"Moving up in the World"

Starring:
Rebecca von Ernst
(And a few NPC's)

…………………………….

Step Step Step Step….CLUNK!

"Ummm Good morning Lietenant."

"Oof..G…g…good morning."

Step Step Step Step….CLUNK!

"Morning Lieutenant von Ernst."

" Good morning Lyle."

"Need help with that Lieutenant?"

"N….n….no thanks Lyle, I got it okay."

Step Step Step Step….CLUNK!

"Morning El-tee. Where you off too so early?"

"M…morning Smith. Alpha shift starts in a few minutes."

"Ahh….I see."

"Yeah….hey Smith could you hold the elevator please for a second while I get this in there?"

"Uh…sure."

HISSSSSSS

"Morning, Lieu…whoa! What you got there?"

"She's gotta report in for Alpha, can you move to the back of the elevator?"

"Sure thing Smitty. Morning El-tee."

Step Step Step Step….CLUNK!

"Oof!…Whew. Morning Rawlings. I…I…I'm not crowding you am I?"

"Heh….Im just fine Lieutenant. Quite a load you got there."

"Uh yeah…It's for…."

=/\= ALERT PLEASE REMOVE ANY OBSTRUCTING OBJECTS OR APPENDAGES FROM TURBOSHAFT DOORWAY PRIOR TO OPERATION =/\=

"Ooops, Squeeze in tighter here Smitty, you're blocking the door."

"Its not me, I'm in."

"S…s…s…sorry, g..guys. I think my foot was in the way."

"Sokay Ma'am. The doors closing now."

HISSSS

"Um…..could you hit the Bridge for me?"

"Sure thing."

WHOOSH WHOOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH….…..

"You're taking that to the bridge?"

{uneasy silence}

"Nevermind Lieutenant….none of my business.

WHOOSH WHOOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH….…..

HISSSSS

=/\= DECK 4 =/\=

"Well this is my stop. See you guys…Ma'am.

"Bye"

"Bye"

"See you around Smitty."

HISSSS

WHOOSH WHOOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH….…..

=/\= DECK 1 BRIDGE =/\=

HISSS

"Oooof, ….e…excuse me guys."

"No prob el-tee."

"Sure thin….OUCH! My Foot!"

"Oh noodles Rawlings, I…I…I'm sorry."

"Soaky Lieutenant, better get a move on."

"Sorry."

"Go get em el-tee."

Step Step Step Step….CLUNK!

HISSSSS

"Ol' Price is gonna blow his stack when he sees that, eh Lyle?"

"You said it Rawlings."

===========================================================================

Step Step Step Step….CLUNK!

Rebecca von Ernst dropped the heavy metal Bar-Stool for the umpteenth time this morning as she attempted to wrestle it from the turbolift doors across the Bridge towards the Tactical Arch that was her assigned post.

As the solid piece of furniture hit the deck again with a solid 'CLUNK' All eyes on the bridge turned away from the floating Tamarian Derelict that hovered peacefully on the forward viewscreen and focussed instead on the tiny redheaded girl who was struggling with a Bar-Stool nearly equal to her own weight.

"Great Kangaroo's Ghost Lieutenant, what the devil have you go tthere?"

It’s a ….oooof…uh stool Captain." With a determined grunt, Rebecca lifted the stool again ang lugged it a few feet closer to the Arch."

"I can see WHAT it is Ms. Von Ernst," Price clarified, a bemused expression on his face. "The question is Why are you dragging it across my bridge?"

"Uh…D…d…design flaws sir."

"Pardon?"

"D..Design flaws in the bridge sir." Rebecca explained softly, brushing back a strand of red hair that had fallen across her face. "They seem to have f….f…forgotten to install a chair at the Tactical Duty Station."

There was a long moment of silence on the bridge as everyone waited to see what the Australian born Captain would say in reply. Rebecca used this moment to drag the heavy piece of furniture finally into position right behind the Tactical Arch.

"Ahem…..Starfleet didn’t forget to install anything Lieutenant. It was designed that way."

Taking a deep breath, Rebecca quickly climbed up on the Metal stool, and found herself finally able to reach all the complicated Tactical controls……albeit with her feet now unable to touch the floor. "Well sir….in that case, then God forgot to install long enough legs on me."

Smiling pertly and looking pleased with herself, Rebecca looked down at Captain Price. "Lieutenant Rebecca von Ernst reporting for Alpha shift sir…..three minutes early."

"Gentleman's Myth"
A Joint Post By:
Lieutenant jg James Lionel Corgan, Security Officer And
Lieutenant jg Electra Reece, Asst Chief of Operations

Location: Tamarian Sleeper Ship

The ship deeply reminded the officer of the Jem'Hadar vessels he boarded during the Dominion War. Much like the warships their adversaries fielded, the Tamarian Sleeper Ship was cramped and crowded. Its bulkheads were dull, not like the polished surfaces of most modern vessels. The floor wasn't even a solid floor, but a series of metal grates that creaked and clanked with each step. There was barely any lighting, except for the occasional dull glow of an instrument panels, and even then half of the lights were burned out due to age.

Then there was that smell of death that wafted in the air. The smell wasn't as fresh as the Jem'Hadar battlefields. No, it was more musky and rotten than the fresh smell of blood and burning flesh from phased polaron wounds. Still, the scent was familiar to his nose. It was also strong enough to make him gag.

"Alright I think we'll make more progress if we split up into groups of two. There's several parts of this ship that we should have a look at and a few items we should try and repair or more exactly restore power to at the moment." Commander Thomas said, "We'll cover more ground if we split up into groups of two and take on different roles and parts of the ship. I'll need two people to make their way to the commander section of the ship. Then another group to head down to the ship's engine room. Your primary objective will be to restore power to the lights and download the ship's database."

"Aye sir." Lieutenant Corgan gagged, holding back his urge to gag. By the end of the war, he had gotten used to the smell, to the point where it was at least bearable. Nobody could get used to it, no matter how tough their nose was.

"The rest of us will proceed to take a look around the ship, in groups of two," Chris said.

While Corgan waited for a partner, he pulled from his pocket a scented handkerchief. It was an old trick that a Starfleet Marine taught him while the Thunderchild was stationed in the Chin'toka system. The marine told him, in exact words, "To keep yourself from sniffing that god awful stench, take a cloth and give it a spritz of your girlfriend's perfume." Lieutenant Corgan didn't have a girlfriend at the time, and since he loathed his ex-girlfriend deeply, he used the Jasmine perfume that his mother used to wear when he was a child. ~ Close enough. ~ He reasoned.

Putting the handkerchief next to his nose, James breathed through the crude filter.

~ Much better. ~ He thought.

"Let's see what we can do about restoring the environmental systems or at least finding a way to cycle the air in here," Commander Thomas said.

Immediately, everyone in the away team started to pair off into groups of two. James stood, not expecting to be picked by anyone ... until he saw Lieutenant Reece. She was alone, looking for a suitable partner. Her eyes watered and her cheeks turned red from the gagging smell that assaulted their noses. James wanted to pair off with her, to hell with how he felt about her. She was the only person on the away team that he fully trusted with his life. He walked up to her as bravely as he could.

~ You really ought to quit meeting people like this. You know, walk in, be nice, save the day, all that crap, ~ said his conscience.

~ Shaddup, ~ was James' typical reply.

Lexa struggled with the smell that pervaded the small ship. She looked around in the gloom and found it interesting that such an old ship was actually still active at all. As she glanced around she saw everyone walking apart from her. Pairing up. She sighed, then gagged at the stench, overpowering her nostrils and body's defenses. Her eyes fell on James as he walked towards her. ~ Is he coming to see me? Well ... Rebecca isn't here, so I guess I'm the next best thing. ~ She smiled, her shoulders shaking as she tried to breathe through her mouth.

"Excuse me, but are you already paired up with somebody?" Corgan asked politely.

Lexa shook her head. "No," she coughed.

"All right then," James sighed, "We'll take ... that room over there." He pointed towards one of the adjacent corridors. He shined his wristlight over the area. There was only the crude metal corridor and a door.

He saw that Electra Reece struggled to breathe as they walked closer to one of the abandoned room. The rotting smell grew stronger and stronger with each step. ~ Probably one of the containers that just failed, ~ he thought. Using his handkerchief, he inhaled a large breath, taking in the jasmine sweetened air. Electra covered her mouth and coughed.

"Are you ok, Lexa?" James asked.

Lexa shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I feel so stupid but this smell ... it is horrible. I feel like I'm walking through a crypt or graveyard, without the smell of the fresh dirt. It's like ancient dirt, decayed, you know?"

"I know what you mean. Reminds me of all those planetfall missions during the war. Here, use this. It helps." Lieutenant Corgan said, handing over the silken cloth and braving the rotten air. The smell was too strong for the officer to handle, so he covered his mouth with his uniform shirt. The shirt was almost too thick to breathe through, making James draw in hard breaths with his mouth. Electra took the cloth, held it up to her nose and inhaled. She handed the handkerchief back to James.

"Keep it. I don't need it as much as you do right now." He refused, waving his hand away.

~ This smells good. ~ She sniffed again, trying to identify the scent as they walked. ~ It isn't cologne or anything that smells like James. It must be perfume. Perfume ... oh no ... please don't let him have just given me a handkerchief soaked in Rebecca's scent. I don't know if I can take this. ~

"Thanks. What is this, anyway?" Lexa smiled at him as her light shone on the metal walls, refracting and illuminating cracks and holes.

"Jasmine Perfume. It was my mother's favorite," he answered.

"Oh, really? You never talked about your parents before. Kind of strange that you mention them now," Electra said, "What were they like?"

He did know how to answer her more than personal question. They were like any other parents, except they were officers and entertainers at the same time. Matthew and Maria Corgan were both strict when it came to family life, especially when it came to passing on their musical talents to their children. James found such a forceful push for talent to be confining, so they drifted apart. Despite their faults, and the widening gap him and his sister experienced with them as teenagers, he still cared for his parents. He felt distressed whenever he thought of them.

"I don't want to talk about it now." James snapped.

"Why not?" Electra asked with genuine concern.

"Let's just say ... they ... they were part of the Odyssey's crew. Let's leave it at that, ok?"

"Oh. Okay. Sorry for mentioning it." Lexa looked away, shoulders slumping.

"That's alright. Forget about it."

Out of the corner of his eye, Lieutenant Corgan detected movement. He quick drew his phaser, whipping out the type two at lightning speed and pointing the business end at the source of the distraction.

He was ready to blast away a flickering light panel. One of the internal lights was still intact, and it flickered a dull blue glow, illuminating a push button.

Lexa stifled a scream. "You scared me! This place is so eerie. Can you get this door open? We should check out the other side." They struggled with the rusted hatch and finally it groaned loudly as it inched open. They stepped through, their hands red with rust. The feeble light from their beacons fell upon the room beyond.

The inside of the next room was not the crypt they expected. There were no cryogenic caskets, or vital monitoring equipment. There were, however, plenty of tables and chairs, all covered in a thick film of dust. The walls were lined with pipes and adorned with shelves of strange metal utensils and plates that looked like squares. On one of the tables, a small spire with dusty ornamental pieces and a stack of triangular cards rested. In a small corner of the room, alien pots and pans stacked right beside a crude heating grate. To the left of the 'stove', portholes showed the twinkling stars, while to the right of the stove was a heavily re-enforced door. To the opposing wall, another door exactly like the first greeted them. The room didn't look like it was abandoned, just packed up and stored, except for the spire and pieces that looked like some sort of Tamarian game. Possibly, the last players wanted to pick up where they left off hundreds of years ago.

"You think this is their mess hall?" James asked.

Gazing around, Lexa mused, "It definitely looks like some kind of recreational room, and the plates suggest eating, as do the pans. So it probably was the kitchen and eating area. It even has a view." She pointed to the twinkling portholes. "Not quite Ten Forward but quite nice for its time, I'd bet." James nodded.

"I think we should check out that door first. What do you think?" he asked, directing her attention to the heavy door near the 'stove'. He walked up to the door and pulled on the handle. The simple locking mechanisms gave way and opened, revealing inside a very cold and dark room. They both shined their lights inside, glimpsing into the Tamarian version of a freezer. Cold air wisped around their bodies as they looked at the pile of packages.

James took out his tricorder and took a scan, "Tamarian food, as far as I can tell." He explained, "And it's still fresh. I can read some meat here .... a few vegetables ... not much power coming into this area. It's probably insulated to keep the outside heat out ... but how do they cool it?"

"They might use the cold temperatures from outside the ship." Electra suggested, "After all, they don't need to be as safe with the food as they had to be with the crewmen."

His mind was more on the Tamarian food packets than the method of refridgeration, "Wonder what they taste like? Think it's better than MRE's?"

"After three hundred years? Don't see why not."

"Yeah. Freezer burn or not, I'd take the mystery meat any day over that chalky sh*t they give us in those ration packs."

"Well ... we eat well and MREs are just for emergencies. But ... do you think you could get any of this stuff working?"

"Oh, right. We better turn the lights on in here," James said, then added, "Older ships tended to make light switched easy to access."

His first instinct was to look near the door for an instrument panel. He found three flip style switched beside the door, scrawled with an unknown language. He turned his tricorder at the writing on the switches. The first one read:

"Sesom parts the waves."

While number two read:

"Strontak, bullet the blue sky."

And number three displayed on the tricorder:

"Divinity shining by Dronak's hand."

"Lexa. my tricorder can't figure out this language. I'm getting gibberish." James shook his head and shrugged.

Lexa just gazed at her tricorder and grunted an affirmative as her mind dealt with the metaphors. She had read about the Captain Jean-Luc Picard's encounter with the Tamarian captain and the discovery of the metaphorical communication used by the race. Her mind took that and the tricorder's interpretation of the writing and she reached for the third switch. She flipped it and the lights above their head blinked on, dimly lighting the room, as some were obviously unworkable after so many centuries. "There. I think the first switch will turn on the water in the trough in the freezer," and with that she flicked the switch, proving herself correct, as water flowed gently, and she flicked it again, "and the second one, well, I'm not sure. It could be to put shades over the window. Or ... it could be some sort of weapon or propulsion, though why here in the mess hall so near the innocuous switches, that isn't logical. But ... I don't know much about Tamarian history. But since I'm not sure, I don't think we should mess with it. It is possible that the Tamarians had need of weapons here, possibly they were like Klingons in the century, aggressive and violent. Or this may just turn on the computer here to run the ship from here in the event of damage to the bridge area. In Earth vessels of that era there were lots of backup systems, like we have the battle bridge and this would be a logical place for one of those areas to be, since you would have plenty of food and liquid here."

The riddles of the Tamarian metaphors easily stumped the lowly security officer, while at the same time barely fired up Electra Reece's neurons. He respected her intelligence. There were many time that he would have traded his musical talents or his warrior instincts just to be as smart as the scientists or doctors. Always at odds with himself for being both an artist and a primitive jock (as he called them), he hated the stereotype of the Security officer, and at the same time envied the other positions for their cerebrally glamorous jobs. She held such a position of power over him, being considered 'smarter' no matter what their IQ or artistic talents were.

Superior knowledge meant superior intellect. He also found her intelligence uncomfortably attractive.

~ Hell, not another reason to find her hot. I should have never paired with her. Not on a big, dark, scary looking ship that smelled like a ripe coffin. Hey ... if it wasn't for the smell, this place could be. romantic. Awwww dammit. What did I get myself into now? ~

Lexa looked around. "Well, I think we've figured out this room. Unless you want to move the other switch. Though we should probably just leave it. But .... its your call. You're Security. If you want to check it and secure it, let me know. But I think we should try the other door." She grinned at him.

Her grin wore down his defenses. It was something about the female grin, or maybe it was the row of pearly white teeth, or the sincerity of her smile that make Corgan crack a half hearted smile of his own. He was being smiled down on by a beautiful woman. This was a rare event worthy of song and dance. Having a woman whom he had a crush on. was worth more than a few songs put together.

Then, he reminded himself of how poisonous his thoughts really were. She could smile wide enough to make kingdoms crumble with her beauty for all he cared. A smile was dangerous to look at. Kindness threatened to break down the barricades he so carefully erected in his heart, made to prevent such tampering with his emotions. Silently, he repeated a mantra in his brain, ~ lust bad, lust bad, lust bad. ~

Electra snapped James back to reality, "Hello?"

"OH. sorry about that. Just thinking for a moment." James said, "You're right ... absolutely right. I don't feel like getting blasted to shreds by primitive alien tech. Want to move to the next room?"

~ 'By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes'. ~ Lexa gave him an odd look and shook her head a little as if shaking off someone walking over her grave. ~ Why did I think of that? ~ "Let's go."

She walked forward and opened the door, stepping back a bit as the smell of decay overpowered her again. "Oh, stars," she exclaimed, placing a hand over her nose, "something really stinks in this room." She stepped forward into the dark room, no portals visible. She turned her wrist light back on and shone it around the room. The room was roughly square, with a door on each wall. Each door was in the center of its wall. On either side, from floor to ceiling, were cylindrical shapes, reminiscent of human coffins. There were stacked five high and were made of some kind of translucent material that was lit intermittently from the inside on about one third of the units. The other units were dark and the light from her wrist reflected back at her. Next to each unit was a control panel of some sort, the switches of most looking almost rusted in place.

Lexa walked slowly to the nearest unit with light and peered inside. It was empty. As she moved to the next one, she saw a shadowy figure inside. Rubbing her hand on the surface, she attempted to see details. The surface defogged slowly as the motion removed the condensation of ages. As her eyes made out the shape inside, she coughed and shuddered. It was a Tamarian ... long dead. The body was shriveled and nearly mummified. But the thing that caused Lexa's gag reflex was the eyes. They gazed sightlessly at the outer edges of the unit, seeming to meet her gaze. And they looked completely healthy. It was as if they had been preserved somehow. The eyes looked normal. Not hundreds of years dead. Lexa felt they were staring into her soul from across the years. It was like a warning. The flickering light in the unit almost seemed to make the pupils widen as in fear. ~ 'The evil that men do lives after them.' ~

As Lexa examined the Tamarian corpse, James examined a dusty old instrument panel. The obsolete switched and buttons made him mutter the words 'quaint' under his breath. His tricorder passed by the panel, deciphering the ancient Tamarian words into legible writing. Text flew by his eyes on the tiny tricorder screen, mostly metaphorical nonsense having to do with cold temperatures and healing, until one message struck home.

=/\=Chuno, the red evil. Trapped in the void. Freedom and death ride on black wings.=/\=

That sentence read over a large black, square button in the center of the panel.

~ I take it this isn't the lightswitch. ~ James concluded.

He scanned over the rest of the surface of the panel, not finding the patented 'Divinity shining by Dronak's hand.' He had enough of reading Tamarian sentences that sounded like gothic poetry. The strange riddles seemed to add to the oppressively creepy atmosphere, if the rotting smell and the persistent darkness didn't help scare off the visitors. In a rare brainwave, James thought to look near the door again, and in doing so found the divinity shining switch.

Being one with the darkness, and the living epitome of death didn't mean he should stay among the corpses and the shadows longer than he had to. He flicked the switch, just as he heard Electra Reece gasping.

"J-james. Come look at this." Lexa moved back and beckoned to the corpse.

James looked into the unit and saw the Tamarian corpse, a shriveled, wizened body of a male Tamarian. The jaw hung open and the hair was gone. The teeth were missing some of their mates. The body had seemingly been naked, as there was no sign of cloth around the body, not even the dust of decayed cloth. He shook his head. "Poor bastard. Power on the unit must have failed at some point.."

Lexa stared at him. "But ... what about the eyes?"

James looked down. "What about the eyes? They are gone, mostly. Decayed like the rest of him."

Lexa bent over next to James and looked at the Tamarian again. The eyes were withered in their sockets, gazing indeed towards the room, but not living, or even appearing so. ~ 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair ... horrible shadow, unreal mockery' ... Stop it! ~

Lexa shook herself. "I could have sworn ... Never mind. This place is creepy. It's getting to me. Should we move on? These sleeper units mostly seem empty and the others hold corpses. Which door should we try?"

"There's a doorway over here that leads down another hall." He nodded, "Maybe it'll take us to another one of these chambers. I agree with getting the heck out of here ... I find this ship ... unsettling."

~ Unsettling why? Because lovergirl is here? Or is it the scary looking Tamarians that will jump out of their caskets and claw your eyes out? ~ Asked his conscience.

~ And for the last time, shut the f**k up! ~ He swore.

"After you?" James said, opening the rusty old hatch that groaned and creaked like an exhumed coffin. Another hallway, just as cramped and shadowy as before, awaited their arrival. The hall looked as if it turned and twisted around bulkheads, then disappeared into the pitch black. Lexa gingerly stepped through first, then Corgan as he kept the door open behind him. The rotting smell grew bad enough to choke.

In an effort to shut out the horrible smell, James set his mind on Electra. Briefly becoming distracted by her wavy nightshade hair, he pushed that thought out of his mind for something a little more ... intelligent and less lustful.

~ I totally am f**king screwed. ~ He worried, ~ Look at me, in a dark and mysterious ship that reeks like the inside of a Targ's crotch, with a beautiful woman whom I have a freaking ... gawd knows what the hell I'm thinking about her! I don't know if it's real or if it's lust. It has to be lust. How can I love someone? Love is dead, remember? Everyone else killed it. It's dead. It's dead. It's A FREAKING DEAD!!!!!!!!!! Stop thinking about it! Stop it! STOP IT!!!!! ~

~ Why don't you do something about it? ~ Said another voice, foreign to James since he heard many others before.

~ Yeah. stop her from manipulating you. ~ Whispered another.

"Ummmm. Lexa? Are you hearing that?" Lieutenant Corgan asked.

"Hearing what?" She turned her head, oblivious to the internal strife Corgan experienced.

"Nevermind ... carry on." He sighed.

Lexa shivered again, goosebumps riding her arms. ~ Those eyes! I saw them. I know I did. I'm not crazy. They looked so alive. So real ... warning me. No ... that's crazy. It isn't possible ... no ... 'To die: to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream ... for in that sleep of death what dreams may come ... angels and ministers of grace defend us!' ... No, I'm losing my grip. Why do I keep thinking of Shakespeare? And ominous portents, too. No! Stop it! Its this place, the smell, the decay, the evil that seeps throughout ... STOP IT, Lexa. This is ridiculous. Its just a ship. An old ship filled with corpses, but a ship. Stop it! There's nothing to be afraid of. There is no bogeyman, Hamlet's father is not around the corner and the Weird Sisters do not hover through this filthy air. Focus on your mission. ~

James paused for a second to regain a portion of his slipping sanity, ~ Dear god, I must be losing it. How much more can I take. I don't need her to mindf**k me over like what happened with the Borg and the Dominion and all that nasty crap that went on before with Lita. How do I stop this? There has to be a way ... c'mon Corgan. She may be smarter than you, but it doesn't mean she can charm you from here to Altair and back. How do I stop her ... how do I ... ohhhhhh ... hehehehehehehehehehehehehehe!!!!!! ~

Once again, the lightbulb of all knowing enlightenment shone on him in a brilliant beam of brainpower, just as the couple made a hard left in the hall.

~ I'LL JUST PISS HER OFF!!!!!!!!!!! ~

Or was it the voices again?

~ That's right. Stop her. She's evil, you know. Pure evil seductress ... you want to stop her. ~

~ Wait ... she can be easily broken. Try to break her spirit. She is weak in spirit. ~

Donning his Machiavellian grin, he thought up of the most sure fire line to make a girl extremely angry, which in his spiteful mind, came up with a million different ways. He narrowed it down to about a dozen ways to make fun of her height, and selected well executed "You are one tall b*tch, but I bet you're well worth the climb", followed by a clumsy grab for her and a sloppy kiss. After that, he would await the painful slap of stupidity.

~ Do it. ~

~ Destroy the giant freak. ~

Insane? Yes. He fully acknowledged that insanity gripped his mind. This time, he was putting it to productive use, by getting rid of the distraction in his life. The line was ready, loaded in like a bullet in a rifle. His sights were set on Lexa, waiting on a moments notice to strike. His brain was cackling madly, the small part that resisted the idea of shattering her glass ego pushed aside like so many emotions before. This was it. The game of survival prophesized before was about to come to a conclusion.

His insanity addled mind was ready to attack, ironically to save the very brain it messed with.

"Excuse me, Lexa ... you are one..."

She flicked on the next lightswitch at the end of the corridor. While James was distracted in his own twisted little world, Lexa was ready to enter the next door. The lights flickered, one of them sputtered, crackled and died outright.

The light must have driven away the shadows, the voices, whatever decided to mindjob the poor security officer. Not only that, the twists and turns of the hall lead the two officer exactly where the started at the beginning.

There were the same dusty footprints on the metal grates.

James' light shone on a puddle of bile, courtesy of the queasy James Mitchell.

The same hall where the team split off.

"Were you about to say something to me?" Lexa inquisited.

~ Oh. hell. What do I tell her, that I slipped a cog and wanted to call her a b*tch just to piss her off? Boy did I f**k myself over this time. ~ He fumbled for the answer to something, anything, to get him out of this mess, while still figuring out why his brief walk on the other side of mental restraint convinced him to turn his friend's ego into a flaming pile of mush. In short, he was scared that he really was losing his mind. For once, it wasn't the Borg's fault either, but he wouldn't be surprised if he saw regenerative alcoves in the cryogenic chambers, or Borg trying to leap out of the shadows.

The darkness of his soul could easily show itself inside a secluded and often haunted setting. He saw the first visage of this manifestation during his holodeck meditations. That time, there were more than one voice in his head, and not just his conscience. There were all his demons on a frontal assault, and just because an away mission started didn't mean they would give up.

He had to get out of the ship, away from Lexa, and fast. Try to collect whatever scrap of sanity left and sew it back together. He was going nuts, and if he planned on harming Lexa, what could he do next?

Hurriedly, he answered, "Nothing ... except we're back where we started." And then he tapped his comm-badge and spoke, =/\="Lieutenant Corgan to Commander Thomas."=/\=

=/\="Thomas here."=/\= The commander of the away mission responded.

=/\="Sir, me and Lieutenant Reece just restored lighting to one of the cryogenic chambers and their version of a mess hall."=/\=

=/\="Acknowledged. Keep searching the ship for any other rooms. Thomas out."=/\=

Lexa cringed inwardly. ~ Damn. I hoped we could go back to the Galaxy. I hope we can soon, the sooner, the better or I'm going to really crack. I wish we hadn't split up from the rest of the away team. ~

James closed down the comm channel, thinking to himself all the way through. Maybe he was a little crazy. Slightly cracked, may be considered a psychotic, definitely qualifying for a section 13 from Starfleet command, Corgan thought he was insane. Voices were not normal, conscience or not, and thinking about another woman while still holding onto the contradictory belief that love was dead qualified as strange. He couldn't take much more, not since the Borg took on the Galaxy.

He was out of last straws. How did Lexa get a hold of one?

"Let's go ... thataway." James directed, hoping to keep away from the cryogenic chambers and the mess hall for awhile. Lexa nodded, hoping they would run into other team members in that direction.

He shook his head, and groaned.

This away mission turned out to be the most bizarre yet.

"Be that as it may"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price

*** Earlier ***

Captain Price leaned back in his ready room chair and regarded the newly promoted Flight control officer, Lieutenant jg Wren McCauley. It looked like she had just redone her hair into a sassy new style that the General thought was both practical and quite appealing.

"What can I do for you, Wren?" he asked, standing slowly.

"Captain, I must respectively request another assignment," she said, presenting forward the PADD. "I feel I can no longer perform the duties necessary for my position of navigation officer and... I request a reassignment into Operations. It was my, ah... my dual studies during the Academy and I... I feel I would better serve the ship in that capacity. I'm a damn good pilot-excuse me sir-a good pilot, but I do not feel I can... I cannot do it any longer."

Wren held out the PADD she was holding, beckoning the Captain to take it from her hand.

"I see..." Lee stated, taking the small data device. "Is there a problem in the Flight Control department I should be made aware of, or is this simply a desire for a change of pace Lieutenant?"

Wren cringed slightly at the Captain's words. This had been about her own internal struggles and desire for change and growth. Her bobbed hairdo was a perfect example. The thought that the Captain would think there was a problem with her coworkers or department head had never even crossed her mind when she summoned up the courage to ask for a change in assignment. "No... no sir. I'm perfectly happy with the people and officers I've had the opportunity to work with in Flight Control. I just... I... I need a change."

Lee gave a nod and glanced at the PADD. "No worries 'mate. I'll run this by Lieutenant Commanders Savat and Gustavson. If there are no objections, I'm sure a change of departments will be fine."

"Thank you Captain." Wren answered with a sigh of relief.

"Starfleet is always looking for officers that want to take on added responsibilities Lieutenant." The General smiled. "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss 'mate?"

"No sir." Wren replied quickly.

"Fair dinkum. I'll speak to the department heads and see what can be arranged then. Dismissed."

Wren nodded and turned to exit the Captain's ready room.

***

*** Present ***

Captain Price sat in the command chair on the bridge of the USS Galaxy. The away team, lead by Commander Thomas, had finally beamed over to the Tamarian vessel but still had not reported back to the ship with their progress. Lee was just glad that they finally had gotten underway with the mission. The use of junior officers on the away team had slowed down the mission deployment, but Lee agreed with Chris' thoughts that it was better to get the junior officers trained now on this relatively safe assignment.

While the bridge crew was waiting patiently, the turbolift doors opened with a hiss and the Borg Ambassador, Three of Four came walking out onto the bridge along with two security escorts. It had been several weeks since the female drone had been forcibly assigned to the Galaxy to monitor the Federation's use of multiphasic weapons, but still everyone reacted to the Borg present with notable apprehension. Including the Captain.

"Why are we holding position in this region of space?" Three of Four asked bluntly.

Lee looked at the drone and smiled more out of nervousness then any sort of genuine human kindness. "We 'ave come across a rare find. An ancient Tamarian sleeper vessel that somehow got stranded out here in deep space. A team of officers has boarded her to investigate and try to collect her mission logs to find out what happened."

The Borg drone listened to the Captain's explanation without showing any emotion at all. Her face was drawn and plastic-like. Her skin an odd shade of gray. "The vessel is irrelevant. The Borg would not waste time exploring inferior technology that had been so long abandoned."

Lee nodded while looking back at the Tamarian vessel on the view screen. "No, I don't suppose the Borg would be interested in such a relic as this. But us humans have a fascination for history and old things. This vessel is quite a wonderful discovery. We will learn much from it when we get a chance to study her and her logs."

"You waste resources and time when there is little to be gained. Humans are inefficient and sentimental." Three of Four judged while looking at the view screen.

"Well, be that as it may, that is the reason we are stopped here in this remote, desolate sector of space. To investigate this vessel and learn what we can about what got it her." The Captain explained. It was easy to tell that Price was a bit put off at the Borg's superior attitude and the way it was constantly knocking mankind as a race.

"And when you have finished with your,..." Three of Four looked away from the screen and directly at Captain Price with her human eye, "research efforts, what will you do then?"

Lee leaned back. "Most likely, notify the Tamarian government and inform them of this find. They will probably want to send a science team out to retrieve their ship for further study on the effects of prolonged space exposure to this vessel's structure. Or they may request that we tractor the ship to a near by port when their recovery teams can take over."

"Or they may simply request that this discarded vessel be destroyed. That would be far more efficient." Three of Four decided looking back at the three hundred year old antique space craft.

"Well, they might request that, though I doubt it. Like humans, the Tamarians value their history and culture very highly. I'm sure their historians will want to learn more about this vessel and what has happened to her." The Captain stated.

"Perhaps. What becomes of this vessel is of no concern to the Borg. As long as multiphasic weaponry is not used you may proceed with what ever course of action you see fit..." Three of Four commented, adding, "..no matter how inefficient or unproductive that is."

"Well, thank you for that word of encouragement Three of Four." The Captain stated sarcastically. He was unsure if the drone even realized what a sarcastic remark was, for she didn't respond to it in any way. Further evidence that this unit, this drone, was more thing then person; More Borg then human.

Captain Price looked away from the Borg and the two security guards that flanked her and back at the main view screen. He wondered how much longer it would be before he received word from the away team on what was happening over there on the Tamarian sleeper vessel.

"Holodeck Adventure"
by Lt Kira Murphy (Paediatric Doctor),
Ensign Janok (Rigellian Security Officer - NPC), Jenna Mavick (Bajoran Child, Female - NPC), Rishnu Terelia (Bolian Child, Female - NPC) & Sarah Morgan (Terran Child, Female - NPC)
------------------------------------------------------------

Giggling softly as the trio headed down the corridor, Jenna motioned them to stop when Ensign Janok stopped for a moment.

Activating the borrowed audio recorder, she slipped into a longue opposite with Rishnu and Sarah in tow.

Bumping up the recording volume to max, she stuck it around the door and pushed it forwards while the helm officer ran through a list of programs.

Finally, he smiled and spoke,

"Computer, load and run program Grand Canyon Rapids. Safeties on, but engage full enviornmental effects, including water spray and river."

The door opened and Ensign Janok walked in, not hearing the giggles from the lounge opposite.

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

An hour later after Janok left and went to his duty shift...

Jenna, Rishnu and Sarah skipped down the corridor dressed in kayaking gear and carrying paddles.

Opening up a panel, Jenna followed the steps her cousin from the Markeri had sent her, switching the position of two isolinear chips. Keying in a sequence, she waited for the diagnostic cycle to activate. A light went green and she knew she had 1 minute before the system would reset.

Jenna motioned for her friends to be silent by drawing her finger across her neck before activating the play feature.

A slightly staticy version came from the recorder, {Computer, load and run program Grand Canyon Rapids. Safeties on, but engage full enviornmental effects, including water spray and river.}

[Working..... Program loaded and running.]

The light went back to orange and Jenna put the chips back in their previous positions before closing the panel.

Once inside, Jenna skipped to the next pattern - one that she wasn't sure about due to having to make it up from segments recorded secretly during some conversations with Janok.

{Computer.... create.... three.... kayaks.....}

The three girls each took a kayak and pushed off into the river.

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

Sarah shriekd with fright as her canoe barreled into the rapids and she wished she hadn't let Jenna bully her into this by calling her a coward. Having been born on a small colony with an equal mix of Klingons and Terrans, she had quickly learnt about Klingons and shared a lot of their culture, since her parents had been cutural specialists.

Even so, she was fully human and was terrified. Up ahead, she could see Rishnu was in a worse state and gasped when her friend tipped into the river. Trying to direct her kayak away from Rishnu's, she failed and quickly entered the drink. As she went under, she swore to whatever divine beings were out there that Jenna quickly joined them.

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

Jenna was whooping with joy as her kayak raced through the rapids. Suddenly, she caught sight of some rocks up ahead and out of fear, she quickly started back paddling. However, all she managed in doing was rocking her canoe and quickly, she was thrown headfirst into the water.

Breaking to the surface, she coughed as water went down the wrong way.

All of a sudden, she heard someone call out,

"Computer, end program. What are you doing? Children do not have access to this program."

The water disappeared and she found herself sitting on the floor holding a kayak paddle, still drenched to the skin though. Rishnu and Sarah were nearby, also water-logged. Standing at the entrance to the holodeck was Ensign Janok.

Jenna gulped before sighing, "Oops."

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

Looking up from her bench when she heard a cough, Kira looked upto to see a tall Rigellian security officer at the door. Sheepishly following the Rigellian were three of her worst paitents, totally water-logged and dripping.

"Lt Murphy, I found these three running an inappropriate program for their age. As to how they did it, I have no idea. I assume I can leave them in your care instead of the brig."

Kira nodded and directed the children to get up onto the bio-beds as Janok left. Feeling Jenna's forehead to the girl's surprise, Kira told her to open her mouth.

When Jenna did, Kira used a flat wooden stick to hold her toungue while she looked with a light to the back of her throat.

"Hmmm.."

Moving on to check the others, she then headed to the replicator and spoke, "Computer, replicate three thermometers."

A few seconds later, they appeared and Kira got each child to hold it in their mouth.

Moving back to the terminal she had been at, Kira started reading through a report.

Five minutes later, Jenna sighed and pulled the thermometer out before saying, "Geez, can't you just use the tricorder and give us a shot?"

Kira turned towards the bajoran girl with a stern look before replying, "Yes, that would work, but you will just go and do it again, won't you?"

Getting up, Kira took the thermometers and checked them each, noting slightly elevated temperatures.

"As it is, these thermometers have told me plenty. Each of you are suffering from prolonged exposure to cold temperatures."

Heading to a cabinet, she removed three hospital gowns and gave one to each girl before activating the privacy fields, "Get changed into these so you don't get worse colds."

Heading back to her terminal, she brought up the holodeck records using medical privledge for the past hour in the specified holodeck and found that the children had somehow tricked the computer into thinking they were Ensign Janok.

Quickly, she sent a message out to a number of people,

[ From: Lt Kira Murphy, Medical
To: Lt & Ens Mavick, Lt Jg & Ensign Terelia, Ens's Morgan
Cc: Dr Dothan, Lt Cmdr Jii

Earlier today, Ensign Janok from Security caught your three children running an inappropriate holodeck program involving the Grand Canyon Rapids from Earth.

Using an undetermined method, which I suggest Security finds out, they tricked the holodeck computer into believing they were Ensign Janok and ran the program. Luckily, safeties hadn't been disabled.

None of them recieved any injuries, but have contracted the common cold due to prolonged cold water exposure when they were dumped into the river.

While this can be simply treated with a hypospray shot, with your consent, I am proposing that we allow the cold to run its course for awhile, say half a day or so. This may convince them not to pull a stunt like this again in the future.
]

Lt Commander Eric Odin
Lt Commander Maxwell-Navarre Shinta

Shinta went to see Eric. She had heard that he had returned from Bajor, and brought his little son with him.

"May I come in? I've come to see the baby. How was Michala?" She asked everything at once.

Eric laughed and said,"Of course you can come in and Michala is doing great it seems. Thank you for coming by and seeing me and the baby. His name is Ryan." He was holding him and feeding hi ma bottle at the moment.

"He is beautiful." She said. "And by the looks of him, you are doing fine." She smiled. "But if you ever need help, don't hesitate. I know what it is to raise a child alone."

"Thanks Shint and if I need help believe me I will call on you. I know how good of a mother you are. Thank's he's really something." he smiled and asked,"Would you like to hold him?"

"Yes please, I would love that." Shinta held the baby. "How big he is already! About Michala, did she say anything about herr plans for the future?"

He laughed as Ryan grabbed at whatever he could. he was great. he smiled and said,"She just said she was really happy there. I gave her some credits to help out. You're a veteran mother I'd say." He smiled warmly to her to let her know he was grateful for the brief reprief.

Shinta smiled. " Do you already have a baby sitter? It is really important to find somebody that you trust, and the baby feels comfortable with. With the long hours we make, she will be an important person in his life."

"No, I don't. I know I need one, but who could watch him?"He asked not sure who it would or could be. He knew shinta worked long hours and such so he didn't want to burden her. He really wasn't sure who else would be a good baby-sitter.

"I can recommend mine. She is a little Young, a daughter of scientists serving a board. But she has helped me through a couple of crices already. Tell you what, I can ask her if she can take on one more?" Shinta said.

"Hey, thanks. That would really help Shinta. You're a great friend,"He said with a smile. He saw her motherly holding of Ryan and he just hoped he could hold him half as tender as that.

"Any time, Eric." She handed his son back. "Now I should get back to my little darlings. But remember feel free to drop by any moment."

"Thank you. I will as soon as I think I have got him settled. They drain some energy out of you, that's for sure,"he said with a smile. "Have a great day Shinta." He waved.

"Mottled Fears"
by James Mitchell
Science Officer

***Proud Like Tupoka***

James surveyed his surroundings with trepidation as he sloshed down the shadowy corridor gripping the person ahead of him for a kind of comfort, he supposed. They hadn't said anything to the effect, but assumed they felt the same as he did. The muscles were tight and the fabric of the uniform sweaty. It was difficult to make out any kind of form of the person ahead of him in the dancing flames of light. The flickering reminded him of candles in a breeze, but he felt no ventilation of any kind.

The environmental systems of the vessel were on low power. Enough to keep the air somewhat circulating, yet grotesquely stale. The overbearing odor of decay and decomposition wrenched at his olfactory senses, even through the filters.

The away team trudged through the corridors single file, as there was only enough room to pass one at a time. James felt the walls of the hallway brush against his sweat-stained uniform, and he stopped to touch them. Slick with condensation, he aimed his light at the wall, to see it shrink back from the beam as if in fear, but he attributed it to his eyes simply adjusting to the close proximity of the wall. He reached out to touch it as he continued on, and cringed as it felt to him like scaly skin, green and dripping with water. In the distance, he could hear the drip, drip, drip of liquid, and thought of how well the vessel was constructed for its pipes to survive as long as they did and not to have shattered completely.

He stopped to wipe down a spot of the membrane-like sheath that layered the walls and fill a specimen bottle with the hunter green scalles for analysis later. As he peeled off the layer of mottled epiderm, he caught sight of something underneath. With his light trained on the spot, he chipped away more of the slick fabric tro reveal the beginnings of an image that had been painted on the surface.

The Away team had moved further away, and their flashlights were winking out one by one as they rounded corners up ahead. James felt an odd sensation come over him, as if he were being watched. The hairs went up on the back of his neck and a shiver rolled down his spine. Hurrying, he captured an image in his tricorder and rushed as quickly as he could up the corridor to catch up to his crewmates. All the while, he kept glancing over his shoulder into the darkness that swallowed up the space behind him as fear began to build up in him of something following him.

As his terror increased, so did his heartrate. The silence was deafening, and the sloshing of the water under his feet was drowned out by his panic. His pulse banged in his ears, and a red haze began to fall over his vision. A dark angel on wings flew down upon him, or so his imagination told him, and he stumbled around a corner, falling in a heap as he slid through the tunnel on his belly, coming to a stop as he crumpled into another wall further down. The vacuum behind him filled him with so much dread, he was damn sure something was following him, and was right at his heels, nipping at him, trying to ensnare him in its deadly trap.

A light beamed into his eyes and he threw up his hands in fear. It was the end, and he tried to defend himself as he was blinded, even though he was at a disadvantage being down and out on the ground.

"Are you okay, sir?" A voice. A humanoid voice. Was it a trap? He squinted against the light and drew his phaser out from under his soggy tunic. The humidity was making the vessel hot and heavy to breathe in. He gasped for air.

A hand reached out, illuminated by its light. James' lantern had fallen away somewhere.

"Show me your face, first." He pulled back and swung his phaser around to point it directly at the being in front of him.

Tyrola Lomax turned the lantern towards herself to reveal her glistening sweat and grimestained face, then turned it back to James.

"Commander Thomas and the others are up ahead in a larger chamber. He noticed you were missing and sent me back to find you. Did you not hear his commsignal to you?" James grunted as he was pulled up by the Engineering officer. He brushed off his sooty pants, which were now soaked with a reddish stain from sliding along the floor. He assumed it was the original ship paint, peeling away in the heat.

"No, I didn't...See my lantern up there by chance?" He glanced back behind him, just to make sure, as his hair had begun to curl up again in apprehension. 'Never mind, let's just get out of here. This place spooks me out." "Aye, sir. I agree wholeheartedly. Follow me." She turned around and splashed her way back up the hallway towards Commander Thomas and his crew. "Here's your lantern, sir." Her light fell to the floor as she picked up his still-lit beam and passed it back to him.

They exited the small crawlway just as Commander Thomas was finishing an order to split up in pairs. The orange-glowing illumination emanated from the new chamber they were in, and the away teams lights played around the room to light it up. There was nary a mite of dust on the equipment, and no haze in the air.

"This ship is in remarkable condition for 300 years, Commander." James' muffled voice carried weight of awe as he scanned the room, and moved to examine the equipment. He pulled out his tricorder to capture images of the pipes and consoles that lay throughout. The image he had taken earlier appeared on his screen. He'd almost forgotten about it. He saw lights wink out as they exited to their various missions, lost in thought.

The image was a curious one. He'd understood that Tamarian language was based on events, names, places, and their writings were pictures and icons. This image portrayed what appeared to be bipeds laying down as if in sleep, others walking a road of sorts alongside, and just on their perimeter, were swooping images of birds or creatures of some kind. It was a strange image.

"Lieutenant Mitchell!" Commander Thomas rang James out of his reverie. He was standing beside him, and James hadn't even heard him approach. He'll have to change that habit. This ship was creeping him out for some reason, and he wanted to get off it. The sooner the better.

"Yes, sir!" James came to attention as Chris peered at his tricorder over his shoulder. Lomax stood near him to the side, checking out some kind of console nearby.

"What is that? A Tamarian glyph?" His brow wrinkled at his read the data. The transalator could make no sense of it.

'I'm not sure, sure. I found it etched on a corridor a ways back. It's what kept me from keeping up. Sorry, sir. I can promise it won't happen again." He was getting edgy.

Thomas looked up to and scratched his chin. "Bundle it up with the other data that is going to be sent to the Galaxy. We'll see if they can decipher it. Unitl then... Ms. Lomax?" Tyrola looked up from her musings and came to stand beside the First Officer.

"I need you and James to pair up and try to find Engineering. We need the environmental systems back online, ASAP." "Aye, sir." They both responded in unison and began their own personal mission.

***
"Mottled Fears"
by James Mitchell
Science Officer

"Free advice"

LCDR Mike O'Grady
LCDR Naviree-Maxwell Shinta
Counseling staff USS Galaxy

After thinking for long time, Shinta decided to see Michael about Bruce. She knew how much he hated to see a counselor, but she thought that he would feel more comfortable talking to a man.

"Do have a minute?" She asked entering his office.

Mike nodded and gestured to a chair, "What's on your mind?"

"Could you talk to Bruce? I am worried about him. He has gone through hell, and he doesn't really want to talk about it. He distrusts counselors."

"Well that could be a problem. To be honest the best person to help him is you."

Shinta was amazed. "You really think so? I always hold to the rule, that you should not treat family members. I gave up Bruce as a patient when we started getting seriously involved. do you really think I should help him now?"

"Not as a counselor, as his wife." Mike said honestly, "Look some times you don't need to discuss post traumatic stress disorder, or Kubler Ross and the 5 stages of dying to make someone feel better. He just needs someone to listen, to talk about what happened to him. That's what I did for Rayna, and it's what you should do for Bruce."

He paused, "is he having nightmares?"

"I don't think so. I have not seen them yet. " She was thinking. Maybe he was right, she could do it herself. "Michael I am going to take your advice and try to talk to him myself first. If it doesn't work I can always come back to you. You have been a great help." She smiled at him.

"Hey no problem, it's in the job description." He grinned.

"Mistress of the Dark, pt II"
by Lt jg Autumn Jamieson ACMO
Lt jg Gary Trabuco, Security

*** Aboard the Proud Like Tupocka - moments before Autumn meets up with Gary ***

The seductress with the creamy white skin and womanly figure held tightly to the young security officer who lustily caressed her body. She seemed to revel in the attention, the sudden and complete capitulation of the Human. He bent to her will with almost no resistance.

She bit his lip, and tasted the hot flood of rich, healthy blood. The tiniest taste and she stopped sucking. The anticipation could grow a bit before she gave in.

Soon her kisses left his lips, and traced his jawline to the spot below the sublieutenant's ear. The human moaned appreciatively as he continued to explore her form. She moved her lips further down his neck until the neck joined the shoulder, and paused. She inhaled, held the breath of air, and then pulled her lips back to reveal a set of terrible fangs.

She maneuvered her mouth over his exposed neck, and plunged the canines into the flesh. As she rocked her head once, twice to seat her bite firmly over the torn skin, a gout of red blood, full of life, splashed upon her face. The shocking red stood out vividly against the paleness of her cheeks.

She drew in a generous mouthful of the living liquid. The man in her grip gasped and his whole body tensed as if in orgasm. They held that position, her chest rising and falling with each swallow. The man's eyes fluttered, him in a state of euphoria. Finally she pulled herself free. He could only spare so much... She watched the muscular human slowly recover his senses.

A moment later, a voice shouted from the entrance to the room: "LIEUTENANT TRABUCO!"

***

Autumn stood watching the room. Six sleeper cells and four were occupied. Gary standing in the center of the room looking for all the world like a stunned mullet and two pale strangers standing in front of them. The female was eyeing Gary and the male was looking staright at the doctor. She unhooked her phaser and casually held it while she scanned the room with her tricorder.

He appeared perfectly healthy, though out-of-sorts. Lieutenant jg Trabuco blinked and looked slowly left and right. Confused, he wondered where the strange man had come from. Wasn't he alone with the dream lady? He felt as if he had been awakened from the most pleasant of dreams and he was more than a little unwilling to let go of it.

"GARY!" She said loudly to the still dazed Lt standing beside her. "Care to explain this situation? And why haven't you contacted Commander Thomas?" She paused and checked her scans noting that the technologie was different from those in the other chamber. "Thats is it I am definatly calling Commander Thomas." She said hoping for a reaction.

He didn't try to stop her from contacting the commander. He simply said, "Doctor Jamieson... how wonderful, I've found a survivor!" Or two, he thought.

Autumn gave him a strange look as if to say 'No duh!' But her hand with the phaser didn't waver as she hooked the tricorder to the belt and her hand lifted to the com badge on her uniform. "Um LT Care to explain why the hell you didn't contact me?" she asked watching the pair warily. Not waiting for an anwser she tapped her badge activating the channel "Commander Thomas. Dr Jameison here we have found some surviviors. You should be able to locate our postion quiet easily. Jamieson out." she turned back to the others her hand slowly decending from her badge as she waited for Gary's answer. She un-hooked her tricorder again and waited. These people were freaky.

The security officer still seemed dazed and confused. He looked at the doctor as if she had sprouted antlers. "Excuse me?" he asked. A moment later, Gary turned back toward the strange woman. It was as if he couldn't pull himself free from her seductive attention. He lost sight of the others in the room again...

"Minutia."
By Lt. Commander Kent Peterson
Chief Science Officer

The holodeck doors opened with a loud mechanical noise as the gears turned. From within the recreational room emerged Kent Peterson - still dressed for the hockey game he had been indulging in for the last hour or so. The simulation left the scientist's hair wet and his muscles were sore - nothing left him feeling so invigorated. Unlike rock climbing, hockey was something that did not loose its appeal in the holodeck - there was simply no challenge in navigating a simulated cliff-face when you knew there was no danger.

"Sir," an ensign said as she walked passed Kent.

Peterson nodded politely, responding with, "Ensign."

The lieutenant commander turned right and proceeded down the corridor armed with a hockey stick in one hand and a pair of skates slung over his shoulder. He attracted the attention of a few officers - those from planets other than Earth - who were unfamiliar with the game. Possibly to them it was possible he was indulging in some form of martial program, or vigorous calisthenics program.

["Quevvenson to Peterson,"] Wilhelm said as he opened a channel from the Bridge. While Lieutenant Mitchell was away, Wilhelm had offered to take over the Beta shift until the assistant chief science officer returned. If anything it gave him some extra time on the Bridge, other than during the dreaded 'graveyard shift'.

Kent looked around on his sporting uniform to see where he had attached his communicator. Finding it a few moments later he tapped it. "Peterson here," he finally responded.

["Sir, the report you requested from Lieutenant' Wej has arrived. Did you want me to route it through to your office, your quarters, or should I just leave it up here, sir? She seemed a little anxious that you received it."]

The chief scientist had come to appreciate the social flaw in Wej's behavior - she simply did not like extensive interaction with other members of the crew. It was one of the reasons why she preferred to remain secluded in the 'Crow's Nest'. Chances are she was no anxious about the report itself, but more or less exhibiting to Quevvenson the same reaction she had when he reported to the Bridge earlier that day - anxious to get back to Stellar Cartography.

"I'm already on my way to my quarters," Kent began as he continued to walk down the corridor; "so it's probably best to send it there. I've already got an afternoon of paperwork so you may as well throw it on to the heap."

["Aye. Routing it through now."]

"Has there been any word from the away team yet?"

["Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the usual,"] Wilhelm responded. ["But I suspect Rose is probably enjoying herself too much to really worry about that. It's not often you come across a centuries-old Tamarian vessel just sitting there in space."]

The chief science officer smile, "So true Lieutenant'. Let me know if you hear anything."

["Understood sir. Quevvenson out."]

The sound of the Bridge science stations continued to be heard over the comm channel until the channel was closed - notification given by the computer by a short beep that sounded.

Kent walked through the corridors and decks of the Galaxy - from his current location on Deck Eleven to his quarters on Deck Eight.

The doors to his quarters parted with a soft swish as soon as his finger depressed a button on the keypad attached to the doorframe. Walking in he placed the hockey stick down, leaning it against the way, before he moved to his quarters. Removing the soaked jersey, he threw on the pile of dirty laundry sitting in the corner of his room. It was one of those luxuries of being a bachelor - he could afford to make a mess and have no one complain about it.

Walking into the bathroom he threw some cold water from the basin over his face before returning to the bedroom. There he put on some fresh clothes.

"Computer, check messages and reports," Peterson said as he pulled the shirt over his head.

["There are three message, five reports, one appointment request and seven subspace messages for Peterson, Lieutenant Commander Kent,"] the computer responded.

"What is the appointment?"

["Counseling session reminder. Message sent by Dallas, Counselor Karyn."]

"Move it to my schedule," Kent replied. "Read out the messages."

["Message from Takahasi, Ensign Asako; Message from Mitchell, Lieutenant James; Message from Thomas, Commander Chris."]

Ignoring it for a moment, the lieutenant commander walked to the wall-mounted replicator. "Coffee, hot, two sugars and milk."

The replicator hummed softly as a hot mug of coffee materialized in the dispenser bay. Kent reached in and removed it, immediately lifting it out and drinking a mouthful.

"Play message from Ensign Takahashi."

["Sir,"] Asako's voice said from the computer recording of her message, ["we've recalibrated the field integrity on the containment pod but the plasma sample is still interfering with it. I've spoken to a friend in engineering and he will have a look at it first thing tomorrow morning when he finishes his shift."]

"Next message."

["Three of Four's alcove is showing some fluctuations. We've taken a look at it and corrected the problem for now, but it appears that the technology used is not handling the EPS tap too well. We may have to consider re-evaluating the schematic and looking at another solution. So much for Borg technology."]

Kent moved to the couch, holding the mug of coffee tightly with both hands. "Next message ..."

"Last House on the Left - Leo"

With Leo Streely(NPC journalist turned bartender) and NPC Ensign Charles Tunallo (NPC school teacher) with a cameo appearance by Lt. Raven Darkstar (Security) - sort of.

(Previously: After a creepy encounter with a strange old man in the hallways of the ship, Leo and Raven have made it their personal missions to find out a bit more about the eerie stranger....)

"All right, all right. You guys almost done here?" Leo asked from behind the bar, his attention focused on the three drunks at the bar. Stacks of shotglasses were piled high before them, after having spent the past hour and a half unwinding after their shift had concluded.

Still laughing, one of them men reached for the keypad to input his personal number to pay for the drinks and knocked the empty glasses to the floor. they began to apologize as Leo knelt down and began scooping them up. "Don't worry about it pal. It will only come out of my pay. Remind me to mix you a real special drink next time. On the house. Urine and cranberry juice. You'll love it."

"I think I'm going to be sick." the younger man said, not used to synthahol yet.

"Don't you puke on my bar! Don't even open your yap! Here, use this if you have to!" he said handing the man the peanut basket and pointing him to the men's room. "Last door on the left!"

Leo glanced down the hallway to make sure the man made it then looked at the remaining officers. They had begun to shake off the effects of the evenings festivities.

"Listen up, OK? I need you guys to help me out here." he said.

"We're still a bit foggy for a few seconds, but we'll do what we can." the Bajoran ensign said, his earring jingling when he spoke. The others nodded their agreement and Leo continued. "OK, OK, OK..concentrate here...you guys ever seen a creepy old man..grey hair..freaky eyes. White department shirt. His face looks like ..you know like a face kinda."

Leo was filled with disappointment as they shook their heads. He had wanted to be able to find the old man and present him to Raven. It didn't look like that was going to happen. "All right fellas. Thanks for your time."

The still drunken ensign staggered out of the men's room.

"How about you, sunshine. You see any weird old men lately? Gray hair?"

"You mean the Captain?" the young ensign asked.

His friends laughed as Leo just rolled his eyes. "Oh, I can see that your gonna go far on this ship. Commander Thomas better watch his ass with shining stars like you gracing our halls. Why don't you guys take him to see ol' Zonhieb. That'll sober him up. Thanks for nothing."

Another chorus of laughter erupted as the drunken ensign fell to the floor. As they were picking him up, the Bajoran said: "CHARLIE TUNA!!" His partner dropped the drunken ensign back on the floor and snapped his fingers, repeating the name. Leo watched as the men scanned the 10 Forward before finally pointing to a man sitting alone at a far booth. He didn't look anything like the old man.

"He's the guy to talk to. He's good at making faces from descriptions. He does it all the time." Leo wiped his hands on a towel. "Next time drinks are on the house! One round!" he said and hurried on over to where the man was sitting and slid in the booth opposite of him as the formally drunken officers exited, laughing to themselves.

Across from Leo, the chubby Lieutenant whistled merrily as he ran one paint stained hand through his long frizzy red hair. Spread out in front of him were sheets of paper covered with crayon drawings, various hand stamps, scissors, buttons and glue. in his hand he held a homemade puppet that he was working on that bore a striking resemblance to Dr. McCoy, the Enterprise's medical officer.

The lieutenant gave no indication that he even knew Leo was there.

"Hey, pal. I need your help if you have a ..."

McCoys felt covered head whirred around. " DAMMIT JIM!! I'M A PUPPET NOT AN INFORMATION OFFICER!!!."

Leo stared at the man. "Ah..thats just lovely, Listen I need you to.."

"I got another one!" the smiling man said reaching into his bag and pulling out a Montgomery Scott puppet. "I"M GIVING IT ALL SHE'S GOT, CAPTAIN! I DON'T THINK SHE CAN LISTEN TO YEA MUCH LONGER!!!" His other hand now held an Uhura puppet. " CAPTAIN, IM PICKING UP A STRANGE MAN HAILING US!" the puppet said as it removed a device from its felt covered ear.

The man went back to ignoring Leo as he played with the puppets and sung what sounded like an old Cardassian sea shanty. "Look, Pal, OK? I think you need some time with the councilor and a padded room." The man gave no response, and Leo continued. " Just finish your sideshow and move along, huh? Sorry I bothered you. I'll factor my tip into your bill personally. Come back again, eh?"

"THAT WOULD BE ILLOGICAL" the puppet Spock replied with an arched eyebrow.

The guy's a loon - Leo thought. There's just no getting through to him in that childish little pea brain. Now I'm back at zero again. I have half a mind to cram one of those puppets of his straight up his big fat ...argh!. I bet he wouldn't be doing this if...if...- he paused and a smile creeped across his face. He wouldn't be acting like a loon if someone else was talking to him. Someone like...

"Raven!" he said, the name almost exploding from his lips. He couldn't ask Raven to come down here. Surely he was busy breaking bones and setting things on fire, but perhaps there was a way after all.

Standing bolt straight while puffing out his chest, Leo smoothed his hair a bit and tried to put a scowl on his face that ended up looking as if he were constipated and straining to solve the problem. He snorted, puffed out his arms, flexed his fingers then took two exaggeratedly stiff steps toward the man.

"Lieutenant" he said in his normal voice, then did his best to make it as deep as possible. "The Galaxy needs your talents. Grrr. Grrr. You are the man I need.Grr. Pay attention or be hurt. I need you to work your velvet magic. Harumph. Harumph. Or you shall be detained in an uncomfortable manner of my choosing. Grr."

The officer stopped playing with the puppets and looked again at Leo. " Are you OK? I mean mentally?"

"What the hell kind of.. I mean, affirmative. Grr. Grr."

"You ought to look into an outlet for your frustrations." he said pointing at the puppets. "Maybe take up a hobby. Now what do you want from me. I'm kinda busy."

Leo watched the man produce a fresh unmade puppet and several pieces of colored felt.

"I am seeking a male. Argh. Grrr. "

"Have you tried the gym? Lots of sweaty hard bodies there." Tunallo said as he smoothed the puppets body and picked up the scissors. " That was a joke. To lighten you up a little bit. You look like you are going to explode."

"I posses no sense of humor. Laughter is a foreign concept to me, and I do not, nor have I ever exploded." Leo said, his face reddening under the strain of portraying the Security officer.

"Right. OK. Why don't you tell me what this man looks like..." he said.

*** Later ***

Leo held in his hand the finished puppet. On it was a somewhat comical and muppet-like image of the old mans face. "This is exactly what he looks like. How did you do it?" Leo asked.

A puppet of Captain Kirk answered him.(spoken in typical Kirk cadence) "ITS A GIFT....NOTHING THAT CAN.....BE TAUGHT........BUT I.............THANK YOU FOR..........YOUR .......MUCH DESERVED......PRAISE OF.......MY....GREATNESS.....NOW IF YOU.........EXCUSE ME.....THERE IS A.....UNIVERSE TO SAVE."

"Yeah right. OK. I'm glad this is over" Leo said glancing out the window at the abandoned derelict freighter hovering in the blackness outside the ship.

He walked back behind the bar and admired the Lieutenants work. Jago Jones, the ten foreword manager was leaning against the bar.

"You got some odd fetishes there, Leo. I don't think I wanna know."

Leo smiled, happy to be himself again. "You would think that, pervert. Now all I gotta to do is put a name to the face here."

"If you want my advise, Id show that thing to the Binars in engineering. They're good at processing images and information. They could probably tell you how many people on the ship look like that there puppet. Then you can go from there."

"Great Idea! I'm taking a break! Ill be back!" Leo hollered as he dashed into the hall, clutching the puppet.

"Last House on the Left - Raven"

With Lt. Raven Darkstar (Security) and NPC security sketch artist Ensign Borzi with a cameo appearance by Leo Streely (NPC journalist turned bartender) - sort of.

(Previously: After a creepy encounter with a strange old man in the hallways of the ship, Raven and Leo have made it their personal missions to find out a bit more about the eerie stranger....)

(OOC NOTE: This takes place after the yet unreleased JP between Raven and Savannah Worthington. Sorry Michal, i had to get something out this week.)

"Where is Borzi?" Raven asked, looming over the frustrated woman who was manning the security desk. Stacks of padds were piled high before her, each containing information and incident reports, requisitions, and security orders.

She looked up from the mountain of work, then pointed down the hall to her left, knocking over a cup full of pens. Raven rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his broad chest as the women retrieved the fallen implements then asked: "May...May I help..what was it you wanted again?"

"Borzi. Where." Raven stated again, a bit annoyed at having to repeat himself.

"Oh, right. Borzi. The sketch artist. Last door on the left."

Glancing down the nearly darkened hallway he noted not only an absence of light, but also an absence of people. The wing looked abandoned.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Oh yes. The ensign is a bit..eccentric.." she said, her tongue piercing visible when she spoke. "He claims the atmosphere helps him get in touch with his creative energies."

Raven grunted and with a nod of thanks, he walked down the dark hallway until he came to the door to the artists office. He touched the intercom.

"Ensign this is Lt. Darkstar."

No reply.

"I repeat, Ensign, this is .."

[GO AWAY!!!]

Few things catch Lt. Darkstar off guard. Hearing the Ensign's reply was one that did. Disbelief was etched across his face, followed immediately by his usual stony resolve as he rolled his shoulders and opened the door.

The inside of Ensign Borzi's office bore no resemblance to any Starfleet security office Raven had ever seen. Deep purple and black tapestrys hung all around the room. Canvases were draped from the center of the room in rows like clothing on a line. There were four spotlights in the airy studio, all focused on a painting. The floor and walls were covered with paint splatters.

Off in the corner, under the largest of the lights was the Ensign. He appeared to be in his 50's, an odd age to still be an ensign, yet taking into account how the man replied to a senior officer, Raven could understand why.

In Borzi's hands were two large paint brushes. Feverishly he would paint on the canvas before him then pause to gaze out the window before dipping the brushes into large open bottles of paint that lined the desk next to him as well as various brushes, inks and coloring devises.

The ensign gave no indication that he even knew Raven was there.

"Your behavior in the hallway..."

Borzi whirled on him. " I don't need to be lectured by you. You need me, I don't need you."

Raven stared in disbelief again. "Your hostile attitude.."

"Your attitude is one which dilutes the polarization of my faculties. It shall be vested upon thee tenfold. Be gone! I have an image that must be brought forth and I can ill afford assaults on my karma." the man said waiving the brush for emphasis.

Borzi went back to humming a Ferengi lullaby which sounded oddly like a cash register set to music. Raven was debating weather to attack Borzi with the easel in the corner or to use one of the discarded paint can lids on the floor when an unlikely third option came to mind.

Negotiation.

He had heard about people talking rather than assaulting one another and figured what the hell, he could always bludgeon the man later. Now all he had to do was figure out how to reach the Ensign on his own kooky level. He needed to act like a certifiable lunatic himself. He needed to act like...

"Leo." he said, the name almost dripping off his lips. He hung his head at the thought of it. It was a long shot, but the two men were equally as insane and irritating. He looked over his shoulder to see if there was anyone he knew standing behind him.

Grumbling he slouched his posture, rumpled his hair a bit and tried to put a smile on his face that ended up looking more like a grimace of pain. He waved his hands in the air then took two exaggeratedly bouncy steps toward the man.

"OK...OK..." he grumbled in a deep voice, then did his best to make it as squeaky as possible. "All right. I think we have gotten off on the wrong foot. OK. OK. You are the man. I need the man. I need you to work your magic brush. OK. OK. Karma. Karma Chameleon. OK."

Borzi stopped painting and looked again at Raven. " Are you asking me out?"

"NO! I mean, no. OK. OK."

"Good. I don't go out. Sit. Sit." he said pointing at a stool. " Tell me what it is you need me to extract from the confused void that is your mind."

Raven watched the man produce a fresh canvas and faced him.

"I need to locate a man. OK. OK."

"Have you tried the ten foreword?" Borzi asked as he applied a base coat on the canvas then took up another brush. " That was a joke. To lighten the mood and unchain the free soaring spirit."

"OK. Right. Soaring spirit. My spirit soars high with your enlightening humor. OK. OK." Raven said, not quite understanding the man.

"Describe to me his face..." Borzi said.

*** Later ***

Raven held in his hand the painted canvas. On its surface was a somewhat skewed and distorted image of the old mans face. There was no denying the resemblance.

He looked around to thank the artist but he saw the man had gone back to his previous work. Borzi grabbed the canvas and laid it against the wall next to the window. On it was the image of the Tamarian freighter drifting in space.

Raven watched as the man took a can of black paint and slowly began to pour it over the picture. Black tendrils seemed to creep slowly out of the ship and reach into the stillness of space hungrily.

He walked out of the studio and into the security office where the woman with the tongue ring leaned over to take a look at Borzi's work.

"Nice. Kinda dark and scary looking."

Raven grunted, happy to be himself again. "Now I need to put a name to the face."

"I would try the Binars in engineering. That's what everyone else does with his paintings. They're good at that deciphering the images he makes. Coarse, they're kinda eccentric too."

"Isn't everyone?" Raven asked as he made his way into the hall, still holding the dripping canvas.

"Family Meeting, Part One"

Commander Karyn Dallas RN
Chief Counselor/Nurse

Lt. Commander Navarre Shinta
Assistant Chief Counselor

Lt. Commander Mike O'Grady
Counselor

Lt. Adrian An'quinsos
Counselor

Ensign Sara Taylor
NPC Counselor
USS Galaxy

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

Karyn took her customary spot at the head of the table and waited for the rest of the senior counselors to file in. For veterans like Shinta, Mike and even the newly returned An'quinsos, the weekly staff meetings were old hat, but as Karyn watched as one of the new arrivals, Ensign Sara Taylor, enter the large gathering of officers, she was reminded that an increasing number of officers in all fields of Starfleet were getting younger and younger, yet were expected to handle more responsibility than ever before. "Someone get this woman a chair," Karyn called, "anyone who is willing to help take on the responsibility of ensuring the mental well-being of over a thousand people on board this ship can join this table anytime."

There were a few chuckles as Mike found another chair to pull up to the table, indicating a new member of the family had arrived. They were truly a family, and while new and old members would continue to come and go, Karyn had had the privelege of seeing this group of dedicated officers build comraderie as they committed themselves to helping those in need. She realized that part of the reason she was so reluctant to take a chance at losing this was because she cared for them so much and would miss working with them so closely.

Karyn was a bit annoyed that another new arrival, Ensign Junaris, had not arrived yet. As she turned her attention to the conference table, she realized his was the only empty chair remaining. She didn't know why he wasn't here, but she didn't have time to search for him and find out at the moment. When she saw the ensign next, she was going to have to speak to him about the importance of being on time, and if that couldn't happen, the importance of letting her know why he couldn't be on time. As an officer on the USS Galaxy and a gradute of Starfleet Academy, she had thought the need for that kind of reminder had passed, but apparently it hadn't. It wasn't the best first impression one could make on one's commanding officer. Giving Shinta a wry grin, she took a sip of her raktajino and then started the meeting.

"Some of you may have noticed I called the weekly meeting a few days early, but that's because I have something very important to discuss with all of you, but first, I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome back Lt. Adrian An'quinsos and welcome a newcomer to our midst, Ensign Sara Taylor." Karyn smiled at both of them. "Adrian, you'll be happy to know Mike kept your seat warm for you.

Everyone please make Ensign Taylor feel at home. That being said, I'd also like to congratulate our own newly promoted Lt. Commanders Navarre and O'Grady.

Thank you both for your continued service to this crew and this department. I know keeping me straight in addition to your clients is a full time job, but someone's got to do it, and I thank you for doing so each and every day. I appreciate the hard work all of you put in to make sure all of us are happy and healthy."

When entering the room, Shinta had already congratulated Michael on his promotion. She was glad that they had both been promoted. And she greeted the new counselor warmly.

Mike had taken the congratulations on both his promotion and the twins, Gillian was much stronger, she would be home in the next 48 hours. Then the fun began.

Adrian warmly greeted the two Counselors and whole-heartedly congratulated them both on their promotions, and welcomed Junaris into the fold. Adrian was as well congratulated on his marriage to Zerhi.

"I have one more piece of rather important news that I wanted to share with you all and also to discuss before we move on to more routine matters. A few moments ago I was called into Commander Thomas' office and offered the position of Second Officer aboard the Galaxy to replace Lt. Commander Surok, who died heroically trying to assist the Captain's Away Team on the Borg cube. I told him before I could make a decision, I needed to have a discussion with my officers because if I took him up on this offer, it wouldn't just affect me, it would affect this entire department, especially our clients." She paused to look at each of them and to let the news sink in.

Shinta stayed silent now. She had already talked to Karyn about this, and she wanted to hear what the others had to say.

Mike raised an eyebrow. If Karyn became second officer, he would have to step up to assist the crew and even help prop up the overwhelmed asst chief, who apparently had a LOT of life changing incidents in a short time. That did concern him somewhat.

Adrian raised a brow in interest. He felt this was a wise step, and a great opportunity to advance her career. He was ready to handle to extra workload if that's what it took. It was a new step, but an uncertain one. "What will this promotion involve Commander?"

"For starters, accepting this position means that I am going to spend a great deal of time with Commander Thomas learning the ropes, so it means I'm not going to be around as much to handle department responsibilities. I will remain the Chief Counselor of the Galaxy, and I will be available to assist my clients and to answer your questions as much as possible, but at least until I adjust to not being able to sleep ever again," she laughed at this, "I will be counting on you all to hold the fort even more than I already do. I realize many of you have family responsibilities outside of this department to be concerned about, and I realize that by accepting this position, I have effectively made a decision for you that will mean you won't have as much time to spend with those you love. I know all of you will do whatever I ask of you simply because I am you commanding officer, but you have always been more than my subordinates, I consider you all my friends and family, and while the decision will ultimately be mine to make, it was important to me that you have an opportunity to voice your opinions and concerns before something like this was thrust upon you to deal with."

The El-Aurian nodded with a calm demeanor. He would miss those private moments spending with his wife, but he knew she would more than understand. Amazingly she always did. He of course would make up for it as often as he could. As for these changes, it was a chance for him to hone his skills. Besides, he came from a long-lived race that had a plethora of knowledge and patience to boot. In the end this was merely another step on the road of life.

"As I'm sure you are all aware, accepting this promotion has some long-term consequences for all of you as well. By taking this on, I am also accepting the fact that some time down the road, I may be asked to become the Galaxy's Executive Officer, essentially giving up my position as Chief Counselor here. In the event that happens, Lt. Commander Navarre Shinta would most likely take my place. I have every confidence in Shinta's ability to run things here, but this will also mean big changes for all of you."

Mike had his own opinions and kept them silent, mainly because he would voice them to Karyn privately, and he felt they were valid ones.

If Karyn had already annointed her successor, Captain Price would of course listen to her advice, which meant he was out of any advancement. Not that he was greedy for advancement, but he did want to make a good life for his family, and department head slots helped in the long run, getting better assignments and even instructor positions on earth.

Karyn laughed at seeing Adrian's calm nod. "That's it? Adrian nods calmly, which frankly I expected, and it's unanimous through silence and smiles? No 'we'll miss you Karyn, you're a slavedriver already, Karyn, we'll never forgive you if you leave us and become one of them, Karyn!'?" She was teasing them of course. They were acting just as she expected they would, they were taking the news in stride because they could handle it and they understood what an important opportunity this was for her, and by extension, counselors in Starfleet.

She smiled, "I appreciate your support and can understand your reaction. Until I actually get the ball rolling, I won't know what this is really going to be like, and neither will you, but we'll find out soon enough I suppose," she paused, "this is an important opportunity that I wouldn't have even considered if I felt you all couldn't handle it, and so it's a credit to all of you that we as a department have come as far as we have." She looked to Shinta and smiled. "I want you all to remember this when you're pulling your hair out and cursing my name." she laughed, and knew she was ready to move on, not just in the meeting, but in her career as well.

OOC: Part Two is forthcoming as are my JP responses. I'm very busy in RL, but I am around and needed to get this out. ~Lori

=====
Commander Karyn Dallas RN
Chief Counselor/Nurse
USS Galaxy

"The Storm begins To Rage Inside"
BY Lt.Cmndr Maxwell-Navarre
Counselor
and Lt.Bruce Maxwell
Helmsman

Bruce sits on the couch, looking over the list of promotions and his new assignment onboard the ship. He toss's the padd almost across the room. He then runs his hand thru his hair. He wouldnt of gotten skipped if the damn cardies wouldnt have nabbed him. He then mummbles. "It might be time to resign."

Shinta had noticed that something was wrong, bruce was not himself and she knew he had to talk about it so she sat down opposite him, "you have to talk, and I mean professionally this time, you`ve been through a traumatic time and you haven`t seen a counselor yet, do you want to talk to Karyn? or would you feel more comfortable with a man?"

Bruce looks up at Shinta. "Congrats, By the wat my Angel. I am proud of you." He says holding his hand out. "Sweetheart ya know how i fell talkin to them."

"it is how you and I met, remember? They won't bite. Would you feel more comfortable, if you told me what happened first?" She asked, and moved closer to him.

"Tha is very true." He looks t Shinta ans smiles. "Whats to say the damn Cardassians got the drop on me. I woke up to torture, I killed them all to get away, I saved a Bajoran slave girl, I come back home, and I lost my spot, and missed anothwer promotion." He says with a shrug and looking frustrated.

" Does it trouble you that I got promoted?" She asked softly. "I want you to talk about it. About the torture."

Bruce looks at Shinta with sincerity in his eyes. "NO I Am proud ya got promoted, Darlin. I Am glad to see, one of us is. I just feel unapreciated thats all. The torture, normal vengeance, take yer anger out on me type stuff. Not much to say really." He then scratcg's his chin. "I just wonder sometimes if i do any good for starfleet, or why i am still in it."

"Honey, don't say that. You know you love starfleet. You have had bad luck, but you were selected for a very difficult course, and you made it with high marks. Your time will come. I know that." She tried to comfort him.

Bruce shrugs. "Maybe I should just be a family man, now. I have thought of one thing tho." He looks at Shinta and tries to smile. "I have thought of going back to Special Operations, my Love."

Shinta was frightened, that was the last thing she wanted. It would mean large periods of fear. But also she knew that she could not stop him, if that was what he really wanted. "Don't make that decision just yet." She said. "I must insist that you see a counselor, my dear." She was very worried about him.

Looks up at Shinta and Teases. "That an order?" then looks around. "I might love starfleet, but she dont seem to love me anymore?"

""That is not true. You just can't see it at the moment, because you are depressed. That is why you need help. Please" she said softly.

Bruce just shrugs not wanting to get into it. "MAke the appointment with whoever you think is the best." He then runs his hands thru his hair and looks at the floor. "I am not depressed Angel, I am pissed."

She just held him close. "I will let you know, about the counselor." She kissed him. "Now about last night, I sensed you were angry with me, why?"

A smirk escapes his lips. "Are you sure you want to talk about this now? I mean sleeping on the couch with another man and all." He says as his bad temper begins to come back from before.

"please Bruce. Let me explain." She tried to stay calm. "I have not been well lately, terrible nightmares. And I did not sleep because hope is still ill. Then Eric and Andree offered to help out. They have both been a great help. One evening I was so tired that I fell asleep on the couch, and Eric just didn't dare wake me afraid I would wake up. That is all."

Bruce just shakes his head. 'I dont like Odin, heard to many things about him then there was the mess with mikayla. I dont trust him at all. ZI rather beat him senseless then trust my family in his hands." Bruce states simply.

"Don't! I know what he did in the past, but he is over that. Eric is my patient, and he's doing very well. And you have nothing to fear about, I love you, nobody else." She said firmly.

"Fine, if you say so my Love." He just tries to hold her hand. That being the only thing he wanted at the moment his wife.

Shinta took his hand and held him. There was more she wanted to say, but to that could wait until later.

"Unlucky deck 13"

Deck thirteen was totally unlike the station in front of the battle bridge. This deck was buzzing with activity. People walking this way and that. Several people even stopped and reversed course to make it busier.

The people had good reason for turning around. A very large reptile took up most of the hall ahead. They didn't want to seem rude and ask to squeeze by.

In the hast to get out of the way one child dropped a black kitten. It was only a minute later Seth was at the spot. The gorn looked at the little morsel and it screeched running away.

The security officer knew enough from his last time on the galaxy to watch his step. The cat probably belonged to Ensign Gallamore as a replacement.

Seth suddenly stopped and quickly swong around. His forked tongue smelled the air. A larger more delicious snack was on the ship. Terran swine. It wasn't the anniversary of the gorn's hatch day so the security department wasn't going to surpise him.

The lizard turned back to his duty of clearing the hall. The smell grew strong near the transporter then it was gone in the turbolift. It was a lucky thing Seth was well fed at the moment.

"In The Name of Science"
by Commander Thomas
by Lt. Rose MacAllen - Science
USS Galaxy

They Onboard "Proud Like Tupocka" a ship that was almost dead and her crew was by all sensor readings already dead. It was really a exciting moment to be on this ship, but also a very concerned event as well. The ship was lit only by a few panels with blinking lights and such in order to see they had to use their palm lights.

Chris took note watching as the officers teamed up, leaving Lt. MacAllen by herself. While he wasn't really concerned about being by himself on the ship, he was concerned about anyone else being alone on the ship. After all he was used to working on the edge by himself and being alone many times, so this wouldn't have been any different.

"Lt. MacAllen it would seem you're with me." Commander Thomas said.

Rose looks back at the XO, "As you wish sir." she just said while scanning with her tricorder.

"Well then let's get moving there's much to learn about the ship. Granted the smell of the air isn't very inclining to have a look around right now." Chris noted.

"I agree with you sir, I feel something not right on this ship."

"Alright let's go this way." Chris said taking the lead. "If I am guessing right this should take us in the direction of the command or nerve center for this ship."

Rose walks with him while scanning then started shaking a little, this place was so unholy it a little scary.

Chris was at the point and used his palm light to scan the corridor in front of them. He decided that given the current situation and his own uneasiness about the situation, he made a decision. He swapped his tricorder for his phaser in hand and attached his palm light to his wrist. "Use your tricorder to scan the area in front of us."

"Aye sir." Rose said while scanning the area, feeling some what uneasy with the ship and been a little scared of the XO.

"I just have an uneasy feeling about the ship now." Commander Thomas said. "Besides as a scientist I think this would be a great thrill for you to find and be one of the first people to step foot on this ship in ages."

"Oh yes I am thrill but of course a little scared to, this place is so damn unholy." Rose told him with a grin.

"What's your tricorder showing ahead of us?" Chris asked.

"Nothing very much interest sir."

"Nothing of interest?" Chris echoed, "Surely there's something of interest ahead of us?"

"They must be sir just be calm." Rose said with a grin while walking ahead.

"Calm, I would hope so. In all likely hood their dead after so much time in space and in this nearly shutdown ship. If they're even alive in stasis would be a miracle." Chris said.

"Yes it would sir, it would be on hell of a miracle." Rose said still scanning.

"I don't see anything but a long dark corridor." Chris said. "Well I guess we should continue forward and see what's down here."

"Agreed sir."

"Keep scanning for any life signs or hull breaches." the first officer said. "I really don't want to see the outside of the ship, without my suit."

"Still scanning the area...what is that smell?" Rose said trying not to breath in the smell but it was very hard to do.

"That would be my space suit." Commander Thomas said with a smile, which quickly faded as the smell over whelmed him. "We must be getting close to something."

"Hell with that kind of smell we must have." Rose said with a grin.

"Hope we're not heading into their old head." Chris grinned.

"I hope to the Gods of my people we don't sir."

"Any signs of problems head of us?"

"Not so far sir, but you never know on this away team mission." Rose said while typing in her tricorder.

Commander Thomas continued to keep alert it was always possible that her tricorder wasn't registering anything, because nothing was out there or there was something and they didn't know any better. His training, skills and reflexes were telling him to be on his guard and ready for anything.

"Lt. adjust your the tricorder to scan for any biological being, alive or deceased if possible. Also have it look for trace elements that could be lethal to humans." Chris said.

"But sir there can be a lot of trace elements that could be lethal to our own kind." Rose said looking at him in shock.

"Yes I know there's a lot of trace elements that could prove lethal to humans, but if you program the tricorder to look for the one's it normally isn't looking for then it won't take much." Commander Thomas noted. He would do it himself, but that meant putting his weapon aside and he didn't like that idea.

"As you order sir." Rose said with a little grin while adjusting her tricorder.

"Alright let's keep looking now." Chris said having stopped and given her some pointers on how to make the modifications easier.

Rose adjusted it as Thomas told her how, this saw her own XO in a different light now.

"Angel Dust"
by Lt. Commander Elaithin Jii, Chief of Security

Bank.

Bank, bank, jump.

Bank.

Jump. Grab. Balance. Land.

Bank, bank, slide, coast, bank......hold it......

Brace, slide, halt.

Prophets, would you look at that snow fly!

It was amazing, the young Bajoran noted. He was standing atop (simulated, of course), Mt Kalthain on Bajor. He was doing (simulated, again) what no one had ever done on these slopes. He was partaking in the Terran sport called snowboarding.

It was something he'd fell in love with as a Cadet. His quadmates had all been from Earth, and had exposed Jii to the sport in the region of Earth known as the "Colorado Rockies"

It had been love at first board. The young Bajoran had quickly proved himself to be adept at the sport, sliding down black trails within a week of first detting foot on a mountain.

He'd continued with the sport all through the Academy, in the holodeck during his days on the Kongo , and later during his first years on the Galaxy.

Slowly but surely, however, like all youthful interests, it had faded away. His visits to the holodeck became less and less frequent as his responsibilities increased and his interest declined.

Well, there's been quite enough of that. He mused, and plunged headlong down the rest of the mountain.

"Alpha Shift"

Starring
Lt. Rebeca von Ernst

With an unauthorized appearance by
Capt Robert E Lee Price

(Bridge)

Rebecca von Ernst sat at the Master Weapons Controls of one of the most awesomely powerful warship ever constructed. Perched high atop her metallic Bar-stool, she had at her fingertips access to more devastating potential than ever imagined by Earth's most diabolical madmen of old.

With a simple flick of the swtich she could level mountains to smoldering rubble, and with the merest gesture she could drop entire continents hissing into the sea. She had at her command the power to split planets and boil oceans….she could raze entire civilizations, or commit genocide on an interplanetary scale the likes of which had never even been dreamed in Adolph Hitler's darkest nightmares……

So naturally she attempted to stifle a yawn and lazily doodled a stick-figure on the Auxiliary Phaser Status screen. Her skinny little butt was planted firmly on the stool cushion, and she rested both elbows heavily on the Tactical Arch before her, her chin cupped wearily in her tiny hands.

Alpha shift was not even half way gone, and already she had run out of crreative ways to report. "No change in Status…All's well."

The United Starship Galaxy sat motionless in the depths of an eternal ocean of interstellar nothingness. A single minute bubble of life adrift in the sea of eternity.

Alone in the night, save for a nearby derelict of insignificant proportions, there was hardly even a word to describe how little there was for a Tactical Officer to do.

No nearby Enemy Starships

No Threat Analysis

No significant Weapons maintenance to oversee.

In fact, in the first half-hour of her shift Rebecca had improvised 17 separate ways to engage and destroy the nearby Tamarian derelict, just as an exercise in keeping busy. Her options ranged from all out waves of Concentrated Phaser and Photon Strikes, to Dissecting the fragile craft with the Galaxy's powerful Main Tractor Beam to simply Ramming the stupid thing head-on. With The Galaxy's shields up, the tiny vessel would disintegrate and hardly cause a scratch on the massive Starship's hull.

So instead of devising a 'eighteenth' method of destruction, instead of formulating yet another Plan 'B' ( A Plan 'R' to be more accurate at this point ) she decided to doodle.

Lazy patterns of multi-colored light formed under the gentle swoops of her thin fingertips, whimsical at first, but gaining more relevance as the hours of boredom dragged on.

Currently the small Auxillary screen displayed a complicated little pattern of names connected by threads of glowing color. A sketch of relationships between Rebecca (whose name occupied the center of the field) radiating outwards to touch those crewmates and personalities that affected her directly.

Nilani: A stark red line of color connected the brazen Engineer's name to her own. Red for danger and warning, a symbol of the confusing issues brought about by Nil's simple yet unexpected kiss so many weeks ago. What did it mean? What does she Want? What is she? What am I? Am I normal, or am I a freak?

All questions that blazed in Rebecca's mind, burning her with out answers in response to a simple brushing of lips.

Corgan: The great shame in Rebecca's life. Not for his own actions but for her own. He was a poor innocent caught in the backlash of her own poor sense of self worth. Determined to live up to what she perceived as her unavoidable 'trashy-nature' (as brought on by Nilani) Rebecca had attempted to……What?

What had she attempted to do? In truth she didn’t even know. She attempted to kiss him (badly) but realized that if he had not chosen to reject her as he did, she would have had no clue as to what to have done next. A true unblemished virgin, Rebecca had not even the slightest inkling of sex's nature.

Hoth: That Domineering old Admiral from her Academy Days. Bound and determined to run her career for her, he had circumvented Captain Price's authority and Promoted her to head of The Galaxy's Tactical Department. A Task she was wholly unsuited for.

Surok: Dead. Rebecca's hand shook as she traced the line from his name to her own. She still did not completely understand what it was she felt for the enigmatic Alien, but now he was gone, and she felt all the more alone.

Momma: The lone ray of hope in her life, was also the one who gave her life. Rebecca's mother wandered the halls somewhere beneath her, deep in Galaxy's bowels. That long-haired bastian of hope and comfort for years upon years. And yet now too, this relationship was strained. Rebecca may not have been the perfect Starfleet Officer she was meant to become, but she sure wasn't the naieve Minnesotan Farm-girl she started out as either.

What the Noodles WAS SHE?

Sighing Rebecca looked down at the tangled web of her life as more names and more lines criss-crossed back and forth over each other until it became readily apparent why things appeared to be a mess……They WERE a mess.

" If you find you cannot maintain proper posture using your current chair Miss von Ernst, I'm sure we can go back to standing on your toes." Captain Price's even voice from the Central chair before her, snapping her out of her reverie and forcing her to sit up a little straighter on her stool.

"A….a…..aye s..sir. S…..s…sorry sir."

"No worries Mate. Status report Lieutenant?"

"Ah….aye….uh." Rebecca stalled for a moment while she wiped her doodles away with the sweep of her hand, re-engaging the Auxiliary Phaser Display, "S…Status unchanged sir. Uh…we can toast the Tamarians anytime you want."

Price chuckled softly. "While I appreciate the alliteration Lieutenant, lets try to remember that Thomas, Corgan, and the others are still over there."

~~~Corgan~~~ Rebecca blushed at the mere mention of that enigmatic man's name. ~~~What in the name of noodles is that guy up too?~~~

Rebecca didn’t know what to make of the moody Security officer. In the beginning he seemed a kindred soul of sorts, A rival for the title of Angst-King of the Ship with Rebecca and Electra Reece as close competitors. In fact the three of them formed an odd triangle of brooding torment, each with a unique, and yet similar personal burden to bear.

At first this shared status as "Ship's-Loons" seemed to draw the three strangers together in an invisible bond of Mental disturbance, but lately Rebecca didn’t know what to make of things. Corgan was an absolute contradiction in behavior. His utter rejection of Rebecca's clumsy advances, coupled with his later almost pornographic comments only seemed to underline her own sense of worthlessness:

Corgan (to her thinking) was a pervert. He wanted Sex and would do anything to get it from anybody……….Except Rebecca. She was so much of a flat-chested-freak that she turned off even the Ship's biggest pervert. Ouch……that's real rejection.

Electra was another mystery. So far as Rebecca could tell, there really had not been anything bad occuring between herself and the Tall Ops Officer. So far as Rebecca was concerned everyting should have been "Hunkey-Dorey" between them. And yet……Electra had been distant lately. A nights ago back at Starbase 114 when their paths had crossed following the concert, It seemed like Electra could not wait to get away from her shorter friend.

~~~No wonder.~~ Rebecca mused thinking back to how stunning the tall woman had appeared in that amazing little black dress. ~~~She was an absolute knockout!~~~

Smooth lean lines and legs that went on forever…….all snuggly wrapped in a short tight minidress, while Rebecca short and frumpy in her own pathetic excuse for a green dress was the pinnacle of ugliness next to her.

~~~Noodles, her smooth skin next to my silly freckles….Long legs next to my little toothpicks……not to mention the booby department where one of hers outweighs everything I got by half…..ugh.~~~

No, I suppose its no wonder Electra was avoiding her. After all who would want to hang out with the skinny little freak in the ugly green dress when someone like Lexa was around?

"Noodles."

"I beg your pardon Lieutenant?" Price inquired, "Did you say something?"

"Oops…uh….n…n…no sir." Rebecca fidgeted slightly on her stool, "Just uh….going over some….uh Tactical ….uh…….stuff."

And the hours dragged on………

"Closure"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price

*** Earlier ***

"This is Galaxy. We have you on long range scanners." Petty officer Darain Elik stated in a less then enthusiastic monotone. Lieutenant Commander Peterson had assigned the low ranking Science officer to monitor the progress of the shuttle mission that Lieutenant jg Wej and Margolis had arranged to explore the Nexxus energy ribbon. "Looking good Cydonia."

Elik scratched one of the folds on his Bajoran nose with a finger while watching the data stream scroll across his monitor from the lateral sensor array. On it was trajectory information from the type-7 shuttlecraft. Speed, heading, coordinates...

Elik sat straight up when the readouts started returning all zeros. At first he thought it must have been a malfunction. Taking a hand he slapped the side of his console. It wouldn't be the first time a system on the ship fizzled out unexpectedly. But after a couple quick whacks did nothing to sway the nil outputs, the science tech started running a diagnostics on the sensor array while simultaneously trying to hail the Lieutenant's shuttle.

"Shuttle Cydonia, come in please." Elik called out while tapping the controls to run the level four diagnostics. "USS Galaxy to shuttle Cydonia. Please respond..."

When the diagnostic completed, Elik could see that the sensors seemed to be in perfect working order. "Vole crap." The tech cursed, "This can't be right. A shuttle can't just up and disappear like that." The inexperienced officer continued troubleshooting his workstation for another ten minutes.

***

"USS Cydonia, this is the USS Galaxy. Damn it Wej, answer the hail, this isn't funny any more." Elik cursed with a hint of panic setting in.

There was no response. Finally the science tech realized he'd need to inform his superiors of the shuttles disappearance.

Petty Officer Darain had his head hung low when he approached Lieutenant Commander Peterson. The Chief Science Officer had given the enlisted officer the assignment of riding shotgun on the Lieutenants science mission to monitor things and make sure everything went smoothly. Now that the shuttle Cydonia had disappeared near the Nexxus energy ribbon, the young Bajoran couldn't help but feel he in some way let everyone down. Elik felt he was somehow partially at fault.

"Sir, can I speak with you a moment?" Elik asked.

Kent glanced up from his desk in the Science lab. "Sure Darain, what is it?" the Chief Science Officer asked.

"Sir, I... that is Lieutenant Wej' shuttle..." Elik struggled. Finally he just blurted it out. "Sir, the USS Cydonia has disappeared near the Nexxus. I can find no trace of her or Lieutenants Wej or Margolis."

Lieutenant Commander Peterson put down the padd he was working on.

***

*** Present ***

FLUMP-THUMP. FLUMP-THUMP. FLUMP-THUMP.

Captain Price glanced around the bridge of the USS Galaxy. A starship he'd spent virtually his entire Starfleet career on board from Ensign all the way through the ranks to Captain. The General was certain that he knew every nook and cranny of the ship; every self-sealing stem bolt and nut; every sound and murmur the vessel would possibly make.

FLUMP-THUMP. FLUMP-THUMP. FLUMP-THUMP.

Except The Captain couldn't figure out what the hell that was.

"What the devil is that noise?" Lee asked out loud finally.

The noise suddenly stopped. After a long moment of silence, Lieutenant von Ernst spoke up.

"S...s...sorry sir."

Lee turned around and looked at Rebecca, sitting on her bar stool at the tactical station. The short red head had taken to swinging her legs, which dangled several inches above the floor while sitting on the large metal stool. Evidently her feet were brushing against the bottom of the stool, literally inches away from the Captain's head in the command chair on the bridge.

The General gave the resourceful Tactical Chief an annoyed look, but just returned his attention to the forward view screen.

There had still been no word from the away team since Commander Thomas beamed over to the Tamarian sleeper vessel twenty minutes ago. The lack of communication bothered Captain Price. He was beginning to notice a pattern developing in the Commander's away missions. Chris was not the world's best communicator when it came to reporting back to the ship on the away teams status. Trying to repress his anxiety about the lack of status reports, Lee remembered that the Tamarian ship was still showing no life signs or unusual energy readings, other then the nine away team members that beamed over there. And he knew they were all junior officers that Chris had selected. Most likely the Commander was just going slow and going over Starfleet protocol in order to better the officers for future away team missions. Experience was a wonderful teacher.

Distracting the Captain from his thoughts about the present away mission, a somber Lieutenant Commander Odin came walking onto the bridge from the turbolift. In his hand he was carrying a datapadd.

Lee noticed the senior engineer as he walked down into the command well and past Counselor Dallas, who was occupying the XO station in Commander Thomas' absence.

"G'day 'Commander. What can I do for you 'mate?"

Eric had a serious, no-nonsense look on his face. In a way he look saddened. "I'd like you to review and sign this sir."

Lee reached out and took the padd.

"It's death certificates for Lieutenants Faustine Margolis and Samthia Wej." Eric stated.

The Captain glanced at the padd and then back at the engineer. He remembered that Eric and Fox were friends, so this must have been hard on the Trill officer.

"My understanding after reading 'Commander Peterson's report is that the shuttle Cydonia is missing and that no conclusive evidence has been found that can positively determine if in fact she was destroyed by the Nexxus energy ribbon." The Captain stated.

Erik nodded. "That is true Captain, but by all accounts from other encounters with the Nexxus have shown that ships that come in contact with it are inevitably destroyed. Given the circumstances, I believe that is the most reasonable conclusion anyone can make."

"Aye. I would agree with that hypothesis 'mate." The Captain nodded, "But unless we 'ave conclusive, irrefutable evidence, I'm afraid missing in action is really more appropriate."

Erik took a step closer to the Captain, sort of maneuvering himself into a position to where he didn't have to look at Counselor Dallas eavesdropping on them.

"Please Captain... There are more things at stake here then just these two officers. Both Fox and Samantha have families and relatives in the Federation. If they are listed simply as MIA,... I think in the long run it would be better for everyone concerned if we can just close this report and accept that they are gone and won't be coming back." Erik said with an emotional swallow near the end.

Lee regarded Odin for a moment and thought about what he'd said. The 'Commander was absolutely right. If these two officers were simply listed as missing in action, their families would be denied any Federation benefits and closure offered by signing their death warrants. But in a way the Captain felt it was more then that. On some level, he felt that it was Odin too who was looking for closure on this matter. Evidently he and Fox were quite a deal more then simply friends. The General was only now beginning to realize that.

Tapping the padd, the Captain entered in his authorization code to digitally sign the documents. "You make a lot of sense 'mate." The Captain agreed handing the padd back to Odin, "Though I will admit that I hope this is one set of official documents that comes back as being prematurely signed."

"That would be wonderful of course sir, but highly unlikely. Since the disappearance..." Odin paused and corrected himself, "..since the destruction of the shuttle Cydonia, I've been studying up on the Nexxus. The more I learn about it from other reported encounters the more I'm convinced that the shuttle couldn't have survived." Erik looked back at the Captain, "But it is a good thought sir."

Lee nodded, understanding the level of hurt Lieutenant Commander Odin was going through because of the loss of his friends. The Captain also felt the loss, as both officers were excellent Starfleet personnel.

"Just remember that they were doing what they loved 'mate. No one could have stopped them, even if they had tried." The Captain consoled.

Erik nodded while fidgeting with the padd he now held once again in his two hands. "There is no question about that sir. If you'll excuse me, I want to get this sent off via sub-space so their families can move on and get some closure."

"Understood 'Commander. Carry on." The Captain nodded allowing Odin to exit the command well and leave the bridge.

When Erik left, Lee glanced over at Commander Dallas who turned her head quickly to pretend she wasn't eavesdropping on every word. It was funny actually, because Karyn could have turned around and recited the entire conversation verbatim; she'd listened so well.

"It's no use pretending you weren't listening 'mate." The Captain smirked.

Karyn blushed slightly. "It's a small bridge sir and 'Commander Odin does have a powerful voice..."

Leaning a bit closer to the Counselor who was sitting to the General's right rather then left today, he asked quietly, "So Commander, what do you think? Did I do the right thing?"

Karyn was in a strange spot. On the one hand as a Counselor, she knew how important closure was to the survivors of a loss like this. Obviously any sort of official Starfleet status placed on them wouldn't affect Lieutenants Margolis and Wej; be they missing or dead. But to the survivors like their family, and ship mates, having closure could make things much easier going forward. Of course on the other hand in the role as Executive Officer in Commander Thomas' absence, it was Karyn's duty to remind the Captain of the letter of Starfleet protocol. In this case, the officer's status, and that of the Cydonia, had not been determined for certain. Therefore the only classification that truly fit was that of "missing in action".

"Well Captain, if you are asking my personal opinion, I think you did the most humane thing possible." Karyn explained while trying to figure out a way not to use the 'but' word in her next thought. She didn't succeed. "But, as second officer, I need to remind you that Starfleet protocol is clear here. Since the status of the Cydonia can not be ascertained for certain, the only classification that truly fits the circumstances is listing her as MIA." The Counselor flashed her patented "I'm sorry" smile.

The Captain nodded at the Commander's honest answers. Looking at the main view screen at the Tamarian vessel, Lee stated, "Bugger the protocols. It's better this way for all parties concerned."

Karyn looked at the view screen too. "You are probably right Captain." She stated with an agreeable nod.

Lee watched the ancient Tamarian vessel and wondered when they would hear from Commander Thomas' away team. It had been nearly a half hour now with no word. The General was starting to get worried.

Lieutenant Commander Ethan Suder

"Challenges and Thoughts"

Ethan was busy working in his office again. He had a lot fo work to do. He knew that the others were in Engineering, just running their day to day jobs. It was nice to not have lots of work to do and lots of things to repair. Yet, something still bothered him. Since the overhaul the Galaxy had undergone, he had been making inspections all over the ship. Next was Deflector Control. He placed several data padds in another pile and left his office and just checked everything was all right in Engineering.

"Chief!" Cadet Jason called out.

Ethan looked at the young kid. "You all right?" he asked.

"Yes, Chief. I've finished the work on the phaser array, tactical have the latest updates, I was checking to see if I could check Deflector Control?"

"I was just going there myself." Ethan asked. He looked around to see 'Commander T'Zaq working on something. She clearly had things udner control. "Let's go then." he continued as he made his way to the nearest turbolift.

The Cadet followed Ethan after grabbing his Engineering kit. "Chief, there's a new Cadet transfering to the Galaxy in a week or so. He's heard a lot about Pit Bet." the Cadet explained.

"Would this be Cadet Sarlaa?" Ethan asked.

The Cadet gave a nod. "How'd you know?"

"It's my job to know everything. I hear a lot." he said tapping his head slightly on the side to indicate that he was Betazoid. And with that came skills he had spent years to control and master.

"Well, she wants to take you on."

"At Pit Bet?" Ethan asked back. "She's determined for a Cadet, I'll give her that much."

"That's her all right."

"What kind of odds have I got?" Ethan asked.

"Their pretty good, Chief. But that's not going to stop her. She's a hot head all right."

"I look forward to it. Bear in mind if she's sixteen years old, three foot tall with that innocent look, I'm not fighting. It's not something that should be taken lightly. Pit Bet is a ruthless and cunning sport, you know that."

"Yeah and don't I know it." the Cadet said rubbing the back of his neck as if it were aching.

"Bad memories?" he asked.

"I had a match with Ensign Garcia." Tom answered.

"I heard about that, it was a good match, Tom. In fact, I think we should up the stakes a little. Two teams. A senior and junior officer on each. Should be interesting. I know a couple of senior officers who might just get involved." Ethan said with a smile.

"Well, if we're going to do that, we may as well make it a department match then."

"Good idea, we should ask Science, Security, Tactical, Helm and Medical if they can get a team together."

The Chief and Cadet continued walking towards the turbolift. Soon they would be at Deflector Control to run several diagnostics. With all the current events taking place, it was just about all Ethan could do. He would no doubt drop by the Bridge to see how things were progressing soon...