“An Unfortunate Assignment.”

by
Ramir Omar

The NPC: The Cadet Michael Nicholas-Henderson.

Michael Nicholas-Henderson was playing with the computer at chess for the tenth time when the shuttlecraft fell out of warp velocity and then all of the lights deactivated. He stumbled into the darkness for several seconds. It was then that the lighting was restored to the shuttlecraft.

[Backpost]

"Left Behind"

Principal Characters:

Lt. JG Victor Kriegoff
Lt. Ella Grey

****

USS Galaxy
Deck 7
Victor Krieghoff's Quarters

~~I hate when people don't listen to me.~~ Ella said as soon as Victor's doors opened. She let herself in and backpedaled so he could read her hands. ~~The universe would be a whole lot smoother if they just did what I told them to.~~

Victor shook his head. "It doesn't work that way, Grey. Not for you, not for anyone."

Ella sat down on the couch and gave him an annoyed look. ~~I always get what I want. Haven't you been paying attention?~~ She waved a hand. ~~Not that I don't like M'Kantu. He's more pleasant than Brhode but he seems as unmovable. There must be something...~~ She trailed off thinking.

"Grey, what are you talking about?" Victor looked at her blankly. "You spoke to the Captain? What about?"

~~Why, about you, of course. Don't look so irritated, Tiger. I *told* you I would.~~ Ella admonished and then tapped her lips with her fingers. ~~Everyone has a weakness. M'Kantu's no different.~~

"Even you?" Victor asked quietly.

Ella's eyes sparkled. ~~My weakness? My fondness for the opposite sex, wouldn't you say?"

"No."

~~It could be the company of a certain stubborn security officer.~~ Ella shrugged.

"I'd say that yours was that you refuse to trust anyone - even yourself- inside the walls you threw up to keep people out," Victor told her calmly as he moved to his room's desk and sat down.

She followed him and sat on the edge of his desk and kept a neutral expression. ~~Well, that's an interesting theory, Tiger. What makes you think that?~~

"The way you act around people, keeping yourself distant. The refusal to speak as a gesture of control. Your string of affairs with no meaning to them." He shrugged. "Seems obvious."

Ella made a 'hmmmm' noise as she rotated her ankle. ~~I think the same could be said of you, Victor. Oh, I know you'll say you HAVE to be that way but when was the last time you ever came to Curtis or me with a problem? When do you ever discuss your life without my bullying you first?~~

"I don't go to people with problems because there's no point in it, Grey." Victor tapped a few keys on his LCARS and looked up at her, shifting in his chair as if deciding whether or not to get up. "They're either going to try and fix something that can't be fixed or scream and run. The ones that talk to me... there's no point in doing that with them. They're never going to be there for long."

Something about Victor's voice had been bothering Ella since she'd arrived, and this time she got it: it was the voice he'd used when they'd first met - the distant, flat one scrubbed of all emotional context - not the one he'd slowly begun to use over the last months. It was like he'd reset himself, rolled back the clock a year and undone any changes he'd made in that time.

Victor got up, and moved across the room, the motion drawing attention to the fact that it was almost bare - his plants were gone, the few pictures he'd hung were gone... everything that had marked it as a place someone *lived* was gone.

Since there was nothing else to throw, Ella tossed his terminal against the wall. Victor registered a second of surprise, as it made a loud cracking noise, before returning to his 'normal' game face. Her eyes flashed angrily. ~~Damn you, Victor. You give up too easily.~~

"It's always the same, Grey. It always will be. Expecting anything else is pointless."

~~You never wait...you just assume. And you're not always right. I can see why people want to scream around you!~~ Ella's fingers snapped.

"Not at me - because of me," he corrected. "Intentionally on my part or not." He shrugged. "Either way, it's the same."

~~You don't even give me the courtesy of believing that I wouldn't just drop our friendship the second you were transferred.~~ She fumed. ~~Talk about trust issues.~~

"Trust has nothing to do with it." Victor moved to look out the viewport at the stars passing by. "Friendship has nothing to do with it. The only thing that does is that this always happens: I always leave. Nothing else holds true. Nothing else is real. Just that. They always send me away."

She struggled to get a hold of her temper, which seemed to be the main theme of the day. Ella walked up to him, since he didn't seem like he was going to move, and tapped his shoulder. ~~And if, for once, you didn't get sent away?~~

His voice was flat and emotionless, like a machine's. "It never happens, Grey. They always send me away."

Ella kept her face neutral. If he was going to pity himself, then fine... she had more important things to do. She was sure there was something to do in Engineering. ~~When you stop feeling sorry for yourself, give me a call.~~

Without turning around, he answered, "When I told you that I wasn't worth it, we both knew I was right, Grey. Just let it go. Easier for you, easier for everyone."

Ella leaned forward, stopped herself, and then shrugged. They probably were going to transfer him anyway. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Victor flinched and turned to look at her, his eyes unreadable as he stared into hers. "Why did you do that?"

Ella rolled her eyes. ~~You're not the brightest crayon in the box but you are by no means an idiot. Figure it out and let me know when you're done being difficult.~~ She left him, making sure she put some extra sway in her hips, not that he would notice.

Victor watched her go, then turned back to the window and looked out at the stars again, his eyes following first one and then another as it appeared and then slipped away towards the stern, falling behind and being left in the Galaxy's wake. "I always leave, Grey, always," he said softly, his voice still an emotionally dead monotone. "I'm always left behind."

"Paradox Staff Meeting" Part 1 of 2

Staff Meeting

Principle Characters:

Captain Daren M'Kantu
Commander Rebecca Von Ernst
Commander Lysander VanderPuls-Hawksley
Lt. Commander James Corgan
Lt. Commander Ethan Suder
Lt. Commander Rose Isis MacAllen-Corrina
Sub-Cmdr Savar ir-Aihai tr'Khellian
Major Saladin Bolivar
Proconsul Crom
Lt. Curtis Geluf
Lt. Jeremy Savoie
Dr. (Lt.) Janelle Reynolds

*****

USS Galaxy
Deck 1
Main Conference

The Romulan was apparently the last to arrive. He looked around at the small lake of faces staring at him, some with notable hostility, as he slipped into the room. This was the first time he had met the assembled senior officers of this ship -- and what a first meeting. The fires over Quentin raged still. "My apologies, Captain," Savar said, inclining his head respectfully. "I was needed in Sickbay for longer than anticipated." The African gave a short nod, and tr'Khellian took one of two remaining seats.

"All right, Daren began while still standing at the head of the table, ignoring the formalities, once the last of his officers or their replacements had arrived. It's been two hours since we beamed out party down and the planetary burn-off happened." He looked around the group, some still settling into their seats. "I need answers, and I need them now. We have to know if our transporter beam was the trigger for what happened, and if so why. Was it sabotage? A catastrophic resonance set up by out transporter frequency? Something else entirely?"

"errr...." Lysander ventured unhelpfully. He twisted in the seat, aware of the friction from the sunburn gained on his last Risan vacation still irritating his sensitive skin. "Maybe some smeggers just didn't read the bloody instruction manual on their cloaking device?"

Tr'Khellian glared at Hawksley, wondering what he was talking about, and what the word 'smeggers' meant. The mention of a cloaking device piqued his curiosity - but he still felt light-headed from the blood transfusion and sl ightly too confused to challenge the tactical consultant on this point. Besides, he felt this comment had been aimed specifically at one other member of the gathering - and it had not been the Captain, who he'd interrupted to make these outlandish comments.

Lysander waited for the precisely calculated moment to raise an eyebrow at the Smegging Ice Queen. He knew the blatant assumption he knew something she didn't would irk her to no end.

As per usual however, Rebecca had really no idea what her personal albatross was blathering about so she chose to ignore him.

Corgan arrived as M'Kantu searched for answers. His hair was in disarray, his black uniform smudged with gray dust, and a small trickle of dried blood running down his forehead. Just arriving from a rescue effort on deck 6, he was in the sourest of moods, and the deepest of shock. An entire planet... destroyed? Even James, in all his experiences during 'the war', never saw such destruction on a planetary scale. Not even orbital photon bombardments could match it. It left a pit as heavy as duranium in his stomach, tempting him to be sick.

"Sorry sir. Rescue effort on deck 6. Collapsed bulkhead." James apologized.

"Don't apologize for doing your job, Mr. Corgan," M'Kantu said without ire. "No staff meeting is worth a life." He looked around the table again and pressed a hand palm down onto the tabletop and continued, "Starfleet doesn't like it when their ships destroy entire planets, by accident or on purpose, even if those planets are desolate and uninhabited. Quentin was neither when we got here - but it is now. We have to know why - and quickly, before it happens to someone else if it wasn't an isolated incident."

With a wave of his hand, he indicated the dead world, parts of it still burning, that hung outside the conference lounge window. "Either we killed an entire species, or someone else did. Accidentally or on purpose doesn't matter at this point. Blame doesn't matter at this point. Knowing why and how it happened. that matters. That's all that matters."

"But to do that, we need to know what we have to work with. Number One, is that damage assessment and casualty report you and Mr. Geluf were working on ready?"

Rebecca raised a single thin eyebrow as if to question the notion that she would EVER be late with a piece of paperwork.

"Well casualties are really secondary at this point, Captain." She shrugged uncaringly. "We lost two Class I Warp Coil Specialists in that Engineering hull Breech that might be hard to find replacements for, but the rest of the deaths and permanent injuries were for largely superfluous personnel."

She passed over a PADD itemizing the gruesome details. "Fortunately for us, none of the really important people are going to be out of action with the exception of one of our prime Phaser Chiefs who lost a leg at the knee, but I figured we could have the Medics dope him up and prop him up in a corner somewhere with a minimal loss in efficiency."

She paused wondering why everyone seemed to be uncomfortable. Maybe they were upset about the loss in Phaser efficiency as she was.

"Woah. No need for that." Curtis said, "I've got the crew mixing and matching to cover the gaps. Everyone with a level 3 in engineering I've sent to Commander Suder. If Medical could update me as people start getting well I can get us back to full in no time."

"With respect, Commander," Sub-Commander tr'Khellian spoke up, "Chief Mirapoints is not indispensable: I have already instructed Petty Officer Wang to work double-shifts until the Chief can undergo surgery to have a prosthetic leg implanted." He looked at Von Ernst with a perfect deadpan expression, oblivious to the reactions of the other department heads who might have been shocked to find someone who responded to the Ice Queen on her level. Her remarks about casualties had not fazed him in the slightest - such attitudes would not have been even slightly out of place on a Romulan vessel.

Saladin nodded, "Perhaps we could use amphetamines as needed to increase the remaining crew's work efficiency, I would suggest an Ephedrine substitute that can increase concentration and retard the need to sleep. It does have a risk of serious illness or death, but they are negligible."

Curtis almost choked on the last remark.

"Equipment losses are really more important, and will be harder to work around. I will be coordinating with Mr. Suder to get us up to spec as soon as possible." She narrowed her eyes and stared across the table at the Engineer remembering what happened to the last Engineer that crossed her.

"Good work, Number One, Mr. Geluf. Thank you." MKantu turned. "Mr. Suder, what's the status on Engineering? How long to get us back up to speed?"

"A lot of systems are still shot." Ethan explained as he readjusted the already rolled up sleeves of his uniform. His jacket was undone slightly; beads of sweat were still present on his head. Clearly he had been working as hard as any other Engineer. His hands were a little dirty with a cut on his left arm. "It's true there have been quite a few casualties in Engineering. Good people. Just as important..." Ethan back tracked and decided not to argue the earlier comment. "It's hard to say, we're still assessing damage. . I have every Engineer on the ship working on it. Most that are injured are still pulling their weight around. Those that can't... I'm still waiting for Medical response to those people. Sensors and Tactical are down. I've ordered all transporters to be taken offline until we can run diagnostics on them. I'll get everything back up as soon as I possibly can, but it's going to take a while. A good few hours to get most of the major systems back up, but we'll get it done sooner!" he promised.

M'Kantu nodded. "Thank you. Try to trim that down, but don't cut any corners that will compromise safety past your standards. Concentrate on critical support systems first, but I want people working on sensors and the tactical systems as soon as possible."

"A lot of systems are still shot." he explained. "It's true there have been quite a few casualties in Engineering. Good people. Just as important..." Ethan back tracked and decided not to argue the earlier comment. "It's hard to say, we're still assessing damage. I have every Engineer on the ship working on it. Most that are injured are still pulling their weight around. Those that can't... I'm still waiting for Medical response to those people. Sensors and Tactical are down. I've ordered all transporters to be taken offline until we can run diagnostics on them. I'll get everything back up as soon as I possibly can, but it's going to take a while. Hours... Could be days..." he promised.

M'Kantu nodded. "Thank you. Try to trim that down, but don't cut any corners that will compromise safety past your standards. Concentrate on critical support systems first, but I want people working on sensors and the tactical systems as soon as possible."

"I can spare 5 or 6 people from OPS if you need them Commander." offered Curtis.

"We've got our hands full with other systems, but I can get a team to coordinate with your people and work on the sensors and tactical." Ethan agreed.

The Captain turned to the opposite side of the table. "I know sensors are currently spotty at best, but what have you got for me, Ms. MacAllen? Anything?"

"I've only been able to analyze the locality using limited short-range sensors. As near as I can tell, the planet's upper atmosphere is severely ionized due to an immense change in the makeup of the stratosphere. Sending a transporter beam down there won't guarantee that the item or person would re-assemble in the same shape it began with." She gazed about the room, fighting against using her empathic abilities to guage their thoughts.

"The lower atmosphere is another story. What I've been able to glean from my limited scans is that the oxygen levels have dropped, and CO2 combined with hydrogen increased. Methane is on the rise as well. Hotspots on the infra-red spectrum indicate highly concentrated heat signatures. I believe volcano's are erupting all over the planet. Sonic resonance scans have picked up what could decisively be earthquakes. Scattered heat signatures are showing what I believe to be fires raging on the surface, which is likely the cause of the depleted oxygen levels, and abundance of vegetation to feed the flames. I can just imagine what that scorching heat is doing to those beautiful oceans...

"I can't get enough of a focus through the ionization to determine if there is any life left on the planet's surface or in its oceans. I cannot say with due certainty if the Delegation team is still alive or not. The ionization is interfering with our ability to scan for their transponders as well.

"If we do send a landing party down, it'll have to be in shuttles, and full survival gear. The heat and lack of oxygen make it akin to living on Venus in Spring."

"Nothing more?" M'Kantu shook his head. "All right, as soon as Mr. Suder's crews get the sensors back up, you have priority. We need to know what happened down there. Interface with Tactical and Intelligence to see if they have any insights that will shed some light on this. Mr. Hawksley, I'll want you involved with that, as well as Sub-Commander tr'Khellian.

The Romulan leaned forwards, looking from M'Kantu towards the Chief Engineer. Prioritizing science sensors, indeed! How ridiculous! "I am sure I do not need to remind you that without shields and tactical sensors we are wholly defenseless," the Romulan warned, in dire tones. "We are currently easy prey for any foe - and limited in terms of our 'investigation'. Tactical systems must be the top priority. Only then will the full picture become available to us."

The chief intelligence officer raised an eyebrow at the chief science officer's comments, the woman was a fool. Science sensors were very low priority.

"Righto, I'll just ask Admirals Hoth and Price if I need to do all that, it's shockingly busy at Fleet Tactical Command and they're no doubt waiting for that review of the new GALAXY class platforms I promised them.. Where is your Tactical Chief anyways? I have a problem with the estimates SOMEONE made about the phaser control conduit relays to the new weapons systems...speaking of little problems... Errr... about that other little problem Captain?" Lysander began to drawl.

"Paradox Staff Meeting" Part 2 of 2

Principle Characters:

Captain Daren M'Kantu
Commander Rebecca Von Ernst
Commander Lysander VanderPuls-Hawksley
Lt. Commander James Corgan
Lt. Commander Ethan Suder
Lt. Commander Rose Isis MacAllen-Corrina
Sub-Cmdr Savar ir-Aihai tr'Khellian
Major Saladin Bolivar
Proconsul Crom
Lt. Curtis Geluf
Lt. Jeremy Savoie
Dr. (Lt.) Janelle Reynolds

*****

USS Galaxy
Deck 1
Main Conference

Sub-Commander tr'Khellian turned slowly towards Hawksley with a scowl on his face. What in the name of the Elements was this man rambling on about? Little as he knew about the intricacies of the Starfleet command structure, he could not understand why Hawksley thought himself subordinate to the Admiralty rather than the ship's CO. Surely, the Intelligence Officer and the Diplomatic Staff were the only ones with outside loyalties? For all he cared, Hawksley could do as he liked, so long as he kept out of the way. From the few interactions he'd had with the man, he had determined that Lysander was an oaf of the first degree, and could only conclude that his family was well-connected -- how else had he been awarded such high rank? Certainly not natural ability, that was obvious.

Ignoring the interruption, Saladin nodded to M'Kantu and made some notes, "I will expect any reports necessary to be attached to my office."

"All right then," M'Kantu sighed. We're down to the part where I stop barking orders and look for advice. The question on the table is this: do we send a landing party down to investigate, or not? The floor's open, people." He leaned back and waited for the discussion to begin. For awhile the only sound was Rebecca's soft annoyed sigh. She didn't think much of admitting one's weaknesses and asking for advice. A captain.... she thought.... should calculate the known data, make a determination and act on it. Everything else was politically correct fiddle-faddle.

Dr. Reynolds mind was elsewhere. There were injured and she's sitting there discussing whether or not they should send or not to send an away team. No one was saying anything, probably all still in shock. She didn't think that they should and she verbalized it, "I think we should let Starfleet investigate it. We could be accused of going there to sabotage evidence or trying to cover up something we did. This case should be left in the hands of those who are trained in things like this."

~~~We ARE Starfleet noodle-head.~~~ Rebecca thought to herself carefully keeping a bland look on her face.

"I apologize, doctor, but I have to disagree." Lieutenant Corgan meekly spoke up, "We could lose the trail of the suspects at any time. The faster we respond to the emergency, the better a chance we have at capturing whomever did this. And personally, waiting and doing nothing is criminally negligent. We should act quickly."

"I agree," interjected tr'Khellian, forcefully. "The more we *delay*, the more our chances of apprehending whoever did this evaporate. We have already wasted precious time. If we wish to exact vengeance we *must* act swiftly."

Dr. Reynolds sat back, "What do I know? I'm just a paranoid doctor."

"Doctor, with all due respect," so far he did respect this one, she did not seem to be as much of a fool as Malgin was, "If you do not begin investigating evidence could be lost, I do agree that we should be careful though."

James spoke in, "Careful as possible. A team of security officers should accompany the investigation crew. But I warn you, with the Galaxy damaged, fire support and evacuation will be limited if available at all. I also suggest that until the transporters are checked out that we use a shuttlecraft to get to the investigation site."

"Shielded shuttles, and EVA suits, and armed guards for our teams. And we also need to think about how we're going to support any field teams, once they're out there. We can't just beam them supplies, and we might want an armed Response Team standing by, just in case. This is sounding more and more like the DEFIANT mission." Lysander grumped, to no one in particular.

Corgan glared at Lysander.

Curtis leaned in on Corgan's last remark. "That would be your best bet. Four shuttles are badly damaged, but the rest are flyable according to my shuttle bay officer. If this is what we want to do, I'll head down there myself and make sure we've got a spaceworthy shuttle right after the meeting." the Kerelian said.

"Savoie is the best rated small craft pilot aboard." Lysander stretched long legs as he boasted. "Even if you can only get us something that limps, we'll take people down in her."

Dr. Reynolds sighed, "Well, if you are all set on doing this, I'd like to join the away team. Sickbay has their hands full with engineering and it might get a bit dangerous there. I'm sure Doctor...anyway, he can handle the load here." Reynolds forgot his name already, then again, she never was good with names.

"I would like to go as well to contribute to the investigation, sir." James added,

"I'd also like to bring my best investigation officer and security officer as well... if that is possible. After all, this can be considered as a murder investigation."

Curtis once again spoke up, "If I may also request to go down with the party, sir. OPS is under control and the engineering staff will have their hands full. Lieutenant Rex can handle things here. You should have someone to take care of the shuttle. Never know what kind of trouble we might have getting down there and if the shuttle gets damaged, it'll need repairing. Plus, I may be able to lend a hand...or possibly an ear, down there."

Rebecca sat quietly wondering if this chorus of "Can I go too sir's" were aimed at M'Kantu or herself. Traditionally the First Officer had the right to pick and choose his/her away team, but perhaps the crew was eager to cut her out of the equation and score brownie points with the new Captain. Sighing again, she swiveled her chair slightly to gain a better view out of the massive bay windows.

The Fires over Quentin were quite lovely from this altitude. Incandescent sparkles or yellow and orange wormed their way across the surface, encircling the globe in a fiery embrace. Swirling clouds backlit by the fires, and propelled by hurricane force winds were a meteorologist's nightmare, twisting and spinning across the sky. ~~~So lovely... .Just like last time.~~~ she mused to herself letting the briefing room activities fade into the background of her awareness. If M'Kantu wanted to micro-manage her away team, it was no skin off her freckled nose. The less she had to do with Starfleet, the better.

"I would volunteer for the away mission, but my understanding of Starfleet regulations was the person who leads the team selects the members of the away team."

Dr. Reynolds thought to herself, "Gads, I volunteered first, the rest just followed suit." She looked over at Bolivar, "Who cares if it is or not? It can't hurt. Besides, we are discussing what to do, not what Starfleet regulations say about volunteering. And speaking of Starfleet, let me clarify what I said earlier. When I referred to letting Starfleet investigate it, I meant someone who isn't on or affiliated with this particular ship.

"Would be nice to have an impartial voice as a check and balance." Corgan said.

Tr'Khellian arched a brow and glanced towards Major Bolivar. As the representative of Starfleet Intelligence onboard, surely this was his role? Certainly, if such a thing had occurred in the Rihanssu Galae, it would be the Tal Shiar calling the shots, weighing the evidence... and punishing those responsible. The only other 'independents' onboard, it seemed to him, were the Diplomatic Staff, represented here by a fat, grinning Ferengi who had so far said nothing. Thankfully. Savar despised that greedy, ugly race with a passion.

"It's good that you all want to go." Ethan butted in after hearing all the slobbering go around. "But I think the Away Team should only consist of the people needed. Someone who can fly the shuttle, people who can investigate, security officers and an Engineer incase things go wrong on the shuttle," he explained. "It's no good every senior officer leaving their post when they should be here on the Galaxy. If we all go, then if the Galaxy gets attacked, who's to say what might happen with the wrong kids in the wrong place at the wrong time?" He paused for a while. "I want to investigate this as much as anyone else, but as Chief Engineer, the safety of the ship and people come first."

"He's right," Savoie agreed, injecting his own thoughts on the matter for the first time. "This isn't going to be a picnic on Risa. It's an away mission, and a dangerous one at that. I'll pilot the shuttle," he declared, turning towards the captain and first officer.

"Who said anything about a picnic?" Curtis asked, "Commander Suder was also right about needing an engineer for the shuttle. I work with those shuttles constantly, its part of my job and I'm willing to bet no one aboard knows them better than I do. My department is under control."

Savoie shot the Ops chief an annoyed glare. No one was going to imply they knew there way around any shuttle better than he did. With immense self-control, Jeremy kept his temper in check; he didn't know this new captain well enough to go starting a scene in front of him. "Save your gambling money for a more sure thing," he said to Geluf in a thickly patronizing tone.

"So everyone wants to go." Suder said sighing at the frustration of what seemed like an argument. Why was it so important everyone went? "I'm sure that the Commander will take that into account when SHE decides who goes." he said leaning back in his chair and glancing down the table at Rebecca.

Dr. Reynolds felt that this meeting was going nowhere, "My apologies Captain but I'm needed in sickbay. If there is nothing else here that needs my attention, may I be excused?" She figured if they needed her, they could reach her in Sickbay where she could be more use.

Sub-Commander tr'Khellian grunted significantly. He was amazed at the Starfleet Officers' lack of dignity and discipline, squabbling like children over who got to go on an outing. But he was more amazed at the Captain, sitting there in silence and letting this rabble blunder onwards, leaving it to the Chief Medical Officer to point out that precious time was being wasted. What a farce.

"Of course, Doctor," M'Kantu said after Reynolds had stopped speaking. He'd let the meeting run longer than it should to try and get a feel for his officers, but they'd all made their opinions known by now. Anything else was wasted time. "All right people, in this case your opinions agree with mine - we send the Away Team."

The Captain looked around the table. "Is there anything else?"

Throughout the entire time, Adrian had been his usual silent self. Anymore more silent and he the Counseling Department would have been labeled as underrepresented at the meeting. However, presence alone suggested that the Chief Counselor Dallas would be satisfied by him being there. A calm, expressionless visage was usually seen by any onlooker that happened to pass their gaze upon the young-looking humanoid, and at times, if one could gauge it so, a faint mask of interest alighted periodically during the meeting. He felt just slightly out of place, but, he let it go, doing, as was customary for any member of his race, Listening.

Moreover, listening he was. The El-Aurian was keying in on hidden and unspoken messages sent by various officers throughout the room. He read body language, encompassing facial expressions, reactions, displayed and undisplayed moods that echoed forth. He knew of many El-Aurians who would have been entranced by now at the numerous amounts of feedback spread throughout the room.

He was also tuning out the impulses in his own mind. Thought about a destroyed world, brought back vivid images occurring during the final hours of life left in his own homeworld. In less than a day, the El-Aurian homeworld was reduced to rubble, thoroughly destroyed by the cybernetic plague known as the Borg.

"If it's all the same," the El-Aurian spoke up in firm tones. "I would like to assist in the investigation, perhaps even joining the away team. Counseling Duties have been very light these past few weeks, and we are fully staffed to handle anything that comes our way. Besides," a light grin, "I might be able to help if we run into anyone still left alive on the planet."

"Very well then," M'Kantu turned to Rebecca. "Number One, assemble your team."

"Dedication to the Point of Stupidity"

Dr. Lt. Janelle Reynolds, CMO
Lt. jg Dr. Klaus Fienberg, MD

Location: Sickbay

Klaus had managed to stabilize several people before his injury began to catch up with him again, he had to sneak away to apply another bandage, but he was unable to stop his own bleeding. He almost collapsed over a bio-bed, catching his fall with both arms, and holding himself up with his right arm as his left hand reached to his injury. He was nearly in tears, half from what he had seen this day, and what he was yet to see. The People of Quenton were in there too. But the other half was his injury, sapping his strength, and more importantly his life away from him. His thoughts were a flutter 'Why do I feel like this....why this pain? I've been through accidents, a war. Yet every time something like this happens I lose it. But I've never lo! st composure on duty. This damn injury!' Aloud. "I must continue you." Klaus' limp had become worse, and the bleeding continued steady, it was time to sneak away for another bandage.

Dr. Reynolds saw him, the blood and ran over to him, grabbing him by the arm, "Mister, you aren't going anywhere." She wouldn't let him say a word. "Get up here and let me look at your leg. Don't make me pull rank."

Klaus was easily startled, he turned showing that it was in fact his gut that was bleeding, and that the entire area of his body was affected, mainly his leg. "It's just a flesh wound Dr. Reynolds. The other patients need you more than me." A sudden searing pain in the wound told otherwise as he made a noise by sucking air through his teeth. H! e was beginning to turn white. "I must help these people! Their lives mean more to me than my own...."

Seeing how much blood there was, "A flesh wound my ass. Your a doctor, you of all people should know the difference between a flesh wound and a serious one." She waved over an orderly who looked like a giant bear next to them, "Get him up here on this bed." The orderly picked him up like he was nothing and put him on the bed. She noticed his focus move temporarily on him then back to her, "He's new. If you refuse to cooperate, you'll be facing him, not me. Now be still so I can see how bad it really is." She scanned him, making her usual "hmm" sounds, "This is serious, very serious. It looks like when you pulled out the knife...um, it was a knife, wasn't it?"

Again submitting defeat to a superior officer, Klaus spoke, "I am sorry Ma'am. I felt that I should put everyone else before myself. Noble, Yes? I couldn't move at first and found it dificult and painfull to remove."

Ah, that explains it. Well, looks like you didn't pull it straight out but at an angle cutting yourself somewhat. That explains why there is so much blood. I also have one in my collection."

"Family Heirloom. It was first used in 1950 by an ancestor of mine. It was soon retired to his collection and passed down. I'm not going to bother cleaning the blood off it."

"Ah, that is old, much older than the one I have. Now let's get back to your wounds." She wiped some of the blood away, "From what I can tell, looks like where the knife entered, it's done some nerve damage which could be why you are having trouble walking. As the new Chief Medical Officer on this ship, I am confining you to sickbay. If we don't take! care of it now, you won't be helping anyone except yourself in an early grave and I really would hate to lose one of my doctors to foolishness and stupidity." She was blunt but truthful.

She went looking for Malgin who is now the Chief Surgeon but he had his hands full so she'd have to do it herself. She gave him Morphenolog for the pain and then grabbed a medical tray and went to work.

Having regained his senses. "Sorry, a similar event happened on DS9. I was a field medic, assigned to a group of marines sent in to assist in reoccupation."

He looked around, seeing the injured, "This is a sight that both pains me, and reminds me of the age we live in. Good and Evil. There are those that would do us harm, not assuming that this wasn't an accident, and then there is us. Those who would give their lives blindly to save others." He nodded his head to get a good view of Dr. Reynolds' work. "Perhaps too blindly." He chuckled a little.

"Perhaps" was all she responded back to him. Almost finished, she closed up the wound with the dermal regenerator. She admired her work, "There, all finished but I'm afraid you might have that limp for a while until the nerves grow back together completely. Now, I know you want to get back to helping these patients but I need you to rest here for about 30 minutes then we'll see about you resuming you duties. Afterall, you were bleeding pretty badly. I just want to make sure you are okay." She scanned him one more time to make sure she fixed everything properly.

Klaus Rolled his eyes a little. Uncalled for, but he was not used to being on the receiving end of the surgeons blade. "Aye." He lay there, restless, watching the chaos turn to order. Sickbay was filled, but things see! med to have calmed down. The German awaited his release back to duty, there was still much to be done.

30 minutes later...

"Okay," she scans him, "looks like you are good to go. And next time you pull a stunt like that, I'll have you pulled from active duty for the rest of your natural life so fast, it'll make your head spin." She looked sternly at him then smiled, "Well, what are you waiting for, go, shoo, get back to work."

(After the Briefing, just prior to the Away Mission)

"Parallels"

Starrring Rebecca von Ernst

In the Darkness of her quarters, the only light to be seen was that of Rebecca von Ernst's desktop computer, and the soft blue reflections it made on her studious face.

The redheaded Commander leaned in close, examining the shimmering images on the screen with a grim-faced expression. The images were deeply familiar to her, but sometimes it helped to go back and examine the original records.

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

=/\= AUGUST 24, 2375 LOG REPORT OF USS VICTORY=/\=

Captain Joshua Chamberlain reporting.

It is my sad duty to report that the crisis over Federation Colony Deltia III has come to a bloody end. As you may recall the nearby Lyran Hegemony recently laid claim to the Deltia system asserting that it was in fact a long abandoned Lyran Burial Ground known to them as Nar Hallas. They viewed the Artists colony of 15,000 Federation citizens as 'grave robbers' and immediately demanded their removal.

The diplomatic situation rapidly deteriorated and soon we were engaged in combat with the Lyran Battlecruiser in orbit, and their Marines on the surface. USS DALLAS and CHICAGO were lost during the fighting but eventually we cornered the Lyrans in low orbit over the planet.

Unfortuantely my new Helmsmen.. Ensign Von Ernst froze during a critical moment, and the Lyrans were able to self destruct their Matter/Antimatter bottles in orbit, thus destroying themselves, and completely scorching the planets surface at the same time. USS VICTORY sustained heavy damage in the ensuing explosion, but we have managed to restore primary systems.

I am afraid all 15,000 colonists and our Marine detachment on the surface must be considered lost.

I have removed Ensign von Ernst from duty pending disciplinary action.

Captain Joshua Chamberlain USS VICTORY AUGUST 24, 2375

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

The sterile. . . .matter of fact words crawled across the screen, almost lending an air of 'routine' to the deaths of thousands of innocent men women and children.

~~~For me. . . . it ought to be routine~~~ Rebecca thought quietly, her face still remaining impassive.

With a slight flick of her thin fingers she scrolled through attached image files . . . . photographs of the Aftermath at Nar Hallas. The follow up away teams had found nothing but an ash-covered world devoid of even the hint of life.

She flipped through the photos quickly. . . .she'd memorized them all years before at her courts martial. She'd also studied the face of each and every on of those 15,000 citizens, old and young alike, until they haunted her regularly in her dreams.

Rebecca sighed. The byproduct of a photographic memory she supposed.

~~~Enough of this garbage. . .~~~ her mind protested. ~~~This is all old data. . . .there is nothing in here remotely related to the explosion on Quentin!!~~~

~~~Nothing except Death.~~~ she replied to herself. ~~~Somehow that's always the same.~~~

With a slight protest from cramped muscles Rebecca leaned back from the screen and rubbed her weary eyes. What rubbish. She was supposed to lead an away team down to Quentin within the hour, and instead of examining the current sensor data, she was hiding in the dark going over records from an event years before.

~~~But the similarities. . . . .~~~ her mind argued.

She shook her head. No this was different. It just caught you by surprise that's all.

Rebecca stood slowly. . . . . . stretching. . . . . . feeling tight joints pop in relief. Navigating the room in the dark, she crossed to the Replicator and dialed up her ever-popular Peppermint Milkshake.

The frosty concoction buzzed into existence before her, but Rebecca ignored it for long moments as the fire-blasted images of Quentin/ Nar Hallas danced in her minds eye.

This away mission was not going to be easy. Her mental control already hung by a thread, and exploring a world similar to the ones in her nightmares was not going to do her any good.

With a grimace she dumped the uneaten milkshake into the sink, listening to its thick sugary contents gurgle their way down the drain.

~~~How am I going to do this?~~~ she asked herself. The icy tendrils of fear wrapped themselves slowly around her heart, chilling her to the core.

~~~This. . . .this . . .is crazy.~~~ she thought. ~~~A. . .all those DEAD people down there. . . . .4 million of them. . . .all d. . .d. . .dead.~~~

On the bridge, and in the staff meeting, Rebecca had allowed herself no thought of the civilian casualties involved in the Quentin disaster, but now. . . . now in the shadows of her darkened quarters the images of a slaughtered civilization seemed to dance behind her eyes.

Most humans cannot conceive of numbers as large as 4 million in practical terms. They acknowledge it as a 'bad thing' but cannot easily visualize it in real terms.

For Rebecca . . . . ..4 million was just another number bouncing around in her mind. . . .one that she could quickly and easily translate into horrible reality.

It was a by product of the talents that made her hate her life.

Rebecca's real gifts lay in the two-fold combination of a near photographic memory combined with an uncanny ability to calculate and visualize complex mathematical principals and make accurate unorthodox predictions based on them.

The brain made the calculations, while the superb memory allowed for the juggling of complex equations in her head easier and quicker.

Everybody thought she was a tactical genius. . . . .she wasn't. She couldn' t tell the difference from an attack 'en masse and a basic defense in depth if it bit her in her skinny little butt.

What she could do is visualize and predict the complex three-dimensional vectors so common in Starship combat that in reality warfare, for her, was nothing more than a simple exercise in mathematical principals.

Unfortunately it made remembering 15,000 dead faces easy as well.

She wondered what 4 million new nightmare-memories would do to her psyche.

>>BLING<<

The soft chime drew her out of her ruminations, and back to reality. She had to get down to the transporter room.

Pausing only for a moment to examine a nearby glowing PADD, Rebecca let the flashing lights therein dance across her eyes for several long minutes before replacing it on the table.

She felt the beginnings of a killer headache coming on, but somehow felt more ready than ever for the mission ahead.

She strode out from her cabin with an evil smirk plastered on her face. Woe to anyone who crossed her path tonight.

She felt MEAN.

RISA BACKPOST

“Drinking Mixed Emotions Part 1 of 1”

Lieutenant (jg) Dhanishta Eshe

Dhanishta reported into Engineering, her double shift was now over – she truly loved Suder for that one!

She ran to sick bay and had her arm healed then she ran to her quarters and stripped upon entering. After taking a shower, the real kind, with water and everything, she slipped into a ceremonial robe and sat down at her computer. Several minutes later her link was established and an old Vulcan man appeared on the screen.

“Greetings, Dhanishta.” He said.

Dhani couldn’t help but smile at the old man, “How are you Sark?” she asked.

“I am….. old” he replied. Knowing full well that Dhani would not accept the usual line of, ‘I am very well and you?’ they knew each other too well for false hoods, “How are you?” he returned her question.

She was about to say ‘I’m fine’ but even though she hadn’t seen him for several years she still could not lie, “Troubled.” She replied frowning.

“Have you tried the techniques I mentioned in my last correspondence?”

“Yes, but its not helped with the real issue. I can meditate Sark you know that. The problem is I can’t sleep. I’m beginning to get irritated with everything and everyone……….”

He sat patiently waiting for her to continue.

“I’ve tried everything I can think of, I’ve even been to sick bay but there’s nothing medically wrong with me. They have given me sedatives but they don’t work. I’ve tried every form of meditation in order to relax. But………” she trailed off again. “I’m worried that it will interfere with my work. I’m now working a double shift and I can’t put others at risk like that.”

Sark nodded slowly, he looked pensive. “When did the insomnia start?”

Dhanishta flicked her hair in irritation, ~ enough with the questioning, just give me the answer, over 200 years old and he can’t fix insomnia. Stupid, bloody stupid. ~ she shook her head.

“There is no quick fix, Dhanishta.” He said as if he had read her mind, “You know that, in order to fix something you first have to know what the cause is.”

“I know.” She said sighing whilst rubbing her temples. “See, even you are irritating me.” She said proving her point.

“Relax, remember what I have taught you.”

She looked up at the screen; she wished she could be there with him. He could just delve inside her mind, find the problem and fix it, just like before. Her mind wandered as she tried to recall that hazy memory. But she couldn’t. Kala and Sark had full accounts of that day, or week, maybe it was a month. But she did not, and did not know why. It was like that experience was wiped from her mind. Kala never talked about it and neither would Sark, but she knew something had happened. It had always left her with an empty feeling.

“Dhanishta?” Sark called.

She looked at him refocusing her attention, “Erm….. when I joined the Galaxy. That’s when it started.” She replied, “I thought it was just because of that but it’s been months now. I’m surprised that I’ve been awake that long! But I’ve had this feeling since I boarded the ship; that I’ve been here before. People that I don’t know seem familiar, like Lt McDowell. I knew his name before we even met.” She thought for a moment, “But that was before I even joined the ship…….”

“You are part Betazoid Dhanishta, with full telepathic capabilities. Do you not think that you may be picking up on the crew’s feelings and memories?” He asked leaning back in his chair.

“That’s not possible Sark, I don’t do that.” She said defensively.

“Dhanishta, it is part of who you are. Why do you….”

She cut him off, “You know how I feel….” She stopped to reword herself, “You know what I think about that and you know the reasons why.” She almost shouted at him.

Her emotional state confused him somewhat, this was not Dhainshtas usual behaviour. Even though she was not Vulcan she did, especially when addressing him, conform to their way of thinking and talking. “Dhanishta.” He scolded.

She stared at the computer pad, unable to look at him.

“You are fully telepathic……”

She cut him off again, “That is not mine!” she chimed, “I shouldn’t be….”

“I know.” He replied, “But none the less you are. And you must not deny yourself that. You are not Kerenza. And you never will be.”

She glared at him. Her nostrils flaring at the mention of her mothers name.

He continued, “You were my best student Dhanishta, I had trained for over a hundred years and you, not even a fraction of that time yet your telepathic ability exceeded my own. I do not understand why you refuse to use what you have.”

“I do not wish to talk about this, Sark.” She said trying to control the anger building inside her. She could feel her spots prickle and a hot sweat broke out over her body. She clenched her fists with frustration and confusion at such feelings.

“You must.” He concluded. “Kerenza was punished for what she did. You should not be. And you must not punish yourself. The error was not yours”

“I do not wish to talk about her.” Dhanishta screamed at the consol. Standing up she banged her fist down on the pad, ending the transmission.

The rage coiled inside her and she could not diminish it. Like a furious Klingon she threw herself around her quarters trashing everything in sight. Many of her belongings were in storage containers, which she picked up and threw across the room. The contents flying everywhere.

When she had finished throwing everything that she could see she stalked out of her quarters. Her bare feet bled from the broken glass that she stomped over, she had cuts all over her hands and face. She had even managed to cut her arm again and somehow her right thigh. The robe she wore was ripped and stained with blood but she didn’t care, right now she could think of only one thing left to try….

RISA BACKPOST

“Drinking Mixed Emotions Part 2 of 3”

by
Lieutenant (jg) Dhanishta Eshe &
Lieutenant Commander Ethan Suder

*** Ten Forward ***

In a dark corner of Ten Forward Dhanishta sat. She had just polished off her third bottle of Blood Wine, and was craving something stronger. Ignoring the glances of the other officers she marched up to the bar.

Ethan Suder entered Ten Forward and looked around. There wasn’t anyone in particular that he saw, not in a glance anyway. He approached the bar and stood at the very end, leaning on the bar with his right elbow and looking at some information on a data padd. He looked up after seeing some movement and thought it was the bar tender turning to head his way, instead, he handed a bottle to someone wearing a sort of silk robe. Looked like it was religious in some way, or at least ceremonial. He then managed to look passed the hair that hung loose and saw Dhanishta Eshe.

After she stormed away from the bar, the bar tender approached Ethan, throwing a cloth over his shoulder as he did so. “So what’s her story?” Ethan asked. “Don’t know. She arrived a little under an hour ago. Been here since, drinking Bloodwine.” The bar tender replied. “Hmmm.” Ethan replied as he watched Dhanishta sit at a table shrouded in darkness. “Bekel, dark, strong.” Ethan ordered. As the bar tender began making the drink, Ethan finished reading what was left of the info on the data padd and thanked the bar tender for the drink.

Ethan sipped his drink and looked at the data padd, pretending to read it as he slowly made his way over to Dhanishta.

Dhanishta sat down at her table and began to pour out the contents into her glass. She stopped when the glass was one quarter full. Picking it up she looked at it for a moment before downing it. Then she slid the glass to the other side of the table and continued to drink from the bottle, glaring at the table in-between swigs.

Suder reached the table and looked at the cut-faced Dhanishta. He titled his head with curiosity and placed the data padd he carried on to the table. “Rough night, huh?” he asked, more rhetorical than anything else. “So what’s your excuse for being here?”

She looked up, still glaring, to see who it was who disturbed her brooding. “I’m getting…….” She thought of the most unvulcan term for drunk, “plastered.” She concluded.

The Chief Engineer sat down casually and reached over towards Dhanishta, drink in hand. He jolted his glass slightly that clinked with Dhanishta’s bottle. “Cheers.” He said before taking a long sip of his own drink. “You probably picked the best table for brooding. Nice and dark, not many people bug you when you’re at this table.” He continued to drink out of the rather tall glass and shook his glass a little, allowing the extremely thick, dark blue liquid to swirl around inside. “About you choosing the Vulcan way of life… I take it back.” He said raising his glass again as if to say ‘cheers’ and took another sip.

“Yet somehow you’ve managed to ‘bug’ me Commander.” She replied returning her focus to the table. “I guess you come here a lot.” She stated rather than questioned.

“You’re not the only one with problems.” Ethan shot back. “This, I guess,” Ethan said pointing at the table, “is the brooding table.” He emptied his glass and signalled for the bar tender to bring over a bottle. “I usually try to avoid places like this, less chance of people coming up to you and constantly asking ‘what’s wrong?’”

“So far you’re the first.” She replied. “Besides if I sit down in my quarters my arse would bleed too!”

“Ok, but I haven’t asked you what’s wrong, so give me some credit.” He replied quietly. “I assume someone pissed you off you trashed your quarters. Either that you have a big cat lurking somewhere in your quarters.”

“Big cat.” She replied standing up.

“Going so soon?” he asked.

She cut in before he could finish, “You want another? I’m dry.”

“Why not?” Ethan replied sliding his glass across the table expertly. Most people he had seen do that put too much power in the action and the glass would just slide off the end of the table. But his glass just came to a halt on the edge, next to Dhanishta.

She took the glass and left for the bar.

A few minutes later she returned with a tray of bottles, and one full glass. She placed the glass in front of Suder and sat down. She arranged the bottles in a semi circle in front of her and pointed at each one in turn, “Enie minie miney mo…” she began.

Ethan took a moment to glance around Ten Forward. Not too many people about. It must have been late, or early. He didn’t know what time was any more. He always seemed to be up, working or doing something productive. He brought his attention back to Dhanishta. “I take it that communication didn’t go to well.” He commented as he watched the younger Engineer pour the drink into the glasses. Ethan was glad he had just eaten, otherwise he might not last long tonight, but he was confident that they would both be getting nicely drunk and probably end up talking complete crap for a few hours and then pretend tomorrow that nothing happened and nothing was said. Ethan sat there for a while, in silence. He was content either way and if Dhanishta wanted to talk, she knew he was there.

“I really wish you would stop doing that.” She said, “I find it invasive.”

“Doing what?” Ethan asked with raised eyebrows.

“Reading my mind, my thoughts.” She replied still staring at the table.

Ethan drunk from his glance again and calmly placed his drink on the table. “I didn’t. I just finished a shift, was monitoring ship systems and all communication systems. Noticed yours.” Ethan explained. “I don’t go around probing people, reading thoughts, playing guessing games with people. But I do read body language.”

She looked up from her bottles and caught his gaze, “I’m sorry.” She said. She picked her next bottle and took an extra long swig.

Ethan finished what was left in his glass and reached over the table and grabbed a bottle of his own. Taking a swig, he looked over at Dhanishta. He sat back in his chair and looked at the table.

She pulled out another chair out from under the table with her legs and propped her feet up on it. Noticing that Suder was still there and was probably not going to leave any time soon she asked, “So, why are you down here?”

“Got bored staring at the walls in Engineering. My Quarters too. Thought I’d take a stroll. Then I felt like having a couple of drinks. And what better place than here?” he asked sarcastically. “As I said, you’re not the only one with problems.”

“I don’t presume that I am. And I don’t have any problems.” She lied. “Just fancied getting drunk, it’s an interesting experience.” She said flatly.

“You don’t have any problems, right because getting scratched, bruised, drunk and broody because you’re fine is the way everything goes when the sun is shining.” Ethan said. “I don’t expect you to pour your heart to me, you’ll notice that I haven’t asked you what’s wrong. I don’t mind listening, but if you don’t want to talk, fine, have another drink.” He said with a chuckle. He looked into his own drink in the bottle and swirled it around again.

“Do you find me amusing Commander?” she said standing up. Her fists were clenched and her jaw firmly set. She could feel the rage inside her bursting to get out. She didn’t understand where these feelings were coming from, which made her more angry.

“I think you probably have comedy like values buried somewhere, but right now, I don’t, no.” He replied. “Besides, why would I?”

“Then why were you laughing?” she questioned demandingly through gritted teeth.

“I thought the idea of us having another drink when we’re clearly going to was kind of funny. It’s not like you, or even me need to be told to have another drink.” He said chuckling again. Maybe the alcohol was beginning to get to him, just a little.

She turned from him and walked back up to the bar. Again she returned with a tray full of bottles. This time she picked one quickly and downed the entire contents. She sat down hard and opened another bottle, the glass sat redundant on the tray.

Ethan raised an eyebrow and smiled as he watched Dhanishta down a whole bottle. Grabbing one himself, he opened it and began downing it himself. Gulp after gulp, he finally emptied the bottle and slid it across the table to the edge. He grabbed another and opened it. “I have to admit, you can hold your drink, not like humans.” He chuckled. “More like a Cardassian, or Klingon.”

“I learnt from the best. As I said before I have many Klingon traits. I even have a House, or too.” She boasted.

“And here I am with quarters. Not much in comparison I guess. But then I suppose if you have a family, there’s enough people to have a House. Klingon or otherwise.”

“I don’t have a family.” She said slightly confused. “What are you talking about?” she asked frowning not really following the conversation.

Ethan frowned. “You have a sister, that’s enough for a family.” He said looking back at the table.

She nodded still confused. “Sure, yep, great.” She mumbled reaching for another bottle.

“So what’s your deal? People know why I’m here…” he said waving his hand around the table. He looked confused for a moment. For a short while there, he imagined that McDowell and Dallas were there too. He raised the bottle and read the label on it. “Huh…” he muttered. “Ok, so why are you here?”

“To get drunk of course, silly.” She said raising her hands gesturing at the ceiling.

“Getting drunk never solved any problems.” Ethan replied. “So what’s your deal?”

“Thought you said you weren’t going to ask.” She said, her voice slightly raised.

“I said I wouldn’t ask what’s wrong.” He replied with a short laugh.

“It’s the same question.” She said looking at him as if he were scum, “Why don’t you just save time and probe my mind. That’s what all you STUPID Betazoids do. That’s all your good for!” she stood up sharply throwing the table to one side. The empty bottles smashed on the floor. “Or you could just leave me alone.” She shouted grabbing Suder by his collar, “Did you get that? LEAVE ME ALONE.” She threw him back down on his chair and stormed out of Ten Forward.

TBC

RISA BACKPOST

“Drinking Mixed Emotions Part 3 of 3”

by
Lieutenant (jg) Dhanishta Eshe &
Lieutenant Commander Ethan Suder

Ethan stood up and grabbed the table, putting back to its normal position. On his way out, he gave a nod to the bar tender and apologised for the mess. He raced as fast as he could in his half drunken state down the corridor to catch up with Dhanishta. He didn’t appreciate being grabbed like that, status and reputation had nothing to do with it. She had some problems and needed help or something. He saw her storming down the corridor and caught up with her. Grabbing her arm, he stopped her and turned her around. “Did I imagine that back there, or did that actually happen?”

“You figure it out.” She retorted pushing him away.

Ethan responded by pushing her back against the wall. He was being as gentle as possible. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to vent some steam. You’re not going to talk, so come on then!” he snapped.

Dhanishta didn’t even hesitate she clenched her fist and smacked him right in the face.

Ethan stumbled back and blinked hard several times to make sure what happened had. “That’s fun…” he commented. “You would have thought you’d learnt how to punch by Klingons.”

“If I had hit you the way I was taught you would be dead.” She retorted. “Fancy that?”

“Would be a nice change from this hell.” He said standing up straight.

“Your wish is my command.” She said. She kicked him in his ribs, winding him, and then threw him into a wall console. Hauling him up to his feet she went to punch him again.

Ethan felt a sharp pain shoot through his forehead and saw her on her way for another punch. He rolled out of the way and heard something break as he rolled on to the floor.

Dhainshtas face scrunched up as her fist went through the consol, she heard something snap. She wasn’t sure weather it was her hand or something inside the consol. She removed her fist from the wall and turned to face Suder.

Suder frowned as he felt some blood drip down his face. He got to his feet and smiled at her. “Sorry about that.”

She thought for a moment, this wasn’t getting her anywhere, apart from a reprimand. She had a bottle of Romulan Ale in her quarters……….somewhere. that should finish her off nicely. She shrugged her shoulders at Suder and walked straight past him, making sure her shoulder coiled with his.

Ethan stood against one of the walls and wiped his forehead.

As she turned the corner she felt light headed, her vision tunnelled before clouding over. She smacked her head on the wall as she fell into it and then again as she hit the deck.

Ethan strolled down the corridor. He wasn’t finished with his newest addition to Engineering yet. But as he turned the corner, he saw Dhanishta laying on the floor. She wasn’t moving. He dropped to one knee and gently picked her up. He carried her to the nearest turbolift and jumped inside. During the ride, he attempted to wake Dhanishta to no avail.

The tubolift came to a halt and he once again carried Dhanishta down the corridor. He reached her quarters and stepped further away from the door. Kicking out, the doors slid open after his boot hit the console by the door. He carried her inside and stood still. He looked around at the mess in her quarters. No wonder she had a few scratches. The place was a mess. Just about every object possible had been thrown out of place, against walls, against the floor. Several objects were broken, the glass table, ornaments. Clearly she was disturbed. Something had crawled under her uniform. There was a cargo crate nearby, probably held most of her stuff until it had been thrown. He tried the bedroom, but was just as destroyed. The bed was upturned, more objects had been thrown about. He sighed and left her quarters.

The doors slid open and Ethan stepped inside of his own quarters. He moved straight for the tidy bedroom and placed Dhanishta gently down. He covered her with a blanket and moved to the main room where he ordered a drink from the replicator. He still felt some blood dripping down his head and figured he’d sort it out in a minute.

Dhanishta groaned and rubbed her throbbing head. She felt something soft beneath her fingers, she had no idea where she was. Opening an eye she saw something red, a blanket, but it didn’t smell like hers. Her attention turned to her hand; it was bruised and swollen, it felt like it was broken. Slowly she rolled over and fell onto the floor, ~ I guess that was a bed then ~ she thought. Looking round she realised she was in a bedroom and it wasn’t hers. Getting to her feet she stumbled to the door. It slid open and she shut her eyes quickly as the light, though dim, blinded her. Stumbling forward slightly she moaned again, leaning in the doorway she lifted her foot and removed a piece of glass. “Ouch.” She mumbled as blood began to flow. She looked around some more before loosing her balance and falling yet again to the floor.

Ethan approached Dhanishta and rolled her over. He grabbed her arm and scanned it with a tricorder, then reached near by and grabbed several items from a first aid kit. “You awake?” he asked.

“U-hu.” Dhanishta grunted. She opened an eye and looked up at Suder.

He began fixing up her hand and occasionally glanced at her. “I’m afraid you’re probably not going to feel that good for the next few hours.” He admitted. He wiped his head again to stop the blood from dripping on Dhanishtas robes.

She grunted again and pulled her hand away from him. She sat up slowly, “What are you talking about, I feel great.” She joked. Using the wall behind her she stood up, wavering slightly. “See, I’m just fine.”

Ethan frowned and pushed her back where she fell into the chair behind her. He grabbed her arm more seriously this time. “Drunk or not, you strike me as the kind who doesn’t like being attended to, but I’m not putting up with any crap. You have a broken hand and I’m going to fix it!”

She pulled her hand away again and pushed him back. She stood up again and made her way to a door.

Ethan grabbed her and threw her back into the chair. “Stay!” he ordered her. He grabbed another tool from the medial kit and approached her again.

Her head began to swim from the force Suder had used to throw her into the chair. The floor tipped like she were at sea, none the less she stood up again and headed for the other door. By power of deduction in her drunken state she noted each door. The one she headed to before was the way out, judging from Suders reaction, the one she had just come from was the bedroom, Suders bedroom she would make a mental note of that and go back to it later, and this one she hoped to be the bathroom. She could feel the bile rising from her stomach.

Suder watched as she made her way to the bathroom. Allowing her some privacy, he grabbed the drink he had ordered earlier from the replicator and slowly began downing it. He hated coffee! He placed the empty glass back into the replicator and frowned as he heard Dhanishta throwing up in the bathroom. He sighed and moved over to the door. It slid open. He stepped into the door way and looked at Dhanishta. “You ok?” he asked.

She nodded, it was too late for embarrassment, she looked up at him, “Water.” she gasped before turning back and throwing up again.

Ethan rushed over to the replicator and ordered a large jug of water and rushed back to the bathroom. This wasn’t the first time he’d housed a drunken being of some kind. He handed the jug to her and stepped back.

She downed as much as she could before throwing up again. And continued in that manner for a while; downing water and then throwing up.

And here I thought you’d be able to handle the drink, he thought. But then she had been drinking a little under an hour before he had arrived in Ten Forward. He went and collected more water for Dhanishta and then sat in a chair. He sighed and waited for Dhanishta to finish her business. The sound of her throwing up become less. She was either focusing on drinking water or her vomiting had come to a near finish.

She finally emerged from the bathroom, her hair was soaking and her face was pail and covered with water. She leaned in the door way and looked over at Suder.

“A phaser for your thoughts?” Suder asked.

She raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head as if she wanted to tell him what she was thinking, but then thought better of it. “I should get going.” She said, “I’ve wasted enough of your evening, morning… day.” She turned and then stopped, “I just want you to know that I don’t often do that.” She turned to face him again, “In fact, I’ve never done that. And your right. Drinking doesn’t solve anything. And thank you. I’ll see you later.” She gave a brief wave and turned back to the door.

Ethan gave her a nod and watched as she headed for the door. “Not like I have anything to do. My time with you tonight has been more productive than my average night.” He told her.

“I highly doubt that.” She said pausing in the open doorway.

“You don’t know me so how do you know?” he asked.

She turned to face him again letting the doors close behind her, “You really expect me to believe that watching me get drunk, fighting and listening to me throw up has been productive for you?”

“Usually I just sit here and stare out the window, so let me think, yeah this has been more productive. There’s been drinking, action, drama, more than my average day of boredom, regret, sorry, guilt and all the other crap that comes with it!” he almost snapped. As if I have to prove my point, he thought.

She rubbed her head with her hand and winced, ~ Yep, you dumb-ass, it’s still broken~ “You know what? That makes two of us.” She turned back to the door and mumbled on her way out, “You should get a cat!”

“I should get a life!” he snapped as the doors closed. He thought for a while about Dhanishta and what could have driven her to do what she had done tonight. Must have been intense. Family issues probably came high on the list. He couldn’t really think what else may have been bothering her. Not like she was opening up or anything. Yet he still had concern for her. He didn’t like someone, specially someone in his department with big problems like this. He would have to keep a close eye on her, he was worried.

~Maybe that too~ she thought as she walked back to her quarters. She walked in slicing her feet again on the broken glass. She thought about the necessity of shoes as she made her way through the bomb sight to her bedroom, ‘bull in a china shop’ didn’t really cover it. She flung herself down on her bed, not realising it wasn’t there until her head collided with the floor, she groaned again as she slipped into unconscious, of the none sleeping variety.

(OOC NOTE – special thanks to Martin. I kept him up all night for this. Thanks man, you’re the best. PS M – great title, thanks)

RISA BACKPOST

"Inner Struggle"

Lieutenant (jg) Dhanishta Eshe
Engineer

Lieutenant (jg) Michael McDowell
Engineer

*** Main Engineering, 04:00 hours ***

Pacing Main Engineering, that was all Michael had done the last 15 minutes. He kept mumbling to himself, attracting attention from the other Engineers as they walked by. Of course, they knew all to well what kept him busy. And that was the same reason they stayed away from him. They'd never saw him in this mood.

It was Ensign Langly who approached Michael at last. "Sir...? I was wondering..."

"Yes! What is it now Richard!?" Michael answered annoyed.

"I..I'm sorry sir..." Richard stammered. "I didn't mean to bother you... It can wait." And before Michael could make an apology Richard was gone.

Michael sighed and shook his head. ~Great,...nice going Michael. You just took your frustration out on someone who had nothing to do with it!~

*** Meanwhile in Eshe's quarters ***

Salem stalked through Dhanis quarters. It had turned into an interesting play ground for him, jumping from upturned chairs to upturned tables he made his way towards his 'mother'. The black cat ran through the door quickly, he began to rub himself affectionately against her shoulder; he was hungry!

Dhanishta lay on the floor, surrounded by broken objects. She did not move through the cats persistent pawing and mewing.

*** Back in Main Engineering, 10 minutes later ***

~That's it! Geez, 40 minutes! What the hell is she thinking!~ Michael finally came to the point where he'd used up all his patience. Tapping his combadge he nearly shouted, "McDowell to Eshe! You're already 40 minutes late! Get yourself over here Lieutenant, now!"

Dhanishta came to, to the sound of her com badge beeping and someone shouting. Her hand moved in automatic response to answer it, yet nothing happened. She slapped her hand down again and yelped as pain shot through it. She realized that she was hitting the floor as she was lying face down. Reluctantly she rolled over, groaning as she landed on something sharp. She brushed it away with her hand and moaned as her awareness came back to her body. Everything hurt! Salem skittered away from her flying hand.

A second call came from Michael, more anxious this time. ["Lieutenant Eshe, report! ...Lieutenant!?"]

She slapped her combadge, yelping slightly at the pain in her hand, ~ Bumb ass ~ she thought, ~ Stop using it! ~

"Eshe here." she croaked out.

A sigh of relieve could be clearly heard at the other end of the line. However, it was immediately followed by a stern voice. ["Lieutenant, have you any idea what time it is!!? Wait, don't bother telling me,...I tell you. You're 40 minutes late!! If you're not down here in 3 minutes then I'll see to it personally that you'll be fine-tuning sonic showers for the next 6 months!"

Dhanishta groaned again which echoed through the com link, "Aye Sir."

After a while she rolled over and pushed herself on to all fours. Crawling through the mess in her bedroom she headed towards the door. After nudging it with her elbow it opened and she crawled through. She sat back in the doorway and stared at a pile of shoes. ~ I don't remember throwing my shoes around. I threw a lot of stuff around but not my shoes. ~ Looking up she saw a row of clothes, ~ This is not the main room. It's my closet! A good a place than any to start, I suppose. ~

Reaching up she cringed as a sharp pain shot through her chest. She retracted her arm and curled it round her abdomen as a pile of clothes fell on her. Sieving through the pile of clothes she found her uniform and began to pull it on. Looking down at her legs as she slipped on her trousers she wasn't sure where the bruises ended and her spots began.

Right that moment another call came through. ["Lieutenant...time may be eternal, but my patience certainly is not! I think I've been more than lenient here. Do I have to drag you here myself!?"]

Dhanishta cringed at the sound of his voice. She was in for it! Plain and simple.

"I'm sorry sir..." she croaked again feeling hot tears well up. She wasn't sure if that was because of the pain or the situation she was in. It was the first time she had ever been late and she sure as hell hadn't intended to do it.

"You don't have to drag me any where," though it would certainly be easier, she thought. "I will be with you soon."

She breathed in sharply as the fabric snagged on the gash on her thigh. Once fully dressed she pulled a pair of shoes on over her swollen cut feet. She then hobbled into her bathroom and washed her hands and face, howling as she rubbed soap into a huge cut on her forehead. Looking at it closely in the mirror she sighed as the surrounding area had formed a huge dark purple lump. After a few more pain filled minutes she covered the huge bruise with her hair and tied the rest up. She couldn't remember if Suder had fixed her broken hand the night before, but it sure felt like he hadn't.

Finally another half hour later Eshe hobbled into Main Engineering. The pain she felt seemed to have dulled into a numbness that encapsulated her entire body. She was extremely pail, black rings surrounded her eyes and a few scratches remained visible on her face from last nights antics.

Michael gave her a brief look, one so harsh and intense that the meaning of it was crystal clear. "CEO's office, right now, Lieutenant!"

Dhanishta followed him in to the office and waited to be told to 'sit down' she had a feeling that this was gonna take some time.

While Michael sat down he looked up to Dhanishta, making sure she could see his irritation. He didn't get it. Why was she doing this? Normally she was always on time, and Michael wouldn't even look twice if she would be a bit later then normal,...but more than an hour!? That was way too much and clearly could not be tolerated. Michael pointed to the seat in front of her, the meaning being obvious.

Dhanishta was quite thankful for the opportunity to sit down, just worried that she wouldn’t be able to get back up again. Hesitantly she sat down.

For a long moment it was quiet. Michael used the time to figure out how to start. "I doubt that lecturing you on protocol is going to get me anywhere...because you know the rules as well as I do. So, lets just say it as is. You screwed up."

Shifting slightly Dhani tried to get more comfortable, but it was no use. No matter how she sat it wasn’t going to take away any of the pain that rippled through her body. She looked at Michael as he spoke to her.

She wasn’t quite sure what to say to him, or where to start. ~ I’ve had a really rough day Sir, ~ she thought; ~No that won’t do, how about, Sorry Sir, I went to Ten Forward earlier and got really drunk with Suder, erm…. No. ~ She noticed the pips on his collar and realised for the first time that she was the same rank as him, ~Oh, Rank. I could bring that up! Err, defiantly no. How about; Please Michael I’m asking you as a friend? But we barley know each other, even though I feel like I’ve known him for years and then some. How about the truth? ~ a little voice inside her head said, ~Oh yer, ~ Dhani replied to it scathingly, ~ McDowell, I’m late because I trashed my quarters, went to Ten Forward got drunk, had a fight with Suder and then proceeded to throw u…….. Hang on! I had a FIGHT with SUDER? ~ she questioned her self trying to recall the details of the evening, ~ The Chief? ~ A vague memory of upturning a table returned to her, and then another of decking her CEO and smashing her fist through a wall consol ~ Auw, crap!!! ~ ~Well, I now know where that came from. ~ She thought looking down at her multi coloured hand.

She knew he was waiting for an answer, perhaps even an excuse but she still didn’t know what to tell him. Feeling something trickle down the side of her face underneath her strategically positioned hair she suddenly became very aware that the bruise on her forehead was bleeding. Her hair had seemed to soak up most of the blood and was now stuck to her head. ~Great!~ she thought, ~just great!~ She pinched the bridge of her nose with thumb and forefinger and rested her elbow on the arm of the chair sighing. ~I see now why Vulcans don’t give in to their emotions. One night… Day, of letting them reign and look at me, I’m a wreck.~

A scorched sandy plain from Vulcan floated through her mind, the image was somewhat comforting. Sarks face emerged through the dust and she smiled slightly at him. Then she remembered her earlier conversation with him. Her spots began to prickle as she felt a hot sweat break out across her body. Her hand glittered in the light with the sweat. Her armpits itched and she could feel that same rage stirring within. ~I gotta get out of here~ she thought. ~If I went ballistic at Suder then the gods only know what I’ll do to McDowell. And I’m in enough trouble as it is.~ She stood up painfully, not making any eye contact with McDowell, scared that if she did she might be attending his funeral… or hers… probably a court martial!

“I understand, Sir.” She said unclenching her teeth and making her way towards the door.

A frown appeared on Michael's face as watched while Dhanishta stood up. For the last few minutes he'd been able to look at her more closely. There was something not right here. Were that bruises he saw? A small stream of blood on her forehead? "Lieutenant, is everything alright?" Michael asked worried, not even thinking about the fact that she'd walked away just like that. When Dhanishta didn't answer he turned to the more personal approach. "Wait a moment Dhanishta... What has really happened?"

Dhanishta didn’t hear McDowell, only the voice inside her head; ~ You know, you could kill him! Better yet you could make him forget this entire conversation, meddle deep inside his mind; make him think twice before messing with you. ~ Deep frown lines crossed Dhanishtas fore head. ~ Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Hell you could float him right out of his chair, throw him against the wall, without even laying a finger on him!! ~

“SHUT UP!” Dhanishta shouted punching the wall. The door opened and she left the office.

She walked quickly through Engineering, grabbing a data pad she transposed data from the jobs list on to it, snatched up her tool box and left before McDowell had time to pick his jaw up from the floor.

Michael did a few quick steps out of the office with the intention of running after Dhanishta, but stopped when he saw she had already left. Her sudden outrage left him speechless. He was perplexed with what just happened. ~What's wrong with her!? Whatever it is, it's not good.~

A second later Michael briefly looked at Lieutenant (jg) John F. Byers "John, take over will you? I've got to sort this out."

Michael exited Main Engineering and look around to see if Dhanishta was still near Engineering. No so luck. "Computer, location of Lieutenant Eshe?"

["Lieutenant Dhanishta Eshe is on Deck 11, section 5".]

~The malfunctioning Replicator?~ Michael wondered and slightly raised his left eyebrow. He didn't think about it for long and made a run towards the nearest turbolift.

* Deck 11, section 5 *

Five minutes later Dhanishta was standing in front of the replicator. It didn’t register that she had fixed it several times this week. In fact nothing registered! She stood for near 10 minutes just staring at the mess of wires, isolineors chips and flashing lights; drawing a total blank. Looking down she saw her tricorder in her hand; prepped and ready to go, but the readouts from that made as much sense as a phase coupler would to a Doctor! Tapping her com badge she said; “Eshe to Engineering.”

The reply came through from Byers; “Engineering here, go ahead Lieutenant.”

“I need a little help down here. Can you send someone down?” She asked feeling stupid, after all it was only a replicator. A first year cadet could fix it.

“Lieutenant McDowell is on his way. He should be with you now.”

Dhanishta continued to stare at the inertia of the replicator.

The infamous replicator Dhanishta had been working on for the last week was located in a now unoccupied crew quarters. Michael had been there several times himself with her to try and isolate the problem, to no avail. To him the Quick virus was the number one suspect, that freaking, ghostly,...something that still haunted the ship.

The doors opened with the familiar hiss. It was kind of odd to see Dhanishta standing in front of the replicator doing nothing else but staring. "Dhani?" Michael almost whispered her name. "I know something is wrong with you, and maybe it's difficult for you to talk about it,...but only you can make me understand."

Nothing. It was like talking to a concrete wall. "You have to talk about it Dhani,...if not with me then with a Counsellor."

A wave of nausea came over Dhanishta and she swayed slightly. Leaning against the wall she tried to regain her balance as the rest of the room began to spin before her. Her vision began to fade in and out like pins and needles. She couldn’t hear McDowell anymore, the humming of the ship or the tricorder beeping. Everything seemed to slow down as her knees buckled and she slid to the floor, snagging her hair on the wall. Pinching the bridge of her nose she propped her elbow on her raised knee and rested her head. Stretching her other leg out before her she tried to take a deep breath and almost cried out with the pain it caused.

"Dhanishta!" Michael leapt forward to break her fall. He got hold of her just before she hit the small round wooden table near the replicator. Supporting her head with one hand, he brushed away her hair that covered most of her face. Now he had a clear view on the injuries she'd suffered to her head. As if Michael knew where to look for he looked at both Dhanishta's hands. Her left hand was fine, but the other was in a bad shape.

"Geez, Dhani, what has happened? Who did this!?" Michael called out. The sight shocked him. It hurt him to see one of his own team members in this condition.

"McDowell to Sickbay. I need help here right now!" The call to Sickbay came naturally and only moments after realized in what shape Dhanishta was. He looked her straight in the eyes. "Don't worry, you'll be alright. Just hold on."

It felt like someone was stabbing her over and over, though she was more concerned with the familiarity of that feeling than the pain at that moment. An image floated before her; it was a man with sharp features and a goatee. She knew this man, somehow, and all she felt for him was hatred. She felt violently sick but she had to run. All of her being, her instincts, told her to RUN!

Pushing the man before her away she scrabbled to her feet. She felt something snap and coiled over hugging her chest as wave after wave of pain rolled through her like a sea, gasping she crumpled on the floor, coughing up blood. The dull ach in her head turned to a throbbing like someone playing the bongo drums. She howled pain shutting her eyes tightly. Tears of pain rolled down her face as she pummelled and clawed at the floor.

As her perception shifted she became aware of her surroundings; birds were singing, grass tickled her fingers, opening her eyes she saw blue sky’s through long thin branches which stroked her bare feet, heard water flowing and trees rustling. Dhanishta was stunned even a little afraid but the feeling passed quickly, replaced by the knowledge; ~ I died here! ~

The words rung over in her head, the meaning sinking in.

~ When did I die? Am I already dead? Am I going to die in this place? Where is this place? ~

Her thoughts were suddenly calmed, her questions though not answered ceased. The Galaxy and all that had happened a distant memory. A rush of peacefulness washed over her as she felt connected to everything. The universe seemed so much smaller. Love and warmth overwhelmed her and she felt truly happy. She could go anywhere, do anything. She was in everything. Nothing else mattered, Dhani was home….

Michael knew it the instant he felt Dhani's body slump down. His heart skipped a beat. The next instant anxiety took hold of him which turned into panic. "No, No! Don't do this to me Dhani!! Don't you do this to me!" Michael shouted. The next instant he hit his combadge. "McDowell to Sickbay. Medical emergency! Beam us straight to Sickbay, now!!"

"Change of Pace"

Right-after-we-left-Risa Backpost

Lieutenant (JG) Corran Rex,
Vanguard Squadron CO / Vanguard Marine Division CO
(Unauthorized use of Lieutenant Geluf - though I don't think Brandon will mind)

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

TO: LTJG Rex, Corran, Assistant Operations Manager, USS Galaxy NCC-70637-A FROM: LT Geluf, Curtis, Operation Manager, USS Galaxy NCC-70637-A CC: CAPT M'Kantu, Daren R., Commanding Officer, USS Galaxy NCC-70637-A

Lieutenant Rex, it's my pleasure to inform you that your request for transfer has been approved. Effective immediately, you a transferred to command of Vanguard Squadron, on attached duty to USS Galaxy NCC-70637-A. You will serve as commanding officer for this squadron, as well as commanding officer for Vanguard Division, the marine complement aboard this starship. Your request has been grounded, and pilots from both Starfleet and the Starfleet Marine Corps may be accepted into your Squadron. Vanguard Division will remain a Marine-only unit, until further notice. Your new office is located on Deck 16, Section 43A, Room 16-016. 12 new Banzai-Class starfighters were transferred aboard at Starbase 212, and are housed in the main shuttlebay.

Congratulations, Lieutenant. See you around the ship, Lieutenant Curtis Geluf, Operations Manager

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

"Hunh." Corran said aloud after reading the message on his terminal that morning, in a flat even tone suggesting... not surprise exactly, but more of an 'oh, okay then. I can't believe they actually decided it was a good idea' sort of tone. Mind awhirl with these new circumstances, he started thinking things over as he walked to the replicator.

~First thing to do,~ Corran thought, ~is to get myself recertified in the flight simulators. Then I'll have to start evaluating pilots, and start looking for replacements from the people who just transferred off ship.~ Thoughts of this nature continued as he ordered a red undertunic from the replicator to replace his now out-of-uniform gold shirt.

~The Marines are going to just LOVE the fact that their Division's been placed under the command of a Fleet officer.I can probably expect some problems there. What's his name - Valhoun. He's supposed to be a pretty solid guy, I'll have to see about getting his help with that.~

Then, of course, one of the many ever-present voices in the Trill's mind decided it was a good time to make itself known. ~You've got to be joking.~ came the familiar, sarcasm-laden thoughts of Vorrin, his last host.

~I was wondering when you were going to speak up~ Corran mentally observed as he finished zipping up his outer shirt and headed out of his quarters.

~I've been too shocked to say anything.~ came the old smuggler's reply. ~Starfleet must be much worse off than I thought, to put a looney like you in charge of anything, let alone a fighter squadron and a bunch of Marines.~

~If I'm crazy,~ Corran decided, ~It's because I hear certain voices way too often. Now shut the hell up, Vorrin.~

~Whatever, kid. Whatever.~

"Deck Sixteen." Corran ordered aloud as the turbolift doors swished shut.

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

Lieutenant' Corran Rex entered the Deck 16 Marine Assembly Room not without a certain degree of nervousness. Preparing to address a division of sixty Marines consisting of three platoons of twenty, and an additional dozen starfighter pilots, could do that to a man. Though, he noted, looking at the manifest PADD in his hand once more, there were at present only six pilots in the squadron, seven counting himself. He'd have to find five qualified pilots from the Galaxy's own crew, or be at below-strength until replacements could be found.

"Officer on Deck!" came the shout as he entered, and everyone stopped what they were doing, be it PT, weapons maintenance, or any of a variety of other tasks, and snapped to attention with a salute. Word had apparently filtered down already about the change in command. ~This brand of formality is definitely going to take getting used to ~ Corran thought as he tossed off a quick salute - which he'd hoped he'd done right - and replied with an "As you were." He case a firm eye around the room, until he found his target, one Sergeant Brian Merryman, the Division Yeoman.

"Yeoman, with me." the Lieutenant instructed, motioning towards the door Curtis' message had indicated was his office. once he entered, he found a spartan space, as would befit a Marine commander. There were no personal effects, the previous CO had taken them all with him, obviously.

Sitting down in the desk, Corran looked to Sergeant Merryman, and motioned for the Marine to take a seat.

"I'd prefer to stand, sir." Merryman replied from an at-ease position.

"Of course you would." the former OPs officer replied. "I'll get to the point, Sergeant. I want everyone out there ready for inspection in ten minutes. Every one of them should have what they need in their lockers. If they don't, then they had best move quickly. Make it happen."

"Aye sir." the Sergeant replied, and at Rex's nod, moved quickly to depart.

~This is going to be interesting.~ Corran thought, watching the Sergeant go. He set his chrono's timer for ten minutes, and then began what was sure to be an arduous process of personnel reviews.

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

Ten minutes later, Corran re-entered the Assembly Room to find seventy-two men, women and nongendered and transgendered sentients standing in neat little rows, all at attention. Alpha Squad, Beta Squad, and Charlie Squad were grouped together, as well as the pilots and support personnel of Vanguard Squadron. He noted First Lieutenant Valhoun standing in front of Alpha Squad, as well as First Lieutenant Meyers standing in front of Beta Squad, and Second Lieutenant vh'Shanti with Charlie. ~Not bad~ he thought. ~Not bad at all.~

~Yeah, just wait till one of them decides to knock you on your ass.~

~Shut up, Vorrin.~<