"Prep"

Lt jg Claire 'Gun-Bunny' Barnes, Security/Hazard Team

When Claire had recieved her orders to be on the away team, she headed down to the ship's armoury to prepare.

Entering the room after signing on the armoury record, Claire moved to the battle armour rack and pulled down a suit. Putting it on, she took down a Bowie knife & clipon-sheath, which she attached to the suit.

Pulling out the knife, she examined it for sharpness and grinned, remebering back to an old Australian movie named Crocodile Dundee. Laughing at the memory of a scene involving one and a would-be mugger running from the sight of one, she put it back in and continued.

She had been informed that the ship could be damaged earlier, so she taking her normal approach. Should there be radioactivity, a non-phaser weapon would be good if the crew is hostile. Picking up one of the TR-116 projectile rifles, she slung it over her shoulder. Grabbing a backpack, she threw in 9 large tritanium bullet ammo clips and rammed one into the rifle.. Taking an ammo belt as well, she tied it around her waist.

A photon rifle got slung over her other shoulder, and a bunch of sarium krellide power cells joined the ammo clips.

Moving to the grenade section, she took a string of concussion grenades and one of flash-bang stun ones too. To the backpack, she then added some shaped breeching charges.

Claire was about to leave & head back to her quarters to pick up some stuff from there when she spotted something she had been dying to try. Turning back, she moved to the back where a series of alternative but not much-used weapons lay.

Picking up a rather unusual compound bow, she tested the draw string of it and found it was quite good. From the looks and feel of it, that bow could drive an arrow at a very high speed straight to a target. She had always been good at archery, so she decided to take it too. Grabbing a quiver, she put in some grenadetipped and armour-piercing duranium arrows into it.

Walking back to the front of the office, she stepped upto the man at the desk, who was drinking from a cup. When he saw her, he gasped in surprise, choking in the process and spraying coffee.

"Holy crap! You need all of that? Who are you expecting? A whole cache of Borg soldiers?"

"Nah, just like to prepare for all eventualities."

Shrugging, he muttered as she signed all the gear out, "Like herds of rampaging water buffaloo."

Ignoring him, she headed back to her quarters, where she collected two of her sai, slipping them onto the belt before making her way to the shuttle bay.

"Memories and Perverts"

Ensign Naranda Sol Roswell & 2 of my fave NPCs

Nara was working at her console, watching the power to the sensors and warp fluctuate as they made their way.

Funny how these mundane assignments always turn into adventures.

She had reached to touch the panel and suddenly felt her hands bound above her. A sharp pain hit her back and she screamed in pain. Before she could regain her senses, it hit again. By the time they stopped, she was nearly ready topass out.

She felt herself being roughly taken down and taken outside. She tried to look around as they dragged her, butnothing looked distinquishable. It was barren. She looked ahead and saw a metal box. She found herself being pushed in and the door shut. It was dark and very hot. It was hard to breathe. Sweat began pouring out of her skin and her eyes burned as she felt the sweat irritate the wounds on her back. She weakly grabbed at the latch and tried to get out. She was thinking, ~I don't belong here.~ She let her head lean against the hot door and she finally came to her senses.

She had willed herself to remember the console in Engineering and what she was doing the moment she swapped there. Seeing she was back, she let her hand drop and knelt down in front of the console resting her head on it. The stinging on her back was fading and now only part of a memory, but she felt weary nonetheless. Whose memory was that?

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she shrugged away fearing they would touch the new sores. Though, she knew they weren't there, somehow the instinct remained to let nothing touch the sore area. She looked up and saw Mei looking down concerned.

Nara smiled weakly, "Someone had a horrible memory, and I just viewed it."

Mei frowned, "Being whipped and thrown into a hot box?"

Nara looked at her as she stood wondering why she would know.

Mei looked down, "That was mine. I was on an away mission and it kind of went wrong, and we ended up prisoners."

Nara touched her shoulder remembered the miserableness of it, "But how did you know that's what I remembered."

Mei looked confused, "You showed me."

Nara shook her head, "What?"

"You're telapathic, right?"

"I keep the wall up." Nara was concerned.

Mei shrugged, "All I know is I saw my memory in my head, but the mind wasn't mine." She looked confused. "I mean."

Nara nodded, "I know." They looked at each other a moment. Something between them spoke of sorrow for the other's pain and annoyance and confusion with what was going on. They turned back to their work.

Nara made sure her mental wall was up. How could it had gone down and she not know? She had ages of experience thanks to Cernu's transferrance, but perhaps her actual experience still left her weak in areas when she was stressed. She had to admit she was. Confused if nothing else. Saul confused her. This creature who is responsible for the memory swapping confused her.

She looked up and saw Kastanza ogling her. He confused her. She had no idea why she was so special, and she certainly didn't want to be special to him. She scowled at him and mouthed, "Get back to work cretan."

Mei looked at her and laughed, "Maybe try reverse physcology sometime. Come on to him so strong he'll get scared."

Nara shook her head, "I doubt it."

Nara sighed and concentrated on the console. This was no ordinary day, and in some ways it was. It was kind of disconcerting.

"Blame the Telepaths"

Naranda and Klaus

Nara wandered into 10-4ward and looked at the replicator wondering what drink she should try. Then she decided she's had enough adventure, and went with an old favorite. She made her way through the tables.

~Damnit Damnit DAMNIT. None of this makes sense....~ Klaus held a PaDD scattered with data from his tests on the crew. None of it made sense. At least the coffee was decaf.

Nara saw Klaus out of the corner of her eye and it looked like he was not having fun. She walked over to him, "Need help with anything?"

"Oh Hello Nara. None of this makes sense. Yes...Everyone's chemical balances neurological structures have deviated slightly....but I can't seem to correct them for any length of time. And I don't even know if it works.....Maybe If I had 5 neuro-stimulators a head....no...." Klaus trailed off.

Nara looked at him confused as she sat down. "You mean the memory jumping?"

"All of it. As far as I can tell. Something changed the chemical balances and neurological structure of most of the crew. This causes people to be susceptible to the memory jumping. I don't know how. I feel that if I can get the old balance and structure, and keep it that way, the jumping should stop."

Nara smiled, "No pressure huh." She sat back watching him a moment. "I haven't been a telepath for long, and Cernu showed me more how to use it than the technical stuff, but is there a difference in all that chemical and structure stuff when someone uses telepathy?"

"There is some. I know that humans are incapable of it without restructuring parts of the brain, and the occasional incredibly rare case of a natural human telepath. It's the same with most non-telepathic species......Wait you couldn't mean...." Klaus paused for a moment, confused. "Do you think that 'they' accidentally made us telepaths, and for some strange reason...we're picking up these memory swaps from each other and other sources?"

Nara shook her head, "I'm wondering if they were able to manipulate our brains to go into such patterns. For us telepaths it was easy, but for non-telepaths, I don't know. I wouldn't think it's permanent. I just know my wall doesn't seem as strong. I didn't realize until I ended up in a co-worker's memory."

"Yes...that is strange....But the only way I can think of to suppress the effects and normalize everyone.....is to put neuro-stimulators on everyone on the ship."

"Do we have the resources for that?" Nara thought a moment. "I wonder..." She sat up, "Maybe you'll only need them for the non-telepaths. I can just make sure to keep my wall up. Though it seems to be harder than usual." She slumped back down, "Has anyone talked to this creature yet?"

"Not that I know of. I've been busy in medical. I noticed that the natural telepaths are even less changed. I also believe that if the life form leaves, the effects may disappear and everyone will normalize naturally....but just in case..." Klaus started to trail off. "...what if....would engineering...."

"What?" Nara was intrigued now.

"Maybe...It would take too long, and too much power to replicate enough neuro-stimulators....but what if we turned the SHIP into a neuro-stimulator!" Klaus smiled...but it quickly left. "But I don't know how to do that...."

"Well, we can talk to my chief and try it out." Nara took a sip and looked at him again, "Have you jumped since we came back?"

"Nothing major. No death thankfully. Just a couple odd memories...I was a small child on a beautiful lush world.....There was another one in, if I'm not mistaken, a shopping mall in New Jersey." Klaus was a little freaked out by his recent memories, at least they had feelings of contentment, or happy."

"It hasn't been fun has it? How did your wife take it?"

"I don't know. She's been a little distant lately. But I gather her memories haven't been painful."

"Oh." Nara sat back. She sighed, "I talked to the captain." She pretty much changed the subject without warning.

"Oh? What did he have to say?"

"Well he said since I had the ability to show others the incident through telepathy, the case would be easy. He was supposed to send a counselor to talk to me."

"Huh. That’s strange. That’s very strange." Klaus was noticeably confused.

Nara looked confused herself, "Why?"

"Hmm..Oh..Yes. I understand now. Yes. I'd like to know how that turns out. Sorry, I confused myself there for a moment."

Nara nodded, "Sorry. Changed the subject there. I had just remembered you came in at the end of that one when I first saw you." Nara gulped, "In the memories that is."

"Ok....Yes..Of course."

"Miramon and North saw me tortured." Nara was thinking. She didn't realize before. "Complete strangers viewed memories I hadn't shared with anyone."

"Yeesh. I'm surprised no one has seen my slit......never mind."

Nara looked at him, "No. What?"

"Um....Did I tell you about the time I tried to kill myself?"

"I don't believe so."

"Uh......well. You know I did now, much to my dismay, so I'll tell you what happened." Klaus wasn't sad, or in pain......just mostly embarrassed. "Well, it was a number of years ago. I was at rock bottom. My career was flagging. I could suck a brewery dry. I broke a table in my room, and cut my wrists with a jagged piece of glass. I'm lucky I was supposed to be on duty, and someone had come to find me."

"I'm glad it didn't work."

"Yes. I do too. My post-war years were hard."

Nara nodded, "I kind of know what you mean, but I don't think it all hit me yet. These stupid memories brought back some pain."

"I'll fix it somehow. I'm hoping the neuro-stimulators would be able to protect the telepaths on board.

"It's just something we have to go through."

"Well, there is also the possibility that these neurological changes are permanent. I still want to equip the telepaths on board with custom configured neuro-stimulators to return them to their levels and protect them."

Nara shook her head, "I really hope that isn't necessary. I don't want any metal in me. I've got nothing against that. My dad is basically a cyborg, but, no. I don't like that idea."

"It wouldn't be an implant. Just a simple external device. Like a Cortical Stimulator."

Nara scowled, "Even worse." She frowned and looked at Klaus and smiled, "Sorry."

"Well.....Fair enough. If I can find another way. I'll tell you what it is."

"And besides. It probably would only be temporary."

"So is there anything I can help YOU with? You looked absolutely miserable when I saw you in the memories."

Klaus' face seemed more serene than usual. "I don't know. All I know is that I could use some happy times.....Every time things seem to feel good....something awful happens. I just need to feel good."

Nara smiled, "Ok. What would you like to do that's fun for you?"

"Hmmm....I don't know. I wouldn't mind taking a stop on Earth, or maybe Vulcan."

"To do what?" She was already tapping something into the PADD she brought.

"Well....Visit a few people. Family. Maybe take Kay to see Berlin."

Nara was looking at her PADD. "Hmm hmm. Most popular attractions of most planets are in the holodeck." Nara passed him the PADD where she highlighted Berlin, Germany, Earth. "Maybe you should gather up Kay and go there. I'm sure this could wait a while."

"No, I can't. Not until this is over. Besides.........even when my work is tough.....I enjoy it."

Nara nodded, "Ok. Then as soon as we complete this side mission, and then our actual mission. Promise? I'll even make any changes to the program if you want."

"Ok. Glad somebody cares about this old fool."

"Well, I'm pretty sure Kay does, since she's your wife and all. You've been a good friend Klaus. Even to this fiery immature girl." She smiled.

"Well, Could you explain why I feel so old? It makes no sense; I'm only in my early 30s."

Nara laughed, "I'm almost 26. I guess it just happens with time. We grow old."

"I wish I still had so few numbers. I suppose those that live more age faster."

Nara smiled, "But has so much more wisdom."

Klaus nodded. "I would like to think so."

"Patients-a-plenty"

By Ensign Lee Rowe, Counselor, USS Galaxy-A

[Ens Rowe's Quarters]

Lee stirred and rolled over, his eyes blinked a couple of times. He opened his eyes completely into the blackness of his quarters. After a moment, he gasped and sat up and immediately started fumbling around on his bedside cabinet.

He felt something small, palm sized, his eyebrows raised. 'There it is', he grabbed the small object and rolled around extending his arm towards the door with the object pointing in the direction.

"STAY THERE!" he shouted and tried to see into the dark. "Computer - lights."

The computer acknowledged with a bleep and the standard daylight setting illuminated gradually. There was no-one. Lee quickly got out of bed, without shifting his focus from the door. He glanced around, the room was empty he could hear no movement. He lowered the Type I Phaser in his hand slightly and walked forward, carefully examining the room as he did.

"Computer is there anyone else in my quarters?" Lee asked.

=/\="Negative, there are no known lifesigns other than your own,"=/\= the computer replied in it's monotone manner.

Lee lowered the phaser and shrugged to himself, he could not quite remember what he had been dreaming, or why he had woke believing there was someone breaking in through the door. He looked at the chronometer, 1440 hours, he was on the evening shift today. He felt his pulse begin to gradually slow and walked to the bedside cabinet, placing the phaser back where it had been and then strolled into the bathroom.

"Computer activate sonic shower and begin a status report of the last 12 hours."

=/\="Compiling..."=/\=

Lee needed to know what had happened whilst he had been asleep, in preparation for what would no doubt be queuing at his door when he arrived at the office in 20 minutes.

The sonic shower began to hum and he stepped in.

=/\="USS Galaxy log states the vessel is involved in a warp-induced space-time rift, source of the rift is unknown at the time of the log. Effects of the rift include numerous crewmembers reporting reliving memories and past experiences, both traumatic and euphoric in nature...." =/\=

"Pause!" Lee called out, stepping back out of the shower, his eyebrows raised. "Describe particular effects."

=/\="Unable to comply, medical and counseling records of individual personnel are confidential."=/\=

"Counseling staff override authorisation Rowe-Gamma-Three-One, voice recognition."

=/\="Override instruction confirmed, synopsis details available only - crewmembers report past experiences have been relived, specific recent reported incidents include officer reliving a Breen wartime situation and believing he was aboard the ship he served aboard during that conflict, officer was unconcious during the incident...."=/\=

There was a pause as the computer was about to give details of other incidents, it continued and Rowe listened to about a dozen as he got dressed, before stopping the playback and donning his tunic. He left his quarters and headed for the office, no doubt there would be plenty of work this evening.

OOC: Anyone wants a JP - feel free to give me a shout.

"Pester me not"

Ella Branwen

****

As soon as all the commotion had died down, Branwen remembered she wanted to keep an eye on the young woman she had met earlier. The one that had chosen herself to be a mute.

So carrying some foodstuff gifts she made it over to Ella's quarters to see if she was home.

Ella groaned when the door opened revealling the young counselor. She pursed her lips but then waved her in.

She took out a computer PADD. *TRUST A COUNSELOR TO MAKE USE OF THIS INCIDENT*

"Not at all. It was a terrible incident. And I have planned on visiting you much sooner."

Ella looked skeptical. *YOU'RE SAYING THAT YOU DONT FIND THE EXCHANGE OF MEMORIES ENLIGHTENING?*

"It was horrible. Didn't you find it horrible?"

Ella regarded her for a moment and then nodded. *I HAVE NEVER BEEN COMFORTABLE WITH PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO READ MY THOUGHTS LET ALONE MY MEMORIES. I CAN ONLY HOPE THERE WASNT TOO MUCH SHARED*

"Did you share with someone?" Branwen was curious.

*A COUPLE OF PEOPLE THAT I KNOW OF. CAN WE CHANGE THE SUBJECT? IM NOT REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE.*

"You are of the one who called it enlightning." Branwen shot back. "I am more than happy to drop it." She shivered. "I wanted to talk some more about your choices not to speak, you really startled me the other day."

*WHY, SO YOU CAN 'CURE' ME WHEN SO MANY OTHERS HAVE FAILED?* Ella typed, passed the computer PADD over to the woman and went to get herself something to drink.

"No. I'm pretty sure you have at least one naval shrink. I just want to understand why?" Branwen said honestly. "I can't understand why somebody would give up speech."

Ella shrugged. *IT WASN'T IMPORTANT TO ME*

"How can you say it's not important?" Branwen asked curiously.

*TRY TO THINK OF IT AS MAKING A PROFOUND STATEMENT* Ella said with a smirk.*OR THE ULTIMATE WIN IN THE I-CAN-STAY-QUIET-LONGER-THAN-YOU-CAN GAME*

"Some kind of statement. Was it a fight or a bet with somebody?"

Ella nodded. *I BET THAT IF I COULD BE SILENT FOR 15YEARS, MOM AND DAD WOULD HAVE TO BUY ME A PORCHE. AND IF I MAKE IF FOR TEN YEARS, I CAN GET A SET OF ROLLERSKATES*

After last time Branwen now realised the other woman was having her on, so she only cocked an eyebrow.

Ella's smile faded. *YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND*

"Try me." Was all Bran said.

It was Ella's turn to raise an eyebrow. *REALLY GOING FOR COUNSELOR OF THE YEAR, AREN'T YOU?* She took a sip of her tea.

"No, just trying to help. It's not like I am your therapist or anything, you are naval."

Ella thought about it and decided that if the woman was so interested in a new case, she'd give her one. *IF YOU'RE REALLY SO INTERESTED, LOOK ME UP IN SOME OLD ARCHIVES, IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS. IM SURE I MADE A PARAGRAPH, ESPECIALLY ONE PARTICULAR YEAR. LOOK THAT UP AND THEN YOU CAN BARAGE ME WITH QUESTIONS.*

"Why, why can't you just tell me?" Bran was really puzzled by this.

Ella smiled. *BECAUSE ITS MORE FUN THIS WAY, MY DEAR COUNSELOR.*

"Friend I hope, not therapist. Who is your therapist by the way. And I will look the information up."

*KARYN DALLAS*

"I talked to her, she is very good and very nice. Are you letting her help you?" Bran asked softly.

*THERAPISTS CANT HELP YOU, BRANWEN. YOU CAN ONLY HELP YOURSELF.*

"Half true. Also a very stupid attitude, of course you have to do all the hard work yourself, yet a therapist can really help. Commander Dallas has an awesome reputation." She was a little intimidated by the other woman who would be watching her as well.

*BULLY FOR HER.* Ella replied. She was not looking forward to their next counseling session, had been putting it off for weeks.

"Don't be so mean, it doesn't suit you." Bran observed.

Ella chuckled. *STOP TRYING TO CONVERT THE UNBELIEVING. HOW ARE YOU LIKING THE SHIP?*

"So far, fine. Most people are nice, and I am making friends." She flushed.

*MET SOMEONE, DID WE?* Ella asked.

"Yeah." Bran flushed even deeper. "We are going to see each other again when he has time."

*OH? AND DOES HE HAVE A NAME?*

"Saul." She said a bit sheepish.

The name sounded familiar but she couldn't put a face to it. *WELL, I WISH YOU LUCK WITH THAT. ESPECIALLY SINCE A SOCIAL LIFE FOR YOU MEANS LESS PESTERING OF ME.*

"You wish." Bran grinned. "I am like a bulldog, I never let go." She winked at the other woman.

Ella found herself laughing. *THERE'S HOPE FOR YOU YET, BRANWEN.

"The Happiness Patrol"

Ensign Emily Fellbaum, JAG Officer

Samanth Widdlestein, Moral Officer

********************

Samantha Widdlestein, child genius, looked down the corridor and shook her head. Ever since the Christmas that almost wasn't- and she was reminded that the presents, despite all her efforts, had been seriously limited- and the Great Memory Exchange- Samantha would never look at a Vulcan the same way again, perverts- she had taken it upon herself to be the USS Galaxy's very own cheer counselor.

For purely altruistic reasons of course. Her birthday was in a few months and it never hurt to campaign early.

"You there!" She yelled, rounding on the first person she saw. "It's time to let the past go, my friend. Have a cupcake and cheer the hell up." The girl handed out a large muffin with pink frosting spelling out the words 'Smile.'

Emily Fellbaum had been busy reading PADDs while walking down the corridor back towards her office, now she had a pink muffin sitting on her PADD and a perplexed look on her face. "Er... Thanks..." she said as she looked down at the girl. "I think..."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Don't think, just eat the muffin"

Emily hesitantly took a bite of the muffin. Surprisingly enough, it was delicious! "MMmmmmm! This is good!" she said with a big smile. "Thank you."

Samantha grinned. "Be happy!" She turned to leave.

"What are you up to today?" Emily asked the little girl.

"I'm beginning a campagin to bring joy throughout the ship. The Captain has appointed me the bringer of joy." Or he would shortly, she thought.

"Oh really?" Emily asked with an amused expression on her face. "Just don't get in any trouble, I'd hate to charge you with a crime now." she said jokingly.

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Do I look like a criminal? I'm providing a public service, lady."

"I didn't mean to imply anything. Just telling you to be careful, that's all."

"You can help if you want." Sam said with an official air. "I have balloons."

"Sure, why not. I could always had them out of my office. Seems like everyone is there lately."

Sam was suspicious, since she usually had to drag these people screaming to do what she wanted, but she gave her the ballons anyway. "Don't suppose you know how to make ballon animals."

"Er... no, can't say that I do."

"Thanks for being so helpful. I'll make sure to include it in my official report." Samantha said. "Here take an extra cupcake for being cool. You look like you could use a couple of pounds."

"Hey!" Emily said, looking down at her figure. She didn't think she was THAT thin.

"Thanks again." Sam yelled over her shoulder as she skipped around a corner.

"No problem..." Emily said, absent mindely taking another bite of muffin as she continued down the corridor. ~I need a couple of pounds!?~

"Little Ray of Sunshine"

Lieutenant Corran Rex
Samantha Widdlestien

Having run out of her cupcakes- she could hardly be blamed for eating the last two, spreading the joy was exhausting work- Samantha Widdlestein was now onto buttons. She tried to match the button to the personality but some were harder than most. She had finally settled for a blue button that read "Spank my ass if I'm hot" for Mr. Corgan and a green "Watch out for that T-Rex" for that young William fellow.

Samantha had gravely given the Captain a purple "You are my sunshine" button and that grumpy Savoie fellow had received a yellow "F**k you and have a nice day."

The girl looked at Corran Rex speculatively.

Corran was walking the corridors rather aimlessly, felling more than a little useless, and wondering how long it would be before something sucked him into a memory of a past life. He very nearly missed the small girl who was watching him, and raised an eyebrow when he finally saw her. "What're you doing, Sam?"

"I'm helping everyone get their happiness back, Uncle Corran." Samantha replied. She only 'uncled' and 'aunted' the ones she liked, or the ones she knew that it really pissed off. "This ship has become the USS Gloom these days."

He gave the girl an honest chuckle at that. "With everything that's gone on the last few months, I won't disagree. So what've you got?"

"I'm passing out happy buttons. Want a "Here with stupid" button?"

Briefly he thought of Vorrin's voice inside his head. "I'll pass."

"How about a peace sign?"

"Got anything that's not a pipe dream?"

"'Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most?'" Sam replied. "I got a couple of those. Or how about 'Im holding myself hostage, give me all your chocolate and no one gets hurt.'"

The Trill laughed openly again. "I'll take the first one."

‘Conversations’

Lieutenant Ella Gray
Ensign Colby Elliot

Colby hadn’t been back on the Galaxy for long, long enough to get back into the swing of his duties but not long enough to lose himself in them. Then again maybe he never had been, maybe that was just nostalgia. Maybe he was just looking back on his time here, the time before his trip home, with rose colored glasses. Colby shook his head, that was bullshit and he knew it, everything had changed and he had been the one to change it and it was too late to change it. Why change it? He did what he had to do; he had kept his end of the bargain, kept his word.

“Fuck me,” Colby said aloud as he moved in his chair. He had been leaning back, his thoughts drifting, but with his swearing he leaned forward and shook his head.

“I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you,” Hilary said, his head bobbing in that arrogant little tilt.

“I bet,” Colby replied with infinite sarcasm and looked at his watch, “I’m taking off,” he said standing up and unzipping the over tunic, exposing the gold tunic beneath. “You can handle the operations office for me right?”

Hilary would have objected, either to Colby’s leaving or to his ordering him around but the big bastard had said those magic words and Hilary couldn’t resist taking command of Operations, even if it was for the lest ten minutes of the shift. “You can’t wait ten minutes?” He asked arrogantly, all the while hoping he would leave.

Colby smiled, “I need to go to engineering and talk to someone before they the shift ends.”

“Oh god, can’t you just send her a message to make your little date?” Hilary asked with a little head giggle.

“I,” Colby paused and shook his head, “I don’t remember her last name and who knows how many people have the same name on this damn ship.” Colby explained then headed for the door.

“You really are an idiot you know,” Hilary called at Colby as he left.

Colby just gave Hilary the finger and left the operations office, stepping into the turbolift. “Main engineering.” The life moved through the ship and its doors opened on main engineering. Colby hesitated in the lift a moment then moved out into the room. Moving among the other officers and looking around. He remembered her face, remembered her name, Ella, but couldn’t remember her last name, Black or White or something like that. He could have asked but he felt like a jackass asking for ‘the girl with the padd’.

There she is, Colby thought to himself as he moved closer to the warp core and the stations set near the ship’s power source. “Uh, hey,” Colby said, “Its Colby, I’m back.” He said, god that sounded lame.

Ella looked up at him and smiled. She got out her ever faithful computer PADD and wrote a message for him.

*WHY, YES YOU ARE*

Colby watched as she typed on the padd and was a little relieved to she her using it. He felt he had aged ten years since the last time he saw her and he half expected her to just say hi and while hearing her voice would have been nice it would have served to make him feel that much older and that much more like he was coming back in the middle of the movie.

Ella was smiling. She'd liked Colby right away and had missed talking with him. *I'M OFF IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET SOME DINNER?*

Smiling Colby nodded, “I’d like that, yeah.” Colby looked around then added, “I’ll just stand right here and try to stay out of everyone’s way while you finish up if that’s alright with you.”

She tilted her head to one side and regarded him.

Colby folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the bulkhead as he watched Ella finish her duties and watched the other engineers as they moved about the room.

*YOU LOOK TIRED, THAT'S ALL. LET ME JUST GO LET THEM KNOW I'M LEAVING.*

Colby looked up surprised then smiled, “Sorry, drifted off,” he said running a big hand through his hair. Colby watched as Ella talked to the other officers; once she was done he followed her out of engineering and down the corridor.

She nudged him with her computer PADD as they walked. *GOING TO TELL ME ABOUT IT?*

“It’s kind of a long story,” Colby said with a shrug as the two moved down the corridor. “I don’t want to bore you with it,” he said then added, “But if you want I can tell you.” He wasn’t sure just how much of it he would tell her but he did feel comfortable talking about some of it, which was a surprise to him, after it had happened he didn’t intend to tell anyone.

Ella grinned. *WE'RE GOING TO MY QUARTERS. AND DONT GET THE WRONG IDEA, I JUST DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THIS WAS A TEN FORWARD DISCUSSION.*

Stepping into Ella’s quarters Colby looked around for a chair, “Do you mind if I sit down?”

Ella shook her head.

Sitting down Colby put his hands behind his head and leaned back, lounging in the chair. “So how has the Galaxy been without me?” Colby asked, not trying to avid his own story but just trying to put it off for a time.

*ALLRIGHT I GUESS. I WAS GONE FOR AWHILE AS WELL. GOT STRANDED ON A PLANET*

Colby cocked his head to one side, “how was that?” he asked, not meaning to stay away from the topic of himself but it happening anyway.

Ella smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. *LOADS OF FUN. A LITTLE LIKE CAMPING IN THE SAHARA. SO, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU.*

Elliot sighed and shook his head, it must have been written all over his face. He had fooled himself into believing that if he held himself like he always did, if he did his job and didn’t think about it the facts would go away and he wouldn’t have to worry about them. That they would remain buried in the plains of Nebraska. But he could see now that wasn’t the truth, the truth was he was wearing his feelings on his sleeve for all to see and unlike Chris Coxen he wasn’t any kind of actor and for him saying it was nothing wouldn’t sound real. It was something. “Well,” Colby began, as he sighed he sounded like the weight of the entire world sat on his chest, “I left before the ship went into Breen space but this starts earlier then that, it started when I was just a kid.” Colby broke off and raised his eyebrows, “you sure you’re ready to listen to a long story?”

Ella nodded and then typed a message. *LET'S HAVE IT.*

Colby took a deep breath, bringing in a lot of air and holding it in his lungs for a while before letting it slip out slowly between his lips. He looked to Ella and smile as he rubbed his leg with his left hand as if conjuring memories, he shrugged then began. “I’ll start at the beginning, when I was little, as far back as I can remember, I can remember my father’s drinking,” Colby paused, “And his abuse.” Pulling up the sleeve of his shirt Colby pointed to long blister-like marks on his right forearm. Colby covered them back up then laughed, “I used to tell people it was initiation into the football team, man they thought I was the shit after that.” He said shaking his head, his tone giving away how trivial he felt it all had become. “My dad would hit me and my mom when he was sober and hit us harder when he was drunk. Wanting to stand up to him I got the dream of being a football player,” he smiled and shook his head, “So I took bulk shakes and went from one sixty to two hundred and five,” he nodded, “and I was fast, ran across that fucking field.” Colby bit his bottom lip as a tear ran down his face, he shook his head, “But none of it mattered, the more I did it the more proud he got of me, he had bad knees so he couldn’t keep up his own game and when he was proud of me he wasn’t hitting me, so I just kept lying to myself to make him happy.”

Ella didn't know what to say to this so she moved to take his hand in hers.

“I got spotted by a college in Lincoln and we moved there,” Colby said then sniffed back the running of his nose as his tears began to flow more freely, “I told myself it was my dream and that I was making it, that my dad wasn’t that bad and that he would get better, that my mom would be fine. I was running away and I lied to myself until I didn’t even see it.” Colby stopped talking and for a long moment just sat silently then let out a long sigh, “And then it was all over.”

She moved her hand long enough to write the message. *WHAT HAPPENED?*

“This guy wanted our team to lose,” Colby said shrugging, “I mean he wanted us to lose and he knew I was a big part of the team so he came to me.” Colby smiled and shook his head, “so I threw the game and he gave me a wad of cash to do. I just didn’t care anymore, I wasn’t in it,” he laughed, “I wasn’t part of what was supposed to be my future, so I said fuck it. After the game I spent a lot of time driving home, took the long way a few times over and I did a lot of thinking while I did it, I knew I could get out on my own but mom,” Colby wiped away fresh tears with his free hand, “So I gave my mom the money and told her to leave, told her she had to get out she said she would. After that I packed my shit and got out of there.” Colby said firmly, at that point everything seemed to have worked, he was gone and so was his mom, they were free from the beatings of Colby’s father. “Before I left I got word,” Colby stopped and shook his head, trying to continue but not quite being able to, “I,” he paused again, “I got word that my mom had died so I went to the funeral, it was back home.”

~~I'm so sorry~~ Ella signed, wondering if he would be able to understand. Then she hugged him because, that act was simple enough. She rubbed his back and held him tightly.

Colby just sat motionless at let Ella hug him for a long time before putting a hand on her back and returning the gesture. Colby sniffed a little then tried for a smile, “Thanks for listening, sorry to drop all this shit on you.”

*HEY, WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR?*

Colby smiled, “Helping you move, loaning you change for the snack machine, maybe letting you know not to date someone because they are nothing but trouble. I don’t know, I’m just not used to talking about myself,” he paused, “especially my past.”

*YES, I CAN SYMPATHIZE WITH THAT.* Ella wrote. *AND OFTEN SO DIFFICULT TO BRING UP IN CONVERSATION. I MEAN, ONE CAN HARDLY SAY 'HI, HOW ARE YOU AND BY THE WAY I'VE HAD AN EXTREMELY MESSED UP CHILDHOOD, DO YOU THINK IT MIGHT RAIN TODAY?*

Colby laughed at that, it wasn’t a forced laugh but a genuine one and it felt good to do it. “Yeah,” Colby said with a grin, “I had an abusive drunk father, could you pass the Tabasco sauce?”

*I'M GLAD YOU'RE BACK, COLBY.*

“Thanks,” Colby said as he read the message on Ella’s padd, “I’m glad to be back. Even though where I went used to be home,” he shook his head as he recalled walking down the gravel drive way and looking at all the places he used to play as a child, “It didn’t feel like home, it felt like a copy of home, it wasn’t quite exact but very close to the real thing.” Colby shrugged, “I don’t know if that makes any sense.”

Ella nodded. *YES, I UNDERSTAND. I THINK THAT MINE STARTED TO FEEL THAT WAY THOUGH WHEN I TURNED THIRTEEN. WORLDS JUST NOT THE SAME ONCE YOUR A TEENAGER. ARE YOU FEELING UP FOR DINNER?*

Colby wondered what had happened to her when she was thirteen that changed the world, he wondered if it was anything like his rusted shovel and while he wanted to know and wanted to ask he decided it might not be a good idea. If she showed him hers he might have to show her his and that wasn’t something he wanted to do. Nodding Colby said, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

"What's a memory swap between enemies, part three"

(backpost)

Ella
Angie

***

"Mouse!" She looked down at the evaporating image in her arms. "Get out of my thoughts," Angelienia snapped.

Ella narrowed her eyes at the other woman. She hadn't wanted to witness the memory in the first place.

"This is *your* fault," the pilot hissed again, wiping tears away from angry green eyes. "Get out - stay away from my memories."

The engineer gestured angrily, pointed at her forehead and then shook her head and waved her hands in an almost 'your out' baseball move. I don't want your memories, Ella wished she could have told the woman

"You did this to me," Angelienia hissed again, "with your memories of caves and pain. I wouldn't have to be here again if not for you."

Ella felt her stomach roll but kept her expression angry. ~~None of us have any control of our memories, you idiot.~~ she signed.

The Ktarian pilot stood, her tattered dress falling away into her normal uniform as she did. "Stop waving your fingers at me like a bowl of gaak and speak - I know you can, even if it's only to squeak in pity so He notices you."

~~This conversation is SO over.~~ Ella replied, her fingers snarling at the Ktarian.

"Do you even know what happened to him while you were away, yet?" Angelienia taunted. "Or are you still scuttling along the walls of the ship, afraid to ask? Have you talked to your friend? Did she tell you who it was that saved him when he was being overrun by the Hydrans?"

Ella stormed into her quarters and was not surprised when she followed. *GET OUT* Ella wrote on the first available computer PADD. She hoped that Indigo didn't have anything saved on it, she thought it might be a long conversation.

"You don't, do you?" The Ktarian's smile was pure predator.

*CHRIST, NO I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. OTHER THAN HE GOT A HOLE BIGGER THAN A MAN'S FIST PUT INTO HIM SOMEHOW.*

"Ask your friend, the Vulcan that tries to pretend she isn't one" Angelieni prompted tauntingly. "She knows. She van even tell you who saved him when the Hydrans came for him." She tilted her head to the side in an obvious imitation of one of Victor's mannerisms. "What about the Away Team mission to Breen? Do you know what happened there?"

Ella stood there fuming. Of course she didn't.

Angelienia laughed. "Ask one of the others that was there. The counselor with the pet cat, the other one in the float chair, any of them. They all know."

The engineer lifted a cool eyebrow. *I'LL JUST ASK VICTOR WHEN HE COMES BACK... TO ME.*

"Ha! He will have forgotten you thrice over by then."

*TRUTH IS HARD, ISN'T IT ANGIE? WE MAY BE ONLY FRIENDS BUT ITS MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER HAVE.*

"If that is what you choose to believe, Mouse," Angelienia said with an acid hiss. "But to come back to either of us, he must come back at all." For a moment, genuine concern moved through the Ktarian's eyes and displaced the venom-tinged anger that filled them. "His injuries had not healed when he left with the Klingon woman, and there has been no word in weeks."

*WELL, SORRY YOU HAVE SO LITTLE FAITH IN HIM, HONEY, BUT HE'LL BE JUST FINE*

The concern in Angelienia's eyes vanished in a blink. "Perhaps so, Mouse. But if so, it will be no thanks to either of us, will it? It will be the Klingon woman that's there to help him, and care for him, and protect him... and give him what he needs."

And didn't that just hit the right button. *PLEASE LEAVE BEFORE I HAVE SECURITY THROW YOUR ASS OUT*

"As you like, Mouse," the Ktarian laughed. "But do ask those others what happened, do find out - you might be surprised by what you learn..."

Ella was certain that she was going though with the operation now, if only to be able to swear her little head off at the Ktarian woman. Easier than hurling the computer PADD at the woman.

Ella flipped her off as she left.

"The Data Magician"

Ensign Saul Bental

The Vulcan NCO rubbed his chin repeatedly. He seemed aloof, indifferent to the silence that now filled the dimly-lit office. Light from the displays around them highlighted his jet-black hair.

"Analytical. Scientific. Logical. Everything that happens, has a reason and falls within a logical pattern. By meditating on the right model, I believe you can reach a conclusion and determine the next logical step."

Saul shook his head. This interview was much, much different from the previous one with DiMillo. The Vulcan petty officer was a tranquil, logical Vulcan, his demeanor almost mechanic. He didn't move a single unecessery muscle, and his face remained frozen for the better part of the interview.

"I disagree."

"You do." The Vulcan replied, in a matter-of-fact way. Saul was about to thank him and ask him kindly to leave the door open on the way out, when the Vulcan added, "Why?"

Saul straightened in his chair. "Simple. I disagree because Intelligence is first about sentient beings. Me. You. The queen of Holland. And most sentient beings don't always follow logic, thus they are not easily predictable. People do illogical things."

"And you don't expect a Vulcan to comprehend and acknowledge this fact."

"At the risk of being a racist, yes. I think that as someone who came from a culture and a race based on very logical thought pathways and behavior, it is hard for you to deal with it."

"Nonetheless, I think that in the macro level, the level in which most of the analyst are dealing, every action has its reason and every action can be predicted, even if that action is taken by illogical beings."

"I think sentient beings can be illogical on the macro level as well." Saul was beginning to enjoy himself. "Take Bajor for example. Let's assume the two of us are Bajorans, and let's assume we live on Bajor during the occupation. On the personal level, we are subjugated by a ruthless species, probably forced to do hard labor with no personal security and with little revenue for ourselves. We're hungry, we're dirty, we're overpowered, and our uncle was killed yesterday because some spoonhead think he was part of a resistance while he wasn't. What would be the logical step in that situation?"

"Improve your situation and life quality. This can be achieved by either immigrating, getting the better side of the conqueror or perhaps serving him."

"And yet, the resistance was formed. Against all logic, against all chances." Saul slammed his left fist into his open palm. "Why would a person join a resistance movement when he knows that it was an almost certain death warrant, and that one person probably won't make a difference in the grand scheme of things? It's illogical."

"Some species are more altruistic than others. If there Ferengi were occupied, I assure you that there would not be any resistance… unless someone would pay generously for it."

Saul raised his eyebrows. "Chief Seren, did you just make a joke?"

The Vulcan petty officer's face remained frozen. "If you think that all Vulcans are incapable of basic humour, than you are a racist. You should not let your perspective be altered by prejudice, just like I should not let my perspective be skewed by my constant search for a logical pattern."

"You are more than right." Saul agreed. "Tell me – a rather offensive question, if I may – how comes you're an enlisted man, and not a commissioned officer?"

If the Vulcan was offended, it wasn't visible. "I did not take the Academy exams, and never had any intention to become a commissioned officer."

"Surely, you had the potential."

"Very few do. It would be vanity to assume I could pass the tests. But if I wanted to be a commissioned officer, I would have tried to pass them."

"But you didn't." Saul remained quiet for a moment. "Why?"

"Because I did not need to become a commissioned officer in order to do the job I was interested in, the job I am doing right now."

Saul glanced at his console to make sure, although he knew what job that was. "Informatician."

"Yes. While you may argue that a completely logical person is not the perfect data analyst – an argument I'm not yet convinced by – you would agree that an Informatician must be first and foremost a logical being in order to be successful."

Saul smiled. The man was right. Why work four hard years if you do a six-months course and get the job you want? Chief Seren's choice was very rational. "You need to think like a computer to make the computer work for you."

"Yes. The orderly way in which large amounts of data are organized, and the logical solutions applied in order to find the exact information needed by the searcher are.. fascinating."

"Let's see what you got, then." Saul grinned mischievously. "Half the department outside is working on gathering information about the vessel. I would like to know everything you can tell me about it."

"Some of it is gray." The Vulcan said calmly, and remained still while the officer in front of him broke into almost hysterical laughter. "If you want more specific facts, you'll have to be more specific."

"OK, OK." Saul said, barely holding himself from laughing again. "Fair enough. I am interested in basic specifications, in the owner, and in any detail which could tell us how comes this seemingly-regular ship reached the situation it is in now."

Without a single uneccessery word, the Vulcan chief took a helmet-like device and placed it on his head. One hazel eye remained visible, fixed on Saul's face. The other was obscured behind a purplish monocular display protruding from the helmet. The Vulcan reached a nearby computer station, and text began to fill its display.

"I'm gaining access to the sensors' data, and to our local databases. The chances to find information on those databases are low since otherwise one of our colleagues would have found the information already. Therefore, I'm sending search requests to nearby Starfleet posts via subspace."

Saul watched the Vulcan, fascinated. Seren worked at superhuman speed, and the text on the display danced, shifted and transformed like liquid in a centrifuge.

"Antares-class freighter, according to our local Tactical databases. Cross-examining… OK, it fits, although it is slightly modified."

"I rarely saw a freighter not 'slightly modified' by its crew. You need max efficiency to get max profit." Saul indicated. "Tell me something new."

"Does the name of the vessel or its owner count as something new?"

"Yes!" Saul almost shouted. Outside the room, three men including CPO C'hitah were working their asses to get that exact information. "How did you find it?"

"Border patrol databases, criminal subsection. Freighters are less an interest to Starfleet, especially those who aren’t limited to a specific sector. This one is named the SS Danner's fold, and the owner is a Naausican. Captain Stravo."

"What can you tell me about this captain?" Saul leaned closer.

"I sent several search requests, including a union of… I will not burden you with technical details. I don't have an answer yet, but he and this ship did have problems with the law. Charges of weapons-smuggling were dropped. Twice. One of them in the outlands, the other I'm still gathering information about."

"Smugglers. Medicore smugglers." Saul shrugged. Good smugglers wouldn't be charged with gun-running even once. "Can we be sure he's a smuggler? Perhaps someone pulled a trick on him, it is not uncommon and Nausicaans aren't known as the most untrickable species out there."

"Racism again.", Seren indicated.

"Sorry… and yet."

"Well, I can tell you that Starfleet Intelligence is pretty sure of it. His file on the border patrol database says that they suspect it and keep a close eye on him."

"Not close enough." Saul muttered. "Check the latest cargo certificates."

It took a short while, but then the Vulcan said, "You can see it on the screen to your left. The cargo is exotic fruit. Details are on the screen."

Saul glanced at the screen, and his face turned slightly pale. "Impossible."

"I do not believe that the certificates are wrong. I pulled them from…"

"Most of the cargo is Panajooa, a fruit that is very, very light. I could carry ten bags full of Panajooa over one shoulder effortlessly. In fact, it would take a ship with three or four times more cargo space than an Antares class to store Panajooa fruit weighting as much as the cargo records say. Do you know which cargo weighting this much would fit into this ship perfectly?"

"Enlighten me." Seren said calmly, although Saul could see the Vulcan already knew what answer was coming.

"Weapons." The Intelligence officer said grimly.

"The Seven-Percent Solution."

Ensign Airaul Taern, Tactical Officer

Watching the dark red liquid fill the finely crafted silver goblet, Airaul sat mesmerised for a long moment. A wave of weariness washed over the ex-soldier as he sat back with a long and heartfelt sigh, yet it was only to be expected. Nimble fingers lifted the Janitz, and he took a deep breath to experience the heady, sweet aroma that somehow managed to be both calming and uplifting.

The potent drink was from his homeworld, a fruit infused alcohol that was used in both religious ceremony and festivities. It was during his time as an Initiate Priest that he had discovered the pleasures of indulging on the intoxicating refreshment and had become attached all too easily to the warming effects it offered.

However, now, as the tip of a gentle finger stroked the chilled silver of the goblet, it was the content's rejuvenating qualities Airaul was after...as well as having a hope that it would ease the muscles across his shoulders and neck that felt as if they were wound so tight they would snap. The first mouthful was always the best, and Airaul savoured the warmth that surged through him as he took it.

His tense fatigue was nothing unusual, but this time, the cause was. The memory and reality shifts that had seemed to plague the majority of the crew. At first he had thought he was going mad, and as selfish as it was, he was relieved when he had found out that the rest of the crew were experiencing similar things. It was the disorientation that tired him more than anything...the constant having to catch up with himself as he moved 'to and fro' through different realities, and even different view points.

Despite what should have been rather logical, instead of growing more accustomed to the sudden changes and so becoming better equipped to adjust to them, they felt as if they were becoming even more unsettling and disorientating. Perhaps it was the increasing strain of trying to keep up with it all whilst remaining sane that just made it seem as if it was becoming more disorientating. It was hard to tell.

And of course, there were the effects of reliving memories, some of which would be far better kept in the past. As was the way of life, some were good memories, some were not so good, and some were positively bad. A reasonable part of Airaul's mind had, over the years, tried to convince him that some such events in the past can't really have been as all bad as they had seemed at the time...and yet reliving them only seemed to reinforce how harrowing some of it really had been...but also how amazing other parts had been too.

Counsellors had been a foreign concept to Airaul when he had joined Starfleet. Any issues that those on his homeworld may have had were eased either by comforting or wise words from the Priests, Initiate Priests and friends. Aubians had no one like therapists or counsellors to specifically deal with them, and neither would anyone have time to in the middle of a raging, three way civil war, and his people had always been raised to be independent and deal with their own problems instead of burdening others with them. Yet, if the people of the Federation often managed to get themselves caught up in such messes as the strange circumstances causing the current reality and memory shifts, then he was one step closer to understanding the need for counsellors and their purpose.

After topping up his drink, Airaul reached a stiff arm out to the small bowl next to it. He gripped the delicate spoon, easing it up to tip a heap of fine white powder into the dark crimson liquid, watching the brief fizz it caused. Airaul had learnt a lot about medicines and poisons in his years as an Initiate Priest, medical duties being a large part of his expected tasks. Halna was a powder that could be used effectively as a poison, but if mixed in just the right amounts with Janitz, it worked the opposite way, to lift the person brave enough to risk it. Airaul had done it so much over his life that there really wasn't that much risk involved anymore, and as he eased back in his chair, stretching his arm languidly above his head as he took a well needed sip to guard against the tiredness of both mind and body, he hoped that there wouldn't be more disturbances any time soon.

"Please Fasten Your Seatbelts, Put Out Your Cigarettes."

Commander Cassius Henderson, Executive Officer/Away Team Leader
Commander Karyn Dallas, Chief Counselor/Away Team First Officer
Lieutenant Cutter Kara'nin, Chief of Astrophysics
Lieutenant Brianna O'Shea, Chief Engineer, SCE Liaison
Lieutenant Jasmine Heloi, Vanguard Squadron XO/Assistant Chief of Astrophysics
Lieutenant JG Cora Dobryin, Chief Intelligence Officer
Lieutenant JG Claire Barnes, Security Officer/Hazard Team Member
2nd Lieutenant Branwen London, SFMC Psychologist, Furies
Ensign Tizarin Lias, Medical Officer
Ensign Miramon Terrik, Flight Controller
Attache Nyssa Alverez, Federation Liaison Officer

****

Runabout Guadalupe,
Deep Space,
0.5 Lightseconds Off
USS Galaxy Shuttlebay

As the shuttle had emerged from the main bay of the Galaxy, emerging into the background of space, it was a pretty simple job to keep the runabout stable and steady as she progressed towards the stricken freighter that the ship had encountered, that which was likely, at least in part, responsible for all the recent problems aboard ship. Since he'd not attended anything other than the basic mission briefing, Miramon couldn't be certain as to precisely what it was they were looking for, but then, his job at this stage was to get them to their destination and back again.

Jasmine Heloi's fingers played across the console as she helped direct the runabout through the tricky displacement waves. The freighter was generating enough 'chop' to cause the runabout to rock slightly each time a correction was made in their course. The Betazoid had firmly anchored her mind in the 'now' in an attempt to avoid any further 'memory jumping' during the piloting of the shuttle. Glancing at Miramon Terrik, who she'd given the primary job of piloting, she took comfort in the fact that at least she would be able to take over from her co-pilot should that occur for him, but she still had misgivings should she find herself in someone else's memories. What was it to say that others might not be stuck in memories of their own?

She firmly told herself not to dwell on the idea as she keyed the intercom, "Ladies and Gents, we're almost within range of the freighter. We'll be docking shortly."

"Thank you, Miss Heloi," Cass Henderson said, then turned back to the assembled away team, geared up for the insertion onto the freighter. Cass had his misgivings about inserting onto the ship, but if somebody was going to do it, he felt like it should probably be him.

The team before him had a wide array of skills, which he appreciated. It was, however, a little too large. But that could be fixed. "Listen up, ladies and gentlemen. We're about ten minutes out from the freighter. When we board the freighter, I'm going to split us up into teams, with specific purposes."

"Mr. Miramon and Attache Alverez are going to be staying with the shuttle. Terrik, I want you to keep the shuttle ready for extraction at a moment's notice. Nyssa, you'll be providing security for the shuttle. I don't need to impress upon you both the importance of keeping the back door open."

"Lieutenant Kara'nin and Lieutenant Heloi will be the second team onto the ship, and your goal will be to determine what's happening to cause the distortion of the warp field. If possible, find a way to reverse it, but report in before you do. Lieutenant Barnes, you'll be with them for security."

Cutter glanced over at the two women who would be accompanying him, trying to take his mind off the few body switches he had experienced. One, the Betazoid, was co-piloting. She had just put in for a transfer into his department before this incident, as a physicist. He was immediately skeptical - she was a fighter pilot and, though he did not know her, assumed she thought higher of herself than she should. Daniel had a way frightening off the less dedicated researchers, perhaps he would stick her under his supervision. She had to have been better than the other gun-thumper he had to baby-sit. He eyed Claire warily, counting the guns she was carrying to hide her feminity.

"Lieutenant O'Shea, you and Counselor Dallas will be headed to Main Engineering. Karyn, as the team XO, you'll be responsible for keeping me informed about what's happening in Main Engineering. O'Shea, you need to look into the warp distortion from an engineering perspective. Coordinate with Kara'nin if you need to."

Karyn offered Cass a nod of acknowledgement and looked over to make eye contact with O'Shea. A part of her wished she could simply see to the needs of the crew, as that was her strength, but she realized that would simply be staying within her comfort zone. Her role as Second Officer required her to take on more responsibilty and to see the big picture in what she was doing.

"London, you and Ensign Lias are the last team onto the ship. You're responsible for locating and tending to the crew of the freighter. Lieutenant London, you'll be doubling as security and psychology for that group. I shouldn't have to say this, but keep your wits about you. We have no idea what this freighter was doing that got it caught in the middle of all this. Be skeptical, but follow your oathes."

"Yes sir, understood sir." Branwen replied crisply, standing at attention all the time. This would be the time where she could show what she was worth.

"Dobryin, you're with me. We'll be headed to the bridge to take control of the situation," he turned to face the slightly smaller woman, "We'll be figuring out the answer to that question of what was this ship doing here and why. If anyone needs me, they know how to contact me. Any questions?"

Miramon shook his head, his __expression serious but at the same time reflecting a perfect outward calm, ironic given that he ought to have been feeling anything but calm, since the team might have to depart within a moment's notice, and he was the one responsible for that duty. Still, his inward concerns over being able to manage that and his external appearance were two different things. He just hoped nobody noticed.

"No, Sir."

He glanced over at Alvarez and smiled nervously. They were the only two to remain aboard the shuttle, so theoretically, theirs was the easy job. They didn't need to worry about being shot at or anything of the form, or so he hoped. Good thing everyone was carrying phasers.

Anna looked up hearing Henderson speak toward her. She nodded and then looked over toward Karyn and wondered what in the world could a counselor do in engineering? Granted she was command level, but did she have the actual hands on time it required? Looking back down at the tricorder in her hands she looked down at the warp signature she was monitoring from the freighter, she'd never seen warp drive throw off a signature like that. She wouldn't know anything until she got her eyes on the warp drive itself. Brianna remained quiet, having no questions.

"An excellent plan, number one." the inflection was Darren M'Kantu. But the voice belonged to Tizarin Lias. "Now, let's deploy and complete our mission." the Trill froze, as she spoke. Her eyes as big as saucepans. "What the hell.... Um... sorry, everyone. I think I just borrowed the Captain's thoughts for a moment. We have definitely gotta stop this."

Cora had no questions as usual. They all had a job to do. She knew exactly what her's was and would carry it out to the best of her ability.

Cass nodded, appreciating the displaced approval. "It's okay, Miss Lias. Concentrate on the senses of the moment, and you'll be more anchored."

"Thank you." Tizarin said, smiling so that her round face looked even more youthful than usual. "My symbiont helps, some, too. Because Lias has it's own consciousness. That doesn't seem to be effected."

Back in her seat, Claire went through her weapons again, checking power cells were full and that she had spares. She knew that the others may think she was packing way too much in the way of ammo, but she was just preparing for what could happen. If things went up shit creek, she wanted to be ready to hand anything out to anything in the way... Like crispy limbs..

Jasmine sent a flurry of detailed sensor readouts to Miramon as they approached the docking point with the freighter, "Keep an eye out for that spur," she said, pointing out the problem, "The OMS thrusters should be able to keep the drift down, but I don't want that spur giving us an up close and personal experience of the outside air."

Henderson nodded once everyone fell silent, "Okay ladies and gentlemen. Strap in and expect turbulance on the way in. Mr. Kara'nin, I need you to keep an eye on the freighter's internal environment. I don't want to send my team into something that could kill them right out the door. Mr. Miramon, head to their topside airlock."

Miramon nodded and readjusted the controls, checking sensors to get a precise reading as to the location of the airlock, so they could dock as appropriate. He was a little annoyed at Jasmine's correction of his piloting technique. She might have been older, but Miramon had been a pilot for a good 13 years. That hardly made him open to a minor error like that one. Still, he cleared his irritation off and concentrated on getting the shuttle's alignment correct.

"Coming up on the airlock. Preparing docking clamps..."

The shuttle closed in on the airlock and after a slight shudder of the smaller craft, the clamps grasped onto the freighter and secured themselves to allow the crew to disembark and board the freighter as soon as they were ready.

"Okay, we're good to go."

Cutter stood and accessed the shuttles meager sensors, running several tale-tale experiments he and Daniel had decided upon earlier. After bearing, for several moments, the eyes of the others upon his back, he turned and said, "I do not believe reality has shifted enough, yet, that our existence would be threatened. Chemistry still seems to be functioning much like we would expect it to, but I cannot test for everything. We may not notice anything different at all, since we will adapt to those laws of physics, but we should be prepared for odd effects."

Tizarin took up her medical kit, and moved to kneel by Branwen's seat. "Just stick close to me..." she said. "That way I'll feel safe." and she smiled. But her mind was on Madison. All the while that Tizarin had been preparing for this mission all she could think of Is that it was her first away mission aboard the Galaxy. Now that it came down to it, all she could think of was the lovely ambassador's daughter that she knew she loved, more than anything else in the universe.

"yes ma'am." Bran said formally. She had full marine armes on her. And she would take her duty of protecting her friend very seriously.

Claire moved forwards to the airlock, turning the safety off her photon rifle as she held it ready, "Commander Henderson, permission to do a sweep for hostiles, sir."

Karyn had begun unfastening the restraints that had kept her in place within the shuttle. Her adrenaline was coursing through her veins, and with Claire's simple request, Karyn was once again reminded there was a very good chance she would not be coming back alive.

Anna unfastened her restraints and stood up. "Commander," She said to Karyn. "Can you carry this?" Anna asked, handing her a engineering kit. "We might need it." Anna explained as she picked up two more in one each hand. "Once we are through, we'll need to find the quickest route to the freighters engineering section." She said to her team partner. Anna then looked around, "You all tricorders probably aren't going to work over there, there's going to be to much distortion... I suspect combadges aren't going to work either." She said then looked at Henderson.

Claire grinned, glad that she was prepared as she switched weapons to the TR-116 projectile rifle, "Sir, phaser-based weapons may or may not be as effective too. This will still work though. Nothing stops solid slugs."

Cutter watched as the O'Shea help the councellor from her seat. She was wearing her exo-skeleton, a cumbersome device that was strapped to the entirety of her frame. He did not envy her; he had already experienced the shock of losing his wings switching into the bodies of other humanoids, he didn't want to know what it felt like to live with her restricted movement. "Tricorders won't work fully, but they'll still have some functionality, basic charge detection, magnetics, light detection. Atomic recognition is unlikely. The basic properties--"

"--of light seem to be affected least, so if we switch our communicators to pure radio mode, they should work. There has to be an unblocked path in order for them to recieve, so we should leave all doors open..." Cutter continued, but his voice fell silent as he noticed curious stares from the rest of the shuttle. His confused eyes searched thiers for clues until he saw his own. His own? His blue eyes were wide with disorientation, shock and fear and they were looking at him. He flexed his wings, an instinctual fly away move, but the muscles weren't there.

"Councellor?" Cass asked. His head jerked around as the winged science officer responded behind him. "Lieutenant Kara'nin?"

"Thekh," Karyn's body muttered before her breathing rapidly increased to the point of hyperventilating, "Ka tu." Her head looked down, examining her own body, but it was no longer Karyn Dallas who occupied it.

Jasmine had just exited the cockpit when she witnessed the rather startling changes in Karyn Dallas and in Cutter. Admittedly, she did not know either officer well but the body language was completely wrong for either one. 'This entire situation is completely goram crazy,' she thought.

Previous experience had taught COra to keep her guard up when entering an unknown situation. This time was no different. She'd spent the trip out making any necessary final preparations. They had hit the point of no return the moment their shuttle departed Galaxy.

"They're switched " Tizarin spoke up. "I thought, maybe the effects would lessen as we got farther away from the Galaxy. But... it may be just the opposite. Can you two... function this way ?"

Nyssa looked and smiled thinking that she could add this to the list of strange things she's seen in the universe. "Well regardless there going to have to aren't they?" Nyssa responded to Tizarin.

She looked to the group as they were preparing to leave, her hand holding onto the phaser she had pulled from the weapons locker "We'll keep the home fires burning, good luck, Godspeed, and try to bring something nice for memories sake back with you

Anna felt the runabout attach itself to the freighter. She then looked over at Commander Dallas, and Lieutenant Kara'nin, seeing their strange looks. She then looked at Commander Henderson. "Commander, if the field is effecting them it might be best to leave them on the runabout." Anna said, she didn't want to say she didn't have time to watch and make sure Karyn was alright in engineering she had to focus on the warp core. "We need to get that hatch open, time is ticking, Commander."

Claire spoke up, "Sir, I will be around with Lieutenant Kara'nin as body guard if it helps your decision."

"As Nyssa said, they may have to function, regardless." Tizarin offered. "I have a feeling we'll need every bit of knowledge and expertise we can get on that freighter."

Henderson's cool eyes passed over each of his team members, each of them preparing in their own personal methods of obtaining optimum efficiency. The last minute switch of Cutter and Karyn posed a possible issue, but time was of the essence. They were Starfleet officers and would come through. They had to.

"Let's do it."

ooc- Takes place just before the Away Team post.

"Meeting"

Lt. Jg. Cora Dobryin, Chief Intelligence Officer
Ensign Paulo DiMillo, Intelligence Officer

Paulo walked down the corridor heading for the Intel offices. Cora would be leaving the ship soon to see if she could help stop this whole memory-swap thing. He didn't understand the physics behind it, and he currently could care less. He just wanted this random flash backs to stop! He felt like he was going crazy, and he really didn't like the feeling. He already had like a hundred psychologists at Starfleet medical say he may be crazy, he didn't need this to prove them right.

He entered the Intel offices and found that it was almost empty, except for one or two crewman that looked like they were attempting to work. Bental didn't seem to be any where near and Paulo thanked the high Gods for that one. He didn't need a run-in with him right now.

He walked over to Cora's office and knocked on the door. It was out of habit from his past, something he must have picked up again from all the flash backs he had been having. He looked like a mess, more then usual. His jacket was slung open, his hair was a mess looking like he had just woken up, but in truth he had been up all night. He wasn't able to stay asleep very long. Paulo stood their waiting for Cora to respond.

"Enter," Cora called out. With the impending away mission she was busy with a string of tasks that could last her forever. Glancing up just in time to see Paulo enter her office. "You get any sleep last night?" she inquired gently. His appearance indicated otherwise but Cora asked the question anyway.

"Do I really look that bad?" He asked. He knew he didn't look great, but to be noticed by other people, it just didn't help at all. "I think I got about two hours of sleep all night. Though if we're commenting on looks, you don't look so hot yourself. Its either a lot of stress, or your about to do something really stupid and insane, but in the end result help free us all from all these random memories." He paused a second. "You know I had a memory float into my head about some female officer's huge high school crush? I don't even know who she is!"

Cora knew he was right, "Yeah the random memories aren't helping anyone including me. I'd say I don't know who the majority of them belong to. Its disconcerting to put it mildly. As for crazy or insane I think that one occurred when I thought it would be a good idea to attend that special training with the Hazard Team, but thats not why you came to my office."

Paulo knew she was right. She always was able to read him. Guess that is why he liked working with her, she was easy to work with, even if she could be a hard ass at times. Paulo nodded and walked over to the replicator. "Coffee?" He asked. He needed something that would give him a boost before they went on.

"Thank you a coffee will do nicely," Cora responded.

Paulo turned to the replicator, "two black coffees," he said. A few seconds later two cups of coffee materialized and he took one over to Cora.

Cora took a sip of her coffee then looked at Paulo, "This is what I needed."

Paulo smiled and sat down in one of the seats in front of her desk. "So, who wants to start?" Paulo asked.

"I could ask you why you want to speak with me but I'll let you tell me." Cora knew Paulo would get to it in his own time even though she was curious as to what he had on his mind.

"Well, I would like to know what the hell is going on, but that can wait. I am here about a nice meeting I had with Mr. Bental yesterday about this new Intel group he is starting up or something." Paulo paused a few second to collect his thoughts. "I just wanted to know what you had told him before he had called me in. I just found the whole encounter interesting to say the least."

"And what was so interesting about the encounter? I made it clear to him you were to be treated as a proper member of this department and this ship," Cora replied.

"Lets say I knew exactly how he felt the moment I walked into the conference room. He seemed not to care about my past experiences in Intel, but rather just base the book on the cover. He did have some valid points, if it was coming from a Counselor." Paulo paused a few seconds while he took a sip. "I am not here to get down an beg to be on the team, I just had gone in expecting to be treated with a little more respect then what I had gotten."

Cora shook her head, "I'm sorry I wish he'd been more professional in that regard. You deserve that much whether it was a new crew member or an old. I didn't want everything to result in an order from me."

"Don't stress over it to much," Paulo replied before taking another sip of his coffee. "I have plenty of work to keep me busy." He paused a few seconds while Cora sat down in her chair. "So, whats up with this mission your going on? And will you be coming back alive from it?"

"I better be coming back alive from this one or theres a serious problem," Cora replied, "I'm going cause I figured I could do some good rather than just sitting on my behind here."

"Well here is to hopping." Paulo replied as he finished off his coffee. "Not as good without the scotch. Anything you want done on this end?"

"Keep your eyes open and see what Intel can dig up. We don't need any further surprises as it is." Cora replied having finished her drink she was now gathering up the items she'd need for the away team.

"Will do," Paulo replied as he stood up and tossed Cora her tricorder. "Well, good luck and come back. I don't think I could take having to take orders from Bental all the time."

"I'll be back just don't get into a fist fight while i"m away," Cora responded just before she departed her office.

"I will try," Paulo replied as the door closed behind her. He stood there for a few more seconds, looking around, and then heading out himself to get to work.

~Dealing with Problems Old, Obtaining Problems New~

Lt. Jasmine Heloi, Vanguard Squadron Executive Officer
Lieutenant Cutter Kara'nin, Chief of Astrophysics
Lieutenant JG Claire Barnes, Security Officer/Hazard Team Member

*****

Freighter

The freighter was as dark and dreary as any haunted ship was expected to be. Jasmine Heloi could easily see this particular freighter being used for a horror vid show - creepy noises and musty smells included. The Betazoid smiled slightly at her thoughts as she and her companions wandered through the halls of the ship. It had been a long time since she had last been called upon to use her Masters training in any sort of Starfleet endeavor. To use her physics degree in this manner - tracking the 'whys' and 'how to stop it' of the Galaxy's current situation - was not something she had originally planned upon until she had heard the away team assignments.

She felt almost like an imposter - a fighter jock pretending that she was smart. Then again, it was similar to how she felt when she was a vid starlet - only at that time, she was assumed to be an actress pretending to have a brain. Jasmine followed the body of Karyn Dallas - how strange it was to know that another soul resided in that particular woman's body! - through the hallway. "Anything besides relatively high radiation readings?" she asked in a hushed tone, seemingly affected by the aura of the place.

Cutter stopped and leaned against the back of his hoverchair as Claire Barnes held up a flat palm, telling them to stop. He adjusted his position in the chair, Karyn's legs felt constantly tense, stiff, unmoveable. He was trying not to think about it, desperately, trying to ignore the emptyness on his back, the occasional thought that he was now less than a groundwalker. Human impaired. "Yes," he snapped, his voice shrill and feminine, but he did not elaborate. He merely stared intently at the tricorder.

While the two 'science geeks' she had been assigned to protect did their thing, Claire moved ahead, checking every doorway. Even though tricorder readings were virtually useless through the radiation, she was alert and ready for anything that might happen... like homicidal maniacs.

Stopping at a locked door across the corridor, she put down her rifle and began doing a perimeter survey around the door frame, looking for any signs of a control panel that might give her access to some circuitry she could hotwire.

Looking back, she called out, "Locked door across corridor. Attempting to hotwire."

Finding a panel, she pulled out a sai and used it to lever it open, applying pressure until its screws broke. Using her engineering training from back in the academy, she began trying to figure out the correct wires.

Taking hold of one of the wires after wrapping a sai in cloth, she cut it. Brushing it against the side, she found that it was dead. She checked some of the others, and found that the whole panel and door was dead.

"Bugger."

Putting her pack down, she opened it up and pulled out a conical shaped device. Moving to the center of the door, she slapped it on and depressed a button on it.

"Guys, start moving back. 20m should do."

Connecting up a wire to it, she grabbed her pack and began unrolling it as she moved back. Turning to her companions, she smiled mischieviously and yelled, before depressing a button. "Fire in the hole!"

There was a loud explosion and smoke as the deck rocked a little. Looking back, she grinned when she saw that the door had turned into a big smoking hole, with lots of shrapnel spread out over a distance on the other side.

"It's safe now, but I wouldn't touch the edges yet."

Cutter guided the chair through, slowly, finding it highly uncomfortable to be using his left hand to do so. He moved forward too quickly through the door, the chair hovered over slanted shrapnel and over corrected. Cutter could not control Karyn's body well enough to regain balance before both he and the chair tumbled to the ground. He lay there, Karyn's muscles fighting against him, like they fought against her, he thought, unable to get up. The other two women helped him up, Claire lightly scoffing. He attempted to glare at her, unsure what Karyn's face was actually doing. Then after he had shaken their hands from his arms, said while eyeing the wrecked frame, "I suppose its good you can't close the door."

Claire laughed. "True," then, "Why?"

"Our path must remain unblocked in order for the communcators to work," he explained, irritated that they had already forgotten. He began to hover off defiantly.

"Um, Lieutenant? Where are you going?" Jasmine asked as she watched "him" glide back the way they had come.

He stopped again and rested once more against the chair back. He was breathing heavily after trying to right himself a moment ago. Human lungs were less efficient than his, Karyn's must have been worse off considering her inability to properly exercise. It was easy to let the chair carry him; he wanted to walk but knew how difficult or impossible it would be. "What?" he asked without turning.

"We just came through that door," Heloi explained.

"What? No, we haven't. We came through that door." He looked around through Karyn's dull human eyes, even vision was foreign to him. He spoke assuredly, but he was not sure, he had no idea where he was, what direction he was facing. The absense of his milir stabbing him like a knife, the absense of one of his senses. The realization caused his breathing to become frantic again.

Before Jasmine could reply, the world spun crazily in the Betazoid's eyes and she braced herself against the nearby bulkhead. Waving off the concerned questions from her companions, Jasmine took several cleansing breaths before she dared step away from the support of the wall. "I don't know what caused that," she confessed, pressing a hand to her forehead, "I just suddenly got very dizzy..." A moment later, Heloi's mental shields collapsed.

Palpable waves of fear hammered her brain as did dozens of scattered thoughts and emotions. The loss of mental shields was, for a Betazoid, the loss of control and the first step to loosing oneself. A part of her mind recognized the situation and sealed a tiny piece of itself away as the rest attempted to deal with the bombardment. It was amazing that anyone could still be standing as the combined thoughts and emotions of the freighter crew, the away team, and the Galaxy pressed against her mind.

Jasmine's eyes widened with fear as she saw something in her mind's eye, though she was not quite capable of telling reality from the imagination, "Two by two," she said frantically, looking at the other two officers, "Hands of blue. Coming closer. Danger. We are food to them."

Claire moved forwards, grabbing her arm, "Sir, I think she has roos in the top paddock."

As she spoke, Claire couldn't help feeling stupid calling what looked like a woman 'Sir'.

"Two by two!" she repeated, her wide hazel eyes encouraging them to believe her, "That is how they come. Danger here and in the otherplace. Soylent green is people."

Cutter stared at both of them. He was trapped in a human's body, a woman's, lost his wings, his milir, his sight, his... these two have lost thier minds! Speaking nonsense, roos, soylent green. "What?"

Claire sighed, "I meant she's nuts.. Old Australian saying."

What was going on? Cutter wanted to be selfish, to bathe himself in self pity. Not wanted, he couldn't help it, being thrust here, expected to function normally when everything was far from normal. He was on the verge of breakdown, but these new problems kept pulling him back from the edge. "Maybe she'll snap out of it?"

"Possibly. Though, you haven't."

"I know I haven't!!" Cutter screamed. He took a breath, then quietly, "I know. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Claire grumbled some particular nasty swear words at the XO before moving forwards. Grabbing Cutter by 'her' shirt collar, Claire slapped 'him' across the face, but not hard enough to break teeth or cause bleeding.

"Stay calm, Sir. I don't want to have to do it again, because then it seems like assault on a superior. But if I have to, I will."

Jasmine looked at the two with a perplexed expression on her face as wave after wave of thoughts and emotions pounded her brain. "We are food to them, you know. I can feel it, up here." She tapped her temple before continuing, "I most of all. Humpty dumpty sat upon a wall and had a great fall. Protective skin all gone. Nothing left but everyone else."

"Lieutenant Kara'nin, do you read?" a voice sang out from their respective chests. In radio mode, communicator signals were broadcasted indiscriminately, they were all recieving.

The hail brought Cutter out of his angry thoughts, his fantasies of knocking Claire in the head with the crook of his wing. He tapped the badge, "Yes."

"This is O'Shea. We have reached Engineering. Have you been able to learn anything about the fissure?"

Of course they haven't. He's been busy relearning fine motor controls, Heloi busy speaking in rhyme, Barnes acting out a Bhrodie wet dream. "Not yet," he said, as Claire released him from her grasp. They would have to, though, despite all of this. They needed to solve this, he needed to solve this, or else the universe would end.

“Devil Went Down To Jhorjah” Part 2

[Backpost]

(Takes place two weeks after ‘Part 1’)

Principal Characters

Lt (JG) Victor Krieghoff

Imperial Attendant K’vala Mahask

****

ICV Shabradnigdo
Deck 1
Bridge

“… so that’s all, Dad. I hope you and Mom had a good Christmas, and when Greta calls, remember to try and not ask too many questions about that man she’s been seeing. Rexa and Ar’resh are looking into it.” Victor paused the recording for a moment to gather his thoughts. That was everything he’d meant to say, even one or two things he hadn’t. It would do. He started the recording again. “I’ll call later about the reunion – if I can be there, I will.”

He switched the recording off and began the process of compressing the messages, encrypting it, and setting up the circuitous route of relays and transfers that his aunts had given him that would take it to his parents. It wouldn’t arrive by Christmas, since that was five days away, but it would arrive by the day after. The routing set up; he tapped the keys to send the message off, cleared the communications board, and only then looked up at the reflection of the scowling Attendant in the now black screen. “Yes?”

“You should not have sent that,” she snapped from the doorway to the Bridge.

“If there was something that would endanger the mission, you would have stopped me,” Victor replied, as he stood. He leaned over and checked the helm. They were on course, the automated systems taking them through the Triangle to the planet they’d been looking for since this trip started. “You were there long enough to hear everything I said.”

“Why did you risk it?”

Victor frowned. It wasn’t an accusation, however harsh the tone the Attendant had taken, and that meant he ought to think about what he said. Her questions were always leading up to something when she didn’t hurl them like knives. “Because they’re family.”

“Why is that a reason?”

This was going to be a long one. “You know why. The same reason that you dealt with me for my silence – because family is family.”

“That is not the same thing.”

“Of course it is.” Victor straightened up and started for the door. “You’re willing to do anything to protect your House, to keep your family from being disaccomodated by the Council for the actions of a few rogue members. You pretend to be a woman you hate and even assume her name and likeness to protect them. You come to the Federation, hat in hand to ask for help to protect them, something you’d choke on for almost any other reason. You even tolerate working in close quarters with me, despite your vow to kill me, in order to help them.”

He stopped, eye-to-eye with her. “You know what family is. Why it’s important to help and protect them. Why things like that message are important. Stop wasting our time by pretending otherwise.”

Angry eyes flashed back at him, and K’vala’s lip curled in a sneer at his words, but she was the one that looked away. “What is this ‘Christmas’ you wished them to have a good one of? Some human festival?”

“Yes.” Victor kept looking at her, knowing that he was well inside her personal space and not caring. “Part religious festival, part commercial celebration, part family-oriented event.”

Typically, the Attendant changed the subject again rather than admit anything that resembled an error. “Which is it for you?”

“Family. We’re not an especially religious family, and we’ve never believed in giving gifts unless there’s a reason to. Usually only one small thing to each person in the family from everyone else…. Except for Rexa and Ar’resh, they always give everyone too much.”

“Ah.” The Attendant continued to look away for a few more heartbeats, and then moved aside, allowing him past.

Victor nodded once in acknowledgement and started for the lift. “We need to talk later,” he called back as he reached it, not needing to look back to know that her eyes were still on him.

“Why?”

“There are some things we need to start doing before we reach Jhorjah.” He keyed the lift.

“What?” K’vala snapped with a frown. She always appeared to hate taking instructions from him.

“Things to convince people that we’re really husband and wife and doing the things that married couples do,” Victor answered as the lift dropped out of sight. “Like having sex.”

****

ICV Shabradnigdo
Deck 3
Galley

Victor had to hand it to the Attendant; she’d managed to contain herself for almost sixteen minutes before she’d stormed into the Galley and exploded in a burst of vocal violence that easily surpassed anything to date. It lacked only a display of physical violence to make it the all-time winner. He thought that if he waited, she’d get around to that too.

Instead of responding, he’d chosen to stir the food on the heating elements and wait for her to wind down, knowing that his apparent indifference to her outrage would make things worse. In an odd way, this course of action, he reasoned, would also make things better, since she’d expend more of her energy in the initial yelling and ranting phase.

“That,” he said at the ten-minute mark, “was not what I said.”

At the fifteen minute mark he repeated himself.

At the nineteen-minute mark, just after a threat that involved his spleen, one kidney, and something that she called ‘bore worms,’ the Attendant paused for a breath, her eyes molten with anger.

“That,” he tried once more, “Was not what I said, wife.” He supposed that referring to their supposed marriage like that was a risk, but if it would slow her down enough to get a word in edgewise, it was worth it.

“You….” She stopped and stared at him as he stirred the food again. “Yes it was, you diseased offspring of a….”

Well, that was better than he’d had a right to expect. “If you say one word about my parents, or anyone else in my family, wife,” he said mildly, “then we will find out if you’re ready to kill me yet.” He turned and looked into her eyes as she stepped up to him, hands clenched. “Either way, your family will lose.”

Her upper lip curled and she opened her mouth to speak – which gave him the chance to stick the spoon in his hand into it.

“Let me know if that’s too spicy,” he asked offhandedly, head tilted to one side as her eyes went wide and she snatched the spoon from her mouth. “It’s hard for me to tell sometimes.”

“Pffftaaagh!” she gasped. “Yes!”

“Ah. I’ll dilute it a bit before I add anything else in, then,” Victor noted and turned back to the food. “A lot of these recipes call for ingredients that aren’t available, so I’m having to improvise more than usual.” He made some additions to the food, stirred it thoroughly, and spooned up another portion. “Try this one,” he said as he offered it to her.

She stared at him for a moment before she took the spoon and raised it to her mouth, eyes never leaving his.

“Well?”

“It is not the worst thing you have made,” she admitted.

Victor decided that considering the source, that probably meant it was good. “Now that I have your attention,” he said quietly, “I repeat myself: I did not say that we were supposed to start having sex with each other.”

K’vala stared at him silently, spoon in hand.

“What I said, Victor continued, “was that there were things we needed to do in order to convince people that we were actually doing the things a married couple does. Having sex is just one of those things.”

“You do not want to have sex with me?” Somehow, against all logic, the Attendant made the question an accusation.

“No.”

“Why not?” she bristled.

Victor shook his head. “Because it wouldn’t be real. You don’t want to do that, not with me. Kill me, yes; have sex with me, no. I don’t feel that way about you, either. We’re not family. You’re not the One for me; I’m not the One for you. So it wouldn’t be real, it would just be… nothing. I’ve had enough nothing in my life, I see no reason to add more to it when I know better.”

Her expression became less belligerent. “The One?”

“The One that completes you, the One that’s the half of yourself you were born without.” Victor shrugged. “The One that’s for you.”

She frowned at him. “You believe that? That there is a… One… for everyone?”

“Don’t you?”

“No, not any more.” Her frown deepened. Klingons, Victor decided, had an inherent and decidedly unfair advantage in the frowning department. “Once perhaps; but I am neither a child not married any more.”

It was amazing how she could make any statement on any topic into a slam at him. “I’m sorry then.” Oddly he was. To find the One and lose them, that wasn’t something he’d wish on anyone.

“I didn’t ask for your pity!” she hissed back. “Save it for yourself!”

“If you insist,” Victor nodded. “Do you want to talk about those things we need to do now, or later?”

“Now!”

“Very well.” He checked the food. “I’ll need to ask some questions as we go, since I don’t know much about Klingon behavior patterns between spouses. Do they touch?”

For a moment, he thought she was going to throw the spoon at him like a knife, but K’vala mastered herself and took a step back. “They do.”

“Then we will need to touch each other as the persons we are supposed to be would. Can you do that? To save your family?”

The spoon in her hand bent with a soft creak. “Yes,” she spat out softly, her eyes on the floor.

“How much contact is this going to be? You are the one that knows the person you pretend to be, and what she would seek out in a husband. What would she demand from him?”

K’vala stared at him as the spoon crumpled into a tightly-wadded mass under her fingers. She turned away, took a single step towards the door, stopped, and then harshly whispered a single word, “Everything.”

Victor waited a moment, and then asked, “What, exactly, does that mean? What will we have to do?”

The twisted mass of the spoon hit the floor with a metallic ‘thang’ and rolled across the floor.

“Attendant?”

She stood there, silent, her hands fisted and shaking.

“Attendant?” Victor stepped towards her, a frown on his face.

As his shadow fell across her, she straightened up with a shudder and her hands opened and relaxed. “Stand still,” she ordered stiffly.

Victor stopped and waited. She’d tell him what was wrong when she was ready and not before. A second passed, then another, and then the sound of dinner bubbling almost to the rim of the pots drew him back to the stove to reduce the heat and stir things back down. A minute later he heard K’vala make a single sound - a sigh of frustration he thought – and then heard the steps as she turned and started towards him. They weren’t the sounds of a killer approaching her prey, so he simply ignored them until she gave him a reason not to.

She stopped behind him, close enough that he could almost feel her breath on his neck. “Yes?” he asked as he worked on the food. If she wanted to play intimidation games again, he was going to have to disappoint her; he didn’t have any time for games. It was only as she stepped in closer still, and pressed herself against his back that he realized this was something else again.

K’vala’s right arm slipped around his waist as her fingers walked themselves slowly along the waistband of his pants to the fastening in front and then hooked themselves behind it. At the same time, her left arm reached under his left and then back up to hook over his left shoulder palm down, and she rested her chin on his right shoulder, lips near his ear. “This,” she whispered in a husky voice that wrapped itself around him as thoroughly as she had done, “is what *she* would do with her man – and the sort of thing that we will have to do…”

"Simple Date?"

Attache Richard North, Liason Corps

Ensign Emily Fellbaum, JAG Officer

********************

Deck 10, Forward.

Emily had arrived a bit early for her dinner 'date' with Richard North. It had been another stressful day in the office and she wanted a drink to soothe her nerves before Richard showed up. Now, with a drink in hand, she sat at one of the tables up in the corner next to the viewports and gazed out among the stars.

Richard arrived at the lounge a few moments later. He paused for a moment, hiding the lavendar roses behind his back. Richard walked up behind her, and tapped her on the shoulder.

She had been a bit tense that day again, and so jumped a bit when Richard tapped her. She looked up into his smiling face.

"These are for you..." he said as he extended them to her.

"oh!" she said, clearly surprised. "Why thank you!" she gushed. It had been awhile since anyone had ever given her flowers. "I think we should find some place different to have our date....the Ten Forward Lounge seems so....cliched..."

She grinned as she stood up. "Then lead the way sir." she said. "I'm a little new to starships so you'll have to lead the way. North draped his arm around her shoulder. "Well, I was thinking that we could get some replicator food somewhere. An empty cargo bay perhaps?" "Mr North!" Emily said, feigning shock. "Just what kind of a girl do you think I am?"

North shrugged. "I don't know. You tell me."

Emily found it hard not to smile as he led her out and simply let that line of thought drop. "Seems the ship has a new morale officer."

"Really," North said with interest, "who?"

"Some young girl, didn't catch a name." She said "Do I look like I need more weight?" she asked Richard suddenly.

He wanted to wince, but couldn't. "No. You don't. You look beautiful just the way you are."

"Seriously! She said I was rail thin!"

North let his hand slip down from her shoulder to her waist. "Emily, I like you just the way you are. However, if you feel the need to put on a couple of pounds, I won't stop you and I'll like you just the same as when we met. Ok?"

She arched a sly eyebrow at that. "Ok..."

They arrived at their offices a few moments later. "Here we are."

"Back at the office?" she asked skeptically.

"I know. I've set up a few candles and a picnic basket in our conference room."

He led her into the conference room. Pretty romantic setup from what she could see. She looked up at him. "Just so long as you don't expect too much on a 'first date' mister." she said playfully as she gave him a peck on the cheek.

"The mirrored man"
By Lieutenant Michael Jamson, Operations Officer

Jamson was locked in his quarters, he was snapping in and out of this 'dream' like situation. It felt more like drifting into and out of consciousness than from an ordinary dream. Living several seconds in someone else's mind or dream was easy, it happened within seconds, but being pulled away from it was a different experience. It wasn't pleasant, the feeling was the same of being torn from a really bad dream, the sense of getting up in the middle of a nightmare. These sudden 'attacks' were getting more frequent and unexpected since the firefly beings left them all. He didn't feel right, but wouldn't go to sickbay and hospitalize himself, he was too proud, they would have to drag him by his teeth. "Damn doctors..." he said and snapped out of a dream state once more.

He felt like a caged lion, all of his colleagues were out there, some of them risked their lives going to the Antares class freighter and he stayed 'home' in his quarters. He would jump the opportunity for some field work. He hadn't been on away mission for years and was eager to see some action. He might get lucky and even earn a fight with an alien or two, in the past, he could kill for such desirable moments. What has become of him? the once proud champion turned into a fragile Ferengi, hiding behind his desk. He must speak with Iniara, to recommend him for future missions. How much could an operations officer take? How many times could his prevent the lateral arrays from interfering with one another on the bridge? or prioritize resources? or even adjust environmental settings at the captain's ready room since someone couldn't hold her T-792 in her stomach. It was an important work, and someone had to do it, especially now when there was an away team boarding the freighter. Communications was vital, and it was handled from mission ops. But most Starfleet officers would prefer the communications badge side, on the freighter rather than the bridge.

Sitting on the floor, curled up, holding his knees, he shivered as if he had high fever. The 'dreaming' episodes caused him more damage than he knew, but he was stubborn and head strong. He was so tired, his head felt like it was about to explode, but still he couldn't sleep. The Medical department said, sleeping, would only make things worse. He couldn't make anything out of those memory jumpings. It was too short and painful. Every time he jumped from one memory to reality, he couldn't understand what was going on. He saw so many sceneries, faces, aliens and all sorts of creatures, that after awhile he just didn't care anymore. It was like watching Holodeck adventures from different angles which switched every 5 seconds followed by sharp migraines.

It wasn't strange for Starfleet crew members to save the universe, often Jamson found himself and his colleagues saving countless worlds, planets, and cultures from extinction. But every once in awhile, there was something really big, with a lot of responsibility, some event that could effect entire galaxies and the universe as everyone knew it. And where was he? trembling in his quarters, by his bed. What a coward, what a poor excuse for a warrior. The thought of old friends, those who perished in the greatness of battle hurt him! He would never reach such an honor. He was a gutless Bolian.

Black matter life forms, subspace creatures, others who resides in the warp field, in another dimension. A good burst of modified low yield quantum torpedoes with a properly modulated subspace eruption torpedoes could have ended all of this agony! That would be the 'illogical' and klingon way of handling things. He simply couldn't take it anymore, of course this wasn't the solution, and Jamson knew it. He just wanted all of this to be over, to be relieved of this pain, to get rid of those pestering aliens! they were driving his head crazy! He had to do something, he couldn't take it, not anymore.

"Enough is enough...." Jamson struggled to rise from the floor.

"To battle...." He murmured and stepped over to the mirror, slowly like an old man. "Warrior! listen to your blood..."he swayed like a drunken man. The images of so many unknown faces were fresh in his mind. "As the voice of battle cries out....!" he looked around confused.

Just below the mirror, inside an antique replica of a Terran presentation cabinet from Earth's 18th century, was arranged a collection of beautiful ceremonial Klingon knives. A remarkable designed ma'vek dagger, with a pair of chuHwI throwing knives to it's right and a golden ghonDoq accompanied by the famous qutluch assassination knife to the left.

"Fight or die!" The confused human was starting to hallucinate, and couldn't figure what was real and what wasn't. Taking the ma'vek dagger seemed to stop some of the dream jumping, but not for long. To the naked eye, it appeared like Jamson suffered from a bad case of epileptic occurrences. He was twitching, and could barely stand. "When battle begins! your blood becomes hot..." Michael intensely swing the ma'vek into the mirror, stopping millimeters away from the glass and focusing into his eyes. They were not his eyes, they turned colors and shapes as he snapped in and out of the dreaming state. He turned around "The enemy falls!" he cried out and fell to his knees, "Their bodies are everywhere" he could sense and see many of his old friends lying around him. "Their blood becomes cold...." he felt the cold sharp blade and cut himself slowly.

"So enjoy the battle while you accompany your brothers to war!!!!!!!" he yelled and dropped the bloody ma'vek to the floor. The pain was too much for him to sustain, and he grabbed his head with both hands. Slowly but gracefully, he slipped into the unknown, losing his sight but still trembling from the dream jumping episodes who didn't let go. He was slipping away, as darkness took control and the smell of blood and metal, the unavoidable scent of battle was the last thing to be remembered.

"Reading The Morning Report"

Ensign Naranda Sol Roswell, Engineering 3 NPCs and a roomful of annoyed extras

LOCATION: Main Engineering

Nara read over the latest broadcast log. She normally didn't. Normally, she didn't care what was happening in Sciences or Medical or even on the Bridge. Everything she needed to know was in Engineering and she got that in the morning briefings and just by being there.

Today, however, was no normal day. She knew simply the ship had slowed, but sensors were still at full. She was curious as to what the sensors were picking up, but her job was simply to be sure the sensors ran correctly.

She had set the computer to alert her of any slight change in signal. Which it did, and she had it set to the highest sensitivity that it beeped every few moments. Nara would glance over and it came back to normal levels before she attempted to correct it. Her colleagues looked at her annoyed. She could tell Mei was even having trouble with the incessant noise, but Nara also knew it kept her in the present.

The report wasn't long. So they could deal with it. The report noted that a shuttle bay with an away team went to a freighter caught in a bubble. There were also summaries of readings from Sciences, statistics from Medical and a report from Engineering, which she read over, but found nothing new.

She then found herself very intrigued with the report from Counseling. It wasn't new about the memory jumping. The reports weren't detailed, as they were under an oath of keeping things said in their office in their office. They were however free to report anything found overall in the crew's morale which was now reported as "confused, disoriented, but most able to function normally as long as focusing on the present."

Nara suddenly wondered how her mother was doing. She had finally checked her messages and got one saying her mother was transferred to the Miranda. She wondered if she had met Cernu or any other of the Miranda crew she had met during the battle. Her mother was probably on duty now, talking to someone.

Nara suddenly found herself looking at the face of a young man who looked very distraught. She blinked as she heard the last of a sentence, "Excuse me?"

The man weeped a bit, "I just saw it all again! The blood, the gun in my father's hand! How could he kill himself!? I was only 10!"

Nara gulped. How did she get here?

Meanwhile, Counselor Jeor looked around and found he was in engineering, "What the..."

Mei looked at the body of Nara, "Could you please turn off the alert now?"

Jeor looked at her, "What alert?"

Nara tried to focus back on Engineering and found herself back there.

"Nara, please!"

Nara looked at Mei confused, "Huh?"

Mei sighed, "The alert! It's driving us crazy! It's been going off for the past 30 seconds non-stop!"

Nara looked down. The chart was going crazy, "Computer stop alert."

The computer beeped to comply and it was silent again except for the hum of the warp core and people quietly talking. Nara started to see if she could stop the fluctuations.

Jeor looked at his patient, "I'm sorry. You'll have to repeat that."

The man looked at him forlorn, "Again!? Why am I even here if you weren't listening?" He got up and quickly walked out the door.

Jeor sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was firmly in the present. How come he suddenly jumped? This was getting senseless.

<OOC: Let me know if i go over the line creating these NPCs>

Freighter: "they call these engines?"

Lt. Brianna "Anna" O'Shea
Chief Engineer / S.C.E. Liaison

Commander Karyn Dallas
Chief Counselor
(Used with Authorization)

::: Freighter Engineering Section ::

Brianna and Karyn had worked there way toward the engineering section over on the freighter. Anna have to stop ever so often, cause Karyn was still have problems with Cutter's memories playing havoc on the poor woman. Once they got to the engineering section, Anna had placed Karyn beside her so she could watch the higher ranking officer as she began to check the warp engines.

Funny thing though the warp engines looked nothing like they what a freighter of this class would have, looked like they had been retrofitted with components from other ships. Reaching up she tapped her commbadge, "O'Shea to Henderson." She said, nothing happened. "O'Shea to Henderson." She said, once more, before looking over at Karyn.

"Commander Henderson, please respond." Karyn said, once she'd tapped her commbadge.

"I thought the distortion would play with the communication links." Brianna said, as she pulled a tricorder to see if she could began to see where to start about shutting down the warp core.

"What's it look like, Lieutenant?" Karyn asked, still struggling some with Cutter's memories inside her.

"It's a complete hodge podge of parts, Commander. Looks as if they've tried to boost the warp engines by augmenting them with newer parts from other ship classes. It's going to take me some time to even began to understand how this works." Brianna said, as she frowned. "If I start pulling things, could accidentally cause a rupture and then you know what means." Anna informed.

Karyn nodded, understanding completely, even in her state of mind.

"Soon as I can get this engine off, I'm going to focus on getting communications half way up and running. Not sure how much I can do for that giving the distortion, Commander."

"Just do what you can, Lieutenant." Karyn replied.

Brianna then nodded and began to remove components as she identified them. It would take a few minutes before she even got back to the original engines.

"The Brat & The Sleaze"

Kastanza & Samantha

LOCATION: A Corridor On A Deck On The USS Galaxy

Kastanza walked down the corridor bummed as ever. Nara had effectively avoided him yet again. He managed to find a constellation prize. What was her name? Well, she didn't seem to appreciate that he left so soon. She complained that she barely caught her breath when he put his pants back on. She should know he was only using her. She was too stupid to be of any good to anyone. Apparently also too stupid to know that.

"OUCH!" He suddenly called out as a blunt corner hit the back of his head. He rubbed it as he looked back and saw...the blonde ditz, looking at him angrily. He rolled his eyes and put on the fake creepy charm, "What baby?"

She gave him the finger.

He smiled, "Ah hun, you're number one too!"

She glared at him before going back into her room. He rolled his eyes.

He picked the PADD up and continued down the hall.

Samantha Widdlestein jumped out in his path.

Kastanza jumped and screamed.

"Oh, for Kahless sake! You sound like a girl." Samantha scoffed. "I'm here to bring the joy, not the screaming mimi's." She handed him a button that said "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most."

Kastanza looked at it annoyed, "What the?? What does this mean?"

"Yeah, well, I'm running out of happy buttons." She said cheerfully. "I have a 'slippery when wet' one."

He shook his head and handed her the button back, "Little girl, only one thing can make me happy, and she wants nothing to do with me." He continued down the hall.

"I can help with that!" Sam shrieked, skipping alongside him. "I've helped with tons of romance."

"Sure you can squirt." He kept walking.

"Look at my face. How can women resist hearing about the men that love them when it’s delivered by such an angelic vision like mine? Who's the lucky lady?"

Kastanza rolled his eyes, "Naranda Roswell if you MUST know."

"No problem." Sam said. "First off, you need to go take a shower and then..."

He looked down at her, "Excuse ME?"

"Dude," Sam said. "You reek of ho."

"I'm sure you smell your upper lip, squirt."

Sam smiled. On second thought, she was just going to have to help the lady from this jerk. "You can't romance your lady love, you pea brain, when you smell like another lady's cheap perfume. And, just to let you know, your fly is down."

Kastanza blushed as he turned to zip up and kept walking, "For your information, she wasn't wearing perfume."

Samantha held up her hands. "I don't need to know about your beauty routine, lover boy. Just trying to help. You should recite poetry to her too. Something romantic. like Emily Dickenson."

Kastanza laughed at the name Dickenson. "Thanks kiddo. I'll look her up. Where's she live?"

"On Mars, I think." Samantha replied with an absolutely straight face. "Or maybe you should try a guy named E. Poe. He was definitely romantic."

Kastanza stopped. Interesting ideas this little girl had. "Computer, do we have any poetry from E. Poe?"

The computer chirped, [There is a list of poems by Edgar Allen Poe from Earth, 1900s era (or 1800s?). Please confirm.]

Kastanza looked at Sam, "Is that who you mean?"

"Computer," Sam said. "Do you have 'For Annie' by Poe?

[That selection is available.]

"Perfect." Sam said and they both watched as it appeared on the closest monitor.

"Sounds kind of depressing." He wrinkled his nose.

Sam rolled her eyes dramatically. "You don’t know anything about women do you? She'll love it."

He started pushing some buttons, "Shakespeare was a little more lighter with words." He felt his hand swatted away by the little girl and he looked down at her.

"Shakespeare is *so* over, dude. Trust me, its all about Poe."

He sighed, "Listen kid, how about I make something up. Like: Upon the Galaxy she rides/This one my Nara/My time it bides/To show her my care..." He paused and thought, "Uh. Care-a." He sighed, "Well imagine how hard it would be to rhyme with Naranda."

"Poetry doesn't always have to rhyme." Sam scoffed. "You *definitely* need my help."

He didn't see her evil smirk as they discussed free verse while they continued down the hall.

OOC: For those who don't know the poem.

-FOR ANNIE-

Thank Heaven! the crisis-
The danger is past,
And the lingering illness
Is over at last-
And the fever called "Living"
Is conquered at last.

Sadly, I know
I am shorn of my strength,
And no muscle I move
As I lie at full length-
But no matter!-I feel
I am better at length.

And I rest so composedly,
Now, in my bed
That any beholder
Might fancy me dead-
Might start at beholding me,
Thinking me dead.

The moaning and groaning,
The sighing and sobbing,
Are quieted now,
With that horrible throbbing
At heart:ah, that horrible,
Horrible throbbing!

The sicknessthe nausea-
The pitiless pain-
Have ceased, with the fever
That maddened my brain-
With the fever called "Living"
That burned in my brain.

And oh! of all tortures
That torture the worst
Has abatedthe terrible
Torture of thirst
For the naphthaline river
Of Passion accurst:-
I have drunk of a water
That quenches all thirst:-

Of a water that flows,
With a lullaby sound,
From a spring but a very few
Feet under ground-
From a cavern not very far
Down under ground.

And ah! let it never
Be foolishly said
That my room it is gloomy
And narrow my bed;
For man never slept
In a different bed-
And, to sleep, you must slumber
In just such a bed.

My tantalized spirit
Here blandly reposes,
Forgetting, or never
Regretting its roses-
Its old agitations
Of myrtles and roses:

For now, while so quietly
Lying, it fancies
A holier odor
About it, of pansies-
A rosemary odor,
Commingled with pansies-
With rue and the beautiful
Puritan pansies.

And so it lies happily,
Bathing in many
A dream of the truth
And the beauty of Annie-
Drowned in a bath
Of the tresses of Annie.

She tenderly kissed me,
She fondly caressed,
And then I fell gently
To sleep on her breast-
Deeply to sleep
From the heaven of her breast.

When the light was extinguished,
She covered me warm,
And she prayed to the angels
To keep me from harm-
To the queen of the angels
To shield me from harm.

And I lie so composedly,
Now, in my bed,
(Knowing her love)
That you fancy me dead-
And I rest so contentedly,
Now, in my bed,
(With her love at my breast)
That you fancy me dead-
That you shudder to look at me,
Thinking me dead.

But my heart it is brighter
Than all of the many
Stars in the sky,
For it sparkles with Annie-
It glows with the light
Of the love of my Annie-
With the thought of the light
Of the eyes of my Annie.

--Edgar Allen Poe

"A Question of Morale"

Sam
Aristi

****

Something weird was up on the Galaxy, and Aristi Ferguson was determined to do something about it. It was for this reason, and this reason alone that she strode through the hallways of the ship, heading purposefully to her destination.

That is, if she could ever figure out what that destination was.

Ever since Nara had mentioned the whole morale officer idea to her, Aristi had been determined to do something with it. The crew needed a morale boost; that much she knew. But it seemed that, like always, getting the ball rolling on the plan was the hardest part.

"This stinks," she muttered to herself, stopping to lean against a wall. She crossed her arms over her chest, a look of frustration creeping onto her face. "Some morale officer I am."

A snort was heard on her left side.

Samantha Widdlestein glared up at her. "You can't be morale officer. I made cupcakes and buttons!"

"I wasn't aware Starfleet was giving officer commissions to kids," Aristi replied, trying hard to keep a straight face. This could be fun. "You have to graduate from the Academy first. I don't know if you got what it takes, lass."

She stamped her foot and scowled like Arel had taught her. "Oh yeah? Well, I am engaging the crew in a much needed game of Twister!"

Aristi's eyes widened and she couldn't stop a huge grin from spreading across her face. Oh yes, this was definitely going to be fun.

"Twister!" she exclaimed. "Oh, it's been too long! I want in."

"No."

"Come on. It's a free ship; I can play Twister if I want to. Just tell me where it's happening."

Sam's scowled deepened and then she suddenly smiled sweetly. "You have to pass a test first."

Aristi arched one bony eyeridge at the girl. "A test. Just what kind of test are we talking about here?"

**Holodeck One**

The bat'leth was suspended in a fiery blue light, made more impressive by the haunting choir of one thousand voices.

Made a bit terrifying by the maze of corn, the ten warriors with Klingon painsticks, the Indiana Jones dart machines, the alligator pit, and the recreation of Kahless the Great awaiting his opponent.

"Allright," Sam said, rubbing her hands together evilly. "You get the bat'leth, you can play Twister."

"Nice." Looking around the Holodeck, Aristi wondered just where her young companion had come up with this idea. She briefly considered several schemes to reprogram the test or outsmart the tester, but that just didn't seem the right way to go.

No, this situation definitely required a bit of finesse. Melodrama, even.

"Just a minute," Aristi said. Then, before Sam had a chance to reply, "Computer, arch."

The Holodeck's arch appeared nearby, and Aristi wasted no time accessing the control panel. Less than a second later a large screen appeared, hiding her from Sam's view.

Samantha uttered a few responses in Klingon before she put her hands on her hips and declared that she didn't have all day.

"Have patience. It's a surprise."

Exactly fifty seven seconds ticked by. Then, just as quickly as the screen had appeared, it was gone. The arch disappeared immediately after.

Aristi grinned wickedly, hoisting the nearly five foot tall broadsword she held in her hand. Over her regular clothing she had draped a blue and green tartan, and a bright blue paint was smeared wildly across her face. She had removed her shoes and her two-tone hair was now loose, draped messily about her shoulders.

Sam's only comment, heavily influenced by her friend Arel, was that it was going to be difficult to do anything in that skirt.

"What? Now I'm ready!" Aristi exclaimed. "And before you say anything, I am an anthropologist. And Scottish. I am well aware of the flagrant historical inaccuracies of my attire. But I love old movies; I couldn't resist."

She turned back to the cornfield, sizing up the first of her obstacles. "My destiny awaits!" Letting out a raucous war cry she charged into the corn maze, and disappeared.

"She's insane." Samantha said, shaking her head. At least that boded well for Sam being the morale officer.

****

"I don't believe it!" Sam exclaimed. "How did you do it?"

"A master never reveals her secrets," Aristi replied, resting the captured bat'leth on one shoulder.

"Harumph."

"Hey, I held up my end of the bargain-- I got the bat'leth fair and square. Now it's your turn to hold up your end."

"Allright, we can *both* be the morale officer then." Samantha said. "But I want you to realize and appreciate the generous gesture on my part of splitting the position."

Aristi grinned. "Yes, ma'am! So, what's next on the agenda?"

"That game of Twister." Samantha responded. "And then I was thinking maybe a Battleship tournament."

"Sounds good to me. Oh, by the way, I'm Aristi," the Cardassian stated as they exited the Holodeck. "Aristi Ferguson, Assistant Chief Morale Officer at your service!"

"Samantha M. Widdlestein," the girl replied. "The one and only."

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. Now, let’s not keep the crew waiting!”

"Brain in a Jar"

By Lt. Dr. Klaus Fienberg, Cheif Medical Officer
Ens. Andrei Vronsky, Medical Officer

Ensign Vronsky rubbed his gloved hands together one more time before entering sickbay, looking around. It seemed...well, oddly busy. He bit his lip, standing still for a moment to get an overview over what was happening before giving yup. He felt too confused and disoriented to do so. Instead...well, he had to ask someone. And he'd rather ask his CMO and look like an idiot than anything else. He walked to the office and knocked, waiting for a reply as he looked around. If he had been English, he'd say bloody hell or something. He wasn't, although the thought amused him. If he had been an American, he could have said damn or something. That amused him even more. And if he had been from Scandinavia, his beloved Country's neighbour...

How did you say 'this is fucked' in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and all the other languages of that area? He moved his lips as he tried to find the word. He ended up knocking again. "Ba! ka," he settled for. Calling himself an idiot always helped. "Baka." This was just him. He was sure of it now. It was him losing his mind.

"Baka? There is something I have not heard in ages." And this was true. Klaus had a preference for Imbecile.

Andrei's eyes widened with horror, and he looked at the now open door. He blushed, walking inside. "Sorry, Sir. It wasn't to you, it was to me..." he met his eyes, smiling weakly. "I'm Ensign Andrei Vronsky. We haven't officially met face to face, Sir. I...I thought I'd drop by and ask if...something odd is happening here." Now it was in the open. He was indeed an idiot to ask such a question.

Klaus was utterly and completely confused by this question. ~Has Ensign Vronsky been living under a rock?!~

"Haven't you been effected by the memories and swapping of perceptions?" Klaus needed to know...badly.

"Well..." Andrei looked at him, frowning for a moment."I've been having vivid recollections the last day..." he blushed, looking down. "And I've been doing things I didn't really remember doing, but I've been aware where I was. Sort of..." he looked back at him, grimacing. "I've been having some time off to myself. I don't really socialize here yet, so I had no idea that this was something everyone here had."

~Bizarre. Could he have possibly not been effected....~

"Any recollections, hallucenations, dreams, where you were not yourself?"

"No, sir," Andrei said, with a chuckle as he watched him. He was kidding, right? That sounded...insane. "I usually never remember my dreams, and the last dream I had that I remember, I was running around saving the world from a vampire..." he smiled, before seeing that the man was not smiling back. He swallowed. "I...no, Sir. No recollectuons, hallucenations or dreams where I was not myself."

"Well, if thats the case. Do you mind if examine your brain, Ensign? I don't want to have to make it an order."

Sudden fear came to Andrei. Brain examinations. He hated them with a passion. He took a step back. "Sir...I'm not unaffected by it. I...I have had vivid recollections. That seem real only a part of me knows that I am in reality in my quarters. I painted on my own floor, thinking it was canvas. I..." he took a breath, calming himself. "Sir, am I the only one that isn't so affected by whatever is going on? I'm not immue but...if you want to examine my brain to see what makes me different then...I don't know..." he watched him with doubt. "I think you have to order me. That's the only way I will willingly do it. In the name of medicine or not." There, the truth was out. Not much else could be done now.

"Ensign Vronsky. I apologize if I've disturbed you....but your recollections, and the way you've been affected is different than what most people..... including myself, have been affected. I just want to do a simple neural analysis. I want to know why you've been affected differently, thats all. It may be a way to......stave off, the effects of what's going on."

Andrei watched him for a moment, the frown deepening before he swore, holding his hands up in defeat. "Okay," he said, wetting his lips. "But if you find anything else than what is about this memory thing, I'd rather not know about it. Okay?" He gave him a small smile, moving closer to the desk. "And if you need help in this, another set of hands...I'm there. If I am affected differently, I might be easier for you to use as an assistant."

"Oh, Of course. Half my staff is on the project, including yourself."

"Oh..." Andrei nodded, blushing. "So...I'm all yours, doctor."

"Of course. We'll start momentarily. Just a short scan."

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