"The Security Officer's View"

Captain William Sutherland
Lieutenant JG Victor Kreighoff

****

****

"Nonsensicles"

Captain Alanna Elyse O'Ryan,
Commanding Officer, USS Hawkwing

Commander Lysander VanderPuls Hawksley,
Executive Officer

- Main Conference Room, USS Galaxy -

Lysander was jittering around in the hard seat. His right leg was tapping a stattaco rhythm on the edge of the table and his eyes were darting everywhere but directly at the officer in front of him.

Captain Alanna O'Ryan wasn't impressed. She's seen academy fresh ensigns who'd just juggled their careers into the head act more controlled in the presense of a superior officer from a review board. Admittedly, not too much more controlled, but this... Commander Hawksley, seemed to be particularly fidgety. And was he about to wet himself?....

"Please, state your name. And do try to be comfortable. You're not being charged," O'Ryan said, taking a certain devilish delight in the unspoken 'yet' which was no doubt going through his mind.

Lysanders eyes flitted from side to side, like trapped glimmerflies. "Errr.... smeg. Isn't my name officially in my record? What sort of smegging investigation is this, you don't even know my smegging name and whatnot?" he intoned in a lazy drawl, which he marred by a nervous attempt to polish his fingernails and keep his jittering leg under control.

"For the record, Mr. Hawksley. Surely you've been through this one before," she thought to herself. On the other hand, he'd only been a Lieutenant two years previously, and not even an assistant department head. Perhaps his meteoric rise had been in error.

"Lysander errr.... Willem Michel Brian Phillip Arthur.... err.. George...err... VanderPuls Hawksley." Lysander muttered. He glanced at her rougishly from under his sandy brows, through the fringe of artfully arranged hair. 'The Fourth" he added, non helpfully with a smirk.

"Right," she said, as if telling him he was correct. ~Why did Taryn get all the easy cases,~ she found herself wondering. ~What a useless fruitloop. How did somebody so... mentally unsound... get this high in the chain of command?~ "Where are you from?" she caught herself thinking aloud, but it was too late.

"Errr.. I'm Alpha Centaurian. Well, my father was. Mummy was Terran. But no smegging Klingons in the old family gene pool for ME! Isn't this all in your files?"

"Well, yes, now then, moving right along, what's your position on this vessel, for the record," she said, trudging on through the torrent of nonsense and illogic.

"I'm the bloody smegging XO. I used to be the Co-Xo but then SOME people managed to get their cute lil freckled noses right up not-to-be-named Admirals bums and ...errrrr... we haven't heard from them for a while. Smegging Princess..." he muttered.

"Excuse me, Commander?" O'Ryan said, cocking her head to one side. ~Useless knowledge... Must resist fist of death!~ This was going to be a long one.

"Commander!" Lysander barked out. "I am a smegging FULL Commander now. Even though SOME people seem to get promoted every time you turn around. Really.. you should read the Biography files sometime. It's not smegging difficult, even though SOMEONE seems to have filed all the smegging Engineers records under the phrase "Bhrode-Bait" for some reason..." Lys. nattered on, back ont he familiar ground of 'Rebecca and her Problems.'

"What?" O'Ryan muttered, becoming steadily more confused, "I never said that you weren't... I mean... Oh never mind... Rebecca who?"

"Commander Von Ernst? I dunno.... I remember her around when the smegging Orion ship pulled up. I was errr... busy with.. er.... something." Lysander studied the sole of his shoe with nonchalance.

"Right," she said, this time more hesitantly, "And your serial number. Last question for the record, I swear."

"Serial number? I have ENOUGH trouble remembering my smegging names!" Lysander drawled. "Although I DO recall, that if you take the Fibbinacci Sequence closest to Rebecca's Fleet Serial Number, and multiply it by the Prime Meridian and then use a Fifth Dimensional Cosine of the modulated result, divided by the average weight of an Angeridian Swallow, and add six to that, you get my Serial number. Or you could just look in the Bio Folder." He added with a boyish smirk.

"Never mind, I'll do it myself," Alanna shook her head. She'd been foolish enough to try the calculation and gotten about as far as the Prime Meridian before realizing that a Prime Meridian was an imaginary geographical line and that she didn't know this... Rebecca. Or did he mean Commander Von Ernst?

"Now then Commander, can you give me your interpretation of events from when you left Ianjep to the present," she asked, hoping to god he could do it coherently.

"Oh. See.. this smegging Orion shuttle came in like WHOOSH" and here Lys. made a wild waggling gesture with one hand. "And some others came in chasing it like WHISSSH! " and Lys supplied the sound of phaser salvoes, as his other hand described erratic flight paths all around the original hand. "And THEN the first shuttle did like WHIIIIIQSH.." as he described an erratic swooping arc with the first hand. 'But they were ready for that and they went FWOOOP and BUBBAKAPOWWWOWWIE and alll sort of FWIPPERRY..like this!"

Lysander had vaulted to the desktop, to better describe the subspace dogfight paths. His hands were flying around each other and he was enraptured in his mimicry of the noises of howling drives and overloaded shield and weapons systms.

He stopped in mid-gesture and eyed the JAG officer.

"Errr...where was I?" he demanded irritably.

"Your actions during those events?" she said with a sigh. This would probably be useless, she said, running a hand through her red hair. Nothing could probably be extracted from this to stand up at a hearing.

"Oh. I was with this Nurse. Err.. at the EXACT moment.. Commander Von Ernst was still Co-XO and had the Watch Detail. I had my right hand down the Nurses tunic like THIS..." And Lys hopped off the desk and started to carress the back of his chair. " And she said....err.. the Nurse, not Commander Von Ernst...SHE said it was a Red Alert and I had to be on the Bridge...so she said.. err. .the Nurse, not Rebecca...."

"Who did you see doing what during those events?" she interjected, then regretted it as soon as she had said it. He would no doubt go into another discourse on that one... ~Try not to kill yourself, Alanna. It's not that bad, is it?~ she asked herself.

"Errr... a gentleman wouldn't say what he say in such an intimite moment, but I -will- say they were natural and not surgically augmented.... OH! On the Bridge, what did I see? Err..... Commander Von Ernst... smegging Princess.. was making some long winded speech about something or other and going on and on and on and on, like she does.. and err... actually I glossed over that last bit, sort of lost the old focus, I never listen to her, yah know? Captain Bhrode was yelling at an Engineer. I don't remember which one, they all come and go so suddenly... but they were wearing yellow and pissing themselves, so it must have been an Engineer. Or OPS. And... errr... Admiral Henderson was at Tactical... I think... wait.. is the smegger an Admiral yet? Someone with a british accent was up there... err.. I wasn't really paying attention. And I fell down and the next thing I know, I was in Sickbay." Lys. wound down with that.

"Okay! Commander Von Ernst was on the bridge. Commander Von Ernst was speaking. You were not istening. Captain Bhrode was reprimanding an engineer. Lieutenant Henderson was at tactical. No, Lieutenant Henderson isn't an admiral yet. Lieutenant Henderson has a british accent. You wound up in sickbay. Right? Of course, right!" Alanna hammered out each fact in repitition of the commander.

"Errr? Pardon?" Lys asked, clearly trying to peek at Rebecca's file under his own, open on the desk before the other officer.

"Is there anything you would have done differently in hindsight?" O'Ryan asked, shaking her head and mentally swearing about the things she did for duty.

"Well, the whole proposal thing was mishandled. And.. err.. I'd be alot nicer to her.. OH! With the Orions? yes! Jolly well, how did the smeggers get aboard a Federation ship in the first place? One moment, it was all fun and hailing frequencies, THEN it was phaser fights in the halls, THEN these smegging beautiful women all over... dashed confusing for a chappie. I mean.. there I was, hand down her tunic and the NEXT thing I know, we have new crew, Rebecca is some Diplomatic Liasion Offcer and I'm stuck with the XO job and there's smegging Leo and the Fembots in my sonic shower." Lys. nattered on, clearly still pondering Rebecca.

"So, is there anything you still want to see happen?" she wondered, not really listening any more.

"Well.. I'd like to see the question be answered as to WHY the Orions were shooting up the ship, when everyone KNOWS they're members of the Federation! I mean.. dashed confusing! And what happened to Rebecca? or that Engineer? Or even that nice Sinovean Security Officer who ripped the faces off some Orions? And those femmebots!"

"Huh? Oh, what?" she said, looking up, "Sorry.... Ahm... That'll... Yes, I do belive that'll be all, Commander Hawksley. You have a nice day, now," she sighed to herself. The very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very strange man got up and left, apparently finished.

Alanna O'Ryan's head thudded onto her table with a resounding thud.

"Ouch."

"Superiority Complex"

Rear Admiral Leigh Whitman, Ciutric Sector JAG Official
Lieutenant Taryn Ehlanna Benedor, Chief Of Staff
Lieutenant Commander Vladimir Malgin, Chief Medical Officer

-Conference Room 1-

Taryn Benedor was now of the opinion that she would truly love to get this entire thing over with. After listening to Captain Bhrode and Legate Curran's explanations, then Bolivar's... she was remembering why she preferred field intelligence over diplomatic work and internal affairs. This was going to get messy.

Rear Admiral Whitman pursed her lips and pushed some brown hair back into place. "Send in Doctor Malgin. Let's try and keep this one quick so that he can get back to developing the innoculation."

"Lieutenant Commander Malgin, you're up." Taryn said into the communications unit to the waiting room. The young russian man entered and Lee' nodded to him to have a seat.

~Annoying... Why can't all those JAGs-shmucks wait till I am ready? Can't understand... My verdict is that they are the same kind of idiots as Bhrode and Company...~ thought russian chief doctor, coming in and taking a seat. He bit his lower lip to keep those words away from tongue, then said "Well, sir. I am eager to know why have I been asked to come here. It is really interesting and intriguing for me."

He tried to look solid and self-assured, but his annoying subconsciousness didn't stay turned off and whispered nasty thoughts to him ~... However I can guess what might JAG need from me - to say that I surpassed few hundreds of Federation laws, few Starfleet directives, have anti-Bhrode sort of mind, et cetera, et cetera...~ Vladimir shook his head to make it shut up and listened to admiral.

"Lieutenant Commander Malgin, have a seat," Lieutenant Benedor smiled politely,indicating the seat opposit of herself and Rear Admiral Whitman. The man looked positively stiff as a board. He seemed to be holding something just below the surface, or at least that was what Taryn's well trained eye told her.

Rear Admiral Leigh Whitman nodded, "We'll only be keeping you for about a half-hour, during which time I'm certain your assistant will be able to hold things down. Now then, this conversation will be recorded to aide us in the making of a decision regarding the future of Mr. Mudd and his androids. I'm going to ask you for a general summary of the events that you've had experience with, then I will get specific. that said, can you describe what experiences you've had since the arrival of Mr. Mudd and his androids." Taryn, meanwhile, began recording.

"Hmph..." was the first thing Malgin said. The second thing was the same. Then,after about fifteen seconds of thoughts, Vladimir finally said something normal "Well, I think that I can name it like hell. Mister Mudd's androids have affected personnel, creating some sorts of..." he thought, searching for a good word to replace word 'sex', but without success "sexual attraction to them. Most of the crew were affected and you can imagine what sort of mess it was." Vladimir shuddered, then gave a kind of 'But I am the best' smile "But I can proudly say that most of medical crew was in normal enough condition. I think this tirade of mine fits word 'summary'..." Malgin stopped and looked at Admiral Whitman.

"Something like that, Mr. Malgin. Can you explain to us the medical affect that the androids have on the male personnel, in a more detailed fashion," she said, while Taryn looked at the Russian man thoughtfuly.

"More detailed?" re-asked chief doctor. "Let's remember. Speaking in medical language - it created attraction of sexual sort by usage of pheromones. I think I don't need to explain what this word means. As you know, sexual instincts are the most powerful in male organism, thus somewhat suppressing normal thoughts."

"Very well," Taryn nodded, "And how did you propose, initially to deal with this?" This would give her a real perspective on what was going on here. All of this was so strange.

Malgin cleared his throat before continuing. ~Damn, now I understand what all this was for...~ he thought, then, with sigh, continued "Well, Lieutenant Fienberg and me though for some time, as we understood that problem is to be resolved. And the only suitabe solution was to make testosterone, male sexual hormone, producing cells shut down. This would have locked the male sexual instincts. Of course the side effect would be temporary... Don't know the word... 'Femaling'?.. of male crew. But this side effect would would disappear just as our medicine wears off..."

"Temporary femaling?" Taryn's eyes narrowed, "According to the projections of our staff physician, Lieutenant Commander Doctor Lamarque, over 30% of the men would have died, due to the loss of normal functions as a result of the loss of testosterone. The rest would never have been able to reproduce, yourself included, Doctor. Justify that."

~Court Martial... That's what I will get...~ thought CMO and after a sigh almost agreed mentally with this fate and continued his explanations.

"Um, well, our serum was planned not to... Strip males of their male hormones, but only to lower the level of testosterone in blood. Thus it will not lower the level to the death level..." But slowly Vladimir began to boil "... And I don't care what your staff physician, Mister Blah-blah-marque says - I am the authority onboard the USS Galaxy and I came to conclusion that the serum will NOT be harmful. I took the responsibility, so if you will punish anybody, this 'anybody' will be only me, but not my personnel. And if you still consider my point of view incorrect, then I am ready to accept everything - I don't care what you impose on me - I will just send a note of resigning my position to Captain Bhrode, leave Starfleet and that's all!" CMO's face turned bright shade of red as he said these words.

Taryn stood up abruptly, knocking over her chair. Had he really just yelled at her... In the presence of an Admiral... On a point he had to know was unwinnable? She blinked, "Good god, man! What is it about USS Galaxy crewmembers that makes them think they can yell at Admirals! She is three steps from god, allowing for Fleet Admirals, Admirals, and Vice Admirals. Now get the hell out of my presense before I kick you out! I will come get you myself if I even think your soul is worth saving! Now go crawl back to your sickbay."

Malgin blinked, then skuttled from the room.

"I'm sorry, I overdid that." Taryn immediately turned to Admiral Whitman.

"No, don't bother. I'm a little concerned. While I don't think I can formally do anything about Mr. Malgin, I assure you I intend to order him into counseling for his... how can I say it other than... superiority complex."

"Right. Next."

"All F**ked Up"

Rear Admiral Leigh Deirdre Whitman, Ciutric Sector JAG Official
Lieutenant Taryn Ehlanna Benedor, Chief Of Staff (RA Whitman)
Lieutenant Commander James Lionel Corgan, Chief Security Officer

-Main Conference Room, USS Galaxy-

Whitman looked at Benedor and Taryn simply shook her head.  The others were unbelievable.  Was this an actual navy ship?  It was all so... inconceivable.  And yet it was.  A doctor who had nearly killed every man and boy on the ship.  A captain who hadn't been able to do a thing to prevent this mess.  A legate who was crippled by a teleporter and nobody bothered to not use one on him.  An intelligence officer who seemed to think himself invincible.

"Security?" she asked Whitman.

"Yes.  Go ahead and bring 'Commander Corgan in.  He coordinated the defense of the ship, so perhaps he will have some answers for us about the capabilities of the androids, or even the Orions," Whitman replied, then relaxed for a moment, preparing herself for whatever the universe had in store for her next.

*********

Could he possibly be ready for what the universe had next? If the Galaxy was a screwup ship in the JAG's opinion, they were about to meet the master of mental mindwarps.

And at that moment, Lieutenant Commander James Lionel Corgan was fighting a splitting, pheremone hangover induced headache, a grumpy mood, and the fear of what the preceived inquisition had for him next. It wasn't the first time he ran into JAG's, and he sure as hell hoped it would never happen again.

But who was he fooling? He was James Lionel Corgan, and that meant he was automatically cursed. Jozak III after the Sho-tan Massacre (James was luckily not in the unit responsible), the boarding action of the USS Rondak (half his boarding party unit was killed due to an unlucky shot and an EPS conduit), and of course, the run ins on the Galaxy involving the Denebian incident, the Borg Incident, the Lanjep Incident, and the Sanguinarian Incident. All were not comfortable times, being grilled over and over by thorough and uncaring JAGs.

~"Stupid f**king JAG-offs..."~ Corgan muttered sourly, as the conference room opened. He broke into a half sincere grin and started off with a snappy salute.

"Sir." James carefully spoke, "You summoned for me. I assume it's about our latest encounter."

"Naturally, 'Commander," Rear Admiral Whitman began, "We have some questions that we have to ask you, which will be recorded for testimonial purposes when we convene the review board in a few days. Lieutenant Benedor here will handle most of the questions, so that I can watch and get an idea about a few things. So, I'll turn it over to here."

"Thank you," Benedor said, then took her seat across from Corgan. She turned on the recorder and began, "So, 'Commander Corgan, we need you to begin by giving us your name, rank, and serial number for the records."

~"Sh*t... they need to ask that? Can't they read?"~ James thought, not knowing that Lysander already established THAT fact in his interview, "F**k yeah, sir. I can tell you all that, sir. I am Lieutenant Commander James Lionel Corgan, Chief of Security, USS Galaxy. Starfleet Serial Number 93759569-Omega Black. So, what's yours?" He then asked to surprise the JAG officer, hoping to take the initiative out of the interrogation.

"Lieutenant Tarynn Ehlanna Benedor, Chief Of Staff to Rear Admiral Leigh Deirdre Whitman, Ciutric Colony. Starfleet Serial Number 103311756-Delta Green," the young lieutenant smiled sweetly, though certainly on the inside she was being massively sarcastic. "So, can you give us your interpretation of the events that took place around and aboard the USS Galaxy during this last mess?"

This was when the lump in James throat solidified, ~"F**k... this'll take forever..."~

The chief of security started, "Ok, here we go. You might want to get out the buttered popcorn for this one." Corgan paused, watching their amused reaction, seeing that they were waiting for him to continue, "Oookay, we can start now."

"Just let me get some tea, 'Commander," Benedor said, walked to the replicator and replicated the tea, then returned to her seat. After a lot of unnessecary adjusting of position to get comfortable (or rather, to sarcastically suggest that she was making herslef comfortable), she urged him to begin, "Go ahead, 'Commander."

"Right-o." James started his story, "I was doing my duties at security, and I was about to finish a patrol of the ship when the Android Incident happened. It was a typical day. Did my rounds, did my paperwork, made sure my staff was ship shape and ready, you know, that typical tripe. I was on my way to security, and I ran into Lieutenant Commander MacAllen. I was talking to her about a later engagement when all the sudden... red alert came. The commander and I went to our stations. I found out that there were Orion ships off our bow when I made it to the security office."

"And what did you do during the red alert?" Taryn asked, feigning disinterest. This was ridiculous.

"Aren't you aware of security procedures?" James cast a disarming, suspicious eye at the officer. "And what about common sense? I did what any security officer does during red alert. I sent my security squads to their assigned battle stations. Three squads per deck, with a few squads as reserves at the security office. I send them to battle stations and commanded them from there. And for the first few minutes, it was quiet."

James paused to reflect, "I didn't know what was going on upstairs until after the whole f**king mess sorted itself out. I was busy getting security ready. And a goddamn good thing too. My boys made it to their positions, post haste, and then that was when we were hit!"

"I was just curious if you followed then, Lieutenant Commander," Taryn chuckled as the Admiral looked on, "So, could you be a bit more specific about the ship being... hit?"

"Well, the ship was struck. Low yeild disruptor blasts. I could feel every hit shake the Galaxy. The shields weren't responding either, because usually a shield hit shakes the ship a little and blows out a panel or two. The Orions were shaking us up like we were a f**king prison b*tch! The shields weren't working! And then, the Orion boarding parties came on board and tried to rough us up. They tried to attack vital systems, but most were too f**king busy raping the Promenade and our Cargo Bays. We at security were able to respond and fight them off before they had the common sense to hit engineering or the bridge. After awhile, god knows how long, we were able to round up all the Orions."

"Good. So what happened afterwards," Taryn asked, wondering if Corgon spoke to Captain Bhrode with that mouth... That wasn't something she would have wanted to experiment with.

"Well, after that, it was all cut and dry." James sighed, "The Orions were stranded after Brhode blew the f**k out of the Orion ships, so my department was stuck with hundreds of prisoners. We arranged for some cells to be made in one of our cargo bays, and threw Orions in wherever we could, short of violating the Geneva protocols. And I tell you, babysitting hundreds of f**king prisoners wasn't a f**king picnic either. And to top it off, Brhode in his infinite wisdom let Mudd onboard, and his androids! F**king things caused all sorts of trouble! I swear that little clusterf**k sent two androids after me so that I was distracted so that he could rob us blind!"

"Can you give us information about your interactions with any of the androids while they were onboard," Taryn asked, "I'm sorry in advance if it makes you uncomfortable."

James blushed sheepishly, "Sir, I had intimate relations with two androids while they were on board. I wasn't until later... that I found out it was the pheremones making me do it, sir. Either way, won't keep me from feeling guilty. Should have seen something like that coming. T'lan and O'Rourke from my department dragged me out before I was their love slave forever, if you catch my drift. Dried me out in the drunk tank and cut me loose after those anti-pheremone injections. And that's it... until you summoned for me."

"Tell me about what other people were doing during the course of these events?" Whitman cut in suddenly, but the lieutenant seemed to take it in stride as if it were all perfectly normal for the two of them to switch roles.

"Didn't see many people, sir." James Corgan replied truthfully. "I saw Captain Brhode interrogate the Orion Captain, and Lieutenant Commander Darkstar act as the intimidator. They didn't lay a finger on the Captain... they didn't have to. Brhode just had to look the Orion straight in the eye, and intimidate him, threaten him, and do whatever it took. It was efficient, and I swear they were truthful in their threats."

"What kind of threats, 'Commander," the admiral asked, surprised that Bhrode had in fact come out of his ready room.

"Damn rights. Brhode was willing to hand the Orions over to the Klingon authorities on Lanjep. All by the book... but very borderline. What was strange, Brhode didn't threaten to skin, or beat up, or hurt the poor son of a b*tch. Must be a first, really."

"So how did you react to that?" Taryn Benedor cut back in with a bemused look.

"How am I supposed to react? The Orions attacked us, but it was our fault. We all knew we were dangerously close to Orion Territory, and last I checked, we did go through their borders to go after Harry Mudd. And worse, Brhode had to turn everything into a fireworks display again. Two of my department staff are dead, many more injured, and our ship got f**ked up by two Orion border patrol destroyers. And the Androids seduced half the ship? I'd say that's a f**king embarrassment on our part."

"I suppose so, 'Commander. What would you haved done differently if you had a chance to do it again?"

"Well, I would say more negotiation would be in order. I've seen too many of those cowboy captains during the war. Their itchy trigger fingers get them in too much trouble in peacetime. We could have handed over Mudd to the Orions, since he was breaking their laws, and we would have saved ourselves a sh*tload of trouble right there on the spot. As for the Androids, we couldn't have known about the pheremones until it was too late, sir."

"So, what do you think of the Androids' sentience?" Whitman asked, throwing out the penultimate question.

"They're sentient, sir." James confessed, "The androids I met, pheremones aside, had their own personality traits, preferences... which I hope we wont get into at this time, and besides a bit of slavery on Mudd's behalf, could be productive members of society. I would recommend shutting down the pheremone replication unit, and giving them a chance to make their own decisions for once."

"Very well then," Taryn said, wondering if that opinion might not be a bit biased, "You can go."

"Thank you, sir." James rose from his chair, and saluted, "I hope that helped. And forgive me for the language. This whole f**king situation has gotten out of hand, and it would have stopped if we didn't let Mudd on board."

With a sigh of relief, James waited for the JAG officer to salute back, then sourly walked out of the conference room.

Taryn shook her head, "Mouth aside, he was normal... I think."

"Comparatively, yes. We should be able to get something from that," Whitman replied, then began to get the conference room in order. They only had one more meeting, with one Lieutenant JG Ella Grey.

By Ensign Dhanishta Eshe – Engineering,
Lieutenant j.g Ahdjiia D’Tinya – Security
Lieutenant j.g Michael McDowell – Engineering
Lieutenant j.g Klaus Fienberg – medical

"The Night Before" (Backpost)

Dhanishta packed her bags and said good bye to the house that had been her home for the last 9 years, she wasn’t sad to leave it now, anticipation and excitement left a smile on her lips. Soon she would be up there, in space, she no longer needed to fantasise about being surrounded by the stars. Her dreams were coming true. With 26 years packed into bags and cargo crates Dhanishta boarded her transport that would take her to her new home. She didn’t look back, only forward to the Galaxy.

Her next stop was to be Lanjep, a Klingon outpost which was solely used as a resort and diplomacy court. It was centrally located between all the Federation major powers. She would stay on the Starbase orbiting the planet for a few days before transporting onto the Galaxy.

Ahdjiia was sitting in one of the many bars on the outpost orbiting Lanjep, waiting for her new posting, the Galaxy to arrive. As it was, she'd already garnered some respect from the Klingons during her last bar fight.

Quite the surprise coming from a Crysalian. Peace, Love, Understanding, who needs it..heh.

She idly sipped at her bloodwine, looking at the other patrons. Some were Starfleet. Possibly others also waiting for the Galaxy to arrive. She sighed as she thought of the K'Hotan. That was a ship she was certainly going to miss. Too many good friends there.

**A short while later**

Dhanishtas shuttle docked with the station. A Starfleet officer led her to her temporary quarters, a place to dump her stuff and freshen up. She changed into more comfortable attire; the traditional Klingon female dress. She carefully placed one of her bags down on the bed; it was made of wicker and quite large. She opened it up and a black shape slowly emerged from within. She grabbed a couple of bowls and filled one with water, the other with cat food. “Now listen here Salem Sebastian,” she ordered the cat who was now patrolling the bed, “stay here and be good!”

She left her quarters and headed to the bar. As she entered she took a look around, Starfleet personal mixed with Klingons and many others. She got a few looks from the locals, a Trill in Klingon clothing, must have looked odd; she didn’t lose pace in heading to the bar, “Bloodwine.” she ordered perching on a stool next to a Crysalian female.

"The bloodwine's particularly good here." Ahdjiia commented to the new arrival, "I've had it at other bars and this has the best from them."

“Must be 2309 then, after all there is no finer vintage!” Dhani commented, smiling at the reference.

"I believe so.", Ahdjiia said, "And it's smoother than the chech'tluth I've tasted."

Dhani smiled and giggled inwardly, “Good to find someone that I have something in common with. I’m Dhanishta Eshe.” she said holding out her right hand.

Ahdjiia shook Dhani's hand. "Ahdjiia D'Tinya.", she said with a soft smile, "My last posting was quite enlightening with alcoholic beverages. I'm still convinced the Klingon version of moonshine could eat away tritanium alloy."

Dhanishta nodded, swigging her Bloodwine, “Where was your last posting?” she asked, before taking another swig.

"The K'Hotan.", Ahdjiia said, expecting the usual reaction to the unofficial party ship of the fleet.

“That’s got to be far more interesting than Starfleet Engineering.” Dhanishta responded; thinking back to how many new recruits had hated the thought of being posted there.

"It was.” Ahdjiia said with a smile as she sipped her bloodwine, "I hope to make as good friends on my next posting as I did there."

“You were at Starfleet Engineering?” Dhani questioned her eyebrows raised, “On Earth?” she specified.

"No, but I heard plenty about it." Ahdjiia said, keeping the zing about it being considered the nerd area of Starfleet silent.

Dhanis eyebrows returned to their place, her peeked curiosity diminished, “You know it’s not as bad as everyone makes out. I’ve been there for the last three years and thoroughly enjoyed it; not everyone gets there choice of posting, especially for their first.” she commented.

"True.", Ahdjiia replied, "I'm just waiting for my next posting to dock."

“Me too. I didn’t get my choice for my first posting but, finally got my wish; to work amongst the stars! And what better name than the Galaxy?!”

Ahdjiia smiled, "From what I've heard, she's a good ship. Captain's got a bit of a temper, but which of them doesn't."

Dhani chuckled as she finished off her bloodwine, “Indeed.” She turned back to the bar tender for a moment and ordered a refill, “So where’s your next posting? You seem anxious to get there.”

"Same as yours, the Galaxy.” Ahdjiia said with a soft smile, "I'll be in Security."

Dhani smiled, “I knew there was a reason why I sat down next to you!”

"What department are you going to be in?” she asked.

“Engineering.” Dhani replied over the top of her tankard.

Ahdjiia, you're a dumbass at times, she thought to herself. She should've guessed this one was an engineer as she'd said she attended Engineering school. Of course Dhani could've done like she had and attended Tactical and Marine training for the hell of it.

"Have you come across any of the others who might be joining the ship as well?” she asked.

“No, not yet,” Dhani replied, “to be honest I haven’t been looking, came here first. I’ve been on a passenger freighter for the last couple of weeks. Stayed in my quarters for the most part, studying for my new post; every time I close my eyes I see the schematics for the Galaxy!”

"I have yet to come across an engineer who hasn't fully studied the schematics of the ship they're on before they arrive.” Ahdjiia said with a smile, "Preparedness is good."

Klaus was bored, so he went to the bar for a drink. He unbuttoned his long black trench. It swayed and flapped in the random air currents within the station.

The bar was around the corner so he went in an sat down a couple seats from what appeared to be two Starfleet personnel, obviously off duty.

The bartender walked up and Klaus ordered water. He grabbed the water, thanked & paid the bartender then sat down next to the two. "May I join you."

Dhanishta looked up at the newcomer, then glanced at Ahdjiia; she didn’t seem to mind.

"Of course.", Ahdjiia said with a polite smile.

Dhani reached behind her and grabbed a bar stool. She placed it in front of the newcomer, “Have a seat, I’m Dhanishta Eshe.” she said holding out her hand.

Klaus accepted and shook the awaiting hand. "I apologize for eavesdropping, but I wish to join the conversation. My assignment is aboard the USS Galaxy. A wondrous vessel isn't she?"

“I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing it yet, but from the schematics it’s everything a young engineer dreams of!” Dhani replied.

"It looks like we're all waiting for the Galaxy then.” Ahdjiia commented with a smile, "That's my new assignment as well."

“What department are you in?” Dhanishta asked the man who had just joined them.

"I am Dr. Klaus Feinberg, medical practitioner."

***Some thirty minutes later ***

Lanjep, a Klingon outpost and on a diplomatic level one of the most important planets to all of the major powers. At this moment Michael was on the huge Starbase orbiting that planet, walking over the large promenade and passing countless shops, before he would have to report for duty on the USS Galaxy. He was still wearing his uniform. His shift, Gamma shift, was only four hours away and so Michael found it easier to keep on his uniform instead of going to the 'trouble' of looking up his civilian clothing.

It was still a surprise to him that he'd been assigned to the flag ship of the Federation. Michael wondered who had arranged his transfer. Starfleet Command could not have forgotten that incident with the freighter near Starbase 86 so soon. Someone must've pulled some strings or else he wouldn't even be here.

Michael began to feel thirsty and that was not surprising since he'd walked for over two hours now. Some ten meters in front of him, at his left, he could see what had to be a bar. ~A Klingon bar on a Starbase near a Klingon planet. Can get rough there sometimes. Ah well, there's got to be a first time for everything.~

As Michael entered the bar he took a quick look around. It looked reasonable quiet,...for Klingon standards. He signalled the bartender and ordered a Tarkelean Sunset, one of his favourite drinks. The bartender was back in a few and handed him the beverage after which Michael turned around to find a place to sit down.

Dhanishtas attention turned from the conversation when she saw a man enter the bar. She stared at him intently, she knew this man, or at least it felt like she did. She kept staring at him, beckoning him.

Only then Michael noticed the three persons sitting next to each other. One of them looked at him and signalled him to come over. Michael returned a surprised look, thereby raising his left brow in a Vulcan manner. He didn't know her, but it seems she did recognize him. It was a rather attractive woman and Michael felt that strange nervous feeling again - the feeling he always got in these situation. He prayed he could hide his shy side this time. Finally he walked over to the woman and when he was just a few steps away he asked, "Uhm, I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

Ahdjiia looked at the recent newcomer; he was either Ops, Security, or Engineering...she rather doubted Security. She continued to sip her bloodwine for the time being.

Dhanishta wracked her brains trying to think of this mans name, it popped into her head from nowhere, "Mike...Michael..," she said. She remembered looking at the bios of the other engineers on the Galaxy; that must be it she thought, though it didn't answer the question of why she felt like she hadn't seen him in years though, or why she wanted to hug him, "Michael.. McDowell?" she questioned, refraining from hugging him.

~What the..? How does she know my name~ This was weird and Michael frowned. "You know my name? How do you know me? As far as I can remember I've never met you."

Dhanishta could sense his concern at her knowing his name, she didn't blame him. "No, you haven't. Forgive me." she said, "I looked up all the bios of the people I was to be working with. I'm Ensign Dhanishta Eshe. I have been assigned to the Galaxy. Engineering."

Somewhat relieved Michael smiled. "Oh, I see. Getting familiar with your fellow crewmembers, huh? Good thing. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Dhanishta." He noticed the other two persons sitting next to Dhanishta looking at him. "I assume they are your friends?"

"I hope so." Dhanishta replied looking at them both expectantly.

Ahdjiia just smiled and sipped at her bloodwine, finally finishing it off.

Michael looked at both Dhanishta's friends and waited for them to introduce themselves. Were they just friends saying goodbye to their friend before the Galaxy would leave Lanjep or were they also Starfleet officers serving on the same ship? He was curious to find out.

The good doctor gave a very quick and casual salute. "Dr. Klaus Feinberg, Lieutenant jg. Medical department. I also am assigned to the Galaxy."

Michael nodded. "Pleased to meet you Doctor. I guess I'll be seeing you at my medical check-up." Then he looked at other woman who appeared to have finished her drink. He smiled a bit clumsy at her. "Are you perhaps also assigned to the Galaxy?"

Ahdjiia nodded politely. "Lt. JG Ahdjiia D'Tinya, Security. Also heading for the Galaxy."

Dhanishta looked back up at Michael, "I just met them." she explained.

Michael took a sip from his drink. "You all just met each other? So this is all a coincidence,...not a get together of friends?" Thinking a few moments Michael continued. "Some coincidence... Four people. We all meet each other here, at this spot, for the first time and we're all assigned to the Galaxy. Now, what are the chances?"

Klaus chuckled. "Same thing happened on my last assignment aboard the USS Sturmovik."

Dhanishta smiled and finished off her bloodwine, "Any one for another?" she asked noticing that Ahdjiia had also finished her drink.

"Of course.", Ahdjiia said with a smile. It was a legacy from her old ship, always take a drink from someone offering

Michael made a gesture with his held, making it clear he declined the offer. Besides, he never tried bloodwine before. After all the stories he heard about it he'd decided that he wouldn't drink it. "Uhm, no thanks. I'm still enjoying my own favourite drink."

“Klaus,” Dhanishta turned to the doctor, “can I get you anything?”

"Bah! I never touch the stuff. The last time I had a drink I tried to hang myself. No lie. At least I can joke about it now." Klaus chuckled.

Dhani tilted her head, “Just the two then.” she said turning around to the bar tender. She handed over a full tankard to Ahdjiia. “Seeing as everyone has a drink of some sort; I’d like to make a toast.” Dhani started, “To the Galaxy and…… new friends.” She said raising her tankard, looking round at everyone.

Ahdjiia raised her tankard with a smile, "And bright days before us."

Michael nodded once and raised his own glass. "Yes, I'll drink to that." Then he looked to Klaus. "Doctor?"

"I suppose..." Klaus raised his glass of water.

Looking around Michael noticed everyone was waiting for something, some last words before they really would toast. Normally he wouldn't have taken the initiative in this situation, but now he felt an obligation to initiate the actual ritual. "So, to the Galaxy, new friends,...and bright days before us."

All clinked their glasses after which Michael took a bit to much of his drink at once,...and that didn't went very well. He choked in it but, miraculously, was just able to swallow it before he started to cough.

Ahdjiia got Michael a napkin. "Here.", she said with a soft smile as she handed it to him, "Nothing like something going down the wrong pipe."

Michael looked up, still coughing uncontrollably. "Thanks..." He felt stupid and was embarrassed that he allowed this to happen. He heard a group of Klingons laughing out loud, saying something like 'his throat is too sensitive for bloodwine'.

Dhani looked over at the Klingon disapprovingly, “nukneH romuluSngan nuch?” she retorted.

The Klingon grunted and glared at Dhanishta. The overly large and butch male Klingon looked at his friends before standing up and making his way over to Dhani.

Dhani put her pint down slowly on the bar before turning to watch as he stormed towards her; fuming at the insult. Briefly translated she had called him a Romulan coward; the biggest insult.

Ahdjiia sighed and slowly turned, ready for some throwing down. After all, what was the point of being in a Klingon bar without having the requisite barfight.

"Hey! You have a deathwish!?" Michael called out in-between coughs and with a bewildered look on his face. ~Oh man, so it was a bad idea coming here.~ "Ensign!!"

Dhani stood up and held her ground. She signalled for the others to stand back, she knew what she was doing.

The Klingon clenched his fists and glared at her, “What did you call me?” he hissed.

“romuluSngan nuch,” Dhani replied, “have you lost your hearing in your old age?”

Ahdjiia was familiar with this as well, and was ready to take it all as it came.

Michael leaned over to Ahdjiia, all forgetting about the nervous feeling he had of being around the two attractive women. "What the hell does she think she is doing? That's a Klingon, not a lovable puppy" Michael halve whispered.

"Don't worry about it.", Ahdjiia said with a soft smile, "Just be ready to either start fighting or duck for cover if and when the first fists start to fly."

Michael frowned. "That's exactly the part I'm worried about." He turned to look how Dhanishta was doing. He really didn't look forward to come forward to take a few punches in order to 'save the girl'. Heck, he wasn't even sure he could pull that off. But, as Michael watched, something told him that maybe wouldn't be necessary afterall.

The Klingon regarded her for a moment.

“Well?” Dhani questioned, “Have you lost your hearing, Moll’ek?”

He grunted at her confused.

“I guess you don’t remember me, Moll’ek. I sure as hell remember you.” She said taking a step forward, “You gave me this.” She said rolling up her sleeve and showing him the branding on her right bicep.

He grabbed her arm forcefully, whilst glaring at her, and took a closer inspection of the scar. His face scrunched up, he threw his head back and roared with laughter.

“You’re the Eshe twin.” He stated, “Your sister squealed like a targ!!” he rumbled with more laughter. “How many tears ago was it?” he questioned when his laughter subsided.

Dhani thought for a moment, “Thirteen.” she replied, “I drunk so much blood wine, I had a hang over for a week!”

Moll’ek laughed again, he drew Dhani close to him, “A round of drinks for the Trill and her friends.” he shouted at the bar tender. “Come, join us?” he asked.

Dhani looked round at her new found friends; all of which looked a bit on edge, “Maybe later.” she told Moll’ek. He returned to his friends.

Dhani turned back to the edgy three.

With a nod and a shrug, Ahdjiia took her seat back at the bar, ordering some chech'tluth this time around. This was all part and parcel of dealing with Klingon friends, but there was always that fine line that might get crossed.

Klaus chuckled to the nonsense, a harmless chuckle. He thought he knew nothing would go wrong.

Michael looked at the big Klingon as he walked back to the others. "For a moment there I thought we would've to fight our way out the bar. But you knew that wouldn't happen, didn't you? You know him." He looked at Dhanishta. "All nice and fun,...but next time warn us before you do something like this again, okay?"

Dhani looked at Ahdjiia then Klaus and then Michael; Klaus seamed amused, Michael looked relived and Ahdjiia well, Ahdjiia intrigued Dhani. Ahdjiia was ready to fight, to defend someone she hardly knew; one who was intentionally insulting a Klingon at that. Dhani didn’t have to explain but felt that she ought to.

“I’m sorry.” she said to Michael, “We moved to Qo’noS when I was 11.” she started to explain, “Me and my sister had a hard time fitting in, as I’m sure you can imagine. We joined in on everything that we could from Bat’leth tournaments to ghargh eating competitions. After a while we managed to gain a little respect from a few, but they were then picked on to for associating with outsiders.” she paused and swigged her drink, “So the years passed and me and Kala became quite adept with a Bat’leth and entered a competition. The others were not happy and really gave us some stick, but we won the tournament and were branded as a sign of acceptance. Moll’ek understood how much me and Kala had had enough of the teasing, the insults and the constant fights and he made a bet with me. If I didn’t scream when he branded me then I could insult him as much as I liked. Though only him! And if he hadn’t of remembered me then we might have been fighting our way out of the bar. But that is unlikely.”

Michael was intrigued by Dhanishta's short summery of her life on the Klingon home world. It certainly was not your average story. He frowned slightly. "It's not like Klingons to really 'discriminate' other races... Sure, they're aggressive in nature, but their culture is more bent on proving that one is a great warrior who fought great battles, all for the honor and glory. From hearing your story I get a whole different perspective on the Klingons...or is it another less known side of the Klingon society?"

“That is true to an extent,” Dhanishta replied, “but I was born on Vulcan, and brought up with Vulcan views and philosophy. And to go from a peaceful world bent on logic to one where violence is promoted and encouraged is well….. illogical”

"Ah,...that explains it. From Vulcan to Qo'noS, now that's just asking for trouble." Michael said and grinned. Then, turning serious again, he asked, "So, what's the story about you being born on Vulcan? I mean, you're a Trill and Vulcan isn't exactly the place where you expect a Trill to be born."

Dhanishta smiled to herself appearances could be so deceiving. “Well my parents were scientists and took the most unusual of posts which lasted years. They wanted to be settled and not drag me and my sister from ship to ship, feared that we’d turn out as Starfleet brats I guess.”

"And here you are, a Starfleet officer." Michael replied. He chuckled. "I'd say they failed in keeping you from 'Starfleet brats'."

“The best laid plans.” Dhanishta smiled as she swigged the last of her pint

Michael nodded and smiled. "You got that right. But I assume your parents overcame their 'worst nightmare', not?"

“Erm, I don’t really know, they have ascended to the stars. Following their life long dream; to explore.” she replied without emotion.

The change in mood didn't escape Michael. It was obvious he'd hit some sensitive subject. "Uhm,...yeah,... Hey,...I'm sorry if I said something that upset you."

“Not at all.” Dhani replied smiling. Truth be known Dhani’s attention had wandered and she wasn’t quite sure why.

Michael gave her a comforting smile, then turned and spoke to the three in general. "Right, now I don't know about you three, but I'm heading back to the docking bay. If I'm right then the Galaxy should've arrived by now. .Well, she better be since my orders tell me to report for duty in about in hour or so. Anyway, I'll catch you all later, okay?" That said Michael turned and walked out of the bar. He had to be admit he was looking forward to his first shift in the Galaxy. There was something special about it to return to his old ship again.

“Hummm,” Dhani mumbled in agreement, “I’ve got to get changed. I’ll see you all later.” she said placing her empty pint glass on the bar. She paused on her way out at Moll’eks table and said her goodbyes to him before leaving the bar.

"I must leave too.", Ahdjiia said, "I have to make sure my little ones who travel with me are ready for the transport over. They get so easily upset in a new home." With polite goodbyes said, she headed to tend to her spiders.

Klaus simply looked, smiled, quickly saluted and walked out.

OOC – this is set straight after the jp “The night before”

By Ensign Dhanishta Eshe.

“How to get a cat in a bag with a Klingon at your throat”

Location: Temporary quarters, space station orbiting Lanjep.

As Dhanishta returned to her temporary quarters, to get changed into her uniform, she felt a little guilty; she had lied to Michael about reading his bio. She had looked up the personal in the engineering department that she had been transferred to, but that was it, she hadn’t read anyone’s names and hadn’t looked at there bios. She was just as puzzled as he was as to how she knew who he was.

As she entered she realised why her attention had wandered earlier. Salem! The black cat was nowhere to be seen, ‘dam it, that’s all I need’, she thought.

She packed everything up and got her uniform ready for the two second change after she found Salem. Using the internal sensors she located the feline close to the bar that she had just left. Dhanishta ran back up the halls, in and out of turbo lifts and after a few moments was back up at the bar.

Klaus and Ahdjiia were nowhere to be seen; as she had expected. Dhani looked under tables as discreetly as she could in vain attempt to find the mischievous cat. Dhani cursed as her search turned up nothing, not even a hair ball. She left the bar and stood looking, scanning with her Betazoid mind.

An almighty scream erupted from a near by bar and Dhani knew straight away that someone, though not her, had unintentionally found her cat. She ran in the direction the scream had come from.

Salem, on the other hand, had been having a whale of a time exploring the station, running, jumping, climbing the occasional railing, and was now tucking in to a tasty blood pie!!

As she entered the bar the scene unfolded before her; Salem sitting on a table, merrily munching on a Klingons dinner, the Klingon was stood, arms outstretched in out-roar, and oh yes one other thing he was pissed off - and this one she didn’t know!

Dhani ran in, skidded, yet managed to grab the cat by the scruff of its neck and tuck him under one arm. The Klingon shouted at her, most of it she missed yet just managed to catch, “……your cat…….” “Yes, sorry.” Dhani replied, “This is my cat.” “Give it to me.” the Klingon demanded. “Why?” Dhani asked. “I’m going to gut it.” he replied whilst brandishing a d’k tahg. “I don’t think so.” Dhani replied calmly. “GIVE IT TO ME” he shouted twiddling the d’k tahg around in his fingers advancing on her. “No” Dhani replied.

He kept advancing on her till she reached the wall and had nowhere to go. His menacing face lit up as she hit the wall, “Give it to me.” he said, his voice low and gruff. “No.” Dhani said trying to restrain the fidgeting feline in her arms. The Klingon moved closer, the blade of his d’k tahg now resting on Dhanishtas throat.

She could feel the point of the blade at the base of her jaw, the cold mettle pressed against her skin sent chills down her spine.

Salem lunged forward, claws out. His back legs kicked off against Dhanishtas chest leaving bleeding claw marks. His front legs stretched out meeting the Klingons face. The Klingon staggered back covering his face. The blade of the d’k tahg sliced Dhanishtas skin as the Klingons arms retreated to protect his bleeding face.

Dhanishta spun round in the opposite direction of the blade and went to run after her cat. The Klingon grabbed Dhani’s arm, he noticed the Klingon symbol which scared her upper arm, and stopped her. He looked at the Trill dressed in Klingon clothing with a Klingon mark. He twilled the knife round in his fingers again, and challenged her.

In a movement that took less than a second Dhani grabbed the knife out of the Klingons hand and threw it at the dart board at the other side of the bar, a little cheer erupted from the onlookers of the dart game as the board made the satisfying sound of a bulls eye, until they realised that it was a d’k tahg stuck in the board and not a dart.

“I may have been accepted by the Klingon society, but I am not a Klingon.” Dhani said squaring up to the Klingon, “I do not accept your challenge.” “Bar keep,” she shouted not taking her eyes off the Klingon, “give him a fresh blood pie and a pint of blood wine to wash it down with.” She smiled politely at the Klingon, “Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a cat to bag and a ship to catch.” She pulled the chair out and waited for the Klingon to sit down. He grunted his acknowledgment, took the chair sharply from her, repositioned it and sat back down.

Dhani went up to the bar and paid the tender. As she left the bar she took a deep breath, ‘that cat has a lot to answer for’.

She continued the search and eventually found Salem, hiding in a corner. Upon returning to her quarters she bagged Salem in silence, ignoring his constant mewing, patched herself up and changed into her uniform.

As the Galaxy came into view her breath caught in her throat. Her future awaited her; to the stars she went.

“If you misbehave on this ship,” she said to Salem, “ I’ll gut you myself!”

"Curtis's View"

Captain William Sutherland
Lieutenant Curtis Geluf

Captain Sutherland looked at his list, and moved to the next name. Sutherland tapped his commbadge, instructing the officer to report immediately.

-----

Cleaning up a bit after Kiora's flare-up about the fem-bot Curtis came home with, the Lieutenant was being mindful to check his door every time someone rang the bell, lest another bot jump from nowhere.

He was just setting his ever-present (and ever-messy) pile of sheet music back on his desk when his comm badge chirped.

["Sutherland to Lieutenant Geluf, please report to Briefing Lounge 12"] came the voice over the Operation's Manager's commbadge.

"This is Geluf. On my way sir." Curtis replied, glad to be taking a breather from the work.

["Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll see you here shortly."]

Curtis began to head for the door when it struck him that there may be fem-bots ANYWHERE...and they could pop out at ANY time, and cause him to become SMITTEN with them and make Kiora whack him with her leathal "Drunken Two-Fisted Designer Shoe" attack again.

Cringing a bit at the thought, Curtis deftly checked outside his door in either direction. Nothing. Being careful to move with grace, and using his Kerelian ears to their full extent, he made his way down the coridoor.

He wasn't hearing any fem-bots in the hallways, but he WAS picking up several nasty conversations from inside different quarters along the way. Married couples were raging full scale war upon each other, and in a few spots Curtis could hear the distict sounds of sexual encounters.

Of course, some of this wa normal for the OPS manager. His hearing was a blessing and a curse. He didn't always want to hear the conversations being had by half the ship, but then again, his ears had saved his hide on more than one occassion. Now, he was hoping they would do it again...by getting him around any fem-bots.

Several overheard arguments and many minutes later, Curtis arrived at the lounge and entered.

"Lt. Curtis Geluf, reporting as requested sir."

" Good afternoon, Lieutenant. I'm sure you're aware, Starfleet has sent myself and my fellows to determine the fate of these androids located by one Harcourt Fenton Mudd. I would appreciate anything you could tell me about what's been going on this ship."

Curtis' face contorted a bit.

"Well sir, I've had a personal run in with one of the androids, or the "Fem-bots" as the crew have come to call them. The experience turned out rather badly for me...wives tend to notice when you bring other women into their households." Then, rubbing his head, "And they can get real dangerous if you let them get ahold of a shoe...."

Sutherland bit back laughter at that one. "I have no doubt of that, Lieutenant."

Curtis quickly decided that his previous statement made him sound like a bad spouse and added, "Of course, I had no idea what was happening. Apparently these androids are capable of warping men's minds a bit."

"So I've heard." the Captain responded, and then leaned forward. "If it doesn't embarrass you, would you be able to provide me with... " he paused, searching for the word. "Details of your experience - only the portions that would be relevant to this investigation." he hastily added at the end. This investigation was a tricky one. Several interviewees had already offered FAR, FAR too much information on what they'd done with the fembots.

"Certainly sir, at least, what I can remember of it. Things are still a bit fuzzy." Curtis replied.

"I can't quite remember HOW I met up with the bot, and in fact, I can't remember much of what happend after. What I can tell you is that my mind was completely under the control of the bot. I lost all knowledge of actions around me, even forgetting about my wife, Kiora. They're machines that seem built for one reason only...sex. At least, they've shown no interest in other things as far as I can tell. My contact with one was limited, and after the experience with Kiora, you can understand that I've been carefull to avoid them."

"Likely a wise precaution, Mr. Geluf. Given your druthers, what do you think should be done with them?" Captain Sutherland asked, stroking his beard as he had in so many interviews before. It was such an unconsious habit, he never noticed himself doing it.

"Frankly sir, I have no idea." The Ops Chief replied. "I suppose it all depends on the level of sentience in the machines. Regaurdless, I don't think they should be allowed to be sold off as a living sex toy. That's just my personal opinion of course."

"Fair enough." Sutherland replied. "Thank you, Lieutenant. That will be all."

"Aye, sir." came the Ops Managers response, and he departed.

"The Bartender's View"

Captain William Sutherland
Erin Friel

Captain Sutherland looked at his list, and moved to the next name. That God, he was almost finished. They were down to civilians now. Sutherland tapped his commbadge, requesting - as the individual was one of those civilians - that she meet him in the briefing room shortly.

-----

["Captain Sutherland to Erin Friel. Ms. Friel, would you please come to Briefing Lounge 12"] came the voice over the Medical Officer's commbadge.

"Um, yes sir," the redhead replied a little nervously from behind her bar.

["Thank you, ma'am. I'll see you here shortly."]

She had been informed that there were going to be some important people asking questions and that since she was one of the people aboard who first proposed a theory about what was going on, she knew she was likely to be on the list of 'questionees'.

Rounding the bar, she whispered into her friend Tina's ear as she passed by, "Take care of things here, I have to go answer some questions."

"Ooo, don't let dem muckety-mucks intimidate yous, hon," Tina counseled.

"I'll try not to," Erin assured as she left Ten Forward.

---------

"Good afternoon, Ms. Friel. I'm sure you're aware, Starfleet has sent myself and my fellows to determine the fate of these androids located by one Harcourt Fenton Mudd. I would appreciate anything you could tell me about what's been going on this ship."

Although her career as a bartender in San Francisco and Utopia Planetia had brought her in contact with some captains, admirals, and other Fleet brass, Erin had never been summoned before one for questioning. Her usually bubbly demeanor was considerably toned-down now. "I, uh, I don't really know, sir," she answered, shifting nervously in her seat. "Just that for the past few days, every man I've seen on this ship, including my own boyfriend," she muttered with rather obvious contempt, "has been completely nuts around those women. Following them around, fawning all over them, even fighting over them. It's been pretty weird if you ask me," she added as an afterthought.

"I understand you were one of the first to figure out what was going on? With the pheromone release?" Sutherland asked.

"Was I?" the redhead asked with a little surprise. She'd told her tale to a couple of doctors in sickbay who had summarily thanked her and sent her on her way. They didn't reveal whether or not she was the first or the only person to come up with the theory. "Well, I know I hadn't heard anyone else suggest it, at least not to me."

"And how did you come to this conclusion?"

"Perfume. My friend Tina said something about some perfume she had that guys go crazy over and that's when it hit me. We'd been talking about all the crazy stuff that's been happening around here lately with all the men on board being so, so smitten with those strange women . . . even my own boyfriend," Erin muttered, pursing her lips in displeasure. "I couldn't figure out what these women had, I mean they're pretty and all, but so are a lot of other women on this ship. I noticed when I doused a couple of guys with a good blast of water, they seemed to calm down a little, but it wasn't until Tina mentioned the perfume that it made any sense to me."

"Interesting." Sutherland replied as he tapped something into his stylus. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Yeah. If you see a grouchy, shifty-eyed little helmsman court-martial the bastard on sight." Pheromones or not, Erin still was still holding Jeremy liable for his conduct. That was one fence that was going to take some time to mend.

William smiled. "I'll keep that in mind, Miss."

OOC: Occurs before Cutter's testimony with Sutherland.

~Conversation over Lunch~

Lt. Cutter Kara'nin
Lt. Daniel Scarborough

"Danu!" Cutter exclaimed as he answered the door to his quarters. He was half naked, again, presumably still spending all of his time with one of Mudd's androids.

"Hello, Cutter," Daniel said, concentrating and refraining from addressing the Fruna'lin by his rank. "I came by to see if you wanted to eat. Are you hungry?"

"Hungry?" Cutter asked, as if unfamiliar with the word. He looked down at his stomach, "That's what that feeling is! I must be hungry."

"Wha ... when's the last time you ate?"

"I don't know, I don't remember. I had some honey a while ago, could have been last night."

Daniel slapped his hand to his forehead in disbelief. "Lieu ... Cutter! You've spent the last week in bed having sex! You haven't eaten at all? You must be starving!"

"Well, now that you diagnose it, I am," Cutter laughed, "which is good! I was afraid that old human saying was true, what is it? 'Too much of a good thing' or something? I was terrified that sex was starting to hurt."

Daniel sighed, "Then you should come to lunch with me."

"Esema. Should I ask Stella?"

"No!" Daniel almost screamed, "Uh, no, no. She'll be fine." He needed Cutter away from all distractions. Especially those the androids provide.

"All right. Where do you want to go?" Cutter asked as stepped inside his quarters and pulled a shirt off the floor.

"Huh? Oh, I know a place," Daniel said.

==========================================

The high energy subnucleaic subspace particle physics lounge, wedged between the control room for the ship's toroidal lepton collider and dynamic cochrane field generater. This room hasn't seen a woman of any species since it was constructed on Mars Planitia, instead it was filled with the most boring men alive. As Daniel and Cutter entered, their ears were bombarded with uproarious, 'Nyah, Nyahahs' from the two men in the corner - nerd laughs. This was the perfect place, there would be nothing to distract Cutter's wandering mind here!

"Why are we here?" Cutter asked, slight disgust in his voice.

"I-, uh ..., it's, uh, it's, it's quiet," Daniel said, walking over to the replicator.

"Nyah! You get it? He thought his muons were pions! Nyah, Nyahah!" the scientist in the corner yelled, followed by another round of honking laughter.

"Ohn..." Cutter sighed, then joined Daniel at the replicator. They sat at a table furthest away from the other two scientists in the room. "So, what's going on in the labs?"

"Uh, I take it that you haven't been doing your paperwork?" Daniel asked, knowing the answer well before the question formed in his head.

Cutter laughed at the question and stuck the first bite of food in his mouth. Daniel continued, "Well, its been interesting. I know chemistry was spending a good deal of time analyzing the pheromones of the androids. We've, uh, we've just been--"

"What are you talking about, what pheromones?" Cutter asked.

"The, uh...uh, oh. Uh, the androids, um...," Daniel began to explain, holding out his hand to Cutter like he was asking for something.

"Stella."

"Right. The androids, um, Stella included, emit these, uh, pheromones. They apparently only affect men, uh, increased aggressiveness, mating instincts, libido, um...etc. A good third of the male crew have been arrested for disorderly conduct or restricted to their quarters."

"What? That's ridiculous," Cutter stated. He clearly did not believe he was under any sort of influence.

"Well, its true. I can show you the reports. You're likely to hear a lot about them in the near future. A, uh, a board of ... uh, a Federation delegation has arrived, in order to judge the androids sentience and this pheromone control of theirs. Apparently, they want to call in most of the crew to testify."

"Hmm," Cutter mused, taking another bite. "Increased libido, ih?" he asked, as his mind started to drift to the lower regions of his body.

Yea, uh...well, um, I, I don't....I don't really want to talk... So? When do you plan on returning to work?" Daniel asked suddenly.

Cutter twitched slightly, as his eyes opened wide at the question. He sat for a moment, without responding as the question fought its way to recognition. Finally, he sighed. "Work, Danu, all you do is work. You should have found yourself an android."

"I'm, I'm allergic. You haven't thought about your work at all in the past few weeks?"

"No."

"Nyah, hah, I don't know what he was thinking. Everyone knows that verterons are highly unstable in a subspace field! Nyah, what a moron! Nyah!"

"Although, I don't know how I could have gone on as long as I have without conversations like that," he said, tilting his head to the two scientists across the room.

Daniel smiled at the sarcasm, "I know you've thought about it a little. Why did you decide to leave?"

The joviality slowly drained from Cutter's face, his wings sunk slightly behind him. Because he was a failure. Because he couldn't learn anything about the dimensional rift the Defiant was in, and therefore could do nothing to help all the crew that had transported over. Because he was becoming a machine. Because he had not had any fun, had not even flown since he had come aboard. He was Fruna'lin again now, his first home in the air (even if it was holographic), his second home in the sack (even if it was with an android). He was his own species again, instead of some fictional Starfleet conglomerate. Wasn't he? It felt good, the playing, the flying, the fucking. Didn't it? He just shrugged.

Disappointed, Daniel dropped his gaze to his plate and the two sat ate silently. Cutter was thinking of leaving, Daniel knew. He had seen the Starfleet rank and insignia tucked away in Cutter's desk. Packed up, like they would never be used again. But, it had been nearly a month since Cutter stopped reporting for duty. If he were going to leave, why hadn't he? He just needs something to bring him back in, Daniel thought. Once he comes back, and starts his research again, Cutter would be happy. He was a scientist after all, and all scientists were alike in that respect.

After several minutes of silence, Daniel finally spoke. "I, uh, I've been looking at hot Jupiter degenerates."

"What about them?" Cutter asked, perking up in his seat.

"I've been looking at electromagnetic phenomena in the atmosphere caused by seismic shifts in neutron core. I've been correlating stellar geological activity and data from the EM sensors from--"

"Danu! That's my research!" Cutter exclaimed.

"Well, uh, I, uh...well, you...you haven't been working on it, and it looked interesting, so I took it up." Daniel explained meekly. His gaze dropped back down to his plate, embarrassed.

"Danu, you thief! Well? What have you found?" Cutter asked, with a surprising amount of interest.

"Well, there is, of course, some amount of electromagnetic activity all the time, but there appear to be peaks in activity that match up with nearly every core quake--"

"Where in the atmosphere? Right above the point of seismic activity?"

"Uh, well, uh, yes. Because the core quakes release tremendous amounts of heat that ionizes the hydrogen in the atmosphere," Daniel explained.

Cutter rolled his eyes, "Ka, I know that. You found evidence to support that theory, though?"

"Oh, yes," Daniel nodded, taking a sip of water, "The curious thing is that the storms will sometimes oscillate on and off, depending on the strength of the seismic activity. Weaker quakes will produce long-lasting, steady storms that spread out over a third to a half of the atmosphere, but the stronger quakes produce incredibly powerful burst storms just over the point of energy release that fluctuate from very intense activity to almost zero activity. I can't figure out why."

"Atmospheric shockwaves," Cutter said. He held a slight grin on his face as he waited for Daniel's reaction.

"Uh, uh, wi, da...what?"

The Fruna'lin snickered at Daniel's confusion, "Atmospheric shockwaves," he repeated, watching for signs of understanding from Daniel, "Very strong degenerate core quakes produce shockwaves that resonate in the atmosphere. They start at the point of seismic activity and move across the planet until they reflect off themselves at the antipode. The pressure differences affect the particle density and ionization, and therefore affect the electromagnetic storms."

Daniel sat with his jaw slightly agape as the answer sank in. After a few moments, he continued, "That makes sense. I don't know why I didn't think about that. Well, we were planning to submit a request to perform a controlled experiment on the hot Jupiter degenerate in this system, Eta Rigel I. We want to launch a charge down to create an artificial quake and monitor the activity. We'll be sure to moniter the atmospheric density across the planet, now, though. We're having a meeting about it tomorrow, to plan out the experiment ... uh, at 13:00. You're more than welcome to come, of course, since it was initially your project."

"Sema, I'll be there."

Chad Vicenik
Lt. Cutter Kara'nin
Chief of Astrophysics
USS Galaxy A

"Moving Forward- Part One"

Lt. (JG) Ella Grey

Space, of course, was always black but Ella awoke at dawn anyway.

She yawned softly and then slowly slid out from under the arm of the man sleeping beside her. Which was no easy task as his arm was wrapped tightly around her waist. It was sweet but also annoying. Her shift was in a few hours and she wanted to take a sonic shower in her own quarters.

Once free, Ella dressed quietly, although she really didn't need to. His snores were loud enough to wake the dead and drown out the living. She chuckled softly, after a particularly loud snort, as she hunted in the dark for her shoes. Once found, she left and began the trek back to her own quarters, walking barefoot down the halls of Galaxy, with shoes in hand, because she felt like it.

The carpet felt firm under her bare feet. Like standard issue Federation carpet should, she thought dryly but without the amusement she might have felt a month or two ago. The whole fembot fiasco was slowly being resolved and everything had pretty much become routine again.

And again, the numbness she had felt directly after the Defiant incident was beginning to creep back up on her. Which was why she had turned to the lieutenant last night.

It had been fun, a diversion from emotions Ella didn't care to feel, but nothing she wanted to keep. They had both agreed it would only be a fling, no more no less. Besides, he couldn't be a diversion forever. Nothing worked that long.

Why hadn't Laura answered her letters?

She needed to know that the man who attacked her years ago was dead. She would be able to function again when he was dead.

Ella knew it.

And Daro Cole would take care of it, for a price, of course. But it would be worth it. To be able to walk into a room again without looking in corners, to walk down the halls themselves without the itchy impulse to glance over her shoulder. Daro would help her. If Laura relayed the message.

Laura, why won't you help me, Ella thought.

Because its wrong, Ella Marie, she could almost hear her old friend say in that scolding tone of hers.

But...

"Moving Forward-Part Two"

Laura Harper, APC
Lt. (jg) Ella Grey

"But I am hungry." Ella said, a look of incredulity on her face.

I looked back at the little girl sternly. Even at eight, she had looked like an angel, with bright blue eyes and a halo of long brown hair that had ended in curls. I had wanted to give her the cookie because of it, but I also knew I wouldn't budge.

You had to set boundaries somewhere, otherwise children would walk all over you. Especially Ella. I thought if my new employers had a problem with that, they could fire me.

"Not before dinner." I told her.

"Puh-lease" Ella begged me, her sapphire eyes wide, her lips pouty.

I shook my head and crossed my arms. "I said no."

Ella frowned, probably unaccustomed to the word 'no.' In a sense, she was a strange contradiction. Her parents spoiled her and she knew she had them twisted around her little finger because of it. On the other hand, Ella could be one of the most obedient children I knew, bending towards her parents will, especially when concerning things about her future.

Duty played an important part of her life in those early years.

But otherwise she usually got what she wanted, at least as far as food was concerned, I imagine.

I could see the wheels turn in her little head as she processed the information, saw her debate whether to throw a tantrum, ask again, or just accept the fact that I was not going to let her snack before dinner.

Especially since I had cooked her favorite desert, or so I was told by the butler.

Finally Ella nodded, almost to herself. "All right, Ms. Harper." She said and went off to her music room.

She grinned at me later when I served german chocolate cake for desert.

****

Ella was playing with the engagement ring on her finger absently when I came into the music room. The boy, Thomas, had proposed to her about a year ago, exactly one year to the day they had begun to date. The wedding was set for when Ella and Thomas graduated from school.

Kids were planned to pop out a year or two after that. They would undoubtedly be named after one of his relatives. He had also proposed through her parents, who of course were thrilled. The Candells were highly regarded in their particular society.

I couldn't stand the little snot; he thought he was God's gift and had the most nasally voice I've ever heard.

Secretly, I was beginning to think Ella felt the same.

"What's it like being married, Laura?" the fifteen year old asked me as she continued to twist the ring around her finger. It was a beautiful little rock- with absolutely no personality. Ella had always wanted a sapphire engagement ring, ever since she was ten. She shrugged when I had asked her about it. 'He didn't know' was her response.

He also didn't know Ella had wanted a wedding on the beach (it would be indoors), hated lilies (her bouquet would be made of lilies because her mother in law wanted them), and hated raspberry filling (the wedding cake would be made with raspberry filling because her mother wanted it).

To ease her mind, I told her some cute little stories about me and the ex Mr. Harper. And then, to balance it out, about how it would have been the perfect marriage if he hadn't cheated on me with some floozy from Neptune. And Qo'nos. And Risa.

She sighed and then decided play with a puzzle I had given her for Christmas. Ella was scheduled to be practicing her new songs for the tour, her life was now made up of more schedules than the President it seemed, but I let her play. She was still a child after all, despite her parents claims to the world that Ella only took joy out of singing her heart out.

I knew differently.

I think the girl had been happy that the first album had gone latinum. I know, however, that it didn't mean she wanted to sing the rest of her life, as her parents planned. But Ella assured me she wouldn't.

Her fiancé wanted her to be a house wife instead. Make that a social house wife.

It was the only point on which husband-to-be and parents disagreed. They wanted her to be the most popular mezzo-soprano in every quadrant.

Ella had decided to wait it out, to see which side won, figuring either way...

****

I crept into the room, thinking that Ella might still be asleep. But I should have known better. She was sitting at the window seat and turned her head at the sound. She acknowledged me with a nod and then turned back to contemplate the dawn.

The doctors had been excellent in repairing the damage to her body but Ella still looked at the world with hollow eyes, darkened by shadows, and a pale face.

It had been two weeks since Copernicus and she still hadn't spoken.

It hurt me to see her like that. I couldn't help partially blame myself for not being there when she had needed me. At least I could be there now.

"I was just going to drop off these." I half-whispered as I put her folded clothes on the dresser.

Ella nodded again.

I walked over to her and she automatically moved her feet for me to sit down, like she used to do I'd steal a few minutes away from putting the Grey's home in perfect order and she'd steal a few minutes away from being their perfect daughter.

"Sweetheart," I said gently. "It's going to be okay."

Ella's lips twitched but she still said nothing. She turned to me and I was surprised that underneath all the pain I saw on her face, I could also see some kind of determination or strength I'd never seen before. And I understood.

"Y..You're not going to speak again, are you?" I stammered.

She smiled, the first real smile I'd seen from her since it happened, and nodded.

"Oh, Ella!" I practically cried and pulled her into a hug. I doubted the Grey's had thought to hug her. They loved her but they expressed their love through support of her music.

She allowed me to hug her but when I was done, she turned back to the window, the wheels turning.

****

Ella sat surrounded cross-legged on her bed, encircled by computer PADD's, leather bound books, and crumpled up pieces of paper. "School project?" I asked as I came in with her lunch. Ella sometimes forgot to eat nowadays.

Ella handed me a PADD without looking as she continued to read off of another one. I looked at the menu, puzzled at what I saw there. "Freudian theories of sexuality?" I asked. She looked up, her mouth making an 'o' shape before rummaging through the PADD's again till she found the one she wanted. We exchanged them and this time I read the message that had been intended for me.

"No, I don't need any help with dinner but thank you." I responded. I looked down and marveled at the diversity of the material I saw there. There were a lot of old books on psychology, technical manuals for starships and shuttlecraft, something about Federation Laws, slang of the twentieth centaury, and more things my old eyes couldn't put into focus.

I sat on the edge of the bed. Ella barely acknowledged my presence as the mattress dipped her down and then back up. She stared intently at the PADD she had in her hand. "What's all this for, dear?" I asked her.

Ella shrugged and then wrote a quick note on her notepad, probably because there wasn't a PADD to spare, and pushed it toward me. -Homework.- it read.

I knew for a fact that none of these were in any of her courses for school.

Ella must have sensed that I was dissatisfied because she took the time to elaborate her response. -Just catching up on some things I wanted to study but never had the time to before.-

She had the time now. Ella had flat out refused to sing anymore. It had been four months since Copernicus.

I looked at her somewhat horrified. The sheer amount of knowledge that was sitting on the bed would have overwhelmed a Vulcan academic. "You don't have to do it all in one sitting." I told her. That she should be so young and feel like her life wouldn't be long enough to study these things at a normal human rate, I had another sudden longing to go hunt down whoever had hurt her and..and...

But Ella shook her head as if she could hear my thoughts.

-Its not about that- she wrote- I'm just on a tight schedule, that's all.-

Tight schedule? "Freudian sexuality?" I asked again.

-I have a meeting with my therapist today- Ella wrote and then winked.

Later on I would find that her therapist had respectfully declined to work with Ella any longer. Something about being the hidden sexual desire of Ella's unconsciousness. That made two therapists gone in under two weeks.

"Ella Marie!" I had scolded her.

****

I sat by the door in the living room, with clear view of the stairwell, as Ella snuck into the house. I cleared my throat loudly just as she was taking the first step.

Ella turned quickly. But she didn't look guilty. Didn't blush. We stared at each other.

"You've been doing this for two weeks." I told her. God knows what she'd been up to for the past year. "Sneaking out every night. It's time we talked."

Ella shrugged as she came into the room. Prepared, I handed her a notepad and pencil. A faint smile came across her lips. She sat down gracefully across from me, crossed her legs, and balanced the notepad on them. I could see grease smudges on her hands, sans engagement ring, and clothes.

"You've been seeing that mechanic." I said. God knew where she had met him; her parents had had a collective heart attack when they had first met 'Chaz'.

Ella nodded. She wrote on the paper and then turned it so I could see. -Yes, I have.-

"And I see you've forgotten your ring." After graduating high school, Ella had 'told' Thomas Candell that she wanted to push back the wedding. Thomas Candell, the Candell's, and the Grey's had been shocked to the core.

She shrugged. -I never liked it anyway. I'll give it back to Tommy tomorrow. He can give it someone better suited.-

I had seen that coming for awhile. Ella had changed so much since her attack. Her mother had almost had a seizure the first time the girl had said she wouldn't be attending any more formal balls. "So you're in love with this man then?" I asked her.

Ella laughed. I think it was the first time I had heard her laugh, heard sound from her, since the accident. It was not the sweet laugh I remembered. -Oh heavens no! We're just having fun. Besides, he's teaching me some tricks about shuttles.-

"So you're using him." I stated.

The smile disappeared, her face darkened. -And what if I was?-

I held up my hands. "Its not my place to to question the way you live your life." Only to worry about it, I thought silently.

I expected her to come back with something along the lines of 'that's right' but Ella only wrote a sobering -No, I value your opinion. Always.-

We talked a bit more but I didn't get much out of her.

Ella's application for the Academy arrived the next day.

****

I found out about Daro Cole the first year Ella was at the Academy. Basically, I was lucky. Ella had her first strike of conscience shortly after she had done well on an exam.

She told me what she had done.

I would have liked to say I was surprised but, somehow, I was not. Ella was not the same girl she had been when I had met her all those years ago. Ella was finally out for her own best interests. There had been no room in her grand scheme of things for Flitt or that other man that had attacked her.

Whether she understood it or not, she needed someone to forgive her and I did. Because I think I would have done the same.

Now she writes to me that, after this Defiant thing, she can't go on knowing that Flitt is still alive. It's all she ever thinks about. She needs my help. She's sorry, but she needs my help.

I know its wrong but I'm going to send the message on to Daro and then relay his response to her.

I can't stand to see her suffer.

After all, I love her like she was my own child.

"The Killing Mail"

Primary Cast:

Lt. Curtis Geluf
Lt (JG) Ella Grey
Lt (JG) Victor Krieghoff

****

USS Galaxy
Deck 9
Operations Office

Curtis didn't normally mind deskwork. After all, that was his job. Monitor this, distribute that, and reallocate these thingies. At the moment, though, with all the damage repair parties working overtime to get the damage from the Orion attack taken care of, he was short-handed and had to cover for the officer that normally monitored communications off the ship. This was usually a pretty boring job. He had instituted a policy to randomly screen a message every 5 minutes to make sure there was no security-compromising information. It was a necessary evil, but he didn't like to do it. Not to mention that no one ever DID send any mail that could fall under that category. On the other hand, it did give him something to do besides think about the fembots, Kiora, and especially Kiora's shoes...

"So...which one is next..." Curtis mumbled to himself. "Computer. Pull up random mail stream."

*AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED*

"Geluf, Curtis, Lt. Chief OPS," he answered. It made him say it every time.

*ACCESS GRANTED*

"Good for you..." he shot off, "let's see what we have here..."

Curtis began to read the letter on his console.

Dear Ella Marie, I'm sorry this will be brief but your mother has been absolutely demanding these past few days. I found that bracelet you were looking for the other day but I'm not sure of its condition. I'm sure your mother would absolutely hate it. Oh, I ran into that friend of yours from school, Cole. He sends his regards. Will talk to you later, sweetheart, Laura.

It was all very innocent. Curtis was just about to close it out when something at the bottom caught his eye - there was a slight distortion of the signal which indicated another message buried with the first one. He frowned, tapped a few keys, and sifted the second message out, displaying it on a secondary window: *Have located the mark. Specify interest. Specify funds.*

"Located the MARK? What is THAT supposed to mean?" he asked himself.

Whatever this was, it couldn't be good. But Curtis didn't have a clue what it was saying. "Who do I know that could confirm something like this..." Curtis thought aloud.

"Of course! Geluf to Lt. Krieghoff." he said, tapping his badge.

Victor opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. ~ What time is it? I haven't...~ The call repeated itself and he finished waking. ~ Lt. Geluf? Why is he calling this early? ~ "Krieghoff, sir. What can I do for you?"

"Victor, could you take a look at something for me? It's some comm traffic that I want a second opinion on."

~ Message traffic? ~ Victor flipped back the covers and sat up, making a fist with his toes in the carpet as he stretched. "Is there a problem, sir?"

"That's what I need you top tell me."

Victor stood, reaching for a robe as he started towards the other room and his desk. "If you can forward it to me, I'll take a look sir, but traffic analysis isn't my strong point."

"Thank you - and there's a reason why I asked you to look at it. You'll see in a minute."

~ I'll see...? ~ Victor sat and pulled up the message, understanding the problem instantly when he saw the address lines. ~ Grey. It's something to do with Grey. ~ Rapidly scanning the message, he went back through it three times before calling Curtis back, trying to see if there was another interpretation. "You read it, I assume?"

"Yes," Curtis admitted. "A random message sweep picked it up."

~ Just her luck. ~ "If you want my opinion, she's hiring someone to do something illegal. Hurt or kill someone - probably kill." ~ It's him, isn't it, Grey? The one you're still scared of. ~ "Did you try checking the message's backtrail, see where it came from? If this is a professional she's dealing with, they'll have made it almost impossible, but you never know."

"I tried," Curtis admitted. "Nothing."

"It's a pro, then." Victor looked at the message again. ~ You shouldn't do this, Grey. You're not suited to this kind of thing. ~ "I'll meet you at her quarters. Better to handle this off the record." He flipped the comm off and stood, more tired than when he'd gone to bed, as he walked back to change. ~ Bad plan, Grey. I have a better one. ~

"Ella!" Curtis shouted. He was shocked. Who could she be after and why? Not to mention the implications of dealing with what was basically an assassin.

But what should he do about it? Technically, it wasn't a breach of security, and he couldn't use the information in an open way. 'But Ella is a friend' he thought to himself, 'and this is just wrong' Victor was going to her quarters to talk about it - and so was he. With that, he stepped out of his office and walked down the corridor.

*****

USS Galaxy
Deck 5
Lt (JG) Ella Grey's Quarters

Ella looked at the hidden message from Daro Cole for a fourth time, then sighed. She turned the computer off.

She sat there for a moment, her mind still seeing the message on the monitor, and then swiveled her chair around so she wouldn't be distracted. She wondered if this slight uneasy feeling in her stomach was her conscience.

Ella frowned, not liking the implications of that thought. There should have been no hesitation, no deliberation. What she was about to do was justifiable, reasonable, hell, even rational. This man had hurt her and she was going to hurt him.

Again, some part of her whispered. You already had your revenge against this man. It was enough, let it go. He's not responsible for what happened on the Defiant. The Defiant is gone.

Ella gritted her teeth. Laura obviously hated the idea; she had been the only one who had know about it before. That crack about her mother hating the bracelet was a threat she would never go through with, Ella knew, but it demonstrated just how opposed to Daro Cole she actually was. Even Victor's stuttered signing efforts of a few weeks ago came back to her. You need to let it go, Grey.

I can't, she told herself in an almost pouty tone. I started this, I need to finish it.

It can't be as simple as that.

Shut up, Ella told herself.

Ella moved back to the screen, prepared to turn the machine on again and write in her response, confirming her request, when the door chimed. She made an annoyed noise but by the time she reached the door, her 'good' aura was firmly in place.

"Ella..." Curtis began, a little coldly.

Ella saw some thought flicker in his eyes. Irritation? Anger maybe? At me? From Curtis? ~~Is everything okay?~~ she signed.

"As a matter of fact, it's not," he answered.

~~What's wrong?~~

"Ella, I don't know how to tell you this. But...I got that letter about the mercenary. I was doing my usual random mail screening and it picked yours. I know all about it."

Another person in her situation might have shown the shock, fear, and, honestly, the anger that she was feeling, but Ella was a good actress. She shook her head. ~~I don't know what you're talking about, Professor.~~

"Ella, this letter is yours. It's fairly obvious." Curtis said.

~~I wrote a letter home, yes. And they wrote back.~~ She had to be careful here now. Ella had not expected their letters to be monitored so closely, she had really only written in code as a precaution, so she had not thought the extra step. She could lie and say that the message underneath was a complete mystery to her or she could lie and say that Laura was sending her secret information on something else. Either way it would involve lying to Curtis.

~~Look Curtis~~ Ella's fingers began. She didn't have to fake the discomfort she was feeling. ~~My friend Laura...she's located for me this work of art I want for my mother's birthday. It's not being...purchased through exactly legal routes. That's what the message means.~~ Better Curtis believe she would steal art then order an assassination.

"That's not what this is about and you know it Ella." Curtis responded. "This is about KILLING someone. Now I don't know who, or why, but nothing can make that right."

~~But why would I want to kill anyone, Curtis?~~ Ella asked, using her most innocent why-don't-you-trust-me expression. Inside, she fumed. Don't you presume to lecture me, she wanted to shout.

"How should I know?  Come on Ella, the act is not working. You've never called me anything but 'professor' since the day we met. All of the sudden I'm 'Curtis'? What is going on here?" the Lieutenant asked.

~~Oh, so you can use my name but I can't use yours?~~ her fingers flickered in irritation. Details, she wanted to smack herself. No matter how good you acted it was always the stupid little details that got you in trouble. ~~And since when did you become Sherlock Holmes, PROFESSOR?~~

"Look Ella, this is ILLEGAL. Do you have any idea what could happen? I'm just thinking about you." Curtis said, with more concern in his voice than before.

~~Oh please.~~ Ella signed with a bored expression.

Curtis was about to respond when the door buzzed, signaling another person requesting entry. When no answer came after a second, it beeped signifying that an override had been used, and opened, admitting Victor.

~ No happy faces. Looks like Geluf started without me. ~ "Sir," Victor nodded to Curtis, and then turned to Ella, "Grey.

I don't need this, Ella thought to herself. ~~What a pleasure it is to see you, Victor.~~ she signed. ~~Do, please, sit down and I'll serve you tea and, I don't know, an ax in the back. Because some people around here obviously think I'm capable of that.~~

Victor didn't respond for a few seconds, instead he looked at her penetratingly. "Aren't you?" he finally asked.

Ella blinked. Of all the things she had been expecting him to say, that had not been one of them. And to think, you've been trying to convince him that you're not innocent and the one time you need him to think otherwise, he believes you. ~~That was mean.~~ she signed.

"Truth usually is. That's why people lie, because they're hoping to avoid the hurt." Victor shook his head. "But it just makes it worse. Better to be cut clean and let the blood wash it out."

Ella snorted. ~~I guess you'd be a good judge of that.~~

"I do my share of bleeding." His eyes never left hers. "We all do. I just make sure that I cut clean in return. Especially the ones I talk to, especially them."

~~Thanks,~~ she retorted with a sarcastic flip. ~~I hadn't bled enough today.~~

"So who is it? What's this person to you?" Victor asked, ignoring her last words. He watched her eyes. "This is the one," he said suddenly, making it a statement, not a question. "The one that did this to you. The reason you're still deciding."

Who's deciding, a little part of her laughed. It's DECIDED. ~~I think you both should leave.~~ Ella signed coldly.

Victor nodded once, stood, and walked to her LCARS interface, hand moving over it. "Name," he said simply.

~~Are you still here?~~ Ella signed tiredly. ~~What do you mean?~~

Victor turned, eyes meeting Ella's. "Give me the name," he repeated.

She locked eyes with him, prepared to tell him off, but stopped cold. For the first time ever, she could feel something in that stare, something akin to the fear that others felt when they looked upon him. Maybe it was because she felt he could see her for what she really was, and for the first time, it bothered her.

Ella wanted to step back. ~~No.~~ she signed.

The console behind Victor beeped, and a window with the words 'Leave Request For Lieutenant Victor Krieghoff Approved' appeared in it, clearly visible to the others in the room. "Grey," Victor repeated calmly, "I need the name."

Ella shook her head. ~~No.~~

Victor's eyes never wavered, and his voice remained unchanged. "Give me the name, Grey."

~~You don't understand!~~ she protested. ~~He... hurt me. I have to end it.~~

"No." Victor shook his head. "Not like this. Not you." His eyes bored into hers. "Wolves don't kill like this," he added quietly.

~~I've never been a wolf, Victor.~~ Ella replied. Not an animal, she thought. She didn't think they understood the concept of revenge...obsession. No, at best, she could be called human. A human with access to a large sum of money.

"You can be." He stepped closer, a single step. "Be a wolf, Grey - run free. Don't cage yourself this way." He paused, and asked again. "Give me the name. Be free. They can't touch you if you're free. You can still decide... but I need the name.""

It was over. There was no way they could stay at standstill forever. Ella sighed. ~~J-e-r-e-m-y F-l-i-t-t~~

"Earth?" When she nodded, Victor blinked once, eyes still on hers. "Good choice, Grey."

She glared at him. ~~Thank you.~~

Curtis, who had been a quiet party since Victor joined them, finally spoke up. "He hurt you? Ella, you're talking about KILLING someone. This isn't like you at all! I've never seen you act this way before...it's like you're a completely different person. I don't know this part of you, and I don't like it. Whatever this Flitt character did to you surely is not worth killing him over???" Curtis said.

She looked at both of them, for once not sure of what anyone could see, whether her eyes looked tired, empty, pained, dejected...She though Victor could forgive her for this, he had probably seen worse, but probably not Curtis. Ella had already shocked the hell out of him, twisted his ideal of her. That could never be fixed but she would mourn the loss later. Right now there was only the anger.

~~Is it worth killing him, Professor?~~ her fingers flew. ~~He kidnapped me, tortured me, and ordered his friend to 'take care' of me because he had tired of me. And you know the only reason I'm alive today? It's because someone happened to be passing by and the guy got spooked. I'm only alive because he stopped. So yes, I think it's fucking worth killing him over."

Victor and Curtis watched her, but didn't say anything, waiting patiently for her to finish.

Ella smiled. ~~I'm only sorry I didn't have him killed the first time around, when I had his friend killed.~~

Curtis blinked. There it was. The loose end. The part Curtis never knew and tried so hard to figure out. The part that kept him wondering about his student, about why she acted so distant, so seemingly cold to all but her closest friends. All at once he felt sympathy for Ella and unfettered hatred for Flitt. "Ella....I.....I didn't....." was all he managed to get out.

Ella exhaled. She felt a weight lift off her, after keeping that secret for years, it was finally done with.

She also had to throw up.

~~Get out.~~ she managed to sign before she ran into the bathroom.

"Wait, sir - it isn't over," Victor said to Curtis before he followed her to the bathroom.

He dampened a towel and waited for her to finish before handing it to her. As she wiped her face, Victor waited patiently, finally offering her a hand when she was done, helping her up. He let her run some water in the sink and wash her face again, and then followed her back to the sitting room and the impatiently waiting Curtis - all without saying a word.

After she was seated again, Ella wouldn't look at either of them. ~~So...who's the monster now?~~

A change came over Curtis, as the tone and meaning of Ella's words hit him. Spoken with so much spite and obvious evil intent. The sympathy was gone...Ella was speaking like a psychopath.

"Damn it Ella!" he shouted out of the blue. "Listen to yourself! Just listen! It's over! It's past! Look around here. You have a job on a Federation flagship; you have FRIENDS who CARE about you Ella! You don't need to kill this man, you're better than that, and I know you are. Don't be one of them, like Flitt. Don't fall into the trap Ella... don't destroy who you are for one man..."

Ella's eyes teared and she wiped at them clumsily with the back of her hand. She focused all her energy into staring at the couch cushions; she didn't want to look at them. ~~This is who I am, Curtis. The person that you thought was your friend, she doesn't exist.~~

"She isn't going to kill him." Victor's voice was certain as he stood, watching her. "Not now. She chose the wolf - she's free. She's not in a cage anymore." He nodded to Ella. "Are you, Grey?"

~~Am I what?~~ her fingers stabbed. ~~Not going to kill him? No, I'm not going to kill him because even I know its wrong. Am I free?~~ Ella looked at them angrily. ~~I will never be free as long as that man deprives the universe of oxygen.~~

She drew a shaky breath, trying to control herself. ~~Inform whoever you need to; I'm going to bed.~~

Victor watched her for a moment, then looked at Curtis. "Do you need to say anything to someone? Put her back in a cage?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm not saying anything, Victor."

"Good." Victor turned back to Ella. "You're free, Grey." he waited for her to look up at him, then added in a tone of voice she'd only heard once before - when he spoke to the avatar with his face that the Defiant had chosen, "I promise. You're free." He turned away, nodded to Curtis, "Sir," and walked away.

"Typical Annoyance"

Captain Alanna O'Ryan,
Commanding Officer,
USS Hawkwing

Lieutenant Jeremy Savoie,
Chief Flight Controller,
USS Galaxy

-Conference Room 2, USS Galaxy-

Jeremy eyed the O'Ryan with his typical annoyance.  He hated being interrogated.  "Jeremy Savoie, Lietenant, Serial Number 112764282 Gamma Brown, Chief of Flight Control," he said almost as if he were going to yawn.

Alanna O'Ryan shook her head... ~Typical... Darned helmsmen,~ she sighed, ~Time for the short version.~ She'd started in with her usual questions, just for the record, to prepare the way for the actual questions. "So what were your interpretation of the events?" she said dryly.

"My interpretation?  This Mudd character came on board and brought these really hot women with him and they've had every guy on the ship climbing the walls.  Didn't seem to affect any of the women on board any, except to really piss them off," he said, thinking about Erin's reaction when he came into Ten Forward.  He smirked slightly.  "Though I heard a couple of the, uh, 'sturdier' enlisted women in security raised an eyebrow or two, if you get what I mean."

"What were your actions during these events?" O'Ryan said, bored. ~Chauvanist~

"When I finally came off duty I was on my way back to my quarters when I ran into a couple of them.  So I did what any decent guy would do for guests on the ship, I offered to get them a couple drinks.  On the way to Ten Forward, we met up with some friends of theirs and the five of us went down together. But that party got shot to hell pretty quick," he muttered, reflecting again on the encounter with Erin.

"Who did you see doing what during said events?" the Captain said, having heard Erin Friel's testimony to Captain Sutherland earlier. That had been an interesting one. ~Why do WIll and Taryn get the easy ones...~

"Who did I see?" Savoie asked with suspicion.  The sour helmsman may have been many things, but he was the last person who would rat on someone else. Looking O'Ryan in the eye, he answered flatly.  "No one.  Except my girlf- . . . excuse me, ex-girlfriend probably," he interjected with a little bitterness, "when we got to Ten Forward.  Oh, and after I left I ran into this woman and her baby, literally," he added.

"Is there anything you would have done differently in hindsight?" Alanna said, ~Probably just wishes he didn't get caught slipping it to the androids.~

An ironic but humorless laugh escaped Jeremy's lips.  "Yeah, I would have stayed the hell away from Ten Forward!"

"Right."

"So is that all, ma'am?" Savoie asked tersely.  "Am I dismissed?"

"Yes, sure. Thank you, Lieutenant," O'Ryan sighed, and watched him stalk out... Ridiculous.

"Intelligence Perspective"

Rear Admiral Leigh Deidre Whitman, Ciutric Sector JAG Official
Lieutenant Taryn Ehlanna Benedor, Chief Of Staff
Major Saladin Bolivar, Chief Intelligence Officer

-Conference Room 1-

"I think I'm beginning to understand, ma'am," Taryn Benedor said, giving Rear Admiral Whitman her honest appraisal of the situation, "But I'd like to hear some of the more technical parts of the story.  Perhaps Major Bolivar's information."

"That could prove useful. Send in Bolivar," Whitman agreed, and Taryn pressed the button for the communications link to the outside waiting room and called him in.

He strode in, his Lancer uniform a sharp contrast to the Starfleet attire.  His boots polished to a high gleam he stood in front of the board, "YOu wished to see me?"

"Yes, Mr. Bolivar.  Please, have a seat," the flag lieutenant indicated the chair opposite them, the 'hot' seat for questioning.

He sat down, "My rank is Major. Please address me as such."  Starfleeters seemed to ignore his rank since it wasn't given by their lofty powers.

"You'll pardon me, I ment no insult," Benedor said, turning her head slightly, keeping her voice smooth and controlled, "Admiral, whenever you're ready, I believe I am."  The young woman then turned back to her instruments.

"Of course, Lieutenant," Leigh Whitman nodded, "Major Bolivar, I would like to make it clear to you first, as I have with all others we have interviewed, that the information you are presenting to me will be counted as a deposition for purposes of the review board.  You are considered under oath.  We're going to start with the general and move to the specifics.  I belive what Lieutenant Benedor and I are looking for in this case is the technical side of things, as well as, forgive me, an outsider's perspective."

"Well, the machines in question seem to have one function.  Sexual toys for those who can afford it."

He handed over a padd, "the intelligance of the machines is limited except for sexual activities and seduction techniques.  They have no moral base or survival instinct."

"So duly noted," Whitman nodded, "You took one of the androids apart, did you not?"

"I did." He looked at them, "I found their construction to be shoddy, their intelliance that of a slow child with the above noted aspects.  Also they emit a pheremonic virus that triggers lust in most males."

"Can you give us technical breakdown on the pheremonic virus?" the flag lieutenant interjected.

"The virus mimics female pheremones which attracts males of most species.  Some species are immune as are females and homosexual males."

"Well, at least that accounts for roughly 55% of the crew," she said, "I'm also told that you've played an integral part in the resolution of the crisis.  How so?"

"WHen I dissasembled the androids, I located the virus and used it to reverse engineer a cure. Also I had to stop the chief medical officer from killing the males on the crew."

"Killing, Mr. Bolivar?" Taryn asked, arching her eyebrows skeptically, "Can you be a bit more detailed in your explanation about that one?"

"Doctor Malgin's plan was to retard the production of testosterone in the male crewmebers, therefore rendering them immune in his mind to the androids effects.  What he failed to consider, was that males need testosterone in order to regulate certian essential nonsexual functions.  While it wouldn't have been fatal to every male on the ship, it would have been to approximately 30%."

Taryn drew her breath in through he two front teeth, "I see.  And what caused Doctor Malgin to come to this conclusion?"

"My guess he was dropped on his head as a child."

"And is a Lieutenant Commander and CMO in the fleet?  Surely there's a better explanation," Whitman chuckled at what she hoped was sarcasm.

"No I believe he is honestly brain damaged.  But I will say his research was flawed and his solution was ham handed."

Taryn frowned and noted something on her PADD, then continued, "Very well.  What was the android's effect on you, Mr. Bolivar."

"There was no effect." He said simply, "My immune system negated the virus."

"Not even the least bit of attraction?" she said, looking skeptical, "You are human, mostly..."

"None.  The Nietzchean immune system is very hardy, and false pheremones do not work on us." He didn't even shift, but if pressed he would not discuss reasons.

"Okay... sensor record record you and Ensign D'Tinya in... rather close quarters.  That... interaction wasn't caused at all by the pheremones affect on you?" Taryn said.  She had hoped not to have to bring that up, but it looked like she would need to.  The Admiral nodded.

He frowned, "That is none of your concern, What caused that was the hypercharged environment of the ship."

"Nonetheless, it was indirectly caused by the androids...  That makes sense.  I appreciate your honesty with a... difficult subect," Admiral Whitman said, "Now then, we need to ask what you witnessed others doing during the battle and subsequent... invasion."

"Indirectly, but I was still not affected."  He looked at her and nodded, "As for the others, during the battle they acted with commendable courage.  As for afterwords, several of the males of the crew even acted in inappropriate matters, including a fight over androids."

"A fight?  How so and among whom?" Taryn asked.  She seemed to be the one asking the pointed questions, while Whitman stuck to the general.

"I do not recall names but I saw one batch of enlisted crew brawling over one of the female androids."

Taryn nodded, "A pity.  In your opinion, how could this situation have been handled better, both by yourself and by the other members of the crew?"

He spoke coldly, "Destroying the androids before they were on board.  But the androids should have been contained in some way."

Whitman nodded, not taking one side or  the other in that argument.  That was the review board's job.  "Very well, Mr. Bolivar, that should be all.  Thank you for your time.  If you have anything you feel should be presented, do so now.  Otherwise, dismissed."

He rose, and then examned the group, "Thank you for your time."

Taryn watched Bolivar go, then turned off the recording device.  She looked over at Whitman,  who smiled reassuringly.  "Next, Lieutenant."

"Working Friends"

Lieutenant Cassius Henderson
Lieutenant JG Ella Grey

-Main Engineering-

Cassius dodged into Main Engineering, avoiding the rather odd looks one gave a tactician walking around in the bowels of a ship.  He spotted his target and headed over to her.  After his discussion with Taryn, he at least had some duty to perform.  Getting the androids down to the planetoid would take some doing, but he was sure that Ella could help him.

After hearing his question, Ella nodded. The discussion with the fembot that had imposed itself on the Geluf's yesterday had only strengthened her resolve to see them off the ship. ~~But can you keep those raging hormones of yours in check?~~ she teased him.

He rolled his eyes, "Yes.  I got innoculated this morning.  They're circulating  something through the air, but Lieutenant Commander Lamarque from the Hawkwing made sure that I was going to able to focus my attention," he shook his head ruefully.

Ella snickered. ~~So what exactly do you have in mind?~~

"Well, Lieutenant Benedor ordered me to put them on the planet, in a holding facility, until which time that the tribunal can decide what to do.~~ he said, stumbling a bit over the word tribunal and outright having to speak Taryn's last name.

~~I can help round them up.~~ Ella signed. She gave him a sly look. ~~Will Lt. Benedor be coming along too?~~

He smiled sheepishly then did his best at a sour look, "No.  Taryn has work to do, with the investigation."

~~Pity.~~ Ella signed with false sincerity. ~~So, should we get started?~~

"Absolutely," he said, his smile returning.  He'd be happier when both Lieutenant Benedor and the androids were gone.  And for that matter the Orions and Harry Mudd as well.

Ella tapped her fingers lightly against one of the consoles, easily avoiding the buttons, before signing back. ~~I guess we should herd them into the Cargo bays. That will probably be easiest. We'll probably want to get Security to help us with that one. This is all approved, right?~~

"Rear Admiral Whitman gave the orders, and according to Starfleet Command, she's in charge for now.  I think, actually, that it may be best not to involve security, since they're busy either in their 'drunk tank' or monitoring it, depending on their gender," Cass replied with a chuckle.

Ella raised an eyebrow as she processed all that. ~~Not that I'm not up to the task but you do realize how many fembots there are on the ship? And Im sure not all are accounted for. There's bound to be more chocolate filled rooms or worse.~~

"Very true..." he said, thinking to himself, "So going to them isn't really an option unless we want to take all year..."

~~But then again, with the immunization, perhaps the crew will be willing to bring in their new friends.~~

"Only if it's taken affect... I wonder if there's any way to get them... the androids I mean, to turn themselves in?"

Ella bit her lip. ~~We've been toying with the idea of creating a homing becon for them. There was an incident some years back with Lt. Commander Data where he was called away by his creator in a similar fashion. We'd been holding off because...I guess some of us were holding out to see if the androids were sentient.~~

"Of course..." he said, "I don't think they are, so maybe...  I wonder how they would respond do the input that...  No, then wouldn't make sense," he shook his head.

~~What?~~ Ella asked.

"Maybe if we made it seem like there was a large concentration of men in need of... err... relaxation... in the cargo bay," he said, "Then maybe they'd go to it.  They have to be able to detect us somehow."

~~Interesting, but I don't think its really necessary. Their programming is realtively limited.~~ Ella narrowed her eyes at him. ~~Various sexual positions aside.~~ She smiled as she saw him fidget slightly. ~~If we simply rig our beacon the right way, they'll just return to the Cargo Bay, like their ready to be programmed or something.~~

"Oh!" he said, looking up for a moment, "I get it.  Okay.  I think I understand what you mean now!  Sorry.  Not much of the engineering type." ~~Not a problem.It's going to take me a little bit~~ She told him. ~~Your welcome to stay and keep me company if you have nothing else to do.~~

~~I really don't  So, oh great all knowing godess of all things technical,~~ he paused for a moment.  It had been an armful to sign all that, ~~Where do we start?~~

~~Well, I'm going to sit down and tinker with the prototype homing device we started and you can sit down and tell me something interesting, occaisionally handing me tools that I might need.~~ Ella signed, making her gestures tight as to indicate sternness. The grin ruined it however.

"Right," he said, "Interesting, as in something you don't know?"

Ella shrugged, rolling up her sleeves, and taking the tiny device in her hand. She picked up one tool and then replaced it for another. She nodded at Cass as an afterthought.

~Right... tools...~ he thought to himself, ~God, I'm a tool.~  He stood there awkwardly, thinking about all manner of random things.

Ella sighed, shifted the device to her left hand to be able to pull him down to sit with her right. ~~Tell me about....your favorite place to visit for vacation.~~ She half smiled at the look he gave her. ~~Sometimes it helps me work faster when people talk to me, dont ask me to explain. Besides, I like listening to you.~~

"I've been to Risa...  Actually, I knew a Japanese girl names that once, though the pronunciation was all off.  But that's probably not my favorite place.  I would have to say that my favorite place would be this little exotic beach on Andoria, where the wind is always perfect for sailing.  My family has a house there, where my uncle and his wife live with their daughter, Claire."

"I am so distracted..." he said.

~~Talk to me about it~~ Ella managed to sign around the tools in her hand. She listened to him while she stared at the beacon intently. Maybe if she...

"Dunno why..." he wondered aloud, since having her read his hands and work at the same time would be a mistake.  "Too much going on."

Since Ella couldn't sign and effectively bypass a certain circuit, she settled for a little noise that she hoped would be taken as encouragement or sympathy.

"Uhm.. okay," he laughed, "So let's see... Anything you're interested in hearing about?"

Ella paused in her work, long enough to point at him and make a clicking noise.

"Oh right, that," he said, twiddling his fingers, "See, the thing about me is that I don't really have a past.  It's like I was born, grew up on earth, went to the academy, and then all of a sudden, it was 2376, the war was over, and i needed retraining and reassignment."

Ella nodded.

He started to pace, "It's like the years between being assigned to the advanced intelligence training and being thrown out of SFI aren't really there.  Oh, I remember them, it's just that I can't say or do anything with them.  They're memories that serve no purpose."

Most memories don't, Ella thought. She put down the beacon since the tool she need was on the other side of Engineering. ~~I didn't mean to upset you. We can talk about something else.~~

"Not upset at all," he said, walking with her, "It just... is, you know.  It doesn't bother me one way or the other."

~~Hey, I got it!~~ Ella signed, ~~Okay, I'll transport this to the cargo bay. Why don't you get some female security officers to oversee it.~~

~~Sounds good to me,~~ he signed back, ~~I'll see you around, Grey.~~

"The Final Meeting"

Rear Admiral Leigh Deirdre Whitman, Ciutric Sector JAG Officer
Lieutenant Taryn Ehlanna Benedor, Chief Of Staff (RA Whitman)
Lieutenant JG Ella Grey, Assistant Chief Engineer

-Main Conference Room, USS Galaxy-

Rear Admiral Leigh Whitman yawned and stretched, leaning back in her chair to the point that it tipped backwords.  She would have gone down flailing were it not for the usual efficiency of her aide, Lieutenant Benedor, who caught the chair and gently returned her Admiral to a seated position.  "Should I call in the last one?"

"Yes, go ahead and call Lieutenant Grey up from engineering," Whitman replied and watched her aide take care of the nessesaries.  Grey signalled that she would come up immediately.

Ella rolled her eyes before she entered the room, just in case she had the impulse to do so before the two officers. She nodded her greeting and then sat before them, computer PADD in hand. Hopefully, this would be brief.

~~Good evening, Lieutenant,~~ the young lieutenant seated next to the admiral said in sign, ~~Since the admiral cannot speak sign language, and it is more efficient, I will be conducting the interview.~~

Ella internally sighed. The universe had been a lot funner when she had been the only one who knew sign language. She set the PADD aside. ~~How can I help you?~~ Ella asked with a pleasent smile.

Noticing the slight shift that Ella made at her beginning in sign, Taryn mentally chuckled, ~~Well, for the record, could you give us your name, rank, and serial number?~~

Ella Grey, Lieutenant Junior Grade, 105687291 Kappa Gray.~~

~~Thank you,~~ she signed.  ~Finally one who didn't ask if that was required, if we could read, or if we're idiots~ she thought to herself, then began again.

~~So, can you tell us your version of the events that took place since you left Ianjep?~~ Taryn asked, while Admiral Whitman looked on, crossing her legs.  Her presense was really a formality, since the two women could have been calling her names or insulting each other and she wouldn't have known it.

Ella recalled what she knew of the mission, ending with the Galaxy acquiring Mudd and his harem of robotic women. ~~We've begun innoculating the crew but Im sure youre aware of that.~~ She made it a point to address the Admiral as well.

~~Thank you,~~ Lieutenant Benedor said, ~~What did you do during the course of these events.~~

~~My department worked to locate as many fembots as we could, coordinating with Security to contain them, Medical as to how the pheremones worked. We deactivated quite a few and also tried to come up with ways to deactivate the pheremone without disrupting the machines. If you mean me personally, however, I also tried to help my friends...avoid temptation.~~ Ella signed with a slight smirk.

~~How so?~~ Taryn asked, arcing an amused eyebrow, a tendencey that she had picked up from Cassius Henderson, ~~Sorry, I have to ask.~~

Ella shrugged. They were all women after all. ~~I had to stop two of my male friends from becomming too friendly with the fem, er, androids.~~

~~Makes sense to me,~~ Taryn said, ~~I hope it didn't distract you too much.  I would have done the same though.~~

~~On the contrary, it made me more focused.~~ Ella signed. ~~Is that about all?~~ She asked Cass' ex. ~~Its been a long day, sir.~~

~~I do have one or two more, unfortunately,~~ Taryn signed with a sympathetic gesture thrown in, ~~What do you think of the sentience of the androids, or the possibility of thier sentience?~~

Ella frowned. The woman had hit a sore spot with her. ~~The androids are not sentient.~~ She signed briskly. She continued before Benedor could ask her to explain. ~~I had the opportunity to question one. When I asked one the same question repeatedly, what are you, the android could only reply with one response. The program loops, not enough intelligence to be sentient. Of course, further testing could proove otherwise but that's my impression.~~ Ella sat back in her chair.

~~Could you provide us with permission to access the security camera footage for that conversation?~~ Taryn said, hoping to secure what could be key evidence

Ella blinked. ~~Er, it took place in someone's quarters. Plus there was a pretty personal scene beforehand.~~ Plus I really not let everyone see me get that emotional over a robot, she thought.

~~Was there anyone else present, Lieutenant Grey?~~ Taryn said, ~~This information could be important, and I can garuantee that anything that we see will not go beyond us.~~

~~For the conversation with the android, no. But prior to that my friend and his wife were having an...argument. It's their quarters, I guess you'd have to ask their permission, not mine.~~

~~True.  But I do need your permission for the part with you and the android alone.  I will speak to them,~~ Taryn signed.

Ella sighed. ~~If you must.~~

~~Thank you, Lieutenant, that should be all,~~ Taryn signed, then paused for a moment, ~~And thank you, Lieutenant, for looking after Cass.~~

She felt an honest smile form on her lips. ~~My pleasure.~~ Ella nodded at both of them and then left.

"That's the last of them, Admiral," Taryn sighed, "I say we sleep on it and confer with Captains Sutherland and O'Ryan tommorrow morning." She was tired.

"Sounds about right to be, Lieutenant. I'll be going now."

"An Baby Checkup"

Lt. jg Dr. Klaus Fienberg
Lt. Commander Rose Isis MacAllen, Chief of Archology
Lt (jg) Kay MacFarland, Science Officer (APC)

Location: Sickbay

Klaus was still burned from the previous day and it's antics. First Malgin, Then Bolivar, than that damn inquiry. He walked into sickbay and had a seat, rubbing his nose. He wasn't tired or drunk, just very annoyed.

Then Lt. Commander Rose Isis MacAllen along with her Asst Chief and Klaus girlfriend Lt (jg) Kay MacFarland helped walk her boss in, "Hey love this is my boss Lt. Commander MacAllen and her twins that she carrying for eight months now, James and Diana."

Kay can see that her lover is not in an very good mood but she can fix that very soon.

"Nice to meet you Kay keep talking about her German lover so much." the older officer said while shaking Klaus hand.

"It pleases me to see you both." Klaus stood and cracked his back. "Especially you, my dear. How may I help you."

"Well as you know I fixing to give birth very soon, maybe before the ten months and I need an check up but I need to keep working."

"Understood, right this way." He led them to a table. "Just lie down and I will return very shortly."

Kay helped Rose on the bed and the older officer laid down, after that the young Scotlish woman walked into Klaus office.

"Ok love what's the matter? I didn't plesure you last night?"

"Of course you did. But....it's like my own personal hell in here. Sometimes I feel like there are only about 8 Competent officers aboard ship. Do not worry, you and Lt. Cmdr. MacAllen are amoung them." He grabbed his medical kit and they proceded out.

Before they walked in Kay grabed him by the face and kissed him passionately.

Klaus smiled and gave kay a hug and kissed her back. They returned to Rose and Klaus proceeded to scan her.

"Ok Doctor tell me the truth...how am I?"

Klaus put on a solemn sad face. "I wont lie to you or give you false hope." His slightly sick sense of humor was at it again. He suddenly gave a big toothy smile and chuckled.."Because hope isn't necessary. You and the twins are doing perfectly."

"Great but I know it will be an few weeks maybe an month before little James and little Diana come."

Kay touched her long red hair that was in an tight bun then smiles at Klaus she loves him so much.

"These things are never certain. We shall see."

"Well thank you for your time Klaus, now if you excuse me I need to do some reports before picking up my daughter." the Betazoid Commander said as Rose walked out Kay looked back towards Klaus.

"Is there anything I can do to cheer you up love?"

Klaus did a short quick salute to the commander while she walked out, and then turned his attention to Kay. "Just be happy yourself. That is enough." He stood up and walked over to her.

The young woman touched his face gentle and smiles, "I love you thank you for last night it was the first time I ever been with an man."

Klaus smiled again and hugged her. "I love you too."

"So will I see you tonight?"

He kissed her tenderly. "Of course my dear."

"Ok see you then love." Kay told him still holding on to his hand and never want to let go...but she needed to go back to work the young Betazoid just don't want to leave him.

"Go." Klaus said softly, let go, and returned to work. He was still pissed off with everybody with whom he'd troubles.

"Captain Nylo's Interests"

Captain Alanna O'Ryan, Commanding Officer, USS Hawkwing
Captain Sarius Nylo, Ex-Commanding Officer, OBPS Rogue Trader

-Conference Room 2, USS Galaxy-

"Captain Nylo, can you please state your name, service, and planet of origin for the record," Alanna O'Ryan said, the usually pleasant Starfleet captain putting on her most stern and overbearing demeanor for dealing with the no-doubt crafty and slippery Orion captive.

Captain Nylo looked innocently at the imposing Starfleet officer. Composing himself, he uttered out an answer. "Nylo, Sarius, Captain, Orion Special Self Defence Forces Border Patrol, formerly assigned to the now destroyed... Wanderer Class Blockade Runner 'Rogue Trader'. I was formerly a resident of Elkar III, which is part of the Orion Territories."

"What was your mission, Captain," she said, continuing to be courteous, but stern.

Haughtingly, the captain answered, "Our mission was not secret. We were assigned to patrol the borders between the Federation and the Orion Territories."

"And why were you following Captain Mudd with the intention to have him taken into custody?" she asked formally, watching the Captain's demeanor shift from it's original, decidedly fake, innocence over to the normal, haughtily disrespectful one that she had expected.

Nylo sniffed at the question. "We were en route to apprehend a merchant trader by the name of Harcourt Fenton Mudd. The call came after dangerously defective merchandise was sold in our territories, which you are aware is quite illegal in our territories. Apprehending the alleged con artist falls under the Orion Border Patrol's jurisdiction, so we were sent to catch his vessel... us and the 'Bandit's Charm', another Wanderer Class ship on the border."

"So what is your version of what happened then?" Captain O'Ryan asked.

"All of it?" Captain Nylo pried warily.

"Of course all of it," she said, fixing him with a stare.

"Ok... here goes..." Captain Nylo sweated, "It started with the standard search and arrest call from Central Command. We were given a warrant, a ship description, and the criminal's profile. We then rendezvous with the 'Bandit's Charm' at Elkar III, and headed for the Federation Border to apprehend the criminal. After a few hours, we found the ship matching the description from Central Command, a small vessel by the name of 'The Mudd Hen', which if i'm aware, is Harcourt Mudd's vessel. Is it not?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, that would be it," she said, laughing internally at the small man before her.

"Good, that is clear." Nylo smiled at his small victory. He wasn't going to let the JAG officer take control yet. "We found the ship and was about to apprehend it... until this BOISTEROUS OAF named Captain Brhode and his starship got in our way!" Captain Nylo snarled accusingly, "Worse yet, he was clearly within our borders! We saw the Mudd Hen and the Galaxy rendezvous, and we immediately made our intentions clear that we wanted to apprehend Harcourt Mudd, but then Captain Brhode makes an immediate aggressive stance, growling like rabid targ on bloodlust, and telling us he wasn't going to comply! He was in clear violation of a half dozen Federation/Orion treaties, violating our borders, and worse yet, tampering with an arrest! When the Mudd Hen entered the shuttlebay of the Galaxy, we had enough, and made the decision to attack."

"How did you proceed about attacking the USS Galaxy?" she asked, not taking one side or the other yet.

"At first, we only fired low yield shots, just enough to give the Galaxy a warning. We did not want to destroy a Federation Starship. We merely wanted to apprehend the criminal and chase the Galaxy out of our borders, which was well within our rights as Orion Border Patrol officers. But then we found that the USS Galaxy's sheilds were not online. We therefore refrained from targeting any vital systems, and decided that a boarding action was best."

"Tell me about the boarding," she commanded.

"The mission was simple. Contingents from the Bandit's Charm and the Rogue Trader were to disable weapons systems, shields if necessary, and capture Harcourt Fenton Mudd, and make it quick before Starfleet Security was able to react properly. At first, it went somewhat well, but then there was a total breakdown in our team's discipline. Instead of targeting vital systems, they hit cargo bays, crew quarters, their promenade, anything. Worse yet, Starfleet security put up stiffer resistance than anticipated.We found ourselves outmaneouvered, and constantly harrassed by Federation kill teams. My squad leaders were giving general orders of retreat everywhere. And that wasn't the worse of it. Because of the failure of our strike teams, the Galaxy was able to bring weapon and shield systems back on line, and they attacked our ships. The Bandit's Charm was destroyed, and our ship was suffering heavy damage. When our warp core was going critical, I gave the order to abandon ship. The only place to go was as a prisoner of the Galaxy, so... here I am."

"And then?"

"Thought I was going to be treated well too, but then that BOISTERIOUS OAF Captain Brhode had to interrogate me too. Had a massive human loom over me and another one, a more sly bastard if you ask me, keep muting my cell. There were threats and everything. I told Captain Brhode my mission, about the defective androids, and everything. And the thanks I get? I get thrown into a cargo bay converted into a prison complex with the rest of my crew! Now is that dignity?! I THINK NOT!!!!!!!"

"So what resolution are you looking for?" she said, clearly unimpressed by his little rant.

"Resolution!?!? I want Harcourt Fenton Mudd sent back to Orion Territory to be tried and punished! I want those damn androids out of our territories. And I want my goddamn ship back! But I can't have any of that now while i'm in Federation Prison now, do I?!?!?!"

"Stop The Killing"

Principal Cast:

Lt (JG) Ella Grey
Lt (JG) Victor Krieghoff

****

USS Galaxy
Deck 7
Victor Krieghoff's Quarters

Victor looked at the small bag he'd finished packing, nodded, and closed it. ~ That should be enough to make the trip to see Alistaire believable ~ he shrugged, calling up a travel route on his desk LCARS panel. ~ Especially since I'm really going to stop in and see him. It's been too long since someone stopped in and reminded him that the trees are supposed to be reserved for our use only. ~

Fingers working the panel, he set up the route to Earth, making sure to build in plenty of slack time around trips to two wildlife refuges and the Hunting Preserve in Africa that the family maintained a membership at. ~ That ought to do it. Looks pretty much like the last four trips I took. No reason for anyone to look at me when some guy in wherever-he-lives dies. Grey at least kept it private so there's nothing to connect her to him, and thus to me. ~

He double-checked the route, and, satisfied it would do what he wanted, locked it in. ~ I wonder if he knows who deafened him and why? ~ He considered the idea for a moment. ~ Doesn't matter. Probably has artificial hearing implanted long since anyhow - one of the good sets that run way up and down the scale past what a human's hearing can handle. Might even like it better that way. ~ He frowned. ~ Probably shouldn't tell Grey that. ~

Shrugging, he tapped out instructions to call up and fill in an Authorization for Transport form for his rifle. ~ Need to take that into account when the time comes, though. He'll be able to hear me coming, track by heartbeat, monitor pulse rates - things like that. ~ His smile turned predatory. ~ Might make things more even at that. ~

The buzz of his door signal interrupted the thought.

Without looking up, Victor called out, "Come in."

The doors slid open admitting Ella. She walked in, stopped, and cut right to the point. ~~I can't let you do it.~~ she signed to Victor.

"Hello, Grey." Victor answered watching her hands in the reflection from his window without looking up. "You're not 'letting' me do anything. I'm doing it."

~~It's not your problem.~~ Ella replied. For once she wished she didn't have to sign so that she could cross her arms. ~~I don't want you to do this.~~

The form filled out, Victor looked up and at her, eyes calm and untroubled, hands moving. ~~He needs to die. No telling what else he's done if he did that to you.~~

~~You're right.~~ her fingers moved slowly to emphasize softness in tone. ~~And I want Flitt dead, but I don't want YOU to kill him.~~

Victor blinked. ~~Why not? Better me than your hired killer.~~

~~Why's that? Better him then a friend. Look, it's not as though you're an innocent; I know you could kill him for me...~~ Ella paused. ~~Why do you want to kill him?~~

~~I could kill him for a lot of reasons, Grey. All of them valid - at least to me.~~

~~Alright, give me a VALID reason then.~~

~~ Even monsters know when a mad animal has to be put down, Grey.~~

Ella frowned. ~~You're not a monster, Victor. Now tell me why.~~

He paused a moment, shrugged, and signed, ~~Because it would put you in a cage if you did it, one inside yourself. People can't escape those kinds of cages. Not and remain who they were before they walked in.~~

Ella sighed and went to sit down besides him. ~You know, Flitt probably did me a favor that day. If none of it had happened, I probably would have ended up on Earth, married to some bore and doing society functions for the rest of my life. I would never have told my family to shove it, in essence, and go to the Academy. It doesn't mean that I hate him for it...only, I don't know....who's to say the cage is worse~~

~~If you walked into the cage you had built with that decision, you wouldn't be the person I talk to. You might not be someone that I wanted to talk to, not anymore.~~

~~And why's that? Because I'm a person who wanted revenge and took the extra step?~~

~~Because it was the wrong choice for you. It's a better one for me - I can do it and not walk into a cage.~~ His eyes still betrayed no regret at what he was discussing with his hands, as if it were an everyday thing. ~~It's what I am, not what you are. Nothing more to it than that.~~

Ella bit her lip. ~~Alright, Victor. If you don't promise me that you won't kill him, I'll go to the authorities.~~

Victor looked at her and nodded, signing, ~~You would.~~

~~You should be flattered, I don't think I've acted for the benefit of another person for a good...oh, two years now.~~

~~You'll be dragged down too~~ he pointed out. ~~Flitt wins again that way. He's taken your voice, and that path lets him take the life you made without it.~~

~~You don't understand. The only thing he's taken from me is any innocence I once, possibly, had. My voice I sacrificed for my own reasons. So if I have to be arrested to get you to stop, then so be it.~~

He looked at her in silence while the time display on his LCARS panel rolled two full minutes past. ~~Why?~~

~~Why what?~~ She asked, confused. There were so many things he probably could have been asking. ~~Why won't I speak?~~

~~No. Why won't you let me kill him. You know it has to be done.~~

It was her turn to look out into space. ~~ When I had Flitt's friend killed, Daro made me watch. He said that if I couldn't watch it being done, that I didn't really want it or something. So I did and it was the hardest thing I've ever done. To just stand there and watch him... at the end, I almost let him go.~~

She paused. ~~But I didn't. I ordered his death and Flitt's torture as well. Perhaps I let him live the first time because of your precious cage theory, I wasn't ready to embrace the beast, if you will. As to your question, this is my mess, my stain to clean or bloody further. You're my friend, not my hired help, and you shouldn't be...soiled by this. I wont' let you. Perhaps if you were someone else offering this to me...but I like you too much for that. In the end it would be...wrong of me.~~

"I don't understand." His words, quiet as they were startling in the silence of the cabin. "I understand the words - I know what they mean - but I don't understand why you're saying them."

~~About friendship?~~ Ella gave an semi-amused smile. ~~Oh, don't worry, I'm sure you will one day.~~

~~Maybe.~~ He looked dubious. ~~I wouldn't know. I just talk to people. All the rest of that, those other things you keep talking about... I don't know about that.~~

~~You're just going to have to trust me.~~

Victor looked down at the LCARS panel and the processing document, and back up. ~~It isn't going to soil me, Grey. There won't be any guilt or cages. He needs to die. I kill things like him. All the sheep he would have endangered are safe. Everyone's better off. You should let me do this.~~

She looked at him, almost as if trying to decide something, for what seemed like forever before signing. ~~Don't freak out on me, Victor.~~ She walked over to him and slowly put her arms around him to hug him.

Victor remained still, obviously not expecting the gesture and equally obviously uncertain of what to do once she'd made it. After a minute of silence he observed quietly, "If you're trying to choke me, your arms are too low, you need to move them up." In front of him, the LCARS panel beeped, signaling the approval for the request he'd filed.

She reluctantly pulled away. ~~Please, don't do this.~~ she signed.

Frowning, he shook his head. ~~He has to die. You can't be the only one he's hurt, there were others. For them if not you.~~

Ella tried to keep the frustration she felt from showing and partially succeeded. She didn't know what to say to that. Finally she opted for, ~~You can't save them all, you know.~~ Ella signed, not only referring to the victims of Flitt but the victims of the universe. His little flock of sheep.

Caught as he stood by her words, Victor stopped and closed his eyes. After a second, he nodded once. ~~All right. I will not go to Earth and hunt him down. I will not go out of my way to find him. I will not hire anyone else to do this thing. And neither will you. But if I meet him on the street by accident, or if he or someone in his employ comes for you again... he's dead.~~

She tried to smile but failed. It was such a mess. If only she hadn't gotten caught, she could have finished it and tried to live with the consequences. Oh well, nothing she could do about it...for now.

~~Agreed.~~ Ella signed.

"Agreed." Victor nodded and reached down, canceling his request for weapons transport and calling up the request for leave to cancel it as well while she watched. When the 'confirmed' message flashed across the screen, he looked back up. ~~It's done.~~

Ella moved to leave, although the thought of going back to her quarters to sit there and wonder what the hell went wrong today -and back then- was unappealing. She turned back to him. ~~Victor?~~

~~Yes?~~ He seemed the same as always, as if they'd been talking about a tea party instead of a murder.

~~When a girl hugs you, the proper response is to hug her back.~~

He blinked. ~~Family hug you, Grey. Why would someone else?~~

~~Don't get hugged a lot.~~ Ella signed, almost to herself. ~~Of course. Well, we'll have to work on that, won't we?~~

He blinked again. ~~I don't understand. Why?~~

She felt like laughing. It was utterly absurd that she was the one trying to explain a concept like friendship to anyone. She shrugged. ~~Everyone needs to be shown a little affection from time to time, from someone not obligated to. Even you.~~

~~Why?~~ he signed. ~~I don't...~~

~~I know you don't understand.~~ her fingers cut him off. ~~Just take my word for it, okay?~~

For a moment it looked like he was going to ask another question, then he simply nodded once. ~~Okay.~~

Ella sighed. ~~Thank you for today.~~ I think, she thought. ~~I'll see you around.~~

He nodded again, waiting for to reach the door to his room before speaking. "Whenever you want to talk, Grey... I'll talk to you."

She turned around. ~~I'd like that.~~

He nodded again. "But your choke hold is still very bad. If you want, we can work on that. Wolves should know how to defend themselves."

Ella smirked. She was going to teach him about friendship and he was going to teach her about combat. Somehow, it made perfect sense. ~~I'd like that as well.~~ She left.

Victor watched her leave, looking at the door for a long time before he turned back and looked at the LCARS panel. He called the cancelled requests back up and looked at them for a long moment in silence - then wiped them and shook his head. "I don't understand," he sighed, frowning. He looked at the dark screen and his reflection for a minute, then shook his head. "Maybe I don't have to."

He called up the Andorian language class that he always worked on after a visit from his aunts and watched it scroll to the point he'd left off at. "Maybe I'm not supposed to?" he wondered aloud... then lost himself in the mindless repetition of words and phrases to build his vocabulary.

"Fight Club " Part 1 of 2

Primary Cast:

Lt. JG Ella Grey
Lt. JG Victor Krieghoff

****

USS Galaxy
Deck 12
Gymnasium 3

The problem, Ella reflected as she went flying through the air once more, was that she was spoiled.

It was all very well and good to say that she wanted to be stronger, less dependable upon others, to stop being the sheep to Victor's shepherd, etc., but who was she kidding? Ella had pretty much gotten everything handed to her for her whole life, even when her life was being dictated by her family. She had never had to work at anything that didn't come naturally to her. Hell, she had even hired a hit man to take care of her enemy, although, to be fair, if Ella had tried to attack him herself, she would have been slaughtered.

She was Daddy's Little Girl. Always had been. So what was Daddy's Little Girl doing lying on the floor of the gymnasium like a chucked rag doll?

Victor was teaching her combat.

Ella got up and brushed the dirt off. At least she was learning how to fall correctly, she thought acidly. That always did a whole lot of good when some psycho was after you.

"Again." Victor, already recovered from the single movement that had sent her flying stood patiently, watching her.

She glared at Victor and slid back into the stance he had taught her, feeling absurd. Victor had said it was supposed to strengthen her legs and give her balance, but so far all she felt were cramps.

"Your feet are too close together." Victor frowned and stepped up to tap one of them out a few inches clinically.

She gave him a smoldering look, one that she had used many times in the past to make men drool. It had, of course, no effect on him. Victor continued to give her directions in that reasonable tone of his.

"You're too tense, Grey." Victor studied her carefully, noting the way she had shifted her body and the change in her center of gravity it made. "You need to relax - that's why you hit so hard when you fall."

That was another source of irritation, Ella thought. She had never had a man as a friend before. Oh, there was Curtis, but he didn't count cause he was married. A single man, she corrected herself. Boyfriends and lovers yes, but never friends. And so she was venturing into this strange new world of friendship, almost like Krieghoff himself, and trying not to seduce him - as history and natural instincts would have her do.

Some days were better than others. Yesterday, she had done well, almost no flirting at all. Today, she was having trouble concentrating, especially when he had to physically correct her stances.

Ella sighed. If only Victor would respond, just once, maybe it wouldn't be a problem. She thought the attraction was that he was a challenge, like she was to so many others.

"No, like this." Victor frowned again, and stepped forward, placing his hands on her hips and shifting them slightly, then stepping closer to change the angle of her arms and move her shoulders back. Stepping beside her, he placed a hand in the small of her back. "Feel the difference here?"

Oh yeah, she thought in amusement. ~~You're distracting me.~~ Ella signed instead.

Victor, naturally, had no idea what she was alluding to and started to go through the lesson again. "We're trying to teach you to relax when."

~~Yes, yes. I understand.~~ her fingers snapped at him.

"All right." He stepped back, the frown on his face again. "Then let's try it a few more times." ~ This isn't working. ~

They faced off and a second later, Ella found herself on the floor again. Damn, that was getting annoying. She jumped up and back into the stupid stance again. Concentrate Ella Marie, she told herself sternly. Victor doesn't need a girlfriend right now. He needs a friend. Just try to think of him as a relative, a little brother, a...

Ella bit back a shriek as she went flying again. Little brother my ass, she thought. This was getting her nowhere. It was time to do what she did best, direct assault.

She half sat up and made herself wince, her eyebrows pinching in imagined pain. Victor was immediately by her side, apologizing. Ella made a big show of pushing him aside, trying to stand, and then, after walking forward with the stealth of an eighty year old, she began to 'fall' and found herself suddenly in his arms.

I'd like to thank the Academy, she thought.

She wrapped her arms around him to 'steady' herself and then, with a devious twinkle in her eyes, she moved forward like she would kiss him. Victor's mouth dropped slightly, his eyes instantly wary. Ella could imagine he was facing that fight or flight syndrome, she'd read about in psychology. But it had the effect she had wanted. With Victor temporarily off guard, she put aside her curiosity and stuck out her foot instead, swiping at his ankle and sending him crashing to the floor.

Victor, for once, fell with a loud thud.

Ella cackled evilly. She was the champion. The world was once again a safe place for mute engineers. She was victorious. She was...

...falling again. She landed beside him with an equally impressive thud. However had he managed that? Ella found she didn't care. She continued to laugh and wondered if Victor would now complain about fair play.

~ Well, that was different. But why does she keep doing that? Friends don't, do they? ~ Victor lay there for a moment, thinking, and then said, "That was good - but you didn't take advantage of it. The last place you want to be if this is for real is on the ground with someone that's stronger and bigger than you."

~~Oh, I think that depends on who's down here with me.~~

He sat up in a single quick movement, like a cat, resting his hands on his knees as he looked down at her. This isn't working, Grey," he said quietly.

She laughed at him. Now he was being tense. ~~What do you mean?~~

"I mean it isn't working. This isn't right." He shook his head. "We should stop."

That stopped her cold. She didn't want Victor to push her away and here she was doing about the only thing she could think of, short of threatening his life or family, to do just that. Ella felt like slapping herself. Friends, dear. Just friends.

~~I'm sorry.~~ Ella signed. ~~Maybe if we could try something else? Err, something maybe less hands on?~~

~ What is she talking about? ~ Victor looked at her blankly. "This kind of training sort of demands that you use a hands on approach, Grey. Or did I miss something?"

She frowned slightly, thought about telling him the problem, and decided against it. It would just have to be one of those things she'd work out on her own. ~~Maybe martial arts aren't the best method for me~~ she signed lamely.

"Okay. I was thinking that too." ~ I have no idea why she looks upset? I didn't say anything to upset her, did I? ~ Victor finished standing in another smooth, catlike movement and reached a hand down to Ella. "Get up, Grey. We're going to do it differently."

Ella grabbed his hand and stood up. ~~What next?~~ she asked, wondering what type of hellish position he had in mind for her now.

"Get changed," he said, while ignoring her closeness, the disarranged front of her training gi, and the question all at the same time. "I'll meet you outside in fifteen minutes, and we'll go try something else." He looked down as he finished and added, "You ought to straighten that," as calmly as anything else he'd said.

Ella looked down, gave a small exclamation of surprise, and pulled the gi shut.

****

Ella exited the gym, her gi now in her exercise bag. She was back in her clothes, the black exercise pants, yellow tank, and matching black sweatshirt. Thinking of Victor's discomfort with her, she had zipped the sweater to the top. ~~Where to fearless leader?~~ Ella signed with more peppiness than she felt.

'Deck Eleven," he told her turning and waiting for her to follow so he could see her hands in case she answered him or asked something. "I booked some time in one of the holosuites. The Marines have all the big holodecks taken up most of the day and everyone is stacked up on waiting lists for them after hours."

He paused to let a knot of people walking to the gym pass; apparently oblivious to the way they skirted him like he was an unexploded photon torpedo imbedded in the deck and the penetrating glances they directed at Ella. "The holosuites are still open - and if you use a critical training prefix on your request, it kicks you to the top of the queue." He thought for a moment as they moved to the turbolift. "Using the security prefix does the same thing," he admitted. "I used both."

Ella tsked at him. ~~Cheater.~~

He shrugged. "If I hadn't, we'd get time somewhere around the energy death of the universe. Besides, this is training, it is critical, and I am in Security." The turbolift car arrived, and he waited until the occupants had exited and the car was on its way before he shrugged again. "I doubt anyone's going to argue with me when we get there. They never do."

He frowned. "I don't know that you ought to walk in with me though - it's not going to do the rumors any good to have the two of us enter a holosuite together. Maybe you ought to wait a few minutes and then come in."

~~No, I don't think so.~~ She signed. ~~I'm not afraid to be seen with you.~~

The car arrived and opened into the corridor as she was finishing talking. Victor finished watching her hands, looked up at the lift car's door, and made a wordless gesture with his hand. "Too late to argue with you, they've seen us."

Outside, a small knot of ensigns - including one from Engineering - were staring, wide-eyed, from the doorway, their assortment of clothing making it plain that they had been in some historical fantasy program from Earth's Roman era.

"Excuse me," Victor said politely, stepping forward as the ensigns scattered in front of him, the whispers already starting before he and Ella had rounded the corner. "I'm sorry, Grey. I should have thought of this - I didn't mean to make things worse for you."

~~It's nothing I can't handle, Victor. Besides, I kind of like being the center of attention every now and then.~~

He stopped at the door without responding, keying in a code and waiting for the arch to open before turning to face her. "You can bail now, Grey. No hard feelings. We'll just try this another time, with fewer eyes watching." He nodded back the way they'd came, where several Romanesque heads were peering around the corner.

Too bad she wouldn't be able to convince Victor to give them a more impressive showing. Ella gave him a look. ~~For the last time, I'm not going anywhere. They can gawk all they want.~~ She crossed her arms to emphasize that the discussion was over.

"Okay then." He stepped inside, swinging his bag up on his shoulder and waiting for her to join him before tapping out the code to close the door. "Couple of ground rules," he cautioned once the room had sealed. "You already know the first one, but I'm going to remind you anyway. One, this is a training simulation, not recreation. It uses different safety parameters. You can't get killed or critically injured, but you can get knocked around pretty good, even knocked out on the level we're going to use."

"Two, there's a safety code. Normally it's verbal, but I'm going to change that for us today." He typed in some commands, and accepted a small cylinder when it fed from the console, turned, and handed it to her. "Press the red button to terminate the scenario if you get in too deep. I've disabled the verbal code, so you're the only one that can shut the program down. We do this on your terms, not mine. Okay so far?"

Ella nodded.

He nodded. "All right. Last thing to remember: this is not one of those silly ass classes they taught you at the Academy where we wear pads and dance around like ballet stars. This is one of my training scenarios that I programmed up with some help back when I was stationed on DS9, and it's as real as we could make it. No referee, no time outs unless you hit the button, and the opponents don't stop if you get bruised." He looked at her. "You still okay?"

She nodded again and forced herself not to bite her lower lip. What had she gotten herself into?

"Good." It sounded like she'd passed some sort of test. "Just three rules to remember in a real fight, Grey. Makes things simple. One: Never head butt anyone who's forehead is bigger than yours. Two: Not everyone carries their privates in the same place. Three: If there's going to be a fight, you be the one to start it; if the other guy starts it, then you've already lost control."

He stopped, and looked at her closely. "You can do this, Grey," he said quietly, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't have brought you here if I thought you couldn't. Just don't think of it as a game, and you'll do fine... and learn what you need to know. Okay?"

Her eyes a little wider than she would have liked, she nodded a third time. ~~Okay.~~

He stepped back and looked up as he addressed the computer. "Run Program Krieghoff Delta Sierra Niner Seven Three>"

=^= Voiceprint Match Confirmed. Running Program. =^=

The holosuite vanished, instantly replaced with a building interior that Ella knew to be larger than the dimensions of the holosuite. Tables and chairs filled the sandy floor, and a long bar ran down one side, a wide array of rough-looking patrons lining it. The tables around them were filled with more rough-looking customers, a few waitresses moving around the room. In one corner, a rickety-looking dabo table was in operation, a bored looking human woman dealing out the cards to a pair of Klingons and the equally bored looking women hanging on their arms.

The building shook for a moment, and the rumble of a set of painfully mistuned engine coils passed overhead, some dust sifting down as the ship passed by. No one paid any attention to it. Victor pulled out a chair and sat down, dropping his bag on the table, obviously waiting for a question from Ella.

Ella set her bag down, looked at the chair wondering if she should sit as well, looked around again, and then back at Victor. She tried to keep her hands from speeding as she asked her question. ~~Do I just go start a fight or what?~~

"No need. They start on their own, whether you want them or not." Victor waved her to the chair. "This is a recreation of Slarnth's Rest, a dive on the edge of Cardassian space before the War. It's a Maquis hangout, a smuggler's stopover, and the only law enforcement comes out of the emitter of Slarnth's disruptor."

He nodded towards a corner where a very large and heavily scarred Nausican sat with a disruptor rifle across his lap. "That would be Slarnth there." He leaned back as sounds of a fight broke out on the opposite side of the room. "'No manufactured weapons' is the only rule here - improvised weapons are fine. Outside of that, anything goes."

He looked up as a shadow loomed over the table. "And here's our first customer."

A heavy hand fell on Ella's shoulder. "I'll fight you for her," a rough, but human voice growled at Victor. "She's too good for the likes of you. She needs a *real* man."

Victor smiled, nodded to Ella, and said, "You should take that fight up with the lady. She's always telling me that she picks who she spends time with."

"I fight her and win, I keep her?"

Ella made a sound of indignation.

"As much as you can keep anything," Victor observed, his emphasis on the 'you' slipping past the holographic character.

"Hah! She's mine then!" Meaty hands lifted Ella out of her chair and spun her around, setting her down far to close to their owner for her sense of smell's comfort.

The man had the body type of a heavyweight boxer. Ella kicked his shin, then jumped back, and then moved to block as a meaty fist came swinging in her direction. Why do I always get pitted against these types, she complained to herself as she continued to move out of his way, sneak in some jabs, and not slip on the sandy floor.

The bigger man grunted once or twice when she landed a good blow, but otherwise seemed serious about the fight. His hands hooked blows in to strike her arms and shoulders, with an occasional one hitting her in the body and threatening to knock the breath from her.

Ella kicked out, her foot coming into contact with his torso.

She was rewarded with a nice punch to the face.

Stars danced for a moment as Ella swayed. She was no stranger to beatings, however her attacker had paid more attention to bruising her body than her face. She could feel the skin around her eye already begin to puff and discolor. Ella fingered the control, the edge of the red button, and then the two thoughts that always popped up when someone had done her wrong - Always the weaker one and HOW DARE HE!!!

Pissed, she leapt forward and returned the favor. Punching and kicking with a fury, she soon had her assailant on the floor, straddled him, and there she continued to hit him for a bit until she felt that the threat had been neutralized. Oh, and his face was uglier than hers. She pushed the red button and then looked back at Victor as the simulation froze.

~~Not good technique, I know~~ she signed as she swung her leg over. She rested her hands on her knees and, still seated on her attacker, moved her jaw around experimentally.

"Technique is all well and good, but it doesn't mean a thing unless you have the will to win." He leaned forward. "And a strong will can make up for a lot of technique. All the dancing we did in the gym went straight out of your head once this started, didn't it?"

Ella shrugged. ~~He pissed me off.... uh, yeah.~~

"Thought so." He waited a moment until her breathing was slower to speak again. "You all right?"

~~Peachy.~~ She signed with a smile.

"Fight Club " Part 2 of 2

Primary Cast:

Lt. JG Ella Grey
Lt. JG Victor Krieghoff

****

USS Galaxy
Deck 11
Holosuite 4

"You want to try another opponent, or take a break?" His manner didn't make it seem like another test, just a question. "Up to you, Grey. You're the best judge of what you can take."

Ella pushed off her fallen enemy and nodded. Another shadow stepped forward booming about how he would take her. ~~Your characters are very sexist, Vic~~ she signed rapidly before moving into what she hoped was one of the stances he had taught her and then attempting to attack like a civilized being.

"They're all real people," he replied as she and the man - she would have said he was an Alpha Centauran from the cut of his hair, but the just-shy of mauve skin color argued against that - circled each other. "This is based on an actual incident back before the War, when Starfleet sent an undercover team here to pick up a group of smugglers running guns to the Maquis. It was actually worse then, it's stepped down for the program level we're on."

Ella snorted. She found she was already tired. Maybe that was why it was best not to go berserker at the very beginning of the lesson. The guy swung at her and just missed barely. Ella was trying all the moves Victor had taught her but kept missing with each one. ~~A little... help... if you... don't mind~~ She managed to sign.

Victor's aid came in the form of a set of clipped sentences. "Stomp his right foot. Kick the left knee. Sides between armpit and elbow."

Ella did as he said and then watched as the man dropped like an anvil from the final blows to his sides. She made sure he wasn't going to get up, then pushed the button, and moved back to sit by Victor, figuring she had earned a five-minute break. Her cheek stung fiercely and she rubbed her hand, which was beginning to protest at being used to hit solid bone and muscle.

~~Better?~~ she asked while rolling her shoulders.

"Better," Victor agreed. "Remember the knees. If they can't stand, they can't fight unless you go to them." He studied her for a moment, and then looked at the figure that had been approaching when she shut things down again. "Better if you keep going, Grey. Do one, maybe two more, and then stop. Just remember to relax, you're still too tense."

Ella understood but she needed a couple more minutes to recuperate. Plus she wanted to see him in action. She shook her head. ~~Show me.~~

Victor nodded. "Start the program."

With a click of the switch, the next individual arriving, a Bolian, went into motion again. He drew up, pointed at Ella and started to speak, "Your woman..."

Victor kicked him in the ankle. As the Bolian fell, Victor stood, hands bringing his chair up and over to crash into the alien's head and drop him to the floor. "Let it run, Victor said, two more opponents approaching as the Bolian twitched in the sand.

He took the first as they charged in, stepping to the side at the last minute and letting them trip over the first man Ella had fought, accepting a series of blows from the second to deliver a single kick to the forehead of the first that stopped him from rising and left him motionless in the sand. Turning on the second, Victor took two blows to deliver one - and trap his opponent's arm. He jerked once, and the arm broke at the elbow, distending unnaturally. Releasing his crippled opponent, Victor ended the fight with a blow to the man's throat that left him gagging for air until he passed out from the follow up strike to his jaw with a booted foot.

~~You do that so calmly.~~ Ella observed as he came back to the table.

He shrugged as he took another chair. "If you lose your temper, you're on the way to losing."

~~Don't you...aren't you ever angry?~~

Victor stopped to think a moment. "Frustrated, yes. Impatient, yes. Exasperated, yes. Angry... sometimes. I just don't let it out."

Ella was quiet for a minute. ~~I think your mask is better than mine.~~

"No, Grey." He shook his head. "No mask. This is me - what you see is what there is. I've been angry - so angry I couldn't think - twice. The first was back when the Klingons were aboard. The second was on the Defiant. I don't know what happened either time - just what I could deduce and was told. It's too dangerous for me to be angry... so I'm not."

Ella nodded. ~~I usually try to avoid being angry myself. Mostly because it doesn't fit in with my reputation as a wholesome bubby engineer.~~

Victor looked at her for a moment. "Wholesome? Bubbly?"

She laughed. ~~Well, chipper at least. Are you implying I can't be wholesome?~~

He blinked. "If you wanted to? I guess so."

Her lips twitched. ~~Why do I always find myself wanting to know what you think of me? Forget it- its one of those questions you don't really have to answer.~~

"In what way?" He tilted his head to the side, looking at her after he asked.

~~Meaning that I already know the answer to both questions, so you don't need to respond. Is there any way to punch a guy without your knuckles aching afterward?~~ Usually, Ella was better at avoiding and switching topics but she reminded herself that she had taken out two men today and could give herself a break.

"Yes." He reached out and took her hand, folding it over. "Hit them with this part of your hand. Or this one." He released it and leaned back. "That wasn't what I asked, though."

Ella shook her hand a bit before signing. ~~All right, I think you see me as your little sister or something. The lost princess of the wolf tribe, at any rate. And it's your duty, being the noble beast that you claim to be, to lead me back to the path. I want to know what you think all the time because you can see past the...person I am with others. MOST people, in general, think I'm a nice person.~~

"You are a nice person."

~~A person incapable of...what I've done.~~ Ella amended.

"Anyone is capable of anything, Grey. All it takes it the right buttons being pushed. It doesn't make you bad, or evil. Just human."

She arched an eyebrow. ~~Fine. I'll think of myself as a somewhat nice person, if you stop thinking of yourself as a monster.~~

He shook his head. "It's not the same thing, Grey. When you did what you did, it gnawed at you, didn't it? You felt guilt over it. You wondered if it had been the thing to do. You lay awake sometimes, worrying over it while you were deciding." He eyed her closely. "Didn't you?"

~~Not at first.~~ Her hands gestured softly. ~~It was only after the fact that I knew I'd done something...well, something I could never change. Its only this last time I felt any real indecision about it though.~~

"That's the difference, Grey. I wouldn't. I'd just kill him, walk away, and that would be it. No guilt. No worries. No nothing. I stepped on a bug and kept walking." He looked at her for a second. "I never feel anything when I kill people, Grey. Never have. Same for violence in general. I do it, and that's all. It's like talking to you now - no, not really. I'm *thinking* about what I'm saying here. I don't think about breaking an arm or hitting someone. I just do it, and then let it go. People can't do that, they're not wired up for it. But I am. So I'm not a person, I'm something else."

~~I wish...~~ Ella began but then let her fingers stop. It would be too much to tell Victor that she wished she were like him. He would never understand. ~~What would you do if one day you did feel remorse or regret?~~

"I don't know." He shook his head. "Go crazy, perhaps. If that happened, someone would have to do something about me."

~~Like what?~~

"I imagine they'd have to kill me, Grey," he explained calmly. "It took a Vulcan psychologist doing some kind of mind meld variant and literally living in my head for two months in the Academy before they decided I was safe to let out without a leash. If I started feeling things I couldn't deal with, I'd probably lash out at whoever was nearest - and I'd rather be dead than what that thing on the Defiant..." He stopped. "What it showed me I'd be with no restraints."

~~A killer without a sense of right or wrong. Just like that?~~ Ella signed dryly. She didn't buy it. Besides, the Defiant had shown her stuck at a victim for eternity. She'd rather have been the psycho with the impulse control problem.

Victor shook his head and corrected her, "More like without restraints. My sense of right and wrong already works differently from most people's." He stopped and abruptly asked, "What does it feel like? How do you handle it? Guilt and remorse I mean. I can't imagine what that is like or how I'd deal with it."

She shrugged, her expression neutral. ~~You'd learn to deal with it.~~

"You're more certain of that than I am, Grey. I've never dealt with anything like that before. Why would I suddenly know what to do when confronted with it?"

Ella smirked. ~~Because I say so.~~

He looked at her oddly. "I think that's a little naive, Grey."

She laughed then. It was strange to hear her voice ring out in the grimy bar full of drunken and bleeding men. ~~Oh, it's too funny. You think I'm naive for thinking you have a hidden humanity inside you and I think you're naive for believing that I don't have a lurking monster inside me.~~

"I never said that there wasn't a monster inside you, Grey. What I said - and am saying - is that *you* aren't the monster. It might be in there, waiting for a chance to get out, but you run the show, you call the shots. It doesn't."

She frowned. ~~More inequality of the sexes? I run the show but you can't?~~

Victor shook his head. "No, with me what you see is what you get, Grey. I don't bother to hide anything. There's no monster inside me waiting to get out, because it already *is* out."

Ella rolled her eyes at him and then suddenly brightened. ~~Let's play a game, Victor. Every time you make reference to yourself as a monster, you have to pay me a dollar.~~

"A dollar?" he looked at her quizzically.

She arched a brow. ~~Well, I could ask for other things but I doubt you'd agree to them.~~

Victor's expression never changed as he repeated, "A dollar?"

~~Then you pick something for me. I don't know. Every time I fall on my ass I have to do a pushup or something. But not pushups, though. I don't like them.~~

"Pushups are good for you - they build upper body strength," Victor replied mildly. "And you fall down all the time in fights - not just you, but everyone. Picking that would be unfair." He looked at her a moment longer, trying to decide on something that she could do, but finally surrendered. "I'm bad at this, Grey. You pick something and tell me what it is - I trust you."

~~It doesn't work like that.~~ Ella signed. ~~You have to pick something that I do that annoys you. Whether it be in combat or something else. Be brutal, you're good at that, right? Otherwise its not fair.~~

He looked at her with the same expression he'd used back in her quarters when he'd told her that he believed she was capable of being a killer. "All right. Every time *you* act like you're a monster for doing what you did, then you have to... tell me the truth. Make one statement about yourself that's true and honest and that you wouldn't normally tell someone."

~~Well, now.~~ Ella signed. ~~That's interesting.~~ She bit her lip.

"I can pick something else, Grey - you just said to be tough on you."

Ella lifted her chin. ~~No, no. I can do anything I set my mind to, right? It's a deal.~~

"Deal," he agreed, offering her his hand.

She shook it firmly. ~~Allright, Non-Monster Victor.~~ Ella signed cheerfully when she got her hand back. ~~Want to give me some more pointers on combat?~~

"All right. There are some things you can do to end a fight that most people wouldn't think of. Ears for example."

~~Ears~~ she signed with a repulsed look. ~~What about them?~~ She somehow got the feeling she already knew what he was going to say.

"You tear them off, Grey." He reached out and captured her in two fingers and tugged gently before releasing it. "They aren't really attached by anything, so it doesn't take much effort. If you tear one off and show it to the former owner, most people who weren't trying to kill you from the onset will lose interest in the fight." He thought a second. "I wouldn't do it to a Vulcan, though. Or a Klingon. For humans it's a good trick, though."

Ella touched her ears lightly where he had tugged. She pouted out her lower lip before signing ~~Only if I need to. There's something wrong about tearing off a man's ears.~~

"Why? They're just flaps of skin. You gave me the impression that you'd done as bad or worse to Flitt."

She inhaled sharper than she would have liked. ~~I didn't tear off his ears, that's for sure. I had Daro damage the inner ear, the eardrum, anything else that little tool of his could reach. He screamed quite a bit, as I recall.~~ Ella looked at him cooly, raised an eyebrow, and awaited his comment.

He shrugged. "He hurt you, you hurt him. It's over and done with, Grey. Just let it go or he'll never stop hurting you. Besides, what does that have to do with you being squeamish about tearing off someone's ear in a fight to stay alive?"

~~It's just...U-G-G~~ Ella signed out the letters. ~~I could do it if I wanted to, I suppose. But I think, in all fairness, what I did was worse.~~

He nodded. "You owe me a truth," he observed mildly.

Ella blinked. ~~Damn.~~

Victor watched her patiently.

She tapped her fingers lightly on the tabletop, her eyes focusing on her shoes as she thought. Ella finally settled on a suitable truth. ~~I piloted a shuttle naked once.~~

One eyebrow rose in an almost Vulcan fashion. "Why did you do that?"

~~Why not?~~ Ella returned with a flick of the fingers and a dimpled smile. She had hoped to get more of a response from him but she imagined there would be plenty of opportunity to try to shock him in the future, when she was avoiding other truths.

"Just curious. I would have guessed alcohol on someone else, but I don't believe you would want to relinquish control like that."

~~No, you're right.~~ She admitted, a mixture of pleasure and weariness that he knew her nature that well. ~~And it was a dare. I won.~~ she added smugly.

"So who was foolish enough to dare you? They obviously didn't know you very well."

~~A freshman at the Academy. What makes you say that?~~

"Because as soon as they dared you, you were in control and they'd already lost." He nodded towards her. "You don't lose often do you?"

~~No, I don't.~~ Ella replied. Not anymore, she added silently. ~~So enough about me. Even though I am, admittedly, a fascinating person. How long have you been doing this? Er, training, combat, etc.?~~

"Which one? Training? Since I was nine or ten I guess. That was about the time I really started to understand that I was different. There's not much else to do when you're alone at that age, so I worked out, took classes - holotraining mostly - and did a lot of studying. Combat? Since I was old enough to understand that children didn't like to be scared, and that they got braver the more of them there were. Training other people...? When we started."

Ella blinked in surprise. She'd known, of course, that he had little or no real friends. She just thought someone along the way would have sought him out. Victor cut her off before she could get the words out.

"Who's going to ask me to spar with them, Grey? They have to draw lots to get someone to pair off with me in the live exercises the Commander runs - short straw wins the prize. Even the Marines don't like the idea and beg off. Unless there's an alien that I don't affect on staff, I train by myself. Holoscenarios like this one, some others. As for training someone else... no one asked."

~~That was dumb of them. I can't think of anyone better suited to teach than you.~~

"I don't know that I can teach anyone to fight the way I do. Something like it... maybe. That's what's happening here. But this is new to me - if I'd had more experience then we wouldn't have wasted that time in the gym bouncing you around the mat."

Ella coughed a bit, knowing the real reason they had had trouble in the gym.

He thought a moment. "The biggest problem is that I don't *think* when I fight, Grey. I just do it. I know a lot of things - I've studied a lot of different styles, human and otherwise, but I never stayed with one to master it. That's not a bad thing normally, having a breadth of experience like that. It's just there's no coherence to the way I use it, no plan once the fight starts. I just... do it." He spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness that seemed at odds with him. "I can't even explain it to you well, how can I teach it to you?"

~~You're doing fine so far.~~ She smiled. ~~Teach me what you can. Worry about your teaching skill later.~~

"All right." He leaned forward. "Some things for you to think about, then. You're not a big person, Grey. That's good and bad in a fight, depending on the type of fight it is. If it's personal, just you on your side, most people are going to try and get in close on you, use their greater mass or strength to pin or immobilize you. That's bad because there isn't much we can do about your size. We can get you stronger if you're willing to work at it, but there's a point where we'd just be wasting time. It's also good, because if you already know what they're going to do then you can concentrate on avoiding it. With me so far?"

~~Y-E-P~~ she signed.

"Next time we do this," he continued, "we'll work on some ways to break holds. Until then, just stay out of their way and work on things like knees and feet. Most people don't think of feet or ankles as a target, but you can put a man down with either of them." He reached down, grasped her foot and lifted it slightly. "Bipeds have no balance with one foot on the ground. Come at them like this," he demonstrated three different angles, "but be sure of the target first. You won't get more than two tries before they figure it out."

Ella tilted her head at each angle while trying to simultaneously ignore the fact that he was touching her again. She rotated her foot when he let go, deciding that she liked the whole foot-attacking thing much better than the ears. But she supposed she'd do what she had to if ever attacked again. How things might have turned out differently if she had gone for that man's ears or ankles!

She sighed and sat back a bit. ~~I don't imagine *you've* ever been pinned.~~

"Sure I have - there's always someone stronger, or bigger than you. Nothing to be ashamed of in that." He thought for a moment and nodded to himself once. "New deal, Grey. You do well with the rest of this session tonight, and I'll show you a real fight - one of mine."

She gave him a quizzical look.

"Internal sensors are a beautiful thing - and they're everywhere on Federation vessels. I'll even give you a choice of two fights - one here on the Galaxy and the other at my last duty station. They aren't pretty, but they'll show you what the real thing looks like." He paused, looking at her. "Deal?"

~~Sure, Monty.~~ She signed.

"Good." He leaned forward again, changing subject without warning. "The other kind of fight is an impersonal one. You usually get those when you have a whole bunch of guys on each side, like a brawl. Your size is good and bad there too. Good because people are going to tend to disregard you and go for the biggest people first - that's just instinct. Almost all cultures equate size with fighting ability. That means you get a break someone like me, or Commander Darkstar wouldn't. Understand?"

Ella grinned. That sounded much better to her. She nodded.

"All right. The bad part in an impersonal fight that your size creates is that you're easily knocked around, even by guys who aren't trying to. You'll get jostled and bounced around like a soccer ball. Again there isn't much we can do about that unless you hit a growth spurt, but there are things you can do." He tapped a chair." Surroundings. Think about them. This chair is your friend in a big fight. It gives you longer reach, greater hitting power, and makes a good shield." He swept it up, spinning it so the feet were towards her. "And it can ward off people while you're at it. Look at what's around you and use it to make up for what you lack." He set the chair down. "Still with me?"

Her eyes moved about the room, noted the chairs, tables, bar stools... ooh, bar stools, she thought...bottles, etc. Ella then looked back at Victor and nodded. She paused a second and then signed on impulse. ~~I think you're good at this.~~ she said, trying to give him some encouragement.

"No, Grey, I'm not." His voice was still calm, but firm. "There are dozens of people aboard ship better than me. Corgan, Von Ernst, lot's of them. I'm not a master by a long shot. The real reasons I win as many fights as I do are because I don't carry baggage into or out of a fight, and because once it starts, the other side is going to have to kill me to stop me."

~~Learn to take a compliment, Victor.~~ Ella signed and then stood up. ~~Shall we continue, Tiger?~~

"If you're okay." He stayed seated, watching her move as she stood. "No more than two more though - you're going to be hurting enough as it is."

~~I'll agree to that.~~

"Before you start this," he stood up, "answer me this. "What's the most important thing you've learned so far?"

~~That you don't think I'm wholesome. That really hurts me, Victor.~~ She pouted out her lips.

"I meant about fighting, Grey," he amended mildly, turning a full circle and looking at the frozen figures spread out around them, looking for telltales as to who was going to come at them next..

~~Fight better than the other guy.~~

"That's good, but it isn't what you really need to understand. I've won fights with guys better than me before. What you need to get from this today is simple: you're going to get hurt. Even if you win." He stopped and looked at her. "You understand that?"

She frowned. She supposed she did, but she didn't like it very much. ~~Yes.~~

"Good." He nodded towards a table behind her, indicating a bullet-headed figure with thick grey-green hide. "It'll be the Lurian there next. They have a lot of duplicate internal organs like Klingons. You should watch for that."

~~Oh goodie.~~ Ella signed before the program started up and the Lurian came at her. At least he didn't bellow anything about her being 'his woman now.'

Behind her, Victor moved up and intercepted a pair of attackers, sending one into a table of card-players with a wrist throw, and turning on the second. ~ This was a better idea than the gym...~ He ducked a chair and sent another opponent spinning away to foul an approaching man in a ragged Merchant Marine uniform, fighting on autopilot at the reduced setting he'd chosen. ~ I'll ask her if she really wants to do this again tomorrow, after the bruises. If she says 'yes' then she's serious about it. ~

He frowned, breaking a wrist and ducking under a swung chair. ~ Something else is bothering her though, I can tell. Don't know what it is, but if we keep at this, keep talking, she'll tell me. And if it's someone else that's hurt her, this time I don't let her know I'm going to kill them.~

"Who Hunts The Hunter?" Part 1 of 2

Primary Cast:

Lt (JG) Ella Grey
Lt (JG) Victor Krieghoff

Secondary Cast:

Flight Leftenant Angelienia,
SFMC Lt. Shelley O'Rourke
The Coffee Klatch Crew

****

USS Galaxy
Deck 08
Officer's Mess 1

"...and then he has the gall to claim that he was waiting for family!" Angelienia's eyes flashed angrily.

"He has family? I thought he was some kind of genetic engineering experiment gone bad."

"Like Bolivar?"

"No, Bolivar's still human - just 'improved.' I don't know *what* Krieghoff is."

"He..." Shelley O'Rourke looked up from her contemplation of the coffee in front of her. "He's a monster. Evil. He should have been left on the Defiant. He belonged there."

The others around the table were silent for a moment, before Angelienia continued, "I don't care if he's a monster or not. He's a man, I can handle him." Her voice lowered into a growl. "I stayed to see his family show up, figured id introduce myself and follow along."

"But wasn't he running around with those two Andorian women on lanJep?"

"I saw them," another girl chimed in. "I wish I had the shorter one's figure."

"That's who he claimed were his 'family,'" Angelienia snapped. "The two of them and a green Orion girl showed up and were all over him while I was watching."

"The Andorians... *and* a green Orion?" Heads swiveled as people looked at each other.

"You're sure?" A girl from Engineering spoke up.

"I saw it with my own eyes, Delphino," Angelienia hissed. "First the Andorian's were all over him, then the Orion." Her frown deepened. "'I'm waiting for my aunts' my ass!"

"Don't forget the fembot he broke," the girl from Engineering spoke up again.

"He did what?" Angelienia's head snapped around.

Several more heads twisted at the table to look at the ensign.

"He wore out a fembot - totaled it," the ensign reported. "The thing was in complete shutdown. He even put in a call to Engineering for someone to come fix it, but it was no use. He's the only one so far - no one else has managed it."

Angelienia's face darkened jealously. "He wore out a fembot...? After all the time he spent on lanJep with those two Andorian 'aunts?'"

"They really are his aunts," another woman spoke up turning the PADD in her hands around and sliding it across the table. "See?"

The Ktarian Marine pilot snatched the PADD up. "Lt. Commander Ar'resh Idrani-Krieghoff," she read aloud. "Stationed on USS Venture." Her eyes locked on the image, and then she advanced the screen. "Dr. Rexa Idrani-Krieghoff... stationed USS Venture." She leaned back, frowning, and dropped the PADD on the table where it was scooped up and passed from hand to hand.

"No way, really?"

"Says here they married his... uncle - and some Andorian named Thallick."

"Those are really his aunts?"

"But what about the Orion girl?"

"I don't know, let's see..." Fingers moved on the PADD. "Got her! Lt. Seeva, assigned to Security, USS Venture!" The PADD was spun back around to Angelienia. "Was this her?"

The Marine looked once and nodded. "So he was telling the truth..."

"The reason I asked," Delphino interjected, "is that it's all over Engineering that the Andorians were talking up the fact that he and Lt. Grey were a hot thing the whole time they were on lanJep."

Angelienia's cat's eyes narrowed. "Lieutenant... Grey?"

"You've seen her - brown hair, doesn't speak? Carries a PADD around all the time or uses sign language?"

The Marine nodded slowly. "I have... and she and Krieghoff are..."

"Well," Delphino admitted, "I can't say I've heard her talking about him or anything, but she's always been really private."

"Isn't he still going at it under the radar with Gunny Goldstein? I thought they were the thing?"

"I can handle the Gunny," Angelienia informed the rest, her lip curling in a sneer. "She may be twice the man that any of her ground-pounders is, but I'm twice the woman she is." She fixed her eyes on Delphino. "Tell me about this Lt. Grey and Krieghoff."

"Well," Delphino looked around uncomfortably. "The way *I* heard it...."

"Let it go," O'Rourke advised suddenly, shivering. "Let him go, Angelienia. You don't understand what you're playing with."

"Oh," the Ktarian purred, her eyes hungry, "I know *exactly* what I'm going to be playing with...."

****

USS Galaxy
Deck 5 Corridor
Outside Ella Grey's Quarters

Ella yawned as she slowly shuffled her way back to her quarters.

She was used to working the double shift by now, although there were times when she told herself that she working towards a burnout, but today had just been exceptionally long and the ship extremely uncooperative.

At least she was off for a few days, since the Chief had told her that she could only work so many hours in a week- something about Federation Labor laws, and could rest.

Ella rubbed the back of her neck, promising herself that after she put in at least a day's worth of sleep she would track down Victor Krieghoff and ask him out to dinner. Engineering was already buzzing with the rumors of their supposed affair, secret marriage, S&M fetishes, aborted babies, delight in ritual slaughter, and something about a Klingon named E'dd. The fembot incident wasn't helping any either.

Ella figured she might as well get gawked at for something she actually had done.

For the most part, it all amused her. Rumors had never really bothered her. SHE knew what she had and had not done. What annoyed her, however, was trying to explain to people in her department that Krieghoff was not in league with the devil. Inevitably, some yahoo would come up to her and ask how she could be in a relation ship with a fill-in-the-appropriate-name-here.

Finally, today, she had exploded in a written frenzy and had told the whole department that they were a bunch of stupid children and to make better use of their time. It had sounded a whole lot more sophisticated than 'Fuck off.'

Ella rubbed the back of her neck and then paused and looked around her. That was another thing. For the past few days, she had been having the strangest notion that someone was following her. At first, she had thought it might have been some idiot desperate for some proof of hers and Victor's 'secret' love affair. Now she just felt like she was being stalked.

Ridiculous, she told herself. Who would want to stalk Lt. Grey, assistant chief of Engineering? What could they possibly want from her? Inside mechanical tips? The repair of a broken espresso machine?

She was just being paranoid. A lot of the old habits had come back after the Defiant incident. And since Curtis' little mail discovery and her refusal of Victor's offer. Constantly looking over her shoulder was one. Having to sleep with some light on was two. Overworking until she was sure that she could fall exhausted into a dreamless sleep, although she hadn't had nightmares yet but it was still a good precaution, was three.

Ella sighed. She was just being stupid...

...Or was she?

Ella began walking again, her pace quickening. What she wanted most was a nice comfy bed to sleep in and perhaps a nice strong man to sleep with. Perhaps if Victor seemed to be in a good mood, or at least with some semblance of an open mind, ha, she would broach the subject. It wasn't as if they weren't sleeping with each other already- at least in everyone's imagination. She could just imagine Victor's reaction. Something bordering between confusion and absolute terror. It just might be worth it to see that face. Who knew...

She stopped a couple feet shy of her door, irritated. Ella could 'feel' the eyes upon her and it pissed her off. She just wanted to go to sleep, damn it. She turned around and crossed her arms, glaring.

A pair of green cat's eyes glared back at her from closer than Ella had thought it likely that someone could approach without being detected. The eyes' owner, a sleekly sensuous Ktarian woman in a Marine officer's uniform, tossed her head back disdainfully as she regarded Ella. "You? He chose *you?*"

Who the hell was this lunatic, Ella thought.

The woman raked Ella with her eyes again. "The Gunny I could at least understand, she's a magnificent bitch - but a mousy little thing like you? I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen you sneaking back to your quarters from that Holosuite the two of you were sharing all limp as a dead gagh worm with my own eyes."

And you've been STALKING me, Ella thought with revulsion. Why did she seem to attract these people? She took out her PADD and typed a quick angry note. *LEAVE ME ALONE OR I'LL HAVE YOU ARRESTED.*

The woman read the message and laughed once, a purring rumble. "For what? Talking to you in the hall about men? Or maybe just the one I'm going to take away from you?"

*I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN AROUND THE PAST FEW DAYS AND I DONT APPRECIATE BEING STALKED.* She looked the marine up and down. Ella wasn't sure what her ultimate goal was concerning Victor but she decided right then and there that she'd rather burn in hell before letting this bitch be with him. *AND, INCIDENTALLY, VICTOR DOESNT THINK TOO HIGHLY OF STALKERS EITHER.*

"I don't stalk women - I hunt men," the Ktarian told her smugly. "All men like to be stalked, it sets their blood racing, makes their inevitable capture that much sweeter. When they're done crying out in pleasure they always thank me."

Ha, Ella thought tiredly. We have seven children right now, according to some rumors. Can you say the same? *GOODNIGHT, YOU PSYCHO.*

The Marine smiled. "Enjoy him while you can, little mouse. Soon he'll be mine and never look at you again."

Ella entered her quarters without another word and then, after a second thought, made sure the lock was secure. She was sufficiently rattled now, and irritated, that she couldn't go to sleep. What she could do, however, was inform Victor of his would-be hunter and equally piss off the woman by having him over. Mouse indeed, she sniffed.

She entered a short note in her PADD to Victor which simply explained that she wanted to talk and now would be the best time for it. Ella then added a note that any alcohol he might have in his possession would be greatly appreciated. She sent the note.

"Who Hunts The Hunter?" Part 2 of 2

Primary Cast:

Lt (JG) Ella Grey
Lt (JG) Victor Krieghoff

Secondary Cast:

Flight Leftenant Angelienia,
SFMC Lt. Shelley O'Rourke
The Coffee Klatch Crew

****

USS Galaxy
Deck 7
Victor Krieghoff's Quarters

Victor stared at the screen, taking a calming breath. ~ Why am I this irritated? What's the matter with me? It isn't like this is real or anything. ~ He read the displayed text again, then a third time. ~ Maybe I need to just walk away from this if it's going to do this to me? ~

He closed his eyes, counted to twenty, and opened them again. ~ Well that was worthless. I'm still irritated. I need to write this off and save everyone involved some time. It was a bad idea from the start. ~

With a sigh, he reached out and tapped the message window, deleting it. I know Counselor Dallas was just trying to help with this psychological self-evaluation program, but I think it was designed for normal people - not... me. ~

As he shut the program down, the chime of an incoming message sounded, and he frowned. "What now? Did she have a flag on it so she'd know how long I fought with the thing before giving up?" A few taps and he was looking at the message. "Okay, it's from Grey, she... Alcohol?" He looked around his sparsely decorated quarters, most of the pictures he'd recycled never replicated and hung back on the wall from when he'd thought Commander Corgan was going to transfer him months before. "Haven't got any - I gave the last of it away back during the investigation into Kragg's murders."

Picking up his jacket and making certain the Phaser 1 was still tucked away securely in his waistband, he shrugged on the jacket and started for the door. ~ If this is about Flitt again, she's not talking me out of killing him this time. I should have gone on and done it the first time -just been smart enough not to let her see me make the application for leave. ~

Checking to make sure that all the doors - both his and the perpetually empty quarters across the shared bathroom - were locked and coded, Victor exited, still trying to figure out why he'd gotten the call. ~ If it was something important, she'd have said so, wouldn't she? And why the alcohol? What did she want with that? ~ He rounded a corner, still lost in thought, startling a maintenance crew working on the climate control system badly enough in his passing that one of them burned their hand with the spot welder.

****

USS Galaxy
Deck 5
Ella Grey and Indigo Renkert's Quarters

Ella opened the door, couldn't help but scan briefly around before letting Victor in. She had the mental image of that woman flying at them with rage.*SOME MARINE HAS BEEN FOLLOWING OUR APPARENT LOVE-LIFE. I THINK SHE'S TAKEN QUITE A FANCY TO YOU, KIDDO.*

Victor started at the message on Ella's PADD long enough for the door to close behind him. "A... marine?" ~ Lt. Angelienia, it has to be. She heard all the things Rexa and Ar'resh were spreading about Grey and I and... Damn. Not again. ~

Ella frowned when she noticed his lack of alcohol then brightened considerably when she remembered that her roommate WAS Indigo Renkert. She smiled, went in Indigo's room for a minute, waded through the sea of clothing and art supplies on the floor, and found a bottle of Romulan ale hidden under her bed. Ella came back into the room where Victor was standing patiently.

~~You can sit down, you know~~ Ella signed before returning her attention back to the bottle. Luckily, it was an easily accessible lid. Ella was glad, she didn't think she could handle another disappointment this week. ~~Would you like some?~~

"No, I don't drink much." Victor eyed the bottle and switched to sign. ~~If that's the real thing, you know it's still illegal.~~

~~Is that a fact?~~ Ella signed with mock-horror and then proceeded to pour herself a large glass.

~~Yes. Not something worth staging a raid over, but illegal.~~ He eyed the bottle. ~~She either got it on lanJep, or from that Ferengi, Curot. Probably Curot - I'll have to stop by his shop sometime soon and speak to him.~~

Ella ignored him as he spoke, picked up glass, bottle, and self and moved to sit across from him. She downed half the glass and then set it on the table. ~~I'll be honest here. I don't like that woman. I don't like people in general who like to follow me around without my knowledge. Plus she seems like a class A bitch.~~

~~She won't bother you again.~~ Victor somehow made the emotionless flicker of his fingers even flatter. ~~I'll see to it.~~

She looked at him sharply. ~~Don't do me any favors, Victor Krieghoff. What she's done isn't cause for termination. I just wanted to let you know she's bad news in case you had any notion at all about dating her.~~

He blinked, abandoning sign for a moment. "No. I wasn't. I've seen people like her before - the last one was a Transporter Chief back on the Delaware named Travers. I'm just old enough to know what it means this time."

Ella nodded, yawned, finished her drink, and poured another. ~~So, should we name our first child Lucifer or Beelzebub.~~ She chugged another half glass.

Victor looked at her blankly. "What?"

She rolled her eyes. ~~A current rumor in Engineering is that you knocked me up on lanJep, after sedating me with large quantities of bloodwine, of course.~~

He winced. "I tried to warn you, Grey. I heard the first rumor twenty minutes after I beamed back up."

Ella giggled and finished off her drink, pouring another. ~~In about twenty minutes, I'll probably be open to anything.~~

Victor looked at her for a moment, then reached out and moved the bottle to his side of the table, closing it. "I think you've probably had enough then," he said quietly.

She made a face at him. ~~Sure, Dad.~~

"Tell me what she said, what she did."

Ella did feel a bit lightheaded and bubbly. She hadn't eaten anything since...hmm, she thought, when was the last time I ate something? Oh well. She consoled herself by finishing off the contents of her glass.

~~Oh, vague comments about hunting and prey~~ Ella said, trying to figure out a way to snatch back the ale from him. ~~In that respect, you're perfect for each other.~~

"Grey," he repeated calmly, "I'm trying to see if she said something that I can use to get her to leave you alone."

She looked at him and then got up and moved closer, half leaning into him and let her left arm brush against his thigh as she reached for the bottle. Victor gaped at her for a half second before his hand closed firmly over hers.

For some reason, Ella thought this was hysterical. She drew her hand back and covered her mouth which was giggling. ~~Don't think... you're going... have much luck... interrogating me tonight.~~ she managed.

"No," he observed with a frown, watching her closely. "I don't think so, either. "

Ella wiped at her eyes. ~~I'm sorry, I mus' be horribly company write now.~~ her hands apologized, not realizing she was using the wrong words.

"No." Victor regarded her for a moment as she stood next to him, swaying and looking at him past her hands. "Just not yourself." He started to add something else, but cut it off as she took a step closer, swayed forward... and wound up in his arms as he kept her from falling. ~ She doesn't drink much either - not like this anyway - it hit her too hard and too fast. ~

Without asking permission, Victor picked her up, ignoring the surprised sound she made as she settled against his chest. "Time for you to lie down," he informed her calmly, carrying her across the common room and through the open door into her bedroom.

~~I'm too tired to move.~~ Ella protested. ~~You go lie down, I'll join you shortly.~~

Without answering her, Victor carefully set her down on the edge of the bed and then eased her down onto it, crouching next to the bed so she wasn't staring up at him. "I think you'll be all right after a little sleep," he decided after looking at her critically for a moment. "You shouldn't drink like that though; you're not going to feel very good in the morning." He watched her a moment more, then started to stand. "If you need something, call me, Grey."

The thought that he might leave her alone bothered its way through her drunkenness. ~~Could you talk at me for a bit?~~ she asked him. She bit her lower lip.

Victor stopped, looked down at her, and nodded. Reaching out, he took the chair from her desk and drew it over, sitting down a few feet away. "Talk about what?"

Ella grabbed a pillow and laid herself down, head towards him. ~~Oh, don't care. Tell us something about you. Like what you wanted to be when you grew up.~~

After a momentary odd look, Victor replied slowly, "A Starfleet Security Officer." ~ Why did she ask that? ~

She yawned. ~~You cant have ALWAYS wanted to be a security officer.~~

Closing his eyes, Victor sighed. "I know what I am; know what I'm capable of. There are only two things I'm good for, Grey. Just two. I can either protect the sheep whether they like it - or me - or not... or I can be the thing that they need protecting from." He shrugged, his voice still the same annoying, pleasant tone he used for almost everything. "I chose to protect, not destroy. It doesn't make me less of a monster, I'm just *their* monster, that's all."

Ella sat up, swayed a bit, and then signed in large gestures, mostly because she was drunk. ~~STOP calling you that!~~ her hands demanded. ~~You owe me dollar.~~

"What else am I supposed to call myself, Grey? It's what I am."

"Only cause...you choose to believe..."

He shook his head. "Is stopping saying it going to make it any less true?"

She put a hand up to her head and then moved it again to sign. ~~I can't win arguments when the world is spinning. ~~

"There's nothing to argue about, Grey." He shook his head. "At least it gives people a reason not to like me besides the job. Cuts down on the waiting."

Ella gave him a look and signed. ~~And I thought I felt sorry for myself.~~

"No sheep like to be around a tiger, even if it watches over them, Grey- not if they know he's there. It reminds them of things that have been bred out of the species for a reason. Most people wonder if they'll be liked - I don't have to. I know no one is going to like me."

She hiccupped. ~~ If I were sober and you were at all interested, I'd proves it to you that you were wrong. And that's two more buckeroos.~~

Victor frowned as she sat there swaying and looking at him. ~ She definitely doesn't drink like this very often. ~ He started to lean forward and catch her as it looked like she was going to overbalance, but she corrected for the movement herself, and he stopped, leaning back into the chair. "We should probably talk about something else, Grey," he suggested softly. "Ask me another question if you want."

Ella finally gave up sitting and lay back down. ~~All right then, what's your favorite hobby or aren't monsters allowed to have hobbies?~~

Victor looked at her for a moment, deciding, then answered, "I hunt animals, Grey. Killers. Predators. Things like that Francosian Land Kraken someone dreamed up back on the Defiant." He nodded once, conceding, "Usually smaller than that, though. I wouldn't have gone after it in the wild without a tank if I could have helped it. Andorian Ice Bear. Terran Tiger - things like that are more in my line. Things you can stalk on foot while they're hunting you back."

She processed that, nodded and then snuggled a bit more into her pillow, feeling herself starting to finally drift off to sleep. ~~Why don't you ever call me Ella?~~ she asked.

"Because you're not family," he explained, as if that made perfect sense. "Why?"

~~Just...curious...~~ She yawned, hiccupped, and then fell asleep.

Victor watched her for a moment more, then stood up and gently shifted her so he could drape a blanket over her. He paused at the door to her room and dimmed the lights making sure he hadn't wakened her. When he was sure, he moved to the replicator and keyed in the ingredients for his mother's hangover cure, leaving them back in her room with a sheet of instructions in the chair where she'd see them when she woke up. ~ Best I can do outside of not letting her drink the stuff to begin with ~ he told himself as he turned to leave.

Outside, he stopped and looked both ways, but didn't see any signs of Lieutenant Angelienia. ~ Maybe it's her night off. Or she's lurking back at my quarters... Oh there's a thought that makes me want to go back. I think I need to go someplace... public. ~ He looked both ways again, and then started for the turbolift. ~Ten Forward it is then. I can drink a couple of coffees before I go on shift, and Friel won't mind too much if I ruin her customer base tonight. She's still mad at Savoie for falling prey to a fembot, and taking it out on people that don't know to stay clear of her. I'll fit right in.~

"The joys of romulan ale"

Lt. (JG) Ella Grey
Ensign Indigo Renkert, NPC

*comes after Who Hunts the Hunted*

Ella was startled momentarily when she awoke to find herself surrounded by the color pink.

Am I in hell, she asked herself. Whenever did that happen?

Then she remembered she had awoken a couple hours ago, with the worst headache known to mankind, and had thrown her pink covers back over herself and buried her head under the pink pillow.

Ella sat up slowly and her headache followed. She could feel it stomping its way across her forehead, under her eyes, and around the base of her skull. The eyes themselves were tired and raw and she was very thirsty. She could see the replicator close by.

But it hurt too much to move that far.

Romulan ale was horrible. It should be illegal, Ella thought.

Oh yeah, she remembered. It was.

With a groan, Ella laid back on the bed, deciding that beds and sleep were underrated and she never wanted to leave hers again.

Indigo Renkert peeked around the doorframe. She was a redhead today with an long lock of white wrapped around in a sort of beehive look. "Are you up yet?" she asked her roommate.

Of course, in Ella's delicate state it sounded as if Indigo had just screamed the words at her.

Ella groaned again and since Indigo didn't know if that was a yes or a no, she repeated the question. The assistant chief winced and put her finger to her lips in a universal shushing sign and then shoved her head back under the pillow.

Indigo smiled and left the room for a minute. She returned with some water and then picked up a piece of paper beside the bed. The safety pins on her clothes jingled. Ella winced again from under the pillow.

"Your friend, Kriegoff, left this." Indigo commented with a frown. She didn't understand how Ella could be friends with the man. The guy gave her the creeps and it took a lot to give her the creeps. "It seems to be a cure for a hangover. I know he's your friend and all, but you might want to skip this one. It calls for eggs, among other things."

Ella made a face, removed the pillow, and sat back up, taking the glass from Indigo. Water would suffice. She started to chug it and then stopped as she remembered last night. That and her stomach churned. Ella began sipping it instead.

"So, you got into my ale." Indigo commented with a grin.

Ella gave a guilty look over the glass. She had wanted a night without tossing and turning, without waiting for sleep to come, without pain, and she had gotten it.

But, oh the price, she thought as her headache roared.

"That's okay." Indigo laughed. "I won it in a bet but I don't really like Romulan ale. So, you got smashed. Do anything else naughty?"

Ella blew her hair out of her face, she could only imagine what it looked like right now, as she reached for the PADD on the side table. It took her a moment to coordinate her arm and her hand before she grabbed it. *I DON'T THINK SO. I STILL SEEM TO BE IN MY UNIFORM.*

How many times had she offered herself to Victor? Yep, that could be embarrassing later. She'd just blame the alcohol if he commented, not that she thought he would.

Indigo read the PADD. "So, what's with you two?" she asked as she hopped up on the end of the bed.

Ella shrugged. *WE'RE FRIENDS.*

Indigo gave her an 'oh really' look.

Ella shrugged again and frowned as her head thundered in response. Stupid hangover.*I'VE NEVER HAD A SINGLE MALE FRIEND BEFORE, SO, I'LL ADMIT, I'M HAVING TROUBLE BEHAVING MYSELF.*

The girl nodded. "Oh, I know what you mean. I used to have this guy friend that was a total hottie but we were supposed to be just friends."

Ella nodded, winced, and stopped nodding. *SO WHAT HAPPENED?*

Indigo read the note and smiled. "Oh, that resolution lasted about two hours before I jumped him. He didn't seem to mind, on reflection. So, you...like Victor Kriegoff?"

Ella fidgeted with the keys on the PADD. She didn't know what she thought about Victor at this point. He was mentor, love interest, and potential roadblock at this point.

"You like him." Indigo said. "Well, that's great. I don't see why you like him but if he makes you happy...you've been so sad lately." She ended seriously.

*I KNOW. BUT I'M GETTING BETTER.* It was a lie but what was she really supposed to say.

"Good, I've been worried about you." Indigo gave her a big grin. "Some more water?"

Ella nodded and laid back down again when Indigo left the room.

She hoped the inventor of romulan ale had died a really painful death. Or at least had gotten a bad venereal disease.

"Questionable Ethics"
Lt. JG Dr. Klaus Fienberg
Erik Stiener, owner of "Stiener's Inventions & Noveltys"

Location: Back room of the shop.

(Special Reference for new Members. The Fab 3 were a group of Fem-bots that Erik Stiener, my APC managed to pull under his control.)

The arm Movement frame hung off of it's Special rack as Erik passed it. On his table lay one of the Fab 3, dissected to it's tiniest parts. The Simple computer/brain sat on a seperate stool. The Second Lay on a second table, pressed up against the wall. Her/it's head was open, the brain missing. The Remaining member of the Fab 3 lay piled in the corner, albeit intact. The lack of room in his makeshift lab greatly annoyed Erik.

Erik walked over to his comm device and rang up a particular Commbadge. "Dear Brother, Are you busy."

An annoyed but willing voice rang back. "What do you want Erik?" "I'm working on something, and I want you to see it."

The pause seemed to be forever. "Ok, I'll be there soon. This had better not be what I think it is."

-----------------------------------------

About 10 minutes later

Klaus walked into the back room. His annoyance was replaced by curisosity to find out what Erik was doing.

Erik walked up to him with a box. Opening it, he revealed what appeared to be a computer brain of some sort.

"No, no no no no." Klaus shouted in horror.

“The Arrival.”

Katrina Olegoski. Non-Player Character.
Ramir Omar. Junior Member Of Senate.

Location: The Quarters Of Ramir Omar.

Junior Member Of Senate sounded better to Ramir Omar than the alternative titles that were of Ambassador or of even Junior Senator. He lay upon of the bed that was inside of his luxurious quarters and then relaxed. He had unpacked all of his belongings and had placed them around of his quarters. When his person shuttle had finally docked with this vessel five hours ago then he had been given a tour of the ship before being shown to his quarters. He was just going to tell the replicator to create for him a bowl of plomeek soup when he heard a chime that was at of his door.

Curiously then he approached the door and commanded for the person to enter. A young human female with all of her long black hair placed upon of her head walked into the room and greeted Omar. From her appearance then he assumed that she was considered to be sexually attractive by human males.

“Junior Member Of Senate,” she said, “I am Diplomatic Attaché Specialist Katrina Olegoski and then I have been assigned to be your diplomatic aide during your stay onboard of this vessel. I am a Lieutenant as well and so then you may address me as that. So then do you require anything?”

“Yes,” replied Omar immediately “I shall require a subspace link to Romulus once per month so that I may serve properly as a Member Of Senate. Secondly then I would like this replicator to be reprogrammed so that it uses Romulan measurements of temperature rather than your degrees of centigrade.” “Aye sir. I shall comply immediately.” She left.

Near to his bed then there was an unmarked titanium crate. Omar opened it and then removed a bottle of Romulan ale. He might as well consume a small amount of alcohol so as to celebrate his new position onboard of the U.S.S. Galaxy.

Four Hours Later. The door chimed and Ramir Omar sat up startled. “You may enter.” Lieutenant Olegoski entered and stared at him. “Is there something that I may do for you Lieutenant?” he asked while trying to regain his normal arrogant composure that was usual for most Romulans. However then it was very difficult with all of the intoxicating liquid that was flowing around of his body. He managed to avoid slurring the words but it was very difficult and he wished that he had not consumed two bottles of Romulan ale. “Actually sir then I came to see if there was anything that I could possibly do for you sir,” replied Olegoski. Omar then realised that he found her far more sexually attractive than when they had previously met. Several requests that were of a sexual nature came into his mind but wisely then he did not voice them. “I am fine thank you,” he managed to say. She regarded him with a strange look and for a moment then he thought that she was going to inquire as to if he was intoxicated but then she left after a quick nod. He collapsed onto his bed and just before he lost his ability to remain conscious then he suddenly realised that he had an appointment with the Captain that was during the very early hours of the day. He had experienced the hangover of Romulan ale before and knew that he would be unable to attend to that meeting. He was just going to press his communications badge and ask the Captain to delay the meeting until the later hours of the day when his body finally gave into the ale and he passed into unconsciousness.

"Pain"

Lt. Curtis Geluf, Chief OPS
Lt. j/g Ella Grey, AC Engineer

*post Stop the Killing

He wasn't quite sure why he was going back, nor that it was the right thing to do. But his mind was made up, and there was no turning back now.

The argument with Ella and Victor was bothering him, and he hadn't heard any more about it from either one. Was Victor really going to go after that man? He was capable, Curtis decided, but the risk involved was great. Still, it was good of him to at least want to get Ella out of it. Was Ella going to LET him go? Would she go herself? What should he do about it, if anything?

A thousand questions were hopefully about to receive answers as Curtis reached Ella's quarters.

Someone's at the door, Ella thought dully as she shifted on her couch, staring at the door as if she could see who would be behind it. She had done what was right, begged Victor not to go after Flitt (why, conscience, why!) and had come back to her quarters for a fun bout of uncontrollable weeping and a day of lounging miserably on the couch under a blanket. She wasn't up for visitors, especially when she knew what she looked like.

Curtis waited a few seconds, "Maybe she's not there" he thought. Then, he heard something from inside the door, quiet, it sounded like soft breathing. His ears picked up slightly as he listened harder. Definitely breathing.

"Ella. Come on, I can hear you in there." he said to the door.

A pause before the door opened. Ella had left the couch but had brought the blanket. It was wrapped around her tightly. She eyed Curtis and then turned to go back inside. He would either follow or he wouldn't. She sat back down on the couch, slouching slightly but with alert eyes.

"I wanted to thank you for stopping Kiora from killing me..." Curtis began,then, realizing the poor choice of words, he fell silent.

Ella nodded.

"So...when will Victor be leaving? Soon I expect?" Curtis asked, trying to gently shift the topic.

Ella freed her hands from the blanket. ~~I asked him not to.~~ She signed.Then she gave a wry look. ~~If only your mother had taught you not to read other people's mail.~~

Curtis got a little red. "That wasn't supposed to happen. It's my job, that's all. I just happened to find YOUR letter. I couldn't let it go by...I just couldn't. I couldn't let you do it. Or at least I had to say something. I know you're better than that."

Better than that. She shrugged, wiped at her red rimmed eyes before signing. ~~You're the one who said I speak like a psychopath.~~

"I did not!" he protested. "And if I did I didn't mean it. It was all just rushing past me. But killing the man is not the answer."

Ella shrugged again. ~~I knew you wouldn't understand.~~

"I don't understand?!" Curtis half-shouted. "What? I don't understand your feelings, your hurting?"

~~My need for revenge.~~

"You think harmless Professor Geluf hasn't felt any of what you feel? You think I haven't been hurt? I am not as innocent as you think I am Ella." he continued, as if oblivious to Ella's remarks.

"I lost family...Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, Grandparents, Friends....you name it, in that damned civil war on Kera. I saw a lot of them get shot, right there, right in front of me. I watched my mother take a phaser blast to the back while she was running with us to an escape shuttle craft. I thought she was dead for 30 minutes. I aged 70 years in those 30 minutes and died a million times over. I picked up a phaser and I shot back at my mother's attacker. I killed him instantly, but I wasn't through, no, I shot him again, and again. I don't remember how many times, and then I vaporized his body. For those few minutes, I was a monster. I dropped that phaser and I cried like a baby. I've seen more death than 10 average beings. And I know what its like to lose control in a fit of rage. To want nothing but revenge, and be willing to take it any way you can. I know Ella....I know....." his voice trailed a bit as he began to think of all those painful memories. Why had he just said all of that? Only Kiora knew, what made him tell Ella?

And she thought it would be impossible to feel worse than she had five minutes ago. ~~I...I'm sorry.~~ she signed to him. ~~I didn't know.~~

"Not many do..." he began, "I keep it hidden. I don't like to think back on it. But you should know that you're not alone. I don't know how it felt when Flitt did what he did to you, but I know how it feels to think of vengeance and rage, and to feel enormous pain."

She let out a shaky breath. ~~I don't want to hurt anymore, Professor.~~

"That's good to hear Ella." he responded, beginning to feel a bit weak.

~~Can...can you forgive me?~~ she asked with tiny gestures.

"Forgive you? There's nothing to forgive." Curtis answered. "All you've demonstrated is your own humanity. Kerelians are not so different, we suffer the same emotions."

~~I can't stand it.~~ Ella's fingers practically wept. Her eyes were too tired to.

"The pain will always be there. It isn't going to go away, and sometimes it can drive you crazy. Make you feel like you're going mad. But there are ways to deal with it. Do you know how I do?" Curtis asked.

~~How?~~

Reaching into his pocket, Curtis pulled out his pair of ear-plugs.

"You know, when I walk the halls of this ship, I can hear everything everyone is saying. All of it. That's over a thousand voices in my head at all times. If I concentrate, I can pick certain ones out, and know exactly what they're saying."

She looked at the earplugs, slightly repulsed. All those voices... ~~I never knew that.~~

"On Kera, it's not really a problem. Kerelians are soft-spoken by nature. We have to be. Oh sure, we can get just as loud as anyone, and you've heard me do that, but to keep things quieter, we just evolved that way. But when I moved to Earth, I wasn't prepared for the onslaught of sounds and voices. It took me a long time to adapt." Curtis continued.

"Anyway, the point is, that all those voices can start pecking away at my sanity. It's a blessing and a curse to be able to pick up so many sounds. Even being able to hear you breathing through your door. So I wear these to at least keep it all down to a low level." he said.

~~Earplugs wont help me though~~

"You're right. Earplugs aren't going to do you any good. But the point is that I can't block the sounds by myself. I have to use the plugs. I can't face my pains alone, I need a filter. That's all you need, Ella, a filter. People who can listen to your problems, your pains and your fears and just understand. I know you don't keep many people close, and you've never been good at opening up. But you've got people who can help. Victor, me. I care, and I'm sure Victor does too."

Ella looked down at her hands. She felt like hugging him but felt she didn't have the right to. ~~Thank you.~~ she signed before clenched her hands together.

Curtis looked at her for a few moments. He wanted to magic away the pain for her somehow. It wasn't right she had to be feeling it.

"Tell you the truth Ella; when you told me what had happened. When you told me what Flitt had done to you, for a moment, I found that rage again. For that instant, I could have killed him. Because I love you like family, as does Kiora. Like a brother to a sister, and friend to a friend. But that's all I can do." Curtis admitted.

Her eyebrows knitted together as she struggled with the concept of someone loving her. She felt like mimicking Victor's constant 'I don't understand.' She really didn't. Perhaps Curtis still saw her the girl from the Academy, his star pupil, instead of what she really was.

Maybe time would change that but for now she merely signed another 'thank you.' ~~I need to get some rest, Professor.~~ she signed. ~~I..I'll see you tomorrow?~~

"Of course." Curtis answered. "I'm sorry if all this was a bit much. I should be getting back anyway, Kiora is expecting me. Get some sleep."

Curtis gave a small wave, turned, and exited the room.

Ella watched the door close. ~~I love you too.~~ she signed.

Lieutenant Commadner Ethan Suder
Chief Engineer

"Hello, is it me you're looking... hmmm"

Ethan sat back in his chair and terminated the instrumental music that was getting a bit slow and sloppy, even for his taste. How he longed for a dance. It was very rare that he actually wanted a slow dance to that kind of music, but he had been in a strange mood all day.

He had been going over the conversation he had had with Michael not so long ago. He didn't seem to be himself. Michael had always been cheerful and upbeat. But looking at him was like looking in a mirror. Was there anythign he could do to help at all without stepping on anyone's toes? The question rolled and rattled in his head for a while. There had to be something, in fact, he'd have to give it ago. He began forming a plan on how to help Michael. He would need to talk to Michael and then the First Officer. Hey, something to keep himself busy.

*** A couple of hours later ***

Ethan had constructed a very good arguement to help Michael, just had to talk to him now before doing anything. He didn't want to go too far too fast.

After several minutes he reached the holodeck. It had been some time since he had last used it and he never used it on a regular basis anyway, so who could it hurt if he went inside for a short while.

He loaded a program that was a place he had seen in his dreams. A fresh field, with a forest to the north. A nice warm day, the sun on it's way down. A soft breeze and a small house right in the middle of it all. Not to far was a waterfall that connected a lake.

He strolled through the field and didn't even notice the holodeck doors close behind him. It didn't take long to reach the house. He stood in front of the wooden door and was about to go inside when he heard laughing from behind him. He turned and smiled at the laughter of two kids.

A young boy and girl aged about five were running through the field, chasing each other. Ethan walked over to a log near the lake and picked up some grass and tugged at it as he watched the kids play in the field.

"Your friends know now." a female voice said from behind him.

Ethan continued to watch the kids and picked up some more grass to play with. "I know. Does it change anything though?" he asked. He felt a warm, soft hand on his right shoulder.

"Not just yet. But it will eventually." she replied.

Ethan turned and winced as he looked up at the blonde girl. The sin was just behind her and blocked a lot of his sight. He then turned back and continued watching the joyful kids playing. "When it changes, what will happen?" he whispered.

"I don't know yet. I can only tell you what you know. You may have to leave." she said.

Ethan shook his head. "No." he stated bluntly. "I'm not leaving. I can't say goodbye. I want the day to come along when I can say 'Hello, is it me your looking..." he paused and looked down at the grass. The summer smell of the environment was quite intoxicating. "I won't leave." he said.

"You'll keep a part of me with you forever, and the memories, they will never leave your soul. But one day, it will have to end. You must know that." she said.

Ethan gritted his teeth together to hold back the tears. He felt numb and frozen. He didn't reply. He felt that some of what the woman was saying was true, but there had to be a way round it. How would he move on if he had to leave her?

He turned his head very slightly and cleared his throat. "Can we just..." he stopped again, feeling like the air had been knocked out of him. The woman moved her hand down his shoulder until it was cupped in his own hand. She sat next to him on the log, lowered her head so it was leaning on his shoulder and watched the kids play as the sun continued to slowly set behind the forest ahead.

Time went by so slowly in this place. It was a good escape for Ethan. He lost track of the real world in this fantasy place that his dreamy brain had constructed. For hours, he had just watched the kids play until it was dark. They now sat around a very small and controlled fire not too far from Ethan and the mixed-species woman, and not too far from the lake. But a safe distance.

Ethan hadn't said anything else and neither had the woman, they just sat their, cuddled, enjoying the moment that had strethced out through the hours. He was content there now.

Of course he would have to leave soon, maybe get some sleep and then get up early as usual, but this thought didn't cross his mind. And maybe, for another couple of hours he'd just stay there and relax.

"Questionable Ethics"

Lt. JG Dr. Klaus Fienberg
Erik Stiener, owner of "Stiener's Inventions & Noveltys"

Location: Back room of the shop.

"Yes, it is that very same failed Positronic Brain."

Klaus sat down, puzzled."Why do you persist. That thing is worthless. It may have worked once, but that was a lucky break. Data couldn't even successfully maintain his own. You went from just an Idea and total lack any required knowledge, to having read a few notes and already constructing your own. You were bound for failure."

Erik was furious. "But it WORKED! Even for a little while."

"Yes, and that's when you decided that instead of trying to create a baseline mind to develope on its own, which wouldn't have worked by the way, you copied the mind of your dieing girlfriend, hoping to have her live on with you."

Erik was filled with anger, and worst of all, madness. "I will be successful. She will come back to me. This body would be a perfect vessel." He pointed to the Fem-bot that was still intact on the table.

"But if that doesn't work?" Erik was nearly in tears."IT MUST! I MUST!"

Klaus had turned around prepared to walk out, but he turned around. "Would she want you to go insane trying to cheat death for her? Would she want you to continue this crusade." Klaus turned around again and slowly walked away.

"I'LL BRING HER BACK! EVEN IF IT MEANS HER MIND MUST REPLACE ANOTHERS!!!!"

Klaus looked to the side in a way that gave him a brief glance at Erik. "That was what I was afraid of."

Klaus exited and Erik continued on his lost cause deep into the night. He ultimately failed. Although, it gave him relief in a way, the thief called madness stole a little bit more of his mind.

“Aileen Sheldon- The New Officer”

By: Ensign Aileen Sheldon,
Medical Officer, USS Galaxy

Location: Ensign Sheldon’s Quarters

It hadn’t been to long since Ensign Sheldon arrived on the USS Galaxy, from the USS Hawkwing. They had been kind enough to bring herself, and her son aboard, since they were bringing some cargo to the ship. Sheldon went over the past few weeks over in her head, sitting on her couch now. She still had many boxes to unpack, and fix her new living space up. Make it feel more like home for herself, and Jonathan.

Sheldon was glad her son was too young to be affected by the Fem-Bots. The three year old had no idea what had been happening on the ship, since they arrived. Rubbing her temple with one hand, she read over some reports on a PADD with the other. Arching her brow, her ears perked up at the sound of a faint moan from the bedroom. She didn’t make a sound, just waited to see if Johnny was awake, or just dreaming.

Once she knew he was still asleep, she set her work aside for a moment. She had a few hours before she had to be on duty. She needed to find something else to do, then just sit around, reading over reports. She still hadn’t really had the time to get to know any of the crew. She slept threw most of the day, and in the evening before her shift, she worked on reports, played with her son, or tired to get a little more of her stuff unpacked.

Standing, she moved towards a half unpacked box. Digging threw it, she pulled out some old art stuff of hers. Smirking, she found her pencils, and a pad to draw on. Taking her seat back on the couch, she curled her legs up to the side of her on the couch, pushing her feet in between the couch cushions to keep them warm. Gripping one of the black pencils she looked out at the stars, and let her imagination take over.

<< A few hours later- Gamma Shift >>

Aileen button up her uniform, and ran a hand through her curls. Walking out of her bedroom, she smiled at Johnny. “Don’t you think you should be in bed?” She bent down, and wiped his face. The little boy nodded his head no, and continued to play with his toys. “Oh, I see.” She laughed, “Well mommy thinks you should.”

Picking the little boy up, she placed him on a hip. Then, picking the few toys he was playing with the other hand, she placed them in his toy box. “You’re getting so big!” Walking back into the bedroom, she laid him on his small bed. “Why do you have to work, when I sleep?” He blinked at his mommy, sitting up. “Because they need me to. I’ll be back before you wake up.”

She laid him back down, and pulled the covers up to his neck. “Now you go to sleep, mommy can’t be late.” As soon as she stood back up, he sat up “Don’t go!” He looked as if he were about to cry. “Baby, mommy has to.” She bent back down, and kissed him on the forehead, “Go to sleep.” She once again, laid him down and covered him up. “Computer, lights at ten-percent.”

She had set the computer to contact her if there was any movement in her quarters. She would know that he was awake, and either ask to step away for a moment and put him back to sleep, or have someone go for her. She was in need of a babysitter, but didn’t know anyone enough to trust them, with her child.

Walking down the corridors, she stepped onto the turbo-lift, “Deck Twelve.” She leaned back against the wall, and closed her eyes for a few moments. Her body was still getting use to the work from nine to three-thirty AM Gamma shift. She was in bed by four, and Jonathan woke her up at eight. She took naps when he did, trying to get as much sleep as she could get by with.

When the turbo-lift came to a stop, she stepped off, and headed for sickbay.

617