Jesse was getting ready to go back on duty, having taken the night shift on Bridge, and was working on his procedures and checklists in preparation. He was excited to work with the officers that evening, hoping to make a good impression on his new crewmates. That was probably why he liked to prepare so much; still trying to prove himself to be a good Federation man.

Upon one of his checklist was helping Lieutenant Raza initiate a weapons training course, and so he decide now was a good time to get that organised.

Jesse tapped his comms badge, =/\= Lieutenant Raza, please see me in my quarters as soon as possible. =/\=

Raza was in the armory, checking and rechecking arms lockers as was his normal duties from being a security officer, when the call came in from the XO. =^= "On my way sir." =^= Raza said as he left the Armory and headed for the XOs quarters a bit perplexed as to why he wanted to see him, a few minutes later he arrived and walked threw the door, as to his reasoning was, he was invited and ordered so their was no need to knock.

Temple was in the middle of finishing his daily reports when the Lieutenant arrived and Jesse jumped to his feet to greet Mr Raza with an extended hand.

"Welcome, Lieutenant," He smiled, "Thanks for coming to see me so promptly. I hope I didn't interrupt anything?"

"Just checking weapons lockers, and thinking sir. So not much, what do you need?" Raza asked curiously.

Temple indicated to the couch and took a seat. "If it's okay with you, I had some thoughts on your phaser training and wanted to implement your idea as soon as possible. No time like the present, right?"

"Oh of course. Though, I have met some resistance to the idea from our ships CMO, but I told the Captain which I think he was surprised that one of his crew actually wanted to talk to him but, not sure if anything will come of it. Ill be shocked if it does. But sure, what are your thoughts, sir?" Raza asked curiously.

"Well I'm glad you brought up Dr. Rehu, actually," Temple replied with a cautious smile, "I spent some time in the Holodeck with him today and found him to be more than capable in regards to weapons and combat. The man has skills. The Romulans sure don't muck around when it comes to training."

"But it brings me to my first thought," Temple smiled again, "It won't be too long till we hit the Federation supply station and we're on our way to delivering our cargo. I'd like to spend that time training those who really need it first and prioritise our less proficient crew?"

"I am sure that the Doctor is proficient, but I would be neglectful in my duties if I allowed everyone who hasnt passed my tests to run around with a weapon. So until he does go threw my tests and passes both Grax with rifles and myself with hand phasers, I cant let him use any phasers or otherwise. This I am adamant about. Everyone participates, I even have too, why?, because I am a superior ranked officer and have to set an example. You have to set an example, the Captain has to set an even higher example and the CMO is the medical officer and an officer onboard so even he has to set an example to the low ranked crew. If we dont set these examples for the crew, they may start to question authority and that right their is when it will cause a problem. If the officers cant uphold a simple weapons test to pass by Grax and I both, they will cause problems and that I cant have. What happens if we have to evacuate and there is dissension in the crew?, they will not respond to a higher authority because we set the example saying they can do whatever the hell they want, discipline will break down and it will get even more people killed if they stampede. So sir, just because your an officer doesnt give you or anyone the right to get out of a test that you have to set an example at to maintain discipline." Raza said making it quite obvious he wasnt going to move from his position.

"So as you can see, sir. I will not permit him or anyone, not even you or the Captain, sir to have a weapon outside of the weapon lockers until I see first hand they can pass 'my' test. I am sure you mean well, but I was hired on as ships safety officer, correct?, you sure you want me to be neglectful in my duties when it could cost everyone their lives?. That is a form of murder sir, and you dont want to be accused of murdering your entire crew, do you? when you had a means and motive to stop it?. Discipline is a tricky thing and that also falls under my job description, sir. Making sure everyone has the discipline to handle situations, and alot falls under Discipline, sir." Raza explained.

Jesse grimaced a little, "I'm sorry if I've gotten you worked up Mr Raza. Please know that I absolutely support your training program, and will be participating myself. Me and the Captain care about the safety of this crew just as much as you do."

The Commander shifted in his seat, "I just want to do this efficiently given our very short turn around. And I hear ya, we're all coming onto this ship as new crew members. No one has completed your training yet, to your standard, so you feel everyone needs to do it. I understand that, I do. But there will some folks on board who have zero previous experience, and those who do have prior experience. I want us to target those with zero experience first, and then work our way up. Does that sound efficient to you?"

"No offense is taken, Mister Temple. Like you take your job seriously, I take mine even more so. You command a ship to make sure everyone gets to and from our destination alive. My job is to ensure we are alive long enough to get to and from our destination intact. Same job parameters just different ways of doing it, so there was no offense given. Everyone thinks my job is an easy one, it really isnt." Raza explained he wasnt offended. "Infact that is part of my training regime. I will be testing officer's skills first. Then I will pair people up with officers so they can teach their department subordinates under Grax and I's supervision. I will make sure everyone is up to the task of training those under them. I will also be running a evacuation course with all senior officers. That way they know the evacuation protocols and then they can help those below them." Raza explained his course.

"Now, I think Mr Grax will be busy training his team so I am happy to help conduct the phaser or rifle training with you. And I want to help too, as it will show the crew how seriously we regard safety." Jesse continued, "I have here some details of my personal phaser testing program from the holodeck. It's Fleet Marine standard but there are different levels and difficulties. You are free to duplicate the program and modify it to your standards as you please."

Taking the padd he looked over it and nodded. "Not bad, some improvements but not bad. Do you know anything about small team tactics? if not, I can teach a course in that as well to the officers to ensure that if we are boarded, everyone knows what to do." Raza explained.

"Well yeah, we always worked in squads." Jesse replied, thinking fondly, "Small teams, everyone had a role from the top down. It makes things easier when the situation gets sticky."

He received the PaDD back from Raza and scrolled through the crew manifest. Thankfully it wasn't too large. "Now, on Federation vessels, the department head has responsibility for overseeing evacuations and forced incursions for their team. Anyone holding a Chief role should be familiar with protocol for both situations but obviously we will need to refresh everyone's training. Given we won't have a large crew compliment, it will be necessary for everyone to have a specific role."

"Chief positions will have a specific role during evacuations, for the moment, they will be responsible for their departments. So if we have to evac, all ports and escape pods will be supplied, all department heads, will be able to grab needed basic supplies quickly and then depart. I have already timed that it should take everyone a total of two minutes to evacuate this ship after they know where to go, what to grab and then get personnel to their assigned escape pods or shuttles. If done correctly, everyone should live during an evacuation, but I wont know the full extent of how much I have to train officers and crew in these new protocols until I actually teach them the protocols. If they listen and learn, no one will die. Now if they fight me every step of the way, then you and I both know that will kill everyone more effectively then being shot with a phaser." Raza explained.

Temple nodded, "I doubt anyone wishes for that to happen. We just need to ensure our training is comprehensive and efficient. How soon would you like to start training crew? I'm on Bridge duty tonight but could assist afterwards, if you'd like?"

"Of course, if you wish to assist, that is your right. As for when, as soon as humanly possible. Sooner I can ascertain skill levels the better off everyone will be." Raza replied.

Jesse stood again, "Very well, just let me know when you're ready to begin." He smiled and reached out to shake the Lieutenant's hand again, "If you'll excuse me, Mr Raza, but I have some work still to do before I go on the Bridge. Always be prepared, right? But thank you for coming up to see me, I really appreciate it."

"You can never be prepared enough, sir." Raza replied as he saluted and left.

Jesse farewelled the Lieutenant and returned to his busy work, thankful he could check another item off his list.

The black combat boots were unlaced and kicked off, the sweaty socks were slipped off, and the white v-neck tee was the next article of clothing to be shed and dropped onto the bathroom floor. Nal Rehu pulled at the black belt of his olive green cargo pants, and pulled the faux leather from the loops in one quick jerk. The belt was dropped onto the pile, followed by the cargo pants, and then the undershorts.

“Computer start shower, fourty-nine degrees cee,” Nal called out as he leaned against the washbasin and glanced at himself in the mirror. He had studied his features, and he came to the conclusion that he looked exhausted. The normally vibrant gray eyes didn’t seem as vibrant at the moment. “Maybe, it’s because you just did a bunch of killing on the holodeck,” he mumbled aloud. He knew the shower would do him good, it always did, and it would rejuvenate him.

Once the computer beeped, he stepped into the stall and stood under the showerhead, allowing the hot water to cascade down his lithe form. He sighed in relief at how good it actually felt to be standing there. He closed his eyes and just stood there, allowing the hot water to do it’s magic. He knew most liked the convenience of a sonic shower, but not him. A sonic shower was good in a pinch, but nothing beat the soothing affects of hot water. But more than that, Romulans couldn’t really handle the sounds of a Starfleet designed sonic shower. With hearing that was slightly better than humans, the ‘whine’ of a sonic shower was bothersome.

He let the water fall down his body as he kept his eyes closed, his mind wandered to the holodeck and to the rigorous program that Temple had put him through. He wasn’t sure what bothered him more, the fact he didn’t hesitate to kill, or the fact he didn’t hesitate to ‘kill’ Temple. His Romulan blood had coursed fiercely through his veins as he attacked the various aliens and then the Borg drones. He had tried to shed that part of him for the past five years, but it seemed it was still there. He certainly never wanted to turn his back on his heritage or his baser instincts, but was he trying to hard to fit in with humans? Was he trying to become human?

His eyes opened and went wide at that revelation, he snarled and spit as if that thought was worth the expulsion of his saliva. “You are not a human D’Nal tr’Rehu,” he snarled, using his given name. Five years ago, after his sentence of expulsion from the Empire was handed down, he was stripped of his given and family name. Now, he just went by Nal Rehu. The stripped down name seemed weak; unworthy of his Romulan heritage. “Hwi whoi (You messed up)…” he said out loud in his native tongue.

Breathing out a sigh he reached for the soap and cleaned up the perspiration that formed during his ‘killing’ spree. “Computer raise temperature of shower to sixty cee,” he called out. Nal felt the abrupt change; the water was past scalding now. He took the washcloth and used it roughly, scrubbing his skin hard until the soft green tinted skin was rubbed raw, but it wasn’t enough. He washed his hair and stepped out, calling for the computer to shut the water off. He reached for the dark purple towel that hung from a metallic rack, and as he was drying off, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He saw the raw, green tinged skin. This wasn’t the first time he had taken out his anger on his own body, he also knew it wouldn’t be the last.

His gray eyes stared at the reflection looking back. Nal’s breathing grew heavy, he turned fully to face his own reflection. “Face it, you are no longer Rihan!” and with that, he roared as his fist met the mirrored glass. The mirror splintered into hundreds of pieces but didn’t not fall from it’s casing. “IMIRRHLHHSE!” he wrung his left hand to shake out the pain. Mean gashes of green crossed his knuckles, but he didn’t care because he finally felt something, he had become to accustomed to the numbness.

As his breathing slowed, he realized what he had done and he backed up in horror only to be stopped by the cold, duranium bulkhead. He slid down slowly, and as soon as his rear came in contact with the deck, he drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees.

He buried his head in his arms… and cried…

Having completed his usual morning routines, Jesse Temple hurried into the Mess Hall for a late breakfast. There was nothing he enjoyed more than a big meal after a busy morning, as he allowed himself to be undisciplined for a change.

He walked over to the window and said a cheerio to Chef Anne, "Morning, ma'am, how's the kitchen today?"

The kitchen, currently partially engulfed in flames, seemed to be under control at least. Anne looked up from the two foot high flames coming from her fire roaster and nodded to Jesse. "Trying some new dish I got from a Klingon contact. With our ingredients, of course. Interested in trying some when it's done?" Just then, her timer went off with a ring and she clicked the fire off and lowered the apparent force field she had around it. It then revealed a tall sealed canister that had been rotating in the fire.

Grabbing gladhandles, she moved the canister off to the side and cracked it open to reveal an amazingly well done dish full of squid, rice, and other unidentifiable meats. It also filled the room with a spicy aroma that could burn the nose hairs off a Gorn.

Temple cracked his neck and looked at the canister. "I was looking for grits and eggs but this smells delicious. You do amazing work, Chef, I'd love to try some."

"Then you shall have some," Anne said as she spooned up a pair of bowls of the goulash style mixture. She set one bowl and a plate of toasted breads in front of Jesse and set the other at a spot next to him. "Juice machine is acting up so you'll have to use the replicator for a drink." She then left the kitchen and plopped down at the bar with him.

Giving an appreciative nod, Jesse sauntered over to the replicator and whizzed himself up a large pint of apple juice before heading back to the bar and sitting down.

"Have you met much of the other crew?" He asked, carefully combing through the meal with his fork. He stabbed at a piece of squid and popped it quickly into his awaiting mouth.

"Met? technically not, but I've fed a lot of them. Most seem to prefer replicated food though. How about you?" Anne replied before taking a bite of her own food.

The doors to the room opened and a man walked through, his jacket zipped half-way up and the hood pulled up on his head. He took a seat at the bar, "One order," he said in the direction of the chef.

"Order of... Raisin Bran? Or the morning's special?" Anne asked as she stood and headed back behind the bar and served up a plate of the morning's breakfast special for Jax.

"Mr Jax!" Jesse smiled at the new arrival. "Thank you for your flight expertise this morning. Have you ever piloted a ship like this out of dry dock?"

Lucian sat there for a few moments in silence as a plate of food was set in front of him. He slowly looked over at the man who was sitting just few seats away, "Dude, I just want to have sex with you. If you're not interested, then stop talking to me. You're way too chipper," he said, really feeling how tired he was. If there was one thing he didn't like, it was missing sleep. And being required to be on the Bridge overnight was a surefire way to make the Trill unhappy.

Jesse let out a raucous laugh, it was the only thing he could really think to do. The pilot had no verbal filter, no sense of authority, and didn't seem to care about having either. Jesse was a little embarassed at being propositioned so openly, especially in front of Anne, but hoped the laugh would pass that off.

"I'd prefer to be chipper than the alternative any day of the week," The Commander finally spoke. "Seeing as I have you both here, anyone care to confirm the rumours on how you, Anne, along with the Captain, managed to recruit Lucian here?"

"Gods, you're still talking about that?" Lucian asked, rolling his eyes as he took a bite of food. He grimaced for a moment before putting his fork down and pushing the plate away from him. "It happened, we're here, let it go."

"I just happen to like hearing about how Ms Chouvie here managed to bring a big guy like you down," Jesse replied with a laugh. "But I guess I have to get used to working outside the Federation rules. Forgive me if it takes time to catch up with y'all, I hope I can rely on you both to let me know when I'm being a Star Fleet tool."

"You're a Starfleet Tool," Anne replied instantly as she sat back down to her breakfast and shoveled a bite into her mouth. "Lucian, if the seafood in it isn't to your taste, the replicator can convert it to chicken for you if that would be better. Just use setting 33479. Or I can fix something else for you."

Lucian picked up the tray and walked to the replicator, shoving it into the slot and pressing the controls. "I have to agree, you're a Starfleet tool. Just relax, dude."

Jesse laughed, "Well I walked into that one. In the interest of relaxing, I think it would be fun for the crew to have a regular hang out night? Drinks, cards, whatever. Anyone's invited?"

"Count me out," Lucian said as he returned to the bar with something completely different to eat.

"Can't please everyone. Sounds like a good idea, though I suppose I'll have to do extra cooking for it." Anne commented before taking another bite.

Jesse gave a frown to Lucian for his lack of enthusiasm. To be fair, the Helmsman had made it quite clear what kind of evening he was interested in, but that wasn't exactly the team-building exercise Jesse had in mind.

But he was, once again, thankful for Chef Anne. He gave her a warm smile as he finished his meal and stood up from the bar.

"Oh you wouldn't have to do anything," Jesse spoke, "I'll organise snacks and finger food. I want you to relax and enjoy your off-duty time. And the invitation is always open, Lucian, should you change your mind."

"I can at least help out with that. I've got a stash of popping corn hidden away that might come in handy." Anne replied before finishing her own breakfast.

The Commander placed his dishes in the sonic washer, and thanked the Chef, "Once again, Anne, you have blown me away with your food. I really appreciate it. So I'll let you both know when I've made arrangements for our night off."

Anne just waved her hand as she tossed her own dishes in the cleaner. Compliments like that could make her blush and she tried to remain aloof when she was given them.

Lucian sat there for a moment, looking at the doors the Commander had just walked through. He wanted him, and this game of cat and mouse was becoming extremely annoying, and he was becoming extremely impatient. He turned back to his food and ate in silence.

OFF

Anne had sent a message to the captain some time ago telling him to bring an appetite to dinner. She'd gotten her foodstuffs and she wanted him to have the first boma steak. It was an almost buttery meat, full of juiciness and flavor and combined with her curry spices was a mouth watering addition to the kitchen stocks. Sixteen crates of these - three whole boma - along with thirty crates of fresh produce. She could feed the crew for a year just on this deal. Finishing up the steak, she checked on the souffle and casseroles in the ovens before plating it up for the captain.

The Captain had received Anne's message and invitation to which he kindly accepted to an extent. He was there now in the Mess Hall nearing the Galley, the aroma of the room was wonderful. "Anne" he said calling to the woman. "It smells good in here" he added kindly. Where the problem came would be the actual meal...boma steaks. I really am not the person you should have asked he thought to himself. "You know, Anne, Commander Temple probably would love to be trying your steaks."

"He'll get one soon enough," Anne replied as she added the finishing touches to the steak and paella. Then she looked up to the captain, the plate in hand, and just paused there. "Unless you're a vegan?"

Avin sighed "No, not vegan exactly" he replied trying to explain the situation to the woman. "My family was very traditional when I grew up on Earth. The region I was born and raised, historically cows are considered sacred. So, I do not nor will not eat beef. My family follow an ancient Earth religion called Sikhism. There are certain means our meat has to be killed in order to consume the food. Though I personally have walked away from my religious past, I still remain honest to it in my own way."

Anne nodded as she listened. "It may have been a two ton land mammal, but the closest meat on Earth is chicken. And I don't serve food that isn't kosher and slaughtered humanely. I was raised to follow a lot of the same practices. So... do you want it or am I throwing it away?"

The Captain raised his hand and hurried in closer. "No no no, I'll eat it. If you cook it, Anne, I will eat it. There are starving children on Turkana IV that practically pray for a meal like this. I will not let any food unreplicated go to waste aboard my starship" he said somewhat apologetically to her. "If you keep making food like this, I won't have anyone to man the Bridge stations...everyone will be down here eating."

"I don't know about any starving children, but I do enjoy when people enjoy my cooking." Anne replied, setting the plate before him and setting out some real silverware and a tall glass of his favorite tea.

He did indeed enjoy Anne's kindness as well as her culinary skills. Her ability to cook was an asset to crew health and crew morale. There was nothing worse than having to live off of food rations and poorly produced replicator food. Chef Anne Chouvie may have only held the title as Chef and served aboard as the only actual cook the ship had, but she was very much one of the back bones of the Star of India. "You always out do yourself" said Avin. "Time and time again, your kitchen skills...the best in the galaxy, and I'd bet all the latinum I have on that."

"I've seen better, but I will admit that I'm pretty good. You ever need ration packs to taste good, let me know." Anne boasted as she busied herself prepping for the dinner roll.

Avin smiled ever so slightly. "You know that might not be a bad idea" he said looking at her. "Not that we need to rely on ration packs so much, but it wouldn't be a terrible idea to have some that didn't taste so horrible. Could you get to work on that later this week?" asked the Captain.

Anne motioned towards a small chest style preservation unit in the dining area. "I've already got about fifty of them premade and marked with a coor code. Just grab a pack and go. Just remember to toss the trash in the replicators for recycling."

The Captain smiled and shook his head. "You are always several steps ahead of me and the other aboard, Anne. I don't know how you do it, but you never fail to amaze me, and I wouldn't have it any other way" he said. "I would love to stay and enjoy your company some more, but the crew is skeletal for the time being and I have a lot of work ahead of me."

The SS Star of India was well on her way after picking up her load of cargo from the Federation supply station and proceeding to the planet of Cestus III where the supplies were to be transported down. Other than a minor scare about an explosive device being planted in some containers of grain which turned out to a less serious case of some Tribble mischief, and abrupt immediate departure of Second Officer, Chief Engineer Ibrim Dakar, the Star's journey was a rather uneventful one. At least that was what they had thought until a minor slip up by a Gorn navigator brought the Gorn vessel just within the Star of India's sensor range. Commander Temple had command of the starship at the time.

It was a calm Bridge at 0200. Most of the crew were asleep like the Captain. His First Mate, Commander Temple had Bridge watch this night. Doctor Nal Rehu had been asked to put in some time on the Bridge monitoring sensors at his newly designated Science station that had once been the Communications station. There were some ion storms in the area, but they were not projected to be much of an issue. Still, Avin had felt safer asking him to be on the Bridge. Chief Klem was holding down Operations whilst having rerouted some other controls such as weapons and engineering functions to the Ops station, freeing up more personnel to rest. Lucian Jax being the most experienced navigator and pilot was sitting at the helmsmen's seat.

Jesse was enjoying the Captain's Chair once more, but he wasn't about to relax into it. Even on a quiet night such as this, he was still the meticulous officer with plenty of checklists and reporting to be done.

"How are our power relays, Officer Klem?" Temple asked, preparing to note her response on the offical log. "I want to try testing our rerouting systems, what do you think?"

She nodded at the man. "Oh they will work or my butt is tomorrow morning's bacon" she said standing by.

Temple couldn't help but laugh, "Hopefully that won't be necessary."

"Mr Jax," The Marine turned his attention to the Helmsman, "As long as we avoid those ion storms, any ideas on how we could take the Old Girl for a spin?"

"My name is Lucian, not "Mr. Jax"," the Trill said in response, not looking back at the man.

Temple fought very hard to squash the desire to smack the Helmsman across the back of the head but those shiny pips on his collar held him back. Instead he placed a smile on his face. A terse smile.

"It's an old habit, Lucian. I will keep in mind for future that you don't prefer to be spoken to with respect." The Marine replied, trying to keep the sarcasm at bay, "But rest assured, I will be called Mr. Temple, or Commander while on duty. Now, the question still stands. How's about we test the old girl out here? Run through some evasive manoeuvres?"

Lucian scoffed under his breath for a moment. This dude was a trip, demanding to be called Mr Temple or Commander? What did he think this was, a Starfleet vessel? "Aye, sir. Evasive maneuvers underway," he announced, remembering exactly how Starfleet Officers talked from a previous host. If this guy wanted pomp and circumstance, he could certainly lay it on thick.

Temple kept a keen eye on the forward screen as the ship made a rumbling banking right turn. She certainly wasn't as smooth or agile as the modern day ships, making an awkward, dragging manoeuver. This was not a vessel class made for nimble handling.

"Will be hard to get us out of sticky situations," Temple noted aloud to the crew. "How are you finding her?"

Nal Rehu sat at the makeshift science station that was on the bridge. He certainly didn't mind working the night shift, in fact, he enjoyed it. It was quiet, for one, but more than that, if he was in the medical bay he was on his own. It allowed him to just be with his own thoughts, it allowed him to think of his past mistakes, and it allowed him to think about his future. It was just a good way to isolate who he was. This was where his Romulan physiology was a good thing, it allowed him to go for hours and hours without sleep. He of course would always end up in his bunk, but it was still nice to have the late evening and early morning hours to reflect.

He sat there and continued his scans, and then Nal noticed something. A blip, but then it was gone. He blinked, unsure if he actually saw it or not. But, he wouldn't have dreamt it up, so it had to be there. The blip came to life again, this time for far longer. Yes. It was definitely there. Then it was gone again. Frustrated now, his long fingers tapped against his workstation, he tapped in some commands to change the sensor resolution, and to extend the scanning parameters. The blip came into scanning range again, and Nal's fingers danced over the workstation to identify what he was seeing. Whatever was out there was just eluding them, it obviously didn't know they were going in and out of the India's sensor range.

And then it came up again. Nal was prepared and was able to snag the readings he needed. "Aha gotcha ya little Imirrhlhhse," Nal mumbled under his breath. He heard Temple say something, but before anyone could answer the commander, Nal spoke, "I have something on sensors that might be of interest." He turned in his chair to face the XO. "The sensors just picked up a Gorn vessel."

A chill went through the Marine as his mind started to worry. Why were the Gorn there? Is it just one or the first in a fleet? Was the Gorn vessel waiting for a tasty Federation morsel like them? In any other ship, in any other time, he would feel confident of their ability to obliterate the reptiles out of the galaxy but being on the Star of India meant they could be in very big danger. A single merchant vessel couldn't match a Gorn fighter.

"Cease evasive maneuvers, Lucian, and raise shields." Jesse ordered, before looking to the Doctor. "Just the one Mr Rehu? Have they detected us?"

Nal nodded. "It is just the one vessel, and it is hard to tell if they have detected us. I would surmise that since their course is erratic, and they keep going in and out of our sensor range, it's possible they know we are here and are trying to elude us. Though, they are not doing such a great job doing so."

Chief Klem turned her chair slightly around. "Sir, Grax is reportedly in Sickbay. I recommend we call Lieutenant Raza to the Bridge in case we need someone at tactical" said the Tellarite Supply Chief. She quickly began transferring tactical control back to the tactical station.

"Aye, we may need more hands on deck here." Jesse replied, trying to smile and not convey his growing dread.

Leaning over her console the Chief opened a shipwide comm channel "Lieutenant Raza to the Bridge, please. I repeat Lizard Lips to the Bridge" she added with a bit of her somewhat questionable humor.

"Lizard lips my arse." Raza grumbled to himself as he headed for the bridge.

Chief Klem then looked back at Commander Temple once more. "Shall I inform the Captain?" she asked.

"Send an alert to his quarters," Jesse nodded, "Let's not panic until we know what we're dealing with. Anything further from the Gorn?"

"I see you havent destroyed the ship yet, Gorn breath, what do you need?" Raza asked coming onto the bridge.

Nal had now turned fully back in his seat to face his workstation. His gray eyes stayed glued to the monitor as his fingers moved over the work station control panel. "The Gorn ship hasn't made any aggressive moves just yet, nor have they raised their weapons. In fact, they still seem to be confused as to where the edge of our sensor range is." He watched as the blip that was the Gorn vessel disappear for several seconds then reappear.

Chief Klem sent out a private message to the Captain to apprise him of the situation. The Tellarite had to concur with the Doctor's assessment. "I agree with the Doctor. It seems like the Gorn vessel has been trying to shadow us, but is misjudging the capabilities of our sensors. They might be a bit behind on their intelligence of Federation technology or have misjudged us due to being an old Oberth class starship" reported Klem.

Jesse raised an eyebrow, his smile turning to something a little more mischievous. "Hiding from us, you say? I always did like playing hide and seek. Lucian, we'll need your deft skills again. Let's match the craft's speed and course but let 'em remain just on the edge of our sensors. I want to know what they're doing way out here, and why they're so evasive."

Lucian turned to look at the man for a moment, and then looked back at his screen. "Sure, got it," he said, not trying to hide his annoyance.

Nal had a feeling why the Gorn were being evasive. They were either hiding something, or figuring out a way to stop the India from going forward. It was a tactic the Romulans had become accustomed to, and if he was currently on a Romulan vessel, the Gorn vessel would have been destroyed already. Nal looked at his monitor, as the ship moved, the sensor data changed. "The Gorn vessel is now continually in our range," he called out with the new information. "I think they know it too, they have done a course change," he looked at his readings, his upswept eyebrows came together in a scowl. "The course change is erratic, but they are definitely heading toward us. However, they still haven't raised shields nor have they powered up their weapons."

Jesse shrugged, "Well they know we're here, no point beating around the bush. Lucian, make a direct path towards their location too. Hide and seek just changed to a game of chicken."

A grin spread across the Trill's face. He wasn't a big fan of being sly, much preferring a brash, in-your-face approach. And this was definitely it. Without a word, he entered the commands into the Computer's interface.

The Star of India swept a path across the intervening space and closed in on their Gorn shadow, the two vessels now flying nearly parallel next to each other. Unphased by the Star's confronting manoeuver, the enemy fighter cut in front of the Oberth ship and started crossing back and forth just ahead of her bow.

Jesse looked around at the Bridge crew, as bemused as he was confused, "What are they doing?"

"rhadam ih'feanna!" Nal mumbled sharply under his breath. "I've seen this tactic before," he said, "it's their way of trying to intimidate us. The Gorn consider it an aggressive move, to show who is the alpha ship. However, normally over the pass over, they lay down weapons fire that is low grade." He shook his head as his fingers did their dance over the lighted workstation panel. "It's peculiar indeed, without the weapons fire I'm going go out on a limb here and assume they are trying to mess with our heads."

Chief Klem snorted. Her Romulan was piss poor, but she could read expressions well enough to know the Doctor was not entirely pleased with the situation. "Sir, I would recommend we show them that we mean business" she said calmly. "We could fire a few warning shots across their bow, make them alter course away from us. If that doesn't work...we may have to get more aggressive and try to disable their engines" she added.

The Marine's heart jumped for joy at the thought of firing onto the skiddish little reptiles, sending them back to their cold blooded mammas with their tails on fire, but that persistant voice he called 'Protocol' spoke up first.

"Suppose we have to hail 'em first, give them a warning," Jesse sighed."Open a channel to the Gorn vessel."

"Channel open, Sir" said the Chief.

"This is Commander Temple of the Federation Merchant Marines," Jesse stood and spoke in his deepest boom, "You will desist from your aggressive manoeuvres or we will take action. Cease transmission."

Jesse looked to Officer Klem, "Any response?"

"SssSSS SSssS" was the initial response from the Gorn vessel. It was not something the universal translator would translate, but the tone of the hissing did not sound all that warm or welcoming.

Ginny shook her head and snorted. "A whole lot of this and that hissing, but I'm starting to get something else..." she said just before more came through.

"Sssstay away from Cessssstussss III" came a cold hissing reply. Then silence.

The Tellarite confirmed. "That was it, Sir. They terminated the channel after that and have not made any further attempt to respond. I've tried hailing them again" she reported.

"Alright, fire a warning shot twenty metres off their starboard side," Jesse commanded, taking a seat back in the big chair. "On my mark.... Fire!"

A warning shot was fire.

Chief Klem pounded her hooves against the deck, stomping and slamming her knuckle down on the console in front of her. "They have not taken too kindly to that, Commander. It looks like they have picked up speed and are heading directly for us!" she shouted.

"Enough warning," Temple growled. "Lucian, break off our pursuit, round on the Gorn vessel. Officer Klem, when we're in position, fire phasers on their main engine. Let's give 'em a kick up the backside."

"Do you honestly think we're in any position to take on a Gorn vessel?" Lucian asked, turning to the Starfleet Commander. "We're just a small cargo ship."

"They're about to be a Gorn vessel that's dead in the water," Temple replied, "Fire!"

Klem snorted. "Those damn lizards" she said shaking her head. "No offense, Raza" she added, looking over her shoulder.

As the Star of India's phaser tore through space, the Gorn vessel critically didn't expect the merchant ship to act so defensively, leaving their stern engine vulnerable to attack. Officer Klem's accuracy could not be faulted as the phaser hit right on target; there was a brief flash of fire and the Gorn were left drifting.

"Get us out of here, Mr Lucian," Jesse requested, giving a relieved smile, "Before they have a chance to return fire. Head back on course to the Federation station. Good work everyone, well handled."

Chief Klem assisted Lucian from the Ops station, sending him corrected coordinates. "Course plotted" she said simply before giving a nod to Lucian. The starship was soon back underway.

As another sunless morning broke on the Star of India, Jesse was relieved from command of the Bridge by the next shift team. He gave a respectful nod as he relinquished the big chair to the replacement crew before exiting. Armed with a report freshly typed into his PaDD, the Marine made his way straight to the Captain's room, ready to divulge on their early morning adventure.

Jesse stood up straight as he pressed the Captain's door chime and waited.

A little tango with the Gorn aside, there had not been too much going on. However, Avin Singh still had to file his own report broadly to the Federation, and a more in depth and detailed report to the Federation's Secretary of Transportation and to the office of the Secretary of Starfleet which would end up in the hands of the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, and circulate around to people way above Avin's pay grade. All of this because of the aggressive actions taken by one Gorn vessel.

First, However, he needed his Executive Officer's report. The door chime rang and Avin stood. "Come in Ex" replied Avin as the doors parted ways and the Captain had a look at the somewhat restless face of his Executive Officer. "Have a seat Ex, but get yourself some tea or coffee if you'd like before we go over the little Gorn incident" said Avin shaking his head.

Jesse rustled himself up a strong coffee, decided to forgo the milk, and took a seat. "Thank you for seeing me, Captain. I'm certainly glad to have this."

He took a long sip of the hot, dark liquid caffeine and sighed happily, "I'm sure you're already across our skirmish with the Gorn last night but I wanted to review the incident with you. Mostly to make sure I did everything I should have. I'm still little unclear on the terms of engagement on a merchant vessel. I hope I didn't overstep our responsibility."

Avin shook his head "No, no not at all. You protected the starship and our cargo, Jesse. From everything I have read and heard, you acted professionally and exactly how you should have out there on the Bridge. You fired warning shots, Ex, and that is exactly as you should have done. Fire warning shots do everything you can to avoid having to use 'the big guns' as it were. We are not an entirely defenseless little old ship and some of our crew have Starfleet training, yourself included. When push comes to shove...if we need to fire upon a vessel, then we will fire upon said vessel."

Jesse gave a restrained frown before handing over the PADD. "Here's a list of actions I took that I believe were outside regulation, Captain. Engaging in evasive manoeuvres practice without prior notification to crew, section c-nineteen-point-twenty two. Initiating an intercept course with unknown or enemy vessel without prior attempting to communicate with said vessel; section A-three-point-two. Failing to assist a disabled vessel, section A-twelve. As commander of the Bridge, I alone bare responsibility for any possible breaches."

Avin took the PaDD and had a brief look through. It was well constructed and ordered, reading like the report one would expect from a career executive officer aboard a Federation starship. "Ex, we are out here on our own. The closet Federation starship to us was the USS Kingfisher, she was several hours away at her best speed. Sometimes, we have to go outside regulations and act without limitations" said the Captain.

The Marine relaxed somewhat but still had a point to make, "Sir, you're a scientist, correct? You know as well as any that even if an experiment fails, you still document and acknowledge that failure, in the hopes that you don't make the same mistake again. Well likewise in the Corps, you don't get a pat on the back at the end of a hard day. You get told in no uncertain terms what you need to improve. And you train to improve yourself the next day and the next." Jesse grimaced, running a hand through his hair, "Am I making a lick of sense at all, sir?"

"Yes, I am a scientist or at least was" he said in a simple reply. "And I do understand what you are getting at, Jesse. We will have to improvise with this starship at times. Even at a full crew compliment, we won't have that many souls aboard and only a handful of actual officers, not that many aboard with prior service in Starfleet like the two of us. We all will learn to improve after each mission we take on and encounter we may have."

Jesse nodded, "Yes, sir, I agree. I guess I'm just asking that you don't go easy on me. I want to learn how to improvise but I don't want to lose my discipline either. It's important to me." He gave a nervous laugh, "So you can expect more reports like this."

Avin nodded. "I have as much to learn as you do out here, Ex. This whole experience is rather new" confessed the Commanding Officer.

Temple smiled again and took a drink of coffee, "So any idea what Cesstus Three is, and why the Gorn are so gosh darn keen on keeping us away?"

The Commanding Officer sighed. "Cestus III is a planet that in the 23rd century had a human colony on it. It was wiped out, leaving only one survivor. The planet was demolished by the Gorn. Your History classes at the Academy no doubt made mention of Cestus III incident and Captain James T. Kirk's involvement. The colony was rebuilt decades later and today is home to thriving life, the planet jointly colonized by the Federation and the Gorn Hegemony. As to why the Gorn are preventing us from arriving at the planet on schedule....that's a mystery."

Jesse scratched his beard, "I didn't pay much attention to the history lessons. The strategic and planning side of key wars, yeah, but not the uh..." Don't say boring, don't say boring. "...intricate historical events."

The Marine settled his empty cup on the table once more and gave a heavy shrug, "Suppose we'll find out soon enough what those Gorn are getting so snarky about."

"So long as we don't get delayed any further, we will be arriving at the planet in a few hours" replied Avin.

"Oh, I had an idea also, Captain," Jesse suddenly remembered, "Thought it would be swell if we could have a regular off-duty get together with the senior officers. Just kick back and relax somewhere, get to know each other. What do you think?"

The Captain nodded. "It sounds like a good opportunity for some crew bonding. Though, I'd recommend extending the invite to the whole crew. 'Officers' can be a very limiting bunch on the Star of India, and I do not know how large this crew will get, or if we ever will have a completely filled crew compliment" added Avin.

"Sounds reasonable," Temple replied, stifling back a yawn. "Might make for a defacto celebration of our first haul too. Nothing too raucous, I promise."

"By all means" replied Avin. "It might always be worth a celebration that we make it to and from somewhere in one piece" added the Captain.

The coffee had been smooth and enjoyable but unfortunately ineffective against the Marine's creeping fatigue. He'd been awake for a very long time, and it probably showed as dark rings under his eyes. He couldn't hold the yawn back any longer.

"Excuse me, sir," Jesse smiled, covering his mouth, "Been a long shift."

Avin looked at his Executive Officer, smiled and nodded. "And an active one for you. That's for sure. Ex, go get yourself some sleep. I just want to give you a heads up, after this load of cargo is dropped off...I'll likely be cutting ties with our present helmsmen and Safety Officer"

Jesse scratched his beard again as he considered the Captain's words. He'd certainly had some interesting run-ins with Mr Jax during his brief time here, so he could understand why Singh would consider dropping him off at the nearest port that would take him. Hell, he thought, Lucian would probably be happy about that too.

"Well to tell the truth I'm not surprised to see Lucian go," Jesse finally spoke, "Don't know about you but I had hoped there would be some redemptive opportunities for the guy. With a tight leash, no doubt. But he didn't seem overly dedicated."

Avin scoffed a bit unprofessional in behavior, but when it came to Lucian, Avin had very little control over expressing himself. "There are more redemptive qualities Molluscs than there are in that man" said the Captain, shaking his head. "He had no dedication to his duties no respect nor loyalty to the crew. He cares for himself and only himself. The only reason he was willing to get us to Cestus III was because I paid him handsomely, and he'd expect to be paid mission to mission. I cannot allow that to continue. I need someone more dedicated and loyal to the Star of India" explained Captain Singh.

It was Mr Raza's departure that surprised the Marine, though. While he could be excitable and forthright in his own way, the Safety Officer had some good ideas and without a doubt, he thought the young Saurian would be here for a while. Still, Jesse chose not to question the Captain's reasoning.

Instead, Jesse asked, "Will we still develop a program for our civilian or non-Federation trained crew to learn defense and weapon skills?"

Avin nodded "We will always have a smaller crew, possibly always skeletal aboard. It is essential that all personnel aboard civilian or otherwise have at least basic weapons training in order to defend the starship if need be. Things could get dicey in months to come, Commander. There may be times when we might have to yank Anne out of the kitchen and have her take the helm."

"Well, our Miss Chouvie is full of surprises," Jesse remarked, "Is there anything she can't do? Anyway, I'll be happy to lend my services to the Ops or Security teams should they need help training crew."

"Shape shift" replied that Captain. "Unless she's hiding that ability. That's all I know she cannot do" he added.

Another yawn escape the Marine's mouth and he could only apologise once more. "Think I'll have to hit the hay, Captain. Before I fall asleep in the corridor."

Avin nodded "That would not bode well for our public image...you falling asleep in the corridor" replied Captain Singh.

Standing, Jesse gave the man a fatigued smile, "I appreciate you seeing me, and speaking so frankly. I hope we can continue this tradition."

"Stay aboard long enough and you can count on it, Commander" said Avin. "Goodnight, Ex" added Avin as he watched his Executive Officer depart.

Jesse Temple crashed onto his soft, wide bed after a long night on duty on the Bridge. He had walked into his quarters after meeting with the Captain, kicked off his shoes and let his uniform lay where ever it hit the ground.

"Computer, lights out." He mumbled.

With a chime, the quarters dipped into darkness. The good thing about life on board a star ship was that the outside world was almost always the black emptiness of space, so one could always catch some shut eye at any time without worrying about natural light keeping you awake.

But despite his eyes closing before his head even met the pillow, Jesse's mind was still whirling away. He thought about the Gorn, his actions, Cestus III, the crew. He wondered if anyone would come to his off-duty night, or if it would just be him sitting around drinking with a bunch of holograms.

Of course, he decided, it would have to be a New Orleans theme. He had a few favorite haunts he could recreate for the crew. An exciting, jazz-filled music club, or a more sophisticated hotel, or maybe a steam boat down the river.

Jesse smiled in the darkness, thinking of home. All these light-years away and he could still smell the city he knew so well...

= Two Months Prior - New Orleans, USA, Earth =

On small dinghy his grandfather had nicknamed the Enterprise, another nod to his jocular sense of humour, marine Major Temple was casting a line along side his mentor, Admiral Thurston. The afternoon sun beat down on the pair of would-be fishermen as the Enterprise drifted softly under hanging trees and around tall reeves.

After the death of his grandfather, Thurston had sent Jesse onto a therapeutic Black Ops mission, which the younger marine enjoyed a little too much, and was now making good on the promise to go fishing on the Louisiana bayous.

"Catch much out here?" Thurston asked skeptically as he struggled with his rod.

Jesse was leaning back in the boat, one leg hanging over the side, barely watching his line. He looked over to the Admiral with a grin, seeing the decorated Federation officer and accomplished military man, struggle with a basic fishing rod.

"It's all monitored these days," Jesse replied, "Suppose once upon a time there were gators and all sorts around here. But they regulate the water and the fish supply, keep it safe for the tourists."

The Admiral huffed in frustration, his line wrapped awkwardly around the spool, forcing Jesse to reach over and swap their rods over so he could fix it. Thurston mumbled a thank you as Jesse got to work untangling the mess he created.

A few moments passed as the water lapped against the wooden boat. Jesse paused his endeavour to fix the rod to open up a can of beer, chucking one to the Admiral.

"How often did you and your granddad get out here?" Thurston asked tentatively, opening his can as well.

Jesse gulped down his beer and frowned, "Not much in the last few years of his life. But almost every weekend when I was a teenager."

It was a big conversational step for Jesse to speak of his grandfather in the past tense like that. It had taken a few months and many, many rounds on a phaser rifle but he was starting to accept William Temple's death.

Thurston nodded along, looking out to the water, "Thank you for including me in this tradition, Jesse, I could see why you two enjoyed it so much."

"I feel like I grew up out here," Jesse replied earnestly. "We fished, drank, and talked out our ways. You can say what you want on the bayou. Ain't no one but the fish to hear you."

Thurston nodded again, and began to think poetically, "Seems like the further into space we travel, the more we find, sometimes the more we forget ourselves."

Jesse gave a knowing laugh, "That's the water talking. Many a men have wanted to throw their modern lives away and live off these grand rivers before."

"But there's something to it, Jesse," Thurston insisted, giving him a solid glance, "A simplicity we've forgotten to carry with us."

Jesse just took another gulp of beer. He'd been fishing on these waters plenty of times, but this was the first with such a novice. He expected twisted fishing rods and inexperienced skills but not philosophical conversations on modern humanity.

But as Jesse had just said, you can say what you want out here. If these fish could talk, they would reveal plenty of his own deep thinking and random theories.

"Aye, sir," Jesse simply replied, "We should put it into the Academy syllabus. Fishing 101. Just do it on the Californian rivers, don't go clogging up my quiet spot with hordes of cadets."

Thurston laughed now, "Wouldn't dream of it."

Jesse smiled and leaned back in his spot, resting against the wooden rim of the Enterprise dingy. He titled his head towards the sun, feeling the heat and enjoying the relaxing day. If he could do this for the rest of his life, he probably would.

"I had an update on your next assignment," Thurston spoke, "The Star of India? Looks like you'll be ready to join the crew in about seven weeks."

Jesse murmured in response, decidedly not a firm reply, and the Admiral frowned. He waited a moment, wondering if the young marine would add something else.

Finally, the Admiral continued, "Won't be state of the art fancy pants. You'll be using your cunning and tenacity, which is what you needed for your career."

"Supposing I don't go back?" Jesse asked, opening one eye to look at Thurston, "What if I prefer the simplicity?"

Thurston laughed, "Now that's definitely the water talking."

"Maybe," Jesse shrugged.

The Admiral took a swig of beer, "And what would your grandfather say about that?"

Tenmple laughed, "He'd tell me the river's no place for a Marine. You ain't helping the fish, that's for sure."

The two men chuckled between themselves as suddenly the Admiral's line began to tug and bend. They both leapt up again as Thurtson started reeling in their catch, both hollering and laughing as they did...

= Present Day =

Jesse fell into a quiet slumber, his mind fogging over with pleasant thoughts of quiet days on the bayou, and earnest conversations with friends. Whatever theme he would choose for their off-duty night, it had to fulfill the criteria of a relaxed environment, plenty of banter, and hopefully the making of a crew building experience.

OFF

It hadn't taken long for the Engineering crew to find a replacement for the suddenly departed Lieutenant Dakkar as Chief of Department. If there was ever a team that was known for being adaptable problem-solvers, it was Engineering. They could patch together a warp core with regular solvent and keep her running.

Jesse arrived in Engineering to great the new Chief, Lieutenant Clinton. He spotted the younger woman by a work station and greeted her with his trademark smile.

"Good day, Lieutenant," Temple began, "I hear congratulations are in order."

"What for being assigned to this garbage scow." Julia muttered under her breath "Yes, I'm so lucky, to be assigned to..." she paused as she couldn't find the words she was looking for. She should be standing on a brand new ship, with the latest technological advancements that Starfleet had, instead she was being punished. "This fine ship." she finished while looking at the Commander.

Jesse raised a decidedly curious eyebrow at the Lieutenant's whispering. In the Corp, muttering like that in front of a superior officer would have you cleaning the latrines with a toothbrush, but Jesse feared it was too early to give Ms. Clinton one of his "When I was a marine..." speeches just yet.

Instead, he smiled, "Well, I don't know if you've read the reports from last night but we gave the old girl a bit of a shakedown. First, through some evasive manoeuvres practice, then some incidental practical manoeuvres after a Gorn ship decided to play some games with us. I was wondering how our little Oberth was fairing this morning after last night's excitement?"

"It's a miracle we are still alive, I thought this old bird would have shaken apart at the seams, did they un-mothball her from a scrap heap. The only good thing is the warp core is for its age is in pretty good shape. However the response time is another issue, they are completely inadequate, I have a team looking at it now," she replied

Jesse frowned, "You seem less than confident in Star Fleet's restoration team." The Marine looked around the small Engineering bay, a small smile playing on his bearded lips. "I can assure you, though she's tore plenty, she'll still fly true."

Julia raised an eye brow "I'll take your word on that." she replied

Commander Temple handed over a PADD to the Lieutenant, "I would suggest enlisting Chief Petty Officer Klem to help you, she was previously working on those issues you mentioned, and she'll be a capable member of your team."

"Thank you sir." she said pondering on that she hadn't actually introduced herself to anyone yet, she hadn't even given her orders to the Captain or checked in with medical yet.

Jesse decided he wouldn't hold up the woman any longer, "Well I have some more rounds to complete. We'll be arriving as Cestus three soon, so if you require anything for Engineering, please complete a requisition form and we'll get you sorted."

"Sir, thank you."

"Very well," Temple replied with a smile, "All the best and congratulations once more on your appointment. If you need anything else, just holler."

With that, the marine departed Engineering and was off to complete his other duties.

Julia gave a sigh, "This is going to be hell" she said softly as she looked over the padd and thought about hunting Chief Petty Officer Klem down."

OFF

Isabelle carefully laid out a selection of small gift bags onto a corner table, each containing a modest selection of fragances, a scented candle, and a few hand made chocolates. She had laid out a fresh mauve coloured tablecloth over the bare table, adding a small vase of vivid pink carnations.

Details were the core of Isabelle's service. It was these little touches that had won over many clients and customers in her previous career, and it was how she was going to secure her place on the Star of India.

Isabelle had decided that although the ladies of this small crew would have to negotiate an older, more basic vessel and the testosterone-dominated halls of the Merchant Marines, they could still find comfort and even some feminine pleasures. All provided by Isabelle, of course.

She turned with her trademark winning smile as the first guest invited to her Ladies Lunch arrived.

Doctor Rykov was not one for 'bonding' with anyone. The only exception was her cat, Krampus. As far as crew morale went, and so 'spirit days,' she had much rather endure the treat of a warp core breaching than having to socialize with crew. She had made the mistake that leaving Starfleet would mean not having to do so many of these sorts of things. She was wrong. Dead wrong. "The Captain said this was mandatory" she said entering the room and looking at Isabelle. "I already stated my objections to this, but I'll tolerate the pleasantries for the time being."

Isbaelle pursed her lips as her eyes laid upon the Lieutenant. In another time she would have snatched the complimentary gift bag out of the ungrateful woman's hands and sent her packing. In other time, no one would have turned their noses up at a chance to have a private luncheon with Isabelle Merteuil.

But that time was over, so instead she just put on a big smile and replied, "Well, I will make certain that you'll have fun nonetheless."

Julia wasn't one for social gatherings either, she much prefered the solice of her own quarters, but this was a new crew, a new assignment and she had to make the effort to get to know people. She put on a straigned smile as she walked into the mess hall.

"Welcome!" Isabelle beamed to the new arrival. "Please, ladies, have a seat. Enjoy a mimosa. Virgin or extra strong, it's our prerogative."

Isabelle knew who the young woman was immediately. Ms. Merteuil was nothing if not studious on potential customers, and she was very pleased to see the Clinton daughter amongst the Star of India's roster. Why she was here, Isabelle couldn't quite figure out, but to the business woman it was a gift sent from the Heavens. So long as she played her cards right.

She swept to the Lieutenant's side and started to guide her towards the table. "Darling, so glad you could make it. Here, have a seat and a cocktail."

Finally stepping out of the kitchen, Anne set her apron and belt of kitchen utensils aside to join the gathering. "I guess it wouldn't do to hide away in the kitchens the whole time, would it?" Anne asked as she pulled a flask out of her pocket and poured a liberal amount of a clear liquid into one of the cocktails before taking a sip from it. "Perfect."

Isabelle smiled at the Chef. From all accounts, this was another woman she was wise to make friends with, and likewise pulled out a chair in a welcoming gesture so Anne could join them. "Sit, please, you hard working gal. Take a load off."

"Thank you," Anne replied, taking the offered seat. "If you need anything fresh, I have a few trays of finger foods set aside in stasis unit three."

TAG (I think Klem is left to enter, only if you'd like of course)

Standing at the head of the table, Isabelle looked around to the small gathering of crew members and beamed to them all, speech already in mind. "Ladies, allow me to introduce myself. I am Isabelle Merteuil, a private merchant here on the Star of India. I wanted to gather you all here, first and foremost in the hopes that we might become friends. And secondly, to pledge my upmost support to you dedicated, heavy-lifting ladies. Like yourselves, I'm working hard to build a career and an independent life but I also know that no one can survive on their own out here in the universe. Especially not in the Merchant Marines. So I wanted us to come together to create a strong network of like-minded individuals, here for whatever you may need."

Julia smiled, she certainly liked to be pampered and some of the things she was accustomed to were hard to come by and others well, banned on certain planets, Julia would have to test the waters with the merchant for that.

Anne raised a hand to interrupt. "That being said, I still have some underworld contacts here and there if you need anything less than smiled upon by the Federation. I'm used to dealing in weapons, medicines, and food supplies, but who knows what's out there."

"Oh wonderful, perhaps we could work together?" Isabelle replied through a fixed smile. She didn't want others onboard being able to procure items, she wanted to be the sole source of luxuries. But still, a good contact was worth their weight in latnum in the trade business and the Chef was clearly a goldmine of potential opportunities. "As long as it's okay by the Captain, I'd love to stock whatever goods you can get from your suppliers. For the good of the crew, of course."

TAG

Isabelle smiled again, "You're more than free to ask what do I get out of this. Well it's a rather simple case of quid pro quo. I serve the Star of India as your one stop shop for life's little goodies, and in the process I travel with you and help to make contacts to build my private business. I'm more than happy to take on the jobs that the Federation cannot, and help you Merchant Marines complete your missions at the same time. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement."

TAG

ON

It was a quiet Friday evening when the senior crew of the SS Star of India gathered outside the Holodeck. They had been invited together in the name of team building, crew harmony, developing trust and, to be perfectly honest, drinking. Mostly drinking. The other stuff was a happy coincidence if it occurred.

Entering the holodeck on request of a few, he did not know this thing called relaxing. Grax growls a bit as he takes a seat waiting for the host or whoever organized this would finally appear.

Avininder Singh knew when accepting this post as Captain of the SS Star of India that things would not be 'smooth sailing,' and that he would constantly be fighting uphill battles. The facts were simple Starfleet and the Starfleet Marines blew the Federation Merchant Marines out of the water in technology and manpower. They had Academy campuses remote and auxiliary all across the galaxy, especially in the Alpha and Beta quadrants. The Merchant Marines had only a few, with their main being at Kings Point on Earth.

Further issues with getting the SS Star of India up and running was the class itself. An old Oberth class starship even with her upgraded systems and a fresh coat of paint could not lure young men and women, human and other away from serving aboard bigger, faster, more strategic vessels with Starfleet. There were also bigger and better vessels in the Federation Merchant Marines, like the SS Melville, an old Ambassador class. There were few officers aboard the already skeletal SS Star of India, her original Second Officer and Chief Engineer had taken an abrupt reassignment mid mission, and there were far more quarters aboard than crew.

Steadfast and dedicated, Avin knew he had a good XO at his side with Jesse Temple, but Avin worried with heavy concern on his shoulders how much his ambitious and eager Executive Officer could handle. How many crew departures would it take? How many tough decisions and hard times until Avin was left alone, abandoned by them all. He had appreciated Temple's attempt at boosting morale and coordinating such events as the one he was about to enter.

Doctor Nal Rehu wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to do this. He certainly didn't mind mingling with others; it beat the alternative, but still. He already had run-ins with a couple of the other senior staff members, and he wasn't entirely sure he would be able to control his tongue. But you know you can, Nal,, he thought to himself. Maybe it was a good thing to go, maybe it would help people see him in a different light. He wasn't entirely sure what light, but maybe they would see a less uptight Romulan, who dealt with dark demons every single moment of every single day. Maybe they would see a man who could be like others, who could have fun, who could engage others in conversation. He was a great doctor, excellent bedside manner, but when it came to being social he faltered terribly. A lot of that had to do with himself, he didn't allow a large part of himself to be open and free. Maybe... just maybe, that could change.

"I doubt it," he mumbled to himself as he rounded the corner and came within a few steps of the small holodeck. He also noticed the captain. "Good evening, Captain," he said once he was next to the shorter human male.

The Captain gave a nod and smiled. "Evening" he said rather content with what he was seeing.

Anne entered a bit late, her apron missing and a pair of flasks on her utility belt rather than the normal array of cooking utensils. "Am I late? I had a lot of extra cleanup to take care of in the kitchens."

Julia also entered the holodeck, she hated mandated gatherings, she would rather be in her quarters, she was certainly not going to participate that much, in fact as soon as an opportunity presented itself, she would try and escape.

Jesse Temple, host and instigator of this little shindig, emerged from the holodeck with a nervous smile. He was hoping this gathering would go down well with this new crew; he hoped it would become a regular event for them; he mostly just hoped they had fun.

"Welcome all," Jesse beamed, "I wanna thank y'all for coming, it means a lot to see you here."

"Here here" added the Captain, showing his gratitude and support. "It means a lot to both of us that this crew can come together. In war and in peace, let the name Star of India be a reminder of hard work and dedication" quipped the Captain.

A small smile formed as Nal's memory drudged up some memories of his past. He remembered the big dinners and get togethers his mother would throw when he was younger, there would be 30 to 50 people at minimum. He remember his mother and the servants cooking for days to get everything ready. It was such a fun time. Then when he was at the military academy, and finally serving on board vessels, there would be get togethers like these. Mostly after successful battles, or take overs, but despite that, there was camaraderie. The ale flowed, people sang, laughed, and were gluttonous. Outsiders always thought Romulans were always so poised, meticulous, cunning, and calculating... that was true, somewhat. But, they also shared a very human trait, and that was the need to celebrate, to memorialize a persons death, birth, or a victory. Despite even feeling trapped back then, he had fond memories of those celebrations.

"Well, no point standing around out here," Jesse announced, "Let's head in."

As the crew entered the holodeck, they immediately found themselves on the back street of a reconstructed French Quarter, New Orleans. The nearby sounds of music and laughter drifted over the humid southern breeze, accompanied by the smell of seafood gumbos and Confederate jasmine. A streetcar rumbled past near by. There was a vivacious life here, though a sanitised tourist's version of it, and Jesse was pleased as punch to show the crew.

Just in front of them stood a two-storey red brick building faced with six yawning white columns and adorned by a series of flags. The place was called Le Richelieu Hotel, a quiet but stately establishment in the classical Victorian-come-Southern style.

Leading the team inside the Hotel and across a black and white checkered lobby floor, Jesse pushed opened a pair of doors into the Saloon. Before them lay a wood-panelled room filled with plush white lounges, a round centre table already set with various snack foods, and a large ornate dark oak bar at the rear. Half-opened plantation shutters let in sounds from the street outside, while a pianist tinkered away at the front of the room, and wooden fans slowly wafted cool air from above.

"Make yourselves at home," Jesse called out to the others, as he headed to the bar.

Making himself home in a surrounding area that was not known to him was strange, maybe he should have stayed on the Imperiax and let fate decide what would happen to him. Taking a deep breath, the choices were made and it brought him here. Grax looked at the people sitting here and kept himself more to himself to observe the situation develop.

Captain Avininder Singh looked around, seeing his ship's muscle, Grax not really socializing with the rest of the crew. This lead Avin to take up a position next to Grax, clearing his throat and clearly looking to strike up some sort of conversation with the Reman. "I know that living underground and avoiding the light of day for most of your life probably has left you a bit antisocial, Grax, but you are a part of this crew" said the Captain taking a sip from his drink.

The Captain shook his head. "I am not one for this amount of socialization, but I came to be supportive of Commander Temple and of crew morale, as lightly populated as this starship is for the time being. I'm no counselor and I do not intend to become one, but what's on your mind, Grax? Having second thoughts about joining this crew?"

TAG: Grax
Temple: Not sure what you want to do here, Cap'n. Maybe try a conversation with our reluctant Engineer? :P

Having already and very eagerly taken a shot of his favourite spirit, Temple slapped the counter of the old wood bar, calling out to the others. "Nal! Anne! Get your butts over here so I may buy you both a drink."

"I never turn down free booze," Anne replied with a grin as she saddled up to the bar. "And if you're good, you can have a taste of my homemade moonshine. Guaranteed to take your breath away. And you might go blind."

"You can serve all the moonshine you like when you're hosting," Jesse replied to Anne. "Though some of us will still have to be fit for duty."

Nal had been hesitant to even enter, let alone socialize. So. Many. Different. Types. Of. People. It unnerved him, and he could see that same went for Grax. He almost excused himself when Temple had called he and Anne to the bar. He watched as Anne didn't even hesitate, and then he followed, his feet taking slow steps. At the bar, he stood on the other side of Temple and listened in as Anne spoke. He recalled the night he shared drinks with the commander, and the comment he had made to the other man about Romulan Ale putting hair on his chest. The memory was a good one. "So, am I to try this berban (he mispronounced) that you had promised?"

"Burr-ben," Jesse said as he turned to Nal, giving him a wink, "It's a smoother, deeper spirit than your bright blue liquid plasma."

You only say that because you got stinkin' drunk off of that 'bright blue liquid plasma', Nal mused to himself. "I guess we shall see," he replied outloud. Over the past five years he had gotten used to human cuisine and drinks, but to him their alcohol was extremely weak.

The holographic barman, an older gentleman with a thin, dark handlebar mustache and even thinner suspenders, quickly served up a round of straight, Kentucky bourbon. Jesse eagerly handed them around.

"To the Captain, and the Star of India!" He called out, before quickly slamming down the shot.

Julia, drink in hand raised her glass as a toast, but she didn't take a drink. She placed it back onto the counter. This was certainly an interesting bunch, she didn't know them that well and to be honest, she didnt handle alcohol that well.

Just like the few others assembled, Nal raised his glass and following Jesse's lead, slammed down his own shot glass. There was some truth in that it was a smoother texture to it, but to him it still tasted like flavored water. It has a nice, delicate taste, but that was about it. He held the shot glass as he looked around the small assembled senior staff of India. He saw the smiles, saw the wonderment, saw the fun, and for the first time in the evening, Nal had been glad he had come to the get together. Maybe this crew would be different to work with, maybe he would be able to fit in here, and feel accepted and not so much as an outcast. Maybe, just maybe he could be himself among these people. Maybe...

Anne tossed the drink back and set the glass on the counter. "A few more like that and I might sober up," she commented with a lopsided grin.

TAG for other toasters

Jesse laughed, as he ordered another round and started to circulate around the room, starting an impromptu tour guide. "This building, the real Le Richelieu Hotel, was originally built in 1845, though had to be rebuilt a few times after floods, a fire, and of course the war. But it's always been this stately, classy little piece of the French Quarter, like it's stuck in time but in the best possible way." He looked around at the crew and smiled, "I wanted to share this with y'all because I feel like it's a part of who I am."



"I guess I just don't want us to be one of those crews that only sees each other on duty, nothin' to talk about except power fluctuations in the warp core and the best way to optimise our shields. If you don't mind, Captain, I want us all to hang out like this regularly." Jesse suggested. He fixed his baby blue eyes, a little hazy from the bourbon, with a sheepish grin on his bearded jaw, upon Avin Singh and hoped.

TAG

Julia certainly missed the good old days when she had her own private physician, one of the many perks she used to have, along with her own security detail that she had finally managed to get rid of. But now she had to slum it with everyone else, her mother used to use the analogy a princess among the commoners. It used to make her smile, but now Julia realised while people actually hated some of the Clinton's.

She finally reached sickbay, padd in hand that contained all her medical records prepared for the Doctor, she made a large sigh and took a deep breath as she walked into...she looked around and gasped in horror "This is a sickbay she muttered" under her breath, but what did she expect of a vessel this age, oh to only be back in that shiny private clinic back on Earth.

"Hello" she shouted out with a hope that no one was there and that she could escape.

Julia still wasn't familiar with the ship, something she would have to deal with. After all it wouldn't look very good for the ship's Chief Engineer to keep stopping asking people for directions. Oh how she dreamed of that new ship, now that was no problem, she had memorised the deck listings and everything but then at the last minute...she let out a loud sigh...the joys of parents and how they can influence your life.

After ten minutes of walking around, Julia looked at the padd, she had finally found the quarters she was looking for, or had she. Again she glanced down 'Able Crewman Zachariah Moore' she glanced at the room number and yes this was definitely the place. She hit the door chime and waited for a response.

Isabelle pursed her darkened lips together as she strode purposefully through the corridors of the Star of India. She was used to strutting the halls of luxury hotels and top class resorts. To find herself in the perfunctory, sterile space of a Federation starship was the polar opposite her natural environment.

"It's just the beginning," She coolly told herself, eyes focused like targets on her destination ahead.

With the determination and purpose that had once made her a successful business woman, Isabelle had a plan in mind and it all started on this day, as she chimed on Captain Singh's Ready Room.

Captain Avininder Singh was standing in his Ready Room, peering out yonder at the stars and the mass blackness of nothingness...of space. There was a whole galaxy out there. Cargo to be moved quadrant to quadrant, sector by sector, to and fro many individuals and governments alike. There was so much excitement to be had to and yet he always seemed to be in his quarters. "This paperwork will be the death of me" he muttered to himself.

Then came the chiming of his door. I'm not expecting anyone, am I? he asked himself as he failed to respond to the chime the first to chimes as he darted towards his desk, practically leaping over a table to snatch up a PaDD with his scheduled meetings, afraid he had missed one. But alas he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. There were no meetings scheduled. "Come in?" he said in response, holding up the PaDD, pretending as though he were hard at work. "Yes, what can I do for you?" he added without looking at his guest.

Isabelle surveyed and intensely assessed the Captain, immediately trying to find a way to buy into his good favour. Many believed men were easier to please than women, that their baser instincts only required a very narrrow criteria. Ale and cleavage. But there was an aloof air to this young Captain in front of her. Isabelle knew he would be a hard man to crack.

"Greetings, sir," She began, still putting on a kittenish pur. "I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to see you yet, I was a last minute arrival before we departed. My name is Ms. Isabelle Merteuil, I've come aboard as a private merchant."

Avin sat the PaDD down and made eye contact with the woman. "I'm sorry you have either. I like to meet everyone who comes aboard the Star of India. I did see your name show up on the manifest before we disembarked" said the Captain kindlt. "A Private merchant? I see. What specialities do you have Isabelle?"

"Supply and trade," Isbelle replied, "Well, I'm just getting started really but I hope to make a real killing out of it." She gave a soft chuckle at the thought.

The Captain smiled a bit. "Well, I don't know about making a killing out of it, but the Star of India will be stopping at ports every few weeks to take on new missions and to meet with prospective clients. I'm sure you might be able to capitalize on our travels and exercise your tactics for supply and trade" offered Avin. "In the meantime, settle in on the ship and get to know the crew."

Isabelle smiled some but crossed her arms, "If you don't mind me saying, Captain, I hope the Star of India can help the Federation's image problem when it comes to business. We have a 'holier than thou' reputation, because of our moralistic views on profit and the pursuit of wealth. Many species in this quadrant still rely heavily on commerce and economics to fund their societies. But they're reluctant to trade with us because the Federation view is that money is the root of all evil. It's like trying to sell beach umbrellas to the Borg."

TAG

The woman shrugged, "From my time on Risa, I met many different species from from many different planets and it was only the Federation types trying to pay their bills with a lecture on the betterment of society. That won't fly where we're going but I'm happy to add my services as a intermediary if necessary."

TAG

Julia wasn't overly thrilled to be assigned to the Star of India, it was a punishment from her parents and she knew it. The Clinton name had always carried weight, after all, she could trace the lineage back all the way to Bill Clinton the 42nd President of the United States and his wife Hillary. And the family had gone from strength to strength with her own parents were very high ranking officials and until recently Julia had her own protection details. She had always found it a difficult conversation and people presumed she was where she was due to her parents, but in all honesty, Julia had made Chief Engineer on her own, it was her hard work and determination that had gotten here where she was today.

She finally reached the door to the Captain's ready room, padd in hand, this was going to be a difficult conversation. With that, she pressed the door chime and waited for an answer.

"Captain's not in" came a voice from behind the woman as Avin strutted across the Bridge and headed towards his Ready Room. "However, you are just in luck. He's coming into his office" he said with a small smile. "Captain Avininder Singh, pleasure to meet you..." said Avin as he looked at the woman's rank. "Lieutenant" added Avin. The Captain's Ready Room doors parted and he gestured to the woman. "Ladies first," he said politely.

"Thank you." she said walking in, while thinking it was nice to be treated like a lady. She had scowled at people for less. Gentleman should always hold open a door, and allow a lady out of a turbo lift first and such. But the youth of today, always rushing around, barging past, no manners.

"Lieutenant Julia Clinton, reporting as per my punish....ordered sir."she said, firmly holding out the padd in her hands.

Avin looked at the woman and raised a brow as he shook his head "Wooo. Those are some fighting words, Lieutenant. Especially coming from the woman who came highly recommended to take over my Engineering Room" replied Avin as he took the PaDD. "Punishment,on" he said with a bit of a whistle. "I take it you did not request the Star of India then? I apologise. I personally prefer a crew that want to be here rather than those who see serving under my command as punishment" he teased. "Can I get you anything? A cup of tea perhaps?"

"I take it you don't have a fresh cup of Hacienda La Esmeralda?" she asked getting her hopes up



Julia sighed at the response "I guess I'll settle for dish water...sorry black coffee." she said as she took a seat "It's nothing personal sir, it's just I should be on a state of the art, brand new vessel. I have the schematics of the ship and deck listing memorised, but then suddenly out of the blue re-assigned... to an old classic. How convenient that it happened just after an argument with my parents." she gave out a loud sigh, he looked a little young to be a Captain "However, that isn't your fault, just the usual Clinton politics at play, I will still give you my best at all times."

Isabelle Merteuil was gathering her supplies, making sure every bit of her cargo was accounted for. As a last minute addition to the Star of India crew, she had arrived and decanted her belongings very hurriedly into a tiny corner of space in the Cargo Bay and was now trying to make sense of all the crates and boxes. Once upon a time she would have had assistants to do this for her. People who were paid very little but did all the heavy lifting. Now there was no one but herself and it was just another stark reminder of how much her life had changed.

As she attempted to look inside a crate stuffed down the bottom of a particular pile, hoping to find her 'successful business woman' wardrobe, she accidentally knocked over a lamp, which in turn pushed over a clothing rack, which then came crashing onto Isabelle's head.

"JESUS!" She cursed as loud as possible, as she stood up and rubbed the side of her head.

Benjamin Christopher was in the cargo bay, a PaDD in hand, helping out Chief Klem with the inventory. He didn't have any official duties at the moment, and no one was banging down his door to see him, so he wanted to make sure he was useful. Chief Klem, bless her heart, had seemed like she was ready to punch someone out when he had first approached the Tellarite female. She had seemed skeptical of his willingness to help, but ultimately handed over an assignment to him. Would inventory checks be his first choice? No. But still, he gladly helped.

The sound of 'things' crashing had pulled him from a particular interesting set of cargo container numbers; and his attention had shifted. He followed the noise and as he saw a woman standing there the name 'Jesus' was called out. Not in vain mind you, but still used in a way a that was not in prayer. Benjamin couldn't help but smile, despite seeing that the poor woman was in pain. He approached, with some caution. "I'm not sure Jesus will be coming to your aid, but maybe I can help you out here?" He offered. His dark brown eyes had seen the mess that had been created. The woman looked frazzled, and though his instinct was to begin to ask questions, he felt it better to hold off at the moment.

Isabelle took in the view of the man before her with a deep, appreciative breath. Though initially knocked off her usual collected cool, she put on big smile, smoothed out her hair, and reached out her hand.

"Well, I certainly won't say no to such a handsome... offer." She replied with an eyebrow raised.

A light chuckle escaped Benjamin's lips as he took a hold of the offered hand. "Well, it's my pleasure to help where I can."

Isabelle ran her discerning eye up and down the gentleman, a flicker of confusion passed over her face. There was something out of place about him, something she was not familiar with. He was in the Cargo bay, with a PADD, but not wearing the usual, bland Star Fleet uniform. She began to worry that perhaps the man was another private merchant; a threat to her business prospects.

With a curious tone she purred, "Tell me, handsome, what brings you to the Star of India? Which department are you from?"

"An assignment," Benjamin stated as he squatted down on his haunches to begin to pick large shards of material from the lamp. "I'm with auxiliary services, more specifically a chaplain with the merchant marines, so I go where they send me." He picked up one more large shard, stood, and placed the pieces of the lamp on a nearby container. "Pastor Benjamin Christopher," he said, introducing himself. "Normally my duties are pastoral in nature, but I do find I have quite a bit of downtime so I thought I would help Chief Klem out with the inventory."

"Pastor..." She mouthed the word slowly, the true meaning taking a minute to find itself within her mind. And then it hit her harder than the lamp had done. "Ohh... Oh! Really?! Well that's an interesting sight on a Merchant marines vessel, that's for sure."

Benjamin had nodded his head in agreement. "I admit it's probably something that isn't the norm, but believe it or not there are those who still look for spiritual guidance, and it also affords me the chance to do mission work when needed." A small then crossed his lips. "When I'm not being a pastor, I'm being inventory master."

She gave a small chuckle and looked around awkwardly, "I'm Isabelle Merteuil. A private merchant, budding businesswoman. Not religious, I'm afraid, Pastor. My ex-husband and I got married in the lobby of a hotel he'd just built, but that's probably saying something about why the marriage didn't last." She smiled again as she realised she was rambling.

It was something Benjamin had heard quite a bit: 'I'm not religious'. It didn't bother him in the least, everyone walked their own journey. But, it was still his hope that people would still come to him for guidance. "It's certainly okay you are not religions," Benjamin replied. "Also, no need for formalities at the moment, please call me Ben."

"Isabelle, then," She replied, "Well, seeing as I don't need Pastoral care, and you're an inventory manager, perhaps you can help me out? I seem to be missing a crate here, it should be under my stores."

TAG

"To be honest I was in such a rush to catch the ship before we departed," She said sheepishly, "So everything was just thrown onto a transport and delivered to the drydock. Knowing my luck, it's probably sitting on deck somewhere back home."

Tag

ON:

The first thing that Nal Rehu thought as he walked toward the mess hall from his own quarters was that this wasn't like him. He didn't go out to drinks with people, certainly not these days anyway. He always kept socializing at a minimum; sure he was lonely, but there was a reason he did so. He couldn't allow himself to not only get attached, but he couldn't allow for someone to figure out his secret. The logical side of him knew that his 'secret' wasn't anything horrible, especially within the confines of the Federation, but it caused him to much pain in his past. However, how much longer could he keep going like this? He wanted to take a mate... eventually. He was tired of being alone in that regard. He missed sharing a bed with someone he cared for. But, thinking about that only made his heart hurt even more, since the last person he truly cared for had betrayed him.

Betray...

That word constantly plagued his mind. Romulans were notorious for betrayal, his brother used to joke how 'betrayal' was Romulus' primary export. It was funny at the time, but it wasn't funny when it happened to Nal. He lost everything that day. "Oh nouhha what am I doing?" he mumbled to himself as he stood just beyond the sensor that would trigger the door opening mechanism, it was the door that would lead into the mess hall. He stepped forward and the doors parted with that familiar quiet hiss. He looked around, and there sitting at a table in the corner next to a view port was Commander Temple. There was something about the tall man that Nal couldn't quite put his finger on. Maybe it's the beard? he mused to himself as he crossed the distance between the door and where the command sat. "Good evening, sir," Nal said once he was at the table.

Temple had been lost in thought but was pleased to be interupted by the Doctor. His stoic face broke into a wide smile as Rehu appeared.

"Evenin', Doctor," Jesse replied, "I hope you've come to hold me to my offer?"

The Commander's leg rested against the nearest chair, so he nudged it gently out from under the table, while giving the Lieutenant a welcoming nod to join him.

Taking that as a sign to sit, Nal eased his tall frame into the chair. "I've come to hold you to your offer," Nal replied. "Plus, it never hurts to get out and get to know the people you are serving with." Which, in a way was the truth. Plus, he liked Commander Temple, the man had an easy going nature about him. It certainly was the polar opposite of his uptight self. Besides, after what happened in his bathroom, he definitely needed the companionship. Being alone was not an option right now, heck, he would have taken Lieutenant Raza if it meant not to be alone. He almost shuddered at that thought, but it was at least a true one.

Jesse smiled, the Doctor's words ringing very true for himself as well. Sure he'd met with everybody, dined with a few, drank with a couple; but he wondered if he had actually forged any lasting friendships yet? Did people respond because they liked him, or just because he was second in command of the ship? He looked intensely at the Doctor, wondering if maybe a friendship could begin tonight.

"Well if we're drinking, I insist on first names." Jesse broadened into a smile once more. "Can't waste time on Misters and Lieutenants when we're sharing spirits."

Nal allowed a small smile to form. He kept his gaze on the commander, searching for... something; he wasn't sure. Ill-will? Malice? Setting him up? But, all he could see in the other man's eyes was kindness. "Given name it is, Jesse," he said, allowing the name to play on his lips. It felt odd to use the given name of a superior officer. He knew it was a relaxed setting, but he had learned that ranks never seemed to be dropped in Federation Space. That was another thing that they had in common with the Romulan Military.

Jesse leaned back in his chair and raised his bulbous arm to signal over a Mess Hall attendant. The young crew woman scurried over with a hastened pace, eager to wait on the senior officers.

"What can I get for you, sirs?" She asked with a smile.

Jesse raised an eyebrow to the Doctor. "You know, I don't believe I've tried Romulan ale. How about a carafe of the good stuff?"

"Then you are in for quite a treat," Nal replied. It had been a while since he had the ale that was so famously named after his people. For the most part, in the past five years since he had been in Federation Space, the vintages he had had were not up to par from what he was used to. He doubt it would be any different here. "I'm quite interested in knowing how you acquired the ale?" he queried.

Jesse gulped a little, realizing the Mess Hall probably didn't have such a drink avaliable. At least not the good stuff. He began to worry that he'd embarassed himself to the Doctor by trying to show off. But he was sure he saw Romulan Ale listed on a requisition form somewhere...

"Ohh." He said slowly, a mischievous look brewing across his face. He indicated to the server to come closer and spoke quietly, "You'll find it in the Captain's dining room. I'm sure he won't mind if we use it."

The woman raised an incredulous eyebrow but Jesse just gave a trademark cheeky grin and she sighed, "Alright, but you best replace it when we dock. I won't have the Captain, or Ms. Chouvie blaming me for this."

With that, she hurried off to retrieve the ale, leaving Jesse to give a nonchalant shrug to the Doctor.

"He won't mind," Jesse said again, reassuringly. "He's a good sort, that Captain of ours."

Nal wasn't completely sure if he believed it, but his dealings with the captain had been minimal thus far. "I suppose I will just have to trust you on that one," Nal replied. In all honesty, he didn't see the young captain as someone who would get terribly upset over sharing. But, Romulan Ale was rare enough that it wasn't always so easy to replace, especially if it was an older vintage.

Jesse raised his eyebrows, giving another smirk and holding up his arms in mock surrender, "What, I don't look trustworthy? Is it because I promised to buy you a drink but now I'm just pilfering the Captain's booze?" He laughed loudly.

Nal found himself laughing as well, though it was as loud of a 'guffaw' as the commander's. "Well, there is that," he said after the laughter had simmered down to a soft chuckle. He turned slightly, a grunt escaped his lips as a twinge of pain shot up his spine. The pain wasn't horrible, but it wasn't pleasant. He would be fine, it was just an inconvenience at the moment.

The marine's face flickered with concern, "How are you after that training course, by the way? I've been worried all day that it was a little too much."

He's been worried? That had caught Nal off guard, but he quickly recovered from that. "I'm good, in fact the training was rather cathartic," he replied. "It's been a while since I've had training like that, it was good to know that I'm still able to protect myself." A small smile spread on his lips. "I appreciate you concern, Comm... Jesse."

"Glad to hear it, Nal," Jesse replied, giving the Doctor a gentle pat on the shoulder. "You certainly earned this drink."

He looked over just as the carafe arrived at their table, the waitress placing the slim bottle down gently along with a couple of glasses. She gave a conspiratorial nod before dashing off to the kitchen again.

The Marine poured out a roughly equal portion and slid Nal's glass towards him. Jesse raised his own in a toast and smiled, "To our ass-kicking Doctor."

Seeing the brilliant blue liquid being poured had been nostalgic for Nal. The look, the smell, all brought back fond memories. But, the reality of his life came rushing back to the forefront of his mind. He smiled at the exec as he took a hold of the glass, and mirrored the other man by raising his own glass. At the toast, he smiled and chuckled softly. It had proven that he shouldn't be underestimated, and that despite Raza's thinking, Nal was more than capable of taking care of himself. "Thank you," he said and after a moment, brought the glass to his lips and sipped gingerly. He almost sighed in pleasure at the richness of the ale. "Quite delicious."

Jesse eagerly took a full mouthful and could immediately feel the potency of the liquid. He swallowed hard and breathed in a long, whistling intake of air. The Marine was not unaccustomed to strong alcoholic beverages but this one packed one hell of a punch. Thankful that he managed not to choke, Jesse raised his eyebrows to the Doctor.

"Holy Christmas, Nal," Jesse exclaimed, "I can see why this stuff's illegal."

A deep, guttural laugh escaped the Romulan. In fact, Nal had surprised himself by such a laugh, simply because he hadn't had a good belly laugh like that in ages. But, to the drink, Nal didn't think anything of the potency, in fact it seemed even a little weak to him. "What is the human expression again? It will put hair on your chest?" One corner of his mouth slowly drew up into a smirk.

Jesse frowned and pulled open the collar of his t-shirt, peering down at his chest. "Good gawd man, it's worked already!" He gave an unrestrained laugh, already feeling the warm and fuzzy effects of the Romulan ale and company.

"Next time," Jesse looked at the Doctor with a glazed grin, "We're drinkin' bourbon. In fact, I'm holding a little off-duty gathering for us senior crew if you're interested. I'll be hosting it in the holodeck, and showing y'all some Southern hospitality. I'd really like it you could make it."

A gathering? Nal's brain began screen Nooooo but thankfully his outside facial features were quite reserved. He didn't tend to mix with the crew, and in fact the last five years he had been pretty successful at avoiding crew get togethers, and parties. Yet, he couldn't say no. He brought the glass to his mouth and drew some more of the bright blue liquid. Since the ale was weak - in his opinion - he hadn't felt that nice warm feeling that would start in his belly and then slowly spread throughout his chest. "Alright," he said after a few moments of silenced passed. "I'll be there."

Jesse gave an appreciative and slightly dizzy nod, "Tell me if I'm pushing too much, man. I just want a friendly, happy ship. But I understand it might be an adjustment from your previous career. You don't need to be half-ish Betazoid to tell this is outside the usual Romulan custom, so I'm mighty pleased you're making the step."

The Marine took another swig and managed to swallow it down, hoping most of all that he was still making sense to the Doctor.

"You do know you are talking to a Romulan here?" Nal mused. "Romulans, believe it or not, tend to have a lot of parties. There are holidays, government, religious parties that come in all shapes, forms and intensity." But, he knew what the galaxy thought, or at least least the preconceived notions. Romulans were isolationist, they were certainly not a full democracy, and of course the military had a large presence... but just like all cultures, there were many types of Romulans. He sipped his ale casually. "It would be more accurate that it's just this particular Romulan who doesn't get into parties." He kept his gaze on the XO. "But, I am glad to join the party."

Jesse feigned a serious expression, only the corner of his lips hinting at his mirth, "But of course, the Romulans are the party monsters of the quadrant. First thing we learn in the Academy xenology classes is that the Romulans will drink you under the table and make off with your woman if you're not careful." He was bursting to laugh now but had to keep going, "They often say first contact with Romulans was made after a human ship picked up the sound of a rocking Romulan shin-dig over subspaces comms."

The Marine keeled over with laughter, slapping the table as he did. Maybe it was the ale talking, but he certainly found himself funny.

Nal feigned rolling his eyes at the other man. "All right, that's enough for you," he said as he reached across the table and pulled the glass and the bottle of Romulan ale toward himself. If this had been a serious conversation - which he couldn't think of any scenario this would have been in a serious conversation - he may have been offended. There were so many misconceptions about Romulans, and rightly so, but still it wasn't always easy to hear. "Well as they say, if a ship is a rockin, don't fling torpedoes at it."

"Heeyo!" Temple called out with enthusiasm at the Doctor's amusing metaphor, "One more, eh? Before we have to go back to being boring, non-party monsters."

"Well, it's your hangover," Nal said as he picked up the decanter and poured the bright blue liquid into the glass. "Here you are." He pushed the glass toward the XO.

"Now that's my kind of Doctor." Jesse replied with a wink.

TAG? Feel free to add something if you like and maybe we can wrap this up?

<>

Jesse mouth felt like cottonwool and his eyes drooped some, but he managed to hold his dignity long enough to make it back to his Quarters. The best thing about being on a ship with a small crew was that one could do the walk of shame, fresh from a little afternoon drinking, without disgracing oneself in front of a large crew. He certainly hadn't intended to get tipsy when he went to the Mess Hall, but he just had to show off in front of the Doctor and drink that Romulan Ale.

He smiled to himself when he thought of the Romulan. He still remained a mystery to Jesse, even a few drinks later. He was fascinating case story of a fish out of water, but the Marine was determined to break through his many walls. Sometimes flying through the galaxy can be one of the loneliest things a man can do, Jesse certainly knew this, probably because of all that vast, empty blackness outside the window. So whether Nal liked it or not, even remotely asked for it, Jesse was determined to become his friend.

Reaching his room, Jesse leaned against the doorframe and looked between the bed and the couch. The bed was comfier, it was the more usual place one would go to sleep. But the couch was so much closer and distance had rapidly become a large hurdle to him as the bright blue Ale continued to soften his faculties. With a few shaky steps he managed to reach the couch and collapsed onto it.

Before falling into the spiralling abyss of unconsciousness, he murmured out to the computer to remember to wake him in time for the mission.

Instead of the usual computer voice, he heard someone a little more familiar, "Jesse, I'm going to have to leave you."

"What?" He murmured into the cushion.

"I'm going to have to leave you." Came his grandfather's voice...

[Earth, New Orleans, One Month Prior]

It was a sunny afternoon as Jesse approached the large, imposing double gallery house that he used to live in. His grandfather had moved to this historically classic white two storey home after the death of his wife, and Jesse came to live here during his adolescence. To them both, it was home. But Jesse had been unable to visit the old estate since his grandfather had died, unable to cope with the quiet emptiness. It was only after a couple months, a black ops mission, and a fishing trip on the Bayous with an Admiral, for him to finally walk up to it again.

The black wrought iron gate still creaked the same way. The front facade was still an elegantly white wood panel siding, with eight stone columns reaching up to the rooftop. The front two columns were adorned by a flag each, one from the Federation and the other from New Orleans. The gardens had been maintained by the ground staff fairly well, thankfully his grandfather's southern magnolia's were in full bloom, bringing in that familiar scent he knew so well.

As Jesse pushed open the doors, the wave of silence fell over him. The house had a stillness, the emptiness he feared. The drapes had been pulled closed, giving an eery shadow over the furniture that would never be sat in again, the rooms that would never hear their conversations again. There was only silence and the distant sounds of the neighbourhood outside. To the left was the 'good room', where all the ornate and vintage pieces lived, and to the left the large dining room where many dinner parties and late nights had been spent. It had just been the two of them for the longest time, but boy did they live it up.

He moved into the kitchen and saw a vase of magnolias had wilted and died on the counter, and instinctively Jesse moved to throw them away. His grandfather had tried to instil upon him a sense of responsibility and pride in his surroundings, but he was too young to appreciate it at the time. Now he followed his grandfather's words like gospel. Jesse tapped the counter panel and the rubbish bin slid out from the cabinet. He was about to drop them inside when he stopped and realised these were the flowers his grandfather had been putting in the vase on their last video call.

[3 Months Prior]
"I'm going to have to leave you," Grandpa William had said, as he realised the flowers weren't fitting into the vase.

Ray: The SS Star of India has been something I have been wanting to do for the past few months. It is ambitious and I knew going in that it would be an uphill battle as many people ignore or do not want to touch anything that isn't Starfleet, but I hold true and steady that we can get this Oberth class Merchant Marine vessel underway and give the fleet a truly unique sim to keep their eyes on. With the addition of our new Cardassian Chief Engineer, I am seeing this ship as being a home to a unique crew. I am actively engaged in negotiations to acquire one or two more members soon (ideally), but I do want to set sail now and start putting out some good quality writing.

Chris: Hi everyone, I'm your new Chief Engineer. Looking forward to writing with you all and meeting your characters. If you have any questions about my character Ibrim Dakar, then please do not hesitate to ask.

Ray: Welcome Chris. Future note...hit Save on this rather than Post ;). Same goes for writing someone. You will be editing it and saving it back and forth until it is completed. Afterwhich, you may hit post and it will be published.

AJ: Greetings Chris, and everyone :) Looking forward to a fun, unique ship and lots of interesting stories.

Ray: Adding D who will be writing for Lt. Raza, our Chief Safety Officer.

AJ: Welcome D!

Raza: You can just call me Raz, Its OK :). Hello, Never played a Safety officer but then most ships dont have safety officers. so this should be quite amusing, specially sense I just created this character with minimal information on Saurians heh.

Ray: I am pleased to welcome our Reman Chief of Security aboard, Mister Grax aboard. Grax is a transfer from the IRV Imperiax in Task Force 93 and is written by our TFXO, Patrick Jacobs. Please also be advised of my news item that a type 18 shuttlepod aboard the SS Star of India has been named in honor of the late Patrick Gagle (ConfusedFire).

Patrick: Thank you for the welcome, looking forward to continue the story of Grax :)

AJ: I suspect you'll have a lot of work to do, Raz, getting all these folks from different backgrounds to follow the same Safety protocols. Welcome Grax, very glad to have you join us on board. I think honouring Patrick Gagle by naming our shuttlepod is a wonderful tribute, Ray. We will do him proud.

Chris: Welcome Raz, Patrick. Glad to have you both aboard. I didn't know Patrick Gagle obviously, but I have tremendous respect for those who put their lives on the line for their country, and I would like to echo AJ's above sentiments about it being a wonderful tribute.

Raza: Yeah I expect alot of stunning, screams, shooting, killing, maiming, and the occassional vaporization OH WAIT! thats on a Klingon ship DAMN IT! :P.

The CEO just got ahold of me so he and I are starting to work out the specs.

Ray: Please welcome Ezra to the writing table as Dr. Nal Rehu, a Romulan who has come aboard the SS Star Of India to serve in a dual capacity as Chief Science Officer & Chief Medical Officer.

AJ: Welcome Ezra, another great edition to the team. Just a big open invitation to everyone that if you'd like to write a Joint Post, feel free to tag me in or send a Pm to discuss.

Ezra: Thank you for the welcome. I've been wanting to play a character like Nal Rehu for a while now, and glad I am getting the chance too. Despite being a major nemesis in Star Trek, there is very little known about Romulans. I've concocted my own little take on the Romulans, which I hope makes sense and is plausible. Anyway, I look forward to writing with everyone, and seeing where this excellent idea of a sim takes us. :)

Ray: A bunch of you I haven't written with before. So, first off, I a pretty open and liberal in what happens in a mission. I'm fine with my writers throwing a curve ball or two. If you have anything big Oh my God! planned like trying to assassinate me, just let me know. Also, I added inforation and a schedule to the mission notes. At the moment, we'll be writing in the green days. I'll keep this updated as our plot moves along.

Matthew: Welcome all the newbies! Which is basically everyone haha.

Chris: Just to clear up a bit of confusion; I know canon year is 2388, but are we also operating a couple of months behind the current month as well? It's just the timeline in the Mission Notes is referencing June and July, so I'm a bit bemused.

Matthew: typically simming doesn't follow the current time in real life. We're set in June/July but we could be at that same time for the next 3 months in real life.

Chris: Gotcha, thanks for the clarification.

Ray: Thanks, Matt. Additionally Bravo Fleet is set in 2388 and tend to stay in one year for four years in real time. I do not know when the next change from 2388 to 2389 is scheduled to occur (Patrick?). But we shall proceed with June/July and onward at however the natural pace progresses.

AJ: Which is also a bonus if your character's birthday is in July. We'll be celebrating for a while :D

Ray: Thanks to Lizard Lips (Raza) and Spoonhead (Ibrim Dakar) the SS Star of India has her Specs up (plus auxiliary craft listed). I made some choices as per our Bravo Fleet association and time setting in addition to my desire to keep the Star of India less militant and more on the "civilian" side of things. However, in the end I think we came out to be a fairly durable starship that can hold her own if need be. So far only one Auxiliary vessel, has been named. Our SAR Medical Evac shuttle will be named by our Chief Science/Medical Officer.

Raza: Better make it good!!! Medical! :P. Also why is Ibrim Spoonhead? hes more lizard then a tellerate! :P

AJ: I'd like to suggest Shuttley McShuttleface.

Az: I'd like to second that.

Raza: I would Vortex the shuttle forcing my crew to start over from scratch if I had a shuttle named that! lol

Ray: Ibrim is spoonhead because that's a derogatory term for a Cardassian ;) Also, our medical shuttle has been named Vesalius after Andreas Vesalius, a Belgium anatomist and physician. As for "Shuttley McShuttleface" >.> you guys are horrible. I am turning down that one.

Chris: Hah, spoonhead. I like it. I'm going to take a little 'cross-universe' influence from another thematic setting I particularly enjoy and just refer to all you human types as "Mon-Keigh" ;)

Ray: Sent out an email to everyone regarding the Safety Officer position and exactly what the heck a Safety Officer is and what they tend to do on vessels.

Raza: Apologies for over zealous behavior with my outline in the JP I started :D. Glad that email wasnt just to me ROFL! cuz I would be sooo uncomfortable if it was just to me :).

And What Genre has Mon-Keigh?. I vaguely remember that term from somewhere ?

Ray: Don't sweat it. I had a handful of "What's a Safety Officer?" haha. Whenever there are questions or anything I need to explain just let me know (goes for everyone).

Raza: Hope people so far are enjoying Raza lol.

Ray: Please continue working on wrapping up any outstanding posts as soon as you can. I will be working with AJ and the rest of you into getting into the heart of our mission shortly. There are some announcements to be made in the next few days or potentially later this month. However, more immediately, I would like to announce that the SS Star of India has picked up her first couple of awards!

As a whole, the SS Star of India was successfully made an impression on Bravo Fleet and Task Force 93. We have been awarded Sim of the Month for August 2016! Furthermore, our very own Christopher Jackson aka Lieutenant Ibrim Dakar was awarded Task Force 93's Player of the Month award. Congratulations! In house Sim Awards will be announced later this month. Everyone, please keep up the great work!

Raza: sorry for any slowness its hay season here both for allergies and moving it for those who dont have a squeeze to move it, otherwise tons of by hand! lol.

AJ: Congratulations everyone on the Sim of the Month award. This is a testament to the interesting characters and great posts you've all been writing over the last month. And we're only just beginning! Please keep writing, keep making those fantastic, funny, dramatic posts. If anyone has any character or JP ideas, don't hesitate to bring it to the Captain and/or myself. Shoot us a PM or just start writing. If anyone needs help, then definitely get into contact with us and we will help you out :)

Ez: I'm open to jp's as well. They can be on-duty related or off-duty related (though I prefer off-duty related). Just send me a PM and we can get started. :)

Ray: I am working on a few JPs, but I am open for more. Also presently waiting on some people to hit Bridge tags ;)

Ray: I have tried to reach Chris aka Dakar through email, but he has not responded. 2 weeks have since passed since his last log in. Though I will keep him as Chief Engineer for a while longer in hopes that he resurfaces, I am removing him as Second Officer. AJ and I will discuss options that will work best for the Star of India. Furthermore, Patrick our former TFXO will be staying with us. However, he has requested to be placed on ELOA for the time being due to having to take over as Acting TFCO for Task Force 93. Please excuse his absence and do not include him in any writing at this time.

Ray: Working on moving things along to wrap our "Shakedown" mission up. Future adventures to be more enthralling. Unfortunately, Ibrim Dakar has gone AWOL on us unexpectedly without any notice and has failed to log in for 3 weeks. All attempts to hail him have have failed. Therefore, he was removed as Second Officer and has now been released from the Star of India.

After some discussion, it has been decided that Dr. Nal Rehu will be stepping into the Second Mate slot. Engineering is now open for applicants. However, in the mean time I'll be shouldering the Engineering needs with the NPC known as Kenny. I encourage anyone who knows someone that loves to write Engineering or Operations, that we could use a writer in either of those positions.

Temple: G'day folks. I'm already writing joint posts with some of you but just wanted to give some inspiration or plot points if you don't know what to write about.
- Setting up your office/department
- Unpacking your belongings into your quarters
- Meeting your team and junior officers
- Talking to family, friends, etc, over sub-space comms about your new position/ship


Temple: Me again. Check out the News Item I just posted regarding Crew Awards. We're doing things a little differently so read up and start nominating.

Grax: I am back :) not as active as normal, but I am back!

Temple: Welcome back Grax. Feel free to send a PM if you need.

Ray: Had to take a few days to watch this election unfold, then have some hot chocolate and sleep through the night and gather my thoughts before charging back into writing.

Ez: I will get to tags later this afternoon, I have some church things I need to do, and hit the books hard for class. Also, I have an npc now, if you want, he is available for jp's.

Ez: Just a reminder I'm open for jp's, either with Rehu (main guy) and Moore (NPC).

Ray: After some time of thinking and weighing his options, Matthew (Lucien) has decided that it is in the best interest of Star of India that he step down as he will from several other places in order to focus on his classes and his work. I respectfully accepted his resignation first thing this morning and the command staff and I are working on securing several new members to fill our vacancies.

Temple: Sorry to see Lucien go, but Real Life Comes First. I hope he will rejoin us again if/when he has the time.

Ray: As one Matt goes another Matt comes. Please welcome New Matt who will be joining us as Lieutenant Julia Clinton, Chief Engineer.

Temple: Welcome Matt, glad to have you onboard.

Clinton: Why thank you very much :) Look forward to posting with you all.

Ez (Rehu): Sorry, I have not been around as much as usual. Real life stuff and all that... anyway I'm around again. Also, a reminder that beyond Rehu, I have two NPC's that I'm itching to get writing for. Able Crewman Moore, and my chaplain, Lieutenant Christopher. Finally, hi Matt, and welcome to our little sim. I know you will enjoy it here. :)

Ray: Well, Holiday season sprang upon us and the flu visited my home, but now that I am feeling better and 2017 is soon upon us, I will be picking up my hands and typing again.

AJ: Sorry to hear that Ray, hope you feel better soon. I've got posts with pretty much everyone, so I hope to see some replies from everybody soon.

Ray: Back onto writing on my end. Had people visiting from the US the past few days. All clear now :)

CO OOC Notes: The following JP will work us towards our conclusion of our first mission (Woohoo). Though Lieutenant Raza has since been removed from the crew, these events will still make mention of him as they take place while he was still with us. Therefore, I'll make a quick note that Lieutenant Raza has the command of the SS Star of India.

Cestus III was a world jointly colonized by the Federation and the Gorn Hegemony, though her population was still predominately human and other with the Gorn being the largest minority on the world. Needless to say, the planet despite her tragic history, had come to be known as a safe planet with the Federation and Klingon Empire relative close allies, and the Gorn having been rather neutral towards the Federation. Captain Avin Singh had plans to see this simple away mission through. It was a Federation protected world, colonized with Federation citizens and posed no 'real' threat to the away team. Starfleet protocols were one thing, the life of a space mariner was foreign entity.

The Captain had not really run the whole plan by Commander Temple in regards to Avin, himself, coming along with his Executive Officer and the others. So, it was going to be somewhat of a toss up how Commander Temple responded to it being sprung on him. The Away Team was originally to be Commander Temple, Doctor Rehu, Chief Petty Officer Klem, and Mister Grax. The modification was Captain Singh taking Chief Klem's spot.

Standing on the transporter pad was the trio of Temple, Rehu, and Grax with their equipment ready and some of the lighter cargo packed and ready to go. Doctor Rehu had a bunch of medical supplies packed up to take to Pike City, the rest of the cargo was being loaded on the transporter pads in the cargo bays, ready to be transported as soon as the away team reached Pike city and met with the Federation Governess of Cestus III. The doors to the transporter room opened and Captain Singh entered, with some gear of his own and a phaser holstered at his side.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Doctor" said Avin with a simple bow of his head as he took Chief Klem's place on the transporter pad and looked ahead at the crewmen behind the transporter controls. "Crewmen, you have those coordinates?"

The young man nodded. "Yes Captain. Transporter coordinates have you just a tad over three kilometers outside of Pike City, Sir. The terrain is a bit rugged, but temperatures are not blazing hot this time of year. It shouldn't be too bad of hike" announced the crewmen.

Avin smiled a bit. "I'm a pretty experienced mountaineer, Crewmen. A few rocky hills and steep inclines won't bother me" added Avin before he turned to look at his First Officer and the others. "You three ready for a little hike on Cestus III?" asked the Captain.

Temple gave a wry smirk at the appearance of the Captain, clearly intended to join the away mission. The marine could quote, right down to the article and subsection, the protocols that such an act would violate. But those were Federation rules and he was here to learn to work around them.

"If we have time, Captain," Jesse replied with tongue firmly in cheek, "Perhaps a little abseiling, too?"

The Captain nodded "If we have the time, Ex. Though I don't know how our colleagues would feel about that one" replied Avin who shot a look at Grax and Doctor Rehu.

Checking his rifle he only growled a bit in disapprove that this away mission had some goal to be finished first. Grax clicked his rifle good now and tapped his side to check if his armor was good.

Nal wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that, but on the flip side didn't give it much thought either. He just wanted to remain focused on this away mission, but one thing he always had to remind himself was that humans differed than Romulans and Remans when it came to away missions. Over the past five years he had gotten used to plans deviating, so it hadn't been surprised when Commander Temple had made his request.

Though the Captain had some concern with Grax coming a bit overdressed and heavy handed with a riffle, Avin could appreciate the Reman's 'be prepared' attitude or at least what he felt was that sort of attitude. Grax was a grunting, snarling, growling individual who rarely actually said a sentence, but his almost 'feral' noises spoke louder than words at times. Friendly planet or not, the SS Star of India did have a dicey run in with a Gorn vessel only sometime before their arrival.

"Maybe we can talk with some of the Gorn officials on the planet and see if they can explain why our 'friend' decided to play space chicken with us" commented the Captain.

The Marine chuckled, "Suppose the neighbourly thing to do would be to at least let 'em know where we left him. So they can go pick him up." He smiled, boastful at the thought.

Avin looked at the Romulan who fronted both the scientific and medical efforts aboard the starship. "I presume you have a tricorder and a medical kit for our own use on you?" asked the Captain, though he knew a man like Doctor Rehu was most certainly prepared.

Nal tipped his head in acknowledgement. One thing he did different from most doctors in Starfleet or even in the Merchant Marines was that he didn't carry a medical case. That always seemed like an absurd practice to him. His tricorder, of course, was always accessible, but tended to carry his supplies in a back pack. It was still easy to get to, and just seemed more sensible. He had been a practicing doctor for a long time, and so he knew what not only worked best for him, but best for others as well. "Your presumption is correct, Captain," he said.

Jesse gave a nod to the Doctor, a cheeky glint in his eyes, "Remind me to pick up a replacement bottle of Ale if we can."

"If the Doc doesn't, you can be sure that I will" said Avininder Singh, flashing a small smile at his Executive Officer. "I may not drink, Commander, but I know after some of the jobs we will be taking on, the crew may need the added relaxation to boost morale, and there's nothing like a good ale to boost morale" commented Avin. The Captain looked at the man behind the transporter controls "Entergize" he said with a small smirk sweeping up his face, having been tugging at the corner of his mouth since the moment he stepped onto the transporter.

The shimmering affect of the transport faded and Avin, feeling a bit light headed and jelly legged, stumbled a bit, grabbing onto the Doctor's shoulder for support. "Sorry" he said to the Doctor. "A few years off a starship and spending time behind a desk...I need to get used to traveling more often" explained Avin as he steadied himself and retrieved a tricorder. He opened the device and gave the area a quick scan. "The coordinates seem to be right, but I was expecting someone to at least greet us...or at least offer to help with our luggage" teased the Captain.

Nal allowed a warm smile to cross his lips as he gave a slight nod to his commanding officer.

"Apparently the concierge is on break," Jesse replied in his usual sardonic drawl, while heaving a bag or three onto his shoulders. "I just hope y'all can keep up."

The fact the captain's legs had almost gone out beneath was a telling sign. Nal wasn't entirely sure if he believed the shorter man. He made a mental note to be sure to comb over the captain's medical records one more time just to see if anything 'stuck out'. He didn't think there would be anything of significance, but it never hurt to look. He turned his attention to the XO, a smirk forming. "I think you have that wrong, Commander. I hope you can keep up with me."

"You're on, Romulan," Jesse rejoined, meeting the Doctor's smirk with a smiliar, bearded grin.

As they pressed onward in the proper direction, the sunshine beating down upon them. Avin and the rest came to a point where they could see their destination, Pike City just a little under two miles ahead of them along a somewhat trafficked path. Though they could not see all that far with their eyes, Avin had a bit of a queer feeling about it all. The hairs on his arms were standing up as though his body was telling them they were walking into a trap or that they themselves were being watched. "Is it just Captain's jitters, or are you feeling something off putting about this, Ex?"

Temple looked around and sighed. "I just need to get a drink."

Jesse placed the bags on the ground and rustled around for his canteen. As he searched, he unhitched his phaser from his holster and wrapped his fingers around the grip. The trail was worn but deserted, and despite being just outside a major city did seem eerily quiet. He looked for any kind of visual signs, a glint of metal in the sunlight, the sound of movement amongst the rocks.

"I don't like it, but nothing substantial, Captain," He finally replied. "Would make a good spot for an ambush, though."

Nal's gray eyes had darted back and forth, taking in their surroundings. His hearing, which was slightly better than a humans, didn't pick up anything that would be off in a way. But the deserted feel unnerved him slightly. He had seen these types of situations before, Romulans just knew better to stick around in cases like this. Humans can be such feannas, he mused to himself as they plotted along. Out of instinct his hand was already wrapped around the grip, ready to draw at a moments notice. In his other hand was a tricorder, it was open and actively scanning, there was nothing of note... yet.

Avin looked at Grax and gave a nod, he could tell what the Reman wanted. "Grax, take point. Scout ahead a bit but stay within communications range" said the Captain. He no sooner said those words, did the Reman sprint ahead heavily armed. That was the last he would see or hear from the Reman for a while. The Captain, Commander, and Doctor continued onward trailing Grax who over the course of several minutes had left their sights as winding trails were obscured by hills.

Time passed with mostly silence on the short journey, closer and closer to Pike city the away team got. It had nearly been time for Grax to check in with Avin and the others, but no sooner had the Captain started to open the comm channel did a thunderous sound come from above. He did not know what was happening, what was coming. "Doctor!" he shouted as the man had his tricorder open and scanning.

The beeping of his tricorder had pulled Nal from his own thoughts. The welcoming silence had been punctuated by what almost sounded like an explosion. He likened it to sounds he had heard once when he visited the Reman mines. His gray eyes dropped to the readouts, and those same gray eyes went wide. "Oh no!" Nal's head raised sharply as he looked ahead. "It's Grax," he called out as he pushed himself forward and started into a sprint. "There has been a rock slide."

Temple was right besides the sprinting Romulan, a look of sheer determination on his increasingly sweaty face. As they ran along at pace, he begin to marvel at how far the Reman had managed to get in front of them. However, as they turned around a particularly narrow corner, which had concealed the rest of the path from view, they came to see what had stopped Grax in his tracks. Loose rocks and stones continued to tumble down the side of the mountain into a wide pile, spilling noisily across the ground. In amongst the mess of debris was their Security Officer.

"Scan for life signs and let's dig him out." Jesse suggested, already grabbing at the nearest rock and tossing it aside.

Avin was immediately helping the others in taking the rocks off Grax one by one, unsure if their Reman shipmate was still on one piece or not. As a former science officer, Avin had seen collapsed mines, cave ins, and rock slides before. They were not unheard of on Cestus III either, but he could not feel as though this was not a natural and random chance occurrence. "There should have been signs of this coming. There should be precautions in place...a containment field along the canyons and cliffs. This shouldn't have happened" commented the Captain.

With Doctor Rehu and Commander Temple continuing to dig Grax out, Avin tried to contact the Star of India....only to receive a static interference. "I can't reach the ship" he announced. "It could be something in the rocks disrupting the signal, but too many things are starting to stack up and I'm not liking our situation" added Avin. He turned and watched as the two started to clear the way and dig out Grax. "How are his life signs, Doctor?" asked the Captain.

Nal turned his head sharply toward the captain as the news was given. They couldn't reach the ship? What? None of this made sense. "Not great," Nal replied as he set the tricorder on a rock and once again began pulling at rocks to free the Reman. "If we don't free him in the next couple of minutes, we are going to lose him."

The trio worked hard to remove the rocks and uncover the Reman, until finally there only remained a large boulder, which had come down on Grax's right leg. Jesse squatted down and gripped under the rock, then gave a concerted heave to roll the impediment sidewise and out of the way.

"Is he okay to be moved Doctor?" Jesse asked, panting some. "If we can get him back around the corner and out this dead zone, we can contact the ship to beam him up."

TAG:

Avin interjected right then and there "I agree that Grax needs to be brought aboard and moved to Sickbay" said the Captain. "I mean no offense to your Nurse, but I'd feel more comfortable if Grax was under your care, Doctor. It's times like these that we could get an Emergency Medical Hologram for the Star of India" added Avin.


OOC Note: Unfortunately, Patrick (Grax) dropped Star of India to focus on his new TFCO position. I'd never write for another person's original character, but I don't want to retract anything. So, we will carry on just making mention of Grax. The three of us will have to carry this together. I have no plans on killing off Grax, but having him injured may help us write him off at the conclusion of this mission.