Mission 15 - Be Wary Of Your Friends (JM with Starbase 386)

[Masterson]

<<USS Malinche>>
<Corridor, 0815, Day 3>

Jason came out of the holodeck; wiping sweat off his face. Adam (NPC) was close behind, also toweling off. He appeared to be slightly more irritated then normal by the fact that he lost their latest match.

"I almost had you know," Adam stated.

"Almost only counts in horseshoes and photon grenades," Jason smiled.

Although the joke appeared to be lost on Adam who merely gave him an extremely annoyed look. They headed down the corridor, Adam was on the late shift in sickbay today and Jason had a few hours before he had to accompany Isabel to the summit. They rounded a corner and Jason saw Aaron Masterson studying a nearby display. He realized that he hadn't met him yet.

"Why don't you go ahead, I think I am going to stop and talk to our new tactical chief."

Adam nodded and went on his way; Jason headed over to where Aaron was standing.

"Good morning," Jason stated. "Pardon all the sweat and I usually don't look like this but I don't think that we have met, I'm your XO Jason Barrett."

Aaron surveyed the sweaty man before him and had to suppress a laugh. He had expected his first meeting with the Malinche's executive officer to be very formal. It could have taken place anywhere, but he had felt that it was going to be a run down of the rules and how the Malinche is a tight ship, even though she doesn't look like it. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised to have been proven wrong by Barrett's more casual greeting.

"Good morning, sir," Aaron replied, "No, I don't believe we have met yet. Lieutenant JG Aaron Masterson, Chief Security/Tactical Officer."

"Welcome aboard Aaron, care to join me for some breakfast?"

Jason had tried to get a feel for all this officers; it allowed him to figure out their strength and weaknesses and overall let them know that their XO cared about them as people and not just officers.

Since he didn't have anything planned and he didn't want to refuse an offer from the XO, Aaron nodded. "Sure," Aaron replied, "I could spare some time, I guess." He'd had a quick bite to eat earlier that morning, but it hadn't been anything one might consider a true breakfast. Something from the mess hall actually sounded quite good. Falling into step with Barrett, Aaron made a mental note to remember to schedule an appointment with Derek (NPC) later.

"So, how are you liking the Malinche so far?" Jason asked, as they made their way toward the mess hall.

"It's a fine ship," Aaron said, "Bigger than the last one I was on."

"You'll get used to it," Jason smiled, as they entered the turbolift, "Where was your last posting anyway?"

"I served two tours on the Armstrong while at the Academy," Aaron explained as the lift began to move through the ship, "When I graduated, the captain requested that I be assigned to the Armstrong for active duty as her Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer. Being a Saber-class, it wasn't difficult to get to know everyone aboard. We really made a good team over there."

Jason nodded. "Armstrong, I have heard some good things about that ship. The Malinche is bigger but we have a lot of friendly people aboard."

The lift stopped and they stepped out, heading toward the mess hall.

"One thing, I'm really not one for ranks all the time...I tend to call officers by there first name, if that's going to be a problem let me know."

"I don't think it will," Aaron replied, a little surprised at that bit of information. Still, he supposed that it was well within the prerogative of the first officer or even the captain to refer to their crew in whatever form they wished, so long as it was reasonable. It would take some getting used to, however, since he hadn't even been on a first name basis with the Armstrong captain or executive officer by the time he was transferred.

"So, what is that you do for fun?" Jason asked.

"You mean work isn't fun," Aaron said with a slight chuckle, "Well...when I'm not having fun working, I like to crack open a good book. I've actually got quite the library, though it's hard to bring them all with when I'm serving aboard ship. That's why I keep a small collection of my favorites with me."

"Ah a learned man," Jason smiled, as they headed over to the replicator. He ordered his breakfast and watched as Aaron did the same.

"I love to read as well, although recently Adam has me spending a lot of my free time sparing with him."

They grabbed their food and took a seat.

"Just a tip if you have an away team and you need a medic, take Adam with you. In another life I swear that boy was a marine medic."

"I'll have to keep that in mind," Aaron replied, grateful for the advice. Getting recommendations from others, especially the command staff, made it easier to get to know the strengths of his fellow shipmates. Aaron spread his napkin out on his knee and asked, "Do you take every new crewmember out to breakfast?" He meant it as a lighthearted inquiry, but kept a close eye on Barrett to see what the reaction might be...just in case.

"I prefer to get to know my crew, respect tends to work better when you actually have time invested in people. Don't get me wrong Aaron, I don't intend to go walking around forgetting that we are a starship but I think there is a healthy balance between being informal and rigid as a warp strut."

"There are benefits to that," Aaron agreed, knowing all to well how important that fine line was, "It's best to know your team well so that you can play to their strengths for the benefit of the team." He reached over and lifted his mug of hot cocoa to his mouth and took a sip.

"If I recall your file correctly you aren't married. Anyone special back home? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Stop me if I am prying too much," Jason smiled.

He hoped that Aaron wouldn't take offense to those questions; judging by his demeanor so far he figured that he was pretty much in the clear.

Realizing that the replicator had overshot the desired temperature of the cocoa, Aaron spluttered slightly, trying to prevent from burning himself. "Sorry," he apologized, setting the mug aside and dabbing his mouth with his napkin, "Too hot. What were you saying?"

“Hopefully you won’t need a trip to sickbay,” Jason smiled. “I was asking prying questions about your social life. You know, girlfriend, boyfriend, family, pets, evil twin….things of that nature.”

"Right," Aaron said with a laugh, "No...no evil twins that I know of. My sister, Sonya, serves on the Tethys as the Assistant Chief Science Officer, but neither of my parents were ever in Starfleet."

"Interesting," Jason responded, taking a bite of his short stack. "What made you want to join Starfleet then?"

With a shrug, Aaron replied, "I guess I kinda just realized that I wanted to do something different than my parents had done, which was fine with them. They've always been really supportive. Starfleet seemed like a good opportunity to get out and explore. I like a good challenge and Starfleet seemed like the perfect one."

Jason nodded, so far he was really liking Aaron. He had met some tactical/security officers that only had a passion for things physical. It was a refreshing change, seeing that Aaron appeared to be a well rounded young man.

"Challenges are good, they tend to show us what we are really capable of," Jason smiled. "If I recall correctly your bio said something about being on a competitive swim team back home. We have two of the academy's best on this ship; Joey Summers and Adam Townsen."

"Really," Aaron said, surprised, "I never met them at any competitions. When did they swim?" He hadn't done too badly swimming at the Academy. In fact, he had impressed the coaches with how well he trained and interacted with the team. It would be interesting to see how well he did against Summers and Townsen.

"They graduated several years before you did. What about your questions? What do you have to ask your XO, I figured I interrogated you its only fair you get the same chance."

Satisfied that he would not get burned, Aaron took a sip of cocoa from his mug. "I'm not sure that I really have any right now, sir," he said, surveying the room, "Still getting to know people aboard ship and trying to get used to the way things are done around here. Every ship has its quirks, you know."

"Holodecks," Jason said, around a mouthful of pancakes.

"Pardon," Aaron asked, slightly confused as to what Barrett was trying to say.

"Holodecks, the holodecks around here actually work. They haven't tried to kill me once...at least not once that I can remember."

"That's a good thing, isn't it," Aaron said, "I mean, they aren't supposed to be killing people as far as I'm aware." Sure, holodecks could malfunction like everything else and he had heard some of the stories, but honestly, the most dangerous programs run on the holodeck were probably the security training scenarios. Even those had safeties built into them so that the trainees wouldn't get too injured.

"Oh another thing, you'll want to watch the plasma flow to the ventral phaser arrays; I think that operations and engineering have all that worked out but just incase you may want to be on the look out for that. Also, you'll find the internal sensors on the Malinche are a bit different then the ones that they installed, we've modifications that allow for faster detection of intruders and personal cloaking fields."

"Phaser arrays and internal sensors," Aaron repeated, making a mental list, "Got it." Power to the phaser arrays was a problem that cropped up from time to time on every ship, especially one so heavily armed and powered like the Prometheus-class. He didn't think he'd have too hard of a time keeping it in check. Getting to know the modifications to the internal sensors might require him to swing by operations, but it wouldn't take him long to get those figured out either.

"Other then that she should be ready to go," Jason smiled. "If you aren't doing anything later Adam has insisted on attempting to cook again. I'd be grateful for a fellow victim...err...I mean dinner guest."

"Heh...thank you," Aaron said, returning the man's smile, "I'll try to swing by if nothing comes up."



OFF:

A JP by:

Lt. Commander Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche

and

[Starbase 386 Crew]

<<Starbase 386, Outside COO's Office, Day 2, 1330>>

Having briefly spoken with James, Kilana had learned that the new Chief Operations Officer had arrived on the station. Apparently the meeting had been...interesting. She figured they would likely be working together fairly often, so thought it best to introduce herself.

Kilana straightened slightly as she rang the chime outside his office.

Quinn's head hurt; reading through all the specs was taking longer then he had thought it was going to. All he really wanted to do was go to the holodeck and hit something. The door chime sounded and Quinn surpressed a growl. "Enter."

Entering the man's office, Kilana paused by the door, offering him a small smile, "I hope I'm not intruding, but thought I should come introduce myself.... I'm Warrant Officer 1st Class Kilana Nira, Chief Engineering Officer."

Quinn did his best not to shout back his usual rather sarcastic reply; although he had several ready. He instead did his best not to look completely pissed off. "Is there something that I can help you with?"

Kilana raised an eyebrow, "Not in particular... I just thought that since we'll be working together, I should stop by and introduce myself. But if this is a bad time, I could always come back later."

Quinn sighed heavily, he didn't want to snap at her. But the truth of the matter was that aside from a select very few officers, he typically didn't get along with anyone. He supposed that she was just trying to be friendly.

"Look, Officer...I'm not trying to be rude but I'll be honest most people don't like me and I really could care less if they do."

"Well, I suppose that's good; if you did care you'd be caring an awful lot considering how many people there are on this base," she replied, partly amused, partly frustrated with the man. "In any event, I have a feeling the Captain isn't just going to let you off the hook and if you're going to be here, you might as well make at least a few friends or at least try to be somewhat decent to people."

The only real friend that Quinn had was Dustin Holland, an ensign and a member of NCIS. He hadn't seen him for over 6 months; he was pretty sure that when he did talk to him again Dustin would give him hell again for his attitude. In fact if he were here right now he would he would have been kicking Quinn's butt for treating Kilana this way but he wasn't, so that allowed Quinn a little bit of latitude.

"You clearly haven't read my file, have you chief?" Quinn asked. "I'm not exactly good officer material, most people that get anywhere near me get their names drug through the mud."

Speaking with the new Chief Operations Officer reminded Kilana to be thankful for her staff, who were nothing like him. Still, no sense in sinking to his level, "No, I can't say I have since you just came aboard. Though you can't be THAT bad or you wouldn't still be around and wouldn't have been assigned here. There are a lot of good people around here that will still treat you decently, despite how you might treat them. Still, it'll make things smoother for everyone if you could at least be civil and somewhat helpful."

Quinn made a mental note to find some holodeck time later to beat the crap out of something. It not have been the most constructive way to deal with his feelings but it would be better then simply beating it out of an un-suspecting officer. "I'll keep that in mind," Quinn stated, his voice actually remaining civil. "If you or engineering need anything feel free to contact me."

Kilana found it hard to believe that her saying something would magically make the man change his mind, but there was no sense in angering him now that he was at least appearing to act decently, "Thank you, Lieutenant. Be sure to do the same if I or some of the Engineers can be of assistance... I'm sure you're busy getting settled in, so I'll see you around."

"Sure, see you around," Quinn said as Kilana left his office.

OFF
A JP by:

Warrant Officer First Class Kilana Nira
Chief Engineering Officer
Starbase 386

&

Lt. JG Quinn Scott
Chief of Station Operations
Starbase 386
Horizon Fleet

[Kersare]

<<Starbase 386, Upper Pylon #2, Station Day 2, 1305>>

Isabel stepped off the Malinche and onto Starbase 386. People, mostly her crew and some of the station's engineers, were hurriedly moving along past her. Technically she could've eaten on the Starbase, but she'd wanted to see what the base's engineers had been working on instead. Now that the meeting was over and she was aware of what had happened, she was even more concerned about the importance of the Summit.

Jason knew that trouble was going to follow them; their last mission had been entirely too free of trouble. They even managed to get IRW Revok to Starbase 386 without any major incident and without ruffling any diplomatic feathers. But the meeting that Isabel had just sat through highlighted the importance of the summit. They had barely recovered from the war with the Dominion, the last thing they needed was another conflict.

“I had no idea things had gotten so bad,” Jason stated. “I thought that the diplomatic core had everything under control.”

Isabel shrugged slightly, "Some are good at deceiving others into believing everything is okay...until they fire across your bow."

“From what the Marans can tell me they’ve only encountered them twice. Each time they acted aggressively, no lives were lost but it seems to be a running pattern.”

"So it would seem. But that's partly what the Taevon Summit is for - to find a new strategy. Hopefully something will come of it," she replied.

“Valid point captain.”

As her eyes swept the area, looking for a good path to the turbolift, Isabel noticed a young ensign in command red. He seemed to be looking for someone.

Thomas (NPC) had not had a chance to meet Captain Kersare before so when he was asked to greet the captain at the airlock, he hoped that it wouldn't be too difficult to locate her. At least it was up away from the crowded Promenade, which did make things a little easier, but that didn't mean that the pylon wasn't already busy with disembarking personnel and cargo transfers.

"Good afternoon," Isabel replied. "I am Captain Kersare and this is my Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander Barrett. We escorted the IRW Revok here for the Taevon Summit and are supposed to speak with Captain Lange."

Well, it had been easier than Thomas originally thought. "Welcome to Starbase 386, captain," the young Betazoid said with a smile, "Ensign Gates, Executive Officer's Yeoman. If you'd care to follow me, I can help you find the quickest way to operations." Turning, Thomas started off toward the nearest lift access point. He was getting very good at navigating his way around amongst all the hustle and bustle of the station, especially with all the new arrivals.

"Much appreciated, Ensign," Isabel replied. "I've been here a few times before, but I'm sure you know it much better than I."

Jason was amazed at how many people managed to cram into the pylon area. He made a mental note to come back with Adam (NPC) and take in the station if they had any spare time. Although at the rate things were moving he doubted that would be the case.

“Impressive looking station, if I don’t do say so myself,” Jason stated, as they made there way through the crowd.

<Ops Center>

The group took the final turbolift to the Ops Center. Isabel hadn't been to 386's Ops Center before. The Cardassians had an...interesting design, though it wasn't as bustling as a starship bridge.

Jason had been aboard DS9 several times, although never into the command center. The turbolift design took a little getting used too, with the open car and whatnot. The deep thrum of the plasma conduits gave the whole area an eerie calm.

Arthur looked up from the command table at the sound of the arriving lift. He smiled when he saw Thomas emerge, followed closely by Captain Kersare and a gentlemen he presumed to be the Malinche's first officer. Nodding politely to the guests, he tapped a few more commands into the command table. With the arrival of the second Romulan delegation, Arthur wondered if the two delegations would be able to meet at the conference table without causing too much of an incident. Summits often were very tricky in that area.

Lange looked up at the same time Richardson did, but didn't nod. Instead, he stood and walked over to greet the new arrivals. "It's good to see you again, Captain," Lange said with a smile. "Welcome to my personal hell."

"Captain," Isabel said with a brief smile. "I must say I was a bit surprised when I heard they'd given you the dubious honor of being in command here. It didn't exactly seem to be your style."

"I would call that the understatement of the year," Lange answered. He motioned towards his office door. "Please, step into my office and we'll have a quick chat, Captain, Mister Barrett. Doc, would you care to join us?"

Securing his position at the command table, Arthur smiled and fell into step with the two senior officers from the Malinche. "I trust your journey was uneventful," he inquired of Barrett. Romulans could be a difficult group to understand, especially with the events that had been unfolding since the Shinzon coup. Arthur had always found them to be a fascinating people, even if they were a little mysterious.

"Interesting might have been too tame a word," Jason said. "Although I am taking the fact that we didn't get ourselves or the Romulans blown to bits as a good sign."

Nodding to James, Isabel moved towards his office. At least he'd had something of a chance to get settled in. As she walked in, she noticed only two chairs near the expansive desk, but saw another one out of the corner of her eye and moved to bring it over. Isabel took a seat and waited for the others to take theirs.

Lange's office was larger then Jason had expected and with more personal decor then he would have guessed as well. If first impressions were anything, Lange seemed to be on top of things.

Lange quickly circled the shorter side of the desk to take his seat. He was still getting used to the very severe styling of the office, one of many things that Admiral Meyer had decided to leave as it was when the station was captured, half-built, from the Cardassian forces that had occupied this system. Needless to say, the Admiral's own office looked far more Starfleet than this, which was somewhat of a shock when one stepped into it for the first time from the purely Cardassian corridor.

Arthur waited until the others had each taken a seat before moving to take the final open chair. He was interested to hear the details of the Malinche's journey to Starbase 386. Escort duty could often times be a rather routine operation, but it could easily become much more than that in the blink of an eye. At this point though, the Malinche was in one piece and so was the Romulan warbird they had been escorting. Arthur would consider that a successful mission in his book.

"I take it you're aware that we escorted the IRW Revok here...or at least know that the Revok has arrived," Isabel began.

"And in one piece," Jason said, a slight hint of humor to his voice. "Even I will admit that I am surprised that someone didn't try something."

"Were you given cause to believe that there would be an attempt to sabotage the delegation," Arthur inquired curiously.

Isabel turned to the man she assumed was the Executive Officer, or a Doctor of some sort, "Specifically? No. However, considering where we were headed and that it's the Romulans, one can never be too careful. My Intel Chief and Acting Security/Tactical Chief were keeping an eye on things and doing some research. They felt there may be an attempt on the Senator's life, but can't officially confirm it. I can send them to speak with you or whoever you feel should be made aware if you'd like."

"That might be a good idea," Lange replied thoughtfully. They were about to be up to their ears in ambassadors and politicians. Undoubtedly someone other than the Elyshans would have reason to want some of those people to meet with unfortunate "accidents" while here. "In the mean time, what can you tell us about Senator Vrenick?"

"He seemed respectful for the most part, and reasonable, but then again we didn't exactly bring up controversial topics while they were aboard. From what I understand, the Senator is a bit more extreme in his views, so I'm sure he has plenty of enemies and likely won't make the Summit easy," Isabel said. "My Chief Counselor or the Intelligence Chief may have picked up on more."

"And I wouldn't be surprised if some of those enemies are in the other Romulan delegation," Lange said, trying to remember something he'd heard once. Ah, that was it. "And then we should have fun with both them and the Breen aboard. The Romulans say 'Never turn your back on a Breen.' And the Breen have an equally foreboding saying: 'Beware a Romulan who seems reasonable: he's probably holding a knife.'" Lange shook his head. This was not going to be easy.

Arthur chuckled slightly at the apparently daunting task. "Thankfully, Mr. Gates and I have been working on the best arrangement of accommodations for our delegates so as to minimize any chance for incidents between delegations to occur," he explained, "Not an easy feat, I assure you."

Jason had to smile at that comment; Arthur did have a point. It was going to take a lot work to make sure that the delegates didn't find any reason to have an 'incident'. With so many people in close proximity to each other; even more so when a lot of them had good reason to want the other side out of the way. "There are days when I really miss the Dominion," Jason said. "At least they were pretty straight forward about all this stuff. Join us or we blow you to bits."

"If you'd like, I could ask my Chief Security/Tactical Officer to help out while we're here as well...Just to add more of a Security presence on the station," Isabel offered. Really there shouldn't be any emergencies on the Malinche while they were docked, and Aaron could see his department in action.

"That would be most appreciated," Lange replied. "The Starfleet security unit here is a bit under-staffed and I doubt if any of the civilian deputies have seen anything like this conference before." In fact, if Kersare hadn't suggested the idea, Lange probably would have asked, since her crew was going to be on the station for a few days anyway.

Isabel nodded, "I'll ask Mr. Masterson to contact your Security Chief to coordinate. Is there anything else we could help you with?"

Lange thought for a moment before replying. He couldn't come up with anything, but was sure he'd think of something before too long. "I think that's it for now, but I'll let you know if I think of anything."

"Of course," Isabel replied. "I'm sure you're busy, so we'll leave you to your work. Pleasure seeing you again, Captain."

"And you as well," Lange answered, standing as the guests departed his office.

OFF: JP brought to you by:

Captain James Lange
Commanding Officer
Starbase 386

and

Commander Arthur Richardson
Executive Officer
Starbase 386

and

Ensign Thomas Gates (PNPC)
XO's Yeoman
Starbase 386
played by Commander Richardson

and

Lieutenant Commander Jason Barrett
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

[N'rass]

<Day 2 0330 hrs, L'Randil's quarters, USS Malinche>

She sat on the top of a freight shuttle as she worked on a power junction nearly 30 feet above deck. Just then an exhaust blast from a passing shuttle knocked her off balance and she fell, getting crushed by the falling panels.

The young caitian sat up in her bed with a jolt and gasp. The fur on her arms and tail were standing up and her heart rate was still racing. She sat there for a couple minutes trying to catch her breath. Deciding not to fall back asleep, she got dressed and went back down to her other home, the shuttle bay shop.

There were a few night crewmen about who noticed her but they were used to the sight of the engineer coming on duty early. The insomnia was getting to be a regular thing. This time one came up to greet her, leaning on the doorframe of the shuttle she was sitting in.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked.

"Same ol." She nodded.

"You should see the counselor about that. I mean it." He stated firmly, looking her in the eyes.

"Fine, I will." She said, breaking the stare.

<0700 hrs, Counselors office.>

The engineer chimed the doorbell and waited. To see a counselor was a new thing for her so she was nervous as she waited.

Nora, looking forward to visiting the Holodeck later on in the afternoon, had been determined to have an early start. She had arrived at her office earlier than usual, instructing the computer to play some soothing music as she set about some of the tasks she’d given herself for the day.

She was so engrossed in her work that she nearly missed the sound of the door chime over the soft strains of music she’d been humming along with. “Computer, end music,” she said, sitting up in her chair. “Come in,” she called a moment later.

The caitian walked in, eyeing the room trying not to appear nervous. It wasn't working so well. She walked in and stood in front of the counselor's desk, hands behind her at attention.

"Ensign, L'Randil. I need...help." She said slowly.

"At ease," Nora said with a soft smile, rising from her chair. "I think you've come to the right place. I'm Dr. Nora Zeral, Chief Counselor. Why don't you make yourself comfortable," she suggested, gesturing to the various seating options that composed her office.

The engineer half smiled and looked the options over. As much as she needed the rest, she decided to stand and pace slowly back and forth, flicking her tail side to side. "Sorry, I just have a nervous energy. This helps me relax." L'Randil apologized. "I have been getting flashbacks and I wake up in the middle of the night most nights now. I can't remember my last full night of sleep." She paused. "The stress of it is getting worse. I don't know what to do." She motioned with her hands as she paced.

Nodding, Nora sat in her chair again, observing for a moment as L’Randil paced. “That does sound very unpleasant,” she said sympathetically. “Can you describe for me some of the flashbacks you’ve been having?”

L'Randil paused momentarily. "Well, mostly seems to be the accident before I joined Starfleet. I picture myself sitting on the top of a mine shuttle like I've done a million times before. Then as I look up I get knocked off and fall a large distance to the floor and then I wake up before the panels crush me."

“I can see why an event like that might stick with you,” Nora commented.

"I don't know what it means because I only have a minor injury left over. It still amazes me that I survived it. By all rights I shouldn't have."

Leaning her forearms on her desk, Nora contemplated L’Randil’s situation. “When you have this recurring dream, are you aware at some point that it’s only a dream?” she asked.

The caitian had to think for a moment. "I never thought about that. To be honest, I wake up before I do. Then I can't help but running it through my mind. The image of the falling panels is almost enough to make me stop working on elevated areas. I can't be letting this affect my duties." She paced over to the couch and sat down, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and tail in one hand nervously.

Nora quietly left her desk chair and settled into a chair across from L’Randil. “Sometimes we really can’t help what does and doesn’t affect us,” she said simply, worried that L’Randil was being a little too hard on herself.

The caitian nodded thoughtfully but nervously.

“Well, there are several options that we can pursue,” Nora said with a slight smile. “The first is not my preferred solution, but it is the most straightforward. I can recommend a sedative at a low dosage to help you sleep, which may or may not help with the recurring nightmares. It does tend to differ from patient to patient.” Folding her hands in her lap, she continued, “Or there are calming techniques and practices that you can try, if you’d rather try to remedy the situation more naturally.”

"Well," L'Randil responded, still looking down and twisting her tail hair. "I've been trying to avoid sedatives for a long time. So I guess we have the other option." She looked up at the counselor and slowly let go of her tail.

“Actually, I do have one more suggestion,” Nora said. “What I have in mind is a technique one of my instructors at the Academy taught to me. It may sound a little strange, but I know from personal experience that it works. The next time that you have your recurring dream, or any dream, for that matter, see if you can remind yourself that it’s only a dream and that you are still, to some degree, in control. If you can achieve that, it is possible to alter the events in your dream, or to at least remind yourself that you're really safe and sound in your bed and not in mortal danger.”

L'Randil nodded. "You make a good point, doctor. I don't know if I can remember to do that but I will try what I can. I mean I see what you are saying, its just, well, I don't know." She was apparently in thought even when she stopped speaking.

“I understand,” Nora said, and she truly did. She had felt rather uncertain about the technique herself when it had been suggested to her. “Well, let’s look at some more basic calming techniques first then, shall we? You could try meditation, or even just set a few moments aside for reflection before you sleep. There are breathing exercises, or even something as simple as a cup of chamomile tea—I’ve had several patients that seem to think chamomile can solve anything,” she smiled. “The goal is to calm your thoughts and release any stress or tension before you go to sleep.”

L'Randil nodded again, letting her tail go and tap the couch slowly, as it did when she was beginning to grasp a concept. "I hope I can..." She yawned in a uniquely cat fashion, "...do this right." The effects of the lack of sleep were starting to show. She blinked a couple times. "This is unlike me." She stated. "It must have relaxed me some just to talk it out." Then she smiled. "Thank you, Ma'am."

"Of course, Ensign. If you don't notice any change after a few days, come and see me again," Nora requested.

"Thank you. I will keep in touch. Now..." She sighed, "I need to get on my way." She stood up, bowed and walked out the door.

A JP by

Lieutenant Nora Zeral
Chief Counselor & 2XO
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

[Steele]

On:
Day 1/ USS Malinche
Bridge

Aaron watched as the Starbase came into view. He was expecting your typical Federation style Starbase and consequently was surprised when the Cardassian style station filled the viewscreen. Pulling up the station's history at his terminal, Aaron learned that construction of the current station was begun during the Dominion War when the Cardassians occupied the Aldani system. After the War, Starfleet wisely decided to finish the station and install Federation technology.

The other thing that caught his attention as the station grew closer was the other ships present. He didn’t recognize any of the registries, but noticed what appeared to be battle damage on more than one ship. Curious as to the source of the damage, he made it his first order of business to discover what happened.

<Starbase 386, Promenade >

The crowd of people gathered around a computer terminal was a major indicator that something big was happening. Watching the people closest to the terminal, Aaron quickly realized they were looking for something; some would come away relieved others upset.

"Can you tell me what all the commotion's about?"
Aaron inquired of a person who had recently come away from the terminal.

The lady stared at him for what seemed like a full minute before replying.
"It's a list of Starfleet casualties from what is being called the Battle of Altorus. The Elyshan Empire has been rattling their sabers for quite some time now; it was only a matter of time before there was an armed conflict."

Aaron nodded as if he understood, even though he didn’t.
"Thank you Ensign."

He had been so wrapped up with the disappearance of the Sentry, that is was easy to forget life moved on despite the losses. Joining the crowd, Aaron waited for his turn to check the list of casualties. He recognized a few of the names on the list but no one that he was particularly close to. That finished, he moved on to find the shops in order to shift his attention to more happy things.

Off:

[Orlando Crew]

<<Starbase 386, Corridor off the Promenade, Station Day 3, 1300>>

Before stepping out onto the Promenade, Aniela watched quietly for a few minutes. It was certainly different from the Runabout she'd shared with two people for the past few days. That had been an experience in itself as the Pilot had been a rather chatty man...

But they'd finally gotten to the landing pad nearly two hours ago, and Aniela had subsequently found her temporary quarters on the base so she could drop off her things. After a quick shower, she'd changed into civilian attire and made her way to her current location.

Aniela's chocolate eyes scanned the crowd once more before stepping out amongst them. The green flowing sleeves of her top fluttered against her arms as she moved - not so fast as to call attention to herself, but not so slow that she impeded traffic. Part of her relaxed as she melted into the crowd; while she generally liked people she was also somewhat shy and found it easier to not draw attention to herself, especially in situations such as this.

As she wandered around the Promenade, Aniela's thoughts drifted to her transfer orders. Her commanding officer had given her the news a little over a week ago - she was to rendezvous with the USS Orlando at Starbase 386. Since then, she'd also received another message, explaining that there would be a few other new transfers that would be in her department. Apparently they would also be coming to 386, so Aniela was hoping she could get a message to them and find a time to meet them before the Orlando arrived.

The Orlando was an Excelsior-class starship, which would be a change for her. From the specs she'd read on the way to the Starbase, it had Primary Science Labs, secondary Science Labs, and Stellar Cartography - plenty of places for her department to use. Honestly, Aniela was looking forward to seeing it all.

For now though, she had some time.

Seeing a shop with a number of paintings, Aniela slowed to look around. She had one painting that she'd brought with her, but decided it wouldn't hurt to see if there was something she liked. One wall of paintings featured various people and animals, but the back wall was what caught her eye - it held paintings of planets and nebulas. One was a beautiful depiction of the Mar Oscura Nebula; the varying blues played nicely on the canvas.

"May I help you?" A woman in her twenties asked as she approached Aniela.

Pausing a moment, Aniela replied, "I'm interested in the painting of the Mar Oscura Nebula, actually."

"Ah yes, that's one of my favorites actually. I painted it awhile ago actually, but most don't seem to appreciate it all that much." Chuckling, the woman continued, "Really I doubt that most realize what it is."

"Probably not," Aniela said. She had expected that the painting had been replicated, but she surmised it wasn't all that surprising that there would be at least one artist on a Starbase such as the one she was currently on.

The woman nodded, "Do you have credits, ma'am?" Pulling out a PADD, she showed Aniela the price.

"Yes, I have credits," Aniela answered as she looked at the price; it seemed reasonable. Taking the PADD from the shopkeeper, she entered in her account number, then placed her thumb on it. Hearing it beep, Aniela handed it back to the woman.

Breaking into a smile, the shopkeeper said, "Thank you, Lieutenant. Do you wish to take it with you, or shall I have it sent to your quarters?"

Deciding she didn't want to carry the painting around the Promenade, Aniela said, "Could you have it sent to my quarters? Upper Pylon 2, Compartment 758."

"Of course; it shall arrive a little later this afternoon."

Aniela gave the woman a brief smile and nod as she headed out of the shop. As she walked out, a familiar tune caught her ear. Moving towards it, she found a shop smaller than the previous one she'd been in that had various trinkets. The sounds were coming from a display of music boxes.

Closer now, Aniela indeed recognized the tune - it was Beethoven's Fur Elise. She smiled as the song brought back memories of summers spent with her nonni in Italy. While her Nonna would consider herself a proud Italian and certainly enjoyed many Italian composers such as Vivaldi, she was also fond of several German composers.

She found the music box that was playing Fur Elise and held it gently in her hands, focusing on the melody. The song reminded her of many happy times, but also made her miss her nonni all the more.

After finding the shopkeeper, Aniela purchased the music box and asked that it be sent to her quarters. So far, she'd made some remarkable finds, at least in her opinion. Aniela debated going back to her quarters or perhaps checking out some of the other areas of the Starbase, but decided to continue wandering the Promenade for the time being. Later she'd want to compose a message to the others transferring to the Orlando's science department; for now, she could simply allow herself to blend in with the crowd.

As Aniela melted back into the crowd, she smiled slightly at the thought of the adventure ahead of her.

OFF:

Notes...
nonni = grandparents
Nonna = Grandmother

A Post By:

Lt. Aniela Darvetti
Chief Science Officer
USS Orlando NCC-58068

[Rho]

<<Starbase 386, Promenade, Day 3, 0846>>

Alexis had breakfast fresh from the replicator on the Malinche that morning. She wanted to enjoy the quiet solitude of the ship as much as possible. Her job was to begin with an Intel briefing this afternoon with some of 386's personnel. That was one of the three things on her mind as she walked into the Promenade. The other two were Pront the Ferengi (NPC) and Pa'raak the parasite (NPC). She needed to get with Pront about his communiqué and avoid Pa'raak. Although, the latter might not be too hard. Especially after that night terror she helped him have about being sucked out of Stellar Cartography and into deep space. She stopped for a second and looked around, but to no avail. This was just too busy of a place.

Ensign Derrin (NPC) walked up behind her. "Busy places, these Starbases."

Without turning around, she replied, "Especially when it's headquarters for Horizon Fleet. Have fun trying to dodge the rank running around this place."

Derrin chuckled, "Yeah, a little heavy on the brass. So where are you going to hide out until the briefing?"

Alexis was a little perturbed. What's he doing? Keeping tabs on me for the Romulans? She turned and looked at him. "My business."

Derrin nodded. He was getting used to his boss's short, curt answers. "Okay. If you need me, I'll be in a holo-suite rock climbing with Firvan, Rachel, and Jornic."

"Have fun," said Alexis. Michael walked away and left her standing there. It was about that time that she saw Pront coming out of one of the restaurants. Alexis smiled. She had been waiting to catch him off guard again.

She speared into his mind. A little late for breakfast isn't it, Ferengi?

"Gaaah!" exclaimed a startled Pront as he nearly tripped over a chair. "Why must you always do that?! What are you doing here anyway?" He garnered several stares from people who thought that he had finally gone crazy and was talking to the chair.

If you don't want everybody to think you've finally lost it, I'd suggest shutting up. Meet me in the Black Hole over there. I'm buying.

Pront was not one to turn down a free drink.

Alexis got their first and ordered a raktajino. It was one of her favorites. That, and the last time she was here she found it to be the best she'd ever had. Pront got there a few seconds later.

[Zeral]

OFF: This is a backpost

ON: <<USS Malinche, Zeral’s Office, Station Day 01, 1427>>

Finishing up some final notes, Nora turned away from her computer and briefly rubbed her eyes. Counseling had been slow for the day, freeing up some time for her to look over other small projects she’d been working on in between appointments. Initially she’d been looking forward to the chance to do a little research, but after staring at the computer for quite some time, her eyes were feeling bleary. Fortunately she had an appointment scheduled to start shortly, giving her the welcome chance to take a break from her research.

Aaron had just finished his checking in with medical and was on his way to stop by the counselor's office. There were so many things to get in order as the new guy aboard ship and he still was going to have to track down the acting security/tactical chief, Lieutenant JG Stone (NPC), yet too. He reached the door to the counseling suite and calmly pressed the doorchime.

“Right on time,” Nora murmured to herself. “Come in,” she called out louder, rising from her chair to greet her next appointment.

The door hissed open and Aaron stuck his head over the threshold. "This is the counselor's office, right," he asked, knowing full well that he was in the right spot. While there were a number of Starfleet officers who did not enjoy counseling sessions or medical check-ups, Aaron knew that they were often part of the necessary routine. Since everyone had to do them from time to time, he might as well make his a little more exciting by having a positive attitude about it.

“You’ve come to the right place, all right. You must be Lt. Masterson,” Nora said with a smile, stepping toward him with hand extended. “I’m Dr. Nora Zeral. Please, make yourself comfortable.”

"Thank you, counselor," Aaron replied, shaking the offered hand and moving toward one of the open chairs. He settled into it and looked over at Zeral with a smile, hoping to make this as painless as possible...for both of them.

In her experience as a counselor, there were plenty of crewmembers who did not agree with the need for psych evals. Fortunately, and to her relief, Aaron didn’t seem to be one of them. Nora settled herself in the chair across from him, having grabbed a PADD from her desk on her way there. “I understand that you’re new to the Malinche. How are you liking it so far?”

"Well, I can't say that I've had much time to get an accurate impression of the ship or her crew yet," Aaron explained, "I've only been aboard for about an hour. In fact, I was kind of surprised to find out I was being given the Chief Security/Tactical position and a promotion. It was...unexpected."

“Ah, so you’re very new,” Nora commented. “In that case, welcome aboard and congratulations on your promotion. I may be a little biased, but I personally believe that the Malinche is a wonderful ship with a fantastic crew. I’m sure you’ll love it here.”

"Thank you, counselor," Aaron said with a smile, "I am really looking forward to serving here and if what I've seen so far is any indication, you're probably right."

Tapping the edge of her PADD idly, she asked with a tilt of her head, “Well, ready to begin? Rather than running through a long list of yes or no questions, I prefer to ask some broader questions in order to draw my evaluation from those answers. I’m sorry if it sounds daunting, but I promise that it’s relatively painless,” Nora finished with warm smile.

Aaron nodded to show that he understood. Yes or no questions were always so boring and routine anyway. He liked it when the counselors made him think about the answer for a little bit. That way, the question presented a challenge.

"We'll start with your most recent history. What are some of your feelings concerning your last assignment? And don't be afraid to be honest. Whatever we talk about here is strictly confidential," Nora said, her tone of voice light.

"I guess that's a pretty easy one," Aaron said with relief, "The Armstrong was my first and only field assignment in Starfleet. I served two tours during the Academy and was posted there right after I graduated. It was a small ship, but we all knew each other and got along well. Everyone had a strength and used it to support the team."

“So overall your experience was a positive one,” Nora surmised, looking to him for confirmation.

"Yes," Aaron replied, "I enjoyed it."

“Excellent,” Nora smiled. Not everyone could say as much about previous assignments, and she’d heard plenty from crewmembers who needed to get their frustrations off their chests. It was always a relief to hear from someone who genuinely enjoyed their assignments.

“I’m sorry to abruptly change subjects, but I’d like to hear a little bit about your family,” Nora continued. “Are you close with your family?”

It was another typical question Aaron had heard in previous counseling sessions. He had known fellow cadets who had not been very close to their families, which caused them to join Starfleet in the first place. As for himself, his family had always been important to him. "I'd say we get along pretty well," he answered, "My sister is serving as the Assistant Chief Science Officer on the Tethys, so I haven't seen her much in person since she went to the Academy, but I've had a few opportunities to visit home since I joined Starfleet.”

“Family dynamics do tend to shift when siblings are in Starfleet as well,” Nora commented, speaking from personal experience. “I’m sure they’ll be excited for you when you tell them about your promotion.”

Aaron smiled, realizing that he hadn't even begun to think about how he was going to tell his family about his new assignment or his promotion. They would probably be almost as surprised as he was. "Yeah, I'm sure they will be," he agreed.

“Speaking of your promotion, how are you feeling about it? Aside from it being unexpected, as you said a few moments ago, are you looking forward to your new responsibilities?” Nora queried.

"I think this position comes with some great opportunities as well as some challenges," Aaron replied, "and I always like a good challenge. It helps me to learn more about myself and my team, helps us all to grow."

After pausing to make a quick note on her PADD, Nora smiled at Aaron. As far as she could tell, he really was going to make an excellent addition to the Malinche. “That’s all the questions I have, if you can believe it. Do you have any questions for me before we finish?”

"Not that I can think of at the moment," Aaron said, "but if I do come up with anything, I know where to find you." He smiled, pleased that his meeting with the counselor had gone so well. For some reason, he could never understand why people were always complaining about counseling sessions, or even physicals for that matter. Generally, the people always seemed rather nice and the appointments were almost always painless.

"Wonderful," Nora replied, standing to escort Aaron to the door. "It's been a pleasure meeting you. I'm sure you'll hear it a few more times before the day is through, but once again, welcome aboard."

"Thank you, counselor," Aaron said, pausing just outside the doorway to the counselor's office. The door slid shut and he turned to start down the corridor. There were still a few things he wanted to get taken care of before he focused on just settling in. Eagerly, he set off for the Security/Tactical Office, hoping that he might find Lieutenant JG Stone (NPC) there.

OFF

A JP by

Lieutenant JG Aaron Masterson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche

and

[Orlando Crew]

<<Starbase 386, Rosie's Restaurant, Station Day 3, 1755>>

Aniela arrived at the restaurant a bit early, hoping to get a look around before the others arrived. After her visit to the Promenade, she'd returned to her quarters to send a message to the other new Orlando Science personnel that had come to Starbase 386 to invite them to dinner. She'd gotten replies shortly afterwards and they'd agreed to meet at 1800 hours.

Standing just outside the doors, Aniela peered in. The restaurant was part of the central core of the Promenade, on the opposite side from Flanagan's; in between them were some of the base's holosuites. It was two levels - the upper level contained seating and drink stations, the lower level held buffet lines of food, dessert buffets, and more drink stations and seating. The walls made use of sunflower yellow tiles, the floor was red around the buffet and yellow in the dining area - the dining area had silver and grey chairs, the tabletops were multi-colored.

Unsurprisingly, the restaurant was bustling with activity. The others would never find her if she went in, so she simply waited at the entrance - turning to face the Promenade to look for the officers.

Kian (NPC) headed for Rosie's at a liesurely pace, hoping to catch a glance of the woman who would be the department head before actually arriving at the destination. He saw a woman standing outside - she was dressed in civilian clothes, but seemed to be looking for someone... Everyone else he saw was hurryng to one place or another, so he surmised it must be her. Kian approached her, making eye contact so she would realize he was coming to her. Smiling as he stopped in front her, he said, "Lieutenant Darvetti? I'm Lieutenant JG Kian Nostri."

Noting the Trill in Sciences teal approaching her, Aniela returned his smile as he introduced himself, "Good evening, Lieutenant. I am Lieutenant Darvetti; it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you, ma'am. I hope I'm not overdressed," Kian replied. So far she seemed easy enough to get along with, which was likely a good sign.

"No, no, it's fine. I just changed out of my uniform before I visited the Promenade earlier. How was your trip?" Aniela felt a little better about her new assignment knowing that Kian would be the Assistant Chief Science Officer.

Kian responded, "The ship I was on previously stopped by to drop me off a few hours ago, and the journey was uneventful, which in this case was a good thing. And you, Lieutenant?"

Smiling, Aniela said, "Please, just call me Aniela...when we're off duty or just amongst those in our department, first names are fine - so long as you don't mind either. I arrived here after several days aboard a runabout with a rather chatty Sikarian. It was an...interesting experience."

"I would imagine it would be," Kian laughed. He imagined she was likely giving the Sikarian more credit than he was due, which was admirable considering some of the Sikarians he'd met before. "And I'm fine with the first name policy. Who else is joining us?"

"A cadet - she'll be on her cadet cruise with us and will be a general Science Officer," Aniela explained. "Should be interesting, I think."

Kian was about to reply, but before he could say anything or give a warning, a young woman nearly ran over Aniela. He was taken slightly aback, but noticed the cadet's pips on her collar. Likely it was the cadet Aniela had just been speaking of.

Julia's (NPC) eyes widened as she regained her balance and surveyed the two in front of her. "Oh! Ma'am! I'm soooo sorry! Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, cadet," Aniela said calmly. "Cadet Julia Corman?"

The young woman nodded excitedly, "Yes, ma'am, that's me. I guess that makes you the new Science Chief for the Orlando?" Probably not the best idea to run over her new boss on the first meeting, but she was just so excited...

Aniela nodded, "Yes, I'm Lieutenant Darvetti, but as I just explained to Kian, you may call me Aniela when we're off duty or amongst other department members."

"I'm Lieutenant JG Kian Nostri, Assistant Chief Science Officer," he said, introducing himself as he extended his hand.

What were the odds the top two people in the Science department would be the ones she met first? Julia shook Kian's hand vigorously and continued to do so as she replied, "So great to meet you, sir! I'm so excited about this opportunity, you just have no idea... I mean, on the way here I was really, really nervous - almost to the point of making myself sick, but I was just sooo excited and couldn't wait to meet all of you and see the ship. Just so exciting."

Kian blinked a few times quickly as he looked over at Aniela, who raised her eyebrows. Somehow he had a feeling they'd have their hands full with this cadet. Finally Kian's hand was released from being hostage to the young cadet. "I'm sure it is. Are you hungry, Julia?"

"Now that you mention it, I am. Where are we going to eat?" She looked from one officer to the other.

It was Aniela who spoke up first, "Actually we were going to eat at Rosie's, right here." Apparently the cadet wasn't the brightest star in the sky...that coupled with her over-excitement would keep things interesting if nothing else.

Julia turned around, finally noticing the restaurant, "Ohhh. Good idea."

"Ladies, shall we?" Kian motioned towards the entrance, allowing them to enter first. One thing was for sure - the meal would likely be anything but boring.

OFF:

USS Orlando Science NPCs
played by Darvetti

and

Lieutenant Aniela Darvetti
Chief Science Officer
USS Orlando NCC-58068

[Orlando Crew]

[[USS Orlando Bridge, Station Day 3, 1400]]

Jason (NPC) looked up from the Ops console. Nothing interesting had shown up the past ten times he'd checked. Nothing. Afternoon was bad enough - waiting to be done with your shift so you could go and relax - but a slow afternoon was worse. He glanced back down and noticed a request to reprioritize resource allocations for some of the secondary systems. Finally.

Glancing over at Ops, Janis (NPC) wondered what he had found to do. Really, she wasn't sure what the intrigue of Operations was, but to each their own. Janis ran a sweep of the area again. As she waited for the results, her index finger tapped idly on the console. A moment later, she heard the console beep - signalling it had completed the sweep. Janis scrolled through the results - nothing, nothing, and more nothing. At least it made her job easier...

With his usual calm demeanor intact, Ensign Turok (NPC) stood silently on the bridge. Sensors had detected a Micro-nebula 5.45 minutes ago, but it was nothing to be concerned about. For the time being he contented himself with observing the other officers.

Marcus sat in his chair, bored while he flicked the chairs console flap open and shut. Turning his head he observed the crew and after the last mission, they all seemed... bored. "I spy with my little eye something beginning with..." he paused to think and finally thought of something "...V." he said, waiting for someone to answer.

The console where Tobias was working at the side of the bridge chirped and he keyed a few entries before tapping them into the PADD he held in his hand. Pausing for a moment, he turned to glance toward the Orlando's executive officer. "If you would prefer to use this time to review progress reports, I would be willing to supervise the bridge," the El-Aurian offered. He didn't mind the quiet routine at all, which is why he often volunteered for the night shift on the bridge. It gave him the opportunity to relax and get some work done without the feeling that things had to be rushed.

Turning to view Tobias "I think I can read them later, after all I did say I'd cover this shift." He turned back round to face the view screen, "Don't you like my company, Commander?" he joked.

"Your presence on the bridge is welcome at any time, commander," Tobias replied, comparing the notes on his PADD to the display before him, "I was merely suggesting that now might be an excellent time to catch up on any backed-up paperwork one might have."

Greg stormed onto the bridge, in full combat kit as he looked around, "Who the hell is messing with my training schedule, by switching holodeck times," he said in a bark far more suited to the Sargeant he was then coming from an officer.

Sophie turned around from what she was doing at her engineering station. "That would be me. My department is doing a full work-up on all the holosystems, including the EMH. If you have any complaints, the complaint department is over there at the center chair playing 'I spy.' Now then, if the commander is done staring at the 'viewscreen'," she said with an emphasis while shooting a glance at Rockwell, "perhaps I can get some work done around here? Now where was I, recalibrate photonic emitters... test inertia similators....."

Remaining silent, Janis simply shook her head. Sometimes she really wondered about these people. Well, most of the time really. Leave it to them to turn a regular afternoon into a circus. And 'I Spy'? Really? For a brief moment she wondered what they would say if she said she spied a Warbird.

R'sera then walked onto the bridge and looked at the combat ready soldier with a shocked look. Side-stepping past, she went to the captain's room and disappeared in to deposit a data PaDD.

Finishing up the reallocations, Jason heard his console beep repeatedly. He frowned, looking down to bring up the information. Jason's eyes widened, "Sir, I'm picking up a distress signal, priority one!"

"Its about time." Marcus said, sitting up in his chair and tapping his side console. "Commodore to the bridge, we've detected a distress signal." he said.

Quinn came rushing out of his ready room, Rsera a few steps behind him. "On screen, Ensign." he said, going straight to the center of the bridge.

An elderly woman appeared on the screen. From the looks of her, her vessel or station was far from under attack which left many of the bridge crew wondering what the emergency was. "This is Commander Fransen of Starbase 117," the woman announced, "relaying a priority one emergency communique from the USS Ticonderoga. There is an Elyshan Fleet on course for Starbase 386. Their intentions are unknown, but communications with 386 are being jammed."

Quinn nodded to Ensign Saunders to open a reply frequency. "This is Commodore Quinn Androski of the USS Orlando, we've received your signal."

The woman from the message appeared on the screen. "Orlando, good, we were hoping you'd receive our message. We've been trying to boost our signal to get through the Elyshans jamming signal, but we're not having any luck so we don't have any idea what's happening since the Ticonderoga sent their message."

"We are setting a course for Starbase 386," Quinn said, nodding to the Commander, "signal any other vessels in range to do so as well. Orlando out."

Turok cocked an eyebrow; it would appear that the uneventful afternoon was now over. The Vulcan modified the sensor sweep patterns slightly and tried to get a better idea if anything would negatively affect their course. When the sweep was complete he set it to run automatically for the duration of their journey - for the time being nothing was in their immediate path that needed to be brought to anyone's attention.

Sophie sighed, "Wonderous. Yet more excitement, and more systems to repair. Starbase 386, here we come. I'm going to try reconfiguring the Main Deflector to act as a boosted subspace array. I think it might be enough to cut through the jamming."

Greg sighed with Sophie, "I'll go take over one of the decks and practice repelling borders. If you want my Engineer to help let me know Sophie."

The moment the commander had begun to speak, Tobias knew that something was wrong. He crossed to the helm in a few strides and tapped the young ensign on duty. Immediately, the ensign vacated the station, allowing the El-Aurian to slide in place. "Course laid in," he announced, hands dancing across his console as he prepared for the emergency detour to Starbase 386.

Quinn quickly sat down into his chair and ordered, "Mr. Naros, maximum warp. Engage!"

OFF:

A post by:

Commodore Quinn Androski
Commanding Officer
USS Orlando, NCC-58068

Lt. Commander Marcus Rockwell
Executive Officer
USS Orlando, NCC-58068

Lt. Commander Tobias Naros
CFCO/Second Officer
USS Orlando, NCC-58068

Lieutenant Aniela Darvetti (As various NPC's)
Chief Science Officer
USS Orlando NCC-58068

Lieutenant Sophie Deveraux
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Orlando, NCC-58068

Marine Captain Greg Jackson
Marine CO
USS Orlando, NCC-58068

Dr. R'sera Nieth
Chief Medical Officer
USS Orlando, NCC-58068

[Steele]

On:
Shuttlebay/ USS Malinche
Day 2/ 08:30 hrs

Lacking any other plans for the day, Aaron decided to see if he could take the new Hunley class shuttle out for a spin. While he didn't miss the politics of his last posting, he did miss the vast oceans on Allura 7, plus it was a good way to relax and take his mind of Sarah and the disappearance of the Sentry. Upon entry, it didn't take long to pick out the correct shuttle; its design was unique enough compared to the others. Aaron was looking over the shuttle when he heard a voice behind him.

Having come out of the counselor's office, L'Randil decided to try to make somewhat of a shift out of her day. When she walked into the bay, she saw Aaron looking at the new craft, so she folded her arms and walked up to him in her quiet manner.

"Can I help you?" The Caitian asked, leaning a shoulder on the hull and facing him.

Aaron turned around to see a young Caitian in a gold trimmed uniform. "You might be able to. What can you tell me about the Hunley class shuttles? I'm planning on taking the Tenochtitlan down to the planet for a few hours.

"Well," She replied. "I haven't really had much time to evaluate this lil kitty yet. If it's all the same to you I would like to go along for the trip." She looked down and beeped something on her data padd then looked back up to him.

He hadn't planned on taking a passenger but couldn't think of a reason to exclude her. "Sure, why not. Might be useful to have an engineer onboard if the shuttle takes after her namesake." Aaron hoped he wasn't taken too seriously.

"What would that namesake be?" L'randil flicked her tail and tilted her head slightly as she did when something struck her as odd. "I am unfamiliar with this story." She wrote a message on her padd to report clearance for departure as they walked toward the entry hatch.

"I'm not familiar with the namesake of the shuttle itself but I am for the class. The Hunley was an early attempt on Earth to create a military submarine. It worked, more or less, but had a bad habit of sinking." He wondered if the creators were aware of the irony of their pick for a name, or maybe they felt enough time had passed to cheat fate.

To be honest," L'Randil replied, "I do have my reservations. Clearly it made it through proving grounds, but I'm sure you understand my caitian apprehension to water." Once inside she sat down in the copilot/flight engineer seat and began dialing the warmups checklist. Soon things began humming and beeping. "Nevertheless, these are my children so I must get to know them." She smiled.

"That's understandable, but in reality it's not all that different from a normal shuttle. Instead of being pressurized to keep space out, it's designed to keep water out." Aaron followed suit by climbing in the pilot's seat. "You say these are your children. I can assume then that you're a shuttle mechanic."

She laughed. "I am THE shuttle mechanic. Sounds cocky, but I am the only specialist on this boat. When I was on the thunderchief I was just one of many, but here these are all my responsibility. Sure there's other engineers, but I'm the go-to other than Mr Peters himself." She leaned back in her seat and put her arms behind her head.

"No need to aplogize, a certain level of pride is required especially for specialties. I don't believe we've ever been properly introduced. Lt. Aaron Steele, chief of science."

"Ensign L'Randil of the clan N'Rass, I just go by L'Randil." She nodded and smiled. "The conn is yours Mr. Steele" She said as the doors opened slowly.

"Thank you Ensign." Aaron contacted the SB to finalize their flight plan as he took the Tenochtitlan out of the shuttlebay. The operations officer was a litttle puzzled over why Aaron was asking about oceans on the planet, but the misunderstanding was soon cleared up. "The Myrtoan Sea near the planet's equator looks to be a good place to start. I say we descend to just over 300 meters to start with until we are certain all systems are fully working."

"Alright." She replied as they exited the bay. The Caitian looked out the view ports and smiled as the feeling of small craft inertia kicked in. The sensation was akin to the feeling of flight and she never got tired of it.

After a moment of thought, she began entering the atmospheric entry data into the nav computer.

The craft made its way past the station before heading towards the Northeastern hemisphere of the planet. They followed the standard entry approach for most the route before altering vector for the Myrtoan Sea. A few sunbathers looked up in surprise as Aaron skimmed the water. Picking an area several kilometers out that appeared void of maritime traffic, he set the craft down on the surface of the water.
"I recommend we run a final check of the systems before submerging."

A little nervous about the state of being on waving ocean, the engineer proceded to make her checks. Sitting back in her seat she beeped a few functions, then reported. "All hatches secure, bilge..." She raised an eyebrow at the term, not having seen watercraft before. "...Operational and ready. All systems report ready for submerge." She took a deep breath and looked forward.

"Confirmed, taking us down at a rate of 7 meters a minute. It will get us to our target depth in under an hour and give us plenty of warning if something goes wrong." Aaron eased the controls forward as he spoke.
"Keep an eye out, you should see some interesting marine life down here."

"Definitely looking out." She responded softly in a distracted tone. After the bubbles disipated, the fish began appearing and the light level dimmed considerably. "I am glad I did not have to be the first to do this." She stated. "This is not natural. Activating forward light emitters."

"No it isn't, but neither is travelling in space." Aaron had an amused tone in his voice. "Look at it this way, you might be one of the first Caitians to travel underwater. Besides we have safety systems built into the shuttle incase something goes wrong."

She nodded. "I suppose you are right." L'Randil tried to smile. "I know in my head that it will work, I just have a good bit of ingrained fear about this. Space is natural for me. The Academy was the only time I have ever been near an ocean. 200 meters and diving." She said as she monitored her panel.

Off:

JP Between

Ensign L'Randil N'rass
Shuttle Maintenance Specialist
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

[Orlando Crew]

ON:

[[USS Orlando, Holodeck 2, Station Day 4 - 1140 hours]]

Quinn walked into holodeck 2. If he hadn't known better, he'd have thought that he had entered just another hallway on the Orlando. Walking up to a systems display along the side of the hall, Quinn tapped in a few commands. "Let's see... ah... in the mess hall." Quinn said, having located where the marines were inside the Orlando replication.

Greg stood glaring out at a handful of Marines his back toward the door, "I don't care what the book says to do in that situation, when I tell you to hold your position you hold your damn position until I say otherwise. Now we're cut off from Main Engineering, and half the surviving Marine force, and the reserves where chewed up becaue you bumbling idiots can't do what you're told." His voice had taken on a deep rumble as he spoke.

Quinn walked in just after the captain had finished, though he was able to hear him from half way down the hallway. "Ah, Captain, I was hoping to find you here." he said, not waiting for the marine to turn around. "May I have a word with you? In the galley, perhaps?"

Greg turned and gave him a nod, "Of course Captain," he said with a nod of his head. "Get back to your positions and hold what we have left, am I understood?" The squad leader gave an answer and the squad filed out back to there positions, "Care on with the exercise let it run it's course," he said speaking to his second in command before heading for the galley.

"You wanted a word Captain," he asked leaning against a table.

Quinn nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter. "I know you're in the middle of an exercise, but I need to know your opinion of the readiness of your marines now. If we do end up being boarded, or if the station gets boarded, will you be able to defend against the Elyshans?"

"We can easily defend the Orlando, if the station is boarded the situation depends. We lack the man power to retake the station if it's fallen, however we can move to reinforce the personal on the station, and I've got a few ideas on how to do it," Greg said nodding his head. "If I have to do both I run into a problem of stretching myself out too much."

"Well, hopefully, we will reach the base before the Elyshans and we won't have to deal with that sort of issue." Quinn said, walking out towards the main area of the mess hall. "It's good to be prepared though."

"Hope for the best, plan for the worst, I always say," Greg said with a nod of his head.

Quinn nodded. "Computer, arch." he ordered, then turning back to Greg, he continued. "Once you're done with your simulations, I'd appreciate seeing a readiness report."

"Of course, sir," Greg said with a nod of his head as he turned and re-entered the messhall to try and salvage something from this simulation.

OFF:

A Post By:

Commodore Quinn Androski
CO, USS Orlando

&

Marine Capt. Greg Jackson
Marine CO, USS Orlando

[Orlando Crew]

<<USS Orlando, Science Lab 1, Station Day 3, 1900>>

Following dinner, Alyssa (NPC) returned to the Science Lab where she'd left Rokan (NPC) a half hour ago. They'd been in the lab most of the day trying to get things in order before they arrived at Starbase 386. Turok (NPC) had been on the bridge, but had notified them of the course change earlier. If there would be some fighting, it would be better that the experiments be in a stable, safe state.

"Still working?" Alyssa asked as she walked in. Smoothly she moved over to where the Bajoran was standing.

Rokan glanced over his shoulder at the Scientist's Mate. "I just finished actually. I didn't expect you to come back, though."

Shrugging, she replied, "I wanted to see if there was anything else I could help with. Nothing wrong with that is there?" Alyssa didn't sense any irritation from him, but she preferred to ask rather than just rely on her senses.

"No; I just thought you'd like to have the night off," Rokan said, turning and leaning against the lab table. "Especially since it seems things might be hectic."

Alyssa nodded, "I'll still have most of the night off. Have you see Turok?"

The doors swished open, allowing a Vulcan to enter. Turok moved in quietly and looked from the Betazoid to the Bajoran, who were both staring at him. "Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem," Alyssa said hurriedly. Taking a moment, she slowed her thoughts and produced a smile, "I had actually just asked Rokan if he'd seen you when you appeared."

"Ah," Turok answered. "Well, I can assure you Ms. Stoddi that I did not simply magically appear because you mentioned my name. Have you gotten everything ready?" Though it wasn't technically his job, Turok generally took the lead on items involving the Science department. The others didn't seem to mind, though he wasn't entirely sure if that was because he was an actual Officer or because he was fairly knowledgeable in Science in general. Either way, they needed a leader, and unofficially he was it.

Rokan nodded, "I was just telling Alyssa that I had finished and she should've just taken the rest of the evening off rather than come back to the lab."

The Vulcan was, as usual, in control of his emotions which made it more difficult for Alyssa to sense anything from him. It wasn't that she made a point to do so, but it simply came natural to her to pick up on others' emotions. Alyssa did, however, draw the line at reading someone's thoughts without their permission and didn't intrude in general. "Have either of you heard the rumor?"

Turning to her, Rokan asked, "What rumor?" He hadn't heard anything, but that wasn't unusual.

Alyssa's eyes moved over to Turok, who gave her a slight nod - he likely knew what she was talking about but was fine with her bringing it up. "We're supposed to get a new Chief Science Officer...and an Assistant Chief as well."

"New?" Rokan laughed, "When was the last time we actually had one? And how do we know this rumor is even true...we've heard the same thing before and nothing came of it."

Alyssa paused, frowning as she tried to remember.

"It has been far too long. However, Alyssa is correct on most accounts. From what I understand, there will also be a cadet coming aboard. Seemingly they are already at Starbase 386 and would have taken a shuttle to meet us if we hadn't been redirected there," Turok confirmed.

Rokan looked over at the Vulcan, "How do you know?"

"I have my sources," Turok replied simply. His eyes moved about the room, surveying it from the view of someone who had never been there. Thanks to the others, the lab was now as tidy as it could likely get with some experiments still running. The Vulcan wasn't entirely sure about the idea of a cadet being on the ship, but it would likely be a valuable learning experience for the cadet at least.

Smiling at the thought of others joining their department, Alyssa mused, "I wonder what she -"

"Or he," Rokan added with a grin.

"Or he," she continued, "will be like."

"I do not think you will have to wonder too long," Turok told them. "But for now, perhaps we should use Rokan's suggestion and relax a little before retiring for the night. I imagine the next day or two will be quite interesting."

OFF:

Science NPCs
played by:

Lieutenant Aniela Darvetti
Chief Science Officer
USS Orlando NCC-58068

[Masterson]

ON: [[Promenade, Starbase 386, Day 4, 1328]]

Thomas (NPC) leaned against the railing overlooking the crowded Promenade below. Although not all the delegations had arrived yet, those that had were already making visits to the station’s establishments. He’d only been watching the bustling activity for about twenty minutes, but it was already apparent that with such a large crowd came a greater chance for something to happen.

Raven moved through the Promenade, her mind filled with a million conflicting thoughts. She was so absorbed in thought that she failed to notice the increased number of people milling through the station's public area. When she did become aware, all her senses went on alert. This many people in a single space, especially considering the current situation, was dangerous at best.

Captain Kersare had suggested that Aaron visit the station to see if there was any way the Malinche’s security department could assist station security while the ship was laying over at Starbase 386. It was true that the Malinche would only need a minimal number of security personnel on duty while docked. Aaron had just finished up a meeting with 386’s security chief and was slowly making his way along the busy Promenade, observing the sights around him with interest.

Centurion Lessik (NPC) stood outside the establishment known as Flanagan's Pub, contemplating a visit to the neighboring bazaar. If he was going to have to be on the station anyway, the least he could do was enjoy himself, even if it meant perusing merchandise. He could not believe his ears when the commander had ordered him to visit the station. It wasn't until after he learned that the delegation from the Romulan Star Empire had arrived that he realized the commander's motive. In the past ten minutes, Lessik had seen at least three other officers from the Kaldon on the Promenade. Most likely, they were all operating under the same orders. If the Senate had a delegation here, it would be very important that they keep an eye on whatever that delegation might be doing.

Walking slowly along the Promenade, SubCommander Kayrel (NPC) watched everything closely. T'maekh (NPC) hadn't specified if they should stay on the ship or not, but had been clear that he didn't want trouble. Kayrel wasn't convinced that trouble could be avoided on the starbase and thought it would be better to keep an eye on things. Centurion T'Ren (NPC) was with her, and a couple others were also walking around - a bit further ahead and behind.

Lessik set aside the hand carved statuette that he had been admiring and turned to move on, only to find himself face to face with a group of Romulans he did not immediately recognize. Realizing that they must be members of the Senate delegation or the Revok's crew, he quickly sized up the situation. He could see three of his shipmates only a few yards away and one of them had already noticed the situation.

"Excuse me," Lessik said, turning to head for the safety of his fellows.

Kayrel raised an eyebrow as another Romulan scurried off. Apparently they were from the other delegation. Her eyes moved to T'Ren, using them to indicate the Romulan who had just left.

T'Ren nodded. He'd noted a look of distaste on the other Centurion's face when they'd encountered him. That all but confirmed that the man was a member of the other delegation. It could also indicate that he had something to hide, or that he could be a danger to the Senator.

Though the others were not right with them, Kayrel moved forward towards the other Romulan, "Is there a problem, Centurion?"

"No problem, SubCommander," Lessik replied, trying to keep the distaste from his voice. Again, he tried to step around the Senate delegation, but found his way blocked. He could see his shipmates had turned and started to approach, sensing that there was something wrong. The crowd on the Promenade made it difficult to maneuver, but Lessik wasn't about to let these Senate types push him around. "Stand aside," he said bluntly, staring directly at Kayrel.

With an amused look on her face, Kayrel said, "There's plenty of room for you to go around, Centurion. There are only two of us...unless the two of us do actually present a problem to you." By now the others would likely have seen the situation and would be coming from behind the other group of Romulans and behind herself and T'Ren, but for the time being, it was just the two of them.

T'Ren was focused on the Centurion, who was still giving Kayrel a very sour look. He was about to speak when someone stumbled into him. Shoving the offending person away, T'Ren whirled to see what had caused the man's clumsiness. He couldn't see anything through the mass of bodies, but as he turned back to face the Centurion he felt something strike his temple. Someone nearby screamed as T'Ren lunged at his attacker.

Aaron was just nearing the area outside Flanagan's pub when he heard someone begin to shout. Seconds later, a number of people screamed and the crowd around him began to jostle about. Over the heads of those around him, he could see a group of Romulans struggling with each other and, from the looks of things, this was no playful struggle. "Move," Aaron barked, pushing his way through the crowd toward the Romulans.

From above the chaos, Thomas sensed a surge of anger from somewhere close by. When he heard the shouting begin, his eyes were immediately drawn to the large crowd just outside Flanagan's. At the center of it all, he could see the two Romulan delegations going at each other as if they were out for blood. The fight had already begun to spread to those standing nearby who were unfortunate enough to get pulled in. "Gates to security," Thomas snapped, slapping his commbadge, "There's an incident on the Promenade...fight in progress." Before he had even finished speaking, he was already on his way for the nearest way down to help contain the situation.

Raven heard the initial shout, but by the time she had made her way to the center of the conflict, it was in full force. Jostled about by the gathered crowd, Raven caught sight of some of the Security personnel who had answered the summons. "Gibson! Hasshik! Get this area secure!" she roared at them, wading into the fray. As she approached a pair who were tearing into each other with a level of violence bordering on the insane, she reached in to separate them. Suddenly one of them swung his elbow back with tremendous force, quicker than she had realized, and it impacted her nose with a deafening crunch.

Raven stumbled backward, her eyes swimming from the pain, but she shook her head and waded back in, ignoring the feeling of warm wetness spreading down her face. Getting a firm grip on one of the Romulans, she pulled him off his opponent as another security officer stepped in to help. The man she had grabbed struggled against her grip, but the Chief was running on a combination of adrenalin and pain-fueled anger. "That's enough!" she bellowed at him, and his wild stare seemed to focus on the woman and her bloody face.

"Take your hands off me!" he snarled at her.

A young security man approached then. "Get him out of here, before I come up with a good reason to shoot him," Raven growled.

"We've got this Chief," the young man said. "You'd better get that nose looked at," he said.

Raven grunted in response but did not move toward the Infirmary. Instead she moved toward the other combatants, seeking to help the Security personnel in breaking up those fights as well. As the Chief crossed the promenade, a few civilians who had gathered to see the ruckus caught her eye. She gave them a steady look, her bloody face only adding to her intimidating look. "Please return to your quarters," she said, her tone indicating that it was not a request.

At some point during the melee T'Ren had been separated from his shipmates. He found himself grappling with an Uhlan in an IRS uniform amidst a sea of fleeing Federation types. Delivering a swift punch to the Uhlan's gut, T'Ren managed to overcome him and turned to try and locate Kayrel... only to find himself staring down the muzzle of a very angry Starfleet security guard's phaser. He raised his hands in what he remembered to be a Human gesture of surrender.

Kayrel's eyes darted about as she slowly rose. She'd finally been able to knock out one of the other Romulans who'd made the mistake of trying to slice her. Unfortunately, she hadn't quite gotten to look behind herself and felt a blow to her back. Grimacing, Kayrel dropped to one knee and did a leg sweep to bring the Romulans legs out from under him.

As Aaron struggled through the crowd, he tried to keep his eye on the Romulans. When he finally managed to push his way through, he started to say, "Alright, break it..." He was interrupted by someone from behind who had lunged out of the crowd to tackle him. Reacting instinctively, Aaron reached around and grabbed the person's arm. In one smooth motion, he twisted so that his assailant was forced to let go. Aaron turned to face his attacker, only to receive a good, solid punch to the jaw. He stumbled back a few steps and reached up to feel his jaw. Once he was certain nothing was broken, he started forward. Before he could even reach the man who had slugged him, a familiar figure in services gold broke away from the mob and grabbed the man's arm.

"I should have known I'd find you at the center of this mess," Mike (NPC) called with a laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean," Aaron shot back as he dodged another swing. This was getting dangerous and if they didn't put a stop to it soon, someone was going to get worse than bruising. Suddenly, he noticed the glint of metal out of the corner of his eye. Without even looking, he knew instantly that it was a knife. Aaron turned, but Mike was already moving toward the Romulan who wielded the deadly weapon.

"Enough," a voice rang out above the noise of the crowd. As suddenly as everything had started, it stopped and an odd silence descended on the Promenade. Commander Arthur Richardson made his way through the crowd, people stepping aside to make room as he passed, followed closely by Thomas, who was bleeding at the lip. Arthur came to where the two groups of Romulans were still eying each other with distaste, though no one dared move.

T'Ren was escorted back to the cluster of Revok crew by the security guard with a few jabs of the phaser and hand motions. He was impressed by how the officer made his intent clear without a single word. He had not escaped his fight with the Uhlan without injury; a cut on his cheek burned and he was quite sure his left eye was going to swell shut before an hour passed if he didn't see a doctor about it.

The sight of the elderly officer in red who was approaching reminded T'Ren very much of how his combat instructors had looked when he had failed an assessment during his early training. This was not, he decided, a human he wanted to cross, no matter his age.

Raven moved toward Richardson, silently grateful for his intervention, when a young man stumbled in front of her. One of the stragglers from the fight spun around to her and drew back a fist in a reflex action but stopped dead when he saw her face. She glared him down and continued on toward the Commander, taking her place by his side. The Chief glowered at the assembled combatants, as if daring someone to try something.

Surprised by how suddenly everything had stopped, Aaron chanced a sideways glance at Mike, who had paused only a few steps away. He wondered where in the world Mike had come from or how he had ended up in the middle of that scuffle, but that particular moment was neither the time nor the place to ask. The two young men remained silent, waiting to see what the commander would do.

"All non-essential personnel will vacate the Promenade until security has cleared the area," Arthur announced to the crowd, surveying the group with a gaze that told them he meant business. Noticing the Malinche's security chief amongst the group of security officers, he said, "Lieutenant Masterson, will you please see to it that this Promenade is secured."

"Aye, sir," Aaron replied crisply.

"You two," Arthur continued, turning to Lessik and Kayrel, "Will be coming with me. Chief Raven, will you accompany us?" He did not even turn to look at the chief for a reply. Instead, he kept his focus on the two Romulans before him, each with a variety of minor injuries sustained in the fight.

"Aye sir," Raven growled, reaching up a hand to wipe away the blood covering the lower part of her face and winced as her hand brushed her disjointed nose, resulting in waves of pain.

Kayrel raised an eyebrow. While it was apparent that she, and the rest of the Romulans for that matter, had been involved, she certainly hadn't started the actual fight. She knew she should've simply stayed on the Revok - nothing had been gained from the situation, other than finding out that everyone wanted to fight. Still, Kayrel kept her demeanor calm.

Falling into step behind the Starfleet commander, Lessik noticed the glaring look he was receiving from the foreboding woman accompanying them. None of this would have happened if he had just stayed on the Kaldon or if those Senate snobs would not have gotten in his way. Still, he did not think it would be wise to try anything with either of the Starfleet officers that were escorting them down the Promenade. Instead, he settled for trying to keep as much distance between himself and Kayrel as he could.

Arthur led the two Romulans along the Promenade toward the station security office, which wasn't too far away. As the small group passed, others moved aside to allow them through. No one, it seemed, wanted to get involved with whatever was going on. Arthur couldn't blame them, considering the circumstances.

They reached the double doors leading to the office, which slid open at their approach, and the station's first officer entered the empty room first, followed by the two Romulans with Chief Raven bringing up the rear. Only after the doors closed did Arthur turn to address Lessik and Kayrel. "I have seen many things in my time," he began, glaring at them, "but I will never understand the inherent need for civilized individuals to descend to animalistic brawling. Behavior like this may be tolerated among your shipmates, but in the Federation, we do not allow for such utter disregard for public safety."

Though she could come up with a few responses to the Commander, Kayrel decided it would be better for her to keep them to herself. The man obviously was not fond of them and certainly not of what had happened - though she couldn't really blame him for that. It certainly hadn't been her intention for a brawl to break out, though. Instead, she gave a brief respectful nod.

Clearly, this brawl had not been Lessik's fault. Attempting to argue the point, however, seemed like it would have been an unwise act at that point. The Romulan Centurian chose to remain quiet, instead, though he did not break eye contact with the Starfleet commander. It was unusual to see a human so upset, yet seemingly so tranquil. If Lessik had not known any better, he would have assumed that the man was, in actuality, a Vulcan.

"SubCommander, Centurian," Arthur continued quietly, looking directly at each one of them in turn, "your respective commanding officers as well as the station commander will be notified of this incident. Until they have come to an agreement as to a suitable response, you will remain in custody. The Romulan people are a proud and noble race. I sincerely hope that, in the future, you will do a better job of representing them. Chief..."

"Sir," the Chief said in response, gesturing toward the door. As Richardson had been talking, the adrenalin from the brawl had slowly begun to ebb, bringing with it the agony of her broken nose. The blood had dried on her face and uniform, and her teeth gritted from the pain. Not wanting to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her in pain, Raven fixed her face into a stony mask and left the room, wordlessly leading the pair to their respective quarters.

Once the chief had disappeared back toward the brig with the two Romulans, Arthur let out a small sigh. Whether they were inexperience cadets, seasoned Starfleet officers, or Romulan representatives, they all seemed to have a tendency to act quite immature at times. Certainly, it was in everyone's nature to relax their standards a little and enjoy life, but what he had just witnessed was beyond unacceptable. His greatest concern would be smoothing over the situation with Captain Lange as well as the rest of the delegations.

OFF

A JP by

SubCommander Kayrel (NPC)
Executive Officer, IRW Revok
Romulan Star Empire
Played by: Warrant Officer 1st Class Kilana Nira (Starbase 386)

Centurian T'Ren (NPC)
Chief Security/Tactical Officer, IRW Revok
Romulan Star Empire
Played by: Lieutenant Commander Todd Peters

Centurian Lessik (NPC)
Second Officer, IRW Kaldon
Romulan Imperial State
Played by: Lieutenant JG Aaron Masterson

Ensign Thomas Gates (PNPC)
Executive Officer's Yeoman
Starbase 386
Played by: Lieutenant JG Aaron Masterson

Ensign Mike Kepler (PNPC)
Security Officer
USS Malinche
Played by: Lieutenant JG Aaron Masterson

Commander Arthur Richardson
Executive Officer
Starbase 386
Played by: Lieutenant JG Aaron Masterson

Chief Petty Officer Raven`nik
Master-At-Arms/Armory Master
Starbase 386

and

[Steele]

On:

<< Aldani IV, Tenochtitlan shuttle, Station Day 2, 0900>>

Aaron continued to monitor speed and depth untill they reached their target depth. "Leveling off at 315 meters. So far so good, we'll remain at this depth untill we reach the Mortlock trench. They say it hasn't been explored except for an unmanned probe so I figured we could be the first manned expedition to check it out."

A day of firsts..." L'Randil sighed, walking to the back to look at an auxiliary panel. "...I don't know how to swim." She said as she walked back up behind him, leaning on the seat back. "What is that large creature?" She flicked her tail nervously.

Slowing down the craft, Aaron looked to see what she was talking about. "Honestly, I don't know. My specialty is anthropology and linguistics, but if I were to venture a guess I would say it's a whale of some sort. I'll send a databurst up to the Malinche, the Trouts should be able to give us more info, Marine Science is more up their alley."

Aaron maneuvered the shuttle around the back of the creature as they both went on their way. "If it would make you feel better, we do have limited weapons we can charge."

The caitian snickered slightly. "I hope we don't need that. It appears to be slow moving at least. I wonder what it tastes like?" Then she caught herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. Caitian's love fish meat, er Any meat really but fish especially. It's one of those little ironies since we don't do water." She sat back down in her seat, continuing to monitor readings. "External temperature 10 degrees c and dropping"

"No need to apologize, I've been known to enjoy good sea food on occasion. They talk of the coldness of space; the ocean depths are pretty similar. In fact early space travellers on Earth would train underwater to simulate low gravity. You said you were a shuttle mechanic, what drew you to that profession?"

She leaned back and put her hands behind her head, one holding her tail tip. "Well, I grew up on a lunar colony, so space was normal. I decided to join the local dilithium mine company as a mechanic in their shuttle ops division when I was old enough. It was always a good fit. Shuttles don't get offended at my comments."

"That's certainly one reason. You're not the first engineer I've met who doesn't think they have good social skills. Since you told me some about yourself, I guess it only fair I reciprocate." He checked the distance to the canyon before engaging the autopilot.

"I've shown a knack for languages since middle school so my career path was only natural. Plus as an anthropologist, I have an excuse to meddle into the past of people and cultures. My sister is also a scientist but she's more of the hard sciences like biology."

"Have you studied Caitian? I know a lot of humanoids have a hard time learning it's nuances." She asked.

"Well, sometime when you feel inclined I can give you some basic words to work with, assuming you can pronounce them." She said almost smirking. "Wait, that came out wrong."

"Apparently you didn't listen at the Academy when they warned you against challenging linguists." Aaron was only half joking; many linguists were known to be very driven when given a new language to study.

The Caitian began to feel relaxed; perhaps it was him taking her mind off the surroundings. She laughed before responding. "I sort of thought you would like a challenge. You struck me as the type. It's like you can never tell me it can't be fixed better." She crossed her arms and turned her chair towards his. The mining company made me lead tech inside of a year because of it."

"You left a lucrative engineering job for a mining company for the comparatively rigorous life of a Starfleet officer. Quite the switch." Aaron altered course slightly to follow a school of fish.

She couldn't help but picture the fish as dinner, but still was fascinated to watch them move. "Actually they left me. Dilithium mining is a bit different as far as what they overlook for safety sake. I had a rather extensive injury from an accident that took over a month of rehab and even longer til I could return to duty. I still get stiffness in my right leg where it broke. When they let me go my father got me interested in the more civilized Starfleet. To be honest I never pictured myself dealing with all the ranks and regs. Times change, huh?"

"That they do, but often times it's for the better even if we don't think so at the time." He paused, realizing what he had said.
"Sarah told me that quite often during the War when things were looking down. She'd probably say the same thing now."

Catching the nuance of the wording, she asked "I take it you were close?

"We were, she was my younger sister; though only by an hour. Her ship was recently declared missing in action. But hey, enough about things we can't change. We're ten minutes from the Trench, care to take the helm for the descent?"

"I'm sorry." L'Randil apologized. "Maybe she is still out there somewhere. I would have given anything to have a sister or brother." She got up from her position to move over to the copilot helm. "These controls are sluggish but graceful down here. This is actually kinda interesting. Thank you for bringing me."

"I hope so, even though logic says it is useless." Aaron transferred main controls over the co-pilot's console. "I'm glad you could join me, missions like this are always better when shared with others. I hear there's a good seafood restaurant planetside, perhaps we could stop there on our way back to the ship."

"Purh." She said softly in Caitian. "Oh, Sorry, it has been so long since I have had un-replicated meat. So, what is it we are investigating down here? The science readouts on this thing are so complex I haven't learned them yet."

"Investigating? Nothing specific, it's more of a recon mission to see what's down here." Aaron switched on the other lights as he spoke. "I don't even know how to make sense of some of this data, but I'm sure the Trouts will be able to or know someone who can."

"Well I guess we are together on that then." She laughed. Looks like the end of the trench is coming up soon. Is there another extension to this or will we be continuing toward shore afterwards?"

Aaron checked his map. "There should be another extension that goes further down, if it's all the same to you I'd like to spend a little more time exploring." There was no objection, so they spent another hour exploring the trench before heading back to the surface.

13:45 Day 2/ USS Malinche Shuttle bay

Aaron set the craft down in its landing spot than opened the canopy. "Here we are, back in the comforts of space."

L'Randil stretched her arms upward before getting up. She followed him out after the shutdown was complete. "Well, that was an interesting trip. I was skeptical about the concept but it would seem this one was worth it." She smiled, stepping back and looking at it from the outside again. "That was a good dinner also, Aaron. Feel free to come down and take me for a trip any time." The caitian winked at him and ran her tail behind his knee.

Aaron blushed a little. "I'll keep it in mind next time we're orbiting a planet that has large bodies of water. Now if you'll excuse me, I should take the data to the Trouts. I'm sure they're waiting with bated breath for it." They weren't aware he had taken the Tenochtitlan out, but it was the first excuse he could think of.

"I'll be lookin forward to it." She giggled in a subtle way, her tail coming back behind her. "Sorry, it does that. It's a cat thing." She had a slightly embarrassed look. It had been a long time since she had let herself be close to anyone.

With a slightly bewildered look on his face Aaron downloaded the sensor data and made his way towards the exit. "It was an enjoyable excursion. Thanks for coming along, I'm sure we'll see each other around."

She smiled and turned back to her shuttlebay duties, but found herself looking back as he walked out.

Off:

JP Between

Ensign L'Randil N'rass
Shuttle Maintenance Specialist
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and