There was one thing that Jhu was really dreading about taking over as the Katana's commander, no matter how temporary the situation. She had to re-establish the chain of command, and that meant putting people in uncomfortable positions. Positions they might not be ready for. Consulting the original roster, Doctor Cohen was next in the command structure, but Jhu wasn't comfortable pulling him from his sickbay duties when they might be looking at combat with Species 8472. People would get hurt, no matter how careful she was. She needed Liam in his sickbay to handle that.

Which meant Maica was up next. Maica, the counselor-turned-diplomat with no command or bridge experience. Who was likely already feeling rather overworked and might not even realize that things had changed so drastically.

Jhu did not want to be the person to tell her.

Sighing, Jhu tapped her combadge. "t'Dharvanek to Maica. Can you meet me in the ready room please?"

"I'll be there momentarily," Maica said somewhat warily. She had no idea what Jhu or Kris needed and she was busy beyond belief, but she could put it off for a little while. Leaving her glasses on her face, Maica locked her desk computer systems and left her quarters. The turbolift took her directly to the bridge and she headed straight from the turbolift to the readyroom, pressing the door chime.

"Come in!" Jhu hoped it was Maica at the door and not someone interrupting before Maica arrived. She didn't want to be chasing someone out so they could talking privately.

Maica stepped inside, immediately noticing that Jhu was behind the desk and Kris wasn't in sight. "Is everything ok?"

"Honestly? No. Have a seat." Jhu pointed at an empty chair. "I'm guessing you haven't heard the latest chapter in our Section 31 drama, but there is good news. It's over." Her voice lacked much power with her diminished air supply, but she continued anyway. "I have a problem. A big one. You'll notice Kris isn't here."

"That's good news." Maica said as she sat down, pulling off her glasses. "What's the bad news? And do you need to see a doctor?"

"Someone attacked Kris. He's alive but in a coma. And I need a first officer." Jhu briefly considered ignoring Maica's second question, but Maica wasn't one to forget about a question just because someone failed to answer it. "I'll live. I have a starship to run... space whales to send home... an away team that might need rescuing..."

Maica just sat there stunned. "Um... Do you have anyone in particular in mind for the job?" Maica didn't like where this was going one bit. She wasn't a command officer in any way.

"Well... my choices are rather limited. I can't take Cohen out of sickbay... we need him there. And I've been looking at the documents Kris has on his computer." Jhu turned the panel around so Maica could see it. "You're next on the list. Now, I won't force you to do it. Regulations say I can pick whoever I damn well please, so if you say no I'll find someone else. I know you're not exactly qualified, but neither was I when Kris made me his second officer."

"Well... I can't exactly decline, now can I?" Maica said. "Although, I don't have any command experience, any bridge certifications, or anything like that. I'm not even supposed to stand on the bridge during normal operations..."

"I can fix that. The tests really don't take long." As Jhu reached to turn the panel around again, she brushed against the desk, biting back a pained noise. She didn't have time for sickbay, and that was exactly where Maica would take her if she started whining now. "I won't be offended if you decline."

Maica shook her head. "I'll start the tests. I'll have to inform the Diplomatic Corps if this goes on too long though. Is there anything else I should know about?"

"Mallory is in the brig, where he will stay until we can pawn him off on someone else. Verak was attacked... I got to him just in time. And DeLancer is dead." Jhu paused, hesitating slightly. "I may or may not have broken his neck when he attacked me."

Maica sat there a bit more trying to wrap her neural matrix around everything, putting her glasses back on her face. "Ok then what do you want me to do? What are your expectations of me?"

Jhu had to laugh, just a little. "I really don't even know beyond making sure I don't lose my mind. I've never had to do this."

"Then as acting XO, I recommend having a drink and seeing a doctor. Unless you want me to try to heal you a bit..." Maica said as she stood and rounded the desk, her palm glowing softly. "I can heal cuts and bruises at least."

"Shiny. Didn't realize you could do that. I'll probably have to see a doctor, much as I hate sickbay. But..." Jhu loosened the braid in her hair, wincing as her fingers brushed against the sore spot there. Near the impact point, she could feel the sticky film of dried blood. "I don't like people messing with my head. But I trust you."

Maica nodded and started softly running her hand over Jhu's injuries, lightly brushing her spots in the process. "So what exactly happened to you? You look terrible."

"I mentioned DeLancer attacking me, right? Well, he wasn't happy with trying to stab me. He had to tackle me too... feels like he cracked half my ribs, and I cracked my head on the deck." Jhu sighed, wondering how she'd nearly been beaten like that. "And then I killed him."

"The smack to the head and the bruising on your ribs I can handle. You'll need a real doctor to repair any possible brain issues and the broken ribs." Maica said as she ran her hand tenderly over Jhu's head for a few more seconds before moving her hand to the injured ribs.

"Well I feel about a million times better already. Thank you... and I'll go see a doctor."

"Good." Maica finished up as best she could and slowly headed towards the door. "Be sure you do. I have tests and certifications to get done and I'd best get them done."

"Yeah... go ahead. Don't work too hard, Maica." Jhu smiled a little, indicating that Maica was free to go.

"You too, Jhu. I should have all the certifications pretty quick. Eidetic memory and all that."

"Well, as soon as you're finished let me know so I can update your record. But don't rush it. If you need a break, take one." Knowing she should follow her own advice, she pulled the night roster and sent their shift commander a report.

After his break in the mess hall, Will headed to Deflector control to use the Internal Sensor Array to check if there were any more devices like the five he had found so far through out the ship. It worried him that with the Katana's current mission tracking the Gekli and the possibility of an appearance of Species 8472, this all seemed connected.

Under orders from Andy, he sat himself down in the Deflector Control room and fed in the energy signature that he had discovered from the rogue device and began a deep scan of the ships internals, looking for more of them.

After making a rather ill-advised escape from the makeshift sickbay, Jhu had taken a few moments to record a personal log then tracked Lieutenant Morgan down to Deflector Control. Andy had him working on some sort of search and destroy mission, and she wanted to know what was going on with it. She was quiet as she entered, not really in the mood for unnecessary chatter.

Will continued about his work, running the internal sensor array through a thorough sensor sweep of decks 10, 11 and 12, looking for any more of the devices he had found on earlier maintenance shifts. It annoyed him he had found so many of them but also the fact that they had been hidden quite well and deliberately meant this was done on purpose , leading to the possibility that there could be more.

Something he and Andy agreed on, amongst other things of late. Whilst he worked at the console, he was sure he suddenly felt company and he turned around to see Jhu in the room and admitted to himself she'd sneaked in nicely. "Commander, I didn't see you there, can I help?" He asked.

"Keep working but update me on what you've found." Jhu leaned back against the edge of an unused console.

Will nodded as she requested the update but took note of Jhu leaning against a console. "So far I've managed to scan decks 4, 5 and 6 and decks 10 and 11, scanning for more of these devices," he explained, holding up the deactivated device up to show her. "I managed to locate five of the little buggers during various maintenace duties around the ship and shut them down."

Will turned fully as he looked at Jhu. "Are you ok Commander? You dont look too stable," he asked her, wondering if she was feeling ill or injured.

"I took a few hard hits from our captain's would-be assassin, but I'll be all right. Your concern is appreciated." Jhu smiled slightly. "Tell me about the devices. What do they do, do we know?"

Will nodded but was still concerned for her. "Just take it easy ok?" He asked as he pulled up a schematic of the device on the main viewer. "From what I can tell, its a sophisticated jamming device designed to overload secondary and other backup systems. Due to the locations of the other devices, I'm surmising that they were designed to incapacitate the ship after it had sustained damage already, denying us the use of backup systems once the primary systems were taken out." Will explained.

He magnified the viewer on the inner workings of the device. "The devices were located in places that would knock out the secondary protocols, thus stopping the captain from using the self destruct, stop us from launching any escape pods and shut down the comm system. Whoever planned this meant to leave us stranded out here or ready to be captured," he finished, before wheeling over a chair to her.

"Please, its hurting me seeing you in pain. Shouldnt you get medical attention?" he asked again.

"I will, once I'm sure my ship is secure and my crew is safe. We made the mistake of assuming before, and I won't make that mistake again." Jhu did, however, sit down in the offered chair for the few moments of relief it offered. "Is there any way to know who planted these things?"

Will grimaced. "I have a theory on that one. I believe it to be Section 31 thats responsible for these little buggers," Will said as he sat down in a chair as well. "I understand from Andy that they've been on board recently and it makes sense to me that they would try this" Will deduced. He hated them for the Valkyrie mission, after Starfleet found out Section 31 setup the mission. "I owe them some payback myself, however I'm not sure who else on board has had dealings with them."

"Um... me. Andy. Nathan. Vara. Kerouac and Verak. But mostly me." Jhu stopped there, not specifying her connection to Section 31.

Will looked surprised as Jhu reeled off the names of the people on board who had seen action against or been involved with Section 31 and realised that he probably wasnt far off the truth. "Right then. I see," he began trying to get himself sorted out. "Is there some sort of club on board I'm not aware of? I know I've only been here a few weeks but still thrres nothing on the notice boards," he said lightly. He asked as he returned to the console to check on the progress of his scan of the ship. He turned back around for a moment, thinking as he did.

"I take it then as you've seen the most action with them, they're either after you or looking to recruit you into Section 31?" He suggested again as he redirected the scan to move through decks 1,2 and 3 after completing its previous levels with no results. "Deck 12 is clear, moving to decks 1,2 and 3," he reported, but the he stopped for a moment checking the display. With Deflector Control on Deck 12, the sensors had picked up something odd.

"They mean to kill me, but I'm not that easy to kill."

"Erm, wow, that's odd. Commander, there seems to be several stacks of Torpedoes in the storage room just off from Deflector Control!" Will reported to her. "Who the hell keeps Torpedoes next to Deflector Control???" he asked.

Damned nosy engineers! Jhu leapt up from her chair, locking Will's console before he could dig any deeper. "That's classified, Lieutenant. All you need to know is Commander Kerouac authorized it. You are not to tell anyone or take further scans of them. Is that clear?" Blocking him from accessing the console, she gave him a deadly serious look. "Answer me, Lieutenant. Is that clear?"

Will snapped to as she locked the console in front of him as he realized he'd stumbled upon something he shouldn't or wasnt meant to find. "Yes Ma'am!" He replied sharply, remembering his chat with Nathan a few days previously about her temper. "Commander, with your permission, I was supposed to report my findings to Chief Carter and Lieutenant Tonkin," Will advised her, still standing to attention.

"Keep those torpedoes out of your report." Andy and Nathan knew about them, but Jhu didn't want word getting out that someone had found the damned things.

"Yes Ma'am," answered Will as he understood her order very clearly. He knew something was going on but he also knew he was new on board and that there were good reasons people kept secrets. He knew Andy and Val trusted him, but it took time. He also knew right now he wouldn't be completing his work. "With your permission ma'am, I'll go and compile my report," he offered.

"Permission granted." Jhu didn't know if she could trust him, but she was willing to take the chance.

With her permission given, Will turned and left Deflector Control to go and compile his report to send to Andy.

Will was completely stumped by the problem. The Secondary Auxiliary powerflow regulators on Deck Twelve had shut down, causing him to work in re-routes all over the primary auxiliary powerflow system to keep a regular power flow to both the main and lateral Sensor arrays as well making sure the Transporter systems had the same regular level. A headache at the best of times.

He pulled out a tricorder after removing a Maintenance Panel away from the corridor wall and took some readings to see what issues lay hidden in here. After taking some initial scans, he didn't like what he saw.

=/\= "Morgan to Chief Carter, can you join on Deck Tweve, Maintenance Bay Gamma Three please?" he asked through his com badge.

=/\= "Yeah sure. What's up?" Carter asked over the comm as she headed towards the maintenance bay.

=/\= "I'd like your professional opinion on something please? Normally I'd be happy to get on with this, but I want a second opinion," Will asked as he carried on taking readings on his tricorder and making a visual inspection of the area.

=/\= "Just hold tight, I'm on my way," Andy replied. She arrived a short while later. "Alright, what have you got going on here that you need a second opinion?" she asked as she looked over the systems he was working on.

Will showed Andy the tricorder readings and pointed out what he was unhappy with. "Okay, I've nearly been all over this ship over the past few days with so many backup and auxiliary system failures and issues and I've noticed a pattern now," he explained, picking up a piece of equipment from his tool kit and handing it to Andy.

"That is a portable jamming disruptor device and its the fifth one I've found so far. The others have been on decks nine, seven and four all attached to backup and auxiliary systems for Shields, Sensors, Transporters and Powerflow. Now if they were activated, the ship would have no secondary systems. No Auxiliary power if the ship were in distress or battle to try and escape," Will explained.

He pointed to the current device Andy was holding. "This one was attached to the backup systems for the command protocols that activate the self destruct system once authorisation is given. I think someone has been trying to setup the ship to fail at a critical moment," he finished.

"Fucking hell..." Andy muttered as she ran a hand over her hair. "First it's Section 31, then it's tribbles... We can't seem to get a fucking break out here!" Top it off, she was dabbling in the very illegal work of modifying torpedoes to deliver her nanoprobes in case they came up against Species 8472. "And you've said you found 5 of these things?" Andy took the device and looked it over. "It's got a faint but rather distinct signature. Maybe we can sweep the ship to find more of them."

Will nodded in agreement with her, but he now had questions for her. "The ship's had dealings with Section 31? I owe those bastards. They were responsible for the Valkyrie mission, I owe them some bloody payback," he explained to Andy, but he kept that thought aside for another day.

Will looked over the tri-corder readings and realised he could use the signature. "I can use the computer to extrapolate the signature in it complete form and then re-programme the internal sensors to run a discreet but thorough scan to see if there are more of them on board," he offered. He looked at Andy and thought she seemed distracted. "By the way, is everything with you? You seem a bit distracted of late."

"We hit 'em pretty hard, I'm ready to just leave well enough alone with Section 31," Andy said in an annoyed tone, though she wasn't annoyed at Will. "But make those scans happen. I want all this junk out of here as soon as humanly possible. We just got all that Section 31 tech gone, we don't need anymore interference." Andy considered whether or not she should tell Will how she'd been doing.

She didn't want him to feel responsible that she was having dreams about the Collective again. But there was something off about these dreams and she didn't think it had any connection to Will at all. "I've been having some weird dreams," Andy said reluctantly. "Dreams of my time in the Collective. And those are scary enough as it is, but now... something's off about it. I don't know how to explain it, but something's off and now I can't sleep."

Will looked at Andy and felt relieved for a second when she mentioned her recent dreams of her time in the Collective. He too had been suffering nightmares of late about his period of capture under the Borg Queen and it was concerning him. "Thats odd, I have been having my nightmares again recently. I've not had a decent nights sleep in a week at least. I've grown close lately to a nurse in Medical and a few nights ago it was her assimilating me in my nightmare and not Alyssa. something definitely isn't right somewhere," he agreed.

He put the tool kit down and leaned against the bulkhead looking straight at Andy. "Andy, if I'm the cause of this happening then I apologise... I realise its been years since the Lexington and I'm well aware of your suffering at the hands of the Borg and I sympathise more than anyone having been there myself," he explained, "If it means I need to leave the Katana, then I will. I don't want to make things any difficult for you or Maica as well... how has she been coping with this?" He enquired.

"Will, don't," Andy said firmly. "It ain't your fault. I've been having bad dreams before you came aboard, so just don't go there. And these dreams I'm having now, they're something wrong with them, something I can't explain, and I know that's got nothing to do with you, so just stop now blaming yourself."

Although he hadn't been assimilated, Will had been connected to the collective and witnessed some horrible things that he wouldn't forget in a long time...and then he had a thought...

"This might sound strange, but hear me out...is it possible that while we're together on board...that the Borg are trying to re-establish contact? That they're trying to find us?" He asked her. That was a worrying thought. He had read reports back on Earth about how the Borg had tried to capture Seven of Nine and/or Captain Picard on several occaisions and wondered if the same applied to them now.

"I don't see why," Andy said, though she couldn't dismiss the possibility. "I was just a low level maintenance drone, I wasn't important, I ain't worth coming after. And why would they come after you? They let you go."

Will nodded his head, agreeing with her thinking as there was no other logic at the moment that seemed to suggest otherwise, but the worry was still there and he could tell they were both worried still. "True, lets just hope they havent changed tactics and still follow the same patterns. If it helps, once our current situation is over, we could have a talk about this together maybe? Try to figure out whats happening?" He offered him. It troubled him that his friend was suffering the same as him with no true explanation to offer a reason as to why.

"Maybe even a chat with Lia would help. God knows we're both crazy as hell, but maybe she can help with the dreams?" He suggested further.

"You know how I feel about counselors," Andy said dryly. "If you need me to be there to talk about your dreams, I'll be there, but don't expect me to talk about mine."

Will smiled in agreement. "Ok, deal...although dont blame me if she tries to get you to talk," Will added as he stood up from the bulkhead. "Ok, do you want me to go run these scans? I can check the whole ship from Deflector Control," Will suggested to Andy, knowing they both wanted to get to the bottom of these.

"Yeah, get on those scans," Andy said. She was worried about him going down to the Deflector Control room. There was a storage room just off that bay that was holding the extra modified torpedoes and she was worried about him finding them and asking questions. But it would be best to do this the most efficient way possible, so he would have to go down there. "Report back to me ASAP, and inform Tonkin of the results as well. The three of us'll probably have to pow-wow with Engineering to get all these things out of here."

Will nodded as Andy gave her orders. "Yes boss," he replied as he packed up his tool kit and replaced the Maintenance Panel before heading off to Deflector Control.

ON:

Mizuki paused outside of the office door, hoping that she wouldn't be interrupting anything. Maica had just returned and she wanted to see if the other was free. She gulped slightly, smoothing down the edges of her skirt before ringing the chime. She needed to speak with the diplomat about a duty issue, and whether she would like an assistant...and more personal things.

"Come in," Maica called. The android was busy recompiling a set of documents, but for a friend she was always free and paused in her work as she looked up and saw who it was walking through her door. "Mizu-pon! How are you!" she exclaimed before the doors had even closed behind the shy girl as she took a pair of antique looking glasses off her face.

"I..am alright." She smiled without thinking at the nickname. "Though I hope I'm not interrupting you.." the cadet gave shyly, taking a seat on the other side of the desk.

Grinning sheepishly, Maica turned her desk screens off. "Ah, well... It seems I'm always busy these days... The others in my field keep asking me to do more and more. What's up?"

"You do have a choice in the matter, you know?" Mizuki frowned softly and sat down across from her. "First, let's get the business out of the way. I have been given an ultimatum to pick a specialty that I can work up the ranks in. I plan to attempt splitting my time in between Diplomacy and Flight Control, if you'll have me, that is."

"Gladly. You won't be able to do much at first, but you can at least shadow me for a while. After that you can take messages, organize, dispatch, and route reports, and generally sit at a desk moving paperwork from your desk to other desks. Sound like fun?" Maica was grinning like a Cheshire cat at this point.

"I had hoped to learn something about diplomacy along the way, since a good Captain should know something of it, but, as long as you don't dump all of the paperwork on me, I can do it. Getting pretty good at it anyway thanks to my Yeoman duties." She replied with a nod.

Maica chuckled at the thought of giving Mizuki all her duties. "Don't worry, I do more paperwork than everyone else on this ship combined. I'll start you off slow with just the normal daily traffic. It's generally only a few hundred messages and reports needing routing a day."

"Then it seems I've chosen the toughest specialty, if work is anything to go by. I look forward to giving it my best." Mizuki smiled at her.

"It's easy enough. I just don't have a desk for you so you'll have to either do it elsewhere or we share my desk," Maica said, smiling back warmly.

"Sharing your desk is fine. I'm tiny enough to not get in the way." she chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "With my decision made, I hope to be promoted to Senior Grade soon. It'd be my final year..."

"I've read a few reports relating to you. The Academy shouldn't have a hard decision." Maica said simply.

"You..have?" She chuckled softly. "Thank you. But uh..yeah! just let me know when you want me to start working with you. Should also have you know that I have a very nice purple dress that I can wear to diplomatic functions, should you require my services."

"How about tomorrow, if your schedule isn't too busy?" Maica asked, punching up a few things on her desk.

"That should be alright. I don't have anything pressing on that day.." She mused. "but uh..with the business out of the way..could we talk?"

"We're talking now... What else is on your mind?" Maica asked, her curiosity piqued.

Mizuki gulped a bit. "I need your help with something. I appear to get too shy or reserved whenever innuendos are brought up regarding..copulation. A Devaronian used this against me to great effect when I was attempting to be a good host to her as a guest. I feel like that such a shortcoming will only hold me back..."

Leaning back in her chair, Maica looked the young woman over for a moment. "In other words, you want me to desensitize you."

"Yes. I feel like you could be trustworthy.." she trails off a bit, wondering how the android would take it.

Maica stared a few more seconds before sighing heavily. "It's up to you. You'll lose a great deal of innocence along the way, though. There are 3 ways to do it. One, I lecture you for hours on the subject of intimate relations and lovemaking. Two, we have sex repeatedly with several people. Three, we work naked and everything we say needs to be a euphemism."

"Innocence.." Mizuki trailed off... "I wonder what is more important...innocence, or being embarrassed and shy of the varied euphemisms...which gets in the way of well..everything."

"I wouldn't know," Maica said flatly. "I was created without that innocence. My first actual memory is of a 3 way involving me and 2 Ferengi.

"I...I see.." She sputtered a bit and shook her head. "Ferengi are most unattractive..." she mumbled, shaking her head. "See, there I go again, seizing up..maybe I should find someone to have my first time with.." though she did have someone in mind already..

"I'll tell you what... Go replicate a PaDD for me real quick and I'll load a few books onto it you can read over." Maica said, tapping a few buttons on her desk.

"Un.." She nodded quietly, and jumped up to go replicate the PaDD, before bringing it back over to her.

Taking the PaDD and setting it on her desk, Maica started transferring her collection of kamasutra books over to it. "I'd like you to honestly read these and keep in mind that the body isn't something to be ashamed of. You were born with it so be proud of what you've got." Glancing up, Maica was curious about something else suddenly. "Have you ever masturbated?"

If she'd been drinking, she would have spit it out. In the middle of processing Maica's first words when she did sputter. "Ummm...no I haven't.." she admitted with a blush. "I learned enough about my time of month, but..I've never done that other thing..."

"I thought not..." Maica said, shaking her head. "Kids these days... Say it. Say masturbation."

Mizuki blushed beet red, and managed to open her lips, "M-masturbation.." she breathed, staring quite intently at the desk in front of her..

"A good start. Now look me in the eye and say it louder." Maica insisted.

"Mou..." Mizuki's face was flushed and she took a deep breath, looking her in the eye and repeating it louder, though still with a stutter..

"Excellent!" Maica stood and came around the desk, pulling Mizuki into a hug, her massive boobs making a curious trilling sound. "That's an awesome first step. Since you're so far behind the curve on this sort of thing, that's your homework, ok? Don't worry about the books too much tonight."

"I understand, Maica-san.." Though when she was hugged, she couldn't tear her eyes from a presence very much there..and ends up resting her head upon them briefly. "And..I'm open to exploring myself a little more in that area, sometime soon. Perhaps with you..maybe even with your lover too. I just need time to catch up.."

"There's a lot to learn, but it's all basically the same. Insert pole A into hole A and repeat." Maica said, grinning widely. "Is there anything else?"

"No..just the fact that I feel a little jealous because your boobs are bigger." Mizuki laughed and shook her head. "I'm just kidding. Thank you so much Maica.." the girl hugs Maica tightly.

"I get that a lot, actually," Maica said, hugging the young woman a bit more before letting her go. "In stares, if not verbally. And you're very welcome."

Mizuki nods for a moment, before stepping back. "Um..what do you think of mine then? And does the skirt go well with my uniform?" Here she was asking fashion advice now..

Maica nodded as she looked Mizuki over once again. "Very perky. They look very sensitive. As for your skirt, the sierra style uniform skirt is always a good choice. Try the Jupiter styles sometime though. I think they'll match your natural lines a bit better."

She blushed...but stood a little straighter at the same time. A spark of pride in her looks, thanks to Maica's words. "Thanks. It would make my figure more of an hourglass curve type thing, right? I know I've been told before that I have the body of a princess, but I didn't quite understand what it meant at the time.."

Maica nodded a bit. "Yeah the slightly curved paneling will accentuate your hips a bit more. Body of a princess, huh?" Looking over the princess, Maica mulled it over. "I'll need some social context to figure that one out... Lots of princesses in lots of cultures. If I had to guess, though... I think they're saying you look prepubescent."

"I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not...but thanks for the clarification.." She chuckled softly, before stretching her arms a bit. "Well! Guess I'll need to get my sleep. Been doing that already, but doubly so now that I have so much paperwork to contend with. No worries however...I'll adapt and find a way to do it efficiently."

"Sleep well, Mizu-pon. I'll see you tomorrow." Maica said with a smile.

She bows her head and smiles in return. "See you then." She collects her PaDD, "And, I might fall asleep reading these. I wonder what dreams I will have.." she trailed off, pausing at the door for a moment.

"Remember to do your homework," Maica said with a big grin.

"Hai hai~ Oyasumi~" The girl gave in a sing-song voice replete with playful salute before she skips off, closing the door after her. Somehow, being able to talk to someone who wouldn't judge you in the way humans do was very...liberating.

Cadet JG Masterson
Yeoman
USS Katana

Lieutenant Maica
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Katana

Once Noxa, Jhu and Nathan had departed, Kadan had been left to his own devices. Using his padd, he was keeping track of the goings on on the ships sensors, since his access codes would allow him to do such. Then his communicator beeped, and he answered it. =/\= Doc here.

=/\= Doc, this is Valkyrie. I do not have much fact to go upon, but these movements don't make sense. If the sensor contacts I have been tracking really aimed to assassinate the Captain, then they would have to have a fail-safe in place."

=/\= A failsafe? Why sister...whatever do you mean?"

=/\= I mean that the traitorous and dishonorable tah'qeq will make a second attempt on the Captain's life. Upon our honor, we should go to sickbay, just in case.

=/\= 'quv bey, sister. I will go.

=/\= Qa'pla, Doc.

The com line was cut, and Konora activates a pattern enhancer that she stored in her pocket. Kadan would do the same as they ran into the turbolift.

Upon exiting the turbolift, both were clad in Mark 3 Hazard armor, Konora, with a bat'leth in hand, Kadan, with a Federation Assault Rifle, or known in more ancient times, as a street howitzer. They link up, and Kadan walks into sickbay. "I'm Ensign Storm from Security, it's an intruder alert. Clear Sickbay through the side doors, and do not attempt to return until the all-clear is given."

Once the others were out, Kadan ordered the doors to be sealed. "And now, we wait. Be aware, sister."

"I am. Since we have sealed the doors, hmm. Were I to be a dishonorable pe'taQ with technical experience...if I couldn't kill him myself, and while everyone was busy trying to catch me.."

"...The fail-safe. It's something to do with what's in this sickbay. The Captain would be brought here, and because Security is stretched thin...there'd be no one guarding him."

A long pause came as Konora's eyes widened.. "Hu'tegh! 'urwI' bIHnuch! (Pretty much the best klingon rendition of sonofabitch)"

"What is it?" Kadan asked.

"It's the E.M.H. He coulda been tampered with. It's what I would have done. If he activates, be ready."

While Lieutenant Commander t'Dharvanek was busy in Shuttle Bay 1, another threat was occurring via DeLancer's having activated the EMH. The holographic program was activated and forming in the center of Sickbay was the image of young woman in a Starfleet uniform designating her as part of the Medical Department. Her hair was shoulder length and of a rich red color.

"Please state the needs of your medical situation" she said with a warm smile and pleasant image. However, when the subroutine activated, there was a sudden change in the hologram's facial expressions, her posture, and her intent. "Patient: Kristopher Kerouac, Commander must be terminated" said the EMH as she proceeded toward where Kris was being kept.

The EMH had a hypo in hand, but it was hypo with a deadly concoction.

"Oh I don't think so pretty lady.." Kadan cocked the assault rifle with one hand before opening fire, interrupting the matrix on the arm holding the hypo. "Konora! Work the tech side of it." He shouted, firing twice more at her legs to interrupt the matrix there, and following up with a kick to hopefully send the EMH away from the hypo.

"On it!" She jumps over to the main sickbay computer and begins working, depending on her brother to keep the hologram at bay. Thankfully, the subroutine hadn't taken over the sickbay computer systems, and she re-routed power away from the holo-emitters leading out of sickbay. Hopefully trapping it inside..

"Step aside" said the EMH. "This patient must be terminated. Patient has been designated for euthanasia" it added firmly.

"'fraid I can't allow that. Computer, deactivate EMH." Kadan tried, while attempting to kick it again. Konora tries working on the subroutine initially..

This only stopped the EMH momentarily. She was 'turned off' but DeLancer and Puck had tinkered with her to automatically turn back on. She rematerialized again. "Your attempts to prolong this procedure are most unfortunate. I will not inform again, move aside or I will be forced to sedate you."

Kadan backed up briefly. "Konora!" "I'm working on it! If they counter-acted the deactivation, they couldn't account for an engineer!" She gave, and so Kadan would defend himself from attempts at sedation, until "Got it!" was heard, and the EMH winked out. He dusted himself off and chuckled. "Wasn't no daisy at all. Better contact the medical officer Konora, I've got my boss."

=/\= Ensign Storm to Lieutenant Tonkin. The traitors had the nerve to mess with our pretty EMH. She attempted to kill the Captain, but my sister Konora turned off the holo-emitters. I've secured the hypo that was going to be used on him."

=.\= Lt. Nolira, this is the assistant Chief of engineering. What's the status of the secondary sickbay area?"

"Busy," was Nolira's curt reply over the sounds of the trauma team rushing Verak into surgery alongside Commander Kerouac. "But we're secure, no sign of trouble down here. I take it you were successful?"

=/\= "Good work Ensign. Secure the evidence and bring it, along with the sensor logs down to security. I'm currently placing one of the two suspects into custody and will be with you to help fill out the proper reports." =/\= Nathan said over the com line.

=/\= "Understood sah. Storm, out." Kadan said simply, and collects the evidence in short order while...

=/\= "My brother and I were successful. I shut down sickbay's holo-emitters for now. They will be reactivated once this all blows over. All is well, Lieutenant." Konora voiced heartily.

"All right. Keep me updated on the EMH's status." Nolira cut the comms between them, going back to work.

Once they were finished in Main Sickbay, the two came to a stop before the other. "Qa'pla, brother. Well done."

They grasp forearms. "Qa'pla, sister. It was your quick thinking that saved the day. But we do work well together."

"Our honor is upheld...no matter what the Ferengi that is aboard says. Let us go." Konora gave, and proudly led the way out of sickbay after having properly deactivated the EMH and deleted the subroutine. The twins would go to Security together.

[Pedian processing vessel, EkZar-905]

In there native tongue, the crew of the Pedian processing vessel EkZar-905, sounded perfectly normal, each crew member of the same species, but with a handful of regional accents. To outsiders and offworlders though, the seal like barking, squealing, and the high pitch shrieking in various fluctuations would have likely given any humanoid a significant headahce. Their language was just too alien for some to handle, and most species in the Gamma Quadrant that the Pedians came across did not bother to understand them. This often caused for unwarranted and unwanted hostilities toward them

Typically, the Pedians kept to themselves and seldom ventured out far from their worlds in their native Pedious system. However, Gekli season had come slightly early, and the Pedian processing vessels were dispatched immediately. They could not let the pods of Gekli get too far ahead of them, or too far apart from one another in the wide expanses of space. Their space ships from the smallest skimmer to the largest processing vessel operated by the use of the energy matter within the Gekli, and their casings and organs provided fuel for their homes and put food on the table. For the Pedians, Gekli season was everything.

However, these past few seasons had proven just how deadly Gekli season could be. Not only had the Gekli possessed a significant danger, especially to the smaller vessels in the great Pedian hunting fleet, but recent seasons had introduced the Pedians to a dangerous species that they have never encountered before, the Tripedals, an aggressive species that often showed up on the middle of Gekli pods and desecrated many of the Pedian hunting fleet, and infecting Pedians with a disease that eats them from the inside out, often leaving Pedian vessels as ghost ships.

Aboard the EkZar-900, the skipper ordered his navigator to bring him into a large pod of Gekli. Their navigational sensors had detected a spacial tear, something the Gekli cause, bringing them into the Gamma Quadrant from a strange starless place. It is also where the tripedal beasts come from as well. “Set sail for the largest pod” commanded the skipper looking at his young navigator. The experienced hunter turned in his seat and gave the female skipper a nod and a confirming bark.

The vetern skipper, stood from her center seat in the command dome and looked over her shoulder at the harpooner. “Ready energy harpoons” she commanded as her crew all got read to snag some Gekli and harpoon them, slowly drawing the smaller and medium sized ones into the processing vessel to be processed and carved apart, and packaged for domestic shipping back home. These are some good sized Gekli. We'll be feeding a dozens of family with this load she thought to herself.

It was her navigator that gave an alarming shriek of a squeal. She sharply turned center forward at the viewing screen. “Evasive procedures!” she shouted in a series of barks. She turned back to her harpooner “Cancel harpoons.”

Over the ship's communications channel, from the deck above came a gruff high pitch wail and the alarm was sounded. “Tripedals ahead!” came the watchmen from the nest.

The navigator changed heading slightly, and made way towards a nearby nebula where the EkZar-905 could potentially hide while the Tripedals passed through. However, they were not going to be so lucky. Then the navigator saw another ship on the navigational radar. “Skipper, another ship ahead... it is not on matching our record logs. It does not appear to be Tripedal not Dominion in origin. I'm detecting the ship's hull being composed of peculiar foreign alloys. Life readings of over a hundred.”

Skipper Pinnella looked ahead at the view screen. strange design she thought with a shake of her head. She then looked at her communications officer. “Signal that vessel over vessel to vessel communications” ordered the skipper. She looked back at her harpooner “Deploy flares. They may not be able to detect us from their distance. Who knows how primitive they are. We shall warn them about the tripedal beasts” she added.


[USS Katana]

Jhu was still mulling over the decision of how to enter the Gekli pod without being detected. She'd found a way to disguise the Katana's energy signature so that it appeared to them as a member of the pod rather than as food, and she'd finally settled on that path, sending the specifics to engineering and science so they would be ready. She tagged it as priority, indicating they should do it as quickly as possible, just as an alert sounded from the security panel behind her. "Lieutenant Tonkin?"

"I'm picking up two ships. One is Pedian the other..." Nathan's fingers flew over his tactical controls. "Hang on Commander I want to confirm this." His face dropped. "Confirmed, the second ship is Undine, Commander."

"Bloody hell," Jhu said under her breath, not counting on putting their anti-Undine plan into action so soon. "We're going in. Get those torpedoes loaded and our Gekli disguise fired up. Helm, set a course for the Gekli pod. And keep an eye out for the Waverider. They're due back any moment."

Ivan ran his hands.over the controls. He had flown a lot ofor star ships but nothing as sleek or fast as Katana. He could feel the buzz of the ship under his touch." Aye Commander, laying in a course, maneuvering thrusters at full power."

Nathan looked up from his controls. "Commander, do I understand you correctly? You want me to load our special gift for the Undine into the launchers?" No one else on the bridge would understand what he meant but Jhu.

"That is correct. We still have an away team near that pod, and I'll not let the Undine destroy them, the pod, or the Pedian vessel." It wasn't nice, as Shira would say, but Jhu was left with few options. The Undine often did not listen to reason, and if Starfleet's standard peaceful pleading didn't work, she wasn't going down without a fight.

Nathan taped a few buttons then the computer chimed, "Security clearance is required to preform this action. Please state access code." It said out loud and Nathan replied, "Tonkin Phi Delta 11847." The computer chirped that it had received the code. "Command authorization required." It then said. "Commander..." Nathan looked to Jhu. He had promised her and Andy that he would.keep the special torpedoes on lock down and he had not been kidding.

"Computer, this is Lieutenant Commander Jhu t'Dharvanek, command authorization alpha three. Load the torpedoes." Jhu had expected him to put some sort of access code in place, and she grinned a little. "Let's roll. Lieutenant Rayze, keep that Gekli disguise intact. Take power from everything except life support, defensive shielding, and weapons if you have to. And try to keep the gravity on if you can. If not... we'll manage. Lieutenant O'Connor, keep an eye on the Gekli pod. If they start to look like they're taking offense to our intrusion, I want you yelling about it. I'll need the two of you working together to compensate for the dampening field if they Gekli decide we're trouble. Mister Tonkin... red alert."

"Our camouflage is in place and holding," came the perpetually happy voice from Rayze at the Engineering station. "I don't think we'll need to pull too much power, but it's not going to last long if we try any crazy stunts."

Bridget nodded toward Jhu. "Yes, Commander," she said. She turned back to her station and began to keep an even closer eye on the sensors. She had no intention of finding out just how well the Katana would hold up if the Gekli decided they were a threat.

[Bioshhip]
Aboard the Undine/Species 8472 Bioship, the Undine leader and its crew walked about their ship, checking on systems. They had been observing the Gekli since their arrival in the foreign space. It was not the fluidic space that they were used too. They would be confined to their own bioship, unable to swim and navigate through this sort of space externally from their vessel.

They had been alerted to the presence of two alien vessels. One were the creatures who slaughtered the Gekli, and the other had been identified as a Federation starship. The Undine leader moved about its bioship in agitation. With the continued slaughtering of the Gekli, fluidic space was in continuous danger of deterioration. It was a threat to the Undine, and one that could not be ignored. The bioship transmitted its message: 'The weak will perish.'

Nathan activated red alert with a tiny smirk. Mr. Tonkin. It sounded so weird coming from Jhu. "Commander, I'm receiving a transmission from the Undine ship." He reported.

Jhu looked at him over her shoulder. "From the Undine? That's a little unus-- damn it, they probably think we're Voyager. What's the message? Can we respond?"

"It's an open hail Commander. Would you like it on the screen? " Nathan offered.

"You're damned right. I'll entertain them as long as they like if it delays the shooting." Jhu faced the screen again, wondering what prompted the Undine to talk instead of attacking.

Nathan put the hail through, and imedietly regretted doing it as the words flowed through the speakers.

The distinct eerie sounds of an Undine vessel were soon replaced my the more wretched sounds of their language. "The weak will perish. Death meets the destroyers."

And what the hell does that mean? Jhu quirked an eyebrow at the message, doing her best not to cringe at the words she'd heard in her dreams. "This is Commander t'Dharvanek of the USS Katana. You have crossed into our space and destroyed an allied vessel. We will not allow you to destroy us. We will defend ourselves."

The Undine bioship readied weapons, charging up their weapons and emitting the usual energy readings. They, however, did respond to the Katana. "Space void of Federation presence. Your vessel is weak. The weak will perish. Slaughterers will perish."

"Commander, they are powering wepons!" Nathan said aloud.

Ivan prepared to tare evasive actions. He brought up a get of his favorite maneuvers to have at the ready.

"Power up ours!" Jhu ordered over her shoulder before turning her attention back to the Undine. "My vessel is strong. I have weapons that can destroy you, and I will use them to defend my crew and the citizens of this quadrant. Now, would you like to talk or should I blow up one of your ships to prove a point?"

[EkZar-905]

"The primitive vessel is charging weapons. The tripedals have already charged their weapons, Skipper" the harpooner reported.

The Skipper shook her head. "Attempt to contact that alien vessel before they get themselves killed. Open a channel to them" she ordered and waited for her communications officer to nod. "Unidentified vessel. You are in danger... you will be destroyed if you are not careful."

[Bioship]

"Your vessel will perish. Leave. The slaughters must perish. The Gekli must not perish."

[Katana]

The Gekli must not perish? "We do not intend to harm the Gekli. We want to take them home." Another message came through, and Jhu almost laughed at it. "We are not leaving. We are here to escort this Gekli pod back to fluidic space." She was starting to get an idea of what was going on. "Any attempt to harm the Gekli will be met by force."

[Bioship]

There were several Undine communicating with each other. It confused them... the Federation words. It was not fathomable to them. They had been ready to destroy the Federation vessel, but this warranted a better understanding. "Protect Gekli" the leader said. There was no clear tone to indicate if it were a question, comment, or demand.

[EkZar-905]

The Skipper was taken aback by the woman's words. "You will not interfere with our hunting. Those creatures are claimed under Pedian hunting laws, they are fair to hunt and my people's survival depends upon it. Deny us right to hunt here and you will face the consequences" said Pinnella. She cut the communications channel.

"Power weapons and target that alien vessel" she ordered. "Fire a volley of torpedos across their bow" she ordered sharply. Primitives she thought shaking her head.

[Katana]

"Comander, now the Pedian ship is charging it's wepons as well." Nathan informed Jhu.

"Protect Gekli," Jhu confirmed to the Undine. "Gekli will not perish." She couldn't believe she was siding with the Undine on this, but killing them was wrong. She understood now why they had attacked the pod; they had been trying to stop it from entering normal space. "Lieutenant Dash, put us in a defensive position between the Pedian vessel and the Gekli pod. Prime Directive be damned, I'm not letting sentient creatures be killed in front of us. Lieutenant Tonkin, load our normal torpedo complement. The Undine are not a threat to us."

"Aye Commander. " Ivan said. Katana moved into position to block the Pedian ship from access to the Gekli pod.

Nathan did not like this situation. But he was given an order so he placed the special torpedoes on standby and loaded the launchers with standard ones. "Yes Ma'am, torpedoe bays are loaded with normal torpedoes."

[EkZar-905]

The Skipper was not amused. "Target their shields, fully volley of torpedoes and focus disruptor fire at maximum strength. If they want to interrupt our hunting, then let's rattle their cage" said the Skipper, and her harpoonist went to work following her order and firing weapons.

[Katana]

Maica had finally arrived on the bridge, rushing from the turbolift to the central area, trying to assess the situation as best she can. This was something very new to her and no amount of simulations could prepare her for the feeling of standing on the bridge itself. The situation seemed even more grim as she saw the green crap on the viewscreen heading towards the Katana.

Jhu glanced over her shoulder at Maica then turned her attention to the screen as the disruptor bolts and torpedoes slammed into the Katana's shields, rocking the ship slightly. "Return fire. Show them we're serious."

"Shields down to 90%! Returning fire!" Nathan sent there volley of torpedos right back. "Direct hit Commander!"

[EkZar-905]

The processing vessel shook slightly. "They have fired upon us. Minimal effect, shields down to 95%" reported the harpoonist.

The Skipper sat in her chair under her command dome. "If they want to fire on us, let them. We'll fire back" she muttered. "Arm the stinger!" she ordered and then quickly gave the order. "Fire the stinger!"

[Katana]

Andy was getting annoyed. With each exchange of fire between the Katana and the Pedia, they ran the risk of causing damage to the space whales, even if by accident. Then that would land them in a load of shit with Species 8472! So Andy wasn't having any of that. She had to look deep in her memory files from the Collective, but the information was there; Kris had asked her once if she could do it and she said yes, only this would be the first time she would have ever attempted it. Using Borg algorithms to bypass Security encryptions, Andy redirected the deflector dish to emit a resonant graviton beam, creating an interdimensional rift into fluidic space directly in the path of the Pedia ship. If Species 8472 didn't want them hunting the Gekli, then Species 8472 could deal with them!

A strange weapon licked against Katana's , doing no damage. Before Jhu could ask about it, a beam fired and a rift started to open near the Pedian ship. "What the hell? Chief! What are you doing?"

"Taking care of the problem," Andy said bluntly.

"By sending the Pedians to where the Gekli live? That doesn't solve anything." Jhu kept her voice as level as possible, but her heart was sinking. What would they do if the Undine took offense and called for more ships?

"So?" Andy said, not stopping the graviton beam. "I don't know if you notice, but Species 8472 is on the other side of that rift too and they'll blow that ship to pieces, so it's not like the space whales will be in danger for long! This is their problem, not ours, and I'm not going to let those bioships rip the Katana apart if we fail to protect this pod."

"Those bioships will rip us apart if you send that ship to fluidic space, regardless of whether they can destroy it. Stop the beam." Jhu hated pulling rank on her friends, but Andy's stubbornness was going to get her whole crew killed.

Maica hated siding against her lover and future wife, but in this case she had to. " It may be efficient and safer for us in the immediate short term, but diplomatically, this is the worst thing we could do in relation to the Undine. We have a chance to actually discuss things with them and if we prove our own strength, we stand to be in a far greater position."

Maica made a good point, but Andy wished like all hell that she hadn't said anything. Andy wanted to keep the beam going just to spite Jhu's orders, but Maica had spoken and there was little Andy wouldn't do for Maica. But the rift was forming and the ship could still get pulled in even if Andy shut the beam off now. the only recourse now was to move the rift by redirecting the graviton beam at the Gekli pod. She could send the Gekli home and safely out of the reach of the Pedian ship.

[Bioship]

The beam that the USS Katana had fired, had caused a stir aboard the Bioship. Clattering and telepathic communications around the ship, sent chills down the spines of the Undine. The Federation possessing technology to open rifts and tears, potentially into their home of fluidic space. This was a concern, a great concern. This meant the Federation could invade.

The Undine leader approached the view screen "Tear. You tear space, our home...invade?"

[EkZar-905]

The Pedian vessel was abuzz with reaction to the beam. The Skipper shot to her feet and ordered for communications to be reestablished. "What is the meaning of this?!"

[Katana]

"No!" Jhu protested to the Undine, silently cursing Andy while she tried to fix this. "No invasion! Andy, turn that damned thing off before you start a war with both of them!"

"No can do," Andy said. "If the rift collapses at this point, it'll definitely pull something in. If you don't want the Pedia ship going to fluidic space, then the only other alternative is to send the Gekli home."

During all the chaos on the Bridge, Lieutenant Noxa had come up to the Bridge via the turbolift and had walked onto the Bridge. Everyone seemed tense, and Noxa had been there long enough to gather a bit of information on the matter at hand. "Chief Carter, is there any way to close that rift from either side? If a shuttlecraft were to enter that rift...would it close?"

"I could use the passage of a shuttle to close the rift," Andy said without any hesitation. "it would be just enough to offset the gravitational pull of the collapse, nothing else would get pulled in."

Noxa nodded. "I'd suspect that either the Pedians or those Undine would blow a shuttle up before it reached the rift were we to send one on autopilot" she said shaking her head. "Once that rift closes, it is closed for good?"

"It's not one of the naturally occurring rifts, so yes, this rift I have opened will not open again on its own once it collapses," Andy said. "Whatever you're going to do, you better do it fast, the Deflector dish ain't to happy with what I'm making it do."

"If not the Gekli, Pedians, or a shuttle... That means you want to fly Katana through the rift. That's the only logical object left." Maica said, staring at Noxa. "That would leave the Undine to destroy the Pedians freely."

Noxa shook her head and looked at Maica and Jhu "No, you cannot think about sending Katana though that. There may be no return... you can't put over a hundred lives at stake. Commander t'Dharvanek, Lieutenant Maica" said Noxa with a deep breath. "Ma'ams, I request permission to take one of Katana's shuttle into that rift."

"No, I can open another rift if you want to take the Katana through," Andy said. "You asked if this rift would open again if it closed, which it won't do on its own. That doesn't mean I can't open another rift."

Noxa flashed a hot glare at the Chief of Operations "To where? How accurate? If this rift closes, could you open another to the same place?" asked Noxa quickly. "We can't risk Katana."

"Here, there, tomato, potato..." Andy said. "Someone better do something quick, though. I've got to shut the beam down soon or we're going to lose the Deflector dish."

Lieutenant Noxa could not stand this woman. Who is this bitch?! thought Noxa. She shook her head and looked at Jhu and Maica again. "We don't have time to debate this. I'm going. Wish me luck" said Noxa swiftly. She looked down at Ivan knowing that his heart had to be sinking to his stomach. "I love you Ivan" she added.

She then proceeded over to the Operation's station. "I'll shut the beam down" Noxa said as she headbutted the Chief Operations Officer "Bitch" added Noxa, sharply turning on her heels and quickly vanishing into the turbolift.

Ivan was not having any of this bull shit. "Sorry commander." He said as he fired Katana's thrusters at max and pointed Katanas nose directly into the rift.

[USS Katana Shuttle Bay]

From the Shuttle Bay, Lieutenant Noxa learned that the USS Katana was heading for the rift while she boarded one of the Volga-class shuttles. She tapped her communicator, slamming her fist down on the console infront of her =/\=

"Lieutenant Noxa to Lieutenant Dash. Ivan you damn idiot, stop what you are doing and turn away now!"

"As soon as you're back on the bridge damn it. You really think I'm just going to sit here and let you kill yourself?" Ivan said as he locked out the controls at the helm. "Sorry baby..." he whispered to the helm.

"You're pissing me off, Ivan. Let me do this... I'll be fine!" snapped Noxa. "I'm a Ferengi... we're the cockroaches of the galaxy."

"Come back up here and be pissed off at me." Ivan said

But Nathan was not having any of this bull shit either. He had come down from the tactical station and up behind the helm. He placed his free hand on Ivans shoulder. His other hand held a phaser. "Step away from the controls Lieutenant."

Ivan stood and Nathan took him back to his tactical station with him. Once a security officer had Ivan, Nathan went to check on Andy.

Maica walked up to the controls and after a few seconds had bypassed the lockout. "Never lock a console with an android looking over your shoulder," she muttered. Unfortunately, she had no idea how to pilot anything more than a shuttle, and that just barely. "Do we have any pilots left? I don't know how to work these controls."

Andy didn't know the first thing about flying, but she knew a thing or two about the brig, which was probably the reason Nathan was coming to her station. "We're gonna lose the Deflector dish, I gotta shut off the beam," she said, casting a knowing glance towards Nathan. She would go with him without argument, even she knew she had crossed a line at this point, but only after she had shut down the graviton beam.

"Let her be, Lieutenant. You can stuff her in the brig when we get out of this." As Jhu spoke, she was rerouting helm control to the small console next to her. "If one if us goes through, we all go through. Lieutenant O'Connor, are the Gekli moving toward the rift?" She suspected the answer was no; if they were, they should have reached it already and forced it yo close.

"No, not yet," Bridget replied. "I'm not even sure if they've noticed it." Bridget was more than happy to focus solely on the Gekli at this point. There way too many commands being thrown around for her liking.

Looking over the controls, Maica sat at the helm. They looked intuitive enough... Multispacial directional controls, Individual RCS controls, Main impulse thrust control... She set that to zero and fired the forward RCS thrusters, thankfully bringing the ship mostly to a stop. External inertial dampeners? That sounded almost like a parking brake... She turned that on for just a moment to completely kill their momentum. Thankfully, it seemed to kill the pull of the singularity on the ship too. "This seems easy enough so far. Just don't ask me to plot a heading." Indeed, that screen looked like it was intentionally as confusing as possible to her.

[Wave Rider]

Lieutenant Commander Cameron Tegan had to lean above the canopy to believe what he was seeing. A massive singularity loomed in the distance. And in the middle of all of this was the Katana, an Undine bioship, and a vessel that he didn't recognize. It was obvious that some sort of stand-off was in progress. "Hail the Katana," he ordered. While Hayley worked to make that happen, the Executive Officer cursed beneath his breath. "I leave the ship one time..."

[Shuttlecraft]

The Shuttle Bay doors opened, and Lieutenant Noxa powered up her shuttle and made haste out off Katana's Shuttle Bay, and headed for the rift that Chief Carter had been so kind to open. Noxa was spewing off some good Ferengi curse words as she felt her shuttle shake wildly as she neared closer to the rift. As she had anticipated the stupid asinine Pedians had attempted to fire at her, but Ivan had taught Noxa a few tricks while they were on the USS Blackhawk. She was able to doge most of their weapons fire.

She knew that she would need all power that could be spared to shields to get through that rift in one piece. However, she had no damn intention on seeing what was on the other side of that rift herself. A quick calculation told her how much time she had, and to do what she wanted to do... she was going to need some help.

"Shuttlecraft Ferengi stupidity to USS Katana... Lady Leopard, respond. I'm setting the shuttle craft on autopilot and have programmed full shields to activate in less than a minute" explained Noxa. "Lower your shields and lock onto my ass, transport when ready!"

"Oh for the love of-- get your little orange ass back here! I can't lower the shields, not with the Pedians pointing weapons at us!" Why was this crew so intent on driving Jhu crazy? "Can we get a tractor beam on her?"

Nathan had not left Andy's side, but he was leaving her alone like instructed too. He stepped up to the ops station and and taped out some commands, standing off to the side and out of Andy's way. " Tractor beam is off line. Lieutenant Rayze! We need that tractor beam 5 minutes ago!"

"I've routed Alpha repair team to make it their priority, but they're going to need a moment," Rayze replied, glancing back over his shoulder at Nathan. "I'm sorry but the emitter is flooded with radiation spill-off from the deflector and the purging systems are overwhelmed." The engineer still sounded happy, but he had been disturbed by all the refusals to follow orders by others. "I'll let you know as soon as we have it! Please don't try the deflector again in the meantime either. The reinforcements we put in place are holding, but only barely and we were only a few seconds from frying the entire array the last time. Beta repair team is responding and will try to give us a safe, short-burst capability in the next few minutes as well."

As Nathan yelled for Rayze, Jhu noticed a blinking light on her panel, an unanswered hail with an ID code she recognized. Flipping the channel open, she wasted no time. "Waverider, this is Commander t'Dharvanek. The Pedians have not noticed you... get that ornery Ferengi woman out of her stolen shuttle before she gets herself killed!"

[Wave Rider]

Cameron checked his console and saw the errant shuttlecraft heading towards the anomaly. The Katana would need to lower its shields in order to beam Noxa off the shuttle, and that would leave it vulnerable to attack from the Pedians... let alone the Undine. Looking back to the open communication console, the Klingon/Trill hybrid nodded, raising his lower lip. "We're on it." With that, Cameron cut the channel and started focusing on the task ahead. The fact that he was dealing with Jhu and not Kris left several questions unanswered, but right now wasn't the time to ask them. Pointing to the shuttlecraft which, by now, was little more than a speck against the looming singularity, Cameron gave his orders.

"Bring us to within transporter range, Lieutenant." He told Hayley at the helm while he got out of his chair and moved over to the transport console. Sensors were already pinging the shuttlecraft and he saw one life sign aboard it -- Ferengi. Cameron tapped his comm-badge. "Wave Rider to..." Cameron paused to read the alphanumerics and grimaced. "...Ferengi Stupidity. Stand by for transport."

[shuttlecraft]

Noxa was chuckling from her end of comm channel. "I felt like it needed renamed on account of my crazy plan. You must be the First Officer... welcome back. I'm standing by for transport, Sir."

[Wave Rider]

As soon as the computer reported that the Wave Rider's sensors had a complete image on Noxa's pattern, he nodded over to Hayley, who dropped shields. "Energizing, now." The console reported the beam-out underway, and he heard an audible chime of electric-blue energy glowing behind him, indicating that the Ferengi was rematerializing. As soon as the shimmering ended, the Wave Rider's shields returned to full normal and the craft maneuvered sharply to starboard in order to bring it near the Katana.

"Tegan to Katana. We have her," Cameron said, looking to the short Ferengi standing on the pad.

"Approach from aft for docking." Until Cameron actually came aboard, Jhu was still captain of this boat, and she knew he would respect that. "We'll extend shields around you... I can't risk lowering the aft shield facing with these two trigger happy ships hanging around."


Ivan let out a very long exhale. He hadn't realized that he had been holding his breath this whole time. Damn Noxa...

Pressing a few buttons on the helm control, Maica saw something that worried her. "Captain, there's a smaller red dot moving towards a big green dot on my screen. I think we're the green dot."

"Confirmed Commander, the Undine have fired on us." Nathan said.

"Extend shields around the Waverider and get them aboard. And get the Undine on comms!" As Jhu spoke, the Undine torpedo slammed into Katana's shields, rocking the ship nearly onto its side.

Maica had no idea how to right the ship, but tapping the RCS thruster controls, she was able to pretend to know what she was doing and get close to pulling the ship back in line. "There's 3 more of those red dots inbound. I recommend the wave rider dock quickly."

"Katana to Waverider, dock now!" Jhu knew they couldn't take much more of this sort of abuse, but she couldn't risk losing the Waverider.

"Commander," called out Rayze from the Engineering station. "Our shield reinforcements did the trick but they're not going to hold out much longer. There is a bleeding effect that is draining more power even after the torpedo detonation for a number of seconds. Its wreaking havoc with shield regeneration." At least he didn't sound happy anymore, delivering the news. With weapons that could overpower even the Borg's famed ability to regenerate and adapt, he thought it was no small feat that they'd weathered even one torpedo. "Another direct hit and we're going to see cumulative damage on the hull and ship's systems."

"Chanel open Commander!" Nathan yelled over the noise on the bridge.

"Undine vessel! Why have you fired on us?" Jhu demanded, even as the next three torpedoes missed the ship by less than a meter.

[Bioship]

"Error" replied the Undine leader. "Slaughters of the Gekli will perish. Must return home" added the Undine leader as it moved about its vessel.

[Katana]

"Error?! You call that an 'error'?!? We're trying to help you and you nearly destroyed us!" To say Jhu was livid would be an understatement.

[Bioship]

"You did not perish. You are not weak. Assist us and you will not be exterminated," came the reply. It was broken up, short, but enough for the translator to get the point across.

[Katana]

Like you need our help. So infuriated she could scream, Jhu kept that thought to herself. "We're in no shape for combat after that hit. Maica...try nudging the biggest Gekli away from the battle. Gently. If we can get it to move, the rest should follow."

"Oh goodness..." Pressing the controls, Maica started slowly moving the ship towards the largest bull Gekli. "Troi Maneuver engaged. Impact in 5 seconds."

[Bioship]

The Undine observed the pod of Gekli heading into the rift. The Undine leader telepathically gave the command to take the bioship into the rift after all the Gekli had gone through. However, the Bioship was being bombarded with the annoyance of Pedian weapon's fire. The Undine leader gave the command to charge weapons and fire upon the Pedian vessel. The ship surged with a humming before a large golden bot shot from her bow and hit the Pedian vessel.

[EkZar-905]

The Pedian processing vessel took the blunt of the blow. Consoles exploding all around, circuitry was fried as their shields buckled. Plasma fires rampaged through the ship and the Skipper sounded the alarm for an emergency evacuation of crew. "All crew to life preservers!" she shouted.

Her Life Support officer who was standing in the command dome was quick to report power failure to those sysems "We cannot deploy them, Skipper."

The Pedian woman was uncertain what to do. Another blow from the Tripedal vessel, and the ExZar-905 would be destroyed, all 10 crew and 3 passengers aboard, including her own pup. However, her vessel was going to explode into a fireball in a matter of several minutes. "Nearest Pedian vessel?!"

The navigator turned and shook his head "Weeks away, days at best."

[Katana]

"Pedian vessel is in trouble Commander. I'm detecting a warp core breach and they can't launch their escape pods. Their shields are down, if they take another hit like that they are done for and the Undine are charging for another blast." Nathan reported.

Jhu bit back the string of Romulan curses that came to mind. The Pedians might be assholes, but she couldn't let the Undine destroy them. "No one's shooting at us... drop oyr shields and beam the Pedians aboard... use the cargo transporters if you have to. Shields up as soon as transport is complete."

"Shields down Commander, transport in progress." Nathan said.

It was just in time as the Undine soon fired another volley, destroying the Pedian vessel. "Shields up," Jhu ordered flatly, watching as the Undine vessel moved toward the Gekli pod. She hoped they would just leave with the Gekli, taking the pod home.

There was audible thump that reverberated across the bridge. "Wave Rider has docked, Commander," a bridge officer reported. "Commander Tegan reports that he is on his way to the bridge."

Jhu nodded slightly, looking at the Undine and Gekli on the screen. "The Undine have their livestock. Set a course out of Pedian space... stand down from red alert. And when Commander Tegan arrives, have him meet me in the ready room. Maica, you have the bridge." As the crew moved to follow her orders, Jhu got up and went to the ready room to wait for Cam. She had a hell of a report to give him.

Maica looked back over her shoulder at the retreating acting Captain with a look of 'oh shit' on her face. Set a course? She had the bridge? Moving from the helm to the command chair, she'd have to let one of the standby crewmen take the helm and hope they knew how to plot a course. 'Thank goodness' she thought as someone that looked like they knew what they were doing took the helm. "Take us to warp 8 as soon as you can. And someone please see to the comfort of the rescued Pedians." Hopefully this was the last time in a while she'll need to be on the bridge for a long while.

Entering her quarters, Maica went to the couch and just flopped on it face down. Was Mizuki still there? When she was called to the bridge, she had left the poor girl in the middle of routing her comms and paperwork so she probably was. She just wanted to lay here for a little while though. And never see the bridge again. That was a nightmare.

The poor cadet lay there, asleep...having successfully routed the comms as best she could into a standby position, and sorting the paperwork as best she knew how after having rushed down from her office on deck 1. Her hair was disheveled, she had something of a headache, but at least her sleep hadn't troubled her. Raising her head when she heard the door open, and that was only thanks to the latent sixth sense that was within, she noted someone come in and flop down.

Mizuki managed to get to her feet, feeling stiff and sore as she slowly padded over to the couch..

Maica rolled her head so she could see Mizuki, still laying limp, face down. "You're still here. Did you get everything sorted ok?"

She sat down next to Maica. "Barely. It drained me. But at least it isn't a complete mess. You look kinda like how I feel, boss.." she mumbled. "What happened?"

"The bridge happened. Pedians, Undine, Gekli... I think Andy might be spending some time in the brig... Noxa lost a shuttlecraft..." Maica rolled onto her side and surveyed the bottles in reach. "I think we need some tea..."

"I'd get them, but I don't know what's what in here." Mizuki sighed softly. "I heard that Andy might have done something ill-advised..but then I had to run down here from my office and ..yeah. It looks like you need a hug...so here." She lazily throws an arm over Maica in a kind of half-hug, still tired but figuring she could put someone else first.

Maica pulled Mizuki down onto the couch with her in a hug. "Thank you. Everything I have in bottles is alcoholic so tea has to be replicated. Tea or hot and sour soup. Maybe both."

"Which one do you want? I'll replicate it for you." She nodded, being pulled into a full hug and feeling the urge to simply rest there. "You're welcome, by the way. I liked the challenge of doing your work, but it took a lot out of me. Hopefully I haven't gotten you in any trouble."

"I left the system in learning mode. I'll have to go over everything and approve the routing, but I'm sure you did fine." Maica didn't want Mizuki to move either, but she needed a drink. "How about Maica tea 37? It's a ginger spice tea with a hint of cider. I think you might like it as well."

"I'll try it." Mizuki groaned just a little as she got up from her comfy spot and padded over to the replicator. "Computer, Maica Tea 37, two, warm." It beeped and produced what was needed, as she winced a bit. "Maica-chan...do you need anything else while I'm up?"

Sitting up, Maica thought it over. "Yeah, something to eat. Finger sandwiches 92 is a good mix we can share. It's a platter of like 40 mini sandwiches."

She brings the drinks over on a tray and sets them down, before going back to replicate what Maica had said. "Okay..got it." She said, bringing the sandwiches over to set next to the tea. "Anything else? Because once I sit back down with you I'm really not going to want to get up."

"No, that's it for now," Maica said as she sipped at her cup of tea. "Sit with me a while and let me know what you think of the tea."

"Un." she pads over quietly and sits down next to Maica, letting out an audible sigh of relief. Then, the cadet tried the tea, taking a brief sip. "Uwah.." she takes another sip quickly. "It's good!" she chuckled.

Setting her own tea back on the tray, Maica wrapped her arm around Mizuki and squeezed the young cadet as she picked up a mini sandwich and nibbled on it. "You should try my ramen recipe sometime then. The broth is made similar to that tea but with pork stock rather than tea leaves."

"Ooof.." she giggled as she was hugged close and squeezed a bit, setting her tea back down too. "I would love to. Perhaps we can share recipies at some point." Her hand reaches out and takes a mini-sandwich off the tray, nibbling on it. "Hmm! This is good...small, but good."

"Every sandwich is supposed to be a little different. The top ones are ham and chicken based but the lower ones are tuna, salmon, and beef based with randomized cheeses and other toppings. The ones in the middle are vegetarian based with cucumbers and the like." Maica spoke as she picked up a second sandwich.

"How very nice, appeals to everyone in a room, I would say." She chuckled. "I like it. Thanks for sharing."

"Any time. It's apparently created by a Bolian as a dinner conversation piece, as if a Bolian needed a reason to be talkative." Maica had to giggle at that. Her bolian ambassador friends were likely the only ones that could talk longer than her.

"I've heard stories of their monologues.." Mizuki chuckled, nodding. "That's good to know." She added, finishing her first sandwich and having a second.

"Monologues is right. Even in a crowded room." Maica said before sighing heavily and finishing her second sandwich. "What am I going to do with Andy in the brig? How's she going to regenerate?"

"I doubt they'll let you transport her alcove into the brig cell. Might not even be big enough." Mizuki sighed. "Could I speak freely about that for a moment?"

Maica shook her head at the thought of moving Andy's alcove. "There's no power hookup in there for it either. What's on your mind?"

"I don't claim to know anything about love...but I question why she would do such reckless things on her own. Such decisions have an effect on both parties, and I would at least hope that she takes that into consideration before acting. I...just don't like seeing you worried like this, is all.."

"The good of the ship comes first and she did what she felt was best for the ship as a whole. Love has nothing to do with it." Maica said, remembering her own lessons on command.

"I know." Mizuki said quietly. "It just..she should be more careful in the future, I think...even if she does have to act recklessly. Because she's not the only one who's affected by her actions. I'm sorry if I'm not making any sense."

Maica squeezed Mizuki tenderly as she spoke. "I know. None of it makes much sense, really. I just don't know what I'd do if anything happened to her, is all."

"Yeah.." she sighed softly and leaned into the other as she was squeezed tenderly. "I can't really offer any advice, or anything. The only thing I can offer is a hug and my company. I pray she will be okay...because I get the feeling that underneath the gruff exterior is a heart of gold. A um...good and kind heart." she quickly clarified her idiomatic saying.

Maica nodded slowly at the young cadet's words. "She does. She taught me what really living is. What love is. She almost worked herself to death trying to save my life."

"I'm glad. Because if she hadn't...I wouldn't have had the pleasure of knowing you." Mizuki gulped a bit before taking a deep breath and eating another sandwich. "You're a friend to me. A good friend. and I thank you for helping me."

"I enjoy helping you and you're a good friend of mine as well. You kind of remind me of all the things I never was. Innocent and naive being the foremost two things." Maica picked up another sandwich and nibbled on it too. "Ooh, the coveted cucumber, horseradish, and mayo sandwich. Want a bite?" Maica offered the rest of the sandwich to Mizuki.

"Sure." she gave, taking a bite of it and nodding. "Ah! It's rather hot, but nice.." After fanning her mouth playfully, she continued, "Maybe we need a naive person or two around...to remind us of what we're fighting for? It seems so easy to be jaded by the so called reality, that we lose focus on the ideas that are our foundation. Our..freedom. To make ourselves more than what we are, no matter who we are or where we've come from."

Mizuki blinked for a moment. "Sorry. I've been studying command things again, and great captains who came before..."

"Garth of Izar said something like that just before the Battle of Axanar, if I remember right." Maica said as she nibbled another sandwich. "Too bad he went insane after that accident."

"It was regrettable that it happened. I can't say that I'll never go insane....so I just hope I can remain a good person, throughout it all. And when the time comes that I need help..that I will have people to help me, and I'll be worthy of that help.."

"I can't predict the future that far in advance, but I'd give it good odds you will be." Picking up her tea, Maica drank it down quickly and set her cup back down. Flopping over on top of Mizuki, she nuzzled the cadet a bit. "I'm going to take advantage of you now, ok?"

Mizuki would finish her tea quickly, before laying on her back in order to accommodate Maica's action, looking up at her and smiling a little. "The here and now are important too.." she blushed, but didn't move or squirm. "Ne, Maica..I read that homework that you told me to read last night.." she mumbled softly where you could hear..

"Good," Maica spoke sleepily. "Did you masturbate as well? Need that experience."

"I tried." she said simply. "It wasn't bad for a first attempt, but I felt like I could have done better. I was tired when I did it, I think.." Mizuki admitted with a blush. "It..felt good. I was a little unnerved by how right it seemed, so early on. I um....plan to practice again. And...I might consider walking around in these quarters, when it's just you here, without a shirt."

"Just do what feels natural and keep it up. As for walking around here topless, I don't see how that'll help." Yawning, Maica closed her eyes and seemed to fall asleep on the cadet, her android head pressed between Mizuki's smaller breasts.

'Because I'm changing.' she thought, allowing herself a smile, before leaning her head back and closing her eyes. The feeling of having Maica sleeping on top of her seemed rather comforting after a little while, and she held a small sense of pride of being seen as that comfortable. Her arms hold the android close by a protective reflex, and she drifts into the world of dreams..

Cadet JG Masterson
Yeoman
USS Katana

Lieutenant Maica
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Katana

Nathan had heard a lot about the fairy girl that cared for the plants on the ship, but other then the one time he helped her in the mess hall Nathan had never met her. Jhu was friends with her though and he was hoping Shira would be willing to help him with his plant problem. His double had let all the plants in his room die while he was gone.

"Computer, locate Commander t'Dharvanek please." She really could be anywhere.

"Commander t'Dharvanek is in the hydroponics bay," the computer replied.

[Hydroponics Bay]

Jhu really could be anywhere, and right now she was sitting on the floor of the hydroponics bay with a small notebook and a pack of pencils. She was a terrible artist, but after reading that it could lessen stress she had filled the notebook with mandala patterns. She felt a bit ridiculous coloring them in, but it did seem to help.

Shira was fascinated watching Jhu color the pretty patterns. Shira had been busy undoing all the damage to the hydroponics bay caused by the Tribbles, but by now she was rather tired and was taking a break. Watching Jhu color was fun, but she kind of wanted to try it herself.

The door's opened and Nathan stepped in and looked around. Spotting Jhu he made his way over to her. "Hi!"

"Hey." Feeling Shira watching her, Jhu casually flipped to an empty pattern and gently pulled the page free, sliding that page over to Shira and putting the pencils between them before going back to her own design.

Shira smiled cheerfully and tentatively took the paper and one of the pencils. She wasn't used to doing this sort of thing, but it was fun!

Nathan took a seat. "Mandala, where did you hear about that?" Nathan said, looking over Jhu and smiling at Shira.

"Um..." Jhu blushed a little, feeling rather silly. "I was doing some research on Buddhist practices and ran across them. The library entry said something about stress management and focus, so I figured I'd try it since I can't figure out how to do the Lagashi tai chi on my own yet."

"Oh yeah?" Nathan said, "Well they look great, how are you feeling?"

"Kind of lousy. Haven't slept well since our near disaster with the Undine and the Pedians... and with Kris still in sickbay I can't take time off. Have to be Cameron's XO." Jhu swapped her pencil for a new color, starting on a new section. "Tried to do the tai chi thing, but I still need Vara's device to do it and she's not here."

"What is tie-chee?" Shira asked. She didn't understand a lot of what Jhu said, but she heard 'tai chi' twice and assumed it was something important.

"It's... uh..." Jhu floundered, searching for the right words. "It's... a type of meditation." She looked at Nathan for help, thinking he probably knew more about it.

"Tai chi as a form of martial arts that is also a way to meditate." Nathan moved behind Jhu and started to rub her shoulders. He had been doing this a lot lately. He found that the dual motion helped him with his new hand. Plus Jhu needed it. "It take practice and discipline to master it."

"Meditation?" Shira asked curiously. She had heard this word before and felt like she should know what it meant.

"Meditation is the act of training ones mind to relax and be in the present. It also helps relieve stress and control emotions." Nathan explained. "By the way, I'm Nathan."

"I am Shira," she said with a bright smile. "But I do not understand 'be in the present.' Like a gift? Why would you want to be inside a gift?"

"No." Jhu smiled a little, finding it very hard to focus at all now that Nathan was sitting behind her massaging her shoulders. "Present can also mean 'here' or 'now'. 'Be in the present' means to focus on this moment, right now."

"Oh..." Shira nodded and went back to her coloring for a moment, then looked back at Jhu and Nathan. "Why would anyone wish to exist in a point that is neither 'here' nor 'now'?"

"A lot of races have trouble focusing on the here and now, the tend to be preoccupied with things that need to be done at a later time, or things that were not accomplished in the past." Nathan explained. "Races like Humans require a mental tool to help remind them that what is truly important is right here and now." He hoped this would help her understand. His hands worked skillfully over Jhu's back. Now that he had better control of her right hand he was able to really work on some of the knots along her shoulder blades.

"Oh, okay," Shira replied with a nod. "And Jhu requires this 'tie-chee' thing to help her accomplish this?"

Jhu nodded at her, trying not to flinch as Nathan loosened the knots in her back. It hurt, but the payoff was worth it when the tension was released. "I have too much energy to sit still for a long time doing nothing."

"Unless your rubbing her back, then she will sit still for as long as your willing to do it." Nathan said with a small laugh.

"What is the purpose of doing nothing?" Shira asked. She had a tendency to do that, just ask question after question. "I would much rather do something that brings me happiness than to do nothing."

"You know, she has a good point, hun." Jhu smirked, not commenting on her ability to sit still for a back rub.

"I would rather do something enjoyable then nothing as well. Often I stop my meditation to spend time with Jhu. Being in the present is not just sitting and doing nothing. It's often about recognizing the opportunity that is presented to you." It was a difficult concept and Nathan hoped he was doing it justice. He himself still struggled with it often.

"Oh. that makes sense," Shira said with a nod. "If I understand this correctly, then I live this way. My people do not worry about the past or the future."

"You do live that way," Jhu confirmed with a smile. "But some of us think about the past a lot. Or the future. I worry that Starfleet won't like that I killed the man who hurt Kris and Verak."

"But he was hurting them and he hurt you. Do you not have a right to defend yourself and other people? Killing is wrong, but if he was going to kill you, I do not think it was wrong that you stopped him. You made this place safe for us, how can that be bad?" Shira was so innocent and looked at things in a simplified way. She had no idea of how complex matters like this could affect a person.

"I don't think Jhu has anything to worry about." Nathan tried to reassure both of them. "And worrying about it is what causes this." Nathan dug his thumb into one of her knots. He pushed hard, knowing Jhu could take it. After a second the muscle released.

"Ow. And maybe I don't have anything to worry about. But I can't help it. I mean, I jumped on him and broke his neck. It's not like I shot him with a phaser." Jhu knew it was self-defense, but she wasn't convinced Starfleet would believe her.

"Do not hurt Jhu, she has enough to worry about!" Shira scolded when Jhu said 'ow'.

"The reason I actualy came down here was because I wanted to ask Shira a question." Nathan said letting up on Jhus back a bit.

"It's okay, Shira. It only hurts for a minute." Jhu gingerly rolled her shoulders, relieved to be free of some of the stiffness. "Don't let me stop you from asking."

"What do you need to ask me?" Shira asked curiously.

"I would never hurt Jhu if I did not know it would cause her great relief. I care for Jhu very much." He said his hands moving even more gently now on Jhu's back. "Maybe you had heard that I had been taken from the ship and that someone that looked like me was left here in my place?"

"No, i didn't hear that," Shira replied, her eyes growing wide in amazement. "That was not very nice of them to do."

"They are not nice people. Same people who hurt Verak." Jhu set her notebook down, leaning forward to let Nathan work on her back more easily.

"I love growing things like you, I just don't have your skill at it. But while I was away many of my plants suffered from neglect. What I wanted to ask you was if you would be willing to help bring life back into my plants." Nathan asked Shira, his hands moving lower down Jhu's back.

"I would be happy to help," Shira said with a bright smile. "Shall I go help now?"

"Only if you're not too tired from helping these plants." Jhu smiled at her. "If you need to rest, that's okay."

"I can manage this, then I will rest," Shira said. She gave the picture and the pencil she had been using back to Jhu. Her picture wasn't colored all that neatly, she was still getting used to using writing utensils like the humans, but it had been good practice.

Jhu tucked the colored page back in its place and placed the pencil back in its pouch. "Okay. If you're sure."

"I am sure," Shira insisted. "And when we are done, you can take me to see Verak?"

"Of course. He had something to tell you, and since he should be awake... he can tell you when we go." Jhu grinned at her.

"Thank you, Jhu," Shira replies sweetly. Her wings fluttered and she floated off the ground.

"You're welcome." Still grinning, Jhu carefully packed her supplies away.

"I would not mind stopping by and seeing the Captain." Nathan said. He pulled his hands off Jhu's back. "I can take you to my room now."

~~

Nathan opened the door and let the girls in before him. The room was full of dead plants.

"This depresses me..." Nathan said.

Oh dear, this was sad! As Shira fluttered into his quarters, she took in the sight of all the dead plants. "So many... But these plants require very little maintenance, how could someone be so careless as to let them expire!"

"I guess he didn't like plants." Seeing the dead plants made Jhu frown slightly; even the tree that had been clinging to life looked lost now. "They were so pretty."

"I will try to make them pretty once again..."Shira went to the replicator for water. All the pots were bone dry. "I will start with the tree, please water the others." As Shira watered the tree, she reached out with her gift to touch the center of life within the tree and beckoned it to renew its greenery. Slowly, the tree began to shed it's dead leaves and new sprouts unfurled. Within a few minutes, the tree was again healthy and vibrant.

Nathan also replicated a watering pail and started pouring the water into the pots. Seeing Shira do her thing was incredible. "That's a amazing! "

"It always amazes me to see her do that." Jhu replicated her own water pail, carefully giving one of the sick plants some of the water. "I'd always heard that plants liked music..."

"I like to sing to them, but that is how my kind communicates," Shira said as she started on the other plants. "It's like keeping a pet, you must talk to them, give them attention, love them..." she explained as she guided the new growth with love and affection.

Jhu smiled at that. "I suppose it is like having a pet."

"I agree and while I do not sing, I like to play soft music while I meditate amongst them." Nathan looked to Shira. "Jhu will tell you, at one point it was a jungle in here."

Jhu giggled at that. "It really was. But I rather liked it... none of these plants make my spots itch or make me sneeze. I can't wait until it's all green again."

"It will be green again soon," Shira assured them. Once all the potted plants had been watered and she had encouraged new life to grow, she began to hum and sang a gentle melody to the plants. This multiplied the effects of her gift and soon Nathan's quarters was again full of thick, lush greenery.

Jhu looked around at the greenery, a relaxed smile slowly gracing her face. "Now that's better."

Nathan gazed around. "Much better. Shira, if there is ever anything I can help you with let me know. I owe you one!"

"I was happy to help," Shira said, waving off his offer, "you owe me nothing." Then she looked to Jhu. "May we go see Verak now?"

"Of course we can. Maybe you can even talk to him alone if you want." Jhu smiled warmly at her. "I'll walk with you."

"Thank you," Shira replied. "And thank you for letting me sing to your plants, Nathan. They were pleasant to work with!"

Nathan had made a compelling argument for Jhu to visit sickbay, so she'd gone down to see who was there. "Hello?" She knew they were busy, but she was hoping to be seen quickly.

"I was wondering when you were coming back." Nolira was next to her with little warning, firmly guiding Jhu to a biobed she had already set up. "Talk to me. What sorts of injuries?"

"Blunt trauma. Maybe a few fractures..." Jhu sat on the bed she was being pushed toward. "It hurts to breathe, and I might have a concussion."

Nolira rolled her eyes as she got her tricorder out of her lab coat pocket. "Command officers. You're all the same, I swear." She gave a low whistle of appreciation for Jhu's pain tolerance as the results of the scan came through. "Multiple rib fractures, a sternal fracture, bilateral bruising of the lung tissue, hairline fractures in the right scapula and clavicle... I'm surprised you can stand. How'd this happen?" As she spoke, Nolira carefully placed portable bone knitters in the appropriate places. "Not much I can do for internal bruising. You'll be sore for a while."

"Went hand-to-hand against DeLancer after he disarmed me." As the bone knitters worked, the pain lessened and Jhu pulled in her first deep breath in hours, relaxing visibly. "Tough bastard, but I dealt with him. What about my head?"

"Hm." Nolira didn't comment on the 'dealt with' comment; she knew who lay in the ship's morgue. "Mild concussion, no skull fracture. You've got a hard head."

"Haha," Jhu said dryly, not amused. "How long am I stuck here?"

"An hour, maybe two. Suggest you take a nap, Commander. You look like you need one."

It was late, the lights were down low, and most of the 'day-shift' had finished their duties for the day, leaving the Sickbay relatively peaceful and quiet. Rayze had slid his thin frame through the doors almost before they had finished opening, and glanced around with a furtive glance to make sure he wasn't going to be immediately set upon by one of the staff to throw him out before he disturbed the patients. Satisfied his presence had gone undetected, Rayze looked around the room before his eyes found what he was there for. The engineer's hands were behind his back as he tip-toed towards the biobed where the Captain lay, eyes alert to see if the man was awake or if he might have to risk coming back later.

"Kris?" he whispered, leaning over his Captain's bed, his normally happy face falling to see how pale and vulnerable the human looked. Not a violent man himself, right then he wouldn't mind having been given a chance to bodily throw the ones responsible for hurting Kris and the others into a brig with his own two hands. Well, gently throw them, maybe escort them firmly. "Are you up?"

They had Commander Kerouac on so many drugs, that he felt as though he had been given enough hyposprays to kill him. However, he trusted Katana's medical staff, knowing that Liam and the others knew what they were doing. Kris knew he had lost a lot of blood from the stabbing, and that a female medical officer had been there at some point when he was semi-awake yet not very alert, that she was working on a cure...an anti toxin to something that the dagger had been laced with.

Reality and fantasy had been blurring together for the past few hours, or was it day? Hell, it could have been weeks and Kris would not have known. Liam had been by often to check in on him. However, he had not told Kris anything regarding Katana, who was in command or what was going on. Cameron had not returned yet when Kris was attacked, which logically left Jhu in command. Oh fuck, thought Kris, Jhu is going to kill me...if I haven't died already his mind added. He head was turned opposite the entranceway when the Chief Engineer had entered.

The whispering of his name did not stir Kris at first. However, the question asking if he were awake did. Kris gingerly rolled over and found himself looking up at Lieutenant Rayze, the Katana's recently appointed new Chief Engineer. Oh not this dream again. Thankfully Liam isn't telepathic thought Kris as he gazed a bit lengthy into Rayze's eyes at first not believing or realizing that the man was really there.

"Rayze" responded Kris ever so faintly. His strength was significantly diminished from the attack and the medical treatment. "Am I dead?" asked Kris with a subtle smile. "I feel dead" he added.

The engineer's face split into a grin, though his voice was concerned, "No, you're still with us. Do you need anything? More painkillers maybe?" Rayze wasn't about to try messing with hyposprays and chemicals himself, but he was ready to call out for someone. "I'm so sorry to see you like this, Kris, if there is anything I can do to help..." He hoped what he held behind his back might help cheer up his Captain at least. Rayze had asked around in his staff amongst those who had served with the man for a long time for something that might bring a smile to his face.

Kris smiled slightly. "Bourbon whiskey would be wonderful right about now" replied Kris jokingly. "I appreciate the company. Everyone seems quite busy right now. I haven't really seen anyone except medical staff" said Kris, his eyes locked onto the engineer. "Did they catch the bastard who did this?" he asked.

For some reason, Rayze looked downright guilty hearing the answer, and his hands shifted behind him. "Well, um, I'm not sure what bourbon whiskey is, but uh..." He held out his gift, a clear bottle of a deep, purple liquid complete with a tied bow made from ribbons around the neck. "It's a Risian drink, we call it Ahlum. A lot like Terran rum from what I'm told, though a bit spicier." Once Kris took the bottle, hopefully provoking another smile, Rayze took a seat on the bed next to the man and his tone grew more serious. "As for the attack...I'm sorry Kris, I really don't know. I'm sorry to tell you that you weren't the only one injured though too."

He kept the explanation brief, the scuttlebutt that had reached Engineering about another crewman being stabbed, but it was obvious the engineer didn't know much of what was going on. Given the intense workload he and his staff had been under with preparing for the encounter with Species 8472, the research into securing ship systems against the so-called Section 31 infiltrators, and then the excitement when things had come to a head, Rayze had had little time to get caught up on anything outside his own purview. He made it clear that no one had been killed as far as he knew though, and only hoped that the news wasn't going to cause Kris too much pain. The man had been through enough as it was!

Kris' heart sank. 8472, Jhu in command! he felt like he was going to vomit. However, if there was anyone aboard who Kris trusted in an encounter with Species 8472, it was his Chief Intelligence Officer, as much of a bitch as she was... Katana was in good hands. He looked at the engineer and smiled. "I've never had Ahlum, but I'm looking forward to it. I think I had better wait until I get out of here though. Maybe we could have a drink together when all this chaos is done?"

Sensitive to the other's body language and facial expressions, though by no means a telepath, Rayze's own face reflected the heaviness that had settled over his Captain. He wanted to reach out and lend some strength to the other man somehow, a clasped shoulder, a squeeze of a hand, but was afraid of making Kris even more upset. Maybe it would be best to let his commanding officer deal with his dilemmas without his well-meaning interference. "I would be honored to share a glass with you, Kris," he replied, glad to move the discussion into areas where he knew he could get a happy response. "We sometimes drink it to restore our strength, it is made from a fruit that is highly nutritious and the fermentation process doesn't lessen its value much. Just...don't tell the doctors it came from me if you decide to sneak a sip or two while you're stuck in here!"

The Commanding Officer snickered. "Oh I'll keep my lips sealed. I have enough propaganda and contraband aboard this starship to cause problems" Kris said in a hushed voice. "My own personal liquor stash has some very expensive and highly illegal items, not permitted to be in possession of within Federation space" added Kris. He then smiled "Fortunately, the Gamma quadrant does not really have much actual Federation space."

That brought a smile back to the chief's face, and he even laughed softly though he cast a guilty look towards the medical office across the Sickbay to make sure he wasn't about to get caught. When he looked back at Kris, his gaze was friendly and caring once again, the shadows of what he'd seen and heard since coming on board unable to keep him down for long, "I hope you're up for sharing. I've been know to take a nip every now and then, and I might have a bottle or two of other things I brought on board." Risa was in a prime position to have access to all sorts of interesting beverages, being such a tourist spot for the Alpha Quadrant.

"You Risa boys" said Kris with a smile and a blush. "They warned me about the women of Risa. However, I always suspected the men were trouble too" added Kris. He nooded and looked at the engineer with a friendly gaze. "I will always share a drink with a friend."

Rayze looked a little surprised at first, but then his grin and gaze became a little more than strictly friendly perhaps, and his tone was playful, "Warned about our women? Why, we are all a peaceful, friendly people. You have nothing to fear from me, Kris." He knew he was going to have to watch just how many drinks he shared with his Captain, as Rayze had been told numerous times he was already too forward with his superiors. When one was as cute as this...Rayze cleared his throat. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Kris, while you're away? Plants needing watered, a cat needs it's litter changed? Anything at all."

Kris shook his head "No pets, no plants" he said gently. "However, if you could please check on my spotted beast. I believe she's presently in command of this starship. Watch her carefully, Lieutenant. She will tear this ship apart if you let her."

"Commander t'Dharvanek?" It wasn't often Rayze used ranks in his speech but somehow it didn't seem right to call her by her first name. After seeing her on the bridge during the climax of dealing with the Gelki, the pirates, and Species 8472, Rayze thought it might be a good idea to remember her rank at all times. "I'm not sure anything I would have to say will keep her from doing exactly what she wants to." In fact, there were a number of people amongst the Katana crew he was finding that had a very loose idea on the necessity of following orders and procedures. While Rayze might lack decorum, he certainly preferred to do things by the book.

Kris sighed. He knew how that woman could be. "She's a devil with spots, but an angel at heart" said Kris with a small smile. "Rayze, this crew is a bit different than what you're probably used to. I have not been a very good Commanding Officer for this starship. I've let my personal agenda and motives rule over my command decisions, and I've put this crew in more danger than it needed to be. When I get out of here, things will change. I have been lying in here thinking about my life and the choices I've made, and I don't like what I like staring back at me."

Now he couldn't help himself, and Rayze got down of the bio bed to stand at his Captain's side, placed a hand gently on the man's shoulder and tried to turn Kris' thoughts in a different direction than self deprecation, "If you need someone to talk to about things, I'm happy to listen. I'm a stranger to the crew still, and unbiased." He withdrew his hand quickly and continued, "Whatever mistakes you have made, the fact that you can face them means you are a good Captain as far as I'm concerned."

"I came out here to die, Rayze" admitted Kris. "Well, not specifically to die, but it was something that I was prepared to accept and I didn't care. I wanted this assignment into the Gamma quadrant to search for my love, my fiance, Uri. His starship went missing during the Dominion War, and I've spent years trying to find answers, to find closure. Starfleet has since given up. They have listed him and the starship as MIA, presumed KIA. I won't give up...He has to be out here. I just...I don't know if I will find him alive."

The admission had caused the Risian to fall silent as he thought things over. A personal quest wasn't something a leader could afford; he knew this from his own officer training. Though the duties he and Kris had were vastly different, the core of being an effective officer in charge of others didn't leave much room for a personal life as well for either a captain or a chief engineer at times. The loss of a loved one however was a powerful burden to carry, and humans did have a tendency to invest so much emotion into just one other person. The part that struck him the most though was the fatalistic attitude Kris had towards his own life, something completely at odds with Rayze's own optimistic outlook. That made him speak without thinking, "Have you really lived since you lost Uri?"

"I don't know what living is anymore, not since I lost him" replied Kris. "I was in shock at first... I remained that way for a while, then I broke down. Depression set in and I turned to alcohol to numb my pain. All it ever really did was just numb my brain and turn me into a terrible Starfleet officer, a self absorbed, arrogant, and stubbornly reckless man. Spent years since Uri died waking up so intoxicated and with men and women in my bed that I couldn't even tell you their names. Hell, I doubt I ever cared to ask them" explained Kris. "I do not want to go back to that. I don't know what living is, but I do know that it was not that."

"I don't know many things myself, Kris, but I do know that if Uri loved you he would be proud to hear you admit this," Rayze said cautiously in a soft voice, though he sounded a little uncomfortable addressing this. IT was far more personal than he was used to seeing humans being with someone they hardly knew, sharing these sorts of details. While Rayze might see no problem being so honest with others, that was his culture, and he didn't want to say something that would make Kris feel worse or uncomfortable. "You don't have to give up on him to change things either, but if he was a good officer he would understand you needing to put your ship, crew, and mission first...and to take care of yourself."

He thought silently for another moment, then put forward an offer, one that wasn't anywhere near like he'd given a certain Intelligence officer soon after coming on board, "If you are willing, there are a number of Risian rituals I could teach you that might help. We aren't so friendly because of biology. Our philosophy of giving to others requires that we must first love ourselves. There are meditations and exercises to help us face ourselves fully, with all our faults because only then can we begin to be what others need us to be. And you do deserve to love yourself, Kris, regardless of the mistakes you might feel you have made."

"I...I would give it a try. I'm very difficult to deal with though" said Kris. "I mean, I think even a Vulcan would breakdown and become frustrated with me" added Kris. "You are a very kind person, Rayze, even for a Risian."

"Thank you," Rayze said, bowing his head at the compliment and sounding humble. He was curious to see if he had more patience than a Vulcan, but it was one of the nicest things he felt he could be told about himself. "But it is nothing extraordinary, and you are every bit as capable of it as anyone else. You made me feel welcome to your crew when it was obvious that the former Chief Engineer was important to you and I was an outsider that you had little say in receiving this post. I'm sure you do similar things with others without even realizing what that can mean to us. When you have some free time, after you're recovered, I can show you how to begin. But facing yourself is ultimately a completely personal thing that no one else can be there with you for, and that makes it quite like death in it's own way."

"An engineer and a friend like you, does not come around very often, Rayze" replied Kris. "You have every right to be here, to be part of this crew and this family. I want you to always feel like you can come to me if you ever have a problem. We take care of our own here, and we always will" added Kris.

He again dipped his head, and patted Kris on the shoulder again, "I appreciate that." Rayze tried not to let his ego swell too much at the compliments, but it was nice to be appreciated. "You probably need your rest though, and I'm afraid I might have made your burdens heavier instead of lighter. That was not my intention." At least he hadn't addressed the lack of crew following orders he'd observed, as that was certainly not his place even if it had disturbed him some. "Get well soon, Kris. I will look forward to our drink later."

"Me too, Rayze" replied Kris.

Jhu had no idea how the hell to explain this mess she'd fallen into. Especially not to Cameron. She didn't think he'd believe even half of it, and why should he? Jhu didn't believe some of it and she'd been a witness! The story made her head spin just thinking about it, so much that instead of sitting behind the desk and trying to look professional she was lying on the couch. It helped, but only somewhat. Any moment that doorbell would ring...

***

Lieutenant Commander Cameron Tegan was still sore from their run-in with the Gekli pod earlier, and within moments of coming aboard the Katana was being made aware of several disturbing recent events. Captain Kerouac was in sickbay after been stabbed in the back by a Section 31 assailant; the assassin was killed by Jhu, thus preventing any attempt at an interrogation – (that made TWO Section 31 operatives to die under Jhu’s direct supervision) – the Romulan/Trill had, up until a few minutes ago been in command of the Katana, only barely managing to avert a major firefight between the Katana, the Undine, and the Pedian.

“And through most of this I was studying god-damned Space Whales,” the Klingon/Trill muttered under his breath as he approached the ready room door. Given that the computer recognized his presence, clearance codes, and rank, it acknowledged him as the acting commander of the ship and allowed him to pass through without first requiring him to hit the chime.

He found Jhu waiting for him. For a moment, Cameron had to force himself to swallow everything he wanted to bark at her. He knew it wasn’t her that he was angry with – it wasn’t like she had been somehow responsible for causing any of this. But for him to be off on some research mission – (an unsuccessful one at that!) – while all of this went down… it was reprehensible.

Cameron forced himself to take a deep… deep breath. “Start from the beginning,” he said, his words sounding strained and tired. “How’s the Captain, how’s the ship and crew…” he paused, looking intently at Jhu. “And how are you?”

"Commander Tegan!" Not counting on the computer letting him in with no warning, Jhu nearly fell off the couch in her haste to sit up and greet him properly. A muscle just below her right shoulder blade protested, spasming painfully, but she ignored it. Bad enough he'd caught her lying down in the first place. "Kris and Verak are stable for the moment... some sort of poison has them both pretty sick, but medical and science are working on it. Chief Carter damned near started a three-way war and is lucky I haven't thrown her in the brig... everyone else seems fine. Except Warrant Officer Mallory, who's currently living in our brig. And me..." Jhu paused, not entirely certain just how she was feeling. "Overwhelmed, honestly. And starting to feel kind of sick."

Any other day out of the week, Cameron would have made some snide or jovial remark. But after today, that simply wasn't an option. Wordlessly, he came over and sat down on the couch beside her. Heaving an audible and near exhausted sigh, he nodded quietly. It took him a long minute afterward before he decided to say anything. "You did good, Jhu. No matter what happens next, you did good."

"I appreciate you saying that, and you have my permission to make sarcastic jokes about this mess later." Jhu smiled a little weakly. "I know you aren't thrilled that DeLancer is dead, but we captured Mallory at least. And the man was trying to kill me. I'd have liked to bring him in alive, but... it wasn't in the cards, so to speak."

Cameron nodded in agreement. It was too bad that this was Kerouac's office and not his; between Maica and Tonkin, the Klingon/Trill hybrid had more than enough booze on hand to sedate some of their worries. But that wouldn't be a good option either. Not with the Pedian survivors on board and the Captain still in sickbay. "Well, assuming that our little dance with the Undine is over, we at least have a little time to catch our breath. Does medical have any idea on how to neutralize the poison in Kerouac and Verak?" He asked. If the answer was no, he'd order the Katana back to Starbase. The Intrepid-class vessel had taken enough damage between the Pedian and the Undine to make that option desirable either way, but Cameron didn't want to make any snap decisions.

"No, not yet. Personally I'd put us on course for the nearest starbase at emergency warp, but as I'm not in command anymore... I respectfully recommend it." Jhu sighed heavily, wanting very much to go home and hide for a while. "I feel responsible, Cam. DeLancer was in my department. Right under my nose and I didn't catch himuntil it was almost too late."

"I'm inclined to agree with you," Cameron said before he realized there might have been some question on what part he was agreeing with. Screw the alcohol, where was the Raktajino? Just as he saw a small cause of alarm forming across Jhu's brow, he corrected himself. "On getting to Starbase as soon as possible, that is." He let out a small laugh, as if realizing the embarrassment. "And as for DeLancer... hell, Jhu. The guy was a Section 31 operative; he was trained to fool us. Section 31 wouldn't still be around if they were easily caught. Hell, it's probably a nice bruise in their ego that you did catch them. Take the victory."

"Elements, Cam. Don't do that to me." Jhu laughed a little, wondering if they were both suffering from a serious lack of sleep. "I'll take the victory... rather gladly too, given what those bastards have done to me. But I'm not going to forget that they infiltrated this ship. I've already sent in a request for a full security inspection. We can get it done while Kris and Verak are in the starbase hospital. I suggest we get moving."

Cameron reached towards his comm-badge and tapped it. "Tegan to bridge. Set a course for Ophinias. Best speed."

"Ophinias, Warp nine point nine seven fiver. Course and speed change acknowledged." Maica said over the comms, obviously hearing at least most of what they were saying through the thin ready room door.

The line cut out. Cameron could help but to let loose a small chortle. He was in command now, at least until Kerouac was conscious again. The feeling sat about as well with him as it probably did Jhu; it didn't feel right. There was a telltale shift in the inertial dampeners as the Katana pivoted in normal space before jumping to warp. When he looked to Jhu again, a part of him began to admire her. Stop, he told himself mentally. Now was not the time to alleviate stress or exhaustion with sex. Besides, Jhu was with Nathan.

Once the ship was underway, Jhu sighed again. "With your permission, I think I'd like to go home early. Drink some tea, snuggle with my cat."

Jhu looked like she needed it, Cameron thought, even though he wasn't much of a cat person himself. He nodded in assent, gesturing towards the door. "Get some rest, t'Dharvanek. I'll wrap up here before checking in on the Captain."

It had been almost a week since the attack, since Commander Kristopher N. Kerouac had been stabbed in the abdomen with a dagger that had been laced with a strange Mawassi poison. Warrant Officer Ry'lan DeLancer had been killed by Lieutenant Commander t'Dharvanek when he attempted to escape. His accomplice, Tucker Mallory, a transporter operator had been caught and thrown in the Brig where he would remained until the USS Katana reached her next destination.

Lieutenant Commander Cameron Tegan was in command of the Katana now, allowing Kris to breathe a sigh of relief. However, he was not yet able to have the freedom that he wanted. Though he was stable, alert, and no longer in danger from being killed by the toxin nor the healed wound. He was still under round the clock medical watch with the Chief Medical Officer perhaps providing overly special care.

Kris was propped up in the biobed, reading over Lieutenant Commander t'Dharvanek's mission report on what occurred under her command. Kris felt that Jhu had done a good job with what she had to work with. However, the actions of Chief Petty Officer Andrea Carter had the Commander shaking his head and feeling a headache coming on. Damn it Carter thought Kris. Commander Kerouac soon found himself being visited by the Chief Medical Officer.

"Good morning, Liam" said Kris with a small but warm smile.

"Morning," Liam said, he moved to the side of the bed and let his hand come to a rest on the Captain's arm, "How are you feeling?"

"Bored as hell" replied Kris shaking his head. "I am reading reports about everything that I've missed waisting my life in here" quipped Kris with a smirk. He was of course joking about waisting his life away in Sickbay. However, he was quite bored.

"Good, because you're getting released today, The latest blood work shows no trace of the mawassi poison or anything thing else of concern, your white blood cell count has normalized and your inflammation markers are down. You'll still be sore for a couple days but I'm confident you'll pull through." He said finishing with a smirk.

Kris' eyes lit up and he smiled widely. "That is the best news that I've heard all day" replied Kris. "I could kiss you right now" he added.

Liam smirked and leaned in and kissed the Captain, it was highly unprofessional but he didn't really care. "Nurse Onolla will be along shortly with discharge paper work." He said, "but really, you should still be under observation, if only there was a doctor willing to keep you company and check up on you on off hours."

"I am Commanding Officer of this starhip, Doctor" said Kris with a soft and seductive tone. "If you are going to insist on having a medical officer with me at all times for a while, then as Commanding Officer, I insist that it be the senior most physician aboard... which means you had better come over this evening, Liam" added Kris reaching up and pulling the doctor down for another smooch. "I'm actually quite fond of house calls."

Liam smirked, "I'll see what I can do, Sir." He said, he gave the Captains arm a light squeeze before turning and seeing to the rest of sickbay.

Nurse Onolla approached and gave the Captain a smile. "I hear the Doc has finally let you leave." She said with a small grin, fixing a piece of hair back behind her ear. "I just need to a final check on your vitals and then you're free to return to your quarters. No heavy lifting or strenuous physical activity for at least a week, and if you have any pain or other issues come back to sickbay." She said as she confirmed the readings off the bio bed with those on her PADD.

Kris nodded "I seduced him with my sharp whit and dashing smile" replied Kris with a small chuckle. "I think that I convinced him it was safe to release me from this place. If I have any pain, I briskly walk myself into Sickbay and request you personally."

"Then you're free to go." She replied with a smile.

"Excellent" replied Kris. "I'll be delighted to be out of this damn biobed."

Outside sickbay Liam leaned against the bulkhead waiting for the Captain, he grinned when he saw the surprised look on the other man's face. "Rose is covering sickbay for the next day or two, figured I'd take advantage of you having mandatory down time."

Kris flashed a quick smile. "You just don't want me doing anything stupid and injuring myself" said Kris. "I'm glad that you are taking some time off to watch over me."

Liam smirked, "Figure it's the least I can do, I mean you did promote me and everything." He replied with a smirk. He followed the Captain as he entered the turbolift and for it to be ordered to the Captain's quarters. "Computer, hold."

Kris scoffed. "Oh it was a promotion of an officer who deserved to be promoted. You have been an asset to this crew, and to me as Commanding Officer. Your work on Teplan ..." began the Commanding Officer before Liam responded with some physicality.

Liam pulled the shorter man in close, wrapping his arms around the Captain he hugged him tight and kissed him. "Sorry, I've wanted to do that all day and sickbay isn't really the place to make out with the Captain."

Kris felt a warmth come over him. He was nervous, but very much pleased with the Chief Medical Officer's affection. "Don't...don't apologize" replied Kris in a breathy hushed voice. He pulled Liam in closer, tighter, and kissed the doctor, a returning action. Kris moved forward slightly and had Liam's back against what 'wall' of the turbolift. The Commanding Officer departing his lip lock with Liam, and moving his attention and focus onto kissing the side of the doctor's neck.

Liam suppressed a moan. "Wait, till, quarters." He managed to force out, breaking free slightly, but still keeping Kris close. Within minutes they were in the Captain's quarters. Liam pulled Kris back into him and kissed him deeply, hands trailing down the Captains back.

"Oh Liam" said Kris, and it was quite in a moan. "Computer, dim light!" shouted Kris, the computer responding to the order by setting the mood to a rather romantic level of dim lighting. "Music" said Kris swiftly. "Something ambient, light but romantic" he added. It was not very specific but the computer made an effort. The result was an acceptable piece from a Risian composer from the third sensual period.

Kris felt the man's hands trailing down his back. Kris responded by playing with the doctor's uniform, stripping off the heavy grey jacket part of the uniform, leaving the man in his uniform pants and teal tunic. "Move in with me?"

Liam broke back slightly, "That's kind of a big step." He said, "I mean, we've only be at this for a couple months. Are you sure you want me around, in your space, all the time?"

"I know it is a big step" admitted Kris. He did not want to push Liam away, and reached out to pull the man closer to him. "A couple of months that have made me happy. I don't want to scare you away, but I want to try and make steps forward. You won't be in my space all the time... just a portion of my free time."

"Ok," He said smiling, "I'll do it."

"Good. I was hoping that you would say yes" replied Kris.

"Now, you need to be in bed. Doctor's orders." He said with a grin as he relieved the Captain of his unifrom.

"Only if you join me" said Kris removing what was left of the doctor's uniform, taking his hand a pulling him into the bedroom area. The two were quickly wrapped up in the sheets. "I'll try not to do anything to strenuous, doctor....but, I make no promises" added Kris seductively.

Illyana downed her drink and slide the glass back to the bartender, "Spasibo." She said to the random man that had boughten it for her she leaned in as if to kiss him before quickly moving away to be swallowed up by the crowd. The night club was one of the hottest in Novosibirsk, in the heart of the warehouse district it had once been a soviet arms factory, despite the original burning down hundreds of years ago the current tenant had put the effort to in. Red and gold flags representing Russia at the hight of the soviet era, while the country now was a far cry from it's communist past it always seemed to hold a unique place in the mind of 24th century Russians.

The pulsing base of loud electronic music made in nearly impossible to communicate with words, the alcohol and drugs coursing through the veins of most of those in attendance made it pointless. A girl grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her. Illyana ran her fingers through her long dark hair, pushing it away from her face as she turned to see the new comer. The woman was older, in her mid twenties compared to Illyana's 17, 19 if you checked her fake identification. Her blond hair was short, with fluorescent streaks of pink and green, a tight black mesh shirt covered her otherwise bare chest. A short skirt, left a long expanse of leg before a pair of boots. She pulled Illyana close, leaning in with a hesitant kiss.

She pulled back, and watched apparently gauging her reaction, Illyana could see the over-dilated pupils, even amongst the barrage of bright strobing light of the club. She leaned in and began kissing the stranger, pulling her close, he hands slide under the other woman's shirt and over her bare skin. Nails dragging just the right way to send chills down "zaverbovat' menya" she said, practically screaming it into the woman's ear.

The woman stared blankly for a moment, then it click. She nodded and turned to a well build shirtless blond guy, pulling him close she said something in his ear, he nodded and pulled something out of a pocket, a moment later the blond was pushing a pill into Illyana's mouth. She swallowed and leaned in and kissed the girl again.

Within minutes she felt warm waves start to wash over her, her vision began to blur at the edges, and her skin began to tingle. She soon wondered away from the blond stranger who was now making out with the tall shirtless blond. The DJ ended his set as fireworks erupted in the rafters, sparks raining down on the crowd as carbon dioxide cannons blasted confetti into the air. The crowed erupted in cheers as the lights dimmed, briefly, the next DJ was soon beginning his set, but for Illyana the light didn't return, she was laying on the ground unconscious, convulsing slightly as someone nearby finally noticed and ran to get help.

TBC

A golden halo. That was the first thing Illyana saw, she drifted in and out of consciousness. She forced herself to focus and the halo came back into sight, then a second halo, and a third. Then she realized they weren't halos, they were the gold pips on the collar of a uniform. A blue uniform, a starfleet uniform.

She tried to move but couldn't, at first she thought she was restrained, then she realized her arms weren't doing what her brain tried to tell them. She tried to speak but her mouth was try, her throat felt tight and hot. "My name is Doctor Amyra Singh." The woman said, "I'm administering a mild stimulant."

She pressed a hypospray to Illyana's neck before checking the flow on the intravenous fluids. "The medics that brought you in said you were found unconscious at a night club, did you take anything tonight."

"You already know the answer to that." Illyana replied, the stimulant seeming to help make her body listen to her brain.

"True, the tox panel showed enough amphetamine to knock out a targ." The doctor replied. "Not to mention over a dozen other things."

"Listen if I wanted the judgement routine I'd talk to my mother." She snapped.

"Yes, I'm sure your mother wouldn't be impressed to hear about your recent adventure." Singh replied.

"What do you want from me anyway?" Illyana said trying to sit up and being overcome with a wave a nausea.

"I want you to reconsider your actions, 17 is far too young to behaving like that." Singh said, helping Illyana to lie back down.

"I'm 19." Illyana retorted.

"No you fake ID says your 19. I also know your not Alexis Yurdonova." The Doctor replied. "Illyana Ng, daughter of Wu Ng, the Mayor of Hong Kong who was killed six months ago. Your mother, has been contacted."

"She doesn't care, I was only ever a hiccup in her career, then she acted like my father's death was an inconvenience for her." Illyana said, succeeding in her second attempt to sit up.

"You're 17, which under Earth law makes you a minor, you were found unconscious and pumped full of illicit drugs. We legally can't release you unless it's to a parent or guardian. Your mother is on her way from Titan, apparently you were suppose to be staying with her sister in Sydney."

"I got bored." She replied.

Singh smirked, "You think you're so hard done by, Daddy died and the big mean world is taking it out on you, so you're going to be rebellious, you're going to waste your life and your talents because you don't want to deal with what happened. Sorry princess, life isn't all fresh baked cookies and musicals. Bad things happen, and sometimes they happen to good people, like your father. Taking so many drugs you almost kill yourself isn't going to solve the problem, and your mother may not be perfect, and she may not always show how she feels but she loves you and hurting yourself is selfish and foolish. I don't care if you don't listen to me, but some day you'll smarten up, and I just hope it's before you do so much damage you can't recovery from it."

Illyana was stunned, no one had spoken to her like that before, especially not a Starfleet officer. She said quietly, awkwardly glancing at door and then out the window where the February snow fell silently in the early hours of the morning. "Anyway, your mother will be in a few hours. A nurse should be around with some food shortly, but given what you've been on it will probably be a few hours before you have an appetite. Try to eat something and drink, water, or they won't release you." Singh said before turning and leaving the room.

TBC

Between tribbles and Polywater, Nathan had been a busy guy. But a simple review of the science logs; something Jhu had suggested to Nathan's double but the double had blown her off, reviled that the source of his headache all lead back to that department.

Nathan his the door chime on Bridget's office door, a couple of PaDD's in his hand. It was time to have a chat with the Chief.

Bridget looked up as her door chimed. She had been engrossed in some reports detailing the ins and outs of her department. Something she had been meaning to sit down and do for awhile. Stretching, she said, "Come in."

Nathan stepped through the door and smiled, "Lieutenant O'Connor! How are you today?"

Bridget smiled at Nathan as she replied, "I'm well. And glad to have you back." The last time she had seen "Nathan" she had been trying to keep up with him after being broken out of her quarters when Section 31 took them over. And she hadn't particularily appreciated having to run behind him so she was genuinely glad to have the real Nathan back.

"Thank you, Im sorry my double caused you so much trouble. I am positive that he was the one who let Section 31 contact you. Unfortunatley I dont have great news for you today." Nathan handed over the two PaDD's to her. " I have been running around like crazy dealing with two problems and I have found that they both come from your labs." The PaDD's contained the sensor trail of both the Tribbles and the Polywater that had escaped from the labs. "I am going to need your help."

Bridget groaned. Of course it would have to be from her lab. "Anything I can do to help, lieutenant," she said as she took the PaDD's he handed to her. She skimmed the PaDD's quickly and then looked back up at Nathan."Why don't you have a seat? I have a feeling we have quite a bit to go over."

"Thank you." Nathan said and took a seat in front of her desk. "My biggest problem is I now I have a cargo bay fill of tribbles that are going to get hungry soon and I'm sure there are more tribbles every day. I'm not willing to just kill them, this was our fault. I don't feel they deserve to die because we messed up. So I need a non lethal solution. Ill trust you to get the Polywater under control." Nathan said then he smirked a little "Fun little virus you go there." He said sarcastically.

Bridget grimaced. "I heard there were a few...interesting....experiences with the polywater," Bridget said, blushing as she did so. "I'll make sure it's under control," said added hastily. "Now the tribbles might be a little more difficult. There have been instances where they have been genetically modified to not reproduce but, as a I'm not a geneticist, I'm not sure how feasible that is."

Nathan cringed a bit " Lieutenant...I have a cargo bay that's full to the 8 foot mark and getting higher every day. That may have been a good idea before they got out, but they are out now and doing what they do best. We need to figure out what to do with all the ones we have now. Lieutenant Maica suggested opening a pet store." Nathan joked.

Bridget laughed half-heartedly before sighing. "I don't suppose there's an empty planet we can ship them to?" she joked. "But really, I think our best bet is to somehow get them to stop reproducing for the time being. If we can do that, we could theoretically genetically modify them and then open up that pet shop like Lieutenant Maica suggested," Bridget grinned.

"I'm all ears cheif, how do we do that?" Nathan asked.

Bridget thought for awhile before she answered Nathan. "Since you said that all, or most of the tribbles, are confined to the cargo bay, I think our best option is to seal off the cargo bay and pump the gas in. Once we do that, we can introduce a virus that will genetically modify the tribbles so they can't reproduce." Bridget shrugged, "after that, I'm not sure what to do with hundreds of tribbles." Bridget shook her head. She really had no idea what to do with so many tribbles. "Do you have any suggestions?" she asked Nathan.

"I like the idea of sterilizing them, but I have no idea. Chief Carter suggested gassing them to death but I'm not ok with killing them." Nathan replied

"I suppose if they can't reproduce, they can't be as destructive as they normally are. What if we were to find a new planet for them? They wouldn't be able to overrun it and we wouldn't be gassing them. I'm in complete agreement with you about not gassing them," Bridget said. The thought of killing so many creatures made her sick to her stomach.

"What if we found a planet that had a natural predator?" Nathan put out there.

Bridget nodded thoughtfully. "I like that. As much as I hate to kill the tribbles, I don't want to just set them loose either." Bridget leaned forward and asked, "do you know of any off the top of your head?"

Nathan raised his eyebrows. "I'm just security, you’re the scientist. " he pointed out.

Bridget sighed, "ughh...I know. It's just, well, tribbles." Bridget thought for a little while before continuing, "I suppose Bopak III might be a good fit. It is largely uninhabited meaning the tribbles won't annoy anyone and I'm sure there are some creatures that will find them tasty snacks. I'll figure out a way to get them there. What else can I help you with now that our tribble problem is largely solved?" asked Bridget.

"I'm sure the Captain will be more then happy to make a pit stop to off load the critters. Does your department need any?" Nathan asked. "Otherwise no. That was all I needed."

"Not at this moment," Bridget replied. "I'm happy to help if you ever need anything else."

Nathan made his way through the halls...but something was wrong. Everyone was so tall! The halls were filled with smoke and it was dark. There was a red light that flashed in the distance. Nathan moved with hast towards the light. There was a tug at his right hand. When he looked down he saw his little brother; Mark, struggling to keep up with him. He was so small and so scared looking. He clung to a small stuffed Rabbit and his eyes darted around. There was a lot of yelling going on.

"Come on Mark we need to run!" Nathan begged in a small voice. Something bad was going on, but Nathan was confused and scared himself. He did what he could to drag his little brother along behind him. There was an explosion behind him and the Concussion knocked him and Mark down.

Nathan got to his feet and looked back at his brother. He was laying on the ground crying, hurt. Nathan ran to his side. "Mark, Mark! We need to run!"

There where screams down the hall through the smoke. Green lights lite up behind the smoke. Nathan tugged at his brothers arm. "Mark! MARK!"

A green blast hit right where Mark was laying and threw Nathan back and into a wall. Large figures loomed beyond the smoke. One face broke the smoke and burned itself in Nathan mind. Grey flesh, black implants, blinking lights all over it. A green scanner swiped over him.

Nathan came flying up out of bed and into a sitting position. He was breathing hard and was drenched in sweat. For a moment he didn't know where he was.

Jhu was already awake, spending another sleepless night thanks to the Undine. Wordlessly, she calmly reached toward the lamp on her side of the bed and switched it on, giving Nathan enough light to get his bearings without blinding either of them. "You okay?"

Oh, Jhu's room. Right that made sense. "Nightmare..." he said running a hand down his face. "Tonight's the first night with out the dream inhibitor." Nathan looked down at her. "Did I wake you?"

"I was already awake." Jhu sat up halfway, giving him a concerned look. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Why were you awake?" Nathan asked, avoiding the second questions.

"Because I can't stand the thought of hearing 'the weak shall perish' again, my head hurts, and I just... can't sleep." Knowing he'd avoided her question for a reason, Jhu decided not to push too hard for an answer.

Nathan pushed the covers off him and went to the replicator. "Water, cold." he said and waited for the glass to appear.

Jhu watched him for a moment, pushing the blanket back and sitting up the rest of the way. "I can hear you breathing from here, and you're soaked in sweat. That's not a normal nightmare, Nathan. I should know, given how often I wake up from them."

He took his glass from the replicator and downed it and put the glass right back in. "This is why before I was with you I just didn't sleep. Got a lot more work done that way too." He turned and smiled, "I like sleeping a lot more with you beside me."

"So come back to bed and tell me what's going on. No secrets, remember?"

Nathan walked back and crawled back into bed with Jhu. "It was my brother... I was reliving the day I lost him."

Jhu had been expecting to hear about Section 31's torture tactics, but hearing it was about his brother somehow felt worse. Staying carefully neutral, she settled back down in her half-sitting posture from before. "What happened?"

Nathan moved next to her, cuddling into Jhu. "Borg..." he said. "I'm guessing because he was so young they didn't want to assimilate him. So they blew him away right in front of me."

"Bastards. Good thing Andy's nicer than that, right?" Jhu forced a smile, trying not to think about how she might feel if Jaddy or Aerv had been killed that way. "It was just a dream this time, Nathan. It wasn't real, okay?"

"I know." Nathan said. "It was so long ago and day to day I'm good, but the nightmares still haunt me."

"They always will. It's how you choose to deal with them that matters."

Nathan looked at her with a smile, "Ok counselor, how best to deal with the nightmares?"

Jhu smirked at him. "Ask me again when I've figured out how to handle mine."

"I used to just wander this ship after a nightmare. This is much better." He kissed her gently. "Having you here for me means a lot. I want you to know."

"I usually read until I can sleep again, but leaving the lamp on disturbs your rest." Jhu kissed him sweetly, curling up next to him again. "I'm always here for you, like you've been here for me."

Nathan pulled her into him. "Your light has never bothered me. Please feel free to read. I mean it."

"Only if you're sure. I'd hate to wake you up."

"I'm sure." Nathan said "I hope now that we are on the move you will be able to get some sleep." Nathan's fingers slid along her arm. "Have you seriously just been laying here at night awake?"

"Sometimes. When I do sleep, I get a couple hours. Not much more than that."

"You can always wake me. You don't have to sit here alone." He said to her, his finger moving up her arm and a along her back. "I bet between the two of us we could find something to do other then just laying here awake."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," Jhu replied innocently, giving him an equally innocent look that was also coy and playful.

Nathan laughed know that not only what she said had a hidden meaning but what he had said sounded like it did also. "In all honesty I was thinking talk, play a game, just be together... but that's always fun too."

Jhu shrugged, grinning at him. "Those other things work too. But I'm half Trill. You knew where I would go with that."

Nathan grinned back. "Yeah, I might have..." he leaned in and kissed her with passion.

"You must be feeling better." Jhu giggled a little, snuggling a little closer to him.

"Much better. Thank you for talking with me. I love you Jhu." Nathan said.

"You're welcome. I love you too."

[ON]

So this was it. Cameron was on his way out, destined to fly a desk for a while until someone had another duty assignment for him. To be honest with himself was to be angry... bitter... and violent. Cameron Tegan had taken the past month getting to know his fellow crewmates, and for him to leave now...? It was still difficult to fathom. Entering his quarters, Cameron immediately began to remove his uniform top with the intent of taking a sonic shower and going to bed. “Computer, play music. ro’ro’ro’ yIbot,” At once, Klingon instruments canceled out the quiet stillness with a steady beat of Dog’agh’s, nqujleps, and Supghew’s. It calmed him.

It wasn’t long into the music, however, that Cameron realized that he wasn’t alone. Reaching down, he picked up a uniform undercoat… and then another. One was mustard yellow; the other... purple. Shaking his head and awakened with a sudden burst of enthusiasm that only moments ago would have been impossible, he looked past the living space and towards the bedroom.

Standing back up, he approached the bedroom and found the Katana’s Chief of Operations and Chief Diplomatic Officer arranged under his bedsheets almost precisely as his imagination told him he would. He knew Andy was bold, but not this bold… even though he didn’t mind. And as for Maica… well…

“Chief; Lieutenant,” Cameron greeted playfully as he leaned his back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

Maica had a tiny bottle in hand and was mixing up some drinks with that and some unpronounceable whiskey with an eyedropper when she caught sight of Cam. She still had her undergarments on to contain her assets, but other than that the sheet she was under left really nothing to the imagination.

Andy watched Maica mixing the drinks, only two because after her recent alcove snafu she was abstaining from alcohol until her systems were a bit more ‘normal’. But she still appreciated the aroma of the drink, and rested her chin on Maica’s shoulder so she could taste it in the air. She caught sight of Cam and she smiled.

“Welcome home, Commander,” she said with a wicked grin. "We figured that we'd give you a proper send off."

Cameron pushed himself off the wall and entered the room, keeping his arms crossed, but a jovial grin on his face. Unlike back in the showers, Andy’s hair was now dry and predictably unkempt. “Thanks. It’s good to be home. I don’t recall giving you the access codes to my quarters. Then again, it’s not like I think I’ll mind,” he grinned a little wider as his eyes traded targets.

“One of the nice things about being a diplomat. They give you override keys for 90% of the doors in Starfleet.” Setting the tiny bottle aside, she held up one glass for Cam and the other up towards her own lips. “This will either be an aphrodisiac or a hallucinogen. Either way, things should be fun,” Maica said with a mischievous grin.

‘Aphrodisiac,’ Andy mouthed to Cam, a hint that Maica was just messing with him. Then she reclined back in the bed, draping an arm casually over the headboard. “And there’s nowhere on this ship that I can’t get into,” Andy said with a snicker.

Been on this ship a few days and you’re already getting yourself into more trouble than you know, Cameron thought inwardly as he took the small glass from Maica’s green and nimble fingers, held it to his nose to breath in its contents, and downed it in a gulp. The flavor was potent but sweet. “Well in that case, I won’t bother setting double security protocols on the door. You two would just consider it foreplay.”

Downing her own drink and setting the glass aside, Maica settled back next to Andy, still smiling. “Yeah, but I’d rather go with teasing and wordplay. Unlocking a simple door is too easy.”

Cameron decided he’d had enough standing up while Andy & Maica were both laid out under the sheets. He sat down, reaching a hand over the bed sheets until he found at least one leg each, and caressed them gently. He felt himself getting excited, so much so that it was difficult for him to contain it between the ‘mature’ demeanor on his face. Whether it was out of his own desires, or because of the drink, he couldn't tell. He also didn't care.

Andy’s eyes worked their way over Cameron, an almost dangerous glint in her eyes as she detected signs of arousal. “Only your best, Commander,” Andy said as she lightly caressed up and down Maica’s arm. there was something about her tone, like a command or a warning. Maica had once been through hell and Andy wasn’t about to let Cam just use her, so she was gonna make sure that Maica was treated right. “Worship her,” she challenged him.

Cameron turned his eyes and focused on the red-eyed Orion -- there was a lot about her to worship, that was a fact. And he wasn’t just thinking about her body, either. He then realized that, compared to them, he was still grossly overdressed. Not letting it bother him, gave Maica’s leg an extra squeeze, and then slowly slid his hand to the back of her calf, moving upward slowly. “Hard not to.”

Laying there looking all cute and sexy, Maica reached behind her and easily unsnapped her bra with one hand and pulled it free. “I have a request then.” Her tone still playful but her eyes much more serious. “When I was a sex slave the first 3 years of my life, a lot of what I did was lay there and make noises. Entertain me.”

“Oooh, if he’s going to be the slave, I could go replicate a collar for him,” Andy offered.

Cameron’s eyes widened if even for a flash of a moment. He looked to Andy, letting his hand run a mimic of what he was doing to Maica, before both hands transitioned to under the sheets and reached towards their inner thighs. “Klingons don’t do well in captivity. No collars,” he added only somewhat seriously. It’s not like he’d been tied up at least once or twice in his life. And then, as if to deter either from protesting, he ran his fingers higher until-

Andy quickly slapped his hands away. “She said entertain her,” she reminded him with a scolding grin, “Slave.”

Turning to Andy, Maic asked with mock seriousness. “He’s half Trill too, right? I have yet to meet a Trill that didn’t like bondage to some degree.”

Andy crawled out from under the sheets, “I’ll go replicate some silk rope.” And a collar. This was going to be fun...

[OFF]

Nathan walked through the halls of Katana. Normally he loved his job, normally he would work well into his time off because he truly enjoyed it...but not right now. He had already secured Ensign Dash in the brig, but he was on his way to handle the part of this that he had been procrastinating. Now he had to go arrest Andy. Some parts of this job really sucked.

He stepped up to Andy and Maicas door and hit the call button. He didn’t think he needed to barge in phaser drawn. Nathan also knew that it was best for him to deal with Andy, because of anyone on his team she would give him less grief.

Andy opened the door and saw Nathan standing on the other side. She bore a grim expression, but nodded. She knew what he was here to do and she wouldn’t fight him on this. “Alright, lets get this over with,” she said as she grabbed her duty jacket from the back of the desk chair and put it on.

Nathan nodded back to her. “Thanks, this is not easy for me also.” He also had no intentions of cuffing her, he really hoped she would just walk with him.

“Yeah, I know,” she said. She zipped up her jacket and followed him out. “But the sooner this is done, the sooner we can move on, so lets just get it out of the way.” She might have fought with him if he was anyone other than Nathan, but because this was Nathan she was at least trying to be mature about this.

“Maica can come and see you when ever. I already made sure to exempt her from standard visiting hours due to ‘Diplomatic reasons’.” He smiled to her. He was pretty proud of that little loophole he was able to dig up.

“I figured you’d do something like that,” Andy said with a lopsided grin as she walked alongside Nathan. “You don’t have to, though. Maica and I… we said what we needed to say and it’ll be easier for us both if we try not to draw it all out with visits.”

Nathan looked down at her while they walked. “Are you guys ok?”

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Andy said with a nod. “It’s never easy when one can pull rank on the other, and she didn’t exactly pull rank on the bridge, but it still put a little tension there. And I had done a dumbass thing to begin with, so really I had it coming… We talked it out and we’re alright.”

“Good, you would be surprised to find out how much morale your relationship with Maica gives to this crew.” Nathan said. “Not to mention you are both my friends and I want nothing but the best for you both.” Nathan stepped up to the turbolift and as the door slid open with a hiss he motioned for Andy to enter first.

Andy entered the lift as directed. “I don’t see how our relationship is a morale boost for the rest of the crew,” she muttered. “But we did work things out. Like I could ever stay mad at her…”

“Deck 7.” Nathan said. “ I think it has a lot to do that you two are a very unlikely couple and if you two can find happiness with each other it gives other hope.”

“Whatever,” Andy grumbled. It wasn’t that she didn’t like talking about her personal life… Well, she didn’t like it, but she tolerated it when talking to Nathan because he understood how awkward it made her feel. But know that her romantic life was inspiring the rest of the crew kinda made her uncomfortable.

Nathan could not help but laugh a little. One of his special joys in life was making Andy slightly uncomfortable. But he was always careful not to take it to far. He went right back to the matter at hand. “I’m not sure yet how long you’re going to have to stay there yet. I guess Jhu has left that up to Tegan.”

Andy sighed. That could mean one of two things: either Cam would let her out fast because of their romp or he would be extra strict on her to prove he wasn’t showing any favoritism. Nah, Cam was a decent guy, he wouldn’t do that… “I know I’ll probably be stuck in there for a while, I accept that already.”

“If it was just you, you would probably be let off with a slap on the hand. But since Dash is also going to be here with you I can only guess how hard they will be on you both.” They had both done the exact same thing and if they went easy on Andy but not Dash there could be some major backlash. Especially considering Andy was part of the senior staff.

“Yeah… I really screwed up, didn’t I?” Andy said, not really wanting the answer.

“Naw.” Nathan said. “ In the grand plan this was nothing. No one got hurt, the ship is fine. You just did something without permission. It basically falls into the ‘Not following orders’ category. Even I have been in trouble for not following orders.” And recently too.

The turbolift stopped and opened the door. Nathan lead Andy out and down the hall.

“Yeah, but even I know that it was little more than luck that got us out of there unscathed,” Andy said. “I shouldn’tna done that, it was stupid and I put the whole crew at risk.”

“Don’t over think it. That’s above your rank. Be glad you have friends in high places right now. I for one will push for leniency, we can’t have the Chief of the boat AND operations in the brig for long. Just keep your head down and do whatever time comes your way.”

They stepped up to the brig door and Nathan let Andy enter first.

“Yeah yeah…” Andy grumbled and entered the brig. She looked at the different cells within the brig. An intrepid Class didn’t have many holding cells, and considering Ensign Dash and two Section 31 agents were already being held here, it wasn’t hard to figure out that she would have to share a cell with someone. “I’m not bunking with the spooks,” she said right away. “I will kill them if you stick me in there with them.”

“Or they will kill you, you will be bunking with Dash.” Nathan moved over to the cell where Ivan was already sitting and deactivated the shield.

“Dash,” Andy said to the Ensign with a nod. “Hi, I’m kinda your boss, sorry we haven’t met before now,” she said with a chuckle as she stepped into the cell.

Nathan reactivated the force field. “Don’t have too much fun you too...and I mean that!” He said with a wink to Andy. “Let Ensign Johns here know if you need anything.”

Ivan nodded to her “ Hi there ‘kinda my boss’. Hows it hanging?”

“Meh, a little uneven and to the left,” Andy answered with a shrug. She plopped herself on the bunk beside Ivan. “How about you?”

Ivan nodded at Andy, “Bout the same, the uniforms ride a little…”

“I know, right!” Well, at least they had something to talk about. “I like the cargo pants. The extra pockets are great and they’re a little roomier.” There they were, talking about their uniform options like they weren’t sitting in a brig together…

“Some captains are not as liberal about the uniform options as this one I guess. I have seen many different variants in the short time I have been on board… You can call me Ivan by the way.”

“Andy,” the ex-borg woman introduced herself. “Starfleet has become more liberal about the uniforms in general,” she added, playing with the pockets on the side of her pant legs. “If you’re worried about making a uniform switch, I’ll sign off on it if you want.”

“Huh...interesting. So you must still have your cortical node intact?” Ivan asked bluntly.

Andy gave him a strange look. “How the fuck would you know that?”

“Well I’m a...Technopath Lieutenant Maica called it. Normally it helps me diagnose problems and repair systems in the computer. But I just found out that when I’m around Maica, I can feel her emotions. Almost just like a Betazoid. I have done a lot of research on the Borg, and since I can also feel your emotions I had to assume that your cortical node is still working otherwise how could I?” Ivan said and leaned back with a little smirk on his face.

“Well, I think you’ve got some components confused, but you’re right, I do have my cortical node,” Andy said, still looking at him strangely. “The node is about the size of my pinkie and it’s located here-” she pointed to a point on her forehead above her eyepiece, “but I think what you meant is the cortical array which houses the node and indexes all my memory engrams.” She began to trace a path around her face and the back of her head to indicate where the cortical array had replaced her organic brain.

“Oh right!” Ivan said. “The Borg stuff was really confusing. I know just enough about it to sound really smart.” He grinned.

Andy snickered. “Nice… So you can really feel all that crap inside me? Most Betazoids have trouble reading me because my thoughts aren’t entirely organic anymore.” Which in her opinion was a good thing, she didn’t want a nosy telepath poking about her head. But somehow, another engineer was okay.

"Yeah...it awesome. You buzz. It's like this soft gentle white noise. Almost hypnotic. And on top of that I can tell you are feeling amused and curious...there is this slight undercurrent of anxiety also." Ivan described what he was feeling.

Buzz? “You must be feeling the nanoprobes,” Andy said with a curious sort of awe. “And I’m not fond of telepaths poking about, but this is kinda cool,” she admitted.

"Not a telepath. I can't read your mind. And I would apologize for being invasive but I can tell you're not offended. I agree, it is kinda cool." Ivan grinned. "Your girlfriend is very kind. She gave me Vodka and vermouth."

“Nice!” Andy grinned. “Yeah, Maica’s cool like that. I bet she felt interesting.”

"Very...way more information then you give off. I could feel her be hungry, I could feel her be full as she ate. She is incredible!" Ivan said excitedly.

“I made that body for her. All that awesomeness is my handiwork,” Andy said proudly.

"And she's very proud of it. She was bragging about you a little." Ivan said. "Grew the organelles yourself?"

“Yeah, using genetic samples from her biosynthetic skin and the instructional code from the DNA of my own organelles.” Andy grinned, glad she had someone to talk to who could understand some of this stuff. “It was a challenge to splice that information together, but once I got them growing it was worth it. Took her forever to get used to a lot of it, but she’s finally starting to enjoy the new systems.”

"So she's she's the perfect mix of both you... kind of romantic." Ivan said. "How did you mix the two DNA strands?"

Andy went into a long, drawn out explanation of the mechanics of extracting certain genes and splicing them with another. With the wide grin on her face, she almost looked like some kind of ‘mad scientist’! “And I wouldn’t really call it romantic so much as easier than writing the necessary gene sequences from scratch.”

"That's fascinating! I can't believe that the mitochondria would bind to the DNA like that!" Ivan looked just as excited as she was. " She said something about being even more advanced than Data, she's no longer oil based? "

“No, the organelles create everything she needs. She has organic lubricants and coolants that are all unique to her,” Andy said. “And a unique power system, simulated metabolic functions, she powers herself by eating and the food by-products are used by the organelles to synthesize what her body needs. And she has bio neural gel to augment her positronic matrix. She’s more closely related to the new Maddox-type android, but even then she’s unique.”

"So I guess this would be the Carter model?" Ivan said to her. "You should write a paper. That face that you build the most advanced android to ever exist and did it in record time is not something you should keep here on Katana."

“No, not the Carter model… Maica is just Maica,” Andy said with a small smile she only had when thinking of Maica. “I don’t know about her being the most advance android to exist, I don’t have all the stats on the Soong and Maddox types. And I didn’t do it for recognition, I did it for her. If she wants to share that with the rest of the scientific community then I’ll write a paper, but she’s not just an android to me. She’s a person, actual and whole, and if she don’t want scientists all up in her business then I won’t let them.”

"Well I'm your biggest fan." Ivan said.

“i’m glad someone approves,” Andy said with a chuckle. “So… you and the Ferengi girl… How’s that going?”

Ivan mood changed a bit. "Well she indirectly got me thrown in the brig. I'm not sure if if I want to fuck her or fuck her up...strange feeling."

“Been there, done that,” Andy said with a nod. “She called me a bitch, so that means I like her by default. I say give her an earful, then give her the D.”

"Giving Noxa an ear full is a challenge." Ivan said grinning at his own joke.

“Oh, that’s true…” Andy said with a nod. “Do female Ferengi like Oo-mox? Because if they do, I could teach you a few things to make her melt.”

"Nope. Maica told me the females had the sensitivity in their ears bred out of them. She said to try the inner leg or palms of her hands." Ivan said. "I'm learning slowly."

“Fuck, that sucks…” Andy blurted out. What a backwards race… “Well, if Maica said the inner leg or palms, then that’s a pretty good route to go. She’s a former sex-bot, so she knows just about everything on the subject.”

"She told me. She very candid. It was refreshing to talk with her." Ivan explained. "You are very lucky, I hope you don't mind me saying."

“Yeah, I am…” Andy said with a nod. “I’m sorry if I got you into trouble with your lady,” she added. “For what it’s worth, I never meant to put her in harm’s way. Or any of the crew, for that matter.”

"Please." Ivan said. "You could make Noxa do something like I could force you to do so something...I was warned about you. So far it seems to have been a bit of an exaggeration." Ivan chuckled. "She made her choice, not you."

“It ain’t no exaggeration,” Andy said with no small amount of pride. “Just wait, I get worse.”

Ivan shrugged. "I was told about spit wads in the mess hall." He grinned at her. "So it's all down hill from here?"

“Pretty much,” Andy said with her trademark smirk. “It’s easy to stay on my good side though. Just don’t be a dumb ass and we’ll get along just fine.”

"I'm a lot of things, but a dumbass I am not." Ivan said. "Maybe we will get along just fine."

“Good.” Andy leaned forward and removed her jacket, then rolled it up to stick it behind her head like a pillow. “I still can’t believe we gotta share a bunk…” she grumbled, looking out at the other two cells with the Section 31 guys.

“It's better than sharing one with them. I think they are professional glarers. Look at that guy over there." He said pointing to the one in the Starfleet uniform. "I don't think he likes you much."

“I don’t think either one of them likes me much,” Andy chuckled.

"I can tell. What did you do...wait let me guess. You caught them and stuck them in here yourself." Ivan said with his lopsided grin.

“Nah, but I had a hand in it,” Andy said. “I also caught one of their other guys, was there when he died, and helped foil their plans of galactic conquest, MWAHAHAHA!” she said dramatically, just to piss them off.

"Quite the amazon aren't you?" Ivan said to her.

“Why do people keep saying that?” she asked. “Just ‘cause I can shoot a bow don’t make me some kind of mythical warrior woman. I don’t hear people calling Jhu or Vara Amazons!”

"I hardly know Jhu, and have no idea who Vara is. You on the other hand are quite impressive. Not only do you repair and keep this ship running but you take on Section 31 with pride. Would you rather I call you a Klingon? I only meant respect." Ivan said to her.

“My role in the Section 31 bullshit was more peripheral. I helped, that’s it. There are other people who deserve more recognition than me,” Andy replied humbly.

“Well they are not keeping me company in the brig so you get it.” Ivan grinned. “You should just accept it.”

“But I don’t want it!” she rebutted with a childish smirk. “I wanna be difficult, just ‘cause I can!”

“Oh well then don’t let me get in the way.” Ivan said leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. But he looked amused.

Andy stuck her tongue out at him, then chuckled. She liked this guy… “So, once we get out of here, I’ll take a look at what you’ve been doing. We’ve had so many repairs going on, I haven’t had a chance to check in with all the new crew.”

“I flew the ship...almost into your singularity. How did I do boss?” He grinned at her and laughed. “I have not even received a work schedule yet.”

“Don’t know much about piloting, but I’ll get on that work schedule as soon as we’re out of here,” Andy said. “There’s a few others I need to work into the roster and do performance evaluations...Fuck, I have so much work waiting for me…” She really needed that vacation Maica was planning…

“If you need any help let me know...not really in my field to do admin work but it cant hurt to learn.”

“Nah, I got a good assistant taking care of things for me,” Andy said. “But thanks for the offer. Though, he might need some help when I go on vacation. I’ll let him know you’ve expressed interest in helping do admin stuff. It’ll be good if he has someone who can help him.”

Ivan Nodded. “That is if the Chief engineer does not have crap for me to do… he should be happy to find out his new computer specialist ended up in the brig 5 days into stepping foot on the ship.” Ivan was not looking forward to that encounter.

“Shit, I’ve haven’t met the new Chief Engineer either…” Andy wasn’t looking forward to that meeting either. She shifted on the bunk and laced her fingers behind her head. “All this shit with Tribbles and Section 31 has messed up our work details… It’s gonna take forever to get this ship back into shape…”

“Tribbles??” Ivan had not heard anything about tribbles.

“Yeah, tribbles…” Andy said with a sigh. “We still don’t know what to do with them.”

“Gas them?” Ivan suggested with a shrug.

“Nah, I was gonna just beam them into space or just disintegrate them in the transporter buffer, but everyone else is all in a tiff about not killing them,” Andy replied. “I don’t like the idea of killing them, but then again I don’t like the idea of unleashing hundreds of critters whose sole purpose is to eat and breed into ecosystems that are not designed to support them.”

Ivan shrugged "Thank god that's not my call."

“Fuck, ain’t that the truth…”

"Indeed." Ivan said, he stood and paced around the cell cell to stretch his legs.

“What’s the matter?” Andy said, watching Ivan pace.

"Just enjoying the view...." Ivan said. "My legs were falling asleep."

“Ah…” Andy closed her eyes, wondering if she would be able to get any sleep with Ivan pacing around. then there was the thought if she even wanted to sleep. She could almost hear that clicking noise again...

Ivan looked over at Andy. Oh time to sleep. Ivan went and laid down on one of the benches.

Once she heard him move to one of the benched, she grinned, then tried to sleep in earnest. As she could feel herself moving closer to sleep, she felt a strange weightlessness. And there was that damned clicking again! Or wait, was it the Collective? She couldn’t tell what she was hearing anymore, it didn’t make sense!

Ivan sat up suddenly. "What the fuck is that?"

Andy was caught up in whatever was happening to her and could barely hear him. Some part of her registered that she heard his voice, but it was so distant. All she could hear was the Collective and feel the weightlessness. She hated these dreams, they always felt so wrong...

"Chief!" He said hopping up and looking around. What the hell was that clicking?

Suddenly, a soft light spilled into the room as a small vortex opened up within the cell. Floating off the bench, Andy was drawn into this vortex.

"Andy!" Ivan said and lunged for her, missing her boot by an inch, then she was gone. Ivan stood and started shouting for the guard.

Ensign Johns came running from the Security station and looked aghast at Ivan. “Where is Chief Carter?” he asked Ivan.

“I dont know! There was a clicking and then a...thing opened and sucked her in!” Ivan said in a bit of a panic. “Get me the hell outta here! I dont want to be next!”

Ensign Johns didn’t know what the right thing to do was, but he made his decision quickly. He turned off the forcefield to let Ivan out and tapped his commbadge. “Lieutenant Tonkin, we have a situation down here!”

Ivan sat in the mess hall eating some lunch. He had avoided the brig till now somehow, but he was sure it was coming. He had not even seen Noxa since that events on the bridge where he single handily made sure he would never get to fly Katana again.

‘Smart flyboy...’ Ivan thought to himself as he picked at his food and mulled over his fuck up.

Maica wandered into the dining area for some reason, still amazed that she was put in command of the bridge, even if for a very short time. She figured she had best learn a bit more about the people she would be working closer with now that she was fully bridge certified for once. Grabbing a sandwich and a cup of tomato soup from the replicator, she sat across from Ivan, not even asking if she could join him.

Ivan paused mid bite looking at the woman sitting across from him. “Lieutenant...can I finish eating before you take me to the brig?” He assumed thats why she was here.

Maica stared at him for a moment before looking down at her lunch. “I’m not here to take you to the brig,” she said simply. “I just want to get to know you a little better, I guess.”

Ivan started at her for a long moment. He could feel her, hear something inside her. He looked confused and maybe a bit scared. “What are you…”

Maica glanced up a bit confused. “I’m Lieutenant Maica, Diplomatic officer of the USS Katana. I’m also the android that was standing behind you when you tried locking out the helm controls.”

“Android...that kind of makes sense. You’re feeling confused, and down. Almost sad but not quite. More just extremely tired… this is incredible!” Ivan said. He had never experienced an android before.

Ok. this had Maica’s attention. With her new positronic net was it possible that empaths could feel her now? “Are you an empath? What race are you from? You’re right, I am confused, tired, and a bit sad. How can you feel me like that?”

“I’m human, but I have this ability to feel machines...but I have never experienced an android before. I can feel your emotions! This must be what being a Betazoid feels like!” There was a spark of excitement in his eyes.

“Happy to be of service,” Maica said with a warm smile. That made sense. He was some sort of technopath or something. “That must be a handy skill to have being a pilot and an engineer.”

“Very, its why I left the pilots chair and started working with the computer systems. I do miss the red shirt...no one looks good in the yellow.” Ivan said.

“I avoid the red,” Maica said with a bit of a giggle. “I don’t want to look like a christmas tree.”

Ivan grinned a lopsided grin at her. “ Red and green are complementary colors!”

“They’re also human holiday colors.” Maica just shook her head and picked up her sandwich. “Besides, I look better in purple.”

“You do look good in purple.” Ivan agreed. “So Lieutenant Maica, what is there to do on Katana for fun?”

Maica had a short list of fun things she could share. “Eat, drink, fuck, use the holodeck, play an instrument, go to the hydroponics bay… Those are all fun.”

"In that order?" Ivan said with a laugh

“No, order doesn’t really matter.” Maica said, looking at him a bit strangely. “You could do them in any order or not at all.”

Ivan was still laughing. "Good to know. So what instrument do you play?"

“I can play any instrument, but I prefer my own 10 string lyre. Do you play anything?” Maica asked.

“I can keep a beat on the drum kit, but its not like I play it you know?” Ivan said taking a bite of food. “I’m more into active things. Ever been rock climbing?”

“Rock climbing?” Maica didn’t like the sound of that. “That would be too risky for me, I think.”

“And why do you think that?” He could feel the intimidation flowing off her. This was a strange sensation. “ The holodecks have safety protocols so the danger is low.”

Maica looked down at her built-in ‘flotation’ assets before looking back up at him. “I’m not built for things like that and I’d rather not risk cutting my artist crafted skin. I’ve had too much damage done to it as it is.”

Ivan took a moment to look to woman over. He had been so caught up in the fact that he could feel her emotions that he had not really looked at her yet. This caused him to wonder. “Your creator seemed to give you...ample skin.” Yeah that was a good way of putting it. “What exactly were you built for? Command?”

“Sex,” the android said bluntly. “The Ferengi troll didn’t build me for anything else but to be the ultimate unpaid prostitute and sex toy.”

Ivan blinked a few times. “ Ok...well I guess that makes sense then.” He took another bite of his food. “ So you were built by Ferengi? You must really love my girlfriend then.” The sarcasm was dripping off his comment. The most logical Vulcan could tell he was being sarcastic.

Ivan wouldn’t need his technopath abilities with Maica to confirm the seriousness of her next words. “When she came to meet me, you’re lucky she walked out of my office alive.”

Ivan nodded slowly. “If its any comfort, she feels the same way.” Then Ivan shrugged. He didn’t need to fight Noxa’s fights...he was plenty pissed off at her himself and Maica did not need any powers to see the anger on his face. “Shes a pain in the ass. Shes lucky I’m fond of having her around at the moment…”

“Yeah I determined she’s not likely to be a threat to more than herself, so I’m not worried. Stealing a shuttle aside, at least she’s not at risk of sitting in the brig like my girlfriend.” Maica said sourly.

“She should...but it looks like just her boy friend will be joining your...girl friend?” Ivan raised his brow. “ You’re seeing Chief Carter?” Ivan had not met her yet but her surly reputation on this ship got around, he had been warned about her almost right away. He only knew of her because they had become unlikely partners in crime on the bridge.

“I am.” Maica shook her head as she dipped her sandwich in her tomato soup. ”Surprising, I suppose, that the chief diplomat is in love with likely the least diplomatic person on the ship. It is what it is, though. She taught me how to truly live and saved my life in a way I can never repay.”

The wave of emotions that came off the woman damn near knocked Ivan out of his seat. He flushed a little and got a huge lop sided grin on his face. “Love is what it is. I have found you can pick who you sleep with but you can not pick who you fall in love with. They say opposites attract so maybe its not odd that you would end up with her?”

Munching on her sandwich, Maica waved the uneaten portion in the air. “Exactly! Algorithmically, the pairing is insane. If it weren’t for pure chance and thin doors, I probably wouldn’t even know her outside of reputation, let alone live with her.”

“Even today, science can't explain why we fall in love like we do.” Ivan shrugged thinking of his own situation, the moment of feeling Maicas joy fading as quickly as it had come. “Thin doors?” This sounded like a story he wanted to hear.

Totally ignoring the question, Maica rambled on. “They’ve taken some guesses. Psychologically induced chemical reactions in the brain and all that. What it all comes down to though, is that metaphysical heart and infatuation. That decides everything.”

Ivan was not one to be brushed off so easy. He really could care less about what happens in the body when you fall in love. “What do you mean by thin doors?”

Maica figured she’d have to explain that one… “I heard something beautiful in her quarters and I investigated. We got to talking and enjoying each other and one thing led to another…” Maica explained sheepishly, blushing just slightly from that memory.

Ivan smiled too feeling the joy. “This is so odd…” He said, his eyes half closing.

Maica looked up a bit shocked, remembering Ivan could feel her emotions. “Are you getting off on that?”

His eyes snapped open as he looked at her. “Are you getting off on it? Cause all I’m getting is extreme happiness and it feels good. But no, Im not getting off on it.” But that did cause his mind to wander a bit.

“In that case…” Maica started playing back all her favorite memories of Andy in her mind, letting them flood her with happiness, contentedness, and love for the ex-borg woman.

He smiled at her. “Thank god I only have this happen around you. Im not sure how I would handle feeling everyone's emotions.” Ivan sat back in his chair accepting the feelings he was getting from Maica. “Now you’re just making me miss Noxa.”

Giggling lightly, Maica stopped and relaxed a bit. “You love her a lot, don’t you? How did you two meet?”

“Love her a lot? I would say more that I’m confused a lot by her. Right now I’m confused if I want to smack the shit out of her or kiss her cause shes ok… but I’m heavily leaning towards smacking the shit out of her though.” Ivan said, a grumpy look crossing his face.

"That makes sense. What about your sex life then?" Maica asked curiously.

“What about it?” Ivan had a curious look on his face. He was not bashful about this subject but the question was lacking clarification.

Maica was a little frustrated at that, but still curious so she pressed, already knowing the most likely answer since she couldn’t smell any signs of it on either of them. “Do you have it?”

“Oh yeah! First thing I did after landing the shuttlecraft was have her take me back to her room.” Ivan said with a bit of a grin.

“And you had sex then?” Hard to believe, but it was possible for someone to fool Maica’s sex senses.

“Yeah...a couple times.” Ivan said. “Why? Not that I’m offended about talking about this but...why do you ask?”

“I didn’t smell it on Noxa when we first met or on you now. She also mentioned not drinking or anything.” Maica said, shrugging a bit.

“Well I did not come here until about a week after her, and considering why she is here I assume you met her right away. So if she...Smelled like sex?” That was odd. “ anyway if she had, there would have been a problem. If she’s dragging someone else into her bed I had better already be there. As for me...I bathe regularly?”

“Bathing regularly is one thing… Have you taken 3-4 real water showers since then?” Now Maica was definitely curious.

This relaxed smile crossed Ivans face. “I love that Noxa has a real water shower.” Yeah, he might have been taking advantage of that face.

“Fair enough.” Maica nibbled on her sandwich a bit more, watching Ivan carefully.

“Anything else personal you would like to know?” Ivan said. There was no malice in this voice. He was enjoying the conversation and getting use to the emotions that he was feeling from her.

Maica chewed thoughtfully, sipping her soup and swallowing. “Have you found all of her erogenous zones? They can be hard to find on a Ferengi female.”

“I doubt it. The physical nature of our relationship is still new...hell our whole relationship is new. We meet on the Black Hawk and it was not very long until she got transferred. Then we had to spend a month apart from each other...its still all very new.” Ivan explained. “ So no, I have not.”

“If you need any advice, I’m also a registered sex therapist.” Maica said with a warm smile.

“Well I already found out the ears on a female Ferengi don’t do anything…” Ivan said taking another bit. That had been a shock to him.

“Unexpected, isn’t it? For most races the ears are more sensitive on the women than the men. For Ferengi women, they have most of the sensitivity bred out of them so your best bet is the inner thighs and the palms.” Maica said nodding and munching on the rest of her sandwich.

“Bred out of them? God I hate the Ferengi...I still find it odd that I would end up with one.” Ivan said with a shrug. “But like we were saying earlier…”

“Yeah, love works in strange ways.” Maica finished her soup off, thinking about his situation. “So tell me more about her then.”

Ivan had to think about that for a moment. “ She’s a challenge…” he finally settled on.

“That’s hardly a description…” Maica muttered. “What does she like to eat? What’s her favorite color? Things like that.”

“I’m still learning most of that to be honest.” Ivan said pushing his mostly empty plate aside. “ She likes grubs...I make her brush her teeth though after she eat them.” He shook his head and made a nasty face. “And yeah, I tried one...Blah.”

“Ah grubs… It’s been years since I’ve seen them. I’d make her use mouthwash too.” Maica said, giggling a bit. “I wouldn’t expect her to eat much else, though some nuts might be similar enough.”

“Mouth wash good idea!” Ivan said matching her laugh. “We have really not gotten the chance to spend a lot of time together. We had an away mission once! But I had to pull out early because there was an emergency and I was the only one qualified to fly the shuttle back to the ship.”

“Hopefully you’ll have plenty of time together here. I know she doesn’t drink, but if you need a bottle of something worth more than a shuttle, let me know.” Maica spoke soberly now, her giggly self aside, she was back to her tired somber self she was earlier.

That was an odd comment. “Why would I need that? Should I run while I can?” Ivan asked.

“I have a ‘small’ collection of alcohols from around the galaxy and I’m the impromptu supplier for the ship.” Maica explained. “I even have a lot of illegal bottles.”

A grin formed over Ivan’s face. “ So you are telling me that there is actual alcohol on this ship? Not the fake crap that comes from the replicator??”

“Not only that, I’m telling you it runs in rivers through the halls. Practically…” Maica clarified.

“That is excellent news! I didn’t know Noxa was not a drinker. Most ships don’t have the option.” But he was sure she knew that.

“Not everyone has a popular diplomat on board that gets things like that gifted to them regularly.” Maica said with a grin.

“Thank god for Starfleet Diplomatic Corp.” Ivan said. “ So got any Vodka?”

“I do. You’ll have to be a bit more specific though. Which planet? How old?” Maica asked.

“Umm...Surprise me? And Vermouth?” Ivan said. He didn’t know much about alcohol but he knew he liked to drink it.

“I’ll find a bottle or two I think you might like.” Maica said with a warm smile. “So do you have any questions for me? Or can you just read my mind yet?”

Ivan grinned at her. “Not yet. Though your systems are much happier now that you have eaten. Thats a bit odd...you must have some kind of bio-organic’s in you huh?”

“Yeah my new body is loaded with organelles. Andy insisted I be more organic. It’s taken some getting used to, but it is what it is.” Maica said. “Besides, i need less maintenance now so I’m not complaining.”

“Like the Borg use?” Ivan asked. He was still new to the whole engineering thing but he had done some research on the Borg.

“Exactly,” Maica confirmed, smiling and nodding. “Andy grew them just for my new systems. I’m probably the most advanced android ever built now. Even Data needed to drink some silicone oil now and then.”

“Wow, thats impressive. Would you mind if I looked over your specs sometime?” Ivan asked. “I would love to take a look at what makes you tick.”

“It’s ok with me, but you’ll have to talk with Andy about that.” Maica said. “And I don’t really ‘tick’ do I? That sounds unpleasant to be around.”

“Figure of speech.” Ivan explained “I’ll ask her. Thank you for the permission. You don’t actually make a sound that I can hear.”

"That's good. You can just feel emotions and stuff from me. That's a good thing, I think. Maybe empaths can feel me too..." Maica mused.

“Well that I don’t know. I am not an actual empath.”Ivan said “It would be worth checking into I guess. Is there a chance you might be willing to help me with something?”

Maica gave Ivan a warm smile. "Of course. What is it?"

“Well, it’s odd being able to feel your emotions. Maybe we could spend some time so I can learn to control this better?”

"We can. Do you have something in mind?" Maica asked quizzically.

“Nope.” Ivan said. “But I can do some research. Im sure there are exercises that I can find…”

Maica nodded at that. "Let me know. I'm often in subspace meetings, but I can always make time."

“Great! Thanks!” Ivan said. “This is all so weird to me…”

“I can only imagine. I may be fluent in over 4 million forms of communication, but the very concept of empathy and telepathy elude me completely. The nearest thing I could equate it to would be a wireless data connection in your brain.” Maica said, pondering what it must be like.

“Thats a really good explanation, but my connection is limited. I can only down load on kind of file type and I have no upload capability.” Here we go, Ivan thought. Terms he could wrap his mind around.

“That’s the way it always is I suppose. Unidirectional flow of information and all that.” Maica nodded. “At least you have the connection though, right?”

“Right.” Ivan said with a nod. Then he glanced over Maicas shoulder at the door and got disheartened look on his face. “ Oh here we go…”

Looking over her shoulder, Maica was curious as to what Ivan was referring to. “What is it?”

Nathan had walked in and headed over to the table where they were sitting. “Maica, how are you?”

Was this what Ivan was disheartened about? Maica was a bit confused why but wanted to see how things unfolded. “Nathan!” she said with a warm smile. “I’m good enough. How are you doing?"

“I have had better days.” Nathan did not have his normal happy expression on his face. He look over to Ivan. “Lieutenant Dash. I am placing you under arrest and will be taking you to the brig.”

“Thats what it is…” Ivan said to Maica, then he stood. “Yes sir, lets go.”

“May I ask what he's being arrested for?" Maica asked worriedly. "Is it because of what happened on the bridge? Is Andy being arrested too?"

“Yes, he is being arrested for disobeying orders essentially and yes...Andy is next. Though I do have some good news, if you can call it that. As the chief Diplomatic office on Katana you are exempt from typical visiting hours for ‘Diplomatic purposes’.” Nathan said to her. “I’m sorry Maica…”

The green skinned android just stared into her cup, suddenly feeling like she was going to be sick. “It’s fine. You’re just following your orders. I’ll talk with you about it later, likely still as acting second officer.”

As if Ivan was not feeling bad enough already. Now he felt like he was about to throw up also. He took slow deep breaths while he waited for the chief of security to get him away from Maica.

“I am available to you whenever you need me.” Nathan said giving Ivan a sideways glance.

“Thanks. I’m sure I’ll be by your office soon enough.” Maica said, still feeling rather ill.

Nathan turned to Ivan. “Lets go… you ok? We need to swing by sickbay?”

“No, Ill be fine in a moment I’m sure.” Ivan said. He looked at Maica. “Sorry…”

Maica waved the two off before standing to return both hers and Ivan’s dishes to the replicator.

The current program being run in the open holodeck was a gym, a fitness area with the red and gray lighting of the Klingon style. At about 30% volume, played a Klingon battle march (like the one heard in the movies). The Assistant Chief engineer was in workout attire, which chiefly highlighted what some would call her divine abs. Which flexed and rippled under the effect of the crunches that were being performed at precisely that moment.

Noting the formation of the arch, the woman continues on with her routine, figuring that whoever will enter will either turn and leave, or be brave enough to approach.

Waldron had finished his shift after fixing a few science replicators. Waldron was still in his uniform, which was wrinkled with a few smudges of grease on the collar. He headed down to the holo decks, hoping there was one open. He frowned after realizing they were both occupied. He headed into the first holodeck, and was disappointed to see a gym. Waldron was not athletically inclined in the slightest, but after such a tiring shift, any recreation would do. He looke around the room, looking for any other occupants.

Konora raised up in another crunch and looked over. "Don't think I've seen you around, Staff Warrant Officer." Calling him by rank, seemed appropriate. "What is your name?" Sitting up, she looks up and over at him fully.

Waldron stared at her, like a deer in a car's headlights. As a person who was very uncomfortable in social situations, he almost had a heart attack, especially considering that

the woman had an intimidating physique. "W-w-Waldron Dalton, Matter and Energy S-specialist."

"Ah, you're in my department. I am Konora Storm. Assistant Chief Engineer. It is good to meet you." She replied. "I was just finishing my training, so feel free to switch the program to whatever you would like."

"No, n-no, it's fine how it is. I don't want to imp-pose."

"Oh believe me, you are not imposing on me at all. Go on, I'm giving you the holodeck. Though I am interested to see what you might run, Dalton." Konora replied in a hearty tone.

Waldron nodded, and replied "If-f you insist. Computer, activate p-program H1945." The scenery changed, and suddenly a sort of high tech hovercraft appeared around them, with Waldron in the pilot's seat, and Konora in the passenger seat. They were high in the sky, thousands of feet above the ground. A Japanese style city materialized under them, bustling with people. Waldron looked up as a large, silver plane with US insignia passed over them. "All will be explained sh-shortly."

"I see. Then do keep us from crashing. Go on." Konora replied, settling comfortably into the passenger seat and observing the events..

He nodded, one eye on the controls and one on the plane. He cleared his throat as a small, metal object fell from the plane as it flew overhead. "I as-ssume you are familiar with the bombing of N-Nagasaki?"

"Yes. Horrific, for its time. And yet, to some, a necessary evil." Konora replied. "I am glad that we do not use such weapons."

I never want to command a starship again. She'd only been in charge for a day, but it was too much... and that was before she had to have Andy locked up. Jhu couldn't help wondering if she'd ruined friendships over that. Andy deserved the reprimand and punishment, but Jhu hated to be the person recommending it. She stared at the PADD that contained her various reports, trying to decide if she was even doing the right thing.

Commander Kristopher Kerouac, back on his feet, released from Sickbay and having reclaimed command of his starship had made the walk down from his Ready Room to deck six very gingerly. He was to be taking things light, and was doing so under doctor's orders. However, he knew that he would need to pick up the pace and keep things going aboard Katana with Cameron leaving, and Jhu having recently felt the burden of command. Kris was on his way to see her and to of course inform her that her command responsibilities were not quite over.

Her office was quite open, and Kris knocked on the framing of the entrance before walking in on her amidst her paperwork of filing a report. "Good morning, Commander" said Kris pleasantly enough as he exchanged a curt nod before entering her office and having a seat. "Report for Starfleet Command?" he asked, knowing full well that was what she was doing. He could see it on her face.

"Something tells me you know the answer to that question." Not quite looking up, Jhu pointed at a chair. "Sit if you want."

Kris had a seat and smiled. "I can smell a command report from a mile away" commented Kris. He then reached over the desk and grabbed the PADD that was sitting on her desk. It was a report on Chief Petty Officer Carter. "Ah...the ever so difficult Chief of Operations" said the Commanding Officer. He shook his head and sat the PADD down. "You did a good job, Jhu. You kept the ship together and we didn't lose anyone except for DeLancer."

"I just hope Command feels the same way about it. Breaking a man's neck isn't exactly a common thing around here, and Andy nearly got us all killed. Pedians pissed off because she tried to send them to fluidic space. Undine pissed off because now they know we can open a damned rift into their space. Then we got caught in the cross fire. It's a mess all around, and I can't find a way to make it sound like anything else."

Kris nodded. He understood how she felt. "It is a mess, Jhu. It is a shit fest of a festering mess that is going to be something in your career that you'll be remembered for...better or for worse. Andy's actions were reckless and emotionally driven. She's a damn good Chief of Operations which is why she has the position to begin with" said Kris. He looked at Jhu with a small smile "You showed your command chops out there. You sat in the big chair and made hard decisions. Toe to toe with the Undine and came out without starting a war with them. Sure, we may have pissed them off a bit, but you know I would have too. As for the Pedians...that is a whole other problem."

The Commanding Officer shook his head. "The Pedians are warp capable, and weapons are about on our level. We kind of thrown ourselves disruptingly in the middle of their way of life and means of survival. However, it was at the expense of a Federation protected species."

"More than that. Sentient beings who feel pain and cry for help." Jhu sighed, dropping the PaDD she was working on onto the desk and leaning back in her chair. "I didn't understand the Undine's message. They didn't kill those Gekli just to kill them... they just didn't want them to enter the Gamma Quadrant. They killed the Vulcans because they thought the Vulcans might hurt the Gekli." She grinned a little. "They didn't care about our nanite torpedoes. If it was just that we had those, they'd have fought us tooth and nail. They let us go because we tried to defend their livestock. And we took one of their torpedoes without exploding. I think that might have helped..."

Kris smiled. "Who knows, you may go down in the historical texts as someone of importance. This whole event may be taught at the Academy some day" commented Kris. "I've come to learn that not everyone, not every species are how we perceive them to be. Sometimes, first contact isn't the best contact but may lead to eventual peace. Take the Gorn for instance. Our first contact with them did not go well. Though in time our relations bettered... at least for a while."

"Better than what they say now, which is 'see the spotted girl? Don't be like her. She's nuts'." Jhu snickered a little then gave him a serious look. He hadn't come down here to make her feel better or poke fun at her command skills. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. "Kristopher... why are you in my office? And tell the truth."

Kris shook his head. "Well, my spotted ill tempered friend, I am afraid your command duties are not over. I was not present nor accountable for what happened. There are some Admirals, the Task Force CO for the 9th Task Force included, who are looking to sit down and hear what happened. You will have to attend this meeting and take Maica with you."

"Please tell me you're joking." Jhu stared at him, turning several shades paler than normal. Talking to Starfleet Brass was so not her idea of a good time; she hated the politics involved, and the idea of being trapped in a room with any one of them - or more than one of them - made her heart race. "I can't. It just won't work... I mean... me? In a room with the brass? That's a disaster waiting to happen, and you know it."

"Oh I know," said Kris with a chuckle. "That is why it has to be you. Not only were you the one in command, but you are the one who can handle a bunch of old fucks," added Kris. "It may be a disaster, but it may be mildly entertaining. You'll have Maica with you... you'll be fine."

"I swear, if you get me demoted, I will kill you. I've worked too damn hard to get where I am to start losing ground." Jhu sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. But I'm going to need some time off before we get there. Otherwise, we'll probably have a dead admiral on our hands, and you'll be visiting me in prison."

"Ah yes, about that..." said Kris with a smile as he reached into his pocket and with his hand closed set the small solid pip on her desk. He removed his hand and let her look at it for a moment. "If they demote you, you'll just be Lieutenant Commander. You've been promoted to Commander. I received approval to grant you a promotion to Commander. However, you must pass an examination before you can wear it....ah and that little Ferengi woman was the one who recommended you for the promotion."

Jhu stared at the tiny bit of metal for a long moment, not quite sure she believed what she was seeing. "Is this for real? I mean... damn. I appreciate it. And I'm flattered. But Noxa? That's kind of shocking... you have to admit that, at least." Still not certain she wasn't imagining the pip on her desk, she poked it with her finger and grinned when she found it to be quite solid indeed. "All right then. I'll put the exam in my schedule... somewhere. Just... not this exact instant. I have to finish this report and then... well. I need a break. I think I skipped lunch."

"Go" said Kris with a smile. "Finish the report, take a few days off. Hell, Tonkin can have a few days off too. We'll be having shore leave soon anyways. Take Tonkin out to lunch" added the Commander.

"...ah. I see you've heard about that." Jhu smiled a little shyly. "Lunch with Nathan sounds fantastic. Thanks."

"Enjoy" added Kris with a nod. "I wish you luck on the examination. I had to take it before they made me official Commanding Officer here and gave me my Commander's pip...I failed twice" he said with a shake of his head. "Passed the third time though" he added. Barely passed, he mentally noted.

"Thanks. I'm just gonna finish this and then disappear for a while."

"Have fun" replied Kris as he got up and left. She's going to break shit if she fails it thought Kris as he left the room.

Now that Kris was awake and able to command his own damn ship, Jhu had wisely decided she needed time to decompress before speaking with the admiral. Going into that debriefing still wound up over the ordeal would only lead to misunderstandings on both sides and probably a reprimand or three for losing her temper. So while the ship sailed for Ophinias Colony, she'd headed down to holodeck 3, leaving a note for Nathan with the computer in case he wanted to find her. Knowing that she couldn't take the risk of serious injury, she'd left the safeties on... despite wanting to feel the thrill of having nothing to catch her should she fall.

The cliff she'd programmed in was moist from the nearby waterfall, making her grip somewhat tenuous as she clung to the rocky surface and steadily climbed upward. She was nearly halfway up its face when her hand slipped and the holodeck's force fields pinned her to the rocks until she regained her footing. To her surprise, the rush of adrenaline followed anyway, and she happily continued on her way up.

Nathan had received her message and when he had gotten to the Holodeck he was to late to join her on the side of the rock, so instead he transferred himself to the top of the waterfall. He just sat on the edge and watched her pick her way up quietly, taking in the view from the top.

Jhu couldn't see him while she climbed, so she didn't notice he'd joined her until she was very near the top. She paused for a moment to grin at him, resting by pressing herself more tightly into the cliff. "Cheater. I climbed up here."

"I didn't realize we were competing, or that there were rules to reaching the top." Nathan said with a smile to her. "Hurry up already, you're taking forever down there." Then he laughed.

"Smartass. You just wait until I get up there." Actually reaching the top was tricky, and Jhu fell momentarily silent as she negotiated the cliff's edge and clambered up beside him.

"Better then a dumb ass right?" He said as she took the seat next to him. "I can't see you dating a dumb ass...well maybe on accident but you might kill him."

"I would definitely kill him." Jhu kissed him and got up, walking a short distance along the cliff's edge and gazing out over the water that had been hidden from view.

Nathan kissed her back and also got up to follow her. "So this program is new...well to me at lest."

"I haven't used it in a while... haven't had time and I couldn't climb with my shoulder all messed up. Finally got that straightened out and Kris woke up so... I took the time. I needed it... and Kris wants me to brief the admiral so... yeah. Burning off some adrenaline would be smart."

"The admiral? Wow, stepping up in the world." Nathan said jokingly, then got serious. "I know you are still worried." He put his hands around her waist and pulled her back into him. "Trust the son of an admiral, do not be timid, do not show fear. Walk into the room with your head held high. You need to know before you face him that you did nothing wrong. Because you didn't." Nathan hugged her. "I know you will be fine."

"Easy for you to say that, love. It's not you in the hot seat," Jhu reminded him gently, sighing a bit. "I don't know if I can explain away breaking a man's neck as self-defense."

"He had tried to kill your Captain, then attacked you with intent to kill you. I would say that you have a good argument. And don't think I have not been in the hot seat before...its worse when they are family."

"I'm sure. But you don't have my history to deal with either." Still, Jhu smiled a little

"Jhu, you're being pessimistic. If they punish you, you will have time to be sad and upset. But if you walk into the room guilty before you open your mouth they will do something." Nathan turned her around. "Now enough of this, let go for a hike. No talking about work, no talking about what if. I want to hear about something good."

"Maybe I am, but it's kind of justified. Given the situation." Jhu didn't resist his gentle push, moving along the trail. "There's a second cliff about half a kilometer back this way."

"Show me..." Nathan said walking beside her.

"I intend to." It wasn't a particularly long walk, and the cliff quickly came into view. Farther from the water, its surface was dry, but the handholds were less obvious.

"You going to catch me if I fall off?" Nathan asked her.

"Of course I will. Don't be so silly." Jhu laughed a little as they neared the cliff. "And the safeties are on too."

"I guess you had better go first and show me what to do." Nathan said looking up.

"No problem." Jhu flashed him a fierce grin before studying the cliff's race for a moment, mapping her path. Finding a good starting point, she climbed up on the rocky surface, pausing to look back at him. "The computer can superimpose the path if you're worried."

"I'll follow you." Nathan said.

"All right. Come on." Picking out the easiest path to follow, Jhu picked her way upward to give him space to follow.

As soon as he could, Nathan began climbing up behind Jhu. It was not as hard as he thought. He looked up as Jhu above him. "This is fun, really enjoying the view down here."

"I bet you are." Jhu snickered at him, perfectly aware of where his attention was.

Nathan smiled but turned his attention back to the rock face. He picked his way up the cliff face slowly, he was no where near as fast as Jhu.

It didn't take long for Jhu to notice he was falling behind, and she slowed down, eventually stopping to look down at him. "You okay?"

"I'm just slow." Nathan said up to her.

"I can go slower."

"You are sweet, but don't let me hold you back. Ill catch up."

"I don't mind. Besides, if I get too far ahead and you fall, I'll never forgive myself." Jhu continued on her climb, taking a slower pace.

"Good thing the safeties are on otherwise I would have already fallen." Nathan said with a chuckle.

Feeling a pang of guilt for not noticing his difficulty with the climb, Jhu paused, clinging to the cliff in a somewhat precarious position.

It took a few minutes but eventually he caught up to her. "I had better practice this more, its weird but my forearms are burning like I have never worked out in my life."

"Different kind of workout, but you're doing great. We're almost to the top, see?" Jhu freed one hand, pointing up to the cliff's edge. "Take it slow, but don't stop."

"If I stopped now I would be in sorry shape I think." Nathan said looking down.

"You would. Don't look down either." Unwilling to leave him behind again, Jhu moved a bit to the side, clearing the easy path for him and taking a more challenging one so they could move at the same speed.

Nathan looked back up to her. "Why not? How else to you see how high up you are?" He slowly started picking his way up again.

"It can be unnerving for new climbers... I took my first bad fall on my second climb ever. Ignored conventional wisdom, looked down, scared the hell out of myself and missed the next foothold. Not sure how far I fell, but it hurt."

"Oh...well good thing heights don't bother me huh?" Nathan said looking down again. "I kinda like it."

"I don't much mind anymore, but you're making me nervous doing that..."

"Ok ok, Ill stop." Nathan said picking his next hand hold.

Slightly ahead of him, Jhu scrambled up over the edge then turned around to watch and see if he needed help negotiating the transfer. "You've got about... three feet until I can pull you up."

Nathan slowly made his way to the edge and accepted her hand in help. "Thank you love." he said as he stood and looked out over the edge. "Wow, look at that view..."

"That's why I climb." Grinning happily, Jhu sat down near the cliff's edge to look out over the landscape. "It's peaceful up here, and the view is just... perfect."

Nathan took a seat next to her and draped an arm around her shoulders. Yeah the view out there was nice, but Jhu looked so happy and at peace that he could not take his eyes off her.

Will swore quietly to himself as he walked into the Operations office. He knew Andy was a stubborn creature at the best of times but after her recent actions during the Gekli/Pedina/Species 8472/and whoever else was involved crisis, he was informed of her being placed in the brig meaning he was in charge of the Operations Department as the ship made its way to the Ophinias Colony.

He'd managed to get past his angst over the report he'd filed under orders from Jhu previously, omitting the location of the modified torpedoes but making it clear the location of any more Section 31 devices that were still on board. That would take a while in itself, which was why he'd assigned the task to some crewmen to begin on the way.

He knew there were times that officers showed original thinking in situations that endangered the crew so he understood why Jhu had ordered him not to reveal the location of the torpedoes. Once they were at Ophinias, he could begin getting the re-supply and requisition orders filed and completed with the help of Ensign Colletare, the on board Quartermaster.

Will ordered himself a double sweet Raktajino from the replicator, using the same recipe Valerie had taught him recently, before taking a seat at the desk with the few PADD's that were already waiting with status reports, updates and requests for work to be undertaken to repairing the ship after her recent action. Reading through one of the reports, it seemed the Deflector Dish was going to need serious internal repairs to its internal power relays after being used to open a singularity to Fluidic Space.

That job was something he was expecting and he made a note to get replacements fitted right away with diagnostics to run afterwards. The last thing he wanted was for that to fail on his shift. He pulled up the specs from Voyager's log of their first encounter with Species 8472 as they waged their war with the Borg, specifically looking through the repair logs after that mission to make sure the right parts and procedures were followed.

Will continued reading through the various reports, making notes of what parts were needed for priority repairs, organising the list so that the primary systems recieved the work they needed first, but he was also aware that the work needed to be done. He still felt an empathy with the ship, something he had developed since leaving the Academy with every ship he had served on, feeling a pain when there was damage and satisfaction when work was completed. His Uncle always said it was nonsense years ago, but he also said it with a smile each time.

He smiled to himself as he also thought about how much happier he had become since becoming close with Valerie. Their relationship was helping Will settle and rediscover himself again and he made a mental note to book in some holodeck time to get her acquainted in his Deathstalker holonovel...

But that would need to be after the much needed repairs and work was done. Work first, play later...and Will had a list of jobs as long as his arm to get sorted.

"It never rains, but it pours..."

Nathan sat in his office filling out the report on the arrest of Andy and Ivan. He loved his job, but taking a friend to the brig was not something he enjoyed. Nathan needed a vacation and bad. It seemed nothing on Katana ever went smoothly.

Maica didn’t like the whole situation either. She didn’t even think she could do anything about it. She could visit Nathan and see at least. Walking into Nathan’s office uninvited, she was unusually absent her customary bottle. She just flopped into the seat across from him with a sour look on her face and looked him over.

There were very few people who Nathan would tolerate just walking in uninvited like that. Lucky for Maica she was one of the few. “ Maica…” He said with a grim smile. “If your day is going anything like mine…”

“I was told I was acting XO until Teagan got back so I had to finish every bridge certification exam this morning so I could do that job. That took 1 hour, 47 minutes. Then the fiasco on the bridge. Then my future wife being arrested by my best friend. On top of that, I fell asleep on top of Mizuki. Literally on top of her.” Maica said, uncharacteristically grumpy. “How does your day compare?”

“Bout the same.” Nathan grumbled. He tossed his PaDD onto his desk and sighed. “I’m sorry Maica. I hope you know I didn’t want to do that to you or Andy.”

“Don’t worry,” Maica said with a sigh. “I don’t blame you. I blame the Undine. It would have been nice to try to negotiate with them, but oh well.”

“Had it just been Andy involved Im sure she would have just been yelled at and thats all. But with the other two involved, and one of them being IA I have no idea whats going to happen to her.” Nathan explained.

“I’ve done some calculations on that… Locally, probably just some brig time and extra duties. Higher ups though… I doubt she’ll ever get promoted again, having used borg knowledge like that without being told to.” Maica said dourly.

“Thank god I don’t have to make decisions like that.” Nathan said matching her tone.

The green skinned Android nodded at the sentiment. “I’m glad as well, though I’m seemingly a lot closer to making them.”

“As unfortunate as this situation is, Congrats on your first command experience. All this considered I would say you and Jhu did an excellent job.”

“Is that how it looked?” Maica said, eyeing him. “Because it felt like we were just trying to herd tribbles away from food.”

“Maica, while this ship was under your and Jhu’s command, the Undine apologized for attacking us. Forget everything else that happened internally, You prevented a war and have opened posable communications with one of the most terrifying enemies the federation has. Yes Maica, you and Jhu did an incredible job.” Nathan said honestly to her.

That was certainly one way of looking at it. Maica wasn't so sure though. "We proved our superiority over sheep herders and they respected us for it knowing we wouldn't pursue the issue if they took the chance to leave. Now we have Pedians on board demanding reparations and repayment for their lost ship and lost whaling."

"Why is everyone on this ship so damn pessimistic? " Nathan asked rubbing the bridge of his nose. Normally it would not bother him but today had been a bad day. He didn't have the normal control over his emotions he normally did.

"It's biologically inherent to see the negative over the positive." Maica said, immediately realizing something else. "Oh my... I'm not insanely optimistic. Do you think it could be because of my semi-organic bits?"

“You’re asking the wrong person about your insides.” Nathan said. “On the plus side, O’Connor has come up with a plan for our Tribble problem?”

“She found a home for them then? That’s good.” Maica said, preoccupied with her own internal diagnostics now.

“She wants to gas them to make them sterile and then dump them on a planet with several natural predators.” Nathan explained.

“That sounds like a good plan.” Maica was concerned with some of the results she just got from those internal diagnostics but didn’t know what to do about them. Erratic unprogrammed behaviour? Actions performed not programmed for?

Nathan could see something was troubling Maica. “What's up?” He asked her with a concerned look on his face.

Maica looked Nathan in the eye. “I’m not programmed to have bad days or be sour like this… You may not be an engineer, but you’re a spiritual person, right? What do you think?”

“You have adaptive programing right?” Nathan asked. He didn’t know a thing about this kind of stuff but he was not a stupid man. He had spoken with Maica at length about how Andy had saved her and he had picked up a few things from past conversations.

“Yeah but how do you adapt a bad day from nothing?” Maica asked worriedly. “What kind of stimuli does that take?”

“Things that make you sad piling up on one another.” Nathan shrugged. “I dont really know how to explain how they happen, but I can help you deal with it if you like.”

“I’d like that yeah.” Maica said, nodding. “It’s said that when you need someone to talk to you should go to family, then friends. if you can’t talk to them it leaves counselors. I’d like to stick with Family for now, you know? And besides, when Andy gets out, she can explain why I’ve exhibited behavior that contradicts 87% of my programming.”

“Maybe she does not need to explain it. Part of being more organic is just accepting that things like this happen. It might not be in your original programing, but what part of you is original anymore?” Nathan asked but he didn't wait for an answer. “Computer, dim lights to twenty five percent and play me meditation playlist.” The lights dimmed and soft quiet flute music filled his office with the sound of a babbling brook in the background. “First thing you need to do is relax your body. Try not to think about what's upsetting you yet, we will get there. For now just try and relax.”

Maica nodded and slumped in her chair a bit, working through her tissues and various bits, relaxing them as best she could from top to bottom. “12 percent. My skin, a few parts, and a tiny bit of programming.”

“Do you have the ability to clear your mind?” Nathan asked her. He could already feel himself starting to relax.

“I can pause processes… That should be similar.” Maica said as she started ‘clearing her mind’ of things.

“Some people have difficulty turning their mind off. I for one found that my mind would wander when I first started to learn meditation. If you have difficulty with this, I suggest you count up to ten then count back down and keep doing that.” Nathan continued his instruction.

“Counting like that would easily consume processing power. I’ll stick with just pausing all internal non-essential processes.” Maica spoke softly, almost serenely.

“Good, now just be with the nothing for a bit. Embrace it. Its ok to just be for a while and not be bothered with everything life throws at you. Just sit here for a while with yourself.”

Maica nodded, letting the music and soft lights flow through her, nothing else running in her neural net.

After a while Nathan’s voice broke the stillness. “Ok, now lets try and deal with some of the issues that are bothering you. Pick one and let work through it together.”

Maica picked one of the top errors from her internal diagnostics. “Behavioral output not in line with expected responses to external stimuli. Being grumpy.”

“Ok, we need to figure out why your behavioral output’s are not in line. So, what is causing you to be gummpy? Do you know?”

“I would assume it’s because of today being so stressful and the fact that I don’t get to sleep with Andy tonight. I don’t entirely need stress relief, but…” Maica trailed off in thought.

“But you do.” Nathan said, clearly Maica was under pressure. “Stress causes humans at least to not function correctly. If you have been programed to be more human that it is safe to say that the stress may be causing you to have issues. One of the hardest things to learn and accept about your emotions is that you have control over them. This means that you are allowing yourself to feel the way you are. This is not a statement of blame to make you feel guilty mind you, just a fact. You love Andy, I know that. Therefore when something happens with her you have allowed yourself to feel stress. But it is important to accept this and understand it. Once you have done that you can learn to control the emotions.”

Maica nodded silently. That was something to think on. “I think I understand that. What do I do about it then?”

“Once you have understanding that you are in control of your emotions, you simply change your mood. Dont deny yourself the raw feeling of an emotion though. For example, I had to put someone I look at as a sister in the brig today. This makes me sad. I take this feeling and spend a moment with it. I should feel this way, its a sad event. But being upset will do nothing for me or the situation, so once I have spent some time accepting this emotion, I let it go. If i thought that being sad would fix something I would keep it and use it. “ Nathan explained to her.

Maica nodded some more. “That’s how normal data processing should work as well. You process the incoming data and if you need it, keep it handy. Otherwise you file it away. An oversimplification, I’m sure, but it’s at least relatable, right?”

“Indeed. But as a human, I tend to dwell on things that upset me. I think thats what your doing. Instead of filing it away its staying in the active part of your brain and your going over the info over and over again. At least thats what I think.” Nathan was trying to compare how she worked to how he worked. So far it seemed to be going well. First time teaching an android to meditate.

“Yes, it’s been in short term data storage being processed for some time.” Maica said almost serenely. “I have so much more mental capacity now, things have been staying there longer.” So far the comparison seemed to be holding up pretty well and Maica was already feeling better, more calm.

“Do you have the ability to store it somewhere else? Maybe...uh...temporary file or something? Somewhere that you can still access should you need the data but put away so it does not affect you so much?”

Maica looked at Nathan a bit strangely. “You mean like my primary data storage array? Used for long term storage of data that might not be needed in the next 20 seconds?”

Nathan looked at Maica like she had just spoken Klingon to him. “Sure…”

“Think of it like keeping some files on the main computer rather than a PaDD, I guess.” Maica paused for a moment. “Ok, it’s all stored away.”

“Good, now the most important part. Fill that space with thoughts of what lift you up, what makes you happy.”

Maica couldn’t help but smile as she thought about all the time she’d spent with Andy. Those were her happiest memories she had at immediate recall. “Ok.”

“Now just spend some time with those thoughts. Focus on how they make you feel. When you start to feel down again later today, and you will, just think back to how you feel right now.” Nathan said, his own thoughts moving about in his head.

Maica nodded some more, Andy’s violin playing playing through her head. “That sounds simple enough.”

“The logic behind it is simple enough, but for beings who are emotional creatures it can be an extremely difficult process to master.” Great...now Nathan sounded like a Vulcan.

“Then it’s a good thing my emotion subroutines no longer have root access to everything.” Maica was about to say something else when another of those strange noises her belly made was heard. “I think I’m hungry…”

“Lets get something to eat.” Natha said. He pointed to the replicator. “ I spend so much time in my office I made sure there was a replicator here. What can I get you?”

“Oh goodness… A double cheeseburger with all the trimmings, tomato soup, and cheddar stuffed jalapenos please. Oh and some tea.” Maica said, rubbing her belly a bit.

“Are you going to eat all that?” Nathan said. He tended to eat a lot himself, a fact that most people found shocking considering how fit he was. “Hey I just had an idea! Remember that night we spent in the brig?”

“I do. What about it?” Maica asked.

“New york style cheesecake with strawberries...remember? Did you ever try it?”

“Ah yeah, I did. Cheesecake in general seems to be too rich for me.”

“Too bad…Computer lights.” Nathan said and as the lights came back to the normal brightness he stood and went to the replicator. “ Two double cheeseburgers with all the trimmings, a bowl of tomato soup, some stuffed jalapenos.” Nathan said and while the food was being materialized he ask Maica, “What kind of tea?”

“Surprise me,” she said, grinning a little, wondering what tea he’d choose.

“Uhh...Tea.” He said to the replicator and cringed when it asked for more details. “ I dont know damn it I don't drink that stuff….um, hot?” It was not working with Nathan, or maybe he was not working with it. He looked to Maica. “You're about to get a cup of black coffee…”

Maica couldn't help but laugh. "Ginger and peach tea please."

Nathan smiled at Maica, she was clearly feeling better. The mood she had been in when she first came to his office there is no way he could have gotten her to laugh like that. This lifted his spirts as well. He set the food on the desk and went back to the replicator. “Ginger and peach tea, and a black coffee, both hot.” Once the drinks were ready Nathan brought both over and took his seat again. “Is that the tea Vara drinks?” He asked. It was one of the few teas he liked.

“Yeah, I think she’s who I got the pattern from.” Maica didn’t wait to dig in, munching on the cheeseburger. Immediately she felt relief in her belly. Not only was her mind and heart happier, but her belly would be soon too.

Nathan picked up his burger and was about to take a bite what the computer chirped and the voice of Ensign Johns filled the room. “Lieutenant Tonkin, we have a situation down here!”

“Shit...The brig!” Nathan said. He dropped his burger and ran out of the office, phaser already in hand.

The brig? Maica was definitely worried. She dropped her burger and grabbed a few jalapenos to stuff in her face before rushing out the door, following Nathan closely.

Sabrina had heard that the Captain had finally been released. She decided to bring him some banana bread and let him know that she had been doing as promised; keeping an eye on Shira. She hadn't bothered to change out of her uniform to bake and wrap the bread, then head to the Captain's quarters. She sounded the chime and waited.

It had been several minutes since Kristopher and Liam had retired to Kris' quarters for the evening, and their being wrapped in sheets had quickly turned to some unraveling and heavy breathing. Their uniforms had been stripped off, leaving them in their skivvies when they had gotten into bed. However, their skivvies were now strewn about the sleeping area of the quarters, in the bed and on the floor. Kris' head was spinning as he and Liam went at it, but the chime interrupted them. "Damn it!" shouted Kris.

He was panting slightly, sweat beads running down his face and his hear beating strongly. "I am going to kill whoever is out there" said Kris.

"Should I have an OR prepped so I can put them back together?" Liam said with a smirk, getting to his feet he tossed a pair of cotton pants to the Captain so he could answer the door with some dignity.

Kris looked at Liam and shook his head. "You would make me answer it" he said. "Get your clothes on, unless you want to bless them with your ASSets"

"It's your quarters and you only just asked me to move in, chances are they aren't here for me." He said, pulling on a pair of pants, which given that they were Kris' were rather small.

Sabrina waited, wondering if the Captain wasn't home. He should be, the poor man had just recently been released from sickbay.

The Commanding Officer went out into the living area of his quarters and opened the doors to find Sabby. "Hi" said Kris awkwardly but genuinely happy to see Sabrina Corbin. "How are you, Sabby?"

"Umm hi." Sabrina realized that she must have interrupted something, either sleep or...she spotted Doctor Cohen. "Sorry." She blushed, looking truly apologetic. "I just heard you had been released and I wanted to bring you this." She held out the loaf of banana bread.

Kris blushed as well. "He...we...It was a physical" said Kris in a hushed tone. "Come in and make yourself at home" said Kris moving aside, and indicating the petty officer to come in. "It looks delicious, Sabby. Thank you."

"I'll eat it if he doesn't want it." Liam said as he dropped onto a couch in the living area.

Kris flashed a smile at Liam. "You will get a piece. It is big enough for the both of us and our guest" commented Kris as he walked over the the living area and had a seat next to Liam, quite snuggled next to the Chief Medical Officer.

Liam draped his arm over the Captain's shoulders and leaned back deeper into the couch. Sabby really wanted to run the other way. But she couldn't run now without being even more rude than the interruption. "Sorry." She repeated, shuffling in. She took a chair, nervously running her hand through her hair and pushing it back behind her ear on one side. "So ummm, how are you feeling?" She asked the Captain.

"Okay, more or less" replied Kris. "Liam has been taking good care of me... all the medical staff have. I just am still a little shaken up over the whole thing" answered Kris honestly.

"I would be too. I think I'd hide in Bob and never come out."

Kris nodded. "I think I may hide in my quarters for a while as it is. It sounds like there is a mess of paperwork and reports to file to Starfleet Command, and I can only imagine how the hell they are going to take this whole incident" commented Kris. He then moved closer to Liam and put his arm around him. "I don't think I'd still be here if it weren't for Liam and the medical staff. Doctor Rose had trained the other doctors and nurses in excellent surgical care as well."

Sabrina had to smile. She didn't care who Kris was with, as long as he was happy, and not drunk and depressed as he had been when she first met him. "I don't envy you the paperwork." Sabrina commented. Then she decided she'd interrupted the two enough. "I'm sorry I disturbed your evening. I hope you like the banana bread, but I should really get going."

Kris smiled "Don't be. You have no reason to apologize. We appreciate people who bring us food and liquor, especially the liquor. However, I've always had a fondness for banana bread too" said Kris warmly. He gave Sabrina a hug after walking her towards to door. "We'll enjoy the bread. Thank you for coming to check in on me."