Lieutenant JG Ranav Brott had something on his mind. He had found out that one of his Science officers, a civilian attempting to regain her commission in Star Fleet, had been used by Section 31 during the war. He perked up at thos news; it fed into his hatred of the Cardassian race.

He hurried to Shae and her daughter's quarters. Hopefully, he would find Shae at home. He needed to seek this information. He still didn't know what he would do if he were to come face-to-face with a Cardassian. It was best to discuss this with the expert.

Standing before her door, Brott straightened his uniform. Making up his mind to continue on, he firmly pressed the chime.

"Just a minute!" Shae called out from the bedroom as she finished dressing herself and her little one. She had just gotten out of a shower and she hadn't even had a chance to run a comb through her hair or fur yet, but she didn't want to leave them waiting for too long. At least she was decent. "Okay, come on in!" she called out as she fought with a squealing and giggling Aoife to get socks on her tiny feet.

The door before him opened with a swish. Ranav entered into the living quarters. He did not see anyone inside, but thought he had heard a giggle coming from the bedroom. His face flushed a deeper blue.

"Hello?" Lieutenant Brott spoke in a louder tone than normal. "I hope I'm not interrupting!"

"No no, you're fine," Shae called from the bedroom. Aoife made a valiant attempt to get away by rolling over, but she hadn't quite mastered crawling yet so she didn't get very far. It actually put her little feet in the perfect position for Shae to finally slip on the socks. "You little imp!" Shae laughed at Aoife's continued attempts to get away. She looked out to see Lieutenant Brott standing there blushing. "I know she's screaming like the universe is ending, but I promise you she just doesn't like socks," she assured him with a grin as she started to brush Aoife's little tail. "What can I do for you?"

The Bolian walked to the two and looked down at the little one. He reached with his blue fingers and tickled the kit. In that voice everyone uses with babies, Ranav playfully said, "There's the little cutie... How are you today?"

He laughed then caught himself as he remembered Shae was still a little shy, being newly found. He backed off and apologized, "I'm sorry, I just happen to love children. How are things common along, Miss Brennan?"

He began to wring his hands a little. He still hadn't fully decided to ask the question he intended.

"Stressful," Shae admitted, sitting on the bed to better deal with Aoife's wriggling. "I saw the Counselor, talk to the First Officer about some confidential stuff, so overall I did a lot of talking about stuff I really didn't want to talk about, so..." Shae sighed and smiled, trying to brush off the events of the day. "Somehow I get the feeling you didn't come here simply to ask me how I was doing."

"It shows that much, huh?" Ranav asked. "Actually, I've come to make an inquiry. I hope I'm not treading on fragile ground, here. The last thing I want is to put a barrier up in a newly developed relationship. But there is something you may be able to answer for me. I heard that you were once used by Section 31 during the war against the Cardassians."

"Against the Cardassians? No, but I have had dealings with them," Shae answered. Her past was uncomfortable territory, but this actually wasn't all that bad. "Please, take a seat and I'll wet some tea," she said, finding Aoife's little stuffed rabbit and giving it to her. Aoife pretty much ignored the bunny in favor of sticking a foot in her mouth, growling as she attacked the dreaded sock in an attempt to get it off her foot. Shae ruffled Aoife's hair and let her chew on the sock while she rose to go to the replicator, keeping a keen eye on Aoife on the bed as she did so.

"So, tell me what it is that you would like to know," Shae said as she set tea on the small table.

Ranav took a tea and gulped some down, still attempting to pick up the courage to pursue his inquiry. Finally, he sighed as he bowed his head.

"I wish to probe those dealings you've had with the Cardassians. Have you ever fought any?" Brott asked. "If so, what are their weaknesses?"

"Well, I'm not a strategist, you'd probably be better off asking someone with some tactical experience, maybe someone in Security," Shae replied as she retrieved Aoife from the bed and then joined Brott at the table. "But I have gone head to head with a few Cardassians during my field work. I suppose they're much like any other race in the galaxy; each individual has their own strengths and weaknesses, but in general they tend to be very arrogant. They are adept at espionage and torture tactics, but the few I have gone up against have been lacking in hand to hand combat skills compared to other races I have dealt with."

Ranav took a sip of the tea that Shae had served. Anyone could tell that the scientist was absorbing any and all information that Shae could relay to him. His ears were open, eyes taking in, brain cranking away. This subject was of personal importance to the Bolian.

"So, it would be best if I'd learn a form of hand-to-hand combat, if I were to be successful with in a scuffle with one?" Brott asked.

"I said their hand to hand skill are lacking compared to other races, but their skills are still far beyond anything you could learn in a short amount of time," Shae corrected Brott. The tension in his voice and the nervous body language was telling her that there was something deeper going on here than worrying about scuffles. "Besides, going into the expanse we aren't likely to come across any Cardassians anytime soon. And we have Security personnel to keep us safe, you really have no need to learn how to fight."

Lieutenant Brott wasn't actually dreading the possibility of seeing a Cardassian in the near future. He just wanted to be prepared. His father had always taught him to be proactive. The only form of hand-to-hand that Ranav knew anything about was adel'iin. His race, being evolved from a dolphins like creature, had passed this underwater wrestling skill down through the ages. What's the likelihood I would get a Cardassian under water?

Ranav sighed after taking the last sip of tea. He was still unsettled, feeling he had better learn something out of water. He bowed his head and said, "Thank you for your assistance, Miss Brennan. I best be going so you can carry on with your day."

Shae reached out to take his hand to prevent him from leaving. It was a big move for her, being so uncomfortable with the contact, but she was willing to push that discomfort aside to reach out so someone who was so clearly in distress. "Maybe you should tell me what's really on your mind," she said gently, letting go of his hand now that she had his attention. "I can tell something is troubling you deeply. You came to me when you could have just as easily asked Security or even the computer."

"I have never told anyone, Miss Brennan," the CSO began, quietly, his breath shallow. The pain showed on his face. "It's been eating away at me for eleven years. When I was sixteen, I flew to Star Fleet Academy for testing and the application process. It was a great time! I knew this would be my future. When I returned to Bolarus IX, I found a Cardassian raiding party took captive my family and several of my friends. The Star Fleet ship that returned me pursued them, although they were several days behind. The followed them to what turned out to be a tanning facility. The Cardassian women love to wear fashion made from Bolian skin."

At this point, Ranav's breathing came more uneven as if gasping. The pain on his face became nothing more than pure unadulterated hatred. His voice became louder with each word. "Every last one of them was flayed!"

Shae's eyes were wide, heavy with unshed tears for this man who had been carrying such a burden. Ignoring the discomfort it would bring her, she rose from her chair to stand in front of him, then with her free arm she enfolded him into a hug. Aoife didn't like how this man smelled, but even still she took a cue from her mother and rested her head atop of his, one of her tiny little hands on his face as she tried to hug him too.

"Please do not give in to such hatred," Shae said in a soft and gentle tone as she trembled slightly. The urge to pull away from him and take another shower to get his scent off of her was great, but so too was the need to make a connection with him. She had faced this kind of hatred and managed to move past it, but it took years to do it, so she knew what she was asking of him was no simple task. "Please, just don't. Be grateful that you are alive. Honor them with your life by living each day to its fullest. Hatred and revenge will not bring your family back, nor would they want that kind of life for you. You don't want to know the weight of a life on your soul once you start to take them..."

"Has your family been eliminated by another race?" Ranav asked with an edge.

He looked down into the face of the small child who had his hand upon his face. How can one be angry looking into such an angelic face! Suddenly, Lieutenant Brott began smiling. He began to tickle the youngster. The child certainly relieved the stress he felt inside of him.

"I'm sorry, Miss Brennan," came his apology. "I am not angry with you. Perhaps it is time for some vector boarding or an archaeological expedition in the holodeck."

"My biological parents were smugglers and were killed for their cargo," Shae answered honestly. "And I've never met another of my kind, but I do not bemoan that fact; I loved my human family and I was happy, and they don't even know I'm still alive..." She let him go, but remained close, looking down at him with sad, compassionate eyes. "And do not apologize; this pain you have been carrying with you all this time must have been heavy indeed. Just try not to give in to the hatred. Maybe I don't know the loss you've suffered, but I do know what that kind of hate can do to a person. Once it starts eating you up inside, that emptiness can be impossible to fill. It's only been since I've had Aoife that I've felt... alive. She makes me want to live again." Not that she was suggesting he go start a family to fill that void, but he should look for something to help give him some purpose so he would stop living in the past.

Ranav began laughing. "It would take a special woman to put up with...let's just say I have a lot of idiosyncrasies." Brott laughed more, harder this time. However, he did notice how the small one helped change his attitude. "Perhaps I could visit from time-to-time. This little one just seems to give me such joy!"

"Oh, you won't be saying that if she starts crying," Shae teased. Not that Aoife cried all that often, Shae typically tended to her needs before Aoife ever needed to resort to crying, but it was common knowledge that babies had a tendency to cry a lot. "But I suppose it's alright if you come by from time to time. I need practice socializing anyway." Her words were saying one thing, but her tone and body language was saying something else; she tensed up slightly, taking a step away from him. One hug had been about all she could manage today and the thought of more visits did make her uncomfortable. But on the other hand, she knew this was something she would have to start doing to acclimate to being around others. She could do worse; at least Brott was a nice person.

Her reply brought a smile to his face. This certainly was a gracious acceptance of him. Perhaps Shae was right about one thing. Maybe it was time for him to start a family of his own. After all, he was twenty-seven. His father had two wives by the time he was Ranav's age.

Ranav humbly lowered his head. "Thank you, Miss Brennan. Thank you for listening."

"I'm half El Aurian, it's what we do," Shae said with a smile. "I am sorry that you lost your family. I know that dealing with loss is never easy, but... If you think it would help, I would be willing to teach you some of what I know. Just some basic hand to hand to defend yourself." For a moment, she almost suggest he speak with Mark, but all Mark would teach Brott was how to kill, and his attitude in regards to darkness and survival would not be helpful for Brott to move on. Maybe she should talk to Myomoto and he could help? She didn't know his skills, but to be a 1st Lieutenant with his history, he must be skilled. Yes, she would talk to him about this later. Until then, she could show Brott some Tai Chi.

Ranav tickled Aoife once again before saying, "Its time for me to be leaving. I appreciate your openess. Again, thank you, Miss Bennan."

Ranav smiled at Aoife and waved bye-bye at her. He then place the tea cup on a stand and exited Shae's living quarters.

The young Edo girl was excited to report to her new assignment since completing school and officially becoming an Non-Commissioned Officer. She was very proud of herself and her accomplishments coming from a society that didn't even have warp capabilities. She felt joy that was beyond her imagination to herself at time and other times she was afraid if the Gods were to find her or she'd ever return home she'd be put to death.

In her time since leaving Odo she had taught herself to move slowly but she was too excited and found herself running through the corridors of the ship. She didn't care that people were looking at her funny and was just glad she didn't get yelled at for doing it. She eventually managed to find the office of her new boss, the Chief Science Officer, and came to a stop at the office door. She took a deep breath, held it for a couple seconds, and then released it slowly before reaching out and pushing the chime.

Ranav Brott woke up that morning with a lot on his mind. Since coming aboard, it seemed he was making one misstep after another, especially with those ranking higher than him. He was glad to have the whole day in the Science labs. This was his home; it was where he belonged. Give him a choice between being with a room full of commanders, a room full of athletic jocks, and a room full of science people, he knew his choice would be the latter. They all seemed to have their quirks, but were at ease with each other.

The chime to his office rang breaking his thoughts. Looking at his schedule on the PaDD before him, he didn't note any scheduled meetings. Ranav was glad to have personal contact. Bolians seemed to thrive on it, especially if it gave then the opportunity to serve the other. It excited him to have this visitor today. It was an opportunity to start this day off in a good way.

Ranav was more comfortable greeting those entering his office or quarters at the door. He felt it cold and impersonal to do so from behind the desk or elsewhere, having the visitor take it upon them self to open the door. So the lieutenant walked to the door and opened it. His jaw dropped at the sight of one of the most beautiful young ladies he had ever seen.

When the door open the only thing she could think of was to follow the courtesies she was taught the last thing she'd want to do is be put to death for not standing at attention. She came to that position exactly how she had been taught and spoke calmly as she could, "Petty Officer Third Class Levitra, sir."

Levitra felt the ever present desire to reach out and embrace the man, she didn't know him but it was the way of her people. It had been a long time since she felt contact with a person and she was feeling urges now. It was something that she'd have to learn how to deal with... she had learned in boot camp that she had to get over it after being rephased and she had managed to keep her needs under control with people she befriended but now she'd have to forge new relationships again and there may not be anyone willing.

Lieutenant Brott's cheeks turned a deep blue after he had caught himself. He began to stammer in his embarrassment. "W-w-w-where are my manners!" he crossed to the replicator. "Please, by all means, come in and have a seat. Can I replicate something for you to drink? Or how about a pastry?"

Levitra stood there at attention still she really wasn't sure what to do in this situation. She hesitated for a miunte her eyes moving back and forth like she was thinking and then she walked into the office. "I wouldn't mind some water sir," she said, "but I'm not hungry."

Ranav ordered some fresh, cold spring water at the replicator. He order one for himself. Ranav enjoyed having visitors, especially a visitor as beautiful as this young lady. It gave him a much need break from the drabness of paperwork. Bolians were people persons. They needed that personal contact to feel comfortable.

When he had the two waters in hand, he turned and handed one to his visitor. Ranav then sat on the edge of his desk, facing her.

"Now, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

She took the water and had sip before doing anything else and then took a seat that was offered, putting her much closer to him. Her species didn't really have boundaries if they were on her own planet if she wasn't already executed for whatever crimes she sure she had committed since leaving or leaving to begin with she would have already embraced the man and based on his actions probably would have done a lot more which wasn't a bad thing, at least in her mind.

"I'm the new Stellar Cartographer, sir," she said, taking another sip of the water. She didn't know why her mouth was so dry, perhaps it was the nerves and the flips her stomach was doing.

This was good news, indeed! The fact that this beautiful newcomer was part of his department would mean that he would have more opportunity to see her.

"Great news!" Ranav exclaimed. "You will have plenty of opportunity to map out the expanse. You will be closely working with Shae Brennan. She is also fairly new, as am I. We have the opportunity to put this Science department on the map." Lieutenant Brott took a sip of his water as he snickered at his own little joke.

"You must be Levitra," he continued. "I have received your file. I certainly am glad to have you on my team." Ranav reached his hand out, palm down, fingers curled, in the traditional Bolian greeting.

"Yes sir, I am," she said, she looked confused, she had already said her name, didn't she? She looked a bit nervous for a second as she tried to remember and then seemed to snap out of it. She looked down at his hand she wasn't quite sure what to make of it so she reached her hand out to him slowly, doing her best to mimic what he was doing. "I'm sorry I... I've never done this before."

"No worries," Ranav replied with a smile. "It's just a traditional Bolian greeting. May I ask what brought you to Star Fleet?" He took a sip of his water as he listened to her.

"How do you do it though?" she asked, reaching forward to put the glass on the table, getting closer to him. "I mean I want to learn," she said, looking at his face, looking eager to learn something new. She tried to mimic his hand again this time turning it the other way around to see if that was the correct way, she tilted her head as she looked at him.

Ranav smiled at Levitra's eagerness to learn other's ways. He gently took her hand in both of his and flattened it some so that the fingers were just slightly curved.

With kindness, he said, "That's it. Just that hand sign is a pleasant greeting. There is no need for touching hands, although touching hands is very nice!"

Did I just say that out loud? Lieutenant Brott's face turned a deeper blue from the blood suddenly rushing into his cheeks.

Levitra didn't blush if there were anything that she was comfortable doing was touching someone. "Touching is very nice," she agreed. "I like how you turn bluer," she said, smiling at him. "Would you like to see how we greet each other on my planet?" she asked. "I will also answer your question I'm sorry I did not before but I wanted to learn your greeting," she said.

Levitra's words about his cheeks turning bluer Brouthers more blood rushing to Ranav's cheeks. This time he felt more comfortable, because Levitra's said that she liked it. He smiled at the thought of somethiñg he considered a negative trait was actually liked by another being. A very beautiful female being.

Her question peaked the interest of his scientific nature. His studies were in the beginnings of worlds and the people of them. The archaeologist that he was loved studying about the cultures he had unearthed. Learning about another's cultural ways was right in his area of interest.

"I love learning about other cultures!" Ranav's enthusiasm was hard to mask. "Yes, show me how you greet in your home world."

Levitra stood up and waited for him to do the same she stood in front of him and then pulled him into a deep embrace. "Just like this," she said, still embracing him.

He could feel the blood rush to his cheeks as he didn't realize how much contact her greeting would bring. He soon realized that he enjoyed the contact, especially coming from her. Ranav relaxed and returned the embrace.

He began to realize that this was something missing in his life. Not the greeting, but physical contact with one of the opposite gender. This greeting awoke a need within him.

"Yes," he admitted. "I think I prefer your greeting!"

"Me too it's simpler," she said, giggling a bit, as she ended the embrace. "Have you ever met an Edo before?" she asked, "you are a Bolian, yes?"

"No," Ranav reflectively answered, "you are definitely the first Edo I have met. And yes, I am Bolian."

Ranav smile as he momentarily paused, attempting to pick up the courage to ask her a question. "Um, Levitra...since you are new aboard ship, would you be interested in dinner with me tonight?"

"I don't think most people have ever met an Edo before. I think there are only a very small number of us who have ever left it makes God mad at us. My father made God angry and so it was safer that I leave," she explained. "But yes I can eat dinner with you it would be very nice of you to ask sir," she said.

"I'm glad I met this Edo," Ranav confessed. "I will pick you up at your quarters at 1800 hours then we'll go to the lounge for dinner. Would that be fine?"

"I am glad to meet you too, sir," she said, smiling widely. "That sounds fine I will see you then," she said, embracing him again. "May I go now?" she asked.

Ranav returned her embrace, feeling the freedom of the gesture. He smiled as he said, "Yes, you may be dismissed and report to Shae Brennan in The Astrometrics Lab. Once she regains he commission, she will be in charge of the lab."

"Understood sir," she said, a large smile on her face.

Before she exited, he added, "I look forward to dinner tonight!"

Lieutenant JG Ranav Brott just seemed full of issues since joining his new ship. First, he insulted the Captain. Then he approached the First Officer when she was ready to end her duty shift and begin meditating. He spoke of his past and his hatred of Cardassians to both Shae and Lieutenant Iniya. Now, he had to discuss this issue.

Just the thought of it brought embarrassment to his facial features. But it was necessary if he were to pursue a mate. After all, he was twenty-seven and in his prime. Most male Bolians would have had two wives by now.

As the doors to sick bay swished open, Ranav tried to hide his anxiousness. Although dealing in the Sciences, Ranav hated visiting Sick Bay. He knew his body and what it could handle. Why did he need someone else to tell him to take it easy once in a while?

A Bolian stood out in the sickbay, and it wasn't long before Valyre spotted him and headed over to see what it was that had brought him in. The blue-skinned officer seemed nervous about something, though she had no way of knowing what it might be. "Something I can help you with, Lieutenant?"

Brott turned and answered, "Yes..." looking at her pips, he continued, "...Commander. I actually am here for two reasons. The first, Commander Se'Lah ordered me to see you shortly after coming aboard. I've been delaying until this point in time. The second, I would like to speak in private."

"My office then. I can even lock the door if that would make you more comfortable." Private matters were things that Valyre took rather seriously, and she offered him a reassuring smile as she guided him toward the office door.

He followed her to the office. He assumed she would do his initial physical in there as well. Once inside, Ranav took a seat, hoping there was something that could be done to resolve his predicament.

Locking the door behind them, Valyre moved to the front of her desk and sat on its edge rather than sitting behind it, which could be seen as closing herself off. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

Ranav bowed his head as his cheeks flushed a deeper blue. He wished to add to his life here on the Islandica. He desired a mate. And at the moment, his chemistry was not compatible with other species.

Quietly, Lieutenant Brott said, "I need to find something that will neutralize the caustic nature of my bodily fluids."

Valyre grinned a bit, not expecting that sort of request. "I might be able to come up with something. Which humanoid species does the object of your affection belong to?"

Ranav's face became a royal blue. There was one whom he had just met that aroused a certain attraction within him. He had only just met her. He wasn't even sure if she had an attraction to him. He realized that she was from a quite forward race. So he couldn't be certain if she was just being friendly or if there were a mutual attraction. He would do his best to find out.

"Well," he answered, "there is one young lady who is Edo."

"Edo... similar enough to human biochemistry then." Reaching behind her back to the desk, Valyre picked up a PaDD and started skimming through the available treatments that would allow Bolians to engage in sexual activities with more human-like species. "There are a few different options. I'm going to assume you don't want her to know about this arrangement, so treating her is out of the question. That leaves us with this." She tapped on a file, opening it and handing it to Ranav. "I'm not entirely certain how to pronounce the name of the drug, but a daily injection would be enough to make any excreted fluids inert enough not to make a partner ill."

Of course it would have to be every day. The acidic qualities that his body produced wouldn't stop just because he received one injection. This would have to fit into his daily routine. It was necessary if he were to mate.

"Do you have this in stock?" Ranav asked.

"I have enough for two weeks worth of injections, and the pattern is in my replicators so I can make as much as you need." The caustic nature of Bolian bodily fluids was unique and fairly unusual, but with so many Bolians in Starfleet, the necessary medication was standard in most starship sickbays. And Valyre had just seen the inventory list, so she knew it was in her primary medicine storage. "I can arrange to have it discreetly transported to your office or living quarters."

"That would be fine," Ranav thankfully answered. "I would prefer it at my quarters. Thank you very much Commander...Reen, is it?"

"Oh, that was rude of me, forgetting to introduce myself." Valyre laughed a bit at herself. "Yes, I'm Commander Reen, but most people call me Val. You must be Lieutenant Brott."

"Yes, I'm Ranav Brott," he confirmed. "Actually an easy guess, given the blue skin and the cartilage." Ranav laughed at being the only Bolian aboard. "I'll take my first injection and then my boarding physical."

"All right we can do that." Rather than going to her dispensary to retrieve the medication, Valyre replicated the injection at her office replicator and then handed the hypospray to Ranav as she picked up her tricorder. "Other than the corrosive nature of your bodily fluids, is there anything I need to know?"

"None," Ranav informed.

Ranav was not a person for injections. However, if it was going to make him sexually compatible with others on board, Ranav was for it. He held the hypospray to his neck and pressed the button for the injection. He felt a slight sting, but it quickly faded. It wasn't as bad as I thought!

"This should be pretty quick then." Valyre wasn't the sort to put her patients through all sorts of unnecessary discomforts when a tricorder could tell her just about anything she needed to know about their physical condition. As usual, she started her exam with Ranav's head, working her way down.

"I certainly do appreciate your help, Commander," Brott graciously spouted. "Maybe now I can fill the void that has been in my life. I never realized until recently that I needed the closeness of another."

"Lots of people go through life like that... not realizing that they're yearning for some sort of bond with someone. It's more common in Vulcans than most others, but Bolians tend to experience it too. Mostly because they don't want to hurt anyone and they think they can live without that sort of intimacy." Knowing that this topic could cause people to become uncomfortable, Valyre kept her tone light and her smile friendly. "You'll never get most to admit it, but just about every intelligent species needs close intimate contact at some point in their lives. Even the worm in my belly longs for it sometimes, and they're supposed to be more enlightened than the hosts."

"Perhaps within all creatures there is the yearning for intimacy," Ranav observed. "Otherwise they would become extinct. Perhaps that is the reason for that need."

"That's a very wise outlook, and likely very true as well." Valyre closed the tricorder and set it on her desk. "Far as I can see, you're in perfect health."

The Bolian grinned. I could have told you that," he said with a wink. "I stay in shape doing my archaeological expeditions."

"Yes, but I can't put that into your medical file!" Valyre chuckled a bit. "If there's nothing else, you're free to go."

"Thank you, commander!" Ranav excitedly said. "My future mates thank you!"

Ranav turned and exited Sick Bay. He now could have more confidence with someone to whom he was attracted. But he mustn't hurry things. It would all come in due time.

Lieutenant Ranav Brott hurriedly walked down the hallway. According to the duty roster, the First Officer was due to be off. He wanted to meet her before that happened. A Bolian would never oppose one one's leisure time.

It appeared he had arrived just in time. Quickly, he assessed himself to see if he looked presentable. Satisfied, Ranav rang the chime to Commander Se'Lah's office.

Just as the chime rang, the doors opened to show Se'Lah standing there with a raised eyebrow. She hadn't yet been made aware of all of the new transfers that were arriving, but she did notice the Bolian's rank pips. "Your timing is rather interesting, Lieutenant." She said simply. "I was just leaving to return to my quarters."

"I am so sorry to inconvenience you, Commander," Lieutenant Brott confessed, his cheeks turning a royal blue. "I am Lieutenant Ranav Brott, the new CSO. I have reported to the Captain and met with my staff today. If you like, I can come back to meet with you tomorrow."

"Since you're already here, it's more logical to do this now." She said, stepping aside to let him in. "Please have a seat."

Ranav gave a weak smile. Entering her office, he sat on the chair to which the Commander indicated. The furniture seemed as stiff as a Vulcan meditating. Brott didn't know how anyone could be comfortable in them.

"Commander," Lieutenant Brott began as he held his fist out the way the Captain showed him for a fist bump, "it is so good to meet you. I am happy to be of service to the Islandica and her crew."

Se'Lah raised an eyebrow as she looked at Ranav. The way he held his fist out suggested some type of greeting, but instead, she did something very unlike a Vulcan, holding out her hand. "Perhaps a hand shake would be preferable, Lieutenant." She said simply.

Ranav gave a confused look. He then held out his hand and clasped Se'Lah's. He gave it a firm shake.

"I thought it a good idea to check in with you, Commander," Lieutenant Brott began. "As I have already mentioned, I have met with the Captain and my officers to introduce myself. Now I have come to meet you and ask if there is anything the Science department needs to concentrate on at this time?"

"Actually, there is something." Se'Lah said. She moved to tap her terminal, bringing up the encrypted transmission that had previously crippled the ship, when they'd tried to decrypt it. "This transmission was being sent by a communications array towards the Erebus expanse. Last time we tried to decrypt it, it's contents crippled the ship. Right now, it's sitting on an isolated science terminal located on the bridge." She turned the terminal to face him more fully. "I want you to work with the Intelligence department in order to try to decrypt this data, without crippling the ship again."

Ranav's eyes widened at the importance of this order. He immediately started trying to come up with ideas toward a working solution. Perhaps they could transfer the file to an offline computer.

"With whom would you like me work alongside n Intelligence?"

"Lieutenant Whistler." Se'Lah said simply. "He is the Intelligence chief on the ship, and he has quite a bit of experience in this field."

"Sounds good, Commander!" Ranav stated. This assignment excite Brott, if not for anything other than it was the first he had been asked to team with intelligence. He immediately began to imagine being in adventurous circumstances, even though it was only recover a file without shutting down systems. "I will meet with Lieutenant Whistler right away!"

"And if you haven't already, I'd also suggest visiting sickbay for your boarding physical." Se'Lah said, tapping her terminal to turn it off. She turned to face him more fully now. "Now if there is nothing else, it is time for my meditation."

"Aye, Commander," Brott replied with a nod. "I will immediately see both." Ranav stood, turned from the chair and exited. He wasn't much for seeing medical personnel, but realized it was important not only for his own health, but also the safety and security of the crew. First, he would visit intelligence.

Se'Lah followed him out, heading for her own quarters to meditate. The small delay was insignificant to her, but her meditation was still important.

Lieutenant Commander Se'Lah
Executive Officer
USS Islandica

Lieutenant (jg) Ranav Brott
Chief Science Officer
USS Islandica

After meeting the Chief Science Officer Levitra was off to find the quartermaster to find out where her quarters were located so she could get her stuff placed there. She was told they were moved aboard the station but was feeling a little nervous about that whole process. She was still pretty excited however and was moving quickly through the corridors trying to remind herself, but failing, to not run aboard the ship. She came to an intersection and someone stepped out in front of her and she moved to the side to avoid them. As the person stopped to yell at her she ran into the tree and flipped over it landing int the intersection of the corridors with a thud.

"Ugh," she grunted, after the impact. She felt her cheeks getting warm as she heard the person she tried to avoid yell at her for not paying attention and walk off. "Why would anyone put a tree there?" she asked, out loud, groaning again before sitting up.

The tree was now gone, replaced by a purple haired woman nursing an arm. "Because the lighting is awesome. You really shouldn't run on a starship like that, you know. Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Levitra jumped when the woman spoke to her, "I-I'm sorry," she stuttered. She had never come into contact with anyone who just was a tree and then became a person. "I wasn't... wasn't in a rush," she said, finding the pace that she was moving at normal. "I mean... I guess I might have been but I didn't mean too," she explained, looking confused at herself.

"Are you okay?" Levitra asked, picking herself up off the ground.

"I think so," Vicky said, painfully getting to her feet and leaning against the wall. "And here I was enjoying some simple photosynthesis in a nice warm corner of the ship."

Levitra frowned again, "I'm really sorry... I just... sometimes it's hard to slow down," she said, looking down at the ground.

"Then I recommend proceeding at a safer velocity," Vicky replied, looking up at the woman. "I'm Vicky by the way. Ship's counselor and impromptu diplomat. I wouldn't even be here if a hydroponics station had been set up in my suite. I asked for one when I came aboard but apparently it's a low priority."

"I'm Levitra," she said, "I'm the Stellar Cartographer." Levitra frowned, she was going at what she thought was a completely normal velocity. And even though she knew that wasn't how most people got around it seemed unfair that she didn't get the understanding of that's how she grew up.

"Pleasure to meet you." Vicky coughed a few times, sliding back to the deck plating against the wall. "I think I might need to go to sickbay again."

Levitra looked devastated, "I-I-I'm sorry... lets go, I can take you..." she said. "Can you walk okay?" she asked. The panicked Edo girl could only picture her Captain putting her to death for injuring another member of the crew. Plus this woman was a counselor which meant that she probably was also an officer.

"Ack! too late! i die now!" Vicky exclaimed, hamming it up as she slumped over onto the floor and pretended to die.

Levitra gasped and then bent down and shook her, then stood up thinking about what just happened. "Stop fooling around it's not funny!" she said, looking down at her with her arms crossed in front of her. "What if someone saw? They could have killed me," she said, angrily.

Vicky stopped pretending and got to her feet, not without a bit of pain and joint popping, but easily enough. "Why would anyone kill you? The Federation doesn't use the death penalty and I don't think there's anyone aboard that would outright murder you for running into me."

"I-I'm not from the federation," she said, blushing. "Where I come from the punishment for any crime is most severe. Are you hurt?" she asked, her concern for Vicky outweighing the concern for herself.

"Yeah I think I'm ok. A bit stiff - I had to change forms pretty quick, but none the worse for wear. Are you ok?" Vicky asked. Where was this girl from that they used capital punishment? Her own people had never even considered it in their history that she knew of.

She nodded, "I'm so sorry... I'll be more careful," she told her, looking down again. "I umm, I was just... I need to get to my quarters and settle in," she told her.

Vicky nodded and smiled at that. "Welcome aboard then. I'm pretty new myself. I'm Vicky, the new ship's Counselor. I apologize in advance for any pranks I may or may not pull."

"I am Levitra and I am a Stellar Cartographer," she said, starting to move for her people's traditional embrace but stopping herself. "What are pranks?" she asked.

Vicky saw that Levitra started to go in for an embrace but stopped short. Was that a normal greeting for her people? "Pranks are when you do something humorous for a laugh, often at someone else's expense but hopefully so that they too find it humorous. Did you want a hug?"

"But wouldn't it be a very big risk that the person would not also find it funny?" she asked, and then looked confused at the hug question. It took her a second to remember that people referred to her greeting as a hug, "no thank you," she said, wanting to seem normal. To her being an Edo was anything normal to her new friends and coworkers in Starfleet.

"It's a risk, but even if it isn't immediately funny, it normally is afterwards." Vicky explained. This was definitely one of the strangest people she had met since leaving her homeworld.

"I see," she said, crossing her arms. She felt like this woman would get her into trouble, "well umm I guess I'll see you around some time?" she suggested.

"Next time you need a counseling session or someone to talk with, let me know, ok?" Vicky said cheerily.

"Okay.. thank you. Sorry I bumped into you," she said, turning to continue on as before.

Mark had already sent the messages to both Shae and Vicky, inviting them to dinner, and now waited for them as he placed plates of food on the table. He had gone with a selection of different foods and drinks, including real bottles of wine. It had been a while since he had been able to have a proper family dinner, but it was nice to be there with two people who he liked. Shae he cared about for how they had known one another before, even though she had been undercover, and Vicky he found himself curious about. She wanted to know him, which never really happened. But he would happily get to know her, and the real Shae.

Shae arrived a little early. She had made an effort to get ready early since getting ready with a baby always complicated things, so she was understandably surprised when she found herself ready to go well before the time mentioned on the invitation. Fairly certain that Mark wouldn't mind her arriving early, she went on over to his quarters and rang the chime.

"Enter." Mark said, smiling. He had spent the day remodelling his quarters, first removing the bed and installing it in the wall so it could be retracted as needed, giving his quarters the room. He had also installed holo emitters, to give more room and a table with chairs.

The door opened and the smell of dinner wafted to her nose. "Mmmm..." Shae hummed as she entered the quarters; It smelled like real food! Or at the very least he'd replicated the ingredients and cooked instead of just replicating the whole meal, which instantly made things better. "Oh, I don't think I'll ever get used to replicated food again," she mused as she gravitated towards the table. Nothing ever beat real food!

"Never had it on Turalek, and I prefer real food now. To be honest, I'm going to be redecorating the whole room, making it a kitchen and dining area. I had to do a rush job today, but so far I've made room. By the way, our ship's counselor will be joining us. She's...certainly different." He said. "That is okay with you, isn't it?"

Shae's nose wrinkled as her expression soured. "Not really... We had something of an incident when she came to see me about my psychological evaluation. But I'll tolerate her for dinner," Shae answered honestly, taking a seat at the table and settling Aoife in her lap. Then she noticed the wine. She couldn't really have any alcohol, she was still breastfeeding Aoife. Well, maybe she could have a small glass... Until then- "Could I trouble you for a cup of tea?" she asked.

Mark nodded, and went to the replicator. "That I can do." He said, replicating a small pot of tea, along with milk and sugar. "I met her earlier today. She didn't try to kill me, which was a plus. She...well, she seemed to welcome my presence on the ship, more than anything, and that doesn't really happen."

"I'm convinced the woman is positively mad," Shae said as she poured herself a cup of tea. "She's more than a little naive. Apparently, her world is some sort of utopia, so she's never known any kind of violence before joining Starfleet." And even after mentioning that she served on a sanitarium ship, Vicky never lost that air of naivety, but Shae found it to be strangely refreshing. "I thought she was a Founder when I first saw her. I very nearly attacked her."

"Well, she's definitely different. And remember, most of Starfleet is naive. You saw a glimpse of how I lived the first thirty years of my life. Darkness is a part of the universe, but Starfleet sugar coats everything. I think that's why I'm here; I know the darkness. I was born into it, so I can face it and survive." Mark said.

"Starfleet is not without its demons, Mark," Shae cautioned. "Turalek was undoubtedly dark, an excellent example of chaos and survival of the fittest, but true evil requires a certain amount of intent, which I saw more than enough of during the war, and from our Federation no less! Most are compassionate and appreciate the sugar coating, but don't doubt for a second that the Federation has it's share of dirty little secrets."

"Oh, I've been doing some research in that. The people you mentioned earlier, I'm not entirely sure they're gone. I'm going to find them. They'll learn what demons really are, and what darkness is." Mark replied.

"Of course they're not gone!" Shae said, then sipped at her tea. "They were absorbed into Starfleet Intelligence. You are very likely reporting to the same people you wish to teach a lesson. The irony is very poetic."

"Poetic will be the sound they make when I end them." Mark replied. "I don't care if they report to god, they will still answer to me for their crimes."

"That is a very long list," Shae said dryly. "You have fun with that. Just consider the consequences of your actions before you do anything reckless."

That was when Vicky arrived outside the door, dressed in a somewhat informal ankle length dress cut in gold and lavender. Pressing the chime, she waited for permission to enter.

"Enter." Mark replied, looking at the door. "And don't worry, I won't do anything reckless." He promised. ~By my standards anyway.~ He thought.

Walking in through the now open door, Vicky was hit by a wave of delicious smells. "Mmm... That smells wonderful. Am I late?" she asked as she headed towards the table.

"No, you're right on time." Mark said. "I hope you like it; I cooked myself." He said, as he went to the table.

"Oh my. I haven't had real cooked food since the Academy on Earth." Slipping into an empty chair, Vicky smiled brightly to Shae. "Hello again, Shae. How are you and your little one doing?"

"I'm alright, all things considered," Shae said softly. "And just be glad I'm not the one doing the cooking. My idea of cooking is putting meat on a stick over an open fire."

"Been there, done that." Mark said, as he sat down. "I'll bless the table." He said, bowing his head and closing his eyes. "Lord, we are grateful that we have the chance to be here together. Thank you for bringing us together, and thank you for ensuring we're here to enjoy it. Thank you for Aoife, the youngest member of the family. But most of all, thank you for family." He said.

Shae wrinkled her nose at the short prayer. She had never been the religious sort, especially to a god on a planet of humans when she most certainly was not one, but she showed respect and deference to Mark's beliefs, bowing her head slightly as he spoke. And she was thankful for the family... "Well, it seems you've evolved from campfire food. This looks wonderful," she said once he was done.

"Thanks. First thing I learnt when I got off Turalek was how to cook properly. Spent months on a major crash course, and by the end of it, I found I had a passion for it." Mark said, smiling as he took some of the roast chicken he had prepared.

Vicky had bowed her head respectfully for the ritual blessing, not sure what else to do. It seemed odd to her, but then again, some people had odd habits. Smiling when it was finished, she had to agree that it looked wonderful. "I've never seen food from a replicator come out nearly this good looking. If it tastes as good as it smells, I'm sure it'll be wonderful to eat as well."

"Well, when I cook, I put my heart into it. It's one of the few civilised talents I had back home, and frankly, it helped bring my tribe together." Mark explained.

"This sort of thing is the opposite of what we did on my homeworld. Most nights were silent other than the sound of the night animals, and we rarely ate together like this. Conversation in general was hard to come by once you grew up." Vicky said, letting slip a little information about her mysterious homeworld.

That made Shae kind of sad. Vicky had briefly mentioned a lack of communication in her people during their session, but that it was that bad... What kind of utopia was that?! "Family dinners were a nightly thing back home," Shae offered as she loaded up her plate. "The house felt so empty once my brothers started to go off to the Academy, but we all still got together as often as we could."

"That sounds... Very social." Vicky said as she started putting food on her plate. She wasn't taking much - just enough to be able to sample everything. She couldn't eat as much as she knew they could, but she'd do her best.

"I loved it," Shae said with a warm smile. "Even when things were busy or hectic for whatever reason, we always found time to sit down and have a meal together. But that's the thing about the people you love, you make the time for them."

"My adoptive father, Scourge, told me that every man had to have a code. Family is the most important thing in this life. That's why we always ate dinner together; to make sure we respected our family." Mark said. "It was the only time of the week we never had to fight or kill. The rest of the time, we were either under attack, or we were training. Turalek was...harsh. Hundreds of people would die every day, and no one cared. If you had supplies, then people wanted them." Mark said.

"Family is important for us too... But meals... They tended to be very basic and only as we needed them." Vicky said a bit sheepishly.

"Most humanoid races tend to need them quite often, as infrequent as once daily to as often as 5 times a day," Shae informed Vicky, not sure how often Allasomorphs 'needed' meals. "And since the evening meals often require the most effort to prepare in pre-industrial societies, it becomes a defining element of developing cultures," she rattled off in between bites of her meal. Leave it to a scientist to go all brainy-philosophical at the dinner table.

"That makes sense. It's a ritual event born of necessity based on biological needs." Vicky didn't mean to break it down like that, but that's basically how she saw it.

"Exactly," Shae said with an encouraging nod. It was a bit 'clinical', but she knew that sometimes that's just how certain minds understood things.

"A lot of things people do are based on necessity, but they've become so second nature to people that we don't even give it a second thought." Mark said. "Survival is one of the most primal needs, and the instinct for survival is deeply embedded in everyone's psyche, but they don't even realise it." Mark explained.

"Survival..." Vicky mused, tasting some of the items on her plate. "That might be one of the reasons my people make sure we can make the beastial forms. Survival and defense when it's needed."

"It is one of the most baser instincts." Mark agreed, as he took a bite of his chicken. "It was drilled into you as a kid on Turalek. I can't even begin to describe what I saw there."

Oh, how Shae had missed this! Having a discussion while sharing a meal had been the part she loved most about Mark's family dinners, because it truly had reminded her of her own family. And she was glad they were starting small; any more that the three of them and she would have felt terribly overwhelmed. She didn't respond, but she was enjoying it immensely.

Vicky was enjoying it too in her own way. Tasting small bites of each item at random, seeing how the flavors mixed and each bite being a little different. She hadn't taken much, but she was soon full and her plate was empty. "Incredibly delicious. Definitely one of the best meals I've ever had. Thank you."

"Oh yes, thank you," Shae said with a warm smile. "I can't remember the last time I've eaten this well!"

"Well, we'll be doing this often, and believe me, it'll always be good." Mark said. "Carrie might be visiting soon anyway. She told me she had news."

"That's so exciting!" Shae said happily. "I can't wait to see her again!"

"I know the feeling. It's been about a year since we were together." Mark lamented.

"Your sister, right?" Vicky asked, remembering the name from his file. "It's always good to be rejoined with a loved one. Did she mention what this news she has is?"

"Nope. Probably set a date for the wedding, knowing her. First thing she does when she joins civilised society is fall in love. First guy she fell for ended up getting on my bad side. Second guy ran away when he heard of my history. Third guy is the one she's with now." Mark replied.

"He must be quite a fellow to be able to put up with you," Shae giggled. "Or perhaps that's why your sister is not on the same ship as you, so you won't be able to chase off her love interests."

"More of the latter, I'd wager." Mark replied, with a grin, as he took a sip of his beer.

Vicky leaned back in her chair and smoothed the front of her dress with one hand. She couldn't eat like this very often and she'd likely be full from this for at least a day, but it tasted so good. "I hope she's found happiness then. By the way, how did you both meet? You have such diverse histories."

"Oh, I had been sent to Turalek to retrieve something during the war," Shae said uneasily. "I saved his sister's life during a raid and that made me as good as family in his book. I regret that I had to use him and his group to get what I needed, and I felt even more terrible I couldn't take them all with me when it was time for me leave, but..." Shae shrugged with a sigh; there hadn't been much she could do for them at the time. At least she now knew that he didn't hold a grudge over that. "Then I bumped into him in the mess hall, told him who I really was. He didn't recognize me at first because I had worn a different face during that time, but now he can get to know the real me."

"Not as good as, you are family." Mark said. "The raiding party managed to take us by surprise, but Shae was quick to respond. Fact is, she saved all our lives that day, thanks to her quick thinking and courage." He said.

"Courage had little to do with it, I'm afraid," Shae confessed. "I tracked some information to someone in the group and I couldn't very well get it if they were dead. Saving the rest of you was outside the parameters of my mission, but I'm glad I did it. Sad to say that the best memories I have during the war were on a criminal infested planet. But nothing can replace that feeling you get when you're with family. It felt good to have that again, even for a short while..." Shae finished off her food and pushed her plate away slightly, leaning back in her chair with a contented smile. It really was good to feel like part of a family again. It was just her and Mark at the moment, but it was better than the loneliness she'd known on Psi Gamma.

"Shae, you give yourself too little credit." Mark said. "Regardless of your mission, you did go outside the mission. You risked your life, and all of us are grateful. Most of the clan are either on assignment, or on Earth. We were given a large house to live in together." Mark said. "You'll always be my sister." He added, placing a hand on hers.

Shae allowed the contact. She was still a bit uncomfortable with it, but this was Mark and she knew he wouldn't hurt her. "Did Reggie make it?" Shae asked, her eyes saddened with a memory that had been long forgotten until now. "After the blast, Reggie was bleeding to badly, I tried to keep pressure on his wounds until you got there. When I heard footsteps coming I beamed out, but I always wondered if Reggie survived."

Mark took a sip of his beer. "No, he died from his injuries. It was likely my footsteps you heard, trying to find you to tell you about Reggie. After we couldn't find you, I sent out scouts, but had to assume you had been taken or fallen into the ravine." Mark said. "We actually held a memorial for you." He added, taking another sip of his beer.

"Maybe it's just as well you held a memorial for me; I never used that name or face again after that, so I guess you could say 'Angela' died that day." Shae wiped away some moisture from her eyes at the news that Reggie had died. He had been really nice to her, even teased her with some harmless flirting. Not that she was interested, but it had felt nice to have that kind of attention. "I am sorry, I never meant for anyone to get hurt. He wasn't supposed to be there..." She was afraid to ask who else they had lost that day.

"Shae, we all knew the risks when we went on that mission. We may not have been Starfleet, but we knew it was important, and we all volunteered. We held a memorial for the dead, we took out the target, and we did what we needed to do. It was the way of life. No one held you responsible; no one does." Mark said. "By the way, you may soon get a flood of messages; I spoke to the others, on a very secure line, and told them you were alive and well. They were really happy to hear it." Mark said. "Ryder sends his best wishes, and said he wants a rematch at Karonga."

That brought a smile back to Shae's face. "Karonga? I haven't played since Turalek! My game might be a bit rusty, but I'll give it a shot!"

"Good, I've been itching to play." Mark said. He looked at Vicky. "Karonga is a game we had on Turalek, it's similar to chess, but with different rules. For instance, it's a round board, and each piece moves a different number of spaces, but the point of the game is to capture every piece on the board, at which time you declare Karonga. It's actually fun." He explained.

"I tried several games at the Academy but I didn't catch on so well with most of them. Dabo was fun, but without a desire for material wealth..." Vicky shrugged, still smiling contentedly.

"Okay, so what's Dabo?" Mark asked, frowning.

"It's a game of chance involving a 3 tiered wheel setup of some sort. The rules are simple enough but the algorithms the tables use can be tricky." Vicky explained.

"Think of it kind of like roulette," Shae simplified. "But instead of a ball, you have rings, and you always win, but how much you win is based on the position of the rings. And in true Ferengi fashion, you very rarely win more than you wager."

"Okay, sounds simple. One problem. What's roulette?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow. "Another Ferengi game?"

"Oh wow... I thought you'd at least know what that is," Shae said, blinking at Mark. "It's an old Earth game of chance. A wheel with numbers and colors. A ball rolls around the wheel and you place a bet on either a color or a number. If the ball lands on your bet, you win. There's also Russian roulette, which I think would be more up your alley. Get an old Earth 6-shooter pistol and put one bullet in, spin the chamber, then people take turns shooting themselves in the head." She only added Russian roulette into her explanation purely for the sake that she thought he'd get a kick out of it.

Mark raised an eyebrow. "And people do that for fun? On Turalek, they used that as a form of torture, force someone to spin the chambers of a pistol and fire at their loved ones."

"Well, that's typically what it was used for on Earth too, but some people were messed up enough to do that for amusement. Earth's history can be pretty dark. In fact, right up until First Contact, things were pretty bleak," Shae explained. "It took a long time for humans to evolve past their violence."

"From what I've learnt since being off of Turalek, they haven't evolved much." Mark commented dryly, as he finished his beer. "Anyone else want another drink? A beer perhaps?" He offered.

Vicky shook her head. "No thanks, I'm full."

"Shae?" He offered, standing up and grabbing a beer from his small refrigeration unit.

"I think I'll try that wine I saw earlier," Shae replied. "But just a little bit, please," she added, pointing to Aoife to tactfully indicate that she was still breastfeeding and couldn't have a lot of alcohol. "I must say, the odds were pretty astronomical that I would be picked up by a ship where you were stationed, but I am so glad it worked out this way. With so many changes, having a familiar face is a godsend."

"I've never believed in coincidence. I think we're here because we're meant to be. Can't keep family apart." Mark said.

"Indeed, there are far too many coincidences in this universe to be mere coincidence." Vicky proclaimed, agreeing with Mark.

As Mark handed Shae a glass of wine, he sat back down with a fresh beer. "Just remember, what matters most is the people here, our family. We're always here for one another." He said.

"It has been a long time since I have known that feeling," Shae said softly. Shae sipped at the wine, humming in appreciation at its fragrance and fruity sweetness. "It's still a pretty strange coincidence, but I'm not going to question it. Wouldn't want fate to think I'm ungrateful," she added with a laugh. "Though I am curious why Intel is on a ship of this nature. Isn't the Islandica supposed to be exploring?"

"Yes, exploring an area of space filled with danger, pirates, criminals and god knows what. Besides, I know the area. Turalek is in the expanse." Mark explained.

Shae tilted her head curiously as she thought on this. "Oh it is..." she said after a while, smiling slightly. "It's been so long, I had forgotten..."

"Either way, I'm very happy to have met both of you. I'm sure you'll both be wonderful exploration companions out here." Vicky said with a contented and innocent smile.

"I just hope I can make myself useful again," said Shae with a wary glance towards Vicky. Unlike the Allasomorph, the Chameloid woman was not glad to have met this other changeling. Shae was still so untrusting and uneasy around the Counselor and she made no attempt to hide it.

And Vicky was seemingly oblivious to it, assuming that that was just how Shae was after her experiences. "I'm sure you'll be a wonderful asset to the ship and crew in no time at all," she said with a warm smile, doing her best to be friendly.

"I am certainly trying, but I have so much to get caught up on," Shae said, then finished off her small bit of while. " That was lovely, Mark. In fact this whole evening has been wonderful. It was very much need, thank you."

"My table is always open Shae, you know that." Mark said, with a smile. "Anytime you need a break, or a home cooked meal, let me know and I'll have dinner ready." He promised.

Shae smiled warmly with a nod. "And now I need to run along back to my quarters. Ship time is not consistent with Psi Gamma time, so Aoife's internal clock is all turned around and she's been keeping me up the past couple of nights. Though with any luck, she'll let me sleep tonight," Shae said as she rose from the table, settling her daughter at her hip. Aoife was looking a bit tired, and Shae had high hopes of her finally sleeping through the night.

"Get plenty of rest. And remember, when we get to the station, keep an eye out. I don't trust it." Mark said.

"I have been to the station once already, it is not a trip I intend to repeat anytime soon," Shae assured him with a forced laugh then headed for the door.

Mark smiled, and as Shae left, he looked at Vicky. "I think dinner went well." He said, leaning back in his chair.

"I think so too. Both of you need something like this." Vicky said pleasantly. "And that was the most I've eaten in one sitting in months. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." Mark said, taking another sip of his beer. "Everyone needs something like this, if you ask me." He added. "So what do you think of the ship so far?"

"It's smaller than I'm used to, but I think I like it so far. My quarters double as my office, but on a ship this size I suppose that should be expected." Vicky replied.

"As you can see, I've had to make a few changes. First thing I did was remove the bed. I prefer a hammock, to be honest. Slept on one my whole life, it's comfortable." Mark said. "Still, you'd be surprised what a little extra legal tech can do." He added.

"I'm used to resting as a tree so I can understand. Beds can be nice though. What do you mean by extra legal tech?" Vicky asked, not getting the reference.

"Technology that isn't really supposed to be used by people, but it's a perk of the job. For example, I've got a communicator that can cut through pretty much any interference, a computer program that can hack most Starfleet systems, and even a replicator that can make anything I want, including prohibited items. I don't use that one for anything but food and drink though, and sometimes painkillers." Mark explained.

"Ah, well then... I didn't know you could do that." Vicky replied, making a mental note. "Of course, I'm still unsure of how that's different from normal items. I haven't found anything my replicator can't make, but I guess I don't try everything I can think of. I do know that other people replicate uniforms with it though."

"Well, drugs, alcohol, any narcotic really. It's a really advanced piece of tech. I've never tested it fully though, I just use it for what I need." Mark replied with a smile. "So tell me more about you. You married? Have a family?" Mark asked.

"Married? No, I don't see any point to it. If you like someone enough to live with them, a binding agreement to share everything with them seems a bit much. My family unit wasn't very well liked by most because of our distinct coloration so we generally kept to ourselves more than usual. The ruling body once called us aberrant, even. Sometimes we'd go a whole rotation without ever interacting with each other. Besides the newborns, you know. They have a lot to learn." Vicky said, not having the same concept as family as Whistler.

"Well, I think your coloration is quite attractive." Mark said. "Besides, I've been called worse. I tend to ignore people like that." He explained.

"Thank you. One of the reasons I took the chance to leave my homeworld and join Starfleet was to see and experience all sorts of new things. There's so much out in this universe to learn that I think it's worth the risk." Vicky replied.

"Just be prepared for the bad and the good. Starfleet makes it sound so beautiful, exploring the galaxy. Trust me, it's not. It's disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence." Mark said.

"I prefer to see the good in the universe. I'm sure there's all sorts of nastiness out there and I've counseled a lot of people on how to deal with it but in the end, do you know what it comes down to? The individual person's ability to cope with their experiences. Those that can't are deemed insane and mentally unstable and get shipped off to care facilities like the SS Sanity's End. Those that can end up like you and the XO. Technically damaged by societal standards, but still functional within that society." Vicky replied, starting to ramble a little.

Mark snorted and took another sip of his drink. "Yeah, that's one word for it." Mark said, with a grin. "Most of those who don't like me prefer murderer than damaged. As long as I have family, I don't care what others think." He added.

Standing, Vicky smiled some more. "And I think this ship's family is a good one so far. If you'll excuse me, I need to get some things done before bed."

"Just remember, my door is always open." Mark said. "I'll let you know when the next dinner is. I will admit, I've not eaten this well in weeks."

"Mine is too. And thanks. Not sure I can eat like that too often, but I'll do what I can." Vicky said as she headed out the door. "See you soon!" she called as the door closed behind her.

Mark smiled as he finished his beer. It didn't take him long to clear the table, and as he did, he thought of how he now had more members in his family. He also felt heartened knowing that he wasn't alone anymore.

Lieutenant JG Ranav Brott felt especially good about himself after meeting with the First Officer. She had placed confidence in him to cooperate with intelligence. The Bolian looked at this opportunity with a sense of adventure.

Ambling into Intel, Ranav began to look for Lieutenant Whistler. He had no idea what the man looked like. He figured someone in Intel could lead him in the right direction. He only saw one man in the Intel area. He had Lieutenant pips, but that didn't mean it was Whistler.

Walking up to the man, Lieutenant Brott offered the traditional Bolian greeting and asked, "Could you please direct me to Lieutenant Whistler?"

"You found him." Mark replied, as he finished putting the last holodeck grid plate down in the small area he had designated as a holo lab. It wasn't a big area, but it would help him with profiles, display images and for designing new weapons. "Sorry about the mess, just in the middle of redecorating."

"Quite all right," Ranav affirmed. "I am Lieutenant Ranav Brott." As he spoke, Brott held his hand out in the traditional Bolian greeting - palm down, fingers slightly curved. "Commander Se'Lah sent me to cooperate with you in decrypting a transmission that located at the Science station on the bridge. Any previous attempts at decryption has caused the ship's systems to fail."

As several engineers entered the area, Mark looked at him. "Sounds like an old fashioned location virus. Either use it on the right location or not at all." Mark commented. "How long for the brig systems to be finished?" He asked an engineer.

"Another hour." The engineer replied. Mark nodded, and let them get on with their work.

"Starfleet designed this office, but frankly, they did a piss poor job of it, just like they did with decryption software. I should be able to help decrypt it. Some of the systems I have are, shall we say, not quite up with regulations. But I've encountered the type of coding before. It's a matter of scanning it and trying to determine the approximate location of where it can be opened." Mark said, as he led the way to the small computer lab area.

"A good thought, sir," Brott replied. "I was just thinking of loading it to something offline of our main computer systems. However, if it is a location virus, that will not be helpful."

"It might be. If I can narrow down the area, then we can create a false computer sensor reading, which will make the virus believe we're at the location where it can be opened, and then open it." Mark said, as he sat down in front of his computers. "I can provide the program, but I'm not good with computers, so you'll need to do it." Mark explained. "I first used a computer 8 years ago, didn't really learn too much about them. All I know is they help make people more comfortable." He said.

Ranav couldn't imagine anyone not using computers for that long in their life. Computers seemed to be the lifeline of civilization these days. Either Lieutenant Whistler was from a people far behind in technology or he had grown up in a rather secluded part of the multiverse.

Brott looked at the man. He saw someone who quite possibly had a hard life. The man had a hard exterior. He seemed a nice enough man, but Ranav thought given the right conditions, Whistler's interior would prove as tough as nails as his exterior.

"Well then," Ranav added to the conversation. "Meet me on the bridge in fifteen minutes. I'll retrieve a stand alone computer and we'll see if we can crack this thing."

"I have one here we can use. Might be better to use it in here anyway, the systems are more secure." Mark replied. He removed an Isolinear chip from the drawer. "In fact, we can use the holographic interface. It'll allow us to interact with the device better." He said.

"We should be able to pull the data off of the Science station while we are connected online." Brott admitted. "I could grab the data using some simple computer logic. Computer commands is simply mathematical formulas in logical steps. For someone trained in the Sciences, it comes natural. Perhaps that is why the Commander asked me to assist."

"More than likely." Mark said, as he moved to the holographic interface, and removed the computer chip that connected it to the shiwp's computer. "Alright, we should be able to proceed." He said.

Ranav pressed in a few commands. In a few minutes, he was linked to the Science station computer. He listed out the files filtering out all but incoming transmissions. He found the file in question according to the specifics Commander Se'Lah had revealed to him. He pressed the command to open the file, using his Science log-in information and clearance. The encrypted message appeared.

"Okay, let's begin." Mark said. He downloaded the information onto an isolinear chip and installed it into the holo display unit, followed by his isolinear chip. The message popped up from the device, showing it around the centre of the room. Mark stepped into the area, seeing the message, every single code of it. "Computer, run location trace program Whistler One." He ordered. He faced Ranav. "I'm not even supposed to have this. I confiscated it about four years ago from a black market computer programmer. He's spending the rest of his life in jail, I'm using his tools." Mark said.

"Perks of the job," Ranav suggested.

While Whistler was literally working his way around the code, Brott was checking the logic of the program itself. "It appears, from the language of the programming itself, that there are two distinct parts to the message. The second part is at a higher security level. It is designed to link to ship's computers and actually shut down vital systems. Since we are docked, it may even be able to link to the station computers. The first part we should be able to decode with no issues.

"I might keep hold of the second part then, see if someone can decode it and make it work for us. It'll help if we can turn off computer systems when we're in the middle of a fight." Mark said. "The first part...I'll let you begin decoding that."

Ranav began to run the program to decrypt the first part of the message. "It appears to be a set of bearings, sir. Bearing 359 Mark 14."

Mark's blood instantly ran cold as he heard the bearings. Every fibre of his body wanted him to scream that it was impossible. He looked at the message, and confirmed the bearings. Checking the ship's database, he confirmed what he had feared. "That's...impossible." He said, as he fell back into his chair, a look of horror on his face.

Ranav took one look at Whistler and instantly understood something was drastically wrong. At least when the blood drained from Brott's face, there was still some color to it. Albeit was a light blue. Whistler looked horribly pale.

"I take it you've been there?" Brott asked.

"Been there" Mark asked, calling up the planet on the holo viewer. "I was born there!"

"I'm sure your planet is quite large," Brott mentioned, trying to ease Whistler's concerned look. "The actual place may not be in your home city."

"You don't understand." Mark said. "Turalek is a world of chaos. There's no central city, no single city, no law and no government. It's a planet of chaos, crime and darkness. On Turalek, I first killed someone at 5, and that is about the average age that someone takes a life." Mark said. "People live in gangs, and each gang is at war with every other one. It's a fight just to survive. We scavenge for food and supplies, which sometimes come from Orion Ships, or other pirates looking for slaves or a place to conduct business. I was damned lucky to escape when I did." Mark explained.

Brott swallowed hard. He had never been to a planet full off anarchy. The people of his own home world often went out of their way to serve others. It seemed the people of Whistler's world served only themselves. Brott assumed that even members of the same gang had often turned on each other. Ranav knew he would stand out in this type of world. He would have to be cautious if he were chosen to go to planet's surface.

Finally, Brott managed to speak. "I see," he softly said.

"I'll need to meet with Commander Se'Lah. I'll take a team down to the planet. I know exactly what to expect, and where they might hide. I just hope the rest of my old gang are still alive." Mark said.

Ranav walked over and patted Whistler on the shoulder. No wonder the man seemed to have a rough exterior. He was brought up in the roughest of ways. "I'm sorry you've had such a hard life. If you need someone from the science department when we get there, let me know."

"Thanks. Appreciate it. It's been eight years since I stole a ship and escaped with most of my crew. We were one of the few decent gangs on the planet. We had a code, to always protect our family and never hurt the innocent." Mark said. "There's a spatial anomaly near the planet that can fry ship's systems that aren't protected, works like EMP. You'll need to make sure the ship is protected from it." Mark said.

"Thanks for the heads-up," Brott replied. "I'll test the electromagnetic compatibility of our systems. If I find any weaknesses, I'll alert engineering."

Mark nodded. "Never thought I'd have to go back there. Starfleet was supposed to send a task force to help bring order to the planet, to help people, but that's obviously gone out the window." Mark said, angry if that was the case. He had been promised that it wouldn't take more than a couple of years for the task force to help, but now, if criminals were still using it, he had to wonder how long ago Starfleet had abandoned it. "It'll help if we can take a lot of food, drink and medical supplies down there as well. They'll come in handy for barter." Mark added, trying to remain calm.

"I'm sure we can replicate as much is as needed," Ranav assured him. "Let me get with engineering on the electromagnetic compatibility. It seems you have some preparations to make as well. If you need anything more, please let me know. I will do my best to assist."

"Thanks." Mark said. The man was right; he had a lot of preparations to make before he was ready to go back to Turalek. He just hoped he could find the strength to get through it.

Glancing over the files she had been poring over for several hours one last time, Vicky sighed heavily and leaned back in her chair. There was only one person that she knew of that could answer questions she had about the brain and she wasn't getting anywhere just staring at these screens like this.

Getting up, Vicky clicked her desk screens off and headed out the door, intent on reaching sickbay and hoping that Val was in. It was a small ship so the walk wasn't far but it seemed she met an unusually high number of people in the halls on the way, all glancing at her strangely. Did she already have a reputation? It normally took longer than this.

And then she was at sickbay. Walking in a little ways, Vicky called out. "Val, are you in? I have some questions I hope you can answer."

Val was with Shae in the main med bay, scanning the Chameloid woman for her physical. Since Shae had been debreifed, this along with her psych evaluation was all that was required to get her pips back, and as excited as that made Shae it also made her incredibly nervous. Generally speaking, Shae did not care for doctors, and because she had been without medical care for so long, Val had to do more intensive scans to make sure she wasn't carrying anything harmful, but it also made the whole process take longer. They also had to document all the damage done by Section 31, which was pretty severe. There wasn't a part of Shae's body that didn't show some sort of damage from their experimental efforts to study and recreate Shae's ability to shapeshift. To say Shae was agitated would be an understatement, but she was remaining calm given the circumstances. Only the occaisional twitch of her ears and tail were the only visible indications of her agitation. Until Vicky showed up, that is.... As soon as Vicky entered the infirmary looking for Val, Shae growled low. She quickly silenced this reaction in an attempt to remain a good patient for Val, but she really didn't feel like being around Vicky right now...

"I'm a little busy, hon." So far Shae had been still other than the occasional ear and tail twitches that Valyre recognized as vulpine agitation signals. At Vicky's voice, however, Shae had growled low in her throat. Valyre didn't know why Shae was growling and wasn't going to ask, but she didn't want an incident on her hands if something was going on between the two women. "Can it wait? I'm with a patient."

"Of course," Vicky said, poking her head into the main area. "Want me to wait in your office then?"

"Please." With where she was standing, Valyre was between Vicky and Shae, and she hoped nothing was going to escalate beyond a few growls.

The way Val positioned herself between Shae and Vicky was not lost on the Chameloid woman. Shae sighed. "I apologize," she said in a hushed tone so only Val could hear her. "The Counselor and I started off on the wrong foot and at the moment I am not fond of her presence, but I will tolerate her if she needs to speak to you," Shae explained quickly.

"She has a tendency to scare the hell out of people. Or do some ditzy thing that makes people mad." Valyre looked over her shoulder. "Shae doesn't mind if you come over and chat. We're almost done anyway... I've just about cleared her for duty."

"Excellent! And sorry again about earlier," Vicky said apologetically as she turned around mid-step and headed over to the biobed they were at. "How are two of my favorite people doing today?"

"I should probably exercise my right to remain silent, but I have been poked and prodded for what feels like forever and I'm ready to bite someone," Shae said in as cheerful a tone as she could muster.

"Bite me and I'll sedate your furry little butt," Valyre remarked cheerfully, closing her tricorder and tapping a note into the PaDD on the table next to her. "Believe me, I think it was just as much a waste of time as you do. I could have told Ronnie you were fit without all this prodding, but protocol..." Valyre rolled her eyes, making it pretty clear what she thought of that particular protocol.

"I understand protocol as well, but..." Shae sighed. "If you've seen as many doctors as unkind as I have, then you wouldn't like physicals either."

"I don't like them anyway." Valyre grinned a bit. "Well more specifically Reen hates them... and I have a special note in your file that I'm the only one who needs to be handling your care right now. Not that I don't trust me staff, but more so I don't accidentally put you in a position where you're uncomfortable." That said, she looked over at Vicky. "Now what it is you have questions about? Something fun, I hope."

"I was wanting to ask about the Vulcan brain, but that can wait until you're done. Patient confidentiality and all that." Vicky replied. "For now, I think I should ask how Shae and her young one are doing."

"I'm alright, I guess. Well, other than the 'poking and prodding' part," Shae said with a shrug. "And Aoife is doing well. She let me sleep last night, so that made me happy. Oh Val, before I forget, do you want to do a physical for her as well?"

"Just a basic baby checkup, when you feel secure bringing her in. I know the last doctor said some things that made you uncomfortable with having her examined." Other than the notes about how 'tasty' Aoife looked, Valyre had little to go on as far as Aoife's health. She didn't know if the actual physical notes had just gotten lost or if none had been written down.

"Well, I'm here so might as well get it done. Easier than trying to get me back in here," Shae admitted with a chuckle, tickling Aoife's belly where she lay on the biobed beside where Shae sat.

"I'm curious... And if this is too personal, please excuse my rudeness... But why did you decide to have a young one in the situation you were in?" Vicky asked, completely obliviously. "I mean... Food had to have been scarce, right?"

Shae blushed at the question, but chose to answer it. "I was competent hunter, food was never an issue for me. But I didn't have her out of choice. Well, that is to say I wasn't trying to have a child, but..." Shae squirmed uncomfortably where she sat, not wanting to talk about Aoife's conception. "I wasn't given much of a choice during the... coupling." Shae's blush deepened.

"Coupling?" Vicky asked, completely lost. Glancing to Val, she continued the question. "What does coupling have to do with creating a young one?"

Oh boy. The miracle of life was not something Valyre had ever anticipated teaching Vicky, or any other adult for that matter. "Well... most species require a male and female to contribute genetic material for offspring. Coupling is... how they accomplish that."

"What?" Vicky asked flatly. "It... you..." Leaning against a biobed, she composed her thoughts into what she hoped was something coherent. "So... ok... My species reproduces by just deciding, eating a lot of extra, building up the energy, and creating a young one. There's no genetic material, no coupling... I didn't even know what genders were before I joined the Federation. What you're describing is..."

"Sex, Vicky, and it's usually a lot of fun. Unless you're forced into it, then it's pretty terrible." Boy, that was a sentence Valyre never thought she'd say. "It's also messy."

Not even knowing it was possible, Shae blushed even deeper. Wow, her cheeks felt like they were burning up. "During sex, usually as part of its conclusion, the male leaves his genetic contribution behind, and if the conditions are right within the female then conception occurs and the new life is incubated within the female. But that's why Aoife has some of my traits, like the ears and tail, but lacks other traits, like my paws. She picked up the darker hair from her father, and she may eventually develop the Vo'Zan's forehead ridges."

Vicky turned a bit purple in the cheeks herself. "I knew about sex... It was explained to me at a bar when I was at the academy... But I just thought it was a messy and lewd means of passing the time."

"Nope. It's how the rest of the universe makes babies." As Valyre talked, she turned her attention to Aoife's checkup, picking her tricorder up again to get some readings of the baby girl.

"And I suppose that's another reason they can't talk yet," Vicky said, trying to sort through all this new information. "Wait... Incubated... Inside you? How long does that take? How do you get the young out? Is that why Ronnie is so big? She can't get them out yet?"

That last question as well as the completely mortified look on Vicky's face made Shae laugh. "The time it takes varies from species to species. I think many races balance between 8 to 10 months. And they come out the same way they got in there, and it's usually quite painful."

Vicky was so mortified at this point, she was speechless. All she wanted to do now was just hide in her quarters and be a tree.

"Unless there's a problem. Then medical personnel have to intervene to get the baby - or babies - out before any harm comes to them." Valyre didn't want to tell Vicky, but she fully expected to have to do a Caesarean or emergency fetal transport on Ronnie. With twins, the risks went up, and often the second twin wouldn't deliver naturally. Instead of delving into further detail, she focused on Aoife. Trading her tricorder for a penlight, she checked the baby's pupil reactions and then held the small light within Aoife's reach to see if she would try to grab it.

Aoife smiled at the light and reached for it. "Speaking of complications, I'm fairly certain that Aoife came early. I lost track of how long I carried her and I don't even know how long would be natural for either El Aurians or Chameloids, or even Vo'Zan for that matter. She was so tiny and she wasn't breathing. To be honest, even once I got her breathing I didn't think she would survive that first night, but she surprised me..." Shae smiled warmly as she watched her daughter trying to get the light from Val.

"That's easy enough to figure out. How old is she?" Pretending to 'lose' the battle for the light, Valyre let Aoife grab it, though she still kept a careful grip on it to keep the device out of the baby's mouth. "Not breathing can be a good indicator of age, but not always. Lots of full term babies come out struggling for breath."

"6 months, I think?" Shae said. "Like I said, I had trouble keeping track of time, then there's the difference between Psi Gamma and Earth time... But 6 months feels about right."

"Can she sit up yet, using her hands for support?" It wasn't fool proof, but Valyre knew that was a pretty good milestone for most humanoid species in infancy.

"No, not on her own yet. And she can't crawl either, but she's trying," Shae said.

"I'd put her at about four months, developmentally then. She'll catch up eventually, probably by the time she turns two years." Aoife might not be able to sit up on her own yet, but she had a heck of a grip. Valyre couldn't get her penlight free and eventually gave up the fight entirely, letting the baby girl have it. It was too large to swallow, and she could replicate a new one later. "Come here, squirmy," she said to Aoife, sitting the baby up and sticking a pillow behind her for support. "You're a good mom, Shae. She's doing fantastic for a baby born that early."

Aoife's head was just a bit wobbly and she nearly fell over even with the support, but she found her balance and remained upright, chewing on the penlight with a drooly grin. "Thank you," Shae said with a proud smile, brushing her fingers along Aoife's cheek. "It helps that she can communicate with me somewhat. Just little instinctual yips and grunts, enough to let me know what she needs. She's rarely had to resort to crying, which is certainly nice."

Cut it out? That was too much for Vicky and her legs gave out from under her, dropping her to the floor. Conscious, but in a sort of dazed stupor, her back against the base of a biobed.

"There she goes." Making sure Aoife was secure on the biobed, Valyre crouched down to look at Vicky, not entirely certain what to do now.

Oh my! "Is she alright?" Shae asked, putting a hand on Aoife to keep her steady. She may not have been fond of Vicky personally, but that didn't mean she couldn't show concern for her.

"She's conscious but she looks kind of dazed. Hand me my tricorder, please." Deciding that crouching for long enough to figure this out was probably going to hurt, Valyre shifted to a seated position on the floor next to Vicky, carefully stabilizing Vicky's position. "I think she got answers she didn't like about babies."

"Yes, we were kind of blunt, weren't we," Shae said, hopping off the biobed. She found the tricorder and handed the device to Val, then returned to Aoife to make sure she didn't fall over.

Vicky was rolling her head around in a daze, dizzy and unable to get her head around it all. Cut someone open to get a young one out? It hurt enough just cutting her hand a little. what would removing that much from someone even feel like?

"She's a big girl. Thought she'd be able to handle it." Valyre took a few quick scans of Vicky, not finding any injuries or other damage. "Vicky? Can you hear me?"

Was Val talking to her? Reorienting her eyes to look, Vicky squinted. Yeah, definitely expecting a response. "Fuzzy mental pain sipping martinis by the pool?" She asked, not even sure what she was expected to say.

"Please tell me that was supposed to be a joke." If it was a joke, Valyre didn't think it was very funny. "Are you okay?"

Vicky put a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes a moment before trying to focus again. "What was that?"

"We didn't break you, did we?" Shae asked with a somewhat curious tilt of her head.

"Broke something... Why would you go through so much pain to procreate? The lifespan of most Federation races isn't long enough for that." Vicky said, noticing the tricorder and wincing at the sharp lights coming from it.

"It's not by choice, Vicky. It's how we're designed to procreate." Putting her tricorder away, Valyre pulled Vicky into a seated position with her head away from the supports to the biobed. "Besides, sex is fun and most of us like the little rascals that it can lead to."

"Some people make a choice not to have children and there's ways to prevent pregnancy, and for those who do have children, there's medicines and methods to help ease the pain of childbirth," Shae said as she gathered Aoife in her arms and knelt beside Vicky. "It does hurt, but as soon as I held Aoife for the first time, heard her cries... It was all worth it. Knowing that I had done this, brought a new life into existence, it's an amazing feeling. Maybe few years down the road, I'd do it again, pain and tears and all."

"I guess in this we're just too different," Vicky said, starting to recover. "I mean, it's good to know I'm sure, but... I have no idea where or how I would even use it. I'm not even sure I really wanted to know all this but I asked anyway. Maybe the ruling body was right... Maybe I should have stayed home and just been myself there. Maybe there is a gap of understanding that's just too wide."

"Don't be silly. Everyone has moments like this sometimes." Valyre squeezed Vicky's shoulder. "I'm sure there's something equally gross and weird about you that we don't know."

"Fair enough," Vicky said with a weak smile. "I suppose your young ones only get their traits from the two genetic material donors too, don't they? It would make sense since you can't shift your genetic structure. Our young ones pick up traits from every living thing they come into contact with. Always fingering things..."

"Yeah, our genetics are pretty static," Shae said, looking to Val and then back to Vicky awkwardly, then put Aoife in Vicky's lap. Aoife, still chewing on the penlight, looking up at her Vicky with a big grin, her cheeks literally aglow from the penlight. "Now pretend she's yours. What wouldn't you do for her?"

Vicky looked down at the cute little one suddenly placed in her lap, her hands instinctively supporting her so she didn't wiggle away if she decided to make a break for it. "I wouldn't... Feed her flashlights? They don't seem too nourishing." Vicky guessed, since she didn't know what Aoife's requirements were.

Shae laughed softly with a gentle shake of her head. "That's how babies explore everything around them, they have to touch everything and put stuff in their mouth. Not just that, but chewing on things is practice for what she'll do later when she's ready for solid food."

Vicky was only half listening at this point, instead making faces at little Aoife, trying to get her to laugh. Fish faces mostly. Purple, poorly done fish faces with googly eyes.

Aoife didn't laugh, but she was intensely interested, watching with rapt fascination and a wide grin as Vicky's face kept changing. And it was enough of a distraction that Shae was able to get the penlight away from Aoife, handing the now drooly utensil back to Val. "Look at that, she's a natural," Shae said with a chuckle.

Valyre took the penlight and wiped it off on the corner of her lab jacket before dropping it back into her pocket. A little drool didn't bother her; she'd had much worse things all over her uniform! "They're cute together. I wonder what Aoife will do when Vicky decides to be a tree."

"Best guess? Try to chew on her. It's what she does with everything else." But then a thought occured to Shae. "Oh, but please don't turn into a tree while you're holding her. I'm sure you're quite good at changing your form and confident you won't drop or hurt her, just please don't chance it," she said to Vicky.

"I won't then," Vicky said, one arm having been in the process of becoming a tree branch cradling the small Aoife. Her other hand was lightly stroking the baby's forehead with a thumb.

"It might be hard to imagine the idea of our kind of procreation, but humans have a saying that nothing worth having is ever easy. Carrying a child is hard, birth is painful, and helping Aoife survive those first few weeks was exhausting and emotionally draining, but when it's all said and done, I really would do it all over again because I love her and she's worth the effort," Shae said with a smile.

"If I ever decide to have a young one, I recommend you be careful. I suspect my offspring would be twice as demented as I can be." Vicky said as she ticked over Aoife's belly with one hand.

"I apreciate the warning," Shae said with a smile. Aoife giggled when Vicky tickled her, but then she growled playfully and tried to gnaw on Vicky's hand. Shae frowned and reached over to grab Aoife by the hair at the nape of her neck and held just firmly enough that Aoife became aware of the grasp. The child went limp in Vicky's lap, her ears drooping with a whimper. Shae let go and Aoife immediately perked back up and went back to gnawing at Vicky's fingers. Shae repeated the reprimand a little more firmly with a growl to reinforce it. This time when Shae let go, Aoife whimpered and held her hands out to Shae to be picked up, which Shae did without hesitation, holding her daughter close and nuzzling against her cheek affectionately. "I'm sorry little one, but we don't bite people," she said softly to her daughter.

Valyre watched with a kind of fascination as Shae's grip immobilized Aoife, and the baby girl went completely limp. The action was familiar to her, but for a moment she couldn't quite place it... until Snickers poked her head out through the open office door, seeking permission to come into the bay. Realizing where she'd seen that before, she whistled for the holographic fox to join them, pulling Snickers into her lap as the fox approached. "I can't help but be intrigued," she said apologetically, patting her pet's head. "Chameloids in general are a bit of a mystery to me. I thought that was just how you looked."

"Indeed, that was very interesting. It's like she has an on-off switch. Does that work on all young ones similar to her? what about adults?" Vicky asked, intrigued.

"Ah, no, this is something that is unique to races with more primal instincts, most other humanoid races don't have such an 'off switch'," Shae informed Vicky as she cuddled Aoife. "And you could scruff me if the situation called for it. Being an adult with the means to act of my own will, you won't get the same reaction that I got from Aoife, but it would definitely get my attention. And as to how I look and act, it's a bit of a mutational fluke because I'm only half Chameloid. But I do remember getting scruffed a time or two as a child, so my mother obviously had those same instincts to know to do it."

Vicky nodded, mulling it over. "So if I understand correctly, it's more of a trait of animals then? That's good to know." She then held up her hands, looking over her fingertips where she touched Aoife. "It also seems that your genetic structure isn't something I'll be able to easily mimic, if that's any consolation. Not that I go out of my way to mimic other races, mind you. It's one of my race's leftover instinctual reactions."

"I'm not an animal," Shae said with a scoff, then her voice softened, "but if it helps you to understand my behavior then that is one way of looking at it."

"No more an animal than a Caitian or Antican might be. Actually, they might be more like animals." Valyre couldn't get up from the floor with Snickers in her lap, so she just stayed put for now. "I wouldn't dream of scruffing you unless it was a life or death type of emergency and you weren't yourself," she told Shae sincerely. "I've scruffed a Caitian a time or two, and as funny as it can be in retrospect, it's terrifying and not something I like doing. I don't even like to scruff Snickers."

"It's not something I would think to do anyway. Too unfamiliar with it." Vicky said, resting her hands back in her lap and leaning her head back against the biobed supports, obviously tired out from her experiences today. "By the way Val, did you clear Shae for duty on your end? I still need to finish my psych eval analysis report but I think after another appointment or two, I can do the same from my end. I think that knowing more about how you all procreate will help with that too."

"I did. I just have to send it to Ronnie, but that only takes a couple minutes." Snickers licked her face, and Valyre tried not to laugh, pushing her pet's head away.

"Good, all the unpleasant stuff is out of the way," Shae said with a weak smile. "It will be strange to wear a Starfleet uniform again, but I'm looking forward to it now."

"It's a nice enough uniform," Vicky said, not wanting to tell them that her uniform was part of her skin at the moment. She hadn't had to wear an actual uniform in months and she was glad about that - mimicking specific clothing was such a pain. "Do you want to schedule your next appointment then?"

"Well, I'm meeting Mark in the mess hall after this... How about after lunch?" Shae offered.

"My schedule is open and that'll give me time to take a nap." Vicky replied with a smile.

"I hope you feel better," Shae said, meekly patting Vicky's knee in an attempt to offer comfort.

"Thank you," Vicky said, still smiling. "I think I just need some rest so my mind can process and reset so I should be fine after a nap."

"Just take it easy for a few hours and you should be fine." Pushing Snickers onto the floor, Valyre got up and then picked her pet up.

Standing as well, Vicky steadied herself against the biobed. "I'll have to ask you about Commander Se'Lah's memory loss later. You three be safe and take care, ok?" she said as she made her way out of sickbay.

Shae rose and headed for the door turning back to wave Aoife's hand at Val with a smile, then left Sickbay for her lunch with Mark.

Soon after arriving at Glebben Station, Ens. Storme had been given clearance with several others to visit the Station. Dressed in their Starfleet uniforms, Theron wasn't sure if standing out like that was a good thing. To him, it almost felt like walking around with a target on his back. But he tried to not let that keep him from having a good time.

Theron thought it felt good to be off the ship for a while and walking with a couple of the crew, however the smell of the Glebben station was something to get used to. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was that seemed to be offending his nose. The small group had been talking about it as they walked along the lower level of the Promenade of the Gold Pod. They had determined that it was probably a mix of unknown food, perfumes, pheromones, and body perspiration from a dozen different species on the station.

As they walked they talked about the guidelines set down by the XO. She had given authorization for Starfleet personnel to walk about the station. The intent was just to let the residents see a Starfleet presents. We were instructed to move about in groups of three or more and to not interfere with station security or situations. If a situation arose, we were to report it to station security and to the XO.

It was further instructed that groups walk about the public areas; shopping, dining, recreation areas. And to not go into residential, Industrial, or the slave trade area.

*****

Mark sighed as he stepped out of his office, which was now being remodeled as per his request. He decided that it was time to visit the station, so he was dressed in his usual civilian clothing, which was a black pair of trousers and a black t shirt. It would allow him to blend in better with the crowd than if he was dressed in a Starfleet uniform. He had his kulaks, two curved daggers, sheathed beneath his t shirt.

As he entered the station, he looked around, knowing that the station would be filled with scum and low-lives, trying to sell their black market wares. He hoped he could find some though, because he wanted to get some of the items himself, so he could trace them back to the Circle of Eternity.

*****


As the trio had moved down to the lower level of the Promenade, they checked out clubs and shops. It seemed that the lower the level was the seedier the type of establishments, but it may just have been Theron’s opinion. As they walked Storme noticed a small Bolian child. He couldn’t tell if it was a boy or girl dressed in the grungy slim and tattered pants with a shirt that didn’t cover her arms and not much of its mid-section. Theron had seen many other adults and children is this condition as they had walked, but this child seemed to be bleeding from the mouth and crying. “Hey guys,” Storme interrupted their conversation as he pointed up ahead a little, “she seems hurt.”

*****

Mark frowned as he took note of a few characters, trying to see if there was anyone he was actively looking for. So far, nothing and no one had cropped up. Mark knew they were around, and stepped backwards into a shadow, effectively vanishing from sight. It was a skill of his, he could make sure people didn't notice him, and when it came to the dark, he ruled it. It was at that point that he noticed a group of officers from the Islandica, including the Helm Chief. Mark had read the man's file, but it had been basic, and Mark wanted to know more about the man. He decided to keep an eye on him for a few moments, to see what he would do next.

*****


Theron took a few more steps toward the child and stopped. Bending down slightly he said, “Are you okay?” The child look up at him with a blood stained face and tears running from its eyes. When Theron extended a gentle hand, the child pulled away cringing in fear. Theron turned to look back at his fellow crewmembers for advise, but at that moment the child jumped up and darted down an adjacent passageway. Theron got to his feet quickly and ran after the child calling, "Hey. Hey now! Wait a minute. We aren’t gonna . . . "

The passageway narrowed and turned a couple times. Theron had to dodge a few boxes and trash along the way. He had to come to an abrupt halt, when at the end of the passageway stood two characters. The Bolian child wrapped arms and legs around one of them. He stroked the child's hair like a pet. When the large man with a scar on his face snapped his fingers and pointed to the side, the child obeyed and dashed off down another corridor away from them.

At that moment Ens. Storme knew that he had made a couple serious mistakes. He stood there alone. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another blur move up behind him. Theron had never been much of a fighter. He could hold his own possibly in a fair fist fight, but he knew this was way past that now. He could only guess what those two crewmen were doing back at the promenade. They certainly had more sense than to follow him down a dark hallway on a strange station.

Mark, having followed the men, quickly found a computer control panel, and found the system for the lights. He preferred to fight in the dark anyway. He deactivated the lights in the area, plunging it into darkness, aside from three emergency lights.

Theron was mystified when the lights went out. It didn't make sense, but he wasn't going to continue to just stand there. He jumped to the side, running into the wall painfully, and crouched.

"You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" Mark asked, his deep voice carrying across the passageway. One of the men quickly fired at what he thought was the source of the voice, but he missed. Mark had already moved to another console, opening a door, which led into a cargo area.

As the men quickly ran into the room, Mark walked over to Theron. "Wait here." Mark said.

Theron was also now uncertain of the man giving instructions. The seemingly glowing eyes struck a chord of fear or hesitation in him. But since this dark figure had not hurt him, he would go along with it, for now.

His night vision still active, Mark ran into the cargo bay, and leapt up onto a crate. Using the crates as leverage, he quietly climbed up onto the top of the cargo, following the signatures of the attackers. The three men were lit up to him, and as he reached near to them, he smiled.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" One of the men demanded, as they sat in a circle. Mark leapt down quietly, and came face to face with one of them.

"Here." He said, before grabbing the man and throwing him directly into a wall. He then leapt backwards, and climbed back on top of the crates. The two men ran towards where Mark had thrown the attacker.

"He's dead boss." The second man said.

"WHO ARE YOU?" The leader called out loudly.

"I'm the thing that goes bump in the night." Mark said, smirking as he moved again. The two men fired at where Mark had been, but of course he had already moved. Mark then drew his kulaks, and as he gripped the handles, he leapt down, towards the second man. The man saw Mark and went to fire, but before he could, Mark landed on the man, embedding his daggers into the man's neck.

Mark then faced the leader, and in one quick swoop, he kicked the blaster from the attacker. He sheathed his daggers, and then grabbed the man by the throat. "Who are you?" Mark demanded, as the lights came back on. Mark deactivated his implants, and took a look at the man.

Unlike his lackeys, their leader had a bit more skill. At first, he started laughing at this stranger, but then suddenly swiped up with his hands, forcing Mark's grip to be lost, before shoving him backwards. "I'm the man who's gonna make you regret stepping foot on the station.... tiny!" Without warning, the man moved forward, attempting to 'club' this strange little man to the deck.

Mark grinned as he leapt to the side, and slid backwards. "Finally, a real challenge." Mark said. He ran at the man, and spun around, swinging his foot towards the man's face.

The kick hit the target, causing the man to turn, but not hit the deck. As he straightened back up, he spit blood, and a tooth or two. "You're a dead man!" He lashed out with a booted foot aimed at Mark's midsection as his hands came up in a common street brawler's stance.

Mark moved backwards, avoiding being hit, barely, before launching a fist at the man's chest.

The big man slapped Mark's punch away, then lashed out with a one-two combo, both punches aimed at the operative's chest. "You'll have to do better than that, boy!" Looking at the man, Mark sized him up. He was tall, taller than Mark was, and bald. He was human, at least he looked human, and Mark could see a scar on his face.

*****

Theron considered himself lucky. He could have been easily taken out by those three, had it not been for that dark person. After several steps back toward the Promenade, Storme heard the echos of fighting. He realized that the dark one was taking on those three. Theron stopped dead in his tracks. He had no weapon, but felt responsible, turned and walked down the corridor cautiously toward the noises, finding himself at the entrance of a cargo hold. He could hear the conversation taking place and the bodies crashing about.

The smart thing would be for Theron to turn around and get back to the public area. This is a bad mistake you're making. He said to himself. He crept forward quietly, discreetly, staying out of sight of the others. He said softly to himself, "Ya just can't leave well enough alone." Peaking over the crate, Theron in the very low light could make out that there were now only two of them left; that very big guy and the dark one.

Feeling the punches land, Mark looked at his opponent. "If you say so." He said. He leapt at a crate, using it as leverage to kick away, and then spun around, kicking 'scarface' in the face.

Theron continued to watch the two fight. He truly wished he had been issued a phaser before coming on board the station. Storme thought, Well, I should at least report in about the situation. Tapping his Comm Badge it made a crackling sound. Softly he said, =^=Ens. Storme to Islandica.=^=

No response.

=^=Ensign Storme to any Starfleet personnel, report!=^= Still no response. He figured they must be in some kind of shielded area of the station. He was curious if that was usual for a Ferengi Station.

As Mark's kick hit its target, 'Scarface' spun around, stumbling, but still not going down. He straightened back up, shaking his head to clear away the sudden onslaught of cobwebs. He turned around to seek out the tiny man, but found more than he bargained for...

Taking full advantage of his target's stumbling, Mark spun around, kicking him again. He then began to land a number of punches on him, attacking the chest and head, one blow after another. As each hit struck its target, Mark felt almost like he was back in Turalek. He landed a strong blow on 'Scarface's' chest, before punching the man, hard, in the face, sending him down to the ground. Mark took the chance and drew his daggers. One of them immediately went into the hand of the man, keeping him attached to the crate. The other went to his throat. "I want to know who you're working for, and why you targeted a Starfleet Officer." Mark demanded, his deep voice taking on a tone that would drive most men back in fear.

"Forget it, tiny!" The large man said, after spitting out blood. He was in a bad position, but talking would surely mean his death. "Dead men don't tell tales!"

"Then I'll speed up your death." Mark said, as he made a nick on the man's neck. "Either you tell me, or I kill you."

Knowing he was dead either way at this point, the larger man figured it was time to just end it. Without warning, or words, he jammed his neck directly into the blade, causing a fatal wound to his neck, which instantly began to bleed out, spraying the immediate area with his own blood.

Storme was awestruck by the self-imposed wound. He watched as the large man's blood spread everywhere. The Engineer crawled backward unconsciously to stay away from the gruesome scene. Theron realized that he had stopped breathing during the last of the attack and was out of air, and began breathing deeply with labor.

Mark removed the dagger, and shoved it into the man's head, killing him instantly. "Did not know who he was fucking with." Mark said, wiping his blade clean on the dead man's clothes. He heard the sound of breathing, and turned to face the officer who had been lured to the area. "You okay?" He asked Storme.

Storme looked up at the man holding the knife, still uncertain who he was. Cautiously he replied, "Yes. I think so." Slowly getting to his feet he asked, "Who are you?"

"Mark Whistler, from the Islandica." Mark said.

"Oh." Theron mostly said to himself. Taking a step toward his own/unknown crewmate he said, "Well, I'm very grateful for you . . ." Theron looked about at the bodies lying on the deck " . . . coming to my aid."

Mark removed a communicator from his pocket, and activated it. It was a special design, and he was able to cut through the interference. "Whistler to Commander Se'Lah. Thought you might like to know about an attack on the station." Mark said, before describing what had happened.

Storme interrupted softly, without thinking, "How did you get that to work? Mine wouldn't . . "

"Perks of being an Intel Officer, you get better toys." Mark said, with a smile. "Can cut through any interference. Very black market."

Though the communicator was able to cut through the interference, there was still static heard in Se'Lah's reply. =A= Both of you remain there, and don't touch anything. I'm on my way.=A=

"Acknowledged." Mark replied, before closing the communicator. He looked down at the dead men. "Bit late for that, anyway." He commented, sheathing his daggers.

Storme also looked down at the dead, then softly commented, "I wonder what they wanted?"

"You, dead. You're lucky I saw you chase after that kid. Rookie move." Mark said. "What did you do to warrant special attention?" He asked.

"I have no idea." Theron responds slowly, then looked down in thought, shaking his head slightly side to side. "This was my first walk on the Station with a couple of the crewmen." He looked up to Whistler, "I hope they are okay." He looked away feeling ashamed, "Ya, it was a rookie move."

"Next time you're on the station, don't leave your group. This place is a hotbed for murderers, thieves and all sorts of criminals." Mark said, as he knelt down, checking the pockets of the dead men. "Hopefully they'll have something to indicate what they wanted."

Theron looked down at the men lying about, but then thoughts of the reality of his shipmate’s abilities, how he had taken them out single handedly. He looked up, wetted his lips cautiously and asked, "How did you do that?" He looked about the room again quickly and back to Lieutenant, "What type of training have you had?" He then cringed realizing; maybe he shouldn't ask such a question.

Mark looked at the man. "Training? None." Mark replied. "I grew up on a planet called Turalek. Place had no government, no law, nothing but anarchy. It's either kill or be killed, and most kids kill by the age of five." Mark replied, finding several strips of latinum, some form of narcotic and pieces of trash. He then tapped the side of his head. "What they had there were illegal steroids and narcotics, as well as illegal implants. Well, illegal in the federation. Gives me night vision." He added.

Theron initially felt bad for this guy as he explained his past and went through the pockets of the deceased, but at the same time was awe-struck when he mentioned the implants "Wow. I'm sure the night vision was a big advantage then?" He meant it as a statement, but came out more as a question.

"More than you can realize. Helped me with night raids. My gang all had the same implants. We also had a code which we lived by. Still do. Eight years ago, I escaped from Turalek." Mark replied. "Starfleet decided they wanted me as an ally instead of a potential enemy, because of my skills, advantage and my kill count."

This all seemed fascinating to Theron, until Whistler mentioned the kill count. He gulped hard. Not wanting to say anything more too personal and switched topic. Raising an eyebrow The Ensign leaned forward just a bit to see what the intel officer might have in his hands and asked, "have you found anything of interest?"

Mark pulled out a PADD, and frowned. "Yeah, looks like they had some information, but the damned PADD's encrypted. I'll need to take it back to the ship, and see what they wanted. I doubt it was a random mugging though, and if they work for who I think they do, then you were gonna be used as bait, or a hostage." Mark replied.

Theron felt frustrated, confused, angry, and yet relieved all at once. He crossed his arms across his chest and sighed deeply, then commented, "Not the best way to start the day."

"I've had worse." Mark replied, standing up.



To Be Continued...

Shae navigated the halls of the halls of the personnel deck with a certain amount of trepidation. Se'Lah had called her for her debriefing. Shae wasn't ready for this. She had talked about what happened a little with the Counselor, but hadn't gone into any detail. Now, she most likely would have to go into details and she just didn't want to do that yet!

Shae rode the lift up the short distance to the Command deck and found her way to the First Officer's office, ringing the chime and silently waited for entry.

Se'Lah had some free time with things calmed down after the negotiations, and had decided to debrief Shae. She was looking over some of the information she'd been able to get about the woman's Starfleet Profile... which wasn't much, but was distracted when the chime rang. "Come!"

Shae entered, pausing at the door for a moment as her eyes fell nervously on Se'Lah before sitting on the couch. She laid Aoife down next to her, covering the child with a blanket. "I hope you don't mind that I brought her," Shae said softly. "I still don't have anyone to watch her, and anyway she should sleep through this..." It was clear she was just nervous and filling the air with words to break the silence. The fact that she sat there wringing her hands only added to that. "I, uh... just... I know how important it is to do this, but I really don't want to," Shae admitted candidly.

"While I can't say that I know how you feel, I can sympathize, and I will try to make this as easy as possible." Se'Lah said. By her mannerisms, she obviously was not bothered in the least by the presence of Aoife. "This is a necessary step in getting all of the missing details. It will also give you time to ask any questions you may have."

"Okay," Shae replied uneasily. She took a calming breath, then looked at Se'Lah with a bit more resolve. "Okay, lets do this."

Se'Lah looked at her terminal, bringing up what she could get on Shae's mission... which was virtually nothing. "I'm not able to find anything about the mission you were on, because the information doesn't appear to exist." She said, raising her eyebrow as she turned to look back at Shae. "Why don't you start there?"

"You mean missions," Shae corrected Se'Lah. "I want to state first that I was never an Agent, they never trusted me with that much freedom. I had a handler and was given something to do through him. Most often I was a courier. I would be given minimal information, usually just a picture and an alias about someone I was to make contact with but no further instructions. I would make contact and from there I would bring back something, usually information, or sometimes I would make a delivery. Sometimes I was told to impersonate an Agent when they could not be present for whatever reason. There were other things I was often required do, and... killing was not uncommon."

Se'Lah was taking notes as Shae was explaining. "What was your particular mission, that landed you on the planet where we found you?"

"No mission, I escaped," Shae said. "My handler sent me on several jobs eliminating elements from operations that were being sanitized. I was given the use of a shuttle to get around and I had just returned. Maybe he didn't know I had returned or maybe he just forgot how good my hearing was, but I overheard him speaking with our superior. He was ordered to 'finish the job', and he confirmed that he would kill the 'mutt', that's what he called me, as soon as I returned. I didn't give him the chance; I killed him, sabotaged the computer and set the auto destruct, then I got out there, but in my haste I forgot about the auto turrets and I took some damage when I fled. My navigational systems were damaged, I was venting air, but I managed to keep flying until I got to the Psi Gamma system. I didn't know where I was exactly; I had a general idea, but I just wanted to get away from Federation space. I set in orbit to scan for fuel and some place I could set down to make repairs, but then the array messed up my computer and... well, you know the rest."

"I see..." Se'Lah said, inputting more notes, before turning back to Shae. "How did you end up in the ranks of the old Section 31?"

"I was taken from my dorm room. I had no idea who they were, I simply woke up in a cage in an unfamiliar place. At first they just observed, then they tested and experimented, tried to see how I worked, even tried to reverse engineer my ability, then eventually they trained me and put me work." Shae sighed, then continued. "There were various stages of torture and interrogation meant to break me, make me compliant to their will, and even once I gave in, there was an unpredictable part of my nature that just wouldn't submit to their will, so they installed the slave device as a safety precaution. And... the man who was my handler, he would put pictures of my family in my cell. You'd think that would make me happy, but it just reminded me of how easily they could hurt the ones that I love. After that, I stopped fighting them and did as I was ordered."

"Do you remember the name that you knew your handler by?" Se'Lah asked, then as an afterthought added.. "Names, and code names, and other information was obtained about each individual working for Section 31, when it was reduced to intel gathering. Having that information allows the fleet's Intel department to learn whether your handler is still alive, and prosecute them for their crimes."

"The chances are pretty slim that my handler is still alive after what I did to him, but I only ever knew him as Merrit. The one who gave us orders was Agent Erik Callahan." Shae proceeded to name off several other agents that she had dealt with, either by impersonating them or doing work alongside them. It wasn't a terribly long list, almost all her orders came to her through Callahan, although added to the list of scientists and doctors who studied her and then the military personnel who trained her, she knew more than enough names in Intel to cripple the organization if she wanted to. Not that she wanted to.

Se'Lah added more notes to her report, then pointed to a PADD sitting near Shae. "If you will give your thumb print on that PADD, the computer will verify your identity, and transmit it, along with the report." She explained. "This is for your protection, as well as to ensure that this information gets processed correctly."

Shae picked up the PaDD, her hands shaking slightly. This was it! Once she authorized this transmission, then Starfleet and Intel would know she was still alive. She was scared. What if... Shae shook her head. No, she couldn't be thinking on 'what if's, Se'Lah and the Captain had assured her that she would be safe. Those assurances didn't do much to assuage her fears, she knew only time would help her overcome them.

"So this was all you needed?" Shae asked as she pressed her thumb to the PaDD. It chirped in confirmation of her identity and so she set the PaDD down.

"For the moment." Se'Lah replied simply, tapping her terminal to turn it off, then turned to face Shae more fully. "I know this whole thing makes you uncomfortable, but I can assure you that if they are still alive, those who mistreated you will be arrested, and brought to justice."

"At this point, I don't even care about that," Shae replied, her ears drooping slightly. She looked over at Aoife, still asleep on the couch. "I just want some assurance that I won't be roped into that kind of work anymore. I want to be left alone so I can try to pick what's left of the pieces of my life..."

"As long as you are here, I will not allow anyone to mistreat you in such a way." Se'Lah replied. This was a promise both to Shae, and to herself, as it also reminded her of what she'd learned concerning the incident that nearly killed her 2 months before. "I feel I owe you that much."

"Thank you," Shae said, truly grateful that now she could finally move on and start putting all this madness behind her. She leaned her head back with a heavy sigh. "Oh, I am ready for all this to be over with," she said with a tired smile as she looked back at Se'Lah. "I'm not looking forward to my physical, and the psych evaluation... That Counselor is... I don't like her. I don't think she's fit to evaluate me."

"I've met with her once." Se'Lah replied simply. "She seems to be a little... off, but her record indicates that she is a capable counselor."

"I still don't like her," Shae said with a childish pout. With another sigh, this time with a sense of defeat, she continued. "But I will do my sessions with her. She is, after all, all we've got..."

"Indeed she is." Se'Lah replied simply. "And sometimes we must deal with people we do not like in order to get through the important things in every day life."

"I understand," Shae replied with a nod. "And I will report for a physical as soon as possible. That's another thing I'm not looking forward to, but I know it must be done."

"Should you wish to speak to me, or need my help for any reason, my door is open to you." Se'Lah told her sincerely. "Now I hate to put you out, but I have other matters that I must attend to."

"Thank you, Commander," Shae said, gently lifting her sleeping child from the couch. "I'll leave you to your work then." And with that, she rose and left Se'Lah's office, glad that unpleasantness was done with.

Levitra made her way quickly to the Astrometrics Lab looking forward to getting to meet the person who apparently was also going to be her boss. But in addition to that she was also excited about finally getting to settle into her quarters and preparing for dinner tonight with the lieutenant. She made her way into the lab making sure to pause before entering not wanting to run into the door like she had once before during her trip out to the station.

She saw a person of a species she had never seen before and had a confused expression on her face, "excuse me I am looking for Brennan?"

The Chameloid woman with an infant child strapped to her back turned and cast a kind expression Levitra's way. "I am Kalin Brennan," she said, stepping away from the Astrometric console to greet... looked like an Enlisted Officer. And this woman looked human enough, but Shae could tell there was something not quite human about her. Shae disctreetly scented the air. Mmm, definitely not human. Uhg, and she had seen Brott... "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes I am the new Stellar Cartographer," she said, as she looked at the baby. She smiled wider when she saw her, "Hi there," she said, to the baby. "Your baby is adorable," she said to Brennan.

"Oh, thank you. I don't have a caretaker for her yet, so I hope this won't be an issue. She's pretty quiet and she sleeps through most of the shift anyway." Shae said as she peeked over her shoulder at Aoife who had a wide grin for the pretty lady talking to her. "So, a Cartographer," she stated, looking Levitra up and down as if sizing her up. "How much experience do you have in the field of Stellar Science?"

"Well technically I'm a general Science Technician by training but I took the additional certification in the cartography systems while I was waiting for transport to Islandica," she explained. "I can serve as a normal Science NCO or as a Cartographer and I'll be doing that here," she said, happily. Her concentration was mostly on the small child however wanting to play with her.

"I hope Aoife won't be too much of a distraction for you," Shae said teasingly. But then a thought occurred to her and she grew more serious. "Now i know things can get complicated between Officers, NCO's and civilians, but I was once an Officer and I'm working on getting my commission back. I just hope it won't be an issue for you working under a civilian for a while."

Levitra turned to Shae and frowned, "Sorry," she said. "And no I don't know what difference it makes a supervisor is a supervisor whether they're an NCO, Civilian, or an Officer," she shrugged. "I'm not that interested in being in charge of things I just want to be here and work and learn new things," she told her.

"I just needed to be certain there wouldn't be any problems," Shae replied with a nod, then turned back to the Astrometrics console. "So, what does your certification cover? Is it just Cartography, or are you familiar with any of the studies and diagnostics?"

"Well primarily I can assist in any science lab and conduct experiments and record data from them. I can operate all of the probes and can even do some minor modifications or repairs to them. As for cartography I am able to edit the starfleet cartography database directly and I know how to operate all of the astrometric systems I do not how to repair them," she said.

"Well, we didn't go into the Sciences to become mechanics, did we?" Shae said teasingly. "But it sounds like you've got a good foundation to work off of. As we enter the Expanse, I'll let you handle the charting so I can focus on analysis. And as you gain proficiency, I'll assign more material for you to learn to expand on your qualifications."

Levitra nodded, "that sounds good," she told her new boss. "Is there anything you need me to do right now?" she asked. "Otherwise if you don't mind I want to get settled in and I have to meet with Lieutenant Brott again," she told her.

"Please, go get settled in," Shae said with a kind smile. "I still have some settling in to do as well, so we likely won't see much of each other until the Islandica departs for the Expanse. But if you need to, you may stop by my quarters anytime."

"Okay thank you ma'am," she said, turning and leaving quickly.

Lieutenant Ranav Brott walked with a pep in his step. A few hours earlier he had met Petty Officer Levitra. He was intrigued by her friendliness and beauty. It surprised him that he had the courage to ask Levitra to dinner. He had been a lab rat his short life, so there hadn't been any females in his life. He had directed all his efforts in his career to serving and pleasing others.

Now, he felt it was about time for him to seek enjoyment for himself. He showered, splashed on some cologne and dressed in typical Bolian fashion: a billowy white shirt with a blue jacket opened in the front (the jacket also had decorative gold ridges on the shoulders), and blue slacks to match the jacket. Many Bolians would have added a toupee' to their bald head. However, Ranav had become comfortable with his smooth skull. He walked to his replicator and gave the command for an assortment of flowers. It responded with an assortment of flowers resembling lilies, gladiolas and carnations with baby's breath throughout. The assortment brought a satisfied smile to Ranav's lips.

Grabbing the flowers from the replicator, Ranav hurried to the Petty Officer's quarters. Saying that the Lieutenant was nervous would have been an understatement. He quickly straightened his jacket, held the flowers before him and rang the chime.

Levitra had just gotten back to her quarters and had a shower and was in the process of trying to decide on an outfit that wouldn't leave her uncomfortable but would also be appropriate to the standards of those around her. She stood with some dresses laid out and some traditional clothes from her home, which were inappropriate, on her bed when the chime rang. She went to the door and pressed the chime she moved so quickly and gracefully that it barely took anytime to answer the door. She wore a bra and panties that just filled their function and barely anything else. "Hello Sir," she said, excitedly. "I'm sorry I'm not ready yet but you can come in and help me pick an outfit if you want?" she said, like nothing was amiss.

Ranav was prepared for an embrace, but when he saw her and the fact she was not yet fully dressed, he hurried into the door and allowed it to swish shut behind him. It was a pleasant surprise though, bringing a smile to his face. Levitra had a heavenly body.

Following Levitra to her room, Ranav mentioned, "I brought these for you." He held out the flower assortment to Levitra. Inside, he hoped she didn't think this was a stall to keep her undressed longer.

She took the flowers and admired them, smelling them twice, "my goodness they are so lovely sir!" she said. Levira knew he was an officer and while she didn't think it was wrong for them to have any sort of relationship outside of work she had been taught and had it engrained that he was to be addressed as sir or lieutenant or even Mr. Brott. "They smell so lovely," she said, again, taking another deep breath of them. The third time she sneezed, looking surprised at what just happened to her. "Let me get some water for these," she said, holding them back out, "would you hold them please?" she asked.

"Sure," Ranav said as he held out his hands and took them from her. "And please, call me Ranav."

He acted as if he were admiring the flowers, but secretly was admiring Levitra. "I'm glad you like them!"

"They are so beautiful, Ranav," she said, walking toward one of the two small closets. The NCO quarters aboard the ship were quite small and usually shared but her roommate had not yet reported aboard. She found a large water bottle that she was looking for that she would use as a vase as there was no replicator in the room. She walked into the head that was shared with the adjoining room and filled it with water and then came back out. At home there were many beautiful gardens and she missed that. "They can sit in here," she said, arranging them on the desk after taking the flowers from Ranav.

"So about dinner," she said, "I am not so great with dressing customs... what do you think would be most appropriate for where we are going?" she asked, motioning at her bed. "Oh how rude of me," she said, blushing and holding out her arm in the Bolian way she had learned earlier.

Ranav smiled and held his hand out. Then he surprisingly opened his arms, stepped forward and embraced Levitra. This was her quarters, after all. She should feel at home. Ranav tried to convince himself that this was why he did her customary greeting. This would have been a more logical argument had Levitra not been so damn beautiful.

"May I say," Ranav insisted, "their beauty does not surpass yours!"

Levitra turned bright red, "you are just saying that," she said, taking his arm and leading him to the bed. "What do you think?" she asked, truly wanting his opinion.

Ranav looked at the outfits. They appeared definitely more revealing than what the average person would wear. He wasn't certain the other members of the crew would appreciate her wearing what she was used to wearing. Perhaps some would appreciate it too much.

He rubbed his bald head as he thought. "I like the clothing," Ranav had to admit. "I'm sure you look quite lovely in it. However, I'm not certain how the rest of the crew would take it. Perhaps you could model one for me. It would give me a better idea."

She frowned, "I thought that some of these were more... umm... there is a word I can't remember," she said, blushing. She walked over to the dress she found the most modest, the word she didn't remember, and held it up to the body. It wasn't modest but it didn't expose anything that would get her in trouble it even completely covered her bra. She frowned and then stepped into the dress and pulled it up she put the straps over her arms and went to him turning, "would you close it for me?" she asked.

Ranav's cheeks turned royal blue. He walked over to Levitra, her beauty becoming a great temptation to him. Ranav insisted on being the perfect gentleman; he desire to be helpful at all times, especially with Levitra. He gently grasped the zipper and gave it a tug, zipping the outfit together. It did seem more modest.

Ranav smiled at her as he said, "Levitra, you look ravishing!"

She blushed also, "thank you. If you think this is sufficient we can go?" she suggested.

Ranav stepped back to take in the full view of Levitra. Sighing, he said, "When I studied the various cultures of planet Terra, one impressed me. The Ancient Greek culture had a goddess of beauty named Aphrodite." He paused for affect before adding, "Levitra, the way you look tonight would put Aphrodite to shame. That's how beautiful you look."


"Thank you," she said, blushing deeper. She didn't know who this aphrodite was but it sounded like a compliment so she'd take it as one.

Ranav offered Levitra an arm. It felt good having the beautiful young lady by his side as he escorted her to the lounge. On the way, he pointed out areas of the ship to give he ran idea where everything was. He looked forward to a pleasurable dinner. Levitra was as easy to talk to as she was beautiful.

Myomoto limped into the sickbay supporting his left arm by the elbow against his chest. He was dressed in Starfleet combat fatigues and they were torn in several places with blood wetting a couple of the tears. "Hey Doc? you here?"

Hearing someone call for a doctor, Valyre couldn't help cringing momentarily. While she had every right to introduce herself as 'Doctor Reen,' so many people in the fleet didn't like her doing it, something that made so little sense to her. "Be right with you!" she called from around the corner, giving Snickers a hand signal to send the holographic fox under a table, where Snickers sat primly to wait for her return. Without the danger of tripping over her pet, she went to see who was calling for her. Unaccustomed to seeing Marines on starships, she wasn't quite prepared to see someone in combat uniform, but she supposed it wouldn't be so unusual. The Islandica was, for all intents and purposes, a military ship.

"Fire and Ice, what did you do to yourself?" she asked, already guiding her visitor over to the closest biobed. She didn't think he'd require - or want - any assistance to climb up on said bed, but she offered him a hand anyway, signaling an orderly with the other. The orderly nodded and whisked off to get the trauma tray as Valyre turned back to her new patient, waiting for an answer to her question.

He blushed slightly as he responded. "I was running one of my practices sims on the holodeck. An escape and evade scenerio. I had just finished climbing a small cliff and had engaged some captors in hand to hand combat... I was going well, as it should have." He said with a little pride... then he flushed again and continued in a subdued tone. "Then I stumbled after I threw an opponent to the the ground and... Fell... Down the cliff."

"Well, sweetheart, that was a pretty dumb thing to do," Valyre chided him good-naturedly as the orderly set her tray down. Noting how he held his arm so tightly, she surveyed the bloodied spots on his combat jacket and winced inwardly, though she maintained a cheerful smile. "You're not going to like this, but I'm going to need to see those cuts, and working on your arm's going to be easier without the jacket in the way. I won't lie to you... it's going to hurt like hell taking it off. So, even though I haven't looked at you yet, I'm going to offer you a painkiller, nothing mind-numbing, just something to dull the pain some."

Myomoto didn't know what to make of being called sweetheart... that was new. To cover his aversion he smiled at her in an almost weary way. "Doc I have been through this and worse before. No painkillers are needed just cut anything in the way off."

"You're an interesting man. Most don't want their uniforms damaged. Even if they come in with the whole thing in tatters!" Picking up a pair of trauma shears, Valyre gently eased the fabric of his combat jacket away from his arm, giving herself just enough room to slide the shears in place and start cutting through the seam. "I'm new to the ship and haven't had time to review the rosters. What's your name, hon?"

"1st Lt Joseph Myomoto at your service doc. Chief of Tactical and Security. I have spent a fair bit of time in active combat. I have become more attached to my body than my uniform." He finished with a bit of a smile. He always like doctors, been saved by more than one more than once and knew that their banter was as much part of their profession as much as their medical knowledge; so he didn't mind chatting with them since it was all just part of the job.

"Doctor Valyre Reen... or Commander Reen to those who think only physicians should be called doctor. Most people just call me Valyre or Val." Valyre worked quickly, removing the aforementioned jacket in sections rather than trying to wrangle it all off at once. Once she'd cut the entire thing free, she set the scraps of fabric aside and swapped the shears for a tricorder. "Chief of Security explains the tumble off the cliff... playing with the safeties off?" Even with the undershirt of his uniform still in place, she could see that the cuts and scrapes were mostly superficial, so she started her scans with his arm and shoulder. "Where's the worst of the pain, Joseph?"

"You're the one who fixes me up. That's doc enough for me." He nodded seriously at her before continuing "Yup safeties off and apparently brain too. Shoulder."

Valyre smiled a bit, appreciative of his attitude. "In my experience, a Starfleet officer's brain automatically disengages when passing through the holodeck door. Not intentionally and certainly not your fault... we're conditioned to think the holodeck is safe. So we take risks we normally wouldn't, say, if the cliffs were real." Centering her scans on his shoulder, Valyre quickly found the damage and gave a low, appreciative whistle. "You've done a number on yourself... dislocated it and tore the rotator cuff... and a pretty good sprain too. The good news is, most of the pain will die down once I've got it back in joint. Bad news... well you're in security. I'm sure you've walked this road before."

"Pop 'er back in, doc." he gritted his teeth in preparation for the pain and wasn't disappointed. His mind went black with pain for a second as the joint reseated itself under her "tender" care. "Thanks," he gasped out when he finally could.

"You're welcome. Goddess, I hate doing that." The sound a joint made when it snapped back into place always made Valyre's stomach turn a little. It was worse even than setting broken bones. "At least the rest of your shoulder issue is relative straightforward. I can regenerate the torn muscles, but ligaments have terrible blood flow. They'll regenerate partway, and then the rest has to heal on its own. So... take it easy for a couple weeks, unless you want to end up in here again, needing surgery." As she spoke, Valyre picked up the muscle regenerator in one hand and her tricorder in the other, using the tricorder's scans to direct the treatment.

"Aye aye ma'am." He said in response. "I could use a little down time I guess. Just pushed it a little extra today. Working out some issues you know."

"Issues, huh? The sort that can only be resolved by being manly and strong in the holodeck?" Valyre chuckled a little, not prying any further than that. Checking her work with the tricorder, she nodded slightly and set the muscle regenerator down and picking up a small dermal regenerator instead. She gave the cuts and scrapes she could see a bit of a casual look, not seeing anything too terribly concerning. At least the dirt in the holodeck was holographic, not much chance of infection from it. Still, in her free hand she picked up a hypospray loaded with penicillin, then paused. "Before I give you this... are you allergic to anything?"

"Heh... not sure how to sort them out. Never had girl trouble before." He looked at the hypo spray and said simply "Nope. Spray away."

"Ah, girl trouble. Reen's been a man a man a few times... none of them were very good with girls either." Valyre pressed the loaded hypospray against Myomoto's neck, injecting its contents. "Penicillin," she explained, setting the hypospray down. "Chance of infection from the holographic dirt is pretty low, but better not to take chances. Now as for the cuts... I can fix them or you can take this home and manage them in the privacy of your cabin."

"Cuts and bruises are easy enough to care for. Thank you doc for doing the tough stuff for me." He stood up and stretched a little. "From what little I know on the subject... is any man worth having really any good with women?" he chuckled apprehensively not sure if he was right.

"From my personal experiences and the memories that Reen carries... no." Valyre grinned at him. "The best men to date are usually the sort who can't figure out how to say 'hello' first and trip over simple sentiments. So they go out of their way to express the feelings they're not sure how to put into words. Whoever the girl is, I'm sure you'll make her happy."

Myomoto smiled back at her. "Thank you doc. I certain hope I do." He got up and headed to the door and turned back "I am glad we have such a good person running our sick bay. I look forward to working with you." He gave her a half wave and half salute as he walked out.

With no time to lose, Ranav Brott dashed to the shuttle bay, stopping off in Security only long enough to get a phaser. So zoned in to his mission and having to get to the shuttle quickly, he wasn't aware that Ensign Storme was right behind him until they got to security.

He seemed to remember hearing the CE being commanded to go as well. This, of course would be his mission. He would be the senior officer and the dish was his baby. Ranav still looked forward to the experience of his first away mission with his new shipmates.

They picked up the phasers in Security with no issues. Brott requested an extra one in case the CE wasn't able to go to Security. After retrieving the phasers, the two of them hustled to the shuttle awaiting them, already in preflight mode.

Jacob basically stalked into the shuttle bay, toolkit in hand and a scowl on his face. He wasn't happy, his deflector dish had been stolen and now he had to leave a ship full of problems to get it back and have it reinstalled in a zero-g environment. Whoever stole it needed to be pushed out an airlock without an EVA suit. Spotting the two officers as he entered, he approached and eyed them both wearily.

"You two the ones coming with me?" He said gruffly, eyeing them.

"Yes, Lieutenant," Ranav affirmed. "Lieutenant Brott and Ensign Storme at your service. The ensign will be our flyer."

Storme glanced over his shoulder as he sat in the pilot's seat.

He looked at Storme for confirmation that the shuttle had finished pre-flight check.

Seeing a slight question on the Lieutenants face, Storme reported with a hint of excitement, "The runabout has been and cleared for departure from the Islandica and the station."

"I see." Jacob sighed softly. "I want to make a few things clear. Phasers are not to be fired in any proximity to the deflector dish under any circumstances. I don't care if they're hiding behind it. No phaser fire." He said looking directly at Brott. "If so much as a stray discharge of energy gets close to it, you could depolarize and possibly destroy the systems in it, which would make it as useful as holding up a transparent aluminum wall in front of the ship while we go to warp. Am I clear?"

Storme nodded quietly, not wanting to interrupt.

"Yes Lieutenant," Ranav confirmed. "We did bring a phaser for you." Brott handed the phaser to the Lieutenant.

"Secondly," Jacob continued. "If we catch the bastard responsible, I want them stunned till the next millennium then thrown into a cell somewhere dark and cold. No one steals my deflector dish."

"But not if they're standing next to the dish," Ranav confirmed.

Theron could see where this line of conversation was going and tried to move past it by looking to the seat next to him and reported, "We are ready to launch. At your command Lieutenant."

"Take us out ensign." Jacob said as he settled into a seat.

Ranav hopped into the co- pilot seat. He immediately began inputting information into the sensor screens.

With everything set and cleared, Ens. Storme engaged thrusters, lifting it off the deck and forward out of their ship and then out of the Glebben Station's force shield. Theron wasn't going to putter around and follow the letter of the law on velocity next to the station. With the station behind them and no other vessels in their current trajectory, Storme brought the impulse engines to full, shooting them away from the station and out of all traffic about the station.

"We should be able to follow the ship's emissions," Brott affirmed. "It appears it is heading at a bearing of 145 mark 25.

"Understood." Storme replied mechanically. He was very focused and serious at the controls. Angling the craft up, he brought the Iceland about, almost the other direction. Once on the correct trajectory, he engaged the warp drive.

The stars in the view port of the Volga-Class runabout streaked. Theron would never get tired of seeing that magical wonder of a visual when going to Warp Speed. He reported, "At warp 2.5 and increasing Sir."

"What's the status on their trail? How fresh is it?" Jacob asked, bringing up the sensors on the console in front of him.

"They have a good ten minute jump on us, Lieutenant!" Brott answered. "The trail is still fresh and easy to follow. A small cargo ship, fully loaded...estimated time of intercepting them is thirty minutes."

Thortin brought up the sensor readings for the ship they were chasing. It was a Vadusian freighter. Not state of the art, but definitely not something so easily taken by a runabout.

"Alright gentlemen. I don't want to rattle them. So, no power to weapons or shields unless absolutely necessary." He frowned slightly as their distances closed. "In fact...ready a photon torpedo, high yield level six." He said, thinking quickly. "Then prepare our own deflector dish to emit a directed tetryon beam towards the freighter." He said, bringing up the simulation on his console to check his mental calculations. "It should destabilize its warp field. Once that's begun fire the torpedo set to proximity detonation. It should push them right out of warp."

Theron like this guy’s way of thinking. "Yes Sir," he quickly replied. He totally understood what he wanted to do with the tetryon beam. He just had never seen it himself. Storme looked to Thortin approvingly, knowing that he would take care of the munitions.

Tactics and engineering was better thought out by those departments. Ranav was glad the Lieutenant was along. The man knew the working numbers. Ranav knew the idea would work.

Brott pushed the commands. "Photon torpedo is at the ready, sir."

Ranav entered more commands and the deflector shield emitted a beam. "Tetryon beam is activated."

Jacob watched as the tetryon particles did their work, attaching and destabilizing the warp field that the freighter had generated around it. The tetryon particles wouldn't do all the work, but it would be enough to get them started.

"Fire." He ordered, once the saturation levels had reached peak.

Ranav pushed the command to fire the photon torpedo. As the Lieutenant predicted, the cargo ship they were chasing dropped out of warp.

Storme dropped the shuttle out of warp to stay on top of the Vadusian Freighter and not lose her.

"What the hell?" Jacob said aloud as his sensor panel lit up with an approaching vessel. "Oh you have got to be kidding me!" He seethed. "Red Alert! Shields and weapons up!"

*Profitable Venture - Bridge*

After docking inside M'Rissa's ship, Riddly had quickly made her way to the bridge to help the woman as best she could. She sat at the Operations console of the freighter, calling out sensor readings as she could figure them out. "Damn! There's a ship on our tail!" She told M'Rissa. All this latinum, and now it looked like these Fleeters were going to steal it back out from under her. The ship suddenly jerked hard, nearly throwing her from the seat she was in. As she looked back at the console, she nearly panicked. "We're not at warp anymore!!" she said as she brought the shields up to full power. "And here you thought I'd be safer with you!"

"Shut your mouth, girl, we ain't in trouble yet," M'Rissa said in a sharp tone to Riddly as she worked at her console to try to get her warp field reinitialized. "Criticizing me when you ain't got a leg to stand on... You do realize that the tech in your hold is worthless, right? Assuming you didn't ruin its ability to physically connect to another ship with your transporter, without the Command codes to activate it, it’s fucking useless! Hell, I'm surprised you didn't blow yourself and the 'Fleet ship to bits with your little disappearing act." M'Rissa ranted like a mad-woman. Fuck, this girl was worthless! Why was she even trying to help her?!

"Why don't you try growing up on a Ferengi station with no money, and expected to run around naked!" Riddly snapped back. "Ferengi are annoying, and gross! At least now I have a ship, so maybe I can actually do something!"

"Oh boo hoo, my life was so tough," M'Rissa said mockingly. Granted, Ferengi were assholes, but Riddly had a lesson coming if she thought she was the only one who ever had it rough. "And when we're through with this, we're gonna have a talk about that waste of money you call a ship." Why did M'Rissa get the sinking feeling that she was going to end up paying for a bunch of repairs on Riddly's ship to keep it operational?

With a sudden jolt, M'Rissa was able to reroute power to her warp drive and get the warp field to reinitialize, sending the ship to warp and hurtling towards the station.

*Iceland*

"Lieutenant," Ranav exclaimed, "they've reinstated warp capabilities. They are headed...," Brott looked surprised, "back toward the station!"

Theron reached up and scratched his head. He was curious about how quickly they had been able to reengage the warp engines.

"Send a message back to the Islandica. Let them know our target is now a much larger target." Jacob ordered, scanning the new vessel. "Storme, plot a course. Match their speed as best as you can." He ordered, his mind whirling with different thoughts as he tried to figure out the best way to deal with the situation.

"Aye Sir." Storme replied and brought the Volga-Class shuttle almost 180 degrees about.

"Yes, Lieutenant," Brott spoke as he opened a channel to the Islandica. =^= Shuttle Iceland to Islandica, the cargo ship that was our target had hooked up with a freighter and is headed back toward the station. We are continuing pursuit. =^=

=A= Understood, Iceland. Keep me informed. Islandica out. =A= Came Se'Lah's reply.

*Profitable Venture*

As the ship came about to head back towards the station, Riddly saw it on the sensors, and got mad. "Oh hell no!!" She nearly screamed, as she got up from the console. "I'll give up the dish, before I'll let you take me back!!" With that, she ran off the Bridge, before M'Rissa could even try to stop her.

"I ain't gonna let 'em take you!" M'Rissa shouted back at Riddly, but held her course for the Station. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks what Riddly intended to do, and suddenly the Elassian woman was scrambling to put a lock on the cargo bay doors. Only it came a little too late; her ship rocked hard with the turbulence of Riddly setting her bright idea into action, but M'Rissa managed to keep the Venture at warp and on course. Fuck, she was gonna have a serious talk with that girl later....

*ISS Kinah - Bridge*

It was only a short sprint back to her ship, but once there, she sat at the helm controls of what she was happy to say was her very own ship. She entered the codes to open the cargo doors, and launched herself out of them, the ship jerking a bit as it fell out of warp. "You fleeters want your damned dish...?" She muttered to herself as she beamed the dish into space. "Take it!" With that, she altered course, and punched it up to maximum warp. Hopefully, the fleeters would value the dish more than they valued capturing her.

Iceland

"Did they just..." Jacob seethed as he watched his precious deflector dish careening out of the smaller freighter's cargo bay like space garbage. "You did NOT just dump my deflector dish!" He roared in frustration.

"Storme! I want a tractor beam on the dish yesterday!" He yelled, forcing the runabouts impressive sensors to scan the dish and focusing it to check on damage to the device.

Theron activated the tractor beam and slowed down for a moment to snatch it, but without damaging it.

"Extend our shields to surround it, if so much as a space particle strikes it without power we're hosed!"

"Understood." Storme replied promptly. When the dish came to the appropriate distance a couple seconds later, the shields were extended around it as well. Theron was not happy with the power situation. The strain of the tractor beam and extending the shields were placing real stress on the power distribution, but between the computer and a few tricks of his own, things seemed to be fine . . . for the moment.

"Shields extended," Brott confirmed. "We have just enough energy to hold her and get back to the Islandica."

"Good to know." Jacob said distractedly as he read through the reports from the sensors. The deflector dish had sustained some damage from space borne particles as well as the violent ejection from the freighter during its escape. The damage was substantial and it wouldn't be ready for immediate installation onto the Islandica for a number of days while they worked on repairing it.

Leaning back into his chair, Jacob sighed softly and placed a thumb and finger at the bridge of his nose. His mind was filled with the work that needed to be done on the deflector dish and it served to frustrate him more.

"Storme. Take us back to the Islandica. Inform the commander that we've retrieved the deflector dish, but we'll be waylaid for at least a week until we can repair, test, and install it back onto the ship."

"Aye Sir," Storme replied. With the dish now in a fairly locked in position, he laid in a direct course back to Glebben Station. He brought the Volga-Class back to warp and confirmed a stable flight envelope before activating his comm. =^=Iceland to Islandica.=^=

=A= Go ahead.=A= Was Se'Lah's simple reply.

Storme felt a little nervous but reported, =^=Sir, the deflector dish has been recovered. We are on a return course to Glebben Station at this time.=^= He glanced over his shoulder at the frustrated looking Lt. Thortin then added, =^=Lieutenant Thortin has made initial findings and believes that repair and reinstallation may take 7-10 days.=^=

=A= Understood. What about the ship that stole it? =A= Se'Lah asked. The dish was important, but so was justice.

Storme felt a little nervous at that moment and found his throat dry. He looked to Thortin and cringed slightly. He hoped that Thortin, the superior officer, would speak up for himself in this situation.

Ranav hoped that the First Officer would logically think that retrieving the dish was of more importance than catching the thieves. But Vulcan logic was not the same as other species' logic. Ranav took a deep breath and momentarily held it.

"The Vadusian Freighter managed to evade capture through a very reckless maneuver involving ejecting the deflector dish into space." Jacob growled. "They got away."

=A=That's fine.=A= This time, Se'Lah's voice seemed more Human than Vulcan, laced with emotions that Vulcans obviously did not normally show. =A=The deflector dish is more important. Make your way back here, and we will go from there. Islandica out.=A=

The relief showed in Ranav's facial features. Min his experiences with the Vulcan First Officer, she seemed understanding, as well as logical. She seemed a little unusual for a Vulcan, but it was pleasant serving under her command.

"I think I'm up for a drink when we land," Ranav confessed. "Anybody else?"

The tightness in Theron's shoulders eased after the comm-link ended. He glanced at his hands, palms up, then back to the controls. His hands weren't shaking or anything. He recalled that when he was at the controls he might be nervous, but was always in control. He glanced over at Lt. Brott, "I think I'll join you Sir." He would have liked to say he had fun, but knew better, then glanced toward Thortin out of the very corner of his eye.

Ranav looked at the pilot with a friendly smile, "The company would be greatly appreciated! Nothing like a Bolian ale to unwind after a tense moment." Ranav chuckled and turned to the CEO, "What about you, Lieutenant?"

"Thanks for the offer." Jacob sighed as he leaned back into his seat. "Unfortunately the damage to the deflector dish requires a practiced hand to repair." He said pinching the bridge of his nose. "And last I checked, I am the only one rated for it on this ship."

Theron gave an uncertain grimace and shrugged his shoulders as he looked to Brott.

"I'm sure you have a few men that could help speed up the process," Ranav thought out loud. "Perhaps, some other time, though?"

Ranav would eventually personally get to know each of his shipmates. That was one part of the Bolian ways that came very naturally to him. He seemed to easily befriend others. It would be no different on the Islandica.

"Second rule of engineering, if you're the best at fixing something don't let other people touch it." Jacob replied, going over the sensor reports. "We have multiple impacts on the emitter itself as well as stress fractures across most of the surface." Jacob sighed. "If we ever find the people responsible..."

As the Iceland approached the Glebben Station, Ens. Storme reduced speed of the shuttle then activated the comm. =^=Glebben Station, This is Shuttle Iceland from the USS Islandica requesting clearance into launch bay, Silver POD.=^=

After a few moments, an annoyed looking Ferengi appeared on the screen. More than likely the annoyance was that they weren't getting paid anything for this docking request. "You're cleared, just don't break anything, or you're paying for it!"

Storme continued, =^=Thank you Glebben Control. We are on approach vector now. Iceland out.=^= He softly said to himself, "Paying for it. right." With that done Theron reduces velocity even more to a slow crawl, just outside the docking bay doors.

Looking over his shoulder Storme asked, "Any suggestions on how you want to handle this Sir?"

"Take us into hovering next to cargo bay two. The Silver pod." Jacob replied. "We're going to tractor it next to the magcon field before bringing it in to start repairs."

"Aye Sir." The Ensign replied. He then eased the shuttle and suspended cargo gently through force barrier and under the main hull of the ship. Slowly and steadily the deflector dish was eased up near the exterior of Cargo Bay 2.

Jacob watched the pilot's ease of movement as he guided the runabout and its precious cargo into position before tapping a few commands into his console to link up with the Islandica's systems.

Storme brought the shuttle and cargo to a complete halt. He activated a 'station keeping' program that would keep the Iceland in that stationary position during the transfer process. The Tandaran lifted his hands from the controls, leaned back, realizing that a bit of perspiration had collected on his forehead, and asked, "What next?"

"Now? You guys get some rest. I'll be in the cargo bay working on the repairs." Jacob said before tapping his communicator.

=^=Thortin to bridge. Tractor beam the deflector dish into the cargo bay and have engineering team three on standby there.=^=

=A= Release your tractor beam, so the dish doesn't get damaged by contradicting forces. =A= came Se'Lah's voice ringing through the COMM.

Storme made the changes on the console and disengaged the tractor beam. "It's all yours now Islandica." Theron crossed his arms watching the technical readout of the dish moving slowly away from the shuttle and into the open exterior cargo bay door.

After several seconds, the dish disappeared into the cargo bay, and the door closed. =A= Iceland, the deflector dish is in the cargo bay. You can dock, and begin repairs at your discretion. Islandica out. =A=

"Alright gentlemen." Jacob said as the deflector moved away. "Let's get into the shuttle bay and off to whatever we needed to do before we ran this wild goose chase."

"Yes Sir." Storme replied enthusiastically as he had the shuttle make a slow turn and move toward the shuttle bay.

Jacob nodded once as the runabout made its way back towards her berth. His mind awash with many thoughts.

"Great job piloting Storme." He said finally. "By the book and even more." It was rare for him to pay a compliment, but the sudden need for their chase and the way Storme handled himself was impressive to say the least.

The Iceland settled gently down on the deck of the Islandica shuttle bay. Flight systems were deactivated and the door was opened. Theron turned his chair and replied, "Thank you Sir." He looked toward Brott and raised his eye brows a couple times, hoping he would get the hint that it was time for that drink.

Ranav was relieved to be back. He took a deep breath lifted his brows and nodded back to Storme. "Let's find some place on station to relax!"

Theron just smiled from ear to ear.

Jacob watched the two, silently jealous of the free time they'd have, but kept it to himself. "Enjoy gentlemen." He said, picking up his PADD before turning to Ranav and tossing him the phaser. "Don't get to sloshed before next duty." He said before making his way towards the door.

Ranav escorted Levitra to a quaint little bistro on the station. The aroma coming from the kitchen was of several spices used to enhance the flavor of the meats and side dishes served. None of the smells reminded Ranav of the type of meat he enjoyed. Perhaps the spices will add a tangy flavor.

The maître di checked his diagram of tables, then led the two to one that sat next to a small fountain. Ranav thanked the man, slipped him a tip and held out a seat for Levitra to be seated. The man lit a candle in the center of the table and left.

"This seems like a very nice place," she said, looking around as she sat down. "And thank you," she said, smiling up at him as he helped her into her seat. "Have you eaten here before?" she asked.

Ranav sat in the seat directly across from Levitra. He wanted to be sure he could see her beauty when he answered her.

"Actually, I have never eaten here," he admitted to her. "My father owned and operated several restaurants as I grew up. I've spent more time in them than anywhere else in my life up until eleven years ago. He taught me to use my senses to know a good place to eat."

Ranav was thankful for his father and the skills he developed from his influence, but he wanted to change the subject. Thinking of his father brought unpleasant memories of how his family died. Ranav was more interested in knowing about Levitra, so he attempted to get her to talk about herself.

He looked into her eyes and gave her a friendly smile as he proved. "Tell me about the place you are from."

She gave him a pained look, not sure what to say, and then looked down at the table for a second before looking back up at him. "That is a very difficult question Ranav," she told him. "I miss my home a lot it is a very beautiful place but the people there live a life that I'm not sure I can support anymore. They persecuted my father and I know that if I were ever to return that the same would happen to me," she said, honestly.

Ens. Theron Storme sat on a crate in a Cargo Hold, dangling his feet, as they waited for Security to arrive. With crossed arms Theron felt bad and a little uncertain as to what would happen to him. He seemed to always get in trouble, when it wasn't his fault. But this one, this may have been his Rookie move that might be the reason for leaving Starfleet.

Storme heard foot falls outside in the passage way and looked up at Whistler, the dead lying about the cargo deck, and back to the open door.

Mark, having sheathed his daggers, now held the PADD, wanting to go back to the ship to begin deciphering it. He looked at Storme. "You okay kid?" He asked.

Storme looked up with doubt at Mark and replied with a dismal statement, "You mean I'm just lucky I'm not dead right now."

"Don't sweat it. I've seen more experienced people fall for dumber traps. You were trying to help. Nothing wrong with that." Mark said.

Moments later, Se'Lah slowly entered the area alone, her gun drawn as she came into view. While normally she would've brought security with her for something like this, she didn't think it would be wise for a group of Starfleet personnel to enter into what was obviously a dangerous part of the station, risking even more problems. In the darkened area, she could make out the silhouettes of two people, one of which was sitting on... something. She figured it might be her people, but wasn't taking any chances as she brought her gun up, pointing it in their general direction.

"I'm with Starfleet!" She said with authority. Though her emotional control was in place, she knew how to make proper demands in such situations. "Put your hands where I can see them, and identify yourselves!"

Theron raised his hands quickly and blurted out, "Yes Ma'am." He considered hopping off the crate, but that might be taken as an aggressive movement, so he sat tight. "Ahh . . I'm ahh . . Ensign Theron Storme, Helmsman, USS Islandica." He looked to Whistler for his response and confirmation that he too was Starfleet. He had no desire that anyone be shot right now.

"You can stand down from Red Alert, Commander." Mark said. He looked at Storme, raising an eyebrow, and then st Se'Lah. "Looks like I got my wish of a better work out than the holodeck." He added.

"It would seem so." Se'Lah said as she put her gun away. She looked around the area, noticing the dead bodies. "Three dead... Did you have to kill them?"

Now that he saw that the situation had defused a little, Ens. Storme hopped off the crate and onto the deck. He dusted his hands nervously.

"They did want to see Mr. Storme dead. To be fair, I did try and question the last one, but he didn't give me any choice." Mark said, shrugging it off. He showed her the PADD. "One of them had this. It's encrypted, so I'm going to have to run it through a program back on the ship." Mark explained.

She took the PADD, skimming over the encrypted contents, before handing it back. "Considering what happened last time we tried to decrypt something, I'd suggest using an isolated terminal." She replied. "Are either of you injured?"

"Nothing to get in a twist about." Mark replied. "I've had worse scrapes in the holodeck. And they didn't get their hands on Storme. I made sure of it."

For some unknown reason Theron actually felt embarrassed that he had not been injured. He smirked shyly and replied, "I'm fine Sir."

Mark looked at Storme, then at Se'Lah. "If you like, I'll eject these three into the waste plant, or just vaporize them, whichever you prefer." Mark said.
Theron cringed inside at the thought of how the Lieutenant wanted to do away with the recently departed.
Se'Lah turned to Theron. "Mr. Storme, leave here now, and do not speak of this incident to anyone." She ordered without hesitation. Based on the things that had taken place, and the obvious intelligence background of herself, and Mark, she thought it best that Theron wasn't present for any more of this. "I will make the report to the Captain myself. Do you understand?"

Theron thought the request was just a touch odd, but that wasn't any different from what had taken place. With Intelligence involved, a lot could be going on. After only a brief hesitation he replied, "Yes Ma'am." He gave a nod to the Commander, looked at Lt. Whistler, gave a confirming nod to him as well, and walked out of the cargo bay.

As soon as Theron was out of sight, Se'Lah put a hand on Mark's chest, gently pushing him further back into the room. Her emotions were just under the surface as she remembered the kiss they'd shared in the holodeck. She inwardly wondered what would happen if she'd allowed it to continue, but now was not the time to ponder such things.

"You're lucky that I like you, or this would've caused a greater problem, because Starfleet is not in the business of taking lives." She told him simply, hinting that the kiss may have meant more to her than she had let on previously. "You and I will search the bodies, then vaporize them to remove any further evidence."

Mark nodded. "That plan works for me." Mark said. He looked at her hand on his chest, and took her hand in his. "Starfleet may not like taking lives, but I'll do whatever it takes to protect the crew. I'll do a lot worse than this to protect you." He said softly.

She hesitated at his last words, her hand closing around his as he took her's. "Just like you, I am a highly trained operative." She told him simply, as she looked at him, despite her Vulcan control, her eyes seemed to search him, as if looking for... something. "While I'd like to see those who tried to kill me end up dead, I would prefer that they be arrested to face proper justice." And instantly she wondered if the person she was before the explosion would agree with her own words now.

Mark looked into her eyes, doing something he had never done before. He allowed her to see him, to see into his heart. "Se'Lah...you are the first...and only...person I've felt so...sure about. I've never held much faith in the justice system; I've seen murderers go free, and I've seen criminals released because of red tape and technicalities. When I issue justice, I make sure it sticks. If I can capture someone, I will, but to protect you, I would go to any lengths." He said. "I know it sounds insane, but...I care about you, more than I have cared about anyone."

"And you don't really know me." She smirked at him, before leaning in to kiss him affectionately on the cheek. She pulled back, giving his hand a squeeze. "We should get this done quickly, lest someone decides to look for us, or your three friends."

Mark smiled at her, and kissed her hand. "Agreed. Afterwards, how about we get to know each other a lot better?" He asked, as he knelt down and began to search through the pockets of one of the dead men.

As he kissed her hand, her emotional control broke. She smiled, and blushed at him, then bent down, rolling the biggest of the men over onto his back to begin searching him. "Perhaps we should start with lunch." She replied. "I still believe it's best for me to take things slow... I'm still learning who I am."

Mark saw the blush and smile, and both made his heart jump a beat. He could scarcely believe that he did feel strongly for someone. He had spent his life in combat, and never even gave a thought to emotional attachments. "Lunch works for me." Mark replied, with a nod. He pulled a few slips of latinum and some illegal drugs from the pocket of the man he was searching. "I'd swear this one was your common druggie, looking for a quick fix. Maybe used by someone, but who?" Mark said.

"The wound on this man's neck is self inflicted." She said, as she noted the fatal laceration on the man's neck. She continued to search the body, finding several slips of latinum, another PADD, 2 knives, and a Klingon disruptor. "Based on that, and the items I've found on him, he obviously had something to hide." She said, then tossed the PADD she found onto the chest of the man that Mark was searching. "See if you can decrypt the contents of that one, when you work on the other one."

"Yeah, he really didn't want to answer my questions, which makes me think he works for someone major, although they have to be powerful to make such a big guy want to sacrifice himself." Mark said, accepting the PADD. "Two of these guys had PADDS on them, one didn't. Why not?" Mark asked, frowning.

"If he was just looking for, or pushing drugs, it's possible that he wasn't an insider of whatever their ring is." Se'Lah replied. She stood up with the Klingon disruptor, turning it over in her hand to study it. After a moment, she turned it to the highest setting, then stood back, and used it to vaporize the rather large man. "Hopefully, those PADDs will give us some clues."

Mark removed a small, discreet yet powerful phaser, and as he picked up the PADD's, he fired at the man's body. It glowed before disappearing. "None of this makes sense. My gut's telling me we're missing something big." Mark said. "I wonder if it's connected to the Circle." He added. He looked at Se'Lah. "The Circle of Eternity. Terrorist group, been trying to track them down for a while."

"Considering the fact that our Ferengi hosts were less than enthusiastic about allowing us to dock here, I'd say it would be unwise to bring this to them." Se'Lah said, then tossed the disruptor onto the last body, nodding for Mark to vaporize it along with the body. "Hopefully, when you get those PADDs decrypted, they will have the answers we're looking for." She said simply, then returned to their original subject as her emotions surfaced again. "Screw lunch. If you're free this evening, we can have dinner in the ship's lounge. With many of the crew being on the station, I doubt there will be many crew members there."

As Mark vaporised the last body, he smiled. "Sounds good to me. Shall I bring anything? Other than my charming smile." He said, as he put away his phaser. He approached her, and kissed her hand. "I have to admit, I'm sorry you weren't here, I'd love to see you in action."

"I'm not exactly sure what I'm capable of in action." She said, and in a move that was very much unlike Vulcans, she placed a hand on his cheek, then leaned in to briefly kiss Mark's lips. After only a moment, she pulled away and looked at him. "Bring what you find on those PADDs. At some point during dinner, we can discuss whatever you find... In the mean time, I think it's best we get back to the ship, before someone else discovers us here."

Mark couldn't help but smile at the kiss. "I look forward to it." He said, still with her hand in his.

She smirked at him. "Sometimes, it's ok to make impulsive decisions..." She told him, then patted his face where her hand still rested, before pulling away from him. "Let's go."

"Yes ma'am." Mark said. "I always did like impulsive decisions."

The pair made their way out of the area, and headed back for the ship. There was a lot of information to sift through, and it was also time for Se'Lah's meditation... Something she was always afraid to miss.

Stepping into her new office/quarters suite, Victoria had to sigh. They were at best spartan and at worse little more than a closet. There was at least a divider between the main living area and the bedroom, but little else. There was a curved desk along the far wall and a nice set of chairs and a futon - even a professional looking fainting couch close to the desk. That had to have been a personal touch by someone. The lights were dim as well, which she could only hope was a personal touch.

Setting her bag on a coffee table and stepping around the desk, Victoria touched the computer screen discreetly built into the surface. It didn't come on. "Computer, activate desk terminal," she demanded, receiving a promptly negative computer chirp and "Terminal is locked by the ship's chief Counselor."

"Computer, I'm the new Chief Counsellor. Authorization Iniya Bravo Two Two," she demanded, again receiving a negative chirp and a new message of "Command authorization required."

"Apparently I'm not in the ship's systems yet," the purple haired woman grumbled under her breath. "Computer, please send a request to the XO. I'd like to meet her in my new office at her earliest convenience." Finally, the computer gave her a positive response. A happy chirp and "Message sent."

Sighing, Victoria set about the rest of the quarters, inspecting the lighting controls and confirming that it indeed was a personalized setting keeping them lowered to about half. Also a setting she couldn't override. The furniture was nice enough, if a bit out of place.

Then she inspected the bedroom.

It was a disaster.

Closing the slide to the bedroom, Victoria stifled a gag and vowed to handle that later.

Se'Lah had been roaming the halls of the ship, when the counselor's message had been received. She didn't much like Ferengi, and with their new Commanding Officer around, she figured the woman could handle the politics of their stay from here on. As requested, she had made her way down to the Counselor's office, ringing the chime.

"Come in," Victoria called, smiling warmly when the door opened to reveal her new XO. "Commander, It's good to see you so soon. Please come in."

"Your request said you wanted to see me at my earliest convenience." Se'Lah replied, as she stepped into the room. "Now is convenient."

"Excellent," Vicky said with a smile. "It seems the prior occupant left the console locked and I need a command level authorization to unlock it so I can use it. Do you mind?"

"Computer, unlock the counselor's terminal." Se'Lah ordered. She had been informed of the departure of the previous counselor, mainly because she'd been scheduled for a meeting with them as ordered by the CMO, who had also transferred out.

"Unable to comply. Terminal has been locked by the ship's chief counselor."

"Computer, the new chief counselor is Lieutenant junior grade Victoria Iniya." Se'Lah said. "Please confirm this change."

"Unable to comply. Command level authorization is required."

"Authorization Se'Lah, delta, delta, 259." Was Se'Lah's simple reply.

"Access confirmed." The computer replied, and moments later the terminal lit up.

"I believe the computer will be more cooperative for you now." Se'Lah said as she looked at Vicki.

"Excellent, thank you," Vicky said as she rounded the desk again and cleared the current (mildly disturbing) screen, instead punching up the ship's counseling schedules. "Ah, I see you were scheduled for an appointment yesterday after the prior counselor left. Would you like to reschedule, Commander?"

"I could, or since I'm here, we could have the first appointment now..." Se'Lah replied, then hesitated as her emotional control seemed to simply vanish. What she felt was a suddenly awkward moment, caused her cheeks to flush a light green hue, as her next question was filled with emotions that seemed more Human. "Unless this is a bad time?"

Her XO was a Vulcan, right? Interesting... Vicky smiled and picked up a PaDD. "Now would be wonderful. Please have a seat."

Se'Lah sat down, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "My apologies, Counselor." She said, looking at Vicki. "Perhaps I should've warned you that I have lapses in my emotional control."

"Then I should warn you that I enjoy being a tree," Vicky replied in a serious tone.

Despite her emotions, Se'Lah raised an eyebrow at Vicki to show her confusion. "Pardon?" She asked, obviously confused. "A tree, Counselor?"

Still serious, Vicky nodded. "A tree, Commander." Then she morphed into her potted tree form. Purple leaves, barktits and all.

"I see..." Se'Lah's confusion, and emotions simply wiped away, as her control slipped neatly back into place. "I skimmed your profile, but was unaware that you were a changeling."

Reverting back to her normal form, Vicky grinned and sat back down in her chair. "It mentions I'm an allasomorph, doesn't it?"

"It does." Se'Lah replied simply. "I did not read very far in-depth, so I do not have all of your information memorized just yet." She admitted. "I will have all of the new crew profiles memorized by the end of the day tomorrow."

Vicky waved off the assurances, switching topics. "Do you know what the scheduled sessions with a counselor were for?"

"I suffered memory loss due to an explosion 2 months ago, and those memories have not returned." Se'Lah explained. "The ship's previous CMO ordered counseling session to ensure that I am coping properly with the memory loss, and lapses in my emotional control."

"Then do you do Vulcan meditation techniques? Also, without your memories, how are you performing your duties?" Vicky queried the Vulcan woman quizzically. "Are you just operating mostly on trained instinct?"

"Instincts, my own personnel records, and the general common sense knowledge that remained after the explosion." Se'Lah explained. "I meditate for a minimum of one hour each day. It helps to a degree, but according to Starfleet medical, it's highly likely that my emotional control will never again be completely intact."

"For a Vulcan, I've discovered that to be an important thing. Perhaps though, you could view it as a learning experience on this new path you're on?" Vicky suggested, hoping her recommendation would be received well.

"Since it is something I must seemingly learn to live with, I've been looking for a proper balance between logic, and emotion." Se'Lah replied without missing a beat. "I would assume that this makes it a learning experience, but that doesn't make it any less difficult... or awkward."

Vicky had to smile warmly, hoping the gesture wasn't lost on Se'Lah. "They say that nothing worth doing is ever easy. Whichever path you decide to take in this, I'll help you in whatever way that I can. Any emotions you aren't sure of or have troubles dealing with, just let me know, ok?"

"There are some that I find curious, as they are completely new to me." Se'Lah replied simply. "Feelings of romance, or lust to be precise. It would seem I was recently caught up in such emotions, and am unsure of how to deal with them, or even if I should pursue them."

"For most people, I would encourage the exploration of any emotions safely. For a Vulcan, I would recommend meditation to get through them. For you... That's up to you, really. Which do you feel would be the wiser course of action in your circumstances?" Vicky asked.

"Moderate experimentation in search of a proper balance." Se'Lah replied without any hesitation. "In my experiences so far, emotions are completely illogical, and can sometimes lead to... impulsive decisions that are not necessarily wise."

"Without that control, you're more likely to make those impulsive decisions. You'll have to learn how to mitigate or plan for them like humans seem to do." Vicky said thoughtfully.

"So I noticed." Se'Lah replied, sighing lightly. "What impulses I've experienced so far were pleasurable, but I felt they were not... appropriate at the time, and I was able to resist."

"I hope that when they do become appropriate, you'll explore these impulses. They might help you cope better in the long run." Vicky replied.

"Perhaps..." Se'Lah replied as thoughts of Mark crossed her mind. "However, I think I will take things slowly. I don't want to push myself too far, while trying to learn who I am."

"Well, it seems you have a solid plan and a healthy course of action. There's not much more I can do for you other than chat with you when you need to." Vicky said with a lopsided grin.

"Which was what I attempted to tell the previous CMO, when he prescribed counseling sessions." Despite her emotional control being in place, she gave a slight smirk, then stood up, immediately changing the subject. "Now that the computer is aware that you're the new Chief Counselor, it should be more cooperative for you, and if there is nothing else, I should probably return to duty."

"Thank you again for that," Vicky replied. "If you need anything, please let me know."

"I will certainly do that, Counselor." Se'Lah replied, and in a move that was very unlike typical Vulcans, she offered the woman a hand shake. "I look forward to working with you."

Taking the woman's hand and shaking it, Vicky couldn't help but smile brightly and wonder what else awaited her aboard this ship.

Vicky was sprawled out on her fainting couch, resting after today's events. As long as it was though, she still had more to do - Security was going to come by for some reason and she was expecting someone to ring her chime at any moment.

Myomoto paused outside the counselors door before ringing for entry. Security checks like this were usually performed by junior security officers but since this was the head counselor he was hoping to use this opportunity to introduce himself.

Straightening up he rang the chime and waited for the response.

Ah, there was the chime that Victoria was awaiting. "Come in!" she called, getting up from her fainting couch to greet the new arrival.

Myo stepped through the door and stopped just inside. "Hello ma'am. I am 1st Lt Myomoto the Chief of Security on the Islandica. I am just coming by to perform the standard security checks before we head out." He looked around the room quickly and nothing seemed to stand out. "Before I get started is there anything you have in your personal possession that could be considered a weapon or present any danger to the crew. Please note that I may not necessarily confiscate them, just note them in the logs." He kept his demeanor and tone formal and professional as always. On the job is on the job.

"No, nothing I could think of," Victoria replied. "I'm Lt Iniya - call me Vicky. I cut myself pretty badly with a replicated steak knife earlier today so I guess I should report that."

He knew she was probably kidding tried to keep his tone light as he replied "No ma... Lt Iniya. That I believe falls into medicals area of expertise. However if you would like additional training in knife sue then I can be of help." He was not very good at jokes and he hoped that what he said was actually somewhat amusing. He had never served aboard a ship before and knew that interactions here would be different than with combat troops. He just hoped he could learn fast enough to not offend anyone.

"Vicky. Or barktits. I answer to that as well." Vicky insisted. "And I did go to sickbay. I'm just surprised such a dangerous weapon was so easily obtained. As a pacifist, I should probably be appalled."

He was temporarily speechless as his mind try to process 'barktits' and 'Steak knife = weapon' at the same time. His face showed his obvious confusion but he settled on the steak knife issue first. "Ummm well most people don't consider a steak knife a weapon so much as a tool. Sure it can be used as one but most people working on board a starfleet vessel probably don't think that way. And if they start to that is where you come in right?" barktits?... What? went through his mind at the same time.

"That makes sense I guess," Vicky said. "Would you like to sit down a while? Cup o' tea, perhaps?"

Myomoto visibly struggled before answering. "Yes I would like some tea. However if you will replicate some hot water I will be back in a moment." Before she could reply he hurried out of her quarters and quickly walked to his. Informal association made him very uncomfortable but if wanted to ever come out of his shell than this was the person to try it with.

He returned to her quarters with a cloth bag in his hands. "I am sorry about that... I am not very good with non work related interactions. That was rude of me." He lifted the bag and continued hurriedly "These are green tea leaves grown by my mother. Would you like to try some?"

While he was off getting the tea leaves, Vicky had replicated a glass teapot with boiling water and a pair of ceramic teacups and had them on her table and waiting when he came back. "I'd love to. Please." she said with a smile, sitting down and motioning to the pot of still simmering water.

Myomoto crumbled some leaves in his hands and muttered some words in a mixture of Japanese and Russian as he poured them into the water. He sat down across from her and sat rigidly. "So..."

"So..." Vicky repeated, not entirely sure what to think of the ritual so far. "Do you like trees?"

He blinked at her for a second before responding slowly "Yyyyeeess. They provide decent cover and can be nice to look at." He had no idea where this was going and was a little nervous... A lot nervous.

Standing and moving a step away from the table, Victoria turned back and assumed her tree form, transforming quickly into a purple leafed potted tree with a pair of tree boobs.

The first thing Myo thought was Oh... barktits with a kind of detachment. His body in the mean time was moving on its own. He was not expecting her to shift so suddenly and his body went into fight or flight... Which for Myo was always fight.

He crouched low in a combat stance... And froze. He had no idea what to do from this point... Certainly not attack a tree... "Why?" was all he could say.

Vicky rustled her leaves almost like a giggle before changing back and laughing happily. "Sorry sorry. Am I nice to look at as a tree?" she asked as she sat back down.

His mind was reeling from weirdness overload and he stammered out "Uh... Sure. I am more of a roots guy myself." He giggled a little maniacally as he sat back down.

"Really now? I'll have to keep that in mind." Victoria commented with a grin. "So how long does the tea need to steep?"

He shook his head a little at the sudden return to normalcy but latched onto it desperately. "Oh ideally you should let it steep for about 8 minutes if it is put into boiling water. If the water is a different temperature just adjust accordingly." He dipped the tip of his small finger into the water. "About 9 and a half minutes." He said with the confidence of someone who really knew his tea. "At least that's when I like to drink it."

"Ok," Vicky said, patiently waiting for the tea to finish. "So what do you think of this ship, anyway? I just came aboard myself so I'm still trying to get used to it. It's definitely one of the smaller ships I've been on but so far, I think that might be a good thing, you know?"

"Well I have never actually served aboard a ship before, only been transported by to combat zones. So I don't really have anything to compare it to but I would say I like it so far. The people are certainly... Diverse."

"Diversity is good. It gives more to experience and more to learn from each other as well as the places we'll visit, I think." Vicky said as she peered at the tea pot.

Myomoto leaned in to look at the tea as well and made a grunt of satisfaction. Placing 2 cups side by side he poured an equal amount into each cup and set one in front of her before taking his and resuming his seat. "That is very true." he said thoughtfully. "I have already learned a lot more about myself than I thought I would." A small smile spread on his face.

Vicky sipped at the tea, savoring the flavor and the scent. "This is wonderful," she said, cupping her hands around the teacup and enjoying the warmth as well.

Mark sighed as he finished the sandwich he had ordered, and then moved the plate away. He hadn't felt hungry, but he knew he needed to eat. He looked around the still empty mess hall, knowing that the crew were either on duty or asleep. He never slept past 6am anyway, he never could, dating back to his days on Turalek. He sighed as he downed his orange juice, and leant forward.

Vicky was making her debut appearance in the mess hall, coming in just as Mark was finishing his juice. Ordering a quick 1/4 size volcanic chocolate mousse pudding and a glass of water, she headed over towards him. "Mind if I join you?" she asked, flashing her best smile.

"Please do." He said, returning the smile. "Sleep well?" He asked.

"Ah, yeah," She said with a bright smile as she sat down. Vicky wasn't sure if he had picked up on something or what, but she had taken a nap earlier. "I just had a nap and my afternoon schedule is suddenly free. How are you doing?"

"Well, yesterday was...an interesting day. Went on the station, saved Ensign Storme from being killed, and I'm trying to track down a terrorist group." He explained.

"That sounds... Fascinating. I'm glad you're on our side." Vicky said just before taking a tiny bite of the desert. "Any emotional trauma I need to help you or anyone else though?"

Mark let out a light chuckle. "Trust me, after killing hundreds of people, three more won't make a damned bit of difference to me. Ensign Storme might need some counselling; looks like they wanted to kill him. Kid's lucky I saw him. He fell for a rookie move." Mark replied. "And why do you think I'm here? Starfleet prefer's me on their side too."

"Makes sense," Vicky said thoughtfully as she took another bite of her desert, savoring the flavor. "I'll extend an olive branch to him later thank. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Mark replied, with a nod. "I think the Ensign was a little shocked to see what he did. Not everyday you see a man take out three in the dark."

"Not something I want to think about myself. Seriously though... This whole crew seems to have mental issues and trauma all over the place. It seems everyone I chat with has some deep dark secret." Vicky said contemplatively. "And I found out how everyone here procreates. Very disturbing..."

"What, your people don't have sex?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow. "First Vulcans, then Allasomorphs. I swear, no one understands how fun and relaxing sex can be." He commented.

"Before leaving my homeworld, I didn't even have a concept of gender since we reproduce asexually... Apparently..." Vicky muttered, poking at her food. "And we only ate what we needed. There's nothing like chocolate."

"You really were sheltered." Mark said. "You should try Bolian Chocolate. It's damned delicious."

"I have. I think I prefer Earth chocolates though. More earthy, if that makes sense." Vicky said with a brief smile, looking up at Mark for a moment. "And being sheltered on my homeworld may be part of it. The lack of these things on my world is another big part though."

"I thought most species procreated the old fashioned way. Of course, what do I know? I've used sex as an interrogation tactic before, so it has many uses." Mark explained.

"I'm sure it's a perfectly normal thing for you. I learned what sex was at the academy, but I guess I never pieced together why or how it was involved with reproduction." Vicky said, poking at her desert again before eating another bite of it.

"Have you ever had sex before?" He asked.

Vicky waved the question off. "No, it didn't seem prudent and I'm not very good at recreating the needed parts."

Mark nodded. "Fair enough. Consider trying it some time. Best way to understand something is to try it." He said.

"I'll consider it," Vicky said, finishing her miniaturized desert. "At least we can both bleed, right? That's something we have in common. And I really don't like pain."

"You may not like it, but it lets you know you're still alive." Mark said, thinking back to his childhood, and being told the same thing. "Pain helps us learn what to do and how to avoid it again."

"I think I learned not to cut myself in front of Shae to prove a point," Vicky said, leaning back in her chair and relaxing a bit. "That was honestly my first real experience with pain like that."

"Then you're lucky." Mark said. He pulled up his arm, revealing a number of scars. "Had most of these before I was twelve."

"My people are generally pacifists with defensive forms," Vicky replied.

Mark nodded. "Well, I envy your people. Peace is something I'd love to know, but I'll never know it in my time." Mark said, with a small sigh.

"My people's version of peace is incredibly bland and boring. It has advantages, but there's not much to do..." Vicky said, also with a small sigh. "Amazing how we're both sighing over our younger years with such drastic extremes, isn't it?"

"It's the way life goes, I suppose. Just been feeling a little...confused. I was sparring with Commander Se'Lah not long ago, and we ended up kissing. She gets into it for a few moments, then draws back. I have to admit, I'm damned confused." Mark said.

"Ah... Hmm... Yeah..." This was something for Vicky to think about for the Commander's next counseling session. "Do you know her current situation?"

"Yeah, something about amnesia. Didn't read the details about it, but I might do now." Mark said. "Something I'm missing?"

"Amnesia and occasional lapses in emotional control." That much was in her public file, but there was little else Vicky could say on the subject.

"Oh, believe me, I saw that for myself." Mark said. "I'd appreciate it if you kept this between us though Vicky. I need to try and figure out where her head is...and mine. It's been a while since a woman confused me." Mark explained.

"Patient confidentiality," Vicky replied simply, one hand raising, palm up and fingers flexing. "I can encourage you to explore this, but that's it. My secrets are secret."

"How do I even begin?" He asked, sighing softly.

"That's up to you. Dinner maybe? I've heard sex is good too. Maybe she'd be open to experimenting with her emotions, granted it's all done safely." Vicky said with a completely straight face.

Mark let out a snort of amusement. "Yeah, not everyone feels the same way about sex, sadly." He told her, smiling. "But dinner might work, if I can convince her to agree to it."

Vicky smiled warmly at that thought. "Cooking for someone is a good place to start a relationship, I think. Especially with all the wondrous foods available. Vulcans are generally vegetarians though, so I'd take that into account, of course."

"True. Mind you, Vulcan's don't normally get caught up in passion." Mark said, with a smile. "Still, I'm sure I can do a few things with vegetables."

"Very true. One step at a time, right?" Vicky said with a warm smile.

"Yeah, only way really." Mark said, smiling. "Thanks Vicky."

"Any time," the purple Allasomorph replied with a lopsided grin.

Mark leapt off of the ledge, and landed on the sand below, where he immediately grabbed hold of his target. With a swift turn, he broke the man's neck, sending the body down to the ground. Pulling out his curved daggers, he quickly blocked an attack from one of his attackers, and swung one of his dagger's at the man's head. As his target blocked the move, Mark spun around and swept the man's legs out from beneath him. He then lodged a dagger in the man's chest. Sighing, Mark stood up as the two bodies disappeared. "I need a new program." He muttered, not hearing the doors of the holodeck open.

With Se'Lah spending half of her off duty time failing to try to sleep, she decided it was time for something to help wear her body down. She had seen one of the ship's training programs being run on the holodeck, and had decided to try her luck. As she entered into the Holodeck, she watch the last moments of the second man holographic life, before replying to Mark's mutter.

"Good morning, Mr. Whistler." She said from behind him, just a bit out of arms reach. She'd done her homework on him, and knew at least some of his background. If he was anything like she was, sneaking up on him wasn't generally wise.

Mark turned and came face to face with a young woman, and a quick look told him she was Vulcan. He knew who she was right away from that information. "Commander." He greeted respectfully, as he picked up the dagger from the ground that he had embedded into the holographic corpse. "Trouble sleeping?" He asked.

She nodded simply, as if in answer. "It has become a habit over the last few months." It was deliberately vague, as she knew his clearance wasn't high enough to know the whole story that led to her arrival on the Islandica. "Is this an late night for you, or are you having trouble sleeping too?"

"Little of both." Mark replied, sheathing his daggers. "I find a good workout usually helps me sleep. Trouble is, this isn't a good workout. Safeties and such always make the program...lack a certain quality." Mark said. "Of course, that's always been an indication of the Federation; safeties. I doubt many people know what it's really like out there."

"With your clearance, I'm sure you've no doubt learned of my amnesia, but little else about my past." It was more of a statement than anything else as she said it. "Since you're looking for a... 'good workout' as you put it, you could spar with me." As an afterthought, she added... "But I must warn you, I'm learning my skills as I go, so there is a risk factor involved."

"Wouldn't be much of a workout if there wasn't any risk." Mark said. He did know of her amnesia, and a little of her past. She had come up as a...curiosity for him. "Hand to hand?" He asked.

"Because of the risk, I don't dare use a weapon against a friendly target." Se'Lah said simply. "Computer, sparring arena please." a moment later, the area changed to a standard sparring arena, complete with a ring.

Mark smiled. "Alright then. Standard hand to hand combat then." He said, standing back, and preparing himself. He stood ready. "Prepare yourself." He said.

Se'Lah took a single step back into a comfortable Tai-Chi stance. She remembered from her sparring session with Myomoto that this was apparently her style of choice. "Attack me." She said simply.

Mark nodded. "Let's make this interesting." Mark said. "Computer, load program Whistler Five Alpha, Random settings." He ordered. The scene changed to show the two of them in the middle of a ruined city. "In combat, you won't always be on a flat surface. Preparing for all eventualities is something you need to do." He said. He then launched an attack at her, swinging for her chest with his fist.

As he swung, Se'Lah side stepped, leaving her front foot planted where she was. She reached to grab his wrist with the full intentions of using his own momentum, in the hopes of forcing him to trip over her planted foot.

As he felt his wrist being grabbed, Mark quickly spun his hand, and took hold of her wrist, grabbing her. As he held her, he brought his other hand over to her wait, using her clothes as leverage, and picked her up, lifting her up and bringing her to the ground.

Se'Lah hit the ground with a resounding "Oof!" causing the area where she landed to crack. She kicked back up, but as her feet hit the ground, it gave way beneath her. She dropped down to a lower level, staggering to keep her balance when she landed. Knowing he would jump down after her, she changed her stance to a more cautious version of a Tai-Kwan-Do stance, keeping herself ready to move at a moment's notice.

Seeing her land on the ground, Mark decided to head down after her, but he would be careful. He saw several rocks jutting out, so he leapt at one, and grabbed hold of it, before kicking off and leaping at another. He saw where she was standing, and made a leap towards her.

As he leapt towards her, Se'Lah side stepped just out of the way, lashing out with a well calculated side kick as he landed. Her tactics so far hadn't been successful, but she was looking to change that, and hopefully learn more about her own skills.

As Mark landed, he felt Se'Lah's foot connect with the side of his chest. Mark stumbled slightly, then turned and instinctively swing for her chest with his foot.

As his leg came up, Se'Lah twisted just enough to hook it under her arm, then grabbed him at the opposite hip, lifting him off the ground, and tossing him away from her to the side with ease.

Mark struck the wall, with a loud thud, and fell to the ground. She was good, he couldn't deny that, and there was a passion in how she fought. "You fight with...passion." He said, smiling, before he swung his legs around, taking out her legs.

Though she saw the move coming, Se'Lah was unable to avoid the leg sweep. As her legs were taken out from under her, she landed flat on her back, then kipped back up without missing a beat. "Apparently, I was specially trained... and was passionate about my work." With that, she brought her leg up, and balled her fists hard, before letting loose with a push kick aimed directly at his chest.

Mark quickly leapt to the side, avoiding the blow. He could tell there was power behind it, although he didn't know how much

As Mark moved out of the way, Se'Lah's foot slammed into the wall that was just behind him. Combined with her muscle memory, and high Vulcan strength, it was enough to ruin the wall, and embed her leg into it, up to her knee. It was also at this moment that her emotional control slipped away, leaving her seeming more Human than Vulcan. "As I said... There is a risk factor involved in sparring with me." She said, somewhat stunned at what she had done. She tried to pull free, but found she was stuck. "A little help, if you would please?"

Mark smiled. "Nothing wrong with passion. Good for the soul." Mark said. He took hold of her, and kicked a part of the wall, before pulling her. The wall released her suddenly, causing them to fall down, Se'Lah falling on top of Mark. He found himself staring straight into her blue eyes, and found himself drawn to them, and to her. "Nothing wrong at all." He said gently, before kissing her on the lips.

Without her emotional control, the kiss caught Se'Lah unaware, and she found herself drawn into it. In the two months that she was able to remember, she'd never kissed, or been kissed by anyone. To her, this was a brand new experience in the realm of emotions.

Mark allowed himself to deepen the kiss, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close to him. It was the first time he had kissed a woman - of his own choice - for some time, and he found himself drawn to the passion within her. He knew Vulcan's weren't normally passionate, but there was a fire that attracted Mark, as he massaged her tongue with his, his eyes closed and enjoying the feeling. He allowed one of his hands to gently stroke her side affectionately, as he continued the kiss, not wanting to end it.

As the kiss continued, Se'Lah was lost in the passion of the moment. The emotional onslaught seemed like an addictive drug that she was either unwilling, or unable to resist. She allowed gravity to take hold, letting her body lean against his as he pulled her closer, all the while, something in the back of her mind was screaming for her to resist.

Running his hands across her chest, Mark began to caress her body tenderly, while gently teasing her lips with his tongue, his hand gently starting to lift her top as he allowed himself to be lost in the passion.

As he pulled at her top, Se'Lah began to experience the first feelings of panic, just before her emotional control snapped neatly back into place. In one quick movement, she pushed his hands away, broke the kiss, and pulled back, obviously breathless. "That's never happened to me before." She said as she got to her feet, straightening her top, then offered a hand to help him up. Her face took on a slightly green hue in the awkward moment, another thing unusual for Vulcans. "My apologies."

"What, you've never been kissed?" Mark asked, standing up. He was appropriately confused; this had never happened to him before. "Or you've never been caught in the heat of the moment? And please, don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong." He said. 'Just damned confusing - and I thought I was a good kisser' He thought.

"I've never been caught up in such emotions, so I guess it would be the heat of the moment, as you put it." She explained. "Experiencing emotions is still new to me, and so I'm still adjusting to them."

Mark looked at her. "You know, if you want to explore more emotions, kissing is definitely a good way. But then, so is sex, love, and of course, booze on the occasion."

"Being overwhelmed by any emotion is probably not a wise idea at this point." Se'Lah replied with a raised eyebrow. "Experiencing them as I have tells me that they are illogical, and can lead to impulsive actions... or awkward situations."

"Yeah, that's kinda the point. Impulsive actions...those are the best kind." Mark said. "As for awkward, things are only awkward if you let them be. No sense in it personally." He added.

"I'm looking for a proper balance between logic, and emotion, Mr. Whistler." Se'Lah replied. "What you suggest is not a balance at all."

"See, that's where you're wrong." Mark replied, ordering the computer to create two chairs for them. He sat down and looked at her. "The problem is, Se'Lah, is that your people try so hard to suppress their emotions to the point where they fail to see the logic in emotions. But they are a strength, something to be embraced, not feared or suppressed. The fact is, without allowing ourselves to open up to emotions, you won't understand life, nor will you find the balance." He explained.

"I was not implying that emotions should be completely suppressed, especially since I can no longer do so on a permanent basis." She replied as she sat in the other chair. "However, with my limited experiences concerning emotions, it may not be wise to allow myself to simply... give in to emotional impulses, regardless of how... pleasurable they are." She gave him a light smirk at the last. "Vulcan discipline was developed simply because those strong emotional impulses experienced by my people in the past were extremely dangerous..." Her voice trailed off as she brought her hand up to touch her temple, only a slightly pained expression crossing her face.

Mark saw her action, and the look on her face. He knew it well; pain. "Se'Lah, what's wrong?" Mark asked, sitting forward, the concern in his voice clear.

Despite Mark's worry, Se'Lah was quiet for a moment, as if she didn't know he was there. "My apologies." She finally, as she pulled her hand away to look at him, her emotional control gone again. "Ever since my accident, I suffer occasional headaches. I should be fine in a few minutes, but these headaches annoy the hell out of me."

"You should see the doctor about them." Mark said. "They could be a symptom of something worse."

"I have." She said, and as the pain finally passed, she seemed to go back to her normal self. "They believe the headaches are a symptom caused by the trauma to my head. The most they've done so far is give me medication for the headaches."

"And that's all they've said? What the hell is all the technology for if they can't find out what causes a damned headache?" Mark asked, annoyed.

"In their defense, the brain is still one of the biggest medical mysteries in existence." She told him. "My guess is they simply cannot determine the cause."

"And I thought the Federation was supposed to know everything. Least, that's what people made out when they wanted me to join. Just...be careful." He said, concerned about her.

"I'm always careful, Mr. Whistler." She replied simply, smirking only slightly. "As you are well aware, it comes with the territory of being an operative."

"Or born on a planet of crazies and murderers." Mark commented. "Still, caution is always wise, but if there's anything I can do to help, you know I'm here." He promised.

"Perhaps I should try again to rest." She replied, standing up from the chair. "Maybe now I will actually sleep."

Mark nodded. "I feel a little better now." He agreed. "I'll see you in the morning."

She turned to look at the hole that her foot had made in the wall a few minutes prior, seemingly far away for a moment. "It seems like I have a long way to go..." She said, then looked back at him. "I wish I knew who I was before."

"Who we were before isn't as important as who we are now. Something my sister always said to me growing up." Mark said, smiling at her. "Especially when we escaped from Turalek."

"Your sister sounds wise. Computer, arch please." She said, and as the holodeck arch appeared, she gave him a light smile. "Good night, Mr. Whistler."

"Good night, Se'Lah. Sleep well." He said, before walking off, his mind running through the events that had transpired. He would need a very cold shower, and time to figure out what the hell had just happened.

Glebben Station had always been known as a black market station, where anyone could purchase anything, and for the most part, this had been ignored. Now, however, Starfleet had arrived, with promises that things would change. But for Jeffrey Darkholme, things would never change. He looked at the hooded character in front of him, as they stood together near an access corridor, remaining unseen, or ignored, by most. After all, one look at Jeffrey, and most people would run. That was because he was almost 7" tall, and was very imposing. But he was smiling as the man in front of him examined the item Jeffrey was selling. "That's top quality merchandise mate, you won't find better elsewhere." He said.

Farenia wasn't most people. She'd been watching the man discreetly for a few days now trying to figure out if this was her man she had been looking for so far, she hadn't turned up any clues until now as he was trying to sell something. remaining in a shadowed corner, she turned her head slightly to better hear him as she pretended to look at something on a PaDD.

The buyer looked at Jeffrey. "How many can you get?" He asked, his eyes bright and his voice deep. "I need more than one."

"I have one hundred of those in total. Care to take a look?" Jeffrey asked. "If you have the latinum, I can get you anything you want."

"Plasma torpedoes?" The buyer asked.

"Oh come on, I got them on my ship too. I thought you wanted hard to get items?" Jeffrey asked, with a grin. "Come on, let me show you what I got." He added, leading the buyer down the corridor.

This was her man as best she could tell. Tapping a few more controls on her PaDD, she glanced around momentarily before silently following after the pair, her robe shifting slightly from the browns of passing people to more grey tones to blend in with the local structures and shadows.

As they entered a solitary cargo bay, Jeffrey smiled at the crates. "Is this enough?" He asked, opening one of the crates, revealing special containers holding bio mimetic gel. "I am the sole trader in this sector for bio agents. I have contacts that get me the best stuff, and in return, people like you get to win your wars, and become warlords. Remember, no one else can get you what I have." Jeffrey said. The buyer nodded, and picked up a container, scanning it with a tricorder.

"Pure. You must have raided a Starfleet base to get this much." The buyer said.

"Crates of goods go missing all the time. It's a big universe, numbers are off, and I get to find the lost property, which becomes salvage, claimed by me. If you're concerned about Starfleet tracking us, I assure you, it'll never happen." Jeffrey said.

"I believe you misused the word 'never'." Farenia said clearly as she stepped from the doorway, an older style phase pistol in each hand trained on both men. "Please step away from the crates with your hands above your heads."

Jeffrey spun around and went to draw a weapon from his belt, but found the weapon was gone. "Looking for this?" The buyer asked. He removed his hood, and smiled as his eyes became a normal colour again. "Consider yourself under arrest." He added. As Jeffrey went to move, the buyer fired the weapon, sending Jeffrey flying backwards into a crate.

Sighing, the man looked at Farenia. "Let me guess; Starfleet Security? Always managing to screw up my ops somehow." He said.

Now that she could see the buyer's face, she recognized him from the brief look at the local ship rosters she had had earlier that week and slipped her phase pistols back under her robe. "Operations actually. And you would appear to be one of the crew of the Islandica."

He gave a small smile. "Mark Whistler, Chief of Intelligence of the Islandica. Been tracking this stunted slime for months, after Starfleet Intelligence picked up on some of his sales. Was hoping to find out who his contact was, but then, the night is still young. He'll talk...one way or the other." Mark said, his deep voice betraying nothing except contempt for the seller.

"Captain Farenia Meowlith. I'm on loan to find out where nearly a hundred liters of biomimetic gel disappeared to. It seems we both found the culprit. I've only been tailing him for a few days though." Moving to stand over the disreputable man, Farenia glared at him for a few seconds before pulling him out of the rubble and slapping a pair of handcuffs on him. "Does your ship have enough cargo space for it all?"

"I've got a security team ready to take him on his ship with all of his illegal goods to Starbase 211. Before he goes, I'll be wanting to question him, and I'd recommend you not being there for that. It might get messy." Mark said.

"Messy? Is he going to wet himself when you rip out his teeth or something?" Farenia asked cynically as she pulled out a tricorder and started scanning the cargo containers. She knew that appearing to look Vulcan but not acting all logical and cold bothered some people, but this man seemed to her the kind of person that could handle it. Besides, her job wasn't over until she could confirm that all 98 liters were present and the seals hadn't been tampered with. "Thanks, but I'd like to be there for at least the beginning. Then I'm off to my next assignment, wherever that may be."

"Never pull out the teeth. They don't talk much after that." Mark said. "May as well question him here then, whilst you're checking those crates out. I'm curious as to what ship he has." Mark added, as he propped the man up against a wall. He removed a device from his belt and placed it on the man's neck. "Would you like to ask the first question, or shall I?" He offered.

"Whatever works, as long as you get a full confession. It would be better if you had him in the brig first though." Farenia said as she finished scanning. "Everything and then some seems to be here so I'm ready to beam this all aboard when you are."

Mark nodded. "Do you want to come aboard the Islandica?" He asked.

Farenia simply nodded, moving to stand next to Whistler.

"Whistler to Islandica. I need a widebeam transport. All cargo in the room I'm in needs to be transported to the cargo bay. Meanwhile, beam myself and the life readings in this bay to the Intel Office." He ordered.

"Acknowledged sir, ready to energise on your command." Came the response.

The Vulcanesque woman nodded again, indicating that she was ready to transport.

"Energise." Mark ordered. The cargo was transported first, and as it was beamed away, Mark felt the transporter wash over him. Within a second, he, Farenia and Jeffrey were in the Intel Office, where the engineers had just finished their job at refitting the office. Mark dragged Jeffrey to the small brig cell he had, and sat him down. He secured Jeffrey to the chair, and smiled as he slapped the man's face.

"Jeffrey, this is going to go down the easy way, or the hard way. I'll let you decide. You see, you've got some information we want, and you're going to tell us." Mark said, his deep voice sending a shiver down Jeffrey's back.

"Like hell." Jeffrey snarled, and spat at Mark. Wiping his face, Mark tensed his fist, and smashed it into Jeffrey's face.

"The Hard way it is." Mark said, smirking.

*****

It had taken less than five minutes for Mark to break Jeffrey, and as he watched a medic patch the man up, Mark looked at Farenia. "Admiral William Hawthorne. According to records, he works for Starfleet Medical, which would explain how he could get hold of so much. Do you want to take over from here?" Mark asked.

Farenia waited patiently through the interrogation, looking over her PaDD disinterestedly as the prisoner confessed his sources. "Unfortunately, I'll have to send up a report and the confession and wait for an investigation into the admiral. I'm only supposed to investigate the issue at this end. Thank you though. Your unexpected involvement has been most enlightening."

Mark nodded. "Glad to have been of help. I'll forward this to Intel as well, make sure he gets dealt with. I'll check out his ship, find out what else he has, make sure the stolen goods get back to the right people." Mark said.

"Excellent. If you need me for anything, I'll be on the station for a while. I'm still waiting on command of a ship to open up so I'll be free until then." Farenia said with a soft smile.

"Well, I'm sure you'll make a fine Captain. There aren't many who'd get their hands dirty and risk what you did. I respect that. Likewise, if you need me for anything whilst I'm around, give me a call, I'll be happy to assist." Mark said. He was impressed with her courage, especially since she had faced two unknowns alone, and without hesitation. Yes, it was safe to say Mark liked the woman, especially since she was another Vulcan who didn't conform to the ideal Vulcan rules.

"Come on, girl, where are you?" M'Rissa said as she flipped through the communication channels that the thieves in the area liked to broadcast on, listening intently for Riddly's signal. She didn't have much to go on, just the call for help from earlier, but she was hoping that maybe Riddly was still out there somewhere. As pissed as M'Rissa was for that little stunt that Ridley pulled with that 'Fleet deflector dish, M'Rissa was also worried; M'Rissa had warned Ridley to not take any work for that guy, but the damned girl just didn't listen and now M'Rissa was worried that the little urchin was in over her head now.

The fruits of M'Rissa's labor paid off as her system recognized the signal from Riddly's ship. "Thank you," M'Rissa muttered to her ship, then tried to open a connection to Riddly. "Riddly, I know you're out there, I need you to listen to me very carefully," M'Rissa implored Riddly, not knowing if Riddly would listen or not, "Whatever you do, don't go back to him. If you go back to him, it'll be to report your failure and your life will be in danger!"

[ISS Kinah - Bridge]

After ditching the deflector dish, Riddly had set a course for a nearby moon, hiding behind it in order to keep hidden from sensors. During the trip, one of the power relays on the impulse control console blew out. It was lucky that there were a few spare relays sitting in the engineering area, which meant the previous owner had expected this to happen at some point.

She was working to try to figure out how to pull the dead relay, when she heard M'Rissa's voice over the COMM. With that teenage defiance of her's, she wasn't about to just give in to the older woman, who had tried to take her back. Instead, she simply ignored M'Rissa, and continued working on the relay.

[Profitable Venture]

M'Rissa had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach when all she heard in return was silence. "Riddly, please.... If you go back to him, then there's nothing I can do to help you..." When she was met with more silence, M'Rissa closed the comm channel with an icy glare. Fine, Riddly could go rot for all M'Rissa cared! It wasn't like there was any kind of connection between the two of them, M'Rissa didn't have to stick her neck out for Riddly. Anyway, M'Rissa had her own business to attend to, she didn't have time to babysit that girl!

"Glebben Station, this is the Profitable Venture requesting clearance to dock," M'Rissa said when she switched her comm over to contact the station.

"We read you, Venture, you're cleared for docking bay 2, Duranium Pod," the Ferengi on the other end of the comm answered.

"Duranium? I'm paying for rent on the Silver pod, why are you docking me at the Duranium Pod?" M'Rissa quipped back. "And I'm not paying extra for your staff to move my stock to the Silver Pod."

"You will pay or your goods won't get moved!" the Ferengi insisted. "The new guy booked out your regular docking bay, but that ship will be gone tomorrow."

"If you want your goods, then I'm not paying extra, nor will I wait to move my cargo," M'Rissa said sternly, implying that she had something he really wanted. There was a long pause before the Ferengi finally replied,

"All additional fees have been waived, you are clear to dock. But you'll still have to wait to move your ship."

"I can live with that," M'Rissa said with a grin and switched off her comm. She corrected her course so that she approached the Duranium Pod and moved into the allotted bay for a smooth landing. Within minutes of landing and opening up her cargo bay, the station staff were filing in to unload her cargo and move it to her shop in the Silver Pod. M'Rissa sighed as she watched the staff take her cargo away. She wanted it to be 'business as usual' from this point onward, but she knew that wouldn't be the case; those 'Fleeters would come looking for her, so all she could do at this point was wait for them...

[Glebben Station]

After the dish was returned, Se'Lah had ordered that any ships approaching the station should be scanned, looking for either of the vessels that had been involved in the theft of the dish. She was informed that the larger of the two vessels had approached, and docked. Now her, and Mark were headed there to question the captain of that ship, and perform an investigation.

"In order to keep the pilot from jumping on the defensive, we should not try to outright accuse them of being involved." She explained to Mark. "Doing so may cause more problems than we want."

"Maybe, but you know what I found. Someone is using Turalek for a base Se'Lah, and I want to know who." Mark said. He was extremely angry at the fact. "In fact, I'd like permission to leave on an away mission to Turalek to see if we can find them."

"That decision is up to our new Captain." Se'Lah replied without missing a beat. They rounded a corner, passing by a few Ferengi who were carrying cargo of some sort away from the docking port where a white haired woman was standing. Having already spent some time on the station, she'd recognized this woman from one of the shops, but had never learned her name. "Excuse the intrusion Miss. I am Lieutenant Commander Se'Lah of the USS Islandica, and this is my Chief Intelligence Officer." She greeted the woman in a way that made it seem like she was the Captain of the ship. "If you don't mind, we'd like to ask you some questions."

Mark held his tongue, although he prepared himself to launch at the woman if needed. However, his posture remained the same, and no one would know he was planning anything, except, perhaps, for Se'Lah, who seemed to know him quite well.

"I had nothing to do with the theft of your deflector dish," M'Rissa said, not bothering to play coy or feign ignorance, she didn't have time for that. She signed off on some work orders with the station crew, then gave the 'Fleeters her full attention as the station crew kept working around them. "I know the girl that took it, and I warned her about getting in over her head, but I had no idea that you were her target or that she would do something so stupid. But she ran off and I ain't been able to contact her."

"And yet you know all about it and you know why we wanted to speak to you." Mark said, in his deep voice. "If there is one thing I really don't like, it's bullshit." Mark said. "I think you knew about it, and I think there's more information you're not telling us. Are you going to share willingly or not?" Mark asked.

"I ain't stupid," M'Rissa said with a roll of her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest in a stance that meant she was tired of dealing with bullshit too. "I'm former Starfleet Enlisted, Chief Petty Officer M'Rissa of the USS Intrepid, so I know you guys ain't stupid neither. You're not gonna chase after her without exhausting all avenues of investigation first, and I know your shuttle got a good look at my ship when she came to me for help. I told her not to get mixed up in this kind of thing, but she just wouldn't listen. When she told me what she took, I gave her an earful for being so stupid, then I was gonna make her give the damned thing back, but she chose to run. And it weren't my idea to eject it out into space like that neither, I know how dangerous a charged deflector dish can be."

Mark looked at her. "And yet you didn't contact us. On top of that, you were present with the stolen deflector dish, which makes you an accessory to the crime. The ship that stole our deflector dish, likewise, came from your ship. And you wish us to believe you are innocent?" Mark asked. Part of her wanted the woman to do something stupid. Either way, he would get his answers.

"I ain't Starfleet no more, so I don't owe you guys nothing. It's your responsibility to get answers, not mine to volunteer them," M'Rissa shot back. But she would volunteer the information anyway. She was worried about Riddly and M'Rissa wasn't equipped to go mount a rescue. "Her name is Riddly Piddler and she's an orphan who lives on the station. I look out for her sometimes, give her a place to crash for the night, warm meal, stuff like that, but she ain't my responsibility either. I tried to keep her outta trouble, but she's got it in her head that she needs a big score to buy her way off this station. There's this guy offering work, he fronted her some money to get that piece of shit ship she bought. I told her not to get into business with him, but she wouldn't listen. I come back from a salvage operation, and it's legit operation, I got permits... Anyway, I'm coming back to the station and she comes to me for help. So yeah, I was gonna help her, and maybe if she hadn't stolen from Starfleet I woulda tried to help her get away with it, but I was gonna make her give the deflector back. She ain't a bad kid, she's just misguided, desperate..."

Mark nodded, looking at her. "What's the name of this guy she works for." Mark asked, frowning. The woman wasn't trying to block him, she was providing the information he needed. If she could provide a name, he'd be happy to leave her charges as a misdemeanor, and drop it, especially if his instinct was right, and the Circle was involved. "I also need a location if you have one."

"Ain't got a name, or a location, just one hell of a reputation," M'Rissa said with a wince. "There's rumors about a base of operations on this planet at the edge of the Expanse, but I won't go out there, I ain't that crazy! I do know they use these ancient signals being sent into the Expanse to communicate. Don't rightly know what those signals were for originally, but criminals and smugglers in the area figured out how to piggy-back messages in them, and if you got the right codes you can access those messages, but I ain't got those codes and I weren't looking to have my ship's computer scrambled."

Mark looked at Se'Lah. "If I needed any more proof, that'd be it. There's only one planet out there suitable for this, and it's Turalek. The one place I never wanted to go again, but I'll need to speak to the Captain. If they're there, I need to go." Mark said softly so only Se'Lah could hear.

Se'Lah looked between the two of them, before asking the next question that came to mind. "Do you have an image of this Riddly Piddler?" She asked simply. "If we run across her, we will need to question her as well. The more information we have, the easier it will be to find the culprits, and arrest them"

"Don't think so, but I can check the footage from my shop. She's pretty good about avoiding the Security devices, but she's been in there often enough that I might have a decent shot of her," M'Rissa replied.

Mark nodded. "Alright, please do." He said.

"Alright. Come find me at my shop, Four Treasures, in the Silver Pod, I should have something for you soon," M'Rissa said, shifting her weight to walk away, but then she stopped. "Hey, and let me know if there's anything else I can do. Riddly's not a bad kid, she just ain't had anyone to look out for her before. And I really was going to make her give the deflector back. If she'd stolen from anyone else that'd be a different story, but... Starfleet was good to me, and I'm trying to pay it forward." Her career may not have worked out, but she held no grudges towards these people, they were just trying to do their jobs.

"We will go to your shop in one hour." Se'Lah said, then looked thoughtful for a moment, as she weighed her next words. "Should you run into Miss Piddler again, let her know that should she cooperate with us, any charges against her may be dropped... As a gesture of good will." Her words showed that Se'Lah wasn't all Vulcan logic, as most Vulcans would want to take the young girl into custody for a trial.

"I tried contacting her before, but she wouldn't answer," M'rissa replied. "But I'll send her another message, maybe she'll hear it and will actually listen this time..." She looked over the Cargo bay to make sure that all her salvage had been unloaded, then walked the Officers out of her ship so she could lock up. In a modest show of appreciation for giving Riddly a chance, she gave them a nod, then headed out.

Mark waited until M'rissa was out of earshot, and looked at Se'Lah. "I really don't like how things are playing out. We get to this station, someone tries to kill Storme, someone else takes our deflector dish, although we get it back. Someone doesn't want us going into the expanse." Mark said.

"There are many factions who dislike Starfleet." Se'Lah said absently as she watched M'Rissa walk away. She turned to look at Mark, then gestured for him to walk with her. "This is also one of the first times that a Starfleet presence has been placed in this area."

"And people don't like that, because we're coming in, and saying 'Here is the line. Do not cross.' But people will always want to cross that line, because for them, that's how they live. The Federation has it's moral's, and guidelines, and it's own expectations of civilisation. People don't like that because it doesn't match their own, so the question is, who is right and who is wrong? The Ferengi worship profit, and Starfleet doesn't, so they warn people of the Ferengi at the academy, but is that the right thing to do? It's all about viewpoints, and we need to understand theirs to make sure they don't commit the crimes we're here to prevent." Mark explained.

"One thing I do remember about the Ferengi is that their view point is very simple." Se'Lah replied as they continued to walk. They made their way towards the common areas, her ever watchful eyes always looking for something out of the norm. "They value profit above all else, and will go to nearly any lengths to achieve the greatest profit, at the lowest cost, regardless of the consequences to others... They cannot be trusted."

"Actually, they can. They can be trusted to act in a way that will increase their profits, which makes them the most predictable of races. Hit a Ferengi in their wallet, and they'll bow down to you." Mark replied. "And I think we can use that to our advantage, make them realise that having the Federation here is profitable."

"Perhaps, but they cannot be trusted to do the right thing." Se'Lah replied simply, as they turned the corner, headed back towards the ship. "They would sell their own family into slavery, if they thought they could profit from it."

"That's true. I think some of them even do." Mark commented. "Sometimes, I wonder what kind of galaxy we live in."

"So do I, Mark..." She replied as they continued to walk. "So do I..."

Farenia had finished her business with her new acquaintance in the Islandica's crew and was making her way to the docking port, still in her civilian garb, her outer robe fading to blend in with the surrounding bulkheads and lighting as she walked. Surprisingly, she met very few people on her way so far - it seemed a lot of people were enjoying time on the station. It was good to once again be on a Starfleet vessel so she walked freely showing her Vulcanesque features, her robes open enough to reveal the pair of older style Federation phase pistols at her hips.

As she made her way, Farenia had been unaware that she was being followed at a distance. Se'Lah had been tracking the woman for the last few minutes, as she strolled casually down the corridor. The Vulcan woman had noticed her as she passed by one of the corridors where she'd been taking a walk of her own, and since she didn't recognize the woman, who appeared to be an armed civilian, she had waited for the right time to apprehend this... intruder. With no one being around at the moment, now was as good a time as any.

"Hold it right there!" Se'Lah called out, as she trained her gun on this stranger. Her gun, a 21st century handgun, was loaded with tranquilizer rounds, but it was impossible to tell by it's appearance whether it had tranq rounds, or live rounds. "Keep your hands where I can see them, and turn around slowly!"

Farenia paused mid-stride before slowly holding her hands out away from her and turning around, one eyebrow raised as the person holding her at gunpoint came into her view. "Please explain your logic behind these actions, Commander." She did her best to imitate the normal Vulcan tone of voice as she spoke, knowing that though she wasn't, she still looked and scanned as fully Vulcan. Only a deep DNA scan would reveal that she was a Vulcanoid Rigelian - a completely different species for all intents and purposes.

"You are unfamiliar to me, wearing civilian clothing, two visible weapons, and no visible Starfleet rank insignia, or communicator." Se'Lah said simply as if this explained her logic. "At the moment, you're facing an arrest on charges of unauthorized intrusion on a Starfleet vessel. Identify yourself." As if to confirm she meant business, Se'Lah pulled the hammer back on her gun.

Pulling back the edge of her robe just a bit more, Farenia revealed that it had been hiding a Starfleet issue comm badge. "I am Captain Farenia Meowlith. I would list my ship affiliation, but Starfleet has me on assignment at this station until they officially assign one to me, though I've been assured it will be a small ship of hopeless misfits. I just came from your Intel offices where your Lieutenant Whistler helpfully assisted in the apprehension of a smuggler whom is now in your brig. Do you require more information on my identity?"

"Computer, confirm the existence of a prisoner in the brig, arrested by Mark Whistler." Se'Lah ordered simply.

"Confirmed." Came the one-word reply.

Se'Lah eased the hammer back into place, and lowered her gun to put it back in her holster. She didn't quite let her guard down, but if this Vulcan woman knew Mark, then it was likely that she was telling the truth. "My apologies, Captain." She said simply. "With some of the recent incidents, I'd prefer not to take chances with the security of the ship."

Farenia nodded, also relaxing. "Perfectly understandable. Though I don't know what you've been through recently, I agree that security can never be too tight when near the Ferengi. As I'm headed back to my quarters on the station to file my report, would you be willing to escort me off the ship so as to avoid further misunderstandings?"

"Providing you with an escort is preferrable." Se'Lah replied, leaving the remainder of her thought hanging in the air between them. The two started walking in the direction that Farenia had already been moving in as they talked. "I'm curious how you ended up stuck out here on this station."

As she walked with Se'lah, Farenia sized up the vulcan woman. Something seemed a bit off about her, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "The usual I suppose," she began, dropping the Vulcan act, a lopsided grin gracing her features for a moment. "Starfleet needed someone to track down their stolen goods and I was at the top of their list for slipping into shady places yet again. I never thought I'd be doing this when I joined Ops, but... Meh... It's given me some good promotions out of the deal. How about you?"

Se'Lah didn't fail to notice the grin, and raised an eyebrow in response. "You appear Vulcan, and yet you show emotions." She said simply. "Do you not have proper Vulcan control of your emotional state?"

"I'm not Vulcan at all. I'm V'gelnian - one of the nomadic desert Vulcanoid Rigelians of Rigel V." Farenia said, giving Se'lah a sidelong glance to see if she could get a rise out of a real Vulcan. More than she had already, at any rate. "Sorry I'm not wearing our traditional beads in my hair. Starfleet regulations and all that."

Se'Lah gave the woman a slight smirk, and she looked over at her. "Starfleet regulations are what help to keep the peace." She said simply. "Without them, the Federation would be in chaos."

"I agree completely, though at times they..." The rest of what Farenia was going to say was left unsaid as her PaDD chirped. It was set to only do that when it received a priority message so she pulled it out and started reading it, slowing to a stop as she progressed through it. "It would seem I have my new orders. The CO of the Islandica has gone into premature labor and she's been ordered to a nearby starbase for intensive care for her and her children. I'm to take command immediately by Starfleet Order 28455. It seems Starfleet Regulation 619 applies in this case."

Se'Lah's emotional control seemed to falter in that moment, as she looked a bit uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Then I think you and I have something of a rather... sensitive nature to discuss." She said finally. She pulled out her own PADD, tapping it a few times, before handing it over. "But first, I'll need your thumb print to verify your identity, and your clearance level."

Farenia pressed her thumb to the proffered PaDD and watched the authorization go through, her details and picture popping up on the screen. "That should do it. Do we need to find a secluded spot?"

Se'Lah took a short moment to review the information that her PaDD displayed about the Captain, before using it to bring up a quick map of nearby rooms. "Yes." She replied, as she put the PaDD away. "According to the computer, there is an empty conference room two doors down, and on the left."

Nodding, Farenia headed that way, easily finding the marked room and entering. Heading to the replicator, she punched up an order for a fresh uniform and a glass of Rigelian spiced cider. Setting the uniform aside for the moment, she sat down at the small conference table and sipped at her drink. "Computer, lock doors. Captain Farenia Meowlith, authorization nen-ja three aria."

As the computer chimed it's compliance, Se'Lah gave another order. "Computer, added security measure. Completely seal this room, authorization Se'Lah, delta, delta, 259.

"Sensor, and tansporter capabilities have been disabled." The computer replied.

Se'Lah gave the Captain a simple, yet serious look. "What I'm about to tell you cannot ever leave this room, without my explicit authorization." With Farenia's clearance level, Se'Lah assumed that the woman would uphold that request without any issue, and so didn't bother waiting for a reply. "Up until two months ago, I was stationed undercover on Starbase 122 as part of an Intelligence sting operation, until an explosion robbed me of my memories. I have since been cleared for duty, and stationed on the Islandica.

"The reason that this is considered classified is that if news were to get back to those who set off the explosion that I am still alive, my life, and the lives of anyone near, or involved with me would possibly be in grave danger." Se'Lah stood in an at-ease stance as she observed Farenia's reaction to this news.

Farenia calmly took in the information and nodded slowly. This was turning out to be an interesting crew so far. She was two for two on the people she had met being what she would consider 'crazy'. This was a double edged sword in her book - she felt she could get more out of them than a 'normal' officer, but she had to wonder just how far they themselves would go. "That explains the flashes of emotion I've seen from you. I assume that having been cleared for duty, you're able to satisfactorily perform your duties as XO, though having lost your memories, you don't remember whom it is that's responsible. If anything involving this should affect our missions in any way, please inform me immediately. As a member of this crew, I'm responsible for you so please consider me involved. Was there anything else?" Calmly finishing speaking, she sipped at her drink without a hint of worry. This was far from the most dangerous situation she had been in and it was likely she'd be in far worse situations soon enough.

"I know who was involved, as I was given all the information from my mission that was available, as well as information about my past." Se'Lah replied simply as her emotional control slipped back into place. "As for my memories, I have no actual memories of anything, before waking up in the Starbase infirmary. Starfleet doesn't believe I'll ever regain my memories, or my full emotional control... Otherwise, I'm fully capable of performing my duties."

"Fair enough," Farenia said as she sipped at her drink a bit more, thinking it over some more. "Do you think any of those involved will be found in the Expanse or on Glebben station?"

"From my understanding, they were a fairly localized group, organized between a handful of Starbases, and planets in the general region of Starbase 122." Se'Lah explained. She knew the question was a valid one, and it was likely one she would've asked in Farenia's position. "Unless they discover that I'm still alive, it is highly unlikely they will come out this far."

"Then let's hope they don't," Farenia commented, setting her glass aside and standing back up. "I suppose I'll need to go get my things from the station and settle into quarters here. I should also change clothes."

"Computer, release the seal, and the locks on this room. Authorization Se'Lah, delta, delta, 259." Se'Lah said, and the computer chimed compliance. "Since you're just now taking command, I will have an updated report on your desk within the hour." She said, stepping aside to allow Farenia to pass.

Setting her drink back in the replicator and hitting the recycle button, Farenia grabbed her fresh uniform and moved to leave the conference room. "Thank you. Make sure the ship is ready to launch at that time as well."

"That won't be possible just yet." Se'Lah replied without missing a beat. "We recently had our deflector dish stolen. Our Chief Engineer says it will likely be at least a day, before the dish is properly installed, and the systems are fully repaired. We can't go anywhere without it."

That gave Farenia pause. "How the fuck..." she began incredulously, not even sure how one would address such a situation. "In that case, get those repairs done as soon as possible. I still want the ship able to launch in an hour though, so reset the shield grid to produce a navigational deflection grid. They do it on ships without a dish so I know we can as well. As for the sensor aspect of it, we'll make do until it's fixed. Now is there anything else I should be immediately aware of? Is the bridge or the warp core missing too? Are both engines attached?" The sarcasm and incredulousness was heavy in her voice as she spoke.

Se'Lah raised an eyebrow at Farenia's sarcastic outburst. "There are other repairs underway as well, and I can have Mr. Thortin provide you with the latest information on those." She said simply. "However, the rest of the ship seems to be as it should, Captain."

"Good. Normal repairs are fine. Just so long as no one is stealing random parts of our ship. We need them." Farenia shook her head, still rather disgusted. She didn't even know you could even steal an active dish, let alone that it had been done. "I'll be in whatever guest quarters are free until the old Captain's things are moved out. Let me know if someone steals the shuttlebay." Farenia quipped as she headed out of the conference room, still shaking her head.

Se'Lah watched Farenia leave, before sighing lightly, and walking off in the opposite direction. She inwardly wondered if this Captain would last through the week at the rate things were going.

Admiral Lewis Connelly sighed as he looked at the information in front of him. "I wish they would make up their damned mind. That ship has more commanding officers than any other ship." He said to his yeoman.

"They do seem to go through them quickly. Shall I contact Captain Meowlith?" His Yeoman asked.

"Yes, do so." Lewis said, as he leant back in his chair, and waited for the call to go through.

*****

(USS Islandica)

As Lt. Vujanic checked the readings, he frowned as he saw a message crop up from Admiral Connelly's office. He raised an eyebrow, knowing the last time the man had spoken to the CO, Commander Vene, Mark Whistler had been assigned to the ship. "Vujanic to Mewolith, you have an incoming communication from Admiral Connelly." He said.

"I'll take it in my office," Farenia replied as she stood and headed straight to her ready room. Sitting down and composing herself, she clicked the desk terminal and smiled pleasantly. "Hello Admiral. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

Lewis smiled back at the woman. "First of all, I wanted to congratulate you on your new assignment. That ship...while not traditional, I believe you'll do great things with her." Lewis said.

"Thank you, Admiral. I look forward to seeing what we can do with her as well." Farenia replied politely.

"Secondly, regarding your Chief of Intelligence...quite frankly, the man is a menace. Mark Whistler is one of the worst candidates to wear the uniform, and I've been given permission to...remove the courtesy of his enlistment to Starfleet. Someone wants to sweep him, and all of his 'people' from Turalek under the carpet." Lewis explained.

This wasn't a good sign. Farenia didn't like people under her command messed with like this. "I would prefer that not happen, Admiral. He's a valuable member of this crew and I won't let him go easily without a valid and current reason for his dismissal."

"Aside from the fact that he's personally killed...honestly, we don't know how many people. The only reason he was allowed to join was that someone thought his skills could be used. Since joining Starfleet, he has racked up a significant kill count. Yes, they were enemies, but we would have preferred that he take prisoners. The man is...a barbarian. No one wants him around, least of all his own family." Lewis replied, his distaste for Whistler evident.

"In that case, what about all those people that fought and killed in the Dominion War? And what of his more recent exploits? I assisted in the capture of a criminal with him earlier. I want him around and I'll have to see a statement from his family saying they don't want him around." Farenia pressed, not about to give in now.

Lewis couldn't believe his ears. 'Another Whistler supporter? Where does he find them?' He asked himself. "Here's the statement from his family." Lewis said, sending the file over to her. He sighed. "First Vene, now you. Fine, you want him, he's yours. But that's on your head." Lewis said. "Frankly, I'll be glad to get the file off of my desk. I've had his family go on at me, especially with his brother about to enter the admiralty."

"I'll review the statement. Thank you Admiral. Was there anything else?" Farenia replied, hoping there wasn't anything.

"No, since you've made your decision, I'll leave it there. Good luck Captain, you will need it." Lewis replied.

"Thank you, Admiral," she replied with that same polite smile. As soon as the connection closed she popped open the document he had sent and tapped her comm badge. "Lieutenant Mark Whistler, please report to my ready room."

Mark looked up from the information he was scanning into the computer from Jeffrey's ship, looking for anything about Turalek, and tapped his comm. badge. "On my way." He said. He had heard that Captain Meowlith had taken command, something he was actually pleased with.

It took him all of a minute to reach the bridge, the perks of being on a small ship, and made his way to the ready room. He pressed the chime, and waited to be granted entry.

"Come in," Farenia called, still reading the statement.

Mark walked in and looked at the woman. "You wanted to see me?" He asked.

"Please, have a seat." Turning her desk terminal around to face Whistler, Farenia leaned back in her chair. "I just got this from Admiral Connelly. He said a lot of things I don't like."

Mark nodded, glancing at the screen. "Oh, that's something we have in common then. The man says a lot of things I don't like too." He replied. "Seems to be a problem with members of the admiralty. Remind me never to aim for that kind of role."

"And your brother is about to join that admiralty." Farenia said, tilting her head slightly. "Why would your own family want you gotten rid of? Why would they want all of Turalek swept away?"

"They don't see me as one of them. For them, and for my family, it's always been about the service. They pride themselves on being the cream of the crop, and here I am, born on a world of chaos, able to take a life and not feel anything, shattering their idea of the perfect family. They also didn't like the fact that my sister Carrie refused to join their 'perfect' circle, since they wanted nothing to do with me." Mark said.

"As for Turalek...Starfleet was meant to send people in to help. They were meant to help save the people, my friends and family, and they've done nothing. Hell, I found out that someone has been using Turalek as a base of Operations, so I'm going to be heading there shortly to find out who. I believe it linked to the people who stole our deflector dish." Mark explained.

"This is slightly confusing, but I believe I get the gist of it." The Vulcanoid Rigelian nodded slowly, thinking things over. "If that's the case, I'm more inclined to expose whatever dirty secrets they're trying to hide. I'm a big supporter of justice. I've broken a few regs as well, as I'm sure you've seen."

"Trust me, this is nothing. Turalek...it's the one place I hoped I would never need to return to. There, I was known as Hell's Messenger. People feared me, and probably still do. Justice...I've always liked that word. But whether there can be true justice is another matter. For now, I want to make sure the rest of my clan can escape Turalek." Mark said.

"I wish I could get my own clan out of the deserts of Rigel 5. Very few of us leave home like I did." Farenia said a bit nostalgically. "Do you have a plan or an idea of how to get them off of Turalek?"

"Yeah. I need to go there shortly, I've asked Miss Brennan to come along with me. She's been there before, she knows the land better than anyone else aboard aside from myself." Mark replied. "While I'm there, I'll evac them with myself."

"I almost wish I could go with you. Unfortunately I have too much to take care of here and the ship needs a stable CO. I can't go running off claiming captain's prerogative." Farenia replied. "As for Miss Brennan... I haven't been through the roster yet. Who is she?"

"She's in the science department as an astrophysicist. No rank, but that's because she had been stuck on a primitive world for 17 years after escaping from agents of Section 31. If I find any members of that group, I'm already going to kill them for ignoring Turalek. They were aware of the planet years ago, they were why Shae was there, looking for someone. When she was there, she became part of my clan...part of my family." Mark explained. "She still needs protection though, just in case they are still around. Seems they don't like people escaping them."

"They've also supposedly been disbanded and are now a recordkeeping office at Starfleet Command. I hope you don't intend to kill random clerks." Farenia replied. "She sounds like a reliable type so far though. Does she have Starfleet rank or is she a civilian?"

"The Devil's greatest trick was convincing people he didn't exist." Mark said. "A saying I learnt years ago. They're still around; groups like that don't just vanish. Random clerks don't have anything to fear, but when the real Section 31 rears it's ugly head, I'm sending them straight to hell." Mark said. "As for Shae, she doesn't have a rank at the moment. Reason for that is to protect her more than anything else. Like I said, they're alive somewhere, and having a rank means she has a record. But she is trustworthy, and I would trust her with my life."

"Sounds good then. When do you plan on setting out? I doubt we can get backup to you until the deflector is fixed so you might be out there alone for a while." Farenia replied.

"I'm ready now. I won't be gone too long, hopefully." Mark said. "If you have no objections, I'd like to take the ship we confiscated from Jeffrey. He's still in my brig, and we can send him to Starfleet when I get back. It's slightly bigger, and has no Starfleet Markings, so anyone on the planet will see it as another trader."

"A good idea. Just make sure it doesn't have any unpleasant surprises waiting for you. And take an engineer with you just in case," she replied, finally relaxing a bit into her chair.

Mark nodded. "Understood. Thank you Captain." Mark said.

"Any time. Just please don't prove the Admiral right that you're a menace, ok?" Farenia said. "Is there anything you need from me?"

Mark smiled. "Just preparation for a number of potential injured and hungry people when I get back." Mark replied, standing up.

Farenia nodded and smiled softly. "Then consider it done. Good luck and come back safely."

"I will." Mark said, returning the smile, before turning and leaving the office. As he did, he closed his eyes briefly, and hoped that he would make it back. As he opened his eyes, he headed for the turbolift, knowing that the next couple of days would test him beyond measure.