The last time that Captain M’rayr Eisovo had stepped into main engineering, the warp core was offline, and most of the room looked as though it were being turned to scrap. Consoles were disassembled, their guts of machinery spilled out onto the deck; EPS conduits were in the process of being carefully disassembled by the army of engineers from Starbase 001, and one then-Lieutenant Commander Arivek Zhuri was looking as though he were about to have a total conniption.

Studying Main Engineering now, M’rayr would never have guessed that this was the same place a month later. While the warp core was docile, the hum of life support systems and the chirping of computer consoles gave the room a signature of being alive and well, even though M’rayr seemed to be the only person in it.

Zhuri has to be here, somewhere, M’rayr thought to himself. Seeing as how the computer had placed Commander Zhuri here, he had a difficult time arguing the point. It was still very early, and while most of the engineering teams had barely even had their first coffee, M’rayr could also safely assume that Zhuri was somewhere around… fixing something.

“Commander Zhuri,” the Caitian finally barked, the baritone and the guttural resonances of his voice carrying through much of the empty room.

"Yes, Captain?" Arivek asked, appearing along the rail that encircled the warp core on the second level of Main Engineering.

As much as M'rayr and Arivek had been at odds before, the Caitian felt a sense of pleasure at seeing his Chief Engineer again. Looking around main engineering, M'rayr rose a brow. "Good Morning, Commander," he said, remarking on Arivek's elevated rank before turning back to the warp core. "I see the refit is coming along."

Sliding down the rail to the first floor, Arivek tugged on his uniform jacket out of habit. "Good morning. The refit is mostly complete. Commander S'val's team is doing their final inspections."

Commander S'val was a name M'rayr had been hearing from time to time. "How have her teams performed under your guidance?" He asked next, sliding a paw over the railing that guarded the warp core.

"Hrmph," Arivek grunted in response.

M'rayr allowed a small grin to manifest out of the corner of his mouth. But it disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. Having been an engineer at one time himself, M'rayr knew just how poorly Starfleet engineering crews and the crews of a Starship interacted at times. Whether there was a legitimate technical reason for it, or simply just a perception between the two, was anybody's guess. "When do you feel the Katana will be ready to return to space?" He asked.

"Should be ready within the week," Arivek replied, leaning against the warp core railing and staring at the Caitian.

M'rayr nodded. One week was good. It gave them plenty of time. And if M'rayr knew anything, it was that his Chief Engineer would make certain that all systems were prepared.

"Is this it?" the hologram asked. The question had been bumping around in his head for months and it was finally time to ask. "We're just going to integrate into this universe's society and pretend we belong here? We're giving up on any chance of going home?"

The question had come out of the blue. It also made M'rayr realize that he'd at least personally giving up on the idea of returning to their own space/time several months ago. When had that happened? Then again, it wasn't as though his past universe had ever felt like home. Where he'd been exiled from his tribe, many of his comrades and friends were dead. "So much has changed since we first came here. And not necessarily for the worse," he began, thinking of Jenni. She really became the first bright star that he ever recognized in this universe.

"Approximately a quarter of our crew have accepted other assignments. I don't know if attempting to return to our own universe is even an option by now." From there, M'rayr put his attention to Arivek, hoping to get some kind of read out of him.

"Ok," was the simple reply Arivek gave as he turned back to the console and pulled up his Warp Core diagnostic reports.

M'rayr hesitated. His relationship with Arivek was still tentative. "You disapprove." He said, finally, sounding the phrase out more as a question than a statement.

Arivek nodded. "I suppose I was just holding on to that hope." It was true, he definitely wanted to be back in his old universe. Though he didn't have much to go back to, so it was a bit illogical. Still, home was home.

M’rayr had no right to try and tell Arivek that he should accept this universe as his new home; while the crew might have accepted the fact that the odds of them returning to their own space-time was unlikely, the Caitian could only presume that there were those who likewise held out hope for the unlikely possibility of returning. Nothing else he could say felt right, either, so M’rayr instead reached out and put his paw on Arivek’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

His gazing falling to the man's hand, Arivek thought about it for a moment. Until now, there had always been a cold distance between the two of them. But now, things seemed to be starting to change. Arivek looked up at M'rayr and gave a half smile. "Thanks, M'rayr."

"You are welcome, Arivek." M'rayr said, smiling slightly.

I need to not push myself so hard, Stefano told himself. He'd just finished a half-marathon in the holodeck and as a result of poor running form, he now had some pain in his left knee. His professional opinion was that he just needed to give his knee some rest. He gimped into his quarters and stripped off his running gear and got into the shower. He needed to get cleaned up because Austin was coming over. It hadn't taken very long for the two men to grow close and now, several months after their first date, the two were rarely seen apart off-duty. They took most of their meals together. Stef had a drawer of clothes and personal effects in Austin's quarters, and vice versa. They had even created an exception in the computer so that they each had access to one another quarters.

It had now been second nature to head toward Stef's quarters after his shift. Today had been a long day, and all Austin was looking forward to doing was spending time with his boyfriend. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he yawned as he made his way down the curved corridor. He reached Stef's quarters in a matter of a couple of minutes, and entered. It was nice to have the option of just entering now. "Stef?" he called out, and then heard the shower going. A smirk formed as he started toward the bathroom, he shed his uniform jacket and tunic, and laid it on the bed. He moved toward the bathroom, and leaned against the portal frame then stepped fully into the bathroom. "Hello, luv," he said over the sound of the shower.

Stef cracked open the shower door and peaked out. He was pleased to see Austin standing there, shirtless. He considered himself extremely lucky to have a man both as attractive and as caring as Austin. Though he had shied away from relationships for several years, the Italian Chief Medical Officer was grateful to now find himself in a a wonderful relationship.

"I'll be right out," he said. "Unless you want to join me."

"A hot shower with a hot guy?" Austin began to take off his uniform trousers, socks, and underpants and placed them just in a pile on the deck. "Easy decision," he said as he stepped in to the shower with Stef and kissed the Italian man. "You know, this isn't such a bad way to end a double shift."

"You should complain to your department head about the long hours," he joked, lathering up Austin's muscular torso.

Austin hummed in thought. "I'll be sure to do just that," he said as a chuckled slipped from between his lips. He then fell silent as he allowed Stef to continue lathering his torso.

=====

After finishing in the shower, Stef wrapped a towel around his midsection and walked out to the living space of his quarters, heading to the replicator. "You want anything, amante?" he asked.

Austin took a towel and wrapped it around his slim waist, and then picked up the rest of his uniform and laid it out on the chair in the bedroom where he left the top half of his uniform. "I'm starving actually," he said smiling at the term of endearment. "I'll take a turkey club on wheat, with an iced tea." He thought about having a beer, but synthehol tended to keep him wide awake, and he wanted to be able to sleep well tonight. "What's with the limp?" he asked as he took a seat at the dining table.

"Oh, nothing," Stef said. "Turkey club on wheat and iced tea," he instructed the replicator. The machine materialized the requested items immediately, along with a small tray underneath them. He took the tray and placed it on the table in front of Austin. "I tweaked my knee. It'll be fine," he said, wrapping his arms around the brown haired man from behind. His fingers brushed against Cadwell's chest, a chest that Stefano had spent many hours cuddled against. In those hours, Stef had listened to his lover's heart beating through his strong chest. It was his favorite place to be, curled up next to Austin, whether it was on the sofa or in bed, it didn't matter.

He released Austin and crossed back to the replicator. "Cappuccino." When the steaming cup appeared, he grabbed it and returned to the table, sitting opposite Austin.

"How's the sandwich?"

Austin smiled. "Good," he said in between bites. Though he didn't show it, he had been concerned that Stef hurt his knee, but he wouldn't push it. He just hoped the other man would have it looked at if it persisted. He took another bite, and watched as Stef took a sip of the cappuccino.

"So...there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

After he finished the bite, he set the half of sandwich down. There was a bit of hesitation in Stef's voice, so he had a feeling this was something serious. "Of course, you can talk to me about anything."

"I know," he smiled. "It's one of the things I love about you." He took another sip of his cappuccino. "We've been together for a little while now. And I really love spending time with you."

The corners of Austin's lips upturned into a broad grin. "I feel the same way, Stef." Which was the truth, he couldn't imagine his life without the other man now.

"While I don't mind switching quarters every couple nights, I was thinking about, maybe....making our situation more stable."

Austin didn't mind their arrangement either, especially if it meant spending his off-hours and over nights with Stef. "Are you asking me to move in with you?" He had a feeling that was what his partner was asking, but he wanted to be absolutely sure. He didn't want to make the mistake of assuming something that wasn't.

Looking at Austin, Stef tried to judge his boyfriend's reaction. "Yes. If you want to. I think it makes more sense than continually switching back and forth all the time. And since I'm a senior officer, my quarters are a bit bigger."

"What do you say? Are you ready to take the next step?"

"That's true you do have the biggerand better quarters," Austin said and winked at Stef. He drew silent for a moment, as he tried to collect his thoughts. He wasn't one to be impulsive anymore, but this was different, very different. Stefano, was the one, there was no denying that. "Of course I want to luv," he nodded, "so that is the biggest yes ever."

A huge smile erupted on his bearded face, as he jumped up, grabbed Austin's hand and pulled the Head Nurse into his arms. Stef could feel his own heart beating double time, a result of his nerves. He leaned in and gave Austin a huge kiss. "Thank you amante."

"You're very welcome," Austin said softly as he reached up and stroked Stef's bearded cheek. "My heart is filled with so much love for you right now." His arms had snaked around Stef's slim waist, he never wanted to let go.

"Prove it," Stefano said teasingly. "Show me how much you love me."

Austin pulled away from Stef, but took a hold of his hand instead. With a bit of a playful smirk, he pulled the other man with him toward the bedroom. There would be things that needed to be done concerning him moving in, but those could wait, because now for the night it was just him and Stefano... sharing their love.

Stefano did nothing to stop the towel from falling from his waist as he allowed himself to be pulled along into the bedroom. The air felt cool on the tan skin of his now exposed, firm backside. The coolness of the air didn't bother him because he knew that the two of them would be generating enough heat to compensate for the ambient temperature.

Annette had expected to spend most of her leave of absence with her family, catching up on the family gossip and maybe playing some music with her parents and brothers. Except her plans of spending time with family went awry very quickly. The minute she walked through the door, her dad kept pestering her with questions about Starfleet and not so subtly hinting that she should make her leave more permanent. She knew both her parents but especially her father didn't support her choice of career, they wanted her to join the family business like her brothers and travel with them playing music for the masses. While Annette enjoyed playing music, she wanted more to life. So after about a week at home Annette decided to head back to the Katana and finish her leave there.

So Annette found herself on the holodeck running one of her favorite programs. She had the holodeck to recreate the Library of Alexandria and was currenly reading the history of Egypt. Annette was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't even hear the holodeck doors open.

Slowly but surely, the corridors of the USS Katana were beginning to fill. Crew were returning from their extended leave of absences, some putting their Starfleet uniform back on for the first time in months. Others never really even left, like Arivek Zhuri, who for the past three months had worked tirelessly to bring the Katana to where she was in terms of readiness. M'rayr had enjoyed various locales on Earth, spending much of his time with Jenni. Jenni was now about to head off on her own ship, running her own Engineering team. M'rayr, still Captain of the Federation Starship Katana, would be staying here.

If there was one person that M'rayr hadn't met since taking command of the Katana, it was Annette Graves -- Commander Maica's replacement as Chief Diplomat. When he saw on the personnel manifest that she was on board, he elected to ask the computer her precise location so he could check in with her. While her role on board the Katana might be questionable considering they hadn't even received their orders, he still wanted to be familiar with each member of his senior staff.

The doors to the holodeck parted with the heavy whine of gears and magnetic seals, closing behind him as he stepped into a hot and arid desert. An immense library which M'rayr had only seen in holo pictures loomed before him, outlined by a formidable city. As the doors back to the real world vanished behind holo-imagery, M'rayr tested is footing, then started making his way inside the library.

After finishing the current chapter she was on, Annette decided to explore the library a bit more. As she turned the corner in one of the stakes, she was startled by a person coming around the corner ,causing her to stumble and knock some of the books off the shelf behind her. "Oops, didn't know someone else here" Annette said as she reached down to pick up the books, "At least this is a virtual library, so there isn't a librarian to scold me for making such a loud noise".

M'rayr allowed a smile to creep across his face as he knelt down to assist her. "If that is unsatisfactory, we can certainly order the computer to produce one," he said, gathering up a few fallen books into his arms before standing again. "Ensign Graves, correct?" He asked.

"Yes, that's me" Annette said as she turned to look at the visitor, "and you are" but before she could finish her sentence Annette realized who she was addressing. "Oh, hello, Sir. What can I do for you" Annette stated nervously.

M'rayr rose a palm up in a non-threatening gesture. "At ease, Ensign." He let that sink in. There was no purpose of this meeting if she was on edge. But before he 'got to the point', he wanted to get to know Annette a little better. "How has your leave been thus far?" He asked.

"Pretty good , I had the chance to play piano with my family's band, I haven't done that in years" Annette smiled "Also I'm enjoying the holodeck, this is one of my favorite programs." "Do you have a favorite holodeck program, Captain?" Annette asked.

M'rayr thought back to before Katana arrived at dry dock. More particularly, when M'rayr wasn't even the Katana's CO. A certain forest wilderness where he'd explore the landscape, climb trees, and swim in the one crystal blue lake came to mind. And then he thought about the time he met Jenni there, on that holodeck, at a time when Caitian societal norms made for an awkward introduction. "Nothing I would consider," M'rayr said, despite knowing that it wasn't the truth. "Actually, my being here isn't entirely by coincidence. I came to speak with you about something."

"OK" Annette said sounding surprised, "What did you need to speak with me about,"

"As you know, Commander Maica has been reassigned. This leaves the diplomatic office on board the Katana open," M'rayr paused to study Annette again. He wasn't fully sure that she was ready for the task he was about to hand her. Despite her age, Annette had only been in Starfleet for a short time. "Do you feel that you are ready to assume her duties?"

Annette knew the Captain was taking a risk with offering this position, but she also believed that she couldn't pass up the opportunity. "I am going to be honest with you Captain, I'm a little nervous about filling Commander Maica's shoes" Annette answered truthfully "However I know I'm up to the challenge."

M'rayr nodded. "Very good," he said. "In that case, I will expect you to be at the senior officer briefing next week, 0800 hours."

"I will be their sir, I am looking forward to working with you and the rest of the senior officers more closely." Annette replied. "Hopefully you can some enjoy some peace and quiet before our next mission."

M'rayr risked a smile. "Perhaps," he said, looking to her surroundings. "Well then, now that that matter has been settled, I will leave you to your program." Nodding curtly, he started to edge his way backwards.

"Thank you sir, but feel free to stay and enjoy program, its a great place to lose yourself in for a few hours." Annette suggested as she disappeared into the stacks.

M'rayr smiled, but made no indication that he was considering taking up Annette's offer. "I appreciate it, but unfortunately I also have duties to attend to. Until next time, Ensign."

Captain M’rayr Eisovo stared out the glass view-pane, studying the pristine details of the Federation Starship USS Katana from where he was sitting in one of Starbase 001’s many lounges. A glass of luke-warm tea rested by the table beside him. Ever since Starfleet Command had given him new orders, directing the Katana back to Earth Space Dock, he’d been worried; worried that while the official the purpose of this dry docking was to refit Katana with technology compatible for this new universe, that they might, somewhere along the long line, decide to change out its Commanding Officer while they were at it.

At first, days passed, with M’rayr waiting for reassignment orders to pass his desk. Nothing. Then weeks, and nothing still past the average requisition or refit progress report; a month, then two. Still nothing. In the interim, M’rayr had had the pleasure of speaking to multiple Admirals representing numerous elements of the United Federation of Planets. While he hadn’t had much time to discuss the matter with the members of his senior staff, M’rayr suspected that Maica, Andrea Carter, and Jhu t’Dharvanek had been brought in for similar discussions. Maica and Carter were now off on assignment at a research facility, while Jhu t’Dharvanek was supposedly on an extended leave of absence, recovering from the physical and emotional damage left behind by Lieutenant Tonkin’s demise, and learning what it would take to be a mother to their as-of-yet unborn child.

M’rayr interlaced his paws over his waist, wishing that he hadn’t lost so many of his senior staff. But with everything that happened since Kristopher Kerouac threw caution to the wind, ordering a trans warp jump using untested Borg technology, an act that propelled Katana from one universe to another, one time to another, it wasn’t entirely surprising that at least a few people might want to chalk out a new life for themselves here. At least the Katana’s manifest had recovered from its losses in the form of a new Executive Officer, Commander Kenzie Simpson, a new Chief of Security, Lieutenant Daniel Ellis, a new Chief of Operations, Lieutenant Junior Grade Shrol Ch’ziqis, and a new Chief Counselor, Lieutenant Junior Grade Ashley Hunter.

New, fresh faces. A fresh perspective on board a storied vessel. M’rayr was encouraged knowing that, no matter what they’d face in the days ahead, that he had the right people in the right places.

But there was one particular loss in particular that was effecting M’rayr the most. And the name belonging to that person was none other than Lieutenant Jennifer Matthews. Several weeks ago while Jenni and M’rayr were vacationing in Paris, Jenni received, and accepted, an offer to serve on board the USS Camelot as its new Chief Engineer. It would be an opportunity for her, one that not even he could stop her from. He was happy, proud for her. And yet, he also knew it would hard not to have her with him any longer, even if things… had changed between them.

M’rayr’s nostrils flared and sniffed the air as her familiar scent reached him long the footsteps of her walk could. The Caitian stood to his full height, turning, and extending a smile as Jenni just came around a corner.

I am happy for her he told himself.

Jenni had just finished using a comm terminal. It had been nearly a year since she last spoke to her brother, Charles. Too much death had come to their family, and as they were the last two that were living, they'd drifted apart. Jenni had always hated it, but if either one of them were to unexpectedly die, the detachment would have made it easier.

Or so Jenni thought until recently. She hadn't spoken about it much publicly, but she had to deal with a lot following the incident with the Breen. Starfleet had investigated what they could, and somehow they'd waited until the Katana had reached Earth to finally get to her full debriefing. Thankfully, M'rayr had been there for her. She was eternally grateful to him for everything, even agreeing to an extraordinary vacation around Earth, to help get her mind off of everything. And to see if her marriage to M'rayr could indeed work, or if they at least really had chemistry.

She'd been shocked when the offer came. It wasn't just a transfer or a promotion. It was about making her Jennifer Matthews again. She always envied the now-Commander Arivek Zhuri and the unfortunate role the man had in physically integrating the Intrepid-class starship into this universe. But it was his ship and his engine room. And with all of the friends that she'd made aboard the Katana, their departure reminded her once more that this was not her Katana.

Leaving the Katana meant finally closing a long chapter of her life, one that had a horrible plot, but a happy ending. That was why she called her brother, ending years of silence and pledging to be involved in his life, as well of the life of her sister-in-law and new niece. Family always defined her, and if she was to rebuild Jenni Matthews, family had to be a part of the process.

As she rounded the corner, she caught sight of M'rayr Eisovo. He seemed more striking than ever, especially with the Katana nestled in dock behind him and spotlights glinting off of the ship's hull. The backdrop would serve as a fitting end. But hopefully not goodbye.

"Hey," she said with a smile, embracing the big cat.

"Hello," M'rayr said, nuzzling her in a very Caitian way as he returned her brace. If anything could be said about their time together, it was that it helped him to realize that keeping everybody away at arms length wasn't the option. Not anymore. He took her hands in his paws and led her to the small table he'd been occupying. It was hard, however, not to glance briefly at the Katana while doing so. "A moment ago I was sitting in the presence of one of the most beautiful things in the universe; now I sit before two." He said, the statement no longer sounding quite so odd in his throat.

Jenni couldn't help but smile and blush at M'rayr's comment. It amazed her how sentimental he truly was. She sat down across from him, holding on to one paw still as she did so. It was an odd feeling, knowing that the Katana was going off again into the stars without a Matthews on board. Jenni was sure M'rayr felt the same way, but this was something she had to do. "It's good to hear you talk like that, M'rayr."

"Don't consider me a romantic just yet." M'rayr smiled. "How are things progressing on board the Camelot?" He asked, finally picking up his mug of tea before he could realize how luke-warm it had become. Thankfully, a waiter showed up in time to take Jenni's order. Once she finished, he asked for his to be... warmed back up.

"Nicely I assume," Jenni said, with a smile. With the ship being in another sector currently, Jenni's time would be devoted to technical manuals and logs. Of course, neither amounted to actual experience tinkering with warp cores. "She's not heading this way any time soon, so Starfleet's putting me on a runabout to meet up with her."

M'rayr nodded. "When are you expecting to depart?"

"This afternoon," Jenni replied, her smile fading. Suddenly, having a finite amount of time put a damper on her spirits. "What about Katana? What's next for her and her Intrepid Captain?"

M'rayr had known for some time now that Jenni would be leaving, and soon. But somehow, it was the knowledge that she would be leaving in mere hours, what had once been days, that truly upset him, even though he wouldn't let her know it. He could feel himself trying to be strong; he could feel her trying to do the same. But it was difficult. Focusing on her question instead of his errant thoughts, the Caitian replied, "Commander Zhuri believes the refit will be complete within the next few days. Admiral Janeway," he said, emphasizing the now-famous admiral's name, "has scheduled an inspection for next week. Just prior to our departure. From there, we are under orders to explore the Delta Volanis cluster. A nice, slow exploratory mission."

Jenni nodded. She'd have to pay Arivek a visit before she'd left. He'd never forgive her for not saying goodbye face to face. Of course, he might not forgive her for missing out on a lot of the refit. "Admiral Janeway?" Jenni asked, impressed. "Sounds like you'll be away from Federation space for a while." She had the same feeling about the Camelot. Far away from known space and friendly faces.

M'rayr shrugged, but there was a trace of a nod. Katana's orders hadn't quite come in just yet. But there was enough reason to believe that Jenni's assumption was accurate. And while M'rayr had no qualms about a deep space assignment, that did mean that his and Jenni's opportunity to see each other again would likely take some time. "It does seem that way," he reached over and took her small hands in his giant paws. The words 'I wish you were coming with me' didn't quite reach vocalization. He didn't want to put that kind of guilt through her. Not now. Not ever. "I will miss you." He did manage to say.

She squeezed his paw and met his gaze, ignoring the Intrepid-class ship in the corner of her eye. "I'll miss you too," she said with a smile on her face. "Katana's got a good man at the helm," she told him.

"That means the most, coming from you." M'rayr answered with a smile.

Jenni smiled at him. "So how does she look?" She asked, nodding over to Katana. "New guts. New crew." Smiling wider, she added, "New adventures."

M'rayr had been on board the Katana a few times this week, ever since he and Jenni returned from their travels. He'd had the opportunity to tour the ship himself, as well as speak with its Chief Engineer. "Commander Arivek believes she will be space worthy within the week," he said, taking a sip from his tea. "As for aesthetics, it still feels like Katana. I certainly couldn't notice a difference while I was aboard."

She thought about telling him that he was slipping. Of course, for someone finally getting out of his shell, he might take offense to that and undo months of work performed by the best Katana's crew had to offer. "That's good," she replied honestly. Jenni kept her gaze on him for a moment longer before turning to look at the Katana resting peacefully in her docking port. As she continued to hold M'rayr's paw, Jenni didn't know what else to say.

Their trip around the world had been fantastic. As a child, Jenni remembered looking down at Earth imagining what it was like in the days when Jules Verne wrote his classic novel about an 80 day trip. Their voyage hadn't lasted nearly as long, but they had visited several continents and had the opportunity to mingle and experience many of Earth's myriad cultures and traditions. The experience alone had been incredible, one she'd never forget. Jenni returned her gaze to M'rayr and smiled. "Thank you," she said. "For everything."

M'rayr smiled. "You have been the best that has ever happened to me, Jenni." He gave her hand one last squeeze, knowing that their time together was coming to an end. "You have helped me to become a better person. I feel that it is I who should be thanking you." He stretched his face into another smile, his eyes closing in that typical feline look of happiness. When he opened them, he said, "We will find each other again. What we've built here, our lives together... it is not over." Lifting up his sleeve, he showed her where his tattoo was now masked beneath grey/brown fur.

In return, she pulled up her sleeve where her own purple tattoo was still emblazoned. "I have to say the Turush are very ornate in their styling. And I look forward to when we meet again. Perhaps then, we'll both..." Jenni's voice trailed off, not quite sure what she was going to say. Both be ready for a relationship? Both have differing and incompatible lives?

M'rayr squeezed her hand again. "We will cross that bridge when we get there," he said, knowing that he wanted to be able to resume their relationship once the time was right.

"So we shall." She looked back out towards the Katana. It was going to feel strange. For the first time in several years, she was about to walk the corridors of a ship that was not an Intrepid-class. It was a strange feeling, but also a very exciting one. "Are you heading over to Katana soon?" she asked M'rayr. Jenni still had to beam over and pack, and to say goodbye a good friend. She didn't want to have to go over alone.

There was a rather significant list awaiting M'rayr in his ready room; several requisition and crew reports to approve or deny. Now that the refit was mostly complete, he would be resuming his duties as the Katana's Commanding Officer. For the most part, those duties were something he was eager to take on again. But even with that passion, he knew that he wanted to extend what little time he had left with Jenni. "Eventually," he admitted, keeping away from a particular timeframe even in his own mind. "But what I want right now, is to spend as much time with you as I can."

She smiled. Time was indeed running short, but she had time. "Seeing how I'm going to be stuck on a runabout for the next few days, I could use one last hand-prepared meal."

M'rayr smiled back. "I think that can be arranged."

Lieutenant Vara Cho'ran had studied many things in her day but this ship was something else entirely and to top it off, there was a hologram that she suspected could pass the holographic sentience tests with ease. This is what had brought her to main engineering today. Stepping into the main area, she glanced around at the people there in an attempt to locate the Bolian 'man'.

"Can I assist you, Lieutenant?" a Vulcan Commander asked, noticing the woman seemed lost.

"Yes, I'm looking for the Chief Engineer, Commander Zhuri. Is he about?" Vara requested politely.

The Vulcan paused, refraining himself from rolling his eyes. It was obvious he had spent too much time around humans over the past century, as he acted like the more and more every year. "The hologram is in the Chief Engineer's office."

"Thank you." Vara said nothing more on that, instead preferring to confront the subject of her curiosity directly. Pressing the door chime to the office, she waited for a response.

"Come in," the voice called out from the other side.

Entering the office and approaching the blue man, Vara grinned widely. "Commander Zhuri, I presume." She began, offering a handshake. "I'm Lieutenant Cho'ran. I've been working through the incompatibilities between your universe;s tech and ours and I couldn't help but stumble across some of your operational logs. I'd like to discuss them, if you have time."

Arivek took the woman's hand and gave it a firm shake. She definitely seemed different than the Vara from his universe. "By all means, take a seat. We've done the best we could until this point. But it was determined that there was no easy way to marry our systems. That's why we've had the entire ship gutted and basically rebuilt."

"A conclusion that I've been forced to agree with." Vara said as she sat in the offered seat. "It's impractical to continue with the current systems. Even parts you replicate yourself are hit or miss on direct compatibility. But that's not why I'm here today. I've noticed that holomatrixes from your universe operate slightly differently and this difference is compounded with larger data streams. According to your logs, your data stream is not only immense, but completely incompatible with almost all of the holographic technology in this universe to date. I've found similar issues with the holographic clones of Commander Maica as well. On top of that, both of you make polymorphic learning matrixes look like candy corn." Finally pausing for breath, Vara sighed heavily and awaited a response or rebuttal to her assessments thus far.

"Thank you?" Arivek asked, his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "I can honestly say I've never been called immense before. Is this a good thing?" he asked, thinking back on the infernal device that he'd been ignoring.

"I'd think so. I can't access your matrix, but from the logs and your public records, you're as complete of a copy of a living person's brain as is in existence in this universe and I can only guess at how it was done. I'd like to administer the new artificial lifeform turing test to you at some point - I have a feeling you would pass it with ease. in the mean time though, there's no way you can be safely stored on any computer system that's built in this universe. You'll likely decompile and essentially die." Vara was somewhat blunt about it, but that's how it was. "If it's ok with you, I have to officially request that your matrix remain in this ship's computer indefinitely. I'd like to do some further research and see if we can produce a mobile emitter, but at this point, I'm afraid the technology is just too different."

Arivek sat back, thinking about what the woman was saying to him. "I resemble a living person's brain because I essentially have one. I was a living breathing being until a year ago. When I died, my father had my consciousness transferred into a holographic body. I'm the first successful long-term instance of that in my universe. The only other tests destabilized after a few weeks." He thought for a second, "I suppose I'm lucky my father is a gifted holoengineer."

He sat forward and leaned on his desk, interlacing his fingers in front of him. "As for where I store my matrix, that is something I haven't decided on just yet. I know the protocol in this universe is for me to register with the holographic interface, but I still haven't decided whether I will do that or not. I have also chosen not to interface with this ship's computer as of yet. Your laws on non-biological lifeforms are foreign to me, and until I'm satisfied, I will keep my Matrix protected at all costs."

"And I agree that you need to. Some overzealous Vulcan could inadvertently kill you trying to adhere to his regs." Tapping on her PaDD, Vara brought up the aforementioned turing test and handed it to Arivek. "Pass this simple one hundred twenty three question test and the Federation as a whole will have no choice but to respect your wishes as a sentient being. They might want to question you further at the Daystrom Institute... But the choice to go there or not is up to you. You would once again have full legal rights under the law. Discrimination, however... That might be harder to overcome..."

Without looking at the PADD, Arivek slid it back to the woman. "I appreciate the thought, but I don't need a test to prove sentience."

"Legally, I highly recommend it. It'll be pretty hard convincing a lot of people, otherwise. It'll also help in getting your papers republished in this universe." Vara replied, making no move to take the PaDD back.

Arivek's face turned cold and firm, his teeth clenched together. "Again, I appreciate the concern. I will take care of my own personal matters in my own way, though. So unless you have anything to report regarding your official position aboard this ship, then you're dismissed."

"Alright then. You have my recommendations and my reports on the starboard EPS couplings from earlier today, so if you have any questions, I'll be in my lab." With that, Vara turned and left as politely as she could manage. Now she saw why some people had said he was a pain to work with. She still wanted to help him if she could, but if he refused help like that... Well, there may be no helping him then.

Captain M’rayr Eisovo stood before the platform of Transporter Room Two with the palms of his hands behind his back, waiting patiently for a total three things: His First Officer, Kenzie Simpson; his Second Officer and Chief Engineer, Arivek Zhuri, and finally, one Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway.

The Petty Officer to M’rayr’s back hadn’t said anything yet, so M’rayr could only presume that his senior officers had at least a few more minutes to make it to the transporter room before Janeway’s arrival. He was left wondering as to why exactly would a Vice Admiral, particularly one with Janeway’s service record and history in Starfleet, choose to partake in Katana’s final inspection.

All he could come up with were theories.

Kenzie had received M’rayr’s summons to report to Transporter Room Two to welcome Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway on board. Why on earth a Vice Admiral wanted to come on board to see their ship, she had no idea. She glanced at her watch and began walking a little quicker; she didn’t want to show up the minute before Janeway did.

A few moments passed before a shimmer in the air produced Commander Arivek Zhuri. “Captain, Commander,” he said to the two officers with a nod.

A chirp behind the three that was quickly followed by a report from the transporter chief that Admiral Janeway was prepared to beam aboard told M’rayr that it was time to get to business. “Perfect timing, Commander,” M’rayr said, nodding curtly to the chief. Looking ahead, the trio watched as atoms swirled and coalesced into human form behind a shimmer of blue-white energy.

“Vice Admiral Janeway,” M’rayr said once the Admiral regained situational awareness. “Welcome aboard the Katana.”

“Thanks for having me,” Janeway returned with a jovial undertone. She stopped to take in her surroundings, and almost seemed to be reminiscing. “How much I’ve missed an Intrepid-class starship.”

That’s right, M’rayr thought, recalling Janeway’s missions in the Delta Quadrant. Voyager had been, and still was, an Intrepid-class. Although it now had a new commanding officer. Gesturing to his left, “This is my First Officer, Commander Kenzie Simpson.”

Janeway smiled. “Good to see you again, Commander, now, is it?”

“Yes, ma’am,” answered Kenzie with a smile. “It is a pleasure to see you again.”

“And this is my Chief Engineer as well as my Second Officer, Commander Arivek Zhuri.” M’rayr said next, pointing to his Bolian/Trill hybrid tinkerer.

“A pleasure, Admiral,” Arivek stated, not sure if he should extend his hand to the woman or just leave it to the politeness.

Admiral Janeway nodded, a twist out of the corner of her lips revealing a smile. Her eyes soon diverted back to the transporter room, as though she were intent on soaking up as much of what it was like to be back aboard an Intrepid-class starship as possible. Turning to M’rayr, she waved a hand towards the door. “Well then, Captain. By all means, let us begin the tour.”

***

M’rayr, Kenzie, and Arivek had spent the better part of the hour taking the Admiral through the decks. First, they visited Main Engineering, at which point Janeway felt it necessary to convey some of her own stories from back when she commanded the USS Voyager through the Delta Quadrant, battling against the Hirogen, the Borg, the Kazon, and various other hostile sentient races. Then, on an upward track, they made their way to the Main Computer Core, Sickbay, the Mess hall, and were now finally on their way to the bridge.

“Your ship has certainly seen its share of history, Captain Eisovo,” the Admiral pointed out while she walked with her hands behind the small of her back. “The Delta Quadrant is one thing, but to experience an entirely unique space-time,” she twisted her neck at the thought. “I’m impressed on how well you and the rest of your senior staff managed to hold everything together.”

M’rayr nodded curtly. At times like this, he was still a man of few words. “Thank you, Admiral.”

Gesturing for the Admiral to follow again, the quartet of Starfleet Officers were stopped by the sudden appearance of a man whom M’rayr did not recognize. Like them, this particular individual wore a Starfleet uniform, and the pips on his collar revealed him to be a Captain. The sly smirk on his face, the jovial look in his eyes, and the sudden look of irritation from Janeway, betrayed the fact that this person was not supposed to be here.

“Q”, Janeway said in a low, warning tone.

“Kathryn,” Q said with dramatic effect as he held out his arms as if anticipating a hug from the Admiral. When she didn’t respond, he almost seemed offended.

M’rayr opened his mouth to speak. While he’d never met a Q, every Starfleet Captain knew of the near-omnipotent and overzealous race. Tapping his comm-badge, he was prepared to alert Katana’s security team. But with a snap of two fingers, Q made the Caitian vanish into the arms of Kenzie Simpson, now appearing no larger and no more remarkable than a typical Terran feline.

He even meowed as he burrowed himself into Kenzie’s bosom.

Kenzie almost dropped the captain when he suddenly appeared in her arms. She had heard about Q. And had hoped to never meet one let alone meet this one. She watched him carefully as she readjusted her grip on M’rayr.

“Q, that is a Starfleet Captain,” Janeway warned, sounding more like she were talking to an adolescent child than an individual with god-like powers.

“Oh, come now, Kathryn. Starfleet Captain or not, he was about to interrupt our moment. And after all this time, I wanted everything to be as perfect as it could be.”

“Change him back, Q.” Janeway hissed.

For what almost seemed like an eternity, Q looked as though he were considering it. Then, finally, he huffed in dramatic flair and snapped his fingers again. M’rayr reappeared, then started to reach for his comm-badge a second time.

“Ah, ah, ah… mon capitaine,” Q warned, making M’rayr’s, Kenzie’s, and Arivek’s comm-badges disappear in that order. “You should be quite a bit more understanding of your situation. If you try to alert any of your…” he rolled his eyes, “peasants, again, then I’ll turn you into something so cute and so cuddly that not even the Borg Queen wouldn’t be able to resist giving you a scratch under your chin,” as Q said this, he had the audacity to rub underneath M’rayr’s jaw.

Janeway took a step forward, re-inserting herself into the conversation before M'rayr could think to unsheathe his claws. “Q, what are you doing here.”

Q’s smile returned. “Well, couldn’t it be more obvious? Of course, I’ve come here to express my utmost gratitude for what you did.”

Janeway looked even more suspicious, although she also seemed to be nursing a sudden headache. “Gratitude for what, exactly?”

Slapping his trousers, Q grinned even further. “Well, for bringing up my boy, of course. Thanks to everything you and your crew did, he’s become something of a model citizen for the Q continuum. Kinda makes the old man proud, you know?”

“Q, that was almost fifteen years ago,” Janeway pointed out, taken aback.

A snide look crossed Q’s face. “Fifteen years. What is fifteen years to a Q? About as much as fifteen minutes,” he started moving his hands around in theatrical displays. “In short, I’ve come to give you a gift, Kathryn. A gift I don’t think you’ll ever forget.”

Janeway held her hand up, cutting him off. “Q, I appreciate it… but a gift is really not necessary.

“Oh, Kathryn,” he said, crossing his arms while he leaned against the bulkhead. “You should know better by now than to think I’d let you squander an opportunity of a lifetime,” and once again, Q flicked his fingers. This time, however, the effect of his power was felt throughout the ship. The corridors shook, sounding as though were they were about to buckle. The red alert Klaxon blared. Like his two senior officers, it was all M’rayr could do just to hold onto the wall for support.

He reached for his comm-badge only to remember that it wasn’t there anymore. Doing everything in his power to keep balance, he looked to Janeway. “Admiral!”

Janeway herself was having difficulty standing straight as up became down, left became right. “Believe me, Captain, I wish there was something I could do.” She shot a nasty glance towards Q, who still stood there grinning like a two-year old.

“Come now, you petty mortals. You really should be more excited,” Q flashed a grin, appearing to have no difficulty in staying upright whatsoever as he crossed his arms and jiggled his shoulders. “After all, I’m about to take the whole lot of you... quite literally... where no one has gone before.”

***

From the perspective of the Yeoman monitoring traffic control inside and throughout Starbase 001, all was normal. The Gettysburg was preparing to exit through the main doors, and from what rumor indicated, Admiral Kathryn Janeway herself had elected to inspect Starfleet’s orphan ship, the USS Katana. And then, in an instant, Katana flashed away, leaving behind no trace of its passage. At first, the Yeoman suspected that there was a malfunction with internal sensors. But after he checked, then re-checked it, he determined there was no fault.

Katana had… quite literally… vanished from existence.

The USS Katana was nearing the competition of its refit at Starbase 001 and taking the opportunity to take on new personnel ahead of its upcoming mission. One of the Katana's new faces was 30 year old Lieutenant Junior Grade Ashley Hunter who was taking over as Chief Counsellor in her first role as a senior member of a crew. However, there was no time to dwell on that as she through herself straight into the role.

A little under 24 hours had passed, and Ashley was in her office overseeing the final refurbishments of the counselling offices and suites, ensuring they were portraying the correct atmospheres, to hopefully relax and enabling the chance to engage more with the staff and senior members of the crew. A place that they feel safe to share their deepest confirms without barriers such as desks, alleviate any fears and the stigma that surrounds the Counselling service even in this day and age.

Paige had spent the last few months of the Katana's refit holed up feeling generally sorry for herself. She hadn't given herself much time to greive R'tame on the Katana and felt like she deserved some time to mope and feel sorry for herself. Now, even though she still had a continual ache in her heart, she felt like she was as ready as she was going to be to go back to the Katana. She was surprised to see just how much the Katana still looked the same; she had almost expected to see a completely different ship. Slowly, she wandered her way to guidance and stopped short. Guidance looked completely different. She heard rustling from somewhere in the department and called out, "Hello?!" as she looked around for the source of the noise.

Ashley appeared from behind a large snake plant that she had been relocating with a moan and groan as she struggled with the size of the large pot, the plant had grown out of control with a span of almost half a metre and was over a metre in height. The 'Hello' came as a little surprise, but not enough to make her jump. "It's a Sansevieria trifasciata..." Ashley replied calmly gently running one of the leaves through her fingers. " or mother-in-laws tongue or simply a snake plant... it absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen during the night helping to reduce stress..." her eyes fixed on the plant not the location of the voice and taking a big intake of breathe. Ashley was unsure if the officer was still there or she spent the last few minutes talking to herself.

"It's huge," Paige said. "Do you need help?" She found it interesting that the plant was supposed to help with stress with a name like snake's tongue.

"Actually..." replied Ashley with a smile, "... that would be good. Thank you. If that's okay?" adding, "Where do you think is best, over there in the corner or along side this couch..." moving to each location and signalling with her hands where she through it might look better. "Or do you have a better suggestion?"

"Ummmm..." Paige hadn't expected to be asked her opinion. "I think in the corner?," she said. "So it doesn't get in the way." Paige fidgeted for a moment; she hadn't expected to run into anyone and didn't overly enjoy being surprised when meeting someone new. But, her ingrained politeness was requiring her to speak. "I'm Paige, by the way."

Beaming a smile, Ashley replied, "I'm Ashley, it is a pleasure to meet you..." before grabbing the edge of the pot, and adding, "What do you say Paige, we move this into the corner and I think I'll call that a day?" Ashley, could sense there was something about Paige, she had no idea what it was. Then again it could have been nothing more than, nerves. Was this her first commission? maybe it was her first week too? Ashley bent her knees slightly and started to lift.

Paige nodded as she bent to help Ashley move the plant into the corner. It was much heavier than she had originally thought and, after they had moved it, she stood up, panting slightly.

"Well... thank you, couldn't have done that without you," replied Ashley taking a deep sigh of relief, shaking her hands slightly as the tingling sensation started to dissipate due to the unfamiliar use of her muscles from the weight of the pot. Ashley looked across at Paige, "You okay?" she added a little concerned at Paige's laboured breathing.

"Yeah," Paige nodded sheepishly. "I guess I did more sitting on leave than I thought." Paige knew that wasn't strictly true. She did A LOT of sitting; wallowing to be exact. "I am ready to be back on board."

Ashley let slip a little giggle as she replied, "Oh... I've been there... but that’s what leave is meant to be about... relaxing. I wouldn't give it another thought." She smiled.

Paige smiled. "That's my thought." She looked inquisitively at Ashley for a moment as she thought about the guidance department. She thought she remembered seeing that there would be a new chief counselor. "Are you the new chief counselor?" she asked curiously, almost blurting it out. Inwardly she cringed; sometimes she felt that her shyness would overcome her curiosity and, if she didn't just blurt out a question, she would never ask any at all.

"Yes, I am..." replied Ashley calmly as a little smiled raised from the corners of her mouth. She had to think for a moment, only for the fact that she was still getting used to the promotion. "And you are Paige?" Ashley asked as she moved a little closer to Paige, to watched her reactions.

"Yes, I'm the other counselor on board," she said. "Although, this is still only my first assignment." She resisted the urger to twist her hair around her finger as she noticed Ashley inch slightly closer. She was trying really hard to get rid of that nervous tic.

Ashley face lit up, "Ahhh sorry I didn't put two and two together. You must be... Ensign Paige... Bennett?" she asked extending her hand to shake. There was something going on with the Ensign, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Paige had a bit of sadness surround her that she did well to mask, put up front or was that just for Ashley's benefit.

"Reflex..." added Ashley suddenly in a soft calm but friendly tone, that one word hopefully portrayed reassurance and the fact that she didn't have to put up any barriers here, just be yourself.

Paige started. "Uh...sorry," she said nervously. This time, she didn't catch herself twisting her hair around her finger. "Usually, I do most of the listening and not the talking," she said almost apologetically.

"You never need to apologise," explained Ashley in a warm and sincere manner, "As you know, everyone needs someone to talk too. Why don't you take a seat, take a deep breath and if you feel conformable... we can talk..."

Paige struggled internally for a moment. R'tame had been the one person she really talked to and confided in. But she knew and was comfortable with him and it had taken her a long time to get to that point. She took a deep breath and nodded as she sat down, still twisting her hair around her finger. She hadn't completely made up her mind but she had decided that maybe she would give it a shot.

Ashley could see she was nervous and she didn't want to push her into anything, this would go at Paige's pace. Sitting down, Ashley crossed her legs and cupped her hands while leaning forwards with her arms which were resting on her legs. Pausing for a moment, Ashley simple said calmly, "You can tell me as much or as little as you like... I'm just here for you and as you know everything you tell me will be confidential. I'm not going to ask you a hundred questions, unless you want me too." Ashley giggled slightly to hopefully lighten the mood slightly. "We can sit in silence if you want, allowing you just think."

"When you're ready..." to which Ashley lent back slightly in her chair, and watched Paige with a slightly concern expression.

Paige opened her mouth. And then closed it again. She thought a moment about what she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it. Anxiety started to creep in. "I'm not very good talking with new people," she started. And then in a rush, "I'm a very good listener. I just don't talk to many people outside of counseling."

"Why do you think that is?" asked Ashley.

Paige shrugged and though for awhile. "I've always been shy and never know quite what to say. And then I get anxious so I usually just stay to myself." In fact, this was the most she had talked to someone else in the last few months. She realized this with a start. It made her a little sad to realize that she had so little contact with others outside of offering counseling services.

"We want to hear what you say..." explained Ashley, "...what you have to say is important." Pausing for a moment, Ashley wondered, "Do you lack confidence in what you say, do you think? or do you feel no one listens to you or would be interested in what you say?"

"If it's the latter, can I confirm..." replied Ashley putting her hand on her chest, "I want to hear what you think, feel... your feelings, thoughts and desires are important to me. I know its not just me that's interested."

"Thanks," Paige said a little embarrassedly. She had never really thought about her social anxiety; she just knew she'd always had it. It had been easier with R'tame around. "I appreciate you talking with me," said Paige. "I'm sure you must be busy getting everything ready." She looked around. "It does look nice in here." She knew she was deflecting but she wasn't sure how much more talking about herself she could handle.

"Thanks," replied Ashley with a smile knowing full well what Paige was doing. "Hopefully it has the desired effect..."

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" Ashley added, "I think it might be beneficial to see you again..."

Paige groaned inwardly. Oh boy, a counselor seeing a counselor. But, she could recognize that she probably needed at least one person to talk to. Sighing slightly, she nodded in agreement with Ashley. "I...think you might be right." She didn't answer Ashley's first question on purpose. She wasn't exactly sure what she needed to talk about or what she wanted to talk about.

"We all find it useful to speak to someone.. even the Commanding Officer..." explained Ashley giving her a warm smile, knowing exactly how just feels. The expression on Paige's face told her everything.

"Thank you," said Paige. "I look forward to working with you," she said as she stood. She meant it too. Something about Ashley made her feel comfortable, or at least more comfortable than she normally did.

"Pleasures all mine..." replied Ashley with a smile, "and thank you for helping me move the huge pot..." how she was going to manage to move that pot on her own she never knew, it was just thankful Paige turned up when she did.

"My pleasure," Paige said as she walked toward the door.

Kenzie had received her orders for her new assignment a few weeks ago. Since then, she had done some research on the Katana and was apprehensive to say the least. This ship was from not only a different timeline but also a parallel universe. Multiple crewmembers had been reassigned or had left for new opportunities. The first captain was facing the death penalty for his decision to go to Talos IV. The current captain had only been acting captain for a few months, and if he was anything like this universe's version, she had serious concerns. In other words, the USS Montana would seem like a cakewalk compared to this assignment.

All of these things were floating around in Kenzie's head as she boarded the Katana. She had an appointment with Captain Eisovo before the rest of the Katana's crew were recalled to duty.

Captain M’rayr Eisovo made his way from Deck Two where he’d enjoyed a Spartan meal with his new Chief of Operations, Lieutenant JG Shrol Ch’ziqis, to Deck Seven where his new First Officer, Commander Kenzie Simpson, was soon to embark. His previous First Officer had also been a Trill, albeit with distinct Romulan heritage as well. In many ways, M’rayr still missed Jhu t’Dharvanek. If she’d been anything, it had been a loyal friend and an honest sounding board.

Turning the corner, M’rayr brushed at his face to ensure that there were no leftover crumbs from his ramufta; what an impression that would set. A few steps further, he found a face and uniform that matched the holo-picture from her service record, although Kenzie’s hair had been little shorter back then. He waited until Kenzie saw him before introducing himself. Not that doing so was entirely necessary, seeing as how M’rayr was one of two Caitians on board the Katana.

“Commander Simpson, welcome aboard the Katana.” M’rayr greeted, the subvocalized resonance of his Caitian larynx working Federation standard words telltale. Hell, she even looks a bit like Jhu, M’rayr thought inwardly.

Kenzie was midly surprised to find Captain Eisovo waiting for her. Although, she took it as a good sign that, at least so far, he seemed to be interested. "Thank you for meeting me, Captain," she said.

Figuring out his new first officer would be an important step. As his Number One, Kenzie would be his right arm in several meanings of the term, and without trust, confidence, and respect, the relationship between CO and XO was volatile. "Of course. If you will come with me," Gesturing with his free arm, M'rayr intended on directing Kenzie to his ready room on the bridge. There, they'd have the opportunity to discuss matters in a more professional, and secluded, environment. Once they were inside a turbolift, the Caitian felt more able to speak. He went over her career in his head. After graduating from the academy in 2383, Kenzie's first assignment was aboard the USS Ireland, where she served as one of its many science officers. After that, was the Sacramento, where she made Chief of Science. Then, the Ithaca, where in addition to her duties as Chief of Science, she was also the Second Officer -- an important first step towards command. From the Montana, Kenzie was now coming to the Katana to continue serving as first officer.

The last jump was the one that had caught M'rayr by surprise. Typically, the next assignment of any well performing first officer was a command of his or her own. So what exactly was it that had caused Kenzie to laterally transfer instead? Nothing in her personnel jacket indicated disciplinary problems. By all review, she was an exemplary officer. Following the line of deductive reasoning led M'rayr to one conclusion.

She was here to keep an eye on the Katana.

It made sense. Ever since coming to this universe, the Katana's history has been... problematic. Between its former Captain's actions at Talos and everything else in between, there were more than enough concerns regarding the Katana and its crew from the admiralty. Eyeing the trill officer during their trek up to the bridge, M'rayr wondered just how like him she was. After all, when he came aboard the Katana, his duty was to keep an eye on Kerouac. Just how much would Simpson be keeping an eye on him?

"Was your stay at Starbase 001 enjoyable?" M'rayr asked, opting for small talk while they crossed the bridge towards his ready room.

Kenzie followed M'rary's gesture into the turbolift and, as he stood quietly for a few moments, became acutely aware that he was sizing her up. "It was enjoyable as always," she replied as they crossed the bridge. She knew from his history that M'rary had originally been sent to the Katana to keep an eye Kerouac. And certainly, in that case, the decision was warranted. While she hadn't been given explicit orders to keep an eye on Captain Eisovo or the Katana, it had certainly been implied that she should.

As she and M'rary entered his ready room, she made the decision to assume that, given his service record, M'rary would be savvy enough to figure out that she would indeed be a more keen observer than under normal circumstances. She was interested to find out precisely how he would use his knowledge and how it might affect their future working relationship.

It felt better to be able to continue this meeting behind closed doors. "That is good to hear. Would you like something to drink?" He asked, wandering towards the replicator where he'd planned on producing a mug of Nepata tea for himself.

"A cup of coffee with cream and sugar would be nice, thank you," replied Kenzie. She decided to wait and let the captain make the first move.

M'rayr ordered the two drinks, then returned to his desk where Kenzie had already taken her seat across from it. Passing her mug of steaming coffee to her before savoring the aroma of his tea, he let some silence slip into the moment. "I have reviewed your service history. It seems you have had a fruitful career. Served on board the Ireland, the Sacramento, and then the Ithaca before joining the Montana as first officer," M'rayr paused to take a sip of his tea. He set the mug down before interlacing his paws. "Before too long, you may have a command of your own."

"That is the eventual goal," said Kenzie. "I figured out I liked command very quickly into my Starfleet career."

M'rayr nodded, even allowing a small twist out of the corner of his lip to indicate a smile. "Commendable. What is your assessment of Katana?" He asked next.

"Well, physically, it seems like she is in much better shape than when she first arrived Starbase 001," she paused. Kenzie could read between the lines and she had a very strong hunch that M'rary was not asking about the physical Katana but, rather, its crew and its history. "From the reports I've read, your crew has had a...rough....few months."

"That it has been," M'rayr said after a pause. He was glad that Kenzie was attentive enough to notice that, and that she was bold enough to be honest with him regarding her perspective. At least now he had enough reason to believe that she wouldn't be a "yes, sir" type of officer. With Katana's storied history, she couldn't afford one of those. "As my new first officer, I will expect you to keep an ear to the ground in terms of nurturing crew morale; Starfleet Command has assigned us to a sector of the Alpha Quadrant which, hopefully, will ensure a relatively uneventful first mission. With so many new faces on board, yours included, this crew needs time to build trust."

Kenzie nodded. This crew was unique and morale could quickly turn sour. "What other expectations do you have for me?" Kenzie asked. She liked to know exactly what was expected of her. She didn't want to have to try and guess.

"You are aware of your responsibilities as first officer, are you not?" M'rayr asked.

Kenzie narrowed her eyes very slightly. Of course she was familiar with the duties of first officer; her service record could speak to that. She almost pointed that out but chose to be more diplomatic about it. "Of course," she nodded. "Let me rephrase. Do you have any expectations outside of the normal duties of first officer that I should be aware of?" she asked.

That was about as good a response as M'rayr could have expected. He wanted to see how Kenzie would react to a degree of patronization. She didn't lose her temper, but she didn't exactly take it by the cheek, either. Gesticulating with his paws, he answered. "By all considerations, this is a practically new ship with a practically new crew, Commander. Right now, I have no additional expectations beyond my expectation that you will perform your duty admirably."

Kenzie nodded. "Yes, sir," she said. She could see the unique challenges this ship would bring.

tag

On

erei'Arrain Marek Lovok opened his eyes and found himself on his side. The view confronting him was a corridor empty of people and different design, he glanced around and recognized his lover Khaiel on his back looking around. "You okay Khai?"

Uhlan Khaiel Rennoll turned to face Marek and smiled then nodded. "I'm okay, you?"

"Alright, what happened?" Marek asked.

"Last thing I remember was being in the Romulan ship with the others, then a white flash." Khai replied slowly sitting up.

Marek sat up slowly as well. "I was in our quarters, and yeah a white flash."

"Q?" They said together.

"Yup, it was me." Q appeared next to them with a wicked smile. "You were going to leave that station anyway, here is much more exciting for you both."

They both looked at Q with a raised eyebrow expression. "Why?" Marek asked annoyed now that Q, after learning about the pesky being in his studies of Starfleet famous Captains' adventures.

"You will find out soon," Q said before disappearing in the same white flash.

"Great," Khai said and sighed as they both got to their feet.

"Yeah now we have to report in, I hope this," Marek looked out the window. "There' no stars out there."

Khai glanced around to the windows and frowned, "now I know Q was right about the exciting part."

Marek rolled his eyes, then smiled. "At least the Tal Shiar can't find us here."

They made eye contact and shared the smile.

Off

On

Ensign Bennen Khai smiled as he opened his eyes to see he was on top of Warrant Officer Vestara Stronghold. "Hey Ves," he announced.

Vestara opened her eyes and immediately shoved Ben off her. "What the hell did you do?"

"Me?" Ben replied mortified. "Nothing, it wasn't me." He slowly got up to a seated position before getting to his feet and looking like he was going to say something but was thinking on it.

She narrowed her eyes at him before conceding that he was right.

"Not it was me," Q appeared by Bennen's side. "Welcome to the Katana," Q added before he vanished in another flash.

"Oh fantastic," Vestara said.

Bennen offered his hand.

Vestara looked at the hand and after a moment's consideration accepted his help to stand. Once on her feet she shifted her gaze to his eyes. "Thanks."

He smiled. "No problem," Bennen looked around and found they were in an empty lounge, Intrepid-class he knew instantly. "Do you know a Katana?"

She slowly shook her head. "Nope, you?"

"Neither," Bennen replied. "Since we are in the lounge, want a drink?"

Vestara rolled her eyes then looked around, and a smile forced its way onto her face. "I guess." She replied and the two went to the nearest replicator, ordered drinks and a meal each. She lead him to a table and they began talking, eating and drinking.

Off

Kenzie strode quickly through the corridor. She had a lot to do and just one item on her long to-do list was to visit the bridge. Not only did she want to get a feel for the bridge before the Katana went on its next mission, but she was also hoping to kill two birds with one stone and meet her Chief of Operations at the same time. The computer had told her he was on the bridge so, to the bridge she went.

Shrol stood at the Operations Console checking through his to-do list that he had been assigned to make sure that all of the ships systems where running properly and running with the New System in place glancing over time to time at the other members on the bridge.

Kenzie arrived on the bridge, and with a quick glance, was able to ascertain that the Chief of Ops was indeed on the bridge. The 7' tall, blue Andorian wasn't hard to miss, thankfull. She walked over to introduce herself. "Lieutenant Ch'ziqis?" she asked. She wasn't actually unsure it was him, but used this approach so as to hopefully startle him less, if any; he looked engrossed in his work.

Shrol turned around and looked down at the woman in front of him, "Yes M'am" Shrol said nodding, "And I presume you are Commander Simpson? The Executive officer I've heard about?" he asked raising his brow.

Kenzie nodded. "How is everything coming on the bridge?" she asked.

"Tip top shape should be ready long before we depart m'am" Shrol said looking over his new Executive officer.

"Have you run into any problems with the new technology on the ship?"

"No M'am the engineers have done a fine job integrating the systems the new technology is all working fine and everything is on schedule."

"It certainly sounds like you have everything under control," said Kenzie, impressed. Usually there one or two kinks to work out.

"Thank you m'am, I like to keep on top of things, to make sure I have everything done before you ask for it M'am" Shrol said nodding to her.

"Thank you," Kenzie said. "So my understanding is there won't be any technical differences between this ship and any other in Starfleet?"

"In theory Yes but because of the Transfer to this reality their will be slight differences in the Ship of this class but for about 99.99% of the ship it is identical to any other Intrepid Class Ship of This Starfleet yes."

Kenzie nodded. "Ok," she said. "I'll leave you to complete the work you have left." She was pleased and a little impressed that the transfer seemed to be so seamless. Hopefully, there wouldn't be too many surprises down the road.

Shrol nodded back to the Commander, "Thank you M'am and I'll leave you to deal with the work you will have to do." Shrol said giving her a sly smirk then straightened his face up. "Have a nice day m'am it was nice talking."

Kenzie eyed the smirk Shrol gave her, then nodded and replied, "Yes, it was lieutenant." Before she turned to walk away she added, "Continue on."

Captain M’rayr Eisovo made no waste of time coming onto the bridge. Behind him was his First Officer, Commander Kenzie Simpson; his Chief Engineer, Commander Arivek Zhuri; Admiral Janeway, and then the least favored of the recent arrivals – the Omnipotent being known as Q.

The bridge was all but empty. Of course it was. With Katana at space dock until Q snapped his godlike fingers, there hadn’t been a need for much more than a skeleton crew to be on duty. In fact, most of the officers and enlisted personnel M’rayr did see were part of the station’s maintenance crew. Not members of his senior staff.

Q positioned himself near the middle of the bridge, crossing his arms and smiling conceitedly while Admiral Janeway was already busy working on one of the auxiliary consoles. Although she was a flag officer, it seemed Janeway also respected M’rayr’s command enough not to usurp it.

“Commander Simpson, direct all hands to report to their stations,” M’rayr said without missing a step towards the navigational station. “Commander Zhuri, I need a status report as soon as possible.” As soon as M’rayr reached the console, he looked at the readings. Nothing about what he was seeing, however, made any sense. He turned to face Q, any concern of being transformed back into a kitten, gone. "Where are we?"

Q chuckled, then stuck a finger at the main view screen. The screen flickered to life, but showed nothing whatsoever. Whether it was because of a sensor malfunction or something else, M'rayr couldn't decide. Either would have explained the confused readings he saw. "See for yourself."

Hayley stepped out of the turbolift to see Admiral Janeway and the Command crew of the Katana, as well as a man with dark hair, graying sides in a Starfleet Captain uniform standing at the center of the bridge. He seemed familiar somehow but she just couldn't put a finger on it. However, one look at the viewscreen told her that they weren't in dry dock. But how? She hadn't felt the ship get underway or the inertial dampeners kick in, nor had she been told. "What the bloody hell is going on?" she said as she approached her console.

Shrol walked off the tubolift looking around the bridge, "Who wants to tell me who is the Idiot that spun the ship in a million directions and flew me into the wall?!" Shrol asked in a pit of rage continuing to look around the bridge looking at the strange man in the middle of the room, "I'm going to guess it's the new arrival here eh?" he growled low knowing better then to try and understand the situation going to his console looking over the systems on the ship.

Arivek stepped towards the side Engineering console and reached out to it, ready to begin a full ship-wide analysis. As his hand neared the console, it passed through the glass surface and deep into the mechanism, his form flickering in disapproval. "Uh...Captain?" he asked, trying to tap at the console again. He looked up at M'rayr with terror in his eyes, "I can't seem to touch anything."

Mraownr, when will something go right for this ship! M'rayr watched, wondering if Arivek was going to vanish. When his Chief Engineer didn't, M'rayr gestured towards his First Officer. With a situation like this, he would have preferred a better opportunity to see first hand what Kenzie was and wasn't capable of. Of course, the Katana rarely had such good fortune. "First Officer, take his station." Turning next to his equally new Chief of Operations, M'rayr said, "Ops, I need a damage report." Next to Hayley. "Navigation," M'rayr continued, stepping away from Hayley's console before looking vehemently towards Q. "Figure out where the hell we are."

Kenzie immediately stepped over to Engineering. She began running a ship-wide analysis. Unfortunately, it wasn't coming up with much of anything. "Commander Zhuri," she started, making a point to sound and look calm, "perhaps you can confirm my scans." She had no idea what to make of the scans on the screen; they weren't making much sense. Inwardly, she cringed. The Katana was seemingly stranded somewhere in space. With a Q on board. She pratically groaned.

Arivek leaned over the woman's shoulder, almost falling over when he tried to lean on the side of the console and his hand slipped right through. "Confirmed," he said, breathing a heavy sigh. "We have no warp, inertial dampeners are barely holding us together and the EPS relays seem to be on the verge of overloading."

Hayley brushed past Q and sat down in her seat. Tapping in commands to triangulate their position with the navigational sensors. A moment later, the readouts scrolled across her console and a sense of dread and disbelief came over her. "This can't be right," she commented as she ran the scan again. Another moment later, the same location came up. She turned in her seat and stood. "Sir, we're damn near at the edge of the known universe. Far beyond any explored space or known civilizations."

Q grinned. "Close, but I'm afraid there's no prize for second place." With a jovial movement, he more or less hopped his way over to the view screen. Admiral Janeway, eyes narrowed, eyeballed him suspiciously as she crossed the intervening space to hear and see what he was talking about. He almost seemed flattered by this. "You petty mortals, are the first of all sentient races throughout all the universes in time, to have come this far." Stabbing a finger towards the black abyss, he laughed. "This isn't the edge of the known universe, it's the end of it. Of course your pathetic excuse at technological prowess is as well suited to telling you this as a blind cat," Q gave M'rayr a coy look.

Janeway looked murderous. Clearly, she had no interest in being stranded a second time. "Q, what have you done?"

Extending his arms as if expecting a hug once again, Q made a face. "This is part of your gift, of course, my dear Kathryn. Aren't you happy? Although for you, I have an extra special surprise. But just look at this," he gestured towards the view screen. "All your galaxies, all your stars, planets, moons, all the black holes, all the trillions upon trillions of living beings, all the things in the universe have been brought here. The universe of old is about to expire, and a brand spanking new one is about to begin."

M'rayr stepped up next, although his eye stared more at the blackness of space ahead than Q. Assuming Q was telling the truth, there was a singularity that would at some point in the future, be it minutes, days, years, or eons, would explode into new stars, planets, and life. The Big Crunch, one of scientist's many theories regarding the final fate of the universe, had been validated at last. He was speechless.

Shrol started working his fingers flying over the operations console looking at the systems checking their functionality and checking the damage to the outer hull, "Captain all systems are coming back online now with minor damage to deck 13-14 the outer hull is damaged around the port nacelle but is only a few nicks it should be easy enough to repair." Shrol said turning to the Captain then turning back around his hands flying over the console again making rechecking the status of everything and making sure everything remains stable. "For a random path he picked the least damaging one I'll give him that." Shrol said muttering under his breath softly.

Shrol's status report jarred M'rayr out of his trance. He turned to Q. "Take us back."

Q scoffed at him. "And just why would I do that? I mean, you all just got here. Don't you all want to do some of that fancy exploring of yours?

Dee rushed up the ramp at the rear of the bridge, having the unfortunate pleasure of being trapped in the armory when the ship had suddenly lurched and sounded red alert. To his dismay, some sort of glitch had sealed the armory. After all, why else would the computer detect an intruder alert while in spacedock? It wasn't until he turned the corner to spot the fabled being so often spoken of in his security courses at the academy that Dee managed to put everything together. He reached for the phaser holstered on his belt. Dee knew he'd never get the chance to fire it, but his responsibility was to protect the ship, its crew, and its captain. How exactly he would do that he didn't yet know.

The phaser dematerialized with another snap of Q’s fingers, who was looking at M’rayr’s Chief of Security with a severe look of contempt. “Now, now, now, and after everything I’ve done for you.” Ignoring the rest, Q turned to Janeway. “Kathryn, I’m beginning to think that our hosts don’t appreciate the situation as well as they should,” he said, sounding about as slighted as a four year old might be. “Perhaps it’s time for a change in scenery.” He flicked his fingers, blinking he and Admiral Janeway – who was in the middle of protesting as he did – into nothingness.

Q then returned. “Oh, and, while the Admiral is occupied with my present, I’ll be occupying myself with you. Should be fun.” He winked, and then disappeared again.

The bridge crew was standing in stunned silence for a protracted moment. As far as M’rayr could accept, they were stranded. Admiral Kathryn Janeway was one of the few Starfleet Captains who knew how to make it without Starfleet support or resupply, although how they’d be able to do much of anything at all when there were no nebulas or stars to run the bussard collectors through was a question. He turned to the view screen, seeing absolute nothingness. But wait, there has to be something out there, he thought. Somewhere out there was a giant singularity larger than a dozen galaxies, waiting to burst open in an explosion that would quite literally destroy one universe in order to form another.

Just what would happen to the Katana when it did?

“All senior officers,” M’rayr began, his voice a little unsteady. “I want a full assessment of our situation. Q said something about our sensors; it’s possible they aren’t calibrated for these conditions,” with that line of thought, he turned to his Chief Engineer who was proof that the laws of physics were having an adverse effect on main systems. He then surveyed his entire bridge team. “I want to know what’s out there. I also want main power restored and stabilized as quickly as possible. You will present your report at 1800 hours. That gives you one hour. Understood?” He said, sounding tense.

Shrol listened to the Captains order started looking through the systems of the ship again making sure that he missed nothing gin his initial scan through the systems. While Shrol looked through the systems he noticed that the Phaser Banks had came offline and the photon torpedo's have disappeared from the ship, Whatever Q was trying to do was leaving the Katans Defenseless from anything that would come to this ship. Shrol hoped that Q was making sure nothing came from them as he continued to look through the subsystems.

"Understood, sir," Daniel said, very much unhappy that that omnipotent bastard had so swiftly disarmed him. Until sensors were online, he'd need to sweep the ship manually to make sure nothing was absolutely amiss. Though, since Q was involved, who knew what he'd find on the fourteen decks below the bridge floor. As he turned back towards the ramp, he tapped his combadge. "Ellis to all Security personnel, meet me in the Armory."

Kenzie glared at the spot where Q had stood. This ship seemed to be ruled by Murphy's Law. She turned to Arivek, "Commander, do you have a crew in Engineering who is able to assist you?"

Arivek nodded as he walked away. "Yea, I think I can manage." He stepped to the turbolift, expecting the doors to open, and yet they didn't. He stood there for a moment before he realized that the ship most likely wasn't registering his presence. He sighed, and was about to call for the Computer to open the doors when he realized he could probably phase right through them. He took a step and passed through the doors before ordering the Computer to take him to Main Engineering.

M'rayr heaved an inaudible sigh. He was worried about Arivek. Odds were that a being like Q could 'fix' Arivek's situation with relative ease, and yet wouldn't if only to add to his level of entertainment. But there was no time to worry just for his Chief Engineer, he had a hundred and fifty men and women on board who were looking to him to find a way home. Looking around the bridge, the Caitian saw that most of his senior staff were still there. "What are you waiting for, people. Get to work." He said sharply, although most if not all of his resentment was towards Q, and not them.

Captain M’rayr Eisovo was watching a flurry of activity maneuvering through and around the vast dome that comprised the upper portion of Starbase 001. Tugs were carefully and meticulously maneuvering larger vessels into docks, while an Excelsior-class refit was on its way out through the main docking port. Soon, in another week or so, Katana would be joining it.

Raising a mug of hot Nepata tea to his lips, he savored the rich flavor and the way it gave his mind a comforting tickle. In sufficient doses, Nepata could send him into a euphoric and blissful state. As it was, the Nepata in this tea was just potent enough to give him a light buzz. While he was technically off-duty, and Katana not yet scheduled to depart, M’rayr continuously preferred to keep a sharp mind in case any sort of unexpecting thing might happen.

There was a buzz at his doorway. Talk about unexpected, he thought, turning his head in the direction of the noise. “Come in,” M’rayr said.

Hayley walked into the ready room and approached the caitian. "Nepata Tea," she said as she sniffed the aroma, closing towards M'rayr. "Well, at least you're not doing Nip," she finished with a chuckle, referring to Cat Nip that terran felines were fond of.

There were many people aboard the Katana whom M'rayr had been trying to 'mend fences' with since taking command. And there had only been one person he felt as though he were still at odds with; something was... different about Hayley, from ever since they came to this universe and time. All the while, M'rayr could only assume that she just wasn't dealing with transition as well as most. "Lieutenant," he said, a subtle edge in his tone. "What brings you to my quarters at this hour?" He asked next, this time, a little more politely.

"Because," she paused for a moment, placing her hands on her hips, deciding on how best to proceed, before deciding on the direct approach. "There's no easy way to say this, but, I'm not your Lieutenant Hayley." She then tapped a comm badge twice and a flash of white light appeared and as the light from the sub space transporter faded, this Katana's Hayley appeared.

As the second Hayley shimmered into existence, M'rayr caught himself in disbelief. How could there be two Hayley's? And then, as his mind caught up with the rest of him, he started putting two and two together; the drastic change in personality, the disruptiveness, the more aggressive manner in which she performed her duties -- the Hayley that M'rayr had seen for the past several months hadn't been his to begin with. Setting his mug down on the table, M'rayr allowed his brow to furrow. Where had the other Hayley been all this time? A prisoner? A guest? "How are you, Lieutenant?" He asked tersely, his attention focused on the second Hayley.

Hayley smiled, happy to see a familiar face as she held back tears. "I'm good, sir."

The other Hayley sighed, trying to offer the best way to explain things. "During your recent shore leave, I learned that my duplicate had been kidnapped by bounty hunters who believed she was me. They were going to sell her to the Orion Black Market. During the rescue, she was mortally wounded and believed dead until she was on my ship. I took her place, because..." she paused for a moment. "Well, because I saw what I could have been had things been differently. But I know that her life could never be mine."

"You are right about that," M'rayr said, that edge to his voice returning. But he realized that he perhaps wasn't being entirely fair to Theta-Hayley. Given what he'd read of her record, maybe seeking a chance at redemption wasn't so unlikely. M'rayr caught himself, focusing his thoughts and words. When he spoke next, the tenseness in his voice was gone. "What will you do now, then?" He asked.

"Get off this damn ship for first things," she replied with a sigh. "I'm still wanted by Starfleet, so I can't stay but we may cross paths again, Captain Furball. Who knows what the future holds." She blew a kiss and winked at him before disappearing in a flash of blinding white light.

"It's good to see you again, sir," Hayley said with a slight grin.

Seeing one Hayley vanished, and now left behind with his Hayley, M'rayr heaved an inaudible sigh of relief. Knowing what he knew now made the last several months more understandable. "As it is, you, Lieutenant Collins." His eye registered a look of concern. Being almost killed, then presumably held captive for the last several months, she'd certainly been through a lot. She didn't look harmed, however. Still, a visit to Piccoletti wouldn't hurt, but that could wait. "How have you been holding up?" He asked, gesturing for her to take a seat on his couch. Reports and protocol could happen later.

Hayley sat down. "I'm well...chest finally stopped being sore a few weeks ago. I take it we're still staying in this screwed up universe, sir?"

M'rayr nodded. While most of the crew had come to regard this space-time as their new home, there were certainly a few that were still holding out for hope that a return to their own universe might be possible. "That is the case, it seems. At least for now. Although, now that you are no longer a captive on some rogue starship, you may have the opportunity to see this universe in a more positive light."

Hayley wanted to protest. She hadn't really been a captive. In fact she had rather enjoyed the crew of the Black Dagger, save for the Klingon, Torg--he was an asshole. But then weren't all Klingons assholes? "I hope so, sir. But you're telling me you had absolutely no idea she wasn't me?"

That question came with an embarrassing answer. M'rayr shrugged. "I knew something had changed. That Hayley was much more confrontational, aggressive. But I contributed it to emotional stress; we had come to the determination that we would not be leaving this space-time and returning to our own, after all." His excuse didn't sound any better aloud than it had when he'd been rolling it in his mind. "The odds of your... doppelganger, switching places with you, were rather remote."

"I would hope so," she paused for a moment. "I suppose I should get back to work." Although she wasn't from this universe, this ship had come to feel like home to her.

M'rayr nodded. "Your station on the bridge awaits you, Lieutenant. But first, I would like you to report to Doctor Piccoletti for a check up. We need to be sure that you are ok."

Hayley let out a slow sigh. "Alright. Anything else, sir?" she asked, standing.

M'rayr smiled; he was genuinely quite glad to have his Chief Navigational officer back where she belonged. Even though Katana did have some new hands on board, most of the originals had decided to stay rather than pursue other opportunities. With that thought in mind, he shook his head. "Nothing at this time. But it's good to have you back, Lieutenant. Hayley."

"Aye, sir," she then turned and exited M'rayr's Quarters.

Up until now, Jenni had thought the distance from Katana in the last few weeks was a good thing. She hadn't expected a reassignment, nor the circumstances that surrounded it. After all, Maica and Andy were gone. It didn't seem like Jhu was returning. Lieutenant Morgan had transferred away, and so did several others from the Katana.

And she was joining their number, leaving the Katana yet another position to fill.

As she navigated the Deck Eleven corridor, Jenni kept her head eye. She was ecstatic about her new assignment. Although, she was going to miss M'rayr, there was one other reason she was going to miss being around the Katana. Jenni had made her way to Engineering's large open doorway and immediately her eyes caught sight of the warp core. The former Operations Chief smiled, thinking of the first time she'd seen her Katana's warp drive five years ago, and then when she fell in love with its doppleganger from another universe.

Jenni smiled, feeling moisture at the bottom of her eyelids. Well, she thought, make that three things I'm going to miss.

"What's wrong?" Arivek asked with a smile as he walked up from behind Jenni, handing her two PADDs. "I need you to have the sensor suites rebooted in about an hour. We're running a test of the backup power systems."

Jenni could not see Arivek's face, and though she was uncertain he could she hers she smiled. Her first thought was to tell him what was going on, but she knew better when two PADDs were handed to her. She skimmed the data and asked, "Why not right now? It doesn't look like the pallets are dependent on the tests."

"When you reboot sensor suites, they spike the power load momentarily. I need to make sure the backup systems can handle that spike." Arivek snatched a cylindrical tool from a side table and began to wave it over the console he walked up to.

She watched him make his adjustments while still holding those PADDs. In many ways, she admired him, always remaining focused. Damn. Why did she have to do this now? Jenni looked down at the PADDs again, hoping to find an excuse to do this last favor for him.

Jenni found none. She even began to rack her brain, hoping she'd think of a soul in Operations she could refer him too, but that would be too cold. She stepped forward and set the PADDs beside the console. "What're you working on now?"

Arivek sighed as he slumped his shoulders. "Just final testing before this project is considered finished. The Katana is practically brand new..."

Jenni nodded. "Still looks like the same girl though," she said with a smile. "Your team did a good job with it."

"Thanks," Arivek said with a smile. "Well don't just stand there, come give me a hand." He picked up another oddly shaped instrument and tossed it to the woman. "Stabilize the magnetic coils while I invert the positive var channels and bring the network to full capacity."

Who was she to refuse? Jenni followed him over to the nearby console, opened one of the access panels for the magentic coils and began to wave her tool. Jenni also whipped out her tricorder to monitor her progress. "Ready," she told him.

A silence fell between the two officers as the sound of an electrical machine sparked to life. Arriver's face slowly melted into a smile. "Beautiful," he said, standing back from the console. "Thanks for your assistance. We make a great team, you and I."

Jenni stood and turned off the tool. She smiled weakly, knowing that there was no other way to avoid it now. "We did, didn't we?"

"I don't mean just now, silly. I mean all the time," Arivek said with a smile and playful role of his eyes. He nudged her with his elbow as he walked past. "So many people are leaving, it's starting to seem like we'll be the only ones left."

Jenni waited a moment before trying to follow Arivek. Her smile evaporated. This wasn't going to go well at all. She stepped forward, just another to tenderly place her hand on his shoulder. "Ari," Jenni said softly.

Before he could reply, he already knew what was coming. His smile faded quickly as his shoulders slumped in defeat. "You too?" he asked.

"It's not like that, Arivek." Jenni gently kept her hand on his shoulder as she walked around to face him.

"But you're leaving aren't you?"

Jenni nodded. There was so much she wanted to say, but none of it would ease the pain both of them felt in that moment. All she could do was place a smile on her face, hoping it would be just enough.

Arivek returned the smile, but only slightly. "Is it at least a good assignment?"

Her smile strengthened. "It is. Manticore-class. Fresh out of drydock too."

The man nodded. "A brand new ship is going to have a lot of bugs. I hope your Chief Engineer is a good one," he said.

"I hope I haven't gotten too rusty," Jenni said. She was indeed looking forward to tinkering with a warp core again.

A smile spread across his face, which surprised him given the situation. He knew his friend's first love was Engineering, having been this ship's Chief Engineer long before he had taken over. "That's a lucky crew to have you," he said, giving her arm a nudge with his elbow.

She nodded with a smile. "I'm glad you're staying with Katana. M'rayr... he'll need you." Looking back once more to the warp core, she added, "And so will Katana. Half of her innards isn't hers anymore, but as long as you can, keep her soul."

Arivek contorted his mouth in a silly thinking face, "She's still with us. Sometimes the body...changes. But it doesn't necessarily change the person." He was talking more about himself in this instance, but the metaphor worked in this case. "Just keep in touch, alright? From what I've seen, your long-range communications are much more sophisticated here than in our universe. We could probably be on the other side of the galaxy and still have a conference call."

"That I can do," Jenni said. "Just... stay within the galaxy. And I'll try and do the same." Before he could say anything else, she stepped forward and wrapped Arivek in a tight embrace. It didn't matter to her that she could feel the details of the projection. She knew Arivek was no hologram. He was a person, driven with emotions and desires just like anyone else. And, for a moment, to her he felt as warm as any Bolian/Trill hybrid should be.

For a moment, Arivek was taken off guard. This was the first time anyone had actually touched him like this since his body was taken from him. Most people avoided touching a piece of technology for fear of breaking it. But this wasn't a coworker inspecting technology, it was a friend expressing feelings. And at the moment, this was exactly what he needed. He wrapped his arms around her and held onto her, without a care for anyone in Engineering that could have been watching them. This was their moment and no one was going to take it from them. "I'll do my best," he said, finally.

Jenni closed her eyes, a feeble attempt to keep tears at bay. When she'd said goodbye to M'rayr earlier, she hadn't felt anything like this. Their parting had been mutually hesitant, but not emotional. Even when the others had left, she didn't feel like this either. But Arivek... Their friendship held a special place in her heart. Opening her eyes, she slowly let him go, and took a step back to look him in the eye. "This isn't goodbye, Arivek. I know we'll meet again."

He nodded without saying a word before a gently put his hand on her cheek. With a deep breath, he let his arm fall. "So...does this mean you aren't going to reboot the sensor suites in an hour?"

She gently shook her head. "The ship transporting me to my assignment is leaving soon. Believe me, I wish I could."

Arivek groaned, "I bet your replacement is going to suck, too."

"Don't be too quick on the draw there," Jenni said with a spontaneous chuckle. "I could be replaced with a rather dashing man."

A smile crossed his face. "It would be nice to have something pretty to look at. Not that you aren't pretty but...well, you know. You're prettier to other people than to me.

Jenni smiled in reply. She looked at his blue face for a moment more before turning to see the warp core for a final time. "Take good care of her," Jenni said, gaze still fixated on the reactor. "And M'rayr too."

"They'll both be here waiting for you. Just say the words."

She looked back to him, her face blank as her smile had faded while looking at the core. She wanted to smile. She wanted to cry. She hated saying goodbye. Somehow, she mustered enough energy for a final smile. Words would not escape her mouth, but she offered a thankful nod nonetheless.

He could feel it. There was a sadness that was eating at them both. A familiarity that was being lost to the void. They had become good friends and as usual, their job was tearing them apart. As it had for most of the Katana's tight-knit crew. This was the epitome of Starfleet's hack-job of their close team and how they dispersed it's talented members throughout their fleet. It wasn't fair, it was rough. But it was the job they all signed up for.

Without a word, Arivek leaned in and gave Jenni a kiss on the cheek. A small symbol of their friendship and it's lasting bond between them. This would never be lost.

He turned and walked farther into Engineering, disappearing amid the mass of machines and consoles. She needed time to dwell, time to think, time to compose herself. This wasn't goodbye for them, so the words would never be spoken. For now, they would continue on as if they would see each other tomorrow. But tomorrow may be longer than either expected.

Arivek Zhuri phased through the doors of Main Engineering with a groan. No matter how many times he had to do that on his way from the Bridge to here, he was not going to get used to it. The Computer not recognizing his Matrix was going to become an issue fast and become annoying even faster. His crew was scrambling around, running system tests and switching to backup power to the systems that were being affected the most. Normally, he would smile at their efficiency and their excellent work-ethic, but the current situation soured his mood.

"Ensign," he called out to the first person he saw who didn't look as busy as the rest. Most likely the young man was overwhelmed with what he was doing, but these were dire times and it was time for boys to become men. "Follow me," he said without looking to see if the young man was following him, or even if he had heard the man talking. He walked up to the Warp Core and stared down at the console.

James Barnes had only gotten on board a day ago and after recent event's he was confused beyond belief. "Yes Sir." he responded following Zhuri still slightly confused on what happened. "Uh, Sir what in the world just happened?" he asked in his thick Irish accent.

"Now is not the time for questions. I need you to run a full system diagnostic on the Warp Core," Arivek stated, crossing his arms in front of his body.

James walked over to the console and started running the diagnostic. "From what I see it seems only minor damage has occurred to the Warp Core, Commander."

Arivek leaned over and peered at the screen. "The antimatter is suspended and isn't flowing though..." He looked at the Ensign, "Have we met? What position do you hold?" he asked, feeling slightly embarrassed that he didn't know each and every member of his department as he should.

"Ensign James Barnes, Sir. I am the Damage Control Specialist." he said. looking Arivek "Just got assigned on this Bag of Bolts last Month. So how can we get the antimatter to start flowing back through sir?"

The hologram's forehead scrunched in disapproval at the man's lax respect for the Katana. This young man didn't know what this ship had been through and how she had protected her crew. This ship had already earned her respected yet continued to perform admirably. "I'm not sure that we can. If you haven't noticed, the laws of physics aren't exactly normal at the moment." Arivek passed his hand through the man's body to prove his point. "We've been transported to the edge of the universe. Unfortunately, physics don't mean much. This is only a small example of the issue's we'll be experiencing."

"O-oh..... please don't do that again sir. So we don't have Warp capability?" he said looking back at the console studying the read outs a bit more

"Among other things, I would guess no. If we tried to create a warp bubble, the best outcome would be that it doesn't form. Our worst outcome would be that it would annihilate the ship." Arivek walked away to one of the side consoles. "Pull up the Daily Master Systems Report here, please."

Follows Arivek and pulls up the Daily Master Systems Report on the console. "There you go sir."

"It looks like the system is trying to correct it's own issues. Which is great, but it can't actually resolve anything and it's going in a loop. We need to shut down the Core and switch us to emergency power." Arivek looked at the young man. "You've been officially reassigned from damage control. Congrats."

"Okay....?" confused on what he meant "What console would allow us to do that sir?"

"The one you're at should do just fine," Arivek said. "Close the report and open the Matter Flow Control panel." He watched as the man silently pulled up the screen he was directed too. "See the large interface on the right? That represents the Warp Core's power output. We need to slowly bring that down. But don't do it too fast. If the System is working properly, it should switch to emergency power on its own...but I'll be honest, I'm not counting on that."

James focused on the console as he slowly brought down the Warp Core output hoping it would switch to emergency power. "What if it doesn't switch to emergency power sir?" he asked.

"A very good question, Ensign." Arivek remained silent, hoping that he wouldn't need to explain the drawn-out process that this could become.

"A good question I wished could be answered...." James said watching the console intently hoping the emergency power boots up.

"Ok stop," Arivek said quickly, throwing his hand up to catch the young man's attention. "It should have kicked on by now. Looks like you're going to get your answer, Ensign." Arivek walked away and towards the rear of Engineering, phasing through the doors to a room that lay beyond.

James quickly followed Arivek sighing as he sees him phase through the door. "So we're gonna have to do it the hard way?" he wondered aloud.

"Unfortunately," Arivek stated after the man entered the room. "Grab one of the advanced Engineering kits, and an extra pneumonic servo." He stood there thinking, "A couple extra bioneural gelpaks may not be a bad idea either. Just in case. Oh! And a magnetic clamp wrench."

James grabbed all of these things rolling his eyes as Arivek keeps adding to the list of things he needs. "What are we gonna do with these sir?" he questioned.

"We're going to force the Emergency Power online, Ensign," Arivek stated, pointedly. "And I don't appreciate the tone, either. I understand this is stressful, but it's part of the job."

"Sorry sir." James said "Just not used to this kind of stress and unknowing, they don't teach us to be adaptive in the circumstances we are in right now, though I don't think anyone could have predicted the circumstances we are in right now."

"No one would guess half the situations we find ourselves in. But being adaptive is a necessity of the job. Space is a scary place and we are mere specs of dust in comparison to the rest of it. If you can't keep a level head and be cool under pressure, then you aren't going to survive very long."

"Aye sir." James said calmly, quietly wishing he had some of his mother's homemade pie to settle his nerves. "So let's turn on the emergency power shall we Commander?"

"A good idea," Arivek said with a nod. "Meet me on deck 4, just below the sensor array. Unfortunately, with my current status, I won't be able to reach it the same way you will. But I'll be there before you." Arivek turned and walked through the wall.

"Oh I can't wait for that to be fixed... cause it is scaring the crap out of me." James said as he quickly made his way down to deck 4 underneath the sensor array. "Of course first day on the job and stuff is already going down the drain...." he said.

[ON]

Captain M'rayr Eisovo had been on board the Federation Starship Katana for less than six hours by the time the itching began. At first, it was subtle; he'd assumed it was something to do with the way the environmental controls were running. Then, it became annoying, then incessant. Before he knew it, M'rayr felt as though his body was about to come alive with millions of tiny ants, so he did the only logical thing he could. He took a shower. And when that didn't work, he did the next logical thing that came to mind by going to sickbay.

The doors parted at his entrance, sealing themselves behind him. With most of the crew still either on Earth or Starbase 001, enjoying what was left of their extended shore leave, sickbay was expectedly empty save for one other soul. M'rayr sniffed the air and determined this man was not Stefano Piccoletti.

M'rayr cleared his throat to catch the young man's attention.

With a PaDD in hand, Austin was tapping on his fingers on the freestanding workstation. Though he wanted to be doing other things, inputting inventory had to be done. As the head nurse, that job feel to him. Sure, it was something he could delegate, but he wasn't willing to hand off such a mundane job. He was about halfway through when he heard a throat clearing. He looked up, slight surprise on his face, especially to see the captain standing before him. "Captain?" he put the PaDD down, "how can I help you?"

Without fully realizing it, M'rayr had begun scratching again at his arm. "I'm not quite sure. I have been dealing with an itching sensation for the better part of the last few hours," the Caitian looked up and around sickbay, wondering if there was something in the environmental controls causing this. Or maybe someone had brought a dog on board. "It has become... uncomfortable," M'rayr said next.

Austin nodded. "Why don't you have a seat on the biobed and we can see what's going on," he said as he picked up a medical tricorder, then flipped it open. "Are you allergic to anything? Done anything out of the ordinary over the past few days?"

M'rayr moved over to the biobed, although, for a moment, he hesitated on sitting down on it. Too many times in his past had his body been placed under close medical scrutiny, more often because of the injuries he sustained, particularly during the Dominion War. Still, whatever was irritating him had nothing to do with Jem'Hadar or Reman soldiers. He obliged. "I have been spending a considerable time on Earth. Past an acute allergic reaction to Terran dogs, I have no allergies."

"Alright, that's a start," Austin said as he began his preliminary scan. The first passive scan didn't show anything, then he removed the scanning wand to do a more indepth scan. Then the tricorder beeped, and both his eyebrows raised in surprise. "I'm sorry to say this, Captain," he raised his gaze from the readings of the tricorder, "but you have fleas. Specifically, Andorian mud fleas." He looked back down at the readings, pressed some buttons on the tricorder to get another reading. "You have pockets of eggs that are buried pretty deep," he absently scratched at his cheek. "The itching is about to get a whole lot worse in the next day, if we don't eradicate them."

Fleas? M'rayr thought with an alarm of embarrassment. For a Caitian to catch fleas of any sort, Andorian or otherwise, was typically due to a lack of effective hygiene. The Caitian felt himself grimace, wondering just how quickly news of this would spread throughout the ship if Austin elected not to use his best discretion. After swallowing what was left of his pride, M'rayr nodded. "Do what you need to do, Lieutenant."

Austin nodded. "First." He set the tricorder down then moved to a cart. He looked through the vials of medication that were there, picked up one that was pinkish in color and placed the vial into the hypospray. He held up the hypo, and said, "Something for the itching, this should alleviate that instantly." He adjusted the dose, then pressed the business end against the captain's neck, and triggered the device. The soft hiss let him know the medicine entered the Caitian's body. He moved back to the cart to set the hypo back down, then he picked up a PaDD to record what he did. "The fleas are going to be a bit difficult to eradicate," he said. "Andorian fleas are almost as stubborn as the Vulcan counterparts, we will have to take care of each area individually."

He moved back to the cart. "Make yourself comfortable, sir, this is going to take a while."

Wonderful... M'rayr thought, trying to keep his irritation as skin-deep as these fleas. At least the itching was subsiding now that Austin's fast acting drug was taking effect. "How many fleas are there?" He asked next, trying not to fixate on Austin's every move.

"Hundreds," Austin answered, "but the good thing is they are clumped together." He plugged the hypo with a different medicine, and picked up his tricorder again. "Treatment will be two fold, this medication will stop the eggs from hatching, the second part of the treatment will eradicate anything left over." He started the scan on the Caitian's right arm, found a pocket of fleas, and triggered the hypo. "You will have to come back in a week for another treatment, then it should be okay." He continued the scan, found another pocket of eggs, and pressed the hypo against it.

Resisting the urge to shudder, and at the very least, begin to scratch incessantly at the spots Austin was touching that hypospray to in the hope that he'd be able to dig the fleas out of his flesh, M'rayr remained still. He still couldn't think of where he would have picked them up at, though. "How long is the incubation period for Andorian mud fleas?" He asked; it would help him narrow the timeline in his head.

Austin shrugged as he located another spot and pressed the hypo to the area. "It depends, the incubation is typically only a couple of days in a colder environment like Andor. It's can be a bit longer in warm climates, anywhere from three to seven days." He located another spot, nearer the groin area, he hesitated, mouthed the word sorry, then pressed the hypo to the area and triggered the device.

M'rayr felt the cackles of his neck rise as Austin brought the device near his groin, feeling incredibly odd. Then again, the man was a medical professional. And it wasn't as though M'rayr hadn't gotten a checkup before. "That means either Belgium or France..." M'rayr murmured, thinking that the weather hadn't been too hot or cold on Earth. He realized he'd said it allowed. "Trying to retrace my steps," he confirmed.

"Earth?" Austin looked from his tricorder, surprise in his eyes. It had shocked him to even hear that, typically Andorian fleas didn't last long on Earth due to the climate being one that wasn't stable. "Did you stay at a hotel, or resort? DId you notice any Andorian's around?" He went back to his scanning, found another spot, injected the medicine. The vial was out, so he set down the tricorder, and swamped out the empty vial for a new one.

M'rayr thought on it. "France..." he finally admitted, recalling seeing a quartet of Andorians on some sort of honeymoon. Looking to the nurse, the Caitian risked a wry smile. No matter how embarrassed he was, he couldn't allow those insecurities to breach the surface of expression. "So, Lieutenant..." it took M'rayr a moment to recall Austin's name. "Cadwell, correct?" M'rayr waited for an affirmation. "Are you happy to be... back aboard?" While M'rayr had been working on it, thanks in no small part to Jenni's insistence, he'd been trying to be more sociable.

Austin made a mental note to ask more questions concerning where the captain had stayed in France. He nodded at the mention of his surname, then proceeded to answer the question. There were some that may have been offended that the captain of the vessel - a small vessel at that - they served on would know the names of the crew that served under him or her. However, Austin didn't offend so easily. "I am," he found another group of flea eggs, and triggered the hypo against it, "a lot of changes have happened over the past few months. I'm happy to be back."

"I am glad to hear you say that," M'rayr admitted. Knowing that, despite everything that has happened to this ship and its crew, that so many were looking forward to the days ahead. "A lot has changed," he said next, thinking about Jenni and how she was probably on her way to her new assignment by now. Without her at his side, he'd have to work to avoid closing up into his shell again. "For the better, of course."

At that, Austin couldn't help but smile as his thoughts turned briefly to Stefano. "Definitely for the better," he finally replied. He found one more pocket of flea eggs, on the side of the captain's knee joint, and repeated his actions with the hypo. He did one more sweeping scan, looked at the biosigns that were above the biobed, then closed up the tricorder. "Alright, first round of treatment done," he declared.

M'rayr didn't want for the words to leave Austin's mouth before he hopped off the biobed, grateful that it was over. But within each region of where the itching had been absolutely incessant, there was now an intense cooling sensation. Cracking his neck, M'rayr turned to Austin. "Thank you, Lieutenant. What will be the next step?"

"Another scan," Austin said, "more hypos." He picked up a PaDD to make a few notes in the captain's record. "However, if you experience an increase in itching, please come to sickbay immediately."

"I will do that," M'rayr said, placing his palms behind the small of his back. "Well, if there is nothing else..." he left the words there, giving the medical professional a final say on whether M'rayr could return to his duties.

Austin shook his head. "Nope, you are good to go, Captain." A small smile came to his lips, "I'll see you in a few days for your next treatment.'

“Q, where is this place?” Admiral Kathryn Janeway asked, the expression in her eyes a mix of awe and fury. The omnipotent being known as Q had teleported her here, even though she had absolutely no idea exactly where here was. What she did know was that she was inside some sort of cupola, one of incredible size and advanced technology.

The bookworm in her was telling her that this place was some sort of library. The layout certainly fit the description. Long rows of what she presumed were archives extended as far as the eye could see, flowing in soft curves reminiscent of how the seas on earth moved. Glowing with electric-blue florescence, her cursory examination of a few of these archives appeared to be planetary data. A swipe to the right across one such holo-projection, and she was viewing unintelligible data on no fewer than a dozen races she’d never seen before. She went to another waiting projection and repeated the process, reaching similar results.

More curious now than ever, the aged and seasoned Starfleet Admiral looked up to Q, who was smiling satisfactorily. He also happened to be wearing an older variant of Starfleet uniform, much like the ones she and her crew had worn on Voyager. “Is this my present?” She asked, using her powers of deduction to her advantage. “The end of the universe.” An idea struck her like fireworks. “This is some sort of, what, a time capsule? A repository of information on all known races to ever have lived?”

“Most of them,” With an arm, Q drew her gaze down the long row of archives. “Sadly, a few were left out of the history books. Either because they weren’t deemed worthy, or because there just wasn’t enough evidence to support them ever existing. Sadly, even at the end of this universe, mortal life never quite got the process just right.” He rested his head on his fists. “But no, this is not your present.”

“What is it, then?” Janeway asked.

“This is, oh, how shall I say?” Q paused, considering. “A way for you to pass the time.”

The suspicion in Janeway’s eyes returned. “For what, exactly? And what have you done with the Katana?”

An innocent looking face met her. “Oh, you’ll see. And that trivial little thing is still right where I left it. I must say, I’m rather disappointed in Starfleet’s evolution these past few years. I’m not sure if they’ve even figured out how to understand what they’re looking at. Voyager, under your command, would have come a lot farther by now. It looks to me like the last fifteen years has been more of a step backward then forward for your kind.”

“Don’t under estimate, Captain Eisovo, Q. Or his crew,” Janeway warned. “They’ve accomplished a lot more than you think.”

Q scoffed. “Oh, please. Falling through a misguided attempt at using primitive Borg technology does not meet the standards of an accomplishment,” he said, using quotation marks to emphasize the last word. He waved a hand off at nothing in particular. “That aboriginal feline and his band of merry embryonic beings are going to need me to spoon feed them everything they’ll need to have half a chance of making it through the next hour.

“Which reminds me,” Q said as though he’d suddenly recalled something. He turned to Janeway and smiled jovially. “Do enjoy the library, Kathryn. This place is the last bastion of life in this universe. All the collective knowledge of billions of eons are contained right here. Although there’s still no quite telling if even it will survive what’s to come. Big bangs are… well… quite big,” he laughed. “I’ll be back once the grand event is ready to begin. Read up. Frankly, I think most of the material around here is rather boring. But someone like you might enjoy it.”

With a flash, Q disappeared. Janeway had only one guess as to where he was going.

Q hadn’t expected to be quite as bored. It must have been a stark testament to the ineptitude of this particular generation of Starfleet Officers. The Enterprise had men like Picard, Riker, and Data; Deep Space Nine had its Siskos, even Kira Nerys. Voyager had one of Q’s favorite Captain’s, Kathryn Janeway – whom was presently occupying a small moon doing whatever it was earthly scientists like her enjoyed doing whenever near fascinating material.

Katana, unfortunately, had a giant cat as a commanding officer and Kathryn had already scolded Q once for turning M’rayr Eisovo into a Terran feline. Any other time, Q would dismiss Kathryn’s warning; but after all, today was her day, and he thought it appropriate to honor her request.
Flashing into the mess hall, Q expected to smell some of Neelix’s unusual cuisines but was dishearten to smell… nothing except for rematerialized matter serving as an excuse for actual food. While Q’s experiences with edibles was limited to a time when even he was mortal, the anticipation of smelling good food had never left him.

“Well, this is quite boring…” he said, observing a small gathering of mortals. Looking to a blonde, a woman he’d barely paid any attention on the bridge, he scowled. “I doubt any of you would know what fun was even if it were the size of a Borg cube ready to assimilate your quaint little vessel.”

Haley took the jab and sat back, crossing her arms. "Sorry, I'm not having sex with you. You might have better luck with a Tribble, however." A few other officers chuckled at the comment. "But if you want fun, how about you take us back to where we belong. Then I'll be happy-happy, joy-joy," she said, serious now.

Q scoffed, crossing his arms. "At least a Tribble would know what it's doing," he said teasingly. "And you really should be more grateful for being the first of your kind to have made it this far. After all, you are the first huddled mass of relatively intelligent beings to see one universe die before another begins. But instead, all you do is grumble, moan, and complain. You're like a sorry bunch of Tariliyan husks."

"And we're also in a very dangerous situation with no resources," she closed the distance between her and Q. "You're needlessly endangering the life of everyone aboard just for your amusement. You're like a bored two year old child. You don't care who gets hurt or dies as long as you get some entertainment out of it. Makes me wonder who is really more civilized."

“On the contrary, you’d be surprised to know just how much work I’ve put into keeping your primitive species, and those like it, on the map. I know of at least three Starfleet Captains, er, make that two Starfleet Captains and an Admiral, who would grudgingly testify to that fact,” Q retorted. “Now don’t go blaming the method of my madness, whimsical girl. But maybe if you stopped blaming me for all your woes, you might actually be able to do something half-way valuable with your time.”

"Oh, like what?" Hayley responded. "Want me to study something? Sorry, I'm not a think-tank brainiac. I'm a pilot."

Q made a smacking sound with his cheek, and shook his head disappointedly. “How pitiful you are,” he said, adjusting his gaze so that he was no longer looking at her, but loosely above her, as though in self-reflection. “You know? I’d considered bringing your ship back with me… just before the brink.” Turning back to her. “You lack imagination, thought, creativity, and most importantly… gusto. How you were ever invited into this so-called-Starfleet is beyond me. My, how low the standards have gone. A pilot?” He brought his fists up to his eyes and made a pouting noise. “At this rate, your best contribution to your species might come to being a local server girl at some beach.”

With a flick of his fingers, both he and Haley vanished. Hayley found herself, surprisingly enough on a beach, carrying a tray and a variety of glasses filled with interesting looking booze. She was no longer wearing her Starfleet uniform. Instead, she was adorned in a subtle, yet still somewhat revealing, outfit. A snap of his fingers later, Q, now dressed in an unbuttoned beach shirt and red shorts, laying on a reclined beach chair, motioned her over. “Come now, pilot. Navigate that Lime Margarita over here. I’m thirsty.”

Hayley looked around at her surroundings. She always loved the beach, but this? A waitress? She looked down at her clothes and frowned. She then made her way over to Q and stood over him. "I do have gusto, Q, but not when it endangers the Katana and it's crew." Hayley remembered how daring she was...then she had been kidnapped, and even died. A lesson which taught her to become more cautious. She often wondered if the incident had caused her to lose her edge. "Now, for your Lime Margarita." She picked the glass up off the tray and poured it on Q's head. "Send me back, now, Q."

Q, with a rather contemptuous glaze, stared at Katana’s navigational officer. “Alright. Fine. This isn't my sort of venue, anyways.” Again, he flicked his fingers. And in an instant, Hayley rematerialized on board the forlorn vessel… albeit, still in her bikini.

She looked down, seeing herself still dressed in the waitress bikini. "Sure, just send me back half naked," she complained with a shrug as she got her bearings and then began to make her way to her quarters.

Austin Cadwell sat at the bar of the The Core Breach officer's club, nursing a sour apple martini. He and Stefano had dinner plans, however the CMO of Katana had a last minute emergency to deal with. Austin had asked the details, but all he got from the other man was that he would explain later. Which was fine, that was what happened when one was a department head and a Starfleet Officer. Stefano assured him he wouldn't be long, so Austin decided to still head to the officer's club to have a drink before his partner arrived.

Kenzie was starving. Her meeting with the captain had taken longer than she expected and she spent the better part of her journey to officer's club debating about what she wanted to eat. She particularly liked one of earth's cuisines known as BBQ. In fact, that and a cold beer sounded delicious. That is what she would have. Walking into the club, she noticed it was decidedly empty. After getting her food, she opted to just sit at the bar a seat down from a man drinking some kind of green drink. She looked at it curiously and then, after thinking about it for a few seconds asked, "What type of drink is that?"

Austin had been startled out of his own thoughts. He looked to the voice, and was surprised to see someone sitting close to him. Had he been so lost in thought he didn't even realize? That was sightly unsettling. "A sour apple martini," he answered. "It's an Earth drink, an Earth drink that's been around for a few hundred years." He sipped his drink, savoring the mix of gin, vermouth, and the sourness of the apple flavoring.

"Sorry," Kenzie said. "I didn't mean to startle you but your drink was very intriguing. I haven't seen a drink quite so...green." Kenzie wasn't usually a fan of foods that were unnaturally colored. Unless something was originally green, she didn't want it to be green.

Chucking at that, Austin waved off the apology. "It is rather green, though that is part of it's appeal I think," he said. "There is a whole range of martini's that are various colors, it's appeasing to the eyes first. As the old Earth-saying goes, you eat with your eyes first." He then paused. "Well," he started, "not literally of course... er... anyway, I'm Austin." He extended a hand to the woman.

Kenzie smiled and shook his hand. "Kenzie," she said. "So are there any other unique drinks you would recommend?" she asked and grinned.

Austin nodded. "Literally thousands," he replied, "alcohol has been a very important part of Earth's history." Once the words left his mouth, he knew it sounded bad. "Which I know sounds bad, but it was something that could be traded and all that." He almost sighed at himself. "Anywaaay, point is, there is a lot of combinations. It just depends on what you like. There is sweet, bitter, sour, colorful, tangy..."

Kenzie grinned. "I like Earth history. Except I've mostly only learned about their music and movies. It is interesting to hear that alcohol played such a large role." She did genuinely find it interesting. "What is your favorite?" she asked. "The...."she gestured at his drink, "the green drinks?"

Austin nodded. "I like the sourness of it, kind of reminds me of biting into a green apple." He thought back to all the drinks he had over his lifetime, some were hardcore real alcohol, others had synthehol mixed in. He also thought about the hangovers he had nursed over the years. "Though, nothing beats a tall, chilled mug of beer." He decided to switch gears at the point. "So, movies? Another important art form in Earth's history. Without movies we wouldn't have ever had holographic programming... in my humble opinion that is." To him, as he thought back to that particular media form, one could say the evolution of motion picture led to the twenty-fourth century version. "Have you seen any movies? Any favorites? Any particular era?" The twentieth and twenty-first century had produced some of the best films in the history of the film industry.

"I have to admit, I have a guilty pleasure in watching some of the animated movies from the twentieth and twenty-first century." She grinned a little sheepishly, "They're just so fun!" She turned in her chair to face him a little more directly. "Do you also enjoy movies from that time period?" she asked. "Any favorites? I can never seem to settle on just one favorite."

Austin wasn't too much of a movie guy so much as he was a book guy. Though, hobbies and interests were a free for all in his life. "I do," he stated. "Mid-twentieth century tends to be my favorite era, though some of the silent films of Charlie Chaplin will always be some of my favorites. His movies paved the way for talking pictures, and despite being silent era films, were socially poignant." He rummaged his memory for some favorites. "I tended to like big epic films, like Cleopatra, or Ben Hur," he replied, "though there were some great classic movies such as White Christmas, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Gentleman Prefer Blondes." A smirk formed on his lips as he thought of the next one. "In the early 1980's, a director named Steven Spielberg came up with a character called Indiana Jones, there were four of five movies if memory serves... anyway, it's about this archaeologist who goes on dangerous finds. It's full of action, adventure, and humor. In fact, I think the hat, whip, and leather coat the actor wore in the movies is in the Smithsonian."

Kenzie raised her eyebrows. "The Indiana Jones one sounds very interesting," she said. "I will have to look it up once I am at my new assignment."

"I can certainly get you a copy from my own database," Austin said, "where are you assigned? I can forward it to you."

"I will be on the Katana starting officially in about a week," she replied.

Austin chuckled. "Are you kidding?" The chuckling revved up just a bit. It quickly died down, he shook his head, a smile forming. "I am on the Katana, I was the head nurse, but recently I just passed my exams to become a medical doctor, as well as my boards to practice."

Kenzie laughed before replying, "Congratulations. I'll look forward to working with you as it seems fate has thrown us together."

"Thank you, and I look forward to working with you as well," Austin replied. "Since we serve on the same starship, now you can come over and take a look at my movie database."

"Sounds like a plan," Kenzie said as she finished the last bit of her food. "It was nice to meet you. I suppose I'll see you again soon," she said with a grin.

[Armory]

"Six people," Daniel mumbled, taking a look at the faces that had assembled in the armory. He knew the ship had been flung out of spacedock without the full crew compliment, but still he'd hoped that more people had made it. "Here's our situation," Dee began, looking at their faces. "We're dealing with a Q. Probably the Q, but it doesn't matter. We're somewhere outside our space-time continuum. Physics are wonky. Hell, who knows if the phasers will actually work.

"Again, it doesn't matter. Internal sensors are out of alignment. Captain says we can't wait for repairs, so we need to search the ship deck by deck and make sure that everything is where it's supposed to, or to see if we have any surprises. Hamilton and sh'Ross, you'll search Decks 7 through 9. Kiska, you and Ja'nall get Decks 2 through 6. Cortez, you're with me. Questions?"

"Nope." Was the only response Leryssa gave.

"All right. Let's move."


[Deck 10, near Shuttlebay]

Marek and Khai were deciding which way to go to make contact with anyone around when the intruder alert sounded. "Oh perfect, now they will think we are boarders." Marek said throwing his arms in the air annoyed.

"Things--" Khai began but stopped when he got an angry glare from Marek. "What?"

"You were about to say things could be worse, you know I hate that saying." Marek said pointing momentarily at his lover which Khai planted a kiss on Marek's finger. "Oh I hate it when you do that too." Marek growled all heated but was reminded as the red hue and alert klaxons continued. "You know had a fantasy along these lines with you?"

Khai rolled his eyes at Marek then smiled. "What came next?"

"I'd be up against you and you against the wall with our hands above our heads on the wall." Marek was explaining and thought it best not to do that now. "We'd probably should be on a knees and hands on heads, Starfleet Security aren't to be taken lightly."

"Indeed." Khai assumed the surrender position and Marek did the same. They waited.

Elsewhere, Daniel had taken a unique approach to searching the ship with his Brazilian partner, electing to use the Jeffries tubes to drop down to the lower decks of the ship. After seeing the Chief Engineer phase through a console, he didn't trust technology, though one of his hands held a tricorder to take a close look at nearby sections. Just in their couple-minute long voyage, he'd already noted a handful of anomalies. Even if internal sensors came back online, he didn't know how he could trust them.

Petty Officer Selena Cortez, who'd volunteered to take point, was first to step off the ladder onto the Deck 10 landing platform. She immediately stepped out into the corridor, phaser rifle at the ready and tricorder scanning their close proximity. "Clear," she announced with her thick accent.

Dee was out of the access tunnel in less than two seconds. He didn't carry a phaser rifle, but he had replaced his hand phaser, thanks to the one that Q had wished away. He looked at the screen of his tricorder and indicated a direction in which to walk. They'd moved about twenty feet when two blips appeared on the tricorder's screen. "That can't be right," he muttered. "What do you see?"

Cortez lowered her rifle and checked her scans. "Two lifesigns in the next junction. Both... Romulan?"

The Lieutenant nodded, pulling the phaser out of his holster. "Maybe we'll get lucky and we'll find a pair of Vulcans." Still, he motioned for Cortez to again take point. With caution, both security officers approached the junction and turned down it. Neither one were completely prepared for what they were about to see: two uniformed Romulans who'd already assumed a position of surrender.

That didn't stop Cortez from raising her rifle and shouting, "Don't move!"

"Not moving." Marek called back.

Khai remained still.

"Stand up," Daniel ordered, gesturing likewise with his free hand. "This way," he motioned, nodding to Cortez to take up point yet again. "What are two Romulans doing on this ship anyway?"

Both Romulans stood and kept their hands on their heads as the followed Cortez. "I wish I knew." Marek replied. "And we mean no harm."

Khai followed behind his lover and occasionally glanced back at the senior officer.

"One does not simply appear on a Federation ship," Daniel pressed. "Especially, near the shuttlebay."

Well this was going nowhere fast, Marek mused then he remembered something. "If you want answers I'll only speak with your Captain." Ha take me to your leader, Marek thought amused again be some of Earth's early forms of entertainment on a display box.

"That will be easily arranged," Daniel commented as Cortez lead them into a turbolift bound for the brig.

They followed Cortez.


[Mess Hall]

Bennen and Vestara were seated at the table when the intruder alert sounded. "The ship's sensors must be slightly out of sync, how long was that?" Bennen asked with his lopsided smirk.

Ves gave him a 'really?' look, after a gulp of her drink. "Why don't you ask the computer?" She asked jokingly.

Before he could Security officers burst in.

"Hold it right there!" She looked around the room, and sighed in disappointment, "Oh, For the love of the Prophets!" She'd cursed pretty loudly. There were no intruders present, "Kiska to Ellis, There's nothing here to suggest that there may be intruders." She'd reported after tapping her combadge, "All I see here in the Mess Hall are just a few of our Starfleet people having conversations and eating food. If you ask me, That's not exactly threatening to the ship or us."

=/\= "At least one of us was lucky, Lieutenant," =/\= Daniel replied over the comm. =/\= "Send them to their duty stations or enlist them in searching the ship. I've found a couple stowaways that I'll be escorting to the brig." =/\=

"Understood." Came the response from Leryssa before the comm. channel was closed.

"Hello, we appear to not be where we should be." Vestara announced. "We are from Starbase 332."

"Or are we Starfleet?" Bennen asked in an ominous tone waving his fingers near his face.

Vestara glared at him. "Oh put a sock in it!"

"Make me!"

"I will when I find a pair of socks," then it came to her. "The replicator," she begins to stand but Bennen catches her arm.

"Sorry," he said.

Ves eyed him for a moment and then sat back down before looking back at the security officer. "What ship is this?"

Leryssa glanced at the two of them skeptically; Inwardly, She felt like she agreed with what the female officer known as Vestara, Had said to the male officer known only as Bennen. However, The Bajoran Lieutenant just sighed as she rubbed the ridges of her nose with the thumb and index finger of her left hand, "This ship, As you call it, Is named the USS Katana. And you two, Are not listed on the ship's crew roster. Perhaps you two'd better accompany me to the security office." She gestured towards the mess hall's exit, "If you'd please follow me?"

"Forgive our rudeness, I'm Chief Warrant Officer," Vestara began then had a bad feeling as she reached up and felt her rank, it was lower, ~Dammit Q,~ she thought. "Warrant Officer Vestara Stronghold and this is Ensign Bennen Khai." She proceeded to give her Starfleet ID number and Bennen did the same.

Though they'd still need to be processed and the brig was the best place to do it. "Of course," Vestara said and the two followed the Security lady.

Captain M’rayr Eisovo stood in the ready room, gazing past the glass pane and into a deep sea of nothingness. There was a mug of once-hot Raktajino in his paw, now turning luke warm as he pondered what would happen to him, this ship, and its crew. Somewhere out there, in that black abyss, was a singularity unlike any other. In fact, if Q was telling the truth and Katana was at the chronological end of the universe, that singularity was quite literally one of a kind. Massive. Powerful. Life giving… and deadly.

We need to find a way home, M’rayr thought, wondering if Q would perform some manifestation of Deus Ex Machina before any sort of new “big bang-like” event could rip Katana apart. Wondering was ok, but relying on his godlike abilities at a time like this could prove dangerous.

He’d given his senior staff an hour to answer four questions. First, what was the status and condition of Katana? Second, could sensors and warp power be somehow restored in a region of null space where the physics in which faster-than-light technology depended on no longer existed. Third, was there a way to return to their own space-time using only the resource available on this ship. Fourth and finally, where was Admiral Kathryn Janeway.

M’rayr would be lying if he said he’d feel a lot better about their odds if Janeway were still aboard. What she achieved while her ship and crew were stuck deep inside the Delta Quadrant was a massive undertaking and success; Janeway had experience, both with being lost in space, and with dealing with Q, that he could use. But Admiral Janeway’s whereabouts were presently unknown. It was likely, but not for certain, that she was somewhere nearby. After all, why would Q bring Katana to this time and place only to take Janeway somewhere else entirely.

A door hissed open behind him, announcing the first arrival to this briefing. M’rayr turned to see who it was.

"Luckily my current pair of hands is recognized by the Computer," Arivek stated, grumpily, as he walked in, followed closely by an Ensign in a gold-collared shirt. "Can we ever just stay in one place? Or are we doomed to constantly being swept to some other distant place?"

Kenzi followed Arivek and his Ensign in by a few steps. She looked distinctly disgruntled as she picked out an empty spot on the opposite side of the table as the captain.

James stood a little bit behind Arivek awkwardly waiting to get told to do something to get out of this uncomfortable situation, and having to listen in on business he really didn't need to know about.

Daniel arrived just a few seconds after the Executive Officer. He'd stepped out of the turbolift in time to see her backside disappear behind the briefing room door. As he entered the room, however, Daniel felt the most inadequate he'd ever been in his career. It was his duty to defend and protect this crew. How the hell was he supposed to do that and deal with a Q and without knowing where he was?

Still, he nodded to the Captain and the other occupants of the room as he took a seat at the table.

Shrol arrived behind Daniel from the Ops console he'd been working on after seeing the group walk in standing in the far corner of the room nodding to the captain after he entered crossing his arms leaning against the wall disgruntled at the situation and going through everything in his head.

Annette entered the briefing room a few minutes after Shrol and took the empty seat next to Commander Zhuri. Glancing around the room Annette realized she didn't know any of the senior staff and made a mental note to try and get to know the staff better as soon as the Q situation was resolved.

Hayley entered and sat down in her seat. She looked around at officers she knew as well as newcomers. She wasn't sure what to think on how to act. Normally she would have made a smart comment about the situation but something in her changed...no, died. She didn't feel the same. Dying and being forgotten by your ship wold do that to a person. "It's not their fault,' she thought to herself. 'They thought this universe's Hayley was her.' All she knew was that she didn't want to be by herself--she had had trouble sleeping lately.

Master Chief Sara Styles walked into the briefing room and quickly took the nearest empty seat she could find. She didn’t acknowledge anyone in the room. She was busy in thought about an important problem. Prior to arriving she had been in her quarters running a weapons check on her TR116 Rifle. Something strange was going on with the optics sensor. She wanted to track down the problem; so she brought the optics and was a running a diagnostic on a PADD. ”Why is the normal and subspace sensor on the optics running backwards,” She thought.

[tag - Ashley]

M'rayr set his mug down on the table, and without any sort of formal announcement that the briefing began, asked a question. "Where are we?" Whether he was speaking in relation to the status of Katana, or their placement at the supposed end of this universe, he left unclear. As much as he wished he could say he was simply being a difficult CO for the purpose of determining the proficiency of his crew, the fact of the matter was that he was just tired and frustrated. He left what was said to the best interpretation of his senior staff.

Shrol spoke up from his corner, "We've been in better condition but at the rate we're working at everything on the ship we should be pretty fine except for some of the things we don't have supplies for that we would need to find a Starbase for that we we're suppose to get before our.... untimely departure." Shrol sighed rubbing his head, "I'm not sure if we have enough to get back... anywhere to be exact we just need to hope that our friend Q will give us supplies on our voyage home... Sir."

"Aside from a few unexpected passengers," Dee added, "we're also understaffed. Internally, the ship is secure, but even as we've seen with Commander Zhuri, the laws of physics here are different. I have a few people testing our weapons now to see if their performance is altered in... well... wherever this is."

Arivek remained quiet for a few moments. He was not impressed with the new Chief of Operations. It was times like these that he missed Jenni. And then this other new officer, who he still hadn't met, thought it was appropriate to talk about him like he wasn't even there?

The hologram resisted the urge to roll his eyes and pushed the thoughts away. He was just stressed and was really missing his old crew. "Emergency power is...stable, for the moment. Though it requires constant supervision. My teams decided to take hour-long watches in groups of two. I think we should be ok on that front. The warp core itself is offline and I'm recommending it remain that way. Even if we did bring it back on, attempting to create a warp bubble without knowing how it will react with the surrounding space would be dangerous."

"As for physically 'where we are', I'm not sure we'll get that answer any time soon. The power routed to the sensor suites is minimal at best, and is only enough to keep internal sensors and hazard sensors working. We don't have any long-range capabilities." Arivek slid his arms behind his back and clasped them there, at an at-ease stance. "Other than my program, there are quite a few other systems that don't seem to work right. The sonic showers and replicators are two of the biggest personnel systems that aren't working. Transporters and forcefields are down for the count as well."

Hayley looked at M'rayr. "My best guess is that we're over 4 million light years from our previous location. But the navigational sensors are acting up so it's hard to guess even which direction to travel."

James chimed in "So we in a situation similar to the Voyager I guess? have to say best first starship ride I've ever heard off, Being stuck in god knows where."

M'rayr wasn't sure whether to sign or sneer at his junior engineer. "Q said we were at the end of the universe," he said, taking into account Hayley's extrapolation of their location. "The chronological end of the universe. That would seem to make sense considering there are no stars out there. But if that is the case, and we are at the eve of a new big bang event..." he looked to his staff. "Where is the point of origin for this big bang?"

Resisting the temptation to immediately reprimand the new engineer for his out of place and unhelpful remarks, Kenzie avoided cringing at having to give yet more, not so good news. 'Unfortunately, it is a 'best guess' at this point. Sensors haven't clearly indicated well, anything. There does seem to be large energy readings coming from light years away but I can't even say exactly how many."

Arivek looked at the woman, almost as if he could read her mind. He too wasn't happy with his junior officer's current conduct and would make sure to talk to him about it in the future. "We also can't confirm if that large energy reading is...read. It could be a blip in sensor logs. We just have no way of knowing," he stated, pacing around the room. He wasn't able to sit in his current state and standing still was just not an option either.

Chief Styles listened to the conversation while she ran the diagnostic. The PADD was showing the system check being ran on the rifles optics and its software. The standard TR116 Rifle had two optics settings using a standard sensor. The first setting was for normal operations. Pretty much aim and fire. As long as there wasn’t any obstruction blocking the round it would hit a target easily at 250 meters. The second setting was for long range. This was used with a special visor which would allow the wearer to see through solid objects. Combined with a micro-transporter and the shooter could hit a target though several decks of a ship.

The problem was any type of damping field would render the target optics pretty much useless. ”A great weapon made useless by shoddy parts,” Sara thought to herself.

Sara loved the rifle, but hated how it was built. So she decided to redesign the entire rifle. She had taken a standard TR116 Rifle, took every piece apart and used only the best parts in putting it back together. She had customized it for her, and her alone.

One of the changes she made was to remove the stock sensor from the optics, and replace with a small subspace sensor. This increased the range in both normal and long ranges. But she had to re-write the software as the subspace sensor as it could see through many objects. At long range with the micro-transporter this wasn't a problem. However, at close range without the micro-transporter; she had to be sure the round wouldn't hit an obstruction before hitting its target.

She had designed the software in a very simple, but ingenious way. To see though objects she used the standard subspace sensor with a few tweaks to increase its range. In normal view she simply inverted the software program to be able to see everything. It was simple and it worked. Just the way she liked it.

The diagnostic completed and Sara reviewed the findings. Hardware and software normal the readout on the PADD read. ”Why all of a sudden is normal view able to see through obstructions, but subspace cannot,” Sara thought. ”Unless!,” Sara’s thought as her eyes widened at the thought.

“Captain,” Sara said. “I think I have a theory on what is going on.”

M'rayr heaved an inaudible sigh. "What is it, Chief?"

Sara took a moment to compose herself and stood up with the PADD in her hand. She walked over near the monitor in the briefing room. She turned on the monitor and took the PADD and transferred the data to the monitor.

“This PADD is linked to the target optics assembly of my TR116 Rifle sitting on the briefing table,” Sara said turning back to face the Captain. “I was running a weapons check prior to the meeting and noticed something strange with the target optics,”

Continuing Sara turned and pointed to the first of two images on the monitor. “The first image is suppose to the normal optic setting. It should show all obstructions when aiming. If there are no obstructions in front of the target; then the round will hit its target, unless you are a bad shot,” Sara turned her head back to the group looking at Commander Simpson.

Turning her head back to the monitor and pointing to the second image Sara continued “The second image is the subspace sensor. This in concert with my micro-transporter will allow me to see through objects and hit a target at long range,” Sara explained.

Turning back to the group looking frustrated “The problem now is the normal view can now see through objects; while the subspace sensor cannot,” Sara stated. “So I decided to run a hardware and software diagnostic to check if our journey to the boonies could be the cause,” Sara said. “As you can see the diagnostic came back normal.”

Looking Captain M’rayr dead in the eyes Chief Sara Styles said, “Captain, based on the diagnostic of the target optics, and the fact we cannot use our sensors or go to warp; I believe the Katana is longer in normal space, but in subspace.”

Oh great.... this day keeps getting better and better... thought James as he stood behind the chief engineer, deciding to shut up after all the glares he had received for his previous comments

Annette had been listening closely to all the conversations going on in the room and she felt there was one major question was still hanging over their heads, where was Q while this whole situation was transpiring? From her research on Q, Annette knew that he loved to have a first row seat so he could watch all the chaos he was creating, so why wasn't he here now, annoying everyone? Annette thought about bringing this to the attention of the other senior officers, but she wasn't sure whether finding Q at this moment would benefit or hurt their situation.

With a flash, the omnipotent Q materialized himself laying on the briefing room table eating what looked to be chips. He did this quite noisily. “Well it’s about time one of your peons made some progress. I’ve been waiting,” he complained, waggling a finger towards M’rayr. “I don’t think I have ever been quite so jaded on the Enterprise.”

M’rayr stood up. “Then return Janeway to Katana and send us home, Q,” the Caitian grumbled.

A wry smile on his lips, Q waggled his hand again. “Not quite so fast, my furry little mon Capitan,” Q tilted his head. “Hmm… I dowonder what you’d look like bald," he looked as though he were about to flick his finger to find out, but then recalled a certain Admiral who might protest. "Anyways, while I’ll admit that you lot have had a rather slow start, I think there’s hope for you just yet," he bobbed his head towards Sara, "And thanks to the blonde, you now have something to go on.” Chuckling to himself. "Now that your eyes are open, maybe you'll find out that this little universe isn't quite as lonely as you might think it is."

”Peon and Blonde!” Sara said in an angry tone. She was seething at Q with a look would make a Klingon cry. “If you didn’t have those powers of yours I would break every bone in your miserable body,” she said

"Fortunately for me, it seems I do," Q retorted in a haphazard way. "Now, while I might admit that I might be tempted into wishful thinking that you and your crew can figure all of this out on your own, I’m bound to give you a clue. It only seems fair, after all. I mean, after I unjustly assumed Katana was halfway competent compared to some of my other favorites. Then again, I already gave you oneclue by telling you there’s something out here.” He sighed, then clapped his hands enthusiastically. “Call it a two-for-one special, courtesy of your benevolent host.” Q then bobbed his head, pointing to an area of the bulkhead just past where Shrol was sitting. “That way.”

"And how are we supposed to get there?" Arivek asked, still pacing around the room. He was intrigued by the Petty Officer's discovery. And now that he realized it, it all made sense. Subspace had weird affects on technology, and that included himself. "We can't go to warp and the impulse engines won't get us far before overloading. We're almost bound to thrusters only."

Hayley thought for a moment. She wanted to be sure, yet she believed she had a viable solution. Their weight and inertia remained the same in subspace as it did in normal space, so they only needed a push to get going and let inertia take over until another push was needed. "I believe I can take care of that. We can travel using the impulse engines to give us a push and again periodically, using thrusters to do course corrections, similiar to using a warp pulse. This would allow us to use the impulse engines longer and reduce the risk of them overloading."

Q rose his eyebrows towards Hayley. "I see some time on the beach did you some good after all."

Before there could be any further interruption, M'rayr stood up and put his paws firmly on the table. If he could strangle Q, or even better, convince him somehow to return Katana back to its rightful universe, he would have. Unfortunately, as action report after action report seemed to indicate, there was no true way of deterring a Q. You could only play the game. "Commander Zhuri, Lieutenant Collins, work out a solution. Lieutenant Shrol..." the Caitian turned to his Andorian Officer. "Find out exactly what is... that way. Any questions?" he looked around to his senior staff. Nobody spoke up.

"Dismissed."

Captain M’rayr Eisovo’s transit to the brig had been deathly quiet, even with his First Officer beside him. The fact of the matter was that there was still much to discuss regarding their situation, and yet he presently had no inclination to discuss anything. Instead, he was brooding. What should have been a relatively straightforward shakedown cruise, giving this crew a chance to learn to work together again, has become a nightmare. Not only was this crew untested, but it was facing the complete unknown.

Assuming that Q was even telling the truth, Katana had supposedly arrived at the chronological end of the universe. The universe, once comprised of millions of galaxies and an untold number of solar systems, planets, nebulae, moons, and various other anomalies, was converging back in on itself in preparation of a new ‘big bang’. While the opportunity to study such a phenomenon wouldn’t just alter scientific knowledge, but likely religious theology as well, M’rayr was not giving himself the chance to look at recent events in such a positive light.

He had three priorities. First, find Admiral Janeway. Second, find a way home. And third, find out exactly who the four other unanticipated visitors on board his ship were. Q was bad enough.

Marek stood at the forcefield. Khai was lying down on the not so comfortable bed with his hands on his stomach. "Back in a cell," he muttered.

"Only until we get this sorted, we do have our Starfleet security clearance codes." Marek commented without looking back though kept his voice low so the Chief of Security couldn't hear.

Khai laughed. "And they will think we forged them."

"Well things are going to get interesting then." Marek said with a little bit of concern in his tone.

In the other cell Vestara lying on the bed, waiting, she could hear Bennen pacing like a caged cat. "Quit it," she warned him.

"If you hadn't noticed we are in the Brig, we didn't do anything wrong." He complained and continued to pace.

"And we will be free once we talk to the Captain." Ves told him, "Now either sit down or I'll ask the nice Security Chief if he can make you." Not quite a threat she can guarantee but it sounded good.

"One of my previous hosts was in a jail cell for a while and never recovered from it, okay." Bennen said, for the first time opening up about himself.

This got Vestara's attention and she sat up looking concerned at him. "I'm sorry," she patted next to her. "Come sit down."

That made him stop and look at her. Bennen smirked as he was distracted by the possibilities in his head with her in them and was instantly beside her, though he had a few more flashbacks and reached out to take Vestara's hand, he was glad she let him and he just held her hand. He closed his eyes trying to banish the previous host's memories at least for now.

Once the turbolift came to a halt, M’rayr and Kenzie stepped out and made their way to the brig. The doors to the brig parted as they approached, revealing a pair of Romulans in one cell, and a pair of Starfleet Officers in the other. Lieutenant Daniel Ellis stood next to the security officer at the console controlling these cells. How much M’rayr would have liked to get his Chief of Security’s impressions before moving forward.

But no time.

Then he watched as the doors opened before a Caitian and a Trill entered wearing command uniforms. "Hey," Marek said and gestured for Khai to join him at the forcefield.

As Khai came up behind Marek the Caitian spoke up.

At the sound of the doors opening Vestara and Bennen stood and assumed an At-Attention stance as they could see it was the Captain and probably the First Officer. "Let me do the talking okay?" Vestara stared at Bennen daring him to challenge her.

He didn't and nodded, as he was still fighting the bad memories.

“Explain your presence on board this vessel,” M’rayr said plainly to the two parties, his tone low and devoid of pleasantry.

Daniel stood near the forcefield, a new phaser holstered on his belt. His arms remained crossed in front of him. He preferred encountering one crisis at a time. Being slung across the space-time continuum and dealing with random people plucked from elsewhere in the galaxy actually made him glad this was a very small ship. He looked towards the Romulans especially as the Captain demanded an explanation, wondering why of all people Q brought them aboard.

Kenzie sighed imperceptibly. When Starfleet had implied this ship needed looking after, they were correct. Katana was certainly living up to its reputation. She stood slightly behind and to the right of M'rayr, hands clasped behind her back, with a stony look on her face. FOUR, four people had randomly appeared on their ship. And she was anything but happy about it.

It was Marek who spoke first. "Captain I am erei'Arrain Marek Lovok and this is Uhlan Khaiel Rennoll, we are not part of an invasion force, there'd be more of us but that's besides the point. Actually that is part of the point." He corrected himself. "I believe you know who is responsible for our presence on your ship, he comes and goes by a flash of light?"

Vestara stopped and blinked. "They are like us, why would Q play with Romulans?" She whispered softly but gestured for no reply. "Thinking outloud," she said.

Kenzie raised her eyebrows; of course it had something to do with Q. "If we go from documented past experiences, Q doesn't much care what someone is," Kenzie said coldly. "Romulan or not."

M’rayr watched and listened to the exchange. There were too many unknowns, and he had no way of knowing if the impromptu Romulan presence on his ship was the result of Q’s erratic nature, or if there was a different purpose. Turning a glance to the two Starfleet officers who were occupying the opposite cell, the Caitian waited for them to at least identify themselves.

Vestara blinked when the Captain looked at her and Bennen. "Chief Warrant Officer Vestara Stronghold and this is Ensign Bennen Khai, we are from Starbase 332, I am their Boatswain and he's just a regular techie. Ops officer is believe."

Bennen nudged her slightly.

She nudged back. "We too had an encounter with Q sir."

"Obviously," M'rayr said, casting a sideways glance at his Chief of Security. "What is your assessment, Lieutenant Ellis?" He asked.

Dee sighed. Looking at the two Romulans and then the other two Starfleet officers, he said, "We should be cautious. Q always has a motive." Sighing again, he added, "But we are short handed. I don't have the resources to keep them here in the brig."

M’rayr nodded. “And placing them in an escape pod bound for the nearest habitable world is not an option, either.” He said, sighing. Looking to the Romulan Officers, the Caitian considered the fact that political, diplomatic, and even military affairs between the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Empire had thawed in recent years… particularly so in this universe. The odds of them having seditious purposes were, as he considered them, relatively small. And unless the Starfleet officers were anything but, their loyalty to the Captain of the Katana should be engrained.

“Given our present situation, we have need of proficient personnel. Might I ask what your qualifications are?” M'rayr asked of both parties.

"Personnel training and worked as quartermaster as well." Vestara said.

"Assigned as both operations and engineering officers during my time in Starfleet." Bennen announced.

"I handled Security Investigations in both my own people's Navy and on board Deleth station, a joint venture between our two empires." Marek stated.

"I am a regular security officer, though I served in various capacities within the department." Khai replied.

M’rayr was glad to hear the titles and positions come out. Even the Romulans might serve a purpose. The Caitian leaned in towards his First Officer. “Your impression, Commander?” Even with the crisis at hand, he needed to use what opportunities he had to test his new first officer. What sort of decisions Kenzie would make in situations like this would amount a great deal to how she’d respond in the hours, even days ahead.

Kenzie kept her face stoic. "Their training could certainly supplement our very meager crew," she said. "However, if we are to use them on crew I would recommend they be supervised as much as possible until we know some more about them."

It wasn't as though the had a whole lot of choice. M'rayr looked to Daniel. "Release them," he turned next to the four new impromptu members of his crew. It was a little easier for him to trust those who even before all this were members of Starfleet. He had certain concerns as to the Romulans. But like him, he was sure that all they wanted to do was to return to their own universe and go home. "I will notify my senior staff, who will be getting on contact with you shortly for your duty. Mr. Ellis, please escort our guests to quarters in the meantime." The Caitian glanced back to the four. "Any questions?"

Daniel adjusted the phaser on his waist as he awaited any such inquiries from the four arrivals. Once he knew they were ready, he was prepared to drop the forcefields and take them to cabins he knew were available on Deck 6.

Vestara shook her head, while Bennen answered. "None from me."

In the other cell Marek glanced at Khai and they gave each other a slight nod. "No Rio- I mean sir." Marek said almost reverting back to Rihannsu as the pair relaxed.

"No," Khai said plainly.

M'rayr nodded, still not feeling totally at ease with his decision. But right now, it wasn't as though they had a whole lot of choices.

Captain M’rayr Eisovo and Commander Kenzie Simpson made their way towards transporter room two, moving at a relatively leisurely place while they also examined and compared notes regarding the Katana’s refit. For the most part, the updates were promising. Main power was online, and level three diagnostics had yet to bring up any major concerns.

Kenzie lengthened her stride to keep up with M’rayr. She wasn’t exactly short, but M’rayr towered over her and, as such, she had to do a little bit of work to stay in stride. “According to Lieutenant Ch’ziqis, we should see very little discrepancy between the new technology put and any remnants of the technology from the original universe. It seems that the refit has gone exceedingly well,” she informed M’rayr. Kenzie herself was impressed by just how well everything had gone; she had expected some glitches given the…interesting….history of the Katana.

M’rayr nodded, a twist on the opposite corner of his lip forming. “Excellent. Surely, we can anticipate some problems to arise, considering the Katana was practically gutted during the refit. However, with its storied history and an experienced crew, I do not suspect anything major.” He moved onto another PaDD in his hands. “How are we doing in terms of personnel?” He asked.

“Nearly three quarters of the crew are back on board. The remaining are non-essential roles that will report a few days before departure,” replied Kenzie. “I believe that the majority of the crew who still need to report are returning crew members as well.”

“Mmhmm,” M’rayr replied simply. Kenzie’s report didn’t surprise him.

Out of his original command, few had elected to seek new assignment on other vessels. Most chose to remain on Katana, presumably because it was the only thing they had left to remind them of the home they left behind in 2388. Turning his one good eye to the Commander, M’rayr doubted that Kenzie would understand the feeling of isolation that his people were still going through.

Still, some had chosen to seek out a new life for themselves. And those people needed to be replaced. M’rayr had already met his new Chief of Security, Daniel Ellis, Chief of Operations, Shrol Ch’ziqis, and Chief Counselor, Ashley Hunter.

Now he was about to meet his new Chief of the Boat.

Turning a corner, M’rayr and Kenzie entered the transporter room. A Petty Officer was already present behind the console, awaiting their command to energize. “What do you know of Master Chief Petty Officer Sara Styles, Commander?” he asked.

Kenzie raised an eyebrow. They were getting a Styles onboard? “Not much that you probably don’t already know,” she answered truthfully. “Of course, I know the Styles’ history and she is obviously the first to be enlisted, but I have never met her personally, nor have I worked with her so I honestly can’t give you much insight,” she said.

M’rayr shrugged, then gestured to the Petty Officer. “That makes two of us, then.” He said, watching the area above the transport pad glow in electric-blue energy, shimmering and coalescing into a single form. The face he saw on the pad in front of him closely matched the photograph on her service jacket, down to the look in her eyes The fact of the matter was that he felt he knew more about her family than he did the Chief herself. Sara Styles seemed an enigma, a break in the long pattern of Styles. Enigmas were quite difficult to predict.

“I hate transporters,” Sara thought as the materialization effect was nearing completion. “I know their safe, but one tiny bit of my matter rematerialized out of place and……..Stop this now Sara. It is time to go to work,” She thought reprimanding herself.

The materialization effect ended and she was standing in a typical transporter room aboard an Intrepid Class Starship. A Petty Officer was operating the transporter controls. Sara’s first thought was to check and see if all of her made it, but the two officers in front of her commanded her attention. A male Caitian and Trill woman.

The Caitian drew her attention first. Captain M’rayr Eisovo from Cait. Sara had never been around many Cait’s in her career. She knew they lived in clans on Cait, but nothing more. She did read Captain M’rayr’s service record before coming aboard and knew he was a Veteran of the Dominion War. She glanced at his missing left eye. “A warriors scare,” Sara thought.

Standing next to M’rayr was the Trill woman. Commander Kenzie Simpson. “A scientist in a red command uniform,” Sara remembered from reading her service record. “Scientists are always thinking in ones and zeros,” she thought. “I bet the red uniform hasn’t changed her.”

Within seconds of those thoughts her training took over Sara dropped her duffle bag to her side, came to formal attention, and in an even voice said, “Master Chief Petty Officer Styles, requesting permission to come aboard Captain.”

“Permission granted, Master Chief.” Said M’rayr evenly.

Sara immediately opened the top of her duffle bag and took out two PADDS, closed the bag and slung it by the strap over her left shoulder. The bag wasn’t heavy. Sara had her duffle bag and a storage chest. Starfleet provided her with almost everything she needed; so why bog herself down with extras that she could just replicate aboard ship. Her bag contained a few personal effects. Her chest contained some of the tools she liked to use mementos, and personal weapons which she couldn't or wouldn't replicate. She would have the chest beamed from the Vesuvius to her quarters aboard the Katana.

The first of the two PADD'S contained her official Change of Station Orders to the U.S.S Katana. The second PADD contained her service and medical records. These records were already transmitted prior to Sara arriving aboard the Katana; however Sara was a stickler for protocol.

Sara descended the steps of the transporter bay; again dropped her duffle bag to her side, came to attention, and held out the two PADDS.

“Master Chief Petty Officer Styles, reporting as ordered,” Sara said as she presented the Captain with the two PADDS.

Kenzie observed Sara as she came stepped down from the transporter. It was very apparent that this Styles would be an absolute stickler for protocol. A stickler for protocol might be good for the Katana, she thought.

M'rayr nodded, taking the two PaDDs in his paws. He didn't consider reading them as he was relatively sure what their contents were. "Permission granted, Master Chief Styles. Welcome aboard the Katana." He gestured towards Kenzie. "This is my first officer, Commander Kenzie Simpson."

Kenzie stepped forward with her hand outstretched, "Welcome aboard, Master Chief," she said.

Sara was not prepared for this unexpected handshake. She couldn’t remember any officer wanting to shake her hand when first meeting. ”So Commander Scientist wants to shake my hand. Well I will make sure she remembers this handshake,” Sara thought as she extended her hand ready to apply a forceful grip. She turned her head slightly and looked at Commander Simpson using the same stare she uses on crewmen and junior Officers. “Commander,” Sara said coolly.

Kenzie kept her face blank but, inwardly, she bristled. This woman had an obvious chip on her shoulder. But still, Kenzie shook Sarah's hand and then stepped aside to allow the captain to finish whatever business he had with Sarah.

M'rayr cleared his throat. Coming up from the enlisted ranks himself at one point in his career with the Caitian Sky Navy, he recognized the senior non-commissioned officer mentality emanating from the Master Chief. Gesturing towards the door behind them, he decided that it was best to get introductions out of the way. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but I'm afraid we will need to push straight on to business," he said, moving the trio towards the door. "Katana is set to depart within the week. While the refit process is nearly complete, there are still... matters that need to be tended to. Katana has not had a Chief of Boat assigned to her in many years. I will be looking forward to seeing how you perform as a member of this crew."

With some encouragement from Stefano, Austin had decided to make an appointment with Captain Eisovo concerning an issue that had been bothering him a bit lately. No, not bothering... that was too strong of a statement. No, it was more of a niggle in the back of his head. Over the past few months, live had changed for him. The Katana finding itself in the predicament it had, had forced him to reevaluate his career. Sure, he was already a head nurse, and an experienced officer. He loved his work, but lately he had been feeling how light the pips on his collar had felt.

He had always been a confident man, ambitious, but only ambitious to do his best. His job was to help, to heal, to protect those who needed it. He would die for the uniform, hell he would die if it meant protecting someone. The rank never matter. and yet he had no idea why it was now. That was why he wanted to talk with the captain. He had been in Starfleet for nearly fifteen years, had enough commendations to fill a small cargo bay, but yet he was just a lieutenant junior grade. So, he needed to have this talk, see if there was an issue or something that he needed to do.

So, he stood at the door to the ready room, pressed the chime, and awaited entrance.

Captain M'rayr Eisovo glanced up from another PaDD, another report on the Katana’s progress towards readiness. With Admiral Janeway’s upcoming visit tomorrow, most of the crew were putting on the final touches for her inspection. Thankfully, most everything was in working order and, as long as nothing went by the wayside, Katana should be ready to depart on time. Unfortunately, filling Katana's ranks was still a matter in progress. He still needed a Chief Science Officer, and now, a Chief of Medical.

“Enter,” the Katana’s Captain said as he set the PaDD down, interlacing his paws, prepared to greet his visitor.

The doors parted with a soft hiss, and Austin stepped fully into the large ready room. For such a small vessel, he had been surprised at how big the ready room actually was. The doors slid shut behind him; and he clasped his hands behind him. "Thank you for taking the time to see me Captain."

"Mr. Cadwell," M'rayr said with a nod, gesturing for the man to take a seat at his desk. Interlacing his paws, the Caitian took a moment to study Austin. Despite the fact that he was thirty-five years old, Austin looked quite young. But he was also tall, coming almost up to M'rayr himself if the two were to ever stand side by side. What concerned M'rayr most was the Lieutenant JG pips on Cadwell's collar. After fifteen years of service within the fleet, he could have progressed much further had he demonstrated the gumption to. "Not a problem, Lieutenant. What did you wish to discuss?"

"A couple of things actually," Austin replied once he settled. "First, my rank, and the second thing concerns what I've been doing the past year or so."

M'rayr wasn't sure whether to smile or frown. Austin was coming right out with it. He kept his expression stone neutral. Gesticulating with his wrist, he motioned for Austin to elaborate. "I am listening," said the Caitian, keeping his one good eye, and focus, on the Lieutenant.

"I need to know why I am still a junior grade lieutenant," Austin stated plainly. His tone was level, there wasn't any bitterness in his words, because no matter what, it was about nursing and not the rank. Well... was about the nursing. Now things had changed drastically over the past three months. "Now, don't get me wrong, my job was never about rank. I became a nurse to help others, rank is arbitrary to most medical professionals, but at some point I want to advance my career." He blew out a breath at that. "Which brings me to my next point; through a program at Starfleet Medical, over the past year I have been prepping to become a medical doctor. Last week, I just passed all my exams and board certifications, and was issued my medical doctorate degree."

At Austin's second point, M'rayr found his initial response rather mute. He hadn't been aware of Austin's schooling, nor had Starfleet Medical been inclined to apprise him. The revelation gave M’rayr some maneuvering room. “Some congratulations would be in order, it seems, then,” he said. “Particularly as I was just about to mention the fact that your lack of… progression… could be due to the fact that you appear to have grown content in your present capacity. Your next logical step would be, what, to find a ACMO position on an available starship, correct?”

Austin wasn't sure if 'growing content' was the actual answer to his rank issue. He was a hard worker, went above and beyond, he had a feeling it had more to do with the CMO he previously served under. He didn't voice that though, at least not yet. Instead he nodded to the question. "The medical degree, plus my experience does qualify me for an ACMO position. However, I would like to just continue on Katana as a doctor if possible." He didn't go into detail as to why, though eventually he and Stefano would need to be more public about their relationship to the command staff.

“Don’t you think you might be limiting yourself further by staying on board the Katana?” M’rayr asked. He picked up a PaDD and flipped it on. It didn’t show Austin’s file, but M’rayr pretended that it did. “There are several Starfleet vessels in need of a good ACMO. As a commissioned doctor here, as just a doctor, you might make Lieutenant. Once there, however, you’ll stop progressing once again.” The Caitian sent his eye up to Austin. “Starfleet might need doctors and nurses, but they also need leaders.” Deactivating the PaDD, M’rayr set it back down on the table. “And aside from your commitment to your profession, you have yet to demonstrate that quality – on board the Forester, or the Katana. You…” he wrestled for the words. “… settle, for where you are. Good friends, perhaps someone to consider a mate.” M’rayr let his words drift. “If you desire to advance, you need to progress. Challenge yourself.”

Austin's jaw tightened at that. He had wondered if the Captain was trying to push every button to get a response. A head nurse was as high as any nurse could go on a starship. You didn't need advance degrees to be one, you just had to be good at your job. It took leadership skills to run a nursing staff, and the techs that worked below the nurses. The head nurse was the CMO's right hand man after all. "Fair point," he said. "Though, if I really wanted to challenge myself, I could just look for a CMO positions."

M'rayr nodded, seeming content at Austin’s response. “Now you are just being ambitious.” He paused, grabbing another PaDD from the large stack and sliding it across the desk towards Austin. “But there is an… opportunity, for you on board the Katana.” The Caitian paused. He’d only just been made aware of Stefano’s resignation; it was entirely possible, likely even, that his former Chief of Medical hadn’t gotten around to informing Austin. “Lieutenant Piccoletti resigned unfortunately. He is transferring to a new assignment. Were you aware?”

At hearing those words, he flinched as if someone took a bag of bricks and swung at his head. He felt his knees go weak, but he kept his composure. "I... I um..." he shook his head. "I didn't know," he said softly. He had no idea Stefano was thinking of transferring, the two never talked about it, unless there were signs and he just didn't realize. If he would have known, he would have tried to transfer too. Though, why transfer at all? He took in a breath and blew it out slowly. This meeting took a sharp turn, a sharp turn he wasn't' prepared for.

M'rayr gazed at Austin with extra scrutiny. He'd already been through two Chief of Medicals in the last few months. If he was going to offer Austin what he was considering, he needed to be sure that the human would be up to the task. "I see." The Caitian answered simply, studying Austin all the closer.

Austin looked directly at the captain, and could see that he was being looked at in return. He cleared his throat, and composed himself, despite all the flurry of emotions he was feeling. "What is the opportunity?" he asked in a flat tone. If Stefano didn't care enough to even discuss his departure before hand, then he wasn't going to care.

M'rayr gestured with his paw. "With Piccoletti's departure, I and Commander Simpson have been searching for someone to take his place. While I believed that this would require a requisition order through Starfleet Command, your… recent professional achievement… is an unexpected prospect. Given everything that this ship has been through, I would prefer to find someone who knows this ship and its crew.” The Caitian cleared his throat. “That being said, I need to be convinced that the best person for Katana is you.”

Was this a job interview? In a way, this irked him. Either promote me or not, don't play games with me! Shock gave way to sadness, which now was giving way to anger. He didn't want to be toyed with, or have to fight for anything. He had been a nurse for nearly 15 years, he had been done with the ambition game a long time ago. "As you've already pointed out, Captain, I know the ship and crew. People are comfortable with me, and well... I don't plan to go anywhere. I like it here, and I like the people I serve with." He took in a breath then let it out slowly. "And now... now that Stefano is gone, this is all I have. This is my home, and I want to stay here." The words slipped out before he even realized it, but despite them slipping out, they were true.

There was a long pause that would have become awkward if not for the mood that existed between M'rayr and Austin. Drumming the nails of his paw against the desk, M'rayr became faintly aware of the impressions he'd started to leave behind since he regularly tapped at the same general area. The Caitian felt uncertain, as though a part of him suspected that the human's loyalties were still in flux. Still, M'rayr had also desired to keep the Katana family together. Already he had a new First Officer, Chief of Ops, Chief of Security, and Chief Counselor. He didn't necessarily want to have to start over with a new Chief of Medical as well.

Rotating his wrist and expanding his fingers so that he could practically be holding a dish, M'rayr cleared his throat. "Very well, then. I will make it official in my report first thing in the morning, Lieutenant." M'rayr stated. Withdrawing a box he replicated in case what could happen did in fact happen, M'rayr set it on the table, and, with his paw, slid it towards Austin.

For a moment, Austin just stared at the box. He knew what it contained; part of him felt like he was only getting all of this by circumstance. But, a bigger part of him felt that he earned it. He had worked hard, and was dedicated. If that meant he was being complacent, so be it. He reached for the box and took a hold of it. Out of habit, he opened the small lid, and there before him was the one, lone full rank pip. The pip that would finally boost him in the ranks. He looked up at his CO. "Thank you, sir," he said, "you have my word that you will never get less then my best as your CMO." The words weren't hollow, yet he felt hollow. He had a lot to work through now.

M'rayr nodded. He was glad to see some resolve coming through, although he knew that Austin had some ways to go to prove everything he just said. "See that you do, Mr. Cadwell."

Austin nodded. He would give his best, he did as a nurse, and as a head nurse; that wouldn't change now that he was a medical doctor and CMO. The meeting hadn't gone as planned in that he hadn't planned to become the CMO. He hadn't planned on Stefano leaving. A lot was happening at once, but he was glad to have a new position and job to focus on. He had shown a moment of weakness in front of the captain, and that wasn't something Austin typically did. "With your permission sir, I'd like to get started."

"You are dismissed," M'rayr said, then adding a little added emphasis to, "Lieutenant."

Arivek paced the second floor of Main Engineering, rolling over the recent occurrences in his head. The area of space they were in, if you could even call it space, was operating under a different set of Physics Laws which was causing mayhem all over the place. The most frustrating was the lack of holographic interface with the Computer.

So far, the only thing he could do was stand firm on the floor, a feat that even surprised Arivek. Though he supposed perhaps it was the lack of gravity's pull that didn't cause him to fall through the floor. Everything else was a different story. He couldn't touch anything, he couldn't talk to the Computer. He could even deactivate himself. His program was continuously running and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

He stepped onto the elevator platform that took him back down to the first floor and looked up at the Warp Core, which sat dead and lifeless. Much how he was feeling right now. He sighed, which was about the only thing he could do. The magnetic constrictors needed to be recalibrated every hour to stop them from locking up, but he couldn't do it himself. He had to wait for a damage repair team to come back to Engineering and have one of them do it.

Despite the endless possibilities that the Continuum afforded its omnipotent-like members, an ability to journey through space and time, influence meager and developing races like the humans, and literally do anything they wanted, Q, the staple of Starfleet’s weariness of all things Q, was bored. The end of the universe possessed so very few distractions, and while he’d hoped that Katana would provide at least a quaint diversion, he’d been sorely disappointed.

Flashing into Main Engineering, where he thought back to the time his son had turned Voyager’s warp core into a disco light, Q found only one soul – if it could be called a soul – occupying a console. “Bored as I am?” He asked rhetorically as he overlooked a support beam, “Now, I’ve met Bolians, and I’ve met Trills, I’ve even met a few sentient holograms in my time. But I’ve never seen such a conglomeration of the three.” With a snap of Q’s fingers, Q changed not just the field of his uniform, but the color of his skin so that it closely matched Arivek’s. With a pause, Q shook his head, reverting back to his old self with another snap. “Not quite as exciting as I thought.”

Arivek glanced at the man, barely registering his presence in the room. "I'm not bored with it," he said in a somewhat monotone voice, his head turning back to the warp core. The last thing he wanted was to engage the man, and he was hoping that if he ignored him, he'd just go away.

Q snuck in closer, putting his wrist to his chin in a devious sort of way. "Still, it does have its limitations, doesn't it? Can't go off-ship, can't touch anything, can't enjoy the warmth of a charming woman... or man," he winked slyly. "What if I did a philanthropistic thing and put you back to the way you are. All the parts and pieces you’ve lost, returned.” And without waiting, Q flicked his fingers again.

With a shiver, Arivek looked down at himself. He looked exactly the same, but he could feel the change within him. He felt the same, and yet...so different. He turned to look at the Q in disbelief, unsure of what to say. "But..." he stopped, his words not really forming well in his head. He immediately began to touch his body in various places, his fingers grazing his bright blue skin as a smile crept over his face. "It's really me," he said quietly, almost to himself.

Looking a little spoiled with himself, Q leaned against the bulkhead. "For now," he said, adding additional emphasis to that last word. Waggling a finger towards Katana's Chief Engineer, the omnipotent being said something else, "And only because the look on your face happens to amuse me."

Ari's head snapped to the other man's general direction, his eyes filled with confusion and hurt, "Excuse me? You..." He touched himself again. "You can't just do this and then take it away."

Q chuckled. "Oh why you petty little being. Of course I can." He raised his fingers as if to snap them again, but held, a cruel look of mischief on his face. Canting his head to the side, Q almost looked as though he were beginning to enjoy himself. "What Q giveth, he can also taketh away, poor creature. That is, unless you make it worth my while."

"I will not be coerced into anything," Arivek stated, starting to become angry with the being in front of him. He took a step forward towards the man. "Stop toying with me."

Floating back into the air and assuming a sideways laying stance, Q tried to look innocent. "What if I told you it was something small -- simple? Something so insignificant that no being in this universe would ever notice what you did?"

Arivek stood there. Honestly, this was what he wanted. This was what he was missing from his life. And if this being could give him that, would it be worth it? The internal battle waged within him. "What is it?" he finally asked, still unsure as to whether he would do it or not.

"Just shut power off to the anti-matter flow regulator." Q said, bobbing his head towards a nearby console.

"Why?" was Arivek's immediate question. Such an odd request.

Q's brows furrowed as he crossed his arm. "Are you sure you're an engineer?" He asked, feigning suspicion in his tone. Reaching over, he tapped Arivek on the side of the head. "Or maybe all that blood going to your brain has managed to squash out complex thought. Should I draw for you on a piece of paper?" He asked, magically producing a paper and a few brightly colored crayons.

"Don't be daft. Q. I know what shutting them off would do." Arivek's annoyance level was rising rapidly. "But why would you ask me to do that? What is your end goal?"

Q shrugged. "You're about to see one giant explosion once this universe gives birth to itself. Doesn't any good firework show deserve a fitting preamble?" Q looked off as though he were distracted, then turned his attention back to Arivek. "Oh, don't worry... I'll put everything back in one piece after you do. I'm not that heartless. But the question for you is whether or not you're willing to take that risk so you can keep enjoying that new body of yours."

The blue man stood there, clearly conflicted internally. What this being was asking him to do is put his own selfish desires above the wellbeing of the rest of the crew. And yet, he was all-powerful. He would keep everyone safe. So in the end, would they actually be in danger? Arivek's hand went to his combadge and began to idly fiddle with the points at the bottom of the device. He took an oath to Starfleet, and nothing could come before that. Before his ship. Before his crew, his friends. "No," he said with a disappointed sigh. He wanted it. He wanted it more than anything. But he couldn't do it.

"How predictable you tiny little beings are," Q replied with a tone of exacerbation. He flopped his hands in the air as he resumed his rant. "This is no different than from when you took the training wheels off your bicycles and your dear old daddy let go of the seat behind you. Even if you fell, daddy is always there to pick you back up," he said, extending his arms out for a hug from Arivek.

Without realizing it, Arivek had took the step forward and embraced the man standing in front of him. As he clutched to the red Starfleet uniform he was wearing, Arivek began to sob into his shoulder.

For the first time since he'd arrived at this forsaken vessel, Q found himself genuinely surprised. He sighed wryly. A 'hug' hadn't been quite what he'd expected. Undoubtedly, he'd under estimated exactly how frail this ship was. I wonder what Jean Luc Picard is up to these days? the Omni-potent being thought. "Oh, how you mortals like to play with my sympathy strings..." he said, "Alright, fine. Fine. I'll let you stay humanoid... if that's what you want. Just... stop... crying. Tears are bad for my skin."

Arivek took a step back, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He looked down at his hand, at the droplets of moisture that glistened against his cerulean skin and he began to smile again. "I never thought I'd be real again."

Q made a dramatic movement of his hand seem very half-hearted. "Poof. Your wish is granted."