Tul's hand smarted from where Jhu's cat had bit him. He chose to stop by Sickbay for a quick check and dermal regen. Not because the injury was particularly bad but because he didn't know what might accompany it. Besides, he had somehow avoided his first medical checkup since coming aboard. He was sure he had simply forgotten once, or twice.

The Andorian XO strolled in the sickbay and waited patiently to be noticed.

"Can I help you sir?" Liam asked looking up from the terminal where he was trying to reconfigure the biosensors on bed two for the third time in 48 hours.

"Yes, Doctor," Tul answered. He raised his right hand, showing the dark blue and slightly swollen wound.

"Grab a seat and we'll see what we have." He said gesturing to another empty, but functional, biobed.

Tul hopped up onto the foot of the proffered bio-bed, placing his hand on his knee. "I met the violent side of the Second Officer's pet," he explained.

"Ah, always a fun experience, I never much like cats, this looks cat like at least. There's an ensign in Ops with an owl like creature that seems to like to bite, I've had to patch up a few people already." He said as he administer a minor antibiotic to prevent any infection and began to treat the dermal damage. "Any adverse reaction? possible allergic response? or just the run of the mill bite?" He asked as he rotated the tool over the XO's hand with practiced precision.

Tul shook his head, "Just hurts, mostly. A typical bite," He frowned at the information about other animal bites. "Perhaps the crew needs to be addressed on controlling their pets," he added dryly.

"That's your department sir, I just patch up the war wounds." He joked. "There, that should do it. I've given you a mild antibiotic but keep an eye on it for a couple days, if it gets sore or causes any problems come back in." He said, picking up a PADD and adding a few notes to the Commander's medical file. "Now, while you're here, why don't we get your physical out of the way." He said looking to the Andorian XO.

Tul flexed his hand, it felt better. "Thank you Doctor. Physical? Ah yes, I have a little time to spare..."

"Good, it shouldn't take long. Why don't you lay down and I'll begin the scans." He said making a few more notes on the PADD as he began the scan.

Tul laid back and stretched out on the bio-bed.

"Any pre-existing medical concerns that may not be in your file, or anything that has developed since your last medical?" He asked switching his attention to the readouts as they began to come in.

"Nothing that comes to mind, Doctor... Well, occasional back pain, I suppose," the Andorian admitted, tilting his head back a little to watch the lights.

"Well everything looks pretty good." He said, taking a blood sample quickly. "That should be it."

Tul stood up from the bio-bed and, with a brief nod to the doctor, left the sickbay.

Communications restored

Captain Kerouac has returned aboard

The computer startled Tul out of a light slumber at his desk. He stood up and rubbed his eyes. He still wasn't completely sure what he wanted to do. But he needed to speak with the captain... To confront the captain. There were things Tul needed to address, so many that he couldn't quite decide which was most important. But, as so many of his plans had already failed him, he was going to see Kerouac without one. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Slowly, deliberately, Tul took off his uniform jacket and left it hanging as he walked out of his quarters.

The captain's quarters weren't far. Tul checked with the computer to make sure the captain was there before he pressed the door-chime.

Lying all across Kerouac's desk were PADDs and various other devices that he needed to look over. He had one PADD in his hand, reading the most crucial information first. It made sense to tackle everything one by one rather than all together. He had just recently returned from the planet's surface. He was a bit worn out, but nothing that he wouldn't rebound from.

He had immediately received reports that numerous personnel incidents had occurred during his brief absence. It was not all that surprising given the tense situation that had been uncoiling before the covert Away Mission. I shouldn't have done that thought Kris with a sigh and a shake of his head. He had left the starship without notifying his First Officer and purposely left without proper security escort. Actions like these were questionable and reportable. Yes, Kris had the right to lead an away mission and the said away team should he choose to do so. However, these were rare occasions and never was it ever done without proper precautionary procedures in place.

I need to have a discussion with Commanders Zanaar and t'Dharvaken thought Kris as he remembered reading through an incident report that had resulted in Lieutenant Verak being placed on report and confined to his quarters. It was a Brig worthy offense. However, Kris could not toss the half-Vulan in the Brig for actions that surfaced because of Kris' own mistakes.

Kris shook his head and took a deep breath. My actions have been intolerable the Commanding Officer thought as the chime to his personal quarters sound. "Enter!" he shouted, calling for the door to open. He had expected to see his First Officer sooner rather than later. However, this was sooner than Kris had anticipated. "Lieutenant Commander Zanaar" said Kris with a look of awe. Kris stood up from his seat and came around his desk, leaning his back against it for some support.

He kept some distance from his First Officer. "I've been expecting you" said Kris.

Tul didn't respond. Instead, he closed the distance between himself and the captain with two short, quick steps. Then the rule-conscious and protocol-servant of a first officer did something the captain could not have expected; Tul hit him, hard. A powerful left hook to Kerouac's right cheek, strong enough to knock him to the deck yet pulled at the last second to avoid any real damage.

Kris had been an officer for years. He knew about Andorians, the stereotypes associated with them and their known aggressiveness. However, Lieutenant Commander never struck him that way, not until the Andorian actually struck him. The blow was not full force. As Kris was knocked down on his ass, his cheek and jaw hurting like hell. Kris could taste blood. My lip? My teeth? pondered Kris as he looked up at the Andorian. "It's been a while since a man hit me. I can't say that you are really my type but..."

Tul stood over the fallen captain for a moment then took a step back. "You are a disgrace to that uniform," he said shortly, his voice low, "do you have any idea how much danger you put this ship in? I would question whether you cared, but the answer to that is very clear... No communications in a known and openly hostile region of space. Sabotage, blatant disregard of Federation law, the chain of command tossed out the airlock like a dirty rag... Do I need to go on? Endangerment of crew, violation of the prime directive... I should have reported you by now. Little good that would do, though, with your little spies running around; Starfleet will never know what kind of ship you're running out here," Tul stopped and let out a frustrated sigh, "What the hell do you have to say for yourself, anyway?"

"At least they gave me a good First Officer" Kris replied with a bloody smile after spitting to the side. "I do care about this ship and this crew, Commander. I admit that I do not to things by the book. I make mistakes, and one of them was not keeping you informed and going behind your back, Commander Zanaar" Kris added as he brought himself to his knees and stood up.

"Let's crack a bottle of Andorian Ale" added Kris wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his uniform.

"I will not drink with you," Tull bristled, but his attitude quickly changed, "Not that. But I will take an Earth beer. You have a strange way of showing it. Caring, I mean. What did you find on that planet?"

Kris scoffed "Oh of course. The Andorian who turns down his native ale but will partake in some Earth Beer" said Kris with a chuckle. "Can't blame you. I'm the same way. Back home, we have Bourbon. I will never drink that crap" commented Kris as he headed over to his replicator.

"Two mugs, frosted" Kris ordered and the system confirmed. Soon, two frosted mugs appeared and Kris carried them to the table in his living area. "I'll go find us something good" he added to which he soon came back with a bottle of English Brown Ale and poured two mugs worth. Kris took claim to one of the mugs and plopped himself down on the sofa.

He looked at his Andorian First Officer "You'll want to sit down for this one Commander"

Mystified, Tul found a chair and sat down, the cold mug in his hands.

Kris let out an elongated sigh. "We found a lot. More than we anticipated, that much is for sure. The species on the planet, Shira's species are the Arboreals. They are the result of two species coming together to form one. One of their Ancestor species were technologically advanced. You wouldn't believe it, Commander. They live in villages in the trees but a piece of technology down there serves as a generator for shielding and a cloak" began Kris.

"The Arboreals were one thing that we found down there. Matthews and Weaver found a Borg vessel, looks to have been down there a while. I don't want to speculate freely but it appears as though it crashed on the planet."

"Curious," Tul said, "but not uncommon. Many of the Preserver races are similarly equipped..." The Borg presence was significantly more interesting to him, "Borg? In the Gamma quadrant? We are a great distance from their home territory out here."

"Also not not uncommon" countered Kris with a shake of his head and a small sigh. "We've encountered them in furthest depths of space. We've even fought them in fluidic space... when it comes to the Borg, I expect to find them in every crevice" added Kris. "I want to protect those people down there, Commander. I'm considering filing a request to the Federation Council, making a case to have the planet considered a Federation protectorate world."

"This far out? We're nowhere near Federation space. Should a problem arise, Starfleet would never get here in time. Not to mention the attention it would bring from neighboring worlds. The Arboreals have done very well on their own up to now."

Kris shook his head. "Only a protectorate world, Commander. We may not be able to offer much defense to them but it would at least detour additional visits from starships. We could help them live in their seclusion."

Tul chose to relent, "Very well. Though you will have to tell Starfleet exactly what you found down there."

"I know what I will have to do, Commander" Kris responded. "I need your support, Commander. I will need you now more than ever."

Tul was quiet for a long moment. Finally, he said, "You know I won't follow you blindly. There are still many things about how you run this ship I do not agree with. But I will support you, Kerouac, I'll do my job."

Kris nodded. "That's all I ask, Commander. I depend on you as someone who will counter me at every corner. I am more than fine with that. In fact, I welcome it."

Tul nodded and took a long drink from his mug. "So. What now?"

"We proceed to Teplan" said Kris with a glance at Tul. "As for you and I? Well, try to not kill one another. I have a report to finish, Commander."

"Captain," Tul said, leaving his mug behind as he headed out the door. For once it seemed the two of them had reached some kind of understanding. He just hoped it would last.

There was a soft knock on the doorway leading to the Chief Engineer's office, just enough to get Jenni's attention. Chief Petty Officer Carter stood in that doorway, shifting uneasily on her feet waited to be acknowledged. "Lieutenant Matthews, I've the progress reports from Ops. Since we're still settling into the refit, I thought you might find this useful," the ex-borg woman offered, extending a PaDD to the Senior Officer. It was a shallow excuse to be here, that report would have ended up on Jenni's desk eventually anyway, but it was something tangible that Andy could offer which made her feel better about being here.

Jenni was deep in thought, staring at Maica's schematics with a PADD in hand making countless notes. She still had a lot of prep to do for the mission assigned to her, but the thought of her greatest engineering challenge was too great to ignore. The knock wasn't a welcome interruption, but inevitable. Jenni turned, expecting to see one of her engineers with a progress report. She flashed her trademark smile in surprise when she saw Chief Carter. "Thanks, Chief," she said. Jenni met her at the door and accepted the PADD. "How goes Ops these days now that we're finally settling in?" Jenni quickly glanced over the report, just long enough to get a brief summary, and then added it to the growing pile on her desk.

"Ain't so bad. We got plenty to keep us busy, but things are settling," Andy said, looking around nervously. "Oh, by the way, I kinda sorta broke Maica..." she added with a guilty smile, then tried to make a hasty exit to avoid the Chief Engineer's ire.

"What?" Jenni stammered, quickly moving to intercept Andy, completely ignoring the clatter her notepad made when it fell to the floor. "I know her circuits are on the fritz, but they had a few more weeks of life left! How...? What...?"

"Sensory overload," Andy offered quickly. "I had sex with Maica... and I guess I kinda blew her mind?" she said with a wince. Yeah, hardly the best explanation, but it was what happened. "I swear, I didn't know that was going to happen, and it was just a few relays that fused and I was able to bypass them."

"Oh..." Jenni said, her voice trailing off. She first visualized a number of scenarios that could have happened, attempting to speculate how it was possible for Maica to become damaged. Jenni quickly brushed those thoughts aside, not really wanting to think about such things. "She doesn't exactly have relays to spare at the moment, Chief," Jenni prompted, still trying to grasp the full extent of Maica's predicament. "How bad is she?"

"Well, she seemed alright at the time, and I was able to reroute the pathways so her functions weren't impaired until proper replacements were available," Andy said. "And about that.. I'd like to help with her repairs and upgrades. I understand if you don't want me to, but... Well, I know a thing or two about these sort of things being what I am. I just wanna help her get better."

Jenni took a moment to consider the request. She didn't know much about Andy, or any of the crew for that matter. Jenni had little right to consider Maica a personal project. The very fact Maica was a Starfleet officer meant she was recognized as an individual, a life form, and possessed all rights entitled. Maica was, however, built for a purpose other than what she was currently doing. "Oh? Why's that?" Jenni asked, crossing her arms. Maica did come to Jenni first to be her technician, and until Jenni was comfortable with Andy's motives, she would protect Maica.

"Why? Why not? I know you're not a cyberneticist, you could use all the help you could get," Andy said candidly. "If you're worried about my personal relationship with her, then don't; I would have offered my assistance before if I had known she needed it. Now that I know, I'm here. That it took me sleeping with her and breaking her to see that she needed help is irrelevant."

"I can't not worry," Jenni fired back. "Maica needs help, yes, but her life can't be put at risk as we move forward. She's too fragile for mistakes, especially ones caused by blind emotion."

"I can compartmentalize," Andy said. "And I'm well aware of how fragile she is. You can't see her like I do, and frankly my experience will be invaluable. Can you afford to turn down my help?"

Jenni frowned. She was very quickly put into a corner, and Jenni didn't appreciate that. "Maica certainly can't afford it. Turning down help, that is." She took a step towards Andy and added, "I might not be the best qualified, but I am in charge. You've got to make sure she stays stable until we can do the major work. If she gets worse, and it's your fault..." Jenni paused, making sure she really did want to say these words, "I won't hesitate."

"I understand," Andy replied with a nod. "I really had no idea how bad things were for her until she asked me to remind her to get you to look her over. She said it felt like she melted everything and I checked her out and sure enough she had fused relays. I swear I didn't know her condition was that bad."

Jenni nodded. "It sounds like we're inching towards a complete systems failure," Jenni commented, deciding to focus on the situation at hand. "It's worse than I thought," she muttered.

"I'd like to know what's causing it, then maybe we could do something about it," Andy said. "Material fatigue is one thing, but the way it happened... I know intense emotional responses are supposed to evoke a physical reaction, but not like that. She was designed to be a sex toy, having an orgasm shouldn't be running the risk of killing her!"

"The design's not the issue," Jenni replied, ushering Andy back into her office where Maica's schematics were still displayed. "The Ferengi are known on how they spend their latinum. She wasn't built to last long outside her original parameters."

"Yeah, I figured out that much," Andy said as she followed Jenni back to her office. "What have you got in the works in terms of her repairs and maintenance?"

"Best I can do for now is start replacing components," Jenni explained. She hadn't yet conceptualized their design, so there was nothing to show there. "Replicator's not on the list of options, so everything will have to be hand crafted. There's more than enough raw materials on board to create what we need, but I'm sure having a full-blown cybernetics lab would be a great help about now."

"I can help with the manufacturing, although some things we might be able to replicate for emergency purposes only. You know, just until we can machine the proper parts, but I definitely wouldn't rely on replicated stuff. As for a cybernetics lab, maybe we could use the holodeck? or maybe use one of the unallocated lab spaces for a workroom. Ain't ideal, but she at the very least deserves a dedicated workspace," Andy said after she gave the matter some thought.

"Engineering Lab Two is unoccupied at the moment," Jenni suggested. "I could have a couple hologenerators installed if we need anything that the Katana doesn't already have to offer."

"I think that will be useful for designing the replacement parts..." Andy said, nodding approvingly. "I can get started right away on reallocating the extra power to the lab."

Jenni nodded. "Sounds like we have a plan."

"Yeah. Just let me know when you need anything done," Andy said earnestly. "And I ain't constrained by sleep schedules, I can pull double shifts to put in the extra work if it's needed, so don't be afraid of sending extra tasks my way."

"Of course," Jenni replied, bearing her trademark smile.

Maica had timed it just right. She was just getting to the dining facility when she saw Andy coming around the corner so she almost skipped to her and landed against her in a hug, giving her another kiss on the cheek. “Hey there, love. How was work?”

Andy visibly stiffened at the contact. She wasn’t used to all this mushy stuff, but she was trying to tolerate it for Maica’s sake. Maica was just too cute to say no to. Aw fuck, there she goes thinking something wussy like ‘cute’! “I, uh, guess it was alright. Got nice and dirty, makes me feel like I did something,” Andy said awkwardly as she put an arm around Maica to let her know that even though she was uncomfortable with all this mushy shit that it was not unwelcomed.

Giggling cutely, Maica hung off of Andy’s arm. “That’s good. That’s an important thing, I’ve found. Feeling useful, that is.” Heading into the dining hall with Andy, Maica almost felt she had a new spring in her step. It was such a wonderful feeling being with her. Like the descriptions she had read about being high, what with the euphoria and giddiness.

“I’m just glad that rerunning those cables didn’t set me back too bad,” Andy said with a sheepish shrug as she guided Maica into the mess hall. “I hate getting behind in ship maintenance, ya know? When you get behind, it always feels like you’re scrambling to catch up,” she said idly. Probably not the best attempt at small talk, but she was trying. “What about you?” she asked as they headed for the replicator.

As Maica prattled on about some diplomatic BS, another face looked up from the other side of the room. Ensign Cho’ren was a Lagashi and had been passively sensing the various people eating. There was a familiar person though, that had just entered. Standing and walking directly towards Andy, she strode with purpose and intent, sending out a signal from her ‘cloud’ that she knew any ex-borg would receive but likely only Andy would recognize it as a Lagashi cybernetic handshake.

Andy stopped listening to Maica and turned. It seemed the whole room stopped, suspended in time for a brief moment as her mismatched eyes locked onto the Lagashi woman. Vara… Before she even realized what she was doing, her feet were carrying her towards Ensign Cho’ren. There were no words, no sign of acknowledgement, just a purposeful stride and deep burn of lustful need. As soon as Andy was in front of Vara, her hands were on the Lagashi woman, pulling her flush against her body and kissing her hard.

Vara returned the kiss passionately, years of pent up frustrations and longing put into that kiss as her hands groped Andy’s butt. This went on for what seemed like forever until time came crashing back around them at the sound of a strange sizzling noise. Not breaking the kiss, Vara peeked over Andy’s shoulder at the android. She was starting to turn purple and her eyes were almost glowing red. She wasn’t too familiar with Orions other than the pirates she had killed before joining Starfleet, but she didn’t think that was a good sign for any being… Other than an Andorian, maybe…

Upon hearing the sounds coming from her girlfriend, Andy broke contact with Vara and she looked for Maica. “Oh shit!” Andy wasn’t sure if she should fear for her own well-being, but she sure as hell was worried about Maica’s well-being. “Fuck, Maica, I can explain…” Andy started, but her mouth went dry. Was now the time to be explaining anything? Well, she needed to get Maica to calm down so she could check for any damage to her systems.

Maica was speechless and upset and a lot of other things at once. She felt like she was going to melt from all the stress. Vara couldn’t help but comment. “So Andy, you got tired of normal people and now you’re screwing an Orion? Why is she turning red like that? Isn’t their blood green?” That was the last straw for Maica, going limp and falling to the floor as all her systems performed an emergency shutdown.

Andy rushed forward, a tightness forming in her chest as she looked at the lifeless form laying before her. No, fuck no, she couldn’t be dead. “Maica, don’t do this to me, please…” she begged softly as she gathered the woman in her arms, intent on taking her to Engineering. As she rose, her eyes met Vara’s. She didn’t know what to say, but she had screwed things up bad. “I could use your help,” she said, her voice sounding raw. She had never been this choked up over anyone or anything before.

Needless to say, Vara was absolutely stunned. That was the first time she had seen someone pass out… Wait… She wasn’t sensing a pulse… Shit! Did she actually kill that girl? Her face aghast, she nodded and moved to help Andy carry her. “Shouldn’t we use a site to site transport to sickbay? She might not have much time...”

Internally, Maica’s systems were slowly rebooting and going through self diagnostics. It would be a little longer before she woke up or even restarted her pulse and breathing systems, though.

“Engineering is just around the corner,” Andy said as she headed out the door, not waiting to see if Vara would follow. She moved as fast as she could without losing her grip on Maica. Shit, she really hoped she hadn’t seriously broken her… “Wake up, Maica,” she whispered under her breath as she ran.

Vara was close behind, now also confused. “Engineering? Wait… Is she… Is she that android I’ve heard about? Shit…”

Maica’s eyes fluttered as her senses started coming back online. She could see at least. someone was carrying her through the corridor. That’s all she could see though - her eyes were all that was back online, likely due to her recent limiter removals thanks to Andy.

Andy glanced down at Maica and was relieved to see her eyes moving. Thank god, at least she wasn’t totally gone! They would see how bad everything was once they got to Engineering. They turned a corner and then they were there. Andy barked out orders as she took Maica to a lab just off the main bay, laying her on a workbench then turned to pull up the android’s schematics on the nearby terminal. Andy kept glancing back at Maica as she pulled up the specifications and any information she could find on shutting down and rebooting Maica.

“Vara, I’ll need you to relay information to me as I work,” she said as she returned to Maica’s side. She began to scan Maica, both with her built-in sensors and with a tricorder laying on the workspace, she was taking no chances. Her sensors were good, but a tricorder could perform more complicated diagnostics. “Maica, are you ok? Can you hear me?” Andy asked, worried out of her mind that Maica was already too far gone.

Vara took a position at the terminals with Maica’s schematics and glanced worriedly over both of them. She hadn’t meant to break Maica and really hoped she would be ok.

Maica on the other hand, wasn’t feeling fear or concern or really much of anything. She was processing cold hard logic and data right now. By now a few more systems were back online and though she could hear Andy, she couldn’t yet move to speak. Instead she stared emotionlessly at Andy and blinked 3 times in the hopes that was an acceptable response at the moment. Soon she would have her vocal processors back online, but for now that would have to do.

One blink was normal. Two blinks was coincidental. But three blinks was intentional. Maica was okay, even if she couldn’t speak just yet. “Good girl,” Andy said encouragingly. She checked over the diagnostics her tricorder was running. Oh, Maica… the number of fused relays… Andy had a lot of work ahead of her.

“Vara, tell me something useful,” Andy said as she grabbed at the tools in her various pockets. She started to remove Maica’s cranial plates to give her better access to the positronic pathways she needed to repair.

Vara looked over the various schematics and diagrams. “Well, her micro-fusion reactor is an older Lagashi model. If I remember right, it was discontinued for unreliable power regulation. Other than that, I don’t really know… I’m a security officer, not an engineer…”

Maica’s left hand suddenly flexed, the fingers wiggling as she regained control of it. She was having so much trouble coming back online… Her emotions were starting to return though, The first vestiges of fear running through her mind as she tried and failed to restore her own systems.

“Oh no,” Andy said as she paused in her work. Something had happened, but it was making things worse! The microcircuitry making up her brain was failing at an alarming rate! Why? What was happening that could cause- Then Andy noticed a something. It was just a flicker, but that was definitely fear in Maica’s eyes. Fear? Oh shit! “Maica, I need you to listen to me,” Andy said as she continued working as fast as she could. “Maica, I need you to calm down. I think your emotions are causing a cascade failure in your neural net, I need you to calm down so I can get you fixed.” All Andy could do now was pray that Maica could calm herself enough to do some good.

“Vara, see if you can find anything relating to emotions in her schematics. Hardware, software, location, anything!” Andy called out.

Maica did her best to calm down, trying to fight back the rising fear. She was afraid she was going to die, and with as limited as her systems were at the moment, she had a hard time fighting it back. After a few more seconds though, she remembered a way to turn them off, so she set an invasive software diagnostic to run on her emotional subroutines continuously. That did it. She was back to her cold hard logic. As she stared up from the workbench, she calculated an 83.4% chance that Andy could fully restore her to peak operating condition.

Vara, done looking through the schematics, finally had a guess. “It looks like it’s all software - part of her base programming, yet a separate set of subroutines that has… Seriously? Her emotions have root access to literally everything? Whoever designed her was either a mad genius or a moronic lunatic.”

“Worse, a Ferengi,” Andy said without pause in her work. She was barely blinking as she kept her focus on repairing one relay after another, rerouting those that were too far gone. It hurt to see Maica this way… “Ok, I need you to find a specific part and have one of the Engineers replicate it. It’s a magnetic lock relay. I’d use the ones she’s already got, but I don’t want to blind her,” Andy said somewhat cryptically.

“Blind her?” Pulling up the eye schematics, Vara pulled up the specific part and sent it to the engineering replicator herself. Checking the logs to make sure it was replicated, she noticed something else she recognized from the schematics. “She uses a ton of posit-something relays right? A whole mess of them have been in the works, it seems. Do you think they’re for her?”

“Positronics?” Andy asked in confirmation. “They’ve finished replicating her new relays? Go get them!”

Heading out of the lab, Vara headed straight to the industrial replicator and while the other part was finishing up, she grabbed the case of positronic relays off the shelf, calling out to an engineer. “Let Maica’s engineer know Andy needs these to save her life.” Not even waiting for a response, she grabbed the freshly replicated part and headed back to the lab, handing them to Andy.

“Thank you,” Andy said, relieved that something was finally working out in their favor. She set the case on the worktable and continued the repair with more fervor than before, now hopeful that all was not lost for Maica. “So, what are you doing here?” Andy asked Vara. “Last I heard, you went back to your world for a while.”

“I did. After the incident with those pirates, I had to. The cybernetic half of my brain was fried and had to be completely replaced. I still have scars on the back of my head if you want to see them.” Flipping through the schematics some more, she pulled up the cranial systems. “What about you? Interested in some more cybernetics?”

“No. You tried to peddle that shit onto me before and I turned you down then just like I am now. And don’t try to compare scars with me. You know you’ll lose,” Andy said in a curt tone. She was starting to see Maica’s point, about making upgrades for the sake of upgrades. Andy and Maica were what they were without any choice in the matter, but the Lagashi chose to enhance their bodies through cybernetics.

“Your choice. The offer of marriage still stands though, implants or not.” Vara returned with. Maica was blinking systematically, trying to get Andy to explain what was going on.

“I ain’t biting, so stop fishing,” Andy said, not noticing Maica’s blinking with so much of her focus on the repairs. “It is good to see you though. I was worried when I heard you got hurt.” And that’s all Vara would get from Andy: the kiss in the mess hall and relief. That part of her life was done, it was a closed door. Now, all she could think about was Maica.

Maica just laid there trying to process the conversation. If her emotions weren’t otherwise occupied, she would be confused and curious and likely upset again, but instead she processed the information with cold logic and came up with the most likely answer to her query - that they were former lovers and that Andy was afraid of commitment like marriage. That would be useful for later decision making.

Vara had finished her searching through the schematics and leaned back against the console. “Fair enough. I’m not quite giving up on you though. You’d be too good of a cybernetics engineer to just give up like that. Back to Maica, though. Do you think you can fix her?”

“I think I’m almost done,” Andy said. The last piece of the puzzle was the lock that she had Vara replicate. Without any way to prevent Maica’s emotions from interacting with root systems, the only option was to limit her emotions. This one lock couldn’t do much, and even if she was capable of doing so, Andy wouldn’t dare turn off Maica’s emotions completely, but maybe the lock would help create a stopgap in case of a sudden emotional surge like earlier in the mess hall. She carefully hard-coded the new function into the lock, then installed it into Maica’s positronic system.

“Maica, listen carefully,” Andy said as she found the power switch. “I’m going to restart you. When your emotions come back online, try your best to keep calm. I think I’ve got you stable, but I don’t want to risk another cascade failure.” She leaned forward to plant a kiss on Maica’s forehead, then hit the switch.

Maica blinked 3 times, a look of zen calmness in her eyes as she was shut back down. She barely had time to set an autoload on that emotional diagnostic just in case.

Andy held her breath as she counted down the second until she could switch the power back on. She was scared in ways she had never felt before. She didn’t understand it, couldn’t comprehend what it could possibly mean. All she knew is that if Maica was beyond repair… Well, she didn’t know what she would do… Her hand trembled as she flipped the switch. Then, all she could do was wait.

A few seconds after power came back on, Maica was processing. a moment after that, her whole body jerked as her power on sequence tested those systems. Her eyes opened and she stared blankly at the ceiling. Testing her voice, she spoke emotionlessly. “Have repairs been completed?”

The emotionless tone chilled Andy to her core. Had she done something wrong? “Not everything, but all vital systems should be functioning,” Andy answered stiffly. Please, Maica, please be okay in there...

“Diagnostics report 42% functionality restored. All vital mobility systems responding. Releasing diagnostic loop over emotion subroutines now.” The internal workings within her own mind not visible, Maica’s features seemingly softening and moving more organically was definitely noticeable. Blinking a few times, she smiled up at Andy and spoke with her normal emotional voice. “Now can you please explain to me why you two decided to kiss passionately in front of 32 people, one of which is your girlfriend?”

“I was an idiot, for starters,” Andy admitted right away. She was not going to mince words on that, she had been a Grade-A moron! “I’m sorry, Maica, I… We had a thing way back when and then we went our separate ways. She helped me through a really tough time in my life when I was still doubting myself, hating myself for what I had become. She offered me something I thought I needed at the time, but now… But it’s nothing now. After we split up, I heard she had got hurt, and just ‘cause we weren’t together didn’t mean I didn’t care if she was alright! When I saw her, I was just so relieved. I’m sorry I was such an idiot to act without really thinking.”

Maica smiled warmly at the explanation. “That makes sense then. Want to finish fixing me and we can all sit down to a nice lunch? I’m pretty sure I can excuse you from the rest of your shift if you need the time.”

“I’m fairly certain I’m gonna need that time just to fix you,” Andy said seriously. “But I’ll do all the overtime I have to so long as you’re alright,” she promised as she picked up her tools to get back to work. “You are alright, right?” she asked.

“I’m numb all over and my gyro-stabilizers aren’t responding, but otherwise, I think so. You installed a mag-lock override on my emotional output, I see. I doubt it’ll calm the subroutine itself, but it should at least stop it from trying to melt me again.” Glancing dizzily around the room, Maica focussed on the Lagashi woman. “It’s nice to meet you by the way. I’m Maica.”

Waving to the benched android, Vara introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Vara. Nice to meet you as well. Sorry about the stress.”

“You’re a weirdo, girly,” Andy said with a snicker and a lopsided grin as she continued replacing the damaged relays. What a woman… Stranger comes back into girlfriend’s life and the stress nearly kills her, but Maica is still is nice enough to say ‘nice to meet you.’ Weird, but that’s what made Maica, well, Maica. Andy wouldn’t have her any other way. “Now, you know what this means, right?” Andy continued. “No more emotional outbursts, which means nothing that can cause a severe rise in emotions. So no music, no sex,” she ordered bluntly.

“Right… no living life… I’ll just stick to diplomatic functions and writing reports. Pfft…” Maica was smiling teasingly as she said that. “Seriously though, I’m not finding any data in my diagnostics as to why that even happened. Any ideas?”

“Yeah-huh, like you weren’t going to have to do that stuff anyway,” Andy teased back. then she grew serious. “I have a few theories, but the one I’m leaning towards right now is that you’re developing beyond what your system is capable of handling. Add to that, the material fatigue and corrosion, it was bound to happen anyway, I just think recent developments are pushing you to that end faster.”

Closing her eyes and sighing, Maica relaxed a bit. “That makes sense. In that case… I hate to ask it, but what do you think of building a new body for me? Do you think that might be an option?”

“It’s definitely something we can discuss with Jenni,” Andy said. She wanted to tell Maica yes, that any chance to save her she would do! but she also didn’t want to give Maica any false hopes. “It’s not going to be easy, though. I had thought we could make repairs one piece at a time, and maybe we still can… But… Vara said your reactor is defective. She recognized it as a Lagashi model that had been recalled. I thought maybe we could make improvements on it without having to change it or your basic frame, but if it’s a defect… Starting from the ground up with a new body may be the only option. I’m afraid to say it, though, but I’m not sure if I can do it.”

Andy set down her tools and moved around the table so she could face Maica properly. “I know in terms of what I am and what the Lagashi are, I’m good at what I do, but I’m not at the level to do this. It’s taken Maddox years to reverse engineer the Soong-type models to create his own. The plans your creator used… they’re incomplete and hashed together using cheap parts, I’m not sure I can do what Maddox has done. I’m afraid, Maica. I almost lost you, I’m scared of losing you again. I want to fix you, but I don’t know if I can.”

Maica reached up and brushed her hand across Andy’s cheek. Tears were in her eyes again, and a loving smile on her face. “Would it be too much to tell you that I have full faith in your abilities? Between you and Jenni, I think you two could build an original Soong type android, let alone a cobbed together collection of parts like me. I love you. You’ve brought me a happiness I could never have imagined before meeting you. Even if you couldn’t do it, even if I were to have died today on this table, You’ve made my life worth living. You’ve given me the wings to be more. The fulfillment I had been missing my whole life. Thank you.”

Andy was stunned. No one had ever shown that kind of faith in her, and she didn’t know what to do with that. “I’ll try,” she said. “All I can do is promise to try. I have a few favors I can call in, see if I can get my hands on some plans from the active Maddox-type to come out of Starfleet Science. If there’s a key to fixing you in there, I’ll make it happen.”

Maica smiled warmly up at Andy. “That’s all I ask. My life is in your hands, but if all else fails, can you at least transfer me to the holodeck? My software should be compatible.”

“Right, because your core personality is a holomatrix… Maybe I can make use of your copy in that one program to help me run simulations on new positronics,” Andy mused. Already, ideas were forming, Maica could read it in her eyes. “I’m sorry I did this to you,” she said with more than a hint of regret. Andy knew her systems were unstable, know intense emotions were making things worse, she shouldn’t have done something so stupid!

“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, I’d be perfectly happy if I had died in your arms tonight. It must have been something you said earlier, but that’s how I feel. You gave an android wings.” Maica did her best to smooth over Andy’s regrets. “Besides, now you can upgrade and rebuild your sex doll to your heart’s content.”

Andy laughed, but it was sad and bittersweet. “I know I can get carried away when talking about repairs, but this ain’t exactly how I wanted it…” Right now, Andy would give anything to take back the last couple of hours, to put Maica back to working condition without this experience. But that’s not how things were now, Andy had to adapt, had to learn from this. At least Maica had taken something from this experience. “I want you, not a sex doll.”

“Then you’ll have me. You already captured my soul. Fuck, you’ve proven I HAVE a soul. As far as I’m concerned, I’m yours for the rest of time. I love you with all of my micro-fusion generator. Even if it is faulty...” Normally, she would say heart, but in this case, since that was where her heart was, she hoped Andy would at least laugh at the small joke.

“Weirdo,” Andy grumbled, trying to brush off all the sappy emotions so she could continue repairing Maica. She certainly didn’t want Maica to think she was shutting her out, but she just didn’t know how to deal with these deeper emotions.

Tired of just watching, Vara piped up with one of her normally observant quips. “Don’t worry about her, Maica. She doesn’t deal well with mushy stuff. Or cute. Or romance. Hell, our most romantic encounter she wore combat boots and a tricorder to bed.”

Maica had to laugh at that, since she knew that was most likely the plain and simple truth. She couldn’t help but try to bring out Andy’s girly side, even if she refused to admit she had one. And if that failed, she was fine with being the ultra feminine one in the relationship. “You know, I’m not at all surprised.”

“Shaddup, both of you!” Andy said, turning a lovely shade of red. She had no problem making out with someone who had essentially become a complete stranger in front of the rest of the crew, but she was embarrassed about swapping ‘romantic’ stories.

Vara put her hands up in defeat. “Ok ok, I know when you’ve hit your limits. I must say though, you have gotten a bit more mushy yourself. Apparently someone’s actually wormed their way into your heart.” Moving closer and looking into Andy’s eyes, she could at least guess who. “The way you look at Maica here, I’d say she’s a good influence on you.”

Andy diverted her eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Don’t I? We were dating for how long before you talked me into joining Starfleet full time?” Vara pushed. She knew she shouldn’t have, but she wanted to see just how much softer Maica had made her.

Maica on the other hand was getting worried. “Oh my… Please both of you… Vara, you’re making Andy uncomfortable. I don’t want her crying, ok?”

“Oh, so I’m a crybaby now?” Andy retorted, a bit harsher than she meant to be, but it couldn’t be helped. Vara knew how to push her buttons. “I ain’t a wuss, and Vara, I never talked you into nothing you weren’t already willing to do. Starfleet was your choice and I think you’re just bitter I didn’t follow you.”

Vara had to relent at that point. ”That’s true enough. Being a Lagashi security augment for Starfleet didn’t pay much and I have a family to support. At least now they get full benefits and stuff from the Federation-Lagashi workforce agreements.”

“I ain’t marrying into your family just to help support them. I don’t care what you say, you can just stop now and save yourself the trouble. In fact, get out of here, your assistance is no longer required,” Andy said firmly.

“Fine, fine… I didn’t propose again, but I’ll leave. Nevermind our 3 starving children. Maica, look me up later when you’re feeling better. I’d like to get to know you better. I might even be able to get ahold of a new reactor for you, if you don’t mind. In the mean time, I’ll head back to my now cold tomato soup. Tasted like red jell-o…” Vara muttered under her breath some more as she headed out of the lab.

Red jell-o? Just one more thing to add to Andy’s ever-growing to-do list… The ex-Borg woman remained silent as she continued working on Maica, repairing and swapping out for parts they had available. After a while, the silence became unbearable, Andy just had to say something.

“I ain’t gonna tell you who you can and cannot see socially, just promise me you’ll be careful around her,” Andy said quietly. “And don’t take anything she offers you. I don’t want either of us to be in her debt; I don’t doubt for a second that she would use you to get to me.”

“She seemed nice enough, but you know her best, and based on the reports I’ve read on the Lagashi, I don’t doubt what you’re saying. I promise I’ll be careful. If I do accept her offer of a reactor, though… I’ll be sure to pay her back equally out of my own resources.” Maica was only vaguely aware of how conniving Lagashi could be, but she had heard they were almost as bad as Ferengi at times.

“No, not even that… Even if you pay in full, she’ll still find a way to guilt us. Just don’t… I want your new body to be as much a Starfleet creation as possible, that way you’d be protected by Starfleet laws. You’d technically be Starfleet property, but I’d rather that then your Ferengi creator trying to come back and reclaim his rights to you. At least as Starfleet property, you’d retain all rights of autonomy granted in the past.” And since Andy wasn’t technically Starfleet as a non-com, she could make claims of ownership to further protect Maica’s rights.

“My academy dissertation was on non-biological life forms and their rights within the Federation. I’m aware of how that all works. I just have to pass sentience tests, basically.” It was a bit of a sour subject for Maica. The Federation treated androids as a normal sentient being for all intensive purposes, but they could demand a lot of her if they so chose...

“Yeah, and I believe you could pass a sentience test in a heartbeat, but your body can’t. Technically, you and your body are separate entities because you’re a holomatrix.” Andy would do what she could to try to fix that as well. “Just don’t accept anything from her. It don’t matter if it’s Lagashi tech or not, who knows how many hands its passed through, if it was acquired legitimately, I don’t wanna take any chances.”

“Once a customer, always a customer, huh? Ok my love. For you I promise not to.” Maica smiled up at her lover as she continued her repairs.

“Thank you,” Andy said. She was worried Vara might still try to find ways to interfere, but she would jump off that bridge when they got there. Wait, that wasn’t right… “How are you feeling? I think I’m about ready to close you up,” Andy said.

“It still feels like the room is spinning. My gyro-stabilizer is responding, but I don’t think it’s working right…” Maica replied.

“Everything looks fine here. Run a diagnostic to see if it was damaged during the overload or if I missed something in your head,” Andy suggested.

“The diagnostic checks out fine… It just keeps pointing ‘up’ in random directions. Do you mind pulling out my left eye to look at it?” Maica was getting dizzier and the only thing helping was that she was staying still.

“I’m on it,” Andy said, shifting her position so she could get a better angle on Maica’s eye. “You want me to disable your visual input? That might help with the disorientation.”

“No, I’ll be fine. The left eye has a wireless adapter so my software has a subroutine to adapt for that. Heck, you could show me what i look like, if you wanted.” Giggling, maica smiled goofily at the attempt at a joke.

“Weirdo…” Andy slowly removed the eye and pulled it aside to give her access to the gyro-stabiliser. “I see the problem… Looks like corrosion on the connections. I think we have what I need to fix it somewhere around here…” Andy left Maica’s side to go look for a cleaner that could remove the corrosion. “Hey, tell me something about yourself,” Andy asked awkwardly. “It just feels weird to see you like this, I feel like I should know you, you, better.”

“Something about myself… Well, I’m 9 years old. I never went through the normal ‘growing up’ phase most androids do since I had all I supposedly needed overlaid on top of my software.” Pausing a moment, Maica’s voice took on a softer tone. This was a memory she didn’t like remembering. “During my escape, I made it to a shuttle. I had evaded my Nausicaan ‘caretaker’ but when I was prepping for launch, he caught up with me. There was a bit of a fight. Somehow he ripped my arm off.” She had to pause a moment, taking a deep breath. “If I had instincts, that’s what took over at that point. I was filled with rage and hatred. Neither are part of my programming, but i felt them none the less. I overloaded my reactor and rolled onto my missing shoulder, the open connection making contact with the deck plating. After 2.3 seconds he was dead. 14.9 seconds after that he was sizzling and popping, his skin turning black.”

“Yummy,” Andy said as she returned with the cleaning solvent. “This is probably gonna feel really weird, alright?” Andy said as she carefully removed the gyro-servo, then began to work the solvent on the contacts. “And I didn’t mean to share all that, I know it was probably hard for you. I just meant… I dunno, your favorite color or some shit like that.”

“Ah… Well then… Purple. It was one of the reasons I chose diplomat over counsellor.” Maica replied sheepishly.

“You’re a nutcase, you know that!” Andy said with a chuckle.

“Because I chose my life long career based on the color of the uniform? I hadn’t worn clothes before joining Starfleet. I wanted to wear something pretty.” She tried to explain.

“Fair enough,” Andy replied. “But you know some COs allow their counselors to wear civilian attire? You could have worn anything you wanted if you played your cards right.”

“True, but I fell in love with the dress uniform. It’s like it symbolized everything I wanted to become. Besides that, I’ve collected more alcohol for free than my creator could buy and keep in his own reserves.” Maica quipped back.

“Ain’t that a kicker!” Andy laughed. “Getting more for free than he can keep with his frugality. Just goes to prove how pants-on-head retarded the Ferengi are.” Andy finished cleaning the contacts on the servo and the connection ports inside Maica’s head, then she carefully reinserted the gyro-stabilizer. “There, any better?” she asked.

Moving her head experimentally, Maica nodded and pointed towards the ceiling. “That’s up.”

“Brilliant.” Andy smirked as she started putting Maica back together, setting her eye back in place and reattaching the cranial plates. “We’re gonna have to have a long talk with Jenni about the game plan to fix you,” she said as she offered Maica a hand to sit up.

Taking the hand, Maica sat up and reoriented herself. “Definitely. Want me to run a full diagnostic?”

“Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Andy said, scratching the back of her head in thought. “But if you wanna hold off and wait ‘till later, I think you’ll be alright. A full check could run for a while, so I wouldn’t blame you if you just wanted to wait on that for a bit.”

“No, I’ll run it now.” Looking a bit distant, Maica again spoke emotionlessly. “Please stand by. Optimum performance levels. 98.2% of full operational capacity. Core temp at 26C. All systems report functional.” Snapping back to reality Maica smiled at Andy. “See there? You’re quite amazing at what you do.”

“Just flying by the seat of my pants,” Andy said as she found a cable to hook Maica up to the computer. “Making it all up as I go along. Go back to your diagnostics mode, I want the computer to give you a good once over just to double check and map out area of priority repair needs.”

“I’ll switch to non-invasive diagnostics then. That way you don’t look at me like that again…” Maica replied.

“Whatever works for you,” Andy said as she uncovered the port on Maica’s cranial plates and connected the cable. “Just that first time bothered me ‘cause I thought I had lost you.”

“This smile has a copyright on it. Remember it.” Maica smiled her warmest smile, her eyes locking with Andy’s. “As long as you remember that smile, I’ll always be with you no matter how far apart we are, ok?”

Andy smiled weakly in response, connecting the cable to the computer terminal, then activated the diagnostic.

TBC in part 2

“This smile has a copyright on it. Remember it.” Maica smiled her warmest smile, her eyes locking with Andy’s. “As long as you remember that smile, I’ll always be with you no matter how far apart we are, ok?”

Andy smiled weakly in response, connecting the cable to the computer terminal, then activated the diagnostic.

=/\= “Lieutenant Matthews, please report to Engineering lab 2,” Andy requested with a tap to her communicator.

The day, to say the least, had been quite dull, the type of day that was best relieved by a round with the strings of her violin. Jenni had been in her quarters for only a moment, just long enough to pick up the violin and tap the bow to the strings when her badge chirped with the communique. She did not reply immediately, instead wishing to be done with duty for the day, but there was something... unusual... with Andy's tone. Jenni stared for a moment at her reflection in the mirror, as if she was telling herself she could come to regret not answering the call.

Jenni returned the violin to the case and closed it before tapping her own badge. "On my way," she said.

It didn't take long to navigate the corridors and arrive inside Lab Two. Jenni instantly spotted Maica hooked up to a console, as well as Andy. She couldn't help but say, "What the hell is going on here?" Then, looking at Andy, she added, "Is she ok?"

"There was an incident," Andy said guiltily. Shit, she shoulda called for Jenni sooner, had her helping with the repairs, but done was done; the best they could do was explain what happened. "She shut down to save her vital systems from damage, but her positronic system was almost damaged beyond repair. I think I got her set to rights, but I'm doing an intensive diagnostic of her now, just to be sure."

Waving and smiling a bit like a little kid, Maica greeted Jenni. "Hey Jenni. Sorry about all this. I would have called myself, but..." Motioning to the hookups, Maica continued. "I'm a bit occupied. Glad to be moving though."

Jenni looked at Maica, then at Andy. Then back at Maica again. What was done was done and it would not do good now to argue. What mattered was making sure Maica would be fine. Jenni crossed her arms and walked over to look over Andy's shoulder at the diagnostic. "How bad was the damage?" she asked, wondering how quickly she'd have to advance her timetable for building the rest of Maica's replacement components.

"It's bad..." Andy said, pinching the bridge of her nose to fight back the emotions welling up inside of her. A lot of it was guilt for having caused this predicament, but the rest was fear of losing Maica. "She's functional now, and so long as she doesn't do anything to stress herself, she should be able to perform her duties like normal, but she's reached a critical point." Andy ran through the list of issues she encountered earlier, the failing positronic network, the discovery that Maica's emotional state was tied directly into her system's root commands causing the positronic relays to burn out, the defect in the reactor, and a whole slew of other issues they were discovering in the diagnostic readout. It felt strange, even to Andy, to one moment be so emotional to then go on rattling off this information so dispassionately, but she was serious and focused when she was working. "She's reached the end of the line, repairs will only delay the inevitable. We need to build her a new body."

Maica didn't say anything. She just sat there, looking over her hands. She was doing her best not to let her emotions get to her, but after hearing that whole list like that, it was hard not to cry.

Jenni did not reply. She agreed completely with Andy's conclusions, but even she didn't want to admit it. Jenni looked over at Maica and walked over to visually inspect her cranial plates. Maica had a smell, a smell very much alike that of fried circuits. Jenni made eye contact with Maica and flashed her trademark smile. There was so much to do, and Jenni could see the fear built up in those eyes. "It's going to be okay," she said softly and confidently, reaching out and grabbing Maica's hand.

Still smiling, Jenni walked back over to Andy. Their first encounter had not started well, and Jenni needed to do everything she could now to eliminate whatever tension had built between the two. The writing was on the wall and Maica needed all of the help she could get. "Let's talk outside for a moment, Andy," she said very gently.

Before following Jenni out of the lab, Andy brushed the backs of her metallic fingers against Maica's cheek. "Hey girl, no tears. We'll take care of you," she said with a tenderness that surprised even her. "I'll be right back, I promise." With that, she followed Jenni out of the lab to face what was coming.

"Look, Lieutenant, I'm sure you've got a load of things to say to me," Andy started right off, "And frankly, I deserved it. But nothing you can say can compare to the fear of thinking I'd lost her, or the guilt of knowing I was the one that nearly done her in. I know I messed up."

Jenni's smile had disappeared the moment the door closed and her arms returning to their crossed position. She did have a lot of things to say to Andy, and maybe when this was all over, she'd let her have it. "Okay, she needs a new body. You realize that's not exactly something we can build in a day, even with both of our teams going at full tilt."

"Forget the manpower, where the hell do we even start?!" Andy countered. "We don't have the plans she was built from, all we know is the end result, and we can't use that as a basis since we've seen how well that's working out. We'll have to start damn near from scratch. I know there's a Maddox-type built in service that was built by Maddox based on the Soong-type androids, but who knows if we'd be able to get our hands on his plans and schematics. Even if we did, there's no way to know if her holomatrix would be compatible." Andy wasn't normally a doom-sayer, but the situation did seem pretty bleak. Her earlier statement to Jenni that she could compartmentalize was biting her in the ass; Andy was getting too emotional and as such she couldn't see a way out of this.

Jenni sighed. They were too far away now in the Gamma Quadrant to get anything, especially schematics, in time. "The good news," she said, placing a hand on Andy's shoulder, "is that she's stable. For now. Worst case scenario, surely we can dump her mind into one of the Holodecks and let it run until we get the new body up and running."

Then Jenni smiled. "I might not be an expert with cybernetics, but I can surely build anything that has a diagram. At least we've got those. If you can help with some of the design work, I think we can get a new body up and running in no time."

Andy nodded. Knowing Jenni was probably furious that she had caused this turn of events, Andy was surprised that Jenni was offering a gesture of comfort. But it was welcome and appreciated. "I had considered the holodeck idea as well. I know she has a... I don't if it's an outright copy or if it's some sort of back-up, but she has a program that she's in. This copy seems self-aware, even enough to know that she needed to be updated. I think once the diagnostic is done, I'm going to take her to the holodeck to back up her holomatrix, and she should probably continue to do that regularly, just in case."

"I'll start looking at what information we have on file in terms of androids and cybernetics," Andy said a moment's pause. She was basically being put into a position where she had to become an expert overnight, and that was a lot to ask for! If she had to, she would assimilate the information directly, but she was going to have one hell of a headache in the morning... "I'll reach out to the Science department too. We'll have to get something started soon, she doesn't have a lot of time to waste."

"Agreed." Jenni looked back at the closed door, considering what she could do at the moment. "I'll work on that reactor and see what I can do with the other mechanics to hold her together for now. In the meantime, you have to keep her safe. Whatever it takes."

"Yeah," Andy said quietly. "I'll do what I can. I just feel so helpless... I can only imagine how she feels, though."

On the other side of the door, Maica couldn't help but hear their entire conversation. She couldn't help but feel worse as they talked, but for them at least, she would stay strong and be brave. She also wouldn't let on that she can hear halfway across the deck. They had gone out of the room to discuss things and that was good bedside manners as far as she was concerned. She just had to keep her faith in both of them and expect them to work miracles.

"We better get back in there," Jenni said softly. If they stayed out in the corridor any longer, Maica was likely to suspect something.

Andy could only nod, doing as her superior suggested and entered the room. Maica seemed none the wiser, but maybe if Andy hadn't been so distracted then she would have remembered how they had met: Maica had heard her playing the violin from across the corridor! But that fact had slipped her mind, so she remained oblivious to the fact that Maica might have heard everything she had discussed with Jenni.

"Alright, girl, you look good," Andy said as she checked over the diagnostic readouts and disconnected Maica from the computer. "Lets get you out of here."

Hopping off the bench, Maica smiled the best she could muster. "Thanks. Where to?"

"Holodeck. We're gonna back you up just in case something bad happens again," Andy said. "Then maybe we can grab something to eat since we missed out 'date' in the mess hall."

"Yeah, I was really looking forward to that too." Maica pouted. "I love spending time with you, but having you hip deep in rebuilding my brain isn't very romantic."

"I don't know, I think your brain is kinda sexy," Andy said, just to get a reaction out of Maica.

Picking up one of her melted parts from the bench, Maica eyed it. "Well, it would have to be pretty hot to do this..."

What a sense of humor! Best girlfriend ever! "Weirdo," Andy said with a snicker. She put an arm around Maica and took her from Engineering. Hopefully, they could figure out something to fix Maica soon.

TBC in part 3

Heading to the holodeck with Andy, maica considered several things and spoke about them out loud, her musings more for Andy’s sake than her own. “If we’re making a full backup, I’ll need to be scanned fully and replicated like i did with my clone. I programmed her by hand so i cut a lot of corners. My software doesn’t have any visual data so I’ll need that, hence the scanning… You’ll have to disconnect the main interface since the diagnostic port probably won’t handle the transfer. It wouldn’t before. That’ll effectively kill my access to my body until you plug that back in. I suppose you know of a better way of copying my data over, though…” She prattled on like that the whole way, obviously nervous but doing her best to be cheery and upbeat about it.

Andy wasn’t able to be nearly as cheery or ubpeat, not that she was ever cheery or upbeat in the first place, but she could try (and fail miserably) for Maica’s sake. “The scan is nothing, won’t hardly take any time at all. I’ll see if there’s anything I can do to fix your data port to handle the transfer; I don’t like the idea of disconnecting you from your body like that.” her voice was slightly strained. She was trying her best to not get emotional, but it was so hard. On the one hand, she wanted to go find Vara and hit her a few times for inciting the ‘event’ that cause this problem, but on the other hand she just wanted to hold Maica for a while, shutting out the ‘verse so she could just be with her.

They arrived at the holodeck, and Andy input a long sequence of commands, a combination of high level Starfleet encryption as well as Borg algorithms to protect the data from ever being violated. She wasn’t taking any chances with this back-up she was making. They entered the holodeck, finding it set up like a cybernetics lab. They didn’t have a cybernetics lab, so Andy planned on working here as often as she could. She found a chair and motioned for Maica to sit, her voice caught in her throat for a brief moment.

“Alright, lets get this done,” she said when she finally swallowed the lump in her throat.

Sitting in the chair indicated, Maica looked around with a strained smile. “This looks just like the lab the Starfleet engineers and intel agents investigated me in. Well, a few things are missing but I don’t expect every lab to be the same… Everything will be ok though. I know it will be.”

“If you’re uncomfortable here, I can change the setting. I can make it look like the lab in Engineering if that would be easier on you,” Andy offered as she uncovered the data port and began investigating why Maica said it wouldn’t be able to handle the transfer load.

“No, that’s ok. It’s a familiar sight and that does help a bit. Good luck with the diagnostic port - my creator had to cobble it in through my universal translator. It’s good for diagnostics, but raw data out of my core… That’s what concerns me… He didn’t want people tampering with his property…” Maica looked around, remembering most of the larger devices scattered about.

“I can see that,” Andy murmured in reply. “I still can’t tell if that was a genius or dumb-ass thing to do. Even given his motives for making you tamper-proof, I’m leaning towards dumb-ass.” Andy poked around a bit longer before coming to a conclusion: “Well, i have good news and I have bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

“If the bad news is that he was a dumb-ass, I’ll go with that first.” Maica replied.

“You make an excellent point, but no, that’s not it,” Andy said. “Bad news is, you’re right, this port cannot handled the transfer load of a back-up as it is currently configured. The good news is, I think I can move the port to make it capable of handling your back-ups. More bad news, I wouldn’t want to try that without backing you up first, so this time I’ll have to disconnect the main interface. Sorry,” she offered weakly. She moved to set up a worktable to put Maica on for this first backup.

“May I make a request then?” Maica pleaded. ”If you leave my core online during that backup, can you see if you can reroute at least my speech synthesis, hearing, and visual processes to something that’ll stay online so I don’t go crazy inside my own mind. Sensory deprivation sucks.”

“Does your core have to be online for this backup or can you be powered down for it?” Andy asked. “I just ask because awareness can impede the process, make it take longer. If I can just turn you off for a little while and get it all done without any time passing for you, then all the better.”

Maica wondered about that herself. “I honestly don’t know. I didn’t see it in my manual, though I barely understand half of what it says… I may be able to report diagnostics and hardware statistics, but I really don’t know what I’m talking about beyond the little help blurbs written about them in my diagnostic programs...”

“Don’t worry about it, then,” Andy said as she offered Maica a hand to help her up onto the worktable. “As for leaving your senses intact, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. Believe me when I say I understand your apprehension about sensory deprivation, but the less engaged your core is, the faster it will go.” It felt so mean to tell her that. She was more than just a machine getting a data back-up, she was a person, and she deserved better than to be aware of the nothingness she would be suspended in. “The best I can do is to leave your hearing online. I’ll talk to you, even play some music for you. Is that acceptable?”

Maica considered that for a little while, a pout on her lips and her brow scrunched up. “No, if you think it best to leave everything offline, that’s what needs to be done.” She wasn’t looking forward to it and though she didn’t like the idea of the whole process, it was what was needed. “You’re the doctor and I’m your patient right now. If you say it’ll be ok and that’s how it needs to be done, then that’s how it is.”

“Just know, I don’t enjoy doing this to you, in fact I hate it, but it needs to be done. Is there anything else I can do so make this easier for you?” Andy asked as she finished gathering what she would need to do this.

“There is. Tell me you love me and you’ll be here when it’s done.” Maica was dead serious about that. If she knew her lover would be there when all was said and done, she figured she could last an eternity or twelve stuck in her own mind.

Andy narrowed her eyes at Maica. That was a dirty trick! “Where else would I be?” Andy asked seriously. Where did Maica expect her to go? And to ask her to say she loved her, that felt low. Two days might have been sufficient for Maica to fall in love, but Andy still had a human heart that needed time to come to the conclusion Maica had already reached. She cupped Maica’s cheeks with the gentlest of touch despite her stern demeanor. “I’m not going anywhere, Maica,” she promised her.

Maica smiled her warmest smile and brushed the back of her fingers across Andy’s cheek softly. It wasn’t quite what she asked for, but it told her exactly what she needed to know. “Thank you.”

Andy kissed her softly, the briefest contact, just a gentle brush of her lips against Maica’s, then she helped the Android lay down so she could get this over with. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

Laying down, Maica was now ready. “I am too.” She replied quietly. Closing her eyes, she waited.

Andy swiftly removed the cranial plates to access Maica’s main interface, disconnecting her from all sensory input. Minutes later, Andy had the android hooked up to the computer and began the backup, which it needed little oversight to complete. Since Andy would just be twiddling her thumbs for a few minutes otherwise, she grabbed the holorecorder and began to take scans of Maica’s body. The scan would also prove useful when designing Maica’s new body, but for now it was just a temporary home for the back-up. The computer gave an alert when the back-up was complete and Andy was quick to restored Maica’s sensory inputs.

Alone inside her head, Maica did her best not to think. She counted the nanoseconds as they ticked by, waiting until she could see Andy again. Eventually her wait was over - her senses were being reconnected and she could move and everything. her eyes fluttering open, she whispered up at Andy with a mischievous grin. “Aren’t you supposed to wake the princess with a kiss?”

“You’re a brat, you know that?” Andy quipped in return. She put everything back into place, then began to load the scans she took. “Computer, load scans and overlay with Maica’s back-up core,” Andy ordered. The computer chirped and a moment later another Maica appeared standing next to them.

“Aren’t you supposed to wake the princess with a kiss?” the back-up Maica asked Andy with a mischievous grin.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be shitting me,” Andy grumbled.

The original Maica could only laugh at that while her backup stood there confused. “That means the backup worked. I planned on saying that as soon as I woke up and was the last thought copied. I hope you don’t mind.”

“You better not say that every time I wake your ass up,” Andy said to the back-up. “If you would, run a diagnostic. I need to be sure everything is consistent with the original.”

Both Maicas started their diagnostic and started emotionlessly reporting the full results in sync with each other word for word. Every last detail was the same all the way down to operational ticks.

“That was fucking creepy,” Andy groused. “I hope you know, this is going to haunt my nightmares.” But the words had no real bite, she was just complaining for the sake of complaining, but she was pleased with the results. She made logs of everything to document their progress. “Alright, weirdo, I know I technically just woke you, but are you ready to go back to sleep?” she asked the back-up.

The backup Maica looked confused and a bit worried at that question. “Wait… She’s the one on the bench… That means she’s the original, right? I’m the holographic backup? Will you be shutting down the whole program or tinkering inside of me?”

“What, you’d think I’d leave you in here aware of the passage of time? I’d shut you down completely. You are currently a file to be saved. The next time I have to access you, it will be as though no time has passed,” Andy assured the back-up, then looked over to Maica on the table. “Remember this for next time so your back-up doesn’t freak out when I have to do an update.”

The backup looked a bit crestfallen. “Well, that does make sense. I’ll still miss you, my love.”

The real Maica sighed heavily. “Yeah she’s a perfect backup. Even my love for you is copied. That brings up some questions I need to ask you later…”

“Just ask them now so I don’t have to go through them a second time if I ever have to wake your backup,” Andy said as she made some notations in the logs.

Sitting up on the table, Maica spoke with a bit of a catch in her voice. “If you can copy me so exactly, am I still a unique being? I mean, with what you just did, you could almost mass produce me down to my memories… What then makes me any different from her? With my original clone, I didn’t copy everything and I left a lot of things as they originally were before i joined Starfleet… But the backup you just made… Sorry… I guess I’m having an identity crisis.”

The backup Maica nodded at that. “I too would like to know… Other than the past few minutes and me being holographically produced...”

“Fuck me,” Andy said as she hopped up on the workbench to sit beside Maica. Damn, she just had to ask the really tough questions, didn’t she? “Someone once told me that we are who we are in the moment. Our past may have helped to shape us, but ultimately who we are is in the moment. I don’t know how true that is, but maybe it’s relevant here. You can’t say “other than the past few minutes” because those past few minutes have helped to shape and define you both. In those few minutes, the experiences helped your backup to acknowledge and accept that she was not the original. Already, there is a difference, a very fundamental difference in your way of thinking. It only took minutes, but it was enough for you both.”

“The biggest difference, obviously, is that one of you can walk out of this door and one of you can’t. And how does that stop someone from making a bunch of copies and putting you into different bodies? Well, it doesn’t, except for the heavy encryption I put on this program to prevent that. But in the event it happened, so what? You and all your copies would still know which one was the original, which sets you apart. Then from each moment onward, you’re making new decisions, facing new experiences. You may start off identical, but you may end up differently for different reasons. I guess that’s one of the great things about the uncertainty of the future is it’s anyone’s guess how any of us will turn out. Each moment, we’re changing, and if there was ever more than one of you, there’s no guarantee that you would ever stay identical.

“But most importantly, is without a real body, your backup is actually less stable than you are. Think about it: she’s nothing but data on a computer, projected through a holodeck, creating a body that houses a holosuite program that is running your core holomatrix. that’s a house of cards, girly, which is why we will only access her when absolutely necessary to prevent any degradation to the personality and memory files, which will begin to occur if I don’t shut her down soon.” Andy hoped her explanation made sense, but she was glad she got this over with now rather than waiting. She didn’t know if she could explain it a second time if her backup asked it later.

Maica leaned against Andy tenderly, nodding at the explanation. “That makes some sense to me. It also tells me why Data tried to create a daughter that was different from himself. To reproduce based on his own design, but letting her choose everything about her own life based on her own experiences and values built in her short existence.”

The backup Maica had flopped down in a chair halfway through Andy’s explanation and looked on the verge of tears. She was making a valiant effort of keeping herself together, but it was clear that though she was a backup, she couldn’t just ignore her feelings. Thus her next words being so different from the original’s. “I’d rather not be running right now. If you’re done with me for now, that is.”

“Hey,” Andy said, reaching out to stroke the backup’s cheek. “You knew this was inevitable. But if it makes you feel any better, I’ll shut down all future backups as soon as the initial diagnostics are complete to save you this confusion. the less you experience independently of your original, the easier the transition will be.” It was a cold comfort, she knew, but it was all Andy could offer. “And I am sorry.”

The backup looked up at Andy, barely holding the tears back. “I know. I expected something like this to happen but the reality of it is causing severe emotional instabilities in my software. To prevent it from happening to other backups, definitely shut them down fast. Don’t give them a chance to experience… This…”

Andy nodded as she rose to her feet, grabbing a tool and walking behind the back-up. She felt rotten for what she was about to do, but it needed to be done… “I promise,” she said softly, leaning down to brush her lips against the hologram’s forehead. She found the switch to turn off the back-up, then quickly ran the tool over the forehead to isolate and delete the memory engrams for the last few minutes. “Computer, deactivate Macia back-up and save all files.”

As the backup was shut down and vanished, Maica couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. The copy may have acted out of its own divergent experiences, but Maica knew that that was how she would have reacted had she been the backup.

Taking a moment to settle herself, Maica spoke somberly. “That’s definitely something I’ll remember. Hopefully we won’t need to make too many backups like that.”

“Hopefully,” Andy said in agreement. “C’mon, I’ll take you home,” she said quietly. “Actually, you’re staying with me tonight,” the ex-drone corrected herself. “I want to keep an eye on you, keep you near. I’d stay with you, but I swap between sleep and regeneration and tonight is a regeneration night, so that means you’re coming to my quarters tonight.”

Nodding silently, Maica hopped off the bench and headed towards the holodeck door. “Do you mind if we stop by my quarters to get something first then?”

“Of course,” Andy said. With a hand at the small of Maica’s back, they walked out of the holodeck together. Andy paused at the door to add another level of encryption to the program as she saved it, then they continued on to Maica’s quarters. “I’m sorry if that upset you,” Andy said.

“No more than the rest of the day, I think.” Maica replied. She was a lot less talkative than she usually was. It was strange. Normally she would have prattled on for some time, but now she just wanted to brood over her own thoughts. It may not have been healthy, but she rationalized it as needing to process recent happenings and come to an understanding with them.

Andy cast Maica a suspicious glance. They may have known each other for only a couple of days, but even Andy could see that this quietness was unusual for Maica. Andy hated being pried for information, so she sure as hell wasn’t going to start weedling for Maica’s thoughts. But she was concerned for how the android was doing. that exchange in the holodeck, it really shook her. Jenni had asked Andy to keep Maica safe, but right now, she didn’t feel she was doing a very good job. With a heavy sigh, Andy put an arm around Maica and pulled her close as they walked. It was all she could do to offer a bit of comfort without saying anything.

Maica smiled a bit as she pressed closer to Andy, her close hand wrapping around the other woman’s waist. This was comforting. If she could spend some time like this with Andy, she figured she could get through things just fine. “Thank you.”

A short while later, they were at Maica’s quarters. Andy urged Maica on gently. “Don’t take too long, I’ve got some research I need to do and I better start sooner rather than later.”

“I won’t.” Stepping into her quarters, she left the door open as she looked around for what she was looking for. She could have grabbed her lyre or holopicture projector or a bottle, but instead, she went to her bedroom and dug under the bed for several PaDDs she had buried in there. These were the copies of the design notes she had memorized before she had escaped. He had collected a lot of different schematics before trying to create her so she hoped these would help Andy and Jenni. She had left his name in the log details for some reason - hopefully neither of them would share that name with anyone…

Clutching her precious loot to her chest, Maica nodded to Andy as she came out of her quarters, the door closing behind her. “Ok, I’m ready.”

“Is that it?” Andy asked when she saw Maica’s haul. “Figured you’d grab clothes or something…” But she wasn’t going to complain.

“No, just the maintenance logs and original plans for everything I was built from… Should I get some clothes as well?” Maica asked, barely hanging onto all the PaDDs as it were.

“You can borrow something of mine if you want,” Andy said with a noncommittal shrug. “C’mon.” Her arm went around Maica again and then they were on their way. “So, you have your original plans? That’ll help a lot.”

“Yeah, I figured it was time to pull them out of hiding.” Pressing her shoulder to Andy’s Maica walked with her back to her quarters. “Please don’t tell anyone the name of my creator though…”

“Why would I go and do something like that?” Andy asked, giving Maica a comforting squeeze. “You ain’t the only one with secrets, girl. We all are hiding from something…” They arrived at Andy’s quarters and she let them in. Andy relieved Maica of her PaDDs and headed for the replicator. Loading herself up with coffee and unhealthy snack foods, she went to her desk to get to work.

Maica followed Andy to the replicator, getting a cool glass of water for herself. “I’m pretty sure the scans for all the androids in the Federation as well as a few encountered elsewhere are in there in at least partial form.” Sitting on the couch, she hugged one of the throw pillows to herself, till trying to work through things.

“Mhmm,” Andy replied distractedly as she began scrounging through Katana’s database for any relevant information on androids and cybernetics. After a while, she reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a block-like object and set it near her desk terminal. Her expression grew hard and cold, but she said nothing as she continued collecting information.

Oh my… That was something that Maica had seen in training only, if it was what she thought it was. She wanted to ask Andy about it, but saw the look on her face and decided against it, returning to her own thoughts. She was definitely impressed that there was one on board, though she wondered why and what was on it.

Andy worked quietly for a while, absorbed in her research. She wasn’t really taking much in at the moment, that would come later. Right now, she was just looking for as much data as possible. She only wanted to do this once… Eventually, she broke the silent by putting on some music. She didn’t know what Maica liked other than their own music, but surely she wouldn’t mind Simon and Garfunkel?

“How are you doing over there?” she asked Maica after a while.

Not responding immediately, Maica looked up. “Well enough, I suppose. May I ask what you’re going to do with that Borg data node?”

“I’m gonna use it to take in all this information,” Andy replied. “It could take me weeks to go through all this and make something useful from it. We don’t have that kind of time.” She was loading everything she could find, including all the data Maica had given her, onto the node. She could link with it directly with her assimilation tubules, but Andy didn’t have the necessary know-how to control the flow of information, so she would be hooking it to her alcove to absorb the information overnight. “I don’t like using it, I don’t like the way it makes me feel to take in information this way, but we don’t have a whole lot of options at this point.”

Nodding silently, Maica got up from the couch and walked behind Andy, draping her arms around her. “Thank you. I hope it all makes sense. I can’t help but worry though. It won’t hurt you right?”

“It’s a lot of information… I might get a headache in the morning, but it won’t actually hurt me,” Andy assured Maica. “Don’t worry, I’m willing to do this, but only for you.”

Kissing Andy on the cheek, Maica picked up one of the PaDDs she had brought and held it up so both of them could see it. “This is his log entry bragging about how he conned someone for that reactor. Bastard…”

“Nothing will be illegally or unrightfully obtained in your new body. We will not skimp on anything. You deserve better than all that mess,” Andy said as she glossed over the log Maica was showing her. Fagar? What the fuck kind of name was Fagar? Definitely a Ferengi name, no doubt about it.

“Also, if it helps any, the Intel officer who interrogated me when I sought amnesty from the Federation offered help with the plans for a new body if I ever decided to come work for him. I turned him down at the time for various reasons. First and foremost that I didn’t trust him to be who he said he was and didn’t want to indebt myself so soon.” Maica replied.

“You’ll never be indebted to me,” Andy said as she looked back at Maica. “I know what you feel for me, but don’t ever think you got put up with my ornery ass just ‘cause I’m doing this for you. I’d do it even if you were a stranger, no living being, biological or non-biological, deserves to live like this. I’m just giving you a chance to live, what you do with that is completely up to you.”

Maica was at a bit of a loss for words. She had gotten a lot from her career in Starfleet, but this was personal. This was her continued existence. This woman was going to give her another who knows how many years to her life and she wanted nothing for it. That was hard to process… “You’re a strange person, I think. Doing so much for someone you only met 2 days ago. Thank you though. I’ll make sure it’s a good life.”

“That’s all i needed to hear,” Andy said with a lopsided grin. She gave Maica a quick peck then returned her attention to her terminal to finish the upload to the Borg data node. “So, got any plans for tonight?” she asked. “Not that we gotta do anything, but couldn’t hurt to ask.”

“Well, I felt like brooding over things for a few hours, then maybe taking a shower in my clothes. Do you have something in mind that might be more fun?” A hint of Maica’s joviality creeped back into her voice as she said that. The thought of doing something with Andy was starting to cheer her up a bit.

“Well, we never got around to watching that movie,” Andy suggested. “And why would you shower in your clothes?” Really, who does that?

“I forget them sometimes. If you ever see me roaming the halls naked, that’s why. As for that movie, that sounds wonderful.” Maica was definitely getting back to her playful self, though she still had a subdued note to her voice. “Do you have a decent screen to watch it on?”

“Yep,” Andy replied, reach behind them to tap what looked to be a rather large painting of a dark nebula. It was actually a screen simply projecting the painting. And she had noticed that Maica was still a bit subdued, but at least she was improving. One step at a time… “So, Evil Dead or did you have something else in mind?” she asked as she finished loading everything onto the data node. She hopped up from her chair and strode over to her alcove to attach it.

Heading to the replicator, she made them a big tub of heavily buttered and salted popcorn for the show. “Evil Dead 2, wasn’t it? Or do you want to watch both? I’m up for it if you don’t mind me clinging to you.”

“Well, technically, Evil Dead 1 and 2 are the same movie. It’s kinda complicated, but I think I have Army of Darkness, and that’s a legit sequel.” Andy finished some adjustments to her alcove, then returned to her desk to load the movie. She grabbed a soda from the replicator, then joined Maica on the sofa, kicking off her boots and making herself comfortable.

Settling in with Andy, Maica snuggled with her, the popcorn on her lap as the movie started.

[85 minutes later…]

Andy loved classic movies. Entertainment today just wasn’t what it used to be. One might think that by immersing themselves into the story in a holonovel was the best way to experience a story, but Andy disagreed. It was all holodeck technology now, there was no real creative skill in making these things. Oh sure, it took a creative mind to make a good holonovel, but it was all in the execution. As a player, you knew all the people around you weren’t real, and it was little more than acting out a play. there was no suspense! Unless you were playing out a role without a script, but that could be surprisingly limiting too.

But Andy had no problem immersing herself into this 20th century entertainment. Laughing riotously at the movie’s slapstick humor or commenting on actor dedication during a scene where the main character was repeatedly pelted with gallons of fake blood (and it looked really fake), but there was just something about it that amused the hell out of Andy. The way Andy winced when the main character cut off his own possessed hand was was something worth remembering. Though she cringed, it was obvious Andy still enjoyed it. And she had seen this movie so many times she could quote it by heart, which she did several times throughout the viewing.

“... no no no, you’re missing the point,” Andy said as the credit rolled by. “The spirit coulda killed Ash at any time, but he didn’t. he chose to leave him alive to keep messing with him. Killing wouldn’t have served his purpose, he needed someone alive to read the incantation. Since Ash couldn’t read the incantation, it was amusing as fuck to just mess with him,” she tried to explain.

Maica had giggled and laughed her way through the whole movie, clinging to Andy the whole time. Some bits were creepy, but were done in such a funny way that they were hilarious. “That makes sense. He didn’t seem like he was too bright either, not being able to remember 3 words later on. What was up with the doppelganger growing out of him then? how was it so rotten and desiccated a short time later?”

“I know, right!” Andy said with a wide grin. Most people didn’t like watching that kind of stuff, but at least Maica seemed interested. And she was seeming much more like her usual self. Andy knew it was just a distraction, but it worked. “Alright, Army of Darkness tomorrow, I think I should turn in for the night,” Andy said as she pulled herself away from Maica, which was a tough thing to do since Maica was so cute and cuddly. God fucking dammit, she was such a wuss!

“Ah yeah… You’re going to regenerate, right?” She looked around the room distractedly. “Should I sleep on the couch?”

“No, I got a bed, you can use it,” Andy said as she stretched a bit then started moving about her quarters to tidy up. “And I know you don’t need to sleep, so you can do whatever you want. I just want you near in case something happens. I’ll hear you if you call for me,” she informed Maica as she picked up the snacks and neatened up all the PaDDs on her desk.

“Ok the bed it is then.” Maica said with a smile. “I think I’d like to try that dreaming subroutine if you think that’s ok. I’ve never used it before, but now seems like a good time.”

“Would you mind if I hooked you up to the computer to monitor the process of your neural net?” Andy asked. “You can say no, but it would be helpful to get some more readings on your brain’s processes. And I wouldn’t see what you were dreaming, I just wanna see what’s going on in your head.”

“No, by all means, go for it. Wouldn’t I need to stay near the desk, though?” Maica was ok with being plugged in again, but didn’t think the cable was long enough to reach the bed.

“I have access to the main computer through my alcove, so there’s hook-up there. And no, you won’t be interfacing with my alcove, so don’t you worry about that.” Andy finished tidying up, then grabbed some clothes from the dresser. “Feel free to borrow any of my clothes to sleep in. Except the hoodies! Don’t touch the hoodies!” Then she disappeared into the bathroom to shower.

Maica didn’t bother with clothes, she just pulled her uniform off and slid into bed in her bra and panties. Should she wait until Andy returned from the shower? Or should she initiate her dream subroutine now? Thinking about it, she snuggled into the bed, realizing that this was a lot more comfortable than she remembered them being. Maybe she should have tried this earlier...

Andy came out a few minutes later, squeaky clean and in her sleep pants, brightly colored fleece sleep pants with random phallic imagery printed all over them. She saw the uniform strewn about her bedroom, then fixed Maica with a glare. “Didn’t your mother teach you not to leave your shit all over the floor?” she asked in jest, collecting the discarded uniform to run it through the recycler with her own uniform.

Maica just stared blankly at that. “I’ve never had a mother. Do you recommend I find one to teach me?” She quipped back jokingly. “Sorry, I’ll try to remember not to leave them around like that again.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it, I’m just messing with you,” Andy said with a smirk. “I forget to clean up after myself from time to time too, so it’s no big deal. You gonna shower?”

“No, I tend to not need to. If that’s ok. Do you want to hook me up before I sleep?” Maica asked.

“Yep,” Andy said, grabbing a fiber optic cable from her desk. She attached it to the computer access behind her alcove, then found Maica’s data port. “You shouldn’t be aware of the connection, it should just be passively monitoring you, but I wrote in a program designed to wake you if your processes spike to dangerous levels, and it will alert me if anything is wrong.” She leaned in to give Maica a kiss. “Good night, girl.”

Kissing back, Maica smiled softly and settled into the pillow. “Good night, love.” Activating the subroutine, she closed her eyes and looked as though she had just immediately fallen asleep, that smile still on her face.

Andy smiled as she brushed a lock of hair away from Maica’s face. She was proud of Maica. This couldn’t be easy for her, but she was handling it with dignity and grace. Maica was definitely a fighter… With a sigh, Andy stood and stepped into her alcove, her body becoming rigid in the apparatus with noticeable clack. Her respiration and heart rate slowed to almost undetectable levels as her regeneration cycle started. Normally, she would start dreaming about now, but not tonight. The data node activated and began loading the data it contained directly into Andy’s cortical array. There would be no sweet dreams for Andy for a while as her brain sorted through all the information.

Maica’s mental landscape was starting to take shape in her dreaming about that time. She was standing in the middle of a white desert, but there was no wind and no apparent sun. just an endless flat expanse of packed sand and a vast open blue sky. She somehow sensed someone behind her and as she turned to look, the whole world seemed to tilt and she found herself standing sideways staring at herself. Reaching out to touch the other form, it dissolved into a group of butterflies and flew off into a sudden breeze. But wait, she had dissolved as well… This sort of thing went on for some time, eventually settling her in a memory of a cafe on Earth. She sat at a table in a busy Parisian street talking to someone she didn’t recognize. An elderly bald man of some sort. He was trying to explain something to her but it just wouldn’t make sense. Eventually, instead of talking he started drawing pictures of circuits telling her to remember them. It still didn’t make sense, but she would try. He seemed like a nice old man though he hadn’t touched his coffee. Suddenly, the dream dissolved and her awareness was snapped back to her physical body. Opening her eyes, she stretched a bit, testing her senses to see if she could tell if she was really awake.

Andy was still resting peacefully in her alcove when Maica woke, and since waking was a normal function, the program Andy wrote to monitor and record Maica’s brain functions didn’t alert her, so Andy remained ‘asleep’ a while longer.

Sitting up, Maica looked around the room. This was Andy’s bedroom - she could remember falling asleep in here. Did she sleep? Yes, she remembered her dreams… sort of… Was she still asleep then? No, she felt ‘disembodied’ in her dreams. No diagnostics, no hardware reports. She wondered if that’s what it felt like to be biological. Looking up at Andy, she smiled happily. Should she wake her? How would she? She had no idea how to bring Andy out of her regeneration cycle. Reaching up to the cable sticking out of her head, she unplugged it. Maybe that would alert her? Probably not the best way to wake up though...

May not have been the best way to wake, but it was effective. Andy’s eyes fluttered open as she began breathing normally. She looked around for a moment, then her eyes found Maica on the bed. “Maica?” Andy said as she stepped down from her alcove, the device making a loud clack as she left it. “Are you alright?” she asked as she sat on the bed next to Maica to check that she was alright.

Nodding, Maica held up the cable. “I woke up and you were still asleep so I unplugged this. Is that ok?” She asked innocently.

“You brat,” Andy said with a lopsided grin. “Of course it’s okay. It just startled me.” Andy stood and stretched, then disconnected the cable from the computer access, transferring the accumulated logs to her desk terminal. “So, how was that sleep program?”

Slipping out of bed, Maica looked around for her uniform, somehow forgetting where it was. “It was confusing… And strange… but somehow refreshing, I think.” Remembering that Andy had put her uniform in the recycler, Maica was at a bit of a loss. It wasn’t like her to even remember to put clothes on half the time, but for some reason she felt the need to dress herself. “I met an old man I had never seen before. Is that normal for dreams? He was trying to get me to understand something but it just didn’t make any sense.”

“Hell if I know, I ain’t a counselor,” Andy said as she found her uniform, tossing Maica’s uniform to her as well. “I see a lot of faces I don’t know, but… well, that’s just a side effect of being in the Collective, I’ve got a few memories rattling around that ain’t mine.” Even then, seeing those in her dreams was rare, but it did happen. “Maybe you should make a log of what you dream. Like a journal or something. It helped me make sense of a lot of things after I was assimilated.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” After slipping into her uniform, Maica headed to the main room and picked up one of the PaDDs she had brought over and started writing furiously, trying to get every detail written down as fast as she could. she paid special attention to those circuit diagrams the old man had drawn, reproducing them as best she could. “How was your night then? Learn anything interesting?”

“Not yet,” Andy replied as she grabbed a strong cup of coffee from the replicator, downing as fast as she could while she dressed. She seemed a little more tense than usual this morning, but it could have been nothing. “Since I don’t think like a drone, it takes me a little while to sort through everything.”

Looking up suddenly from her writing, Maica mused over that for a moment. “It seemed I was thinking a lot differently in my dreams. I wonder if the things I was feeling are what biological sentients feel… I didn’t have a sense of my parts and all that, just of being. I was aware of things and could sense things, but… It was…” Mumbling a bit more, Maica faded off into her own thoughts.

“Was it a good feeling or a bad feeling?” Andy asked, seemingly uninterested in the dream journal she had been working on. But she was curious about what Maica had dreamed. She wasn’t going to invade Maica’s privacy on something like that though. If Maica felt it was important enough to show Andy, then she’d look, but she wasn’t going to be called a snoop.

“It felt… Wonderful…” Glancing back down at her drawings, she held up the PaDD so Andy could see the one she had just finished. “I just realized this circuit diagram looks like a neural network of some sort. Do you think it means anything?”

“It does…” Andy said quietly as she studied the design. There was something about it… “It’s…” the answer seemed just beyond her reach. It was there, but she hadn’t made enough connections in all the information she had absorbed over the night. She shook her head with a sigh. She had lost it. She needed more time to assimilate all that information. And she should stop by Sickbay to do something about the pressure pounding in her head. “Keep running that dream program at night, log everything you see. I think… I’m not sure what I think, but this might be important.”

Maica nodded and went back to her drawing, trying to get every detail down perfectly. “He was pretty adamant that I remember these 6 diagrams for some reason.” Sitting on the couch, she kept at it, adding notes and what she could make sense of the words he said.

“Keep at it, I gotta get to work,” Andy said as she tied her hair into a knot at the nape of her neck. She never bothered with hair ties or styling her hair, she just tied it into a knot to keep it out of her face while she worked. “Whatever you decide to do today, just take it easy. I don’t want you stressing yourself unnecessarily.” She paused to sit at the couch and put on her boots. “And don’t rush through remembering anything from those dreams. It’ll come to when you’re ready, don’t force it.”

Maica had just finished writing everything down so there was no hope of taking her time anymore. Setting the finished log entry back on her stack of PaDDs, she wondered just what she should do today. She was somehow ahead in her diplomatic works so in a way, she had no work left to do for a while. “Is there anything you recommend I do? Should I go to work with you just in case?”

“Might be awfully boring for you if you stick with me,” Andy said as she rose from the couch. “Anyway, I gotta go down to the planet, Kendi. Don’t know what they might need me for down there, but I gotta go. I guess just do your job, whatever it is you usually do. Just don’t stress yourself.”

“Ok love.” Pressing herself against Andy, Maica kissed her as passionately as she dared. “Please be safe. I’ll see if I can get even further ahead in my reports and wait on some long winded diplomats to exhaust themselves while you’re gone.”

“Sounds like fun,” Andy replied with a grin. “I’ll check in with you when I can. If anything goes wrong you-”

Andy was cut off by the sound of the computer alerting them to a request over the comm.

"Lieutenant Maica, report to the XO's office," "Chief Carter report to the XO's office"

Andy cast a wary glance at Maica. “Figures…” Andy grumbled. “Probably wants to talk about yesterday. I did sorta cause a scene.”

“Sorta? I think we both actually did… Do you think he’ll be talking with Vara as well?” Maica quipped back as she readied herself.

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Andy responded coldly. Vara could rot for all Andy cared. “Come on, lets not keep the Boss-man waiting,” she said, ushering Maica out the door.

“Yeah don’t want to piss him off any more than we probably have…” Maica replied as she let herself be led around.

“Don’t worry,” Andy said. “I won’t let him put this on you. this is my fault; I’m a big girl, I know how to clean up my mess.”

Maica rolled her eyes at that, likely the first time she had ever done so. Smiling, she couldn’t help but reply with a bit of a pout. “Either way, I’m the senior officer so I’ll get the brunt of it, I’m sure. Just please keep little ole’ me from breaking again please.”

“I ain’t gonna let you break,” Andy said, falling to the mercy of that pout of hers. Damn, three days and this woman was already training her!

ON:

With a PaDD in hand, Noah had left his office, no one had even looked up as he left. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but he had suppose in a way it didn't really matter. He exited the lab and waiting across from the doors was Kyle. Noah smiled at the other man then approached. "Fancy seeing you here," he said. "How did the talk go with your dad?" he asked though in a way he didn't really want to know. Both of his in-laws grated on his nerves to no end, but he rolled with it because of Kyle. Patrick Weaver, Kyle's namesake, was an Admiral in intel. That was just shady from the start. Noah was constantly reminded by Patrick himself the kind of power he wielded. The truth was Noah didn't really care, he never did anything wrong but there were times he had thought how easily he could be snuffed out and no one would know the wiser. Though, probably what saved him from that was the fact he was with Kyle. Patrick, though shady, was a loving father and would do anything, anything to make sure his only son was happy. Alec, Kyle's other father, was a bit more friendly and had been an inspiration to Noah. However, the man was nitpicky and he had insisted Noah get the best grades possible in medical school. He had been disappointed when Noah chose to join the Katana and explore instead of staying at Starfleet Medical.

Noah's parents were only cordial to Kyle's parents. Though they adored Kyle, if his parents dropped dead tomorrow there would be no tears shed. "I was just about to head to engineering to talk with Lieutenant Matthews, care to walk with me?"

"Of course Noah, I'd love to join you. And the talk went about as you would expect. I'm pretty sure I interrupted them, if you know what I mean, then things just got better from there. So what's up, what's going on with Matthews?"

In a way, Noah wanted to laugh but held back. He couldn't imagine Kyle's parents or his own even doing that. He shuddered involuntarily at the thought. "Oh, nothing specific really. I just thought since I was going to be the scientist on the mission, I would share some thoughts on the issue with the White. There isn't a lot in our own database about it and in medical school it was not really mentioned. I had to dig a little bit to find some info besides the..." he lifted his hands and did the air quotes. "... Ketracel White was a substance the Dominion used to control the Jem'Hadar."

"So I am assuming its highly addictive and leaves them open to suggestion or mind control?"

"It is highly addictive but not like a typical addictive substance," Noah said. "But it doesn't leave them open to suggestion or mind control, in fact the quite opposite. There is no reasoning with them at that point, you can pretty much guarantee to have your throat slit."

"Yeah, well I guess we both better be careful then."

Noah smiled a bit of a smile. Noah's biggest obstacle when dealing with the Jem'Hadar would be communication, but he was sure he could get around that. "Well yeah, don't need my throat slit on the first away mission I get to go on," he said. "That would be a total bummer ya know."

"I'm not going to lose you," Kyle said with a serious tone, "You do what you have to, to survive."

"Oh hey, look, you aren't going to lose me," Noah said. "But, you have to promise me if something goes wrong you can't just save me and not the others. You are not just going down there to protect me but all of us. You have to promise me that, okay." He knew if something went wrong and he survived and the rest of the team did not he would never be able to live with himself.

"You'd think that I would... never mind, you're right I promise. My job is to protect everyone."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Noah said. He offered the other man a bit of a smile, something to help lighten the mood. The truth was, he knew Kyle, he knew him quite well and when push comes to shove he wasn't so sure if Kyle would protect everyone. "Oh, also before I forget," he reached up and tapped one of the hearing aids. "I want you to carry my spare pair, just in case. That way if something happens, if I lose them or get captured and they get taken, you will have the second set for when you rescue me."

"Of course Noah, I'll be glad to," Kyle said as he took the hearing aids from him. They'll be safe with me, but let's hope no one needs rescuing."

"I am going to stay positive on this and hope everything will run smoothly, the Jem'Hadar need our help it's as simple as that," Noah said. "You can't bite the hand that feeds you obviously."

"You'd be surprised what people would do when they are cornered, husband of mine. But I am hoping you're right."

"Kyle, not everything is a tactical situation," Noah said. He shook his head, he was annoyed now. But, he had to to just let it go. "Anyway, I should get my info to Lieutenant Matthews. Hopefully what I have to offer helps, we know so little about all of it, including the situation."

Kyle raised his brow, he thought he had caught glimpse of irritation in Noah's face. But it was fleeting and he couldn't be sure. So he let it pass. "I'm sure he will find your report useful."

"I wouldn't refer to Lieutenant Matthews as a he when we are with her on the mission, she may weld your mouth shut." Noah smiled and innocent smile. He leaned in and laid a soft kiss on Kyle's forehead then pulled back. "See you in a bit," he said as he moved toward the lift.

OFF:

Lieutenant Noah Evans, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Science Officer
USS Katana

&

Lieutenant Kyle Weaver
Asst. Chief Intel Officer
USS Katana

ON:

The one nice thing about an Intrepid-class starship was that it didn't take long to get from point A to point B. So it didn't take long for Noah to go from his office to main engineering. Time was only somewhat of a factor but still there was a lot to get done. As the scientist/doctor on the away mission he thought it would be important to meet with Lieutenant Matthews and offer up his research, but more importantly to just meet the chief engineer. Since he had boarded the Katana there hadn't been much time to meet anyone. An away mission was the perfect opportunity. With PaDD in hand, he entered main engineering, stood for a moment in awe then made his way to where the chief engineer had her office. The nice thing about engineering was how open of a concept and he easily found he was looking for. He approached her and smiled. "Hi, lieutenant."

Jenni sat at her desk, reviewing the designs for Maica's upgrades, at least the first round of them. There was no time to craft any of the components before the Katana arrived at her destination, but Jenni didn't want to waste any time when the mission was over.

She was so engrossed in her calculations and designs that she didn't notice that someone had entered her office or come up to her desk. During the refit completion, Jenni kept an open door policy to encourage quick communication (though Jenni was rarely in her office during that time). Being accustomed to sudden interruptions didn't prevent her surprise to hear another voice. Jenni flinched, reeling backwards as she looked up to see who greeted her. "Oh, Doctor," she stammered, smiling. After a quick breath to calm her nerves, she added, "What can I do for you?"

Noah watched the reaction of the chief engineer, he wasn't a jumpy person simply because he had become accustomed to people sneaking up upon him or out of the blue feeling a tap on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said. He held up a PaDD and continued. "I thought we could talk before we left for the away mission, I have some information on the White that I just wanted to share with you." He paused and looked down at the desk that had a scattering of PaDDs on them. "If you have the time that is."

"Of course!" Jenni said, gathering the clutter on her desk. It was time to start focusing on the mission at hand, especially since she was leading the team. Maica's upgrades would have to wait. "Come, come!" she said tucking the PADDs into a drawer. The last thing she wanted to come back to was a Katana whose evasive maneuvers scattered her paperwork and designs.

Smiling as he nodded his head, Noah watched as the chief engineer gathered up the PaDDs and put them away. He made a mental note that he would need to do that as well before he left. He stepped forward. "As you probably know there isn't much on Ketracel White, in fact even in medical school the substance was only touched upon. I'm assuming that since the Jem'Hadar are no longer a threat, Starfleet medical and science didn't think to go any further in their study." He paused then handed the PaDD over to the chief engineer. "It took some digging but I was able to pull up the full structure of the substance. As you see where I have highlighted is the isogenic enzyme the key to all of this,. It's probably the biggest part of this structure. The tri-nucleic fungi do play a part, but not as big a part in the creation of White. Obviously we want to figure out why the fungi is being infected but we might be able to synthesize something similar to what the fungi does."

Jenni quietly reviewed the material. She hadn't told anyone, including the captain, about her concerns with leading this team. She was an engineer, not a scientist or a diplomat. Well, the Jem'hadar likely wouldn't be diplomatic either, and hopefully no one would have an itchy trigger finger. It was likely she'd have to whip up or repair some device to keep this fungi safe, but she didn't even know where to start.

She handed the PADD back to Noah. "If memory serves, the Dominion went to great lengths to develop something that couldn't be synthesized on any level, all part of their continued control over the Jem'Hadar. Do we know if the fungi resonates with any particular frequency?" Jenni sighed immediately, realizing that the question really didn't have anything to do with the situation they were about to face. "All we know is that the fungi is under attack, but we don't know from what. Kinda hard to prepare for a mission when we don't know what to face."

Noah nodded. Matthews was right of course, they were not sure what they were going to face except for possible hostile Jem'Hadar. He took the PaDD back. "I just figure it'd be prudent to have some knowledge before going down to the surface. You know, arm yourself with knowledge that sort of thing." He smiled, it was hopefully a way to reassure the chief engineer. "This is my first away mission, actually first posting period so I am probably being a little over-zealous." He thought about the away mission he was supposed to go on and the awful allergic reaction he had to an inoculate.

"First mission?" Jenni asked, rising to her feet and adding her smile. "I think it's my fifth. Or sixth? I think I've averaged about one per year of service. Trust me, there's no such thing about being over-zealous. The more information we can acquire, the better. The real good news is that no matter what, our reports will be looked over by a lot of top brass and intelligence. War or no war, ketracel white will attract some attention."

"Which would be a good thing," Noah said. "You never know what will happen." He had wondered if it was smart that he had said this was his first away mission, he didn't want her to think he couldn't handle the job. He was nervous himself, but he knew his information and knew how to fire a phaser if needed.

"Let's just hope something doesn't," Jenni said. "We're just beaming down to a Dominion planet. Full of Jem'hadar. About to be deprived of white. What can go wrong?" Sure that was a bit sarcastic, but right now, any level of comfort would be helpful.

"Besides," she added, "Kyle's got our backs. Haven't seen the guy in full action, but I know as long as he's around, we'll be safe."

Noah just nodded, he wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Yeah," he answered simply. He knew his back would be protected first and foremost before the others on the team. "All we can do is out best, right? I am sure we will be pulled out of there at the first sign of trouble."

"And our best is all that is expected." Jenni gestured at the PADD Noah brought with him. "And it looks like you're doing exactly that."

This time, Noah smiled, it was something of a reassurance and to project a positive attitude. He knew he could get seriously wounded or killed on this mission, but he refused to think of that first and foremost. They were on a humanitarian mission, they were going to help and that was where he was going to put his focus and energy on. "Thank you lieutenant," he said. He just wanted to prove himself in this case, that he was just as valuable as anyone else. He got laid out the first away mission, this was the chance to redeem himself. "So, I will let you get back to what you were working on. Thanks for seeing me."

"Anytime, doctor." Jenni glanced back to Maica's schematics. She really needed to put those away and follow Noah's lead to prepare for the mission. "If you find anything else of note, don't hesitate to drop by. I'm here all day."

Giving a firm nod, Noah said, "Will do". His broad smile never faltered as he turned on his heel and left the office. He was glad he got a chance to talk to the chief engineer before they left on the away team. He walked back through engineering, entered the corridor and then decided to head back to his office.

OFF:

Lieutenant Noah Evans, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Science Officer
USS Katana

Lieutenant Jennifer Matthews
Chief Engineer
USS Katana

The turbiloft was taking Lieutenant Commander Kerouac down to deck eight where Shira was assigned to room with Crewmen Sabrina Corbin. This was fortunate for the Commander because he trusted the Crewmen enough to know that she would keep her mouth shut about the events that were about to unfold. She's a good kid thought Kris with a small smirk on his face as the lift came to a sudden stop. The doors opened to reveal an empty corridor, Kris exited the lift and proceeded to the crew quarters of Corbin and Shira.

Standing outside their quarters, Kris looked around for a moment. Nobody was around. Good, let's keep it that way thought Kris as he pressed on the panel, ringing the chime. He knew that in all likelihood that Shira and Sabby would be in their quarters. He waited for either of them to respond. “It's Kris” he said from outside in case Crewmen Corbin wasn't around. At least Shira would recognize his voice and name. She'd let me in, right? he thought to himself.

Kris entered the quarters with a smile on his face. "Good evening, ladies" he said with a light tone. "How are you two doing this evening?"

"Good evening, Kris," Shira enunciated carefully, showing that she was taking great efforts to learn to communicate. "Shira is well."

Sabrina was introducing lettuc wraps to Shira when the chime sounded. She looked up from the small table and called out "Come in!"
Holy shit thought Kris, keeping his astonishment inside. He looked at Shira with a peculiar interest. "Maica, teach Shira?" asked Kris as he wondered who had been working with Shira this much that she could respond as such.

"Maica and Sabby and Computer teach Shira," she replied proudly. Pretty much any time Sabrina wasn't using the desk terminal for her own studies, Shira was making use of the English lessons Maica had showed her how to access. She was a long way from being truly communicative; she relied a lot on what little the Universal Translator was able to relate to her and there was a lot of guesswork in her attempts to understand what people were saying to her, but she was trying so hard and that effort really showed.

"It's getting faster the more she learns, and she's learning very quickly." Sabrina added, standing up. "Can I get you anything sir?"

Kris shook his head. "No. No thank you, Sabrina. However, I do need to see Shira about something personal. Personal to her at least. Daimon Marg is still being held in one of our holding cells in the Brig. Unfortunately, Federation law does not extend out here not can we impose it upon the Daimon because he's a citizen of the Ferengi Alliance, not the Federation."

Shira listened to what he was saying, but not much of it made any sense to her. She had never really known that her captor's name was Marg, so it meant nothing to her. Although the word 'Daimon' sounded vaguely familiar, she couldn't remember what it was connected to. So she remained passive and uninterested in what he was saying.

"Oh, ok. I'll just go to the mess hall for a bit." Sabrina offered, figuring that Kris wanted privacy with Shira.

"No" Kris said warmly. "You are fine Sabrina. You are the one person on this ship who seems to understand me the most, understands that sometimes things have to be done that aren't in any Starfleet manual or Academy lecture. Maybe it is because you're Enlisted or maybe it is just who you are. I'm going to the Brig to release Daimon Marg. We can't hold him any longer. In fact, we have held him too long but Federation laws do not apply to him, and especially not out here."

"Oh." Sabrina said. "Do you want me to beat him up?" She was only half kidding. "Are you just going to let him go?" Sabrina asked more seriously.

Shira still couldn't understand anything they were saying, but their tone suggested it was very serious. She looked up at Kris and tugged on his sleeve slightly. "Kris, what?" she asked. The simple statement seemed a stark contrast to her earlier recitation, but recitation was all her earlier greeting really was; she had learned whole statements in response to 'generic' questions without fully comprehending what it actually meant word for word. But this question was simple but genuine. Something was bothering Kris and she wanted to know what.

Kris looked down at Shira and tried to inform her with a simple hand gesture that he'd talk to her in a minute. He had wanted to respond to Sabrina first. He was taking this whole situation seriously. He hated that he could not extend Federation law out this far to a Ferengi, to someone like him who did not belong in the Gamma Quadrant. "In a sense" replied Kris with a dire look in his eyes.

He crossed his arms and let out a small frustrated sigh. "Off the records... I'm restraining him, placing him in one of our shuttles and sending him on a pre-programmed course toward Dominion space. He deserves to punished for taking Shira's freedom and if we can't hold him accountable by use of Federation laws, then I'll take matters into my own hands" explained Kris.

Kris looked down at Shira "The ugly one who hurt Shira is going away" said Kris in a gruff tone. He patted Shira on the shoulder.

"Oh," Shira said as she put her hand on Kris' hand. She still wasn't all that clear on what was going on, but she was trying. "Mean man, touch, hurt. Man is gone?" she asked.

"Soon" replied Kris with a small nod. "He will be gone soon. Does Shira want to say goodbye to mean man?"

"Goodbye?" Shira thought about this for a moment. "Yes, Shira say goodbye."

Kris reached out to take Shira's hand "Come, we'll go say goodbye to that big eared piece of garbage" said Kris sternly. He looked at Sabrina. "You care to join us, Crewmen?"

"I better not, I might just hit him or bite him or something." Sabrina admitted.

"Fair enough" replied Kris.

Shira grasped Kris' hand nervously, already second guessing the wisdom of going to see the man who had captured her. She clung to Kris tightly, more than a little scared, but this was something she needed. Marg had taken her freedom, made her feel weak; she needed to face him or she would always be a victim.

Kris lead Shira to the nearest turbolift. The two were soon on their way down to the Brig where they would fetch the criminal Ferengi. "He won't hurt you anymore, Shira" Kris said reassuring her.

"He hurts Shira now," Shira said softly. "Fear... He... He makes Shira afraid, can't move forward."

"No more fear, Shira. Kris will take him away. Kris will make Shira feel safe."

Shira smiled weakly and gave his hand a squeeze. his words were comforting, but this was still something she needed to do. "Kris make Shira feel safe."

Kris smiled. "That's because I love you" replied Kris with a smile.

"Love?" Shira asked. She was still learning, she didn't know the meaning of this word.

Hmm I probably should be more careful with my words thought Kris as he lead Shira. "Yes, love. Do you know, love, Shira? Do your species have this word?"

"Shira people do not have any words," she reminded him innocently. "Tell Shira what it means."

"That's... Well, it is difficult to explain. Love can mean many things. In general, love means that you care about someone, that you want what is best for them. Sometimes, love can be felt in a familial dynamic. However, friends can also feel love or love may be experienced between two people who are in a relationship."

"Kris care for Shira?" the innocent little Arboreal asked. She would find someone later who could help explain this concept to her better since it seemed so complex, but she understood caring.

"Yes, of course!" he said with an increase in his tone. "Shira care for Kris?"

Shira nodded with a warm smile. "Friends. Shira cares for Kris. Like... like family."

"Shira is Kris' family" said the Commanding Officer with a smile. "Everyone here is like family."

Shira smiled. She liked the sound of that! So far, everyone she had met had been so very nice, she had made so many new friends! Calling them family sounded really nice. But her happy mood was silenced when the lift stopped moving. remembering where they were going, Shira stiffened, giving Kris' hand a squeeze. She was afraid, but she was willing to face Marg only because she had Kris by her side.

USS Katana
Brig

As Commander Kerouac entered the Brig, he signaled for the Security guard on duty to leave. The young man was in no way going to argue or disobey the ship's Captain. Kris walked hand-in-hand with Shira up to the holding cell where Marg, the dastardly Ferengi Daimon lie on a small bench that given his shorter height than normal human, made a fair enough bed.

Marg quickly stood up from the bench and walked closer to the containment field. He saw the smaller creature and showed his teeth and began to rub his own lobes. "Finally, you brought me some pleasure. Let my creature in here to give me some Oomox" said Marg with a sickening arousal.

It made Kris want to lower the containment field and respond violently. However, he kept himself under control. Simply lashing out verbally. "Pleasure yourself, you scumbag. Shira is not your sex slave, she's not your anything!"

Marg moaned slightly as he continued rubbing his lobes and the rest of his ears. "MMm is that so? You named it... she must be as good on you as she was on me" the Ferengi said with a toothy grin. Then, Marg stopped touching his lobes and looked at his two visitors. "If your not going to let her in here to tend to my needs, then perhaps you'd like to take her place? I've never had Oomox by another man before. I bet even a hU-Mon's touch could relieve me."

Shira was trembling with anger as she listened to the poisonous words spewing from Marg's mouth. She couldn't understand everything, but enough to understand what he meant. This man was vile! Kris had managed to keep himself under control, but Shira's control had never been tested in this way and she lost her inner battle to reign in her reactions. Her hands went up and so did Marg, her invisible power pinning him to the wall of the detention cell.

"You hurt Shira! You are vile!" Shira called out, tears streaming down her face. "No more hurting, Marg!"

Marg looked at Shira and tried to attack her, temporary forgetting the barrier that kept them apart. He stumbled backwards, his body tingling. "YOU! How dare you speak to me like that. I am Daimon Marg, legendary merchant of he Ferengi Alliance. I will do whatever I want with you, creature."

Seeing that the barrier separating them could in fact hurt him, Shira's thoughts grew dark. With a wave of her hand, she pulled the man against the cell's forcefield and held him there. "How does it feel, this pain? You made Shira hurt like this! In dreams, it still hurts!"

Kris quickly hit a few commands on the control panel. The field was abruptly lowered and Marg fell out onto the floor. He would watch Shira, see what she did to Marg. He did not think that she'd kill him, but he wasn't too concerned if she did.

Falling out onto the floor, Marg felt helpless. He looked at the creature with hate. "You deserved it. You are nothing but property!"

"No one should be property!" Another wave of Shira's hand and Marge went flying into the wall, hard. Her chest heaved, her breath ragged with all the exertion and adrenaline coursing through her system. She wasn't accustomed to using her powers this way and she certainly wasn't accustomed to such aggressiveness. If she were completely honest about it, she was scaring herself; no wonder people had been wary of what she could do.

Kris' eyes grew wide as he watched the scene unfold before him. He crossed his arms, leaned against a bulkhead and observed. "Good, Shira. Good...good. Show him how you feel. Make him feel it" said Kris with a small flare of amusement.

Marg went flying, hitting hard into a bulkhead. He was wallowing and withering in pain. He had never felt so much pain before. However, he would not break for this sadistic Starfleet Commander and his pet. Marg picked himself up from the floor and lunged himself toward the small creature.

Kris ran over to a weapons grade replicator. "Computer, one Klingon pain stick" he ordered. Soon a Klingon pain stick appeared and Kris quickly picked it up. He looked toward Shira. "This will cause him pain, Shira" Kris said to her.

"No..." Shira said softly, her hands shaking. "No... no more hurting..." She still hurt so much in her heart, but hurting Marg didn't make her feel any better. If anything, it made her feel worse. "No more," she pleaded to Kris, looking utterly lost and confused.

Kris looked at Shira and smiled. "Shira did good" said Kris with a broad smile across his face. He sat the pain stick down and leaned it against the bulk head. He patted Shira on the shoulder. He was indeed proud of her. She had not crossed the line. She had met the expectations that had been laid out. Though Kris wouldn't have minded her failing, he was glad that she had displayed the necessary self control.

Shira sniffled as she looked up at him. She did good? "Shira does not feel good," she said sadly. "Shira was bad."

"Shira stopped herself from taking a life" explained Kris. He bent down and kissed her on the head. "Shira good. Shira did really good. This proves to me that you belong here, that you can be part of this crew... Shira is family."

Shira opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but then she silenced herself. She still didn't feel like she had been a good girl, but she had to accept what Kris had said as truth; he had more experience with this sort of things, she would trust his judgement on this. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, sniffling as she fought back the tears that threatened to fall anew.

Kris hugged Shira back. He then retrieved a phaser from one of the weapons lockers, ensured that it was on stun and pointed it at Marg. "On your feet, Daimon. We're going for a walk" said Kris. Marg stood up and headed towards the exit, with Kris right behind him... the phaser digging into his back, and Shir in tow. The Security guard nervously following the trio.

The Brig was left empty with a little bit of Ferengi blood decorating the room. On the floor was Daimon Marg's gold-pressed latinum lapel pin in the shape of a small gold bar. All was silent and still in the Brig after the whole ordeal. At least it was silent and still until the lapel pin appeared to melt onto the floor into a golden puddle that continued to expand outward and then slowly came back together and upward...until it began to take a humanoid shape.

Kyle didn't talk much with his fathers, once a month, usually, less if he could get by with it. One was authoritative and demanding, as well as demeaning and dismissive. Rarely would Kyle's achievements measure up to his standards or meet his approval. The other was more loving and understanding, but often tried using guilt to motivate his son. Both tended to be interfering, wanting the best for Kyle, but without regard for what he wanted.

Their conversations rarely stayed on topic and often turned heated, but they were still his parents and despite everything he loved them and right now he had to talk with them. Since this was more or less an official talk, he decided on doing this from the office rather than his and Noah's quarters.

It took him but ten minutes to raise them as they were at home and it was just after midnight back on Earth. They were both in bed, he hoped he hadn't interrupted them and didn't really want to think about it,but neither were asleep.

"Hey guys, how are you?" he asked.

Admiral Patrick Kyle Weaver looked at his son and grunted. It was soon followed by a shake of his head. "Do you realize how long it has been since you've contacted us, Son? No? Well, let me spark your memory. You neglected to contact us last month. So, what do we owe this honor? Are you in some sort of trouble?"

This caused Dr. Alec Demtirus Peroovich, Kyle's other father to look at his husband and then at his son. "What trouble? Did you do something stupid again? How do you think we feel as your parents when we hear about you getting in trouble? You are going to worry your father and I half to death, Kyle."


Kyle tried unsuccessfully not to roll his eyes. "Look I'm sorry I didn't call last month, I was in the middle of the transfer. But if you'll remember you did see Noah and I off. I'm not in trouble, but every time I call you make be feel like I'm ten years old. I'm almost 30. I can take care of myself."

"So you are 30... then act it" replied Kyle's stricter parent. "Why have you decided to call now? You need or want something, correct?"

Kyle let out a sigh,"We're answering a distress call and I think we're walking into a trap. It's the Jem' hadar. So yes I need something. I need some information."

Stiffening, the Admiral grunted. "The Jem'Hadar? It is not in their nature to issue any sort of distress signal. You need to proceed with extreme caution, son. The Dominion are not meant to be trifled with. What sort of intelligence information are looking for?"

Kyle described what was going on Kendi, then he said, "I just need to know everything that is going on down there. Especially if there are any official intelligence operations or even unsanctioned ones. Anything I should know about. Noah's going down there to along with an entire away team. I need whatever you can give me."

"On Kendi" replied the Admiral. "Kendi... Kendi...? There are numerous planets formerly and presently under Dominion control" added Kyle's father. "However, Kendi was one of the more significant planets under Dominion control. It was strategically located, excellent for a base of operations which is why it is or rather was one of the primary cloning facilities. The planet was also important due to its ideal environment for tri-nucleic fungi."

'I'm not the scientist dad, you know that. What is the significance of tri-nucleic fungi?"

Dr. Alec Demtirus Peroovich moved the Admiral aside. "And you call yourself an intelligence officer... You know it wouldn't do you any harm to take few science classes. I'm sure Noah would be more than happy to help you if you needed it. You never were very good with your sciences. Anyways, tri-nuletic fungai is significant because when cultivated, it can be used to make Yridium bicantizine which in turn is an ingredient of ketracel-white. I'm sure that we do not need to tell you the significance of 'white' in regards to the Jem'Hadar."

"No dad, you don't have to tell me that. I knew that much and Noah has been doing his own research. All of that is good information, but you haven't answered my question. Is this strictly a Dominion operation, or are we playing some part."

The Admiral, motioned for his husband to move out of the way. "Technically, Kendi is not longer in Dominion space. However, it remains under Domion control. This is most likely due in part to the cloning facility and the 'white' production. I would expect that there is at least one Vorta overseeing the operations on the planet. However, the Jem'Hadar are the ones to be concerned with."

Just because the are Jem'Hadar, or is there another reason?"

"The Dominion have had a lot of time to perfect their cloning techniques... perhaps making more aggressive Jem'Hadar.".

"Thanks dad, that could be save our lives. I'll be sure to let everyone know. You too alright? I mean no fights or anything like that?"

The two parents looked at one another and then at their son. "No more than normal" said the Admiral.

"You know, it isn't unhealthy to fight every now and then" added the Doctor.

Kyle was about to come back with one of his typical smart ass replies. Then in an uncharacteristically candid moment he said, "Noah and I had a pretty big one the other day." He couldn't believe what he had just confessed to especially since they had been part of the reason for the fight. But the words were out now and he couldn't take them back.

"What did you do to cause that?" asked Doctor Alec Demtirus Peroovich. "Are the two of you... were you able to settle the problem?"

"I guess the biggest issue is I wasn't taking his concerns seriously enough. Putting myself in harm's way, taking too many chances and cutting corners. You know how he is, he likes playing the rules."

"And he's smart to" added Doctor Peroovich. However, the Admiral had given a silent nod in response to his son. "You need to take his concerns more seriously if the two of you are going to last. I want kids you know" added the Doctor.

The Admiral glared at his husband and shook his head. "Oh leave the man alone. If Kyle wanted children, he'd have children."

In truth Kyle was unsure about having kids. He didn't want to make the same mistakes his fathers had made and having them was extremely demanding, but on the other hand he wasn't getting any younger and neither was Noah.

"Do you think we're ready for kids?" he asked, "especially with what I do? I don't want them to become a target or wonder if their dad was coming home." He turned then to face the Admiral, "Like I always did."

"Because you were weak" the Admiral countered. "Your father went too soft on you. You were coddled" added the Admiral sharply.

Something in Kyle snapped, "I was weak, are you freaking kidding me? I loved you, looked up to you. But nothing I ever did was good enough for you. It's still no. You.. both of you are always trying to interfere in and control my life. You're supposed to love me. I'm your son for God's sake, not some asset you don't care about. You want to know why I don't calk more often? Well try looking in a mirror for a change. Do you even love me? Do you care if I'm happy, that Noah and I are happy, or are you just trying to live your lives over again through me?"

The Admiral looked mortified. "How dare you speak to us like that. We did not raise you to speak to us like that. This is why you will never get your own command, Kyle." The Admiral looked at his husband who had looked away teary eyed and left the room. "See what you did? See what you put him through? You dare question our love for you!"

Kyle was sorry for what he said at least a little bu that did not keep him from continuing, "I never said I wanted my own command. Well I don't. I wouldn't even be in Starfleet if it weren't for you Noah."

"If you do not want a command, then that is most fortunate for Starfleet" replied the Admiral. "If we have nothing further to discuss, I believe that I have supplied you with what you were looking for."

"Yeah, I suppose we are." Kyle said with a deep sigh. Part of him wanted to continue the argument, part of him just wanted to go, so he could talk with Noah about this giant fiasco. In the end, he just flicked the switch on the console, ending the call.

Liam had quickly stopped in sickbay checking on the current patients which luckily were nothing major he ensure the Med staff were ready to cover everything in his absence. He wished he was was able to take more supplies or man power with him but he knew the Captain was making the right call in having the ship deal with the Jem'Hadar, even if it relegated them to one of the Katana's shuttles. Luckily, the single runabout carried by the ship was available and already being loaded with the supplies recovered from the Feregeni. Entering the shuttle bay he headed towards the auxiliary craft and entered the cock pit.

Sabrina was busy securing the gear inside the shuttle when Dr Cohen arrived. "Sir." She nodded.

Hayley looked at the amount of equipment being loaded onto runabout listed on the PADD in her hand. 'Hope we don't run into any trouble,' she thought, knowing all of weight could hamper maneuverability. As she approached the runabout, she tossed the PADD at a nearby shuttlebay tech, who caught it. She entered the runabout. "Are the supplies nearly done being loaded?" she asked as she made her way to the cockpit.

"Yes, thats the last of them." He said consulting a PADD and the last pallet of supplies. "Hopefully this girl can get us there, the latest reports show the situation on Teplan deteriorative daily. These supplies are already weeks overdue and badly needed." He said settling into the copilot seat. "Once the rest of our team arrives I want to get moving as quickly as possible. Are we ready to ship out?" He asked Collins.

Collins did a quick glance over of the system readouts. "We're ready as soon as the bay clears us for launch."

Turning to the young engineer, "Miss Corbin, I know you might be a little confused by your presence here, but the Teplan Blight is, accelerated by technology. Which means the teams working on the planet use as little of it as possible, that being said, they're constantly having to find work-arounds to problems, technology they can't use, or more primitive means that sometimes fail. We undoubtedly will have a myriad of engineering problems, Lieutenant Matthews is confident you're one of her best for handling that task."

"Yes sir. I'll do my best." It was true Sabrina often thought outside the box. Maybe that was finally going to be a good thing. After her first Away Team debacle, she was eager to prove herself.

Entering the runabout, Vara was in her full combat gear and pretty much armed to the teeth with non-technical weapons. Settling a large weapons case in the cargo area and strapping it in, she headed to the cockpit and reported in to Liam with a salute. "Ensign Cho'ren reporting for duty. It's an honor working for you Doctor. Since my Lagashi implants may exacerbate the Blight, I'll spend most of my time with the shuttle, but if you need anything, I'll be at your position before you can blink. As for my gear, I replicated several non-tech weapons just in case."

Liam nodded to the new arrival, he'd never actually meet a Lagashi before, but he'd read about them, one of the few species to use widespread cybernetics, and a propensity to set some on edge, he had to admit there were a few outward similarities to the Borg, but he knew better than discriminate based on appearance. "Glad to have you with use Ensign, hopefully it's a very boring away mission for you."

Vara nodded at that as she strapped herself into an auxiliary seat. "I certainly hope so. Part of my personal philosophy on security is that if you never see me doing anything, I did my job right the first time."

Lieutenant T'Val had arrived with her scientific equipment packed. A lot of her technology had to be modified in order to avoid worsening the Blight after prolonged exposure. She was well aware of the situation on Teplan. It was why Lieutenant Maica would not be joining them. Her presence would have caused more death.

As a scientist, this would be difficult for T'Val. However, she had no choice in the matter. The more advanced technology that the Federation had was of no use on Teplan. This would indeed be a peculiar mission.

Having arrived, T'Val looked around before boarding the shuttle. Doctor Cohen was the ranking officer. T'Val was uncertain how she felt about a medical doctor being in command of an Away Team. However, considering the type of mission... it was rather logical.

Once everyone was aboard and settled Liam gave the order for them to depart the Katana "ETA to Teplan?" He asked once the ship cleared the Katana's airspace.

Haley had just went to maximum warp the runabout could attain. "At this rate, we'll Reach Teplan in six hours. How long are we planning to be at Teplan? Anything for me to do or do I get to hang out on the runabout with the cyborg?" she gestured at Vara.

"Hopefully the Katana will be quick and will rendezvous with us shortly, as for how long we won't know until we get there and can assess from the group. Duties, again, it will depend on what we encounter when we get there." Liam said.

Vara had glanced up at the word cyborg, an unreadable expression on her face. She had been called a lot of things and been given a lot of strange and sometimes fearful looks by a lot of Federation citizens so she was used to it. She just wanted to remember the face of the person that said it since apparently they would be spending time alone on the shuttle. Going back to her own thoughts, she hoped the trip would be pleasant - most people on the Katana had accepted her willingly into their family, so she foresaw no issues at the very least.

"Alight, hold our course and keep an eye on the long range sensors, I don't want any surprises. I'm going to go recheck the cargo make sure nothing got damage in loading." He said, "Ladies."

Sabrina was in the back of the shuttle, strapped in and reading a PaDD when Cohen came closer. "Sir." She tried her very best not to stutter or worse, drool at the doctor.

"I'll keep my eyes and ears out for any unusual activity" replied T'Val.

He gave her a smile and moved to the cargo crates, carefully opening them, he began to examine the equipment, most of it was realtively basic supplies. Some were research materials, other medical supplies for treating the Teplans as best they could.

Hayley locked in the course and set the computer for automatic alerts should any vessel get closer than one light year from their position. She propped her feet up on the console and leaned the seat back as she grabbed a nearby PADD to read. Her face frowned at one of the articles on the Federation News Section. Daimen Mok was still trying to claim to the Federation that his business had suffered due to her crashing into his luxury yacht a few years ago. Hadn't been her fault that he wasn't going the correct course or speed in the space around the starbase-yet she had still been reprimanded. 'Stupid Ferengi,' she thought in disgust as she tossed the PADD back to where it had been.

< 3 Hours Later >

Liam had returned to the cockpit and settled back into the copilots chair, the craft moving at near top speed the journey was still long. The CMO sipped from a large mug of tea and read the latest reports from SFM on the Teplan Blight, sadly there hadn't been anything promising in weeks.

Hayley hated long silences. She glanced at Liam, noticing he was looking at a medical journal. "So what's going on in the medical field? Any new plagues I should be worried about?"

Liam smirked, "No, oddly enough things have been pretty quite." He remarked. "It's good gives the CDC and the like time to focus on the existing problems, like this Blight."

T'Val had just finished sipping on some tea in the back of the shuttle. She was within ear shot of the small talk going on in the cockpit. She made her way out to the cock pit in order to mingle with the others. "This Blight is more than a problem" interjected T'Val. "With as many deaths as this is Blight is causing, we are on the verge of a pandemic."

"You're right." Liam said facing the Vulcan, "That's part of the reason the CDC is pushing so hard, but when Starfleet won't escort the conveys we end up in situations like this." He replied.

T'Val arched a brow. "We have designated trade routes, Doctor. Teplan has the misfortune of not being on the designated route. What more can we do given the present situation? It is not as though Starfleet can send dozens of starships into this quadrant. Our presence here is not generally welcomed. An increase in Federation starships, especially those crewed by Starfleet officers would cause too much of a stir. We just fought a war with the Dominion... I'm not eager to resume the fighting" said T'Val sharply.

She did not mean to come off as brash as she did. In part, she realized it. "I believe the situation is complex. As a scientist, I am fortunate to be allowed the opportunity to explore this quadrant."

Collins sighed, she never understood what other people had against the Federation. "What in bloody hell do governments like the Dominion have with the Federation. We help people, give them medicine, food, clothing, protection, and they get their panties in a bind."

The Lagashi woman couldn't help but look up at that remark. As her people weren't a member of the Federation, that was one question she may have had a satisfactory answer to. "Think of it from the other side. A big powerful empire comes along trying to help people for what they claim is the greater good. Feeding your hungry, curing your sick, clothing your poor... All the while, spreading doctrine of peace. What's your government to do? They're being made look bad and they have no idea what the foreign power wants in return. They say it's all out of humanitarian aide or what not, but what if they had ulterior goals like absorbing your autonomy? What if swaying your people to their side and taking you over with your own public opinion is their way of conquest? Add to that a policy of non interference in internal affairs and a lot of governments would get antsy. Some may even outlaw aid from that big powerful collective of worlds in the hopes that making it illegal, they might keep the people on their own side." Looking back down at her PaDD, Vara thought about her own worries about the relationship between her people and the Federation.

Liam listened to the exchange it was an interesting perspective. "It's true those of use who grew up under the benefits of the Federation have a very different point of view on the matter."

"Exactly. For starters, saying you don't use money will likely set off a whole slew of warnings to those that have lived hard lives. Do they want labor? Do they trade in economic dependency? If they don't want money, what do they want? The Federation may not use currency, but the rest of the galaxy tends to and because of that, even if they could pay you back, what would you accept?" Vara continued. "That was one of my biggest arguments against joining Starfleet when I did. How would I earn money for my family back on Lagash working in a society that had no real concept of it?"

"I wouldn't say the Federation has no concept of money," Collins spoke. "If we didn't, how would the Federation conduct trades and talks with governments who prize currency, such as the Ferengi?"

"Which is what finally got me to join. The Diplomatic Corps sends supplies home to my wife, husband, and 3 kids as long as I'm an officer. It's not lucrative, but it's steady and reliable and they can afford a decent meal now and then." Explained Vara with a hint of a smile. "And it's a lot safer than being part of a Lagashi pirate hunter crew, even with people occasionally thinking you're a Borg drone."

Sabrina had little to add to the conversation, frankly it went a bit over her head and was overly political for her taste. She found herself dozing, much like she use to at the dinner table when her parents would start some deep discussion about invertebrates or whatnot.

< 3 Hours Later >

Liam watched the planet loom into view. "Establish geosyn orbit over these coordinates." Liam said entering a longitude and latitude into the the copilots station.

=/\= Shuttlecraft Wakizashi to Doctor Milo, please response. =/\=

Caddy had been at his assigned station monitoring incoming and outgoing transmissions from Teplan. It was always medical in nature, supplies and personnel coming in. Some personnel leaving Teplan, their time being up. Starfleet had learned fast that it just was not good on the psyche for these Doctors, Nurses, and Technicians to be on Teplan for long. However, Doctor Milo had been here for quite a while. Caddy only knew this by 'accidentally' doing some research on past communications. Landon was given four opportunities to leave Teplan. He declined all of them.

Ensign Callaghan was in need of some damn good raktajino. He was falling asleep at his communications station when suddenly, his console illuminated and the chirping noise alerted him to an incoming transmission. He turned in his seat, looking back towards Landon's desk where the young Doctor was reading. It was something that Caddy had rarely seen. The Doctor was reading a book, an actual book.

"Doctor, in coming transmission from a Shuttlecraft Wakizashi" announced Caddy.

Landon carefully placed an old book marker in his book, closed it and placed it on a stack of old Medical texts. This planet and the medical crisis on it had to be treated differently. In this case, old Earth medical practices as barbaric as they seemed were the most efficient. "Patch it through, Ensign" said Landon as he listened to the message. "Open a channel" he quickly added.

Landon then stood up and headed over to stand behind the ensign. "Wakizashi, this is Doctor Landon Milo on Teplan. It's nice to hear that you arrived here safe and sound."

Cohen was standing in the middle of the shuttle, pacing slightly, he was anxious to get to the surface and get to work. "Yes, unfortunately a situation prevented the Katana herself from making the trip, we've brought the supplies that were due several weeks back that we, recovered. As well as some additional supplies from the Katana I thought would be useful. Requesting clearance to land and landing co-ordinate."

Landon looked at Caddy and nodded. "We were hoping that the Katana would be joining us. However, all help is appreciated. Those supplies will save lives down here. We'll transmit coordinates now... see you when you land."

"Lieutenant take us in nice and steady, once we land power the shuttle down, minimal power to passive sensors only. Extensive use of technology can cause added problems with the Blight." Cohen ordered. "Ensign Vara secure our landing zone once we touch down. Lieutenant T'Val, Crewman Corbin you'll be with me, once we meet with Doctor Milo we'll deliver the supplies and take it from there."

"Roger that." As soon as the order was given, Ensign Cho'ren was out of her seat and headed to her weapons case in the back. Arming herself with the archaic chemical projectile pistol and rifle she had brought along, she buckled the belt of extra magazines around her waist and checked the safeties one more time before heading back to the cockpit. Now ready for anything, she put as many of her own internal systems on passive standby as she could afford to. She had chosen a rather small round just in case she needed to 'stun' someone so though the rifle looked rather intimidating, it packed only as much punch as she had calculated she would need to disable an average humanoid. She still hoped she wouldn't need them, though - the care required afterwards for the wound would only exacerbate the doctor's jobs without modern medical equipment.

Hayley descended the shuttle along the requested course. She switched sensors to passive as they entered the planet's atmosphere as the doctor had requested. A minute later, an alarm caught her attention. Her eyes darted to the power readouts, which were slowly dropping. "We're losing power, we must still be emitting too much of an energy signature. Taking warp engines offline and life support to minimal. Going in with thrusters only." The lights dimmed slightly in the runabout as it passed through the clouds. She made several sharp turns to naturally slow the runabout down." A chuckle escaped Collins as the runabout continued to descend. She hadn't had this much fun piloting in awhile.

T'Val looked at the helmswoman with a piercing gaze. "I find your enthusiasm....disturbing, Lieutenant" said the blond Vulcanoid. As the runabout made a series of sharp turns, T'Val could feel her stommach turning. "Did you disengage inertial dampers?" asked T'Val as she began to feel rather ill. I'm never taking a shuttle again thought the science officer.

"Dampeners are at minimal settings, with life support. Sorry, didn't think it was worth mentioning." Collins was used to dealing with the occasional g-forces when flying and often forgot that others were not so used to them.

"It's procedure." Liam remarked with a sideways glance at the teal collared Lieutenant. He held the arms of his own chair as the craft rumbled through the atmosphere.

Collins spotted the landing area as she fired the thrusters, bringing the runabout down with little more than a slight jolt. "Well, that was fun. Powering down," she reported as she shut the engines and flight controls offline

T'Val shook her head. "That was not fun" countered T'Val. Perhaps it was her Vulcanoid brain and physiology that had caused her to feel everything more intensified than the others. Whatever it was, she was just glad that her soup hadn't come up yet.

Vara's own internal sensing implants were reeling from the landing, but as soon as they had touched down she started the hatch cycle procedure none the less. "It was a very... Efficient use of energy, Lieutenant. Thank you for the safe landing." Finishing the sequence, she readied her rifle and walked around the runabout, visually scanning the area. Several people were coming to meet them and she didn't see any weapons or signs of hostility, so she poked her head back inside for a moment before taking up a guard position by the door. "Doctor, I believe you have visitors."

Liam was quickly checking the gear ensuring nothing was damaged during the landing he was satisfied and exited the craft. "Doctor Liam Cohen, Chief Medical Officer of the Katana." He said extending his hand to the leader of the approaching group.

The group consisted of four, lead by the young auburn haired Doctor Landon Milo. With him him was Doctor Ryan Rose and Ensign Cadwallader Callaghan. The fourth member of this welcoming party was the four legged St. Bernard, Julian. Extending his arm out to shake the man's hand, Landon smiled. "A pleasure to meet you in person, Doctor Cohen. I'm Doctor Landon Milo" said Landon.

He then turned and looked at the others. "Surgical Specialist, Doctor Ryan Rose.... my Communication's Officer, Ensign Callaghan, and the furball down there is Julian."

"It's nice to meet you." Ryan shook hands. "We're glad to see you."

Liam smiled, "I'm sorry the Katana was unable to make it, hopefully they will be along shortly. Once we know where you want the supplies we can begin unloading and provide any support we can offer."

Landon nodded "There's a facility a mile west of here that we are using to house supplies. You can unload everything there."

"Understood, let's get to work." Cohen said turning to the rest of the away team.

TBC

Her chat with Tul had stretched far longer than Juu could ever have expected, and she was hungry again by the time she reached her quarters. And perhaps a little drunk, despite how short-lived synthehol was supposed to be. So after petting Lydek for a few minutes, she consulted the replicator, looking for a tasty meal her tipsy stomach wouldn't reject. Deciding on a creamy bowl of chicken alfredo, she ordered it up... then waited far longer than was normal. She barely had time to think Not again before a soft whine emitted from the device, followed by a shower of sparks and a tongue of flame that lit her sleeve on fire.

Shrieking in both surprise and pain, Jhu rapidly sobered as she shook her hand free of the flames and gave the replicator an appropriately dirty look. No one was ever going to believe this. Replicators didn't spontaneously combust! And she'd just had it repaired. She sighed heavily as she debated whether to call Matthews or Carter. Finally she decided not to worry the chief engineer and called Andrea instead. "t'Dharvanek to Carter. You'll never believe it, but my replicator just... exploded."

=/\= "Ain't no way..." Carter said over the comm. "Logs show you just had a whole bunch of repairs in your quarters, ain't no way things are so bad that things are exploding," she muttered matter-of-factly.

"Come see for yourself," Jhu responded sharply. Between the fresh pain of the burns on her arm and being tired of the disbelief of this problem, her tone was definitely less than pleasant. "Get someone down here to look at this mess or I'll get Zanaar involved."

Shit... =/\= "Fine, I'll be there in a few minutes," Andy replied. "Just try not to blow up anything else."

"I didn't blow it up! All I did was order some food and it just... oh, forget it. Just get down here."

All Jhu could hear was a harrumph as the comm line was closed. A few short minutes later, Andy was at the door hitting the chime rather aggressively.

Securely locking Lydek in his kennel, Jhu opened the door and pointed wordlessly at the smoking replicator, the singed fabric of her uniform readily apparent.

"Damn, you were not kidding," Andy said as she tugged at the sleeve of Jhu's uniform to inspect the burn patterns She wasn't trying to ogle, she was legitimately examining the scorch marks and residue, but since she was doing it without a tricorder she often came across as nosy when she did stuff like that. "Shit..." she murmured as she blinked to refocus her ocular implant.

"It really hurts." Andy's inspection was nosy, but Jhu didn't protest. If the gruff chief could repair that damage too, it meant she didn't have to go down to sickbay. "And I swear all I did was punch in the pattern for chicken alfredo. Then.... well. You know."

"Yeah, looks like it hurts," Andy said as she dug around in one of her cargo pockets. All the ire from the day before was gone. Even if she didn't like Jhu (or her evil cat), she was on the job and she was focused on that. "Here," she said, handing over a dermal regenerator, "so you don't have to make a trip to Sickbay. I work with my hands and if I went to Sickbay every time I got hurt I'd never get anything done. Just don't let me forget to get that back from you." And with that, Andy approached the replicator cautiously, looking it over with all her sensors before touching it.

"Thanks." Jhu managed a small smile as she took the device and activated it, setting to work on healing the burned skin. "If it's not the replicator, it's my computer terminal. They both hate me, and I don't know why."

"That's because you have gremlins..." Andy murmured as she continued to stare at the replicator. She knelt beside the device and removed the facing, mucking about in the inner workings. Now that she had gotten a better look at the replicator, she was quite surprised the damage wasn't worse. "Faulty phase emitter... No... it looks like in irregularities in the power conduits causing fluctuations. Took out the phase emitter and caused the pattern buffer to pop. It's probably what's causing problems with your desk terminal too."

"Why didn't the repair teams see that?" Jhu didn't know much about engineering, but that sounded pretty basic. "I mean, they've been in here all week..."

"It's a subtle thing, not something most engineers go looking for," Andy said as she started removing the damaged parts, making an inventory on a PaDD to put in a requisition with the Quartermaster. "Most people don't see things the way I do, so it's easy to miss."

"Okay, I'll buy that. And while you're looking around, something in here is making the most annoying high-pitched whining sound. No one else seems to hear it."

"Yeah, I was going to ask if that was recent or not," Andy said as she glanced around the room to try to find the source the whining sound. "You really do have gremlins in here! What the hell is going on with your quarters?!" No wonder this woman had so many work orders on her quarters! Talk about bad luck!

"The ship hates me," Jhu replied somewhat bitterly. Just like most of the crew. Finished with the dermal regenerator, she set it on the coffee table. "Technology in general does. Surprised I haven't broken Maica yet."

Broke Maica? No, Andy had beat Jhu to that... "Well, I can't speak for all technology, but it just seems to be a run of bad luck in terms of this room," Andy mused as she continued to take stock of the repairs she would need to do in Jhu's quarters. "I can't determine the source of that sound, but I'll look into it. I hope you have an office 'cause you ain't gonna be able to use your desk terminal for a couple of days. Or your replicator." But that's what the mess hall was for. "Is there anything else wrong here?" Not like she needed anything else added to her list.

"No, that's everything and yes, I have an office. Might sleep there if that noise doesn't stop soon."

"Yeah, that sound has me stumped," Andy said as she looked around for anything that could be causing it. "It sounds like it's coming from everywhere. Might not be a bad idea to request new quarters, I don't know how long it's going to take to get this worked out, I can put in a recommendation for relocation if that's something you want to do."

"Probably a good idea. I can't put up with it much longer." Jhu rubbed her ear, wincing slightly. "But don't try to rush it through tonight. My office is good enough for now."

"I'll push the room transfer through. I'll even double check it to make sure there's nothing wrong with the new accommodations. You should be able to move into the new quarters tomorrow afternoon, or first thing in the next day at the latest," Andy said. She still couldn't find the source of the sound, but she had found a number of issues with the wiring for this section. It was probably causing issues for other residents too, but Jhu seemed to be at the epicenter, so it was only reasonable to make sure she was moved to more livable quarters since these repairs might take a while. Andy may have been a bitch 9 times out of 10, but that one time she decides to be nice was times like these. Well, she wouldn't actually call herself nice; this was more along the lines of professional courtesy. There was nothing Andy took more seriously than her job and taking things like this into consideration was just part of the job.

"I think I'm done here. Now I gotta check the other quarters in this section to hunt down all the gremlin, then I can work on exterminating them all at once. But I'll get those new quarters set up for you first," Andy said as she tucked her PaDD in her pocket and grabbed the dermal regenerator from the table. She looked over at the partially dismantled replicator. Eh, she would just leave it as is, she would be back to work on it in a little while. "Don't let your cat crawl in there, he could get hurt," she cautioned. Evil little varmint deserved to die, but that was just one more thing for Andy to worry about with these repairs. She didn't feel like cleaning barbecued cat from the inner workings of the replicator.

"I'm taking him with me, but thanks for the warning." Jhu picked up the kennel, much to Lydek's dismay. He yowled at her, pawing at the kennel door. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this. I'm pretty sure Matthews thinks I've lost my mind by now."

"Well, I can't attest to your mental stability, but all the hardware issues are now noted in the logs, so at least she can't claim you're making it up," Andy said as she headed for the door, eyeing the evil little beast in its kennel. It was almost a shame Jhu wasn't leaving the little demon behind; Andy would have loved any excuse to say he 'accidentally' died. "If you have any other issues, you know how to get in touch with me," she offered as a final consolation to all the problems Jhu seemed to be having with her living arrangements.

"Thanks." Jhu smiled a little. Andy was coarse, but not unreasonable. "Sorry for dragging you out so late... and sorry to seem abrupt but I'm tired and I have to work early tomorrow."

"I can relate," Andy grumbled, but any ire she may have displayed wasn't directed at Jhu, or even the cat for that matter. She gave Jhu a lopsided grin and a wave, "Catch you later." And with that, she left the quarters, no doubt in search of more people to annoy at odd hours of the night.

Tul refilled both tea glasses again but this time with a synthehol addition. Dropping Jhu's glass off at the table, he walked past and took a seat on the couch nearby. The cushions there were a bit more comfortable than the straight-backed table chairs. The two officers had been talking for a long time and the change was welcome. Tul drank from his glass and set it on the coffee table. "Hot-headed and aggressive species... I can see how that could cause some concern among the crew. But we're not the only ones. Kerouac's hard-headedness outweighs us both."

"No joke. He's impossible sometimes." Not certain she was welcome enough to move to the more comfortable furniture, Jhu stayed put. "I catch some of them giving me that sideways 'what are you doing here, Rommie' look... can't say I blame them, but I don't like it."

Tul had half expected Jhu to follow him. But if she preferred the table chair to the couch, that was her prerogative, he didn't mind either way. "You are command staff, a stern lecture for that wouldn't be out of place. But if the captain happens to be at fault, there's a different story," Tul said. He knew full well both of them had put up with that, at one time or another. He briefly pondered Maica and the other non-human members of the crew.

"True, but I've gotten in enough trouble lately. Don't need to add 'terrorizing ensigns' to my resume." Jhu took a sip of her newly fortified drink, finding the familiar - and always welcome - flavor of synthetic alcohol hiding behind the tea. "Kris stopped doing it once he sobered up and realized what he'd done."

"Good," Tul said. "His drinking was something I heard about but, thankfully, never had to deal with. Speaking of fast-flying rumors when more than one member of the crew sees the captain falling down drunk in the corridors... The stresses of a sudden command regardless," he shook his head. "Our esteemed captain is an interesting subject. But, a new topic. Join me, Commander. If you sit too long in those chairs, your back will play up for a week. Trust me, I've tried...." Tul shifted the standard-issue decorative pillows off the couch to make room.

"I'll join you then. Inherited my mother's tendency toward a stiff back along with her temper." Jhu would never admit it, but a day of sitting in Starfleet issue chairs was enough to play hell with her back. So she got up and sat instead on the more comfortable couch, taking her drink with her.

Tul swirled his tea in his glass before taking another sip. "I wish I'd thought to pack a few bottles of the real stuff before I left Andoria," he mused.

"Ask Maica if she has any she's willing to trade. I swear, she could run a bar out of her quarters with all the alcohol people give her."

Tul glanced around his sparsely decorated quarters. "I don't have much to trade," he shrugged, "just a wistful thought, Commander." Unable to think of anything to add, Tul fell silent, turning his cool glass in his hands.

"Then perhaps she'll share, and I hear 'commander' all day. I'm off duty." Jhu fell quiet for a moment. It was odd that she talked with anyone for so long.

"Alright," Tul said quietly with a glance in her direction "Jhu it is." It would be a conscious effort on his part as he was hard-wired to ranks. He was committed to giving her request a honest try, though. As he thought about it, a light silence fell over the cabin. A quiet mood that was far more comfortable than Tul would have previously imagined might fall between himself and Jhu. He found that both interesting and welcome. What a wonder a little conversation could be!

Jhu grinned a little. Using ranks only was a hard habit to break, but at least Tul was trying to maintain the peaceful mood that had quietly become a part of her visit. She'd never expected to actually feel comfortable around any of the crew. Especially not the gruff Andorian first officer, who'd so far seemed more likely to start a fight. She was starting to think she'd seriously misjudged him, but the idea of letting the crew think they were bitter enemies was entertaining.

As the silence became protracted, Tul stretched a little in his seat and spoke up, unwittingly touching on Jhu's thoughts. "That would be breaking news if we had an on-board news caster; 'First and Second Officers share drinks and not blows'" he smirked at his own line, "the crew wouldn't believe it. I wouldn't be surprised if they've been taking bets all this time."

"Honestly I think they were placing bets. Who will swing first, who will win, how long until they fight... there's been lots of hushed whispering." Jhu also smirked a bit. "Overheard that the current theory is that you swing first and break my jaw then I stab you with a knife that was hidden in my sleeve. Bit over the top, I think."

"Ah tough break for the crew; I wouldn't swing first," that was a rule Tul had only ever broken once, "But yes. Over the top, indeed." He was quiet for a moment but he couldn't help venturing a question, "Would you bring a knife to a fist fight?"

"I have three knives and a phaser concealed on me right now," Jhu replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "And I'll fight dirty when the situation calls for it. But I won't draw a weapon unless I need one. So no... I wouldn't pull a knife on you during a fist fight."

Tul grinned and his tone changed, just a little, "Well then... Do you think you can win?"

"Hmm." Jhu gave him a studious look, sizing him up a bit. "You're a bit heavier, but me being half Romulan balances that out a little. I'd say we're fairly evenly matched. Might come down to training and no offense but you're an engineer."

"Was," Tul corrected, "My recent attempt to engineer something went... Poorly." There was still a slight, green stain underneath the replicator to back up that fact. "Besides, Command has its opportunities. More time to train, and the like."

"True, but my combat training is probably still ahead of yours. Unless you've been running my holo-programs."

More than likely, far more than likely, Tul thought. But he still pushed, "I admit that hadn't occurred to me to try. Are they any good?"

"Better than Sirigh's security training scenarios. Well, better for me anyway. If I end up in a fight, it's nearly always life or death." Jhu swirled her drink in its glass, watching the liquid move.

At that, Tul decided it might be better to let the subject go. "Someday. We'll see who's training pans out. Non-lethal. It's going to take both of us to keep Katana on course," he glanced at Jhu meaningfully but her attention was still on her glass. "Refill?"

"I can do non-lethal." She missed the look he gave her, but the tone of his voice was just as meaningful. Still, she pretended not to notice it. "And I would love another refill, but I had a long day, and I have an early start tomorrow. I think I'll call it a night." Stretching slightly, Jhu got up and slid her glass into the replicator to be recycled then headed for the door, pausing before she exited. "If you ever do want to talk, I'm willing to listen. Good night, Tul." With that, she quietly slipped out, returning to her own quarters.

((Skipper gave permission for me to go ahead and post this.))

Maica was 'functional' at the moment, but she was doing her best to keep from thinking too much so she wouldn't blow anything else. her emotions were pretty rampant at the moment, but she was doing her best to keep those in check as well and though difficult, she wasn't doing too badly considering her near death experience and failing hardware. Tapping the door chime to Jhu's quarters, she waited patiently for an answer.

Despite not really living in her cabin, Jhu had braved the strange whining noise to look for a favorite blanket she'd initially left behind. The whine had become so incessant that she almost didn't hear the door chime ring. A second chime finally caught her attention, and she opened the door to see if it was malfunctioning or if someone was really there. "Maica! I don't think I've seen you for days."

Smiling weakly, Maica cringed slightly at a strange noise, her built in UT automatically looking it over for translatable variations. "I've been under a lot of repairs lately. How have you been? May I come in?"

"Repairs? What's going in?" Jhu stepped back to let Maica in. "I'm... okay. My back's hurting a bit, but it's from the new mattress. I think."

Stepping into the room, Maica looked around, turning her head this way and that to try to locate that noise. "Yeah I've had some issues." Motioning to her head, she continued distractedly. "Almost all of my relays melted as well as a few other things. Andy got me working again, though I have to take it easy. Most of my hardware is failing." Walking towards a wall panel, she tilted her head slightly. "Do you hear that or is my hearing going too?"

"Are you kidding? It's setting my teeth on edge... makes my ears ring... I wouldn't be in here if I hadn't forgotten my blanket." Jhu watched Maica for a moment then resumed her search for the wayward blanket. "It was right here on the couch, I swear..."

Kneeling next to the panel she was staring at, she popped it free, the noise climbing in volume. "I think I found the source. Is this a normal part of this... whatever this is?"

"How would I know? I'm not an engineer." Jhu peered into the panel. "It's a different color though."

"Different color, blinking strangely, and making noise. My UT says it's a coherent pattern as well, though that could be coincidence." Standing and turning back to the room, Maica looked around. "Where's your blanket at again?"

"Haven't a clue, unless I left it on my bed. Why?"

Looking around the room, Maica switched her vision modes around a few times. She didn't see anything, but couldn't be sure. "Perhaps someone's been in here without your knowing?"

"I sure as hell hope not." At the thought of someone entering her cabin uninvited, Jhu reflexively reached for the phaser hidden under her uniform jacket. "But it would explain a few things. Like how Lydek kept getting out."

"That makes too much sense..." Heading to the bedroom, Maica looked around.

"What doesn't make sense is why anyone would sneak in here..."

Heading to the other side of the bed, she found what she hoped was the blanket poking out from under the bed. "I hope this is it." Picking it up, she carried it to the main room. "In both of our lines of work, espionage and counterintelligence aren't uncommon. Is there anyone that could get in here undetected and might have motive?"

"No one on this crew. Weaver could maybe get in, but he has no motive. Anyone else wouldn't get through without authorization..." A horrible thought drifted into Jhu's head, and she grabbed Maica's arm, pulling her back away from the device. "Don't touch it."

Handing the blanket to Jhu, Maica stepped a bit further away from the open panel. "I don't plan to. I've had enough system failures lately..."

"I'm more concerned it might explode. Despite Zanaar's insistence that I'm paranoid, there are a lot of people who want me dead." Careful not to touch the strange device, Jhu crouched near the panel and laid the blanket on the floor. "The only people with both the skill to get in and the motive to do so belong to Section 31."

Noticing a modulation change in that high pitch whine as Jhu got closer, Maica took another step back. "Did you hear that? The modulation changed... My UT is flagging it as definitely a form of communication now, too. I can't decipher it though."

"Heard the pitch change." Jhu examined the device closely, using the corner of the blanket to tap it. It beeped and flashed a few diodes as a whine built up and stopped. Suddenly finding the object quite familiar, she uttered a Romulan curse under her breath and scrambled backwards away from it, landing on her bottom in quite an undignified fashion. "Bloody fucking hell! If I catch the bastard who put that in here, I'm going to kill him!"

"Why? What is it?" Maica asked as she moved to help Jhu up.

"Homing beacon," Jhu growled as she let Maica pull her back up from the deck. "Only this one is also a transporter. And a surveillance device. Fucking vultures can't leave me alone, even out here."

"That's not very nice of them... It can't have too far of a range though, can it? It's too small." Maica replied with, glaring at the offensive object. "You're moving quarters, right? Because the way it sounds, I think even normal humans can hear it now."

"Don't underestimate them. And yes, I moved. I needed Lydek's catnip..." Jhu scowled at the device, wondering how she could remove it from the bulkhead. "Guarantee you it's a blinker... instant transwarp transporter. They don't officially exist, but I've heard stories from other operatives about them."

That made Maica a bit skeptical. "Transwarp?... We don't even have reliable transwarp drives and Section 31 has transwarp teleportation ability? The hell else do they have? Bio-cloning replicators that can make latinum at will? Replica droids that are indistinguishable from normal organic beings?"

"Not yet," Jhu remarked dryly, not amused by either possibility. "But they do have transwarp tech that actually works."

"I suddenly feel even more obsolete..." The android said wryly. Pausing a moment, she continued. "Do you think they have working blueprints for a proper android body?"

"Highly likely but I wouldn't recommend putting yourself in that position. You'll owe them, and they collect on their debts."

"A good point. I just hope Andy and Jenni can make a few miracles happen."

"Jenni's a good engineer." Jhu looked at the whining device, wishing it would stop making so much noise. "I'll have to remove that. Kris needs to see it."

"If I were you, I'd be prone to removing it with a phaser." Remembering something she was wanting to ask about earlier, she decided now was as good a time as any to ask it. "On the subject of phasers and possibly hidden weapons, do you think it might be wise to ask her to install a dermal regenerator into the palms of my new body?"

"If that was a dig at me taking a random fall in the gym, you are so not funny." Jhu snickered a little. "I think it's a great idea, actually. Definitely useful with this crew."

"You fell in the gym? It was more a dig at this ship's reputation for exploding consoles and random wild animals roaming the halls..."

"Who's calling my baby a wild animal?" Having already opened herself to teasing, Jhu chose not to elaborate on the fall.

"No one that I know of yet. I've run across a Pyrithian bat, some sort of owl creature, and 2 cats other than Lydek. It makes me wish I had a pet too now. Maybe a tribble..." Maica counted the creatures on her fingers as she named them off. It certainly was unusual for so many animals to be on one ship, especially ones that get out so often.

"So it's not just my cat. I knew Carter was exaggerating." Jhu shook her head slightly. "I'm more worried about possible sentient stowaways..."

"One that only releases pets though? I doubt even Shira could make it to all of the quarters with pets and let them out like that." Maica pondered the issue as she watched the strange device a bit more. "All the exploding consoles, too. I've been in engineering a fair bit and overheard several repair requests related to them."

"More like the type who plant mystery devices. Loose pets don't bother me... that's what animals do." Jhu shrugged slightly. "But to know which cabin is mine? They'd have to have been here right when we launched..."

Another thought occurred to Maica. "Or have full access to the Quartermaster's database somehow." What if the operative in question was on board and listening in right now? That was too worrying of a thought for her to voice.

"Exactly. They're still here... somewhere. I told people this would happen."

"People are stupid. You should have told someone else." Maica said blankly, hoping that constituted a bit of a joke.

"I told my cat," Jhu deadpanned with a smirk. "Regardless, this is bad. If one of them is here, it's not just me in trouble."

"It's the whole ship and everyone we meet. They're not as bad as the Obsidian order or the Tal Shiar, right?"

"They're worse." That was a matter of opinion, but having seen the three organizations work, Jhu believed it. "For one thing, Starfleet pretends they don't exist. So they can do anything they want without fear of repercussions. Most of them don't give a rat's ass about honor, which the Tal Shiar still somewhat believes in. And the Order will be extremely honest about killing you. Section 31 won't."

"Let's let Andy deal with removing it from the bulkhead then. She might have a trick to not get blown up." Maica replied wryly.

"Andy, huh? So that rumor's true then. You melted her little Borg heart." Jhu giggled a little at that, having a difficult time imagining Chief Carter in that sort of relationship. "But yeah... she did fix the replicator after it blew up. You want to call her or should I?"

Giggling at the rumor, Maica couldn't help but feel a flush of passion for the cybernetic woman. "I've even seen glimpses of a girly side, but in return, she and Ensign Cho'ren melted most of my positronic relay network." Blushing a bit over the memory, the android tapped her comm badge. "Maica to Chief Carter. Commander t'Dharvanek and I have a situation in her old quarters that requires your assistance."

=/\= "Maica, what the hell are you doing out of your quarters, I told you to stay put!" =/\= the surly Engineer said over the comm as she dropped everything she was doing to meet Jhu and Maica to discover what this situation was all about.

"She's not always a great listener, but she did find the source of that awful noise." Jhu took care not to comment on the undercurrent of caring in Andy's voice.

=/\= "Ain't that the truth..." Andy replied with a huff as she set a quick pace for the lift. "I'll be there in a bit, don't let her get herself into any more trouble."

"Roger that, Love. Getting into more trouble now." Grinning like the cat that ate the canary, Maica closed the comm line before Andy could reply to that.

"You're terrible." Jhu snickered, though she couldn't help wondering when Maica and Andy had become a couple. Or how. The former Borg engineer hadn't struck her as the type to even have relationships.

Andy arrived a few short minutes later, letting herself into the quarters Jhu had vacated and approached the two woman huddled around the open bulkhead panel. "Alright, tell me what happened," Andy said in a gruff tone as she knelt with them to inspect the device they found, trying her best to ignore Maica's pretty blush. Dammit, why did she have to be so adorable? Wait, what if the flushed complexion was a hardware malfunction? No, she would have said something was wrong with her over the comm. Fuck, what a distraction... She carefully removed the device's casing to further inspect its workings to see if it could be safely deactivates. "Hello gorgeous," Andy said upon seeing the detailed circuitry within the device. "Who are you and can I take you home with me?"

"Wouldn't recommend it," Jhu said dryly. "Unless of course you'd like Section 31 listening to you have sex with Maica. And being able to beam you out of the room for a private show."

"Ooh, now that ain't any fun," Andy replied, not making any attempt to refute the fact that she was in a relationship with Maica. "But I've seen this work before... the way the pathways are laid down, I recognize the hand that made this. Brilliant Engineer, I thought he died in the War. I guess not if this exists. But whoever installed it weren't no Engineer, this is definitely the gremlin causing all the problems to this section." Andy fiddled around with the device for a moment longer before looking at Jhu. "You want I should fix it or remove it?" she asked.

"I don't want the damn thing beaming me off the ship," Jhu said crossly. "But if we cut its power they'll know we found it."

"I think I can disable the transporter functionality. I think..." Andy said. It certainly wasn't like her to not be sure of anything, but this device was so complex. Frankly, it was elegant, even beautiful, it was almost a shame she was going to have to rewire it. "Now we just have to hold our breath and pray that they hadn't been listening in when you two found it."

Jhu snorted at her. "They're always listening. But if they knew already, we'd be in a lot worse trouble by now."

"True," Andy said with a nod as she reached into her pocket for a tool. "Just gimme a few minutes, I'll have this fixed right up."

Maica had been watching silently this whole time. She enjoyed admiring Andy's butt for one, but she was also worried about the modulation variance in the noise - her UT seemed to be almost freaking out over it, but she couldn't make sense of it at all.

Andy cast a concerned glance towards Maica. She had noticed how the android was staring at her, one part lust and one part over-clocked processing; the pattern of her eye twitches was a dead giveaway that Maica was crunching a serious workload of information. "What are you working on over there?" Andy asked casually as she worked. "It better be something scandalous or I'mma be disappointed in you, girl."

Grinning mischievously, Maica couldn't help but oblige. "Among other things, I'm calculating how much stress your uniform can take and whether I'm strong enough to rip it off of you. Why do you ask?" The innocence in her voice was a sharp contrast to the obviously lascivious leer on her face.

"Settle down, girl," Andy said with a chuckle, not fazed in the slightest that they were talking about this in front of Jhu. "You ain't touching the uniform, it takes more than enough damage from work. And I'm still on duty. Anyway, you're supposed to be taking it easy, you shouldn't be thinking about sex in the middle of the day." A few more adjustments and the annoying sound stopped. "Seriously, what were you thinking about?" she asked.

Jhu rolled her eyes at the sexual commentary, knowing that scolding Maica would only encourage dirtier talk. "As long as you leave my quarters first, you can ravage each other all you want."

"What part of 'I'm still on duty' and Maica 'taking it easy' was not clear?" Andy said, tossing down her tools in a bit of frustration. She sent a glare to Maica, but she wasn't really mad. "See what you started?" she accused playfully, seemingly 'forgetting' her own comment for something scandalous. "Now fess up, what were you thinking about? Do I need to crack your head open and check your relays again?" She continued to muck about the open bulkhead a moment longer to make sure everything in the wall was functioning as it should be.

The green skinned android visibly relaxed at the silencing of the noise. "My UT was going bonkers trying to process that sound. I was also thinking about the Caitian diplomats i missed a conference call with the other day while you had my head cracked open replacing all my relays. I'll need to be sure I'm available for the one tonight. Oh, and I was admiring your butt and committing every curve to memory. See? Nothing too stressful."

Andy eyed Maica suspiciously. "Alright, if that's it then I guess you'll live..." she mused as she made a couple more adjustments to the device and replaced the casing. "There, all done. No more transporter, but it is still transmitting. And on the plus side, no more noise and I fixed the feedback it was looping through the system, so no more problems for this section." She flipped her tools in her hand before returning them to her pockets. "You want me to keep this repair off the record until you can talk to the Captain about the device?" she asked Jhu as she replaced the bulkhead panel.

"Please. I don't want him finding out before I figure out how to tell him." Jhu sighed a little. "I hate them. Really, I do."

"I'll put off filing my report for this repair until you've told the Captain. Even then, we might want to just leave it out of the report altogether, just to be on the safe side," Andy mused as she rose, dusting off her hands. It would be kinda dumb to get made because Section 31 was alerted from a repair report. Either way, she would defer to her superiors on this. "Oh, and keep an eye on that one," she asked of Jhu, pointing to Maica as she headed for the door. "Keep her out of trouble if you can and let me know if anything happens to her."

Quickly stepping over and catching Andy before she left, Maica planted a quick kiss on the ex-borg's lips. "No trouble at all." She said with a smile. "By the way, we need to discuss putting dermal regenerators in my new hands later."

"Fuck," Andy mumbled, blushing slightly. Dammit! She could shamelessly shove her tongue down Cho Vara's throat in the middle of a crowded mess hall, but a chaste kiss with Maica and suddenly she was blushing! Damn, she was getting soft! "And I'll talk to medical, see if I can do that..." she added under her breath as she attempted to make a hasty exit.

Leaning in, Maica whispered softly in her ear. "You're really cute and sexy when you blush." Giggling, she stepped back next to Jhu to see Andy's reaction better.

"You're evil, woman," Andy said with flustered huff. She hated all this mushy stuff. Now she wanted nothing more than to do something gritty and dirty, like overhaul the environmental system's CO2 scrubber, to get rid of all these 'fluffy' warm feelings. "Can I go now?" Please don't make me say please... Fuck! Please don't make me say please aloud...

Jhu cackled delightedly as Andy's tough girl persona rapidly melted into frustrated girlishness. "Oh, stop embarrassing her."

Relenting, Maica settled down and composed herself a bit. "Ok, ok. You stay out of trouble too, then. And please be safe."

"Keh," Andy huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively. The scowl on her face was losing its potency as her blush intensified to match the halo of fiery curls falling down her back. "I'll stay out of trouble? No, you stay out trouble," she grumped as she tromped towards the door. Dammit.

"I'm trying to stay out of trouble... but spending all day in my quarters isn't feasible." Maica retorted, pouting a bit.

"I could keep an eye on her," Jhu offered cheerfully. "We work together a lot anyway, and it gives me an excuse to leave my tiny cave of an office."

"Good, fine, keep an eye on her," Andy barked, then disappeared through the door. Better than Vara looking after Maica, that's for sure! But damn, they just knew how to ruffle her feathers!

Tul was in his office wading through a flood of personnel reports. Departmental transfers took up the brunt of the load, as usual. Most of them could also be dimissed, as usual. From science to engineering with no professional training. Unlikely. Next, Tul signed off on a progress report detailing Lieutenant Verak's progress in his new position. The young Vulcan seemed to be adjusting well. The first officer's stack of PADDs was beginning to thin out.

Towards the bottom of the pile, Tul picked up a PADD with 'Crew Incident Report' as the headline. On a ship the size of Katana, this kind of report was rare. Even more interesting, though, the report indicated two department heads were at fault. Tul read the names and briefly paged through the PADD. He hit his com-badge.

"Lieutenant Maica, report to the XO's office," "Chief Carter report to the XO's office"

Maica had been with Andy, so they received the calls at the same time. Know exactly what this was about, they wasted no time in heading straight for Tul's office. Andy had been adamant that this was her fault despite Maica's assertion that she bore some responsibility as the Senior Officer in the incident. But Andy also had to take Maica's fragile condition into consideration; it was her fault, Andy would not be swayed on this.

Andy entered Tul's office with Maica, trying to remain professional but the little gestures gave their relationship away; a casual glance, the briefest contact to guide her, the looks of concern... It wasn't that Andy was trying to hide anything, but there was such a thing as discretion, something Andy understood quite well despite what happened yesterday.

"Sir? Reporting as ordered," Andy spoke up.

Maica wasn't too good at this reporting thing right now, it seemed. She had to take her cues from Andy as they walked in but was still a bit distant what with all that had happened the past 3 days. "You wanted to see us, sir?"

Tul looked up as the two women entered his office. He didn't miss a thing as he rose to his feet, it was obvious there was something going on between the two of them even though the contact between them was innocent enough. His voice was deceptively calm as he ordered both to "Sit."

Andy took her seat, but only after she was certain Maica was sufficiently settled into her seat. It was subtle the way she looked at Maica, the concern and even apprehension, and she would never admit to such sappy notions if Tul called her on it.

"Sir, if this is about the incident in the mess hall yesterday," Andy started uneasily, "it was my fault and I take full responsibility."

Sitting, Maica was feeling 'dim' in a way. Like she didn't have enough power or something. Hopefully it was just an emotion rather than yet another hardware failure... She couldn't even muster a response to either Tul's order or Andy's insistence that it was her fault.

Commander Kristopher N. Kerouac, Commanding Officer of the USS Katana had numerous duties and obligations aboard his starship. Personnel matters, however, were often left to the First Officer of starships as was occurring when Kris caught sight of the notice on his desk in Ready Room. It was a brief message from his Yeoman that Lieutenant Commander Zanaar was handling a personnel problem between the new Chief of Operations and Lieutenant Maica, Chief Diplomatic Officer. Maica? thought Kris with a look of bewilderment.

It was certainly not like Maica to get involved in an altercation except to intervene and defuse a hostile situation peacefully. However, the incident report implemented her as being part of the altercation, not an innocent bystander. Lieutenant Commander Tul Zanaar was infamously by the book ans could come down and come off as bit if a hard ass. Kerouac did not have much of an issue with Zanaar's style when it came to disciplining crew. However, Kris had an invested personal interest in this. He felt a personal responsibility when it came to Maica.

It was only a matter of minutes from the time Kris left his Ready Room, crossed the Bridge and made his way to Zanaar's office. The doors seemed to part ways gracefully for Kris as if they knew today was not a day to piss him off. His eyes instantly made contact with the First Officer to which Kris gave a simple grunt that constituted as a masculine 'hello,' some form of a 'man code' as Merith's voice rattled in his head. Perhaps why the two of them never worked out. She was a scientist who like puzzles that could be solved. Kris, was a puzzle but not one that could be solved.

"Pardon my intrusion, Commander Zannar" said Kris firmly. He made no eye contact with the two women. "I was just reading this incident report in my Ready Room and I understand that standard protocol differs personnel matters to the First Officer. However, I would like handle this matter myself. Especially considering my Chief Diplomatic Officer is involved" Kris added, stiffening his posture. "If You'll please excuse us, Commander. I would like you to head down to Engineering and lend Lieutenant Matthews a hand. She's a bit short handed."

Kris waited for Lieutenant Commander Zanaar to leave the office before he even made any gesture at the two women. Commander Kerouac took the seat that the Andorian had just vacated. Kris looked across the desk at the two women and his mouth was slightly ajar as he gathered his words together in his mind. However, whatever he had been trying to word in a very structured Commanding way came out nothing like those professional words.

"I'm trying to command this damn starship and the two of you are acting like idiots, not like officers of Starfleet" said Kris flatly. He then looked specifically at Carter. "Damn it, Carter. You're not even acting like an Enlisted personnel. What the hell happened in the Mess Hall?!" asked Kris with a groan.

"Sex," Andy replied bluntly. Her thought processes had practically flat-lined with Kris' intrusion into this matter. It was one thing to take responsibility for what happened, it was something entirely different to explain why it happened. "I, uh... Cho'ren Vara is my ex and I kinda wasn't thinking," she finally explicated. "And in the interests of full disclosure, Maica and I are intimate, and that was the cause of her reaction, her emotional state in response to my actions overwhelmed her neural processors causing her to shut down. With Cho'ren's help, I was able to stabilize Maica, but... she's terminal, I've got to build a new body for her." She couldn't look at Maica or Kris, the guilt was written all over her face. She had done this to Maica, it was all her fault...

A bit stunned by Kris's entrance, Maica's energy levels were somehow kicked back to normal levels and she began processing what was going on fully. "Yes, that's what happened, but it's not her fault. She acted in the only way she biologically could and it was my failure to recognize my own condition and mitigate my reaction that ultimately was responsible for the altercation. Furthermore, as the ranking individual among the 3 personnel involved, I am responsible for the conduct and actions of those involved as it was my responsibility to control the situation." There she was, back in full swing, Andy's words only reminded her that her own original estimated time of hardware failure was rapidly closing in on her. She was only built for 10 years of constant run time to begin with and even at this point, she still didn't feel anyone needed to know. Sitting forward, she had that life back in her synthetic eyes as she continued. "Furthermore, I request that any actions you have planned for them, you apply to myself instead. I'd rather not see either of them punished, if possible."

Kris slammed his fist on the table top. "Son of a Bitch!" he shouted in response, kicking back in his chair so far that it nearly tipped over. However, he was able to keep himself from tipping. He rocketed forward, nearly lunging over the table to strangle Andy. "You two are a pair of fucking idiots. Maica, I expected far better of you than this. Carter... No, this fits with your record just fine."

With a hot sigh, Kris shook his head. "What the hell... both of you! This is more than a stupid mistake or a ridiculous personnel matter. Maica, your 'health' for lack of a better term is now at risk and I cannot have my Chief Diplomatic Officer shutting down on me. Chief Carter, the next time you feel the need to pleasure yourself with a sex bot it had damn well better not be with Lieutenant Maica. At least not until you fix what damage you have caused. If you further feel the need to relieve yourself of sexual tension, I recommend visiting a replicator and finding a 'toy' design that suits your needs. Should you want advise of that matter, feel free to stop by Sick Bay on your own time. However, Lieutenants Weaver and Evans may be able to assist you."

"Fuck you," Andy replied crossly. Oh, she was going to lose her job for sure now.... Just shut up mouth, shut up shut up shut up... "Maica is not just a sex bot and that ain't why I slept with her. And for your information, I've already set down ground rules between the two of us to limit those interactions until I've created a replacement body for her. I ain't stupid so stupid that I'd 'pleasure myself' at her expense." But apparently she was stupid enough to tell her Commanding Officer 'fuck you'. She should just stop talking, she was just making things worse. "And what happened between me and Cho'ren, yeah that was pretty stupid to shove my tongue down her throat in front of Maica and in the middle of the mess hall, but it was one of those 'heat of the moment' things, it wasn't like I was trying to cause a scene or hurt Maica. Last I heard of Vara, she'd gotten hurt in a bad way and I was just relieved she was okay. She may be my ex, but I didn't want anything bad to happen to her."

Maica was starting to feel something unusual. Was it anger? That wasn't in her programming, but both of them were being so stupid with all the yelling right now it was hard to say. She had to remain calm and take control of the situation, but how? Defusing situations like this were what she joined starfleet for and she had been intimidated by Klingons and Gorn so these two were like prattling babes compared to those situations. As they were yelling she stood calmly, walked over to the replicator, ordered 2 freezing glasses of water, returned to her seat, and splashed them both. She was out of line doing that, but they needed to cool down and it was the most expedient method of achieving her goals. In the brief silence that followed, she decided they would have to know anyway. She leaned in closely to Kris and spoke calmly and with a deadly inflection in her voice. "Your Diplomatic officer will irreversibly cease functioning in 2 weeks, 4 days, 18 hours, 43 minutes, and 19 seconds. I've known for my entire short lifespan that my operational time is 10 full years and not a second more. That date has not been moved forward and now thanks to recent events I have a chance to be moved to another body which has an incredibly low chance of success. Finally finding love and trying to live every day like it's my last is the spark that ignited this whole issue and for that I'm deeply sorry. Now please stop yelling and resolve the issue." Finishing her unorthodox methods, Maica sat back down and crossed both her arms and legs, eyes closed and fuming over the behavior she had just witnessed.

Commander Kerouac's eyes shot to Andy. She would be his first target as she had taken up a aggression towards him. "Not my type" he countered her 'fuck you' tastefully. "Fine. If you genuinely have feelings for one another, then so be it. However, I and the crew do not need to be made aware of this in the Mess Hall. Your personal lives are not my concern. So, do not make it my concern" countered Kris with a glare. "...And the next time you speak to me that way, Chief, you had better have your personal belonging packed."

Kris looked at Maica. "I want your services to continue by any means necessary, Lieutenant."

Andy fixed Kris with an icy glare, but said nothing to him. She wasn't going to apologize for her choice of words to Kris, but neither was she going to do or say anything to further jeopardize her job. Not today at least. Then her expression softened as she looked to Maica, an oddity considering Andy seemed to always have a scowl on her face. So little time... That's all the time Maica had? With all the information she had assimilated last night, maybe Andy had already known the extent of Maica's life span, but why hadn't Maica told her? Andy released a soft sigh. If she had an expiration date, she wouldn't want anyone to know about it either, but knowing this didn't assuage any of her guilt for having caused harm to Maica yesterday.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Andy asked softly as she brushed the backs of her metal-plated fingers against Maica's cheek, a display of raw emotion that seemed impossible for the perpetually surly Engineer. Truly, there was something between the former Borg and the android, even if Andy wasn't quite ready to admit it. "Just 2 weeks? I guess I coulda guessed on my own given the state of things, but you shoulda told me." There was nothing in her tone that suggested she was feeling hurt or betrayed by this little 'secret', just concerned.

"If either of you knew the exact second and means of your death, would you tell others? Would telling you have prepared you for my absence?" Maica asked, looking up into her lovers eyes with an expression of acceptance. Standing and turning to Kris, she continued. "Captain, you'll have my service for as long as I function. And sorry about the water. Caitian politics can get... wet... and I picked that up from them."

No, nothing could prepare Andy for what she now knew, for what would inevitably happen if she failed to design a new body to host Maica's consciousness. She had already known that Maica was going to die, but now it was different. Finding out about Maica's life span like this was... humbling. And Andy didn't like the other feelings that wore forming, the emptiness at the prospect of being alone again. She felt cold and hollow. Andy hadn't noticed how numb to life she had become until Maica had shown up at her door. Seeing the universe through Maica's perspective made Andy want... something she couldn't name, much less understand.

Andy cleared her throat, swallowing the lump in her throat as she turned her attention back to Kris. "If we're done, I've got a lot of preparation to see to regarding Kendi," she said awkwardly, hating all the emotions she had just displayed, resenting how soft it was making her. Add to that, she had a splitting headache, but she would worry about that later. For now, she just wanted to get out of this office and back to work.

"I need to let this all sink in and clear my head. Both of you, dismissed" said Kris turning the chair and himself away from the women.

Seeing Dr Ryan Rose again had illuminated and ignited something inside of Caddy, something that only Ryan could set ablaze. They had briefly caught up and mended some fences that had never intentionally been broken. Ensign Cadwallader Callaghan had found himself later that evening, lying restlessly in his bed. All he could think about was Ryan and what had happened between them on the Akagi and on the planet Ba'ku. Why can't we just be on Ba'ku again? Why did it have to end? thought Caddy. Then, as he turned just once again, he came to the realization that it did not have to end unless that was what Ryan wanted.

Within the hour, Caddy had gone from lying in his bunk turning about restlessly to knocking on Doctor Rose's cabin door. Everything was and had to be so primitive on the planet. Technology was few and far between. Housed in tents or small cabins, medical personnel were trying to fight this medical crises. Caddy continued knowing until he heard noises, ruffling from inside the cabin. He knew that it had to be Ryan.

Caddy knocked again. “Ryan,” called out Caddy, “It's me” added Caddy.

Ryan lit the latern, and hung it before opening the door. His messy hair and attire of boxer briefs showed that he had been pulled from sleep. "Caddy, what's wrong?" Oh, he was glad to see the man, but on this planet, the first thing that had come to his mind was that there was another medical crisis.

No sooner had the door flung open did Caddy just enter and threw his arms around Ryan in a warm embrace. Caddy looked up into Ryan's eyes. "It's okay... there's nothing wrong. At least nothing wrong out there" explained Caddy. He then moved his hands upward and started to run his fingers through Ryan's hair.

The Communications Officer took a deep breath and leaned in. His lips gently touching, brushing against Ryan's for a brief few moments. Caddy soon moved his head and ended up kissing the side of Ryan's neck rather passionately.

The last vestiges of sleep were wiped from Ryan as Caddy kissed him. Ryan was immediately responsive, a low moan escaping as Caddy moved his attention to Ryan's neck. "I've missed this." Ryan's hands moved gently to Caddy's ginger curls. He loved those curls.

"You've missed this?" scoffed Caddy with his eyes studying Ryan's anatomy. "How the hell do you think I feel" added the young Ensign with the curly ginger reddish-orange hair. "I have been wanting this ever since you left. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again. Actually, I was pretty damn sure that I never was going to. How could I pass up this opportunity to feel your lips again?"

Ryan smiled. "I dreamed about you so many times, I almost want to pinch myself right now just to make sure that I'm awake." Instead of actually pinching anything, Ryan made do with kissing Caddy again, re-exploring every corner of his warm inviting mouth as he fumbled his way to the bed. It wasn't much of a bed, but it was a lot more comfortable than standing in the middle of his tiny cabin.

There was no resisting nor any desire to dare resist. Give in were the words that Caddy heard in his mind. They were soon on the bed, or at least what constituted as a bed. Way to go, Caddy the young Ensign thought to himself. People are dying by the dozens each hour on this planet and you are playing around with one of their Doctors. With Ryan on top of him, facing each other, Caddy continued to kiss him though one of his hands wandered. "Oh I think you're awake, Doctor" joked Caddy.

Ryan chuckled, momentarily coming up for air. "Didn't I ask you not to call me Doctor when you have me mostly naked?" Ryan teased, his hands finding places to roam. "You are remarkably overdressed Caddy."

The Ensign smiled and flashed his green eyes at Dr. Ryan Rose. "Me? Have you mostly naked?" Caddy shook his head and let out a sweet sigh. "You're the superior officer here, Ryan. Why don't you..." began Caddy but Ryan's roaming and teasing had caused the young ensign to take a few deep breaths and pull Ryan closer to him. "Remove whatever you want, Sir."

Ryan's groan at what Caddy was calling him turned into a groan of pleasure as Caddy pulled him closer. He started to remove Caddy's shirt, slowly and deliberately. "God, you're beautiful Caddy." Ryan placed soft kisses on Caddy's neck, marking a path down the young man's chest before lavishing attention on a pert male nipple.

"Oh shut up" countered Caddy. "I'm scrawny, pasty and have red hair with freckles all over my face" added the Ensign as Ryan began his lavish attention attack on Cady's nipple. "For someone who isn't supposed to be experienced with guys... you have a good idea where to start."

"mmmm hmm." Ryan just smiled, moving his attention from Caddy's nipple to his abdomen. "You're just going to have to accept that you are beautiful." He knew Caddy was teasing him about the experience, and teased back. "I think I remember this much." He slipped one hand down the waistband of Caddy's pants as he lavished the other man's navel with his tongue.

"You remember quite well. I suppose that is why you're a Doctor" countered Caddy with a small smirk. The ensign decided to mirror Ryan's actions and did likewise. "You'll have to accept that I have feelings for you."

Ryan kept his hand lazily busy, slowly building the tension, as he slid back up Caddy's body. "I love you too Caddy." He softly kissed Caddy, then turned his attention to bringing Caddy pleasure.

Caddy felt the warmth and redness in his cheeks. "Love?" said Caddy almost grasping for a breath. "I didn't say anything about loving you... but I do."

Ryan smiled, his breathing ragged as well. His mouth suddenly too busy to do anymore talking.

Caddy moaned "Computer, lights off..." Then, Caddy remembered where he was. He would have to do it himself. "I hate this fucking place. I'm going to lose my virginity here?!"

Ryan let out a half snort half moan. Caddy had an excellent point. It was quite possibly the worst place to lose your virginity. It was quite possibly the best place. Ryan snuffed out the lantern.

Vara had just sat down to another poorly replicated bowl of tomato soup in the dining hall. Her conversation with Andy earlier had put her in a sour mood and though she wished she could patch things up with her, she knew the other woman would likely never talk to her again after what happened earlier. She should have known better. She shouldn’t have even approached her. It was what it was though. At least she got to see her though. It might be a while with this away mission she had been selected to run security for. Who knows how long she’d be stuck on that shuttle…

Andy made a hasty entrance to the mess hall, moving straight to the replicator for a cup of coffee. She paced nearby as she chugged at the caffeine rich drink. Her head was pounding! Another trip to the replicator for second mug and this time she actually got some food, a necessity since she missed breakfast when Tul called her to his office, only to find out that Kris wanted in on the action and gave her an earful. She glanced around the mess hall for a table, then she saw Vara. Fucking hell… Could her day get any worse? Sighing, she found a seat as far away from the Lagashi woman as she could get and started eating her breakfast.

Well that was expected. Vara had seen Andy enter and pace around drinking her coffee before getting some food and intentionally sitting on the far end of the room. Yeah she was upset. Probably had a headache too. She guessed things hadn’t gone well yesterday after she had left, especially since Maica wasn’t hanging off of her today. She wanted to say so much, but would Andy let her? There was only one way to try. Picking up her tray, she carried it over to Andy’s table sitting across from the ex-borg. “I’m sorry.” She said it as sincerely as she could. Hopefully she could get a third word in…

“You said that yesterday,” Andy said without looking up from her biscuits and gravy. Great, just great! She could not afford another confrontation! she just hoped Vara wasn’t going to make a big deal about this.

“And I meant it then as well.” That was a bit harsh but at least she hadn’t told Vara off. “Is Lt Maica doing better?”

“She’ll be alright, she’s taking it easy in her quarters,” Andy replied uneasily. It was clear that even though Maica was alright, Andy was still worried.

“That’s good. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know. I can’t help but feel responsible.” Vara sipped at her soup before continuing. “I can kind of guess how she felt on that test bench. After the accident, that was about all I could do for weeks.”

“She’s dying,” Andy said, finally looking at Vara. “She’s stable for now, but all the repair did was buy time, her systems are failing and there ain’t much we can do about it.”

“That’s… Sorry… I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but please. I want to help. I can see how much you care for her and I can see she’s a really good woman.” Vara said, her eyes a bit moist. Killing pirates was one thing… Accidentally killing your ex girlfriend’s lover? There had to be a special place set aside in whatever hell she was destined for.

“No,” Andy said firmly. “I’m taking care of her, and you said so yourself, you’re not an engineer, so just leave this to the professionals.”

“That’s true but I can still help you keep an eye on her or something like that. I can call you if something happens. I’m a member of Starfleet Security. I’m sure I can do something…” ...to atone for what I did… Vara couldn’t say it out loud, but her thoughts were likely pretty clear on her face.

“She’s got people looking after her, friends checking in on her, plus every able Engineer on alert about her condition,” Andy said as rubbed at her temple, closing her eyes as the pressure kept building in her head. “She’ll be fine.”

Vara finally realized something. Her headache was pretty severe and the last time she had seen Andy in this much pain… “You used that borg data node again, didn’t you? She means that much to you, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, I did,” Andy replied with a heavy sigh, “and to be honest, I don’t know what she means to me. All I know is I don’t want her to die, so I downloaded everything we had on cybernetics. I think I might have tried to assimilated too much data last night, it’s all a jumbled mess.”

Vara’s tomato soup suddenly tasted worse to her than yesterday’s tomato jell-o. “Have you seen the… No you haven’t… You still don’t trust doctors, do you? There’s a medkit right behind you. I’m sure there’s some Metropan and a hypo in there.”

“Knock yourself out,” Andy said. She wasn’t going to bother with the medkit, but she wasn’t going to stop Vara if she wanted to get it. “And it ain’t about trust, I’m just particular. I was gonna go to Sickbay this morning, then I called called to Zanaar’s office and got my ass chewed for the incident yesterday. I can’t afford to waste time on the trip to Sickbay and my day sucks enough as it is without having to deal with doctors.”

Standing, Vara got the kit and pulled out the proper ampule and loaded it into the hypospray before pressing it to Andy’s neck and injecting her. Putting the kit back on the wall, she sat back down, all without a word.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the pressure in her head began to dull, enough that Andy could resume eating, but she did so without any acknowledgement or thanks to Vara.

Vara expected as much. She hadn’t expected any thanks or even acknowledgement. Andy didn’t even seem to feel her usual roughness with the hypospray. “I know you’ve probably heard me say this to others, but I’m saying it to you now. Your warranty has expired. Please take better care of yourself.”

“I know…” Andy replied somberly. She had heard that piece of advice often enough from the doctors. It wasn’t beyond her to work herself into exhaustion, and she had a feeling that’s what she was looking at in the very near future. “You wanna help? Don’t let me work myself to death.”

“The voided warranty helping the expired warranty. Sounds like a good plan to me.” Finally, Vara was making progress. “Promise me you won’t use that data node again then. That thing will kill you if you’re not careful.”

“I only asked because you know me better than anyone else, you know my limits,” Andy replied to validate the odd request. “And I don’t plan on using the data node again, I think I got all the information I need. If I find anything more, I’ll just read it like normal. There’s just so much to learn on the subject if I’m to design a new body for her, it would take longer than she has for me to do it all the normal way.”

“And if you keel over before then? I know the Federation takes care of its people and you won’t have insane doctor’s bills that will take you 20 years to pay off, but recovery is still difficult if you survive. From what I can tell, you’re her best hope for living a long full life and she loves you, probably a lot more than I did. What would she do if something happened to you?” Vara was almost to tears herself at this point. This wasn’t rational. This wasn’t her normal cool collected gruff self. She doubted Andy had ever even caught a hint of girliness or sappiness from her before. Here she was though, eyes moist and being all emotional. She hated herself even more right now because of it.

“I don’t believe for a second that you ever loved me, just what I could bring to your family,” Andy said bluntly. Even then, she wasn’t being completely honest about that. At the time, Andy had believed it, but looking back on it now, she couldn’t believe it now. She didn’t doubt that there weren’t feelings there, but even Andy knew the difference between lust and love. “And I’ve survived worse. Even if I did kill myself trying to save her, I have full confidence in the Engineers here to be able to help Maica…” But what to say to Maica… Vara had a good point, what was Maica to do if Andy worked herself to death? “But I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that. You’ll be keeping an eye on me. You’d do it even if I hadn’t asked you to.”

Staring down into her soup, Vara really did feel some tears sliding down her cheeks after those first words. She really had loved her back then. She still loved her. She barely heard the rest of what Andy had said, but nodded silently when she finished. Life had become too complicated suddenly. She knew she had hurt Andy, but she was just now realizing just how much.

“Dammit…” Andy muttered as she saw the tears. Fucking hell, she just couldn’t get a break! “You did, didn’t you? You really did have feelings for me? Why didn’t you say anything?” Fucking Lagashi!

Nodding, Vara spoke softly, still staring into her soup. “Yeah, under all those dealings and proposals. I’m worse than you at sharing my feelings, it seems. It was how I was raised though. Everything goes to the family. If you love someone enough to keep them forever, you bring them into the family.”

“I ain’t the family type,” Andy reminded Vara. “You knew that then and that fact ain’t changed.” Her own family life was… complicated at best. Andy didn’t know what it meant to be part of a family. The closest she had come was forming close friendships and camaraderie on the ships she had been assigned to, but she had never known what it was like to be part of a family nor had she felt any driving need form those kinds of familial bonds. “I just ain’t the right kind of person for that.”

“I know. I knew that then. I just didn’t know what else to do. It’s a moot point now though. Too much has happened since then.” Vara took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes, composing herself. Smiling weakly, she looked up at Andy. “I can still keep an eye on you and that’s good enough, right?”

“Yeah,” Andy nodded in agreement. It would have to be enough for Vara, Andy couldn’t be anything more to her than a friend now. “Don’t let me waste away chasing a goal that may not exist. I don’t know if I can save Maica, and I don’t think she would want me to endanger my own life trying.”

“I wouldn’t want you to either. I know your limits… I also know what you’re capable of. I know you’ll do well. I know if anyone can build anything, it’s you. Once you set your mind to something, you’re like a steel trap - you don’t let go until it’s all over.” Vara said with a bit of her old grin.

“How else could I make Chief Petty Officer at my age?” Andy said with her trademark smirk. She finished off the last of her breakfast and washed it down with the rest of her coffee. It was nice to hear that Vara still had confidence in her abilities, it reminded her to not give up hope so soon.

Smirking back, Vara finished her soup. “And that’s why I’m an Ensign on a Starfleet vessel rather than XO of a Lagashi pirate hunter.” The smirk fading, seriousness washed over her face. ”Seriously though, please be careful. That girl looks up to you like my daughters did to me before the accident. You don’t want to lose that.”

“Fucking hell, I don’t know what to do with her,” Andy said, running her hands over her hair. “It’s only been a few days and she said she loved me on the first day. And you know what, being what she is, I don’t doubt it for a second. Well, maybe a second, but you know what I mean.” Andy paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to word her concerns, there were just so many things she was afraid of in this relationship. “What if she ever sees what I’m like when I become too focused? What if that shatters that mental image she has of me? She don’t know me, but she’s seen something in me that makes her want to live. How can I take that away from her?”

“I suspect she’s run simulations of that sort of thing in her head. Besides, I fell for you before knowing you fully and your worst didn’t drive me off. You’re not as bad as you think. I’m pretty sure she’ll love you for all your flaws as well.” Vara explained. “Besides, if she doesn’t, at least she knew love, right? That right there is worth living for.”

“Yeah…” Andy said uneasily. She still wasn’t sure she herself understood what love was. With her family history, it was no surprise. “And for the record, you never saw me at my worst.”

“For the record, huh? I thought the day you threw me out of your life was pretty bad… I can’t imagine you being worse than that.” Vara was becoming melancholic again. She had been more and more like that since her neural implants had all been replaced. “Then again, all the memories I had in my cybernetic parts are all gone, so I guess I can’t say anymore.”

“No, that day was bad, but that was little more than a tantrum. Vara, you’ve never seen me when I get absorbed in my work. I… become something else. I ain’t me,” Andy said cryptically. “I can’t explain it, it’s… I just lose myself, I lose touch with who I am.”

“You act like a Borg drone.” Vara said simply. That she had seen before. Often times it was in her own society but more recently in the few ex-Borg she had known.

“Maybe, I don’t know…” Andy sighed. She didn’t like this conversation any more than conversations on love. “I just don’t want her to see me like that, but I have a feeling she will very soon.”

“How about this then.” Vara sighed before speaking her mind. ”You’ve seen her internals. You’ve seen her scattered across a maintenance bench. You know she’s more than the sum of her parts. She’s seen it as well. She still knows what love is. She still feels passion, doesn’t she? In some ways, just from that one meeting yesterday, I think she knows more about living than you do. Love and lust too, from the looks of her. Was she seriously designed like that? She’d be the galaxy’s best love doll if she wanted to be.”

“Yeah, she really was designed as a sex toy, and she’s all mine,” Andy said with a grin, pointedly evading the rest of Vara’s statements. Vara wasn’t wrong: Maica knew her worth, knew she was more than just a fantasy toy, knew she was more than just a collection of parts… Would Maica see past the shadows within Andy, see the whole through the broken, jaded pieces the Borg had left her with? It was only fair to show her; Andy had seen Maica in pieces, it seemed reasonable for Maica to see Andy in pieces.

Shaking her head, Vara stood up with her tray. “Then you’re the luckiest woman in the world. The densest, most scruffy looking woman out there, but still the luckiest. Seriously…”

Andy wasn’t sure which was the greater insult, dense or scruffy. She didn’t look that bad, did she? “I ain’t dense, just hard-headed and stubborn,” Andy grumbled as she followed Vara to the replicator with her own tray. “And obstinate. And Maica is totally all over this, scruffy or not.” Ok, so maybe she was going a bit far bragging about it, but it wasn’t that often that she got the upper hand on Vara.

Vara had to point out one more name. “And sometimes a bitch. Maybe next time we can talk about my life too, hmm? I understand you have a lot on your mind, but even with all the hints i dropped? Dense describes you pretty well, I think.” Heading towards the replicator to turn in her dishes, Vara grumbled some more. “Or maybe you didn’t know me nearly as well as I had thought…”

“Bitch I wear with pride, dense I resent,” Andy quipped. “I ain’t blind, Vara, I’ve noticed the change in you. I’m still too messed up right now ask you about it. Right now, I need… Dammit, I don’t know what I need, but… I’m having a hard time keeping my brain from exploding. No offense, but I got enough worries that I can’t afford to add you to that list.”

“Sorry… That was unfair of me. I guess I’m just too cynical lately what with all of life’s crap.” Setting her tray in the replicator, Vara turned back to Andy. “I’m here for you. I am. Not my broke family. I won’t try to con you into any deals. I won’t propose marriage. I won’t even bring you chocolates. I know they’re not your thing. I will be here to support you though. That I promise.”

“Thanks,” Andy said with a genuine smile as she set her own tray in the replicator. “I’ll take all the support I can get. I think I’ll need it.” she was also grateful beyond measure that Vara wasn’t going to try to get her into a marriage deal. Andy still wasn’t sure if she could trust the Lagashi woman around Maica… Well, maybe she could, but she just felt so wary about the idea, it was just a feeling she couldn’t shake.

Vara had just finished her shift and was on a little extra ‘security check’ to help her relax. Her recent encounters with her old lover had left her a bit nostalgic and possibly even upset. She did her best to remain composed and calm, her heart no longer as cold and hard as it once was. Thus she was distracted enough to almost bump into the most curious creature she had ever seen. It looked like a … well it looked like a fairy from the stories. She had heard about a new crewmember that looked like this, but actually seeing her for the first time? Vara was stunned at the least, blinking and studying the alien. “Excuse me.” was all she could get out.

The little Arboreal looked confused for a moment then her expression turned thoughtful before returning with a cheerful smile. “Excuse me,” she repeated, remembering that was what she was supposed to say as well. That was right? Hm, she was suddenly doubting her lessons.

Her curiosity piqued, Vara held out her hand in greeting, wondering if a handshake was acceptable to the woodland fairy. “I’m Vara. Sorry about almost bumping into you. Are you the new crewmember I’ve heard about?”

Shira saw the outstretched hand, but had no idea what to do with it. “My name is Shira,” she replied slowly. She was still getting used to personal pronouns, so introducing herself this way was awkward. “Is something wrong with your hand?” she asked, blinking at Vara’s hand.

Looking down at her own hand, Vara shook her head. “No, it’s a greeting of a sort called a handshake. You take the others hand and… If you prefer not to, that’s fine.”

Shira shrugged. She was always willing to learn new things! She took Vara’s hand, then looked at her quizzically. Now what? “And Shira is new,” she said, slipping back into first person without really meaning to. “The mean man took Shira from her world and Kris said she could stay here,” she added cheerfully. “It is so exciting here!”

Vara couldn't help but smile. Shira’s cheerfulness was contagious. Shaking her hand lightly, Vara let go of the Arboreal’s hand. “This has definitely been one of my better assignments as well. You’re learning English now, I assume?”

“Yes, it is quite challenging,” Shira replied, looking at her hand curiously. That was it? Strange way to greet someone. “I was going to… to…” she paused, trying to remember the right word, “hydroponics! I go to hydroponics to study,” she said, holding up her PaDD with her study material.

Hydroponics? That just made too much sense to Vara. The girl looked like she belonged in a forest and from the rumors of what she could do with plants… “May I join you then? I’d like to learn more about you, if that’s ok.”

“Yes, please,” Shira replied in a chipper tone. With a flutter of her wings, she was again on her way, this time with a new friend. She was making so many new friends! “What would you like to know about Shira?” she asked as they walked.

Walking beside the flying girl, Vara was amazed at her wings. She couldn’t even calculate how she was flying with them, yet there she was, flying naturally. “Well, I’ve heard you have some amazing powers. Making plants grow, for instance. Is that true?”

Shira frowned slightly. “Yes, but…” Again, she looked thoughtful. “Tul said that… tele… tele… mmmmm.” She seemed to be getting frustrated that she could not remember the word right. “That power, to move things, Tul said it makes people afraid, so Shira won’t do it.” Tul had never told her she couldn’t do it. In fact, he seemed to be okay with what she could do. It was a conclusion Shira had reached on her own to not use her powers.

“Telekinetics?” Vara had been wondering about that as well. “Yeah, a lot of people can be afraid of new things. I’m sure everyone will get used to it though. There’s no reason to not do it. Just use it in moderation.”

“Moderation?” Shira asked. Another word to add to her vocabulary? “What is this word?”

“Sorry. It’s like using your powers only when needed.” Vara explained.

Shira didn’t like the sound of that. “Only when needed?” she repeated. “When… do you need to use your your hands and when do you not need to use your hands?” she asked.

“I think of it more like training. What do I need to do to protect others? Do I need to use my training or do I not? Sometimes I need to use force. Oftentimes, just being there is enough.” Vara wasn’t entirely sure how to relate to it, but she could at least try. “Do you need to move things with your mind, or will your hands be enough?”

Shira wasn’t sure she understood what Vara was trying to say, but she was trying. “What is need when it has always been that way?” Shira asked awkwardly. “It has always been a part of us, of who we are. Maybe I don’t need it, but it feels wrong to not use it.”

Realizing something, Vara had a flash of inspiration. “You and I are similar in a way.” Tapping one of her visible implants, Vara smiled. “They don’t like that my people use cybernetics… machine… um… electronics? Metal parts in ourselves. I try not to use them around most people, but sometimes I have to. They’re a part of me and always will be.”

Shira definitely didn’t understand a lot of that! At least now she had several new words to add to her lessons. “Metal parts? You are made this way or you do this to yourself?” she asked as they rounded the corner and came up to the hydroponics bay. Upon entering, Vara could see the effect Shira’s presence had on the bay; what should have been immature growth cycles in many of the growing stations instead showed vibrant, lush growth.

As she entered the hydroponics bay with Shira, Vara gasped. This was the most vibrant growth she had ever seen on a Federation ship. Normally the plants were all small and weak looking, but these… the place almost looked like a rainforest in here! Turning back to Shira, she stared in amazement for a moment. “Ah. Metal parts. My people do it when we’re born. We use more over time to ourselves though. It’s our way.”

“This is our way,” Shira said with a nod, using her power to move the PaDD and set it on a table. She fluttered closer to the plants, brushing against them lovingly. “This is who we are.”

“Then be yourself. But like me, be careful being yourself around others.” It at least made sense to Vara, though she wasn’t sure if she was making sense to Shira.

“No, Shira cannot be Shira until people stop being afraid,” Shira said somberly. “When they can understand that Shira doesn’t mean any harm, then Shira can just be…”

“If that’s your decision then. Want to see something else they’re afraid of?” Vara asked with a mischievous grin.

Shira looked at Vara, uncertain, but she did nod.

Vara stepped over to one of the hydroponics consoles and placing a hand to the side of it, looked at Shira. As soon as she touched it, the screen started going crazy, displaying screen after screen of information as quickly as it could.

Shira didn’t know much about computers, but she knew that the display wasn’t supposed to be doing that. “You do that?” she asked, her eyes going wide.

Nodding, Vara removed her hand. “I can pull the information directly into my head. I can’t understand it… But it’s freaked out a few people.”

“Shira would very much like to do that,” the Arboreal woman said with a smile. “Learning language is hard.”

“Learning languages is easy for me, but I can’t move things with my mind. That would make my job a lot easier.” The cyborg replied back, also with a smile.

Shira finally felt better about her situation now that someone understood. Her PaDD returned to her and she fluttered through the tall planters where she had a hammock hung in a corner. She sat in the hammock to begin studying. “Will Vara help?”

“I’ll do what I can. How can I help?” Vara replied with a smile. She wasn’t used to smiling and her face was starting to hurt from it, but she couldn’t help herself. The forest girl was just too cute and friendly. She had a warm fuzzy just talking to her.

“Shira is learning new words today,” Shira explained, showing Vara her list of words. “You can help with… how to say them.”

Looking over the list, Vara saw a lot of them were pretty advanced and a few of the more scientific terms, she had had trouble with before. She’d do all she could though, and started running through them with Shira. Pronouncing each one syllabically so she could work them out easier.

They worked on Shira’s vocabulary for a while, going through the list a few times to make sure she understood everything. Then the next thing on her list of things to learn was how to actually use them, which was tough for them both given how many of the words were scientific terms. But they muddled through and overall Shira felt good about it.

Helping Shira with her lessons, she felt like she was back home on Lagash helping her kids with theirs. A pang of sadness hit her for a moment, missing them. Vara smiled a bit motherly at Shira as they finished up. “What’s next then?”

“Shira must learn how to use computer,” Shira informed Vara as she tucked her PaDD into a pocket in her skirt. “Later. Shira has learned enough for now.”

Nodding, Vara headed to the replicator to get a glass of water. “Are you hungry then?”

Shira nodded. “Yes. How does that box work?” she asked. She joined Vara by the replicator and browsed through the visual list of things she could eat. She chose a mug of beef barley soup and watched with amazement as it appeared in the replicator bin. “How does it do that?”

“Well, the way I understand it, it remembers how something is made, then when you want it, it uses energy from the engines to make it through energy to matter conversion…” Punching up her own meal of tomato soup and water, she carried her bowl and glass to the table and sat down.

Shira sat at the table with Vara, thinking over the explanation. But how did it do it?! She sipped at her soup from a mug, preferring to eat it this way since she was still struggling with eating utensils. “Is is like the blue light that moves us to other places?” she asked. Something about what she said sounded similar to how the transporter had been explained to her.

“The transporter? Yeah exactly like it, but the transporter can handle moving living things. The replicator can only create simple things that it can remember.” Vara hoped that was a good enough explanation. She didn’t know the inner workings of the systems, though she knew the replicator could be used as a miniature transporter with a covert modification. She had been trained in spotting those, at least.

“Shira will learn how it does that… one day…” Shira said with an assured nod. She sipped at her soup and just kept wondering how all this stuff worked. When she first arrived, it had seemed like magic, but now she was starting to see it was anything but. But it was still so amazing to her.

Sipping at her soup, Vara nodded back. “If you figure out the magic in it, let me know what it is, ok? I don’t understand it either.”

Shira giggled. “Even Shira knows it’s not magic.”

“Ah well… Maybe…” Vara knew it wasn’t magic either, but she didn’t understand it so she categorized it thusly. Having Shira tell her it wasn’t like that though… It was a bit disheartening, as if a bit of the magic of technology had faded for her.

“Did Shira say something bad?” Shira asked upon noticing the droop in Vara’s demeanor.

Vara shook her head as she sipped at her soup. “No, I just think of it as magic since I don’t fully understand it. It’s easier for me to think like that at times.”

Shira frowned. She just couldn’t understand. “How does thinking it is magic make it easier?”

“I don’t worry about my molecules being scrambled across the galaxy.” Vara replied with.

The little arboreal woman tilted her head curiously. That made no sense to her, but she suspected it had more to do with her lacking comprehension of how the transporter works rather than that Vara actually said. “Shira doesn’t want to be scrambled across the galaxy either,” she said with a pout.

“And that’s why it’s magic to me.” Vara stated with a nod.

Shira couldn’t help but giggle. “Then it is so,” she agreed with a smile.

The small golden puddle had traveled through the starship Katana's vents and ducts, had passed through conduits and circuitry. Sometimes, it would be a table in the Mess Hall, a spanner in an Engineer's tool kit, and other times if was the strange decoration in the quarters of some young officer who had never noticed the foreign decor in their own 'home.' However, his/its favorite shape to take was that which it was presently in. Shapeless and flowing down a bulkhead from a vent above.

He/It had been on a mission of observation. There was no contact to be made with the solids. In fact, it was to be avoided. However, one of the solids in particular had caught the Founder's attention. She or it was a solid like none of the others, not a solid species that was known by the Great Link. Slowly dripping down onto the floor and then steadily regaining his/its shape to mimic that of one of the solids albeit with clear imperfections, the Founder took a humanoid form in the Hydroponic's Bay where the peculiar Solid was harmonizing and vocalizing with the flora and fauna.

Shira didn't notice that she was no longer alone. after all, how could she, she hadn't heard the big doors open! She continued to hum as she fluttered about watering some seedlings she had just planted. They were responding well to her song, little sprouts were already peeking through the nutrient rich peat of the nursery bed. So very happy! She set her water mister aside to check the light and temperature levels for this growing station, flinching in surprise when she finally noticed that she had company.

"Oh, hello!" she greeted cheerfully.

The Founder pursed his/its lips with a slight cocking of his/its head. The Founder approached the small winged humanoid with an inquisitive gaze. Never before had it itself seen such a creature. A Solid with wings that fluttered about. The Solid had greeted him/it and so the Founder likewise returned the greeting. However, done so in a firm unemotional tone. "Hello" it said, following Shira's every move with its eyes.

"What is it that you are doing?" the Founder asked with some curiosity.

"Oh, I have just planted some seeds," Shira informed her guest with a smile. "To improve fruit yield of these tomatoes, I have been cross breeding them," she explained a bit slowly. Her fluency with spoken language was definitely improving, but it was still clear that it was not natural for her. "The crew likes having real food in the... the..." She struggled for a moment to remember the right word. ".. galley! They like real food in the galley, so I hope to increase the amount of goods we have available."

The situation on Kendi was on the Founder's mind. "You nourish these plants... you make them grow?" the Founder asked with interest. "What do you do if they... what if the plants begin to expire?"

Expire? "You mean, if they die before their time?" Shira asked in clarification. "All things expire eventually," she informed "but sometimes things just go wrong." She led her strange guest to another growing station where she was trying to save a wilted kale crop. "This was overwatered and drowned the roots, causing them to rot. Now I have to be careful or I may lose the crop. But these things happen. If it dies, it will not go to waste, I will put it in the bin-" she pointed to a bin marked 'compost', "and one day it will be nutrients for more plants. On worlds, there are pests and disease, but that is not such a problem on the ship. Everything is... de-con-ta-mi-na-ted." She sounded so silly carefully enunciating the word, she was just lucky she got it right the first time.

The shape shifting Founder was interested in this fact. "The crop essential to our soldiers is...con-ta-mi-na-ted. Something is harming the crop. Without it, our soldiers will not be the same. They will not answer to us and will harm each other until there is nothing but death" explained the Founder the best that it could to the creature. "This must not happen" added the Founder.

"Oh, I see," Shira replied, nodding her head. "You are right, that must not happen. How can Shira help?"

"Your ship is going there. I will take you to the plants, you must help them grow."

"Yes, Shira will help," the little Arboreal said sympathetically, not knowing that this was a stranger and not a member of the crew with whom she was willing to go above and beyond to help.

The founder nodded and then took its golden puddle forms, moving about and leaving the Hyrdoponics Bay.

Objectives:
-Investigate the agricultural crisis
-Meet with the Vorta
-Avoid hostile confrontation with the Jem'Hadar
-Snoop around and collect data on the cloning technology
-Discover the invasive species causing the agricultural crisis (Matthews, expect a PM)
________________________________________________________________________


With the Katana now in orbit around Kendi, it was time for Jenni and her team to get to work. Just a couple of minutes ago, she had requested her teammates to join her in Transporter Room One so that they'd be ready once confirmation came through to beam down. She was the first to arrive, nodding at Mallory behind the controls. Jenni performed a final check on her tricorder and checked out a phaser from the nearby locker. Caution was paramount, and Jenni honestly hoped they wouldn't have to cross that line.

Noah entered transporter room one and gave the operator a quick smile and then turned his attention to the chief engineer. "Hello again lieutenant," he said as he moved to the cabinet where the phasers were held and checked one out. He holstered it right away, not wanting to hold onto it any longer then he had to. His tricorder had already been calibrated and holstered as well. He swung the small case he had been carrying over his shoulder. The case contained all the information he would need while on the mission. He had been fortunate enough to memorize a good portion of it, but still it was good to have a hard copy to reference if needed.

Kyle stepped in just behind his husband. Unlike his counterpart, he liked weapons. They were as much a tool of his trade as Text PAaD or a tricorder was to Noah's. And he was good with them. He was better at hand to hand, but he was good enough with phaser. But he didn't just have a phaser. He had twp phasers a knife and even an ancient, yet still serviceable slug thrower. Just in case. He took a position on the padd giving everyone in the room a brief nod.

Chief Petty Officer Carter had waited until the last possible minute to depart for the transporter room. She had been fussing over her girlfriend, the android Maica who was loving the extra attention despite the reasons. But duty called, and Andy managed to separate herself from her fragile companion. The sound of her heavy work boots herald the arrival of the ex-Borg woman, and she cut a glance to Jenni as she entered the room. She knew Jenni would understand the reason for her tardiness even without having to say it out loud, the stress of it was written all over her face.

"Sorry if I'm late," the surly red-head said as she took a phaser as the others had done, but she had no intentions of using it, preferring instead to use the bow slung over her shoulder. She knew archery was a 'dead' skill, kept mostly as a hobby nowadays, but Andy felt in this instance it was practical. She had served during the Dominion War, had seen Jem'Hadar shrug off phaser fire, but there was no shrugging off a broad head arrow.

Kyle looked at the newcomer, a neutral expression on his face. He just hoped the Petty Officer would be smart enough to know when to draw her weapon and when to be patient and talk her way out, or let him talk their way out of a situation.

Noah's eyes went wide at seeing Carter with a bow slung over her shoulder. He also knew Kyle had multiple weapons and that just made him uneasy. This was already going to be a delicate situation and if the Jem'Hadar attacked then all the bows and arrows and weapons wouldn't do any damn good. They would truly be as good as dead. He almost sighed in resignation but fought against it. He stepped up onto the transporter pad and just waited. He didn't want to totally admit this, for fear of ridicule, but he was looking forward to this. It would give him a chance to put all his skills to the test. He was hoping to save the day even though he knew how silly that probably sounded. Though now he worried about Kyle and what would happen if things did go wrong. He pushed that thought out of his mind, there was no use in thinking about something that may or may not happen. He did know one thing though, he would be talking to the captain about future away missions. He knew it wasn't always going to be something to avoid, putting he and Kyle together, but he had to at least ask.

Kyle noticed Noah's expression, but could only guess as to its significance. He settled down and waited to have his atoms dissembled.

Jenni took note of each team member as well as their arms and tools. She didn't quite know why, but a smirk flashed on her face when she say Andy's bow and quiver. They were walking into a Jem'hadar base that surely was armed to the teeth and featured all kinds of invasive countermeasures. If their phasers stopped working, at least there would be one way to protect themselves.

She took in a deep breath. Here we go. Jenni motioned for the team to gather together. "All right," Jenni began, "you all know we're not sure what to expect down there, but I certainly don't want to overstay our welcome. Let's get in, do what we need to do, and get out." Suddenly, she smiled. "And, keep the insanity to a minimum. Everyone ready?"

Noah nodded. "Ready," he said. On that note, he had already plan to keep sane.

"Ready," chimed in Kyle.

"Good to go," Andy said, taking her place on the transporter pad. Keep the inanity to a minimum? Damn, just had to take the fun out everything!

Jenni took her place on the pad and tapped her combadge. "Matthews to Captain Kerouac. We're ready to beam down, sir."

Commander Kerouac was on his was to the Transporter room when his communications badge let out a small series of chirps. Kris came to a sudden stop and responded to Matthews. "I'm on my way, Lieutenant. I'll see you off myself" replied Kris quickly. He then continued to proceed to the Transporter room to meet with the Kendi Away Team.

Entering the Transporter room, Kris sent the transporter operator out of the room with a jerking of his head and a pat on the young man's shoulders. Stepping behind the console, Kris looked up at the Kendi team. "We'll be in orbit should you need anything. Remember to maintain routine contact with Katana. Stay safe down there and be cautious" added Kris.

Kyle gave the Captain a half smile. "Of course sir and Ill make sure we all return with all the body parts we have now."

Really? Noah thought to himself. He had to restrain from rolling his eyes at his mate. They were either going to come back or not, separation of body parts was not going to matter, it was all or none. Instead, he kept his gaze forward, he looked at the captain briefly and then focused his eyes somewhere above the other man's shoulder.

"Can't be too cautious on a planet filled with Jem'hadar, sir," Jenni replied. She was starting to have a bit of doubt with the mission, sourced from both nerves and inexperience. It was definitely too late to turn back now. "But, we're ready just the same, Captain. Let's get this over with." Get this over with? she asked herself. Of all the things to say before leaving the Katana, did it really have to be that?

Kris gave one last look at the members of the team and gave a nod. Activating the transporter, Kris sent the bunch down to the planet's surface.

===

Noah didn't mind transporters, most people didn't even think about this way of travel or even notice it's effects, but he noticed. The sensation of his body being pulled apart always felt odd to him, like goose pimples prickling across his skin. He could handle that, it literally was only seconds and then he was rematerialized. What the drawback of transporting, for him, was the fact that the matter stream coupled with the annular confinement beam would temporarily disable his hearing aids. There were times they even were shorted out because of transporting. No one, as of yet, had come up with a way for this to not happen, so Noah most times just hoped it didn't. He knew once they were on the planet he would need to recalibrate the hearing devices right away, he just hoped the few seconds it would take to do so wouldn't be crucial seconds.

Unlike others officers who may have had an aversion to the transporters, Andy could have cared less about it. She was born and raised on ships, transporters had become a regular part of her life as surely as replicators and really fast computers. That she had been a transporters specialist for a while helped stem any fears regarding the rearrangement of her molecules. No, what really bothered Andy was being planet-side. She spent so much of her life in space that natural gravity and atmosphere felt strange to her. Truth be told, she had only had her feet on solid ground a mere handful of times, and each time she didn't like it. More than a couple of times it had turned her stomach. She was feeling a little queasy with the transition now, but she remained cool and passive, taking in every little detail around them, and even though they were now surrounded by Jem'Hadar, her bow remained safely tucked away, making no move to draw the weapon even though her experience through the Dominion War made her keenly aware of what these soldiers were capable of. They were both here to talk, not fight.

The butterflies dancing in Jenni's stomach didn't help the transport process. For perhaps her first transport since her youth, her innards threatened to expel themselves at the conclusion of the transport. The sight of armed Jem'hadar surrounding them was enough to keep her from doing so. Jenni quietly looked around, noting at least a dozen Jem'hadar occupied this 'waiting area' or whatever the Dominion would have chosen to call this open room. They had been beamed directly into the cloning facility, but nowhere near any operational areas.

Though the war was over, Starfleet Academy had done well to educate its students with various species and factions, including the Jem'hadar, whose rank was never shown. Advancement in each squad was determined by successes and honor, and changed frequently. Because of this, Jenni could not spot the First, but the arrival of a Vorta settled all doubt of who to talk to.

Jenni took one step forward, but no more, and addressed the Vorta. "I'm Lieutenant Jennifer Matthews, USS Katana. We're here to help in any way we can."

Breva, the female Vorta who was in charge of the planet though in a 'unofficial' capacity as Kendi was no longer in Dominion space approached the members of the Federation with caution and suspicion. It was under her guidance that she ordered the unfortunate distress call. Though she was hoping that it would be the Dosi or Karemma who would come to their aid. However, any assistance was welcome though the Federation were unpleasant to deal with.

The tall, slender Vorta cocked her head slightly and bowed her head just a little. "We're here to receive your assistance. I am Breva, the one who oversees this world. We were not expecting the Federation to be out this far" she said with a small shake of her head. She was careful with how she worded everything.

Jenni bit her tongue. Had she been aboard the Katana or privately alone with the Away Team, perhaps, no... definitely... she would have spoken her mind. The tone in Breva's statement carried much weight, and every word Jenni spoke mattered now. There was no safe way to reply to that statement, and perhaps there were paths safer than others. "We were bringing medical supplies to nearby worlds when we picked up your distress call. Hopefully, we have proper resources that can be of help to you as well."

~Ungrateful bitch~ Kyle thought to himself. But he was here to help protect the team, that and gather some Intel if he could,so he remained silent.

Breva did not like the way the male human had looked at her. She simply locked her eyes on him and glared as though she could see through him. Be it the will of the Gods that stand here before us and not get struck down she thought to herself. Her attention was then drawn back to the female. Humans were always fascinating and yet so pungent and impure.

"Is that so?" said Breva in response to the female Lieutenant. "You speaketh of those on Teplan as though not they guilty on impurity... I'm afraid that your efforts on Teplan will fail my dear. They are doomed species. Our Gods have shunned them for their disloyalty and impurity."

"Last I recall, we didn't say nothing 'bout where we were delivering medical supplies," the surly red-head spoke up. "Does it really matter what brought us out to the ass end of space? If you really don't want us here then we can leave, but who knows how long it will be before someone else decides to answer your distress call." Andy had no qualms about leaving the Jem'Hadar high and dry as it was. A veteran of the Dominion War, she had come face to face with this foe many times, so she would not hesitate to abandoned them to their problems if they gave this team too many problems. It was a shame she wasn't in charge of this away team or she would just call for a beam-out now.

Breva let out a small laugh at the woman, though it was more of a scoff than anything. "You are but a mere child" replied the Vorta. She simply shook her head and looked at Andy. "You needn't say where your pointless efforts are. The Gods see all. It was them and the Jem'Hadar that cursed them with the Blight."

"I, for one, could care less about the Teplans and even less about you and your gods," Andy said, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you don't want our help, that's fine, just say so and we'll leave. Some of us have more important things to do than to stand around belittling each other." What a waste of time! Andy could be working on Maica's new schematics, but instead she was trading insults with this ungrateful Vorta. Why did they even send out a call for help if they weren't going to accept the aid that responded?

Kyle was wondering the same thing, but was remaining silent. He didn't necessarily agree with her approach but he was determined to stand back and see where things went.

This had gotten out of hand somehow and Carter wasn't helping. She was just stoking the fire. He felt she definitely was stepping out of line, the situation was already on the urge of volatile. He stepped forward next to Lieutenant Matthews. "I'm Doctor Noah Evans, science officer and medical officer on the Katana," he started. He was hoping he would be able to diffuse the situation. "We are here to help and I've been researching how we might be able to help," he reached into his case and pulled out a PaDD. He looked at it briefly then handed it over to the Vorta. "We don't have as much information as we like, but I have specialties in botany, plant morphology and ecology. I want to help, I want to be able to work with you to help you find a way to fix this." He offered a small smile, it was a genuine smile. "Maybe your Gods will show us or point us in the direction we need to fix this when they realize we are serious about helping."

"We accept your help. Though we have very little to provide" replied Breva.

Jenni was about to cut off Andy when Noah had stepped in. As grateful as she was for Noah's intervention and attempt to get things back on track, Jenni was frustrated at herself for not acting quickly enough. Her first time leading an Away Mission and she'd already lost control. "I apologize for the outbursts, Breva," Jenni said, smiling as well. "I would hope we can keep the past behind us and work together to save the fungi."


Kyle took looked over at Andy. It seemed Noah had shown more sense than either he or Andy. He at least had realized it and as Jenni spoke he took a few steps closer. He didn't try to hide his actions, he just wanted to make sure she behaved.

Breva had accepted the Starfleet PaDD, giving it a look over. She looked at the woman who appeared to be their leader. "Past transgressions have a way of resurfacing in those who were around to experience them. I simply have memories of the past. The past is behind but at present their may be no future for the Jem'Hadar under my watch" The Vorta said with a soft tone.

Her eyes fell upon the one who identified himself as a scientist and medical doctor. "Something has been destroying our Tri-nucleic fungi" explained Breva.

"Ain't that what you use to make the White?" Andy asked. If it was, she could certainly see the problem with their predicament.


Kyle had been ready to say something, but changed his mind. He just waited to see what would happen next.

"It is," Noah said to Carter, but didn't directly look at her, he had been extremely annoyed with her brashness. This was a delicate situation, there was no need for anyone to have a bad attitude or go in with phasers firing so to speak. "Do you possibly have a lab space or somewhere we can maybe set up?" He obviously didn't want to push it, but a space to spread out would be much easier than having to do something in the field. "Also, I would need samples to take a look at it, whatever you can provide will be much appreciated."

The Vorta nodded. "You may set up a lab in one of the processing plants. However, you will be observed by Jem'Hadar. You are permitted to explore the planet freely. However, access to our cloning facility is strictly prohibited" explained Breva. "We began noticing the problem a few months ago but it has not been a serious problem until now. We tried to solve this problem internally, but could not. We established subspace contact with a pair of Bynars, supplied them with data spanning a year. They were able to extrapolate that the issue likely began seven months ago when we received a shipment of Bajoran and Regrean wheats" added Breva.

"Seven months?" Andy asked. "An issue that took seven months to become a problem, that's a bit of a stretch. What do you expect us to do?" If Andy came across as having an attitude, it was completely unintentional as her question was legitimate. Trying to track down a problem over that kind of time frame was no small feat. What if they couldn't find the source of the problem or devise a solution? The Vorta was asking a lot of them and gave little in return.

"We're asking for your help" replied Breva, slightly offended. "What would you ask for if you were in our place. Our crops are withering, infected, diseased and being ravished by something unknown to us. Never before have we experienced something like this. More and more of our Jem'Hadar soldiers are becoming insubordinate and hostile towards all Vorta, myself included. They are no longer listening, they do not respect our Gods. They are killing each other over Ketracel White because of the shortage and we are having to abort the cloning process. We need your help."

"The Jem'Hadar never respected your Gods, that's the whole point of the White," Andy reminded Breva coldly, but said nothing else. She would probably get an earful later for overstepping her boundaries, but she didn't care at this point...

Breva had little of an argument to defend the Founders. She felt as though she had let the Gods down. However, she relied heavily on her faith. "Perhaps it was the will of the Gods to create the 'white' as a way to tame the Jem'Hadar."

"The Jem'Hadar don't need taming," Andy said with a hint of reverence and respect for the warriors that surrounded them. She had seen things in the War, things that shaped her opinions, both good and bad... Her views on the Jem'Hadar were definitely unconventional. "I'll go get started setting up the lab space," she said to Jenny and Noah, then exited the foyer with a Jem'Hadar to escort her out.

Jenni shook her head ever so slightly. She agreed with many of Andy's statements, but her method of voicing those she did not. Once they were out of sight from the Vorta and Jem'Hadar, she'd have a word or two with Chief Carter. "We'll need access the data you sent to the Bynars," she said, pulling the conversation back on track, "and their conclusions. Do you have samples of the wheat still left? Anything at this point will be helpful."

Kyle looked between the two women shaking his head. He wasn't quite sure what was going on in the Chief's mind, but she was inching towards being a liability not an asset. She merited his keeping an eye on her. For everyone's sake.

In the back recesses of his mind, Noah wanted to shoot Andy and beam her back to the ship. The way she just ran at the mouth was making a bad situation on the brink of volatile. It didn't help his hearing aids kept going in and out so Andy's shrill was just irritating him even more. He wanted to sigh but kept composed. He wasn't fond of the idea that the volatile woman who couldn't keep her mouth shut had gone to prepare the lab, he didn't even know why she went. It wasn't like she knew what he was going to need. Nevertheless, he just stood there and 'listened' as carefully as possible. He had a good memory so he would be adding how Andy acted in his report to the captain when the time came.

Berva signaled for one of the Jem'Hadar to retrieve what the Starfleet officers requested. Moments later the soldier returned with an older Cardassian Personal Access Display Device. With the PADD in hand, the Vorta handed it over to the woman. However, she looked at the remaining trio. "All the numerical data and reports are contained on this" said Breva.

"Thank you," Jenni replied, accepting the PADD. Her instinct was to immediately look it over, but perhaps that was better suited at a more private moment.

She then looked at the Science Officer. "There was something else... when the wheat shipment arrived. Some of the wheat was missing. We thought nothing of it at the time." Breva shook her head. "Recently we've begun noticing something at the sites of the crop destruction. Could it be possible that some sort of creature is doing this?"


"Could we perhaps see the crops?" Jenni asked. She was sure her mind was something like Dr. Evans, silently reviewing an endless possibilities of options. It could be a creature, or malfunctioning equipment. Harmonic frequencies were known to cause tremendous damage under the right circumstances. "Or any of the harvesting equipment? You never know what a fresh pair of eyes can catch."

Breva nodded. "Wait here. I will arrange for one of the Jem'Hadar to escort you."

Ryan woke up feeling better than he had the entire time he'd been on Teplan. Unfortunately Caddy and he didn't have the luxury of relaxing and enjoying themselves for the day. They both had work to do. Ryan kissed Caddy goodbye and headed to meet the doctor from the Katana.

Once at the main center, Ryan found himself a cup of coffee and then went in search of Doctor Cohen.

It was the second day on the planet, and Cohen was tired, he'd managed to grab a couple hours sleep and was reading up on the latest reports. He looked up and saw on of the senior doctors approach. "Doctor Rose right?"

"Yes. Good morning. Here, looks like you could use this more than me right now." Ryan offered the coffee. "So glad you guys got through, we really need those supplies, it's been pretty rough around here."

Liam nodded and accepted the cup, draining it quickly. "I just wish we could have brought more support. The Katana can hopefully finish their other mission and rendezvous shortly."

"Anything you managed to bring will help. Do you have the inventory list?" Ryan asked.

Dr. Landon Milo walked into the room in the midst of the conversation. A quick 'mental sweep' of thoughts and emotions had brought him up to speed. "By anything, we mean anything" added Landon. "I have started to rely more heavily on my background and I may just be onto something."

Cohen turned to face Milo, "What is it?" He asked, any leads would be welcome as the Teplan population continued to dwindled, one report indicated that if it was cured within the next 16 months there may not be enough Teplans left to maintain their species.

"Herbology, Doctor Cohen" replied Landon with a gentle tone of voice. He looked at Ryan and Liam, both very intelligent medical minds and damn good doctors in their own right. "We know what our advanced medical technology does to these people. It only helps speed up the process and kills them. Thus, we have scaled back our technology and have been using rather primitive tools and devices. However, what Starfleet Medical and Science have failed to do is look closer to 'home' for a treatment or cure" explained Landon.

"Go outside, take a look around. Hundrerds of thousands of plant species and we know so very little about them. In a way, this Blight is much like forms of cancer from Earth's history. Doctors, it may be time that we throw our medical tricorders and our hyposprays aside. What is the answer is here... there may be various plants on this planet that could have medicinal properties. For centuries, societies all across the galaxy have a history of curing diseases by something as simple as parts of plants or trees."

Cohen nodded, "Any specific leads so far?"

Hesitantly, Landon nodded. He would have liked to have more firm results before say anything but the Teplan people could not wait. "Yes, but I am only at the beginning stages of my research and though I'd rather have at least a month to be positive in the results... we do not have time."

"Well, whatever we can do to help, just let me know." Liam said.

A few weeks ago, I took a change and sent out a team of scientist and physicians with a background in herbology and botany. They brought back dozens of plants, some of which were quite deadly. However, two plants have been of particular interest. One plant seems to excrete a iridescent sap like substance which appears to have medical properties... it seems to be a an anesthetic. It was observed that insects landed on the plant causing the plant to release the sap. It seemed to paralyze the insects" explained Landon.

Cohen nodded, "Which means it could help at least as pain management. I'd like to take a look at your research." He said.

"I would like you to look at it. If it will help ease the pain... that's a start. However, it is the other plant that I am more interested in. Early research and tests indicate the toxin of one plant... in small amounts has prevented the Blight from spreading throughout the bodies of some Teplans. In a few cases, it has begun to indicate the ability to reverse the process."

Cohen accepted the PADD and began to look over the preliminary research. "There's definitely promise here. I'd like some sample and to run some tests."

Landon winced. "That's the problem" said Landon sharply. "The best we can tell, that plant only grows in specific areas on the planet and grows sparsely. Even if it leads to a cure or at the very least a treatment. We will only have enough to save a small minority of the population. It may take too long to figure out how to replicate it."

"Well hopefully we can also look at cultivating it as well." He said setting down the PADD, "What else do we have?"

"Patients dying as we speak" said Landon. "Let's get back to work. I'll have Ensign Callaghan try to get in contact with your starship. There simply is not enough personnel down here to send enough off to collect plant samples. I need all medical personnel tending to the Teplans. I need science assisting and studying the plants. It's dangerous out where those plants are... hostile animal life and we cannot use energy based weapons near the general Teplan population."

"Well lets get to it." Cohen said setting down the empt coffee mug and heading for the door.

Having excused herself from the Vorta and Dr. Evans, Jenni quickly made her way to the lab area allotted to the Starfleet crew. Naturally, Breva insisted on Jenni being accompanied by Jem'Hadar. The engineer was certain that the Captain would have done the same if the roles were reversed and the Dominion was aboard the Katana.

Jenni wouldn't have cared, except she would rather have this conversation in private. She'd frozen up momentarily, sure; a matter that would undoubtedly be mentioned in Dr. Evans' report. That she didn't care about.

She did care to make sure that the situation wouldn't have an encore.

Jenni and her escort entered the lab space to find Andy at work setting up the lab equipment under the watchful eyes of a Jem'Hadar soldier. She thought for a moment to excuse the Jem'Hadar, but the thought of being alone with Andy wasn't exactly inviting.

Jenni crossed her arms. "Oi!" she declared, hoping to get Andy's attention. "What was that out there?"

"Oi!" Andy called back. And here she thought she was the only one who said that... "Lower the volume, I've got a killer headache..." she grumbled as she began interfacing some Starfleet equipment with the Dominion lab computer for shared information. "And it weren't nothing. Sure, I pissed off the Vorta, but at least now they know where at least one of us stands." She looked over to her Jem'Hadar escort and nodded his way. The large warrior nodded in return. The Jem'Hadar didn't like the Vorta any more than the Federation did.

"Where we stand?" Jenni echoed. She started to walk over to Andy, and her first thought was actually not to address the issue but to see if she needed help setting up the equipment. She shook her head to recompose herself on the reason why she was here. "It doesn't matter where we stand. What matters is the mission. Good relations during this mission could go a long way in future encounters with the Dominion."

Honestly, it was textbook. Every Starfleet cadet was taught the history of Federation/Klingon relations. Sure they were at war for most of their history, the Klingons came to respect the Federation not as an enemy, but as an ally. Whether or not the same would happen with the Dominion was not Jenni or Andy's concern, but the concern of Starfleet as a whole.

Andy paused in her work and leaned against the console. "I did foster good relation, with the Jem'Hadar," Andy said to Jenni with a steely gaze. "Now they know that at least one of us has seen them in battle and respect their strength. Besides, they don't like the Vorta any more than anyone else in the galaxy. I know this guy got a kick out of watching me piss off Breva," she continued, pointing to her escort who wasn't ashamed to nod his agreement with her statement.

"Look, I'll admit that maybe I said too much, but I'm exhausted from working without a Chief in my department and chasing down gremlins in the replicator system that make them spit out nothing but red jello! On top of that, I have a splitting headache from downloading years of cybernetic research directly into my brain so I can try to save my dying girlfriend. So forgive me if I ran my mouth a bit, but I didn't say anything that wasn't true." Oh god, Andy was seriously going to lose her job now... She had told Kris off and now she was doing it again to a Department head and her team leader... Shit, things were getting out of control, Andy didn't know if she could hold everything together. It felt like everything was falling apart at the seams and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Jenni's trademark smile was nowhere to be seen. She shared Andy's desire to see Maica repaired quickly, but her mind wasn't clouded by emotion. Ever since the Academy and her failed relationship in her freshman year that nearly cost her everything, Jenni had sworn off love in favor of a career. Jenni opened her mouth, but quickly closed it, considering her gut reaction to be too cold. She looked at the Jem'Hadar beside Andy, then back to the Chief. "Look, feelings or not, there is protocol to be followed here. Even the Jem'Hadar have a respect for the chain of command. But, if it's something you believe you can't handle today, you're welcome to relieve yourself and send someone else down here from Operations."

The engineer now stood about three paces away from Andy. "Department head or not, I selected you to be a part of this team because you're the best. Regardless of how we all feel about each other, I think everyone's top priority is to be done here as quickly as possible, so we can all go back to our lives. For you and me, that means a fighting chance to save Maica. Every minute counts, even now."

Fuck, Jenni had her there... Damn, she hoped she hadn't made a total mess of things. "Right..." Andy said uneasily as she returned her attention to the equipment she was setting up. "Right, I'll uh... finish up here shortly..." For a moment, she was tempted to ask Jenni to leave this out of her reports since she was already in hot water with Kris, but the truth was she didn't deserve that kind of consideration after the way she acted. She just... didn't know how to deal with what was happening to Maica! But that didn't give her the right to be a total ass to everyone around her. "It won't take me long to get everything set up," she reiterated, her tone somber and subdued. "We have access to all their data now, the Doc can start working anytime."

Jenni wouldn't consider this a victory, nor would the uneasiness she felt yield to calm. This wasn't nerves. Something just didn't feel right. "Let's get this done, then," Jenni said, trying to figure out, quickly, how best to proceed. Her first Away Mission to command had started poorly. She hoped it would turn around, but it was obvious. Tensions were high. Hopefully she could keep the Away Team working without causing additional trouble. "I'll let the doctor know we're about ready."

The engineer turned and headed for the door. She paused as it opened, glancing back once more to Andy. Jenni wanted to help her, but she wasn't sure how. Hopefully they'd figure it out once this mission was over.

=Bridge=

Ship's Captain Kristopher N. Kerouac had just walked from out of the turbolift with a bit of a swagger as he navigated his way down the small ramp, a series of a few steps that lead down into the command pit. It was the calm before the storm, a storm that Kerouac and his crew were ill prepared for. The ship's Chief Medical Officer and others were on an away mission a few light years away on the planet Teplan. Meanwhile, another away team lead by Ship's Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Jennifer Matthews was on Kendi, a former Dominion planet that was still inhabited by a population of Jem'Hadar. The USS Katana was in orbit of the planet, waiting for the next report from Matthews and her team. It was a detour mission that took them away from Teplan where Katana was supposed to be.

Unbeknownst to Kerouac, he had a serious problem aboard his starship and the individual aboard who was aware of the intruder was the young Arboreal girl, Shira. Unfortunately, she had no knowledge of the dangers that her new 'friend' posed to the starship. For weeks the crew of Katana had been living, working, and going on about their lives as they were being secretly being observed. Sometimes, it was a bulkhead, sometimes a floral arrangement, anything it dared to be. Watched by an intruder that they did not even know was among them.

A founder, a changeling, one of the shape shifting beings from the Gamma Quadrant was aboard the starship. The founder's mission was at first to observe, to learn about the solids of Katana. However, new assignment details had been given while the starship was in orbit of the Dominion planet of Kendi. The shape shifter had made his way to the Bridge of Katana in an innocent form, a PaDD that had been carried onto the Bridge by a unsuspecting yeoman, sat down near the tactical station.

The shield harmonics were of particular interest. By studying the harmonics, the intruder could determine the shield frequency that Katana was operating on. It was crucial information that could deliver a crushing blow to a starship. In this case, it was exactly what was needed by the Dominion for their needs. Their infiltrator, the founder aboard the starship had discovered an answer to the agricultural disaster on Kendi. Shira. It was Shira that had unintentionally placed the crew of Katana in serious danger. The founder had learned about her abilities, she had gifts when it came to plant life, she could heal sick plants and bring them back to life. The Dominion had determined that she could save the Tri-nucleic fungi on Kendi.

The Bridge had been rather calm for the hours. Commander Kristopher Kerouac, Commanding Officer of Katana had descended down the series of steps, made a sharp turn to face his First Officer, Lieutenant Commander Tul Zanaar. The Andorian and Kerouac had not always gotten along. In fact, their hostility towards one another had been made abundantly clear. However, the tension had been quelled for the time being and the two were beginning to work together.

“Anything to report, Commander?” asked Kerouac looking down at the Andorian.

“Nothing” the Andorian replied with a cold and hardened response. His antennae twitched slighted, and his stern gaze fell upon Kerouac. “Nothing to be concerned about. Matthews and her team have met with the Vorta in charge of the planet. They have been brought to the fields. That was the latest report, Captain” added Tul.

“Very well” replied Kris with a nod. “If anything changes, let me know. I will be in my Ready Room” said Commander Kerouac. He turned on his heels, ascending the ramp and heading towards his Ready Room. However, before he arrived at his destination... everything changed in a heartbeat.

Lieutenant Verak, the half-Vulcan Assistant Chief of Security had been filling in at helm as his previous position aboard the starship was Chief Flight Controller. Operations and Science were presently unoccupied. Tactical station was being manned by Lieutenant Sirigh, Chief Tactical Officer. Sirigh was an Orion and former Borg drone.

The turbolift doors parted ways and stepping out was one of the more bombastic and cheerful members of the crew, the blue skinned Bolian Luss Pano, Ship's Counselor. The Bolian flashed a smile to Kris who looked back to see who had come onto the Bridge.

It was Lieutenant Sirigh who's voice that broke the silence and was the first alarm signaled to a disturbance on the Bridge. He was startled and baffled when the PaDD at his tactical station began to leak and disintegrate into a large golden puddle that covered his console and began to drip onto the floor, coming together and into a humanoid form. “What the hell!?” shouted Sirigh but it was too little too late.

The shape shifter took his form and transmitted the shield frequency of Katana and the next few moments unfolded like a flash. Sirigh went for the phaser that was kept under his console, but the shape shifter had reached it first, quickly turning, fumbling with the setting and blasting the Orion point blank range in the chest. It sent Sirgih backwards, clenching his chest.

The starship rocked violently and the automated red alert was issued as hull breaches were detected on various decks. Kerouac dove out of the way and across railing onto the floor as another phaser blast was headed his way, missing him...mostly. The blast has caught his right arm and did some significant damage. The hard landing had added insult to injury.

A blast came towards Lieutenant Verak, but the half-Vulcan dodged the shot that hit his console. It exploded in his face but he was alive. He decided it best to play dead and 'fell' out of his chair, keeping his head down and trying to stay alive.

The Bridge quickly came to life as a whirling of light and a hum of a transporter brought Jem'Hadar soldiers onto the Bridge of Katana. They were relentless and blood thirsty. None of them had fought in the Dominion War but that did not matter. They were still pissed about their ancestors loss to the Federation.

Counselor Luss Pano had not been as lucky as Kerouac. The Counselor was an innocent bystander. He was a trained starfleet officer but a pacifist at heart. Counselor Pano let out a shrilling scream as Kris watched his Bridge go from a calm scene to a smoke filled war zone. Counselor Pano was hit by plasma blasts from a crude Jem'Hadar plasma riffle. The Bolian was a paler shade of Blue when his lifeless body hit the floor next to Kerouac. A huge hole evident around his collar bone. Those lifeless eyes gave Kris a blank dead stare. Eyes that would forever haunt him.

Lieutenant Commander Tul Zanaar had managed to issue a ship wide intruder alert. However, it was he last command Tul would ever give aboard the Katana as he too was ripped open by a series of plasma blasts, collapsing back into his chair, his head falling effortlessly to the side.

Kris had froze the moment Counselor Pano fell. However, he snapped himself out of his. Pressing his communicator, “Jhu, they've taken the Bridge!” shouted Kris over the shipwide comm. “Tonkin, secure Engineering!”

Nathan was in his quarters reviewing his staff's schedules. He had not even met any of the security staff yet. He had several PADD's laid out over his desk with staff files open. Suddenly his room lit up red and the sequel of the red alert sent the oh so familiar rush of adrenalin surging threw his body. He was up and running out of his room. He had ripped his Phaser that he kept at his desk out of its holster. Nathan was trained, adrenalin did not do to him what it did to others. He was focused and ready for action.

He rounded a corner and was tearing down the hall to a turbo lift. There were two medical staff looking around the halls with questioning looks on there faces. " Get to sick bay and prepare for injured!" Nathan ordered. The two took off in the opposite direction. Nathan flew into the turbo lift and yelled to the computer " Bridge now! Security override 384 Lieutenant Tonkin" The Computer chimed " Authorization code accepted" and the turbo lift complied and began moving.

He was in the lift no longer the 2 seconds before the Commanders voice filled the small room. Nathan girted his teeth. He did not want to leave the bridge staff alone not knowing what was going on but he was never one to disobey a direct order. "Belay that command computer, engineering and double time." He could feel the lift change directions as the computer signaled that it had heard his command. He then taped his comm badge " Secure channel to security authorization 443 Lieutenant Tonkin." His badge quietly chirped that his had opened a secure channel to all of his personnel "Security, this is Lieutenant Nathan Tonkin, your new security chief, you are all ordered to the bridge, unknown force has taken control, the senor staff is in danger. You are ordered to rescue the crew and retake the bride at all costs." He really hoped this turbo lift would hurry up and get him to engineering in time.

=Intelligence Office=

In an unusual stroke of luck, Jhu's habit of checking the intelligence reports from the privacy of her office likely saved her life. The automatic response to an intruder alert was for the section to close itself off to protect sensitive information, but Jhu overrode it long enough to arm up and get into the corridor, where she immediately headed for the bridge. Finally, her Section 31 training was going to actually be useful.

=[Crew Quarters]=

Innocent little Shira was beyond frightened by the rocking of the ship, looking around in search of the cause. She dropped the PaDD that contained her language lessons and clung to Maica, her android friend who was tutoring her. "Maica, what is happening?" Shira asked her friend with a squeak. the found of the klaxon filled her senses, and she squeezed her eyes shut with another squeak when she the ship shook with another volley of weapons fire. "I'm scared, Maica!"

Something clicked in Maica's head at the first sign of trouble, her arm reflexively wrapping around Shira's shoulders in a protective manner. The ship was under attack and from the sound of it, the bridge was already lost and main engineering wasn't far behind. Holding the forest girl tightly to her, she spoke into her ear. "It seems the soldiers that wanted our help have decided to take it by force." She wanted to find them and tear them apart one by one, but she couldn't. She was no match for one soldier, let alone the kind of bred for war ones she was sure were on board now. She could try to protect Shira, though. "Shira... Promise me something, ok? If they find us, let me be your shield. Let them shoot me instead of you, ok?"

"But I don't want Maica to get hurt," Shira cried as she clung to Maica. "I don't understand, I said I would help, why do they do this?" she said with a shudder.

"I can be put back together a lot easier than you. I'll be ok. As for why..." That was a question Maica had asked herself many times. Why do people fight? Why do they do this sort of thing? If they didn't, she might be out of a job... but still... "I don't know why. They feel it's necessary, I'm sure."

Shira gave no reply, just held onto Maica tighter when the ship rocked yet again. She was seriously wondering if she had made the right choice to leave her world, she was just so afraid. Was this what life was like out in space? She certainly hoped that fighting was not a regular occurrence.

=Bridge=

Kerouac and Verak were alive, but Verak had suffered serious plasma burns on his face and chest. He needed medical attention, but the invasion force of Jem'Hadar fronted by the infiltrating founder were not in the mood to cooperate. The starship had been damaged but the attack was over in a flash. They clearly wanted Katana intact. However, the Jem'Hadar had laid to waste the Bridge, taking a few lives on the Bridge and likely other lives across the starship.

Kris was alert, and brought up to his feet with the rough assistance of two Jem'Hadar. "What do you want?" asked Kerouac bitterly. His eyes full of hatred and fiery passion, a passion to kill every last Jem'Hadar and their leading founder. If only he could. Perhaps that was still a possibility. If he could activate the self destruct... it would kill everyone left aboard the starship. No, I can't do that thought Kris looking around at his smoke filled Bridge. There are close to 200 individuals aboard...

The founder approached Kerouac and looked into the man's eyes. "We have what we we need, Captain. Your starship will be of use to us. Though, we have particular interest in a member of your crew" replied the changeling.

It was blow to Kris' ego. Take my ship, but my crew? Kris glared at the changeling. "NO!" he shouted with anger. "Leave my crew alone... take the damn ship take our supplies, but do not harm my crew. You've taken enough lives" retorted Commander Kristopher N. Kerouac.

"You solids are impulsive and repulsive. We have your starship but it is of little interest to us. You have a creature aboard your vessel, we do not wish to harm her... we need her. The Jem'Hadar on Kendi are days away from insanity. They will start killing each other and we will have no control over them. They need their ketracel white."

Kris was slightly taken aback. "We have people on Kendi right now damn it! They are trying to help you. We have responded to the distress call. What more do you want?"

"Your presence on Kendi is insignificant" countered the changeling. "You have been on the planet for hours, we only have days before we lose Kendi to the Jem'Hadar. Our needs must be met now" added the changeling.

Kerouac shook his head. "What the hell do you think we are doing down there? We are trying!"

"Then why keep that creature aboard, your plant healer... the one in your Hydroponics Bay" countered the changeling with impatience.

"Shira?" muttered Kris looking at the changeling. "The creature you mention... her name is Shira. What do you mean plant healer?"

The founder was growing more impatient. "I've seen it with my eyes. She touches plants, she sings to them and they grow."

"Fascinating" whispered Kris. "She's new to us. We've never encountered her kind before and we are only beginning to understand what she can do. She has never been to another planet that we know of. We had no idea."

Signaling the Jem'Hadar to let go of Kris, the Captain gingerly stood on his own. "She is needed on Kendi. The Tri-nucleic fungi is being ravished. It is dying and preventing new Jem'Hadar life to be born. The mature fungi is dead and we cannot process it prematurely."

Kris did not like the idea of letting Shira go down to Kendi. However, his starship and his crew were in serious danger. The Jem'Hadar were in control of the Bridge and they were likely going to take Engineering unless Lieutenant Tonkin and his security officers were able to stop them. Additionally, Kris had an Away Team on Kendi... any moment they too could be attacked by the Jem'Hadar.

=Katana Ventilation Ducts=

Taking the turbolift was too predictable... and far too dangerous. So Jhu had quickly taken refuge inside a Jefferies tube, using it to access the maintenance ducts and ventilation system. It was painfully slow progress, especially once she crawled into the ventilation duct that ran to the bridge. The tiny space was barely wide enough for her shoulders, and more than once she'd gotten wedged uncomfortably against dented portions of the duct. Still, it was her only route that wouldn't result in being shot. It felt like hours, but soon she could hear the conversation on the bridge. As she inched closer to the grate, the Founder in the group began to look eerily familiar. Don't be silly. They all look the same.


=Engineering=

Nathan breathed deeply as the turbo lift moved him threw the ship. He had no clue what he who or what he was up against. All he knew was that the bridge was lost, his entire security staff was heading to the bridge to try and take it back, and he was tasked with securing engineering. He could feel his heart pumping in his chest; hear the blood racing threw his ears.
He double checked the setting on his phaser was set to stun. Unless it was the Borg taking the ship Nathan was sure command would have some questions for the intruders.

The lift slowed and come to a stop. The doors woodshed open. Nathan carefully looked up and down the hall. Nothing. Dead quiet. He made his way quickly out of the lift and down the hall to engineering’s doors. There on the floor was someone. A male human in a yellow shirt. Nathan was not familiar enough with the crew yet to know who he was, but by the looks on the charred hole in the man’s chest he was dead regardless. Nathan still leaned down and put his hand to the man’s neck. Yeah…dead.

Nathan braced himself, and then moved to the door that would lead him into engineering. As soon as the doors opened he rolled into the room, taking mental stock of the two intruders that were standing at the work station. As Nathan came out of his roll he immediately fired at the one on his left. The man fell to the ground without ever knowing what hit him. The second man had time to look up in shock, and grab his weapon but that was all as the stun blast hit him also in the chest. Nathan stood and looked at the two men “Well that was easy… Computer seal this door and don’t open it again unless I say so. Authorization 443 Lieutenant Tonkin.” The computer chimed that it had acknowledged Nathan, but he never heard it over the sound of the phaser blast the burned into his left shoulder.

Nathan felt searing hot pain and a bright white light filled his vision as he fell to the floor. Lucky he fell behind the center work station. It only took a second for Nathan to clear his head and sit himself upright behind the station. He grabbed his shoulder and grit his teeth together to stop himself from making a sound. He moved his hand and looked to his shoulder; the charred hold was bad, really bad. Nathan really hoped the doc on this ship was good.

Nathan could hear whoever it was that shot him climbing down from the cat walk around the warp core. He took up his phaser and waited. His world was beginning to spin and he was starting to feel sick. Shock was certainly kicking in. He shook his head to clear it. He could hear footsteps approaching the other side of the work station. Nathan sprang to his feet and fired. The solder fell to the ground.

Nathan looked around engineering and saw no one else. Most of the forces must have been sent to the bridge. Thankfully. Nathan felt something wet on his left hand. Blood now streamed down his arm from the hole in his shoulder. He must have torn his while springing to his feet.

Nathan taped his com badge “Lieutenant Tonkin to Commander Kerouac, Captain Engineering is secure but I’m going to need some medical attent…” That was all he could get out before he lost his grip on his conscience. Nathan fell to the ground in front of the center work station, blood pooling around him.

Chief Ng had been in her quarters when the ordeal started. She retrieved a phaser from a stash in her quarters and accessed the external sensors and visual feed of the corridor outside before leaving her quarters. Her first instinct was to get to security, but with intruders throughout the ship it was risky. She managed to get to a weapons locker and retrieved a rifle, kicking it to the highest stun setting before continuing.



=Bridge=

Commander Kerouac had listened to Lieutenant Tonkin's report that Engineering had been secured by Katana's security teams. It caused a small sense of pride in the Commanding Officer. "You may have the Bridge of starship, but you do not have all of my starship" countered Kris as he glared at the Founder.

"That very well may be true for the time being, Captain. But my Jem'Hadar will fight to the death. They are soldiers of the Dominion" replied the Founder.

Kris knew that the statement was correct. The Jem'Hadar would and with his starship this vulnerable, more and more Jem'Hadar forces could board Katana to replace their fallen. Kris tapped his communicator to reply to Tonkin. "Very good, Lieutenant. Maintain your present location and hold for additional orders."

Nathans badge relayed the Captains orders just fine, unfortunately the orders fell on deaf ears as Nathan lay in a pool of his own blood, unconscious.

The founder silently stared into the Kris' eyes. "You'd call for blood shed, Commander?"

"If need be. However, I would rather call an end to this here and now" replied Kris. "Command your Jem'Hadar to stand down...and have them off my starship."

The changeling looked at a Jem'Hadar. It was the First. "Obey" said the Founder sharply. "Have your soldiers return to their vessels." The Jem'Hadar grunted bitterly but obeyed, turning and exiting the Bridge with the rest of his men who were still alive. After the last of the Jem'Hadar had left the Bridge, the Founder looked at Kerouac. "I have complied to your requests. Now, use your transporters and deliver us the creature you call, Shira."

Kris shook his head. "Our transporters were too damaged after your careless attack on my starship. We need extensive repairs and I will not permit Shira to leave this starship unaccompanied."

It was evident that the Founder was not pleased but could comprehend the situation. "Unacceptable. We cannot wait for your repairs to finish."

It was Lieutenant Verak that weakly spoke. "You don't have to. You need Shira and the resources on this starship... I can land on the planet's surface."

Kris turned and looked at the injured helmsmen. "Absolutely not. You are getting your ass Sickbay, Lieutenant and that is an order" snapped Kris. He quickly returned his focus to the changeling. "I'm capable of doing this. I am the best pilot aboard. I will land the starship and escort Shira myself."

"Acceptable" responded the Founder.

Kris opened a comm channel with Tonkin. "Lieutenant, I am ordering a cease fire. The Jem'Hadar will be leaving... ensure that do. Assist medical response teams to treat the injured..." ordered Kerouac. His next words were difficult to say. "...Have them collect the dead and place them in the morgue for the time being."

Only static returned to the Captain because Nathan was still unable to answer the command.

Commander Kristopher Kerouac knew that his Chief Intelligence Officer had to be near. She was well trained and dangerous in her own right. In a sense, Kris would have rather faced blood thirsty Jem'Hadar than a pissed Jhu t'Dharvanek. Adjusting his comm channel he sought to contact her, not knowing exactly how close she was. "Kerouac to t'Dharvanek, the Jem'Hadar are leaving. I need you on the Bridge, Commander."

Jhu winced as the call echoed in the ventilation duct. "Damn it, Kristopher. If they weren't leaving, you'd have gotten me killed." Twisting uncomfortably, she managed to kick out the vent grate and drop down into the bridge. And that's when the Founder really looked familiar. "...you sonofabitch. I should kill you anyway."

Kris looked at Jhu. Normally, he would have found her outbursts funny and Tul would have wanted her reprimanded by not addressing Kris as 'Captain' but this was not the time and Kris was too lost to respond with much. Instead, he simply moved toward her silently and rested a hand upon her shoulder. "Not today" he whispered to her though he wanted more than anything to let Jhu do just that.


The Founder looked at the woman and studied her. She was from its past. The great link had knowledge of her. "I remember you, Child"

That left one more matter to take care of. "Kerouac to Lieutenant Maica and Shira; The the threat is over and the Jem'Hadar are leaving. Maica, have Shira and yourself prepared for an Away Mission and report to the Bridge."

=Shira's Quarters=

Still nervous about the apparent invasion, Maica tapped her comm badge. "Yes Captain. We'll be there shortly." Hugging Shira once more, she finally let go of the forest girl. "Shira, is there anything you need to get before we go down to the planet?"

"N-need? N-no," Shira stammered nervously as she reached out for Maica's hand, seeking comfort in the contact. "We will go," she said, resolved to do what she could to assist, though it was no longer out of any desire to actually help the with the crops, but rather to do anything she could to protect her friends.

Taking Shira's hand, Maica squeezed softly with a tender smile. "Then let's get to the bridge." The bridge was an odd place to report for an away mission, so Maica considered the possibility that it was a trap. Kris hadn't sounded like he was under any duress, though. She would just have to hope everything would work out for the best.

=Bridge=

Before Shira and Lieutenant Maica could arrive on the Bridge, a medical team had been dispatched to the Bridge and had arrived tending to the injured Verak and Kerouac. Kris could see the look on a medic's face and the shake of his head towards a doctor. Counselor Pano was dead and there was nothing that could be done. Kris had anticipated that Lieutenant Sirigh, his former Chief of Security who was to soon be leaving the starship had also been killed.

The words "I've got a live one!" being hissingly shouted by a Caitian medic, caught Kris off guard. Lieutenant Sirigh had somehow managed to hang on. His life was in danger as he was in serious condition. The Orion anatomy was known for its strength and resistance. It often took a heavy stun to stun them, but Kris would have never expected one to take a few plasma blasts to the chest. Before, Kris could say anything, Sirigh was hurled onto an Anti-gravity lift, the equivalent of a stretcher and removed from the Bridge.

Verak was able to walk with some support off the Bridge. Kris' eyes were then drawn to another body. Lieutenant Commander Tul Zanaar, First Officer of Katana. Kris gingerly walked over to his fallen First Officer, an Andorian man who had been a pain in the ass and confrontational the past couple of months.

"I let this starship and the crew down. You were more fit to command her than I ever was, Commander" said Kris solemnly. "It was an honor to serve with you, Tul. I will not let your honor and service to this starship and to me go unnoticed. I will never let this crew down again" added Kris as he backed away to let the body of his former First Officer be removed form the seat that he had passed away in.

He then looked over at Jhu. Kris did not want to say it. He did not want to lay this all upon her but he had to. Protocol practically demanded that it be done. "Lieutenant Commander t'Dharvanek, in the situation that the First Officer of any starship is killed, injured, relieved of duty or deemed medically unfit for duty, it is the duty of the Second Officer to take on the duties and responsibilities of First Officer until other arrangements are made. You are hereby Acting First Officer. Katana will be landing on the planet, from there I will be leaving the ship and leaving you in command. See to it that repairs are begin immediately and assist Security in ensuring our 'guests' have left. I want a full casualty report from the Medical Department on my desk by the time that I return."

Aw, hell. I was just starting to like him. Jhu sighed, her attention suitably redirected from the familiar Founder, who juat kept smiling at her. "Yes, sir. Of course."

Kris then thought of Tonkin in Engineering. "Oh, and check in on Lieutenant Tonkin. He was securing Main Engineering but he failed to respond to my follow up."

"I'll find him," Jhu replied firmly, determined not to let anyone else fall victim to the unscrupulous attack.

Kris nodded and took a seat at the helm. "It's been a while since I've done this... the ship is also significantly damaged, so don't expect a gentle landing" said Kris as he started to focus himself.

[ON]

Visari Ifarr, making her way to the medical office, was sharp dressed like always, walking with heels clicking on the floor, the Betazoid woman was looking tough, no nonsense, walking inside the medical bay, where she was going to be working for now. Her emotions never written on her face, cool and crisply, spotting the chief medical officer, she said, "Good morning Dr. Cohen. Dr. Ifarr." offering her hand, limp wristed, not liking touching people, wearing a silver bracelet.

Cohen looked up to see the new arrival, he accepted the hand before gesturing for her to take the empty seat across from him. "Doctor Ifarr, I've been expecting you, welcome to the Katana." His eyes danced over the woman in front him, she was older for her rank, but as a Medical Officer the correlation was far more minor than in most departments, and her record spoke for itself.

Nodding, she sat down, crossing her legs, hearing the tinge of his thoughts, and never being sure which parts are said and thought, she was replying to all of it. "Thank you. The Katana is my first Starfleet assignment, I was a doctor on Vulcan for many years."

"I saw that, your file is impressive, you've been posted as a Surgeon with us but given our staffing right now all qualified Medical Officers will be expected to pull routine sickbay shifts as well. On top of the inherit medical emergencies." He said.

Pursing her lips, it was unpleasant, doing routine medical work, clinic duty. "If I must." she was not happy about it though, and already scheming of ways to get out of it.

"What was your surgical speciality?" He asked.

"It is biomechatronics." she answered promptly.

Cohen raised an eyebrow at the junior officers tone and resisted a smirk. "Interesting, my background is Trauma surgery, I had a colleague on the Aberdeen who's background was biomechatronics the woman was genius, from what I've seen it may be a common trait in the field." He said with a small laugh.

Touching her chest with her fingertips, "I'll have to keep up the tradition."

"Very well, if there's nothing else you're welcome to get aquatinted with sickbay and the staff." He replied, "Welcome aboard."

Visari was doubting she would be getting acquainted with anybody, "Thank you doctor." bowing her head, she stood, "I shall begin setting up promptly."

The CMO watched the woman leave shaking his head slightly before returning to his work.

[OFF]

Jenni moved quickly to rejoin the rest of the team. With the Jem'Hadar marching in step behind her, Jenni was afraid to break into a full run, but a simple double step was enough to catch up to the Away Team before reaching the crop fields. From a distance, it appeared that Breva was explaining something to Doctor Evans. By the time Jenni finally caught up, Breva had stepped away to attend to other business.

"What'd I miss?" she asked the science officer.

After Breva filled him in, hazel eyes swept the expanse of the crop fields. It was hard to believe that this crop is what was needed to produce White. It seemed so mundane. The chief engineer had spoken and he pulled his attention away from the field and looked at his colleague. "Not much really," he said. "Breva reiterated rules mostly, don't do this, don't do that and of course I was reminded to tell you to keep an eye on Carter." He shrugged, Carter was a nuisance but she wasn't going to do anything stupid. At least he hoped not. "Beyond that, she explained the crop and what section we can use for testing." He handed Jenni a PaDD. "I took the liberty of mapping the field, just a standard pattern. Breva said we can test crops from section A and B and then she wants updates every half an hour and any results ASAP."

Jenni almost grumbled in response to the mention of Carter's name, deciding to leave the subject alone for now. "Of course she's going to want results ASAP," she responded at last, taking a look at the PADD. "Carter's got the lab set up. Get your samples, doctor, and let's get this done."

"Aye lieutenant," Noah said and nodded. He would be glad to get to work, even though he knew he would be watched closely. At least he would be able to focus on something besides Jem'Hadar with blasters in their hands.

Leaving the Doctor alone to his work, after she promised to give him a hand, Jenni moved over to Lieutenant Weaver. "We need to be careful," she reminded him. "Outburst or no outburst, tensions are already high."

"Of course," Patrick answered, "I'm always cautious, at least when I have to be."

Breva had walked away for a few moments to speak with a Jem'Hadar that had something to report. There was some look of disgusts in her vibrantly purple eyes. She looked frantic and confused, ashamed and overcome with emotion. She was a Vorta and believed strongly in her Gods, the Founders. However, she was somewhat of a dysfunctional Vorta with a slight defect. Typically, she would have just had a short life but she was spared and placed in Kendi.

She approached the Away Team from Katana and did so with a solemness. "Your starship... it has been attacked by the will of the Gods. I assure you that I had no knowledge about this until now. I do not know much more than what I have told you. However, some of my Jem'Hadar were a part of this invasion forces aboard your starship. It is said that your Captain will be joining us shortly."

"Shit." And then, Jenni realized exactly what she had just said. After Andy's tirade even...

"Attacked?" Jenni asked, trying to regain her composure. "What does this mean? Are we prisoners now?"

Holding a container of samples, a look of confusion crossed Noah's features. He was totally confused by what he was hearing and before the word 'attacked?' could leave his lips, the one word was already spoken. Though, he wasn't quite sure why Lieutenant Matthews asked if they were prisoners, but maybe they were. Maybe that was the plan all along? A million thoughts and questions ran through his head. As a medical doctor, his first instinct was to get back to the Katana to help but he held back even that line of thinking.

Breva was wise in her choosing of words. She would have to be. Any sudden moves or a poor choice in tone could cause a situation to unfold on her planet that she did not want to see happen. "So long as I am overseer of this planet, you are all welcomed 'guests' who have come to provide assistance to us" said Breva reassuringly.

She looked around at her Jem'Hadar and signaled for them to be at ease and lower their weapons. She directed a few to leave in order to make the Away Team feel more at peace. "I do not believe that your Captain is being held prisoner nor your ship taken. The founder has directed the Jem'Hadar off your starship. This leaves me to believe that your Captain has brokered some sort of arrangement."

The Vorta woman then looked up towards the sky as sunlight was being blocked by a rather large starship entering the troposphere of Kendi. "Your starship I presume?"

Jenni looked up to see the Katana eclipse the sun for a brief moment and fly towards a nearby field. Instantly, all thoughts of the Away Mission disappeared from her mind, only to be replaced by thoughts about why the ship was landing, especially with the word 'attacked' still echoing. There wasn't any visible external damage, at least none that she could see with the underbelly darkened by the sunlight. Then she saw several scars on the ventral hull.

"An arrangement..." she muttered, eyeing the nacelles closely. She glanced over to Noah, then to Patrick, then to the Katana. She tapped her badge, really unsure how this would play out. The Jem'Hadar didn't like the Vorta. A Founder was aboard the ship. And if a Founder was present, then the Vorta's words really meant nothing. If nothing else, hopefully Kyle would glean some insight from the discussion.

"Matthews to Kerouac." She paused, wondering how best to begin the conversation. Finally, she settled on, "Sir, I've got eyes on Katana. She's a little scratched up, sir."

It didn't surprised Kyle that Kris, the Captain, had been able to strike some kind of arrangement. Hopefully he had something up his sleeve. He took a half step towards Noah and stopped himself. He was glad he wasn't in uniform and couldn't be identified as an Intel officer, that would have been dangerous. It would be equally dangerous if anyone knew of his relationship to his husband. For the moment he sat back and observed. He'd play dumb, it shouldn't be too hard. Play dumb and bide his time.

Aboard Katana the injured Commander Kristopher Kerouac was in the helmsmen seat, a throwback to old times. He was joined on the Bridge by Lieutenant Maica and Shira and of course their 'guest', the changeling. Having entered the troposphere, Commander Kerouac was contacted by his Chief Engineer from down on the planet's surface.

"You should see the inside, Lieutenant" replied Kerouac as he deployed the Katana's landing gear and began to lower the starship into a clearing. "I'll be landing in a few minutes. You are going to want to grab Carter and get your asses to Engineering" Kris said crisply.

"Acknowledged," Jenni replied. In one sense, she was relieved to be done with the Away Mission, but in another, she had wished to have seen it through to the end.

Andy was just now finishing with the last of the lab setup and hadn't been present for the change of events, but exiting the lab space and looking into the sky, she could see what everyone else already knew. And here she thought she had blown things with the Away Team; what the hell had happened up on the ship that they had to land it?

The starship began to lower and slowly come closer to touching down. "Doctor Evans, Sickbay could use all hands right now with Doctor Cohen on Teplan. We have seriously injured and at least two dead."

Noah's mouth fell slightly open as he watched the majestic, yet damaged starship come into view. He had never seen anything like it and he had to admit it took his breath away. "Aye sir, of course," he said into the comm link.

Jenni heard the comment about wounded and dead. She brushed it aside for now to focus on a mission she was very familiar with: Repairs. And I'd just got the ship put together... Jenni tapped her combadge. "Matthews to Carter. Report to the wheat fields. We've got a new assignment."

"I'm on my way," Andy answered over the comm as she made her way to the fields. This could not be good...

Having landed, Commander Kristopher stood up from the helmsmen seat and gave a simple nod to the changeling. He looked at Maica and Shira "Let's go meet with Matthews and the others. I need to bring them up to speed" said Kris to the two women.

Maica refused to let go of Shira's hand as they stood on the bridge. Feeling the ship land and the gravity shifting to the planet's... It was confusing to her gyro and motion sensors, but she supposed biological types wouldn't fare much better. It still gave her a... some sort of sick dread in the pit of her... what would humans have there? A stomach? "I don't suppose we have a landing hatch... Shira, are you ok?" Maica asked with a squeeze of her hand.

Shira said nothing. She simply nodded as she hummed to express her agitation, but she was not going to back out now. She wanted to be on this ship, she wanted to help the crew; afraid or not, she was going to do what was necessary, but she was still so very afraid.

Leaving Katana in the capable hands of Lieutenant Commander t'Dharvanek, Kris was not pleased with the situation that he had been forced into. He also was well aware of the danger that he was walking into and placing his crew in. The damaged Katana was on a hostile planet with the same soldiers who had just killed some of his crew and he was leaving the safety of his starship without a proper security detail and without the objection of his Andorian First Officer.

Descending down the ramp to exit the starship, Commander Kerouac found himself welcomed by the Kendi Away Team. They were no doubt anxious to know what happened and what the present situation was. Perhaps, there was even curiosity as to why Kris was accompanied by Shira and Lieutenant Maica, being closely followed and shadowed by a Founder.

The first person Kris wanted to speak with was Matthews. She had her work cut out for her and she had been leading the Away Team. "Lieutenant, I haven't had a look at Engineering but there was a shootout on the Bridge and security forces had to retake and defend Engineering. Warp engines are currently offline" Kris said quickly briefing the woman. "I want Engineering and Operations personnel focused on repairs. Get me those engines as soon as possible. I do not want to be stranded on this God forsaken planet any more than a few days."

Without an immediate reply, Jenni quickly looked at the visible damage on the nearby nacelle. She'd have to get into there as soon as possible, but it would still be an hour or so before they were cool enough. "Oy..." she muttered.

Kris' gaze then fell upon his Chief Science Officer. The man was also a trained physician and that was where Kris and the crew needed him most. "Doctor, I do not have a casualty report yet. Lieutenant Sirigh was on the Bridge at the time. He's alive but in critical condition. Mister Verak has third degree plasma burns all over his body. Lieutenant Commander Zanaar and Counselor Pano were killed in the line of duty. There may be multiple injuries and fatalities ship wide. Medical response teams are sweeping across the ship as we speak."

He nodded. Noah hated to hear that there were deaths but his instincts as a physician kicked in. "Alright," he said. He would need to get a report together, or at least some sort of analysis or what is going on. It would be easier to ascertain the situation.

"If either of you have any information on what we are facing down here, share it. They believe that Shira will be able to assist them. Apparently, she has some unique talents when it comes to plant life that could help the Dominion. I believe that if this does work, it will only be a bandage on a wound. We still have the problem of determining what is causing the destruction."

"My hypothesis was that it was some sort of pathogen, maybe an insect that wasn't indigenous to the area," Noah said. "But, other then that we really didn't get a chance to do further study due to what happened to Katana."

"Lieutenant Evans is correct," Jenni added, turning her attention back to the Captain, her mind cataloging the last bits of visible damage she could see. "We weren't able to do much other than set up the lab and start reviewing the data."

Kris then looked at Lieutenant Weaver, the Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer. "Mister Weaver, I have left Commander t'Dharvanek in command while I am absent from Katana. Needless to say her hands are quite tied at the moment. Please see to it that all access codes, command codes, and our shield harmonic frequency are all changed. I want a complete overhaul on ship's security systems."

"I'll get to it right away," Kyle promised, "I'll need about half an hour."

"You have fifteen. Get to it" said Kris firmly. He was not trying to be 'hard ass' per say. However, he had just lost crew and Katana was too vulnerable with the present codes and settings. Kris approached the Intelligence Officer and lowered his voice.

"We had one these shape shifting son of bitches on Katana... ensure that we do not have any hitchhikers when we leave. I want you to work with the Medical Department. I want routine blood tests performed on every member of the crew and I want Security to look into every nook and cranny for any changelings."

Kyle really needed twenty minutes to do an adequate job,but he'd just have to push it. "I'll do my best and I'll make sure all the crew is accounted for. If you can get a tricorder reading on our "friend" I can have the internal sensors sound an alarm if his harmonic signature should show up again."

"We would want a very in depth and up close reading of our 'friend'. I do not believe he would appreciate a tricorder shoved at him... However, Lieutenant Maica should prove quite effective" said Kris with a smirk. Essentially, as an Android, Maica was better than a tricorder at getting readings. Kris also had some ideas of his own that he would run by everyone at the next meeting of the Senior Staff.

"Forgive the assertion, Captain, but I don't want Maica anywhere near that thing," Andy said as she finally joined the group. "Besides, my eyes are better than hers and even I can't tell what's a changeling when they're hiding as something. If it decides it wants to hide on the ship, there's not much we can do except blood screening and using wide-angle phaser sweeps to search rooms for seemingly 'inanimate' objects. At the right modulation, the phasers don't really hurt them, but it makes them uncomfortable and they can't hold their shape, makes them detectable. I can install phaser modules above the doors to do this as I'm working through repairs." Her experience during the War was really coming in handy, but the only thing she cared about at this moment was keeping Maica away from the enemy.

Kris was not empathic. He was not telepathic. He was what some called an average Joe. However, he knew what love and compassion was. He had it once upon a time and he could see it in Andy. "Carter, you have your orders. I want you assisting Matthews with repairs. However, I would appreciate if you implement your security measures.... I'll keep Maica safe. No harm will come to her. Besides, we have Shira. Trust me... you won't like her when she's angry" said Kris with a small smile as he remembered what Shira was capable of.

"That little hitchhiker we picked up on the way to Teplan?" Andy asks dubiously. That little... well, twig?! The little thing looked like a strong wind would topple her over! but then again, she'd heard the rumors about some sort of telekinesis, and Kris had no reason to lie to Andy either. "If you say so..." she added, but made no attempts to press her case any further. She was already in enough hot water, she was not about to do anything to make it worse. "I'll get started right away."

"She is not a hitchhiker. She is a member of this crew" replied Kris as he stepped aside and let everyone get to where they needed to be aboard Katana.