[deuZige]

USS Ares

Deck 2 - Crew Quarters

Danre and Schrit had both been excitedly discussing their adventure on Deep Space 9, and specifically their encounter with the Station’s commander. They both were more than a little amazed they got away from the office without even a reprimand noted in Schrit’s personal record, and being allowed to keep the holo’s that the drone had taken made Danre more than a little excited. Getting through the security checkpoint had been almost effortless, as soon as the drone had been deactivated and scanned by the diligent security officer.

After a short walk, and a ride on the turbo-lift, the duo had come to their designated quarters on deck 2. Stepping through them and gazing around their gazes locked onto each other’s. “Nah, this can’t be right dad!” exclaimed Danre. “Seems unlikely to me too” Schrit replied. Then Schrit noticed that their suitcases and boxes were stacked in a neat stack in the quarter’s living room’s center. “Wait, we’re in the right place, there’s our stuff!” Schrit said, pointing at the stack of stuff. “This place it twice the size of our old quarters!!” shouted Danre as he walked over to the viewport. “And look at this view dad! The viewport is taller than I am! It’s awesome!” he exclaimed.

Schrit looked around and noted that the living room was devided into area’s of sorts. To the left was an area obviously meant for work and study. It held a desk with a computer console, facing away from the viewports. Across from the desk, on the other wall of the quarters were a leather chair, a low table and a two seat couch creating a small area in which to read or talk while sitting comfortably. In between those two corners of the living room were two doors. The middle area of the living room, the center now occupied with the unopened belongings that Danre and Schrit had sent here from Utopia Planetia, was lined on the entrance side with a cupboard and a standing light.

On the other side, right below the large viewport, was a very comfortable looking three seat couch, which had a two seat cauch at a 90 degree angle on either side of it. In the middle of the couches was a low, glass surfaced, lounge table. Directly to the right of that, when standing just inside from the quarter’s entrance, the wall was fitted with a replicator, and small dinner table with two chairs finishing off the standard interior. A door was positioned to the right of the dinner table.

His initial caution evaporated by the confirmation they were in the right place Danre ran towards the two doors to the left, causing the left of the two doors to open. Sticking his head inside Danre whistled “Dad, this is a bedroom! It has a double sized bed in it!!” he commented, pulling back his head and stepping in front of the other door. After it had obediently opened Danre repeated the motion of sticking his head inside and then turned to face his father. “Let me guess, the one with the single sized bed is mine?” he asked, a grin on his face.

Before Schrit could answer his son ran across the living room to the other side and the one door left unexplored. This time though Danre remained silent and continued inside the room without comment. The door slid shut, leaving Schrit alone in the living room, mentally placing items on the walls and making a list of requisitions for furniture on or in which to place items that wouldn’t fit on or in those currently available. He’d need to get some vitrine case for his awards and his fighter figurines, a cupboard with a good lock for his collection of antique weapons ans some wall mounts for his ancient computer collection. About a minute after he’d disappeared Danre emerged from the door he’d gone through with a satisfied smile. “I found the bathroom and the fresher dad! And not a moment too soon either.” he commented.

“How about we get this pile of suitcases and boxes sorted and unpacked huh?” Schrit asked, stepping over to the stack, picking the top box and opening it. “Sure! There’s a small table with a console in my bedroom as well a small cupboard where I can put my study things!” Danre said. “Nice. Do you think there’s room for anything else?” asked Schrit in reply. “A little, but there’s not enough room for things like the drone, or the other things I built over the years.” Danre answered. Schrit noticed the expression on his son change. Schrit put down the pile of socks he had pulled out of the box he was emptying and sat down from his kneeling position, crossing his legs and facing his son. “Okay. Talk to me. What is it?” he asked.

Danre looked up, his expression showing nothing of the happy excitement that had been there before. Schrit knew the expression, and that his son was fighting back tears, trying to hide his feelings from his father for some reason. Knowing that he had failed to hide his sudden moodshift from his dad, Danre sighed and decided to just tell his father what was on his mind. “Well, I just thought about the things I had built we had displayed in our quarters back on UP. About how it always impressed my friends that you allowed me to display all of them in the living room for all to see, as if they were art or artifacts or something.” Danre began, than dropped his head, letting out a sniffed sob. Danre didn’t have to say any more. Schrit knew what was on his son’s mind.

“And now you wonder if you’ll have any friends here, and if you do if they are going to be the kind to come over to our quarters to play. You’re thinking that of all of your close friends back at UP, only 2 were from Starfleet families, and only one of them had a parent that was an officer like your dad.” Schrit said, his expression understanding. As Danre looked up he shifted and put his arms around his father. A small smile broke through his tears and sad expression while the side of his face pressed against his father’s chest. “Will you teach me how to read minds one day dad?” Danre asked in jest, trying to make light of the issue, not wanting these first moments in their new home to be sullied with his worries and sudden sadness.

Shifting their position so that Schrit could look Danre in the eye the old man shook his head. “It’s alright superman, you don’t have to hide your feelings for me. You should know that much by now. You don’t hide anything for me, and I don’t hide anything from you remember?” Schrit said. Danre nodded solemnly saying; “Cause when it comes down to it, it’s us against the universe!”

Schrit nodded and got up, taking his son’s hand and walking over to the viewport. Sitting down on the three seat couch with his son in his lap he sighed. “Look son, I don’t know how many children of your age there are on the Ares. There’s a lot that I don’t know about what life is going to be like for us here on this ship. Last time I’ve been stationed on a Starship was when you were eight months old, and you and your mother were living on Earth. I’ve never served on a Starship that allowed for families, so that part of life here will be as new to me as it is to you. What I do know is that if there is anyone capable of making the most out of any situation it is you. I am sure that we will settle into our lives here in no time and that we will both find whatever it is we need to be happy with our lives. All I need you to do is give it a little time and keep an open mind before you decide life sucks monkeyballs and wish for me to get sucked into a vacuüm okay?” Schrit said, hoping time wouldn’t end up proving him a liar.

On their way to DS9 Schrit had taken the opportunity to browse over the crew manifest for the Ares and had found that of the almost 800 people aboard there were 19 children of which 8 were about Danre’s age. He hoped that among those 8 at least one or two would be compatible with Danre’s distinctly non-starfleet like personality.

“Sure dad, I promise. I guess I just got a bit overwhelmed by the big change of us moving. I guess it effected me more than I expected, that’s all.” Danre said, untangling himself from his father, and pointing at the stack of stuff in the room. “Let’s get on with the unpacking” he added. Ruffling his son’s hair with a smile Schrit got up and moved over to the stack, picking up another box. “Good idea!” he said, opening up the box to find some of his awards and memorabilia.

Two hours later the unpacking had been done, and most of the decorative items that didn’t require additional furniture had been placed around the quarters on the walls or the cupboards giving the place somewhat of a less generic feel to it. Danre and Schrit had discussed and agreed upon what items they needed to request to finish off making the place their own, after which Schrit had logged the official requisition in the ship’s computer. Danre had then taken to his bedroom and the computer console there and was busy figuring out its features and, as Schrit had no doubt, its boundaries.

Schrit had taken a seat at the desk in the living room and logged into the computer system, opening up his messages. To his surprise he had yet to receive any message or notifications regarding his duty shifts or other duty related matters. He decided not to wake any sleeping dogs and take the opportunity to get to know what would be the second most important individual in his life for the foreseeable future. He told Danre he’d be out for a while, he’d be back before bedtime and that Danre should stay in their quarters for the rest of the evening. Assured his son would be alright for an hour or two Schrit left their quarters and headed for the turbolifts.

USS Ares

Fighter squadron's hanger bay

Even though the Ares was considerably larger than the ships he had been on before Schrit had no trouble finding the place he wanted to go to, stepping into the USS Ares’s hanger bay number 2 in less than 10 minutes. Making a mental note on how he could cut that travel time down to less than 5 minutes he looked around the cavernous bay spreading out before him. To his left he noted the row of lockers that marked any hanger bay that was home to a wing or more of fighter craft, as well as a door marked “Briefing” and a door marked “Skipper”.

He smiled at that, liking the fact that even though the title “skipper” was old, archaic and unofficial it was still used by fighter pilots to call their squadron commander. Fifteen meters from where he stood though were two rows of 4 vessels, which were the reason for his visit, the Adrestia class fighters. He walked over to them, walking past the row on the left while reading the markings under the canopies and then crossing the bay to the row on the right until he came to the third one. It was the only one with no markings underneath the canopy where all the other ones had the pilot’s names. “Well hello there beauty. Nice to meet you.” he said his hands tracing her lines as he slowly moved from the front to the back. “I’m Schrit, and I guess you and me are going to be spending a lot of time together” he added, rounding the aft side and tracing the sleek vessel’s lines on the other side.

During his years as a fighter pilot and test pilot logged countless hours in all types of ships that had seen service in Starfleet as fighter craft, though he had never had the opportunity to fly the Adrestia class. He had gotten intimate with almost all other fighter classes, from the Danube class to the Adrestia’s predesessor; the Sparrow. He had also been deeply and closely involved in the development of the Adrestia’s successor, the Advanced Multi-role Space Fighter that had been certified and designated to become Starfleet’s main fighter. It would be at least a year though before the “Mjolnir” class fighter would be deployed to the ships of the line, and replace the Adrestia’s. None of that was on Schrit’s mind though as he completed his walk around the Adrestia that had no name on it. Maybe it was his age or maybe it was something specific to fighter pilots in general but all Schrit could think of was that she was beautiful, and how much he wanted to take her out for a spin.

During the time since his reassignment and his arrival Schrit had spent all the time he could on poring over the schematics and specs of the Adrestia class fighter to the point he could draw most of its blue prints and name all the specifications from memory. Nothing compared to seeing, and touching, the real thing though. “I think we’re going to have a very good time together” Schrit said, stepping back to take in the view of the sleek fighter once more.

[Silynn]

DS9 – Present Day
Luxury Accommodations – Habitat Ring
Jei’s head was ringing and she wasn’t sure how long she had blacked out. As Jei came to, she felt strong, yet gentle hands lifting her back onto the sofa.

As Jei tried to fight through the haze and fogginess, she heard someone talking to her as they shined a light about her face. Her eyes began to focus and she saw her father, kneeling before her as he moved a detached hand scanner of his tricorder about her head and upper body. “Just breath slowly, one deep breath then two normal breaths,” he instructed.

She looked about the room to take in the situation. Sprawled on the floor two meters away was Jin. He was on his back, slightly twitching, and moaning. “Wha… what happened?”

The Elder Han consulted the data from his medical tricorder before closing it and studying his daughter’s injuries. He pulled out a dermal regenerator and began running it over Jei’s cut lip. “Hold still, please…” he requested.

Jei noticed that her father’s tone was not only subdued, but seemed concerned. Jei was a bit unsettled by it. However, within her she still had a lot of anger and rage. She pushed his hand away, “I’ll take care of it myself… *when* I return to the ship,” she snapped.

Instead of being angry, he complied as his daughter had wished. He stood up and walked over to his sprawled-out son and ran a tricorder scan over his body and head. After confirming with his tricorder, he simply left his son where he lay and returned to his chair opposite of Jei. Seeing Jei’s bewildered and inquisitive look, “Jin will be alright. He will have a headache for a couple days, but he has a thick skull and will manage,” explained her father in a mild tone.

“Did you… hit him?” asked Jei.

He momentarily glanced at Jin, then turned his attention back to Jei. “Never mind that, Jei. I… I want you to come home,” he simply stated.

“What?” blinked Jei as she never imagined her father saying those words.

“I want you to come home, well back to Earth. Your mother, the family, and myself miss you. Your sister said you can stay with her and her family until you find a place you like. We can help you finish your medical schooling and your can join your sister’s medical practice,” proposed the elder Han.

“Wait. You want me… a failure… to return home with you?” incredulously asked Jei.

He nodded in the affirmative. “Yes. We… I should never have said that to you. I was… am wrong to have done so. I...”

Jei was utterly confused by her father’s explanation. “Wait a moment. What is with the change of sentiment? You always… *ALWAYS* treated me or scolded me for being a *FAILURE*… as I never met your expectations.”

Jei realized that her father looked older than she imagined as her words cut into her father. Even though it had been over half a decade that she saw him last, he looked older now.

He took a breath, not out of anger, but from exhaustion. “We want you home, your mother and I, as we miss you.”

“I see…” acknowledged Jei, not understanding who this man before her was anymore. The man outside the docking port was the father she knew and remembered. The man sitting across from her now was not.

~ “How long was out after Jin hit me? Was it long enough for a changeling to replace my father? Why would a changeling want to replace my father? Who is this man sitting across from me?” ~ mused Jei.

Byung pulled out a padd and slid it over to Jei. “This is a request for transfer form. I was informed that your service and record from the war allows you to get a posting of your choice on Earth. All you need to do is to log it with your authorization code. There is a Starfleet facility only twenty minutes from Jinhee’s home in Europe back on Earth. We can leave for home… together,” presented the Elder Han.

Jei wonder if it was Nathan who gave her father than information. No matter, as this was all still very confusing to Jei.

Jei shook her head, more in an attempt to clear it than in disagreeing. “No… believe me, you don’t want me home anymore. The war has changed me, father. I have spilled blood and can’t unsee or undo the things that I have been through. I don’t trust myself anymore. Just… just leave me be… pretend I’m dead. The girl who was your daughter died when she left the Academy,” informed Jei.

Jei saw her father studying her. His eyes were not full of contempt, but sadness.

“Are you happy here? Is this what you want?” her father asked in a thoughtful and soft tone.

Before Jei could answer, there was loud pounding on the door followed by the door chime. “Starfleet Security, please open up,” came the muffled commanding voice outside.

Byung began to stand up, but Jei waved him off. “Let me handle this, Father.”

Jei went to the door and saw a quartet of gold collared security officers. The four immediately got stern and angry looks as they saw Jei’s battered face. Four pairs of eyeballs all shifted to where the elder Han sat then shifted to the sprawled man on the floor.

Keith grabbed onto Eddie as he sensed him about to charge into the luxury suite. Chief Hayes cleared his throat as he brushed aside Martin’s attempt to hold him back as well.

“Excuse me, Miss Han, but we have received a disturbance report regarding this suite…” Chief Hayes then motioned toward the man on the floor. “Is he…”

“My older brother is… resting. We both… tripped and fell,” enigmatically answered Jei.

“I see,” Hayes acknowledged, as he walked into the suite past Jei to address the target of his injury. “Excuse me, Mister Ha…”

“Doctor,” corrected the Elder Han in an even tone.

“Excuse me, Doctor Han… will you be so kind as to come with us to…” instructed Hayes.

Jei quickly moved between Hayes and her father. “He’s not to blame. My father is innocent. I struck my brother and caused the disturbance,” stated Jei. She hated him, but he was still her father.

Both Keith and Martin had to grab ahold of Eddie as he tried to move into the private suite.

Hayes observed Jei for a long moment, gauging her while relaxing his own clinched fist behind his back. “I see. Ensign Han, for violation of Article 128 of the SFUJC. You will come back to the ship with us, until such a time your direct superior officer can review the charge and decide on how to proceed with it. Do you know and understand your rights, Ensign?”

“Yes, Chief. I understand and agree to waive my rights for violation of Article 128 upon the civilian laying at our feet,” acknowledged Jei.

The Elder Han stood up and walked over. Yet before he could speak, Jei intercepted him. “Father, don’t say anything. I have things under control. It just means I will temporarily lose my shore leave privileges until my direct superior talks to me. I will contact you, later,” inform Jei in their native Korean.

Hayes used the moment to check on the man sprawled on the floor. He had saw the video of this man dragging away Jei and he knew it was him who initiated the disturbance in this room. Looking down, he used his boot and nudged Jin’s shoulder a few times. The response satisfied him. It was the within the acceptable range where he could dutifully ignore the matter.

“Miss Han, does this… civilian… at my feet require medical aid?” asked Hayes, carefully choosing his words and not one to totally be derelict of his duties as a Security Officer.

“No, Chief. He has been medically triaged and not in any life-threatening danger. In addition, my father is a medical professional with over forty-years’ experience. He can attend to any lingering after effects as necessary,” replied Jei in the same precise military mannerism used by Hayes.

Hayes gruffly nodded. “Chief Nakamura, please escort Ensign Han back to the brig on the USS ARES. Kowalski, Jiang, make sure Chief Nakamura gets back to the ship,” ordered the senior security officer. “I will be along shortly after wrapping up with the esteemed Dr. Han here.”

[Silynn]

U.S.S. ARES – Present Day
Deck 4 – Security Complex
Martin threw down his cards in disgust. “How can my luck be this bad? You’d think I’d get a winning hand by now?”

Hayes shook his head. “Son, cards aren’t just about luck… you have to use that lump above your shoulders as well,” began Hayes. He then shifted his poker face eyes onto Jei. “Or cheat by counting cards and calculating the odds like a dang computer, right Jei?”

Jei laid out her cards, a full house, Jacks over Eights. “Hey now, Chief… that isn’t fair. I can’t just turn off my gifted intellect like a light switch,” defended Jei. “Eddie, explain to the salty and analog-thinking Chief here that I’m not cheating.”

All eyes turned to Eddie, who had been silent and lost in thought since returning to the ship. From the walk back to the ARES until now, Eddie had only said a half dozen words. He was even avoiding looking at Jei. His anger began to boil every time he saw her black eye and cut lip.

“Deal me out… I… I need to stretch my legs,” stated Eddie as he unceremoniously threw down his cards and stood up to leave the open brig cell.

“I don’t think he can let it go, Chief,” whispered Martin as he eyed the younger Chief walking away out of the brig area.

“His emotions are still a little raw,” informed Hayes as he shuffled the deck of cards. He looked at Jei and saw her watching Eddie. “He blames himself for what happened. Not that any of us has an A, S, or X emblazoned on our undershirts…”

Martin looked at his cards and sighed. “Don’t believe the Chief on that one Jei, I know for a fact that the Chief wears superhero t-shirts often under his uniform… I know I do. In fact, the Chief here gave me my first superhero t-shirt,” grinned Martin.

The Chief eyeballed Martin before looking at Jei. “You better not tell anyone…” winked Hayes.

Jei reflected for a moment before looking at her two friends. “Why would Eddie blame himself? I… well, if there is any to blame, it’s me. I am no angel, and certainly shouldn’t be seen as one. I purposely said some nasty and awful things to my father and brother, knowing I was coaxing and pushing their buttons…” admitted Jei.

The two men exchanged glances but said nothing.

“You can even say, I entered the situation with a chip on my shoulder and was looking for a fight,” confessed Jei. “I have always known how to get under their skin, and… hurt them with words. I learned that long ago… I…”

The Chief spoke first. “Jei, after you left, your father asked me to let you go. He declared that he struck you outside the docking port and in the room. He asked me to take him to station security instead and release you. He asked me while on his knees. He didn’t want you to know, but you need to know.”

~ “Why? Why would he do that… he never, no, that isn’t… can’t be possible. My father never bowed down to anyone.” ~mused Jei.

Martin looked at Jei. “You sure you’re ok and don't need to rest or recover in a… better environ? I mean…” Martin gestured about the brig cell. It was barely big enough to hold the group of them sitting on the floor with a makeshift box as a table.

Jei came back to her senses. “Have you lost your mind? You realize that a certain CMO is taking his shore leave in his office… *inside* Sick Bay, watching movies, right? And do you realize that compared to Eddie… Christopher would likely go straight for the nuclear option if he saw me?” enlightened Jei.

“Ah… yeah, well… maybe it is best we just keep things simple,” pondered Martin.

“I just need a day or so, until the black eye goes away,” urged Jei.

“If Miss Han is happy with her environs, then it’s fine for me as well,” offered Hayes as he dealt the next hand of cards. “Besides, Nurse Mel already came down and checked on our Ensign here… during her regular medical check of our other… festive guests this evening.”

Some drunken singing could be heard a few cells over, as some of the more lively ‘drunk and disorderly’ crew decided to sing instead of sleep. The current guests of the brig. None of the cell forcefields were powered up, as the crew currently interned in the brig were behaving themselves. Though most were sleeping things off on the various bunks in the cells, others were sitting about in the hallway talking amongst themselves. Telling colorful stories of their tales and experiences during their shore leaves, at least up until they crossed the line and got into minor trouble.

Jei watched Eddie down the corridor. He was talking with various crew who were awake and checking on the sleeping ones. For a moment, their eyes locked onto one another. Yet just as quickly as they did, Eddie averted his gaze and moved out of sight. “Chief… I really fouled things up this time, didn’t I?”

Martin and Hayes exchanged quick glances with one another, before the veteran Starfleet answered. “Nah. I mean, this is nothing. Blowing up the Cardassian toilets at their embassy on Dorvan V was worst. Heck, I would need more than all my fingers and toes to count how many times I have heard Chief Samson rail about something you did. You know he didn’t have high blood pressure until a certain technician joined the crew here?”

Jei pointed a finger at herself. “You mean… me?”

“I’m not going to name names, but I’m sure that person, who has moved up to follow her dreams… won’t be causing her new direct superior those kinds of problems,” grinned Hayes.

Before Jei could answer, she saw a familiar figure step into view before the open brig cell. Her heart began to race, she if there was anyone she did not want to disappoint, it was Christopher Cushing. Without moving her head, she glanced at Hayes and noticed a bit of surprise on his face.

[WelshAvenger]

U.S.S. ARES
Deck 8 - Sickbay



Christopher had fallen asleep in front of the screen on the wall of his office. A two hour power nap was a luxury most of the time but while the ship was docked, nobody seemed to mind him catching up on his rest, the skeleton nursing staff content to leave him be. Moving to the replicator, Christopher ordered himself a mug of tea and sat back down at his desk. Blowing on the hot tea to cool it enough to drink, Christopher’s attention was drawn to his desk monitor as it beeped twice.

Pulling up his messages, Christopher scanned them in chronological order. Run of the mill status updates on the medical supplies, engineering reports on the upgrades to the EMH emitters and a message from his sister, Celia. Scrolling down the list of messages, Christopher frowned as two were addressed to him but the subject lines mentioned Jei.

Christopher opened the first message and started to read with a mounting sense of dread.

Attn: Lt. Cmdr Cushing, CMO USS Ares
From: Lt. Randall, Adjutant, CinCSol

Subject: Ensign Jeihee Han next of kin notification.

Sir, as Ensign Han’s commanding officer, it is my sad duty to request that you inform her of the death of her husband, Lt. Cmdr Nathan Wang. Lt. Cmdr Wang was part of a search and rescue party responding to a distress call from the SS Loren Vale just outside the Sol solar system. During the rescue, several containment fields collapsed causing the death of Lt. Cmdr Wang.

In addition, according to Starfleet records, Ensign Han is now the sole legal guardian of her daughter, Nara Wang, who is currently in care on Earth Spacedock.

Starfleet Command deeply regrets the death of Lieutenant Commander Wang and has authorised all necessary support for Ensign Han and Nara Wang.

Official message of condolence attached.

Message Ends.

Tapping his badge, Christopher said urgently, “Cushing to Simms-White.”

=/\= I’m here, Sir. =/\=

“I need to talk to you in Sickbay, urgently.” Christopher replied.

=/\= Yes, Sir, I’m on my way. =/\=

It took Christopher a few moments to realise that Mel had just called him ‘Sir’ twice in a many sentences and that was unusual. Pushing that aside, Christopher read the second message. Ensign Yanders Kurst, a security officer who had only arrived on the ship three days ago and had his physical yesterday had sent a message to half the senior officers on the ship telling them to come and authorise the release from the brig of crew under their command. Christopher frowned again as he scrolled the names of those detained, resting on Ensign Jeihee Han. Christopher actually did a double take and shook his head to make sure that he wasn’t just hallucinating. Nope, there it was, right next to a charge of assaulting a civilian.

Before Christopher could start swearing, Mel stood in his doorway, looking awkward. “We have a situation.” He informed her.

“Sir, I know, but look..” Mel began.

“Wait,” Christopher interrupted, “you know? How? I only just got told.”

“I was duty nurse when she was brought in and they needed someone to take a look at her injuries before they put her in the brig. She’s fine, just some facial injuries that will heal in a day or two.” Mel explained.

Christopher’s voice ran cold, “I beg your pardon? You mean that she’s hurt and in the brig and I have to find out about it in a message from a greenhorn security officer?” Christopher stood up and started to walk to the doors.

“You’re going down there?” Mel asked.

“Yes, I’m going to spring her from the brig as I have to tell her that her husband is dead and I’d rather not do that through a forcefield. We’re going to discuss this later, Mel.”

[Blaster]

Deep Space Nine

Promenade

"Do you ever relax?" The ensign asked, leaning back against the rail that lined the top of the promenade on DS9.

"I don't find I often need to, relaxing doesn't help me do my job." The Vulcan replied.

Jess let out a sigh, "I mean, for fun? You never just want to take time away from leading the squadron and have fun?"

Again, the Vulcan shook her head.

"No wonder Vulcan's are considered so boring, you never do anything because you can, you do it because of logic... Somethings don't need logic, there just fun to do, Tess."

"I am aware, some things are fun to do, talking to you for example. I don't dictate what I do solely on logic, or I would be in my uniform, rather then this." Tess stated.

Tess was dressed in an orange jumpsuit, which normally would have displayed her rank, but this time she had tried to be casual while still wearing something practical.

Jess's PADD, which she had carried with her for no apparent reason, beeped. "Oh shoot! I was meant to be meeting T'Mep for some practice in the holodeck. See ya around Tess." She exclaimed, before running for the nearest transporter.

Tess moved to follow her, deciding that she simply had nothing better to do, and that going to the hangar bay to do some work would probably be better than sitting on DS9 alone.

USS Ares

Fighter Squadron's Hangar Bay

Tess stepped out of the turbolift into the hangar, looking around. The fighters were still all neatly lined up, and the hangar looked clean, although filled with the buzz of Technicians talking and doing checks and repairs. There was one thing out of place, a man that she didn't recognise was standing near one of the fighters. Deciding she might as well see what he was doing in the hangar, Tess walked over.

"Can I help you?" Tess said casually from behind him.

((Tags: Schrit))

[deuZige]

Deep Space Nine

Promenade

"Do you ever relax?" The ensign asked, leaning back against the rail that lined the top of the promenade on DS9.

"I don't find I often need to, relaxing doesn't help me do my job." The Vulcan replied.

Jess let out a sigh, "I mean, for fun? You never just want to take time away from leading the squadron and have fun?"

Again, the Vulcan shook her head.

"No wonder Vulcan's are considered so boring, you never do anything because you can, you do it because of logic... Somethings don't need logic, there just fun to do, Tess."

"I am aware, some things are fun to do, talking to you for example. I don't dictate what I do solely on logic, or I would be in my uniform, rather then this." Tess stated.

Tess was dressed in an orange jumpsuit, which normally would have displayed her rank, but this time she had tried to be casual while still wearing something practical.

Jess's PADD, which she had carried with her for no apparent reason, beeped. "Oh shoot! I was meant to be meeting T'Mep for some practice in the holodeck. See ya around Tess." She exclaimed, before running for the nearest transporter.

Tess moved to follow her, deciding that she simply had nothing better to do, and that going to the hangar bay to do some work would probably be better than sitting on DS9 alone.

USS Ares

Fighter Squadron's Hangar Bay

Tess stepped out of the turbolift into the hangar, looking around. The fighters were still all neatly lined up, and the hangar looked clean, although filled with the buzz of Technicians talking and doing checks and repairs. There was one thing out of place, a man that she didn't recognise was standing near one of the fighters. Deciding she might as well see what he was doing in the hangar, Tess walked over.

"Can I help you?" Tess said casually from behind him.

((Tags: Schrit))

Startled Schrit pulled back his hand from the fighter's hull and turned around like the proverbial kid that got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Mentally he sighed with relief as the expected Officer he expected to see turned out to be.... He slightly moved his head back and involuntary raised his right eyebrow.

In his career in Starfleet, going through the enlisted ranks and while serving as a commissioned officer Schrit had come across all manners of people in all shapes, sizes, colors and personalities. He had grown confident that there wasn't a lot that could come across his path that could phase him. It was part of why he was so easily and quickly able to relate to and connect to almost everyone he met.

At that moment though there was no doubt though that he was looking at someone that completely threw his brain out of synch for a few heartbeats. A somewhat slender woman about 20 to 30 centimers shorter than him, wearing an orange Jumpsuit with no markings looked at him through strikingly piercing green eyes with a confident expression.

Her hair was ginger, and 'pierced' on bothe sides of her head by pointy tips of her ears telling Schrit she was probably Vulcan, making his brain reluctant to accept the data coming from his eyes. THere were no Vulcans with ginger hair, and Vulcans he was familiar with seldomly had hair coming down to their shoulders. The colors of her jumpsuit and her hair competing with ther piercing emerald green of her eyes added to his brain's delay in accepting the input that was practically assaulting it visually.

It was almost two full seconds before Schrit realized that he was not only staring, with his mouth open, but was also not answering the question she had asked him. With considerable effort he kept himself from shaking his head and snap back to his usual self. "I'm sorry, i've just arrived here. I didn't know there were civilian... technicians working here" he managed to reply without stammering. He even managed a wry smile to go with the answer. Somehow the little facts that would have come handy at that moment, his commanding officer being a Vulcan woman for example, seemed to have been misfiled or something for some reason.

((Tags: Tess))_

[WelshAvenger]

A joint post by WelshAvenger and Josh Broughm

USS Ares
Mess Hall



Akyv had got a hold of the Captain just before she settled in for bed. Sam just sighed and turned over, then went to sleep. Akyv was excited to get to know the only other girl to be with Sam. With thoughts of what might have happened between them, she lay down & went to sleep.

The next morning, Sam & Akyv both rose, got ready, then headed for their work. Sam had some subspace meetings to do, so Akyv planned to meet with Capt. Jones during lunch.

Akyv arrived in the mess hall & sat down. The waiter came over and asked for her order. "I'll have some Hasperat, extra spicy & a glass of mango juice." The waiter nodded, then headed off.

Mariella walked in to the mess hall and noticed a few looks of surprise. Captains didn't usually frequent mess halls, preferring to dine in the quarters or ready rooms. She saw Akyv and sat down at the table, motioning for a waiter, "Have you already ordered?" She asked the Andorian.

"Yeah," she said, "I call him back over if you like." She waived over the waiter.

Mariella smiled at the waiter, "I'll take an order of Welsh Rarebit and a pint of ale, please." As the waiter left, Mariella could see the burning questions in Akyv's eyes, "Go ahead and ask."

"Okay," Akyv said quickly, "What was the deal with you guys? All i know is he was in the Academy for six months, then left because of stress or something to that effect. He never said anything about you two, or his time in the Academy....Even the year after, he's pretty clamed up about it."

"You know that we knew each other from when we were young, right?" Mariella began, "I left for the academy a couple of years before Sam did. When we found each other at San Francisco, we kinda just fell into a relationship, you know, mutual support and lots of sex. During his six months at the academy, I really did care for him."

"I see." Akyv said, thoughtfully.

"Does he still have his collection of vintage tricorders?" Mariella enquired.

"You know," Akyv said, "I think he does. Every once & a while, I'll see him tinkering on an old tricorder. He seems..." She chose her words carefully, "Peaceful. I assumed he picked that up at the Academy."

"It was the one class I think he enjoyed, practical mechanics. It always relaxed him for a while." Mariella motioned to the waiter for another pint of ale.

"Know where he got this obsession with Sailor Moon?" Akyv asked. She knew it was important to him.

Mariella nodded, "He started watching it when he was a kid. I think it was his only escapism."

"Now," Akyv said, "what happened on the Amali coast?"

Mariella laughed, "Don't worry, It's not what you think. I mean, yes it was, but we went during the October break from the Academy in Sam's first year.
We were staying in a hotel right near the sea front and there was a costume contest going on. Well, we decided that we'd dress as Sailor Moon characters. So there I was, dressed as Princess Serenity while Sam was dressed as Prince Endeymon and we swanned around town getting progressively more drunk. We met a cute couple who challenged us to a volleyball match, boys versus girls. Naturally, us girls won and the forfeit was that we had to swap clothes and walk through the town."

"I'm...," Akyv stammered, "s-sorry, what?! That's AMAZING!!!"

Mariella giggled, "Sam does make a very convincing Princess, something to do with how well he can balance in high heels."

Akyv started laughing, saying, "I bet he does!" She calmed down some as their orders arrived. She nodded & asked, "Did you get married?"

Mariella held up her hand, "I don't wear a ring but I am married. His name is Varro and he's an Engineer on Mars. We met at Utopia Planetia during the refit of the USS Snowdonia." A shadow crossed Mariella's face which she shook off quickly, "We try to meet up as often as we can these days. I'm not one of those officers that lets their shore leave build up and up. Life's too short."

"I agree with that sentiment." Akyv said, "We both agree that Sam....well....is Bad a sports, right?"

"He was never coordinated enough to be good at sports."

Akyv took a drink of her mango juice, the launched into her story, "I think our third date, we decided to head to Andor & do some skiing. I had more experience with it than he did. We decided to run a double black diamond & I had a fair time of it, Sam on the other hand...."

"Please tell me that he totally wiped out, right at the top!" Mariella begged.

"Yep," she said, "Legs splayed out & about a tenth of the way down, started rolling. Thought he was gonna turn into a snowball. When he got to the bottom, he just said, 'NeVeR aGaiN!' and passed out! Took him to the hospital & had his three busted ribs and a broken arm fixed. Looked like he had fun, though."

Mariella could picture the sight of Sam rolling down a slope vividly in her mind which caused her to burst into laughter, "I can just see his little face!" When Mariella had composed herself enough, she looked at the nurse with a great amount of respect. "I appreciate the chat, Akyv, it's nice to have someone from outside Starfleet to talk to."

"Glad to have met you," Akyv said, "Captain." She finished her lunch & said, "If you ever want to talk again, hit me up."

Mariella stood, "Let Sam know that he shouldn't feel apprehensive about using his chair on the bridge at any time, we're all good. I'm glad he's found someone."

Akyv smiled at her and said, "Thank you." She went to walk off and another question flew into her head, "That first edition Sailor Moon manga he has, was that you that got it? I've been trying to find the rest of the series for some of his birthdays, but I'm having no luck."

Mariella smiled, "There's a merchant on Ferenginar who has an insane ability to locate Manga, I'll send you his details."

[WelshAvenger]

A joint post by WelshAvenger and Silynn

U.S.S. ARES
Deck 4 - Brig



When Christopher entered the brig, he stopped cold, not quite believing what his eyes were seeing. There were bodies sprawled everywhere. Christopher could recognise the signs, and smells, of hangovers and figured that more than a few of those crewmen would be paying a visit to sickbay soon. Some were sat in corners, hugging their knees like scolded children. There were a few of the more spirited detainees singing songs albeit in subdued tones. The thing that struck Christopher was that none of the cells were occupied and the forcefields were switched off. Among all the weirdness were Jei, Martin and Chief Hayes, sat on cargo containers playing cards and from the looks of it, the security guards were losing.

Stepping over bodies, Christopher made his way towards the trio, “I figured you two would be here.” He looked at Jei’s face and felt a great surge of anger. “Are you alright, Jei?”

Jei reflexively turned her head slightly, and consciously used her long hair to shield her black eye. Jei smiled at her close friend, without wincing from the cut lip. “I am fine. I may look like I… lost, but honestly, I feel fine.”

Christopher nodded, “Mister Hayes, can I have a word with you for a moment?”

“Be right back.” Hayes told Martin, who waved at the doctor. Hayes and Christopher moved to a less crowded part of the brig, “How come you’re down here then, Doc?”
“There’s an Ensign Kurst who issued formal requests for senior officers to come and authorise the release of all these fine folks from custody. It’s kind of hard to ignore an official request like that, Jack.” Christopher explained.

“He did what? Oh, that little idiot!” Hayes fumed, “Normally we’d keep this in house, let them sober up or calm down inside a forcefield, give them a verbal warning and toss them out after giving them breakfast. It’s a regular thing, Doc, people go a little crazy during shore leave and it means that senior officers get to do better things than fill out release paperwork.”

“Listen Jack, I need to take Jei back to my office and I don’t want an official reprimand on her record, what do I need to do?” Christopher asked.

“What’s wrong, lad?” Hayes asked back.

“I can’t tell you right now, perhaps later.” Christopher said cryptically.

Hayes nodded, “Alright, well, I filed an initial report regarding the assault but I didn’t sign it. In addition, the civilians involved have requested the matter to be dropped. No victims, no real crime. However, Kurst was obviously keen to impress Commander Tarquin. Let’s see, Nakamura’s on shift as Security Chief right now, I’ll have a word with him.”

“The secret order of the Warrant Officer, eh?” Christopher teased.

“Nothing secret about it.” Hayes grinned.

Christopher wandered back to the impromptu card game, “Come on, Jei, we’re getting you out of here right now and taking you to sickbay so I can have a good look at you.”

Jei blinked, not fully comprehending. “Don’t I need to stay until morning, to avoid the official log? I know that you and the Captain have put a lot on the line to give me the opportunity to finish my medical finals. I didn’t want to complicate things with another… black mark.”

She suppressed the urge to wince at her choice of words and wished she could hit an ‘undo button’ to take them back.

Christopher saw the wince, “Don’t worry, Jei, Mr Hayes assures me that there has been an administrative error on the charge sheet. One that will result in no record of any of this.”

Jei nodded and stood up. She followed Chief Hayes and Chris out of the cell area. In the main office and entry area, Chief Hayes split off and walked toward a young Ensign being lectured by a Lieutenant from engineering. Chris did not slow or stop his pace as he continued straight out of the security complex toward the turbo lifts.

The two walked in silence to the turbolift and waited until the doors closed, “Deck eight, Sickbay.” instructed Christopher. When they arrived in Christopher’s office, Christopher closed the doors, pulled out a tricorder and scanned Jei’s injuries. Without a word, he brought out a dermal regenerator and worked patiently on Jei’s split lip. “Computer, replicate one hundred millilitres of Arnica Gel. For your black eye.”

Even though Jei had a reputation for being impertinent, when she was uncomfortable. She was also very loyal and kind to those who had earned her respect and friendship. Christopher was among those few. More so, Jei felt she had let Christopher down and it was gnawing on her conscience. At this moment, she wanted to just be alone in her quarters so she could cry. “Thanks, Christopher. I feel fine. Nurse mel gave me a hypo earlier. I feel nothing,” smiled Jei. She suited action to words and stood up, to further prove her ability to move about without issue.

“No, I’m sorry Jei. You can’t go yet.” Christopher said sadly, “I received a message from Starfleet command just before I came down to the brig. There’s been an accident and your husband has been killed.” This was the very worst part of Christopher’s job.

The words rolled over Jei like a bulldozer crushing a structure, as she looked at Christopher with a confused look. Her legs weakened, but Christopher was ready and grabbed her waist to stop her fall. He gently got her situated in her chair again. “What? But… how? I… I don’t understand. Is Nara ok? Was she hurt too?” Jei asked, trying to brace herself for the news.

Pulling a PADD from the desk, “I have the official letter here explaining the circumstances. I also have to tell you that, as next of kin, you’ve been granted sole custody of Nara.”

Her head was spinning and Jei felt beside herself. She saw a hand, belonging to her, visibly shaking as she took the PADD offered by Christopher. As she read it, tears streamed down her cheeks. Jei could not imagine how or why this happened.

Even though tears were flowing, Jei’s voice was steady, if a little soft. “How? I don’t… he was in a Research billet. He was compiling and studying medical cases of wounds caused by Breen weaponry from the war…why was he there?”

Christopher felt very sad for his friend, to have been through so much recently, only to have this happen, “Honestly, I don’t know all the details, Jei. All I know is that he was part of a Search and Rescue mission outside Sol.”

Jei felt exhausted, physically and emotionally. ~ “You’ve been granted sole custody…” ~ Jei replayed in her mind. She saw Nathan’s warm and loving face in her mind, holding her hands, as they stood in a holosuite creation of an old catholic church from Earth. Though it was several years ago, Jei couldn’t shake the image from her mind now.

“Nathan has no living family. He lost his parents during the early part of the War. They were aboard the USS MUNICH in the Battle of Tyra… his sister was killed later during the attack on Starfleet Headquarters on Earth…” informed Jei, her voice almost a whisper.

Jei looked down at her hands. “Nara… I… I am not fit to take her...” Her breathing and heart rate were elevated and her face lost color. Her eyes closed and she fell forward.

Christopher grabbed hold of Jei and scooped her into his arms, “MEL!” he shouted. Mel raced into his office, took one look at Jei, “Biobed three is the closest, I’ll get a kit.”

Laying Jei down carefully, Christopher activated the bed’s scanners. While he watched the analysis in progress, Mel hung an emergency IV and set a cannula into Jei’s arm. ‘Old school but effective’ thought Christopher. The results of the scans displayed on the screen behind the biobed and Christopher spoke to Mel, “Can you grab a blanket for her? Her core temp is down, she’s got low blood sugar, anaemia, dehydration and the markers of a low grade infection.” Christopher set the bed to infuse Jei with a glucose solution, along with iron and antibiotics.

Mel draped the blanket over Jei. Not one of the starfleet medical issue blankets that looked and felt like they were made of metal, but one made of real wool. “She’s had a hell of time recently.”

“Do you know who assaulted her?” asked Christopher, his calm voice hiding the fury he felt.

Mel shrugged, “Scuttlebutt says it was her old man and brother but I know enough not to listen to gossiping security officers.”

Jei heard voices nearby. She opened her eyes and realized she was laying on a biobed, with a soft blanket covering her chest down to her feet. She noticed her sleeve was rolled up as she was being given an intravenous solution, likely as Christopher saw that she was a bit under-nourished. ~ “When was the last time I ate? The day before yesterday?” ~ wondered Jei.

As much as she enjoyed studying and working in the medical field, Jei hated being a patient. Turning to her side, she used her arms to push herself up to a semi-sitting position. The sudden movement made her a little dizzy. She held her head to help steady her swirling mind.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Christopher asked Jei, grabbing an anti-emetic hypo and pressing it to her arm.

Jei did feel better, but couldn’t find her strength to swing her legs over the edge to stand. She used the moment, as she looked at her concerned friend to convince her body to listen to her. “Really, I feel better… I know I may be a bit anemic, but it is temporary. I’ve had a lot on my mind the past few days,” stated Jei as she was gently urged to lay back down by Nurse Mel.

“Don’t fight him,” whispered Mel as she checked the IV and fixed Jei’s blanket.

“Mel, can you go grab us some tea, please?” Christopher winked, knowing that Mel would take the hint. “OK, now that I’ve gotten rid of her, talk to me. Tell me what’s going on because I can’t help if I don’t know.”

Jei took a deep breath followed by two short ones. She tucked her right hand, the one free of the intravenous cocktail, under the blanket as she knew it was trembling. She gazed at the lights in the ceiling before looking at her friend and mentor.

“My unnie… my older sister sent me a message a few days ago. She wanted to warn me of my father’s trip to DS9 and his likely intentions,” apprised Jei. “I haven’t had much appetite or slept well… I avoided taking sleeping aids, as I wanted to keep my mind sharp.”

“I… prepared myself and thought up a plan to deal with my father. I know how to get under his skin and I made sure I did so. I put him and my brother on a black list with security, knowing it would cause him to lose face… as it hit his pride. I even forced him to wait nearly two days before I would even acknowledge his presence and visit…” recounted Jei.

Jei regarded Christopher for a moment before continuing. “My father is a very proud man and I knowingly took advantage and belittled him. I think he still saw me as the seventeen-year-old girl he last saw before leaving home, not the monster that I’ve become. When unnie told me, I wasn’t frightened or scared. I was… angry and wanted him to hurt… as for my elder brother, well he was… still is a bully, so I went straight for the jugular…”

Tears were flowing, but Jei’s voice appeared calm and controlled. “I was the runt of the family, you can even say a mistake, as I was an unexpected addition to the family. There is a significant age difference between me and my older siblings. They were all in high school or college when I came along… and in my family, we weren’t nurtured or coddled. It was about being thrown in the deep end and not only surviving but excelling. Competition in the household was the norm. Not only about grades, but school rank. If you weren’t *the* number one student, you ate dinner alone and only after the dog had eaten.”

Christopher was overcome with grief for his friend, “Is it true that your father and brother beat you when you left the ship yesterday?”

“My father may have struck me, but I had given him two emotional black-eyes before he even laid eyes on me the other day. And to add insult to injury, I manipulated him to knock my brother out…” Jei turned her head, avoiding Christopher’s eyes. “My only regret was that I underestimated Jin’s strength and fury… as I didn’t get to see him get floored. I’m a real piece of work, aren’t I? If I took custody of Nara, I would just foul it up…”

“Nonsense,” Christopher chided, “you say piece of work, I say extremely brave young woman who has been overwhelmed by recent events. As for fouling up custody of Nara, she’ll have two security guard uncles and a whole sick bay full of uncles, aunts and, how did you put it, Unnies? The EMH tells me that your interpersonal skills are..”

“Severely lacking. Compassion is not only absent, but the student often views patients as one views machinery,” finished Jei in her best impersonation of the EMH.

“Improving was the word it used. So you’ll be fine, she’ll be fine and I’m sure that after time with the ESD’s shield services team, she’ll be happy to spend time with you.” Christopher soothed. “After all, how long since you’ve seen her?”

Jei saw her crying daughter in Nathan’s arms, as she walked through the docking port of the runabout shuttle almost a half year ago. It was the last memory she had, as Jei never replied or opened any of the more than three dozen messages Nathan had sent her since she left on that shuttle to her assignment aboard the ARES. “Almost a year…” Jei finally answered.

“More than time that she came home then. Give her a chance to reconnect with her mother. Look Jei, I’ll be behind you one hundred percent, whatever the decision you make. Just know that you don’t have to face the decision alone.” Christopher said softly.

A part of her wanted to believe in herself, as much as Christopher had in her. Yet, be it her coping method or defensive mechanism, she wanted to refuse it all, and bury her head. Feeling it would be better to refuse something now, instead of experiencing failure later. More than anything, Jei was afraid of failing Nathan and being a disappointment to her daughter.

“Now, I’m going to let Mel come back with the tea and we’ll move you to a side room where you can get some of our best overnight hospitality and, more importantly, rest. I’ve got the night shift so I’ll know if you try and sneak out.” He smiled.

Jei nodded. “Can you let the guys know that I’m ok? I want them to be at ease. I wouldn’t put it past them to fake injuries to come down here to check on me. As much as I deeply appreciate their concern… I just need some time to gather my thoughts,” requested Jei.

[Josh Broughm]

Joint Post by Josh Broughm & WelchAvenger
U.S.S. ARES
CDO's Office
Sam had just got the message from Bajor just after he arrived in his office to do some logs.

"Computer," Sam said, "open transmission." The computer beeped, "This is CDO Ambassador Sam Urquhart. How can I help?" A male voice came on & said, "This is First Minister Ice Shento. I'm in a bit of a quandry here." Sam rolled his eyes and asked, "What's the problem?" Ice bluntly put the problem to him, "We've been dealing with a bit of a land dispute between two families for the better part of a year. Talks broke off and they are not willing to come back to the table. Tensions are peaking to a point that their might be bloodshed. I really don't want to get involved, but it's coming to the point where I have no choice."

"Did you contact the Federation Consulate?" Sam asked. "Yeah," Ice said, "but they said you are the ranking Diplomat in the sector for the time being." Sam muted the line, cursed loudly, then unmuted. "It shouldn't be a problem. I'll try to get down there and hopefully have them come to terms." Ice said, happily, "Thank the prophets! I owe you one!" The channel closed and Sam went to the bridge to talk to the Captain.

Bridge

It was strange, thought Mariella, how different the bridge was when a ship only had a skeleton crew. The usual hum of the engines was absent and the usual beeps and bloops of the sensors and systems were much quieter. She sat in the center seat with a leg cocked over one of the arms, closed her eyes and relaxed.

Sam left the bridge turbolift quickly & saw the captain looking very comfy in the command chair. "You look the image of comfort," he said, "Marriella."

"I know I told Akyv that you were welcome on the bridge at any time, but I didn't think it would be this soon." Mariella sat up.

"Nor did I." Sam said, "I just got a call from the first minister of Bajor. He needs help with a land dispute."

"A land dispute on Bajor?" Mariella asked, confused. "Why aren't the Bajoran authorities handling this?"

"Well," Sam said, "both families are nearly set to kill each other. Their people can't gain control of things."

"Good enough," Mariella began, "I see from the logs that we have a new fighter pilot so he can shuttle you down. It'll be his first job aboard the Ares. Don't forget a security escort."

"Uh..." Sam said, taken aback, "You do know I can handle myself, right?"

"Perhaps I wasn't really making myself clear. It wasn't a suggestion. Look, just take the damn escort, Sam. You think I want to explain to that lovely young wife of yours why I let you leave without security, should things go wrong?" asked Mariella, trying to keep frustration out of her voice.

Sam heavily sighed and said, "I.....guess you're right. I'll take the escort." He rolled his eyes so hard, he almost could see into subspace.

"Very wise of you.' Mariella winked. " Now, shoo! Go get Lt. van Hulftoids and ask him if he remembers how to fly a shuttle."

Sam nodded and went to the Lift. Before he left the bridge, Sam looked over at the Ops position. "Mind if i take Max as an escort?" He asked.

"Fly at it!" Mariella waved.

"Yo, Max!" Sam called out, "Let's go!" Max looked up from Ops & said, "On my way."

[Krajin]

Deep Space Nine

Promenade


Thane stood in an Alcove on the Promenade watching the crowds of people walk by doing their own thing. Some of the crew of the Ares he could recognise, some he even waved to when they passed him and got a wave in return. It'd been interesting to have spent his time on the Ares so far, making friends, enjoying the company of some and overall the Ferasan had made a decent impression on some of the crew he had interacted with. This was scratching the surface though of his term to be serving on the Sovereign. Unfortunately it had the effect of starting to dull some of his normal training he had undertaken prior since Starfleet had rules on the use of Telepathy.

Here he was getting that practice in to maintain his effective edge with it. Walking out into the crowds, Thane was clouding his presence from those around him. It was easier to affect already distracted minds to be just.. not registered there in the same way you'd normally register a man of his physical stature. Walking the promenade, Thane checked out the rosters of the Ares, curious about the new Captain they were getting. Not that he could access much to begin with but a name was at least a start! "Hm.." He'd muse to himself. Relaxing the focus on actively maintaining that shroud and working it to be in the back of his mind.

Quarks' Bar

How will she take to her exchange officer? He'd think to himself before his ears pricked up at the sound of that deep, raucous laugh that could be attributed to only one group. Klingons. A bigger grin formed on his face and the Ferasan ducked into Quarks bar where he spied four of them at the Bar and the Ferengi looking more exasperated with their noise and overall aggressive behaviour. Thane recognised one of them as being from his house, the other three were unknowns but could be easily members as well. The thought on the shroud he had been working to maintain all but gone as he sauntered in next to them.


"Blood Wine, none of the replicated stuff." He'd request, placing a couple of strips of Gold Pressed Latinum on the counter. "Please."

One of Quark's employees would give him a mug of the stuff since there was real Latinum on the counter for it and Thane did ask nicely. "Are you all giving the Ferengi and his workers trouble here?" Thane'd ask, he found the Ferengi Species rather detestable though with a bunch of young members of his house currently showing a rather poor attitude.

"To loud and yet to pay their tab." Would come the response.

The quartet of Klingons would turn to look at the interloper, their apparent leader Shovak had that light of recognition and bellowed a loud "Thane! Good to see you!" The two embraced as good friends would.

"Shovak! It has been some time! You and your friends causing trouble for the Ferengi?" Thane would ask, releasing the man from their embrace.

"Trouble? No! This Ferengi was supposed to give us Blood WIne as we had ordered, but instead gave us this weak replicated lie and tried to pass it off!" A great deal of irritation washed off the Klingon. Thane sniffed at his drink and then looked back at the others. "Mine is fine. It's cold, which is unsettling. Pay your tabs and come along, friends to. I got the real stuff in my temp room here."

Another Klingon spoke up "Bah! Not paying for this! Nor are we taking orders from some furball!"

Things got a little quiet as Thane stared the Klingon down and smiled, flashing his teeth. "Come again?" As Shovak went to step in Thane held up a hand to stop him.

The other Klingon stepped up right into Thane's personal space with the sole intent of trying to intimidate the man. They were of relatively equal height and Thane flashed that grin.


Security Office

It'd been ten or fifteen minutes later after the ensuing fight where Thane was happily sitting on a chair with a defeated looking constable whom had just taken his statement on what had happened. "Look, just put in there it was self defence! The recordings and eye witnesses will tell you, he took a swing first. Then.. his face met the bar once and he must of liked it that much his face met it again a couple of times."

"Sir, some of his teeth are embedded in the counter top and his face will need reconstruction." came a rather deadpan reply.

"What can I say? It'd be an improvement. Besides, I already paid for the damage to the counter with three bars. That'll be enough to replace the counter and cover the removal of Klingon bits from the carpet." Thane smiled sharply, he leaned back on the rather uncomfortable chair and looked to the door that lead out. Shovak was waiting outside though with his arms crossed, along with the other Klingon he had been with.

"Quark won't press charges for damage done however this report will need to go to your current ship's Captain."

"Sent it to the Ares, currently where I am stationed on. Can I go now?" This would be an interesting report to say the least and a great introduction.

"Fine, you are dismissed."

Thane would get up and head out of the office. "Lets go have a drink before I get called in."

[Josh Broughm]

This post is a conversation Between Sam & Max
U.S.S. ARES
Various
Sam motioned to Max to enter the lift. Max smiled and said, "Thanks."

"You need to grab anything before we leave?" Sam asked. Max thought for a moment & said, "Yeah, thank you." The Lift proceeded to Crew quarters deck & Max led Sam to his quarters. "So," he said, "what are you grabbing?" Max said, while pulling a case from a shelf, "Grabbing some daggers." Sam had a bit of a shocked look on his face when he said, "You...think those are necessary?" Max laughed and said, "I'm certified for close combat weapons & techniques. Aside from that, I never carry a phaser, because I always carry one." Max tapped his bionic arm. Sam just said, "Go go gadget phaser." Max said, drily, "That isn't the first time I heard that." Sam said, plainly, "Take it as a compliment." Max nodded as he opened the case, in which he had a nylon belt with small daggers in sheaths, about three of them. He then tucked it under his waistband, then pulled his uniform top over the grips, so as to conceal them. "Count it as just in case." Max said as he handed Sam a small dagger. It had a Starfleet Delta shield engraved on it. Sam accepted it & said, "I don't see the need, but you know the old saying, 'Anything can Happen'."

They both proceeded back to the lift, then continued on. "So," Sam asked, "where you from?" Max answered, "Dallas, Texas, but the family originates from Scotland." Sam's ear's perked up & he said, in Gaelic, "Cha chuala mi iomradh air gortan sam bith bho Alba a ’gluasad gu na stàitean san fhicheadamh linn." Max responded, in the same language, "Ghluais sinnsearan tràth san fhicheadamh linn. Bha mi den bheachd nach robh luchd-labhairt Gàidhlig a bharrachd anns a ’Chaidreachas!" Sam laughed loudly and said, "My parents taught me Gaelic when I was a kid. Thank god it stuck." Max said, morosely, "Dad insisted on it. I frigging hated it with a passion. I thought learning dead languages was a waste of time, but Dad thought otherwise. Said, 'They look favorably on this when you enter the academy'. News flash, THEY DON'T. It was damn tedious." Sam just nodded & said, "I hear ya."

The lift opened up into the shuttlebay and they both stepped out.

[deuZige]

USS Ares
Deck 2 - Crew quarters - van Hulftoids's quarters

It was about an hour after his dad had left the quarters to go do some… thing when Danre was finished setting up the things he had brought with him from Utopia Planetia in his bedroom. He’d been able to fix some of his most prized possessions on the wall above his bed and placed most of his clothes in the little cupboard that lined the wall opposite to his bed. Satisfied that this was as good as he was going to get it on such short notice he turned his attention to the computer console on the small desk against the far wall of the bedroom, about one and a half meters from the foot end of his bed.

Checking the chrono he noticed it was far from being bedtime, and he knew his father wouldn’t miss their bedtime ritual for anything short of a red alert event. That meant there was plenty of time for him to do some exploring of the digital kind. Touching the screen of the console he was greeted with an unfamiliar authentication prompt. It had a logo similar but not quite the same as the one he’d become used to over the years at UP. Upon closer examination he noticed that his one showed Starfleet’s logo, where the one he’d always seen before had Starfleet Research and Development division’s logo. He wondered about that, never having given his authentication at UP any thought. He’d rarely ever seen the authentication as the consoles and terminals he’d used had, at some point or another, taken his biometrics and automatically authenticated him as he activated the console or terminal.

He did remember he had a specific username and password and a voice authentication signature though so he looked up at the ceiling, as most humans tended to do when addressing the computer as if it was located in the ceiling somehow, and cleared his throat.

“Computer, authentication for computer access please” he spoke. “Unable to comply. Voice pattern not recognized. Without authentication, guests are limited to level 0 access to computer systems only.” the computer’s voice replied. Danre scowled and plunked himself in the chair at the desk with a frustrated sigh. He hated it when computers didn’t cooperate. “Computer, identify Danre van Hulftoids, son of Lieutenant Junior Grade Schrit van Hulftoids” he called out. “Unable to comply. No authentication verification profile available for authentication verification. Please contact your Starfleet Liaison officer or Civilian contractor account manager and request a Starfleet Security Computer Access Authentication profile to be created.” Came the computer’s immediate though dissatisfying reply.

Even more frustrated Danre began to enter uid and password combinations he’d used in the past. None of them gave him any further access than that of a visitor. That basically meant he’d be limited to the ship’s directions, information about the Federation and Starfleet that was tourist level at best and access to the replicator. He didn’t know how long his father would be before returning to their quarters but Danre was sure he’d be dead of boredom way before that. That, and the simple fact he couldn’t stand “losing” to a computer, made him decide he’d “pentest” the computer system of the sovereign class starship.

He went to the cupboard and took out his backpack in which he had stored the toolkit he’d put together over time back at UP and spread the content of the toolkit out onto his bed. Taking the tricorder he had gottten from his dad for his 8th birthday, and had since then modded significantly, he turned it on and keyed it to scanning mode. After the device obediently beeped to confirm it was ready Danre began scanning the computer console. Having identified the ODN pathways that ran from the computer console he followed them with the tricorder along the wall, into the ceiling and through the wall of his bedroom.

Danre then walked out of the bedroom and continued to follow the pathway across the ceiling of their quarters to find that they ran to just above the door to their quarters where an ODN junction was located. He frowned at that, knowing that neither the ODN pathways nor the ODN junction provided anything he could interact with. All he could hope for was hooking up a tap onto the different connecting nodes of the ODN junction and capturing the traffic running through it. At least, that was how things had worked on UP. He wasn’t sure though if the computer systems on a Starship worked the same as those that had to provide for an entire shipyard facility and research and development facility combined.

Not about to give up and let a computer system get the better of him it was less than fifteen minutes later before a ceiling panel was lying on the floor and Danre was standing on a chair, which was on top of the dinner table, connecting two tap leads from the ODN junction to his tricorder. As he had opened the panel covering he had noticed there were parts in there that looked nothing like the inside of the ODN junctions he had seen on UP, but ignored them as he recognized the ports leading into and out of the ODN junction of the ODN pathways like the one that ran through their quarters to the consoles. As soon as the second connector made contact with the tricorder it’s tiny screen began displaying scrolling screens of indecipherable data. He smiled at that, thinking that the decryption algorithms he had at his disposal would sooner or later be able to decipher enough of the data stream to recognize an authentication sequence which he could record and then replay to get at least some access to the computer system.

It was with great surprise, and shocking realization, that Danre saw the tricorder screen go blank to indicate no data was coming through the ODN pathway he’d tapped into. He also noticed that somewhere inside the part of the ODN Junction he hadn't recognised, a red light began to blink. His heart skipped a couple of beats before his mind went through the stages of incredulity, denial, acceptance into disaster recovery. It felt like minutes but it was actually within seconds when he concluded that security measures on Starship computer systems, at least the ones on this particular starship, were more stringent and advanced than those he was used to and that his tapping into the ODN pathway at the ODN junction must have tripped an alarm of some kind.

He snagged the two leads from the ODN junction, and replaced the panel covering onto the ODN junction. Then he remembered that he had dropped the ceiling covering panel on the floor of the living room and let out some curses which would have gotten him at least a stern talking to from his father if he found out Danre even knew them in the first place, let alone used them.

He jumped down to the floor, picked up the ceiling covering panel and climbed back up the table, and then the chair, before carefully placing the panel back where it belonged. He then got down to the floor again and quickly set about placing the dinner table and the chair back into their original places. Just a minute later he had gathered up his tricorder and his tools into the backpack and stuffed that backpack into the cupboard in his bedroom. Surprised he’d not heard or seen anyone since he had tripped the alarm inside the ODN junction he decided to get into his pyjamas and take his PADD to ly onto the 3 seat sofa in the living room to act as innocent as he possibly could. He’d barely managed to connect his buttocks with the sofa when he heard a chime indicating someone was at the door. “Who is it?” he called, keeping his voice as level as he could.

[[OOC: Anyone from security wanting to jump in at this point? I'd love to do a JP. ]]

[Josh Broughm]

JP with DeuZige(sp?)
U.S.S. ARES
Main shuttle bay
Sam & Max entered the shuttle bay & noticed a group of pilots talking. They approached the group. Sam said, "Lt. JG van Hulftoids?"

As the duo of officers came up to the small group of pilots Schrit was telling them about the trouble the early versions of the Sparrow class fighter had given the engineers and pilots and the fix that had been found back then by the (in)famous pilot Zoteke Madwan.

"(...) from blowing up by shunting the excess power into a buffer that worked as a capacitor. The..." hearing his name Schrit stopped midsentence and turned around. A few feet away were a Lt. and, Schrit confirmed after doing a mental double take, an ambassador. Schrit swallowed and came to attention, suspecting Colonel Kira had filed the whole trespassing business in the official record after all.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Schrit van Hulftoid SIR" he said, saluting.

Sam looked at the Lieutenant, chuckled and said, "You don't need to be formal with me, Lieutenant. At ease before you pull something."

For a split second Schrit considered the chances for the CDO on the Ares, who's an Ambassador, to be an ok kind of guy Schrit could be at ease with. Then he remembered a famous quote, from who he couldn't remember "Never tell me the odds" and went with cautious relaxing. He spread his legs a bit, and a little less straight and clasped his hands behind his back.

"Thank you sir."

Max, said, "I haven't met many of the crew since I started. Name's Max. I'll be his body guard." Sam said, "Our new Captain suggested you as our shuttle pilot." He handed a PADD to Van Hulftoids.

Taking the PADD Schrit recognised immediately it was displaying location information. Two taps changed the numeral coördinates and iconographied representation into a geographical representation with a blinking dot on the planet on which one could zoom in. One of the benefits of being a history lover with a special love for the Dominion war was that he knew the geography of the planet Bajor, it's star system and the surrounding sectors pretty well.

"These coordinates are near Mylea. On the southern coast of Kendra province." Schrit said, looking up from the PADD. "Shouldn't be a problem" he added with a smile.

Sam asked, "How fast can you get the rig ready?"

Schrit's answer was pre-empted by Ensign Sanjjen, an engineer who had been in the group which Schrit had been talking to moments before. "Number 2 just came out of the shop and is ready to go Schrit.. eehm.. Lieutenant." he said looking at Schrit. Schrit turned his way with a question on his face. "I parked it there myself just before i ran into you here." the eager ensign added. Schrit nodded and Schrit looked back over to the two officers.

"Apparently there's a shuttle ready right now." Schrit said, and pointed in the direction of the other hanger bay.

It was where the shuttles, worker bees and other smaller space craft the USS Ares was host to were parked. He stopped pointing as he thought of something and asked; "Unless there's some non-default requirements for this trip?"

"Normal shuttle will do just fine." Sam said. Before he got onto the shuttle, Max stopped Sam, opened a small door on his arm & took out a tiny device. "This is a tracker," Max said as he applied it to the underside of his lapel, "Anything happens to you, I'll know where you are precisely." Sam smiled at him and said, "Prudent. Thank you." Sam turned to Schrit & said, "Let's go!"

Schrit passed the two officers and sat into the seat at the shuttle's controls. He punched a few commands into the console and the Shuttle came to life. He then quickly performed the pre-flight checks, and got permission to launch from ops before gently lifting the shuttle 30cm. off the hanger floor and forward through the transparent energy field that separated the shuttle bay from space. When they were clear from the USS Ares, Schrit brought the shuttle smoothly into an crisp three quarter impulse trip from DS9 to the planet. Once DS9 had orbited the planet, but since it was moved to the mouth of the wormhole the trip took about 30 minutes on sub-light speeds.

[Josh Broughm]

This is going to be a LARGE post
Bajor
Mylea
As soon as the shuttle landed, Sam & Max departed for the central plaza of the village. "Seems cozy enough," Max said. Sam nodded and said, "Bajoran are one of the heartiest people I have met. They've endured a lifetime of hardship & have come out of the arse end of it better for it." Max looked around & said, "So, where the hell is this negoiation going to be at?" Sam looked around too, then said, "I have no clue." He looked down at the PADD, then said, "Saltuk hall, which should be...." Sam scanned the buildings by sight, then found his destination, "...over there!" They both walked over to the building.

When they arrived, they were met by two Bajoran Milita officers. Thet stopped Sam & Max from entering. "Building is being used by the Provisional-" the officer said, but was interrupted by Sam. "I'm here at the request of the Provisional Government." The officer nodded, then stepped aside to grant them access.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG MY FAMILY-" A loud, gruff, almost hoarse voice said, that was interrupted by another, even louder voice, "YOU DARE TALK ABOUT FAMILY, WHEN MY FATHER HAS BEEN FIGHTING FOR YEARS TO KEEP OUR FAMILY FED, EVEN DURING THE OCCUPATION!!" A disparraging voice squeaked out, "Gentlemen please, this shouting isn't getting us anywheres!" He saw Sam & Max enter at this point & said, "Thank the Prophets!" He approached the pair and said, "I thought you'd never get here!" Sam looked at Max and said, "The hell did I just walk into?" Max smartly said, "Hatfields & McCoys." Sam turned to the man & asked, "You're the Provisional liason?" The short, stout Bajoran said, "Yessir. Name's Ware Ogdog." Sam observed the two men posturing. They looked tired and very agtitated. "Did they have anything to eat?" Sam asked. Ogdog said, "Not for five hours." Max noted, "They might be what human call, Hangry." Sam snickered a bit, then said, "Have them go off for a lunch. Not with each other." Ogdog nodded and approached both men. Sam turned to Max and asked, "Thoughts?" Max looked surprised and said, "You're asking me?" Sam smiled and said, "Might as well." Max thought for a second, then said, "They seem like two targs ready to get at each other's necks. It's just a matter of when."
Sam saw the two men leave grumpily. Ogdog waved them over to a small table and said, "Those two have been like this sin their father's passed a year ago. All over a tract of land that both of their families have had for the better part of two-hundred years. They are nearly ready to kill each other." Sam slowly nodded and said, "So the both are looking for some sort of land share." Ogdod nodded and said, "The main issue is who exactaly has rights to the land, since their fathers passed. We haven't found the writ of last wishes for either of them. That would've solved this problem long ago." Sam tapped the table, thinking of a strategy to break the impass. "How come the writs aren't in the databanks of the Government?" Max asked. "Writs are considered outside the realm of the provisional Government," Ogdog said, "but the First Minister is looking to fix this soon." Sam nodded, then said, "Its time to start setting up. I'll need a three-sided table, large, with each side concaved in slightly. Large coolers of bottled water on each side. I'll also need some sort of holographic projector installed in the middle of the table. I want them to see diagrams if the land their fighting over."

Ogdog nodded and said, "It'll take a few minutes to get this stuff done. Shouldn't be a problem." He got up and talked with the two Milita guards at the door & they all strode off into the village. Max noted, "Think you can solve this?" Sam said, plainly, "I hope so."

About a half-hour later, Ogdog & the two guards came back with a crew of workers that were carrying cases that had the components of a table. Three were carrying cases of water in massive coolers. Sam & Max helped them set up. It took them about fourty-five minutes to assemble everything in the hall. Sam slumped down in a chair at one of the sides & said, "I haven't worked this hard since....ever, I think." Max just shrugged and sat in a chair off to the side. Ogdog came in & said, "They'll be here any minute." Sam got up, straightened his suit & the UFP laurels on his lapel, took a glug of water, then approached the doors. Max said, "I'll make myself scarce. You have a nearby console I can poke at?" Ogdog pointed at a door on the other side and said, "Couple of Gaming consoles in there. Their old, but you might be able to get one working." Max nodded, then went through the door.

The first of the men came through the door and said, "I guess the piece of trash decided to not return. That's-" Sam held up his hand and said, "Sir, I will not allow petty insults to be slung at either side in this building!" The man looked at Ogdog and asked, "The Mediator?" Ogdog said, "Yes. Ambassador Urquhart, from the USS Ares." The man extended his had to Sam and said, "I'm Lisu Acon, head of Acon farms. I deeply apologize for dragging the Federation into what ammounts to a family squabble." Sam nodded and said, "The first Minister wants this resolved ASAP." Lius nodded sagely, saying, "It all boils down to what is in our father's joint Writ." Sam blinked and said, "A joint Will?" I've.....not heard of that before." Lius explained, "It isn't commom, but they were made in the past. Thing is, no one can find the Writ." Sam shook his head and said, "They misplaced the Will?" Lius nodded and said, "My family's looked everywheres for it." Sam thought for a moment and asked, "What are you looking for out of this?" Lius said, "A temporary land use agreement until the Writ is found." Sam nodded and said, "Simple enough. Show me what I'm mediating." The three approached the table and Lius punched in the location of the land & said, "There you go." Sam saw that it was a massive tract of land and immediately said, "I think I've got the solution to this." Just then, another man burst throught the doors and yelled, "YOU THINK THE LAND IS ALL YO-" Sam stepped up into the man's face and said, "I WILL NOT ALLOW OVERT YELLING & POSTURING AT THIS TABLE, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!?!" The man suddenly cocked his fist, ready to strike Sam, when one of the Milita guards grabbed his arm and said, "DON'T DO IT!!" The man dropped his fist and said, "Drirbi Kut. Let's get this over with. I've got crops to plant in MY farmland." He strode over to one side, Lius sat at another & Sam sat at the third.

Sam said plainly, "Gentlemen, I think I've come up with a solution to your problem." Kut laughed and said, "How can a human solve a BAJORAN problem?! Typical of Ice to bring in the Federation to solve BAJORAN PROBLEMS!!" Sam looked over at Kut and said to him, "Land dispute aren't unique to the Bajorans. This is what I have in mind." Sam tapped the controls of the projection & said, "This is the tract of land that you both are fighting over, right?" Both men nodded, Sam went on, "The issue here is the missing Writ. The proper thing to do is a temporary land use agreement." Kut's eyebrows raised a bit, "Temporary land use agreement?" he asked, "Proposterus! The land is clearly mine." Lius said to Kut, sharply, "This is the thing I wanted for the last six months!"

Sam held up his hand and said, "Let me finish. I know this had caused a sharp, deep rift between your families. This is what exactaly I have in mind." Sam added border lines through the land with the middle tract highlighted in red. Kut's eyebrows raised higher, saying, "This setup is quite interesting." His demeanor changed greatly. Lius noticed this and said, "Now, we're getting somewhere. So, you propose a 33% split?" Sam nodded and said, "The tract in the middle would be controlled by both families." Lius said, "I'm good with that!" Sam smiled and said, "Good." They both turned to Kut and waited for his response. "I will agree to this," he said, "on one condition." Lius said, plainly, "It has to do with the Writs, right?" Kut nodded and went on, "This becomes permanent in two years, should the Writ not be found." Lius said, "DEAL!" Both men got up and shook hands. Ogdog approached and said, "I'll have the paperwork drawn up." He slapped both men on the back and went back to Sam, saying, "Thank you, so much." Sam nodded graciously and said, "That has to be a record for me." He got up and went into the side room with Max. "Take it it went well?" he asked. Sam stretched and said, "Very. Let's head into town. I want to get Akyv a little gift."

[deuZige]

This might be a tad bit on the long side as far as posts go....
Deck 2 - Crew Quarters
van Hulftoids quarters, living room

From the other side of the door came a voice that sounded different from what Danre had expected. No Loud, deep, authoritative voice booming the demand to open the door. Instead a more squeaky insecure one that, after a moment of silence, spoke politely. “This is Starfleet security offer, Ensign Notsosure. There has been a possible breach of regulations reported located inside these quarters. I need to confirm if that report is correct or not.” the voice said. Danre winced at the words breach of regulations. “Enter” he said, so the computer would allow the officer to come in. He knew that if he didn’t the officer would have come in anyway.

The door swooshed open to reveal a rather diminutive Starfleet Ensign brandishing a tricorder, not a phaser. Danre took that to be a good omen.

“Good evening sir. My father isn’t here at the moment. I am home alone. Is there anything I can do for you?” Danre asked, keeping the most innocent and ignorant expression on his face. The man, obviously part Ferengi by the looks of his ears, waited for his tricorder to finish the scan it was taking before stepping forward into the quarters far enough for the doors to consider it far enough to close. “Well young man I have been sent here to investigate a suspected violation of several security regulations as well as an attempt to steal vital encrypted and highly classified information from the computer network” said the ensign. “There might be hostile intelligence agents at work here. Did you see anything out of the ordinary here in the past thirty minutes or so?” he added, scanning around the room with the tricorder.

“No sir. I’ve been lying on the sofa with my PADD waiting for my father to come home before it is my bed time.” Danre answered. “I think that it will be some time before you will be able to go to bed my young friend. You see, if you have not seen or heard anything the enemy secret agent must be hidden inside the ceiling crawl spaces right above these quarters.” the security officer said, pointing up. “Do you know how computer networks work?” he asked Danre.

Despite himself Danre couldn’t resist answering the question with pride in his voice. He prided himself on his skills and knowledge on computer science, and on data communication in particular. “Yes sir. I have a certificate of proficiency level 4 in Data Communication and Networking from the Duch Delft Institute for higher education.” he said, his eyes getting noticeably wider by the minute with the mounting anxiety he was feeling.

“Well than I don’t have to explain to you what it means when part of a data stream flowing from one point to another loses more than 30% signal strength right after a 16 nanosecond complete 0 signal moment.” the security officer asked looking conspiratorially at Danre, then glancing up at the ceiling again. “Our sensor said the point the enemy agent must have tried to hard-line onto the high security network connections is located right here in these quarters.” the ensign said.

Though he managed to keep his expression from showing it Danre was beginning to get scared. The way the officer was talking his tampering with the ODN pathways and the ODN junction was interpreted as a cyber security attack by a foreign intelligence agent, and an attempt to steal secret starfleet information. The prospect of his dad coming back and finding the ceiling being pulled apart by Starfleet security looking for alien intellgence agents wasn’t something to look forward too.

“My tricorder is not picking up anything out of the ordinary either said the Ensign, jarring Danre’s mind from thoughts about a furious father. I’ll have to report to my superior that even though the breach detection is irrefutable and a physical connection to the ODN juntion has been made physically the occupant of the quarters in which the ODN Juntion is located did not see or hear anything while it happened.” the security ensign told Danre. “The tech and skill needed to do something like that this close to someone without detection is beyond what the Federation or Star Fleet is capable of.:” he added.

He then looked Danre in the eye saying; “Young man, you are fortunate you’re alive. I shall have to take you in for protective custody. If the enemy agent hears there was some one this close to him/her/it when he was working tyou may be judged to be a possible witness, and considered a treat to their operation on this ship. I know of very few intelligence organization that consider someone like that an acceptable liability. They probably will try to kill you pre-emptively.

That was the point that Danre’s conscience broke and at which Danre knew there was no way he’d get away with it without his father finding out.

The ensign seemed to open a comm channel to the security department to begin his report.

“Ensign NotSoSure to Lieutenant Gawdemm. I have completed the visuL ns sensor sweep of the quarters. Not a particle seems out of place. The resident of this quar…” spoke ensign, when he was interrupted talking
He dropped his head in shame and embarrassment, afraid to look the Ensign in the eye. “Please mr. Officer. Don’t tell any one. There wasn’t an intelligence agent and nobody tried to steal secrets. It was me sir, I connected my tricorder to the ODN path way. I am so sorry.”

The Ensign stopped talking mid centence, and gaped in exaggerated shocked expression at the little guy. It took real effort too, as the look on Danre’s face was so heart-breaking genuine it hurt. He then sighed and pointed at the sofa. “Sit down young man”

Danre nodded and silently sat down, nearly breaking out in tears. The ensign sat down as well and shook his head. “Before I place you under arrest I’ll give you a chance to explain yourself to me. I do not know your father personally but I am aware of his career in Starfleet, and have great respect for someone with such a long and distinguished career.” the young security officer said gravely.

Danre looked up to face him before he began to talk. “Please, my father and I have only come aboard the Ares a few hours ago. He has enough on his mind already, and I don’t want him to have to worry about me too.” Danre pleaded, adding; “All I wanted was to use the computer console in my bedroom.”

“And every time you use the computer where you come from you strip the covers off an ODN junction and hotline a tricorder to it leeching raw data?” the ensign deadpanned. Danre shook his head vigorously in denial. “Of course not, the computer network always authorized me on Utopia Planetia!” he exclaimed.

“And?” the ensign prodded.

“And here the computer told me I didn’t have authorization, and it wouldn’t give me any access beyond visitor access. That doesn’t get me anything except the replicator and ‘The United Federation of Planets is made up of thousands of worlds, who have joined in a political, cultural blabla blaaaah…” Danre explained.

“And that makes it okay to tamper with the computer network of a Starfleet Starship, relied upon by not only its 800+ crew members but also the citizens of the UFP, and connected to one of the most powerful matter anti-matter warp cores in the fleet as well as a scary collection of unimaginably powerful weapons arrays.?” Ensign Notsosure asked in a stern voice.

Danre seemed to chew on those words for a moment and then hung his head to hide the tears that he knew he would not be able to hold back. Sobbing, his words coming out in between sobs, he said; “I hadn’t… thought about that... sir, I’m….. so sorry….. I just did… what we used to…. Do on U…., on the R&D network… when there was… a core shutdown… during an up…. Grade….”

At that moment the door to the quarters swished open, and both the ensign and Danre looked up to see why. In the doorway Schrit looked at them with an odd expression. Something between smugness and guilt was in it. He stepped forward to allow the door to close, and then crossed his arms. “Okay Jimmy, I think we’ve taken it a tad bit to far. Thanks for playing along. I think Danre has more than learned his lesson, and I doubt he’ll so much as blink at the computer system the wrong way any time soon.” he said. Ensign Notsosure nodded, ruffled Danre’s hair as he got up and walked over to Schrit. “Glad to be of assistance chief” Jimmy told Schrit. “I must admit It was hard to keep up the act there for a few moments. I felt really sorry for him at the end” he added.

“Yeah, I know what you mean, that’s why I stepped in. But I know my son. If he doesn’t learn the hard way he doesn’t learn. At least not things like this. His callous attitude towards Starfleet rules, regulations he took with him from the shipyards hanging with his civilian friends would have gotten him into real trouble at some point, this might have been a little bit over the top but it did drive home the fact that this is a Starfleet ship, with Starfleet people, depending on Starfleet Rules and regulations to keep them alive and capable of defending the United Federation of Planets from anything at any time.” Schrit said, facing Danre as he spoke. Danre knew that what his father was talking to him more than he was to the ensign. “On UP, even though it was a Starfleet facility, about half of the personnel was from the Civilian core of engineers or the Daystrom institute of Technology. Except for a few restricted classified locations the freedom for knowledge, technology, scientists and engineers to come together and a accomplish their tasks had higher priority than adhering to the rules and regulations of Starfleet security.” Schrit continued explaining. Jimmy nodded.

“No need to explain yourself chief. I am honored to have been able to be of service to you. My father used to tell us stories from the time he served with the 833rd, and I loved those stories. I used to imagine what it would be like to serve along side men like Sergeant Hoffer and Chief van Hulftoids. Now I AM serving with Master Chief Petty Officer Schrit “Home Run” van Hulftoids. The look on his face when I tell that to my father will be a memory that i’ll cherish for ever.” Jimmy said.
“How is old sarge Notsomuch these days? I heard he retired, what? 4 years ago?” Schrit asked, as the two slowly made their way to the door. As the door opened and the ensign stepped out into the corridor he answered “He’s 4 years more deaf, 4 years more stubborn and gets nostalgic more and more every year. I think that if Mom hadn’t passed away he’d still be scaring the pants off new recruits right now.” Jimmy said.

“Tell him I said hi, and that i’ll come share a bottle of 32 year old Glennfiddich with him next time i’m in the neighborhood of the Regulis system alright?” Schrit asked. As Jimmy walked away he replied “Nah, i’ll just give him your comm id, so he can call you himself. He’d love to swap stories with you, freeing hours up in my schedule to spend on things young people like to do.”

“Ooooh, that was low Jimmy, that was low! I’ll see you in the holo deck soon! Show you how young you really are!” Schrit shouted after Jimmy with a smile on his face.

Then he walked into the quarters and grabbed his still wet eyed son in his arms to give him the biggest warmest loving bear hugg he’d ever given. Then he sat down on the sofa and looked the kid in the eye. “Okay, you and me, we gotta talk. I’ve got an apology to make, and I don’t need to hear yours, because… well…. See that model of the Sparrow fighter? The cockpit panels are also tiny fish eye holo cam lenses.” he said, an apologetic look on his face.