[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 1 - Recovering

Though conscious and responding well to treatment, Molly Patamon was still rather weak, and lay in a biobed in sickbay. Amanda came through briefly to check on her before exiting again to tend to the dozens of other patients the medical officers had been flooded with. Patients in all stages of the virus lay in various parts of sickbay, and the cargo bay too had been turned into an emergency triage location. The medical staff had also been dealing with the Pegasus' crew, all of whom had now died because of the virus.

Looking around the cramped medical bay, Kennedy saw people laying everywhere, but couldn't seem to find one damn medical person. Natalya and Amanda both scoured sickbay while Doc Cushing was otherwise occupied, and they gave each patient a thorough checkup before either releasing them to their quarters or to their duties, or giving them another dose of medication. The lights were too bright in sickbay, she decided, and the temperature was entirely too hot. Apparently they were sweating the virus out of the patients, she grumbled. Finally, the Marine lieutenant just shook her head, heading into the room where she'd left Molly a few hours ago. Seeing the assistant medical officer laying on the biobed momentarily disturbed her, but she slipped inside and sat next to her bed, happy to be off her feet for a few minutes.

Molly heard someone approach, and slowly turned her head towards the sound. Though awake, she'd been trying to allow herself to rest as much as possible, to beat this thing somehow. "Kennedy? That you, honey?" she asked quietly, and was momentarily rewarded by the sight of Kennedy's face. She smiled slightly.

Kennedy nodded and smiled, looking rather pale herself. "Yes darlin', it's me. How're you feelin'?"

"Better ... thank you. Though for a while there..." she trailed off, shaking her head slightly to bring the world back into focus. "You?"

The Marine forced a smile for her partner's sake. "I'm good. We caught that damn changeling."

"You don't look so good." Molly frowned softly. "Maybe you should have Amanda look you over..." she started.

Kennedy waved her off. "Nah, it's just hot in the tubes - that's where we found the creature." And hot in here too ... damn environmental controls, she thought.

Molly didn't quite believe her, but let it go for the time being. After all, the antidote would soon be pumped through the entire ship, and like it or not, Kennedy had indeed been exposed - they all had. "Alright," she allowed. "But - you found it? We're safe, now?" At least for the time being? She found herself in desperate need of being reassured, after being so alone in sickbay, relatively speaking. She may have been surrounded by other patients, but the only face she'd been longing to see was Kennedy's.

Kennedy nodded in confirmation. "Found it. The big guys are trying to figure out what to do. I just asked for a round with the damn thing, let me get back at it for bouncing me off a bulkhead." Though her injury was healing, her pride had been wounded deeply. Giving her five minutes along with the errant shapeshifter might be just what every member of the crew needed. A grouchy Marine XO was definitely bad for morale, and Kennedy was one grouchy Marine.

Molly nodded ever so slightly. "Feeling better from that?" The Risan doctor looked up to examine any possible sigh of injury that Kennedy might have been subjected to.

Kennedy just nodded, trying to dissuade her injury-hunting efforts. "I'm okay darlin, just tired and I missed you something awful."

"Missed you too," Molly responded softly. "C'mere?" She scooted over a little on the biobed, trying to make space for Shea to join her. All she wanted was the other woman's arms around her, comforting her.

The Marine raised a dark brow. "Hey, you lay still. I don't want to disturb you." she frowned.

A perfect pout formed on Molly's lips. "I haven't been able to really rest because I missed you. Come lay down with me, help me relax?"

Unable to resist that, even if she'd wanted to, the Lieutenant stood up on wobbly legs, sliding onto the biobed next to her. She wrapped her long arms around the doctor, hugging her close. "So, you want to hear about the hunt and capture?" she offered.

"Sure," Molly murmured, yawning softly. Secure in Shea's arms, she closed her eyes again as her body immediately began to relax. Odd how she'd become so responsive to Shea's touch in just a short amount of time ... not that she was complaining, certainly. But she'd never felt quite like this with anyone else.

Kennedy chuckled, recalling the hunt. "Your Commander got her hair shot..."

"She did?" Molly blinked open surprised but sleepy warm brown eyes.

The Marine nodded again. "Mm-hm. It was actually rather funny. So we had two teams ... me, the Major and the Commander ... let me tell you, it was oh so fun." Shea rolled her eyes. "And then the SEAL team, along with that new girl ... the scary one ... and guess who found the damn thing first?"

"You?" Molly said softly, listening to her ramble on with an amused look briefly crossing her face.

Kennedy chuckled lowly. "Damn right."

Molly's eyes drifted closed again, and she grinned softly, but she reached out her hand and ran her fingers gently over Shea's forehead and neck. "Good - I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." An almost imperceptible blush crossed the Marine's face, but she covered it quickly with a smile. "Thanks." She bit her lip a moment, thinking before voicing her thoughts aloud. "You know that means a lot to me ... that you're proud of me."

Molly smiled, nuzzling gently against her neck. "Of course..." She frowned softly. "Honey, are you sure you're alright? You feel a little warm ... and it's not just from those tubes, anymore. You've had enough time in here to cool off..."

Kennedy cleared her throat. "I'm fine, Molly. Stop being a doctor, willya?" She teased.

"I AM a doctor, darling. And if the entire ship is infected with this virus, it's only a matter of time..." She sighed softly, nuzzling against her partner.

The Marine knew damn well the virus had finally caught up with her. But she saw no reason to make things any worse in Molly's mind, so she gently reassured her. "I'm a big girl darling, things take their time with me. I'll be just fine."

Molly was placated for the time being. "Could you get me some water, sweetheart?"

Kennedy nodded slightly, extricating herself from Molly's loving arms. She sat up rather quickly, hopping down from the bed ... and suddenly, her legs began to buckle underneath her ... and the room began to spin ... and her last thought before complete blackness was, "Damn gravity generators..."

Molly's eyes widened and she eased out of bed, moving down to the floor to assess her. She grabbed a tricorder from next to the bed, but her hands were shaking too much to work it properly. She called out, "Amanda! Doc, somebody ... help us!"

After a brief few moments, Natalya rushed in from the patient she'd been working on, and moved in quickly to see what Molly needed. Not being the sort to overreact, she knew it had to be something very important. Somehow, the sight of the Marine in Molly's room didn't surprise her, but the Marine being on the floor with Molly hovering over her, attempting to treat her, did manage to surprise the nurse. She reached to the panel on the wall, having Kennedy beamed to an adjacent biobed. The patient there had already been released to her quarters.

Once on the bed, Kennedy finally began to regain consciousness. Burning up, and with a fairly nasty cut on her lip from hitting the floor on her way down, the Marine managed to croak, "Wha ... happened?"

Natalya moved to her side and immediately began assessing her, looking to see how advanced the virus had become - something she'd become all too familiar with. "You have the virus too, Lieutenant. Fortunately for you, the antidotes are being pumped through the environmental systems, so you should not be down too long." The EMH reached for a thin instrument, running the dermal regenerator over Shea's lip to seal the injury. She also began setting her up with fluids to cool her body down, her temperature being much too high.

The Marine looked towards Molly's biobed. "Moi?"

Although she'd been speaking to Molly, Natalya answered for her. "Yes, you. All you Marines are alike, too stubborn to admit you're sick," she said gruffly.

Molly just smirked and eased back onto her own biobed, before Cushing could come in to scold her. She looked to Kennedy and mouthed, "Yep - you." She resisted the urge to add, "Told you so..."

Shea sighed. "How long?"

"You should be able to return to duty within a day or two, depending on how quickly you respond to treatment." She looked from one to the other. "And of course, you'll be able to stay right where you are, until them. I can even have the beds moved together, if you'd like..."

Kennedy groaned, and gave her version of a pout. "I need to be there to help interrogate the changeling. I can't lay around in a bed - can't you just give me something?"

"No, I can't just give you something." Natalya huffed a bit, reaching for a hypo then turned her attention back to the Marine. "I'm sure they can interrogate the thing just fine without you. And in a day or two when you're back on duty, you'll be able to interrogate it to your heart's delight."

Molly muttered from the other bed. "No use arguing with her, Natalya. She's as stubborn as a Risan mule."

"I thought all things on Risa were agreeable," Kennedy said, in a quite grumpy tone. She was not happy about being confined to sickbay, even for a few minutes.

"Most things," she said, turning a sympathetic look towards her partner.

Kennedy turned her pout towards Molly this time. "Fine, fine..." she shooed Natalya away. "I'll stay put."

Natalya scowled slightly at her. "You can be certain of that." She turned to check on Molly, then exited and headed back to the other dozens of patients she had to help treat.

Once the EMH exited, the Marine muttered under her breath. "I want a second opinion."

From the other bed, without missing a beat, Molly responded. "You're sick - stay put."

Kennedy turned on her side and looked over at Molly. "I mean from a Marine doctor."

Molly grumbled. "I'm every bit as good as your Marine ... medic." She made a face.

At that, Kennedy gave her a bit of a smirk, already starting to feel better. "Yes, but a Marine medic would understand my plight."

"Maybe," she allowed. "but that doesn't mean you're going anyplace." Molly grinned softly, and curled up on her side to face her partner.

The Marine narrowed her eyes. "I could if I wanted to."

The brief thought of Kennedy attempting to stand and tumbling to the ground flashed through Molly's mind, but she grinned and responded, "Probably. But you won't. You'll stay right here by my side, until we're released." She stuck her tongue out at Kennedy briefly, and then closed her eyes again. She didn't feel like sleeping, because she was enjoying the banter between them, but she still tired easily.

Kennedy chuckled lowly, and stretched a bit, feeling like something run over by a shuttlepod a few times. "Watch what you do with that tongue, missy."

"Well at least you know where it's been," Molly responded smugly. She pulled a blanket over her to cover her legs.

The marine Lieutenant had never been any good at being still, and she flipped over onto her back, grumbling. "When is that damn EMH going to be back in here to move the beds together...?"

"You made her leave, remember?" Molly reached up and touched the wall comm, requesting one of the other medics to come in and assist them.

"Yeah, so?" Kennedy was into quite a good pout.

"I wouldn't want to help you if I were her. Even though you're sick, you shouldn't have been rude to her. She was just trying to help." A moment later, the medic entered, and although Molly had no energy to get up, she instructed him to move the beds together. Once they were alone again, she curled up against her partner and slowly dozed off, dreaming of what their lives would be like from now on.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 2 - Relaxation

Having just survived the most dangerous mission to date, the COs of the Section 31 starship Apocalypse decided that the crew needed a nice two day vacation. It was Summers who received a call from Commander Zanara Walken and she suggested that the covert space station Deep Space 31 was the ideal place.

Hawkins had been onboard for about an hour and was having fun seeing the sights and enjoying the attention from the women. He would've spent more time on the promenade, but he was late for a date. It seemed that the crew arranged a party in the stations bar, and they planned to celebrate their victory by getting drunk all night.

He rounded the corner and walked into the bar. It was a cozy, dimly lit establishment, but it still held the air of an outrageous place. Hawkins spotted Summers talking to Hollins, both with shot glasses in their hands, and playing a game of pool. He walked up to them and looked over the table. "So who's winning?"

Kendra looked up and smiled. "I am," she said smiling brightly. "But, in Steve's defense, he really can't play pool worth a damn."

"Hey! I'm pretty good!" Steve protested as he bent over to take his shot. Not only did he miss his intended target, but he actually managed not to even hit a single ball on the table. "Being sick has thrown off my game..." he grumbled.

"So what was your excuse beforehand, then?"

Steve stuck his tongue out at her.

Kendra grinned and lifted up his shot glass. "Okay, you know the rules. You miss, you have to do a shot. This time.... How about vodka?"

He made a face. "I hate vodka."

Now she beamed. "Vodka it is, then." She waved the barkeep over to where she was and looked at Hawkins. "You know, by the end of the game, he's gonna be hammered."

"Oh yeah? Should I be scared?"

"I don't know. It could be funny. It could be sad. I've never seen Steve-o drunk."

A young waitress walked by and Hawkins snatched a glass of beer from it. He raised the glass to Summers and Hollins and smiled. "To a night of possibilities."

Kendra handed the shot glass full of vodka back to Steve and then filled her own with tequila. "Sounds like a plan to me." she smiled before she kicked it back.

Taylor, Halloway, Walker, and Jacobs walked into the bar together. They wasted no time going up to the bar and getting their drink. A few of the women patrons began to whisper and stare at the marines.

Hawkins noticed them as well. "Looks like the booze-hounds arrived. Gonna play nice, Summers?"

The smile from her face had faded. "I make no promises," she replied. Truth was, she was still hurt, angry, and confused.

Halloway spotted Hawkins and tapped the boys. The next thing everyone knew, they were making their way over. Minus Taylor of course. "Hey Major, nice place they have here."

"Yes it is. My kind of place." Hawkins said as he looked around the place again. "What's wrong with the Gunny? Feeling less then sociable tonight?"

"No, he's just waiting for someone to arrive." Jacobs said.

"Yeah, some little whoring bitch, I'm sure," Kendra muttered under her breath before turning around to the bar again. "Bartender! Can you bring me another? It's gonna be a long night..."

Walker looked over at Summers. "Easy Commander, she's not a whore."

She noticed that he didn't correct the bitch part. Interesting...."Sorry."

Walker nodded and relaxed once again. "It's cool."

"Okay," Kendra said, wanting to change the subject. He was being the jackass, and she wasn't going to let him piss her off anymore. "So.... I'm bored. Let's do something."

"How about we get pissed drunk and raise hell?" Jacobs asked.

"Sounds great. Let's go," she said. Kendra was determined to use this time to forget about everything that happened over the past couple of days. New mission, new outlook. God, she needed a new life, that's what she needed.

Hawkins smiled and started leading the group up to the bar, but something stopped them in mid-stride.

"OY!!" roared a thunderous British voice at the doorway. "You silly barsterds!"

Hawkins head shot over and looked upon a blast from the past. "Oh my God...Mad Dog."

Kendra turned around and leaned on the bar. She turned to Steve. "You think they know each other?"

"I hope so," Steve said. "Otherwise they would have just insulted each other and, I don't know about you, but I don't think I'd want to stick around to see Hawkins and that...brick wall... fight."

A huge grin came on the faces of the marines as they walked quickly over to the large beast of a man. Hawkins and the man embraced and squeezed each other tightly.

"You son of a bitch, where the hell have you been?" Hawkins asked.

"Where do you think I was?" Mad Dog asked. "I've been at Auckland."

Hawkins face fell, as did the others. "But you were supposed to be transferred out with us. I informed S31 about my missing man and they said you came out with us."

"Mix up in the transfer department, mate." he replied. "Not to worry though, I took it out on their arses."

Hawkins smiled. "I'll bet you did. Hey, I want to introduce you to somebody." Hawkins put his arm around Mad Dog's shoulders and walked him over to where Kendra and Steve where. "Hey everybody, this is Staff Sgt. David 'Mad Dog' Masters. Jimmy, this is Commander Kendra Summers; the Co-CO, and Lt. Steve Hollins; Security."

"Pleasure." Mad Dog said and shook Kendra's hand.

Kendra shook his hand. His handshake was firm, really firm. Normally, it turned out to be a pissing contest for a man, seeing who's grip was better. But this guy... It was no contest, that she was sure of. That was normal for him. "'Mad Dog'?" she asked.

Halloway chuckled. "Yeah this guy disarmed a Jem'Hadar soldier bare handed and ripped a nice hunk of his cheek off with his teeth. Funniest thing I've ever seen in my life."

She raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

The marines couldn't keep their eyes and hands off of their recovered friend. They now felt complete once again, their muscle was back.

"So, you like to drink?" she asked, knowing it was a dumb question.

"Is the Pope a Catholic?" Mad Dog asked and jokingly winked at Summers.

"I'll take that as a yes..." Kendra replied as she turned to head back towards the bar.

The group finally made their way to the bar. It was there that Taylor finally greeted Mad Dog. "It's been a long time, man. You look good."

"I feel good, mate." he replied. "How's things been treating you?"

Taylor's eyes shifted to Summers, then back to Masters. "Same old crap on a different day."

"Hmph," Kendra grunted. She rolled her eyes.

Mad Dog's keen observance caught the glances between Taylor and Summers. "No use wallowing in self-pity, Danny. Let's get drunk."

Hawkins chugged the remained of his first beer, then ordered a second. He took a sip and glanced around the room. It was then that his eyes locked with a woman sitting down on the other end. He shyly looked away, then realized who he was. His eyes went back to her at pierced her eyes with his own.

The dark haired woman sitting at the end of the bar looked right back at him with her bright purple eyes. She smiled at him.

"Hey you stinkin' turd, I'm talking to you."

Hawkins turned back to Mad Dog. "What was that?"

"What was that?" Mad Dog said as he smartly mimicked Hawkins. "I asked if you're still with that pretty little German girl."

Hawkins' eyes narrowed. "Anya? No, haven't seen her since we were put away."

"Sorry mate." Mad Dog said sincerely. "But at least you have me to kick around again."

Jacobs grinned a little. "You're coming back with us?"

"Yeah you little bugger." the big man said and pulled Jacobs in a friendly headlock. "I requested this to make your life a living hell."

Now Kendra started laughing. "I don't think you'll have to try hard. Our superiors seem to be doing a pretty good job of making our lives a living hell."

Taylor let his eye wander over to Summers as she spoke. He was still deeply hurt over what he found out about her.

She felt the weight of his eyes on her and turned to look at him. This was getting borderline ridiculous. What were they? High schoolers?

Taylor quickly looked away and took a sip of his beer.

Hawkins was quite too busy to engage in the conversation. His eyes once again made there way back to the woman at the other end of the bar.

She was already staring at him, waiting for him to look back at her. She raised her glass of chardonnay to him in a small toast.

He grabbed the bartender by the arm. "Get that woman down there another drink on me."

"So you blokes remember good 'ol Leroy Washington, right?” Mad Dog spoke. "After you all left, he had the whole gangbanger group coming after my pretty face. I had to battle those bastards for months."

Walker shook his head and knocked back a shot. "Damn man, what the hell did you do?"

"Let's just say he is getting his dangly parts toasted down below."

Taylor stared slack jawed at the Englishman. "You shanked him?"

Mad Dog nodded. "Had to mate. It was either me or him."

Kendra had wandered off to elsewhere in the room. She was tired of Taylor and his stupidity. So, she figured the best way to have a little fun would be to ignore him. The party was just getting started and This didn't seem to restricted to just Apoc people. This had the potential to be an interesting evening.

Taylor watched as Summers walked away. He would've gone after her, but things were still too weird. Besides his date was coming soon.

Steve wandered over to where Kendra was. "Someone's a party pooper."

"Who me? Nah."

"Then why are you over here all by yourself?" he asked.

Kendra shrugged and grinned. "Waiting for someone to notice I was all by myself so I could corrupt them all on my own."

Hawkins started on his third beer and finally joined in the conversation. He raised his glass to the rest of the men. “To Leroy, couldn't of happened to a nicer guy.”

Mad Dog chuckled a bit. “Yeah, squealed like a stuck pig.”

The rest laughed at that of course. Leroy Washington was a very disturbed man and to anyone who knew him, it was a blessing that he was killed off.

Kendra and Steve had moved to the couch now. They were sitting when a waiter walked by and Kendra ordered a pitcher of margaritas for the two of them. It had been a long time since they had just had the opportunity to talk, and they were gonna take every advantage of it. Kendra completely forgot all about the other people in the room.

Hawkins looked back at the woman, but she was gone. He shifted in his chair a bit and looked around the room; she was gone. Why was it that everytime he had a chance to meet a new woman, he waited too long? “Damn.”

"Damn?" a feminine, throaty voice said behind him. "Something the matter, there?"

Hawkins turned all the way around and seen the woman standing behind him. He knew she was attractive, but the sight got better up close. “No, not really. Can I help you?”

The woman smiled. "I just wanted to come over here and thank you for the drink. I would buy you one, but I don't have any money..."

He smiled and waved his hand. “Don't worry about it. Just being civil.”

Music started playing in the background; an instrumental version of 'Strangers in the Night'. The dark haired woman smiled. "How about I repay you with a dance?"

Hawkins chuckled a bit. “No, that's ok. I don't dance. Seriously.”

She took his hand and pulled him with her. "Nope, they're playing our song. Gotta let me repay you. I don't mooch off of people."

With a shrug, Hawkins arose from his seat and walked with the woman out to the dance floor. It had been a few years since a woman had paid him any attention and it was a nice change. As they walked to the middle of the floor, Hawkins wrapped his hands around her waist and swayed slowly with the music.

Suddenly Steve stopped right in the middle of what he was saying. "Hey, do you wanna dance? My legs fell asleep while sitting here and I wanna move 'em..."

Kendra laughed. "Damn, man. Some excuse is better than none, huh? Sure. I'll dance with ya." They got up off the couch, margaritas still in hand, and moved to the dance floor.

Hawkins smiled softly down at the woman. “What's your name?”

"Azura Skyler." she answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I'm Curtis Hawkins.” He replied. “Been in S31 long?”

She simply looked up at him and placed her finger over his lips. "Shhh," she told him. "We don't need all that small talk."

He shut up once her finger covered his lips and he just nodded in reply. He didn't know he rambled when a woman showed interest in him.

Azura smiled and moved in closer to him, wrapping her arms further around him. She lay her head on his shoulder, and let her breath play gently across his neck.

It was then that Taylor's date arrived. She ran up and grabbed him by the hand. “Sorry I'm late, I got a little busy. Let's dance.”

Taylor looked at Kendra and Steve dancing. He should've known that guy was more then just a friend. “Sure, let's go.”

Kendra took a sip of her drink. "So how are you holding up?"

Steve looked at her in confusion. "You mean after the virus? I feel just fine. Of course, I wasn't effected all that much, but the other ship sure as hell didn't know that. You should have seen the look on their faces... Well, I know you saw it, over the viewer, but in real life.... Oh, it was priceless."

She shook her head. "No," she said. "I mean, how are you doing? Personally? With the job?"

"I'm... fine.... Why?" he asked in even more confusion.

Dan twirled his date around so that he was able to see Summers and Hollins. He tried to move them closer to where the fleeters were, but she put on the brakes.

" Our CHO and CEO being killed, among others. Lots of crewmen are requesting transfers. Says there's too much going on. Even a few of the marines have already left us."

"That's stupid," Steve said. "What did they think they were getting into? This is Section 31 and you guys are not exactly model officers to begin with. They should have known what they were doing."

"I dunno," Kendra shrugged. "It is a rough job. Harder than I thought, I know. I mean, I went from running the security department on a starship to running the whole damn ship. It's pretty draining."

Steve looked at her hard for a moment. "Kendra, are you telling me that you're thinking about transferring?"

~Dammit~ Taylor thought and tried to move in closer, but his date kept on stopping him.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He looked back at her. "Kind of hot over here. Wanted to get closer to the vents."

She looked back and spied Kendra. "Uh huh. Sure."

Kendra gave Steve a bitter smile. "It had crossed my mind. Doc does a great job of handling the ship. It's not like the Marines really like me, anyway, and it's no real secret that I'm not exactly fond of them. Why not go somewhere else where I'm needed?"

"Okay, I'm not stupid Kendra. Look who you're talking to. You may be able to tell your superiors that or that's your reasoning on paper, but don't give me that line of crap," he said urgently. "You want to leave because of your personal issues, don't you?"

Kendra shook her head. "It's not completely that. The things... The things that have happened over the course of the past few months have drained me. I need to start over somewhere else."

"Running away is not going to solve anything," he told her.

Kendra shrugged. "Maybe not, but it sure as hell will make me feel a helluva lot better." She felt a lump forming in her throat and her eyes began to sting. "Dammit, Steve, I got you into this mess in the first place! Your life would have been better off had you not even known me!"

She was about to cry and it was hurting Taylor to see her like that. He knew he should've stuck by her more, but some things could harm a relationship beyond repair.

"Don't do this Kendra..." Steve said. "Think about what you're doing."

"I have, Steve, I have." Kendra finished the last bit of her drink and then pulled him into a big hug. "I think I'm gonna go now. Goodbye, Steve." And she left Steve standing there, alone and stunned.

Taylor went to go after her, but he stopped. He didn't know what to do. All he could do was just watch her walk away. Confusion and concern swept over his face and he felt his heart break.

Steve marched right up to Taylor and stood directly in front of him. "I hope you're happy."

Taylor looked at Hollins. "What?"

"What you did to her. If it was your intention to hurt her as much as you possibly could have, then you've succeeded. Congratulations." he told the marine bitterly.

Taylor looked back at Summers, who was currently almost out the door. He then turned back to Steve. "Where is she going?"

"She's leaving. As in, transferring. If you hurry, maybe you can catch her and say goodbye. Twist the knife a little more." he explained. Steve walked off at that moment, leaving Taylor to decide what to do.

Finally his date spoke up. "So are you just going to sit there and be a tool?"

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" he asked.

She furrowed her brow and stared at him like he was a moron. "You go after her, dummy. Besides, Mark is getting tired of you taking up all my time. He says that you've borrowed me long enough."

He nodded his head and started making his way to Kendra. "Tell your husband thanks for letting me borrow you as a decoy." With that he started jogging after the fleet CO.

Steve strolled up to the woman Taylor had been dancing with. "So, how long do you think they'll keep their clothes on?"

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

The couple had danced to quite a few songs and soon they found themselves huddled up to the bar, drinking with Hawkins' men. Both were starting to feel the effects of the alcohol they had consumed throughout the night. "So, what's a nice woman like you doing here?" he slurred.

Azura shrugged. "How do you know I'm nice?"

“Aren't all women?” he asked smiling.

She smiled and traced a finger down his jawline. "I dunno. I think you're cute."

Hawkins’ eyebrows raised. This was getting better by the minute. “Why thank you. Something I haven't been called for-“

Without warning, she pulled his face towards her own and kissed him. Her lips pressed against his so hard that it almost felt as if they would bruise under the pressure.

Hawkins timidly returned the kiss at first because he had yet to grasp the situation. As it finally sank in, he wrapped his arm around her waist and kiss her with as much force.

Finally, she pulled away. "Does that answer your question?"

“Uh huh.” He said in a very spaced-out tone. All rational thoughts ceased at that moment.

His men on the other hand were all grinning from ear to ear. They had never seen their commanding officer dazed like that.

Azura looked at him with those purple eyes of hers. "What do you say we get out of here? Just you and me?" She took his hand and stood, gently pulling him with her.

Hawkins slowly nodded his head and allowed her to lead him to her destination.

“Mates, am I that bladdered, or do I see Hawk leaving with a woman?” Mad Dog asked as he tried to balance a girl on his knee and his drink in his hand.

“You talk funny.” The girl said to him.

“Yeah maybe, love, but you should what else I do funny.”

The marines laughed and continued to down their drinks. It was certainly going to be a good night.

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

“Kendra! Kendra, wait up!” Taylor yelled as he chased her down, only to be ignored. “You're acting like a child.”

That stopped Kendra cold. "I'm acting like a child? Me?" she said in disbelief. She hadn't even made it out the door yet.

He smirked. “I knew that would make you turn around. Now where the hell do you think you're going? You're going to up and quit just like that?”

"I'm not quitting," she told him.

“You're not?” He asked, confused. “Then why did Hollins tell me-“

"What am I supposed to do? There's too much bad blood and bad memories on this ship. And since I'm the one with the problem, then I should be the one to take care of it, right? So I am."

He softened up a little, it was getting too much for him to handle. “Sometimes we need people to help us out along the way.”

Kendra glared at him. "What do you care, anyway? You've already moved on."

He took her by the hand and held it gently, lovingly. “No I didn't. That woman is married to a friend of mine. He thought it was a good idea to parade her around like she was mine, just to get you jealous. Fact of the matter is, is that I care a lot about you, Kendra Summers. You're like a drug and I'm addicted. Besides, I've worked too damn hard to let you walk out of my life.”

She thought her heart was going to melt. Being a Betazoid, she knew that he meant every word he was saying. But he still wasn't out of the doghouse yet. Kendra allowed him to lead her back into the bar. "You sure do talk pretty." she said with sarcasm.

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

"COME ON CHRIS! WE'RE LATE!" yelled Tawnia from the sitting room.

"Merciful gods, woman, I'm on my way!" Christopher mumbled from the bathroom where he was struggling to do up his collar. 'Bloody shirts never fit properly' he thought as he walked through into the bedroom.

Tawnia stood next to the sofa, a vision of beauty and glanced at him admiringly, "Phew, someone scrubs up well."

Chris smiled, "I aim to please." He said as he pulled her into a hug.

When they parted, Tawnia sighed, "I've missed that."

Christopher laughed, tapped the brim of his hat and said, "Sorry ma'am, I'd like to oblige you but we're a little pressed for time."

She smacked him upside the head, "Idiot, let's go."

They walked arm in arm along the corridors of the base, giggling at one another, hardly noticing anyone else. Tawnia stopped cold, "Did you see that?"

"You mean Major Hawkins and an as yet unidentified woman sneaking into a room? Never saw a thing." Chris deadpanned.

"Me either." Tawnia shook her head.

They entered the bar, waved to Steve Hollins and settled onto a couch. A waitress came to take their orders, "Gin and tonic with a slice of lime for the lady and I'll have . . . oo let's see a vodka martini, shaken not stirred." Christopher announced. The waitress rolled her eyes and Tawnia merely groaned. "What?" he protested, "I've always wanted to say that."

Tawnia glanced at the other and of the room, "Good grief! Look at that!"

Christopher looked over and saw table after table stockpiled with food, "Never mind the buffet, take a look at the other end."

Every dessert imaginable had been created for them and sat glistening, wobbling and, in some cases, melting.

"Down boy!" cautioned Tawnia.

"Sorry, was I drooling?" he asked taking their drinks from the waitress.

"Yep." She slipped her hand into his and whispered, "Let's dance."

"Just a moment, I need to have a word with the band first." He said hurrying off.

Tawnia looked around at everyone else, suddenly feeling a bit self-consious, "Fine" she said, to the world in general, "leave me here, alone."

Christopher rushed back, took her arm gently and led her to the dance floor, "Sorry about that, needed a certain piece of music."

The opening chords of a tango drifted across the room as Christopher and Tawnia glided effortlessly around the dancefloor. The rest of the room faded into the background as they whirled around each other. Time seemed to stretch, all they knew was the dance, the closeness of one another's bodies and the music. . . . which had stopped. All Christopher could see was Steve Hollins and quite a few others staring open mouthed at them.

Tawnia giggled as they walked off the dancefloor, passing Steve and the others.

"That's a good impression of a Betazoid marsh frog Steve," said Christopher, "Now put your tongue back in and close your mouth. Let's get some food Tawnia, I'm starved."

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 3 - Relocation

Laz stood on the gangplank leading to this station. The modified Danube had left minutes ago, leaving him alone in this place. He was sure that the only reason the lights stayed on was because he hadn't moved since his arrival. He hefted his pack, surprised that all his things were still there. He was sure they would have at least taken his sword. The bag was issue, as was the uniform. To think that less than a week ago he had given up the uniform. He stretched the neckline, tugging it away from his throat. Sometimes it felt like a noose. A beep told him to perform the next action.

He pulled out the PADD, and held this archaic peice of technology in his hands. No. Not archaic. Stop thinking like that. You made your choice, and may never see her again. Laz fought back a tear, trying to concentrate on the deal he had reached.

The PADD read simply. "Lazrus Longsmith, having been given the rank of Lieutenant, you are hereby posted the USS Apocalype, as the ship's Chief Science Officer." Nothing more. Not where this ship was, not who the captain was. To think, 3 days ago he was locked in a very dark cell. This turn of events was startling, but, somehow, not unexpected.

He opened the duffel, and stuffed the Padd on top of the familiarization documents. He had skimmed those on the trip, and was impressed by what this ship said it could do. Well, time to flex this much vaunted brain of yours, and get moving.

He left the docking port, and at the nearest intersection heard the sound of ... something. From the right. He glanced about, taking in every detail of his surroundings. It occured to him that there should be someone here to greet him, but again, it didn't really surprise him that there was none.

He turned to follow the sounds. The walls all looked the same, and he quickly grew bored of looking for the differences. He passed a couple of people on his way, but they merely went about their business without even looking at him. Not unfriendly, just, indifferent.

He emerged from the corridor into a sort of promenade. There were more people here, and for a moment he just stood there, letting the apparent chaos surround him, and give him comfort. Across from him was a bar, and from the sounds, it looked quite busy. Might as well ask there for the Apocalypse to start with, and maybe get a drink while he was at it.

Laz stepped inside, and for a moment wondered if somene had decided to perform an experiment in turbulence in the room. There was no sense of order and the noise was just that, noise. Without looking, he stepped aside to let a blue female pass by. Laz grinned at her, not really interested, but he did pity the poor male that would end up in her bed tonite.

The bar proper was located at the back. Usual. He shouldered his bag and began to wind his way through the crowd. There were 117 people in this room, and he surprised himself with that number. He was doing it again. He had to stop that, slow down some. He managed to make it to the bar, and sat down on an empty seat. He looked around and decided that there was one major party, and a couple, more private affairs.

When the barkeep approached, Laz ordered a club soda. He didn't feel like alcohol today. When the drink came back, he asked the keep about the party.

"It's from the Apocalypse. Just came back from beating a plague or something like that." and went back to whatever he was doing.

Laz mentally hit his head are how this just happened to work out, but somethings just happened. He gulped the last of his drink, and checking his duffle, made for the big party. He watched them from the sidelines, getting a sense of what they were doing, and for the most part it was celebrating. There weren't a lot of uniforms but there were a couple. He approached the nearest group, and enquired if the XO was around. He was directed to a larger group farther back, and Laz made his way there.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 4 - Ready for a party.

Once released from sickbay, Molly and Kennedy wasted no time getting to their quarters to pack. It was a flurry of flying clothes and loud giggles and hair products, but within the hour, the two were heading immediately towards the station. Molly was still moving at a slow pace, having been incapacitated by the virus since nearly the beginning, but her eyes were bright and her attitude positive. They made their way onto the station's main level, checking into the guest suite Kennedy had quickly booked before leaving the Apoc, and within minutes they were whisked away by a cadet-turned-bellhop who led them to their quarters and made sure everything was set before he exited.

Not wanting to be late for the party, they took only a scant few minutes to put away what they had brought with them (at Molly's insistence) and laid out their party clothes. The Risan woman moved into the shower, letting the sonic waves relax her muscles before turning it to a 'water' setting. She stood just like that for an indeterminate amount of time, allowing the gentle heat to ease the tension in her body before beginning to wash off the dirt and grime that had accumulated over the last few days.

"Oh ... a girl could get used to treatment like this. Maybe we should find out if there's any sort of health spa on board this station," she sighed contentedly. Hearing no immediate response, she peeked out of the bathroom, wrapping a towel around her body and another around her hair. She quickly discovered the reason why, although she had heard an odd noise from the suite's single but spacious bathroom. One tired Marine Lieutenant, plus the added effect of having caught and quickly been cured of the virus, plus the changeling chase - had left her sound asleep on the master bed. Molly just grinned and shook her head, and instead of immediately waking her up, she decided to let her sleep a while longer.

"I don't blame you - love to take a nap myself, but we've got places to be..." Molly dried her hair, brushing it while standing in front of the bathroom mirror. Her dress resided on a hanger in the bedroom, waiting to be donned by its owner. Most of her dark tresses she left loose, since she didn't get much of a chance to wear it down with the type of work she did, but she did put a small amount of it up with a sparkly jeweled clip, bringing a few curly strands around to frame her face. Finally satisfied with hair and makeup, she proceeded to the bedroom, and slipped on the short dark blue dress. It was tight in all the right places, but just loose enough to allow freedom of movement to the wearer. She adjusted the dress straps, making sure they crisscrossed in the back, and checked herself out in the mirror for a second. She nodded in approval of what she saw looking back at her.

Finally deciding the Marine had had enough sleep, the doctor leaned down onto the bed and placed the softest of kisses on her partner's lips. "Time to wake up, sleepyhead..." she murmured quietly.

The Marine woke up slowly, sucking in a deep breath and finally putting on a smile as she peeked open jade green eyes. "Mm ... I fell asleep."

Molly grinned at her brilliant observation, pulling away from her lips. "Yes, it appears that you did. I'm just about ready, when you are."

Kennedy lifted up her head and looked around, groaning. "Ugh..."

Molly slipped into her silver three inch heels, already having somewhat the advantage when it came to height. "Ugh - what?"

Kennedy, in a pair of tight black jeans and a very thin sleeveless white shirt, made quite the visual impression and left little to the imagination. A pair of black cowboy boots sat patiently at the end of the bed, and the Marine reached for them, slipping them on. "Nothing," she responded.

Molly rested a hand on Kennedy's back, waiting until she finished. "You know, I'd be perfectly happy to just stay here ... and *not* go anywhere..." she said with a meaningful smile, followed quickly by a wink.

Kennedy looked back at her and smiled. "No way - I'm okay." Shea leaned over and gave her a reassuring kiss. "Really, I am." Pulling back, she looked over Molly and her green eyes widened. "Wow..." It was all she could do not to pass out right there. Molly looked gorgeous and it was really the first time that Shea had seen her this dressed up. Her mouth hung open as she visually inspected the doctor.

"Okay..." Molly smiled, figuring she was just still tired like the rest of the crew, and took that as proof of how much she really needed the night out. The Risan momentarily blushed at the amount of visual attention she was suddenly receiving from Shea, and bit her lip. "I'm glad you like what you see ... but we've really got to get going." She eased upwards to standing, peeking in a hand mirror to make sure her makeup was just so.

Finally getting her hormones under control, Kennedy stood and stretched, walking over to the full length mirror and looking in it while she ran a hand through her own dark hair. She picked up a black leather jacket that was resting on the back of a conveniently placed chair, and pulled it over her sleeveless top. "You know there's going to be a lot of drinking tonight."

"Mmhmm ... I know. We are going to a bar, after all." Molly smirked, tucking a few things into a handbag.

The Marine chuckled. "Well, Marines aren't at their most polite when they've been drinking..."

"Are you trying to tell me you might try to take advantage of me later?" Molly turned an innocent look to Shea.

That elicited a laugh from the other woman. "You can count on that," she winked. "But since I don't really drink ... I just wanted to let you know what to expect."

Molly winked. "I think I can handle myself, but thanks." She grabbed the bag and moved towards the door. "Let's go," she grinned.

Kennedy nodded and quickly followed behind her. "I'm with you, darlin'." The Marine offered her hand to the doctor, really not wanting to be out of physical contact with her considering the nightmare they had just been through. Molly took the offered hand, squeezing it with a smile as they moved to the turbolift and headed down to the bar level. Still a bit pale, but feeling much improved, this was just the sort of outing the doctor needed to show off her gorgeous partner.

Upon arriving on the specified level, Kennedy took a good look around. "This place is ... different," she said quietly.

"Different how, sweetheart?" Molly leaned into her, strolling down the corridor. She could already hear the sounds of a roaring party, but was in no real hurry to get there.

Kennedy glanced over to her. "I'm so used to being around just Marines. There are a lot of different services here. I was training recruits when I was arrested."

Molly nodded quietly, thinking back to the events that had brought her to their current assignment. "So what exactly brought you to the Apocalypse, anyway?" Although it was probably a story for another time, her natural curiosity got the better of her.

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "I have a soft spot for women, that's what brought me there..." She sighed. "I was actually rather surprised when Hawkins showed up. I thought I was just going to spend the rest of my life in New Zealand."

"And he recruited you from there?"

"Yeah," Kennedy nodded. "I guess they had been watching me for a while. I didn't have the best record ... was known as a bit of a rogue," she grinned.

"And so that's what attracted them to you?" Molly grinned back, peeking in a shop or two as the pair made their way to the bar.

The Marine just shrugged. "I really have no idea." She watched her partner do a little window shopping, making note of which items sparked her interest. "I'm just thankful for whatever it was about me that attracted them, cause being here is the best assignment I've had."

Molly responded quietly, "I'm glad you're here too." She gave the hand attached to her own an extra squeeze, and entered the rowdy bar. Kennedy scanned the room, already hearing the loud voices and knowing it was fellow grunts.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 5 - Reckoning

“Look, I said I was sorry for being a jerk.” Taylor said loudly. “You just have to understand where I'm coming from.”

"Oh, I understand alright," Kendra replied just as heatedly. "I understand that you're acting like an idiot!"

“Excuse me, but can you keep it down?” a waiter said. “You're disturbing our customers.”

“Oy! Let the couple argue.” Mad Dog said from across the bar room.

The waiter walked away and the Englishman raised his glass to the couple. Seems everyone was enjoying the show.

Kendra glanced around the room in annoyance. "Everyone having fun?"

"Yeah, this is great stuff." Mad Dog said.

Halloway nodded. "I'll say. This beats playing pool."

"I don't like being everyone's entertainment," she said quietly.

"Humph." Dan muttered. "Seems you've been for awhile now."

Kendra shot him a hard stare. "Look, it happened in the past. Everyone else knew about it but you. And everyone knows that it's over and has been over for a long time. Why the hell do you care about it now?" The other people were forgotten once again.

"I would just like to know who you were with in the past." he said. "Like a damn borg for example. I think a majority of the people in the federation would frown upon that."

"Who gives a damn who I've been with in the past? I am with you now. And I'm not so sure about that right now, with the way you've been acting lately!"

Taylor's eyes widened. "The way I've been acting? The way I'VE been acting?!" He turned around and faced the group of people in the bar. "Let me ask you all a question..."

"Oh, hell," she muttered. "Taylor..." she started, reaching out for him to shut him up. She had a distinct feeling that she wasn't going to like this.

He shoved her hands away and spoke his piece. "If the man or woman you cared about slept with a former borg, wouldn't you be pissed off?"

Everyone was quiet, but their answer was obvious. They just wanted to spare the Commander of any further embarrassment.

Pvt. Jacobs, who was currently passed out on the bar, shot up and looked around the room. "Hell yes."

Mad Dog pushed his head back down. "Shut up, idiot."

Kendra stared at Taylor, her face a blank mask. But her eyes... They gave away all the pain she was feeling at the moment. Without a word, she rose from her seat and headed towards the restroom. It was all she could do to contain herself until she was out of sight.

Taylor watched Summers make her way to the restroom, then looked back at his people. The marines were looking at him as if he were to blame.

"That was pretty low, mate." Mad Dog said.

Taylor narrowed his eyes and made his way towards the bathroom. Hopefully he could salvage what was left of their relationship.

Kendra stood in front of the mirror, her face dripping with cold water. Only her red rimmed eyes gave away her state of being now. She pulled a cloth from the side and dried her face. When she lowered the towel, she saw Taylor's reflection behind her. "Damn unisex bathrooms...."

"Kendra..." he said calmly. "Look, we need to talk this out."

She turned around and stared at him angrily. "Goddammit! Leave me alone! Alright? You got what you wanted! You used me and then embarrassed me and now you're getting rid of me! Are you happy now?"

Taylor took her by the hand and held it firmly in his own. "Please, just talk to me. Just for a few minutes."

Kendra pulled her hand away from him as if his skin were made of acid. "Don't touch me."

"Please Kendra. This fighting is getting us nowhere." Taylor reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders.

She punched him right in the face, knocking him to the floor. Her eyes opened wide in shock. She hadn't meant to do that; it was completely reflex. "Oh my God!" she said, falling to the floor beside him. "Are you alright?"

He looked up at her and wiped the trickle of blood from his nose. "It doesn't matter." He couldn't take it anymore. The fighting had gotten to him and he felt like a broken man. Taylor wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. "It just doesn't matter anymore. I just need you in my life."

Kendra was stunned. She hadn't meant to hit him and then he was doing this.... She had never seen him so vulnerable before.

Taylor laid his head against her chest. "I'm sorry, Kendra, I really am."

She finally wrapped her arms around him, too, everything melting away now. She couldn't help herself. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I'm sorry I hit you."

"I'll try harder to be a better person towards you." he said. "We have to stop all this fighting. It'll just ruin us."

Kendra nodded. "Yeah. It drives me crazy. Well, more so."

Dan continued to hold her; he never wanted the moment to end. After the years of denying that he had feelings for her, he finally came to face the truth, he loved her. It took awhile longer to get her affection and respect, but her got it. Now after all of that hard work, he almost lost her. It would never happen again.

She pulled him up higher on her body, so that they were cradling each other more than she was cradling him. "You know I only have eyes for you, right?"

He slowly nodded his head. “I know. I just have to be reminded sometimes.”

She kissed him, enjoying his touch and happy that things seemed to be going better now. Finally, she came up for air. "I have a confession to make...."

“What's that?” he asked, now really intrigued.

"I was never planning on transferring. I just told Steve that because I knew he'd say something to you and then you'd follow me...." she smirked.

His expression faded and he just stared at her. “You're kidding me, right? Tell me you're kidding me…”

"Now you really didn't think I was gonna transfer because of you, did you?" she grinned. "If anything, I would have to stay to make your life miserable. You should know better than that."

Taylor flipped her over on to her back and held her down to the ground. “Why you little weasel. You're going to pay for that.”

She feigned shock. "I think I already paid for it. With you being a jackass earlier....."

“Oh yeah?” he asked and began to tickle her with his free hand.

Kendra started to laugh and squirm on the floor. "Not fair!"

His one hand held her hands together like a vice and he continued his assault on her. “Not funny now, is it?”

She laughed uncontrollably and finally managed to pull her hands free of his. "Now this won't be so one-sided...." she told him with a sly grin and launched into her counterattack.

**Back in the bar**

Mad Dog looked at Hollins. “Seems it quieted down again, eh fleeter?”

"Oh, give it a moment..." Steve said drily.

“What do you think they're doing?”

Hollins raised an eyebrow and gave Mad Dog a disbelieving stare. "You do know that they are together, right?"

Mad Dog raised his eyebrows. “They're a couple? Bloody hell, just what we need on this ship.”

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

Kendra and Taylor walked out of the restroom to a round of applause from the people in the immediate vicinity. She plastered a smile on her face and took a bow. It was met with laughter and she stood to give Taylor an amused look.

"Is it just me or do we seem to have a thing for public places?"

Taylor shrugged, it was all he could do at the moment. Originally he had not wanted everyone to know about the relationship, but it appeared it was already too late. "Apparently so. What do you want to do now?"

"How about we head to the bar and start mingling with people?" she said as she pulled him in the direction of the liquor. By the way she yanked him over to the bar, it appeared that he didn't have any say in the matter.

Steve saw them emerge from their retreat and grinned. He started to make his way across the room, but failed to see the man also heading in his same direction and ran right into him. "Oh, hell! Are you alright?"

Laz shook his head, and replied "Oi. Ya, I'm fine. I should have been watching were I was goin. You O.K.?"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there," he apologized again. "No one ever said I wasn't a klutz."

Laz gave a quick laugh. "I can be a klutz if need be. Say, I'm looking for..." He didn't get a chance to finish his question, a pretty woman came walking down the way.

Kendra walked up to Steve and the newcomer. "Is he giving you a hard time? Cuz if he is, I can have him ejected out of a garbage shoot...."

"Ladies first." Steve muttered.

Laz put a huge grin on his face. Always be chivalrous.

Kendra smiled and shook his hand. "Commander Kendra Summers, USS Apocalypse."

Laz quickly dug into the duffel, and pulled out the PADD that had his assignment on it. He handed it to her, and she did something, probably confirming the post.

"Oh, well, then you are in the right place. Virtually the whole crew is in here. How about you come meet the people you'll be working with before you're working with them?"

"Where to start?" He managed to get the question out when this huge man walked over to Laz. Just slightly taller, but far better built. Definitely a marine.

"Gunnery Sgt. Taylor." Dan said and took the man's hand. "Welcome to the Apocalypse."

Laz barely avoided getting his hand crushed by Taylor. "Nice to be here." Better that before. Laz reset his duffle, and worked his way into the crowd. Time to mingle.

Taylor's head spun around and seen Shea and Patamon enter the bar. "Lieutenant."

Shea walked in, hand clasped in Molly's, the party was in full swing and the first person they came upon was Taylor. With a nod in his direction, both Shea and Molly stopped to say hi. "Looks like things are going pretty well Sarge. Have you met our Assistant Medical Officer, Dr. Molly Patamon?" She said with pride in her voice.

"No, I don't believe so." he replied and shook Molly's hand. "Heard a lot about you though, Dr. Patamon. Nice to meet you."

Molly grinned, and momentarily released her hand from the crook of Kennedy's arm, long enough to shake the hand offered to her. "And a pleasure to meet you too..." The Risan doctor took a look up at her Marine with a reassuring wink. The deep blue of her dress complemented her eyes perfectly, bringing out a certain sparkle that hadn't been present before. Though she was still pale from her illness, it was clear from looking at her that she had definitely recovered.

Laz didn't get far when he heard Taylor talk to this Dr. Patamon. He backtracked and found this woman, and introduced himself. "Hi. I'm Laz Longsmith. I'm the new Science Officer, and I just wanted to meet people."

"Well there are certainly plenty of people here to meet. And please, call me Molly when we're not on duty." Molly was already enjoying herself, not having had too many occasions to socialize with other members of the crew before now. And did they ever need a chance to 'socialize'; this crew needed more than a few days leave, they deserved promotions and bonuses all around. "I'm guessing we'll have more than a few chances to work together, Laz ... so I look forward to the opportunity." She leaned into Kennedy briefly.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 6 - Retreat

Azura had been watching Hawkins sleep for a little while now. She lay next to him, the sheets of the bed draped haphazardly draped across her body. Grinning, she decided that it was time for him to wake up.

His slumber was broken as he felt someone mount him. His eyes slowly opened and his head still swam from all the alcohol he had consumed. "What's going on?"

She kissed his neck and ran her hands down his body. "I got lonely..."

"Oh my God." he muttered as he found himself naked in bed with the woman he had met at the bar. He couldn't remember anything of what happened
earlier that night. He arose from his reclining position and tried to get off of the bed. "I have to go."

"Oh, no," she said and gently, but firmly pushed his head back down to the mattress. "I'm not gonna let you get away that easy..." Azura kissed him fully, deeply, on the lips.

He kissed her back, but only for a moment. She was very attractive, but he was never like this. He had to know the woman for awhile to end up sleeping together. He shook his head and broke the kiss. "I can't."

She leaned forward to kiss him again. "Yes, you can," she told him.

He easily removed her from his body and stood up to find his clothes. "Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Azura sighed as she suddenly found herself in her bed alone. She propped up on her arm and gave him a little smirk. "Well, we met in the bar, had a few drinks and then I brought you back to my quarters..." she began.

His eyebrows raised as she gave a very detailed story of what went on. "Ok, that's enough. Look miss, I'm sorry this happened. I didn't mean to take advantage of you...if I did. I just shouldn't be here."

She lay back down but curled herself around so that she could still see him. "Oh, no. I assure you that there was no advantage taking. If there was, I enjoyed every moment of it; trust me..."

He pulled on his pants and tried to find his shirt. "Where's my shirt?"

Azura grinned widely and merely pointed up and behind her.

He looked at the head board and seen they had used it as a rope. "Jesus..." he muttered and went about untying his shirt.

She sat up and moved closer to him and started to kiss his arm, working her way up to his shoulder. "Yeah, you called out to him several times...."

"Watch your mouth." he said harshly.

"Hey, now," she said and pouted a little. "There's no need for that."

"No need for this?" he asked. "You try getting sucked into a situation that you have no idea how to handle."

"Hey, just calm down a little," she said soothingly. "You're acting like you've never done this bef--" Azura stopped what she was saying and cocked her head to the side, giving him an amusing look. "This isn't your first time, is it? I mean, you seemed to know what you were doing but sometimes you just can't tell..."

He groaned. "I have and I only do with women I love. I don't love you, I don't even know you. Look, let's just forget this ever happened." He pulled on his shirt and headed towards the door.

Okay, she knew that there were reasons that he was acting like he was; he'd been drinking, he didn't normally do things like this, etc. But that last comment pissed her off. "You're right, you don't know me. But that sure as hell doesn't give you the right to talk to me like that."

He stopped and held her naked body in his arms. "Look, I'm sure you're a great woman and I know you'll probably regret this in the morning, but I just can't do this. I'm not the settling down type. I just got out of a relationship and I'm not ready for this."

She sat there, stiff, in his arms. "That's just great. I wasn't looking to 'settle down' necessarily myself. We have more in common than you think..."

He shook his head. "I'm not the right guy for you, believe me." With that, he walked out of the quarters.

Azura sat there and hugged her knees to her chest. She stared at the door, trying to figure out exactly what happened. And then a slow smile crept across her face. "Curtis Hawkins..."

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

Christopher motioned for a waiter to come over to their seat. The man carefully made his way through through the crowd and stood patiently at
Christopher's side.

"Pot of coffee for the lady please and a glass of Churban brandy for me." He said, looking down at Tawnia who was nearly asleep, "Tawnia, don't fall asleep yet. We wouldn't want to let the side down."

"Wann go shleep." She slurred.

"I know, but the nice waiter is going to bring some coffee and you'll be right as rain in no time."

She threw her arms around him and settled her head upon his chest, "Mmm, that's nice dear."

Christopher chuckled, "You're drunk, madam."

The waiter arrived with the coffee and brandy and left silently, a knowing smile on his face.

"Here you go Tawnia, drink some of this." Christopher held a cup to her lips and watched as she sipped it slowly.

The effect was instant. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up suddenly, causing some of the liquid to spill in Christopher's lap.

"Ewww, that's horrible." She looked at Christopher, noticing the small trickle of blood running down his chin. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," croaked Christopher, "Just bit my lip to stop me screaming when boiling hot Vulcan coffee hit my genitalia."

"Oh Doc, I'm so sorry. But at least it explains why it worked so quick." Tawnia said as she hugged him tightly.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 6 - Party's over.

Laz stood here, having met what seemed like every person in the bar. The total had changed as people had entered, and left. If this was the infamous Section 31, maybe he made the right choice. He grinned. He was beginning to feel the effects of all the drinks he had. He stood there, then leaned up against the nearest wall, which thankfully was actually a wall. He slumped down, and rested his arms on the duffel.

This was potent stuff. 'I have no past' He thought to himself. 'I have no future'. And fell asleep.


The party had been going on for hours now and had spilled over into the wee small hours of the morning. Finally, the bartender came out from the counter to catch the last few stragglers. "Last call," he said. "One more drink and then you all gotta go. I don't care where you all go, but you can't stay here..."

Kendra looked around at the last few officers. "Damn," she said softly to Taylor. "I tell you what, when we are given an open bar, we take full advantage of it, don't we?"

Tayor smiled. It was true, everyone on the Apoc loved their booze. "Wonder if they have another bar somewhere."

She looked at him and grinned. "Well, we may have to leave from here, but I can think of somewhere else I'd like to be...." she said with a little wink.

Taylor laughed and gave Kendra a little wink. "I'll grab us a bottle on the way out. I think we'll be up all night."

Kendra grabbed his hand and started towards the door. "Well, Doc, I do think we're heading out..."

Christopher looked up from the chair. Tawnia had fallen asleep against his chest again. "Good night Kendra. I'll see you back on board." He gently shook Tawnia, "Come on sleepy, party's over."

Tawnia stirred, "Did we win?" she asked sleepily.

Christopher chuckled, "We sure did. Come on sleepy head, let's get you back to your quarters."

Stretching like a cat, Tawnia whispered, "Mine are so far away, can I stay at yours?"

"Of course you can." Grinned Christopher. "Besides, I have a surprise for you back in my quarters."

Tawnia's eyes sparkled, "What is it?"

"You know the rules. It won't be a surprise if I tell you. You'll just have to wait and see."

Tawnia smacked him playfully upside the head, ignoring his yelp. "Serves you right. Come on then, I want my surprise."

Christopher bowed deeply to the survivors of the party, glanced at Keith Bednash and did his best impression of his ancestor, the actor, "Good night to you all, ladies and gentlemen. I shall see you in the morning, well, those of you who survive. Mwahahahahahaha! OWWW!"

"Move it or lose it, Doc." Tawnia said after smacking him again.

"Oh gee." Hawkins said sullenly. "The fun was just beginning."

"Yeah, I think we need to be heading out, too," Aspen announced. "We need to scrape Connolly off the floor...."

Sabien, Schoenick, Wilhite, and Monk grabbed the smaller SEAL and threw him over Wilhite's shoulder. "This boy needs to learn how to hold his alcohol."

"I hear you, Chris." Tod spoke up. "Reminds me of Monk back in the day."

"Ain't it the sad truth." Wilhite chimed in and looked at Ivy. "We still on for later?"

Ivy tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Hell yeah." she said.

Sabien smiled. He was glad that a few of his men were getting into relationships. He directed his gaze over to Aspen. "You ready for later too?"

Aspen smiled and walked up to Chris, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm always ready," she whispered as she gave him a small, but tender, kiss. Then she released him, leaving the whisper of promises hanging in his mind.

Sabien walked by Hawkins and patted him on his shoulder. The night was rough for both of them. "Catch you tomorrow, cousin."

"Night Chris."


And that's when they saw the sleeping man by the door. "Uh, Mr. Longsmith?" Kendra said. "Wake up. It's time to go."

Laz turned away from the offending sound and managed a mumble " go 'way 'mi. Lemme sleep."

"We got him." Bednahs said as he and the rest of SEAL Team 1 walked up to the new science officer. Bednash pcked the smaller man up and he and Frost steadied him. "You ok to walk?"

Walk? Laz thought to himself. I'm just awake, partly drunk on some of the stiffest stuff in the known universe, and you want me to walk? Laz responded by falling to the floor, his duffel keeping him from a nasty bruise on the side of his head.

"Dammit." Frost muttered and flung him over his shoulder. "Always a good thing when people are carrying other people out of the bar. Means the night
wasn't a waste."

Destaphono nodded. "You know where his quarters are?"

Dorn shook his head. "Not a clue. I guess that means we got a mission."

The SEAL yelled 'Mission!' in unison and headed out the door.

Hawkins was about to leave when he noticed Shea kissing on Patamon. "Time to go, L.T."

Somehow Shea breaks herself away from Molly and looks to the Major, "Aw come on sir, I don't drink, have to give me something else pleasurable" she said with a wink to Molly.

He grinned. "Not telling you to stop, but you got to take it to yur room. Think you would both like that."

Chuckling Shea nods and stands, holding a hand out to the slightly inebriated Molly, "Come on darlin', lets get you in bed." she stated with a smirk.

Molly looked up to her partner with a cute, relaxed smile. Several empty bottles and an empty wine glass of two littered the table in front of her, and her hair was loose from its earlier bindings. She sat comfortably on Shea's lap, kissing her neck until they were interupted. She looked up at the intruding Marine, but grinned widely at his suggestion. "Our quarters ... what a lovely idea, sweetheart." She tapped Kennedy on the chest with one finger to emphasize her point. "I think we should take this lil' private party back to our quarters, and have some real fun." She giggled at her own joke, picking up a nearly empty beer bottle and draining it dry.

As everyone left, Hawkins remained alone in the bar, but then felt a large weight clam on his shoulder. He turned and looked upon Mad Dog. "Hey."

"Hey Hawk." he replied. "The boys smuggled a few boxes of booze out when the 'keep wasn't looking. Kegger in the barracks?"

Hawkins smiled. After tnight, he still neded to get blasted. "I'm there."

"Then let's go, mate." Mad Dog said and put his arm around Hawkins, then led him out the door.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 7 - The Morning After

Taylor and Summers walked hand in hand around the stations promenade. They'd stop every so often and check out some of the vendors goods. "Can't believe they would actually sell some of this crap."

"I know. And I don't know why either. I don't think they get many tourists on this station..." Kendra quipped. She looked around, not really expecting to find much of anything of interest. That is, until her eyes fell upon a certain thing. "Oh, hel-lo..." she said more to herself than Taylor as she started to drag him across the way.

He sighed and let her pull him over in the direction that she was going. He was hoping she wasn't like every other woman when it came to shopping, but that would've been asking for a miracle.

"Pretty...." she said, seemingly entranced by the knives she was currently looking at.

"I'll be damned. Little Ms. Summers likes her knives."

"What? I collect weaponry. Especially that of the shiny, pretty, sharp kind."

He gave her a skeptical look. "Since when?"

Kendra smiled at him. "I was a security officer for a reason, ya know. I know how to use a variety of things..."

"Might have to show me sometime." he replied and turned around to check out the display of swords. Before he got a look at the blades, he accidentally ran into somebody. "Excuse me."

Laz was trying to get out without being noticed, but that plan went down the toilet. He dusted himself off, then noticed who he had bumped into.

Taylor grinned. "Seems it's your week for bumping into people. Enjoy your night?"

Laz grinned, and picked up his package. A scabbard for his sword he was fitting. "Not bad, when I wasn't sleeping."

"Ahhh, Mr. Longsmith. So glad to see you mobile today," Kendra sad as she turned around with a with a small smile.

"We were just out browsing the stores." Taylor replied. "Haven't really found anything interesting yet."

"Except the pretty, shiny, sharp things. I like those even if he doesn't..." Kendra corrected.

A grin hit Laz's face. "What? Don't like prettyshinysharp things? What sort of man are you?" Laz's grin got wider. Ah, it was good to be awake.

"Don't get my wrong, Mr. Longsmith." Taylor replied and returned a sincere, but sly grin. "I like blades of all kinds, but I prefer weaponry that more power to it. Take a m54A Assault rifle for instance.."

Kendra elbowed him suddenly. "Stop that," she said.

Taylor groaned as she nailed him in his solar plexus. "Sorry, she hates it when I go on and on about my passion for firearms. What's that you got there?"

"Oh, this? Just the first item on my shopping list. I didn't have much to pack, or time to do it in before I came here. Have to restock. You?"

"Just thought it sounded like something to do," Kendra said. "I've been a little out of the loop for a while and I haven't really done any fun stuff in a long time."

Taylor pointed his thumb at Summers. "Following the old ball and chain like an obedient puppy." He caught her arm as she went to nudge him again. She wasn't going to get him again. "Shopping."

"Ah."

"Wanted to inform you that this is the last night on the station. This time tomorrow you should be getting situated at you new post. So live it up tonight."

Kendra nodded. "Yes, you won't be able to let go again for a while. They like to keep us busy on this ship."

"Ah. So I should have plenty of time to snooze. On the job. There's a party tonight? Didn't we do that last night?"

Taylor nodded. "Yeah, we're probably going to have another kegger tonight at the bar. Got to take advantage of a free booze allowance."

Laz gave a most Vulcan sign of amusement. One raised eyebrow. Now would be not a good time to tell them how weird he was. "Ah. I wonder if they have sake."

"Perhaps you'll even be able to stay awake for this one," Kendra said with a smile.

"Of course. I was just tired from the trip. I should return the favour to the SEALS, and drag their drunk carcasses back to the ship." Laz rubbed the back of his head. "Any words of advice for the newbie?"

"Yeah, don't piss of anyone out of the fleet. Marines love to fight and SEALs would just dispose of your body." Taylor said a grinned widely. He liked the new guy and razzing him to see how he took it made him amused.

"And don't piss off anyone in the higher ups, either," Kendra added. "If you are on our ship, it's generally because you did something bad to begin with. I'd hate to think what they'd do if you got drummed off our ship. Might never find your body..."

"Other then that, just have fun with your new situation. We are all basically cons, so you are in good company." Taylor said. "It's an easy going ship and the fact that you ended yup here mean you lucked out somehow."

"Hmm, so don't screw with anyone, and be prepared to walk around the occasional riot."

Kendra nodded. "Yeah, we all may fight a little, but we're pretty much okay when left to our devices. Too bad that doesn't happen very often. We are all the children who used to get notes sent home from school. 'Does not play well with others...'"

Dan laughed suddenly. "Ain't it the sad truth. So tell me, Mr. Longsmith, how does a nice guy like you fit in here with us ruffians?"

"If I told ye, They would never find YOUR body. But I can tell you the first charge was treason, and got worse from there." Laz paid for his sheath, and nodded to his crewmates. "I'll see you later. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish my shopping."

As they walked thier seperate ways, Laz couldn't help but think that, despite his obvious reprieve, there were still some forces out to get him. One way or the other. He pulled into a tailor's shop, and spent the next half hour getting fitted for spare uniforms, work and dress, as well as getting some casual wear. He spent most of that time thinking about what he had lost, and what he might yet gain.

Ami was somewhere, but would he ever see her again? That was a question only she could answer. But not now, not today.

Laz returned to the ship in a far darker mood than when he left.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 8 - A New Arrival

As the ship arrived at the starbase Jade stood waiting on the transporter padd. They were only stopping long enough to drop her off before heading on, nodding to the transporter chief she felt the familiar feel of the transporter engaging seconds later she was standing in the transporter room aboard the starbase.

"Welcome aboard Lt." the Chief nodded.

"Thank you" she stepped off the padd and made her way out of the transporter room and into the hustle and bustle of the starbase.

She supposed her first port of call should be to her new ship the USS Apocalypse, but then she was early. Making her way through the Starbase she found herself some where she could get herself a drink and something to eat.

"What can I get for you?" the man behind the counter looked at her or rather the Borg implant above her right ear, one of the few remaining implants she had from her time with the Borg.

"Lime and Lemonade please and one of those" she nodded to a rather delicious looking meal another person was eating.

"Coming right up" he nodded and walked away.

A few moments later he returned with her drink and the plate of food, nodding she took it to a table before getting out a padd and starting to read. She had to admit she was pretty nervous about taking up her new position, how would a new crew take to having an ex-borg around?. Jade sat reading doing her best to ignore what was going on around her, something that wasn't really an option. Her empathic senses were always aware of the emotions of those around her and her telepathic skills meant she always had the constant background noise of other people's thoughts although she had trained to block that out.

She was something of a curiosity to Starfleet, the only Drax outside of the Drax system, even if she was only half Drax her other half being Betazoid. She looked like any other humanoid, the Drax bore a very similiar look to the humans and Betazoids.

She'd lived on Drax until she was 6 when the Borg has encroached on the last planet in the system. She was assimilated and her parents killed while trying to protect her. She spent the next 8 years as a drone until the Drax special forces sent in a team and liberated her.

Four years... and a whole lot of learning to be a person again... later she was a fully trained Drax special forces/assitance bureau operative. That was when she decided to move to Betazed followed a few years later by her joining Starfleet.

Now here she was... Chief Counsellor of the USS Apocalypse, a ship she knew absolutely nothing about. She'd simply been appraoched and offered a position, with a fresh start on her somewhat colourful record... mainly full of reprimands for speaking her mind and one little incident of attacking an officer using her mental abilities. Whatever that got her he deserved it and she didn't care!.

She rubbed her fingers over her implant, it was playing her up again, something it seemed to do every now and then probably because it was no longer being maintained by a working army of nanoprobes. She still had her nanoprobes but they were mostly dorment in her system.

Picking up her drink she took a sip before going to back to her reading.

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

Christopher watched as Tawnia stretched languidly on the sofa, "You're up early." She stated.

"Yep, I just thought I'd take a walk around the starbase and I didn't want to wake you." He replied, donning his jacket, "Thought I might try and get some extra supplies for the ship. You know, purely medicinal kind of supplies."

She put a hand to her head as if trying to stop it hurting, "I know the kind. Never again, I swear."

Christopher laughed, "Until the next time that is. I'll be back in a couple of hours if you want to stay around for lunch."

He walked around the starbase, truly impressed at how Section 31 had managed to hide something this big from the rest of Starfleet and the Federation. His first stop would be the bar to try and arrange for a few cases of Andorian wine to be sent to the ship. Failing that, anything vastly alcoholic, and in all probability illegal, would do. The bar was nearly empty at this time of the morning with only a couple of customers.

Stepping up to the bar, Christopher placed his order with the barman, "A full English breakfast, a pot of coffee and a glass of orange juice please, Miguel. But first, a bloody Mary."

The barman didn't look at all surprised, "Hair of the dog, Doc? Not a very medical cure for a hangover is it?"

"Best kind there is, Miguel. Can't have a hangover if you're still drunk." Christopher replied.

"Well now Doc, it's good folks like yourself that keep me in a job." Laughed Miguel as he handed over the drink.

"Miguel, how do I go about getting some Andorian wine to take back to the ship?" Christopher uttered in a low tone of voice.

"You're on the Apocalypse, right? Shouldn't be to much of a problem, how many bottles do you need?"

"Twelve please." Christopher noticed that a woman further down the bar had started to take an interest in them. "Who's that?"

"I don't know her name, Doc. Word is that she's the new counsellor on your vessel." Said the barman, quietly.

"Well, I'll be damned. At long last, someone at command finally listened to our recommendations. I'm going to go introduce myself. Can I leave the arrangements for the wine with you?"

"Sure, Doc, go ahead. I'll fetch your breakfast over when it's ready."

Jade wasn't paying all that much attention to who was coming and going. She had no doubt anyone who needed to see her would come looking for her.

As usual her senses picked up on the arrival of yet someone else at the bar, it was only when he walked over to her that she looked up.

Christopher walked over to the woman, "Excuse me," he said, "are you assigned to the Apocalypse?"

"As a matter of fact Yes." she nodded. "Lt Jade Taggart, ship's Counsellor."

Jade smiled a brief smile, she was always nervous around new people a part of the psychological aspect of being ex- Borg that she had never been able to shake off.

"Excuse my manners" she pointed to the opposite seat, "please sit down."

Jade waited for the officer to sit, putting down her padd she looked at him with interest.

"And you would be....."

Christopher sat down and held his hand out, "Sorry, didn't I say? Christopher Cushing, ship's doctor and XO."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance" she shook his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you too, Jade. I don't mean to be negative or anything, but you do know that you have your work cut out for you. Most of them are likely to say they're fine and carry on." Christopher shrugged, "I guess I've been guilty of that myself, but not anymore."

Miguel wandered over bearing Christopher's beakfast, "Here you are Doc, coffee is a Xenexian blend, hope you like it."

Christopher sniffed the steam rising from the coffee, "Ahhhhhh," he sighed, "now that's decent coffee. Miguel, can you put a couple of packs of this onto my order?"

Miguel nodded and walked away as Christopher tucked into his breakfast.

"I may have my work cut out for me but no one that I think needs counselling will get away with missing appointments." she smiled. "This is one Counsellor who doesn't take excuses."

"Good for you. I can imagine the look on the Major's face. You do know about our unique command structure, don't you?"

"To be honest I've barely been told anything about the Apocalypse and her crew. I was just asked to be ship's Counsellor and told where to be for pickup, a few days later and here I am."

"You must have really upset someone at command. Most people here are ex-cons or last chancers with no regular career prospects." Christopher explained between mouthfuls. "What happened to you? If it's not too cheeky to ask."

"My career wasn't going anywhere fast anyway. Starfleet has fears about having someone around who was Borg for 8 years of her life."

"Do you know, I heard that they said the same about Jean-luc Picard right before he saved the day during the second borg incursion. I wouldn't worry about what starfleet thinks, unless they're right."

"I may have been Borg but I've no wish to return to them. Speaking of Borg, you did say you were Chief Medical Officer as well as XO. Do you have files on Borg implants?... if not I can provide you with everything you need, with me around you'll need them."

"Thanks, I take any help I can get. So far we only have access to the files relating to known borg cases. Jean-luc Picard, Hugh, Seven of Nine to name but a few. We even had an ex borg on our last mission but he died." Seeing the look on Jade's face he quickly added, "It was a changeling virus that killed him and nearly killed the rest of us too."

"I see" she nodded. "I'm not even going to ask... at least not right now. What about the Apocalypse?."

"The ship? Well, technically, she's a modified Intrepid class ship, but S31 have coined the name Voyager class. She has some pretty nasty surprises and is a tough little ship, well she was last time I took her into a fight. Remind me to tell you about that one another time."

"I will" she smiled. "Sounds like it'll be an interesting story."

Christopher finished his breakfast, "Jade, I'm afraid that I have to leave. My friend will probably be pacing my quarters by now. But when we get on board, I'd be happy to show you around the ship. Your office is right next door to mine anyhow, so we'll probably be seeing each other a lot more."

"No doubt.... I'm sure it'll be a pleasure working with you Sir"

Christopher smiled at Jade, “Call me Christopher.”

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 9 - All aboard.

After her meeting with Doctor Cushing, Jade had finished her drink before getting up and heading out of the bar. This station was different to any station she'd ever been on before, and the fact it was in the middle of nowhere made it all the more of a mystery.

She was starting to wonder just what she'd gotten herself into, there hadn't been any formal mention of section 31 but it was obviously something to do with them. Her senses had picked up whispers but she'd raised her barriers not wanting to eavesdrop on the people around her.

Walking around she eventually decided it was time to have a look at her new ship. After finding out where the Apocalypse was docked she made her way over, when she arrived she simply stood for a moment to take in the view, she certainly was quite a ship!. It had ablative hull armour, quite an adaptation... Jade hadn't actually seen a ship using it before but during her time with the Borg she'd gotten to know it's uses.

As she walked towards the Security people standing guard at the Apocalypse she kept her eyes firmly fixed on the ship.

"Your identification" one of the Security men stepped forward to block her path.

"I'm Lt Jade Taggart. *she handed over her orders and some identification* I'm the new ship's Counsellor."

"Thank you Lt" he handed back her padd. "Welcome aboard."

"Thank you." she nodded before proceeding aboard.

She walked along the corridors, her first port of call was going to be to her quarters to drop off her things. After spending a few minutes mapping her way around she finally reached her quarters, dropping in her bags she exited again and went to find her office.

After having a good look around and getting her office sorted she did something she'd been wanting to do since she got aboard... stepping into the turbolift she said one word.

"Bridge"


Keith Bednash manned the bridge as all of the higher ups were currently enjoying their leisure time on the station. He didn't mind the he was at work while everyone else were at play, hell, it was part of the job. Out of the corner of his eyes he looked upon a female exiting the turbolift.

Jade stepped out of the turbolift and looked around, she soon noticed she wasn't alone.

Bednash smiled and locked eyes with the woman. "New here?"

"I Certainly am" she smiled as she walked towards him. "Lt Jade Taggart, ship's Counsellor"

"Oh God we finally got us a local head shrinker." he said with a grin. "Master Sgt. Keith Bednash, SEAL Team 1."

"A pleasure to meet you Master Sgt.... have you served aboard the Apocalypse for long?"

He nodded in reply. "Since the beginning. I've been serving with the Major and Commander for the past six years. Have you met anyone else yet?"

"I've only met one other member of the crew so far, Lt Cmdr Cushing. He tells me I've got my work cut out for me."

"Well you do." he replied. "We are all a bunch of cons and troublemakers. Figures we'd get stationed together."

"Well the crew can try and avoid me but they hadn't better... I'm not averse to removing people from active duty." she looked stern before breaking out into a smile. "Hell if I did that there'd be no crew left to run the ship!"

It was then that Ivy green stuck her head out from behind the helm console. "I think you may have a problem with our CO. From what I hear, she no like counsellors...."

"That's just what I need!" she smiled. "Sounds just like my last ship!!."

Keith sat back and took in the conversation. It was amusing to listen to two starfleet women gab it out. How little they knew about the other services.

Ivy stood up, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "I'm sorry. "I'm Lieutenant Ivy Green, one of the people who flies this damn thing. I was just crawling around, tweaking the console a little. She's been a little sluggish..."

Bednash grunted. "Yeah, what else is new?"

"So are you a trained Engineer too?." Jade looked at Ivy

"Nah, I'm not much of an engineer. I just know what to do with the helm/piloting end of it," she explained.

"How about you, have you been here long?."

She shrugged. "I've been on the Apoc for a while now. I was brought into Section 31 by accident. I was kidnapped by a few Species 8472 aliens, lumped in with some of the captured Apoc crew, recognized one of them, and then was brought it to keep me from talking. Fun, huh?"

It was then that Hawkins entered the bridge. A stern look was plastered on his face as thoughts of the night before plagued his mind. "Keith."

"Major."

Hawkins took his seat and turned a glance to Bednash. "What's our status?"

"Waiting for everyone to file in, then we can take this puppy out." Bednash said. "Should be receiving our new orders sometime today."

Hawkins nodded and looked at the unfamiliar face. "New here?"

"Very" she nodded. "Lt Jade Taggart, ship's Counsellor."

"Major Curtis Hawkins, Marine CO and SEAL Team 1 CO."

"Are you just in command of the Marine and Seal detachment side of things?" she asked trying to get a handle on what everyone aboard did.

Hawkins brow furrowed. "No ma'am, I'm Co-CO of this ship. Most fleeters think that my boys are just a detachment, but this is a joint venture between Starfleet and Federation Marines, as well as a few SEAL Teams."

"Understood" she nodded. "it's going to take some getting used to but I think I can handle that."

Ivy crossed around to sit in the helm's chair. "Well, it's a bit different here than anywhere else. It took me a little getting used to. On another ship or assignment, where Marines and SEALs are a detachment, they might have to follow some orders given to them by a Starfleet CO, but that's only if they are under orders by their superior, ya know? Separate, but co-operative, part of the military. Here, Hawkins is the Marine CO so they take orders from them. Hawkins and Commander Summers, the Starfleet CO, work together to make decisions for the entire crew. But you report to her, and Bednash reports to him. They have their own doctors and their own counsellors, though I don't think they have one of those onboard, and we have our own. No
crossover except without the approval of both COs."

"It's definitely going to take some getting used to." Jade smiled. "I take it the Commander is currently on shoreleave?."

"Affirmative." Hawkins sated. "Until 0600 tomorrow."

"In that case" she smiled at Ivy. "Would you like a hand?. I'm no engineer but I do know my way around bridge stations, being an ex-borg does have it's advantages!"

Hawkins and Bednash exchanged knowing looks and the Major nodded to his SEAL XO. Even though the woman was a former borg, Hawkins would take every safety precaution with her onboard. No one in the Federation Marine Corp. or the Federation SEAL Teams trusted the borg, they were the enemy. He was also sure as hell that even if SF command gave her a clean bill of health, he and the grunts wouldn't. To them, she would always be a borg. "I have to go. I've got a new recruit to brief."

"Looks like we're getting new recruits everywhere, aren't we?" Ivy commented more to herself than anyone. "So, did you get your engineering skills from the Borg?"

"Unlike some liberated Borg such as 7 of 9 I don't have the knowledge left over from my time with the Borg but I do have fragments which tends to come in handy every now and then."

She nodded, taking that in. Ivy knew that she wasn't going to try to assimilate anyone, but she was a little suspicious. What exactly did she have in that brain of hers? And how was the crew going to react to a Borg counsellor?

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

Christopher returned to the Apocalypse to start preperations in sick bay ready for their departure. Christopher nodded as he looked over the supply list. Medical provisions were plentiful and new equipment had been transferred over including the new model of biobed with its holographic diagnosis panels. Someone had been very busy in sick bay. Pausing a moment, he thought of a crewmember who hadn't had any downtime.

"Computer, activate EMH program." He said.

Natalya appeared right in front of him, "About time!" she yelled, "They almost tried to delete my files and replace them with some rude bald man!"

"So you convinced them to stick with the current rude, russian woman model?" Christopher snapped back. Something wasn't quite right here. It niggled at the back of his mind.

Natalya's face fell as she calmed down, "No, I told them that I had been fully integrated into the ship's computer so deleting me would mean taking
months to repair the computer."

Christopher softened his voice, "I'm sorry Natalya, I honestly didn't know that they were going to overhaul anything in here. I tell you what, why don't we take a trip tonight? Wherever you would like to go. There's hardly anyone on board so the holodecks won't be booked up."

"Da, that would be good." She replied.

"Excellent, I'll see you at 1700 hours. Computer end program."

Natalya disappeared, leaving Christopher feeling slightly alone. She certainly did brighten up the place. Then it hit him, Natalya hadn't removed the rank insignia from her collar. Chuckling to himself, he made his way through the ship, noticing little changes here and there. Reinforced bulkheads, holo-emitters on all decks and even the carpet felt different. He smiled to himself and thought that Natalya would be pleased to be mobile. Matt Peterson would be even more pleased.

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

Having finished talking with Ivy and the others on the bridge Jade got the distinct feeling that she wasn't entirely welcome. Admitting they'd talked to her and explained what she'd needed to know but the moment she'd mentioned Borg alarm bells had rung. She smiled at the other officers.

"On second thoughts... *she looked at Ivy* you'd probably be better doing the adjustments yourself, I wouldn't want to mess up anything!. I think it's time I got my office sorted."

Nodding she quickly did and about face and headed off the bridge. She knew being an ex-borg wouldn't get her immediate trust but it still hurt to think that maybe she wouldn't be accepted even if she had the chance to prove herself.

Standing in the turbolift she shook her head, she had feelings like everyone else, granted she rarely showed her true feelings to anyone perhaps if she did she might find herself some friends.

As the turbolift stopped she stepped out and set off for her office. Arriving at the door she stepped inside and looked around, it was a bit sterile but she'd soon have that sorted. It would be a place where she and her patients... if she had any.. would need to relax.

Jade was busy sorting through the box with all her bits and pieces in, mainly padds and one or two ornaments and other pieces to decorate the office. She paused as she found something in the bottom of the box.

"What the....." she picked it up, pressed the button to release the tiny pop up screen and waited for someone to reply.

"Jade!" a face appeared on the screen.

"What is the idea?" she looked angry. "how long has this thing been in with my possessions?."

"Not long" the man on the other end smiled. "We like to keep track of our people Jade, you know that."

"Damn right I do!" she shook her head. "I spent several years training as part of the bureau and forces on Drax... I certainly hope you made sure the signal on this can't be traced?."

"Of course" he nodded

"Good... cause if you didn't there'll be a marine detachment on my doorstep in the next few seconds wanting to know what the hell I'm playing at!."

"Are you fitting in aboard your new ship?." he smiled

"How did you?.... never mind!, stupid question!!." she smiled. "I'm not sure yet, I get the distinct feeling I'm not going to be very welcome here."

"Well if you need to leave in a hurry...." he looked at her. "we can arrange transportation for you."

"I'll be damned if I'll be chased anywhere!" she shook her head. "They'll just have to get used to having me around.... I'll just have to find a way to prove I'm as tough and as loyal as the rest of them won't I?."

"Now that sounds more like the young woman I trained." he nodded. "Good luck Jade."

With that he closed the transmission. Jade looked around for a safe place to put the small hand held device, rolling up the pull down cover on a small unit she reached her hand as far inside up above the opening as she could and attached it to the wall. It would be safe there for now, going back to her pile of padds she sat down and read some more.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 10 - Hungover

Though Kennedy was an early riser, a hungover Molly - a Molly in any state, drunk or not - was certainly the opposite. While Kennedy woke up early as per her usual and went for her morning run in the holodeck, Molly stayed in bed, very much still out from the effects of the alcohol the previous evening. Kennedy returned to their suite after her run, her gray T-shirt clinging to her body from her workout, and the Marine moved as quietly as possible through their suite and towards the replicator. She quietly ordered two bottles of water and a small container of aspirin, knowing Molly would need something for the hangover she was going to have very soon. Leaving the bottles and medication on the table, she proceeded to the bathroom on the opposite side of the suite so as not to wake Molly while taking a shower. She slipped out of her clothing, stepping into the shower and sighed softly as the hot water began cascading over her body.

Molly meanwhile started to stir, and reached across the bed for Kennedy's comforting touch. She startled slightly and awoke as she realized her Marine was no longer in bed with her. Groaning as the pain and nausea began to hit her, she reached a hand up gingerly to touch her head. She put both hands to her head at the pounding she was now beginning to feel. She sat up and the room began to spin. Oooh, this had the potential to quickly turn disastrous. She tried to shuffle out of bed, and slipped a robe around her nude form. She shuffled towards the living room, and spotted a freshly showered Kennedy emerging from the bathroom.

"Where'd you go?" She managed in a groggy tone of voice.

Kennedy looked over and smiled. She walked towards her very hungover lover, kissing her on the cheek and handing her a bottle of water and the aspirin. "Just for a run on the holodeck."

Molly took the pills and twisted the cap off the bottle, swallowing them quickly. She didn't bother to ask what they were, figuring most anything would help with the hangover at this point - even a good smack in the head for drinking so much. "Did it help?"

"Help what?" Kennedy asked with a raised brow.

"Wake you up ... I mean, between that and the shower?" The lights were entirely too bright, and the hum of the station was much too loud, she decided.

Kennedy chuckled and nodded in response. "Oh trust me, I've been quite awake for a while." She lead her partner to the table and pulled out a chair for her. "Want some tea?"

Not sure what her stomach would tolerate at this point, Molly nodded slightly anyway. "Sure, why not. It's worth a try, anyhow."

Kennedy pushed her gently into the chair and kissed her forehead. "Just let the aspirin work..." She headed back to the replicator, still wearing only a towel, and programmed in a cup of tea with a bit of honey, and a cup of black coffee.

Molly sighed, leaning her head down on one hand. "I can't believe I overdid it like that. Usually I know my limits pretty well..." Her voice trailed off.

Kennedy decided against bringing the subject up as she had done the previous evening, and instead simply picked up both mugs and carried them to the table, setting Molly's tea in front of her. "It happens," she answered noncommittally.

"Yeah, but it hasn't happened to me..." she sobered briefly at her own words. "In a long time." She shook her head, trying to clear the remaining drunken fog, and took a small sip of the tea.

Kennedy nodded, sipping her coffee. "Let me go put something on - I'll be right back." Molly simply nodded a little, debating whether or not her stomach would tolerate food. She swallowed some more tea. The Marine watched her for a few seconds and sighed as she turned away, moving into the bedroom and searching for something to wear.

The Risan woman pulled her hair back from her face with a clip, getting up from the table to program in some breakfast: plain toast and scrambled eggs for herself, and a Spanish omelette with toast and hash browns for Kennedy. She barely made it through programming all that ... food before the hangover caught up with her, and she raced past Kennedy into the bathroom.

The Marine, just pulling on jeans and a white T-shirt, lifted a dark brow as Molly ran past. "Mol, you okay?"

Molly wiped her mouth, washing her face with cold water, and came out of the bathroom. She nodded slowly and responded, "Yeah - better now. Your breakfast is ready." And with that, she flopped over onto the bed, one arm flung over her eyes and the opposite hand on her stomach.

Kennedy dropped the boots she was about to put on, and knelt on the bed, crawling next to Molly. "Breakfast can wait." She lay on her side, head propped up on her hand, and set a hand over Molly's stomach, rubbing lightly. "Been a while since you drank? I can replicate a hypo and make it all better..."

"Yeah - been a long while," the doctor responded in a quiet tone. "And - I appreciate it, but I think I need this to remind me why I *don't* usually drink." She sighed, curling up on her side and snuggling into her lover.

"Trust me, I remember those days ... almost every day, actually." Kennedy said sympathetically, continuing to rub Molly's stomach.

Molly chuckled quietly. "So - I know you don't like to drink, but you never told me why. Bad experience?" Molly's own words cut a little too close to home.

Kennedy chuckled also. "If you call being drunk almost everyday for about four years a bad experience, then yeah, that's what I had."

Molly chuckled slightly in spite of her own situation. "Yeah, then that qualifies."

"I was a pretty crappy drunk, too. You wouldn't have liked me at all." Kennedy leaned in and nuzzled her partner's neck.

"Well I like you lots now," Molly said with a half smile, keeping her eyes closed.

Kennedy chuckled again. It was good to hear her laugh, and the sound made Molly's smile grow. "Well I certainly hope so," the Marine informed her. She inhaled her lover's scent, feeling her body relax against her. "It was a really bad time in my life."

Molly nuzzled gently back against her, feeling the aspirin and tea start to work their individual magic. "Mmhmm ... I can undertand that," she murmured.

Kennedy decided she knew a fool proof way to get over a hangover. She moved up a bit, nipping at Molly's neck and breathing hot air into her ear. "Feeling better..?"

A slow grin spread over the Risan's face. "Starting to, thanks ... what was in that tea?"

"A little bit of Texas magic," Kennedy drawled, nipping at her ear again.

"Texas magic? Is that what they're calling it these days?" She murmured happily, looking up at Kennedy with a wink.

Kennedy looked down into her eyes and smiled. "Mm, that's exactly what they call it." And with that, she leaned in and kissed her lips gently.

Molly grinned, returning the sweet kiss. "I love you, Kennedy. I don't know if I say if often enough, but I do."

Kennedy beamed a smile at her. "I love you too," she whispered. "You know I will do everything in my power to make sure you're always safe, right?"

"I know that," Molly smiled, snuggling against her. "And ... thank you."

The Marine gathered her in close. "Maybe that's why you had a little more than normal to drink last night." She knew her partner needed some sort of explanation to feel better, and did her best to provide it.

"Maybe - because I knew you were there to watch over me?" Molly tried to follow Kennedy's logic with a still fuzzy head. Kennedy nodded.

"Yeah, cause no one would ever do anything to you with me around, I'd kill them first." She was dead serious, having had some time to think about what more than likely happened to Molly in her past, on her run that morning.

Molly quieted. She rolled over onto her side, facing away from Kennedy but spooning up against her. Kennedy grumbled. "Hey, get back here." She reached for her, attempting to turn her back.

Molly turned with a sigh. Kennedy reached over to cup her cheek. "Don't close me out. I didn't bring this up to upset you ... I just don't like you beating yourself up over it."

Molly sighed. She managed to respond quietly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to close you out. And I know you would never hurt me. It's just - old memories, that's all."

Kennedy nodded. "I figured ... but that's in the past. I promise I'll give my life to protect yours." She narrowed her green eyes.

Somewhat reassured, Molly rolled back over to face her, snuggling in close. "And I love you so much for it, too. How about ... after I've sobered up a bit, and we've eaten - I'll tell you what happened?"

Kennedy nodded again. "If you feel up to it, then I'm all yours to listen."

"I want to tell you. I've never been able to tell anyone - Matt was the one who used to listen to me ramble on and on, but he was already gone by the time..." she shook her head, and began her harrowing story.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 11 - Recollections

Jade had sat reading for what seemed like forever. She finally moved on to her messages, it seemed like everyone from Drax had sent her a message of some sort wishing her well... word certainly got out fast on Drax that was for sure!.

She yawned, before long her eyes started to get heavy. At first she ignored it but she eventually fell asleep the padd sliding out of her hand as she slid down on the sofa.

As she slept her mind went over past events.... she hadn't had nightmares about the Borg for several years but having seen the ablative hull armour that Starfleet used against the Borg it had triggered her old nightmares.

As her mind started re-playing the events her body stirred. She was only 6 at home with her parents on an outer lying planet in the Drax system. The planet had come under attack from a cube like ship, suddenly they were everywhere... her parents had hidden her in a cupboard in the bedroom and told her to stay there she'd sat there cold, shivering and crying then suddenly her mother came running to fetch her. They hadn't got far... her mother was killed almost instantly her father was also lying dead, she was alone then suddenly they surrounded her. One of them touched her and she felt a pain in her neck, after that things had gone from bad to worse.....

For the next 8 years she grew with the collective, as a child she was kept aboard the cube aiding with the new drones as they arrived. Once she was old enough she was sent out with the rest to help assimilate anyone new they came upon. She'd only known of 1 drone who'd been liberated from the collective, and she only knew about him because he returned to the cube years later and re-took his place. It seemed he wanted to be with them.

During an assimilation raid one day she was removed from the other drones by unknown assailants... they severed her connection leaving her struggling and wanting to return. She didn't understand.

Back in the real world Jade's body was stiring more violently, she'd broken out in a cold sweat....

Many hours of surgery and retraining later she was fully liberated... the Drax specialist medical techniques resulting in the removal of 90% of her implants leaving her with only the bare essentiels necessary for her survival... a neural implant, the outer implant above her right ear and a neurotransceiver imbedded in her spinal column. Still she imagined she could hear them, for years she'd imagined she could hear them when she wasn't hearing them at all.

Back in the real world Jade awoke with a scream... the voices... then she remembered where she was, getting up she went over to the replicator and got herself a cold drink of water reserving just a little to splash on her face.

Sitting down again she breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the padds she picked them up and stacked them neatly on her desk. She'd had enough, she needed air.

Heading out of her office she started walking, she didn't know where she was going she was just walking. If she ended up somewhere useful then so be it, if not she'd simply get the air she needed and that was that.

---

Trying to get the thoughts of Azura Skyler out of his head, Hawkins was about to take a sleeping pill and pass out all the way until the booze fest later that night. That was until his comm monitor began to chirp and the Major answered the incoming hail.

"Major Hawkins." Westley Gantz said as he appeared on the screen. "Got some great news for you."

"You executed Summers?"

Gantz laughed mildly and shook his head. "No, just put together some new orders for you. How about you come down to my office asap and we'll discuss it."

Apparently Hawkins didn't have a choice, because right after his last sentence, Gantz's face disappeared and was replaced with the S31 logo.

"Great." Hawkins muttered. "Just what I needed right now."

***Meanwhile***

Kendra had just purchased her latest katana for her collection when her commbadge beeped. =/ Walken to Summers. \=

She groaned and hit her commbadge to take the call. "Summers here. Go ahead."

=/ Well, hello Commander. How's your shoreleave going? I hope it hasn't been too restful... \=

Kendra rolled her eyes. Damn, she should have known better. For an organization renowned for it's secrecy word sure as hell did travel fast around here... "It's been just fine. What can I do for you?"

=/ I need you to report to Gantz's office immediately. \=

"In the middle of shore leave?"

Kendra heard Zana sigh on the other end. =/ Did I stutter, Kendra? Yes, get here now. Walken out. \=

The comm cut and Kendra turned around and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that means you get to take this," she said as she started to hand the sword to Taylor.

"Are you sure you want to give that to me?" Taylor asked. "You might need it for that Xenexian bitch."

"You know, that sounds like a good idea," she said and took the sword back. "I think I will keep it with me. Interrupt my shore leave and you pay the consequences...."

Taylor smiled. "That’s my girl. Never take crap from anyone."

She grinned. "I'll see you later." Kendra gave him a small kiss and headed towards the office, katana in tow.

Hawkins turned in his chair and saw Kendra enter. "Sit down Summers, you're going to love this."

She eyed him and then turned to stare at Gantz and Walken. "Something tells me I'm gonna be happy that I brought my sword...." she grumbled as she took a seat beside him.

"Probably, Commander." Gantz said. "The reason I brought you both here is because we've been receiving a lot of communication disturbance from the Gornian sector of the quadrant. Something tells me that the Gorn are up to no good and we want you to personally investigate the situation."

"Okay," Kendra shrugged. "We'll head out first thing after shoreleave."

Gantz shook his head. "That's not possible, Commander Summers. As we were telling Major Hawkins before you came in, this was an urgent mission. Meaning we want you out of here by the next hour."

Kendra's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?"

Zana smiled and smiled sweetly at Summers. "No. We don't 'kid'."

"How in the hell do you expect us to do that? First of all, you promised our crew two days of R&R. And then the crew is all over the damn station! We couldn't get everyone back on board in one hour, much less be ready to depart!" she told them.

"Not true." Gantz stated. "All marine personnel is accounted for on the ship, and 75% of the fleet staff is as well. Besides, we already put out a station wide notice for all of the Apocalypse members to be present and accounted for on their ship."

Hawkins looked at Summers. "Told you that you weren't going to like this."

"So what are you gonna do about our shore leave days?" Kendra asked, ignoring Hawkins.

"Let me ask you a question, Summers." Gantz asked evenly. "Are you in the military?"

That caught Kendra offguard. "What?"

"Simple question. Are you a member of the Federation military."

"I'm a member of Starfleet, yes."

"Then you know that promises are always broken and you are expected to follow direct orders from your superior officers. Now you get off your ass, report to your ship, and go straight to the Orion sector. Now!"

Kendra stared at him. "Sir, with all due respect, our crew just got done with a very stressful mission. It's more than just R&R. The crew is hardly back at their peak performances and anything less could jeopardize our ship as well as your organization is something goes wrong."

"We are willing to take that chance, Commander, and I highly doubt that our organization; that lasted 200 years, would fall apart if we lost our flagship." he said. "Now this conversation is over. Quit bitching and do your job."

Kendra stood stiffly and nodded to the Director. "Yes, sir." And she exited the room without another word.

Hawkins saluted and followed suit. Once outside, he watched as Summers continued walking away in a huff. "You are just begging to get shot, aren't you?"

"They won't shoot me."

"They could and they would." Hawkins replied. "I've known Gantz too long to know that he wouldn't back down from killing one of his own. Remember, SEALs are trained assassins."

"Oh, I don't doubt that they would have qualms about killing me if it came to that. But they won't do it in the first place," Kendra told him. "They need me for something. And you, too. I just don't know what it is, yet. Out of all the people they could have chosen, they wanted us. Now why is that?"

Hawkins shrugged subtly. "I don't ask question, Summers, I just follow orders. I guess us marines have more discipline and respect then you fleeters."

"Maybe," she said. "Perhaps us fleeters aren't as blind as you marines."

He grunted in that moment. "Blind nothing, we just respect our jobs. Remember the oath you took back in the academy? Protect and defend the Federation at all costs? Well get used to it, because that's exactly what you are doing. Right now you just have your mind set on spending quality time with my SNCO and if you keep it up, I'm willing to order him to stay away from you. If you want to screw up your already unstable life by disobeying orders, that fine. But if you bring down one of my men in the process, believe me, I'll take you down." After that, Hawkins walked ahead of her, seemingly done with the conversation.

Kendra was now completely and utterly confused and surprised. She jogged a little and caught up with Hawkins. "Where the hell did that come from? I know this may shock you, but what I said back there about the crew needing this shore leave, that wasn't just a line of horseapples. I was serious. Taylor never even entered my mind on that one," she told him and instantly felt guilty by that statement. Perhaps he should have, maybe it was better than he hadn't, but she still felt crappy about it. "I'm trying to look out for the crew, too, dammit. I do not want to risk their lives because of something stupid."

"Marines are trained to go out at anytime. Unlike fleeters who need their breaks. Marines will go into battle with zero sleep and fight like warriors. And I don't want to hear about relaxation. I had 4 hours of sleep during hell week in BUD/s training and I know the crew has more energy then that. Now enough of this crap, it's time to go investigate the Orion sector."

Kendra finally shut up, but was wondering what the hell was going on with Hawkins. Yes, they didn't always get along very well, but damn, if he didn't seem grumpier than usual. What the hell was his problem?

Hawkins tapped his communicator. "Hawkins to Taylor. Have all the squad leaders and assemble the men. Vacations over, time to go to work."

Kendra likewise tapped her badge. =/ Summers to Apocalypse crew. Please report to the ship immediately. Shore leave has been cut short and we are to leave the station in an hour. \=

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 12 - Honesty

"Forty-four...forty-five," Aspen grunted out finally as she finished her reps on the station's bench press and let the weights come to rest. She lay there, sweating, and resting her arms on the handles just above her head.

"You know, it might help if you put your feet flat on the ground, ya know..." came a voice from the doorway.

Aspen smiled and wiped the sweat away from her brow. "Nah, I can't keep my back flat if I put my feet on the floor. That's why I put them up on the end of the bench here. Keeps me from hurting myself." Aspen sat up and reached for her towel and bottled water. "So how are you, Ivy?"

Ivy moved into the room and hopped on the nearby airwalker. "I'm doing just peachy. You?"

"Couldn't be better," she replied. Aspen took a couple of swallows of her water and then looked up at her friend, a mischievous glint in her eye. "How's Wilhite?"

Ivy blushed but couldn't contain the huge grin that spread across her face. "Well, he's part of the SEALs, don't you know?"

"Nope," Aspen told her. "Everytime I've seen him lately, he's been passed out. Like he's worn out or something. Have any clue why he could be so exhausted, Ivy?"

"I have no clue," Ivy deadpanned. Her poker face didn't last long though; the Cheshire grin overtook her face again. "You bitch."

Aspen laughed. "Why, yes. Yes, I am."

Ivy tossed a glance at Aspen. "How's Chris?"

"Ivy, Ivy, Ivy..." Aspen began. "When are you gonna learn that you can't embarrass the Risan when it comes to sex talk?"

"So I take it that he's damn good, a tiger, has really excellent stamina..." Ivy rattled off.

Aspen gave her a drop dead look. "Okay, you can't embarrass me, but you can piss me off..."

"Sorry," the red headed human said. "Wouldn't wanna piss off the SEAL chick..."

Suddenly, it occurred to Aspen that perhaps Ivy was no longer talking in jest. "Is there a problem, Ivy?"

Ivy shrugged and continued on with the cardio part of her workout. "Nah, nothing at all."

"Then what was that all about? 'The SEAL chick'?"

"I just think it's interesting that you left the 'fleet and cozied up with the SEALs, that's all..."

Aspen let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, Ivy, we've already been through this. Starfleet was about to screw me over for the last time. It was either I resign my commission or they were gonna court martial my ass is some sort of kangaroo court on a bunch of trumped up charges..."

Now Ivy stopped her walking and stared at her former XO and CAG. "That's not what I'm talking about! I understand that, all of that! The SEALs offered you a commission and you took it. I would have done the same thing, okay?"

"Then what the hell are you so pissed off about?"

Ivy got kinda quiet and looked at the floor. "Why did you leave me?"

Aspen's expression softened a little. "I've already told you about that. I didn't do it on purpose. We were marooned on a planet and when they found us, they didn't exactly advertise it. Things just happened so quickly... I didn't know where to find you... I would have told you that I was alive if I could have." Ivy remained quiet and stayed fixated on the floor. "Ivy, what's wrong?"

"I thought you were dead, Aspen. I thought you were all dead..." she said quietly, seemingly swallowing every word. "You, Frankie, Pete...."

Aspen watched her friend in silence as her walls began to crumble. She reached out and gently took her hand, leading her off the machine and onto the bench beside her. "I miss them, too, Ivy."

"Do you know how long I'd known Pete? I'd served with him before. Right before I was assigned to the ship, I was assigned fresh out of the academy to protect a mining facility. Pete was one of the members of the flight team who'd been stationed there a while and he took me under his wing. We became a team. And we were damn good, too. God, Aspen, you should have seen us back there. Our fighters moved like they had lives of their own. And then Frankie joined us. Little pain in the ass that he was, but he was one of us...." She trailed off.

"It's okay, Ivy," Aspen said soothingly.

"And then on the ship, with you. I know we never really saw much action before she blew up, but it felt like a team. And then that was lost," she said. "You know, they took me out of the fighter program after that. Said that I had endured something too traumatic to continue with the program. So that's how I got stuck with helm..."

"I'm so sorry..."

Ivy shrugged. Suddenly, it seemed as if one could almost see her walls building back up, and she went back the Ivy that everyone knew and loved. "So, how do you like begin on the other side of the coin now?"

Aspen could see that Ivy was still going through some stuff, but she decided not to push the woman if she didn't want to talk about it anymore. "It's great," she answered, going along with the change in subject. "I basically do what I did before except now I don't get in trouble for using excessive force. SEALs seem to thrive on it..." she told her with a wink. "My only gripe is the lack of privacy..."

Ivy frowned. "What do you mean? As a woman, you could request to to have a separate bunk..."

"I probably could, if I wanted to, but I don't," Aspen explained with a shrug. "I don't mind. Call it my Risan half, call it me being comfortable around the boys already, whatever, but it doesn't bother me. I was talking more along the lines of me and Chris, if you get my drift."

"Ahhhh," Ivy said. "I gotcha. Something happen?"

"Yeah, got walked in on the other day. That was fun. I think I'm gonna kill the newbie."

Ivy laughed. "Awwww, poor Aspie."

"Hey, don't laugh. You spend time with Wilhite in the barracks and it could happen to you, too, ya know..." Aspen teased.

"Oh, that's a good point. Good thing I have my own quarters. Too bad he can't ever move in with me. Then we'd never have to worry about it..." Ivy said.

Aspen grinned. "Yeah, but ya can't do that. Different branches can't bunk like that. Now if you wanna become a SEAL...."

"Uh, no thank you," she said. "You think I could talk Danny Boy into defecting to my side?"

"I think the world would come to an end, first...." Aspen laughed.

It was then that their conversation was interrupted by Commander Summers' all call to the Starfleet crew. =/ Summers to Apocalypse crew. Please report to the ship immediately. Shoreleave has been cut short and we are to leave the station in an hour. \=

"Dammit, what happened to two days? We were supposed to ship out tomorrow!" Ivy said.

Aspen shrugged and stood up. "I dunno, but I guess we better go find out, huh?"

---

Christopher sighed as the message came in, it seemed that Section 31 never let it's people truly relax. 'So much for the shore leave' he thought. Stepping into a turbolift, he said, "Sickbay" and patiently waited for the doors to reopen.

As usual Amanda was already waiting for him, "Guess we've got to wave the flag again?" she enquired.

"I honestly don't know Amanda. Maybe we used up to many credits in the bar, so they've decided to kick us off the station." Christopher guessed. "How are we doing?"

Amanda gave a small sigh, a sure sign that she was bothered about something, "Well, we have enough supplies and sick bay's status is looking good . . . considering."

Christopher looked up from a padd, this wasn't like Amanda at all, "Considering what? Is everything alright Amanda. You do know you can talk to me about anything. We even have a new counsellor if you'd rather talk to someone else."

"I'll be fine sir. It's just some personal problems."

Christopher stood still for a moment, "Since when have we been doing the 'sir' thing?" he asked calmly. "Tell me it's none of my business or tell me to go to hell, but please don't call me sir and dismiss me like that. I thought I was your friend."

Amanda appeared crestfallen, "I'm sorry Christopher. You are my friend but there's nothing anyone can do to help."

The look on her face made Christopher determined to help. She appeared so alone and helpless it broke his heart to see her like this. "I'm a pretty resourceful man Amanda, maybe there's a way for me to help."

She sat down heavily and began to weep, "It's my sister." She whispered.

Christopher hunched down beside her, "What's happened?" he asked softly, filled with concern.

"I caught a report on one of the comm channels that the Enterprise was taking part in the rescue of some colonists on Trayvis 7. Alyssa was with the away team, evacuating the wounded. The team was caught in a plasma conduit explosion. She's in critical condition. The report listed her chances of survival as slim. I can't even get through to the Enterprise to speak to a medic to see how she is because we're S31 and not supposed to exist!"

"Don't cry Amanda. I'm going to sort this out with the commander after our briefing. Can you wait until then?" he asked reassuringly.

Amanda merely nodded.

"Okay, I'll go talk with the boss lady. Molly should be here any minute now. You go take it easy in my office. Tell her I said she should start without us. If things get too much for you, call Jade, our new counsellor or just have a word with Molly until I get back."

"Thank you Christopher." She whispered.

Christopher smiled, "At least you're not calling me sir anymore."

Amanda laughed nervously and departed for the CMO's office. Christopher took the nearest turbolift to the bridge and found it to be quite busy. 'Well' he thought, 'guess I'll go get the briefing room ready.' He grinned wickedly and decided to brew up some pots of Xenexian coffee to help the whole briefing go more smoothly.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 13 - Information

Kendra was sitting in her office, looking over new PADDs. Lotsa new crew. But she still had some familiar faces: Doc, Patamon, Hawkins, Shea.... But what about all these new people? Longsmith was a complete mystery to her, what with being the classified officer from hell. K'ta definitely stood out, not only because of her looks, but for her sexual appetites as well. Literally, in one case... Then there was this new counsellor. Kendra hated counsellors. She liked screwing with them, but she didn't like them. Maybe this woman would be different, though...

And then there were the new marines. She was sure Hawkins would love them; seemed to be cut from the same cloth. But this Mad Dog guy...She could decide if she wanted to meet him or not. Could be cool, could be an idiot.

And why in hell were there so many British people onboard?

Kendra sighed, and rose from her chair to make her way to the briefing room.


Jade was standing around on the bridge, looking something like a spare wheel watching everyone else arrive and head straight to their stations. She straightened herself up when the turbolift doors opened and her new CO arrived.

Kendra walked on the bridge and took a look around to see who had made it so far. None of the senior staff had made it yet, but she didn't think they would have. Hell, she was kinda surprised to have a full bridge at all at this point. "Steve-o, let me know when we have the full crew back onboard," she said to the security officer. "Ops, lemme know when we have all our supplies. WE might have to cut some of them since we're leaving in less than an hour, but I want at least 80% of what we were supposed to get."

And that was when her eyes fell on the Lieutenant. "Who are you?" she asked bluntly.

"Lt Jade Taggart" she looked at Kendra, "I've been assigned as ship's Counsellor."

Kendra's eyes narrowed slightly. She's been lucky up until now.... Dammit. "You're not human," she said after a moment. Kendra couldn't read a damn thing off of her, which meant she had to be trained....

"I'm half Betazoid... I'm also half Drax." she met her CO's gaze.

"Drax?" she asked. "Never heard of them."

"I'm not surprised, very few people have heard of the Drax mainly because we're not a Federation world. As it stands I'm currently the only Drax outside of the Drax system." she shifted uncomfortably, "one of the reasons why Starfleet keeps me around, I'm somewhat of a curiosity."

"I guess so," Kendra replied and walked towards the woman. "I guess it makes you even more of a curiosity since you used to be Borg," she said, gesturing to the remaining implant.

"Just because Starfleet has concerns over having an ex-borg running around, it doesn't mean I'm not a loyal officer." she looked at her new CO, "My loyalties lie with my ship and my crew... now I've transferred here that would be THIS ship and THIS crew."

"That's good to know. But, I'm not gonna lie to ya, there are some people onboard that might not take too kindly to you," Kendra said, her voice softening. "One of the Marines' jobs is to fight Borg, so they might be a little leery of you. And then we just had an ex-borg who was carrying a virus that damn near killed our crew. He didn't do it on purpose, he was being used, but it didn't do anything to help the attitude of some of the crew."

"I can understand that" she nodded. "I can put up with being given a hard time."

"I'm not saying that you're gonna have a hard time, I'm just giving you heads up if you do. And if anyone really gets out of line, come see me and it'll be taken care of."

"Taken care of in what way?" she asked bluntly.

Kendra shrugged. "Shot out of a torpedo tube, blown out an air lock, banished to cleaning EPS manifolds.... I'll find someway of getting back at 'em."

"Nice!" she smiled her mischievous side showing through for a moment.

"Met anyone else?"

"Cmdr... Cushing, I think his name was and a few people here."

Kendra smiled. "Well, hang around. You'll be meeting some more people soon. Got a briefing in a little while."

"Sounds interesting" she smiled, "it'll give me a chance to get to know what everyone does on this ship."

Jade smiled at Kendra, her new CO was blunt but Jade preferred it that way no messing around. She stood back and let Kendra get on.

---

"Morning Kendra. Have some coffee. Sorry to do this to you before the briefing, but I need a word with you after we're done." Christopher said.

Hawkins walked into the room, along with Shea. "Summers, Doc. How is everyone today?"

"Been just peachy," Kendra answered a bit sarcastically.

"Good morning Major," answered Christopher, "today would definitely seem to come under the heading, 'Same old, same old'. How've you been Lt?"

Shea made her way directly to her chair, not looking around, deep in thought. At hearing her title, she looked up and nodded to the doctor, responding, "I'm well and you?" She knew that there was some sort of connection between them now through Molly. It wasn't all that comfortable, being that she hated doctors normally.

Molly smiled as Kennedy stepped into the briefing room, and motioned subtly to an empty chair nearby. The Risan turned towards the Commander for her 'meet and greet and brief.'

"Pretty good." he replied. "Have a lot of new people in the brigade. They seem to have their heads on straight. Hard thing to have for Spec OPS."

"Good to hear," she replied. "Have any other news for me?"

Hawkins tossed Summers his pad. "Seems the Gorn has been up to their comlinks to other planets for quite sometime. Had Frost tap in earlier today. Found out that those scaly bastards have a trade agreement with the dominion of all people."

Kendra furrowed her brow. "A trade agreement? What the hell does the dominion have to trade? They are like big giant globs of Jell-O, they don't need anything. Maybe we should wait until we get the entire staff in here...."

Hawkins agreed and sat back in his chair. His body language however showed that he was ready to discuss.

Laz filed in, slouching and finding an empty seat on the table. 'At least I should look interested.' He thought to himself, glad the empaths on board couldn't read his current state of despair. To this end, he sat up, and looked around at all those who had assembled here.

Jade watched what was going on with interest, so all this had something to do with the Gorn. As Counsellor part of her job was to advise the CO, she only hoped the Cmdr didn't ask anything of her before she'd had chance to study up on the Gorn.

As everyone finally filed in, Hawkins went back to his speech. "Keep in mind, Summers, that the dominion is entirely comprised of Jell-O. It also contained the Jem'Hadar, and the Breen. Both of those races have advanced technology and weapons to trade off. Remember what they did to our fleet during the war?"

"True, true," she said, after pondering that a moment. "But still... The Gorn seem a little odd. I mean, they are our allies..."

"All I'm saying is that the Gorn/Federation alliance has always been uneasy. They might have made us allies out of respect from the battle of Cestus, but they are the only allies that keeps a small group of vessels on our borders." Hawkins stated. "They have a lot to gain from the dominion."

"And we really haven't been too active with them lately... They gain weaponry as well as power," Kendra added thoughtfully.

The door slid open one more time and someone can rushing in, hair all in her face as if she'd been rushing. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had a problem at the security checkpoint." She brushed back her hair and revealed sparkling purple eyes. "I'm Lieutenant Azura Skyler, Acting Chief of Security."

"Oh crap." Hawkins muttered quietly, but still brought forth looks his way.

Azura looked over at Hawkins. "Now, that was a hell of a greeting...."

Jade had to smile, before recomposing herself. Hawkins emotions had just taken a gigantic leap, no one needed Betazoid senses to see that.

Christopher had to pinch his lips shut to prevent him laughing out loud. He recognized Lt Skyler as the woman Hawkins was sneaking into a room with back on the base. 'This should be interesting' he thought and settled into his seat to watch the show. "How do you do, Lt? Welcome to the Apocalypse. Care for some coffee? It's Xenexian you know." He said, trying not to laugh.

"I'd love some, thank you," she said as she made her way over to the empty chair beside the good doctor. He had the coffee, so that's where she headed; but she tossed Hawkins a small wink.

Laz looked at the man called Hawkins. He also glanced at the woman who came in. 'Oi. Bad blood.' He gave a mental sigh, and decided that the love lives of others were still not his concern.

Jade sat and observed, she found it strange that she couldn't read the crewman who'd recently sat at the table. There were very few people she couldn't read, unlike other part Betazoids she could read Ferengi and Breen all a part of being Drax.... but this crewman, he was something else again. She made a mental note to look up his personnel file and find out more about him.

Looking at her new CO Azura waited to see exactly what it was the Starfleet had assigned the Apocalypse to do.

Now that everyone had arrived, Hawkins stood up and addressed the staff first. "Thank you for all coming on such short notice and I also want to apologize for another S31 broken promise. Seems the higher ups get off by jerking our chains. Now back to what I was stating before most of you arrived. HQ has reported that a lot of interstellar transmissions have been picked up involving the Gorn and the Dominion. It is our jobs to go investigate and then report our findings. Any questions?"

"I have one - do we get to come back here and finish off our shore leave if we're good boys and girls while we're gone?" Molly asked softly in a joking tone, just to get a grin from Shea.

"The Marines and SEALs will be placed on standby once again. The brass reports that direct involvement with the Gorn is unlikely, as we will be cloaked the entire time. Engagement protocol will remain the same. They fire on us, we destroy them, then cover the whole mess up." Hawkins said and turned to Summers. "Commander?"

Kendra shrugged. "Our missions are basically the same. We go in, find out what's going on, then we fix the problem. If it gets nasty, the Warhammer class shuttle gets launched and we work together to eliminate the threat. Which, by the way, I've been told that since Chandra's death, the Warhammer has been turned over to SEAL Team 2 to pilot. Starfleet is responsible for the repairs, but it's their baby now."

Laz liked what he heard. It was just more diplomatic than his previous ship. Just. But hey, he shouldn't have to do much. Just break codes, and detect hidden units. Just what he wanted. A nice relaxing cruise.

Not like that was ever going to happen.

Laz closed his eyes.

'Why do I have to live in interesting times?', came the thought.

"Well, people, that's all we know as of right now. We will arrive in the Gorn system in three days, in which case things should get interesting. Dismissed," Kendra told them all, ending the meeting.

[WelshAvenger]

Chapter 14 - Business before pleasure.

The meeting adjourned and everyone gone, Kendra leaned back in her chair and let out a heavy sigh. She hated meetings. At least this one had been interesting though... Mysterious goings on with the Gorn and the Dominion... And what the hell was that between Hawkins and the new Acting Security Chief? Oh, things just never were dull around here.

"Hiya, Doc," she said, her eyes still closed. Kendra opened them and smiled pleasantly at him.

"How'd you know I was there?" Christopher asked. "I made sure I was quiet..."

She shrugged. "Your nefarious scheme to scare the hell out of me failed!" Kendra leaned over to prop her elbows up on the table. "Can't sneak up on a Betazoid, pal. Nice try, though."

"Damn," he said, as if incredibly disappointed. "Anyway, I do need to talk to you about something."

"Yeah, you said that before. Part of the reason why I'm still in here. Whatcha need?"

Christopher sat down across from her. "Well, it's not really what I need, it's what the medical division of Section 31 needs...."

Kendra crinkled her brow. "I don't follow you..."

"The head of the medical branch of S31 wants me to show them how to manufacture this vaccine we used on our ship. So that in the event that something like what happened on the Pegasus happens again, they will have something on file and hopefully someone who has made the vaccine
before."

"So basically you're telling me that they want you to stay..." Kendra said slowly. "You're my XO, though. Have they said anything about a replacement?"

"Oh, no, no," he said quickly. "They just want to borrow me. I'll stay here long enough to tell them what they wanna know, then I'll be rendezvousing with you a little later. I won't be gone long. Molly can take care of the sickbay while I'm gone and since we really have two COs, I think ya'll could get along just fine without me for a couple of days."

"Says you," Kendra grumbled. "If you hadn't been on the bridge during this last mission, we might have been blown out of the sky. Or, space. Whatever the hell you wanna say... But I guess neither of us really has much of a choice, do we?"

"No, not really. Since when have we been asked for our opinions on such matters?"

"I love being a puppet, don't you? Okay, well, I guess I'll see you in a few days. Try not to have any fun."

"Oh, I won't. Believe me," he responded. "I'll have as much fun as one can have in a medical lab."

"Hey now," Kendra said with a grin and stood to walk towards the door. "I recall having loads of fun in a medical lab before."

"Really now?" he asked and stood to meet her. "How so?"

"Oh, having fun mixing various chemicals," she said wistfully as they walked out the door. "Did you know that, depending on what chemicals you mix together, you can actually get different colored explosions?"

---

Jade stood on the bridge for a moment and considered what to do first, she generally liked to hang around the bridge and observe the crew at work especially aboard new ship's but she didn't want to appear as though she was simply standing around doing nothing.

Walking over towards the Science station she stood and observed, if the Commander asked she'd give her an honest answer if not she'd simply stay for a while longer before heading back to her office. As the meeting broke up, Laz walked out, and, once on the bridge, found the science station. He spent a moment to familiarize himself with the controls before he spoke to the person behind him.

"Heya. How can I help you?"

Jade had left the meeting and made her way onto the bridge where she was standing trying not to look completely out of place.

Laz turned around. He stared up at the woman before him, and decided that he shouldn't antagonize her. Screw with her head, by all means, but don't piss her off.

"To be honest I don't know, I'm simply going to hang around for a few minutes and observe... I think."

"Thinking is good. I'm Laz Longsmith, the ship’s Science officer." He shook Taggart's hand. "So, who are you on this ship of the damned? Cook?" He grinned.

"You do know what it is I do don't you?" she folded her arms and looked at him waiting for a reply.

"Hmm, we can throw out hooker. You are too intelligent. Your uniform is Sciences, and you aren't working under me, and I saw the medical staff there." He paused for thought. "I know! You're the captain's food taster!"

"Lt Jade Taggart.... ship's Counsellor." she paused long enough to let it sink in. "I do believe it's MY job to mess with people's heads?."

"Ah, so you screw with people's heads PROFESSIONALLY, while I do it on my off hours. Nice to meet you. Hey, pull up a seat." Laz indicated a chair that was currently unoccupied.

"Thanks" she sat down on the seat he'd pointed to. "I wasn't sure anyone here would want anything to do with me"

"Oh? You mean I missed something during the meeting? I know I seemed asleep, but I was quite awake you know. Just practicing."

"Could have fooled me" she grinned. "You on the other hand are a curious puzzle."

"Me?" Laz paused for a moment, this might actually be serious. Then again... "What's so odd about me?"

"I can't sense you" she looked at him and tilted her head a little in a curious way.

"Oh. That." Dammit. A psycher.

"Can I ask or is it.... classified?" she smiled

"I have no problems with asking, but whether I can give you an answer that is to your satisfaction, that is a different matter entirely." Laz gave her a sympathetic look.

"I'm not usually comfortable around those I can't sense but you seem to be outwardly nice enough." she grinned. "I'll take a guess and say you're just a general nice guy or am I wrong?."

"As long as you can stand my mood swings, I'm a nice guy. I'm very forgiving too. I can also listen." She didn't seem like a bad person either, but on this ship, the rules were a little different.

"Well thank you for making me feel welcome" she stood ready to leave. "I guess I should go and pay my office a visit before I forget where it is!"

Laz nodded, "Hey, no problem. Don't get lost.

"Pop by and see me sometime... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about exactly who and what you are. If I can't look it up in your file I'll have to learn it the old fashioned way and talk to you!" she smiled.

"Talking is good. I expect to hear from you soon them if you want to learn more about me then." He watched as she walked away. "Have a nice day!", he called out after her. Ah, time to get back to work.

Making her way to the turbolift, Jade paused and cursed to herself as her implant started playing up again looking at the floor she massaged her temple.

Christopher had just finished talking to Kendra and was making his way off the bridge when he noticed Jade cursing and looking uncomfortable. "Are you alright?" he prompted. When he didn't get a reply, he walked over and asked, "Lt, are you alright?"

"I'm sorry?" she looked up to come face to face with the officer she'd met when she'd come aboard. "Cmdr Cushing isn't it?"

"At least your memory is working fine," joked Christopher, "something bothering you?"

"It's nothing" she smiled, "my implant plays me up every now and then... I have nanoprobes which maintain my remaining implants but it tends to irritate every now and then."

"Okay," Christopher smiled back, "let's get you down to sick bay, just to make sure everything's working fine."

"Do I have to?" she looked at him, "given my past, with the Borg and everything I'm not overly keen on spending time in sickbay."

"Of course you don't have to come with me now." Christopher reassured her, "You can wait for the security escort to bring you if you like."

"Yes Sir" she nodded and followed him to the turbolift. It wasn't long before the lift stopped at it's required deck and they were able to exit.Before long they were entering sickbay.

Amanda wandered out of the office, "Sir, I thought you weren't going to involve the counsellor."

"I'm not Amanda." Christopher assured her, "Jade is here as a patient, that's all."

Satisfied, Amanda walked back into the office.

"A problem?" Jade looked at Cushing. "Something I should know about?."

"I'll tell you later, but I have a feeling that you might have just met your first appointment. Now, let's see what's going on with your implant." Christopher reached for tricorder and ran it around Jade's head for a few moments, noting it's results. "Hmmmm"

"Is something wrong?" she looked at him concerned.

"It's nothing serious, so don't worry. There's just a small infection where the implant meets the real you."

"I take it it's treatable?" she looked at him hoping it wouldn't mean a stay in sickbay.

"I can treat it here or I can give you a hypo of broad spectrum antibiotics. Downside to that is that you'll have to come back in two days so that we can see if it's worked or not." He explained, packing away the tricorder.

"Well I'm here anyway so you might as well treat it now and get it over with" she sat looking at him. "I'll stay for as long as it takes..." she shook her head "considering I normally avoid sickbay!."

"Shouldn't take long." Christopher said, "What happened to your implants?"

"Most of my implants were removed by the surgeons on Drax, the only ones I have remaining now besides the one that you can see are my primary cortical node and a neurotransceiver... which is embedded in my spinal column."

"Didn't starfleet try to remove them?" he asked.

"I can't survive without them." she shrugged her shoulders. "the price all long term drones pay, your body becomes dependent on them. Cortical nodes can fail, if they do they have to be replaced with one from a living drone or the body rejects all it's implants and you die!." she smiled "am I boring you yet?."

"Not at all," Christopher smiled as he brought the antibac resonator around."It's a pre-requisite of the job, we're not allowed to get bored talking about medical stuff. How are you fitting in?"

"To be honest I get the feeling I'm not too welcome here. How are the crew supposed to react to an ex-borg Counsellor?."

"The same way they'd react if a Ferengi stepped on board, or a breen ambassador. They should look at the uniform you're wearing, not your race. As ship's XO, if anyone hassles you about being ex-borg, just give me the nod."

"Enough of feeling sorry for myself" she nodded towards the office. "is there anything I can do for Amanda... wasn't it?."

"Not right now. Her sister has been critically injured on board the Enterprise and she can't call to see if she'll recover. The commander is going to make a call and sort it out, but I imagine that she'll want to come and see you later, just give it some time." Explained Christopher, "That's it Lt. You're all done. If it gives you any trouble in the next day or two, just call into sickbay."

"Thanks a lot Cmdr or should I say Dr?." she grinned "maybe both!!."

Getting off the biobed Jade walked over to the office door and peered in.

"Excuse me Amanda.... I'm not going to press but if you need to talk you know where to find me." smiling she turned and walked towards the sickbay door pausing just long enough to look at Christopher. "Thanks again"

Exiting Sickbay she set off for her office.