[WelshAvenger]

Star Trek: Disavowed
Part One - Kendra

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
So I took the path not taken,
To rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And into the light rode the Six Hundred,
And found themselves on the Night's Plutonian shore.
Rubber baby buggy bumpers.

Doctor Dylan Frost looked up from the PADD he was staring at and shook his head. It had been a year and a half since she was incarcerated and it seemed that she was worse now than she was the day she arrived. "Kendra, what is this?"

The woman slowly moved her head to rest her warm, brown gaze on the good doctor. She was sitting on her bed with her knees tucked up to her chest. She looked like some sort of bizarre ball with a mop of curly red hair. "It's a poem."

Frost simply stared at her, but inwardly he was groaning. It was going to be another long session..... "I asked you to write a poem."

"Yes, you did."

Now he sighed. "This is not a poem."

Kendra looked genuinely perplexed. "Yes it is."

"No," he said. "This is a jumble of lines from several different poems. I wanted something from you."

"Well, it is from me. I mean, I wrote it, didn't I?" she asked. Her act of naiveté was utterly irritating.

The psychologist closed his eyes. Once upon a time, he had prided himself on the fact that he never let anything bother him. But then he met Kendra Summers, and it was no longer a boast he could make. "In a way, you did, yes. But you pulled the lines from other poems from already existing poems. The point of this project was to have you write something to express your thoughts. There is no originality to this at all."

"I did express my thoughts." And then her entire face fell; she looked wounded. "Are you telling me that you didn't get it?"

"Kendra, there was nothing here to get! You just pulled lines from other..."

She cut him off. "I figured that it was the best way to get my point across. I mean, they worked before, why can't they work now?" She unfolded her body and stretched out into a more conventional sitting position. "I mean, it's quite profound. Even if I do say so myself."

"You cannot possibly think that this means anything," Frost said flatly.

"I do," she said. "It's about my life. 'The woods are lovely, dark, and deep' represents the state I was in while aboard the USS Illustrious. I was torn between my orders and what I thought was right. It was a dark place, but it really wasn't all that bad. But I knew I couldn't stay there forever. 'So I took the path not taken' is indicative of my choice. Most of the crew seemed to think it was black and white: their choice was that of Starfleet's. I, on the other hand, couldn't bring myself to go that way. I couldn't just go the same direction as the masses. To do that would have been like a small piece of me died. And I couldn't go against what I truly believed what was right just for the sheer fact I was told to do so. That's the third line, by the way. The 'Six Hundred' is obviously a reference to the Marines and then they ended up 'on the Night's Plutonian shore' by getting sent to the UFP prison in Auckland. They got screwed over. And the last line... Well, it's so obvious it doesn't even deserve explanation."

He stared at her, unbelieving. "That's insanity."

"Exactly!" she exclaimed. "It's a representation of my state of mind and where I am! See? I knew you got it. You really had me going there for a moment, pretending you didn't understand it and all."

He didn't know what was more frightening: the fact that she rationalized the 'poem' or the fact that he found that it made sense. "Kendra, I want you to write another poem. I can't accept this."

"Why not?" she demanded with a frown.

He started to answer her when suddenly something moved beside him, just out of the corner of his peripheral vision. It moved in a blur and the air was disturbed beside him, washing a cold chill along his spine. Damn, did he hate that bird. "I thought I asked you to keep him in his cage while I was with you."

Pig had flown to Kendra and perched happily on her finger. She was stroking his soft feathers. "I told him to stay put. I tried to reason with him. I swear I really did. But you just can't talk to him. For some reason, he just doesn't listen. He's very stubborn, you know."

Frost opened his mouth to ask why she just didn't lock him up, but stopped himself. It was a pointless argument. One they had had many times before. He decided to let it drop. "I would like for you to write another poem, Kendra," he stated. He raised his hand to stop her almost immediate protest. "While this one is...good," he explained, almost gagging on the word, "I would like for you to write me another one. Something that is completely from your own mind."

"Yes, Doctor Frost," she said, without ever taking her eyes off her bird. The grey ♥♥♥♥atiel completely ignored everything in the room. As long as he was getting some attention, he didn't give a damn who else was in the room.

Frost left the room, muttering to himself.

Kendra let out a deep sigh of relief. "Dear, God. I thought he'd never leave." Then she looked to her pet with a scowl. "And you, little man, where the hell were you? You were supposed to interrupt much, much sooner."

The bird just looked at her and chirped grumpily. She had stopped petting him and he didn't like it. He rubbed his head against her hand, trying to coax her to continue. She smiled. "I never could stay mad at you long, Piggy." She stroked his feathers again and he chirped very happily.

Getting up off the bed, she walked across the room to put Pig back in his cage. It was almost lunchtime; someone would be bringing her food soon. They wouldn't let her use the replicator anymore. Apparently someone thought there was, in fact, such a thing as too much of a good thing. These people just had no appreciation for a good bowl of eggdrop soup. So what if she had programmed all the replicators to produce nothing but soup? Wherever she was in the building, she wanted to make sure she could get a bowl. What was so wrong with that?

Just then, she heard the door slide open and closed. She had her back to the door, so she just called out to the person, "Just leave it on the table!" There was no response. Now, such a statement doesn't really require a response, but someone usually did respond. Even if it was just a grunt, there was usually some sort of acknowledgment. Kendra turned around and saw nothing. There was no one in the room. She looked around, walked towards the door, and out into the hallway. There was no one there either.

Kendra walked back into the room, confused. That was odd. Maybe someone just walked into her room by accident and then left once they realized their mistake... But wouldn't she have seen someone in the hallway? That much time hadn't passed since the door opened and she walked into the hall. Had it?

Just then, an arm came out of nowhere and grabbed her from behind. She felt a phaser pressed to her temple. "Don't move," a female voice said. Kendra didn't even have time to register the words; she just reacted. She stepped on the unknown person's foot, causing them to release their hold on her for a split second, but it was all Kendra needed. Grabbing the arm with the phaser, she flipped the woman over her back and onto the floor, so that assailant was staring at the ceiling. Kendra didn't remember pulling the phaser out of the woman's hand but, somewhere along the way, she had for it was now in her hand.

She pointed at the woman's head. "Who the hell are you and why did you pull a damn phaser on me?" The woman just lay there, saying nothing. "Okay, just so you know, I'm already in here partially because I shot someone. I have no qualms about doing it again, especially when I'm damn well justified this time."

"You weren't really justified the first time. In the eyes of Starfleet, anyway. They tend to frown on it when you stun your own assistant, regardless of the fact that you were trying to save him from being killed."

Kendra started to ask how she knew that, but stopped. Anyone who had read her file knew that. Duh. So she opted for the next question. "What do you want?"

"Can I get up? I prefer to talk to people while standing," the woman commented.

"Up," Kendra said after a moment. It seemed like a harmless enough request. As long as she stayed out of reach, that is.

The dark haired woman rolled her side and stood in one fluid motion. It was almost like watching a dance. She turned to look at Kendra, her bright purple eyes set in a cool, amused gaze. "That's better," she said after a moment.

"I'm sure it is. You're not human." she stated. Her arm never gazed from this strange woman.

The purple-eyed woman actually smiled. "You're quick. In more ways than one, apparently," she replied, referring to Kendra's fast reaction to her attack. The woman began to cross the room.

"I also don't recall giving you permission to move."

The woman shrugged. "I don't need your permission."

Kendra waved the phaser. "Hel-lo? I'm the one who's armed, here!"

"No, you aren't," came the reply as she stretched out on Kendra's bed. She relaxed on the bed like a young girl would at a slumber party. Like they were old friends or something.

"The hell I'm not!" Kendra said heatedly.

The woman once again gave her that nonchalant shrug. "No, you aren't. Do you really think I'd come in here with a live phaser? What kind of fool do you take me for?"

Kendra looked at her, pointed the phaser right at her, and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. "Hmm. Guess you're right." She tossed the phaser aside. "And as far as the answer to your question, was that rhetorical or do you really want me to answer it?"

"You would have shot me," the stranger said with a raised eyebrow. Then a slow smile crept to her lips. "You're exactly the person we want for this job."

"Job?" Kendra asked, perplexed. "Who the hell are you and what is this all about?"

She just looked at Kendra with a knowing smile. It was very annoying. "My name does not matter. At least, not now. I am here to offer you the chance of a lifetime. Or rather, the second chance of a lifetime."

Kendra laughed. "Are you saying that you can get me out of here? I'm a Lifer, hon. Ain't no one short of the President of the UFP gonna get me out of here."

"What if I told you that there were those of us that were higher than even the President?"

"Higher than the President?" Kendra repeated. She started to brush her hair out of her face. "That would have to make you super special. Like Intel, or something. Hell, even the mythological Section 31. If it did exist..."

"Oh, it does."

"Yeah, right."

The dark haired woman ♥♥♥♥ed her head to the side. "You can tell if I'm lying. You're Betazoid."

That stopped her. The woman hadn't been lying. She had been completely serious. "Well, all that proves is that you believe what you're saying. For all I know, you could be my next door neighbour. We are in a crazy house, you know."

She shrugged. "Do you want to continue with the interrogation or do you want to hear what I have to say? I had things planned for later in the day and I would like to get to them sometime today."

"Talk," Kendra stated after a moment. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

"No, it's not," the stranger said, her purple eyes twinkling in the light. "As I said, I am here to offer you a second chance. In the past, there have been many ships in which Starfleet officers and Marines and SEALs have served together."

"I kinda know that better than most people." The woman gave her a hard stare, so much that it actually made Kendra uneasy. "Please continue."

"As I was saying," she went on, "they have served together, but never has there been a genuine cooperative effort between the two. It's always been a Starfleet ship with Marines and SEALs or a SEAL/Marine ship with Starfleet officers. We want to change that, especially in light of what happened on your previous assignment."

Kendra rolled her eyes. "Okay, that's great. So why are you telling me this? You want me to serve on it or something? Chief of Security?"

"Oh, we want you to be the Starfleet part of it." Her smile broadened. "But we don't want you to be the CSO. We want you to be the Commanding Officer."

Kendra stared at the woman for a full minute without uttering a sound. "Say that again."

"We want you to be the Starfleet CO. In order to make this a genuine co-op, there will also be a Marine CO. You two will basically be two people with the same job. You will run the Starfleet side of it, the Marine will run the Marine side of it. But you will always keep the other apprised of your people's activities. No decisions can be made without the other's approval." Again there was silence as Kendra just stared at her. "Are you just going to gawk at me or do you have any questions?"

Kendra shook her head, like she was coming out of some sort of trance. "Hell, yeah, I've got questions. First of all, why me? I mean, I'm in a mental institution. Surely there is someone out there more qualified than me."

"This is true. There was another candidate, but she is no longer eligible," the woman paused, trying to think how to explain this. "Basically, we chose you because of your past. What got you in here in the first place was the fact you did what you personally felt was right, regardless of what the regs said. Starfleet regulations can be.... rigid.... and the best operatives are the ones who know when to use regs and when to throw them away. And the situation involved both Marines and SEALs. You worked with them, fought alongside them. We need someone who knows how to interact with them."

"But I don't really like them. It was a complete accident that their orders went along with what I believed. Marines are goons with guns," Kendra simply blurted out.

"And that would be an asset too. You would always be keeping tabs on each other. They do it as part of their job. You do it not only as part of your job as a sec officer, but because you don't like them. 'Keep your friends close...'"

"'But keep your enemies closer.'' Kendra finished. "Yes, I've heard it before. I don't consider them enemies, just.... well, goons with guns."

The woman shrugged again. "Are you going to keep questioning why we think so highly of you?"

"Sorry."

"Look at it this way. You can stay here and rot for the rest of your life. The accommodations are lacking, the food's gotta suck, and you have no freedom. Or, you can take the job and get your life back. Hell, it's a better life even. You would be the CO of a ship and would get a promotion out of it. Not bad for someone who's been out of commission for a year and a half."

Kendra studied the woman. It was such an inviting offer. She'd have to be crazy not to take it, no pun intended of course. But there was something tugging at the back of her mind. Something bothered her, preventing from saying 'yes' immediately.

And then it occurred to her what it was.

"I'll do it," she proclaimed.

"We knew you would," the woman replied coolly.

"But only on one condition..."

The dark haired woman looked at her in amusement. "You are hardly in the position to be making demands."

"You said so yourself: I'm the only option," Kendra replied with a shrug. "I think I am in a very good position for bargaining."

The look on the woman's face hardened ever so slightly, as if she didn't appreciate having her own words thrown back at her. "What do you want?"

Kendra smiled. "It's already been established that I don't like Marines. Or SEALs. So if I'm going to work closely with them on a daily basis, I want it to be someone that I'm familiar with. Someone I know who to deal with."

"You want Curtis Hawkins as the Marine CO."

"Exactly."

She seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding. "Done. We can get him out, no problem."

"I want all of them. SEALs and Marines," Kendra stated flatly.

"All of them? You do realize that is something like a third of the population at Auckland. That would not be an easy feat to take them without questions..."

"Well if you don't think you can do it...."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "We can do it. It'll just take a lot of our resources. But it can be arranged."

"Then it's settled then. When do we leave?" Kendra asked triumphantly.

She rose from her seat on the bed and stood in the middle of the room. "We leave tomorrow. We get you out of here, and then we're going to train you. As one of our operatives, you will need special training, of course."

"Of course," she repeated. "About how long will this training take?"

"Six months."

"Six months? Damn..." Kendra swore.

"Yes," came the reply. "Six months. Now, gather your things, tie up any loose ends here. We will come for you in the morning." The woman headed towards the door. "And remember, speak of this to no one."

"Wait!" Kendra called after her. "How in hell do you really plan on pulling this off? I mean, we're basically all convicts. Are you just going to march in the front office and demand for release?"

The woman stopped, but Kendra could read her like a book. She knew the woman was smiling knowingly, arrogantly. "We are Section 31. We can do anything we want." And with that, she left.

The door slid closed and Kendra just studied it for a moment. Then Pig chirped forlornly. She turned to her pet and grinned. "We're getting the hell out of here, Piggy!"

****

Doctor Dylan Frost stood outside Kendra's room with his eyes closed. He took a deep breath, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Just a little time to relieve the stress he knew he was going to be under while in this room. It was better to do it now, than in front of her. If he didn't know any better, he would swear that she enjoyed annoying him....

Finally, he walked into the room. "And how are we doing today, Kendra?" he asked before he really looked around the room. When no answer came, he looked up and around. Shock was the only word that could describe what crossed his features.

The room was completely stripped. Save for the furniture that went with the room: bed, desk, dresser, etc. But anything and everything that gave the room a personal touch, the look of someone actually inhabiting the place, was gone. There were no pictures, no plants, no books, no personal items of any kind lying about the room. Even the birdcage was gone. What the hell was going on?

He quickly accessed the patient registry and frowned. "Computer, is Kendra Summers really not a patient anymore or has there been some sort of mistake?" This all could be just an elaborate joke that the infuriating woman was playing on him. Alter patient records and move her stuff to another room, just to drive him crazy.... Yeah, it was a classic Kendra move.

"Kendra Summers is no longer a patient in this facility," came the computer's monotone reply.

His frown deepened. Why would no one notify him? He was her doctor, for crying out loud. "Why not?"

"Kendra Summers has been transferred to another facility."

He nodded. Well, now it made sense. Sorta. He had put in a recommendation to have her placed somewhere else, but his request had been denied. The powers that be must have changed their minds. But still.... Someone should have notified him.

Dylan had started to turn to walk out when he noticed a PADD sitting on the bare dresser. Curiosity got the best of him and he picked it up. He read it and groaned. She still got him in the end. Kendra had written a poem for him, as he requested. Too bad he would never know what it meant:

I am the Walrus.
I flap my fins,
And the Walls fall down around me.

[Silynn]

Wonderful and engaging read! Looking forward to more!

[WelshAvenger]

Part Two - Curtis

The air was cool with the brisk chill of the October breeze. Leaves of all shades of yellow, orange, and red moved on the trees they clung so desperately to, hanging onto the very last vestiges of summer. Birds flew overhead, moving to winter nesting grounds. The puffy white clouds moved lazily through the autumn sky.

Damn, it was good to be free. Kendra Summers leaned against the tree and closed her eyes, taking in all the sensations. She smiled as the breeze blew gently on her face. It had been so long....

Her commbadge suddenly chirped, bring her out of her daydream. It was good to be free, but she could have lived without that for a little while longer. Alas, duty called. Kendra's smile turned into a grin. No, the commbadge wasn't so bad after all. She had her career back.

She hoped. There was only one thing left to do to cement the deal.... She tapped her commbadge. =/\= Summers here. Go ahead. =/\=

=/\= The meeting has been arranged. Stand by for transport. =/\=

=/\= Acknowledged. Summers out. =/\= She cut the comm and waited while the familiar sound of a transporter beam enveloped her.

**Auckland, New Zealand**

"Hawkins!!" came the familiar voice of Leroy Washington, Earth's most wanted murderer. The big, burly black man called after the Former Marine/SEAL until he found him leaning against the pool table in the rec centre. He stared at the grunt with disgust. "I've been waiting six long months for this moment."

Curtis Hawkins slowly looked up from his game of billiards and gazed back at the criminal. It was going to be another long day. Six months earlier, Leroy Washington had heard rumours of the tactical training of Starfleet SEALs. He had killed many people from many species in his life, but he had yet to find a worthy opponent; until he met Hawkins. The Soldier had laid him out in five seconds flat and after spending all those months in solitary, he wanted major revenge.

Hawkins was smaller than the murderer by a good one foot, but the former soldier was as solid as a bull, he was up to 240 lbs. of pure muscle, which made him a very worthy adversary. Curtis set his cue stick down and began to walk towards Leroy. "Glad to see they finally let your sorry ass out, Washington. Who did you blow to get that to happen?"

"Keep running your mouth, Hawkins, and I'll gladly shut it for you."

Keith Bednash, former member of SEAL Team 1 walked side by side with Hawkins. "Want us to take him out for you, sir?"

Hawkins shook his head. "No, I can handle him again." After the two long years in Auckland, Hawkins was still amazed at how his men still referred to him and 'sir' and 'Major'. He felt pretty good knowing his men still held respect and loyalty to him.

The two opponents stood face to face as they stared each other down. Just when Washington went to spout some more insults, Hawkins quickly snapped a jab and hit Leroy squarely in the throat. The big man went down and began coughing blood from his internal wound. It was a shame, but he would live. The guards shackled both Hawkins and Washington and prepared to take them back to solitary, until a guard took Hawkins by the arm. "You have a visitor."

Kendra waited in the small room. Since a great deal of the inmates here were those that she had served with before, it had been arranged that she would be beamed directly inside the prison. It just wouldn't do to have someone recognize her. Inmate or guard. Could upset the entire operation if she was jumped.

Hawkins hadn't known who would come and see him. He knew for sure it wasn't Anya. After the trial, the court denied her access to see him ever again, but he would always pray that he would gaze into her beautiful blue eyes again. Curtis entered through the doorway of the meeting room and stared back at a face that he known he'd seen before. "Summers?"

She gave him a small nod. "Nice to see you remember me, Hawkins."

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked.

"Now, now, now. Is that any way to treat an old friend? Especially one who has something to discuss with you?" she replied with a small smile. Kendra gave him the once over. "You look well," she said soberly. She had no idea how they were being treated here.

He gazed over her body. It had been a long time since he laid his eyes on a living, breathing woman. "You're looking very nice yourself." he said hungrily.

*Okaaaay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say...* she thought to herself. "Thank you. Mental institution was a bitch, but it was a resort compared to this place."

"I don't know about that. This place reminds me of palm springs." he replied in a very sarcastic tone.

Kendra raised her hands. "Stop playing with me, Hawkins. I'm not here for this."

He shook his head. "Then what the hell are you here for Summers? Last time I checked, we weren't on good terms."

"I'm here on behalf of Starfleet. And before you ask, yes, I said Starfleet. Intelligence actually."

"Great!" he replied. "Another damned interrogation, just what I need. You can walk you little ass back to whoever sent you and tell them to go screw themselves. I don't have time for this."

"Dammit! Will you listen to me, Hawkins! I have a way to get you out of here. ALL of you," Kendra said firmly.

Now he had her undivided attention. "What are you talking about?"

"Ah, now you wanna hear me out. About damn time!" She leaned against the wall and stared hard at Hawkins. God, she's forgotten how much she disliked him. "About six months ago, I was approached by a member of Starfleet Intelligence. She identified herself as a member of Section 31 and gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. Apparently, they want to have a Marine/SEAL/Starfleet co-op ship. Something that will act as muscle, so to speak, for the organization. I apparently came to mind, seeing as how I'm one of the only 'fleeters to ever stand with the Marines and SEALs in, well, anything. So I get my career back if I join up with them."

"What did the Marines and SEALs have to say about this?" he asked.

She cleared her throat and spoke in her best authoritative voice. "'In light of the incident aboard the Illustrious, the Marines and SEALs are giving their full support to the SFI project.'" She smirked. "I personally think they just want a hand in the Intel part of it, but that's just me.
Anyway, I told them that I would only be willing to work with you guys. I still don't like Marines, but if I have to play nice, it sure as hell better be with someone I know."

His brow furrowed. "Are they willing to re-enlist the 154th and SEAL Team 1?"

"Every single damn one of ya. Even that idiot Taylor."

"And I have command?"

Kendra drew in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "Not exactly...."

"Why don't you clarify on that last sentence. What do you mean 'not exactly'?"

"I said they wanted this to be a co-op ship, remember?" she said evenly. "As in, the CO position gets split. Specifically, between you and me...."

Hawkins sighed miserably. "Dammit. This is the lamest idea I have ever heard in my life. How the hell do they expect us to coexist peacefully on this vessel? I'm better off here where I still have some managerial control."

"Now don't go getting upset yet, Princess. You would still have command over the Marines and SEALs. I have command over the Starfleet personnel. But we are sharing the CO responsibility. I can't do anything without your approval and you can't do anything without mine. It's a true joint venture."

"But still," he said in a hurt tone. "I really don't think this is going to work."

"Look, I'm not wild about it either. But you have to admit, it's better than rotting in this hell hole for the rest of your life," Kendra said tersely.

He looked at her and shook his head. "That's not what Starfleet thinks. They don't care about following orders and they steam roll everybody who still holds their belief of doing their duty for God and their planet."

She looked into his eyes, letting him know she was sincere. "It's been two years since the Illustrious, Hawkins. And even after all this time, I still believe that we did the right thing. None of us should be here. So when the opportunity arose to make this all go away, I took it."

He turned his head away from her and thought about his options. Jail wasn't so bad, but it got awfully lonely, and deep down he wanted his freedom and his command back. "Fine." he said and looked back at her. "When do we leave?"

"We leave tomorrow."

"Good, I'll inform the troops and get packed. Anything thing else you want from me?" he asked as he stood up to leave.

She shook her head. "No, not at the moment."

Hawkins nodded and walked out the door. "Good, see you tomorrow."

Kendra watched him leave. What exactly had she gotten herself into with this deal? She hit her commbadge, signalling for her to be beamed back aboard the vessel that had brought her here and disappeared in the transporter beam.

Hawkins couldn't help but to smile to himself. He was finally getting his life back, and after two years of waiting patiently, all was about to pay off.

[WelshAvenger]

Part Three - Christopher

Isle of White Maximum Sercurity Wing
Starfleet Penitentiary
United Kingdom

He wished he had listened to Natalya. But his need for revenge had consumed him. Even now, alone in the darkness of his cell, Christopher couldn't feel remorse for what he had one. The thing which stung the most was that they had taken his honour away from him.

His mind raced backwards...

He was the assistant chief medical officer aboard the USS Outrider during the Dominion war, freshly promoted to Lt jg and eager as hell. The Outrider had been assigned to rescue prisoners from a Cardassian camp. Christopher had volunteered to be field medic on the mission. The insertion had gone to plan, Hanson, the team leader and CSO, was a capable leader and looked after Christopher throughout the early hours of the mission. The team had gone to plant charges around the Cardassian buildings when a stray guard noticed them.

The firefight which ensued had scared the hell out of Christopher. He had pulled his phaser out, but hadn't had a chance to use it. Security crewmmen were being hit left, right and centre. Christopher had been crouching over a crewman with a hypospray when the first of the stun beams had struck him. His nerves fired simultaneously and shut down his higher functions.

When he had regained consciousness, he wished he hadn't. The scene in front of him was that of a charnel house. Blood of various species covered the walls. Implements covered the benches in front of him. Not modern surgical implements, but medieval tools. Hanson was strapped naked to a table, blood already covering his torso as the Cardassian made small incisions into his flesh. The Cardassian wiped the sweat from it's brow and flicked it onto Hanson's body and the man screamed in pain.

His mind still rebelled against what he and his friends had to endure for six months. Christopher did what he could to ease the pain of the team members as they returned from private torture sessions. One of the guards noticed this and Christopher was brought in front of the camp director. He was told that he would keep the prisoners healthy, so that they could continue to work, or he would die. Christopher took up the position and held on for six months, until the Cardassians surrendered at the end of the Dominion war. The USS Nightingale arrived in system and rescued all of the prisoners.

After Christopher had spent two months at Starbase 72, he had been assigned to the Nerandra sector on board the USS Pegasus. The Nerandra sector bordered a Cardassian penal colony and Christopher learned that not all prisoners of war had been released. He used his clearance codes to modify a probe and equipped it with a selenium virus charge, the flashbacks of his ordeal still in his mind. Natalya had begged him not to go down that road, it would be his undoing. He persuaded the captain to send the probe to the colony to look for federation survivors.

The virus killed thousands of Cardassians, eight federation members were found on the planet.

Christopher was not court-martialed, but was stripped from the medical register and sent to the Isle of White prison complex solitary wing.

'Good old Natalya' he thought, 'she was always right.'

"Perhaps you should have listened to her, then." said a voice from within the cell.

Christopher was shocked to hear a different voice, but he wasn't going to waste time with unintelligent questions. The voice was difficult to place, it was androgynous and unemotional. "You are obviously Betazoid, and since you are in a maximum security cell without using the door, you are obviously here without the knowledge of the camp director. So, do you want to tell me why you're here?"

"Well, doctor, why don't you tell me?" came the voice again.

"I'm not Betazoid, and thank you. It's been a long time since anyone called me doctor."

"What would you say," came the voice, "if I could get you assigned to a starship where your methods are not so out of the ordinary?"

"I would say that you're bananas, have you committed and maybe get a cell mate." answered Christopher.

A laugh. 'Definately female' thought Christopher.

"How long has it been since you saw the sun, doctor?"

"Eighteen months, twelve days, and this morning." Christopher replied automatically.

"Take my hand, doctor, we've a long journey ahead of us."

Christopher reached out, took the woman's hand and was engulfed in a transporter beam.

[WelshAvenger]

Part Four - Christopher & Kendra

Christopher was looking forward to the brief period of relaxation which a stay on Risa promised before embarking on his new ship. The shuttle pilot looked at him and said, "You will be contacted about your ship when it is ready to leave." Christopher thanked the pilot and transported down to the hotel entrance. He was knocked off his feet by security services running towards a group of Klingons. Dusting himself off, Christopher picked up his bags and walked to the check in desk. The man behind the desk smiled warmly, "May I help you sir?" he asked.

"Christopher Cushing, I believe I have a reservation."

The man's smile vanished. Christopher sighed, even now people still remembered his actions. He took the offered key, dropped his bags into his room and left the hotel. He walked to the beach and sat down by the shore, revelling in the sun's touch upon his face. A waiter brought him drinks when he asked. Several men and women had come by offering more than drinks but Christopher had politely turned them down. He just needed to be by himself for a while. Just him, the sun and the cool breeze.

A shadow fell across Christopher and a voice said, "Hey, don't I know you?" Christopher looked up into the face of a Starfleet Lt jg in a security uniform.
"No, I don't think so." said Christopher looking back at the horizon.
"Yeah, I remember you," said the officer, "you were aboard the Pegasus, weren't you. You poisoned a world."
"Look boy," replied Christopher, a steel edge in his voice, "walk away now while you still can. You are mistaken, you do not know me and I do not know you."
"Yeah, they put you in prison or something, didn't they." the Lt continued.
Christopher held out his hands, palms up and said simply, "Choose."
The Lt looked confused
"It's very simple, choose left or right." continued Christopher.
"Why?" questioned the man.
"That's easy. I could just order you to go away because I outrank you, but that's too pompous. This is easier."
"Left." said the man.

With lightning speed, Christopher rammed the heel of his hand into the security officer's left temple. The man's eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped forward. Christopher summoned a waiter.

"When he wakes up," Christopher instructed the waiter, "give him a bottle of your finest Romulan Ale and charge it to my account. Tell him that if he ever comes near me again I'll make sure that the scars are horrific."

Since his brief vacation had been ruined, and having no desire to be recognised again, Christopher arranged to be transported up to the ship ahead of time. After a quick check of the sick bay's facilities, he headed to the bridge to introduce himself to his Captain.

-----------------

Kendra was in her office. Her office. It had been so long since she had had her own office. She sat down in the chair behind the desk and began to spin around and around in the chair. When she stopped, the room was still spinning. She laughed happily and laid her head down on the desk, partly out of joy and partially because she was so damn dizzy that she had to have something to hold onto.

She never heard the chime or the door as it slid open.

Christopher walked silently into the room and stared at the captain. "I realize that I don't know a lot about command protocol, but I don't think that you're meant to laugh in a, "Mine, all mine!" sort of way when you are a captain." Christopher laughed.

Kendra sat bolt upright in her chair and fixed her (dizzy) eyes on the doctor. "You might have knocked." She said reproachfully.

Christopher stood to attention, "Lt. Christopher Cushing reporting," he relaxed and quietly said, "and I did knock, but all I could hear was hysterical laughter. I thought someone was either having a psychotic episode or had set loose an Argelian hyena from the sound of it but I realize that you were just excited to have a ship to call your own. I won't tell the major if you won't." Christopher winked conspiratorially.

She looked at him for a moment then smiled. "If you want tell the Major, go right ahead. It probably wouldn't surprise him one little bit. Now, what can I do for you?"

"I just thought that it would be polite to introduce myself to my commanding officer BEFORE all hell breaks loose." Christopher smiled.

Attempting to stand up, Kendra grabbed hold of the desk as the room continued to spin. She quickly sat back down. "Would you care to sit down?" she asked, motioning to a chair beside him. Standing was not exactly working for her.

Christopher sat down and eyed the commander suspiciously, "Are you alright, ma'am? Only you look quite pale and you are fairly unsteady on your feet."

She waved her hands at him. "Oh, I'm fine. I assure you. Part of the 'psychotic episode'. Now, if we're officially meeting, tell me about yourself. How'd you land in the beautiful land of Section 31?"

Christopher looked Kendra straight in the eyes. "After spending six months in a Cardassian torture pit in constant fear of my life, I went a little nuts. The upshot of it all is that I poisoned a cardassian planet. Thousands died. Go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect £200. Then eighteen months after being placed in solitary confinement, a betazoid appears and transports me out of there. And here I am."

Kendra stared at him, her face a blank slate. "Really now?"

Christopher's eyes narrowed, "I've seen that expression before, so I'm used to it. Yes I poisoned a whole planet. Yes that makes me a mass murderer in the eyes of the law. But revenge wasn't in my mind. The planet I hit was a Cardassian prison colony. They were still holding eight Federation prisoners. They are now at home with their families."

"Good for you." said Kendra, her face still impassive.

Christopher was ready for an argument, a dressing down, hell, even a flogging but not this. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'd have done it differently, but that's just a matter of style." She could tell that he was completely shocked. "On this ship, you'll find that there are several of us who are basically in the same boat you are now," she explained as she leaned on the desk to rest on her forearms. "Practically the whole damn ship, actually. There are just sometimes when the regs don't apply. But you do what you know is right rather than what the books tell you is right. And then you end up here."

He eyed her momentarily. "If I may be so bold, what did you do?"

Kendra smiled. "As the Chief of Security, I mutinied against my own ship. I did it to prevent my crew mates from following orders that would have ultimately gotten them killed. Bureaucrats who sit in their cushy offices while some of us do the dirty work have no idea how the galaxy really works. The marines had contradicting orders, but they were something I could live with. So I sided with them, got busted, thrown in the Starfleet Mental Institution back in 'Frisco, and, two years later, here I am."

"Mental Institution?"

"Yes," she replied. "I am technically certifiable. But insanity is in the eye of the beholder. It just adds to my charm, I think."

Christopher smiled, he was going to like this CO. "If it's any consolation, I think you are as sane as I am. Of course, that's coming from a mass murderer." He looked at Kendra again, "Do you mind if I make a suggestion?"

"Be nice." Said Kendra with a smile.

Christopher got up and crossed the room to the replicator. "Tea for two, buttered crumpets and bramble jam." The console beeped and the slot glowed. Carrying the tray to the desk, Christopher set it down in front of Kendra, "From the look of you, your blood sugar is low. This is the most civilized way I can think of to remedy it. Shall I pour?"

Kendra laughed aloud. Christopher looked at her quizzically. "Yes please, pour by all means. I wasn't laughing at you, you just don't present the image of a mass murderer."

"How so? Milk and sugar?"

Kendra nodded, "Well, you destroyed a planet, and here you are sitting down to tea for two."

Christopher handed Kendra her tea, "It's a good disguise, people don't want to know why I did it. They just concentrate on the fact that I DID do it. Incidentally, there is a security officer down on the planet I had to knock out. He was making a scene."

"Oh, really?" she replied, taking a sip of her tea. "It seems as if there's a rash of that kind of thing going around like that. Seems one of our SEAL Teams got into a little trouble down there. You know, for a group of people who are not supposed to exist, we sure have managed to make ourselves known. Hope that doesn't step on any toes."

"That might not be a good thing," he said.

"Nope," she said. She was thinking of how easy it was for Section 31 to get them all together. It would probably be easier to take them all right back out. Kendra dismissed that thought to the back of her mind. "So, tell me about yourself, other than your chequered past. What made you want to get into Starfleet? And why a doctor?"

"After my parents were killed, I joined a gang in Cardiff. We were raiding a warehouse when starfleet security showed up. One of the security officers knew my parents from way back and sort of took me under his wing, taught me how to swordfight. I'm rated as maestro on three different blades now. He educated me and sponsored my entrance into the academy. He would have been proud to see me now but he died during the last Borg invasion. As for the medical, my tutors found that I had an aptitude for it and encouraged me. The computer skills I learnt in the gang also helped me when I did the Operations and Emergency Systems management course." answered Christopher, sipping on his tea.

Kendra smiled, "Is Lt. Andrews still teaching the ops classes?"

Christopher nodded, "Commander Andrews, he runs the ops wing. I had so many run ins with him, we used to argue every time I went into the simulators. He always maintained that I didn't follow protocol and regulations. My argument was that in the sims, my shift never dropped the ball because I'd bend the rules to keep them alive."

"A good tradition to follow." remarked Kendra.

"After practicing sword fighting in the Academy gym one day, I came across a female classmate, Natalya Kurov, being abused by an Orion noble. I challenged him to a duel. He was typical Orion, boorish and a bully. The fight took place in the gymnasium after dark in secret. It continued until daylight. At dawn, we both saluted each other and began our final assault. The Orion slashed my right cheek open. It was like being hit by a shuttlecraft, I fell to the floor under the impact of the blow. The Orion declared that he had won because I couldn't carry on. But I saw my parent's murder in my mind, they were slaughtered by Orion pirates you know, and stood up, saluted my opponent. The Orion's laughter died in his throat as he saluted back, eyeing me closely. I lost control and unleashed my full fury against the Orion, who could only defend himself. In the coup de grace, I impaled the Orion upon my blade to the hilt. I left my sword embedded in his belly, and called for security and an emergency medical team. Publicly, I was reprimanded for my actions. However, my class mates congratulated him for taking a stand. I found out later that Andrews had been a major influence on the board of inquiry. He actually prevented my expulsion from the academy. I keep this scar to remind me to take a stand." He pointed to the line crossing his right cheek.

"I wondered why you had the scar, but I wasn't going to be rude and ask. I mean with today's technology, that kind of thing is easy to remove," she replied. "Well, it seems like you're the kind of man that Section 31 looks for if my limited experience with them is any indication. I'm just damn glad you're on our side."

He gave her a small smile. "I'm just glad to be out of solitary confinement."

"As am I to be out of the mental ward. They've got some crazy people there," she quipped. "Now, I've gotten to know a little about you. Is there anything you really want to know about me? I believe that you should know who it is that you're serving with, even the CO. I'm fairly open."

"Yeah, why so flippant about the major? Is there some kind of history between you two?" he asked.

That drew a very amused smile from Kendra. "Oh yeah. A whole lot of bad history. He and I served together before on the USS Illustrious. He was the Marine CO and I was the Chief of Security. We never really saw eye to eye on much of anything. If we weren't fighting we were basically on opposite sides of the ship. Basically, what it boils down to is that I don't like Marines and he doesn't like Starfleet. And then the mission that I told you about earlier happened and the Marines were thrown in jail and I was institutionalized, blah, blah, blah."

"Now if things weren't exactly cordial between you, how did you both get this assignment?" Christopher asked.

Kendra drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, this is where it gets odd. Like I also said earlier, I was approached by someone who works within Section 31. She told me what kind of assignment it was, Starfleet and Marines, and that they wanted me to as the Starfleet CO. I told them that I would only do it if the Marine CO was Hawkins. I figured if I was going to be forced into dealing with Marines that the devil I knew was better than the devil I didn't. Frankly, I was surprised that they agreed, but obviously they did. Although I'm beginning to think that maybe this is going to be tougher than I thought."

"If you believe the crap they come out with in recruiting posters, 'Tough is part of the job', but then no one at Starfleet PR ever did a deep space mission." he said.

"Amen to that." replied Kendra.

"I do have one question though, will there be any nursing staff to assist. They do still have nurses don't they? It's been a while since I practiced medicine."

"Relax doctor, yes they still have nurses, but we don't. You'll have the EMH when you need it and one of the marines is a qualified medic, so they can help out if it doesn't conflict with any other duties they may have."

"Great, that means I'll be arguing diagnoses with a hologram and a ground pounder." Christopher thought for a moment, "This Major Hawkins, reasonable fellow is he? I only ask because if I make a medical decision that he doesn't like, is he likely to accept it or stand up and try to pull rank?"

Kendra laughed, "Try?" she asked.

"Well, that did sound a bit pompous didn't it? What I mean is, I'm the Chief Medical Officer, when it comes to the medical welfare of my patients, I have the last word."

"You haven't worked with marines before have you doctor?" she asked drily.

He shook his head. "No, no I haven't. Is there something I should know?"

Kendra nodded immediately. "Yes. Dealing with Marines is like dealing with a whole new race. We are all part of the military but it's two separate branches. We cooperate but everything is still separate. So if you tell one of the Marines that they need to be taken off of active duty, they're likely to tell you to go to hell. The only chance you'll have of that would be to convince one of their medics that you're right. But, honestly, they tend to take care of their own. The only time you would really be tending to them would be if it were a major emergency."

"Really now? Wow. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Yeah," she remarked. "Most of them tend to like us as much as I like them." Kendra smiled. "We're just going to be one big happy family on this ship."

"That's good then," Christopher laughed, "When do we start this voyage of the damned?"

"As soon as everyone hauls ass off the planet. We're transporting them up on request." Kendra replied.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me, Captain. I'll go and prep sick bay for departure. Please feel free to come and visit every now and again, the tea is always hot and the crumpets are plentiful." Christopher smiled as he got out of the chair.

Kendra giggled and stood up, holding her hand out towards the doctor, "Welcome aboard the Apocalypse, doctor."

Christopher shook her hand warmly, "Please, call me Christopher."

"Only if you'll call me Kendra," she smiled.

"You have a deal," the Doctor said. And with that, he left, leaving Kendra to her office once again, this time to contemplate their meeting. The ship was seemingly full of ex-cons. She shook her head and grinned. Damn, this was going to be an interesting ship.

[WelshAvenger]

Part Five - Kendra, Curtis, Christopher and the crew.

-----------
Sick Bay

"I don't give a damn what your programming says! YOU will assist ME as and when I need you to. Get it?" Christopher yelled.

"Hmm, there really is no ne.." the EMH started to say.

"Computer end program." cut in Christopher.

The hologram vanished leaving Christopher alone in sick bay. The computer beeped<The time is 0755, briefing in 5 minutes>. Christopher left sick bay behind vowing to reprogram the damn EMH as soon as briefing was over. He would erase the bloody thing's attitude first and work in a new personality. An idea formed in his head which made him smile. He instructed the turbolift to take him to the briefing room and walked in, feeling much better now that his vengeance was planned.

"Ah, and this would be our good Doctor. How are you doing?" Kendra piped up, glad that the young doctor was here to change the topic.

"Doing fine." smiled Christopher.

"How goes the sickbay? Everything under control down there?" she asked.

"A rather advanced little sick bay. Of course, the EMH has an attitude you could power a warp core with, but I'll handle that."

Kendra grinned. "Well, you'll have to pardon me when I tell you that I hope I won't be in need of your services."

"Ah, well, hope springs eternal." replied Christopher.

"Yeah, she's already been in enough hospitals to last her a lifetime." Hawkins muttered.

Christopher tried to hide his grin as he took his seat.

Kendra looked around the nearly full room. Damn, these rooms looked smaller from the head of the table. Oh well. She didn't want to wait any longer and nudged Hawkins as she stood up. The room suddenly fell still.

Hawkins stood up to address the staff, but was momentarily cut off by the emergence of SEAL Teams 1 and 2. "Glad you could join us."

Chris Sabien nodded. "Sorry we're late. Aspen said she wasn't feeling well."

"Neither were Dorn and Destaphono." Keith Bednash stated. "Must've been the lousy Risan food."

"Fine, we'll inform them later." Hawkins said and turned back to the rest of the staff. "I want to first start out by thanking all of you for showing up promptly. I am Major Curtis Hawkins, Marine CO of the ship. I am also Team leader of SEAL Team 1, I hold the rank of 1st Lieutenant in that. To my right is Commander Kendra Summers."

"Thank you, Major," she said, with a small nod. Then she addressed the room. "As he said, I am Commander Kendra Summers. I am the Starfleet CO of the ship, making up the other half of this duo. Now, this is a unique ship so I think it would be beneficial to lay some ground rules out for everyone. Both of us run the ship and all major decisions concerning the ship will be made by the both of us."

"All my people will show her respect at all times, this is her ship too. And although my people will not carry out major orders for her, they will indeed follow minor ones."

Sabien raised his hand. "Define major and minor."

Hawkins nodded. "If she orders you to override my orders, you will not listen, unless I am physically or mentally unfit. If she orders you to protect her crew or herself, then you better do it without hesitation."

Kendra nodded. "The same goes for the Starfleet personnel. "This is not to keep everyone segregated but rather just to avoid confusion when it comes down to the important stuff."

"As for SEAL Team 2, I cannot order them around either. Lt. Sabien is in charge of his own Team. The SEAL Teams will be instructed by SEAL HQ and will follow out their own orders. Be it different or cooperative with the Fleet and Marines." Hawkins said. "Any questions? No?"

"Okay, now that we've gotten the preliminaries out of the way... I've received our first mission from Starfleet Headquarters. Seems we're to go patrol the Neutral Zone. Guess they want to give us something easy for our first time out," Kendra shrugged.

Christopher thought for a moment, "Excuse me commander, this is a test, isn't it? Section 31 wants to see if this little experiment will work before making us active. They want to see whether we'll screw it up by tearing into one another, marines versus fleeters. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I'm not going to give them the satisfaction."

Christopher held his hand out to Chris Sabien, smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Christopher Cushing, CMO and fleeter scum."

Sabien stared at the man's pro-offered hand and was wondering if he should spit on it or not. He refrained and looked at the man dead in the eyes. "I don't appreciate your earlier comment."

Hawkins leaned back in his chair and smiled. He knew what Sabien was talking about, but he refused to say anything. Mainly because he wanted to see if this ended peacefully or in a bloodbath.

Christopher's smile vanished immediately, "I beg your pardon." he said in a tone of voice that dropped the room temperature several degrees.

"You said earlier and I quote 'They want to see whether we'll screw it up by tearing into one another, marines versus fleeters.' So basically you referred to My Team and I as Marines and or Starfleet." Sabien said evenly. "We are not Marines and we sure the hell aren't fleeters; we are SEALs, the most elite fighting force in the universe and don't you forget it."

"I take it you've never met the borg then?" Christopher asked.

"Okay, people," Kendra interjected quickly. "Let's try not to kill each other before we even get started..."

Sabien didn't reply to the man and lead his Team out the door.

Hawkins looked at the new Starfleet doctor. "You must excuse the Lieutenant, he's a little high strung. Has been ever since we were kids."

"How to make friends and influence people." Christopher stated.

Hawkins shrugged. "He just doesn't know you and he is a bit on the antisocial side. Besides, you just insulted him."

Christopher glanced at Kendra with a confused look on his face. "You said, 'You've never worked with marines before, have you doctor.' I call this guy a marine and he wants to rip my throat out. If anyone needs me, I'll be in sickbay re-arranging the EMH."

"I wouldn't worry about it to much, Doc. Sooner or later you two will be ok with each other. Unless you get on his bad side again. After that, you have an enemy for life." Hawkins said. "Anyway, if there isn't any further discussion; it was nice meeting you all and welcome aboard the Apocalypse."

Kendra started to say something as the doctor started to leave the room, but stopped herself. She would have left the room, too. Then Hawkins called after him as he left. He almost seemed amused by the whole situation. And that, of course, annoyed Kendra in itself.

With that, Hawkins left his seat and walked out the door. Kendra looked around the room and put on a faux smile. "Well, that went marvellously," she said sarcastically. "Okay, people, I'd say that just about wraps it up. My office is..." she made an elaborate gesture with her hand. "It's somewhere on this ship, I don't remember where. Just call me if you need anything. Dismissed."

---------------
Sick Bay

Christopher fumed quietly in his office. Today was not a good day, first the argument with the damned EMH and then, Sabien and his superiority complex. If he couldn't do anything about Sabien...

"Computer, access Starfleet file Lt Cmdr Natalya Kasmirov and display." The computer started spouting off Natalya's details. "Yes, yes, I know all that computer. Access holographic file and overlay onto EMH program 1."

The computer beeped in reponse, 'Authorisation required from Chief Medical Officer' Christopher fed his code into the keypad.

'Code accepted, file overlaid.'

"Good, now reload Starfleet Medical Database into EMH."

'Working, please stand by'

Christopher walked to the office replicator and ordered tea. As he returned, the computer piped, 'Program changes complete'

"Excellent, computer, activate EMH program."

There she was, Natalya, his closest friend since the academy. He had forgotten how much he missed her.

"What do you want?" asked the EMH.

Christopher laughed out loud, that was Natalya all right, straight to the point. This was going to be fun. "I'm sorry, I was just checking the program." he said.

"Very well, as I appear to be working, you may deactivate me." she said.

"Oh, thank you very much. Computer, de-activate EMH."

She faded into nothingness and left Christopher smiling in the office. It was too quiet for him. He headed out into the corridor and caught the first turbolift we could find. "Bridge." he said.

The doors opened and he stepped out onto the bridge, a current hive of activity. Kendra looked up from her chair, "Problem doctor?"

"Not at all, I just thought I'd see how things were at the sharp end." he replied.

Kendra had her leg draped over the armrest, swinging her foot back and forth. "Not much going on up here. Just watching the stars go by," she shrugged, motioning to the viewscreen. "How goes things down in sickbay?"

"Much better now that I've reprogrammed the EMH. Now it doesn't have an ego the size of this ship."

Kendra motioned to the vacant seat next to her, "Have a seat."

Christopher walked around and flopped down with a sigh.

"Actually, I've got some good news for you. You're getting an assistant, name of Garrett." Kendra said.

Christopher looked at her in surprise, "Really, someone must have pulled some strings on that one. Yesterday it was just me and the EMH."

She shrugged. "Guess so. New crew is coming aboard the ship everyday with practically no notice. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Anything's better than being undermanned. Speaking of which, your new addition came at a good time."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yup," she replied. "Seems were getting new additions in all departments. So that means more lovely physicals for you. You're gonna have the busy little sickbay, Doc. And you'll need all the help you can get."

"Is there anything you can tell me about my assistant?" he asked curiously.

Kendra spun around a little in her chair to rest her feet on the floor. "Capable officer, excellent service record... Been described as having a fairly friendly personality. But I don't know how much faith I'd put in just the bio. Sometimes they hide the true person, ya know? Oh yeah! And Garrett was also an honest to God Section 31 operative before this assignment. Specializes in constructive/re constructive surgery. Seems that Garrett has a gift for altering peoples appearances."

Christopher nodded thoughtfully. "Could come in handy in our line of work."

"I'll say," she replied. "But somehow I think that the idea of wearing someone else's face is just creepy..."

"You can say that again," Christopher shuddered, "I've performed a few 'maskings' myself, but I've never had one done to me."

They sat in the relative silence of the bridge for a few minutes.

"This is it, isn't it?" asked Christopher.

"What's what?" Kendra inquired, puzzled.

"This is the last time things are going to be quiet. Sure, when we're between missions, it'll be peaceful, but we'll have crewman running around doing things, reports coming in. Stuff like that."

"I don't know, it kinda reminds me of the nights in the mental institute. Minus the screaming and ranting of course."

Christopher looked down at his hands, "I used to dream of moments like these, now I don't dream."

"Everybody dreams, even Vulcans dream, alright it's probably about logic puzzles, but they still dream."

"Not me, not anymore." He looked into Kendra's eyes, "Ever since I was rescued, every dream has turned into a nightmare. I see people that have been dead for years, yelling at me, saying I could have saved them if only I tried harder. That's usually when I wake up screaming."

Kendra sat still in her chair, keeping his gaze. "It's still a dream. It may not be a good dream, but it is a dream nonetheless," she said gently.

"It's a nightmare."

She turned to fully face him now. "When I was in the mental institution the first time, I had nightmares similar to that. I was communicating with the Betazoid Captain of the ship telepathically when he was killed by Jem Ha'dar troops. For months afterwards, I would wake up in a cold sweat, practically in tears, over what I saw in when I closed my eyes. I would go for days without sleeping until they either had to sedate me or I passed out from exhaustion. Sometimes they would even manifest themselves into hallucinations. He would talk to me and beg me over and over again to help him."

He stared at her for a moment, trying to decide if she was sincere or not. "How did you make them stop?"

Kendra leaned back in her chair and gave him a small smile. "I told myself they were just dreams."

"It's worth a try. Do you know that nearly two years worth of Starfleet councillors didn't even think of that. I tend to avoid them now." Christopher looked at the stars again, "Believe it or not, Kendra, you have worn someone else's face."

Kendra sat back and draped her leg over the chair arm again, "When?"

"Just now when you weren't being the Commander of a starship, you were just being a concerned person. Your whole expression changed. You could even see the expression in those eyes of yours."

"Really?" she asked.

"Ah, I see you're back." he said as he saw her expression change.

"Tell me Christopher, do you play cards at all?"

"Never got the taste for it, all that 'We're starfleet officers and we must play cards' thing always seemed silly."

Kendra looked at him, "It's a good job really. You're quite good at noticing expressions then?"

"Well, when you see such a variety when dealing with people, telling friends and family that someone is dead, telling a patient that they have an awful disease, telling someone that they are cured, you recognize them easily." Christopher explained.

She nodded. "When I was in security, all I saw a wide range of faces. So I can tell some things. But I have to admit that there are just some things that elude me."

"Oh really?"

"Yup," she replied. "Like if it has something to do with professional issues, I can spot it like that. Anything personal, especially if it pertains to me.... I have no clue. It's like you have to beat me over the head. Oh well."

Christopher was puzzled. "Pardon me for saying so, but couldn't you sense it as a Betazoid?"

"I could, but I don't," Kendra explained. "We won't pick anyone's brain without their consent but I don't even like to use empathic abilities. Something I just won't shake from my ordeal in the past. Oh well."

"That's understandable I suppose." Christopher reasoned. "I reckon that I should be getting sick bay prepared for my new nurse. Be terrible bad manners to have the place a mess when he arrives."

Kendra nodded, "Good thinking that man. I may pop in later to have a chat with him and to get some more crumpets and tea of course." she smiled.

"Oh, of course" Christopher smiled, "and if there is anything else milady would like, she need only ask."

Kendra laughed, "Wow! that was so hokey, but I have to admit that you have the British accent to carry off that old world flaky charm thing."

Christopher put on a mock hurt expression, "Flaky old world charm? My ancestors spoke like that for nearly a thousand years!" Finally, he laughed, "I guess it does sound kinda hokey now."

Kendra grinned like a cheshire cat, "On your way, brigand! I have a ship of the stars to sail!"

Christopher bowed, "As you wish."

[WelshAvenger]

Part Six - Incarcerated

Aspen awoke in a strange bed, in a strange place. Attempting to open her eyes, she found that it was easier said than done. Her heavy eyelids just did not want to open. Groggily, she finally managed to open her eyes and take in her surroundings.

She was in a room in what looked like a makeshift shack of some sort. There were a few other empty beds against the far wall and a single closed door. There was light coming from overhead, but she couldn't see exactly from where. She simply wasn't facing the light source. Aspen moved her arms, to raise herself up to get a better look, and heard the sound of chains. She had been shackled to the bed. "What the hell?" she said, tugging the chain.

"I wouldn't waste my time on that. Tried that, oh, two days ago and all I got was some bloody fingers and wrists," said a male's voice from across the room.

Turning in the direction of the voice, she spied a young man with brown hair. He was wearing a Starfleet uniform, gold in color. He didn't have a communicator and he, too, was shackled to his bed. "Who are you?" Aspen asked.

"Lieutenant Steven Hollins, security officer aboard the USS Seeker. You can call me Steve. Everyone else does," he replied cheerfully. "Who are you?"

"Someone who wants the hell out of here," Aspen answered as she started to sit up the rest of the way.

"I wouldn't do that!" Steve said urgently.

But it was too late. The room tilted and Aspen fell back onto the bed, her head swimming in dizziness. "What's wrong with my head?" she groaned.

"I told you not to do that. It's whatever the hell they use to stun us with. It has some really lousy after effects," he explained. "Discovered that two days ago, too. Don't worry though. It'll pass quickly."

The room continued to spin and Aspen buried her head in her pillow. "Oh my God. I think I'm gonna be sick..."

"Well, if you do make sure that you turn your head," Steve replied in his oh-so-cheerful manner.

Aspen had had enough of this guy. He was way too cheerful about being chained to a bed. Well, cheerful about being chained to a bed for non-kinky reasons. "What in hell are you so happy about?"

A laugh could be heard from the other side of the room. "I've asked him that same thing since he got here. Almost made being alone seem better," a female voice replied.

The room finally slowed enough that Aspen was able to sit up fully now. Slowly, but she was up. She looked to Steve. "I see you're just making all sorts of friends here, pal."

Steve shrugged. "I've gotta do something. I know I'm sure as hell not going anywhere right now and bitching about it isn't going to help."

"True," Aspen agreed, albeit begrudgingly.

"Yes, but your optimistic attitude isn't going to help, either. Might as well face the facts and bitch about something," the other woman said.

Aspen smirked and turned to face the other person in the room. She froze, her eyes wide. "Ivy?"

The young red-haired woman looked up from her bed and squinted across the room in the dim light. Her jaw hit the floor. "Oh my God. Aspen, is that you?"

Aspen nodded vigorously. "Yeah, it's me."

"Holy hell," Ivy said in disbelief. "The Demosthenes...blew up... I thought you were dead!"

"Not hardly. Takes a lot more than a tiny explosion to kill me," Aspen answered. "But I thought you were dead! Frankie told me that you got hit in some internal explosions."

"I did, but I recovered. Then they reassigned me, saying that the loss of my team was too much to allow me to stay onboard," she said. "But you... As far as I knew you were still onboard when it blew. Where the hell have you been and why didn't you contact me??"

Aspen was about to respond to that when Steve suddenly cleared his throat. "Uhm, hi. I'm still here, you know."

Both women turned to stare at him. "And what's your point...?" Aspen asked.

"Care to fill me in on the story? You two obviously know each other..."

Ivy smirked. "You're quick, Sherlock. But it's a long story..."

Steve rattled the chains on his arms and tossed her a sarcastic look. "I've got time. It's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon."

Aspen couldn't help but smile at that one. "Good point." She settled back against the wall that her bed was pushed up against. The light was quite dim, but it was enough for her to see around the room. They were the only ones in the room. "We met about two years ago on the USS Demosthenes. I was the XO as well as the CAG on that ship. I was a trained security officer as well as a fighter pilot, hence the dual job. Anyway, Ivy was part of my team."

"Really now?" Steve asked. "That's interesting. I served on a ship with fighter pilots once. They were kept kinda separate from the regular Starfleet crew members. Was it a big team?"

Ivy shook her head. "No, it was a four person team, including Aspen. Me, her, Peter Nakago, and Frankie Thomlinson."

"So what happened?" he prompted. "I bet you guys saw a lot of action, huh?"

"No, not really, "Aspen shrugged. "Our time was not the best of times. There was always something happening that pulled me away. Personal or professional things."

Ivy laughed. "Try personal 'and' professional. And then they intertwined. Now, that was funny."

Aspen glared at Ivy. "Damn, you're lucky I'm chained up. Otherwise I'd kick your ass for that one."

"If we weren't chained up, I wouldn't have said it," Ivy grinned.

"So I take it you had issues keeping your personal life separate from your professional life?" Steve asked.

"You sure do ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Aspen retorted, a bit annoyed. "I haven't been grilled like this since the Demosthenes!"

"It's not like I have anything better to do," came the response. "Besides, I'm a security officer. I'm trained to ask probing questions."

Ivy brushed her long hair out of her face. "In all fairness, she did keep her personal and professional life separate. It was other members of the crew that couldn't keep them separate. For some reason, no one on that ship could comprehend that the SEALs were a separate entity from regular Starfleet..."

"Whoa, there," Steve chimed in. "What do SEALs have to do with anything?"

"She was dating the head of the SEAL team."

Steve nodded in understanding. "And therein lies the problem. I see."

Ivy turned back to Aspen. "Speaking of which, what happened to him? Hell, what happened to you? I thought you were..."

"'Dead'," Aspen finished. "I know, I know. I was getting to that. Anyway, make a long story short, Steve, a situation arose in which the Captain and CMO were kidnapped and held hostage, leaving me in charge of the ship. I launched a rescue mission and, in the process, lost several crew members including one of the SEAL Team members. Shortly thereafter, there was a cascade failure among the ship's systems that caused the ship to explode. I don't know the specifics of how or why; I'm not an engineer."

Steve grinned. "Don't worry about it. Even if you knew, I wouldn't want to hear. Put me right to sleep."

"Good to hear. So I grab Toni..."

"Who's Toni?"

"Toni is my adoptive daughter," Aspen explained. "My best friend died and left me to raise his 10 year old daughter, which also complicated things..."

Steve opened his mouth to say something then stopped. He ran a hand through his dark hair and laughed. "My God. This is like a freaking soap opera."

"You should have lived through it, honey," Ivy laughed.

"Anyway," Aspen interrupted. "I grab Toni and we're beamed to a shuttle with the SEALs. We were a bit too close to the Demosthenes when she blew so the shock waves took out our propulsion systems and we were dead in the water. Along comes Frankie, who had made it to his fighter..."

All amusement left Ivy's face as she stared at Aspen. "Frankie made it out too? I thought he was dead. Then again I thought you were dead, too... So does that mean that...?" her voice trailed off, hopeful that maybe somehow Frankie was alive as well.

Aspen shook her head quietly. "I'm sorry Ivy. His fighter had been damaged in the explosion as well. The strain on the hull was too much and... he didn't feel anything."

There was a short silence, as Ivy buried her face. Even though they had only served together for a short time aboard the Demosthenes, they had formed a tight bond. Teams of any kind often did and it was hard to lose a member. Up until this moment, Ivy thought she had lost her whole team, leaving her as the sole survivor. Pete had died while still on board the Demosthenes. An explosion in a corridor took him out while he was pushing Ivy to safety. She had lost consciousness for two days, only to wake up and be told the news. And now...

Ivy looked up, her face an emotionless mask. "I didn't think so," she said quietly. "I just thought that since you... I had to ask, Aspen."

The Risan/Japanese woman nodded. "I know. It's alright."

"Why didn't you contact me, Aspen? Let me know that you were alright?" she suddenly blurted out.

Aspen took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Our shuttle got caught in the gravitational pull of a nearby planet. Since we had no propulsion, we were forced to make an emergency landing. We were stranded there for a long time, Ivy. Eventually, we managed to make a makeshift radio and contacted SEAL headquarters. We get back to civilization and the first thing that happens is Starfleet wanting to arrest me. They tried to blame the demise of the Demosthenes on me. So I resigned. There were just so many things going on... I tried to find you, but Starfleet was less than cooperative with me. I'm sorry."

Ivy waved her hand. "No, I'm being stupid. It's okay." She gave Aspen a weak smile. "So you resigned. Now what?"

A large grin spread across Aspen's lips. "Well, the SEALs extended an invitation to me. I accepted that, went through training, and am now the Second in Command of SEAL Team 2. Chris' team. And, before you ask, Toni is living with my parents. So life is pretty peachy right about now."

Steve glanced around the room. "Things are looking kinda crappy to me there, Aspen..."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Well, except now." She looked back over to Ivy. "What about you? What happened with you?"

"Oh, stuff," Ivy said. "I'm not in a fighter squadron anymore. They put me in a regular Helm position aboard the Hermes. And I've been there ever since."

It didn't take a Betazoid to see that Ivy was hiding something. There was something she wasn't telling Aspen. However, this was neither the time or place to probe into that. "Sounds fun."

"Oh, yeah. Loads."

"Well, kiddies," Steve said. "Now that we know each other a little better, how about we start thinking about getting the hell out of here?"

Ivy nodded vigorously. "Yes. I wholeheartedly agree. Aspen, you're smart. Get us out of here."

"Ha!" Aspen replied sarcastically. "You sure you want me to do that? I might blow you up."

"You know what? After being here for two weeks, blowing up would be a nice change..." came Ivy's equally sarcastic answer.

"Give me a little bit. I'll come up with something." Though, inside, she wasn't sure what to say. If Ivy had been there two weeks, and Steve two days, and they were both still there...

Oh, she could feel a headache coming on....

[WelshAvenger]

Part Seven - Strangers

The woman that looked like Aspen Sato walked into the mess hall and looked around. The room was teeming with activity. People were sitting at tables talking, laughing, and eating. There were some officers at the bar, laughing, talking, and drinking. All in all, it seemed to be a pretty cozy sight. She had to hide her disgust and prevent herself from vomiting. Humanoids were so grotesque.

Casually, she made her way across the room and slid herself into a large booth. She had told the SEAL Team leader that she didn't feel well, so she had stayed back from the meeting in the briefing room. This was good in numerous ways. Even though everyone was new to this ship and no one really knew each other very well, it kept her from interacting with the crew too much. The less suspicion she raised, the better. Plus it kept her from interacting with the Team too much. From what she gathered about humanoid SEAL teams, she knew that they would be very likely to notice something was amiss very quickly. Luckily, she was not alone in her position...

A waiter came and stood by her table. "What can I get for you today?" he asked.

She turned her head slowly to rest her eyes on him. Something must have bothered him about her gaze because he took a small step back. It made her smile. "I think I'll have a beer," she said coolly, remembering one of her counterpart's favorite beverages.

The waiter nodded and hurried away. She wanted to laugh. It was all so entertaining to watch. They simply had no idea. "You know, if you keep scaring them, they'll begin to suspect something,"

Looking up at the newcomer, she gave him a small pout. "Awww. Worried that I might do something to compromise the mission, huh? How encouraging that you think so highly of my skills of deception."

"Look, I just don't want this to fail. The whole operation hinges on us. You know that. So don't screw it up," the man in Starfleet red said heatedly.

Just then, the waiter came back and cautiously set the beer glass on the table. Both of the table occupants fell silent and watched the waiter. "Can I get anything else for you?" he asked politely.

The man in Starfleet red stared levelly at him. "No thanks. I'm fine."

The waiter nodded and left, very happy to get away. Those two were making him very nervous.

She grinned at the man. "Seems I'm not the only one who makes 'em nervous...."

"Can it," came his response.

"Oh, touchy touchy," she teased. "By the way. I notice that you seem to be picking up their slang pretty well..."

He shrugged. "I'm trying to blend. Maybe you should try it sometime."

She rolled her eyes. "How are things going so far? Any problems?" she said, suddenly changing the subject.

He shook his head. "Nope, no problems. All the exchanges have been made. We have people in all departments. Helm, science, engineering, ops..."

"What about counseling and medical? Those are the two important ones. Not that it's not all important, but those two in particular. In case someone does decide that something's wrong, you know. Medical to alter scans and counseling to give us the all clear mentally...." she said.

"It's taken care of," he said. "Everything is perfectly under control. This is the beauty of taking a newly commissioned ship. No one really knows anyone else, so they don't really know what is unusual. But, just to be on the safe side, I want to keep using the pass phrase."

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack," he replied.

She looked at him. "We've got to talk about this human lingo," she commented as she picked up her beer and took a sip. She made a face and began to choke. "My God. How do they drink this stuff?"

That finally drew a smile from her companion. "I'll let you determine that. Lay low until I give the word. Until then, act normal and stop scaring crewmembers." He stood up from the table and exited the messhall.

She watched him go and remained where she was, looking around the room. They just had no clue. "No one ever looks at what's right under your nose..." she smirked.

[WelshAvenger]

Part Eight - New Arrivals

Steve was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. It wasn't like he could do much of anything else. He rolled over onto his side and looked to see what the ladies were doing. Ivy was asleep on her bed; completely out cold. And snoring a little. Aspen was sitting on hers, staring at the far wall. Just as she had been doing for the past hour. Or was it two? Damn, time just seemed to have no meaning in this place.

"How's that plan coming, Aspen?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake Ivy.

Aspen blinked and seemingly snapped back into reality. She turned to stare at him. "Huh?" she said, uncomprehendingly. Then his words sunk into her brain. "Oh. The plan. Well, let's just say I'm still working out the rough spots." Truth was, she was still trying to think up a plan so that there would be rough spots to work out. She just didn't have enough information as of this moment to come up with something workable.

Just then, the door opened and flooded the room with light, blinding Aspen and Steve momentarily. Three humanoid figures dragged in three unconscious men and lay them each on a bed. They chained them up and, without a word, turned and left, closing the door behind them and shrouding them once again in darkness.

"Looks like we have some additions to our little party," Steve commented.

Aspen looked over the new arrivals in astonishment. "Yes, yes we do. And I'll say that some things just got more interesting...."

**Later**

"Auugghhhh!!!" Dan screamed as he attempted to pull the chains from the wall for what seemed like the hundredth time. It had to give. With constant stress on the chains, they had to bust sometime.

"You Black OPS boys never quit, do you?" Asked a calm looking Miguel Destaphono.

Dan Wilhite pulled against the chains again, only managing to fall back on to his butt when the chain slipped through his sweaty hand. "Dammit!" he yelled and looked at Destaphono. "No we don't quit. We don't know the meaning of the word. Unlike you AT/CT boys."

That comment got Roger Dorn's attention. "What was that?"

"I said that Team 1 gives up too easily. Look at you, we're prisoners and you're taking it easy." Dan said.

Miguel grinned. "That's because we're plotting."

"Now boys," Aspen chimed in suddenly. "I want everyone to play nice."

Wilhite looked at the voice that addressed him. "Aspen? You're here too? I didn't even see you."

"That's because you've been too busy trying to pull the chains out of the wall since you've woken up," she replied. "I would have said something earlier, but I figured if you actually managed to pull yourself loose then you would be better off than the rest of us."

"I tried to do the same thing for two days already! Why let him waste his time?" Steve grumbled.

"That's 'cause he's a hell of a lot stronger than you, Steve-o," came Ivy's smartassed comment.

Dan felt his face burn as he blushed from her comment. Even for a SEAL, he was still a shy person. A small smile formed on his lips and when Ivy looked at him, he redirected his gaze.

Ivy smirked. She'd never made a SEAL blush before. This could be interesting.

"Ok," Dorn said. "we know Dan, but who are the rest of you?"

"Aspen Sato, SEAL Team 2. This is Ivy Green and Steven Hollins, 'fleeters," Aspen explained.

"Great, just when I thought we weren't completely out of luck." Destaphono said quietly and rolled his eyes. "Now we got two fleeters to look after."

"Hey!" Steve interjected. "I think us 'fleeters' are doing better than you are! Seeing as there are four of you SEALs and only two of us!"

"Screw you, Fleeter!" Dorn yelled. "You talk to him like that again and I'll rip your heart out of your chest."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm so scared..."

Dorn went to say something again, but Miguel tapped his shoulder. "Don't worry Roger, he just bought himself an ass whooping when we get free." He stared down Hollins. "And don't think we won't do it either."

"Then I'll just have something to look forward to, now won't I?" Steve countered with a small smile.

"So how'd you boys come by these luxurious accommodations?" Aspen asked.

The snipers of SEAL Team 1 and 2 decided to have a drinking competition and-" Destaphono started, but was cut off by Wilhite.

"No, let me correct that for you. Since Team 1 needs two snipers because they suck, I had to bring light weight Monk with me. So when we were a good 12 shots each, Monk leaves to go take a leak, and ten men came up to us. Next thing we knew, we were here."

Ivy made a face. "So you just lost track of time or something? Were you transported here?"

Dorn shrugged. "Our guess is that we blacked out."

"Sounds like how I got here. Except I was attacked by me. Or someone who looked like me," Aspen explained. She looked around the room at the disbelieving looks she was drawing. "I'm not kidding! She attacked me then she shot me with a phaser, and I woke up here."

"Oh great," Steve mumbled. "Not only are we here stuck here, but one of you hallucinates. I know I feel better already."

This time Dan looked at him. "Keep it up, wiseass and they won't be the only SEALs wreaking you."

"Steve, having been through Sec training with the fleet, I can honestly tell you that you don't have the proper training to mock us," Aspen said quietly.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Steve said confidently.

Aspen simply stared at him. "It means that you need to keep your damn mouth shut and we might be nice to you."

Steve opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it. For some reason, he believed what she said. He leaned back against the wall and didn't say a word.

Dorn stared down Hollins and nodded his head in satisfaction. "That's right, jackass. Just sit there and keep your mouth shut."

"Okay, now let's focus on getting out of here. Any bright ideas?" Ivy piped up. "Dan?" she asked.

Dan sighed. "Does anyone have a piece of wire? Or maybe a bobby pin?"

Aspen smirked. "Do either of us look like we would have bobby pins?"

"I'll take it that the answer is no." he replied. "Honestly people, we won't really have a plan until we get these chains off. So I'll just sit here and continue trying to pull the bolts from the wall."

"Be my guest," Aspen replied. "It's not like we've got a better idea at this point."

It was then that the doors opened once again. Bright, Painful light illuminated the room and caused everyone to quickly shut their eyes. Three 'men' dragged in another new patron of the hellhole. This one had his arms restrained in a straight jacket type of tunic, his ankles were bound together, a protective mask covered the lower part of his face, and two of the 'men' each held a leather leash that was strapped around his neck.

Destaphono stared awe-struck at the new addition. "What in God's name is that?"

Ivy stared at the person in a mixture of horror and disgust. "It think it's a man. But they're treating him like an animal."

Finally Dan piped up to the prison guards. "Why the hell did you kidnap us?"

The main guard looked at him. "All your questions will be answered soon."

Dan stubbornly nodded and tugged at the chains. "Ok fine, but why our we being restrained to these beds? We possibly couldn't break out of this room if our lives depended on it." Ok, it was a lie, but maybe he could bluff his way out of the shackles.

"Yes, I mean what are we gonna do? You've got the door locked, there's one tiny window, and you've probably got guards outside...." Aspen chimed in.

"Not a chance." the man said and pushed the new addition further inside the room. The prison growled quietly like an animal, then snapped at the guard. "This one asked the same question a few years ago and he had caused nothing but problems for us." Pointing at the SEALs he said, "His uniform matches the four of yours, so we're not going to take any chances with you."

That caught all of their attentions. The thing in the floor was a SEAL? "Well, at least you know who you're dealing with, I guess..." came Aspen's quiet retort.

Then men left without another word and the new addition remained still in the center of the room.

"Okay," Steve said. "What's up with the human worm in the middle of the room?"

The 'thing' turned his head in Steve's direction and glared at him. Through the open slits on the face mask, all could see his teeth baring. The thing launched himself at Steve, but was caught a foot from Hollins from the chain he was connected to. He growled ferociously and fought against the restrictive restraint that was holding him back from his kill.

Steve jumped back on the bed and flattened himself against the wall. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I just get sarcastic when I'm nervous. It's a defense mechanism, I swear! I didn't mean it!"

"Leave him alone!" Aspen yelled. She pulled on the chains to try to get to him, but she didn't get far. Chains only let her get as far at the foot of the bed.

The man-creature turned towards Aspen and tried to attack her, but with no avail. "All will perish!"

Aspen looked at the man on the floor in puzzlement. "Uh, do I know you?"

Wilhite stared in horror as he tried to find the right words to express what he had found out. "Uh, Aspen. I think you do know him."

She settled back on her bed, her gaze never falling from the man. "Why? How?"

"There's a tattoo on his arm of a SEAL Trident."

"Dan, damn near all SEALs have that tattoo..."

Wilhite remained a fixed gaze on the man's arm. "True, but do all SEALs have Schoenick, SEAL Team 2, and 'There's nothing we can't kill' on their tattoos?"

Aspen's eyes opened wide in shock as she studied him. "No, way. It can't be...."

Dorn took a closer look at the man. "Picture him with his hair cut into a spike. That's definitely Tod."

She stared at him. It couldn't be... He was dead, died on the rescue mission on the USS Daring.... He was still onboard when the ship blew up. Yet, here he was, lying incoherently in the floor. "Tod?"

Schoenick looked at her. It was fuzzy, but he remembered when people used to call him that. "Do I know you?" he asked very slowly and very unsteadily.

"Yes," she said quietly, gently. "It's Aspen."

"Aspen?" he asked, then shook his head furiously. "I don't know you!"

"Yes, yes you do," she said just as calmly as before. "Try to remember. I met you in San Francisco years ago. You were doing some training at Starfleet Academy, remember?"

"Th-The bar, playing pool..." he said slowly.

She nodded vigorously. "That's right. And we were on the Daring two years ago. Remember that?"

The name Daring sent a jolt through his body. "NO!!" All progress was lost in that instant. He returned to his 'animal' ways and started jumping at Aspen again.

Aspen jumped back on the bed. "Dan, you try. You might have better luck."

"Hey bro, it's Danny." Wilhite said slowly.

Tod kept up his attempted onslaught on Aspen.

Wilhite decided to take another course of action. "Stand at attention, soldier." When Tod ignored his statement, Dan raised his voice. "I said stand at attention, SEAL!!"

The Tod-thing stopped and shakily stood straight up.

Aspen watched as he complied to Dan's orders. He didn't look as if he was fully aware of what was going on. His movements were almost trance like.

"What is your name, SEAL?" Wilhite said steadily.

"Schoenick, Tod S. Serial Number: 01637213. Rank: Gunnery Sergeant. Affiliation: UFST, SEAL Team 2. Position: Team Specialist." he replied.

Ivy and Steve watched in silence. Neither of them had ever seen anything like this before. They hoped they never would again.

"Look at me, Schoenick." Dan said quietly. He was praying to God that all of this would be beneficial to bring Tod back to reality. Only God knows what those monsters did to him over the course of two years.

Tod turned around and looked at Wilhite. "Danny?"

Aspen looked over at Dan and slowly eased back into a sitting position on the bed. "It looks like it's working."

"That's right, buddy. It's me..Danny." Wilhite said soothingly. "You're all right now. You're surrounded by friends, by people who care about you."

"We're not going to hurt you Tod," Aspen added. "It's been a long time."

Tod's legs became shaky and he plopped down on the floor. "Jesus, how long was I gone?"

Aspen looked up at Dan momentarily before answering. "It's been two years, Schoenick."

There was a silence so thick you could almost taste it.

"How in hell did you get off that merc ship before it blew?" Aspen practically blurted out.

"I remember getting shot, but my armor sustained the wounds. Except two shots...one to the arm and the other to the collarbone." Tod replied weakly.

"Do remember what happened after that? We thought you were dead," she continued.

He shook his head in frustration. "I don't remember."

"Come one, Tod. Try." Dan urged on.

"Can you remember how you got here?" Aspen added.

Schoenick's face disfigured into an evil frown. "I-I can't remember. I just want to go to sleep."

Aspen let out an inaudible sigh. He might remember something that might help the get the hell out of there, but he was in no shape to talk about anything. Perhaps later...

"Ok Tod, just get some rest. We'll talk in the morning." Wilhite replied.

They all watched Tod as he lay down and curled up into a small ball. Two years was a long time. There was no telling what had happened to him. Aspen only hoped that he would still be Tod when he woke up....

[WelshAvenger]

Part Nine - Doppleganger

The Aspen look-alike walked along the corridors, looking around amusedly to herself. People were giving her a wide berth as she passed. At first, it startled her. Had she blown her cover and been discovered? She quickly brushed that off, though. As paranoid as humanoids were, if she had been discovered, there would have been some sort of attempt at capture.

No, it was her uniform she soon realized. She knew there was some friction between the Marines/SEALs and Starfleet. Hell, there was even a little friction between the Marines and SEALs. Yes, this ship was a ticking time bomb. It was beautiful.

Soon, she came to a turbolift. Stepping onto it, she called out for the deck that her barracks were on. She had to be back in there when the briefing let out. It just wouldn't do for her to bail on it by saying she was ill, and then be caught out gallivanting around the ship. Especially since the Team leader seemed in particularly concerned. Granted, she wasn't exactly an expert on humanoids, but it seemed to her that he was a touch more concerned than he really should have been. She couldn't exactly put her finger on it, but she had the suspicion that there was something more to that and it was going to come back and bite her in the ass later.

The turbolift moved to it's destination and she got an idea. She knew it wasn't really her end of the plan, but she couldn't do her part as of yet. She was bored and wanted to do something. This sitting and waiting was annoying. So she turned around, removed a panel, and promptly disconnected some wires.

The lift stopped, and the doors opened revealing the hallway and a crewman that she recognized. She nodded, as did he. "How was Risa?" she asked.

"I feel like a new man," he answered, just as rehearsed. The pass phrase. Simple, cheesy, yet seemingly normal. He was one of them. The switch had gone smoothly. He started to step onto the lift.

She stopped him. "I would take a different one, if I were you."

He looked at her for a moment, the nodded knowingly. He turned and headed off in another direction. Another crewman stepped into the lift after she stepped off. He was not familiar so she said nothing to him. The doors closed and she continued on her way, wondering exactly what she had done to the turbolift. No doubt, she would soon find out. And it would most likely be quite humorous.

She entered the barracks, finding that she was still alone. Good, they had not returned yet. The timing was just right. She flopped down on the bed and waited for the others to return.

[WelshAvenger]

Part Ten - The Scheme

'The Scheme'

"Connect positive wire to Z-frame 17." 'Dorn' said to 'Destaphono' as he read through a SEAL manual. "This bomb could blow the better part of the ship. I just don't understand why we don't do that."

'Dorn' looked up from his work. "Because the bossman only wants the warp core disabled. The idea is to have the humans to eject the warp core become stranded in space. That way we can overrun them and take over."

"I still say we should-"

The duo was cut off by the sound of three men entering the barracks.

"So then I said to him, 'Excuse me buddy, don't make me beat you so hard that your girl will be feeling me for the next two months."

Steven Monk, Matt Peterson, and John Frost walked into the room, all laughing at the story Frost had just told them. They stopped in their tracks as soon as they encountered what appeared to be Destaphono and Dorn working on a warhead."

"What the hell is going on here?" Monk asked.

"Phase two of S31's plan." replied 'Destaphono'.

Frost looked at the two snipers warily. "Says who?"

"Says Hawkins," Dorn said, then looked at Monk. The plan wouldn't work unless both SEAL Teams were made to believe that they were in cahoots with each other. "and Lt. Sabien."

"How come we haven't heard anything about this?" Peterson chimed in.

'Destaphono looked up from his work. "Because the Major has only told us about the plan."

Peterson didn't feel right. He had known Miguel and Roger for many years and they weren't acting right. They were hiding something. "Maybe I should call this in and ask Curt himself." Matt reached for his communicator, but was interrupted by the sight of Dorn and Destaphono pulling phasers from their
holsters and aiming them at the SEALs. The trio reacted by pulling their 9mm's and started a standoff.

"Now everybody relax." Frost said slowly. "We've all been friends for many years. We don't want to kill friends over a misunderstanding."

"I'm prepared to." said 'Dorn'.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" Monk asked. "This ain't like you."

Destaphono kept a tight aim on Monk. "We told you that we have orders and we're following through with them. End of story. Now you can either leave or die. I don't care which."

Peterson, who was usually the most docile out of both SEAL Teams ♥♥♥♥ed his 9mm and straight-armed it at Destaphono. "No, it's not the end of the story. Drop your weapon and disarm that bomb immediately!"

"Not a chance, 'Miguel' said.

"I said do it now!" Matt replied more harshly.

"Make me!" Miguel said and went back to work.

In that split second, Dorn; who was in a squatting position, accidentally slipped forward and his phaser went off. The trio didn't see the beam sear the bulkhead, all they were aware of is their 9mm's going off and ripping Miguel and Roger's bodies apart with incoming fire. After what seemed like an eternity, 'Dorn' and 'Destaphono' fell to their faces lifelessly.

"Oh my God." Monk said and ran forward to help Dorn. Peterson followed up and started checking out Miguel.

Frost, who was in utter shock, stared blankly at everyone. "What the hell just happened?"

"We just wasted Roger and Miguel! What do you think just happened!?" Monk yelled.

"No pulse." Peterson said as he looked up to Monk.

Monk shook his head. "I don't have one either."

The two medics rose to their feet. Monk covered his eyes in disbelief. "What the hell was wrong with them? They weren't acting like themselves."

"Maybe they were operating from a different chain of command." Peterson replied.

Frost turned his head towards Peterson. "Goddammit, use your head. Do you honestly believe that they wouldn't tell us of a private mission?"

"Yeah, you're right." Peterson said.

"Now on to a bigger question. What the hell are we going to do now?" Monk asked.

"DIE!" said Dorn as his body shot back up. Moments later Destaphono's body came back to life.

"Get Out! Retreat!" Peterson yelled and the trio moved quickly out of the barracks and down the corridor.

The three SEALs were in the next corridor when they heard the barrack doors open once again. Monk looked around and pointed at the jefferies tubes entrance and Frost went to work by unsealing the hatch. Just as the two 'SEALs' entered their corridor, Frost had already closed the hatch. The three SEALs stared down through the air duct and watched the unhuman duo walked away.

"Holy crap...Now what?" asked Peterson.

Monk looked at Matt and John. "Now we go find the chiefs and see what the hell is up."

[WelshAvenger]

Part Eleven - The New Help

Christopher stood in the shuttlebay watching as the crew chief marshalled the shuttle in. The shuttle 'Severn' smoothly touched down upon it's warp nacelles and Christopher watched as the glow from the engines faded. The hatch gaped open and Njal stepped out, striding confidently towards Christopher. The man was slightly taller than Christopher, with red hair and green eyes. He stood in front of Christopher for a moment and saluted smartly, "Warrant Officer Njal Garret requesting permission to come aboard,
sir!"

Christopher smiled, this man was sort of old school Starfleet. Young for a warrant officer too, "Permission granted, welcome to the Apocalypse, Mister Garrett." Christopher said returning the salute.

"Thank you sir."

"First things first, you don't have to call me sir. My name is Christopher Cushing, you can call me Christopher or Doc. I'll show you to your quarters."

"Yes si.. Doc" said Njal hesitantly.

"That's better. You ever served on an Intrepid class before?" Christopher asked as he walked to the nearest turbolift.

"No, but I'm familiar with the layout."

"Really? You've been doing your homework then. I'm glad that you're here, we have to get all the crew physicals done as soon as possible." Said Christopher.

"I'll get them started straight away...Boss?"

"Boss is fine as well. So where have you served before, I hear that you were a S31 agent from way back."

"I served on board the Domino for two years, I then joined Section 31 and have been working in the medical branch ever since."

It suddenly occurred to Christopher that he was doing most of the talking which wasn't the impression he had of Njal from his Starfleet bio. His career explanation had come as though he was reading it from a piece of paper. Must be travel fatigue. The turbolift doors opened and they stepped out onto deck eight.

"There you go, deck eight, section nine, room 893." Christopher said cheerfully.

Njal walked away without a word.

"You're welcome." muttered Christopher to himself. "Sickbay." he ordered. The lift doors closed and the turbolift started moving.

The comm system activated, "Security alert, weapons fire detected, SEAL team barracks."

Christopher thought to himself, 'There goes the neighbourhood, can't keep their weapons holstered for ten minutes. Probably showing off their marksman skills' "Computer, emergency speed, authorisation, Cushing Psi two eight Phi."

The computer beeped and Christopher lurched as the turbolift gained speed.

[WelshAvenger]

Part Twelve - Should've Known (This is a long one)


Kendra had to cut her conversations with Tactical a little short as the security alarm went off on the bridge. She immediately looked to Ensign Tawnia Gordon, the security officer on duty. "What's that?"

The woman looked up from her console to the Commander. "There has been weapons' fire in the SEAL barracks."

The bridge suddenly became so still that you could hear a pin drop. It was obvious that there were some tensions between the groups. That became apparent during the briefing if nothing else. But this... They hadn't even gotten well underway yet and there was already a disturbance. Kendra knew the peace was going to be short-lived, but she wished it could have been longer. "Summers to Hawkins. Meet me in the SEAL barracks, pronto," she said as she hit her commbadge.

=/\= Understood. =/\=

"Ensign Gordon, you're with me," she said evenly as she stood, breaking the silence that seemed to permeate the bridge.

Tawnia Gordon stood still for a moment. "Uhm, ma'am, I know it's not really my place, but I feel that I should remind you that..."

Kendra put her hands on her hips. "Okay, Ensign, let's get one thing straight. If you want to say something, just say it. I don't need the preamble."

The woman looked startled, but nodded. "We don't have any sort of jurisdiction over this. There are no Starfleet officers on that deck, so it was all from the SEALs. We can't do anything."

"And that's where you're wrong," Kendra replied. "We may not be able to toss them in the brig, but I sure as hell can find out what's going on. Now come on." She headed towards the turbolift with Tawnia right behind her.

Kendra called out the deck number as the turbolift doors slid closed. There was a silence so thick you could almost touch it. "Is something wrong?"

The young, blonde security officer shook her head. "No, ma'am. I just don't like the idea of two of us heading into SEAL territory where there's been known weapons fire."

"Think we can't handle it?"

"If they are really upset, no. With all due respect, Commander, if they really wanted to, they could take us completely out. We'd be dead before we hit the ground," Tawnia answered.

"That's a really pessimistic attitude to have, Ensign," Kendra frowned.

A small smirk actually managed to make it to Tawnia's face. "It's what has kept me alive so long, Commander."

"So long?" she asked.

The Ensign nodded. "I was recruited into Section 31 right out of the Academy. Three years. Most don't make it past year one."

"Proud of yourself," Kendra remarked.

"No," Tawnia shrugged. "Just stating the facts. It's a different ball game in Section 31. We don't play by the same rules."

"That doesn't sound like a security officer's attitude to me. It's your job to stick your nose where it doesn't belong," Kendra countered.

"And it's an attitude like that that will get you killed," she said.

Kendra was about to respond to that when the turbolift finally reached its destination and the doors slid open. Tawnia stepped out first, hand hovering near her phaser. For a woman who didn't really want to get involved, she sure acted otherwise. Actually, she looked rather comical, like something you would see in an old Earth Western movie. She shrugged and pulled out her own phaser, and slowly headed down the corridor.

Tawnia moved cautiously in front of Kendra, as would any good security guard for the CO. At least the young Ensign had something right about her job. Too bad Kendra, the former sec chief, was having nothing to do with it. She quickly stepped up beside the blonde woman. Tawnia frowned at her. "Commander..." she said quietly, but firmly.

"Look, I'm not one of these COs that's just going to sit and let everyone else have all the fun. I'm here to work, not to be baby-sat," she hissed.

Tawnia started to say something then remembered that Kendra had been incarcerated for shooting her own assistant, among other reasons. She decided it best to keep her mouth shut and let the Betazoid do what she wanted. She continued moving stealthily up the hallway with Kendra along the other wall.

Coming to the end of the hallway, the two women stopped just short of the corner, plastering themselves against the wall. They stayed far enough away from the corner so that anyone on the other side would not see them, even from the opposite corner. Kendra looked at Tawnia. "On three," she mouthed to her. Tawnia nodded. "One..."

Tawnia took a deep breath and gripped her phaser.

"Two..." Kendra continued, her own body tensing up for the movement. Who knew what was on the other side of the corner? A crazy SEAL with a trigger happy finger perhaps?

"Three." Both women whipped around the corners to face the unseen. Each let out a breath that neither of them knew they were holding. Nothing, no one, was there. Kendra turned to walk to Tawnia's side. "Ready to keep going?" she asked, almost excitedly.

Tawnia wrinkled her brow. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"I haven't had this much fun since I was on the Illustrious," she grinned. It was a short-lived grin, however, since she suddenly felt the barrel of a gun pressed into her back. "Damn."

"Oh, that shouldn't be what's going through your mind right now, 'fleeter," a woman's voice said.

Tawnia whirled around and pointed her phaser right at the newcomer. "Drop it, or I'll shoot."

'Aspen' rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you'll shoot and stun me. I, on the other hand, will shoot and kill. You notice that this isn't a phaser..." She had a 9mm stuck in Kendra's back.

"We're not the enemy here," Kendra said calmly. "There was some weapons fire down here and we came to investigate."

'Aspen' looked over the uniforms of the two women in front of her. "You're in the wrong uniform, honey."

Kendra tightened her jaw. She did not like being referred to as 'honey.' "I'm Commander Kendra Summers, the Starfleet CO of this ship. Who the hell are you?"

"Master Sergeant Aspen Sato, second in command of SEAL Team 2," she replied, happy that she remembered her title. "Now, what are you doing here? You're out of your territory."

"I told you that already. And I wasn't aware that the ship was divided into 'territories'," Kendra commented. "Now, what are you doing running around with your weapon like that? Are you the one who got trigger happy? And where the hell did you come from? You weren't there when I looked before."

"I heard the alarm and went to investigate. So, no, it wasn't me. I'm looking to see who's responsible just like you are. And I was not going to be caught off guard by an enemy. As to where I came from, that's my little secret. Part of being a SEAL. Stealth, you know," 'Aspen' responded. Damn, this was irritating. She just knew that someone had blown their cover. And she was going to find them and make them pay personally for jeopardizing the mission like this. Tawnia still had her phaser pointed at 'Aspen'. "And get that thing out of my face before I take it away from you. It's not nice to point."

Tawnia muffled a laugh. "I'd like to see you try."

"Was that an invitation?" she asked.

Kendra chose this moment to intercede. "Alright, ladies. That's enough. Get this gun out of my back and she'll point the phaser elsewhere."

"But..." Tawnia started. Kendra shot her a look that immediately shut her down. The Ensign grunted in agreement, albeit unhappily.

'Aspen' looked over the two over them and then lowered her gun. She decided it was best to cooperate with them than to blow her own cover. The illusion was still intake, at least for now. The security Ensign pointed her phaser at the ceiling. But she kept an eye on 'Aspen'.

Kendra noticed the young woman's demeanor. After the conversation in the turbolift, she hadn't expected this level of performance. Her attitude about her job was lousy, but she did the job well. Perhaps Kendra was just a little too gung-ho, though. Who knew? "Well, it's nice to see you instead of having your gun in my back."

"Whatever you say, Commander," she replied.

Just then, they heard a noise from behind. All three of them turned towards the sound, weapons drawn at the source. Blonde Tawnia crouched down in the floor, red-headed Kendra and the Asian 'Aspen' stood up on either side of her, crouched slightly in case of attack. Kendra looked at the newcomer. "Hello."

Christopher froze in place and raised his hands slowly, "A little highly strung, aren't we ladies?"

"Very funny Doc, did you bring a tricorder?" Kendra asked.

As he slipped off the emergency medical kit, Christopher asked, "What's going on then? Any casualties yet?"

"None so far, but expect the worst." Tawnia replied, her eyes constantly scanning the corridors.

"Ensign, the worst that could happen is that the warp core could breach and we'd all die. Here you are Kendra, it's a medical tricorder, but it's all I got." Christopher said as he handed the instrument over. He shouldered the med kit and pulled a phaser.

'Aspen' cast a suspicious look at Christopher, "You are remarkably well equipped considering the short time you had to respond."

Christopher waved a hand dismissively, "My new assistant, Garrett, marvellous fellow. Had all this kit ready when I got to sickbay."

At the mention of Garrett's name, 'Aspen' relaxed slightly.

"Okay people the tricorder's working and you're all in perfect health." announced Kendra.

"Why, thank you doctor, you've made my day, can I have a lollipop?" chimed Christopher.

Tawnia laughed and slapped her hand across her mouth, Kendra smiled and said, "Can it, wise ass." 'Aspen' merely watched the corridors.

"We need to scan for life readings," Kendra pressed the controls and nodded, "that way, got a reading, forty feet around the corner, it's heading this way."

Everyone tensed up and took positions as Kendra counted down, "Thirty five...twenty five..get ready."

"What in the name of the heavenly christ are you people doing?!" asked an angry Hawkins as he marched down the corridor.

"Would you believe that during an alert, as CMO, I'm actually allowed to go to wherever the situation is, no exceptions." Christopher chirped.

Within 20 feet of the SEAL Barracks, an alarm went off.

"What in Hygeia's hells is that" Tawnia shouted over the noise.

"Proximity alarm, it's letting the boys know that an intruder is coming up on their position." he replied and turned towards the barracks. "This is Major Hawkins! Stand down and explain yourselves!"

The voice of 'Miguel Destaphono' rang through the corridor. "A shot accidentally rang off while 'Dorn' was cleaning his weapon, sir. Now we're having trouble turning off the alarm. Must be a malfunction."

"Be prepared, we're coming in." Hawkins said and turned to Summers and the rest. "Weapon went off. Satisfied now?"

"Err, excuse me for a moment, major," Christopher said dubiously, "Commander, may I have a word?"

"Sure Doc." Kendra replied as they walked a few meters away, "What's on your mind?"

"Kendra, you know weapons far better than I do. Would you keep a weapon loaded when you were cleaning it?"

"No, but they are the professionals, they know what they're doing." Kendra explained.

"Look, I got the look of death from Sabien when he declared that they were the ultimate killing machine, now they're making mistakes during weapons drill? I don't buy it."

Kendra held his gaze for a moment, then nodded. She turned back around to Hawkins. "Do you mind if we go in with you, Major? I just want to make sure that everything's all right."

Curtis gave Kendra, the doctor, and the other woman the once over. "You three don't have any business in the SEAL barracks. Just consider it private property."

"At the very least I want to see if there's any damage to the ship. Anything we'd have to get Engineering up here for, that's all," she said carefully. Curt didn't look like he was buying it. "Just humor me, okay?"

Still fuming over the incident in the barracks, Hawkins stubbornly nodded. "Very well, just don't touch anything."

As Hawkins moved forward, Kendra hung back with Cushing momentarily. "When you get in there, take a look around to see if you notice anything. Something's a little off about this," she said quietly.

Chris nodded. "Yes ma'am."

They entered the barracks and Hawkins went straight to 'Destaphano' and 'Dorn'.

Christopher stood out of earshot and tapped Tawnia on the shoulder, "Don't turn around, just start looking about the barracks for anything unusual, besides the phaser marks on the wall. If you notice anything, signal very discreetly."

Tawnia just nodded slowly in acknowledgement and Christopher walked over to where Hawkins was grilling the SEALs.

"Miguel, I know you're not that stupid to forget that once you remove the clip from the pistol, that one round still remains in the chamber!" Hawkins yelled at Destaphono.

"But sir, you have to understand, I've been really tired lately."

"I don't give a damn, Miguel. You could've hurt somebody with your petty mistake." Hawkins continued. "Now don't insult my intelligence, Miguel. Tell me what really happened."

'Miguel' stuttered. "B-but sir."

Hawkins sighed angrily as the fleeter CMO walked up to them. "What is it, Doctor!"

"Sorry to interrupt you major, but is anyone hurt?" Christopher asked. Both SEALs shook their heads and Christopher turned around and noticed Tawnia winking at him. "Real discreet," he said when he reached her, "what have you got?"

"Evidence of small arms fire, Seal 9mm, they are the only ones on the ship that fire solid rounds." Tawnia explained.

"Keep this to yourself for now, we'll inform the commander when we get the hell out of here."

"Aye sir."

Hawkins discreetly examined the room as 'Destaphono' and 'Dorn' explained what happened. He bent down and tied his boot and stood back up. "Alright, I believe you. Just don't let it happen again, because next time somebody might die from this kind of accident. Am I clear?"

'Dorn' nodded. "Crystal, sir."

"I'm clear, sir." 'Miguel' replied.

Curtis turned and started out the door. "Come on, there's nothing left to see here." he said to the fleeters and SEAL.

Kendra walked out behind Hawkins with Tawnia and the Doc close behind. 'Aspen' hung back a little to glare at 'Dorn' and 'Destaphono'. They simply shrugged as she followed the others out the door.

"Report," Kendra said as soon as they were out of earshot of the barracks.

"Small amounts of blood about the place. I managed to get two distinct samples for analysis. As for the SEALs, they're hiding something. When Hawkins read the riot act, they were like small children being scolded. Not the kind of thing I ever expected to see." Christopher said.

'Aspen' groaned inwardly. What the hell had happened? "Yeah, I noticed that too," she admitted begrudgingly. What she really wanted to do was say she didn't see a damn thing but she knew her counterpart would have noticed. Damn this charade.

"Ensign?" Kendra prompted. "What about you?"

"About the same. And since the SEALs are only ones onboard that have this type of projectile firearm, it kind of narrows the field." Tawnia leveled a gaze at Hawkins, who had not faltered in his stride.

"You know, seeing as how they are part of your Team, I think it would be really nice to get your input, too, Major," Kendra said sarcastically.

Hawkins stopped and allowed Kendra to come along side of him. "Seven shots were fired, blood droplets were found on the floor and these.." he slammed two used 9mm shells into her hand. "were found on the floor. They did a really terrible job cleaning up. Something bad happened and I'm going to find out what."

"Damn right. I don't buy this 'I-was-cleaning-my-gun-when-it-went-off' horsecrap. Your weapon doesn't go off accidentally seven times," she said.

'Aspen' stared flatly at Kendra. "They probably didn't want to discuss it with 'fleeters in the room."

"We'll see if they want to discuss it when we launch a full investigation," Tawnia said with just as much venom.

"Damn right!" chimed Christopher.

"Absolutely not! This is none of your concern." Hawkins replied. "This is a SEAL matter and as leader of SEAL Team 1, it is my duty to notify Lt. Sabien and perform an investigation."

Kendra and Tawnia glanced at each other before Kendra looked back to Hawkins. "You do that. But I want Ensign Gordon here to be a part of it."

Christopher could see the veins beginning to throb on Hawkin's forehead, "Major, the presence of blood means that someone got hurt. Now, no matter how slight the injury, that makes it my domain. I vote investigation."

Hawkins looked the Starfleet trio over. "Remember this; because I'm only going to say it once. Stay out of it. It's none of your business. I find out that any of you try to intervene on this, I will have all three of you brought up on charges and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Got it?"

One could almost feel the temperature fall on the deck as Kendra glared icily at Hawkins. "Been there, done that. Care to make another threat?" She continued before he could answer. "Fine. Do what you have to do. But I will do what I have to do. And that's to keep the people on this ship safe. I want to be kept up to date about the investigation. I don't need to have a bunch of trigger happy SEALs running around the ship." And with that, she walked off. Tawnia gave Hawkins a small smile and a nod and continued after Summers.

"She's just doing her job major." said Christopher after seeing the look in Hawkins' eye, "If one of our crewmen went around firing a weapon wouldn't you want to know why? Anyway, please tell your medics that sickbay's resources are at their disposal for the investigation. If they need anything else, they can contact me." Christopher walked away to catch up with Kendra.

"Aspen, go find Lt. Sabien and tell him to meet me in my office asap."

'Aspen' had been standing silently, watching in amusement. "Yes, sir," she said and walked down the opposite corridor. Perhaps she could somehow fix this. Maybe she could find out what was happening and then smooth it over. And if not... Well, they could just as easily bump up the plan, now couldn't they?

[WelshAvenger]

Part Thirteen - Room Service

The door suddenly flew open, slamming into the wall and flooding the small room with light. He had no idea why he had to feed these humanoids. If they had replaced them with their own people, and had no intention of letting them return, why was it necessary to feed them? Why couldn't they just kill them and be done with it? It would make things a lot simpler....

But, alas, it was not his decision. Grumbling, he moved into the room and closed the door behind him. "Okay, it's feeding time," he said and tossed something at Steve.

"Oh boy. Yet another protein bar. You guys really think about expanding your menu, you know..." he deadpanned.

"If you don't like it, don't eat it. Starve to death and make my job easier," came the harsh response as he continued to toss the bars at the various people in the room.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? You spineless piece of amphibian crap." Dorn said as he brushed the bar off of his bunk.

He ignored their comments, but threw the food a little harder at them. He didn't have to put up with this.

"Oh, someone's kinda upset," Aspen chimed in. "No tip for you, my good man."

"That's it! You humanoids are driving me..." he started before he trailed off. "Wait a minute. There's an empty bed here. Weren't there seven of you? I see six..."

"There was always six of us, idiot." Destaphono said. "And you thought we were the primitives."

He looked around the room and his eyes fell on Aspen. Yes, the one like her...She was missing. "Where'd the other female go?" he demanded.

Aspen shrugged. "She wasn't happy with the menu, so she decided to go out for lunch. You know, it's really your own fault. You really need a little variety to the diet."

Her words weren't really registering with. He stepped into the middle of the room, frantically searching for the missing woman. This was not good....

Wilhite looped his chains around his hands to make a choker and arose from his bed quietly. As the man continued looking around for Ivy, Dan snuck up behind him and quickly wrapped the chain around the guard's neck.

The guard began fighting to get the SEAL from off his back and as his fighting became in vain, a long, black leg shot out from his thigh, followed by another from the opposite thigh.

Steve's eyes went wide. "What the hell?"

The guard's back began to tear down the middle and the pink human flesh was replaced by a dark brown/black arachnid-like exoskeleton. Dan remained his grasp on the 'man's' neck and pulled back harder.

Aspen started pulling on her chains. "Holy crap! Don't let go of him Dan!" she yelled over the commotion. She pulled as hard as she could, hoping somehow to get free. She didn't know what exactly she was going to do if she managed to get free, but she would worry about that when the time came.

Finally the man's head peeled away and revealed an evil looking bug face.

"It's not human!" Dan said from upon its back.

"Really?!" Aspen yelled, realizing that her wrists were bloody from pulling. She watched in horror as what looked like a tail shot up out of the thing's body. "Dan, behind you!"

Dan turned his head and seen the tail shooting up at him. He quickly unwrapped his legs from its waist and shot them down towards the oncoming tail. He was able to deflect it and send it shooting sideways into the ground. Wilhite's legs wrapped around the appendage and held it into place, as the bug began to slowly sink to the ground.

Eventually, it stopped moving and remained still on the floor. Steve cautiously pulled himself off his bed. "Is it dead?"

"I-I think it's dead." Wilhite said.

The bed that Ivy had occupied pushed away from the wall, making them all jump. They relaxed as they realized who it was. Ivy sat up from her hiding place behind the bed and peered at the thing lying on the floor. She had taken the blanket off her bed and used to shield herself from view. With her body between the wall and the blanket, it was the perfect hiding place in the dark room. "I would have come out sooner, but..." she trailed off.

Dorn muttered. "But you got scared."

She crawled onto the bed. "What the hell is that thing?"

"Your guess is as good as ours." Dan said. "Are you alright?" he asked concerned a little too much.

"I'm fine," she said, smiling warmly. "What about you? Are you alright?"

He grinned. "I'm dandy. Could've been worse."

Aspen looked around the room. "I hate to break up this little lovefest, but does anyone see if this thing had keys? I would very much like to get out of here before this thing's friends come looking for him."

"On it as you speak, Sarge." Wilhite said and diverted his gaze away from Ivy. He leaned down and retrieved the keys that were on the thing's belt. He unlocked his shackles and threw them to Aspen. "This is getting better by the minute".

Aspen unlocked her shackles and tossed the keys to Roger. She examined her wrists. They were not pretty. "Nice to be unlocked."

Dorn caught the keys, unlocked himself and tossed then to Miguel. "Hell yeah".

"That's more like it". Miguel said after releasing himself and tossing them to Steve.

Steve happily took the keys and freed himself. He was so happy that he didn't even make a comment. He tossed the keys to Ivy, who released herself. Then she got up and walked across the room. Anything to get herself away from the bed that had been her prison for two weeks. Wilhite bent back over the body and removed a knife from the 'thing's' human leg. "We only got one weapon. If only we knew where they were keeping our side-arms."

"Don't know. But we gotta get out of here. Now." Aspen started heading towards the door.

- - - Updated - - -

Part Fourteen - The Doctor's Apprentice

Christopher walked into Sick Bay and dropped his equipment pack on the nearest biobed with a sigh.

Garrett looked up from his workstation, "Problem?" he enquired.

"Not really," said Christopher, "just one of those 'my weapon went off while cleaning it' situations."

Garrett nodded, "Anything I can do?"

Christopher paused for a moment, "No thanks Njal, we're done here for today. Why don't you go get some rest, I'll see you in the morning."

"Very well Sir, goodnight." Njal said, shutting off his console.

"Goodnight Njal."

Christopher stood in the empty sickbay, 'Who the hell can I trust now?' he asked himself. The answer seemed obvious, "Computer, activate EMH program."

The female hologram appeared in the center of the room, "What?" she asked, sounding annoyed.

Christopher laughed aloud, "Natalya, can you an analysis on these blood samples and encode the results, omega three encryption."

"You activate me to analyze blood samples?" she asked.

"Yes please, it's very important." Christopher explained.

"As it is you, I will do this."

"Thank you, can you inform me when the analysis is complete, I'll be on the bridge."

"Da." she waved her hand dismissively.

Christopher was in the turbolift when Natalya called him. Christopher stepped out on to the bridge to see Kendra lounging across her command chair.

"Busy?" he asked with a smile.

"Yep, I have an appointment with a large drink any minute now." she replied.

"Can I have a word in private?" Christopher asked quietly.

"Sure, Doc." she beckoned to her ready room.

As the doors closed behind them, Kendra went to the replicator, "Whisky, Irish single malt, double measure. What'll you have Doc?" she asked.

"Sounds good, I'll have the same." Christopher replied.

The drinks appeared and Kendra handed one to Christopher, "What's up?"

"Well, this whole situation has me kinda nervous. I had the EMH analyzing the blood samples, she's completed them and I wanted to look at them with someone I trust." Christopher explained.

"Sounds paranoid, what about your assistant?" Kendra asked.

"I am paranoid, Garrett's a good assistant, but next to him, a Vulcan would seem like a stand up comedian."

Kendra laughed, "What about the results?"

Christopher gulped his drink, letting the fiery warmth calm his nerves. He nodded at Kendra's command console, "You mind?"

"Be my guest."

Christopher activated the console, "Computer access EMH results on blood samples alpha and beta, authorization Cushing Pi three three Delta, encryption omega three." The computer beeped in acknowledgment and text started to scroll down the screen. "Good grief!" Christopher breathed.

That definitely caught Kendra's attention. "What is it?" she asked, making her way across the large room in less than two steps.

"These readings are off."

"How so?" Kendra asked, peeking over Christopher's shoulder.

"Well, I've got these blood samples from Dorn and Destaphono, but there's something else. Something foreign." he explained.

"Foreign?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, but that's not so puzzling. What's really disturbing is the fact that it's not human."

"Not human? But they're human aren't they? Couldn't it be that someone else's blood got mixed with theirs?"

He considered this. "Could be, but I don't know whose. This other...stuff... is not cross-referencing with any other DNA files that I have in my database. Of course, it could be some odd sort of contamination, but still...."

Kendra studied him for a moment and then walked across the room to her desk. Putting her drink down on the desktop, she propped her arms up on it and took a deep breath. She tapped her commbadge. "Summers to Gordon. Could you please come into my ready room?"

Tawnia entered the room within a few seconds. "Yes, Commander?"

"Tawnia, I need you to do something for me. I need you to go down to the Marine/SEAL decks and do a little looking around."

The young security officer raised an eyebrow. "May I ask why?"

"Because Doctor Cushing has found something odd in the blood samples we got earlier and we need to ascertain if it's some sort of contamination or if something weirder is going on down there," Kendra explained.

"Should I contact Major Hawkins and let him know I'm coming?" Tawnia asked.

"No," she answered immediately, drawing strange looks from both Tawnia and Christopher. "Well, if something is going on, the Major could be part of it. And letting him know that we're on to him would most likely not be in our best interests."

"And if he's not?" Cushing asked.

"We'll deal with that when we come to it," Kendra replied.

Christopher walked over to Gordon, "Tawnia, we could be dealing with an organism that I've never seen before, you need to be very careful, super careful in fact. Take my medical tricorder, I've set it to silently alert you if it detects any of the foreign organism."

Gordon nodded, "What about the alarm systems down there?"

Christopher looked at Kendra, she nodded. "We can take care of those for you." she said.

"Just in case," Christopher said, "I'm going to inject you with a disruptive agent. It should mask you from the sensors down there."

Gordon smiled, "Be back before you know it."

After the young security officer had departed, Christopher asked Kendra, "Ok, how exactly are we going to silence the alarms?"

Kendra got up and walked onto the bridge, Christopher in tow. "Lt. Green, I believe that the sensors indicate that there is a cosmic string just off the port bow." Kendra stated.

Ivy Green looked at her instruments, caught the look in Kendra's eye and said, "Aye, captain, sorry."

"Pay attention next time Lt," Kendra laughed, "Reprogram it into the computer, I want it to appear on sensors for real."

"Yes captain." came Ivy's reply.

Christopher looked up, "Cosmic string?" he asked.

"A particularly nasty phenomenon that can destroy a starship, attracted to warp core emmisions too." Kendra explained.

Christopher understood now and in a flash of insight, could see what was going to happen. He smiled, this was going to be far too much fun.

"Bridge to engineering, Cosmic string dead ahead! Shut down the warp core now! Shut down everything except life support and gravity!" Kendra yelled, sounding for all the world like someone who was facing their worst nightmare.

Before the reply came from engineering Christopher quietly said, "Where did you learn to act so convincingly?"

Kendra turned to the doctor with a lopsided grin. "Years of practice, my good Doctor. Years of practice."

The bridge lights dimmed to emergency levels and Lt. Green announced, "Answering all stop captain."

Christopher smiled and said, "Well, I guess we just wait.", just as Engineering's report came in.

[WelshAvenger]

Part Fourteen - Machinations

‘Aspen’ pressed the chime on the Major’s office.

“Come!” Came the barked reply.

Sidling into the office ‘Aspen’ spoke matter of factly, “Seems there's been an incident of some kind. A Starfleet security officer was found unconscious on our decks. She's been pretty roughed up."

"Any idea who the perps are?" Hawkins asked.

"Not a clue. No fingerprints, no nothing. The only people who knows who did it are her and her attacker. And she's out cold." 'Aspen' sat on the corner of Hawkins desk.

"I'd usually say it serves her right, but considering what kind of ship we're on, it's a different story." Hawkins replied. "How long was she there for?"

"Dunno," 'Aspen' shrugged. "Looked like she'd been there a while. She was just found in the middle of a corridor. She's been transported to the 'fleeter's sickbay. But I'm kinda wondering what she was doing on our decks in the first place...."

Hawkins shook his head. "Damn good question. Let's go down to the barracks and survey the situation for ourselves."

The woman got up from her seat. "Sounds good to me."

"Should we contact Commander Summers?" ‘Aspen’ asked.

Hawkins nodded. "Of course. I want to know why she had the balls to disobey S31's orders and to get into our affairs."

The major walked out ahead of her, leaving her to grin maniacally behind him so he wouldn't see. Tawnia was in a virtual coma, not responding to a damn thing. So 'Aspen' knew the chance of anyone finding out that she was the one who had jumped the young security officer was slim.

If things kept going the way they were, the infiltrators wouldn't have to lift a finger. There was so much paranoia onboard already that they would just tear themselves apart.

And then they would come in a pick up the pieces....