"Penny & Sherman's Underwater Paradise"
by Lt Kira Murphy (General Medicine & Paediatrician),
Jenna Mavick (Bajoran Child, Female - NPC),
Rishnu Terelia (Bolian Child, Female - NPC)
& Sarah Morgan (Terran Child, Female - NPC)
------------------------------------------------------------

Walking over to Paediatric Bio-Bed One with a medical tricorder, Kira looked down at the sad looking Bajoran girl, Jenna Mavick. She was very pale and had a fever.

On Bio-Beds Two and Three, a Bolian girl, Rishnu Terelia, and a Terran girl, Sarah Morgan, were also quite sick with fevers and pale.

Ensign Janok from Security had found them running a wild rapids kayaking program set in the Grand Canyon, drenched like rats and brought them straight here. During the holodeck program they had been running without adult supervision, the trio had been dumped into the river after their canoes had tipped over. It had all been Jenna's idea, and this time, she had dragged Sarah into it as well as Rishnu.

Lt Brightspot was currently investigating how they managed to start the program, but from the looks of it so far, they had been hiding in a nearby lounge with an audio recorder when Ensign Janok had asked the computer to run that program. Using some security bypass mechanism that Jenna got from a cousin, they had tricked the computer. Engineering put in some bypasses to stop the method after they were informed.

Luckily, Ensign Janok hadn't disengaged safeties or Kira would be currently working in the ship's morgue instead of the Paed's Ward. No formal reprimand had been placed in Janok's record, but he had been placed on report.

All three children had came down with bad colds, and after consultation with Dr Dothan, Security and the parents of the children, it was mutually decided to let the children feel the effects of the worst of the cold for half a day before Kira would fix the rest with a hypospray.

Meanwhile, she checked in on them every so often and continued with her other duties. Reading material was provided of course, but nobody had taken her up on it. The same went for the toys in Sickbay, except for a stuffed toy for each to snuggle up against.

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

After a couple of hours, the children were getting quite bored and the ship's library of holo-programs wasn't helping much.

Moving over to one of the consoles, Kira came up with an idea and started bringing up some files from around the system. At one point, she had been working on some alternative holo-programs for the Paed's Ward, and now was just as good a time as any to resurrect the idea.

Meshing out her idea on the computer screen, she reworked it for a bit before stepping back.

"Children, close your eyes, and no peeking."

When she was sure they weren't cheating, she ordered, "Computer, copy program PaedsWard-Tango from computer terminal into Paeds Ward Holo-Buffers and implement."

A second later, she saw a brief flash of white before the room changed into an underwater paradise. A school of little fish swam by her face and she could see streamers of seaweed coming out of one of the benches & the floor.

"You can open your eyes now."

The children gaped in surprise and giggled at the fish.

Suddenly, a rounded gray nose poked over the side of Jenna's bed, causing her to yelp in surprise.

The other two laughed as a bottle-nose dolphin floated fully up next to Jenna, who had never seen a dolphin before outside of classroom pictures.

Kira smiled as Jenna reached out and patted the dolphin. Jenna turned to Kira and asked,

"Cool. What is its name?"

"She doesn't have one yet. Why don't you name her?"

Jenna thought for a second before saying,

"Hmm.. You look like a Penelope to me. Penny for short."

"Good. Computer, register dolphin as Penelope or Penny."

[Working.. Done.]

Kira felt a soft bump against her and smiled when she caught sight of what had bumped into her.

A small ball of spoungy coral bounced over her head and landed on the end of Rishnu's bed.

Rishnu looked around and couldn't see anything. Turning towards Kira, who shrugged, Rishnu giggled when she saw a tail flip from side to side behind Kira.

Rishnu picked up the coral and crept forward to the end of her bed. Holding it out, she called out softly,

"Here boy."

From around Kira's shoulder, a baby whale poked his head. When he spotted the ball, he moved out cautiously towards it.

Penny gave a few little clicks as the whale reached the ball. Rishnu let the whale bounce the ball onto its tail and then flick it towards Sarah, who caught it.

Throwing it back, the whale bounced it towards Penny, who caught it with her nose. Bouncing it a few times, it was flicked onwards to Jenna, who returned it to the whale.

"Okay, guys and gals. Time for me to take your temperatures."

She headed over to one of the benches and picked up some old-style thermometers.

The children all groaned, having gotten very sick of those.

When she turned, she found the little whale blocking her path. She side-stepped but he kept in her way.

The kids laughed and Sarah said,

"Hehe. When he managed to block you with his body, he reminds me of one of those Sherman tanks that we were told about in history class."

Rishnu nodded, "Yeah! Hey, that's a great name.. Sherman."

Kira sighed and put the thermometers down. Sherman then let her pass with her tricorder and scan the kids. Penny loved the sound & must have picked up the feel of the device's scans with her dolphin senses. After Kira finished with the kids, Penny kept bumping Kira until she scanned both Penny & Sherman, which caused more laughter from the kids.

Putting the tricorder down, she moved to a terminal. Examining the subroutines, she muttered, "I guess I put too much personality in. They are cute though, and it ain't too bad, so I might as well leave it."

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

Even though Jenna, Rishnu and Sarah had been released a day ago, Kira had still left the Tango program running.

During that time, she had become quite fond of both Penny & Sherman, whose amusing antics would draw both children and adults alike to the Paediatric Ward. Each had quite unique, complex and different personalities, which complemented each other well.

Penny was very outgoing, inquisitive and playful. As soon as anyone entered, they would be virtually assaulted by Penny's enthusiasm as she met them at the door. Everything was a toy to her, and Kira had found her bouncing tricorders and hyposprays at times.

Nothing had been broken the first time, but after Penny had dropped a hypospray once, Kira had made a small change to the program to make sure that while Penny would still do it, she would never ever drop anything. She didn't want to have to explain to Dothan about why the excuse 'my holographic dolphin did it' was perfectly valid if something delicate or vital was destroyed.

Sherman, on the other hand, was incredibly shy & bashful. He normally hid behind a bio-bed at first until he got used to the person who entered. Fiercly protective of children, he had stood upto Kira a few times earlier, and she was only able to get by when she got the computer to move him aside. It amused the kids and she enjoyed playing games with him anyway.

"How much is that Doggy on the Menu?"

Starring :

Holli von Ernst (Rebecca's Mom)

Seth Zonhieb (Gorn Extraordinaire)

Miss Wiggles (Paranoid Puppy)

(Somewhere on the USS Galaxy....)

Holli von Ernst was quite lost.

The slim, long-haired mother of the Galaxy's Tactical Chief had been wandering the labyrinthine corridors of the gargantuan Starship ever since she parted company with her daughter following a simple breakfast this morning.

That was three hours ago and Holli was no closer to finding her quarters than when she first began. The problem was that she was on Deck 10..the largest single Deck on the entire Starship, and had no idea how to get off. To be sure she had passed several Turbolifts in her travels, but Starfleet had an annoying habit of labeling all its doors with indecipherable numeral combinations rather than simple writing it in plain English.

(Ever notice that about TNG?)

~~~Oh well, at any rate I'm getting some exercise.~~~ she mused to herself happily.

Though she was over forty years in age, Holli took great interest in maintaining a high level of fitness, and made great efforts to keep active. Running a Farm back in Minnesota virtually demanded that she remain strong and fit anyways.

The result was, that while she shared her daughters slender, almost curve-less figure, Holli bore it with more of a sense of confidence. There was a real spring in her step as she sashayed down the hall her long flowing red hair streaming behind her like a banner blowing in the wind.

Not a few men paused in their duties to cast admiring glances as she drifted past them..Maybe she was a bit older, but she obviously looked good in blue-jeans, and you know what they say about experienced women....

At Holli's side trotted her exhausted little traveling companion, the little family Dachshund, Miss Wiggles. In contrast to her energetic mistress, the fat-bellied little weeny-dog had absolutely NO INTEREST in physical activity.

A belly full of table-scraps and a warm spot by the fireplace was Wiggles idea of a grand time, especially if one of her humans could be persuaded to scratch that annoying itch behind her ear at the same time.

Ambling along wearily behind Holli's purposeful strides, Wiggles was quickly bored with Deck 10's endless maze of corridors. Her little doggy sense of direction was more closely in tune to her surroundings, and she was quite aware that they had passed this particular passageway three times already.

Holli on the other hand continued merrily on her way, enjoying the sheer marvel of technology that surrounded her. She was not uninformed in the various technologies available to the general public in the Federation, but back on the Farm, she had forced herself to rely on her own grit and determination, as well as the force of her own two tiny hands to solve problems rather than becoming fat and lazy in a push-button society.

Still, this Starship was something entirely out of her field of experience. Save for a brief Honeymoon trip to the Rings of Saturn with her late-husband, John von Ernst, the wide-eyed Holi had never left Earth.

The overwhelming realization that here she was now billions upon billions of miles away from her quaint little homeworld was something of a shock.

~~~And my little Rebecca helps run this ship.~~~ she thought to herself in amazement. The idea was almost comical when she remembered back a few years ago trying to teach her perpetually clumsy daughter how to drive the family pick-up truck.

Holli chuckled. ~~~Rebecca, I love you, but I thought I'd never get the truck out of the duck-pond...~~~

Lost in her memories, Holli and her panting little companion were shocked to round a corner and find themselves face to face with the largest....uh....."thing" they had ever seen in their lives.

Actually face to face was inaccurate, and perhaps face-to-belt buckle was more appropriate, as the tiny human almost ran straight into the rather imposing figure of Seth Zonhieb.

The Gorn's unreadable multi-faceted eyes sparkled brightly in the corridor lights, and a big toothy grin (she supposed it was a grin) covered half his scaly face.

~~~Holy Pasta! He must weigh as much as one of my Cows back home~~~ Holli reeled in sudden surprise. She occasionally had dealings with Alien buyers interested in her cattle, but never anybody on the scale of this Gorn.

For her part, little Miss Wiggles promptly wet the carpet and quickly retreated several meters quivering nervously as the Gorn's eyes followed the little morsel hungrily.

Seth took a single step towards the nervous little dog, only to be intercepted quickly by the rather insignificant form of Holli von Ernst.

The redheaded human probably weighed less than one of his arms, but the stern expression her face quickly relayed the fact that Dachshund was NOT on the Menu.

Overcoming her initial surprise, Holli quickly asserted herself. She had spent much of her life staring down huge 1000-pound animals and telling them where to go, and she was not about to let this oversized Gecko push her around when the meanest Brahma-Bull couldn't.

"Hold up there Buck-o," she chastised, planting her tiny fists firmly on her slim hips. "You are NOT going to eat my dog!"

Keeping one eye on the dog and one on the lady the gorn replied. "The Captain has warned me about that in the past." There was no trace of hissing one might expect with that forked tongue.

"Just what were you going to do?" The cross woman asked.

"I was going to use the animal to mop up the mess." Seth admitted.

"Oh dear me." The woman found the idea as replusive as eating her pet. "I'll get that you just run along."

With very little room in the corridor the lizard backed up a few paces into a room so he could turn around. He still managed to keep an eye on the two as he left.

Watching Iguana-Man retreat, Holli kept careful watch until he (she / it / whatever) disappeared arund the corner. "Well." she breathed to herself, "THAT was certainly an event to put in our Diary."

Quivering in fear, Miss Wiggles could only shudder to herself......the Horror.....the Horror.....the Horror......

"What would you do if...."

Note: This takes place immediatly before "Last house on the Left - Leo&Raven. Again, sorry Savanna, but I had to get things moving.

Lt. JG Savanna Worthington
Lt. Raven Darkstar

Expelling a large breath, Savanna was relieved to be finished with anger management group for the afternoon. It seemed like such a stupid way to pass the time when she was not working. Working, had become her life lately. That, training, and learning how to control her anger. She, did not believe she needed the management class, however, Mike had suggested it. Actually, he had stressed taking it, rather forcefully.

Glancing down at the data padd in front of her, she felt the itch of her caffeine patch scratch against her arm and silently cursed it. Other then the caffeine addiction she was trying to break, she had to break the habit of having something constantly in her hand. For that, she resorted to drinking water in her favorite coffee mug. If, she had enough imagination, she could actually taste the warm liquid slip down her through. However, not today. "How in the hell?" She asked herself with frustration as she studied the schematics of her recent training scenario.

Deciding that she needed help, she sought out the one male on the security team that was all business, all the time. He was impressive, with his stony looks that he gave quiet often. His height of six foot seven didn't faze her, since she was six foot two herself. He was most defiantly handsome, in a deadly sense. Savanna studied him for a minute as he sat at his station. She knew he wasn't someone one would mess with. Without further delay, she approached him.

Raven hunched over his computer terminal. He had been hunting for the better part of the last hour through the Galaxy's databanks and manifest for any scrap of information as to the identity of the old man he and Leo had encountered. He didnt see the man as a threat to the security of the ship, never the less he still made it a point to be aware of everyone on the ship.

Unfortunatly he wasn't having much luck. None of the photos of the new crewmembers matched the eerie image of the old man in the hallway.

He growled as his large fingers keyed in the wrong commands and he ended up with a spectacular view of the ships botanical gardens on his screen. A smiling asian woman appeared on his screen and began to speak.

[Welcome! to the USS GALAXY virtual tours....you have selected the botanical gardens....please follow me as we...]

The large Indian mashed more keys, looking to get back to the manifest listing.

[You have selected ..religion. Please select a religious denomination now...]

Now angered, Raven brought his large fist down across the keypad with a loud thud. Amazingly, on the screen before him flashed a picture of the strange old man in the hallway before it snapped off and he was back where he started: left looking at the traditional Galaxy welcome screen.

He stared at the screen, contemplating ripping the entire colsole from its mountings and hurling it across the security office when Lt.(jg) Worthington walked approached him.

"Lt. Darkstar.......May I be permitted to have some of your time to gather your opinion on a question I pose to you?" Question asked, she gently pushed a stray strand of hair back from her cheek, fully anticipating his icy response.

"As long as it has nothing to do with computers.." he said to the tall officer.

"Heh....ummmm. No, it doesn't. It has to do with the training senario I'm attempting to complete. Leaning over a tad, she placed the pad on his work space. "See this schematic of this building? Here's what's puzzling me. How am I supposed to infiltrate it? No windows, four entry points that are heavily guarded by the opposition. I can't scale the walls, can't land people on the roof....that's guarded also. I thought about an underground assault, but what if they boobytrapped the ground by inserting underground plasma depth charges? I'm fried. I thought about the gas route, however, they have masks on to prevent that sort of thing. I'm....quite frankly.....stumped. Could you provide a possible angle on the situation at hand? Your more experienced at this than I am. Perhaps, I could return the favor by helping you out on the problem you have with this computer....."

She waited for his response as he thought for a moment.

"If your mission were to retrieve an object inside, I would recommend an orbital bombing. After which you could comb the rubble at your leisure." he said with no trace of humor, then began to fight with the computer once again.

"Ah....yes....I suppose that would be an option." She stated quietly with a look of confusion etched on her face.

Raven stopped typing and thought again for a moment then said: "Assuming a strategic beam in is not possible, I would explore one of two options. Creating a big enough diversion that calling up reinforcements from an entry point would leave it unguarded - perhapse an all out assault by a second team. The seco.."

A beeping from his computer interrupted his conversation.

[...Feminine hygene products are available in the ships Medical wing or are easily replicated in the comfort of your own quarters..] the Asian woman on Raven's screen said as he found himself once again lost on the ships virtual guide after a wrong keystroke.

Growling, he drew back his fist, ready to lodge it in the middle of the glass screen but then caught himself and mentally counted to ten.

Now calmer, he simply reached over and flicked the power switch. Then he pointed at the moniter and said "If you even as much as blink a curser, you'll find yourself gasping for air in the void of space."

Defiantly he kicked his feet up on top of the keyboard and turned once again to Savanna, who like everyone else in the room, was anticipating an assault on the computer by the Indian. Instead he just casually picked up thier conversation right where he had left off.

"The second: make them so uncomfortable in the compound that they desire to leave. Fire, water, smoke, noise. Tribbles. Anything to get them to leave of thier own free will. The more unconventional, the less ability they have to defend against. "

"Tribbles.....now, there's a thought." Straightening her posture she blinked twice. "If I may, what exactly are you trying to extract from the beast in front of you?"

"I need to match a face with a name."he said. " I met a man who appears to be a crew member and I want to know more about him. He hasn't done anything wrong just yet, but there's no harm in being cautious."

Savanna thought for a moment. "What about Ensign Borzi, the departments sketch artist? He might be able to help you on that..........."

"Borzi..." Raven said, comitting the name to memory as he stood and abruptly walked out of the room.

Savanna ramained in Security, deep in thought.

" Tribbles...." she mused. " Would have never thought of that."

"Getting A Call"
By Commander Thomas
USS Galaxy

Commander Thomas and Lt. MacAllen had proceed along the corridor for several meters without changing their direction. It really seemed like the corridor they were in was just a long tunnel with no exits. It was really odd, and perhaps this was just a access corridor that allowed one to work on the ship's inner workings, like the galaxy's jefferies tubes.

The two of them continued to walk for what seemed like an eternity.

"Does this tunnel every end?" Rose asked.

"It has to end, there's not enough ship for to continue much longer." Chris replied, "We must've missed something along the way, but then again it's like we're walking at our normal pace either."

Rose smiled. "True."

Eventually they would either reach a dead end, or open space. Which wasn't very reassuring to think about, however all scans down on the external hull of the ship showed there was no fractures or openings. However to be on the safe side the Galaxy was ready to extend it's shields to reinforce the hull.

The smell was still there, but it wasn't as strong as before. Which was thankful sense it meant they probably won't heading for the waste storage area. Chris continued to shine the palm light ahead of them, while Rose continued to work with the tricorder.

"Nothing..."

"No wait I do have something, the tricorder is showing there's a large chamber ahead of us, but I am not sure what it is." she said.

"Well given the nature of the ship, and we've never mapped such a ship in this condition it's understandable." Chris said as he continued to move forward.

In a few minutes time they were near the entrance of the large room that the tricoder had showed them moments ago. This was the first time they'd found something to look around in, since leaving the beam in point.

They were about ready to go into the room and have a look around when the call came in and changed their focus and interest.

"Commander Thomas. Dr Jameison here we have found some survivors. You should be able to locate our position quiet easily. Jamieson out."

"Acknowledged, set your tricorder to emit a homing beacon." Commander Thomas said. "It'll allow us to better find your current location."

"Aye sir." Dr. Jameison said.

"We've locked onto your location and will be joining shortly, Thomas out."

"Hostile Environment"
by James Mitchell, Asst. CSO
by Tyrola Lomax, CPO, Engineering

James and Tyrola entered a smallish corridor that made their taller statures bend over a bit. The corridor was more of a tunnel, its walls smooth with a rougher version of the membrane tissue of the main pathways throughout the ship. Their backs ached as they shuffled down the halls, and at times had to crawl through the puddles that formed beneath them. The eerie lack of sound brought home the lifelessness of the ancient vessel.

Ty didn't like this at all, she could swear that the eerie feeling she got was justified. After all the places was deadly silent and the smell was one she could have swore was decomposition. The thought made her shudder. It was quickly dispelled from her mind. Even Lomax had not been alive at the time that this ship was supposed to have dated from. Although she has to admit - if Mazodo Lomax was alive today he'd be having a field day with this one...

She consulted her tricorder again. "I'm reading an opening up ahead, sir." She consulted the seemingly Bajoran Lieutenant who's name she had noted was 'Mitchell' - unusual for a Bajoran. "I think it might be some sort of labrotory. Then again, from the size of the vessel I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it is in fact the main engineering section..."

James glanced at her tricorder imaging array. The tight corridor had begun to widen somewhat and gave him the ability to squeeze up beside Lomax. He wiped a sweat-streaked arm across his forehead to no avail. The humidity had only increased in the cramped quarters. He was incredibly thankful for the mask filtering out the wretched odor assailing his senses, but that could only hold out for so much longer.

He knelt down beside her in the darkness, the lantern and tricorders giving off supernatural effects, as the leathery walls soaked up the lighting.

"It could be anything, Tyrola." James preferred to use first names with the lower ranked officers whenever he could. He found it was more productive to treat them as equals rather than as a superior officer. He hated and feared authority anyways. "And between you and me, you don't have to call me sir. Only when the big bosses are around should you bother with the formalities." He gave a nervous smile as he scanned the darkness around them before hunkering in to scan the display closer.

"Run a spectral sonatic analysis of more detail on the chamber up ahead. Focus the lateral sensors on the tricorder forward and confine the beam." The hemispheric grid had been creating a map of the paths they'd been taking, and the limited sensors had been building a database of the surrounding unexplored areas. Those areas were lit in green, as the path they had taken was marked in red.

Tyrola's fingers played out over the console, setting the sensors to sweep the forward chamber. Blocks of data blinked into the grid, scattered about the chamber being scanned.

"Whatever is up there, it's big. Those are laid out in a pattern of sorts." She pointed a long, slender finger at first one spot, then 2 others. "I'd say its a crew lounge. No power, and the smaller blocks could be chairs." She looked up and straight. James pointed his light beam forward to peer into the darkness. "It's only 100 feet away, sir, uh.. I..." She looked away, not meeting his gaze.

"It's all good, Tyrola. Call me whatever makes you comfortable." He pointed his light at her to see her expression, only to have his lantern fall on something glinting behind her. His brow wrinkled and he leaned forward, catching Lomax off guard. It had seemed like he had planned on something else, but instead peered into the dull sheen behind her. He rubbed at it with his palm until he'd made a large circle and shone his light at it.

As he shone his light, Tyrola moved out of the way to see what James was doing, and when James yelled out, she tripped over his feet in fear and sprawled out on the putrid smelling floor.

"Ahhhhh!!!" James shot himself backward as if he'd been slapped by a Gorn, smashing into the wall 3 feet away.

"Holy Mother of....!" A grinning skeleton peered back from the small window, mocking them in its deathpose.

Tyrola, suddenly confronted with such a gruesome sight was taken aback. It took a few minutes of paralysing fear to pass by before her nursing training pushed its way to the surface of her consciousness. She quickly changed the function of the tricorder and brought up the limited medical display afforded by a standard tricorder. A quick sweep of the general shape of the skeleton gave her all the information that it would be possible to record.

"These readings are inconclusive to me," her voice was unusually high pitched and still held a trilling quality which portrayed her state of fear. "I can tell the decomposition is complete - I'd say 100 years minimum." He voice was gradually beginning to take on a business-like quality, one which had taken months to perfect in the gruesome scenes she had been confronted with during the war. Even now she couldn't quite distance herself enough from the matter at hand. "Someone trained in medicine to a better degree might be able to make more of it..."

Ty turned to see the Lieutenant still on the ground but looking a bit less paralysed. "Sir, are...you alright?" She extended her hand and helped James to his feet.

"Yes...yes I think I will be."

Ty wasn't too convinced by the state of his voice as he said he was alright. She herself wasn't too convinced that SHE was alright. This was just getting worse. "I think we should record this data and move on to see if we can locate Engineering." The firmness in her own voice scared her.

"Agreed." James seemed to have composed himself somewhat better. Tyrola wasn't aware of it, but she had subconsciously moved herself closer to the Lietuenant as they proceeded. She didn't like this place - and a masculine security was a natural thing to desire. In her mind she would have liked to hug him, but that was very professional now, was it?

"Hostile Environment"
by James Mitchell, Asst. CSO
by Tyrola Lomax, CPO, Engineering

"Trips Home"
By Rose, Wilhem and Autumn

(OOC: Take place about 6 weeks before the next mission)

Autumn stood waiting by the shuttle. Her duffle bag rested at her feet and she was comfortably dressed in jeans, tee-shirt and a black leather boomer jacket. She was nervous about this leave. She had a lot of things to do while there she planned to talk to the police officers who handled her parent's case and she also needed to talk to the lawyer about the Will. She hadn't even seen it and if she didn't get it sorted soon she'd go nuts. She was glad that her friends were going with her. She would need all the support that she could get.

Rose walks in wearing a black dress while carrying two very heavy suitcases, with the black dress at least she can hide her stomach for a while plus she was wearing in the honor of two people: Todd's mother who was killed by the Borg and a dear old friend who used to be on the Galaxy: Drake.

"Damn these suitcases are heavy, but nobody will help me," she said looking pale and tired, she hadn't slept or ate in 24 hours.

Wilhem walked up with just a few things that he needed to work with. He glanced at Rose, "Rose! You look like you haven't slept in at least a day. Can I help you with your bags?"

Autumn watched for her friends and sighed. Leaving her duffle where it was she walked to the doors and when they opened she exited. Further down the corridor she spotted Wil and Rose. 'Bingo,' she thought as she walked towards them. "Hey guys need some help?"

Wilhem smiled at Autumn, "I can handle at least one of her suitcases. If you want, you can help with the other one."

Rose felt so sick but she didn't show it to her friends, plus she was happy to have a little one growing in her stomanch.

Wilhem noticed that Rose was looking a little green around the edges, but did not comment. He expected that Rose would tell the others when she felt too sick.

Rose was thinking not about her duties but of her friends Wilhem and Autumn, so happy that they were happy, but even with friends and a little baby girl on the way there were some little parts missing in her life right now.

Autumn took the other bag and then turned to Rose. "Ok my friend. If you are feeling ill on this trip you had better tell me. OK?" She gave Rose a look the told her that Autumn would accept no arguements on the fact. "You have a right to be sick but not telling me means I put your Physical at the top of the list," she threatened with a grin.

Wilhem smiled warmly at Autumn, then looked back at Rose. There was something wrong with this picture. But it was not Rose's fault. The fact that she had been raped was still fresh in everyone's minds. And no one could be sure what would happen next.

Rose laughs a little at Autumn, "Fine I hope I won't throw balls at you while I'm in Scotland, yes it's going to be snowing there."

Autumn grinned. "Fine throw all the snowballs you like Girl. Because I can guarantee I won't be throwing them back at you. Anyway after Australia all I want to do is relax. But knowing my luck that won't happen," she sighed and led the way into the shuttle bay and onto the shuttle.

Wilhem smiled, "Snowballs? We used to make them from the residue of the storms that swept down from the Glossburg Glacier in Drachenward. I don't think I could hit a woman with one, though."

"I'll be relaxing in Scotland, going swimming in the castle, I have 3 holodeck in there, by my favorite is going horseback riding with my black horse Midnight." Rose said while sitting down, then a picture of her ex-boyfriend she kept in her Betazoid bible falls out.

Wilhem looked at it awkwardly. He did not know what he was to do about this. He then decided to pick up the photo and hand it back to Rose. "Here you go," he said.

Rose was happy that her ex-boyfriend who is now back together with her is going to help her raise the baby with her, she smiles big about the kiss they shared in Ten Forward.

Wilhem felt her joy at this person's photo, and said, "I hope you are well-received by this person. You seem to like him much."

Rose smiles and put the picture back in her bible, "Yes you can say that."

Wilhem nodded. He hoped that this person was a good person for her. Rose seemed to like him. And that meant all the difference for Wilhem. He hoped that they would have a long life together.

Autumn finished stowing the gear and went to helm control. "With no objections I am flying this thing!" she called over her shoulder back towards the other two. She was an ok pilot and had already gotten clearence before the other two could challange her.

Wilhem hoped the ride would be smooth. But he trusted Autumn to know what she was doing. "Okay, Autumn. But be careful."

Autumn grinned back at them. "I always am. Strap in back there. Heather taught me well so don't worry." She carefully steered the ship out of the bay and soon they had cleared the perimeter of the Galaxy and the starbase.

Wilhem watched the starbase disappear, and braced himself for the flight to come. He was ready for most anything. And he hoped that this trip would be a calm one. With breaks for emotion at Earth and Betazed.

Autumn flicked on the auto-pilot and stood up and moved back to where the other two were. "Eta at warp one about 24hrs+," she said calmly.

Wilhem nodded, "Good. Enough time for us to get into some sort of trouble, I suppose."

Autumn nudged him. "Oh shush!" she said with a smile. "Nothing is going to happen that I can assure you."

Wilhem smiled, "Except a pirate's lunch, right?"

"You jinx us anymore Wilhem Quevvenson and I'll put you out an airlock!" she mock threatened him with a smile.

Wilhem nodded, "And you fly us into a planet, and I'll put you on jury duty!"

"Jury duty is more preferable then Borg drones and anything else Price gets us involved in," she smirked. "Anyway we are not going to crash into a planet."

Wilhem smiled warmly, "And we are not going to run into trouble. At least not out here. Maybe on one of the planets."

Autumn sighed. "The only trouble I can forsee is my uncle and Aunt telling me off for not speaking to them when they came on board," she smirked. "Not my fault I was busy."

Wilhem smirked, "I can tell them that. We were very busy. Holding one another. And kissing. The basics."

Autumn nudged him again. "Yeah but then you'll get the speech. About your intentions and I'll put money on the fact that my uncle will give it to you," she smirked.

Wilhem laughed, "My intentions are plain. Plain as the ring on your finger."

Autumn stuck her tounge out at him before standing and stretching. "Oh I give up!" she muttered and looked at Rose. "Help would be good," she muttered at her. "I can't win with him."

Wilhem laughed, "Yes you can. You won my heart."

Smiling and not commenting Autumn went to check the controls. When she came back she surveyed the cabin. "Man this is boring. Rose how's about poker? Wil?" she asked.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "Are you sure that you want to play poker with a couple of telepaths? That might not be wise."

Autumn gave an unlady like snort. "I've already played against Rose and seeing that we both lost to Rebecca I don't see the harm of playing with two people who know better then to read my thoughts."

Wilhem smiled, "I don't know if I have that much control, yet. But I will try."

Rose on the other hand had a lot on her mind, what to tell her mother was the main one, what if she orders her to give up the baby? But her mother just would have to live with the facts of what happened to her.

Autumn walked towards Rose and touched her shoulder. "Rose? Galaxy to Rose! Wakie wakie!" She knelt down and looked concerned at her friend.

Wilhem looked concerned as well. He could sense that Rose was worried about something. He said, "What's wrong Rose?"

Autumn moved from in front of her friend and sat beside her. Putting her arm around Rose's shoulder she waited for Rose to talk.

Rose came out of her little dreamworld, "What I sorry did you say something?"

Autumn groaned at her friend and restated "Rose do you want to play poker? Now. With us?" she grinned. "Times like this I wish I had telepathic abilities." she said.

Rose smiles, "That be fine just let me go to the restroom."

Autumn nodded and leant back with a sigh. 24hrs with these two and she'd see if she'd go nuts or not. She stood and moved past Wil to where she had dropped her jacket. Getting a pack of cards from the inside pocket she chucked that to Wil. "Deal," was all she said.

Rose throws up, boy she hated this part. After she got finished she walked out with a smile on her face and sits with her friends.

Autumn shook her head. "Rose you're suffering morning sickness aren't you?" she asked taking in her friend's face. she moved towards her duffle bag and hunted in it for a while before pulling out a med kit. she walked over with it and stoped beside Rose. "OK heres you choices... you can suffer the icky feeling of being sick or you can take medication and feel great."

Rose put a stubborn face on, "Fine I will take the medication but you don't play fair." she said with a big grin on her face.

Autumn grinned wickedly. "No who said I ever played fair," she asked innocently her face carefully blank. She reached into the kit and pulled out a couple of hyposprays and checked thier lables. She put four of them back and put the kit down and motioned for Rose to hold out her arm. "Come on there's a good Lt. Hold out your arm... I've got a lolliepop stolen from the Paed ward for you if your good," she smirked.

Wilhem deftly removed and shuffled the deck, and then dealt out five carsd to each person there. He then said, "Read your cards, ladies." He viewed his cards. They were a pair of twos and a pair of threes, plus a four of hearts.

Autumn gave Rose her shot and then picked up her cards. 'You deal crap cards, Quevvenson,' she thought as she examined her cards. 'Double yuck... time to fix this game' "You know Wil," she said sweetly sending a smile and a pleading look at him. "You deal really well this hand is just... so..." she paused and left the sentence hanging.

Wilhem nodded, "Decrepit? I can understand that. But at least we are all playing on equal footing. Sera's luck must not be with me today."

Autumn looked him in the eye and thought, 'You reading my mind Wilhem Quevvenson? Cause if you are I am going to get Rose to teach you how NOT to,' and then she smirked at him.

Wilhem was trying to figure out what to do about his card dealing skills. He was not reading her mind. It was just easy to figure out what she was probably thinking. Just from the look on her face.

Autumn flashed a smile and watched Wil's face. She loved him and knew that he loved her. "Wilhem Quevvenson," she murmured. "You really need to get better luck," she grinned.

Wilhem smiled at Autumn, "I have some good luck... Okay, a lot of good luck. I have you, don't I? I just need more luck playing cards."

Autumn nodded and leaned over to him and kissed his cheek. "Yeah I know."

Wilhem smiled warmly, and kissed her on the left cheek. "I know you know. You will always be with me in my heart. I hope I will always be with you in yours."

"No problems there," she grinned as a small beep came from the controls. She placed her cards face down and said, "Be right back. No peeking at my cards." She entered the cockpit and sat down and checked the console.

Wilhem looked at the cockpit, "Anything the matter, Autumn?"

"Nothing just an hourly check alert I programmed in as we left the Galaxy. Because its on auto I have to make sure its still doing what its meant to," she smiles, "but everything is fine."

Wilhem nodded, "Okay, Autumn. As long as that was not something saying we went through a wormhole. I don't know if I could stand that type of excitement."

Autumn waited until he turned his back then let out a low gasp of horror. She moaned and lowered her head down to hide her grin. "I thought that truce would last longer," she muttered.

Wilhem's head shot around, "What truce?"

Autumn kept her head down and turned her head away from him before replying. "The truce with the Borg", she said trying hard not to laugh. She had a feeling she was going to get into major trouble for this but she was bored and needed to do something.

Rose had seen the both of them, she wished she was already married to her love but he hadn't asked, "I going in the back to lay down," she said in a stubborn, maybe hurt voice but Rose didn't show her hurt side.

Wilhem turned back to Rose, "It is okay Rose. He will ask when he is ready. And probably sooner than you think."

"You don't know him as well as I do my friend," Rose said then went into the back to lay down and rest.

Wilhem nodded at Rose, then turned his attention back to Autumn. "The Borg? You're joking, right?"

In the back Rose fell asleep, the nightmare started with Victor in it, then she started yelling, "NO NO LET ME GO."

Wilhem rushed back to the back. He tapped Rose on the shoulder, trying to get her out of the bad dream. "It's only a dream, Rose. He isn't here to hurt you. I doubt he will ever hurt you again."

Autumn stopped joking and made her way back and stood watching Wil and Rose. She shuddered deep down at Rose's cries. She stod still and watched Wil try to comfort Rose.

Wilhem looked at Autumn. "Perhaps she will listen to you more than me. Remember I am a male, and she may think I will try to hurt her, too."

Autumn moved up to crouch beside her friends. Slowly she reached out and touched Rose's arm and her other hand touched Wil's hand. "Rose." she said softly. "He isn't here. There just you, Me and Wilhem," she gently patted Rose's arm. "Come on Isis open your eyes," she whispered.

"I am listing to you Wilhem. I'm not scared of no man always remember that." she said will getting up shaking a bit.

"I'm no weak woman that is scared of ever male on the ship, I will overcome this it will just take time like that last time." Rose said covering herself up.

Wilhem nodded solemnly, "Then be at peace knowing that Victor is no longer a threat."

Autumn tucked Rose in before leaving them and heading back to the pilot's seat.

"I got some letter from a friend on the starbase Victor was let off of, he's been found guilty and sentenced to 2 years in prison." Rose told them throwing the PADD on the floor.

Wilhem looked shocked, "Two years? Should he not have gotten life for rape? Or had the offending member amputated?"

Autumn shook her head from her seat. "This is the federation Wil," she said as she turned to see them both. "Cutting THAT off doesn't happen anymore... though it's a good idea," she gave him a slight smile. "Leave her to sleep. If she wakes up she'll be fine." She turned back to her console. Her mind flicking through the bashings that had occured on the Galaxy in the last few weeks.

Wilhem nodded, "I will leave her to sleep it off. I will try to be a good friend. But these times are trying. And like the old Chinese curse, we live in interesting times."

Autumn held out her hand. "She has had a lot on her mind lately. Come here Wil please," she stood and smiled at him.

Wilhem smiled, stood and walked up to Autumn and took her hand, "Okay Autumn. So what do we do for the next few hours?"

"Oh I don't know," she said softly as not to wake Rose. She slipped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Sit here and just talk?" she suggested.

Wilhem nodded, "Sure thing, Autumn. What do you want to talk about?"

Shrugging Autumn moved back into her seat and looked out the viewscreen. "Whatever you want to I guess.... Have no real preference."

Wilhem sat down in the seat beside her. "I guess we should talk about our upcoming ceremonies. Maybe we should set them in stone before we meet with your aunts and uncles who will want their own ceremonies."

Autumn smiled, "I like the way you think Wilhem." She looked back at Rose. "At least then they can't argue. About anything at all."

Wilhem glanced back at Rose, who seemed to be resting quietly, "Then let's start. How would you like to have the ceremony? Besides having Captain Price do the honors."

Autumn thought about it for a moment before replying to him. "As simple as possible," she said. "If I have to have family then I guess my uncle Ross would have to 'Give me ways' not that he owns me anyway," she muttered. "Nothing extravagant... I liked your idea of the holo-program."

Wilhem nodded, "A simple forest clearing with some animals there. A clear sky, and a floral crown for the bride." He thought a moment, "I don't know who to get as my Best Man. I don't have many friends in this universe."

Rose got up and moaned a little and with a very bad headache, "Damn I need to get myself together." she said while getting up.

Autumn turned to where Rose was and watched her. "Rose are you sure you should be getting up?" she asked, "You look like you need to sleep for the next twelve hours or so," she stood and made for her friend.

"I'm not a lazy woman my friend, I just had that same nightmare and a dream that had Commander Chakotay in it but that is another story." Rose said with a big grin she hoped to see Chakotay again after hearing about Voyager coming back to Earth.

Autumn rolled her eyes in amusement. "I never said you were lazy Rose I was mearly stating a fact," she smiled. "Are you having trouble sleeping Rose?"

Wilhem looked back from the front seat. "You look like you took a trip to the Nine Hells, Rose. You really should get some sleep. And don't think it is being lazy. Others have had to sleep for long periods too."

Autumn got up and moved back down to Rose, "You know it would be beneficial for your child Rose if you got as much rest as possible on this trip... that means... SLEEP LOTS!" She stressed the last two words so Rose would know that she wasn't joking.

Wilhem nodded his assent to that fact. He hoped Rose would feel right enough to know that they only wanted the best for her and her child. And they were not just trying to be contrite.

Autumn smiled at her friend and just stood waiting for an answer.

"Don't you dare boss me around I'm not a child, and I'm not resting my grandmother said it is a sign of weakness for a Betazoid royal to rest while pregnant. Sorry but that's the way I was taught." Rose told then with a look in her eyes... as a strong independant woman.

Autumn shrugged and turned around and sat down. "Fine but if you ask me your grandmother could be wrong," she shrugged again and turned back to her console.

Trying not to cry after Autumn said that, why can't they understand that was the way she was taught. She can't help that, but why was she crying... damn it the hell with it then she got up and walked around a little.

"Forgive me my friends but that was the way I was raised, being in a royal like me is very hard." Rose told them a little upset about the comment that Autumn made about her grandmother.

Wilhem nodded solemnly, "My grandmother said the same thing to my mother after she had been raped. It was a difficult thing to do for her. She was tired all throughout the time of her pregnancy. It took too much out of her. I don't want to see the same thing happen to you. So when you feel tired, please rest. It will do better for your soul."

Autumn stood up and walked over to Rose. "Rose I am sorry but I am concerned about your health." she paused. She moved and hugged Rose mentally telling herself off about being so harsh. "I am sorry Rose."

Wilhem watched them closely. He hoped that they would remain friends after this trying time. But no one could be sure just yet. Emotions were strong and they could get out of hand.

"You're forgiven but please don't treat me like a child, if I need to rest I will rest of my own free will." Rose said with a smile, "I hope the maid is at my castle in Scotland I have about 3 of them."

Wilhem smiled, "Three castles? Must be a lot of upkeep to do on them."

"One in Scotland, one in Wales, one in Ireland and one on Betazed," Rose said with a big grin, thinking about her childhood days there in all the castles.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "Sounds like fun."

Autumn nodded and gave a brief smile. "Wil can you watch the con please. I am going to have a lie down," so saying she retreated to her bunk for a lie down.

Rose sits down in the chair and before she knew it she was in a deep sleep as her a letter from her cousin Lily Williamson falls on the floor, it was like the Gods have put her to sleep with a tear in her eyes.

Wilhem watched her fall asleep, then turns back to the controls. "I will watch them, Autumn. You can count on that." He hoped that nothing untoward happened in the hours to come.

Almost four hours later Autumn climbed out of her bunk and rubbed her face with her hands. she had dreamt again... it was funny she hadn't dreamt since Wil had stayed in her room. But suddenly they were back. Shadows danced in her dreams and people scream and friends dissapear. It sucked. She just sat there and stared off into space.

Wilhem picked up a feeling of despair coming from Autumn. He turned and looked at her for a few moments. Then he said, "Bad dream, Autumn? Do you want to talk about it?"

Autumn turned and gave him a smile. "No Love I am fine. Just a bit of a recurring thing," she stood and moved over to stand beside him. "I haven't had that dream in a couple of days and had thought that it had gone for good," she took his hand. "I love you," she murmured.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "I love you too. Milady, we will have a long and happy life together. The gods willing."

Autumn sat on the floor beside his chair and rested her head against his knee. "I am sure we will," she looked at Rose sleeping. "Has she been out long?" she asked softly.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "She fell asleep shortly after you went for your 'lay down.' I think she is okay for now. Let's not bother her."

"Oh I wouldn't dream of it. Because that means you and I get to spend more time together," she pushed herself up onto her knees and kissed his cheek. "And that's something I love to do."

Wilhem grinned, "That is something I love to do, too. And I could not think of anything more well-meant to do." He leaned over and kissed her firmly on the lips.

Autumn leaned into the kiss and wrapped her arms around Wilhem's neck. She kissed him back and after a while she gently pulled back a bit. "Well I certainly agree with you Love," she whispered.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "Then let's spend as much time together as we can. When your relatives find out about us, they will keep you seperate most of the time. To find out yours and my intentions."

Autumn shook her head. "My uncle would let me do what I want.. after asking you about yours. My aunt on the other hand..." she trailed off blushing in remeberance about her aunt's birds and the bees talk when she was 14. "Well... let's just say as a full betazoid... she can make Ambassador Troi look like a child when it comes to love and marriage... she'll most likely already have it planned and want it to be held ASAP... before either of us change our minds... not that I am going to."

Wilhem grinned, "Then she'll be glad to do it in ten weeks." He grasped her hand, "I will not change my mind. Only death will part us. And I forsee us living a long time. And dying at the same time, warm in our beds."

Sighing Autumn replied. "Now that sounds like a plan," smiling she kissed him again.

Wilhem just kissed her back. He reveled in the feel of her lips on his. The taste of her lips was also exquisite. He knew that 10% of a human's touch sensors were in the lips. So he knew that he and Autumn were both feeling great.

Autumn gently pulled back and leant past him to check the console. "Everything been ok?" she whispered as she turned her head to face him.

Wilhem nodded, "Everything has gone all right. No troubles or anything. I think it was waiting for you to be ready. In case anything really bad happens." He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. "Don't worry Autumn. Nothing too bad will happen on this trip. At least I don't believe so."

Autumn smiled. "I am not going to tempt fate and say that I am holding you to that love." she said as she wrapped her arms back around his neck. "Lets go down the back so we don't wake her..." she murmured.

Wilhem nodded softly, "Okay." He smiled warmly, "I love you, milady. And nothing is going to change that."

Autumn stood and led the way further back into the shuttle and sat down on a bench seat.

Wilhem sat next to her on the bench seat. He put his arm around her shoulders, and held her close. He knew that no one else would ever love him as much as she did. And that was a comforting thought.

Autumn sliped her arms around his waist and held onto him. She hugged him tight. "I love you Wilhem. Never doubt that," she whispered.

Wilhem smiled warmly, and returned the hug. "I love you Autumn Jamieson. And you should never ever doubt that."

"I never will." she murmured back.

Wilhem murmured, "Good."

Autumn smiled up at him. "Why do I feel calm around you?" she wondered out loud, as she gazed up into his eyes. "Is it because of how much I love you or is it just the affect you have on me?"

Wilhem smiled down at her, "I think it is because of the love we feel for each other. I feel so calm around you. And I know that it is he love I feel for you that enables that to happen."

"Hmmm that could explain why I didn't kill that security officer when Rose went missing." she sighed. "I was so tempted to take him on... the brig time would have been worth it just so I could have tortured him with hyposprays when I got back to medical," she smirked.

Wilhem grinned, "That would have been a sight. But I do think I kept you calm enough to not do anything rash. I hope I can continue to show you the way to be not so rash. Otherwise, we will both get into trouble."

Autumn gave him an innocent look. "Trouble? Thats my middle name Wilhem. Didn't you know?" she asked keeping her face straight.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "I thought it was Mariebeth. But I can see what you mean."

"It is Maeribeth." She smirked. "But I almost changed it when I was 16."

Wilhem smiled, "Why would you change it? It is a beautiful name. Almost as beautiful as you."

Autumn winced. "Have you ever had a relative that would come to visit and tell you how much like your mother/father you were? Well I did.. My Grandmother... my dad's mum. She never liked Autumn as a first name and always thought that mum's middle name of Maeribeth was a better name.. so she always use to call me Maeribeth and never Autumn and used to say that I was so much like my mother that Maeribeth suited me.

She stopped when I at sixteen announced on my birthady that I was changing my middle name to Winter. She almost killed me and my parents weren't that impressed either. So I made a deal. She was to call me by my REAL name and I wouldn't shame the family by changing my middle name."

Wilhem smiled warmly, "I had a grandmother who called me Wilhelm. After my grandfather. I hated it. Eventually she stopped, when I was fifteen, and about to be banished. Then she said I was not like my grandfather at all."

Autumn smiled, "Well then looks like our grandmothers would have gotten along fine," she said before kissing him.

Wilhem returned the kiss. Then, when it was broken, "Yes, they would have. Too bad they'll never meet."

Autumn smiled and whispered. "Hey who is to say they haven't been sitting around in heaven complaining about their grandkids to each other?" she hugged him. "For all we know they could be best friends."

Wilhem smiled solemnly, "My grandmother probably went to the Halls of Valhalla. She was Chaotic Good, and followed no god. As to heaven, whose domain is that? Besides the Anuirean god Haelyn."

Autumn groaned. "I give up.,. I hate talking about religion after the stone of tears... that was enough to make me want to dump all religious fanactics out an airlock," her head dropped to his chest sighing. "Anyway if you ask me. Heaven is a place that all people with good hearts go after they die. And that's all I have to say about it," she smiled.

Wilhem smiled, "Don't worry. I am not a religious fanatic. Though I do hold the god Erik in high esteem. He was the god of the forests and nature on my world. I don't know if his influence can be felt here in this universe. It is said that you need a priest of the diety to open up a universe to their graces. So I may be out of dieties in my own life. I hope that I will have someone watching over me in the years to come."

Autumn snuggled down and smiled. "I am sure they will be Love. I am sure they will be."

Wilhem kissed her forehead, "Just as I am sure that someone is watching over you. There has to be some god watching over both of us. That is the only reason we could have come together. That or dumb luck."

"And I quote. 'In my experience there's no such thing as luck,'" she murmured. "The proximity alert will alert us when it's time To come out of warp... we should get some rest Wil."

Wilhem nodded softly, "Yes, we should. Let's go to bed now, then. We should be okay."

Autumn nodded. "Okay," she said sitting up. She looked at the bunks and sighed.

Wilhem caught the look, and asked, "Which one do you want? Or do you want to share one? I don't mind."

Autumn smiled. "Share?" she asked. "I want to cuddle you some more if that's ok."

Wilhem nodded, "That is fine with me, Autumn. We can cuddle all you like."

Autumn nodded and climbed on a bunk then paused. "We should put Rose on a bunk as well... that can't be good for her back."

Wilhem looked at Rose, and then to Autumn, "You are right. I'll try and calmly put her on a bunk." He walked over to the sleeping Rose, picked her up softly and placed her on one of the bunks quietly.

Autumn smiled and held out her hand for Wil. "Thanks Love. Time for us to sleep as well." she said as she took his hand.

Wilhem nodded, and climbed onto the bunk. He settled onto the left side of the bunk, and laid on his side. "Ready whenever you are," he said.

Autumn climbed and lay with her back agasint his chest. She pulled the blanket up over them and turned her head to kiss him. "Good night Wil," she murmured as she kissed him.

Wilhem kissed her back, then said, "Good night, Autumn. See you in the morning."

Autumn smiled and rolled over to sleep. "I love you Wil. Sleep well," she murmured as she drifted off.

Wilhem smiled softly, then faded off to peaceful dreams. Or no dreams at all.

Autumn wasn't so lucky, the dreams came back again. In the tight confines of the bunk and with Wil holding her made the dream seem more real she tossed and turned and in her dream she was in the tubes on Galaxy again. Borg and people moving in and words not quite understood. With a gasp she sat upright and hit her head on the top of the bunk. "Ow!" she muttered as she climbed off the bunk.

Wilhem woke up instantly, "What's the matter, Autumn?"

Autumn stopped and turned "Sorry love for waking you..." she trailed off knowing any normal excuse wouldn't do this time. "Um I kinda... had a bad dream... I am fine now."

Wilhem grimaced, "I know how dreams can go. Do you want to talk about it?"

Autumn gave him a kinda look that besoke no. "Um not right now Love," she turned towards the pilot seat. "Think I'll check on the ship."

Wilhem nodded solemnly, "Whenever you are ready, you can talk to me about it. I will not judge you by it."

Autumn smiled and went to the con. After checking it she sat there and thought about it. She wanted to tell Wil about her dreams about the figures in the mist and about the people she knew that were in the mist. But could she? She stood and walked slowly back to the bunk.

Wilhem smiled up at her, "Are you okay, Love? I would not want to have anything bad happen to you."

Autumn sat on the bunks edge and started to speak. "It is only a recuring dream that I had from about the beginning of our last mission. It starts off as a memory dream, but the memory dream never ends the way its supposed to. It ends normally with mist suddenly blocking out all other things bar me... I can hear voices of people I know. You, Ria, and an old boyfriend were in the first one I ever had. Then as I try to find people in the mist things get a bit crazy... the one tonight and the one I had earlier had borg and the tunnels on the Galaxy in it," she paused and drew a breath. "It was extremely vivid. I at first thought it to maybe carry on from another lot of dreams I had had... about my parents dying... before i found that they were actually dead... but the last one was so dense in the fog I couldn't even find... my friends... like I normally could. It freaked me that's all."

Wilhem nodded solemnly, "It sounds like you are troubled by a lot of things. I hope that peace will come to you as we begin to live together. I think that our lives will not all be rosy. We will have our problems. But things will get better with time. I hope, anyway."

Autumn nodded. "Hey they are just dreams right.. I mean they don't really mean anything.. other then I have a totally warped immagination," she smiled and reached out her hand to touch his face. "Hey I think we will be fine... if you handle all my faults."

Wilhem spoke softly, "What faults? I think that we are about equal in faults of any kind. And that's what you are supposed to do with people you love. Ignore the other's faults. Or work on them together."

Autumn smiled and nodded. "We should go back to sleep love." she whispered.

Wilhem nodded softly, "Yes, we should."

Rose moans a little bit, then wakes up. "Damn what a dream," she said while getting up trying to get something to drink.

Wilhem looked at Rose, "I hope you slept well. I don't think there is anything for you to worry about just yet."

"No I didn't sleep well I can't sleep at all. I got a letter from one of my cousins Lily Williamson of the USS Miranda she met a guy and she's happy, the guy's name is Drago Mornoi." Rose said with a sigh folding the letter back up, both Rose and Lily wrote their letters the old fashioned way....paper and pen.

Wilhem was shocked, "Drago? Here? That I would not have expected. He and I am friends from Aebrynnis. We might even be related distantly. He was/is a paladin of Haelyn. He is what you would call a religion buff. Knows a lot about fighting too."

"You know if Lily and Drago would ever get married we'd be family then, all three of us by marriage. Lily is the Duchess of Betazed so she's a higher household than me plus she's behind me 100% for keeping the baby along with her mother." Rose told him trying to get something to drink, or find something to eat.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "And when we get married, we will all be family." He noticed what she was looking for, so he pointed to the replicator. "There's the replicator, Rose. Get whatever you need."

Rose sighs a little, knowing that she hadn't eaten or drank anything in hours, "I don't need anything Wilhem."

Wilhem nodded, "But do you want anything?"

"No I don't." she said lying, Rose just sits down and look into space.

Wilhem shook his head softly, "You really should eat or drink something. You haven't eaten in hours and it is not good for the baby."

Autumn watched the exchange and then relaxed back into Wilhem as Rose stared off into space. "I'll get us all something soon," she said. "Anyway give or take about 6hrs we should be back on Earth." she smiled at Rose.

"Fine get me something." she said in a very stubborn voice... she vowed not to eat like a damn pig, it was unlady like. Wilhem got her something light, a crepe with cream cheese. "Here you go, this should do the trick."

Autumn smiled at Rose. "Hey don't worry Rose the day will come I am sure where you'll be trying to get me to look after myself." She knew her friend needed something to take her mind off things. "So tell me about this confrence on Betazed." she asked.

"It just for Archeology." Rose said will eating down her food slowly, not acting like a pig.

Autumn waited a bit and then asked. "The Archeology of which planets?" she was curious to know.

Wilhem sat back to wait for the answer. He was interested as well, as it was a scientific field. Though not one of the fields he had chosen. He wanted to know more about them all.

"I guess all planets they didn't tell me much about it. The former Asst Chief Science Officer of the Galaxy asked me if I wanted to come, I told him yes, so nobody knows who." Rose said as she finished eating.

Autumn nodded. "I see." she smiled. She curled back up on the bunk she and Wilhem had been sharing and watched her friends. "It sounds interesting... I wish medical did this kinda thing... all we get is conferences on Earth and man they can be boring of late." she smiled.

Wilhem smiled, "They don't do conferences on Planetary Geology and Meteorology. Those things are considered passe nowadays."

Autumn smiled. "Well you never know when that comes in handy Wil," she rolled over and stared at the ceiling.

"Things have a way of popping up as the last two missions have shown."

Wilhem grinned, "That is true. I hope that things get easier for all involved soon. Things seem to be taking a slow upward spiral recently."

Rose sighs a little and walks around, "Damn I'm bored but I'm also tired I don't want to sleep it's too damn early."

Autumn smiled. "Sleep is a good thing for me right at the moment Rose, so thats what I am going to do... SLEEP!" She paused. "How's about you play cards or something... or Monopoly with the computer... If you both aren't going to sleep." she suggested as she shut her eyes.

Wilhem shook his head, "I am tired right now. I think I'll sleep too. By the way, what is this 'Monopoly?'"

Autumn's eyes flew open and she gazed at her love with surprise. "You are kidding me... right... tell me that you are most certainly kidding me... WHAT is MONOPOLY?!?!" She sighed as she studied Wilhem's face. "OK it's a board game. The oblect is to buy up as much property as possible and charge the other players rent when ever they land on your land. The person who bankrupts everyone else wins."

Wilhem climbed onto the bunk with Autumn, "Sounds like a guilder's game. Redbedtehr would have loved it. I might try it some time." He gazed into Autumn's eyes. "Don't worry about my lack of training in such games. I will learn to like them as much as you do." He took her hand in his.

Autumn smiled at him. "Just as long as you like them because you do like them and not because of me." She hugged him and shut her eyes. "Rose there's a book in my bag, it's a romance novel if you want something to read," she murmured as she drifted off.

Wilhem slowly faded off with Autumn in his arms. It was a good feeling to have someone. He hoped that Rose would find someone like that to love. For she needed to feel this loved.

"Gods I wish I was dead, at least some people will be happy." she said while throwing some of her PADDS on the floor, writing her last will and testment.

Autumn having woken up slightly when Wilhem had joined her, slowly sat up. "Rose MacAllen the book is in the top of my bag.. it has Fabio on the cover and is about the high seas. Get it read it. and RELAX!!! You are on leave for the gods' sake girl please do me a favor and relax my friend?" She gave Rose a pleading look laced with care and fatigue.

Wilhem moved in the slight impasse between sleep and awareness, and grasped a hold of Autumn's arms. He mumbled, "Relax Rose. You will find someone who will care for you. It is only a matter of time."

"My time's running out," she whispered to herself then sits on the ground doing nothing, she can't relax... it was not her way.

Wilhem fell deeper into slumber and held onto Autumn. He did not want to let her go, even in sleep. He did not want to lose her. And that was his secret fear. That he would lose her like he lost all of his family.

*****Earth, 6hrs later*****

Autumn sat at the controls and was having an arguement with the controller about their landing sites. "Look. All I want is clearence to land at those two sites. Do you think you could allow that Ensign?"

[Lt. Jamieson I am not at liberty to agree at the moment.]

Autumn cut him off. "Well the get me someone who can!"

There was a pause and then a reply [Lt. Jamieson, This is Commander Wilson. Permission granted.]

"Wilson... From the Reliant?" she asked.

[Yes... Do i know you Lt?]

Autumn scanned the ships in orbit. The Uss Reliant was there and she smiled. "Oh yes Sir you do. Thanks for the clearance. Jamieson out," she smirked as she cut the transmission. Carefully she plotted the course for the first site. "Rose? you ready? We are home!!"

Wilhem turned to Autumn, "Old friends?"

Autumn smirked. "Oh yeah... he has an intimte memory of my knee." she glanced out as the comm Sparked to life.

[Lt Jameison. This is Wilson. You wouldn't happen to be Autumn Jamieson?]

Autumn laughed and replied. "YES SIR! Thanks for the memories Commander. Jamieson out." She carefully piloted the shuttle through the atmosphere laughing.

Wilhem chuckled softly, "Looks like he does remember you. Hopefully it will not be all bad."

Autumn winced. "He had me reprimanded... even though he insulted me."

Wilhem cocked an eyebrow, "Insulted you? How?"

Autumn shrugged and replied "He got me confused or so he said with a helmsman and called me a slut. I kneed him and while he was helped off to Med bay the ACTUAL Helmsman was laing on the floor in Ten-forward laughing her guts off... How he mistook me for Maddy I'll never know..."

Wilhem smiled, "How anyone can mistake you for anyone else, I'll never know. You are too unique to be confused with anyone else."

Rose packed up her PADDS she wanted to get to Scotland as soon as she can, Rose is already upset as it is.

Wilhem sensed this, and turned, "Are you okay, Rose?"

"No I'm not lets just get this over with." Rose said while walking into the backroom packing the rest of her things, she disliked the love that they both showed for each other... it was like a knife going though her heart and twisting it.

Wilhem felt the feelings coming from Rose, and decided not to comment. The shuttle soon settled down to land, and the mission to Earth was just beginning. Soon things would get out of hand again.

"Betazoid Holiday"
By Wilhem, Rose and Autumn

(OOC: takes place 5 weeks before the mission)

Wilhem hoped that Autumn was ready for today's shopping trip to the markets of Betazed. Wilhem was wearing his old outcast clothes. He was dressed in a white, frilly blouse, a pair of red breeches, a waistcoat that was dark red, and a blue tricorner felt hat.

He walked over to Autumn's quarters in this massive castle, and knocked on the door. As they were not yet married, and for the sake of propriety, they were in seperate rooms. Besides the Ambassadors to Betazed had insisted.

Autumn grumbled as she serched through her duffle bag for her jacket. "Darn thing where the hell are you," she straightened and looked around her room. She spotted it where she had placed it yesterday when she had came back from the gardens. She was dressed in her favorite pair of skin tight black jeans and a dark purple singlet top. She placed all her clothes back in the bag and grabbed her boots and pulled them on. grabbing her jacket she moved towards the door. Her long black hair was tied up into her normal work style of a pony tail and she really needed out of this place. She hoped Wilhem was ready.

Wilhem could sense some disgruntled feelings from the other room, and decided to knock again. He hoped that this time, she would hear him and come to the door. Shopping could be a tricky thing to do. Especially when you did not know what you were looking for.

Autumn was right next to the door when the knock came. She jumped and then hit the switch to open the door. She smiled when it revealed Wilhem. "Hello there," she said smiling at him warmly all her tension seeming to slip away from her as she spoke to him.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "Hello. I hope you are ready to go out shopping. I am unsure as to what we will be shopping for, but I am willing to follow your lead."

Autumn smiled and stepped clear of her room and the door slid shut behind her. "Oh hell I am just wanting to get out of here for a while. Anyway... no one ever goes shopping knowing what they really want to buy," she added with a grin.

Wilhem chuckled, "Sounds like fun."

"Come on then... Let's go before we get dragged out into that garden again... I mean it's beautiful but hey I've walked it everyday." She grabbed his hand and took off down towards the front doors.

Wilhem chuckled. They soon exited the castle, and headed for the marketplace. As they neared the first stalls, he asked, "So what are you in the mood for?"

Autumn grinned and looked around, "Spending time with you with out chaperones..." she smiled up at him. "Lets just wander about... I am sure there's sure to be something that catches our eyes."

Wilhem nodded, "Then let's go." He led the way into the marketplace. Hopefully they would find something of interest soon.

Autumn and Wil walked past many stalls some were selling crafts and others were selling foods and more were selling clothes. Autumn spotted a stall that sold antique blades and dragged Wil over to it.

Wilhem viewed the blades with interest. There were blades from all over known space. Bat'leths, Betazoid swords, Terran swords, and Vulcan blades. All very interesting. And all very rare.

Autumn's eye was drawn to a very nice parrying dagger with a Phoenix carved on the hilt. Gently she picked it up and drew it out of its plain black sheath. the blade sparkled with brightness in the sunlight and Autumn tested the balance carefully. It was well balanced as far as she could tell and she was half tempted. She glanced at Wilhem to see what he was interested in.

Wilhem's eye had fallen on a rapier, with a beautiful hilt made into the shape of a White Dragon. The grip was the ridged vertibrate of the dragon's back. The wings left a place for the hand to rest. He picked up the sword and drew it. The blade was made of whitesteel, a beautiful alloy that shone in the light. He glanced at Autumn askance.

Autumn caught the glance and smiled as she bargained with the man for the dagger. The man was a tough bargainer and Autumn wasn't that concerned about the price and so she named it and he nodded and took the credit account and docked the money from it. She picked up the dagger in its sheath and turned to Wilhem and moved over so she could lean over his shoulder and examine the sword. "Nice," she murmured right next to his ear.

Wilhem then began to haggle for the sword. After a few mintues, they had settled for the price of five hundred credits. Nodding, he docked the amount from his credit account, and picked up the sword, and attached it to his left hip, ready for the draw if necessary.

"See told you that we would have to know what we were looking for," Autumn said smiling as she took his hand and moved away from the stall. "Any ideas where to now?" she asked him.

Wilhem nodded, "Let's go towards the outskirts of the market. There's bound to be something there."

Autumn nodded and let him lead the way. Her green eyes roamed the people in the market place. She loved the open air markets back on earth but this was just as good. She noticed a couple of stalls selling mens clothes and smiled but didn't say anything. She loved this time alone with Wilhem... there hadn't been much time for them on earth with her running around like a chook with its head cut off... But now they had the time. It was lovely.

Soon they came to the outskirts of the market. There was one last stall perched on a hill. It sold ancient armor and shields. Half Plate, Full Plate, Plate mail with spikes. Tower shields, medium and small shields. Studded leather, Scale Mail, and banded mail. Everything a person could want. If they were of the right mindset.

Autumn smiled and stepped back as Wilhem approached the table. In the holodecks Autumn never wore armor but she understood that some people liked it and had to have it. She herself thought about light leather armor and examined a couple of suits out of curiosity.

Wilhem avoided the Plate Mail Armors, or the Banded and Splint Mail. Those armors required prolonged fittings, and thus would most likely not be his size. He went immediately to the Studded Leather armor. He was most comfortable in that style of armor, and even owned an old set himself. He examined the armors that were there, but found them all to be of low quality, save for two of the hardened plain leather armors. Which he would not buy as they did not provide enough protection for him.

Autumn finaly ignored the armor and slowly moved across the way to a stall that sold statues. Her main vice. she stood there examining the statues carefully. She knew Wilhem would be a while and her eyes roamed carefully over a statue of a dragon with golden red scales.

Wilhem soon followed Autumn across to the last stall of the marketplace. The statues were beautiful, and he soon found one of a brass color. It looked just like one of the fabled Adurian brass dragons, said to live in the northern desert of Aduria. As he had never been that far south, he did not know if that was true. He looked at Autumn questioningly. He wanted to know if she wanted to buy these statues.

Autumn noticed the look as she lifted the dragon to examine it. She already had so many dragon statues in her storage boxes. Turning to the trader. "No thanks," she placed it back down gently. "They are lovely but no I'll be all right." She smiled and moved back a step. She turned to Wilhem. "Well did you find a suit of Armor?" she asked.

Wilhem shook his head, "They were all of poor quality. No one knows how to keep armor fresh apparently. Or make it well anymore."

Autumn smiled and nodded. "Well that's a shame, Wilhem," she linked her arm with his. "Ok. Now where to?"

Wilhem smiled warmly, "I think we can wander about this beautiful day. No one should miss us. At least not yet."

Autumn smiled. "Lead on kind sir," she wasn't going back until she had her fill of freedom. She needed time alone with Wilhem and this was the only way she was going to get it. The sun was shining and Autumn took off her jacket and tied it around her waist.

Wilhem led them out into the forests of Betazed. There was no reason to worry. There were no thoughts of death and destruction in this place. But there was something ominous in the dark forests. And it would soon show its head.

Suddenly, as they entered a bright forest clearing, they were confronted by three rogues. "Gentleman and lady, I think that now would be a time to turn over your valubles. Or we will have to kill you."

Wilhem picked up on something else. He shook his head, "You intend to kill us anyway. So I guess I will have to incapacitate all of you first."

Autumn moved back to back with Wilhem and drew out her parrying dagger. "Darn this luck... I left my other fighting dagger at home. Oh well parrying will have to do," she mumbled as the three attacked.

The first two split off from the third. Those two attacked Wilhem, thinking him to be the main threat. The third, pulled out a dagger, and attacked Autumn. Wilhem beat the first man to the punch, literally, by doing a palm-heel strike to the man's nose, sending shards into the man's brain, killing him instantly. the second was a little tougher, blocking the first strike and then using the forward motion to flip Wilhem onto his back.

Autumn felt Wilhem fall but couldn't do anything about it. She used her dagger and parried the man expertly before kicking him in the gut and flinging him backwards. She turned her head to see one man down and the other going for Wil... but before she could do anything the man was back at her. Groaning she attacked him with a series of quick punches.

Wilhem waited for just the right moment, then kicked the man in the stomach. He then used his motion to right himself, and sidekicked the assailant. This shattered his left kneecap, and sent the man to the ground, screaming in pain.

Wilhem turned to watch Autumn deal witht he last man. But then he noticed a man sneaking up behind her, with a dagger held by his left side. "No!" he cried, and grabbed the man's right side and spun him to knock him out. But instead the man quickly stabbed forward with his left hand and the blade slid between his ribs and punctured his right lung.

Autumn managed to finish off her attacker just as Wilhem hit the ground. She turned to see him fall and the man heading for her. 'This is so not good,' she thought as she lunged under the blade and uppercut him in the jaw. He flew back and Autumn followed up to disengage the dagger from his hand with a chop to the wrist. Lost of his dagger and a now very upset and mad female heading for his throat the man turned tail and ran. Autumn watched him go and dropped down beside Wilhem.. her training taking over. "Wilhem open your eyes love please" she whispered as her hands felt the wound. She then pulled out a communicator and called the near by medical hospital for assistance. "This is Dr Autumn Jamieson in the forest near the city. Need an emergency unit to my position NOW!" She snapped, "One man down injured seriously." she returned her attention to Wilhem.

Wilhem's eyes were open. He was coughing up blood, but was trying to talk. "Autumn... I... know... that... man... He's from... from my world... He's the brother... of... Sirena Froschen." He took a troubled breath, "He spoke to me... in here," pointing to his head. "He'll... be back with... friends... to finish the job... He said that... if we survive... to talk to my friend... Sigmund... on the Knight... About something called Dark Men... Please remember... In case I forget... He said... he was after... your engagement ring... Strong magic... he said." Then with a gasp, he began to lose consciousness. The last words out of his mouth was, "I love you... Autumn... Sorry... this had to happen."

Autumn tried hard to concentrate on him but tears were falling faster then ever. "Don't you say that Wilhem.. You stay alive you hear me... You better stay alive Love," She looked up as the medical team arrived. A doctor pulled her back gently but Autumn shrugged him off and started barking orders "Check for internal injuries. Check them," she motioned over her shoulder.

"If any are alive I want them arrested and taken into custody," her hands continued to work on Wilhem and finally the doctor had to sedate her so they could do thier job.

Autumn woke up in a room in the medical base. She stood and looked around. A nurse passed her and she stopped her and the nurse pointed to the room across the hall. Autumn all but ran into the room to find Wilhem surrounded by medical staff and she stopped dead in the doorway as they worked on him.

They worked on the right lung area, trying hard to stop the bleeding that kept flowign into the badly mauled organ. But Wilhem was lucky. A couple inches to the left and up, and the blade would have sliced through his heart. Instead, he was alive. Unconscious but alive.

Eventually, the medical team realized that the lung was not saveable, and removed it. They quickly put in an artificial lung that they had a ton of. This lung was small and able to oxygenate the blood like his old lung. But there would be drawbacks. He would have to have a medication in his food for the rest of his life, so as not to reject the machine. Otherwise, he would have to live with half his lung capacity. And then he would not be able to do half the things he had done before.

Autumn stood there and watched while they worked on her fiance. Her mind flicked back over the words Wil had said and she knew that something was up. Absently her hand rose to the communicator that wasn't there. She needed Rose here with her. She moved further into the room and watched the operation. She felt the room tip and then it went black.

She woke up again this time more disoriented then ever. "Where the hell am I?" she muttered.

Wilhem awoke in the room and felt rather poorly. He had some nausea. Then he heard Autumn speak those words, and he smiled solemnly. "Hello love," he said.

Autumn sat upright and looked around she saw Wilhem and jumped to her feet. Making her way to his side she reached out and touched his face gently. "Hello my love," she whispered back. "I was so worried about you... don't you ever do this again," tears fell down her face as she leaned over to gently hug him... just to make sure he was real.

Wilhem hugged her back gently, "I am real, Autumn. I will never leave you. Not like that. We will both die in our beds warm and sleeping. That I can forsee." He coughed slightly, as he adjusted to the new lung.

Autumn didn't reply she just held him. She hated the fact that she hadn't been fast enough in dealing with her assailant so that she could have helped him. Gently she pulled away. "How are you feeling... and if you pull a Rose MacAllen on me... I'll... I'll... well lets say I think Torsag would like to do a few more Physicals," she stared down at him.

Wilhem grimaced and rasped, "I feel like I went up against the chief demon Asmodeous. On the 666th level of the Abyss. And lost. Badly."

She winced and moved back a bit. "Yeah well you don't look that bad Love," she gave him a smile. "You still are the best looking guy I have ever seen." She picked up the chart at the end of the bed and read it. It wasn't good. Medication for the rest of his life... New lung... no wonder he felt like shit. She frowned as she realised that the nurse had missed his last medication dose.

Wilhem noticed something was wrong, "What's wrong, Love?" He coughed again.

Autumn gave him a smile and placed the chart back in its place. "Nothing much Love... they just have missed your last medication round... I'll be right back... with the dumb nurse who should give you your painkillers." She leaned over and gently kissed his lips and walked out in search of the nurse.

She made her way down the corridor and to the nurse's station. Putting on her doctors face she turned to the nurse closest to her and said. "I believe that Lt Quevvenson missed his last lot of medication, sister."

The nurse looked at the weary girl and then glanced at her watch. "Oh yes... I must have forgotten," she winced under Autumn's green glare. "Well then may I suggest you go and do it? The Lt is most likely in pain," the nurse nodded and grabbed the medication from the despensory and moved towards Wilhem's room, Autumn followed closely. They entered and the nurse proceded to give Wilhem his medication.

Wilhem began to feel somewhat better. But he also began to feel woozy. He hadn't felt this bad, since he had been under the care of the local druid of Lemnjohen in the Giantdowns. Herbal remedies had been strange to his system. When his mind cleared, he looked at Autumn and smiled crookedly, "Thanks Autumn. I think that will help."

Autumn moved the chair closer to Wilhem's bed. "Do you remember what you told me Love?" she asked softly as she took his hand.

Wilhem winced, "Some of it. The face I'll remember forever. His name is/was Albrecht Froschen, a Brecht fighter in 15 HC. He was the brother of Sirena Froschen, the woman who broke my heart. He killed an awnsheghlien around that time. Thus, he was sprinkled by the blood of Azrai. He was never the same after that. He became a scourge of Brechtur, and disappeared about 23 HC. Apparently he has come to kill me and anyone that is around me.

"He telepathically told me that if I survived to contact my friend Sigmund on the USS Knight. There is only one Sigmund that I know, and that is Sigmund Tjorkil. How he ended up here I don't know. Probably the same way I did. I am to talk to him about some group called the Dark Men.

"He was after your engagement ring. He called it strong magic. Either in the ring or in the use of the ring in some dark arcane experiment. I know little of the arcane, so I have to hope it was soemthing strange that no one else knows of. I hope that he is the only one here in this Universe that knows the arcane. For I am unsure how magic works here." He took a troubled breath, "I hope this does not sour you on me. It seems that I brought this down upon us."

Autumn tightened her grip on Wil's hand slightly. "Wilhem... I love you... nothing not some crazy man, or anything is going to change that." She smiled at his face. "I'll help you with this... No one attacks my fiance and gets away with it."

Wilhem smiled solemnly, "That is good. For no one attacks my fiancee and gets away with it, either. You do realize that those thugs were hired by that guy to kill us. So he would not have to get his hands dirty. He had to in the end, but he still did not get his way. Let's hope he does not come back anytime soon. I think we should train in case he does. But it will take some time to do so."

Autumn watched his face. "Ok enough of this subject.. you get better. I am sure this will be able to be planned later," she said. "When we get back to the Galaxy... you can contact this friend of yours," she sighed. "Until then I guess it's guards and Rose's mother's gardens for us until we go home."

Wilhem nodded solemnly, "I am afraid that is all we will be allowed to do. Not that I need any more excitement anytime soon. I will get better. And then we can do this together."

Autumn sighed. "Oh well I guess we can sit under the trees together and read or just talk until then..." she trailed off and stood up and leaned over to touch his face. She gave him a smile and traced a line down his face. "I love you. I thought I was going to lose you Love," she whispered.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "And I love you more than ever. I thought I might lose you because of this attack. But whatever comes up, I want to work on it together."

Autumn sighed and kissed him quickly and rested the palm of her hand against his cheek. "We will work on it together Love. He won't hurt us again Wilhem. And you'll never lose me to an attack like that..." she broke off and closed her eyes.

Wilhem smiled softly, "Are you tired, Love? I can live with you resting here for the time that you need." He put his left arm around her shoulder. "I will be here when you wake up. And then we can work on healing the sorrow that Rose will feel after learning of this attack."

Autumn's eyes flew open. "Oh shit!" she gasped. "I like completely forgot to call her... And Love I am not tired that much... just a bit strained... I was a bit shocked about this afternoon... and where pray tell am I to rest?" she grinned.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "I was hoping that you would put your head on my chest and rest there. As for being shocked, I am a little myself. Call Rose as soon as possible. She needs to know. I think she would be shocked as well. But I hope it will not be too much of one. We don't want to hurt the baby."

Autumn rested her head on his chest but soon pulled away. "Sorry Wilhem... I don't think that's a good thing after the injury you just suffered. I don't want to cause you more pain Love... I had better go and call Rose and tell her," she stood up and kissed his cheek and then she smiled and walked to the door.

Wilehm nodded softly, "I hope she takes the news well. I wouldn't want to hurt the baby's well-being. As to hurting me, it is a good pain. I love you, milady. And don't you ever forget it."

Autumn smiled at him and nodded. "I know," and she left the room. She walked down to a comm station and put through the call.

To: Rose MacAllen
From: Autumn Jamieson
RE: Slight problem.

Rose,
Can you come to the medical center in Town. Wilhem and I have had a slight altercation with a few bandits. We are both ok now but Wil has just come out of surgery.
Autumn.

Computer send message."
Computer : Acknowledged.

She stood there for a while after it thinking. She was going to work on her skills with the dagger and now knowing what was going on she was never leaving her room without one. She stayed for a while just staring out at the landscape through the large windows that lined the halls of the medical wards.

Wilhem dozed off in the calmness of his room. He knew that he was safe in this place. But he also knew that that man would be back to finish the job. At a place and time of his choosing. Wilhem had dreamt of a shadowy figure attacking them, during the night he had shared Autumn's bed. Now he had a face to place on the body.

He now dreamed of a fight between Autumn and himself against this man. And Wilhem's sister Sirena was fighting alongside Albrecht Froschen. The dream ended before a resolution to the fight was reached. He awoke sweating fiercely. And hoped that things would be all right with Autumn and himself.

Autumn entered and sat down beside him again. "Had a bad dream?" she asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Wilhem nodded, "I dreamt that we were fighting the attacker and my sister, Sirena. Sword-fighting. Like a duel. I could not tell where, and I did not see the outcome. As to my sister being in it, I don't really know the signifigance. Perhaps she is in this Universe too. I do know that she was the daughter of my mother by a rapist, and became a pirate queen. A vicious pirate. One of the scourges of Brechtur of her time."

Autumn gave a slight shudder. "Ok so if she happens to come along... we do what? Ask her to stay for dinner? Or do we run? Fight?" she paused. "This is getting wierd Wil. I mean why are these people after you?"

Wilhem thought a moment, "I know my sister hated me for my close relationship to my mother. As for Mister Fr?chen, he probably hates me for giving his sister waht she wanted. And because she died in the act of childbirth. There is also the fact that this group called the Dark Men might be a group of bad guys that want to kill us good guys. If he said Sigmund was in this universe, than so could all the others in my adventuring party. And so could all of Quarra's party as well. There has to be something they are after. Once we figure that out, we can deal with it as it comes." His face grew concerned, "We will probably have to fight them. But it will be at a place and time of their choosing. We must therefore be prepared at all times."

Autumn scowled for a moment... "This sucks you know... I mean after today they had better not try to come near me or I'll give them Darkmen," she stood and leaned over to kiss him. "But right now they can wait," and she kissed him.

He kissed her back, then when breaking off the kiss, he said, "I agree. If they come near us again, we will have to kill them. And I think we are ready to do so."

Autumn smiled and said "Hmm right now I am going to put them out of my mind," she reached out and brushed his hair from his forehead. "You should too for now."

Wilhem nodded, "I will try, Autumn. I think that we should concentrate on the wedding. I really want to hold that soon. Within the next ten weeks. I think we are well-placed for it. Hoepfully all will be well soon."

Autumn nodded and smiled. "Ok you sure don't give a girl much time do you?" she said as her hand took his.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "I don't want to rush you. I just think that we should get on with our life together as soon as possible. I don't want to live my life alone for too long now. I want us to begin the happiness that a life together as soon as possible."

**Victoria Palace, Betazed**

Rose walked in after 8 hours of royal duties, her last

stop was at a Betazoid hospital for ill children that was her favoite place to go to visiting the children to make then feel loved like she was going to do with her new daughter in ten months, after getting out of her red business type dress and get into her riding clothes she was tired but Rose wanted to go riding.

****Medical facility****

Autumn sat quietly beside Wilhem's bed taking in what he said. She understood what he was saying. She hoped that they would be together for a long time. She smiled at him and nodded. "Ok within ten weeks." Autumn smiled at him and carefully kissed his cheek.

Wilhem used his left arm to pat Autumn on the back. While he was adjusting to the new lung, he did not want to move too much. It hurt slightly to do so. "Thank you, Love," he said.

Autumn smiled down at him. "You really shouldn't be moving about so much Love. Give it time. You'll be fine soon," slowly she kissed him on the lips. "You had better cause when my uncle and aunt find out that we are here... you'll need all your strength just to stay sane."

Wilhem smiled warmly, "Just continue to give me kisses, and I'll stay sane. You are the one thing in my life that allows me sanity. Nothing else ever will."

Autumn leaned over. "I think I can manage that love," and she kissed him again. When she broke the kiss she murmured, "Ten weeks too long..." before kissing him again.

Wilhem softly kissed her back. When she broke off the kiss, he said, "You may be right, milady. I will try to hold off my inner wants for that time. But it will be hard."

Autumn smiled. "Well this will have to do for now won't it..." she smiled at him and brushed the hair off his forehead with her left hand.

Wilhem nodded, "I guess so. It will have to do for the ten weeks we have to wait. Now what do we do until the others get here? Rose and your relatives?" He raised an eyebrow, "Should we continue our pursuits into each other's lips?"

Autumn nodded. "Sounds like a plan if i ever heard one... and I don't think Uncle Ross and Aunt Leslina are going to come rushing into a medical facility just to yell at me for not telling them that I was on the planet. Rose on the other hand might just yell at us for not taking bodyguards with us when we went out," she leaned over and kissed him again.

Wilhem kissed her as much as he could, then when she broke it off, he nodded, "Of course, if we had thought bodyguards would have done any good, we would have invited them. But this person came out of nowhere. I fear no one could have forseen this turn of events."

Nodding Autumn glanced over her shoulder as someone walked past the door. "I think that the doctors here need a stint on a starship... they are terrible. Remind me to get Andree to look you over when we get back to Galaxy." she said casually. "Hell one of them had the nerve to sedate me while I was trying to keep you alive..." she trailed off.

Wilhem nodded solemnly, "They probably wanted to work on me themselves. And they thought you were hysterical, or just distraught. Understandable really. But you are right. These doctors need a stint on a starship or starbase. They would then know precision."

Autumn's eyes darken somewhat. "I hate to tell them but... If I can face a Borg and still manage to do my job then... yeah ok I was panicked... but come on still is that a reason to sedate me," she groused in a near mutter. She lowered her head as she grumbled about the doctors in the medical facilty.

Wilhem smiled solemnly, and picked up her head with his left arm. He then said, "Don't worry. I know how you must have felt. I would have done the same thing if it was you on the ground, instead of me." He smiled grimly, "They would have had to sedate me too to get me out of the way."

Autumn looked at him. "Did you know Todd complained about me before we left the starbase?" she asked softly. "I think he wants my job and after today I am about to give it over... but not to him... to Vladimir... I have never been so panicked as I was today... and it scares me more then you know Love. I have never done that before today," her eyes met his.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "I understand, Love. But don't give up your position on my account. It is your life, and I would not want to impose on you. I think you should use the stress you have just experienced and use it to good. We must prevent things like this from happening again."

Autumn gave his hand a squeeze. "It is not because of you love... I am not cut out for this job... he... Todd would be better at it I am sure," she sighed. Giving Wilhem a brief smile she nodded. "I agree about not letting it happen again..." she kissed him gently.

Wilhem kissed her back gently, softly. When the kiss was broken, he said, "I believe in you, Atuumn. You can do anything you want to do. And you will be a great ACMO. That I am sure of."

Autumn smiled. "Thanks love," she knew that his support was something that she could count on. "I think I am just going to forget about the Galaxy for now and stay here and kiss you again," she gently sat on the edge of his bed and kissed him.

Wilhem returned the kiss with the limited passion that he had available. The drugs were causing him to feel less than whole. But he expected that he would have to deal with that for a time to come.

Autumn pulled away. "You should get some sleep love. I'll stay here while you do... ok?" She sat back down and smiled at him. "The drugs will take awhile to get used to."

Wilhem nodded solemnly, "I know you will be waiting when I wake up again. I also know that the drugs will take some getting used to. I hope that time is short. I want to be able to kiss you with full passion as soon as possible."

"You will my love and I think it will be soon." she brushed a kiss across his brow before settling back down in her chair.

Wilhem yawned. "Good," he said sleepilly. Soon he was fast asleep. This time with no dreams. He would sleep for the next three hours.

**Victoria's Field, near by the Castle**

Rose got on her black horse Midnight, a horse that her beloved father gave her on her Sweet 16th birthday as she rode off at full speed towards a river were she can relax and dream about her future. Plus it makes her feel free with the wind blowing though her hair and free from fear of her past which she hoped to overcome.

***While Wilhem was sleeping.***

Autumn sat there for a while and then got up and paced back and forth to the window and the door. She stood by the window while he slept. Deep in her mind she went over the events of the day... the fact that she hadn't been paying attention to the area around her... if she had she might have reacted faster then Wil and he wouldn't be lying in the medical facility with a new lung. She stared out the window as the sun set over the horizon. Her mind raced over possiblities and what ifs before she managed to get up the guts to call her family. She sent the message and made an appointment with her uncle for lunch tomorrow. If she was lucky Wilhem might be able join them. She hoped so. She had, had a hard time trying to convince her aunt not to come to the med center. She thought that she had convinced her... hoped that she had.

Wilhem stirred slightly in his sleep. He now dreamt again. This time about a beautiful wedding with Autumn by his side. And the life they would have together. "My love," he whispered in his sleep.

Autumn smiled when he murmured that in his sleep. She walked over to his bed and watched his face. "I should hope that referred to me," she whispered as she brushed his hair back and then sat down beside him again.

Wilhem murmured again in his sleep, "Autumn, my love. We will live forever. Together." He then fell back into a deeper sleep.

Autumn smiled. "Yes love we will," she sat back and watched him sleep and for the first time in her life she sent up a silent prayer for his fast recovery.

It was an hour more before he woke up. He barely remembered the dreams, but those memories brought him peace. He knew that Autumn and he would live together forever. And that was the truth. "Hello love," he murmured at Autumn.

Autumn looked up at him and smiled. "Hello love. How was your sleep?"

Wilhem smiled warmly, "A good one. Some dreams of you. And of our lives that will come."

Autumn stood. "Thats good love. Rose hasn't arrived yet, But I had to call my family. They know we are here and I am meeting Uncle Ross tomorrow for lunch... if you feel up to it... you can join us."

Wilhem smiled softly, "If I can, I will. Thanks, Autumn. I hope they don't rush over here, and get to see me like this. I don't think they would be too impressed."

Autumn smiled at him. "Oh don't worry my Aunt wanted to know a)why i was in the med center, b)who you were c) what happened d) Why the hell hadn't I answered my door the other night and e)when could she meet my Galant rescuer. Her words were 'When can I meet the hero?' to which I calmly replied 'When the doctors allow.'"

Wilhem squirmed a little. "I am not a hero. I would have done the same at any time. I don't like to see people hurt. Especially those I like very much."

Autumn smiled at his squirming. "Ok I'll believe you on that... but can tell you know you had better get use to being called it cause My Aunt is very over the top," she leaned closer. "But to me you are a hero love."

Wilhem smiled crookedly, "I can live with you thinking I'm a hero. Just not being called one to all the corners of the Federation."

Autumn kissed him. "Aw that's too bad Wil. My Aunt has already started typing the article." and then she cut off any further comment by kissing him.

Wilhem returned the kiss. More passionately than before. When the kiss was broken, he said, "Well, that's too bad. I didn't want the secret to be out so soon." He then kissed her again.

Autumn broke the kiss. "Oh well you were the one who was the hero and saved me," she kissed him again.

Wilhem was getting used to the drugs in his system, and was kissing much more passionately. He was beginning to feel all right, and wanted to tell Autumn that. When they broke off the kiss, he said, "Anytime, milady. I will do it anytime you need it."

Autumn nodded as she heard footsteps outside the room. She glanced over her shoulder at a voice outside the door. "Oh oh... I don't think I conviced her enough," she muttered to Wilhem. "I'll go and head them off... you pretend to sleep," she made her way to the door and glanced at her left hand and tucked it into her pocket.

Wilhem settled down to pretend to sleep. He put up blocks in his mind, in order to keep her aunt out. He hoped it would be enough. But he suspected that he would have to explain himself soon enough. That was for sure.

**** medical center corridors****

Autumn stepped outside Wilhem door and bit her lip. Leslina stood in the hall having a minor arguement with a nurse.

The nurse was saying. "I am sorry Mrs Jamieson but the Lt left instructions that only A Rose Mac Allen was to be admitted aside from Lt Jamieson."

Autumn grabbed her aunt's arm before the woman could yell back. "Thanks sister I'll handle it from here" she dragged her aunt down past Wilhem room and into the lounge.

She dealt with her aunt swiftly and kinda harshly and then sent her on her way telling her to come back tomorrow. Her aunt didn't spot the ring but Autumn knew that she would the next day. Slowly she walked back into Wilhem's room feeling worn out.

Wilhem opened his eyes when he sensed that Autumn was alone. He noted that she seemed to feel worn thin. "Want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not really love maybe tomorrow... just worn out... arguing with her is like arguing with Captain Price... you only do it if you have a death wish," she gave him a smile.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "Then I have a death wish. Since I would argue with her about you for hours on end."

Autumn smiled. "I don't think you will have to argue much... just about the wedding. But I'll back you up on that one." She kissed him.

He knew that these kisses were getting better. And they were reinvigorating him. When the kiss was ended, he said, "You do that. And I will back you up on anything you want with her."

"Hmm Good..." Autumn sat on the edge of the bed and leaned to kiss him again. Doing so she just didn't want to move.

Wilhem kissed her softly. He did not have the strength to do it more firmly than he had. He was slowly regaining feeling in his body. And some of it hurt. He hoped that the pain would only be temporary.

Autumn gently moved back "You ok?" she asked as she watched his face the doctor in her taking over from the loving fiance.

Wilhem smiled, "I am regaining feeling in my body. Some of which hurts."

Autumn moved off the bed. "I'll go get a hypospray for the pain. I'll be right back." she kissed him and walked to the door.

Wilhem watched her go, and hoped that she would be back soon. He was quite lonely alone in this spacious room. He was amazed that Betazoid hospitals were this massive. He hoped that next time, he could just visit. Not stay for the night. Or two.

Autumn had to haggle with the nurse before she flashed her updated Starfleet id and got what she needed. She took the painkillers in hypospray form and curtly thanked the nurse before walking back to Wilhem's room. She walked in and smiled at him. "You going be good and let me give you your meds?" she asked.

Wilhem smiled solemnly, "Autumn, even if I wanted to be bad and resist, I am too weak. So I hope that you will get this done quickly. I always hated needles."

"I'll be quick... you won't feel a thing." she smiled and administered the painkiller. "And they say doctors are the worst patients."

Wilhem looked at her askance, "They are?"

Autumn smiled. "Yep you should see them trying get me to have my annual physical... not good. Not fun."

When the maid give Rose the message she came as fast as she can with her mother Lady Michelle of Betazed, wearing a green evening gown and highheels as she ran towards her friends room.

"I got here as fast as I could my friends what happened?" she said with her mother Lady Michelle next to her daughter who was still pissed off at Rose for getting pregnant.

Autumn looked up from her seat beside Wilhem. She gave them both a smile laced with fatigue. "Hello Lady

Michelle, Rose." She said. "Oh nothing out of the norm... just a robber hoping for quick cash and a bit of blood." She added in reply to the question.

Wilhem smiled gravely, "About four robbers actually. Nothing too unnatural I guess. There are always those that want a quick buck."

Autumn stood up and offered the Lady the seat and then moved to the other side of the bed. "We managed the first three but the last one wanted a bit of blood and somehow Wil ended up in here."

Wilhem coughed slightly, "I ended up here because I was too focused on Autumn's safety, and not my own. Wouldn't change anything though."

Autumn gave him a look. "Yeah well.." she muttered at him a slow blush creeping up her face. She turned towards the others and gave a smile.

Wilhem smiled softly, "Well, I should be here for at least the night. After that, we will see. I am getting better quickly. But I don't know if the doctors will concur."

Autumn glanced at him. "NO comment," she stated and let him know with her eyes that if the docs said no to him she would most likly back them up.

Wilhem nodded solemnly. He then placed this thought in her mind, ~I understand. I hope that this will soon be past. Then we can get on with our lives, my love.~

Autumn heard the words and gave a brief smile. She knew what he was saying. It explained a lot about somethings. She turned to Rose and her mother. "We didn't want to worry you but we thought that you should know," she said.

Lady Michelle sits down then said, "Don't worry the robbers have been caught and punshied for what happen to the two of you." Michelle made an ugly look toward Rose about her keeping the baby.

Wilhem nodded, "Two are dead, one has a shattered left knee, and the fourth is all right physically, if a little shaken on his ego. That one should be watched. He is the trickiest of them. He may even have means that we don't yet know of."

Rose said, "The others who are not dead are in jail, mother for the sake of the GODS stop looking at me like you're going to... slap me or something just because I keeping this baby, one day this baby will be a Countess of Betazed like me and you are going to have to get used to being a grandmother and please be happy and pround of me for once in your life," she said in a ugly voice then walks outside the door trying to hide her tears.

Autumn went to go but stopped. Her mind was filled of things to say to the Lady but she held her tongue.

Wilhem watched her go, then turned to the Lady. "I know that royalty has its own problems. But please love your daughter like she tries to love herself. It will do well for her self-esteem."

"She's faking it, she's just so much like her damn dead father. There already rumors around Betazed that she will never get married." Michelle told them trying to put some lipstick on.

Autumn winced. "well...."

Wilhem winced, "Um... Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I think Rose got word that her father was rescued from a POW camp. As to her being like her father, I fear that one always takes after one of their parents. It always seems to be the one the other does not want. I think she is fine the way she is. No one should be judged on what their parents are like."

"I will believe it when I see it sir have a great night you two," Michelle said in an ugly voice then walks out.

"I won't be at the castle Rose I will be at a hotel until you leave," Michelle said while walking towards the exit.

"Please change your mind about the grandchild, for sake of the gods mother GROW UP," Rose yelled at her, her heart hurting inside.

Michelle looks back at her one and only daughter, "I will but it is going to take awhile," she said while kissing her daughter on the head, then touches Rose's face then walks out.

Wilhem winced internally at the harsh way Lady Michelle seemed to treat everyone. He looked at Autumn, "She needs to learn that bad things happen to good people. And that life cannot be planned to the minutest detail."

Autumn nodded. "She makes me so mad when she hurts Rose like that," she waited for Rose to move back inot the room.

Wilhem also waited for Rose to return to the room. He knew that things would get tricky in a soon to come time. "I hope she does not break Rose's spirit."

Rose just stayed outside trying not to cry, just sitting there in her beauiful green ballgown next to her friend's room.

Autumn looked at Wil. "I am going to get her... she is most likly crying again." She walked to the door and spotted Rose. She reached out and hugged her. "Hey come on Rose." she said as she held her friend.

"I'm not crying Autumn. I'm just sad that my mother is not happy that I'm keeping the baby...she said it unholy since it's not with a man I loved." Rose said getting up off the floor.

Autumn scowled in the direction that Lady Michelle had gone and gently led Rose back into Wilhem's Room. "Rose your child will be loved by you and your friends... Your mother will come around. You'll see," she said as they entered.

Wilhem watched them enter, then said, "Your mother, Rose, will eventually get around to the right side of the matter. She is just a little confused right now."

"I better get back to Victoria Palace." Rose just said and walked out towards her carriage.

Autumn watched her go and sighed. "Next time... I am definately dragging Gustavson's sorry ass with us," she said as she sat down.

Wilhem nodded, "I concur. She needs someone to help her see through all this darkness that surrounds us."

Autumn nodded and checked her watch. "It is getting late... You kind sir should be sleeping."

Wilhem nodded solemnly, "And so should you, milady. So let's drift off together. If that is your wish."

Autumn smiled and tucked her legs underneath her before turning back to him. Seh touched his arm and waited for him to start to drift off. She was tired... and the drug that she had been given was starting to take affect again.

Wilhem quickly began to drift off to sleep. His last words before he did were, "I love you, Autumn."

Autumn curled up in her seat and drifted off while watching her love sleep. "Love you too."

*******Victoria Palace, Betazed*************

Rose never got back to Victoria Palace until 4 AM that morning, then she called her royal bodyguard Captain Tommy Smith to bring Wilhem and Autumn back to the Victoria Palace safely.

"You wanted to see me my lady?" a handsome black hair Betaziod Captain who was also XO of the Betazoid troops that Rose is CO of.

"Yes I want you to go to the hospital and bring my friends over here, tell them my royal doctor can take care of Wilhem here. You can take my royal carriage now go and hurry back." Rose told him while writing the orders for the doctors to release Wilhem into the care of the 3rd house of Betazed, then give the orders to Tommy.

As he left Rose got out her last will and testment and started writing some new stuff in it before her royal duties in two hours... of course she only had one hour of sleep last night.

When the Captain of the Guard reached the hospital, he met with some of the doctors, who were adamant that Wilhem stay int he hospital until the next day. Even after the order was shown, some of the doctors did not want to risk moving him. Besides his wounds were healing rapidly. He would be released the next day, after he had slept enough. Say around 1000 tomorrow.

"Fine but Lady Michelle will have your heads for those who disobey these orders. Lady Rose won't be there to see then she have royal duties until 1 AM tomorrow, but her great grandmother Lady Isis will be there to greet them." the Captain told the doctors by Wilhem's room.

The head doctor nodded, "That will be fine, Captain. We will take our lumps after he becomes well enough to move."

The Captain walked off very pissed and upset.

**Back at Victoria Palace**

Rose was upstairs getting ready for her first of many royal duties, she just got finished with the meetings about Archology just a few hours ago. Rose looked in a full leaght mirror while wearing a black business suit with highheel and a very tight belt on. Then she walked down the stairs to get the rest of her stuff for her royal duties.

"Meeting with Her Family- Part One"
By Lt (jg) Wilhem Quevvenson
and Lt(jg) Autumn Jamieson

Wilhem awoke up this morning feeling much better than the day before. He awoke as the day was dawning. He spied Autumn sleeping in the chair across from the bed. He did not want to wake her. But the doctors took care of that. As soon as one noticed he was awake, he brushed into he room quite loudly. "Mr. Quevvenson," he said.

Wilhem looked at Autumn, who seemed to still be sleeping, then said, "Yes, Doctor?"

"I am Doctor Graben, and I wanted to commend you on your fast recovery. As such, we are going to release you today at around 1000 hours. We hope that you will rest some for the next week. But beyond that, you should be able to do a limited schedule of things."

Wilhem grimaced, "How limited?"

"About half the things you are used to. You will have to adjust to how the new lung works, before trying anything too strenuous. Even then, you will not be able to do most of the things you used to do. At least not at the level you did before."

Wilhem frowned, "Thank you, Doctor. I'll try and remember that."

Autumn kept her eyes closed until after the doctor had left then opened them and stretched her arms abouve her head. "That's good news love," she said as she walked towards him.

Wilhem nodded, "It is good news. Though I hope to eventually get back to my pre-stab levels in certain things. I have to defer to his opinion, though."

Autumn arched an eyebrow. "You think?" she smiled. "I had better get back to the castle and have a shower and change before you are released then huh?" she said with a smile. "If you are going to be released you may as well come with me to see Uncle Ross. I'll bring you back some clothes ok?" she smiled at him at the last.

Wilhem nodded solemnly, "Yes that would be good. I need new clothes after yesterday. So anything you want to bring is fine." He thought a moment, "As long as it's men's clothes."

Autumn rolled her eyes. "Of course!" She kissed his cheek "I'll be back in about half an hour ok?" she squeezed his hand and walked out the door.

Autumn called a hover cab and was soon getting out in the courtyard of Rose's castle. Quickly she made her way up to her room and had a shower and got dressed in a black short skirt and a light black button down shirt. Putting on a pair of sandals with a low heel she quickly tied her hair up into a pony tail. She then went down to the shopping center and went shopping. She quickly found some pairs of jeans and tee-shirts and dress shirts and pants for Wilhem. Just a bit over the half an hour she arrived back at the medical center and walked into Wilhem's room, with at least five large bags. "Hey!" she said brightly as she entered.

Wilhem smiled warmly at her, "Had fun shopping, Autumn?"

Autumn smiled and places the bags at the foot of the bed. "Yes," she glanced at her wrist chrono. "You'll be out in an hour. Happy?"

Wilhem nodded, "Definitely. Though I am unsure of what to tell your Uncle Ross."

Autumn smiled. "You won't have to say much... it's business that he wants to discuss with me... You might get bored," she warned him with a smile. "But knowing my uncle he will want to talk to you. He knows. I have made him promise me not to tell Leslina... until... I am ready."

Wilhem smiled warmly, "Okay... I hope it has not slipped from his mind to her's by other means either."

Autumn smiled. "Oh if it had she would have been here at first light. But I think after all the time they have been married he knows how to stop her from finding things out. In fact I am sure," she smiled. "I didn't know what to get you but.. this should be enough for you to make a choice of," she motioned to the bags.

Wilhem nodded, "Thank you. I will try to look decent for the meeting with your Uncle.

Autumn smiled. "Love I have no doubt my uncle will be impressed by you." She broke off and then smiled. "I'll let you get dressed love. I'll wait outside," she waved and walked out the door and sat down on the bench outside the room.

Wilhem climbed slowly out of bed, and examined the bags of clothing. Finding a pair of underwear and a soft cotton shirt in one, he put those on first. After shucking the hospital gown. Then, he found a pair of dress pants which he put on, and secured with a belt. Then last, he put on a pair of cotton socks, and his shoes. The shoes had not gotten any blood on them, so they did not need to be destroyed.

Autumn sat quietly outside his room and waited for Wilhem to finish up. Her mind wandered and she knew that lunch today was going to be hard. She glanced down at her hand and smiled as the ring sparkled in the light. This was hopefully the last time they would be spending time in the medical center while they were here.

Wilhem walked out, and touched Autumn's shoulder. "I think it's time to begin the process of checking-out. Do you want to come with me?"

Autumn nodded and quickly grabbed the bags and followed him down the hall.

Wilhem went directly to the check-out station, and quickly began the procedure. He paid the bill of 500 credits, and then signed several release forms. Once done, he nodded at Autumn, and they left the hospital. For greener pastures.

Autumn waved down a hover cab and she gave directions to the castle. When they arrived Autumn went with Wilhem to his rooms and placed the bags on the floor in his room. "You ok?" she asked him concerned.

Wilhem nodded, "Just a little out of breath. As for the medicine I have to take, it's in hypospray form. For now. When we get back to the ship, they'll add it to my replicated food."

Autumn slipped her arms around his waist. Looking up at him she hugged him and smiled. "I am happy you are ok love." she said.

Wilhem smiled, "I am too, Love. Like I am happy you did not get injured in that attack."

Autumn smiled. "Well we are both fine. It's back to normal now. They will have a hard time trying to find us," she paused. "Ross is sending a car at about 11:30."

Wilhem nodded, "So do you want to cuddle for that time?"

Autumn looked up. "Are you sure you can handle it?" she asked with a grin. Her eyes shone with mischief.

Wilhem chuckled, "I am sure I can. And maybe whatever mischief is behind those eyes of yours..."

She widened her eyes. "Moi? Mischief? Jamais!!' she smiled. "If you think you are up to it."

Wilhem smiled warmly, "I am up to cuddling. I am not sure what mischief you are planning, but I may be up to it too."

Autumn led him to the lounge. "Sit." she said. "You my love are going to rest up until we leave." She sat down and waited for him to sit beside her. She then wrapped her arms around his waist.

Wilhem smiled and put his arms around her shoulders. He then kissed her temple. "I hope our lives go a little more smoothly after this."

Autumn nodded, "I am sure it will. Anyway... a bit of excitement every now and then is part of life."

Wilhem nodded solemnly, "Just hopefully not that exciting. At least not for a while."

Autumn hugged him gently. "Are you sure you'll be ok to go out today for lunch?" she asked him.

Wilhem smiled gently, "I believe so. If I feel weak, I'll tell you, okay?"

Autumn nodded and smiled. They sat there quietly until 11h20 and then Autumn led the way down to the courtyard where a car was waiting. The driver nodded at Autumn and Autumn smiled at him. "Hello Charles." She said happily to the old man. "Charles this is Wilhem Quevvenson my fiance. Wilhem this is My uncle's chauffer and friend Charles Montgomery," She introduced the two men and Charles smiled and held out his hand for Wilhem.

"Pleased to meet you, Sir," he said.

Wilhem smiled and shook the proferred hand, "Pleased to meet you, Charles." He turned to Autumn. "Shall we?" he asked.

Autumn nodded and climbed into the back seat. She waited for Wilhem to join her and Charles to take the driver's seat. Once they were settled Autumn smiled and the car lifted off. They were soon on their way to CHEZ JACQUES a resaurant on the other side of the city.

Wilhem put his arm around Autumn's shoulders, "I hope that he likes me. I wouldn't want to be called a bad influence on you."

Autumn snickered. "Love I don't think you'll have a problem with that... if anything my uncle will see you as a good influence on me." She smirked. "I am considered the black sheep of my family. I have been up to tricks and pranks since I was a toddler. If anything he'll be happy to see me settle down." She looked up and kisssed his cheek "You worry to much." she said. And she would have gone further then a kiss on the cheek but Charles called back to her.

"Listen Young lady... no mucking around in the back seat..."

"Aw Charlie!!!!" she mock moaned.

"You heard me Lass."

"Yes Charles," she gave a mock sigh of 'man you are harsh,' then flashed a grin at Charles who nodded and winked in the revision mirror.

"Good," he then turned back to his driving.

"See what I mean..." she whispered at Wilhem... "Even his staff know me."

Wilhem grinned, "Yes, they seem to know you well. I will try to be a good influence on you. But I don't know how they'll take my old fashioned values."

Autumn hugged him and smiled. "They'll love you... quit worrying so much. Anyway... it is not them that have to live with you... it's me. And love they will respect my decision."

Wilhem smiled warmly, "I guess so. Since you are a strong-willed young woman."

Autumn arched an eyebrow. "Problem Lt?" she asked as she leaned forward and turned his head down towards her's.

Wilhem smiled, "No. No problem. I think that's the way you are. And I like you for it. I can't stand those that can't think for themselves."

Autumn smiled at Wilhem. "Well then..." she started to say when the car stopped and Charles got out. "Darn it!" she muttered. "Oh well... ready to meet my uncle?" she asked as Charles opened the door.

Wilhem smield nervously, "As ready as I'll ever be." He got out first, then put out his hand to help Autumn out. Once they were out, they were shown into the restaurant, and they looked around.

Autumn scanned the room and smiled as she spotted her uncle rising from his chair. She took Wil's hand and led him over to the table. Her uncle's hazel eyes met his niece's green ones and smiled. His brown hair with white at the templs was the same short cut it had been almost two years earlier when Autumn had last seen him. She walked up to the table and smiled back. "Hello Uncle Ross," she said. She gave him a hug and then turned to Wilhem. "Ross this is Wilhem Quevvenson. Wil this is my uncle Ross Jamieson."

Wilhem put out his right hand to shake the other man's. "Pleased to meet you," he said.

Ross shook the young man's hand and looked him over. "Pleased to meet you as well. Why don't you both sit down." After they had sat he nodded at Autumn. "Thank you Autumn for agreeing to this.. I know that you have had other things to deal with lately and I know that your aunt and I aren't really in your good books at the moment... but this is important." He paused. "But we can discuss this after lunch." He continued as a waiter hand them menus. "Let's order and eat then buisness."

Autumn nodded with out a word and took the menu.

Wilhem nodded, and checked the menu. It looked like it was Anuirean food. Or was it French? He could never see the difference between the two. He asked a question, "What would you suggest, sir?"

Autumn hid her smirk as she quickly read the menu. Ross looked a bit ataken back."Normally Autumn orders... after all she is the only one who can read French in the family."

Autumn smiled at Wilhem. "Tell me what you would like and I'll see if it's there ok?" She placed her menu down and her uncle smiled.

"Autumn you know what I would like. The normal." Ross said. Autumn nodded.

Wilhem thought a moment, "I guess one of those Chicken Cordon Bleu's. I think that's something that they would have."

Autumn smiled and nodded and turned to the waiter who had just come up to their table. And much to her own amusement she spoke standard to the waiter. She had been here many times and had always ordered in french until she had found that the waiters understood federation standard and even though the menu was in french not one of them completely understood the language. "Escargots in garlic suace and chicken cordon bleu for the gentlemen and I'll have my normal Pierre," The waiter nodded and smiled and then asked, "Any drinks?"

Wilhem smiled, "I will take an orange juice." He looked down, knowing that wine would probably be bad with his medication.

Ross ordered wine and Autumn Said. "Make that two OJ's Pierre." The waiter nodded and walked away.

Ross turned to his niece. "Thats not normal for you Autumn.. normally you'd at least have a white wine."

Autumn looked at him. "Yeah well I don't feel like it." she took Wilhem's hand in hers and squeezed it. "So how are Craig and carrie Ross... I hope they didn't bore you with tales of Borg and such."

Ross shook his head. "No they were remarkable calm when we got back... though Carrie mentioned being placed in the brig."

Autumn didn't bat an eye lid. "Really... well I am gald that they suffered no ill side affects from being on the ship."

Ross turned to the young man and said. "So what is your job on the Galaxy Wilhem?"

Wilhem smiled, "I am a Science Officer. Head of Planetary Sciences actually."

Autumn meanwhile eyed her uncle. 'Let the interogation begin,' she thought as her uncle studied the man beside her. And Ross didn't dissapoint. "Really planetary science on a front line ship... must be very boring for you..,"

"UNCLE!" Hissed his niece.

Ross ignored her. "So how exactly did you meet my niece... Though i do realise that your two respective departments have some aspects in common... I would like to know how you both met."

Autumn tuned out and looked out the window.

Wilhem smiled warmly at the memories, "I get to do some things while on baord the ship. As for how I met your niece, I met her when she was kind enough to put together a movie night for some of the new members of the crew. Then we joined each other in sims of my homeland or of other places of medieval times. She is quite potent with a sword, you know."

Ross nodded at that. "Oh I know she can handle herself... Benton made sure of that." he said in referral to his late brother. "It is good to know that she has at least made some friends on Galaxy." his eyes turned to her niece as a waiter brought their drinks. She hadn't even noticed the conversation. He turned back to the young man.

"You mentioned Medieval times... would you care to explain that?" he asked. "Autumn has told me very little about you and after hearing about yesterday... well I am admittedly curious about you."

Wilhem smiled nervously. This was the area where he was unsure of this man's response. "I was born in Grabentod on the world of Aebrynnis. Grabentod was a pirate kingdom in the Brecht sphere of things, which is equivalent to your Renaissance. I was part of the lower nobility. At age 5, I found a vocation more in line with my feelings, and became a ranger. For ten years I trained. Then in 16 HC I joined an adventuring party, and we blazed a trail of fighting against evil across the continent of Cerilia.

"Then in 18 HC, when I was 17, we travelled to the site of the Battle of Deismaar. We were caught in some sort of temporal anomaly, and cast into this Universe. After a year of probing by some scientists, I was accepted into StarFleet Academy, and majored in Planetary Geology. I graduated in 2374, and am now the Head of Planetary Sciences. it was a long journey, but I made it, and hope that I am worthy of your niece's affection. That is all, sir."

Autumn having sort of tuned back in watched her uncle's face carfully as Wilhem spoke. She smiled and turned towards Wil as her uncle replied.

Ross cleared his throat and nodded. "Well young man, it seems that you have had a varied life. A lot more varied then my wayward niece."

Autumn groaned and decided tuning out was the better thing to do.

"And..." Ross continued. "I believe that you are more then worthy for her. Benton couldn't have done better had he hand picked you himself."

Autumn winced. Her father had tried that.. many times bringing men home for his daughter to meet.

Ross noticed his niece's wince. "I believe that you have calmed her down somewhat Wilhem."

Autumn turned and rolled her eyes. "Yeah ok enough of the interrogation and being mean to me uncle. Be nice."

Ross grinned as their food arrived. Autumn was given the same as Ross and she smiled at the waiter. "Merci Pierre," she said. Autumn turned to Wilhem and said. "You do realise that my entire family is like him." her uncle grinned at that.

"Autumn I haven't told your aunt yet but when I do the whole family will find out and then you'll have Maria, Jane and Leslina wanting your attention."

Autumn groaned. "Well we'll see about that," she smiled at her uncle as she picked up her fork.

Ross also did the same and then turned to Wilhem. "So young man tell me more about yourself... do you like StarFleet?"

Wilhem nodded, "I like it. It has a lot of interesting people. And without it, I would never have met your niece. And for that I am eternally grateful to it. I like my job. When I am doing it. The studying for it is hard work, though."

Ross smiled. "All work when you do your best is hard work."

Autumn continued eating when something caught her eye and she groaned. "Uncle Ross I swear you are a dead man."

Ross looked up to see his PA a man who Autumn absolutely hated walk up to the table. "Xavier, what are you doing here?" Ross asked the man who smiled down at Ross and leered at Autumn.

"Have a message for you Mr. Jamieson, from you wife. Hello Autumn." he stated. Autumn ignored him and looked out the window.

"What message Xavier?" asked Ross.

"She said for you to call her... something important." Xavier replied.

"Urgent." Ross nodded and stood up "Autumn, Wilhem I shall be right back please excuse me." he walked towards the desk looking for a com station. Xavier took Ross's seat and smiled at Wilhem.

"Hi I am Xavier Crawford." Autumn continued looking out the window. "I am an old friend of Autumn's."

"Bullshit!" came back to him from the girl but he ignored it.

"And you are?" he asked Wilhem.

Wilhem looked at Autumn, and received the signal, "I am Wilhem Quevvenson, one of her friends. From the starship Galaxy."

Xavier was tall and blond with good looks and he knew it to which to Autumn's mind made him totally worse then the average guy. Xavier sized up his oponant and smiled at Autumn.

"Pleased to meet you. Autumn it has been ages. My sincer condolences for the loss of your family," he stopped as Green eyes met his blue ones and the green eyes held the message clearly. 'get lost before I make you...' Xavier knew Autumn hated him and had no problem with it. If Autumn hadn't gone to the Acadmey he might have been able to change her mind about him. He turned back to Wilhem

"So how long have you known Autumn... I mean I have known her for years haven't I Kender." That was his downfall. Autumn turned and all but snarled at him.

"Listen here you pompus ass... the only reason you are still working for my uncle and still breathing is because I stoped Tobais and Adam from skinning you. Now do me a huge favour and piss off," her voice was low and deadly and Xavier paled and leant back from the attack.

"You really need a firm hand Autumn... this temper can't continue." he said snottily.

Wilhem smiled grimly, "I think she told you to leave. So I would suggest you do before you have to pay the piper."

Xavier looked at Wilhem sizing him up again and watched as Autumn's left hand moved to the man's arm. Xavier noted the ring and looked from one to the other silently. None of them noticed Ross Standing behind them watching the arguement. Autumn's face was taunt with stress and Wilhem was grim. Xavier had been playing lord again. Xavier stood and looked at Autumn and then back at Wilhem. "I hope she is more accomodating to you sir.. if you can get past the thorns," he turned and left the resaurant leaving the subtle message behind and Autumn clenched her fists.

Ross walked over and sat down. "Sorry about that... Your Aunt wants you both to come to dinner tonight if you can make it.." he trailed off at Autumn's look.

"How long has he been your PA uncle Ross?"

Ross swallowed. "Since your fathers death Autumn.. he came with the postion... He would have been your's had you taken over the company."

Autumn looked down. "Fire him." was all she said before returning to her food.

Ross looked surprised and replied. "I can't Autumn... not without good reason. You know that."

Autumn decided to change the topic. "How's your meal uncle? Wil?"

Wilhem smiled warmly at her, "My meal is fine. How's yours?"

Autumn turned to him. "Nice now that the air is better around here."

Her uncle didn't comment and watched the two carefully. He hated Xavier but he had no reason to fire him. Not yet.

Autumn turned back to her uncle. "I know what you are thinking Uncle Ross but he must go. I don't want him in the company... I don't care what it takes... get rid of him." her hand reached for Wilhems as she spoke. "He has been a thorn in my side for years... and quite frankly he has to go."

Ross nodded. "Ok I'll find a way Autumn. But about dinner tonight.. it's as good a place as any to tell your aunt... "

Autumn looked at Wilhem her eyes scanning his face for any signs of tiredness. "Well..."

Wilhem smiled, "No tiredness yet Autumn. But after this dinner tonight I am bound to be."

Autumn smiled and squezzed his hand. "ok Uncle ross.. what time does she want us there by?"

"I'll send Charles at about 18h30. Is that suitable? Oh and apparently its formal," Ross winced. "She is having a few exectutives over as well... Autumn before you comment." he forstalled his niece's remark. "It is for the company Autumn."

Autumn groaned and sighed. Buisness dinners. Great. "Ok Uncle Ross," she looked at Wilhem. "But you are going to have to explain the company to both of us. I am not in this by myself anymore."

Ross nodded. "After Lunch Autumn and after I find out a bit more about yesterday. Young man what exactly happened... I am asking you because my niece can hedge around things that she thinks will upset me."

Wilhem grimaced, "Well, we went shopping in the open-air markets of the city. She bought a parrying dagger with a phoenix on it, I bought a rapier which had a hilt shaped into a white dragon, and a whitesteel blade. The sword is in my quarters, and the dagger is being held for testing, as it was used to help defeat two of the enemy.

"After walking through the market, we went into the forest in search of some of nature's beauty. Then, in a clearing we were stopped by three bandits who claimed they were after our money. I quickly realized that they intended to kill us even if we were to give over our valuables. We fought them. I killed one immediately, and shattered the second's knee cap. Autumn was busy dealing with the third. I turned to see how she was doing, and spotted a fourth coming at her from behind, I spun him to knock him out, and he used his left hand to stab me. It punctured a lung, which later had to be removed. Autumn finished off her man, turned to the fourth and knocked the dagger away. The fourth man ran away rather than face her wrath. That is how it happened."

Ross's eyes widened. "Well then young man my wife was right... you are a hero."

Autumn smirked at Wil. "See I told you so." she murmured as she pushed her plate away.

Ross somewhat puzzled at Autumn's comment ignored his niece. "I am glad you both came out of it ok now," he paused. "If you are sure you will be up to it then I shall make sure the car is there on time."

Wilhem nodded, "I am sure. As to me being a hero, any man from my generation would have done the same."

Ross nodded pleased with this young man and his neice seemed pleased as well. Autumn turned to her uncle and said. "So we discussing business here or at the officer?" she asked... "Or have you put it back to after dinner?"

Ross looked at Autumn. "Well I have something for you first Autumn," he haded her a small package. "It's your mothers braclet and your fathers watch." Autumn took the package and placed it beside her plate. "I think After dinner will be best Autumn." he stated.

Autumn nodded. And Ross continued. "So what else have you two been up to?" he asked.

Wilhem shrugged, "Nothing much. Walks in the castle gardens, the trip here to Betazed. And a birthday party for Rose MacAllen."

Autumn noted her uncle's raised eyebrow at the name. "Yes uncle Ross I know.. countess of betazed etc etc etc.. AND stuborn as a mule at time."

Rose laughed at his nieces expression. "Oh so she is the same while on ship is she? To be expected. After all she takes after her mother."

"Her mother reakons that she takes after her father," Autumn replied.

"Well you certianly do Autumn... Just like Benton except for your Mother's looks." Autumn nodded.

Ross looked at the two young people in front of him. Leslina was going faint when she found out about Autumn having a fiance. "By the way Autumn Susan will want to know what roof she is to jump off..."

"What?" Autumn asked before figuring it out... "Oh right Leslina told me about that," she muttered. She turned to Wilhem. "My mother's sister's daughter," she explained. "You won't have to meet her just yet... I hope," She sighed.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "I have to say that I will probably have to meet all of your family before all is done. But what is wrong with her, if I may ask?"

Ross smirked as his niece winced but before she could change the subject her answered. "

Susan and Autumn are the two eldest Cousins and they never get on. I think Autumn refered to Susan once as as ugly as a cardassian and Susan responded in turn to call her cousin a targ. Susan I think envies Autumn for the stable home life she had... So to make up for it and to try to keep Autumn off balance she is mean to her. Autumn of course should know better and Susan once said that if Autumn ever brought home a guy she'd jump off a roof."

Wilhem chuckled. He turned to Autumn, "So how high is the roof she is to jump off of?"

Autumn looked at the table and muttered something. She then turned and looked at him. "I haven't decided yet," she replied smugly. "Oh but don't you worry she won't hurt herself..." she trailed off with a glint in her eye.

Wilhem smiled warmly, "That I am sure of. You only hurt those that attack me and you together. Not cousins who are just annoying."

Ross smirked as his niece went bright red. "Hmm you think?" he said with a grin. "I have a memory of Susan being thrown out of a tree when she was five and Autumn how old were you at the time?"

Autumn mummbled something and looked out the window. Ross grinned. "16 I believe." Autumn turned.

"Uncle Ross? can you can it please?" she asked sweetly and Ross turned to Wilhem.

"See she does attack her cousins." he smiled.

Autumn smiled. "I don't loose my temper very much anymore uncle Ross." She looked around the restaurant.

"We should be going back soon Uncle.." she said. "If you can tell Aunt Leslina that we will be there?" she asked him, her hand closing over the small package beside her plate.

Ross nodded. "Of course Autumn... oh and Xavier has been invited." he stood and shook Wilhem's hand and kissed his niece's cheek. "I'll leave you Charles, Autumn, I'll walk back to the office. Just leave when you are ready."

Autumn nodded and smiled at her uncle. "Yes Uncle Ross."

"Good bye young man." Ross nodded to Wilhem, "I hope to speak more with you tonight."

Wilhem nodded, "Good bye, sir. I will be there."

Ross nooded and then walked out the door. Autumn smiled and turned to Wil. "Are you sure you will be up to this?" She asked as she touched his arm with her right hand.

Wilhem smiled warmly at Autumn, "I will be up to this, Autumn. As up to it as a person can be, when worried that their fiance's family will not like him too much. Now, what does formal clothing entail?"

Autumn smiled. "It entails a suit and tie for the gentlemen.. but I think we can forgo the tie... My aunt will expect me to be dressed in a nice evening dress/gown..." she groaned. "She is going to go over us both with a fine tooth comb Wil. You because you are my fiance.. but it won't be that bad... She'll just fawn over you... and me because I can never do anything right at these types of parties." She sighed. "I guess we had better go get you some formal wear huh?"

Wilhem smiled, "Yes, we should. If your aunt is anything like my aunt Wilma, she'll fawn over everyone that gets this close to her nieces or nephews. Wilma was always interested in marriage. Her own children went nuts trying to avoid loveless marriages."

Autumn stood and picked up the package and held out her other hand. "Well then? Shall we?"

Wilhem nodded and stood, "Let's." he took her hand and they walked out of the restaurant to the waiting hoverlimo. When they were in the back seat, he said, "Thank you, Autumn. That went better than I expected."

Autumn smiled and leaned forward and told Charles a destination. She then sat back and smiled at Wilhem. "Any questions about my family or about some topics that were covered at lunch?" she asked as the privacy screen went up.

Wilhem thought for a moment, "How many aunts do you have? All of them you seem to imply will want to have your ear about the ceremony."

Autumn grinned. "I have three. Uncle Ross's wife Leslina... He is my dad's brother. My mother's sisters Jane and Maria. Jane is onto her sixth husband and Maria is a nun. She is kinda like Madam Kiye. But not so fanatic. But she will want a full blown relgious ceremony... Jane will just want a huge bash, before, during and after... and Leslina... well she will want full control of it." She smiled and kissed Wil on the lips. After it was broken she said, "I like your idea for the wedding and if we both put our foots down they will have to listen." She smiled and kissed him again.

He returned the kiss passionately. Then when it was broken, "I agree. We must retain control of our ceremony. I don't want to have a Betazoid wedding. The mere thought scares me."

Autumn winced. "That won't happen. That I can promise you."

Wilhem smiled warmly, "Good. I don't want to unwrap that package until our wedding night." He kissed her.

Autumn melted into the kiss and could have killed Charles when the car stopped and Charles opened the door with a "Miss Autumn we have arrived." Autumn moaned deep in her throat as she broke the kiss off. "Thank you Charles," she called as she looked at Wilhem. "After you love," she whispered.

Wilhem nodded, and got out of the car. He put his hand out to pick her out of the hoverlimo. Then, with her on his arm, he turned to see where they were. He looked around.

Autumn grinned as they both took in the huge shopping center. She smiled at Charles and then led the way into the building. She headed straight for the Giovanni store. "Come on love. My treat!" she walked into the store.

Wilhem smiled warmly at her back. He entered the Giovanni store, "Italian? Are they experts on this sort of thing?"

Autumn looked at him and nodded. "Yes they are." she stood and a man moved forward to help them.

Autumn quickly explained what they were looking for. "Just a nice plain suit for a formal dinner.. but not a tux. Can you arrange that?" she asked and the man nodded.

"Yes Ma'am. Sir if you'll come this way please..." he started to lead Wilhem off and Autumn smiled and sat down on one of the seats provided. She watched Wilhem get dragged towards the clothes racks. 'Damn where's my camera?' she thought to herself with a smile.

=====
William Bolitho aka
Chief Tactical Officer Lt. (j.g.) Wilhem Quevvenson - U.S.S. Galaxy

Too Fast??

Lieutenant Jg Todd Sansky
Medical

NPC Nathan Carrington

As Todd fumbled for his towel his guest rose from the seat and picked it up for him, wrapping round his waist.

‘Here let me help you, when I broke into your quarters I thought you would be angry not give me what I wanted.’ He stepped back and laughed allowing the redness of Todd’s cheeks to dissipate. Suddenly he realized he was standing next the hottest guy he had seen in only a towel and ran out of the living area to the bedroom to hide how aroused he was. Minutes later he arrived back and finally spoke.

‘How did you get into my quarters?’

‘Not that hard, you just have to have a knack with computers, don’t worry I only do it to get a look at cute young Ensigns in compromising positions,’ He laughed again.

‘Its Lieutenant now.’

‘Oh I stand corrected,’ he moved over to the sofa and tucked his feet under him, ‘I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself in the shuttlebay that time, the time you saved my life.’ ‘Well I hardly saved your life but your very welcome, I still don’t know your name though.’ ‘Its Nathan.’

‘Just Nathan, come on Nathan you break into my quarters, make yourself at home and you wont even tell me your name or position or where your from.’ Nathan motioned for Todd to sit next to him, which he did gladly.

‘Ok you want to know more about me then get comfortable, my full name is Nathan William Steven Carrington, I’m human and come from Earth, Colorado.

On this tin can I am a, well don’t laugh now Dr, I’m a zoologist.’ Todd smiled ‘No please don’t laugh I’m good at what I do and even though it’s a mouthful it’s a complex subject. Oh hell I’m boring you, and I know all about you because I looked at your service record.’ ‘Your really attractive by the way, I never hoped you would want me.’ Todd moved closer to Nathan ‘Want you, of course I want you, I know this sounds like a bad come on but I desire you, you have a spirit that pulls me. God what am I going on about, do I sound desperate or what?’ ‘I feel the same and I sense total openness from you.’ ‘Well then what shall we do, I take it from your clothes your not going to work.’ ‘No I have the next day or so off, fancy dinner?’ ‘Absolutely.’

Both held hands and smiled as they made there way towards the table and the replicator as Todd decided to create a culinary delight for his new found interest.

"Decisions and Thoughts."
By Lt. Bruce Maxwell
Asst. Helm Chief

Bruce sat looking out the wondow in ten-forward drinking his usual and wondering what to do. His mind was a mass confusion of previous events and current standings. He couldnt decide what to do, resign, transfer, or just shytup and move on. He looked around at all the officers walking around and shook his head. They seemed to be getting younger by the day. He thought of what his wife said, to talk to a counselor, but he didnt feel like being picked apart by someone who probably has no idea what he is going thru. He then realized it was probably his shift time, and headed out.

****Bridge*****

Bruce stepped onto the bridge a first time in a long time. He walked over to the seat and releived the chief. Not saying anything he just sat down and began going thru textbook routines. He didnt seem excited to be behind the chair again.

Hours later his relief came in and he got up and left quietly, and headed out. He went back to ten-forward. He sat down and just stared not even drinking, waving away anybody who came near him. He then looked at the padd in front of him and decided to compose the letter that would decide his future.

************************************************************************
To: Captain Price, Lt. Commander Gustavason

Sirs, After much contemplation and recent events that I have noticed and that have transpired in my life, I am at a point that I am questioning my current career. I am not sure if I will resign, transfer ships, duties or what. But I feel it is my duty to let you both know the thoughts are there. I will not lie I do miss Special Operations, but I also know there is no room here for that on this glorious ship.

Lt. Bruce Maxwell

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

Bruce has the message taken away and delivered then finally ordered a drink, and then another then another. He stood up and headed to the gym to work his frustrations out. This time keeping his cool, hopefully and letting the steam out.

"Who Let the Sleepers Out!"
by Commander Thomas
Dr. Jamieson
Gary Trabuco
Rose MacAllen
James Lionel Corgan
Electra Reece

Commander Thomas and Rose MacAllen made their way back to where they started to so that they could get their bearings and follow the homing beacon to join up with Dr. Jamieson who was reporting they'd found people alive. Which was a very alarming situation to say the least.

After reaching their original break up point, they were able to use the tricorder's signal and scanning setup to find their way to the good doctor. They very much needed to get there with all do haste and Commander Thomas wanted the rest of the away team there as well for back up and a head count.

"Commander Thomas to away team, all members lock onto Dr. Jamieson's signal and tricorder or order a emergency beam out, Thomas out." Chris said. Treking through the ship, wasn't hard it was just the air and smell that made one slow down in their effort to move around.

Rushing with care they reached their destination.

"My gods this is very scary, I never seen anything like this before sir." Rose said while scanning the people this was one of the scariest places a very holy Betaziod can be right now.

Commander Thomas turned around in one fluid move and told her, without speaking a word, to be quite now. Then turning back around in almost the same move, he was facing the doctor, Gary and two other humanoids. Everything about this scenario seemed very much out of place right now.

Commander Thomas saw the security officer standing there, near the door in a daze, holding the light on the woman; Who was for the moment harmlessly standing by near another man, and several sleeper beds that were not damaged. With not knowing the current situation at the moment, Chris once again drew his weapon, but held it pointing at the floor for the moment. He didn't want to provoke anything, but he was concerned.

"Gary Trabuco would you please join me over here!" Chris said in controlled voice.

Gary smiled slightly at hearing the familiar, voice of the Galaxy's First Officer. "Commander Thomas. Look, I've found a survivor..."

"Gary Trabuco please step over here now!" Chris said in a sharper version of his controlled voice.

"But of course sir. Isn't she the most beautiful thing you have ever seen Commander?" Gary stated in his still euphoric state while stepping over to Thomas' side.

"Dr. Jamieson please join me over here." Commander Thomas ordered.

Autumn stepped over to Thomas looking quite concerned. "Sir..."

"What's going on here!" Chris said in a very low voice.

"Well Sir Gary suggested that we split up and when I finally joined back up with him he was standing here looking like he was ... hypnotized..."

"I gave strict orders that no sleeper chambers should be opened and now I see those orders weren't followed!" Chris said pointedly to Gary Trabuco. "Did I not?!"

Autumn shuffled her feet and nodded.

Commander Thomas continued to notice that Mr. Trabuco was in somewhat of a daze. "Mr. Trabuco, you're relieved of duty and when we return the ship everyone is going through full decontamination." Chris said. "We'll discuss this situation further then."

"Relieved,... yes sir." Gary smiled as if he was missing the whole context of what Thomas was talking about. "I feel quite... wonderful!"

Chris gave Trabuco an odd look. He knew something wasn't right with him. He almost looked drugged or otherwise intoxicated. The Commander theorized Gary may have been exposed to something when he violated his orders and opened up the sleeping chambers that these two humanoids came out of. Glancing at the two revived astronauts, Chris couldn't help but notice how handsome the man appeared, or how sensually breath taking the woman looked, even if they were wearing some sort of ancient space suits.

"Sir, I don't mean to interrupt you, but these people do not show up on sensor scans or tricorders." Rose said with her tricorder still in hand.

Autumn gave Rose a relieved look and placed her tricorder beside Rose's to compare the readings.

Commander Thomas was annoyed by the interruption given the situation, but he also was very much interested in this announcement. These two beings weren't showing up on their tricorders, but they were still standing there in front of them right now.

Chris turned his attention to the two people standing now on the other side of the room. "I apologize for not introducing myself, but there are certain protocols that we must follow and given the situation I had to take this into consideration." Chris said. "I am Commander Thomas of the United Federation of Planets and there is something that troubles me, our tricorders aren't registering you..."

Commander Thomas's logical and security nature took control of the situation. While diplomatic in nature and this could be considered a first contact situation, the current situation

The man almost at the same time as the commander was speaking took a few steps forward and explained, "Your instruments vill be unsuccessful at detecting our kind." The man was tall, and had long, dark hair. His features were distinct but subtle. He was clean shaven and his skin was smooth and very pale, almost white in color. But what Chris noticed most about the man was his intense, penetrating eyes that captivated all who looked at him.

"Please, forgive my rudeness. I am Lord Vlad. This is the beautiful Lady Lilith. We are Sanguinarian."

Autumn scanned the room again. Still nothing. These people, as far as their instruments could tell, were not here at all. It puzzled her. Closing the tricorder, Autumn looked att he approaching man and realized that when he spoke his voice was quite... entrancing.

Commander Thomas's nature lead him to ask a the man a question, "If I may ask what are you doing on board this Tamarian vessel?"

Lord Vlad responded, "Ve hired passage on board the vessel to bring my associates and I to a distant planet in the Kelva system." Vlad pointed off to the distance with a delicate gesture of his hand. His pinky finger was held out slightly, and a long, slender index finger, with a noticeably long fingernail pointed off in the alleged direction -- more of a reference gesture then an actual one.

Rose pried her eyes away from the Lord and Lady. She, being Betazoid, sensed that something was not right here. While their instruments and tricorder scans told them that no one was here, Rose could feel their strong presence. And while she couldn't read then telepathically even given her prowess as a full Betazoid, she still brought away a strong feeling that Lord Vlad was not being truthful in his statements to Commander Thomas. Turning towards the XO, Rose managed to whisper into Commander Thomas's ears, "He's not being truthful sir, I don't trust them."

Chris gave a nod. He wasn't Betazoid, but even the Commander had doubts about the hire passage story. Still, without anything more to go on, the Commander didn't want to spoil what was still a First Contact situation by calling these people liars. He'd wait until they had hard evidence from the ship's logs to prove or disprove Lord Vlad's claims.

"I apologize for Lieutenant Trabuco's actions. He was instructed not to disturb or activate any of the sleeping chambers until we could have the proper personnel examine them. His actions in reviving you were quite reckless and put you at undo risk..." Chris began.

Vlad just stood there and regarded Commander Thomas as he spoke. It was Lady Lilith that piped in next with her song-like voice.

"You misunderstand Commander. Your Lieutenant Trabuco did not activate any of our hibernation units. They were activated automatically the moment you and your colleagues boarded this vessel."

The woman smiled seductively. Her perfect white teeth were revealed, surrounded by the fullest, plumpest, moistest lips Chris could ever imagine seeing. Somehow in all the excitement, the Lady's jumpsuit had generously unzipped to midriff, revealing a generous view of her curved breasts. For a split second, Commander Thomas found himself longing to reach out and take Lilith right there. But Chris found the willpower to look away, pinching the bridge of his nose at the incredible headache he now was fighting.

"I'm sorry..." Chris corrected. "I see I have miss judged the Lieutenant's actions."

Vlad smiled slightly while still seeming to study the Commander. "There is no harm done Commander. Ve are glad that you have come along to help us." Turning, Lord Vlad pointed his long, manicured finger at the remaining hibernation units. Though no one had mentioned it, they looked different from the other Tamarian units throughout the ship. They were likely of a different type then the others, which may possibly be why they survived the three hundred years this ship was stranded out in space. "It is a good thing your Lieutenant Trabuco did not open any of these other units."

Chris has recovered somewhat from his infatuation with Lady Lilith, but the Commander was not taking any chances. He purposely avoided looking at the beauty and moved over near Lord Vlad. "Why do you say that Lord Vlad?"

"You see, my colleagues have contracted a rare and deadly disease which is regrettably highly contagious." Vlad explained while dramatically painting the scene with a spread out hand that showed his long, black fingernails, which contrasted sharply against his pale, pale skin. "It is the reason why ve secured passage to the Kelva system. On our homeworld there is the only cure that can treat the ailment of our dear, dear friends."

Chris nodded at Vlad's words. The story made sense for now as a plausible explanation. And since he had no intent of opening any chambers anywhere on this vessel until the appropriate tests and precautions could be taken, the Commander had no problem with leaving these folks in suspended animation exactly as they were now.

"I see. Well that is certainly an understandable reason for wanting to secure passage on board this vessel." Chris commented. In the corner of his eye, the Commander could see Rose who was shaking her head slowly from side to side while she held her arms crossed as if she were fearfully cold or something. The Commander knew how jittery the science officer had been since they beamed onto the ship. He wasn't sure if it was simply that, or if Rose still didn't believe that these people were telling the truth. Either way, Chris had already decided long before they discovered these folks that they wouldn't be reanimating anyone on this initial recon assignment.

"Exactly. And so now you know why it is we are anxious to be on our way to complete our journey Commander." Vlad nodded, pulling his hands back in towards his body in a sort of self induced hug, much more casual then Rose' crossed arms.

"It's going to take some time to finish our investigations here before we can get underway Lord Vlad." Chris explained. "However, while we do, it would probably be best if we beamed you over to the USS Galaxy where you can relax and get over your long hibernation cycle. I'm certain Captain Price will want to speak to you both about your journey thus far." Chris was careful not to get into the three hundred years this ship had been traveling, or that this was the 24th century. He figured there would be time for that orientation later and the Counselors on board the USS Galaxy would best handle it.

Lord Vlad glanced at Lady Lilith at hearing the Commander's comments. After exchanging a quick glance, Vlad inquired, "Commander. May I please ask you?, what is this 'beaming' that you speak of?"

Chris nodded, looking at Vlad and purposely not at Lady Lilith. Even without looking at the vixen Chris could feel the sexual energy radiating from her body. It was almost a primal urge that was very difficult to fight. To keep his mind off his libido, the Commander elaborated a bit for the time-displaced Lord.

"Ah, yes. We now use matter transportation to beam people and cargo short distances. Using this technology we can send you and the Lady directly to our ship which is standing by several hundred kilometeres away." Thomas elaborated.

Lord Vlad's expression flattened. "That vill not be acceptable. You cannot use such a device on our kind Commander. To do so would almost certainly result in our deaths."

"I assure you Lord Vlad, the transporter technology we use is perfectly safe for matter transportation." Chris tried to reassure.

"It is simply not acceptable Commander. I am sorry. But as you have been made aware, our kind does not register correctly on the instruments of your technology. I am quite certain that your transporter would likewise be unable to correctly deconstruct and reassemble the billions of molecules required for a successful beaming attempt." Vlad responded in a seemingly knowledgeable, authoritive tone.

Chris was now absorbed in Lord Vlad's eyes. He commanded an unusual presence; A sort of hypnotic, captivating glare that demanded one's full attention. Looking away, Chris glanced at Doctor Jamison. "How about it Doctor? Do you concur with Lord Vlad's opinion on using our transporters on his people?"

Autumn glanced at her tricorder once again. For the last few minutes she had run a number of scans on these Sanguinarians. And with every passing minute she was growing more and more frustrated. As far as the instruments showed, they were no more real then a hologram was.

"I can find no evidence to validate or dispute the claim sir. They are showing up as complete blanks on all scans that I've run thus far." Autumn looked at the two strangers and then back at Commander Thomas. "Given the circumstances, I see no reason why we should risk it. It would be just as easy to send for a shuttle and farry them to the ship that way."

Chris nodded. "I agree. Better safe then sorry."

"Thank you Commander Thomas..." Lilith stated in a rather seductive tone. "You are most... generous."

James and Electra heard Commander Thomas barking out orders from somewhere in the distant corridors of the ship. The Commander's tone was impatient and frustrated.

Lieutenant Corgan didn't mind hearing another voice on the ship, even if it was the team leader chewing out another officer for not following orders. Traveling in the derelict vessel was like searching through a crypt. Dead bodies were the only one greeting the two officers. That, and the pitch black that occasionally broke from their flashlights, and the voices in James' head that grew stronger with each moment past.

He was starting to suspect that the ship and the voices he heard were somehow linked, or at least triggered by the creepy surroundings. He always had a voice, the nagging little 'conscience' that bothered him wherever he went. It was nice to have the little voice gone after his mind meld with Savat, but after the events with the Borg, the Vulcanesque self control evaporated, and the little voice came back.

This time, the voice brought friends. He was deeply disturbed by this revelation, and more alarmed that he had within him the will to harm his friend, Lexa. He made a vow afterwards, to see a counselor. Hearing one voice to tell you what is wrong was normal. Hearing many voices, each representing a demon in his life, was a signal of impending insanity. For his sake, and for the safety of his friends, he had to at least see someone about it.

Commander Thomas repeated his order.

"Don't get your panties in a knot, Thomas." Corgan muttered.

"What did you say?" Electra Reece spoke from behind.

"Ummmm... nothing." He countered, "I think the Commander is this way."

Electra gave Corgan a strange look. At first she thought he was talking to her, but then realized Corgan was just being sarcastic towards the Commander as was his rough and tumble style. In the corridors of the cramped vessel, Electra had taken to placing a hand on Corgan's back to help guider her along. James didn't seem to mind too much, and it gave Lexa a chance to feel how strong the Lieutenant's back was, which was fine by her.

The Commander's voice grew closer, as well as the voices of two others. They didn't sound like the people from the away team. Curiosity built up inside him, and Corgan sped up to a steady jog to make up for lost time.

He ran into the next room, in time to witness the discussion between Commander Thomas and two unidentified aliens. They didn't look like the withered corpses of the Tamarians. They were more beautiful. The female's skin glowed like an aura, her kind face as radiant as an angel. She carried her natural beauty and grace in her body language, as she talked to Commander Thomas. Her voice spoke like a flute, reverberating every word in a melody of diplomatic talk.

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" He told himself. Beautiful or not, he was not going to let himself be taken aback by an alien woman. He resisted his own feelings towards her, dismissing them as lust, pushing them aside with well-practiced mental discipline.

Commander Thomas reached across his uniform and activated his comm badge. "Away team to Galaxy. Come in Galaxy."

A moment later, an anxious Lieutenant Von Ernst answered, ["Galaxy here. Go ahead Commander."]

"Lieutenant Von Ernst, give me the Captain please." Chris requested. He didn't have any real great desire to speak to the Chief Tactical Officer that neither he nor the Captain felt deserved to be assigned to the Galaxy. Let alone promoted to full Lieutenant by Starfleet Command at Admiral Hoth's insistence.

["Price here. What is it 'mate?"]

"Captain, we've made a rather startling discovery over here sir. There are survivors still alive." Chris explained.

["That's remarkable 'mate. I didn't realize those Tamarian sleeping chambers would hold up this long in open space."]

"Actually sir, they didn't. There are other humanoids on board that seem to have used hibernation chambers of a different design. Four of them are still in suspended animation, but two are up and walking about and with me here right now." Chris informed.

["Cri-key!"] the Captain declared over the channel. ["What is the current situation with the team?"]

"All are fine sir and at my present location with the exception of T'Zaq and Lomax who are still trying to restore power down in the engine room. There are four Sanguinarians still in suspended animation. And as far as we can tell, their units are still functioning correctly. There are also two revived Sanguinarians with us now. I was going to beam them back to the ship, but Lord Vlad informs me that our transporters would be harmful to their kind. In light of our instruments inability to get accurate readings on these people, I agree with Doctor Jamison's recommendation that a shuttle be sent to transfer them back to the ship." Chris explained.

["Sounds like a plan 'mate. I'll have a shuttle sent across directly to pick up our newest visitors Commander."] Price agreed.

"Thank you Captain. We've checked out the entire ship now, once T'Zaq and Lomax report on the engine room. So once the Sanguinarians head back to the ship via shuttle, we will probably want to rotate personnel over here. I'm sure our engineers and medical specialists will want to have a look at these sleeper units. Especially the ones the Sanguinarians are using."

["Fair dinkum Commander. Signal the ship whenever you are ready to return after the shuttle is dispatched to deliver our guests. I'll have Engineering and medical personnel prepare for follow-up assignments to the Tamarian vessel upon your return."]

"Thank you sir. We will stand by for the arrival of the shuttle. Commander Thomas and the away team out." Chris closed, deactivating the comm badge with another tap.

"Your Captain has a most interesting accent Commander Thomas..." Lady Lilith stated in an angelic voice that just oozed with sensuality.

Chris didn't dare look at her. He could already feel the temperature in the room rise and sweat clamming up his palms. It was taking all of his will power to not simply excuse himself and the lovily Lady and jump her in one of the back rooms of the Tamarian vessel. **What is wrong with me?** Chris asked as he reminded himself, **I'm a married man...**

Nervously, Chris started moving away from Lady Lilith while answering, "Yea, he's Australian. If you will excuse me, I need to check on Lieutenant Commander T'Zaq and Petty Officer Lomax..."

Both Lord Vlad and Lady Lilith watched as the Commander exited the sleeping chamber in a slight haste. As he left Lord Vlad called out, "Thank you for your hospitality Commander. You have been most generous to my people. Your assistance is deeply appreciated." The handsome, pale skinned man stated with a slight bow.

"Dreams"
by
Shinta
Dr. Dothan

Takes place before Bruce returns

Shinta tossed on the bed. She was dreaming about Bruce, seeing him dying alone in space. Without realizing she cried out in agony.

Andree woke with a start, hearing Shinta cry out. The twins had rolled over and were still sleeping, so andree grabbed his tricorder and rushed into Shinta's bedroom.

She woke with a start, staring wide eyed into nothing.

Andree opened the tricorder, and began a scan, as he said, "Shinta, Are you alright?"

She tried to regain her composure, and failed. "I ... I am fine." She lied.

"I heard you scream, and high-tailed it in here," The Trill doctor replied.

"Just a nightmare. My kids? Are they all right." She came to her feet.

"Hope and James, are sleeping peacefully in the crib. Hope needed a fresh diaper about two hours ago, but havn't heard a peep from either of them since." Andree replied in a reassuring tone. The children were safe, in his care, but he needed to convince Shinta of that fact.

She sat up in bed, shaking badly, the nightmare had been so vivid. "Thank you for taking such good care of them. You are wonderful." She smiled weakly. "I will just try to get back to sleep now. Maybe you should close the door, so I don't wake you again."

"Alright, I'll do that," Andree said. "Don't you worry about a thing." You just get your sleep.

Shinta nodded briefly, and closed her eyes again. It was not long before the demons came back, All the people she had killed in her life seemed to parade in front of her. And she screamed in agony.

Andree heard Shinta scream again, and once again, charged into her room. "Another Nightmare?" he asked.

Shinta opened her eyes, instantly awake. "I thought I told you to close the door!" She burst out, sweat pouring down her face. "It is nothing."

"Shinta, You need to be able to get a good night's rest, otherwise you will not be able to function in the morning. If you are having recurring nightmares every night, you really need to do something about it."

She bowed her head. "You are right, of course you are right. and I am very stubborn." She smiled. "Maybe you should give me something. And I will promise that I will talk to Karyn about this."

"I'll be right back." andree said, as he turned on his heel.

In Shinta's living area, Andree passed the crib, and looked in on Hope and James. James had thrown his arm over Hope's shoulders, and both were sound asleep. He stealthily moved past and to the replicator. Dialing in a medical database, Andree pulled up a dream supressant, cross checked it against Shinta's Physiology, and any drugs and suppliments that it might interact with the supressant. Finding nothing to worry about Andree hit the complete button, and pressed his thumb to the panel, "Sigining" the "Perscription" and replicating a glass of water.

When the bedroom door closed, Andree said, "Take two, and call me in the morning" before cocking a lopsided grin, attempting to lighten the mood.

Shinta took the pills, she really had no choice now. "Are you sure that the children are all right?" She asked a little anxious.

"The twins are fine, and Gavin is sleeping soundly as well, Haven't heard a peep from him all night"

"Thank you again." With that she fell into a dreamless sleep.

Step Back In Time

Lieutenant Jg Todd Sansky
Medical

NPC Nathan Carrington

Todd lay in bed feeling stuffed after his meal with Nathan, he couldn’t believe his luck finding him after so much futile searching. He slipped out of bed and wandered into the living area in just his boxers.

‘You not coming back to bed Todd?’ Todd turned to the sound and smiled.

‘I’m sorry I thought you were asleep, I was going to bring you some breakfast so get back in bed and I will be there in a moment.’ Nathan laughed and climbed back in.

‘Computer, two cups of coffee and two baked trincata.’ The terminal flashed and the meal was ready on a tray. Todd picked up the tray and moved back into the bedroom. Nathan smiled at him.

‘Computer, raise temperature by 5 degrees.’ ‘Computer, belay that.’ Todd said as he sat on the bed and handed the tray to Nathan. Then climbed in next to him.

‘But Todd it’s cold in here, or would you prefer me to put my clothes on?’ ‘No way mister I want you as you are, I have the temperature at this level so we can snuggle up under more blankets. My father liked to keep to traditional methods, you believe me you needed a warm body to be close with on a freezing Welsh night.’ Nathan smiled as he began his breakfast. ‘When are you due in sickbay?’

‘It’s my day off so I’m all yours for the day.’ Nathan’s face lit up as he leapt from the bed and pulled on his pants and tee shirt.

‘Wait here please love, I’ll be back.’ With that he ran out the room. Todd just lay in amazement wondering what had happened when the door chime sounded. He got up and moved to the door.

‘Come in.’ the door opened as Todd was slapped with Nathan’s lips.

‘Oops forgot that, be back in 5.’ The doors closed again while Todd stood stunned. He just laughed and went back to make the bed and clear up the dishes. Time seemed to go quickly as before he knew it the door was chiming again. ‘Come.’ It opened and Nathan entered dressed in a strange black coat with matching trousers and a long piece of fabric hanging from his shirt.

‘Come? Didn’t that happen last night? Anyway time u get your sexy body in these clothes.’ Todd looked puzzled at the costume.

‘Its called a suit and that’s a tie.’

‘Ok and why are you dressing up?’

‘We are going back in time.’

‘?’

‘The holodeck, I want to show you about my family and show you some history as well. More than that you will have to wait until be get there.’ Todd, confused once more, just grinned as he slipped into his costume.

‘Ok then babe, lets get going.’ Nathan led Todd out of Todd’s quarters and into the turbolift. As they came to the holodeck doors Nathan tapped the console.

‘Computer, load programme Nathan Omega 69.’ =/\= Programme loaded, enter when ready=/\= They entered onto a long drive in front of a large old looking building.

‘Ok, your in Denver Colorado U.S.A circa 1980’s, this is the house of my family, they were a wealthy dynasty controlling the majority of the state.’ ‘How come you have this programme?’

‘My family kept very detailed records of there lives, my father had them converted to the holodeck recently, I have been waiting for someone special to share it with. So lets go, I will introduce you to the family, as far as the Carringtons and Colbys are concerned we are just friends of the family.’ Nathan started off towards the mansion and rang the doorbell with Todd close behind him…

OOC: Warning.....An NPC post set away from our current adventure

"Like it or Not"

Starring

Admiral Jergan Hoth (NPC)

Commander John Zaletta (NPC)

Various No-Names

(Wolf 359)

Somewhere in the dark, eternal reaches of endless space, there floated a graveyard of broken dreams. Here in this graveyard drifted the charred and mutilated remains of 40 grand ladies of the Royal Court of Starfleet's finest.

Once upon a time these ladies where renown throughout the land for their grace and beauty. They were looked up to by all in recognition for their boldness and their intrepidity. These were the Duchesses of Starfleet. They were of fine lines and graceful curves, possessing endless charm and righteous strength.

Here amongst the baleful uncaring eyes of distant suns however they lay strewn and ravaged like the raped spoils of war. Their honor had been stripped, their beauty marred, and their virtue taken by force.

Now the fate of these raped ladies were mentioned only in whispers….for none dare speak aloud of these ravaged princesses, lest their dishonor somehow become contagious.

Their names were Princeton…..Bellerephon……Chekov……Kyushu…….Saratoga.……and Melbourne.

They were the dead of Wolf 359. The first great blow to the shining standard that was the mighty Starfleet. Here 40 Starships died, their blood leaching out is hissing streams of radioactive fire……the scream of twisted metal silent against the stars.

Here 11,000 crew died. The flower of the Federation's youth, and the pinnacle of Starfleet's spear-point.

And though in the years to come there would be more battles, and even more grievous losses. It was here that the Fleet lost its innocence. It was here that the Alien assailant had its way with the virgin Princesses and left them naked and bleeding.

However in the midst this floating crypt, there was a monument of hope. Drifting in the exact center of the so-called debris field there existed a new structure, one of shining Plasteel, and polished Duranium. One whose powerful Antimatter Generators hummed with the pulse of life and light, and whose windows spilled forth a glow of hope and determination.

This was the newly founded 359 School, a sizeable Spacestation shining the void of the night. It was here in the newly painted and polished corridors that the next Generation of Starfleet's best minds were being reared up in the ways of WAR.

There were no courses on Galactic Exploration at the 359 School.

There were no classes detailing First Contact Procedures at the 359 School.

There were no lectures on Interstellar Diplomacy at the 359 School.

Here the captains of the future were taught to crush, kill, and destroy using every possible mean, method, and weapon available. When the means weren't available, the students were taught to improvise new tactics and kick ass all the more harder.

This was the brainchild of Admiral Jergan Hoth, the Head of Starfleet's Tactical Arm, and the Schools first Commandant.

It was here in the shadows of Starfleet's greatest defeat, that the cadets would learn the deadly seriousness of their duty. If anyone doubted the necessity of such a school, If anyone questioned the use of courses aimed at teaching only how to kill………Well all they had to do was look out a window into the debris field for their answers.

The Schools Motto………"Never Again."

Admiral Jergan Hoth turned his back on the polished black Conference table and stared out the thick Transparant Aluminum Portal with a deep sigh.

Behind him the various Instructors, Administrators, and Secretaries of the 359 School shuffled their stacks of paper, and flicked ash from the tips of their various cigars and cigarettes. The gathering cloud of their vapor hanging low over the tediousness of the meeting.

"….and so Admiral," droned on a lowly desk clerk reading from a data PADD and not even realizing that Hoth had turned away from his report, "…we project a overall 27% improvement in fleet-wide Tactical readiness following the graduation of the first semester's class. Already we are getting requests from Tactical Officers across the Federation applying for next semester's openings."

Hoth stared out into the debris-filled infinity of space and nodded. The minutiae of running the 359 School day to day was proving to be more tedious than tactical in nature. As Commandant he was required to sign off on everything from Mess-Hall supplies to shipments of Toilet-Paper, which was hardly the glorified post he had sought for years upon end.

This school was supposed to be about Kicking ass and taking names…..not efficiency projections or budget surpluses.

"….additionally the Accounting Department foresees a possible 15% rate hike in acquisition of left-handed Plasma-widgets for the 2378 fiscal year………"the Clerk was prattling on.

"Enough!" growled the grizzled veteran of more than 30 years service. "Figure out the details yourself, but leave me to running this school! The Borg and the Dominion don’t give a Targ's Testicle how much we spend on Plasma-widgets, and frankly neither do I!" Hoth turned again to face the smoke-filled room, staring each board member unblinkingly in the eye.

"My concern is turning out the next generation of Starship Captains and making sure they are ready for the realities of the 2370's and beyond. This isn't the 60's where the entire fleet could afford to play "Jean Luc Picard" and zip around the galaxy in exploration mode. This is post-Borg, post-Dominion, post-rose covered glasses times we're talking about."

A few administrators fidgeted uneasily in their chairs but none dare speak while Hoth was on a rampage.

"You heard Commander Zaletta's report at the beginning of the meeting……John, read us back that part again concerning the standing fleet."

Halfway down the table, the tall dark-haired Tactical Instructor cleared his throat and read from his earlier report. "Ahem……Starfleet Command Order of Battle circa late 2377………Fleet strength stands at 3600 Ships of the line broken down as follows : PRIMARY COMBATANTS 2 Sovereign Class Battleships including Flagship USS ENTERPRISE under Jean Luc Picard….We have the one CONSTITUTION class Prototype under Deiran Casey and the second variant expected to launch early 2379."

Hoth nodded for Zaletta to continue. Privately he considered the new Sovereign class to be the preferred platform of choice over the Triple-Nacelled Constitution, but any ship was going to be useful in these dire times.

"Ok, we have 8 Galaxy class hulls remaining with the lead ship under Robert Price being the soul conversion to include the new Ablative armor systems from the Voyager. Multiphasic Torpedo capacity has been removed from said Starship in compliance with treaty negotiated by said Captain Price."

Many around the table sighed and shook their heads. The abandonment of Multiphasic technology was considered by some a very bad move, but there was little to be done about it.

"….Right then, we next have approximately 26 Nebula class Hulls, 36 Akira class Heavy Cruisers, 47 Steamrunner, 38 Sabre class….ummmmm approximately 80 Excelsior Class hulls most being retrofitted with uprated Tactical systems from the USS LAKOTA, 22 Intrepid class……"

"Okay Okay John that’s enough," Hoth finally waved Zaletta into silence. "The point being we had a fleet strength of some 8400 starships five years ago, and now we have barely 3600. The vast majority of those are comprised of obsolete Miranda Class Cruisers, and Merchant Marine Reserves. Our Front Line Combatants are probably a third of that number. " Hoth paused a moment to let that sink in. " We've built 12 Galaxy Class Explorers, but only have 8 left in service. Additionally, just last month a small Task Force scouting into the Gamma Quadrant lost nearly half its numbers, along with more than 200 crew. Starfleet gentlemen, is on the ropes and unless we stop worrying about toilet paper and budgets, we're going to be out for the count."

There were assorted grunts of approval from many in the room. The staff of instructors had been hand-picked for this posting by Hoth personally. They were of like minds with him in the estimation that things looked grim in the wake of the deadly Dominion War.

With a heavy sigh, Admiral Hoth moved from the window and settled back down into the chair at the head of the table. He idly scrolled through a few paragraphs of information on the PADD before him before speaking to the group again.

"Our primary concern…..as always, is going to be the replacement of the devastating losses the Fleet suffered in the form of Command-Rank Officers. " Hoth waved his hand to explain, "We've got a top-heavy arrangement of crusty old Admirals hiding behind desks, and the Academy is churning out more wide-eyed Ensigns than we know what to do with, but the key is the middle-management so to speak. We have already had to recall several reserves with Command experience to fill the empty Captain and Commander spots, and in some cases had to prematurely promote Lieutenants before their time. This at best is an inadequate solution."

Many nodded. The strain of using reserves was apparent. Most were well past their prime, and in many cases unfamiliar with the newer style ships they were being asked to command.

"As many of you are aware," Hoth continued, "in addition to this school, Commander Zaletta and myself have been actively tracking and guiding the careers of several unusually gifted young officers for the last few years. These kids have been selected based on their outstanding performance during Academy Tactical simulations for fast-tracking for Command School. I want them in the Captain's chair as soon as possible, and its our job to get them there."

Picking up a list Hoth read a few names, "Our first candidate is a young Andorian Lt. Commander on the USS FARAGUTT who I'd like to see promoted again within the month, followed by another equally impressive lad on the USS TOKYO. He's jumped three ranks in two years and has shown remarkable presence of mind and sound judgement. " Hoth paused and smiled, "And then of course we have my little pet project out on the USS GALAXY. This little lady ate up the Academy Tactical simulators like you would not believe." Hoth allowed a small grin to crease his normally stern features. " Commander Zaletta and myself invited theis particular officer out to the school a few months back prior to the Semester start to run a few sims. I shit you not gentlemen, she almost beat the Wolf 359 Scenario on her first try, isnt that right Commander?"

Zaletta sat up a bit in his chair and frowned. He was no fan of the skittish Lt. von Ernst and had frequently argued against her inclusion in the Admiral's advancement Program. "Aye sir. But she had to commit mass-murder to do it. That’s hardly…."

"But she did it!" Hoth interrupted. "She figured out a way to outfox old Locutus by thinking outside the box! She acted in a manner totally outside the norm for a Starfleet Officer, by intentionally sacrificing hundreds of helpless crewmen in order to get in close to the Borg Cube. Locutus having once been the most by-the-book officer we have was not able to anticipate the situation as he had with our other standard fleet maneuvers."

Hoth pounded his finger on the table to make the point, "THAT’S the stuff we need. She is definitely on the fast-track. I recently had to piss off old Robert Price by promoting her over the heads of several other officers, but I'm sure he'll get with the program eventually."

Clearing his throat another Instructor at the far end of the table spoke up. "I think I've heard of her sir. From what I've read this officer wasn’t even trained as a Tactical Officer….She's got a Degree in Quantum Mathematics for pity's sakes."

Hoth nodded, "Correct, and it took me nearly a month of twisting arms up at the Academy to keep her out of Graduate-School. She kept applying for a Doctorate, and I had to pull a few bureaucratic fast-ones to keep her in the Active Duty Fleet."

Commander Zaletta chewed on the inside of his cheek. He hadnt approved of Hoth's strong arm tactics. So far as von Ernst was concerned the Academy just kept denying her request for transfer to Doctoral studies. She hadnt a clue it was all due to the Admiral's behind the scene's finagling.

The other Instructor continued his objection. "But sir, isn't this also the same girl involved in the Nar Hallas fiasco last year? Our relations with The Lyrans still haven been soothed over……"

"The Lyrans be damned!" Hoth interjected. "I don’t give a Targ's Testicle about what they think of us, I just want us to be ready the next time they try to pull a fast one."

The grey haired Admirl leaned forward and locked a cold stare into all present. "Like it or not gentlemen, this little lady is the best tactician we got. I don’t care if she's only running on two thrusters mentally, or if she still believes in Santa Claus. I want von Ernst in a Captains Chair and on the front lines ASAP. "

"Where's a Damage Control Team When You Need One?" by Tyrola Lomax, PO, Engineering
by James Mitchell, Asst. Chief, Science

Tyrola had somehow managed to take the lead in this new, cramped corridor that she and James had found themselves in. As far as she could tell this corridor stretched out at least another 20 metres ahead. She was beginning to calm down now, feeling not at all at ease but so much on edge as she had been with the sight of a long-dead Tamarian crewman. The smell had not been at all present - she would have prefered direct waste handling duties to that experience any day. What distressed her most about the sight was that she could not determine the cause of death. Stasis pod malfunction? Environmental inequality? Foul Play? The last thought teased her mind a little too much. ~Ty~ She thought to herself ~You could win prizes for how over-stretched your imagination is.~

It was this chair on thought that caused her to physically jump when the creaking noise began.

"Ow!!"

Ty rubbed the back of her head which had hit the low roofing of the corridor. The material of the ship may not seem too hard - but boy was she going to have a bruise. It was then that her attention turned to the source of the noise - which, when she thought back on it, gave her the eery memory of ancient doors opening in horror movies.

The comparison was not at all inaccurate. Some kind of opening had given way to their left, revealing a large - dark - open space. Ty's nerves began to get the better of her again. "Lieutenant, I think we may have stumbled across their engineering section..."

"You, okay? James checked the back of Ty's head. No blood. "You'll be fine. A bit bruised, but okay. No getting out of this duty." He gave an awkward smile, considering the conditions. Ty winced, but gave a nervous smile in return.

He peered into the darkness, squinting in hope it would help him to see more clearly but to no avail. It was like a ebon veil had been draped across his vision, like being in a dream and unsure if your eyes are open or not. He felt a hand grip his forearm and reached his left hand around to grasp it tightly. He had to pry her fingers off his wrist so he could aim his lantern into the room.

"Well, let's go check it out. Still have the tricorder mapping feature on?" The tricorder gave off a greenish glow as Ty held it up. She touched the controls and the field narrowed a bit more.

"Shortened the emitter beam for more detail, in case you were wondering, James..." The nervousness in her voice reflected the butterflies in his stomach with amazing clarity. The map grid expanded to fill the view on the small screen, but telemetry immediately began flowing through the display.

"I'm reading a large open space, with a large central object which I would guess to be a power core. There also appears to be banks of consoles." She looked up into the darkness beyond the opening. "Not that we can see much of it..."

James held his lantern up and out, gathering the courage to move in. The tricorder wasn't registering any life signs, so why was he feeling so edgy? The experience reminded him of a holiday that Terrans enjoyed, but he didn't do so necessarily himself. With the exception of the piles of real junk food he got out of it. His mother and uncle used to dress him up in these gaudy costumes that other adults seemed to enjoy seeing kids in. He didn't remember too much of it, but remembered a phrase.

"Trick or Treat..." he mumbled under his breath as they slipped into the darkness.

They moved slowly through the larger corridor. They must've begun their travels through an access corridor, but were now in a main branch. The walls were slicker, and oozing with brackish liquid. Breathing became labored and difficult. The two of them had removed their jackets and tied them around their waists as it was too intense heat-wise to wear them.

"We must be getting close. Engine rooms tend to get agonizingly unbearable if environmental systems go down." Tyrola passed the scanner around them. Even its display had to be wiped on occasion as condensation built up on it. It was getting hard to read it as it was smudged with their own oils and sweat. She wiped an already glistening arm across her forehead in a pitiful effort to dry off. Their faces were covered in soot.

"This is strange, Ty." James passed his own tricorder over the environment as they passed the ever-widening corridor. Images were painted all around them in mosiac, and tapestries withered and torn hung at regular intervals. Many doors they had passed along the way, but they were either open and empty, or broken on their hinges.

"You're just noticing that now, James?" She had huddled closer to him now than previously, when the corridors were smaller. James didn't mind the comfort; it reminded him that he wasn't alone in the veil of night. He could just feel her eyes on him, like he had four heads and a big 'L' on his forehead.

"No, I mean..." He peered into one of the last doors before the hallway opened into a large antechamber. It had been smashed in. "When we beamed in, the ship was in pretty damn good shape for something 300 years old, and now since getting to this point, it's like we did a 180 degree turn. This is what I would expect from a vessel this age from looters. But nowhere else is the ship touched from what we saw. Not even the exterior." They walked into the large chamber, which they passed the lanterns around to reveal more stressed equipment.

"12 feet straight ahead, James. Largest piece of equipment here." Tyrola aimed her lantern out and increased the power. She inched forward keeping her eye on the tricorder for the unlikely event of danger.

Dust permeated the air, and debris lay scattered about the room. Shattered consoles battered the edges of their vision as they walked towards the dim edge of the main chunk. It gave off the appearance of a walk through the dusty fields of Eros, with rubble from the crater strewn about. The dust hung in the air and collected on them as the walked through it, careful not to touch or disturb anything.

As they reached the main console, or what was left of it, they were taken aback of the condition of it. The sheer violence of the physical damage was incomprehensible. What remained of a glass-like encasement lay in shards atop the console, a huge fragment laying on its side, a jagged metal bolt hanging from the ceiling where it had been once attached. Gears - huge teeth - the cogs of which had been smashed off above them, 12 inch wide axles bent at incredible angles, and support beams careening off those to make their way to the floor. They gave off the mage they were support struts for the ceiling with the exception they were rusted and twisted.

"This is the damndest thing I ever saw...." Ty passed her tricorder around the entire room, capturing images for later as James passed his around the console, scanning for power of any kind. He tiptoed and climbed over the remains of equipment to meet the Trill Engineering officer on the other side.

"How could the rest of the ship be in so much better shape than this room?" She gaped at the wretched carcass of a room. "No damage to the exterior hull, so that leaves out an attack of any kind. There was no carbon scoring of any type to denote it. There aren't even any bodies to account for a surprise attack."

"And no patchwork at stress points on the hull either. It's original plating." James had accessed scans made of the Tamarian ship in comparison. The dust clouds floated and danced in the flashlight beams. Ty ran her fingers over what was left of the main consoles.

"I wish we could decipher these glyphs. Then we might get an idea how to turn on the environmental systems." Ty flashed her light around the room. Every console had been either smashed or caved in in one way or another. Whatever went through here was powerful, and violent. The systems were going to be damn hard to access.

"We need 'Commander T'Zaq." James tapped his communicator badge.

" 'Commander T'Zaq, come in."

Silence.

" 'Commander T'Zaq, can you hear me? If you are unable to respond, lock onto my signal and home in on my location. We could use your Engineering skills.... Lieutenant Mitchell out." James left his commsignal open.

Ty sighed. "In the meantime I think we'd better have a look over this ourselves." She wasn't too happy about this - in a Federation Starship or even one which she could orientate herself with she would have been able to locate the environmental systems by now. It took five minutes of searching before they came across a console - set to the side of the engineering section and heavily damaged - that had a symbol or a sun and a tree.

"I'm guessing that means environment." James guessed.

Ty nodded. "I don't know how much of this I can understand but we can give it a go." Ty took off the face of the console and gaped in dismay - even the internal ciruitry of the consoles had been physically abused. "This might take some time..."

"Don't you think we should report in on our progress?" James suggested. "You can give a more accurate estimate of the situation than I can, being the engineer and all." He gave her the most confident smile he could under the circumstances.

Ty nodded and tapped her comm badge. "Lomax to Commander Thomas."

[Thomas here, go ahead.] The commanders voice responded.

"Sir, we appear to have located the environmental systems. However, the engine room is in bad shape - unlike the rest of the vessel. There appears to have been some sort of physical damage to most of the systems and structure in here." Ty looked around again as she said that. "It seems to be deliberate but there is no way to be sure. On the environmental systems side of things - it may be some time before I can figure out the Tamarian consoles. We've called for 'Commander T'Zaq to head this way - we don't know if she got our call."

There was a brief pause before the Commander responded. [Understood, keep me updated.] The Commander sounded somewhat surprised - perhaps at the fact that T'Zaq was not with them. [Thomas out.]

Ty looked at James and shrugged. "Sounds like we'll just have to muddle our way through this." She knelt beside the front of the console again. "Care to learn a bit about Tamarian engineering? 'Cos believe me, I'm going to need to learn a lot about it myself to get this done..."

The outlook wasn't all too promising for the time being.

"Puppets, paintings and Binars. Oh my!"

A tale of answers and discovery that reunites that amazing duo: Lt. Raven Darkstar from Security, and the little big man himself, Leo Streely as they head deep into the bowels of engineering in search of...The Binars!!!

(When last we saw our heroes: Curiosity eating away at them, Raven and Leo each sought out help in identifying the strange old man they had bumped into in the hallway. Their paths are about to unexpectedly converge.)

Here we go...

Time: While the away team searches the derelict vessel.

Location: Enroute to Engineering, USS GALAXY

Raven Darkstar strode down the plush carpeted hallways of the USS Galaxy in his usual brisk style, reminiscent of a freight train barreling down the tracks. In his hand he held the rapidly drying painting of the strange old man that Ensign Borzi, the Security department's eccentric sketch artist, had just completed.

The old man.

There was something about him that was nagging at Raven's mind. Something odd. Maybe it was simply his unique uniform. Perhaps it was the look in the man's eyes, or the ominous way his gravely voice uttered propheticlly: 'Something wicked this way comes.' Maybe he was just being overly cautious in light of the recent criminal activity on the ship this past mission.

Then again, he was a Security Officer. He was paid to be overly cautious. It was his duty to investigate things that rubbed him the wrong way and the old man's identity was defintily something that needed to be explored to put the Indian's mind at ease.

He continued down the hall and neared an intersection.

In his head he was busy compiling a list of questions he would use when interrogating the old man. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't see the red haired little girl wearing an orange sash with the word "Saftey" stiched on it.

She stepped directly into his path.

With a solemn look on her tiny little face she held her hand out bringing the much larger security officer to a halt. He was drawing a breath to admonish the youngster when more than a dozen children of similar age began to parade in front of him in single file.

They all waved and giggled at the surprised Darkstar, who was a bit taken aback by the parade. He knew of no reason children would be shepherded through the hallways unless...

ORINIAN SLAVERS!!!

The ship must have been boarded covertly and the reptilian fiends were kidnapping the kids! They must have threatened the children to make them smile and act as if nothing were wrong! Or perhaps used some sort of toxin to make them easier to transport.

The savages! Stealing children!!

And he was their only hope! The only one who could foil thier sinister plot! ~ Raven thought as he rolled up the painting and gripped it in his fist. It wasn't the greatest of weapons, but he could still use it in at least 2 different offensive fashions to incapacitate an enemy.

He moved into a defensive posture and placed his back to the wall, hoping to be able to utilize the element of surprise to some degree of advantage and attack the fiends in the hallway intersection before they even knew he was there. He didn't dare tap his combadge for reinforcements. The slavers might over hear his conversation. he would have to open a channel simultaniously with his opening attack.

He tensed, poised to strike when he heard one of the children call out.

"Missus Hunter...how come we're not ringing the doorbells again?"

Ringing doorbells?!? ~ Raven thought.~ Thats not something an Orinion invader would do.

Slightly confused, he peered around the corner, ever so cautiously to see a woman in a Starfleet uniform guiding the children. "We're just practicing for when we go trick or treating, Taylor. Remember?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot." the little girl said, as they crossed the intersection past the red headded crossing guard who was still holding Raven at bay..

Mrs. Hunter smiled and nodded her head as she passed and hearded the rest of the class along in an orderly manner. The Indian looked down at the girl who was wearing the orange sash.

"Little girl," he said in a deep voice," What is trick or treating?"

The kid scrunched her nose at him then stuck out her tongue.

"Come along, Kelly. There's another intersection ahead and your the crossing guard. You can talk to the nice officer after school." the teacher called out from down the hall as Raven stared at the girl who was now blowing rasberries at him.

He leaned down to the freckle faced girl and asked calmly: " Have you ever heard of the Brig? You know ....jail? The place we take bad people?"

The wagging tongue suddenly disappeared as the girl paled, then raced back down the hall to join her classmates.

Feeling better about himself, Raven continued to stride down the hallway with a slight smile of satisfaction. Yet another situation diffused by diplomacy and negotiation. He felt he was begining to get a handle on it, although it certainly wasn't as gratifying as using force.

He was meters from the door to engineering when a man racing down the opposite hallway rounded the corner and crashed directly into him.

The surprise more than the impact sent Raven and the crewmen sprawling on the deck floor in a tangle of arms and legs.

As he struggled to free himself, Darkstar quickly ran through his options.

Negotiation? Nah! Handing the offender his own knee caps? Sounds good to me! ~ he thought untill he heard a familiar and annoyingly squeaky voice.

"Why dontcha watch where your running, ya big ape!! Your lucky I'm on a mission here, OK . Otherwise I would....Raven?!?!"

The large man sighed and rolled his eyes. " Hello, Leo."

"Raven!" Leo said with a wide smile.

"Yes, Leo."

"Partner!! Kemosabe!! Crockett and Tubbs!! "

"Oh, for the God's sake, Leo. You know its me already." Raven said slightly annoyed.

"What are you doing here? Nevermind. Listen, I have something to tell ya, OK?!" Leo said excitedly tapping his hands on the Indians broad chest.

"Can we not have this conversation while you are laying on top of me?" Raven said dryly, hoping nobody he knew would walk by and see the duo apparently cuddling on the floor.

Naturally, hope springs eternal and destiny often delighted at making Raven its cosmic little joke.

"Lt. Darkstar." Commander Elithian said, as he strolled past, shaking his head with a grin. Raven frowned as the security chief walked by, then stopped and returned to the pair. He squatted down next to the two.

"Hi, Leo." Elithian said.

"Hey, how's it goin there chief? Congratulations on your promotion." Leo replied shaking the man's hand.

"Thanks Leo. Hey, do you mind if I talk to Raven here for a minute?"

"No. Go ahead." Leo said, still sprawled over the large officer. The Bajoran turned his attention to Raven.

"You do know that this is how rumors start, Lieutenant" the Commander said, still grinning.

"Yes, Sir. It's not what it looks like, Sir." Darkstar said scowling at Leo who was still lying calmly atop the large Indian.

"That's comforting. Carry on then, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, sir." Raven said watching Elithian round the corner. He then unceremoniously heaved Leo off his chest and stood up.

"Well thats just wonderful. What are you doing here Leo?" the Indian asked, smoothing out the wrinkled portrait with his hand.

"I was gonna let it be a surprise for you, but thats Ok, I'll show you now." Leo said, visibly excited. "OK, OK, OK!! Are you ready? Maybe you should sit down."

"Do you see a chair any..what..why do I allow myself to play along with you? Perhaps I should schedule a visit with Dr. Dothan to have my neural pathways examined for blockages." Raven said with a furrowed brow.

"Actually I would suggest a strong laxative to help dislodge that stick from your.."

"LEO!!"

"Right, right, OK. I have a surprise for ya. Check this out..." Leo said producing the homemade puppet of the old man. "Huh! Huh! Eh! What do ya think, Eh?! Clever isnt it?!"

"Its a puppet."

"Of coarse its a puppet!!"

"Look, Leo. I appreciate the gift, as absurd as it may be, I'm sure your heart was in the right place, but now really isn't.."

"What in the blue hell are you talking about?" Leo asked, letting the puppet fall to his side.

"Your gift. The puppet."

"Gift? Its no gift. Why the hell would I give you a puppet? I know you dont like entertainment and humor. Jeez, OK. For a security officer, you aint too perceptive. Take another look." he said holding up the felt creation. Raven stared at it intently then recognition dawned on him.

"Its the old man! Where did you get that?"

"I had it made. I figure I'd show it to the Binars and they could tell me who that creepy old geezer is."

"Are you serious?"

"Of coarse I'm serious."

"Your going to give the Binars a puppet show!" Raven said crossing his arms over his chest, mindful not to wrinkle the painting.

"Like you have a better idea?" Leo said through the puppet.

"As a matter of fact I do. Look." he said proudly displaying the painting.

"It looks like an overweight Klingon, sprawled on a shuttle, giving birth to Data the android."

"What...where do you...how do you come up with this ridiculous crap?"

"Its what I see, all right?!"

"Look again." Raven said moving the painting closer to the little man's face.

"Kinda looks like Captain Price and a group of..."

"Its the old man, Leo." Raven said, snatching the painting away.

"You think so? Where did you get it?"

"We in the security field have our sources."

"I would guess Ensign Borzi." Leo said with a shrug.

"How...How did you know that?" Raven said with a surprised look on his face.

"We in the bar tending slash journalism field have our own sources."

Raven growled as Leo continued. "So what are you planning on doing with that?"

"I was going to give it to the Binar's to process."

"You can't be serious. Your gonna waltz in there and hang up a painting that even Picasso would cringe at and you think they are gonna be able to tell you who it is?" Leo said skeptically.

"This coming from the man with the hand puppet."

"I had to try something. Ya know it wouldn't hurt to give me a little credit for initiative there, partner."

Raven thought about it for a moment then swallowed hard and mumbled.

"Oh? What was that?" Leo said straining to hear.

"I said, your right. I commend your initiative." Darkstar said grudgingly.

"What's that you say? Your the man Leo? You have skills, Leo! Talents that I wish I myself possessed and if ever I am nice enough to someone for 4 minutes and get them pregnant, I want you to marry my daughter? Because you are Leo, the all knowing?"

"That which I have given, I can take away you know." Raven said dryly.

"All right, All right. So tell me. What are we gonna do." Leo said, his hands on his hips.

Raven mulled this over. As much as he hated to admit it, Leo had done a good job getting the puppet. Presenting both the painting and the puppet to the Binars would only increase the odds of them being able to identify him.

It was only logical to have Leo tag along. ~ he thought with arched eyebrows.

"We both will go in. But nothing goofy. Don't insult anyone, and let me do the talking. Understand?"

'Right. I got it. You do the talking. OK, OK, OK. Lets roll." Leo said anxiously.

"One more thing.."

"OK, what's that?"

"I do enjoy entertainment and humor." Raven said in defense.

"Sure you do."

Raven sighed then the two entered engineering.

The hum of the ships warp core droned away as Commander Suder and various engineers tended to its needs. Lt. Odin looked up from his console where he was examining readouts.

"You guys need any help?"

"Hey, Pal. We're from security. We need to speak with the Beemers."

"The what?" Odin asked.

"Ignore him. We need to speak with the Binars if they are not currently occupied." Raven boomed.

"Those two are usually always doing something, but feel free to go on back." he said pointing to one of the computer labs in the rear of Main Engineering.

"What ever happened to I do the talking?" Raven asked as they walked.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, OK? But, your not quite a people person, ya know what I mean?"

The Indian watched Leo enter the Binars office. "I am too a people person." he grumbled as he entered.

Inside, the room was a virtual walk-in hard drive. Computer banks lined the walls. Lights were flashing and readouts were chirping on various screens. In the midst of all this were two chairs in front of a gigantic interface board.

Simultaneously the two chairs swiveled around to reveal two slender pale figures.

Their heads were large and bald. Their eyes were unusually large and glassed over, as if they were paying attention to something else while the two stood before them.

Then they spoke.

"How may we.." one said.

"Be of service..." the other said.

"To you?" They said in unison.

"OK...You may not be a people person, but they aint people. They're all yours, big guy." Leo said, patting the large mans arm as he promptly hid behind him and peeked around Raven's large bicep.

Darkstar just rolled his eyes.

(To be concluded!!)

Dynasty Divas

Lieutenant Jg Todd Sansky
Medical Doctor

NPC Nathan Carrington

The two walked into the mansion and were greeted by the Major Domo. ‘Mr Carrington, Mr Sansky welcome, Mr and Mrs Carrington will join you shortly if I could show you into the library.’ The grey haired butler went forth as the others followed. They were left in the bark room lined with books and decorated in wood paneling. There was a roaring wood fire in the center with a desk at one end. Todd circled the room stopping at the desk.

He picked up a photo frame with the picture of a blonde woman, he turned the picture to Nathan. ‘That’s Krystle Carrington, my great great great great grandmother or something like that,’ he laughed and shuck his head as the door opened. Two people walked in, one being the blonde lady dressed in a flowing gown stuffed at the shoulder making her look very powerful. The other was a grey haired older man dressed in a suit and tie.

‘Hi, its good to see you two boys again,’ the man said. ‘How long are you in town?’ Nathan stepped forward, ‘A few days Mr Carrington, we are in town on business and would like to enjoy the Denver scenery while we are here.’ ‘Ah I see, will you be staying in La Mirage, my daughter Fallon’s hotel?’ ‘Erm we haven’t made plans yet but that sounds good.’ Listening to this Krystle spoke in a soft and kind voice.

‘Blake why don’t they stay here, they are good friends after all and we have plenty of room here in the house.’ ‘Yes darling that’s a good idea.’

Nathan and Todd both smiled.

‘That would be good thank you.’

Further small talk was exchanged as Todd and Nathan were shown their room. Finally left alone they lay on the bed talking.

‘So Nathan what do we do here?’

‘Just observe and interact so we can learn about the family.’ Todd just stared at Nathan ‘Doesn’t sound very exciting, doesn’t the computer have any programs on this theme we can participate in?’ ‘I don’t know, lets find out. Computer arch.’ The arch appeared over the door to the room and Todd entered it.

‘Computer access list of programs that offer interaction in the story.’ The list began to be made.

‘Nathan you know everything before this point is that correct?’ ‘Yeah why?’

Just trust me, computer access program 252. We will continue from our current position.

The room changed in décor and outside turned to night.

‘Ok then darling lets try this one.’ Todd held out his hand and Nathan took it as they exited the room. They were wandering down the corridor when they heard a woman screaming. They ran towards the sound and came to the staircase to see Blake Carrington with his hands around a dark haired woman’s throat…

"The Captain and the Lady"

Lieutenant Adrian An'quinsos
Counselor
USS Galaxy
With
Captain Price
And
Daenara An'quinsos (NPC)

***The Captain's Office***

It had been fairly quiet since the away team had left for the Tamarian Ship.. It was a welcomed calm since the Borg incident. He was about to catch up on some delayed work, when he was interrupted by a young security officer entering the room with a bewildered expression written on his face.

"Uh... sir, you have a civilian to see you..." He trailed off.

"Well show 'em in mate." He said.

"Actually," Came the voice as it entered, a touched amused. "I'm a she."

The security officer left the room as a tall, beautiful woman entered his office and gave a semi-amused look accented with a raised brow. She was clothed in a silken gray frock with unusual characters decorating the surface. She looked to be in her forties, with long, dark-blonde hair, free flowing down her back and brilliant, azure blue eyes that seem to reflect the mysteries of the universe in them.

He rose from his seat, and greeted her in a gentleman-like fashion. "How may I be of service Mrs.?"

"An'quinsos, Daenara An'quinsos."

"Mrs. An'quinsos." She said. "I was speculating if you might be able to release some undisclosed information." Her voice was filled with a rich and cultured English accent, with minute Greek undertones. It sounded almost old in form. "It's nothing of consequence, and only pertains to the present... as it is."

"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure I follow ma'am." Price replied with slight bit of confusion.

"Has the Galaxy at anytime from Starbase 114 to its' present position come across any anomalies of temporal origin?"

"No ma'am, we've encountered nothing out of the ordinary." His raised his right brow in curiosity. "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing... of mortal affair right now."

"Has Q been here to see you?"

Her eyes narrowed at name. "No Captain, that hooligan upstart of the self-proclaimed 'Guardians of the Universe' has appeared... not recently anyway." She turned her attention to current affairs. "Has the Galaxy currently encountered anything out of the ordinary, that is that could be deemed classified?"

The Captain eyed her with suspicion, however he couldn't draw any probable conclusions. El-Aurians are a secretive lot. "We've encountered an old Tamarian vessel, a sleeper ship."

"Ah," She beamed a noticeable look of concern. "Is everything alright?"

"So far, everything is fine." The Captain replied. Then in a tone of concern he asked, "Is their something I need to know ma'am?"

"No Captain, nothing of consequence..." She trailed off. Her soft eyes conveyed more than what she was telling. "Captain, does you history speak of the world unseen? Of things that are too terrifying to speak about, that prey upon the living-" She stopped with a look of concern. "Never mind Captain Price. Thank you for your hospitality."

"I'm... glad I could be of service to you Mrs. An'quinsos?..." the Captain replied, not sure if he should be concerned that they hadn't encountered anything like she described, or more concerned that she was looking for such things.

"We shall meet again." She replied ominously, leaving behind her a trail of unanswered questions...

"I'm sure that we will ma'am." The Captain agreed. Then added, "Mrs. An'quinsos, may I be so bold as to ask why you are asking these question? What is it that is going on that would cause you to wonder about such things 'mate?"

The humanoid female turned around gracefully and approached the desk one once again, but this time sat down. Her mind was riddled with thoughts on the matter, which were masked perfectly by her outward manner. Still, it needed to come out. "I believe you are familiar with temporal echoes are you not?"

Curious, the Captain nodded. "I am familiar with the concept. Though I would hardly classify my knowledge as making me an expert on the topic ma'am." the Captain admitted.

"This that was experienced was an echo of the past. Extremely rare in form, they can be encountered through our connection to time itself. To a lesser degree, Betazoids and Vulcans can do this, but are not as skilled. We El-Aurians are time-sensitives, connected very intimately to the space/time continuum, sensing any disturbance therein. One such ability that assists is known as Clairvoyance. This can take the form of future and to lesser extent, the past, not far from our present time. My eldest son Kailen experience a an echo of this classification that was... millennia away from present."

"That is Fascinating." The Captain returned simply. "It certainly explains the rather unique questions you were asking. Perhaps if you were to elaborate on this... echo Kailen experienced, it may help to equate it with anything he ship has recently encountered that could possibly have triggered this experience?"

"This echo dealt with a legend in our history of the Time of Darkness." She shuddered at the mention of that event, and then continued. "My son saw a Shadow of Night, in the form of his dead sister in the room. I was drawn into the room as I was slept, and felt the temporal residue seething from the depths of his thoughts. He quite literally drifted from the here and now to the then and there." Her thoughts dwelt on the Captain. She was wondering if he might believe her, or thought she were a raving lunatic. "I asked these questions because I believed there might be some connection."

"I suppose it is possible Mrs. An'quinsos..." Captain Price theorized. "Species of all kinds have been known to experience feelings of premonition, or simple Deja'Vu. Are you certain this... echo' wasn't anything as simple as that? Perhaps this area of space reminded Kailen on some subconscious level of something that lead to his experiencing this echo that you speak of?"

The elder humanoid's face became totally emotionless, even more so than it usually is. Not that she was angry at the statement the Captain gave, but rather, searching her mind for an answer to best suit his inquiry. However she knew in the back of her mind what the answer was, and gave it a passive shudder. The disturbance was too strong.

"Perhaps Captain, perhaps." She arose from her chair. 'Humans!' She declared to herself. "If you'll excuse me, I have an appointment to keep and I don't wish to be late. It was a pleasure meeting you Captain." She replied with a warm grin.

Captain Price smiled at the woman. "No worries Mrs. An'quinsos. Thank you for stopping by." Lee watched as Adrian's relative left his office. He was glad Adrian was a counselor, because at this point, he figured Mrs. An'quinsos could use one. **Nuttier then a blooming fruit cake** Lee thought to himself as she left the ready room. The General then went back about his work.

Shoulder Pads And Fiery Fights

Lieutenant Jg Todd Sansky
Medical Doctor (Stud in a suit)

NPC Nathan Carrington (Stud out of a suit)

‘I will kill you Alexis.’

‘Blake get off me, help help help!!!!!!!!!!!’ ‘Blake please stop it your going to kill her.’ Krystle screamed as Blake tried to murder his ex wife. Todd quickly intervened and pulled Blake Carrington off Alexis, much to his dismay she launched herself at the older man scratching and slapping him. He moved out of the way as his wife moved in.

‘Alexis, consider this a house warming present.’ She came closer and punched Alexis square in the jaw, turned and elegantly moved down the stairs with Blake on her arm. Alexis and her mysterious guest stood on the balcony laughing as the former owners walked out the front door. Todd and Nathan ignored the two and followed the others helping the butler with there baggage. They joined the two in a large black car known as a limousine.

‘I’m sorry for that display out there fellas I’m afraid my ex wife has finally crossed the line, and I will make her pay.’ ‘Blake don’t worry we will get along.’ Krystle held her baby that one of the servants had gotten for her as the car sped off to La Mirage. The journey was relatively short but as they arrived they could tell something was wrong. Blake was the first to leap out the car followed by Todd and Nathan as they saw the flames flickering from the hotel. All three of them stood aghast. Blake ran over to the building stopped quickly by a fireman.

Nathan closed the door to the car and ordered the chauffer to drive Mrs Carrington to other accommodation. He soon realized that Todd had disappeared. He ran after him managing to bypass the officials. A distraught black woman dressed in gold stopped him.

‘Please help me, my daughter is in there, Jackie, Jackie where are you.

Please help me find my daughter.’ The woman shuck her head and burst into tears. Nathan tried to comfort her when he saw out of the corner of his eye a man making a dive at Blake. He left the woman and pulled the grieved man from Mr Carrington.

‘Carrington, you killed my wife you bastard.’ The man was soon restrained and arrested but Blake just lay on the ground. ‘My family are in there, I have to get my family out.’ ‘Blake!’ The irate black woman ran over nearly falling over her gold gown and hugged Blake.

‘Dominique, are you alright, where is Jackie?’ She just burst into tears again. Nathan was in awe of the whole situation and had forgotten about Todd, he soon realized his man was gone and turned round towards the crowd looking for him. His heart sank as he saw a burnt man coming out of the main door to the hotel. He ran over to try to help him slowly noticing that he already had help, a cute young Doctor he knew carried a young girl in his arms and helped the burnt man out. The fire had destroyed Todd’s clothing more or less, of course the fire did nothing to his skin as the safety protocols were on. Todd helped the wounded to the ambulance as Todd tried in vain to save the man, another paramedic saw to the girl as her mother and Blake ran to her side. Nathan walked over to see Todd crying by the side of the man. He put his arm around him, he didn’t understand why this was bothering him so much, and after all it was just a program.

‘Hey babe what’s the matter?’

‘Nothing ya fool, I’m just getting into character.’ They both laughed.

‘Can’t we move on a little bit this is a depressing subject honey?’ ‘Oh you want a laugh do you?’

‘Yes exactly.’

‘Ok, computer new story, 1981 Carrington Mansion, the marriage of Blake and Krystle. Todd will play the vicar I will play a guest, same clothing.’ ‘Hey you what.’ Todd looked puzzled as the setting changed and he found himself standing in front of a roomful of people in only his boxers with a dog collar round his neck His faced changed to a bright red as all the people stared at him and laughed. Including the bride and groom. Nathan stood at the back of the room laughing in hysterics. Todd quickly called the computer to end the program.

They both stood there in the original clothing they entered in.

‘Right you I’m gonna get you back for that.’ He walked over to Nathan and kissed him.

‘Look we only have enough time to try one more of these programs to lets get on with it, and it will have to be short. Nathan smiled, I have a finale you wont want to miss sexy…

Lieutenant Commander Ethan Suder
Chief Engineer

Lieutenant Kahn Nilani
Engineer

"Conflicting Issues"

Ethan entered Holodeck Two where he had asked Nilani to meet him. He had received a message from Captain Price earlier cocnerning her current work issues among others. Ethan wanted to help her and give her better jobs. He knew she was capable of more than what she was doing. There was one main issue holding her back.

The doors closed behind Ethan and he took a deep breath as he saw her stood in the middle of the holodeck, arms crossed and looking frustrated, to say the least. Ethan knew what it was like to feel like that. He'd done a lot fobrooking in his time, kind of his reputation here on the Galaxy, but Nilani was worse than that. "Computer, activate program Suder, Training Alpha" he said quietly.

The room became darker than what it was. Candles scattered on the floor and walls gave minimal lighting in the room. There was a small table on the side of the room.

"So you called for me?" Nilani almost snapped.

Ethan gave a nod and strolled over to the table and removed his rank pips and communicator and placed them on the table. "I did." he confirmed. "We need to talk about you." he said, his tone a little annoyed. But he wasn't annoyed, just wanted to fuel her fire.

"About me?" she asked with a raised eye brow.

"That's right. We've got to have this out, now!" he almost snapped. Again, still not annoyed, just getting on her nerves no doubt. He strolled over to her and looked down into her eyes.

Nilani looked over the setting and sighed 'Light blasted fool.... what does he think i am!' she thought to her self and moved over to the table.

"So...." she looked around "lets cut to the chase.... this is all bullshit, you know it, I know it and I seem to be stuck in the same damned if I do or damned if I don't position! And don't bloody deny it, because all you men and people who are in charge think that every one is out to take your job.... I know.... I had to handle klingons trying to take my job for years!"

Ethan's right arm suddenly extended catching her nose. It wasn't a hard punch, more of a boxing jab. But it was enough, and it caught her off guard. "This isn't a Klingon ship. There are no Klingons killing their senior officers to take their jobs. There is no one trying to get your job, and it's good to have ambition to move on up!"

Nilani looked to Ethan, her temper was now at flash point! All that was going through her mind was how dare this asshole of a man tell her what is good for her. She had survived many things and the last thing she needed was some snot nose jocky telling her how to behave.

She felt his arm take her's as she unconsiously stood up, retreating from the situation before something happened. As soon as she felt his hand touch her arm, Nilani spun around and using the element of surprise took the Lt. Commanders arm, spun it and brought her knee up shattering the upper arm only meer inches from the elbow joint.

Ethan felt a sharp pain shift through his arm and the cracking noise didn't help. Still, he'd had worse and had to get his point out. He clentched his teeth as he moved forward. Turning his body to left, he gave the impression he was going to hit her with his left arm but caught her off guard again when he kicked her with his right foot. He kicked her ribs quite hard, hard enough to knock her down anyway. He wasn't out to break bones, just to get it into her head what her problem was.

Nilani watched as the Commander seemed to ignore the injury and the next thing Nilani knew she was on the ground. She cursed herself for letting her guard down, she kicked Ethan off of her and rolled backward moving straight into an attacking move.

She side kicked and then moved in to punch the commander, she felt her wrist being snapped as it was caught and spun. With reflex and a great deal amount of pain she elbowed the Commander in the cheast, she fell to her knees and called time out.

Ethan was surpised. He thought it would have taken more than this. "Yeah." he said simply. "Good idea."

Nilani took a look at her limp wrist and started to laugh, her wrist, oddly coloured and ugly hurt like hell. "Alright Commander, point taken.... But I still have problems with men... you just earnt my respect!" she started to laugh again and winced as her wrist moved.

Ethan slowly walked over to where Nilani was, looking at her wrist, and carefully fell next to her and took a deep breath. He put a hand to his ribs and it felt like something was wrong. Nothing major, but if felt like a cracked rib. Not to mention his arm that was broken. Twice in two months. Not bad going for a senior officer.

"No one's after your job." he explained. "I'll admit, some of the poeple on the Galaxy are not the most friendly people in the world, and it's ok not to like or trust them. But a lot of people on the ship are not just people, their your co-workers. And if you can't get along with them, that doesn't leave many jobs for you to do." Ethan said taking a pause to get his breath again and thinking that she may have just puntured a lung, not only cracked a rib.

"I've been watching your progress. I want you on higher jobs, doing more stuff, working to your full potential." he said. "I'm opening a division in Engineering, Special Projects." Ethan stated with a smile. "I want you to run it. It's going to be slightly longer hours, a lot of work, paper work too. You'll report to me, and work with the others in Engineering."

"On one condition. You try and get along with others. I'm going to help you. If anyone gives you hassle in any way, I want to know about it. I know you can stand your own ground, but sometimes, it's worth people hearing things from a superior and senior officer." Ethan said with a smile. "Are you up to the challenge?"

Nilani looked and smiled "I cant make promisses, but I will try"

"That's all I ask. Now," he said, "let's make a short visit to Sickbay" With that, Ethan and Nilani both went off to heal their injuries.

Lt Cmdr Navarre Shinta
Lt Cmdr Eric Odin

Eric walked over to Shinta's with Ryan since he was the only parent onboard.

He was kind of in a bad place because of the loss of Sam and Fox. Mainly Fox since they had become close. It was obvious he hadn't lsept well the past few nights and it probably wasn't becuase of jusr Ryan. He pushed to button and held Ryan as he was sleeping in his arms. He hoped she didn't mind him dropping by.

"Eric, come in!" Shinta knew that he and Fox had become closer. She was grieving for her two new friends too. But for Eric it probably was a little bit worse. "are you here to talk to me professionally?" She said gently.

"In a way yes and n a way no Shinta. Is there any chance you can do alittle of both?"He asked as he entered holding Ryan and not smiling. He had had it rough lately. He walked over and sat and looked to Shinta and said,"I suppose you know why I came here?"

"Yes I know. They were friends of mine too. Do you want to talk about that? You and Fox?" She handed him something to drink. "If you want I can put Ryan in the nursery while we talk."

He gently handed ryan rto her as he took the drink and said,"Thank you. I would like ot talk about it." He waited until she had come back and said,"Basicly Fox and I had become close friends before she left and I actually saw her the day she left. It's just been veyr very strange and horrable. I think she and i could of really been good freinds."

"You mean more than good friends, don't you?" She asked. She waited how he would proceed with that.

"Yes, I suppose I think we could of been more than good friends. I would of crossed that bridge when I came to it, but now that bridge is non-existant. As it was she was a good friend though and those are hard to come by,"He said with a smile indicating he considered Shinta a good friend.

She smiled in return, grateful for the compliment. "Does that make you sad? You have been very unlucky with women lately." She was talking like a councilor now.

"It does and be;lieve me more sad that I lost such a great friend. I am sure that should I be intended to have women in my life long-term then it will happen,"he said wit ha smile. He was being honest too.

"I am glad to hear it, Eric." She saw that there was a lot of grief under those words too. And she decided to keep a close eye on him for the time being. For now they chatted some more about their babies, and just made small talk.

NRPG: Takes place just before the Away Team departs.

"A New Chapter"

Lt. Commander Eric Odin
Engineering Officer

Commander Karyn Dallas RN
Chief Counselor/Second Officer
USS Galaxy

Eric sat in Ten-Forward thinking about his recent trip to Bajor to see Michala and now his son. He was glad he could be there for his son's birth, and was now starting to think about what he needed to do before he brought him home. He stared out to space with his hand on his coffee, not quite focused on the people around him.

Karyn entered Ten-Forward, just stopping by Ten-Forward to grab a raktajino. Her replicator was still a bit on the fritz, but she had to admit she used the time to think and put things into perspective. Frankly, her mind was still whirling from her promotion to Second Officer, but the only time she allowed herself to think about it was between appointments.

Seeing Eric out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Eric looking as distracted as she felt. She had heard that he went to see Michala on shoreleave, and so she doubted it was more than his promotion that was on his mind. Taking her raktajino from the replicator, she decided to see how he was coping. "Mind if I join you, 'commander?" She smiled.

Eric smiled and said,"Please do Counselor." He pulled out a chair and gestured towards it with a smile.

Sliding into the spot where Eric had removed the chair moments earlier, Karyn said, "I hear you went to Bajor to see Michala. How is she doing?"

"She seems to be doing great. We're really good friends now. I am sure you have heard I'm probably the only single father on the Galaxy. I thought it would be too much at first, but I adjusted and Ryan, that's his name, has been wonderful. You should come and see him sometime." he said.

Karyn felt a bit embarrassed. With all the chaos surrounding the last mission followed by the eight weeks at the starbase for repairs, she had lost track of time. "I can't believe Michala gave birth already. Is it me or are pregnancies getting shorter and shorter?" Karyn shook her head. Knowing Michala, she probably hadn't passed the news to Shinta, and even so, the Galaxy hadn't been the easiest ship to get a hold of. "So you were able to be there for the birth?"

"Yes, actually I got there the day of the birth so it was really something for me. It seemed to take forever, but Michala made it and so did Ryan. He's really great. You should come by and see him, if you'd like. I swear I feel like I am in the minority around here, the single-father bit." He said with a smile.

"That's wonderful, Eric. I'll definitely have to stop by and see your new son. You're right, you are in the minority on the Galaxy, there aren't many single parents. We do have some great parenting groups where mothers and fathers discuss raising kids aboard the Galaxy, so maybe it would be good for you to meet some of them just to get a support network set up. I can't believe he's here on the Galaxy! How in the world did that news slip past me?"

Inwardly, Karyn assumed that Eric must have taken great pains to bring Ryan home without too much fanfare. Of course, she was so busy counseling people in the Borg aftermath that Klingons could have stormed the bridge and she wouldn't have noticed. Could she really blame him for wanting to keep things quiet for awhile while he adjusted? Of course not. The poor baby had been through enough already. Besides, she couldn't be the decision maker, she helped people cope with the results of those decisions. She was worried about all three involved, but she needed to give them time.

"Well, I've just been trying to get him used to not seeing his mommy all the time. He's adjusting well and I really love him. It's going to be difficult, but I am up for the challenge. I have really met some good friends who I hope can help me a little as well," he said with a smile, always trying to be optimistic even if things were going to be hard.

"That's great, though you would tell me if you were having problems, right? I mean, you wouldn't try to show a positive front just not to rock the boat? I can't imagine you're getting a lot of sleep right now. I know the O'Grady's are dealing with that and more, and there are two of them." She got the impression that because of the circumstances surrounding his son's birth and because he took a lot of heat from that very sticky situation, he would be more likely to avoid mentioning any problems. She wanted him to know he didn't have to do that. It wasn't the best thing for him or Ryan.

"Oh, believe me, he's kept me up and everything, but I can deal with that. It's hard at the moment, but I know I'll just have to adjust. Believe me Karyn, the past lives of my symbiont have given me pointers and what's going on so I am at least consoled that some things are normal and what not to do. That's one huge benefit in my opinion." he said with a smile.

"You're a walking parenting encyclopedia," she smiled, "I suppose all of us should be so lucky. Well, you know where to find me if I can help you with anything, so just ask."

"Thank you, that is appreciated greatly," he said with a smile.

"How are things between you and Rose, Eric? I know she's told you about what happened with Victor, and I've gotten the impression you relationship has gone through some changes lately." She couldn't reveal what Rose had said about Eric in their sessions, but she knew at the very least they were friends and she wanted to get the other perspective. They both had been through a lot lately and she wanted to get an idea of what was happening between them.

"We've broken up and are friends. I believe that it will take her a little bit of time to fully forgive me for breaking up with her. I really think we'll be okay though. Thanks for asking." he said with a smile.

Karyn returned the smile. "Honestly, I was a bit surprised both of you would jump into a new relationship so quickly. You've both got a lot going on in your lives right now anyway, so having one another as a friend is probably a really good idea. I have to say I'm pretty protective of Rose, but she's grown a lot stronger over time. Still, emotions can be volatile things and it's hard for me to see anyone get hurt." She knew Rose put her heart and soul into romantic attachments because a big part of her saw them as the be all and end all in life. Rose expected any man she loved to feel just as deeply commited to her as she thought she was to him. There was no such thing as a casual relationship, inevitably feelings always entered the picture and both parties had to be prepared for the effects of those feelings.

"I learned that and I just figured it would be best for both of us. She is an extremely emotinal person and I just want to be there for her as a friend. I really hope our friendship works out," he said with a smile.

Karyn's combadge beeped before she could reply and she smiled apologetically. "Dallas here."

She was greeted by an eager Captain Price. ["Karyn, Commander Thomas is almost ready to beam aboard the sleeper ship with his Away Team, 'mate. Feel like keeping me company?"] She could clearly tell the captain was excited about discovering such a unique historical treasure, his spirits still high after his visit with the schoolchildren that she'd arranged. It was good to hear the warmth in his voice once again after such a straining mission.

Karyn laughed and met the sparkling eyes of Odin as she replied. "Absolutely, sir, I'm on my way." She was excited. This would be her first stint on the bridge as acting XO in Commander Thomas' absence and her first true test as the ship's second officer. "Excuse me, 'commander, but duty calls." She wondered if he detected her nervousness.

He smiled and said,"Congratulations on Second officer and I'm sure you'll do wonderfully. Just relax and be yourself," he said, noting her nervousness. He smiled encouragingly as she headed out.

"Taxi of blood and lust"
by Lt Cmdr Eric Odin
and Captain Price

Eric was ordered to take the shuttle over to the Tamarian vessel and in a sense he was thrilled, because of how ancient that thing was. He couldn't believe it was still functioning. Eric got clearance and pulled out. He found the docking port and set it right in there. He opened the back of the shuttle looking for the guests he would be taking over. "I'm the shuttle pilot for our guests," He said with a smile.

Lieutenant MacAllen didn't look particularly thrilled at seeing the Engineer. "I was wondering how long it would take before you'd get here." She said while opening the large, pressure door and swinging it out of Odin's way.

The Commander didn't think much of it, smiling and replying, "Well, good afternoon to you too Lieutenant."

Rose shook her head. "Sorry. It's just this place gives me the creeps."

Eric nodded, looking past Rose as he spoke. He could see Lieutenant' Trabuco standing there looking dumbly at something out of the engineer's field of view. "I guess that's understandable. An old ship like this is bound to be a little creepy I suppose." Eric smiled. "So, where are my passengers? Will you and Trabuco be going as well?"

Rose looked back at the puppy-dog eyed security officer. "I wish. Commander Thomas has a few more things to button down here first and then, hopefully we will all get to beam back to the ship."

"Yeah, I was surprised when I got the order to come over here with a shuttle. Why didn't you just beam over whomever you found?" Eric asked.

"Supposedly it's not safe for these people." Rose stated in an uncertain tone. She and Odin were both looking back towards Gary now.

"What's up with him? You'd think he just won at dabo or something..." Eric asked.

Rose rolled her eyes. "He's been acting weird since we found the survivors. I can't imagine why." Rose stated while looking into the Tamarian ship at Lord Vlad and Lady Lilith who were making small talk with Lieutenant Trabuco. Each were outfitted in their ancient space suits, but the way Gary was looking at Lilith, Rose would have thought she was standing there naked or something.

"Well, we should get to it then." Eric stated rubbing his hands together in preparation.

Stepping back, Rose called out. "The shuttle is ready to take you to our ship now."

Eric watched through the hatch as Rose moved out of the way and a distinguished man stepped over. He was clean-shaven and had long, black hair, but mostly, Eric noticed his piercing eyes and the way they commanded attention when they looked at him.

"Ah, you must be our transport to this starship ve have been hearing so much about."

Eric nodded. "That's right. If you'll step into the shuttle, we can get going."

"But of course." Vlad smiled. Stepping into the shuttle, Vlad paused long enough to remove his glove and offer his hand towards Odin. "I am Lord Vlad."

Eric shook the man's hand. He couldn't help but notice the strength and power of Vlad's hand shake, not quite what he was expecting from a man that had fingernails painted black, and longer then most womens that he knew. "Pleased to meet you Lord Vlad. I am Lieutenant Commander Eric Odin."

Vlad smiled and then easily stepped aside while still shaking the engineers hand. As he did, Eric's eye caught an image of the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. She was tall, with a slender yet curvaceous build. Which was well shown off in the slinky, tight red dress that she was wearing. Her hair flowed in a mane of raven darkness. Her skin was pale and smooth, seemingly beckoning to be touched.

"Allow me to introduce Lady Lilith..."

"I... I... am... glad to meet you miss Lilith." Eric sounded in a daze while trying not to let his jaw drop too much.

"It is I who am glad to meet you darrrrling." Lilith smiled wantonly. "Commander,... Odin is it?"

"Eric." The Commander stated quickly, "You can call me Eric."

Taking a few hip-swaying steps forward, Lady Lilith paused and placed a hand on Odin's cheek. "Eric. What a perfectly deee-licious name."

She then made her way past the engineer and walked over to one of the passenger seats on the shuttle and sat down. Eric had watched her the entire time. He had never seen a woman that was so charged with sexual energy as this creature. Her every move, her slightest touch, it all brought Eric's passion to a boil. He was finding it hard to concentrate on what he was there to do.

Vlad laughed slightly. "Lady Lilith is quite the sight Commander. But come, ve should get going." The hansom man then walked over and took a seat as well.

Glancing back, Eric called out, "Sure you two aren't coming along?"

Rose shook her head. "No Commander Thomas gave us our orders."

Even as MacAllen was answering, Gary had already begun walking towards the shuttle in defiance, His eyes never leaving the voluptuous Lady Lilith. This startled Rose. Putting a hand on his chest she asked, "What do you think you are doing Trabuco?"

Gary still seemed in a daze. He'd been that way since the strangers had been discovered just a few minutes earlier. If Rose didn't know better, she'd swear Trabuco was stoned. "I'm escorting our guests like I was told."

Rose was a little angry now. It was bad enough she was in this unholy place that smelled like a pit of rotting flesh, but now she was having to baby sit a security officer that was acting like a love struck kid. "No. Commander Thomas said to get them on the shuttle. We've done that. Now we need to report back to the beam out point..." Rose stated, growing more frustrated, "Trabuco?! TRABUCO!?" she practically yelled.

Finally Gary broke his attention off of the beautiful woman and looked at MacAllen. "I'm... sorry. You are right Lieutenant."

"When we get back, you are going straight to sickbay. You understand Lieutenant?" Rose stated. Then, deciding that was enough, she motioned towards to ship and let Gary step off. Turning back, she looked at Eric one last time. "Have a safe trip back."

"I will." Eric smiled. He then helped Rose secure the Tamarian vessel's hatch, closing the pressurized door.

Turning around, Eric paused slightly as he glanced at the sedative creature that was sitting a few feet away. It was all he could do not to stare outright like Gary was doing. At least now he knew what Trabuco was gawking at.

"Well, we should get the show on the road then." Eric smiled. He then walked to the front of the shuttle, passing Lady Lilith who seemed to parse her lips and lick them slightly as her eyes followed his every move. Getting to the pilots seat, Odin punched in the required commands to undock from the Tamarian vessel and slowly head towards the USS Galaxy which was just a few hundred kilometers away. Activating the autopilot, Eric couldn't resist the temptation to visit with the new strangers.

"So, we should be back to the ship in just a few minutes." Odin stated swiveling around in his chair.

Looking past the engineer and out the forward portals of the shuttle, Lord Vlad could see the USS Galaxy in the distance. "I take it that is the vessel you are referring to. This 'starship' Commander Thomas spoke of?"

Eric glanced back quickly and then nodded. "The Galaxy? Yes. She's a real beauty all right. She's one of the finest ships in the fleet. There are a few newer vessels then the Galaxy, but none bigger."

"Yes, she does look quite impressive. Tell me Commander, how many people does it take to operate such a ship?" Vlad asked.

Eric smiled at Lady Lilith whom he had now determined was most definitely flirting with him. He looked at this as an opportunity to show off a bit of his knowledge. He realized that these people had just come from a sleeper vessel that was over 300 years old. So most likely, they had no idea of recent technologies or had ever seen a ship the size of the Galaxy before. "The Galaxy holds over one thousand men, women and children Lord Vlad. She is really something to behold. I'm proud to be part of her crew and allowed to work on her systems as an engineer."

Vlad looked over at Lady Lilith upon hearing this. They each seemed pleased at this news.

"A thousand people?" Lady Lilith declared, "Why that is simply delightful. You certainly must be proud of this technology your people poses Eric."

Eric nodded. "Ya. It's pretty cool all right."

Sitting back in his passenger chair, Lord Vlad removed his other glove and placed them both in his lap. For a moment he regarded Eric, and then Lady Lilith before speaking.

"My dear Lady Lilith. I do believe ve should thank Commander Odin properly for coming to our rescue."

Looking over to Vlad, the woman gave a nod. "I couldn't agree more..."

Eric watched as she stood from her chair and began to sway seductively, while using her nimble hands to carefully pull up her slinky red dress. Her legs were long and lean as she stepped over and approached Eric's seat. Eric couldn't believe this was happening. His eyes raced up and down the woman's body and finally locked on her eyes, which stared back eagerly.

"What are you doing?..." Eric asked in a near whisper.

Lady Lilith stepped over and straddled Commander Odin, sitting in his lap facing him. "It is okay. You like me yes?"

Eric couldn't hide his smile. "Yes, I think you are beautiful."

"Then it's okay Eric. Kiss me." She said while licking her lips and bending forward.

Their lips met in a rush of excitement. They were so warm, so soft. Eric felt as if he were a starved man tasting the sweetness of a woman's kiss for the very first time. He could feel Lilith rocking forward and back slowly on his lap. It was driving him crazy feeling the flitter of her soft, wet tong and at the same time the teasing grind in his neither region.

Their hands began to discover each other's bodies. Eric felt her long thin fingers massaging his chest and back to which he was happy to reciprocate running his palms over some of the most sensual curves he could ever remember.

Eric wasn't sure who started it or why, but the next thing he remembered was the pace picking up, and the rip of clothing. Soon his uniform was in shreds and he'd managed to pull that red silk dress completely off the gorgeous Lady Lilith. Eric was cupping one of the most perfectly round breasts in his hand when Lilith leaned forward and whispered seductively into his ear, "I want you inside me Eric."

It took no effort to adjust his thrust and feel heavens spenders. Lady Lilith arched her back in a gasp as he entered. Their thrusts increasing in tempo as she nearly touched her head to the flight control panel behind them.

"Oh yes! Yes Eric, Yes!" she declared in joy.

Eric increased his tempo. He was proud of himself. Earlier he had been so excited at seeing the wonderful creature that he half expected not to last more then a few seconds, but things were perfect right now. Lilith's body felt wonderful and he was finding it easy to maintain control with every thrust; Though her screams of passion were beginning to wear on him and he could feel his intensity building.

"Yes! Yes! Oh my Yes!" Lilith declared. Pulling herself up again, she held onto Eric's head and neck, semi smothering his face into her ample breasts which were now covered in a thin film of sweet sweat just like Eric was. Slowly she began kissing him. On the forehead first, and then on the cheeks, down his jawline, and finally to his neck.

Eric shuddered at the softness and intensity of the Lady's kisses. He couldn't remember any experience he had ever had with a woman being like this one. It was like they were taking their love making to an entirely new level. He knew he was going to explode at any moment. His passion had built up quickly and was now nearing release.

Lilith licked a trail with the edge of her tong down the side of Eric's face. Past his ear and down to his collar bone. She then leaned back and smiled at him one last time. Her long white fangs glistening in the light a moment before she lunged and took her first bite of his neck.

Eric tensed with extreme pleasure the likes of which he had never felt before. His entire body felt the ecstasy of release as Lady Lilith bit his neck and began suckling off his vital life fluid. With more passion and intensity, the woman drank Eric's blood. Every swallow sent ripples of pleasure down his spine. He never wanted it to end; it felt so good.

After a few passionate moments, Lilith pulled back. Her mouth and face was covered in blood that glistened red. Several beads of the life fluid dribbled down her chin and onto her bountiful breasts as she smiled exposing her long fangs in a satisfied laugh.

Looking away, Lilith called out, "Come my Lord. You have yet to replenish yourself after the long fasting. Come, drink of this animal's blood, taste the warm splendors of his life force. Replenish yourself so that you may be strong."

Lord Vlad rose and stepped over to where Lilith was straddling the naked Odin. In all the excitement, Eric had forgotten that Vlad was even there. He didn't care. His body was still twitching from the jolts of shear pleasure that radiated through him at the Lady's touch.

Vlad paused and moved Lilith's head upwards to meet his. They kissed forcefully. Their faces pressed together in a wild display of passion. When Vlad pulled back, he turned and looked at Eric. The Lord's fangs where long and sharp as he lunged and began to feed.

Eric gave a gasp. Within moments everything went dark.

***

The USS Yosemite touched down on the hanger deck of the USS Galaxy without a hitch. It was to be expected. This was simply a ferrying mission between ships. Odin found it so routine that he let the autopilot and the Galaxy's tractor beams guide the shuttle in for a perfect landing.

Lieutenant Commander Savat waited patiently as the shuttle bay repressurized. The entire procedure took two minutes to complete, so when the status light turned green, the Vulcan fully expected Lieutenant Commander Odin to react how 86 percent of all humans do, and open the shuttle doors as soon as they could. Savat found that most humans had an impatience when it came to leaving confined spaces like a shuttle craft. However Savat raised a curious eyebrow when Mister Odin did not meet his predictions.

Not one to linger, Savat decided that he would instead meet the Galaxy's newest guests out on the shuttle bay floor. Entering the hangar, the Chief Operations Officer began walking towards the USS Yosemite.

When he neared, Savat was surprised that Lieutenant Commander Odin had still not opened the shuttle's doors. His curiosity beyond simply statistical behavior of humans, the Vulcan chose to use the over ride and activated the doors himself.

The shuttle's door opened slowly.

"Commander Odin are you all right?" Savat asked.

Inside the shuttle Savat could see two passengers, a man and a woman, sitting in their assigned seats. At the pilot's controls, Lieutenant Commander Odin sat and seemed to be unresponsive.

Reaching for his phaser, Savat rested a hand on it while taking a step closer and calling again, "Mister Odin, please respond."

"I'm fine Savat." Eric called back in a happy-go-lucky tone. "Couldn't be better in fact." He smiled.

"I was... concerned when you failed to depart the shuttle in a timely fashion. Is everything, alright Commander?"

"Everything is wonderful Savat. Simply wonderful." Eric smiled while sitting in the pilot's seat and gazing out the shuttles forward portals.

"I am pleased to hear that." Savat replied with a hint of doubt. Looking at the two passengers, the Vulcan knew what his assignment was. He didn't wait for Odin to finish the post flight checkout of the shuttle.

"I am Lieutenant Commander Savat. Chief Operations Manager onboard this vessel. If you two will accompany me, I will show you to your guest quarters where you can freshen up and change your clothes." Savat said noting the aliens old style space suits they each wore. "Later the Captain would like to meet you and get a full briefing on your trip."

"That would be most splendid Commander." Vlad stated standing from his chair. "I am Lord Vlad and this is Lady Lilith."

"How do you do Commander." Lilith stated with a somber nod. "You are a Vulcan is that not correct?"

Savat nodded. He found it curious how aroused he felt near this woman who was obviously a highly logical, intellectual person. Fortunately, the Vulcan was able to conceal his primal feelings deep inside. "That is correct madam."

"How simply delicious." Lilith smiled like Mona Lisa as her eyes momentarily flickered to Lord Vlad.

"If you will follow me, I shall take you to your quarters." Savat stated, motioning towards the hangar exit.

"But of course Commander." Vlad stated, "Come Lady Lilith, this way."

The Vulcan watched as the two exited the shuttle. Before leaving, Savat glanced over at Odin who still hadn't moved and was just sitting there, quietly at the pilot's seat in his uniform. He didn't appear to be performing the post-flight check out as would be expected.

"Are you certain you are all right Commander?" Savat asked.

"Yes Mister Savat. I am wonderful." Eric stated in a blissful tone.

The Vulcan regarded the engineer for a moment longer, but knew he had to escort the guests to their quarters. Making a mental footnote to check on Odin later, Mister Savat turned and began escorting the visitors to their assigned quarters.

"Getting Away"
by Commander Thomas - First Officer
USS Galaxy

Nervously, Chris started moving away from Lady Lilith while answering, "Yea, he's Australian. If you will excuse me, I need to check on Lieutenant Commander T'Zaq and Petty Officer Lomax..."

Both Lord Vlad and Lady Lilith watched as the Commander exited the sleeping chamber in a slight haste. As he left Lord Vlad called out, "Thank you for your hospitality Commander. You have been most generous to my people. Your assistance is deeply appreciated." The handsome, pale skinned man stated with a slight bow.

Commander Thomas left the room quickly and made his way back to their beam in point. His heart was racing and his mind was on fire from the experience in the room with the presence of Lady Lilith. He couldn't explain the expereince to anyone, not yet only he did know it was almost magical. Chris continued to walk away from the room and farther he get away the more his self-control returned.

He'd never felt such a, a, a basic hormonal instict to mate with another female as that and it scared him. No it didn't scare him it made him keenly aware that of something that might not be what it appeared to be after all. He believed this because of the information Rose MacAllen was telling him, from her empathic senses.

Chris found himself back at the point where they arrived finally. Now his mind was thinking more and more about what happened and the possible security risk they all faced. The thought's that had raced through his mind, made him excited and scared.

"Commander Thomas to 'Commander Elaithin Jii." Chris said tapping his combage.

=/\= Go ahead commander. =/\=

"We're going to be bringing guest over to the ship, I want a security detail to keep an eye on them." Commander Thomas said. "I also want level 4 biohazard security measures in effect for anyone's arrival from the ship."

=/\= Aye Commander, I will get to it right away sir. =/\=

"They'll becoming over by shuttle, make sure to take them directly to sickbay." Chris said. "I will also order all away team members to go to sickbay as well."

=/\= Understood. =/\=

Chris's mind was still struggling to comperhend what everything meant, but he wasn't convinced about a few things. Which made him cautions and warranted him to take precautions for the ship's safety.

"Commander Thomas to 'Commander Andree Dothan." Chris said after speaking with the chief security officer.

=/\= Dothan here, go ahead commander. =/\=

"I am ordering a biohazard level 4 containment and treatment for all personnel and guest coming from the Tarmarian vessel." Chris said.

=/\= Any particular reason, sir?" =/\=

"Call it a very concerned commander, who's taking precautions." Chris said. "I can't be specfic, other then I am very concerned about the people we've found here being a potential risk to the ship."

=/\= Aye sir. =/\=

"They also said their four friends in sleeper chambers are sick." Chris said.

=/\= Yes sir, that's a more fessible reason to put those precautions in place. =/\=

"Thomas out." Chris said.

With making those arrangements, Chris now turned his attention to visiting the engine room of the ship to see what had been learned down there.