Mission 19 - Another Voyage Home

[Dallas]

OFF: This is a backpost

ON:
<<USS Malinche, Outside Lt. Commander Zeral's Quarters , Day 1 Revised Timeline, 1100>>

Karyn pressed the chime outside Nora's quarters, silently praying the XO wasn't sleeping. Given what the doctor had shared, Dallas doubted Nora would be able to, at least for now. Karyn had been in Nora's shoes and had a keen understanding of the war between the heart and mind. Just because one accepted the logic of a situation, it didn't mean one's heart had caught up.

For the past hour or so, Nora had been sitting alone in her quarters in total silence. The events from earlier that morning played over and over again in her mind, and although she remained quiet and composed, she could not shake the feelings of shock, sorrow, and guilt that had taken root inside of her. The counselor in her was offering plenty of advice on how to face the near-tragedy, but she found that she was numb to her own suggestions.

When the sound of the door chime broke through her thoughts, the Betazoid was slow to react at first, staring at the doors for a moment before finally moving to her feet. She quickly ran a hand through her hair, hoping that she was presentable, and called out, "Come in."

The doors swished open upon Nora's command, and Karyn entered, though only far enough so the doors would close. She wanted to be sure she wasn't intruding.

"Dr. Dallas," Nora greeted with a small smile, standing aside to allow the counselor to enter. It had been some time since she'd last seen Karyn, but she had a pretty good guess why the Malinche's new Chief Counselor was at her door. "Please, come in and make yourself comfortable. I was just thinking of getting myself some tea. Would you like anything?" It was not strictly true--Nora had not been thinking of eating or drinking at all before Karyn had arrived, but she did want to be hospitable and hoped that tea would sooth some of her frayed nerves.

"No, thank you," Karyn replied with a wan smile. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I heard about Julie, and I wanted to how you were. I know it's not easy."

“No, it’s not,” Nora quietly agreed. “But thank you for your concern. I do appreciate it.” She was thankful for the small task of requesting tea from the replicator, remaining silent for the few moments it took for her to take her drink and settle back on the couch. “You’ll have to forgive me, Dr. Dallas. I’m still a bit…unsettled over what’s happened, and I’m not entirely used to being the one sitting on the couch and talking about her feelings. I don’t even know what to say or where to begin.”

"Call me Karyn," Dallas offered. "If you like, we don't have to talk. We can just sit."

“All right, Karyn,” Nora smiled, momentarily bemused at the novelty of being on the other end of a counseling session. “And please, call me Nora.” Taking a deep breath, she gathered her thoughts as best as she could. “I confess that there is a part of me that doesn’t want to talk about it, but I know that it would be better if I did.”

"It would," Karyn affirmed. "You know therapists are at great risk for secondary mental health problems as a result of hearing other people's troubles, and I suppose beyond that, I know where not talking has gotten me and a lot of good therapists I care about," she added with a wry smile.

Smiling in return, Nora nodded in agreement. Her smile soon faltered, however. The events of the morning played out in her mind once again as she considered where to even begin. “Julie and I are close friends,” she said after a moment of silence, having decided to simply plunge right in. “We met under unusual circumstances, and I think it created a special sort of bond between us. But lately… Well, she’s been so distant, and I’ve been so busy.”

Karyn decided to remain silent for the moment, sensing Nora just needed to talk.

Nora’s dark gaze was pained as she stared at the floor, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. “I know that I shouldn’t blame myself for what’s happened, but I can’t help but feel that I could have prevented it. I could have helped her. I should have helped her, or at least known that something was wrong. I’ve been a practicing counselor for nearly eight years, for gods’ sake, and I couldn’t even help my own friend in her hour of need,” she finished with a frustrated sigh.

"You could have helped her if she had wanted you to," Karyn replied gently, "but it could have been your training that made her that much more determined to keep it from you."

“I suppose that’s part of what is so troubling to me,” Nora sighed. “At the end of the day, I’m afraid that she saw me more as a counselor than a friend. It makes me wonder if that’s all that I am to my friends. How can they confide in me or turn to me for help if they’re always afraid that I’m just going to psychoanalyze them?”

"There's danger in generalizing," Karyn warned with a small smile. "You're assuming everyone is going to struggle with seeing you as more than a counselor, but we're really just talking about one particular person in one particular situation and state of mind right now. I'd bet your friends who aren't hurting see you as both, and I'd bet most days they can separate those roles with no trouble. Julie chose to see you as a counselor only, Nora. She made the choice because she was ill and in pain, but it was her choice nevertheless. You're never in control of other people's thoughts, or the things they do because of them.”

Closing her eyes, Nora exhaled slowly as she let Karyn’s words wash over her. The pain she felt over her friend’s predicament was still intense, but there was comfort to be found in Karyn’s warm and steady advice. “You’re right,” she said quietly, a small and humorless smile turning up the corner of her lips. “I know that you’re right. I wish I’d done more, and I wish that Julie had let me help her more. But what’s done is done,” she concluded, nodding her head as if to affirm her words. “Now, I just want to help her get better, in whatever way I can.”

Dallas nodded. "That's good. She's going to need you. I know you understand the logic of my words, but I understand that doesn't change your feelings easily. That's okay. Just try to counter the guilt as much as you can if you find yourself slipping, alright?"

Nora nodded. “Thank you, Karyn. I will.” Rubbing her bleary eyes, the Betazoid straightened a little in her seat. “I can’t thank you enough for stopping by. You’ve helped me steady my thoughts, and for that I’m extremely grateful. But I think that it might be best if I go and rest for a little while before I return to duty.” Nora seriously doubted that she'd be able to actually fall sleep, but even the thought of lying down for a spell was like a siren song just now.

"Then I'll leave you to it," Karyn replied with a gentle smile. "My door is always open." With that, Dallas took her leave.

***
Lt. Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche

and

[Masterson]

ON: [[Main Engineering, USS Malinche, Mission Day 05, 1420 Hours]]

William (PNPC) tried to push the extraneous thoughts from his mind as he studied the systems readouts scrolling across the display of the free-standing workstation before him. Main Engineering had been as busy as the Transbay Transit Center ever since they'd first learned they would be pursuing a Romulan vessel into the very heart of Federation space. In fact, the only way any of them had really known they'd traveled back to the late twentieth century had been the effects of time warp on the ship's systems. Now it was up to the combined efforts of teams from the engineering and operations departments to clean things up in time for their confrontation with the Romulans.

"Caleb (PNPC)," William called out to the nearby Warp Systems Officer, "Can you read back those diagnostic results again?"

"Absolutely, sir," replied Caleb, a few consoles down. "The warp energy output is fluctuating with a twelve point variance. Antimatter containment fields are holding steady. Two of the deuterium cartridges are damaged and will need to be replaced. Warp plasma conduits have sustained limited damage and will need repaired, but are currently holding. Four other plasma conduits will need to be repaired as well as one of the regulators. Magnetic interlocks have not sustained damage. We seem to have a slow plasma injector leak and some minor damage to the warp coils that will need looked into as well."

"That's what I was afraid of," William muttered mostly to himself. He looked at the readouts on his own display again and sighed. While it was true most of the stuff they were having to deal with was relatively minor, the fact they would need to face yet another time warp to get home meant not only fixing what had already been damaged, but finding some way to reduce those effects even further the next time. "Quite a to-do list, isn't it," he remarked off-handedly.

Looking down at the diagnostics readout, Caleb frowned, "Indeed it is, sir. I'm afraid that time travel wasn't very kind on our warp systems...or the ship in general." Still, they could have been in worse shape. What if they had had to eject the warp core? He shuddered at the thought.

William went over the list of damaged systems in his head, trying to sort out which tasks seemed to be their greatest priority at the moment and working his way down from there. "Let's start with a few of these subsystems, see if that doesn't narrow our warp energy output fluctuation," he mused aloud, "Echo Team can deal with replacing the damaged deuterium cartridges. We'll have Bravo and Charlie Team start taking a look at those four plasma conduits..."

"Sounds like a good plan so far. What about the injector leak and the warp coils? Do you want me to take a team to look into that, or is there something else you'd like me to look into, sir?" Caleb asked.

"No...that sounds good," William replied slowly, "If your team can take care of the injector leak and the warp coils, that just leaves us with...sorting out any remaining energy imbalance."

Caleb nodded, "I can take a team and get right on it. Hopefully once the teams have completed repair work, the energy output will right itself. Otherwise, I can look into it further later on. Is there anything else you need from me before I get my team together, sir? Would you like me to notify the other teams or....?" At least by dividing up the work, it would likely go faster overall. They really needed to get the warp drive up to par as soon as possible.

The Chief Systems Manager thought about it for a moment before replying. If he was sending Caleb to lead one of the engineering teams, someone was going to have to stay behind to help coordinate the repair efforts and start looking ahead at what they might need for their next attempt at a time warp. "We should be good," William told him, "I'll worry about notifying the other teams and coordinating our efforts from here."

"Alright, thank you, sir. I'll keep you updated on our progress," Caleb told Will. "So you're aware, I have the console set to alarm if any of the damage becomes more serious... I think we'll be able to get her repaired before it would come to that, but better to be safe."

"Good thinking," William remarked. He watched over his shoulder as Caleb grabbed a toolkit and a couple of the nearby technicians before disappearing into the corridor. No sooner had William turned his attention back to the workstation readout than another line of text appeared on the display. "...and there go the induction stabilizers," he muttered to himself, "the best laid plans..."

OFF

A Joint Mission post by:

Lieutenant William Schulz (PNPC)
Chief Systems Manager
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Played by: Lt Masterson

and

Warrant Officer 2nd Class Caleb Corrin (PNPC)
Warp Systems Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Played by: Capt Kersare

[Rabb]

ON:

<<Earth of the past, San Francisco, Day 5, 1500>>

After landing and splitting up, Rachel (NPC) and Jenni (NPC) had started looking for Commanders Chekov and Uhura. Rachel had tried scanning for 23rd century equipment as she surmised that Kirk's team would have kept their communicators with them. In the end, she had found a general area and the two women had made their way there.

Discretely, Rachel made another pass trying to help pinpoint the officers' location a little better. With this many people it still wouldn't be easy to find them if they were moving around. Seeing the results, she glanced over at Jenni, "Ensign, they should be fairly close... We're definitely in the right area now. Do you see them?" With all the....interesting outfits people of this time were wearing, Chekov and Uhura didn't particularly stand out.

Jenni was looking around the gaggle of people, trying to remember what Chekov and Uhura looked like, let alone pick them out of the crowd. “Rachel, better call me Jenni instead of Ensign. Ok…I can’t see them in the middle of this crowd. These outfits are certainly….ah….different.” Jenni continued down the sidewalk, trying to spot the pair but trying not to look like she was looking for someone.

Rachel silently scolded herself for not being careful - she knew better than to use ranks in an environment like this. The whole place was just so...distracting though. Frowning, she looked through the crowd, trying to pinpoint them. As the two women made their way along, the crowd thinned slowly. "It will probably be hard to spot Chekov unless we hear his accent...he was dressed in civilian clothes based on my research.... However, Uhura was in her Starfleet uniform - even here that should stand out a little bit."

Jenni stretched on her legs, trying to get a better look as she walked because of some hulking behemoth in front of her. The sidewalk was getting busier and the transportation on the street was getting noisy. She caught a faint glimpse of Uhura's uniform tunic...

"I see them!" she exclaimed, almost too loudly.

Glancing around to be sure Jenni's exclamation didn't draw any undue attention to them; Rachel then followed the other woman's gaze. At first she didn't see it...of course; the numerous people didn't exactly help. But then, she did...the red of the 23rd century uniform. Relief flooded through her as she saw Uhura and, nearby, Chekov. "Well, at least they appear to be unharmed for the time being and I don't see any Romulans...at least none in plain sight. How would you like to proceed?"

"I think we should follow them from a safe distance, kinda try to fit in with the crowd. We know where they are going to end up, so I think the biggest thing we need to do is just keep them in sight and be on the lookout for any Romulans."

Rachel nodded, "Sounds good to me. I have the modified tricorder in my jacket...I'll set it to scan and beep if it finds anything. Should blend in with other..." Her voice trailed off as she searched for the proper word, "Pagers. That's it. It's probably best if we stay near each other too. Looks like they're heading out...come on!"

Jenni watched as the pair from the past, in the past, asked people on the street about the nuclear wessel. They were close enough to hear Chekov’s Russian tongue and see Uhura’s puzzled looks. Jenni almost choked when she saw them start asking an official looking man wearing a white helmet, who was obviously some sort of government official. She sighed relief as they left and headed towards the bay. It took them a few hours, but the pair discovered the USS Enterprise docked.

Jenni and Rachel were watching the pair from a dock. Jenni was trying to recall just what the point of fishing was, while she watched an old man with his pole catching piece after piece of debris. She nodded to Rachel. “It’s a wonder we made it out of this century.”

Following Jenni's gaze, Rachel chuckled slightly, "Sometimes you do wonder... Though to be fair, there are likely modern day equivalents to that gentleman in our century as well. And, think about some of the holodeck programs people choose."

Turning back to the 23rd century Starfleet Officers, she watched as they communicated with those on the Bounty. "From our reports, they won't return again until evening...and then will go in. Uhura manages to get beamed out, but Chekov isn't so lucky. He'll be captured, escape, and then get injured. Any suggestions on where or how we should position ourselves to keep an eye on things? It wouldn't be too farfetched to think that the Romulans would try to prevent them from collecting the photons they need."

“Yeah he gets his clock cleaned, I believe is the term. Well, we can’t stay here on this dock all evening. Besides, I am getting a bit hungry. I think as soon as they get back to the Bounty, we should grab a bite to eat. I’d like to try some 20th century food since we are here. No time like the present. As for keeping an eye on these two”, Jenni looked back at Chekov and Uhura, “I think we should scout out a good spot to watch them so we don’t get ourselves picked up by the military patrols.”

Rachel nodded slowly, "That sounds like a plan. The Romulans aren't likely to beam into the Enterprise, so if we watch for them from somewhere with a vantage point and keep an eye out for Chekov, we should be in good shape." Walking slowly back from the edge of the pier, she said, "While we scout, we can discuss our dinner options..."

OFF

Joint Post by:
WO2 Rachel Tilden, Infiltration Specialist (NPC) (played by CPT Kersare)
ENS Jenni Thornton, Shuttle Pilot (NPC) (played by LT Rabb)

[Kersare]

ON: <<Earth, San Francisco, Cetacean Institute, Mission Day 05, 1415>>

The group which had been forming around the institute's lobby was getting to the point where it was almost ready to begin another tour as it did on a fairly regular basis. As the security guard (NPC) continued making her rounds quietly in the background, she took casual notice of those making up the assembled group. There was something about them that felt different to her in a way she couldn't figure out.

"Good day for a tour," she said with a smirk, glancing back to her mark as she did so, "looks like the rain held off. At least it keeps the smell down a little."

"No worse than walking the fishing piers in the heat of summer," Michael (PNPC) muttered under his breath from where he and the other members of the away team were doing their best to mingle with the group a short distance away. The lobby reminded him of the maritime museums he used to visit growing up on the shores of Lake Michigan and it made him feel a little strange to think many of those museums had been around even in this time period.

As they lingered in the lobby waiting for the tour to begin, Lorelei (PNPC) was completely fascinated by their surroundings. Her eye was drawn to some of the colorful displays around them, and she took a small step away from the group to look them over. While there were some minor inaccuracies in the information listed there—marine biology, like so many other sciences, had had its fair share of advancements over the past few centuries—the science officer was, for the most part, impressed. These humans of the past weren’t quite as misinformed as she might have imagined.

Isabel moved over to one of the nearby displays, looking it over as she discreetly glanced around for signs of Spock or Kirk. So far it seemed that they were either too early or had perhaps already missed them. She only hoped that they were still here, somewhere. Anxious to get started, Isabel perked up as she saw someone with a 'Tour Guide' badge clipped onto his shirt. Obviously they wouldn't be getting a tour from Doctor Taylor (NPC), but perhaps that was a good sign...

Glad to see a large group gathered in the lobby, Sonja (NPC) moved to the front of the group and clapped her hands together three times to get their attention. Eyes sparkling like pools of water reflecting sunlight, she said, "I'd like to welcome everyone to The Cetacean Institute! My name is Sonja and I will be your tour guide! Has anyone been here before?"

Michael might have raised his hand were it not for the fact he wasn't exactly keen on sticking out like a sore thumb at that point. While he and Aaron had visited the Cetacean Institute on at least two or three occasions during their time together at the Academy, Michael had a feeling that wasn't quite what their tour guide was referring to with her question.

Not entirely sure how to take the over-bubbly tour guide, Isabel simply shook her head in response to the woman's question. She most certainly hadn't been there before...especially not in this timeline. Perhaps she would have to make a stop in the future, however.

Sonja reminded Lorelei of some grade school teachers she’d had as a child, but her over-enthusiasm seemed to have a positive effect on the group as a whole, so she couldn’t really complain there. The real question was whether or not she actually knew her stuff when it came to whales and marine biology. Going off of her first impressions alone, Lorelei couldn’t help but feel a little doubtful. Falling in with the group and sticking close to the Captain and Michael, she watched their tour guide expectantly, curious to see how she proceeded.

A smile on her face, Sonja nodded and smiled, "Alright, so at least some of you are newcomers; we're very glad to have you with us. Please follow me and just let me know if you have any questions along the way, okay?" With that she started off down the corridor, walking backwards slowly so she could continue facing the guests, "Few people realize that The Cetacean Institute is the only museum devoted completely to whales in the world. This allows us to focus on our passion for whales. Whales spend their lives in water and are therefore usually thought of as fish - what do you think? Are they fish?"

Michael had been taking advantage of the opportunity to survey their tour group since leaving the museum lobby while still giving some of his attention to what their guide was telling them about whales. It had been pretty clear from the moment their tour had started that neither Admiral Kirk nor Captain Spock were a part of their group. The fact he hadn't really noticed anything out of the ordinary from any of their fellow group members seemed to indicate the Romulans hadn't taken an interest in the institute yet either.

"They are actually mammals; they're warm-blooded, need to breathe air, and nurse their young with milk they produce," the tour guide explained in more detail. She paused at the first main display which held two tv screens playing different footage of whales as well as some pictures showing different species of whales. Hoping for a few questions once the group had had a chance to take in the display, Sonja waited patiently.

While there was a part of Lorelei that wanted to pose a few questions of her own, she forced herself to refrain, allowing the 20th century humans to do all the asking. No matter how curious she was about their tour guide’s real grasp of marine biology, the last thing she wanted to do as a visitor from the future was to take any unnecessary risks out of sheer curiosity.

Isabel did her best to appear interested in what the tour guide was saying while also keeping an eye out for their 23rd century comrades. So far, there was no sign of them. Based on the actions of the other visitors, it seemed that her away team was at least doing a decent job at blending in. Their clothes were perhaps more...extreme than some of the others, but it didn't seem to phase the 20th century humans.

<tag any - more observations/questions for tour guide, etc etc...we can fill in more here, but I'm also going to move things along>

[[Whale Tank Observation Room, 1445 Hours]]

"And that concludes our tour," Sonja announced cheerfully. "I hope you've enjoyed it and will enjoy the rest of your time here with us today. Be sure to visit our pair of humpback whales, George and Gracie from here as well as above. If you have any more questions, I'll still be around; feel free to ask! Thank you!"

As the tour group rounded the corner, Isabel's eyes grew wide as she saw one of the whales through the glass window in the tank. She had certainly not seen one up close before. After a few moments, she brought her attention back to the task at hand and searched the crowd. Quietly she addressed the other two away team members, "Michael, Lorelei, we need to try to find Dr. Anderson, Spock, and Kirk. We might be early or late, I'm not sure...and they could even be above or in the next tour group. Perhaps we should ask Sonja about Dr. Anderson?"

"If only George and Gracie could talk," Michael mused with a sardonic smile as he continued to keep an eye on the crowd around them, "Wait a minute...wasn't there something about an incident at the whale tank?"

Isabel paused to think back over the information she'd read up on before replying slowly, "Yes...I do believe there was. But without exact times, I don't know if we're too early or too late for that. If we knew where Dr. Anderson was, we might have a better idea. Perhaps anyway..."

“Everything looks fine here now,” Lorelei mused, carefully observing the layout of the tank. “Either way though, it looks like the only way into that tank is from the outside. Maybe that might be a safe place to wait for a moment? Sonja did say we could observe the whales from the there, and if Mr. Spock has already made his infamous dive, we might just catch sight of them.”

Nodding, Isabel replied, "Good thinking Lorelei. Either we missed them completely, they're up top right now, or they will be." Glancing around for the exact way to the top side of the tanks, she noticed a sign and pointed it out, "Looks like we need to go this way...."

[[Whale Tank Observation Deck, 1452 Hours]]

In Lorelei’s opinion, the view of the humpback whales was even better from the outside. Although they couldn’t see as much of them, she still preferred the glimpses they had without the glass between them. “They really are beautiful,” she remarked as they stood along the edge of their seawater tank. Speaking lower so that only her two companions could hear, she continued, “You don’t think that the Romulans would go after the whales themselves, do you?”

"It's possible," Michael said as he leaned against the railing surrounding the whale aquarium, "but I doubt it would do them much good. People would notice if two healthy whales suddenly took ill...or worse. Besides, it might take a little more work on the part of Admiral Kirk and his crew, but they could eventually locate two whales in the wild and bring those back..."

Isabel nodded, "Good points. It would do more harm if the Romulans killed Kirk or Spock...if Spock were killed they could be hard pressed to be able to make the time warp calculations to get back. In our case, I think we need to be keeping an eye on the crew." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone dressed in white heading towards a different side of the tank. Quietly she said, "I think one of the targets is here...."


OFF

A Joint Mission Post by:

Lieutenant JG Lorelei Cartwright(NPC)
Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Played by: LtCmdr Zeral

and

Ensign Michael Kepler (PNPC)
Security Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Played by: Lt Masterson

and

Sonja (NPC)
Tour Guide
Cetacean Institute
Played by: Capt Kersare

and

[Masterson]

ON: [[Main Bridge, USS Malinche, Mission Day 05, 1400 Hours]]

It had been a little over three hours since the Malinche had followed the Romulan warbird through a temporal rift and around the sun to find themselves orbiting twentieth century Earth, yet there was little to show for their efforts aside from the blue-green orb currently taking up a good portion of the forward viewscreen. Aaron couldn't help feeling as if he'd been thrown into one of those old submarine warfare movies where one sub captain was ordered to track down another submarine in the middle of the ocean while trying not to be detected in the process. The Romulans were definitely up to something and it was the Malinche's responsibility to track them down before they carried out their plan. This was made all the more complicated by the fact they needed to avoid detection by orbiting satellites lest their presence ended up contaminating the timeline further.

After suffering from a severe case of dehydration which caused him to leave his post, James returned to the bridge, looking more healthy and more alive. "I have returned. Please excuse my unplanned absence, I had a very severe case of dehydration. Luckily, I was able to recover faster than I expected. Was there anything I missed?"

"Welcome back Lieutenant. Glad to see you are feeling better", was all Cheetara was really able to get out. She had been quite busy with everything going on lately. She had been working almost non stop checking scans of the area, readings of what was happening down on the surface. Good thing the only time she really needed to regenerate her implants was every few days, otherwise she'd be in trouble.

Aaron turned slowly in his chair so that he was facing the Malinche's Chief Operations Officer. The man certainly did seem to be looking better than last Aaron had seen him, which was at least one bit of good news. "On this ship, the more appropriate question is...was there anything you didn't miss," Aaron replied with a slight chuckle, "we've got three teams on the surface trying to keep any eye on things without getting caught by the locals and a Romulan warbird somewhere in the system under cloak. Think you're up to a little hide and seek?"

James gave a little chuckle himself and sat down at his console after relieving his replacement. Rubbing his hands and giving another chuckle, he replied, "My favorite game in the universe, sir. Where should I start looking?"

"We haven't been searching long," Aaron replied, thinking back to the relatively little success they'd had in locating the D'deridex-class warbird thus far, "but we'll continue with the established search pattern. Lieutenant Thundera can fill you in on our progress so far."

Cheetara looked over at James. "Our progress isn't really a fair statement since we haven't had any. But here's the update on what has been going on." She paused for a minute. "The Romulans are obviously cloaked. We have scanned these areas so far to see if we can pick up any traces of their cloak, or any transporter activity. So far there's been nothing. Wherever they are, they aren't trying to show themselves."

There was a moment of silence as the science officer's rather blunt assessment of their situation was able to truly sink in. Aaron was still trying to wrap his mind around what might have motivated the Romulans to attempt such a risky undertaking in the first place. If they knew more about what had brought the Romulans to this place and time specifically, it might help them figure out where the Romulans might be hiding. It would have been an understatement to say things weren't what they used to be for the empire. The Hobus Disaster had upset an already delicate situation which meant it was quite possible the warbird they were after was operating without official sanction of the Romulan government.

From her place on the bridge, Karyn contemplated potential suggestions while also checking up on the crew's medical status. Her first instinct was to volunteer her services in sickbay, but upon reflection, she realized the bridge crew might need her expertise. Faced with a problem she couldn't readily solve, however, she turned to checking on the crew. She was relieved to note there weren't many serious injuries and whatever injuries there were, were being promptly and properly managed.

Turning her attention back to the issue at hand, she offered, "I would think there'd be a trace of them somewhere. Perhaps it's just a matter of time," Dallas replied hopefully.

[[Twenty Minutes Later]]

Lieutenant, jg Austin Flanders was sitting quietly at his station. The Conn could be a very dry and unimaginative station during times when the ship was flying itself. Seeing as they were on autopilot and orbiting the Earth, there was little for Austin to do, save stare at the great big ball of green and blue that he'd fallen in love with during his Academy days.

"How are we doing, Mister Flanders," Aaron asked from just behind the flight controller's left shoulder. He had given up his stationary position seated in the captain's chair at the center of the room in order to make another round of the bridge.

Austin was about to yawn when his panel beeped at him. He thought it odd since there should be no space vessels in this time period and the astronavigation division had already plotted any possible space anomalies from memory. “Well, we are doing fine sir. However, the astrogator has picked up some kind of anomaly directly in the path of our orbit. Not sure what it is, or even if it’s really there. It seems we’ve been having issues since before we left.”

Austin re-directed the navigational deflector but the readout didn’t match anything he suspected the object of being. It wasn’t a piece of space debris or space dust; the deflector would have already pushed it out of the way.

“I’m not sure sir, perhaps the induction stabilizers are out of sync. I’ll contact Engineering to request a team investigate it immediately.” Austin quickly sent a message to the Engineering staff to look at the induction stabilizers on the navigational deflector immediately.

It took a conscious effort not to peer over the lieutenant's shoulder at the readouts from the navigational sensors. Instead, Aaron turned his attention to the forward viewscreen where he could see the blue-green form of the Earth rotating slowly below them as it had been ever since they entered orbit. "You may be right," he said after a moment, "but given everything else we've been through today, I'm not ready to rule anything out."

Austin continued, "I know it doesn't appear to be right sir. I don't think it is the Romulan warbird, but I can't say for sure what it is." Austin tapped the console to tie in with the ship's computer database. He was looking for something specific, but not specific. In fact, Austin wasn't really sure what he was looking for. There should not have been anything flying around the Earth's orbit in this time period, save space junk and such. He had even taken the time to check old NASA files to make sure they didn't coincide with the ship's visit to the time period; just to be safe.

"I'll keep checking on this, I just don't know what it is right now. I can't give you a definitive answer sir." said Austin.

OFF

A Joint Mission Post by:

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

Lieutenant Cheetara Thundera
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

Lieutenant JG James Davis
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

Lieutenant JG Austin Flanders (NPC)
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Played by: Lt Rabb

and

Karyn Dallas
Chief Counselor
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

[Rabb]

ON:

<<Earth of the past, San Francisco, Day 5, 1810>>

Jenni (PNPC) and Rachel (NPC) had watched Uhura and Chekov make their way back to the park where the HMS Bounty was silently waiting. Hanging back so as not to be detected, Jenni had picked up small box and a pair of black circles, placing the circles on her ears and almost falling down.

"What the hell is this?"

Rachel looked over at Jenni quizzically, "Are you alright? What is it?" She could faintly hear some sounds coming from the circles, but had no idea what her teammate was up to. Somehow she doubted that they would blend very well if they appeared confused about what they were doing.

Jenni realized she probably looked a bit out of place so she took off the circles on her ears and the small box and threw them in a nearby trash receptacle. "I don't know what that was. It sounded like a bunch of hollering and an attempt at music."

Raising an eyebrow, Rachel nodded, "Based on your reaction, it doesn't sound overly promising... Did you have any thoughts on what kind of food you were wanting to try here?"

Jenni was trying to brush off the obnoxious memories of the sounds. "Well, I'm not sure. I like Bar-B-Q, but I am game for whatever we can find. I've never really liked seafood though, just so you know. What do you want to try, Rachel?"

"Based on the brief research I did into the cuisine of this period, the most popular San Franciscan foods are seafood, Chinese - including fortune cookies, Italian such as chicken tetrazzini and brick oven pizzas, or sandwiches made with sourdough bread," Rachel explained. "Seafood is out...my picks would be Chinese or Italian, personally."

"Well, I don't like Chinese or seafood and not much for Italian, but we could try some of that pizza. Where do we go?"

After a quick glance to ensure nobody was watching, Rachel pulled out her PADD and brought up the list of restaurants she had found earlier. "The closest one is just about a mile away - Cerino's Pizzeria. And you might be interested to know that they seem to have BBQ brick oven pizza...." It certainly wasn't the route she planned to go for herself as far as food, but considering Jenni's apparent interest in the BBQ, thought it might be an additional selling point.

"Hmm..well I've never combined bbq with pizza; that might be interesting. Lead the way."

OFF

Joint Post by:

WO2 Rachel Tilden, (NPC)
Infiltration Specialist
Played by: Cpt. Kersare

and...

[Rabb]

ON:

<Earth of the past, San Francisco, Day 5, 1430>

Stacy Rabb had sent Jenni and Rachel off to keep an eye on Chekov and Uhura. She, on the other hand, was going to keep an eye on Commander Sulu. Stacy thought her disguise was a good one, until she got a glimpse of the people on the street. When she parted ways with Jenni and Rachel, Stacy thought about visiting a clothes store, to see if she could adjust her outfit. She thought better of it after a few seconds, reminding herself she was on a mission, not a shopping spree.

The trio of Doctor McCoy, Captain Scott and Commander Sulu had not been too difficult to track. Stacy luckily found them quickly, having just paired off from Captain Spock, Admiral Kirk and the others. Stacy kept her tricorder on silent and hidden under her waistcoat, something she’d picked up at the last minute off the ship. She had seen a few people with their coats tied around their waists, so Stacy thought it was a good excuse for her as well. She could stay in character and keep her equipment close enough to use. It seemed like forever before they passed by a food vendor on the street.

Stacy waited for the trio to head further down the sidewalk before stopping to purchase a hot dog. She’d seen it done in the holodeck, as she’d taken a few minutes to program an old Earth scene of San Francisco before departing the ship. She waited in line for about four minutes, timing it because she didn’t want to lose sight of her prey. The nice old man working the car was wearing some kind of sock looking hat over his hear and plastic gloves. The food did smell good, so she decided adding some food to her persona would be a good idea.

“Hello, I’d like one piece of combined meat on an open long bun with, ah, believe, mustard and sweet pickle relish on the top.”

The hot dog vendor gave her a strange look but served up the hot dog with mustard and relish. “That’ll be $2.50 please.”

Stacy gave the man a blank stare for about thirty seconds trying to recall how to give money in the 20th century.

He waved his hand in front of her face, “hey lady, you alright? $2.50 please.”

Stacy caught herself, took some of the replicated money she’d brought with her and handed it to the man. She didn’t realize she’d handed him a $50 bill, but then again, she still wasn’t sure about the economic factors of this century. She looked at the man’s face and said wryly, “keep the change.”

He laughed a little until he saw she was serious. “OK lady, OK. Thanks for the tip.”

She couldn’t figure out why he was so happy and even more puzzled at his laughter with other customers after she left the hot dog cart. She almost lost track of what she was doing and realized she was missing her prey. ‘Oh crap!’ She rushed down the sidewalk, careful not to spill the contents of the hot dog, and began searching for the trio. She paused and sighed with great relief as she spotted them next to what was called a phone booth, and some oriental man yelling at kids that passed by.

She tried to remember the briefing and where they would be heading when the name transparent aluminum came rushing to the front of her mind. ‘Of course, they are going to get the stuff to make the tank.’ She continued to follow them down the sidewalk at a good distance, making sure she fit in with the crowd and they didn’t notice her. She finished off her hot dog and threw away the trash into a nearby receptacle, stopping dead in her tracks when they came to the Plexicorp factory. She observed Sulu make his way into the compound and sure enough, there was a helipad with a chopper on it. ‘This is where Sulu gets the chopper, I can only imagine how he does it.’

OFF:

[Dallas]

OFF: Backpost

ON:

<<USS Malinche, Counselor Karyn Dallas' Office, Day 1 Revised Timeline, 0900>>

Jenni looked up at Karyn with tears pooling up her eyes. She could barely see through the pain and anguish. "He raped me....he raped me...." She looked down again at the floor, then held her head in her hands. Slowly, Jenni let out the words that she had welled up inside her for too long. "He raped me...." She started crying harder, sobbing so that it hurt inside her chest, making Jenni think her heart would burst.

Despite knowing what was coming, probably before she was even consciously aware, Karyn felt a lump form in the back of her throat. It took her a couple of beats to find her voice and when she did, it was full of emotion. "I'm right here, Jenni. I'm not going anywhere." Dallas resisted the urge to touch Thornton, lest she startle the girl, and instead, she leaned in a bit closer. She knew Jenni just needed to get the emotions out, the specifics of Karyn's comforting words not entirely important.

Jenni was such a ball of emotions. She wanted to scream, yell, cry, laugh and fall apart all at the same time. This was the first time she'd really gotten it out. Even when she told Stacy what happened, she didn't go into detail.

Karyn simply sat with Jenni and rode the waves that the emotional storm brought with it. It was never easy for a counselor to see someone in pain, and it was even harder not to speak, but Dallas understood, having been on the other side, that sometimes all that was needed was for someone to bear witness to the admission.

Jenni didn't know what to do, what to say; she couldn't, or wouldn't. She wanted to jump up and run at the nearest window she could find, but knew she would just bounce off the thing. She thought about rushing the door, running down the corridor and transporting herself into space....at least the pain would go away. She raised her head slightly, glancing around to see if there was anything sharp, pointy, just enough to do the job - nothing. Karyn must have moved everything out of the office. Of course, she was a professional...she wouldn't allow anything to visibly be in sight that might assist a patient with ending the pain.

Seeing Jenni seemingly searching the room, Karyn asked, "What are you looking for, Jenni?"

Jenni was startled and looked at Karyn. "Oh, nothing really, just looking...ah yeah just looking." She knew the counselor must have considered what was going on in her mind. Jenni couldn't help but think, no wonder, if Karyn had ever felt such a great loss and just what could she do about it?

Karyn was not a telepath or an empath, so she couldn't know exactly what Jenni was thinking or what she was looking for, but she knew it was important to help her move beyond her despair. "I'm wondering, Jenni, as painful as it is to share that you were raped aloud, is there any part of you that feels a bit better now you're not keeping it inside?"

Jenni tried to stop crying, wiping the tears away from her cheeks. Her makeup was all messed up now and she guessed that she looked a frightful mess. She reached out for the tissues and grabbed several from the box on the small table nearby. After about three or four minutes, she composed herself, sat up straight and tried to smile. It didn't work out like she planned. She bent forward again, unable to keep herself erect. Jenni felt like she was going to vomit, the dry heaves wracking her sides and sending her back into an uncontrollable crying fit.

Karyn immediately replicated a waste receptical from the office replicator and offered it to Jenni just in case. She was literally trying to purge a poisonous secret from her mind and body, and it made sense she would experience physical symptoms. As before, Dallas simply stayed with her, letting Jenni know she wasn't going to go anywhere. "It's alright, Jenni, let it out. I'm here."

Jenni took the waste receptical and vomited. She leaned over the can for several minutes then cleaned herself up and sat back. She felt like a huge rock was lifted off her shoulders. Just letting it all out was such a great satisfaction.

OFF: TBC...

***
Ensign Jenni Thornton (NPC)
Shuttle Pilot
Played by Lt. Rabb

and

[Zeral]

ON:

<<Earth, San Francisco (of the past), Outside Plexicorp, Day 5, 1445>>

Having arrived at their destination, Dana (NPC) waited for either of the others to get out so that she could climb out of the Terran Transportation unit...the taxi cab. Truth be told, she was not feeling so well. With the steep hills and sharp turns that the driver made, she was feeling a bit queasy.

Setak had been grinning widely the whole ride, the Terran driver's piloting skills had been impressive and the Vulcan had picked up enough by watching the man that he felt confident that he could operate a similar craft. Upon arriving he exited the vehicle and counted paper money off to the driver until the man's expression turned amicable then he turned to survey his surroundings.

On the other side of the taxi, Nora all but threw the door open in her haste to get out. For as long as she lived, she never wanted to set foot inside another one of these machines ever again. Taking several steps away from the vehicle, she decided then and there that Setak might be the better driver after all if they had to seek another form of transportation. Then again, judging by the uncharacteristic grin he’d sported for most of the trip...maybe not.

As the cab driver took off, Dana took a few deep breaths and looked around at their surroundings. Not the best scenery, but they were at a factory of sorts. Being careful to not use a rank designation, she asked, "Nora...how will we get in? Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott posed as needing a tour, but I don't know that that will work for us as well... Should we wait out here, or find a way in?"

Moving to join Dana, Nora looked consideringly at the massive plant before them. “We’d risk drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves if we were caught sneaking around inside, which would only complicate matters further. But we might risk drawing attention to ourselves by hovering outside too,” she said, thinking aloud. “Maybe we should at least get a closer look while we try to come up with an acceptable reason to be here.”

"Sounds like a plan to me," Dana replied. She looked at the large building, debating how they could possibly get in. Partly she was wishing that she had taken some more courses in infiltration; though they hadn't seemed overly relevant previously, they certainly seemed so now. "I suppose we could be delivering something or picking something up...but I think that would require uniforms and some documents," the Betazoid thought out loud, frowning, as she followed Nora.

Nora tried to come up with some ideas of her own as they neared what appeared to be the main building of the plant. She knew only a little about this plexiglass material and its uses, and certainly not enough to pose as anyone who had a meaningful reason for wandering on the premises. “Setak,” she began thoughtfully, turning her head towards the Vulcan beside her, “I don’t suppose you could come up with a reason for a modern physician such as Dr. Seth Rogan to desire a tour of the facilities?”

"I'm afraid I have no answer for you Commander," Setak replied as he surveyed the structure before them. "I'm not even sure who it is that you are referring to..."

“I’m referring to you, of course,” Nora said with a small smile. “At least, I thought that was your alias of choice.” She looked at the building with a small frown. “The fact is that I don’t know enough about modern human science or chemistry or whatever it is that has to do with this plexiglass to make a convincing visitor. If either of you has any come up with any brilliant ideas, I’m certainly open to hearing them. Otherwise, we might be better off waiting outside.”

"'Seth Rogan'," Setak began in a sarcastic tone. "Is likely less of an expert on the technology of this era than yourself and I must confess that I cannot fathom a reason for a doctor to be needed here short of an emergency. Not exactly the sort of scene that we'd want to make if trying to keep a low profile. Perhaps you are correct, waiting for our contacts may be best."

Dana frowned, "Doctor, haven't you ever pretended something? Or used your imagination in any way? Perhaps a hospital is looking for extra strong plexiglass for their mentally disturbed patient's rooms...or for another part of the hospital. Isn't that a possibility?"

“Wait a moment,” Nora said suddenly, stopping in her tracks. “It looks like someone’s coming out.” Sure enough, that stir of movement she had caught through a pair of clear glass doors turned out to be a trio of men exiting the building together. One man was looking rather wonder struck, as if he was so happy or surprised that he could hardly tell up from down. As for the other two men, one of them was smiling and nodding, all friendliness and affability, while the other looked a little like he’d swallowed something sour. “If I'm not mistaken," the Betazoid said with a slow smile, "the men we’ve been looking for just came to us.”

Turning slowly, Dana followed Nora's gaze, "I do believe you're right....It looks like Doctor McCoy and Mr. Scott. Apparently we were a bit late for the tour, but we didn't miss them entirely. And now we don't have to figure out a way in, we'll just have to follow them. I suppose the question is...will they continue on foot, or will we have to retrieve another taxi?" She sincerely hoped they would be on foot; the Betazoid wasn't sure she could handle another taxi cab ride, she was still recovering from the last one.

While the away team cautiously observed, Scott and McCoy bid farewell to the third gentleman, with Scott shaking his hand vigorously before he disappeared. As soon as the pair was alone in front of the building, one of them produced what appeared to be a map and soon both were perusing it.

If Nora was any judge, the men seemed to be arguing over which direction to go. “One more moment, and we’ll find out,” she said in response to Dana's question. It appeared that Scott won the argument, and soon the two men were hurrying away around the corner of the building. “Unless they’re going for a taxi, my guess is that they’re going on foot. We’d better hurry if we want to keep them in our sight."

Relieved that they wouldn't need a cab, Dana replied, "We can't be too obvious about it though... Maybe we can acquire a map too and pretend to be studying it every so often, as if we're tourists?" She made a mental note to keep an eye out for a map. "I suppose we should get going though; we don't want to lose them now!"

OFF:

A JP brought to you by:

Ensign Dana Toril (NPC)
Security Officer
Played by: Captain Kersare

and

Provisional Lieutenant Setak
Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

[Kersare]

ON:
<<USS Malinche, Sickbay, Day 5, 1425>>

Britney (PNPC) entered Sickbay and moved quickly to the side, taking in the scene while trying to stay out of the way. While Sickbay was not completely filled with patients, they still had a fair amount. Separate from the others, Britney saw Julie's (NPC) biobed. The young woman was still in a coma, to her knowledge, and lay very still. Glancing back up, she tried to decide who seemed to be in charge at this point, without either the department head or assistant department head available.

Maria Del Amico(NPC) the Malinche's LMH approached the Crewman and stood observing her in silence for a moment before politely speaking up, "Greetings Crewman Liras, have you been injured?"

"No, no," Britney replied quickly. "I'm fine, actually. I was just coming to get an update from...well...whoever's in charge, so I can pass on the information to Lieutenant JG Masterson."

"I am pleased to hear it," The LMH replied as she stood at ease. "Doctor Setak left me in charge in his absence..." Maria hesitated as she again tried to understand why the erratic Vulcan had done so. "I believe he felt that I am best suited to lead in the event of a medical emergency."

Nodding, Britney said, "I imagine that makes sense...especially considering...." Her eyes drifted towards Julie, but she didn't elaborate. "How is she? Any change?"

Maria followed the crewman's gaze to the comatose woman on the bio-bed then returned to Britney, "Her vitals are stable and she is showing a promising level of brain activity. I am sure that she will eventually recover but... Her mental stability will be called into question. I'm afraid that the repercussions of her actions will be far reaching."

A somber look crossed Britney's face as she took in what Maria said. The consequences would likely be unpleasant, but at least it sounded like the doctor would recover. Turning back to the main reason for her visit, the yeoman looked at the LMH, "Doctor, what can you tell me about the status of Sickbay and the patients? Were there serious injuries sustained during our journey? Or new issues you've seen since we arrived?"

"Sickbay is in perfect working order," Maria replied with a brief glance around the room. The glance was only an artificial representation of consideration of course, meanwhile the LMH processed the relevant figures to answer the question. "The crew sustained only minor injuries during the last twenty four hours, one broken leg, two sprained ankles, seven cases of motion sickness and fourteen minor concussions." Maria paused with a faint smile. "The last few are recovering now."

"Glad to hear it, Doctor," Britney replied. Speaking more quietly, she asked, "How do they seem though, morale-wise? Have any of them mentioned concerns about returning to our century or the Romulans or anything like that?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Maria replied. "I believe that there is a little tension regarding the nature of this mission, it would seem that much is at stake. Its a lot of pressure for one to handle."

She was certainly right about that... Everyone seemed to be under pressure and somewhat nervous. Partly to herself, yet aloud, Britney said, "I wish there were some things I could do as morale officer to help... But I know everyone's been busy with repairs and trying to prepare for our trip back to the 24th century."

And Maria wished that she were better at giving motivational advice; it wasn't a part of her programming nor was it a skill she had much developed. That didn't stop her from trying however, "Perhaps simply having someone there to talk to as needed would help? I suppose you aren't a counselor but I think that it still holds true."

Britney smiled sheepishly, "No, I'm not a true counselor, but technically morale officers are part of the counseling department. I suppose in times like these what you've suggested is the best way for me to help people, so thank you Doctor. I don't want to hold you up....is there anything you need or anything more I should let Lieutenant JG Masterson know about Sickbay?"

"I don't believe so," Maria concluded with hands clasped behind her back. "Please let the Lieutenant know that we are ready for any emergencies here."

"Of course, Doctor," Britney replied. "Thank you for your time." After giving the LMH a smile, she turned and headed out the door. Time to find the next person on her list....

OFF: JP brought to you by:

Doctor Maria Del Amico (NPC)
LMH
played by: Prov Lt Setak

and

Crewman Britney Liras (PNPC)
Captain's Yeoman/Morale Officer
played by:

[Setak]

ON:
<<IRW Jatrel, Brig, Day 5, 1130>>

It had been hours since Rasek had condemned her to the Brig, but S'vol was doing her best to remain calm. She knew there were at least some crewmembers who were loyal to her, but even if they decided to go against Rasek, they would wait until the most opportune moment. She had had no visitors and, in an effort to prevent herself from imagining the atrocious things that the Colonel was undoubtedly doing, the Romulan had instead begun plotting the various ways she would enjoy torturing him if given the chance. S'vol couldn't help but hope that someone would come soon to give her an update...though that would be risky.

D'urak strode into the outer ward of the brig with an air of urgency about him drawing the immediate attention of the two guards posted in the room. Each stood to a side of the doorway that lead into the inner brig where the Commander was undoubtedly being held and as their superior approached both exchanged concerned glances. D'urak knew the one on the left, a young recruit named Nevar and knew him to be loyal to Commander S'vol but the one on the right was unfamiliar to the Subcommander. The imposing Romulan first officer began to stride between the two but as he suspected was stopped by the unfamiliar guard.

D'urak's menacing gaze locked with that of the blocking guard and he let out a grunt of dissatisfaction, "You know who I am do you not, whelp?"

"Of course Subcommander," the unfamiliar guard replied without any sign of being intimidated. "However, by the order of the Colonel, I cannot let you pass."

"Of course," D'urak replied with a nod before starting to turn. Halfway into the turn he reversed his motion and using his full weight he planted his shoulder in the unfamiliar guard's chest. The guard was taken by surprise and had no time to react, instead the pair lunged backward until the guard's back was against the wall. D'urak only stopped his charge after he heard the sound of ribs cracking and then spun about to deliver a fist into the guard's ear, the resulting impact rendered the insubordinate Romulan unconscious.

Recognizing her first officer's voice, S'vol stood from the small bed. Of the brig guards, she knew one was very likely under the influence of Rasek, based on the looks he had given her. At first she was unsure as to how D'urak would get past him, but soon the sounds of a struggle answered her question. From her cell near the back of the room, she could see nothing, however.

D'urak turned his attention to Nevar who stood at attention after having silently watched the brief episode of combat in awe. The Subcommander nodded toward the unconscious man on the floor before speaking, "Help me with him." Together Nevar and D'urak dragged the unconscious Romulan's body into the inner brig and into a cell, passing right in front of the cell S'vol stood watching from.

As Nevar and D'urak dragged the other guard past her, she raised an eyebrow. "I see you still have 'the touch', Subcommander," S'vol said with slight amusement in her eyes. Growing more serious, she asked, "What has happened? It seemed the Jatrel was under attack and then...something happened - a rather uncomfortable flight to say the least."

D'urak finished and returned to stand in front of the force field that contained the Commander, "We've traveled into the past and Rasek means to pursue and eliminate a certain Human on this Earth. He believes that the assassination of one James T. Kirk and his crew will prevent the survival of the Human species in the twenty third century. If you ask me, the Colonel is mad but at the moment he's in control." The Subcommander proceeded to the panel to the side of the force field and with Nevar's help began to remove it. "We were followed into the past by a Starfleet Vessel, Prometheus class. We escaped their grasp but it is likely that we've not seen the last of them..."

"The past?" S'vol asked, raising an eyebrow. "The assassination of Kirk would certainly have been a challenge to the Federation...but what time period are we in?" The Federation's technology and resources would come into play depending on what year it was. Being near Earth was also quite a risk; it seemed odd that Rasek would take that kind of risk. "Rasek being insane is nothing new...but being so careless as to attract the attention of a Prometheus class vessel seems out of character. Did they follow us back in time as well then?"

"I am uncertain of the exact year," D'urak replied as he worked at disarming the force field. "Two or three hundred years into the past I believe and yes, the Starfleet vessel is with us, cloaked. So far we've managed to evade detection by them." As D'urak finished speaking the force field sputtered then went offline completely. "This may have triggered an alarm on the bridge; Rasek leaves little to chance. You can count on Nevar here to help find you a place hidden among the crew... I would join you but my absence in the transporter room would appear suspect."

S'vol nodded; she knew from experience that Rasek left little to chance. "We may need to do something else with the other brig guard as well...when he wakes, he'll surely point directly to the two of you and you can't very well help if you're dead. Either he comes with us or he dies. Whatever agenda Rasek has, I cannot see it being good for our people in the end; he must be stopped and we must find a way to retake the ship."

D'urak never wanted to see Romulan blood shed unnecessarily but at times it was. With a nod he removed his disruptor from it's holster and handed it to the Commander, "You're going to need this then S'vol. You know what to do." D'urak had only used the Commander's name a handful of times; he felt it was typically disrespectful to do so but for all he knew it was the last time he would see his superior. "Do take care of yourself, I will do everything I can from the ground to ensure that Rasek is thwarted."

Taking the disruptor, S'vol looked at her first officer, "Jolan Tru, D'urak. Good luck; try to keep yourself alive and we shall do the same. If we're to take back the Jatrel, we'll need your help. If we can covertly get a message to you, we shall try."

"Jolan Tru Commander," D'urak said with a respectful half bow before turning to exit the brig. He would have his Commander restored to her rightful place in command of the Jatrel but if this was not possible he would just as soon see the ship taken out of Rasek's hands. By any means necessary.

Giving him a nod, she walked over to the traitorous member of her crew. True, he was only following Rasek's orders, but he could also ruin everything. S'vol briefly considered keeping him alive in case he knew something, but the chances of Rasek sharing that information were essentially nil. Reaching down, she took his head between her hands and quickly snapped his neck, dropping his lifeless head back to the ground. "Let's go, Uhlan, if they noticed the force field going down, we don't have much time."

Nevar flinched slightly at the sound of crunching bone but faulted his commander not for her actions, the traitor deserved his fate and the Uhlan knew that he was only the first aboard the Jatrel to receive it. With a dutiful nod the Uhlan readied his own disruptor and followed the Commander into a service shaft.

OFF

A Joint Post brought to you by:

Commander S'vol
Commanding Officer
IRW Jatrel
Played by: Captain Kersare

Subcommander D'urak
First Officer
IRW Jatrel
Played by: Lieutenant (Prov) Setak

Uhlan Nevar
Security Officer
IRW Jatrel
Played by: Lieutenant (Prov) Setak

[Kersare]

ON:
<<Earth, San Francisco (of the past), Wrassle Castle, Day 5, 1915>>

After spending several hours tailing two members of Kirk’s crew, Nora was starting to feel cautiously optimistic about their relatively eventless mission so far. McCoy and Scott were now safely onboard the Bounty, and it wouldn’t be long before night fell on the vast city. With the first portion of their mission complete, it fell to Nora to make a new decision for her team—where exactly they were going to spend the night.

The shared consensus was that it was safest not to beam back and forth between the planet’s surface and the Malinche, meaning that Nora, Setak and Dana (NPC) would be staying put on Earth of the past until they had helped ensure that Kirk and his crew were safe. They had enough modern currency between them to stay almost wherever they liked, but the Betazoid thought it would be best if they found somewhere nearer to Golden Gate Park and, therefore, the Bounty. The particular hotel of sorts they found themselves in front of now, while certainly near enough to the park itself, looked a little questionable at best. “This could be our biggest adventure yet,” Nora remarked quietly, casting a wry look in Dana’s direction.

Dana glanced over at Nora with wide eyes and then took a third look at the...establishment the Executive Officer had chosen with a mixed look of incredulity, horror, and amusement. The Betazoid opened her mouth to speak, but found herself still speechless. Shaking her head, she finally managed, "No disrespect, Nora, but really? The Wrassle Castle? No room at any other inn? Normally I might find it interesting to find myself sleeping in a castle, but this...."

“I know, I know,” Nora sighed, attempting and failing to run a hand through her impossibly voluminous hair. Honestly, these human styles were so unnatural, what with all the strange, sticky gels and sprays they practically caked on one’s head to achieve the desired stylish effects. Watching the harsh fluorescent lights of the sign while they flashed, she mulled over their dwindling remaining options. “I’m sure that there are...nicer establishments, but we’re not going to find anywhere closer, and really all we need is a private place to sleep for a few hours. But if either of you has a better idea, I’m willing to listen.”

Setak listened to his companions' exchange while discreetly checking the range settings on his Medical Tricorder, he doubted very much that the primitive materials used in building construction in the 1980's would hinder his sensing device much. "I for one think it's a fabulous idea," he said finally with little regard for the flow of Nora and Dana's conversation.

Dana was about to speak up when their Vulcan companion did instead. Her mouth slightly open as a look of utter confusion crossed her face, she turned to look at him. It was hard to believe that anyone would be willing to enter, let alone sleep, in a place such as this. The apparently fake grey stone on the establishment even seemed to be trying to retreat. And the tattered flags on the "towers" looked like they'd flutter away at any time.

Half expecting further argument from Dana, Nora was caught completely off-guard by Setak’s unanticipated show of support. It was by far his most enthusiastic response to anything in their mission so far, and Nora had never really expected to hear the word ‘fabulous’ used by the usually stoic Vulcan, at least not without a heavy layer of sarcasm. Swiveling her head slowly until her gaze came to rest on the Vulcan, she simply stared at him for a moment, a little at a loss for words.

Setak shifted his weight uncomfortably as both of his companions' gazes came to a rest on him. Indicating his Tricorder with an elevated hand he continued, "I simply mean that it would also give us an opportunity to observe archaic Terran housing practices... Purely scientifically of course."

“Scientifically. Of course,” Nora nodded, as if Setak’s apparent interest in these so-called archaic Terran housing practices was the most natural thing in the world. He really was a mystery, the Betazoid mused to herself. Just when she thought she understood something about him, he went and did something unexpected enough to turn her whole evaluation on its head. “Well then, it sounds like the ayes have it,” she said, turning her attention back to the establishment in question. “I suppose all we have to do now is to pay for our lodgings. ‘Get a room’ I think is the terminology.”

Knowing she had been outvoted...and honestly, afraid that another establishment could be even worse, Dana nodded. "Let's get it over with. I suppose it might not be as bad on the inside..." Doing her best to keep her resolve, the Betazoid headed for the large supposedly wooden doors - portcullis raised.

After giving Setak one last odd look, Nora hurried to catch up with Dana. Following the near miss with the taxi, she was a still feeling little reluctant to let her fellow Betazoid out of her sight for too long. When they stepped inside a smallish room that was aptly labeled ‘Ye Olde Main Office,’ Nora absentmindedly patted her hair as she looked around. The walls had been painted in a rather poor attempt to look like the stones of a castle, and above their heads hung a strange brass-colored chandelier that had clearly seen better days. As the man behind the check-in counter caught sight of them, she could sense waves of blatant curiosity emanating from him.

“Welcome to the Wrassle Castle, Lord and…Ladies,” he said, looking behind them as if expecting another member of their party to arrive. Since there was, in fact, no one else with them, Nora stepped forward to see about a room for the night. Even after her simple inquiry was made, the man still seemed perplexed about something. “Just one room, for the three of you,” he repeated, a strange smirk starting to form in the corner of his lips.

"That is what the Commander said," Setak replied without thinking. He gave Nora an apologetic glance after realizing what he had done; it wasn't as if he had pulled a Phaser on the man however. Noticing the man's smile broadening slightly Setak raised a brow. "I fail to see what you find so amusing sir..."

After scrutinizing Nora for a moment, the man behind the counter shook his head in bemusement as he turned his attention back to Setak, his smile never faltering. “Usually the, uh, ‘commanders’ of these situations are the males. That’s all,” he said by way of explanation.

Dana glanced between Setak and Nora, and then turned a dull shade of red as she felt the motel man staring at her. The look on his face and the emotions emanating from him made her rather uncomfortable. Somewhat perplexing, she noted some feelings of jealousy and the desire to join them....or at least the females. "Listen," Dana began, peering over to read his nametag before continuing, "Sir Getsalot, it's the three of us and we want a room for the night. Can you handle that?"

By this point, Nora was ready to die from embarrassment. She hadn’t even noticed the man’s nametag before Dana read it aloud, and it was becoming all too clear that her choice of establishment was not exactly reputable. At all. Clearing her throat, she stepped forward once again, hoping to set the man straight on some of his assumptions as patiently—and as firmly—as she could. “What my sister means to say,” she began, and then immediately stopped when the man actually barked out a loud laugh. If anything, his clearly lascivious emotions had only been encouraged by that statement. Evidently, falling back on their prearranged cover story was not going to help them.

Setak had finally come to realize the joke that lay at the heart of the situation and despite his irregular capacity for emotion was not amused. The concept of the establishment had also become clear to the Vulcan, the metallic articles hanging on the wall behind the "Sir" were each numbered and to a careful observer were themselves each unique. It was a logical assumption that each corresponded to a room within the establishment. With this realization Setak concluded that the "Sir" was no longer required to secure the shelter that the party needed for the night and with that realization Setak quite suddenly reached across the counter and delivered a crippling grasp to the man's neck. The "Sir" gave the Vulcan a look of astonishment before crumpling to the floor with a thud.

Had Nora realized what Setak was about to do, she might have done something to try and stop him. As it was, she could only stare in shock as the man collapsed. “Setak!” she gasped, rushing up to the counter and leaning over it on the tips of her toes to try to ascertain if the man was all right. She knew that Setak had only rendered him unconscious, but that knowledge wasn't particularly comforting at the moment. “Why in the world did you do that?”

"He will recover," Setak said as he raised a brow at the unconscious man. In truth, the Vulcan simply didn't like the way the man had spoken to his associates, perhaps his action was a little brash but he thought it warranted. "May I suggest that we find ourselves accommodations utilizing these lock deactivators and worry about my transgression later?"

Dana's jaw nearly dropped as she watched Setak render the motel clerk unconscious and then listened to the Vulcan's reply. It certainly wasn't something she would have done, not unless he was denying them entrance, but there was nothing she could do at this point. So instead, she waited for the others to choose a...lock deactivator...and then followed, glancing back once or twice at Sir Getsalot. Hopefully it would be the end of their 'excitement' for the evening...

OFF: JP brought to you by:

Lieutenant Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

Provisional Lieutenant Setak
Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

Ensign Dana Toril (NPC)
Security Officer
Played by:

[Rabb]

ON:

[USS Malinche, Day 5, CFCO's office, 2000 hrs]

Lieutenant, jg Austin Flanders was sitting in the office, keeping Stacy's chair warm. He'd spent a full day on the bridge and then dealing with personnel issues. The issue with Warrant Officer Topher puzzled him though. The man had a fine record but for some reason wanted to leave the ship in the middle of the assignment. He had turned in to some kind of slob, a drunk, an idiot. Had to be a woman, he'd seen it before. Of course, Austin's situation when his superior officer found him drunk at the lounge was not one of his own finer moments. Austin had never been drunk and felt it was a stain on his record.

Warrant Officer Topher walked slowly to report back to the Assistant Chief. He'd gone back to his quarters, cleaned himself up and put on a fresh uniform. Chris knew Stacy was off ship so he wasn't too worried about running in to her right now, nevertheless, he was still nervous. The Lieutenant had ordered him to shape up but he was obviously unaware of Chris run in with Lieutenant Rabb. Chris remembered that incident in the shuttle all too well. He did not want to run in to her again and was determined to be off the ship as soon as they could make it back to their own time.

Finally making it to Lieutenant Rabb's office, Chris hit the chime. He waited for what seemed like eons. Was Flanders in the office or was he somewhere else on the ship? Did he already retire to his quarters? Just as Chris was about to request Flanders location from the computer, the door opened. Chris walked in and stood at attention in front of Flanders.

Austin watched Warrant Officer Topher enter the office. He appeared in a much better condition than he had before and Austin felt regret at the way he had addressed him earlier. He could sense the man was torn and in pain, but was unsure as to the best way to deal with him. Austin had been through so much pain and grief himself that it was now difficult for him to deal with others' pain and help them.

"Mister Topher, I see you are in a much better position than you were before. I appreciate you taking the time to clean up and get yourself together."

"Thank you Lieutenant. I was just following orders sir."

"Well, be that as it may, you are here for a reason."

"Yes sir, I am."

"Well, get on with it. What can I do for you?"

"Nothing really sir, I just wanted to report for duty and let you know I had followed your orders."

Austin stood up from behind the desk and walked around to stand next to Topher. He put his hand on Topher's shoulder. "Yes, I can understand your desire to do your duty Mister Topher. Thank you for coming to see me. You may return to your quarters, but be prepared to disembark at a moment's notice."

"Aye, aye sir." Topher turned and left the office. He wasn't sure what Lieutenant Flanders last comment was about, but he'd follow it....at least until Lieutenant Rabb returned.

Austin watched Topher leave, wondering how long it would be before the man had a total breakdown. He turned and picked up a padd on the desk. On the padd, he began writing a request for a full mental evaluation of one Warrant Officer Christopher Topher.

OFF

Lieutenant, jg (PNPC) Austin Flanders, Asst. CFCO
Warrant Officer Christopher Topher (NPC), Shuttle Pilot

[Davis]

ON:
<<USS Malinche, Astrometrics, Day 5, 1830>>

For hours D'iri (NPC) had been working with Sovak and other members of the Science department, trying to figure out the best way to get back to 2389. Although they did have information regarding the calcuations Spock had used for the Bounty, they had to be adjusted for use with the Prometheus-class vessel, her equipment, and the year they wanted to return to.

Being the Astrometrics Officer and seeing that the others needed a break, she had sent the others to have dinner and take some time to relax. The El-Aurian had gotten a small meal from the replicator before going back to work. Just as she was starting, she heard the doors swish open and nodded in greeting to Sovak as well as one of the Operations officers.

Ensign Trevor Reed (PNPC) was both excited and nervous at the same time. He was excited because he was able to get out of Operations for a while. His nervousness was coming from the fact that this was the first important task he had ever had to do. He took a deep breath to reassure himself and to calm his nerves. "Ensign Trevor Reed, reporting to help out in any way I can, ma'am."

D'iri looked at the young man and nodded, "Good evening, Ensign. I'm Lieutenant JG D'iri Masor. I presume you've already met Lieutenant JG Sovak... I believe that Mr. Davis notified you of what we're doing, yes? Working on time warp calculations so that we can return the Malinche to her proper time. What are your strong points - are you familiar with resource allocations, power flow differentials, and control sequencing?"

Trevor nodded in agreement with every item Lieutenant JG Masor listed. His nervousness quickly dispersed and he became confident that he could be of great help to her. "This should be a not-so-difficult task. When Lieutenant JG Davis told me about what I was to do, I was a little nervous. The resource allocations should be easy. The differentials to the flow of power should be easy but will need to be watched," Trevor explained. His experience with differentials were, at best a little shaky. But since it was James who taught him about Operations, he felt confident that he was truthful in his statement. "Would you like me to do the allocations first, ma'am?" Trevor was feeling a strong sense of confidence. He was ready, and willing, to help out the Lieutenant JG.

Chuckling slightly, the El-Aurian replied, "Not so fast, Ensign. You'll want to look at our calculations first and ensure that they make sense to you. Lieutenant JG Sovak and I also still have a little cleanup to do on some of them - so you may need to make further adjustments once we have."

"You may use this console over here," Sovak informed the operations officer. "It contains our current calculations for time warp. As Ms. Masor noted, however, it is a work in progress. We have to continually update it to take into account repairs being done to the system, for instance...I imagine they will affect you as well." The Vulcan waited paitently for the young man to come over to the console.

Trevor's face began to warm slightly. He completely forgot that he needed to look over the calculations first before making any adjustments of the sort. "Oops, sorry. I'm just really eager to get started. This is my first time doing any kind of work aboard a starship. I did things on a starbase, but never an actual ship," Trevor said as he made his way to the console.

Although Trevor's revelation didn't exactly put her mind at ease, D'iri wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, everyone had to start somewhere and it seemed the Chief Operations Officer believed in him enough to send him to work with them. "No need to apologize," she noted as she moved over to where the two were standing. "I'm certain you'll get into the rhythm of things. Go ahead and take a look at what we have now...see if you have questions."

Trevor looked over what they had calculated. Everything looked to be fine until he saw the power allocation. Something didn't sit with him very well. "I do have one question. There seems to an issue with the amount of power that is being allocated. My instinct is telling me that we may not have enough. Have all available resources been accounted for or do we need to see what other areas we can take power from? Just curious."

"That's what you're here for," D'iri said with a smile. "We've gone over the calculations and put in the various variables and requirements we have from our end...but the power allocations are your expertise. Being on ships for awhile and knowing some of the science behind it allows one to make some educated guesses, perhaps, on how much or where to pull power from, but it's not what we deal with on a day to day basis. What do you suggest?"

Trevor thought for a moment as he looked over the calculations again. He was always one to take a "better safe than sorry" approach to things like power allocations. "I was thinking, since we are going to be in a time warp, to take as much power as possible from non-essential places like the holodecks and maybe some of the unoccupied crew quarters. The more power we have, the better chance we have at completing the jump," Trevor explained as he entered in a scenario command in the console. "By taking this much power, there's a possible chance we could have some power reserved in case we lose some along the way."

Sovak nodded as Trevor finished his explanation, "It does sound like a logical choice. In a case such as this, it would be wise to have more power available than we need. Running out of power part way through could be disastrous; truthfully we were lucky to make it through in one piece on the way here. Considering the repairs we've had to work on and not knowing when we'll be completing the time warp - thus not knowing if all will be done prior to the attempt, caution is warranted."

"I agree," Trevor replied. "We should work quickly, but cautiously and effectively. Hopefully all the repairs are done before we make the leap." Trevor had a sense of nervousness come over him, but he quickly dismissed any sign and feeling of it. "I'll look for some more areas where power won't be needed. If I can find them, then that's more power for us to get home." Trevor hoped that he was right about the power increase. While having extra power would be good, he also knew that the other repairs would play an even bigger part in getting back to their time.

D'iri smiled, "Nice work, Mr. Reed. We'll let you continue with your search for more power while we review the calculations in more depth. If you find something of concern, just let us know." The El-Aurian was pleasantly surprised to find the young man fairly knowledgeable and quick with his work. She would feel a little better, though, if she knew how repairs were going.

JP brought to you by:

Lieutenant JG D'iri Masor (NPC)
Astrometrics Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
played by: Captain Kersare

and

Lieutenant JG Sovak (NPC)
Spatial Anomalies Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
played by: Captain Kersare

and

Ensign Trevor Reed (PNPC)
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
played by:

[Davis]

ON: <<USS Malinche, Engineering, Day 5, 1840>>

Several hours had passed since Caleb (PNPC) had first left Engineering per Will's (PNPC) instructions. Progress had certainly been made in that time, but they still had work to do. He had taken a break to get some dinner and had just entered Engineering. Glancing around, he spotted Will speaking with someone from Operations and made his way over to them, standing quietly so as to not interrupt.

"I really hope these repairs and whatever is going on over in the science department gets us home. I like the past, don't get me wrong, but I really would like to return to our own time," James said to Will. He was having a feeling of "homesickness" and really wanted to return back to the future. The past showed James how much the earth has changed over the past several centuries and while 1986 looked exquisite to him, he had started to miss his time, his home.

The acting Chief Engineer let out a short chuckle. While he had every confidence both ship and crew would make it back to the twenty-fourth century, Will also understood where Lieutenant Davis was coming from. He'd experienced similar feelings of disconnect and uncertainty when the Borg first took over the Sirion. There had been a part of him that wondered whether he would have ever made it out of that situation without the help of the Sentinel and the Malinche. "I'm sure the science department has things well in hand," Will replied as he went over the notes he'd been making on their current status, "as for these repairs...I think we've made quite a bit of headway in the last couple hours, don't you, Caleb?"

Upon being addressed by his superior, Caleb nodded, "Absolutely, sir. As far as I can tell, the repair team I've been working with has at least been on schedule, if not slightly ahead on some things. We still have some work to do, and more would be created if we ended up in another firefight with that Romulan ship..."

"Let's just hope that doesn't happen. I would rather have a somewhat smooth ride home rather than a rough ride home with the Romulans on our asses trying to wipe us from extinction," James said with a slight groan. A firefight with the Romulans was something that he wanted to avoid at all costs. "What all needs to be done on the repair front?"

"Like Caleb said, our work teams have been more or less on schedule," Will answered as he consulted the readouts coming across his workstation, "The problem is we've started to see some residual hiccups in what we thought were unaffected systems. The induction stabilizers, for example. They went out about four hours ago and I've not had the time or manpower to get someone up there to take a look at them."

"I could go and have a look if you'd like," James said. "I've been waiting to do something for a while now. I've got Ensign Reed over in Science doing some power allocations. I'd do that myself but he has very little engineering experience and he was starting to get bored. Unless you would prefer me to do other repairs, of course."

Caleb glanced from one man to the other, "Not to overstep my bounds, sirs, but I could give Mr. Davis a hand, if that's alright. The others I was working with are continuing on the repairs and I'm sure we want to get a look at those hiccups..."

The acting Chief Engineer thought for a moment as he considered the situation. Most of their teams were working pretty much on schedule thus far at it would help to have someone getting a head start on a few of these other system hiccups. Even two pairs of hands was better than none at all. "Agreed," Will said, "the two of you head up there and let me know what you find. At the very least, we can start working on the problem now and shift over other personnel if that's what we end up needing to do."

James clapped his hands together with excitement. It was good to work with Engineering again as he was looking to take a breather from his everyday Operations duties. "Sounds good to me, Chief. I love getting my hands dirty," James said with a low chuckle. Looking over at Caleb, he gave a small gesture to signal he was ready to work. "Shall we tackle the task, Mr. Corrin?"

"Absolutely, sir," Caleb replied with a half smile. Turning his gaze to Will, he said, "We'll keep you posted, sir." With a nod to James, Caleb headed for the door. Hopefully with the two of them working on the issue, they would be able to tackle it faster.

OFF

This JP was brought to you by:

Lieutenant Will Schulz (PNPC)
Acting Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
played by Lt. JG Aaron Masterson

and

Warrant Officer 2nd Class Caleb Corrin (PNPC)
Warp Systems Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
played by Capt. Isabel Kersare

and