Angel didn't usually eat in the mess hall, but she'd gone through her office replicator's menu three times and found nothing appealing. In hopes of finding something that her stomach didn't find objectionable, she wandered into the mess hall and looked around. Immediately assaulted by the aggressive smell of someone's lunch, she nearly turned around and left, but she wandered farther in anyway. Eventually she gave up on finding anything among the items already set out for the lunch service and poked her head into the kitchen to see if Miril was in there. She didn't want to be a burden on their already busy chef, but Miril could at least give her ideas of what to mix and match in the replicator.

Miril was busy dicing some fresh vegetables when she caught sight of Angel. "Oh, hey! Is there something special I can whip up for you?" she asked, setting her knife aside and wiping her hands on a towel.

"Only if you have time. I don't want to create more work for you." At least inside the kitchen all Angel could smell was the fresh vegetables that Miril was working with. "I'm not normally so picky, but I've had a rough week."

"Not at all," Miril replied with a smile. "Just name it and it's yours."

"I really need something that's easy on my stomach, but none of the soups in the replicator look good." Angel leaned on the counter, sighing lightly. "It's going to be shipwide news any time now, so I may as well tell you. I'm pregnant, and apparently food aversions start before morning sickness."

"Congratulations then. Who is the lucky father?" As soon as she had heard the word 'pregnant' Miril was moving, throwing together a plomeek and vegetable soup she knew was normally satisfying to most Vulcan women. She added some human ingredients too, though it was still all vegetarian. Thankfully she already had a nice broth already reduced.

"Who do you think?" Angel laughed just a little. "Sinek. Who else would it be?"

"Just wanted to make sure. You never know with some people. For example, Ensign Alvanaz has three lovers that I know about." Putting the finishing touches on the large soup bowl, Miril set it in front of Angel.

"Three is too many. I'd lose track." The plomeek soup was the first thing Angel had seen that actually looked like it might taste good... and it smelled good too. She tried the broth first to see how it would sit in her stomach, finding it more than agreeable. "This is perfect. Thanks."

"Any time. And I mean that. One more person with special dietary needs is no problem for me. Tonight is pizza night if you're up to trying a few slices of my more interesting creations." Miril said, her grin widening.

Angel cringed slightly. "Normally I'd love to but cheese makes me gag right now. Which sucks, by the way, because I like cheese..."

"I have a few without cheese planned." Miril challenged. "The movie is an old Earth animated affair when holography was in its infancy about animals. Might be interesting."

"I guess... I'll think about it. I mean, I don't know what everyone's eating for lunch out there, but the smell of it hit me like a brick." Eating some more of her soup, Angel wondered when she'd become such a wuss. She'd been fine before the away mission, but now it was like she couldn't handle much of anything.

"Lots of animal protein." Miril replied, her grin fading slightly. "It won't be nearly as bad tonight."

"...animal protein. Well that explains it." Angel giggled a little. "I haven't eaten much meat since I started dating Sinek and with the baby being half Vulcan... it kind of makes sense." After all she'd had very few problems with plant based foods. "I might stop by and see how I feel."

"Either way, I'll expect to see you in here at least once a day, ok?" Miril insisted. "I'll also send you a list of replicator recommendations."

Angel wasn't sure what to say for a moment. Miril was volunteering to make sure she ate, but at the same time it felt like she'd be creating a lot of work. "I appreciate the gesture, but making a special meal for me everyday is a lot of extra work..."

Miril laughed out loud. "Seriously? Compared to the nearly two hundred special meals I prepare daily, this is nothing."

"Okay fine, you win. I'll come have lunch with you." Angel smiled a little weakly. "I already miss being able to eat whatever I want and I'm not even a month into this yet."

"Excellent. The herbivore vs carnivore dining rotation is in the computer. I know it won't always work out, but I do recommend trying to get in here with the vegetarians if you can." Miril said as she resumed chopping veggies.

"I... didn't know that was a thing." How could she be first officer of a ship and not even know basic things like that? Angel was starting to wonder if she'd not been paying any attention to anything at all. "I'll take a look at it, thanks." Even if she couldn't always make it to the vegetarian dining slot, it would at least be an option.

"Most of the crew don't and it's not often advertised." Miril said as she tossed most of the diced veggies into a big pot of broth. "Today's vegetarian specialty is stew filled buns if you want to hang around until then and take a couple home."

"Stew filled buns? Like... a soup dumpling?" Angel perked up a bit at the idea of portable stew. "That sounds like it would make for a really awesome snack later. With some green tea..."

"Mmhmm, it's a favorite of a few people. The trick is to make the dough rubbery enough to contain the stew but still fluffy. And the stew needs to be thicker than usual. Then once the raw bread bowls are made, you fill them, seal them up, and steam them in bamboo boxes. The ones I'm making today will be both spicy and not." Miril explained as she finished prepping the stew.

"I haven't tried to eat anything spicy since I was discharged from sickbay... well. Anything spicier than a gingersnap anyway. I'm not sure how my stomach would handle it." She liked spicy foods, but Angel had been playing it safe, considering both the baby's influence and her recent surgery.

"Stick around and you'll know once I start the second stew." Miril said with a grin as she pulled a pan of pre-made bread bowl looking things out of a proofer. She then started spraying the inner sides with an olive oil mix while the stew finished cooking.

"Okay. Just... don't get mad at me if I have to leave. I don't know if it's because of that concussion I had or the baby, but once I get queasy I pretty much have to run to a bathroom." Angel gave her a bit of a crooked grin, not sure she should have said anything at all. Finishing her soup, she slid the empty bowl to the side.

"That's perfectly fine." Miril said as she finished prepping the buns and started filling them, sealing them up and transferring them to bamboo boxes. Soon she had made at least fifty of these buns.

"You're going to have to teach me how to do that someday. When I can actually stand up at a counter long enough to make anything." Even with the medications Tallara had gotten for her, Angel had a hard time just sitting comfortably on a stool to watch.

"The ship's last chef used to give cooking classes every couple weeks, but I've found that past the emergency stuff of how to make rations edible, there's normally no interest. I'm here if you want to learn though." Miril winked at Angel, whom she knew was perfectly aware that she was the prior ship's cook with a new ID to protect her.

"I didn't realize T'Pel offered classes." They were alone, but Angel knew you could never trust that there were no spies listening. "I'd like to learn at least a little. I wouldn't be a very good mom if all I could make was sandwiches."

"Sandwiches can be hard to make if you don't know your ingredients." Miril replied. "Any time you're ready, I'm here. You can even help me out in the kitchen now and then, if you feel up to it."

"Really?" It was rare that something piqued Angel's interest as much as her beloved firing range, but the light in her eyes was readily apparent. "It might be a week or two, but I'd love to, actually."

"When you feel up to it, let me know." Miril said as she poured some prepared spices and peppers into the rest of the stew in the pot, stirring them in.

"Sure thing. I can't wait." Watching as Miril prepared the second stew, Angel caught a whiff of some sort of hot pepper. She couldn't tell what sort of pepper it was, beyond knowing it was something she liked. "I'm supposedly fit for duty, but I can't even pull a full shift in my office. I'm not getting any work done, official business or hobbies."

"Not surprising from the rumors floating around the ship. They say you single handedly fought off a pair of dragons." Miril said with a soft chuckle.

"I had help," Angel protested, though she couldn't help being amused by the rumor. "I can't argue about the dragons though. They were damn close enough to that... anything that breathes fire at me fits the description, far as I'm concerned."

Miril chuckled a bit more as she stirred the stew some more. "Well, I think you've become a legend by now."

"I never asked to be one. I just do my job." Angel didn't think she deserved being a legend with how many people she'd gotten killed in their fairly recent past, but she'd long since given up on changing anyone's mind on the matter.

"As do we all. You just survive every suicide mission our demented Captainesse sends people on." Miril said as she pulled a second tray of the prepared bun bread out of the proofer. These buns were colored a bright red and smelled faintly of cayenne.

First she was mildly shocked to hear Enalia described that way. And then Angel giggled as she realized just how appropriate that nickname was. "Don't ask me how because I have no clue."

"If you figure it out, let me know and I'll spread the word." Miril said as she started scooping the spicy stew into the buns and sealing them up.

"I think most people would tell you I'm just lucky." Angel wasn't sure she believed in that sort of luck, but she had no other way to describe how she kept coming home from missions that should have killed her off.

"Lucky, blessed, damned, made a deal with a Q... I've even heard the theory that you're secretly a god in disguise." Miril commented as she worked.

Angel snorted at her. "Gods don't break half the bones in their body on one away mission. Or scream like little girls when they see a Gorn that sprays liquid nitrogen out of its mouth."

Chuckling, Miril finished up the buns and moved them into the steamer. ""No, but who knows what the daughter of a warrior god can do?"

"My parents are human, but I suppose that's a nice way of looking at it." As far as Angel knew, her parents didn't even have any combat training. While she might have been a 'spoiled princess' growing up, she certainly hadn't been a 'warrior princess'. No, those skills had come from her training with Section 31.

Miril shrugged and leaned against the counter for a moment. "Rumors abound and I hear most of them."

"And every rumor has some basis in truth, no matter how wild it might appear to be on its surface." It was something Angel remembered being constantly reminded of, as well as persistent prodding to make sure any rumors that might surface about Section 31 were made even wilder and crazier, so that they would be dismissed more easily. "But a god in disguise, now that's a stretch."

Miril was about to reply when her first timer went off. Pulling the first stacks of steamed buns from the steamer, she cracked one of the bamboo boxes open and immediately packaged one up for Angel in a rice paper wrapper. The rest she wrapped similarly and arrayed on a tray which she slid out into the serving area. "Is it a stretch?" Miril asked, finally taking a moment.

"I'm as human as any other human on this ship. I don't have any special powers or abilities. I'm not immortal. I don't know where people get these ideas about me."

"They get them from your survival of suicide missions. You and Nexi both have quite the fan following." Miril explained. "Can you do me a favor and get out two of those paper bags next to you and line the bottoms with a few of these wrappers?" As she spoke, she pulled the spiced stew buns out and started wrapping them up. "Aewia will be by soon to pick up half a dozen of these."

"Nexi will be so thrilled to hear she's being worshiped." Angel snickered a bit, retrieving two of the bags and opening them. She wasn't as nimble or as quick as Miril, but she carefully lined the bottom of each bag with the wrappers. "I get that people think we're bigger than life and all that, but gods? I mean, sure. There are advanced beings out there that might fit the definition, but I'm not one of them." At least, she was pretty sure she wasn't.

"Even a dead fish can become a god if enough people believe in it." Miril simply replied as she wrapped buns. The biggest six she set aside for Aewia and the rest went out to the serving area.

"Okay you might have a point there." But that didn't mean Angel had to like being such a symbol. It was so weird to her.

Packing the six steamed buns into the bag, Miril slid a seventh one over to Angel. Then she glanced out to the serving area. All the buns she had put out were already gone. "Good thing I save some for Aewia. Poor girl would never get any."

"She's shy and too soft now to fight anyone off. If she did get her hands on one, she'd offer it to the first hungry soul she met." Angel smiled a little. She liked Aewia, despite the crazy things the woman sometimes said.

"Hence why she gets six of them every week after therapy." Miril said.

Just then there was a knock on the kitchen entryway and Aewia came bouncing in. "Hey! It's two of my favorite people! How's the avoidance of death going?"

"Well I'm still alive for the moment, so pretty good I guess." Angel didn't know how Aewia could bounce around so much, but it was fun to watch at least. "How's Nexi's hand?"

"She seemed to be healing well before she left again. Something about a resupply run for a double wedding. Enalia is going to try and get... Oh right, that's a secret." Aewia rattled as Miril handed the bag of buns to her.

"I know about the double wedding idea. I'm supposed to be in it." Angel laughed a little, wondering what Enalia was trying to get for the occasion. "But don't tell any more secrets, okay? I want to be surprised."

"Ok," Aewia said happily. "Thank you for the buns!" she called as she left as quickly as she had come.

Angel watched Aewia leave, grinning a bit at how joyful the other woman was getting to be. "I should probably go back to work, but I really don't want to."

"I can't blame you. Let me know what you think of the buns, either way." Miril said as she opened the meat cooler and pulling a tray of sushi quality prepared fish meat out.

"I will." Gathering what Miril had given her, Angel made a hasty retreat out of the kitchen the moment the fish appeared. It wasn't as aggressive a smell as other animal proteins, but she wasn't taking chances on it.

Commander Sinek found himself extremely busy. He was the acting First Officer while Angel was confined to Sick Bay. He still had to oversee the Science department and find the time to check on Angel laying there with her injuries, as well as his parents, currently confined to their quarters. Now, the Captain was going to take a runabout with a small crew on a mission. This meant he'd be the acting Captain while she was gone, unless Angel had a miraculous recovery.

So, Sinek called a meeting with a couple officers that would play key roles once, Captain Telvan returned. To his office in the Science Department, he invited officers Ishakawa and De Rivera.

Ishakawa had made sure to follow his routine; his uniform was still presentable and pressed to a crease in the proper places, he had a PADD in hand as he strode in measured steps to the Science Office. He did not know why he is here but that was secondary as he had been requested. It is the duty of a retainer to be prompt while in service as well as in his private affairs, so teaches the Hagakure.

Rining a chime and being allowed in Ishakawa stood tall in his usual fashion, confidence was to be projected to a superior Officer to respect the choice made.

Lieutenant Ishakawa reporting as requested Commander." Ishakawa gave a bow. "How may I be of service?"

"We will have Ensign De Rivera joining us," Sinek stated in his monotone. "Please have a seat; he should be here momentarily."

Ensign De Rivera was getting some seat time in on the Bridge in the helmsmen's chair during his scheduled shift. However, when he received notification that he was being requested to a meeting in the Chief Science Officer's office, the young man waited patiently for someone with navigation and piloting abilities to come relieve him, taking over his seat until her could return to the Bridge.

Several minutes later, Julian was on his way down to the Chief Science Officer's office after taking the most direct route via the turbolift and corridors. He found himself catching a glimpse of Lieutenant Ishakawa after making his last turn. The ensign slowed his pace and hung back a bit. He did not want to rush down the corridor or beat the Lieutenant to the door. He waited for the man to slow and arrive before him.

The Ensign then proceeded onward and arrived at the office himself. "Ditto" said the Ensign with a polite nod. "Hello, Sirs" he added, addressing them both. His focus did shift more towards the Chief Science Officer though. "Ensign De Rivera, reporting."

"I appreciate your promptness, Gentlemen," Sinek began. "Ensign, please have a seat." The Vulcan nature of keeping the task first and foremost was present in his manner. There was no offer of a refreshment, only the task at hand. Sinek paused for Ensign De Rivera to take his seat.

Ishakawa waited for the brief to begin; the Hagakure teaches to be patient when one is in the presence of those making war.

"Gentlemen," Commander Sinek began, "As you know, Captain Telvan has taken Lieutenant Daln, Chief Petty Officer Klem, and Nexi on an away mission to attain cargo, which we will need to load upon their return. This cargo pod cannot be loaded through conventional means. When we are notified of her soon arrival, we will need to undertake a saucer separation in pursuance of loading the pod."

The words caught Julian's ears sharply and triggered him to turn immediately in his seat. His full attention was now most certainly being given if it hadn't been already. "A saucer separation" replied the ensign with a shake of hos head. "What cargo causes the need for a saucer separation?" asked the ensign rather candidly. "Saucer separations are traditionally for emergency purposes only though they have been used in the past for tactical maneuvers and for other purposes. It's not the easiest undertaking, Sir."

"Will the Star Drive section explosion radius be the minimum safe distance the Saucier Section will need to be?" Ishakawa asked. "Or will we be dropping the saucer section a greater distance away?" The Question was rigged and Ishakawa knew it. In the infinite wisdom of the Operations Data base there are parameters for safe distances, the required supplies for a saucer to be alone without the Star Drive Hull to bring it back to port. These distances are based on certain; and some classified reasons not known openly, scenarios that a ship will face to where even a Subspace Parsec is a planned distance to be away from the Star Drive Hull.

Ensign De Rivera looked at the Lieutenant and nodded. He understood the man's questions. Questions that were rather close to his own that he had wanted to voice. He did not to tell the Vulcan Chief Science Officer that Lieutenant Ishakawa had valid concerns and questions. Julian looked at the Chief Science Officer "What position do I play in all of this, Commander?" asked the ensign. "Do you need me at helm on the saucer or manning the station of the stardrive, Sir?"

Sinek remained calm, registering all their questions in his mind. With the absence of emotions, the Vulcan replied, "This should merely be a routine separation. It shall only be long enough to load the cargo. Therefore, the saucer will remain nearby. Once the cargo is loaded we will rejoin. We may use the auto features in the separation and reconnection. However, if you are more comfortable handling it manually, then you may defer to that option. Ensign, you will be with me in the saucer. Lieutenant, as Chief of Operations, your task is the controls of the stardrive section."

"Yes Sir." Ishakawa said confidantly. "I will have the best Load Master on hand to aid in the delivery and stowing of the cargo." He loked at the COmmander. "Are there any secial requirements for the stowing or transport of the cargo that we know of?" It was a good question that if needed gave him time to make the preparations. "Also do we have the demension of the cargo so for planning and clearing appropriate space?"

"That is an appropriate inquiry, Lieutenant," the Vulcan confirmed. "The volume will take the cubic area half of one of our nacelles."

Ensign De Rivera nodded with full understand. "I'll handle it manually, Commander. I do not trust the auto sequence when it comes to something as crucial as a saucer separation" commented De Rivera. He looked over at the Operations officer. "No offense to the ship's computer systems, Lieutenant. I just personally prefer certain controls be done by me or some other sentient being rather than the ship's computer."

"Do you have objections, Lieutenant Ishakawa?" Sinek asked.

"I have no objections so long as the operation is comfortable for those executing it we should be fine." Ishakawa said. "I would like to make a couple of simulated attempts if we have time just to get our coordination synchronized.

"That is an exceptional proposal," Sinek flatly expressed to Ishakawa. "The holodeck program on saucer separations should be sufficient. We should be able to execute a couple scenarios in the next few days. Ensign, when is the most adequate time for you?"

"Being the chief of OPS I can help arrange any time we need for this process." Ishakawa said. "I will get the Command approval should it conflict but I think we can arrange the practices."

"That will be acceptable, Lieutenant," the Commander evenly replied. He looked at De Rivera. "Ensign? Are you on board?"

De Rivera nodded. "Of course, Commander. I am on board for this" he said calmly.

"Excellent gentleman," Sinek uniformly expressed. "Lieutenant Ishakawa, I leave the coordination of the simulations to you. If there are no other questions, you may be dismissed."

"Yes Commander." Ishakawa bow slightly. "It shall be taken care of in short order."

"I trust you will give it your comprehensive attention." Sinek replied and returned a bow. "Thank you for your time, gentlemen. You are both dismissed."

Daln headed to the Intel offices, a basket of muffins in hand. He had borrowed a cup of sugar, and now he had to share the muffins. He just hoped he could give them to Santiago and then get back to the bridge where he was coordinating with his people. It was a bit of a helter-skellter situation right now, with the Tellarites in the lounge and the resupply going on and a number of other tiny things going on around the ship. He entered the offices and waited patiently for the Spaniard to have a free moment.

Dylan was just heading out of his office and saw Daln standing there, basket in hand. "Hey...what brings you to the shady part of the ship?" he grinned playfully, his eyes drawn to the basket.

Daln lifted the basket and the smell of freshly baked muffins swirled through the room. "I borrowed some sugar, and now I'm bringing you what I promised you: twelve uttaberry muffins." He handed the basket to Dylan, and then smiled. "It was the least I could do since you provided one of the key ingredients."

"They look amazing." Dylan beckoned him over, eager to see if they smelt as good as they looked. "Though, you know you could have had the sugar without doing this right?" he smiled warmly.

Daln grinned. "I promised you two muffins in exchange, and I'm a man of my word. There are half a dozen there, and no, I won;t give you the recipe."

"It'll be Ethan that we'll have to break that news to." Dylan laughed, "One taste of these and he'll be bugging you for weeks." he picked a muffin out of the basket and sniffed it appreciatively.

Daln shook his head. "Sorry, no one gets this recipe. Grandmother Obran would never allow anyone outside the family to get any of her recipes. If she was alive, she would have my head if I gave it out."

"Well then, we'll leave you alone though, I'm not sure Ethan will be able to." Dylan replied as he took a bite of the muffin in his hand. "Oh my..." he mumbled through a mouthful, "Yeah...he's definitely gonna be after you."

Daln laughed. "I can't give him that recipe, but...if he was really serious about wanting some recipes...maybe we could arrange a swap from time to time? Like cornbread. I love cornbread. Not with sugar, though."

"He'd like that." Dylan nodded, "He's always on the look out for new ideas and I'm hopeless because I don't know anything." he added with a sheepish grin.

Daln chuckled. "It's not that hard. You just can't be afraid. It's like with an animal, like Bart. If you're afraid, you're going to lose."

Laughing too, Dylan said "Animals don't scare me, now an oven? That's a different matter entirely." He winked at the other man.

"Exactly. If you're afraid, you freeze and it turns into a giant mess. Fear is the problem of many who can't cook, when it's really a lot simpler than you think. I have a recipe for tossed stew. It's really easy, just chop things up, throw them in a pot, and let it stew for about 45 minutes. Really easy. It'll be a good starter for you."

"Maybe I should try it." Dylan grinned, "Ethan will drop with shock if he sees I've cooked." he chuckled, the idea of it appealing to him.

Daln smiled. "You should. It's a lot easier than you think. Come by my quarters later, I've got the recipe stored there. And now, I have to get my ass to the shuttle bay or Nexi's going to worry." He frowned. "I think that Borg cube episode shook her up more than most people think." He scowled, then headed out. "I'll see ya then," he called, raising a hand and turning half around as he walked away.

"See you later." Dylan called after him, already planning his surprise cooking adventure in the next few days.

Lieutenant Dylan Santiago
Chief of Intelligence
USS Hera

Lt Daln Hadren
Chief Sec/Tac Officer
USS Hera

Ethan stepped out of the shower and put on a fresh set of clothes. it was just going to be him, Dylan and their guest and he didn't see any need to anyone. So he chose a pair faded jeans and a black tee shirt.

He's already done some preparation for the night's dinner, before he'd climbed into the shower and he could smell the lasagna wafting into the living room. He didn't see Dylan as he walked into the kitchen, so he assumed he was just running late, not an usual occurrence of late. He checked through the window of he oven and everything was looking good. He had just pulled the oven door open, to double check, when the chime on the door sounded.

He quickly closed the oven and went to answer the door.

Ishakawa had a casual attire , silk long sleeve ivory shirt with missionary collar, brown slacks and shoes; he hoped he had not under dressed as it was a friendly matter. He held a Chardonnay wine; it seemed a good choice for a western dish and Ishakawa's mother was an OPS person and made sure to give traditions to her son. Upon first coming to a friend's home it is polite to bring a gift to the host for the home.

"Good evening Ethan." Ishakawa greet after he door opened. "I thought this would be a welcome addition to Italian." He held out the drink as an offering."

Ethan took the bottle with a grateful smile. Dylan should be here any minute," he said, "or at least he'd better be. I'll get some glasses and we can have a glass while we wait for him. Come in." Then he stepped aside so the other man could enter.

Ishakawa entered the quarters, it was obviously a double occupancy, he could smell the delightful aroma of something good. having noticed the casual attire of the host Ishakawa felt a little more at ease. He tried not to be a bad guest by staring about but he took in the way the couple had arranged the quarters to their own tastes.

"You have done very nice additions to the quarters." Ishakawa complemented. "It is a warm balance both yin and yang by the feel. It has a harmony of it, it bodes well in testament to the relationship, cooperative and..." He stopped. "Forgive please, I have not been in such comforts for a time and tend to ramble when ... impressed."

Ethan smiled, "It's quite alright, feel free to ramble away. Our relationship wasn't always a harmonious one. I'm just glad that this place, our place reflects that."

"I had once hopes of being like this." He looked around. "Few are so blessed, to have been in pits of misery and still found... contentment with another is rare." Ishakawa said and shook his head. "I sound like an old man looking back upon my few years." He chuckled.

"Nonsense, you don't sound like an old man at all. And yes, we are quite content now, we're not perfect, we fight like any couple I guess. And I'm not sure I fully understand the whole yin and yang concept, but I think I understand it enough to say it talks about us, not just our cabin.

Did you have someone that you were close to?"

"Died." Ishakawa said solemnly as he continued to look around.

A look of concern and compassion crossed Ethan's face and he put a comforting hand on Taro's shoulder. "I am sorry to hear about your loss. Would you like to talk about her, or him?"

"Battles have casualties; those that are weak invoke a price." He looked at the other wall. "I was weak she paid the price." He turned back casually. "She put her confidence in the wrong person... me."

Having completely forgotten that they were going to have company that evening, Dylan tapped the code into the door to the quarters that he shared with Ethan and before the door had even slid open he thundered "God dammit, I swear that Ensign Farquar is gonna be the death of me." and with that, his eyes settled on Taro and he shut his mouth abruptly, blushing a little as he finally found his voice again, "Um...sorry. Bad day at work."

Ethan narrowed his eyes and moved his hand from Taro's shoulder. "I was just about to pour some of the wine I brought, "he said, "I think we could all use it."

"Hello." Ishakawa said with a slight bow. "I am Taro Ishakawa, you must be Dylan Santiago, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Pleased to meet you too." Dylan awkwardly bowed back, "Sorry about that...I forgot that we were having someone over for dinner." he added sheepishly.

"We all have those days." Ishakawa said with a smile. "It is all part of the human condition." He alluded to. "Home is where you should feel the most able to express what is in you." He looked to Ethan. "Add have the friendly ear."

Ethan nodded as he poured three glasses of wine and handed one to his fiance and their guest, before taking a drink for himself."

"To finally being away from the stress of work." Ishakawa offered. "May the problems stay on opposite side of the door."

"Amen to that." Dylan tapped his glass against Ishakawa's then took a large gulp as if to rid his mouth of the bad taste his work day had left him with.

"I hope the lasagna helps too,"Ethan offered, as he moved to Dylan's side and gently kissed his cheek, "and we have another bottle of a new Bajoran Green wine we can drink, when we're done with this one."

"Now you're talking." Dylan kissed Ethan's cheek too, "We get out the good stuff when company comes over." he chuckled.

"Let us hope there is always occasion for the good stuff." Ishakawa said with a grin. "Once I have my quarters more to the traditional sense I shall have you both over for a Jqapanese meal." He thought. "Perhaps a holo program with the proper massage after a good meal?" Ishakawa said. "I know of a good massage house that is like a western Spa and resort; a good meal and massage then hot springs. It would be a relaxing evening to be sure."

"That sounds amazing." Dylan nodded eagerly, "Don't you think so?" he looked at Ethan.

"I agree," Ethan said quickly."Sounds like it could be fun. I think we could both use the time to relax."

" I think we can discuss that after dinner." Ishakawa joked. "I admit the smell is quite enticing." He laughed. "It is clouding my images of the program as the desire to indulge in the well cooked meal over-rides much else."

"Yeah, you'll love it. Ethan's cooking is the best." Dylan smiled as he gestured towards the table. "I should go change and then I'll be right with you." he headed for the bedroom.

"He's biased you know, "Ethan told his guest, "he thinks everything I do is the best, well except when we fight, but I do hope you like the food."

Ishakawa nodded. "That is how I am told it should be." He relayed knowing the food would be great as a guest one always complements the cook to be considered polite if necessary, to be honest in this case. "Mutual quarters, you must be coming close to the nuptials?" He inquired.

"Well, we've been living together since I was rescued, but yes we are close. As soon as we can both get some leave time together."

"Ishakawa chuckled, he had some leave time accumulated from his incarceration/ slavery time; though it was a type leave he did not care to indulge and could not transfer to another even if he wanted to.

Is hardest thing to coordinate the leave times between departments." Ishakawa noted. "If anything I can help with please let me know." His first response came out. "You would be surprised what OPS is capable of doing with just the asking, we serve everyone and as such sometimes have good relations with other departments that help grease the gears during requests?" He left the statement in the air to ponder. "You are friend, I would naturally do what I can." He said casually as he moved to look more around at the blending of the two souls in the quarters.

Ethan exchanged glances with Dylan. "That would awesome." He paused taking a sip of his wine, "don't take this the wrong way, but I could kiss you."

"I accept the gesture." Ishakawa said as he raised a glass. "What is good of having favors if cannot use for good reason?" He laughed. "I have no pressing need as I have a lady I am molding to be perfect and it will be another few weeks work until she is completed."

"You're molding a lady?" Dylan raised an eyebrow, not really sure that he understood was Taro was saying.

Ethan gave the Japanese officer a curious glance as well. "You mean like an android?"

"A Katana." He said. "I am making a Katana sword by the old methods, bend by bend under the Masters on the Holodeck I use a forge and I have the tools replicated. My Katana was lost, I broke it so not to fall into Orion hands now I must make my own." He had a far off look. "In the end she will be a beautiful naked blade that will restore my status and honor."

"I see," Ethan replied, "Well, that actually makes sense to me. I mean I'm not sure why breaking a sword, especially while you're doing an honorable thing, like trying not to be captured, could somehow impune your honor, but I can at least understand your desire to restore it."

"I would not allow it to be a prize to an Orion to be used or just something hanging on a wall with the story of a fallen warrior not strong enough to keep it." He replied. "Now when new blade is complete my Karma and bring back my honor." He nodded to them. "Bushido teaches that a Samurai need not have a sword to be a warrior, but having a loyal blade makes one a better weapon."

"And you consider yourself a weapon?" the doctor asked.

"The Hagakure states 'the Samurai way is found in Death." Ishakawa quoted. "As such I must be ready to be a weapon to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

"That is certainly a noble ideal, and as i said, one that I greatly admire, but why did you not chose security or intelligence if you wanted to be warrior?"

"Samurai means 'Servant' in Japanese." Ishakawa explained. "Operations is an honorable career; Admiral Yamamoto believed heavily in Logistics to complete his War Time Operations and used Trusted men in that capacity. I had enough combat before I fell to the Orions and while a slave I learned more in service in exchange for small amenities for the sick or women under slavery. I would work for better treatment of all of us. I am good with a sword but since I lived after the battle with my sword I am not a frontline warrior, I can serve them and give them all they need."

"That works for me." Ethan answered.

"Sounds very honourable." Dylan nodded in agreement, "Now how about we eat?" he suggested, "I'm famished." he added.

Ishakawa looked forward to the meal, he nod in his agreement and followed the others to the table.

"Dylan is a fortunate man, the best replicator is no match for a good cook." He laughed. "Do you have any suggestion of female company that might have the talent?" He joked.

"Sorry, I haven't met any...just crazy ones." Dylan replied as he took a seat, "But I'll keep my ear to the ground for you." he added, liking to play matchmaker wherever he could.

Ethan gave Dylanthe look "Uh, dear. Remember the last time we tried to play matchmaker with Nexi and Sinek? "

"You know the question was rhetorical?" Ishakawa covered. "I would do my own searching for the woman in question. It was a thing of small talk." He nod to them. I would prefer not to have someone around at present, I must learn my new department and would be almost in abuse in my lack of time I could give her at present."

Brushing off Ethan's glare, Dylan replied "Well all the same, I'll let you know if I spot anybody."

In response, Ethan briefly intensified his glare, before rolling his eyes. Then he moved to the kitchen and shortly brought out three plates of food and sat them on the table

"But I do thank you that the 'Crazy ones' you have met were not a good choice." Ishakawa joked. "I would have been more scared if you wanted to introduce me to ones you thought were crazy as they would be a match for me." He nod. "I am glad some do not think me crazy." He took in the aroma of the meal. "Ethan you are amazing, this is quite an upgrade for me, Thank you."

Ethan gave him a brief bow, before smiling at both men and taking a seat.

"What kind of a ship is the Hera; that is, what should I expect from the crew? Will it be a never ending line of requests or a quiet command where everything is; as the we Easterners say, it is all roses?"

"I like the ship and her crew, you have a bunch of spooks running around, so I don't exactly think it's a bed of roses."

"Yeah, it's not exactly a tranquil getaway around here." Dylan chuckled, thinking of what they had endured so far.

Ethan reached out his hand across the table, "No, but the company is worth it."

"I am grateful for that." Takahashi smiled.

'Trust me, so am I," Ethan said,"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Me either." Dylan took Ethan's hand and squeezed it, "It's becoming a bit like a family around here." he smiled.

Ethan turned to their guest, shifting his focus away from his fiance,"How are you liking the ship, are you adjusting?"

"I find the work keeps the hours moving and the calendar progressing." Ishakawa said. "It is an adjustment but I like to think I am adapting at least as well as can be expected?" He shrugged. "I have no emergencies to attend so I take it my folding into the crew is going well."

"Good," Ethan replied, "and again if you ever want to talk about, you know, things I'm here for you. Well, we both are if you need us."

"Thank you for that." Ishakawa replied with a nod of the head. "It is good to know there are those that can be talked to. I will keep that in mind. Keeping out of the ship's Grapevine is another objective I have."

"You can trust both of us to keep your secrets." Ethan said.

"Hey I'm Intel." Dylan chuckled, "My secrets have secrets."

"To the shared secrets of the future." Ishakawa offered from the heart.

"To shared secrets." Ethan replied.

"I'll drink to that." Dylan joined in the toast, it was the start of what was to be a good evening.

OFF

Lieutenant Dylan Santiago
Chief of Intelligence
USS Hera

Lieutenant Taro Ishakawa
Chief of Operations
USS Hera


Lieutenant Commander Ethan Chaparral
CMO
USS Hera


OOC-Santiago: me too!

Commander Sinek struggled with his thoughts. Angel's recovery had been slower than he had hoped. Both her and their child would be fine.

The child was another of Sinek's concerns. His only model for fatherhood had come from Vulcan. His own father didn't seem to care for Sinek's views or the path he had chosen for himself. Vesik was a controller and manipulator. If things weren't under his control, he would soon swing things in a way that they would be controlled by him. Because of this and Vesik never seeming to approve of Sinek, the CSO wasn't close to his father. Would Sinek follow his father's pattern? Was this the only way a Vulcan father were tot side his child?

Just as at other times in the past, Sinek went to the one human besides Angel that he truly trusted as a friend. Walking to the CMO's office, he rang the chime, awaiting with his hands behind his back.

Ethan was meditating when the chime sounded. He came out of the trance state, knowing who it was on the other side of the door. "Come in Sinek," he called out.

Sinek awaited the door to whisk open and he entered. This was one of those times he wasn't comfortable standing. He took a seat and looked across the desk to the Doctor.

"I do not wish to interfere with work progress," the Vulcan started. "If I am, please ask me to leave."

"I wasn't working, I was, troubled,well trying to head off being troubled, so I was meditating. Do what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked. Then thinking of his words and how the Vulcan might take them he asked, "what brings you here?"

"You were troubled?" Sinek inquired, hesitating to share his own thoughts. "May I be of assistance?"

"Just lingering, old ones, of Ian. Don't tell Dylan, I don't want him to worry, but I still get nightmares once in a while, but the meditation helps and you didn't come here to hear my troubles. Why did you come?"

"If the nightmares are as bad as you say, I am certain Lieutenant Santiago knows," Sinek suggested. The Commander looked to the Doctor. "I have come to you before for counsel. You are a friend and have given me sound advice. What concerns me is the fact that I am going to be a father."

"He might know I guess, though I try not to let him. But let's talk about you. What is that concerns you. I know Dylan doesn't feel like he had that great of a role model and isn't sure if he would make a good father or not. Is your problem something similar?"

"The only specimens I have of fatherhood are Vulcan, explicitly Vesik," Sinek replied. "I have not regarded him as a superior model to fatherhood. I am his son. What if I am no better?"

Ethan looked over at him, "You're not like your father Sinek. Would Vesik have done a mind meld with me? Would he befriend a human, teach him how to meditate? I'm betting the answer is no. But you did."

"So you are saying," Sinek asked, "it is logical that I would father a child differently than Vesik?" It was strange to hear Sinek ask question, especially questions of doubt concerning himself.


"I wouldn't put it quite like that, but yes, that is what I am saying."

Sinek thought it over, chewing it in his logic, continuing to come to the same conclusion. He was Vulcan. The only Vulcan fathers he had known parented in the same manner. Logic must be the standard. And the father's logic overruled all else. It may have seemed cold, sometime cruel, and often calculating, but it had served the Vulcan way for millennia. It didn't matter if Sinek saw it as broken. Logic dictated that if the process worked, it isn't replaced.

"I wish I was as secure in my confidence as you seem to see me," Sinek replied.

Ethan, placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Fatherhood will be good for you Sinek. And for your child. You're right, I am confident in your abilities. And, I know you might think you're alone in you own insecurities, but I can assure that you're not. I know of very few men who aren't worried about taking on the role. If you weren't concerned, if you didn't have questions, then I would be worried.

"It is normal to be confused?" Sinek had a lot to learn. The models he had seen of fathers supposedly knew everything. Even when two fathers with opposing views were together, both were right. The more he thought, the more confused his mind became. How could anything of this nature be normal?

"Yes, Sinek it is perfectly normal. People do worry about such things. They want to be a good parent, a good role model, a good teacher. I have questions about what kind of father I would be and, like I said, so does Dylan. It's a little different with us. I had good, caring, parents. He didn't."

Sinek raised a brow. He had met the Doctor's mother. While Ulani seemed to love her son, Sinek wasn't sure if she were the best role model on parenthood. It seemed she did everything she could to embarrass Ethan.

"So, I must love the child in the same way I do Angel?" Sinek asked.

"Yes, more or less. Not exactly the same, Angel is your wife, your child is part of you in a different way. He's going to be part of you and part of her and then his only little person besides."

Sinek had known about that. He knew he was more like T'Qol than Vesik. He also knew that much of his personal choices were opposed to their logic. To them, Sinek must have seemed rebellious. Hopefully, Sinek would be the type of father that would realize the best path for his child would be the things that interested them. Of course, he would ensure their safety, security, and well-being, but the child would determine through his/her own choices a quality of life.

Sinek wasn't much more comfortable with his thoughts, but at least he was able to voice them. "Thank you, Doctor," he evenly expressed. "Please do not tell Angel that I have spoken to you."

"Of course now Sinek, I would never betray a confidence. My lips are sealed, I won't tell anyone."

"I'm sure she's already concerned after meeting Vesik," Sinek explained.

"She very well may be. Have you talked to her about it? I've found that with Dylan or any relationship that it is best to talk things out. Clear the air."

Sinek bowed his head. He hadn't spoken about it with Angel. He wasn't certain if he would.

"I am not certain I desire to hear her response," Sinek evenly replied. "Her response may be that she fears I'll be as Vesik is."

"She might, "Ethan admitted, "but you can't deal with an issue until you know if it really exists. If we're being candid with each other, there was an issue that Dylan and I wrestled with. With my father deciding that his love for my mother outweighed his homosexuality and my mother, uh, making the choice to, switch sides as it were, he was afraid that I might, find a woman. But I would have never known it was an issue for him until we talked."

"I comprehend what you are saying," Sinek dryly replied. "It is an awkward exchange to have."

"But one that may be necessary for you, you should consider it."

"I will assuredly consider your advice," Sinek returned. "I do thank you. You have always been available when I have needed counsel. Again, thank you."

Enalia was back on the bridge, satisfied that the mission had been completed and at least most of the team had come back. Sitting in the command chair and writing letters to the parents of Hawke and Wang, she was also contemplating awards to grant them posthumously. She'd have to wait for Angel's full report for that, but for now she could at least draft the generic templates.

Then the ensign at the Helm spoke up. "Captain, we're now at the rendezvous coordinates for the Sporano. They should be arriving in a few moments."

"Excellent," Enalia said, standing and straightening her uniform. After a few seconds the incoming transmission signal lit up on the Ops station and she pressed it herself, putting the face of a Tellarite researcher up on the main viewscreen. The Sporano was an Aerie class ship - hardly 4 decks, but it was a good research platform. "Captain Telvan, I presume. I'm Captain Lesog of the Federation Science Commission. We're here to resupply as per orders." He was gruff, but Enalia had dealt with enough Tellarites to know how much strain it was for him to not insult her or her crew. Nevermind that she knew this Captain from before she was joined.

"Please come about to our port and extend docking clamps and we'll begin the transfer. If you and your crew would care to partake of our facilities during the transfer, my crew can handle everything." Enalia offered just as politely. "Just please don't track any mud over. I just had the decks polished."

Then his demeanor broke into a smile. "Ha! You'd be so lucky. We wouldn't waste any of our mud on a wreck like that and you know it. You're just lucky we need your supplies. And I do think we'll be invading your lounge; it's been forever since any of us have had a stiff drink."

Enalia chuckled softly as she sat back down. "Then I'll see your ugly face there. Hera out." With a final nod from Captain Lesog the viewscreen reverted back to a view of the Sporano as it came about and started the docking procedure.

The viewscreen went back to the view of the ship and Hadren began tapping a few controls on his console. "They are coming around to dock, captain," he informed her. In his mind, the Helm could hold the Hera a little steadier while another ship came straight at them.

"Thank you. Please inform the resupply teams. And have a couple security teams covertly assigned to the lounge during their stay. Lesog and his crew can be... Rowdy..." Enalia added.

Daln nodded. "Aye, ma'am."

He tapped his commbadge and sent a message to the resupply teams in Ops. The second one he sent to Hernandes. She was to get three other security officers with her down to the Lounge in civilian clothing.

"Re supply personnel are standing by Captain." Ishakawa said with confidence. "All requested supplies are in the cargo bay ready for transfer.

Hernandes got the message and nodded. She went to Thorne, Ming, and Idrax and told them to go home, get into civilian attire, and get to the lounge. Idrax would pair with Jenny, and Hernandes would pair with Ming Li. Ming was a small, petite woman, but she was a black belt in mixed martial arts and could beat the shit out of men twice her size, usually more than one at a time. Idrax was a Trill with brown hair and blue eyes that Hernandes found distracting. His neck and butt were quite nice. She left before she could be distracted anymore.

When Hernandes entered the lounge, she found Ming sitting in a corner table facing the door. She was in cotton clothing that was loose but not too much, and her hair was back in a bun. Hernandes sat down, dressed in jeans, tank top and boots.

"Are they here yet?" Hernandes asked Ming, her eyes intent on the door.

The oriental woman shook her head. "Not yet. Chief says they'll be on the ship soon, though." As she finished speaking, Thorne and Idrax, both in tshirts and jeans, took seats at the opposite corner.

It was only a few more minutes before a group of six tellarites entered the lounge, all of them loudly trading insults and boasting about how much they could drink. The apparent leader called out to the barkeepers as they headed to a larger table in the middle. "Hey! A round for my filthy crew and keep the mugs full! And bring us some real food too!"

Craig Martain at the bar was shaking his head; to have such 'lively' people in the lounge is always a risk at port, but while on patrol it was a little unexpected. Though he had read up on Tellarite people and could get some good food and decent brew into their bellies that should keep them only loud and not rowdy.

Hernandes looked for a waiter, trying to keep one eye on the Tellarites. "What are you doing?" Ming asked. "We're still on duty."

Hernandes grimaced. "That just means I can't have anything alcoholic. Doesn't mean I can't have some coffee."

Ming grinned. "I have to agree with that."

Usually one for enjoying a party, Dylan stood quietly at the side of the room, watching the visitors closely, trying to suss them out and see if any of them might be a threat to the ship.

The platter of appitizers was completed and the Drinks were just being completed when Martain took the tray and his best Operations Girl tessa took the six stiens by the handles and accompanied the Lounge Manager to the table. Martain put down the platter and Tessa put a mug in front of each Tellatite.

"Welcome to our humble Lounge, please let us know if you want someting specific and we will do our best to serve." Martain offered a smile.

A mug whizzed by Martain's head, followed by a hearty bellow from one of the Tellarites. "Go serve your mother!" The other Tellarites laughed, grabbing more objects to throw in Martain's direction.

Martain stepped forward to what seemed the Tellarite Leader's Face. "You were raised in a place for animals!" Martain said. "Outside your own home you should be more polite if you want to have the better food and drink. I run a fine Lounge and you are guests, not in your own galley but 'MY' place so you might want to think about some manners!" He hoped he was doing it right, they loved to argue so he would give them one.

The Tellarite in question stared at Martain, his piggy little eyes looking for any sign that the human man actually understood what manners really were. After a long moment, the Tellarite laughed loudly and clapped Martain on the back. "More drinks for me and my friends!"

"That we can handle." Martain said and was going towarn Tessa tokeep ready to duck.

Another Latino entered the lounge, tall and dark, with a good bit of scruff on his face. He ordered two black coffees from the bar, then headed towards Santiago. Once he reached him, he smiled like he was an old friend and handed him a coffee. "Don't you know how to be inconspicuous?" he asked in a Spanish accent. He punched the other man in the arm and headed towards a table and sat down. He smiled at Santiago. "Come, have a drink with me. Right now, you're broadcasting that you are a babysitter."

"Not like I'm undercover or anything." Dylan replied with a smile as he followed the other man to the table and set down his coffee cup. "Besides I figured that by being obvious it might keep everyone in check, there are Tellarite's here you know." he chuckled as he gestured across the room to where the group of porcine humanoids stood.

The other Latino shook his head. "Chief said that we were to be inconspicuous. Usually that means don't broadcast it." The man leaned back in his chair. To the untrained eye, he was totally at ease. To other security officers and Intel officers like Dylan, he was relaxed but ready to jump up at a moment's notice.

"I don't think that they'll notice us." Dylan grinned, "They're more interested in that buffet table over there." he chuckled quietly.

The other man laughed with him, nodding.

Over at the other corners, the other teams were either antsy or relaxing too much. Jenny, in her tank top and shorts, was relaxing a little too much with a root beer float in front of her. The Trill beside her gave her an reproachful look.

"Thorne, you're supposed to be working," Idrax said. He had a simple cup of raktajino, and was stiff as a board. His eyes never left the group of porcine humanoids in the middle.

Jenny shook her head. "Jolan, you worry too much. They're not doing anything." She gave him a sideways look. "I dare you to order something with bacon."

At the other corner, Ming and Hernandes were doing exactly that: eating BLTs, bacon lettuce and tomato sandwiches. Ming said around her sandwich, "It's a shame they'd never eat bacon. It's really good."

Hernandes gave her a bacon covered grin. "That's because it's cannibalism for them," she replied before they both laughed.

With Angel's injury, when Sinek wasn't on duty, which wasn't often, as he followed his normal shift and also Angel's, Sinek was usually in Angel's quarters, helping her with her physical therapy and caring for her. There were times though when Sinek seeked solitude to meditate. This was one of those occasions.

He had spoken with the Doctor two days ago. Still he hadn't spoken concerning his thoughts with Angel. He was concerned how she would respond to his concerns. She had met Vesik and it didn't go well, not because of Angel, but because of Vesik's attitude and Vulcan ways.

He sat meditating, his lamp burning before him. When would be the right time to speak with Angel? Sinek may never be comfortable, knowing he was Vulcan and what Vulcan fathers were like. Even Spock, who was a human hybrid, just as their child would be, even he didn't fare well with his father. What was he to do? He told the Doctor, he'd consider the advice and speak with Angel. It was so much easier when he only needed to be concerned for himself.

Finding it unusual that Sinek wasn't in her cabin when her shift ended, Angel easily found him in hiw own cabin after letting herself in. He was meditating, so she left him alone for now, instead heading for his couch to rest for a few minutes. She still walked with a limp, and that lingering soreness had been bad enough before she was going to the bathroom every ten minutes.

He sensed her presence before his eyes focused upon her. Then, his ears picked up the way she walked. His nose picked up the scent he had come to love. Finally, he allowed his eyes to turn to her. Unfolding his legs, he arose to greet his Angel with a soft kiss.

"You shouldn't let me interrupt your meditation." Angel did not, however, protest against the kiss itself. "I just want to lie down for a while. I'm hurting pretty bad and I've been too queasy to take anything "

"You will never be an interruption," Sinek confessed. "Please have a seat and elevate your leg. We must discuss something."

Well, sitting was better than standing at least. Angel took her time getting settled, tucking the small throw pillows under her leg until she was at least semi-comfortable before turning her eyes to Sinek again. "It must be something important, judging by your tone. What's going on?"

"I've sought the counsel of the Doctor," Sinek admitted. "He thought I should discuss my concerns with you." He paused a moment, locking his hands behind him. "You've met Vesik, a Vulcan father. Does it concern you that the father of your child may be like him?"

"You? Be like Vesik?" Angel couldn't help giggling a little at the thought. "That's not crossed my mind once! You're far too much like your mother to start acting like him once junior is born. Is that what's been bothering you?"

"The Vulcan fathers I have known," Sinek explained, "have been hard and uncaring. Logic...their logic...overruled all else. If you see me act that way, you must say something."

"If I see you act that way, you're going to sickbay whether you want to or not," Angel assured him. "You're the most caring person I know. Such a radical change would be cause for concern."

"You don't see me as unbalanced at anytime, do you?" Sinek probed.

"Of course not." Now Angel was really lost. If anyone in this relationship was unbalanced, it was her. "Well, maybe during your pon farr but that's a natural Vulcan thing."

Sinek sat upon his reading chair. Not that it took him long to read a book, but at least he could be comfortable while reading. He reached out for Angel to join him.

"I do not wish to be another Vesik," he confirmed. "I wish for our child to know that he, or she, is loved by me." He wondered if his mother ever felt loved by Vesik and hoped that Angel felt loved by him. Love wasn't the natural Vulcan thing, because it was too connected with emotions.

"You are nothing like Vesik," Angel assured him. It took her a moment to get to her feet from the couch, but once she managed she crossed the room and joined Sinek in his reading chair, snuggling against him. "Our child will never doubt that he or she is loved deeply. By both of us."

Sinek wrapped his arms about Angel. He gently kissed her on the cheek. The conversation had brought him reassurance. Reassurance that he wasn't his father. Reassurance that he and Angel would form a family built on the foundation of their love for each other. Reassurance that Angel would be there helping him to be the father he desired to be.

Angel smiled a bit at the kiss on her cheek, shifting her weight slightly to take advantage of Sinek's higher body temperature to get a little warmer.

This was where Sinek was meant to be, with whom he was meant to be. It all felt logical and right to him. This moment. This female. This child. This upcoming wedding. Inwardly, Sinek smiled that his family would miss it. After all, they were so intent on seeing him wed.

Sinek was content to hold his love. However long she felt comfortable being held, he would remain there holding Angel. His Angel. His soon to be wife. The mother of his child. He tried to imagine a little girl with Angel's hair and eyes, but his skin tone and ears. Or a boy with jet black eyes and hair, but Angel's complexion and more rounded ears. Silently, Sinek considered himself foolish for these thoughts. But inwardly, he just smiled.

Seeing as how she was barely able to work or take care of herself, Angel had no idea why she'd agreed to entertain Maica III, whatever Enalia had meant by that. But since her cabin was on the same deck as Enalia's and only a short walk away, she'd decided that a visit might be manageable. It took considerably more time to walk there than she would have liked, and to her dismay she was actually out of breath by the time she reached Enalia's door. Recent surgery or not, it was mildly distressing to her to be struggling so much just to exist. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she tapped the door chime button and waited to see if anyone would answer.

Maica III had been bored out of her subroutines for some time since Enalia had left. She could roam the ship, but that only got her so far. She was still new to the crew and rarely had anyone else to actually interact with - especially after they found out she was the captain's lover. When she heard the door chime sound, rather than getting up to answer the door, she just relocated her holographics to the door and pressed the controls. "Oooh Commander Fairchild! Please, come in. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

"Maybe just some water. There's not a lot I can keep down just yet." Angel wasn't sure how much Maica III knew about the extensive surgery or the baby, but she figured Enalia would have at least mentioned the long stay in sickbay. "Enalia asked me to make sure you weren't getting too bored while she was gone."

Maica III headed to the replicator and punched up a pitcher of ice water and a glass, bringing it to the coffee table and motioning to the newest piece of furniture in the room - a massage table. "May I offer some massage therapy then? I heard you got hurt in your last away mission."

"That does sound nice..." It also sounded mildly awkward, coming from someone who Angel knew was sleeping with one of her friends. "But I can't take a lot of pressure on my leg or shoulder. They're supposed to be healed and well... they still hurt."

"I'm skilled in many techniques that'll aid in healing. Medical technology can only rebuild the tissues and bones but your body needs time to integrate them. And muscle... even repaired, that takes a while too." Maica III said as she flipped a few switches on the massage table, the stones and the table itself starting its warming cycle. Then she patted the table invitingly. "No sexual stuff, I promise."

Angel thought about it for a moment. Some of the nurses she'd had while in sickbay had encouraged massage and heat as ways to aid in restoring proper blood flow, and the few times she'd been in remarkably little pain had been during guided meditation with Sinek or when Sinek rubbed her shoulders until she feel asleep. "I suppose it can't hurt. But yeah, no sexy stuff."

"Hop up here then, face down." Giving Angel time to get settled on the table, Maica III opened an oil incense vent in the table, the scent of myrrh wafting from the table's heaters. Then she set the music in the room to a recording of Tibetan singing bowls.

'Hopping' was not something Angel was fully capable of at the moment, but the table was low enough that she could climb up on it relatively easily. Her shoulder protested as she shifted to lie down, forcing her to pause for a moment for the twinge of pain to fade before she settled down in a comfortable, belly-down position. She was still a slight bit wary of how awkwardly sexual a massage could get, but she wanted to trust that Maica III was being honest with her.

Maica III started with tender massages around Angel's injured shoulder first - slow circular motions working as deep as she dared. "So I hear you have a wedding coming up. Excited?"

Angel smiled a little. "Yeah. We hadn't really talked about it until we found out that Sinek's parents were bringing T'Zal with them, but it just feels right."

"Enalia is more than excited. She's been looking forward to performing her first wedding for a long time now. That's why she went to get supplies for it personally, you know." Maica III said as she kept the massages up.

"I'm sure she is. I think she's been waiting for this for a long time." If Angel had to guess, she'd guess that Enalia had started planning the wedding the day she found out that Angel and Sinek were dating. "But it won't be just us. Amelia and Ven are getting married too."

"Mmhmm. And a double wedding is double excitement for her. She's been researching how to perform one since she left." Maica III moved to Angel's neck with her massages.

Angel flinched slightly, the muscles across the back of her neck stiff and sore from how tightly and gingerly she'd been holding her sore shoulder. "She'll figure it out. She's clever like that."

"That she is, though sometimes too clever for her own good." Maica II said as she deftly popped Angel's neck and massaged any further tension away.

"Tell me about it," Angel replied dryly. "I've no idea how I've survived her pranks up to this point, let alone survived being her first officer."

Maica III chuckled softly as she massaged on Angel's back. "She trusts you completely and she'd never do anything to actually hurt you. You know that, right?"

"I would certainly hope that the near-death experiences are not intentional!" Angel giggled a little at that. She'd never once thought that Enalia actually meant her any harm, but the missions this woman got them involved in were either deadly or more deadly.

"I may not be the best judge of her yet, having only been aboard for a short while, but I wouldn't even be here if she didn't have the best interests of her crew at heart." Maica III said as she kept up the massage.

"She's one of the few on the ship I'd trust with my life." Angel didn't know if Maica III would understand the significance of such a statement or the weight it carried.

Maica had a decent idea of the import of those words. "And she trusts you with hers and the lives of the entire crew."

Angel knew that and yet somehow it was still surprising to hear it come from someone else. "Well. I was her chief of security before I ended up as her first officer. That might have something to do with it."

"I noticed that and a slew of promotions in your public records. Impressive, to say the least." Maica said as she pressed downwards and cracked Angel's spine, putting a couple vertebrae back in place.

"One of which was posthumous until Starfleet realized I was not, in fact, dead." The realignment of her back had hurt, and Angel flinched slightly. "Those bastards named a starship after me too. But not a cool one. It's basically a transport ship with a few phasers on it."

"That sucks. At least you weren't named after a subroutine though." Maica said as she placed several hot stones on Angel's back in key points.

"Okay you might have a point. But still. The thing can't even fight off a dilapidated early 23rd century bird of prey. It's piti-- holy crap those are hot." Even through her shirt, Angel had a fleeting thought that the rocks might leave burn marks on her back. She couldn't imagine how they would feel against bare skin.

"Yeah they're supposed to be right under the temperature that causes first degree burns. Promotes healing and circulation." Maica said as she started massaging Angel's feet.

Angel didn't know much about medicine or science in general, but she'd been in and out of sickbays often enough to have heard that explanation for heat therapy before. "I know what it does. Just didn't expect it to be that hot."

"Most people don't but it'll help you feel a lot better after a bit." Maica III added.

"Hmm." Angel eyed the tray of hot stones that was just barely within her reach. The stones on her back did feel nice, and she had to wonder if their heat would be enough to ease some of the pain in her leg. Deciding to try it, she carefully reached over and plucked a stone out of the tray and tucked it under the sore bone and muscles, wincing for just a moment as she adjusted to the heat it gave off.

Maica nodded at the placement of the hot stone and kept massaging Angel's pressure points in her feet. "Something similar is next."

"I'm almost afraid to ask." So far, Angel had nothing to object over. Other than the innate awkward feeling that came with any sort of touch-based therapy, things had been fairly neutral and nothing to worry about.

"No need to worry. I just need to finish with these pressure points." Soon Maica III was finished and she started placing the hot stones on the backs of Angel's knees and a few along her thighs and ankles. "There we go," she said as she placed a few on Angel's butt as a finishing touch.

"...you're funny. That's something Enalia would have done." Angel had to admit that the heat did feel nice, even if having rocks placed on her butt was a little bit weird.

"Do you mean the three stones at the base of your chakra?" Maica III asked as she sat down to wait a while on the stones.

"Yeah. I'm sure there's a health-related reason for it, but she'd have done it to be funny." So much heat from the various stones actually made Angel's head feel a bit light and swimmy, but the sensation was otherwise pleasant.

"Maybe," Maica simply said with a smile. "Let me know if you feel faint or need some water. Your blood is being thinned a lot and you're sweating so you'll need to re-hydrate soon."

"I'm a little dizzy, but it's not that bad yet." Then again, Angel didn't do the girly 'going to the spa for a massage' thing very often and didn't really know how dizzy was too dizzy either.

"I'll get some refreshments then," Maica said as she stood and headed to the replicator, leaving the sounds of the Tibetan singing bowls in her wake as she punched up a fruit and ice drink with hints of honey.

Alone with the Tibetan bowls for a moment, Angel made a mental note to see if the computer had a recording of their sound. It was a comforting tone, one she thought might be helpful later when she was trying to sleep. Feeling just a bit too warm now, she shifted to pull her sleeves up, sending a few of the stones clattering to the floor. "Whoops."

Maica chuckled softly as she set the drink aside and started moving the stones back to their home. Soon she had Angel unburied and was helping her sit up, placing the drink in her hand. "I think that's enough for your first session. You did better than most."

"Thanks." Angel took the cold drink and drank a few sips of it, careful not to drink it too fast and make herself sick. Almost instantly her head felt better, even though she still felt very warm. "I might be able to skip one of my pain meds tonight. This really helped."

"Come by every day for the next week and we'll have you as good as new." Maica III said with a soft smile. "Are there any other services you'd like to avail yourself of? I'm quite skilled in many things and can be an engaging conversationalist."

"I'm not sure I need any other other skills." Angel smirked a bit, sipping some more of her drink. "But I will happily take advantage of your massage therapy skills. And maybe some conversation... I don't have terribly many people to talk to."

"Fair enough. Just please no sexual requests - those are reserved for Enalia." Maica III said with a knowing wink.

"I have Sinek for that anyway. And I think he's doing an admirable job." Angel snickered a little, nearly spilling her drink with how amused she was at her own stupid joke.

"I noticed." Maica III said with a soft giggle as she started shutting the table's elements off.

Angel glanced down at her still rather flat belly, curious as to how Maica III would have noticed until she remembered that she wasn't talking to someone made of flesh and bone. And that it was also entirely possible that Enalia had been telling people about the baby. "Won't be long before everyone can tell I'm sure."

"In a few months, yeah. If I hadn't heard it from Enalia, I would have only noticed during your massage." Maica III said non-nonchalantly.

"I'm pretty sure she thinks this is hilarious, now that I'm not in any danger of dying. Not the pain obviously. But the baby. She's going to make fun of me the whole time I'm pregnant... and I'll let her because that's the type of dorky friend she is." Angel sighed a bit theatrically, though her faint grin made it obvious she didn't mind if Enalia did poke fun at her for months.

Maica was solemnly silent for a moment. "You might find her a bit more compassionate on that front. She did have half the bridge and several other parts of the ship remodeled because of her symbiont, you know."

"...right. I forgot about that." Angel was so used to Enalia's quirkiness that she'd forgotten that a lot of those quirks came from a critter living in Enalia's belly. She was quiet for a moment as she finished her drink. "I suppose being joined would be a lot like being pregnant. Little critter living inside you. Whims and cravings that aren't really yours. Decreased bladder capacity..."

"...which she can be sensitive about." Maica said, taking the now empty glass and setting it back in the replicator for recycling. "A lot of her personality comes from it as well. You wouldn't have recognized her before the joining."

"Maybe she won't be as big a troll for a few months then. She gets it." Angel had no doubt she wouldn't recognize a pre-joining Enalia. Hosts changed a lot, especially with the symbiont's first joining. "I never paid much attention to how she changed the bridge or how much time she spent in the ready room instead of being on the bridge."

"Indeed." Maica said, sitting back down. "And don't plan on any away missions for the next year."

"I don't want to go on any for a while anyway. I'm in too much pain to be running for my life, and my balance still isn't how it was before that concussion." Angel shook her head slightly. She really did like away team duty, but this last one had banged her up so bad she was actually content to stay on the ship for a while.

"That means Enalia or Commander Sinek will be leading them." Maica III replied. She knew she was stirring a pot with that comment, but she figured Angel would have something interesting to say about it.

"I will stun that woman if she attempts to go on another dangerous away mission. She got possessed by a non-corporeal alien with delusions of grandeur last time!" Granted, Angel didn't like the idea of Sinek going on said dangerous missions either, but Sinek didn't have a history of said possession.

"I'll hold you to it," Maica II said with a pleasant chuckle. Yes, she definitely saw why Enalia liked this woman so much. She liked her herself. "So it may be early, but have you thought of any baby names?"

Angel shook her head. "Not yet. Most of our time's been spent with more immediate issues. Plus I don't think it's really sunk in yet. I mean, we know it's real and all that but it was such a surprise."

"Ah yeah, there was that fight with Commander Sinek's betrothed and that mess with his family." Maica III said thoughtfully.

"His mother is nice. His father might warm up to me eventually." Angel didn't really want to comment on the fight with T'zal. She hadn't wanted to fight the woman, but at least in the end it had been beneficial. Sort of. "I didn't tell Sinek but I'm pretty sure I sprained my ankle and dinged my collarbone the first time in that fight. And I didn't have time to get it looked at before we were thrown into a crisis."

"Yeah I can imagine that didn't help any." Maica said. "Thankfully you're still here with us and everything turned out just fine for the most part, right?"

"Yeah..." Angel still felt guilty about losing Wang and Hawke, no matter how many people told her it wasn't her fault. But most of the team had made it home.

Noticing the seemingly morose look on Angel's face Maica III took a guess at why. "Not that this will be any comfort coming from a self replicating immortal hologram, but people in Starfleet die in the line of duty every day and everyone knows the risks. Yeah I'm sure it's not something you should get used to or anything, but it does unfortunately happen regularly and as a Commander and prior security yourself, you should know this and be prepared for it none the less. Sorry if I'm assuming too much... It's just that I think Enalia is going through the same thing." Standing and heading over to a painting behind Enalia's desk, Maica III pressed a button and the painting slid upwards to reveal a second plaque with a long list of names hand carved into the platinum sheet. "I just wish she had a better way of dealing with it."

"I know all that. But it doesn't change how I feel. At least when I was in security I could go shoot things on the range until I was okay. I don't have that option anymore." Angel sighed lightly, wishing it was appropriate for a ship's first officer to lock herself in the range or a holodeck and shoot at things for a few hours. "What's that?"

"It's a list of all the people she's lost under her command. She carves each one by hand into this sheet of platinum. It took her about twenty minutes per name for Hawke and Wang." Maica II spoke reverently as she stared at the list of names. "It may speak a lot about her doing this, but it says a lot more that she's using such a large piece of platinum and carving the names so small. It's like she expects to lose her entire crew at some point."

"If you count the names you'll find we've lost more people in a short amount of time than most ships lose throughout their service. I think only the Enterprise has more losses, and only because Starfleet counts the D and E together. Same captain, mostly the same crew." Angel hopped off the bed she was still sitting on and went over to the sheet of platinum, running her finger down the list and pausing by each name she held some sort of responsibility for. Nearly all of them. But Enalia made no distinction for anyone's responsibility except her own. "Most of these people died because of mistakes I made."

"And Enalia would claim that they were her mistakes." Pressing the control, Maica III let the photo slide back in place, leaving them staring at a replica painting of Peter Paul Rubens', Consequences of War.

"Okay, so maybe she has poor judgement sometimes when it comes to choosing to send an away team. But once the team is underway, they're my responsibility... or whoever leads the team. It can't be her fault if she isn't there." But Angel knew that Enalia was a lot like herself in that regard. Whether she was there or not, she felt the blame was hers to bear. "And frankly a lot of those missions... there was no way we could have ever known what was waiting for us."

"No one could have foreseen a fire breathing assimilated Gorn," Maica III said softly, turning to face Angel and taking the Commander's hands into her own. "You did the very best with what you could do and got the mission done with survivors. No one can ask for more."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me." Angel knew it was true, but that didn't make it any easier to shake off her own feelings of guilt.

"I'm here for you. If you need someone to talk to, just come see me any time, ok?" Maica III insisted.

Angel nodded slightly. "Yeah. I can do that. Thanks."

Maica III smiled brightly and pulled Angel into a hug. "Thank you."

Enalia had a bag slung over her shoulder as she headed across the shuttlebay deck to the USS Thor, their newest runabout. Thankfully repairs went well so she decided that for the resupply run to the local starbase, she'd be taking it and setting up the supply channels they'd need for continued runs on a regular basis. She'd sent messages to her three travel companions asking her to come with her, but it seemed she was the first one to show up.

Nodding to the repair team as they finished repainting a few spots, she headed up the open gangway and started a pre-flight systems check, dropping her bag on one of the benches in the back. Stores looked good. Plenty of rations for months and the armory was full. All three miniature quarters were stocked with linens. It wasn't big by far, but it had 3 cabins, a common area, an armory, and a large cockpit area with a nice transporter set up in the back.

Chief Klem had been taking a five minute break to grab a mug of raktajino when the Captain had slipped into the shuttlebay. The Chief had a few operations technicians working alongside a handful of repairmen from the Engineering department. It was a joint effort between the two departments to have the Thor up and ready as well as get the other auxiliary craft back into shape. Chief Klem was taking personal responsibility for the Thor.

She entered the cabin of the Thor with her mug of Klingon raktajino, and sat the hot beverage down. The Tellarite was about to go threw some pre-flight inspections herself when she heard someone fussing around towards the cockpit of the shuttle. I told them not to touch the inside without my approval she thought irritated. She pulled out a laser wrench from her work jacket and headed towards the cockpit. "HEY!" she shouted seeing the back of the figure. "I told you goons to stay out of the shuttle unless I asked for help. Don't make me smack you with this wrench" she said bitterly.

Though she was quick to realize that no sooner had she said those words, her eyes made it clearer that the uniform on the woman was not gold but red. As a Tellarite, her eye sight was not the greatest. She moved in for a closer inspection. "Captain?" she said curiously. Indeed, it was the Commanding Officer of the starship. "What are you doing down here? You aren't planning on taking the Thor out yourself I hope" added Klem shaking her head.

"Nope, that would be me," Nexi said as she entered the bay and approached the shuttle. She was missing her trademark leather jacket, instead wearing a new jacket in a similar style to the Starfleet uniform duty jacket with Intel grey accents. The rest of her clothes were her normal clothes, but she was trying to make more of an effort to conform to the regulations she would have to live by soon. "You ready to go, Enalia?" she asked.

Chief Klem looked at Nexi, crossing her arms. "Don't you have your own craft to damage?" quipped the Tellarite with a playful jab. "We just got this one. I want her back in one piece, and what do you mean...the Captain is going?" added Klem, shooting a look upon the Captain.

Enalia looked at Klem funnily. "You didn't get the message? The three of us and Daln are going on an away mission to Starbase 336 for a resupply canister." Then she noticed Nexi's attire and stared for a few seconds. Something definitely seemed off, but she looked good. "That looks really good on you. And yeah, as soon as the last of our crew gets here and we're cleared, we're heading out."

"Sorry, Captain" replied the Tellarite. She shook her head "I've been busy down here. Haven't had time to check for any memos of messages. Quite frankly, I wasn't expecting to be going out again for a good while" explained Chief Klem.

"Yeah yeah..." Nexi half grumbled with a roll of her eyes. She tromped up the ramp into the shuttle and started getting the Thor ready for take off.

Daln came out of the latrine just then. He headed into the shuttle, avoiding everyone's eyes. "Sorry I'm late," he mumbled before making his way to his seat.

The Chief looked at Daln a bit judgmentally. Her focus was primarily on the Captain though. "I mean no disrespect, Captain, but is it really wise for you to be going along, Captain?" asked the Chief with sincere concern.

"Normally, I'd send Angel, but she's not exactly out of sickbay now, is she?" Enalia replied as she took off her uniform jacket and draped it across the pilot's seat. "And I'd like to take us out, actually. Captain's prerogative."

Chief Klem looked at the Captain with a look of concern. "I know that Captain, but the last away team I was on...didn't go so well. Standard supply mission or not, there's risk. Couldn't you have sent the Second Officer?" asked the Chief. The Tellarite, however, excused herself. "I'm sorry, Captain. That was not my place to voice my concern."

With a sly grin, Enalia started the mission briefing. "We'll be operating semi-informally for the next two weeks. I'll be responsible for the dayshift and Nexi will be in charge of the night shift. Daln and Klem will be on call. In three days we'll arrive at starbase 336, a joint Federation-Romulan station. Once there, I'll be in charge of setting up future resupplies and coordinating getting the cargo pod we'll be using. Gini, you'll be in charge of making sure that the Thor can handle it and that everything is packed correctly. Daln, you'll be in charge of security. I've asked station security to provide any assistance you require. Nexi... We need about a hundred gallons of Romulan ale, forty gallons of tulaberry wine, and forty gallons of local moonshine for a wedding. I plan to only spend three days there and since we'll be towing at warp, the return trip will take just over a week if we're lucky. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes, Captain" replied Klem. "I understand my duties and what I am responsible for" added the Chief.

Daln nodded. Oh boy, more Tellarites, he thought "Aye, ma'am."

"I swear, woman, you have more booze running through this ship than a bar!" Nexi jibed playfully as she worked through the shuttle start-up.

Daln shook his head. "Of course. It wouldn't be Commander Fairchild's wedding if there wasn't lots of alcohol." He buckled up, remembering the bumpy ride he had once before with Nexi.

The Chief looked at Nexi. "Here's to hoping this little adventure turns out better than our picnic plans aboard that Borg Cube" commented the Tellarite in jest.

Plopping down into the pilot's seat and strapping herself in, Enalia grinned as she fired up the engines the rest of the way and requested departure clearance from control. "I just want to make sure we have plenty to drink for a double wedding. Now everyone buckle in."

As soon as control gave her clearance and she was sure everyone was at least sitting, Enalia eyed the tractor emitter rotating to lock on to the shuttle to carry it out of the main shuttlebay. Shaking her head, she punched the impulse to max and did a double barrel roll out the doors and past the pylon, nearly scraping against the sensor arrays on the pod in the process. Barely even clear of the pylon, she did a 90 degree bank and pulled up sharply, nearly skimming the canopy windows across the edge of the saucer all the way around it until their departure vector immediately behind the Hera. Then she hit the warp drive and they were at warp 8 in a matter of seconds.

Nodding to herself, Enalia locked the controls in and actually set a course for the ship to follow. "She's a good ship. Maybe we should get another one, just in case."

"Hey!" snorted the Chief as the Captain pulled her shenanigans. "That was not an authorized flight procedure for exiting a shuttlebay, Captain. Any more of that and I'll be filing formal complaints" teased the Tellarite. "You barely missed dinging the sensor array pod...please be more gentle when you bring her back in" added Chief Klem, shaking her head.

And I thought YOU were a crazy driver, Daln said to Nexi. "I have a feeling you two would get along well with my cousin," he said through clenched teeth.

Nexi was glad Enalia had opted to take this first shift flying; she was still shaken up about the Borg cube incident and being back in this shuttle was not making things any easier for her. She hid it well, her hands didn't tremble or flinch as she manned the co-pilot's console. But like Daln, her teeth were clenched and her mind was chaotic, so she was really grateful that only Daln was a telepath on this shuttle. "I don't get along with anybody, I tolerate people," Nexi grumbled, which was mostly true; there were only five people she made an effort to 'get along' with. "Oi, since you're taking the first shift flying, you mind if Daln and I hit the rack?" she asked Enalia.

"Go for it. Your shift won't start for twelve hours and I don't see anything much happening." Enalia said, pulling a PaDD out of her pocket and clicking it on.

"Good deal," Nexi replied, then headed back to the rear of the runabout where the bunks were located. She trusted that Daln would follow without any prompting, but she wouldn't be able to get any sleep without him, not after what happened on the cube...

Klem looked at Nexi and nodded. "You kids have a nice rest" jested the Tellarite. "I have some reading to catch up on. I'll keep the Captain company as well" added Klem.

Daln got up, smiling slightly at Nexi. I'm here, he said simply. He followed her to the bunks and took off his uniform jacket and gold tunic, leaving only his undershirt tank top. He got into the cubbyhole after Nexi, and took her into his arms. Leaning his cheek on top of her head, he said, Try to get some sleep.

Lieutenant Commander Sinek had no issues keeping himself busy. He knew that with the Captain Telvan down, Angel would be the acting captain. Since he was the Second Officer, Sinek would have to assume Executive Officer duties to lift that burden from the one he chose to love.

He had already spoken with Angel, read the report filed by Petty Officer Takethen, as well as interviewed her. His main concentration in his field had been the beginnings of planets and their star. This included the beginning of life on those planets. Now, he had somewhat a beginning of a new life. Or was it an resuming of an old life. He found this entire resurrection ordeal fascinating.

To find more answers, Sinek would have to go to the source. The CSO had only met Lieutenant Nosplot once before his death. He had found the man strange, a bit eccentric, and organized in an unorganized fashion. Is the current Lieutenant Nosplot the same man?

Walking into Engineering, the Lieutenant Commander searched for the Chief Engineer anew with life. He found him elbow deep in work, attempting to get more efficiency out of the Hera .

"Lieutenant Nosplot," Sinek evenly spoke. "It has been a long time since we last met."

"Oh! Uh, hi Commander." Ven said, startled by the man. "I guess it was longer for you than for me. I hear you got a promotion since last we talked. Congratulations sir." The last time the two had spoken, it had been in Ven's messy storage hold that he called an office.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," answered the monotoned Vulcan. "I am attempting to come to terms with your death and subsequent resurrection. Do you remember what happened?"

"Well, I was beaming from the pod to transporter room three when suddenly I showed back up in the pod and all this started happening." Ven felt a shiver run through his body. "Its odd to...well...I uh, guess I don't have words for the experience. Just odd." If anyone could understand his failure to understand his emotions on the subject it would have to be a Vulcan. "I am still coming to terms with the fact also sir."

"As a Scientist," the Vulcan began to explain, "if I had not seen your lifeless body and read the reports, I would ascertain you never were dead. However, there was a body; their were reports. I am left to wonder..." Sinek was now thinking aloud, which was unusual for a Vulcan. They would often meditate on something, sometimes for hours, analyzing it from every logical angle, arriving at the one true logical angle. "What happened to the body we launched in the torpedo casing?"

"I am not sure I want to know honestly. Seeing my dead body might be more than I can take." Ven said honestly with another shiver.

"Do you remember anything from the time of your death until the Petty Officer brought you back?" Sinek probed. He had heard the ancient beliefs, that most consider myths today, about life after death. In this case, they would not be wrong. Not entirely correct, but not wrong. The Scientist within Sinek was searching for evidence to prove or disprove the theory.

"Ameila said she tried to implant some memories, but I don't think they took." Ven explained. "I literally remember beaming myself out of the pod and ending up right back where I had just came from. Then things got crazy."

"So no memories," Sinek confirmed in his thoughts. "What about your duty skills? Are you still capable as an Engineer?" The Vulcan was, after all, the Second Officer. If someone lost their ability to adequately serve their post, he needed to know.

Ven shrugged a little and glanced down at the ground. " I would suspect that would be up to you to determine Commander. I don't feel that I have lost any abilities or knowledge. If anything, I feel slightly more confident and less scatter-brained then I use to." Ven glanced up at Sinek, "Maybe the side effect will be positive?"

Ven was good at what he did. The one thing that Sinek had trouble understanding the first time they had met was the man's logic in organization. Things were often scattered throughout Lieutenant Nosplet's work space. Since the man was in charge of all of Engineering, one could imagine what that might have looked like. Sinek's logic ran along the old adage of A cluttered desk equals a cluttered mind. The Vulcan would accept the side effect of less scatterbrained.

"Well Lieutenant Nosplet," Sinek dryly commented, "I officially welcome you back to your post. May you be as efficient as ever."

"Thank you Commander, I will not let you down sir." Ven said with a slight air of confidence that was not typical of the shy man.

-=Runabout=-

Enalia sighed heavily. It had been a long two weeks, but they were finally back. Well... Relatively back. They were at stationkeeping at the moment, about six kilometers from the starboard side of the Hera. They had released the tractor on the cargo pod and were waiting for the saucer separation to finish before they and the workbees the ship had sent out could maneuver the pod into the main hangar bay somehow. It was a slow process, to be sure, and she just hoped whomever was at the helm on the Hera didn't hurt the ship too bad. It was bad enough that they had to do it at all due to the size of the cargo pod. Once it was secured, it would still hang out of the bay a good forty meters, but once it was at least in there, they could empty it and start disassembling and recycling it. Yes, Starfleet even figured that into the resupply.

-=USS Hera Bridge=-

Commander Sinek sat in the Captain's seat, being given the task to oversee the separation. There were any number of variables that could negatively impact the Hera and her crew. There was only a few variables that lead to a successful operation. One of those was an efficient Chief of Operations; another was a helmsman that could maneuver the saucer with precision. Lieutenant Ishakawa, Ensign De Rivera, and himself had gone through several simulations in the past two weeks. From those simulations, the Commander had every ounce of his confidence in their abilities.

Ishakawa had the systems on line; he went through all the separation protocols and especially the transfer of power between the Star Drive and the Saucier Section; it was a simple enough maneuver after the simulations. The fingers danced across the control panel as he routed the power to the thrusters. He would route the sensory grid for the Helm to have the best view of the separation, science did not really need them at this point.

Ensign De Rivera had never performed a saucer separation in his entire life or short career with Starfleet. Aside from the basic simulations at the academy and the simulations he and the other two men went through to prepare for this, De Rivera was venturing into new territory for himself. They had reached a 90% success rate with their past simulations, but the Ensign couldn't help but think about the 10% chance of failure. You have to get this right. Everything depends on it he told himself.

-=Outside the USS Hera=-

Then the locks started releasing, gasses escaping for just a moment where the decks were sealed off from each other. It wasn't on par with that of a Galaxy class, as the Hera didn't have more than emergency bulkheads in place, but at least the saucer could separate. It would take them a few hours to manually reconnect the saucer and stardrive on top of that.

Then the saucer started inching it's way apart from the stardrive, the tiny fusion reactors and impulse drives doing little to move the saucer under its own power. The RCS maneuvering thrusters might have been doing more work. From the runabout, it seemed that the back edge of the saucer had scraped the pylon just slightly while the locks were releasing, but it could have been Enalia's imagination.

Ishakawa had the emergency Structural Fields on stand by as the sauser inched away from the Star Drive. WHile a Galaxy could simply do an impression of a guillotine with the head neatly separating from the body; the Hera was more complex and harder to get back than off. Having all the command protocols and power resources separated was the important part, the Hera now represented two distinct space craft with no connection to one another.

-=USS Hera Bridge=-

Ven looked up from his station on the bridge and announced to the room, "Saucer separation is complete and successful."

"Very well," Sinek commented. Turning to Ensign De Rivera, Sinek flatly commanded, "Ease us away two kilometers to give them space to maneuver."

Making the proper adjustment, the helmsmen did exactly as ordered. "Easing us off Sir at two kilometers...nice and slow" replied the Ensign. "Eased off" he added, fully concentrating on his console.

"Aye, Sir" replied the ensign being very careful.

-=Runabout=-

It was Enalia's turn to do some piloting. Tapping the comms, she sent a quick message to the bridge crew. "Good job everyone. That couldn't have gone better. Stand by while I line up the pod."

Pulling the cargo pod closer, she lined it up as best she could and parked it right in front of the open shuttlebay door. Then she let the tractor go and pulled the runabout to a safe distance to watch the shuttlebay tractors and the workbees slowly maneuver the pod in through the doors, barely clearing them and only able to pull the pod halfway in before running out of room inside due to the central column.

"And this is where we wait until it's unloaded and we can disassemble the pod" Enalia knew it would take more than a day to get it disassembled and pulled in enough to close the doors again, but at least the workbees could start the process of rejoining the saucer and stardrive, cutting the time to do so by at least an hour when they had enough clearance to start the process.

Then a thought occurred to Enalia that she'd forgotten about earlier. "Chief, will the Thor fit into the secondary shuttlebay?"

Chief Klem snorted "Why do you have to ask that now?" said Klem shaking her head. "It should fit...maybe a little snug, but it'll fit."

-=USS Hera Stardrive=-

The stardrive bridge had some impressive holoemitters, and Angel had probably cycled through a dozen different bridge settings before finding one she liked, a mock-up of a Constitution-class. Her little bridge crew had rolled their eyes at her, but she'd cheerfully set it as the default anyway, reminding them it was just the appearance that was changed. She'd been busy enough with that for a while, so when she looked at the screen again she just stared at the monstrosity that Enalia had brought back with her. There is no way in hell that's going to fit where the pod usually goes. Shaking her head, she wondered if Enalia had thought of that before agreeing to this. She wasn't sure if they could even take it apart and stow it in a cargo bay or seven.

-=USS Hera Bridge=-

From the saucer, Sinek observed the size of the pod and how much of it stuck outside of the hold. He raised a brow as he estimated the length not inside the hold. He began to run numbers inside his mind. According to his calculations, it would take several hours for the pod to be broken down far enough to be fully contained. He ran the numbers into the computer, confirming his calculations to be accurate 3.21 hours.

Ishakawa was looking at the whole operation and noting the POD size and restrictions he began running simulations of the 'break-down' of the POD being recycled as raw material for the Hera. While it will do a fair job of topping off the stocks there were going to be problems with the break-down. Looking at the projected schedules ; crossing it with the acts of fate, he figured worst case the Sauser reconnection would take at least three hours more because of the difficult maneuvering would not allow any room for mistakes. Those kinds of odds often proved to be disterous.

"Would it be best of we totally recycled the POD before re-connection?" Ishakawa asked. "I can tell you within a good guess-timation how that will progress and us going back to the star drive might cause damage to either or both ships and that will affect the schedule where waiting and then an easy re-connect might be a better option?"

"Captain," Sinek added from the saucer, "since it will be several hours before we may reconnect, is there anything you would like for the saucer to do while waiting?" Sinek didn't believe sitting still in space was logical. It was best to put this idle time to good use.

-=Runabout=-

Enalia was waiting for something like this. Activating the comms, she replied with a grin. "Just focus all efforts on breaking that pod down for now. As soon as everything is done and we've got the ship bolted back together, we're having a dual wedding."

Enalia was in one of the bunks doing some light reading when her alarm went off. That alarm meant they'd be arriving at the joint Federation Romulan station to get the 'care package' that they were here to tow back to the Hera. The trip had been uneventful and unusually quiet, little having been spoken between the four during the trip there.

Getting up, she tossed the PaDD on the small desk and headed to the cockpit of their runabout. Nexi was at the controls and as she slipped into one of the rear seats, she punched up sensor data on their approach. "Everyone ready for some fun? I hear Starbase 336 is full of unsavory types."

Daln shook his head. "I don't see how that is considered fun. I say we try to stay out of trouble. We're Starfleet officers, and we need to uphold the honor and reputation of the Fleet."

Chief Klem nodded "I agree with the Lieutenant on this one. Unsavory and I do not mix and I'' rather not get caught up in anything to ruin our or Starfleet's reputation" said the Chief as she yawned, covering her mouth as she did so.

"And that's exactly what we'll be doing. Just keep in mind that only twelve percent of the station are members of Starfleet. My first stop will be to see the station commander and they're supposed to be giving us the option to hire an assistant while we're there. Nexi, I'll leave that option up to you." Enalia elaborated.

Nexi glared at Enalia for her betrayal, but nodded in acceptance of the task delegated to her; though Nexi would be the most qualified to negotiate with a Ferengi assistant, that didn't mean that she had to like it! "Daln..." she said idly as she brought the ship around to the docking ports, "you do realize I am one of these 'unsavory types'... Does this mean you don't find me fun?"

Hadren froze, knowing he was in dangerous waters. "Um, no. You're great. You don't do it to hurt people and..." he looked at Enalia. "How long did you say until TOA?"

"Bullshit" piped Klem. "She does it to hurt people and she's unsavory enough that her loyalty can probably be bought. However, Nexi is with us for the time being and that is all that matters" added the Tellarite.

"That's enough. Nexi has proven her loyalties and is applying to be a more permanent member of Starfleet. She's a part of our family already and while her social graces are a bit lacking from our point of view, she's come a long way." Enalia said with a harsh glance around. "Also, keep in mind that I shot our Ops chief in the back without hesitation and disintegrated a spy in my office while the XO watched. She's not the only one that can be considered unsavory."

Tapping a console, Enalia read the telemetry again and glanced over to Daln. "Less than a minute. Is that savory enough?" She didn't know what she did to deserve such a caustic look from Nexi for giving her that look - if she decided they didn't need any of the Ferengi 'unsavories' helping them out, that was fine with her too as long as everything on the list was packed up in the pod that Starfleet had just about ready for them.

"I would rather argue with Klem than deal with with any Ferengi right now," Nexi murmured, slowing the shuttle's approach as she lined up with the docking port; although admittedly, arguing with Klem could be fun sometimes... With an uncharacteristic gentleness, Nexi eased the shuttle into place until the mooring clamps took hold for a smooth docking. As they heard the seal forming between the station and the shuttle, Nexi put the shuttle in stand-by and locked the controls so some 'unsavory' type like herself wouldn't come steal it. "Let's just get this over with so we can go home," she said with a sigh, pulling herself from her seat. It wasn't easy redefining one's identity or accept all the changes that had happened in her life, and it felt like Nexi had no equilibrium, nothing to keep her walking straight, and her rattled nerves from the Borg cube encounter was only making her diminished demeanor even worse. Were it not for Daln being here to keep her grounded, she probably wouldn't have had a steady enough hand to fly the shuttle at all let alone manage such a smooth docking!

Enalia looked confused for a moment before remembering that Nexi was half Betazoid and probably picked up her thougts on the matter. Pointing out the window to a docked cargo pod just a hair smaller than the main docking bay door on the Hera but almost as long as the bay itself, Enalia grinned. "There's our pod. Once we get back and get it unloaded, we're to recycle the pod itself to free up our hangar deck."

Daln got up, strapped on a phaser, and handed one to Telvin. "Everyone ready for this?" He led the way out of the shuttle and towards the pod. He didn't know the first thing about cargo pods. He was probably here for muscle and security factor. He wished he could have brought Albrektsson because the guy was huge. He turned to Klem and and shrugged his eyebrows.

"Awaiting your instructions."

Klem looked at the man as if you say 'seriously?' she shook her head and took a deep breath. She was not used to officers, especially older more experienced ones asking for her assistance or in this case instructions. "Scan the damn thing!" she shouted with a snort. "A filthy Ferengi is involved in all of this, you can bet your pretty ass that I am not binging that back with us without clearing it for any sort of explosive devices, trackers, or any form of booby trap" commented the Tellarite.

"See, now she knows what's up!" Nexi said with an approving nod. "I knew there was a reason I like you."

Daln grinned. "She'll never be as likable as bacon."

Enalia grinned as she disembarked as well, the shutdown procedure having been finished. She had two orders of business and they both could be handled in the Operations center. Turning to Nexi, she had another bit of business to contend with. "Remember that old warbird we fought on the mission you came aboard? The commander of that ship was the cousin of this station's commander. Tensions might be high. Interested in coming with me?"

"Oh yeah, sure, sign me up!" Nexi said with false enthusiasm. "Before we leave, I would like to give the pod a once over with Klem. She's right, if Ferengi had a hand in putting the supplies together, it would be in our best interest to make double sure it ain't rigged."

"Ferengi, Tellarites, and I think Pakled, if the info on the station is correct." Enalia said, walking with Nexi towards the main lifts. "I wouldn't put it past them to siphon some of the deuterium off, either."

Chief Klem scoffed and looked at Enalia. "Really? And we are actually taking this...after the galaxy's best misfits had part in putting it all together. I mean nothing against Tellarites, they are perfectly fine, but the Ferengi and Pakled? Greedy little thieves and their mentally challenged cousins?" added Klem shaking her head.

Looking at Nexi, Klem nodded. "You and I are going to go through this thoroughly and then you can be damn sure I am thoroughly washing my hands afterwards."

"Agreed," Enalia said, nodding. "We don't need any surprises."

Hadren grinned at the banter between the three women as he scanned. He went about his job, doing scans and frowned. Yep, just as they'd figured. "A few things are missing, if I'm correct. I'll leave that to Klem. But there are no explosions to be worried about really..." He looked at the captain. "When we open it, some talc powder is going to explode around us."

"Fun fun..." Nexi grumbled; sounds like they would have to do some haggling after all!

Chief Klem looked at the man. "Come on, you sexy thing...let's get busy" added the Tellarite with a wink at the man.

Daln grimaced. "That is a truly mortifying concept."

Operations Center

Once they had arrived in the operations center, Enalia and Nexi were greeted by a Romulan security guard. "I'm Captain Telvan of the USS Hera. I'm here to see the station commander."

Nodding, the guard stepped aside and motioned towards the double doors across the room. "Riov Rendal is expecting you."

"That's comforting to know," Enalia mumbled, wishing she had her phase pistol as she headed across the room with nexi, pressing the door chime.

After a few seconds, the door opened and a tall romulan woman standing behind a desk greeted them. "Welcome to Starbase 336. I'm your host, Riov Rendal. And you're the Captain of the Hera, correct?" After a curt nod from Enalia, she continued. "You killed one of my idiot cousins and caused my family a great deal of trouble with that scandal. You'll understand if I'm torn between buying you a drink and having you shot. Perhaps I'll do both before you leave."

"That's... Understandable. I'd rather not get shot though, if possible. And we're here to buy lots of booze and cakes for a double wedding and I'd hate to not be there for the two couples. Especially since I'm officiating." Enalia replied.

Dalia nodded and sat down, motioning to the chairs across from her desk. "Please sit and talk for a bit with me. I'd like to offer you any aid I can at the very least. I know a particularly interesting culinary genius down in the lower promenade you might be interested in."

"For sale or are we renting this person? Because I would hate to be tacky," Nexi said with a grin as she chose to remain standing slightly off to the side.

Dalia chuckled softly as Enalia took the offered seat. "His services are for sale. I've seen him create a twelve foot tall cake recreation of the pillars of Anthanaar. It fed over a thousand people. He'll take a custom order and place it in a custom stasis pod for you. You're really only limited by what you can haul away."

Enalia nodded at the thought of an entire set of thirteen ruined coliseum sized pillars recreated in cake and icing. "They sound very impressive. I assume he has a high price for his services."

"I'd be happy to pay for the services if you do a favor for me." Dalia replied. "I have another cousin that I'm not very fond of, if you catch my meaning."

"You want dead or just disappeared? I can also kill their finances or do a scandal that will tank their reputation," Nexi offered.

"Whatever it takes. He's the commander of the Nindus which is currently on an exploratory mission in the same area you're in. And it's a full D'Deridex warbird." Dalia explained. "I can give you the transponder codes so you can find the ship while it's cloaked, but please don't let on that I did that."

"Dead it is," Nexi said as she held out her hand for the transponder codes. "For a small extra, I can take out the whole crew so there are no witnesses. All it'll cost you is an ice cream cake to knock the socks off even the most particular 8 year old." She couldn't help but try to score an extra treat for Aewia!

Tossing a data rod to Nexi, Dalia smiled politely. "Consider it done. Is there anything else I can help with?"

"I need some wedding bands..." Enalia stated with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

-=Bridge=-

Enalia was back in her quarters and back in her love's arms, the insanely beautiful Maica III. But rather than have a wonderful reunion, they both had work to do. It wasn't long after that both were heading off their separate ways for various preparations. The saucer was almost reattached and though Engineering reported a couple of the deck echo bars weren't lining up right, it was a miracle the ship was lining up at all after being pulled apart like it was.

Maica III had a shuttlebay to convert to a wedding hall and Enalia had repairs and preparations to oversee.

It wasn't long before Enalia was back on the bridge, looking over a crewman's shoulder and frowning at the engineering station readout. Everything lined up perfectly but those two spots - it was as if they had been pulled into alignment by McKinley station after the terrorist attack so long ago that had nearly put the ship in mothballs when it triggered a chain reaction in the starboard impulse drive, blasting a considerable chunk of the hull away. That was history though, and now they had to deal with realigning those bits without the powerful tractors of McKinley station.

Ishakawa had an idea as he routed power away from a section of the sauser that did not align correctly, it might have seemed like a futile endavor but he had a plan. "Captain." He spoke up. "I would like to route systems away from damaged sections, the minor loss of power would not affect much but with some of the conduits run along the exterior and without having the added heat the tug on the alignment could go easier rather than the heat variations affecting the metal."

Enalia nodded. It was a sound idea. "Coordinate with engineering and see if it helps. We need the ship back together."

Daln was back at the tactical station, trying to make heads or tails of his console. Snarling, he hit it, then immediately felt ashamed. He'd been starting to pick up some of Nexi's habits. He looked over at Ishakawa. "Lieutenant, mind giving me a hand?" he said with a tight smile.

Nexi snickered when Daln realized he was picking up on her traits, amused at the idea that she was rubbing off on him. 'Yeah, I'll rub something off' she thought with a snicker, knowing full well that Daln would pick up on it and get flustered. Feeling somewhat in better spirits, she had been heckling officers from Enalia's Command chair, acting like this was a perfectly acceptable thing to do. In her lap was a PaDD with some information regarding a certain Romulan that needed deading; making plans to kill someone always put Nexi in a good mood.

Daln looked over at her and smiled, anticipating the following night. He cleared his throat. "Anyway. Lieutenant?"

Ginny waggled her way in, clacking her hooves as she walked at a steady pace. When she arrived, she saw that pretty much everyone was already busy and at work. "Just let me know where I can be most useful and I'll help whoever" said the Tellarite with a small snort. "Who's in charge of the cake? Have we picked out a cake yet? I'm very particular about the cake...or cupcakes. I've seen cupcakes done. Oh and pies. Pies can be scrumptious!" she shouted, her eyes wide and her snout wiggling in the air.

"The cake is in a stasis pod on the main flight deck. It's too big to take anywhere else so we're having the wedding there." Enalia replied, keeping her eyes on the engineering readouts. "I picked it up from Starbase 336. Ginny, Get with Maica and see what she needs. I think the PaDD she gave me is on the arm of the command seat. Something about decorations?" As she watched the readouts like a hawk, the deck echo bars in question were slowly coming together, reducing the distance between them several nanometers every second. If this kept up, they'd be able to rebolt them in another twenty minutes.

-=Bridal Prep Room=-

Enalia had snuck into the bride prep area where Angel and Amelia were being prepped for the wedding. Hair, nails, makeup... the whole nine meters were being done by the ship's professional makeup artists and hairdressers. "How's everything going? Everyone excited?"

"I've thrown up twice, and I think I'm about to do it again." Angel had spent more time in the bathroom than she had getting ready, but at least she'd managed to get into her dress. It was a simple A-line cut in a brilliant shade of aquamarine, with a dazzling array of matching rhinestones on the bodice and cut just loose enough to hide the teensy bit of weight she'd gained so far. "Is it normal to be this nervous?"

Amelia glanced over to Angel. She was dressed in an almost identical pale blue dress so they'd match pretty well. "Yeah, I'd throw up too if I had anything to eat. It feels like i have ice worms in my belly."

"If I hadn't eaten I'd have passed out. Maybe that would have been preferable." Angel wasn't this much of a wuss, so she was inclined to blame the baby. That didn't make it any less embarrassing.

Enalia chuckled softly. "And I'm nervous too. This is the first time I've officiated a wedding. I've practiced a lot though, so I promise everything will go well."

"It had better or you'll be finding your replicator making nothing but a sad imitation of gagh. For a week." The light banter was at least a distraction, but once the ceremony started Angel wasn't going to have any bantering to distract her from how she felt. "Did Miril stock us with the good ginger ale? The one with actual ginger in it?"

"Of course. Straight from Canada." Miril said as she swooped in with a small platter to check on the brides to be. "And sorry for the intrusion. I wanted to make sure your dresses match the canapes." holding the tray out, she offered the dozen tiny hors d'oeuvres to the ladies.

"They look wonderful, thank you." Enalia said, taking one and carefully eating it. She didn't want to accidentally get anything on her dress whites, after all.

Angel just shook her head slightly, quietly declining the offer of a snack. She wasn't so sure solid food was a great idea at the moment.

Amelia declined as well, but the stylists each took one, munching as they continued working.

"Thank you for getting so many supplies, Captain. It helped out a lot." Miril said with a smile. Enalia just nodded, still chewing as Miril headed back out. "I'll be finishing up the buffet if anyone needs me."

"I should have had Ethan give me a xanax," Angel mumbled as Miril left. She had no idea how she was going to be ready on time. Sure, she was in her dress. But her hair still hung in a barely managed mane of loose waves, having dried that way after she'd washed it some hours before. And makeup... she rarely wore it and had no idea what she was supposed to do with the stuff.

That was what the stylists were for. As the stylist working on Amelia finished, she moved to fix Angel's hair, trying to brush it out while the other stylist worked on her hands and nails. Soon, they'd have Angel looking like a real angel!

Angel made an annoyed sound as she was shoved into a chair for the stylists to have easier access to her hair and nails. "Wait just a second." Rifling through the tiny handbag she'd pinned temporarily to the side of her dress, she came up with a tin of candied ginger and put a piece of it into her mouth, biting into it and relaxing slightly. Not having to do her own hair was nice, even if she'd forgotten the stylists were there to help.

Ginny came barging in though she had little care given she felt more inclined to check on the bride than the groom. "Who has a case of the wedding jitters? I know I sure the hell do" said Ginny with a snort. "Haven't been this darn nervous since my own wedding day, don't ya know" she said with a little smile.

Angel smiled a bit nervously, trapped between three stylists who had no intention of letting her up until they were finished. "So this is normal then."

"Enalia smiled as winningly as she could. "As far as I know, yes. Though the last time I was this nervous I was about to have a slug put into my belly."

-=Groom Prep Room=-

Commander Sinek pulled the dress white jacket on over the shirt. His shoes reflected light with a polished shine. He had always taken the time to ensure his uniform was pristine, free from wrinkles. But today, he spent more time and attention to minute details.

Sinek was calm and collected. The choice was logical. Logic, as the basis of all of Sinek's choices, ensured the exactitude of his decisions. There was no need for anxious emotion for him. He knew that she was the one with whom he looked forward to sharing his life. With the support of his friend, the Doctor, and his bride, Sinek was also looking forward to being a father.

The Vulcan turned to the other groom. He seemed paler than usual. "Lieutenant? Do you need the Doctor?"

Ethan looked between the two of them ready to render aid if he was needed. He checked his own uniform, to make sure nothing was out of place.

Ven was nervous for sure. but even he was shocked at how well he was able to control his emotions. Ven glanced up from putting on his own jacket to Sinek and shook his head. "Actually no, I'm ok. I'm just starting to wounder if a double wedding was such a good idea. But its what Amelia wants so..." He shrugged.

Sinek checked his uniform in the mirror. If there were any wrinkles, he'd have to replicate another. He found the uniform satisfactory.

"I believe the Captain will retrieve us at the proper time," Sinek said, his hands clasped behind him. If he sat down, he'd wrinkle the uniform. It must be pristine; Angel deserved the best.

Something suddenly struck Ven. Bad timing at best, but he still glanced to the Doctor and Commander. "I believe I have noticed a side effect...possibly." He glanced down at his hands, he should be a nervous wreck right now. The old Ven would never had made it through getting ready for his wedding day with out at least a break down or two. Yet here he was, slightly nervous but that all.

Sinek stiffly turned towards Ven. "If that is the circumstance, I would surmise that to be a good side effect."

Ven glanced to Sinek with slight shock on his face. "You already noticed?"

A warm feeling washed over Ven as he smiled a little to the Commander. The man was quickly becoming someone Ven considered a friend. "I'm glad I get to share this day with you and Angel. Thank you."

-=Flight Deck=-

Maica III had been busy coordinating the decor and getting the cake, food, and drink in place for some time now and thankfully everything was coming together. "Let's get a few more dishes on the buffet table. We don't want to run out of plates. The cake is off-center too - move it three inches to the right." Even with the cake in a stasis field, it was still a spectacular sight to see. you could hide a dozen people standing shoulder to shoulder behind it with ease. Even the 'knives' set aside to cut the cake were impressive. The baker had included a pair of three foot long falchions covered in gold and platinum filigree for the job.

The preparations on the Flight Deck were a 'long night' as some put it, getting the place sealed and prepared for the wedding did nt officially fall upon Operations; aside from the food and decorations, but Ishakawa had made sure that some of his off duty personnel were 'standing around' but more than ready to help. There are enough people to do the job yet in every large event the unexpected tended to happen. Ishakawa would not have the first major celebration under his watch go badly. HE had taken a few naps but until this wedding is concluded and the nupuals being endeavored to consumate Ishakawa would be around to help with things. The only wedding he would not be an extra set of hands is his own and even that is under question as he does tend to plan things to a greater degree."

Daln entered with Nexi, his uniform free of lint and wrinkles. His hair was freshly cut, his face clean shaven, and his boots shined. In otherwords, the image of the Starfleet poster boy. He looked to the woman on his arm, the bad influence on him that was corrupting him more and more. Maybe he'd grow a beard.

Though she couldn't deny that Daln did look positively yummy with his hair messy and a 5 o'clock shadow, Nexi would never let him grow out a beard, she liked that he was a 'Fleeter poster boy. Nexi, on the other hand, didn't bother to dress up. She put on a decent shirt and threw on a pair of pants that weren't dirty, but she was still sporting her usual leather jacket designed to look like a Starfleet duty jacket; the only real flourish to all this was she let Aewia do her hair so it didn't look like a rat's nest.

"I never really understood marriage," Nexi said to Daln as they entered flight deck. "Granted, I was raised around Ferengi and their idea of matrimonial bliss is 'renting' their bride for 5 to 7 years..." But that wasn't to say she wasn't happy for their friends on their happy day; though she may not grasp just what marriage meant to some people, she knew this was making her friends happy and ultimately that was the most important thing to Nexi.

Daln smiled at her as they took their seats. "Well, it's like a commitment. You keep yourself just for your spouse for the rest of your life, and you start a family together." He looked into her eyes. "You don't ask a girl to marry you unless she's the one. The one girl you want forever, the one you want to wake up to, the one you want to grow old with. The one you want to bear your children, and celebrate the births of grandchildren...and you just want to wake up to the smell of her perfume every day for the rest of your life. Never letting her go."

"Whose perfume are you waking up to?" Nexi asked somewhat teasingly, as she didn't wear perfume. "Never really thought of it that way... Then again, never really saw myself as the sort to be having kids either," she continued, pausing in thought. "For me, 'the rest of my life' has never been that long; each mission I took, I always understood I might not walk away from it, so thinking of the future in that sense has never been that important. But... I get that this is making our friends happy, so I guess for now that's what's really important."

Daln grinned, silently chuckling once. "I'm waking up to no one's at the moment, because you don't wear any. But there was one...nevermind." His cheeks turned a very light pink under his tanned olive complexion, and he cleared his throat. "The rest of your life is a lot longer now. Maybe you should start thinking in that sense." He looked up for a moment, then put his finger to his lips. It was almost time.

-=The Ceremony=-

As soon as everyone was ready, Enalia sent a runner to get the grooms and best man while she herself took her place at a small podium with everything she needed to say printed out physically on it. This would be a relatively short ceremony, but it was still crucial she got every word right. She then waited for the brides to come in through the far door and the bagpipes to start. At least she thought they were bagpipes... She couldn't imagine anything that sounded more like a strangled cat, at the least.

Maica III stepped into the wedding area and ensured the way was clear and ready for the brides, stepping aside so that two of the Hera's Honor Guard could walk them down the aisle.

Sinek crisply strode in, standing before the Captain. His posture was straight as he awaited his beautiful bride. Sinek was more certain of this day than any other day he had lived. This day was the result of logical thought based upon truth. Yes, there were emotions involved. However, Angel was the only person that saw them. The Commander did well at suppressing them until they were alone together.

Ven walked in behind Sinek, matching his pace. He took his place beside Sinek and turned to face back down the aisle to await Amelia's entrance.

The moment the doors open to let them through, Angel locked her eyes on Sinek. Stoic, as always, but with a sparkle in his eye she doubted anyone else could see. Even from this distance, she could feel the purest of love and admiration in his gaze. And she smiled, the happiest smile she could remember, and promptly forgot how nervous and uncomfortable she had been only moments before.

Amelia was alongside Angel being escorted to the alter. She was nervous and excited and tingly all in one and having put the wrong foot forward first was out of step, but her escort matched her easily as she stared up at her soon to be husband in awe. Yes, this was actually happening and that realization made her smile brightly.

Seeing Angel looking so beautiful caused a slight sparkle in Sinek's eyes. The smallest part of the corners of his mouth turned ever so slightly upward, showing his pleasure. It was something only Angel would notice from afar. The Captain, being so close, may have seen it as well.

As the opening music died down and the crowd stared on expectantly, Enalia composed herself and began. “Welcome to this day of celebration, it's great to have all of you here to witness the union of Angelica and Sinek, and Amelia and Ventarus as wife and husband before the Universe. Together, we will share in the joys of these two couples' wedding, both with the outward celebration of this occasion and with an internal appreciation for the love that surrounds us.

“Angelica and Sinek, Amelia and Ventarus, you two pairs have the opportunity to build an amazing life together. You are blessed to share this experience with the loved ones gathered here to support you as you embark on this journey together.

“Marriage is, truly, a magical gift. As Mark Twain noted, "Marriage makes of two fractional lives a whole, and it gives to two purposeless lives a work, it gives to two questioning natures a reason for living, and something to live for; it will give a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the universe, a new mystery to life."

“May you all remember and cherish this ceremony, for on this day, with love, we will forever bind Angelica and Sinek, and Amelia and Ventarus together.

“If there is anyone in attendance who has cause to believe that these couples should not be joined in marriage, you may speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Pausing for a moment, Enalia glanced around the room. She recognized everyone here, completely missing the two grey, bulbous headed aliens in silver robes in the very back of the makeshift wedding hall.

Getting into it, Enalia continued. “Marriage is more than a simple exchanging of rings or combining of material assets. Rather, it is an indescribably powerful shared commitment. While today I will legally bind you together, the truly important bonds we form today are largely invisible to the world, existing primarily in the unfilled corners of your heart.

“Marriage is one of life's greatest gifts, and it is a blessing to make these promises with your soulmate. As you hold onto one another, you will find deeper levels of joy, happiness and peace together. Your marriage is the foundation upon which you will build the rest of your lives and, despite any adversity, will always be there to sustain you.

“Angelica and Sinek. Amelia and Ventarus. Take a moment to sense the tremendous amount of love radiating throughout this space. As you stand here today, before the Universe, before those gathered here in your honor, and before one another, take note that after you speak your vows this day your lives will never be the same. Marriage, regardless of any preconceived notions you might have, has the capacity to deepen and challenge and strengthen you and your relationship in ways that you never thought possible.

“The joy you'll find as you pursue your shared lives will fuel you to face head-on the challenges you'll encounter in this universe. On your journeys together, keep your spouse in the space of highest priority in your heart.

“Learn to work together, to laugh together, and to love together. Don't get caught up in worldly things that will draw you apart. Instead, focus on your shared devotion and turn inward. As your relationship strengthens you will find that you come to share a remarkable love; a love that is both abundantly given and freely accepted.

“As we celebrate this bond of unity today it is important that we keep in mind that, while this is certainly an occasion of tremendous joy, the promises we witness here today are serious and life-altering commitments.

“Love, it has been noted, is the reason we live. As Carl Sagan wisely deduced, "The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth. We should remain grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides. The sum of all our evolution, our thinking and our accomplishments is love."

“It is with simultaneous feelings of elation and expressions of respect that we proceed.”

Enalia turned to Angel and Sinek first. “ Angelica and Sinek please join hands.”

“Angelica, do you take Sinek to live together in the union of marriage? To take him as your best friend and partner in life? To honor, cherish, and love him, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for all of your days?”

Having already taken Sinek's hands and turning to face him, Angel couldn't help grinning a little. "I most certainly do."

“Sinek, do you take Angelica to live together in the union of marriage? To take her as your best friend and partner in life? To honor, cherish, and love her, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for all of your days?”

Sinek's only expression of emotion was the slight squeeze of Angel's hands. "I have chosen Angel. I so do today and always will."

Enalia then turned to Amelia and Ven. “ Amelia and Ventarus please join hands.”

"Amelia, do you take Ventarus to live together in the union of marriage? To take him as your best friend and partner in life? To honor, cherish, and love him, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for all of your days?

Amelia replied with a soft “I do,” smiling as if nothing else in the world mattered.

“Ventarus, do you take Amelia to live together in the union of marriage? To take her as your best friend and partner in life? To honor, cherish, and love her, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for all of your days?”

The second Amelia walked in next to Angel, everyone and everything else faded form Ven's perception. She was stunning. He grasped her hand tight and held it while the Capatin recited the ceremony. When the questions was asked of him, Ven grinned and looked to Amelia, "With out question, and forever."

Then Enalia pulled out the small case with the four rings made with neutron star matter and handed them out to each couple. “The wedding ring's circular shape reflects the unending power of love – a force with no beginning and no end. You should wear these rings proudly, and let them remind you each day of your commitment to one another. Please place them on your new spouse's finger knowing that this ring is a symbol of love. As you place it on the finger, I charge you to commit the whole of your heart and soul to your partner. To cherish them for the rest of your days. To give all that you are, and accept all that they are."

Sinek placed the band upon Angel's hand. As he did so, a glimmer of joy shown forth in his eyes. It had been a long search for him to find the one who would be his soulmate. In Angel, he knew at long last he had found that.

Taking the second ring from their set, Angel delicately placed it on Sinek's hand, taking note of the joy in his eyes as she did so. Her own expression mirrored his, though she was a tad more animated.

After the two were finished, Ven took his ring for Amelia and gently slid it onto her finger.

Once her ring was on, Amelia admired it for a second before she took the last ring and slipped it onto Ven's finger, a warm glow apparent on her face.

“Family and friends, by the power vested in me by the Federation and by Starfleet, I am pleased to pronounce Angelica and Sinek as wife and husband, and Amelia and Ventarus as wife and husband, sealed together today both in law and in love.

“You may kiss the brides.”

Sinek took a step toward his new bride. Not one for public affection, he realized that this was perhaps more for those witnessing the ceremony. Angel had already known his affection for her. However, some of those with whom they served may have questioned the relationship, not seeing the affection publicly. He embraced his love, paused momentarily to gaze into those hazel eyes, then leaned in for a tender kiss that sealed the ceremony.

Ven turned to his new wife and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

Ethan looked over at Dylan with a twinge of regret. "We could have made it triple ceremony you know."

"No way...when we have ours it'll just be for the two of us." Dylan replied, taking Ethan's hand and squeezing it.

Ethan smiled at his lover and leaned in for a kiss. "Deal," he said.

Maica III was pacing the floor in a panic. She and Enalia had been sleeping together in bed like normal when there was a green sparkle and Enalia had vanished. She'd already checked with the computer and it said she wasn't aboard the Hera at all. What was she supposed to do now?

"Computer, contact Commander Fairchild. Wake her up. Tell her the captain is missing." Maica III demanded, Pausing in her pacing for only a moment.

The computer beeped Angel's emergency code, and she made a noise at it as she hid her face in her pillow. Naturally undeterred, the computer brightly beeped at her again, and Angel swore under her breath as she crawled out of bed to find out what was going on. Stumbling a bit in the dark, she went over out to the desk in the corning of the living room to read the message displayed there. Something about Enalia missing? That didn't make much sense. She was going to ignore it until she saw the originator of the message. If anyone would know something had happened to Enalia at this hour, it would be Maica III. Disabling the computer's beeping message so it wouldn't wake Sinek, Angel slipped out of the cabin and walked down the hall to Enalia's quarters, still barefoot and in her pajamas. She didn't bother ringing the chime, just overrode the door and went inside. "I swear, if this is one of her pranks, I will murder her in her sleep."

"She was TAKEN in her sleep!" Maica III yelled manicly, taking a few steps towards Angel. She too was still dressed only in a nighty. A rather revealing nighty... "We were sleeping together and there was a green sparkle, and she vanished. I don't technically sleep, but she was definitely asleep. Taken against our will! Vanished!"

"And I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for it." Angel wasn't convinced that this wasn't some joke Enalia was playing on her, but she wisely retreated away from Maica III before the exchange could turn any more heated. "What... kind of green sparkle?"

"Like a transporter beam sparkle. It was a neon green." Maica III insisted.

A neon green transporter? Angel didn't think they came in that color, but she didn't see any point in arguing about it. "Okay. Give me a second here." She felt incredibly wobbly, and she was pretty sure that was the wrong response but seeing as it was the middle of the night, she could probably be forgiven for it. "How long ago did this happen?"

"Four minutes, twenty seven seconds ago." Maica III replied. "It was Romulans, wasn't it? I heard you're looking for a Romulan ship for some reason. I bet they took her!"

Well, Romulan transporters were green, even if they weren't really neon, so that kind of made sense. Angel nodded slightly. "We've been tracking a Romulan ship, but they'd have no reason to abduct anyone in the middle of the night..."

Maica III looked at Angel exasperated. "This is the middle of space. There is no night. Just shift cycles." Picking up a tricorder from Enalia's desk, she pressed it to Angel's chest. "Here, scan the bed if you don't believe me."

"You know what I meant," Angel replied in a similarly exasperated tone. "And I didn't say I don't believe you. I do... I'm just having trouble processing this because it doesn't make sense." She caught the tricorder as Maica III let go of it and did take a quick scan of the bed, finding the faded heat signature did indeed match up with the stated time of Enalia's apparent disappearance.

"Any residual transporter stuff left? Any strange energies? And not sexual energies." Maica III pressed.

"I don't know. I'm not a scientist." There might be a transporter signature, but Angel wasn't sure. She knew the basics of using these scientific tricorders, but she generally left the details to the science officers. They were better at that sort of thing. Setting the device down, she steadied herself against the nightstand to contemplate her options. Calling a red alert in the middle of the night would cause undue panic. While Enalia was apparently gone, the ship wasn't in any danger. "We need to get a text-only message to the bridge. Tell them to raise the shields."

"Since you're now Acting Captain, that shouldn't be hard for you." Maica III replied, wringing her hands and going back to pacing. All she could do right now was worry.

"No, I suppose it shouldn't be." At least, it wouldn't be if she could get to Enalia's desk without passing out or throwing up. Angel wasn't sure which would happen, but either one was a strong possibility. Letting go of the nightstand, she wavered slightly before going over to the desk, gingerly clinging to its edge with one hand as she typed the message with the other. Before sending it, she tacked on an order to check the internal sensors as well as mid and long range external sensors for some clue of what had happened. She wanted dearly to go back to bed, but that would be irresponsible, in light of the circumstances. "I guess I'd better get dressed and go up there."

Maica III finally noticed how pale and wobbly Angel looked and rushed to her side. "Are you ok? Do you need a doctor? Your vitals are all wonky."

"My vitals have been 'wonky' for the last month or so and are likely to stay that way for another seven or eight." Angel sucked in a breath and held it, counting silently to ten before exhaling. She didn't have time to be sick right now; she had to get to the bridge... and wake her husband up. "I'll be fine in a minute or two."

"If you're sure." Maica III reached into the desk and offered a hypo, none the less. "Enalia keeps some stimulants in here if you think they might help."

Angel shook her head slightly. "A stimulant would only make it worse. What I need is metorapan, but I'll get it from Ethan once I figure out what the hell is going on."

"I think she has some of that too..." Maica offered, rummaging through the drawer a bit.

"If she has it, I'll take it. I need to get to the bridge." Usually Angel wouldn't try taking someone else's prescribed medication, but if it got her to the bridge to get this investigation underway she'd take the chance.

Rifling through the drawer, Maica III found the metorapan and handed the injector to Angel. "There it is. I think it's set for a double dose."

"Thanks." A double dose of metorapan sounded about right for what she needed at the moment, so Angel didn't mess with the injector's setting's before injecting some of the medication into her arm. It took a moment to take effect, but at least now she had a chance of actually making it to the bridge. "Do you need someone to come stay with you until we find Enalia? I can assign someone from security."

"No, I think I'll be ok enough alone. Please just find her though." Maica III pleaded. "And if she somehow is transported back, I'll let you know right away."

"I'll find her." Somehow, Angel felt like that was a hard promise to keep, but she sure as hell wasn't keeping Enalia's ship. She had enough things to worry about. Once the metorapan had taken enough of a hold, she went over to the replicator and had it produce a clean uniform in a slightly looser size than normal. She wouldn't be showing a 'baby bump' for several weeks and yet she'd still gained enough weight that all her old uniforms no longer fit... and there was no hope of any of Enalia's fitting her, pregnant or not. Taking the newly replicated uniform, she ducked into the bathroom and got dressed, running her fingers through her hair until it almost looked presentable before coming back out into Enalia's bedroom. "Call me if you need anything. I'll be on the bridge, but I can make things happen."

Kltch'tk had a fresh batch of meat to mind control and as he scurried along through his ship, he reflected on these newest beatbags he'd been working on. They were fleshy and had their skeletal structure on the inside and it just confused him. The nervous center was compatible though, and they'd only had one explode so far, so that was ok by him. The fleshiness made his job easier.

Arriving at the irising door to the holding area, he breathed on the door lock, causing it to release and the door to retract long enough for him to enter. This batch was interestingly colorful compared to the last ones. Looking at his monitors, he saw that these six weren't Romulan like the last ones, but a collection of other unknown races. Chittering to himself, he set to work on his first patient, eliciting a scream as he inserted the mind probe through the temple.

On the neighbouring bed, Dylan tried his best to look sideways as the scream rang out but he couldn't. His head was just as tightly bound to the bed as his limbs were. The weird thing about it all was he had no idea how he'd gotten here. The more he tried to work it out, the more nebulous the information became. But one thing was for sure, that scream was enough to focus any man. "Who are you? What are you doing?" he asked, his voice croaky, coming out almost like he hadn't spoken in weeks.

Looking up and twitching its head around a bit, Kltch'tk moved over to the one that spoke, clicking a few times before the UT took over. "Don't worry. You won't remember any of this. I'm just going to program you to follow our orders."

"Like hell you are." Dylan began to struggle against his bindings, "Now tell me who you are and this doesn't have to get nasty." he added. Of course, he knew he was at the disadvantage but it didn't hurt to put on a bit of bravado in the face of doom.

"My name is Kltch'tk." The 6 foot tall roach said patiently, tilting his head. "Will you comply now? Or is nasty still required?"

"You don't really expect me to roll over and show my belly just because you asked nicely do you?" Dylan scoffed, his eyes blazing with anger.

"It does not matter," the roach said, scurrying off to work on his first patient again. "You will comply anyway."

"You keep dreaming Kitchy or whatever you said you were called." Dylan called after him as he turned his back on him.

"Yes, I will dream and you will comply," the roach replied before turning a dial and causing Dylan to black out.

[BRIDGE]

Farenia was back on the bridge after the resupply with the Hera was completed and they had just disengaged and about to get under way when suddenly the lights flickered a moment and some of the deck noise audibly went silent. Gravity then went down and the automatic restraints in the seats refused to engage.

"Report!" Farenia barked, hanging into the arms of her chair so she wouldn't float away.

"I'm not sure," called the crewman from the operations console. "It looks like the main computer just went offline though. I'll try and restore gravity manually."

As the crewman busied himself with a panel at the back of the bridge, Farenia tried to pull up anything on her own command terminal. Nothing but static came across her screen and by the looks of it, most of the bridge consoles were in the same predicament.

"Got it!" called the crewman as gravity was restored. Most of the critical bridge consoles returned to a functional state a few seconds after that. "I'm getting a status readout now. Main computer... is completely fried. The primary power coupling reversed polarity, seems to have exploded... and about half of our bioneural gel packs were taken out in the feedback. Life support is on backup systems. All automation is down. Warp reactor offline. Still no gravity on decks two and three. Comms are... external comms are functional for now. "

"Inform the Hera that we'll require a bit more assistance and concentrate on keeping critical systems online." Farenia ordered before tapping her comm badge to receive a disabled chirp. She then tried her command chair's emergency comms system and got a positive response.

Then over the comms, Captain Meowlith's voice rang out, a bit more tiny than normal. "Attention all hands. We have lost our primary computer core and are running solely on about half of our bioneural gelpacks. Most automation is down. Please plan appropriately."

The Bridge was alive with activity as the crew attempted to regain control of critical ship functions, but there was one thing that was getting overlooked in all the hustle and bustle, something very important that shouldn't have been overlooked...

"Captain, we seem to be connect with the USS Merlin for some reason," the comms officer spoke up after a while. Having been assisting an Engineer with a software repair, he failed to notice that there was still an open communication connection with the USS Merlin, and it wasn't until he had returned to his station to respond to check-ins from the various decks and departments that he finally noticed that the long range communication was still active. "I think I can activate the channel to speak with whoever is on the other side, but it would be audio only."

"Please do so," Farenia ordered. As soon as the comm clicked open, Farenia began to speak but didn't get very far. "This is Captain Meowlith if the..."

"-woman, I am working on it- oh wait, I think we finally got someone," came the voice of a very irate ex-Borg, clearly in the middle of a 'spirited' discussion with someone else on her end. "This is Master Chief Petty Officer Carter of the USS Merlin! We were talking to Arivek and Akira Zhuri through the holodeck when the connection cut out. Is everything alright over there?" she asked, the channel crackling with its unstable connection.

Farenia furrowed her brows in consternation. The fact that two of her crew depended on the existence of the computer network had slipped her mind in all the confusion. "Crewman Daniels! Get someone down to the holodeck NOW!"

Without even responding, the crewman started making random connections to the rooms near the holodeck in an effort to contact someone nearby.

"Please send your Captain my deepest apologies. Our computer core blew up and took out half our network with it. We're still trying to get everything sorted out." Farenia replied apologetically.

The weight of Farenia's words hit the Petty Officer like starship at warp, and it felt like all the breath had been sucked from her. "Akira and Ari, are they alright?" Andy asked. "Captain Maica and I, I guess you could say we're the 'maternal' influences in Akira's development, and we were meeting her today. Please don't tell us that she's gone. Or Ari, he's like family to us."

Before Farenia could reply, one of the operations techs called out. "Internal sensors are back online, but without the computer to interpret the scans... Here we go, holodeck. I'm reading it as active and... I'm picking up a single holographic lifeform."

"Captain, please... Do all you can to save our family." Maica pleaded over the comms.

Farenia knew that voice instantly - almost every single briefing in the ship's database was done by this woman. "Captain Maica, I presume. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but considering the circumstances..."

"There's not a Captain worth their salt who ain't willing to go to hell and back for their crew, so we know you'll do everything in your power to save them," Andy said, mostly for Maica's sake who was quickly coming unraveled at this news. "Plus, you've got Jenni Matthews over there; I trust her with my own life and Maica's, and I know she's a miracle worker. Just keep us updated, please."

"You'll be the first to know." Farenia replied. "If you have any data you think might be helpful, please forward it to us. And if we're not available, the Hera is the local command ship and Captain Telvan will know how to contact us."

"Aye, we're familiar with Telvan and the Hera," Andy replied. "Most of my research on Maica is still in the holodeck program we were using to interface communications, and I helped Ari maintain his matrix when I was Chief of Operations on the Katana, I left plenty of notes for whoever helped him after I left, but if I come across any other information that might be useful then I'll forward on."

"Thank you, I'll..." Farenia got out before Crewman Daniels interrupted her.

"Captain, we have visual confirmation. Akira seems to be ok and is currently residing completely in the holodeck matrix. There's no sign of Commander Zhuri. It seems he was most likely running on the main computer core itself." Daniels delivered the news morosely.

"We'll be standing by so you and your crew can get to work. Good luck," Andy said. On the Merlin, she gave Maica's hand a squeeze, knowing her wife would be devastated by what they were hearing. Andy was rattled as well, but she was trying to be strong for Maica.

"Thank you. Katana out." As soon as the call was ended, Farenia set about doing what repairs she could do herself while directing repairs. "As soon as we have communications with engineering, I want to talk with Commander Matthews."

[EQUIPMENT STORAGE, DECK 3]

Once the new stock of torpedoes were stowed and ready for use, Clio had started securing the other equipment they'd garnered from their meeting with the Hera in the storage area nearby. She'd only just finished securing the last crate in place when the lights abruptly went out, followed quickly by the artificial gravity. Grabbing for the secured crate, Clio squeaked in surprise, barely managing to secure a handhold and keep from drifting up to the ceiling. While her night vision was better than some, she couldn't see in pitch darkness to get out of the room. Just as heart racing pulse was the only sound she heard, the lights came on as quickly as they'd gone off.

The gravity, however, stayed offline. If she weren't alone, it might have been comical. With no one around to distract her, it was instead rather terrifying. Taking a breath to steady herself, she carefully pulled herself closer to the crate, tucking her legs alongside it in hopes of not being flung free and crushed if the Katana started moving with any sort of speed. Then she freed one hand and gingerly tapped her communicator badge, only for it to give the 'no connection' alert rather than the usual chirp.

[ENGINEERING]

To say that she was startled was an understatement. After days of hard work with repairing the ship, Jenni quickly found herself dismayed when power was cut, the warp drive went offline, and her tools began to float out of her waistpouch.

"Lopez, Kr'ozzu!" Jenni called out as she tried to push herself towards a console to keep herself from floating too high. Falling from the top story of Engineering would be nearly fatal to anyone. "Get emergency power online now!"

No sooner had she given the order did the power kick in. Evidently, someone else had thought of it first. It was clear that power was out, and the computer was offline as the lack of information on all of the consoles told her more than she wanted to know. She immediately directed three people to the computer core to focus on efforts there. "Engineering to bridge!" she called out. There wasn't a response, prompting her to believe that the communications systems were out. She needed to focus there first. Only so many could work on the computer at a time, but at least they could focus on power generation and communications.

She worked with Crewman Santiago for the next few minutes on the communications array, nodding at status reports as they were shouted out by the Engineering staff. Finally, lights flickered into existence. Boldly testing the system, Jenni tapped her combadge and called out, "Engineering to Bridge."

Farenia was relieved to say the least to finally hear the voice of her chief engineer. =/\="Commander, we're showing that the main computer core is gone and that we're only running on half our bioneural net. Can you confirm? What's your status?"=/\=

Jenni rushed over to a nearby console to press a few buttons, only for the interface to rudely buzz at her in response. "We must be on the half of the net that's not running. Main power's out, same with the warp drive. I've sent a team to check out the computer, but I haven't heard back yet... Wait... gone? What the hell do you mean, gone?"

=/\="The logs we have show that the main EPS coupling for the computer core reversed polarity and exploded. We're getting zero response from any systems in that area. That kind of gone."=/\= Farenia clarified.

"You've got to be kidding!" Jenni called back over the comm. "There's absolutely no reason why the EPS coupling should reverse polarity. Unless..." her mind trailed off, considering the ship's history. This was one of the only ships in Starfleet whose quantum signature didn't match the universal constant. Because of that, the very laws of physics didn't apply to the Katana. And if this was such a matter, then they were all in trouble. "I'm going to check it out." Jenni tapped the badge on her breast, closing the channel. Gathering a couple tools and two of her best engineers, they shot out of the room bound for the computer core.

[BRIDGE]

Ending the conversation with Engineering, Farenia tapped her comms again to try and reach sickbay. "Bridge to sickbay, Doctor, are you there? what's your status?"

=/\="Aye, Captain."=/\= Ian answered after a few moments, his voice reverberating unnaturally, as if from inside a tunnel. There was a din of activity to be heard underneath his voice as the Sick Bay crew were following the orders he'd set them to. =/\="Bio-beds are out of commission here, and the medical replicator shorted out and decided to replicate a river of blood for some strange reason. We're prepping for low-tech triage and treatment down here... Well, I don't know, Belding, get a bucket or shoot it with a damn hand phaser. Get creative!"=/\= His aside to his head nurse sounded testy, even if trying not to sound testy. =/\="Are there any wounded?"=/\=

"Reports are still coming in, but stand by." Without letting her finish speaking, another explosion went off not far from the bridge, sending feedback into the consoles at the back. Farenia ran to a console she hoped was still working and what she saw made her heart sink. Antimatter storage was starting to lose cohesion.

"Signal the Hera that we're abandoning ship. Ask them to get all trapped crew and to get Akira transferred to their systems immediately." Farenia went back to her own command console and tapped the emergency intercom. "All hands, this is Captain Meowlith. Abandon ship. Abandon ship. If you are unable to get to an escape pod, set your communicator to emergency beacon mode so the Hera can transport you off." Nodding to the rest of her bridge crew, whom had frozen in shock, they once again moved into action, making sure everyone got off the ship.

[EQUIPMENT STORAGE, DECK 3]

"Abandon ship?!?" There was no one around to hear that exclamation, but Clio couldn't help herself. Such an order meant one thing in Starfleet, and that was critical failure of the vessel. What the bloody hell had they been hit with? She didn't think even the Drej had a weapon so powerful as this. But there would be time for speculation and discovery later. Right now she had to get away from the storage crates, or the Hera's transporter beam might try to beam it over with her. With a carefully calculated push against the crate, she drifted to the middle of the room, activating her communicator's emergency beacon. Less than a minute passed before the familiar sensation of the transporter beam washed over her... and then deposit her several feet above the Hera's transporter pad. She barely had time for a yelp of surprise before unceremoniously slamming downward like an unfortunate cartoon character.

Amidst somewhat amused chuckles from those already materialized, an officer she didn't recognized reached down and helped her up before quickly pulling her off the pad to let the next group materialize.

[HOLODECK]

Akira sobbed as she watched more and more of the lab around her destabilize. She was terrified, having watched her Father blink out of existence, and now she was slowly degrading as well, bits of her flickering out and back in as the holodeck computer began to break down. The ghostly images of Andy and Maica had long since vanished, so now she was all alone, dying alone...

Then suddenly, there was Ari. Like her, he looked incomplete, and he said nothing, simply grabbing her by the hand and pulling her into a a tight hug. "Father!" Akira cried out as she sobbed into his shoulder, holding him tightly as together they flickered out.

[COMPUTER CORE]

Jenni had just climbed out of the Jefferies tube on Deck Seven, only to be met with one of the worst fires she'd ever seen. However that EPS relay exploded, it was enough to both knock the emergency systems offline and start a cascade reaction that had taken out three sections of the deck. If there was still a computer left, it would take a miracle to save it.

She turned around to give her fellow engineers orders to seal off what remained of the deck (it was her hopes that limiting the oxygen supply would take care of the plasma fire so that they could get in there and assess the damage) when the emergency alarm went off. Captain Meowlith's words reverberated throughout her mind, body and soul. "No..." she gasped, spinning back around to look at the plasma fire. Her worst nightmare was playing again, except this time it was just as real as the first.

This time, there would be no lucky shot to save them, or crewmembers from a ship with the same namesake. No, no. This was it. Jenni's heart sank as she shook her head. She refused to accept this as reality. This plasma fire was not enough to destroy the Katana.

Think, Jenni!

She blinked, realizing the source of the alarm. Antimatter containment. The ship could survive under a multitude of conditions save a small handful. The top of that list was nothing short of anything to do with the warp drive.

Jenni spun around again. "Get to the escape pods," she told both crewmen, knowing that this could be the last time she saw them. She'd seen too much death, too much destruction. Jenni would regret this day. "Go!" she chided again. "Now!" As they both took off, Jenni did the one thing she knew to do... and that was get to Engineering.

[BRIDGE]

Another call came through. =/\= "Bridge, Engineering, I need help!"=/\= called a Crewman Greenfelt. =/\="I'm down at the holodeck and I can't get in. Door overrides aren't working, manual releases are locked, and whatever program is running in there is degrading; if either of the Zhuri's are still alive in there, they won't be for long. I could blow the door open, but that might destabilize what's left of them. I either need help or an order to abandon them and evacuate; Captain, what do I do?"=/\=

Farenia was already at one of the last functional Ops consoles on the bridge when that call came in. "This is Meowlith. Interface the matrix controls to the bridge and I can route the whole thing to the Hera. Holodeck six is standing by."

=/\="Right, I'll try..."=/\= came Crewman Greenfelt's response, followed by a few choice expletives as he tried to get the unresponsive computer to do as ordered. =/\="I think I'm going to need a beam out as well once this is done; the smoke is getting pretty thick, I think the fire has reached this deck... Alright, I got it, you should have control now. Transfer the whole holodeck matrix to the Hera, I think it's the only way to preserve what's left of the Zhuri's; we can untangle them from the program running once they're in a stable holodeck."=/\=

"Got it. Activate your emergency beacon and get out of there." Farenia made short work of the transfer, the progress bar only took a few seconds and the receiving team gave the green light and went about stabilizing the entire matrix.

=/\= "Aye aye, Captain, see you on the Hera,"=/\= Greenfelt replied, then cut the channel, his emergency beacon activating so he could be safely beamed away.

"What's the status of the evacuation?" Farenia demanded of the two remaining crew other than herself.

"Hera reports that there are only four people aboard left and that they have Akira safely transferred," Came the call from the back of the bridge. Farenia glanced around. There were three people on the bridge and they should have been the last ones aboard. "Commander Matthews is in Engineering keeping the magnetic bottles functional."

"You two signal the Hera. I'll make sure she gets off too." Farenia hit the emergency intercom again as the two were transported off to safety. "Jenni, we're the last ones aboard. I highly recommend taking the next transporter off of this boat."

=/\= "Almost there!" =/\= Jenni called back over the communications system. She'd made record time moving from Deck Seven down to the lowest most deck. With the computer down, and now the auxiliary computer, Jenni's best hope laid with a PADD, tricorder, and a toolkit. She worked frantically with each antimatter pod, trying to find a way to override the computer's connection to the containment system. There was a reason why each one was regulated by an automated system. Human hands and minds just couldn't keep up.

"I'm not leaving until you do," Farenia called out over the remaining comms.

Jenni moved on to her Plan B. It was her last resort, as it meant that there was truly nothing more she could do for the old girl. She absolutely refused for this to be the end, and she'd keep fighting for as long as she could. There had to be a chance! =/\= "If I can at least get the emergency hatch controls working!" =/\= she cried back over the comm. =/\= "We can eject the pods, and Katana will still be here. I can still save her!" =/\=

Farenia shook her head at such stubbornness. "Negative Jenni, we've tried ejecting them several times. Just get out of there." Punching up the external comm line to the Hera again, she opened a voice channel. "Hera, this is Meowlith. Please transport myself and Matthews in engineering to your bridge."

The voice of the Hera's transporter operator came across. "Stand by, we're having trouble locking on to both of you... Got it." With that, the shimmer effect of a Federation transporter took over and one bridge faded to be replaced by another.

"Shields up! Helm get us out of here!" Enalia called immediately, the warped remains of the Katana on the viewscreen, all lights out and plasma fire gouts coming from one of the nacelles.

Jenni screamed as she was encased in the transporter beam, "NO!" In mere heartbeats, she was plucked away from Katana's antimatter pods and deposited on the bridge of the Nebula class starship. Shock covered her face as other emotions swelled up inside her. Tears welled in her eyes as she scanned the room, spotting the Katana's Captain. She had not a moment to say anything by the time she collected her bearings and the ship launched to warp.

As soon as the Hera made it to warp one, the antimatter containment failed.

The shrinking image of the Katana was replaced with nothing but white from the explosion.

"Incoming shockwave," Helm reported.

"All hands, brace for shockwave," Enalia called out over the ship's comms.

By this time, they were far enough away that the shockwave had dissipated enough to only cause a minor disturbance to the Hera.

The viewscreen cleared to show nothing but traces of duranium dust. The USS Katana was no more.

Jenni had watched the explosion on the viewscreen. Kris, M'rayr, the Breen, Arivek, her violin, the last five years of her life. All gone, in the matter of a second. The engineer felt both heartache and air escape her lungs and not return. Her posture gave way, dropping to Jenni to her knees. She tried to fight it, to contain her composure on the bridge.

Judging from the cries and tears that followed, it was safe to assume she failed.

Sorting through the myriad of 'paperwork' that Starfleet was continuing to send her despite her not exactly having a duty location or a place to work, Clio finally happened across her transfer orders to the Hera and paused to read it. While the ship's name was clearly listed, her position on the roster was not as clearly stated. Sure, she could assume Chief Intelligence Officer, but on the Katana she had also been Chief Security Officer, and not just for convenience either. They'd made it official just before the ship's untimely death. Normally she'd leave it to be figured out when she reported aboard, but she wanted to know beforehand so she could get her access codes straightened out. There were a couple of people she could think of who might possibly know.

First, she tried to look up Enalia Telvan on the tiny computer console in her temporary cabin, but Clio couldn't even find the woman listed as a visitor to the fleetyard. Thinking she must have spelled the name wrong, she tried again but still nothing. It was downright odd, but then again Telvan had an intelligence background. She might have 'cloaked' her presence to avoid being found.

Well that left one other person, which was the Hera's new executive officer. Not entirely sure how to spell his name, Clio slowly entered Commander Mal into the computer and found that the name popped up immediately, with a picture to confirm she'd found the right person. Noting the location of the cabin, she grabbed the PaDD containing her transfer orders and slipped out into the corridor. Mal's cabin was only a few sections away from hers, and she found it easily, though she hesitated before ringing the chime. Perhaps he wouldn't want to be disturbed in his home, temporary as it may be. But then it dawned on her that Mal, like herself, did not have an office in which to meet. Though that didn't make the prospect any less awkward, she gingerly tapped the 'call' button to ring the door bell. Now there was no turning back.

Mal was relaxing on his couch, clad only in a loincloth, plucking away on his lyre.

"Computer," he said. "Who is at the door?"

"Lieutenant Commander Eneas Clio."

"Thank you," Mal replied. He rose and went to the door to greet his guest. "Greetings, Commander Eneas! Welcome to my humble quarters! Won't you come in?"

Clio wasn't quite sure how to interpret such an exuberant greeting and for a moment she seemed to shy away slightly. She wasn't especially familiar with the Pomtali and had no way of knowing if Mal's exuberance was genuine or not, and his relative lack of clothing was unusual. But he seemed friendly enough... and knew how her name was structured. That meant a lot more than people thought sometimes. "Um... yes. If I'm not intruding."

"Not at all," Mal replied, stepping aside and gesturing for Clio to precede him into his quarters. He led her to the sitting room and offered her a seat on the couch.

"May I get you something to drink or eat?" Mal asked.

Her history in Starfleet thus far still made Clio ever so slightly wary as she followed Mal to the sitting area and took the offered seat on the couch. "Hot tea, masala chai if the replicator has the recipe. Thank you."

"My pleasure, Commander!" Mal replied. He ordered the tea from the replicator and brought it to Clio. "Careful, it's hot!"

The mug was ever so slightly hotter than she usually ordered it, but Clio wrapped her hands around it and appreciated its warmth anyway. Every Starfleet installation she'd been to was quite cool for her liking, and Utopia Planitia was no exception. She waited a moment before trying a sip, finding the tea to be too hot for drinking just yet. Balancing the mug against her leg with one hand, she used the other to pick up the PaDD she'd set on the couch when she'd sat down. "I was hoping you could help me with this."

Mal took a seat on the couch as well and read the PaDD Clio handed him.

"Hmm..." he said. "This is rather confusing. Let me clear this up. The captain and I discussed whether you should hold down both Intelligence and Sec/Tac. We decided that both positions were full-time jobs and that we wanted department heads who could devote all of their duty time to their specific department. We'd like you to be our Chief Intelligence Officer, however we have not selected a CSTO. If you are willing, I'd like you to devote some of your time to overseeing the Sec/Tac department for now, just until a Chief Sec/Tac is assigned. There's a Chief Master-At-Arms named...Jolan Idrax. He can oversee day to day operations, but I'd like an officer for him to come to should he have any issues, especially with officers trying to pull rank on him. Can you do this for me?"

Clio nodded in agreement, carefully sipping her tea. "I prefer Intelligence anyway. It's what I was trained in at the academy and what I've spent my life doing. I was never formally cross-trained in Security... it was just the specific types of training I've done that allowed me to have any efficiency at it." To be fair, most of her proficiency as the Katana's Chief of Security was scaring people into behaving. It was quite a nice skill to have. "I'll help Jolan until we get someone to run the Security department. That's not a problem. But after the Katana, I certainly appreciate having official control of only one department."

"Excellent," Mal said. He picked up his lyre and began to play a soft, relaxing tune. He was playing softly enough that it was really just background and mood music. "And now that we have that out of the way, tell me about yourself, if you don't mind that is. We'll be working together and I'd like to get to know you better. Beyond just reading your file, that is. Who is Eneas Clio?"

"A scoundrel, spy, and murderer who occasionally dabbles in mind reading." It wasn't much of an answer and certainly not one that most Starfleet officers would give, but Clio saw no point in hiding it. Espionage and murder made up most of her dossier with Starfleet. "Also a war veteran and an aspiring painter. Nia told me once I was a mystery wrapped in an enigma."

Mal chuckled.

"Every now and then someone accuses me of being a scoundrel," he said. "Usually they're just buying into the human mythology about satyrs. They think we make a point of taking advantage of our nymphs. In reality, most nymphs on my planet are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. We pursue them, yes, but they pursue us as well. From the assumption that I take advantage of the nymphs on my planet flows the assumption that I must therefore take advantage of other Federation females. Not true, as a rule. We are sentient beings like other sentient beings. There are those of us who are decent, honest, caring people and those that are not. That goes for both the satyrs and nymphs of my world."

The tune Mal was plucking became a bit more somber.

"I've taken lives in the course of my duties," he said. "Not my favorite part of my job but there are times it must be done. I also fought in the war."

The music became a bit happier.

"I'd make a terrible spy, though!" Mal said. "Can't you just see me now trying to sneak into the headquarters of the Imperial Romulan Navy, trying to disguise myself as a Romulan officer? 'Centurion! Why do you have hooves and horns' 'Why whatever do you mean? What hooves? What horns?' And that's why I didn't even bother to apply for intelligence. I could have been an analyst, I suppose, but I was young...well...younger. I'm actually quite young for a Pomtoli. As I was saying, I was younger then, and inexperienced and wanted action, action I wouldn't experience in a room full of analysts. So, when do I get to see one or more of your paintings?"

Clio snickered at the thought of a Pomtoli trying to go undercover, clopping around on their hooves making a racket. "When people call me a scoundrel, they're generally right. Most of the things I've done in my career are the bad, shadowy things that Starfleet dearly wants kept secret... and I'm damn good at it. As for the paintings..." She sighed, shaking her head. "That'll have to wait until I've painted some more. I lost over a dozen when the Katana was lost."

"I'm sorry," Mal said. "I forgot your last command went 'BOOM'. Besides the paintings, did you lose anyone? I know that some were lost, and that of course hurts, but I mean did you lose anyone you were close to?"

The music Mal was making on his lyre changed. It was now more gentle and relaxing, with just a hint of sadness. Music to both soothe and give permission to feel whatever she was feeling.

That wasn't a topic Clio was quite ready to discuss, and she sighed a bit as she stared into her teacup. "Arivek was the first friend I had on that ship. And sure, he was a hologram, but he was the first person on that crew who thought I was worth caring about. And I'll lose Nia eventually. The Hera has a commanding officer, so she'll have to go somewhere else."

"By Arivek you mean Commander Arivek Zhuri?" Mal said. "I'm sorry for your loss. So he's gone then? No chance of recovering his program?"

"Arivek Zhuri, yes. And believe me, we tried to recover him. We were able to save Akira, but Arivek... just never reappeared." While Clio was obviously quite heartbroken at the loss of her friend, she couldn't imagine how Akira might feel.

Mal closed his eyes a moment and then opened them.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," he said. Mal didn't try to make anything better other than by being there for Clio. Nothing he said would bring back Clio's close friend. After a moment of just sitting there with her and playing music for her, Mal spoke again.

"You said you saved...Akira?" he said. "I wasn't aware there was another sentient holobeing on the Katana. Who is she?"

"Arivek's daughter, though I'm not entirely certain how she was... conceived." Clio had heard the story a few times, but she'd never been able to make sense of it.

Mal chuckled.

"No," he said. "I don't suppose he procreated with someone in the way we mammals do. So what's going to happen to this new holobeing now?"

"I'm not sure. Guess it's up to her and Starfleet. I trained her on the basics, but they might want her to go to the academy. They might send her to the Hera. Hell, they might want to study her, awful as that sounds." Even to Clio, the idea of studying someone just because they were different was a little appalling.

"Ugh," Mal said. "Save me from the curiosity of scientists. I was the first Pomtoli, satyr or nymph, at Starfleet Academy. There were scientific and medical exchanges, exchanges of all kinds, really, when Pomtol was seeking entrance into the Federation, and more after. But I was the first Pomtoli most cadets and seen, and the first many of the medical officers had seen. I got poked and prodded a bit."

Mal grinned shamelessly.

"Of course, if a cute female cadet wanted to know about Pomtoli satyr anatomy," he said. "I would often willingly allow her to 'experiment' but even that could get annoying after a while."

"I'm familiar with that sort of poking and prodding. My people never joined the Federation... they're actually counted among our enemies. I'm a bit of a special case." Her past wasn't something that Clio generally discussed, but she seemed to have found a kindred spirit in Mal. "The bioship I was born on exploded when I was little. Some starship found me in an escape pod and assumed I'd been orphaned, so I grew up on Earth if you can believe that."

"That's less of an uncommon story than you might think," he said. "How old were you when this happened?"

"Three, I think. Certainly too young to remember all the details at least." Contemplating that bit of her life a bit, Clio drank some of her tea. "Having been raised on Earth, I didn't have to jump through any hoops to join Starfleet."

"I see," Mal said. "Did you like growing up on Earth?"

"I honestly don't have anything to compare it to, so I guess so? I mean, I usually found the weather a bit cool unless it was summer, but I love my family. They didn't have to take me in like they did." Clio hadn't really thought about whether she'd liked living on Earth or not, but she supposed it was nice enough. It was a peaceful planet where most people didn't mind terribly if you looked a little different.

"They sound like good people," Mal said. "You may have had an easier time fitting in than I did, at least at first. You don't look like a mythical creature from Earth's past, and they're aren't statues and paintings circulating depicting members of your race with their substantial 'boy parts' sticking out. It was a bit of mixed blessing. Oh, who am I kidding? It was a lot of fun at times! Anyway, I found my way after a little while. The climate was similar and by the time I was born, children were already being taught Federation Standard in school. I did meet a Classics professor who interest in me as a figure from Ancient Greece was that I could actually speak Ancient Greek like a native speaker. We talked in that language together and I fixed his pronunciation. It was fun, a break from everyday academy life."

Clio couldn't help snorting with laughter just at the thought of the Greek satyr statues and their ample 'parts' alongside the tiny nymph statues. "Okay, maybe not. But the Pomtoli aren't the only ones who seemingly feature in Greek mythology and culture. Most people at the academy thought my name was Greek... and it is. In both Cervan and Greek it translates to 'glory', and it was a little weird when I found that out."

"That is a strange coincidence," Mal said. He stopped playing his lyre. "Well, I have a meeting to go to, which means I'll have to put on a uniform. Somehow I don't think the yardbirds are going to take me seriously wearing only a loincloth. This has been a very pleasant way to pass the time. We'll have to get together again sometime. Is there anything else I can help you with before we part?"

"No, I don't think there is. If I think of something I know where to find you at least." Finishing her tea, Clio stood up from the couch. "I'd be interested in learning more about the Pomtoli when you have time. I know there are theories that some of my ancestors may have been the Greek gods, but I haven't heard any theories about the Pomtoli yet."

"I look forward to discussing our history with you and comparing it to ours," Mal said as he walked Clio to the door. "Good day, Commander. I look forward to seeing you again soon."

"Good day, Commander. I'll see you on board... or perhaps before then if this refit really does take as long as they say it will." With that as her good-bye, Clio graciously left Mal's cabin to return to her own.

Enalia was sipping a mug of the strongest coffee she could find as she watched her ship undergo its refit from the observation deck of the spaceframe module the Hera was docked in. One of the nacelles was completely missing, as was the tactical pod, and the new starboard nacelle was currently being installed, the mating process going slower than expected from the reports. The Hera had missed a few prior refits, so that was easy enough to understand. The thing that gave the ship its most distinct visual change, however, was the new armor plating Starfleet Intelligence insisted on. It wasn't anything particularly special in terms of combat, but they'd be able to polarize it and hide from just about any known sensors out there. It was also somewhat reflectively neutral, though the blue energized panel lines here and there when they tested each new plate did look rather ominous. Overall, they should be able to fly right past a Jem'hadar fleet at warp 9.9 without them even noticing, if the reports held up. On top of that, the computer cores and half the engineering systems were flat out being replaced. Yes, this would still be a very interesting ship. She just hoped their first mission didn't go as poorly as so many others.

Farenia Meowlith, former Captain of the USS Katana, walked up with her own mug of coffee. she had been waiting on a new command for a couple weeks now and while there were a few she'd considered, none of them felt very appealing and she was considering taking a desk job back at command. Not normally her style, but after watching her last ship being scuttled, she felt rather stretched thin.

"Looks like it'll be another three days before the port nacelle gets here from Jupiter. The storms delayed the final production assembly." Enalia commented casually.

"I expected as much. I noticed the last few shipments from there were delayed." Farenia commented back.

"At least the new intel pod will be ready on schedule. Freakish thing has everything but a cloaking device. Seriously, why do we need to be able to project a hologram through a quantum tubule nine lightyears away?" Enalia turned to Farenia, the ridiculousness not lost on her.

"Who knows. I'd just hope it sort of worked and you could go to a meeting on a planet's surface remotely. That might be useful." Farenia replied with a grin.

Just then a series of tugs moved slowly into view, the massive ship they were towing narrowly clearing the space between two spaceframes. As the ship stretched into view, it dwarfed even the Hera like she was a small insect compared to it.

"So that's the new Excalibur class..." Enalia said with blatant awe. "The castles we build..."

"The USS Camelot - I was in consideration for command for her. I don't think I could take such a vessel though." Farenia replied, also in awe. The ship had crossed the halfway point across the observation bay window and the tail end of the nacelles were still out of view.

Enalia nodded. "I doubt there are many up to commanding such a massive ship. The Galaxy class, and to an extent the Nebula class... They were called cities in space. If the Hera is a city, that ship is a world. I heard she could evacuate half of just about any world in the Federation, if needed."

"She's an impressive beast of a ship," Farenia replied. They then watched in silence for several minutes as the massive ship glided out of the fleetyards. As soon as it cleared the last of the space frames, the engines lit up and she began moving under her own power. Soon she was clear of the local gravity and had gone to warp.

"She's cannons strapped to phasers strapped to torpedoes sitting on the biggest warp engine we've ever built. Makes the Defiant look like a toy." Clio wasn't quite sure what the conversation had been before the Camelot cruised by, she'd only just come onto the observation deck in time to see it glide past the windows and jump to warp. She watched the visible bits of the warp trail fizzle and dissipate for a moment, idly rubbing the lingering sore spot along her collarbone. "I'm sorry if I interrupted anything. I just can't figure out where I'm supposed to be or what I'm supposed to be doing."

"You have orders to become one of my senior staff aboard the Hera, if you're up for it." Enalia replied, resuming her observation of the attempts to marry a venture series nacelle to the Hera. "And if not, I'm sure 'Nia has some adventures she'll take you on.

"Ultimately, the decision is yours," Farenia added, giving Clio a slight smile. She was still feeling the loss of the Katana pretty hard.

New orders? Clio didn't remember seeing any new orders among the myriad of demands and requests that she submit a report to Starfleet Intelligence detailing the Katana's untimely and unfortunate demise. She was also only now realizing that the person talking to Farenia was Enalia Telvan, who she'd met only briefly before and hadn't immediately recognized. "Join the Hera... the only ship with more dangerous and insane missions than the Katana. I'm not sure Starfleet thought that order through before they wrote it." She smiled just a little, then glanced over at Farenia. "And just where are you going?"

Farenia shook her head as she returned to looking at the Hera. "I've been offered a few assignments, but most seem to be desk jobs. Nothing really interesting."

"Desk jobs? How insulting." Clio shook her head slightly. To her, it seemed that Starfleet was blaming Farenia for the loss of the Katana, before the facts had even been compiled. "Nia, that isn't fair. They know damn well you didn't blow up your own ship."

"I know they don't," Farenia stated motioning towards where the USS Camelot had been. "I went up for a review board to captain that behemoth ship. As far as I know, she's still captainless." She then sighed and pulled a PaDD out of her cargo pocket. "The USS Metalica needs a new captain. Diplomatic and escort assignments are all she gets though."

"Better than flying a desk, but not anything you'd like doing. There must be something that actually interests you. Somewhere." Sadly, Clio knew that assignments could be slim pickings for officers like herself and Farenia, officers who flourished in more challenging and physical assignments. More and more, Starfleet was moving toward a more diplomatic stance, forcing its less diplomatic members to resign or take jobs they hated. "Or maybe it's just me. I can't do all that diplomatic crap."

"I'd have both of you on the Hera if I could but the way Starfleet is going we won't even be fighting pirates." Enalia interjected.

"There's an opening at Starfleet Intelligence as a Strategic Command Liaison. I'd at least be able to keep in touch with both of you that way." Farenia added, scrolling the data on her PaDD a bit. "It would be boring, but I'd at least be able to throw something fun your way now and then."

There was a clopping/clattering noise, the sound of half of a very large goat walking across the deck plating as Commander Mal Xustos entered the Observation Deck and walked over to where the other officers were standing. A Pomtoli satyr, he was dressed in a Starfleet uniform jacket with his O-5 pips on his collar. Instead of pants, Mal wore a utilikilt. This served as his official everyday Starfleet uniform. His Pan flute, not a part of his official everyday uniform, hung from his neck on a leather strap.

"A magnificent vessel, don't you think?" he said. Raising his flute to his lips, he began playing a haunting, beautiful, sensuous tune.

Enalia cleared her throat and grinned wickedly. "I'd like you both to meet my new Executive Officer, Commander Mal Xustos."

Nexi had been watching from the shadows in the back of the room, curious to see how this refit would affect the secret shuttle bay Enalia had assigned for her use. But then some weirdo, who Enalia said was now the XO, came in here and started playing a flute; who the fuck even does that?! She scoffed and rolled her eyes, finally melting out of the shadows to join the others by the great window. "You're kidding, right? Who'd you piss off to get assigned this piece of work?" Nexi said to Enalia.

"I chose him myself - he was the best candidate out of several dozen." Enalia replied, still grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

"Of course you did..." Nexi said with a scowl. "Why the hell do I continue to hang out with you people?"

Mal lowered his flute and laughed.

"Does this mean you won't be attending my 'welcome aboard' party?" Mal asked. "Drat. I'm positively heartbroken. Are you sure I can't change your mind? They'll be plenty of music and dancing and drink and frolicking! You look like someone who likes a good frolic!"

"I don't frolic," Nexi said seriously, but she did drink, so it was possible that she might make an appearance, maybe...

"Hey, it could be worse. He could be a Medusan." Clio cracked a smile, making a mental note to attempt to avoid the frolicking. Drinking and music was fine, but large crowds were a no go. "I take it Commander Fairchild finally gave up and retired?"

"Yeah," Enalia said with a heavy sigh. "She and Sinek are off to raise their child in a more Vulcan atmosphere. I can't say I blame them, really."

"I'm not terribly surprised. Starfleet is a rough life, and she was looking a little ragged during our ill-fated resupply." Though she didn't have any children herself, Clio could see the appeal in leaving Starfleet to raise one's child on Vulcan, away from the stress and danger of a starship.

"I been thinking of taking Aewia away from here, maybe back to Betazed, but the truth is I don't think she'd be happy anywhere but here," Nexi chimed in, her expression softening at the mention of her sister.

"I think she'd be happy with you no matter where you two go," Enalia commented.

"Aewia... Larani? The Intel Officer?" Farenia asked, a look of consternation crossing her features. "If she's the same one, we were on a mission together years ago."

Nexi said cast the Vulcanoid-Rigellian a wary glance. "Well, years ago don't mean much now; now she's retired, recovering from the extensive damage of interrogation in a Romulan prison," Nexi informed her. "She has trouble remembering things from before she was rescued, so if you want to see her, don't be surprised if she don't remember you. Just be sure to bring cake and she'll like you just fine."

Farenia nodded. "I might do that, but it's probably best if we avoid each other. The mission went very poorly and if she does have memories of me, they're not good."

"Then bring ice cream and you'll be her best friend," Nexi replied with a wry grin.

Clio had been rather quiet during the discussion of Nexi's sister. Everyone in her field knew the name Aewia Larani; the woman had quite a reputation before her disappearance. She'd never actually met her though.

That's when Aewia decided to make her way to the observation deck as well, a milkshake in hand and one of her nurses from the Hera trailing behind her to make sure she found her way ok. Wrapping one arm around Nexi, her bright pink and white floral dress was a sharp contrast to Nexi's attire. "So that's what the new tubes look like."

Nexi didn't hesitate to lean over to her sister to steal a sip of her milkshake, grimacing at the taste that assaulted her tongue. "Ew, gross, you weirdo, what is that?" Nexi asked her sister, then looked over to Farenia, Clio, and Mal, pointing to each of them as she spoke. "Oh, by the way, that's the, um, CO of the dead ship Katana, you've met before, and this is Clio-something? She's Intel and I get to work with her, and then the goat-man is the new XO and I think he's weirder than you are," she added to bring Aewia up to speed.

"Kale, cinnamon, and Telerian brandy milkshake," Aewia replied with a grin and Nexi gagged in response. She then nodded to each person in turn. "It's good to meet all of you. I'm Aewia and this is my sister, Nexi."

Mal smiled warmly at Aewia.

"Hello," he said. "I'm Commander Mal Xustos. You can call me Mal. It's very nice to meet you, too."

"Eneas Clio." Clio left her rank out of it for now, not finding it terribly important at the moment.

"Farenia Meowlith," Nia responded after the others had introduced themselves.

Aewia gave the first two pleasant nods, but as soon as she caught sight of Farenia her eyes went wide and she moved so that Nexi was between her and Farenia. "I remember you. Yes, I definitely remember you. You left me to rot in that hellhole."

"And this is why I should have avoided you..." Farenia muttered, looking back out the window.

"AND she was the one that gave us the report and intel needed to rescue you," Enalia added.

"Ya know, you shoulda mentioned that bit, I could have prevented this meeting," Nexi said in a matter-of-fact tone to Farenia, then she looked back at Aewia. "Oi, she can't be all that bad, she sent the Intel that let us find you," she said, not one to hold a grudge. Who was she kidding, Nexi could totally hold a grudge, but in this instance she didn't think it was grudge-worthy because she knew sometimes missions just went sideways and everyone going in should know that these kinds of things do happened. "You know how these things go, kiddo, it ain't personal, the mission objective always comes first."

"And if I hadn't gotten out when I did, the entire team would have been compromised," Added Farenia.

Aewia nodded and relaxed a bit but kept her eyes glued to Farenia. "Yeah... Yeah, I remember that too. That doesn't mean I have to like it though. And you look better without the Romulan ridges."

Clio looked between them all, feeling very confused and somewhat headache-y. All this was difficult to follow, and she wasn't sure whose 'side' she was supposed to be on. She knew the heartache of being left behind but also knew the pain having to leave someone else in danger to finish a mission.

Mal thought this might be a good time for a subject change. He turned to Aewia.

"Aewia," he said. "Your sister says that if I ply you with ice cream, you'll be my friend for life. Is that true? If so, would you like to go for ice cream with me sometime? You know us weird people have to stick together!"

Aewia nodded slowly, then shifted her gaze back to Mal with an 'ice cream' smile. "Yeah, ice cream is the best."

"It is indeed!" Mal replied. "I'll call on you soon and we'll see what exotic ice cream flavors we can discover! With your sister's permission, of course."

"Are you making a pass at my brain damaged sister?" Nexi asked in a cold tone. Then, just to make certain that Mal really considered his answer and respond truthfully, she made a show of drawing the short sword that was sheathed at the small of her back under her custom leather jacket designed to emulate the look of the Starfleet uniform, and held the sword in her clasped hands in front of her, a single finger tapping the blade as she awaited his answer. She had absolutely no qualms about threatening a Starfleet Officer in front of other Starfleet Officers, which happened to include two starship Captains.

Aewia wasn't going to have it though. She put her free hand on Nexi's wrists tenderly. "Don't threaten him, the goatyman is nice. I can feel it. Besides, ice cream is awesome and you can come too. You deserve ice cream too. It's ice cream. That's how it works."

Nexi wasn't overly fond of sweets, she had taken to stealing bites of Aewia's cake and ice cream simply to forestall being force-fed, not to mention that indulging along with Aewia made the younger Betazoid smile; so the offer for ice cream was not nearly as appealing to Nexi as some might believe. "For the ice cream," Nexi replied simply if for no other reason than she didn't want her sister to be upset, then she resheathed her blade without any hesitation. But Nexi felt she'd made her point anyway, so it was all good.

"Well," Mal said. "That was extreme. Thank you, Aewia, for not letting your sister skewer me. Perhaps we can find your sister some prune ice cream. It seems she might need it."

Nexi narrowed her black eyes at Mal for the prune comment; she would be watching him...

"Ice cream and protectiveness aside..." Enalia began with a meaningful look between all three. "Daln Hadren has accepted a posting aboard the SS Sanity's End as security chief. Nexi, I'm sure you'll have new security procedures to memorize soon."

"The Sanity's End? That's a rough assignment." Familiar with the ship through its reputation and Starfleet's past attempts to send her there for 'rehabilitation', Clio shuddered slightly.

"Excuse me," said Mal. "Sanity's End? I'm unfamiliar with that ship. What makes it such a rough assignment?"

"It's a ship for nutters, basically a mobile psyche ward," Nexi informed Mal, then looked at Enalia. "Why've I got to learn new security procedures? Ain't Clio an actual Officer, why don't she have to learn it?" Pointing fingers at her direct superior, great way to start a working relationship...

"She's the one that'll be implementing them," Enalia replied with a grin.

"Oh," Nexi replied, looking somewhat deflated. Like it wasn't enough that she was working her ass off learning Starfleet procedure so she could enlist, now she had to learn more stuff?! Dammit... "Guess I'll add it to the ever growing pile of shit I ain't got time to do," she grumbled.

"Might have time if you complained a little less," Clio said cheerfully. She hadn't looked at the new protocols yet, but she imagined they couldn't be too terrible to implement. Especially after learning how to handle non-Intelligence security issues on the fly so recently. "And if you think you've got it bad, you should see my desk. Y'know, once I have one for you to see."

It had taken quite some time to get the Hera even to the state of readiness that allowed personnel on board. Clio was actually starting to wonder if the project would ever be completed when she received notice that not only was the Hera now livable, Captain Telvan had requested to see her. With her meeting with Mal having gone very well and her previous discussions with Enalia having been amicable, she was somewhat less anxious about this particular meeting and was in somewhat cheerful spirit when she reached the Hera's bridge. Once there, she paused to give the new bridge module an appreciative look. An updated 'Hope' series module, it sported its very own dedicated intelligence console and seats at every post. Even the color was updated, with blue-grey coloring. Though the Hera was technically still the same ship, she hardly felt like a Nebula class anymore.

Her appreciation of the ship's bridge done, Clio ventured to the door of the ready room and pressed the doorchime, hoping this meeting too would go well.

"Come in," called Enalia, looking up as the doors opened. Unfortunately, her ready room was the same size as before, but at least everything in it was new. "Commander Eneas, it's good to see you again. What do you think of the refit so far?"

"I get my own chair. So far I can't complain." While the Katana had been easy enough to modify for her work, having her own station to work from that wasn't cobbled together from science and tactical was something Clio was most definitely looking forward to. She glanced around the ready room as she entered, finding it shared the blue-grey coloring of the main bridge. "I think this is the first Nebula class to carry the Hope bridge."

Enalia grinned from ear to ear. "We had a Galaxy class bridge previously, but it would have taken too much to update it so I asked for a new bridge module. This one was designed by Intel for the Olympic class ships but was very easy to recouple for the Hera, thankfully. Please, have a seat. We have a lot to discuss."

"You wouldn't think the Galaxy bridge would fit in this saucer." Clio eased herself into one of the chairs near Enalia's desk. "And I'm sure we have more to discuss than a single meeting could possibly cover."

"Yes we do, but we can get a start on it," Enalia said, sliding a PaDD over to Clio with a classified mission briefing on it. "We already have a mission and we won't have time for a shakedown, so I'll need you to start testing all the new Intel systems and scanners immediately. Ignore drydock protocol if you have to."

"I never liked drydock protocols anyway." Clio picked up the PaDD and read over the mission briefing, frowning and then scowling a bit as she did so. "You realize this is a suicide mission, right? They've sent three teams, one of which was a part of Spectre Squad. None of them ever came back, and anything that takes out a Spectre team is bad news."

"I had a friend in Spectre Squad. Three friends in the other teams. I know what they can do. If there's anyone to rescue, I'd like our crew to be the one to do it." Enalia replied. "Suicide mission or not, we're going on this mission."

"I'm not debating whether or not we're going, only telling you that if Spectre can't do it, our chances are slim." Clio read over the briefing again and set the PaDD down. "Honestly I'm surprised this didn't go to an Echelon ship, unless we've been drafted." Remembering the unusual armor she'd seen being laid on the Hera's hull, she paused and glanced out the window. She couldn't see much - if any - of the hull through it, but she remembered what the armor plating looked like. "Bloody hell, woman. They're turning your ship into one of theirs."

Enalia got deadly serious at this point. "They did. Every last scrap we could get our hands on is now embedded into this ship. You'll find the details of that in your office's quarantined computer core. They also found this," As she spoke, she lifted a small case from the floor and set it on her desk, punching in the biometrics codes to open it to reveal a small triangular device. "It took a lot to get this little gem. It was manufactured in the year 2544. Let's put it to good use, shall we?"

"Please tell me that my quarantined core also has it's own power source and has a chance of surviving the ship's destruction. I lost everything when the Katana went down." Not only had she lost everything, most of the data that Clio had collected on the Drej hadn't yet been sent to the Hera, leaving her to reconstruct large swaths of data. She paused in thought, looking at the little device and gingerly picking it up. "A mobile emitter..." In that moment, she got a crushing feeling in her heart. "If we'd had one of these on the Katana, Arivek would still be alive."

"That core has all that and doesn't show up on scans. The engineers tell me that it can survive a warp core breach if needed." Enalia replied. "As for this toy, I wish we had found it sooner. It's still future tech, but not as advanced as the one Voyager brought back so I'm not even sure if Akira's program will fit in it, to be honest."

"If it doesn't, I'm sure she and I can do some tweaking to expand the device's capacity. I might not have an Operations degree, but I've learned a bit working with her." Still holding the tiny device, Clio shook her head slightly. "That is, if she even wants to use it."

"I've heard that you know her better than anyone else so I'll let you approach her about it. The technology is advanced, but not so advanced that we can't do something more with it." Enalia added. She then clicked a holographic readout on her desk, displaying the schematics of the new pod. "On another note, some of these systems should look fairly familiar... Ever feel like appearing on a planet the next system over in holographic form? And those special torpedoes we tried to give your last ship?" Pointing into the holographic display, Enalia continued. "About here, we have several devices we still haven't figured out."

"Doctor Dodger had a prototype holopresence unit in the Katana's sickbay, so I'm somewhat familiar with that particular concept." Peering at the holographic display, Clio tapped the unidentified devices, thinking they looked at least slightly familiar. "The Banshee had some of these systems, I think. I wasn't a department head so I wasn't privy to how they worked, unfortunately."

Enalia nodded and rotated the schematic a bit. "The pod arrives in less than an hour and should only take a few hours to install so when you have some spare time, please take a look at them. One of them is supposed to be a duotronic field emitter, but we still have no idea what that's for, let alone the purpose of the others. We just know that the systems we DO know the function of refuse to work without them."

"I was going to look whether you gave me permission or not." Of all the Nebula class ships in Starfleet, the Hera was going to be the only one carrying specific Intelligence equipment, and Clio couldn't wait to get her hands on it. "I thought when I left the Banshee I'd never see anything like her again."

"You likely have more access on that pod than even I do. As for the Banshee, from what little I know, I think we might be better equipped." Enalia reclined in her chair and sat silent for a moment.

"We likely are. She's reaching the end of her service cycle and hasn't been refitted in several years." And Clio knew Enalia was probably right about her access permissions as well. It was the worst kept secret in Starfleet that an Intelligence officer could - and often did - carry a higher security clearance than their captain.

Enalia nodded. "I think this is the part of the meeting where I'm supposed to ask if you have any questions. So... Any questions before I let you get to your department of thirty three other intel officers?"

"...thirty three?" Clio's eyes went a bit wide, as she was used to being the only intelligence officer on a starship. "I... damn. That's incredible." Still a bit awed, she shook her head. "No, no questions at the moment."

"Then welcome aboard. If you need anything let me know." Enalia replied with a polite smile. "Oh and I almost forgot, congrats on becoming my second officer as well."

"I'm sorry, your new what?" Clio wasn't sure she'd heard that one right. "Are you... sure?"

Enalia had an innocent smile as she replied. "Second officer. Unless I get another full Commander before we launch, yes I'm sure. If you don't want the job, you'll have to find someone else for the position."

"No, it's not that I mind. It's just... Starfleet. With their rank rules and all that... I don't want to get overridden by that again." While Clio had given her second officer role on the Katana over to Jenni without much fuss, she still felt the slight sting of that particular injustice.

"Do you want a promotion then? Would that help?" Enalia asked as she reached into her desk and pulled out a small black box. She then waited for a response, still smiling innocently.

"Uh..." Clio kind of stared blankly at Enalia for a moment. She was pretty sure she hadn't met time in grade for her next promotion yet, but at the same time she wasn't exactly going to refuse either. "Did you plan this or are you just messing with me?"

"A little of both, actually. Thanks to the refit, I'm behind in a lot of areas and promotions is one of them. I'm supposed to hand out a few of these before we launch." Opening the small box, it was filled to the brim with both black and gold pips just sitting in there loose.

"Okay..." That kind of made sense. Clio understood someone falling behind in their promotion quota, even if she thought it a bit strange that Starfleet had such a quota. "Well, clearly it is your decision and not my place to question it. Although... others might. There was a bit of dissent on the Katana over it, despite how quickly Matthews bumped me back down."

"Fair enough. We'll wait a while and see how it goes then." Enalia replied, shrugging and reclosing the little box. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"At the moment, no. I need to get a look at that console on the bridge and my Intelligence facilities, if the engineers are done poking around down there. I'd like to know what sort of systems I'm working with before I really need them." Maybe Clio was a bit odd in that regard, but she liked knowing her systems before launch if possible.

"Good luck then," Enalia nodded at the sense that made. "We launch in a week if everything else stays on schedule."

After her meeting with Enalia, Clio stopped on the bridge to take a closer look at the dedicated intelligence console the Hera was now equipped with. Sliding into the seat, she touched the console to bring it online and was immediately greeted with a soft vibration as the screen came on. Instantly, Clio's eyes lit up. She'd never had a tactile-response console before, but already she was falling in love with it. Experimenting a bit, she brought up different files and sensor feeds, noting how each one gave a slightly different response. Some files produced a raised pattern along their edges, which intrigued her. While she wasn't especially educated on these consoles, she could see how it could be useful, especially for her type of work. Curious about how it functioned, she tapped into the console settings and looked around. To her surprise - and delight - it was easily customizable, to the point that she'd be able to assign specific touch and vibration patterns to each element. Grinning like a child with a new toy, she experimented with the settings, eventually settling on just a handful of patterns for now. She could add more later, but she needed to at least notate classification levels and what information could be critical to the mission at hand.

After a few moments more of exploration of the panel's settings, Clio happened to glance away from the panel and was surprised to see the information displayed on it suddenly vanish. Even looking at it from the corner of her eye, nothing appeared. "Whoa..." No one was around to hear her, but an audible response seemed necessary. As she turned back to look at the console, the information again became visible. She'd heard of these consoles, of course, but she'd never seen one actually installed on a starship. They had limited viewing angles, essentially making it impossible for anyone else to see what was on her screen. And it was about damned time that Starfleet started using them!

Wondering just how tight the viewing angle was, she got up from the console and walked around to the side of it. She'd gone only a very short distance - not even fully to the side - before the data vanished from view. "Fifteen, maybe twenty degrees," she mumbled to herself, clearly impressed even if no one was around to discuss what she'd discovered. Returning briefly to her seat, she searched the screen for the 'lock' or 'log off' feature each console generally had, finding it suspiciously missing until she thought to run her fingers along the screen's edge, finding a single raised symbol there that - when pressed - caused the console to go completely blank, as if it were turned off. "Pretty cool," Clio concluded, getting up from the chair and heading for the turbolift. She had offices to explore next.

It wasn't often that one found a starship with extensive dedication to Intelligence, and Clio was greatly enjoying her discovery of all the systems and equipment the Hera carried. Even the Banshee - owned and operated solely by Starfleet Intelligence - hadn't had so many facilities just for her department. It was all so very fascinating, and she highly doubted she was going to discover all of the Hera's many secrets before launch. She was, however, going to try damned hard to do just that.

Having already taken a close look at her console on the bridge, Clio had ventured into the Intelligence pod the moment it was deemed environmentally safe. There were too many systems here to inspect personally for now, so she decided to check out one of the Intelligence laboratories instead. Coming across Intelligence Lab 3 first, she wandered inside... only to find there was already someone there. Someone she recognized even. "...Dedjoy?"

Looking up in surprise, Crewman Dedjoy clicked off the console she was working at. "Commander! I didn't expect to see you here aboard the Hera. Is there something I can help you with?"

"How did you even get in here? The only people who have clearance at this point are me and the captain." Not that Clio expected a straight answer. She knew damn well how clever Ila could be.

"The refit teams cleared me. I've been assigned the task of calibrating what I can in the labs." Dedjoy then pointed to a bagel sitting in a sealed container in the middle of the room, then clicked her console back on. "I've been able to calibrate the sensors to a quantum level and if I'm right, I've just downloaded the computer's geology database into that bagel. I was just starting my scans to see if it succeeded."

"...you did what, now?" It wasn't often that data hijinks baffled Clio, but that was a new one. Either this was the most elaborate joke Ila had ever told or the girl had gone insane. Those had to be the only two options; even Clio wasn't crazy enough to fall for the 'computer bagel' thing.

Ila stared at Clio for a few seconds before replying. "Commander... I downloaded a geology database into a bagel. deep in the atomic structure of the bagel is now an edible database. I'm going to eat it. And then if it works right, my blood will contain that database. It's insane and ingenious."

Insane was certainly an apt description. Even the expanded explanation did nothing to help Clio understand what Ila was talking about. "Are you... okay? Because that doesn't make any sense at all."

"I'm perfectly fine," Ila replied, tapping at the console in a few places before walking over to the bagel, unsealing the chamber, and taking a bite of it and chewing thoughtfully for a moment. "It's actually a more refined version of a crystal lattice positronic scanner used to analyze ore deposits. I did my Geology dissertation on that so getting to play with this is actually really exciting."

"Okay..." Clio had nothing to say to that. She didn't generally take to arguing with scientists over their work, having learned a long time ago that they were usually right even when they sounded completely insane to everyone else.

Sensing that she needed to further explain it in simpler terms, Ila tried a different angle. "You know how we can store data on isolinear chips, data rods, and things like that? This lab's sole purpose seems to be doing that exact same thing with anything on a quantum level. Anything."

Taking another bite of the bagel, Ila munched thoughtfully for another moment before continuing. "And as far as I can tell, it's undetectable by normal scanners. I can now take this geology database through a blockade or customs or whatever and it's virtually undetectable. I just have to leave a tiny blood sample behind."

"I see." Clio didn't really quite understand it, but continued explanations probably wouldn't help at this point.

Ila nodded, satisfied enough. She then set the bagel aside and turned the consoles back off. "At least this one is understandable. Intel Lab four, all I could do was check calibration status and run the self diagnostics. Everything said it was ok, so that was it."

"Honestly, that's all you should have been able to do in here." But Clio wasn't going to ask any more questions right now. She had enough of a headache from the first few.

"I don't doubt that, Commander," Ila replied. "I was given a job though, and I'm going to do it to the best of my abilities. Besides, the computer won't let me access any of the data pertaining to the equipment other than those things. I'm also supposed to check the sensor platforms as well, but the computer won't tell me anything about them either."

"Who gave you these orders anyway? I know I haven't given any..." Perhaps Enalia had done it and declined to tell her, but Clio hoped not. That was how distrust among the staff started.

Pulling out a PaDD, she offered it to Clio. "I got them from an officer on the refit team named Drake."

"Bloody hell, Ila. You can't be taking orders from Franklin Drake!" Clio took the PaDD and looked at it. Sure enough, the full name on the signature line read Franklin Drake. "Damn it, Dedjoy. Don't you know who that man is?"

"No?" Ila asked, now worried. She knew a lot of intel stuff was super secret but she didn't think much of it - she'd gotten more than a few strange jobs during the refit. "I don't think I want to know who he is now."

"He's the ringleader for Section 31! He's been trying to regain their power for years, and now he essentially has the keys to my office." Clio's opinion of Section 31 was fairly clear as a growling note entered her voice. "Please tell me he doesn't actually have access to the Hera."

Ila's eyes went even wider as realization dawned on her. "I... No, I met him on the station after the maintenance meeting. He handed out a few assignments and I got one of them."

"Good because we're keeping him out. Don't take any more assignments from him and do not, under any circumstances, respond to any contact he tries to initiate." As if they didn't have enough to worry about, now Clio had to make absolutely certain that the Hera was secure against Section 31's attempts to come back into power. "If he persists, tell me. I'll take care of it."

"I will. You'll be the first to know," Ila declared immediately. "Commander, does this mean my temporary assignment to the Intel Sciences team is invalid as well?"

"You'll have to talk to Captain Telvan about that. I don't know anything about an Intelligence Science team." Clio's brow furrowed a bit because that seemed like something she should know about, if it was real.

"I will then," Ila replied. "Should I leave? Or do you need me for anything?"

"You can stay. There's not much more trouble to get into at this point." Besides, even if Enalia said there wasn't to be an Intelligence Science team, Clio liked Dedjoy and didn't mind having her around to help.

Ila nodded in understanding. "Yes Commander. Is there anything I can do for you then?"

"If you could figure out what some of this equipment is supposed to do, that would be good. I've never seen some of this stuff before." And that was saying a lot, seeing how long Clio had worked for Starfleet Intelligence.

"I will Commander," Ila replied. "I was about to move to Intel Lab two when I finished up here."

"That's fine. Take your time and make sure to lock this place down when you leave, okay?" There wasn't much in the pod to look at yet, but Clio didn't want anyone getting used to wandering around.

"I promise I will," Ila replied. She then looked around the lab and took the remains of the bagel back to the replicator for reprocessing. "I'm done in here. Will you be staying for a while?"

"Unfortunately I need to check in with the doctor, so I won't be staying." Clio would much rather stay and play with her new toys instead of get poked and prodded by whoever the Chief Medical Officer was on this boat, but that just wasn't an option.

"Then I'll reset the locks now," Ila replied, turning to work on the door lock controls.

"That's fine. I'll get going then." Had it been anyone else, Clio would have insisted on watching them or even doing the locks herself. However, she'd come to trust Ila, perhaps more than she'd trusted the few officers who'd come into her actual department on the Katana. "Be careful and call if you need anything."

"I will, thank you Commander," Ila replied as the locking mechanism reset and started a short countdown to resealing the door. Ushering Clio out, Ila followed her and watched the lab reseal itself.

Stepping off the transporter padd she smiled and nodded in approval at the ensign manning the transporter before leaving and stepping into her new home. The ship tone showed she had been around for a while the shine that every ship had when she first launched and began to fade and she knew it would never come back.

Despite never having walked the halls she walked them like she knew them her whole life though that was probably the andorian having absorbed the blueprints during her academy days. It only took her a short while for her to reach the quarters which with her new code she opened and stepped in.

Crossing into the bedroom she dropped her bag her bed before collapsing backwards onto it feeling her body relax. After the long trip she wanted to get out of her uniform and go for a swim, but she knew she had stuff to do.

Getting to her feet she stood up.

" Computer is the captain available?" She said heading towards the door.

" Captain Enalia Telvan is free and is in her quarters." Came the typical voice of the computer. Maybe she should try and alter it. She thought as she reached the door.

" Very good. Run a level 4 diagnostic on all systems and send the date to my workplace." She replied as she stepped out the door. That would give her something to do when she had finished meeting the captain.

Putting her hands behind her back she crossed the short walk to the turbolift. She had a good feeling about this tour, but first she had to check out main engineering. She had a ship to get to know.

Mal's plan had been to check up on the work being done in the forward torpedo magazine. That was it. Just check. But, as life would have it be, the technicians were having trouble with one of the loaders. He was there so he checked it out, just to see if he could help. The problem was a blockage in one of the hydraulic lines, which was discovered when the line burst all over Mal, coating his uniform (and the hair on his legs) with hydraulic fluid. The technicians and engineers were barely able to keep their laughter to themselves, so Mal let them off the hook. He made a witty comment designed to give them permission to crack up. It worked and everyone had a good laugh. Mal left the techs to repair the line and left to go clean himself up.

Mal had recently moved much of his belongings from his temporary quarters on the starbase to the XO's quarters on the Hera. As far as he knew, his quarters were ready to go, complete with a functional sonic shower and replicator, which meant that he could clean up and replicate a new uniform there.

Arriving at his quarters, Mal disrobed and recycled his soiled uniform, utilikilt and all. He replicated a new uniform and laid it out. Then he went into the head, climbed into the sonic shower and turned it on. There was a bit of a strained whining noise when it first came on, but it settled down quickly, so Mal didn't think much about it. He cleaned himself off, making sure to get all of the sticky fluid off of his legs, hands, hair, and face. When he was done, he used the shower controls to shut off the shower...or at least he tried to shut off the shower. The low hum issuing from the sonic emitters began to increase in volume, until the shower was shrieking at him. Mal leaped out of the shower stall before the sound waves turned his bones to powder. He escaped into the bedroom and shut the doors to the head behind him. He walked over to the comm unit next to his bed and pressed the button to open a channel.

"Commander Xustos to Engineering!" he shouted over the noise. "I need someone up here immediately! My sonic shower is malfunctioning and I'm afraid the sonic assault is going to damage the ships superstructure or, you know, me!"

Thex was under one of the power regulators mending a micro fracture when she heard the call coming in. Given it was rather late and most of her staff we're asleep or busy helping with the refit she slid out from under the regulator. She'd get it fixed herself. It would give her an opportunity to meet the commander. Grabbing a repair kit from the tool locker she headed for the turbo lift.

Within a few moments, she was at the quarters and she could tell why. The buzzing white noise was painful and her antennae dropped flat on her head to cope with the pain. Knowing he probably couldn't hear her she banged on the door as loudly as she could before entering.

Mal, now dressed in his Starfleet issue black t-shirt and utilikit, answered the door.

"Welcome to the Hell of the Sonic Overload," he said to the andorian lieutenant when the hatch opened. "Please, make yourself at home...after you shut this blasted thing off, that is."

Bearly hearing the commander the andorian nodded as she headed into the bathroom and approached the shower. Opening up the panel the anodorian quickly disconnected the main power supply. With a great sign of relief, the shower stuttered and was quite. " Well, that a relief" Thex said mostly to herself as her antennae started to perk up. Reaching into her kit she pulled out the mobile diagnostic kit and started to connect it up. " So when did it start screaming like a banshee?" She asked the commander who was standing in the doorway.

"It made sort of an unusual sound when I turned it on, but then it worked fine," Mal said. "It wasn't until I went to shut it off that it tried to deafen me."

"Sounds like something got fried whilst you were showing." The andorian replied as she opened the control box." Ah the duotronic pulse buffer has fried. Not sure why could be the power regulators not working." She said as her hands got to work. Pausing for a second she smiled to the Commander." Hate to be a pain commander, but could you replicate me an aspirin tablet. My heads still ringing." She asked politely.

"Absolutely," Mal said. "Thank you for shutting that thing off. I thought my horns were going to shatter from the vibrations."

Mal went to the replicator and ordered up a dose of aspirin and a glass of water. He brought them over to the engineer.

"Here you are," he said. "I'm Mal Xustos, the executive officer...which you probably figured out for yourself. I'm assuming you're from engineering. Are you our new Chief Engineer?"

" Yup that's me. Here to make sure this girl keep's running. Though it looks like she's already having one hiccup. " Thex replied with a laugh as she swallowed the pills.

"That's bound to be the case after a full refit and upgrade," Mal said. "The only reason I even needed a shower was that some techs were working late on the torpedo loading systems and I went to see if I could find out what the hold up was. Stupidly, I tried to help, so of course an hyrdaulic line burst, covering me in hydraulic fluid. And of course it got in the hair on my head, which would have been bad enough on its own, but it also got in the hair on my legs. I'm just glad the shower waited until I was done cleaning myself to have its malfunction. That stuff takes forever to get off of skin, let alone hair."

Mal picked up his lyre and sat on his bed. He began to absentmindedly pluck and strum a pleasant, quiet tune.

"So," he said. "While you work, why don't you tell me a little about yourself, things I can't read about you in your file."

" What exactly do you want to know?" Thex asked politely as she worked.

"Well this is my first post as chief of engineering so I really hope i don't mess it up. While i'm not keeping this girl from falling apart I like to relax down on the holodeck. Preferably in either one of my builds or swimming programs." She replied pulling another fried circuit out of the shower.

"Ah, swimming," Mal said. "Hooves do not good flippers make, especially on a two-legged being. I've heard that centaurs can manage swimming, but I've never actually seen one of those. They must have gone to some other planet with a different alien pretending to be a different Greco-Roman god. When they left, some of them scattered. Pan crash landed on Pomtol. We'd didn't really have any interaction with the others, though once we were visited by Pan's father, the alien who took on the persona of the god Hermes. Anyway, I've never been able to really manage swimming. Besides swimming, what kinds of programs do you build for yourself."

"Holographic simulations of machines I love. Been working on old earth G-76 third world war tank. Love putting the old things together even if they are just illusions of light." The andorian said as she started running a scanner over the broken parts. " What do you like to do commander?" She asked in reply.

"I use the holodeck for some physical training I suppose," he said. "Greco-Roman fighting styles, weapons, pankration, and the like, or merely running or hiking in the woods. Sometimes I'll create a nice, natural, peaceful setting and play music there. It helps me relax. Sometimes I'll invite people to listen or sing or dance or to add their own instruments to the songs. I have hunting programs as well, bow hunting usually. I've never been much of a tinkerer, myself."

" Sounds peaceful. My peaceful spot is normal at the bottom of a holographic sea. Nothing, but the sound of my own heart beat to hear." She said as she looked at the results on the screen. " Ah there we go. Looks like the buggy code has messed up the showers. The power systems aren't receiving the commands to switch off and overloading. Just need to reset the system and they should be fine."

"Excellent," Mal said. "Thanks for rescuing me."

" it's what I'm here for." The andorian said smiling as she continued her work of putting the shower back together. " I'll run it through a diagnostic check and make sure I've not missed something. " She said closing the panel.

Mal plucked and strummed his lyre as he waited for Sh'Zoarhi to complete her work.

It only took a short while before the machine beeped as it had completed it's scan. "There we go. Good as new. Just keep an eye on it until the upgrades are done. Hopefully, my staff won't mess up the code again." She said with a smile as she packed away her tools. "You play the lyre very well, Commander."

"Thank you," Mal said. "Well, I think I am going to eat something and go to bed. Long day tomorrow. Good evening, Lieutenant."

"Pleasant dreams Mal." The andorian said as she slung the kit around her shoulders.

Turbo Lift | Utopia Planitia | Mars


The turbo lift hummed in the background as swooshes and flashes of light showed his face in a dark light. Blue eyes shifted up from the piano black PADD in his right hand to reflect the view the U.S.S. Hera. Canting his head to the side slightly as he eyed his new assignment, one ship was no different than the last to Cato.

”Into the deep end, again… his mind began to wander as certain things triggered not so great memories.

Cato smirked and muttered to himself "It's all a deep end..." replying out loud unintentionally. Turning his eyes back to his PADD containing the latest set of intel briefs and information pertaining to the Hera, at least to his clearance level (TS/SCI clearance).

"What was that sir?" a crewman questioned eyeing Cato from the front of the lift.

Cato's eyes quickly darted up, his eyes narrowing "Nothing worth repeating, but don't call me 'sir'." Suddenly the turbo lift came to a halt and the doors wooshed open. "Save that shit for the officers, kid." Cato smiled as he walked past and tapped him on the shoulder with the PADD as he exited the turbo lift.

Walking the halls of Utopia Planitia was always humbling, to a degree. Cato tucked the PADD into one of the pockets in his uniform pants and continued on his way. Eyes moved to the gangway and the tight security guarding the one of the entrances to the Hera; yeah, he was in the right place. Without hesitation, he approached one of the security officers and stated "Chief West, reporting to the Hera."

His eyes scanned over the guy before replying “Orders and ID.”

Cato furnished his ID and a PADD from his pocket, handing both over just as quickly as it had been asked of him.

The Security Officer turned back to a terminal and began verifying the transfer orders and the ID. As soon as it was, “Good to go, Chief.” Cato’s ID and PADD were returned to his hand.

Cato quickly stowed the returned items and gave a single nod “Thank you, gentlemen.” he turned and began walking down the gangway leading onto the Hera

---

Main Airlock | Deck 10 | U.S.S. Hera

Cato continued his lovely stroll down the long gangway, taking in the partial view of the Hera. Approaching a quartermaster, Cato approached the man and spoke loudly over the bustle of personnel moving about. "West, Cato reporting for rack assignment Chief."

The Master Chief didn't bother to glance up from his screen, "Deck 9, Cabin 12. That's the one with your name on the door."

"Thanks Chief, I'll teach myself to read on the way." Cato smirked and gave the man a pat on the shoulder as he headed off for the nearest turbo lift.

---

Cato's Quarters | Deck 9 | U.S.S. Hera

Cato approached his new quarters, standing in front of the door. He muttered to himself "At least they spelled it right.", he pressed his right thumb against the biometric scanner and the doors wooshed open. Stepping inside, Cato looked around at his things that had made it over from the Michael P. Murphy. Boxes upon boxes, except for one large 'special' box; urban digital camouflage marked with a red circle on the sides and top.

Cato’s hands moved to open the case, revealing the armor and weapons inside. All of which were well maintained, however the last date it had been open was visible (over five years). His hands plunged inside and ran over his heavily modified TR-120 rifle that had been painted over more than a few times in different camo patterns, then his old MACO armor… “Relics…” he muttered to himself as he looked at the aged, beat up gear from a different era.

---

Post by:

CPO Cato West
Infiltration Specialist
U.S.S. Hera