Carey wheeled back over, a wide smile on his face. "Y'know what this means, right? We may have disco'ered new life!"

"You know what that means, right?" Eaton replied, "We have to tell Cutter."

Immediately, Carey's smile disappeared.

"I am. Dressed and ready for action, sir!" Bran said determinedly, glad not to be the helpless victim any longer.

"Not quite Lieutenant," Dhanishta interjected, "there's something missing…" she raised an eyebrow behind her visor and tried to force some humor into her body and voice, anything to lighten her own spirits.

Dhanishta had never been one for therapy, but she knew how she preferred to handle things, and while her method wasn't always sound, it sure felt good. She handed over her phaser rifle to Bran and nodded,

"Now you're ready!"

"And while Paige had no doubt that Smith's trim physique was made entirely of hard-as-steel muscle, it didn't have the intimidation factor of, say, James Corgan's bicep, K'aa's teeth, or ops Lieutenant Gerti Greenbaum's afro."

"Nothing Crazy?" the filipina snapped, "I no do crazy I do pretty. You no be scared. You 'Boldly Go' and we see about where no man has been after that."

It was like all fantasies; it tantalized you with its realism, made you wet with anticipation, whispered to you over and over again that all you had to do was believe in yourself and you could have your cake and eat it, and then at the last minute like a cock-teasing temptress it pushed you off, pulled up it's panties, kissed you goodnight on the cheek and trotted out in its high heals to hail a taxi!

"Lt. Commander SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!!!!!" He broke out again in a round of insane giggles at his own joke, causing Ophelia to laugh and tassel his hair.

Saiyk restrained a sigh. His logic was imperfect at best, however he did try hard to keep up appearances.

"I gladly yield to a superior enemy," Andrus replied, pushing Iniara towards the man in black. "You can have her back."

The hologram tilted its head to one side and studied Iniara for a moment, and then frowned at Suder. "Do you expect me to take her back now that you're through with her just like that? What kind of man do you think I am? And what kind of man are you that you won't even fight for her?"

"A man with very healthy instincts," Andy shot back.

"Hallelujah!" O'Rourke threw her hands up and shouted. "You're damn right there is. You just promoted the rest of the crew to people instead of sheep, Victor - that's a damn big step for you."

And, when dealing with humans, ignorance is often...intellectually preferable.'

The second young man, dark haired, interjected. "I'm, um...Joseph Franks. I...I don't know how to say this...are you wearing a happy face?"

The Vulcan woman paused for a moment, and then nodded gravely. "Yes, Joseph Franks, I am. Do I not look happy to be here?"

"Still, it was a real pain in the ass when something wouldn't die the way you wanted it to."

"If you tell me that 'you should see the other guy' Commander," he offered after a moment, "I believe that I'm going to do something so horrifying that your grandchildren will quake in fear when my name is mentioned."

T'risia nodded her head. "Indeed he did, But, alas, I am no Mr. Spock."

Ensign Walker looked over her shape, and said, close to inappropriately, "No ma'am, you are definitely not!" She let the comment pass, as her deduction was that it was primarily to indicate a desire to mate with her at a later time. Terrans did that, to her experience.

"...Victor's got this whole thing about the people around him dying---he doesn't like it. And by not liking it, I mean he doesn't allow it. Victor regularly doesn't give permission for people to die." Walker sat silently for a minute. "That sounds like another joke. God doesn't work miracles. Victor Krieghoff does."

He decided to leave off the part about how if he ever talked down to him again in front of the Captain that he'd shove some of his feathers where they wouldn't help him fly, and then turned and started to walk back towards the door.

"Im dooooooooomed!" Alli wailed into her pillow.

"Tut tut….none of that dearie. I may not understand your human mating customs, but we rocks have a natural talent for operating under pressure."

Alli sniffed. "huh?"

"Under pressure?" Mary repeated, "Operate under pressure Oh forget it luv….How am I supposed to figure out humor if you don't even understand basic geology?"

"Less than a minute," Victor noted, still smiling. "And now they're calling in more of their pack to help hunt us." He laughed again, delighted in the newly-reawakened sense of life within him. "What lovely, smart, killers they are; I have to come back here after this is all over and hunt them properly."

"Delightful. To the left I suppose?" For the first time Artim got a good look at the creatures. Damn those things were ugly.