to stop on my end. I have a job to do and don't have time to be thinking of creative slams for every one I have a problem with. I will work with you all, I might not like it, but, I'm done with all this petty bickering. From now on, I'm done. What you all decide to do is up to you......but, I'm done. I don't have the energy anymore."

"You don't have the bloody energy!" muttered Karyn, grateful that all this arguing and her hammering had gotten them somewhere, even if it had taken forever.

Neil had remained standing and walked around the small table to stand directly in front of Elaine Stone. WIth a small smile on his face he nodded his head in agreement. "Agreed Elaine." Replied Neil quickly cutting in before anyone else could. Bolitho's attention was focussed directly on Elaine." I said it before this all got out of hand that I believe you and I can sort out our differences. Bolitho paused for a second."You and I have to much interest vested in one small person, I don't want her to grow up thinking her biological parents hate each other!"

Brooke didn't feel bad at all about the name calling or any of it. Brooke felt good that Elaine got worn down by this. "Two down, one to go." She thought to herself.

She turned to Neil, "So Neil, do you also share that white flag of Elaine's? If you had just minded your own business in the first place, you would have never been in this situation. Also, Tim wouldn't have butted in yours if you had just kept to yourself and not been so free with telling him all of your problems between you and Elaine. And I wouldn't have been forced to hit you and dislocate your jaw." Brooke was finally talked out and she was growing tired of this and fast.

*She just had to open her mouth...didn't she?* Karyn felt her sanity slipping. "Take it easy, Neil, it's not worth it!"

Bolitho whirled furiously on Brooke, her little statement had re-ignited his anger just when it looked like they might be making some actual headway! "You just don't get it do you!" Snapped Bolitho. "Friends especially close friends talk about their problems to each other, there has never been much that Tim and I don't discuss with each other, but wait I forgot you've never been in an actual relationship of note where a bond grows to the extent that, that the person becomes an integral part of your life, where you can trust that person with your life." Bolitho's voice and his eyes got angrier with each word. "Friends are there for each other, Tim and I are friends, you'd better get use to that, because I'm going to be around!...a lot!"

Neil was right, she never had a close friend like that except for Tim. Once Tim had gone to Starfleet Academy, she really became withdrawn and dating was a very hard thing for her to do. Getting close to anyone scared her, that is why her relationships were so short and never blossomed into anything. Her eyes began to tear up.

"At the rate you're going, I sincerely doubt it." said Karyn, "you're batting a thousand Neil."

Neil glanced over at Karyn his eyebrows raised not having a clue what that last statement meant!

"You're right Neil, I haven't ever had a close friend that I can talk to like you had with Tim here. But did you hear what you just said?" She didn't wait for his response. "Friends are there for each other. When it comes to me, you have a funny way of showing it. You know, I never had a problem with you until you started trying to break us up. Do you know how much that hurt me?" She looked at him, "Maybe you're jealous of our relationship and that is why you did what you did, I don't really know. But there is no excuse for it at all. If that is the case, then maybe you secretively want to marry Tim." She took her engagement ring and threw it at Neil. "I hope it fits and that you two are very happy together."

She walked out, leaned against the wall and slid down, trying not to give into her tears.

Tim looked at Neil and picked up the ring, "Thanks a lot Neil, you gave a great speech on friendship there, too bad you don't listen to your own words. Friends are there for each other, Friends are happy when they do things like get engaged, they sure as hell don't run a background check on their friend's fiancee behind that friend's back, how would you have felt if after you got engaged I ran a background check on Elaine, you would have been furious and you would have had cause to be. Now as fun as this was I have to go make sure the woman I'm going to marry is going to be allright." He snapped the last and stalked out to find Brooke.

Neil started to follow but Karyn held him back. "Let them go, there's been enough damage done for the day. They have a right to their feelings as do you. You're going to have to accept the fact that Tim and Brook won't want you're friendship. I did what I could, and now it's their move."

"Look, Neil, I know you're still reeling from what's happened between you and Eaine...and I know you can't be happy or talk to a best friend about that hurt if he's busy being in love and engaged. You're angry and I understand why you did what you did, even if it was wrong. I don't think you've dealt with the hurt by yourself and sometimes you need an ear...Orion women can't do everything." she smiled. "So, if you haven't lost all faith in me as well, I hope you'll feel comfortable talking to me about it if you need someone. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a cold barracuda and I do want to help...to do what's best for you and the crew."

"Are you propositioning me Counselor?" Smiled Neil slyly. Before he shook his head."Sorry Karyn I didn't mean to say that." Neil's smile slid from his face. "Look Karyn If you feel I need 'counseling' then so be it.Tell me when and where and I will be there."

She hit him in the arm playfully. "The last I want to do is force someone to talk to me about these things. Believe or not, I get no personal pleasure out of this. I only intervene when I know it's affecting job performance, as this has. If you think you can get through this on your own without feeling compelled to get drunk or knock someone's block off, than I'll leave you alone." Neil smiled and then he indicated that she go first out into the corridor.

Neil followed Karyn out into the corridor where Tim was comforting Brook. Tim looked to Karyn and Neil no trace of the earlier anger in his voice, just despair. "So what do we do now?"

"Well," said Karyn sighing, "it doesn't look like you, Neil and Elaine and Frank can work together anytime soon and that's the truth. I owe Commander Casey a report on the situation by the end of the week and I have to be honest, to be fair to the ship and crew. Unless you guys can work things out between now and then, I'll have to make some serious recommendations. Slowly but surely, Elaine and Neil have made progress and I'll have to speak to them and Frank should this adoption come to pass...but as for the rest of it, I've done what I can for now. You'll be placed on separate shifts until such time a decision is made. The ball is in your court now...any or all of you can come to me between now and then...but I can't do any more than I already have, until you're all ready to get down to business."

With that, Karyn left to go write a similar statement to Elaine and Frank...hoping that these former friends could come to some sort of agreement, before she was forced to take more action...she would do what she had to, though, no matter how hard it was.

BACK TO NORMAL

After a rest, Jake Olson was going over a report given him by his CO, using the professional to blot out his personal concerns.

Professionally, life had taken several pleasant turns if one discounted the invasion which adversely effected every one.

[SNIP]
TO ALL SCIENCE STAFF:

I will be going over your progress with you on your training initiatives as well as your current and future goals. Be they experiments or personal development goal. These meetings will begin on stardate 57601.18. I will be working my way down the chain of command. There will be five of these meetings a day unless the situation arises that my duties are needed else where. I will be calling on you five minutes before your meeting so be ready. These will be conducted on the shift prior to your duty shift. Any questions be welcome to talk to myself or Lt/Cmd Shepherd.

Jolan' Tru Lt/Cmd Sullax CSO. [END SNIP]

Jake Olson had been keeping careful record of his goals and activities. Much of his personal and professional life blended in productive harmony.

Jake was what was called a nerd four hundred years ago, his personal life was science. Idle curiosity had replaced necessity in sending the scientist in Jake on odd turns of investigation. He had branched out considerably, sense joining the galaxy, into several new disciplines. Many were lining his pockets with latinum.

With rapid speed, because Jake kept everything in order, he compiled a somewhat lengthy, detailed report on his scientific observations, goals, and projects. Jake's writing style was neat but not dull.

Olson even included a few ventures that were smashingly unsuccessful in the Holodeck, such as spy vs spy holodeck exercises sometimes used by security trainees but at much gentler levels. He learned a great deal, which was noted in detail.

Jake still blushed slightly, a tactical combat or security officer he wasn't. He could aim a phaser and had excellent marksmanship, but face it, he was lousy at every thing else. His only hope was that Sullax wouldn't fall out of his chair laughing at the scrawny Jake trying to coordinate a battle and commence attack. However, the notice stated that the CO wanted to know what was up.

Jake didn't realize that he going so far afield was exactly what Sullax wanted his science officers to do, to stretch their minds. So what if one landed on his behind once or twice, Jake learned. Jake spent a lot of time at it as well. That would be noted. Olson was forever forgetting time in some project or other.

Naturally, there wouldn't be any mention of T-Prea in the report!

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

JJ Kirk gagged at the note sent by his CO. He scrambled for something to write! He did the minimum to get by in the science department, not showing up late or being seen to goof off, but in his off hours, the last thing on Kirk's mind was science! Sullax wouldn't be in the slightest bit interested in pornography. What would he say?

With much scrambling and flustering, JJ managed a brief, sketchy three page note. It was trite and there was a fair bit of cribbing. -Thank you Jake for leaving your papers about for every one to see! That one never took care to protect his work from thieves!- Happy with what he came forth, JJ went to 10-4 for a celebration drink, thinking he had performed a terrific job. Promotion time hehe!

JJ's was a sorry excuse for a report, and Sullax would find it inadequate, although Kirk thought it to be plenty. The sharp eyed CO would recognize a hint of cribbing here and there, as Jake Olson's unique fact gathering then organization of data was well known. Both Sullax and Shepherd observed Jake at work, even if the white haired Human was oblivious, and were well aware of his painstaking, surgical style.

Lt.jg Jake Olson
Craftycorner ICQ #36247063

"Released"

Lt Tim O'Connell
Lt Brooke Ames

Brooke woke up for the third time and the last time. With no food in her system, she knew that she'd continue to have these nightmeres. So, she got dressed and made her way to Sickbay for something to temporarily take for the way her stomach felt. She knew that Tim would be there. Hopefully, he wouldn't notice...looking in the mirror, "Fat chance."

Tim looked up and saw Brooke walking in, his whole face brightened up untill he saw her face, "what's wrong Brooke?" he asked when she walked past.

Brooke looked over at him, avoiding the truth. "Nothing's wrong, I was...just going to check on a few patients" She walked away. She started to rummage through a few medical supplies but couldn't find the meds for nausea. "Damn it!" she cursed under her breath. Brooke ran her hand through her hair in frustration and looked around for the doctor on call.

He was now sitting up, he hadn't seen her this agitated before, "Brooke, what's wrong?" He asked again, now knowing something was wrong.

"Please stop asking me what's wrong!" She didn't mean to snap at him. "I'm sorry. I'll be fine once I get some sleep." She continues to look around, "Where in the hell is the doctor on call?"

"There is no doctor on call, the EMH can be used." He looked arond and pointed to the chair next to his bead, "why can't you sleep?"

She reluctantly sat down. "Two words...morning sickness but why in the world they call it morning sickness is beyond me...it isn't even morning." She wasn't about to tell him of the dreams she had. It was probably just everything that had happened, the counseling session, the mirror Brooke, among other things.

Tim looked at her, "bullshit Brooke, just morning sickness, don't lie to me. What's going on."

Brooke was taken aback by Tim's tone with her, startling her. He always could see right through her. "I don't know exactly, I really don't." She really didn't. "I tried to sleep but I kept having these stupid dreams." She gets up, "I'm sure it's because I haven't eaten or slept and I'm exhausted."

"What kind of dreams?" He asked quietly.

She sighed, taking a breath, "Tim, what good is it to talk about them?"

"For better or for worse." he said directly.

"Fine. You seem to think it's important so okay, here it goes. I dreamed that Eshar came back, took you away from me and took my...our child. Neil and Elaine were there too." She felt really dumb being bothered by something that was impossible for it to happen. "I told you they were stupid."

Tim looked at her and kissed her gently, "hey, you've been through a lot lately so have I, I think we should make a group appointment with Karyn, you and me to talk about this. I think we need it."

"Tim" she started to protest, "I suppose you're right and being pregnant doesn't help. I just hope that you are not expecting some miracle. Elaine and me will always hate each other and Neil will always distrust me."

"Elaine I don't know about, Neil I can talk to, he'll warm up he just has to get to know you better." He reached for her hand gently cradling it in his, "but we'll get through it together."

"I just want to get through tonight. I hate feeling this way." She looks at him, "You know this is all your fault."

"My fault?" he asked confused, thinking he actually did something wrong.

She felt like crap but managed to force a smile. "Yeah, if you hadn't gotten me pregnant, I wouldn't be feeling sick."

He smiled, "well when we were in the process of getting pregnant you didn't complain now did you? As a matter of fact you seemed to like the conception process."

"You're right, as usual." She leans over and hugs him, "I'm sorry for acting like, well you know."

Tim grinned, and returns her hug, "I love you Brooke."

"Has anyone told you when you can leave? I don't want to be alone on our quarters."

"They want to make sure my equilibrium has been restored and my judgment has to be re established."

Being a doctor herself, she knew how it was important for the follow-up but her other side wanted to say screw it. "Okay, I guess I'll see you when they spring you. Right now, I need to use the assistance of the EMH."

"Can't you have the EMH spring me?" he asked pleading.

"Now why didn't I think of that? I don't see why not." Brooke called up the EMH and as usual, he went through its usual saying. Brooke explained to him what was wrong. He knew exactly where the meds were. Brooke got an annoyed look on her face but once the meds were given, she started to feel a little better than she did. Then she pointed to Tim, had a little conversation and the EMH went to him. "Let us see how you are doing."

Tim looked at the doctor, "I'm fine, get me the hell out of here." He looked over at Brooke.

Brooke sat down in the chair and didn't say a word, just observed him. Once the EMH was done, he gave Tim a clean bill of health.

Tim began to sit up slowly and looked at the EMH "thanks." Then over to Brooke, "take me to bed now dear."

"You won't get no argument from me. Maybe I'll attempt to eat something too. Let's blow this joint."

Tim stood up and with his arm around his fiancee they shuffled out of sickbay, "you will eat. I have many ways to make sure you eat." He grinned as they exited.

Brooke looked around as they walked, noticing that repairs were being made right and left. "What a waste" she commented, "all those lives and for what."

"To protect and serve the Federation and her ideals." He said softly. "I don't know why all this happened but it did."

"I just want to put this all behind us." She tried not to think about all of the lost lives. Brooke was happy to get to their quarters finally.

Tim walked in with her and sat heavily on the couch. He looked up at the ceiling and sat there while he unwound from his expereiences.

She sat and then nestled up to Tim, just wanting to be in his arms and nothing else.

Tim put his arms around her and hugged her gently.

"I feel so much better now that you're here with me. I don't know what I would have done otherwise." She thought to herself how silly that sounded but she couldn't help thinking about everything."

"I'm here with you now." He began to gently rock her in his arms, "I'll always be here with you."

"You better or I'll kill you myself." She was getting tired but more so, her appetite was coming back.

Tim looked at her and let that slide. He got up and replicated her a roast beef sandwich, "enjoy." he said to her with a smile.

She looked at it for awhile but it just didn't look appetizing. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can eat this." It just didn't look appealling to her. She hated to complain since he was so nice to get it for her. "I was thinking more like cottage cheese and peaches."

Tim grinned, "Ok if that's what my love wants my love gets." He walked over and replicated the peaches and cottage cheese for her.

"Thank you." She felt awkward eating and he wasn't. Brooke picked at it for some time and eventually started eating. She felt like he was watching her, keeping an eye on her.

He began to gently massage her shoulders while they sat on the couch. "relax dear, you've been through a lot." he moved her short blonde hair out of the way and began to kiss her neck.

"We've both been through a lot. You should be relaxing too not taking care of me, instead, I should be taking care of you."

"You're carrying our child." He smiled, "I can take care of you. My head's fine."

"Is it? You're marrying me, are you sure your head is fine? Maybe we should get another opinion." She laughed.

"I'm marrying you for some reason, Oh yea I love you that's why." He grinned, "and my head is fine."

"Okay, just making sure." She could feel his lips on her neck, sending chills down her spine. It seemed a lifetime since they had been able to relax and be with each other.

Tim embraced her close and rested his hands on her belly. He then put his head on her shoulder. "I love you Rocky, I always will."

"I know you do and I love you too." She turned towards him, put her hand on his cheek, and gave him a soft, tender kiss.

Tim returned her kiss and then pulled his arms close, "let's just say here tonight. Don't sleep."

Brooke wasn't sure if she heard him correctly, "Don't sleep?"

"Well let's stay here tonight, I just want to hold you."

"Here, on the couch. I don't care where we are as long as we're together."

"Good." He wrapped her in his arms and began to rock her gently. His eyes grew heavy.

She also grew tired and fell asleep in his arms.