Mission 16 - The Waiting Game

[Masterson]

ON: [[Security/Tactical Office, USS Malinche, Shoreleave 03, 0900]]

"Computer, lights," Aaron said as he entered the darkened room. At his command, the computer gave a slight chirp of acknowledgment and the lighting level rose to standard illumination. He crossed over to his desk and eased himself into the chair. It hadn't been quite twenty-four hours since the doctor had completed the minor surgery on his back, but he figured getting a head start on the paperwork for the morning wouldn't be too strenuous.

Reaching out with one hand, Aaron tapped the control panel to activate the desktop terminal. The screen came to life and displayed the Federation emblem before prompting Aaron for his log-in. Aaron keyed in the appropriate sequence and a moment later, the computer brought up the relevant ship's logs from the previous day. Most of it was rather routine information. With most of the crew on shoreleave, the only security logs would likely have been related to visitors or station personnel.

Aaron skimmed through the logs, not really concerning himself with the more routine information. He could always come back to that later if he needed to. There didn't really seem to be anything out of the ordinary so far. Just as he was about to move on to the PADDs on his desk, something caught his eye. He frowned as he stared at the display for a moment.

"Computer, locate Lieutenant Hansen," Aaron said slowly.

The computer chirped in acknowledgment of the request and responded, =^= Lieutenant Hansen is on Deck five, computer core. =^=

Thinking for a moment, Aaron reached over for an empty PADD. He activated the unit and downloaded a copy of the security log. Once the transfer was complete, he shut off the terminal and got to his feet. Hopefully the Chief Operations Officer would be able to answer a few of his questions.

[[Deck Five, Computer Core]]

Sean's gaze peered at the small, flat, blue isolinear chips that comprised the primary backup for the computer core. "These are so much better than those gel packs." he said as he held a multi-tool up to one of the chips.

Satisfied that he had completed his task, Sean tapped the control on the end of the chip tray, making it slide back into the wall. "There we go." he said, just before hearing the easily identifiable swoosh of the doors on the other side of the room.

"Lieutenant Hansen," Aaron asked, seeing the man kneeling next to an access panel near the computer core. The lighting in the room was dim and he wanted to make sure he'd found the right man.

His face turned away from the door and towards the wall, Sean recognized the voice and rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an overzealous young security chief. Getting to his feet he turned to look at the young officer. "That's me. Is there something I can do for you, Lieutenant?" he said, conveying a want to help his fellow crew members.

"Actually, I was hoping you could help answer a few questions for me," Aaron replied, approaching the lieutenant. He held the PADD up, screen toward himself so that Hansen could see it. "I was going through the security logs this morning, when I noticed something rather...odd," Aaron explained, shaking the PADD slightly to indicate that there was more explanation contained on the device, "I was hoping you might be able to provide some insight, considering you have more expertise in the field than I do."

Sean quirked an eyebrow. *Is it really possible this... child has stumbled across something of relevance?* he thought to himself before answering the security chief. "Oh? How might I be able to aid the security department?"

"I came across this...odd signal reading," Aaron explained, offering the PADD to Hansen, "It could just be an internal anomaly, but it didn't look quite right for that. I was wondering if you could help me track it down."

Sean took the padd and studied the readout that appeared on the screen. "Hmm. That certainly is interesting, Lieutenant, but at this low of a bandwidth, I'm not even sure if you could count it as a signal. With the modifications Commander Peters and I made to the shields, it may just be resonance from subspace static."

Aaron thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "That's what I thought at first," he said, "but it seemed a little two organized to be just random static."

Sean nodded slowly, different thoughts running through his mind. "Well, I was just finishing up some checking of the computer backups and I was planning on doing a flush of the recycling units next... but if you're that concerned about it, I could go up to the bridge and start a system diagnostic. Any abnormal usage of the communications systems intentional or otherwise would be picked up."

"I'd appreciate it," Aaron said, "If it's not too much trouble." He was glad that Hansen was at least willing to take a look at the information. If it turned out to be nothing, then it wouldn't really matter. At least this way, they could be certain.

Sean nodded, knowing that running the diagnostic would make him unable to do what needed to be done, both officially and unofficially, but also knowing that not running it would raise suspicions. "I'll just make sure everything here is locked up and then I can go start up the diagnostic."

"Thank you," Aaron said, turning for the door. Halfway there, he paused and turned back. "Let me know if you find anything," he added, though it went without saying.

Sean gave a genuine looking smile and nodded. "Anything of any interest will be copied to you as soon as I have it." he said, knowing very well what his report to the security officer was going to say.

OFF:

A post by:

Lt. Sean Hansen
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche, NCC-38997-A

&

[Barrett]

<<Starbase 386>>
<Promenade, 1045, Day 1>

Adam and Joey (NPC) had been in the Black Hole Cafe for less then 20 minutes and so far at least 5 crew members had stopped by to offer him congratulations on his recent engagement. Aside from Kersare, Joey, Nora, and Ryan no one knew that he and Jason were adapting a kid. He was surprised at how fast world seemed to travel, although the Malinche was not exactly a large ship.

"So, have you given any thought to your bachelor party?" Joey asked. There was a wild glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Oh no, we are not going through that again," Adam said. "You remember that party that we went to our senior year of the academy...how out of hand that affair got...I don't want anything like that happening again."

"Oh come on," Joey snorted. "I would hardly call that getting out of hand."

"You were dancing on tables stripping for money," Adam reminded him. "And there were plenty of pictures to prove it."

Joey looked like he was about to protest; instead he waved to someone near the entrance. Adam turned around to see two rather attractive females, one of them a Bolian and the other a human wander away, giggling to themselves.

"What? Oh come on!"

"What?" Joey asked, attempting to look innocent.

"Do you have to have a girl in every star system that you visit?"

"What? I find that remark insulting."

Adam just looked at Joey an arched an eyebrow.

"Sometimes its not just one girl...its two or three."

"I am so glad that we didn't pick you for the god parent."

"You and me both, I mean I am so not ready to rise your kid."

"You do realize that if me and Jason ever need a vacation you are going to be watching him, right?"

Joey nodded. "What's his name again?"

"Tavi, he's 10 years old. From what information we got he spent almost all of his life with the D'naron Monks," Adam said, taking a drink of his coffee.

"D'naron Monks?" Joey asked.

"Think of them as the Bajoran version of Earth's Shoalin Monks."

"Ah, gottcha. Did you tell Josh that you were engaged?" Joey asked.

Adam nodded, truth be told his brother was actually happy for him. They were still struggling with repairing their relationship but at least things were getting better. Josh seemed even more happy when he got told that he was going to be an uncle.

"Cool, you about finished with that?" Joey asked, indicating Adam's coffee.

"Yeah, why?"

"Come on, we got clothes to buy for this kid of yours."

OFF:

Adam Townsen
Medical Officer
USS Malinche

Played By:

[N'rass]

<<USS Malinche>>
<Main Shuttlebay, 0945, Day 1>

Adam (NPC) had been overjoyed when he heard that Captain Kersare would not only let them use the Malinche but also agreed to be the god parent. Jason was relieved as well, there wasn't anyone else on the Malinche that he could think of that would do a better job if something were to happen to him or Adam. He put a request into Liras to see if there was anything that could be done about getting bigger quarters and then headed off to the shuttlebay.

Entering it he found it to be a hub of activity, which was rather unusual for shoreleave. He located N'rass wedged underneath the belly of a Type 9 shuttle, fiddling around with something. From this angle it looked like it might be the gyrodyine relays.

He walked over to her, clearing his throat.

She flicked her tail before sliding out from under it and looking up, still laying on the floor. The caitian was uncertain who she was looking at but was a little stressed by her earlier encounter with Warrant Roen over the past. "What do you need?" She said bluntly but didn't mean it as flat as it came out.

Jason arched an eyebrow, either she didn't realize she was talking to the first officer or she didn't care. Either way he found the situation oddly amusing. "Do you need a hand with anything Ensign?"

L'Randil sighed and pushed herself up to a sitting position, resting against the side of the shuttle. "Not really." She answered. "I just finished calibrating this thing, again. These type-9s are such maintenance hogs." The ensign ranted as she slowly pushed herself up to a standing position. She pointed for him to hand her cane which was standing on the shuttle next to him.

With it in hand, she hobbled slightly toward her workstation to put her tools down. Then she turned back to him with a bit more relaxed tone. "I assume you didn't come down here to cross-train."

Jason had to smile, he liked her already. "I don't think we have had a chance to meet, I'm Lt. Commander Jason Barrett, your XO," Jason said, extending his hand. "Sorry I didn't get down here earlier but you know how crazy things have been around here lately."

L'Randil froze and her eyes grew big and her ears lowered in embarrassment. "I am so sorry, I did not realize Sir." She stammered as she hoped he was not offended.

Jason smiled again. "Don't worry about it ensign. Hell, on the Hale, when I as a Lt. JG I actually told my XO to go...I believe the words I used where 'Blow it out your airlock' before I realized who he was." Jason hoped that little story would put slightly at ease. "At any rate, I need a shuttle...maybe even a runabout to meet with a Bajoran transport. I would need to leave around 0900 tomorrow, I assume you can give me a hand with that?"

L'Randil nodded with a shy smile. "I could before, but now I think the request would have to go through Roen. All of them are online and ready for use at least. This one was the last calibration for a while." She said as she made her way to the office, motioning for him to follow.

As much as she dreaded talking to WO Roen, she had the XO of the ship with her, so it eased her nerves a little. Roen was sitting at her desk going through Padds of records.

"Better be good, ensign." She said as she looked up.

L'Randil nodded and looked to her senior.

Jason had read up on Roen before, she had a habit of being a bit sore. And the waves of annoyance radiating off of her were almost visible. Add to the fact that she seemed to completely ignore Jason, well that was something that did not sit well with the XO. Still, he came here to get a shuttle. "Something wrong with addressing me as sir, chief?" Jason asked, arching an eyebrow.

The bajoran set her Padd down and looked him in the eyes before realizing his rank. She stood up with a salute. "My apologies, commander. I am sure you understand my backlog on logs and records has reduced my etiquette somewhat."

L'Randil rolled her eyes, subtly at the statement.

"So how can I help you today?"

"Actually chief I expect you to be respectful and not acting annoyed when asked a question despite your backlog. You don't see me and Captain Kersare snapping at everyone and I am sure we have every bit as much work as you do to get done."

Roen nodded slowly. It was not the first time she had been told about that by a superior. She took a deep breath. "Yes, Sir." She said soberly. "I meant no disrespect. In any event, I am sure you have a matter to present?" She hoped she could change the subject. It slightly amused L'Randil to see her squirm.

Jason made a mental note to make sure he came down here again, just to make sure she stayed true to her word. "I need a runabout or a shuttle; I have to meet a Bajoran transport tomorrow morning. There will be at least 4 of us returning."

Roen nodded. "Any of our available shuttlecraft will fit the role then." She turned her gaze to the caitian who was leaning on her cane off to the side of the taller man. "I trust the type 9 calibrations are done?"

"Yes, Ma'am." L'Randil replied. "All are online."

"Good. I will recommend the type 9 for you then, Sir. I know they seem to be used for everything, but well... they are." She attempted to joke with a weak laugh. "Do you require a pilot?"

L'Randil hoped to be assigned to the mission, but stood quietly aside.

Truthfully both Jason and Joey were more then capable of piloting the shuttle and Joey did have a friend that he wanted to visit.

"Change of plans," Jason said. "Yes I do need a pilot, Ensign N'rass will do just fine. Also I need a runabout not a shuttlecraft. Is that going to be a problem chief?"

Roen blinked. "No, Sir. Runabout it shall be. I had not intended N'Rass for the position but as you wish." She turned her gaze to the quiet Caitian. "Your calibrations are finished?"

"Yes, Ma'am. All are calibrated and readied."

"Good. I suggest you go prepare then. Dismissed." Roen shooed the ensign off, leaving her and the commander alone in the quiet office. It made her feel somewhat nervous as she seemed to not be in his favor at the moment.

"You need to relax chief," Jason stated. "And learn not to take life so seriously, that's an order. Have Ensign N'rass and the runabout ready to go by 0830 tomorrow morning. I want to get underway as close to 0900 as possible."

"Understood. It will be." She said still at attention with a slightly nervous smile. "Both things, that is."

Jason smiled at the chief before turning and heading out of her office. Once he was outside the shuttlebay he used the computer to locate Liras (NPC), the two of them had a lot to talk about.

OFF:

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

and

Warrant Officer 2nd Class Roen Anara (PNPC)
Shuttlebay Manager
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
played by: Ensign N'rass

and

[Vosh]

<<USS Malinche>>
<Trace's Quarters, 0945, Day 1>

Trace took a deep breath; he had been up since 0500 working on the scheduled rotation for all the security forces. He hoped that it would be too Aaron's liking, after all he had tried his best to balance everything out. He glanced at the screen, reading over what he had outlined there:

Phaser Range Practice: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday from 0515-0645 and from 1815-1945. All security/tactical personal are required to attend at least one session.

Hand to Hand Practice: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 1315-1515 and from 1945-2100. All security/tactical personal are required to attend at least one session.

Phaser Range Practice (For General Ships Personnel): Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday from 0700-1300 and from 2000-2300. All security/tactical personnel will take one shift week working these practices

Hand to Hand Practice: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 1600-1730 and from 2115-2315. Classes will be taught by various ship personnel.

With that done, Trace sent if off to Aaron. Hopefully he would get a chance to look at it soon. Next came the hard part. He had developed the idea for a SWAT team while on the Iowa. Truth be told, he wasn't really sure why the Malinche or any other starship for that matter, didn't have one.

It was a relatively simple proposal, at least in his mind. He had spent a great deal of time talking to the various officers on the Iowa and had come up with a pretty good list of skills that would make a well rounded SWAT team and the Malinche had plenty of candidates.

They had engineering officers with the know how to hack into computer systems and disrupt power grids. Their security forces were pretty darn good but could be better. Their medical staff was on top of their game, hell they had a medical officer that nearly kicked his butt.


Proposal for SWAT Response Team for USS Malinche:

Purpose: The purpose of the SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team for the USS Malinche is to create a team capable of responding to security situations on or off the ship with a team of well trained professionals.

The team would consist of security officers, combat engineers, flight personnel, medics. Team members will be trained extensively in hand to hand combat as well as ranged weapons. Additionally, the USS Malinche will use all the resources at its disposal; including using the experience of other officers to train the SWAT Team to be as adaptable as possible.

Security Personnel: Make up the bulk of the SWAT team. They are responsible primarily for taking down targets and securing the threat. Counseling personnel can be used to provide psychological threat assessments of targets.

Combat Engineers: Responsible for deploying portable equipment, disrupting enemy power grids, and confusing enemy equipment.

Combat Medics: Responsible for the health and well being of the entire SWAT team.

Combat Flight Personnel: Responsible for transport and extracting SWAT team members when necessary.

Trace leaned back; the report wasn't complete in any way but at least it gave them an overview of what he was looking for. He was still working in compiling a list of suitable personnel just incase they wanted more information. He checked his watch; he had a date with that young Bolian waiter that he met on the way to 386. Sending the message off to Aaron and crossing his fingers he got up and got dressed.

OFF: Sorry it was so long. Aaron and you can PM me if you want more details before you respond.

[McCarty]

ON:
<<USS Malinche, Ready Room, Shoreleave Day 1, 1000>>

Taryn made her way out of the turbolift and towards the Captain's ready room. She was eager to see how the Captain felt her pilots had performed in the face of possibly dangerous conflict. She was also curious as to the status of her new Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer. The medical staff felt it best he be placed under as little stress as possible. Taryn tapped the console on the door.

Isabel had just finished her message to Nora, informing her Second Officer that she would be the Acting Executive Officer while Jason was away. She had to admit to still being a little surprised at what Jason had told her and she was somewhat concerned that he and Adam were trying to take on too much at once...perhaps later she would stop by to talk to Nora about it. Hearing the doorchime, Isabel said, "Enter."

Taryn stepped through the doors and approached the Captain's desk. She appeared to be slightly exhausted but nothing out of the ordinary considering the ordeal that had just took place. "Hello Ma'am, I figured I would stop by to get the reports from you regarding my staff." She hoped the news would be good as this was the first time she placed her staff in a conflict without her direct guidance. She placed Ensign Sychorski in charge should any maneuvers had to be executed during MVAM. Of course if the situation escalated too far Taryn would have stepped in. The situation turned out less than ideal especially with her supposed right hand out of the action, perhaps next time.

Raising an eyebrow, Isabel said, "I had expected to get the reports from you, Lieutenant, since you're in charge of the department. If you're looking for my opinion on how the Flight Control Officer in the Alpha Section did during the standoff, he did just fine. He's been on board for quite awhile now, so he's fairly used to the Malinche. How did things go with you in Gamma?"

"You're right ma'am. Normally I keep a good eye on my staff however I felt for this conflict I should step back so I stuck with the newest member on Gamma bridge and he performed quite well for a new kid. I haven't heard anything from beta but she has also spent some time here so I have no worries there and I am glad Josh performed well for you, I expected no less as I had placed him in charge."

Taryn sighed. "However my main concern is the new ACFCO. I was hoping to see him in action for this however it appears he has been removed from active duty. I am aware he had a rough go on the Destiny, but has something new arisen from all this? No one has given me any word on his condition. I was thinking of tracking him down myself now that this conflict has come to an end, but I figured it would be best to speak with you first. Captain, this is the man who is supposed to act as my proxy should I be unavailable, I have heard great things about him but given the current circumstances I'm not too confident in letting him run my department."

"Mr. McCarty has been hallucinating and, in general, having a difficult time dealing with what happened on his previous assignment. I'm sure you can understand that in that condition I can't let him stay on duty. I haven't had a chance today to check with Lieutenant Zeral or Lieutenant De Souza to see how he's progressing...Doctor De Souza just came aboard yesterday, so I'm not sure that she's had a chance to meet with him yet. I know Lieutenant Zeral has spoken with him once or twice and she's certainly concerned," Isabel explained. She was fairly sure she had sent a notice to Taryn regarding Jake being removed from duty, but perhaps it got lost in the shuttle during the standoff. Plus, Taryn hadn't been aboard all that long either, but certainly longer than Jake, who'd only arrived after the Malinche got to Starbase 386.

Isabel thought back to her conversation with Nora for a moment before continuing, "I don't know how long it will take him to get through this, but from what I have seen, it's not something he'll simply snap out of overnight. Until he's cleared by Lieutenants Zeral and De Souza, he won't be returning to duty. I'll be sure to ask them to keep you in the loop as well as myself. For the time being, however, you may want to have another member of the department act as your assistant chief."

Taryn was surprised by Isabel's revelations. Had the Chief Medical Officer aboard the Destiny not looked at Lieutenant JG McCarty before they released him to Malinche? Perhaps they wanted to get rid of him and allowed certain factors to be overlooked. She was also disturbed by the fact she was so far out of the loop on the situation, it was not like Captain Kersare to forget such an important detail. She had also had a dozen reports on her desk chances were one of them were related to Lieutenant JG McCarty.

"Captain I support your decision 100 percent. We cannot have a crazed man piloting the Malinche. For the time being I shall place Ensign Sychorski (NPC) in his place until he recovers. I believe he has proven himself in the past and present and will prove himself in this post." Taryn sighed as she thought about Jake. "Unfortunately I have seen this before. Some snap out of it and some don't. I remember one similar instance we had and the doctor used an aggressive treatment on his patient. He sent the man back to the place where it all began, somehow it brought him peace and over time he returned to normal. Perhaps a similar method would work with Lieutenant JG McCarty? In any case ma'am, if there is anything I can do to help I would be more than willing, I am curious to see what this kid can do, I also appreciate being kept in the loop."

"I'm no Doctor, Lieutenant, and I don't know all the details of his sessions for obvious reasons, so I'm not sure if that would help him or not. I can mention it to Doctor De Souza and Lieutenant Zeral to see what they think though. And, as I mentioned, I'll be sure to ask them to keep you informed as well," Isabel replied. "I think Ensign Sychorski would be a good choice in the interim."

Taryn bowed her head. "Thank you ma'am. I was actually thinking of paying the good doctor and the counselor a visit myself to get an update. I am very curious as to his well-being and want to offer any assistance I can. I was also hoping to get an introduction as well."

Nodding Isabel said, "That's up to you Ms. England. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Taryn leaned forward slightly and straightened her posture. "No Ma'am I thank you for your time. If I may be excused I would like to finish up some reports and have a word with the doctor before shoreleave."

"Of course," Isabel replied. "Enjoy your shoreleave."

Taryn stood up. "Thank you ma'am, I wish you well for yours as well." With that said she quickly snapped about and exited the ready room.

OFF:

A Joint post by

_________________

Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

And

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

[N'rass]

<Starbase 386 holosuite 1, Day 1, 1600 hrs>

Roen made her way to the holosuite as she had done before, but this time it was with a different intent. Myralia was not there yet so she decided to walk inside.

"Computer, Risa 1" The bajoran was uncertain what specifically there was to do, so she found a tree to sit under and wait. The air was warm with a slight breeze off the ocean. A faint whirr could be heard from the cresting waves in the distance. She almost drifted off to a daydream when she was greeted by the familiar voice.

Myralia had just finished touring the rest of the station when she realized it was time for her to meet Anara in the holosuite. She had been looking forward to it all day. She approached the door and noted that a program was already in progress. "Computer, what is the current program?" she asked. "The current program is Risa one." the computer replied. Myralia smiled, her friend was already waiting for her.

Upon entering the holosuite she was greeted by the sunlight glistening of the ocean. The water was calm softly pushing small waves onto the shoreline. A mild gust of warm air passing through her hair. She kneeled down, grabbed some sand, and allowed it to run through her fingers. It had been far too long since her last visit.

She looked around curiously for her new friend. She laughed softly when she found her underneath a tree nearby, she made her way over. "You're on the most beautiful beach in the galaxy with the warmest sun beaming down and you want to hide under a tree? I don't know about you but I enjoy it whenever I can."

Anara looked up with a squint in the bright light and smiled. "Wind is an experience by itself. I forgot what it felt like." She then looked around and back at herself. "I seem to have missed the dress-code." She said with a smirk.

Myralia laughed and looked at her attire. "We both seemed to have come less than prepared however I didn't feel like walking across the station having young ensigns staring me down. Lucky for us this is easily remedied."

"Computer, dressing room and a wardrobe of beachwear." A small hut appeared in front of Myralia. "Shall we?" she smiled.

The bajoran was surprised but amused by this trick and walked in with her friend. She was not sure which of the selections she would feel comfortable with, since it had been a very long time since she did not have to wear a uniform of some sort. As a habit she generally wore uniform even when off duty for the convenience of it.

"These are quite...minimal. What would you recommend, counselor?"

Myralia chuckled. "These are for the beach not the bridge. Pick what makes you feel comfortable and relaxed." She began to shuffle through the selection. "Ah!" She exclaimed when she found what she wanted. "This is perfect." She said holding a royal blue two piece bathing suit in front of her. She walked behind a wall and began to change. "Hurry now Roen, I would like to get into the water before the sun goes down."

Roen settled on a bright red one-piece almost resembling a life-guard, complimented by a long white semi-transparent cover shirt which she left unbuttoned. She went behind the other wall to change. She walked out slightly self-consciously at first to see her friend and the likewise. "This is considerably lighter and more breathable than I had figured." She commented as they walked out into the hot sunlight. It felt much more real than before and the smile was very apparent.

"Oh I almost forgot." Myralia walked back to the clothing rack and grabbed a light blue silk shawl, she wrapped it around herself. She turned back to Anara. "That's the point, the attire itself has therapeutic power if you will. The freedom to allow one's body to breathe and be free is an experience in itself. You know on Betazed we often go without clothing at all." She chuckled knowing the feeling would be unsettling to Roen. Bajorans tended to be very conservative.

Myralia closed her eyes as she stepped on the beach letting the sand press between her toes. The feeling was nostalgic, the setting was perfect. She looked back at Roen, she could sense the bajoran was in a very relaxed state. Her mind was clearing. "Now that we are ready, how about we go try the water out?"

Roen looked around the area, then nodded to her companion. "Sure. I cannot remember the last time I swam where I wasn't in a qualifier. It's so different to not be in a uniform or carrying equipment."

She expected the water to be cold but it was slightly warm, which surprised her cautious approach. She then sped up and splashed forward into a swim when it was deep enough. Rolling over, she closed her eyes and floated next to Myralia.

Myralia closed her eyes and began to let her senses take over. The warm of the water enveloping her body, the calm stillness of the air. For in this moment, everything was at peace, including Roen. She could think of no better therapy for her friend, she hoped she would take this experience back to Malinche and use it in the future, it would help her through the tough times as it did for the counselor.

"Computer, inflatable mat." Roen stated. The object appeared next to her and she pulled herself onto it. Once she settled back against the pillow back of it, she turned to Myralia. "Is it possible to get a tan in here? My skin is rather...pale." She asked, looking at her arms. "I am definitely going to be getting a copy of this program to take with me. Those guys down on the shore are rather attractive if I do say so." She leaned forward and tilted her sun glasses down to look.

Myralia nodded. "A few hours here and your skin will begin to glow nicely. You must be careful not to stay too long, I have had a couple of friends go to see the doctor for a sunburn in the middle of space, leads for some interesting discussion."

She turned her head over to the men on the beach, they were talking amongst themselves. Myralia focused on them and began to laugh after a few short moments. "It would appear those men share the same sentiments towards you Anara."

The bajoran blushed. "Me? That's a first." She remarked with a smirk, looking down self consciously shy. "If only real men would think that." She added softly, pushing her sunglasses back up and resting back.

Ever since their first encounter Myralia had sensed Roen was hiding something deep inside. Despite her confident exterior, she felt that Anara was really feeling empty inside. Bajorans were known to be tough and sometimes possessed an almost vulcan-like ability to suppress emotion. However being away from the military and Bajor she felt Anara was beginning to open up to her emotional side and would have to come to terms with her inner demons.

"How do you know they don't? Believe it or not Anara you are a very attractive woman with many great qualities, qualities I know others envy. You have to be able to see the best in yourself. If you make a mistake you must grow from it not hide in a dark corner. Eventually you will feel great about yourself and that positive aura will pass to others and they will begin to notice you even more. This is not something you can learn over night, it will take some time. However my best advice would be to take chances and don't count yourself out before you have even tried."

Roen shifted to her side, facing the betazoid with her head propped on one hand. "You really think so? I don't think anyone has even tried since I was in the militia academy." She paused introspectively furrowing her brow and looking away. "I hope I didn't scare them off. Some of those boys were so impulsive. I could barely stand it sometimes."

Myralia let her lower body sink into the water and began to tread. "Of course! There is nothing wrong with the occasional flirting. You need to go out and enjoy yourself, socialize with others. Every once and a while you may get the cold shoulder but move on to the next. You never know you may find someone unexpectedly in your travels. The big thing is confidence, go out there and feel good about yourself at the end of the day no matter what happens, any experience will help you grow."

Anara looked back at the shore. "I suppose if these wonderful looking guys are holographic there isn't much to lose in trying." She stroked the water to move to the shore. "Care to come along?"

Myralia smiled warmly. "I think I will. Perhaps I will be what the people on earth call your wingman." She allowed herself onto her back and began to move for the shore.

The term made Roen laugh as they got out of the water. "Convenient. I was a wing lead, though in this case you are probably more fit to lead." The bajoran picked her long cover-up shirt off the bench and proceeded to button it on two buttons.

The majority of the small attendance were distributed around a cabana bordered with palm trees and low growth bushes with large lily like flowers growing on them. Roen could feel the sun's effects on her pale skin already, so the shade felt good.

The pair walked in and stood at the "door" of the cabana. The bar tender was milling about while a pair of island men were sitting at a table in the corner.

"I don't know about this." Anara leaned toward Myralia and whispered nervously.

Myralia turned to Anara placing her mouth near her ear. "Men are really quite simple, it all starts with a simple hi." She look over to the guys and raised a brow. She could sense they were nervous, but there was one of them more so than the others. He was tall with wavy brown hair and sky blue eyes, body athletic.

She turned back to Anara. "Right now I bet they are discussing a means to talk to you." Myralia swiveled on her chair and rested her elbow on the bar. She allowed her shawl to slide off her shoulder. "Come on tiger." she thought revealing a flirtatious grin. The guys smiled back and approached them.

Anara was amused by her actions, taking a slight cue to do similar. She leaned back on the bar and unbuttoned her cover shirt, letting it flow to her sides.

The men came over to greet, one to Myralia and one to Anara. The one that came to the bajoran nodded and took her hand. Speaking with a pacific islander accent. "May I buy you a drink, my lovely lady?"

Anara was almost speechless with her nervousness.

"I...I...sure." She stammered uncharacteristically.

The man whom Myralia had beckoned before had come to greet her. Unfortunately she did not have her usual advantage of being a betazoid, but over the years she had spent some time dealing with other men and became quite relaxed in the current type of atmosphere. "Would you like a drink as well miss?" he spoke with an accent resembling that of a british earth male. Myralia bowed her head. "Please, Altairian Brandy."

The man turned to the bar and summoned the bartender over. Myralia looked at Anara whom she noted was almost in shock. Roen looked over the man's shoulders at Myralia like a child looking for direction. "Confidence, take control." Myralia said moving her lips but not making a sound.

Roen nodded slowly, then regained her composure with a blink and swallow. She pushed her hair back behind her ears with a flirty look, then said "I'll have whatever you are having."

The islander smiled a big smile. "Two Margaritas it is!" The bartender slid them over to him, complete with the little umbrellas sticking out. The bajoran was intrigued with the little decorations, but returned her attention to her male companion. "What is your name, my lovely?"

Anara stared for a moment, then caught herself. "Oh, Sorry. I am Anara. You are?"

"It is quite alright." He laughed. "You can relax here. I am Kailo. Are you two lovelies sailors?" He turned looking at both Myralia and Anara.

Myralia snickered. "I guess you could say that." Her male companion returned with her Altairian Brandy. She took a sip of it and closed her eyes, she could feel the liquid warm her insides as it slid down her throat. She reopened them and gave her new friend an approving grin. "How about you hotshot? What is your name?"

The man took a drink from his glass. "My name is Alastair, yourself?"

"That's a very good name. My name is Myralia. What brings you two to Risa?"

"Well my friend and I are avid sailors and were told the oceans on Risa rivaled no other. We just couldn't resist the calling."

OFF: Jp by

Lt(JG). Myralia Constantine
Chief Counselor
USS Orlando

and

Warrant Officer 2nd Class Roen Anara (PNPC)
Shuttlebay Manager
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
played by:

[McCarty]

ON:
<<Starbase 386, Shoreleave Day 1, 1000 hrs>>

Jake decided the best way to overcome his apparant illness would be to get his mind off of the issues that were troubling him. His hope was that by changing his focus the frequency of the hallucinations would decrease. He had been told the station had excellent holosuites filled with a variety of programs for anyone's taste. He figured after a quick meal he would make his first attempt at the MVAM simulator. Although there was no one to evaluate him it would allow him to get a first taste of the new tactical flight system. He was also beginning to think his flight skills were beginning to lack with so much time off.

Jake ventured over to the promenade for his meal when he caught sight of a man he never thought he would see again. Captain Conaway sat a table reading a book. He concluded that Conaway must have also given the crew of the Destiny some shoreleave while the repairs were being completed. Jake walked over to the table and greeted his old CO. "Sir, how have you been?"

Conaway looked up from his book. His face lit up when he realized his old ACFCO stood in front of him. "Jake my boy! I am so glad to see you. How are things on the Malinche? Please take a seat." He said motioning his hand at the seat across from him.

Jake sat down and folding his hands together. "To be honest Sir, things haven't gone the way I hoped." Jake lowered his eyes from the Captain to his hands.

Conaway placed his hand on his chin and lowered his brows giving Jake a concerned look. "Why is that son? Something happen during this last encounter?"

Jake shook his head. "No sir, I wasn't part of this last encounter...In fact I was never cleared for duty, the chief counselor saw to that."

"The chief counselor?" Conaway asked raising his voice. "Why on earth would she want to remove you from duty? Does she know about our last mission, is she afraid that you are going to go crazy or something because if that is the case I will have to speak with her at once!" He continued nearly rising out of his seat before finishing his dialogue.

Jake reached over the table and placed his hand on Conaway's shoulder attempting to calm the frustrated officer down. Once Conaway began to breathe normally Jake removed his hand and returned to his seat. "You are correct Sir, she does know about what happened on Destiny but I am afraid her fear is not misplaced. During our initial session I began to hallucinate. At the end of my episode I found myself having a tongue war with the counselor."

Conaway had taken a drink from his glass during Jake's story and ended up spitting most of it on the floor as he could not help but laugh. He quickly regained his composure. "I apologize my boy, but I have never heard of an officer kissing his counselor during their first meeting." He paused briefly. "A hallucination you say? What did you see?"

Jake was usually uncomfortable revealing the intimate details of his life to anyone especially a superior however given the circumstances of the situation and the fact that Captain Conaway was familiar with the events already he had no qualms in talking to him. "I saw myself with Anna. It was about a year ago when we were shuttle pilots. By this time we had grown quite fond of each other. It all seemed so real I didn't even question it. I got sucked into the moment, her lips, her touch. I couldn't help myself."

The Captain leaned back into his seat. He continued to express his look of concern. "I had a sinking feeling something like this might have happened when I set forth with your transfer, however I never expected it to be this bad."

Jake dawned a look of surprise at the Captain's statement. "You had me transferred? Why Sir?"

"Well son, I received word from Starfleet command they were looking for good pilots to go behind the helm of the new Prometheus class starships. The Malinche was one of the ships mentioned. I pushed your name forward and suggested the Malinche as I had heard quite a few good stories about Isabel Kersare. I wanted to give you the chance to boost your career. Your skills behind the helm were remarkable and I could see no better means of use for your talents. I even consulted Tomlinson about it and he agreed you were the best choice. Unfortunately since all your pre-reassignment check ups were completed prior to our encounter with the Borg, you were not experiencing any psychological symptoms. Then with all the casualties after the incident all I could do was put my faith that should anything have happened to you you would find your way through. I certainly hope this is the case. I really should have spoken with Kersare beforehand."

"Yes Sir, I have had a couple sessions with our counselor and a talk with the Captain since being brought on board. I also got to talk with the Chief Medical Officer but that didn't go so smoothly. What a bitch." McCarty said with a groan.

Conaway leaned forward. "What exactly did the doctor say to you Jake? Are you sure it is not you who is being the bitch?"

"If you were any other man Sir..."

"But I'm not." Conaway interrupted. "Now I asked you a question Lieutenant, and I expect an answer."

Jake knew he would have to back down. Tim Conaway was not a person Jake wished to spar with. He had great respect for the man and he would give him the respect which he deserved. "She told me I was looking for someone to blame and that I was feeling impotent for being unable to change the outcome of the situation. I saved the Destiny damn it!"

Conaway smiled. "Yes you did son, but you didn't save everyone." he sighed. "Over the years I have got to know you quite well and I could always see you held yourself to a higher standard than everyone else. You were almost like the Borg expecting nothing less than perfection. So now yes you got us out of a jam, but I don't think you were willing to accept the losses. What I need you to realize Jake is that those losses were not on you son. I as the Captain of the Destiny am responsible for the outcome, and I have to live with that not you. Jake, you made the best decisions you could make at the time and there are about 500 people on both Destiny and this starbase right now that owe you for them. Anna being one of them, she talks about you alot, always in the highest regard."

Jake quickly shot his stare to the floor, he fought off tears. He knew Conaway was right before he even said it, but he was too stubborn to openly admit it before this point. The only reason he stormed out of sickbay that day was because the doc saw what he didn't want to see. Still, he wouldn't let the doctor push him around like that, he would stand his ground. However he would also be not as quick to shut her out either. "I miss Anna alot sir.....How is she? Where is she right now?"

Conaway returned to a relaxed posture. "Anna has been doing alright, she too has been speaking with the counselor, whether unofficially or officially I have not been apprised of anything yet. Last I checked she was helping the repair teams with engineering. Perhaps you should go see her sometime. Maybe it will help."

"Perhaps." Jake said softly. "At this point I'd be willing to try anything." his voice now changed to a more frustrated tone.

"Oh? How frequent are these hallucinations? What other types of things have you seen?"

Jake sighed. "My last hallucination involved a flight simulation Lt.Commander Tomlinson ran for me several months before my departure. It involved a combat simulation with another ship as a means to teach me how to coordinate a battle with another flight control officer. After it was over Jim got all over me for not coordinating with the other officer and
executing dangerous maneuvers as well as abandoning the other ship."

"Ah yes I remember reading that report. I ordered him to create that simulation as a means to get you started for when you would encounter MVAM without cluing you into any notion of a transfer. Contrary to what you may believe Jim thought you did good for a first attempt and commended your effort on saving the Destiny from destruction. He just didn't want you getting used to the thought of leaving your other officers in the dark, as a leader you must keep your subordinates informed otherwise if you are killed, they will be left with nothing."

Jake was puzzled, Jim sure didn't give him that notion, perhaps he was hoping to give Jake the motivation to improve. "But sir, he told me my stubbornness would one day cause me to lose something I wasn't prepared to lose. What do you think he meant?"

"Exactly what he said. Sometimes you get so hellbent on an idea you refuse to abandon it. You must be more receptive to others' ideas. Do you remember the last thing Jim said to you?" he asked.

Jake smiled for the first time during the conversation. "Yes...He told me one day I would make a good captain."

"And he was right Jake, you just need to learn some of the more finer points of leadership."

Jake was not entirely convinced with either officers' analysis, how could Conaway believe this with Jake's current state. "Sir? How can you say that knowing my current state? A starfleet Captain doesn't hallucinate, he is on the bridge!"

Conaway laughed. "Oh really? Than I ask you this. Why do you think I am here and not helping with the Destiny? Odd behavior for me isn't it?"

Jake agreed with him. Captain Conaway was always in the middle of a situation even if it was only overseeing repairs. "Now you've got me curious sir."

"Jake you're not the only one hallucinating. I too have been experiencing similar episodes to the ones you've been having. You see being a leader is not all about being on the bridge every hour of the day. It's about making the hard decisions, even if they mean removing yourself from a situation for the safety of the crew. Unofficially I placed Commander Schaeffer in charge. Should my condition not improve when we are ready to depart, I will take a Leave of Absence until I am fit to return. There is no shame in getting help son, getting through tough times like these is what makes us stronger. I know you will find your way through. In fact just yesterday I had a long discussion with the chief counselor from the USS Orlando about it. Sometimes a good ear is the best medicine and I have no regrets talking to her even if she was a complete stranger. However now that you are aware of this I must ask you keep it confidential." Conaway replied unphased by his revelations.

However they caught Jake off-guard. He could never have imagined Captain Conaway being so open about something like this, especially to a complete stranger and even Jake himself. He now saw the situation in a whole new light. Despite the fact that Nora had already stated this fact. Seeing a man like Conaway whom he admired so much really brought it home for him. "Of course sir, it doesn't leave this table."

"Thank you." Conaway said giving a respectful nod. "Now might I suggest you go visit Anna? I think some time together will do you some good. I should go have a talk with Captain Kersare about you, I am sure she has many questions for me." Conaway rose from his seat and Jake followed suit. "Please Jake, no need for that. You are my friend not my subordinate. Sure, around the big brass we still have to play that game, but here, well I'm Tim and your Jake." Tim extended his hand to Jake. "To finding your destiny beyond the next star."

Jake could not believe what he was seeing. He almost felt like slapping himself to check if this was a hallucination. "To finding your destiny beyond the next star." He grasped Tim's hand and they exchanged a firm shake. Conaway gave Jake a pat on his shoulder and walked off the promenade.

Jake sat back down feeling invigorated. Just like always Captain Conaway had managed to make another impact on the young pilot's life. For the first time since his transfer, Jake began to think he could see that star once again.

OFF:

Captain Tim Conaway (NPC)
Commanding Officer
USS Destiny NCC-4895
Played by: Lt(JG) Jake McCarty

and

[McCarty]

<<Starbase 386, Promenade, Shoreleave Day 1, 1130 Hours>>

Jake had just finished devouring his favorite meal, macaroni and cheese. What he considered a delicacy of earth. He wiped his mouth off with a napkin and began to think. What would he say to Anna? Even though it had only been a few days since he last saw her, with all that had been going on it felt like an eternity for him.

In addition he had his hallucinations torturing him at all hours of the day, he still could not erase the memory of the hallucination involving the shuttlebay from his mind. What if Anna had also been experiencing these hallucinations? With Captain Conaway removed from duty he would not have been informed should such an incident have occurred, Schaeffer would have dealt with it himself.

He laughed softly and shook his head. Perhaps once again he was overthinking a situation. He rose from the table and made his way towards the Destiny.


<Docking Bay, 1150 Hours>

Jake stopped once he entered the docking bay. He smiled as he scanned the hull of the Destiny. All of the damaged hull plates had been removed and replacements were in progress. The port nacelle that had been leaking upon arrival had also been repaired. Maintenance crews still buzzed around the battered ship, but looking at it he could feel a bit of weight being lifted off his shoulders. Destiny would move forward, maybe it was time for him to as well.

He approached the transporter chief. "Excuse me, I have orders from Captain Conaway to see Lt.Commander Ferris in engineering at once."

The chief grunted. "Well sir, I'm going to have to see some credentials before I allow you on board."

"Of Course." McCarty replied reaching into his pouch for his identification. He removed it and handed it over to the chief.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade McCarty, Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Malinche? What business would a pilot have for an engineer?" he asked with a tone fit for an interrogation.

"Captain Conaway asked me to deliver a message to her, I used to serve aboard this ship. You can contact him if you like," he replied.

The chief handed McCarty his identification back. "No need sir, carry on."

Jake stepped onto the pad and the chief transported him to the Destiny.

<USS Destiny, Transporter Room 1, 1200 Hours>

The swirl of light surrounding Jake dissipated and he found himself back on familiar ground. He was greeted by an old friend of his who was manning the transporter. "Sir! So glad to see you again how are you?" The man asked.

Jake leaped off the transporter pad and shook his friend's hand. "Stan! I've been great how about you? How are things looking?"

"Well Sir, as you can see our transporters are stable and repairs are ahead of schedule. The power fluctuations have ceased and teams are now working on weapons and engines." Stan replied.

Jake's face lit up with delight. "Excellent! Speaking of engines, is Lt. Commander Ferris on board? I must speak with her at once."

"Of course sir. Computer location of Lt.Commander Ferris." he said turning his gaze away from Jake and towards the ceiling.

"Lt. Commander Ferris is in main engineering." the computer replied.

"Thank you very much Stan. I look forward to seeing you again." Jake waved back as he left the transporter room.

Jake began to survey all around the corridors as he made his way to engineering. The Destiny was not at all like he left it. Many of the loose wires and debris had been removed and there were no longer any fires or sparks dispersed about. The ship was also much brighter and the dead bodies were replaced by maintenance teams anxiously working away at various repairs.

Jake had never felt so relaxed and re-energized since the encounter with the Borg. Instead of running down the corridors dealing with injured crew members or fighting fires or sitting in his quarters reliving bad memories, he found himself smiling as he strolled down his old ship. It was as if he was watching a new life being born.

Jake paused once he reached his destination. He had no idea what he would face when he stepped through that door. The last time he had, he and Anna had rushed in to stop a potentially dangerous plasma leak. Engineering had suffered the worst casualties of any department and when Anna first returned, he could tell it tore her apart, it was as if she had walked into her own personal graveyard with most of her family lying around her. Jake proceeded forward through the door.

Jake could not help but be shocked at what he was seeing. All the safety doors in engineering were now open. There were no signs of any hazards and men could be found working in all areas. Jake looked over to the conduit where he and Anna had fixed the plasma leak. it had already been repaired, no men in the area. It was truly remarkable, the speed at which the crews were working. He had never seen damage like this reversed so rapidly. Perhaps it was the work of that special aura she had, the one he had felt for so many years. Once again, Destiny found a way to invigorate those inside of her.

"Jake?" A familiar voice asked. "Oh my god Jake!" she yelled as she rushed across engineering and hugged him. She leaned back from him tears streaming from her eyes. "I have missed you so much it has felt like an eternity not having you here. How are you?"

Tears had also escaped his eyes. He was overcome with a range of emotions. He always hoped but never believed he would see Anna again. "Anna I have missed you too. I see you have been keeping yourself busy, how are we looking?"

She released Jake and straightened her uniform. "Well we have managed to get impulse engines back online as well as shields. We are currently working on phasers but for some reason the grid keeps overloading and warp engines, but the last time we tried bringing the core online we nearly lost anti-matter containment. How are things looking on the Malinche? Have you got to test MVAM yet?"

Jake laughed. "No not yet but I can't wait. She is a beautiful ship, so much bigger than Destiny. Can't say the food is as good though, nothing beats chef's cooking."

Anna lifted her brow. "And the women? I hope you haven't fallen for any counselors or perhaps the chief engineer."

Jake nearly fell on the ground in laughter. Not only was the fact that the Chief Engineer on the Malinche a male, but she did not know that he had in fact kissed Lieutenant Zeral in their first session. "The Chief Engineer is a guy! And you know me I'm not much for counselors or doctors."

Anna smiled back. "Same old Jake McCarty. I'm glad to see you're enjoying your new assignment."

Suddenly a console sparked across the room from the pair, Jake covered his eyes.

When he lowered his arm he noticed that main power had failed. The ship was also at red alert. He spun around the room searching for Anna. "Anna where are you?" he yelled frantically. Officers were running all over engineering yelling at each other. Jake grabbed a man as he rushed by him. "Where is Lt. Commander Ferris?" he asked.

"Sir, she's over there fixing the plasma leak. You were just with her... Is everything ok?" he replied.

"Yes just fine thank you, help the injured and get the hell out of here!" he ordered.

The man nodded and moved towards an officer who lay on the floor. Jake turned to the conduit he and Anna had been working on. "Anna!" he called.

"Jake! Did you get my tools?" she asked.

Jake looked around for a moment than noticed her tools sitting on a console nearby. He rushed over and grabbed them. "I got them right here." He moved over to her. "Here you go."

Anna began to work on the console. Suddenly it sparked and a small amount of plasma struck Anna in her abdomen. She fell back screaming in pain.

Jake was stunned by the explosion but quickly regained his wits. He crawled over to her. "Anna are you ok?" He looked down at her injury. "I have got to get you to sickbay right away." A young engineering officer came over from behind Jake and knelt in front of Anna.

"Ma'am we have a problem. we have temporarily shut down plasma flow to this conduit. However we can't hold for much longer, if flow isn't restored the core will overload."

Anna looked to Jake. "The doctor will have to wait, we need to fix that conduit. Help me get back over there." she said faintly.

"No Anna, I am sure someone else can handle it." He turned to the officer. "You, you can fix that conduit right?"

"I'm sorry sir, I'm not familiar with these systems yet, and most of the engineering staff are injured or dead. I'm afraid Commander Ferris is all we have."

Jake looked back at Anna. "Well, it looks like you're going to have to show me how to do this." He grabbed Anna under her arms and dragged her back to the console. "Alright what do I do?" he asked.

She reached for a tool. "Take this and place it on the rupture."

Jake grabbed the tool from her and looked for the crack. He found it and began his work.

"Alright that's long enough." she replied. "Now take this tool and run it along the conduit." she said with a grunt. She was going to grab her abdomen but Jake stopped her. "Don't touch it. Now which tool?" She reached down and grabbed the tool and handed it to him.

Jake took it from her and began to run it along the conduit. The tool beeped halfway. "It beeped what does that mean?"

"A hairline crack, take the tool you had before and run it along the area you found the crack." her voice was becoming more faint. The young officer returned with a large cloth. "Here use this, it's resistant to plasma and should help with the wound."

Jake smiled. "Thanks kid, now go help the others, we got this well in hand." He turned back to Anna and handed her the cloth. She moaned as he placed it on her abdomen. "Now what?" he inquired.

"Run the other tool along the conduit again." she replied. Jake took the tool and ran it across the conduit again, this time the tool did not beep.

"Nothing, what now?" he questioned her once again. Suddenly an officer yelled from across the room. "The core is going to overload, she won't hold much longer!"

Anna grabbed Jake to get his attention. She pointed to a console just beside them. "Jake get me up to that console NOW!"

He grabbed Anna and placed her arm over his shoulder and walked her to the console. She began to input commands into the computer. She shot her gaze back to the conduit, a few seconds later she let out a sigh of relief and looked back at the console. From across the room the officer yelled once again. "Ma'am, warp core temperature returning to normal." he began to laugh out loud, relieved by the new information. Anna turned to Jake with an approving smile. "Congratulations Mr. McCarty, you just stopped your first warp core breach."

Jake scoffed. "All in a days work." Suddenly Jake collapsed to the floor. Everything went dark once again.

When he opened his eyes he found Anna looking down upon him. "Jake are you alright? We need to get you to sickbay."

Jake slowly got up. "No Anna it's quite alright. This is nothing new."

"What do you mean?" she asked quizzically.

Jake looked around. Several of the members of the maintenance team had gathered around. "Perhaps it would be better if we spoke in private."

OFF:

[N'rass]

<USS Malinche, Shuttle bay, day 2, 0845 hrs>

L'Randil walked down the access ramp from the runabout in preparation for the coming mission. It had been a while since she had flown something as large as a runabout but it was a familiar craft nonetheless. She was milling about preflight inspections when Roen (PNPC) walked up behind her.

"Ensign." The Bajoran said flatly.

L'Randil closed her eyes and sighed before turning at attention. "Ma'am?" She asked, backing against the outside of the craft.

"At ease." She stated, handing a padd to the Caitian. "I want some... help with this problem. Don't think I am being friends with you that easy either, but we do have to work together since apparently my view is the minority here. I will expect an answer by the end of the week." She turned to walk away then stopped. "Watch out for the upper sensor array on that model. It tends to stick up."

L'Randil nodded in surprise at the advice. "N...oted."

Jason and Adam (PNPC) watched Roen walk away, her icy demeanor was a little less frosty then usual. Although that might have something to do with the fact that Jason had sort of given her a dressing down the day before.

"Good morning chief," Jason smiled. Adam slipped past him and into the runabout, stowing the bags that they bad brought with them. They didn't anticipate being gone longer than 16 hours or so. The Bajoran transport had made it further into the system then they had originally thought.

"Don't mind me, Sir. I was on my way out." Roen said as she walked away from the pair.

"She's a bucket of sunshine," Adam said, as both Jason and N'rass came up the ramp. "I talked to Joey last night, he won't be joining us. Apparently he got distracted by some pretty blonde on the habitat ring."

L'Randil smirked and shrugged. "Somehow, she was almost nice today. I do not understand human gravitation to hair color either."

"It's Joey," Jason smiled. "Throw something shiny that will distract him too. Now, I suggest that we get underway ensign."

"Will do." She said, beginning the fire up sequences. The panels lit up as the functions came online, each with it's own hum or whine. It always brought a smile to the engineer to experience it coming to life in front of her.

It eventually gave the green light, so they signaled for the door to open. "Good to go, Sir."

"Then lets get moving shall we," Jason smiled. "I've inputted the coordinates for the meeting zone."

"Will do." L'Randil responded. "Departing." The runabout lifted and made its way along the bay to the door. The runabout cleared the door edges closely due to it being a larger craft. Once out, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Roen." She whispered to herself.

"Something wrong ensign?" Jason asked.

"Oh, it has been a while since I have flown this class of ship through a standard bay door. When I was on the Thud we had Akira class doors. Nothing to worry about, Sir."

"Just don't scrape the paint job. Whats our ETA to the meeting coordinates?

L'Randil looked at the screen. "Fifteen point five hours at cruise speed." She then turned with a wink. "I would fix the scratches anyway, or whatever else for that matter."

"Good to know," Jason responded. "I get the sense that the chief doesn't seem to like you very much, care to elaborate on that?"

L'Randil sighed. "When I was a flight line crew for the Thunderchild, her wing was on a special assignment. I was assigned to her wing as support. Two of them needed power system repairs, so we handled them and they immediately left for duty. Shortly thereafter the ship came under attack and the crafts in question were lost." She paused. "Roen claimed that they were lost due to system failure. Nobody knows for sure since they were burned up in impact on the shields of the Borg cube. Jag suspended me temporarily along with my commander, then determined the Borg had used some sort of weapon on them. Who knows for sure?"

Jason nodded. "Still it doesn't give her the right to treat you differently. If she gives you any more grief then you think you deserve you let me know. I'm not all that impressed with her people skills."

"Thank you, Sir. It means a lot that you support me like this. My last command was quite indifferent to the whole matter. That's part of why I am still an Ensign."

"I wouldn't worry about rank so much," Jason said. "I used to know a commander that fought tooth and nail just to keep her commander status so that they couldn't promote her. Worked for a time but eventually she ended up with her own command."

"Darkhelm wasn't very happy about that...I think she was actually upset that they wanted to give her the Athena," Adam said.

"At any rate ensign you are doing a fine job so far here on the Malinche, just keep up the good work. You won't be an ensign forever."

The Caitian chuckled. "I hope so, Sir. Thanks." She perused a status display then looked up again. "All systems reading normal and course is holding on autopilot. Hopefully a quiet flight." She leaned back in her seat, arms behind her head with a sigh.

"Alright, I am going to try and get some sleep before we meet our transport...who knows how hyperactive this 9 year old is going to be," Jason smiled.

He reclined the seat and laid back, closing his eyes. His stomach was still doing flip flops at the prospect of adopting a kid; but in a good way. He couldn't help the ecstatic mood that he was in nor the smile that kept creeping back to his face. Adam was much the same way.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow after he turned away and walked out of the cockpit area. "A 9 year old?" She thought, then walked over to the replicator for something to drink.

OFF: JP brought to you by:

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

and

[McCarty]

ON:
<<USS Malinche, Day 1, 1402 Hours>>

The Captain had managed to find his way through the maze that was the Prometheus Class Malinche and reach the main bridge. The ship had felt so much larger than the Destiny and the bridge was no exception. He walked down the ramp towards the Captain's ready room but stopped to take a glance at the Captain's chair. He snickered thinking that no matter what ship he stepped on the chair never lost its mythical presence. As the ships got bigger and more sophisticated the chair became even more mythical. When he first stepped onto the bridge of the Destiny he found the presence of his chair almost ethereal. "One day." he thought to himself. He turned to the door of the Captain's ready room and tapped the console.

Isabel was just about to leave to find Derek (PNPC) when she heard her doorchime. Wondering who would be visiting her, she sat back down and said, "Enter."

Conaway stepped through the door slowly. He began to scan around the room as he approached the desk where Isabel sat. He stopped when he reached the desk and returned his focus to her. "My my Captain, this is quite the ship you have here." He extended his hand out to her. "In any case, I am Captain Conaway of the USS Destiny and I must say it is an honor to finally meet you. I must say I have heard quite a bit about you." He scoffed. "It was part of the reason I pushed so hard to have Mr. McCarty assigned here....and that my dear Captain is why I came to see you, I am sure you have a great many questions for me."

Shaking his hand, she waited for the other Captain to finish speaking. He seemed to have quite a bit to say at once, though perhaps that was partly nerves. "Pleasure to meet you too, Captain. Why don't you have a seat?" Isabel motioned towards one of the chairs off to the left as she stood. "Could I get you anything to drink?" she asked him.

"No thank you." He replied. He took a seat in one of the chairs Kersare had motioned towards. "Captain I am not here to torture you with small talk so I will get to the point. I have heard that Lieutenant(JG) McCarty has been experiencing some issues here. I wish I could tell you I was surprised but I had a feeling something was not right with that boy when he left my ship. However I never thought it to be this bad, Jake has proven himself strong in many situations over the years. What kind of help has he received?" Conaway asked concernedly.

As the man didn't want anything to drink, Isabel moved over to the seating area and took the seat across from him. Folding her hands in front of her, she replied, "He's been speaking with our Counselor and he's been to see our new Doctor once thus far." After a pause, she continued, "Captain, if you had a feeling that something wasn't right with him, why didn't you inform either myself or StarFleet?"

The Captain looked down at his lap for a moment before speaking. "As I mentioned to you before. I have seen Mr.McCarty find his way through a great many problems. He also had Lt.Commander Ferris, my chief engineer as a shoulder to lean on. I asked her several times if she noted anything unusual but she told me nothing out of the ordinary for a man experiencing grief. I had no reason to believe he was suffering from any form of PTSD. As for Starfleet those goons would have halted his career substantially and overreacted had it only been a minor incidence. I did not want to place Jake in that kind of a situation. I placed the onus on him to ask for help should he have needed it." He paused. "However, knowing the boy like I do I must also take responsibility for a lack in judgement, I should have been more thorough and for that I offer you my deepest apology."

"I'm sure the situation was difficult for each of you," Isabel began, quietly. "And I can understand being concerned that StarFleet might have put his career on hold. However, I would think that his well-being would be the most important thing...as well as the safety of those on the ship he was transferred to. If the issue hadn't been caught when it was by my crew and I, he could have hallucinated at the helm and put the entire crew in danger." Though she didn't really want to put the man down, especially considering the circumstances, Isabel also couldn't just tell him that it had been alright to not mention the possibility of an issue.

Conaway could not help but agree with the Captain. He had let his friendship with Jake interfere with an important command decision. Thankfully nothing had come of it this time but he knew he might not be so lucky should it happen again. He sighed. "How very right you are Captain. What happened was inexcuseable and I am relieved you have dealt with the situation so professionally. The man tends to put up quite a struggle when it comes to his personal life, I remember how much of a pain it was to get him just to go see the doctor for a minor cut." He laughed as he reminsced. "Is there anything I can do to assist you in his recovery? I suggested he go see Anna Ferris as the two of them share quite a strong connection. The separation itself might be part of the cause of his hallucinations I can only hope this will help him on his road to active duty."

Isabel considered his offer for a few minutes before replying, "Well, Captain, I can't think of anything you could do to help his recovery.... My Chief Counselor or Chief Medical Officer might have some ideas, since they're the ones actually treating him. You're welcome to speak to them if you'd like."

"I just might do that, thank you for your hospitality." he said with a smile. "I have spoken with Mr.McCarty and he seems quite receptive to the help he is receiving." before he could finish he was interrupted by his commbadge.

"Ferris to Conaway."

Conaway looked concernedly at Kersare. He tapped his badge. "Go ahead."

"Sir we have a slight problem. I am here with Jake and it appears he has just suffered some sort of episode." she replied, her voice expressing some fear and deep concern.

"What sort of episode?" he asked.

"He appears to have hallucinated, the incident occurred in main engineering he is with me in my quarters now."

Conaway leaned back in his chair obviously worried about his friend and for Captain Kersare. "Out of respect ma'am, you being his current CO, I would ask for your choice on a course of action on this matter."

Isabel considered her options and then told him, "Seeing as how our Medical and Counseling staff have been working with him, I think it would be beneficial to beam him over to our Sickbay. We can beam Ms. Ferris over with him as well, if she'd like."

Conaway nodded his head in agreement. "Yes I believe that would be the best for him and I know Commander Ferris would be more than happy to oblige. She always had a knack for calming him down and making him less resistant," he tapped his badge. "Conaway to Ferris, Mr.McCarty will be beamed to the Malinche's sickbay do you wish to join him?"

"Yes Sir, if that would be alright with Captain Kersare." She replied her tone seeming more cheerful at the thought of getting to stay with Jake."

"I have cleared it with her, prepare for transport." He looked back at Kersare. "Good to go."

Nodding, Isabel tapped her own comm badge, "Kersare to Transporter Room 1, lock on to Lieutenant JG McCarty's comm badge and beam 2 directly to sickbay."

A few moments later, a reply came, "Transporter Room to Kersare. Acknowledged and completed, ma'am."

Closing the channel, she turned to the other Captain, "I suppose you'd like to come along as well?" Isabel wasn't so sure how much Renata would enjoy the extra people in Sickbay, but it would have been rude to send Jake's former Commanding Officer away considering the circumstances. She stood, awaiting his reply.

Conaway rose from his chair. He noted a certain hesitation for the first time in the Captain's voice. He could not pinpoint exactly why but he knew he had an obligation to his friend and Kersare as well. He put her in this mess and there was no way he would leave her with it, not twice. "Yes Captain thank you. I believe the best thing for Mr.McCarty right now would be friends and familiar faces." He raised his hand motioning it to the door. "Ladies first Captain."

Isabel gave a brief nod and led the way out of her Ready Room. Hopefully Jake wasn't in too bad of shape.

OFF: To be continued...

A JP brought to you by:

Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

Captain Timothy Conaway (NPC)
Commanding Officer
USS Destiny NCC-4895
Played By:

[Masterson]

ON: [[Security/Tactical Office, USS Malinche, Shoreleave 03, 1120]]

Aaron scrolled down another few lines on the PADD he held in his hand. He'd found the information waiting for him when he had returned from visiting Lieutenant Hansen in the computer core. True to his word, Ensign Vosh had submitted his proposal for a training schedule, but Aaron was a little surprised by the Trill's second proposal. He had read it through once to get a general idea and was going through it a second time when the door chime sounded.

Trace was not at all surprised that Aaron wanted to see him. He pressed the door chime outside Aaron's office.

"Enter," Aaron called, finishing the last sentence of the paragraph as the door hissed open. Looking up, he saw Ensign Vosh standing in the doorway. "Ahh, Trace...have a seat," he offered, motioning to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Thanks," Trace said, sitting down.

Aaron set the PADD he had been reading on the desk and sat up a little straighter in his chair. "I was just reading through your proposal," he said, indicating the PADD on the desk, "Very ambitious."

Trace shrugged. He figured that he might as well get it out in the open now. Honesty was always something that he valued in an officer and a colleague; there was no use keeping it secret that a SWAT team was something that Trace wanted to see happen. Then again he could just as easily see both Aaron and Captain Kersare dismissing it; either way would have been fine with him.

"Those who try may sometimes fail, those who don't will always fail," Trace said. "Its an old Trill proverb; it may be ambitious but I figured there was no use in not telling you the idea."

Aaron nodded slowly; that much he agreed with. "I'm a strong advocate for teamwork," he said, leaning back slightly, "A close-knit team can be a stronger organization than a group of individuals. There's a sense of duty to something greater than ourselves. Wouldn't you agree?"

Trace nodded on agreement. "I agree wholeheartedly sir."

Reaching forward, Aaron lifted the PADD from the surface of his desk and scrolled past the proposed training schedule. "I've looked over the schedule you recommended and I have a few changes I'd like to make, but we can talk about those later," he said, pausing when he reached the introduction on Vosh's second proposal, "First, I'd like to take a closer look at this SWAT team idea. Like I said, it certainly seems ambitious. What exactly did you have in mind for this special team?"

"It was conceived to allow the Iowa, which is where I came up with it, to respond to highly dangerous security situations with highly trained personnel. Conceptually, the team would operate onboard the Iowa as well as train for away missions of nearly all kinds," Trace said.

He took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "The team would be composed of individuals, most of them security personnel that would receive additional and advanced training," Trace said. "They would receive training from a number of sources, including some of our rather impressive combatants on the Malinche."

Trace waited a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing. So far, Aaron appeared to be paying attention with a rather keen interest which was a good sign. "Secondly, the team would also be comprised of several other personnel; among then engineers and medics. I would also like to have a flight person on as well, just in case we have to make land fall. It would be helpful if we had someone that practiced with us, if we were to start the team, rather than a usual shuttle pilot."

Rather than interrupting Trace, Aaron felt that it would be better to wait until the Trill had finished explaining his proposal. It was clear that he had thought the matter through before submitting the idea, which earned him points for preparation in Aaron's book.

"The engineers and operations personnel would be utilized to do things like slicing into computer networks, disrupting, enemy communications and ensuring that the teams link stays open to the Malinche."

"Ambitious and well thought out," Aaron said, glancing briefly at the PADD, "I like that. You've done a good job giving me a rough idea of what it is you're thinking here, but I don't think that establishing a SWAT team would be the best allocation of our resources. Specialized teams like this have an innate tendency to isolate themselves from the rest of the department if only because of the nature of their being a specialized unit." He paused, giving Trace a somewhat apologetic look. It was clear that the Trill had put a lot of effort into coming up with this idea, but Aaron did not want to create artificial divisions within his own team. Unfortunately, the creation of a SWAT unit would do just that.

Trace just shrugged; he had been prepared for the fact that Aaron wouldn't see eye to eye on the matter. He had given it his best shot and wasn't going to try and argue with his superior officer. "Its your decision," Trace said. "I won't try and dissuade you. Do you want to move onto the training schedule I came up with?"

"Now hang on a moment," Aaron said, sitting forward in his chair, "You put a lot of work into this idea and I can see that. I want to see ideas being put out there, that's part of what it means to be a team. Why do you think we need a unit like this?" He was a little surprised by how easily Vosh had let the matter drop. There should have at least been some attempt to defend the idea, given how much work had gone into it. At least, that's what Aaron had expected.

"It's not that I don't think the unit will work, because I do," Trace said. He was attempting to explain to it to Aaron without sounding all that whiny. "Being a Trill I carry the memories of all my hosts with me, the galaxy is a dangerous place and the Federation and the Malinche need to be ready to respond at a moment's notice. There have been many times in the past lives of the Vosh symbiont where a team such as this could have saved lives. I can understand your point of view, that creating a team like this might actually place social dividers among the team members and I respect. In fact, Zeral would probably agree with you."

He paused before continuing. "But I guess I just choose to look at it from a different way; the Malinche and other ships are full of highly talented individuals that are always willing to learn more. Look at our own Adam Townsen, a medical officer that nearly beat me with a Bat'leth and my last host fought along side Klingons a lot. The point that I was trying to make was that we can be so much better and so much more if we broaden our approach. But, like I said before its your decision sir and I will support whatever it is that you feel is in the best interest of the ship."

Aaron looked down at the PADD again and sighed. He could see that this idea meant a lot to Vosh, but he still couldn't justify the need for such a unit to himself. If he couldn't do that, how was he supposed to justify it to the captain?

"Tell you what," Aaron said slowly, "Instead of a special unit, let's focus on the training for now. You've made pretty good headway in developing a training schedule and I just checked the latest transfer records. We have a lot of new personnel coming aboard. Some of them are fresh out of the Academy, others just need to get to know how we do things on the Malinche. I know that many of them are going to be involved in away mission assignments at some point, so we should probably make sure that they're all prepared." He scrolled back up to Vosh's proposed training schedule and began to skim it over quickly to re-familiarize himself with it.

"Understood sir."

Aaron looked across the desk at where the Trill was seated. He didn't want to discourage his assistant chief from voicing his opinions and thoughts, especially given that Vosh had more field experience with security operations than Aaron did. "You've developed quite a full schedule here," Aaron remarked, nodding toward the PADD, "Will these be full training sessions or will they be drop-in sessions?"

"Full training sessions for the security personnel of course. I'd like to have the general personnel sessions the same way but we may have to wait and see what kind of response we get."

"Ahh," Aaron replied, looking at the proposed schedule again. He thought for a moment, working the schedule out in his mind as it related to the duty shifts and the crew rotations. "Full sessions would be good for everyone," he agreed, "but it might be easier for personnel to fit the training into their schedules better if we were to break it up a bit more...not have them so long. If we spread the training opportunities out with shorter times, personnel could choose to come to multiple sessions and they won't have to dedicate a large block of time on a regular basis."

"I thought about that but I think we need to keep them a minimum of 30 minutes, otherwise I am not sure that they will get a lot out of it."

"I can understand that. You need enough time to actually train," Aaron replied, thinking carefully, "What if we had several shorter sessions spread throughout the day? That would give opportunities for people who might be on duty for part of the day. Plus, if we allow personnel to come to whichever session fits into their schedule, as long as they meet the time requirements, that should give you plenty of time for actual training, shouldn't it?"

"I can work with that."

Aaron smiled. A willingness to work for the betterment of the team was a very good sign. He picked up another PADD and began scrolling through the current duty roster, looking for some possible times to put in training periods.

"I'll let you figure out the best times for everything," Trace stated.

Looking up from the PADD, Aaron said, "I can take a look at it if you want, but..." He paused. The last thing he wanted to do was make Vosh feel as if he was being micro-managed. This was supposed to be a team effort and that meant that everyone's input was valued, even if that input wasn't necessarily what ended up being the actual decision. "I appreciate the work you put into this," Aaron continued, "I hope you don't think that your input isn't important here...because it is."

"I know that sir," Trace said.

"Good," Aaron replied, feeling a little bit better in knowing that he hadn't discouraged Vosh.

"I'll do whatever I can to lend a hand," Trace said again, picking one of the PADDs that he brought with him. "I guess we could do phaser practice for the non security forces at 0730, 0930, 1330, 1530, and 1830. The hard part is going to be finding the time to get someone in there that can teach them. Most of our officers are pretty good shots and I think the would do fine teaching the non security forces. I still think they, our officers I mean, could be better."

Aaron nodded. "I'll take another look at it here," he said, continuing to read the PADD, "I think having our people help with the instruction will help give them better practice as well. Why don't we both have another go at this schedule and meet up again later to see what we come up with. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day."

“Sounds good sir, just let me know when.”

OFF

A JP by:

Ensign Trace Vosh
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

[Masterson]

ON: <<USS Malinche, Outside the Mess Hall, Day 3, 1225>>

Though she wasn't overly hungry, Isabel made her way to the Mess Hall. Earlier she'd gotten a notice that must have slipped by her attention the day before and felt it would be a good idea to find her Chief Security/Tactical Officer.

The Mess Hall doors parted and Isabel walked in, moving over to the side to allow a clear path while her eyes searched the room. Seeing Aaron, she went to the replicator and paused, trying to decide what to get. "Cheddar potato soup, hot, in a bowl. Two garlic breadsticks and a glass of cold raspberry iced tea."

Once the food appeared, Isabel picked up her tray and headed for the table Aaron was seated at. "Mind if I have a seat?"

"Captain," Aaron exclaimed with surprise. As he motioned to the open chair, the cuff of his uniform connected with his juice glass, knocking it over onto the tray. Thankfully, it was less than half full, but it still meant that there was a slowly growing pool of juice making its way across his tray. "Sorry about that," he said, using his napkin to try and clean up the spill. Deciding that there wasn't much else he could do for it, he tossed the napkin onto the tray. He let out a short sigh before turning to the captain and replying, "Not at all. It would be my pleasure...please."

"No need to apologize; I'm sorry if I startled you," Isabel replied. Setting her tray down, she took the open chair that Aaron had motioned to. Taking a sip of her iced tea, she said, "And you can call me Isabel when we're off duty, if you'd like." Honestly, Isabel wasn't sure how the crew would take her offer that they call her by her first name off duty, but she wanted them to feel more at ease around her and she hoped that would allow them to get to know each other better, overall. It was something she'd been avoiding since she thought that Derek (PNPC) had died, but Isabel had been trying to do better about it - especially once they'd found Derek.

"I can't promise anything, but I will try," Aaron replied with a slight chuckle. He reached over to push the PADD he had been reading further onto the table so that he wouldn't end up knocking it down as well. As privileged as it was to be dining with the captain, even if it was something as informal as lunch, he wondered what had prompted her decision to join him.

Allowing the simple silence to prevail for a few minutes, Isabel took a spoonful of her soup - the warm gooey substance sliding down her throat. It had been quite some time since she'd had it and now she couldn't quite remember why she didn't have it more often. "What do you think of Trace?"

"He certainly brings a lot to the team," Aaron replied with a smile, "I've gotten a few proposals from him already on how we might be able to improve the efficiency of our security training." He thought about the meeting he and Vosh had just finished, hoping that he hadn't seemed too critical of the Trill's ideas. Having ideas to contribute was good. Making sure that those ideas weren't discouraged, that was a bit more difficult.

"Sounds like he's jumping right in then," Isabel answered with a smile. "Anything of particular interest?" She took a bite of a breadstick. Definitely not as good as a fresh made one, but it would do.

Aaron hesitated. He and Vosh were still working out the details and he didn't really want to be bringing anything to the captain without having good information to back it up with. Still, she had asked if there was anything interesting that had been proposed and it was just supposed to be casual conversation. "We're still working on a few training schedules and the like," he answered, "Not too much out of the ordinary, I suppose."

Isabel looked closely at Aaron. Either his hesitation was because he was deciding what ideas to mention or he wasn't quite comfortable speaking with her off duty. Her gut told her it was the latter and if so, she wasn't surprised. It would take time for the crew to be more comfortable around her. "Perhaps, perhaps not. Training schedules in general are ordinary, but how they're conducted and what's being trained might not be."

"Heh...I suppose you're right," Aaron said, lifting his glass to his mouth. The glass was more than halfway there when he remembered that it was completely empty. Feeling a little stupid, he lowered the glass again and set it back on the tray. "All in all, I'd say we're doing pretty well," he continued, "I've been rotating the personnel on shoreleave, which I hope is giving them a chance to get to know one another."

"Good," Isabel smiled. "I'm glad to hear you're settling in well with the department." Essentially, Derek had already told her that things were going well, but perception wasn't necessarily true - it was good to hear it straight from the source. After another spoonful of soup, she glanced over at him, "How did your appointment with Doctor De Souza go? From what I understand, you ended up having surgery..."

It was a very lucky thing that there hadn't been any liquid left in that glass or Aaron might have ended up choking on it. He felt his face flush a little, but forced a smile and tried not to look too embarrassed. "You heard about that, huh," he commented, realizing as soon as he said it that it was probably the duty of the chief medical officer to report such things to their superior, especially when it had to do with the safety and operational efficiency of the ship's personnel.

"Yes, I found it amongst the reports this morning. I wasn't given all the details - just that it was a minor surgery and you were to take it easy for a few days," Isabel replied, hoping to put Aaron more at ease. Though she didn't know him all that well just yet, he seemed to be one that would follow orders, so she had a feeling he had been avoiding any strenuous activities.

Nodding, Aaron relaxed a little bit. "Yeah, those were the doctor's orders," he affirmed, "which means I've been doing a lot of paperwork the past day or so. Not quite as interesting as some of the more hands-on work, but...orders are orders." He left off the bit about him and Mike (NPC) spending the afternoon on the holodeck, remembering how difficult his last meeting with the captain had been, on that very subject, no less.

Isabel nodded, "I'm sure you'll be back to the more hands-on work soon enough. You haven't been working the whole time though, I hope? You need some shoreleave time as well."

Again, Aaron should have known that shoreleave was going to come up sometime during their conversation. It always seemed like the commanding officer was watching to make sure they took the appropriate amount of shoreleave time. Having just come aboard recently, Aaron had been hoping to use the time to catch up and settle into his new position. "No, I haven't been working the whole time," he replied by way of an honest answer.

"Good," she smiled. "I'm sorry to be bombarding you with all these questions; I'm afraid it's one of the hazards of being a Commanding Officer - always asking questions," Isabel said apologetically.

Aaron smiled and motioned as if waving off her concern. "It's not a problem," he said, "I care about the well-being of each and every member of my team, I can only assume that you would feel the same way about yours. It's understandable."

After another long sip from her drink, Isabel asked, "What do you think of the Malinche thus far? And MVAM? Most officers don't experience MVAM so quickly after coming aboard..." She hoped he didn't mind a few more questions...at least these were more general and could relate to his position.

"Quite an impressive ship," Aaron replied, "certainly more tactically oriented than my previous assignments. I know our mission out here is to explore and to meet new races, but somewhere someone has to be ready to defend in the event that one of those new races isn't interested in meeting us." He thought about some of the ready examples they had learned about at the Academy, like the Borg or the Dominion or the Hirogen. Those races certainly seemed more interested in what they could take from the Federation, rather than what they could share with the Federation.

"Yes, the Malinche is rather tactically oriented. Its abilities have come in handy more than once for us," Isabel told him. "I'd rather not have to use her full strength if it can be avoided, but it's good to know that we have it if we do need it."

"I know that there are a lot of officers, particularly engineers, that aren't too fond of the Mult-Vector Assault Mode," Aaron remarked, "and I can certainly understand where they are coming from. To be perfectly honest, though, I can also see the merits of the MVAM in some situations. I guess I just haven't had enough personal field experience with it to come to my own conclusions yet."

Isabel laughed, "You're certainly right. The engineers aren't generally big fans of it, nor are the Ops engineers. Being an engineer myself, I can understand that...plus, the departments are spread out between the three sections. MVAM does have its advantages though... If necessary, one section can be sent to alert others as to what's going on, for instance. It can also give our opponents more things to shoot at, which can break their focus. I'm sure you'll experience it more the longer you're with us."

"I'm sure," Aaron agreed. Realizing that he had pretty much finished his lunch, he pushed his tray forward slightly so that he might avoid knocking anything else over.

"Well, I don't want to take up any more of your time getting acquainted with your new position or shoreleave.... If you need anything, please let me know," Isabel said with a smile. "And thank you for letting me join you."

"The pleasure was all mine, ma...er...Isabel," Aaron said, correcting himself mid-sentence. It was going to take some getting used to, but as a department head and being off duty, he could understand the motive behind her request to be a bit less formal in that regard.

She nodded as she stood and replied, "Have a good day Aaron." Collecting her tray, she headed away from his table. All in all, it seemed to have gone well. Hopefully she'd have a chance to get some of her other new Senior Staff members better during shoreleave too.

OFF

A JP by:

Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

and

[N'rass]

-ON: <<Runabout, Day 2 1245 hrs>>

Jason awoke with a slight start, he momentarily forgot where he was. Looking around the cabin of the runabout he could see Adam (NPC) was already awake as well, no doubt completely unable to sleep considering what they were about to do. That thought made Jason smile, he turned to N'rass, who appeared to be engrossed in a PADD. "ETA Ensign?"

L'Randil glanced up before putting the device down on the console edge. She was working on a new modification for the power grid on the runabout. "Fifteen minutes, Sir." She stated with a little yawn.

"Wow, I didn't realize I was asleep that long," Jason said. "Did you put something in my coffee this morning?"

"Right," Adam stated. "Like I would be stupid enough to do that, you snore enough as it is, you really don't need any extra help."

Jason just shrugged.

"Hey, is that it?" Adam asked, pointing to the window. Ahead of them they could see the familiar boxy shape of a large Bajoran transport ship. She was flanked by two brand new Bajoran fighters; Bajor had made some great strides in the almost decade since the Dominion War had ended.

"Awaiting orders?" She asked.

"Let's say hi," Jason smiled. "Ensign bring us in transporter range."

"Will do. Coming about to bearing 10 mark 5. Transporter range in thirty seconds."

The runabout swung around, coming alongside the larger Bajoran ship. Jason was looking over the sensor readings, at 300 meters long it reminded Jason vaguely of a Cardassian ship as they got closer. Of course that was to be expected since the Bajorans had still been finding Cardassian technology in their space. Jason unbuckled his crash webbing and stood up. “Hail them,” Jason ordered.

The Caitian did as ordered and blipped a few buttons. "Channel open, Sir." She turned to face him, smiling at his expression.

He was doing his best to keep himself from sounding too excited. After all he was about to head over to meet his son. That sounded so odd to him…he was finally going to have a kid…a son that he would be responsible for raising, molding, and turning into a productive member of society. All and all the task seemed a little daunting but he had Adam to help him…as well as every other person on the Malinche. Even Joey would be around to give them a hand…although he wasn’t sure that he wanted Tavi picking up on all of Joey’s habits.

The image on the small screen wavered and changed to that of a female Bajoran. She wore a smiling expression. “Greetings Jason, I am Kayleahia I do believe we spoke earlier.”

“Indeed we did,” Jason smiled. “How are this afternoon?”

“I am well,” Kayleah smiled. “We are ready to receive you now.”

“We’ll be beaming over shortly,” Jason said.

“I will await you then.”

The channel closed. Behind him he could hear Adam take a deep breath and let out. Turning around Jason could see that Adam was experiencing the same emotions that he was; excitement, anxiety, and a thrill at the process of finally getting what they both had always wanted.

“Ensign, I want you to stay on the runabout.”

"Yes, Sir." She nodded. "I'll keep her together. When should I send in the search party?" She joked.

“We shouldn’t be very long,” Jason said. “Although we are going to be one passenger heavy when we come back.”

"Heavy?" L'Randil remarked with a smirk. "An interesting, if alarming, expression."

“I highly doubt that he’s going to sink us, he can’t weigh that much,” Adam smiled.

"I hope so." The caitian laughed. "Have fun." She walked over to the transporter control panel.

“Keep the light on for us,” Jason smiled. “Alright, let's go do the parenting thing.”

Jason and Adam stepped on the transporter pad. Jason saluted N’rass and seconds later they materialized on the Bajoran ship.


OFF:

JP by

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

and

[McCarty]

ON:
<<Starbase 386, Holosuite 2, Day 2, 1300 Hours>>

Taryn had just enjoyed a delicious meal on the promenade prior to stepping on the holosuite. It had been the first complete meal she had eaten in days as reports, her assistant chief flight control officer and other random occurances had kept her busy. Now however it was time for her to forget about the Malinche and take some time for herself. During her stroll to the holosuites she pondered what she would do. Earlier she had thought of horseback riding but the idea seemed fade from her interests as time went on. Just then, it came to her.

"Computer, bridge USS Enterprise registry NCC-1701. Begin program." The computer chimed and seconds later she found herself on the bridge of the USS Enterprise. She took a seat at the helm.

It had been a long time since she had sat at the helm. Being a department head took up most of her time. She ran her hand across the console. "Wow, I can't believe this is how it used to be on a starship." she said to herself. She began to scan the console attempting to find a way to make the ship move. She laughed. "I can make the federation's most advanced ship move and fly it in MVAM but I can't figure out how to move this hunk of junk. Where's Sulu when you need him?"

She continued on for a few moments before addressing the computer. "Computer how do you work this crazy console?"

"The navigation console for the USS Enterprise controlled impulse and warp drive, manuevering thrusters. In addition the helm also provided control of shields and weapons."

Taryn was intrigued by the computer's statement. "Flight and tactical in one station? amazing."

The computer continued. "On the top left portion of the console there are two red toggle switches and a large orange circular button. The leftmost switch will fire the vessel's phasers. The switch to the immediate right of that will fire the vessel's torpedoes. The orange button raises and drops the shields. Along the top right of the console is a series of clear buttons which will illuminate orange when active. These control the vessel's propulsion systems. The eight buttons along the top of the console correspond to each level of warp drive, this vessel has a maximum of warp eight. The buttons below control Impulse engines, port forward thrusters, starboard forward thrusters, port aft thrusters and starboard aft thrusters. On the lower left portion of the console are the controls to lock weapons onto a vessel. Coordinates can be entered manually or synchronized with the sensors. On the lower right portion of the console are the controls for inputting coordinates for travel into the computer. This can be done by name of system, planet or other body or by manual entry.

She felt like an ensign fresh out of the academy, everything so new to her. She began testing out the various systems. She started out slow at first but quickly caught on. She could not figure out why nav and tactical had been separated. She enjoyed the extra responsibility and control the unified station gave her. She decided it was time to put the ship to the test.

"Computer add the appropriate bridge crew and 1 enemy bird of prey." The computer made the necessary adjustments. Within seconds the Klingon vessel fired on the Enterprise."

"Lieutenant, raise the shields and return fire!" yelled the Captain.

"Aye sir." Taryn replied. She raised the shields, locked onto the vessel and returned fire. Her console notified her the klingons had received minor damage. They returned fire.

"Lieutenant attack pattern Kirk alpha 2, prepare torpedoes full spread continue with phasers." the Captain ordered.

Taryn smiled as she began to enjoy the simulated combat. She inputted the appropriate calculations, fired the phasers and prepared the torpedoes. "Torpedoes armed Sir." she replied.

The Captain held for a moment. "Fire!" The torpedoes impacted the klingon vessel causing severe damage, the shields had failed. However the Klingons continued the assault.

"Target their main reactor, phasers and torpedoes on my mark." He paused.

Taryn prepped the weapons once again. "Ready sir."

"Mark!." he yelled.

She fired at the klingon vessel destroying it. The crew breathed a sigh of relief. The captain walked over to Taryn and patted her on the back. "Excellent work Lieutenant. Set a course 253.174, warp 2."

Taryn grinned. "Course laid in."

She had thoroughly enjoyed her experience on the holosuite. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She decided she would spend the next few days of her shoreleave refining her flight skills on old vessels. Her began to think of her next challenge. "Next time I think I will try the Enterprise-D"

"The what?" the officer beside her asked confused.

"Oh jesus! Computer end program."

"That was close." She said laughing as she walked off.

OFF:

Lieutenant Taryn England (PNPC)
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Played By:

[Barrett]

<<Bajoran Transport>>
<Transporter Room, 1315, Day 2>

Jason and Adam materialized on the transporter pad. There was a short and rather plump Bajoran woman waiting for them. She was smiling and extended her hand when they both stepped off the transporter pad.

"Greetings, I am Kayleah (NPC)...it's nice to finally meet you both."

"Nice to meet you too."

"Nervous?" Kayleah asked, as she lead them out of the transporter room and into the corridor.

"Oh you have no idea," Adam (NPC) responded.

Kayleah showed them toward the cargo bay where they could find Tavi (NPC). Jason's heart was beating out of his chest; he hadn't ever been this nervous...not even in combat. Adam gripped his hand as they came to the large double cargo bay doors. Instead they could hear the sound of someone speaking softly and the sound of a body in motion.

"As I said before, Tavi spent most of his life with the monks. As far as we can tell his mother was human and his father Bajoran. He was brought to the monks when he was three years old and has lived with them ever since."

Both Jason and Adam took deep breaths.

"You'll both do fine," Kayleah smiled. "After all if we didn't think that you were a good match for him we would have never agreed to it. The Bajoran government doesn't exactly go around just letting anyone adopt children."

"You do have a point there."

"Ikia is the monk that Tavi has spent most of his life with, he'll be the one that officially turns custody over to you both."

Kayleah tapped a key on the pad next to the door, the door slid open revealing a rather large cargo bay. In the middle of the cargo bay there stood a boy of 10 years. He had black hair that had been shaved down to almost his scalp. From this far both Jason and Adam could see that despite his age he was well muscled and developed. Seconds later the youth sprang into action, as the monk barked orders in Bajoran.

There was something about the monk though. He seemed to radiate calm and peace. His stance, the very way that he walked and moved clearly showed that he was a warrior.

Tavi jumped, cart wheeled, spun, flipped and pulled off all manner of gymnastic moves that Jason would have thought the youth incapable of doing. Each time he landed he went through a series of kicks, punches, and sweeps before bouncing off into another gymnastics routine.

“Wow,” Adam breathed. “Our kid can already kick my butt.”

The monk finally noticed both Jason and Adam standing there and clapped his hands. Tavi landed and spun around, sweat glistening on his face. He wore a big grin and had ice blue eyes. He was smiling from ear to ear when he laid eyes on Jason and Adam.

“Go ahead,” Kayleah smiled, gesturing them both forward. “I promise that he won’t bite.”

Jason and Adam strode forward, Jason doing his best to keep his hammering heart rate in check and to keep himself from fainting. When they both got close Tavi bowed at the waist, the traditional Bajoran gesture of respect. When he came back up he lept at Jason and Adam, first embracing Jason and then Adam before letting go.

“You’re here!” he yelped. “You’re really here! And I really get to go with them master?” Tavi asked.

“Sure,” Jason smiled. “Assuming you still want to of course.”

“Of course,” Tavi stated, his head bobbing eagerly up and down. Keeping up with the ten year old was going to take some work on their part, Jason could tell that already.

“Indeed young one, although perhaps you would shower first…you smell like the slaughter house back in the monastery.”

“I do not!” Tavi insisted, wrinkling his nose. “Ok, maybe I smell a little.”

“Go.”

Tavi smiled at both Jason and Adam before doing a series of back flips that lead off exercise mat and then disappeared out the door.

“It’s a good thing you two are so young,” Ikia smiled. “Keeping up with that boy is hard work.”

All Jason and Adam could do was smile.

“If you would humor an old monk,” Ikia asked, gesturing toward Jason’s ear. Jason knew what he wanted to do, the Bajoran people believed that you could read one’s spirit, pagh if you will, through your ear. It was an experience that Ben Sisko had written about a number of times. Ikia placed on hand on Jason’s ear and another on Adam’s. He took several slow deep breaths before opening his eyes and smiling at both Jason and Adam.

There was something behind them now, a sparkle of hope and excitement. Some of the weariness that Jason had sensed coming from the man earlier had faded away and was now replaced by an even more overwhelming sense of peace.

“Both of your pagh’s are strong,” Ikia smiled. “Tavi will do well to learn from both of you. Jason, you have a warrior’s strength, strong in battle and quick to defend those that you love. Let that strength flow to Tavi, teach him the same loyalty and faith that you have yourself. Adam, you are a healer…you mend the wounds of the flesh and the soul, your compassion and heart are your greatest asset. Teach Tavi to heal, for it is much easier to destroy then it is to create.”

The doors to the cargo opened again and Tavi came running in, dressed in tan pants and a white linen shirt. He had his duffel bag slung over his shoulder and was regarding both Jason and Adam with a beaming smile.

“Tavi, I see that you have taken a liking to your new parents already,” Ikia smiled. “I trust that you will behave. They do have the option of ejecting you out an airlock should you give them any trouble.”

“They do?” Tavi asked, furrowing his brows.

“My young son, you really must learn to develop a sense of humor, it will serve you well in life.”

“Let me have that,” Adam said, grabbing Tavi’s duffel bag. “Are you already ready to go?”

Tavi nodded excitedly. “Is it true that you guys live on a starship?”

“Yup, Jason even gets to sit in the chair every once and while,” Adam smiled.

“You do!” Tavi exclaimed.

“Just every once and awhile,” Jason smiled.

Tavi grinned again, there was something about his enthusiasm for life that Jason was finding pretty darn infectious. He also seemed to have a maturity about him that went way beyond his ten years; probably a by product of living with the monks for so long. He could only hope that it would carry over in him living onboard the Malinche as well.

“It is time for you to go young one.”

“I’ll leave you guys alone to say goodbye,” Jason said, heading for the door. Adam fell into stop beside him. They stepped outside into the corridor and a few moments later Tavi appeared, still grinning from ear to ear.

“Alright,” he smiled. “Let’s go home.”

OFF: