ON:

Over the years, and even into the late 24th century, there were doctors who felt psychology, and psychiatry, wasn't a real science. It always baffled Kavyn Rajol as to why. Science, especially the social sciences, were just as important to the medical sciences. With that said, Rajol had no issue with seeing a counselor, and he had no issues with referring a patient to a counselor if needed.

Since he had been thrust into an away mission before he got a chance to settle in, Rajol hadn't gotten a chance to see the chief counselor. Just like the physical for new people was mandatory, so was the counseling session. As the CMO, it was important for him to set a good example, not only to his staff, but to other crew members who may end up in his sickbay.

At the door to the counselor's office, Rajol reached out, and rang the chime.

"Come in," Quintina called, looking up from her desk terminals to see the door open and their new CMO on the other side. Smiling and clicking off her screens, she stood and motioned to the various seating. "Ah, welcome! I've been hoping you'd stop by. Please, make yourself at home."

"Thank you, Counselor," Rajol said as a warm smile spread onto his lips. He took a seat, and settled in. "I would have been here sooner, but I got called away on an away mission much sooner than anticipating."

"The trip to... Talos IV? I hope everything went well." Quintina commented idly as she moved around her desk and sat in one of the many comfy chairs. "I'd have loved to go myself, but that likely would have been a treaty violation between them and the Continuum."

Rajol shook his head. "No, I was assigned to the away team on Hamelin, though that was short lived after a cave in, and I was needed there instead of staying with the delegation. It's amazing how quickly things can change on an away mission." He knew the counselor was assigned to that particular away team as well, but everyone had been separated rather quickly after the cave in. "I would have liked to have gone on the Talos mission as well, though," he paused, "but you are human now? Are you not? So would that have still been a treaty violation?"

"Ah, Hamelin... I hope everything turns out for the better there." Quintina paused for a moment, tapping her forehead. "The treaty is more about this than anything else. I still have a lot of knowledge that they're not supposed to get their stunted little brains on."

Rajol nodded. "I don't think I've ever heard the Talosians being referred to as a species with a stunted little brains," he said. "I'm just glad that everyone came back from that away mission intact, not everyone has been so lucky in the past concerning that."

Chuckling softly, Quintina nodded as well. "Of that we agree. I'd hate to lose even one of the people I've come to enjoy the company of. What about you though? Any stresses recently? Work going ok? Love life? Are you satisfied with the replicators?"

"The replicators have been living up to my expectations." Rajol nodded. "Everything, is going fine so far. Though, I haven't really had a chance to settle since I was a late add, and then thrust into an away mission right away." Now, though, he planned to take a couple of days to just settle and get to know the ship. Then he smiled. "As for my love life, well... there isn't much of one, however, I'm okay with that."

Quintina stared at the doctor, studying him and thinking on his responses. He seemed to be... boring? Maybe a bit. She had enough to take care of with half this crew already so maybe this was a good thing. "What do you think of this new ship then?"

"It seems to be a fine ship, state-of-the art, and I am quite impressed with the sickbay and adjoining labs," Rajol answered. "I know the Camelot is not a large vessel, but I'm still hoping to get the chance to walk each deck, get to know where things are." Which was the truth, but the real truth was that he was constantly busy. He was hoping, over the coming weeks, that would change and his life would fall into a pattern. It's not that he minded busy or chaos, but it was also nice to have some order.

"I agree. the recreational facilities are very accommodating, the food is good and the crew are interesting so I really have no complaints." Quintina replied.

Rajol nodded and smiled. He knew Quinzel was a former Q, so it was good to hear that she found the crew interesting. He had wondered how a former Q, who would have been omnipotent in their former life, would adjust to the current reality. Obviously, the woman who sat across from him, adjusted quite well. Or, at least that was what she wanted people to perceive. He was going to ask if a chapel was on board, but it was something he could always ask later. "Well that is good to know, it's always nice to hear from others what they think as well."

"Indeed it is. Especially when there are differing opinions and ways of thinking than your own." Quintina said, smiling a bit brighter.

Having been career helmsmen and pilot for most of his Starfleet life, Captain Kristopher Kerouac could not just sit back and let things go easily. His starship, the USS Camelot had taken on new crew and lead a small task force of starships through the Beta Quadrant towards to bordering Delta Quadrant. They had been traveling for weeks through some rough space filled with pirates and looters, the vermin and scum of the galaxy. Leaving Federation space behind was one thing, but being away from the safety and security of allies like the Klingons was a whole other matter. This was the frontier for Starfleet, the uncharted and unexplored fringes of the Beta Quadrant. Kris had a damn good grasp on why he was chosen to lead this expedition under the watchful eye of one of Starfleet's more maverick and rugged Admirals.

Kerouac was an unorthodox Captain, one who broke rules and had been hardened by serving time in a Klingon prison. Kris was a survivalist and borderline crazy. If anyone was going to lead a small task force of starships through the darkness and face the unknown, they were surely on a very short list and Kris' name no doubt atop of that list of 'expendable Captains' after the shit he had pulled through his career, even after crossing into an alternate universe. Away from the close scrutiny of Starfleet Command and representatives of the United Federation of Planets, Kris had let his hair grow out once again and had let his smooth baby face turn bristly with some growth.

Several hours ago, the last remaining starships in the small task force finally broke off from the Camelot's guidance and all starships were more or less on their own exploring and charting star systems, nebulae, spacial phenomena, and setting foot on strange new worlds. The Camelot's heading, however, was taking her onward into a strange relatively starless region of the Beta Quadrant which Kerouac has 'Kristened' as the Shimon Expanse. The Camelot had come to a full stop on the very fringes of the expanse.

Opening a comm channel from the Bridge to Engineering, Kerouac sought his trusted Chief Engineer. "Look alive down there, Jenni. It's been quiet for too long," joked Kerouac about their rather uneventful past few weeks. "I am going to need those warp engines ready. I'm not going to push them too hard yet though," added Kris.

Jenni didn't believe that claim for a Bolian minute. "Warp speed is ready at your command, Captain," she called back over the comm. The only aspect of the 'calm' times that was attractive to her was not having to deal with unexpected repairs. Even with a ship this new, she constantly was still working on shaking down all of the fresh systems and gear. Of that, there seemed to be no end in sight.

Standing up from his command chair, Kerouac looked ahead at the view screen a black so dark to look at it felt like cold obsidian was staring back at him. "Helm, ahead warp factor three," ordered the Captain as he felt his voice tremble ever so slightly. No fear Kris, no fear he thought to himself with a little mental pep talk. "I do not want to exceed warp three until we have a better understanding of what's ahead. Be prepared to make immediate course adjustments at your own discretion" added Kris to the Caitian helmsmen.

Attom grinned, his ears flipping back to listen intently to the Captian's commands. "Warp factor three..." he repeated, his whiskers twitching in anticipation of what they might come upon next. It was amazingly dark in the area of space that they were in. He kept an eye on the viewscreen as well, thinking that his empty sensors were because of something they didn't recognize. "I will do my best, Captain."

Kris took a deep breath as he watched the ensign proceed forward into the Shimon Expanse, easing the Camelot from a full stop and building towards the low warp speed of factor three. "Nathan," said Kris, turning to look over at his Second Officer, the Security Chief and Chief Tactical Officer, a man that Captain Kerouac entrusted with his life several dozen times in the past and likely would again more times than he wanted to think about. "Yellow Alert. I want all stations ready and standing by... this feels like wandering into a darkened cave without a torch and not knowing if you are alone or not," added Kris. "If she's awake and not too busy, consult with Jhu and see if she can get us any information from the Romulans... I don't care what she has to do to get it."

"Yes sir, yellow alert." Nathan said as he punched in his commands. "Yes sir," Nathan said with a slight smirk and a glance to Jhu who was lurking at the back of the bridge near his station. Clearly the captain didn't see her. "Any ideas e'lev?"

Jhu winked at Nathan, smart enough not to say a word about what she might be doing at the back of the bridge. Even knowing she wouldn't get much from asking, she sent a quick query to the Star Empire before starting her own search into the databases she knew how to hack into.

The Captain turned to his First Officer, Commander Stratford 'Stace' Brooks. "I know this... this type of space from somewhere. I haven't encountered anything like it before yet it is familiar, like I read about it before. Any insight on this, number one?" asked the Captain to his First Officer.

Stace pondered for a moment, he had the same feeling, like a tickle of a memory at the back of his brain. "Voyager." It finally came to him. "They hit some kind of void. I don't remember the details, but it could be something."

Kerouac snapped his fingers and looked at Stace. "The Void," said Kris with a broad smile. "It was a starless region of space... they could have spent two years traveling through it. Commander, see if you can do some research on Voyager's Void. We can use their experience at least as a starting point to see how closely related these two expanses are to one another."

Stace nodded. It would be an interesting bit of research.

"Seras," called out the Captain gently, not wanting to startle the woman as he approached her station. "Can you sense anything out there? Anything at all, life forms, ships, planets..." Kerouac began trailing off.

Seras offered the Captain just a hint of a smile as he approached her station; by now, she had grown accustomed to his presence and no longer needed such tentative behavior from him to remain calm, but she knew such considerations came from a good, caring heart so she appreciated the gesture nonetheless. "There's nothing on sensors yet, sir, nor can I sense anything other than the crew of the Camelot, but I will let you know the moment that changes," she assured Kris with a nod.

Kris headed back towards his command chair, taking the center seat with Commander Stace on his one side and Counselor Quinzel on his other side. "Doctor Quinzel," said the Captain. As much as he still was uncomfortable with a Q on his starship powerless or not, she did have her benefits and contributed significantly in the past. "How about the Q Continuum. Do you know what this rather starless expanse is?" he asked the woman beside him.

Quintina thought a moment, looking like she was remembering something unpleasant and wanted to vomit. Initially, she only had one word. "Yes." Then after a brief moment of silence, she turned to Kris, the normal wordiness and pompousness of the denizens of the continuum nowhere in her features. "It's best not discussed. Ever. Let's just say that this area of space was... consumed... It'll be another twenty thousand years before you might need to worry about it anyway."

Jhu had kept quiet, minding her own business at the rear of the bridge while she tried to come up with any sort of information on this odd place they'd run across. Until now, anyway. "Consumed? What, pray tell, eats planets and stars for breakfast leaving nothing behind as evidence?"

"A seventh dimension parasite..." Quintina muttered under her breath. Then glanced around the now oddly silent bridge. "Ah, yeah... you're all barely fourth dimensional beings. The big fat Enterprise, I believe, found some flat space two dimensional beings. Your races have all speculated at the existence of higher order beings and as a former member of the Continuum I'm proof that they exist. They're just still incomprehensible to your minds in how they operate. it's like trying to make a map of the universe with the cross section of a single tooth on any of you. You can see the effects..." and with that, she made a sweeping gesture towards the viewscreen. "Where the being intersects your observable dimensions, but nothing more."

Kris was mildly disturbed by the Counselor's charming story of a seventh dimensional being consuming stars, planets, and other matter. "My crew and my ship had better not be on the menu anytime soon. Let's avoid ever encountering these... seventh dimension parasites," he said shaking his head. "Sensors out here are about as useful as a hand torch in thick fog," he added looking over at Jhu who had been hanging out towards the back of the Bridge.

"Before you burst, Spots, I'd like to take a shuttle out ahead of the Camelot. Start getting a clearer sense of what is out there ahead of us before we just hit something," commented Kris. "Besides, we are due for some quality time together," he added.

Instantly, Jhu was conflicted. She still had trouble with small craft, but she'd been figuratively dying for a chance to leave the ship. "Sounds like fun. Just make sure the shuttle is stocked with lorazepam and meclizine. I don't have good history with shuttles."

Kris smirked. "Hey, you are better off with me piloting than Hayley Collins. Plus, I can ensure you that my clothes will be staying on at all times and I do not have a Caitian fetish."

Attom's eyes shot sideways and his ears laid back a bit, the tip of his long tail flicking back and forth rapidly. "Hey now!"

Jhu snorted at that. "You damn well better keep your clothes on or I'll stun you and fly the shuttle back myself. Just tell me when I need to be ready."

Quintina had to pipe up at the clothes comment. "Is that something I need to bring up in a counseling session with someone?"

Nathan cleared his throat, "Don't think for a second the two of you are going to leave this ship without me... sir." Nathan added the sir out of respect for the Captain, but his tone had that 'we have talked about this' tone to it.

Jhu raised an eyebrow at Nathan's comment, not sure where it had come from. "We won't be leaving the Camelot's sensor range... or transporter range for that matter. I'm not so crazy as to let him take me that far out." What she didn't add verbally was that out of everyone capable of commanding the Camelot... it was Nathan she trusted to come for her if something did happen to go wrong.

Kerouac trusted his crew, everyone from his First Officer down to the administrative crewmen that sorted mail transmissions. Of his Senior Staff, Kris knew that Stace and Nathan would have his back and come to his rescue if need be. And if all hell broke loose, even Matthews had enough notches in her belt to sit in the big chair as she had done so before. "What she said" added the Captain. "Watch us, track us, do whatever you want to monitor us, but you are needed at your post Nathan. I trust your department, but I'd prefer to have you at tactical in the event we come across something in this expanse."

Nathan grit his teeth. He could push the issue, but he knew better. When it comes to Kris, Jhu and himself when the other two stand against the one, the other two always win. He had been on the other side of this fight several time and understood it was best to back down. "At least take a security detail please sir." He said in compromise.

Kris looked at Nathan and groaned loudly. Always with the security detail thought Kris. "Fine, one security officer. I will have one security officer meet us in the shuttlebay" said Kris, but his eyes looked over at Jhu and a small smile was tugging at Kris' lips. But we'll leave without them thought the Captain.

Nathan had to admit to himself that on some level, he was suffering a bit of separation anxiety from Jhu. He glanced over to Quintina to see if she had picked up on this.

Opening a channel once again to Engineering, the Captain took a deep breath. His crew were at work and he was slowly getting information about the expanse before them. However, as he sat in his chair he recalled one the recent arrivals of new crew that had come aboard a couple of weeks ago. "Bridge to Engineering," said Kerouac.

The Chief Engineer was surprised to hear the Captain's voice. "Don't tell me, Captain. We're about to head into trouble, aren't we?"

"I haven't broken your starship yet, Jenni," joked the Captain with a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I actually am calling for a small favor. Could I borrow one of your new engineers for a bit..." began Kris as he picked up a PaDD and skimmed through the Engineering manifest for the right name. "Ah yes. I would like to have Lieutenant Neith up here if you can spare the lad."

Jenni looked over to the newly arrived Lieutenant. She'd picked up rather quickly on lad. Evidently, the Captain had taken an interest in the new arrival, of which Jenni was not surprised. He certainly was talented. "He's on his way." To the lieutenant, she added, "You better get up there, Lieutenant."

Returning to a bridge was not something that had been on Ion’s short list, despite knowing the likelihood that it would come up at one point. He’d given up the command route at least three times, and turned down two promotions because of it. If anything, he was most at home working, and solving problems. What engineers did, born from ingeniare and ingenium as effective vessels for contriving or devising cleverness from nothing. Unfortunately, that also made them among the best critical thinkers, when working with next to no resources.

His own specialties aside, he’d wondered why his transfer to the Camelot had gone so smoothly. More often than not, such ordeals took months if not a year or longer in Earth time to complete — at least in his experience. It might have been his own achievements, word of mouth, or the fact that the command crew on board simply wanted a fresh perspective. Whatever the reason, it was unlikely he’d ever know in detail.

Finding his way up one of the jefferies tubes to the nearest turbolift, he jolted at the mere note of his chief engineer. “On my way,” he responded over the link. Within a few timely minutes he arrived, his curious eyes scanning the differences in the layout between his familiarity with Nova and Serendipity class vessels. They were… starkly dissimilar. “Captain?” he inquired, as promptly as possible.

"Lieutenant Neith," replied the Captain with a quick nod, appreciating the young man's quickness at arriving. "You're half Braidan. I do not mean to make any presumptions, but I believe this region of space is closer to your backyard than it is anyone else's," commented Kerouac. "Have the Braidians ever traveled out this far or do they have any myths of this region of space that you know of?" asked the Captain

Eyes drifting to the view screen, the expanse that laid beyond would take more than a simple glance to identify. If he knew it at all. He didn’t recognize any of the stellar bodies from his own recollections, momentarily giving a ponderous sulk absently into the air. Drifting his hands over the nearby science console, Neith paused.

“I can’t say that I’ve been here personally, captain. Nor can I speak for where we have and have not been this far out. Our homeworld is about a kiloparsec away, I’m afraid.” The news relayed was disappointing to say the least. As his optics illuminated with the information fed from the console, a half-smile found its way for the barest of moments. “It might, however be in their star charts. Would you like me to contact New Braida to see if we can get a download running? I know their government has contacts with a few species in the Delta Quadrant, which may be of use later on.”

"Yes, Lieutenant. Contact New Braida and see if they can shed some light on this region of space for us" said Kris. He looked at Stace "Make sure you keep a good eye on my ship and keep within range of the shuttle. Sensor, communications, weapons, transporter...the works" said Kerouac.

The Captain and Commander Jhu t'Dharvanek had disembarked from the starship via shuttle a little over half an hour ago in order to scout ahead for any potential stellar objects or potential navigational hazards due the Shimon Expanse's peculiar effects that were seriously limiting the larger starship's sensors. The shuttle, however was to remain within range for communications as well as be within transporter range. A lock on both Captain Kerouac and Commander t'Dharvanek's life signs was maintained at all times.

On the Bridge of the Camelot, Commander Brooks was in command. The starship had slowed to warp one in order to give Kerouac's shuttle time to relay navigational information for Ensign R'Attom M'aarra to make necessary course adjustments. Everything had been going perfectly fine, albeit some of the Bridge crew were on edge about Kerouac being off the starship and in a shuttle. Knowing the man's history for getting into trouble if not downright causing it, it was a wonder why they did not just mutiny and confine him to his quarters or Ready Room. There was of course, Commander Tonkin's emotions flowing around the Bridge as well as his thoughts were surely on his partner, the expecting mother of his child.

Tonkin's mixed yet mostly warm emotions were quite soothing to Lieutenant Da'Kar who had come up to the Bridge to take over the science station as relief for Lieutenant Nichols who had been feeling a bit under the weather and was reporting to Sickbay after coming over with a sickening sense of nausea and the beginnings of a light fever. Da'Kar was monitoring sensors and also keeping an eye on Kerouac and t'Dharvanek's bio signs. The half Klingon was about to report that everything looked fine on sensors and that the shuttle had just cleared a tiny asteroid field when he heard alerts from his station, the tactical station, and operations all go off at the same time. The sensors had picked something up.

However, before Da'kar could speak up or even check what the hell had set off his sensors so suddenly, the USS Camelot was hit by something. The starship rocked wildly and the science officer felt out of his chair and down onto the floor as lights around the Bridge began to flicker. Another hit to the starship and the brightly illuminated Bridge quickly went pitch black for a few moments. The lieutenant pulled himself up back into his chair. "Power failure" he announced as emergency lighting came on, casting a very minimal amount of illumination on the Bridge. Most everyone were just shadows or shadowy outlines to his eyes. Most consoles were completely blacked out.

Lieutenant Da'Kar could feel the emotional uproar around the ship and even more so on the Bridge. This was definitely a ship wide problem as he could sense hundreds of people, the crew of the Camelot astir. "It's not an isolated incident, it's ship wide," he reported shaking his head. "We have emergency power only, Commander. Life support is online, but I have no sensors and no power whatsoever to my console," reported the science officer.

Seras was trying to confirm Lieutenant Da'Kar's report, but it was proving difficult without power; her console was still lit but most command functions were locked out with so many of the ship's systems affected by the power drain, and internal sensors seemed to only have intermittent functionality as she tried to check for causes. "I can confirm that the power loss is shipwide, but I can't find a source for this loss; as best I can tell, the Warp core and additional reactors are functioning, there's nothing wrong with power distribution, we are generating power but it simply isn't getting anywhere. And the power is not building up in the system, it's just gone!" Seras said, utterly baffled as to what could be causing them to vent their power into nothingness.

"Atom, can you tell us anything?" Stace checked the small console on the arm of the Command Chair, but wasn't surprised to find it non responsive.

Attom turned in his chair to look at Commander Brooks. "I've got nothing," he announced, his ears laid back and his whiskers twitching. His control panel was dead. Not just a little dead, but blackout dead. Even his emergency lights were not working or responding. He scratched at his shoulder. "Something hit us... but like this I can't tell you what it was." He itched his shoulder again. "I might be able to help in engineering if necessary..." he reminded Stace.

"Hold steady for now Atom, I don't want people wandering around in the dark unless absolutely necessary. Besides if we get power back, we'll need you here." Stace told the Caitian, giving him a quick reassuring smile.

Da'Kar was already at work using his Klingon half to be the strong brute that sometimes pretended to be. However, he was about as delicate as a field of summer flowers. He loved his Klingon operas and poetry, but he was no sooner going to pry those turbolift doors open with his bare hands than he was to win a bat'leth tournament. "The doors to the turbolift are shut and I can't get them open... not that it would do much good if I could get them open. I don't think we'll be using the lift anytime soon. If we go anywhere... it is going to be with crawling and climbing," commented Da'Kar.

The idea of crawling through the tubes of the ship sent a shiver through Nathan as he slapped his com badge. "Security to all decks, lets try and keep everyone calm," he said. The console was completely dark, so he moved around the bridge and took a seat next to Commander Brooks to see if the console on the first officer's chair worked. To his surprise it was on, but like Seras' most of the command functions were locked out.

Still sitting in her chair on the bridge, Quintina's PaDD had also gone dark while she was reading it. Thankfully she had planned ahead a bit and had a specialized tool in her pocket. This tool violated her own sense of non-interference, but as long as she kept it close... Pulling it out, she ran the tip along the PaDD's power supply, causing a brief whining noise and the PaDD to kick back on. She then resumed reading her article on interspecies mating.

Lieutenant Da'Kar had watched the Security Chief attempt to contact his men and women. Nothing too peculiar about it. It was rather standard and by the book. However, the lack of response was a bit disconcerting. The Lieutenant had a hunch and he did not like where it was leading as he attempted to use his own comm badge to contact the science labs. No response. "Sir, I think something is blocking our com signals. It is like they are going out but not being received," reported the half Klingon

"Son of a bitch," Nathan muttered to himself as he worked at the mostly dead panel, then he glanced up to Brooks. "Orders sir?"

"Get a small team to manually check the comm channels with the portable scanners. Also, make sure Blue Alert is understood, this is not a drill." Stace remained calmed, though he was tempted to go to red, and would if life support dropped out or a hostile interference became clear.

Attom laid his ears back and sneezed into his elbow. He was itchy. It sort of reminded him of one of those warm summer days when one of his siblings would chase him with puffballs until he'd sneezed himself silly and his mother put a stop to it. He sneezed again and scratched at his shoulder. He turned back to his dead console, wondering for just a brief moment if something was also wrong with their air filters, but he couldn't tell because his console was dead.

Something caught Da'Kar mentally all of a sudden. At first he was not sure what exactly it was, but something was off. There was an imbalance aboard, the emotions he was feeling from the crew. He could not pinpoint it exactly, not with so much commotion going on aboard and especially around him on the Bridge. However, the alien feeling stuck with him and as he started to concentrate more on it, he quickly sought Lieutenant Seras. "Do you feel it too? Can you sense them?" he said as he approached to woman, hoping that he was not going crazy.

Seras could sense a great many things, most of which she dismissed out of hand because she was not a suspicious person at heart. "The people aboard this ship are afraid, and they have every right to be-" she started to tell the Science, almost as if to scold him, but then she stopped short, gazing into nothingness as she began to pick up on something not quite right. "My apologies, Lieutenant, you were right to ask for a second opinion, I feel it too," she said to Da'Kar, then turned her attention to Stace.

"Commander, we are not alone out here, I believe we have been boarded," Seras said to Stace, but her synthesized words became drawn out and distorted as her vocal synthesizer began to lose power. Her eyes widened at this realization and she opened her mouth to try to say something else, but nothing was forthcoming. She pulled the external synthesizer unit out of her collar to check to see what was wrong with it, but the power cell within was dead! What was even more startling, she started to notice that she could barely hear anything out of her right ear, her prosthetic also seemed to be malfunctioning!

"Fuck," the XO muttered under his breath. He gave a quick concerned glance to Seras, but physically she was fine. Clearly some kind of dampening field was being used. "Tonkin, get down to Security and get a team out searching. Do you have any projectile based firearms?" A good old fashioned gun, there was no dampening that.

"No sir, they are not..." Nathan started to answer Commander Brooks when his arm suddenly shot straight out and threw the panel on the First officer's chair, the one that was typically Brooks'. Then his arm shot straight up as if he was raising his hand for a questions. It took the entire arm of the chair with it. "What in the hell?!?!" Nathan exclaimed as his prosthetic started to also malfunction.

Stace was very glad he was in command and sitting in the center chair. "Clearly we are dealing with something that renders technology inert." He sighed. "How can we not have any guns," he groaned, out loud, but really more to himself. Regardless, they needed to figure out what they were dealing with, and as quickly as possible. "Getting security searching." He ordered Nathan, "Get yourself to sickbay if you need to though."

"We have an android and an ex-Borg aboard, don't we? I'll have to schedule them for counseling after this if they survive," Quintina said calmly, still reading her PaDD. Indeed, she expected to be very busy while they crossed this expanse.

Da'Kar thought this whole situation curious and yet he understood the direness of it all as well. Power draining and technology failures, rendering things rather useless and leaving the crew crippled when it came to defensive abilities. "If what we were hit by was a dampening field... that's a lengthy list of potential suspects. Anyone from the Cardassians in the Alpha Quadrant to the Voth in the Delta Quadrant albeit the Voth would have no reason to attack us unprovoked. At least from what I remember about their general behavior," offered the lieutenant. "It could have even been some sort of modified electro magnetic pulse weapon which would add the Ferengi and Breen to the table of suspects," added the science officer.

All this theorizing was not going to do anything productive. Instead, Da'Kar put himself in the mindset of a warrior or someone who needed to survive. "My quarters," he said simply before speaking up louder. "In my quarters. I have my father's bat'leth, it might not be a projectile weapon, but it doesn't use any sort of energy except for good ol' kinetic energy."

'I have a bow, but I've only ever done target archery, I've never used it practically like this before,' Seras projected to Stace, slowly and carefully as he was just learning to understand her telepathy and she did not want to cause him any harm. She thought about 'speaking' through Da'Kar, but he was only half Betazoid and he would likely be just as overwhelmed as Stace had been the first time he experienced her telepathy, the only difference being that Stace was now familiar with her form of communication.

Quintina finished reading her article on interspecies mating and sighed, setting her PaDD aside. Glancing around the still darkened bridge, she wondered what the crew was doing. "You haven't restored the flow of energy yet? I suspect that life support is offline as well by now. I'd much rather not die here and I'm sure it would put a crimp in everyone else's day as well." Standing, she headed to the back of the bridge and popped open the power feed access panel, running her tool along the length of the exposed conduits. Unlike the PaDD earlier, they didn't come back to life immediately, but did flicker a little before going dark again. Then she tucked the tool back away and turned back to the rest of the bridge. "I did what I could. Someone else will have to save us all."

Da'kar looked at the Counselor and then at Commander Brooks. "Unless we pop off some access panels and start climbing and crawling through service chutes and jefferies tubes, it's going to up to Commander Matthews in Engineering and the rest of the crew below decks to take care of the power problems and these intruders. I personally would like to get down there as soon as possible to help Matthews," said the half Klingon.

Stace nodded to Da'Kar. "Go ahead. I'm sure you'll know if power is suddenly restored and you can return to the bridge. Good hunting Lieutenant."

Seras raised a hand slightly to show her willingness to start crawling around to find a fix for this problem. She then reached under her console for a toolkit, pulling out the hyperspanner, which was dead, but then pointed it at Quintina; her tool, whatever it was, could make a PaDD work, surely it could make her tools work so she could figure out a work-around for this power drain!

Quintina didn't need words to understand Seras's request. She took the tool and used her sonic transdimensional decoupler on it, the power cell returning to normal operation. "That should hold for half an hour or so but don't expect miracles."

Attom stood from his console as well. "I'd like to try and help too..." he requested, straightening his uniform and trying to do his best to look willing and able. "I can't navigate anywhere at the moment anyway." His tail flipped back and forth, crashing into his chair behind him. He had never been very good at sitting still.

Nathan pulled the arm of the chair off his right hand and made his way over to Quintina and Sera's. "Can one of you at least get this thing to lay flat?" he asked quietly.

Quintina performed the same stunt with her tool on Nathan's arm, but with a bit more difficulty since the power had to travel further. "I can't guarantee it'll work well, but that should at least make it semi-mobile for a few minutes," she said as she held her tool up and studied the now flickering blue crystal at the tip. "And that might be the last of the power in my sonic transdimensional decoupler."

"I will gather security and mobilize them sir," Nathan said to Brooks. " I will gather supplies and non-essential personnel in the mess hall. I will also set up a team to relay information between key locations including here and engineering," Nathan said, trying to keep the nagging worry of thoughts he loved affect his ability to save them.

Stace was a bit concerned about Nathan's ability minus a working prosthetic, but nothing required exceptional dexterity. If he could handle a ladder one handed, he should be fine. "Go ahead," he nodded.

Nathan noted the slight look of doubt on the man's face. Good, he needed an opportunity to show the Commander what he was made of. "I will report back within the hour sir." Nathan said while flexing his now mostly usable right hand. He made his way over to the nearest wall access and pulled the panel away from the wall. He took only the slightest of seconds to steal his nerves, then entered the inner's of the ship.

Stace nodded to Nathan. "Good luck."

Andy sighed as she gazed out the window of their quarters to the inky void that was the Shimon Expanse; there were no stars or other celestial bodies to be seen (or scanned for that matter), the very sight of it felt eerie and unnatural. Andy shivered at the thought of just being in this place.

“Fuck, this place is creepy, I hope we won’t be here long,” Andy said as she closed the drapes that Maica had so thoughtfully put up in anticipation of being here.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Maica said as she pulled a tray of hors d'oeuvre with extra ginger on the side out of the replicator, carrying it with her to the dining table. “I just hope the pattern is stimulating enough while not being too busy.” She was referring of course to the overall look of an artistic rendition of their galaxy as seen from outside of it. Not the most accurate rendition, but she thought it was pretty to look at.

“It’s fine,” Andy replied, joining her wife at the table. The ex-Borg woman was not one for grandiose words about how nice or pretty something was, heaven forbid she actually use the word ‘beautiful’, so ‘it’s fine’ was high praise coming from her, though frankly she would have been content with clown-print drapes, anything to detract from the emptiness outside the ship.

Maica let that pass, a soft smile gracing her lips as she took Andy’s hand and squeezed knowingly. She knew firsthand how hard it was to get a compliment out of her wife and that was more than she normally offered. Picking up one of the fru-fru foodstuffs, she popped it into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully as she stared at the curtains.

“Though I do wonder how spa-” Andy’s words were cut off when the ship rocked as though struck by something. Andy put a hand on Maica’s shoulder to keep them both steady as the ship rocked a second time, causing the lights to go out. “What the hell!”

Maica suddenly felt… Nauseous? Dizzy? Exhausted? None of those made sense, but she was. “Andy…” she said as she slumped forward. “I think something's wrong…”

“Shit!” Andy moved quickly to catch Maica as she slumped forward, scooping her up in her arms before Maica could fall over completely. “Stay with me, keep talking. Tell me what you’re feeling,” Andy said as she carried Maica over to the sofa and laid her down. Tricorder, she needed a tricorder! Or, did she need to contact the Bridge first, see what was going on? She knew both were important, but for the life of her she was having a hard time coming to a decision on what to do first! Eventually, she chose the tricorder and found one in an emergency repair kit stashed behind a bulkhead panel near the door.

“I… Well… Dizzy, exhausted, maybe nauseous. Diagnostics aren’t responding well. I think my main power core is offline. My emergency battery… It’s draining fast.” Maica said, trying to stay calm as she laid there trying to conserve energy. “Will I be ok?”

“I don’t know,” Andy answered in a pained tone, clearly upset that something was happening to Maica and she had no idea what was happening or why. She opened the tricorder and tried to take some scans of Maica, but the tricorder couldn’t seem to stay online long enough for any reasonable diagnostics, which clued Andy into the fact that everything on the ship was being affected in this way, not just Maica! But she did get enough information to see that the power core was still operational, but power simply wasn’t getting to the rest of her body. She had no way of knowing where that power was going, but the end result was the same as if the power core was offline: if she couldn’t find a way to restore power to Maica’s vital systems then her matrix would eventually degrade to the point that her consciousness would no longer be viable, essentially she would die!

“Maica, I need you to shut down everything non-essential, even movement,” Andy said as she struggled to think coherently. It took her a moment longer to realize that whatever was causing this disruption of power was affecting her Borg implants as well. “I… think I need to get you to the lab,” she said with great effort.

Maica had already ad most systems forcefully shut down on her as it was. Then she noticed Andy was having trouble too. “Three minutes of power remaining. You need help too. Call for help.” Maica placed her wife’s life above her own but there was just nothing she could do. She was shutting down what little she had left, leaving just minor processes and auditory input and output.

Andy nodded and tapped her comm badge. “Carter to Sickbay, can I get some assistance in the guests quarters?” she asked, but received no response. She tapped her badge again and repeated the request, but still received no answer from sickbay. “Carter to Engineering, please respond,” she tried again, this time trying Engineering to see if there was a communication error in Sickbay, but still no response. “Bridge, can anyone hear me?” she tried yet again. Panic was now setting in; they were totally fucked! “This ain’t good, love,” Andy said to Maica in an unsettlingly calm tone; she was terrified now that she was going to lose her wife to whatever was claiming power within the ship.

“I surmise that the ship is in a dampening field. I think I can store myself for a few days like this if I have to. Will you be ok?” Maica asked calmly yet mechanically, her vocal systems not getting enough power now. Her eyes were closed and off, but she knew Andy had to be freaking out by this point.

“As long as whatever is causing this doesn’t do any permanent damage to my cortical array, I think I’ll be fine. Well, it’ll suck for a while, but I’ll bounce back. It’d be a different story if I still had my cortical node,” Andy said after moment to contemplate her own well-being. “I need to get you to the lab, and once I’m sure you’re okay I’ll take myself to Sickbay. Does that make you feel any better?”

Maica would have nodded if she could have. “It does. Thank you. Please wake me up when this is all overrrr…” She trailed off slightly as she finished packing her matrix away and shutting down, the last of her energy trickling away moments later.

Andy looked down at her wife with a pained expression, tears burning in her eyes as Maica shut down completely. She then wasted no time in tossing the tricorder aside and gathering Maica into her arms yet again; shit, Maica was heavier than she remembered! Or it could be that she simply was not as strong as she had been moments before; if her cortical node was being affected, it made sense that she no longer had the gift of strength her exoskeleton provided her.

“Fuck, you are going on a diet when this is all over,” Andy said, attempting to make a joke to diffuse her turbulent emotions. As soon as she reached the door, she realized a right away that this trip would be a lot harder than she originally thought; if her brain had been running at full capacity like normal, there was no way she would have forgotten that no power means no doors opening automatically.

“Shit…” Andy set Maica down on the floor to open up the door access panel to manually open the door, though once the door was open Andy was now faced with the problem of picking Maica back up. ‘Fuck fuck fuck fuck…’ Andy grumbled in the back of her mind as she struggled to lift the heavy Android from the floor without her Borg strength.

But their problems did not end there; navigating the ship without power meant no turbolifts, so if Andy was to get them to her lab near Main Engineering, they would have to crawl through the Jefferies tubes to get down a few levels. Now normally Andy loved crawling around through Jefferies tubes, she just didn’t relish the idea of literally dragging Maica along with her, nor was she looking forward to figuring out the logistics of how she was going to climb down a ladder with Maica! It would be nice if she had some rope, but she had no idea where she could get some without using a replicator. To make matters worse, she wasn’t 100% certain she knew the way to Main Engineering via the Jefferies system; she hadn’t been here that long and the turbolift had been working just fine until now!

Bemoaning the tasks ahead of her was not going to get them down, so Andy shifted Maica’s weight in her arms and headed for the nearest Jefferies access...

Off on a distant planet in the Trill system, Maica III blinked twice, realizing that she hadn’t heard from her duplicate from another universe in a while. They had become pen pals of a sort and normally, they got messages to each other on a regular basis. Maica had been moving to another ship for a while though, so Maica III figured it was just that. It still worried her slightly though. Though they were technically the same person, Maica was what Maica III would have been if she had had a good micro-fusion reactor and had escaped her creator to join Starfleet rather than transferring to holographic form and becoming a pseudo crime boss.

The past couple of months had been eye-opening for Einar, little gifts around each bend in his life. After four tough years going through Starfleet Academy's Nursing program, Einar received his Starfleet Academy certification in nursing and, of course, had earned an officer's commission, holding the rank of ensign. He was still getting used to medical personnel ordering him around and given him directions, referring to him by Ensign Einar rather than Crewmen Einar or as he grew used to aboard the Pathfinder 'Hey, Technician' which some of the less friendly nurses had called him, not bothering to really learn his name.

Einar's request to be assigned to the USS Gallant upon his graduation was one of the best gifts he had ever received. For starters, it meant he would be serving aboard a starship that was bound for and destined to explore the Delta Quadrant. Being closer to 'home' meant something to Einar. It meant there was potential albeit slim that he would meet another member of the Brunali species. If anything, though, it was, at least, an opportunity to learn more about the quadrant that he had come from.

Of course, Einar had some ulterior motives when it came to the USS Gallant as his first posting upon becoming a nurse. One particular ulterior motive stood exactly 180 centimeters in height and weighed roughly 77 kilograms with dark brown hair and interesting ash-grey eyes. Well, at least, interesting to a certain Brunali who had served with Lieutenant ulterior motive aboard the USS Pathfinder a few years back, but had remained in close contact through somewhat scheduled subspace messages.

Presently, however, the two reunited friends were beginning a new chapter in their careers with Starfleet. Both were leaving the USS Gallant. However, they were leaving together and transferring to the same starship, the USS Camelot. Though Einar was fitting in quite nicely aboard the Gallant and was pleased to be working in the Delta Quadrant, the Camelot was was a starship better equipped for such a deep space journey, and rather well armed tactically speaking. The Camelot too would be operating near and within the Delta Quadrant as it traversed through the space bridging the Beta and Delta quadrants.

Watching the Vulcan/Bradian engineer at work at a small console, Ensign Einar watched from afar and slowly approached from behind. Einar's technical knowledge was still quite limited, but he had made leaps and bounds over where he once had been when he first enlisted in Starfleet. It was true that Einar was not going to be sent down to lend a hand in Engineering or assist Operations anytime soon, but he, at least, had a basic understanding of how to interpret certain data readings and knew enough to not accidentally blow open an airlock, jettisoning crew to their deaths.

He looked over the console and saw an orange button. He reached out and gently inched his finger towards it. “Ooooo what's this one do?” he said, grabbing Ion's attention.

Eyes darting, and focusing over to the panel that had been elected by his traveling companion, the engineer gently smirked. “Self-destruct the shuttle,” Ion stated point blankly, his odd sense of humor shining through. He wasn’t quite serious in his words, though his tone may have implied otherwise, slightly longing to see an odd if not panicked phase from the nurse. The Brunali was an inquisitive guy, often wanting to push boundaries it seemed, and though it would typically phase someone technical and straightforward, particularly with Vulcan heritage, Ion took it in stride. The majority of the questions were answered quite simply, with patience. Others? He would sneak in a ‘joke’ or sarcasm, just to show his own personality that life needed a sense of adventure and trust in others.

“In all seriousness, right now…nothing. It’s faded out, see?” he pointed. Finally fronting up to admit the actual functionality, he grinned. “Otherwise, it would re-align the deflector calibrations.”

Einar smiled and felt a rather nostalgic sensation come over him. This is like my first few weeks aboard the Pathfinder thought the Brunali male as he listened to Ion explain what the button meant and would have done. "You are too smart" said the Brunali shaking his head. "You know what every control does and when it is functional or when it is not" commented the male nurse. "It took me so long just to learn how to properly operate the food replicators on Pathfinder" admitted Einar.

The Brunali could not really do much when it came to operating the shuttle. He was not certified to fly it. In fact, placing the shuttle on autopilot had a better chance of survival than letting Einar take the helm. What Einar could do was make sure that Ion ate properly, well balanced meals or rations, and get enough sleep to be fully alert and functional. The Brunali could also monitor both their life signs, heal superficial cuts, some light wounds, mild burns, and the everyday mild injuries of an engineer.

Furthermore, however, Einar had some importance to Ion. The Brunali nurse could provide conversation and serve as the occasional entertainment. Einar had to pass the time somehow and had chosen to do so by reading. He took a seat next to Ion in the shuttle and plopped open the old book he had been given to as a gift by a friend during his senior year at the academy. Einar had difficulty with the book and found it to be a slow and daunting read, but it had triggered several questions and Ion was always a good person to ask his questions to.

Ensign Einar sighed and looked over at Ion. "So many things that I'll never understand" stated Einar as he skimmed through where he had left off. As Einar read on he looked up at Ion and then back at his book, continuing to do so every few moments.

There were moments in which Einar seemed to be amazed by the small feats that the engineer pulled, rudimentary or routine as they were. What could have been viewed as magic by one civilization or brilliance by an individual was simply a person’s education and training culminating to a moment in time. Ion was no different, viewing his work as something to be diligent upon, but not miraculous. “I learned the controls, just as every other engineer has or eventually will. I’m certain others on board the ships the fleet holds are just as capable, and you will be too, one day. It takes practice, and doesn’t come innately.” Smirking for a brief moment. “Unless you’re Borg, and can just download the information.”

Einar looked at Ion peculiarly and shook his head. "I do not even want to think about you being a Borg" said Einar mildly disturbed. "You'd be a horrible companion and I don't want assimilation tubules anywhere near me" added the Brunali.

Eyes darted across the cartography inlet that had been projected onto the display that the shorter of the two was casually manning. Of ships, Ion preferred smaller vessels though found himself uncomfortable in shuttles and runabouts. Less because there was little room to move about, and more because everything was routinely taken care of by the computer. Nearly every component had been miniaturized and automated, rendering much of the maintenance obsolete, outside of the tweaks that only the flight crew could perform. A specialty that he did not, nor have any desire to hold.

Reflecting back to the Gallant and the new adventure the two were about to embark upon, it was likely to be quite different. Coming from a capital ship, down to something that more easily reflected a heavy escort, or long-range destroyer from what he could see. It was a versatile ship, no doubt…nearly all Starfleet vessels were, but unlike the Gallant he would likely be able to walk all of the corridors and memorize them. The previous ship? Not an option. Remembering a situational display was one thing. Treading the countless kilometers of jefferies tubes, hallways and rooms on the other ship seemed like a challenge that would take years. Even the captain, whom had arguably held the longest time on board, had ventured only into about three quarters of the ship actively. She knew it on the back of her hand, true, but there were areas in which she couldn’t proclaim to do so blindfolded.

It was an engineer’s duty to know the ship he or she worked on. Inside and out, it was what made them seem to be able to ‘commune’ with them, and thus take care of them. Holding the opportunity to work on something a fair bit smaller was once again welcoming. Starbases and capital ships? Not his cup of tea. It was times like that, in which Ion was actually thankful for having a first posting aboard a Nova class, limited as they were in this decade.

“Any orders of business once you get on board?” he shot off towards his companion, frowning momentarily to recognize that the man may very well not understand the expression. “Activities you’d like to engage in. Outside of reporting in.”

Einar smiled at Ion and sat the book down after closing it. "What sort of activities did you have in mind?" replied the Brunali, slightly teasingly. He had acquired some sense of humor while at the academy. However, it was often poorly carried out or carried out at awkward times, still making the Brunali male a bit of an oddity and social outcast.

"Not reading that's for sure" added Ensign Einar, picking up the closed book and holding it up. "I cannot even finish this. I do not even know a quarter of the things I am reading in this...." said Einar, looking back at the cover to remember the title "This...Fifty Shades of Grey" announced the Brunali. Einar looked at Ion and sighed "Ion, what is spooning?" asked the Brunali. "I do not understand what a Earth eating utensil has to do with romance" added Einar.

Amusement had first crossed Ion’s face, only to be followed shortly thereafter by a fusion of perplexity and frustration. With Einar always came a multitude of questions…questions that were expected to be supplied with answers. For the majority of circumstances? The engineer was more than proficient, as it came with relatively common knowledge. Barring any technicalities, he had at least some vague grasping of the subjects the two had crossed paths upon. He was not, however, prepared for a throwback of his own question.

“Haven’t thought on it, to be honest,” the man admitted. “Probably become familiar with the crew deck. Seems to be a habit of mine, when getting a new assignment. Shrugging off the notion, he rebounded the question once more to the nurse, only to be retaliated upon immediately. “I…” another inquiry that he didn’t have an answer for. If the Brunali kept this up, he would soon become obsolete. “Don’t have an answer for that. I’m not from Earth, remember? Not human either. Sorry if that wasn’t what you were looking for.”

Odd for such a subject to be brought up, especially during flight, but the two were alone, and closer than simple roommates. They’d forged a bond of trust back on the Pathfinder, and when in doubt the two were able to cover the gaps of skill the other didn’t have. In short, it was a complimentary relationship of sorts, albeit an awkward one at that, most of the time. Neither were socially adept, though of the two Ion had more exposure.

Einar sighed slightly but did not show frustration directed toward Ion, just at what he was reading. "That is okay, Ion. I have had time to study various cultural practices in regards to intimacy and courting...Earth Human cultures as well. I do not believe this book regards the typical practices of any of these cultures adequately" replied the Brunali. "I have found the whole concept of intimacy and courting interesting. Some are very strange to me yet others sound more reasonable. I am not sure if that makes me culturally insensitive?" pondered the Brunali aloud.

"As a nurse, I am medically trained to treat everyday medical needs of hundreds of species" said Einar. "And yet, some cultures cause me discomfort. This makes me question myself at times. Am I wrong to feel uncomfortable around certain species?" asked the Brunali nurse. "Ion, what are the Braidan like?"

Truth be told, the minimal frustration that the engineer did bear was not aimed at the nurse, but rather a feeling of inadequacy. It was odd for him to feel incompetent in a department where he typically had most of the answers for his compatriot — life experience. After all, from his early days he had been born a free spirit, and was bound by no formal regulations until he joined Starfleet. Since then, adaptation had been…awkward.

Refusing to dwell on a gloomy tide, Ion shifted his thought span towards the subsequent conversation. He wondered if Einar was considering a switch from nursing towards counseling, given the nature of the subject. They hadn’t spoken a great deal about exactly what the man had been studying via the academy’s remote branch. Only that it had been medically related. The two fell under the same wing, at least to the Braidan’s knowledge. Still, seeking out a mentor may have been better aimed. Or a hologram perhaps — they were virtually databases.

“Largely erudite. Our culture is built around knowledge — of all sorts, not just scientific. We don’t really have any spirituality per say, as some other races do, but we take pride in achievements at an early age. Enough that our drive for bettering our own mastery in our fields of choice may very well embody something of that nature.” He paused, knowing that it was a subject that could likely go on for hours, and while he was willing to share…they didn’t have that sort of time before arriving. Nor did he feel like opening up onto something that may have been only briefly inquisitive, rather than wanting to dive in.

“In some instances, we’re like the Vulcans — we’re studious. In others? Not unlike the Cardassians. Family and fostering the youth is important, but teaching them to succeed and fend for themselves at a very young age is one of the most highly regarded foundations.”

Einar nodded as Ion answered the question. "They sound like an interesting species with a intriguing culture, Ion" commented the Brunali. "I wish I knew more about my people. There just isn't that much information on the Brunali and I fear that I may never really know about my people. I'm only the second of my species to join Starfleet, and only one Federation starship ever had contact with the Brunali" added Einar.

The nurse had moved closer to Ion and was invading the personal bubble that most people established. Between Einar and Ion, though, given their time aboard the Pathfinder, Ion was no doubt somewhat used to such an invasion from the young Brunali. Einar touched Ion's ear. "Sometimes, I wish I were Vulcan."

For as reserved as he could be at times, the taller counterpart was certainly inquisitive at times, Ion thought silently to himself. Part of that was likely due to the level of trust the two shared between each other, and the fact that the engineer generally didn’t let his emotions get the best of himself. Present perhaps, but it wasn’t commonplace for the man to share them. The sensation of his ears being brushed upon was tantalizing in its own place; their sensitivity perking towards the unappointed attention. “Why is that? Are you not pleased with being yourself?” the older of the two asked through reflex.

The Brunali felt the twitching of the ears and found it amusing to an extent, but knew not to be too much of annoyance. He stopped after a few moments of playing with the man's ears and took his seat again. "Are you an engineer or a counselor?" replied Einar, countering the man's question with a non-rhetorical somewhat defensively. "I am happy with who I am. Why would I not be? I am who I am, why be anyone else?" stated the nurse.

Crossing his arms, Einar looked at Ion. "I'm just not pleased with always being 'alien' to everyone. You look Vulcan or at least partially Vulcanoid" commented the nurse. "Walk down the corridors of a starship with a mixed crew or even just an all human crew, and you are not going to get the looks that I do. People are used to seeing Vulcans. When people look at me they see this long protruding crest down my nose. I'm clearly not Bajoran and I always get the 'What are you?' look from people" explained Einar. "Point being...I hate that look because it makes me feel like an oddity and even more of an oddity because, I do not know anything about what I am."

Starting as a casual, yet not quite trivial conversation, their dialogue had taken a turn towards a passive air of what could have been interpreted easily into mild combativeness. Though the two knew each other arguably better than some of their previous colleagues, both were private individuals. Ion was certainly more open minded than others he had crossed paths with, and held an astounding resolve of patience, where others might have been found as shortcoming. “My statement was an implicit way of expressing the mind of not caring what others think, and continuing to be you, Einar. Not quite as literal as it sounds, or intended hostilely.”

Pausing his brief adjustment of the warp drive calibrations, the engineer sighed. "Look, I'm not attempting to begin an argument with you. I've been through ostracization as well. There are perhaps twelve Braidans spread throughout the UFP, only three of which are in Starfleet. Others live a civilian life. Like you, we're not commonplace, and we're easily mistaken for Borg given our nano-circuitry. If I get the 'What are you' look, or one of distrust, I have to remember it frequently roots from ignorance rather than hatred. Intended or not. Most people simply don't know how to react." There was little he could do in formulating words, as it was a foundation that the nurse would have to come to on his own, or not. Everyone did so differently.

"I'd say try not to worry about it. You are who you are. One day we'll find out more about your species, and then, who knows. Maybe you'll be a point reference everyone looks to for guidance. Or even the first leap into establishing relations with other Brunali. You're unique and special. It's a good thing. Don't forget that."

The words were cooling as they clashed with Einar's mildly heated temper. However, once the words hit the Brunali they quickly went to work cooling him down. Ion was always good at dealing with tense situations, though mostly of a technical engineering basis. Einar could remember a time when the Pathfinder's artificial gravity was damaged or disabled, rendering the crew on all decks to experience that discomfort. Ion had remained rather calm and went to work. "As are you, Ion" replied the Brunali without hesitation. His response was purely instinctual yet laced with lingering feelings.

"Unique and special" added Eniar looking over at the other man. "In a lot of ways" said Einar nervously as he turned away and paid attention to the readings produced on the console before him. What did I just say to him? the Brunali asked himself. He had no idea how Ion would take those words, how he would process them given their circumstances, and the nervousness was setting fast upon the Brunali. "If that was not appropriate, then I am sorry, Lieutenant" apologized Einar quietly.

Successful in his objective, the hybrid admitted to himself that while he hadn't felt all that passionate for a command role, some of the skills that were required did retain usefulness in other situations. Traits that he otherwise held, and had just been further exemplified though he wasn't quite agreeable that they were primely observable in his own person. Not at all times. Even-tempered as he was, the majority of the time, there were occasions in which he lost it, to an explosive point. Still, reflect as he may, Einar had been soothed enough to the point that they wouldn't be verbally sparring for the remainder of the trip. Not now, it seemed, at least.

"I appreciate your opinion in believing so," Ion acknowledged with as warm a smile as he could muster. The almost immediate comeback from the other in what seemed to be a near-retraction of words tempted an eyeroll. He could have sworn they were past the point of worrying what the other would think of their statements. He'd already formulated an opinion of the Brunali, and it certainly wasn't a negative one. Any further exchanges were...unlikely to change that. "You're doing it again," he announced in an almost whimsical, but somewhat amused voice. "Don't worry about it. Ever. If I was up front with anything, and adamant on it, was the importance of speaking your mind to me when it's just us."

"Fine" replied Einar with a sigh. "I'm sorry. It has been a while being away from you and someone who I can be as up front and open with. I had tried to be that way with some others when I was studying for class...Bajorans hit hard" confessed the Brunali. "I know we both have our own duties to attend to once we are aboard the Camelot, but I was hoping that you would be interested in spending time with me when possible. I do not know if this ship has a movie night or anything, but I have read that the Camelot does have concerts from time to time."

The words were met with an enchanting simper reflecting off the engineer's face. "They do, surprisingly, for a spiritual race. I had both a Bajoran and Klingon as roommates in the academy, alongside a Vulcan. Needless to say, it was a very...odd communal pod. Several very differing views on the universe. None of them quite agreeing." A chuckle found its way out to the surface from the memory. "I'd hoped you would ask at one point. Making time to spend together? Always. A friendly face will go a long ways in a foreign environment. Even after we've settled in."

"My thoughts as well" replied Einar though truthfully he had several thoughts on the whole matter. "Do you ever get used to this? Spending time aboard one starship...making friends and then after a while having to go somewhere else?" asked the Brunali. "I knew by joining Starfleet that moving around would happen, but I was not expecting getting so used to people and having to go on without really seeing them again."

There was but a shrug in reply before the words came from the engineer in response to the inquisitive counterpart. “Aside from my early childhood I’ve been on the go, so…never really became too familiar with any one area, save perhaps New Braida. And I was too young to completely appreciate it back then.” The answer was likely not what the Brunali had been looking for he figured, but honesty was always Ion’s approach. He didn’t coat any of his words, harsh as they could be sometime. “I suppose it’s a skill everyone picks up at their own pace. You’ll get there, and in time you’ll learn that there are feelings, skills, memories, and other intangible objects you take with you along the journey. That, in addition to who you meet or who you feel is a friend is what makes it a home.”

Mustering as warm a smile as he could, he released an incredibly soft-exhale. “Besides, the ones you love are often only a comm link away — which is far better than nothing at all. Remember when we had to talk between the Gallant and the academy, before you came on board?”

Einar nodded. "Yes, I remember it. I remember that I often needed your help to get me through social situations and my frustration with classes" replied the Brunali. "I do not think I would have been able to get through the academy without you. I was happy when I was granted assignment to the Gallant and I am definitely happy that we are both going to the Camelot together."

Ion felt the easy wave of sentiments being reflected upon both of them as Einar admitted to his gratefulness. It was one thing to know you had friends out somewhere touring the galaxy, or working hard elsewhere. It was another entirely to have them along for the journey, and experience it with them. “I think it would be safe to say that as well. Fortunate that the posting became available. A slight bit different from what I’m familiar with, but…welcome, nonetheless.”

"And you will enjoy it no doubt" replied Einar with some encouragement. "I did some light reading. The Camelot is a Manticore class starship, something rather new as I gathered from my reading. I know you well enough to know that serving aboard a new class of starship has got to be interesting for you" commented the Brunali. "Have you been looking over its design and specifications?" asked Einar, moving the topic into an area of Ion's expertise.

A half smile reflected its was upon Ion’s face in a simple manner. “Similar to the Chimera class from what I understand. Haven’t been on board one, but seeing it in person will be…illuminating, to say the least. Very different technology from what they have on board the Gallant, and light years ahead of the Pathfinder.”

Tilting his head to the side, he popped a curious eyebrow. “And what about you, for the medical capabilities? I’d be surprised if something on board didn’t interest you.”

"The ship has a capable medical staff and a reasonably sized and stocked Sickbay from what I am aware of" replied Einar. "However, I was more drawn with the ship's mission to head into the Delta quadrant. I am hoping that we may see more of it this time around or at least parts that we haven't yet seen."

A tactful, yet exploratory grin inked across the engineers face. “Oh…I’ve no doubt that we will. Give it a bit of time, and it’s inevitable that we’ll make a few new discoveries out here. Probably more than. Unlike the Gallant, we’re not completely tied to a slower pace, either. We don’t have to wait for a recharge in the subspace aperture drive, for one.” Lifting an eyebrow.

“And when you do find something out in the Delta Quadrant that’s of interest, any plans? Documenting it? Studying it? Sharing the memories of it? I remember you seemed to be easily captivated by the observation lounge back on the other ship. Not sure if it’s the stars that ease your mind, or just what waits out there.”

Einar smiled and looked at Ion. It's not the stars that ease my mind nor captivate my thoughts the Brunali thought peacefully. "What waits us out there terrifies me and yet fascinates me beyond belief" replied the nurse. "There's a lot of dangers out there. Logically...numerically I suppose no more nor less than any other Quadrant, yet we know so little of the Delta, and let's face it..Borg, Kazon, Hirogen, Vidian...just to name a few species I would not mind avoiding."

The thought of crossing paths with the Borg again was not enticing, yet not entirely disturbing to the engineer. Though he wasn’t a natural born pilot, Ion knew from the start that as an explorer aboard a ship, there would be times where he would have to face challenges, just like any other path in life. Some more threatening to his own existence than others. “I’m sure they’ll make an effort on board to deter those chances,” he prompted, hoping it would encourage his friend.

Deciding best to change subjects, he left the console, rotating around in the chair to face the other passenger. “Did you get a room assignment yet? Or are you waiting until you get on board?”

"Well...." Einar began with a small smile. "I was somewhat concerned with noise and everything. So, I wanted to make sure I had a good neighbor. I requested that they assign me to a room next to yours" the Brunali said. "We could visit each other easily. That might also be a plus."

Engineering was pretty calm as the USS Camelot proceeded through the mysterious Shimon Expanse, having slowed from warp three down to a sluggish snail's pace of warp factor one. Honestly, some of the engineers on duty were quietly and jokingly taking bests on who would win in a race right now between the Camelot traveling at warp one or a Bajoran lightship. The Captain had left the ship in a shuttle to go venture ahead of Camelot's path, a check for navigational hazards and such. Commander Matthews had been in her office working on something, leaving her staff to handle the minimal workload that Camelot had for this evening.

Ensign Pru was on duty with a few other engineers, though most were ensigns, warrant officers, or enlisted personnel. The Ocampan/Vulcan was at a console near the warp core working, checking the present usage from the dilithium crystals in the chamber. One of the perks to the Camelot and this Manticore class was that though it was a bit of a high demander for energy, she had a knack for conservation and making energy be it the dilithium crystals or gel packs last for quite a while. The ensign continued to work at her station, her violin was leaning next to her console inside its case. She had been so focused on checking the energy readings that she did not bother to turn and look behind her as someone had either entered or exited Engineering.

There was really not that much excitement going on in Engineering. Honestly, the highlight and peak of excitement for Pru's shift had happened several minutes ago when Crewmen Dallenbach who had been tinkering around on an EPS manifold had made a small error in judgment and received a little shock for his actions. His left hand met a good jolt and a nurse from Sickbay had come in to check on Dallenbach who was still tinkering on the manifold unit despite the numb hand. Nurse Einar was conversing with Crewmen Dallenbach, making small talk after packing up his medical kit.

Pru then felt a presence a behind her that was quickly accompanied by a blue hand overlapping her own as a Bolian man gently pressed himself against her back, causing her to blush and smile. "Ensign" said Pru with a small giggle. She had been dating Ensign Rixx from the Operations Department for about month now, but the two had not really put a label on themselves as a couple or being in a relationship. The Bolian just happened to be a little more affectionate than Pru was, but she did not necessarily mind it.

"Are you ready for Karaoke tonight?" asked the man as Ensign Pru locked the controls on her console and turned to meet his warm smile with one of her own. "It's couple's night you know? Lots of duets and music of several dozen genres all across the Alpha Quadrant and even a few from the Beta Quadrant, but I suspect those to be Klingon Operatic pieces" added the Bolian.

The half Ocampan nodded and gave the Bolian a small peck on his blue cheek. "You are early. I still have two minutes left before my shift actually ends" replied Pru.

"Enough time to take off your work vest and be escorted to the doors" replied the Bolian as he picked up her violin case for her. He then proceeded to hum an Earth tune, one that Pru quite enjoyed and knew well. "I've learned the lyrics to it" he said to her as they started to head to the doors.

Pru smiled as she pulled out a wrench from her jacket and 'used it' as a microphone as the Bolian continued to hum the tune. oh what the heck, why not she thought as she started to perform some karaoke in Engineering within ear's shot of the Chief Engineer's office. She started to tap her free hand against her thigh and bob her head up and down a bit. "Welcome to your life, there's no turning back, Even while we sleep, We will find you acting on your best behavior Turn your back on mother nature...Everybody wants to rule the world!" sang the young ensign in her soft melodic voice.

The Bolian and woman continued to sing as he sat her violin case down and in unison they made a united karoke effort and continued to sing the lyrics "It's my own desire, it's my own remorse. Help me to decide. Help me make the most of freedom and of pleasure Nothing ever lasts forever..." and the two began to dance about Main Engineering as others shook their heads, blushed, smiled, or just gawked at them both acting so playfully foolish in their Starfleet uniforms.

It had been a quiet shift, and while there was little in Engineering that needed Jenni's attention, it wouldn't be like her to leave Engineering just as the Camelot was venturing into unknown territory. With the Camelot traveling at such a sluggish pace, Jenni retreated to her office to review the readouts from over half a dozen systems, including the stress load on the nacelles.

Jenni couldn't remember the last time she was aboard a ship traveling at Warp One. When she was aboard her Katana with her Kerouac, she couldn't even remember going slower than Warp Six. For this Kerouac to take a different approach was not at all surprising to her, but it told her just enough. What mattered to her now was efficiency. She still didn't have the right feel for their consumption patterns, but if something were to happen, Jenni had to be sure they'd make it though.

She had left her office door open, as was her usual policy unless she was doing something that she didn't want to be disturbed while doing. It wasn't long before she could hear the antics of the crew outside. Jenni picked up her nearby mug of coffee and rose from the desk to watch the spectacle from her doorway. She'd observed Ensign Pru a while back demonstrate her violin skills for the warp core, so her expanding musical talents didn't surprise her in the slightest. Jenni did take note of how the rest of the crew was acting, but she could only smile. The crew reacted to situations in different ways, and while Jenni admired professionalism, she knew full well the stress on the engineering team. If the crew needed to act this way for a moment or two, Jenni would not interfere, especially on such a quiet night.

"Everybody wants to rule the world," she mouthed along with the Bolian as he and Ensign Pru danced about the room.

The signing came to an abrupt end as the starship shook somewhat violently out of no where. The Warp core looked as though it flickered once or twice before it's unique glow and rhythmic hum came to an end. The entire space of main Engineering was pitch black for a few minutes until emergency power kicked on, but that only was able to illuminate the room dimly in certain areas. Most of the work stations were out black.

Pru quickly ran towards a somewhat alive console, but it was very limited in the information that it could give. "Commander Matthews!" shouted the usually soft spoken and quiet Pru. "We've lost power shipwide. Emergency reserve power was activated automatically, but everything going towards emergency lighting and crucial systems like life support" reported Pru.

"What the hell did we hit?" Jenni asked, knowing no one in the room could give her any answers.

Nurse Einar had been treating the lightly electrocuted patient when everything went dead, including his tricorder. "My tricorder isn't working...at all. It has no charge anymore" he added curiously. His technical skills were extremely limited, the best he could do was to head for Sickbay. "I'm going to check in with Sickbay" he said as he tapped him communicator and got nothing.

Jenni tapped her own combadge. "Matthews to bridge." Not only was a response absent, but so was the familiar chirp of an activated badge.

"Uh oh" said Ensign Rixx who looked at Matthews and Pru. He quickly went to tap his own comm badge only to concur with the Ensign's issues. "Comm is dead. Our comm system has been taken out...and apparently everything else for the most part."

The Chief Engineer immediately whipped out her own tricorder, only to find that it was also devoid of power. A quick test of some of her tools revealed they were also powerless.

Einar had proceeded towards the doorway, hoping to leave Engineering and get to Sickbay. "The doors won't open" he added.

"Rixx," Jenni said, immediately beginning to issue orders. What she wouldn't give for a electronically-hardened spanner or tricorder at the moment... "Get down to the antimatter pods. Verify that the containment fields are still active."

The Bolian was quick to check on the containment fields. "Emergency systems have the containment field holding, but if we don't get this fixed in the next few days, we are going to have to cut life support from several decks and reroute power to keep containment plausible" reported Rixx.

"Pru!" she called out next, gesturing to a crewman to open the door for Einar, "shunt what power you can to the sensors. Take it from life support from non-essential areas if you have to. We need to know what hit us."

"Shunting, Commander" replied Pru. Her focus was entirely on the task at hand right now.

The designated crewman ran over to the main entrance to engineering. The Zaldon immediately ripped away the nearby control panel and tried the manual release. Try as he might, the door simply wouldn't budge.

Einar sighed. "Looks like I'm staying here for a while longer" commented the Brunali.

Jenni directed a couple engineers to the Jeffries tube to both check hardened areas of the ship to see if any equipment retained any power and to scope out potential damage near the warp core. "We've got to get at least auxiliary power back online," Jenni said, stepping up to a console with limited power. After a moment of scoping out the controls, she determined that it would have to be done at the source, and without the tools they were all used to.

The young Brunali nurse had thought for a moment that he saw movement in the darkness, but he reasoned logically that his eyes were just not acquainted to the dark. However, when he looked up towards the catwalk above, he knew his eyes were just fine. The ship, however, was not. "Intruder!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Pru's work station took an energy blast from an alien weapon. She, herself, was fine. She had taken cover in time. Though there was clearly more than one intruder as a barrage of weapons fire filled Engineering. Pru had watched in horror as her friend, Mottah Rixx took one blast to the center of his chest and dropped to the deck.

"What the hell?" Jenni shouted as the engineers began to scramble for cover. If only there was a working phaser in the nearby weapons locker. Jenni narrowly avoided a blast as she ducked behind a console of her own. Sparks rained down over her, but it was the least of their concerns. She glanced up just in time to see a Benzite get shot in the back from another point in Engineering, confirming that there was more than one intruder in the room.

All she could do for now is surmise that these intruders meant to take the Camelot. If they wanted it destroyed, they would have taken other action in its powerless state. Cursing, Jenni looked around as the fire continued to pour. "Einar!" Jenni called out, catching sight of the Brunali medic. She gestured for him to come over to her if he could. If he had a hypo, perhaps they could get someone close enough to use it.

Otherwise, Jenni had a more dangerous, but effective plan. Especially with one of the intruders so near to one of the warp core coolant tanks.

The nurse was practically shaking. He had never been in a combat situation and this was practically a combat situation. Einar looked over at Jenni who was shouted for him. Einar froze. I can't he thought as another shot from the alien weapon hit Einar in the shoulder, sending Einar to the ground, though withering alive in pain.

Dammit. Jenni looked away from Einar, and did her best to examine the situation. It was hard to believe that just a short time ago, she'd stood on the bridge of a starship in an almost similar situation. As much as she missed the Katana, Jenni found herself more alone and outmatched than before. Think Jenni! she thought as fire still rained down around her. They're on your turf!

If only she had power, she could do something. This dampening field, or whatever it was, took away just about all of her options. Even her idea of striking the coolant tanks wouldn't work unless she had something that could reach it.

Jenni peered out to try and get a look at the attackers. The one above had turned his back to her, but the one on the ground was coming her way, making it a point to fire upon everyone he saw. The Commander took inventory of what was around her, only to learn that she only had the four tools in her hip pouch and the small fire extinguisher above her head at her disposal.

The firing began to stop, leaving Jenni to believe she was one of the last alive in the room. If she was going to do anything, now was the time. She pulled out her spanner and ripped off the top, turning the tool into a crude dagger. "Goodbye old friend," she told the tool which she'd grown very fond over the last year, a present from a special friend. Jenni reached up and removed the fire extinguisher and aimed to her left. Since there was no one to give her cover, she'd have to generate it. Quickly she grabbed some wiring to hold the trigger opened once the extinguisher was activated.

Her ears heard the footsteps approach, so Jenni waited for the right moment. She took a deep breath, depressed the trigger, and secured the wiring, leaving the extinguisher to spend its full contents. The extinguisher began to unload its contents. Almost instantly, the suppressant was punctured by energy bursts. Jenni fled her cover and swung around the console from the opposite direction. She aimed for his neck and drove the spanner in hard and deep. Only a moment later was she able the retrieve the weapon from the attacker and strike him in the head with the butt of the rifle, permanently knocking him down.

An energy blast streaked past her head. Jenni instantly ducked and twirled behind another console, watching the extinguisher still pour out its contents. It would only last for a few more seconds, and it wouldn't be enough to let her run freely on the lower level. Instead, she grabbed another lifeless tool from her belt and threw it into the smoke. She was satisfied when she heard it hit the floor, and then smiled when she saw the energy blasts again attack the smoke.

Mounting the rifle, Jenni stepped out from the opposite side of the console. Able to see an energy discharge momentarily expose the last attacker, Jenni fired two shots in his direction, landing square in his back. Even his exit was as dramatic as his arrival as the body crumpled and fell over the railing. Jenni waited for a moment to be sure those were the only two in Engineering. Satisfied with the silence, Jenni called out, "Who's still with us?"

"I'm fine, Commander" said Pru as she went to check on Mottah Rixx, but was turned away by the nurse who stood up and wrapped his arms around the young engineer. Tears came down Pru's face and her cries were muffled against Einar's body. The nurse simply held her there for a few moments and stroked her hair. It was something he had learned to do while at the Academy when one of his friends has received news of a death of a parent.

Einar looked over at Matthews and shook his head. "Ensign Rixx did not make it, Commander."

Jenni frowned, but kept her head up. The Ensign was not the first to fall at her side, but it didn't make his death any easier. Instead, she approached the intruder who fell from above to retrieve his weapon. Sure, she needed to defend Engineering, but hopefully she could use one of these power cells to get some tools or equipment operational.

The shimmering effect of a transporter illuminated Engineering slightly as Captain Kerouac appeared near Jenni. "It's a long story" he said quickly explaining his sudden appearance aboard the Camelot's Main Engineering. He then say the body of Ensign Rixx on the deck floor. I lost one he thought silently to himself as he noticed more bodies around though not of his crew. Intruders he quickly surmised. "Report" he added swiftly.

The Chief Engineer blinked, wondering what the hell the Captain had been up to. She was thankful she was alert enough to avoid shooting at the new arrival. She tossed him one of the weapons and cleared her throat. "Main and Auxiliary Power is offline. Whatever got us also took out our tricorders, hand phasers, tools, anything with a power cell really. I'm thinking the antimatter injectors are okay, otherwise we'd be more than halfway to a warp core breach right now. Looks like someone's real interested in the Camelot."

Jenni sighed. "It's a safe bet that there's more of these on board, and who knows how well the rest of the crew is doing."

"Yeah, well, they aren't having my starship" said Kris defiantly. "Hold down the fort here and see if you can get things back up and running. I'm going to head for a cargobay. In theory any power cells in storage would not have been affected. Should be able to use them in phasers" he said as he made his way toward the shut Engineering door with an auto release clamp in hand. A few moments later the door was opened and Kris was on his way.

Captain Kerouac had been holding strongly to his personal promise and the promise to Starfleet Command, that he would respect protocol while serving as Commanding Officer of the USS Camelot. When he was the CO of the Katana, Kris had a knack for getting into a lot of trouble, often when he slipped off the starship and forcefully undermined his First Officers, placing himself in command of several away teams. Thus far, Kris had been in command of the Camelot for several months and had managed to abide by standard protocols and follow rules and regulations. He rarely left the confines of the Camelot.

Today, however, was a different day all together. He would be leaving the confines of the USS Camelot, but would remain safely within their sights. As part of the Camelot's new assignment to lead a Task Force through the fringes of the Beta Quadrant and into the Delta Quadrant, the USS Camelot and her fellow Task Force members were being given new auxiliary craft. For the Camelot and her, this meant a nearly entire clean out of their bay in order to make room for some new craft, including a very recently designed fighter class.

Kris had to replicate a new flight suite as he had not worn one in years. His size was also slightly larger than the old days when he had less weight on his collar. "Oh yeah, this brings back some memories," he said as he looked himself in the mirror before leaving his quarters and heading down to Camelot's bay where he found himself looking at a handful of new auxiliary craft like a kid in a candy store. The first craft to really catch his eyes was the brand new fighter that was glistening with its obsidian black coating and shining chrome silver trim.

Captain Kerouac could not do this alone though. His own piloting skills were great back in the day, but he had to admit that he may be a bit rusty. He would have loved to have taken Lieutenant Hayley Collins from the USS Katana with him during his brief visit aboard his old command, but Hayley had her home aboard the Katana and Kris knew that his Camelot already had an excellent pilot and helmsmen at her controls, the very Caitian he had asked to join him in the bay.

When the doors to the bay opened behind him, Kris turned and caught sight of the young officer. "Good morning, Ensign," he said, greeting the Caitian. "Thank you for coming down here this morning," added the Captain with a broad smile.

It had almost been too much for Atom to handle. Not just new for Camelot shuttles, but brand new shuttles altogether. He couldn't even sleep the night before. Bright and early he was up and in the shuttle bay, helping where he was allowed and trying to hold back his fount of curiosity that had been bubbling since he heard that they were getting new shuttles. He asked a million questions to anyone and everyone that was bringing the shuttles on board, probably to the annoyance of everyone involved. When he couldn't help he did research on a PaDD he had brought with him, all about the specs of the new shuttles.

It was hard for him to think about the excitement of going out with the Captain for the first time. Just him and Kerouac, alone in a shuttle. Atom should have been honored, excited, maybe even a bit nervous, but he couldn't seem to get past his OCD concerning each and every part the new shuttles were made of. Once people had cleared away from setting up the shuttles Atom climbed all over them, checking each and every part. He was so involved that he paid little attention to anything else for a long time and all that anyone saw for a bit was his long tail sticking out of various places on the shuttles and whipping back and forth rapidly.

When the Captain actually arrived Atom was only sort of ready. He greeted Kerouac with a friendly wave and a grin that he couldn't seem to wipe off or contain. There was only a little flutter of nervousness when he realized that he was in fact going to be alone in a shuttle with the Captain, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. "Good morning, Sir." Atom bowed a little, his long tail whipping back and forth. "You know, I forgot to ask where we were going to go?"

Kris could see the excitement and eagerness in the Caitian's eyes, and the ensign's voice displayed it as well. "Good morning, Ensign... looks like you've been here for a while already looking at the new craft inside and out," said the Captain with a small chuckle. "Can't blame you for that. If I didn't have a baby to take care of, I probably would have been down here earlier, joining you," commented Kerouac with a broadening smile.

The Captain looked at some of the craft before fully responding to the ensign's questioning. "We are taking it one step at a time, Ensign. I don't want Camelot or the other starships worrying too much about us. So, we are going to be sticking to short test runs to begin with, remaining within sensor range," said Kerouac.

Captain Kerouac then pointed to one of the black and silver fighters in the bay. "That's our first ride of the day right there, Ensign," said Kris with a small smile. "The Scythe class fighter," said Kris, identifying the black and silver fighter. "They are meant to replace the Javelin class fighter. Scythes when pushed to their limits can reach speeds up to warp 8," added Kerouac as he walked towards one of the Scythe class fighters.

Atom nodded and bounced on the balls of his feet a little with excitement. "These are my babies... I don't know why I feel that way about them but I do." He grinned toothily. He didn't even seem to mind that they wouldn't be going out of sensor range. "So... from what I can tell this is a heavy fighter, but it's fast as anything with a lot of maneuvering capabilities. She's got some guns too. Like serious guns. The insides have me a little puzzled. I didn't really understand why they put some things where they did... but I mean... I don't know if this is just a rumor or what..." he rubbed the back of his head, sort of nervously. "I sort of heard that maybe the Tal Shiar had something to do with the design...?" He looked a little nervous about expressing things he couldn't back up with any sort of fact. "I have no idea of course if any of that is true or not..."

Kerouac nodded. "The Scythe class was designed for speed. It's able to be pushed pretty far with high warp speed yet maintain the lightness and agility needed to out maneuver larger starships," explained the Captain in plain terms. "I'm sure someone from Engineering or Operations can techno babble you for hours about what I just said in great detail that would go far above my head," added Kris admitting his weakness when it came to the tech stuff. "I built my career on being a fly boy and piloting craft, I left the design and repair work with the technically inclined."

Kris smiled at the Caitian. "She's also well armed as you deduced. Though defensive ability is lacking. She has the necessary guns to put up a fight, but she can't take much of a beating. A few well placed phaser shots from a starship or a direct hit from a torpedo or two and she'll likely be dead in the water if not blown to bits," said Kris shaking his head. "I guess that's why fighter pilots are highly trained in defensive maneuvers and fancy flying," he added.

Atom grinned, his long tail still swishing back and forth rapidly. He laid his ears back in humor and chuckled. "Well... the objective is to not get hit. Each type of weapon has a delay in space. Sometimes that delay isn't much time, but if she's as fast as I think she is then I think we can avoid just about anything, as long as they don't sneak up on us." He winked at Kris and gave him a thumbs up. "She looks like she's got a pretty good sensor array as well. I hate keeping my head on a swivel looking for danger, but in this baby it's probably a good idea."

"You were right about the Tal Shiar thing," admitted Kris a bit silently. "Though more so the Romulans in general. Starfleet Intelligence reports have indicated that the Romulans are developing some new classes of ships and auxiliary craft. They are still rebounding and trying to build their strength again, but we do not want to underestimate their ability to do so faster than we initially anticipated," explained Kris. "The insides of the Scythe can be a bit confusing at first. The one thing its predecessor had going for it was that it only required a single pilot. The Scythe needs a two man crew."

Atom's eyebrows shot up and his ears stood at attention. "Really?" He looked the ship over again. "It makes much more sense now. So these were developed for the Dominion War... to outmaneuver sharships." It was more of a statement then a question and he kept his voice low. "How did we get so lucky as to get a crack at it?" He looked side-long at Kerouac with interest. "Although... we can talk about that later if you want to get started. I think I'm comfortable enough." He grinned toothily.

"Initial designs for the Scythe were underway during the War, but were not completed before the war ended. They were all but scrapped and placed on hold until recently," explained Kris. "Hop in the pilot's seat, I'll take the back," added the Captain with a small smile.

Atom looked surprised again. He was totally aware of his position on the ship, but he had actually expected the Captain to want to fly it the first time, at least for a little bit. He also didn't have to be told twice. He jumped into the seat and strapped himself in with a huge toothy grin on his face. "Alright! So we stay in sensor range... right?" He turned quickly to look at Kris, his whiskers quivering with excitement. The only reason his tail wasn't lashing was because he was sitting on it, but the tip still twitched back and forth. "Do you have any systems you would like to test first?"

Kris smirked. "I'm kind of curious how fast we can get these things going from a dead stop..."

Having beamed aboard from Lieutenant Elbrun's shuttle onto the USS Camelot, right into the heart of Main Engineering, Kris had been quickly debriefed by Commander Matthews about the sudden power loss to the starship and the subsequent intruders she had taken out down in Engineering in order to secure the crucial part of the starship. Captain Kristopher Kerouac had picked up a two phaser riffles and a hand phaser and make his way to the nearest turbo shaft door. The lift was of course not working, but the climb was necessary regardless and he personally preferred to be climbing up the wide turbo shaft than the narrow jefferies tubes.

Fortunately, a Manticore class starship was not as bad as a Galaxy class and the trip was not entirely bad aside from the few times Kris' foot slipped and he nearly fell to his most certain death. Quick reflexes and a pure will to survive saved him and got him to Deck one just outside the Bridge where he attached an auto release clamp to the door and rigged it to go off. In a matter of seconds the mechanism popped and spun, causing the doors to slide open and Kris to climb up and out onto the Bridge. Two bulky phaser riffles strapped around his shoulder and across his abdominal region and then one hand phaser holstered at his side. He let out a very heavy sigh of relief. "Now that's a workout" he said as he caught his breath.

Kris found the Bridge was practically empty except for the First Officer and Counselor Quinzel. "I thought I'd drop in" said the Captain. "No time to explain. There are intruders aboard, Commander" added the Captain, handing the man one of the phaser riffles. "Power cells from storage. They weren't affected by whatever hit the ship. Take this riffle and go help the others clear the ship of our alien friends...I'll be joining you shortly."

Stace gratefully took the rifle. He much preferred to be doing something active to resolve their current situation. So far it seemed he'd just been putting out small fires, when a huge blaze lurked nearby.

The Captain unholstered the hand phaser from his side. "Counselor" said Kris, grabbing her attention just before he tossed the hand phaser in her direction. "You have the Bridge. If anything comes up here that isn't one of us...shoot it" added the Captain crisply. "Don't bother asking it questions or trying to capture it."

Catching the hand phaser, she looked at it for a moment before replying. "Yeah, I'm not really qualified to use one of these... But sure. How hard could it be?"

Kris shook his head. "As soon as this matter is dealt with, you are to be trained on phasers immediately." He quickly showed her the basics. "Hold here...point and press this. I've set it on heavy stun. Don't press here or here or here" he said quickly. "Otherwise, you might kill someone."

"There's also the matter of not being allowed to use one, but I'll do what I can." Quintina replied before tucking it into a pocket for now.

The Captain shook his head. "Don't care. I say use it, use it."

It was then that Kris heard something or someone crawling through one of the maintenance crawls that lead to and from the Bridge into the innards of the Ship. Kris signaled Stace to be ready to shoot if it wasn't one of their own. Kris himself had his phaser riffle aimed perfectly to take off someone's head if need be with his riffle on the highest of settings. Kill. "Identify yourself!" shouted Kris just before the man exited the crawl.

"Tonkin..." Nathan wheezed out as he hauled himself into the bridge. Gone was his duty jacked, and his red under shirt had taken on a deep crimson because it was soaked through with sweat from Nathan exertion. He also had an alien riffle hanging over his shoulder.

Nathan made his way to the three renaming members of the crew on the bridge. "Captain, Commander, Councilor." he said, wiping his brow and taking a moment to catch his breath. "The mess hall and main engineering have been secured. I have security teams sweeping the halls to gather non essential personnel into the mess hall and defend against intruders. I also found Andy and Commander Maica along the way and somehow managed to get both of them to Commander Mathews who has stabilized both of them." He reported to his superiors.

"Excellent to hear that Maica and Andy are stable" replied Kerouac. "I dropped into Engineering, we have lost one person that I am aware of. Hopefully, we will have power back up in no time. Nathan, I wish this were under better circumstances but congratulations...Jhu is in Sickbay with your daughter" announced the Captain with a short lived smile, patting the man on the shoulder.

Kris looked at the whole of them. "I saw one of the aliens in Engineering that Jenni took out. They looked familiar...something I've seen or read about before. Took me some time but it came to me on my way up here. We're dealing with a creature that the USS Voyager encountered in the Delta Quadrant. They've only been encountered once or twice and we know hardly anything of them except that Voyager's crew called them 'night aliens' and that they often inhabit regions of space void of or with sparse stars."

Something broke inside Nathan right there on the bridge. He jerked hard away from Kris as he felt the Captain try and give him a friendly pat on the shoulder. He had been through so much and shouldered all of it with out a crack, knowing that he was at least back for the birth of his daughter. But now even that was taken from him. He shoved the rifle into Brooks chest and said through grit teeth. "Ill be in sick bay." and with out giving either man the opportunity to give him leave, Nathan turned from his two superiors and stormed from the bridge with out regard.

Kerouac did not need to be blessed with any sort of empathy or telepathy to feel that hard cold shoulder sent his way as Nathan walked out on him and the others. "Sure" replied Kris caught off guard by the man's response and his actions. I'll deal with that later he thought to himself as he looked back towards Stace and the Counselor. "Looks like it is up to us, Commander" said Kris, nodding in Stace's direction. "Happy hunting" commented the Captain.

Stace wasn't a hard ass, but under the circumstances he wouldn't have let Tonkin go. He wouldn't have even told Tonkin about the birth of his daughter until things were under control. But it was clear the Captain wanted to deal with it on his own, so Stace just took the rifle that was shoved at him, and kept his mouth shut.

"And now my schedule is full for the next month..." Quintina muttered as she leaned against the bridge railing.

It had become necessary for someone to take a shuttle out from Camelot's bay and traverse ahead into the darkness, into the Shimon Expanse, though the shuttlecraft would not leave the safety of Camelot's sensor and transporter range. The Transporter Chief and Commander Tonkin both standing by to pull Kris and Jhu off the shuttle in a moment's notice should they be given a reason. Medical was also standing by, keeping a close eye on their life signs plus one for Commander Jhu t'Dharvanek was still with child and due soon. The Medical Department had pegged her to go into labor sometime next week or maybe the week after. It was cutting it close, but Kris felt safe enough with the buffer to ask her along on this little mission.

All they were doing was simply scouting ahead to make sure the Camelot had a clear path. Something out here in the Shimon Expanse was causing interference with the ship's sensors. Kris had hoped that by taking a shuttle he and Jhu could determine what lie ahead. Astrometrics and the rest of the Stellar Sciences Division were fairly confident that this expanse was not as monstrous nor encompassing as "The Void" that Captain Kathryn Janeway and the crew of the USS Voyager encountered in the Delta Quadrant. This Shimon Expanse was already turning out to be rather different than Voyager's Void as ship's sensors had been able to determine that there were some planets out here in the Expanse. The problem being they likely did not sustain any sort of humanoid life or if they did, they sure the hell were not Class-M humanoids.

Captain Kristopher Kerouac sat in the pilot's seat, taking care of most of the navigational and flight control matters. He left Commander t'Dharvanek to handle practically everything else from sensors, communications, and what little weapons they had. Kris had to keep his eyes ahead and focused on his console in case some sort of navigational obstacle came out of nowhere. The Camelot was following behind them, keeping a reasonable and safe distance. Kris knew he could trust the Caitian ensign to not plow into their shuttlecraft. "Were you able to gather anything from the Romulans about this expanse?" asked Kerouac to his Chief Intelligence Officer. They were out of the reaches of the Romulan Star Empire, but the Romulans were still closer to this region of the Beta Quadrant than say the Klingons.

"You know how the Romulans are. Secretive, not willing to share. All they'd tell me is they don't send any but their best equipped warbirds in here." Which really hadn't made Jhu any more comfortable with the idea of taking a tiny, barely armed shuttle into this strange void in space. She honestly wasn't sure why she'd agreed to this in the first place. "There's a pocket of turbulence ahead of us, probably some dark matter but I can't really tell."

Kris looked as though he was having a headache when he thought about the Romulans. "Romulans...always so forthcoming with helpful information" commented Kris. He quickly went to work with helm controls. "Compensating for the turbulence. Adjusting course. Alert the Camelot to the potential of dark matter in the area" instructed Kerouac.

The shuttle shook a bit as they hit a wave of tubulence, but Kris was able to keep the shuttle together and found smoother space. "How about hacking?" asked the Captain. "Could you dig up some Romulan information by a less polite action?"

"That's illegal," Jhu answered innocently as she sent the warning message through to the Camelot. The shuttle had just barely skimmed the turbulent pocket, and the larger starship would need extra time to adjust its course. "But there's no sense in lying about it. I did some looking around in a few databases before the Tal Shiar realized I was there and kicked me out." Her tone was cheeky and humorous, even as she cheerfully pulled out a PaDD and tossed it over to where Kris was sitting. "Basically there's not much to see in here, except pockets that might be dark matter and a small handful of planets. But warbirds tend to go missing when they explore here. I kept finding references to the Bloodwing though, which was interesting. Seems there were two warbirds by that name, but only one dared venture close enough to this place to get a look at anything. You'll never guess who captained her."

Kris nearly laughed at Jhu's little tale about prying into Romulan databases before getting locked out. Hopefully we were able to get some information he thought as he continued to listen to Jhu talk. "Please do not tell me Sela" said Kris crisply. "I never want to encounter that woman in any universe" he added. He took a wild guess "Did you command it?" he asked.

"Close, but no. My mother. Seems she was just as much a troublemaker here as she was in our own timeline." Jhu flinched slightly at the mention of Sela, also clearly not a fan of that particular Romulan. "Anyway, the data they have supports what Quinzel said about this area having been... eaten. There used to be whole planetary systems here, with fantastic trade routes. Until something chewed through it and left only the scattered systems that remain. If you could call them systems, anyhow. There's some legend about this place that suggests the creature responsible for the destruction still lives here."

"Ahhhh" said Kris letting out a frustrated grunt. "Son of a bitch" he said shaking his head. "I did not need to hear the lovely news about the legend of seventh dimension cosmic consumer" replied Kerouac. "Do you have any good news to serve as a nice side dish?"

"There are no Undine or Borg waiting to kill us," Jhu replied with a cheerful grin. "And no one has ever actually seen said seventh dimension parasite."

Kris snorted. "Oh how smashing" he replied with a heavy sigh. "I would gladly take the Borg over the Undine any day. As I recall, you did not have pleasant time dealing with those Fluidic bastards and the Pedians when you took command of Katana" commented the Captain, digging up old memories.

"I managed. Somehow." It wasn't a fond memory, save for having more or less talked the Undine into peace. For a little while, at least. Jhu sighed a bit, leaning back in her chair to stretch a sore muscle. "Not my favorite moment though."

The Captain chuckled. "One of your bests though" he thought just before the small shuttle shook somewhat violently and Kris frantically altered course. Initially thinking it was a pocket of dark matter than he had failed to see on his console. The shuttle began to experience an extreme power drain. All major systems were quickly fading and going entirely off line.

"Quick" he said, turning in his seat. "Distress signal...hail Camelot" he added as fast as he could before the shuttle went relatively dark. Did we get it out in time? he pondered. "What the hell was that?" he asked as the shuttle sat calmly adrift and only dimly illuminated by emergency reserve power routed to life support systems.

Jhu made a squeaking noise in the dark, having grabbed hold of her console just in time to avoid being toppled from her seat. "Some sort of dampening field... sensors are down." Working quickly at her rapidly dying input panel, she tried first to determine what had happened and then to send the distress call... only for the red 'offline' text to appear before the panel died completely. "...comms are out. This panel's almost dead too." She poked at it, pulling up the last images the sensors had seen and barely getting a glimpse before the panel shut off entirely. "I... I'm not sure what I saw. A ship, maybe?"

Kerouac threw his hands up at the helm. "Well, that's that" he said frustrated. "Aside from life support and some minor systems, we're dead in the water" he said shaking his head. "A ship? If so, they aren't attacking us...for now at least. Though I would say they did a fucking marvelous job at disabling us" added Kris.

"No kidding." It hadn't been long enough for the temperature to start dropping yet, but Jhu shivered slightly anyway, getting up to find one of the emergency blankets that were stashed in the shuttles for situations like this one. Barely out of her seat, she flinched and pressed her hand against the side of her very rounded belly.

A look of concern quickly flashed in Kerouac's eyes as he quickly headed toward Jhu, gently clutching her arm to offer her some stability. "Have a seat and do not make any quick or sudden movements" instructed the Captain. "I saw that flinch, Commander" he said sharply with a stern tone. Though his voice softened as his concern grew. This might be more serious than I thought. "Is it the baby?" he asked.

"It's a muscle spasm. I'm fine." But Jhu found that Kris was not offering any options and slowly sat back down. "It's already passing, and I am not going to break in half if I stand up to get a blanket out of a cabinet."

"Perhaps not" replied Kris with a small smile. "However, Nathan will definitely break me in half if anything ever happened to you under my command" added Kerouac. He stood over Jhu's console, it was mostly blackened. What power the shuttle had left was being put forth to keep life support operational. "Shouldn't be long until Camelot comes retrieve us" added the Captain.

"If they saw what happened. They might not be able to see us with our power out." Jhu leaned forward on the mostly black console. "I don't feel good."

Kris had to agree with her there. She had a point. Aside from emergency power to keep life support going, the shuttle was adrift and may not be much to sensors. "They were keeping a lock on our bio signs though. I was doing my best to keep us within range. Even if they can't pick up the shuttle on sensors, they will at least know where to start looking and could potentially find our location by our life signs" he offered. "What's wrong?" he asked her. "Did Nathan make you his five bean chili last night for dinner?"

"I don't know." Jhu couldn't really nail down the feeling, so she didn't have any specific words. "I just don't--" She stopped mid-sentence, her grip on the console's opposite edge tightening almost imperceptibly. "Bloody hell."

Kris raised a brow at the woman's choice of words. "I was warned by the Doctor that pregnancy may make you irritable at times and unpredictably emotional. Though I was not aware it would turn you English" joked the Captain. "Bloody hell, really? Not some Romulan profanity?" he asked as he approached her. "Is the baby kicking?"

"She kicks like a mule, but no. And you're so very funny." Jhu did normally swear in her mother's native tongue, but English had felt more appropriate. "It's muscular. Like a cramp only worse."

"Sounds like her mother" replied Kris quickly. Humor was his friend in times that he felt hopeless or useless. It was his distraction from the seriousness of situations. "There should be a medical kit in the back somewhere. It will have a medical tricorder in it. Hopefully with enough juice still in it for me to use it" he said as he went in search for it. "You aren't supposed to have her for another week or two. Could it be contractions?" he asked nervously. "If she is anything like you, she's going to be an impatient thing."

"Ha. You are so lucky I'm unarmed." Jhu listened to the rest of what Kris said, biting her lip. "Maybe. It comes and goes in waves. And it hurts." Visibly tense, she glanced toward the door that led to the aft portion of the shuttle. "Go get the med kit. I'll stay here."

"Aww you do love me" teased Kris as he got the small medical kit and returned his 'patient' with a smile on his face as he opened the kit and found that there was a functioning tricorder inside it. "Nice to see you didn't make a run for that tiny ass escape capsule while my back was turned" he added as he activated the medical tricorder and took off the detachable hand probe that he ran across the woman's pregnant protruding mommy tummy. "If you are a good girl I might give you a lollipop" said Kris with a smirk.

"If I could run, maybe I would have." Jhu paused for a moment just to breathe. "Just tell me what's wrong."

Kris let out a heavy sigh. "Do you want the good news or bad news? Nevermind, I'll just give it to you. Firstly, your baby looks to be healthy as a well as healthy as whatever the hell describes her parentage and heritage. Secondly, we have a medical kit so that's a good thing. However, your kid definitely has your attitude and impatience. So.....yeah, she's coming and coming soon so prepare for your water to break and you might wanna find something to bite down on and I am not offering my arm as an option."

"I can't have my baby in a shuttle!" Even as she protested, Jhu knew he had to be right. The spasming pains were growing closer together. "This is not how I imagined this happening."

He glared at her a bit annoyed at her protest. "I do not want to deliver your baby in this shuttle or anywhere else for that matter, but I am going to have to and your child is not cooperating with your plans to have her elsewhere" replied Kris. "This is not how I imagined things going either. We are going to have to get you as comfortable as we can" he added.

"Comfortable." Jhu snorted a bit at that. There was no such thing as a comfortable labor. "See if that medkit has demerol in it. At least then I'd be able to get up and change." Not that they had anything for her to change into with the replicators down.

Kris rummaged through the medical kit in search for dermol. Demerol...demerol..demerol he kept thinking to himself. "Demerol! Got it!" he shouted as he pulled it out from the medical kit. "You might have to walk me through this a bit. It has been a while since my last first aid refresher course" admitted the Captain. "I did successfully deliver a baby once...in a holo simulation" he said with a cheerful smile. Then I dropped it, but you don't need to know that part.

"That's more experience than I have," Jhu grumbled. "I don't suppose we can magically get the replicator working... and I'm pretty sure we don't stock sickbay gowns in these things. So now what?"

Before Kris could reply, the familiar sound of a transporter beam fizzled in the air and soon an unfamiliar Officer clad in a teal-collared uniform stood there. "Hi there," he said, a bit hesitantly, unsure as to what he just walked into. "Do you realize your shuttle is...off?"

The uninvited guest caught Kris by surprise and he had nearly smacked the man across the face with the medical kit, but stopped himself from doing so when he saw the uniform. "You aren't from the Camelot" said Kris, not recognizing the man who was clearly either from the medical or science department, both of which Kris knew the personnel rather well. "I'm aware the shuttle is off. We are dead in the water as it would appear...something hit us or we hit something" added Kerouac.

"And I happen to be having a baby over here, in case you hadn't noticed." Jhu's voice carried more than a hint of a growl; she was obviously not happy about having a second man - one she didn't even know - join them at such an inconvenient time.

Jordyn rushed over to the two officers, and knelt beside the chair. "Are you ok? What do you need?" he asked, unzipping his uniform jacket and using the sleeve to wipe the woman's forehead. He honestly had no clue what to do in this situation but he had to do something.

Kris' focus was back on Jhu and their present situation. "Hope you don't mind our friend here. I think he's going to have to assist me this delivery" he commented. "And no the replicators in here are out cold. This is the only time I'll ever say this to you, but strip Commander" said Kris firmly.

He did look at Jordyn. "This would be better if we were on your shuttle. It has power I take? You used the transporter to aboard our shuttle. We only have emergency power and I'm routing everything to life support. If you have a shuttle that can take us back to our ship...?"

"I agree, but can the Commander be transported in her condition? Is it unsafe for the baby?" Jordyn unzipped the upper part of his undershirt as it was getting warm in the shuttle.

"Technology is not my specialty" admitted Kris shaking his head. "I avoid Operations and Engineering if I have any say in it. I don't know what to risks are to the child inside of the Commander. However, it's a risk I am willing to take if the Commander has no objections."

"If we're going, we'd better do it fast." Jhu was out of her seat by now, but she hadn't made much progress in getting out of her uniform. Even with the demerol, the contractions were damn near paralyzing. She wondered how women ever decided to have more than one baby.

Jordyn stood and tapped his combadge, "Computer 3 to beam back on board," he said as he came up beside Jhu and took her by the arm. "Lean on me."

"I'm stronger than I look," Jhu warned him, transferring her grip from the console to Jordyn's arm. As she straightened up - and just before the transporter beam whisked them over to the other shuttle - a rush of fluid soaked her uniform, leaving no doubt that the baby was coming fast.

As the trio arrived on the new shuttle, Jordyn's eyes went wide. "Oh my god," he said as he realized some of the fluid had gotten on his uniform. He took a deep breath and tried to push past it. Now was not the time to be a drama queen.

"She is stronger than she looks. That isn't her boasting. She once suffocated a man with her legs and thighs" explained Kris with a smile. "Take care of my Commander. I'll plug the last known coordinates of my starship into your navigational console...if we are lucky they will be close to where I left them" added Kris.

"Grow up," Jhu added grumpily, having taken notice of Jordyn's reaction to getting a little wet. Clearly her mood hadn't improved with the change of scenery. "We're short on time. We'll need blankets and a medical tricorder, if you've got one."

The Betazoid nodded as he helped her down onto a bench. "Be right back," he said, going to grab the items she needed. A few moments later he reappeared and began to drape the blankets on top of her like a cover.

Under cover of the blanket, Jhu felt secure enough to wiggle free of the lower part of her uniform, discarding it on the deck. There was no way she was putting it back on after this. Already warm from the increased metabolic activity, she also shed her jacket, leaving her with just the blanket and her undershirt, the latter of which was damp with perspiration.

"I'm looking for the Camelot, but this expanse is a navigational nightmare" reported Kris. "Sorry, Jhu, but I think you are going to have to have that child here and now."

"Yeah, I'd gathered that." Still uncomfortable with the idea, Jhu was at least resigned to it. With how it was progressing already, maybe it wouldn't take long. "I've, uh, never done this before, but I think she's about ready." She sure hoped the little demon-spawn was ready; the contractions weren't really ending before the next one would begin.

Jordyn kept from glaring at the Captain, who clearly left him alone to deal with his angry officer. Though, to be fair, she seemed angry for a good reason. He'd be angry too if an entity was trying to rip it's way out of his body. He knelt next to the woman, "What do I do next?" he asked. He wasn't very familiar with the process of giving birth, and even less knowledgable in aliens. The last thing he wanted was to do something wrong.

"Nothing yet." Jhu knew about as much as Jordyn did about having babies, but she did know there wasn't much to be done until the child was actually deilivering. "Besides the obvious. You won't know when to catch her head unless you're... well. Looking." Elements, that was going to be awkward. She didn't even know this guy! He'd already seen more of her than she would generally be comfortable with.

Jordyn took a deep breath and nodded. "I was hoping to avoid that, as I don't even know your name."

"We don't seem to have much choice." Jhu glanced at Kris, who was still busy trying to find the Camelot. He was their best pilot at the moment so she couldn't really yell at him for it. Even if she wanted to. After a moment, she turned her attention back to Jordyn. "Jhu t'Dharvanek, Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Camelot. Not that this is the best time for introductions." She even managed a small smile.

Kris turned in his seat and snapped back at Jhu "PUSH!" he shouted. "Next time you feel that damn thing coming, I want you to push as hard as you can, Jhu." said the Captain. "I've found the Camelot...but she looks dead in space. I'm trying to hail them but they are not responding."

"Jordyn Elbrun, Chief Science Officer, USS St-" the man hesitated. "Well, I don't really have a posting at the moment." The man climbed on his hands and knees towards the woman's feet and knelt there. He had to be ready but wanted to give her as much privacy for as long as possible.

Kris butted in "Lieutenant Jordyn Elbrun, Chief Science Officer, USS Camelot" said Kerouac. "If you don't mind the transfer and will accept the position when it becomes available in the next week or so" offered the Captain.

"I uh..." the man wasn't sure what to say. "I appreciate the offer, Captain. But it might not be as simple as that. When we get back to the Camelot, I'm going to need to report back to Starfleet Command about the incident with the Starlancer. I'll be happy to server as your Chief of Science temporarily, and if Command approves, I'd be happy to take the position full-time."

"This is not the time to be arranging starship assignments!" She'd meant for it to sound authoritative, but instead Jhu found herself sounding rather pitiful. And whiny. If she had the spare breath to worry about it, she might have been embarrassed. But with her next breath came the next contraction, and she had no choice but to refocus her attention on having the baby.

Jordyn immediately felt ashamed and kept quiet on the subject. He pushed the blanket a few inches up Jhu's legs, but still kept her private area covered for the time being. "I need you to push, Jhu. Push hard," he said, holding his hands near her.

"Easy for you to say." But Jhu did push, as she was bidden, though she couldn't quite tell if any progress was really being made.

"You're doing great, Jhu. I uh...." Jordyn looked at the woman apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to look." He lifted the blanket slightly and took a peek below. "Nothing yet."

"Stop apologizing and get this child out of me!" Jhu hadn't meant to snap, but she was already exhausted, and labor was easily the most painful experience she'd dealt with.

Jordyn nodded quickly, "Next time you feel a contraction, push hard."

Kris groaned "JUST PUSH ALREADY!" shouted the Captain. "As soon as we are within range, I'll beam you both to Camelot's Sickbay with the child."

"You're not helping!" Jordyn screamed over his shoulder. "Just fly this damn thing and leave what's going on back here to me." His attention was immediately pulled back to the Commander, who's gasp indicated she was having another contraction. "Ok, it's time again. Breathe deep and push, Jhu."

Breathe deep? All Jhu seemed to have room in her chest for was wimpy little gasps. Somehow she sucked in a full lungful of air and pushed until her head went light and swimmy, demanding she breathe again. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she let it out in a pained whimper, but at the same moment she noticed the baby had moved. Not quite into the world just yet, but significantly down from where she'd been. "Tell me she's close. I can't do this much longer."

Jordyn reached out and put his hand on Jhu's and smiled. "She's juts about to crown, I can see her head about to poke through. At your next contraction, I need the deepest breath and the hardest push you can muster. Let's see if we can get her in one go."

Jhu nodded slightly, trying not to hold her breath. She didn't think she'd ever been so sore... or so warm. If some modicum of modesty weren't an issue, she'd be tempted to do away with the blanket. But she didn't have much time to think about that with the next contraction coming only a few breaths after the last one. Determined to get this over with, she pulled in as much air as she could before pushing as hard as her tired muscles would allow.

"She's coming," Jordyn exclaimed, almost with glee as the baby's head was beginning to slide through. He didn't realize how hot and sweaty he had become, but suddenly beads of sweat were dripping down the side of his face. He looked around for another blanket and realized that the ones he had brought were all dedicated to the mother so far. He quickly slid off his unzipped uniform jacket and held it up for the baby's entrance. "Push, Jhu. Push now."

"I am pushing," Jhu hissed through clenched teeth, giving one final almighty muscular shove to deliver her tiny daughter into Jordyn's waiting hands, followed by the flood of amniotic fluid - and a bit of blood - that had been trapped behind the baby. It wasn't quite over yet, but at least the hard part was done.

"She's beautiful," Jordyn said as his eyes lit with wonder. He immediately pulled his undershirt off and began patting the various liquids from the child's body. But as he worked, he suddenly realized something was wrong. "Jhu, she's not breathing. She's not crying." A sense of panic washed over him. "What do I do?"

"Clamp the umbilical cord." Strangely, Jhu found herself not panicking. "It doesn't matter how. Tie a string around it if you have to, tight as you can."

With a nod, the Lieutenant ripped a shred of fabric from this undershirt and tied it tightly around the umbilical cord. Not a few moments later, the young child let out a deafening cry. He breathed deeply with satisfaction. "Thank you," he said as he continued to wipe the amniotic fluid from the child. After she was dry, he wrapped her up in his uniform jacket and slid to Jhu's side. "Ready to hold her, momma?"

Jhu gently lifted her newborn daughter from Jordyn's arms, holding the infant to her chest. The baby make a cooing, babbling noise at her, and Jhu couldn't help giggling a little, despite how miserable she still felt. "Your daddy is going to be so mad he missed this." She kissed Kristina's forehead and then leaned her head back against the shuttle's bulkhead.

With the umbilical cord pulling the blankets up high, Jordyn realized that the woman had lost off sense of privacy. He stood and kicked off his boots, pulling his uniform pants down and off. "Don't judge me," he said, standing there in just his boxer briefs, as he draped the pants over the Romulan's exposed lower region, trying to keep her as covered as possible. He grabbed a medical tricorder from the med kit and sat down next to the Commander once again, hovering the sensor over the young child. "Her vitals look great, but she's a bit cold. Wrap the jacket around her a bit tighter." he suggested, taking the communicator from the article of clothing and clasping it to the waistband of his underpants.

Carefully cradling her daughter in one arm, Jhu freed her hand and tucked the jacket more tightly around Kristina's tiny little body to keep her warm. Instinct told her that the child should be laid directly against her skin and then covered, but they lacked the privacy necessary for that so they'd have to make do for a while. Looking at the baby's face, she grinned a bit. Kristina had a delicate spot pattern and ever so slightly pointed ears... but dark brown eyes. "Elements, she's cute."

"Absolutely beautiful," the Betazoid replied. He leaned back against the bulkhead and took a deep breath. This definitely wasn't what he expected when he discovered the shuttle an hour earlier.

Kris examined the child with a warm smile on his face. "She looks beautiful now, but wait until she's older and cussing up a storm like her mother. She might be as stubborn as either of her parents. It is the teenage years you have to look forward to" commented the Captain. "You did a good job, both of you" added the Captain softly.

"We're coming within transporter range...I can beam the three of you straight to Sickbay" announced Kris. "I need to get myself to Engineering and check out what's going on aboard the Camelot. It appears she's suffered the same fate as our shuttle" added he Captain. "Jordyn, I want you to stay with the Commander at least until medical personnel determined both are in good health just to be safe."

"Aye sir," Jordyn said, not looking up from Jhu and the baby.

Nathan was doing his best to make his way through the very dark and cramped inner of the ship. Sweat dripped down his face, and it was not from the heat. Nathan had always been a bit claustrophobic. Dark and cramped and not exactly sure where he was going made this the stuff of nightmares.

Nathan was just about to enter a junction when the hand he was using to drag himself along landed right on a leg. As if things could not get worse. Nathan jerked away from the leg, bashing the top of his head in the process. His heart racing and head pounding, Nathan steadied himself and reached out for the leg again. "Hey? You ok?" He asked shaking the leg. No response. With the lights out Nathan could not tell who it was, so he started feeling along the body.

First thing Nathan noticed was that there were two bodies here, and they were both very female. Nathan grimaced at that discoverer and continued his way up. If the ridiculous mess of tangled hair didn't tip Nathan off, the Borg eye implant his fingers ran over was a dead giveaway.

"Andy..." Nathan whispered. He has planed on making his way to her room anyways.

Now came the hardest part of the journey. Nathan crawled over the two women with effort. Once in the junction he stood up straight and took a moment to stretch his back. Then he leaned back into the tunnel and started to drag the two women out. By the effort it was taking, Maica had to be the other. This was going to prove difficult.

AN HOUR LATER

Nathan pushed the doors to Engineering open as best he could. The heavy doors were not typical ones so it was more of a strain on his already tired body then normally would have been with a typical door. Once the door was open enough to get his head inside he saw Jenni right away. "Help..." was all the sweat drenched man could get out as he held the doors from smashing into his neck. Andy and Maica lay on he floor of the hall way at his feet on the other side.

Andy had been in and out of consciousness as Nathan dragged them to Engineering, though she was hardly lucid; she displayed just enough awareness to know that someone was helping her, but she did not recognize that it was Nathan. All she could do was call out weakly for Maica. "Maica... help Maica..." became her mantra during the moments she was conscious, as she was now, her voice tired and strained.

Maica, on the other hand, was still completely shut down and was starting to smell funny.

"What the...?" Jenni said, looking towards the opened door. A couple members of her team had managed to retrieve a few portable generators, which Jenni was using to charge tools to get Engineering operational once more. By her calculations, she still had hours to go, especially with reduced personnel thanks to the intruders.

But what just arrived on her doorstep was enough to shift her gears. She grabbed a tricorder, spanner and a decoupler off their chargers and rushed over to the trio. Tossing her alien rifle to Nathan, she kneeled next to Maica and opened her tricorder. Jenni felt her body try to gag at the weird smell coming from her unconscious friend, and it took everything she had to contain herself.

This was the part a doctor would ask what happened, but what Jenni just went through meant she required no explanation. "Innards are getting stale," she reported with what little charge the tricorder had. She looked up at Nathan. "I'm going to need some power to give her a jump start. At least to get her standby system active again."

Nathan caught the gun, but set it aside almost as fast as he ripped his duty jacket from his body. His grey undershirt looked black from the amount of sweat that had poured from his body at the exertion of bringing the two women. He hear Jenni talk as his back hit the bulk head and he slid to a seat on the ground, but he didn't respond. He did reach over and drag Andy into his lap however.

Nathan pushed some hair from her face, and as Andy started to murmur about Maica again he said to her, "We got her, Jenni is working on her. Just stay with me sis."

His words seemed to reach her and her eyes opened slightly. The ex-Borg seemed to be unable to focus on the face near her, but she was still more aware now than she had been before. "Jenni?" Andy asked tiredly. If Jenni was here, then that meant Maica was in good hands, and with that thought Andy was able to relax. "What... what is... what..." she started to ask, but after stammering through a few more half-words, she couldn't seem to work out the rest of her question.

Jenni saw how spent Nathan was (and amazed that his cybernetic arm was functional). She also noticed how incoherent Andy seemed. "You're next, Andy," Jenni muttered, assuring the ex-Borg under her breath. "Rogers! sh'Tava! Generator!" she shouted to the engineers working in the background. "Stat!"

As they began to bring one her way, Jenni gently rolled Maica onto her side. Thankfully, Maica's bust size kept her from falling on her face, and the engineer leaned over and moved her arm just enough to keep her stable. Jenni wasn't terribly familiar with Maica's inner workings, but androids couldn't be that difficult, right? She scanned the back of Maica's head and looked for an access port. There seemed to be several, but nothing that would accept power.

Jenni continued her scan down her backside, hoping that something would be there. It would be indecent to expose Maica to the engineering staff, even if it was to save her life...

There!

Jenni set the tricorder down and began to pull up Maica's suit at the waist, revealing her synthetic green skin. In another time or another place, Jenni would feel weird about feeling up another woman. It was just like a massage...

Finally, she found the seam in the woman's skin. Jenni pried the plate open with her fingernails and set the cover on the floor nearby. "Cable!" she ordered, just like she suspected a doctor in surgery would request the next tool. sh'Tava handed her the cable without hesitation, along with a spanner to aid Jenni's efforts to attach a square nozzle into a round port. It would take a bit for the thorium to recognize the power stream and begin to recharge.

"Diagnostic cable," she requested, beginning to brush aside a patch of Maica's hair. It wasn't long before she found another access port, which Jenni quickly opened and attached the diagnostic cable to Maica's cranium. Jenni connected the other end of the cord to her tricorder and used the device to transfer a bit of power into Maica's diagnostic systems. If she at least could get the diagnostics going, Maica's imgrams and relays might help bring her back to life more quickly.

After a few moments, Maica's eyes popped open and her mouth went through a cyclic movement before she started speaking in a monotone yet harmonically tuned manner. "Diagnostics engaged remotely. Insufficient power levels. Reactor restart in progress. Please stand by for furth-rth-rther analysis." Then she blinked a few times in a semi-sequential pattern.

Information began to scroll on Jenni's tricorder, none of which she could make out at their fast rate. All she could tell was that there had been a sudden loss of power. She couldn't even see if Maica made it to standby mode. Hopefully she'd be back online in a second.

Leaving Maica alone for the moment, Jenni requested another tricorder from sh'Tava and activated it as she slid over to Andy. The power on her implants had been completely drained, even the reserve. "Hang on, Andy," Jenni said, trying to wirelessly send a jolt of power to her cortical node. Jenni knew how reliant Andy's body was on her implants, and if she could even give them an ounce of power, that would give Jenni a little more time to get Maica stablized to help her.

Andy was only faintly aware of Jenni trying to help her. She was losing her battle against the unconsciousness that threatened to overtake her, but she managed to move her arms enough to tug at her right sleeve, trying to pull the sleeve up enough to expose the power port integrated into her exoskeleton.

Oh shit... Jenni thought, looking at the power port. Glancing back at the generator, Jenni knew it wasn't just capable of putting out the power Andy needed, but it would come out so strong that it could do some serious damage to the ex-Borg. "Flow regulator and converter," she ordered Rogers as she saw that sh'Tava was already grabbing another cable.

sh'Tava tossed Jenni the cable as she held her hand out towards Rogers, who was fumbling with the parts. Come on... she thought, trying hard not to curse at the kid. This was the poor soul's first assignment, and even though she had two friends on the floor in extremely bad shape, Jenni knew better than to snap at the Crewman.

Finally, Rogers handed over the components. Jenni quickly slapped the regulator and the converter together before attaching it to Andy's power port. The hand holding the cable hovered over the outlet on the regulator while Jenni considered what she was about to do. Either this would work, or she would have much apologizing to do not just to Maica, but her fellow crewmembers and friends. Seeing Andy slip in and out of unconsciousness forced Jenni's hand. She stabbed the power cable into the regulator, made an adjustment on the converter, and then let the power flow.

Andy's eyes fluttered for a moment then finally closed as she felt the surge of power from the generator. It wasn't enough for a proper regeneration and whatever was dampening the power was quickly diminishing any restorative effects it might have on her, but it was more than enough for Andy to initialize a mock regeneration to stabilize her vitals. She wasn't going to get any better until the dampening field was down, but at least now she wasn't on the verge of death.

Jenni didn't have to reference her tricorder to see how it was working. For now, at least, Andy would live. She looked up at Nathan, right into his tired eyes. She also took his free hand and placed it on the flow regulator. "This isn't the best setup, so you're going to have to hold this in place. Don't let go."

Nathan just simply nodded and held regulator in place tight while he held Andy.

The Chief Engineer then slid back over to Maica. She picked up the tricorder still connected to Maica's cranium. The diagnostic feed was continuing to run, as were the blinking eyelids. The feed from the generator was still stable, but Jenni could tell Maica's thorium reactor still hadn't initialized. Jenni sorted the diagnostics to see that the reactor was trying to start, leaving her to wonder if there was some sort of defibrillator she could fashion to help Maica along.

No. Maica had to start naturally. Jenni couldn't afford to cause more damage than had already been rendered.

That's when Maica's blinking stopped, her eyes staying open. "Core temperature reached. Stabilizing reaction." after a few more seconds, Maica closed her eyes and sighed softly. "I feel like shit... And my reactor's output isn't very stable." Opening her eyes and seeing Jenni sitting over her with a tricorder hooked to her head, she smiled weakly. "So how bad off are we?"

Jenni heaved a sigh of relief when she saw life behind Maica's red eyes. "Dead in the water," she said. "Dampening field took us out. Main power, auxes, warp core, hell, most of the tools. We're lucky we have something in a few generators. Hopefully, we can get auxiliary power back soon." She then cautioned, "Try not to move. Your systems are still restarting."

"Thank you," Maica replied, her eyes closing again. "Is Andy ok?"

Jenni glanced over at Andy who appeared to be in a regenerative state. "She's... better than you are," she said, trying not to sugarcoat anything, especially since she knew how well Maica could read people. Maica had been the first to know about her and M'rayr, and that taught Jenni enough to always be honest around her. "But you'll both be fine soon. Can you tell me anything about what happened to you?"

"Some sort of dampening field, I think. It knocked my reactor offline and drained my backups in less than a minute. I'm supposed to have some strong shielding, but if it was enough to knock the warp core offline too, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I assume Andy tried to get us here with none of her implants working." Explained Maica as best she could. "I surmise that based on my own senses, the field is still up, if not as strong."

"Actually," Jenni nodded toward Nathan. "You'll have to ask him. Nathan's pretty strong, but it took everything he had to get you both here."

Nathan gave a weak smile to Maica, "You're heavy as shit. Good thing our Q was able to get my arm working or there is no way I would have gotten you here. I think it pulled away from the socket a little. " But Nathan's hand held the regulator into Andy true.

"I hate to ask for anything else right now, but do you have any water down here?" Nathan asked, looking up at Jenni.

Jenni looked at Rogers who immediately ran back to pick up some of the water bottles they'd retrieved from the cargo bay. It was handy, keeping some rations around for when the replicators weren't functional. Rogers returned momentarily with an unopened bottle and handed it to Nathan.

"Not to add to our worries, but when I was powerless, I think I soiled myself." Maica remarked, finally able to smell the unpleasantness coming off of her.

"There's a stash of spare uniforms in the nearby cargo bay," Jenni replied. "I think we can find something that'll fit you. As soon as you can walk, I'll help you get cleaned up." Jenni would have offered to help pick her up off the floor, but without Maica's ability to help, Jenni would not have a chance of making it as far as Nathan did.

"Thank you." Maica replied, relaxing and focusing on getting her systems stabilized.

Nathan took the bottle of water and gulped the entire thing down. Once the bottle was empty, Nathan set it next to him and went back to looking after Andy. "Jenni, all non essential personnel are to report to the mess hall where the security team is setting up with food and protection." He glanced down at Andy then back up to Jenni. "I need to report back to the bridge, but Brooks wanted to make sure you were getting life support and com's back up first."

"And shields," Jenni added. "I don't need another pair of intruders raining fire down on my team. I've already lost enough people today." Glancing down at Andy and Maica, she thought, I don't want to lose any more. Jenni might have gotten them stable, but she doubted they could take another hit from that dampening field.

Looking back at Nathan, Jenni added, "You should also know the Captain is back aboard. Kris beamed right into the heart of engineering just after I got the intruders to stay quiet."

Nathans right eye twitched a little "Where is Jhu?"

Jenni shrugged. "No clue. Kris was alone."

Nathan grit his teeth so hard that it was audible. "I am going to fucking kill him..." he said quiet enough so the rest of the crew could not him him speak ill of the Captain. He moved Andy off his lap and set her down carefully. He then pushed her up against the wall so that the wall would hold the regulator in place. "I need to report to the Commander." He said with an exhausted sigh and another stretch of his back. "Ill be back, do you need anything down here?" He asked Jenni.

"Just send some of that security detachment down here," Jenni asked. "The Camelot doesn't need to lose control of Engineering."

"Forever more... Running off away from and into more danger as usual..." Maica was grumbling of course about Kris. She loved the man but damn he was frustrating at times. "I think I'm getting my reactor stabilized at least."

Jenni picked back up the diagnostic tricorder and reviewed the new results. "Field integrity is around sixty-five percent. Let's give it another minute or two to guarantee that stability."

"Sounds good to me." Maica replied, sounding tired from all that had happened.

"I will send two teams down here, I will also tell them to assist with anything you need Jenni." Nathan said slinging the rifle over his shoulder. He leaned down so Maica could see him. "Get better." he said to her, almost in a tone that sounded like an order. But his eyes were soft and filled with worry. Then he glanced to Jenni. "Thank you."

Maica smiled a bit. "I'll do what I can."

"Of course," Jenni replied gently. "They'll be safe here," she told him.

Nathan nodded, "I know, That's why I brought them to you. I trust you." Then he smiled gently to Jenni and stood. "I'll be back to check on everything eventually. But I don't know when."

"Be safe," Jenni wished, picking up the tricorder again to check on Maica's reactor. Andy would likely be out for a bit, but she didn't need two women lying down at the entrance to Engineering.

Jenni paced along the corridor. The Camelot had barely gotten underway, and even at this reduced amount of power, she knew her team had several long days ahead. It was as if she had to completely rebuild the ship from the inside out. Under normal circumstances, under most circumstances, she wouldn't have batted an eye. She didn't bat an eye when she shot the two intruders, or when she had revive Maica and stabilize Andy. She didn't even bat an eye when a member of the crew was gunned down in front of her.

It wasn't until she had the subspace call from Arivek that she'd begun to question her own motives and goals. When she left Katana, Jenni had her reasons. It wasn't because of anyone there, it was because she had to truly find herself, to find what made her great again.

And she did that, and now she questioned the cost. She hadn't planned on serving again with Kris or Jhu or, hell, even Nathan. Seeing Andy and Maica again had been a treat, but not a single one of them was Ari.

Jenni didn't have an appointment, but she kept pacing in front of Quintina's office wondering if it was a good idea to go in. Maybe she should go see Maica or Jhu. After all, out of everyone on board the Camelot, those were the two that knew her the best. Nathan had accidently hit on her once, and Jenni hadn't interacted much with Andy. She knew that Andy had a bit of a time with the other Jenni in that other universe. And Kris... was well... Kris.

What to do? What to do!?

Jenni stopped pacing for a moment and turned to look at Quintina's door. It would be so easy to walk away. So easy to find someone else to talk to. But Jhu just had a baby. Maica was still recovering. No, there wasn't another choice. Jenni had only seen Quintina once. But, she was a Counselor. If anyone could help Jenni right now, it would be her.

With that, Jenni took a couple steps forward and tapped the chime on the doorframe.

At the same time Jenni pressed the door chime, Quintina was about to head out to get some food somewhere, her stomach having been complaining for a while now. As the door opened, a look of surprise was on her face. "Ah! Jenni! Is there something I can help with? You look worried and possibly upset."

Jenni was a bit surprised to see Quintina right in the door frame at the exact moment she'd pressed the button. Did the woman have a sixth sense or something? "Upset? No, no. I'm a..." her voice trailed off, not quite sure how to answer that. Closing her stunned and stammering mouth, she jerked with her thumb down the hall. "Mind if I join you? Time like this, no one should be eating alone."

Quintina looked at Jenni strangely - she must have looked hungrier than she thought. "I... Yeah, I was about to head to the galley for some food. We can eat here though, if you'd prefer the privacy."

Jenni paused to consider it. As much as she enjoyed her privacy, she'd gotten used to being out in front of people again. And, with the ship on reduced power and the replicators non-functional, it was galley food or ration packs. She'd had too many of those ration packs already. Finally, she shook her head. "It's alright," Jenni said. "I could actually use a warm meal."

"The galley it is then. I hope there's something good on the menu." Quintina said as she began walking with Jenni. "I could go for anything edible and warm at this point. Unless it's a heated ration bar. Or a marshmallow. I have a small marshmallow replicator that I picked up on Earth for camping and I'm about as tired of those as I can be."

"Did you ever make a S'more?" Jenni asked, her bubbly self coming to the surface for a moment. "The first time I ever made a s'more was when my roommates and I went camping our first month at the Academy. When you grow up on the moon, you don't really get to light a fire or anything like that."

"I've had a candy bar called that. It tasted like chocolate and marshmallow filled cardboard. And yes, I took the wrapper off..." Quintina wasn't a fan of that experience, but she was pretty sure it wasn't entirely the best way to eat a s'more thing.

"You gotta have the real thing," Jenni said with a smile. "The next chance we get, I'll make a couple. And if it takes like cardboard, that'll be that."

"Ok, but I'm bringing the chocolate." Quintina said with a slight smirk as they rounded a corner and entered the galley. The smells of various foods greeted them and Quintina's belly gave another growl.

Jenni heard that growl as they entered. "Okay, definitely eating first," she said, brushing the hair on her left side behind her ear. "It's days like this that make me glad we keep some real food on hand."

"So am I," Quintina said as she picked out a plate of meatloaf and mixed veggies with some lumpy white potatoes and a tiny piece of cake.

Jenni picked out most of the same food, except for the meatloaf and vegetable and the potatoes. In fact, it was only when she walked away that she noticed that her plate was mostly cake with a side of steamed carrots and what appeared to be a substitute for beef stroganoff.

Taking a seat in the corner away from everyone else, Quintina dug in instantly, thankful that it was warm and edible, if not as delicious as it could be. "So..." she began, clearing her mouth. "What brought you to my office?"

Jenni was deciding whether or not to start with the cake or the stroganoff when Quintina asked that question. "I had a call from an old friend today," she said simply, choosing to start with the carrots.

"Oh? Was it a good call?" Quintina got out before she stuffed some more meatloaf into her mouth.

"It was good to see Ari again," Jenni said. "He seems to be having a rough time back on Katana."

"Katana..." Quintina stopped eating mid bite - she knew that name for several reasons. "What kind of rough time?"

"He's all alone," Jenni said, taking another bite of her carrots. "He feels not just abandoned, but that everything's changing around him and he can't control it. I just really feel for him, I guess."

Quintina resumed eating and spoke between bites. "Invite him out here. Sounds like he could use a vacation."

"It's not that simple." Jenni elected to go for the cake now. "He's... well, it's complicated, you see, he's a hologram. A living hologram."

"That would hamper things. I suppose he can't get a transfer, either." Quintina replied. "Unless he has a mobile emitter."

"I don't think the technology is there yet," Jenni said. "I've been watching it closely, even trying a thing or two here and there, but it would take something like half a shuttlecraft to follow him around. Besides, I don't think he wants a transfer. Katana's the only home he has left."

Quintina shrugged. "I'd offer one but I have my own semblance of a prime directive I try to adhere to." Then she dug into the tiny piece of cake. "This tastes like toothpaste..."

Jenni had noticed something was off about the cake, but she ate it anyway. It was better than a ration bar, no matter how pasty it tasted. "Ari was one of the first people I met after I lost my ship and crew. He became my best friend over there, but I wound up missing an engine room more than I valued his friendship. So I transferred here about the same time everyone else left Katana. Now he's one of a handful of people left and alone. And, as a friend, I want to do something about it."

"Yes, but what? Wanting to do something is admirable, but do you have any idea what you'd like to do? Or even what's possible at this distance?" Quintina asked as she finished her meal.

Jenni blinked in surprise, impressed that she'd ate so quickly. "That's just it. From here, there's nothing I can do. As we were talking, I just wanted to reach through the screen and give him a hug." Jenni poked at the cake, but did not brave a bite. "I have a mountain of leave stacked up. Maybe I should take it."

Quintina sighed and leaned back in her chair, boobs bobbing slightly. "I so wish I could help in ways I can't. They're on the other side of the quadrant now, right? It would burn up most of your leave just in travel time."

"And it's not a safe time to leave either," Jenni moaned. "Camelot herself still isn't out of the woods, so how can a shuttle on its own be safe?" She sighed. "I may have to wait until we're near a port and then give it a shot."

"Perhaps a care package for now? Those can be sent via a high warp probe." Quintina offered.

"Perhaps," Jenni replied, still poking at the cake. "Is it wrong to feel guilty about the whole thing? I mean, if I had known this was going to happen, I probably wouldn't have left."

"Guilt and regret are a perfectly rational response to being homesick. And yes, that's my professional opinion." Quintina declared. "Personally, I think the point of linear beings is that you don't know what's going to happen. That's what makes your lives, and now mine as well, so interesting. You don't know what the consequences for any of your actions really are going to be. You can predict things... But you don't have the information you need to predict the actions of a dozen people in your lives, let alone that of an entire crew. The thing to do now, is to try to make the best decisions you can at this point in time."

Jenni sighed, setting her fork down beside her half-eaten meal. "I'm reminded of a quote from an old Earth film. 'The future hasn't been written yet. No one's has. Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one.' How do you know if you're making a good decision or a bad one? I mean, when I left, I made a decision for me, and it was good, for a while. Now, I just don't know. All of my friends have new lives, as do I."

"And your friend can't exactly do that and you're considering making another decision that will drastically affect not only you and him, but everyone else you know. Me... The captain... All your friends here... That experimental slipstream drive that may or may not need its geometry recalculated..." Quintina could go on, but instead, she pulled out her sonic transdimensional decoupler and a mini PaDD. Cracking open the back of the PaDD, she activated the tool and waved it over the processor and memory core built into it in a seemingly meaningless fashion before reassembling the PaDD and setting it on the table between them. "And here I've made a decision that might not be entirely good." Clicking on the PaDD, it almost seemed that the text on the screen jumped to life a couple inches from the screen. Indeed, it was projecting a report on the state of simian mating studies on Risa in a soft holographic way. "It should have several hundred times the processing and storage capabilities as before. The method isn't a perfect one and will likely degrade in a few minutes..." As she spoke, the image flickered slightly but was able to regain stability.

Jenni sat at the table in complete shock. She wasn't just mesmerized by what just Quintina just did. It was one thing to see a standard touchscreen display be transformed with a wave of a wand, especially when that screen wasn't designed at all to function in that manner. And then to see the reverse side enhanced to handle the processing requirements of holograms...

And then the screen fizzled out, likely a side effect of the high processing demand on the isolinear memory chips in the back. But what was more amazing was that tool that Quintina used. She just waved the tool over the innards of the PADD and changes were practically instantaneous. How could it be that simple? How could it be so effortless?

Why didn't she have one of those down in Engineering to miraculously repair the Camelot. Jenni looked up at Quintina and said with a shocked smile, "Where have you been this whole time?" Jenni then wondered if that tool could be used to create a gift for her friend. "That's! That's just incredible!"

"I've been in my office a lot... And on the bridge when power went out." Quintina replied, using the sonic on the PaDD a bit more to sharpen up the image. then she held the still glowing tip up in front of her and glared at it before twisting it to another setting and trying again. "Sonic transdimensional decoupler. Not something that should exist within the Federation for another hundred years or so."

"A fancy screwdriver," Jenni said simply, not surprised at all that Quintina took her rhetorical question literally. "Just how exactly does that work? And what all can it do?"

Quintina looked at Jenni like she'd grown another head. "It decouples things from this dimension and allows them to operate in higher planes of existence and vice versa. It does everything but wood."

She blinked, curious as to the strange facial response from the former Q. "It can decouple things from this dimension. Allows things to exist in a higher place of existence. And doesn't work on wood." Jenni folded her arms and leaned back. "Sounds pretty terrible."

Quintina made a couple more adjustments and suddenly, rather than a floating representation of text, there was a life sized reproduction of Quintina herself standing on the PaDD. Satisfied, quintina tucked her sonic back away and leaned back. "Terrible..."

Jenni shot back in her chair when Quintina was suddenly standing on the table. Of course, from her angle, she couldn't see much above the waist. And, it certainly caught the attention of several others in the Mess Hall. She rose from her chair to inspect the reproduction, taking an instant note of the minute ripples in the recreation on the surface. Jenni tried to touch it, only to have her hand pass through the projection. The PADD could only do so much, and Jenni couldn't help but wonder how long the hologram would remain. Looking down at the real Quintina, Jenni smiled. "Pretty amazing, actually."

"A parlor trick. I'd be happy if it could make an antacid for me." Just then, a small shower of sparks burst out of the PaDD and the image vanished. Sighing, Quintina picked up the charred remains and glanced it over before offering it to Jenni. "I guess this should be recycled now."

Jenni accepted the PADD, deciding to give it a fair study before putting it back in the recycler, assuming there was anything left to study. "So," Jenni said, gently, "if that's a parlor trick, what are the odds of actually being able to advance mobile holo technology a few decades?" As much as she felt for Arivek, knowing he'd be trapped in his holographic prison for eternity still broke her heart.

"In this reality, you shouldn't have anything really usable until the 26th century. I just handed you enough to get a good start on it though." Quintina replied. "You just need to reinforce the circuitry with Q-carbon in a quad filament layout. Do that and with a micro PaDD and a room holo-emitter, you could build one in a matter of hours. Do it right and it'll last at least fifty years."

She smiled. It wasn't something she could work on for a while, not until Camelot was stable anyway, but it would be an incredible gift. It also meant that it would have to be something best delivered by herself. "Challenge accepted," she said with a smile. "Won't you get in trouble for something like this?"

Quintina shrugged. "Probably. But there's not much else the continuum can do to punish me than they already have."

"There's always life as a tree or a cockroach or something," Jenni mused. "I hear both live just about forever as well."

"True, but those forms aren't as humiliating." Quintina replied with a smirk. "So have you made a decision?"

Jenni looked down at the PADD, then back up at Quintina. "I believe I have," she said with a smile. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome," Quintina said with a smile as she stood and took her tray back to the galley window for recycling.

The USS Camelot was underway with twenty five percent of her power restored, repairs crew at work, and life slowly trying to adjust its way back to normal or as normal as they could given the loss of several lives aboard, a still unknown attack by a species that was not knowingly provoked by them, and with the Camelot having to head back to Starbase Avalon to finish the larger extent of repair work before the Camelot could venture back into the unknown. On the brighter side of things Commanders Tonkin and t'Dharvanek had welcomed their first child into life aboard the USS Camelot.

Captain Kristopher N. Kerouac had just finished writing some letters to the families of the fallen members of his crew. He had a long day ahead of him and some news to break to many people. There would be a memorial for the deceased crew which he had tasked others to handle. He had done his fair share of memorial services and did not have it in him to put together another one. His next matter of business had involved summoning his friends Captain Merith and Commander Maica to his Ready Room for a small conference with the two and to take care of some much needed business before arriving at Starbase Avalon.

The Ba'Ku woman entered his office without ringing the chime or waiting to be allowed in, carrying with her Kris' own little bundle of joy, Cadence, who was asleep in Merith's arms. "You look like you could use a break," Merith said softly as she took a seat on the sofa in Kris' office, settling Cadence against her shoulder to let the child continue sleeping peacefully.

"How I look or what I look like I need do not match what I will do or what I will get" he said shaking his head. "Thank you for looking after her while I am dealing with all of this. It helps having you aboard as a fellow Captain...former, retiring, or whatever plans you had in mind. Just the fact that you've been in my place in the past and know the weight Command is placing on my shoulders is helpful."

That's when Maica showed up. She too just opened the door and headed in, sweat on her brow and looking tired as she flopped onto the couch next to Merith. "And I make my entrance. Please don't make me walk that far again for a while."

Merith nodded slightly to Kris in acknowledgement of his words, making a mental note to make sure he took a much needed day off in the very near future. "Oh goodness, you look positively dreadful," Merith exclaimed softly in concern as Maica flopped on the couch beside her. "How are you recovering, dear? I heard this dampening field did quite a number on you, I hope there was no lasting damage," she offered sympathetically.

"And so the old green tin can arrives at last" joked Kerouac. "I've been reading the reports...you had quite the experience, Maica" added the Captain shaking his head. "I won't make you walk that far again. I would have come to you, but this involves the both of you and I was just finishing off a conversation with the Admiral not too long ago."

"I'm just thankful I got power back before my organelles started to seriously break down. As it is, most of them still aren't fully alive and won't be for some time." Maica said with a pained grin. "So what is it you need both of us for?"

"Kristopher, shame! You shouldn't call her a tin can! Look at her, she's wonderfully squishy in all the right ways," Merith said playfully, smiling at the banter. "Seriously dear, you look lovely," she added to Maica, then sat back to wait for the news Kris was bound to drop on them both.

"The USS Camelot is heading back to Starbase Avalon for some ideally quick repair work before we head back out" said Kris straight and to the point. "You two, however, will not be coming with us. I would have loved to have you stay aboard longer, but it simply is not going to be an option and I have very little say in the matter" said Kris as he stood up from his seat behind his desk and approached the sofa where the two women were sitting with a small box in his hand.

He opened it, revealing one solid pip. Kris took the pip out, reached over and pinned it onto Maica's collar. "Usually I would have time to prepare a whole speech and do this during a proper ceremony, but we do not have the time and this decision was made rather recently by myself and the Admiral. "Commander Maica, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Captain with all the duties and responsibilities befitting the rank" said Kris as he backed away and picked up the PaDD from his desk "Captain Maica, by order of Starfleet Command under the authorization of Task Force Commanding Officer, Admiral William T. Riker, I Captain Kristopher N. Kerouac have been ordered to serve you with your orders" he said handing her the PaDD and giving her a small nod. "Captain, the USS Merlin will docked at Starbase Avalon and awaiting your arrival. You will be given command of the USS Merlin where additional orders will be received."

"Congratulations," Merith said with a warm smile as Kris handed the orders to Maica.

Maica nodded and looked the PaDD over. "Good, it's a giant boob. The hope class is one of the classes I was hoping to one day command, though I didn't expect it so soon. Thank you."

Kris went back to his desk and picked up a second PaDD "I'm not finished, Merith" he said with a broad smile. "You are welcome to file your paperwork for retirement, but until those papers are processed and approved...these are your orders, Captain. You have been given a new command here today as well. Both of you will be part of this Task Force."

Merith's eyes widened in surprise as she took the PaDD from Kris to read the order. "The Morgan le Fae?" Merith read aloud with a hint of wonder and amazement. Wow, they were really sticking with this theme of Arthurian lore! To say she was unprepared for this was an understatement, but it brought a smile to her face nonetheless. "Well, I suppose I could put off retiring for a little while," she said in acceptance. It was no Pandora, but the Morgan le Fae sounded quite enticing!

"The truth is..." began Kris taking a deep breath "We need the best people out there right now, and you two are both more than qualified to hold commands of your own. Maica, the Merlin needs a Commanding Officer with quick wit and deep intelligence. There are very few officers in Starfleet who have displayed those traits with such excellence" commented the Captain.

He then looked at Merith. "The Morgan le Fae is a starship dedicated to science and exploration, she needs a Captain who can hold the respect of the crew...which are mostly scientist and engineers. I could not think of a Captain so in love with the sciences...just remember you belong in the Captain's chair, but you also will be mentoring your scientist, helping them grow out here in the unknown."

"Have you forgotten that I've already done this?" Merith countered teasingly, then continued to rock Cadence while she read more on the PaDD. "I must admit, I miss my Luna-class, but the Intrepids are lovely ships; I'm sure she will serve the cause well," she said in reluctant acceptance. She was still mourning, in her own way, the loss of her ship and all those she left behind, namely Will, her Chief Science Officer and the man who had stolen her heart; accepting this new ship meant she was finally moving on, though she really didn't want to, but even she knew she could not dwell on this forever. Thinking on him now made her wonder what Will was doing in her absence? Had he grieved and given up, or had she inadvertently created another man hell-bent on finding his lost lover?

Maica chuckled softly. "I think you mixed up who needs more mentoring. I know I'm ready for it, but I'm not, you know? This is a big step and one that I never thought I'd actually take. Especially only at eleven years old." She'd have a lot of work to do to get things to her liking, and she'd have crew to figure out and lab customization for Andy... Yeah, it would be hard but good work.

"Speaking as someone who has experience in excess of 300 years, I see wisdom and intelligence in your eyes I rarely see in even the most seasoned adults. Just know that a journey as a Captain is never taken alone, though sometimes it can be lonely, but if you build a rapport with your crew and trust them, then you help each other to be the very best that you can. It's inevitable that you will make a mistake or two, every Captain does, but it's how you deal with those mistakes that determines the loyalty you inspire in your crew. Look at Kris' career as Captain, he a perfect example," Merith said, ending her explanation with a little grin. "For all the times he's messed things up, the crew stuck by him. In the grand scheme of things, he's a pretty good example of a Captain if I do say so myself."

"Thank you. I guess I have impressed a few people in this universe at the very least. Either that or they're dumping a problem crew on me just to say they gave me the chance, then toss me in a closet somewhere as an experiment. Either way, I'm happy for the opportunity." Maica was smiling and as happy as she could be, given her current state.

"I can't say much for your crew, Maica, but they will be fortunate to have you commanding them" said Kris pleasantly. "You both will be receiving more information and your orders after taking your respective commands" explained the Captain. "Merith, you will have familiar faces on your crew to begin with. I am transferring Nichols, my Chief Science Officer and Lieutenant Scott Fisher to your starship. I have also offered Lieutenant Da'Kar the opportunity to join you as well."

"Hmm, I've seen them at work, dedicated officers; Nichols in particular has excellent standards," Merith said with an appreciative nod. "Is Da'Kar undecided? I'd rather not take him along if his heart isn't in it," she asked, unsure if this is what Kris meant with the way he worded the offer.

Kris nodded. "He has been through a lot recently. I think part of him feels a sense of duty to stay here, but his career would shine a lot better under your command than it will mine. Honestly, I think everyone's career would shine better without me" he added with a tinge of sadness in his eyes. "Da'Kar will be going with you...just give him a few hours to think about it. I'm confident that he will make the right decision."

"Very well, then I will trade you Da'Kar for this cute little wiggle worm," Merith said with a nod, leaning forward to hand Cadence to Kris to cheer him up, and so skilled was she at this hand off that she was able to do it without waking the infant.

Maica sighed softly at the baby. "So cute... I don't think I could ever have kids though. For one, the logistics are insane... And two, I have no idea what I'd do with one."

Kris smiled. "The wiggle worm is cute, but she's off the table" said the Captain taking a sigh. He had a lot going through his mind then. He had been having a lot going through his mind the past week. What the hell am I doing? he thought to himself. His thoughts were first and foremost on Cadence. He was a father now and that gave her top priority. Hell, it gave her more priority than this starship and Starfleet.

Though another nagging thought was the pain in his heart. Scott Fisher. If anyone could read Kris, it was likely Merith. Though he would never directly say it. He had been hoping she'd stay after Maica left and talk to him about Fishsticks.

Merith could indeed see that something beyond duty was weighing on Kris and smiled knowingly. "Maica dear, I do not mean to sound uncouth, but you do look as though you could use some more rest. Why don't you go rest up. I can call someone to help you back to your quarter if you require it," Merith offered gently, an attempt to get her out of the room so she and Kris could talk more privately.

Once Maica had left, Merith smiled softly. "So, mind telling me what's going on with you?" she asked, folding her hands in her lap.

Kris had taken Cadence up in his arms and had walked over to the replicator to get her a bottle of her drink/meal. It was a weird amber green liquid, a sap like substance albeit synthetically made and not the real stuff, but it had been something Shira had programmed into Katana's replicator before her death for Cadence. Kris had it programmed into Camelot.

He waited until the little one was sucking away at the bottle and her eyes were looking too heavy for her to keep open. He looked at Merith and smiled. Taking a deep breath, Kris talked slowly and softly. "I've been going on dates with him for a few months now" he said looking at her. "Fisher" he added, though he doubted she was oblivious to whom he was referring to. "I orchestrated this whole transfer thing for him. I told myself that I was doing it to give your ship a strong science team and that this was a career opportunity of a lifetime for him, that I'd be selfish to stand in the way and allow him to pass it up."

"But you want him to stay," Merith said with an understanding nod. "Kris, there's nothing wrong with wanting something, or someone, for yourself. There's also nothing wrong with wanting what's best for someone you care about, but have you even discussed this with him? Is this a move he wants? Or are you doing this because you're too afraid to let yourself be vulnerable?" she countered.

She had valid points and was hammering more nails on the head than an expert craftsman. "You're too damn old and too damn experienced with reading people" he countered with a heavy sigh. "I haven't discussed it with him at all. And Yes I'm afraid. I am more afraid now than I was in Klingon prison, more afraid now than when I was stabbed in the chest, more afraid now than when the Pah-Wraiths got into my head...I'm just beyond afraid" he admitted.

He looked at Merith. "I'd give it all away you know...all of this around me. I'd resign my command, I'd leave Starfleet right here right now just to be with him for however long it lasted. I don't care if it is nothing more than a few more days. Every minute he's near me is a minute I hold onto forever in my heart."

"There's nothing wrong with being afraid either. You silly humans, you seem to think that fear is bad, and it's not; it's simply instinct telling you not to do things that could get you hurt, but life would be terribly dull if we only did things that were safe... And considering that it's now of all times that you chose to play it safe-" Merith paused for a soft chuckle and an amused shake of her head. "If ever there was a reason you should want to leave Starfleet for safer options, she's in your arms right now. Scott Fisher chose a life in Starfleet the same as you, he chose to accept the risks that went with the uniform, you do not have to resign to pursue a relationship with him; Captains are allowed to get married same as anyone else, and though it's frowned upon to be in a relationship within one's staff because it can undermine the Chain of Command, it's possible to make it work! If you're willing to just let him walk away then you don't want him, not enough to make things work; you're just walking away from a good thing, same as you did with me," she scolded gently.

"I know that there is nothing wrong with any of it on a logical level" he replied "But emotionally? Professionally?" added Kris questioningly. "I do not want to prevent his growth as an officer. Staying here with me, especially if that means passing up some really good opportunities...that could hamper his career significantly, Merith."

Kris looked at the woman. "I'll talk to him about it" he added with a heavy sigh.

Maica had made it back from Kris's ready room back to the lab that Andy had commandeered and she was exhausted. It was a feeling she didn't like one bit, either. Locking herself back into her diagnostics frame, she slumped against the back wall, letting it support her and sighing heavily.

"Hey there," came a tired voice from the workbench nearby. The tired, slumped figure of Andy Carter rolled her chair over to the diagnostics frame and started to input some commands into it's console. "Got a bit of a workout, huh? Well just rest for a moment, you'll feel better soon," Andy said to soothe her wife, adjusting the cable attached to her arm so she could reach up to take Maica's hand. "Just rest, love, I've got you."

Maica squeezed her wife's hand tenderly, smiling her brightest smile. She was so lucky to have found Andy. She was also very lucky they had both survived their recent ordeal. "How are you doing, though? You know I'm more worried about you than me."

"Tired, but I'll be okay," Andy said. It wasn't a complete lie, she would be okay, but she felt far more than tired; it still felt like her brain was trudging through molasses, it was so hard to think, but ultimately she would be fine. "I got good news; all your squishy bits held up well, they'll bounce back now that your reactor's running, no need to grow replacements like I feared. This even toughened them up a bit, you'll be more resilient in the future. Oh, and I'm almost done writing the new emergency shut-down procedures in case this ever happens again; you won't have to worry about degradation to your consciousness or neural net in the event of another power drain."

"Thank you, my wife. The goal is to never need to do that again though." Maica was still worried about Andy, but she had to tell her about the meeting in Kris's office. "I have good news too. I got promoted to Captain and was assigned to the Hope class starship USS Merlin."

"Don't worry, love, once I can think more clearly, I'll work on finding a way to prevent this from happening again; I have an idea, just on the edge of my mind, you won't ever have to fear dampening fields again," Andy promised Maica, leaning back in her chair with a weary sigh, though Maica's news left the biggest smile on Andy's face. "Congratulations, Captain... guess this means I need to have a talk with the Daystrom Institute about the location of my permanent lab space," she said with her trademark grin.

"You'll have free reign of all the lab space you want. The Merlin is a diplomatic and medical ship, but there are several labs dedicate to cybernetics and I of course plan on having one installed next to our quarters." Maica assured her.

"Oooh, I love it when you talk like that," Andy said with a chuckle, then winced with a queasy 'oooh'. She put a hand over her face, looking even paler than she normally did as she wilted further into her chair. "What I wouldn't give for one of your famous head massages right now..." she said quietly, rubbing at her natural green eye as a headache started to set in.

With Maica locked into her diagnostics rack, there was little more she could do than look at Andy worriedly and offer some comforting words. "When I get out of this thing, you are so getting the best full body massage I can give."

"No rush, I just want you better," Andy said wearily. "I'd bounce back faster if I could still regenerate," she said, and while part of her did miss the familiarity of regeneration, she was glad her alcove was gone and she'd never go back to it even if she could.

"Better to sleep in a bed than an alcove. This diagnostics rack is bad enough." It didn't look much like a Borg alcove, but they both shared similar design elements that were not lost on Maica. "You know what I want when we're better? A banana split with extra caramel while sitting on a beach somewhere."

"Hmmm, we could break in the holodeck on your new ship," Andy said with a grin despite the headache. "I'd love to fantasize about what I want, but I really don't want to throw up again," she added, though she was already thinking of a gigantic steak and a baked potato.

"Fair enough." Maica chuckled softly. "So... Do you think it's possible for me to get boob envy? My new XO is a Taurosian with boobs rumored to dwarf even mine."

"Bigger doesn't mean better," Andy stated as though it should have been obvious. "I'd suffocate in boobs any bigger than yours! Besides, your are perfectly squeezable and I get to touch them whenever I want."

Chuckling softly, Maica smiled softly. "This is true. And I can attest to how amazing mine are. It's still a curiosity thing, you know? Anyway, what's the plan for moving all our things in storage? If I'm taking a command, there's a LOT of booze that needs to be moved."

"Well, a lot of our stuff is still in storage on Earth, so it's just a matter of having it shipped out," Andy reminded her; when they had come out to the Camelot, they had been on their honeymoon, they hadn't even settled in to their new home yet. "I'm sure it won't be much of a problem to have someone go pack up our stuff and send it to us."

"It might take an entire courier ship to do it though." Then another thought occurred to Maica. "When do you think we'll be able to celebrate? When will it be safe to drink?"

"As long as you don't go crazy, it should be safe to drink tomorrow, but I can't promise that you won't be queasy. Day after that you should be fine, but I think I might take a bit longer," Andy replied. "And don't worry about our stuff, we can make a list of what's really important to us to be sent express. But really, it's just stuff; as long as we're together that's all that I care about."

"I agree with the caveat that you get better as quickly as possible. I'm not celebrating shit unless you can enjoy yourself too." Insisted Maica.

"I'm working on it," Andy promised with a slight nod. "I'll be able to get in a good rest now that I know you're out of the woods."

"Then rest you shall. And you'll have the best pillow on the ship once I get out of this thing." Maica spoke with a slightly sultry tone, looking forward to being able to when they could sleep together again.

"Give it a couple more hours in there and your power reserves will be replenished enough that your reactor can do the rest from there. In the meantime, I'll call Jenni, have a tap set up in our room so I can continue to charge, then we can both rest," Andy said, eager to fall asleep against Maica's voluptuous bosom.

"That sounds like a good plan. That way I can pamper you in our quarters." Maica spoke softly, looking forward to it. The part she wasn't looking forward to was that the ship was still low on power. It was ration bars for a while for everyone. "I hate to even think about them... But can you hand me one of those ration bars? I'm starting to get hungry and I think I can stomach a bite or two."

"Alright, but just a little bit, you're not quite ready for a full stomach yet," Andy said, scooting back to her workbench to grab a ration bar, then back to Maica to hand it to her. Thus far, Andy hadn't eaten anything, they couldn't afford the power for the liquid nutritional supplement she usually consumed when her system was out of whack.

Tearing the package open, Maica nibbled on one corner of the bar, immediately feeling her organelles kicking in and starting to squishily work again. "Nothing like a ration bar to get the juices flowing," she commented sourly. She'd eaten cardboard that tasted better.

"I know it ain't that great, but we'll have power enough for replicators soon; I can feel the warp core trying to stabilize, so it won't be much longer now," Andy assured her. Maica's hunger was a good sign, it meant her metabolism was kicking back in, and with energy gained from nourishment it meant that her power reserves would be replenished that much faster. Maica had succumb to the dampening field so fast, but she was bouncing back fast as well; likewise, Andy had taken longer to fall victim to the field, and it was evident now as she finally started to nod off that it was going to be a while before she fully recovered...

Maica smiled with relief now that Andy was getting some rest. She chewed quietly as she watched her wife sleep.

Andy stepped into the lab that had been allocated for her use while she was aboard the Camelot. Kris had asked for her assistance in preparing for potential Borg encounters, but at the moment she had something else in mind; fixing Nathan's arm. His bio-prosthetic had been damaged on Talos IV and he'd spent 8 months with a busted up arm, and Andy didn't see why he had to go one more day without a repair. She reviewed the scans and repair notes left behind by the little Cairn Engineer, then prepared her work space and began fabricating new parts. After a while, she sent a message to Nathan to come see her at his convenience, then continued working.

Nathan was sitting in his office going through some paperwork. He found it funny how ever the most mundane tasks were a joy to get back to after being away for so long. But the alert that he had a message drew his attention. His grin turned to a huge smile when he saw who it was from.

It only took a few moment for Nathan to show up in Andy's lab. He could not help but laugh a little as the thought crossed his mind, "Andy's lab, its been a long time since I got to visit Andy's lab. It would be nice to have this become a more permanent thing around here."

Andy wouldn't have minded sticking around but her place wasn't here, but she had a job to do with the Daystrom institute! Not that she couldn't do that job just about anywhere including on the Camelot, but if she was going to make such a request, then she would do so after Maica made her decision regarding the opportunity to Command her own ship; Andy would follow Maica anywhere, but if she turned down the ship being offered then Andy was seriously considering broaching the subject with Maica to stay here! But that was neither here nor there, she was here for now and she fully intended on making the most of her time while she was here.

As Nathan entered the lab, he could see Andy hunched over a workstation working on some parts both replicated and hand manufactured, polishing them in preparation for immediate use. There was already a comfortable chair set up with some working space attached to the arm of the chair so she could open up the prosthetic to make repairs. All she needed now was a Nathan to sit in this chair, and by the sound of the door swishing open she guessed she had succeeded in capturing an ideal specimen!

"Hey stranger," she said with a crooked grin as she swiveled on her stool to face her dear friend. "I tell ya what, Nate, you really know how to put a dent into my handiwork!" Which couldn't have been easy, this was Borg level durability resilience she had created! But she certainly didn't blame him for that, it wasn't his fault; these things happen and that's why she'd always have a job fixing things when they would break.

"I am sure this arm saved my life Andy." Nathan said as he slipped into the chair. "And even then it continued to function, just not as well as it did before. This arm is almost as tough as you." He said with a grin. "We need to go shooting while your here."

"Well, as soon as I get you fixed up, we can do just that," Andy said with a grin as she rolled herself over to Nathan's chair and set some things out. "I can't wait for you to see the bow I made for you. It's pretty damned strong, you could probably punch arrows through deck plating with that thing!" she said proudly as she began to work on the arm, opening the synthetic skin to expose the inner workings. "Now let's see what we got here..."

"I need to try out the super bow you made for me." Nathan said with a grin as he watched Andy start to work on his arm. "Its going to feel so good to get this thing working correctly again."

"I bet... I remember when my hand was totally gimped from my assimilation, having to work one handed for a while sucked," Andy said as she worked. "The good news is the damage was not that bad, and that little Cairn chickadee did a decent patch job. All things considered, the arm held up well; it was built tough, like you," she added with a grin.

"Did you hear about how I almost killed her?" Nathan asked, referring to driving a sword through the woman's chest. Lucky for both of them, it has been a Talosian mind trick.

"No, I didn't," Andy said, glancing at Nathan with a raised brow. "What happened?" she asked as she pulled a part out Nathan's arm and tossed it aside, then reached over to her work bench to get the replacement part.

"The Talosians made me think she was a Borg and that I had a sword to fight them with. So I stabbed her." Nathan shrugged his left shoulder.

Andy paused in her tinkering, giving him a hard, yet playful stare. "Not sure if I should be offended or not. Is this something I should be afraid of, am I getting stabbed in my sleep?" She of course didn't mean it, she was just messing with him, but come one, how could she not after a story like that! "Stabbing a Borg with a sword, that's pretty hardcore," she said with a snicker as she resumed her work. "Hope she didn't take it personally, that would suck."

"Better regenerate with one eye open." He joked, knowing full well that Andy didn't need to recharge any longer. "Well she did fix my arm after I apologized. Well and I helped take care of her on the Klingon ship. She hates being touched."

"She hates being touched? How does that work?" Andy asked with a chuckle. "Flex your wrist... good, now lemme see some rotation-perfect!" she added as she worked, watching the arm's innards work as Nathan complied with her request. "At least she's got some balls to be going on a Klingon ship like that, those ain't party cruises!" she commented as she grabbed a couple more parts off the workbench. "You had a chance to talk with anyone about what happened on Talos? I mean, are you coping alright? After what happened with them Section 31 ass-hats and now this... I can't help but worry about how you're doing."

"I am seeing Qinzel regularly." he said, following Andy's directions. "But being back with everyone here is making things a lot better. Honestly being on Talos was not all that bad. Just missed everyone. The worst thing was missing Jhu be pregnant. I swear I could feel the protection pheromones even on the planet." Nathan joked.

"Well, I know I won't be around the Camelot forever, so make use of me while you can," Andy said with a grin. "But I'm glad you're doing alright, and I'm glad you and Jhu are back together; you two deserve to be happy." Andy looked over the arm with an approving nod. "How does that feel? If it feels good, I'll close it back up."

"Feels like normal again." Nathan said with a smile as he worked the are a little, then set it back down so Andy could close it back up. "I said it before, I'll say it again. What am I going to do with out you Red?"

"Die of boredom, no doubt," Andy said with a grin as she made some final adjustments then started to close up the arm. "I'll be sticking around for a little while, and if you're worried about the arm once I'm gone, I'll leave some spare parts and make sure Jenni knows how to maintain it. But there's no getting of me; just 'cause I'll have to leave eventually don't mean I ain't gonna find ways to be a part of your life. We're family, Nate, and that's forever."

"It had better be forever, cause I will find you." Nathan threatened with a smirk. Not that it was really a threat, more of a promise really. How many times had Andy helped Jhu find him now?

With a chuckle, Andy finished closing up the arm, then tugged his sleeve back into place. "Alright now, don't go breaking that again or I will hurt you!"

"And I believe you." Nathan said while flexing his arm and hand. "Back to arm wrestling Klingon's!"

Adam stood in the very middle of sickbay. He was immediately surrounded by stacks of all the equipment available to him. A number of nurses, assistants, and other medical staff formed a second ring. They stared at the new chief medical officer with a mix of confusion and amusement. Adam was neck deep in rearranging sickbay to his personal satisfaction.

"Laser scalpels over there and hyposprays by the biobeds. Hmmm.... I may need to send a request to engineering to move these beds around, actually." Adam muttered to himself. "Here you two, move this scanner. Work together, please."

In short order sickbay was rearranged and immaculately clean. Adam allowed himself a grin. He could get used to it here.

It had been a whirlwind 24 hours for Nathan. First with the ship being crippled and invaded, then by the shocking news of the birth of his daughter. To say that he was beat both physically and emotionally was an understatement. But Jhu needed the rest more than Nathan did, so he was currently on baby duty while she slept.

A small area of the sick bay had been set up so the new family could have some privacy. Nathan stepped out into the main area of sickbay holding his tiny daughter in his arms. He was not looking for anything in particular, just pacing as he gently bounced the new baby while she too slept. "Its been a long day for all of us..." He whispered to the sleeping baby.

Adam's head popped over the man's shoulder. "Hello!" he said enthusiastically before catching sight of the sleeping baby. Adam quickly lowered his voice. "Oh I'm sorry. We're not disturbing you, are we?"

The baby stirred, but luckily didn't wake. Nathan turned to face the man he had not seen before, but the uniform clued him in that this must be one of the medical staff. " You are fine." Nathan said with a forced and weak smile. The man was clearly tired and stressed out. "Commander Nathan Tonkin. I would normally shake your hand but my arms are full at the moment."

Tag

The doors of Sickbay opened and Jordyn Elbrun leaned his head out, checking to see if anyone was around. His uniform had been used during the birth of Jhu's baby, and with the power issues, he was unable to replicate a new one from Sickbay. So now he found himself in just his underwear, wrapped in a blanket, padding through the corridors to the Quartermaster's office, hoping he can get a set of quarters and perhaps something to wear.

So far, for his first few hours on board, things weren't going very well. But at least he was back on board a Starship. His last one had been destroyed and he had spent the last few weeks living in a shuttlecraft hoping to find some sort of help. And now he needed a shower, and a fresh pair of clothes. Both he'd gone without for way too long.

As he turned a corner, he was met with the last thing he wanted to see: another person. Someone he didn't know was walking towards him, and no doubt would have questions. An unidentifiable person was sneaking through the halls wrapped in just a blanket. Who wouldn't have questions.

"HI there," he said, hoping that being friendly would set the situation off to a good start.

To say that Nathan had been having a tough year would be an understatement. After everything he had been through, now he learned that he didnt even get to be present for the birth of his daughter. That on top of the ship being crippled and boarded and it was turning out to be one of the tougher days in his life. But all he wanted now was to see Jhu and Kristina, but he came up short when he damn near collided with a naked man wrapped in a blanket walking the halls.

The lack of a uniform instantly put Nathan on edge and he grabbed the man and slammed him into the closest wall. "Do not struggle..." He growled into the mans ear, yet deep down something hoped the man would fight back. Nathan needed to blow off some stress.

Jordyn immediately tried to push the man off of him, but trying to fight back while holding a towel around yourself was certainly not easy. He was able to push a few inches, but the man still firmly held him against the wall. "Get the fuck off of me," he said, trying to sound intimidating.

Oh good, a fight. "I am Commander Tonkin of the USS Camelot and head of security." He said as he slammed the man back into the wall. "You have about 5 seconds to tell me who you are before I place you under arrest."

The shorter of the two men winced, the last shove put his head into the bulkhead with impressive force. He blinked a few times as he realized who this man was. He'd heard Jhu talk about him a couple times over the past few hours. He was the father. "I'm Lieutenant Jordyn Elbrun. I just helped deliver your child," he said.

The speed that Nathans hands went from forceful and ready to pound this man into the ground to kind and helpful was dizzying. In a split second Jordyn went from being crushed into the bulkhead to being turned around and held up. "I am so sorry Lieutenant. Please forgive me." Nathan pleaded.

"No, no, it's fine," Jordyn said, finding the man had a unique way for being both forceful and gentle. Most people he met could only be one or the other. "A man without clothes is wandering the corridors, it's only natural for you to be suspicious." He glanced around, making sure he was still completely covered by the blanket. He didn't want to be exposed.

There was no air of authority to Nathan at the moment. "So...uh, you are the one who helped Jhu. I cant tell you how grateful I am to you." He spoke and pretended not to notice at Jordyn adjusted the blanket around himself. "I was just heading to sick bay, I happen to know where they keep some spare uniforms. I guess the old doc liked to have a few on hand incase he got messy and needed a quick change."

"I tried those, they don't fit. But I'm on my way to see the quartermaster, so I'm sure he'll have something that'll fit me. At least until we get the power back on." Jordyn smiled, "And Jhu and the baby are doing great. You should definitely go see them."

Nathan grimaced, "You will have to go to the mess hall to find him, that's four decks up and in the direction of the front of the ship." He pointed around the corner, "The nearest tub access is back over there where I came from. It's a long climb, better tie that blanket around you."

Jordyn looked down at the blanket, then back up to the Commander. "Well, if anyone is climbing up behind me, they're going to have a show," he said with an awkward half smile.

Nathan could not help but chuckle. "considering our crew, I am sure most would enjoy said show." Nathan changed the subject, "You look unharmed, was Jhu at least decent to you?"

"Considering she was a woman giving birth in a shuttlecraft, she was fantastic. I lost my uniform in the process, but it was unavoidable."

"A half Romulan Woman." Nathan pointed out with an air of knowing. "oh...how exactly did an unknown man get into a Camelot shuttle craft when I myself could not even get on there before it left the shuttle bay?"

"I was actually coming to their rescue. I was the Chief Science Officer on the USS Starlancer, and unfortunately its only survivor. I've been living on a shuttle for weeks trying to get back home when I came upon their shuttle, which was without power." Jordyn had forgotten for a moment that he hadn't showered in those few weeks, having just the bare essentials to stay alive. He hoped he wasn't too olfactoriaely offending for the Commander.

"That's quite a story Lieutenant. You are lucky to be alive." Nathan said.

Jordyn nodded, quietly, as he looked at the floor. "Luckier than most," he said.

Nathan put a hand on the mans shoulder. They were both Starfleet officers, that meant they had both felt lose in their lives. "We have a hell of a councilor on board. Shes a little goofy, but shes a fantastic listener. I would suggest you utilize her."

"Thanks, Tonkin," Jordyn replied. "You should get in there, I know Jhu was waiting for you. And I need clothes."

"Of course, and welcome aboard." Nathan said with a nod. "Thank you again for what you did for my family today."

"Anytime," Jordyn said as he turned and walked the direction the other man had directed.

Lieutenant Da'Kar was dressed in a teal colored jumpsuit with two Engineering kits at his side as he crouched down and started taking out the damaged gel packs and replaced them with some from out of one of the kits. He was a science officer by position, but had been well educated in operations and engineering while a cadet at Starfleet Academy. The USS Camelot was operating once again at about a quarter (25%) of its usual power output. That said, they were underway nonetheless. However, traveling at just shy of warp factor three when your starship could easily push into the nines or use slipstream was rather embarrassing.

All the alien invaders were off the starship and Sickbay was busy treating the wounded. There were several deaths aboard the USS Camelot, several senseless deaths that Da'Kar was uncertain if he would ever come to terms with. When there was meaning or purpose behind someone taking a life... at least there was some sort of reasoning for it. These aliens had just invaded, drained power, and took several lives before being forced to retreat by Camelot's security forces. Distracted, Da'Kar found himself starring off into nothingness and not hearing nor sensing the arrival of his repair partner, Lieutenant Seras.

Seras was likewise in a jumpsuit, only in Operations yellow, and she carried with her a power cell from Engineering to prime the generators for the bridge until the full power could be restored to the ship. She looked tired yet somehow managed to have the endless enthusiasm for her work. Still, that enthusiasm couldn't suppress the silent but heavy sigh as she came up to Da'Kar to check his progress. She didn't need to be a telepath to know that he was distracted, she could see it in his face and his work. She knelt beside him, setting the power cell aside and tapped him on the hand to get his attention. Then she reached into compartment to point out a gel pack he'd installed incorrectly, popped the pack out and and snapped it into place correctly. Normally she would have given him verbal instructions, but her vocal synthesizer was still dead, and while she could communicate with him telepathically, she'd already given him one headache by 'talking' too much so she was opting to remain silent unless communication was absolutely necessary.

He had realized Seras had returned once she began work again, causing Da'Kar to feel like he needed to talk about what was on his mind even if her vocal synthesizer wasn't yet properly working. "Sorry, Lieutenant. I've been a bit distracted...I just can't get the whole thing out of mind at all. I've seen people die before and I've lost friends in Starfleet, but it was always because of an attack or a war. We lost people during an attack that was unprovoked and so far there's no explaining why" he said shaking his head. "I just wish we knew why they attacked us" he added.

Seras released a soft exhale with a small smile; she could understand his feelings, his worry, she felt many of the same things he did, but all she could do in this moment to answer his concerns was to place a hand on his should in an attempt to offer some much needed comfort, a gesture that was quickly stifled when she drew her hand back, uncomfortable with even that little bit of contact.

Sensing her emotional response Da'Kar smiled just a tad. "It's okay, you don't need to do the whole emotional support thing by patting me of the back or wherever other cultures deem it appropriate" he responded. He took a deep breath. "I've been weighing my options. The Captain presented me with an opportunity to transfer to another starship when we reach the starbase. I have at least a couple of days to decide, but I'm not sure if I want to leave the Camelot or stay here."

"My aversion to contact is personal, not cultural," Seras explained simply as she retrieved the power cell and moved over to the generator to continue working. She let him feel a hint of her fear as well as her desire to overcome that fear so she could give everyone a big hug. Then she let him feel her curiosity, the wonder of why he might want to leave.

It took a little while for Lieutenant Da'Kar to sort out Seras' response to him, especially since she was not yet able to vocalize her responses. He had to rely on his Empathic abilities to do so and whatever connection he and Seras could share. Little by little the picture became clearer and clearer. "I understand" he said simply, a collective response to everything. "I...I can't say that I want to leave exactly, but there's a lot of opportunity out here and I've been offered a position on the USS Morgan Le Fae, a science vessel that I think Captain Merith is going to command. It's one thing to be on a great starship like the Camelot, but my heart has always been in science...and that starship is going to be the backbone of science and exploration out here."

Seras nodded as she worked; it was good that he was leaving for his love of science and not because he didn't like the Camelot! "Come visit from time to time?"

"I'll communicate when I can, but visiting...that's all in the hands of fate. Space is large and we're venturing into the unknown" he said with a smile. As exciting and as alarming as that may be thought the Lieutenant.

Seras smiled, musing at the thought of how big space was; but after all the crew had been through in a relatively short amount of time, it had brought thr crew close, like family, and Seras was sad to see Da'Kar leave. "I'm almost done here. how are you doing with those gel packs?" she asked as she finally got the backup generator for the bridge module online.

"Gel packs are nearly replaced, Lieutenant" he replied with a simple nod. "Just another minute" he added.

Seras nodded in reply and began to clean up some of the mess they had made in the area with the repairs, but after a moment she grew still like she was listening for something; in reality, she sensed something, but she wasn't certain what it was exactly that she was sensing...

"You are sensing something?" he asked her as he could not sense it himself yet, but he could sense her nervousness and slight anxiety. "I'm not feeling anything myself yet" he admitted.

Seras' mouth moved as though she was about to speak, but then she remembered her vocal synthesizer was still dead. Then she shook her head with a sigh. "I do not know what I am feeling," she admitted with a frown forming on her features, clearly not liking this feeling.

It was then that Da'Kar saw something heading their way. "What the...Seras" he said backing away a bit and trying to coach her to follow him. Da'Kar pressed his index fingers to his lips and hope that she understood the gesture. However, even if she didn't he was trying to tell her non-verbally in their own way 'Be quiet...be very quiet' he thought silently.

The sounds they had been hearing..or what they had been sensing was coming from somewhere above. Da'Kar had caught a glimpse of it when he crawled past a junction point and looked up. They much have gotten out during the power failures he thought to himself.

Seras understood the gesture and nodded, moving closer to him, trying to get a peek at whatever it was that he was seeing. What was that? Was that a... bat? When had they picked up bats? It took her a moment to realize that they had been on a rural world helping with the water supply, but she didn't recall taking on any of the wildlife, although she had been quite busy at the time. As far as she knew, bats weren't usually harmful, so this little guy was probably just lost and scared. Taking her chances, Seras crawled up the junction to follow the bat. if she could just get it into a corner, maybe she could grab it and take it back to the science lab.

Da'Kar shook his head Why...how am I going to explain this one thought the half Klingon. The lieutenant felt comfortable in speaking in a low hushed voice. "They aren't dangerous to us really. I've been studying them in the Science lab" explained the young scientist. "They probably went up there because its darker, small, and compact. It's more like their natural habitat than what we have them in back in the lab."

Seras nodded as she followed the little critter flitting about the junction. She held still as it flew by her several times, watching its flying patterns until... Her hand popped out and caught the little guy mid-swoop. It flailed about helplessly in her hand, her fingers curled gently around the mousy body. It was clearly scared, so she tucked it against her body for a moment to calm down. Then she carefully crawled back to Da'Kar with a smile, unzipping her duty jacket so she could tuck the bat safely into her jacket until they could get it back to the lab, feeling it latch onto her work shirt with its little toe claws as it made itself comfortable in this cozy little hidey spot.

"You have a way with bats" said Da'Kar with a small smile. "If you don't mind holding onto him a while, we can take him back to the lab and get him secured so he doesn't go flying about scaring people" he said with a sigh. "You wouldn't believe how many people have a problem with them" he said with a nod.

Scared? Of this little guy? Nah! If Seras could have laughed in this moment, she would have, and instead followed Da'Kar with a broad smile, not minding at all having a little hitchhiker in her jacket as they worked.

Jordyn walked down the corridor from his new quarters, this time wish more confidence. He still didn't have a uniform, but the quartermaster was similar in size enough to borrow a set of clothes. The jeans fit like a glove but the shirt was a bit tighter than he would have normally preferred. But at least he was clothed and he was able to take a shower. It was the little things that sometimes brought the most joy.

Even though his hair was a bit damp, the ship was still in trouble. And now that he was temporarily assigned as Chief of Science, he needed to see if there was anything he could do. From what he was told, there was an Assistant Chief and he was last seen in the Deflector Control room. So that is where Jordyn found himself.

"Hello?" he called out as he entered the room.

A diagnostic in the Deflector Control Room was certainly NOT Scott Fisher's idea of a good time. Yet, there it was, on his work schedule when he walked into the language lab to start his shift. Every science officer had to endure two menial tasks in the start of their career, filing sensor analysis readings and reports, and various diagnostics - like in deflector control. He stood at a large terminal, with a large monitor mounted to the bulkhead. He held a PaDD in his hand, his blue eyes flitting between the info on the PaDD and the large monitor. The fingers of his free hand danced over the controls over the work station. Essentially, he was in the 'Fisher Zone', a name given to him by a classmate at the Academy. The 'Fisher Zone' was named due to the intensity in which Scott would wrap his work around him. He wasn't entirely certainly he liked having a 'zone' named after him, but like with most things he just let it go.

At the sound of a 'Hello', Scott looked up from his work, and with curiosity, looked over his shoulder. "Hello," he said to the man who was casually dressed.

"Are you Fisher?" Jordyn asked, walking fully into the room. He looked around, glad to see that deflector control was at least running on emergency power.

Giving pause, Scott turned fully to face the other man. The two were the same height, but the other man had a bit more of bulk on him. The steel gray eyes were unique in Scott's experience and he figured the man wasn't a human. Only a second had passed, and he offered the other man a small smile. "That would be me," he said. "Actually it's Lieutenant Scott Fisher, or well Starfleet says that is what I have to say. Technically my academic title is Doctor Scott Fisher, but Starfleet seems to be a stickler about rank first and academic title second, unless it seems if one is a medical doctor or counselor. It's so weird, there are a lot of scientists who have doctorates... anyway, now that you know who I am, who might you be?"

Jordyn raised an eyebrow at the man. He certain did talk a lot. "I'm Lieutenant Jordyn Elbrun. I'm the new Chief of Science," he said, extending his hand towards the other man with a smile. He was trying his best to be pleasant. The Assistant Chief probably wasn't the happiest at being passed over for promotion to someone new on board.

"Ah," Scott took a hold of the other man's hand and gave a firm shake, "so you are the man who replaced the big oaf of a non-smiling man that was our last chief of science." Scott didn't know Nichols all that well, but he knew the man was quite brilliant, but a stickler for organization. The rumor mill stated that Nichols went with the other captain (who he could never remember her name), on her ship. He heard the assignment was more suited to the big guy. Scott withdrew his hand, feeling that the right amount of time passed to do so. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you. Though, I didn't expect to meet the new department head in deflector control, but stranger things have happened. We could have ran into each other in the bathroom or something, and wouldn't that have been awkward." A low whistle, and a shake to his head followed. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"Are you nervous, Lieutenant?" Jordyn asked, not answering the man's question.

Scott shook his head. "Nope," he answered simply. "I don't get nervous around those who are my superiors in rank and position." Which was the truth, Scott Fisher had a lot of things in his life that made him anxious, but dealing with superiors wasn't one of those things. Not that he dealt with many superiors in his career. Being an academic, he interacted with those on his intellectual level, and that was comforting. But, that man who stood before him, nah, didn't make him nervous.

"Alright, you're just talking a lot, and quickly. Tends to be a sign of nervousness." Jordyn looked around the room. "So how long have you been aboard the Camelot?"

"I tend to talk a lot, and quickly," Scott replied, the other man clearly had a lot to learn when it came to the mind of Scott Fisher. "As for your question, I've been on board since the Camelot launched. I came on board as the senior language specialist, it's just been recently I've been given more responsibility. Which, of course, I don't mind. I have a lot to offer in the way of knowledge. Like for instance, I have this whole ship memorized, every thing, right down to which support beams make up the saucer section space frame." He waved over the other man. "I've been working on a way to enhance the deflector array, it was being under utilized in a lot of ways. I've written several new programs and algorithms for engineering to look at on how we can not only tie our deflector better into the sensor array, but utilize it's power source in case of an emergency."

Jordyn stopped and looked at the man, raising an eyebrow. "That's impressive." He leaned against a bulkhead and looked at the younger man. He was only recently promoted to assistant chief of the department, so most likely no hard feelings would be expressed about the new department head. "What got you started on that idea?" he asked.

Scott Fisher shrugged at the question. "I'm a multi tasker. One day I didn't have anything to do in the language lab, so I looked at the Camelot's power levels. They are sometimes in a sorry state and not handled properly all the time. There are a few independent systems that get under utilized due to incompatibility or we just don't think of it. The deflector array just happens to be one of those slightly incompatible, but under utilized things that we have. It just took some figuring out how to make it work to our advantage, and I did the math. It's nothing really, but if it helps us in an emergency situations, or boosts our sensor range and clarity then I see it as a good thing." At that, he smiled at the new chief.

Jordyn nodded. "Makes sense." He sighed, "Well, I have a lot to do. I just wanted to stop in and introduce myself. If you need anything, just let me know."

Scott nodded as well. "Yep, sure thing," he replied. He gave the lieutenant a smile then turned back to the workstation, he did, after all, have a diagnostic to finish.

Adam had unashamedly fallen back on luring crew to sickbay. How else was he supposed to meet more of his fellows aboard this floating tin can?

"Computer. Send a request to all senior staff that they must report to sickbay for a follow-up wellness check regardless of recently documented physicals," Adam said allowed to the eye rolls of his staff.

The newly minted CMO began laying out his equipment. The time was well after normal duty hours. He should be seeing some of the requested officers soon.

Atom strolled into sickbay, his long tail swishing back and forth behind him and looked around. He wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the new Doctor. He had had a physical before he had joined the crew, but it had been a minute since that had happened. He hadn't noticed any fur loss and he'd been keeping his diet as raw as he could, but with replicator food it was never an easy struggle. Although, he hadn't had any stomach upset as of late. He smiled at Adam when he spotted him and tried not to nervously eye the equipment, but he couldn't help his twitching whiskers. "Greetings Doctor," he said, trying to keep his nervousness out of his smile and voice. "And how are you today? I got your request. I gotta tell you, I did have one... although the request stated that it was sort of regardless of that..." His tail bounced a few times before it continued its lashing back and forth.

Tag

Scott Fisher sneezed.

Then sneezed again.

He sniffled, and wiped his nose with the hanky he had in his hand. It was odd to sneeze in an environment with recycled, sterile air. But, particulates were always around, particulates which could get stuck up in the nasal canal and make one sneeze. He sneezed again. Oh boy! He wiped his nose, and continued on his way toward the language lab. The one good thing about being the senior language specialist was that he typically had the lab to himself. There weren't too many people like him in Starfleet these days, especially with things like universal translators, but his job entailed more than that. Not every species Starfleet encountered could be recognized, but it was also about culture and tradition. Some languages were based in glyphs, other times he was called on to translate some ancient text. Other times, he did his own research into dead languages - like the old Andorian tongue - which was fascinating. Overall though, his days were filled, and he had very little time to just twiddle his thumbs.

Scott entered the lab and stopped short when he saw a man, who was only slightly shorter than himself, standing at the central work station. He did a quick seizing up of the other man. Skin that was lighter than mocha, and faint forehead ridges. Definitely half-Klingon. The other half? Human perhaps? Maybe more human than Klingon? He knew that forehead ridges were a prominent trait even in Klingon/human off-spring, and that the ridges were a genetic trait that took generations of Klingon/human conjugations to weed out. The uniform was quite different from his own, but Starfleet in nature. Civilian maybe? Non-com for sure. All of this went through Scott Fisher's head in slightly over a second. "Hello," he said as he approached the central work station.

MaS was absorbed in trying to get the infernal contraption to divulge its knowledge of Antican birthday celebrations (One of the crew members had a birthday coming up and they were OBSESSED with the canine-race). But he turned when he heard the door open. He quickly sized up the newcomer. He grinned to himself, I guess I'm the newcomer here , he thought ruefully.

He nodded to the man respectfully, when he said "hello" and began walking towards MaS, but he wasn't sure exactly who he was (it had only been a day or so so since he boarded the Camelot, and he hadn't had much time to memorize the personnel roster Another thing to add to my list of to-do items. He went back to his work slightly self-consciously, aware that he was taking up this man's time. And the fact that he was woefully inept at using the console. Maybe I should ask him how to best utilize this database? he thought.

MaS put on his best smile, "Sorry, I didn't mean to appear rude. It's just you caught me in the middle of trying to figure out this new database" he held out his hand, "I'm MaS Måne. Pleasure to meet you."

Scott took a hold of the hand and gave it a shake. "Lieutenant Scott Fisher," he replied in kind. "Well, I can help you out with that... this is my lab after all, and who better than me to help you with the database." He looked at the monitor for a moment then turned his attention back to MaS. "I am never sure why things that have been in place a long time, things that work, have to get changed. It truly is beyond me, but no one ever asks what we think, some higher up decides these things." He shook his head at that, the new databases were getting on everyone's nerves, but Scott had figured it out quite easily. "The powers that be are worried about database breaches, and all that. We might have secure channels and ways to secure information, but it is always still breathable." He tapped his fingers against the workstation. "Basically, you just have to enter your search parameters here," he pointed to the area of the screen he was indicating, "and make sure you have the computer list all entries alphabetical, and voila."

"Thanks," MaS said with a small smile, "I'm glad I ran into you, or I'd be here forever!" MaS quickly typed in Antican birthday rituals, and added sub-parameters for food, decor, and customs. That aught to do it he thought to himself. He turned to Fisher, "listen, I really cannot thank you enough. Maybe we could grab a hot chocolate sometime? I'd love to learn more about the lab sometime" he smiled, "I have a degree in anthropology myself," he added by way of explanation. "I'm always fascinated by the languages that go with them, how they grow with the culture and vice versa" he checked his watch, "for now, I have to dash" he said quickly downloading the information he needed to his PaDD. "See you around, hopefully?" He grinned.

Holy cow this man is just like me... at least in the talking department, Scott Fisher mused to himself. "Sure, I'm always game for a hot chocolate," he said, "and yep, I'll be around... I mean I'm always around, I do live on the ship after all, and it's not really a big ship." He smiled. "But, I digress. It was good to meet you, MaS." He watched the other man leave the lab, and then sneezed.

Nathan was having a bad day. The ship was still dead in the water and could very well still be invaded, but Nathan had more important things to deal with. He rushed into sickbay, he was still with out his duty jacket and his red undershirt was drenched in sweat but he didn't care about any of that as his eye frantically sweeped sick bay for Jhu.

"Over here," Jhu called, just loud enough to be heard over the various sounds of the sickbay so she didn't disturb their daughter, who was quietly asleep against Jhu's chest. The lighting was extremely dim with the lack of power, but she knew Nathan anywhere.

Nathan was by her side in a flash. He took a seat on the side of the biobed softly and pushed a strand of hair out of Jhu's face. "I'm sorry heis'he." He said to her with a pained look on his face.

"Don't apologize." Careful not to disturb Kristina, Jhu sat up just enough to kiss Nathan and give him a fierce hug. "None of this was anyone's fault, and if I thought for one second today was going to be the day I wouldn't have showed up for my shift at all."

Nathan leaned into the kiss and hug, also very aware of the baby in Jhus arms and careful not to crush her. "Can I see her?" He asked, glancing at the bundle on Jhu's chest.

"You're her father, silly. You don't have to ask." Jhu took a moment to free their tiny daughter from the swaddling blanket, and Kristina squawked in protest, kicking her tiny bare feet at them even as Jhu was settling the baby in Nathan's arms. "I do have to say... if she stays this cute we might be in trouble."

"She has spots and the tiniest pointed ears I have ever seen." Nathan said as he laid his eyes on his daughter for the first time. He gladly welcomed the baby into his arms with a huge smile on his face. "She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

"She's absolutely perfect." Jhu leaned on Nathan's shoulder, grinning a bit as she looked over Kristina's faded spots. Like her own, they were slightly uneven in both pattern and color. "Elements help us when she starts dating."

"Well we have a little while before that starts to happen." Nathan said as he held his girl closer to him and a gentle embrace. "I love you Kristina." He whispered to her and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Thank the heavens for that. I can already tell she's a heartbreaker." Though seeing as how she and Nathan were the girl's parents, maybe being a bonebreaker was more likely.

Nathan took a moment to lean down and give Jhu a gentle kiss as well. "I have never been so in love with you Angel." He whispered softly as he held his daughter to his chest. She was so tiny in Nathans massive arms.

"I'm pretty impressed with myself right now too." Jhu gave him a crooked grin, clearly pleased with her own joke.

TAG

OOC B: Poke! I know you are busy, but wanted to make sure you had not forgotten about out JP ;)

Starbase living quarters
--

Clothing and personal affects were scattered carelessly across Lieutenant (JG) Adam Lash's assigned quarters. He'd told himself the mess was serving a purpose to decide what he wanted to take aboard his next assignment. But deep down he knew everything would just be thrown in the replicator set to recycle. Shortly after, his Betazed mate would call and demand to know why some token of affection wasn't displayed in Adam's new quarters. Adam would stall and Tilian would get angry. That's how the fight always started.

Adam splashed water over his face before he reached for a nearby razor. He had a bad habit of letting his beard grow unchecked between postings. He knew it was against regulations and didn't look too great. But, well, he just couldn't be bothered to do it. Until he had a new post and a new captain to charm, that is.

"Computer, where is the Camelot now?" Adam asked as he dried his chin. He remembered why he didn't like shaving as a baby-face version of himself peered back from the mirror. He needed to find some sort of balance between naked and unruly.

*USS Camelot is docked in the repair wing*

Ok so the ship had finally arrived. "One more question, computer, any recent messages for me?

*One message from Tilian on Betazed pending*

Adam sighed and mulled over what he wanted to do. "Computer, delete message." he finally decided. He didn't an argument with Tilian to distract him right now. Not right before he reported to his new job. The Betazed probably wouldn't understand.

--
USS Camelot
--

Adam boarded the ship from the docking umbilical. He regretted not waiting a little longer as he waded through a flood of unloading crewmen. He seemed to be the only person trying to get on the ship. Molding himself into the curve of the umbilical, he managed to inch past and board the ship. A security man who had noticed his arrival stopped him until Adam flashed a PADD with his new orders. "Permission to come aboard?" Adam asked with a flash of a charming smile.

"Permission granted," the security man grunted. "Do you need an escort to sickbay?"

"No, thank you," Adam replied as he walked away. "I can fumble around until I find that or the captain.... The captain is still aboard, right?"

The security man nodded before returning to his post.

Adam continued to push through the mass of off-loading crew until he reached the deck lift. Once, finally, on the upper decks he seemed to be alone. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of sterile ship-air. The same air that circulated around the starbase but it seemed sweeter here. His heart pounded. He couldn't wait to feel the thrum of Camelot's engine as it carried him out into space. Adam exhaled slowly to calm himself down. The ship would be in dock for a little while yet.

"Computer, illuminate the deck panels at my feet in the direction of the bridge." He said to which the computer beeped and began following his request. Setting one foot in front of the other, Adam headed to his destination.

Captain Kristopher N. Kerouac was glad to hear that his request the fill vacancies in his crew were being taken seriously. He himself had found and appointed someone for Chief Science Officer, but the position of Chief Medical Officer was not one so easily filled. He needed someone immediately before the Camelot set out for the Shardlands near the Delta Quadrant border. He had a lot on his plate and even more on his mind, unsure what he was going to do about Fisher. Do I ask him what he truly wants? pondered Kerouac Do I just make the decision for him? And if I do that what decision do I make...does he stay here aboard the Camelot or join Merith's crew?.

There was not much to be done on the Bridge under blue alert conditions while docked for repairs and crew departures and arrivals. "What the hell have I gotten myself into?" he asked himself aloud as he left his Ready Room and slid into his Captain's seat on the skeletally crewed Bridge. I feel like I need a thorough psych evaluation he thought to himself privately. If there was any great enemy that Kris feared as a Captain, it was not the Borg nor any of the usual suspects. It was a Ship's Counselor, and having one that was formerly an member of the Q did not make things easier.

Opening up about his feelings was difficult enough, but how the hell did one explain love to a Q? Kris' understanding of the Q was small because they often kept to themselves unless causing some starship woes either directly or indirectly. Kris had read an incoming message on a PADD that the ship's newly assigned Chief Medical Officer had made it aboard. He suspected it would only be a matter of time for the man to come find him. Doctors were damn good at that. Hunting you down or waiting for you to cave and come to them.

The computer steered Adam true. He soon stepped off the deck lift and onto the Camelot's command center. He took a moment to take a good, long look around. Adam was sure he wouldn't be getting to see this view very often. It was a very nice view.

The captain's chair was occupied by who Adam could only assume was Captain Kerouac. With his hand extended at the ready to shake, Adam stepped forward. "Afternoon," he said with an easy smile.

"Afternoon" replied Kris. "Unless you are the new interior decorator I asked for" Kris said teasingly. "I believe that makes you our new Chief Medical Officer?" asked the Captain as adjusted his posture in the chair. "We've had our fair share of medical officers" added Kerouac.

"CMO Adam Lash, captain," Adam confirmed. "Though I do have a couple carpeting ideas if you'd like," he teased of the standard Federation design. Allowing only the slightest frown to crease his forehead, Adam also added, "That sounds ominous. Anything I should watch out for?"

Kris waved his hand dismissively and shook his head. "Oh no no no. There was not any ominous reason for it. The first physician I offered the position to turned it down. We had...history. They served under me previously and were not interested in another round of it" said Captain Kerouac in regards to the man. "Our first actual Chief Medical Officer who came aboard was just fine, but An incident in his personal life back home forced him to take an Extended Leave of Absence, and we could only wait so long" explained Kris further.

The meeting did not go on much longer past that. Dr. Adam Lash was not the right man for the job and Kris soon became aware of that. After further discussing matters, Kris started drawing up transfer orders for Adam.

Calling an emergency meeting of his Senior Staff was not very common for Captain Kerouac to do yet it was not entirely unheard of, but these were different days and where the USS Camelot was going was beyond charted space and beyond the outermost limits of known exploration by the Federation and her allies. Even the Klingons and Romulans had not ventured out this far at least not that either would admit to. The Federation had started to have a presence out towards the borders of the Beta and Delta quadrants with the Bradians and a few other species and colonies being on the furthest fringes, but where the USS Camelot would be going was well past even the Bradians knowledge. It was to be a simple exploration mission, cautiously heading for an unknown and uncharted region of space that was simply being marked on the the astrometrics lab star charts as a Beta-X909, but in time the crew of the USS Camelot would come to give the region an infamous name.

A relay station that had finished being constructed on days ago had picked up something that had lead to the USS Camelot new orders and caused Captain Kerouac to call a meeting of select members of his crew. This was not any ordinary meeting by any means even for an unorthodox and extremely unordinary, book out the airlock type of Commanding Officer that Kerouac was. Having members of his crew in his quarters happened every now and then. Kris was a pretty generous host and very open Commanding Officer, but when the Captain requests to hold a meeting of a handful of his crew in his quarters, that is an entirely different story.

His Chief Engineer Jennifer Matthews had left his starship, disembarking as soon as the Camelot arrived at Starbase Avalon in order to arrange for a transport back to the USS Katana. It had been an honor for Kris to have the young woman back under his command, but Matthews felt more at home aboard the Katana than the Camelot which the Captain himself fully understood. Just as the legendary Jean-Luc Picard held a special flame for the USS Stargazer even having commanded two starships bearing the name Enterprise. Kris and many of the crew of the USS Katana like Matthews still had a love for the old Intrepid class. “Some people just are not cut out for the long haul,” he had told himself when overseeing Matthews' departure from his crew. It was clear that Jennifer Matthews was not going to be cut out for the journey ahead of the Camelot, and Kris had made his peace with that. He rather have someone heading Engineering that he knew that he could depend on and as much of a miracle worker as Jenni was, her replacement was a gifted genius with more than a solid head on his shoulders.

Kris stood up from behind his desk in his quarters and headed towards the food and beverage replicator, but ordered nothing but an empty glass. Instead he crouched down and hit a control panel that caused a wide compartment to come forward, illuminating a chest of alcoholic beverage. Not the synthetic crap, but the good stuff, the sort of stuff that he had given up in order to become sober these past several months. He found exactly the poison he was looking for... whiskey, a cinnamon flavored whiskey to be more precise. He poured himself some in a simple short old fashioned style glass. “To the devils at our doorstep,” he said as he quickly slung back the burning liquid that nearly choked him to death as he swallowed, setting his tongue and throat ablaze in a quick yet lingering burn.

The next thing he knew the chime of his door rang and he staggered over the door, answering it with a bit of a grumble but letting in the members of his crew as they showed up one after the other. He kept the doors of his quarters opened after the first guest, knowing the rest were going to be quick to come as soon as they received the summons.

Lifting a momentary eyebrow as he was granted entry, the lieutenant found his way into the private quarters of the captain. While it hadn’t been the first time he’d ventured into the dwelling of a senior officer, holding meetings in them was rather… unorthodox from his perspective. Then again, the engineer himself went about such matters in a somewhat logical manner, finding the nearest appropriate facility that was both private enough to not be interrupted and not of far distance to the invitees. When serving back on a Nova class? That didn’t offer too many inhibitors. The Camelot was a fair bit larger, though — nothing that was intimidating to learn for him, mind you, but hosting in a private sanctum would not have been the first on his list.

Still, he couldn’t discount or argue with the commanding officer. Every leader had their own style, merits, and falls. Ion simply hadn’t been fortunate enough to become accustomed to Kerouac all that well. Not yet, at least. Outside of his initial report in, and working as a liaison between Matthews, whom had since left, his exposure to the man was… limited. Imagine his surprise, when he was summoned to the ready room to be laid before yet another peril — choose between the engineering department falling away from standards to another unknown figure or step up himself. The duty hadn’t been one he took lightly. Any command-focused experience wasn’t, and he had more than his share and aptitude for his age, though it was largely an adventure he preferred to avoid.

Life had its ways, however. That much he couldn’t argue.

“First come first serve seating,” said Kris with a bit of a brooding grunt as he gestured towards the living area of his quarters where a some recent redecorating had placed a dull colored L shaped sectional sofa around a glass coffee table. “It's open bar night too,” commented Kris pointing to the corner of the room where the replicator was and the opened liquor chest.

“Lovely,” was all he could open in response, in a somewhat neutral tone that suggested nothing of a questioning or uninterested nature. Simply equitable and courteous upon the offer. Promptly taking the allocated seat upon the sofa, he waited somewhat stiffly. It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise, given his heritage as part Vulcan. But then again, most hadn’t come to notice his stark difference between professionalism and casualness. For the moment, given the situation in which he didn’t know how to present himself… he erred on the side of caution, not wanting to deliver any inappropriate signals.

As others came into the quarters Kris instructed them to grab something to drink. “We can start this after you all arrive and are settled in,” he added Kris as he walking over and pouring himself another glass. “I'm off duty,” he said excusing himself. “But I don't care if you are or aren't,” he said with a shrug. “Doesn't matter tonight,” added Kerouac.

Stace greeted those who were already there with a nod, and grabbed himself a glass of water.

Atom was totally not prepared to be invited to the Captain's private quarters. The door was open though, when he arrived, and he took that as a sign that he could just walk on in, his long tail bounced around behind him and his tufted ears twitched every which way. He grinned at the two men already in the room, showing just his front teeth in a gesture of goodwill.

When Atom arrived, Stace returned the Caitian's grin with a cheek rub. With his face already close he whispered in Atom's ear. "Two strips of latinum says Kris falls down drunk by the end of the evening."

Atom returned the cheek rub with a little purr and then chuckled softly at the remark.

Kris had noticed the half Vulcan had simply taken a seat on the sofa, having opted to wait patiently for the others to get settled. "I don't usually trust a Chief Engineer that does not drink," commented the Captain. "However, I'll make an excuse with those ears," said the Captain. "But you are welcome to have some Vulcan tea," offered Kerouac.

Unsure if he should have been offended by the remark, though he was not, the lieutenant simply perked his ears upon mention of the ‘excuse’ deemed only because of his physiology. Clearly the captain had dealt with other Vulcans and had come to the expectations of them, likely due to the fact that the vast majority of them did not imbibe alcoholic beverages. Or synthohol, from Ion’s experience. Then again, he had rather unique circumstances, as the only known hybrid Vulcan-Braidan on record, it was a sensation he hadn’t encouraged all that often. During the last incident with the substance involved, his implants treated the invading alcohol as a toxin and immediately attempted to purge it, proving for a rather…uncomfortable several hours.

“Vulcan spice tea would be more than adequate, if it isn’t too much trouble, captain. Though if you insist, I may incline towards an infusion of spiced rum with it, despite being against better judgement…”

Atom followed the Captain across the room to the liquor cabinet and knelt a little to look through it's contents. Some of the items there he was unfamiliar with and some he had not partaken in since the Academy, not that that was that long ago. When the Vulcan on the sofa mentioned spiced rum, Atom's ears perked up and he stood again. "I wouldn't mind some spiced rum myself, but I'll skip the tea if you don't mind." He grinned again. "Of course you'll have to point out to me which one of these colorful concoctions is the rum..."

"Well, I would be a terrible connoisseur of liquor if I only had one bottle of rum," replied Kris as he walked over to the chest of alcohols. "I have several types... but the spiced rum is here," he said pulling out a bottle and handing to the Caitian to pour himself some.

Atom took the bottle from Kris with a flourish and made a little bit of a show pouring his drink. He didn't put a huge amount of liquor in the glass, but he did raise the bottle up and down as he poured it. He offered the bottle back to Kris when he was done, cap returned to the top of bottle, since the Vulcan had expressed an interest as well. He lifted his glass and smelled it, wrinkling his nose a little, his front teeth showing just a hair, and his whiskers twitching wildly. "Mm... well here's to us!" he announced, not waiting for anyone to join his impromptu toast before tossing back a gulp of the rum. His long, tufted ears lay back against his head as he swallowed the burning liquid.

Lieutenant Jordyn Elbrun walked into the Captain's Quarters, looking a bit hesitant before he stepped across the threshold. It seemed unusual to hold a meeting in your private quarters, but he had heard that this Captain was a bit... eccentric. Though eccentricity wouldn't excuse the audacity he had for inviting the Assistant Chief of the department to this meeting. Being new was one thing, but it was obvious the Captain didn't trust him. Perhaps taking the job as Chief of Science wasn't the smartest idea.

"Good evening, all," he said, taking a few steps towards the living area where a few people had already seated themselves, but chose to stand.

Atom waved a paw when the new Lieutenant Elbrun greeted everyone and then made his way back to Stace, grinning the whole time. The initial burning of the rum was gone and had settled into a warm puddle in his belly. He leaned in close to Stace's ear. "So new guy... kinda cute for a human," his voice barely a whisper.

Stace had yet to figure out the logic in whom Atom did and did not find attractive. Stace himself was hopeless judging men, even objectively he simply had no idea. A definite 0 on the kinsey scale. "I guess," he whispered back. Noticing the Captain appeared ready to speak, Stace took a step away and paid attention.

Seras quickly slipped into the room, trying to remain unnoticed if at all possible. While normally not having much of an issue with briefings, the number of people in such an enclosed space was making her uncomfortable, especially after recent events. She couldn't escape Stace's attention and gave him a meek smile as she tucked herself against a wall to keep herself away from the others.

The Captain addressed those in the room that had assembled. "I apologize for this evening's venue, but I have had enough of sitting around a table being diplomatic about matters and holding my tongue. I'm not in uniform tonight, but I am still your Commanding Officer regardless of how intoxicated I may become," he added. "This is to be considered an official meeting of the Senior Staff with the inclusion of Lieutenant Fisher as our leading Linguist," explained Kerouac.

Just as his rank and surname were being said, Scott had entered the quarters, perplexed as to why the doors were open. He knew there was going to be a meeting, of course, but was surprised nonetheless. Maybe Kris just didn't want to keep saying 'come in', he thought to himself as he moved more toward the center of the room. He smiled, as he usually did, to those assembled. He looked to Kris, who looked... inebriated perhaps? He wanted to say something, it was on the verge of leaving his lips, but he held back, his toes curling in his uniform boots in response to what it took for him to keep his tongue in check. Remember, you are just a lieutenant in this room currently, the lead linguist, nothing more... So he moved toward the viewport, and stood there waiting for whatever was to happen, happen.

One of the last few to straggle in, Jhu glanced around at those gathered and couldn't help thinking this was indeed an odd way and place to hold any sort of meeting. Then again, no one had ever been able to call Kris 'normal' by any means. She'd realized a long time ago that this particular 'irritating' quality was one of the reasons she liked him.

Nathan was of coarse right behind his Fiance, also finding it a bit odd to be in the Captains quarters. But like Jhu, Nathan had come to expect the odd from Kris and it was simply a passing thought as he took up a position next to Jhu, eyeing the fact that Kris already had a drink. "This should be an interesting meeting..." he whispered to Jhu.

TAG For Any Last Arrivals

Kris knew his meeting was 'eccentric' as some may thought, but strange, unorthodox, and unconventional was the way of Captain Kerouac and he did not give a flying boar what other people thought of him or his unconventional means. Starfleet Command had not pulled him out a Klingon prison for violation of General order 7 and send him on this mission, giving him command of a Manticore class starship because he did things by the book and played it safe. Where the USS Camelot and this Task Force was going was nowhere near the comfort of the Federation's backyard. "Look, I know calling you all into my quarters like this for a meeting is not 'proper procedures' for a briefing, but that ship sailed. Anyone who needs that sort of comfort... a last minute transfer and transport can be arranged... whatever the reasons may be we are losing Lieutenant Commander Matthews. May she find what she's looking for. In her place, I'd like to officially announce Lieutenant Ion Neith will be taking over as Chief Engineer."

Atom's ears perked up at the mention of a new engineering officer. For one brief moment he hoped it would be him, but he was sure that he would have been informed of that beforehand. He smiled, just showing his front teeth. He would have to try and get to know this Lieutenant Ion better. "Congratulations, Lieutenant," he said, his smile turning into a grin.

Curtly inclining the brow of his head, the newly appointed department head acknowledged the felicitations. "I'll serve to the best of my ability, and thank you. I look forward to looking with all of you in greater detail."

"We were scheduled to be at the Starbase for seven days in order to complete repairs," commented Kerouac. "Well, that is no longer the case and we will be here for five days. So, that means pulling extra shifts and working closely with Starbase engineers and repair teams to get this starship ready by midday on the fifth day," said Kris flatly. "We have our orders to proceed to a recently constructed Federation communications relay station. We are the fastest ship around and the only one the Admiral feel confident is up for this mission," said Kris. Alright so maybe that is an exaggeration, but they deserve to hear something uplifting he thought to himself. "Right, anyways... the relay station picked up a transmission just within its reach," said Kris.

The Captain then walked over towards his computer and unlocked the screen. "You all might want to cover your ears. Especially those with pointed ones," said Kerouac who played the sound of an inhuman shrieking and blood curdling sharp noises, causing him to cover his ears until he felt they had all heard enough. "Fisher," said Kris simply. "Starbase Avalon doesn't have a linguist aboard. The best they have is a communications officer, an Ensign who was perplexed by the transmission. They believe it is --"

The sound didn't even make Scott Fisher flinch... because he had heard it before. In fact, it had alarmed him slightly. "Tholian," he replied simply. "A Tholian in distress."

Atom's ears laid back flat against his head and for one brief moment he thought that his whiskers might vibrate right off his face. He pressed his paws to his ears and shut his eyes at the piercing sound. His ears stayed flat against his head, even after the Captain had turned off the transmission.

If Jhu could lay her ears against her head like a cat, she'd have done so. Even after covering her ears, the sound was head-splitting, and the prickly sensation remained well after the noise was shut off. Had she been fully Romulan, she wondered if it would have left her deaf. As it was, her ears were definitely ringing. "Fire and Ice... maybe next time try lowering the damned volume?"

Perhaps if he had not been so intent on getting drunk, Kris would have reconsidered the wisdom of playing that ear-piercing shriek with his sleeping infant daughter in the next room, but as it was the deed was done and soon there was another cry sounding off from the bedroom, one that could not be shut off as easily as the recording.

Captain Kerouac groaned and smacked his forehead with the palm of his head. "Damn it Kris... so stupid," he said to himself with a sigh. "I'm sorry, please just give me a minute. That woke Cadence up from her nap," apologized the Commanding Officer as he beelined his way to the sleeping compartment of his living quarters. Picking the crying child up he gently carried her, resting her head against his shoulder and bouncing her a bit, keeping a supportive hand on her cute little half Arboreal tush. He walked out back into the meeting with the child still wailing up a storm as he tried to calm her down cooing at her. "Cadence isn't a fan of the Tholians and I cannot say I'm all particularly thrilled to hear them out here this far from their home space," said Kris.

The Captain walked over towards the others but Cadence was not settling down one bit. He looked at Jhu with those damn eyes, that puppy dog look that pretty much summed up what he was asking her. "Come on, she loves Aunty Spots," said Kris pleadingly for his Chief Intelligence Officer to take the baby. "Oh just take her until I can get her bottle of warm sap ready," added Kris.

Jordyn stood in silence as he watched what was going on. Never in his life had he seen a meeting so informal nor a Captain acting so inappropriately. This wasn't just laid back, this was a circus. How can you trust a man to lead who can't even hold a meeting without waking his infant child? And where is the child's other parent? He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Oh, Jhu wanted to glare at him. That well-practiced murder-y look she'd so often given him that was usually greeted with a cheerful grin. But Cadence's crying reminded her too much of her own little daughter and she melted slightly, taking the tiny Vulcan-Arboreal infant from Kris's arms. "That noise was loud, wasn't it?" she asked Cadence in a soft tone, bouncing the infant slightly. She'd been close enough friends with Shira and visited the cocoon often enough that she knew Cadence would recognize her psychic presence, if not her voice.

Nathan reached his hand out for the little one to close her grip over one of his finger. "It's ok Cadence..." He cooed to the baby, his other hand gently rubbing her back to try and calm the infant. Nathan was already missing his own little one, but was glad she had not been present for the blast of noise.

Scott looked on as Commander Tonkin held Cadence. For a brief moment he felt a stab of jealousy; Scott couldn't connect with Cadence at all. The baby cried when he held her, and he could never quite calm her down. It caused him to get stressed, and from what he heard babies could feel the adult's stress. Kris had assured him it would take time, but he wasn't so sure that would be the case. He wanted desperately to connect with Cadence but he just didn't see that happening.

Atom slowly uncovered his sensitive ears. The baby crying wasn't as bad as that other thing, whatever that was. If he had been a baby he would have cried too at the horrible piercing noise. "So... what exactly was that? You said some sort of communication?" he asked the room. "Sorry, I'm not much of a language guy."

Captain Kerouac looked at Atom, "As Lieutenant Fisher put it Tholian... am in some sort of distress," said Kris. "Our Universal translator usually can piece together their language at least 60 to 70% of the time. We still know very little about their language and culture. We suspect that it is probably a dialect or some obscure form of the Tholian language. We have not been able to make out what they are saying," said Kris as he looked at Fisher, giving a simple nod.

Scott gave a knowing smile, and nodded. He was pretty confident he could decipher that message; he was itching to get to his lab now.

"However, the fact alone that we are picking up Tholian chatter out towards the Beta Quadrant border with the Delta Quadrant is more than enough to merit our immediate presence... let alone the fact we suspect it to be some sort of distress call... maybe? No matter who or what is in distress, we have a duty to go provide assistance or at the very least investigate it," said the Captain.

Atom nodded. "Alright. So do we have a location that's more specific than the Beta Quadrant border? Or is that something that we'll need to work on?" He was only asking because he was going to have to plan a route for the ship to take. Hopefully, the crazy signal could be easily tracked, because the border of the Beta Quadrant was not somewhere that he would recommend they just casually fly back and forth across until they found their signal.

"I'm sure the signal can be traced," Jordyn stated, having stayed quiet until now. "But perhaps the message has more information. I'll have the language teams work on it immediately," he said to the Captain.

Scott Fisher looked over at the Chief Science Officer, his brow furrowed in confusion over what the other man had just said. He must have forgotten why I'm here, Scott thought to himself. "It's traceable," he chimed in, "most things are, it's just about finding the right thing that makes it traceable. Just like the message can be decoded, it's not very hard to do so, it just takes the right algorithms and decoding sequences to get what we need." The Tholian language was hard for just about everyone, Scott on the other hand didn't find it hard at all, just a challenge he would need to conquer. It just so happened it was a challenge he had overcome a couple of years back, though he would admit there were still dialects, tenses, and syntax he couldn't get... yet. That, of course, would all come in time, but for the here and now, he could hear the different intonation, it was certainly a Tholian in distress. They didn't call Scott Fisher a 'Walking UT' for nothing.

Quietly observing the meeting from his position, after having gotten his beverage, the Chief Engineer passively waited until there was something he could either add upon, or had been called to discuss. Sadly enough, or fortunately, depending upon your perspective, not much had seemingly been necessary from his department thus far out of the ordinary. Which made their own work rather... routine. Pity. At least until he heard of the frequency that had come through and was now being debated upon heavily.

"Might I suggest a filtering routine that helps to identify the more likely classifications of which to narrow down our search and begin the trace? Engineering can easily work with your department to achieve that, we have the technology. All it would probably take is a few hours at in the computer core for a basic programme. Advancing upon that we could easily develop on the go as necessary to hone in the signal."

It only took Scott a few seconds to do the logistics of it. It would work for sure, and at that he gave a nod to the chief engineer.

Jhu just kind of gave all the engineer-y types a blank look before going back to snuggling with Cadence on the couch. The infant had quieted down now, but Jhu was kind of wishing that sort of tantrum was appropriate for grown adults. The noise, now identified as a screaming Tholian, had set a vise-like headache in motion and all she wanted to do at this point was go back to her cabin and hide for a while.

"Fisher, Neith, Seras, and Atom," said Kris with a bit of a smirk. "I want you four nerds to work on that transmission. You three give Fisher whatever he needs to get it translated. I also want Operations and Engineering personnel working to get this ship ready for some rough sailing... and whatever Tholians might throw our way. I do not want to be caught in a Tholian Web, please and thank you," ordered Kris.

Atom nodded. "Yes, sir." He was excited to be included in the work. His long tail lashed back and forth, betraying his feelings.

Looking towards the senior officer, and finally the junior science intellectual, the Braidan-Vulcan gave a curt nod of both appreciation and approval. "I'm confident we will be able to produce quality results, with enough dedication."

He then turned his attention to the happy couple. "Spots, I want as much intelligence on the Tholians as you can get. I know they rarely make contact with the Federation, but I need to be brought up to date on their current situations and anything that may explain their presence this far away from the Alpha Quadrant," he said.

"I'll do my best. Frankly the Star Empire knows more than we do. I may have to invoke my mother's name to get them on board for sharing." Jhu had to admit, her mother marrying a Starfleet admiral had done a strange amount of good for relations between the Federation and the Star Empire, even if she didn't understand precisely why. "I'll have to work from my office though. Negotiations with Rihannsu intelligence can get rather... boisterous."

"Nathan," said Kris as he looked at the man. "Your wife may have Intel covered, but I want to have security ready for possible problems with the Tholians. Find weapons that work against them. Make sure your men and women know how to use them. That goes for the starship as well. Equip Camelot with whatever will punch holes in their vessels if need be," added Captain Kerouac.

"Number one," he then said and then looked at his Ship's Counselor. "I want you and Quin working together on finding a diplomatic means to prevent a deadly confrontation with the Tholians. Go through their culture, study any sort of laws that may be of any use to us. Quin, if the Q have had any direct encounters with the Tholians, share that info with Commander Brooks," instructed Kerouac.

Stace turned to Quin with a small smile, then addressed Kris. "We can do that."

Kris then proceeded to take Cadence back. "Everyone, dismissed," he said. "Except you," he added looking at Jordyn, the man he had taken in as Chief Science Officer. "You and I are going to have a talk."

The USS Camelot's arrival at Starbase Avalon had been the last grain of sand in the upturn hour glass that was Captain Kristopher N. Kerouac's conscience. There were crew members departing the starship and a few new ones coming aboard, but one crew member in particular had been forced into an unknowing state of purgatory by his Commanding Officer moonlighting as his boyfriend. It was a wretched decision to make. Transfer him to Merith's starship or keep him on the Camelot? was the choice Kristopher Kerouac had to make in regards to Scott Fisher. The transfer meant good things for the young man's career in Starfleet's Science Department, but would hinder the two men in the area of an intimate relationship. However, keeping Fisher aboard meant Fisher would likely have to stay simply as the ship's leading linguist and possibly face what some in Starfleet called 'Harry Kim Syndrome' where you can spend several years at one rank or position with little acknowledgment or recognition.

A discussion with Merith had helped him a bit in clearing his mind and allowing him to see that it was okay to be selfish and keep Scott with him. But Kris also knew that making such a life changing and career was not something he had the right to do. He had kept his boyfriend in the complete dark about all of this, orchestrating it all without so much as a breadcrumb. If he had gone through with the transfer, Lieutenant Fisher would be finding out in a few hours, but Kris had not processed the paperwork. In stead, he had left it pending on a PaDD that was now presently in his hand as he stood there in his quarters waiting...waiting for his boyfriend to come by as Kris had asked him to. I love him the Captain thought to himself as he stood there nervously shaking. I love him and I do not want him to leave.

Scott Fisher absently scratched at his neck as he made his way down the corridor toward the Captain's quarters. He was whistling, as he so often did, which often times got stares from those who passed him. People who he was oblivious to. His quirks and habits had been talked about and questioned before, but a lot of times Scott would just stare blankly at the person talking to him about those quirks. He never understood the big deal. So he was quirky. So what? He wasn't hurting anyone. That was one thought of many that was flitting around in his head, another was why he was being summed to the Captain's quarters. Not that this was unusual, but it seemed unusual because Scott was very rarely summoned during a duty shift. But, he didn't mind because he got to see Kris, and that certainly wasn't a bad thing.

Nope, never a bad thing.

A smile crossed his lips as he thought about the other man. Kris was the first person he had ever been in a relationship with. Though Scott had been worried he would screw things up (a thought that still surfaced once in a while), Kris had assured him that wouldn't happen. Kris had assured him in a lot of things. Scott knew what people thought about him, he knew people talked about him behind his back, or made fun of him. It had been happening his whole life, but he felt safe with Kris. Though, being in Starfleet that would be different. He was around professionals now, but he noticed when people looked annoyed or when their patience ran out. But, Scott tried to ignore all that. He was a prevalent linguist, a prodigy even, so he knew he had something to contribute whether others thought differently. Well poo on them, he mused to himself.

Now, he stood in front of Kris' quarters. He stared at the door for a moment, and after a another moment reached out and pressed the door chime. Now, he just waited, the whistling stopped, but he began to hum as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.

Kris, unlike Fisher, was not on duty. He had actually taken a few days off per Captain's prerogative. Of course if the starship went to yellow alert or heavens forbid, red alert, Kris would immediately come to the Bridge and take over command from his First Officer or Second Officer. Presently, he just wanted to work things out and take care of all the backed up work he had ahead of him.

When the door chime rang, Kris knew who it was. It could only logically be Scott Fisher. Anyone else would have used the comm channel and Kris had been expecting Fisher to swing by. Captain Kerouac scurried over to the door and opened it, catching immediate sight of the bouncing Fisher. The two just stood there for a moment because Kris did not utter a word at first and instead of breaking the silence with words, the Captain smiled.

"Fishsticks" said the Captain finally as he stepped aside and gestured for the lieutenant to come inside the quarters. "I am sorry if I took you away from your work. I just couldn't really wait for you to go off duty, Scott" added Kerouac as he gently brushed his hand against Fisher's.

The small gesture of Kris' hand brushing against his own made him feel giddy. "It's okay," he said as he waved off the apology with his hand. Then of course he smiled, and when Scott Fisher smiled, his bright blue eyes would light up like a hundred supernovas erupting at once. "Though, I will admit I'm a bit curious as to why you summoned me during my shift. Not that you have a reason to I suppose, I mean you are the Captain and you can pretty much do whatever you like..." He closed his mouth for the briefest of moments. "I had the language lab to myself, so no biggie that I took a break." He reached up and scratched as his cheek, he made a mental note that he needed to shave off the stubble that had grown since yesterday.

Kris sighed and paced the room a bit before taking the PaDD and handing it over to Lieutenant Fisher. "I called you here on a personal matter and well also a professional one, Fishsticks" said the Captain as he called the young man by the playful little nickname that Kris had given him. "I did something stupid or almost did. You mean a lot to me...A LOT A LOT. I thought my feelings were getting too strong and I was scared. I didn't think you could ever really want to be with someone like me" he said.

"So, I tried to push you away by transferring you to another starship" he confessed. "I just...it is an opportunity of a life time. You could be on a Science starship heading into the unknown. Everything you possibly could dream of as a scientist. But I soon came to realize that I was just using this all as an excuse to runaway from how I truly felt. I do not want you to go to another starship unless it is what you want" explained the Captain. "I want you here. I want you with me" added Kris as he reached and grabbed Scott's hand.

Scott's eyebrows drew together in confusion as he looked down at the PaDD that was given to him. There they were, black and white, plain as day, transfer orders. Transfer orders that were not fully signed off on just yet. "I, I, I, I don't..." he managed to get out as he looked up from the information device he was holding. He chided himself for the stuttering. He was upset, but wasn't sure how to even express how he felt. Betrayed? No, the emotion wasn't that strong. Was it? He always had a hard time sorting these things out. Emotions weren't exactly something he dealt with too easily, especially when many emotions brought about his anxiety.

Then he looked down and saw that his hand was being held by Kris', and at that his emotions did a sharp left turn. The anger, the betrayal, the sadness, all seemed to melt away at the sight of their hands classed. Now. Now, it was the affection he was feeling. Affection for the man who stood before him, for the man who just admitted how he felt. "I get..." he began, his tone soft, "I get scared too. This is new territory for me, I've never really thought I would experience emotions like this. I didn't really think anyone would ever like me like you like me." The left corner of his lips raised, and he shrugged. "I just wish you would have talked to me before you thought this was what you needed to do." He lifted the PaDD slightly as emphasis.

"I am sorry Scott" replied Kris with a sadness in his tone and an evidently downtrodden expression etched into his face. His voice was shaky and his body trembling a bit. "I should have come to you immediately...asked you what you wanted, but I was studpidly ignoring what -- who I wanted" added Kerouac as he took the PaDD from Fisher's hand and tossed it aside, disregarding it in a moment of passion as he, the Captain delved into a state of vulnerability, wrapping his arms around Lieutenant Scott Fisher and burying his head into Scott's shoulder.

The two standing there in Captain Kerouac's quarters, Kris letting the warmth of Fisher's breath and the younger man's breathing be soothing to Kris as he let out some tears stifled by Scott's shoulder, but the wetness of Kris' tears touching the lieutenant's neck. Lifting his head up from the younger officer's shoulder, Kris' eyes puffy and bit bloodshot from crying. "Please stay" sobbed Kris as he fought the tears. "Please, Scott. Please stay with me" begged the Captain.

The embrace from Kris had taken Scott by surprise, but it was welcomed. Definitely welcomed. He wrapped his arms around the shorter man, wanting to stay as close as possible to Kris. The embrace brought out feelings he didn't ever think he would get the chance to feel. He had always felt this connection to Kris from the moment the two met, they were tethered together even though he wasn't entirely sure what that meant at the time. Now, though, he knew. The embrace was confirmation of that connection, his body reacted to it, and his heart reacted to it. In just a matter of a second, multiple questions popped into his head (as they so often did), but none of those answers to those questions mattered (which was an oddity for the young Scott Fisher). The here and now was the only thing that mattered. "I... I want to stay," Scott replied in a hushed tone.

Hearing those words made Kris to squeeze tighter with his warm embrace. When he felt like he could let go, he did. Stepping back just a little bit to give Scott his personal space back. "I want to be closer" said Kris nervously as he immediately deleted the pending transfer orders from the PaDD. "Will you?" asked the Captain looking around his quarters. "Here...with me" he added before outwardly saying it. "I want you to consider moving in with me, Fishsticks."

There was relief when Scott had watched Kris pick up the discarded PaDD, and delete the transfer orders. Though he hadn't intended to, a sigh of relief escaped him. He certainly didn't want to go anywhere, and if by accident those orders were signed, well... he didn't even want to think about that anymore. Then, Kris asked him to consider living together, and it barely processed and another uncharacteristic Scott Fisher thing happened - he answered without thinking. "I want to live with you." The words left his lips, and he could barely believe he said the words aloud (because a lot of conversations took place in his own head). It almost came as a shock even to himself. He wasn't really impulsive, everything was carefully planned out, change was tough, but there was something... something about Kristopher Kerouac that threw some of that out of whack, but yet everything still was fine. The starship didn't blow up, nor did the universe invert on itself. Everything was okay, and though his anxiety should have told him otherwise, things felt right.

Kris' footing was lost as he felt he knees just buckle. His legs felt like a gelatinous dessert and he staggered forward towards Fisher. "Oh Scott" he said before everything went swirling around him. He had latched onto Fisher, spun around and the caused the two to end up crashing onto the deck floor, Kris managing to land atop of his boyfriend...or rather more? Spouse? Partner? What does he become now if we are living together? pondered Kris as he found himself looking into Fisher's eyes. "I'll have security change the access settings first thing in the morning" whispered the Captain softly as his face slowly inched closer towards the science officer's, Captain Kerouac's lips parting ever so slightly as they made gentle contact with Fisher's

Scott wasn't exactly sure what happened, as everything seemed to be happening so fast. The two Starfleet officers were no one the deck, Scott on his back, and Kris on top. It certainly wasn't horrible at all. Then he felt Kris' lips meet his own, and at first he tensed and then Scott relaxed into the kiss. The kiss was gentle, with only a light amount of pressure. There was passion and longing behind the kiss, and Scott felt his heart begin to race. After a few moments more, Scott pulled his lips from Kris', but only slightly. "Oh gosh... wow... that was... wow..." he said in a hoarse, breathy tone.

The Captain looked into the young man's eyes and smiled. "You bet your ass it was" said the middle aged Commanding Officer as he took a deep breath, enjoying the warmth of the other man's body beneath his. The sound of a communication's badge interrupting them before Kris could say anything more. A light airy feminine voice came through 'Lieutenant Fisher please report to science lab one' Kris sighed and tapped Fisher's comm badge "Lieutenant Fisher will be on his way. He's...a bit pinned down at the moment" replied the Captain blushing a little.

Looking at the Captain, Scott suppressed the giggle that was building in his belly. He knew the 'voice' on the other end of the comm signal was no doubt confused as to what was going on, but it didn't matter. "I'llberightthereFisherout!" He said in quick succession before tapping his commbadge to close the comm. This time it was his turn to sigh. "I don't want to go, but... I must be needed for something," he said. "Which is odd, I don't normally go into science lab one, but who knows, maybe some kind of language crisis is going on and I need to save the day." Despite knowing he had to get going, Scott didn't make a move.

Kris smiled "Welcome to life of Assistant Chief Science Officer" said the Captain. "Jordyn probably wasn't helpful enough or has ignored them. So, they are going down the list of superiors...and well, you know the drill" teased Kris. "One day, it will be Fishsticks atop of it all."

A quirky grin formed on Scott's lips at that. "As long as you are with me, I'm pretty sure I can do anything." He leaned up and pressed his lips to Kris' and kissed the other man. Yep, I for sure can get into this kissing thing, he thought to himself. He let the kiss linger for a few moments more and with a lot of hesitation, and will power, he pulled from Kris. Again, with hesitation, he rolled slightly and Kris now was on the deck laying on his side. Scott sat up, and then popped up onto his feet. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, he stood there a moment and smiled. He was really happy. "Well, uh, I better go before the captain finds out I was derelict in my duties." A soft giggle escaped followed by a snort.

TAG

The USS Camelot has been at Starbase Avalon for less than twenty four hours out of the five days that they were now set to be there, undergoing repairs and seeing some changes in their crew with their Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Matthews disembarking for a return to what Kris knew was the USS Katana. In all honesty, she belonged there. Her heart was with the Katana and he saw that every time he walked into Camelot's Main Engineering. The woman did her job just as well as she had on the Katana for so long, but there was a loss in her heart and a disappointing regret in her eyes. The Camelot just was never going to be 'home' for her. Kris knew this feeling well enough, but as a man who never really had a family besides his crew and called no place a home until he Captained the Katana, his nomadic view of life, his transient nature permitted him the ability the shed the Katana skin and get comfortable taking refuge aboard the USS Camelot and work towards making her his new home.

Several months had passed since Starfleet Command granted him early release from the Klingon prison on Rura Penthe, reinstating his rank of Captain, and of course giving him command of this new Manticore class starship. Between their skirmish with the Kzenthi, an unprovoked and still unexplained attack on them by these 'Night Aliens,' the USS Camelot had lost about a dozen of its crew. No matter the color of their uniform, the men and woman aboard were not safe from the dangers of deep space exploration. For every tragic moment that happened though, Kris did see some silver linings and times when the dark clouds broke. His relationship with Lieutenant Scott Fisher was going well, Kris himself was finally getting used to his new responsibilities as a father, and Commanders t'Dharvanek and Tonkin had welcomed their first child.

Still, as close as Kris was to his crew, there were a few more souls aboard the USS Camelot than there was aboard the slightly smaller Intrepid class USS Katana. Captain Kerouac did not know every member of his crew by name nor could he recognize their face, especially with the new crew coming aboard from Starbase Avalon. Kris had a history of putting on some dinners and other meals with his Senior Staff, but there was more to his crew than those dozen of his closest friends and shipmates. Kerouac and the crew of the Camelot would be traversing through the furthest reaches of the Beta Quadrant and crossing into the Delta Quadrant. If his crew was going to stay together, he was going to need a lot of help. His Ship's Counselor was a fine woman, a disempowered Q whom no doubt unsettled the Admiral at least a bit. Kris had come to trust her even if he himself had not been fully on board with the thought of a Q on his starship....powered or not.

Even with her though, Kris knew he needed more. It had been the at the Admiral's recommendation that Captain Kerouac open his starship up to a Morale Officer coming aboard. Kris had no idea what he was looking for in a Morale Officer. In fact, he practically turned to the Admiral to just assign him someone...anyone for the position. Truthfully, Kris had expected to receive a Starfleet Officer, probably a Bolian or Betazoid. Oh hell was he ever wrong. If there was one thing about the Admiral that Kris liked besides the man's ability to really pull off a good beard or play poker, it was the Admiral's knack for surprises.

Captain Kerouac was in his Ready Room working at his desk when he received word from the Quartermaster. "Captain, your new Morale Officer just came aboard" the young woman said over the comm channel. "Very well, have them come up to the Bridge and come to my Ready Room" replied Kris before terminating the comm channel. Several minutes would pass as Kris waited, but as soon has he heard the chiming from the door chime, he stood up from his desk readying himself to shake hands and potentially ramble on with a few minutes of ridiculous small talk with a Bolian or talk about his 'feelings' with some Betazoid. "Come in" he said and the doors began to part. What?! he thought as he quickly caught sight of a Klingon -- er half Klingon by the looks of the man's ridges.

MaS Måne:
MaS Måne waited, running his hands down his hand-knitted sweater, smoothing down invisible wrinkles. He heard the clear, "Come in!" took a deep breath and plastered his best smile on his face Let's try to make a good impression, shall we?. He stepped through the door, registering in about a millisecond that he clearly wasn't what the Captain was expecting in his Morale Officer. MaS was used to that. Growing up in a smallish town in Norway, with his unusual parentage, he was used to not being what people thought he would be like. Most people associated Klingons with harsher, more warlike tendencies, but MaS's personality couldn't be further from that, and by now he wasn't bothered by other people's expectations for him. He had grown to find it laughable.

MaS stuck out his hand with his grin still intact and a slight chuckle in his voice, "Nice to meet you Captain. I'm MaS Måne, your new Morale Officer."

"I see" said Kris shaking his head. "And did Admiral Riker put you up to this...joke?" he asked curiously. Though judging by the way the man looked at him when he asked that, this MaS Måne either was a fantastic actor or was indeed who and what he said he was.

Kris stood and reached out shaking the man's offered hand. "Forgive me, Mister Måne. Admiral Riker is well known for his colorful sense of humor. I had expected a Bolian or Betazoid for a Morale Officer, not a...Klingon? Half Klingon?" said Captain Kerouac still questioning a bit, curious of the man's heritage. "It is not everyday you see a Klingon...even half or a quarter of one aboard a Federation starship and most certainly not as a Morale Officer."

"No offense taken Captain, and I'm a half-Klingon, sir" MaS replied with a small smile, "Though I'm told that I take after my human father more than my Klingon mother when it comes to personality."

MaS was used to people being perplexed by his chosen career path. Most people saw a Klingon, and immediately thought he meant war or would start some sort of brawl. MaS hoped fervently that his actions aboard the Camelot would put the crew at ease that he would not begin a food fight, or start a mutiny, or whatever such nonsense people thought when they saw him. He was wearing a hand-knitted sweater for the Gods' sake. How dangerous could he look?

"Anyways," MaS continued uncomfortably when the Captain didn't respond, "I'm reporting for duty, sir."
He hoped he hadn't over-shared with the man, he WAS after all going to be MaS's superior.

"Then consider yourself reported" replied Kris. "You start immediately. Go mingle with the crew and start work on your first report. I want to get a sense of where morale is standing as soon as possible...dismissed" said Kris rather swiftly.