Jenni stepped into the Mess Hall, not at all surprised at how busy it was. Just like she'd become accustomed to in the past weeks, she waited in line for the replicators. Fortunately her wait was short thanks to those in front of her knowing what they wanted. Jenni, too, knew precisely what she was wanting. The day had been long, but even now she wasn't terribly hungry, so a bowl of tomato soup was in order.

It wasn't until after she stepped away from the replicator that Jenni realized how full the Mess Hall was. More people seemed to be in here than normal. Or perhaps it was just because Jenni had come in just a little later than normal. All of the seats, it seemed, were taken. Jenni finally spotted an open chair at a table for two near a window. Already at the table was a young Bajoran woman with yellow trim on her uniform. Jenni supposed that after a busy day, it was only natural to meet someone new.

Smiling as she approached the table, Jenni asked the woman there, "Mind if I join you?"

Leryssa was startled from her revelry, She'd been sitting at the table, Facing the windows of the Mess Hall, and staring at the starfield behind them. Not really paying attention to the rest of the crowd, Or their conversations. It seemed like she was miles away, Though she was just sitting there at the table, Her plate of Hasperat untouched, yet pushed almost to the center of the table. "Sure." She replied, Distracted.

Jenni set her tray on the table moments before she sat in her seat. Taking a careful moment to observe her unlikely dinner companion's expression as well as her uneaten meal, Jenni began to organize her tray, positioning the bowl and flatware where she needed them. "Is everything okay?" she asked before sampling the hot soup.

Leryssa glanced at the woman sitting opposite her, "Hmm?" She finally registered the question that was asked, and waved her hand dismissively in front of her before she added, "Oh yes, Fine. Just thinking to myself." She absentmindedly moved her hair out of her face, and tucked it behind her right ear. Uncovering and revealing a rather interesting, yet intricately-styled, Silver-chained Bajoran earring that had a singular, Small-sized golden star attached to her lower earlobe.

Two silver crescent-shaped moons were attached to the bottom two points of the golden star, Held there by a small brass-colored ring and a short silver chain dangled from the left-center part of the golden star inbetween it's top and bottom two points, To the upper connector piece that was attached around the top of her ear. The earring itself looked pretty old, Though its wearer took great care of it, As the earring itself didn't show any signs of damage.

"That's beautiful!" Jenni commented, looking at the earring. She knew little of Bajoran culture, but Jenni was aware of how spiritual they could be. Jenni wasn't one for small talk, yet seeing how distracted the Ensign was, she probably needed to keep her mind off of something. Hopefully a little conversation wouldn't hurt. "Does it have any meaning or a story?"

The Bajoran Ensign nodded, "It belonged to my birth mother, Before she...." She trailed off and glanced down at her hands as they trembled, "Was killed by Cardassians along with my birth father." She slightly choked out as tears threatened to form in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Jenni replied, instantly feeling her pain. She set down her spoon and folded her hands in her lap. "I lost my mother years ago in a power plant accident. It was a sudden meltdown no one saw coming."

Leryssa nodded silently, Understanding exactly what it was like losing someone like a parent, or even two in Leryssa's case. "I was eventually adopted at the age of six by two Humans and their son had become my older brother." She explained, "I didn't quite fit in anywhere, Even at school. I was picked on there because of the ridges on my nose." She snorted for a second, "After that, I joined up with Starfleet, and now, Here I am. A security officer on a starship." She muttered more to herself, Than to Jenni, "And a perpetually doomed starship at that." Leryssa sighed. Things were not particularly going well on her first assignment here.

Jenni barely picked up on the muttering. She chose not to acknowledge it outright. Jenni had been witness to two devastating blows to this Katana. The first being stranded in a different time and place, and the newest one being the death of one of their own. It was obvious morale was low, especially now. "I remember," she said, heading down a parallel path of conversation, "my first tour as an officer. I spent so many months in the belly of an engineering section, being tossed from department to department. NCOs, older officers, didn't matter. They'd been in the service for a few years, and they didn't like that I did their job better. They told the Chief how much they hated me, how much I didn't play by their rules. He was about to force a transfer, until he and I got caught in a pretty terrible plasma leak. We wound up saving each other's lives, working together." Jenni leaned forward. "From that moment on, he was my biggest supporter, despite what everyone else had to say."

Smiling and leaning back in her chair, Jenni continued, jumping to a different point, "The thing is, this ship and its crew is the closest thing I've had to family in years. A united family will keep this ship flying, no matter what." She thought of her Katana and the divisions that happened before it was destroyed. Had they not drifted apart, the dark days never would have come.

Leryssa nodded, Listening to the explanation that Jenni had given, Her plate of Hasperat still untouched. "That's rough." She commented, She then shook her head and chuckled involuntarily, Glancing down at the table in front of them; And remembering the embarrassing moment that happened to her on her first day as security officer on this Katana. It might've been embarrassing for her, But she only chuckled because of how it had brought her and Ensign Kadan Storm together.

"But it got better," Jenni said with a smile. "That's the point I was trying to get to anyway." She picked her spoon back up and prepared to take another spoonful of the flavorful red soup, Jenni asked, "So, is this your first assignment, Ensign?"

Leryssa silently nodded, Still not having touched her Hasperat on the plate that was still there on the near-center of the table in front of her. It probably had gone cold now, Even though she'd replicated it piping hot in less than fifteen to twenty minutes ago. However, She didn't really feel hungry enough to eat it. Finally deciding to make up her mind, Leryssa reached forward, grabbed the plate and pulled it towards her; She then grabbed the Hasperat with both hands, and took a big, Almost ravenous bite of it. Nope, It wasn't cold at all, It was still warm. You could even see the steam rising from the top of the Hasperat where she'd just taken her first bite. Showing that it was still warm.

Chewing thoughtfully, Leryssa swallowed the bite of Hasperat she'd taken and spoke, "I just got here straight out of the Academy not too long ago. And on my first assignment, I had to help my boss in Security, Nathan Tonkin; The green-skinned android, Maica- I think That's what her name was; Though, I'm not one-hundred percent sure since I've never actually met her personally." She cleared her throat, and continued, "Commander Jhu t'Dharvanek and Ensign Cho-ren Vara, In rescuing someone named Andrea Carter. Whom I've also never met personally either. Seems some alien beings took her hostage through some inter-dimensional portal or something like that, and they tried to experiment on her." Leryssa shrugged, "Sometimes, I wonder if I've joined the 'Barge of the Damned'." Leryssa commented as she shook her head in disbelief. Noticing the look Jenni had given her, Leryssa clarified, "It's a Human expression, Or so I've heard." Shrugging again, Leryssa continued, "Anyway, The first day I got assigned here, I actually fainted."

"Really?" Jenni asked, fascinated by the complete story. She enjoyed getting to know this Katana's history, especially from the angle of a junior officer. The next time she saw Lieutenant Gordon, Jenni would tell him to turn his chronicling ear to this particular ensign.

Leryssa nodded, "Yup. Right in front of everyone in Security during a briefing with Nathan." She sighed before continuing, "I don't exactly remember why I fainted, but I guess it could've just been because I didn't know who they all were and that I was too nervous being around them, or I didn't eat that day. I don't know." She left out the part where she'd met Ensign Kadan Storm, and the events that followed after, On purpose. She felt kind of embarrassed at the way she'd reacted when she met him, but she'd blushed a little at the rest that led to her now being in a relationship with him.

"You could've done worse things, I suppose," Jenni suggested after another bite of her soup. "Tripping. Yawning. Spilling coffee on an unsuspecting crewman." Putting down her spoon, she added, "There's nothing wrong with the First Day Jitters. They say first impressions matter, but they fade over time. Still, sounds like you've had quite an adventure early in your career. But that's not what's bothering you. Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Well." The Bajoran Ensign shrugged, "Now that you mention it; I had a Pagh'Tem'Far- A vision, So to speak, Whilst I was unconscious in Sickbay. Before that, I was trapped in my quarters with Ensign Kadan Storm during the transwarp fiasco that ultimately stranded us here." She wondered if she should continue on at this point.

Jenni paused, unsure if she should press further down this line. She had no experience with such things, save for her recent encounter with the Talosians. "I take it that it wasn't a pleasant experience then." Jenni would let Leryssa be the one to expound upon the matter if she wished, but if the Ensign brushed it away, Jenni would not attempt a pursuit.

"Honestly? That's what I'm trying to figure out." Leryssa clarified solemnly, "I'd lost both my birth parents because they were killed by Cardassians when I was five years old." She sighed for a moment before continuing, "Then I was adopted by Human parents one year later; And I didn't learn, Or get taught any of the Bajoran rituals whilst growing up." She looked lost in thought for a few moments' more before adding, "This is one riddle I'm not sure that I can be able to solve. I mean, Why would I get a Pagh'tem'far now, if I wasn't taught any of the rituals during my childhood?" Leryssa looked up at Jenni, "Does that make any sense to you? Because I don't know if it makes much sense to me."

Jenni avoided displaying a blank expression, knowing that she steered this conversation down a path she possessed little knowledge of. History, however, was something she had a handle on. "What about Captain Sisko?" Jenni asked. "He's not Bajoran, nor was he taught any rituals before becoming the Emissary. Yet, he was the one the Prophets chose. Sometimes it's those who are the least likely that have the best chance to affect change."

Leryssa snorted in response. Jenni had a point there, She had to admit that much. "I should've known that. After all, It is part of Bajor's history as much as it is Starfleet's." She countered before chiding herself, "I can't believe I'd totally forgotten about that."

"As far as helping you with understanding it," Jenni said, "I can't help you there. But, as Chief of Operations, I think I can help you find a nearby Bajoran... Vedek? Is that right? They'll be able to help you, I'm sure. And, if nothing else, I'm sure Maica's growing list of diplomatic connections can help you out."

Leryssa nodded, "Alright. Guess it wouldn't hurt just to try." She muttered after finishing the last bite of her Hasperat. She'd taken bites of it inbetween their conversation earlier. Now, The plate in front of her was completely empty. "Thanks." She told Jenni with a smile.

Jenni smiled back, having finished her meal as well. "Anytime, Ensign..." Jennie voice trailed off, realizing that after all this talk, she hadn't a clue what the Bajoran's name was.

"I'm Leryssa by the way, Leryssa Kiska. But you can call me either Leryssa, or Ensign Kiska. Either is fine with me." She'd noted that she neglected to introduce herself prior to their conversation.

"Jenni Matthews," Jenni returned the introduction with a nod. She hadn't used her full name in months, and there was no reason to start now. "It's been a pleasure, Leryssa."

"Likewise." Leryssa answered without missing a beat. Giving Jenni a smile and a nod of her head.


Lt. Jennifer Matthews
Chief Operations Officer

&

Ensign Leryssa Kiska
Security Officer

Hayley was still dressed in her Starfleet Dress Uniform as she limped into the brig. She wanted to talk with someone and who else better than yourself? As she entered, she was grabbed from behind by a muscular arm that wrapped around her throat, choking her. She immediately snapped her hand back, grabbing the person's testicles and squeezing as she twisted.

The man screamed out in agony as he let go. "My balls! "

Hayley then stopped in her tracks as she saw her other self pointing a phase at her, as well as a bolian.

"I guess no sex for a while, eh James, " the bolian commented, chuckling at the sight of the human man bent over in agony, clutching his groin.

The other Hayley saw the hurt in Hayley's eyes and noticed her limping. "What happened? " The other Hayley didn't trust or care for others that ugh, but this was herself sthat she was dealing with. A younger and more niave version of herself but it was still her.

Hayley looked at the unconscious ensign on the deck that had been guarding the brig. " Is he alright? How did you get free? "

The other Hayley nodded. "He's only stunned. And apparently my crew and ship didn't abandon me. They had to fall back to safer distance to avoid detection. And subspace transporter technology may be dangerous, but it is useful in getting on a ship undetected. Now what happened to you? "

Hayley looked at her other self. She no longer cared if she lived or died. She simply shrugged. "We lost our trip back to our universe and lost a friend of mine on the away mission. "

The other Hayley cocked an eyebrow but knew very well what Hayley was going through. Obviously this Hayley had never experienced loss. She lowered the phaser slightly. "I know what you're going through and I'm sorry. But your life isn't worth it. Look, I don't have the time to talk now but I will be in touch, so you better be alive."

With that, the other Hayley shot Hayley on light stun. "Alight, get us back to the Black Dagger. " The other Hayley, James, and the bolian disappeared in a flash of white light of a subspace transporter.

Kristopher Kerouac's face was itchy. It was all scruffed, needing to be shaved soon or else his face would soon be overtaken by facial hair once more. The former Commanding Officer of the USS Katana had found his rank pips designating him Captain, taken from him. His uniforms were all in his closet in his quarters. He was sitting in one of the holding cells of Brig, his starship's Brig, but it was no longer his starship. His time as Commanding Officer was over.

It had been Talos IV which caused him to end up locked away in the belly of the ship. He sat on a hard bench which caused his ass to hurt after the first few hours. Nobody had come to see him yet and he did not really expect anyone to. He was under heavy security with three security guards in the Brig and another two outside guarding the door. No, it was no to ensure that he stayed in his cell and prevent him from escaping and hurting anyone. In fact, the extra security was for his own protection. It was feared that someone may come in and try to harm or kill Kris for what happened on Talos IV. Lieutenant Nathan Tonkin died in the line of duty.

And it is all my fault Kris thought to himself. However, he did not have much time to let those dark thoughts sink in. The doors had opened and Kris shot up from his bench. He looked to see who was coming, fearing that it would be Jhu t'Dharvanek. Kris knew that a memorial service for Tonkin was being held or had been recently. He had observed the changing of security guards and a couple of them walked in holding back tears. Kris was slightly taken aback to see that it was Merith who was approaching his cell.

The Ba'ku woman entered the room with measured steps, her expression unreadable as she excused the Security personnel to wait outside. They were hesitant to leave Kris alone, but they were not going to argue with a Captain, even a guest Captain. Once the room was cleared, Merith approached Kris' cell with an armful of clothes. She lowered the forcefield just long enough to hand him the fresh clothes.

"There's a razor in there, I'll need that back once you're done," Merith said softly, backing away to pull up a chair in front of his cell. She offered him a feeble smile as she sat down. "I know how you get itchy when you haven't shaved..."

"Gee thanks, Mom" replied Kerouac, rolling his eyes and sighing. How nice. My ex, the woman I stood up at the altar on our would be wedding day comes to visit me he thought to himself. He knew what he said was somewhat mean and he did not mean to hurt any feelings. "I'm sorry. I just... it's been hard not not say goodbye to him myself. I feel responsible. Hell, I am responsible" he said.

Looking at the razor his mind began to wander momentarily. He looked at Merith nervously. "I'm going to face a court martial, Merith. I violated General Order 7 and one of my crew were killed on Talos IV because of me. I'm as good as dead. I may as well take this razor and kill myself here and now."

"Don't you dare," Merith said sternly. "Of the many things that you are, Kris, a coward isn't one of them. And I refuse to believe that you would shame your Officer's death by taking your own life." She didn't want to believe he would do something like that, but Merith wasn't stupid either; Security was waiting just outside, and there was always an emergency transport to Sickbay. "I... just thought you might like to clean up for his funeral. I know you can't go, so I brought a PaDD with a video feed of the Bridge. It's going to start soon..."

Kris shook his head. "No. No thanks. I'd rather remember Nathan for the good man that he was. Brave, strong, and a fine officer. I do not want to remember him as some body in a torpedo tube" said Kris firmly. "You know me too well. I could not bring myself to do it. It isn't my thing." He looked at the razor and then back at Merith. "I am a little scared that these security guards won't stop Jhu if she comes in here to tear me apart. This could be useful...I wonder if I would be any good at keistering?"

Merith rolled her eyes. "No, not you, you don't have much practice shoving things up your ass. Though maybe you should get your boyfriend to get you a weapon after I leave. I bet he could smuggle in a phaser..." she said with a smirk that quickly faded. "But don't worry about Jhu. You'll have guards on you until you're turned over to New Sydney for your court marshal. Now hurry up, shave and dress, I haven't got all day."

The man made a slightly wincing face. "Could you maybe turn around?" he asked blushing ever so slightly. "I kind of was in a rush the morning before heading down to Talos IV...kind of went down their commando under all of this" explained Kris. "I would rather not change in front of you."

"Like I've never seen you naked..." Even still, Merith swiveled in her chair so she was facing away from him. "Do you need to talk about what happened?" she asked as she listened to the rustle of his clothes as he changed. Most everyone was furious with Kris, and no one except Merith had stopped to think that maybe he was grieving too.

"I made a command decisions that was foolhardy" replied Kerouac. "I violated General Order 7, Merith...you do not do that. Ever. Regardless of the situation or circumstances. I violated it and a good man is dead because of me."

"And what did you find out?" Merith asked, peeking back to see if he was decent.

He walked up to the energy barrier, the threshold and looked at the woman. "I learned that I am responsible for more deaths than just Nathan's or the Talosian that my Diplomatic Officer found herself forced to kill. My counterpart may have attacked and destroyed a Breen colony, but I am the reason why the USS Katana was destroyed. Our arrival in this universe was picked up by Breen warships and lead them to the other Katana. If we hadn't arrived, they may have not been found."

"My my, you certainly think a lot of yourself," Merith said, turning to face him again. "As I understand it, you were under orders to use the transwarp drive that brought us here. If we're going to play the blame game, then Krull needs to be here for this. And this ship did not fly itself to Talos IV, so the rest of your crew should share in the blame too for following your orders. By all rights they should have refused to cooperate but they didn't."

Kris would not have this. He would not allow his crew to be dragged down with him. "NO!" he shouted. "Do not dare drag them into this. They were following my orders. They objected to this. Every last one of them. Some tried to stand against me on this and I wouldn't have it."

"They still could have refused," Merith insisted as she rose from her chair to stand in front of the barrier that separated them. "They followed your orders because they had faith in you. Maybe the order was foolhardy, but you were desperate to get them home, so confident you were right and willing to accept the consequences of your actions, but now here you are moping about and feeling sorry for yourself; I pity this crew for having so much faith in you, even after you insulted them in that Staff Meeting. How many of them resigned? Two? Should have been all of them for the way you treated them. But it's what you do, Kris, when things get too real you push people away, you always run away. You ran away from me, you ran to the drink after Uri went missing, then ran after him instead of living your life! Oh, and how would he feel if he saw you shacking up with that pretty, young doctor, Kris? And after the transwarp jump, you just couldn't face the truth so you ran away from that too. Well it's time to wake up Kris, there's no more running; this time there's nowhere for you to hide."

Kris scoffed "And I am getting this from you?" he asked brushing himself off and stomping around. "You who was well on her way to being Admiralty. Hell, you were Admiralty. You had your nice cushy task force executive officer position, but no. You just couldn't handle those old prune bastards. You knocked yourself back down to Captain. Where did that get you? Here, on my starship as a guest. At least I had a starship a few hours ago" he said crossing his arms.

"I wasn't ready for that responsibility, and I was mature enough to acknowledge that," Merith said. "You do know that you just add insult to injury by acting like a child pouting in here. Have some dignity for once." Merith didn't let her anger out often, and she never liked doing it. She hated raising her voice; it felt like a failure on her part. But Kris could always bring out the extremes in her... A few measured breaths to regain her calm demeanor and her expression softened. "The truth is, you shouldn't be in there, I should," she said softly, sinking back into her chair. "During that evaluation into your ability to perform your duties as Captain, I... I called in a favor. The Admiralty was going to bury you, it had already been decided, you didn't even have a chance, so I asked Krull to step in. That's when Katana got transferred." Which led to that damned transwarp jump... A sharp intake of breath held back the tears burning at her eyes as she looked at him. "Our presence here is my fault."

The man looked at her and flipped her off. "So what?" he countered in a snarl. "It doesn't matter, Merith. This was not your fault. Sure, you called in a favor and managed to save my ass as Commanding Officer, but if I had been a better CO, you would have never been sent here and need to ask favors. So, that's that. It is back to me being a horrid Commanding Officer."

"No, you are a good Commanding Officer, but Command wants Officers they can rely on, with predictable reactions. Just because you do things your own thing your own way doesn't make you a bad CO, it just makes you you," Merith said. "I wish I had half the courage to lead the way you do. The way you get under people's skin and bring out the best they have to offer... You have no idea how infuriating it is being exactly the sort of Captain Command wants, then to see you with so much freedom! Yeah, you worked yourself into one hell of a tight spot here, but you have done so much with so little... And what you've inspired your crew to do... I think they deserve better than to see you sulking like this."

Kris had to agree with her now. She was laying it all out clearly and poetically so. It was making sense to him now...and Kerouac was blushing slightly. "You have a valid point, Merith. Actually, you have a whole load of them. I am not the Commanding Officer that Starfleet Command wants, but I am who I am. I sometimes may be the sort of Captain that they need" commented Kris. "They try to educate and shape these damn cookie cutter Captains. They can only do so much. I can do more. I think differently, I break rules and laws, bend guidelines and sculpt things to my liking. Yes, I did some questionable things in my time as Commanding Officer. I lost people and I violated General Order 7, but I am here...they are not. I was out in the Gamma Quadrant, and they were not. They have no idea what it is like to sit in my chair" added Kris.

The man looked at Merith and nodded. "You're right. I should not be sulking here. I should be planning and getting my defense ready, but I do not know who I should pick for my defense. I know that I don't one simply appointed to me. I want a damn good lawyer... I'll need it."

"I would offer my services, but I think I would be a terrible lawyer," Merith replied. "But I'll always be here for you for moral support." She looked thoughtful for a moment. It was good to see that resolve in his eyes again. "I'll try to find someone who will be sympathetic to your plight. Just work on getting your thoughts together." She again rose from her chair and deactivated the shield to take his dirty clothes and the razor. "Before I go, are you sure you don't want to see the funeral? It's probably over by now, but I can leave the recording."

Kris shook his head. "No, Merith. I want to remember Tonkin for the lively man that he was, not as some torpedo tube. I have my memories of the man, I am happy to hold onto them" replied the man as he said goodbye to the woman.

The doors closed behind Jenni -- she hadn't bothered with the chime -- leaving her to face M'rayr who still remained behind the desk. White was an easy color for many to wear, but it seemed to not work very well for the Caitian. Jenni's eyes moved quickly to the lone PADD laying on the desk, then back up to M'rayr's lost gaze. There was little she could say. In fact, they hadn't talked much since they returned from Talos IV. Even the one night she spent in his quarters, neither of them spoke.

This couldn't go on forever. She knew that. Hopefully, M'rayr knew that too.

Let's start with the obvious, she convinced herself. If nothing else, it simply a place to start. "How're you holding up?" she asked, still standing just outside the reach of the door's proximity sensors.

The Caitian looked up absently as a dawn of mixed confusion came over his gaze; he hadn't noticed Jenni enter the room. Forcing his lips into a semblance of a humanoid smile, M'rayr replied. "I have been working towards a command of my own for many years. And yet now that I have it, regardless of how long this assignment lasts, I wish it wasn't me."

The words had come out unexpectedly easy as well as honest. Unlike Counselor Grae who had to force M'rayr to relive one of the darkest days in his life before he spoke candidly with her, Jenni regularly elicited hid honesty without extra effort.

M'rayr reached and took the PaDD, but didn't seem as though he were about to do anything with it just yet. "How are you, Jenni?"

Jenni curved her lips, forming something that was not quite a smile. The words in her mind were "I'm glad to be alive." She would not say them as she knew full well that it would have been in poor taste. Instead, she opted for the ever universal, "I'm fine."

She considered walking over to the desk, but she wasn't sure if he wanted her to approach. Before an awkward silence could set in, however, Jenni elected to take a chance and began to move to the other side of the desk. "How's the eulogy coming?" she asked, sticking to the matter at hand for now.

M'rayr heaved an audible sigh, waving a hand over the PaDD. "Complete. Inadequate," he implied, standing out of his chair as she came next to him. Compared to his usually unreadable expression, the Caitian looked clearly frustrated and anxious about something. "It tells the crew what they need to hear. Although I wasn't expecting my first duty to be the conduction of funeral rights," he added, not quite sure how well Caitian ceremonies compared to humans.

Jenni came to stop right in front of him and she made no attempt at an embrace or caring touch. This was not the place for such things, especially knowing someone just on the other side on the door was suffering tremendously on the account of love. "What they need to hear?" She asked, unsure of what he meant.

"That Nathan Tonkin was a good man, and a good Starfleet Officer," M'rayr suggested, aware of the absence of affection between he and Jenni, but like her, he felt there were more important matters to attend to. Finding out how to move forward in their relationship, assuming that was what Jenni desired, could wait. After a pause, the Caitian looked to the doorway. He could hear more people arriving, and felt a bit apprehensive.

"That's what they already know," Jenni said, placing a hand on his arm. "This ship... this family, it's one of the closest I've ever seen. They need to know the family will be okay." She looked him in the eye. "That they will recover and grow stronger together in spite of the mistakes that everyone has made."

The Caitian listened and sighed. That particular revelation had occurred to him as well, although he hardly believed that he was the right person to reinforce that confidence. "I agree. But only a few weeks ago, I had rejected most of the crew's attempts to integrate me into that family." M'rayr chewed on his lower lip in a rare contemplative tact. He turned to face Jenni and very much wanted to put his arms around her, but again, professionalism and duty was overriding. "It will easy for many of them to dismiss my words as... rhetoric."

"Then as Captain, no matter how temporary, you have to prove them wrong." She knew full well what the rank and title meant to this crew. Even the best crew needed a leader to unite the ranks in both thick and thin. "Integrated or not, this is a family built by both choice and circumstance. The Great Bird has given you a second chance. Given everyone a second chance really." She smiled at him. "Time to make it count."

"It is difficult to argue with you," M'rayr said after a moment. Looking from her to the door, he took a breath and braced himself. The noise on the other end was beginning to subside; obviously those on the other end were quieting down in expectation expecting the funeral to begin shortly. Heaving an audible sigh, M'rayr looked back to Jenni and managed to put a paw on her shoulder without feeling too awkward about it. "I am glad to have you as my Chief of Operations, and as my-" he stopped himself short; odds were that Jenni would take the term 'mate' very differently than Caitian women. "-girlfriend," he finished. The word sounded juvenile to use, but he knew it meant something different for humans.

Just hearing the word for the first time made the whole situation seem real. Her smile brightened in reply before her gaze too turned towards the door, quickly remembering who were all waiting for him on the bridge, not to mention the duty that still needed to be performed. "Sounds like it's time." Jenni looked back to M'rayr, her smile changing to one of support and comfort.

M'rayr nodded, returning her smile with one of his own. "Sounds like it is."

Commander M'rayr Eisovo was lingering. He could hear the distinct and growing noise of conversation on the bridge as members of the crew began to congregate for Mr. Tonkin’s funeral. It all felt so very strange. While the Caitian had never had what he would consider a healthy relationship with the Katana’s former Chief of Security and Tactical, he had always felt a certain respect for the man. After all, anybody who could woo the heart of Jhu t’Dharvanek deserved said esteem.

And yet Tonkin was gone, as was the Former Captain Kristopher Kerouac who would not be attending the memorial. As much as M’rayr felt that Kris deserved that chance, particularly since his life was bound for a downward spiral towards a conclusion not even M’rayr could predict, M’rayr also felt that Kerouac’s presence would be a distraction as well as a source or resentment for everybody else. It was one of what would undoubtedly be many difficult choices that M’rayr would need to make in the coming days.

Kerouac’s absence meant something else, as well. As Commodore Krull had pointed out, it was M’rayr who would be taking command of the Katana for the near future; he was the Captain. Thankfully, Krull had neglected promote M’rayr to full Captain. As much as he’d been looking forward to having a command of his own someday, this was not the way he wanted it.

That last thought brought the Caitian back to that door. The congress outside had grown enough that there were undoubtedly one or two people at least who were wondering where he was. Not only was M’rayr in command, he was also expected to deliver a speech. And just how would he? There were more than a few people on board who knew Nathan well enough to speak for him, but M’rayr hardly considered himself one. And yet he was expected to speak to Nathan’s character, resolve, and honor.

The Caitian sighed, setting a small handheld PaDD down on the ready room table. On it was a speech he’d prepared; one that felt very inadequate.

There were many things that he was expected to do. One of the most important of these things was to reunite a broken family. Him? Up until a few months ago, the idea of belonging to a family or a tribe would have seemed ridiculous. And yet the Katana had become just that for him, despite all odds. And now it was his moral duty to help the rest of the crew set aside their remorse and anger, join hands, and come together again.

Writing a speech was hard. Accomplishing that felt as though he were taking the Kobayashi Maru test all over again.

***

On the Bridge, Arivek Zhuri stood over in a corner by himself, his dress uniform complimenting his cerulean skin well. This day was a mixture of emotions. A sad day indeed, especially for those who knew the Commander. And even more so for Commander Jhu. But for him, it wasn't as sad as it could have been. He didn't really know the Commander, having only met him a couple of times, mostly in meetings.

His eyes slid to where Jhu was standing, also in her dress uniform. She looked beautiful. But it was obvious she didn't want to be here. Everyone was coming up to her expressing their condolences. One woman had the audacity to start crying and laid her head on Jhu's shoulder. Arivek chuckled to himself, but praised the Commander for restraining the obvious urge to push this woman off of her.

And then the turbolift doors opened. This was quite a common occurrence as officers from all over the ship were arriving one-by-one. But this time, the occupant was none other than Lieutenant Will Morgan. Ari's stomach immediately began to tense as he saw the man step out onto the deck. He knew that feeling this excitement was wrong, on multiple levels, but he couldn't help himself. Unfortunately, right behind him was his girlfriend, Valerie. A woman he couldn't help but despise, mostly because she was the one who currently held Will's heart.

With a sigh, Ari turned his eyes back to the large view screen that currently held an image of the open space before them.

Will stepped out of the turbolift with Val in arm and he spotted Ari as they walked onto the bridge. He nodded quietly at him as they made their way over to Jhu. Will normally enjoyed wearing his dress uniform but on days like this one, it served to remind him of the pain and loss he had suffered during his career. He squeezed Vals hand a little harder as he fought not to cry.

Val rubbed his back as she tried to contain her own emotions. She only met Commander Tonkin once and from their conversation she knew he was a good man. A good man who didn't deserve to end so soon.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Jhu. If theres anything we can ever do or help with, please just ask," Will said quietly to her. He knew his words were little comfort to her, but there times he wished someone had said it to him in the past.

So many people were apologizing to her about Nathan that Jhu was quickly becoming numb to the words. None of their sentiment was going to bring Nathan back, and she wished they'd stop offering her things and asking if she needed anything. She barely knew how to go about her day without having Nathan to come home to. How could anyone possibly think she knew what sort of help she needed? Still, she forced a small, sad smile. "Thanks, Will. I'll let you know if I need anything."

Jenni entered the bridge via the aft ramp access. Normally, she preferred the turbolift, but as the bridge was due to become a packed location, she opted to use a less conventional means of arrival. Besides, she did not get the chance to know Nathan very well outside of their unfortunate encounter weeks ago. It was only appropriate for her to be here based on the new responsibilities to this ship she now bore. That and be a friend to Jhu, if she could.

The room was yet to be filled, save for the officers who carried on their duties at their stations until the ceremony and those few who had already arrived. Glancing over to the tactical station, she wasn't surprised to see it empty. It was an eerie custom to be sure.

She looked around the room, hoping to spot M'rayr. Under other circumstances, Jenni might've approached Jhu. This funeral was a family affair. Though Jenni was now part of it, she still hadn't felt a complete part of it. Her eyes came to rest on the ready room door. The shadow from underneath of it shifted, indicating someone wasn't quite ready to join the family gathering yet either. Quietly, Jenni crossed the bridge and entered the ready room, hoping to at least let some time pass before really joining the crew on the bridge.

Maica and Vara arrived in the same turbolift, Maica in her full Diplomatic Corps service dress uniform in all its purple and silver glory and Vara in her Starfleet Dress Uniform with Lagashi Honors. As Vara took up a position next to the empty tactical station, Maica headed down to the main area of the bridge to mingle. Instead of saying how she was sorry or apologizing for not saving him or asking if there was anything she could do, she lightly touched Jhu's shoulder and offered a soft smile. These would be tough times ahead for all of them but for Jhu the most and she hoped that she at least offered Jhu some strength in the coming days.

Hayley was still limping slightly as she entered the bridge from where the XOs claw had dug into her leg when dangling over the cliff. She made her way to the front of the bridge without acknowledging anyone. She was now apparently stuck in this universe. She felt alone, even in the crowded bridge. She had also crashed the aeroshuttle, and then Nathan had died, all because she wanted to go back home. She shared as much responsibility for his death as the Captain did. She fought back tears of anger and sadness as she stared at the starfield on the view screen. She wasn't qualified to be a helm officer, let alone a senior officer aboard a starship. A part of her wished that she had gone over the cliff instead of Nathan.

Lia exited the turbolift and stepped out onto the bridge. Her eyes fixated on the torpedo casing at the center of bridge. When she heard the news about the events on the planet and what happened to Nathan, her heart crushed. She glanced at Jhu and the urge to go and hug the Romulan-Trill grew. However she knew she was getting enough condolences she possible could handle so she kept her distance. Her eyes shifted back to where Tonkin is currently resting. She lowered her head and closed her eyes and quietly said goodbye.

Mizuki was there, in her dress uniform. Her face a stoic attempt at not showing emotion. When inside she was devastated. Nathan had been a friend, a teacher. And now he was gone..part of her wanted to say something...anything to Jhu, but she too noted that the moment wasn't right. So she stood off to the side, by herself, and watched the proceedings. Then she took notice of Hayley and quietly walked over to put a hand on her shoulder. That much, she could do.

The Storm siblings had arrived, not really mingling, but more of keeping the watch. Dress uniforms were the norm with them..they both had considered Nathan a friend, and the loss hurt..but otherwise had little to say. It was a quiet occasion...a stoic occasion.

Leryssa was standing directly behind the Storm siblings, She'd arrived just seconds after they did. She said nothing, but gave Kadan a gentle squeeze on his shoulder with her hand, Giving him a silent signal that she too, Was upset. Then she glanced over and gave his sister Konora a silent nod, Her face a silent mask of hurtfulness and sadness.

Andy had taken her time arriving on the bridge. Unlike many of the other officers who wore their dress whites, Andy opted to remain in her normal uniform, but at the very least it was clean and freshly pressed and her hair was actually neat and tidy for once, pulled back into a loose braid. She knew Nathan wasn't the sort of person to stand on ceremony, so Andy opted for the less formal approach, but at the very least she had enough tact to not show up looking like she'd just spent hours sweating over repairs in a Jefferies tube. Although if she had shown up like that, she knew Nathan would understand; Andy could only ever be Andy.

Upon entering the bridge, Andy's eyes sought out Maica, then Jhu. She moved to where the grieving woman was accepting condolences from the rest of the crew. She heard a lot of 'I'm sorry for your loss' and 'I'm here if you need anything', but she could tell they were hollow comforts for Jhu who looked like she was stretched so thin. Instead of words, Andy offered a comforting hand on Jhu's shoulder, a silent communication of solidarity. You are not alone, Jhu... Then, with a weak smile that spoke of her own grief, Andy found Maica and went to her side, standing hand in hand with her fiance, grateful beyond measure that she was not standing in Jhu's place.

The last arrival was a man in a green dress uniform. He remembered a burial custom among his team if they were on a planet. Buried face down, so that they could watch over them from the world beyond. Funerals were something he'd had to attend too many of...and the emotion was raw. But this needed to be chronicled. How the man Nathan Tonkin lived, and how he was remembered in death.

A moment later, the doors to the Captain's ready room opened and two officers -- one Caitian, the other human -- stepped out solemnly. M'rayr possessed in one hand a PaDD which he maintained at his side as he approached the single torpedo casing occupying the center of the bridge. The Caitian paused, and steadied himself, before looking to the PaDD. On it were words well written, words that would allow him to convey a proper eulogy. He'd been preparing them for some time now, and yet, as he brought the PaDD to eye level, something stopped him from reading. Accepting the fact that M'rayr's heart wouldn't allow him to read from a script, he set the PaDD on the helm station behind him, and returned his attention to those standing quietly and patiently before him.

Jenni climbed the small set of stairs in front of the tactical station and stood next to Vara. She dared not cross the bridge, and she did not wish to stand near the front of the group in this service. As she stood next to the Lagashi, Jenni's eyes moved from the torpedo casket to Jhu. There was absolutely nothing she could say to Jhu, but Jenni planned to be there for her if anything was needed.

“Family. We all know the word; we know what it means. But here, on this ship, it means something more. A few days ago we were all shocked and devastated by the death of our comrade, Lieutenant Commander Nathan Tonkin. I cannot tell you that I knew the man well, because I did not. Nor did we see eye to eye on many levels. But reading from his service jacket, as I have been since returning from the planet, it is not difficult to see that Nathan Tonkin was a faultless example of what an officer in Starfleet should be. He was a man devoted to the uniform, as well as the responsibilities woven into the fabric of that uniform. He was also a man who cared very deeply for this crew, this family, and this ship.
It is important for us to remember who he was.

And while we grieve, it is also important for us to remember that this crew is a family. Nathan Tonkin was part of that family, and in many ways still will be. This is a family that has seen difficult strife over recent days. We are separated from our mothers and fathers, our brothers and sisters, sons, daughters, and friends. There is no way for us to return home; no way for us to tell James and Brenda Tonkin how their son died, or explain to them exactly how faithful he was to this crew. There is no way to tell them that their son was a good officer. There is no way to tell them that he had fallen in love.

With that awareness in mind, we must also come to accept our own identity. We are a ship apart from the rest of this universe. While there is still a Federation, and a Starfleet, and worlds to explore and people to protect from the darkness beyond, in the end, there are no families for us to return home to. The people we would call our parents, our siblings, are not ours. We are the sole survivors of another universe, and it important that we embrace that fact.

Never forget that this is a family, that we are all together brothers and sisters. And as hard and as perilous as the road ahead might be, as fractured as a whole we might become, know that there will never be a day when a member of the USS Katana is left behind: Carrying our shields or on it, we will all return home, to this ship, together."

M'rayr closed his eyes, took a slow breath, and resumed.

"Breathe, trumpets, breathe. Slow notes of saddest wailing. Sadly responsive peal, ye muffled drums; comrades, with downcast eyes, and banners trailing, attend him home, the youthful warrior comes. Upon his shield. Upon his shield returning. Borne from the field of honor.”

M’rayr stood in a moment of silence, and then turned to face the single Mark VII torpedo resting in the center of the bridge. “Crew and Honor Guard, Atten-hut!”

The Yeoman had silent, unshed tears in her eyes as she clasped her hand over her heart, standing at full attention. Nearby, the siblings, similarly moved, snapped to attention like they had in the academy before. The trio had developed more respect for the acting CO as a result of this..

Derek Gordon, the last Ghost, snapped to attention, straight and tall, and saluted crisply. Respect was deserved in this moment, and it would not go unseen.

The Caitian surveyed the scene briefly. “Ready.”

Beyond the bulkhead of the Federation Starship, USS Katana, the starboard phaser array began to charge. Capacitors filled with electro-plasma, and segments of the phaser array shifted to an electric-orange glow. While typically served as weapons of war and defense, it would serve a very different purpose in this particular ceremony.

“Aim!”

Those segments shifted and turned to a heading of zero-mark-zero – directly ahead. On the bridge, the view screen lit up in a depiction of a vast sea of stars overshadowed only by the barren-tan wasteland of Talos IV.

“Fire!”

Electric-orange lashed out towards the unseen void.

“Aim, fire!” Another discharge shook the bulkhead. “Aim, fire!”

Nearby, an officer wielding an old 20th century brass instrument called a trumpet brought it to his lips, and in low tones, began to play. Its lyrics, while unsaid, was as followed.

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Miraculously, Jhu had held herself together until this point. But when Taps began to play, what little semblance of decorum and professionalism she had left broke, and she dissolved into a quivering, emotional mess of tears. Silent tears, but painfully obvious and visible. She could not leave until the funeral proceedings were over, so still she stood firm, but with every intention of hiding for several hours afterward.

M'rayr looked to the officer at Ops. "Energize."

In a sparkle of blue-white energy, the torpedo casing, and the body contained within, dematerialized.

Paige stood in front of her replicator, hand on one hip, the other twirling a strand of her hair. She had just run into R'tame in the hallway and could tell from his posture that he was stressed by something. She assumed it was something to do with work, but he hadn't said anything yet.

Making a decision, she ordered enough Caitian sushi for two thiinking that a reminder of their weekly sushi ritual at the academy would help R'tame relax. Grabbing the food, she headed to R'tame's quarters and rang the chime. Then, she waited.

On the other end of that doorway, R’tame had already arranged a stack of PaDDs on his coffee table. Ever since his boss, Arivek Zhuri, had more or less accused the Caitian of incompetency, R’tame had been eager to remedy the tarnish to his reputation. Whether he believed he’d read those orders correctly nor not, Arivek was his CO, and the truth stopped at his feet.

When the door chimed, R’tame rolled his eyes. He never had company, so why would someone come to visit him now when he desired it least? Glaring at the doorway, R’tame accepted the fact that he couldn’t ignore whoever was on the other side forever. “Come in,” he said tersely.

Paige practically waltzed in. "I brought dinner," she said placing the sushi in front of R'tame. "It sounded like you could use it," she continued as she put a second small plate with raw meat in front of him. She plopped down in the couch next to him. "What are you working on?" she asked, looking askance at the large stack of PaDDs in front of R'tame.

R'tame looked at the dish and smiled. "Thank you, Paige." He said, grabbing one of the rolls and tossing it into the back of his throat. He'd already done his prayers (but sadly, his dinner had only consisted of a nutrient ration until now), so he didn't have to do them again. Regarding her question, he sighed and put his paw on his head. "I'm trying to resolve a flow inconsistency in the starboard EPS conduit. It's been sitting in our queue for ages, but nobody's had time to look at it until now," He looked at Paige. "I'm... trying to earn some points with my boss. He's not too happy with me right now."

"Why not?" Paige asked. She knew how hard R'tame worked. It wasn't like him to be mediocre or to not do something 100%.

R'tame grumbled something incoherent, but then looked up to Paige. "He accused me of misreading a maintenance order. Apparently," that last word was dripping with sarcastic emphasis, "I was only supposed to disable the holo-emitters in Commander Jhu's quarters, not remove them. I had to spend another three hours reassembling what I'd already taken apart," he turned to Paige looking visibly perturbed. Clearly he'd needed a sounding board... one that Paige either voluntarily or involuntarily was about to provide. "And then I found out that Lieutenant Tonkin shot them with his phaser after I finished reinstalling the damned things..."

Paige put her hand on R'tame's shoulder in sympathy. "So why do you have all of these PaDDs?"

"He's still my boss," R'tame pointed out. "And right now he's a boss who is convinced that I screwed up."

"So....you're trying to impress him?" Paige clarified as she grabbed a PaDD from the stack. "So flow inconsistencies in the EPS conduit. What have you come up with?"

R'tame paused and looked at Paige strangely before a sideways smirk manifested itself on his face. "Just like back at the academy," he said, remembering all the times she used to help him study for his tests. "Well... a plasma conduit directs high energy electro-plasma through the ship to plasma injectors in the nacelle tube. Along the way that plasma also powers most of our primary and secondary systems... even consoles. So my first thought was that maybe one of the EPS relays was out of alignment, which could cause plasma contamination."

R'tame wiggled a paw over to one of the PaDDs, selecting it seemingly out of random. But when he brought the PaDD to eye level, it read exactly what he'd meant to show her. "I've checked those readouts six times. They're consistent. It's not an alignment issue. It's also not dilution or contamination from the warp core, I checked that too."

"Could it be from something we've picked up along the way?" she asked putting her PaDD down. "That might explain why the readings are consistently inconsistent," she said with a small grin.

"You mean reaction mass from the bussard collectors?" R'tame asked, looking up. He shook his head after a thought. "No. If it were that, we should be seeing problems like this all over the ship. Not just in one section." He set the PaDD down; it toppled over another stack. The Caitian ignored this and put his paws behind his head and scratched.

"I don't know... maybe the best way for me to figure it out is to find out a way how to send my boss into that plasma conduit." He shrugged. "That would solve two problems at least."

Paige snorted. "I think you need a break, Rev," she said giving him a sideways look as she picked up a piece of untouched sushi and held it directly in front of his nose. "Besides, I'm hungry at least and I know you can't resist sushi," she smiled a little mischievously.

R'tame sighed audibly, then tilted his head up until Paige dropped the roll of sushi into his mouth. He chewed it down and swallowed, and then in a rather uncharacteristic fashion wrapped his paws around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, gently bracing both her arms behind the small of her back so she wouldn't be able to escape him easily. "You know what else I can't resist?" He asked her, although it seemed pretty obvious what that was.

Paige looked up at R'tame. "What exactly would that be?" she asked innocently.

R'tame grinned somewhat sheepishly. "Well, we have been together a few weeks now..." he started stroking her forearms with his paws hoping it would somehow be the magical solution for what he was about to propose. "I was... er... thinking that maybe we could... well... you know." That sounded a lot better in his head, and right now he felt about as smooth as a Brikar.

Paige cocked her head to the side. "I'm not entirely sure 'I know',"said Paige. "Could you be more specific?"

This was another one of Paige's tendencies; whether it was talking about plasma capacitors or anything else, she liked to play coy and force him to say whatever was on his mind. He rolled his eyes at her, but being able to say what was actually on his mind was proving difficult. No matter how he imagined the words in his own head, they never sounded right. "Ehm... well... you know," he crossed his brows and gave her a playfully disapproving look. "Are you really going to make me say it?" He asked, knowing that even if he did, she might not be willing to cross that bridge just yet.

Paige unconsciously twirled a piece of hair around her fingers. "Uhmmm, no. At least not this time," she grinned. She quickly turned slightly more serious. "Although, maybe a little longer?" she said to his question.

R'tame would have been lying if he said he hadn't been disappointed, but felt guilty as soon as that emotion reached expression within his facial features. There was no reason for him to force this, and no reason to rush things. As far as he was concerned, things were moving along as best they could. And he was happy with the way things were going. Smiling after a moment, R'tame nodded. "Of course," he said.

Paige leaned up and kissed R'tame. "I'll stay here the night though." She grinned as she tilted her head to the side, "if that's ok with you."

A quick smile flashed R'tame's like of that particular idea. "I would like that very much," he replied.

The news had been a shock. Jhu didn't know who she wanted to tell... but she felt like she had to tell someone. Maica would be busy with the report about Talos IV. Kris was in the brig... and she was angry enough at him she might kill him. She was irrationally angry with M'rayr too. None of the mission had been the big cat's fault, but she just couldn't help it. She was mad at everyone involved, including herself for letting the whole debacle take place. That didn't leave her with many people to go to.

She'd spent some time at home, but being at home just reminded her of Nathan. Not wanting to be reminded, she'd gone out into the corridors and wandered for a while, and somehow her wandering had brought her to Arivek's quarters. They weren't close... she wasn't even sure they were friends. But he was someone to talk to. Someone who had agreed that going to Talos IV was just a stupid idea. So she rang the chime before she could change her mind and walk away.

After a few moments, the doors opened and Arivek was standing there. "Commander Jhu," he said, still shying away from even trying to pronounce her last name. "Can I help you?" This was the first time he'd ever spent any time in his quarters, and he'd only been here for half an hour, so having a visitor was quite surprising.

"Just Jhu. I'm off duty." Jhu hesitated, not entirely certain why she'd rung the chime. "I... need to talk to someone. And I'm not ready to talk to Lia. Can I come in?"

"O-of course," the man replied, moving aside. "Unfortunately the only pieces of furniture I have are a bed and a single chair. But..." He grabbed the chair and pulled it into the bedroom. "Feel free to have a seat in whichever makes you more comfortable."

"Thanks." Sitting on someone else's bed was just too weird for her, so Jhu sat down in the chair, fidgeting slightly.

Taking a seat on the edge of his bed, the first time anyone has touched it actually, Arivek looked at the woman. She was clearly nervous and there was something on her mind. He reached out and took her hands in his, calming the fidgeting as their eyes met. "What's wrong?"

"Everything." Jhu sighed, though she didn't pull away from the unsolicited touch. It was somewhat comforting, even if Arivek wasn't a close friend.

"Well, if you need it, I'm here to listen. If not, then we can just sit here." Arivek smiled at the woman, hoping she was starting to calm down.

"I just don't know where to start," Jhu admitted a bit sheepishly. "There's just too much to even think about."

Arivek simply nodded.

"I mean, Kris is lucky I didn't kill him on Talos IV. And M'rayr... he didn't even do anything and I can barely be on the bridge with him... I even kind of hate Jenni. This isn't fair." Jhu swallowed, blinking back tears. She was doing a lot of that lately. "Sorry. I'm such a wreck... the baby's not helping with that..."

Arivek sat there for a moment in silence, not sure of what to say. The Commander's announcement was shocking, even if it was nonchalant to her. But the way she said it made it obvious that that wasn't the point of what she was saying. So for now, he chose not to reply to that. "I think there's a lot of hurt going around right now. And you have every right to feel that way. But in the end, Kris was going to get his way. We can't blame those who went along for the sole reason to assure that his suicide mission was successful."

"I'll forgive them eventually. But not Kris. I don't think I can forgive him." Jhu knew how horrible that sounded, but it was true. If Kris hadn't insisted on going to Talos IV, Nathan would still be alive. They'd be celebrating right now, instead of her being alone and worried.

"Do you need anything?" Arivek asked. At this point, the woman in front of him had just lost her significant other and just found out she was pregnant with his baby. People have done stupid things in situations far better.

Jhu shook her head. In all honesty, she didn't know if she needed anything. Or what to ask for, if she did need something. "No. Well. Maybe. I don't know."

"Have you told anyone else? Do you have any family-like people on board? Have you seen Liam yet?" Arivek wasn't sure where to start. No one he knew ever had a baby, and he didn't know the first thing. But it was obvious that no one else really knew this was going on, and she came to him. So he was going to have to help her.

Jhu shook her head again. "I haven't told anyone, Nathan was the closest thing I had to family on board, and I didn't see Liam. I saw one of the other doctors... Hansen, I think. He didn't tell me his last name."

"What kind of Doctor doesn't even tell you his last name?" Ari asked, getting mildly upset. He shook his head and calmed himself down. "Well, if anyone knows what's best for you, it's you. I'm not going to tell you what you need to do, so you tell me what you need. When you know. This is a lot to take in in such a short period of time. Take all the time you need and figure things out." His eyes met hers and he smile. "I know you may not feel like you have anyone right now...but you have me."

Jhu didn't quite smile, but there was appreciation on her face. "Thanks. That...that really means a lot. I don't know how many friends I have left after that mess on Talos IV."

"I think you have more than you think you do. But it'll take time." Arivek continued to hold her hand, slowly rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "Are you hungry?" he asked, wanting to change the subject. It was becoming obvious that Jhu had said what she came to say and most likely didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Jhu shook her head slightly. "Haven't felt like eating. No appetite and my stomach's just been weird."

"You need to eat," Arivek simply stated. That's it, there was no arguing with this point.

"I know. I just really don't feel well." Between the shock of losing Nathan so fast and the surprise of the coming baby, Jhu suspected it was mostly stress that made her feel that way.

He nodded. "I won't pressure you to do anything you don't want to do. But just know that I'm here if and when you need me."

"In that case, there's one more thing." Jhu managed maybe half a smile as she thought about how crazy her next words might sound to him. "Romulan women emit a pheromone when we're pregnant... makes men feel obligated to protect or nourish the expecting mother. You won't be affected by it, so I was wondering if you wouldn't mind running interference for a while. Keep the other men on this ship from clinging to me and acting like I need someone to carry out every whim."

Arivek began to laugh, before holding a hand over his mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. I just never realized." He chuckled once more. "Of course I can. But don't for a second think that I'm going to be carrying out your every whim in their place. Even if we are having a baby."

"No, it's okay. It's pretty funny." Though still tearful, Jhu grinned at the absurdity of Romulan biology. "That's my only request. Well that and an insurance policy on my replicators. Every replicator I use hates me and ends up breaking eventually."

"I will make sure they're all repaired as quickly as possible. But not too quick. Wouldn't want you thinking I'm doting on you."

"As long as you keep them working the majority of the day, that'll be fine." Jhu hadn't really expected Ari to agree so fast, but she appreciated it all the same. Since Jenni had been reassigned, she'd lost her personal engineer, and breakdowns were inevitable at some point in the future.

Arivek stood, leaned down and gave the woman a hug around her shoulders. "Anytime," he whispered.

Enalia had left the current bridge crew to complete the docking procedure with the Hera and instead, she stood at the port side docking hatches with Angel, Daln, and a couple security officers waiting for the procedure to complete. On the other side of the matching docking hatches on the Katana stood a criminal and a murderer from another universe. As the two ships came together and the gangways linked, the pressurization cycle started, filling the locks with breathable air.

"Here he comes," Angel said quietly, watching the door on their side of the airlock. She didn't know all the details of this trial, but she'd skimmed over the reports that the Katana's chief of security had sent over... reports that hadn't quite followed the proper format, but the small note at the bottom had explained that away. With the loss of their actual security chief, there had been a lot of departmental shuffling. With that in mind, she leaned toward Daln and lowered her voice a bit more. "Word of warning... the woman you're about to deal with came up through intelligence." She knew more than that, but that was all Daln needed to know for now.

Daln nodded. "I'll remember that." He stood relaxed, his eyes set on the airlock. He was relaxed, yet ready if a fight broke out. His mind was aware of the tension in the room except for one being: Bart. Bart was relaxed. He was very good at his job.

Cadet Thorne was occupied as well. She was a smallish woman who was just coming out of her teens, and she wanted to prove that she could do anything a man could do. Still, she was not unaware of her weaknesses.

Bart was, in a word, relaxed. He looked up at Jenny before returning to looking around the room. He could sense the tension, but everyone seemed okay.

Vitor was in perfect attention. After four years of dealing mostly with administrative issues being back to active was just what he needed. His breathing was regular and only his eyes moved looking for possible blank spots or any suspicious movement.
His only reaction was a slight grin every time his eyes passed by Bart.

I cannot believe this actually happening thought Kristopher Kerouac as he took a deep breath. The time had passed so slowly that it felt like torture, but now the time had come. He was being transferred from the USS Katana to the USS Hera as a prisoner. Kris had been lead from his cell to the starboard docking port of his starship. "Go gentle on me, kids" he said to his security escorts. "I am fragile" he added as he prepared himself for the exchange and waited for the two starships to connect.

Jhu snorted at him. "Yeah, sure you are." Once the airlock flashed its green light to signal the connection was solid, she tapped the button next to it to open the door on their side. "Walk." She prodded him - more gently than he might have expected - to spur him forward.

As the prisoner came closer, Daln began to feel a mixture of emotions, fear chief among them, and betrayal. Bart growled as they came closer.

"Steady," Jenny said to the dog.

Kris looked back at Jhu as he proceeded forward. "He would have been lucky to have you as his wife one day. I'm sure he would be proud of you, Jhu" added Kerouac.

Hitting the door actuator, Enalia waited for the arriving party to cross the gap between their ships. It wasn't a long way, but it seemed to take forever.

"I shouldn't be in this uniform. He wouldn't want this." Jhu blinked a few times, barely keeping tears at bay. She didn't know why Kris would mention Nathan now, of all times. It was almost cruel. Looking for something - anything - to think about other than the missing father of her child, her eyes fell on the dog waiting on the other side. He didn't look friendly, but for a security K-9 he was downright adorable.

Kerouac knew what she meant, but it was not what he had meant. He made an effort to rectify it. "No, not the uniform. The woman you are, strong and dutiful. Most people would be on leave still, maybe not even consider coming back, but not you. You are so very strong" said Kris. "You should not be in that uniform, Jhu. I know that and it is my fault. I know that you will likely hate me every moment of everyday" added Kerouac.

"...all right, I'll give you that one." With that, Jhu fell quiet, not responding to the last part of what Kris had said. She didn't think she really hated him, but she wasn't happy with him either. It was a hard place for her to be.

On the other side, Angel watched as the small group approached, wishing they were meeting this crew under better circumstances.

Before reaching the small group, Kris took one more deep breath. "Jhu, please. If you have any respect for me left in you at all...you'll do me one last favor. In Liam's and my quarters, in our bedroom on my side of the bed, there is a end table. Inside of it is a small box. Take it and whatever you do not tell Liam about it."

"I will do it because you were my friend. Maybe you still are... I don't know." It was the first time Jhu had voiced that particular sentiment, and it felt odd to finally say it aloud.

"I fucked up" said Kris with a sigh. "I know that I did. I cannot change that, but I can go away knowing that I had a family here, the only family I have ever known" added Kris. "I'm ready" he said as they headed towards the group.

"Seriously people..." Enalia began. "I don't mean to give a bad first impression, but could you walk the guy the 10 meters any slower? Is he really that dangerous?" she asked as the Katana team finally made it to the other end of the docking ports. "Welcome aboard the Hera, by the way. Please feel free to avail yourself of our facilities during your stay."

Angel cleared her throat. "I think it's more they're having a personal conversation they don't want us to hear. Either way, they are here now. Lieutenant Hadren, please take custody of the prisoner."

Vara stepped back from Kris, lowering her weapon as Daln took control. "I relinquish responsibility for this prisoner," she said mechanically - a holdover of her Lagashi training.

Daln and Vitor took out their phasers. "Tito, on his left. Thorne, behind. I want Bart to have a clear road if he runs." They took their places and Daln nodded to Enalia. "We're ready, ma'am." He looked at Kris, ready if the man caused trouble.

Vitor positioned himself like Hadren told him. He kept a somber expression wondering about the complicity between the prisoner and his escort from the Katana.

"He's promised me he won't run." Jhu knew that didn't make much difference to them or Bart, but she wanted to reinforce that thought in Kris's mind. She couldn't help watching the dog; he seemed to really enjoy his job. On an impulse, she knelt down to be on Bart's level, close enough for him to sniff if he so pleased but far enough back as to not be a threat to him. "But if he does run, I want you to bite his ass hard as you can. Can you do that for me, Crewman Bart?"

Bart was confused. What did this woman want? She had not said any commands. He looked at her and whined.

"Still," Jenny said to him. She looked at the woman. "Ma'am, he has to concentrate."

"Sorry. I don't work with dogs much. I don't mean to confuse him." Getting up from the deck made her head spin a bit, but Jhu moved carefully to avoid any sudden movement that might alarm Bart. "He's fabulous. I'm sure he'll make you proud." Taking a few steps back, she looked at Enalia. "Some of us have to be present for the court-martial proceedings. I understand there's not an abundance of room for visitors... perhaps we could synchronize both ship chronometers to ensure everyone arrives on time?"

"The initial team requested we set ourselves to standard time for Starfleet command so if you set your chronos to that, we should be good. Our computer databases should be data-linked by now as well so you should be able to easily access the rosters and schedules." Enalia said, mildly enjoying the discourse between the strange woman and her newest Brig officer. "Lieutenant Hadren, please escort Mister Kerouac to the brig at your leisure."

"Come on, guys. Hadren prodded the prisoner gently and the three of them left to walk to the brig. Upon reaching it, Hadren led the into the brig, Tito staying outside the brig, the prisoner behind Hadren and Jenny and Bart behind the prisoner. Jenny stopped just within the cell block, while Hadren opened a cell and ushered the prisoner inside.

Vitor stood in attention outside the Brig, holstering his phaser, but ready for any eventuality.

"All right, we'll do that then." Briefly watching the security team walk away with Kris, Jhu sighed a bit. "I should go back to the Katana... we've got a hell of a paperwork snafu to finish cleaning up over there, and I have an appointment to get to."

"Good luck then. Please give my regards to your acting captain." Enalia said somewhat diplomatically. "Our ships will be docked with each other throughout the court martial so feel free to allow our crews to mingle. I know there are a few on your crew I'm hoping to get to know better." Enalia added with a mischievous grin.

"I'll let them know they can visit, but we're having a rough transition. I'm not sure how many will accept the invitation." Jhu managed a tight smile, one that suggested that if she didn't have to socialize she probably wouldn't. "All the same, we appreciate your hospitality and will keep our doors open as well. I'm sure I'll see you again soon." With that she quietly retreated back across the connection between the two ships.

Watching her leave, Angel tilted her head to the side with a curious expression on her face. "There's something she's not telling us."

"You saw the look in her eyes," Enalia said, surprisingly softly. "She's lost someone dear to her and she's reminded of it every single day. Amelia has that same look."

"Maybe that's all it was. Either way, she's in a rough spot." The doors on either side of the gangway slid shut, making the moment seem very final. Angel sighed a bit, not sure anyone was going to like the next few days...

Too many things had happened. Jhu knew she should start going through the belongings in this cabin she'd shared with Nathan, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she'd spent nearly two hours sitting on the couch, idly petting Lydek and wondering if this was all just a nightmare that she would soon wake up from. Such thinking was juvenile and not at all helpful, however, and after a while of it she'd nudged Lydek onto the floor and gotten up to get something - anything - from the replicator. The moment she turned her back on the cat, she heard the door whisk open, and she turned around just in time to see the little rascal run out into the corridor. "Lydek! Get back here!" Not wanting him to get lost or hurt, she chased him down the corridor until he stopped outside someone else's door. "Furry little brat," Jhu groused tearfully at him, reaching to scoop him up off the floor.

***

Provisional Commander M'rayr Eisovo was in the restroom re-examining Doctor Cohen's work on his face. The fall from the cliff, while not fatal, had surely caused sufficient injury to warrant an extended visit in sickbay. Gratefully, the large patch of missing fur complimented instead with bloodied flesh was absent when he looked in the mirror. While the coarseness and texture was obviously different upon closer inspection, he doubted anybody would be able to tell the difference from even a small distance. The Caitian smiled. There were too many things to smile about these days. Nathan was dead. Kris was sitting in a brig. The one good thing M'rayr could think about was Jenni, whom, for the moment, was occupying the sonic shower behind him.

Slow and steady. That was how he and Jenni had agreed to take things. Before visiting Talos IV, it was the likelihood that M'rayr and Jenni's relationship would be short lived that forced them to abandon their reservations and to confess their feelings. It would have been all too easy for them to consummate that declaration with a lust-driven romp, but they didn't. And when M’rayr and Jenni returned to his quarters upon their return from Talos IV, again, nothing more intimate than agreeing to her staying the night took place.

Which was exactly what they were preparing for when there was a scratching noise at his doorway.

The Caitian barely observed Jenni emerging from the sonic shower, a towel wrapped around her, as he surveyed the doorway with a calcium swap balanced carefully between his fingertips. “Did you hear that?” He asked insentiently, admittedly having to try to ignore the way even a standard issue towel made the contours of her figure noticeably palpable.

"Hmm?" Jenni asked, looking up from the small amount of toiletries she'd replicated after arriving in M'rayr's quarters. Ever since coming back aboard, she hadn't felt like returning back to her own cabin. Her heart ached for Jhu. It wasn't enough she's lost those she knew in one universe, and now she'd lost Nathan. Hell, the whole crew had lost Nathan. Jenni barely knew the man, but it was enough to prompt her to request staying the night with M'rayr.

She'd picked up the hairbrush and began to brush her hair when she'd heard the scratching. "What is that?" she asked, walking out of the bathroom, looking around the bedroom, then the main living area. What she didn't expect was the door sensors recognizing her as she passed, triggering the mechanisms that parted the door. Jenni turned in surprise, noticing immediately who was standing there.

With a cat.

All Jenni could do was stare blankly at Jhu with wide eyes. And then she became painfully aware of the hairbrush in her hand and the appearance (especially the lack thereof) of standing wearing nothing but a loose towel. She moved her free hand upward to adjust the towel. "Commander!" she said, somehow hoping conversation would make this moment any less awkward.

Jenni doubted that was even remotely possible.

Lydek slipped through Jhu's hands and raced into the cabin, leaving Jhu knelt down on the deck with her hands outstretched toward where the cat had been only a moment before. It barely registered with her that Jenni was wearing only a towel; she just wanted her cat back. "Sorry. I'm just... I'm just trying to get my cat..."

"Oh!" Jenni said, watching Lydek dart past her feet and towards the bathroom. M'rayr was in there still, yet Jenni could not help but dash after the cat. It was better than standing awkward by the door.

Suddenly, there was a rasping at M'rayr's leg. He looked down and found Lydek pawing at his pants, eager for attention. The creature did not protest as M'rayr reached down and picked him up, bracing the feline against his chest while stroking at his neck. Not fully aware of what was going on in the living room, the Caitian emerged and saw Jenni... then Jhu. For a guilty moment, M'rayr wondered if Jhu was about to make some sly quip about how he was sharing his quarters with Jenni; then he recalled that Jhu was dealing with an incomparable loss.

"Commander t'Dharvanek... Jhu," M'rayr corrected how he addressed his friend. He searched for the next words to say, but found it impossible. What exactly could he say? I'm sorry that I didn't listen to the writing on the walls? I'm sorry I allowed Kerouac to take us to the planet? I'm sorry that your boyfriend is dead because of that? The Caitian winced at that last thought, hoping that Jhu didn't blame him... even though she was well within her rights to.

Still, words escaped him as he stood there holding Lydek.

"Whiskers. You have a furry traitor in your arms." It dawned on her then that this was M'rayr's cabin and Jenni was very much undressed. Jhu wanted to think she didn't care, but it was a stark reminder of what she'd lost. There was no stopping the tears this time as she reached to take Lydek from M'rayr. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude..."

M'rayr handed off the pet without contention. He looked to Jenni and wondered what, if anything at all, might come from this. But now was not the time to be concerned with such trivial matters. "You are not, nor will you ever be, an intrusion, Jhu." M'rayr assured her.

Holding Lydek close to her chest, Jhu didn't answer right away. She knew he meant those words, but she couldn't help feeling like she'd interrupted something. "Thank you." Lydek protested her cuddling, pushing at her hands and yowling his displeasure at being contained.

The silence was anything but comfortable. And Jenni was very aware of what she wasn't wearing. Jhu certainly looked like someone who needed companionship now more than ever. Jenni placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling down at the rebellious cat, then back up at Jhu. "I'll be back in a second. Cup of tea?"

Jhu nodded slightly. "Jasmine if you have it. Or citrus white."

Jenni smiled before subtlety pointing to M'rayr to lead Jhu over to the couch. She moving over to the replicator and ordered three mugs with Jasmine tea. Leaving her hairbrush on the counter, Jenni picked up two of the cups and took them over to the others. The moment they were handed off, Jenni disappeared into the bathroom to change into something other than a towel.

Grateful to have a woman with higher social etiquette norms than his own, M'rayr bent an elbow and leaned it towards Jhu in a courteous manner. "Come sit down, Commander." He suggested.

Sit down? Yes, that sounded nice. Jhu freed one hand from Lydek and set it on M'rayr's arm, following him over to the couch and sitting down. In order to pick up her tea, she had to let go of Lydek completely, and the furry rascal pounced on M'rayr again, bringing a very small smile to Jhu's face.

Jenni emerged from the bathroom wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts she'd left behind the last time she was here. Picking up her tea from the replicator on the way over to the couch, Jenni sat beside Jhu. Jenni set her cup on the table and looked at M'rayr and Lydek. "They're quite the pair, aren't they?" Jenni asked, remarking about the cats.

"Perfect for each other. They're both furry troublemakers." Jhu smirked ever so slightly, the expression strained and genuine at the same time.

"M'rayr?" Jenni asked lightheartedly, thinking that was actually the first time she'd said his name aloud. "A troublemaker?" That sounded like a good story. Another time, Jenni would have loved to heard it. She wasn't sure if Jhu was seeking a distraction or was needing a friendly face or two to ease the pain, nor did Jenni know how to go about finding which was which. Instead, she put a loving hand gently on her shoulder while Jhu continued to watch Lydek and M'rayr.

"He's got it in him." Jhu sipped her tea, watching Lydek's silly antics as the cat tried to get M'rayr to pay more attention to him. "I bet he's really fun after a few hits of nepata."

The Caitian shot a look towards Jhu, one accompanied with a subtle smirk, forgetting for a moment the emotional turmoil she was living in. "Perhaps," he replied ambiguously, and without any intent of giving either of them more information on the matter. Giving Lydek long strokes down his backside, M'rayr thought again of the irony of a cat petting a cat.

"Don't you give me that look after we shared that nepata wine. You don't fool me." Just for a moment, Jhu forgot how upset she was and she smiled a bit.

"Hmm..." Jenni murmured, watching how much Lydek enjoyed the attention. She'd already made a mental note to try that wine with M'rayr, once the time was right.

M'rayr couldn't help but chuckle, although whether he was doing so because of what they'd said, or because of the fact that Lydek had nestled himself into the crook of M'rayr's elbow, was a question. Prying his attention away from the cat, M'rayr looked up to Jhu. For a moment, he considered saying something reassuring. But the words, no matter how much he worked at them in his mind, didn't feel like they should be coming from him.

He went for an alternate. "Our orders are to proceed to New Sydney," he remarked in a gentle sounding voice. "Commodore Krull was able to convince Starfleet need time to... decompress. Captain Kerouac will be transferred to the Hera, and, if we are to receive a new Commanding Officer, I would presume it would be there." M'rayr glanced between Jhu and Jenni. "But as long as I am in command, I will be extending R&R to all personnel." His eyes shifted back to Jhu, who he felt needed it more than anybody else.

Jhu wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a personal offer for her to take time off, but she nodded slightly. "Probably a good idea. I don't know about the rest of you, but time to decompress sounds nice."

It did indeed. Jenni took a sip of her tea, before offering, "I'm looking forward to New Sydney, actually." She set her mug back on the table. "Replicators can only go so far when it comes to... non-perishables." Jenni had been hoping for a chance to shop since the entirety of her belongings had been disintegrated along with her Katana. "I know someone who can cat-sit if you want to do a little shopping?"

"Well... I do need to do some shopping..." And leaving Lydek alone never ended well. The cat had a habit of destroying Jhu's possessions if he was left unattended for longer than a duty shift. "This cat-sitter wouldn't happen to be about six feet tall and furry, would he?"

"How'd you guess?" Jenni grinned at M'rayr, the smile stimulated at the thought of filling her closet again and the sight Lydek resting comfortably with him. "You don't mind do you?"

M’rayr’s left brow went up. It was in a way quite remarkable just how quickly two women could formulate plans for a ‘girl’s night out’. Or maybe he’d just been too distracted by Lydek’s pandering for love and attention to notice. Either way, a quick exchange of glances convinced him that staying so they could go out wasn’t a bad idea; Jhu would have someone to talk to… as would Jenni. They’d get some shopping done, and M’rayr would be spared of having to go with her to evaluate any outfit or dress she found intriguing.

It was about as win-win as he could get.

The Caitian realized they were still waiting on his reply. He cleared his throat. “Oh, no. Of course not.”

"Then it's settled," Jenni said, placing a hand back on Jhu's shoulder, her mind thinking about inviting Andy and Maica along. If anything, those two knew Jhu better than Jenni. Perhaps it would take a strong family to help Jhu through her turmoil. "I think I could get Andy and Maica to tag along," she said with a smile. The engaged couple would surely be enough to keep both Jenni and Jhu on their toes.

"I don't know if Andy's into girly things like shopping." Jhu laughed a little at that. Andy didn't like anything that could be called 'girly'. "I'm sure she'll go if Maica does though. Or if she knows I'm not really shopping for me."

"Not shopping for you?" Jenni asked, slightly confused. A quizzical look appeared on her face as her mind failed to catch the hint. She thought about asking who else she'd be shopping for, but somehow that seemed rude.

Jhu gave her a 'really' look. "That was a pretty big hint, Jenni. Could have taken out a starship with it." She smiled a bit more than she had been, thinking about what she was about to tell them both. "Maybe it's too early to shop for the baby, but it would give me something nice to focus on for a while."

An abrupt and very startled sound emanated from one of the two cats in M'rayr's quarters. Lydek hopped down, clearly peeved at the Caitian whom, after demonstrating a consistent ability to apply soft strokes across its backside, accidentally squeezed a little hard across its abdomen. Lydek stalked off, and M'rayr wondered if it was about to punish him by spraying some corner of his quarters. But M'rayr's attention wasn't on this. In fact, it was straight on towards the Romulan/Trill hybrid. "The baby?" He asked with a look on his face that read an uncertainty as to whether he'd heard her correctly.

"Come on, M'rayr, you act like you didn't know I was having sex with Nathan." Despite her somewhat depressed mood, Jhu couldn't help being amused over his reaction, even as she tried to beckon Lydek back over. "Half the ship's going to know in the next few weeks anyway thanks to some ridiculous evolutionary pheromones the Romulans never evolved back out of. So I might as well start telling people now, right?" She smiled, just a tiny bit, her attention on Lydek as the cat leaped from the floor up to a shelf and sat there, glaring.

Jenni couldn't help but smile. She herself had never given any thought to children, even with how much this crew was pairing off. Instead, she thought about how glad she was with giving up the Intel collar. If she couldn't pick up on such and obvious hint, she'd be no good in the field at all. "Congratulations!" Jenni exclaimed, embracing Jhu.

"Thanks." Jhu had never thought herself to be the hugging type, but she happily - if a bit tearfully - returned Jenni's embrace. "It's funny though... we hadn't even talked about kids yet."

M'rayr smiled thoughtfully. "Indeed. Congratulations, Jhu."

"You know," Jenni said, "this kid's gonna have a wonderful family. Odd group though. Ex-Borg. Android. Hologram. A big cat." It was her way of saying You're not in this alone.

"Not to mention the crazy mother." Jhu smirked a tiny, tiny bit. "Thanks. I'll need all the help I can get."

Jenni simply smiled, keeping a hand on her shoulder. "I'll make sure someone keeps an eye on the replicators for you. Can't have them breaking down for those late night cravings."

Jhu laughed a little. "Arivek said he'd do that too. I'm sure he'd appreciate the help."

"Arivek knows?" Jenni chided, her expression becoming inquisitive. "Who else knows? We're not the last? Are we?"

"Maica. You guys are the third and fourth, but Maica did tell Andy... I haven't told a lot of people yet. It's... kind of hard." Jhu brushed her hair back from her face.

Jenni gave Jhu's shoulder a firm squeeze. "Don't worry about it," she said with a smile. "There's no need to rush it."

Ensign Callaghan was nervous, jittery... he was worried. Yes, worried beyond consoling. In fact, he had canceled his appointment with his counselor. He did not know what good he would be to anyone. He just wanted the crew safe and sound. He wanted the Captain back on the ship where he belonged. His mind was racing as much as his heart was. Caddy had been trying to eat his lunch, but found that his appetite had vanished by the time he took three bites. Now, he just wanted to vomit. How can I eat? How dare I even try on such a awfully terrible no good rotten day thought the ensign.

He then looked up and saw the cadet. The Captain's Yeoman as he recalled. She was starring out the observation port, arms crossed and looking about as nervous as he felt. Caddy decided that nervousness deserved company and joined her. He stood beside her and remained silent at first, but nervously sighed a bit. "So...do you think they are fine down there?" he asked trying to make conversation.

Mizuki was standing there...and yet it felt like she wasn't there at all. It had taken her a while to recover but when she did wake up..they were at Talos IV?! What was going on...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the young man that came over...and she sighed. "As much as I'd want to think they are...they're probably not.." Her studies had taken her through the Guardian of Forever incident those years ago, and the reason for General Order 7. As bad as it was for them to be in a universe they didn't belong in...did that make another, equally bad thing justifiable?

Gee thanks thought Caddy with sigh. I so did not need to hear that the ensign thought as he stood next to the woman. She was younger than him. "One can at least hope that they are okay, right?" he offered as he shook his head nervously thinking about what could be happening down on the planet. "I wish that we could know what was going on down there."

"Yeah." Mizuki nodded quietly. "It stinks..feeling powerless up here. Wish I could go and help."

Caddy scoffed and shoot his head. "Not me, I am happier up here on the ship where it is safe. I just want to know what is going on down there. There's no way I would want to be on Talos IV and risk court martial or death."

"It's not death I'm afraid of. It's the court-martial." Mizuki admitted. "But you're right. It would be good to know the situation..."

The ensign nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. In a sense, death would be far more welcome than coming back to the starship and knowing that you are going to have to face a court martial with the potential of being killed because of it."

"I know one man who will probably face exactly that..if he fails." Mizuki replied, sighing softly. "And it's a pity that it should happen."

The fair skinned red haired ensign shook his head. "I do not pity him" countered Caddy. "How can I? How can any of us? The General Orders, especially 7 are in place for a reason. They should never be so disregarded like it was. The Captain is in the wrong."

"It is only a pity because he should have been smarter than to go off the deep end like that." She sighed. "I respected him...once. But now I should probably thank him for giving me a prime example of how not to act when one is in command."

"Amen to that" Caddy said with a small chuckle. "He has been showing a great deal of crazy ever since I joined this crew, but even more so as of late" commented Caddy. He smiled at the woman and checked the time with the ship. "I hate to cut this short, Cadet, but I need to head back to the Transporter Room. I want to be the one to bring them back at a moments notice."

"And I'm sure there is something somewhere that needs my attention. Thank you for the chat, Ensign." Mizuki bowed her head and then walked off as well.

Cadet SR Mizuki Masterson
Yeoman
USS Katana

Ensign Cadwallader Callaghan
Transporter Operator
USS Katana

Securing her tricorder to her waist, Jenni left the Operations office with a smile on her face. Her first day back in the yellow uniform was better than she'd hoped. Will would be an excellent colleague, she thought. He'd seemed friendly enough. As much as she had to offer, Will still knew this Katana better than she. Hopefully, she'd catch on quickly.

For now, she had a few items to procure. Will had offered to sort her a tool kit, but she wanted the opportunity to meet the rest of the Operations staff, including the Quartermaster. She found herself amazed that after all these weeks on board, she'd still to meet several of the crew. Well, Jenni supposed she couldn't be too amazed. The Katana was big enough, and she'd made it a point to avoid those wearing yellow. She didn't want to take advantage of the Matthews they'd once known.

Now she had no choice but to interact with the rest of the crew. Honestly, she was glad. Clad in the yellow uniform once again helped her to feel more at home than ever. Were it not for the unfamiliar faces she saw in the corridor, Jenni would've sworn this was her old ship.

Her eyes spotted a man in a green uniform as he turned the corner heading towards her. She smiled at the familiar face of Lieutenant Gordon, realizing it had been more than a while since they'd last encountered each other. When was the last time? The Mess Hall during one of her late night walks? She shrugged the thought away. "Good morning, Lieutenant," she said with a smile, choosing to keep the encounter formal for now as at least she was on duty.

He was on his way to scope out the operations office and find out where the quartermaster was when he saw a familiar face heading towards him. Usually his heart would have skipped a beat but this time it didn't, and he nodded at her words, replying back with a small smile. "Good morning. How are things?"

Her smile almost beamed for an extra moment, considering the day's events once more. "It's a good day," she replied, her tone chipper. Jenni stopped beside him, noting there was something different about Derek today. "And you?"

"It's an alright day." He nodded, being modest, looking at her through peripheral vision. "I have to go find the quartermaster in order to get issued some stuff I don't really need. Seems I'm going to be in security." There was a lot left unsaid.

Jenni's smile faded. Something was indeed different about him today. Usually he wouldn't hesitate to at least look at her. "Well, you're not going to find him that way," Jenni said. "I'm actually on my way to the quartermaster as well. Care to go together?" She planned to address the awkwardness between them once they were en route. Assuming he'd let her tag along.

"Sure." He nodded, turning around to face in the direction she was going. "Lead the way." Derek did offer a smile this time, when he regarded her.

"Everything okay?" Jenni asked, falling into step beside him. They had a bit of a journey to go since the quartermaster was a few decks down and near a cargo bay. "I heard about the Marines being dissolved aboard."

"Not too terribly happy about that." Derek nodded. "But it is what it is. I'll need to meet the new Security CO and see what she is like. And it's never a pleasant affair when you attend a funeral."

"Jhu's a good person," she replied. "Friendly, but tough as nails when it comes to business." She glanced up at him when they came to the turbolift. Jenni wasn't surprised when the doors didn't immediately open. After all, there were only so many cars in the tubes. It wouldn't be long before one arrived in their section. "They're not going to try and convert you over to a naval rank, are they?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I'd accept it if they did, but I wouldn't be the biggest fan." Then he paused for a moment, glancing down at her. "I'll remember that, when it comes to dealing with her." The wait was bearable, at least.

She looked up at him, studying the expression he wore. "It's..." Jenni was no empath, and hopefully she wouldn't regret asking this, "...not just the Marines leaving that's bothering you, is it?

He stared at her with blue eyes, carefully gauging the question. "What are you getting at?" he asked her. If she had a suspicion, she should voice it. Derek casually leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jenni narrowed her eyes, not quite sure what to make of him. Had she offended him in some way? When? True, she had barely checked in on the survivors from their ship since coming aboard. Several had moved on, not because of her, but because they couldn't take being in a ship with the same name and captain that had gotten them into trouble in the first place.

And his arms were crossed, mimicking some sort of barrier between the two of them. Clearly, this was not the same man she'd known for the last few months. "You just don't seem like yourself," she finally explained. "That's all. You're almost... brooding..."

"Kind of. Just..some information bothering me." He cleared his throat, standing to his full height again, hands by his sides. No use in pretending he didn't know anymore. "How are things with the cat?" Came off smoothly, and with no malice or bad intent.

Word about her and M'rayr had travelled more quickly than she'd thought. Jenni smiled as a reflex and turned to face Derek. "M'rayr and I are doing well," she replied, studying him for a moment, still trying to figure him out. "Taking it slow, actually."

"He make ya happy?" He asked softly. That was the most important question for both of them. And the one thing that he wanted to know for sure. Sure, he'd promised to set it aside, but since she was asking him about it anyway...

Jenni's smile wavered for a moment, curious as to the reasoning behind the question. That and she hadn't given it too much thought herself. She'd made it a point to avoid relationships thanks to a couple terrible ones in the past, and somehow she managed to find one when she wasn't looking for it. "He does," she said, her smile strengthening. Just as quickly as it appeared, the smile faded. She'd known the man beside her to be a loner for a while now. Perhaps it was insensitive to continue the conversation further. "Aside from the changes," she said, changing topics, "how're you adjusting to life on this Katana?"

So that was it then. The answer he was looking for. And she had meant it, when she said that. Now he could let it go, for there was no sense in dwelling on something that could never be. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, before expelling it in a measured fashion. Then he looked at her again. Like a cloud was gone from his eyes. "I'm adjusting fine." he quips. "Despite the changes, these are good people, for the most part. And I'm glad that the former Captain is being put on trial. In the end there was almost no difference between him and his counterpart. And both of them made me want to slit their throats." Being candid, as he often was, often meant a singular brutality that came naturally to him. Hopefully she'd understand that.

Jenni felt an urge to defend the Kerouac she saw down on Talos IV, the same man who'd welcomed her with open arms when she first came aboard. Given the division Kris had caused over the last few days with this crew, she successfully resisted the urge. "These are good people, aren't they?" she confirmed, looking towards the turbolift doors as she heard a car come near. "And, after all that time behind Breen lines and Talos IV, I'm looking forward to some R&R." The doors opened and she stepped inside the empty lift.

"It is something we are deserving of." Derek confirmed, stepping inside the empty lift with her, leaning against the wall, and letting her decide the direction. He certainly seemed more at peace now. and for his part he was happy about it.

"Cargo Bay 1," she ordered the computer. The doors closed and the lift began to move. "It's been a couple years since I've been to New Sydney. I know it's not the best place in the world..." She smiled as she looked at him. "Honestly, I'm looking forward to even just five seconds of fresh air."

"Me too. Ensure the cat goes with you, though. Or someone you know here. Don't need to get lost in a city like that." Derek advised her. He did care, just as a friend now.

"Thanks. I'm actually heading down with Commander t'Dharvanek," Jenni explained. "I remember a couple merchants in the markets. I need to find something to wear besides uniforms."

"Then I wish you the best of luck in that regard. I'm not sure what I'll do down there. But it will be interesting nonetheless." Derek nodded. Satisfied by what he heard at least. Then his thoughts drifted as to what he would do. Or who he would go with..

The turbolfit ride, as Jenni had suspected, was short. It came to a stop and opened its doors, allowing both to exit into the corridor. "I hear the Ferengi just developed a new resort and beach a good deal away from the mining provence. It might be worth checking out. Hopefully it isn't too expensive."

"Hopefully. And hopefully it is run by at least somewhat above-board Ferengi." Derek nodded, following her out of the lift.

"Is there such a thing?" Jenni asked with a chuckle.

"Probably not. Just too many experiences where I've seen the opposite." Derek replied. "Don't want any of the crew to get caught up in something bad."

They turned the corner and entered the cargo bay. An ensign in gold was already in the room placing two crates on a table. "Hello!" he called out to the new arrivals. "Lieutenant Gordon! Lieutenant Matthews! Here's your gear. I've double checked it, so you should be good to go. Let me know if you need anything else." He ensign turned away, checking something on his PADD as he neared a stack of containers.

He frowns a bit at the yellow uniform, and the standard phaser. The rest of the gear is okay. "Thanks." he muttered, picking it up and placing it into his personal transport buffer. "Well that was easy enough.." he murmured.

Jenni smiled as she looked through the crate, happy to finally again have a toolkit of her own. A quick scan of its contents told her everything was there. She pulled it out of the crate, as well as a couple other items she'd requested and held the kit at her side. It was an excellent feeling, knowing she could again tinker with the innards of a starship.

She turned to face Derek again, still smiling, though she noticed his frown. "You know," Jenni suggested, "I'm always around if you ever want to talk. I also hear the ship has a good counseling staff. Or, so I've heard from some of the crew from our Katana."

"I know." He looked back at her. "On both counts. And I will remember that. Same for you, ya know? If you need to talk to me..don't be afraid to do it."

Her smile brightened. "I'll certainly take you up on that. See you around."

He waves..and then walks off. "See ya around, then."

LT Jennifer Matthews
Chief Operations Officer
USS Katana

1st Lt. Derek Gordon
Security Officer and Ghost
USS Katana

It had been hard to get started on sorting through Nathan's things and deciding what she was going to keep and what she would put in storage. Now Jhu sat on the deck surrounded by a pile of his belongings, looking at it all and entirely uncertain what to do with it. Already she had a smaller pile of things on the bed - mostly T-shirts, the favorite blanket they'd often shared, and a tiny statue of Buddha she'd found tucked away on a shelf where she hadn't noticed it before. The rest... she just didn't know what to do with any of it. Uniforms could be recycled, she supposed. She pulled one jacket aside, the heavy field jacket that she didn't think she'd ever seen him wear. The cut was looser than the suggested pattern the replicator had given her, but the length was right. And she'd borrowed it often enough when she wasn't on duty. Nathan had joked that it was practically hers anyway. As she picked it up, a tiny velvet box tumbled free from a pocket, bouncing across the floor.

Watching it bounce for a moment, Jhu scrambled after it, grabbing it just before it would have rolled under the couch. The mad scramble to catch the box left her sprawled across the remainder of Nathan's uniforms, panting slightly for breath. Pushing herself back up to a seated position amid the various things laid out on the floor, she gave the velvet-covered box an intensely curious look. It was similar to the boxes that Starfleet used for the new pip when officers were promoted, but on closer inspection the velvet cover was a deep shade of purple rather than blue or black. That was curious.

For a moment, Jhu considered simply putting the box away. It had been hidden; Nathan probably had a reason for that. As she went to set it in the pile of things she was certain she wasn't keeping, she paused. True, Nathan had hidden the box. But he'd hidden it in a place she was sure to look if anything were to happen to him. The thought had her conflicted over what to do with the tiny box, and she sat frozen for several long seconds, seconds that quickly stretched into minutes as she tried to decide what Nathan would want her to do with the box.

Finally, she took a deep breath and carefully opened the box to see what was inside it. Looking at it, she blinked, quite sure she was imagining what she saw. When the ring remained resolutely in place, she couldn't quite keep back the anguished sob, putting her hand over her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. There was no note, no way to know how long Nathan had kept this tiny treasure a secret, but he'd certainly never talked about it. She couldn't remember a single time he'd mentioned wanting to get married, just the handful of times they'd joked about having a child and how wild and crazy she would be while she was pregnant. It was painfully ironic how the jokes about the child had come true after she'd lost him.

Jhu knew she couldn't wear the ring on her finger. Nathan had never actually proposed to her, and it felt so wrong when she thought about it. But that didn't mean she couldn't wear it at all. As an idea struck her, she got up from the floor and went over to the replicator. Scrolling through the available options, she selected a delicate chain in the same color as the ring's band and replicated it, slipping the ring onto it and clasping it around her neck so that the ring fell against her chest. Looking down at it, she decided that this and the few things she'd already selected would be enough. The rest could go into storage.

Turning the corner, Jenni came to an abrupt stop. It wasn't the sight of the guards posted outside the room that caused her to freeze. She knew that the occupant inside was about to be transferred and that this was the last chance she'd get to see him. Already, Jenni had circled the deck three times. Fear was not why she hadn't entered the room.

Truthfully, she had no idea what to say. Jenni, amazingly, had no ill will towards Kris after Talos IV. Sure she would've probably died if he'd succeeded, but the very fact was that she was alive because of him. It was also because of Kris, and her version of him, that she'd changed uniform colors three times now.

It was almost as if the Great Bird of the Galaxy had a hand in making things right at last. Jenni Matthews back in the yellow uniform and Kristopher Kerouac behind bars. Except this Kris didn't deserve this pitiful fate, or so she thought.

Wringing her hands, Jenni watched as one of the security guards noticed her standing there. The look in the man's eye told her he was suspecting her arrival any time. After all, who circled the deck the brig was contained on?

Well...

Jenni took a step forward. Then another. And another. She nodded to the guards as the doors loudly slid open, and then to Ensign Sanchez who sat behind the desk, keeping an eye on the shamed captain. Then she looked over towards the only active cell, unsure of what exactly to the man on the other side. Instead, she simply smiled and shyly greeted, "Hello, Captain."

Jumping up from his bench where he had been trying to get some shut eye, Kris at first wanted to search for a weapon to defend himself with. He thought it was Jhu coming to kill him. However, as his eyes adjusted to the light and his mind connected the voice to memory, he recognized the woman as Jenni Matthews. "Hello, Lieutenant" he replied with a dry throat. "It's just Kris now. I think as soon as I was put in here, I lost the rank and title...and lost the respect of my crew long before."

Jenni fiddled with the hands that she kept visible near her abdomen. She was very aware of her emotions at this moment, and strangely Jenni felt she'd be more comfortable being alone with Kris than having a young ensign keep watch over the both of them. Nervously, she replied to the man after a glance behind her at the guard, "I... I'm sorry... I can come back later." She nodded and took a half-step backward, thinking if she left, she might not come back.

The former Captain of Katana stepped forward and reached out. His hand hit the energy barrier and gave him nasty jolting shock, causing his hand to become a bit numb and he staggered backwards a bit. "No, please. Jenni, stay. If you have something to say to me or questions, you had better say it now. Because, I may be dead after command is done with me."

She looked down for a moment at her fidgeting hands. Come on, Jenni, you've got this. Jenni looked up, hands still in front of her, and smiled. "I..." Jenni closed her eyes and exhaled, attempting to release whatever block had formed in her mind and will. "Kris... Captain... I just wanted to say thank you."

Kris was taken aback by the gentleness, the soft thanks he was receiving rather than harsh hatred that he had been expecting from the crew, and this woman was hardly crew. She was from the Katana that was native to this universe, but she was remaining aboard and hopefully staying for good. "For what?" asked Kerouac. He looked at the woman strangely, interested in hearing her words. "You were right. You had said how bad your Kerouac was, how dangerous he could be...that death followed in his wake. In the end, you were right, Jenni. I became a danger to the crew and Tonkin is dead because of me."

"You saved my life," Jenni instantly replied. Her hands fell to her sides as she took a couple steps forward to the cell. "And the lives of nineteen others. The Kerouac I knew isn't a quarter of the man you are." She threw her arms wide for a moment. "Sure, the Kerouac I knew would've violated General Order 7. But, he'd do it for strictly personal reasons. You did it for your family. That's the difference."

He scoffed in the cell. "I hope my lawyer has the ability to see that and make use of it" replied Kris with a small smile. "You were holding your own fairly well aboard your Katana, Lieutenant. You proved yourself capable of keeping her in a battle, not tucking tail and fighting to your last shot. If I were a quarter if the Captain you showed yourself to be, I wouldn't be here."

"I was taught what not to do," she explained. "Except for daring gambles to define the odds." Jenni smiled. "That's a quality you both share." She walked over to the force field, brave enough to stand directly in front of Kris. "I know it wasn't easy to do what you did. It wasn't easy losing 130 people either. You get to live with a bad decision. I have to live with knowing I couldn't save those people."

He looked at the woman and nodded. He understood what she was going through and in her case it was practically ten fold all at once. "It is never really easy being in command. You've already been exposed to more than most Captains would have to deal with over the course of months or years. Yet look at yourself. You are still standing" added Kris. "You will be a brilliant Commanding Officer one day, Matthews."

Smirking, she replied, "Thanks, but I'll stick to Engineering gold." She was grateful for the compliment, especially now that she had some help coming to grips with what she'd been through.

"Don't be so sure about that" replied Kris.

"Then I'll just have to hang onto it for as long as I can," Jenni said, keeping the smirk. Honestly, she was surprised she hadn't been whisked away just yet.

"Stay" said Kerouac simply, his eyes locking onto hers and a sadness could be seen in his eyes and yet a seriousness of command. "I may not be the Captain of this starship anymore, but I left instructions and requests before being taken into custody. I know you've been helping out where you can, but this ship could really use you, Jenni. Chief Carter resigned form her position as Chief of Operations...I've recommended you for the position of Chief Operations Officer."

The smirk faded. Somehow the sudden seriousness had gotten to her. It'd be tough to fill Andy's shoes, but she'd try. "I'll do it," she replied quickly. "And I promise to not let you down."

"Good, you should see M'rayr or whoever they replace me with" replied Kris. "I know that you'll do well, Jenni. I just hope they toss me onto a Prison colony rather than just kill me."

"Me too," Jenni said, smile still absent from her face. Somehow, it returned before she said, "Hope they don't kill you, that is. You deserve more than that, even if you don't think you do."

"Uh thanks" replied Kris with a shrug. I would hope that I deserved better than being sentenced to death he thought. "If I live through this...I hope to see you again one day."

Her hands returned to fidgeting jest before saying, "I'm sure we will." Jenni flashed her trademark smile. "It's... It's been an honor, Captain."

"The honor was mine, Lieutenant. Now, get the hell out of here before you jerk a tear out of me" he said shaking his head.

Jenni kept her smile. Rather than turning, she simply backed away from the cell, still fidgeting. "Until we meet again, then." Giving Kris a final nod, Jenni turned and left the room.

"Until then" replied Kris, retreating back to the bench in his cell.

Leryssa had already returned to her quarters and gone to bed after her stay in Sickbay. She had opted to go to bed early; Since her duty shift in Security was over. As she was already dressed for bed in just her light pink underwear and a matching tanktop, She crawled under the covers and took off her Bajoran earring, Which had been dangling from her right ear. This, She placed on her nightstand next to her bed, and shifted herself into a laying position and laid her head on her pillow as she pulled the covers up nearly past her shoulders. Leryssa reached over and switched off the lamp on the nightstand, Making the bedroom around her become dark, and she started to close her eyes and relax. However, Leryssa had not completely dozed off to sleep just yet, But she was starting to get there.

A few moments passed and suddenly, a slight hum could be heard and a man materialized, standing on the bed next to her. He shifted slightly and fell down onto the mattress next to the woman. "Shit!" he exclaimed, trying to roll off the bed, but having no luck.

Startled, Leryssa sat up and screamed with fright before launching herself out from under the covers of her bed, "Who the hell are you and what, In the name of the Prophets, are you doing in my quarters?!" She shouted as she reached over and switched the lamp back on, Illuminating the bedroom. Seeing the unrecognized blue-skinned man laying there.

Finally rolling to the side, Arivek fell off the bed and hit the floor with a loud thud. "Fuck," he grumbled, rubbing his forehead. Slowly standing up, he held his hand up towards the woman. "It's ok, it's ok. My name is Arivek. And this was a terrible, terrible accident."

"Accident or not, What the hell are you doing in here?!" Leryssa shouted an octave higher before grabbing the pale pink silk bathrobe she kept on the end of her bed, Put it on, and wrapped it around herself, Covering her underwear and tanktop that she'd currently been wearing. "Were you trying to give me a heart attack and send me to the Celestial Temple or something, Or do you just get a kick out of randomly scaring the hell out of people when they're getting ready for bed?!" She practically chided him in her anger.

"Just calm down!" Arivek yelled, finally getting tired of this woman's outbursts. "Like I said, me getting here was a complete accident. Some sort of error in the computer's holo-transferring protocols. This isn't actually the first time this has happened..." The man's voice trailed off as he started to think. "The first time it happened, I assumed it was a mere glitch in the matrix, but having it happen twice is odd."

Leryssa raised an eyebrow at the man, "Twice?" She asked rather out of curiosity rather than anger. She then remembered that she forgot to introduce herself to Arivek, "Look... Um, Arivek?" She clasped her hands together just under her chin for a second before continuing, "Was that your name?" She then unclasped her hands and gestured to herself, "Well, My name is Leryssa Kiska; You can call me Leryssa or Ensign Kiska if you want. Either is fine with me." The Bajoran woman replied.

"Yes, Arivek." Ari stepped back until his back was pressed against the wall. "Arivek Zhuri, I'm the Chief Engineer on board."

Ah, The hologram. Leryssa thought silently to herself as she nodded when he'd clarified who he was to her, "Well, Nice to meet you; But If you don't mind, Would you kindly exit my quarters before Ensign Kadan Storm finds you in here? I don't think he'd be too happy to find you standing here while I'm still in my bathrobe." She blushed, Albeit a little embarrassed to still be in her bathrobe, When she had just been dressed in just her underwear and a tanktop not too long ago. "He might have some objections to that. And not very pleasant ones, I might add." She'd clarified to Arivek.

"I'm sure that the Ensign will remember that I'm still a senior officer," Arivek stated, walking out of the bedroom and into the living room. He looked around, slightly concerned that their quarters were bigger than his. "I understand that the situation is quite awkward..." Arivek turned back to the woman, "But an accident is exactly that. No harm, no foul."

Awkward? That's an understatement. Leryssa thought silently to herself as she followed the man out of her bedroom and walked behind him to her living room, "Well, In that case; Please do me a favor, and make sure you don't transfer yourself back to my quarters at this hour again. Alright?" She requested, "Especially when I'm about to get ready for bed, or taking a shower, For example." She commented before she sighed, "I think that'd be pretty embarrassing, Not only for me, but for you to see me like that." She paused for a long moment or two before adding, "Oh, And please do be careful and watch your step around my duranja lamp." She'd gestured to the large Bajoran duranja lamp that was placed in the center of her quarters' living room floor, It was not lit of course, But it could probably cause someone to fall over it, If they didn't watch where they were going and tripped on it. "Don't want you getting hurt by tripping on that." Leryssa replied without missing a beat.

Having only heard the woman too late, Arivek turned and his foot caught on the structure, sending him to the floor in a heap. "Shit," he said, rubbing his forehead where he slammed into the floor.

Leryssa sighed, "Like that." She managed to say when Arivek had tripped over the edge of her duranja lamp, "You ok?" She asked as held her hand out to him in attempt to help him up to his feet. "Should I get you some ice for your forehead?"

Arivek reached for the woman's hand. "Thank you," he said as he was pulled to his feet. "And unless you need anything from me, I think I'll be on my way."

"Actually, Now that you mention it, My replicator hasn't been working very well recently." Leryssa answered Arivek, Pointing towards the replicator on the opposite wall of her quarters, "Every time I attempt to order a cold drink, it replicates them far too hot instead." She admitted with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Put in a work request and I'll have one of my Engineers take care of it quickly," Arivek stated, heading towards the door.

"Alright." Leryssa responded, "I'll do that first thing in the morning." She watched as Arivek headed towards the door. "Thanks." She managed to add before he walked out of her quarters.

As soon as Arivek left her quarters; Leryssa walked back into her bedroom, Climbed under the covers of her bed, Switched off the lamp, Shifted herself into a laying position, Laid her head down onto her pillow and went to sleep.

Ensign Leryssa Kiska
Security Officer
USS Katana

&

Lieutenant Arivek Zhuri
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Katana

"Chief Carter to Lieutenant Zhuri," Andy said as she settled Maica onto her workbench in the cybernetics lab. "Can you report to the cybernetics lab? I need your assistance with something." Andy began a level 1 diagnostic on Maica's positronics. She stepped back from the workbench, watching Maica sleep for a moment before sitting at her console, waiting for Ari.

A few moments passed and the doors opened with a swish as Arivek walked into the room. "You rang?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, I need a second set of eyes on something," Andy said, leaning back in her chair to rub at her tired eyes. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, too worried about Maica and she was wrestling with her own grief over Nathan. "Someone is tampering with Maica. At least I think someone is. There's gaps in Maica's memory logs, places where data should be. I'm running a level 1 diagnostic on her positronics to cover all my bases, but I could still use some help."

"Could she have been damaged down on the planet and this is a side effect?" Arivek asked, walking up to the woman and looking over her shoulder at the screen.

"No, these gaps started almost as soon as we got to this universe," Andy said, bringing up the anomalous voids Andy had documented just after they had arrived. "The first night after we got here, her sleep cycle was disturbed, yet when I went to go check that everything was alright, I saw no evidence that her sleep cycle had ever been broken. And these blanks spots, there should be data pertaining to her dreams there, but nada. At first I thought it might be some sort of flaw in her design, but it wasn't negatively affecting her so I wasn't too pressed to find an answer right away. Until yesterday..." Andy brought up the EM wave patterns she had recorded yesterday. "I'm convinced that someone was inside Maica and erasing the evidence of their presence."

Arivek seemed skeptical. "This EM wave is odd," he said, pointing to the line as it cascaded up and down on the graph. "But I don't see this as proof of tampering. Could her positronic mind be corrupted?"

"Well, I am running a diagnostic," Andy said. But that was just the hardware. What about the software? And what about Maica's consciousness and the development of her soul? Maica mentioned enjoying killing the Talosian yesterday. Could something have broken within Maica that Andy couldn't fix? "But that'll take several hours for the full results. Until then, I could really use your feedback on what I've found so far. I'm not sure how impartial I can be to some of these results. I mean, this is Maica..."

"That's what I'm here for," the hologram replied, rubbing Andy's shoulder. This was definitely hard for the woman, and Ari needed to help fix the situation while reassuring the woman that everything was going to be ok. "How often do you do scans of her brain? I'd like to see some scans before we were pulled into this thetaverse."

"Yeah, hold on..." Andy said, flipping through some files to find the earlier scans.

Her dreams shifting, Maica stirred slightly, one of her hands snaking up to grope one of her own mountainous mammaries. "Mmm... Andy..." she moaned softly in her sleep as her head rolled to the side. It seemed she was onto her next dream and it was pretty erotic judging by the smile spreading across the android woman's lips. On the monitors, they showed a spike in neural activity for a moment as the new dream was constructed. The initial brainwave pattern echoing for just a moment.

"Shit." Andy rolled her chair over to her workbench where she leaned in to whisper into Maica's ear, "I know you can hear me. Ari's in the room and I don't think he'd appreciate the show. Dream about something else and I'll make it up to you later."

Arivek chuckled. "It's ok, really," he said, tapping at the screen that Andy had just been working on. She had loaded the previous scans he had requested but had to roll away before she could display them. With a simple tap of the screen, the images were brought to life.

"Oh, this is definitely strange," he stated, looking from the previous scans to the ones taken today. He didn't want to say he had doubted the woman, but he didn't just want to agree that something strange was happening when he had no background information to base that claim on. But here the background information was. And it definitely supported what the ginger Borg was saying. "You didn't say how often you take these scans. I wonder if we can pinpoint when this pattern first began to emerge..."

"Well, the Engineer in me wanted to do scans of her every day since I brought her new systems online, but I couldn't bring myself to do it," Andy said, gently stroking Maica's hair as the android calmed back down into a less evocative sleep. She kissed Maica's forehead, then rolled back over to Ari. "For the first week I did daily scans to make sure she was stable, but then I went to every other day and then once a week, and of course I do a scan if I notice something off. I can give you access to all of those," she said, unlocking the directory where she kept Maica's diagnostics so Ari could have access to them.

"It looks like this pattern didn't appear on any scans before we were brought to this universe." Ari looked at Maica, then at Andy, then back to the scans. "Could there be an entity here that's doing this?" Before the woman could answer, Ari clasped his hand on her shoulder, "Oh my god. What if those memories aren't being deleted. What if they're being downloaded? Maica's brain has access to some very highly classified information. Information about her, about you, about me. And this ship and about the Starfleet we came from. The technological advancements that someone could be gaining access to are insurmountable!"

"Wow, you've taken the words right outta my mouth," Andy said flatly. "I brought this up with that Cardassian Commodore last night because I considered the Security risks. But the complete lack of data makes it impossible to tell if the data is being deleted or downloaded. Until we know more, we gotta examine all our options, and that Larkon guy suggested we take a look at the Romulans and the Ferengi. Maica would make a great set of eyes for the Romulans, and the Ferengi would love to get their hands on her, especially since her original body was made by Feregni. Which reminds me..."

Andy rose from her chair, grabbing a tricorder and heading over to the storage drawers where Maica's old frame was currently in stasis. It always made her heart ache to see those remains laying in that drawer, evidence of how close she had come to losing Maica. "Gotta make sure her old tracking device isn't active or that there ain't a traceable resonance here," she said as she took some readings. "The Maica in this universe didn't quite make it as long as our Maica did, and of course I wasn't there to build her a new body... Those remains are interned at the Daystrom Institute, but who knows, there might be some sort of exploitable connection."

"I wonder if we can get that body. Maybe there's a clue there?" Arivek leaned against the bulkhead and rubbed his chin. "Did Larkon give any more leads than that? Romulans and Ferengi... What are we supposed to do, spy on the entire Empire?"

"It was just an angle I hadn't checked," Andy said. "I looked for signals that could be used to access Maica remotely, and I checked a lot of frequencies, but he suggested the Romulans and Ferengi, so I'm scanning for their frequencies now too. So far, nada, but I'm not giving up yet." And so far, she wasn't detecting any activity from Maica's old transponder, the old body was completely inert. Andy lowered her tricorder with a sigh. "Ya know, Maica suggested something off the wall, but the more I hit dead ends, the more I think she might be right..." Andy turned and looked at Maica, still sleeping soundly and oblivious to the frustration this problem was causing for Andy. "She thought it might be an entity like herself, just maybe more evolved, even said something about a Q. Thing is, I got no way to prove or disprove it!"

"Do the Q even exist in this timeline?" Arivek asked, pulling a chair over to the station. "An similar entity could be a good theory. I wonder if we can pull this pattern out of her mind and put it into a form of it's own? Perhaps a holographic matrix?"

"Or maybe we could just talk to it?" Andy said, closing the stasis storage drawer and wandering back over to Ari. "I mean, whoever, whatever this thing is, as best we can tell it's just observing through Maica, so we could let it know we're onto it. Just tell it through Maica and see what it does."

Arivek rolled his chair over to Maica's body and gave it a light tap on her forehead. "Hello, are you in there?" he asked, throwing Andy a sideways grin.

Maica, in her sleep, replied with an "Mmhmm," and shifted again, the hand that was previously resting on her boob went back to her side, assumedly to search for Andy and her head rolling to generally face Ari.

Andy chuckled and joined Ari by the workbench. "Maica, we're gonna try something, so try not to freak out if it goes sideways..." Hoo boy, this was one for the storybooks. "Whoever you are, I know you're there watching us. I don't know if you mean any harm by it, just wanted to let you know that we know you're there," Andy said in a soft tone, hoping to appear non-threatening to whoever was on the other side of this connection listening in.

On the readouts, there was a fluctuation in Maica's patterns. Her dream state had paused for a moment as if thinking. Then everything went back to normal. Almost. There was a massive chunk of new data that had been entered into Maica's memory during that pause.

That certainly got Andy's attention! She returned to the console to check Maica's brainwave patterns to make sure she was still stable. She was curious about this new data that had been dumped into Maica's memory, but it looked heavily encrypted. Best to wait for Maica to wait to see what she made of it...

"Well, that's something," Andy said as she ran some tests on Maica's neural pathways to ensure that whatever that blip was hadn't damaged her. "I think we made contact."

"Can both she and the other brainwave be active at the same time? I think she'll want to see this with us," Arivek stated, following the woman to the console. "It's massive," he said, his voice getting distant as he ran a scan over the new data elements. "I think it'll take the Computer a few minutes to get it open for us."

"She was awake yesterday when I first noticed the second brainwave pattern," Andy said. "You want me to wake her? She'll be able to tell us what's up with this data long before the computer ever could."

"That's probably for the best. No sense in leaving her asleep if there's no risk with her being awake," Arivek stated.

"Somehow I think Commodore tight-ass would disagree with you, but I'm willing to take the chance," Andy said, entering in a few commands into the system, sending a signal to Maica to wake.

Maica's eyes fluttered open, her dreams fading. Smiling up at Andy and Ari, she was mildly surprised to be on the workbench, but not that surprised. "Morning. Is everything ok?"

"You tell us," Andy said, striding over to the workbench to help Maica sit up. "Can you tell us what that massive data file that got dumped into your head is all about?"

"What massive... oh..." Maica said, realization dawning on her. "That's... That's a lot of data... I don't even understand most of it but... It seems I now know what happened to that transwarp drive..."

Arivek's eyes got wide as he rolled back over to Maica, grabbing her by the shoulders. "What happened to it?" he asked, eager for an answer.

Maica blinked a moment as she processed more of the data. "It was plucked from our ship as we ripped through the dimensional barriers to equalize... something... by a being that calls itself... something untranslatable... that lives in the space between universes... the ethereal void?"

Arivek sighed as he slumped back into his chair. "We already assumed that," he said, disappointed that he didn't have more information. The last thing he believed was that there was a being that intervened in those events.

"That's just the beginning of the data..." Maica said, trailing off as she processed through more of the data.

"I don't know about you, but that's a load off of my mind..." Andy had been beating herself up over the failed transwarp jump, feeling responsible that they were all stranded in a different universe. Maybe it didn't absolve all her guilt, but knowing an outside hand had interfered with that did help make it easier to bear. "It wasn't our fault..."

"I don't believe that," Arivek stated, standing up. "I don't know what this thing is, but I don't trust it. Nor do I believe that some supernatural being came in and took the device from us. There's no scientific proof."

"Would data on quantum spin and origin data on both that Borg sphere and our ship as well as some history on this entity be enough?" Maica asked, still trying to sift through all the data.

"You can't believe that?!" Andy said, slightly taken aback by Ari's statement. "After all the things that the Federation has been part of, contact with the Q and the Bajoran prophet-wormhole alien things, this you can't believe? Lets just get a recap of thing: our brave and glorious Captain took us to a forbidden planet to talk to a Guardian of fucking FOREVER! You are a living soul inside a holographic construct, something that shouldn't exist, and Maica is a purely mechanical being developing a soul, something else that shouldn't exist, but I wouldn't have ever figured out if I had never seen your matrix... But no, a being that lives in the space between spaces removing the transwarp drive to equalize things is just too much to believe!" Andy wanted, no... needed to believe this because it helped bring a sense of reason to all this madness, that it hadn't all been for nothing.

Arivek shrugged. "I guess. I just find it difficult to believe things that I can't explain. And yes, you've mentioned things I can't explain. I have no answer for you."

"I can't explain existence. I'll stop believing in it." Maica said, still concentrating on the data.

"Oi, no need to be cheeky," Andy scolded, yet she had a grin on her face. "But she makes a point: there's a lot of stuff we accept with little to no evidence, and some of these concepts ain't as constant as we once believed. Remember some 20-odd years ago back when the Enterprise-D was still new, they came across 2-dimensional life forms, something that before then was just a theory. I remember my mom and dad talkin' about it because it was big news in the science community. Them critters couldn't perceive us any better than us when it comes to higher life forms like the Q." It was easy to forget that there was knowledge and intelligence under all Andy's crass behavior and harsh wit, but she had been raised on science ships so she had enough knowledge on the subject to know what she was talking about. "Just because we ain't got evidence that can explain things to our liking don't make it any less true. Now I ain't saying I trust this thing messing with Maica either, but at least it's giving us answers, which is more than we could do on our own."

"Look, just...figure it out," Arivek said, standing and walking towards the door. "Let me know if you need anymore help."

"I'll forward you this data once i get it on PaDDs," Maica called after Ari.

[ON]

The Federation starship USS Katana had been traveling at medium-warp for twelve hours, arriving at the seventh planet in the Sappora planetary system shortly after oh-eight hundred hours. Although reputed to be heavily influenced by the Orion Syndicate, "New Sydney" possessed a sovereign police force, and its cities were culturally rich havens bristling with distractions that the crew of the Intrepid-class vessel would find suitable for their impending shore leave.

Acting Captain M'rayr Eisovo stared out through the port hole in his quarters, gazing at the sandy brown world, arms crossed. "It is certainly not Risa," he announced, his voice carrying into the bedroom where Jennifer Matthews was still getting dressed. One of New Sydney’s primary exports came from its extensive mining operations deep within the surface. As New Sydney was not a member-world of the United Federation of Planets, it was not required to abide by certain ecologically friendly laws and regulations favored by most Federation worlds. A dense fog of pollution covered the northern hemisphere. But from what M'rayr had read, the cities employed massive air recyclers along the mainland to filter out the contaminants. So it could only be assumed that the crew would have the opportunity to enjoy clean air so long as they restricted their leave to those areas.

“I see the Hera,” M’rayr added next, his eyes casting a gaze towards another silvery blip in orbit. The USS Hera, Captained by Elania Telvan, had been ordered to rendezvous with Katana so that the latter might unload its prisoner for trial.

Captain Kristopher Kerouac. Or rather… Former Captain.

The Caitian sighed inwardly. As much as he used to respect the man, he was looking forward to having him removed. As long as Kris was here, he would be a reminder of all that the Katana and its crew had lost. True healing wouldn’t even start until that much was done. And even then, M'rayr wasn't sure exactly how he was going to bring this crew back together as a family.

In the days that preceded today, Jenni found herself more and more comfortable with spending the night with M'rayr. They'd agreed to take this relationship slow. After all, what was there to rush? She was quite comfortable in his company and felt a connection to him unlike anything she’d ever felt. He had shared little of his history, and Jenni hadn’t pried, knowing when the time was right, M’rayr would open up.

Though she’d been spending the night more and more frequently, their relationship hadn’t yet become physical. Jenni, in fact, had thought little of it. Even now as she zipped up her uniform jacket and smiled at the reflection of yellow in the mirror, her mind drifted from thoughts of their conversation from the night before to the procedures she’d have to start implementing and directing as the Katana neared her port of call and began to adjust for the next few days under a reduced crew.

M’rayr turned just in time to see Jenni emerge from the bedroom. Even in her Starfleet issue uniform, she looked marvelous. “As soon as we get to the bridge, I will contact Captain Telvan and arrange for…” M’rayr hesitated at the last moment, “- his transfer.”

Jenni had had a smile on her face from the moment she left the bedroom, but it was hard to keep it in place. She’d seen Kris yesterday in the brig, and Jenni had yet to tell M’rayr. There was nothing to hide, but she didn’t feel there was anything worth to say. And now, knowing that his transfer was minutes away, the whole situation had a sense of brevity. “The crew’s going to want to start beaming down to New Sydney as soon as possible,” she pressed, knowing the handful of requests from her department alone.

She walked over to retrieve her mug of coffee from the table. “I suppose it’s too early to ask if orders have come through?” Jenni knew M’rayr desired a command of his own one day and wasn’t thrilled with the turn of events that put in him the Captain’s chair. At least the situation he was in was nothing like hers, inheriting command in the middle of a battle that resulted in the loss of 130 lives and a ship.

The Caitian pursed his lips quietly before reaching for a single PaDD on the table. He held onto it for a moment, then passed it reluctantly to Jenni. "They have. Command of the Katana will fall to a Captain Tau, a Bynar I believe. He will arrive via the Princeton, which should be here in by tomorrow evening." The tone of M'rayr's voice balanced between relief and disappointment. Even under these circumstances, he'd been prepared to assume command. But it wasn't his own career ambitions taking their toll on him. It was not knowing if Tau would be any better, or worse, than Kerouac.

Tau was an outsider. And if the Starfleet of this universe was anything like their own, M'rayr presumed that Tau had been briefed on the Katana's brief history, and on how it would become his job to clean up the mess. As M'rayr handed the PaDD to Jenni, he didn't quite let it slip from his grasp and into hers. "Please do not share this with the others. Not yet, at least," M'rayr said, adding a small shrug. "It should come from me... at the right time."

Jenni accepted the PADD, noting his tone. "Of course," she said with a smile. The Lieutenant glanced only for a moment at the data it contained before setting it on the table. With as much activity this ship was about to experience, the safest place for this bit of news was right here in M'rayr's cabin. "It's probably for the best," she offered, stepping closer to him with mug in hand. "The crew's been fractured more than its ever been. A Bynar should be exactly what we need."

M'rayr paused involuntarily in his reply just long enough for Jenni to know that he didn't know if he had the same amount of confidence in Tau. "Perhaps..." he said, unconsciously bringing a paw up and stroking her shoulder. If there was one good thing come out of this, it was her. Starfleet Regulation was mixed when it came to determining a policy on whether or not Captain's should be allowed to 'date' a subordinate. Thankfully, that same policy regarding executive officers was more lenient.

"We should get to the bridge, then." M'rayr added, smiling softly.

Jenni leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, hoping the simple action would boost his demeanor. "We should indeed," she replied with a smile before gently giving him the shove to leave the room. Jenni walked close beside him, holding her mug of coffee in one hand and letting her free hand dangle close to her side. She had a brief thought of holding M'rayr's paw on the way to the turbolift, yet seeing how the duty shift was just beginning, she decided to keep things professional.

Maica was just coming out of the turbolift, the green android wearing a low cut sundress in complementary greens and yellows, when she saw Whiskers and Jenni walking towards the same turbolift. "Good morning you two. Beautiful day, isn't it?" She said as she waved to the very cute couple.

"It is," Jenni said with a smile. Her hand brushed M'rayr's paw as if to nearby grasp it. Yet it was the contrast of the Commander's outfit to Jenni's uniform that reminded the lieutenant of the things to do before she herself could enjoy leave this evening. "It'll be more beautiful once my shift is over." She smiled at M'rayr, thinking of the chance to buy something tonight to expand her wardrobe from beyond loose t-shirts and shorts.

M'rayr found the whole conversation around it being a beautiful day when the three of them were presently occupying the innards of an Intrepid-class frigate a little odd. The bulkhead was sterile; the corridors were bland, and he found (as he usually did) the overhead lighting to be a little too bright. Human platonics... Still, the Caitian found himself to be momentarily distracted by the graze of Jenni's hand, and thought the day a little brighter for it. He pursed his lips into a Caitian form of a smile, his eyes closing tightly in a pleased expression. "Indeed," M'rayr added. He then looked to Maica and realized she wasn't in uniform. "Preparing for shore leave, Commander?" He asked inquisitively, following Maica and Jenni into the turbolift. "Bridge," the Caitian ordered.

"Relieved of duty until further notice. I might be harboring a dangerous energy being in my positronic net." Maica said cheerily as she got back into the turbolift she just got out of. What the hell, she had nothing better to do than to stalk a couple of her friends through the halls for a few minutes.

Ms. Carter's report came to mind. "Ah, yes." Again, the Caitian could not understand how people took just a casual hand to serious events like this. He looked to Jenni and shared what could only be a 'this is one crazy ship, right?' look, before the turbolift halted and its doors opened to reveal the bridge. M'rayr had anticipated on being alone with Jenni, at which point he'd hoped to signal some small romantic favor before turning to his duties. With Maica's prying eyes upon them, however, he nodded curtly instead. "I will be in the ready room."

"You're not going to kiss her?" Maica asked blatantly. "Or mark her with your scent? Just a nod?"

Jenni grimaced briefly as the image of a dog marking her leg came to her mind. Truth be told, they'd only kissed once, and that was before Talos IV. "We're..." she said, looking at M'rayr who seemed to want to leave the confrontation. Looking back to Maica, she finished, "...taking it slow."

"Computer, close turbolift doors." As soon as the doors closed, she started in. "Taking it slow is for people that think they're going to be alive long enough. We're not in that line of work. I may be relieved of duty, but I can still remind you that tomorrow isn't guaranteed. Live today like it's your last and you won't regret tomorrow." Maica insisted.

M'rayr winced. Knowing that Jenni could have very easily vanished from this space-time had they not stopped Kerouac had given him an exacting impression on how quickly life could change. Still, the Caitian cleared his throat, and proceeded to say: "Rumors of our imminent doom appear to have been exaggerated, Commander," said M'rayr, unconsciously adding formality to enable a professional distance. A part of him considered going further, even possibly suggesting that just as life might end tomorrow, moving too quickly on a good thing could sour what they had.

"And for the record, Caitians do not... mark. At least not in the manner which you suggest," he added with a hint of joviality, hoping to abate any sudden misconceptions Jenni might have regarding Caitians. Before Maica could say anything else, however, the Caitian was eager to disrupt the conversation. "Computer, open turbolift doors." The separating walls between the turbolift and the bridge parted, and M'rayr stepped through.

"Report," M'rayr announced.

"All systems normal," the blue man presently manning the first officer's chair replied.

"Very good," M'rayr said, feeling oddly comfortable with command even though he knew it would be short lived. "I will be in my ready room. I am certain that Captain Telvan is eager to receive the Katana's signal." And he was eager for the Hera to receive Katana's prisoner...

Vanishing into the ready room, M'rayr stepped around the desk and sat down. Bringing up the terminal, the standard Federation logo vanished to reveal a familiar face. Familiar, at least to him. It was entirely possible that this Telvan had no idea who M'rayr was. "Captain Telvan."

As the screen turned from a waiting logo to M'rayr's face, Enalia set her PaDD down and focussed her attention on the Caitian before her. Did she know him? This Katana was from another universe but he looked strikingly familiar to someone she had known while her ship was in drydock. "Whiskers, is that you?" she asked anyway.

It seemed that no matter what universe M'rayr happened to find himself in, that misnomer just never left. The Caitian let out a exacerbated grin before nodding. Apparently this Telvan knew his counter part at one point in time. "I am not the 'Whiskers' you knew, but yes," he straightened himself in his chair. "I presume you were briefed on the... origins... of this Katana."

Enalia nodded. "Yes you ripped your way here from another universe with a piece of antique Borg tech and your Captain broke General Order 7 in a hope to get you home. In summary, that is... The briefing I got on you guys is... extensive. Have you been briefed on the Hera's circumstances?"

M'rayr shook his head. "I am not," he said. Ever since returning from Talos IV, information had been difficult to come by. Starfleet, it seemed, was siding on a cautious approach in terms of what they gave the Katana.

"I'm told you skipped four years ahead when you came to this universe. We too came forward by four years. We were sucked back in time to the 2240s and then used a Devidian portal to get the ship home. We were just a little late in our return." Enalia said with a smirk. "Unfortunately, that means that while we're preparing for this court martial, we're also dealing with Temporal Investigations."

As difficult as the weeks if not months ahead would be, M'rayr was grateful for at least one thing. Dealing with Temporal Investigations was one of the most unpleasant things anybody would ever have to suffer through; he was glad to be spared that fate. It also struck him as strange how two ships, neither from this specific space-time, happened to be ordered to meet.

"Even in our situation, I do not envy you, Captain," M'rayr said back to the image on his console. "Now, on to the matter at hand. We are prepared to transfer Mr. Kerouac to your vessel at any time. Lieutenant Arivek Zhuri is, for the moment, my acting executive officer," M'rayr stopped, realizing that Arivek may have wanted to be present for this meeting. Ah, the dynamics of being in command. "He will facilitate the transfer once the necessary accommodations have been made."

"Excellent. Then prepare to dock with us. I'm told that coming along our port side will keep us both in a solid geosynchronous orbit. This is also at the request of the initial court martial team to facilitate blah blah blah..." Enalia trailed off as she held up a PaDD and pretended to read from it. "Yeah that. Fourteen pages on how they don't want the transporter used to transfer him. Please extend to your crew the invitation of the use of our extensive facilities. Your ship may be more advanced overall, but we've got a few things only a Starbase might have," she added with a smirk, obviously proud of her ship.

The Caitian nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, Captain. I will extend the invitation to the ship. Is there anything more before we terminate our comm-link?" He asked. As Captain of his own ship, custom and courtesy usually implied that he should invite Telvan over to the Katana for dinner. But seeing as how M'rayr already had orders indicating that he wouldn't be Captain for very long -- (as he was sure Telvan possessed information to the same effect) -- the courtesy felt inappropriate.

Enalia sighed heavily. "Normally I'd invite you and your senior staff to a banquet but with both of our staffs in disarray... I suppose I'll just wish you luck and hope we run into each other while on shore leave."

"Hopefully, Captain," M'rayr said before stretching his snout into a loose approximation of a smile before thumbing at the button meant to deactivate the comm-link. The trill's image vanished. M'rayr took several seconds to contemplate their brief discussion before bringing his attention back to the computer; he brought up the ship-wide communication link. Now that he'd formally made contact with the Hera, there was no reason to extend any delay towards permitting shore leave. By Mraownr, this crew deserved some of it.

Pressing the activator, M'rayr listened patiently while the intercom played an ancient whistle, indicating that the Captain was about to make a speech or executive. Once the sound went away, the Caitian focused his attention on his words. "Attention, crew of the USS Katana. This is Captain M'rayr Eisovo," no reason to let everybody in on the fact that my status as CO is to be short lived..., he thought. "This ship is presently in orbit of New Sydney. Starfleet has granted a 72 hour shore leave on New Sydney. I am placing the Katana on stand-down; while we will maintain a minimal operation status, I permit any member on board this vessel who seeks to visit New Sydney the opportunity to do so. Trust however, that New Sydney is not a Federation planet, and is thereby not relegated to our laws. I also expect each of you to conduct yourselves professionally."

M'rayr let up on the transmit button, not certain if what he'd said was enough. This crew had been through a lot. Perhaps that needed to be conveyed. "Enjoy yourselves," M'rayr continued upon pressing back down on the transmit button. "Make use of your time on the planet, and I will look forward to seeing you in 72 hours. Supervisors and departmental chiefs, take chart of your departments. Captain M'rayr, out."

Jenni remained standing in the turbolift while M'rayr walked down to the ready room. As soon as he was out of earshot, Jenni turned and looked at Maica "So Caitians do mark... I don't think I'm ready for that." She still couldn't shake the canine image from her mind. Sure, the anatomy was quite different, but it was simply... stuck.

"Yeah they claim to be evolved and all that but they still have scent glands at the corner of their mouths." Maica said, wondering what Whiskers was up to. "I had an Ambassador friend that rubbed his face on me several times. It's not proper... but it has about the same meaning as an Earth cat doing it." A thought occurred to the green android... She could sense trace amounts of hormones for almost every species but she did have trouble picking up the product of those scent glands she mentioned. "Has he rubbed his face against yours?" she asked, glancing at Jenni questioningly.

Jenni had to pause and think about that for a moment. "I... I don't think so. We've kissed only once, which was," she smirked for a moment, "which was great." The smirk retreated once she remembered the situation leading up to the kiss. Seeing the expression Maica wore, however, made Jenni feel something was amiss.

"I didn't think so..." Maica said, thinking that over a bit more. "Have you two done anything more than just kiss?"

"Dinner," Jenni replied, with a shrug. "Couple visits to the holodeck. A few breakfasts."

"Then I guess he has forgotten how to do this sort of thing," said the green skinned android. "Is there any sort of tension? Has he had any nepata around you?"

"Not that I've seen. I can't speak for M'rayr, but I haven't felt any tension." Her eyes widened momentarily. "We did share a nepata tea just before Talos IV, but definitely nothing since then."

"That man needs to relax..." Maica grumbled, leaning against the wall of the turbolift. "Do you have any romantic plans with him for this shore leave? I hate to pry but... No, I love prying. How are you going to break down that gruff stoic exterior?"

Jenni glanced to her left, seeing the bridge still through the open doors. The helmsman was glancing into the lift, causing Jenni to frown and lean forward to tap the 'close doors' button. "Actually," she confessed, "I haven't planned anything. He seems content to keep watch over the ship until..." her voice trailed off, unsure why. "Until he's relieved, I guess."

"Of course, the ever dutiful soldier. Make plans. If you need some non-replicated nepata, let me know." Maica said. "And if you need advice on how to couple, I can provide that too. I'm as well versed in interspecies relations as anyone out there."

"How to couple?" Jenni asked, a split second before realizing what she'd meant. The realization crept into her face. Changing subjects, she said, "I've never really used nepata. How exactly... I mean... How should..."

"It won't do anything for you," Maica clarified. "For a similar effect you'd have to use hemp seed oil. As for him... Chewed on the tongue, brewed into tea, fermented into wine... Even as a massage oil. If you really want him to purr for you, massage the pads of his feet with some nepata oils. Most Caitians go crazy over it."

Jenni nodded. "I'll have to give that a try." Her right side of the lip curled up, not as a smirk or a smile, but in response to a thought. "So, you think we're moving too slow?"

Maica nodded at the question. "While I no longer have a specifically set mortality, you and he are very mortal. Old age could take you both at any moment. You can't afford to waste time like that."

The Ops Chief couldn't help but laugh. "Old age?" she replied. "I'm barely thirty. I've got a couple decades before I turn grey." Instinctively, she brushed her hair back and thought about checking for any unwanted strands the next time she was near a mirror.

Maica had at least some semblance of tact and didn't mention that she saw one of those grey hairs. "Suit yourself. That doesn't sound that long to me but who am I to tell? I'm only ten."

"Ten?" Jenni asked, wondering if this was how she looked now, puberty would be a wake up call for the entire crew.

"Ten years," Maica clarified. "I'm on my second body, but thanks to Andy, this one should last a LOT longer. Perhaps even a couple thousand years, if I'm lucky."

Jenni nodded, unsure of where else to take this conversation. The turbolift, miraculously, hadn't been called elsewhere, and she knew a bridge station was calling her name on the other side. "You know," she said, looking at Maica, "I don't exactly have much of a wardrobe these days. I think Jhu and I are heading down to New Sydney tonight to check out the market. Interested?"

That was a question Maica wasn't looking forward to but she still replied with a warm smile. "I was well known by the Orion Syndicate in the other universe but here... Yeah, I'll go with you. Just let me know when and I'll be ready."

Smiling in reply, Jenni said, "Great! I plan to head down right after my shift." She took a step to the left, prompting the doors to open to the bridge.

"See you then!" Maica said, waving.

You can do this Arivek said to himself as he leaned against the bulkhead outside of M'rayr's Ready Room. He rested his head on the wall and took a deep breath. Something about death made you start to think about life and what was important in it. And honestly, this feud he was having with the Commander was just silly. Sure, the man hurt his feelings. But they were both grown adults. And it was time for someone to make the first move.

Pushing himself off of the wall, Arivek turned and pressed a finger to the pad on the wall, announcing his entrance.

It had taken M'rayr at least an hour before he willed himself to sit down in the Captain's chair... Kerouac's chair. Even still, he felt oddly uncomfortable, and on several occasions had debated returning to his own office. But every time that thought came to bear, he convinced himself that he was the Captain of the Katana, and that this was the place he needed to be. There was no telling whether or not he'd retain command, or if Starfleet intended on bringing someone else in. But if this was to be his command, he needed to demonstrate a readiness to take it. And hiding in his old office wouldn't help.

"Come in," he said upon hearing the chime. When the doors parted and revealed his visitor, the Caitian wasn't sure whether to grimace. His past meetings with Arivek had gone... quite poorly. In fact, they frequently turned into shouting matches. A verbal conflict with his Chief Engineer was not something that M'rayr was looking particularly forward to, so he instead hoped that Arivek was simply here to deliver his engineering report. That way, they could rely on professionalism and protocol, and keep their dialog relatively brief.

"Lieutenant," M'rayr greeted neutrally.

"Thought we could talk about what happened while you were gone," Arivek stated, walking up to the desk and handing the man a PADD. "I also brought my Engineering report."

M'rayr took the PaDD and gave it a cursory review before setting it on top of a larger collection of similar reports, each from a different department. Interlacing his paws, M'rayr studied Arivek. "I understand you took command of the ship during our absence."

"I did," Arivek simply stated as he took a seat. "Being the most senior officer on board, I felt my place was on the Bridge."

"Lieutenant Commander Kesh of the Mantle may have disagreed," M'rayr suggested in an emotionally blank tone before letting a small silence slip in. "Nevertheless, aside from your disabling of another Federation Starship, your performance was satisfactory." The Caitian let a wry grin appear. "Captain," he added in mock salute to the fact that Arivek had manipulated his program to fully illustrate Captain's attire.

"I did what I had to do. I won't apologize for that," Arivek stated, becoming defensive. But he stopped himself and looked down. "I think we need to talk about this. I don't mean the issue with the Mantle, which I'm sure I'll have to pay for eventually. I mean us."

M'rayr's ear perked, but he kept his pace deliberate. "Your actions against the USS Mantle were performed in the best interests of this ship, its crew, and the away team on Talos IV," M'rayr pointed out with neither pleasure nor annoyance in his voice. "If any penance is to be undertaken, it will be against Kerouac or myself. I will make sure of that," the Caitian then interlaced his paws. It was no secret that he and Arivek were hardly friends. In fact, they weren't even colleagues. That rift had been tugging at M'rayr ever since they arrived in this space-time, but there wasn't much he felt he could do until now. "Now. What would you like to discuss?"

"I would like to put the past behind us," Arivek simply stated. No doubt he could go into more detail, but sometimes the straightforward honest approach was best. "Neither of us are children and there's no reason to act like them. The truth is, what's happened since we got here has changed us and this crew. If there was ever a need for us to be a good team, now is that time. This crew has lost a lot and it needs to know that the senior staff has everything under control. And we can't do that by being petty."

Arivek stood and leaned forward, extending his hand. "Let bygones be bygones?"

It would be easy M'rayr to nitpick, or even force Arivek to concede in a few areas where the Caitian believed him to be at fault for the cold relationship they had between them. Then again, M'rayr hadn't been entirely innocent, either. In fact, it could be said that he was responsible for firing the first shots. Reminiscing in the past or finding out who was at fault of what would do neither any good. The Caitian agreed with this as he stood and extended his hand out, taking Arivek's in it. "Agreed."

With a smile, Arivek took the seat again. "Good. Now that that's out of the way, I was hoping I could ask what you need of me. Commander Jhu isn't exactly in the best condition to command and Commander Maica could be a security risk at the moment. Unfortunately for you, next in line is me."

Technically speaking, Jhu was next in line. But M'rayr couldn't help but to agree with Arivek. As much as M'rayr wondered whether throwing the Romulan/Trill hybrid back into her duties would be a benefit or a liability, general affairs on board the Katana were tenuous enough as it were. And then there was the fact that Maica was experiencing some sort of memory loss that might be caused by an outside force. Who knew what else that force might be capable of doing to her.

M'rayr could put Jenni in as his executive officer. Even if Arivek did hold time in rank, it wouldn't be by much. But the Caitian swatted that idea away rather quickly. Even as discrete as they'd tried to be, M'rayr could only presume that word of his romantic involvement with Jenni had spread. Reluctantly, M'rayr was forced to nod in agreement. "I would not regard it as an unfortunate thing, Lieutenant."

"Letting go of the past doesn't always mean that our feelings towards each other will quickly change 180 degrees. Also, I can read your face very well. It may not be unfortunate, but it's not what you would have wanted." Arivek looked at the Commander. "Either way, I do believe that this is the line of succession. So whether we like it or not, we're going to have to be a team. At least for now."

M'rayr nodded. Certainly, the idea of working hand in hand with Arivek would be interesting. Hopefully they could push past their history and move forward as effortlessly as he eluded to. "In that case," the Caitian said, bringing a PaDD up and passing it across the table. "You should be informed of our orders." Without waiting for Arivek to begin reading, M'rayr summarized events.

"We are to proceed to New Sydney in the Sappora system. There, the crew will be released on shore leave while Kristopher Kerouac is transferred to the Hera." M'rayr paused. Maybe Arivek didn't need to know everything... particularly when it came to the other PaDD on his desk that read about a certain Bynar. "If you are to be my first officer, I will allow you to oversee shore leave rotations. Also, while we are not anticipating any... problems... I want an active shore patrol. New Sydney is non-aligned, and is reputed to be influenced by the Orion syndicate. We do not want any problems while there."

Arivek contained the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he just smiled and accepted the PADD. "I'll take care of it. I hate to ask, but have we approved the promotion of the assistant Chief of Security?"

Now, the Caitian shook his head. He hadn't planned on answering verbally as well. Then again, Arivek had a way of being persistently annoying until he knew more about why things happened the way they did. The fact of the matter was that changes were coming. But what he'd initially planned on saying felt cold... even to him. So he amended it. "I believe it can wait until after the crew has an opportunity to remember... and reconcile."

"I'll keep that in mind," Arivek stated, staring at the man. It was obvious he knew more than he was letting on, but perhaps now wasn't the time to grill him. "I suppose the security teams will just have to receive their orders directly from me."

"Seeing as how Mr. Tonkin did not assign a new ACSO prior to his... passing," M'rayr began. "That would seem to be the case."

"Then I'll get right on it. Unless you need anything else?" Arivek asked, standing.

M'rayr thought for a moment, and then shook his head again. "No, Lieutenant. There is not."

With a nod, Arivek turned and left the room.

[ON]

It had been the first time in several days that Provisional Commander M'rayr Eisovo had been allowed to wander outside his quarters. This constricting feeling in his chest subsided quickly, as though he were breathing new air. Although he was being closely followed by two security officers, neither M'rayr nor Lia seemed to pay them any attention while they worked through the corridors. Other officers and enlisted went on about their day, all but a few seemingly oblivious as to why the Katana's executive officer would have a security detail; they likely assumed that he was on his way to address some troublesome matter on board... and not that he was at the heart of it.

Eventually, Lia, M'rayr, and the two security officers stopped in front of two large doors leading into Holodeck One. M'rayr had anticipated the trip to the Holodeck seeing as how they'd been moving in that generally direction, but he had no idea what the counselor had planned. Maybe she was hoping that a more open and inviting environment might be more conducive to their session.

Lia tapped the console and the double doors opened. "Step inside." she instructed the Caitian to do. She followed behind him and as the doors closed behind them, she spoke "Computer run program Grae Eisovo One.." And with that the walls of the holodeck were quickly replaced that of the battle scarred corridor of an Akira-class starship. "You recognize this place?"

M'rayr had. In fact, he felt a tension rise throughout every inch of his body as soon as they entered. What was so damned odd about the place was how quiet it was; there wasn't any screaming or shooting or the sounds of people fighting for their lives but dying. Just the faintly audible drone of the ship's red alert system. He nodded hesitantly, clearly a thousand times more tense than he had been.

"Describe what you remember." Lia whispered softly.

Such an absurd question, M'rayr thought. He looked around and saw from the detail that this reproduction had to have used actual internal sensor logs from the San Jacinto's records. His eyes widened however when he realized that this was the deck where he'd... Just what did Lia think this would accomplish? The Caitian turned with a mix of fear and anger in his eye. "No, counselor. Not this." M'rayr said, recalling that the San Jacinto's sickbay was just around the corner.

Lia wasn't going to yield. "You chose to suppress these emotions instead of experiencing them...." her voice trailed off, she didn't want to give him time to object again. "Computer begin sequence." she commanded and then the area shook and the klaxons roared.

A holographic M'rayr Eisovo plus about a dozen other Starfleet officers rounded the corner and passed them without notice. Many had weapons, a few looked to have sustained serious injury. Weapons fire was audible in the background, as well as the occasional rocking from ship-to-ship weaponry as the San Jacinto was locked in battle with the Gorn frigates outside.

"In here!" Holographic-M'rayr growled, slapping down on a turbo-lift console. The turbo-lift, having already been ordered to that deck, opened its doors to them. M'rayr snapped his attention back to the corridor, raising his phaser rifle so he could shoot at the first enemy boarder that rounded that corner. "The Gorn have already breached this deck, we need to get the wounded to Deck three. Everybody inside!"

"There's not going to be enough room!" Even as she ushered the wounded into the turbolift car, Adrianna knew there was no way twelve people were going to fit in there. Five or six could stand reasonably comfortably. Ten, if they took up every spare bit of space inside the car. She prayed that her math on that was wrong, but as the last wounded officer crowded into the lift, she knew that she and M'rayr were out of luck.

Holographic-M'rayr made it work as best he could, shoving people in tighter until there was barely room left to breath. But Adrianna was right. They wouldn't be able to fit anybody else. Slapping the console again, he saw the doors close and heard the audible whine as the turbo-lift began its ascent. Turning to face Adrianna, M'rayr rushed to think of what they could do now. Waiting for another lift to arrive would take time, and from the weapons fire nearby it was obvious that time was not a commodity that had in much stock.

Without saying anything, Holographic-M'rayr grabbed Adrianna by the shoulder and started pushing her towards the opposite bend in the corridor. He had to keep her moving, to keep as many people safe. "Lieutenant, Move. We need to get to the Jefferies tube."

"Don't shove me. I know what to do, Commander." Adrianna moved ahead of him, careful not to stray too far. M'rayr was armed, and she wasn't. It didn't take a genius to figure out the odds of her survival without him.

And as soon as they rounded that bend, Holographic-M'rayr felt something heavy hit him from behind. He pivoted as he fell, realizing that a Gorn had come up behind them.

Hearing M'rayr fall, Adrianna turned to see what was happening, finding herself face to face with a very large - and very angry - lizard. Shrieking, she scrambled backwards, trying to get away.

"Computer, pause program..." the real M'rayr commanded, bringing the simulation to a freeze just as the Gorn began to encroach towards Adrianna. He looked to Counselor Grae, realizing that his own breath had become hasty, as though he had been the one in the fight. "We know what happens here," M'rayr said, shaking his head. "I do not wish to visit this."

"You're stuck at this moment." Lia countered as she looked at him with soft eyes. "Computer...resume."

M'rayr relieved the helpless moment as the Gorn soldier encroached upon Adrianna, grabbing her by the throat and throwing her into a wall where she fell like a rag. The holographic-M'rayr had just begun to look up when this happened, and within his eyes lit a particular kind of fire. The Caitian hurled himself at the Gorn, locking arms against arm, paw against hand. In moments, the two were on the ground, rolling over one another while jockeying for position.

This was the part that the real M'rayr had to look away. In one instant, the Gorn drew a knife hidden inside his boot and brought it down towards the holographic M'rayr. The holographic M'rayr stopped the blade less than an inch from his skull, but was clearly being overpowered. The blade continued to drop millimeter by millimeter, although it was also drawn from its axis and was now pointed at M'rayr's eye. The Caitian howled between ragged breaths as the tip of that blade sank deep into his socket. In one final act of desperation, M'rayr kneed up with one leg and knocked the Gorn off balance, giving the Caitian the opportunity he needed to roll himself onto the Gorn.

Seeing red in what was left of his gaze, and in incredible pain (the only reason he was even conscious was due to raw adrenaline), M'rayr plunged his paws into the Gorn's eyes, gouging them from their sockets, howling and breathing ragged as he did so.

The real M'rayr did not want to watch, but forced himself to. Within several seconds, the Gorn went from a state of howling madness to something very still and lifeless. The holographic-M'rayr, his energy depleted, bleeding now heavily from his eye socket, rolled to the side and collapsed. The danger is passed, he wished he could tell his former self. Do not do this...

Gasping for breath through her bruised throat, Adrianna gathered herself up from where she'd fallen. She didn't want to believe what she was watching... a peaceful Caitian so violently and willfully harming another being... and then she saw M'rayr's eye and winced sympathetically. She watched him for a moment, waiting for him to get up from the deck, but M'rayr didn't move. Knowing they couldn't stay in this corridor forever, she went over to where the Caitian lay, kneeling beside him to try to get him back on his feet.

The holographic-Caitian lashed out frightfully and suddenly, unrealizing of the fact that it was a friend, and not an enemy, who who had reached out to him. The real M'rayr stepped back and wished very hard to look away -- but he couldn't draw his eye from what was happening in front of him.

Adrianna had enough time to shout, "M'rayr..." before the Caitian heaved her by the neck into the bulkhead. An audible crack of bone against Duranium and a sudden gasp of released air told M'rayr what any doctor would conclude; the Holographic-M'rayr had just snapped Adrianna's neck.

"No!" Both M'rayr's pleaded while one came to his senses and the other moved away from Lia towards where Adrianna lay on the floor. Unlike the holographic M'rayr who was busy screaming for help and agonizing over the death of his friend, the real M'rayr approached quietly, dropping down to his knees while he studied the woman he once knew.

"Computer, freeze program." Lia instructed as she watched M'rayr drop to his knees. She moved closer to him, but didn't invade his space, and she stayed quiet.

With a silence nearly as hard as the sounds of battle, M'rayr was fixated on Adrianna's lifeless body. Mraownr, at least it had been quick. The Caitian very much doubted that Adrianna had been aware of the moment after her neck had been snapped by the force of his weight against the bulkhead. She had been his friend, one of his first since rejoining Starfleet. And she was dead because she tried to help him. "I made a choice... after this..." M'rayr said after a long moment, loud enough that Lia could hear him from where she was standing. The fur around his eyes was wet from tears, but he'd made no sound.

He looked down the corridor where memory reminded him that two more Gorn would appear in the seconds after Adrianna's death. He wouldn't have time to mourn her. And yet despite his physical injuries, that pattern of him being the one to survive every near death experience persisted. He'd defeat them, then return to the bridge and assist with the remainder of the fight until the combination of blood loss, physical injury, and shock took its toll. "Those who are close to me die. That's what I believed. And if I kept everybody at arms length, I could avoid that." He looked back down to Adrianna.

Lia knelt down beside him and looked at him. "Do you still believe that?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"I used to..." M'rayr admitted, looking reluctantly towards Lia.

"Go on." whispered as they made eye contact.

Unaware that holodeck one was in use - and apparently missing the notice on panel by the door that someone was in there - Jhu walked in and set Lydek down before realizing that not only was the holodeck in use, it was a personal thing from M'rayr's past. Not the thing she wanted to walk into. But as she went to pick Lydek up, the cat trotted over to M'rayr and Lia, loudly announcing their presence. "Sorry. My head's kind of in the clouds lately," Jhu apologized sheepishly as she went to collect the wandering cat.

M'rayr felt vulnerable, but Jhu's unexpected presence forced himself to close up so many of the walls that this program had opened up. He swallowed, hard, then stood. Looking to Lia however, he knew he wouldn't be able to set aside what had happened. She wouldn't allow him to, nor would he want to. With a final glance towards Adrianna's body, the Caitian willed his resolution into obedience. Something inside him felt... different... however. It was as though a weight had been lifted.

"No. I don't believe that anymore. It... wasn't my fault." M'rayr said.

"Duh, Whiskers. Didn't I tell you that?" Jhu grabbed Lydek seconds before the cat would have playfully grabbed M'rayr's tail. As she stood up with Lydek in her arms, she caught a glimpse of the holographic body lying on the deck. The fallen woman was eerily similar in build and appearance to her own appearance, and goosebumps ran down her arms looking at the scene. "What in the name of the universe were the two of you doing in here?"

"That is none of your concern." Lia replied to Jhu as she took a deep breath and then commanded, "Computer, end program." the program dissipated to the familiar grey grid of the holodeck. She looked at M'rayr, "You've made excellent progress today, I will recommend you return to duty."

Jhu didn't like that attitude, and she narrowed her eyes a bit. "Excuse me, Counselor, but I was speaking to M'rayr. I do believe he is free to answer that question for himself." She softened ever so slightly as she turned back to M'rayr. "You okay, Whiskers?"

"No, excuse you. M'rayr and I were in a private counseling session and when I booked the holodeck I made sure the computer panel outside clearly stated 'Counseling Session' if you had bothered to read it before entered." Lia rebuked, before turning to M'rayr. "I apologize, next time I'll make sure to use the lock." She then gave the Catain a nod, "Commander." she then spun on her heals and walked towards the exit. When she past Jhu she glanced over, "Commander." she gave a polite nod of the head and exited the holodeck.

M'rayr watched until Lia was gone before turning to Jhu. "It is a long story," he said, referring to her earlier question. He looked back at where Adrianna had been laying up until only a moment ago, and felt relief that the holographic illusion of her body was gone. He killed her. But it was an accident. And at least it had been relatively quick. "We were revisiting the events on board the San Jacinto," M'rayr informed her, no longer feeling the need to keep such information close to the chest.

Bitch, Jhu thought, watching Lia leave. When M'rayr deigned to answer her question though, it lightened her mood a bit. "Oh. I guess that makes sense, now that I think about it." He'd told her about Adrianna before and she reminded him of the woman, but she hadn't realized the resemblance. It was downright spooky. "Well your shrink should have locked the door. The notes on the bulkhead panels aren't always that noticeable."

M'rayr nodded, still reminiscing slightly. He was grateful that she wasn't prying any further. While his walls had reformed since being torn down by the holodeck simulations, they were fragile. And if there was anybody that M'rayr didn't want to cry in front of, it was Jhu.

"Perhaps."

Will sat behind the desk in the Chief Ops Office as he finished up looking and working through the days reports and updates with the ongoing work and maintenance taking place on board. He had a large Raktajino sat on the desk that had been sat there for at least a good hour whilst he had been reading and checking the various PADD's in front of him.

Jenni stood outside the office, just out of the range of the proximity sensors. She was very much grateful to again wear Operations Gold, a uniform she hadn't worn since the destruction of the Breen planet. She also wished the circumstances regarding her reassignment was different. When she accepted assignment aboard this Katana, she had hoped that it wouldn't self-destruct like hers had. Unfortunately, that was not the case. With the Command Staff at odds with each other, and Andy in recovery mode herself, Jenni found herself wanting to be careful in taking this position.

Behind this door likely sat Andy's deputy. Jenni hoped there would be no ill will in this regard. Surely he or she would not be offended at what had transpired, especially with Jenni taking on a role that another individual was one day hoping for.

Jenni took in a deep breath and took a step forward. The doors opened and she entered the office. It didn't take but a moment to spot an individual with Lieutenant's pips behind a desk. Though it seemed hollow only because of her caution, Jenni put on her trademark smile and greeted, "Good morning."

Will looked up as he heard a cheerful female voice from the doorway. He saw a female officer in a gold Operations uniform stood before him and smiled as he stood up to greet this unfamiliar officer. "Good Morning, I'm afraid Chief Carter is unavailable today. How can I help?" He asked, also taking note of the Lieutenant rank pips on her uniform.

Jenni cocked an eyebrow. Her reassignment must not have gone further than the Captain's message to her. This certainly was about to be awkward. She extended a hand with a smile. "Jenni Matthews," she introduced herself, actually grateful she met someone that didn't know her. "I'm reporting as Chief Carter's replacement."

Will stood fast for a second. He knew Andy was on medical leave but he hadn't been made aware of this nor had Andy said anything about stepping down from her position. He made a mental note to go and speak to her about this later. He then stepped around the desk to meet Lt. Matthews. "Well, I guess that makes you my new boss then. I'm Lieutenant William Morgan, Assistant Chief Operations Officer here on the Katana," he said, extending his hand in friendship, "Please, call me Will."

She gave Will a firm handshake, smiling. "Pleasure to meet you, Will." Lowering her hand to her side, Jenni looked around the room for a moment, noting a couple dozen PADDs scattered around the room. "Looks like you all keep pretty busy down here."

Will smiled as she noticed the piles of PADD's on the desk. "Its been a bit nuts around here to be honest what with the TransWarp flight and the damage that caused. We've been on catchup for the past few weeks with repairs but we're getting on top of things," Will explained. "I've made sure that the department stays at tight and hard working as Andy had it. This morning is a case of bringing the paperwork up to date," Will finished, bringing his new Senior Officer up to date.

"So, where were you posted previously?" He asked.

Jenni had picked up one of the PADDs to see a cargo manifest displayed on it when Will asked the question. She paused for a moment, actually surprised that he didn't know of her. It was quite refreshing, actually. Lowering the PADD and turning back to look at Will, she said, "The... Katana actually. The one native to this universe. But I've been in the engine rooms of the Galaxy and the Chimera before that. How about you?"

Will took note of her previous ships as well as this Universe's Katana and realised she was an experienced officer.

"Me? Well I started out learning Engineering and Operations on the Juno before joining the Lexington at the start of the Dominion War. I spent the whole war serving on board and its where I met Andy... Er.. Chief Carter.." he stammered before regaining his composure. "After the war I spent nine years on the Valkyrie, exploring and charting the Gamma Quadrant during peacetime. She was destroyed when we ran across a Borg Cube... Three years later, Starfleet assigned me to the Katana," Will explained.

He modified the part about his time on the Valkyrie. Learning to trust his new Department head would mean she can be told about his ordeal at a later date.

"Sounds like quite the journey," Jenni commented. Looking back to the PADDs, Jenni set down the one she was holding and picked up another. "So, it's a paperwork day?" she asked, her voice fighting to keep it free from disdain. After so many weeks of dealing with records, she was really looking forward to being out from behind a desk.

Will noticed her tone of voice as he saw her notice the paperwork. "You know, I really haven't been happy with the way the Primary EPS Compensators have been playing up since we arrived in this universe and I think a second pair of eyes might spot something I've been missing," Will said as he went over to pick up his tool kit and then headed for the door. "The Starboard Sensor Array also needs to be re-aligned and recalibrated. Care to join me?" He asked her.

"Do I ever!" she said with a smile, tossing the PADD back on the table and waiting for a satisfying clatter. Jenni hadn't thought to bring her tool kit. In fact, she still needed to be issued one. "Let's start with the compensators." Letting him lead the way out the door, Jenni walked in tandem with her fellow officer. "So, what's your specialty? Computers? Energy systems?"

Will grinned as they walked, seeing that his idea seemed to have doubled her enthusiasm immediately. "I learned about Starship Energy Systems at the Academy so thats my major. On the Juno, I also trained as a Warp Engine Specialist, so I have a bit of knowledge there too. I consider myself a bit of an all rounder though and god knows, the Katana has kept me busy," he explained as they walked. "How about you?"

"Warp Engine Specialist," Jenni replied. "I picked up on everything else over the years. Though it's been a while since I've had my hands inside anything other than a replicator."

"In that case, we'll have to change that now that your my new boss," Will explained as they walked. "We'll also need to sort you a tool kit."

"You mean I can't use yours?" Jenni quipped, smiling as they reached their destination. She pulled out her tricorder, but left it closed for now. "So, walk us through what you've been dealing with."

Will couldn't help but smile at her quip. "You can borrow it any time you want, just make sure you bring it all back in one piece," he said. Once they arrived at the access panel, he opened the hatch. "You name it, its happened. That Transwarp trip nearly broke the ship in half. As for the compensators here, they've been working at 50% for the past few days and thats caused the backups to be called into use more than normal. I think they need replacing but a second pair of eyes may see more here," Will finished.

Her eyes went first to the gauges nearby. "Fifty percent... you're not kidding." Jenni pulled out her tricorder and synced it with the monitoring software. "Flow regulator looks good," she said, tapping a couple buttons. "Relays check out..." her voice trailed off as she checked each of the indicator lights. All signs were green, but it certainly didn't make any sense. "And you tried recalibrating the firmware for the intake pumps, right?" Jenni asked, knowing the suggestion wouldn't solve anything even if he had recalibrated.

Will nodded to her suggestion. "Yup, a full recalibration of the firmware with nothing changing after that took place. My only other thought was to replace them, unless you have a different suggestion?" He asked Matthews. "Now we're within range of Federation outposts, we could order spares. I know we have some on board." Will was knowleadgable but he also knew this ship was prone to throwing up surprises.

"Wait a second..." Jenni said, noticing something on her tricorder screen that she hadn't seen before. She looked up at the compensators, knowing just looking at them wouldn't give her any more insight. It was more so for her to check her thoughts. "These are the exact same compensators from before this Katana crossed over from your universe, right?"

Will nodded at her question. "Exactly to specs. These are the ones that were fitted during the TransWarp upgrade. Whilst the Katana was in orbit, we had parts upgraded or replaced," he explained. "Whats your thinking, Boss?" he asked.

"Each universe has had a lot of similarities, but that's just it. Similar. Not exact." Jenni closed her tricorder and leaned against the bulkhead, looking at Will. "For instance, the Katana I served on for four years operated her gravity plating at 0.98 Earth-norm. This ship operates at 0.97." Smiling, she added, "I grew up on the moon, so I can tell when the gravity is just slightly off." Looking back at the compensators. "Plasma may be plasma in both universes, and both react differently when in different kinds of space." Holding out a hand, she said, "Spanner."

Will opened up his tool kit and passed her a spanner. "So its a matter of re-aligning them because we've moved from one Universe to another?" He asked, impressed by her thinking. He could telk that Jenni was going to be fun to work with.

"Precisely," Jenni said, sticking a spanner inside the panel and activating it. "Give the flow regulator a quarter turn counterclockwise." It took her a moment to make her adjustment and withdrew the tool. Already she could see a difference with the compensators. "What's your tricorder say now?"

Will checked the readings on his tricorder and nodded. "Well I'll be damned, thats sorted them, they're running at nominal levels again," he reported. "You know I think I'm going to like working with you."

Jenni smiled, flipping the spanner in the air and handed it back to Will. Had their positions been reversed and she found herself in his universe, their roles would certainly would have been flipped. This ship was vastly different than the one she served on, and she was very glad to be paired with someone who knew this Katana very well. "It's going to be a wonderful pleasure, Will."

Will packed away the tools in his toolkit and checked the maintenance list on his PADD. "Right, next on my list is a full diagnostic and re-alignment of the Aft Auxiliary Shield Generators, they went coming online when requested during combat and they seem to be acting up quite a bit," he explained. "Do you wanna come along or is there anything else that takes your interest?" He asked her.

"I'll join you later," Jenni said. "I need to pay a visit to the quartermaster. Don't want to keep borrowing your tools," she teased, brandishing a smile.

Brooke walked into Main Engineering for the very first time aboard Katana and was immediately impressed with her new assignment. She tried to put out of her mind the fact that the CO was just taken away aboard the ship that brought her there and that apparently it just broke a major law even though she didn't quite hear the whole story. As it turns out being a Petty Officer Third Class who is just a passenger to their first assignment isn't really high up on the need to know list.

She looked around at the few staff who were about doing whatever it was that they were doing, though she should probably know that she thought. She sighed, and then stopped looking over someone's shoulder to see what they were doing. It was hard at her height so she really had to stand alongside them but they noticed and glared at her. "Sorry," she said, sheepishly.

"I am, I'm looking for the Chief Engineer?" she said.

"He's right over there," one of the crew members stated before quickly going back to their work.

"Thanks," she said, turning and walking in the indicated direction. She arrived at who she could see was an officer from his uniform and figured this must be it. "Excuse me sir, are you the Chief Engineer?" she asked.

"I am indeed." Arivek glanced up at the woman, noted her rank and looked back down at the console he was standing in front of. "What can I do for you Petty Officer?"

"I'm Brooke Agee the new Propulsion Specialist," she said. "I just arrived aboard the ship and I'm reporting," she told him, she pulled a PADD from her cargo pocket and handed it to the engineer. This was her first stop since arriving aboard she was assured her belongings would find their way to her quarters and so she figured she'd report aboard before getting settled in.

"Shouldn't you be reporting to the Chief of the Boat?" Arivek asked, taking the PADD and glancing at it. He pressed his finger to the control panel, accepting her orders, and handed the PADD back to the woman. "Are you good at what you do?"

"My check in sheet says to see the Chief Engineer, sir," she said, confused. She took the PADD back and held it in her right hand and along her side. "Well I just finished school but I'm confident that I know what I need to do and that if I don't know that I know where to look. Or for that matter that I should ask instead of just pretending, sir."

"Good idea. Pretending to know what you're doing but actually not knowing is how people die." Arivek tapped the control panel, causing it to go dark, before walking away. "What sort of schooling did you do, exactly?" he asked, assuming the woman was following him.

She hadn't been but then moved quickly to catch up, "well I went to bootcamp... I went to my first unit and ended up in Engineering I found a lot of interest in it and when I was assigned a detail with the Propulsion Division I just found my niche," she said. "I put in for A-School and then I went there and finished with honors and now here I am," she said.

"Honors, eh? Your parents must be proud." Arivek gripped the ladder that was latched to the side wall of the room and began to ascend to the second floor. "Are you a new arrival on board or have you been with us since we were brought here?"

Brooke followed him to the ladder and began to ascend after him ignoring his first comment, "I was brought aboard by the Hera, sir."

"Ah, a newbie. I'll try to keep that in mind." When Arivek reached the second floor, he walked to one of the component drawers and opened it, pulling out a fresh new gelpak. "What exactly did you with this Propulsion Division before going to A-School?"

"I worked with the propulsion specialists to maintain the warp core and the propulsion systems for the warp core and the impulse engines sir," she told him. She stood a couple steps away from him as he went into the drawer to get the gelpak. "I also did the usual things a non-rate does in engineering. I changed plenty of gelpaks, cleaned things up, you know... the dirty work."

Arivek held up the gelpak in his hand and smiled, "Unfortunately, some things never stop. No matter how high you get," he stated, sliding the door shut with his leg. "Let me ask you this: where do you want to go?"

"I'm not really sure sir," she shrugged. "For now I'm just looking forward to getting to know my job and getting to be good at it. We'll worry about what comes after when we get closer to that," she said. "And there's nothing wrong with dirty work if I didn't like it I wouldn't have picked this."

The hologram handed the woman the gelpak as he headed for a side panel and brought the interface to life. "I want you to really consider your ambitions, Petty Officer. It may not seem like much now, but who knows what could happen in the next few months, or a year." He looked at her. "If I know where you want to go in life, I can help you get there. Give you responsibilities that hone specific qualities that you'll need, and when the time comes, promote you in the direction you want to go rather than in a direction you don't."

Brooke held the gelpak as she just stood behind him considering all of this, "makes sense sir I guess it's still kind of too soon to really know what I like. I'm going to think more about it though," she said, determinedly.

"Of course. Definitely not a decision that should be made today. I just want you to start thinking about the future. You always want to know where you're going." Arivek smiled before handing the woman a PADD. "Now, that gelpak needs to get into the plasma manifold junction on Deck 11, Section 9B. I think you can figure out which gelpak in that compartment needs to be replaced."

"I'm on it sir," she said, with a smile. "I'll let you know when it's all set," she told him, walking over to the ladder excitedly.

Paperwork.

Jenni sincerely thought she’d be leaving the mounds of paperwork behind when she accepted the promotion. Repair requests, requisitions, cargo manifests, updating 2388 codes to accepted 2392 standards… It was a bit too much, even for a first week.

Still, it had been worth it. It had been a torrential year. Her captain destroying a planet, being chased by the Breen, losing her Katana and gaining a new one. It was no surprise to her that this crew was setting into this universe. Several had already transferred off, looking for whatever new adventures the Great Bird had in store for them. And others had transferred aboard, leaving her suddenly dwindling department to flip several quarters and cabins throughout the ship for the arriving personnel.

Anything at this point was worth drudging through countless computer records. Even now as she stood on the bridge behind the Operations station, Jenni felt more at home than ever. She’d been on this bridge several times before, but she always felt like it wasn’t her place, even after a round in the Captain’s chair.

Today was different.

Life was moving on, all around her. Part of her still missed the engine room. If anything, this new assignment was cathartic, helping her look past her pain. Handling these personnel and supply requests then were certainly worth it.

Looking around the bridge, she didn’t spot any of the rest of the senior staff. Likely they were attending to some much needed shore leave. Jenni would get her turn, as her smirk confirmed, though this was just as peaceful. No one to bother her.

Left alone at her station.

To deal with paperwork.

Arivek Zhuri paced in front of the doors that led into the ship's Brig. The corridor leading to this section was mostly deserted, as not many people had a need to come to this area. He would have thought there would have been a bit more traffic with the distinguished rank of their prisoner and the fact that he was set to be transferred in an hour. But alas, he was alone in the hall. The reality was, he preferred it this way.

He paced for a few more moments and then stepped into the room.

"I'm here to speak to the Captain," Arivek said to the guard. "And I'd like some privacy."

"Sir, I can't leave my post," the man said, still standing at attention as he had done when the Lieutenant entered the room.

"I understand. But could you at least wait outside the doors? There's only one exit to this room, and you'd be standing in front of it." Arivek raised his eyebrows to the man.

With a nod, the man took his rifle and stepped outside of the room.

Arivek turned to the cell and slowly slid into the occupant's view. "Hey there," he said, softly, hoping not to startle the man in case he was sleeping.

Kris opened his eyes and lifted his head. At first he thought maybe it was Liam with the gentleness in the tone as Liam had yet to come see him. There was a moment of flickering hope that his boyfriend despite what had happened would come visit him in such a dire time, but no. Standing there was the Chief Engineer. The Hologram. "Arivek" replied Kristopher in a groggy state as he stretched and stood.

He walked closer to the barrier that separated them. Touching it would sting like hell, so Kris was cautious of that. "Please state the nature of your penal visitation" said Kris playfully, trying to make light of the grim situation.

"You're facing a court martial for a laundry list of crimes and you're still joking?" Arivek smiled as he walked up to the forcefield barrier and passed through it with ease. "Some may think you've gone insane."

"I'm scared" replied Kris with a sigh. "When I am nervous or scared, I make jokes. It is the only way that I know how to deal with situations like this, Arivek. I know what I am facing...I may be put to death and that...I don't want to die, Arivek."

Ari walked to the small bed and took a seat, leaning his back against the wall. He patted the spot next to him for the Captain to join him. "I saw the list of charges. Some of them seem absurd. I also noticed they're charging you with a crime you didn't commit...firing on another Federation vessel. Why didn't you set the record straight when you saw the charges yourself?"

Kris had not had so much contact since being tossed into his cell. Arivek as a hologram could enter his cell with ease which helped put a small smile on Kris' face. He looked at the Chief Engineer. "I need you to be solid now" he said as he went to lean and rest his head on the hologram's shoulder. "I am already facing death, Arivek. It does not matter what charges that they throw my way...whether I did them or not. You were in a situation that I put you in. I will not let one of my best officers throw away their career. Just let me take it for you."

Placing his hand on the man's leg, Arivek gave it a gentle squeeze. "We'll find a way out of this," he simply stated.

"It isn't your concern, Arivek" replied Kris. "I have to take responsibility for what happened and what I made you all do. If that means that I have to die, then I will die. What you need to do is focus on the Katana. The crew is going to need you."

"The crew needs you too." Arivek leaned his head against the other man's, that was still resting on his shoulder. "Just take it in stride. Hopefully they'll take our extenuating circumstances into effect and go easy on you."

Kristopher Kerouac reached into the pocket of his pants. "Nathan was a fine officer. He was everything that I could have asked for in a Security Chief, just as you are more than what I could ask for in a Chief Engineer. I know that you'll do good on this starship, Arivek" said Kris as he took his hand out of his pocket and placed it and the content of his pocket into Arivek's hand. "Word of advice, don't fire on anymore Federation starships."

Arivek looked at their hands clasped together. "I won't," he said quietly. As the Captain pulled his hand away, and the item was revealed, Arivek's eyes went wide. "Captain, I don't understand..."

"I had placed a lot of thought about your performance as Chief Engineer since you've gotten here. You haven't always been a joy to be around. However, nor have I. Before I went down to Talos IV, I made the decision to promote you and Tonkin. I never got the chance to promote him, but as one last act...I want to make this official. I am promoting you to Lieutenant Commander. It's in the ship records and in my Captain's log."

"I don't know what to say." Arivek closed his fingers around the hollow pip. "Come back to us, do you understand me? People are hurt, this crew is wounded. But we can't heal when we're not all together. I don't care what you need to do, but you fight. You fight this and you come back to us."

Kris sighed. "There is nothing to really say, Arivek. You just accept it and do your job. That is all I ask of you" replied Kerouac. "I will do whatever I can to avoid being put to death, but I do not know if I can really come back here."

"We'll find a way. There has to be a way." Arivek sighed as he sat there, his fingers brushing over the black-holed pip.

The Captain hated being in such a position where he saw no way out, and in a position where he felt so defeated and submissive with his crew. "I'll do my best Arivek."

Arivek reached over and lifted Kris' face. "Thank you," he said before leaning in, gently pressing his lips against the other man's.

Kris wanted to slither away like a snake coiling back to take a defensive measure, but he tried to be at ease and let Arivek just kiss him. Kristopher loved Liam, that had not changed nor would it despite not really knowing where he and the Chief Medical Officer stood. For Kris, the kiss from Arivek was something of a parting, but not an invitation for anything more. "Go along now, you have a ship to work on and things to do."

With a silent nod, Arivek slid off the bed and walked back through the forcefield. He turned for a moment and looked back at Kris. For the first time since he came aboard, he started to feel like part of this crew.

Hayley sat at a bar, dressed in black casual pants and a red casual shirt as she downed her third Samarian Sunrise. The past several days had been trying for her. This shore leave was a welcomed relief. She had hoped Ivan would had joined her but he had apparently been reassigned. This had left her alone at the bar, being hit on by every drunk bugger in the place, single and married. She smiled as she recalled the Bolian who had hit on her an hour ago, only to be sucker punched by his wife with him soon going after her, crying for her to come back.

On the opposite side of the bar stood an Andorian and a Romulan. Both kept an eye on their target of interest. "Are you sure that's her?" The Andorian asked.

The Romulan nodded. "I'm positive," taking a casual glance in Hayley's direction and looking back at his friend. "That's the infamous Hayley Collins alright. Killed at least 50 people, mostly ferengis."

The Andorian smiled. "The Syndicate would pay us well for her capture."

The romulan's mind worked on how to capture her without raising alarm. "We'll use methohexital to make it appear she had too much to drink, but we need a way to get it into her drink."

The Andorian nodded. "I'll order her another Samarian Sunrise, mix in the drug and give it to her while I start up a conversation with her."

"Good idea," he said before looking again at Hayley. He couldn't wait to finally have her before him. She had killed a close friend of his and he hated her for it. He turned back to the Andorian, slipping two white tablets from a container hidden behind his belt and handing them over.

The Andorian grabbed the pills and rose from the table, approaching the opposite end of the bar. "One Samarian Sunrise and a Andorian Ale," he ordered from the bartender.

A moment later, the bartender placed the two drinks in front of the Andorian. He crushed the two tiny pills in his hand and dropped the remainents into the Sunrise, and grabbing the two drinks.

Hayley was about to order another Samarian Sunrise when an Andorian sat down next to her. "Here," he placed a Samarian Sunrise in front of her. "I saw you were getting low so I took it upon myself to order you another one."

"Thank you," she smiled before taking a sip from the glass.

"I'm S'han," he greeted, with a slight bow.

"Nice to meet you, S'han, I'm Hayley."

S'han smiled widely as he took a sip from his drink as he watched Hayley take another long sip from hers.

"So, what brings...brings you here?" she asked, blinking several times as it seemed the room was beginning to spin.

"I'm here to pick up a friend of mine," he replied.

Hayley was fighting to stay awake. "Oh, that's interesting... W-who..is...". Hayley lost the battle as her vision blacked out.

S'han grabbed Hayley under her arm and stood her up while signaling for his friend to help. " Better take this one back to her room, " he told the bartender before escorting Hayley's unconconcious form out of the bar.

To be Continued...

S.S. Black Dagger

Hayley had her feet kicked up onto the helm console as she took in the sounds of the cockpit. Her eyes were closed as her brain dissected each beep and sound made until she heard the sound of boots on the deck, growing closer. She knew the rhythm of the steps. Yeah, James. What is it?" she asked.

"Remember Skit on New Sydney?"

"Yeah. What does he want now? More weapons?". Hayley asked with a shrug, remembering her Syndicate informer.

There was a pause. " No. He asks how you got captured by T'Shan and Romar."

Hayley's eyes snapped open. "What?"

James continued to read from the PADD. "Yeah. Says he saw you at a bar on New Sydney and then saw T'Shan and Romar escort you out."

Hayley sat up and checked the long range sensors. New Sydney was at the far reach of their sensor range. She saw two Starfleet signatures in orbit, one was the USS Katana. "Damn! Those two captured my other self!"

"So what are we going to do?" James asked.

Hayley sighed. Normally she wouldn't care, but this was her essentially and her other self did not deserve to be a prisoner of the Syndicate. She knew they would sell her as a slave on the black market. "Go to Tactical Alert and cloak the ship. We're going after her."

James wanted to protest but knew better. "Right."
-----------------------------------------

Hayley moaned. Her head was throbbing as she blinked several times to clear her vision. She tried moving and was surprised to find that her hands had been bound above her head to the ceiling using a thick rope.

"Ah, good. You're awake," Romar smiled as he approached Hayley.

"What's going on? Who are you?" Hayley said as she struggled against the ropes binding her.

Romar gripped her face. "You will be sold to the Syndicate. You will fetch us a lot of money. However, not before I teach you a lesson. You killed my brother a year ago. I should kill you myself but the knowledge of the pain you will face at someone else before they kill you will be much more... satisfying." Romar's eyes dropped to Hayley's breasts, followed by a hand. "Not to say I don't deserve some satisfaction myself."

Hayley managed to throw a kick upwards, connecting with Romar's groin. "You have the wrong person!"

Romar stepped back, doubling over in pain. With built up anger, he retaliated with a hard punch to Hayley's ribs. "I somehow doubt that. You are Hayley Collins."

Hayley cried out on pain from the blow as T'Shan entered the room. "Don't damage her!" he snapped. "She is worth more if she's not injured."

"How did the bidding go?" Romar asked.

"Oh, they're definitely interested. We are to present her to the Syndicate market representative tonight."

"I told..you. You have the... wrong person," Hayley insisted through forced breathing. " There are two...of us."

"Do you really expect us to believe such nonsense?" Romar replied, turning to face Hayley. "You're more pathetic than I thought.". He still felt anger at losing his brother to her, took a few steps and backhanded her hard across the face.

Hayley's head hung after the hard hit. She tasted blood in her mouth .

"That's enough, Romar," T'Shan ordered. "The Syndicate sent over some guards in case her crew tries to rescue her before the auction."

A moment later, the sound of transporter beams sounded as the other Hayley, donned in her normal energy dampening armor and three of her crew materialized in the room and fired, catching Romar dead in the chest. T'Shan however manged to fire off two disruptor shots, one hitting Hayley in the chest before collapsing dead from plasma and disruptor wounds from the other Hayley's crew.

The other Hayley drew a knife and cut Hayley down, catching her weight, easing her to the floor as the room erupted into a barrage of energy weapons fire as the Syndicate's guards burst into the room.

"Shit," the other Hayley said, taking in her counterpart's injury. "Just be still...it'll be OK. We'll get you outta here."

Hayley fought to breathe and stay awake. Funny, she wasn't in much pain, just having trouble staying conscious. "I--I don't... want to...stay here..." Hayley knew the other was lying about her condition. She could tell by her facial expression. She was scared, alone without her friends and fellow crew...and dying. She tried to fight back tears she felt forming in her eyes. "Tell...my crew...that...I...will miss...them...". Blackness enveloped Hayley as life left her body.

The other Hayley fought back tears. This was her fault. She caused her other self's death. Anger and sorrow flooded her thoughts as she grabbed her plasma rifle, stood and fired a steady volley of plasma at the Syndicate's guards, shrugging off two shot as she did so due to her armor. Hayley's shots struck three guards as her crew moved up, increasing their fire. James fell from a shot to his chest as well but was dead before he hit the ground. Soon, all of the guards were dead.

Bolar walked up to where Hayley stood next to James. " I'm sorry about your counterpart and James...what should we do?"

Hayley looked at her Bolian friend. James had been close but she hadn't truly loved him. And it was time for her to die in a sense. Her counterpart deserved to live on...to make a good name for her, not smudged by her own actions. "See that James and my counterpart get a proper burial. Things are going to change.

----------
Haley materialized aboard the Katana in her duty uniform. " How was shoreleave, lieutenant? " the transporter operator asked.

Hayley grinned. "It was fine."