Mission 17 - Inferno's Light

[Vosh]

<<USS Malinche>>
<Corridor, Day 5, 1425>

Trace rounded another corner and went around another ensign before finally coming to a stop. He took a deep breath, grabbing the water bottle off the weight pack that he was wearing. He had been doing his run through the ships decks shortly after they had left the starbase, he could cover the whole ship in just about 20 minutes. Although Trace had decided that he was going to cut that down some.

“I don’t think you ever aren’t sweating.”

Trace turned around to see Ryan Morris coming around the corner. “And every time that I see you, you aren’t sweating enough.”

Ryan smiled. “I was actually on my way to the armory to give you the latest threat assessment for the region; computer said you were here though.”

“I needed to get out and get some air,” Trace stated. “I wanted to thank you for your help with the torpedo inventory though.”

“Not a problem sir,” Ryan responded, falling into step with Trace as they started walking. “I wanted to say thanks for not just dumping that on us. I have worked on other ships where they like to shove that stuff off onto the lower ranking officers.”

Trace nodded. “I’m not going to ask you guys to do something that I wasn’t willing to do myself.”

They came around another bend, nodding to a few ensigns as they passed by. Trace liked Ryan and once again found himself taking note of how attractive a member of the same sex was. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts away. He knew that Ryan had recently gotten very involved with a young woman back on Starbase 386.

“So, are you looking forward to this patrol?” Ryan asked.

“A mission is a mission,” Trace said, as they stopped at the turbolift. “But at least we know that the Malinche is ready for whatever might be out there.”

“Yeah, I guess you are right,” Ryan said, as they stepped into the turbolift.

“Relax Mr. Morris,” Trace said. “Every single system is in tip top shape, we can get through a simple patrol without anything happening to us.”

“You haven’t been on this ship long, have you?” Ryan asked, rising an eyebrow. “I’d be up to my neck in latinum if we went by every time someone said something about it being a simple patrol.”

“That’s before you had yours truly onboard though,” Trace said. “Deck 4”

The lift moved smoothly into motion.

“You’re probably right sir,” Ryan sighed. “I guess I am just anxious to get back to Starbase 386. I am sort of missing my girl already.”

“Oh I can relate to that,” Trace said. “But I promise that I will have you back to that sweet girl before you know it.”

“Well, she’s not always sweet,” Ryan blushed.

“Aren’t they all,” Trace smiled.

OFF:

[Kersare]

OFF: As this Arrival JP takes place on Day 7, anything posted before Day 7 should have an OFF: stating that it is a Backpost. Feel free to post for anything between Day 1 and Day 9. Some suggestions are given in this JP, others were given in the Mission Discussion.

ON:

<<USS Malinche, Bridge, Day 7, 1000>>

Knowing that they would be arriving at their initial patrol coordinates, Isabel had spent the entire morning thus far on the bridge. The past week had gone by without any major incidents - for the most part it had been a fairly boring journey. As she looked around, Isabel could tell that at some of the bridge crew were fairly restless.

Jason entered the bridge, everything appeared to be proceeding as normally calm day. That was something that he was happy about, although some of the crew may find that a bit boring, he was happy that nothing major had come up. Hopefully, the same could be said for this patrol. His chair next to the captain looked a little bit un inviting for some reason, instead he went over and leaned on he railing separating the upper and lower command decks.

Having been on the bridge since the start of the morning shift, Aaron had made the most of the final hours before their arrival to prepare himself for their assignment. Standard patrol was one of those assignments that could turn out to be rather routine and mundane, but it could also very quickly become something totally unexpected. It was Aaron's job to make sure he anticipated the unexpected so that he could ensure the safety of the Malinche and everyone aboard.

In addition to preparing himself for the mission assignment as best he could over the past week, Aaron had also been dealing with another concern. Prior to the Malinche's departure, he had noticed an odd energy reading in the communications grid. He'd gone to Lieutenant Hansen with the information and the operations chief had assured Aaron that he would look into it. So far, however, there had been no progress in tracking down the source of the disturbance and, while it was not necessarily an immediate threat, Aaron felt the need to make sure it wasn't a threat at all. Unfortunately, he hadn't made any progress at all.

Alexis had arrived on the Bridge a little early that morning. The anticipation of finally reaching their destination got her up well before her alarm went off. Well, not really the anticipation, more like the possible excitement of running into a rogue Cardassian cargo ship, an illegal trader, or even pirates. Anything would beat the previous week of paragraph-long Intel reports and page-length daily summaries. She stood at Mission Ops and monitored the standard Cardassian frequencies for any chatter that might be interesting.

<Intel Offices>

Ensign Derrin yawned and stretched his arms over his head. Rachel caught him.

“Up late again, huh?” she said. CWO2 Tilden tilted her head to the side. She always lightened the mood with a little humor.

“What? Uh, yeah, yeah.” Michael grinned at Rachel and shook his head. His response was as humorous and lighthearted as her question. “Let’s just try to keep focused on the task at hand.”

“Agreed,” said Jol.

Rachel turned back to her console. “Chasing space dust,” she whispered to herself.

<Bridge>

Sean glanced down at his monitors. Some of the teams he had doing routine checks were starting to report in and he was reading through the reports. The last few days had gone fairly well, with nothing major happening, so Sean had taken some time to get more acquainted with the Malinche. Over the course of the week, he had personally crawled through every jeffries tube on the ship and made note of several good places that, if he needed to, he could hide either someone or something and it would likely never be found.

Although Jake would never make it obvious. He was nervous inside his otherwise calm exterior despite only having to patrol the border. However his vessel had been assigned to patrol a border before, he hoped this time would not be as 'exciting'. "Approaching the designated coordinates ma'am." he stated.

Nodding, Isabel sat up a little straighter, "Slow to half impulse power, Mr. McCarty." It appeared that they had finally arrived.

Jake worked the console. "One half impulse." he replied.

Taryn still remained at a station behind McCarty. She had not noticed any peculiar behavior from the pilot for the entirety of the trip. She was relieved he seemed to be recovering quite well. She could only hope the trend would continue. She approached McCarty. "Mr. McCarty how are you feeling."

McCarty resisted the urge to groan back at Taryn to recognize his disdain for her empty compassion. "Fine ma'am thank you for asking."

"Good, as you were Mr.McCarty." Taryn returned to her seat noting McCarty's agitated tone. She knew now was not the time to pressure her ACFCO. She would speak to him about it later.

Isabel waited until they were at half impulse and then ordered, "I want scans of the area; report as you get them."

Aaron watched as the sensor data came in. Hopefully they would find something of enough interest to warrant the diversion of sensors from scanning for Cardassian tricks. It was always a balancing act for ships on patrol between scientific data and potential enemy activity. "From a scientific standpoint scans reveal pretty much what we expected to find. The only thing of any excitement is a Quasar."

"I'll try to contain myself," Jason smiled, looking at the long range scans on his display. So far Aaron was right, there was a whole of nothing out there.

Alexis’ shoulders drooped ever so slightly. Stinkin’ spatial bodies, she thought. She continued listening for any communications along the border in the hope that something would pop up. Anything at this point would be better than the moments of awkward silence that seemed to permeate the Bridge.

"Thank you, Mr. Steele. All things considered I prefer a Quasar to another anomaly attempting to pull us in," Isabel replied. Generally that wasn't a good experience...being pulled in by an anomaly. The Malinche had had to deal with that only a couple times, thankfully. "Keep running regular scans...depending on what else we find out here, we could go closer for more in depth of scans of spatial bodies if you find anything interesting."

Aaron grinned at the Captain’s statement for several reasons. First, he agreed with her implication that the Malinche and her crew encountered their fair share of anomalies. Besides, as interesting as anomalies tended to be, their unpredictable nature tended to make studying them a tricky job. But more important than that, the Captain all but gave the science department top priority for the time being in regards to deciding mission priority which rarely failed to be good news. It was also an opportunity Aaron planned on taking full advantage of while he could.

Sooner or later another department was likely to find something of more “value” than what the Science Department was interested in. This often resulted in an allocation of resources towards the new priority. This wasn’t something most people got upset about. On the contrary on a majority of Starfleet installations, as on the Malinche, it was more of a friendly rivalry. “Agreed Captain, I’ll make sure to avoid any anomalies that might pull us in.”

Sean glanced at his equipment and tapped in a few commands. "Ma'am, I might suggest not getting *too* close to the quasar. At this distance it's not having a very large effect on us, but if we get too close it might start interfering with some of our systems."

Isabel nodded, "Of course, Mr. Hansen. We'll just see about getting a closer look if it's safe and there's nothing more interesting to hold our attention. I have no intentions of damaging the ship and getting sent back to Starbase 386 already."

Sean nodded and looked back at his console. "Good to hear, Ma'am." he responded, not wanting to have to fix the ship right after his first official mission on board.

"All quiet on the western front," Aaron announced from his position at tactical. While the trip had been rather uneventful, he hadn't really anticipated finding much in the way of Cardassian vessels. Things had been pretty quiet ever since the end of the Dominion War. It was no surprise really, seeing as how the Cardassians had been spending a lot of time, energy, and resources to rebuilding their society.

"I doubt that we are going to find many vessels out here," Jason said. "The Cardassins have been pretty much keeping to themselves lately."

Isabel nodded, "Thank you, Lieutenant. With any luck, it'll stay that way. Keep monitoring the area and let me know if anything changes." She supposed it would be nice to have a quiet assignment for once, though she hoped the crew didn't get too bored.

"Aye ma'am," Aaron replied. If anything did change, he'd make sure that she was the first person to know. Starfleet had made many advancements in sensor acuity since the discovery of the Badlands, particularly when dealing with the Maquis and the Dominion. While they hadn't been able to eliminate all the interference, a vessel like the Malinche was sure to be able to navigate the region without near as much difficulty as those early explorers.

As Isabel settled back into her command chair, she let her fingers idly go to the controls and bring up the view of space on the Main Viewscreen. It certainly wasn't exciting at the moment, but better than nothing, she supposed. Finally she said, "Mr. McCarty, bring us about so that we have a view of that quasar."

"Coming about 353 mark 127." he stated as the Malinche came about bringing the quasar into better view.

Jake tapped the console attempting to bring the ship to a full stop. The controls did not respond and the ship continued towards the quasar at half impulse. Jake tapped the console again only to receive the same results. He turned to the Captain. "Ma'am, helm is not responding." he said.

"Did you break it all ready?" Jason asked, looking at McCarty.

Taryn scoffed and walked over to McCarty's station. She tapped the console but her commands did not register. She tried again...no response.

McCarty turned to Taryn and whispered. "What? You thought I was hallucinating that up?"

Taryn glared at McCarty before shifting focus to Kersare. "Ma'am I'm afraid Mr.McCarty is right, helm is not responding."

Apparently, this was going to be far from boring. Not a minute into the area and they couldn't even get the Malinche to stop moving. Images from their mission through the Taevon Expanse came back to Jason, he didn't really want to have another incident like that. Hopefully, this would be nothing more then a minor computer glitch that they would be able to get past...hopefully before they flew straight into a quasar or something.

McCarty rolled his eyes at Taryn's statement of the obvious.

Sean's eyes darted from McCarty, to Kersare, and then to his own console. "It may be an issue with the control interface. Transferring helm control to Operations station" he said, hoping that it was a lose circuit or something inside the navigation console. After a few beeps, the console rearranged itself, minimizing the operations command controls and bringing up a somewhat simplified navigational control board.

Isabel glanced over at Sean, hoping that the issue would be something that could be solved quickly. She didn't really like the idea of not being able to pilot the ship. Of course, it might take a little more work to find the true issue, but as long as Sean got it functional, it would do for the time being.

Sean tapped a few commands into the system, gave a look of worry, and his fingers began flying across the console, moving it back and forth between the navigation controls and the operations controls, entering commands into one, then moving back to the other. After a few moments that seemed, to Sean, to last forever, the navigation controls finally began to respond and slowly the Malinche came to a stop. Looking from McCarty to Kersare, he gave an inward sigh and nodded. "All stop, Ma'am. I'm not sure why the engines weren't responding to bridge controls, but I had to bypass the primary and secondary control pathways in order for the commands to reach the engines. Mr. McCarty should have control of the navigation systems now, but I'd like to work with engineering to do a by-hand inspection of the command pathways."

Nodding, Isabel replied, "Go ahead, Lieutenant. Coordinate with Lieutenant Commander Peters and be sure I get a report if or when you find something."

Sean nodded and turned back to his station. Since everything seemed to be running okay for the moment, he figured he'd stay a few minutes to make sure they stayed that way before leaving to start the inspection.

Aaron looked up from his station. There had been no change in the status of his own control systems, but that didn't mean that they hadn't been affected. Just to be safe, he ran a quick level 5 diagnostic. It came up clean a moment later and Aaron smiled with relief. Perhaps it had just been a fluke afterall.

Jake turned back to his console and began inputting commands. Taryn stood over his shoulder watching intently much to Jake's dismay, however the bridge was no place to start another squabble. The console responded to his commands. "Ma'am I have full navigational control ready to resume on your command."

Taryn returned to her seat at an auxiliary station.

"Let's try coming about again, Mr. McCarty," Isabel ordered.

"Aye Ma'am, 353 mark 127." This time when the Malinche reached it's coordinates the ship came to a full stop at Jake's command. "Full stop ma'am." he stated awaiting any further instructions.

Isabel nodded and then inputted some information which she sent to Jake's console. "Thank you, Mr. McCarty. We'll remain here for one hour and allow Lieutenant Steele to collect any information he's interested in, and then I want you to follow the patrol route I just sent to your station. If we see anything interesting along the way, we can investigate."

OFF: JP brought to you by:

Lieutenant JG Jake McCarty
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

Lieutenant Taryn England (PNPC)
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
played by: Lieutenant JG McCarty

and

Lieutenant JG Alexis Rho
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

Lieutenant JG Aaron Masterson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

Lieutenant Aaron Steele
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

Lieutenant Sean Hansen
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

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

and

[Barrett]

OFF: This is a backpost

On:
<<USS Malinche>>
<Barrett-Townsen Quarters, Day 6, 2225>

Jason yawned, pushing himself back and away from his desk. He stood up and stretched, feeling the familiar knot that always seemed to form in his back when he spent way too much time sitting at his desk. Jason could hear the faint sounds of the Federation News Network from the living area were Adam (NPC) was no doubt scanning the headlines for anything interesting that might have occurred.

Jason headed to Tavi’s (NPC) room and peaked inside. He was curled up under the covers, resting comfortably. Jason smiled to himself, he couldn’t imagine his life now without his son or without Adam in it. He was convinced every time that he looked at Tavi that asking Adam to marry him and adopting Tavi was the best thing that he had ever done with his life. Shutting the door, Jason made his way toward the living area.

Adam was sitting on the couch, looking idly at the PADD in front of him. Every once and awhile he would look up at the display on the wall before turning back to the PADD in front of him. Adam hadn’t seen him standing there yet and just like with Tavi, Jason took in the sight of his fiance.

Adam was gorgeous as far as Jason was concerned. He had recently gotten a trim and his hair, which was usually shaggy was now cut shorter. At the moment he was wearing his typical sleeveless under shirt, which showed off the well defined and large muscles in his arms and chest. Jason couldn’t believe that he could get so lucky as to have the most gorgeous fiance and the best kid in the world.

“Anything good on?” Jason asked, coming into the room.

Adam, like usual, didn’t even act surprised to see Jason come out of the shadows. He looked up from his PADD before flashing him a grin. “Not really, the Andorians are talking about their latest missile cruiser…I didn’t catch the name of it though…something that sounded really evil actually.”

“Do the Andorians ever not name something evil sounding?” Jason asked.

“I guess you have a point there.”

Jason nodded and sat down, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Same knot again?” Adam asked.

Jason nodded, giving Adam some of his best puppy dog eyes. Adam just rolled his eyes and pointed to the floor in front of him. Jason sat down and melted the instant that Adam’s strong hands began to work the knots in his shoulders and neck. He sighed heavily, feeling Adam’s hands as they began to work at the muscles underneath his skin.

“You should quit the whole nurse thing and just do this full time,” Jason said, moaning as Adam worked through a rather large knot. “You are way too good at this.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Adam said. “Don’t you owe me one of those anyway?”

“Maybe,” Jason sighed again. “How do you think that Tavi’s doing, I mean adjusting and all?”

Adam moved lower, kneading the muscles of Jason’s middle back now, eliciting another growl of pleasure from his fiance. “I think he’s adjusting just fine,” Adam said, moving to another knot of muscles. “Everyone seems to love him around here…sometimes I think that the whole ship has adopted him.”

Jason knew what Adam met, everyone on the Malinche seemed to take an interest in Tavi.

“You can stop now,” Jason said, standing up. “Besides I can think of some other things that would be far more relaxing.”

Adam quirked an eyebrow before Jason pulled him into a kiss.

OFF: Alright, let's get posting guys...don't make me turn my evil monkey on you:-)

[N'rass]

<Day 3, Mess Hall, 1500 hrs>

The caitian engineer finished her replicated dinner and sat back in her seat to watch the stars go by. Getting out to see the stars was something L'Randil didn't get to do much of other than on meals between shifts since the shuttle bay didn't have windows and she was too tired usually by the time she got back to her quarters.

Since the regulations on her hours took effect, the engineer found herself with more time available. Not a bad thing for most, but to L'Randil it was uncertainty. She did however have an urge to go to visit Tavi.

When she reached Commander Barrett's quarters, she straightened her uniform and pressed the button. She hoped her nervousness was hidden under her fur as she waited.

<Barrett’s Quarters>

Adam (NPC) was starting to figure out that doing anything with Tavi (NPC) around was going to take a little extra effort. Tavi was an awfully curious kid, always asking a questions about what he was doing. Jason was on duty on the bridge, leaving Tavi and Adam alone. At the moment Tavi was actually sitting still and meditating when the door chime went off.

“I’ll get it!” Tavi exclaimed, flipping to his feet.

Tavi headed over to the door, wondering who it was. It was probably someone for his dad, well one of his dads. They were always showing up at what Tavi thought were pretty odd hours. Although, Tavi himself could have been said to keep odd hours. He hit the door button.

He bowed when he saw N’rass standing outside. That particular move was something that seemed to throw off adults on the Malinche. He supposed it was because there wasn’t a lot of kids on the ship…or maybe they weren’t used to kids showing respect to their elders.

Tavi greeted N’rass with traditional Bajoran greeting.

The Caitian smiled, a little surprised at the gesture. She began to say a greeting but was stopped by Adam.

“Tavi, who’s at the door?” Adam asked, coming around the corner. “Oh, N’rass…Tavi don’t just leave her standing in the hallway, invite her in.”

“Won’t you come in,” Tavi said, gesturing toward inside.

She followed into the living room, then said with a soft tone. "Thank you. Please call me L'Randil, little one." She patted him on the shoulder as she walked to the couch and slowly sat down, wincing a little from her hip pain.

Adam took note of the way that L'Randil winced when she sat down. He made a mental note to talk about it with her soon, he hated seeing anyone on the ship running around in pain.

"What brings you to our neck of the woods," Tavi said. "Did I get it right that time?"

Adam nodded; Tavi was still getting used to all the various sayings that people used. Generally speaking he was picking up on things pretty quick, although even when he didn't it was pretty amusing.

She smirked. "Close enough. Ethnically that is true but I grew up on one of the lunar colonies. Sadly, though I do not know of an appropriate equivalent to a lunar scenario." The caitian joked in a subtle way before continuing. "They changed my duty schedule so that I am faced with a great deal more time. So I figured we could do something...fun." There was a hint of nervousness in her last statement but she thought it would be received well.

Both Tavi and Adam looked at each other. It was no secret that virtually every member of the crew had taken shine to Tavi; it seemed like everyone was popping in to take him out to do something.

"Define fun?" Tavi asked, furrowing his brow. "Because...what was the name of that game that the doctor made me watch?"

"Cricket," Adam stated.

"That was not fun," Tavi said, folding his arms across his chest. "It seemed like baseball only a lot slower and with way more complicated rules."

"Cricket?" L'Randil smirked. "I thought that was a terran insect? Humans have such odd names for things." She shook her head slightly. "I would challenge you to a game similar to 'soccer', but my hip has been a bit stiff since the baseball game. Have you played Kal-to?" Most viewed it out of character for the technician to like a vulcan game, but she liked the logic of it.

As far as Adam knew Tavi had never been exposed to that particular game. Although if Tavi's test scores were any indication he was highly intelligent and the focus he seemed to display when directed to a task was something that even a Vulcan would admire.

"Something with sticks," Tavi said, flipping onto his hands and starting to walk around their quarters.

The caitian crossed her arms and laughed subtly as he wandered around. "Such energy. Oh to be young."

"Get down Tavi, we talked about it...that's rude and you know it."

"Sorry," Tavi said, landing back on his bare feet. That was something else that was driving both Jason and himself nuts, he rarely liked to wear shoes. It was something that both he and Jason were working hard to remind Tavi to do when he left their quarters.

"I see you like to avoid shoes." L'Randil pointed out, taking one of hers off to show her felinoid feet. "I often prefer being shoeless but social and uniform regulations make us all wear them." She looked up at Adam then patted the boy on the shoulder.

"See, she feels the same way that I do!" Tavi pointed. "Besides, walking around on the ship it's not like I am going to step in anything."

"That's not the point," Adam said, crossing his arms. "And why don't you take L'Randil up on her offer, you have been saying that you wanted to learn something new...not counting those boxing lessons that Joey is giving you."

L'Randil smirked. "We could go to the holodeck or astrometrics if you would like. The nebulae in the area make for an interesting tour." She was not sure what he would be interested in but thought he might go for the scientific end of exploration.

For a little humor she added, "As long as you don't run off I could take you on a hunting hike in the mountains of Cait."

That mention lit up Tavi's eyes. Adam wasn't really surprised, although he appeared to enjoy learning about other things, his focus, as was most ten year olds was on the outdoors. He supposed that it wouldn't hurt and it wasn't like they had plans for later anyway, Jason was going to be busy in conferences all day involving the SAG.

"That would be awesome!" Tavi smiled, he had learned the world awesome not long after coming aboard. At least he didn't pick up the more colorful words that Joey was found of using.

L'Randil laughed at his enthusiasm. It was refreshing.

"Then go get changed," Adam said, gesturing toward Tavi's bedroom and watching his son go racing off. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"By all means, Sir." She replied. "I like the company."

"You two may have to slow down for me," Adam smiled.

L'Randil laughed. "Don't worry about me. I may only be twenty one years old but I have the hip of an elder. Whenever you are ready."

"Let me go get changed," Adam said, heading toward his bedroom as Tavi came cart wheeling out of his.

"Amusing way to walk, if I do say so." She joked.

"Thanks, the monks made us learn all sorts of gymnastics moves. I used to hate that part of training but now I really like it, my dads even found me some wicked cool training programs with Olympic athletes on the holodeck."

"Nice. I might have to try that sometime." She said looking up to Adam.

Adam came back out, dressed in a tight fitting sleeveless tee-shirt and athletic shorts. "Alright, are we ready to go?"

"Ready as always!" The caitian said energetically as the three made their way out the door.

OFF:
JP by

Adam Townsend and Tavi
NPC of Lt Cmdr Barrett

and

[McCarty]

OFF: This is a backpost

ON:
<<USS Malinche>>
<Bridge, Day 2, 0945>

Jason stretched his legs, looking at the stars as they streamed by on the main view screen. Captain Kersare had headed off to her ready room to check up on some things leaving Jason in charge of the bridge. He stood up, straightening his uniform as he did. He headed down toward the helm where McCarty was sitting. He had barely got the time to meet him, let alone talk to him.

“Everything running fine Mr. McCarty?” Jason asked.

McCarty was startled by Barrett's address although he did not show it. Until this point Jake had not even met his executive officer in person. Now would be the time to determine how well they would get along. "Aye sir. The earlier malfunctions to the helm seem to have been remedied and all systems are green."

"Good to know, I'd hate to have us fly into an asteroid or something. Might be considered kind of embarrassing," Jason said, walking around the helm and finally leaning up against it. "I understand that in all the excitement we never had a chance to really meet."

Jake laughed at the statement. "Yes sir, considering my reputation how would one look at me if I flew one of the federation's most advanced vessels into an asteroid. I think I would be out of a job; the hallucinations are bad enough."

"Well, this is probably long overdue but I'm Lt. Commander Jason Barrett, your XO," Jason said, extending his hand.

Jake rose from his seat and returning the handshake with a firm grip of his own. "Lieutenant(JG) Jake McCarty sir. If you prefer you can call me Jake I try to spare formalities whenever the situation allows." Jake paused for a moment to quickly study the XO more. His first impression was good so far, Barrett seemed to carry a confident yet relaxed demeanor. He sat back down in his chair. "Sir I have to ask, where did you begin your career?" he continued.

"Operations actually," Jason said. "I started off on the USS Hale."

"Hmmm can't say I am familiar with the Hale. Operations is a good base for command though. I mean you control essential functions of the ship and how she runs. What better base for stepping into leadership."

"And what about you Jake?" Jason asked. "Have you always been in flight control?"

"Yes sir, I have always wanted to be a pilot ever since I was young watching my father when he served on the USS Farragut. Funny thing is I started off helping my mother in sickbay but after my first day on the bridge I knew that's where I wanted to be." Jake's stare trailed off Barrett and onto Captain Kersare's chair. He snapped out of his 'daydream' seconds later. "Before the Malinche I served aboard the USS Destiny for 3 years under a great Captain and alongside a great crew. I hope I can make the Malinche as good of a home and keep her and her crew safe." His voice trailed off as he remembered the USS Destiny. He began to feel himself trail off but suddenly an alertness took over.

"You'll find the Malinche very welcoming," Jason smiled. He had a feeling that there was something burdening their assistant flight control officer but the bridge wasn't the best place to go prying around into people's past.

"No complaints so far sir." Jake replied.

"Did you leave behind anyone special? Wife? Girlfriend?" Jason asked.

Jake sat silently for a moment as he thought of Anna. "No sir, just some really good friends but such is the nature of Starfleet."

"I can understand that," Jason said. He thought about the year and half he spent with the Maran Navy and away from Adam; it had been the hardest 18 months of his life. Now that he had a son, he couldn't really imagine doing something like that...although he did have a point; you went where StarFleet wanted you to go. "And what do you think of your new assignment so far?" Jason asked. "I noticed that your chief seems to keep a pretty close eye on you...did you do something to upset her?"

Jake let out a soft laugh. "The new flight systems will take some getting used to but I always enjoy a challenge. As for Lieutenant England. She is just high strung and by the book having an obsessive need to micro manage her subordinates. Unfortunately for her I am not the type that can be controlled as such and my piloting techniques do not conform to her ways so she decided to just give me the cold shoulder."

Jason nodded, he had a few bosses like that through the years. Although probably none that seemed so openly hostile as England did to McCarty. Perhaps he should have a talk with her about that. "I wouldn't let that get you down," Jason said. "After all some of the best officers are ones that don't do things by conventional means."

"Thank you sir." Jake said appreciating the XO's understanding. "I tend not to let anyone bring me down regardless of rank. I know I am in control of my career and only I can shape it. I also put the safety of the crew and ship above my own at all times. I may not be conventional and I may not follow the book all the time, but I want you to know my actions are based on what I see as the best course of action at the time."

"Mr. McCarty, relax no one is questioning your actions...at least I'm not and I don't think the captain is either. I am sure in time England will learn to lighten up on the reins a little bit."

Jake swerved in his chair and smiled calmly. "My apologies Sir I didn't mean to seem like I was complaining, I kinda call things like I see them. As for her, well, Sir, I'm going to say I think there is a better chance of the Borg asking us for an alliance than her lightening up." He looked around Barrett to see if she heard him. She seemed focused on some information in front of her than the conversation between the two officers.

"Stranger things have happened, after all Voyager struck up an alliance with the Borg to battle Species 8472," Jason said, and then leaning in closer. "And if she doesn't I know a few practical jokes that will surely lighten her mood."

Jake laughed softly so that Taryn would not hear him. "Well I'd rather not run into any overly hostile beings anytime soon. However I think a good joke or two would do her some good. Let me know when the time comes I will gladly volunteer."

"I do believe that both me and Adam agreed to take Tavi to the Crystal Cove on Betazed, on the holodeck. You are more then welcome to join us."

Jake's eyes lit up at Barrett's request. "Actually Commander I love spelunking and I can't say I have ever went to Crystal Cove. I would be more than happy to join you!"

"Good, I'll see you tonight then...holodeck 1 at 1900 hours."

Jake nodded in acknowledgment. "1900 it is sir." Suddenly he felt as though a stray set of eyes were watching him. He looked over again at Taryn catching her just as she jolted her head back onto her screen.

"You're going to do just fine on the Malinche Jake," Jason smiled, clapping the young man on the back. "And we'll get England to smile even if it kills us."

"I'll bring the team of marines and two phaser rifles....If hell hath no fury like a woman scorned I wanna be ready." Jake replied.

OFF:

A JP by:

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

and

[Kersare]

OFF: This is a backpost

ON:
<<Zeral's Quarters, Day 3, 1900>>

After another long day of mostly nothing while they were en route to patrol duty, Isabel now stood outside the door to Nora's quarters. Having little to focus on at the moment had allowed her a good deal of time to simply think and she'd come to the conclusion that she would continue to go in circles unless she talked it out with someone. Isabel frowned slightly before ringing the door chime.

Enjoying a relaxing evening, Nora turned her attention away from the flowering plant she’d been watering at the sound of her door chime. “Come in,” she called, taking a quick moment to set aside the small watering can and move the plant back to the center of the table.

Isabel walked into Nora's quarters after hearing her answer the chime. As she walked in, she noted the watering can and the plant, "Doing some gardening?"

“Something like that,” Nora laughed. “I’m a bit of a green thumb. My family home on Betazed is surrounded by beautiful, lush forests. Potted plants don’t quite compare, but they do remind me of home,” she finished, somewhat wistfully. "Anyway, I could talk about plants for ages, so it's probably best not to get me started." Gesturing to one of the chairs set at the table, she invited, "Please, make yourself at home. Can I get you anything to drink?"

Chuckling at Nora's admission, Isabel replied, "A drink sounds good, yes. I don't have anything particular in mind though, so feel free to surprise me." She took a seat and looked a little closer at the plant. The flowers on the planet had a beautiful, vibrant color to them.

Nora decided that two cups of simple chamomile tea were in order. It certainly wasn’t an adventurous choice as far as drinks went, but its calming qualities were really quite wonderful. Giving her order to the replicator, she noticed Isabel’s look of interest at the plant. “My brother brought this plant back to me,” she said as she handed her her tea. “I can’t remember for the life of me where he found it…some exotic planet or another. The flowers on it bloom every eight weeks, but I’m never quite sure what color they’ll be. They were a deep shade of violet last time.”

Isabel smiled, "Your brother picked out a nice gift. The plant is beautiful." Taking the cup of tea, she said, "Thank you." As she took her first sip, Isabel simply let the warm liquid slide down her throat and enjoyed the pleasant aroma. It seemed to be helping to calm her nerves.

Wrapping her hands around her own mug, Nora quietly sipped at her tea for a few moments, feeling completely comfortable despite the brief silence surrounding them. She sighed contentedly as she set her tea down and smiled at Isabel. “Is everything all right?” she asked quietly, sensing that the Captain had something on her mind.

Hesitating slightly, Isabel took another sip of her tea before setting it back down on the table. "Well...yes. I just...well, I've had things on my mind. I've essentially gotten to the point where my thoughts are just going around in circles and I'm getting nowhere," she replied. Isabel frowned slightly.

“I know that feeling,” Nora admitted with a wry smile. Tilting her head quizzically to the side, she asked, “What sort of things are on your mind, Isabel?”

"For a long time now, ever since I thought Derek (PNPC) was dead, I've avoided getting too close to people. I suppose that's not entirely surprising, and I don't - or at least didn't - think it's really had a negative impact, per se, on my work," Isabel said. "Now, though, I'm not sure."

“The pain of losing a loved one is…well, it’s indescribable, really,” Nora said, speaking from experience. “So I would agree that it’s not terribly surprising that you’ve avoided getting too close to people. After experiencing such a loss, it’s a frightening prospect of ever having to go through it again. Still, even if it is a sort of natural response, that doesn’t make it easy, or even satisfactory.” she ventured. "But you think it might be having a negative impact on your work?"

Isabel shrugged slightly, "Well, I'm not sure. That's one of the things I keep turning around in my mind. Part of me wonders if, as Commanding Officer, I should maintain a certain distance from my crew - keep an air of professionalism, in a way. That's mostly what I've been doing the past...nearly 6 years. The other part of me, though, wonders if I should make more of an effort to really get to know my crew - spend time with them, get to know them, possibly befriend them. I just don't know...."

Nora nodded, seeing Isabel’s predicament. “Well, here’s what I think. First of all, I think that you’re right—as our Commanding Officer, you should keep an air of professionalism. Crewmembers look up to you and respect you, and whenever there’s trouble, they look to you for guidance and trust that you’ll see them through. But maintaining that professionalism doesn’t mean you need to keep everyone at arm’s length. If anything, I think that getting to know your crew would add to the respect they already have for you.”

Dropping her chin into her hand, Nora smiled. “You don’t have to be everyone’s very best friend. If you ask me, that would actually be a bad idea. But I think you’ll find that it is possible to have both a professional and personal relationship with members of your crew.”

"I appreciate your insights Nora," Isabel replied. She took a sip of her tea before continuing, "I don't know that it'll be easy to strike a balance between getting to know them or befriending them to an extent...and maintaining professionalism."

“You’re just out of practice,” Nora grinned. “It probably does sound a bit daunting now, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find that balance. And personally, I don’t think you’re the type of person who would lose sight of maintaining that air of professionalism.”

Isabel nodded with a slight grin playing on her lips, "I suppose you're right, Nora. I think I have been trying to improve on it to some extent lately. Perhaps I just needed someone else to confirm that it was the right thing to do... Do you have any suggestions on how to really get started though? Ideas on who or what, perhaps?"

“Ah. Suggestions.” Nora pursed her lips, drumming her fingers on the table’s surface as she gave it some thought. “Well, a group setting would be a nice place to start, I think. Forgive the cliché, but something like a girls’ night could be fun. You could meet in the holodeck, or maybe have dinner together. I remember from my days at the Academy that an old fashioned poker night never goes amiss,” she chuckled. “As for the who…Lieutenant Rho comes to mind. I haven’t seen her much since the situation with the USS Rome, but I like her, and I think you two likely have a few things in common.”

"Very true, my mother has been involved in Intelligence, so I'm certainly familiar with that line of work. What about L'Randil? I know she was having a difficult time with the Shuttlebay manager...perhaps she would appreciate it as well," Isabel said.

“That’s an excellent idea,” Nora agreed before taking another sip of her tea. “All you have to do is decide on the what, when and where. That's the easy part,” she smiled.

Isabel raised an eyebrow, "I'm not so sure that's the easy part. I think deciding the who was the easy part. Plus, I'm not so sure they'll want to come or they may feel obligated to." She frowned; while she liked the idea of getting to know her crew better, she also didn't want them to feel like they had to participate.

Nora nodded. She could well understand where Isabel was coming from. “I’ll admit that that could be a possibility with some crew members. Plenty of people feel a little intimidated by their commanding officers. The best that you can do is to try. Think about what you’d like to do, extend the invitation, and then see how it goes from there.” Suddenly frowning, she added with a short laugh, “Gods, that sounds like dating advice, doesn’t it?”

After a moment of silence, Isabel joined in the laugh, "I suppose it does, Nora. I'll see what I can do. Which reminds me...have you spoken to Gell (NPC) yet? Or spoken to your brother about him?"

Nora took a careful sip of tea. “Well, I have spoken to Soren (NPC). Gell has left Betazed for a time to attend some sort of a conference, but I’m told that I can expect to hear from him when he returns.” Without knowing when exactly Gell would be calling, she had been feeling equally nervous and excited ever since she’d spoken with her brother. “I think that the anticipation might kill me,” she admitted.

"Somehow I think you'll find the strength to survive," Isabel joked. "Gell probably feels the same anyway - nervous, yet excited."

“I have to admit, that is a pleasant thought,” Nora smiled. “I hope he feels the same way that I do. Well, I hope that he is excited, at least. As for my nervousness, copious amounts of this chamomile tea seem to help.”

Isabel smiled, "Well, I don't think the replicator will be running out of chamomile any time soon, so you should be alright. Other than that, time will tell."

Sighing, Nora looked ruefully at her nearly empty mug, already contemplating a second cup. “Yes, time will tell. In the meantime, I’ll be sure to keep you updated as this strange, ah, courtship of mine unfolds. Or doesn’t.” Suddenly feeling strangely tongue-tied about the subject, Nora returned to their previous topic of conversation. “So, do you think you’ll talk to Alexis and L’Randil sometime in the next few days then?”

"Good, be sure you do that," Isabel smiled before continuing, "I'll be sure to contact them... Perhaps we can figure out something to do before we arrive at the border, even."

“That’s probably a good idea,” Nora said, “considering that things seem to be pleasantly slow for the time being. And if there's any way that I can help, I hope you'll let me know.”

"I'll hold you to it," Isabel replied. "I don't want to take up all of your evening though...and I should probably start contacting people. But thanks for listening and helping me figure things out."

“Of course,” Nora smiled. “I like our little chats. Feel free to stop by at anytime. You’ll probably find me right here with a cup of tea in my hands, at least until I finally hear from Gell," she laughed.

Isabel chuckled, "As do I, Nora. Goodnight." She stood and gave Nora another smile before heading for the door.

OFF: JP brought to you by:

Lieutenant Nora Zeral
Chief Counselor/2xO
USS Malincheh NCC-38997-A

and

[Kersare]

OFF: This is a backpost

On:
<<USS Malinche, Bridge, Day 1, 1300>>

As their departure time drew closer, Isabel remained on the bridge. Most of the crew was aboard by now, and the bridge officers had started arriving at their posts. She heard the turbolift doors swish open and glanced back to see who it was. Isabel was a bit surprised to see a man in Intelligence grey walk onto the bridge; she certainly didn't recognize him.

Draelius stepped off the turbolift onto the bridge of the USS Maliche. The vessel was impressive, much more so than the aging Miranda class that had been his first assignment. Largely ignoring the looks of the officers on the bridge and blocking out the flood of curiousity and other emotions, he sought out the Captain and approached her with a smile and a salute. “Ensign Draelius Tallix reporting for duty, Captain.”

He offered the PADD with a copy of his transfer orders and smiled apologetically. “From Lieutenant Commander Miller (NPC) on 386. Sorry for the short notice, ma'am.”

Isabel raised an eyebrow slightly as she took the PADD from the young man. She didn't read it quite yet, but said, "At ease, Ensign. As you've noticed, I'm Captain Kersare. Why don't we step into my Ready Room?" Pausing briefly, she then headed toward her Ready Room and walked in.

Draelius could tell easily enough that his presence was somewhat of a surprise to the Captain, but he didn't sense the irritation or anger he had feared. Instead she was seeming to take his sudden appearance pretty well in stride. He followed Kersare into her ready room, wondering if that attitude would change once she had read the orders. Lt. Commander Miller had locked them with a command level encryption, preventing Draelius from reading them on the way up. It wasn't surprising. Miller wasn't exactly paranoid, but he brushed the edge once in a while.

As the doors to the ready room swished closed behind him, Ensign Tallix stood at ease and waited silently for the Captain to review the papers and make her decision. He wasn't sure, but he supposed that, being of a higher rank than Miller, she could reject the transfer if she wanted. It all depended on what exactly the encrypted message had to say.

Motioning for Draelius to have a seat, Isabel sat down behind her desk. She was a bit surprised to see that the transfer orders were encrypted, but considering the involvement of Intel, Isabel wasn't entirely surprised. Once getting past the encryption, she read through the transfer orders before looking back at her newest crewmember, "Well, Mr. Tallix, it appears you made it just in time. A half hour more and we would've likely already been gone."

Draelius nodded his agreement. “Yes ma'am. I only put in the transfer request yesterday. Fortunately I like to travel light, otherwise it wouldn't have been an easy task getting here in time. To be honest, I''m surprised at how quickly the Commander got this through, and that he was able to get me onto the Malinche, no less. I hope you'll find me worth the hassle.” Kersare was still perusing his papers, so he continued talking, mostly to fill the silence. “I'm looking forward to life on a ship again. The assignment on Aldani IV wasn't a bad one, but I find starbases and planets a little too...static. I understand the Malinche is headed to the Cardassian border next?”

Isabel chuckled slightly, "To be honest, there isn't a whole lot that surprises me about Intel. I imagine that Commander Miller could've gotten you anywhere he felt it best to put you in short order. In any event, it's no hassle to bring you aboard - I'm used to finding out about transfers at the last moment...seems to be a running theme with the Personnel Department and those being transferred, although this one probably cuts it closest." She raised her eyebrow slightly at the message from Vice Admiral Livian (NPC) near the bottom of the orders, but set the PADD aside. "I can certainly understand that. And yes, the Malinche has been assigned to border patrol."

Draelius frowned at the Captain's confirmation of the coming mission. "I suppose it's actually good for me if we start with something more routine. It will be easier to learn the way things run here that way. You might be interested to know the Aldani team just finished a speculative report projecting the most likely trend for the Cardassian Empire for the next several months. We determined that, based on their past actions and the latter months of the war, the Cardassians will actually focus most of their attention on rebuilding from the outside in. That is, we expect them to begin beefing up their own border patrols for a while and reinforce their outermost worlds and defenses before devoting time and resources to their homeworld and central planets, all in order to avoid appearing weak to the other major powers."

He paused and then said, "Of course, the Dominion is gone and the Federation has no intention of attacking, but the Cardassians don't see things that way. After all, if the shoe was on the other foot, they would think it foolish not to take advantage of the situation, so why shouldn't we? That said, don't be surprised if we encounter larger than usual Cardassian patrols over the course of our assignment. It's not a sign of aggression, it's a calculated show of force to avoid the perception of weakness." Draelius stopped for a breath before adding, "of course, that's only a projection of the most likely scenario. There's always the chance they could surprise us. It seems like some ships are destined to run into the unlikeliest of scenarios. Is the Malinche such a ship?"

Isabel couldn't help but smile, "You could certainly say that, Mr. Tallix. It seems the Malinche is quite good at finding herself in...interesting scenarios. You can read up on some of our previous missions if you'd like more details."

Draelius nodded his agreement, and then finally gave in to the curiosity that had been eating at him for the entire conversation. "Forgive me if I ask amiss, Captain Kersare, but was there anything particularly interesting in my transfer orders? It may be none of my concern, but I was a little surprised that they were encrypted. Although Commander Miller may have done it simply to keep me from reading them anyway. He knows I'm curious enough to have done it." He hoped he wasn't overstepping any boundaries, but he had a sense that there was something unexpected about the whole matter. He was about to discover he wasn't wrong.

"It appears you made a good impression on your superiors, Mr. Tallix," Isabel commented. Reaching in her desk, she pushed a few things aside before finding what she was looking for. "Commander Miller didn't just request that you be transferred to the Malinche."

Draelius frowned again and asked the obvious question: "What else did he want then?"

Isabel slid a small black box over to Draelius, "He also put in for a promotion for you with Vice Admiral Livian (NPC), which she approved along with your transfer. So, I'd like to extend my congratulations, Lieutenant JG Tallix." She smiled and waited for his reaction - somehow she doubted that he was expecting the promotion, but perhaps he was...

"He did?" Tallix was genuinely surprised. While his impression that there was more than usual to his transfer had been spot on, he hadn't imagined at all that a promotion was involved. "Wow. That's...quite a surprise. A good one, I mean, but I didn't think my performance was all that..." he caught himself rambling and regathered his thoughts. "That is, thank you, Captain. It's honor enough to be assigned to your crew, but this is beyond what I had hoped." He opened the box and smiled at the sight of the black pip inside. "I hope to wear this well."

"Unless I'm reading this wrong, yes, he did," Isabel confirmed with a smile playing on her lips. "I'm sure you will wear it, Lieutenant. I'm afraid I need to get back to the bridge; we'll be departing shortly. I would suggest you find your quarters, and then report back here once we've left Starbase 386. I'll introduce you to the Chief Intelligence Officer, Lieutenant JG Alexis Rho. So for now, you're dismissed."

Having been dismissed, Draelius stood and saluted. "Understood, Captain. I'll be back in time to meet with Lieutenant Rho. Thank you again." He stepped back, then turned as the doors swished open and headed off to find his quarters.

As Draelius left, Isabel remained seated for a few moments. While she'd certainly had her share of surprise transfers come to the Malinche, none had cut it this close...unless those who met the Malinche at another location counted. Based on her brief meeting with him, she felt he'd be a good addition the crew - certainly interesting at the least. Isabel wondered how he would get along with Alexis; she'd find out soon enough. For now, though, time to return to the bridge.

OFF:

JP brought to you by:

Lieutenant JG Draelius Tallix
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

[Kersare]

OFF: This is a backpost

ON:
<<Bridge, Day 1, 1500>>

Once the departure process was complete, Isabel contacted Alexis and asked her to report to the bridge. Draelius had returned from finding his new quarters moments ago, so they were now simply waiting for the Chief Intelligence Officer to arrive.

<Intelligence Offices>

“I’ll be right there, ma’am. Rho out.” Captain Kersare had just asked Alexis to come to the Bridge. Her immediate thought was a reprimand for not being up there for the departure process. Alexis stepped out of her office.

“I’ll be on the Bridge,” she announced. And promptly walked out the doors.

<Bridge>

The turbolift was almost to its destination when Alexis’ Ullian brain set off alarms in her mind. The lift stopped. Just before the doors swished open, the realization hit her. There was another mind, another person, onboard…one she didn’t recognize. She stepped out onto the Bridge and visually scanned the area. Normal Bridge crew. That means they’e in the Ready Room, she thought. Alexis pulled one of her old Intel tricks and did a little mental recon. She first did a passing scan of the newcomer…Betazoid male. To keep from revealing herself to him, she switched to the Captain…immediately pulling his name, rank, and position from the forefront of her thoughts.

Thus armed, she confidently rang the door chime.

<Ready Room>

"Enter," Isabel called from inside her Ready Room. Rather than have the Alexis surprised by the new officer on the bridge, she had felt it might be better to have them meet in her ready room. In the end, they would've ended up there anyway.

Alexis entered and nodded toward Isabel. “Captain.” She then turned to the officer in Intel grey. “Lt. JG Draelius Andronicus Tallix of the Eighth House of Betazed, my new Assistant Intel Chief. Nice to meet you.”

Draelius was taken aback by his new boss' introduction. He'd had no time to study any personnel files at all, and his understanding of the situation was that neither had anyone else. However he maintained a neutral expression and replied with his usual courtesy while he opened his mind a little to hear what he might from the Intel Chief's mind.

“Lieutenant Rho, the pleasure is all mine. I apologize for the lateness of my transfer. I really had no idea that my former superiors would fill my request so quickly.”

“Rule number six, never apologize – it’s a sign of weakness.” Rho grinned.

Lowering his mental barrier just a little had allowed in a flood of thoughts and emotions from the bridge crew, and Draelius did a quick mental count, comparing the 'noise' to the number of officers he knew to be present in the area. As he had suspected, the numbers were off by one, meaning that someone, most likely Rho, was presenting a barrier herself. He looked at her closely and then smiled slightly as the truth registered. She wasn't a Betazoid, and clearly she wasn't Ferengi. That meant...

“I didn't realize I'd have the pleasure of serving under a Ullian. Your people are held in high regard on Betazed.”

Rho simply nodded.

Tallix had worked alonsgide several Ullians in his former assignment, and he'd admitted from time to time a hint of envy for some of their abilities. It was during this time that one of his father's many lessons became clear. “A person – be he Betazoid, Human, Vulcan, Klingon, or Cardassian – is not identified by his abilities. It's what he does with them that matters.” That in mind, he reinforced his own mental barrier and waited to see how Miss Rho was accepting his arrival.

Isabel had watched the exchange between the two officers with interest. Both obviously had telepathic powers and it appeared that they hadn't entirely needed an introduction from her after all. "Why don't you have a seat, Ms. Rho?"

“Yes ma’am.” Alexis walked over to a chair and sat down.

Taking a PADD from her desk, Isabel slid it across her desk to Alexis. "Although it doesn't entirely seem that you need this after all, this PADD contains the transfer information for Mr. Tallix as well as the un-classified information regarding his previous assignments. I'm sure any other information you need or want you'll be able to obtain in one way or another. Though I'm guessing that it would be preferrable to simply speak with your new Assistant Chief."

Alexis picked up on what Captain Kersare was talking about. She nodded her head in recognition of the implications. “Thank you, Captain,” she said as she reached for the PADD. “This will most assuredly help me in getting to know my new co-worker.” She glanced over to Tallix, then back to Kersare. Taking the lead so as not to get Tallix in trouble his first day onboard, she said, “And we will talk things out instead of communicating telepathically.” After all, she was the who instigated that whole exchange. She then scanned the PADD that the Captain had given her.

“Aldani IV, huh. I knew an Andorian Intelligence agent who tried to get that assignment when the spots opened up. Couldn’t believe he was turned down.” She looked up at Tallix, “Can’t wait to find out why.”

Draelius maintained a stoic expression. “I'm sure you'll know more about it in the long run than I ever will. I didn't try to get the assignment at all. Starfleet approached me.” He wondered if that came across as pretentious, but didn't worry about it for long. Rho was still skimming his transfer papers with the trained eye of an Intel Officer.

Alexis sort of half grinned. She looked at the Captain. “It says here that he’s good at hand to hand combat. I could introduce him to Lt. Masterson and Ensign Vosh. What do you think, ma’am?”

Isabel smiled and chuckled, "I think that's an excellent idea, Lieutenant. We'll have a week-long journey ahead of us, so there should be plenty of time for some introductions." She got the feeling that the dynamics of the Intel department were going to be quite interesting with the new addition to the department.

“By the way, Captain,” added Rho. “I know it’s only been just over an hour since we’ve been underway, but preliminary intel indicates that the Cardassian Union has been pretty quiet over the past few years. Seems they’ve been in some sort of reconstruction period…military, civil, and economical. I should have more detailed reports within forty-eight hours. But personally, I don’t see it bringing much more to light.” She paused. “I do have an ear to the Cardassian Communication Service. Perhaps Mr. Tallix could utilize his analytical skills?” She looked at Tallix.

Draelius nodded. “Of course.” He was glad to have something of an immediate assignment. Far too often new officers were treated with kid gloves to allow them time to 'get used to' their new posts. He much preferred the idea of jumping right in and adjusting to his new job by, say, actually doing said job. “In fact, if our business here is nearly done, I would prefer to get right on the assignment. That is, if it pleases the Captain.” He glanced at Kersare and awaited her approval.

Having a feeling that she would likely learn more about her newest officer with time and based on his actual work, Isabel nodded. "Dismissed. Let either myself or Lieutenant Commander Barrett know of any significant finds that the Intel Department comes across. Oh, and good luck with Lieutenant JG Masterson and Ensign Vosh, Mr. Tallix."

"Thank you, Captain. I look forward to working with you." Draelius replied.

Alexis nodded. “Yes, ma’am, we’ll let one of you know.” She looked at Tallix. “Since you’re ready, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the personnel and let you get started.”

Draelius stood and motioned to the door with a slight bow. "Excellent. Lead the way, Lieutenant."

OFF:

JP brought to you by:

Lieutenant JG Draelius Tallix
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

Lieutenant JG Alexis Rho
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

[N'rass]

<USS Malinche Day 7, 0120hrs, Roen's quarters>

Roen had been missing decent sleep for a couple days now. As she would try to sleep thoughts would come that would wake her up suddenly. To cope, she sat in her personal desk's chair with a bajoran militia disruptor in pieces in front of her with a cleaning rag and brush.

She usually found the process of cleaning and tuning her weapon to be relaxing but even this was failing now. In any event, she drifted off bracing her head on her hand, elbow on the desktop in sleep.

<Bajoran militia academy grounds, date: years past>

The pilots in training landed after a defense mission with the fighters. They disbursed to their own directions out of the hangar in the evening air. As Roen left the building and parted from the group, she was stopped by a familiar but daunting voice following.

"Private Roen!" The drill instructor shouted. "Attention!" The cadet stopped, still in her flight uniform.

"Sir, Yes Sir!" She said with a firm salute and straightened her equipment discretely.

"What happened up there?"

"Sir?" She asked in a confused tone. "Wha..."

"Why did you abandon your wingmen." He said in a direct and emphasized manner. "When the enemy approached, you broke formation for almost thirty seconds. In that time you lost one and the remaining one sustained heavy damage. That is unacceptable." Fortunately it was war games and not real, but that did not change the post game analysis.

"B...but, Sir" She stammered.

"I don't want to hear it." He shook his head. "If you want to continue a carreer in flying in this unit or any other, you need to fly with your unit not leave it behind."

"Sir, I did not abandon them!" She blurted. "I broke formation because I sensed an ambush coming and wanted to get the flank on them. If you want to punish me for that than so be it!" The intensity of her voice went from shaking to firm with a stare into his eyes. The lightly built young bajoran did not use that demeanor often but when she did it was a force to be reckoned with.

The instructor smirked but did not stand down. "A better explanation, Roen, but not a valid one for this excersize." He motioned for her to follow him back into the office next to the hangar.

Once inside, he motioned for her to sit on the chair at the middle of the medium sized office. She looked around the shelves and pictures on the walls alternating to looking at him as he paced.

"I know you have heard the stories about the Maquis tactics and how it worked on the Cardies, but times change and I will not have those habits in my cadets. Your brother was a great pilot but he was a rogue in his own rite."

Roen sighed at the mention but smirked at his opinion.

"Your tactical instinct today did prove to hold water at the expense of your team. To sacrifice them in favor of the mission is a decision for the wing lead not the wing man. The mission could have been executed without losses if you had stayed together and temporarily pulled back as a unit for a regroup."

"But then we would have lost surprise and jeopardized the mission as well." She stood up to address the senior.

He turned to look at her posture and harrumphed. "Again, advanced tactical analysis but that is not for a first year pilot to determine. Because you have the seeds of leadership deep within I will forgo the normal punishment and leave it with a simple slap on the wrist. No flight duty for 3 days. Think it through and I will see you back on Tuesday."

She nodded with a mixed emotion. It was a relief to know she escaped the punishment for the most part but it always hit her hard when her CO disapproved. The bajoran had her own way of doing things and this was nothing new, nor the last.

<Present time>

Anara eventually looked up and stretched her arms out, recalling the incident.

"Oh how times change..."

OFF:
(NPC) Post by

[Vosh]

OFF: A back, back, post:-)

ON:
<<USS Malinche>>
<Day 2, 1145, Torpedo Bay>

Jason entered the torpedo bay, looking around to see if he could spot Trace. He remembered having to help out with the inventory occasionally on the Hale and having to supervise it on the Everhardt. It wasn't a fun task by any means. Moving through the racks of torpedoes, Jason eventually picked up on the sound of old terran rock and roll. Coming around a stack of quantum torpedoes, Jason found Trace and Ryan (NPC) working on few tri-cobolt warheads they had stored.

"Looks like you two have been keeping busy," Jason said, leaning against the stack of torpedoes. "How many more do you have left to do?"

"70...give or take a few," Trace answered. "Luckily Mr. Morris here didn't have anything else to do today."

"You do realize that you could order them to do it, right?" Jason asked. That was something about Trace that Jason had realized a bit ago, he didn't mind giving the big orders but orders that were smaller, like this, seemed to elude the man.

"I don't believe in making them do something that I'm not willing to do myself sir," Trace responded. It was something that he learned from his second host, Eridan. If he was going to make someone do what could be considered a mind numbing but essential task then he was going to be right there with them. It helped foster a feeling of belonging and that your CO wasn't so far above that he forgot how to do the job.

"Makes sense," Jason nodded. "How goes your classes?"

Trace looked away from the information that he was entering on his PADD. "Good, I think that everyone appears to be enjoying themselves so far and some are getting pretty good at it. Why didn't you tell anyone in tactical that your fiance was so good at kicking butt?"

"I didn't want you stealing him and putting him in harm's way," Jason smiled. That was pretty close to the truth though.

"Makes sense, I hear that your son is pretty good too."

"He's 10...and no, you aren't sticking him on your department. Besides, I am pretty sure there are rules about having 10 year olds carrying high powered phaser weapons."

"Pff," Trace said, waving his hand. "I can work around just about any regulation."

Somehow, Jason didn't doubt that was the truth. Ryan chuckled at that comment.

"He does have a point sir," Ryan said. "I stopped by yesterday morning and saw him in the holodeck, faster little bugger."

"You're telling me," Jason grunted.

"Keeping you on your toes sir?" Ryan asked.

"Oh, you have no idea," Jason said. "Anyway, I really came down here in response to your security report."

"Yes sir?" Trace asked. Trace had sent that report off to both Aaron and Jason yesterday morning.

"Good work, I agree that we have a few gaps in our security procedure but I think between you and Aaron we can get them closed."

Trace nodded. "Thanks sir."

"I take it that are trying to finish this all up in one day?"

"Yeah, Aaron wants a complete check of all the tactical and security systems before we arrive at the patrol area."

"Makes sense," Jason nodded. "Then I guess I better leave you two to it."

"You got it sir."

With that said, Jason turned and headed out of the room. Trace looked after him, he could see how Adam (NPC) had fallen for him. He certainly was an attractive man. He mentally smacked himself. First his CO, then his XO, hell...he was even thinking about hitting on the doctor.

"You ok sir?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," Trace said, shaking his head. "Let's get back to work."

OFF:

A JP By:

Lt. Commander Jason Barrett
XO
USS Malinche

&

[Steele]

On:
USS Malinche
Day 7: 14: 10 hrs

“… When I heard you were in the area, I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity while it existed.”

Aaron was speaking with a Commander Brayden Russ who was currently stationed on Aldolore, a nearby planet near the DMZ.

The planet was 90% water, so until recently it had held little interest to colonists from either side. However, as things stabilized between the Cardassian Empire and the Federation, exploratory missions to the region had been green lighted. While the team stationed on Aldolore had access to the Hunley class shuttle, Aaron’s Poseidon class allowed for a larger number of people to explore the waters at one time.

“Glad to know the sub is working as designed. I’ve heard several positive comments from teams across the Federation but this will be the first time I’ll get to see it in action. If you don’t mind, I know a few other scientists aboard the Malinche that would also like to see the planet.”

Russ smiled.
“Of course, the more the merrier as they say. How much time do you think you can convince your Captain to let you have off?”


“Ideally several days, but more realistically I’d say let’s start off with one day and see how it goes from there.”
Aaron had taken several days off lately due to the Sentry’s disappearance and didn’t wish to test Kersare’s generosity by requesting more, even if it was sort of mission related.

“Sounds good to me. Unless I hear otherwise I’ll send a shuttle over to pick you up at around 16:00 hrs. Russ out.”

Off:

[Kersare]

<<Bridge, Day 10, 1600>>

The past few days patrolling the border had been quiet. Very quiet. Overall, Isabel figured that that was a good thing, but it certainly didn't make their time on the Cardassian border go very fast. She could tell that a good portion of the crew were getting restless and she couldn't blame them. But one never knew when something would happen that would require their full attention...and there had been a couple of spatial phenomenon that they'd had the chance to look at.

Isabel stood and said, "I'll be in my Ready Room for a little while."

<Ready Room>

Sighing, Isabel sat down on the small couch. After a few minutes though, she grew restless and walked over to her replicator, "Glass of raspberry iced tea."

Just as the glass had finished materializing, she heard her desktop console beep. Curious, Isabel walked over and sat down. A priority one message? She tapped on the console and was a bit surprised to see Admiral Olivia Tavez (NPC). "Admiral Tavez...good afternoon."

"Good morning, Captain," Olivia replied. "How are things along the border?"

Isabel sat down her glass before responding, "Quiet, Admiral. We've not detected any Cardassian vessels in the area and haven't run into anything else particularly noteworthy."

The Admiral nodded slowly. "Captain, I'm re-assigning the Malinche to a different mission. As you've noted, there isn't much in the way of activity on the border and your ship is the closest."

"The closest ship to what, ma'am?" Isabel asked after making sure Olivia was finished speaking for the moment. She certainly hadn't heard of anything significant, but obviously something had happened.

"Athos III," Olivia replied. "It's a colony near the edge of the badlands. We lost contact with them several days ago and have received reports of Breen raiding nearby systems. We need the Malinche to go to Athos III, re-establish contact with the colony, and report back regarding what happened."

"Of course," Isabel said with a brief nod. "It'll take us a few days to get there, but we'll change course right away. Is there anything else I should know, Admiral?"

Olivia shook her head, "You know everything I know about this situation at this point in time. Good luck, Captain, Tavez out."

As the connection closed, Isabel shook her head slowly. Apparently the old saying "be careful what you wish for" applied... Theoretically, it would be a fairly routine mission and would break up the monotony of border patrol.

Before returning to the bridge, Isabel sent out a few specific messages. Right now they had little to go on, but there were some preparations they could start on. Her first message asked Alexis and the Intelligence Department to look for any information on Athos III and the colony there, the second requested that Doctor Dormand (NPC) ready Sickbay for any injured colonists. Aaron and the rest of the Security/Tactical department were tasked with preparing an away team, scanning for other vessels, and getting ready for a possible fight. She asked that Todd, Sean, and their departments ensured that all systems were functioning properly - essential to start out with if they would be near the badlands - and asked Aaron and the Science department to research anomalies in the area. Jason and Nora were to help coordinate everything.

Satisfied that the major preparations were already requested, Isabel walked onto the bridge. "Mr. Sychorski (NPC), set a course for Athos III, Warp 8." Standing behind the command chair, she tapped her comm badge, "All hands, this is the Captain. The Malinche has been ordered to Athos III to check on a colony that StarFleet has lost contact with. We'll be on our way momentarily. Department heads, you should have your assignments." Pausing, she looked down at the command control screen on the left side of her chair before continuing, "ETA 2 days, 17 hours. Kersare out."

Joshua looked over at her as she finished her announcement, a finger poised above the flight control console.

"Engage."

OFF: Tag everyone! You should all have something to work on now...if you need more ideas, or someone to JP with, please ask myself, Lieutenant Commander Barrett, or Lieutenant Zeral. Any posts occurring prior to this one should be marked as a Backpost in the initial OFF section. I'll give you a little time to work on these items before our arrival, but I'd like to push things ahead within the next week, at most.

[Masterson]

<<USS Malinche>>
<Aaron's Office, Day 11, 0800>

Trace was a little curious as to why the colony hadn't been heard from in over a week. Typically speaking, that met one of two things; they were unable to respond or they were unwilling to respond. Either way there existed the very real possibility that combat; most likely in self defense, would be come necessary. He pressed the door chime outside Aaron's office and was beckoned inside.

"All tactical systems are operating at 100% sir," Trace stated, handing Aaron a PADD. "I've also gone through the majority of the sidearms on the ship to make sure that are in working order, Ryan (NPC) is going to finish them up this afternoon."

"Good morning to you, too," Aaron said as lowered his mug. He took the PADD in one hand and flipped it around so that he could skim over the contents. The Prometheus-class starship was first and foremost a long-range tactical vessel, which certainly meant that her assignments would be more tactically oriented. It was a foregone conclusion that the Security/Tactical department would see more action than personnel assigned to a Nova-class vessel.

After skimming through the first few paragraphs, Aaron realized that Vosh was still waiting, which meant that this wasn't a simple passing visit to drop off a morning report. "Something else I can help you with," Aaron asked, setting the PADD aside for later review.

"This doesn't feel right," Trace said, frowning. "I don't like it."

"You have concerns," Aaron observed, leaning back a little. He understood how one could have concerns in such a situation. True, lost contact with a colony did not immediately equate to the fact that the colony had been attacked, but it was the first step down that road. When the Borg first invaded, they scooped up an entire colony in their tractor beam. During the Dominion War, there were stories of entire colonies being wiped out by the Jem'Hadar. How many of these stories were true, there was no real way to know, but the idea was enough to put any good security/tactical officer on edge.

"There's nothing really in that sector," Trace said. He had been through the intel reports and nothing really stuck out as valuable. According to the colony records they didn't even really anything that was all that valuable.

"Eridan used to tell his staff that if it felt wrong then it probably was wrong," Trace said. "I just don't like the idea of going into a situation completely blind. I've scheduled an extra drill tonight with the layout of the colony. I'd like you to attend and give me your feedback."

Aaron nodded to show that he understood the Trill's request. It made sense that Vosh would want him to be present to provide insight and also to be a part of the exercise.

"I'm also happy to report that the classes we organized seem to be going pretty well, Joey's (NPC) boxing class has been full every night this week."

"Glad to hear it," Aaron said with sincerity, pleased to see that Vosh's ideas for general training were working out well enough.

"I also think that we need to run a diagnostic on the phaser targeting arrays, they seemed a bit sluggish," Trace said. He was starting to feel more relaxed around Aaron, although the two had yet to really spend any time together outside thier working environment.

"Torpedo inventory has been finished and unless someone is hiding a phaser rifle somewhere, I got the last of them tuned last night."

"The results on the targeting arrays should be coming through soon, actually," Aaron said with a smile, "I started the diagnostic last night." Being the chief security/tactical officer meant that Aaron was responsible for the entire department, but he knew better than anyone how much superior his tactical skills were to his security skills. Tactical just seemed to be the stronger field for him...at least, that's what everyone seemed to say. It made him all the more appreciative of people like Trace and Mike (NPC), who were more skilled in the areas of security.

"Figured you would," Trace said. "I've been thinking about trying out a new sight on the phaser rifles that I have been toying with."

"Just how many ideas have you been toying with," Aaron asked in surprise, wondering when the Trill had time to be coming up with all these ideas in just the few days that they had been working together aboard the Malinche.

Trace shrugged, he wasn't really one for sitting around, more so when they might be flying into a dangerous situation. It was something that he picked up from two of his previous hosts actually, one of them being Kayla and the other being Eridan. Neither one of them could sit still if they knew that they had an important mission coming up. Kayla was famous for tinkering with things, sometimes with some rather explosive results.

"Helps ease my mind," Trace smiled. "I should probably be going, I want to look through the latest threat assestment analysis that StarFleet Intellgience put out. I've already got the holodeck book tonight for 1900, see you there?"

"I'll do my best," Aaron replied, knowing how important it would be, not only for him to show support for Vosh's training methods, but also just to be present and maybe even learn something for himself.

"If you need anything let me know," Trace said.

Aaron nodded to show that he understood. So far, it seemed like, despite the suddenness of it, being the Chief Security/Tactical Officer wasn't shaping up quite as bad as he had thought it would. Between the support of the captain and the first officer, as well as the strength of his team, he was beginning to feel a lot better about his latest assignment aboard the Malinche. "Thank you," he said with a smile, "I'll look this over and get back to you on it as soon as I can."

Trace gave Aaron a smile and a nod and headed out of his office.

OFF

A JP by

Ensign Trace Vosh
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche

and

[Rho]

OFF: This is a way, way, way-back post.

ON: <USS Malinche, Bridge, Day 1, 1546>

Alexis walked out of the Ready Room with Tallix right behind. The introductions had been a little abnormal, but that was all on her. She was quiet until they got in the turbolift.

“Ensign Derrin is the Acting Assistant Intel Chief. We’ll go into my office and I’ll break the news to him. Then I’ll introduce you to the rest of the personnel and you can get right to work.”

"Sounds good. How do you think your Ensign Derrin will take it? Of course you don't expect an outburst, but I'm sure he worked hard to attain his current position. I know I wouldn't like being ousted by a last minute transfer. It's a bad feeling, being on top of the world, with it right in your pocket. You're living the life, things are just the way they should be. Then from out of the sky comes some little punk onto your rocket, and all of a sudden some strange things are happening to you." Draelius smiled suddenly. That last line felt familiar somehow.

“You’re right, he has worked hard. But he also went into this knowing that is was temporary.” She paused. “Although, I don’t think he expected it to be this short. I think he will take it fairly well. But I would expect him to be ‘professional’ with you for quite a while.” She looked over at Tallix, “By the way, that sounded a little…well, a little.” She smirked. “I think this department needs a little of whatever it is you have. But only a little. We in Starfleet Intelligence still need to uphold our reputation.”

"Understood, ma'am."

The turbolift came to a stop and the two officers stepped out. Rho led the way through the corridors and Draelius made careful mental notes of every sign on every door and every turn they made. He would study the ship's schematics that night, maybe commit them to memory within a couple of days, but for now he didn't want to get lost just trying to find the Intel Department. It seemed the engineers loved hiding it in the deepest darkest bowels of the ship.

Once they finally reached the operation offices for the Intelligence Department, Alexis walked in and straight to the little area she had walled off as her office. When on duty she was either manning the Mission Ops station on the Bridge, which she tied into the network the console in her office is on as well SI’s main database, or in her main office on Deck 2. This one she liked because of its reclusiveness.

“Ensign Derrin, my office.” Lieutenant Rho walked in, followed by Lt. Tallix. “I know, it’s cramped, but it’s workable. Have a seat, if you’d like.”

Draelius glanced at the two identical chairs placed in the corners opposite Rho's desk and chose the one on the left. It was slightly closer to the door, which would allow Derrin to take the one further inside the office and subconsciously feel safer and closer to their boss. It was the least he could do for the guy.

A second later, Ensign Derrin walked in, smiling. “Reporting as ordered, ma’am.”

“Sit down. Ensign Derrin, meet Lt. Draelius Tallix.”

Michael looked at him and smiled. “Pleasure to meet you, Lt. Tallix.”

The guy was practically oozing curiosity tinged with suspicion. Draelius returned the smile and stood slightly, extending his hand as he did so. Derrin shook it without standing himself, confirming several things about himself in Tallix's mind.

“Ensign,” said Alexis, “Lt. Tallix’s transfer came through at the last minute. He is the new Assistant Intel Chief.” She could see Michael’s shoulder’s droop. Anger was the first emotion she sensed, then disgust, then disappointment. And the disappointment seemed to be lingering.

“I understand, Lieutenant Rho.” Michael was more solemn and the happy-go-lucky tone of his voice changed. He looked at Tallix. “Welcome to the Malinche, sir. Just let me know what you need and I’ll do my best.”

"Thank you, Mr. Derrin." Draelius didn't apologize. As courteous as it would seem, it would also present a desire for approval, and that was a dangerous trend to set.

“If there’s nothing else, ma’am, I’d like to get back to work,” said Michael.

“Go ahead Ensign. You’re dismissed,” replied Rho. Ensign Derrin walked out.

Alexis turned to Draelius. “And there you have it. He’s going to be like that for quite a while. Anyway, welcome to the best ship and Intel department in Horizon Fleet.” Alexis did something a little out of the ordinary next. “Considering the time and the fact that we’ve got a long trek ahead of us, you can start in the morning if you wish. If not, I’m sure we can find something to keep you busy for the next hour or so.”

A yawn overcame Draelius unbidden, tempting him to take the Lieutenant up on her offer, but he shook it off and refused. "Thank you, but I think I'd prefer to get to know the department as soon as possible. Everybody does things a little differently, and I'd rather not find out on the fly about the idiosyncrasies here. Might I spend a little time allowing Mr. Derrin to 'show me the ropes'? I believe it will help speed his adjustment process without placing him in a position to undermine my authority later."

“Sounds like a good plan.” Alexis watched Draelius as he left and knew in her heart, what of it there was left, that this was going to be an interesting week.

OFF:

JP brought to by
Lt. JG Draelius Tallix
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche

and

[Tallix]

<USS Malinche, Deck 10, Intelligence Lab, Mission Day 10, 1607>

They had received new orders, which was welcome news after a week of being en route and two days of routine border patrol. Even though it was late and a few hours from the end of the shift, Alexis headed down to see what SI’s database had on this planet. Most everyone was still there, but you didn’t have to be telepathic to sense the anticipation of the shift nearing it’s end. She walked over to a console and began tapping away.

A lot of information about Athos III started popping up. Geography and climate information came up first. Rho skipped this part. She thought it better left to Lt. Steele and the Science department. Eventually she came to what she was looking for, a laundry list of intel regarding the colony, government, and individuals.

“Computer, summarize the following intel on Athos III.” She tapped a couple of areas on her screen.

The computer beeped compliantly and began reciting it’s summarization. “A Federation colony was established on Athos III, a planet near the edge of the Badlands, two years ago. They established a colonial government consisting of a Governor, Nathaniel Torman, and a Council. Though they had started growing their own crops, the colony still relied on shipments from the Federation to help sustain the colony and maintained regular contact, at least once every month. The colony is located on the Montar continent.”

Alexis shook her head. She did ask for a summary, but that was shorter than normal. There was a lot of info here and she could do the analysis, but it wasn’t her strong point. As if on cue, the doors swished open and Tallix walked in.

"Why are these places always crowded after hours? Is Intel really that demanding?" Draelius joked out loud to anyone who would listen, but his remark went largely ignored by the group in the room. Most of them were so engrossed in their respective assignments that he wondered if they'd noticed his entry at all. He scanned the room and found the person he was looking for: Lieutenant Alexis Rho. He walked over to her and listened to the last line of an Intel summary she had running before greeting her with a salute. "Evening, Miss Rho. Ensign Derrin said you were down here to gather info on a mining colony?"

“New orders, Lieutenant,” said Rho. She smirked a little bit. “And it could be very eventful compared to the past few days.”

Draelius smiled himself. It was probably a good thing for him, but border patrol thus far had been completely uneventful for their department. Once the initial report had been compiled and presented to the Captain, there had been absolutely nothing for them to do. Something 'very eventful' sounded like a great change of pace. "Let's hope so. What are we after? Something on Athos III, I take it?"

“Turns out a Federation colony near the Badlands hasn’t been heard from in a while. They usually report in once a month. It’s been over a week since they should’ve contacted someone. The Malinche is being sent to check on the colony. Oh, and reports indicate that the Breen have been raiding nearby systems.” She paused.

Draelius frowned at the mention of the Breen. "Not surprising. Reports on the Breen's activity since the war have been sparse, but they've almost all been about raiding somewhere. They make for lousy neighbors, don't they? I suppose it would be too easy to assume they're responsible for the colony's disappearance, wouldn't it?" He grinned, even though he knew the comment may have been lost on Rho. His team on Aldani IV had a running joke about the Breen because it seemed they were always the prime suspect for this sort of thing, but never actually responsible.

“I’d like you and I to start sifting through the intel on Athos III and the recent reports of Breen raiding parties.”

Stepping up to the computer and pulling open the full file on the colony, Draelius nodded. "Yes ma'am. I'll take the Breen, if you don't mind. I'd love to find them actually doing something they're accused of this time." He quickly pulled all the separate reports of Breen activity and plotted the coordinates of each reported raid over the last several months onto a map of the system. Most people would have perused the individual reports and looked for a pattern that way, but Draelius knew better. All the words were just extra information to clutter one's mind and obscure the cold, hard data. The best place to start with this sort of thing was a map. He finished plotting the points and then stepped back to look at his work.

Alexis was more than happy to let Draelius handle the Breen aspect. She pulled up a text version of that sad little summary that the computer had compiled earlier and began filling in the blank spaces. She started with a little more on how the government was set-up. She looked at some early stories from the Federation News Service and found an alarming report. Apparently, there had been some disagreement by a small group that had splintered from the opposition. The teaser version of the news report was titled “Splinter Cell Threatens Colony’s Stability on Athos III.” It read, “Nathaniel Torman was elected Governor amid torrents of threats. A group of radicals that split from the opposing candidate’s, Mr. David Rauchbaum’s, supporters issued written statements yesterday. They said that ‘the newly elected Governor Torman and Council members should watch their backs and lock their doors at night. Something might happen to them.’ When asked about the splinter cell, Mr. Rauchbaum replied, ‘I do not support the beliefs and actions of the radicals who were recently charged for the threats on the lives of Councilpersons and Governor Torman. I support the fair, legal nomination and election of Nathaniel Torman as Governor of this new colony.’”

Alexis checked Starfleet Intelligence’s data that corresponded with the dates of what she just read. There was nothing but a passing mention of it. Apparently SI hadn’t placed much of a priority on it. Which was no surprise to her seeing as how they had more important things to take care of. An agent reported that after the election results, the splinter cell’s pleas to the Council turned into threats on their lives as well as Torman’s. Sixty-three days later, the leaders of the splinter group were arrested by local authorities, and the group forcibly disbanded.

It’s possible that after the arrest and dispersal that the splinter cell went underground, reorganized, and spent the rest of the time planning a coup d'état, thought Alexis. And maybe that’s why no one has heard from them. Though not likely, it was still a possibility that should go in her report to Captain Kersare and Lt. Commander Barrett. Maybe down near the end.

Alexis looked up to see Draelius studying a map with highlighted points. Not a bad idea, she thought. She kept that one to herself, though. Alexis was not one to throw out compliments. Besides, Draelius still had that new ship smell about him and that needed to go away first.

“Found anything, Lieutenant?” she asked.

Draelius had gone over the map he'd created several times by now, just to be certain. "Yes ma'am, I have." A measure of disappointment tinged his voice. He stepped a little to one side, allowing room for Lt. Rho to join him if she wanted. "The Breen are a very organized, methodical sort. Doesn't sound very exciting next to their fierce reputation, but it actually makes them all the more dangerous, if predictable. Look here, the reported raids started here..." he pointed out a highlighted point in the system next to the one occupied by Athos III. "...several months ago. The next report came two weeks later, here." he tapped at another highlight in the same system. "And the raids became more frequent over the next month and a half, but notice the trend." He tapped at a series of points moving in a counter-clockwise spiral away from the initial raid. "They're making a wide pattern to encircle their first attack. At first it didn't make sense, but there's always a reason with the Breen."

He slid the map to the side and opened a screen filled with information on the planet from the first raid. "This is Aldani VII. The Ferengi set up a major trade post there about midway through the war, hoping to take advantage of increased traffic along the border. It worked better than they hoped, and now the outpost has become something of a hub. Convoys are coming and going all the time. Most of the traffic tends to come from the system opposite Athos II. So our friends hit the outpost first and then moved out to the side with the most convoys. Since then they've been circling around to hit the smaller routes last. My guess is they're trying to move fast enough to stay ahead of the news of their last raid."

Alexis liked the thoroughness of Draelius’ report. He had also gone about it in a way that showed her that he thought outside the box. She grinned as she tried to imagine what kind of field work he could do. “I see. No one ever said the Breen were stupid.” She paused a second. “But where exactly are you going with this Lieutenant?”

Realizing he'd gotten too involved in his explanation, Draelius got to the point. "The only real reason this concerns us is that the pattern places the Breen's attention somewhere around..." he brought the map back and highlighted a point two systems away. "here, well out of range of Athos III. Given the lucrative nature of their first hit and the sheer volume of goods to be pulled from the trade convoys, there's not a lot of motivation for them to turn on a mining colony. The long and the short of it is that while it's within the realm of possibility for them to be our culprits, it's also highly improbable. They'd have to have a really good reason to leave off their current operation."

Alexis agreed. “About as improbable as a coup d'état. The colony had some political problems in the beginning. It was remedied, but there is a very, very slight possibility that the opposition could have mounted a forcible return. That is going at the bottom of the report to the powers that be. Put down what you’ve got, I’ll combine it with what I’ve got, and we’ll take it to the Bridge for the Captain and the Commander to read.”

"Excellent. Not bad for an hour's work, if I may say so." Honestly, Draelius was surprised at how quickly they had been able to generate this much information. He wasn't fishing for a compliment, however, and it occurred to him it may have appeared that way, but he remembered rule number six - 'never apologize'.

“Good.” She tapped a few commands and transferred her information up to her main office on Deck 2. “On a different note, follow me.” Alexis turned and walked toward the Encryption/Decryption Lab and the small office located there, the one that Ensign Derrin had vacated for Draelius’ use. “I see you are proficient at speedily analyzing data.”

"Yes ma'am." Draelius agreed. "It's something of a gift, I suppose. That's why I was brought onto the Aldani IV task force, really. But I'm sure you already knew that. If I may be so bold, what brings you to point out the obvious? It doesn't seem your style." He couldn't read a Ullian telepathically, but he didn't really need to. Well trained as Alexis may have been in masking her emotions, he was equally well trained in reading them. There was something beyond the daily grind that was driving this conversation. Of course he had no idea what.

When they were both in the office, Alexis closed the door. “How familiar are you with Cardassian shipping and trade routes?”

A smile played at the corner of Draelius's mouth. "That's oddly specific, but then you are the boss." He relaxed a little, perhaps a subconscious indication that he believed there was nothing official about this subject, and then continued. "Fortunately, as you may have already gathered, the Cardassians were my primary assignment on Aldani IV, along with the Ferengi and the Borg. To put it bluntly, I know as much as can be known about the subject. Care to get more specific?"

“Relax, Lieutenant. This is off the record. It’s a personal project related to a previous Starfleet Intelligence operation. That established, it’s classified.” Alexis tapped a few commands into the console, setting up her own previously installed SI security parameters and closing the office off to anyone or anything outside. She continued, “Even with my contacts, I’ve gone as far as I can. I could use someone with your knowledge and talents.” She thought a second. “Yes, it is out of the ordinary for me to point out the obvious.” She dropped it at that and grinned…on purpose. Leaving a little mystery to her motivations was more like her. “There’s a Cardassian Freighter that went out of it’s way to pick up some cargo. It’s been carrying that cargo for quite some time now. That cargo was supposed to have been destroyed in 2384 when a scientific base, the Tarkal Research Facility, was bombed from within…Starfleet Intelligence undercover operation. I want to know where that cargo came from, since it was supposed to have been blown up and possibilities on where it’s headed. The particulars can be found here.” She slid a PADD across the desk to Draeilus.

He picked the PADD up and perused it's contents while the conversation continued. "So you're telling me SI left a loose end? That doesn't happen often. I'd speculate as to why, but you haven't asked me that, which means you know already or don't care. Either way, I can see the potential for this to get messy."

“There a couple of things you’ll need to know up front. Number one, the Tarkal Research Facility was a Cardassian Intelligence Bureau planet-side, science base. Number two, we know that they were conducting a cloning operation, but they had the same problem that the Mariposa colony had in 2365…limited genetic diversity resulting in replicative fading. Finally, we suspect that the clones they were trying to make were more subservient, ketracell-white dependent, CIB controlled, Jem’Hadar. That is yet unconfirmed. However, whatever is in those containers might confirm it for us. Our job is to gather the intel and report back to Starfleet Intelligence. They will then put together a team to obtain the shipping containers or dispose of them and anyone with any knowledge of their existence.”

"Jem'Hadar even. Nasty business." Draelius didn't say so, but that raised an even bigger question in his own mind as to how such a critical operation could be botched by letting a container slip away. "At least we get the easy job. I'll get right on it." He started to stand, but Rho stopped him.

“Starfleet Intelligence can be a patient department, Mr. Tallix. I’ve waited this long, I can wait a little longer for results. It’s non-mission related, so whenever you have a few free minutes to work on it is fine.”

He glanced back at the PADD, then up to his superior again. "Understood ma'am. I'll secure this and get back to work then, if there's nothing else."

She waved him on, and Draelius dismissed himself. As he walked back to his office to finish compiling his part of the report, he flicked the PADD against his left hand and smiled. This assignment was going to be just fine after all.

OFF:
JP brought to you by
Lt. Alexis Rho
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche

and