There was not privacy aboard a Defiant class starship, but being Captain did have the perks of having private quarters. It had only been a couple of months since Landon moved into the Captain's Quarters, started wearing a Command uniform, and was slowly but surely getting settled into the position placed upon him after he and Doctor Evartin placed the Beifong's Commanding Officer into medically induced stasis. Now, his starship had been boarded by a dreadful woman who out ranked him and presented him with unsettling news about the Federation and Starfleet's operations in the Gamma Quadrant. She had all but emasculated him in front of his crew and his First Officer. She had booted him from the Captain's chair, sent him down to Sickbay, but left him in a purgatory state of existence. He was no longer Commanding Officer and yet not placed in his previously held position of Chief Medical Officer. In essence, he was just a body aboard with the rank of Lieutenant Commander and with no say on anything.

Small blessings were few and far between, but for the time being Helena Soroys, Captain of the USS Beifong had expressed no interest in taking the Captain's Quarters. Why that was, Landon did not know. He did ponder if there was some sort of good in her, perhaps allowing him the private Captain's quarters was her way of showing sympathy or apologizing for seizing command from him. However, she had not really shown any indication that she cared nor had she taken Landon's thoughts or opinions into consideration during the meeting. In stead, she had let her 'attack dog' of a Lethean telepathically assault him albeit she did call him off, sparring Landon's life. Probably would not have looked good for her to have me killed in public he mused as he reflected on the scene. Xiulan and Ian had both been present.

Landon sat at his desk behind his screen reading through as much information as he could about the woman. She was indeed a Starfleet Captain and her starship had been assigned to the 9th Task Force. A lot of her service information and assignments were classified, even above Landon's clearance which to him meant one thing. Starfleet Intelligence. That did give her some credibility in what she had been saying, but Landon truly could not believe for one moment that Harvey Geisler, Captain of the USS Black Hawk would have done anything against Starfleet or the Federation, and even if he had, Harvey must have had good reason for it. What is your next move...what is your end plan? he pondered about the woman as a chill went through his body and he felt another presence in his quarters.

He had sensed this presence before in the conference room. I see. Eliminate the one biggest threat aboard to you he thought to himself, taking a deep sigh. “Computer, status on internal communications systems” inquired Landon, already knowing the response he would get.

“Communications disabled for maintenance” reported the Computer. There was no need for the internal comm system to be offline. It had been fine and Landon knew that. The presence in his quarters grew stronger. He closed his eyes and got a better sense of it.

He stood up from his chair and looked around his room. The room was lit but the illumination was dimmed as the light had been bothering Landon's headache. He did not see the creature...but he felt him. He felt as though her were being watched, stalked by the unseen thing in the dark shadows of his quarters. I know you didn't come through those doors. You must have used a ventilation shaft or maintenance chute thought Landon. Clever he thought as he scanned the room with his eyes and extra sensory senses. “You can come out, Lethean. I know you are here...she sent you to kill me. I can feel the murderous intent on your mind” said Landon his breathing growing deeper and his heart racing.

Then the face came forward from the shadows. The hunter exposing himself to his prey. “She won't get away with this. You strike me down and kill me here, but she will be brought down” said Landon. “And don't think for one moment that I am going to let you take my life easily” countered Landon. I've been waiting for round two thought Landon as he went to the darkest depths of his mind, to the saddest low points, and dug up times of great anger. As the Lethean physically advanced forward from the shadows, Landon unleashed a furious telepathic barrage that caught the Lethean off guard, sending him backwards with force. “NOOOOOOO!” shouted Landon with a near homicidal shout.

He watched the Lethean slam against a bulkhead. Landon charged towards his desk to retrieve a phaser from underneath the desktop. He had only a few seconds to get it and fire. “The T doesn't stand for Thomas. It stands for Tevren” were the last words Landon managed to get out as he fired the phaser at the Lethean who in turn released a painful wave of telepathy of crippling force. Both the Lethean and Landon let out anguished cries of pain...and Letheans hardly ever make a noise, they are the perfect assassins. Landon's cries faded as slipped into unconsciousness, deep into a comatose state. The Lethean had been hit by the phaser blast, but had managed to take the blast in a non-lethal area, right in the shoulder. He would manage to crawl back into the maintenance chute and leave the Captain's quarters.

Though Landon had not been able to call for help, he had previously scheduled a meeting with the Beifong's helmsmen, Lieutenant Arturo M'Rohass. Additionally, a phaser blast being discharged aboard the starship would have raised alarms and trigger a Security response.

Arturo arrived at the Captain's Quarters to meet with Commander Milo. He hit the door buzzer but received no response. He hit the chime again. No response. He turned his feline ears to the problem and thought he heard sounds of a struggle.

"M'Rohass to Mackenzie!" he said. "Ian, I need you to override the lock on the Commander Milo's quarters! He's not responding to the chime. Something's is not right!"

Ian had been sitting in his chair on the bridge when the signal came through at the same time a phaser discharge had been registered by the internal sensors. What happened next was like a delicate dance, he immediately accessed the Security controls and disabled the lock on the Captain's quarters. Next, he triggered a silent alarm for his security teams to respond to.

=A= Jemison, meet me at the Captain's Quarters. =A= he said before he rose from his chair, taking a phaser from underneath his station. Rushing out of the door to the bridge, he slid down the short steps and hit the deck running towards Landon's quarters. Skidding to a halt, he pulled his phaser and motioned to the petty officer that was gathered outside. Arming his phaser, Ian waited with bated breath to enter and contain the situation.

The Cadet had been in the Mess Hall enjoying a nice tapioca pudding when she was called by her superior. By the man's tone and the alert, it was clearly a security matter. She needed to make a quick pit stop and grabbed a type-II phaser from a weapon's locker. "Which Captain? Captain Milo or Captain Ice Bitch?" she replied over the comm as she began making her way to the Captain's Quarters. The ones designated for the Captain though she wasn't sure which 'Captain' she was to expect to find in them or near them.

She hurried up her response time when she heard it was a call to respond to Landon Milo being no responsive. Jasmine liked him enough. He was not the usual Commanding Officer one ran into albeit nor was the Ice Bitch, but she was a whole other kind of different and wicked. When she arrived she found a few people outside, but more notably was her superior and the Caitian helmsmen. "What's the situation?" she asked with her phaser drawn.

Arturo answered the cadet's query.

"I arrived a few moments ago for a scheduled meeting with Commander Milo," he said. "He didn't answer his door chime and I thought I heard something inside."

The Cadet took a deep breath and increased her setting on her phaser to a higher stun setting. "I saw The Captain after what that Lethean did to him. I'm not taking any chances" she commented. "Ready when you are, Lieutenants" she added taking a defensive posture.

Arturo looked at the phasers in the hands of the two security officers. He shrugged and reached for the small of his back and came out with his Sicilian folding knife. He flicked the blade open letting it lock into place and then nodded to Ian.

"Ready when you are," Arturo said.

Ian gave a solid nod and pushed forward. As the doors slid open, Ian, the Petty Officer, and Jasmine rushed forward screaming commands indiscriminately. Checking his corners, he cleared his left and noticed a distinctively Lethean figure standing over the Captain.

"YOU! RIGHT THERE! DOWN ON THE DECK! ON THE DECK NOW!" Ian screamed with an uncharacteristic air of command, drawing upon the Security training that had been drilled into his brain. His phaser pointed. He moved forward, his finger tightening on the button that would fire several megajoules of energy straight into the thing in front of him.

The Cadet looked at her superior. "Sir...there's nothing there" she said. "Computer, increase lumination by 40%" she said and the the room brightened, eliminating the 'shadow play' going on in the quarters. She kept her phaser drawn though and soon saw what her superior had been yelling at. "I don't think he's going to listen to you" she said.

It was not the Lethean that Ian had pointed a phaser at but rather a big furry Saint Bernard who was now barking up a storm and scurrying about the quarters. "It's the Captain's dog" announced the Cadet. "Careful. Arturo...I'm not sure if it likes um well Caitians" she said with a sigh.

"It's alright," Arturo said. "I get along well with canines."

He put his knife away and held out his hand for the dog to sniff. The large dog tentatively approached, then barked and then growled. Finally, it came close enough to sniff Arturo's hand. Having determined that he liked the smell, the dog licked Arturo's hand. Arturo pet the dog and scratched behind its ears. He got down on his knees and let the dog lick his face. Finally he stood.

"See," the Caitian said. "He was just scared and worried about his master. Computer, open a secure channel directly to Doctor Evartin."

"Acknowledged," the computer replied. "Secure channel enabled."

"Thank you," Arturo said. "M'Rohass to Doctor Evartin. You are needed in Commander Milo's quarters. There is a medical emergency. Please hurry but be discrete."

"On my way," Nerys replied, grabbing her medkit and rushing out of medbay to the captain's quarters as quick as she could while also failing to be stealthy.

"Acknowledged, Doctor," Arturo said. He turned to Ian and Cadet Jones-Jemison. "How is he?"

The Cadet had given the Captain a look over, and her basic training from the Academy had taught her some less than accurate physical ways to check for life signs. "He has a pulse...a faint one but it there" she said. "He is breathing, but he's unresponsive" she reported. "I don't see any signs of a phaser wound or any sort of puncture wound. There's bleeding but it is coming from his nose and ears" she said kneeling by the Captain.

That's when Nerys arrived, slipping in through the door as quickly as she could. Then she was kneeling and scanning Landon with a medical tricorder. after a few seconds, she slapped a cerebral scanner/stimulator on his forehead. "I can stabilize his biosigns here but i need at least an hour in an intensive care unit that we don't have to even begin to reverse the damage. I wish I had gone into neurology rather than cardiology. Hell, right now I think podiatry would have been better..."

"I have complete confidence in you, Doctor," Arturo replied. "Can he be moved to Sick Bay?"

The doctor ignored the question for the moment, fiddling with her tricorder and the big silver thing on Landon's forehead. Then she nodded. "Yeah, I have him stable for now. Stable and in a coma. Remind me to ask engineering for some upgrades to the medbay."

Jasmine then caught a glimpse of the phaser that had been knocked from Landon's hand and was obscured underneath his desk. "Lieutenant Mackenzie" she said to her superior. "Underneath his desk...there's a phaser" she said, directing the Security Chief. That alone was strange in that Landon wouldn't even go armed down to the Tygarian planet, and he most definitely had no reason for a phaser in his private quarters.

Ian holstered his phaser, a sheepish look on his face and glanced at the Saint Bernard who was now staring at him, teeth slightly bared. Ian cautiously moved away from the dog and moved in towards the desk. Kneeling down, he picked up the phaser, deactivated it to prevent it from going off accidentally, and placed it on the desktop. Looking around the room, he could see that there had been a monumental struggle but their culprit was nowhere to be found. Returning to a standing position, he checked every corner then noticed something odd- the maintenance hatch was slightly ajar, almost as if someone had needed for a hasty escape. Snapping over to Jasmine, he motioned silently for her to come over.

The Cadet moved over to the maintenance hatch and examined it. She lowered her voice to discuss it with her superior. "If we were on a larger starship, I'd suspect someone from Engineering or Operations, but it does not take much effort to know your way through a four deck Defiant class starship. Doctor Evartin may be able to use her medical tricorder to scan for Deoxyribonucleic acid linking evidence to the Lethean or Captain Soroys if we are lucky" she offered.

Ian nodded. "Great idea, Cadet, I'll get her on it. In the meantime, the gloves have come off. I want a lockdown on these on all maintenance hatch exits along with level 10 force fields and set the environmental controls to random temperature extremes. We're going to starve this bastard out if he's still in there or make him damn unhappy if he decides to stick around. Eventually he'll need to come out and when he does, we'll be there. " Walking over to Doctor Evartin, he looked at the Captain then back to Nerys. "If we don't have the intensive care unit, can we get him into the Sickbay aboard the T'Pava?" he asked.

Nerys glanced up at Ian before moving to scan the maintenance crawlway. "I've already rigged three canisters of anesthezine into the life support system just in case. Each canister is enough to knock out the whole ship if needed. As for getting him to the T'Pava, they should have the facilities I need." Then her tricorder started going crazy, prompting her to back up from the hatch. "Lethean lifesigns. Moving away."

Arturo watched everyone for a moment before sighing and then speaking up.

"Let it go, Ian," he said. "Concentrate on getting the commander to safety."

Ian growled slightly. "Fine. At least let me engage the force fields." he said begrudgingly, holstering his phaser. He hated leaving something like this unfinished, especially when a rogue Lethean could kill everyone aboard with a few telepathic attacks. "Doctor, transport the Captain to the T'Pava." Pointing to two of the other security officers and Cadet Jones, he motioned to the Commander. "You go with them and make sure nothing happens."

"I'm sorry we had to do that," Arturo said. "But even if we caught it, Soroys would have let it loose again. Gods forbid we kill it, at least at the moment. She'd have us all up on murder charges. The Lethean presents two problems. Firstly, it is powerful and deadly. Secondly, and possibly more importantly, it is protected. If we're going to take it out, we need to be sure we can do so without making matters worse. We'll get it, Ian, I promise. We just need to be patient."

Nerys went back to the captain's side and punched a few things into her tricorder. "We're ready for transport. I'd recommend clearing the transporter logs once we're over there."

"I'll take care of that," Arturo said. "Contact us on a secure channel when you are ready to update up on Commander Milo's status. Ian, you and I will go and see Lieutenant Song as soon as we are done here."

Ian nodded. "Aye, sir." He had a nagging feeling and a sour taste in his mouth. He wasn't a fan of leaving a potential danger aboard the ship to run free or sending his CO into enemy territory, even temporarily but he knew that now wasn't the time to voice his resistance to a particular course of action. He clenched his fist and waited.

"Let's get going," Arturo said. "Cadet, try to clean up here. Make a record of everything, but clean it up. We'll keep this under wraps for now. Lieutenant M'Rohass to Transporter Room."

"Transporter Room, Frangeloes here Lieutenant," came the response over the comms. "What can I do for you?"

"Frangeloes," Arturo said. "My compagno! How long have we known each other?"

"Well, uhm, we met that once in the mess hall when you spilled warm milk all over me..." Frangeloes said.

"Ah, yes! Our first glorious adventure together!" Arturo replied. "I remember it well! And now, my friend, it is time for our text glorious adventure together!"

"I'm not going to like this, am I, sir?" Frangenloes replied forlornly.

"Probably not, no," Arturo said. "Please beam Doctor Evartin and her patient from my location to the T'Pava, immediately."

"Sir," Frangeloes said. "Uhm, you're in Commander Landon's quarters."

"Yes," Arturo said. "Yes I am...I don't see a transporter effect. Was I unclear?"

"Sir..." Frangeloes began.

"Frangeloes," Arturo said. "If you do this for me, and erase the logs when you are done...make it look like a malfunction, you're a clever lad...if you do this favor for me, I will get Sarah O'Reilly to speak to you."

"Well..." Frangeloes said. "Alright sir, I'll do it!"

The transporter effect took Evartin and Landon away.

"Good lad," Arturo said. "Ian? Shall we go and find our intrepid first officer?"

Chief Petty Officer Brexa was not an officer, but she was the Chief of Science and therefore considered a Department Head albeit the lowest ranking of the bunch. This, however, did not make her any less valuable to the 'Sounder' and the private meeting they were now having at 0300 while the Lethean and Captain Soroys were asleep as a majority of the crew were supposed to be. Only a handful of people were to be up at this hour and Brexa was one of them along with the security Cadet. Brexa had watch of the Bridge, but had left the Cadet to hold down the fort.

If Bolians were good at something it was gathering people together and organizing events. What the Ferengi woman had not expected was Landon to entrust this little resistance movement to fall on Ensign Haro. However, it had made sense to her. She had seen it done in many Ferengi establishments. It was never the dealers at the gaming tables you got screwed or cheated by, it was the waiters and waitresses, the dabo girls, and the faces nobody really remembered. Now, of course Landon had placed Xiulan in command of everything in his absence which was unfortunately to situation as he was comatose in Sickbay.

However, the real key was not arousing suspicion and flying under the radar. This was the perfect task for the Bolian to carry out. Brexa had received notice of what needed to be done and she did it to the best of her abilities. Dampening fields, screwing with sensor logs, and masking the presence of the group as they entered Cargo Bay 1. All communicators were taken off before entering the room and left in quarters or on the Bridge in Brexa's case. With the help of Lieutenant Kail and Doctor Evartin, life signs were mimicked and holding present where they were expected. If the Computer was asked where Brexa was right now, it would say the Bridge and that was where her phantom bio sign would be.

Walking into Cargo Bay 1, Brexa found Ensign Haro and Lieutenant Kail. "Sirs," she said addressing them both with a nod and gleaming smile that showed her yellowed and sharpened teeth.

Ensign Nician Haro was nervous, as was to be expected. Bolian's were notoriously bad at deception. He paced, while Lieutenant Kail leaned against a stack of storage boxes and picked his fingernails with a small knife. The Bolian appreciated the chance to do something good for the ship and her crew and their captain, but all of this not arousing suspicion made him nervous. Of course, most things made him nervous. He had started on some good, solid instincts. When he had felt something was wrong with this new Captain and the way she was handling the people under her command now, he had taken matters into his own hands and lied his way to sick bay to speak with Landon. Once he was sure that his feelings were correct and they had talked, he had carefully began to gather the senior staff, using their regular meetings with him, as ship's counselor, to let them know one by one that they should somehow come together. Brexa had been a huge help. She seemed to be an expert at sneaking around behind people's back and for once Ensign Haro appreciated her skill and her input. "Thank you so much Brexa," Haro said softly, like he felt the need to whisper. "I really appreciate everything you've done tonight." He smiled his cheerful, blue smile. However, even his normal chipper demeanor couldn't hide his twiddling fingers and nervous glances around. "Do you think they will come?"

Lieutenant Darzen Kail nodded to the Ferengi in return. "Of course they'll come, quit your fussing."

Brexa took out her tricorder and gave the room a quick scan. "It's secured. No listening devices detected, and everything has been set up flawlessly," she added. "We should be able to hold our meeting without fear," she finished as the doors parted ways and the rest of the Senior Staff arrived.

Arturo slipped into Cargo Bay One and joined the group, satisfied that he had eluded Soroys' bandits and road agents on his way to the secret meeting. Had he encountered any, Arturo was confident that he would have dispatched them quickly and quietly.

"I have arrived!" he announced. "And am ready and willing to foil the nefarious plans of this treacherous Soroys woman!"

Doctor Evartin also walked in, right behind Arturo. "I too am here and since I'm normally awake at this hour, I figured I'd get a head start on inventorying a medical crate or two." She then set her PaDD aside and made no motion to even begin her favorite task of inventorying medical equipment.

Darzen snorted. "Foil her nefarious plans indeed. I'm in support of that. That hateful witch needs to go, but she's got some pretty serious friends." His second host, Tiedenn, had been a rather interesting character and had actually had a tangle with a Lethean, but the result had not been in his favor.

"The Lethean is a considerable obstacle," Arturo said. "But nothing that cannot be dealt with if we put our hearts and minds to the problem! Where there is a will, there is a way!"

Brexa snorted. "Where there is a way, there are many ways and death is possibility," she said shaking her head. "There may be more of us than there are them, but the two of them are quite the trouble. Nician has the benefit of going around rather unnoticed because he's low ranking and not much of a threat being well... a Bolian in a peaceful position of counselor and diplomatic officer," she said with a shrug. "No offense," she added.

"No offense taken," Nician replied. "You're completely right. Bolian's are notoriously peaceful by nature and horrible at any sort of espionage. I'm just not sure what else I can do. I might be able to find out where they are at any given time, but does anyone have any suggestions for me? She's completely ignored me so far. Hasn't even stepped foot in my office. More than likely she doesn't even consider me any sort of threat."

"We have a telepathic telekinetic threat in the Lethean whereas his puppet master is a full Betazoid. Her Telepathic and empathic abilities were more than a match for Landon. However, I might be an asset," she offered. "Betazoids and most telepathic and empathic species cannot read Ferengi minds. That could work in our favor," she added. The Ferengi then looked at Xiulan "Ma'am, if we aren't taking orders from Captain Soroys and if Landon is unable to command at this time, command is going to fall onto you."

"I've been told I'm difficult to read as well as I don't typically think in English," Xiulan replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. "But that doesn't negate her basic empathy, so she'll be able to sense deception from me. As for command, I'm well aware of where this burden falls, you don't need to remind me," she pointed out with a frown. Then she sighed. "Arturo, that talk we had in the mess hall, you learn anything?" she asked, eager to find out if her suspicions had been true.

"In fact I did, though I am not sure how useful my observations will be," Arturo replied. "The ships with the Copernicus were definitely well armed, but were also fit out as pirate or perhaps privateer vessels. They appeared to have large cargo holds and the sensor data showed larger than normal crews. The extra cargo space is likely to haul captured loot and the extra crew are there to overwhelm the crews of the ships they capture and to staff prize vessels. So, they were either pirates allied to whoever commanded the Copernicus, lured by the prospect of loot or perhaps acting as mercenaries or privateers lured by the chance for prize money. Privateers are cheap because they earn their money from the ships they capture, and you only pay for their goods if you want them. Otherwise they sell them to the highest bidder. There are places in the Gamma Quadrant that would pay well for a Federation Starship, even a civilian one, even just to break it down for parts, components, and materials. Some of the ships were consistent with Alpha and Beta Quadrant designs and technology. Others were completely unfamiliar to me, which suggests they are locals."

Xiulan released a slow, thoughtful hum as a frown grew on her face as his words confirmed the theory that was rolling around in her head. "I don't think those ships were there purely out of chance, I think they were back-up..." Xiulan started, then paused pensively. "Okay, here's the deal: what you all probably already know is that when Soroys came aboard, she crashed a meeting between me, Landon and Mackenzie, and then the Lethean ended up manhandling Landon. What you don't know is that she gave us a list of ships with suspected ties to a Separatists group in the area. She used this list as an excuse for why the Copernicus fired upon us back when we made our rendezvous, they thought we were the Separatists. Where this gets really weird, Soroys seemed to forget the detail that the Copernicus was accompanied by these unidentified ships, and she brushed off the fact that they open fired without responding to our hails, then tried to convince us to do the same to ships on that list. This is not standard operating procedure, even under the conditions she tried to sell us! And the list itself was hinky... The Blackhawk was on this list; Landon served on the Blackhawk, and I'm familiar with the crew from when they would resupply at DS11, the fact that the Blackhawk is on this list came as a complete surprise to both of us. I can't know for certain, but of all the things that don't add up about her story, I don't think this list is a group of Separatists; I think those ships are ones that haven't been swayed or co-opted to whatever coup is going on. I think Soroys, the crew of her ship, the T'Pava, the Copernicus, and any ship not on that list are either traitors or under the influence of traitors. It's the only thing that makes sense given everything that we know so far. It explains why she took command of the Beifong in the way she did; even damaged, a Defiant class is a boon to the battlefield in the right hands, and if the ship is destroyed then it's no big loss for this coup because we, the unaware crew, are expendable. But we're not unaware anymore; whatever she wants of the Beifong, we can't give it to her."

"Hear, hear!" said Arturo. "But we have to proceed carefully. We have to neutralize the Lethean and retake the ship before she realizes it's out of play. If we capture it and she finds out, she'll set it free. If we kill it and she finds out before we've retaken the ship, she'll have us arrested on murder charges even if she can't prove anything. So, how do we catch the Lethean?"

"Actually, Mackenzie and I have already gotten started on something," Xiulan said with a smirk. "We had to keep it quiet until we knew more, but we've been working on a program to lock out the computer so it won't accept commands from her. Well, mostly he's been doing the hard work and I've been encrypting it so she won't discover what we're doing. And with the attack on Landon, we have probable cause to detain the Lethean! As to how to catch him... We could try to play this straight and narrow; once Nerys confirms with Landon's brain scans that his current state is the result of a Lethean assault, we have every right to detain him and we confront Soroys. If she's innocent or playing innocent, or ignorant for that matter, she'll have him report to the brig or give us permission to hunt him down, because no decent Commanding Officer would ever condone the senseless assault of an Officer. But if we're right about her, then I think she'll play her hand and turn on us, at which point we have cause to detain her and use her as bait for the Lethean. I just hope he puts up a fight so we have an excuse to kill him."

Brexa was in agreement with most of this, though she had not forgotten what Nician had said nor other information. "I know there are two of them aboard the Beifong and several of us, but we cannot forget that her starship is still looming near. Any sign of trouble and the T'Pava will be on us like a Ferengi on unclaimed latinum," she said simply. "We could deal with the two of them and make a run for it. We can travel faster than the T'Pava... under normal conditions, but our engines took a beating and we're operating on subpar crystals as Darzen can better explain," she said gesturing to the man.

Darzen shook his head and uncrossed his arms, looking at the Ferengi. "There's no way we'll outrun that ship in the condition we're in. No way. We're gonna get Warp 7 at best and it won't be for long. We'll be like a cheetah, only good for short bursts, but in the long haul we're screwed. No other way to put it. Without another source of power or without replacing the crystals altogether there's really nothing I can do to make it any better either. The crystals we have now are subpar at best. They're dirty, cracked and poorly fitting. To be honest it's a miracle we're not already dead in the water."

The Ferengi grunted. "Lieutenant Song," she said crossing her arms. "I have something behind my lobes," said the Ferengi confidently. "Call it... a little covert operation. Darzen and I have the technical knowledge and Nician is beneficial for a distraction. Ensign Haro can cause a diversion, keeping our beloved Captain Soroys busy. Let Darzen and I beam over to the T'Pava and sabotage their engines. It will allow us to put significant distance between us and them when the time comes to take out the Lethean and Soroys," offered the Ferengi.

"I like this idea," Xiulan said with a nod. "And while you're over there, see if you can score a couple of crystals to give our warp core a boost. I'd hate for us to stall out in the middle of a high speed chase."

"Shall I join Darzen and Brexa or would you like me to watch Nician's back?" Arturo said. "I wouldn't mind a shot at Soroys if the opportunity arose."

Xiulan thought on this for a moment before finally shaking her head. "No, I'd rather you stay at your post so we're ready to go as soon as they return from the T'Pava. I know you want a shot at Soroys, but I don't think there's a person here who doesn't want that same shot. I'd also like to keep the sabotage team small so it doesn't arouse suspicion. Although... Soroys did say that the T'Pava would help with repairs, so Darzen can take a few extra hands under the guise of helping move repair supplies over to the Beifong. Making this look like an official visit will no doubt help us pull this off, and the extra supplies can definitely be put to good use."

Darzen nodded in agreement. "I totally agree. I've got a couple of personnel in mind that would be up to the task. We've got to make this look as legit as possible to keep that pirate hooker in her seat while we stage a coup. However we decide to sabotage the T'Pava needs to be subtle as well. They can't suspect the sabotage until it's too late. Mackenzie, is there any sort of detonation device that we could trigger from here that they wouldn't be able to detect?" He looked over at Ian.

Ian thought for a moment. "Well there is a Polaron Pulse Device that can cause random power failures throughout the ship as the pulse spreads throughout the systems. It could be remote activated but it requires a constant signal to activate and trigger the device. If we don't mask that signal or have an explanation for it, we're screwed." he stopped for a moment as he pulled a small marker from his pocket and started frantically drawing lines and numbers on the side of a small container. Snapping his fingers, he turned around. "At present, we maintain a signal to the T'Pava-" looking over to Xiulan, he pointed. "Can we piggyback the signal on the same frequency in order to mask it?" he asked.

"Maybe you can't, but I can," Xiulan replied with an assured tone. She was excited, they actually had a working plan now!

Nician raised a blue hand. "What... what should I be doing in the meantime? How should I distract her? I mean... I could make myself very annoying..." He was nervous again, all this talk about sabotage and distractions and coups. He did agree however, that Soroys did need to be stopped and he wasn't about to just stand by cowering while this crazy woman took off with their ship, not after they had come so far and through so much together. He took a deep breath. "I wonder if she likes tea..."

Brexa grinned, her yellowed pointed teeth showing. "You do annoying well," she said with a small cackle. "Just be yourself, I am sure that will be distracting enough for her. The less you think about distracting her the better. Let it be natural."

Nician nodded, still a little unsure. "Natural... right..."

Arturo slapped Nician on the back. "Be of good cheer my timid, blue brother in arms!" Arturo said. "We are soon off on a grand adventure!" He turned to Xiulan. "Do not worry about Captain Soroys," he said. "My cobalt compagno and I will handle her! Do not be concerned! I will not steal my bald fratello's glory! No! I shall cover his back and stand ready to assist should he need it... if he's on the bridge... because that's where I'm going to be... ready to launch the Beifong into a headlong charge!"

Arturo's pep talk did nothing for Nician's nerves. He jumped when the Caitian thumped him on the back and then looked sheepish for being surprised. "I... I am always of good cheer, sir, but I'm not very good with arms."

Darzen shook his head. "Yeah, let's not give the blue guy any weapons.

"Be of good cheer, friend Nician!" Arturo said. "My weapon will be enough for both of us!" Arturo stopped and thought about that for a moment. "I mean, of course, my phaser," he said. "Or my knife. The collapsable one... I mean the folding one... oh, dear. Perhaps I should stop while I'm ahead?"

Darzen put a hand over his face and shook his head.

Xiulan couldn't help but laugh at Arturo's rambling. "No no, keep going, I wanna see where this is going," she said with a chuckle.

"I'm sure you do," Arturo said with a grin. "Another time, perhaps. We stand at your orders, Lieutenant Song. Shall we proceed?"

"Yeah, let's make this happen!" Xiulan said with a grin; that bitch Soroys was going down!

Nician just stared at the Caitian for a moment before exactly what he was getting at really sunk in, including the double entendre. His face turned several shades of purple from blushing.

Brexa shook her head and snorted. "Alright, let's break this up and get back into our quarters and other respected places before she or her attack dog wake up and ruin everything. I'll be on the Bridge" said the Ferengi before disassembling the Sounder.

"It just takes some time,
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright, alright."

"The Middle" ~Jimmy Eat World


It had felt like a small eternity since Xiulan had gotten a decent night's rest. The entire crew was working double shifts to keep the Beifong from falling apart at the seams, but even they were taking breaks for rest, something Xiulan had not had not been able to do since the burden of Command fell to her. As it was, she should be on the Bridge and not here in Sickbay sitting next to her unconscious Commanding Officer, listening to the beep of his heart monitor, a steady reminder that Landon was not dead. Xiulan had no idea what she was doing, she wasn't cut out for Command and the pressure of it all was pushing her to a breaking point, and she found herself at Landon's side without ever realizing where her feet were carrying her until she heard the telltale sounds of Sickbay.

"Now I know how you felt when you had to take Command," Xiulan said to the slumbering form on the biobed. "I don't know how you did it, it's just... so much. I don't know if I can keep everything together, Landon..."

Xiulan reached out to gently touch Landon's face, ghosting her fingers over the contours to study his features. This was something she didn't do often; touch was the only way she know what someone looked like, and she rarely cared to know except in the case of very close friend, of which she had precious few. In fact, at the moment there were none she considered to be such a friend, save for the unconscious man she was speaking to now, and maybe Arturo.

"You better wake up, you jerk, or I'll never forgive you for dumping all this work on me," Xiulan continued as her fingers caressed Landon's cheek in what could almost be considered an affectionate way, tears welling up in her eyes as she tried to hold back everything she wanted to scream to fate.

Ensign Nician Haro made his way to sickbay. He'd actually made his way to sickbay several times that morning, but had never managed to make it all the way there. The whole situation made him very nervous and often he would let his anxiety drive him right back to the shelter of his room or his office. It was funny how he felt he was responsible for the morale of the crew and he couldn't handle his own anxiety. Something about the whole situation felt wrong. He desperately wanted to know how Landon was doing, but he just couldn't bring himself to step into sickbay and find out. Finally, after almost an hour of internally arguing with himself he stopped in the hallway, his fists clenched at his sides. "Stop being a coward, Nician... Just stop it!" he said outloud to himself. For some reason this seemed to be the only pep talk he needed and he finally made his way through the doors and into the sickbay proper.

He wasn't alone. Lieutenant Xiulan Song was sitting next to Landon's beside. Nician did not know her well. She was often one that had other things to do when he had made appointments for her. He always took that well, she probably did have other things to do and now the weight of command was on her shoulders, with Landon out of commission. He didn't want to startle her. So instead he cleared his throat softly. It was obviously as poignant moment and he didn't totally want to disrupt it.

At the sound of the Sickbay doors opening, Xiulan drew her hand back, and then her posture shifted when she heard Nician clear his throat, but she made no attempt to turn to face him. "Hello?" she said in a hushed tone, unable to recognize a voice from the sound he had produced.

"Hello Lieutenant," Nician said softly. "How is he doing? I... I was concerned. They said there had been some trouble and that the Captain was injured?" he stammered a bit when he spoke, not sure how to broach the subject at hand. He took several steps forward, putting him close to Landon's bedside and close enough to get a sidelong glance at Lieutenant Song's face. He frowned and then pretended that he hadn't been looking, focusing on Landon instead. "Have they said anything about his recovery?" He could tell that she was upset. It was not something he was used to seeing. Xuilan had always seemed very stoic to him and he was definitely concerned now, for more than just the Captain. If morale was low enough to even effect such a strong individual as Lieutenant Song, than something had to be done. He didn't wait for her to answer, but continued to talk. "I don't think that a lot of us are sleeping very well at the moment," he sort of rambled on. "We've all been through so much together and now this. It's almost like a double... what's that word the humans use..." he snapped his fingers a few times, trying to remember. "Double whammy! That's it... our first Captain falls ill with some sort of horrible infection no one can cure and now this." He finally took a deep breath. "How are you holding up?" He waited this time, for what he suspected would be a lie.

"He's, uh, alive," Xiulan answered as she gazed blindly ahead of herself as usual. She recognized the voice now, Nician, the kinder Bolian aboard. "These monitors are filled with so much stuff I can't understand, and Nerys tried to explain it to me... Best I could get from all the jargon was that he's hurt in a bad way... She don't know if he'll ever wake, and if he does he'll be damaged, permanently. And this was no infection. I can't say more until I have more information to back up my suspicions, but I know this is foul play." Her hand felt along the edge of the biobed until she found Landon's hand, then gave it a squeeze. She knew what was the cause behind this, she and Mackenzie had seen it before, but to say too much now could mean trouble...

"And I..." Xiulan tried to continue, but she stopped short when she felt something on her cheeks. She brought her free hand up to touch her cheeks, discovering the moisture of tear tracks down her face. She rubbed her fingers together for a moment, trying to resolve in her mind how this could be, because she never cried! "I guess I... I'm not okay," she finally admitted as her brow furrowed and a few more tears slipped down her cheeks. "I'm usually good at brushing things off, or at least good at pretending that nothing bothers me... But this, I can't pretend! I feel so lost, Nician, I don't know what I'm doing!"

Nician went to put a hand on her, hesitated, then did it anyway. His hand was chubby, soft and warm. "We'll get through this," he said softly. "Would you like to go talk somewhere else? Perhaps where we could have a cup of warm tea? I know it's hard right now. Things are probably extra hard for you at the moment, if I'm gauging the situation correctly. I'm sure it seems like we've come through the fire and... how do they put that... into the frying pan?" He squeezed her shoulder just a little, trying to let her know that he was sincere. "I don't believe you when you say you don't know what you're doing. You may not feel like you know what you're doing, but I think that is because you're overwhelmed at the moment. Don't you agree?" He looked sidelong at her and smiled just a little. It wasn't just a smile, but more of one of encouragement. "Come on... it does us no good to sit here."

"Oh my god, the irony of a Bolian offering me tea!" Xiulan blurted out with a sad laugh, tears still streaming down her face. She tried to wipe her face clean only to find new tears replacing the old ones. "I don't usually do this crying thing, so maybe we can duck into the Doctor's office so I won't be making a scene. Anyway, I could use a cup of coffee," she said as she pulled herself from her stool and put it back where she found it. "And really, I have no clue about all this Command business, I was an Ensign before Landon promoted me to his XO. I was happy listening to comm channels all day every day; I wasn't even assigned to this ship, I was being loaned to the Copernicus for a language study! But... but then we were all alone out here and Landon had to make a call. He said he wanted me at his side because I questioned his decisions and pointed out flaws, probably a bit more bluntly than he would like, but I think he preferred my honesty over sugar-coating the facts. Honesty I could do, and I lit a few fires under the crew to keep them motivated and helped Landon with the paperwork, but I'm not cut out for Command, I never wanted to be."

Nician looked toward the Doctor's office. It didn't seem like anyone was in there right now, so it was as good of a place as any. He hoped there was a replicator. He found himself chuckling at her commentary. "Coffee does sound good. Hopefully, there's a replicator in there, but I do seem to have a coffee or tea thingy in my office. That actually makes real beverage. I never saw myself as ship's counselor either, but here I am. I did do some study of psychology at the Academy, but I worried that it might be too much for me to handle so I didn't pursue it further. Funny how we end up where we didn't expect. Come..." he said with the same supportive smile, and headed for the office. "You know that there's no shame in crying. It's a release. It can actually be quite helpful. I've found from time to time in my life that a little bit of crying every now and then can keep a lot of complete breakdowns at bay. I've also found that sometimes life doesn't care about what we want, but it often leads us to the place we belong, if that makes any sense. I believe strongly that the Captain was correct about you and placed you in a position that best suited the needs of the many. I know you might feel uncomfortable right now and maybe even then... but there is something to be said for blunt honesty. It's a quality that more of us should strive for." He stepped into the office and looked around for the replicator. "How do you take your coffee?" he asked once he had located it.

"Double strong, cream and sugar," Xiulan answered his query about her coffee. The tears were still free flowing, but it wasn't like she was sobbing, she was calm as ever, just with tears. "I know what you mean about life and expectations and all... I never resented my lot in life; I've had a good life, despite how much I might complain about certain parts of it, but I never resented being blind. I resented my dad for the way he treated me, but maybe that was life's way of saying I was destined for different things. It's why I joined Starfleet, you know, to spite him. I just never thought I'd ever be in this kind of situation."

Nician went to the replicator and ordered two cups of coffee, both double strong and both with cream and sugar. "I don't think any of us thought that we would be dealing with anything like this. Most of us come fresh from the Academy and expect a career that Starfleet always touts. Smooth sailing with no loss of life. Of course we do expect field promotions, but nothing like what we've had to experience. At least that's not what they tell us. I'm sure that other people have encountered similar problems, but it seems like no one is ever truly prepared. Sometimes even if we think we are we aren't." He bought the steaming cups back to the Doctor's desk and set one in front of her. "Maybe we should sit." He looked around for a moment and made a little "ah-ha" noise and then lifted a box of tissue from the desk and offered it to her. "This might come in handy as well," he said with that same warm, supportive smile. "I have to say though, that no matter how unprepared you've been feeling all of the officers on this ship have done a fantastic job. The crew trusts you and they trusted him. That really says something for how you present yourself at least. Sometimes perceived confidence is contagious, even if you're not feeling it on the inside and that can be more important than anything else in these types of situations."

Xiulan took a seat at the desk, finding the heat signature of the coffee cup easily enough, but when he offered something else that could 'come in handy', it took her a moment to find the box of tissues he had set on the desk, but she did take one of the tissues and attempted to clean up her face. "Well, we didn't have much of a choice, we had to all work together to survive and we made it this far, and how we got here has to count for something," Xiulan replied. "And the confidence, most of the time I'm faking it, I'm so clueless and sometimes I'm so scared, but I can't let the crew see that. I was doing good at hiding it until I came here to visit Landon. I guess hearing how bad he was just pushed me over the edge."

Nician watched her struggle for the box of tissues, forgetting for a moment that she was blind. "I'm so sorry, I should have just handed you those. I wasn't thinking and you're right. We didn't have much of a choice. Faking it or not, you've done an excellent job. There's nothing wrong with being afraid or admitting it. To be honest, a lot of people treat fear like it's something bad, something that we should never feel, but stress and fear can make us smarter, faster thinkers and problem solvers. It is a learning curve though. Something that takes time and practice. The key is to not let the fear overwhelm you or take over. I know the situation with Landon is scary and all of his burden is now yours, but remember to be patient with yourself as well. We're all in shock with everything that has happened. Maybe some breathing exercises might do you some good. Let yourself feel the fear instead of trying to chase it away or trying to not feel it, but don't let it own you." He chuckled. "I spend most of my time in fear. Bolian's can sort of be cowards by nature and I have to say that I'm probably one of the worst. I'm not a fighter and I never have been, but I've found ways to get past my anxiety and continue on my way without letting it eat me alive, because it's very capable of doing just that."

"It's alright, I'm used to it," Xiulan said with a gesture to the tissues. "You know, growing up the way I did, I learned pretty early on to face my fears. When you're missing one of your senses, you don't- you don't exactly have the time or luxury to feel sorry for yourself and get hung up on your fears. You either learn to put up with those fears so they don't bother you, or you let it go and put it behind you. There were so many things I should have been afraid of because of the way my dad tried to protect me, but I didn't care that I was blind, I didn't miss working eyes, I was too busy trying to move forward and do more than to let myself be held back like that. People seem to equate 'disabled' with 'broken', and I'm not broken, I just have to do some things a little differently! But some of that, like learning to walk on my own with a cane for the first time, it requires a certain level of fearlessness; you have to be willing to move ahead, fully expecting you might get hurt but doing it anyway. I still feel fear and I respect it when I do, but I don't let it control me. Well, until now... But everyone has their limit, and losing sleep hasn't helped any. I just need to go blow off some steam and get a good night's rest."

Nician smiled. "Of course. Although how you can sleep after a cup of this is amazing to me." He chuckled. "It's going to be okay and of course you're not broken. Nothing is ever really broken, it all a matter of perspective. Don't forget that you're not alone and just remember to breathe." He hoped that he had supplied a good shoulder to cry on for a moment. It was something he strived to achieve. For some reason it had always been a reward for him to help support people as much as he could.

Xiulan nodded, wiping at her cheeks and eyes once more with the tissues, only this time her cheeks were staying dry. "I know, it's just been a constant stream of shit hitting us, one thing after another, and I've been so worried about how the crew was doing that for a moment I forgot to take care myself," she said, tossing the used tissues aside. "As for the coffee, it's been the only thing keeping me coherent all this time. I'd mainline that shit if I could. Or maybe not, I do like the taste of it," she added with a chuckle.

Nician chuckled as well. "Please don't mainline the coffee. You need sleep. I'm sure that things will be much clearer if you just get some rest. I think a lot of us need sleep. I've been worried about the crew as well. It seems that no matter what we do we still land in the pile of dung in the end. It's hard on crew morale. Perhaps we should look into rotating some shifts differently in the hopes that people can get some real rest, you especially. Is there someone you trust that you can leave in charge for several hours?"

"I'm off duty now, but I was so preoccupied about Landon that I couldn't sleep. I've been mindful of the long shifts, and I'm trying to make sure everyone gets a chance for rest, but then when I go off duty and I end up taking reports back to my quarters to finish or just laying in bed worrying about things I have no control over. It's frustrating," Xiulan said with a sigh. "Thanks for checking in on me. It's not easy for me to swallow my pride to ask for help, especially when it's something I feel like I should be able to do on my own without help, but I do need it now. Keep an eye on crew conditions and morale, and keep me informed on how things are."

"Well feel free to stop by my office or grab me in the dining hall or anything. Message me if you need to. I don't really care what time it is. Even if you just need to blow off steam. Sometimes it helps to talk about things, not necessarily for advice, but to just get them off our chests. Do you need something for sleep? I'm sure I could talk to the Doctor about a mild sleep aid. Not even for the long term, just to at least let you get a couple of nights of good sleep?"

"Well let's see how this little talk has helped before turning to drugs; if I don't get any sleep tonight then I'll give your suggestion a try," Xiulan said with a lopsided grin as she stood up, grabbing a couple extra tissues from the box in case her eyes decided to spring another leak.

Nician stood as well. "I hope it did help, and like I said. Feel free to contact me anytime. I'm here for you and not just in that psychoanalysis sort of way. We're in this together as a team." He smiled and took his mug back to the replicator. "I mean it... I expect to hear from you," he said over his shoulder, with a warm grin.

Nician seemed to be a much more agreeable sort than that idiot Brott, so Xiulan nodded with a smile and headed out, aiming for her quarters to try to get some much needed rest.

Xiulan didn’t know why she found herself outside Arturo’s door; much in the same way she had found herself in Sickbay at Landon’s side, her feet seemed to have a mind of their own! She was in such a daze, it took her a moment to realize just where she was, in fact she needed to ask the computer what corridor she was in before she could come to the conclusion that on some level she must have wanted to see Arturo. She was so tired, but there was so much going on, for the life of her she couldn’t shut her mind off long enough to sleep! That was probably why she found herself outside Arturo’s door at this late hour.

Xiulan rang the door chime, and she release a small sigh of relief when the door finally opened to reveal the rather short heat signature that could only belong to Arturo. “Hey, this may sound strange, but how do you feel about casual sex?” she heard herself ask. She knew she could be rather blunt, but the way she had just come right out with it kind of surprised her. Then her brow furrowed as she realized something important. “On second thought, it’s probably not a good idea, since I’m your boss and all… Sorry if I woke you,” she continued, shifting her weight uncomfortably.

Arturo reached out and took Xiulan’s hand and kissed it.

“Don’t go,” he said.

Arturo was a bit surprised to find the very attractive (well, at the moment she looked like Hell, but maybe he could do something about that) Xiulan at his door, but a hero’s work is never done.

“Come in,” he said. “You are not the only one who would benefit from company and I can think of no company I would like at this moment more than yours.”

Xiulan let Arturo lead her inside. “I’m sorry, I’m just so overwhelmed, Arturo. I was on the fast track to being a career Ensign before all this mess, and I was perfectly okay with that, I’m not ready for all this responsibility,” she said, looking more and more unraveled with each word she uttered.

“Shhh…” Arturo said. He opened one of the drawers in the wall and pulled a pillow. He tossed it on the floor. “Sit.”

Arturo unzipped Xiulan’s jacket and took it off of her. He unzipped her green shirt and pulled it over her head. Once she was down to her tank top, he knelt behind her and began to massage her shoulders and neck, being very careful of the shoulder she had dislocated during the fight with the Jem’Hadar. Every now and then he would kiss her bare neck and shoulders.

“For someone who does not feel ready,” he said. “You have done a fine job. Everyone feels overwhelmed sometimes. That does not make you any less capable.”

“Mmmm, that feels nice,” Xiulan said as he began to work at the tired, knotted muscles. She closed her eyes and simply breathed through the massage for a moment before finally answering his assessment of her job performance. “Thanks for saying I’m doing alright, I guess I’m good at faking it,” she said with a forced laugh.

Arturo nuzzled Xiulan’s neck and kissed her right ear before speaking. “You don’t have to fake anything here with me...at least I hope you won’t have to fake anything here with me.”

He gave her a playful nip on the shoulder.

“Well I should hope not,” she replied with a snicker.

---

This was the first time in a long time that Xiulan was able to get a decent night’s sleep. She had started losing sleep way back when they were in that nebula and her eyes were paining her, but but her disrupted sleep hadn’t been that bad until just recently. Of course, being attacked by Jem’Hadar and then having the ship taken over by a couple of psychos could easily disturb the sleep of most people, but before her break in Sickbay, Xiulan had been doing her best not to show how it had been affecting her. And she wasn’t the most dignified sleeper; she wasn’t exactly a bed hog, but she did have a tendency to migrate to open space so she could spread out a bit, which she had done, laying on the cabin floor on her belly with her arms above her head and tucked under the pillow that Arturo had sacrificed for the sake of her comfort. She certainly knew how to make herself comfortable, and she did look so peaceful sleeping so deep she was dead to the world; a red alert could have gone off and she probably wouldn’t have noticed. She certainly didn’t notice the weight of Arturo’s head using her shoulder as a pillow, his warmth and the vibrations of his purring running right through her recently dislocated shoulder and relaxing out all the tension; it was almost a shame she couldn’t be aware enough to appreciate the sensation!

Arturo lay contentedly next to Xiulan, his body close to hers so than they shared a sensation of warmth. He slowly began to rise to the level of consciousness. As he did, he began to affectionately caress Xiulan, not exactly trying to initiate lovemaking, though he wouldn’t say no to it, but rather showing her affection. Despite her tough exterior, Xiulan had the same needs, desires, fears, etc., including physical affection and closeness. At least, that was what Arturo gleaned from their encounter last night. That, and that she trusted him, which made him feel honored. Arturo smiled as he enjoyed the feeling of Xiulan’s soft skin under his fingertips as he lazily traced his fingers along her body.

Consciousness took a while longer to dawn on Xiulan than Arturo, and when a sense of wakefulness finally started to encroach on her slumber, her body started to respond to his gentle caresses. She rolled her shoulders as a wiggle moved down the length of her, then she smiled. “You’re comfy,” she said sleepily, her eyes still closed and her expression relaxed and contented.

Arturo chuckled. He enjoyed the feeling of her wiggling next to him. He continued to caress and explore with his fingers, taking time to notice things about Xiulan’s body that he’d missed the night before.

“Glad to be of service,” he said. “You are comfortable to sleep with as well.”

He kissed her sore shoulder gently.

“Do you have to rush off?” he asked.

“Don’t know, what time is it?” she asked, rubbing an eye sleepily. “If there’s coffee, I will always choose coffee over rushing off.”

“For you, there is of course coffee,” he said. “Though I am loathe to rise from my perch here, I will do so at your request. You are welcome to my shower and my replicator for a new uniform. Give me a moment to make sure there is nothing for you to trip over. But first…”

Arturo leaned in and kissed Xiulan on the cheek.

“Rest,” he said. “Leave everything to me!”

Arturo rose reluctantly and cleared everything away that Xiulan might trip over. Then he set up the coffee in his French press. Once he had water of the proper temperature, he poured it over the coffee in the press and left it to brew. He returned to Xiulan and lay down next to her.

“Coffee is brewing,” he said. “And, if I aim you in the right direction, you should be able to find your way to the shower without even a stubbed toe. I’d be happy to help you, of course, if you’d like.”

“Nah, don’t need help, though if you mean ‘help’, then I could be persuaded,” Xiulan said with a grin as she rolled onto her back, pulling the blanket around her so she wouldn’t lose the bubble of warmth it provided. Then her expression sobered a bit. “We’re, uh, on the same page though, right?” she asked awkwardly. “Not that I’m trying to kill the mood, I just want to make sure that we know where the line is, that once I walk out your door I have to be your boss again.”

“Absolutely!” Arturo said. “I would never presume to undermine your authority as executive officer! Besides, I’m pretty sure that you were the boss in here last night anyway! As for ‘help’...by all means! Lead the way!”

“Yeah, I was, wasn’t I,” Xiulan replied with another grin. “And how’s this for being the boss; I’m lazy, carry me.”

Arturo got to his feet and scooped Xiulan up off of the floor. He carried her into the head, which took a bit a maneuvering, He set her down on her feet before the shower and turned on the sonics and the mist and then guided her in.

Xiulan laughed, surprised that he had been able to manage her weight given how vertically challenged he was. As he guided her into the stall, she pulled him in with her. Since this was such a small ship with bunks instead of individual quarters, the shower stalls were also quite small, but they could manage. After all, it wasn’t like either one of them took up a lot of space.

---

Having concluded their 'extra-curricular activities' in the shower, they found themselves on the shower floor with Xiulan in Arturo's lap. He held Xiulan close and let the mist and the sound waves clean their bodies. He re-positioned her after a moment so that he could wash her back, sated but still exploring, enjoying her. He washed her hair for her (he was surprisingly good at it) he washed the length of it and massaged her scalp.

She certainly hadn’t been expecting him to bathe her, but she wasn’t complaining. This kind of ‘pampering’ wasn’t something she usually indulged in, she really wasn’t the kind of person who indulged in anything for that matter, but she let him work, her eyes closed and her body so relaxed. Once she found herself to be clean, she forced herself into awareness to address his state of cleanliness. “What do you do to clean your fur?” she asked curiously as she combed her fingers through his wet fur, massaging the muscle underneath as she worked.

“Hmmm….” Arturo said. “What you’re doing right now will get the job done nicely...rreow! It has been a long time since someone gave me this kind of attention. It feels wonderful.”

“It’s the least I could do after how you’ve spoiled me,” Xiulan replied with a crooked grin. She had only come to his quarters looking for sex, okay and the coffee too, so she hadn’t expected all this extra stuff, but she hadn’t realized until afterwards how much she needed all that too. If she were to compare her mental and emotional state from last night to how she was feeling now, she’d say she felt like a different person. Once she was done combing through his fur; or at least she assumed she was done, she combed through as much as she could reach from where she was sitting in his lap; but once she was done she cupped his cheeks and kissed him gently. “Thank you, Arturo,” she said softly in a rather uncharacteristic display of tenderness.

Arturo reached out and touched Xiulan’s face.

“It was my pleasure,” he said. “And I really do mean that. Thank you for sharing yourself with me. Of course, if you find yourself needing this again...well...consider me at your beck and call!”

He kissed her eyes, cheeks, nose, and mouth gently. “So! I will go and remake the coffee, that last batch being too bitter by now, and see what edible items I can replicate for you...I mean food, not strange items of clothing, of course. I simply can’t send you off to work on an empty stomach!”

“I don’t do edible undies anyway; those things are nothing but sugar, and that’s how you get diabetes, and ants,” Xiulan replied candidly, pulling herself from his lap with a laugh. She felt around for the shower controls and turned the shower off, then wrapped a towel around herself. “Yeah, that coffee does smell bitter,” she said as she found her way back to the cabin and the replicator, replicating a comb to work through her hair. “Oh hey, if you ever need a tumble, you know where to find me,” she said as she sat on his bunk and began to comb her hair.

“Oh I intend to find you!” Arturo replied. He dried himself off as best he could and gave himself a shake. He was now fluffier than usual. He started the coffee again and then put on a clean uniform. When he was done, the coffee was done. He also produced two glasses of water. “After our intense romp...er...romps, a little hydration is in order.”

Xiulan nodded and set her comb aside so he could put the glass in her hands. After hydrating, she set the glass aside to finish combing her hair. “Damned hairpins…” she muttered with a frown, recalling that she had dropped her pins on the floor last night, but she was always losing them anyway so she just let her hair hang loose for now. “So, uh, as your XO I guess I need to ask how you’re doing. I mean, how are you handling everything that’s going on with Landon and Soroys?” she asked as she pulled herself from his bunk to shuffle her feet along the floor to find her discarded uniform and undergarments.

Arturo realized what she was trying to do and chuckled to himself.

“Hold still,” he said, gathering up her clothing and setting them on the bunk. He also found her hairpins. “Your uniform is on the bed, underclothes on top. I could recycle it and replicate you a new one if you’d like. Did you want your hair pins, too? They’re in my hand directly in front of you.”

“Thanks, that’d be great,” Xiulan said, reaching out to take the hairpins, then rattled off a series of replicator pattern reference numbers for her preferred undergarments as she twisted her hair up into a bun. “So my question, how are you holding up?”

Arturo fed the reference numbers into the replicator and handed Xiulan her clothes when they came out.

“I am holding up well, I think,” he said. “I once had to adjust to being erroneously found to be negligent, responsible for a horrible starship accident, and unceremoniously booted out of Starfleet. I went to work for the Nyberite Alliance, serving as a pilot on one of their privateers. Life was rarely predictable in the Nyberite Alliance. Now I’ve had to adjust to getting my commission back and being unceremoniously dump BACK into Starfleet. A simple things like conspiracies and traitors and killer Letheans with evil psychic powers...that’s nothing to me!”

He paused a moment.

“I would give my life for my crew,” he said. “But, truth be told, I would rather find a less...permanent solution to the problem.”

“Well, it’s good to hear that this situation is no big deal to you, but it’s still a problem, one I’m hoping we can find solution that all of us can survive,” Xiulan said as she got dressed. “I’d like to avoid personal sacrifices, if I can, I feel like they would be wasted on someone like Soroys and her pet. I’m not used to being responsible for the safety of an entire crew. I know it could be worse, this is a small ship and we’re not even fully staffed… But before all I had to worry about was myself, it’s a big jump having to worry about everybody… And given my, uh, disability, I can’t always be aware of some things around me, so if you notice anything wrong, will you let me know?”

“I shall be your eyes and ear, Xiulan Song,” he said. “And should you feel overwhelmed, you should feel free to come to me, for a tumble if you’d like, of course, but also to talk. I am happy to be your trusted and loyal confidant.”

Xiulan just simply nodded, then parked it on his bunk to put on her boots, occasionally pausing to sip at her coffee. “How’s breakfast coming along?” she asked. She thought about what Arturo said about his past and how their run in with Soroys was nothing in comparison, and she wondered if maybe he would make a better XO than she at the moment, especially with Landon unconscious in Sickbay, but the she realized that despite how unprepared everyone was months ago when their original Captain was injured and placed in stasis, and then they were attacked by the Copernicus, the whole crew banded together to form a functional, cohesive unit, defying the odds to survive this long; Xiulan had to honor that achievement, so she shoved her doubts aside and accepted what was expected of her.

Arturo went to the replicator and returned with two good sized and warm blueberry muffins on a plate.

“Here we are!” he said. “Another cup of coffee?”

“Nice,” she said as she smelled warm blueberry baked goodness. “And I’ll take another cup, but I think I’ll need it in a travel mug. I’ve got a lot paperwork that Soroys isn’t bothering to do, so I have to do that on top of what I was already doing, plus she expects me to man Communications… I get the feeling she’s trying to keep me busy so I can’t find the time to stand up to her,” she said around mouthfuls of blueberry muffin.

Arturo reached into a cubby hole and pulled out a travel mug. He poured the remaining coffee in it and closed the lid. He carefully placed it in Xiulan’s hand.

“You can borrow this one,” Arturo said with a grin. “And now we have an excuse to see each other again when I get it back.”

Arturo looked at his chrono. “Look at the time. I have to be on the bridge. Feel free to stay here until you finish. I must be off! Farewell, my Graceful Orchid!”

The last part was done in jest just because he knew that she hated to be called ‘Graceful Orchid’ and loved to call her that as much as she hated it. He finished up his coffee and muffin gave Xiulan a kiss goodbye.

“I promise not to do that on the bridge,” he said as he walked out the door.

She was just about to punch him for calling her ‘Graceful Orchid’ again when he kissed her, and something about that kiss left her breathless with a dreamy expression on her face. Then he was gone and something else dawned on her. ‘MY Graceful Orchid’? Oh shit, was she in a relationship now?! She shoved the rest of her muffin into her mouth, grabbed her coffee, then tried to forget what had just happened as she rushed off to the Bridge as well.

ON:

Ian walked out of the briefing room as quickly as his legs could carry him and down the corridor. Finding a nook, he leaned against the bulkhead and fought the urge to vomit as a wave of nausea and indecision washed over him. He could feel his face draining of all color as he started to become cold- this was a feeling more than nervousness, this was fear at it's worst. Fear of failure and the fear of death- a feeling he hadn't felt since his cruise aboard the Casseiopeia. This new Captain was coming in and attempting a takeover, the only problem with that was the question of why she insisted on taking the Beifong. The T'Pava was a Miranda Class ship, an easily bigger and tactically sound vessel. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to center himself but he felt himself failing.

Similar thoughts were running through Xiulan's head, though she was managing to remain a bit more composed. After ensuring that Landon was okay from whatever that Lethean had done to him, Xiulan found herself down the same corridor as Ian; she wasn't ready to return to the bridge or deal with people yet... Her pace was slow as she made her way blindly through the halls, but then she came across a heat signature in a nook that was suspiciously human-shaped and she paused. "Mackenzie, is that you?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly at the end as a sign that she too was rattled by their meeting with Soroys.

Ian looked into the hallway has he heard footsteps on the deck. "Yeah, it's me." he said wearily, falling into step beside Xiulan as they made their way down the corridor. He felt the residual effects of a rush of memories that sickened him. Walking slowly, he turned to her. "What do you think of all of this, ma'am?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Don't 'ma'am' me; just a couple months ago I was an Ensign, I'm not ready for that 'ma'am' crap," Xiulan grumbled. "And to be honest, I don't know how to feel about all this. It ain't right, too many things don't add up..." On the one hand, Xiulan didn't trust Soroys, but on the other hand, it wasn't really her place to stand up to her. Or was it? Xiulan didn't know, she didn't know how to be a good XO, but all she knew was that this whole situation was wrong and her head was reeling trying to figure out what to do.

Ian grimaced at this, his eyes losing focus. "Sorry. Force of habit." he said. "And I don't feel any better about it than you do. In fact, I think it's a load of Targarian horse manure." Ian stopped to catch his breath and think. Suddenly, an idea hit him like a bolt from the blue. "I have a plan, ma'am. At least I think I do..." he said as his voice trailed off.

"Well, don't just keep it to yourself, let's hear it!" Xiulan replied with a force laugh.

"I was thinking.... We can't stop this Captain from taking over but we have to protect the Commander and eventually take back command. I'll be assigning my security team to guard Commander Milo in sickbay, I can even dress them up as Corpsmen if I need to. When I give the signal, I'll arrest this new CO and see if we can detain her." Ian said quickly. His plan was harebrained at best and there was almost no chance it would work but they had to try.

"Nuh-uh, ain't happening," Xiulan said with a shake of her head. "First off, shady or not, she's still a Starfleet officer and our superior, ain't no way we'd get outta that without a Court Martial unless she gives us just cause for the arrest. Second, she's Betazoid, and given her display of ethics, or lack thereof, I'd be very careful what you think around her. Third, I trust that Lethean even less than her and I'm more concerned with the damage he can do," Xiulan countered. "That's not to say I think we should do nothing, I just..." She released a heavy sigh, unable to verbalize just how she felt or what they should do.

Ian raised his eyebrow. "She's ordering us to fire on Federation starships based on nothing but faulty intelligence. When we get to base, our every action is going to scrutinized and ripped apart. Do you really think that firing on an allied vessel with minimal information is going to win us any points? They'd send us to New Zealand faster than we'd be able to say 'We were just following orders'." he said quickly

"No, you don't get it, I didn't say we do nothing, but arresting her without cause is gonna get us in trouble," Xiulan said with a sigh. "This wouldn't be the first time a CO has had to act on little to no Intel, even faulty Intel, but that is not an arrest-able offense. Right now, we are not in a position to act, but that doesn't mean we can't make ourselves ready for when the time is right," she tried to clarify. "Look, there's too many things about her story that just don't add up, and if we're right then this is about to go sideways bad, but we can't arrest her on a hunch. And like I said, I'm worried about that Lethian, I don't want to take action against her when her 'Chief of Security' is free to mind rape Landon or anyone else on this crew."

"Okay, you're right." Ian said, followed by a short sigh of resignation. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Xiulan was right, making unfounded arrests was a great way to torpedo a career before it got off the ground. "We could always set a sleeper protocol to lockout command functions if things do end up going south if you're willing." he said, pondering the possibility. "It'd shut down everything from power, weapons, encrypted communications, you name it. With a simply code phrase, the ship will lock itself against anyone who might want to use her for 'untoward purposes'."

Xiulan paused midstride, her hand wrapped around her collapsed cane tightening as she found her resolve. "Yeah, that sounds good," Xiulan said with a nod after a moment of consideration. "And your idea about tightening Security was good too, just be discreet about it. We can't act too soon; if we're wrong, then we need to know, and if we're right about her, then we don't want to tip her off that we're on to her. Understood?"

Ian nodded. "I read you loud and clear, ma'am. I'll get started on it immediately. Can you help me?" he asked her quietly.

"You would know your ways around Security protocols better than I would, but once you've got a workable program, I can encrypt it so it's difficult to identify and trace," Xiulan replied.

Ian pulled himself up against the bulkhead again. "Okay, give me 4 hours and I'll have something for you. Meet me in my bunkroom and we can go over it." he said, the nausea hitting him in a torrential wave again.

"We can spare an extra hour or two if you need a moment to collect yourself," Xiulan said when she noticed that his heat signature was no longer beside her and was now leaning against the bulkhead again. "The sooner we get this done, the better, but I want your A game, so if that means you need a minute then take it."

Ian shook his head. "I'll be fine, XO. I'll have something for you in four hours." he said weakly, holding himself up against the bulkhead to keep himself from vomiting all over the deck.

"Alright, I'll see what you've got for me in four hours," Xiulan replied and continued on, somehow managing to hide how much she also wanted to empty the contents of her stomach all over the deck plating.

ON

Arturo was a bit apprehensive about visiting the ship's counselor. Not that he didn't like to talk about himself. Arturo loved to talk about himself. Given the opportunity, Arturo could go on for hours about himself and his adventures or about adventures he'd like to go on. Talking to a counselor was a bit different. Nonetheless, Arturo was required to see a counselor and, truth be told, he probably needed to process his return to Starfleet and what that meant to him. Being exonerated, having his commission reinstated, the whole thing.

Having avoided bandits and road agents in his travels through the ship, Arturo arrived at the counselor's office. He took a relaxing breath and rang the door chime.

"Come in!" Nician called out. He had been busily cleaning around his office most of the day and now it was just down to sort of fussing over where things were supposed to go. He was a little nervous about meeting the Caitian, but he was nervous about most things, so it seemed almost a normal state of mind for him. He wasn't quite sure how to broach the subject of what was currently going on aboard the Beifong, with Soroys being in charge and Landon being in sickbay, but he was sure that somehow he would find a way. He did have a standard interview that he would follow to get things rolling although he didn't know how the Caitian would respond to some of the questions since he hadn't been aboard long. He remained standing, waiting for Arturo to enter.

Arturo sighed and entered the counselor's tiny office.

"I, Lieutenant Arturo M'Rohass, Chief Flight Control Officer of the USS Beifong and Swordsman Extraordinaire, have arrived for our appoint," he said. "I am most pleased to make your acquaintance!"

Nician chuckled and bowed to the Caitian. He certainly did have a way with words. "Greetings Lieutenant! I'm pleased to make your acquaintance as well. If you would like you can have a seat!" He gestured to the small seating area comprised of Starfleet issued furniture, a couch, two chairs and a low table in the middle. "I just made some tea. Would you like a cup? You're more than welcome to one. I believe this is a blackberry tea that I got on Earth last time I was there. I also have cream and sugar if you like." He gave Arturo a warm smile, unable to contain his normal, cheerful, Bolian nature.

Arturo took the offered seat.

"Blackberry tea sounds wonderful," he said. "As does cream and sugar!"

"Excellent!" Nician grinned and went to the tea pot, pouring the cups carefully. "So do you feel like you've settled into the Beifong? Even with all the chaos?"

"Arturo M'Rohass is no stranger to chaos!" said the Caitian helmsman. "My life went into full chaos mode after... after the incident which led to me being falsely found negligent and cashiered from Starfleet. I found refuge in the service of the Nyberite Alliance. Privateering is rarely dull and often filled with randomness! But now I have been cleared and returned to service and here I am!"

Nician grinned and chuckled a little, bringing the cups of tea back to the low table on a little tray with offerings of sugar and cream and little dried biscuits. "Please help yourself to whatever you like." His tea cups were pretty. Perhaps a little too pretty for a male Bolian. The china was white with a silver scalloped edge and little blue flowers around the outside, something like someone's Earth grandmother would own. Nician took a seat across from Arturo and sipped at his own cup of tea. "Well, perhaps no stranger to chaos, but how do you feel about being on the Beifong?"

Arturo added sugar and cream to his tea and took a sip.

"Ahh..." he said. "That is lovely. Now, where were we? Ah, yes! How do I feel about being on the Beifong? I feel fantastic! There I was, adrift, alone, and then, out of nowhere came the vailant crew of the USS Beifong! I was snatched from the jaws of defeat and placed in the arms of victory! Actually, I feel pretty good about being on this tough little ship, for the most part. I'm making friends and having adventures, sometimes both at the same time. I could do without Captain Soroys and her foul companion. Strangely, I don't entertain thoughts of murder most foul. I'm prepared to kill in defense of the ship and more importantly, my crew, but I would be content to detain them as well if we could arrange that."

Nician laughed a little, in fact it was almost nervously. "I believe that quite a few of us might share that sentiment Lieutenant," he said in a rather hushed tone. "How are you sleeping?" He raised his voice a little louder than he really needed to, suddenly feeling like he was being watched by the crazy lady on the bridge. Nician also realized right then that he wasn't really sure how much sleep Caitians required on a regular basis. He had, of course, had medical training, but the information had fallen right out of his head. He readjusted in his seat, trying to get his heart to stop racing. He needed to get his information about her to the other officers, but he was very paranoid that she might be listening in.

"Well enough," Arturo said. He rarely had nightmares about the Halsey anymore. When he did have them, they were horrific. At least they were few and far between. "I have few unpleasant dreams these days."

"Oh?" Nician raises his brow ridges a little in interest. "Can you tell me what they're about? I understand if you don't want to talk about them, but sometimes it helps if we talk these sorts of things through." He made a circluar motion with one hand as if to demonstrate what talking it through looked like. "You aren't eating a large meal and then falling asleep are you? Sometimes that can cause bad dreams."

Arturo frowned. He thought he'd deftly avoided the issue of nightmares.

"There was... an incident," he said. "You may have heard of it. It made the newsfeeds. They called it 'The Halsey Incident'. I was the Chief Flight Control Officer of the USS Halsey at the time. We... struck something, mid-flight, at warp. A small cosmic phenomenon. I was held responsible. I wasn't responsible, I wasn't negligent, but I was held responsible. The incident was horrific. When we struck the object, it sent us spiraling out of control for several minutes before we dropped out of warp. Inertial dampeners were strained. On some decks, they failed altogether. Have you ever seen what happens to a body when the inertial dampeners fail while the ship is hurtling through space?"

Nician winced. "I'm so sorry Lieutenant. I'm sure that even though you weren't responsible the incidient has still stuck with you. Those things have a tendency to do that. I was a nurse for awhile before I became ship's counselor and I've seen some pretty terrible things. Horrible things happen to people in space. I can't say that I ever got used to it though. Do you keep a journal? I've found that journaling can be very effective for dealing with nightmares. It's your mind trying to process and release the emotion and thoughts. Sometimes writing it down can really help or even a spoken journal. Just something to help you get out everything. Almost like purging it. Does that make sense? Although, journaling doesn't work for everyone." He smiled a little.

"I will consider a journal, Ensign," he said. "The nightmares do not come as frequently now as they have in the past. I had quite an impressive one the night before I took the helm of the Beifong. The details have faded, though I remember something happening, another incident, and I remember blood, a considerable amount of it in an array of colors. I didn't know any of you very well at that point, so I don't think I was seeing anyone in particular, just generic crew members. But I will endeavor to keep some kind of record of these nightmares when they occur."


"It is good to hear that you've come so far already and are starting to lose some of the detail. Those things can be really really tough to deal with. I'm so sorry that you've had to go through that. This might sound a little strange, but if you think of these things... like nightmares... as energy. That is negative energy. It brings you down to carry it around. The only way to really move that energy from inside to outside so it no longer has an influence on you, is to speak about it or write about it. It's a sort of energy tranference. Does that make sense? You're moving the energy, emotions, power... whatever you want to call it... from inside of you to outside of you as a way of releasing it. You can't keep things bottled up. I don't want you to think that you need to share your journal with anyone though. You can if you want to, but don't feel that it's necessary. It's solely for your benefit." He smiled and poured himself another cup of tea. "Please feel free if you want more..." he gestured to the teapot. "How do you feel that you're fitting in here? Are you making friends?"

Arturo nodded. "I am fitting in well, I suppose," he said. "Several of the senior staff are junior officers significantly younger than me, but that hasn't posed too much of an issue. I remain young at heart."

He had given himself, he felt, enough time to calm his nerves a little. He set his teacup down. "Good. That's good to hear. I'm sure you are making friends. You're a rather likeable fellow." He smiled and lowered his voice. In case anyone was listening he was hoping that they couldn't tell what he was saying. "Some of the other officers share your opinion about the new people in place. They would like to have a meeting about it. All is not what it seems with the new Captain and her companion. Tomorrow eve in Cargo bay 1 if you don't mind, please." He raised his voice again, trying not to show that his heart rate was up again. "Have you gotten involved with any of the crew activities?"

"I'm always interested in crew activities," Arturo said, giving Nician a none to subtle thumbs up in response to his hushed message. He'd have winked, but anyone who's ever seen a bipedal feline try to wink would tell you it is very disturbing. "I should look into that."

Nician nodded and gave him a warm smile. "Some people like sports... I know that there are several games planned. I will have to send the schedule to you. Some also like art and poetry. There is often a poetry reading in the crew Lounge, when we have time of course. I've never been very good at art, but I do apperciate it. There is a crew member that gives painting lessons if that interests you at all and I always enjoy a good tea party." He chuckled, relieved that he had gotten the message out of the way and felt that no one had been the wiser. "What kind of activities do you like to do?"

"I practice the Italian martial arts, for one," Arturo said. "And I am partial to listening to Jazz. On a ship this small, I am limited to practicing in the Cargo Bay, and only then if it isn't full. There really isn't anywhere on a ship this size to put anything recreational, other than the mess hall. Come to think of it, I moved some tables around one night and practiced in there. On shore leave I like to take in the theatre when something is available, live, if I can get it. There's something missing when take in a recorded performance on the holodeck. I performed with the theatre troupe at Starfleet Academy. They liked to do Shakespeare while I was there and needed someone who could really use a sword. We did some Moliere, as well. Ah, those were the days!"

"Oh! That sounds like lots of fun! You should get involved with the theater people here. I'm not familiar with Italian martial arts. That is an Earth tradition, yes? Were you raised among your own people or were you raised elsewhere? Are you having any trouble adjusting to the replicated meat? I've heard that sometimes the replicator can give Caitians a little bit of stomach upset. I would hate for that to be happening to you." He smiled warmly. Arturo seemed to be a rather well-adjusted individual and he was glad of it. Aside from the Lieutenant's flamboyant personality he seemed to have a decent grip on reality.

Arturo chuckled at the rapidity of the counselor's questions. "Yes," he said. "The Italian martial arts are an Earth tradition. Officially, the tradition started in the time of the Romans, before what the Humans call the common era, and officially ends in Earth's 19th century. A group called Nova Scrimia revived the arts in the late 20th century. I was raised among my people, but on Alpha Centauri, so I was influenced by other cultures. As a child I read Puss in Boots, The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, Shakespeare's plays, books of the knights of medieval times, even books and comic books about Zorro. I was fascinated by swordplay. My parents found out about a Nova Scrimia School in the Italian neighborhood and sent me there for lessons so that I would learn to use a sword without hurting myself. I loved my lessons! I learned about all manner of sword fighting, knife fighting, stick fighting, even hand-to-hand combat! I competed in tournaments to test my skills and accounted myself well. When I entered the Academy, I joined the fencing team and the wrestling team. I was invited to audition for the theatre troupe by an... intimate friend and found much enjoyment there."

Arturo thought for a moment. "I have not had much trouble with the replicator," he said. "I limit my grain intake so as to avoid... transmission trouble. I eat only the appropriate amount of vegetables and consume mostly animal proteins. When I can, I eat it fresh, but the replicated animal proteins are palatable in small doses. This is good because I do work up an appetite avoiding bandits and road agents on my travels through the ship."

Nician laughed and set his empty tea cup on the table without refilling it. "All of that is good to hear. It's good to stay physically fit. Not that I can really talk about that." He patted his semi-round middle. "My personality never lent itself well to sport. I tried Vectorboarding when I was younger, but I could never get the coordination down to really do well at it. I was much more of an... indoor type." He chuckled. "I can understand where your influences came from though," he said with a warm smile. "I'm also glad that the replicator food isn't giving you any trouble. Is there anything that you wish to talk about? Anything that you're having difficulty with? Your mood seems to be good, but a lot of people hide their troubles with outward niceties, if you get my meaning."

"I understand all too well, Ensign," he said. "I try not to be bitter about the Halsey Incident, about being drummed out of Starfleet, black listed, and left to fend for myself. If it wasn't for a true friend putting a good word in for me with the Nyberite Alliance, I would have had nowhere to go. Then I was cleared of all wrong doing and offered my commission back and I jumped at the chance... and I was sent to the ass end of space to pilot shuttles. Piloting shuttles is an honest trade. My father was a shuttle pilot. I do not feel the work is beneath me. I will fly anything I can get checked out on. But I was missing flying a starship, having all of that power at my fingertips. If not for our chance meeting, I would still be flying shuttles at DS11. Will I get to stay on the Beifong when we return? Or will I be sent to some other remote outpost to fly shuttles? I do not know. Being involved in yet another scandal is not likely to help my situation, but perhaps helping to bring the our current troubles to a swift end will be viewed in a favorable light by at least some of those in power. Hope, as the Humans say, springs eternal! Whatever happens, I shall make the best of it!"

Nician smiled widely. "Well I think I feel confident about you being stable... for at least the moment." He chuckled, trying to indicate that he was joking He wasn't super good at humor, but he did like to give it a try from time to time. "Maybe we should have another meeting in say... a month?"

"Of course," Arturon replied. He liked the cheerful young Bolian and talking to someone would do Arturo good. "A month it is. Thank you, Ensign. I shall now take my leave of you!"

Arturo stood and and was gone so fast his shadow lingered a moment before also departing. Liking Nician was one thing. Staying in a Counselor's office one nanosecond longer than was necessary was quite another.

OFF

ON

Nerys sighed and refilled her cup of coffee before returning to staring at the recording module. Her mother had given it to her before she left. She knew what was on it, but she hadn't felt like looking at it. She didn't have the emotional range to appreciate it. A lot of it was funny - she knew this by the recorded laughter of the audience... But humor was one thing lost on her. Puns and irony were the only kinds she could understand, but it was a humorless enjoyment of them and it just felt like one more hollow piece of her life.

Then she remembered the Caitian. Arturo was so full of life and emotion, it almost made her nauseated the few times she'd tried to interact socially with him. Perhaps he could understand and enjoy and perhaps... Perhaps she could enjoy it through him. It was a meager hope and illogical, but it was hope none the less.

Looking up Arturo's location, she grabbed her recording module and headed out of medbay and made the short trip to his quarters. Pressing the door chime, she actually felt something fluttering in her stomach. Was that nervousness or anxiety? Fascinating.

Arturo was relaxing and listening to Amad Jamal, an Human jazz pianist from Earth's 20th Century when he heard the chime. He turned down the music and maneuvered his way out of his bunk without banging his skull. Even at his small size, that was difficult to do. He stood up and padded on bare feet the short distance to the door. he was dressed in a pair of Starfleet Academy shorts and a Starfleet Academy Fencing Team t-shirt. He opened the hatch and found, standing before him, Nerys Evartin, the ship's chief medical officer.

"Nerys!" he said, standing aside so that she could enter. His quarters were small, they all were on a Defiant Class. "Come in, come in. To what do I owe this imense pleasure? Please, pull up a patch of floor! By that of course I mean have a seat. Can I get you anything? I still have some coffee left, if you'd like me to brew a couple of cups."

Nerys entered at the invitation and just stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say, seemingly lost in thought about the questions she had been asked. After a few seconds of silence, she had a reply formulated. "I should have brought you some of my coffee from my stash. I keep almost two hundred pounds of beans in the last stasis tube in sickbay. It's mostly various flavors from Itally and Trillius Prime, but I have some direct from the columbian mountains."

"Well then," Arturo said as if the pause had never happened. Who was he to unnerved by a person's excentricities? "I shall have to come and visit you and you can ply me with coffee then. In the mean time, how about a cup of Italian roast? I can brew it in my French press...which a suppose is a nice mix of Earth cultures. I'll get that started right away."

Arturo started making the coffee. He first ground some Italian roast. Then he scooped the grounds into the press and filled it with boiling water he'd gotten from the replicator. He talked as he worked.

"So, Nerys," he said. "It really is a pleasure to see you. What brings you to see me?"

He set the timer for four minutes and let the coffee brew. Then he realized that Nerys hadn't come in yet.

"Oh, my dear," Arturo said. "You seem to be stuck in the corridor. Deep breath now, then one foot in front of the other. Here, I'll grab you a pillow to sit on."

Nerys realized she'd paused in the doorway and was just standing there. She then took the steps required to come the rest of the way into the quarters. "I um... Thank you. I have a recording my mother gave me before we left and I haven't looked at it yet. It's of her troupe's performance of Chaucer's short stories and I was hoping you would enjoy it... with me." the slight pauses in her speech as she composed what to say was an obvious marker of her 'disability' and lack of social skills, but at least she was making the effort.

Arturo grinned.

"That sounds lovely," he said. The timer went off. "Hold that thought."

Arturo went over to where the coffee was brewing and pressed the press. He filled two mugs with the strong, dark brew.

"Do you take anything in your coffee?" he asked. "Milk? Cream? Sugar? Brown sugar? I even have some Irish whiskey if you want to add another culture to the mix."

"I normally drink it black, but..." And then she paused again, trying to process what to say as she set the recording module on the desk and sat down on the offered pillow. "Irish whiskey. I've never had it in coffee before. Is that ok? I don't want to be trouble."

"Your wish is my command," Arturo replied. "I wouldn't have offered if it wasn't ok."

He poured some Irish in both of their mugs. To his he added some cream (he was a felinoid afterall) and a touch of brown sugar. He brought Nerys her mug and took a seat on the floor.

"Here you go!" Arturo said. "So, your mother is a performer? I love the theatre! I was a member of my secondary school's troupe and the Starfleet Academy troupe as well!"

Nerys nodded as she took the mug and took a sip. This was fact and she could rattle that off easily. "She was in the theater groups all through her schooling and immediately joined a Trill group of the arts after graduation. She has three degrees in the arts on Trill and one from Earth and now she runs her own company performing Earth stories across Trillius Prime. You and she would likely get along very well. She doesn't allow modern holography at her performances though. Hence the antique recording module. It'll still interface with any terminal on the ship though, so we can watch it whenever and wherever you like." She then sipped her coffee again. "This is very good. Next time you're in sickbay, I'll have to make some of my Columbian select with my vaccuum siphon system. That's as close to the first Earth coffees as you can get these days."

"I look forward to it," Arturo said. "Your mother sounds like an impressive person. Are you two close?"

Nerys immediately misunderstood the question. "No, there are quite a few lightyears between us. She's still on Trillius Prime and I'm here." Then she paused, realizing that isn't what Arturo had meant. "No, I... close as in... Ok... She tries to be but with my condition, we rarely talk these days. As an example, it was a full year before she found out I had my first medical degree."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Nerys," he said. "Does she not contact you? Reach out to you? She has to know that your condition is not your fault. Or is it that you find it difficult to reach out to her? Or both?"

"I'm not a psychologist, but I think it might be a bit of both. She says things emotionally that I just don't understand and I know I'm like a cold fish to her. I still send her letters now and then, but they're more like status reports compared to hers. Does that make sense?" Nerys took another sip from her coffee before continuing. "Are you familiar with Schizoid Personality Disorder?"

Arturo imagined that what Nerys was going through with her mother must be very distressing to her. She must have the same experience trying to understand what her crewmates were trying to communicate to her.

"I am not," Arturo said. "Is that the condition that you have?"

Nerys nodded again. "Yes, it's basically a disconnect in the emotional centers of the brain that prevents the experience of emotions. I've had a few... flutters... of emotion now and then but never anything major. Thus, social interactions and connections with other people are difficult and I spend most of my time alone inventorying things. Most on Trill with my condition normally tend to the symbiote pools, but my father was able to get me into a good school and I found I had an amazing aptitude for medicine - particularly surgery. Hence, I studied to be a cardiologist with a secondary in cross species Neuro-pathology and a tertiary in xenobiology."

"So that's why you have such a hard time interacting with people?" Arturo said. "Well, you don't have to hide in Sick Bay cataloguing tongue depressors, not unless you want to. You can rest assured that when you interact with me, I won't try and push you to be someone you're not. And I knew you were intelligent and hard working but I had no idea about your level of education. Let's see, medical school and what? Two difficult residencies AND a degree in Xenobiology? You'd make Vulcans jealous!"

"The Vulcan Science Academy is where I got my degree in Xenobiology, actually. I had average marks, but I believe my professors were impressed." Nerys added.

Arturo grinned.

"I'm sure they were," he said. "And I am sure that your mother is equally proud of you. How long have you been in the fleet now?"

"Just over seven years now. I was able to skip most of the Academy because of my prior learnings and lack of a combat role so I got an assignment pretty quickly and entered as a Lieutenant Junior Grade. I do believe she's expressed herself greatly over that accomplishment." A lopsided grin seemed to grace Nerys's features for just a moment before her stoic demeanor returned.

Arturo sipped his coffee, then leaned in conspiratorially.

"I don't mean to alarm you," he said in a mock whisper. "But you may have expressed an emotion. Do not worry! Your secret is safe with me! The worst and most despicable bandits and road agents could not drag a secret from me!"

Arturo sat back up and winked at Nerys to show he was kidding. Would she catch the social cue? Maybe not.

"You know," he said. "I can be a very silly person. I acknowledge that. So if you ever feel like you are missing the meaning of something I am saying, whether it is due to you condition or because I am a truly ridiculous being, do not hesitate to ask me to explain. I want you to feel free to be you around me. Especially now that I understand what you are going through, I will not demand from you what you cannot give and I will happily accept what you can give. And if every now and then a smile or a tear or a laugh or even a truly angry scowl sneaks out, that's okay, too."

"I... Thank you." Pulling out a tiny PaDD, Nerys started making a log entry into it, totally missing the social cue, but appreciative of Arturo's apparent immunity to torture. "What kind of emotion did it look like? Was it some form of pleasure? I keep a journal of these experiences, but it seems I almost let one slip by. Was it when my facial muscles twitched?"

Arturo smiled gently at Nerys.

"Yes," he said. "There was a hint of a smile, a smile being an indication of amusement or happiness or pleasure, sometimes all three."

Nerys nodded and entered all that into her journal as well as the situation. "Sorry, if I don't enter it right away, I tend to forget about it," she said as she finished typing. "Would you like to read this entry? Or even other entries? Id oubt it would be too fascinating to anyone but a therapist, but you're welcome to, if you choose. You are a friend, after all." Nerys offered the small PaDD to Arturo, thinking about the implications of what she'd just said. Yes, he seemed to fill the definition of friend exactly, therefore she trusted him almost implicitly now.

"I would be honored," Arturo said, taking the PaDD in his hand. "And I am honored that you consider us friends. I feel the same way about you."

Arturo could tell what letting someone read her 'journal' meant to her. He could also tell that her friendship was precious, not something to be taken lightly. Someone of a dishonorable nature could easily take advantage of Nerys. Arturo was not that person.

"This entry seems about right to me," Arturo said. He skimmed some of the others. "Some of these are quite interesting. When you notice these behaviors, do you notice the feelings? Or, in your mind, are the behaviors, smiling, shedding a tear, feeling a hint of anger, etc, and the feelings separate?"

"I've noticed a pattern, actually. Oftentimes when I feel a fluttering of emotion, it's been annoyance, frustration, nervousness, and similar emotions. Rarely do I realize the more positive or emotive emotions. If you look further back, I only have a record of myself crying three times and I think once was a symptomatic reaction to a severe methane buildup in the bowels of a Bolian just after it was finally released. Another time was when I left home for college the first time. I was on a transport, confused as to why I was crying. There was no sadness or emotion that I could record at that time. Another time, I was deeply frustrated because I was about to lose a patient and there was nothing I could do. That patient is now in cryo-stasis aboard this vessel and was the Captain prior to Captain Milo. I've also experienced impatience while replicating neuro-enzymatic receptor enhancers for Captain Milo's recovery. He should be fully recovered within a week, thankfully."

"That is good news," Arturo said. "I'll let you in on a little secret. The rest of us have been known to cry when our emotions get the better of us. Excitement, joy, pain, sadness, or just stress can cause it to happen. And there are other physical reactions to emotions. Tensing of muscles, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, sweating, dizzyness, upset stomach, etc. Is it possible that you felt some of these other physical expressions of emotion and just didn't realize what they might have been?"

"It's possible but there are so many other possible causes that at times it's hard to tell." Nerys replied. Then she remembered something. "Oh yeah, I felt something as I rang your doorbell. A fluttering in my belly. That could have been a sign of anxiety."

"See!" Arturo said. "With practice you could learn your body's signals that you are experiencing emotions!"

He regarded her a moment.

"Why were you anxious about seeing me?" Arturo said. "I hope I have done nothing that would make you feel you had to fear me."

Nerys thought about it a moment as she sipped her coffee. "Perhaps because of the unknown. I often make people uncomfortable and have been told I have zero bedside manner. In those cases, I often turn on the EMH to talk to the patient while I treat them."

"Well," Arturo said. "You don't make me uncomfortable in the least, so you don't have to worry about that, and if I was injured I could think of no better physician to treat me than you. So, does using the EMH as an Emergency Bedside Manner Hologram work? Well, I guess in that case we would probably call it an EBMH, but you get my meaning."

"He seems to sooth the more upset patients so I'd say yes, he works. He also says he wants a name and has even picked one out. I'm not sure what to think, but he says he can't lie and really likes Hugh Jass." Nerys commented. She knew it was a joke and though she understood it, she had difficulty with the humor part. On the bright side, she could tell any joke with a straight face.

Arturo laughed out loud.

"Go ahead and name him that and then we can have someone from Ops reprogram his image parameters so that he actually has a gigantic rump!" he said gleefully. "Your patients, those with a wicked sense of humor at least, will enjoy the joke!"

"I will put in the request to Captain Milo as soon as I can then. Perhaps he'll be more relatable. Thank you." Nerys replied before sipping her coffee some more, almost to the end of her cup. "Do you want to watch the recording now, or wait until later? If I remember correctly, it should be almost four hours long."

"Let's watch it now," Arturo said. "Thank you for bringing it over and thank you for spending the afternoon with me. You are good company."

"Thank you, I... You're good company as well. Thank you for understanding." Nerys replied, pausing a moment before getting up and syncing the recording module to the small viewscreen above the small desk. Soon it had started playing the intro and Nerys sat back down on her pillow. The small band was tuning up and her mother was addressing the recorder. //"This recording is dedicated to our Patron Sponsors, our audience, our volunteer stagehands, and most importantly, my daughter Nerys. Honey, I love you with all my heart and I hope that this play helps you view a world in which you've never gotten a real glimpse into."// And then she was off screen and the Narrator came out on stage and the performance began. Unbeknownst to her, a few tears had slipped out of Nerys's eyes as she had watched and heard her mother speaking. Her stoic demeanor was unchanged other than this small sign.

Arturo noticed the tears and his heart went out to Nerys. He reached out and gave her hand a gentle squeeze of support. The song 'It's Alright to Cry' came to mind but he kept it to himself and watched the show, sharing the warmth of companionship with Nerys without intruding.

OFF

Taking a phaser blast was one thing, the scent of Lethean blood and scorched flesh had undoubtedly dispersed through the starship's duct work as the Lethean had retreated to his 'guest' quarters aboard the Defiant class starship, a place where he could work on tending to his wounds, mending them with dermal regenerators and other equipment, Captain Soroys had sent his way. She had been very disappointed that he had been unsuccessful in his attempted assassination of Landon Milo, but Helena had been the true failure. She did not say a thing about how powerful Lieutenant Commander Milo was. The psionic attacks he sent the Lethean's way were unanticipated and he was not prepared for such a worthy adversary.

He had no idea what was unfolding on the Bridge right now. No clue that a mutiny was taking place, a resistance...an uprising, and that in a matter of moments he would go from being a cold blooded hired killer, a savage hunter, to becoming the hunted. Resting on a chair, the Lethean worked on his wounds sustained by Landon getting off a well placed phaser blast. The Lethean let out a roar of pain as he used a modified engineering laser cutter on himself to cauterize the wound.

The stage was set: the Bridge crew was making their move on Soroys, Ian and Xiulan had finished the program to ensure the neither Soroys or the Lethean could take control of the ship, and Ian was now aboard the T'Pava with Brexa and Darzen, which meant it was time to tie up the loose thread of the Lethean. Xiulan, followed by a Security Officer, made her way down to the guest quarters assigned to Lethean and attempted to open the door. No surprise it was locked, so with a nod of her head she set the Security Officer to work.

"Get it open," she commanded, and the Security Officer opened the control panel to manually override the locks.

"Yes, ma'am" replied the security officer who aside from being referred to as security officer was far from it. Crewmen Yu Gunnadie, was a young eighteen year old man with silky dark black hair and bronzed skin. He had managed to manually override the locking mechanism after sometime and effort.

Yu Gunnadie had no sooner slipped through the widening crack of the doorway with his hand on his phaser...the sound of an energy weapon discharging was heard and a blast hit the wall panel behind the Crewmen as he fell backwards and slumped against the bulkhead, a whole scorched in his skull, a through and through shot, dead before he hit the ground.

The Lethean had been ready, armed with disruptor in hand and back onto his feet as soon as he had heard someone trying to override the locking mechanism. He had blasted a hole through the man's skull and was waiting any of the security goons who may have come with their fallen comrade.

Well, that didn't quite go as planned! Xiulan pressed herself against the corridor wall to avoid getting a similar shot to the head as the crewman. "Computer, disable all lights including emergency lights for this section of the deck," Xiulan ordered. An affirmative chirp from the computer informed her that the Computer complied, the corridors and rooms all going dark in an instant. She felt along the door to get a sense of how open it was; just enough for her to squeeze through, which she did silently.

The Lethean observed as the lighting grew dim just before complete blackness filled the quarters and the corridor outside. "I know you are out there, and I will kill you" he said in a bit of a growl. "The darkness may conceal you for now, but my eyes will adapt. I will ensure my Captain's mission is a success" he added blindly firing off three blasts scattered across the quarters.

Shit! The heat signatures of those blasts were way too close for comfort! But she kept moving, and lucky for her she didn't need to adapt to the darkness, she could see his heat signature standing out like a beacon. First item of business, she had to get that disruptor away from him! taking her chances, she rushed at him, sweeping his feet out from under him. Once he was down, she kicked the disruptor from his hand, sending it skittering away in the dark. The room was not very big, so there was a chance he'd be able to find it again, but hopefully he wouldn't get that chance...

The Lethean did not need any of these crude weapons to inflict pain or harm upon anyone. His telepathic attacks were fatal enough to kill if his intent were strong enough and his opponents weak. Landon was strong, one of the strongest he's had to attack, leaving the young man comatose. As the Lethean lost its weapon, it began to sense out Xiulan's location and send a powerful attack her way. Horrible, crippling pain. His intent was dark and malicious. DIE! he said to her, his voice undoubtedly echoing in her mind.

He thought that was pain?! He didn't know pain! Pain was ocular replacement surgery and therapy! Pain was having her ocular nerves and visual centers of her brain fried during the Academy! Pain was the feedback headaches she'd been experiencing in that nebula! If he wanted to know pain, she would give him pain! Though Xiulan was able to shrug off some of the pain at first, he was still affecting her and it caused her to stagger a few steps, but then she grit her teeth and rushed him, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick aimed at his head.

It was a kick that the Lethean had not been ready for. He had not expected to face this sort of physical resistance from an individual, especially not one who did not seem to be physically threatening. The kick made excellent contact to his hard skull, not enough to inflict too much damage, but enough to buy Xiulan several momentary seconds of thought plus a few to act, if she were quick enough.

Xiulan may have been able to endure the pain he had been giving her, but she would be lying if she claimed she didn't appreciate the reprieve her kick had created. She wouldn't give him a chance to cause her pain again, delivering blow after blow to vital, sensitive areas of his body with as much intent to kill him as he had towards her moments ago.

Vital organs were taking a beating, old injuries experiencing a pain anew, and the Lethean could almost feel his body giving way. Internal bleeding was a real threat with some of her blows. A few more hard knocks and she'd find one that would fatally decommission him for good. Though the quarters were dark, he could almost see the hatred in her eyes, a clubbing across his jaw and blood splashed out of his mouth.

"You... are a monster," Xiulan said as she paced around the Lethean like a tiger waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. "You and Soroys both... you don't deserve the uniform you wear..." There was venom in her words, he could feel how much she despised him. She started to notice a light-headedness, and the room began to spin; she hadn't aware of it until now, but the pain the Lethean had made her feel earlier had caused serious damage that she had failed to notice in her adrenaline fueled rage, but she was finally starting to notice it when she tasted blood. Was her nose bleeding? No matter, she could still finish this. She stopped stalking around the prone form of the Lethean, relishing the sound of his labored breathing as she stood over him, a foot on either side of his torso. Then she knelt down, close enough so he could hear, "This is for Landon," before her hands were on his head, and then with a twist and a sickening snap, it was all over.

It was then that Xiulan staggered away from the body of the Lethean, leaning against a wall as the damage caused by the Lethean's psychic assault was finally felt in full. "Computer, restore lights," she said with a waiver in her voice as she slid down the wall until she was seated on the floor. Then with a shaky hand, she tapped her commbadge.

=/\= "Bridge, this is Lieutenant Song. The Lethean is no longer a problem. Please send a medical team to my location right away," she said in a dazed state.

"Ah, Jasmine," he said. "Could you do me a favor and beam the now unconscious Captain Soroys directly to the brig and have someone from Security watch over her?"

The Cadet at the tactical station responded with glee. "Aye, Sir. With pleasure" she said as she carried out the task. Soon the 'Captain' was transported into a nice holding cell. "The trash has been taken out, Sir....and Lieutenant Song is requesting medical. Looks like she's taken care of our Lethean problem" reported the Cadet.

Medical? Was his Graceful Orchid hurt?

"Bridge to Doctor Evartin!" Arturo said. "Xiulan...Lieutenant Song has taken care of our Lethean problem. Nerys, I think she might be hurt. I need you to locate her and see to her care."

Doctor Evartin had been on her way towards the bridge but now hearing that, she snapped into a more emergency mindset and tapped her comm badge. "Roger that. I'm on my way." She then stopped at a hallway terminal long enough to look up Xiulan's whereabouts and headed there with all due haste.

"Acknowledged," Arturo replied.

He sighed. He'd just have to trust Nerys to do her job. He still had one to do on the bridge. Stepping out of the Captain's Ready Room, Arturo took his seat at the helm. He had no problem sitting in the command chair but if there was fancy flying to be done, Arturo wanted to be the one doing it.

Nerys had now arrived at Xiulan's location and punched in the override codes for the door, then stepped into the dark quarters. "Computer, lights." When they didn't respond immediately, Nerys had a flash of impatience. "Computer, override Nerys four seven zed five. Lights at maximum, now!"

This time they responded and the sight they revealed... the Lethean was obviously dead from some 'minor' neck injuries and a crewman had had some facial reconstruction with a disruptor. At least Xuilan was still breathing.

Kneeling next to Lieutenant Song, Nerys started scanning and found that her neurotransmitters were pretty scrambled. "Do you know where you are? Who I am?"

"Nerys..." Xiulan said groggily, not really answering the question but more responding simply to the sound of her voice. She seemed in a daze, which was initially difficult to ascertain because of her usual dead stare. "Do I have blood on my face? He... did something to me, painful, and now I taste blood. I think Gonnadie is dead, I didn't check..."

Nerys pointed her tricorder at Gonnadie a moment and tapped it a few times. "Very dead. I'll have to get him into a stasis tube before he starts bloating." Focusing back on Xiulan, Nerys pulled a neuro-polarizer out of her kit and placed it carefully across Xiulan's forehead and placed a couple more probes behind her ears. "This should help you start to recover. It's done wonders helping the captain recover."

"Landon will recover, wont he?" Xiulan asked, her head lolling back to rest against the bulkhead she was propped up against. "I killed for him, that bastard won't be able to hurt him anymore," she continued without a hint of remorse. She was still a bit out of it, but her speech was already clearer thanks to this initial treatment. "What happened with Soroys? Is she contained?" Xiulan asked, her eyes closing as the earlier adrenaline rush from earlier continued to crash and fatigue set in.

"She came to me with a migraine so I gave her a neuro suppressor for her telepathic centers. The bridge crew should have her taken care of by now." Nerys replied as she prepped a hypo. "As for Landon, he should be awake within the next twenty four hours thanks to my brilliant treatments. I'm going to give you an injection and it's going to burn. It's basically every chemical that was burnt out of your brain and it'll take a couple hours to properly absorb." With that, Nerys placed the hypo a lot higher than normal and injected it into the base of Xiulan's skull. "Oh and it might cause temporary blindness," she added as an attempt at a joke.

Xiulan was about to comment on the blindness comment when she realized it was an attempt at a joke, so she started chuckling, ending with a grumpy 'Ow...' when she felt the burn of the injection. "Wow, that shit stings," she commented with a grimace. "You need me to take a trip by the infirmary or can I go to the Bridge?" she asked, wanting to make sure the away team from the T'Pal returned safely and that the Beifong successfully made their escape.

"I would prefer it if you spent the next 12 hours on a biobed but ultimately the decision is up to you. Computer, what is Soroys' location?" Nerys asked.

"Captain Soroys is in the brig," came the response.

"We're done on our end. Lieutenant M'Rohass can handle the rest, I think." Nerys was back to monitoring Xiulan's brain activity with her tricorder.

"Here, I'll meet you halfway; gimme one of them probes I can stick on me, you can monitor my vitals while I'm on the Bridge," Xiulan said. Normally, she'd fight tooth and nail to stay out of Sickbay, but after seeing what the Lethean had done to Landon, even getting a fraction of that damage scared her, so she'd play it safe. "Then once we get the Away Team back and we get out of here, I'll stop by sickbay for a snooze."

"I've got a pair of probes feeding sickbay information already so if you're going to the bridge, I'm going with you. Just let me know when you're ready to stand." Nerys replied, looking around for Xiulan's cane she carried everywhere.

"Just a moment," Xiulan replied, then sighed. Her heart rate was finally calming down, and though the injection site where Nerys gave her that medicine still burned like a mother fucker, she was feeling better, so after a moment longer Xiulan nodded and got to her feet with Nerys' help. Her cane was in her boot, and once on her feet she retrieved it and snapped it open, not trusting herself to be able to properly interpret the signals she was getting from her ocular implants at the moment with her head still a bit scrambled. "Alright, I'm good," she said, and started walking on her own, though a bit more cautiously than normal.

Nerys nodded, satisfied with her readings and tucking her tricorder away for the moment. "If you feel like you need to fall, try to fall backwards so I can catch you."

"Can do," Xiulan replied, and went straight for the lift to go to the Bridge.

The Bridge had been fairly calm and Captain Helena Soroys could sense something was brewing, a storm was approaching. She had been anticipating resistance, but had been met with none. She had taken Landon Milo out by ordering her Lethean to kill him. However, he did not accomplish her orders fully. Helena had been able to take over the starship, assume command. Landon was in critical condition, comatose in Sickbay. Her Lethean had been injured during the ordeal and Helena had ordered him to lay low in his quarters until things cooled down. She was sure the crew suspected his involvement and undoubtedly hers as well.

As a full blooded Betazoid, she had strong abilities. She could read feelings and thoughts as easy as this crew could read a PaDD, but at the moment these PaDDs were all buzzing about with negative emotions towards her, and giving her quite the headache. She had stopped by Sickbay for hypospray to treat her headache and the medication was taking effect, the 'voices' and feelings were beginning to calm, to dwindle down, and grow... silent? Helena's eyes shot wide as she started to see the error in her judgement. She drugged me! thought Helena as she felt her slipping, but she was still clinging on to some small grasp of empathy.

It was the perfect time for the crew to strike. She had to stay alert, she had to stay focused. Her first matter of business was to confront the Chief Medical Officer. Helena stood up from the Captain's seat and opened a communications channel directly to Sickbay. "Doctor Evartin!" she shouted bitterly. "What did you give me for my headache, Doctor? I'm losing my empathic and telepathic abilities," she added in a bitter hiss.

Nerys looked up from her current inventories and tapped her comm badge to reply. "Why I just gave you my own special mix of migraine medicines combined with a neuron blocker targeted to the telepathic nerve centers of your brain. In my scans I found that that was the source of your discomfort so I gave you enough to be able to get about three weeks of uninterrupted relief from the ailment. Are you showing signs of deleterious side effects? If so, I could come to the bridge and treat you for them."

"Come up here and fix whatever you did," replied the Captain. "I cannot run a starship if I can't listen to the thoughts and feel the emotions of my crew," she added.

"Logically, those skills are not needed as many captains' perform the same duties satisfactorily without them," Nerys replied as she moved around the medbay collecting things. "I do however have a compound that will dissolve the blocking agent called lysergic acid diethylamide. The side effects of it are rather deleterious so it will take me a few moments to gather the tools to treat possible complications."

Cadet Jones-Jamison was at the tactical station watching and listening to everything unfold. Good work, Doctor thought the young cadet with a smirk on her face. It was clear that the Chief Medical Officer was not about to take a back seat in this take over and had seized on an opportunity to tip the scales in the crew's favor. "You aren't looking so well, Captain. Maybe you should --"

Helena looked at the Cadet glaringly. "I'll stay here and do as I please, Cadet. If you have nothing of tactical importance to report, then stay quiet or I'll have someone else cover that station," she said trying to concentrate. "And where is Lieutenant MacKenzie? You aren't on the duty roster for this shift," she added questioningly.

The Cadet looked around the Bridge nervously. Helena had been aware that Brexa and the Chief Engineer were over on the USS T'Pava to assist them with some repair work and modifications to ship's systems. What she had not been made aware of was Lieutenant MacKenzie going with them. "I.. Uh." the Cadet was fumbling for words, thankfully Ensign Nician Haro was there to save the Cadet.

"You know..." Nician started. He stood up out of his seat and sort of strolled toward the main view screen. "I don't know anything about ships. I mean I know a little. What I learned at the Academy... but as far as propulsion and mechanics and parts and how all those little things allow us to do this..." He sort of pointed around, indicating the starship around them. "I don't really know how all that works. Some things have gone wrong with this ship... and from what I understand some things still need repair, but it must be scary to have very serious things go wrong..." He was rambling of course, to throw off her thinking and fill the space with something besides her paranoia. The best way was to not let her think about anything at all. He took a breath and continued. "I wonder how that affects the morale of a crew. It must be terrible. I wonder how you would solve an overall event like that. I mean I guess that you could treat the crew as a whole... but it would take forever if you had to go with one individual at a time, and by the time you got to the last one... they might be in serious trouble. What do you think Captain?" He turned and looked at Soroys, seemingly truly interested in her response.

Bolians she thought with a sigh. Oh how badly I just want to grab a phaser and fry your head off the woman thought as she listened to his ramble on and on and on.

Arturo listened to Nician babble and thought about the best way to take down Soroys. She was taller than him (who wasn't?), had a longer reach (very few people didn't), and was certifiably bat-shit bananas crazy so she could be counted on to be irrational. He had a Type-One phaser in a holster on his left wrist under the sleeve of his uniform jacket. He could try and stun her but really, was anyone a good shot with a Type-One phaser? Even in close quarters hitting what you were aiming at was a dicey proposition. There was also his knife. He knew that he could handle her with that in close quarters. Depending on where she was standing in relation to him when his time came, he was reasonably certain he could close the distance in one kitty leap. Of course if he killed her with the knife, and Starfleet didn't believe the Beifong crew, he'd be guilty of murder.

"SOMEONE get this blubbering blue idiot out of my sight!" she said shouting as she shot up from her seat and gave Nician a small shove to his chest, just to knock him away from her. "I'm going to my Ready Room. When the Doctor arrives, tell her to come in. I'll be waiting for her to fix this problem and for her apology for doing this to me in the FIRST PLACE!" she added bitterly, her 'feathers' ruffled as she proceeded into the Ready Room.

Arturo seized the moment. The Ready Room was an even more confined space, but there were no innocent bystanders in the way. He set the helm to station keeping and rose from his chair, deftly drawing the Type One phaser from the wrist holster on his left arm.

"Mister Haro," he said. "The Bridge is yours. I'm going to end this now."

Nician smiled a little. He was more than ready for this mess to be over and he was also more than happy to let Arturo do whatever he felt necessary. "Yes, sir," he responded in his normal jovial way.

Arturo walked to the Ready Room door and without announcing himself, entered, locking the door behind him.

"Captain Soroys," he said formally. "I, Lieutenant Arturo M'Rohass, hereby relieve you of command and place you under arrest for, among other things, conspiracy to commit murder and treason. Step down peacefully and allow me to escort you to the brig and no harm will come to you."

Helena turned around immediately and looked down upon the Caitian. "You WHAT?!" she said shouting and nearly let out a laugh, but simply swept her bangs to the side, away from her eyes. "You have NO AUTHORITY to do such a thing, Lieutenant. You are not the First Officer of this starship and even if you were, that alone does not give them the right. You have no proof, not even a shred of evidence against me, and I see no Medical grounds for Doctor Evartin to determine me medically unfit," replied Helena.

She pointed at the Caitian helmsmen. "I will have personally removed from my sight and stuffed into a torpedo casing," she said shaking her head. "Do not make me call Security, Lieutenant," she added.

Arturo sighed.

"Then I suppose we are doing this," he said. "He raised his phaser, which was set to stun, and pointed it at Soroys. He depressed the firing button and a beam shot out in the direction of the traitorous captain.

Helena Soroy's had gone for the phaser underneath he desk. Her fingers had touch about touched it when the Caitian shot her with his phaser on a stun setting. Her body stiffened, her back arched and set let out a quick muffled squeak of a scream, not even enough to be really heard. All in a matter of seconds as she stumbled and fell to the deck.

For Arturo's part he was shocked that he'd actually hit Soroys, even at this range, using his tiny phaser. But what to do with her now. Arturo his his combadge.

"Ah, Jasmine," he said. "Could you do me a favor and beam the now unconscious Captain Soroys directly to the brig and have someone from Security watch over her?"

The Cadet at the tactical station responded with glee. "Aye, Sir. With pleasure" she said as she carried out the task. Soon the 'Captain' was transported into a nice holding cell. "The trash has been taken out, Sir....and Lieutenant Song is requesting medical. Looks like she's taken care of our Lethean problem" reported the Cadet.

Medical? Was his Graceful Orchid hurt?

"Bridge to Doctor Evartin!" Arturo said. "Xiulan...Lieutenant Song has taken care of our Lethean problem. Nerys, I think she might be hurt. I need you to locate her and see to her care."

Doctor Evartin had been on her way towards the bridge but now hearing that, she snapped into a more emergency mindset and tapped her comm badge. "Roger that. I'm on my way." She then stopped at a hallway terminal long enough to look up Xiulan's whereabouts and headed there with all due haste.

"Acknowledged," Arturo replied.

He sighed. He'd just have to trust Nerys to do her job. He still had one to do on the bridge. Stepping out of the Captain's Ready Room, Arturo took his seat at the helm. He had no problem sitting in the command chair but if there was fancy flying to be done, Arturo wanted to be the one doing it.

"Raise the shields, Cadet," he said to Jasmine. "We can't afford to waste time repelling a boarding party from the T'Pava. Let me know the moment you hear from the away team. The sooner they disable that ship, the sooner we can beam them back and unass this area."

"Aye Sir" replied the Cadet, but as her finger inched toward the controls, she stopped. "Lieutenant, is that wise?" asked the Cadet who nearly choked forcing the words out of her mouth, questioning a superior. "The T'Pava has not taken any action against us. At the moment it would seem that they do not know Captain Soroys is no longer in command here. If we raise shields now, it would draw attention to ourselves and they will undoubtedly follow suit and ask why we have raised shields."

Arturo sighed.

"You are correct, Cadet," Arturo said. "Score one for the next generation of Starfleet officers. Stand by to beam the away team back the moment they call for pick up. I mean the moment, Cadet! I want them to finish the sentence asking for a beam out when they materialize in the Transporter Room. We are leaving as soon as they are clear!"

The Cadet felt pretty good hearing that. "Aye, Sir. I'll be ready and I'll keep an eye on the T'Pava. If they raise shields or show any indication of taking an aggressive action, I'll raise our shields...after I pull our team out though."

"Excellent!" Arturo said. "And now we wait!"

After a few minutes of waiting, Arturo began to drum his claws on the helm console. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Again and again. He couldn't stand all of this waiting. His Graceful Orchid was hurt somewhere and here Arturo was stuck on the bridge waiting for Ian and the away team to cross some wires and return to the ship so they could all hightail it out of there.

More time went by. Arturo couldn't take it anymore. What in the name of the Great Bird of the Galaxy was taking them so long?!? He had to do something! Arturo tapped his commbadge.

"Bridge to Doctor Evartin!" he said. "What is the status of Lieutenant Song?"

Nerys didn't need the comms to hear Arturo, they were that close. Hence why she just called out. "She's about to enter the bridge!"

Xiulan stepped out onto the Bridge with her cane as her usual grumpy self, maybe a little bit on the slow side but otherwise fine. She went to the washroom inside the Ready Room to swish some water in her mouth to get rid of the taste of blood, then got a cup of coffee from the replicator and returned to the bridge, sitting at the Comm station instead of the Captain's chair like she should have done. "Status report," she said, not caring who answered at this point. She took a sip of her coffee, then set it on her console then retrieved her tactile PaDD and set it out to work.

Arturo spun his chair around to face Xiulan. Even though she couldn't see him, his voice would sound different if he was facing the the other direction.

"I have deftly removed Captain Soroys from the playing field," Arturo said. "She's unconscious in the brig. We still haven't heard anything from the Away Team, but we are ready to beam them out when we do. As soon as they are aboard, I will take us out of here, best possible warp speed. We've left the shields down to avoid tipping off the T'Pava and to allow for a faster beam out of the Away Team. So far they appear to believe that everything is as it should be. The longer we wait, however, the higher the chance that they will discover that something, from their point of view, is wrong. I have not attempted to contact the Away Team for fear of giving away their presence but I am beginning to become concerned for their welfare."

Xiulan listened to Arturo run through their situation, offering a slight nod at the end. "We'll give them a few more minutes, then we'll contact them. Uh, until then, we need a good reason why we could need to contact them, so as not to arouse suspicion with the T'Pava," Xiulan replied

"I don't actually remember what their reason for going over there was," Arturo said. "Did we send them for supplies? Spare parts, or something? Couldn't we just ask for a status report? That wouldn't be too suspicious, would it? Hmmm...maybe we should have come up with code words?"

In the meantime, Nerys had sat at the console behind Xiulan and requested a security team move the two corpses they'd left to stasis tubes two and three. Satisfied that it would be done in a timely manner and that they knew which tubes were two and three, she turned back to Xiulan and pulled her tricorder out to check her brainwave patterns. "Captain, you're showing increased signs of mental fatigue. I don't want to give you a stimulant because in your condition it could do more harm, however, if you massage the site of the injection I gave you, it may help a bit."

Xiulan was about to respond to respond to Arturo when Nerys spoke up, causing a sour grimace to appear on her face. "Fuck, that's right, I'm Captain now... probably shouldn't say 'fuck' anymore..." she muttered, then did as Nerys suggested and rubbed the burning injection site at the base of her skull. "'Officially', the team is requesting supplies for repairs so the T'Pava won't suspect sabotage. A status report could work, but I dunno..." Then she shrugged and reached for her mug of coffee and took a sip.

"Without wanting to exert undue pressure, Captain," Arturo said. "We have to do something and quickly. Sooner or later someone from the T'Pava is going to call over here to talk to Soroys, at which point we will have seconds to warp out of here and hope for the best, surrender, or fight it out. Once their shields go up, we'll have to batter them down to get Ian and his team back or decide to abandon them." Arturo looked thoughtful a moment. "I think the best option is the status report," he said. "Even if we send a scrambled transmission, that just means that they won't know what we're saying. They'll still know that there is a transmission coming in, and the fact that it's scrambled will make it all the more suspicious. The first thing I'd do in that situation is raise the shields. If we just call for a status report, they'll hear it and may ignore it. It will give away their location, but the places they needed to go to sabotage the T'Pava roughly coincide with where they'd go to see about supplies for repairs. I think it's worth the risk."

Jasmine smiled and shook her head. "Actually, Sir, if you don't mind...Brexa gave me instructions before they left. We felt that being direct and open was the best route to go, just relaying a simple message she and the others will understand. After we have captured the Lethean and Captain Soroys, I'm supposed to report to Chief Brexa that" Jasmine giggled a bit. "Sorry, Sir. She wanted me to tell her that her cat caught a rat....should I relay the message?"

Arturo sighed. "Ah, the trials and tribulations of being a Caitian," he said. "Cat jokes. No, no, feel free to make more. It isn't as though I haven't heard them before. Besides..." Arturo grinned like the cat that ate the canary...or rat, in this case. "I did catch that rat Soroys and put her in a cage," Arturo said. "By all means, send the message...if our commanding officer agrees, that is."

Xiulan sighed; Commanding Officer, that was definitely gonna take some getting used to.... "Make it so," she finally replied with a nod.

"Message sent" replied the Cadet.

ON:

Mirok watched the transporter room materialize as he beamed over from the shuttle. His appearance was outwardly Vulcan, but he knew inside he was different. His eyes darted between the others in the room, as he stepped down from the pad. Did they read my service record? Do they even know what I am? He tried to keep the negative thoughts out of his mind, but despite that, they still crept in.

Lieutenant Commander Landon T. Milo, formerly the Chief Medical Officer of the starship before all of this adventure took place had now faced a baptism of fire as Commanding Officer of the USS Beifong. He had taken on a few a members of the USS T'Pava, members of the T'Pava's crew who had opposed Captain Soroy's and the Consortium. He himself having not seen any of this through due to being comatose in Sickbay after the Lethean had attacked him and nearly left him for dead.

Successfully back through the wormhole, there was a lot of work ahead, and Landon was uncertain where his future with Starfleet lie. Would he be able to stay aboard, and if so where? Doctor Evartin had made herself a home as Chief Medical Officer and Landon had never even served as a First Officer before. Until further notice, however, he was still the Commanding Officer of the USS Beifong and would be ensuring that the new faces aboard felt welcomed.

Confined to a 'support chair,' Landon was assisted around the starship by a young crewmen from the Medical Department. Landon moved the chair under his own power by controlling a control panel, but the medical technician was there to ensure the 'Captain' got well acquainted with the chair before he was left alone. Landon entered the room to find a pointed ear officer, Romulan, Vulcan, he was uncertain, it was possible both or neither were an option. "Lieutenant" he said looking up to Mirok. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Landon T. Milo, Commanding Officer of the Beifong" added Landon with his eyes studying Mirok's features.

"Lieutenant Mirok, security." Mirok knew his name probably didn't sound Vulcan, but he figured he wouldn't mention it until someone else brought it up. He felt his jaw clench at the mention of Landon's rank, He seems younger than me, yet he outranks me. By this point I should be a Lieutenant Commander myself...but that stupid fight in the academy held me up. He didn't know if anyone could read his thoughts, he surely hoped not, or they'd have a lot of personal information on him.

Had Landon met Mirok before the incident that left him paralyzed and empathically and telepathically 'deaf,' Landon would have been able to gather a lot of personal information. However, that was no longer a possibility, and Landon had to rely heavily upon his education and experience. All he could really tell about Mirok, was that there was some sort of discomfort. Because I'm in this support chair, perhaps? pondered the Beifong's Commanding Officer. "Lieutenant" said Landon calmly. "It is my pleasure to have you aboard the Beifong. I hope that you find her suitable, and my crew acceptable. Your Department Head is young and recently promoted, but I have come to rely heavily on him" explained Landon.

Mirok decided, rather wisely, to not comment on the qualifications of the CoS. "Its my pleasure, Commander." Instead of using the title of captain, which he should have used, since its the general term for a CO of a ship, he used Landon's rank, his little sign of defiance.

Is that so? thought Landon. "Does it make you uncomfortable, Lieutenant?" said Landon approaching the subject matter with caution. "Is it that I'm paralyzed and confined to this supply chair or is there something else on your mind? This is not a starbase nor space station. You addressed me as Commander and not Captain. Does it bother you that you are taking orders from me? Perhaps you'll find it more unsettling that this is my first Command, that I was a Chief Medical Officer before assuming command of this starship?"

Without realizing, a small smirk played across Mirok's lips briefly. "No sir. Its a force of habit from years on a starbase. I'll get it straight, sir." He tried to keep things level, hoping to appear to be a Vulcan.

Landon nodded and forced a small smile out. "It's fine, Lieutenant. I'll still respond to Doctor if someone calls for one. It has taken me a while to get used to not being called that. When you spend years of your career in a Sickbay, being away from it seems very strange."

"As it is whenever you've served as one rank for an extended period and you get promoted. My former department head aboard the base was promoted not long after I arrived and wouldn't respond to his new rank for about a week." It was only half true, the promotion part was, the unresponsiveness to the new rank was an attempt at humor--and misleading Landon to thinking him Vulcan.

The Captain nodded. "Yes, well I have more to get used to soon enough. They have made me take the Bridge Commander's Examination and I am waiting for the results to come back. However, if I done well enough to satisfy them, they are giving me that third solid pip and the rank of Commander. Which will hopefully please everyone and I won't feel as peculiar being in a room with Commanders and Captains when meeting with other Commanding Officers" said Landon. "Is there anything I can help you with to make it easier for you to get settled in aboard the Beifong?"

"Good luck, then, Commander." Mirok responded. "I think I can get along fine on my own, sir."

Landon gave a simple nod. "Then, I'll leave you to it. However, my offer still stands. You are welcome to come by my Ready Room or quarters any time you may need something. I usually always am in the mood for good company and tea. This is a small ship, Mirok. I'm not the unapproachable man behind the curtain like other Commanding Officers tend to be"

"I'll consider it, sir."

TAG

Not expecting any further medical emergencies, nor with any current actual patients, Doctor Nerys Evartin had invited the two people she considered friends to her 'office' for coffee and pastries. Hence she had unsealed one of her packs of single source Columbian roasted coffee beans and processed enough for a pot through her espresso grinder. She then prepared her vacuum sipho coffee pot, but didn't turn it on yet - she wanted it to be brewed as fresh as possible. Instead, she punched up her normal selection of pastries. Jam toasties, caramel crisps, jammy dodgers, fig newtons... Those and a couple more filled a plate that she then set on her desk. Thankfully, her desk was big enough and she had three chairs. Now she needed something a Caitian could eat...

Arturo bounded into Sick Bay and over to Nerys.

"Hello, my dear Nerys!" he said, bowing with a flourish of his hat. "Thank you very much for inviting us...er...me! I have of course arrived alone and expressly NOT with Xiulan who will arrive completely separately from my arrival. It should in no way be construed that we came here together..."

Of course, Arturo and Xiulan had been together the night before to coming to see Nerys, not to mention the morning Why Xiulan wouldn't want at least Nerys to know that they were involved...sort of...was beyond him. He could understand not letting 'cat out of the bag' to the crew in general, he could understand, but Nerys? She was their friend, their amico, their compagno, their compagno di squadra! Ah, well. Truth be told, Arturo was contented that Xiulan let him close to her. He knew how uncomfortable that could be for her. He respected and cared for Xiulan and would do his best to honor her wishes. As long as he wasn't the 'cat in the bag'. Arturo M'Rohass would not be bagged!

"It's excellent to see you, my friend," Nerys replied as she clicked the coffee apparatus on to start the coffee brewing. "Do you know if Xiulan will be along soon? I don't want her to be late." There were signs that they were seeing each other, though without proof she'd never know for certain. Perhaps the conversation would allow her observations to come to light. Either way, she hoped Xiulan would be along soon. Turning her attention to her coffee making, she described today's fare. "These are the single source Columbian beans I told you about. They were very hard to get and I really hope you enjoy the brew. My brewing system is a home built replica of the first recorded brewing system on Earth. Coincidentally, it's not too different from the early brew systems on many other planets."

"Xiulan should be along soon," Arturo said. "That is, of course, I assume she will be along soon. I, of course, have no personal knowledge of when Xiulan will be along...anyway, the coffee sounds excellent! Using the original brewing system is very...you. I mean to say, it is an example of the care you take to make things in your life special."

"It never fails to elicit an emotional response," Nerys replied as she stirred the now bubbling brew, making sure the grounds didn't clump up as the water boiled into the upper chamber. "Could you get three mugs and platters from the UV sterilizer? It warms them nicely and I don't have to worry about the filigree being damaged in any way."

"Of course," Arturo said, going to get the dishes.

"Mmmmmm, something smells goooooooood," Xiulan said as she finally hobbled in to the office; hobbled, because after what she and Arturo did this morning, there was no way she was able to walk straight just yet. "Coffee... Cooooooffeeeeee," she conitnued in a zombie-liek way as she sat down. She could 'see' the warmth of something on the desk, something that smelled sweet and fruity, so her guess was probably food, so she grabbed something and shoved it into her mouth. Her eyes went wide with surprise; strawberry peach jam over some kind of soft, spreadable cheese on toast, and it was fucking delicious! "Oh my gawd, this is amazing," she said simply and continued munching.

Arturo chuckled. Xiulan was a truly a beautiful, and mostly graceful, orchid...with the manners of a warthog.

"Good morning Gracfu...Xiulan," he said.

"It's excellent that you're here now. The coffee is ready." Nerys cut the heat and watched as the coffee quickly cooled below boiling and ran back through the filtered pipette back into the heat chamber. As soon as it was done, she pulled the seal off the top and poured three cups from the makeshift carafe before letting Arturo carry them over to the desk. "There's more if you like it. I made enough for six cups and can brew more."

Xiulan didn't flinch or react in any way when he nearly called her 'Graceful Orchid'; he'd get a swift kick for that later... "This is great, Nerys, thanks for inviting us over," Xiulan said instead, waiting for Arturo to fill a mug that she then took and breathed deep the freshly brewed aroma. "Now if only all my mornings could start this way," she said, hiding a slight grin behind the mug before finally taking a sip.

Arturo bit back a giggle. He'd like it if all of his mornings started the way this one had, too. And then there was coffee! He wrapped his hands around his cup and held it to his nose and breathed in the aroma.

"This is wonderful, Nerys," he said. "Thank you."

He took a seat and sipped at his coffee. He selected a pastry from the tray and bit into it. It, also was very good. He'd have to be careful not to eat too many of them. He had to limit his grain intake.

"You're very welcome. Ah! I almost forgot something." Heading back to the replicator, Nerys punched in an order for some 'breakfast' sushi using a Caitian recipe served on a thin bed of ice. Taking that tray,she headed to the desk and set it down and took her seat. "There we go. I hope these are to your liking." She then wrapped her hands around her coffee cup and breathed in deeply of the enticing aroma, a light smile slipping into place on her face before she took a small sip.

Food, unless she ordered it herself, was always a mystery to Xiulan. She could see heat, but of course she had no way of knowing what it was unless someone told her or she put it in her mouth. Sometimes she was lucky, she could smell some things, but omelettes and raw fish over rice did not have a potent enough smell for her to know what it was. But she knew it was food because Arturo started eating it, and thinking nothing odd about eating off his plate, she reached over and grabbed something. Mmm, salmon, very nice...

"Oh, by the way, in case you hadn't figured it out from the sensor readings last night and this morning, Arturo and I have been having sex," she blurted out to Nerys, intentionally waiting for Arturo to have a mouth full of food before revealing the punchline.

Arturo nearly choked on his food, managing at the last moment to avoid spewing it all over Nerys. He managed to swallow and washed it down with a gulp of coffee.

"That, Graceful Orchid," he said. "Was dirty pool. At least that is one less feline in sack."

Sipping her coffee, Nerys replied calmly. "I assumed as much from the hints prior to today and the cat fur on your uniform coupled with your unusual walk as you entered. I didn't want to say anything though, unless you requested medical assistance for any reason." Then she munched on a jammy dodger as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Xiulan snickered. "Hey, that is not cheating! See, she already figured it out!" she rebutted with a laugh. Then she reached up to remove the sensor probe that Nerys had left with her following the Lethean's psychic attack. "I don't think I need this anymore," she said to Nerys, handing the device over. She really was feeling better after a good night's rest. if only such a recovery were as easy for Landon...

Arturo looked from one woman to the other and back again.

"Clearly, I am outnumbered," he said. "But if I have to be outnumbered, I'm glad it's by the two of you."

"Who are you kidding, you're outbumbered just with me," Xiulan said with a grin, stealing another bit of sushi off his plate.

"Is this your way of saying that I should lose weight?" Arturo replied in response to Xiulan's thievery. "And I think I hold my own very well. I surrender only when it is to my advantage."

"No, this is my way of saying I like what you're eating," Xiulan said around a mouthful of omelette and rice. "Been a while since I've had a really good Asian style omellette; the ones in the replicator are usually the American style and they ruin perfectly good eggs with weird stuff like cheese, ick!" She wouldn't comment about his 'surrendering'; after all, who didn't like winning?!

Arturo decided that if he didn't defend his breakfast he would go hungry. In this case, defense meant consuming what he could and distracting the 'enemy' by feeding her bits and pieces here and there. He quickly consumed several pieces and then fed one to Xiulan.

"Open your mouth and close your eyes...well, in your case just open your mouth," Arturo said.

"I should be insulted, shouldn't I?" Xiulan asked with a laugh, but opened her mouth anyway and ate the piece he fed to her. "Nerys, is this pattern loaded just here or is it available on other replicators? It's really hard to find good replicated sushi, and that was really good," Xiulan said to Nerys.

"It's in the main computer but this is the only replicator that can handle it. Other replicators aren't set up for living tissues and that's critical for the right flavor." Nerys replied before noming on another pastry.

"Well that settles it," Arturo saidl. "I'm eating my meals with Nerys from now on. Xiulan, you can come, too, but only if you are very well behaved!"

"I promise nothing," Xiulan said bluntly, then took a long swig of her coffee. "Mmmmm, good coffee," she admitted with a pleased hum.

"Single source. All beans are guaranteed to have been harvested within a few meters of each other in Columbia on Earth and they're hand roasted." Nerys said as she sipped her coffee as well. "And the cups are a gift from my mother. She picked them up in London."

"You know, I'll be honest, I've never been picky about the pedigree of my coffee; just so long as it's real and I don't have a blue bastard sending his cronies to dump it all out in the Cargo Bay, I'm happy," Xiulan said, then took another sip. "Although this really is good coffee. Thank you for sharing it," she added.

"You're very welcome," Nerys replied before munching on another pastry. "So how long have the two of you been serious?"

Xiulan blushed crimson. She hadn't been ready to confront the issue of being 'serious' just yet, so putting her bluntly on the spot was one of the few things that could embarrass her. "It's just sex," she murmured, trying deperately to avoid this topic if she could. "A few days now..."

"If you need any medical assistance copulating, let me know. Conception might be difficult so I'll look into that to see if the Federation database has anything on the subject." Nerys commented, seemingly completely oblivious to the blush.

If if were possible to escape this moment by melting underneath the table, Xiulan would have done just that. "Arturo, please tell me you're up to date with your injections, I'm not ready for brats right now," she said in an embarrassed squeak, burying her face in her hands. It almost sounded like she wanted to cry!

Arturo burst out laughing. It took a second for him to get himself under control. He laughed so hard he cried.

"I'm sorry...I just...the look on your face!" he said, falling into a fit of laughter once again. Finally he got himself under control.

"Oh dear," he said. He slipped an arm around Xiulan and kissed her on the head. "I'm sorry! I didn't know whether to laugh or be offended! Kidding, really my dear one. Of course I am up to date on my contraceptive injections. You have nothing to worry about. There, there, nothing to be embarrassed about."

He looked over at Nerys.

"Nerys, dear," he said. "We are having sex for recreation, not procreation. We're nowhere near that conversation yet."

"You can't say things like, Nerys," Xiulan murmured, still utterly mortified at the turn this conversation took.

"Ok, but when you're ready for a litter of kittens just let me know." Nerys replied, looking a bit confused as she glanced between them. "And I can confirm that both of you are up to date on all medical procedures."

Arturo chuckled.

"See, Xiulan," he said. "Nothing to worry about. No need to rush out and buy a multi-cat litter box just yet...what? I can't make cat jokes about my potential offspring?"

"Is it too soon for me to opt for surgical sterilization?" Xiulan asked rhetorically, her face still a lovely shade of red.

"I have a hypo that can temporarily sterilize you for three years. If and when you decide for that option is up to you and confidential between you and your attending physician." Nerys replied before munching another pastry.

"Fucking hell, how can you be this oblivious?" Xiulan asked, standing to go get a travel mug from the replicator. "That's it, I've had enough embarrassment for one day," she said, pouring some coffee into the mug. "I'm gonna go sulk on the bridge now."

"I just wanted you to be aware of your options... At least you're not engaging in intercourse with an unknown species or I'd have to scan you for unknown STDs." Nerys offered, standing as well and moving to the replicator. "If you're leaving, let me at least pack you some fresh pastries."

"Xiulan," Arturo said. "Nerys really does mean well."

"I know, but I don't handle embarrassment well, so I'm leaving before I have a chance to start chewing on my own foot," Xiulan replied, waiting a moment while Nerys packed up a pastry for her.

Packing several fresh pastries into a medical storage box with paper towels, Nerys handed the easy open box to Xiulan, her hands shaking slightly. "Here you go," was all she could say before she had to sit back down.

Arturo watched helplessly as his two friends disagreed. He knew that Nerys didn't mean any harm and that Xiulan embarrassed and not sure what to do about it. To be fair to Nerys, Xiulan basically brought the whole thing down on herself. Wasn't she close enough with Nerys to know that she would misunderstand the joke? That was sort of what Nerys did most of the time. Then she tried to understand what was going on and fumbled and bumbled. Arturo sighed.

"I'll see you later, Graceful Orchid," he said. Then he moved his chair over next to Nerys and put an arm around her shoulders. He didn't say anything. He just sat there with her, not trying to get her to say anything or do anything. He was just there if she needed him.

Nerys sighed heavily, her shoulders shaking just slightly. "I... I just don't understand. I know there's something I'm not getting and it's so... Frustrating. I tried to offer professional assistance and... None of it makes any sense to me. What did I miss?" As she spoke, a few tears rolled down her cheeks in frustration.

Arturo smiled.

"Xiulan is afraid of commitment," Arturo said. "Don't tell her I said that. Not that she doesn't know, but she doesn't need to hear me say it. Children represent commitment. We're not at a stage in our relationship where we are even thinking past tonight or tomorrow. Bringing up babies just made her feel extremely uncomfortable. But you didn't do anything wrong. You were just you and sometimes you catch people off-guard."

Nerys nodded silently as she wrung her hands together. She'd have to think on this long and hard. Then an alarm started going off, beeping softly to remind her to check on her one patient. She did little more than glance at the biobed readouts from there though. "He should wake up in time for dinner today if all goes well. Please let Lieutenant Song know."

"Of course," Arturo said. "I have to get to the bridge. If it's alright with you, I'll stop off here after my shift and see how you're doing."

"It would be agreeable, thank you," Nerys replied, doing her best to calm her nerves with her coffee. "Take the rest of the pot of coffee with you. I don't want it to go to waste."

"Thank you," Arturo said. "That's very kind of you. Be at ease Nerys. You are among friends and colleagues who respect and admire you. All is well."

Nerys nodded, now deep in thought as she pulled out her journal and began a new entry.

Landon had been comatose for longer than Xiulan cared to contemplate, but finally he was starting to show signs of waking. Xiulan didn't know what that meant; he was waking but not awake yet? How does one figure these things out?! But she had received a message from Nerys and she wanted to be there when he finally came to, if that was possible, and so Xiulan made sure the Bridge was covered and made her way down to Sickbay.

Lying on a bio bed, hooked up to a dozen machines monitoring his neural activity, brain waves, his heart rate and more, the half Betazoid was lucky. He had been in a deep comatose state since being brought into Sickbay after the Lethean attack on his life, a would be assassination if Landon had not anticipated such actions coming his way and having just enough strength to fight back at least for a little while. The fighting had continued in his mind though as he clung on to his life.

The efforts of Doctor Evartin had saved Landon's life, but the lengths she had to go through and the damage done by the Lethean had taken more from Landon than his dignity or pride. He was psychologically traumatized, spiritually broken, and at this point still unconscious. It was already clear that Landon would not be the same man he had been for the past several years. He also was not likely to have the ability to walk again, at least not after several extensive and experimental surgeries that could kill him, but none of that mattered at the moment. What perhaps would be his most challenging obstacle to overcome would be when he finally did come to whenever that came to fruition, and discovering that he no longer could sense anything or anyone telepathically nor empathically.

Nerys checked the readings again and administered another of her genius treatments to Landon, but this time she added a mild stimulant to help him wake up. By all signs, his brain had healed enough at this point so she felt safe enough in that decision. With any luck, he'd wake up on his own within the next ten or fifteen minutes.

Xiulan entered the Sickbay, heading over to Landon's biobed where she had spent a great deal of time sitting and talking to the comatose Commander. "Nerys," Xiulan said quietly, not yet able to work up the nerve to apologize for her attitude before, but she still offered a weak grin. "How is he doing?" she asked.

Nerys was nothing but her cold professional self as she studied the monitors and readouts, sticking to her job rather than thinking about the incident between them at breakfast. "His neuro-gates that were burnt out are about eighty percent regenerated thanks to my brilliant treatments. The centers that control movement and telepathy were the hardest hit and his cerebellum has been locked in a sort of loop that produces nightmare brainwaves. I've done what I can to alleviate that, but it was very persistent. As for the regenerated areas, he'll have to relearn how to use those nerve centers and he may never fully recover in that regard. I'll also need to give him further daily treatments for at least six months."

If Xiulan were talking to anyone but Nerys, she'd call them arrogant, but only Nerys could get away with such blatant use of the words 'genius' and 'brilliant' to describe her work. "At least he'll be alive," Xiulan said, stepping closer to the biobed to take Landon's hand. "He's strong, he'll adapt," she affirmed softly, giving Landon's hand a gentle squeeze. "Do you mind if I'm here? Having a friendly face might help if he wakes up and is confused."

Nerys nodded and recalibrated one of the brainwave pattern enhancers on Landon's forehead. "You may have noticed that though i'm a genius at surgery, I lack the empathy and understanding for positive bedside manner. My attempts at socialization this morning should prove my ineptitude in that field which is why I prefer that you be here upon his impending return to consciousness."

"No... No, I walked right into that one. I thought it would be funny to embarrass Arturo and I ended up embarrassing myself," Xiulan said bluntly, pulling up a chair to sit next to Landon, still holding his hand as an anchor to help him find his way back. "I don't do apologies very well, but I hope you understand I didn't mean to upset you," she continued.

"Thank you, I..." Nerys trailed off, trying to think of how to respond, mild frustration showing as her brow furrowed. "It was not you that frustrated me, but my inability to understand the intent of the conversation. It's been a lifelong issue and at times I wish I had stayed on Vulcan."

"Vulcans can't teach you how to have fun," Xiulan replied bluntly with a slight chuckle. "You can't learn about emotion and basic empathy hanging around people who actively suppress their emotions. You need to be exposed to emotion to learn to recognize it, and learning to read emotions is just as much a form of expression as it is observation. You'll get there, and if not, we won't think any less of you."

Nerys sat back in a nearby chair and checked a PaDD before setting it aside and staring at Xiulan blankly. "I tried to do that in public schooling. I did everything I could to try to fit in. Unfortunately, even though my disability is less noticeable than yours on the surface, I was unable to socially integrate with society, which is one of the reasons I applied to the Vulcan Science Academy. It was... Stress relief. But I do still try." then she paused a moment, glancing to the brainwave activity on the monitors. Still a couple minutes, she estimated.

"I... Would like a sounding board for something. If you're interested, that is." Nerys began, not entirely sure how to say this. "As you may know, there are genetic manipulation procedures that could have corrected my issues completely and more which are banned under the Federation. With the treatment that I've come up with for Captain Milo which I then had to use on you after the Lethean attacked you, I believe I may be able to... Promote neuron growth in the stunted emotional centers of my brain."

"And you want to know if you should do it?" Xiulan replied, then took a measured breath as she thought about it. "That's not an easy issue to answer. If I could have joined Starfleet without getting the implants, I would have. I felt secure enough in who I was and what I was capable of to feel confident in going ahead without the implants. But you say you're unable to integrate, and that's an important factor. I learned to integrate without sight, but you, it seems, can't integrate without the appropriate emotional capacity. I can't pretend to know how difficult a choice this must be, but you seem to work well with logic, so just weigh the potential risks against the potential gains, and make a rational decision based on that. Either way, you've got friends here to help support you."

"Family" came a faint voice as Landon's body started to show signs of movement, the monitors going a bit crazy. His eyes were still closed, but his lids were starting to lift. His body trembling. Landon was in a lot of pain even with the medication in his body. He was definitely not entirely aware of where he was or what was going on. "Number One? I can't feel...hear you, any of you"

"Landon?" Xiulan said, giving his hand another squeeze to let him know she was there. "Landon, we're here, just stay calm, we're here..."

Unfortunately, there was little Nerys could really do at the moment other than monitor Landon's vitals and try to tweak the brainwave amplifiers to help him wake up with as little discomfort as possible. "Do you know where you are, Captain? Do you remember what happened?"

Things were slowly starting to come back in flashes...pieces albeit fragmented. Soroys...Lethean he thought to himself as he struggled to get up, trying his hardest to sit up in the bed. "We're on the Beifong. The Lethean tried to kill me" he replied.

"Excellent," Nerys replied, easily pressing Landon back into the biobed. "The Lethean is now a biosample in my freezer and Soroys is in the brig so just relax."

He looked at the woman shaking his head "I can't...relax? I was attacked and the ship is in danger" he replied.

"You're safe, Landon, they can't hurt anyone anymore," Xiulan said to affirm Nerys' words. "Nerys, any way we can get some of the monitoring equipment off him? Feeling weighed down won't help the panic," she added, knowing full well how scary it could be to wake up confused after a surgery and feeling helpless pinned to a bed.

Glancing around the area, Nerys pressed a few buttons and the main diagnostic systems over the torso and near the head retracted. "Unfortunately, the rest are needed for treatment for now."

Landon let out a frustrated sigh. They were talking medical stuff and medical equipment and he was growing impaitent. Why can't I sense anything he asked himself. It could be the medication he reasoned. "Xiulan, I want a report. Now!" he practically shouted. "Don't tell me she has control of this starship."

Xiulan blinked for a moment, startled that he had shouted at her. He never raised his voice! But then his question hit her fully and she just started laughing, hard enough that she even snorted a few times. "Landon, Nerys already told you she's in the brig," Xiulan said as she tried to calm her laughter. "We staged a coup and sabotaged the T'Pava so they couldn't pursue us. I snapped the Lethean's neck and I hear Arturo shot Soroys, but she was just stunned and so they beamed her to the brig. Now we're on our way back to Federation space," she continued to report, mostly calm by the end of it.

The Captain had felt physically weak, a splitting headache was coming in over him hard. "I can't hear anything inside of my mind. It's cold and silent and I've never felt so alone" he said a bit frightened. "You have command for now, Lieutenant. We need to be on a heading home...whatever she's said is a lie. The Lethean was sent to silence me. I started to find more by listening to her mind"

"The motor control and telepathic centers of your brain were almost completely fried by that attack. You'll have to relearn how to use the new nerves, which means you won't be able to hear or feel anyone for awhile at least." Nerys didn't mention that it might never come back, but she knew that hope was a logical thing and decided to offer it up instead of crushing defeat within survival. "If it helps any, Soroys shouldn't have her telepathic abilities for another few weeks now either thanks to an injection I gave her for a migraine."

Xiulan offered a weak smile to Landon, knowing that the news of the damage, even softened as it was by Nerys, would be tough to take. Her hand was still in his, so she brought his hand up to her cheek, an unusually 'soft' thing for her to do, but if her recent experiences with Arturo were any indication, she couldn't be all hard edges all the time. Besides, the gesture was relevant to her as she needed to touch a person's face to get a sense of what they looked like, and she hoped this gesture could help bridge a connection with Landon. "I know you feel lonely, but you're not alone," Xiulan said to Landon. "You rest, I'll take care of the Beifong."

"Get to the wormhole" he said to her quite seriously and sternly. He reached to clutch onto her arm. "You can't trust anyone on this side, Xiulan. You can't report to anyone. Deep Space 11 is compromised...we have to get home" he added.

Xiulan's expression grew more serious as she realized that this wasn't just the agitation of finally waking and being unable to sense anyone, this was important. "You learned something from her," Xiulan ventured, which explained why Soroys sent the Lethean to kill him. "Nerys, give me the room, but stay nearby in case he needs you," she said to Nerys and waited for her to leave.

"I'll be just outside then," Grabbing her coffee and a PaDD, Nerys headed out of the small sickbay and waited in the hallway.

"Landon," Xiulan said, still holding on to his hand so he wouldn't feel alone. "Tell me what you learned so I can keep the ship out of trouble, then I want you to trust me to take care of the Beifong and get some rest. Deal?"

He looked his First Officer. They had only had a few months together, but putting a second rank pip on her collar designating her his First Officer had proven to be one of the best decisions he could make. "She was telling lies through her teeth, but they were coated with truth. There is an uprising here in the Gamma Quadrant, dirty Starfleet Officers and corruption in Command. But she's no savior. She's part of the corruption. DS11 is were she has been taking her orders from. You need to punch your way through and get to the Alpha Quadrant, contact Starfleet Command...tell them everything."

"DS11?!" No, that was more unbelievable than hearing the Blackhawk had been part of this conspiracy! She was formally stationed on DS11 for years, she couldn't believe they were at the center of this! "No, that can't... Landon, I know those people!" Xiulan rebutted, but there was just a hint of doubt there. How well did she know those people? With her attitude problems, she mostly kept to herself; she only really knew a handful of her coworkers, but most of the people she really bonded with were visitors from other ships, like the Blackhawk and now the Beifong. "Are you absolutely certain?" she asked.

"You knew those people" Landon said correcting her. "They have been moving personnel around, planting people in command positions or in positions with high clearance. It has allowed them to take over starships and stations. I was right on one thing though. Harvey wasn't dirty, the Black Hawk wasn't, but they planeted a new Security Chief aboard who I believe has taken command of their starship. That's why we cannot trust anyone"

Xiulan's mouth worked to speak, but no sound came forth, and she looked so torn. But she believed him when he said that they couldn't trust anyone, so finally she nodded. "I'll find a way to get us back through the wormhole and report this to Starfleet Command," she said. "I won't let them get away with this," she added in promise, giving his hand another squeeze, but it was about this time that she realized that he had not squeeze back. "Landon, can you feel my hand?" she asked, dreading the possible answer.

He had to actually look to see her hand was squeezing his. He took a deep breath and sighed "Not at first, but I'm starting to feel it...barely. I feel numb and yet sore. I feel like I went toe to toe telepathically with a Lethean" he said in response, a bit of dark humor. "Imagine that" he added. "I can't feel my legs though...at all" he said a bit nervous about that.

Xiulan nodded again, slowly as she absorbed his words. "You probably just need rest. After all, you are still recovering," she reminded him. "I need to get back to the bridge, but... whenever I have free time, I'll be here; you don't have to go through this alone. And I promise I'll take care of the ship and get us home."

"Just focus on the Beifong and the crew. Those are your top concerns, make them your priority, Captain" he said to her. "You'll get used to it. But dont get too used to it. I still want my seat back and my starship" he said with a small smile.

"Don't you argue with me! I'm the Captain now and if I say I'm going to help you, then you better get used to it!" Xiulan asserted, then grinned. "Damn, I could get used to that," she said with a snicker. "The crew will be my top priority, and that includes you," she said in a more earnest, serious tone. She stood, tucking her chair away so she could leave. "Now try not to drive Nerys too crazy, she's been working her butt off to save you."

Landon sighed. "I'll try, but you know she's already missing a few cups for a complete tea set up there" replied the man. "I'll be on my best behavior as a patient though."

Now that Landon was awake and had delivered the information he received from Soroys, it was time for him to rest again and for Xiulan to get back to the bridge. She pulled up the light blanket covering Landon to make sure he was warm, then headed for the hallway where she knew Nerys was waiting. "Nerys?" Xiulan said, seeking out the heat signature just outside the door. "Thanks for, uh, everything I guess," she said, offering a small smile in gratitude. "Landon's resting now; he gave me some info, so I gotta get back to the bridge to act on it. You take good care of him, and keep me updated. I'll try to visit after my shift."

"Good luck. I'll do everything I can to make sure he pulls through this perfectly well." Nerys replied, making her way back into sickbay.

"He said he can't feel his legs, and he could barely feel me squeezing his hand, but he was able to grab me," Xiulan cautioned Nerys. "And we know he won't be able to feel empathically or telepathically, and that's bound to be very lonely, so make sure that someone is always nearby so he knows he's not alone," she suggested.

"Not entirely unexpected," Nerys spoke softly and stood a bit closer to Xiulan. "Either myself or the EMH will be with him at all times. If any volunteers want to sit up with him, I'll accept them as well."

"Thanks. I'll try to put together a roster of volunteers to come help out from time to time, so you can have a break," Xiulan replied. "As for what you asked me earlier; despite the similarities of our situations, I can't even begin to imagine how tough this is for you, and I can't decide for you if you should try these new neural treatments, but whatever you chose to do, just know you've got me and the rest of the crew ready to stand with you and help you through it. But if you decide to go through with it, wait a bit until we're out of imminent danger; can't have our medical officer down for the count if we come under attack."

"I agree. I can still do the prep work and run simulations until then. Thank you." Nerys replied. She thought about attempting a smile, but people always gave her funny looks and besides, it wasn't like Xiulan could see it anyway.

"Anytime," Xiulan replied, offering a lopsided grin before turning and walking away.

Arturo finished his shift and headed down to Sickbay to try and catch Nerys before she took off for the day. He was quite worried about her. Xiulan's reaction, and perhaps his own, had truly shaken Nerys. She didn't have the same understanding of emotions that others did. Worse, she often seemed emotionless which led others to think that she didn't have any feelings to hurt. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. She did have feelings in her own special way. She just really didn't understand them at all. They frightened and confused her. She really didn't understand why Arturo had laughed or why Xiulan had gotten upset. He could tell she was having problems after Xiulan left, but he had to get to the bridge and couldn't stay to talk to her. Hopefully she'd been able to make it through the day. Arturo entered Sickbay.

"Computer, activate EMH," Nerys ordered as she packed up for the day.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency," the EMH rattled off as he materialized.

Nerys handed the EMH a PaDD with Landon's status on it and rattled off instructions. "The captain regained consciousness today and I'm heading off shift so I need you to monitor him through the night. He should stay asleep, but in case he does wake up again, I want someone here to make him feel less alone, especially with the telepathic and motor control nerve centers as badly off as they still are. If anything unusual happens, call me immediately."

The EMH nodded and read through the PaDD. "Night nurse duty again, is it? I guess it can't be helped on such a small ship." He then looked up and smiled softly to Nerys. "No worries, I've got things now. Get some good rest, ok? You look like you need a bit of extra sleep."

"I concur. Thank you." Nerys replied one last time just as Arturo entered sickbay. Picking up a small case, Nerys headed to see Arturo. "Let's please get out of here, my friend. It's been a long day and I need a drink a bit more stiff than coffee."

"After you," said Arturo as he follow Nerys out of Sickbay. They walked in silence a bit. Arturo wasn't offended. Nerys didn't usually say anything if she didn't have anything to say. As the morning's disagreement confirmed, her attempts at small talk could be disastrous. So Arturo followed in companionable silence, waiting for Nerys to start a conversation if she wanted to.

Eventually they made their way to the lounge in silence. Nerys headed straight to the replicator and punched up her normal meal, then cancelled it. "I think I want something different today..." she mumbled as she scrolled through a menu. She then selected something that looked spicy and unusual. Mexican fare called an enchilada platter with what she assumed was some sort of stuffed pepper. She also ordered a beer and grabbing both, she headed to an empty table and sat down, waiting for Arturo to join her with his order.

Arturo ordered a boneless salmon steak, grilled, and a hard cider and joined Nerys at her table.

"So," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm frustrated," Nerys replied, staring at her meal trying to figure out how to eat it. "I'm sure you can understand why. Even I can understand that much. I spoke with Xiulan earlier about a potential treatment based on the one I developed that's helped a lot in the recovery of patients from Lethean attacks, but I'm unsure if I really want to try it or not." Tapping the box sitting next to her food that she'd brought from sickbay, she continued. "The first two weeks of treatments are in there."

Arturo looked puzzled.

"Why are you not sure if you want to try it?" he asked. "Is it extremely risky?"

"Everything has risk. This though..." Pausing, Nerys stared at the box for a few seconds before continuing. "This will change me. I might be a different person. Treating a patient with damage is one thing, but this is either potential enhancement of a functional sentient or of a disabled sentient and that's a distinction that can have legal ramifications, depending upon what the Federation determines my health status is."

"Wait," Arturo said. "You want to use the treatment you developed for Landon on yourself?"

Nerys nodded and picked up her fork and knife and started cutting into her enchiladas as she spoke. "I do. I've repurposed it so that those treatments will target the emotional centers of my brain and perform similar reconstruction to that that occurred in both Xiulan's and Landon's brain to repair the general damage done by the Lethean attacks. And that's not the most incredulous part of it all. I've used over half the limited supply of biomimetic gel on the ship just to treat Landon. What's in that box is most of what I won't need for his continued treatment."

"We're on our way back to Federation space," Arturo said. "And presumably to a starbase with repair facilities. We can restock our supply of biomimetic gel then. I am not an attorney, I do not even portray one on the holovids, but isn't there a difference between restoring normal function to a person who is considered disabled in some way and providing a person with abilities beyond that of the norm of their species?"

"And that's the dilemma. I know my lack of emotional nerve centers are considered a disability by some, but by others it's considered a great boon and perfectly normal." Nerys confirmed before digging into her enchiladas.

"Nerys," Arturo said. "You could stay just the way you are and that wouldn't change how I feel about you as my friend, so please, do not get the idea that I think there is something wrong with you. What I mean to say is...isn't having emotional nerve centers normal for Trill? And if that's true, how is restoring your emotional nerve centers enhancing you?"

Taking a sip of her beer to clear her mouth enough to talk, Nerys nodded. "Normally, I'd call in another doctor for a second opinion, but out here unless Landon gets well enough to look over my findings, I'm really on my own to make that call. The thing that I have to consider though, is that even in my emotionally stunted state, what if I myself am emotionally compromised in making the decision?"

Xiulan was just getting off shift and was making a stop by the mess hall before heading down to the Sickbay to visit Landon. She had no way of knowing that Nerys and Arturo were already at the mess hall and having an involved conversation, so she passed through the doors and went straight for the replicator without bothering to search for familiar heat signatures.

"That's a fair point," Arturo said. "Is there a rush? Can the treatment wait until either Landon is awake or until we reach a starbase? Or at least until we are somewhere you can consult with another physician via subspace?"

Arturo smelled Xiulan come into the room before he saw her. He looked up and saw her at the replicator.

"Excuse me a moment," he said. He walked up behind Xiulan. "Xiulan. Nerys and I are here if you'd like to join us."

"Hn?" Xiulan turned to acknowledge Arturo when he approached. "Oh yeah, sure," she said with a nod. She finished replicating her meal then followed Arturo back to his table. "Hey Nerys, how's Landon doing?" she asked as she sat down.

"Hello. He's resting well. My estimates show that he should have ninety eight percent restoral of brain functions within the next two weeks." Nerys replied, moving her medical case out of the way. We were just discussing the treatment I developed for Landon and yourself for recovery from the Lethean's attack and the potential it has on my own situation."

"Oh, right," Xiulan replied with a nod as she dug into her meal. "Tough choice, but I think it's something you do want and I'll support the decision. But do or don't, we're here for you."

"Either way, I want to wait until we're back on the other side of the wormhole before I begin." Nerys added. "It'll give me time to research the legality of it as well."

"A wise decision," Arturo said. "And as Xiulan said, we are your friends and we are here for you."

"We're still a few days out from the wormhole, then after we check in with DS9 on the other side, I think we should make for Deleth station for repairs, so that should leave you with plenty of time to do your research and weigh the potential consequences. If it's something you decide you really want to do despite the legality of it, I'm willing to keep this just between us and not report it, so no one outside our ship ever has to find out about it," Xiulan said around bites of food.

"Thank you," Nerys felt something... It was like a warm wetness in her chest. "I think either a canine is peeing in my breasts or I'm experiencing an emotional response."

Xiulan choked and sputtered on a mouthful of food, then after the cough fit cleared up, she said in a raspy voice, "Well, that's... interesting. Since I can't find any heat signatures that even remotely resemble a dog, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that was an emotional response."

"At least she didn't say that a feline was peeing on her," Arturo said. "It's about time someone started picking on the canine races. Canine races! Good gracious! Has anyone been feeding and walking that massive, hairy, four-legged fluff-monster Landon keeps in his quarters?"

"Oh shit!" Xiulan said, once again sputtering, but this time with laughter. "Yeah, maybe one of us better go check on Julian... Man, I am not looking forward to cleaning up that mess..." she said, not looking pleased about the idea of having to clean up dog pies. Then she brightened up. "Oh wait, I'm the acting CO, I can just order one of you two to do it!"

"Don't worry, pet care falls under the medical personnel when the owner is in sickbay. He has an autofeeder and a poop collecter. He could use more walks, but he's physically healthy." Nerys commented before eating a bit of her chile relleno into her mouth.

"I will walk Julian," Arturo said. When the other two looked at him strangly, he added: "What? Felines and canines can't get along? We got along quite well when Ian and I broke into Landon's quarters. I give Julian high marks for not trying to eat me. Uhm...he does wear a flea collar, doesn't he? I'd rather not get space fleas. I'm not worried on my own account, but rather Xiulan's. Should I get a case of the space fleas, poor Xiulan would have to choose between the fleas and dying from the agony of desire unrequited."

"Oh please... If I could roll my eyes, I would..." Xiulan said with a smirk. "Although, now that I'm thinking about it, Julian will probably get lonely until Landon can return to his quarters, so he can come chill with me. But if you think Landon might be up for a visitor tonight, maybe we could bring Julian by the infirmary. It might help improve his mood?" she suggested.

"That is acceptable. I scan him for standard signs of danger of pretty much anything hazardous every time I visit him. You'll be pleased to know that he shows no signs of space fleas or other vermin." Nerys commented.

Arturo had been about to suggest that Julian come and stay with him, but his spirits lifted when Xiulan said 'maybe we could bring Julian...' which implied that they would be spending more time together. If she started to feel like they were moving too fast, Arturo would just tell her he was stopping by to visit the dog.

"Good," Arturo said. "Good for Julian, I mean! Space fleas are horrible...not that I've every had a case...because I haven't...I was just sharing what I'd heard from someone else I know who had a case of space fleas...someone who wasn't me..."

"Uh huh..." Xiulan replied, not sounding all that convinced. "Anyway, I was planning on visiting Landon after I eat. I could go walk Julian and take him down there tonight. Or should I wait until tomorrow to bring Julian around?"

"Tonight should be fine. The EMH is sitting with him tonight and visitors always have a positive effect on brainwave activity recuperation." Nerys replied.

"Alright," Xiulan said with a nod of her head. "You guys wanna come with or am I going alone?" she asked.

"I have a feeling he'll be sick of me by the time he's released from sickbay so I'll spare him for now." Nerys said just before finishing the chile relleno and returning her attention to the enchiladas.

"I will stop in to see him tomorrow," Arturo said. "You can have him to yourself this evening, Graceful Orchid."

Arturo grinned.

"I will come by your quarters after," he said with a smile in his voice. "To see Julian, of course."

"If you want, Arturo, you can help me with the late Ensign Gonnadie's ferret after dinner." Nerys offered.

Arturo sighed.

"Certainly, Nerys," he said. "It will be a good exercise in humility. A felinoid waiting hand and foot on a rodent! My parents would be so ashamed...hmmm...I wonder what ferret would taste like grilled...maybe with a cream sauce..."

"Uhg, you're trying to make me lose my lunch, aren't you?" Xiulan ask, dropping her fork onto her plate. "But sure, you can come by tonight; you can help me get Julian's stuff to my quarters. Though I draw the line with the dog; I'm not a zoo and I'd hate to see a death match between Gerri and the ferret..."

"Wolopolomoag is over three feet long so he might fight back if you try to eat him," Nerys replied.

"All the more exciting then!" Arturo replied, standing, his voice rising. "Man versus beast...the winner eats the loser! One night only!"

Arturo stopped when he noticed the two ladies looking at him funny.

"Ahem," he said, sitting back down and lowered his voice back to a more socially acceptable level. "I will play nice with the rodent. Xiulan, please contact me when you are done speaking with Commander Milo and I will meet you at his quarters."

"Yeah, I'm not letting that creature anywhere near my fire krayt," Xiulan replied. "Nor am I going to watch you try not to get eaten by a giant ferret," she added with a smirk. "Anyway, I'm gonna get going. Nerys, keep me updated on your research, and if you ever need to talk about your decision, you know where to find me."

"Roger that. Stay safe, my friend." Nerys replied with a nod.

Laurel had rushed taken the nearest lift and was rushing down corridor after corridor when she received confirmation that the USS Beifong was docking at the port. She had no idea what to say, no clue what she would do, but none of it mattered. Nothing meant more to her than seeing Landon. The two had not spoken in so long, and she had no idea what he had been through in the past couple of months. She had taken their silence as a sign that he had not wanted to speak with her for whatever reason until Scott had helped her track him down as being the Chief Medical Officer of the Defiant class starship.

However, further digging on the USS Beifong had uncovered that her latest assignment had put her in the Gamma Quadrant as part of Task Force 9. The Beifong and the rest of the starships in the task force having lost contact with Starfleet and the Federation. It was all way above her security clearance to get into the deep gritty underlining. There had been some sort of incursion, officers of Starfleet that had turned, starships divided and the wormhole having been cut off. There were Intelligence and Security files marked Consortium, but most of it was 'Code 47' also known as “Captain's Eyes Only” to which a Lieutenant, even one serving as First Officer was not permitted to see.

There was so much that Laurel did not know, but what she had found out was through the reports and logs of the USS Beifong. The majority of which did not disclose anything about the 'Consortium' group, but rather how Doctor Landon Milo had stepped into the Captain's chair for the past few months after being forced to place the starship's assigned Commanding Officer into stasis. Laurel had always admired the man. She knew him to be the sweetest, kindest, most gentled nature soul she had ever met. They had known each other since childhood and at times were inseparable. It was very much like him to do something crazy like that to save someone's life. Though Laurel never saw Landon as the type of command a starship, he knew he would have thought the same of her as First Officer of Tornado.

She stood there in the corridor waiting for the crew of the USS Beifong to exit the ship and enter her sight. One by one they did and she counted each one of them. She had even seen medical personnel departing from the starship. Where is he? she thought to herself as she waited impatiently. Laurel had not had the time to go through all the logs of the Beifong, however. Had she, she would have noted the last few logs were done by a Lieutenant Xiulan Song, the starship's listed Chief Communications Officer and the woman Landon field promoted to serve as his First Officer. 'Landon...cousin, hear me. Where are you?' she asked as she tried to communicate with him telepathically. She received nothing in response. Still, she could sense more crew aboard.

What she had not and could not prepare herself for was what she saw. The Federation designed 'support chair' that was was advancing forward slowly with a hardly recognizable man in it and a slightly Asian looking woman behind it. Laurel brought her hands to her mouth, covering the look of shock and slight horror as she nearly gasped. Landon she thought seeing the man, but not sensing his psi abilities. He was...dulled. He read no more tantalizing to her than a human. "Goddesses of the stars" she said under her breath.

Landon had seen his cousin at the far end of the corridor, standing there waiting for him. He could barely move his head, but managed to cast his eyes upward. "That's her Xiulan" he said in a sigh. "She's at the end of the corridor...I don't think she knew about the attack or my condition" he said nervously.

"I didn't send up any separate reports about what happened, so whatever was mentioned in the after action reports were classified along with the rest of the reports on the Consortium," Xiulan explained, placing her hand on his shoulder. Starfleet Command knew about his condition, and the pertinent information would be declassified and forwarded on to Starfleet Medical, but without a separate incident report, his cousin would have no way of knowing what had happened. Xiulan 'saw' a lot of heat signatures moving about, mostly Beifong crew deboarding, but one heat signature stood out among all the rest, a heat signature standing at the end of the corridor shifting uneasily where she stood, which Xiulan assumed was Landon's cousin. "You want me to stick around or did you want some alone time with your cousin?" she asked Landon as they approached the end of the corridor.

"It's alright" he replied. "You were right to keep all of that classified and send it up the chain of command. See, you are turning out to be one hell of a First Officer already" he said to the woman as he reached up and patted her hand. "I would like for you to stay with me if you wouldn't mind. I do not know how well she will take hearing what happened and quite honestly, I am not sure I can really work up the strength to tell her that I'm the way that I am now" he said with a deep sigh. It was one thing to lose his sense of psi abilities. No more empathy nor telepathy to any extent. What was worse was the prognosis that he may not be able to walk again, and could potentially be confined to the chair that he was in.

"Oi! Don't call me a good First Officer, I just didn't wanna deal with all the paperwork for your scrawny butt!" Xiulan rebutted, then chuckled. "But don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," she assured him, her words not meant simply for this moment, but rather that she would continue on as his First Officer for as long as he would have her. She couldn't say the same for anyone else, but the two of them made a pretty good team... They finally reached the end of the corridor, closing the distance so that they were finally standing face to face with Landon's cousin. Xiulan removed her hand from Landon's shoulder so she could free up her right hand which was holding her cane; she didn't really need the cane anymore, her 'sight' had cleared up since leaving the nebula, but she continued carrying it as a precaution since falling down a ladder chute and dislocating her arm; it had also come in handy when taking down that damned Lethean...

"Lieutenant Oakley?" Xiualn asked, extending her hand to shake. "I'm Lieutenant Xiulan Song, your cousin's First Officer," she introduced with a lopsided grin.

"Doctor" she said making a slight preference correction. "It runs in the family...as does getting ourselves into red uniforms apparently" added Laurel shaking her head as she took the woman's hand and shook it. "Doctor Laurel Oakley, First Officer, USS Tornado" she said formally introducing herself. She lowered her voice a little "Lieutenant, what happened to him?"

A brow disappeared under Xiulan's scruffy fringe of black hair. "Well for starters, he's not deaf," Xiulan replied in an equally lowered voice. "Did you get my message about securing someplace quiet to talk? I'll tell you everything, but he's still recovering and being around a lot of people is tiring," she continued in her normal voice. "And please tell me we're going somewhere with coffee, real coffee, please! We ran out because some fat Bolian bastard decided to dump most of our stock during the Tea Revolution," she pleaded in a more desperate tone.

And before she could even say his name. "SNOOOKUMS!" came a thunderous and jovial roar, heavy footsteps came following the voice and Laurel saw him. "SON of BITCH" she muttered under her breath. She had no idea where he had been. She had tried to track down his whereabouts when on Raeyan, but to no avail. Laurel soon found herself hoisted off the ground in a bear hug, struggling to breathe. "Let me go you before I turn as blue as your ass" she barely go out.

Laurel gathered some oxygen back into her lungs and fixed her hair. She looked at Xiulan. "You have met my Husband I see. From the bottom of my heart, I apologize for your suffering. If it gives you any relief, be thankful you aren't married to him."

"You know, there's a solution to this problem, I can toss him out an airlock and solve both our problem," Xiulan offered in a tone that was far too chipper to be healthy.

"And risk the back pain? I don't advise it. He's already a giant pain in the ass" replied Laurel. "Aren't you" she said looking at the man. "By the way, I have divorce papers for you and I'm petitioning to get our wives eggs from Raeya" she added bitterly.

Landon who had just been quiet watching all of it unfold was rather dumbfounded. "Laurel!" he shouted shaking his head. "You married Brott? What?! When?" he asked.

"Hey, don't raise your voice, you're tired enough as it is," Xiulan scolded Landon. "And Brott, get lost. The three of us have a lot to talk about and if you cause a ruckus, I will put you on latrine duty and scrubbing the air recyclers," she said to Brott in a stern tone. Then to Laurel her expression softened somewhat. "Let's go somewhere quiet; I can tell you about Landon and then you can explain to us in what reality it makes sense for you to be married to Brott."

"Agreed" replied Laurel. She then politely moved over towards Landon and bent down, kissing him on the cheek. "I know as his XO, you probably are a bit protective of Landon, but he's like a big brother to me" she said looking at Landon. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to move him" she said.

He looked up at Laurel. "I can move it myself, Laurel. I don't need anyone to help me move...I just like having Xiulan behind me" he said with a heavy sigh. "She's helped me through a lot of this. If it wasn't for her, the Beifong would have been lost in the hands of the Consortium."

"He gives me far too much credit, I just kicked a few asses where it was appropriate," Xiulan said with just a hint of a blush, embarrassed at so much positive attention on her. "It hasn't been easy keeping things together on the Beifong without a Captain, twice over at that, but we managed. I think the greater challenge has been helping him... adapt to his current situation." Xiulan continued as they walked along.

Laurel nodded "About this...situation" she said softly. "What's the prognosis? Will he be able to communicate telepathically again? Will he empathically sense again? Can he ever walk again?" she asked a handful of questions trying to keep her voice lowered. She could have asked Landon, but in all honesty she sensed a lot of pain and hatred coming from him...disturbing considering her cousin was usually very kind, warm, and upbeat.

"Well, he was psychically attacked by a Lethean, if that gives you any perspective of how severe his situation is," Xiulan replied somberly. "And if it helps you sleep at night, I got the bastard, he's dead," she added, giving Landon another pat on the shoulder. "But we don't know the long-term extent of his condition, it's still quite early to say. At the moment, he has no sensation from the waist down, and you're probably already aware of just how delicate the telepathic centers of the Betazoid brain are, so at the moment the prognosis doesn't look good. But our CMO and I, we aren't going to give up on him."

"A Lethean?" Laurel was startled by that fact alone. "He's lucky to be alive...you both are. Those are nasty creatures. I have never met one personally, but I have seem the results of what their telepathic attacks can do to a man" she said shaking her head. "I know some people. Really good surgeons that might be able to offer some help. At least we should consider a consultation" she said, her heart sinking. "A Doctor Toby Russell, she's worth trying to contact."

"We've already reached out to the base staff and a specialist in Betazoid physiology, we'll add your guy to the list," Xiulan said with a nod. Their little entourage had moved so slowly through the base, but finally they were at a cafe on the base's civilian shopping district. Xiulan chose a table that seemed to be somewhat isolated so Landon wouldn't be bothered by the crowds, and removed a chair from their chosen table so that Landon could pull right up to the table in his mobile support chair. "Hey boss, I'm gonna go grab some coffee; you need anything?" she asked Landon.

Landon looked at Laurel and shook his head. "Doctor Toby Russell is not coming anywhere me, Laurel" he said firmly. "She's a medical menace...practically experimenting on people" he added before responding to Xiulan. "I'll have a Jestral Tea. Laurel will have a steamer...vanilla steamer" he added.

"Hey, don't get him worked up now!" Xiulan scolded Laurel with a frown; she was going to have to look into this Toby Russell person... Then leaving the two cousins alone to chat and catch up, Xiulan made her way through the cafe to order their drinks, leaning against the counter while she waited while they were being prepared.


Xiulan returned to the table with a tray of mugs, carefully setting it on the table and distributing them to her companions. Though blind, she was able to identify each one quite easily, as the vanilla in Laurel's steamer was quite noticeable, much to Xiulan's shuddering disgust, and the heat signature from Landon's tea was quite a bit smaller than her own large mug of coffee. "Uhg..." Xiulan said with a shudder as she settled into her chair, trying to ignore the smell of Laurel's steamer. "How can you drink that crap?" she asked Laurel bluntly.

"With pleasure" replied the woman. "I live by it" she added.

[[USS Beifong | Transporter Room]]

Chief Petty Officer Brexa had no idea what would be ahead of her should she and Darzen actually pull this little sabotaging mission off, and the USS Beifong safely made its way back through the wormhole and into actual Federation space. She imagined the Beifong would have a continued service, but her time as Chief of Science would probably be over. Maybe I could transfer to another Department she thought as she walked into the Beifong's transporter room, all geared up and carrying an engineering kit. She still wore the uniform of member of the Science Department, but she had the necessary skill set to assist Darzen.

When she walked into the Transporter Room she found Lieutenant Darzen Kail, her fellow saboteur for this mission, and Lieutenant Ian Mackenzie. Mackenzie had suggested planting a device that could be remotely operated and detonated after she and Darzen were safely back aboard the Beifong. "You two boys going over some last minute planning?" she asked looking at the Chief Engineer.

Darzan snorted a little, messing with the buckles on the tool kit he was wearing. "This is the very last minute. Although I sort of hold a belief that too much planning can be bad, sometimes just as bad or worse than not enough." He chuckled. "Now that we're all here we should go over exactly what we're doing one last time. Don't you agree?"

"Closed lobes equals the loss of profit," she said nodding. "Always have a plan and go through it," she added with a more easily understood statement. "From what I understand, Lieutenant Mackenzie had some thoughts on a remote explosive device we could plant while we are aboard and detonate once we are safely back aboard, and undoubtedly at a safe distance away from the T'Pava," said Brexa.

The female Ferengi shot a look over to the Chief Tactical Officer. "Did Xiulan call for any changes, Sir?" she asked to make sure she was still on the same page as everyone else. "The T'Pava is an older Miranda class. Unless they have done some major overhauling to her Engineering sections, she should be pretty easy to bring down" commented Brexa.

"At present, no changes that I know of," Ian said, opening the case that contained the Plasmatic Pulse Device and an isolinear chip that would allow them to piggyback the signal on their communications array. "Darzen, just get me into Engineering and if we play our cards right, we can be in and out in 15 minutes, provided we don't get hit with any surprises," he said.

"You got it," Darzen said, nodding. "Are we ready to go?" He eyed the device. "I actually feel relatively confident." He smiled a little.

Brexa took a deep breath. "We have to be calm and carry out our business as though we are just there to make the repairs and adjustments. We can't risk blowing this or getting exposed," said the Ferengi with concern. The Transporter effect soon glimmered around them, taking them off the Defiant class starship.


T'Pava Operations Office

Karjir was standing at ease when the security officers overrode the door to his office and rushed in, phaser rifles at the ready. He had been expecting them. He knew the the majority of the crew had mutinied and sided with the Consortium, though the why of it still eluded him.

*Maybe the money is better. Greed is a huge motivator.* The Symbiote, Ras, had been relatively quiet the last few days.
*Maybe now isn't the time to discuss motive, Ras.*
*Sorry.*

He was relatively new to the crew , and they both had noticed right away that the rest of the crew were standoffish towards him. About a month into his tour, he knew something was wrong, as he was never informed of staff meetings, though he was a senior crew member. His access codes had never worked as they should, and he was scheduled to work Delta shift, opposite the rest of the senior staff.

The Chief of Security entered the office and stopped to stand before him and smirked. “ I suppose you already know why I am here then, Lieutenant Ras.”

Karjir took in a deep breath, looked, the CoS right in the eye, and calmly replied . “Ras, Karjir, Lieutenant, 157-06-1425 Romeo. Under article one the Khitomer Accords, I demand that you deliver me safely to the nearest Starfleet or Federation facility.”

The CoS turned away slightly, chuckling softly. “The Khitomer Accords have no jurisdiction here. I do.” His hand was lightning fast, and Karjir had no time to dodge the backhand strike to his face. Karjir stumbled, but quickly regained his composure.

*The Nerve! Does he know who I am? I was there when the Khitomer Accords were signed!*
*Calm down, slug. He won't make contact again.*

“Ras, Karjir, Lieutenant, 157-06-1425 Rom-” The strike came slightly slower this time, and Karjir was ready for it. He shifted his weight to the ball of his left foot and dropped to a crouch. He knew the CoS would anticipate a leg sweep, so instead, he brought both fist together and came straight up, catching his opponent off guard, and square in the jaw. The CoS lifted off the ground, in a seeming slow motion arched back out the door.

*Nice follow through. And you think having my memories is a burden*
*Not. NOW*

Karjir did not wait to see what success he had, but rather honed in on the remaining officers between him and the door. He made two steps towards the first man before all his nerves seared with pain at once and the world went dark. He hit the floor at the same time as the CoS.

T'Pava Brig

Karjir awoke with a start, and wished he hadn't just as suddenly. His head, his every inch ached, the side effects of wide beam stun setting phaser fire. He knew it should pass shortly, but it didn't help how he felt now.

*That didn't go as you planned, did it?* Karjir and Ras were not like most joined Trill. Instead of sharing the experience of life, they lived it individually through the same body. Both could control it, though out of respect, Ras never did without permission. It was a unique experience, and one they had decided to keep from the rest of the galaxy.
*Actually, it did. I wanted them to stun us. Less chance you would take over and get us tossed us out an airlock with your "diplomacy".*
*haha*

He sat up on the bed in the cell he found himself in. The urge to pass out did not last long. His uniform had been removed and he was now wearing a simple jumpsuit. There was no one else in the cell with him, and he could see no one outside his door. He stood and slowly made his way to the force field for a better look around. Through the blue tinge, he could see that no one was on guard in the brig. That, at least, was good news. It meant he could plan an escape and sabotage in relative peace.

*Do you think we can get out of here?* Ras felt genuinely concerned.*
*I hope so, but to be honest, we made need help.*
* May I suggest seeing if there is anyone in here with us?*

He tried to get a vantage on the other cells, but there was no way to see inside them. He decided to risk further ire from the mutineers by calling out to other crew.

“Hello?”

"Shut up." Mirok called, a tone of annoyance in his voice. He had been fighting back and stunned from behind, he almost had them too. "This'll get worse for both of us if they hear you. I'd prefer to not be tortured." He rubbed his temples, he had a headache brewing, and in these conditions it would only get worse. They had taken his weapon, thought they had left him defenseless, but he had been trained for the event of being taken captive, and thought he had it one. But that sneak attack from behind got him when he was vulnerable.



USS T'Pava

Having arrived aboard the T'Pava, the trio from Beifong were met by a dark skinned human male with eyes that could not lie. Brexa could practically tell the ensign was nervous. He wore a red uniform, she presumed he was the T'Pava's Chief Flight Controller. "So why did the T'Pava need us? Why couldn't your Chief Engineer and Chief Operations Officer solve your problems?" she asked cutting to the point as the ensign lead them out of the Transporter Room and down various corridors.

"I'm not really authorized to give that information out," he replied simply.

Brexa snorted. "Well, you are going to have to at least let us talk to either of them. We won't know how your starship has been coping with its issues or what they had to split and cross wire to keep you chugging along this long. I've had a look at the speeds this thing has been doing as of late. You've pushed a whole warp factor over her design limitations. You don't do that without breaking, things," she said shaking her head. "Right, Darzen?"

Darzen didn't even crack a smile, he kept his same serious face that he almost always wore. "That's very much correct. Now Ensign..." He emphasized the 'Ensign' part. "Give her the information or stand aside and let us do the job." There weren't any other options in his tone. Hopefully, the Ensign wouldn't insist.

The Ensign sighed. "Our Chief Engineer was killed several months ago. His Assistant Chief met a similar fate a few weeks back. So, our Engineering Department is not holding up so well. Our Chief Operations Officer is in the Brig for treason," he said as he increased his speed to a brisk walk.

"Well, sounds like you guys have a bit of a discipline problem on your hands, Ensign. Give us a wide berth and we'll get you patched up and moving in no time." Ian said, unsure of what technobabble to throw in.

"I'll see what I can do," the Ensign responded before being called off by a crewmen needing this assistance.

Brexa motioned for Darzen and Ian to move closer to her. She had something on her mind. "If they are holding people for insubordination, I'd put a few bars of lantinum on the table to bet they aren't supportive of Captain Soroys. We can't just let them rot in those cells, or who knows what the hell that woman will do to them," she said quietly.

"Probably have them filleted and served for breakfast," Darzen said softly. "Let's get this done quickly before Ensign asshat comes back with more annoying opinions and we'll take those prisoners with us. Someone might want to work on getting them out and back on our ship, before anyone notices they're gone..." he looked pointedly at Brexa.

"Agreed" replied Brexa. She then looked at Beifong's Security Chief "You know more about Security systems in a Brig as well as the containment force fields used" she said with a bit of a gleam in her eyes. "If anyone can carry out a jail break...I'm going to place all my latinum on you, Sir."

Ian smiled deviously. "Good to know. Keep your hand near your phaser and stay close, I might need some cover sooner rather than later, Chief. Darzen, lead on." he said, his voice smooth as he tried to conceal the nervous feelings that were coursing through him like a rushing river.

Nerys was on call and stationed on the bridge while the EMH handled medbay. The reason for this was that they were going to try to get past a blockade of the wormhole and who knew how fast she'd have to respond to a medical emergency. She also made sure that a couple engineers on duty had basic medical training as well so she felt confident that the crew would make it. "Captain, Medical reports ready," she called out to Xiulan.

Xiulan gripped the arm rests of the Command chair as she heard 'Captain' in reference to herself; she was never going to get used to hearing that, or sitting in this chair... They were minutes away from dropping out of warp to make a run on DS11 to get to the wormhole that would take them back to Federation space; they were so close, they could do this! She tapped a few commands into the nearby console to open a channel to all decks.

"We're almost home people. We've managed to evade the enemy ships, we've made it this far; I know we're running on next to nothing, I've had to push you hard, but we're ready to push this final stretch; we're almost there and once we're through the wormhole then we can rest," Xiulan said to help rally the crew. "Now, all departments, sound off like you mean it!"

"Maintaining course for now, Captain," Arturo said. "When we come out of warp I am confident that I can get us through the wormhole while making minimal contact with DS11. She will have detected our approach by now, however, so this may be a bit of a rough ride."

Ian smirked a little. "Better to have it rough than nothing at all, ma'am." he said sarcastically. This mission had been long and arduous and Ian was definitely feeling it. He made a note to himself to schedule some leave when they got back to a controlled Starbase.

"I'm not too good with ship sensors, but if I'm reading this right there are two ships on an intercept course with us from DS11. I assume that's bad." Nerys commented idly as she looked over the console she was sitting at.

Arturo checked his sensors as well.

"Confirmed," Arturo said. "USS McGarrity, Norway Class, and USS Kilpatrick, Streamrunner Class. They appear to be attempting to place themselves between us and the entrance to the wormhole. I think I can get us around them, but it is going to be a very rough ride."

"Rough or not, just get us through that wormhole," Xiulan replied, her hands working the comm controls she routed through to the command chair consoles. "All hands, be prepared for a bumpy ride, this could get interesting," she broadcast through the ship to give the crew a heads up.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Arturo said. "Averrtimento you dogs!"

Arturo's fingers flew over his console as he played the ship's flight controls like a musical instrument. The ship responded to his caress as he began his run on the wormhole. The Defiant Class had powerful engines in a compact package. She was faster and more maneuverable at impulse speeds than the Norway Class and the Streamrunner Class. If Arturo could time the drop from warp speed just right, he'd come out past the point of interception. The timing would have to be perfect. Too close and the wormhole wouldn't trigger in time. They'd just go straight past. Too far away and they'd either have to fight the two larger starships. Arturo kept one eye on his sensors. His opponents were moving to cut them off. Even at impulse speed, they'd be there soon. If Arturo was right, though, it wouldn't be soon enough.

"Steady now..." he said. "Wait for it...NOW!"

Arturo brought the ship out of warp. Just as he did, the Beifong's presence triggered the wormhole. The Beifong hurtled through the wormhole at near light speed. The Prophets were going to be pissed. Hopefully, they would get over it. A few moments later, the Beifong emerged in the Alpha Quadrant. Arturo let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Maybe too soon, since there was nothing stopping the Consortium ships from following them.

"Needle threaded, my Lady Captain," he said. "Do we go to Deep Space Nine and hope they're not Consortium or...?"

The small lift came to its stop. Deck One, Bridge. The doors parted ways and the young man with blue eyes and auburn hair sat in a small chair that slowly moved itself forward, propelling onto the Bridge. He had clean shaven himself back to his smooth baby face looks and wore a crisp wrinkle free Starfleet uniform of command division coloring. "We exit the wormhole, be as casual as can be and proceed past Deep Space Nine and head to another starbase, Lieutenant" said Landon calmly.

"A most heartfelt welcome back, Captain Milo," Arturo said. "We exited the wormhole at a speed that is going to draw attention. With that in mind, we are going to exit the area posthaste. Taking us out at a casual warp four, course set for Starbase Three Three Six. That is...Deleth Station. I've heard it is a rather silly place, but should suit our present needs."

Landon looked at his First Officer. He held a finger up instinctively "I'm on Light Duty but have been discharged from the Doctor's care. Thank you for any and all concerns, all of you" he said simply. "Xiulan I appreciate you taking command for a while, but this starship needs its Captain and that's what I intend to be, empathic and telepathic abilities be damned. Physical hinderences aside, my mental capacities are dandy" he added.

"Like I was gonna argue, take the damned chair, I don't want it!" Xiulan replied bluntly, hopping up from the Command chair to slip back into her usual spot over at Communications. "But in all seriousness, it's good to know that you're well enough to be up and about, even in a support chair," she added with a grin.

Nerys had to pipe up at this point. "And this is why I'm on the bridge. If you stress yourself or if there is ANY reason I feel you need to go back to the medbay, I'll be taking you there without any argument."

Landon nodded in agreement with the Chief Medical Officer. "From one Doctor to another, you have my word. If I feel anything or show signs of being in too much pain or if my judgment seems clouded, haul me back to the medical bay" said the Captain. "Xiulan, resume your regular duties and monitor comm chatter" instructed the Captain.

Nerys just nodded and turned her attention back to the console she was sitting in front of.

"I'll be watching you closely as well," Xiulan said from her station. "I don't want the Chair, but I'll take it back if we think you're pushing yourself too hard."

Assuming command of his Defiant class starship, Landon tried to pick up where his First Officer had left off. "Arturo, continue on your plotted course. Make necessary adjustments to avoid unwanted attention. I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone at this point, Federation or otherwise" said the Captain.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Arturo said. "The scenic route it is. I will keep us out of the usual Starfleet patrol zones and avoid the more frequently traveled trade lanes."

It was becoming a more diverse crew with the Beifong having taken on two of the T'Pava crew who appeared to be still loyal to the Federtion and Starfleet that Landon and the other knew. Both of the officers were present on the Bridge, and they were going to be folded into the Beifong crew. Landon would make sure of that. Lieutenant Ras was at the Operations station while Lieutenant Mirok taking up residence at station next to Ian, a secondary tactical station. Necessary if we need to punch our way through some defenses thought Landon.

"Lieutenant Ras, I want to be operating on as minimum amount of power as we can without compromising warp speed" ordered the Captain. "If possible, I'd like to have reserve power on standby and rerouted to weapons systems should that be necessary" he added calmly.


Then, Landon focused on the Security and Tactical matters. "Lieutenant Mirok, I want you to remain up here manning a secondary tactical station. Work with Lieutenant Mackenzie. Keep yourselves vigilant. If anything shows up on sensors, I want to know. I also want to be ready for anything. We may have to fire on some of our own starships...no telling if this has spread outside of the Gamma Quadrant yet"

Ian nodded and looked over to the new man in his department, who looked eerily calm. "Spin up quantum torpedoes in tubes One and Two and set them for proximity detonation. If something even thinks of shooting at us, I'm sure the Captain wants it nice and vaporized."

Opening a comm to his Chief Engineer, Landon was preparing himself for the man. "Darzen, It might get a little chaotic down in Engineering. I am not sure what we are getting ourselves into, but I need this starship to hold together. Whatever that takes" said Landon.

Arturo sat at the desk in his temporary quarters staring at the computer screen. A message from the Bureau of Personnel had come to him. Apparently he had impressed some people at Starfleet HQ. That or he now had too public a profile for them to stuff in some remote corner of the quadrant and ignore. According to BUPERS he had two options before him. He could stay on the Beifong as helmsman. The Beifong had a reputation now. It wouldn’t be a dead end assignment. But he had another offer. Commodore Jacqueline ‘Black Jack’ Ramirez had requested that he fly her flagship, the USS Bernard Purdy, an Excalibur Class Starship. It was a much more high profile position, one that would likely lead to a promotion in short order. When he first joined Starfleet, he would have leapt at the chance. He wasn’t encumbered in anyway then. Just a young man with his whole life ahead of him. He was still young. He had easily eighty years of life left barring medical problems and he’d be able to serve in Starfleet for most of that if he wanted to. But career advancements did not keep throwing themselves at a person’s feet. Every choice one made closed the door on other opportunities, opportunities that might never come again. Like Xiulan.

Xiulan made him happy. She made him laugh. She made him feel good about himself. And, equally as important, she wasn’t afraid to tell him he was full of crap. Arturo laughed. His Graceful Orchid wasn’t afraid to tell anyone they were full of crap, or tell them anything else that might be passing through her mind at a given moment, either. So there was Xiulan. She was here. She would be staying with Beifong, he was certain of that. So what would Arturo do? Arturo pondered the answer to that question for a very short period of time, then made his decision. It was obvious, really, when he thought it out clearly. Xiulan would be on Beifong, so Arturo would be on Beifong. He smiled happy with his decision, then he cursed softly. He really should have thought of this earlier.

Xiulan was the Executive Officer of the USS Beifong. BUPERS would have notified both Captain Milo and Xiulan of Black Jack’s request for Arturo’s services. Which meant that Xiulan knew that he had a choice to make. For such a hardass, Xiulan was remarkably fragile when it came to commitment and relationships. She was probably assuming he was leaving because, in her point of view, what reason did he have to stay? She would tell herself, and be lying of course, that there was nothing serious between them. She would be lying because first of all by now she had to have guessed at how much Arturo cared for her, and second of all, whether she was willing to face it or not, Arturo knew in his heart that she cared for him just as much.

Arturo got up, threw his cape over his shoulders and put on his hat. He made sure that the ostrich feather looked just so and then took off for Xiulan’s temporary quarters, trying to think how he was going to deal with this. He arrived and the door having decided to just see how things went. He hit the chime on Xiulan’s door.

When Xiulan answered the door, he would see her not in her normal uniform marked with Communications green; now finally wearing Command red, she was taking her role as Executive Officer seriously. “Arturo?” she said in a subdued tone when she recognized his heat signature. “Uh, what are you doing here?” she asked. After all, it wasn’t like they had scheduled to meet up or anything...

Arturo had come to know Xiulan quite well and his assumptions on the thoughts running through her head were not all that far off. Xiulan hadn’t automatically assumed he would be leaving with the offer for the USS Bernard Purdy, but she did wonder if he would. It was a great offer, and after what he had told her about his past, it seemed like his career was finally getting back on track and it would be a veritable career suicide to turn down the offer. But, even though she knew they had agreed their ‘thing’ was supposed to be no strings attached, she knew Arturo had grown quite attached to her and she wondered if that alone was enough for him to stay.

“Having a cat dressed up like a musketeer hanging around outside your front door might be bad for your image,” Arturo said with a grin. “Can I come in? And before I forget, you look lovely in red.”

“I wouldn't know,” Xiulan replied, stepping aside to let him in. “The uniform don’t feel any different, I guess, but somehow I feel different… It’s kinda weird, actually, being responsible and shit, I don’t know what to do with myself half the time.”

Arturo stepped in and removed his cape. He hung it on a hook by the door and removed his hat. He place it on a table. Walking over to Xiulan, he leaned up and kissed her on the cheek.

“Come, sit with me,” Arturo said leading them over to the couch. “I suppose you’ve seen Black Jack Ramirez’s request for my services?”

“Yeah… yeah, I did,” Xiulan replied, not responding to the kiss to her cheek, instead remaining rigid where she stood. “We, I mean me and Landon, got the request right when we were talking about you. He had, uh, just come to the decision that he wanted you to stay on, not just as Flight Officer but as our Second Officer. I don’t think I could have held the Beifong together by myself out there in the boonies, but you really made the difference in helping the crew pull through, and he saw that. But the offer doesn’t come with a promotion or anything,” she rambled, almost afraid to stop talking; if she stopped talking, then he would start talking, and then would come choices and decisions, and she wasn’t ready to hear his choice if it wasn’t her- uh, the Beifong!

Arturo sighed just a little when Xiulan didn’t respond to his kiss, but he went to sit on the couch anyway.

“Being there for you comes naturally to me, Graceful Orchid,” he said. “Second Officer? Well, that would do my career a world of good. Old Black Jack didn’t offer to make me her second officer. She sally forth vague words of praise and even vaguer suggestions that I might, I say again might, get promoted to Lieutenant Commander ‘sometime in the near future’.”

Arturo looked over at Xiulan.

“Please, my love,” he said. “Sit with me.”

Xiulan flinched at the word ‘love’. “Don’t, we weren’t supposed to do that,” she said, her face contorting in frustration on subject that she had been wrestling with for some time now. “This was supposed to be casual, you weren’t supposed to fall in love.” As if it was that easy, and she knew that it wasn’t, and her own feelings were written all over her face.

Arturo smiled. His heart ached at his lover’s distress, ached for her as she clearly struggled with emotions she was terrified of.

“Xiulan,” he said, very gently. “Graceful Orchid...sit with me, my love.”

With a sigh, Xiulan finally joined him on the couch. “I’m not naive, Arturo, I know a person can’t really ‘decide’ who they love and who they don’t, I know the heart wants what it wants, but… I didn’t… I just wanted things to be simple, I wasn’t looking for complications,” she said, not meaning for that to sound as harsh as it did.

“I think we both know that each of us is far more than a ‘complication’ in each other’s lives,” he said. “Would you still think me a complication if it wasn’t for that request from Black Jack?”

“I don’t know… maybe?” Xiulan said in reply. “And I didn’t mean that you were a complication, just that this whole thing is complicated… I was supposed to go back to DS11, you had whatever ship you came from that I thought you would return to, and now I just want to ask you to stay, not for the job but for me, but I’m the Executive Officer, I don’t get to do things like that.”

Arturo almost laughed, but he saw the look in Xiulan’s eyes and thought better of it. He reached up and touched Xiulan’s cheek.

“You can be a very silly person,” Arturo said. “The ‘ship’ I was serving on before I encountered the Beifong was DS11. You know, the one taken over and currently held by corrupt Starfleet officers bent on taking over the Federation? My job there was flying shuttles and helping to run one of the shuttle bays. That, if you don’t know, is a job for enlisted personnel, NCOs, Warrant Officers and Limited Duty Officers, not graduates of Starfleet Academy with a decent class rank. I know, that sounds terribly snobbish of me but there it is. That was all I could get unless I wanted to pilot a garbage scow. Here I get to fly a starship. So even if it was possible for me to go back, why ever would I want to? Still Black Jack’s offer has a lot going for it, maybe even a promotion soon. But a promotion doesn’t make smile, it doesn’t make me laugh or cry. It doesn’t scritch me behind the ears or curl up with me at night and use me to keep warm...don’t look at me like that, you know you do that. It won’t cuddle with me or make love with me, or sneak into my quarters and into my shower, and it won’t completely melt me with one look. You do that. You, Xiulan Song, Graceful Orchid, and you are here. So, here I will be, too.”

Some part of Xiulan wanted to fight what she was feeling in this moment, she didn’t like ‘needing’ anyone, but she had come to depend on Arturo, more than an officer and more than a friend, she needed him in her life. “You will stay with me?” she asked in a quiet tone. Such a simple phrase and yet it had been so difficult for her to get out, and now her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest!

Arturo smilled. He kissed Xiulan, then rested his forehead against hers.

“Yes, you silly woman,” he said. “Yes, I will stay with you! Will you still have me?”

“Like you really need to ask,” Xiulan replied with a grin, releasing the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. And now that they were in such close proximity, something had finally occurred to Xiulan. “Wow, you really are dressed like a musketeer, aren’t you!” she said, her hand moving over his clothing. Then she laughed; overcome with relief that he was not leaving, all she could do was laugh.

Arturo smiled broadly. He was very proud of his outfit. He had commissioned a local tailor to make the outfit and he had just picked it up. It was his first time wearing it.

“Yes,” he said. “Yes I am! It is my newest outfit! Just the thing to wear when patrolling for bandits and road agents! And I purchased several new ostrich feathers! Wait here!”

Arturo went over to the table and retrieved the feather currently residing in his hat. He brought back over to the couch and sat next to Xiulan.

“Here,” he said. “Feel.”

He gently caressed Xiulan’s face and neck with his extremely soft new feather.

“I love you, Xiulan Song, my Graceful Orchid,” he said. “You have captured my heart and there is no escape for me.”

“You say things like that so easily; does it bother you that I don’t?” she asked, smiling at the feel of the feather against her cheek.

“No,” Arturo said. “I believe I know how you feel about. You're actually terrible at hiding your feelings for me. The signs are there if you what to look for.”

“I never really liked words… People can lie, but their actions speak so much louder,” Xiulan said; she also didn’t like that someone knew more about what she felt than she did, but since that someone was Arturo, she’d learn to live with it. Slowly her smile faded as another thought occurred to her. “I’ll have to tell Landon, and assuming he hasn't already figured out we're together then that might affect the offer he’s made. I think he can see that we’re able to keep our personal relationship out of our professional one, but with protocol and all, I don’t know if you’ll still have an offer for SO tomorrow.”

“That will work itself out,” Arturo replied. He was a little disappointed at the thought of losing the second officer position, but he trusted Landon Milo to make the right decision. “I'll be subject to your orders whether I'm second officer or not and I think I've more than proven that I can do my job on duty and warm the XO’s bed off duty without one affecting the other!”

Arturo leaned and kissed Xiulan between feather strokes to reminder that he considered himself more than her bed warmer.

Xiulan trusted Landon to make the decision that was right for everyone, and what was right was that Arturo deserved to be Second Officer. “I like it when you warm my bed,” she said with a grin, more than happy to forget about work topics for a while. “And you’re very good at keeping me warm,” she said just to tease him.

Arturo grinned, too.

“You’re fun to keep warm,” he said. He used the feather to guide her face towards him and then pulled her close into a kiss, guiding her until she was sitting astride him. “So, do you have any plans for the rest of the evening? If not, I’d be happy to keep you warm right now. If you’d like, I could even wine you and dine you first. Though, in your case, that might mean Jack Daniels and a cheeseburger, but as always, your wish is my command, my love.”

“How could I say no to a cheeseburger!” Xiulan replied, then hopped up from Arturo’s lap. She knew exactly what he was angling for, but it was fun to mess with him.

“I somehow knew that would get your attention,” Arturo said. “As I said, your wish is my command. Are you hungry now? Because if you aren’t, I’m sure we can find some way to work up an appetite.”

“Mmmm, comfort food first, fun time later,” she said shamelessly. She grabbed his hat and felt around to make sure she could figure out which end was the front, then placed the hat on Arturo’s head. “Onward, my musketeer!” she said playfully.

Arturo laughed and threw his cape around his shoulders. He gently took Xiulan’s hand and threaded it through the crook of his arm.

“Beware, Bandits and Road Agents! “ he said. “I, Arturo M’Rohass am taking my lady out to dinner! Walyay us at your own peril!”

He led her to the door and they went out to find dinner.

All was relatively quiet in Sickbay, save the machines monitoring Commander Landon Milo's condition as he rested; not that they were noisy, just the regular blip of the heart monitor and the occasional alert from his IV monitor. The EMH came around to check that all was well, and it was again very quiet... until the door opened and some sort of jingling could be heard.

"Come on, buddy, he's over this way..." could be heard in a hushed tone, and then more jingling. The EMH waved to the owner of this voice and blinked out to give them some privacy.

The strange jingling was from the dog tags belonging to Crewman Julian, who Xiulan was bringing around to visit his master still recovering.

"Hey boss, thought you might like to see a friendly face..." Xiulan said quietly with a grin, leading the big Saint Bernard up to the biobed where Landon lay. "I think he missed you."

Landon was genuinely happy to see Julian, but also to see his First Officer and friend as well. "He probably has. We've never really been this apart for as long as I can remember. He was with me on all my postings since I got him and even was able to take him the Teplan with me on my special assignment" replied Landon as he touched the dog's head and scratched his ears.

"What's the Beifong's status report?" asked Landon. "God I never thought I'd ever miss that damn Captain's chair. While I was in it, all I could think about was being in Sickbay albeit not like this. Now, all I want to do is never see a Sickbay or infirmary again" he added with a heavy sigh. "Please tell me you at least have good news?"

"Wow, you really don't quit," Xiulan remarked as she pulled up a chair. "We're on our way to the wormhole. Arturo's plotted a course he thinks should keep us out of the way of any other ships. Everyone is tired and tense, ready to be back in Federation space, but they know what's at stake; we'll make it to the wormhole," she assured her friend and Commanding Officer. "How are you feeling?"

Landon scoffed "I'm feeling pretty worthless to be honest with you. I am stuck in recovery until I am medically cleared to return to active duty and take command back, but I also feel very naked and human right now, and not in any enjoyable way" he said with a sigh. "I can't read anyone, Xiulan. Nothing at all. I hear nothing, sense nothing. It's as though I am all alone on an island of trees and rocks" he said trying to explain. "I have always had voices in my head and the emotions of others around me to balance, now all that I have is myself and it is pretty lonely."

"I know," Xiulan replied with an uncharacteristic softness. "Look, I can't pretend to know what it's like to lose a part of yourself like this; I was born blind, I never knew what sight was so I wasn't missing anything, and even once I got my implants and those were damaged, the loss of sight was nothing to me because I was already used to living without. So try as hard as I might, I can't put myself in your shoes to know how you feel, but in my own way I do understand. I also understand how hard the coming days are going to be for you, learning to cope and adapt, and coming to terms if this ends up being permanent; I know these struggles, I really do, and I'll do everything I can to help you through this. You won't have to do this alone, Landon; I know you can't feel anyone, but this crew is here for you."

The man looked at his First Officer, reading rather than feeling her concern. There was no questioning her sincerity in the matter. She was being nothing but honest and open to him, and as usual if not always, Xiulan was more than right. The crew was here for him. She was here for him, and he needed to be there for his starship and his crew. "I'm doing myself no good by sulking and getting angry at not being able to sense anyone. You're right that the crew is here for me, but more so I need to be here for the crew. The crew needs to see me at my strongest even when I am at my weakest" he said in response to her words. "'There are many ways of going forward, but one way of standing still'" he said quoting a figure of ancient Earth politics. "And I'll be damned if I'm going to stand still" he added.

"Anger can be a motivator, and there is an art to stillness but it is difficult to master; what's important now is that you recognize that being knocked down does not make you weak, it's when you give in and stop getting back up that you are truly defeated. You are anything but weak, Landon, so don't get caught up on how you think you are perceived by the crew," Xiulan said.

He countered her with a small faint smile. "Ah but fear and anger albeit motivating are dangerous in that they can lead people astray from their morality, sending them down dark paths. No, no. I will not let myself be motivated by anger, but rather motivated by hope and well placed faith in this crew" he said diplomatically. "It is human nature to equate aggression and fierce determination with strength and power and to dismiss peace and good will as weakness, but the Federation was built upon peace. So, in this I will find my strength to lead the crew once my mind and body have healed' he added.

"It's all about the choices we make and finding resolve in those choices; I think you'll be alright," Xiulan said with a grin. Crewman Julian seemed to agree with Xiulan as he wagged his tail lazily and licked at Landon's hand. "Now, until you're mobile, is there anything I can do or bring you to make your stay down here more bearable?"

It was a kind offer. One that Landon thought rather thoroughly about. Is there anything that I could use? Anything that I need? he thought to himself as he scratched behind the canine's ear. "You know...I think I'll take this opportunity to get in some reading" he said with a small smile, just enough to creek through. "I have some physical books in my quarters. If you could bring one or two down to me that would be great. I'm fine with Security or you overriding any lock on the quarters, though I imagine that deplorable woman made herself at home in my quarters by all means just enter it."

"Well, she's in the brig now, so don't worry about her," Xiulan replied. "But I'll bring you a few books, maybe even some clothes so you don't have to wear those uncomfortable medical gowns all the time." That was the one thing she really hated about doctors, those damnable medical gowns! She knew why they were necessary, but if he wasn't actively getting treatment, no reason he couldn't rest in comfort. "You want me to leave Julian here tonight?"

Landon nodded "Please" he said softly. "I could use his companionship right now perhaps more than ever before. Thank you for stopping by, Xiulan. You should probably be on your way, don't let me keep you from your Captain duties" he said teasing her.

The Beifong was abuzz with activity when the crew boarded and settled back in, taking their time to get reacquainted with the ship that was their home. Xiulan didn't get such a chance while the ship was still docked, she had been busy making sure Landon was settling in alright. She knew he had trouble getting around sometimes, so she took the time to make sure his quarters were not cumbersome to his still limited mobility, and even helped him to unpack when he grew tired. Then she had to oversee the crew and make sure they were ready to depart, so Xiulan hadn't left herself a whole lot of time to do her own unpacking until after they were under way to the Maru system. It would take a few days at maximum warp to get there, so that gave her plenty of time to settle in, so long as no emergencies sprang up...

Xiulan had also decided to finally occupy the XO's quarters. She was the real XO now, she deserved the bigger quarters so she finally took them! She had hoped to be able to bring her reptile collection from DS11 to make the space feel more like home, but DS11 was still contested under the influence of the Consortium, so she hadn't been able to send for her belongings there just yet, and anyway the XO's quarters weren't that big, she wouldn't be able to fit all those critters into this cramped space, but she did have enough space to build a bigger terrarium for Gerri, her fire krayt. In fact, that was the first thing she did when she entered her quarters, go check that Gerri was adjusting to his new home.

"Hey Gerri, you doing alright?" she asked, knowing full well the warm winged lizard couldn't answer. She reached into the terrarium to give Gerri's head ridges a rub, causing the lizard to bob his head in a pleased manner, then he scampered off to go sun himself under the heat lamp. "Alright, you go chill," Xiulan said with a grin, dropping some fresh food into his food bowl. Then she unzipped her now red duty jacket on her way to her desk, bumping her foot against a crate that she forgot was still there, full of a few new personal belongings for her quarters she had managed to collect while they were at Deleth and then later Starbase 24.

"Oh fuck!" she blurted out as she dropped her jacket and staggered over to her desk where she flopped into her chair and quickly pulled off her boot to check her toes; not broken, but damn that hurt!

Arturo had just finished settling into his quarters. They were small, but so was he, so he could make do. Starfleet did a good job of providing storage spaces that were recessed into the bulkheads. This meant that as little free space as possible was taken up with furniture. The head was cramped, but manageable. The bunk might have made a larger being feel a bit claustrophobic, but Arturo fit nicely. He glanced around and grinned, satisfied with his work.

Arturo had left Xiulan to her own devices because he knew that she was busy helping Landon. However, knowing that she'd been busy helping Landon, he thought he'd stop in to see if she needed any help setting up her quarters. If she'd just thrown everything in there while she helped Landon, then she more than likely had banged a shin or stubbed a toe on some box she'd forgotten about.

"Computer!" he called out. "Locate Lieutenant Xiulan Song, please!"

"Lieutenant Xiulan Song is currently in the Executive Officer's Quarters," the Computer replied. There was a pause. "Lieutenant Song has just used profanity."

Arturo chuckled. So she had bumped into something.

"Computer," Arturo said. "If you are going to keep a record of how many times Lieutenant Song uses foul language you are going to run out of hard drive space."

"Acknowledged," the Computer replied. "Deleting 472 records."

Arturo shook his head and chuckled some more. It seemed that someone in Computer Sciences was messing with the computer's AI again.

"Is she alone?" Arturo asked.

"Yes," the Computer replied.

"Thank you," Arturo said. He smiled wickedly. Since there was no one there to overhear him...he tapped his commbadge. "Graceful Orchid? How are you settling in?"

=/\="Fuckballs!"=/\= Xiulan blurted out. =/\="I think I'm bleeding,"=/\= Arturo then heard over the comm.

Arturo bit back a laugh.

"I'll be there in a minute," Arturo said. "I'll have Nerys meet me at your quarters. Try not to exsanguinate completely before we get there. Think clotting thoughts or something."

=/\="What does that even mean?!"=/\= Xiulan replied. =/\="You know what, I don't wanna know, just-just-just- OW!"=/\=

Arturo tapped his commbadge again.

"Lieutenant M'Rohass to Doctor Evartin," he said. "Nerys? Are you there?"

=/\="Mother fuck! You stupid computer!"=/\= Surprisingly, more expletives came back across the comms from Nerys before she realized her comms had chirped. She'd been on her treatments for a while now and the new emotions she was experiencing were like a rollercoaster, thus her previous cursing. She had discovered anger. =/\="I mean... Yes, Arturo? I'm here. Everything's perfectly normal. Is there something I can help you with?"=/\=

Arturo raised...what passed for an eyebrow on a Caitian. Nerys' treatment had been making her a bit unpredictable lately.

"Uhm...yes," he said. "It seems that our mutual visually impaired friend has hurt herself...probably banged into something she forgot was there. Whatever the case, she thinks she might be bleeding. Can you meet me at the Executive Officer's Quarters?"

=/\="I'll be there immediately,"=/\= Nerys replied, grabbing her medkit and heading out of sickbay.

In her quarters, Xiulan was holding her foot in her lap, using her balled up sock to apply pressure to the cracked, bleeding big toenail trying its best to fall right off her toes despite her best efforts. "What?! she called out in exasperation when she heard the door chime ringing, hoping that whoever was on the other side of the door was not a random Officer in need of the XO's approval for anything, because she was not in a very approving mood right now.

"It is I!" Arturo said. "Arturo M'Rohass! And...it is also she! Nerys Evartin. If you'll unlock the door like a cooperative person, we can come in and keep you from bleeding to death. If not, I'll huff, and puff, and blow your door down!"

Xiulan wanted to be uncooperative just on principle, but she didn't really care to maintain such an appearance just so long as he did truly have Nerys with a medkit with him. "Just get in here, the door ain't locked!" Xiulan called out with a scowl.

Arturo entered with Nerys on his heels.

"My goodness," he said. "What did you do? Kick the bulkhead?"

"Ha ha," Xiulan replied sarcastically. "I was walking to my desk and forgot about the crate, slammed my foot right into it. I don't think the toenail is gonna survive. Wouldn't be the first one I've lost, good thing they grow back..." Xiulan explained, pulling the bloodied sock away from her toe so Nerys could work her magic.

"Yeah that looks pretty bad," Nerys commented as she kneeled down and popped open her medkit. She set to work with a tricorder in one hand and a dermal regenerator in her other. "Hold still and you won't need to regrow it."

"I know," Xiulan grumbled, doing her best to remain still for Nerys to work. "So I haven't been down to check on you in the infirmary yet, how's it looking down there? You got everything in order?" she asked to pass the time.

Nerys shook her head and made a disgruntled sound as she worked. "The computer decided to drop my entire inventory database out an airlock. I'm pretty sure I have everything, but the fact that I don't have the initial manifest inventories is... What emotion is that? Anger?"

"Probably a little anger in there, but I think frustration might be more appropriate," Xiulan offered. "I'll call down to Engineering later to see if they can fish a backup out of the system so that you don't have to completely recount everything. But otherwise, how is everything? And how are you? I've been so busy helping with Landon's PT that I haven't checked your progress."

Nerys finished up with the dermal regenerator and pulled out another tool and started using it. "Strictly speaking, my emotional centers are now at forty one percent of standard functionality. The issue I'm running into is that I'm so unfamiliar with everything and not used to having an emotional response to everything. I ate something from the replicator earlier and i felt... something... I don't even know what it was or if I felt good or bad and I'm really confused about chicken sandwiches now."

"Don't feel bad, no one knows how to feel about chicken sandwiches," Xiulan replied. "I guess it's good that it's only forty one percent, I don't think you'd be able to handle full functionality yet. Are you making a log and seeing the counselor? I'd imagine both would help you to figure out what you feel."

Finishing up, Nerys packed her tools back into her medkit and stood up. "All done. I've been keeping an extensive journal and I'm decreasing the treatments as well. As for a counselor... I spoke with one at the station a few times the past few weeks but with only an hour a week for sessions, we haven't discussed much."

"An hour a week probably ain't enough, but if you're getting by then I'll let it slide," Xiulan said, flexing her toe; the toe and the nail felt a little funny, but at least it didn't hurt anymore. "Just reach out to Nician and try to keep up with the counselling. Talk about what you write in your book so he can help you work through it and figure things out. But if he thinks you need more than an hour a week, I'm going to defer to his judgement on that because this is a big change to adjust to. And you know you can always come talk to me, as a friend of course."

"Thank you, I'll do that," Nerys replied with an awkward smile. She looked like she grew up not knowing how to smile and was just now trying to figure it out, though Arturo would be the only one that would see such a face.

"Smiling suits you Nerys," Arturo said. "Keep practicing and we will make a professional smiler out of you yet. Soon you'll be as cheerful as me and we'll drive Xiulan crazy!"

"Sometimes I really hate cheerful people," Xiulan said with a heavy sigh. "Alright, I'll be right back, I need to go wash off the blood." Then she got up and made her way to the washroom, her gait uneven because she was still wearing a boot.

"Do you need any help?" Arturo asked innocently.

"Nah, I think I got this," Xiulan replied, then hesitated. She considered telling Arturo to give Nerys the boot and then come join her in a shower, but then she reconsidered as that might hurt Nerys' developing feelings. Shrugging off the idea, Xiulan continued to the bathroom to clean up.

"So, Nerys," Arturo said. "You didn't happen to get your hands on more coffee, did you? The good stuff?"

Nerys continued with her awkward smile. "I have a stasis pod in my quarters just for it. Two hundred kilos of assorted coffee beans from the most gourmet sources you can find, compliments of my mom and her troupe."

Arturo smiled with glee.

"If you were not already one of my favorite people," he said. "You would be now. You know, you put giving the EMH a name on hold while you when you started your treatments. It didn't need one while we didn't have a crew, but we're almost all filled up now. Are you going to give him his name? What was that name he wanted to use again?"

"Hugh Jass," Nerys replied, her smile fading.

Arturo laughed out loud.

"Yes!" he said. "That was it! I couldn't remember it. I was thinking Giant Backside, Grand Derriere, if he wanted to be French, but I could not see how those sounded like names. Hugh Jass is much, much better!"

"Indeed, and I think it's a better name than his other choices. Richard Burnz and Phil Graves." Nerys's smile started creeping back onto her face.

"I think a doctor named 'Phil Graves' would make people uncomfortable," Arturo said. "Hugh Jass will hopefully make people laugh, and laughter is good medicine! At least, my mother always told me so."

"Yes, I agree. The EMH also told me he couldn't lie and that Hugh Jass was his preference as well." Nerys added.

"Is he not a bit slim, though, to be named Hugh Jass?" Arturo asked. "Will we need a new holoform for him?"

A look of consternation crossed Nerys' face, not understanding that one. "Why would he be too skinny?"

"Hugh Jass," Arturo replied. "Sounds like 'huge ass'. Your EMH is slim and does not have a large posterior. I am suggesting that his name might be used as a descriptor."

Realization dawned on Nerys at that moment. The EMH was trying to make a joke and she hadn't understood it. "Ah, I see now. Do you think his selection is all a joke then? Or is it genuine?"

"I suppose that depends on how advanced the EMH's AI is," Arturo replied. "I suppose it could have been joking. They've been making these EMH's more and more intelligent, so I suppose he could have been joking. The only way to find out would be to call him on it. If he still wants a name that implies that he either has a giant ass or that perhaps he is a giant ass, then I suppose he wasn't joking."

"I'll have to discuss it with him," Nerys replied.

"I would love to be a fly on the wall of Sick Bay when you have that conversation!" Arturo said. He turned towards the bathroom. "Oh Graceful Orchid! You haven't washed down the drain or something, have you?"

Arturo grinned mischievously braced himself for the torrent of profanity that would soon follow his query.

"No, I was just getting changed while I'm in here," Xiulan called out, then just a moment later came out dressed down in civilian attire with her uniform tucked under her arm. She put the soiled uniform in the replicator for garment reprocessing. "There we go, that's better- wait, where's the trunk so I don't slam my foot into it again..." she said, cautiously approaching her desk again. "And why were you two talking about big butts?" she asked.

"The EMH likes big butts and he cannot lie," Arturo responded as he guided Xiulan around the trunk to her desk. "Those other holograms can't deny that when a photonic lifeform walks in with an itty bitty waist and round thing in your face you get...what? It is from an Old Earth song."

Xiulan laughed; this was one of the reasons she liked him so much! "Old Earth songs are weird," Xiulan commented, pulling her desk chair up to her trunk. She sat down and popped the top off the trunk and started feeling around. "Alright, I heard you guys talking about coffee too and that reminded me that my old man sent me some, and I can smell it! Ah ha!" she said, successfully pulling out a five pound bag of coffee beans. "Mmmm, coffee, how do I love thee, let me count the ways..."

"Careful, Graceful Orchid," Arturo said. "If you're not careful you're going to have a premature coffeegasm. Hand me the bag and I'll brew it for you...that's it...hand it over..."

At first, Xiulan simply hugged the bag of coffee to her chest with a pout, savoring the aromatic scent seeping through the bag, but eventually she did hand the bag over, albeit reluctantly.

"Thank you," Arturo said. "Just think of how happy you'll be when you finally get to drink some of this. Now, I assume you have a coffee grinder somewhere? If you'll show me I'll grind some of this up and brew some for us."

"Yeah, I got a grinder, it's in here somewhere..." Xiulan replied and started digging through the trunk again. "Oh sweet, he sent me a second bag!" she said excitedly when she found and pulled out a second bag of beans. She was practically grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you recover quickly," Arturo said with a grin. "Hand me the grinder and then you can lay on the ground and have your nasal passages fondled by the aroma of coffee beans. I see you already set up the coffee pot."

"Nice, you're asking the blind chick to find something," Xiulan said dryly as she continued to dig through the trunk. "I really need to unpack this damned trunk," she grumbled as she struggled to find the grinder.

Arturo chuckled and knealt down by the truck.

"Here," he said. "Let me help you."

Arturo sorted through the packed trunk until he found what he was looking for.

"Ah ha!" he said. "There you are! Alright. You two ladies talk among yourselves while I grind and brew...which shouldn't be confused with bumping and grinding...do not presume to look at me like that Miss Xiulan Song. You know you were thinking it."

Nerys chuckled awkwardly, getting at least part of that joke. "Grinding..."

"That would be the one thing you understand," Xiulan said with a snicker.

Nerys nodded. "Yeah a lot of humor still escapes me, but I'm getting there."

Arturo was singing softly to himself as he worked.

"Atomic Caaa-aat," he sang. "Meow, meow, meow, yippy yo yippy yay, meow, meow yipyy yo yippy yay...why must I be a louse, why must I chase that mouse? Must have been the cat in me, must have been the cat in me..."

It was at this point that Xiulan grabbed the heaviest thing that she could find from the trunk, which happened to be stone Buddha her father had sent her, and she ever so quietly crept over to Arturo and raised the Buddha above her head like she was about to smash him over the head with it.

Arturo went on singing.

"Yeah, this is a story of a famous cat
For the cat that chases its tail will be dizzy
These are clapping cats, rhythmic cats
Harmonic cats, house cats, street cats
cats of the galaxy unite
Dancin' cats
Yeah
Countin' cats, funky cats
Nasty cats..."

Arturo, now having brewed the coffee poured it into three cups. He picked one up and turned around. He glanced up at the stone Buddha Xiulan held above his head.

"Uhm..." he said. "I don't know what you are planning to do with that, but I have nine lives. If you drop that on my head, in my next life I will come back and tell everyone that ruff and gruff Xiulan is a closet snuggler. Now, if you'll put that down, somewhere other than the top of my head, I'll give you your coffee."

Arturo leaned forward and kissed Xiulan for good measure.

She had to give it to him, he was smooth and his kiss very effective, but Xiulan had a reputation to uphold! "No more singing," she insisted, still holding the Buddha over his head. If he wanted to play chicken, see who would flinch first, he was going to lose!

Arturo was actually a bit concerned that she was going to be stubborn, continue to hold the stone religious figure above her head until her arms got tired, and then drop it on her own head. Arturo knew his paramour was so hard-headed that the stone Buddha would most likely break before her skull would but he didn't feel like taking any chances.

"Deal," he said. And then, both because he liked kissing Xiulan and because it would both please and, more importantly, irritate her, he kissed her again. "Now, please put the Buddha down before the coffee gets cold."

"Deal," she replied, then finally lowered the Buddha. "Fuck, this thing is heavy, what is it made of?" she asked, her fingers exploring the object she held in her hands. "Why the fuck did my dad even send me this thing?" she said with a scowl when she identified the familiar features of the Buddha, then set it on her desk; she'd find someplace to put it later, but the desk was as good as any for now.

Holding the coffee cup in one hand, Arturo placed the cup in Xiulan's hands, making sure that she had a good grip on it before he let go.

"There you are," he said. He brought one of the other two cups over to Nerys. "Here you are, my lady doctor. Careful, it's hot!"

Arturo went back and picked up the last cup for himself and took a sip.

"Ahhhhh...." he said. "Your father really knows his coffee! I can't wait to meet him."

Arturo was being wicked again. Xiulan had only just come to terms with the fact that a) he loved her and b) the even more frightening fact that she might actually love him! Horrors! Mentioning the prospect of her taking him home to meet her father? Now that was just cruel.

"Yeah, that ain't happening," Xiulan murmured into her mug in between sips. "The last thing I need right now is for my boyfriend to get hurt because my dad wants you to fight for the right to date me."

"If you willed me to undergo such a trial, Graceful Orchid," Arturo replied. "I would gladly do so. On the other hand, there's no need to rush..."

"The only thing I 'will' you to do is to stop calling me 'Graceful Orchid' in front of other people," Xiulan said with a scowl.

"Of course...Song Xiulan," Arturo said with a bow and a smile. Song Xiulan, of course, means 'Graceful Orchid' in Chinese. "Your wish is my command!"

"You know, I'm reeeeeeeeealy regretting keeping you around, buddy," Xiulan replied, then muttered something under her breath in Chinese that the communicator failed to translate, but given the tone it was likely some form of expletive that really needed no translation.

Arturo's limited Chinese (he'd only really been studying since he and Xiulan began to get more serious) allowed him to pick up something about Xiulan cursing him to the Hell of the People Who are Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted By Water Buffalo, but he wasn't entirely sure. He chuckled.

"Then I look forward to reminding you of how much you like having me around," he said with a bow and a smile. He went over to say hello to Gerri. Fortunately, he and the little lizard got along well. It would have made things difficult if they hadn't. "So, I'm going to ask the million credit question. Is Landon Milo ready to take this ship out on its next mission? I have seen and spoken to him myself and have my own opinion. I am, however, asking you two to share yours."

"Medically speaking..." Nerys began, sipping her coffee. "He needs some more therapy before anything too strenuous, but I've released him back to full duty. By his request and over my objections, of course. I may have let some emotions show during that exchange."

"Sometimes showing emotions is a good thing, Nerys," Arturo said. "So he is of nearly sound body. What of his spirit? Is he of sound mind as well?"

"I've seen no indications of lasting brain damage or drastic personality shifts, if that's what you mean. You'd have to seek a therapist for a professional evaluation there. Or a Cleric if you prefer that sort of thing." Nerys shrugged and sipped at her coffee some more.

"Fair enough," Arturo said. "Xiulan, you've spent more time with him than I have over the last several months. What do you think? In your lay opinion is Landon Milo ready take us out on our next mission?"

"I dunno," Xiulan answered honestly, leaning back in her chair as she gave the matter some thought. "Normally, I'm a strong believer in getting back on the horse, but this is a tough situation. Physically, I think he can handle it as long as he don't push himself too hard, but..." She paused with a sigh, shaking her head slightly. "Losing his telepathy hit him harder than losing his ability to walk, and he's been able to relearn how to walk, but there's no guarantee he'll ever regain his telepathy. I worry about how he's coping, but I can also appreciate that he's trying not to let it get him down, that he's trying to get on with his life." She couldn't give a straight yay or nay opinion on this, all she could do was support Landon with whatever he decided to do.

Arturo considered these answers to his query.

"Our next mission will be a journey of discovery for Landon," he said. "In which he will learn how to be this new person that he is. We must support him as he finds his way."

"And it won't be easy," Xiulan cautioned. "Speaking from experience here, it's easy to push people away when you're trying to redefine yourself; he'll probably do it without ever realizing it, we'll just have to be patient with him, and with Nerys," she said. She shot a grin at Nerys. "You're going through a big change too; I know it's hard to ask for help sometimes, but when you really need it, don't be afraid to ask us for help."

Nerys straightened up in a very Vulcan manner. "I need no help. I'm perfect as I am." She then chuckled softly and sipped at her coffee some more. "That's something I heard a lot growing up."

"You are perfect as you are, Nerys," Arturo said. "I thought that before the treatment and I think it now and I'll think it when the treatment is over."

Arturo kissed Xiulan on the cheek tenderly.

"You are perfect, too, Xiulan," he said simply.

"I think you're just happy that we're in an actual relationship now and you don't have to hide that you spend most of your nights in my quarters," Xiulan pointed out dryly.

"That, too," Arturo said. "But don't worry. Before we were in an actual relationship, if anyone observed that I was spending nights in your quarters, I just told them Gerri was afraid of the dark and wanted company."

"Gerri? Afraid of the dark?!" Xiulan laughed at the idea. "Dude has a lamp in his terrarium, it's never dark in there! And he has no problems finding me when I forget to turn on the lights in my quarters."

Arturo laughed.

"Well," he said. "I never said it was a very good story or that anyone believed it!"

The crew of the Beifong were all able to breathe a collective sigh of relief when they were finally able to jump to warp. They weren't out of the woods, not by a long shop, but hopefully things would finally get better now that Soroys was in the brig and her Lethean pet was dead. Although, Xiulan had been informed that they had two new guests in their brig, a couple officers from the T'Pava. They were in the brig for now only because it had been the simplest way to deal with them for the time being, and now it was time for Xiulan to deal with them. Xiulan was in rough shape from her fight with the Lethean, so Nerys had excused her from duty to rest, but Xiulan wanted to deal with their hitchhikers before calling it a day.

It must have been strange for them to see her entering the Brig. Her eyes were pale with clearly mechanical irises, and yet she was walking around with the aide of a white cane; she glanced to the cell where Soroys was still unconscious, then over to the cell where Karjir and Mirok were being held, so she could see yet she still had a blind stare about her.

"You are the officers brought aboard by our away team?" the small Asian woman asked, giving no hint as to who she was just yet.

Mirok scowled, giving her a once over. "Thanks for the...I guess rescue...but was the brig cell really necessary, Lieutenant?"

"It was a critical moment of our escape, we didn't have time to hold your hand and make proper introductions," Xiulan said sternly. "And it's Captain, at least until our Commanding Officer gets out of Sickbay," she added. "As I hear it, you were in the brig on the T'Pava. Why?"

"I have no idea. Some idiot hit me from behind and took my damn phaser. I almost had 'em!" Mirok growled. "Probably this stupid mess with the Consortium, but no one likes my plan to deal with them."

"Consortium?" Xiulan asked, taking a step closer, then turned to point at the unconscious Soroys in the other Brig cell across from them. "She is part of this Consortium?" she asked.

Mirok shrugged. "I don't know, I think so." He turned and leaned on the bulkhead, "Can you lower the forcefield and let me out of here now, I hate being confined and unarmed. Both are bad enough, on their own, but together they are worse."

"That's not how this works! I know I may only be acting CO at the moment, but if I was a full Captain, I know damned well you wouldn't be speaking to me like that," Xiulan shot back. "Now we've been openly attacked by Starfleet vessels without provocation, chased all over the sector, we're running on next to nothing, and we finally come across another Starfleet vessel who we think may be able to help, and they send over this bitch to take over, and her Lethean pet tried to psychically murder our Commanding Officer! So you'll just have to forgive me if I'm not quick to trust you and let you out just yet. Give me a reason to trust you and I'll consider letting you out. How do I know this isn't some ploy to take us out from the inside?"

Mirok opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, closed it, and stopped leaning on the bulkhead, coming to attention. "I have no reason that you'd accept," Mirok decided to finish here, "sir."

"Come closer to the forcefield," Xiulan said, stepping closer as well. It was clear to them now that even though she had ocular implants, something was still no right with vision as her blind stare peered into nothingness. "Tell me again, what you said earlier, that you had no idea, tell me again," she said, then listened very carefully to his response. From his heat signature and bio readings, she estimated a Vulcan taxonomy, but he didn't speak like a Vulcan, and his body temp was a little low, so it was possible he was Romulan... Normally, she was pretty good about hearing truth and lies in a person's voice, but Vulcans were tough, and she hadn't the opportunity to hear enough Romulans to know for certain if she could get a read on them. But there was something earnest about this guy, 'down to Earth' even, and he sounded genuine enough before, but after everything that had gone on, she was afraid to trust him, afraid to put the crew at risk if she was wrong.

Mirok stepped closer, a little apprehensive. "I genuinely have no clue, all I know is I was getting off duty and headed back to my quarters when I was attacked," He chuckled, "Almost won."

Her eyes fluttered as she let his words roll around her brain, focusing on every breath, analyzing every heartbeat she heard. "I want to believe you," she admitted, struggling to come to terms with her doubt. She didn't know if she could trust her senses, her brain was still rattled by the Lethean's attack. "The Consortium, tell me how you heard about it. Whispers between the crew, an offer you turned down? How do you know this?"

"A combination of both...and some...observation..." Mirok wasn't keen on letting anyone within Starfleet know he was still in contact with the Tal Shiar. "I found out a lot by doing my research. I guess someone caught on."

"There is something you aren't telling me," Xiulan said with a frown. "If you want to get out of this cell, you need to make me believe you. What is it you aren't telling me? You also said you had a plan for dealing with this Consortium, what is your plan?"

"My plan is to blow them all to hell and start over. And what I'm not telling you could get me either kicked off the ship or court-martialed." Mirok said, "Since I can't be sure it will stay between us."

"The only problem is we can't tell who is innocent and who is not, it's what makes them so dangerous. Would you have liked us to blow to T'pava to bits with you still on it? I don't know about you, but I'm not particularly fond of killing innocent people just to get to the bad ones," Xiulan remarked. She was thinking over what else he had said, and what he was still not saying. "And whatever you're holding back, is it something that can endanger the ship or her crew?"

Mirok grit his teeth, "if I tell you, can you keep it between us, I could get in major trouble for it."

"Alright look, I've got a splitting headache from a Lethean psychic attack, and I just really want to sleep right now... I'm not asking you to tell me what it is you're hiding, just tell me if it can hurt the crew in any way. We can discuss the finer details of what this secret is tomorrow in a secured room, but for now my only interest is keeping my crew safe. Is your presence on this ship going to endanger the safety of the Beifong and her crew, regardless if you tell me this secret or not," Xiulan said. In the back of her mind, she just hoped he would be honest with her, even if it was an answer she wouldn't like.

"No it won't, I'll make sure of that." Mirok said, confident that they'll at least get to discuss it in private.

"I believe you mean that..." but only time would tell. "What is your name? And the other one, I know there's another Officer in there with you," Xiulan said, reaching up to rub her eyes; damn, her head was killing her.

"Lieutenant Mirok."

Karjir spoke for the first time since being brought aboard the Beifrong. " Acting captain Xiulan. May I have a moment of your time?" Ras gave Karjir a dose of pain. " What do you think you are doing?" Karjir pushed back. " Stow it slug, I am trying to keep us alive. We are not in either of our elements here, yet."

"Yeah, what is it?" Xiulan asked. There was something off about his heat signature; she could tell right away that he was Trill, she could see the symbiote in him, but it was so damned 'active'! "And start with your name, rank, and position aboard the T'Pava."

"Ras, Karjir, Lieutenant, Chief of Ops. I think I know what happened to the crew of the T'Pava. Greed.Of which I would not take part. Ras laughed. -Is your plan to get us killed before they find value in us?-

"It's a lot more than greed motivating the Consortium, I can tell you that; they're all over this sector causing trouble, making moves against Starfleet; they've already got control of DS11 and the wormhole" Xiulan said. "But assuming you didn't betray any Starfleet ideals to end up in T'Pava's brig, then we could use you, and Mirok too, once I make sure neither of you are a danger to this ship."

"I am not!" Mirok defended, not liking being called a danger to anything or anyone.

"I am not afraid to leave you in here all night," Xiulan shot back, doing her best to give a scathing glare, which wouldn't have been too bad had her aim not been a little off. "You know what, fuck it, time out for both of you; you'll stay in here and think about what you've done and I'll deal with you in the morning," she grumbled and made for the door. Crazy people!

Xiulan never knew there was so much paperwork that went into being a Commanding Officer or First Officer before serving on the Beifong, but she knew it now, and she really wished she didn't have to do any of it. But no rest for the weary, or the brain damaged apparently, as after a good night's rest she reported to the Ready Room to speak to Mirok only to find a mountain of the stuff on the desk. Shit, she really needed to get all these computer terminals updated with tactile interfaces or this was going to be the worst tour of her life...

So after knocking out a decent portion of the stack of PaDDs on the desk, Xiulan decided the rest could wait for later, for now she had a date with a very unusual Vulcan, calling for Security to escort Mirok to the Ready Room. She tried to access his personnel file when she remembered that they couldn't connect to Starfleet Command all the way out here, so she would just have to make do with whatever she learned from the interview. This ought to be interesting!

Mirok scowled at the security officers as they arrived, had he not wanted to be part of this crew he probably would've fought back against them. "Captain." He said as they entered, a smirk present on his face.

"Stowe the formality, I only pulled rank on you last night because I didn't like your attitude," Xiulan said candidly as she leaned back in the nice desk chair, grinning at the unusual Officer standing before her. She nodded to the Security Officers who ushered Mirok in, allowing them to leave so her conversation with Mirok would be private. "Now, I believe we had some unfinished business; ready to unburden yourself? All strictly off the record of course."

"I am still in contact with the Tal Shiar. My father is a subcommander on the IRW Relak, and he feeds me intel in exchange for...certain favors..." Mirok wasn't fully trusting this would remain off the record now that she knew, so he glossed over the main details.

Xiulan wasn't prone to making many facial expressions, being born blind she never really learned how to make many of the common expressions until much later in life when she got her implants, but surprise it seemed was deeply ingrained on a genetic level, as her face bore a surprised expression now. She released a long low whistle. "Damn, that's a helluva bombshell right there," she commented with a shake of her head. "What kind of favors? Now I ain't asking for gritty details, just wanna make sure you ain't a threat to the Beifong or to Starfleet. And don't go thinking you can lie to me, I can see your nervousness, your respiration and body temp were all outta whack last night when you were tryna keep this under wraps, so I got a good baseline to know when you're trying to be deceptive."

Mirok felt his eyes widen at the declaration that she could tell when he was lying, and he bit at the inside of his cheek before he spoke up. "It's usually misfiring the weapons if his ship comes around, or forgetting to turn on the transport inhibitors in the brig if he's captured. Once I had to agree to forget to raise the forcefield. Haven't had to fulfill any of them yet."

"Well, we're a long ways from Romulan space, so the chances of running into him ain't that great, though if we do then I'll be watching you like a hawk," Xiulan cautioned him. "As long as you ain't mixed up in any other covert bullshit, or that Consortium nonsense, then I'm okay with you taking up a place on our ship. Once our Commanding Officer comes out of his coma or we return to Federation space, that may change, but for now I believe you're on the up and up. And I won't tell no one about what you've said unless I have reason to believe it will be a problem, but I promise you that if you do anything to make me regret this leniency, you won't make it to fair Starfleet trial. Understand?"

"Yes sir, understood." Mirok said, "and my duty as a Starfleet officer comes first, if I have to kill my father to do my duty, I will."

"Well, hopefully it won't come to that, but I believe you," Xiulan replied. "Alright, I'll have Security take you to find a bunk instead of returning you to the brig. Once you've got a place to bed down, check in with Ian Mackenzie and get yourself assigned to the duty roster. Now I know Mackenzie is young, hell I'm too young for this job as it is, but that's just the way things are and Mackenzie is good at what he does and I trust him, so I hope this won't be problem."

Mirok bit back a smartass comment about how he was tired of reporting in to people younger than him--this wasn't the time, nor place. "Yes sir."

"Alright, now get out of here and go make yourself useful," Xiulan said, picking up a PaDD and trying to get back to work. Then she paused. "Oh, and if you happen to go to the mess hall and you want coffee and there's a fat Bolian bastard in yellow running the place tryna tell you you can't have coffee, remind him that I'm more than willing to put my boot up his ass to remind him of his place on this ship. Also, don't be afraid to give him a piece of your mind, because I'm sure he has it coming."

Eager to get started on modifying the probes as per the Captain's orders, Arturo arrived at the lab first. Assuming that Ian and Lucy were on the way, he called up a holographic display of the probe in question so they could get right to work. Arturo chose the probe with the lowest sensor profile to start from. He was sure that with a minimum of modifications, the probes could enter the system virtually undetected. How close they could get to the planet was another story.

Lucy was close behind, arriving a few seconds after Arturo. "Hello there!" Lucy cheerily called out as she entered the lab. "Type nine probe? Perfect. That'll give us the best sensor suite as well as easily modified for stealth. Do we have a plasmatic envelope stabilization array?"

"That depends," Arturo said. "What's plasmatic envelope stabilization array and what does it do?"

Lucy pulled up the schematics for a photon torpedo and pointed to a thin metal strip that ran around the edge of it. "When a torpedo is fired, the launcher creates a plasma sheath to accelerate the torpedo to near light speed or warp. This array stabilizes that plasma so that it doesn't disperse at speed. A probe will let it dissipate in order to get clearer readings, but for a stealth mission, you want that plasma there so you can tune it to make the probe look like a meteorite on sensors."

Arturo looked at Lucy with a blank expression on his face.

"Of course!" Arturo said. "That's what I thought! So, with this...boo-boo-wheeze-calculator or whatever it is will make it possible for us to mask the probes so that they can covertly assess the situation on...oh, bother! I've spent so much time lately learning Cantonese that I'm having trouble with the Japanese name for this system! I don't suppose you remember what it is?"

"Not offhand. Just another system to me." Lucy replied as she started popping open the access panels on the probe. "As for masking the probe's signature, we can only take that so far since it's filled with active sensors. Disguising it works just as well though. We just have to make sure we fire it perfectly the first time so we don't have to adjust its trajectory in flight."

"Ah," Arturo said. "Marksmanship is Ian's department. We can all design it and work out its course, but it is up to Ian to shoot straight."

"And as I seem to be the best with technology, I'm likely the one that'll have to figure out all the modifications. I'll need at least three extra hands to do them though." Lucy replied as she yanked a piece of the propulsion system from the probe and set it aside. "It looks like there are some spare torpedo parts over in the corner. Mind finding a few things in there?"

"Any 'things' in particular that you are looking for?" Arturo asked. "It's been a long time since I had to describe the nomenclature of a photon torpedo. I am not even certain what half of these things are."

"Anything that doesn't look like it's not broken, really," Lucy replied as she pulled a few more pieces out of the probe.

Arturo picked up something and looked at it. He held it one way up, then the other, turning it over and over in his hands. Finally, he gave up and pulled out a tricorder. He scanned the part.

"My tricorder says this thing is a Higgs force manipulator," he said. "Will that help?"

Lucy stared at the part for a moment, thinking. "Sure, why not? We can use it to modify the plasma envelope to look like a meteorite aura."

Arturo picked up another torpedo part. He looked at it from several different angles, then sighed, clearly baffled as to what it was that he was holding in his hands. Once again he used his tricorder.

"I believe this is a field actuator," he said. "Would that help?"

"Yeah, see if you can find two of them and some thin metal sheeting," Lucy replied as she reconfigured a part and installed it seemingly backwards.

Arturo dug around in the pile of discarded parts until he found another field actuator. He found some thin metal sheeting, too. He brought his finds over to Lucy.

"Here you go," he said. "Uhm...are you sure you put that thing on right?"

Lucy flashed Arturo a confident grin. "I reversed the polarity - it'll be fine. Is there a harmonic resonance inhibitor over there? It looks like a silver dildo."

Arturo rummaged around in the pile. He finally found what Lucy was talking about. She was correct. It did, in fact, look like a big, silver dildo. He picked it up and brought it over to Lucy.

"This is going to be one well-hung probe," he said.

Lucy gave Arturo a strange look as she took the part and installed it along the upper spine of the torpedo. "How did you know I was going to install it on the outside?"

"Just a guess," Arturo said. "What's next? More parts?"

"Actually..." Lucy picked up a tool and started modifying another part. "I think a few more minutes and I'll be done."

"Anything else I can do to assist you?" Arturo asked, looking on with fascination as Lucy mangled what he had thought seemed like a perfectly nice probe. Well, as long as it worked when she was done he'd call it a win.

Placing the thin metal sheet over the nose of the probe, Lucy pointed to an RF welding tool. "You could secure this plate here, if you want."

Arturo grabbed a face shield off of a shelf and put it on. He picked up the welding tool. He tried unsuccessfully to turn it on twice. The third time was the charm and he managed to turn it on. There was the slight matter of nearly lighting Lucy's ass on fire, but almost only counts in horse shoes and tri-cobalt devices. He got to work on the metal sheet.

Lucy was so busy calibrating something inside the probe, she didn't even notice her pants had been singed.

Arturo welded the metal sheeting on the probe as Lucy worked. Finally, he finished the job. He shut off the welder and raised his face shield.

"There!" he said. "I think I did it!"

Lucy inspected the work approvingly. "Very nice. Now grab a hammer and put some random dents in it and it'll be perfect."

Arturo laughed, then looked at Lucy as if she had three heads.

"Wait," he said. "You're serious? Well, if you say so..."

Arturo put away the welding tool and the face shield and picked up a hammer. Walking around the probe, he put dents in it at random intervals.

"How's that?" he asked after completing one full lap around the probe.

"Looks perfect," Lucy replied as she sealed up the probe and pulled out a tricorder. Clicking a few buttons, she activated the new modifications and an icy plasma sheathe covered the skin of the probe just slightly. She then showed the tricorder to Arturo so he could confirm that it registered as a meteorite. "And there we go. One chunk of space ice."

"Perfect!" Arturo said. "You've really done amazing work! Well done, Lucy!"

"Thank you," Lucy replied happily. "Now we just have to do it to one more as a backup just in case. Before that though, I need a drink."

"Leaded or unleaded?" Arturo asked. "Booze, coffee, tea, water, juice, etc. I would stay away from the booze. Frankenprobe One is strange enough. Not sure if you should drunk-build Frankenprobe Two, AKA Bride of Frankenprobe."

Chuckling softly, Lucy shut down the probe, sending a slight chill through the room as the plasma dissipated. "I was thinking of a nice glass of water, actually. What do you prefer?"

"Water sounds perfect in this case," Arturo said. "I've already consumed a fair amount of caffeine today. Hydration would be a good thing. Allow me."

There was a replicator in the room. Arturo replicated two glasses of ice water and brought one over to Lucy.

"Here you are," he said. "A fine vintage, aged for mere moments in replicated glass."

"Perfect, thank you," Lucy took the glass and sipped gratefully. "Has anyone told you you're a really smooth talker?'

"You flatter me," Arturo said. "And yes, I have heard this said about myself before. I like to think of it as merely being polite, but I admit my use of language can be a bit showy. With Xiulan..Lieutenant Song, that is, my smooth talking is either very effective or backfires spectacularly. We make it work regardless. So, are there any other smooth talkers in your life, aboard ship or otherwise?"

"Not anymore," Lucy replied, her mood darkening as she drank her water and stared at the probe. "I had a fling once with a smooth talker. I was undercover and my mark and I had a very lust filled three weeks before my assignment ended and we had to go our separate ways."

"Would that kind of thing be called 'undercovers' work instead of 'undercover' work?" Arturo said. "Sorry. I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. It's sometimes hard to discern, but there is a difference between an insincere smooth talker and a sincere one. Don't give up hope. A sincere smooth talker will come your way. I'm sure of it. Why, you must be keeping suitors away with a whip and a chair."

"Yeah, maybe..." Lucy's reply trailed off as she finished her water. "Anyway, you and Lieutenant Song are a couple, I take it? How did the two of you meet?"

"In the mess hall," Arturo said. "Right after the Beifong picked me up out in the Gamma Quadrant. There was a bit of a feud going on between Xiulan and the civilian managing the mess. He insisted that coffee was a foul tasting poison and would only provide tea. He had a fine collection of teas, don't get me wrong, but Xiulan is both a coffee connoisseur and a coffee addict, and she is nearly impossible to deal with unless she is being provided with a steady supply of coffee. I had brought some French and Italian roasts with me on the little adventure I'd been on when the Beifong rescued me. I offered to come by her quarters and make her some. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing from there, but we managed to get together with a minimum of emotional and/or bodily harm."

Lucy chuckled softly, her multicolored hair shimmering slightly. "It sounds like a good relationship to me then. I wish the two of you the best of luck and happiness. Now then... Ready to do all this to another probe?"

"Why not?" Arturo said. "I wonder what's keeping Ian? Oh, well. While we're at it you can tell me how a science officer came to be doing undercover work."

Lucy shrugged as she started working on the second probe. "Right place at the right time I guess. They needed a fresh face to get some info and you can't get much fresher than mine. I had to suppress my natural hair colors and dye it all black for the duration. I was also surgically altered. I still have a few pictures of me like that if you're interested later."

"Wait," Arturo said. "You're hair is naturally those colors? I assumed it was a dye-job. A really well done dye-job, one that looked like your hair was naturally those colors."

Arturo was rummaging through the spare parts again, pulling anything that looked useful and handing it to Lucy.

Lucy was removing, modifying, and installing parts a bit faster this time as she worked. "Perfectly natural thanks to a genetic anomaly that cropped up on my colony. otherwise I'm human." Working in silence, she finished her mods to propulsion. "There we go. Now we just need a thin metallic plate. Do you mind if I ask something potentially awkward?"

Arturo rummaged around and found a thin metal plate and handed it to Lucy to put in place.

"Ask away," Arturo said. "The worst that can happen is that I won't answer. Or I suppose I could get really offended and storm out of the room, but I would like to think that I have a thicker skin than that."

Lucy nodded and paused in her work. "What's up with the ship's doctor? She's obviously Trill but she's by far the coldest one I've ever met, bar none."

Arturo, who had been gathering the welding equipment, paused as well.

"Nerys has a medical condition that gives her difficulty experiencing emotions," he said. "Until recently, even if she did experience an emotion, she couldn't really understand what that it was an emotion. She often had to go by her physical reactions. She began a treatment recently to begin correcting this condition. She's made some progress. She experiences emotions more often now, by that I mean that she knows that she's experiencing emotions, but she is still figuring out how to express them properly. Why do you ask?"

"Ah, it's just that, uh... Well..." Lucy was floundering and waving her hands over the probe uselessly as she tried to come up with a response. "I guess I just didn't expect a beautiful member of a people known for their passion to be so Vulcan. That's all. No other reason."

Arturo grinned.

"I think I understand," he said. "She's worth getting to know, Lucy. Once you figure out how she expresses emotion and what she really means to convey when she says something that you might think of as cold or at the very least awkward, she is very pleasant to be around. You just have to remember that she doesn't see emotions the same way as you or I might, and she has trouble expressing herself outside of her technical field. She can actually be very sweet. Of course, with the treatments, she's begun spouting profanity in stressful moments. Probably been spending too much time with Lieutenant Song. You may have noticed that Xiulan hasn't met a profane word she didn't like."

Arturo chuckled to himself, remembering that the computer had been keeping track of how many times Xiulan swore. He brought himself back into the moment and looked at Lucy.

"If you want to get to know her better," he said. "You should talk to her. I'll even help if you'd like. She, Xiulan and I often get together for coffee. Would you like to join us?"

"Coffee? Yeah I think I could do coffee now and then." Lucy replied carefully. This all sounded rather scary to her but she could at least give things a go. No harm in that.

"Excellent," Arturo replied. "I'll make sure to invite you to our next get together."

Arturo put on the face shield and picked up the welder. He began to weld the metal sheet into place with Lucy's guidance. When they were done, Arturo flipped the face shield up and smiled.

"I think we've done it!" he said. "I'll let the captain know what we've accomplished here, especially the fact that this would have been impossible without you, Lucy."

While Arturo had been welding, Lucy had been hitting the outer casing to ping it here and there. When they were both done, she fired it up and scanned it with a tricorder just to confirm they were indeed done and smiled happily. "You're just lucky I've been on a ship that needed similar setups before."

Several months after escaping the Consortium, breaking through the wormhole and returning to a proper Federation, a lot had happened in the remaining months of 2388. The USS Beifong had been brought in for extensive repairs, the crew had been scattered about on extended leave with some transferring to other assignments either for good or simply for the time being. There had been some reshuffling and promotions, but for the most part the USS Beifong was held together by the commitment and strong will of a crew that had become a family with Landon in the command chair, a seat he was ready to give up and surrender for a more experienced and physically able Commanding Officer. However, his actions earned him an unyielding respect and admiration. He had unintentionally found himself being a bit of a poster child for Starfleet Academy and recruitment offices. Long story short, he may have not been Commanding Officer material when he first set foot on the USS Beifong, but after his whirlwind of an ordeal... Starfleet Command made him Commanding Officer material through several courses, months of simulations, and pushing Landon through the Bridge Commander's Examination to earn the rank of full Commander.

Damn them all thought Landon as he looked at himself in a reflective surface. As of a few months ago, he was confined to a support chair, but an extremely risky procedure under the surgical hands of one Doctor Toby Russell freed him from the prison of his support chair, though he would never be the same again and had been nearly died under her care. Still, he was alive and that much he could be grateful for. Yet he still thought Damn them he stood albeit with support of a 'cane' and reconstructed spine with metallic alloys fused to bone, and the assistance of Borg technology. He was frightened and often plagued by nightmares that Borg nanites were going to take over his body and assimilate him from his insides outward. The last thing he wanted was any sort of Borg implants surfacing and breaking through his skin. All of this was nonsense though. He was still entirely himself and looked like the man he had always been albeit slightly aged with stress.

Commander Landon T. Milo took a seat the head of the conference table. He and his Senior Staff were at Starbase 24, temporarily so. In a few days they would be boarding the USS Beifong again and heading out on their first mission together as a crew since the Beifong was taken in for repairs. This meeting was to discuss their upcoming mission and missions to follow. He took a deep breath as he sat at the head of the table. Looking around he saw the faces of his crew. All his Department Heads with the addition of Karjir Ras and Mirok for additional tactical knowledge. "The USS Beifong will arrive in approximately 72 hours. That's 72 hours you all have to enjoy the facilities on this starbase, make any preparations that you need to, and have your guest quarters packed and be ready to board the Beifong," said Landon calmly.

He gestured over to Xiulan on his right. "Despite speculation and rumors running around that Starfleet will be supplying us with a veteran First Officer, I can officially say the rumors end here and now. There's nobody I trust more at my side as Executive Officer than Lieutenant Song. She will be remaining in her position," the Commander said with a small smile.

"And hey, I'm a legit Lieutenant, this ain't just a field promotion anymore!" Xiulan said with some excitement to hide her nervousness; it had been one thing to accept the rank and position when it had been temporary, but now it was not so temporary and that made it all the more daunting. But after months of running around in wild space with this crew, watching them band together to survive pirates and the Consortium, and then watching Landon claw his way back to health and carve out a new identity for himself, supporting him through the surgeries and helping him through hours of physical therapy, it only seemed natural to stay by his side, so when he made the offer to be his XO again (this time without dropping down on one knee) she didn't hesitate to say yes. "Oh, and I hear that during the repair refit, they updated almost all the consoles and access panels with tactile interfaces; this feels like Christmas!"

Landon shook his head. "Well, merry Christmas... happy new year, and we call enjoy the new updates when we see them," he commented.

The Commander then looked to his right, sitting across from Xiulan was the Caitian Arturo M'Rohass. "After seeing his performance in handling Helena Soroys, I feel confident in naming Lieutenant M'Rohass as Second Officer of the USS Beifong. "I expect to see you bright eyed and bushy tailed, Lieutenant," teased Commander Milo.

Arturo suppressed a grimace. Really? Cat jokes? Still? If only he could think up some snide comment about primates.

"Of course, Captain," Arturo said. "I am ready to take on the responsibility and am honored that you chose me for the job."

Picking up a PaDD, Landon tapped a few commands that decreased the lighting in the room and brought up a holographic emitter from the center of the long curved table. It began projecting a map of the galaxy which then focused in on the Beta Quadrant. Large segments glowed with a royal blue, crimson red, and emerald green. These marked the 'superpowers' of the Beta Quadrant: The United Federation of Planets, The Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Star Empire... or rather what remained of it. "Seeing as we are at Starbase 24 along the Klingon Border, it probably comes to little or no surprise that our next assignment will be in the Beta Quadrant," announced Landon.

Tapping a few more commands on the PaDD, the map faded, blackened until a new image replaced it. A large swirling globe of ivory white and small patches of grey and spots of various shades of blue. "Book your reservations now ladies and gentlemen for an express trip to here," commented the Commanding Officer. "Marunochi III, third planet of the Maru system and home to the Marunochian civilization," he added. It was a world that likely meant nothing to anyone, himself included as of a few hours ago, had never even heard of the planet.

"You know what sucks about being a Linguist? I see connections between dialects that can't possibly be related. Like that sounds just like Marunouchi, a district in Japan on Earth, and now I really want a bowl of ramen," Xiulan blurted out.

Landon nodded, "I will trust your linguistic abilities on that one, Xiulan," replied the Commander. "We honestly do not know who these people are nor very much about their world or society. Federation probes located the system of planets, Starfleet Science smacked the name Maru on the system and the rest you can fill in the blanks," he added. "They undoubtedly have a name for their planet and themselves which presently remains unknown as we have not officially made first contact with these people yet."

Well that made sense, there was probably someone on the discovering crew who was Japanese! "Are we making first contact? Are they even a warp capable culture?" Xiulan asked, which just opened up a whole other line of questions as to why they would send out a fairly green crew with newbie command officer for such a First Contact mission when normally a whole diplomatic team was sent out for such things. "Or are we just studying them for tactical reasons because of their proximity to certain 'neighbors'?"

Darzen leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, looking at the planet. "Do we know anything at all?" he queried. It had sort of an offhand, smartass tone to it. Despite his appearance of normality, Darzen was far from it. He had not informed anyone, but during their downtime he had received notification of the death of Kaie's third host's youngest son, Draos. It was a complicated matter. Even though the child was not his and belonged to his symbiont's former host, he could still feel the swelling of sorrow. It had come and go all day. Several times it was all he could do to keep it together.

Nician, however, knew nothing of any of this and stared at the planet before them in amazement. "I wonder what they eat..." he mused out loud. "Are we going to have to watch them from blinds?" he asked, joining the mounting list of questions.

Landon looked at both gentlemen as they spoke, waiting for them to ask their questions and or leave their thoughts and comments on the table. There was a few moments of silence as the Commander was not sure if they were finished or not. One thing about no longer having his empathic and telepathic senses was his inability to know when someone was finished addressing him. Clearing his throat, Landon responded. "They reached out to us actually, but they wanted the Federation's help. An internal matter on their planet, a civil war between two factions and naturally we informed them we could not get involved as it would violate the Federation's principles. We did, however, agree to send a small diplomatic team to see if we could help through peaceful means... it has been two weeks since the diplomatic team's last report. As of several hours ago, there was nothing. Then, these people reached out to us once more. They have the diplomatic team hostage," reported the Commander.

"Well that escalated quickly..." Xiulan replied in a dull tone. "Have they made any demands?"

The Commander nodded "Escalated quickly is putting it mildly. Like cracking an egg open in the Vulcan Forge, fried almost instantly," replied Commander Landon Milo as he sat in his chair at the head of the table. "Demands have been simple and straightforward. An end to their war before the world ends which they believe is fast approaching. The diplomatic team did their job, an Armistice was signed. The problem isn't with people it's with the weapons... they were programmed to kill and they aren't stopping."

Ian held up his hand. "So let me get this straight- you're telling me that this planet is being overrun by some sort of killer something? What sort of weapon keeps killing and doesn't obey orders to stop?" he asked.

"The kind they did not build, Lieutenant," replied the Commanding Officer. "The last and practically only report we got from our diplomatic team involved information pertaining to the weapons. Neither side of this civil war were involved in creating the weapons. Apparently an arms dealer came to this planet and sold these weapons to both sides and it beginning to look a lot like a genocide or a complete extermination if these weapons are not stopped," explained Landon. "Which is why this mission briefing calls for as much tactical wit as it does technical expertise," added Landon looking around the room.

"What information did that report include?" Darzen asked, leaning forward in his seat, suddenly much more interested in the briefing. He entwined his fingers together in front of him and placed his hands on the table, looking serious, not that it was much of a change. "Without knowing even a little of what we're dealing with the only option would to be to go down there and attempt to destroy said weapon unless we know the location of the control source and can shut it down someway. Am I right?" He looked around the room, his eyes lingering the longest on Ian.

Mirok made a mental note to call his father about these people, "Lieutenant Kail's right. We can't go in there blind or there's gonna be problems. We need to find out some more information."

"How do you propose we do that in a timely manner, Lieutenant?" Arturo asked. "Time is a factor here. Our diplomatic team is being held by people who are becoming increasingly desperate. Desperate people will make hasty decisions, decisions that both they and we will regret. Further, the planet's population is under siege. I do agree, however, that we need to proceed with caution, as long as we do in fact proceed. Is there a way for us to quickly obtain further information on these... killer machines? Perhaps we could fire a series of probes into the system while keeping our distance. If we can get the probes into orbit, preferably without engaging the machines' planetary defenses, we could learn quite a bit. Even if we do attract the attention of the planetary defenses, that, too, will provide us with information."

Mirok decided to put something out there. "Give me an hour. If I can't get us some usable information on these machines, you can go with your plan." Mirok hoped his plan would work and the Romulans actually knew something about this.

"That works for me," Arturo said to Landon. "But is your call, Captain."

Ras writhed inside Karjir. -I have an idea! one that YOU should have had.- Karjir did his best to hide his inner conversation from the rest of the crew. -Oh?- The Symbiote moved again, causing Karjir to wince. - In fact,yes. Defiant class ships have a very powerful deflector array, a charged particle based one, yes?- Karjir silently agreed. -So turn it into a particle storm. flood the planet with so much EM the systems will overload. Sure, it will take out their power grid and their backbone, but it will be enough to make the Weapons go offline!- Karjir could not disagree, and was embarrased a diplomatic slug had thought of it first. - This is the reason in normal joinings, the host is merely along for the ride.- Karjir collected himself. "Sir, I think I may have an idea."

Xiulan titled her head curiously when she took notice of Kajir's heat signature. "Are you raising your hand?" Xiulan asked bluntly. "Look, we're all adults here, so you don't need to raise your hand. If you've got an idea then let's hear it."

"We make the ship an EM pulse Generator. we charge the particle mass accelerator on the deflector dish to maximum and discharge a beam into the Ionosphere. It will kill everything electronic on the planet. But it will also make us dead in the water for about 10 minutes. Its risky, and I can't say under normal circumstances that I would advise it." - Finally found your pair didn't you?- Ras did the closest thing it new how to chortling.

"While that would effectively take out the weapons, I wouldn't recommend doing it," Xiulan replied. "It would render them helpless for a while, meaning we would be responsible to supply humanitarian aide, which I don't care how well stocked we are, a Defiant Class ship is not built for planet-wide humanitarian aide; and though they might be grateful for us taking out the weapons, I don't think they'd be too pleased with us considering this would probably cripple their economy. Also, what if the weapons are EMP shielded? That could potentially make the situation on the planet worse. Still, the idea has potential I think we can refine, and if nothing else I think we could keep it as one of those 'in case shit goes sideways' backup emergency plans. Isn't there some way of doing something with the phasers and tetryons to do something similar?"

"Honestly, I think we should start with M'Rohass' probes. We don't want to go firing anything at anyone until we know exactly what we're dealing with," Darzen eyed Karjir. "And it is also a good point to assume that these weapons might have a planetary defense, so we might want to keep our distance." He looked at Landon.

"Actually, I'd like to start with the specs of the weapons the diplomatic team managed to send out, see if I can analyze where they come from," Xiulan said. "Once this situation is resolved, however we do it, I'd like to track down whoever sold those weapons and make sure something like this don't happen again."

Ras fumed in his special way, which meant Karjir got instant heartburn. - Do they want the planet saved or not? there is no Diplomacy left here. Someone needs to be the bigger gun.- Karjir almost said the words aloud, then thought better of himself. " Ma'am, as I said I would not recommend it, but it may ultimately be the only option. It's not worth discounting." He felt a fool. But Ras was right there. -Did you lose your spine, because I am pretty sure I can still feel it.- Karjir snorted, out loud. -Little worm, we are so far from safe that you should be counting this as your last life. Lets not make it worse than it has to be.- Karjir then shut his mind to the Symbiote, which it always found offensive.

Landon had listened to everyone's thoughts and ideas, none of his crew failed to meet or exceed his expectations. They all presented well thought and brilliant ideas yet also provided critique of one another's ideas. This helped the Commanding Officer formulate a plan of action. "It is quite evident that I have placed myself in a room with brilliant minds," commented Landon. "You have presented me with some options, and that's what I needed... options. Now, we need to take these options and move forward with them as responsibly as we can," added Commander Milo.

"I'm concerned about this civilization and more specifically, the medical situation. Where there are weapons, there are casualties though not always fatalities. If there have been attacks with living survivors they are undoubtedly receiving care in medical facilities. The danger of an EMP burst in the ionosphere is we will affect nearly everything on the planet including technology that may be keeping patients alive," stated The Commanding Officer, a former medical physician. "And Lieutenant Song is correct, we won't have enough supplies to render effective humanitarian aid," added Landon.

"However," began the Commanding Officer, "When all else fails, there's a last resort. Lieutenant Kajar, proceed with your plans... as a last resort," explained Landon.

Commander Landon T. Milo, turned in his seat, looking at Lieutenant Mirok. "Intelligence," he said swiftly. "I'm pulling you over to focus on intelligence, Lieutenant. Contact the Romulans. Contact the Klingons. Contact the Nausicaans, Orions, hell contact the Pakled if need be. Leave no stone unturned and see if you can find anything about this planet or anything that may help Lieutenant Song in regards to determining the origins of these weapons," ordered the Commanding Officer.

"I'll be doing more than just contacting them." Mirok meant to keep the thought in his head, but it came out of his mouth. He was already preparing loose promises and making a list of available resources to bribe people with.

Turning to his Executive Officer, Landon nodded. "Xiulan work with Mirok. If you find anything about these weapons that would be ideal, but if we can at least find who sold these weapons... it's a start."

"Can do," Xiulan said simply with a nod.

"The probes," commented the Commander as he leaned forward in his chair. "After gathering whatever intelligence we can on our way, these probes will be our next action. I want them ready by the time we arrive at the planet," commanded Landon. "Arturo, it was your plan. I want you to oversee it. work with Lieutenants Mackenzie and Furr. Make whatever modifications we can to the probes to mask them from detection," added Landon.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Arturo responded. "Ian, Lucy, and I will get together as soon as this meeting breaks up."

Ian took quick notes

The Commander then looked at the woman who had remained quiet, his Chief Medical Officer. "We have no idea what we are facing, the death and the destruction on the surface of this planet. We may not have much to offer in terms of medical supplies and assistance, but it would be in your best interest to start packing some medical supplies, Doctor."

"The two dozen medkits we can spare are already packed up and in a crate," Nerys offered. The sad excuse for a sickbay on this ship was almost identical to the sad excuse of a sickbay on the prior ship, this one just being an upgraded version of the defiant class. "I can replicate some extra medicines for the hyposprays, but it'll take a few days."

Landon nodded "You'll have until we arrive to replicate at will," said the Commander. "Make due with that time, and I'll do my best to get a medical ship or at the very least a cargo ship with medical supplies to meet us as soon as possible." He looked around the room, gave a simple nod and dismissed everyone.

'You know this will be hard on you. It's all about change and rolling with the waves, if you swim against the current, you'll be taken' thought Commander Landon T. Milo as he heard what his cousin, Doctor Laurel Oakley had said to him about his disabilities. It was all an improvement over the fear of being confined to a support chair. At least that fight was over with. Emergency and incredibly risky surgeries had given Landon most of his mobility back albeit he'd more or less always need a 'cane' to get around, but this walking staff as it were, was a far cry from the handicap he had faced in the support chair. However, even the physical paralysis had not been nearly as horrific to him as the inability to read or sense the feelings and emotions of those around him. He was doing his best to cope with 'The Loss' and had reached out to friends on Betazed who helped him get into contact with a group of Betazoids who had either lost their abilities or were born with a genetic defect which prevented them from ever having these abilities.

If only the changes with himself had been the only thing to get used to. Having held his Briefing on Starbase 24 as he awaited the arrival of the USS Beifong. The wait had ended when Commander Milo received notification that the USS Beifong would be arriving in several minutes. He was on his way to meet with his Executive Officer and Second Officer at the docking port where the starship was stated as having docked. Landon had not been entirely prepared for the changes made to his starship. 'Cosmetic changes' Landon read on the PaDD as he walked or rather hobbled down the corridor. Fresh coat paint? Different shade? A minor facelift? he pondered as the peculiar choice of words grabbed his attention.

Holding onto command of the USS Beifong had not been easy. What Landon had kept from the crew had been that other candidates were the front runners to take command of the starship though Landon was still on the short list for retaining his position. Man topping the list was a Command veteran, the Beifong would have been his third command. However, through the 'grape vine,' Landon had learned the man felt the Beifong was a downgrade from his previous command of the larger Steamrunner class. That left it down to two viable candidates: Landon or a young Captain with years of experience under her belt from past lives. She was a joined Trill. The wrench that came her way was one that Landon felt terrible about on a personal level. She was a mother with a family, and the USS Beifong was simply not built for families. The missions the Beifong was going to be sent on could potentially last months at a time, quite possibly into the territory of a year. Faced with taking the command and leaving her family behind or waiting for a more suitable command assignment, the woman passed on the Beifong.

As Landon exited the lift that he had taken and proceeded down the corridor to the docking port, he skimmed through the information on the PaDD. Listed as a tactical escort, registry number was correct, starship bore the name USS Beifong...everything was looking to be in place until he hit the section regarding ship class. His eyes narrowed in and focused on the words Defiant Class Variant – Valiant which lead him to stop dead in his tracks and look up, peering out an observation area. He saw a starship approaching at about a quarter impulse and slowing. He could see the bow of the starship. He could tell it both was and yet was not the Beifong. It has all the proper markings of his starship, but someone had played God with it. The starship looked like a metallic condor swooping in. “That's not my starship” he said in a hushed tone, baffled by the appearance of the upgraded and refitted Beifong.

Commander Landon T. Milo looked at his left as he caught sight of his two command officers heading down the corridor to meet him. The USS Beifong was docking. He could hear the locking of docking clamps and noticed the perking of Arturo's ear in response to the sound. He locked his sights on the two, turning to greet them. “I...The Beifong has arrived...I think” he said shaking his head. “When they said they were going to be making changes and refitting her, I did not quite have this in mind” he said taken aback by the quick glimpse of changes he had noticed.

"Wait, changes?" Xiulan said with a confused tilt of her head. "I don't see any changes," she stated simply.

Arturo chuckled.

"I believe what some of us are looking at and some of us are hearing about is the new Valiant Class," he said. "She is impressive looking. Xiulan, I'll get a model of the Valiant somewhere and then you can get a good 'look' at it. It has...wings? You'll see soon. Trust me. It is an impressive new look."

"Yeah, I didn't even know what the old Beifong looked like," Xiulan remarked with a shrug.

"Right," Arturo said. "I'll get a Defiant model, too. Why I didn't think of this before escapes me."

Landon was practically sucking in his bottom lip as he took a deep breath. "When I was first assigned to the Beifong, I was concerned with it being too militant for me. I always associated the Defiant class with conflict and war, but the Valiant design is something all together different. She still looks militant to me, the perfect 'tactical escort,' but the wings make it look...sporty" commented the Commander. "Something new for you to learn to pilot, Arturo" added Landon as he shot a gaze at the Caitian.

"I'm looking forward to it," Arturo replied.

The circular doorway of the docking port spun open. "Time to board our starship" said Landon as he cautiously proceeded onward to board the starship. "Xiulan, I want you to recall all personnel once aboard. I want to have everyone aboard and ready to depart as soon as possible" ordered the Commanding Officer.

"Everyone has been informed that the Beifong was inbound, so they're all on standby, ready to drop everything at a moment's notice, so it shouldn't take long to get everyone aboard," Xiulan replied, following behind Landon, close in case he needed help, but not too close so she wasn't 'suffocating' him. She had her own cane out, helping her to find her way through unfamiliar corridors.

Arturo looked at the blind Xiulan following Landon, presumably so she could catch him if he fell. Of course, to her Landon was a big green blob so the most likely result would be both of them going tail over tea kettle. Arturo moved over to the other side of Landon, hoping he would be in a position to catch Landon instead of Xiulan. At the very least, Arturo would have a front row seat to the clusterfuck if it happened.

"Are you feeling ready to strike out into the unknown, Captain?" Arturo said. "Despite how pleasurable this leave has been, I can't wait to get back out there!"

Landon nodded "I am Arturo, I am" said the Commanding Officer with a deep breath. "There's no telling what is out there nor what our adventures will hold, but I have a very strong belief that this crew can handle it...whatever it may be" added Landon. "Unfortunately, we're all out of uniform" teased the man. "We're getting a wardrobe update as well. New uniform design has been put into effect, they are starting to phase out this one."

"Oh great, another change that will make no difference to me whatsoever... and right after I finally made the change to red," Xiulan said, perturbed by having update her uniform again.

The Commander chuckled. "Oh but these new uniforms look smashing. It may make no difference to you, but maybe you'll get asked to be a model for Starfleet...and you do not need to wear Command division red if you do not want to Xiulan. Your olive color green was perfectly fine. If anything it complimented your eyes quite nicely. Of course what the heck do I know? I was a Physician not a fashion designer" he added.

"Nah, I accepted the job, I can wear the red," Xiulan replied with a grin. "And only Arturo is allowed to compliment me, because we're in a relationship and stuff," she then blurted out. "Oh right, I forgot to tell you, we've been shagging since you went comatose, just thought you should know. The actual relationship is new though."

Landon was all fine and good until she blurted out the bit about shagging Arturo which caused Landon to stumble a bit. However, he regained his footing quickly with the assistance of his cane. He took a deep breath. Small ship...these things happen. You have been a Physician for years. You have this, Landon he said to himself as a motivational consciousness. "Well, times like these are why I miss empathy and telepathy. I must have a missed the memo on that one. I'll need to keep up on ship scuttlebutt more often" he added.

"Well, congratulations to the two of you on what I hope to be a blissful relationship" said the Commander, stopping and turning to face the two. "I have no complaints nor concerns. If two of my most senior officers engage in sexual activities with one another or a romantic relationship, so be it. You two are mature, responsible and consenting adults. Just see to it that your feelings or relationship do not interfere with ship's business" commented Landon briskly.

He then smiled and shook his head. "I must admit, Xiulan...I knew you had a high tolerance for pain, but seriously? Penile spines scare me. If you ever need medical assistance, I am sure Doctor Evartin can be of some assistance. You two just be careful when you are intimate. Caitian sexual activity outside their own species has lead even the toughest Klingon to a medical bay" he cautioned.

"Wait, what?" Xiulan stopped with stunned expression. "No, that's not- I mean... Arturo, is there something you're not telling me?"

Landon chuckled. Cat jokes never get old he thought to himself.

Arturo chuckled.

"Nothing you need to worry about," he said. "The Captain is, I believe, pulling your leg. If any of that were true, you'd have ended up in Sick Bay by now."

"Alright," Xiulan replied, but she still looked uneasy. "You're sure? No surprises for me to find later?"

"I shall always have surprises in store for you, my dear Xiulan," Arturo said. "And you like it that way. Keeps thing interesting. I'm still holding out hope that we'll find a use for some of those outfits we saw the Damsels in Distress catalog. Hope springs eternal."

"Only if you're the damsel," Xiulan reminded him.

"We can take turns," Arturo said, grinning. "And only if you wear the red outfit when it's your turn, the one without any..."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Xiulan cut him off before he could go into too many details. "Jeez, I was just telling him because of the regulations, he deserved to know of any potential conflicts to the Chain of Command, he didn't need to know about your propensity for role play in the bedroom. So as punishment, I'm taking your musketeer hat, the one you like to wear anytime you're not in uniform, it's now mine until further notice."

Arturo grinned. Knowing Xiulan, it was fully possible she'd invite him to her quarters and he'd find her wearing nothing but his musketeer hat...possibly backwards. She could never remember which side was supposed to be folded up with the feather in it.

"Of course, dear," he said. "I will make do with my cavalier's hat. Now, don't you think we've given Landon enough intimate details about our sex life for one outing?"

"Hey, I said what I needed to say, you're the one that felt the need to overshare," Xiulan grumbled. Then she remembered that it was Landon who started this mess with that 'penile spines' nonsense. "And don't think I've forgotten your contribution to this, Landon; just remember, payback's a bitch, and so am I."

Landon shuddered as he listened to the two officers exchange romantic jabs and trade innuendos. "It was payback enough to have to hear some of that and now I have images in my head that cannot be unfathomed" he commented shaking his head. "Alright, let's get this show going again. Xiulan summon the crew, Arturo plot a course to the planet and wait until we have everyone back aboard."

"Do we have to wait until the entire crew is back aboard?" Arturo asked. "Or could we possibly only wait for those who arrive in a timely manner? Never mind! Just eager to take this new vessel out for a spin. I promise I will wait until one of you gives the order to depart!"

Maybe I can send Ian and his goon squad to round everyone up more quickly...or even have Xiulan hack the base's PA system so I can issue a red alert for the base and order all crews to their ships immediately! No, wait, that would cause utter chaos and it would take even longer for everyone to get aboard, same if I ordered an evacuation...and I am fairly certain both of those things are against regulations and possibly even violations of the Uniform Code of Justice...

"Of course we have to wait, doofus," Xiulan said with a snicker. "But the faster we move, the faster we can send out the word and get people back onto the Beifong," she added, quickening her pace. then she threw an arm around Landon. "Come on, slow-poke, you can make it," she said to Landon with a grin.

Arturo wasn't fazed when Xiulan called him a doofus. In fact, he grinned. Calling Arturo names was one of the ways Xiulan said 'I love you'.

"Onward, brave Captain," Arturo said in a joking tone. "And if it helps, feel free to repeat the phrase 'I think I can' over and over again in your head, just like the locomotive engine in the Earth story The Little Engine That Could! I say to do it in your head because if you do it out loud, Xiulan will make fun of you."

Landon scoffed. "She makes fun of me regardless" he said moving ahead. "I think...we can" he added, a smile sweeping across his face.