TREKS IN SCI-FI FORUM

"Beep, Beep, Beep....."

The sound rattled around his head as a steady stream of consciousness tried to dill his weary brain.

The alarm had woken him at 06:00 just as he wanted. Opening his eyes finally he sat upright in bed, letting the world come to him bit by bit as he turned and slipped on his dressing gown before walking the short distance to the bathroom.

He had grown used to this routine over the last month while he had been stationed on the Starbase. His ship was undergoing a full refit and he was still awaiting a lot of replacement crew, all his days were kept busy in meetings with Admiral Talbot discussing the recent trade negotiations and renewals with Fesarius.

=/\= chirp =/\=
"Transporter Room 12 to Bell"

Gilbert's combadge flared into life as the transporter Chief's voice came from the small speaker on his bedside table. Tapping the insignia he replied.

"Bell here, what is it Chief?"

"Sorry to bother you at this early hour Captain, but I have a 'Commander Nathan Quinn' requesting transport. He says he's here to see you?"

Gilbert cracked a small smile as he slipped his jacket on. Picking up his combadge he placed it onto his chest in the correct position.

"That he is Chief, I'll be right there."

-------------------------
Captain Gilbert Bell
Commanding Officer
USS Tiberius

Starbase 514 : Temp Crew Quarters :

::recording message:: .... can you believe that?? Anyways I just wanted to drop you a quick message before I head out on my new mission. I've heard Captain Bell is a really good Captain and I'm very lucky that he chose me as his XO. I'll let you know how he is I'm suppose to meet him at.... oh shoot... it's almost time. Anyways say hi to Dad, Jennifer and Anena, I love you guys very much. Bye Mom.

"Computer End Transmission and send to Anashta Quinn at Starfleet Headquarters"

"Message sent"

Quinn ran around and packed up the remaining items scattered about his room and quickly headed toward the transporter room. He enters a few minutes later.

"Good morning Ensign could you please contact the Tiberius and let them know I am ready to come aboard."

"Yes sir"

=/\= USS Tiberius this is Starbase 514 =/\=

=/\= Go ahead Starbase 514 =/\=

=/\=  I have a Commander Nathan Quinn requesting to come aboard =/\=

=/\=  Please stand by .... granted =/\=

"Sir I will take care of your belongings and get them to your quarters"

"Thank you Ensign"

Quinn stepped onto the transporter pad and felt that familiar tingling sensation as the Starbase transporter room disappeared. Seconds later he appeared on the transporter pad on the Tiberius. He noticed a man standing in front of him.

"::smiling:: Commander Nathan Quinn requesting permission to come aboard sir"

Commander Nathan Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

The figure of Commander Nathan Quinn materialized slowly in front of Bell. As the effect of the transport wore off he turned towards him with a grin on his face.

"Commander Nathan Quinn requesting permission to come aboard sir"

Keeping a stern face Gilbert looked him up and down, sneering,
"Permission granted Commander, just remember to wipe your feet."

The suppressed grin finally broke onto his face and he let out a small chuckle as he stepped aside to let his first officer descend from the pad.

"So number one, how was the trip from the Isannah?"

"Ok I suppose, I had to take a transport from Kohlan so it's been a rather long trip."

Bell motioned the commander to follow him out of the transporter room and into the corridor.

"Kohlan eh? I remember being there about 18 months ago. Ferengi trying to rip you off all over the place."

"Indeed. I managed to steer clear of them for the most part at least."

"Good good. Well, I'm sure you're anxious to get started so I won't keep you long. We have a skeleton crew aboard already. I believe our Councilor is already here, as is our resident barman. I'll be holding a briefing for the crew at 14:00."

Bell paused at the turbolift at the end of the corridor and walked in, turning around.

"Ohh & Commander. Poker tusday night in the Rec lounge."

Captain Gilbert Bell
CO
USS Tiberius

OOC:
Ok guys it's open, go post! Post a short bit showing your character entering the ship & getting ready for Captain's briefing in the Rec room at 14:00. I'll be posting that at midnight GMT tomorrow!

Counselor Margon rubbed his eyes.

"Man, what a day and it's only 0630."  His blue reflection bounced off the information pad on his desk in his quarters, "So many new folks coming on board today."  He rubbed the long ridge that went down his forehead.

He knew he had his work cut out for him.  According to their Starfleet records many of the new crew were aggressive and came with a lot of baggage.  As ships counselor he was responsible for keeping moral high and relationships fluid.  Almost everyone one of the newcomers had one thing in common.  They all liked combat.  This could either be really good, if channeled correctly, or really bad if left unchecked.

"The tension always runs a little high for a few weeks while everyone gets used to each other" he thought.  "The holodeck will be busy for this tour of duty!"  he was referring to the constant combat simulations that security chief Peters tried to get him to join in.  "He always says that a good fighting simulation will help me relax"  he smiled.  "and I tell him meditation and a good book does the trick for me, not sweat and fighting!"

"Computer" he stated, "playback creation Margon 3, from the beginning"  The soft sounds of violins began to fill the room as the infectious music played. He had composed this on his musical enhancer.   "Computer, level 4" he said, and the volume increased.   

His communicator blipped-
=^=Counselor you're needed to confirm the details for the orientation=^=

=^= Give me a half hour and I'm there=^=

=^= Yes sir!=^=

As was tradition there would be a captain's briefing at 1400 hours today and this would be his chance to see the new crew.  It always helped to see how they initially reacted to each other. Then he could make a game plan to help keep things flowing well.  He needed to meet with captain sometime shortly after that to get his take on things.  The captain and Margon worked well together.  He had cut his hair in Starfleet academy and in fact it was the captain that encouraged him to get his Starfleet Counseling degree for deep space missions.

He sipped on his morning root beer and continued looking at the information pad.  "Fascinating, fascinating.. he mumbled" he read down the ships crew until he reached the M's.. Manrique... Margon- "What in blazes?  What am I doing on this list?  And a civilian none the less!  Wait, what the...?? He spit the root beer out on his console..."  "Brex?"

_______
Counselor Margon

A shuttle craft slipped across space ferrying in some of the more sensitive medical supplies that coud not be brought aboard by transporter.  Lt. Li Sameria sat quietly watching the junior officer pilot the craft in.  She didn't know him well; he was another one of the pilots assigned to the starbase.

"So, are you excited about the posting, Lt. Sameria?"  He was making polite conversation.

Sameria sighed.  "Li," she said flattly.

"Oh?"  The pilot looked over.  "William, but most call me Billy."  He grinned goodnaturedly.  "So, are you excited?"

Sameria sighed again, but like so many other times let it pass.  "To be honest," she confided quietly, "I miss the Sea Tiger."  She watched the ship pass the viewport as the shuttle made a wide arc towards one of the bays.  "But, I suppose to be managing operations aboard an Akira class will offer up some new challenges."  She managed a light smile.  "How long do plan to remain at the base, Ensign?"

The pilot grinned.  "As long as they let me, Li."  Sameria winced but said nothing. "I've got a nice post, doing what I love, piloting that is.  Plus I get to meet all manner of officers coming and going.  It's about all I wanted."  Showing confidence he pressed on. "You know, Li, you're not due out for another few hours. Has anyone given you a proper tour of the starbase?  I bet I can show you sections you shouldn't leave without seeing."  He smiled.

Sameria keyed a few signals into the co-pilots station and signaled the Tiberious they were on a final approach.  She was a little flattered by his attentions but resisted.  "I am rather afraid my duties will have the better of me, Ensign.  I've got a ship to manage, and I don't think the captain will be terribly impressed if I come running into his first crew briefing unprepared to weigh anchor."  It was true, she had at least three hundred things to see to before the ship set out, not the least of which was to inspect her station on the bridge.  Simulations were one thing; this was real.

The shuttle glided into the bay and she grabbed her duffle.  Before climbing out, she turned to the pilot and handed him a data pad.  "Bajoran naming customs," she explained.  "I would read it before you ferry over any more."

She purposfully made her way past the crewmen unloading, nodding acknowledgements and headed for first her quarters, to leave her bag, then to the bridge.

Talon Bowers was so excited to get the opportunity to serve on the USS Tiberius.  He arrived on Starbase 514 the night before he was to report for duty in hopes of getting to know some of the crew he would be working with.

With his bags in tow he tossed them on his bed and without even unpacking pulls out a bottle of Jameson and a deck of cards and leans out the hall, "anyone up for a drink and a game of Fizzbin?".  As the maintenance crew was just finishing up some repairs in the hallway, several join in.  Hours pass by and several crew members drop in to play before turning in for a good night sleep.  Soon its just Talon with two of the late night maintenance workers and Fizzbin has turned into old earth games such as quarters and every other drinking game this side of the galaxy.

When it was all said and done Talon stumbles back to his quarters, checks the clock and realizes he only has 4 hours until he needs to report for duty.  Ugh.  Not at all what Talon had planned for his first day on the Tiberius.  So much for making a good first impression on his new boss Lt. Peters.

Lt. Commander K'arath's feet crunched over the loose rock that paved Bright Angel trail. He had descended into the Grand Canyon earlier that morning on South Kiabob and lingered for a swim in the Colorado River when he reached the bottom. Now he was running the 12 miles up to the South Rim, climbing 5000 feet along the way.
He had first disovered the canyon while a cadet and always loved to run a down and out when he had the time. The sweat dripped from his brow ridges freely and his hair was cropped short in a very un-Klingon like style. I hope the other Klingons on board the Tiberius wouldn't have a problem with that, he mused, not that it ever stopped him before.

He had spent the last 2 weeks overseeing the refit of Tiberius in Space Dock. He was pleased witht he progress and was looking forward to meeting his new senior officers in engineering. He had reviewed all thier files and was especiallly looking forward to working with Ensign Morgan on upgrading the phaser array, the kid seemed to have a thing for weapons. The other staff was mostly human and one Bajoran, all hand picked by him and very competent.

He realized that time was running short and he needed to prepare for the captains briefing at 1400 hours. He pulled up short from his run and said out loud, "Computer, arch". The doorway materialized and K'arath exited the holdeck of the Tiberius and made his way to hus quarters leaving a trail of sweat in his wake.

He kissed their daughter and set her down on the transporter pad, then knelt to embrace their son. "Be good" he whispered in his tiny, pointed ear. The little boy nodded and hugged his father's neck. This was not the first time the small children parted from their father; yet in their two short years, David had never been absent for very long. This time, it was they who would be leaving, and the toddlers could not possibly comprehend the time that would pass before they would see him again.

Sevryll watched their son jump from step to step, before reaching his place on the transporter pad. She turned an impassive face to meet her husband's sullen expression. They embraced for several minutes before he bent to kiss her forehead. Everything that needed to be said had been expressed privately that morning, so she quietly turned and joined the children on the transporter pad.  After a moment, she raised her hand and parted her fingers. He forced a somber smile and returned the farewell. David yearned to accompany his family to their new home on the Tiberius, but his assignment would be taking him somewhere much more treacherous.

Sevryll nodded to the transporter chief and reached down to still her fidgety two-year-olds. As the transporter beams initiated, their daughter's small voice echoed with a ghostly resonance: " see you later alligator..."

As they materialized aboard the Tiberius, the ship's transporter chief replied with a welcoming grin: "After while crocodile." The little girl smiled shyly and looked up at her mother. "Are we there yet?" she whispered.
---------------------------------

Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
U.S.S. Tiberius

"Can someone give me a hand with this container?!"

Brex yelled with a distraught look on his face. He was unloading a shipment of food for the briefing off an anti-grav transport unit.

A human male, J'dan ran out from the back of the kitchen.

"Sorry, let me help you with that."

J'dan took the crate from Brex and walked toward the back of the kitchen.

"Thanks! These things must be over 50 kilos."

Brex looked around at the Rec Room. It was smaller then the restaurants he was used to working in on Earth. He had been preparing for this meeting for 3 hours already; he still had two more to go.

"Boss... this box is moving!"

J'dan said with a strange look on his face.

"Of course it is! I wouldn't have paid this much for it if it wasn't."

Brex walked over to the box, and pushed a few buttons. It opened revealing thousands of crawling worms. Brex took one out and dangled it above his head. He dropped it down in to his mouth and started to chew.

"mmmmmm,"

He sighed,

"K'pla!."

He smiled as the J'dan gave him a disgusted look.

"They're alive." J'dan said,

"What are you talking about? Gawk is always best when consumed live!"

"What ever you say, Brex..."

J'dan walked over to the transport unit and started to unload more containers.

"Wow. These are from all parts of the quadrant."

"They better be! It took me forever to get the shipment from Bajor. I need to make a good impression on the crew."

"You're doing a pretty good job already Boss."

"Well I must admit I did get invited to the Poker game on Tuesday night, unfortunately I think I was asked to serve drinks."

"I can help out with that if you want to play a few rounds."

"We will see."

J'dan picked up a small crate that was shipped from Bolius.

"I heard that the ship's counsolor is a Bolian. You know him?"

Brex got a annoyed look on his face.

"Just because he's a Bolian doesn't mean I know him!"

"Sorry Boss, I was just wondering."
"It's ok... just keep on unloading, I need to get some drinks... if you get done soon I will make you a Sumarian Sunrise. I have been needing to catch up on my Synthahol."

"Sure thing!"

J'dan took a box off the pad. It was marked Romulus.

"Uhhhh... I think this is yours..."

Brex nervously laughed and took the box from J'dan.

"J'dan, you never saw anything."

"Saw what boss?"

J'dan smiled.

Brex took a peek into the box and the light exposed 5 bottles of blue fluid. He opened a small compartment behind a replicator and placed the box inside.

Brex walked to the back of the kitchen and pulled out a towel and wiped his brow.

"Today is going to be a long day...I don't know what I am gonna do when I see him," Brex thought to him self.

--------------------------------
Brex
Bartender/Chef
U.S.S. Tiberius

Avrik sat down hard in her temporary quarters on the starbase as she said, "Avrik Newol out" to the fading image on her com screen.

Now she has orders, "orders?" to report back to the U.S.S. Tiberius. She was used to being one of many representatives of the JAG office in military dealings. But being the only one surrounded, having to watch and report back on....it was just not comfortable.

So she packed the three cases (one more than standard) "they won't mind", and headed to transport.

Jack swallowed hard as he stepped off the transporter pad. He croaked out out "Lt junior grade Jack Beyerhon reporting for duty". With an acknowledging nod to the officer behind the transporter controls, he stepped out of the room, and looked at the PADD in his hands with the details on the location of his quarters.

Everything looked so foreign to him, so very different. Jack had been on many Starships before, even worked on parts of the refit for this one, but the thought of his first long term assignment on a Starship had him  a bit overwhelmed. The thought of his first long term mission had him full of doubt, but wonder as well. Looking forward to the potential solitude of space had him intrigued, alone with his thoughts, away from the pressures of family and friends around him. But as well, what will it be like? Jack had heard stories from other officers on his other assignments, but each person had a different story and experience to tell. Will it be like the books and movies he had so come to enjoy and imagine, or will it be different, he was about to find out.

Jack had located his quarters, and promptly started to put his belonging away, and try to make the spartan room look a little more familar to him. After that, Jack decided to make his way to the Mess Hall, to get a piece of pizza, some comfort food, and prepare for his first shift, and the upcoming Captain briefing.

Lt JG Jack Beyerhon

Having arrived on board a day before everyone else so I could go over medical records and make sure all the crews medical history and vaccinations were up to date. I had finally finished updating the records and calibrating all the medical instruments to my standards.

I assigned the medical supply stock taking to an orderly and would check his progress.

I sent a e-mail to counsellor Margon to set up a meeting to see if their were any crew members whos medical history needed updating and to introduce myself as we would be working together.

I also sent an email to the captain and the chief of security to suggest it might be wise if some crew members had some advanced first aid and field medic training as the medical department is understaffed at the moment and this might come in handy in the future.

I also am preparing for a meeting with the captain at 1400 hrs and am off to the lounge to meet some of the new crew.

I am looking forward to serving as the chief Medical Officer aboard the USS Tiberious.

Dr. Casey Peterson Lt. Cmdr CMO
USS Tiberious

As the turbolift doors closed the Captain said "Ohh & Commander. Poker Tuesday night in the Rec lounge."

Quinn laughed and continued down the hallway heading for his quarters. He had memorized the entire ship layout, so finding his quarters wasn't going to be a problem. As he passed crewmen they would nod and say "Sir" or "Commander", which kind of made Quinn uncomfortable. He was third in command on board the Isannah but here he is First Officer, second in command of a Federation Starship.

He entered his quarters and noticed that his belonging had already been delivered so he decided to unpack his stuff. After unpacking he had several hours till the Captain's briefing so he decided to go over the crews bios once again. He picked up the padd and began to read. As he looked over his chiefs of staff he laughed out loud thinking ::This is going to be one intresting group::

After going over the entire crew list Quinn decided to meditate, it had been several days since he did it last and the voices of the crew were starting to get louder. He sat by a window and started out at the stars. He took several deep breaths. As the voices in his head became silent he focus on his own thoughts. Breathing in and out he started to search the crew. Quinn prided himself on not invading other's thoughts unless absolutely necessary. So he just skimmed over each crewmen on board and felt there state of mind. After an hour of meditation he decided to head to the bridge. He left his quarters and started down the hallway when he bumped into...

Commander Nathan Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

With his communication padd beeping at him, Counselor Margon stopped his conversation with a young ensign that was nervous about his first deep space mission.  "Excuse me young man, I need to take this, you'll be fine, let's meet next week after you're settled in"  The ensign acknowleged him and went on his way.

Margon read his e-mail and quickly responded. --

Dear Dr. Peterson,

I reviewed your request and would like to see if you have a few moments after the briefing today.  Most of the crew is in excellent health, there are only a few of them that will need your immediate attention.  In fact you may have a few suggestions for me since this is a very mixed species crew, there are several Klingons and with a Daa'Vit aboard we are bound for conflict.  I am hoping that we can ease tensions and get on with our mission.  By the way, any ideas on what we are in for?  We do have a Vulcan officer with small children on board-Lt. Commander Sevryll, so we will need to discuss her work hours and expectations from the captain, from what I understand she has twins and they are 2 years old.  I'll let you discuss their medical records, while I work with her on the childcare situation, being Vulcan she will no doubt have things figured out logically.  You may want to brief me on any mental health issues that I need to prepare for with the rest of the crew.  I look forward to meeting with you.  I too am looking forward to our journey together. 

Couselor Margon

P.S.  I have something you might enjoy- I found a book about 20th century medical procedures.  I thought you might get a kick out it. I'll make sure and bring it to our meeting.  Would you like to meet in sickbay or just stay a few minutes in the rec room?

Ensign Rayne Morgan bolt upright in bed, upon hearing the alarm. Excitement momentarily gripped him as he realized today he'd be boarding the ship that was to be his home for the next while - his first real assignment aboard a starship.

Then his eyes noticed the dark all around him and sought out the clock.  The excitement slipped away rapidly as the desire to sleep until a more reasonable hour enveloped him.  Laying back down, he again wondered if life on a starship would be that much different from his previous assignment on a starbase and wishing he hadn't stayed up so late hanging out with some of the other crew...

...Eyes snapping open 15 minutes later, realizing he'd dozed off -- the will to arrive on the ship with time to start setting up his quarters battling with the will to sleep until the absolute last possible moment -- Rayne succeeds in dragging himself out of bed.

While preparing for the day Rayne tries to recall what he read in the crews' profiles, particularly those of his new boss, Lt. Commander K'arath; the XO, Commander Nathan Quinn; and of course, Captain Gilbert Bell.  Predictably, the most immediately intriguing was his commander, K'arath, though he noted that Commander Quinn has had some dealings with the Borg - he'd have to see if he could find an opportunity to talk with him about that.  He'd never had a real opportunity to get to know a Klingon, and hoped his interest in, and sparse knowledge of their culture wouldn't cause him to offend his superior officer, as he was quite looking forward to working with him.

After a fairly uneventful transport, aside from the above average number of boxes containing the various knick knacks he collected, he began unpacking his stuff, trying to get settled in a bit before making his way to Engineering, wanting to get to know some more of the crew more before the Captain's briefing.

After reading my email from Counsellor Margan I quickly emailed him back and suggested that we meet in sick bay as I will have quick access to medical records, I also wanted to discuss that perhaps we should train some of the teaching staff in advanced first aid and field medic procedures in case we do have some conflics between species and perhaps that he could suggest anything else.

I also think it might be useful as part of the ship orientation to go over emergency procedures with the crew.

At this moment Lt. Commander Sevryll medical records for herself and her children have not showed up yet, so I have sent her an email regarding this and have asked her to drop by sickbay with her children to fill in the caps.  I am most interested in the book on 20 century medical procedures and often wondered how anybody survived using those barbaric techniques. I look forward to seeing you after the Captains Briefing


Dr. Casey Peterson Lt. Cmdr CMO

Ensign Mayko Armus awoke with his head throbbing away. Hangover - again.

Not quit sure where he was or how he got there, he slowly rolled over a bit. Nausea quickly overcame him and be vomited on the hard, smooth floor next to his cot.

Regaining himself, he glanced to the right.....the detention cell force field glowed bright.

"Oh yeah...." As he quickly remembered flashes of his arrival into the brig of his newest assignment, the USS Tiberius, "I'm sure I made another steller impression on my new crewmates upon arrival."


Ensign Mayko Armus
Structural Technician
USS Tiberius

Lieutenant Rhys Peters rose groggily from his deep sleep. The persistant ringing of his wake up alarm grew louder and more insistent.
"Okay okay, Alarm stop" The noise ceased and Rhys rubbed his eyes and yawned hugely.
"Morning boys, how are you today? Don't worry lads, you won't be in there for much longer." Phil and Grant were his pet rats. He had brought them with him onto Starbase 514 in a temporary cage ready to be re-housed in their new home on the U.S.S. Tiberius.
  This was Rhys' first posting on a Starship, he had been second in command at Starfleet Headquarters. His recent friendship with Commander Quinn had led to this new and exciting opportunity and he was nervous. He was aware that this was his biggest assignment in his short career. He had been on the verge of self destruction when he had met Nathan. The Commander had helped him out of his depression and offered him a life changing break, and Rhys didn't want to let him down.
  The rats came excitedly to the side of the cage waiting for their early morning petting. He lifted them both out of their makeshift home cooing and whispering affectionately to them.Rhys was a big imposing man and his staff back at Starfleet had jibed gently at his love of these small furry rodents. He put them back, walked to the replicator and ordered cold grapefruit juice, his ritualistic 'get up and go' drink.
  He decide to dress and go to the Starbase Holodeck suite. A good old fashioned fighting and killing programme would calm down his nerves. He was to attend the Captains briefing in the Rec. room at 1400 and he needed to take his mind off it. He took his wipe down towel from the rail in the bathroom, said goodbye to his boys and exited his quarters. This was going to be a long day.


Lieutenant Rhys Peters
Chief of Security
U.S.S. Tiberius

Lt Miyamoto Nagumo quickly checked his naviconsole and smiled in satisfaction as the Runabout USS Rubicon smoothly transitioned from warp to impulse power.

"Rubicon to Tiberius flight operations control." he said as his hands automatically entered the series of commands to transition the small starships systems over to the control of the flight operations center.

With three shuttlebays and far more small craft than any other federation ship it's size an Akira class vessel like the Tiberius required a far more complex system to control it's shuttles. The flight operations control centers enabled it to manage up to three seperate landings simultaneously while controling up to 20 other craft in holding patterns. As a student of history, Miyamoto appreciated the simillarities to old earth aircraft carriers.

" Rubicon, this is Tiberius flight operations, we have multiple inbounds with all of the new crew transfers. We have put you into holding patter gamma 2, your eta for touchdown is 18 minutes."

" Confirmed Tiberius control" he replied, and sat back into his chair smiling. The few extra moments to relax would be welcome, he knew that upon landing he would be hard pressed to complete all of the required system checks on the ships tactical systems prior to the Captains usual 1400 briefing.

His leave during the Tiberius time in dock had been quite productive. He smiled again at the thought of the two cases of blood wine, and three of Sake in the Runabout's cargo hold. Not to mention the prize of the trip, a perfect replica suit of Japanese Samurai Armor from the Tokugawa era. He was looking forward to trying it out in his next holodeck battle recreation.

The minutes passed quickly and as the runabout touched down, Miyamoto stood and adjusted the two ornate swords at his belt. The daisho, a familly hierloom, were properly placed and immaculate as allways. He was still making minute adjustments in the wide samurai stylei belt at his waist as he steped onto the hangar deck.

He saw a crew man with  a grav cart rushing to unload the cargo in order to make room for the next landing and called out to him.

"Crewman, take the small cases to Mister Brax at 5 Forward and the large crate to my quarters."

"Yes Lieutentant." aknowldeged the young crewman without looking up. Moto nooded and left the man to his work.

"So Lieutenant," a commanding voice called out from the hangars main exit. " I see you are bringing yet another load of contraband aboard my ship."

Moto smiled as he turned to walk towards his captain. " Good to see you Capitan-sama. No need to worry, I did not find anything truly interesting, just the usual." He stoped just before the older man and executed a quick bow of respect.

"Glad to have you back Moto" the Captain said after returning the bow. " I want you to make sure and coordinate with Lt Commander K'rath to make sure all of the tactical systems are at 100% before this afternoons staff briefing. "

Moto fell in beside his captain as they left the hangar and walked along the ships corridors. " Of course Captain-sama, I will be certain to attend to it at once. "

" Good, I have a lot to take care of before the briefing so I will leave that to you and my chief engineer." The captain said as he took a different fork in the corridor for Moto's destination. " If you get done in time, you and K'rath should stop by 5 Forward. I understand that Mister Brax just got a fresh shipment of Gagh, I know how you like yours extra wiggly."

Moto smiled and watched as the captain headed down the corridor hurrying to his next destination. " Thank you Sir." he said, feeling extra motivated to get his system checks done. He had not had a good plate of Gagh since leaving the Klingon homewold, but if anyone could deliver such a rarity it would be Mister Brax.

Miyamoto Naguma, continued toward the turbolift with a renewed spring in his step, hoping that it would be the Torgud Gagh variety, his favorite.


____ LT. Miyamoto Nagumo , Tactical Officer USS Tiberius

Ensign Enoch Iblis left the shuttle and immediately headed to the bridge of his new assignment, the USS Tiberius. 

Enoch wondered if this Captain, Captain Bell, would be just like all the others.  And the crew, how long would it take for this Klingon to be accepted. 

How long would the wary glances be passed his way.  Good.  Let them be wary.

He knew of at least one other Klingon that would be serving, Lt. Commander K'arath.  Perhaps he was also a Klingon of honor.

The door opened and Enoch entered the bridge.  Yes, it was just like the specifications showed.  As navigator, he would be sitting at the front of the bridge.  Directly in front of Captain Bell, actually. 

Everyone at his back.

As a Klingon, this was troublesome, but his superior navigation skills had put him into this position, into this career path. 

Enoch sat down at his station.  He began his checks.  He had a report to create for the meeting with his new captain.

Captain Bell let out a small relaxed sigh as he sat down at his desk. He had finally reached the halfway mark to the day and was feeling so much better for it.

Sipping at a mug of green tea he went over the first reports from his senior staff. So far everything was looking good. He was slightly concerned at the report of one of his Ensigns having been confined to the brig for drunken disorderly and sent a quick message for his XO to investigate the fact.

Letting out a smile he put down his pad and stood up.

"Well then Gilbert, looks like it's showtime." he said to himself.

An hour and a half on the bridge then down to the Rec room, or "5 Forward" as it was affectionately known, for his briefing.

He strode to his readyroom door and it slid open in front of him revealing his bridge, a young ensign turned, stood and opened his mouth.

"Captain on the Bridge."


OOC: Ok guys. Briefing in a couple of hours. Anyone who wants to post any more introductory stuff before then get in now.

Great quality of posts from EVERYONE so far. We're all gonna have a blast. Vulcans & Klingons & Rats, Oh my!

Ensign Leslie Morgen was suddenly awoken. On his dreams, he had just relived the last years in his home planet. Before he left to learn about the Universe. Serving on StarFleet. To become a better ruler for his people, when the time to rule them come. As it would come. As it was destined to come since his birth.

Although hiding it, he was excited to move again to a new ship. This was his 3rd assignment, but those first days on a new ship always seemed to bring the butterflies in his stomach back to life.

Of those two previous ships, he spent a long time on the first, the Stargazzer, under the now so famous captain (or is he now Admiral?) Picard. Good times!

On his way to the transporter room, he reviewed mentally what he had learnt about the lady who would be his direct superior: Lt. Commander Sevryll. A Vulcan. Though he tried hard to not label people based on their home planets, as that sometimes led to some surprises. And... it was a kind of prejudice, after all: judging someone before you know him/her based on pre-conceptions.

The same reasoning he applied to avoid (at least trying to avoid) creating pre-indispositions towards the various klingons on the Tiberius. He was determined to make a strong conscious effort to think of them as other noble warriors, deserving respect... at least until they misbehaved!

"Would Lt.Cmdr Sevryll promote me soon?" He was feeling overdue at his current ranking of Ensign. "Oh, well, let's earn it. Let's give her a chance to know me."

He transported uneventfully and managed to bring his belongings to his quarters. Afterwards, he strolled nobly through the corridors, and stood watching the view at the recreation room ("'Treks' it was called! Where did they get that name from?").

He waited there and left on a good timing to reach the briefing room: not too soon - to not wait much - and not too late, to risk arrive after the captain...

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

Ensign Leslie Morgen
science officer

After an hour of meditation he decided to head to the bridge. He left his quarters and started down the hallway when he bumped into a crewmen looking for his quarters. He pointed the crewmen in the right direction then continued to walk down the hallway when his badge chirped and he heard his Captain's voice.

Pressing his badge =/\= This is Commander Quinn... go ahead=/\=

=/\= Commander there has been an incident with one of our new Ensigns, he has been placed in the brig, could you please investigate. =/\=

=/\= Of course sir... Quinn out =/\=

Quinn turned around and headed toward the turbolift thinking to himself :: We've only been on this ship for three hours and someone has already been put into the brig ::

A few moments later he enter the brig and picked up a padd and started to read the charages. He approached the cell. Ensign Armus slowly stood at attention.

Quinn stood there with a stern look on his face "At ease Ensign, would you like to explain this to me?" Waving the padd in front of him.

Armus relaxed a bit as he started to say "Sir.. I can... but Quinn cut him off.

Quinn paced the room. "This has to be a record, in all the years of Starfleet I don't think an Ensign has ever started his new mission from the Brig. I understand that you wanted to enjoy your last night before heading out on your new mission but to get in a fight with a Nausiccan three times your size and destroy half the bar just because he insulted your mother. I hope you know that this is unacceptable. You are Starfleet you have a certain standard to uphold. If you can not control yourself then please get off this ship before we leave dock."

"Sir I...."

" I don't expect to see your name on report again... do I make myself clear?"

" Yes Sir.. "

" Good now get out of here and get ready for the Captain's briefing at 1400 hours. "

The guard lowered the force field and Ensign Armus stumbled pass me and exited the Brig. I took a deep breath and headed out of the Brig and decided to go the 5 Forward and prepare for the Captain's briefing.

Commander Nathan Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

Rayne finished up adjusting a small ear-piece (a comm-badge he'd specially modified), tuning it to an unused audio frequency he'd set up to broadcast his music collection over.  Tucking the control in his pocket, Rayne was ready to really get into the swing of things, at all times accompanied by his extensive music collection -- originating from his quarters, but discreetly retransmitted by the ship computer -- playing quietly in one ear.

Suitably accompanied for long waits, and hating to be late to anything even remotely important, he made his way to 5 Forward a good 20 minutes before the scheduled briefing.

14:00 finally came around.

Captain Bell paused for a moment before the double doors to "5 Forward", taking a deep breath he took a step forward and the doors parted showing his crew assembled in front of him, all present and correct.

He cleared his throat and the room went silent, everyone looking his way expectantly. Walking to the center of the room he stood before the bar itself.

"Welcome everyone.

As all of you know I am Captain Gilbert Bell, commanding officer of the Tiberius. First I would like to say welcome to you all. It has been a tough few weeks for everyone. Some of you have traveled far from other postings to get here, while some of you have been helping oversee our little refit. I appreciate the dedication and composure shown by you all.

For many of you this will be your first time aboard an Akira class vessel, but be it your first time or not you will notice a few changes. We are carrying a more substantial science division than most Akira vessels in the fleet for example. You may also notice that we lack the small fighter ships that our brothers are equipped with. But what we lose in firepower we gain in diversity. We have a much larger compliment of the Danube class runabouts for instance.

All in all you will find we are a well rounded ship.

And now to her crew.

Every single individual before me today was hand picked. You are all here because myself and Commander Quinn think you have it in you to complete the mission we have in front of us. We have a long and hard time ahead and we will be truly striving to bring our mission closer to the founding principles of Starfleet than any of you have ever worked.

Starfleet was founded as a protectorate for the Federation, and one of the core mission briefs was exploration. Pushing back the borders of Federation space, seeing what is out there.

That is our mission my friends, we have a mission of exploration. A mission of diplomacy. A mission to take the core beliefs of the Federation to the very borders of our known space and go that step further. We lie under the jurisdictional of the fine Admiral Sirach Dar Talbot who is a personal friend.

Over the next couple of days we will be finishing our time here at the Starbase, I will be finalising our orders with the Admiral and the refit will be completed. I urge you to use this time to settle in, familiarise yourself with the ship, get to know your fellow crew members, socialise. I will address the crew again when we are to depart."

Turning to Quinn he raises and eyebrow,

"Would you like to add anything number one?"

Captain Gilbert Bell,
CO, USS Tiberius

K'arath nodded as the Captain spoke. Captain Bell was a man of strong conviction and character and appreciated his candor with his senior staff. The Captain was a man of honor, but K'arath felt a sense of shame when you had recieved word that one Ensign Armus had been thrown into the brig. Armus was under his command in Engineering and K'ararth committed himself to make him an officer or force him to wash out, whichever came first. Captian Bell and given him his one and only reprieve...

Enoch found himself impressed with this new captain. 

He spoke with confidence and clear vision.  Yes, Enoch was surprised and pleased.

As Enoch looked about the room, he saw a surprisingly diverse group.  Everyone was focused on the Captain with respect.

Enoch lifted some of his skepticism and opened his mind a bit.

He waited for Commander Quinn to speak.  Enoch had seen Quinn in the hallway earlier, but had just missed him in the turbo elevator.  Would Quinn be of like mind as Bell?

Margon caught the eyes of Brex starring at him from accross the room.  Their eyes would meet and then they would both look away.  The breifing was going well, but Margon felt himself distracted by his anxiety.  "they trained me for this type of thing, but now that I'm here, it's a different story"   

The crew was surpisingly warm, even the Klingons.  Go figure.  As soon as the briefing was over it was on to sick bay to meet with the doctor.  But as Captain Bell spoke many observations were being made.

"I like the first officer" thought Margon.  "He seems level headed."

The Counselor made notes on his information pad.  He had his first actual appointment with an ensign that had showed up on the ship drunk and had been thrown in the brig.  That was supposed to happen sometime in the next few days.  Most people were trying to understand, but it was Margon's job to help the new guy through his thoughts and feelings of why this had happened.  This was a starship not some Starfleet Academy training exercise.  "How fun", he thought sarcastically.

The Captain finished his briefing and Margon knew it was time.  He made small talk with many of the crew as he made his way over to the bar.  He took a deep breath and managed the courage to say "Brex"

Brex looked at him.  It was an awkward silence.  Then quietly he said, "Hi Counselor" 

"Counselor?"

"You heard me." Brex snapped.

"We have a lot to talk about son."

"Well, I have a lot of work to do to, so if you don't mind...", with that Brex spun around and walked into the kitchen. 

Margon sighed, "oh boy, this is going to more of a challenge than I thought.  The Couselor needs a counselor"

He sadly turned and walked to the turbo lift. *swish*  entering he said- "sickbay"

Quinn stood up front with the Captain as he begins his speech. As he is talking Quinn is taking in the crews reactions. He felt mostly excitement from the crew with some feeling apprehension. He smiled and scanned the room as the Catpain spoke. The Captain speech came to a close and he turned to Quinn...

"Would you like to add anything number one?"

" Thank you sir, as the Captain said you were all hand picked for this ship and this mission. You all have the potential of being the best crew in Starfleet. Look around at your fellow crewmen. These will be the men and women who will serve with you on your greatest adventure. Get to know each other, come to rely on each other as a team, a family... now let's see what awaits us..... out there."

Quinn looked over at Captain Bell who nodded.

" Dismissed "

Everyone clapped and started to move around and talk. Quinn noticed a familiar face and made his way over to Lt Rhys Peters

With a big smile " Looked what the cat dragged in "

Lt. Peters looked up and smiled. He stood and they embraced.

" It's good to see you my friend"

Commander Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

Commander Quinn finished his speech, and the meeting was over. 

Now Enoch knew, he was expected to 'mingle' with the crew.   He saw that many people, including the XO, knew many of the people already.  This was to be expected.

Enoch looked around.  He saw another Klingon, who he knew was K'arath.  He would have to talk with him later.  It was good to see another Klingon.

He also saw many humans, Vulcans and...... a Daa'Vit!  A Daa'Vit on this ship?  This was distasteful.  While there was peace between the two races it was a tense situation.

Enoch looked around some more and saw a Bolian behind the bar.  He approached.

"I don't suppose you know how to make Raktajino," Enoch stated.

"Why yes!  I am quite familiar with that fine drink.  Let me get you one."

Enoch was surprised.  He waited, and the drink quickly appeared.  Enoch looked at it.  It looked correct.  It smelled correct.  He tasted it.  Fantastic!

"This is....good.  Only a Klingon knows how to make this correctly!  How can you do it?"

The Bolian smiled.  "My name is Brex.  I am glad you like it."  Brex extended a hand.

Enoch took his hand and shook it.  Then Brex scurried off to help another patron.  Enoch sat back in his chair.  He was beginning to like 5 Forward.

After the briefing, Sevryll made her way across 5 Forward to speak with the Dr. Peterson. She nodded politely at her fellow crewmembers, who turned an eye from their conversation to acknowledge her. There were quite a few races present in the room: Humans, Klingons, Bolians a Daa'V, but not one Vulcan—she wondered if she was the only one aboard.

Dr. Peterson was chatting with another officer when she approached. She courteously waited until he had finished his conversation, before introducing herself.

"Lt. Commander Sevryll" she said in an even voice.

"Doctor Casey Peterson" replied the chief medical officer. She detected a slight accent in his speech and instantly determined that the diminutive inflection, was that of a 'Texas drawl'. Fascinating... she thought to herself.

"Pleased to meet you Doctor. I received your message regarding the medical records of my children and that of myself. I apologize that I was not able to respond before the briefing."

"Not at all Lt. Commander," he said with a warm smile "Everyone has been occupied with finding their quarters and settling in...and you have your hands full with a pair of two-year-olds." His smile spread to a grin.

She met his affability with a reserved: "Thank you doctor." After a brief pause she continued, "I must admit I am perplexed by the absence of our medical files. Were they not transferred along with my personal records?" Inwardly, she wondered if her husband's employers were to blame for the missing files.

"No. That data was never uploaded...These things happen sometimes. Just bring your children by for a physical after you've settled in."

"I will doctor." Her eyes left his for a moment and settled on the Daa'V seated alone, pondering his ale at the bar. She recognized him from the records she had skimmed earlier in the day, as a science officer.

"It was nice to meet you... If you will excuse me doctor." She nodded politely to him and made her way over to the bar. "Ensign Morgen?" she inquired. "Sir" he said pushing his drink aside and straightening his posture. "I am Lt. Commander Sevryll." She offered her hand to Morgen. He hesitated temporarily before shaking it. "I look forward to serving with you Ensign." She said.  "And I you." He replied.

As they discussed the potential focus of their scientific studies, she noticed a Bajoran enter 5 Forward. Averik Nowol stopped just inside the door and scanned the crowd of loitering crewmembers. Sevryll watched as Averik's gaze came to rest on Captain Bell. What was a JAG officer doing on the Tiberius? Sevryll wondered to herself.

-----------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
U.S.S. Tiberius

-BOOM!- Explosions lit up the red horizon.
Red laser fire filled the crisp blood scented air.
The sounds of grunting, screaming, and battle cry's were louder then ever.
Brex stood on top of a Klingon Corpse,
and pulled his Batleth out from the heart of his enemy.
Brex looked up at the sky and his eyes widened,

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

He screamed, as tradition when killing a Klingon.
He surveyed the landscape. Looking for the one last Klingon,
Enoch.
Suddenly from in front of Brex came Enoch running grasping his Batleth in his hand.

"Today is a good day to die!"

Enoch yelled as he ran towards Brex.

Brex tried to defend him self, but he was too late.
CRUNCH!
The sound the Batleth ripping through his crafted steel armor was painful to the ear.
Brex looked down at the sword that pierced his heart. He fell on his knees, and looked up at Enoch.

"Today was a good day to..."

Enoch pulled the Batleth from Brex and he fell to the ground.

The Room dematerialized around them and became a room of metal wires running everywhere.

Enoch grabbed Brex's hand and pulled him to his feet. Brex wiped the blue blood off his lip, and smiled.

"You fight well for... a Bolian."
Enoch said with a look of surprise.

"Thanks! You fight well for a... a Klingon!"
Brex replied.

Brex punched Enoch in the arm playfully.
Enoch looked at Brex and punched him as well, not so playfully.
Brex bit his lip and rubbed his arm.

They both walked toward the doors of the Holodeck.
-HISS-
The door opened to revel a corridor leading to a turbolift.

They walked out and their armor faded away leaving Enoch in uniform, and Brex in Civilian clothing.

"Thanks for joining me in the holodeck, I needed to blow off some steam."
Brex patted Enoch on the back.

"Mister Brex, I would appreciate if you didn't touch me, and you are welcome. I enjoy a good battle any day. I noticed something earlier. You didn't welcome our Counselor so well."

"We... have old history."
Brex said quickly,

"History?"
Enoch asked,

"Yes, it's a long story. I'd rather not discuss it."

"If that is your wish, warrior Brex."

Enoch cracked a smile; it disappeared as quickly as it came.
They both walked into the turbo lift.

The doors closed.

"Bridge."
Enoch said to the computer.

"Five Forward."

Brex muttered,

-Beep Beep-

" Mister Brex, please report to the Captains Ready Room."
The voice of the captain spoke over the communication system.

Brex touched his combadge.

"I'll be right there Sir."

Brex looked confused, but then he remembered he had to talk with the Captain about his private dining room, this was a little early to talk about such matters though... maybe he wanted to inquire about his Father? Brex started to get nervous.

"Computer, cancel the order to Five Forward. Bridge."   

The computer beeped and the turbolift started to move.

"It is an honor to be asked to speak with the Captain... most of the time."

Enoch said bluntly.

"Exactly."

Brex took a deep breathe. The door to the bridge hissed opened.


--------------------------------
Brex
Bartender/Chef
U.S.S. Tiberius

Ensign Manrique looked around the crowded recreation room.  It was true that a few of the crew were Klingons but, to his surprise and dissapointment, none of them were in security or tactical.  Manrique found this strange--he'd thought a Klingon serving on a Federation starship would naturally choose to be in security or tactical.  Still, Manrique knew that a Klingon was a formidable opponent no matter what station he worked at.

He proceeded to introduce himself to Ensign Enoch.  As Enoch finished his drink, he stood up and walked out the door with Brex. "What kind of bartender leaves his bar unattended when it's this full?" thought the security officer.  "He must have some big personal problems.  I guess I'll have to ask our Chief Engineer if he'll teach me some of those Klingon martial arts techniques in the holodeck."

Manrique begans walking toward Chief Engineer K'arath and as he gets closer he notices that this Klingon is not very big at all.  In fact, while he is taller than the ensign, K'arath is noticeable thinner.  Not only is he smaller than the average Klingon, but he's of a lighter complexion too.  Somewhat perplexed, Manrique addresses the engineer, "Good afternoon sir.  I am security ensign Johnny Manrique.  I am honored to meet you."

"Good afternoon ensign.  I look forward to serving with you."

"Sir, I'm a motivated security officer and that's why I came to introduce myself.  I would like to learn some Klingon hand-to-hand combat techniques from a real Klingon instead of some holographic projection.  If you have time one of these days, I would be honored to learn some things from you.  I'm sure there's something I could teach you as well.  So what do you say sir?"

-------------------------
Ensign Johnny Manrique
Security
USS Tiberius

http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1554.0 (http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1554.0)

K'arath regarded Ensign Manrique. He was of slightly larger build with a skin tone that was fairly close to his own. His dark eyes beterayed no sense of malice and he presented a very friendly face. K'arath respected that such a junior officer would readily approach a senior officer with such a request, let alone a Klingon. He hoped that any preconceptions about Klingon's personalitites wouldn't prejudice the other crew's attitude towards him.

"I would welcome that Ensign. The Mok'bara is a time honored tradition on Kronos, combining both elements of attack as well as defense. I often find it's symetry of movements similar to those practiced on earth in a discipline known as Tai Chi or perhaps you are more fimiliar with capuara?"

Manrique smiled at the reference to the Brazillian dance form based on a martial art. Although he was from Nicaragua, he appreciated the effort made by the Lt. Commander to acknowledge his lineage, although the image of him dancing with the Chief Engineer in the holodeck almost made him laugh out loud.

"Well, sir, I would welcome the opportunity," Manrique managed to say instead.

"Excellent, I look forward to putting you through your paces, Ensign, but I warn you, do not let my stature fool you into complacency," K'arath said, with just a hint of a smile on his face.

After the briefing I had nice chat with Lt. Commander Sevryll and she will bring her children in for a medical, I found her quite pleasant for a vulcan and bery warm, I look forward to talking to her about her archeology interest.

I headed fro sick bay for my meeting with counsellor Margon. Arriving early I pulled out a bottle of Romulan Ale which I thought we would share before we began and placed a gift on the table for him , an old 20 century text book on early psychiatric History. that I thought he would find facinating.

At this point the door opened and I greeted Counsellor Margan and welcomed him to sickbay. I handed him the old Psychology Book and he was quite pleased and facinated with it as I was on his book of 20 century medical procedures.

As we got down to business I offered him a glass of Romulan Ale and assured him it was purly for madicinal purposes.

I suggested that we should offer each of the department heads a course in Advanced first aid and field medical training, as sick bay is understaffed at the moment and feel that this would be an advantage on any away missions.

I also will need to talk to talk to the chief of security as well and want to discuss the importance of having each of his team complete this training, as security officers tend to be the ones that get injured the most and have just sent him an email requesting a meeting.

I then asked him if he had any issues that I needed to be aware of or any recommendations for anything he wanted me to include in oriantation. I also offered him an office in sickbay as it was less cramped then the usual counsellor offices. I suggested that we get to gether weekly to discuss any issues that come up so that we can both can keep a handle on any issues before they get started.

I thanked him for his gift and found him to be a very warm and most competant person, However I noticed that something was troubleling and told him my door was always open.

I then sent an email to the XO with my proposal for advanced field medical training for all department heads and security staff, and also reminded him of my advanced legal degree in starfleet law and diplomacy and suggested that I might be able to help our young Jag officer if needed.

All in all I thought this day went well and sat and silently comtemplated the days events before heading to 5 forward.

Miyamoto walked toward the bar at the end of the briefing feeling optimistic for the upcoming mission. He was impressed with what he had seen of the crew and the new first officer had made a good impression as well.

As he walked toward the bar he noticed the new Klingon helmsman Enoch drinking a cup of rakdijino and smiled more broadly.

" Brax-san makes an amazing brew does he not brother?" Miyamoto said in flawless Klingoneese.

Enoch looked towards him and did a double take, this human standing before him not only spoke with the perfect dialect of the homeworld Kronos, but also wore the honor sash of a minor noble house. Stranger still, instead of the D'k tahg honor blade at his hip he wore a pair of strangely ornate blades in jade sheathes one shorter than the other.

Enoch did not know quite what to say, so he was relived when Brax spoke first.

" Your not seeing things Ensign, the Lieutenant here was raised on Kronos and recived his military training at the Warriors Academy. "

" So why are you serving here?" Enoch asked pointedly.

" I owe a life debt to Captain Bell, my familly was in blood fued with the house of M'krath. Captain Bell was responsible for the destruction of the houses starship, and thus ended the fued." Miyamot shrugged.

" So, both as a Klingon warrior, and a samurai, I am his man."

Enoch nodded, satisfied that the man was properly honorable, and pulled out a stool.

"Join me then brother."

" Of course, but I must tell you that you are in for another suprise." he smiled at Brex " It seems our friend behind the bar here has recived a fresh shipment of Gagh."

" Not to mention the 4 cases of bloodwine that the lieutentant here just brought back from khithomer."

Enoch looked back and forth from the two men and smiled broadly, if briefly.

" It seems that this ship knows how to treat a warrior after all. " the klingon said.

" So it does my brother. " Miyamoto agreed. " If you can you should join our Chief engineer and myself after duty shifts tonight for a bottle of boodwine and and a rousing rendition of The dirge of kor the dahar master."

K'arath excused himself from Ensign Manrique and made his way over to the bar where the Klingon Helmsman Enoch was in conversation with a human wearing a honor sash. Curious. He had already spent a good amnount of time coordinating refit efforts with Enoch and found him very....Klingon. He was still ensure of the impression he had made on the slightly younger Klingon, but found him respectful and an efficient helmsman.

Having over heard part of their converstaion, he jumped in.

"Well, I hav enever been partial to Gagh, but Bloodwine and song...as the terrans are found of saying, count me in."

Science ensign Morgen was still a little off-balance. When approached by his new direct officer, he responded her salute with a "Sir" instead of a "Madam" – he was unsure of the protocol, but he thought "Ma'am" would have been the most adequate response.

Anyway, he was pleased to be discussing with her their prospective studies. But, then he noticed her attention going suddenly astray - and he followed her sight. She was staring at a Bajoran. He couldn't stop himself of asking her: "Commander, isn't that Avrik Newol, on whose file I saw "Advocate", or "Judge", I'm not certain, as her position? What place has such position in the hierarchy of a military ship? I thought the captain, followed by the XO, had the right to judge and to determine penalties – and promotions, for that matter – for the entire crew. Would there be enough cases to be tried (or to be investigated) daily, as to keep her productive??"

And, curious, he waited for the answer...

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

Ensign Leslie Morgen
science officer

Lt. Peters was looking around at the crew gathered in the Rec. room. Everyone was looking  intently at the Captain so they didn't notice Rhys scanning everyone. It was a habit of his to notice any small details that might help him in his job. He noticed a couple of Klingons in the room. He had had painful dealings with Klingons but was glad to have them on his side, pity that he didn't have any in security. At 25 years old, he was young for such a big posting and he was worried he would let the Captain and Commander down, still, he felt a little better when Commander Quinn acknowledged him with a nod.
  He knew that the briefing would finish soon and that he would have to mingle with the others. He was quite a closed character and it took a while for him to open up to people.
"Dismissed" said Quinn and everyone clapped and started to mingle.
"Look what the cat dragged in" Quinn said with a broad smile on his face.
The two men embraced. "Its good to see you my friend"
"Nathan Nathan, Errmm I mean Commander, Am I glad to see you. Rhys' face broke into a wide grin. This was the first time he had been genuinely pleased since boarding the Starbase. Commander Quinn always knew how to put him at ease. If it hadn't been for the commander, Rhys hated to think where he would have ended up.
"Are you ready for your first assignment on a Starship?" asked the Commander.
"A little nervous" he replied, "I'm glad there is a familiar face to help me settle in. I also brought Phil and Grant with me. They are going nuts about being in such a small cage and just want to get out".
  The two men chatted a little more while Rhys was still taking in the crew. He noticed the bar and suddenly fancied a drink. He excused himself and walked up to the Bartender, a Bolian.
"Beer Please, and make it a strong one"

The words, "Beer please caught the attention of Talon Bowers ears as he entered the room and noticed his new boss, Lt Peters at the bar being served a very cold frosted beer.

"Mind if I join you Lt?" Talon said. "I just thought I should introduce myself, Talon Bowers, Sir."  Lt Peters smiled as he recognized him from the personnel reports he had reviewed.  "Pleasure to meet you" he replied.

Talon had wanted to meet Lt Peters ever since he heard of his legendary bar fight with the Klingons and getting to serve under him was all he could handle.  He was nervous an anxious as he tried to make conversation with Lt. Peters at the bar.

After a couple of beers, they really started talking about the differences from growing up in San Fran vs Boston, whose sports teams were better, who had the better looking girls, etc.  They laughed, argued and razzed each other and began to realize that this assignment might be just what the two of them needed.

Late that evening....

" I cant wait to try out your modifications to the phaser targeting array commander. Last time we took the ship into battle, I had difficulty with targeting delay when rapidly changing targets. "

The Chief Engineer K'rath nodded. " It is good that the captain ordered you to check with me on the refit modifications. You would likley have underestimated our tactical capabilities if you were not fully aware of all the upgrades we have made while you were on leave the last two weeks. "

The pair turned onto another corridor as Miyamoto replied. " I am honestly amazed that you have acomplished so much in so short a time K'rath-sama. It will be an more than just an honor to have you aboard, it will be a great advantage as well. "

"You are too polite for a Klingon Miyamoto, how did you survive on Kronos with such manners?"

Moto laughed heartilly before he responded again. " Oh, fear not my brother, I know how to act when among warriors alone. You will see tonight, when the bloodwine flows, My heart is as Klingon as Khaless himself."

The pair were laughing lightly together as they entered 5 forward once again. A quick survey of the room showed that Enoch had not yet arrived, so the two took up residence at the far corner of the bar and left one seat open for the young ensign.

"Two bottles of bloodwine" Moto growled, his hand pounding the bar. " You have Klingons here with a warriors thirst!"

A moment later each man held a large glass bottle filled with a thick crimson liquid high in one arm as they made the first toast of the night.

" To the USS Tiberius, " K'rath barked eliciting an uneven response of random affirmations from the rest of the bar " may her shields never waver!"

The pair crossed bottles and took long drafts of wine. After a few more toasts, they were just drunk enough to begin the first song of the night.


me-ko ka-ra
eng-do ki-la
key-do-sum, ka-reH-do key-la
sutem-pa raH-do
ma-ra eh- Kor

re-ka
re-ka
re-ka

da-so pa-ca-re
key ro-kah
ro-kah
ro-kah
ro-kah .............

{ translation:

See the number of fires burning clearly
Good fortune for the mighty Commander
Great luck, I discipline my hails of fortune to you, Commanders
Hail appreciation through your silence
Our Commander Kor

Hail again
Hail again
Hail again

You always cloak it thereabouts
the Fist of the Commander's hits

the Fist of the Commander
the Fist of the Commander
the Fist of the Commander  }

Enoch walked through the corridor.  He was going to his quarters.  He had had enough of this socializing thing. 

He thought of the evening - which was still young - and had much to consider. 

He had laughed tonight.  Twice!

First Miyamoto, the tactical officer, and surprised him with his Klingon roots.  Enoch felt a connection with him immediately, it was very unusual.  Usually, Enoch only enjoyed the company of other Klingons. 

This was a bit upsetting as Miyamoto held the position he dreamed of...tactical.  A position that mattered.  A position of power.  He had hoped to dislike the person in that role. But, he could not. 

And then, Brex had fought him well in the holodeck.  Enoch rubbed his side, where a nicely placed kick from Brex had surprised him. 

Again, Enoch connected with another non-Klingon.  Even when Enoch had  admonished Brex for being too familiar, Brex took it in stride.   And...Enoch had asked a personal question of Brex. Even as Enoch asked, he was surprised.  He was also oddly curious about what was between Brex and Lt. Margon. 

Enoch reached his quarters.  It was enough.  He had been invited to spend time with both Miyamoto and K'arath in 5 Forward.  But he was...uncomfortable with his comfort of the evening. 

He shook his head.  What a ridiculous thought.  Enoch shook his head, and walked to 5 Forward.

When he entered, he saw both Miyamoto and K'arath there, and an empty chair. 

Enoch sat down with his new friends. 

"Hello everyone. Mind if I take a seat here?"

Brex asked Miyamoto, K'arath and Enoch, who were sitting at a table in Five Forward.

Enoch pushed Miyamoto over 2 feet and pulled a chair in-between them.
Miyamoto looked at Enoch, he looked like he was going to ask him why he pushed him. Then he shifted his attention back on talking with K'arath.

"Here, Warrior Brex."

"Why, thank you."

Brex sat down and looked at everyone talking to each other.
Miyamoto and K'arath were as drunk as they could get. Often slurred words and Klingon drinking songs filled the air.

Enoch looked at Brex.

Brex sat nervously moving his fingers. He kept thinking about his meeting with the Captain.

"A round of bloodwine! For all of us!"

Enoch said raising his fist in the air.

"I think these two have already had enough to drink... but I will bring some out for you. Besides, we don't want to run out before we even leave space dock."

Brex answered,

"Understandable."
Enoch said while he shook his head in agreement.

Brex walked to the back and brought back a metal mug of Bloodwine. He set it on the table in front of Enoch. Enoch picked up the mug and took a long few gulps. He set it down hard and shook the table.

"A great year!"

"Yes, I know."

Brex reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small blue pipe. He pushed a button on the side and it started to glow. He inhaled and blew out a puff a blue smoke.

-BEEP-BEEP-

The computer chirped. And an alarm started to go off.

"Alert! Fire suppression system activated!"
A beam came from the ceiling and put out the burning substance within the pipe.

Brex looked at the pipe. He blinked a few times. He stared in disbelief.

Miyamoto and K'arath looked at Brex. K'arath picked up the pipe and turned it upside down and smelled it. He handed it back to Brex. Miyamoto and K'arath  started to laugh a deep Klingon laugh.

Enoch started to smile and broke out laughing as well.

"It's really not that funny."

Brex said annoyed.

Enoch hit Brex on the back. Brex sighed.

Brex was happy to have friends on this ship, he always liked Klingons, Enoch seemed like he would get along quite well with him.

Brex reached over to Enoched mug, he took a large drink. Enoch pulled the mug back, and drank more.

Brex looked out one of the windows behind K'arath and saw the shipyard with arms extending to hold the ship.
He saw the stars they glowed unusually bright tonight.
His mind wandered with where this ship was going to take him, and what would happen.
He even thought, maybe he could become friends with his father.
That thought quickly evolved into fear,
what if he could never work up the courage to talk to him again.


--------------------------------
Brex
Bartender/Chef
U.S.S. Tiberius

[Glynnpeters] 3:02 pm: greetings Bar Tender
[Four Lights] 3:02 pm:      haha
[Four Lights] 3:02 pm: hi
[Glynnpeters] 3:02 pm: a glass of your best romulan ale
[Four Lights] 3:02 pm: what Romulan ale?     
[Four Lights] 3:02 pm: I don't think I know what you're talking about...
[Glynnpeters] 3:03 pm: well , it is banned
[Glynnpeters] 3:03 pm: ok
[Glynnpeters] 3:03 pm: ill have a mint julep
[Four Lights] 3:03 pm: I could handle that. be right up
[Glynnpeters] 3:03 pm: thank you , stout yeoman of the bar
[Four Lights] 3:03 pm: my pleasure, it's what I do.
[Glynnpeters] 3:04 pm: have a drink yourself , mine genial host
[Four Lights] 3:04 pm: sure I will be right back.
[Glynnpeters] 3:04 pm: an end of a busy day
[Glynnpeters] 3:05 pm: engineering has been CRAZY
[Glynnpeters] 3:05 pm: but great news...the holodeck is almost ready
[Four Lights] 3:06 pm: thats good. I already tried the smaller one on deck 4. pretty good for battle simulations.
[Glynnpeters] 3:06 pm: a few tweaks needed still
[Four Lights] 3:07 pm: I am excited to try the new one! I heard there is a few new features.
[Glynnpeters] 3:07 pm: it does have new programmes
[Four Lights] 3:07 pm: Please remind me of who you are again sir?
[Glynnpeters] 3:07 pm: I am Holodeck Intendant Gorjano Pedro
[Four Lights] 3:08 pm: sorry so many new faces, it's hard to keep them in line in my head. It's nice to meet you sir!
[Glynnpeters] 3:08 pm: and I was only kidding about the Romulan Ale...so do not report me.
[Four Lights] 3:09 pm: I don't remember you asking for anything     
[Four Lights] 3:09 pm: like that at least      it's between you  and me
[Four Lights] 3:09 pm: no worries.
[Four Lights] 3:09 pm: So, tell me about your life?
[Four Lights] 3:09 pm: I am a great listener.
[Glynnpeters] 3:09 pm: thank you...you are Brex yes?
[Four Lights] 3:10 pm: Yes, born and bred for bartending!
[Glynnpeters] 3:10 pm: i have heard of your listening skills in this quadrant you are well known
[Four Lights] 3:11 pm: they should be. this is my first posting to a star ship though, I jumped at the offer to work here.
[Glynnpeters] 3:11 pm: we are lucky to have you aboard
[Glynnpeters] 3:11 pm: i have been in star fleet for 2 years
[Four Lights] 3:12 pm: working your way though the ranks?
[Glynnpeters] 3:12 pm: i hope not
[Glynnpeters] 3:12 pm: i simply want to do my job quietly and efficiently
[Four Lights] 3:12 pm: ha ya, I tried the Star Fleet officer thing... didn't work out for me.
[Glynnpeters] 3:12 pm: no
[Glynnpeters] 3:13 pm: i am seeking my own path
[Four Lights] 3:13 pm: do you always want to be in starfleet or do you have an other future in mind
[Four Lights] 3:13 pm: ?
[Glynnpeters] 3:14 pm: i will go where the prophets allow me
[Four Lights] 3:14 pm: ahhh... the prophets... I have heard much about them, I had a good friend who was Bajorian
[Glynnpeters] 3:15 pm: now you have another friend
[Four Lights] 3:16 pm: I happen to have some Hasperat souffle direct from Bajor!
[Glynnpeters] 3:17 pm: i will trade it for a poker hologram program!
[Four Lights] 3:17 pm: I could part with that for that kind of a deal. It's a deal.
[Glynnpeters] 3:18 pm: mmmmm...nice...deep pan hasperat souffle is an art...
[Glynnpeters] 3:19 pm: spicy too
[Glynnpeters] 3:19 pm: eye wateringly so
[Four Lights] 3:20 pm: It's a flavor to get used to, but I aquired a taste for it when I went to Bajor for a year, I was seeking out new
ways to prepare food.
[Four Lights] 3:20 pm: Along with my friend...
[Glynnpeters] 3:20 pm: some like it spicier and brinier than others
[Four Lights] 3:20 pm: Jolene Kin was her name...
[Four Lights] 3:21 pm: that was years ago though... Do you have anyone important in you'
[Four Lights] 3:21 pm: r life.
[Glynnpeters] 3:22 pm: my sisters and brothers on bajor
[Glynnpeters] 3:23 pm: take this holo-program- it is a match up from the old casino in Manchester England
[Four Lights] 3:23 pm: Thanks, Pedro. I am excited to try it out.
[Glynnpeters] 3:24 pm: you are welcome
[Glynnpeters] 3:24 pm: well , duty calls
[Four Lights] 3:25 pm: Yes I hear a stew calling my name in the kitchen
[Four Lights] 3:25 pm: Farewell.
[Glynnpeters] 3:25 pm: farewell , brex...see you soon
[Four Lights] 3:25 pm: and whatever you do... don't punch a Klingon.

"Captain Bell" Avrik Newol, JAG Officer said, "I want to apologize for being gone at the first briefing."

"There is no need, but your intent is appreciated." the Captain replied, "Only one thing, you will be required to wear a federation uniform to all future briefings."

"Understood, but Captain if I could..." Officer Avrik asked, "My quarters are very cramped. I much preferred the room I was given as a guest." She smiled, "Is there any way I could talk you into allowing me to keep my previous quarters? With all of the work you are aware I have to do, I will be a better asset with a bigger room."

The Captain looked at her knowingly, but did not want to tip his hand. "You will stay in your crew quarters for the time being. Please feel free and visit with your crewmates, as you are now part of the crew  even as a civilian. We will have a private breifing early tomorrow."

"Sure Captain, whatever you say. I look forward to it." And Avrik turned toward the bar without another word to the Captain.

K'arath regarded the men around the table in quiet contemplation. Enoch was the prototypical Klingon, a warrior of honor and pride. He sensed a bit of tension between Enoch and Miyamoto, a human who was every bit as much a Klingon as Enoch...possibly ebven more than himself he mused. Miyamotot would be welcome in the house that his grandfather Kang had built with his deeds. Of Brex, well K'arath could tell that there was an edge to this blue man which he had yet to discern, but looked forward even more to the journey.

He rasied his mug of bloodwine in what had to be the 8th toast of the evening. "To our journey, the honor to serve with such men, Qapla!"
The mugs chimed as they came in contact over the table, all members repeating "Qapla!"

K'arath rose and gazed upon his crewmates....his new family. "Tonight is not a good night to die. Tomorrow we pepare for departure and we need rest." He rose and walked towrads the door. He looked back at the group sitting at the table and added, "That was an order," his brow ridges rising in amusement.

"...Curious."  Sevryll turned her eyes back to Ensign Morgen. "It is peculiar Ensign, yet I must abstain from speculation." She did not intend for her statement to make Morgen uncomfortable, but she sensed that her reply had caused him to regret the inquiry. " I have enjoyed our conversation Ensign." She said in an attempt to reassure him. " I am confident that your experience, and professionalism, will be of great benefit to this vessel. We will speak again soon...If you will excuse me, I have a personal matter to attend to."   

Sevryll had left her children sleeping in their new quarters, and did not wish them to be alone longer than necessary. She stood up from her seat at the bar, and wove her way through the crowded lounge...
----------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
U.S.S. Tiberius

Rayne was eager to meet his Chief; overhearing that he would be in 5 Forward later in the evening he arranged to be there.  Upon arriving he saw Commander K'arath at a table with others, obviously enjoying their Klingon-like comraderie, and decided it would be best not to intrude.

Not really knowing anyone enough to approach them, he ordered a tame drink, located a seat in an unoccupied area and began simply observing the crew.

The Couselor tucked the book that Dr. Peterson gave him under his arm and headed toward the turbolift.  He would have much rather spent the evening in his quarters after his confrontation with Brex.  Of course he knew that some of the best moments of opportunity were to be had in five forward.  This is where the crew let their hair down.. well at least most of them.  Everyone was just getting to know each other, how they worked together would be put to the test when the mission actually started.  This visit to five forward may look like a time to gaze out the window, sip on a vinegar rootbeer and read an ancient book, but it was really a fact finding mission for the Counselor. 

His meeting with Ensign Armus was at 0700 tomorrow morning, and he had no idea what caused the juvenile behavior yesterday.  He could only guess, and as Margon had experienced, guessing and assuming never worked well for him.  "It's not my place to judge, but I do have to make sure this guy can work with everyone on board.  His XO was probably very upset with him, and he is a Klingon.  The writing was on the wall.  From his service record the ensign had troubles with "non-humans" so the Counselor thought that he may not even be able to reach the man.  "He's got a rough set of variables here... he had heard of an Earth term "Redneck" mentioned in some disiplinary file, and some other comments from his supervisors were less than encouraging.  At least he is a miracle worker in the fixit department. His work comes with glowing reccomendations, his behavior is another issue. 

As the counselor looked at his information pad and reviewed ensign Armus's service record his eyes focused on something he almost overlooked.  The startdate.  "Oh my, he muttered to himself. "Ensign Armus, his brother died one year ago yesterday..."  This might explain things...

The turbolift door opened and a tipsy Klingon fell on to the floor.  A second one charged in after him and picked up the first laughing heartily.  "Watch it blue man!  He's had a little too much bloodwine!" The turbolift air became stale..  "Oh this is going to an interesting assignment he thought.  "I guess I need to clear things up with Brex and speak to him about synthahol-- we can't afford to have the officers on this ship not at their best."  Then he laughed, I'm not sure I could ever convince a Klingon to lay off the bloodwine... but then again, this wasn't a Klingon ship, it was a Federation Starship.  Sometime soon the crew was going to have to take things seriously. 

He walked into Five Forward and looked nervously around for Brex...he didn't see him right off the bat, so he found a quiet little cranny and opened his book.. Psychiatric Nursing: Biological and Behavioral Concepts by Deborah Antai-Otong-- the chapter fell open to page 34- Interpersonal Social Theories... "My oh my" he thought as he shook his head...


______
Counselor Margon
U.S.S. Tiberius

As K'arath made his way to the door, he spotted Ensign Rayne sitting alone. He altered course and approached the young man. Rayne, upon seeing the looming encounter, shot up nervously from his seat.

"Sir! Ensign Rayne reporting for..."

"At ease, Ensign, this is not a formal inspection," K'arath placing his hand on Rayne's shoulder and gently placing him back in his chair. "I just wanted to come over and welcome you...."

"Sorry Sir! Won't happen again!" Rayne blurted out, interrupting the Chief. K'arath expression changed from one of amusement to annoyance quickly and he could see Rayne was startled. The kid's just a lttle nervous, he thought.

"Ensign, I understand you have an interest in weapons systems. I too share that interest. I have been doing some research work on phaser efficiency, power output, and modulation. I think that running phaser power through the warp drive is becoming outdated technology and want to advance the field further. Although not a ship of war, I expect the Tiberius to be the best prepared ship in the fleet should we run into trouble. This is not a Galaxy Class pleasure yacht. I will send my data to you and look forward to your report." Now let's see how motivated he really is, K'arath thought.

Ensign Mayko Armus made it through the Captains briefing in a slight haze, but he was glad the nausea had passed.

After the briefing, Engineering Chief K’arath approached Mayko and was not a happy Klingon. He assigned Mayko to manual cleaning of the crew rest rooms on Deck 17, which he was currently doing. 

Apparently, the Automated Sterilization System was not up and running yet after the re-fit. It would take a couple weeks before the maintenance technicians would get to it. But that was OK, he liked working with his hands no matter what the chore â€" a trait his farmer father instilled into him.

As he scrubbed the toilet with a long handled toilet brush, he thought over his one sided conversation with the First Officer, Commander Quinn, earlier in the Brig. Even though Mayko couldn’t get a word in edgewise, we found Quinn very soothing and tranquil. Mayko was probably better off, he doubted that Quinn would have appreciated his excuse of spending a drunken, fun-filled week long bender with a pair of Betazoid twins. He was very appreciative of the way he handled it. On his last assignment, he spent the first week in the Brig.

He moved on to the next stall, scrubbing away. He wasn’t looking forward to his appointment with Counselor Margon in the morning. Yet another shrink to convince that he was alright. And he is Bolian, he had never had to deal with that race before. If he is lucky, the ship will be attacked by hostile forces in the morning and the appointment will get cancelled. But that will never happen while still in dock.

He completed his current stall and backed out carrying bucket and brush, one stall remaining. He opened the final stall and almost wretched at the site and smell. “Damn those Klingons!”

Ensign Mayko Armus

=/\= Attention Crew =/\=

The Ship's speakers flared into life as the voice of Captain Bell came over the intercom.

"I have just been informed by the refit crew that they expect us to be fully operational and ready for testing in 48 hours. Until then your standing orders are to prepare your departments and places of work for the coming tour of duty. Although we will be based out of this very Starbase we may be gone for weeks or even months at a time.

Department heads please be prepared for a briefing on Sunday in my ready room when our first mission will be explained.

Bell Out."

Captain Gilbert Bell
USS Tiberius

((OOC: Ok, sorry for the small post, my boss at work has been taken ill and I'm now having to attend a conference tomorrow in his place. I'll be back on Sunday though, see you all then.))

"...I will send my data to you and look forward to your report." Commander K'arath finished, looking at Rayne expectantly.

Rather surprised, Rayne tried to come up with an appropriate reply.
"I'm not sure I'm the most qualified of your crew to be checking your work, sir, but I appreciate the opportunity to assist you in any way possible, so I thank you.  I will do my best to live up to your expectations.

With your qualifications and in command of Engineering, I have no doubt that this will be the best ship in the fleet, should trouble arise."

Quote from: Jen on February 08, 2007, 09:18:58 PM
“It is peculiar Ensign, yet I must abstain from speculation.”

Well, Morgen though, that was indeed the kind of answer you could expect when asking a Vulcan a difficult question... Non-committal... and logical.

Anyway, he would find a way to ask that  question to Commander Quinn or even to the JAG officer herself.  One way or the other, he would have his curiosity satisfied. After all, learning about other beings, as much as about the physical universe, was his personal objective in Starfleet!

He would just have to create the proper opportunity...

Lt. Peters walked back to his quarters on the Starbase with a slight stagger. He had enjoyed the ribbing he and Talon Bowers had shared, he had had a few pints and was quite drunk. He reached his quarters, walked through and said hello to his boys. He slumped onto his bed in his clothes and thought about tomorrow.
  Tomorrow he would move to his new home on the Tiberius. He made a point of meeting up with the rest of his security crew. He was thinking about these things when he fell into a deep sleep.

Lt. Li Sameria, Operations
Hallways of the USS Tiberius
Evening of the Captain's Breifing.

It was getting late.  There was no more denying it but simply put there were no longer things to do besides sleep.  Li had left her post on the bridge a short while ago.  She had gone there directly after the briefing to begin reviewing duty rosters and the names of the various heads of department aboard the ship.  If she was going to manage all that the operations station required, she would need to know who to go to in any specific emergency.  Delegation, Cpt. Warwick had insisted, was the hallmark of any good operations officer.

Still, having reviewed the rosters, double checked the names, and run a short start up simulation for her station she had done all she could for the night, and really had nothing left to do but socialize or sleep.

She made her way down the various halls of the ship, taking in the various locales of interest and the points she should become familiar with.  Eventually her feet lead her to the doors to the rapidly-becoming-infamous Five Forward.  A nice Irish Coffee would end the day well, she reasoned silently standing a few meters from the entrance.  An ensign came out, the opening doors filling the hallway with the joyous noise of the crew getting to know each other.  Quickly, Li turned and began to key in semi-random commands into the access station she was standing near to give the impression that she had a purpose for standing there in the hall.

"Lieutenant," the ensign acknowledged as he passed with a polite nod.  She nodded in return but continued to issue commands.  Once the ensign had rounded the hall she paused and cleared the entries she had made.

Sighing she turned and started to head to her quarters.  Perhaps tonight was not the night to be social; perhaps a bit of light reading and a warm "hot chocolate" would suffice to see her into tomorrow.

Yes, tomorrow she would go about making social nicities of a new crew.

Lt. Li Sameria
Operations

As she advanced towards the exit, Sevryll collided with Averick Nowol. "Pardon me" apologized the Science Officer. Sevryll recognized Averick from the manifests she memorized earlier in the day. Averik's position diverged from the directory in stark contrast to the other crewmembers. The assignment of a JAG Officer to a Starship, was unconventional to say the least. Sevryll attempted to move past the petite Bajoran, but Averik's next question halted her forward progression.

"And you are?" she requested with a cheerful smile.

"Of course...I apologize.  I am Lt. Commander Sevryll." She replied and politely.

Averik leaned right and then left in a pseudo inspection of the commander's ears. "You're a Vulcan.." she stated with  a lighthearted chuckle.

Despite her long-term relationship with a human, Sevryll found it difficult to interpret sarcasm. She wasn't sure whether the woman was attempting to make a joke or simply mocking her. She couldn't help but arch an eyebrow.   

"An obvious deduction." She replied.

"Well Sev, I'm happy that in addition to myself, there is yet another qualified woman onboard the Tiberius— can I get you a drink?" The Bjoran inquired enthusiastically.

"My name is Sevryll" she replied in an attempt to correct Averik's apparent misunderstanding. "Thank you, but perhaps another time."

"I've heard Five Forward isn't half as good as the Enterprise's Ten Forward" she giggled. Her laugh trailed when the attempt at humor was met with a blank stare.

"Thaaaat was a joke...You know... five is half of ten? Yeah...I'm sorry, I forgot, Vulcan's don't laugh...do they?" She asked as her eyes glinted with mischief.

"I appreciate the attempt." Sevryll said in an effort to be courteous. She wanted to be polite, but at the same time she had to check on her children.

The lounge was becoming rowdy as the Klingons slapped their table and sang songs of conquest in celebration of their new assignments. Averick had been mouthing the words merrily. She loved Klingon Opera...her smile spread wider as the Klingons roaring laughter signaled the end of the song.

"It was nice to meet you Averik. If you will excuse me..."

"Where's the fire?" she asked with a grin.

" I apologize for my haste, but I must be leaving. I put my children down for a nap before the briefing...That was an hour ago. They should be waking within the next half hour."

"You brought children aboard?" Averik was not accustomed to life on a Starship and was genuinely surprised by Sevryll's admission.

"Yes." She answered. Sevryll was beginning to sense the Averik was a lonesome individual who merely wished to share a conversation with a fellow female. She could see how her forward nature, might be misinterpreted by others as... 'pushy'.

"How old are they?" she asked

"They are two-years-old." Sevryll responded.

"A pair of two-year-olds. I don't envy you."

"Despite their age, they are well behaved." Sevryll replied defensively.

"Oh, of course. Don't get me wrong; I love children. I've always found them more honest and accepting than adults."

"Indeed." Sevryll said, edging her way towards the door.

Averik smiled to herself. She knew that Sevryll was trying her best to be polite and decided she should probably let the poor woman leave. "I would love to meet them. Maybe I'll see you around."

"Yes that would be nice.  It was good to meet you." Sevryll nodded respectfully. The doors hissed open and she stepped out into the hall and to the nearest turbo-lift.
----------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
U.S.S. Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

Ensign Enoch Iblis, Helm and Navigation
Hallways of the USS Tiberius
Evening of the Captain's Briefing

Enoch walked out of 5-Forward.  It had been a good evening, but Enoch thought perhaps he had been a bit too loose after all. 

Almost immediately Enoch saw a small Bajoran in the hallway, trying to look busy.  This would be Lt. Li Sameria, the Operations Officer.

Operations Officers, they were tricky.  It was a difficult but necessary position.  He knew part of Sameria's position would be his backup.  He would have to work with her to some degree.

Enoch approached.  "Lieutentant, I am Enoch Iblis, the Helmsman."

Samiera looked up at him, perhaps somewhat started.  "Yes, I have seen your bio.  Nice to meet you Ensign."

There was a silence. 

Finally Samiera spoke.  "Have you checked your systems on the bridge?  What is the status of console?"

Enoch relaxed.  Right to the point!  Probably because he was a Klingon, many people went into this mode with him. 

"All is satisfactory.  I have run my checks and simulations, all are functioning normally.  I will run another check in the morning.  There are a couple of new protocols due to the retrofit that may not be in your documentation.  It would be acceptable for me to go through it with you at your leisure."

Lt. Samiera was pleased with this report.  The Klingon was offering to show her some new advanced features on his console?  When she had seen that there would be a Klingon on the bridge, she had groaned.  She had expected resistance. 

"Excellent, Ensign!  Thank you, I will take you up on that offer."

Enoch was tired.  "Very well.  Goodnight, Lieutenant."

"Goodnight, Ensign Iblis."

Quinn made his way around the room chatting here and there. He was glad to see that everyone seemed to be getting along nicely. After an hour he decided he would head to the bridge and check out the progress of the re-fit. As Quinn was walking down the hallway towards the turbolift he ran into an Ensign working on one of the interface terminals. As he walked by, the Ensign looked up and almost dropped his scanning device.

::standing at attention:: "Commander!!"

:: trying not to laugh:: "At ease Ensign..."

"Took sir... Ensign Nicolas Took"

" Yes Nicolas Took, born Austin Texas, 2355. Graduated top of his class, mother's name is Alice, father's name is Jack..."

" Yes sir... how did you.."

::laughing:: " I have memorized the entire crews profile.. it's a bad habit of mine since my counselor days."

" You were a counselor sir? "

" Yes on my first mission on board the USS Isannah, served as her chief counselor for three years, then as her third in command for another three years.. she is great ship."

"Was it hard to leave?"

"It was, but I knew it was time and when Captain Bell offered me the position as his XO I knew that I couldn't refuse."

::Ensign Took looked at the interface he was working on.::

"I'm sorry Ensign, carry on with your duties."

"Thank you sir.... and thank you for the chat."

Quinn nodded and continued down the hallway to the turbolift. He entered and said "Bridge". The doors slid shut and a soft humming began as the turbolift traveled towards it destination. A few moments later the doors open up to the Bridge. Quinn steps out of the turbolift and surveys the bridge of his new assignment. There were a few crewmen working on various things, running diagnostics and such. One of the crew looked up and saw him.

"Commander on the Bridge"

Everyone stopped and stood at attention. Quinn raised his hand and said "At ease, continue with your work". Everyone went back to what they were doing. Quinn walked around checking out the layout of the bridge. Of course he had memorized everything but it was another thing seeing it all for the first time. As he walked by the Ops station he noticed the three chairs in the middle and knew the one on the left of the Captain's chair was his. He walked over to it and ran his hand over the top. He took a deep breath then sat down, a smile came across his face. He pulled the terminal that was attached to his seat towards him and began going over recent ship diagnostics.

Commander Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

Sevryll helped her daughter, M'Rynn, change out of her sleeping attire and into something more presentable. Her son, who was already dressed, was watching the shuttlecraft coming and going from the spaceport, just within view of their cabin view ports. "Where we going?" N'Val asked in a sleepy voice.

Sevryll guided M'Rynn's other foot into a pant leg and pulled them up over a little jump suit. "We are going to my office on Deck 14. Would you like to assist me in my duties today?" She asked him.

N'Val nodded slowly, yet his eyes remained fixed on the shuttlecraft moving about outside the ship.

Sevryll tenderly brushed M'rynn's wispy, black hair then pushed a few stray locks from her eyes. When she was finished, she stood up from where she knelt and held out her hand. "There," she said "are you ready to see where I work?"

"Yes!" the little girl eagerly replied. She took her mother's hand and the three of them walked out the door.

"Deck 14." Sevryll spoke aloud. The turbolift rushed them down 12 floors before slowing to a stop. The doors hissed opened and they stepped out into the corridor. The children had never been on a starship before—everything they glimpsed became an instant allure to them, particularly individuals who were different in appearance from themselves.

Everyone who passed acknowledged the Commander and smiled at the little ones gazing back at them through wide eyes. M'rynn occasionally clasp her mother's leg for security, she was more timid than her brother.... a trait her mother hoped she would soon grow out of.

They rounded a bend and found The Chief Science Officer's Office.
"Here we are." Sevryll said.

After Sevryll finished testing the survey equipment and running her diagnostics, they headed over to the Sickbay to see Dr. Peterson.

Once inside the medical facility, they could see Dr. Peterson and Counselor Margon through the doctor's transparent office walls. The two men both looked up from their work, nodded to one another and proceeded out the office to meet their new patients in the common area.

"Hello Commander." The doctor greeted her with a handshake and winked at the little girl who hid behind her mother's leg.

"Hi!" Answered N'Val before his mother had a chance to answer the doctor with her own greeting.

"Good morning doctor." Sevryll said.

"Well, who do we have here?" the doctor smiled down at the Vulcan boy with a beaming face.

"N'Val." The boy answered.

"Its good to finally meet you N'Val." He patted the boy on the head and leaned to the left to see the little girl who still had a firm grasp on Sevryll's right leg. The commander's arm encircled her timid little girl for reassurance.

"Hello." The doctor said in a softer tone. M'Rynn had her thumb in her mouth and had to remove it to answer.  "Hi." She whispered, almost too quietly to perceive.

Doctor Peterson's eyes squinted as his smile broadened. He turned to wave the counselor over.

"Commander, have you met Counselor Margon?"

"I have not." Replied Sevryll.

"Good morning Counselor." She said.


---------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
U.S.S. Tiberius
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Thank you Lt. Commander Sevryll for being so prompt I am sure it is just an oversite which happens from time to time when staff gets transfered to new assignments.

My nurse will run a few bio scans on the children and their is a questionairre you can fill out at your leisure which will cover your childrens past medical history of the usual illnesses and allergies ect..

When you have some free time I would like to talk to you about your previous archeology digs experiences as archeology is a hobby of mine as well.

I have a book I wrote on Iconian history which I thought you might find facinating and would be most grateful for your observatons

All seems to be in order here for the moment and with your permission I would like to give the children a lollypop for being such good patients. Its a 20 century candy which i find children really enjoy and helps make Drs. appointments not so scarry..

You can return the questionnaire at your earliest convienience and I look forward to your comments on my work on Iconian History.

If you would excuse me, now I do have some other medical issues to attend to so perhaps I will see you in five forward later in the day.

 "Thanks Doctor, and good morning" said Couselor Margon as the doctor walked away

The children gazed up at him with wide eyes.  They had never seen anyone so, well, blue before. In fact both of them were sucking on brightly colored lolipops.  N'vall kept looking at his bright blue lolipop and then at the counselor and back again.

"Greetings Counselor" said Commander Sevryll. Counselor Margon shook The Commander's hand.  "I am Counselor Margon, pleased to meet you..."  He looked down at the children.

"So these are the twins I have heard so much about"  Margon crouched down and attempted to make the vulcan greeting with his hand.  He couldn't quite get his fingers to part like they should.  In doing so, the palms of his hands were exposed, and they were bright blue, much brigher than the rest of his skin tone. 

N'vall said very matter of factly- "you are blue" 

Commander Sevryll quickly gazed at N'vall and in her eyes said "hush" but the counselor was not the least bit uncomfortable. 

"That is right young man, I'm glad to see you know your colors!  I don't have any hair either" he said smiling.  "I'm a Bolian.. and you are a???"

N'Val gazed up at his mom.

"Mother?"

"Answer him N'Val, we have disussed this before." said Severyll patiently as if to show off the young boy's cognitive abilities.

"We are Vulcan and um.. uh  hew... hew..." He looked up at is mother once more..his eyebrow raised.

His sister whispered "human"  and then giggled as Margon made a funny face trying to coax out the answer from her brother.

Severyll again patiently nudged M'Rynn, she did not want to stop the children from identifying their heritage, and they weren't old enough to decide which culture would be more dominant in their lives.  Her little girl giggling made her secretly want to smile, but this wasn't the place or time for that.  She introduced them, "This is M'Rynn and N'Val"

"Well it's great to meet you Mr and Miss Vulcan/human!" Margon said and then laughed.  Looking over his shoulder and raising his voice he said "What, I don't get a lolipop Doctor?"

The children both smiled and N'Vall offered his candy to Margon.

"Thanks, but you go ahead", it reminded him of Brex when he was their age.  He laughed again.   As counselor Margon laughed, it was a robust and catchy laugh. 

Sevryll was impressed by the counselor's ability to coax her daughter out of her reclusive state. He was a kind man and M'Rynn felt comfortable with him. Even though she was but two-years-old, M'Rynn's mother was concerned that her daughter's shyness would negatively affect her developing personality. M'Rynn's introverted tendencies had only just emerged. Sevryll suspected that these propensities were the result of stress caused by the change in living arrangements. Sevryll had considered melding with the toddler in an attempt to reassure the child, but she was wary of attempting such a technique one so young. And then there was the fact that she was half human-there was no way to predict how M'Rynn would respond. But the good Counselor offered another option, which encouraged Sevryll immensely. Perhaps she should discuss the possibility of a regular office visit. Yet for now the greater urgency was childcare....and the blue tongues the twins now proudly displayed to one another. Was this alteration permanent? She bent down to examine the tongue N'Val exhibited for the Counselor's admiration.

----------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
U.S.S. Tiberius
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"Don't worry, it wears off in a few hours" the counselor chuckled, unlike this... " He rubbed his bald blue head and tickled M'Rynn.  "wait till they try the grape flavor!"  He smiled and winked at N'Val.  The children were getting a kick out of the counselor.

Margon stood up and faced the Commander.

"I thought I would mention that we have a very capable educational department on board Commander.  With the twins being so advanced for their age we have a special program for them.  I alerted one of the teachers of your arrival, and she can arrange child care for you, that is if you aren't going to have a nanny for the children.  What are your plans?  I would imagine it will be a challenge having small children and being in charge of the Science station.  Captain Bell is a dedicated man and there are times that you are going to be away from the children for long periods of time.  I know of a few staff on the Starbase that you could contact before we leave if you are intrested in more permanent arrangements and I hear one of them is a young female Vulcan.   I just want you to be aware of your options.  As always, I am here to help you and your children.  Perhaps a weekly visit would be good for all of us for the first few months?"

Bell sat in the chair in his ready room looking over reports from the refit crew on the status of various upgrades and conversions. The last few weeks had been some the busiest in his life so far but he was relishing the chance of his new crew after the incident.

He felt a lot better than he did before his enforced leave, but he still felt pangs of guilt when he thought of those he had left behind. Maybe he should go speak to the Councilor some time soon, Starfleet had given him the authority to reveal the details of his previously classified mission to the Councilor if he deemed it required.

=/\= Beep =/\=

An alert on his screen broke him from his wandering thoughts. Bringing his concentration to focus he noticed the communique from Starfleet Command and opened the files contained.

"Please state access code."

Gilbert placed his finger on the access pad.
"Authorisation Bell Alpha four two Epsilon."

The file opened and, as he expected, his mission briefing documents began to stream into his personal PADD. After scanning the documents he raised an eyebrow before storing the files for future reference.

-/\- Chirp -/\-

"Enter." The door to the ready room opened and in strode Brex as Bell had expected.

"Reporting as ordered Captian!"
Brex cracked a smile waving both hands out as if to offer himself in greeting.

"Always the joker I see Mr Brex. Please, take a seat."

"Thank you Captain." Brex sat down with a slightly nervous edge to his usually flamboyant persona.

"Don't worry Mr Brex, you're not in trouble. At least not yet. I mearly would like to ask a favour."

Brex cocked his head to one side slightly and cracked a small sly grin.
"Is that right Captain? What is it that I can do for you?"

Gilbert pushed a small access panel and opened his drawer, pulling out a small Padd, handing it to the Bolian.

"I understand you worked as a barkeep at the Academy for around 18 months before this posting. I would be very appreciative if you would take a look at this personnel file and see what you can find out for me about this individual.

She dropped out of Starfleet not long into her first commission and hasn't been seen since. I believe she may have frequented your establishment in her Cadet days."

"But Mr Captain, I'm but a humble bartender. How would you expect me to conduct a person search?"

Bell raised an eyebrow, leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingers together.
"As I said earlier Mr Brex, I hand picked this crew for various reasons. I'm sure you will......... Find a way."

Brex looked down at the Padd. If he was slightly unsettled by the captain's words before his stomach sank even further when he read the name on the padd.
"Mr Captain? This Ensign's name was Eliza Bell, is she....."

"Yes, she is. And I'd rather you not use the past tense when speaking of my family. Now I assume you can keep this to yourself Mr Brex? It'd be a shame for the Admiral to find the 12 cases of Romulan ale that seem to have found their way into Jeffries Tube 13-Alpha.

Dismissed."

--------------------------------
Captain Gilbert Bell,
Commanding Officer,
USS Tiberius

" Thank you counselor, yet I am uncertain a fellow Vulcan would be my first choice in a caretaker. It is essential that the individual that cares for them, is capable of understanding and coping with their inability to suppress emotion. I do not wish them to be negatively criticized for the more...human aspects of their personalities . However, if you are able to assure me that this Vulcan female is experienced in caring for children like my own, and that she will not judge them for their mixed lineage, then I will trust your professional recommendation."

----------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
U.S.S. Tiberius
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Ensign Enoch Iblis, Helmsman
Bridge of the USS Tiberius
Morning After the Captain's Briefing

Enoch Iblis entered the bridge.  He began to walk to his control station when the door to the Captain's Ready Room opened and Brex walked out.

"Enoch!  Good morning.  Up for some holocombat today?" 

Brex seemed to think that they were already fast friends.  That didn't bother Enoch too much.  "If I can finish my report for the Captain, yes, I would like that."

He said goodbye to Brex and walked to the Captain's Ready Room.  He waited for the chime.  The door opened, and Enoch heard Bell's voice.  "Come."

Enoch walked in.  Bell was there, behind his desk, obviously very busy.

"Ensign Enoch Iblis, reporting for duty."

Bell put down his pad and sat back in his chair.  "I was wondering when you'd show up.   Welcome to the Tiberius, Ensign."

"Thank you."  Enoch didn't know much about Bell, and didn't really know what to expect or what to say.

"Ensign, your previous Captain gave you a glowing review.  And I trust Captain Stein, so here you are.  You are the best helsman Doug had ever seen.  But..."

Enoch groaned inwardly.  He knew what was coming. 

"Ensign, Doug tells me that you never integrated with his crew.  You never got to know anyone.  You were always a bit of a mystery to him.  And I don't like mysteries."

Bell got up and walked over to Enoch.

"If I don't know you, if my team doesn't know you, we cannot predict what you will do in a crisis situation.  Haven't you always wondered why you are still an Ensign?  Why you keep getting passed up?

"Therefore, Ensign Enoch, I am inviting you to my poker game on Tuesday night.  Do you know how to play poker, Ensign?"

"No sir."

Bell smiled.  "Then learn.  I'll see you then.  Dismissed."

Enoch turned and left.  He went to his console, nodded at Lt. Sevryll to his left, and opened up his library window.  In the search field he typed, "Poker." 

Oddly, he wasn't displeased with this unusual order from Captain Bell.

Brex walked into his new quarters. It was warm, too warm for his comfort.

"Computer, bring down the temperature 5 degrees, and dim the lights."

-Beep-

The room hissed, the lights dimmed a bit, Brex smiled.

-Corrections complete-

Brex sat down to a desk, on the right of a quite full room. There wasn't much storage in 5 forward, so Brex decided to allow some stuff to be stored in his quarters. He was not aware it would be this much.

"Computer," Brex sat down as he started to talk, "Start recording a letter."

-Chrip—Beep-

"Record when ready."

Brex put his hands over his head and ru bbed his ridge.  He started to speak.

"Dear Mr. Conners, it's been a while...  but I have something to ask of you. Remember Eliza Bell,  the Eliza Bell?"

Brex bit his lip, he shook his head in disagreement.

"Computer, delete. Start Personal Log."

"I can't do this..."

He said,

"I remember her...quite well... I just couldn't tell the Captain... I don't think he would be happy to know what she was doing... I never made the connection before... Bell... Bell! Eliza Bell! No matter worrying about it now... I just have to find her... that's all he wants... he won't ask questions. I hope. No one can know about what happened... no one. Computer, erase log entry. "

Brex got up quickly our of his chair, memories kept on getting brought up in his mind. The name Eliza Bell was a very tender subject... Brex looked at the computer, and noticed it was already time for people to start heading to 5 forward.

Brex started to walk out the door. Then he looked back. He spotted a picture of his Father and him from 50 years ago. His eyes lingered on the picture next to it, a Bajorian Women. His attention quickly went back on his mission, 5 forward.

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

Brex
Bartender/Chef
U.S.S. Tiberius

K'arath stood at the Chief Engineer consoul next to the warp core bathed in it's radiant blue swirls of color. The gentle thrum of the warp core being put through it's drydock diagnostics was soothing as always. He looked around main engineering and took stock of his staff all diligently preping their stations for a scheduled departure in 48 hours.

Ensign Morgan seemed to be talking K'arath's challenge top heart and was reviewing phaser modulation simulations while quietly humming to himself. Ensign Myako Armus stood over at the structural integrity position. Although highly qualified for his position, he had proven very standoffish with K'arath and the half Bajoran holdeck intendent Pedro Gorjano who sat near his post. He seemed to get along well with Lt. Beyerhon, the other senior engineer on the deck. He'd have to have a chat with Jack about that.

"Direct hit, enemy vessel has hull breaches on multiple decks, shields down, weapons out, zero manueverability, listing to port and drifting. "

" Very well mister Nagumo" Commander Quin snapped his order crisply. "Secure from Tatical drill."

" Aye sir. " Nagumo disengaged the battle simulations mode of the tactical station. " Tactical simulation mode terminated, all ships controls returned to normal. "

There was a moment of silence as the Commander reviewd the data on his armrest readout. Then he spoke calmly.

" You results are very good Lieutenant, an improvement over your previous best score which was impressive to begin with. What do you credit your success too this afternoon?"

" I can only take a small credit Commander. " Nagumo replied honestly. " The modifications and improvements made by our new Chief Engineer allowed me to respond faster and to deliver more phaser energy to the target than previously. Most importantly he made signifigant improvements on the reload speed of the torpedo launchers which enabled me to get off a full extra volley from any previous attempt at that particular tacitcal scenario."

Quinn smiled, but shook his head no. " Not so fast mister Nagumo, your not going to deflect all of the credit for your performance. You knew exactly what modifications had been made and exactly how to take advantage of them. That is no small feat considering how little time you have been back on board since the modifications were made."

"I have spent much time with our new chief engineer commander, both on and off duty. We have spoken in great depth on how I could use his modifications to help the Tiberius in battle. He may be an engineer sir, but he is still a Klingon and he knows that every part of this ship must work as one for us to prevail.."

" So I see Lieutennant. I am glad to see the crew working so closely together so soon. "  He turned back to his console and programed another series of commands. " Lets see how these new modifications help you out of this one." The commander smiled broadly as the bridge alert klaxon screamed out.

< Red Alert, Tactical Drill...   Red Alert, Tactical Drill...>

Moto quickly reviewed his terminal and took a deep breath. His scanner showed a Jem Haddar Battleship on long range scanners flanked by two attack ships. Nearly a five to one advantage in tonnage , four to one in firepower, and three to one in numbers. It should be a hopless scenario.

"Is this your Kobayashi Maru, Commander?"

"I call this my Good day to die senario" Quinn replied, still smiling. "Lets see just how good you really are."

Moto smiled and began to run the simulation through, win or loose, it was going to be an challenging afternoon.

The Counselor pulled up the information pad and squinted.  "Either this is getting smaller, or I need to visit the Dr. and get my eyes checked." He rubbed the ridge on his forehead.  Then he constructed an email to Commander Sevryll.   

Dear Commander,

I contacted the starbase and inquired of the qualified personel that had experience in working with children.  They had two people that I thought you might find acceptable.

1.  Veris- She is a young Vulcan female that has been raised on Earth.  She enjoys working with smaller children and is very active in the Vulcan and human arts.  She is intelligent and very personable.  She comes highly reccomended by a Vulcan Admiral at Starfleet.  She worked for him while his children were small at Starfleet Command.

2.  Charlong Troleen- An older Betazoid male who is a retired teacher.  He specializes in inter species interactions and education.  His wife has recently passed away and would love to go on a deep space mission and further his studies.  His experience comes from five of his own children and sixteen grandchildren.  He is very telepathic and uses his skills to bring out the best in the children he works with.  He is not afraid of getting his hands dirty, and is easy to get along with.

Either way, I have arranged ajoining quarters for you, as there is a single dwelling unit the the West of your quarters.

Let me know if you want either of these candidates and I can arrange a quick meeting with you as we will be leaving shortly.  Time is of the essence.

On a personal note, I have a very special treat for your twins.  I have composed a song for them on my Martra.  It is missing two parts that I would love them to try and finish.  I will explain later.  Contact me when you are settled in and want the children to expand their musical knowlege.

See you soon,

Counselor Margon.

*beep*

"Enter" said Margon.

"I have something here for you sir.  They said you needed a thumb print in order to keep it"  a young ensign said holding a curious looking crate with holes in it.  He kept looking through the holes to catch a glimpse of what was in the box.

"Ahhh!  I was expecting this!"  Thank you Ensign.  Margon put his thumb on the pad and took the box from the man. The Ensign stood there for a moment as if to see what it was. 

"That will be all Ensign, thank you."  said the Counselor.

With that he walked the Ensign to the door and pushed the button.  The doors closed with the speechless Ensign on the other side. 

The counselor smiled and a small tear fell down his cheek.

Lt. Li Sameria - Cheif of Operations
Afternoon, first day of active duty
USS Tiberius

Sameria's brow knitted in mild frustration.  Her prelaunch tests were not going as planned.  From her station she should have instant access to the secondary engineering systems, but for some reason she was having a horrid time navigating the system directories.  It was taking her far to long to get into the key command routines, and nothing seemed to be falling into place.

She paused a moment, and took off her glasses.  Producing a small cloth from her uniform pocket she gave them a quick wipe and replaced them on her nose.  She transfered the data she had quickly to a PADD and set out for engineering to see if there was a way to streamline the interface from the bridge.  Or at the least she could take the time off the bridge and review these duty logs.

She checked in with the XO and started towards engineering.

((OOC:  no clue what to post so there I go.  Someone grab me and do something interesting))

Lt. Li Sameria

Communications Reply to Counselor Margon from Lt. Commander Sevryll:

Thank you for your effort in this matter Counselor. It was a difficult decision to make, but I have decided that Charlong Troleen would be the suitable choice. His background and experience are well suited to my children's educational needs. Please arrange a meeting.

I am certain N'Val and M'Rynn will enjoy the composition you have arranged. They quite enjoy dancing and singing—I am certain they would delight in assisting you in completing the song. Perhaps we could arrange a time to visit you tomorrow.

Regards,
Lt. Commander Sevryll
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Her next message was sent to Doctor Peterson. In it she thanked him for the book and indicated that she planed to head to Five Forward for a cup of coffee, if he cared to join her. She attached the completed questionnaire to the message and sent the communiqué.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sevryll stood up from her desk, in her quarters, and strode across the room to check on her children. They were napping and would remain so for the next hour and a half. She adjusted the sensors within her quarters to monitor the children's sleep stages and  then programmed those sensors to alert her when N'Val and M'Rynn slipped out of REM Sleep. She ran a quick analysis of the toddler's current sleeping stage to calibrate the program—it registered lower frequency delta brain waves in both individuals. This result indicated they had both entered the deepest sleep stage—Sevryll determined it was now safe for her to go to Five Forward for a Latte. Her shift would not begin until the next day, so she picked up the book Doctor Peterson gave her and headed out into the corridor.

The tall Vulcan woman sat alone at a table nearest the observation ports. She watched as Type M1 Sphinx Workpods ferried the last remaining cargo from the spaceport to the Tiberius. After a few minutes she turned her attention the doctor's book. The cover read: Transgressing the Boundaries: The History of Ancient Iconians. She took a sip of her Latte and opened the volume to the first page.

Lt. Commander Severyll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
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As I Sat reading some medical Journal a Beep at my door startled me out of my deep thoughts, I waved for  the young crewman to come in with the iconian artifact I was expecting.

It was an unusual triangular shape with a inner blue green pulsating glow, it had markings on it that resembled ancient a long dead ancient vulcan dialect..

I will send an Message to Lt. Commander Severyll asking for her help.

Lt. Commander Severyll would you please drop by sick bay as I have an Iconian Artifact that has markings on it that resemble a long dead ancient vulcan dialect. I am hoping you will be able to help me decyper this and thought you might be able to identify the metal composition as I am unable to identify it.

I thought you might find this interesting due to your archeology background.

After sending this message I sat their contemplating the the shape of this artifact wondering what mysteries it held and thought that Counselor Margon might find the artifact interesting and perhaps could get some of the older students to study it, and in the process perhaps learn something about iconian history and broaden their knowledge of ancient civilization.

I sent Counselor Margon an invitation to come examine the artifact and get his input on my idea with Lt. Commander Severyll


Lt. Commander Dr. Casey Peterson
Chief Medical Officer

The turbo lift doors swished opened and Lt. Li Sameria stormed into main engineering. K'arath looked up from his duty station at the newly minted Lt. who clearly had something on her mind.

"May I help you Lt.?" K'ararth asked, a hint of exasperation in his voice belying his frustration with the interruption.

"Sir, " the small Bajoran woman responded, "Op's is conducting a final test of the secondary engineering systems access protocols and I have found the current design functionality......unacceptable."

K'arath rose from his seat. Although not large for a Klingon, he did present a somewhat intimidating figure to Sameria but she held her ground. K'arath often found Bajoran's quick to anger but also strong of spirit and with the heart of warriors forged by their years of Cardassian occupation.

"Lt., secondary engineering sub systems access protocols of Akira class starships were designed by the engineering pata'Q's at the Utopia Planitia shipyards. To better integrate them into the Op's station will require re-routing them through terrtiary systems of lesser importance." K'arath mulled this over for a moment. "Perhaps the holodeck or other recreational systems can be used as an additional carrier bandwidth to more efficiently deliver the engineering dtata to your station. Ensign Gorjano!" he barked.

Gorjano head snapped up, "Sir!"

"Please assist Lt. Sameria in a re-routing of secondary engineering access using the holodeck sub systems as a piggy back. See what you can come up with."

K'ararh was relieved to having paired the two Bajoran's together so he could return to his systems check.

My message padd beeped indicating a message was waiting from Lt. Commander Severyll which held the completed questionnaire which i added to her and her children's medical record with that updated I gladly accepted Lt. Commander Severyll invitation for coffee in 5 forward.

I looked forward to the distraction as my eyes needed the rest.

Before leaving I sent a message to Counselor Margon indicating he was overdue for an eye check up and asked him to set an appointment at his earliest convenience, I also asked him to meet me and Lt. Commander Severyll in 5 forward.

I felt that this would be a good time to show Lt. Commander Severyll and Counselor Margon my Iconian artifact and get their impression and see if Lt. Commander Severyll could decipher the ancient writing which looked similar to ancient Vulcan. This could be an important discovery as it would link the Vulcan's with the Iconians somehow.

I was also interested in Counselor Margons input in perhaps using this artifact as a teaching tool for his older students and thought that perhaps it would be a great educational experience for all involved.

After all messages were sent I left for 5 forward wondering what my colleague thought about my research on Iconian history and its ancient civilization and looked forward on discussing her views on my research.


Lt. Commander Dr. Casey Peterson
Chief Medical Officer

The Counselor finished using the replicator and looked up.  His information padd was beeping and being pushed across the desk by a Tabby cat.  "Hey that's mine!" He said.  He loved watching these Earth animals.  They were sleek, personable and quite curious.  He sat down the food for his felion and watched as Mr. Mouser ate.  He reached down and scratched the ears of the orange animal and it did what he liked the best.  "Purrrr!"  He stroked the back of the animal and realised how glad he was that he had sent for his pet.

He picked up his information padd and began to read his messages.  "Oh, this is fascinating!, I love the Iconian culture, so much to learn and use in our quest for exploration and knowlege!  I'm glad I brought my files with me."  He put a fresh info pad down next to his computer console and brought up two sets of information.  "Computer, load information on Charlong Troleen." 

"Working"

"Oh, and my studies on Iconia"

"download complete"

The cat nudged Margon's hand as he picked up the padd.  "Don't worry Mr. Mouser, I'll be back later"  The cat looked at him as if to say "What?  I'm not the center of attention anymore?"

That reminded him...

" I need to find Ensign Armus, he postponed his meeting with me this morning- something about a diagnostic program he had to run.  I think he is avoiding me, he has nothing to fear though.  I am certain we will get a long just fine."  the counslor muttered.  He sent a quick communication to the ensign with some questions and awaited his answer.

He turned toward the big orange Tabby....

"Now, don't get into any trouble."  The cat ingnored him and hopped on to a bookshelf.

The counselor adjusted his uniform, sometimes it was uncomfortable at the neck line, what with his ridge and all.  He walked out of his quarters and started toward five forward.  On his way he bumped into many of the crew.
Some of them greeted him with a smile, others went out of their way to walk on the other side of the corridor.  He was used to that, not only being Bolian, but a counselor.... "Blue scares people.. " he chuckled, "but no one thinks they need a counselor!"

He was aware of the anticipation in the air.  Space dock was O.K. but these people wanted to get on with their mission. Something the counselor was ready to do too.  The exploration of space is what fueled such rich and diverse backgrounds working together on a single ship.  The dynamics of a crew under this kind of pressure could not be duplicated anywhere else.  Each starship had it's own unique and intriguing personality, made up of the crew who served her.

The USS Tiberius with Captain Bell, this was going to be an incredible experience.

The door of five forward opened...

Sevryll had completed half of the volume before Dr. Peterson and Counselor Margon joined her in Five Forward. Only 20 minutes before, she had ordered her first latte and sat to gaze out the observation ports. Now, Dr. Peterson sat across from her and his eyes were alive with anticipation. He had brought a relic of great interest for her to examine, and his excitement was palpable.

She eyed the ancient text carved crudely into the surface of the artifact. "I believe it to be FthinraKathi, a distantly-related, yet extinct Vulcan language." She said, while pushing a lock of raven hair behind her right ear. Sevryll leaned closer to the relic with her magnifying device to inspect the object. The elements, coupled with the ravages of time, had cooperated to wear away a few characters, yet the majority of the text was well preserved. Because of its condition, she was able to translate the ancient phrase to Modern Golic Vulcan.

She squinted before slowly uttering the phrase: "I'poprah fasei setebihk t'ovsotuhl-ozhika." The Chief Science Officer slowly lifted her gaze from the artifact to meet the doctor's expression of expectation. She moved her eyes to the counselor who was enjoying a frosty rootbeer, while staring back at her with marked curiosity. The foam from his drink clung to his upper lip and he whipped it away with the back of his blue hand. He was not a linguist, therefore, for his benefit, she translated the phrase to English: "Now receive from us this symbol of total logic." She arched an eyebrow as she completed the sentence.

"Remarkable." Replied Doctor Peterson.

"What does that mean Commander? What do you think its purpose is?" asked the Counselor.

"It means it is an Iconian artifact of great historical significance Counselor." she replied.  "As to its purpose, one can only speculate. Further study would be required before I could offer a hypothesis." She straightened her posture before inquiring:  "May I ask how you came to possess the artifact Doctor?"

---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius

After spending considerable time going over Lt. Commander K'arath's phaser modifications, Ensign Morgan reached the conclusion that he would not improve upon the design the first day.
He finished the notes he was making on his studies, and went to talk to his superior.

"Commander, I've gone through all your modifications and see no reason why they shouldn't perform as predicted, and every reason that they would.
I wonder, though, the power that the engines would no longer be delivering to the phasers could be put to another use, such as boosting sensor strength, or shield strength, depending on the situation.  Since it's usually held in reserve for phaser use, it's also possible that it could be used temporarily increase the top warp speed."

Quote from: ryanlb on February 15, 2007, 11:27:13 PM
After spending considerable time going over Lt. Commander K'arath's phaser modifications, Ensign Morgan reached the conclusion that he would not improve upon the design the first day.
He finished the notes he was making on his studies, and went to talk to his superior.

"Commander, I've gone through all your modifications and see no reason why they shouldn't perform as predicted, and every reason that they would.
I wonder, though, the power that the engines would no longer be delivering to the phasers could be put to another use, such as boosting sensor strength, or shield strength, depending on the situation.  Since it's usually held in reserve for phaser use, it's also possible that it could be used temporarily increase the top warp speed."

K'arath smilled at the younger man, "Excellent Ensign!" He delivered a congratualtory slap to the Ensigns shoulder. "I have Gorjano working with Op's trying to correct an issue with secondary engineering sub system access. Mr. Morgan, once we are under way I want you to spend some time at the secondary engineering station on the bridge, give you a little hands on time to see how the various command stations interact. Who know, perhaps I can convince the Captain to let you particiapte in the battle simulation drills he has been running."

As the words spoken by Lt. Commander Sevryll resonated in my ears  " Now receive from us this symbol of total logic "

He told Lt. Commander Sevryll that this was given to him by an old colleague who had passed away and who was his mentor and good friend.

His name was Professor Conrad Lovenski, The most revered authority on Iconian culture. It was his and my theory that the Vulcan culture was actually much older then most people thought. In previous archeology digs we had found reference to an Ancient Vulcan Language. We have been looking for some proof to verify this connection for years.

I spoke to him weeks before he died when he told me that he thought he had found the proof we had been looking for.

It is very important that you try to carbon date this to verify its authenticity and try to find out what it is. Is it purely just a symbol of logic or does it truly have a purpose?

This could be one of the greatest finds in federation and Vulcan history. But before i present this to the Vulcan academy of science I must Know if it is a true artifact or a well designed fake.

Counselor Margon You have been very quiet. What is your impression of this find.

Lt. Commander Sevryll I would be most appreciative if you would help me with further investigation in this matter, and will give you equal credit for your help along with my dead colleague Professor Conrad Lovenski.

Once are findings are verified we must inform Captain Bell of our findings.

Until then I ask you both to keep these findings quiet until we know more.

By The way Lt. Commander Sevryll what do you think of my research on the Iconian Civilization.. One more thing Lt. Commander Sevryll. Do You think the device is dangerous or poses any danger to the ship.?

Counselor Margon What do you think of using this artifact as a teaching tool once we find out what it is.

I will go back to my quarters and bring the other Iconian Artifacts I have found down to your science lab Lt. Commander Sevryll along with the video files that show the ancient writings that link the Iconians to Vulcans.

I will meet you in the science lab in an Hour.

Thank you both for coming I hope that this find will truly be a great historic find it would be a great end to my dead colleagues life long work.

Lt. Li Sameria
Cheif of Operations, USS Tiberius

Scene:  Engineering

Li looked back at Ensign Gorjano.  She forced a polite smile and pushed her glasses back up her nose.  He seemed eager to help.  She turned to the cheif engineer, the Klingon.

"Thank you, Chief."  She nodded, starting to blush a little.  She was not usually this forward with people, let alone those that tower over her.  "I think that your idea might work, though I have to confess I'm surprised that it would take something so ... extreme as to use the Holodeck systems."

She stepped back meaningfully from the larger officer.  "I hope I didn't overstep anything.  Ensign Gorjano and I will keep you posted on any major changes."

"This is quite a find if it's the real thing Dr."  said the counselor.  "If it's not, then I suspect a cruel hoax that I hope isn't the case, either way, it is very interesting.  If it is a fake, who would create such and artifact?  What would be the purpose?  I suspect that this could upset many people if it is real or a counterfiet." 

The counselor took the last sip of his rootbeer and said, "As far as a teaching tool, it would be great for those cultures that consider logic to be the fundemental stability of their society.  In my experience though, just as many culures that don't aspire to pure logic wouldn't be too excited about it.  None the less, it will be a remarkable historical artifact if it proves to be authentic." 

The counselor turned to the Commander and changed the subject, "So, here, let me send you the information on your new nanny."  He held the information pad and hit the screen, the information transfered to her device.  "He should be on board in the morning.  With your permission I will have you meet with him and make your final decision." 

The Dr. sat quietly and stared at the Counselor.  Was he intentionally changing the subject?  Wasn't this important to him?  The Dr. thought to himself, "The Counselor seems a little to Happy go lucky", he seemed to talk a lot, and switch subjects frequently.  He wasn't used to working with Bolians, it would take some getting used too.  He had really never seen a Bolian counselor before, a barber yes, a bartender yes, but a counselor?  Curious."

Just as quick as the counselor shared his information with the Commander, he turned to the Dr.

"Dr. it is getting late and your hopes to view the artifact in more detail may have to go on hold, the commander has a set of little ones that need her attention. The nanny isn't here till morning."  He smiled.  "But no worries, I would suggest that our mission is going to give us plenty of time to explore our hobbies!" 

As the counselor stood up. He jumped because of a crashing sound right behind him. 

Lt. Peters was exhausted. He had overslept and his thumping head was obviously a consequence of the previous night. Too many strong beers, he told himself. It was many years since he could drink all night and not suffer the next morning.
  Today had been the worst day to be hung over. He had finally moved into his new quarters on the Tiberius. His living quarters was located on deck 15, the same deck as the Brig and security mess hall and was fairly sparse as he had no special requirements except for a large section of living area for Phil and Grant. He had decorated their living space with ladders, ropes, hammocks and many other toys for them to alleviate boredom. They loved their new home and were settled immediately.
  After he had moved his stuff in, he tried to familiarise himself with the ships layout, he was not used to travelling in a ship and he was constantly aware of movement, or was his mind just playing tricks? He met up with the various heads of departments and found them all to be pleasant. He then walked aimlessly around the ship and eventually met up with Lt. Talon Bowers.
"Ah Lieutenant" Rhys said. "How are you settling in after last night drinks?
Lt. Bowers groaned "Well, apart from my head pounding like a Klingon opera, pretty good".
"Lieutenant, have you met the rest of the security staff yet?" I haven't seen Ensigns Manrique or Stormshield yet."
"No sir, neither have I,"
"Very well," Rhys said, "we will look for them together. Its time we all got to know each other. I trust that this time, there will be no alcohol involved in our meetings?"
Bowers groaned again, "I quite agree sir".
"Come on then, lets get moving, my head insists it should be an early night and I'm not in the mood for arguing with it."

Sevryll folded her hands and placed them on the table in front of her. "Radiocarbon dating is only practical in dating organic matter— this particular artifact is made of an inorganic substance. Given that there is an obvious lack of associations built from an archaeological body of knowledge, I will instead defer to Thermoluminescence as an  alternative dating method. I believe the artifact is mostly ceramic. If I am correct, I may be able to approximate the date of the last firing and determine whether the relic is a skillfully crafted fraud, or an object of great historical significance." She took a sip of her latte and turned the cup in her hands before continuing.

"I would be pleased to assist you in your studies doctor, but the counselor's comments regarding my current situation are correct. I will be returning to my quarters within the next hour to prepare dinner for my children. My shift begins tomorrow evening, perhaps after I have met with the... nanny " Sevryll disliked the term 'nanny' but she could not think of anything else to call the man other than 'caretaker' and that was her title not his. She almost coughed on the word as it moved across her lips "...I will be free to run the tests you require after I have met with him. When I have a conclusion, I will arrange a time to reveal my findings with you. Will this time frame be suitable?"

She had sensed the doctor was distracted, he was a bit confusion at Morgon's apparent lack of interest in the conversation. The counselor seemed preoccupied as well. She suspected that the two were well on their way to becoming good friends, and determined that his current uncertainty would be soon be forgotten.

"Regarding the text you have loaned me, I have just begun to read the volume. I have a great deal of experience in Iconian studies, perhaps we can discuss our knowledge in the coming days, once I have finished with the Thermoluminescence tests? I am most certain that my science officer, Ensign Morgen, would be interested in joining our discussion. Perhaps we can meet to exchange ideas over dinner."

---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

That would be quite satisfactory, I would also like to include the Cousillor in the dinner if that is ok as he also shares are interest in Iconiann artifacts. I will patiently await your findings, shell we say a couple of hours after your shift so you have time to deal with your childrens needs and your caretaker situation.

You can send me an email with the time, but please allow me to make dinner in appreciation for your help. as this will allow us some privacy to discuss your findings and plan our next step in our investigations.

Until tommorow then, I take my leave Counsellor and Lt. Commander Sevryll

The commander was right.  The counselor WAS distracted.  It was Brex, he had dropped a tray.   His son had been serving drinks during the meeting and every time he looked up they seemed to meet eyes.  Usually he would be engaged in the conversation, and most of the time interupting because of his talkative disposition.  But tonight he was having a problem focusing.  He was going to have to confront his son.  They were going to be on this ship for an extended time and they couldn't be at odds with each other the entire time.  Five forward was the perfect place for the counselor, people were comfortable in this place, and that is when Margon could really get a feel for who people really were and what they were going through. He was looking forward to his new found friendship with the Dr., and he was already very fond of  the Vulcan Commander and the twins.

With all these thoughts flooding the counselors mind, he quickly dismissed himself and decided to look around the ship.  Perhaps he could get his thoughts together and check out some of the new crew.  "I need to visit the bridge and see how our new first officer is fairing."  he thought.  The captain often spoke of his desire to work with Nathan.  His name had come up during conversations in the past, and the Counselor had not yet been able to spend any time with the man.  "Captain Bell is a good judge of character, I'm sure this man is a good officer." Besides, First officer Quinn had also served as a counselor at one time.  Maybe he would be someone that Margon could discuss his particular situation with his son to.

"Now dearie, if you play this chord while keeping your right hand playing th.... No no no. Look I'll show you."

Mrs Badcrumble took the piano chair from Gilbert. He had been meaning to learn the piano for years now and, in a rare hour away from duty, he was starting his lessons.

"Now, you play with you..."
The image of the elderly Scottish music teacher paused as the computer's voice intervined.
"The time is now 15:00, reporting timestamp as requested."

"Computer, arch."

The archway appeared in an instant as Bell strode from the holodeck.
"Save program and end."

Walking down the corridor he started makin his way to the observation lounge just off the bridge. When he was in a silent stretch of coridoor he tapped his comm badge.

"Bell to senior staff. I recieved note from the refit and drydock crews not one hour ago that they believe us to be ready to leave dock. We have only one or two civilian crewmembers awaiting arrival who can meet us en-route so I see no reason not to get our mission underway. Please report to the observation lounge at 15:30 for a briefing. Bell out."

Captain Gilbert Bell
Commanding Officer
USS Tiberius

-------------------
OOC: Just a note everyone. I will be posting more today and will be posting the briefing a little later on this morning. I think everyone seems to be settled in now so it's time to start some story!

Bell stood at the head of the conference table in the observation lounge as the last of his senior staff filed into the room.

"Afternoon Ladies & Gents,
Firstly I want to thank you all for your patience and understanding over the last few days of refits. The 'getting to know each other' experience is always one that I like to get out of the way before we leave on any mission and in this case we have had the perfect opportunity. If we had more time I would have liked the starbase to take some more time on the engines but alas that is not possible. We have a mission."

Looking around the room he could see every eye focused on him. He cracked a smile to show his softer side.

"Now, when you joined Starfleet it may have been for a multitude of reasons. For me it was to make a difference. I wanted to go out and see new life, new civilisations, I wanted to push back the boundaries of known space and see who and what I could find.


My last mission, as no doubt you will know if you have tried to skim my file, has been deemed classified by Starfleet Command. In large parts, for now at least, it will stay classified. But many aspects of my previous mission relate directly to the reason you are all here, aboard this ship."

Bell pushed a button on his Padd and a logo appeared on the main room viewscreen.

"Now, as I'm sure at least a few occupants of this room would be able to tell you, this is the logo of the Iconian Empire.

For those of you who didn't pay attention to your history classes in the Academy I will give you a little background.

The Iconian empire exsisted over 200,000 years ago and spanned much of the known galaxy. They were a highly advanced race, having technology well in advance of our own. Many texts refer to them as "Demons of Air and Darkness" and write of their heavy handed rule. But that has been thrown into question from other texts and references.

Either way, their civilization was destroyed 200,000 years ago when their homeworld, Iconia, was decimated by an orbital bombardment, resulting in the assumed extinction of the entire race.

Now, the history lesson is all very well and good but what, I hear you say, is the point of today's lesson I hear you say? What does it matter to us if this race was destroyed all that time ago?

Well. Last year, I met an Iconian.

Or more accurately I met an Iconian clone. There have been theories for centuries that some Iconians may have survived their homeworld & fled into hiding using their gate travel system, we have proved this to be true.
Over the next few days we will be traveling to the Teldra Nebula where we plan to meet with a delagate of the new Iconians. We will be discussing possible trade and diplomatic relations and this is to be treated like any other first contact situation would.

The one difference is that we will have company. This is not a simple trade summit, the Iconians have insisted that they also meet with several other representitives of this region of space, we will be joined by a ship from the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Empire, the Cardassian Union and the Ferengi Alliance.

We will be meeting our fellow delegates and their ships en-route. As I'm a careful Captain where I can be I would like ship security on it's toes, everyone else better brush up on their Iconian history.

I will be taking questions from each of you individually, if you have them, over the comm. For now the first course of action is to get your teams assembled and to get us out of spacedock.

Number one, that's your first job. Take us out.

Everyone else, dismissed."

Captain Gilbert Bell,
USS Tiberius,
Commanding Officer

Ensign Enoch Iblis, Helmsman
Observation Lounge
Immediately after the Captain's conference

Enoch was surprised at the importance of the ship's first mission. 

The Iconians!  What military secrets would they have, would their technology be beyond our own, or were these clones starting over?  The Iconian military was legendary. 

Different races would be coming.  Troublesome races.  The Klingon ship would likely not cause much trouble, although when you throw in the Ferengi and Cardassians, not to mention the Romulans, anything could happen.

Enoch looked around.  Everyone had been pretty shocked by Bell's announcement.  People were getting up, and talking rather quietly among themselves.

Enoch found K'arath and approached.  "Do you know what class of Klingon ship and who is commanding?"  Enoch asked.

K'arath looked up at Enoch.  "You are always to the point, Ensign.  Enoch, I must reflect on this because I have been hearing things, whispers, and how suddenly things are falling into place.  If I am correct, the Klingon vessel will be of a heavier class, and we will be faster.  As to who is Captain, well, a few names pop to my mind, as I am sure they do to yours.  We will have to wait and see."

Enoch knew that the Tiberius would be more manuverable than any of the ships that were coming, which was good because he knew they all played games.  Sometimes it was a battle of wits, positioning and posturing, especially during delicate negotiations. 

Enoch smiled.  The other delegates would not expect to find a Klingon helming the Tiberius, and Enoch knew these games well from his days in the Klingon military.

Quinn entered the lounge and noticed a few of the other senior staff had already arrived. He smiled and nodded as he took his seat next to the Captain's chair. A few moments later the Captain and the remaining senior staff entered and the meeting began. Captain Bell explained our upcoming mission. Quinn was excited to hear about the Iconian mission. He's read a lot about their culture and was very interested in the fact that their technology was so advanced so many hundreds of years ago. He didn't like the fact that we were meeting up with Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians and the Ferengi. This was just going to complicate the mission.

The Captain finished his briefing. "For now the first course of action is to get your teams assembled and to get us out of spacedock." :: He turned to Quinn ::. "Number one, that's your first job. Take us out."

Quinn smiled "Aye Sir"

Everyone stood and started to file out of the observation lounge. Quinn entered the bridge and pressed his comm badge.

=/\= To all hands.. this is Commander Quinn.. prepare for departure. =/\=

::Quinn sat down in his seat, the excitement was building. He pressed button on his side counsel.::

=/\= Starbase 514 this is Commander Quinn of the USS Tiberius requesting permission to depart. =/\=

=/\= Commander the board is green, you are good to go. Safe journeys Tiberius =/\=

:: Quinn turned to Ensign Iblis :: Ensign you heard the man.. take us out!!

"Aye Sir"

Quinn sat there with excitement flowing through his veins. A new mission was always exciting to start but this one was different. This was Quinn's first mission as the First Officer. And even though the mission seemed straight forward he knew better from past experiences that things never go as planned.

The ship shook slightly as the large docking clamps were released. It moved slowly forward until it was clear of the starbase docking port. Ensign Iblis turned in his chair.

" Sir we are clear of the docking port "

" Nicely done Ensign... set coordinates for the Teldra Nebula, Warp 5 "

" Coordinates set sir... Warp 5"

"Engage"

Commander Quinn
USS Tiberius
First Officer

Sevryll stopped the Captain, before he left the observation lounge. "I apologize that I have not formally introduced myself Captain." She stated in a tranquil, even voice. Before she could continue, he held up his hand to stop her and smiled. "I already know you Lt. Commander. I hand picked you remember?" They shook hands before she continued. Doctor Peterson stood with Sevryll glancing from her to Bell in an attempt to gage the Captain's reaction.  Would he be excited or agitated regarding this bit of information?

"Captain, Doctor Peterson has come to possess an Iconian artifact that his mentor discovered. He requested that I help him determine whether the object is authentic. Because of the nature of our mission, I felt it necessary to divulge to you the analysis of my experiment. I believe it may have some significance to our operation."

Captain Bell cut her short with a motion of his hand and glanced around the room; there were still several officers within earshot. They were clearing the area, yet Bell did not want to take the chance of sharing information that may require secrecy for the time being.

He motioned them out of the Observation Lounge, across the bridge and into his Ready Room. The ship had begun to depart and shook slightly as the docking clamps were released. Once they were inside he gestured them to sit in chairs located opposite from his own. He then swung himself upon the desktop in front of them. His palms gripped the table as he leaned forward and signaled with a nod to continue.

"I determined the object is ceramic and thus preformed a Thermoluminescence test, to establish an approximate age." Sevryll folded her hands and stretched them out to rest upon her knees.

"In the practice of making a ceramic vessel, the soft clay must be fired in a kiln to harden it. The process of firing the object releases the trapped electrons and resets the thermoluminescence clock to zero." She paused briefly to take a breath.

"The course of accumulating electrons, and their release when heated, occurs every time the ceramic vessel is reheated. What I have measured, using this technique, is the last time the vessel was heated above 500 degrees Celcius." Her eyes moved to the Doctor sitting next to her— his expression seemed to say "Get on with, it will you?!" So she ceased her description of the testing process and simply revealed her findings.

"The vessel is authentic, Captain. It is approximately 300,000 years old." Doctor Peterson shifted excitedly in his seat; he could hardly contain the exhilaration he felt at learning the object was genuine. Captain Bell raised his eyebrows and whistled quietly. He signaled for her to continue.

"What is particularly noteworthy is that the artifact is imprinted with an ancient Vulcan dialect, identified as "FthinraKathi". I have translated the passage as: "Now receive from us this symbol of total logic." The presences of this text on the artifact would seem to indicate that Vulcans are some how linked to the Iconians."

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I agree, it may indeed have quite an impact on our mission." He stood up and made his way around to his chair. He plopped down into his seat and began pulling up data on the Iconian culture, to display on his view screen.

As he worked, the Chief Science Officer inquired: "Captain, would it not be obligatory to inform the Vulcan High Command and Science Academy of this mission? This vessel affects the Vulcan history. What's more, Vulcan is a principal Federation member."

He found the Iconian Symbol he sought, and swiveled the view-screen around to face Sevryll and Peterson,  before answering his Vulcan Science Officer.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

Lt. Peters was relieved that finally they were under way, however, he was a little less impressed at the thought of having to deal with so many different species at once. From a security perspective, this was going to be a real headache. With so many species, there would be  many different customs to bear in mind so as to avoid unwanted confrontation. He had had dealings with the Klingons before and wasn't particularly worried about their presence, besides, with Ensign Enoch Iblis and Lt Commander K'arath aboard, he thought they would have a head start in that department. Also, having Ensign Stormshied who was half Romulan on his team would help in easing the sometimes frosty relationship between human and Romulan. His main concern was the Ferengi. Whilst physically not a problem or threat, they were very cunning and more than capable of throwing a spanner in the works.
   Rhys had worked out his rota for security and called a meeting of his staff.
"Okay men, we need to be on our toes from now on. We are going to be dealing with a real mixing pot of different cultures and who knows what may happen? There is an awful lot at stake here and I for one do not want to let the mission down. I have assigned your relevant duties. Lt. Nagumo and Ensign Corran, I want you to make sure that all the ships sensors are fully operational. I need all ship to ship communication channels ready at the Captains orders and the weapons and shields will need to be tested with a simulated programme." He looked at the tactical team who seemed to be pleased to be doing something, they had all spent some time in the various holodecks on fighting programmes just to help dissipate tension.
  "Lt. Bowers, you will be working with me. On our way to the Teldra Nebula we will be trying to get as much information on the people we are going to be meeting. This mission is going to be a meeting of several species who have had bad dealings with each other in the past. If it should kick off, then I want us to be ready. Ensigns Manrique and Stormshield, I want you to update all profiles on all the crew of the Tiberius, as myself and Lt. Bowers get details on the possible visitors to this ship, I will liase with you to complete our information. Remember, this is a mission of extreme importance and we must get this right. Any questions?"
No body said anything, they all looked confidant and ready to do their duties.
"Very well," said Rhys, "dismissed"
With that they all made for the door and exited leaving Rhys on his own. He exhaled deeply. Man that was tough, he thought. He needed to chill out. Perhaps a visit to the ships Counselor Lt. Margon would help. He had never been one for talking about his feelings, but he realised that now was not the time for pride. He was a part of a team and he had big responsibilities. He needed to grow up and realise his full potential.
   

Lt Bowers spent the next several hours reading up on the latest information between all the species that the Tiberius crew would be dealing with.  The recent business / trade dispute between the Ferangi and several other species seem to be of particular interest as these type of disputes can lead to problems between species on this type of mission.  Bowers presented his report to Peters and they agreed that it would be very important for the security crew to remain vigilant of these situations between the species to prevent a disruption to their mission.

As Counselor Margon made his way from the briefing room he made small talk with several crew members.  He stayed on the bridge for a few minutes as the ship moved forward.  He loved this part of things.  The beginning of a mission was quite thrilling.  As soon as the first officer had said "engage"  the counselor made his way to the turbo lift and then to his quarters.  He entered and found Mr. Mouser lying on his Iconian Research pad.  "Get off that you lunkhead!"  He laughed and scratched his cats ears.  Mouser purred, rubbed against him and then hopped off the desk.

His communication light flashed and he checked it.  It was Lt. Peters.  He wanted a brief meeting to discuss his new duties and the pressures thereof. 

The counselor smiled.  This will be good.  "It is a good sign when the crew actually wants to talk to the counselor!" he muttered.  He tapped his com badge.  "Conselor Margon to Lt. Peters." ...

"Ah Mr. Margon, I was wondering if you were free for a few minutes, I'd like to drop by and have a chat with you concerning my position aboard this ship?"
"Of course, Of course, come along now lieutenant, I have a free session and it will be nice to meet another crew member.
The Counselors voice sounded very jolly and soothing, immediately, Rhys felt himself getting calmer, at the same time as having to swallow his pride, he just knew that this meeting would help him to settle in. "Okay then, I'm on my way."

  Rhys made his way to the Counselors quarters and pressed the door entry button. It chirruped quietly and a soft voice said "Come in"
Nervously, Rhys entered the quarters and was struck by how pleasant and calming it was and rows upon rows of real paper books, this was reassuring to Rhys as he himself was a great believer in reading a proper book rather than a padd. He also noticed a big tabby cat curled up on a chair. Rhys smiled inwardly, best not bring Phil or Grant to these quarters.

  Rhys accepted a drink of hot tea that was offered to him and was then asked what had been bothering him. At first, his response was rather stilted, he was embarrassed to be discussing his feelings with someone he had only just met. Before long though, he was relaxed and discovered that he was actually enjoying this chat with the Counselor. The Bolian seemed very willing to listen and only interrupted at the correct times. Soon, Rhys had told him almost everything, his doubts at being given such a demanding post, his early childhood and his stay in hospital. His inability to get on with others, and his mistrust in almost every other person. He also confided with the Counselor about his friendship with First Officer Quinn and how it was probably down to this man that he, Rhys, has still alive. He also asked the Bolian not to mention the friendship to other crew. He did not want that to be a factor in any future relationship building.

By the time Rhys had finished, more than an hour had gone and he was mentally exhausted. He had only expected to be there for a few minutes, but  Margon had managed to wheedle out more information from him than almost any other person before, and he hadn't even said much. He now sat across from the blue bringer of calm and waited for his evaluation

Lt Miyamoto was thrilled by the Captain's announcment.

He was pleased to be returning to the Teldra Nebula so soon after the ships last mission. The nebula would play havoc on the scanners and targeting systems of all of the other ships attending the conference, but the Tiberius having so recently visited the nebula would be able to take advantage of all the modifications and adjustments they had discovered during the previous visit.

Moto rapidly reviewed his tactical data on the other possible ships that would attend the conference. He knew all Klingon ships with intimate familiarity having served on every class but the mighty Neg'Var, and he doubted that the empire would risk the Flagship of the fleet on so dangerous a mission. He was also intimately familliar with all classes of cardassian ships having faced them in battle during the Klingon - Cardassian war.

It was the Romulan and Ferengi vessels that drew his greatest attention as he had only engaged either race in simulations. By the time they arrived at the nebula, however, Moto vowed he would be fully versed in every way the nebula's effects could provide an advantage for the Tiberius.

Moto knew that this was a diplomatic mission, but was also well aware that with so much at stake, and with such racial hatred between klingons, cardassians and romulans as well as the greed and dishonorable nature of the ferengi, anything was likley to happen.

Lt Nagumo smiled, his fingers brushing lovingly over the weapons controls.  If there was trouble, he was certain that the Tiberius would have a few suprises for anyone foolish enough to underestimate her and her crew.

" Commander, Tactical reports all systems at full readiness, nebula modifications to sensors, tactical targeting systems and weapons will be complete well before our arrival. "

" Well done Lieutenant, " Quin replied smoothly. " but lets all pray we dont need to use them."

So captain what would you like to do with this Artifiact and any ideas of how this will affect are mission, I hope my discovery will not cause difficulties on this mission. Should we lock this find up in Security for safe keeping?

The counselor liked Rhys.  He seemed nervous at first, but as he drank the tea the counselor offered him he became calmer.  "I'm not sure if he noticed, but I had a composition called "the rings of sultan five" playing softly in the background. That usually works with first timers" he thought. 

The counselor listened and let the Lt. talk for most of the session.  He just needed to talk to someone.  It seemed that the Lt. was sitting on the edge of his seat at the end of the session just waiting to hear the counselor's response.  Was he crazy or not?

Margon took a drink of his tea and set the starfleet cup back down.  His face had been calm during Rhys's chat with him, finally a big smile came over him and he spoke...

"Lt. Rhys-  you are not crazy."  He said.

"What are you telepathic too?" the Lt. said nervously.

"No, it's just that many people who finally come in to talk think they are" he said in a reassuring type of way.
"I think you have a good head on your shoulders Lt. but honestly, I think you are to concerned with what others think of you."

The Lt. seemed to squirm a bit in his seat.

Margon explained- "From what you have described to me, your battle started early on in your life"

"My battle?" asked Rhys.

"Yes, your battle. All of us have battles in our lives, a percieved enemy that tries to get us off of what our main purpose is in life.  In your case you battle with burning desire for acceptance, something I'm afraid you can't conquer until you quit worrying about how others percieve you." 

The Lt. rubbed his eyes and actually felt himself getting a little emotional.  "Ok?" he stuttered, "and how do you think I could do that?" 

"I have homework for you Lt." said Margon matter of factly.

"huh?"  inquired Rhys.

"I want you to do a little excercise every morning.  It's called mind adjustment.  You need to stop thinking about how others percieve you and start looking at who you really are.  You are a man that has overcome great adversity to be where you are at.  You have learned a lot. You have made it.  And now, you get to be fulfil a dream you have had.  So, every morning write down the challenges you are going to face in one column, and in the other, write down something you have experienced that will help you overcome that challenge today. Use your enemy to your advantage.     What happened to you when you were younger is only as important to you as to the fact that you have learned what you don't like about life.  Now relish in what you do enjoy about life.  The adventure, the thrill.  Let the pain you have experienced be your help in understanding others, but don't let it conquer you, let it help you go forward, oh and Rhys, it's ok to be more friendly toward Commander Quinn.  He isn't the type to play favorites anway, and you are going to need to work closely with him.  Don't worry what others think."

The Lt. sat there stunned.  He had never thought of letting the pain he had felt and the insecurity that he had battled with be his friend, not his enemy.

"You need to understand Counselor, that I'm not normally someone that shows his emotion" Rhys said trying not to get too overly critical of the advice,"at least not the more sensative side."

In fact that was the problem.  Rhys was good at playing tough, he had to do it to survive, "Yes, I understand Lt., but what you aren't understanding is that your weakness is what makes you strong. You have it in for the underdog, you want to protect.  Don't you think you were tailor made for this posting?"

Rhys just sat there.  So much information to take in.  It answered a lot of questions for him.  He was actually feeling strength from his weakness. 

"Counselor," he spoke out, "I don't know what to say." 
"Well", replied Margon, "you don't have to say anything.  Maybe we could talk more about things later.  You already knew this deep in your heart anyway. It's what makes you tick.  Now, go out there and protect our ship and crew."

The counselor stood up and went to his bookshelf.  "Here", he handed a book to Rhys. "It's an interesting read, I know it's old, but you may find it useful in dealing with your "enemy"

Rhys looked at the book.  It was entitled "No more victims".  "Hmm.  Now how am I supposed to get this to my quarters?" he laughed.

"No problem Lt., I'll package it up and have it delivered!" his blue face seemed to get more round as he smiled from ear to ear.

"Thanks Counselor" Rhys said, "uh, I know this is all confidential right?"

"Your secrets are safe with me Mr. Peters" the counselor said with a tone of safety.

"Ok then, maybe we can talk later"  replied Rhys.

"I look forward to it." said Margon.

The door opened and Rhys made his way out of the office. 

Bell looked Sevryll up and down trying to assess the situation as best he could. The artifact did seem to have slipped onto his ship at an extremely oppertune moment, that in itse;f worried him, but if it had any significance on the mission he needed to know.

"Very well Lt Commander, I want you to take this artifact and secure it in Science Lab 3, I believe that is not yet being used for a current study. Access is now limited to yourself, myself and the doctor. This is a classified piece of archeology now, I'd like it to be kept that way."

"Yes sir."

"As for what to do with our find, I do not want the science council, Vulcan or Starfleet, to be informed just yet. We will of course inform them in due time but that time is not yet. Dismissed."

As the Vulcan exited the room Bell paused for a moment, letting his mind regain equilibrium. He always coped well with stress and changing circumstances, his reactions were like a seascape, each new problem causing a ripple, ripples building to mighty waves. In his youth this had been a problem, he was constantly overcome with the waves of stress and obligation, but then his life changed. He got into Starfleet, got into space. He learned to surf those waves.

Time to deal with another wave.

He tapped his combadge,
"Bell to JAG Officer Newol, please meet me in my ready room. We need to talk."

Captain Gilbert Bell,
Commanding Officer,
USS Tiberius

"Begin program..." JAG Officer Avrik said as she tried to find a place on her bikini to put her comm badge. She knew she could be called at any time.

The salty wind washed over her and she breathed it all in. She could feel the wet sand between her toes as she approached the surf. Newol walked in slowly with her board, enjoying every sensation then paddled out. It had taken her a long time to come up with just he right program and this one seemed to do nicely. Nothing like a private beach where you can call up barrels, stop the wind and keep the storms away. Even if it isn't exact. She could have stayed in there all day. But she decided to get cleaned up and maybe go to 5 Forward.

Newol grabbed her robe and towels.... "End Program." The doors quickly came into view and she started out. She had not stepped three steps into the passage when she bumped square into Lt. Li Sameria, a meeting she was hoping to avoid as long as possible. Lt. Li was one of the only other Bajorans on board. "Lt." Newol said. "Officer Avrik," replied the flustered crewman. Newol smiled and asked, "Have we met?"

"No, I had seen you on board, at the end of the first briefing. I am Lt. Li Sameria." the Lt. said with and uncomfortable smirk.

"Well, Lt. it is good to see you here.... I am on my way to.."

=/\= "Avrik here." =/\=

=/\= "Bell to JAG Officer Newol, please meet me in my ready room. We need to talk." =/\=

=/\= "Yes Captain" =/\=

"Lt. Li, it was nice to meet you. I hope to see you again." Newol said as she headed off.

"Are you going to change into your uniform first?" asked Lt. Li.

Newol stopped, smiled  :blush, and turned instead to the turbo lift toward her quarters.

::Bridge::

It's been seven hours since we left the Starbase 514 and so far nothing too exciting has happened. The crew is continuing its preparations for our mission.

Lt Miyamoto spoke up " Commander, Tactical reports all systems at full readiness, nebula modifications to sensors, tactical targeting systems and weapons will be complete well before our arrival. "

" Well done Lieutenant, " Quinn replied smoothly. " but lets all pray we don't need to use them."

"Aye sir" Lt. Miyamoto turns back to his console.

Lt. Li announced, "Sir I'm picking up a  D'Kora Class Starship on an intercept course with us sir.

Quinn said under his breath "the ferengi" he turned towards Lt. Li. Estimated time of arrival Lt?

Lt. Li ran her fingers across the console, " Three hours, seventeen minutes, sir "

"Thank you Lt. " Quinn pressed his comm badge.

=/\= Captain...

=/\= Go ahead number one!! =/\=

=/\= We have visitor's sir. A D'Kora Class Starship is on an intercept course with us. They will arrive in three hours and seventeen minutes.  =/\=

=/\= Very good Commander... keep me informed. =/\=

=/\= Aye sir... Quinn out. =/\=

Commander Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

Lt. Commander Sevryll placed the surreptitious relic within an alcove in Science Lab 3 and activated a containment field. She then walked out of the compartment, and into the central quarter of the lab and secured the entry to the smaller room.  "Computer, deny access to all personnel with the exception of Doctor Peterson, Captain Bell and myself. Alert me, if entrance to the secured area is attempted."

"Acknowledged. Entry secured."

Sevryll stood, facing the magnetically sealed door, contemplating the credence of the discovery. What consequences would such an object hold? She stood transfixed before the door for several minutes, her pulse slowly began to pound in her ears as she lost perception of the room around her. The door to the lab hissed as a technician entered, causing her to rouse from the odd daze. She blinked and the pounding ceased.

"Is everything OK Lt. Commander?" the tech asked.
There was an awkward pause before she slowly replied "...Quite. Thank you ensign."

She decided it had been too long since she had last meditated. After her shift, she would make time to do so.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

K'arath's comm badge chirped to life. He slapped his chest to open the line, "K'arath here"

Commander Quinn's voice came through, "Do you think you can handel a little more speed down there?"

Humor, humans always seemed to couch somewhat passive aggressive comments in it. K'arath perferred it more open, more honest, but he knew the First Officer was just trying to get a rise out of him. He didn't take the bait. They were a few hours out of dock but still operating at impulse.

"Warp speed at your discretion, Commander."

"Looks like we are going to be having some company, K'arath." Quinn replied, "The Ferengi's are looking to stop by for a visit and I want to be ready for any eventuality."

"Understood, sir. We will have 105% emergency warp power available within the hour and we will be sure our weapons system upgrades are online, assuming the bridge is prepared to handle any eventuality." He could almost hear the Commander smile.

Ensign Enoch Iblis, Helmsman
Bridge
Traveling towards the Ferengi vessel

Enoch increased the speed up a bit. 

The Tiberius reacted smoothly and responded quickly.  What a ship! 

K'arath had the engines in fine condition. 

So quickly, the mission was already quite a pleasant surprise. 

Warping towards a Ferengi vessel on an intercept course.  This should be interesting! 

Enoch reflected on the events earlier in the evening.

Enoch had been near the Captain and Sevryll in the Observation Lounge when they had begun a discussion of and Iconian.. something... that Doctor Petersen apparently had in his posession. 

Enoch had excellent ears, and had perked up immediately.  But, Bell had glaced about and motioned Sevryll out of the room. 

Enoch knew he had heard something significant.  Information was being held secret, which of course was to be expected. 

Enoch set his mind to talking to Sevryll.  He glanced to his left.  She was there, pouring over her sensors, studying everything she could about the Ferengi.  What does a Klingon say to a Vulcan?  He would ponder this.

Lt. Commander Sevryll sat at her station, running scans on the approaching Ferengi vessel. They were a capricious species and she found them to be more irrational than any other she had encountered; she was not looking forward to dealing with them. Was it anxiety she felt? Perhaps she was simply fatigued. She would definitely need to meditate this evening. Sevryll pushed a lock of hair behind her right ear, and looked up from her consol.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed the Helmsman's gaze dart from her then back to his control surface. She had not yet had an opportunity to meet the young Klingon, but she knew him from his  service records. Ensign Enoch Iblis was an excellent pilot and a loyal officer. After a few minutes she felt his eyes moved from his control panel back to her again, this time she asked: "Yes Ensign?"

He shifted in his seat and opened his mouth as if to say something, then promptly closed it as he carefully considered his words. Had her inquiry made him nervous? Although she suppressed her own emotions, she found it difficult not to consider the feelings of those who did not. Being married to a human gave her sensibilities other Vulcans lacked.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

... The Ferengi... in a D'Kora class ship... That brought long ago memories... For Morgen was at the USS Stargazer, also as an ensign, when a D'Kora starship, commanded by the DaiMon Bok, was defeated by Jean-Luc Picard at the Battle of Maxia in 2355, using a new (then) tactic known (now) as the "Picard maneuver".

The D'Koras "Marauders" of that time used to carry photon torpedoes and disruptors; and had decent shield deflectors. Tactically they were about as powerful as a Galaxy class starship, but with only half as many crew.

Morgen wondered: Would they have evolved the specs? Would this one also be more powerful - as our Akira class was ahead of the "old" Galaxy class?
Maybe not, since the Ferengi did not place so much value on military capability. It was a good thing they did not felt this as a "good investment"...

But then,... maybe yes...

Anyway, Ensign Morgen, seated at the auxiliary science station, probed the incoming ship with all the sensors he could think of, in an effort to find anything useful to better inform the Tiberius command.

"Aha!" - he opened the channel to his commander, Lt.Com. Sevryll. "Commander, using the passive neutrino imaging scanner, I detect a level of neutrino emissions more compatible with quantum torpedoes than with photon torpedoes. I calculate a probability of around 85% that this incoming ship was retrofitted with newly acquired weapons..."

He tried to disguise the pride on his voice...

I headed to the bridge with much anticipation about this mission and thoughts of how my predissessor and mentor artifact that I came into possession may fit into his mission. I could not help but wonder if my mentors death was indeed the result of natural causes or something more..

:: Bridge:: In route to our rendezvous with the Ferengi Ship:

Quinn sat in his First Officer chair reading through reports. We had two hours until we met up with the Ferengi vessel. Everything seemed to be running smoothly when suddenly...

Lt. Li turned to Quinn. " Sir I'm picking up a displacement wave heading straight for us.

Quinn jumped up to his feet. " What!!! Where did come from...Can we out maneuver it? "

Ensign Iblis ran his fingers across his console. " No sir.. it's going to hit us in twenty seconds "

Quinn quickly pressed his comm badge =/\=  "All hands, brace for impact.. repeat all Hands brace for impact" =/\=

Lt. Li voice could be heard over the klaxons... five... four... three.. two...

The ship rocked back and forth with such veracity that Quinn was thrown to the ground. Console exploded to his left and right. There was smoke filling the air. A few moments later Quinn got to his feet and looked around. People were getting up off the floor, checking on others and running their fingers over their consoles.

Quinn yelled "REPORT"

Commander Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

Sevryll collided with the control panel as the ship convulsed, yet somehow she managed to stay on her feet. She gripped the surface of the panel to brace herself against another surge but a second, more violent, shutter threw her to the floor and she struck her head on the way down.

Voices and klaxons echoed within the black void she sank into. It seemed like hours before she was able to roll to her side. The pounding in her head reverberated as she struggled to push herself into a sitting position.  Her heartbeat pulsing within her ears now mingled with the sounds of alarm resonating on the bridge.

Sevryll's head swam as she sat up and opened her eyes. Red lights flashed as the bridge crew frantically sought information through their respective terminals. As the fog slowly lifted from her mind, their voices became more lucid. She heard the voice of the commander bark brusquely from the center of the bridge: "REPORT!"

Sevryll coughed on the thick smoke that had filled the bridge. The blood that streamed from her forehead,  rushed over her left eyebrow and down her check. She felt the strength of two hands suddenly lift her to her feet. Ensign Morgen made sure she had a firm grip on her consol; he then nodded and rushed back to his seat.

"Decks 1 through 18 report Nominal damage and minimal casualties." Snapped Ensign Ibis.

Ensign Morgen reported their coordinates. "Sir, sensors indicate we are now within the Beta Quadrant positioned just outside a pulsar cluster in the Carina Arm!"

---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

After changing into her uniform, Newol rushed to see the captain. The turbo lift hummed in time. She was happy to have a second to relax and collect her thoughts when...swish...the doors came open and she stepped out onto the deck. She knew what Captain Bell had called her in for....but did he?

Officer Avrik chuckled to herself as she approached the Captain's doors, it was a memory that made her laugh. And she pressed the keypad, waiting for a reply...

As I reached the turbo lift I sent a message to sickbay All hands prepare for casualties emergency procedures now in effect until further notice.

Bridge, This is Dr. Peterson, Status. At that Moment, the bridge doors opened and I was engulfed in a combination of acrid smoke and and the smell of ozone, the combination reminded me of the smell of subways I had been running in the hollowdeck.

After surveying the bridge, I noticed the blood on Lt. Commander Sevryll forhead and rushed to attend to her wound.

Still swaying from the impact of his head on the deckplates, Lt Nagumo pulled himself up using his tactical console as a crutch.

His practiced hands danced over the console and in an instant the readouts were filled with critical data.

" Shields and weapons operational sir, minor damage to torpedo tube 4, still operational but it reload rate will be reduced 18% until repairs can be made.

Tacical scanners and targeting systems also operational with nominal damage. "

" Good, whats in the neighborhood Moto?" Quin replied

Moto's fingers danced again and he swore a quick klingon oath before replying.

" The Ferningi vessel appears to have been effected by the translocation effect as well. It appears to have sustained slightly greater damage but nothing serious." Moto paused then swore again.

" Sir, they are powering weapons and coming about, disruptors and torpedoes locking on us. "

" Orders Commander ?"  Moto asked, with crisp fearless anticipation as his hands hovered over the weapons controls...

*Beep* The door to Captain Bell's ready room chimed, signaling the arrival of his Jag Officer.

"Ente..."

His chair shook and a Padd flew from his desk as the dispertion wave hit the ship. Bell sprung to his feet and started accross his ready room.

The door opened onto the bridge and he barley caught JAG Officer Avrik as she half fell into the room.

"Looks like our meeting may have to wait now Officer. You may be better off retireing to your quaters for the time being."

The Captain brought Avrik to her feet and continued past her onto the bridge.

"I'm not as delicate as you think I'll have you know Captai... Captain?"
She spun around to find the Captain had already started ignoring her, his attention on his bridge.

" Sir, they are powering weapons and coming about, disruptors and torpedoes locking on us. " Nagumo stated with alarm, looking up from his console.

" Orders Commander ?"

Bell made himself known, rounding to take his chair from his XO who slipped into the chair at his side.

"Red Alert, Shields Up. Hail the Ferengi Vessel I'd like to see why the hell we're being targeted."

Captain Gilbert Bell,
Commanding Officer,
USS Tiberius

"Bridge!" K'ararth barked ionto the comm channel. Initially, damage didn't seem bad, but the displacement wave had pushed the Tiberius through sub space and had completed collapsed the warp core's fusion.

"Quinn, here." the XO responded

"Sir, warp engines are offline, impulse power available, phasers are off line but torpedo's are available. It will take at least an hour to restore full power."

K'arath shook his head, "Dor-sho-gha!" he yelled out to no one in particular.

The Tiberius hung in space. The damage she had sustained seemed nothing compaired to that of the Ferengi vessel lying but a few hundered kilometers next to her.

Small glowing orbs of forcefields illuminated the pitch blackness of space from the side of the Ferengi ship as it's automated repair sequences patched up the many hull breaches.

An electromagnetic frequency travelled across the void, a hail from the federation vessel. At the same time a volly of torpedoes exited the undercarriage of the damaged vessel, heading in an arch towards the Tiberius.

Neither would reach it's destination.

With a sudden flash a void of deep purple opened in the space between them, swallowing the torpedoes, dissolving them into nothingness.

A communication came accross the Comm systems of both ships,

"Now now Children, let's not fight. I apologise for the bumpy ride but that's no reason to blame your travel sickness on your brothers and sisters. Enter the void and we can all sit at the grown up's table for a change. The Klingons are aready here expecting you."

On the bridge of the USS Tiberius Captain Gilbert bell held his forhead in his palm and shook his head, stating simply.

"Oh god, not him again."

Lt. Peters was on his bed reading the new book that had been given to him by the Counselor. "No More Victims", this was obviously a self help book and he thought that he would find it impossible to read, but he had gotten right into it and had lost track of time. He only came to reality when he heard the communications speaker chirp into life.
"All hands, brace for impact. Repeat, All hands brace for impact."
A few seconds later he was thrown off of his bed with a brutal force, the book flew out of his hands and he staggered to his feet. "What the hell was that?" he asked himself, he decided that the best place to be was the bridge. He wanted to fully aware of any problems. He made his way into the turbolift which took him to the bridge. When the doors opened, he encountered mayhem. Smoke and noise greeted him and the constant red alert alarm threatened to overwhelm him. Okay, he thought, calm down and just take in all the details. He scanned the bridge and finally looked at the viewscreen. He saw a Ferengi ship heading straight towards them. The ship fired a volley of torpedoes, but they seemed to disappear before they reached The Tiberius, swallowed up in a purple void that had opened up between the ships.
A voice spoke across the comm.
"Now now Children, let's not fight. I apologise for the bumpy ride but that's no reason to blame your travel sickness on your brothers and sisters. Enter the void and we can all sit at the grown up's table for a change. The Klingons are aready here expecting you."
'Oh what now,'Rhys thought. He also thought that the voice sounded familiar but he couldn't place it.

"Now now Children, let's not fight. I apologise for the bumpy ride but that's no reason to blame your travel sickness on your brothers and sisters. Enter the void and we can all sit at the grown up's table for a change. The Klingons are aready here expecting you."

As the voice echoed over the speakers on the bridge Bell's stomach took a lurch. He raised his palm to his forehead and shook his head in dismay.

"Oh god, not him again."

Looking back up to the viewscreen he pondered for a second before making his decision.

"Open a channel to the Ferengi ship."

"Channel open sir."

"This is Captain Gilbert Bell of the USS Tiberius to the captain of the Ferengi starship 'Capital Gain', as you have no doubt heard we have been invited to join our guests through the vortex. I have met the Iconian clone whom has just made himself known to us, on a previous occasion. Although he may seem polite and at times slightly condescending, I urge you to heed his words. Tiberius out."

Pressing a button on his sidepad he cut off the comm channel.

"Now, Ensign Iblis. Plot a course into the anomaly and proceed."

Captain Gilbert Bell
Commanding Officer
USS Tiberius

Captain Bell suggested that she leave the bridge and seek the refuge of her quarters, but Averik Newol wasn't easily intimidated. Some called her tenacious, yet she preferred the term dedicated.  The young JAG Officer proved to be a stubborn, albeit valuable aide to Doctor Peterson as he tended to the injured Lieutenant Commander Sevryll.

Averik had met the Vulcan once before in Five Forward. Sevryll was in a hurry to get back to her children, and couldn't chat long with the loquacious JAG Officer. Even though she hadn't spoken long with the Vulcan, Averic felt as though she knew Sevryll, and didn't think twice about rushing to check on her injuries. Besides, Sevryll was one of the only crewmembers that took the time to speak with her—even though the conversation had been short, it had been a friendly one.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
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Ensign Enoch Iblis, Helmsman
Main Bridge
About to enter the anomaly

The sudden change of events was exhilarating.  What a rush!  Enoch felt the blood fever. 

The sudden displacement wave had done damage to the navigation systems.  Enoch felt naked without K'arath's warp engines.  There was a Ferengi ship here, Enoch needed all his tools!

Captain Bell spoke, "Now, Ensign Iblis. Plot a course into the anomaly and proceed."

Enoch looked at his controls and felt the Tiberius, it was bruised.  He felt bruised. 

"Aye, Sir.  Plotted and engaged.  Moving in on 3/4 impulse power."

Enoch read his readouts.  Ensign Morgan just messaged from engineering that full impulse would be ready in 5 minutes.  An eternity. 

Enoch sent Morgan a quick message.  'So long?  How bad is it down there?'

The USS Tiberius entered the void.

Enoch looked up at the viewscreen, it was inky black at first. 

Enoch looked closer, there should be a Klingon ship.  Where was she?  And where where they heading towards?

The Klingons had beaten them here.  Would that give them some advantage?  Surely not.  A race advanced enough to bring these two starships to their knees so quickly...the Iconions, he assumed these were the Iconians, were strong. 

Enoch allowed himself a selfish moment to glance over at Lt. Nagumo.  No doubt the tactical officer was readying attack options for the Captain.  Enoch wanted that glory.  With a sigh, he returned to his concern, the Tiberius' navigation problems.

Quote from: Elizur on February 23, 2007, 07:35:36 PM
Enoch sent Morgan a quick message.  'So long?  How bad is it down there?'

Morgan took a quick second to craft a message to the helmsman.
"Some of the protection circuits for the impulse engines were triggered, so they need to reset.
Some of the protection circuits for the warp drive were damaged, among other things, so warp engines are offline for a while.  If we need the phasers we can try Commander K'arath's modifications that don't use the warp engines to power them."

"Sir!" Ensign Morgan callled out to K'arath who was half way into a conduit on the floor near the warp core.

"Speak Ensign!" came his muffled reply.

"Sir, with the recent modifications I can get phaser power, a few shots at least." Morgan said.

Hidden inside the conduit, K'arath smiled to himself. His crew was coming together. "Make it so Ensign! Notify the bridge! Q'pla!"

Ensign Johnny Manrique, Security officer
Deck 15

"D---!" Swore Ensign Manrique as he got up massaging his rear-end.  Then remembering to keep his bearing he instead thought to himself, "Brace for impact!  Brace myself to what?!  These corridors don't have anything to hold on to.  This is  a fine ship but which genius engineer forgot to build these corridors with handles or the like." 

The ensign had been walking en route to the Security Chief's office when he heard the commander's command to brace for impact.  After getting up he ran to the office but this time, logging in his duty report would have to be postponed.  When he entered the office, there was thin veil of smoke that had apparently come out of the Security Chief's command & control console.  Manrique ran to it and ran a quick systems diagnostic.  Everything was in working order.

The ensign didn't know what was going on and hadn't been expecting for the possibility that his skills might be used so early in the mission.  "But space is full of all kinds of possibilities," remarked Manrique while smiling.

"Looks like we might get some tonight," quipped the ensign referring specifically to the security staff.

=/\= Ensign Manrique to Security Chief Peters. =/\=

=/\= Go ahead Ensign. =/\=

=/\= I'm in your office.  The C&C console is good to go; our security teams are at their respective posts.  I will await any further instructions from you, sir." =/\=

=/\= I'm in your office.  The C&C console is good to go; our security teams are at their respective posts.  I will await any further instructions from you, sir." =/\=

"Very well Ensign, await my orders"
As Lt. Peters said that, his screen started to flash intermittently. This was strange behaviour indeed.

"Ensign Manrique, my sensors grid is showing a blind spot on deck 10 section 8, it may be a malfunction but I'd like you to assemble an armed security team and check it out. Inform me of anything unusual, Peters out"
"Understood Sir, on my way"

So this was it. Lt. Rhys Peters had sent one of his team into a possibly dangerous situation for the first time in his short career. He hoped that the Ensign and his team would be okay, he knew that Manrique was more than capable of handling himself but that didn't take away the worry that came with sending someone into an unknown situation.

Ensign Johnny Manrique, Security officer
Deck 10 (Turbolift opens)

"You got here quickly, Ensign Tre'ghan "Treg" Stormshield--nice to finally meet you," said Manrique as he exited the turbolift.

"Nice to meet you also ensign Manrique." He was pleased that Ensign Treg was already waiting for him with twoother security officers.  He was pleased, but not surprised--he knew Vulcans to be quick and timely.

"Lt. Peters has found a blind spot for us to check out.  It's in section 8.  Treg, you take point.  I'll be behind you.  You two gentlemen follow behind us." 

Manrique was excited to be on that deck leading his first fireteam on a potentially dangerous assignment. He wasn't as excited as he would've been if he had known with certainty that enemies would be found ahead.  He figured it would most likely be a malfunction especially since the transporters were in the same deck. Transporters are always the cause of strange happenings on a starship.

As the team approached the section everything looked normal.  Ensign Treg turned right along the corridor and still, everything was fine.  Since everything was visually in order, Treg came to a stop. Immediately, the officer trailing Manrique flipped open his tricorder just as he had been trained to. 

"I'm reading lifesigns behind this panel ensign," said the young security officer while pointing at a panel along the corridor wall located shoulder high. 

"I'll open it Manrique," said Treg.

"Go ahead point man.  Looks like we might have to get rid of vermin around here."  Treg opened the panel.

"What kind of bugs luminesce white so beautifully Treg?" asked Manrique with curious interest.

"I believe these are nitrium parasites.  Many of the ship's systems are built with nitrium alloys with varying degrees.  It appears that the parasites their way through this power conduit and transporter conduit."

"Yes, I can see the gooey stuff they turned it into. Now we know the cause of our blind spot--that power conduit must lead to the sensor for this section.  I'll alert Lt. Peters.  Stick your head out of there Treg, we don't know how that slimy stuff may react with the dolamide in that transporter cond. . ."

The ensign didn't finish his sentence for he was cut off by a small, purplish electrical-like explosion.  He witnessed the Vulcan officer hit the floor.

"D---!"  =/\= Ensign Manrique to sickbay. =/\= 

=/\= Sickbay here. =/\=

=/\= I need an emergency medical team in Deck 10 Section 8. =/\=

"Lt. Peters is not going to like this," exclaimed Ensign Manrique.

Newol felt her pulse quicken while she tried to remember the little she knew about first aid. As an officer of the law, she should have known better than to help without a proper medical license. But as this was her first mission on a starship and this was the only person that had shown her any kindness, she felt she had to help.... then she thought...children. She handed the doc the last thing he requested out of his kit and asked:

"Lt. Commander what about your children? Where are your quarters? I can check on them."

"We are only a deck above you, second room. Someone should be there but...."

"I'll go." And without another word Averik was off.

Sickbay here:

Medical technitions have been dispatched to deck 10 section 8, How many injured are we talking about. Are there any critical?

=/\= There's only one injured, doctor.  Critically.  It's Ensign Treg. . . he was injured by a dolamide explosion. =/\=

=/\= Ensign Manrique to Lt. Peters. =/\=

=/\= Lt. Peters here. =/\=

=/\= Sir, Ensign Treg has been critically injured by a dolamide explosion.  A medical team is on its way treat him. =/\=

=/\= A dolamide explosion?! How is that possible? =/\=

=/\= The ship has been . . . infected by nitrium parasites.  They inadvertently caused the blind spot in this section and the explosion that injured Treg.  I'm not sure exactly how they could've made their way on board.  My best guess is that the ship was infected at or around Starbase 514. =/\=

Ensign Enoch Iblis, Helmsman
Main Bridge
Inside the Anomoly

A drop of blood dopped on Enoch's console.  Touching his hand to his head, it was covered in blood when he looked at it.  An annoyance, no more than that.  He was sure that there were others who were really hurt. 

Brex sent Enoch a message.  'What's going on?  It's all inky black outside my windows.  And what was that ruckus?'

Enoch took a moment to reply to his friend.  'I think we are now in the Iconian's sphere of influence.  The Captain, apparently, seems to know one of these Iconians.'

Indeed, Captain Bell did seem to know this Iconian 'clone.'  Enoch glanced back at him.  He seemed oddly calm.  Next to Bell, Commander Quinn was busily gathering information about the ship's situation for the Captain. 

"What is your report, Ensign?"  Bell asked Enoch.

"Ensign Morgan in Engineering just informed me that we now have full impulse power.  No estimate on warp.  The Ferengi ship is falling behind us." 

Enoch shot another message down to Morgan in engineering.  'Thank you for the update.  Are you guys focusing on weapons or warp?  I need to be able to maneuver.' 

Enoch looked back at the screen.  They were quite deep in now, and his instruments were unable to lock onto the entrance. 

"Captain, we have lost our point of reference.  I no longer know where we are."

Bell paused for a bit.  "It doesn't matter, Mr. Iblis, the Iconians know exactly where we are.  Steady as she goes."

We will do an emergency onboard transport directly to sick bay were I will be waiting with my staff to deal directly with his injuries.

After Receiving  Ensign Treg in sick bay
diagnostics found 3rd degree burns to his upper body and first degree burns to his lung tissue.

Nurse Cambell prepare 20cc of trylicane to be administered immediately, we will have to operate to repair his lung tissue.

4 hrs later

The operation was a success the tissue regenerator was successful in repairing his lung tissue and after 4 more days of treatment his third degree burns will be a distant memory.

Because of the intense pain he will be kept in a sedated coma to spare him some intense pain, plus it will allow him to heal faster.

It probably a result of  Ensign Treg Vulcan / Romulan heritage that he has servived this accident or his outcome might not have been as good as it has been. I still am amazed at the healing abilities of vulcans / romulans.

Tired after my 4hr operation to save Ensign Treg I sent messages to Captain Bell and Security Chief Peters informing them that Ensign Treg was out of danger but would not be out of sick bay for at least four Days. I also asked that both Captain Bell and the Security Chief come to sick bay when they can.

Nurse Cambell you have the night watch, I will be in my Quarters if needed, Please notify me if the Captain or Security Chief drop by.

Though she still suffered from a concussion, a quick pass of the Dermal Regenerator had healed the gash on Sevryll's forehead. The doctor insisted that she go to sickbay to better treat the concussion, but she stubbornly refused: "I am the Chief Science Officer doctor— I can not leave my post simply because I've...bumped my head".

Her thoughts came slower than usual—inwardly she worried that if she persisted in her duties, a critical error would be made. But the Tiberius needed its Chief Science Officer, and she was determined to remain at her post. In order to ensure her accuracy,  she decided a system of "checks balances" would be required. She would work closely with Ensign Morgen; he was uninjured and she had confidence in his abilities to confirm or challenge the results of her analysis.

She turned back to face Captain Bell "Captan, a Level 1 Diagnostic indicated a variance on Deck 10 Section 8. Lt. Peters has sent security to verify. I am expecting a report any minute."

---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

"Sir, we're receiving a communication.... It's txt only sir."

"What does it say Ensign?"

"It's addressed to you by name sir. It's instructing us to accelerate to 200,000 km/h along our current trajectory and cut our engines, then it's simply signed by Nu..."

"..Numov." Bell interrupted. "Yes yes, I thought as much. This is very much his style." He let out  along drawn out sigh. "Proceed as instructed. We'll be travelling for around three hours or so if past experience serves me right, we can use that to make repairs."

He tapped a button on his side console,

"Bell to all hands. We're standing down to Yellow Alert for the moment. You will notice the lack of stars outside, do not be alarmed, we are  now on our way to the Iconian's private domain. The travel time should be four to five hours, we will use this time to make repairs. Status reports from all departments within the hour please. Bell out."

Turning to his XO his face changed, regaining it's composure.

"Ok number one, my ready room. We need to talk about a one, Mr Numov."

Captain Gilbert Bell,
Commanding Officer,
USS Tiberius

With Ensign Morgan's help, K'arath was able to bring the pahsers back on line bypassing the warp drive. The Captain had the ship stand down to Yellow Alert and the tension level in the Engineering room diminished appreciably. They had a few hours to re-establish warp power and K'ararth new they would have it back up and running within the hour. Satisfied his team had the situation under control, he headed towrad the turbo lift. He wanted to be at the engineering counsol on the bridge when they arrived at their destination, wherever that was.

"Deck One!" he said as the doors slid shut....

Earlier in the day the Counselor had been reviewing the pictures of Dr. Petersons artifact in his quarters when the jolt had come.  He was thrown from his chair and Mr. Mouse went fllying into a bookshelf.  Then books from all around the room fell off the shelves.  "Oh for goodness sakes!" the counselor thought.  All of the sudden he heard Sevyrll's voice.  "The CHILDREN!" she said loudly.  Margon turned but no one was there.   "That's odd" he thought.  He clicked his com badge "Counselor Margon to Commander Sevryll"  There was no reply.  He tried again, but nothing happened.  "Counselor to bridge" nothing again.  "Is the com system down?" he said outloud.  The cat looked up dazed from the tumbling session. "Computer, the location of Commander Sevryll"  he said. 

>>Lt. Commander Sevryll is on the bridge<<

"Huh?  That is wierd"  he muttered.

>>Please restate your request<<

"Nevermind" the Bolian said with an annoyed tone.

He had such a strange urgency in his spirit, "I've got to check on the children" his doors opened and he made his way to the Vulcan's quarters.  Normaly the Couselor wouldn't be so worked up, but it was strange, his feelings were so strong, almost ... well motherly.  He just couldn't shake it.  Quickly rounding the corner he ran right into Newol- they both had a look of panic in their eyes as they stood in front of the door....

Ensign Morgen was indeed uninjured and eager to act. He checked all sensors. He contacted Security and got their report on deck10 section 8.

So his report read:
"
-   An infection by nitrium parasites was discovered at deck10 section 8. They caused a sensor failure and melted the power conduit and transporter conduit. Having reached the dolamide of the transporter conduit, they caused an explosion that injured Ensign Treg, who was inspecting the circuits. He is being treated, with good chances of full recovery.
The infection was contained and a cleanup is being performed before the repairs can start. Estimated completion of repairs range still very uncertain, ranging from 2 to 20 hours.
No identification yet of where the parasites came from or how they could've made their way on board.  Science dept is investigating.

-   Other than that sensor, all other sensors, internal and external, performed well on diagnostics level 1.

-   Scans of this space anomaly we are traversing show nothing - as if we are traveling through a completely empty space. Or, better said, a completely non-emitting and unreflective area of space.

"

He prepared the status report and left it to be reviewed by Cmdr Sevryll well ahead the one hour deadline the captain had set. She had not assigned him to do that. And surely it was her prerogative to be at the senior officers meeting and present the report. Bu he guessed she would have a lot in her head – specifically a bump and some concerns about the wellbeing of her children, just to name a few. So he felt she would be pleased by his help.

Sevrylll received the report and turned from her station panel to look Morgen in the eye. She said impassively: "I appreciate your assistance Ensign." He nodded in response to her statement of approval, and turned back to his work. She was different than the Vulcans he knew, who's numbers were few. Yet he had come to believe that his superior officer was more inclined to voice appreciation and was quick to offer encouragement. Perhaps she would promote him to Lieutenant this year...time would tell.

Sevryll could not perceive anything other than her children's amusement. Something or someone was keeping them entertained. Earlier, her wound had kept her from sensing the welfare of her twins. They were blocked from her senses by the injury to her head and the chaos that surrounded her. Inwardly she struggled to maintain her composure; she wanted to be with them in that moment for they would be frightened.  She was grateful that Averik was on the bridge at the time and that she had volunteered to check on them.

The JAG Officer seemed deprived of friends, perhaps she should become better acquainted with the Bajoran. Sevryll decided that if their circumstances returned to a routine state, she would have Averik over for a cup of coffee.

There were no stars streaking past—no way to visually perceive movement, as she watched the view screen before her. Were they advancing or stationary? The only way to observe progress, was to survey the computer's constant account of their heading and momentum. Though she would not admit it to her fellow crewmembers, the lack of stars was unnerving—the feeling of nervousness was also unusual. She could only imagine how the absence effected the other bridge officers. Her work would have to envelop the apprehension that she felt. She resigned to bury herself in the data rolling across her panel until she could meditate.


---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

Newol was a bit shocked as she had to shake a 2 year-old boy from around her neck. And the girl was waving what seemed to be a stick?... "I thought these kids were Vulcan." She wondered.

Just as she felt as if she had the children under control, to put it mildly, they had at least stopped jumping... she was surprised by the appearance of the...

"Counselor!" she exclaimed. The children paused as well. "I was...the Lieutenant, she was injured and... I." She smiled. "I don't think we've met, JAG Officer Avrik Newol, Counselor. I think I was supposed to see you before, but I was busy and..." A rubber ball hit her in the eye and small laughter filled Sevryll's quarters.

The Counselor held back a small chuckle.

Newol said, "Okay, it looks like I am in a little over my head here. Can you help?" The little boy had found his way on Newol's neck again.

"It seems as if the children are okay, but you need some help Officer Avrik."

"Please"

Lt. Rhys was on his way to sickbay, he been asked there by Chief Medical Officer Peterson, the Captain had also been asked to attend.
  Dr. Peterson had performed a four hour emergency operation on Ensign Stormshield in order to save his life. A Dolamide explosion was very nasty and Rhys had not heard of many people living to tell the tale. Ensign Treg. Would be in sickbay for awhile but he was going to be okay.

It was Ensign Manrique who had informed Rhys of  Tregs. Injuries and of the possible infection by nitrium parasites. It was Manriques guess that the parasites had somehow got on board while the Tiberius was at Starbase 514. Rhys couldn't see how that was possible, everything had been checked and double checked. This was one complication that was not needed at this particular time, they had only been in space for a very short time and already it was hitting the fan.

Peters wandered what the Doctor wanted with both himself and the Captain, well he would find out soon.

Captain Bell walked into his ready room, followed closely by his first officer.

"Tea Commander?"
Bell turned around from the replicator as he produced a mug for himself.

"No thank-you Captain."

Bell moved from the replicator and took a seat on his couch, beckoning Quinn to join him.

"Now, I'm sure you will be curious about Mr Numov. That is the name of the individual who seems to have us in his grasp."

Quinn nodded the Captain onwards.

"Well, Numov and I have met before. In fact this entire 'summit' is his twisted idea, his way of annoying me rather than just letting me speak to his elders."

"I don't understand sir, Elders?"

"Ahh yes, sorry. Well, Numov is not a true iconian, none of his group are. They're all clones.

Three years ago Starfleet pieced together some intelligence that suggested that there may still be a working Iconian base left in the Teldra Nebula, so I was sent with the Titan to investigate.

The intelligence was correct but flawed. The base was manned by Numov and his followers. We were shocked at first to find Iconians, but soon found them to be imperfect. They are all sterile for one. After much study and some events that I am not yet at liberty to disclose with you we only managed to figure that there DO exist several REAL Iconians within the group, but they are kept mostly in stasis. The others seem to be created purely to protect them."

"So are these true Iconians in charge?"

"That would seem to be the case. And that complicates things. The original mission briefing from Starfleet was to find any Iconian technology that could pose a threat to the quadrant and to destroy it. But unfortunately we found iconians and that brought the prime directive into the equation.

Suffice to say the events of that mission lost me some valued crewmen and were the hardest diplomatic encounters I've ever undergone. The outcome is this, talks with all the major players in the quadrant and for some reason the Ferengi too." Bell let a small smirk slip on his face.

"I just want you to be aware, Numov may sound like he has a Childlike playful nature. He may sound like he wants to be your friend. But I assure you. He is dangerous."

After many an hour the silent form of the USS Tiberius approached what seemed to be a giant Citadel floating in the sky.

Twice the size of a Starbase, the structure was extremely ornate, gleaming white and decorated with simple but stylish artistic flair.

A voice yet again came across the void, playing on all loudspeakers.

"Welcome one and all from Starfleet, to the 'Refuge of Iconia' our homestead and the grounds for our negotiations. As expected you have come prepared for these meetings, prepared for all, even war.

We Iconians believe that these talks should be held with everyone on an even footing, and everyone near each other.

With that said we welcome our guests from the Federation of Planets and the Ferengi Alliance into our refuge. We will return you when the talks are over."

And with a flash of light it happened. Everyone, one and all, gone.

In a moment every soul from the Tiberius was gone. The hallways were empty, beeps from consoles played to themselves.

On board the "Refuge" a rather large hall suddenly became rather crowded.

[OOC: For the interior of the Citadel imagine Cloud City from Star Wars but on a MUCH grander scale. If any of you decide to try & transport back to the ship you will be transported instantly back again.

Hows this for a curve ball everyone ;)]

She had been at her post on the bridge and then all at once, Sevryll was standing in a spacious room—large enough to incorporate every crewman aboard the Tiberius. The entire crew stood crowded together, bemused and disorientated. Gradually the crew initiated a low murmur which broke the deafening silence within the space.

Ensign Enoch Iblis stood next to Sevryll, perhaps because of their proximity to one another at the time of transport. He instantly crouched into a defensive stance, searching the room for aggressors with his eyes. "What is this?" He inquired in a low growl.

Sevryll's expression was sober, yet her darting eyes belied her repose.  "I am uncertain Ensign. Perhaps we have arrived at our... meeting ". Though he remained anxious, the Klingon helmsman slowly rose from his crouching position.

Ensign Morgen was but a few steps away; he pushed through the crowd to speak with the Lt. Commander. "I have no equipment with me, otherwise I would scan this area." He looked down at her side. "You wouldn't happen to have a tricorder in that kit you're carrying...would you?"

Sevryll had not been aware of the kit she held, until the Ensign referred to it specifically. The standard Starfleet equipment case she held in her right hand, had not been in her possession before their unexplained arrival.

Enoch assisted her as she detached the fasteners on the container. Within the kit was one tricorder, a phaser and another sealed container. After examining the tricorder, Sevryll removed it from its niche. She passed it to Morgen, who promptly put it to use.

Enoch reached for the phaser, but Sevryll respectfully stayed his hand. "Wait Ensign." Without removing it from the case, she examined the hand phaser. It only had one setting: stun.

"Odd. This phaser has been altered. Perhaps it should remain in the kit until we know more about our situation Ensign." He nodded in agreement.

On the opposite side of the vast room, Counselor Margon and Averik Newol each held one of Sevryll's twins. They exchanged baffled glances with one another. Averik began to bounce M'rynn on her hip as the little girl began to whimper, cry and then bawl.

"Shhhh...Its ok....don't cry little one." N'val soon followed his sister's lead.

"Wonderful" remarked Averik.

Margon smiled and replied "Murphy's Law."

"Murphy's whaaa?" she couldn't quite hear him over the children's collective sobbing.

"Murphy's Law!" he said a little louder.

"What's that?!" she asked in frustration.

"You're a lawyer, you should know Murphy's Law." He said with a hint of sarcasim in his tone. She shook her head in response.

"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." He said.  M'rynn became more dramatic in her lament as the counselor referred Averik to another of Murphy's Laws.

"This one pertains to children: The intensity of the tantrum is directly proportional to the amount of people around to witness."

She rolled her eyes before begining their search for a familiar face.

After a bright flash of light I was standing beside Lt Commander Sevryll
feeling momentarily disoriented by the enormity of the room we were in, I was holding my medical tricorder and medical field kit and supplies.

Not quite sure what was going on, I found the Commander and counsellor Morgan and proceded towards them still uncertain what was going on, My eyes were drew me towards the crying children of whom I smilled. And like all good doctors offered them both lollipops, and not forgetting the counsellor I gave him one as well, this at least seemed to comfort the children at least for the time being.

I then headed towards the commander to see if she could fill me in on things that have happened and to see how her concussion was healing.

Ensign Enoch Iblis
Onboard the 'Refuge of Iconia'
Immediately upon arrival

Enoch appeared in a vast chamber, surrounded by his shipmates.

Lt. Commander Sevryll was beside him.  The Vulcan was calm and composed.  "What is this?" he growled.

Sevryll replied, ""I am uncertain Ensign. Perhaps we have arrived at our... meeting ".

Sevryll was demonstrating calm and cool behavior in a terrifying situation.  Enoch heard two babies begin to cry.  Sevryll also had to care for her infants.  Suddenly, Enoch felt respect for the Vulcan.  Typically, he had no time for Vulcans, but this calm and cool behavior in a terrifying situation was impressive.

Enoch made a silent vow to protect the two innocent lives that were brought here.

Enoch saw 4 doors spaced evenly along the walls of the huge, round room.  He wondered if they would open.

The room was round and domed.  It was massive.  He didn't see any lights...the walls themselves must have been providing the light.  The doors were the typical humanoid size.

Enoch already saw Lt. Peters moving his men into a defensive ring around the crew.

Brex appeared at Enoch's side.  "What's going on, Enoch?"

"You know as much as I do.  Which is nothing."

Brex appeared thoughtful.  "I'm not sure why they thought a bartender was needed."

Enoch felt an odd compulsion to prod Brex.  "Unknown.  However, it appears that our counselor is also needed."  Enoch extended a finger towards Lt. Margon.  Brex blanched.

A human Enoch did not recognize approached him.

"Excuse me, are you Ensign Enoch?"

"Yes."  Enoch crossed his arms.

"I'm Issac Starstriker, 2nd Ops.  Did I see that we have a phaser?  I thought I saw one in Lt. Commander Sevrll's kit."

It seemed that Isaac was thinking the same thing as Enoch.

"Yes, Mr. Starstriker, you saw one.  I am quite sure that Lt. Commander Sevryll will utilize it appropriately and inform Captain Bell of it."

Isaac Starstriker looked thoughtful.  "Of course, Ensign, you are right."

Enoch clapped a hand on his shoulder.  "I share your thoughts on this matter, but we must trust our superior officer.  As hard as that might be in this regard.  I too would like to be armed, but I suspect we will need our wits more than any brawn we could muster."

A limited number of crewmembers possessed the Equipment Sevryll carried. It seemed that only the senior officers were granted these implements. All phasers were reprogrammed for only one setting: stun.  Sevryll suspected that someone wished to "play it safe". She wondered if the Cardassians, Romulans, Klingons and Ferengi were also in this place. Would their defensive capabilities be restricted as well? She would inform the captain of the phaser, as soon as she found him.

The doctor pressed through the crowd and was now before Sevryll and Ensign Morgen. "Have you located the Captain yet Lt. Commander?" asked Doctor Peterson.

"No. Nor have we found Commander Quinn."

The doctor passed the medical tricorder over her. "You never had that concussion tended to. How's your headache?"

"Nominal." She replied.

His tricorder told him otherwise."I thought Vulcan's were incapable of lying."

Severyll turned her attention from the tricorder Morgen held, to the doctor. Her expression was placid, yet her eyes were like daggers. It did not matter what species she was, she was a female and when annoyed they could manage a gaze that would sear the hull off a Bird of Prey.

"Your head is pounding, isn't it?" He asked, ignoring the daggers.

"Yes." She stubbornly admitted.

"Fascinating," Ensign Rayne Morgan said to no one in particular, though he appeared to me standing with the rest of the engineering crew.  "Simply fascinating. The amount of energy required, the coordination of transporting what appears to be every single being on the ship, all at once, from all the disparate locations on the ship, to a single gathering.  And at such speed.  Using our technology it would be a massive, quite possibly, impossible undertaking.

"And the ability to leave behind items we were holding -- my boot knives are missing -- and give us other items.  The minute control they have is simply amazing.  I should dearly like to find out how this was done, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was all completely over my head.  But the possibilities of such technology..."  He trailed off into contemplation.

"

It was lime.  Oh, a blue man with a green tounge.  This was at least helping control the stress the counselor was feeling.  He glanced over at his son Brex.  Brex seemingly ignored his father and continued to speak with Enoch. 

Soon the counselor's instinct kicked in.  He began to gaze at the crew to see how they were handling things.  Strangely enough they were concerned but seemed fascinated with their situation.  This was a fine crew, adapting to their surroundings.  With all the comotion calming down, the twins were wide eyed but sucking on the candy.  "The Dr. should have given you one" Margon said to the Jag officer. 

"That's ok, I'll survive" she said nervously. 

"Is this your first experience with alien abduction?" he chuckled.

"uh, yes."  she replied, "this is my first time."

Margon smiled at her and then proclaimed... "well at least you're among friends"

Averick smiled weakly, "so, what happens next?" 

"Your guess is as good as mine at this point" he said licking the green sucker. 

For an instant it seemed comical.  But then, he realized...he wasn't feeling well.  His head was swimming a bit... he kept thinking of medical terms... what?  Why would he be thinking of that?  Of course this made him all the more inquisitive...  How long would they be in this place?, where was the captain?, and ... who would feed mr. mouse?  He was nowhere to be seen!

The Reception Chamber:

The crew of the Tiberius began to rumble with chatter in the large circular room, the tone ranging from fascination to panic.

Slowly they spread out from their initial, tightly gathered, circle and began to explore the room in various degrees.

Strange pieces of, what looked lke, sculpture art adorned the circumference of the vast chamber and several crewmembers began examining the pieces slowly.

Then it came, a high pitched scream from one of the Non-Commissioned Officers that was assigned to the maintenance decks. Another crewmember rushed to join her behind one of the larger statues to see what was wrong.

"DOCTOR! I need a Doctor here! It's the Captain, he's unconscious!"

_______________________________________________

Somewhere Else:

A viewscreen blinked to life in the pale white room. An image of the unconscious Bell with crewmen swarming around him appeared.

"Very interesting, very interesting indeed. The silly games these children play."

Numov stood with an interested grin on his face, watching the scene play out.

A low groan, followed by the sound of someone dragging themselves to their feet came from behind the Iconian clone but he didn't move an inch.

"Numov, i should have kno.... Wait is that?"

Numov turned, a large grin on his face.

"Yes my dear Gilbert, that is you. And they won't be able to rouse you from your slumber either. So let's sit down and watch the tests shall we?"

_______________________________________________

USS Tiberius

As I stood over the body of Captain Bell with my medical tricorder, Their were no indications of trauma, just some type of energy field, although I could not see it I could feel it. I determined that for the moment at least, the Captain was not in any danger, However I could not help but feel we were like  lab rats in a cage  who were being forced to participate in some unknown experiment.

I motioned for Lt Commander Sevryll and the Security Chief and asked the commander if she was getting the same impression that I was, I then noticed that I was also carrying the Iconian Artifact as well as my other equipment. The Commander looked at me and we both knew what each other was thinking, Wasn't this artifact locked in the science lab?

Instantly I knew that this device was going to play an important role in this mission and suggested that the commander and myself take some time to further study it.

I suggested that the security chief but a few guards around the Captain and start looking for the commander, I asked the counselor to start mingelling with the crew to try to calm them down.

I knew that sooner or later answers would be forthcoming, but wether we liked them or not would be a completely different story.

USS Tiberius
::Captain's Briefing Room::

"I just want you to be aware, Numov may sound like he has a childlike playful nature. He may sound like he wants to be your friend. But I assure you. He is dangerous."

"Thank....you sir" Quinn rubs his head.

"Is everything alright number one?"

"Yes sir, the stress level aboard the ship is very high. I'm having a hard time keeping it out."

"Well we still have a few hours before we reach them, and everyone is working hard at repairing the ship, why don't you go back to your quarters and relax for a few hours."

Quinn slightly shaking his head trying to clear his mind "Thank you sir.. I think I might do that"

Bell and Quinn exited the ready room. While Bell went to his seat Quinn made his way to the turbolift. A few minutes later Quinn entered his quarters. His head was throbbing from all the voices running around in it. He couldn't understand why this was happening. He has always been good at controlling his telepathy. He sat down on his bed and began to meditate, hoping this would help him calm the voices. Time flew by as Quinn sat there meditating, he was feeling better.

=/\= Commander Quinn =/\=

Quinn took a deep breath and pressed his comm badge =/\= Quinn here go ahead =/\=

Ensign Iblis's voice came over the comm =/\= Sir we have reached the Coordinates =/\=

=/\= Very good Ensign I'll be right there.. Quinn out. =/\=

Quinn stood, stretched and headed out of his quarters. He only took a few steps when suddenly there was a bright flash of light and the next thing he knew he was standing in the middle of a very small white room. Quinn looked around confused. He pressed his comm badge.

=/\= Computer what just happened? =/\=

Pressing his comm badge again

=/\= Commander Quinn to Captain Bell... Commander Quinn to anyone who can receive this transmission? =/\=

Quinn stretched out his mind to try and find the others but there was nothing. He felt the presence of no one. This was very unsettling for him because since the age of 13 there have always been other voices in his head. It was an odd sensation to only hear his thoughts. The silence was broken, a voice come over the air. He wasn't sure where it was coming from he couldn't sense anything.

"Commander Nathan Quinn, Welcome... "

Quinn looked around for a door or window but there was nothing. " Who are you? What have you done with the rest of the crew? Why am I being held?" Quinn yelled.

"Can't you sense them Commander?" the voice replied.

"You know I can't sense anything. I refuse to play along with your game."

"Game? I wouldn't call it a game Commander.. it's more of a test"

Suddenly a large viewscreen activated on the left wall. Quinn looked on and saw a vast hall with many people walking about. It looked to be the crew of the Tiberius.

"What are you doing with them?" Quinn yelled.

"Patience my dear Commander... patience"

TBC

Commander Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

Lt. Peters was still taking in this strange new place when he heard the scream.

It had seemed that all the crew just materialised in this strange almost featureless room. The crew were looking around in wonder and trying to work out just how they had come to be here.

Somehow, most of the security team had materialised next to the Lt. and he ordered them to form a protective circle as best they could. Immediately, Rhys looked out for the Captain and First Officer, he could not see them anywhere and he tapped his communicator badge on his chest.

"Security to the Captain, come in sir". No reply, he tried again and still he received silence.
"Security to Commander Quinn, please come in, reply if you can hear me"
Again, Rhys was met by silence and his heart rate accelerated.

Rhys started looking around the room with more care, if they were both gone, this could cause a little tension and upset and he wanted to avoid both, a room full of people with no idea of place and the removal of the command structure was not ideal

He wondered if the Ferengi were in the same boat as them. Were they in the same "place" as them? If so, had their command been shattered? Or was it actually down to the Ferengi that the Tiberius crew found themselves in this rather sterile environment?

.....The scream pierced his thoughts.
"DOCTOR! I need a Doctor here! It's the Captain, he's unconscious!"

Rhys ran to the Captain who was indeed unconscious on the floor and watched for any reaction as the Doctor ran his tricorder over him. He couldn't gleam any reaction from his initial readings, but he did notice a look passing between both the Doctor and Commander Sevryll, he would have to ask what that was all about.

Ensign Isaac Starstriker was going up a turbolift to the bridge.  It would be his first time on duty during this trip.  He wasn't anxious or worried as he had served under two of the best captains in the Federation.  Captain Picard of the Enterprise and the captain of the Sovereign.  In addition to the Ops station, he also operated the science station, from time to time, on the bridge.  Its the only reason he got to be on the Enterprise's and Sovereign's Bridge. 

Just then he had a craving for a hot chocolate and decided to get some in 5-Forward after duty.  Then the turbolift door opened with a bright white flash and he found himself materialized by the rest of the officers of the Tiberius.  He looked around and was stunned more than disoriented.  He found it amazing that this advanced race could do this.  The first person he saw was Ensign Enoch.  

After talking with Enoch, Esign Isaac Starstriker walked around to see what they had and took a mental inventory.  Seeing that the Captain was alright relieved him.  However, he couldn't help feeling like a rat in some sort of experiment.  The whole place just seemed to reflect it.  After reviewing the mental inventory, Starstriker was starting to believe that idea more and more.  "Its too particular......someone was either very thorough in that few seconds of transport or scanned us during 'transit' to the place they were now standing in" he told himself.  But all of this didn't matter, as it was up to his superior officers to figure this out.  

The place didn't offer much, no table, no chair, not much of anything except the artifacts around the room.  He had only briefly looked over the artifacts as he looked around the room.  This place seemed familiar to him, in some way.  Not in how it looked but in its....feeling.  Ignoring the feeling, he walked back over to Enoch.

Enoch was reflecting about this new officer that he had met.  He knew little about him as they hadn't met yet, but already Starstriker seemed respectable and had a being of a warrior, but Issac was an ops, not a security officer.  He made a mental note to look up his record after this ordeal.  

Isaac walked back over to Enoch and they were now wondering "What will happen and where is our Commander"?



*My first post!  Hope this is good!*
Ensign Isaac Starstriker 2nd Ops

Sevryll whispered so as not to attract attention from the crewmembers standing near by. "I understand and share your curiosity Doctor, yet at the moment Captain Bell is incapacitated, Commander Quinn is missing and the entire crew has been transported off the Tiberius and into this...this.." she looked about the room as the proper word came to mind"...art gallery." She practically spat the word.

"I admit the artifact's presence here may have a significance, yet there are more pressing issues at hand. To start, we must find Commander Quinn." She looked down at Captain Bell's comatose body.  Can you revive the Captain? He seemed to know this Numov."

At that moment, Sevryll noticed Mr. Troleen, her children's Betazoid caretaker, stepping in to free Averik and the Counselor of their babysitting duties. Troleen saw Sevryll watching them and nodded in her direction. She heard his deep, temperate voice subconsciously as he uttered unspoken words: "They will be well cared for, do not fear for their safety, I will see to their wellbeing."

Sevryll nodded and turned her attention back to Peterson. He was kneeling beside Captain Bell. In an attempt to reassure Peterson, she bent low, and uttered quietly:

"Doctor, I do believe our artifact is important to this situation. Once we find the Commander, we will study the device further."

She straightened to her full hieght, "Lt. Peters."

"Yes Lt. Commander?" The Chief Security Officer stepped away from his men and approached Sevryll.

"Begin a search for Commander Quinn. I am concerned that he has suffered the same fate as Captain Bell. He may need medical attention."

"On it." He replied. He started to step away, but hesitated.

"Yes Lt.?" Asked the Vulcan.

K'ararth had been standing at the engineering station at the back of the bridge and now was standing in a circle surrounded by the rest of the bridge crew staring up at the cieling of the vast chamber. It appeared that the entire crew of the Tiberius was there as well. He turned to find the Captain and XO and heard the call for help, the Captain was down. He saw Lt. Commander Servyll and the Doctor standing over the Captains prone form. Security Chief Peters was also with them. With the Captain incapacitated and the XO apparently missing, Sevryll was now in command. He moved over to her.
"What are your orders, sir?" he asked the calm Vulcan woman.

"What are your orders, sir?"  Came the gruff voice of Chief Engineer K'arath.

She removed the hand phaser from her kit and discreetly handed it to K'arath. "This phaser's power has been limited by our hosts." She said quietly, "Can you alter its single setting from stun to kill?"

Lt. Beyerhon and Ensign Morgan stood closer to the K'arath and Sevryll, in an attempt to block the view of anyone standing near. She continued as the Klingon took the phaser in his hands for inspection.

"We cannot ignore the possibility that malicious intentions brought us here. As you know, the Captain is debilitated and Commander Quinn is missing. Although the purpose for our transport has not been revealed, the Captain's condition suggests expectations regarding further dissidence, are relevant. I suspect the crews from the Cardassian, Romulan, Ferengi and Klingon ships have also been transferred to this place. It would be beneficial to cooperate with one another, yet we must be prepared to defend ourselves if the situation intensifies."

He looked up from the phaser and nodded in agreement. "I believe it can be done, but I will need to scavenge parts from a spare device." He said.

Sevryll exchanged looks with Ensign Morgen, as he continued to scan the room they stood within. Without a word, he closed the tricorder and passed it to her.

Sevryll thanked him and handed it to K'arath. "I believe the primary power loop in this tricorder may prove useful."  She said.

"Lt. Commander..." Averik Newol called as she squeezed through the crowd of crewmembers. "How can I help?"

The Bajoran almost fell as her efforts to press through the crowd finally paid off. She caught herself just short of crashing into K'arath. He looked up just in time to catch the JAG Officer's apologetic smile.

"Officer Averik." Sevryll nodded politely. "Thank you for staying with my children."

"Your kids are...very energetic. If hitting me with a stick is a sign of affection then I'm fairly certain they like me." She laughed.

"I am glad. Thank you for your offer of assistance. Please find
Lt. Sameria and help her gather the civilians in one location. Tend to any needs they may have."

The doctor pulled the commander away, from the rest of the crowd, and whispered slowly, Don't take this the wrong way commander, but i must point out, That if our host had wanted our phasers to have that setting, they would have left them the way they were.

Furthermore, perhaps what we are being tested on, is our capacity for violence or the lack of it compared to the guest races. If your intent is to incapacitate one of our fellow guests, perhaps a heavy stun setting would do just as well. As we do not know what the the result of failing this test would be, perhaps it would be best to err on the side of caution.

I have this unrelenting feeling that every action we take is being carefully watched and analyzed and we must at all times especially now represent what is best about the federation. As that is what separates us from the rest of our guests.

"On it." He replied. He started to step away, but hesitated.

"Yes Lt.?" Asked the Vulcan.


Lt. Rhys looked embarrassed. He had not met many Vulcans and this one was striking, he regained his composure quickly.
"Erm, forgive me Lt. Commander, but I noticed a certain look passing between yourself and the Doctor and I found myself wondering if you had any information that might help me in trying to find the Commander. If you think that any relevant information would help then please, let me know so I can perform my duties. I do not mean to sound forward, but I believe the situation calls for all cards on the table.....Sir"


He stood waiting for a reply and the Vulcan eyed him coolly. He had no idea what she was thinking and hoped that she would not make his awkwardness more severe by maintaining the silence. Thankfully she spoke but in clipped tones.

"There will be time for explanations soon, but for now I require you to carry out my orders and find the Commander".

"Of course Lt. Commander, right away". With that Rhys arranged his men into a search pattern that would cover the room in the shortest amount of time possible. He hoped that the Commander was safe and that his search would not last long.

:: White Room ::

Quinn watched the viewscreen intensely wondering what was about to happen. When suddenly the screen went black.

"What's going on?" Quinn yelled.

To his right, a door slides open, Quinn slowly walked towards the opening and put his head through. He looked down the hallway in both directions and didn't see anything. He walked back into his room.

"What is this.. do you expect me to believe that you are just going to let me walk out of here?" Quinn yelled to the air.

::There was no reply::

"Is this a test also?"

Quinn stood there trying to figure out what is going on. He knew that the door didn't just happen to open that they have something planned, but it was better then just staying in the room. He walked through door and turned right. The white hallway went on for what seemed like forever. There were no doors or windows; there were no panels or any computer interface, just white hallways as far as the eye could see.

Quinn thought to himself, "I feel like a mouse looking for cheese in a maze"

After several minutes Quinn turned the corner and saw someone huddled on the floor. The person on the floor looked up.

"Ensign Took?"

Nicholas Took stood up and faced Quinn

"Commander Quinn, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure Ensign, are you alone?"

"Yes sir I was in 5 forward when there was this bright light and the next thing I knew I was in this white room alone. But twenty minutes ago a door opened and I walked out and have been roaming around this maze. This is crazy."

"I wonder why they have separated us from the rest of the crew? I wonder if we are the only ones"

"You have seen the rest of the crew, sir?"

"Yes, the majority of them are in a huge Hall. They seemed to be fine."

"What now Commander?"

Quinn thought for a moment on the situation.

"We find them... let's go"

Quinn and Took walked down the hallway in search of a way out.

TBC

Commander Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

Ensign Enoch Iblis
Onboard the 'Refuge of Iconia'

Enoch was getting impatient.  He approached Lt. Commander Sevryll.

"Lt. Commander Sevryll, I am of the opinion that we have waited here long enough.  There are four doors.  I would like to assemble a team and begin to explore this vessel.  This may be a test; I am quite certain that the Ferengi and Klingons are already exploring this craft."

Lt. Commander Sevryll appraised the Klingon.  "Yes, you may be correct about the Klingons and the Ferengi, however there is a possibility that the Iconians would object to us poking around in their ship."

"If that were true then the doors would not open.  We have seen that they do.  May I assemble a team and look for our XO?  This may be a test to see who can reunite the entire crew."

The Vulcan was skeptical.  "It would be more logical to have our security team do this."

Enoch was prepared for this response.  "I would agree, except I am a Klingon, and there are Klingons and Ferengi in this ship with us.  Perhaps I would be better prepared to meet with the Klingons."

"Very well, Ensign.  Bring some security with you.  Assemble your team. And remember, you represent the Tiberius, do not overstep your bounds."

"Yes, Commander Sevryll.  I understand."

Enoch looked about the room and contemplated who to bring along.

Peterson's primary concern as a doctor, was the wellbeing his patients or in this case, the crew of the Tiberius. The phrase "do no harm", looped in his mind as he contemplated Sevryll's request to modify the phaser for "kill".

The expression that repeated itself over and over in his head came from a text he was reading, the night before their unexplained arrival in the Iconian Hall. Hippocrates's Epidemics, Bk. I, Sect. XI, reads: ... As to diseases, make a habit of two things — help, or do no harm.

Before K'ararth could finish his analysis, Doctor Peterson ushered Sevryll by the arm, away from the Klingon Chief Engineer. Lt. Commander Sevryll was far from pleased with Peterson's exhibition, yet the unflappable Vulcan possessed an inordinate amount of patience with regards to emotional peoples. Two-year-old, half human children proved to be excellent preparation for situations such as this.

He took a hypospray from his lab coat and pressed it to Sevryll's right arm. She quickly looked down at her arm and then met the doctor's eye—the daggers were out again, but the headache she felt, had dulled slightly with the rush of the drug he administered.

"Don't take this the wrong way commander, but I must point out that if our host had wanted our phasers to have that setting, they would have left them the way they were." Though the angst was written on his face, she could clearly hear it in his tone...in the tone of his thoughts, as he composed them mentally. One of his thoughts dominated all others: "do no harm." The unexpected mental link took her off guard. She paused for a moment as the voice she had heard in her mind faded. The silence between them was awkward. She gradually gathered her thoughts and responded to his remark.

"Doctor, a review of Starfleet history will point to similar occurrences. In recent time the Enterprise D, captained by Jean Luc Picard, was the subject of several such "tests". The results were always deadly. We cannot afford to presume that our hosts, as you called them, have the best intentions for us. I do not have to remind you doctor that the civilians have also been transferred to this location; we have an obligation to protect them."

She leaned in for emphasis, but kept an even tone to her soft-spoken voice. "I for one, will not allow the fate of these people to be reduced to that of mere guinea pigs. And I refuse to allow an unknown force to control the outcome of this situation."

Sevryll respected the doctor's disdain for violence; it was a sentiment she shared.  He was a man of integrity, a trait she believed was a great asset to a Starship Physician. Sevryll listened intently as the doctor continued to express his concerns; she motioned to Morgen, who stepped to join the conversation.

"Ensign Morgen scanned this area thoroughly using the tricorder we found within my own kit. Apart from the data collected on this room, he also scanned the crew in an attempt to locate Commander Quinn."

She nodded to Moregn and he shared his findings with the doctor. "Analysis revealed that each of our senior officers is in possession an equipment case. Every case contains assorted items but the presence of a phaser and a tricorder are consistent to each of them. If you will take inventory of your own kit, you will note that a hand phaser is present." The doctor opened his med kit, lifted a panel that separated medical equipment from medicines, and discovered the weapon the Ensign referred to.

Sevryll thanked the Ensign before she dismissed him then continued her discussion with the doctor.

"My strategy is to modify half of our stock of phasers to a "kill setting". I will speak to Lt. Peters to obtain his opinion, but my thought was to break our remaining security officers into teams of two—one will carry a "kill phaser' and one will carry a "stun phaser". In the event of an altercation, if a "stun phaser" fails to stop an aggressor, the "kill phaser" will be implemented as a last resort. Our situation is not completely clear; we must be prepared for all possibilities."

If she were human, she would have put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. In her calm Vulcan voice she asked for his help. "Doctor, I need your support. It is essential that the people in this room trust our leadership. Because of our location, privacy is impossible; a display of no confidence on the part of senior officers may affect moral. If panic ensues the situation may become chaotic."

He considered her last words...the phrase "do no harm" arose once more. But the Lt. Commander's request for support reminded him of the first part of the ancient Earth expression: "help".

Before she could obtain a response from the doctor, Ensign Enoch Iblis approached, and so ended their conversation.

"Lt. Commander Sevryll, I am of the opinion that we have waited here long enough.  There are four doors.  I would like to assemble a team and begin to explore this vessel.  This may be a test; I am quite certain that the Ferengi and Klingons are already exploring this craft."

The Klingon was anxious to do something, she decided to allow him his team. The Commander was still missing, and she was determined to find him.

"Very well, Ensign.  Bring some security with you.  Assemble your team. And remember, you represent the Tiberius, do not overstep your bounds."

"Yes, Commander Sevryll.  I understand."

---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius

Although, My wish is not to undermine your authority i still believe a heavy stun setting would be more appropriate then a kill setting.

I will support you on the condition that you allow me to look after your concussion, as I somehow can sense that you are sufferring from waves of indecisiveness, and dizziness which we do not want to happen at an improper time, If you refuse I will have to remove you from duty and put the chief engineer in charge something I would prefer not to do.

Furthermore I think you need to take into account if the Iconians wished to have harmed us, they would have already done so, I strongly believe, We are being tested and must strongly adhere tp the principles that starfleet was founded on. I believe that we need to be prepared for anything, but at this point, I believe are guest have Phasers with the same settings we do, and our greatest enemy is Ourselfs and the fear of the unknown.

My suggestion and it is only that is that only those you can trust and keep a cool head be given the phasers with kill setting.

I believe that fear of the unknown as well as are own misconcieved fears are more dangerous than anything else.

K'arath reached into his kit to begin the phaser modification Sevryll had requested and noticed he too had a phaser as well as the standard engineering tricorder in the pack. That made him feel both rekief and some concern as it had not been in there before. The Vulcan Commanders caution and concerned seemed warranted and he was pleased she had taken the initiative of defense. The phaser in his kit, like the one in his hand, had been modified to onbly have a stun setting. He  opened up the power pack in and made the power level adjustments to increase the output to a level that would be nearly fatal to a humnoid, although he was concerned if it could stop a charging Klingon warrior with just one shot. Hopefully the Klingons brought here by the Iconians will be more.....agreeable.

"...Furthermore I think you need to take into account that if the Iconians wished to have harmed us, they would have already done so."

Severyll's eyes remained fixed on Peterson's as she motioned to Bell's comatose body lying in a heap next to them.

She arched an eyebrow. "Doctor, they have "done so"—the Captain has been harmed. Be assured, I have every intention of complying with Starfleet's founding principals. I am a Vulcan Science Officer, not a Cardassian Gol."

She drew a breath, in an attempt to maintain control over the emotions that she kept buried deep within her. "Please understand that the taking of life is not the singular function of a phaser's Kill setting.  Kill is the only adjustment that can be employed to cut through surfaces—surfaces that may currently separate us from the Commander or the exit  to this place.  A high level stun setting will not be powerful enough to accomplish that task."

"She continued delicately,  "I would never be so reckless as to distributed phasers to loose canons. Remember, the Captain handpicked this crew; I am confident each person is capable of retaining a 'cool head' ."

"If the pain worsens, I will inform you. You do have the ability to relieve me of my duties doctor—if my health is in question. If my ability to command is under debate, then I would appreciate a second opinion. If that is the case, please consult with Lt. Commander K'arath before making a decision.

She walked back to find the Chief Engineer. "Have you been successful?" She asked him.

At that exact moment, a crack sounded as electricity sparked from the serpentine whip held by a particularly ugly Ferengi Hoozar. His hoarse voice shouted from across the room as those belonging to the Tiberius, gasped in surprise. Some of the civilians screamed as the whip cracked again for silence. More appeared from the crowd's parameter, in effect surrounding them.


---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

Ensign Enoch had decided on a exploration team:

Ensign Starstriker as he wanted to test him.
Ensign Morgan, with a tricorder
Two security officers (someone can choose to be here)

He felt it was a good team to have for this little mission of his.  

Isaac was glad that Enoch had trusted him enough to bring him on the mission.  He was getting antsy as he had little to do.  'What else does a second ops do on an away team'...  In any case they were going to meet by the door in two minutes.  
He was still curious about the Iconians, but he was more curious as to why they were doing this.  He didn't like it, but had little choice in how the hosts played it.  

Just then a very loud crack sounded.  "Ferengi!" he said to Enoch.  What would happen next?

Although he was not speaking he was communicated with the commander and she could hear his thoughts. She sensed that he was not questioning her command but was more concerned about her concussion as it was more serious then she realized, and he feared her waves of dizziness would get worse if he was not allowed to attend to it.

He also conveyed to her in images that the Captain was infact not injured but surrounded by some form of stasis field that had placed him in a form of suspended animation.

The commander realized that the doctor was just doing his job and  his threat of removing her from duty was idle at best.

It was more ment to force her to realize that her injury needed tending to on a regular basis, in order for her to function at a level she would find acceptable for herself, as it would not do for her to become incapacitated during the mission.

Sevrylls annoyannce with the doctor subsided as she realized that perhaps she had mistook the doctors intention and sent him a glance of understanding.

At that moment, with a clarity I had not possessed in the past, I
understood what I had to do, I removed the relic I was carrying from my medical bag and held it in the air for all to see. At that moment  the Ferangi in the room squealled in terror and backed away as the relic began to glow in intensity with a steady rythmic pulse. I then spoke with a commanding presence that I  did not know that I possessed.

I spoke in the Ferengi Language, a Language that I had never been exposed to and conveyed in a calming tone that we were not their enemy and were here for the same reason they were.

The Ferengi looked shocked but cautiously lowered their whips and I motioned for our crew to do the same and lower their phasers. The Ferengi then pulled out another relic almost identical to mine, but with an orange pulsing light. We then walked towards each other cautiously.

I extended my hand first and said I am Lt Commander Casey Peterson, Chief Medical Officer, of the USS Tiberious, and this is our Chief Science Officer Lt Commander Sevryll.

The Counselor felt a wave of nausea hit him.  His mind was flooded with concern for the commander's headache and now all of the sudden he was hearing something about the Ferangi... His eyes began to cloud and he felt himself falling to the ground.  He was jolted awake by a loud cracking noise.  A feeling of warmth began to overtake him as he observed the Doctor holding the artifact above his head and moving toward the ferangi.  "What in the world?" he muttered.  "What is going on?"  His concern was for the Dr.s safety now, and he glanced and Commander Sevyrll as if to say, "What is he doing?"  The Vulcan science officer actually looked alarmed.  Up to this point she had seemed at least calm, but he could tell from her face that she didn't know what to make of this.  Her eyebrow raised and for an instant.  Margon heard her speak, yet her mouth did not open.  "I don't know what he is doing, brace yourself Counselor"  The Dr. introduced the Lt. Commander to the Ferangi, and the counselor felt strangley compelled to walk toward them, even though he was very uncomfortable and concerned for his safety. 

Shaking his head he cleared his thoughts and walked forward.  He looked Hoozar and instantly heard "A Bolian? Great, just great.  Blue lobes, I hate blue lobes."  Yet nothing came out of the Fregani's mouth.  Again the counselor felt dizzy and began to lose focus.  "Calm down Couselor" thought Sevyrll.  "Yes, Yes, I am ok" thought the Counselor back.  The Dr. looked at the Lt. Commander, then at Margon, then at the Ferangi-- "we can all hear each others thoughts can't we?"

The images of the confrontation with the Ferengi played over the screen in front of Bell. He tried yet again to move, but the field holding him seemed stronger than him, no matter how he tried.

"Is that the artifact from my ship Numov? You put it there didn't you?"

The wide grin of the I-clone-ian [ooc: I couldn't resist calling him that] turned to face him and beamed with joy.

"Ahh, just one of my many playthings. A child's toy if you will. Don't worry, I'm not being mean. All the other 'children' have one too, the Klingons have a blue one. I always prefered the green ones myself."

"Why are you holding me here Numov, you've already 'tested' me. You have no further need to see our intentions, leave my crew out of this."

"Why Captain, I may have tested you, but I have every need to know your crew's intentions. You have some rather interesting characters there. Anyway, I'm not holding you. You're in the care of your crew, with them like you should be. We're in your mind Gilbert, such an interesting place."

"Why? How could....."

"Enough my dear Gilbert. I believe it's time to open a few doors that stand in your crew's way, and to give them something to play for."

Captain Gilbert Bell,
USS Tiberius

Silently the four doors around the room slid open, revealing long white corridors which lead to room upon room, some as large as this. Klingons, Cardassians and Romulans could be heard in the distance, the Ferengi were already here.

Numov's voice boomed over unseen speakers, shocking all.

"Ok children, before you start bickering I just want to make you aware that I have opened all the doors in this elaborate playpen. Feel free to 'play nice' with your friends. Ohh, and you may want to look for anything you may have lost, we'll speak later if you find what you need."

Starfleet officers, civilians, Ferengi, Romulans, Klingons and Cardassians alike looked around in confusion. The exact meaning of Numov's last words were not realized by everyone at first, then the screams and shouts started. Slowly every occupied room turned into chaos, fanatical individuals began losing their composure......


.....The children were gone.

I could sense them, They were not harmed but somehow out of reach, I could sense the commanders fear, however it was well hidden, but still I could sense it , barely.

I noticed that when the artifact was moved in differrent directions in glowed more intensly or became very faint. Could this be a clue?

What is he doing?! Sevryll was taken back by the doctor's sudden inclination to thrust the artifact in the air for all to see. That was the last thing she would have done, but the proverbial cat had been let out of the bag. All that she could do now was react to the situation. The Ferengi were easily frightened, they dropped their whips, but only out of fear. At least the situation had been temporarily defused. She thought to herself.

Sevryll nodded to the Ferengi as he shouted his own introduction, "I am Hoozar Tog." The Ferengi remained in a crouching position, and continually bounced his weight from his left to his right leg. His hands were spread apart and, in his left, he held a device that pulsed with an orange light.  He cocked his head to one side and looked Sevryll up and down with disgust. "What have you done with our DaiMon?!" He spat. The other Ferengis collectively roared in concurrence.

"We do not have your DaiMon, Hoozar Tog. Our Commander is also missing, and our Captain has been incapacitated." Said Sevryll. The Ferengi's thoughts were wild with accusations, Sevryll and Peterson could hear him debating with himself:She's lying! Never trust a wo-mon who wears clothing! She's telling the truth, she is in command, why would a wo-mon be in command unless they are desperate!? Their Captain must be debilitated!

"It seems we have the same problem Tog. Perhaps we should work together to find out what is going on." Offered the doctor. K'ararth stepped up to join the conversation. Tog scampered back a few steps in alarm. "This is our Chief Engineer, Lt. Commander K'ararth." Said Sevryll. The Ferengi jeered at the Klingon as another Ferengi scurried over to the Hoozar. He clasped onto Tog's arm as he gazed upon the Klingon before him. "They are lying." He whispered. "Do not believe them Hoozar." Tog pulled his arm away from the sniveling Frengi. "I will make that determination! I am in charge, not you."

"That device you hold. Does it affect those who have come in contact with it?" Asked Sevryll.

"It is not for sale!" Tog defensively exclaimed.

"I am not offering to buy it and I have no intention of taking it from you." Answered Sevryll she exchanged glances with the doctor and K'ararth  before continuing.

"We have a similar device. I believe it has given us certain abilities. Perhaps we can learn more about them if they are studied together. They may help us discover the reason for our presence here."

Oblivious to the current situation, Lt. Peters and his security detail continued to scour the complex, in search for Commander Quinn.


---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

Quinn and Took walked down the white hallways and couldn't hear or see anyone else.

Quinn stopped and turned to Ensign Took "What I don't understand is why would they separate you out of the group?"

"I don't know Commander" Took replied

"Another thing is why can't I sense you?"

"Maybe they have blocked your telepathy"

"Perhaps.. or maybe you aren't really here, maybe you are a figment of my imagination?"

Laughing "I can assure you Commander that I am real"

Quinn smiled and continued to walk down the white hallway.

Took started to ask questions about Quinn's life, his species, and his Starfleet career. Quinn was taken back a bit by all the questions. It was very strange for a first year ensign to be so familiar with his Commanding officer. Quinn kept his answers short and to the point.

"Why all these questions Ensign?" Quinn asked

"There is nothing better to talk about sir, just wanted to get to know you."

Quinn eyed him suspiciously.. something just didn't feel right here.

Then Took asked, "What do you know about the Iconians"

Quinn replied, "Not much really just what is in the Starfleet Database. The Iconians were a highly advanced ancient culture that was destroyed around 200,000 years ago by orbital bombardment that destroyed the surface of their planet, however some may have escaped through the gateway which is a dimensional transport that was used to travel interstellar distances instantaneously. Iconia, their home planet is located in the Romulan Neutral Zone near Romulan space. It was discovered in 2365 by Captain Donald Varley of the USS Yamato."

"And now they are back" Took replied

"It would seem so, but this was suppose to be trade negotiations"

"Maybe it's like the voice said... they are testing us?"

Quinn stopped walking and turned toward Took.

"What did you say Ensign?"

Took looked nervous and repeated himself  "Maybe they are testing us...sir"

"No you said, maybe it's like the voice said.. they are testing us. I didn't tell you about the voice or what it said. I didn't mention anything about them testing us....... WHO ARE YOU?"

Took laughed as he changed forms. Standing in front of Quinn was humanoid, slightly green, with ears streamlined to his head. The man was slightly balding.

"Very good Commander", said the man.

Quinn recognized the voice, he asked once again, "Who are you?"

The man raised his hand to shake Quinn's. Quinn did not return the gesture.

Lowering his hand "Hello there Commander Quinn, My name is Numov. I serve those who your culture has come to know as the Iconian empire. And before you ask, no, they didn't die out, your historians are not as clever as they think, and no, I'm not an Iconian, my template is but I am but a copy."

"Why the charades? Was this just another test? Where are my people? Why are you doing this?" Quinn demanded.

Numov with a slight smile on his face. "So many questions my dear Commander"

He gave Quinn a little nod and there was a flash of light and Quinn was standing in the middle of the hall surrounded by a bunch of people.

TBC

Commander Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

Things had happened so suddenly. 

Enoch was making his way with his team to the doors when suddenly, Ferengi appeared, very hostile.

But Dr. Petersen had producted an odd artifact, which seemed to startle the Ferengi.  Then the Ferengi also produced a similiar one, but of a different color. 

And then, all the children disappeared. 

Enoch immediately looked for the only two that he knew.....Lt. Commander Sevryll's twins.  Where were they?

These were infants!  This Iconian game made Enoch growl.  To prey on the innocent showed no honor. 

The children must be located!

"We have a similar device. I believe it has given us certain abilities. Perhaps we can learn more about them if they are studied together. They may help us discover the reason for our presence here."

The Ferengi worked his jaw as he considered his next response. He was not comfortable discussing the intricacies of their relic with the fe-male. He didn't like her. As far as Sevryll was concerned, the feeling was mutual. Ferengis were the most irrational group of people she had chance to encounter—but she was careful to shield that thought from him. It could potentially harm the diplomacy she and the doctor were working towards.

Now that she knew the artifacts effect she called on her abilities, honed on Vulcan, to block her more personal memories and thoughts. The doctor had this aptitude as well; he was half Betazoid.

Her concussion wasn't the only reason for her headache—the counselor was devoid of the skill. Margon's emotions and fears flooded their minds like a torrent of rushing water. The deluge of emotions was difficult to hold back in the absence of meditation. She suspected his feelings had caused her to experience anxiety and annoyance in recent days—feelings she keeps buried beneath logic.

Sevryll deduced that the telepathic link between the three of them was in direct correlation to the artifact that Doctor Peterson brought aboard the ship. She and counselor had each been invited to inspect the relic back in Five Forward. Since that time she and the doctor had studied the artifact at length, in affect strengthening the link. The Ferengi's artifact must be related to there own, for once they entered ther room the compilation of three voices increased to six.

Tog was refused to offer any information pertaining to his artifact, so Sevryll turned the negotiations over to Margon and Peterson. She was only impeding their progress. The counselor had since found his center and took command of the discussion. He was trained specifically to confer with the logically challenged and Sevryll was certain if anyone could successfully negotiate with the Ferengi, it would Morgon.

K'ararth had had enough of the detestable Ferengi; he followed Sevryll as she stepped away from the discussion. Enoch pushed through the crowd of crewmembers to inform Sevryll of the twisted new challenge in the Iconians' game. His report was a blow to the midsection.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

K'ararth was thankful when Servyll walked away from the snarling little Ferengi. Few species were as detestable to a Klingon then the perpetually greedy race of merchants without honor.

"Commander," he said, "these artifacts seem to be not just simple stone, but a mechanism which amplify's and transmits nueral enbergy. Clearly, as a Vulcan, you already posses a segree of telepathic abilities which have been augmented by the presence of this devcice."

Servyll nooded. "Indeed, it has been a....challenge to maintain control of the images I have been sesnsing."

"If the artifact is a form of telepathic enhancer, it would also stand to reason that it is a communication device. As such, perhaps we can modify it to transmit a message to our captors or posssibly.....the Captain."

Just then, Ensign Iblis came running over to deliver some very bad news the rioled K'arath's Klingon blood.

Ensign Enoch Iblis

Enoch ran over to where Servyll and K'arath stood discussing the newly revealed artifact.

"The children!  All the children are missing!"

Servyll immediately spun around to where her children were supposed to be. 

Enoch confirmed her worst fears.  "They are gone, Servyll...they are missing!  I swear by Kahless himself, I will find them!"

Servyll gasped.  The Vulcan could not hide her distress.

K'arath bristled as well.  "We have been standing here idle for too long.  The doors are open, let us find them...now!  We will assemble a crack team to explore this ship, and find our children.  And, our XO."

"Good idea.  Except I think I found myself."  Quinn appeared as if out of thin air.

Everyone turned and stared.  The whole room suddenly became even louder, first the children have disappeared, and now Quinn has returned.

Sevryll inhaled a considerable breath in an attempt to maintain her composure. N'val and M'rynn were gone...vanished. Apparently the Betazoid caretaker, Troleen, was missing as well. Was he responsible or was he also a victim of the game? Sevryll began to suspect he was involved in some way. Where was he after the displacement wave hit the Tiberius? Morgon and Averik never mentioned seeing him in her quarters when they checked on the children.

She maintained her poise, but the deep breath she seized was audible. She regretted taking it—Enoch and K'ararth had heard it as it was drawn. The Klingons were at once sympathetic towards her and furious that the game had now consumed her toddlers.

Her eyebrows formed a frown as she turned her gaze down to the floor. It remained there as she absorbed the news and gathered her thoughts. She could still hear five voices in her head, Margon, Peterson and the three Ferengi. She struggled to listen for her own voice as it composed  a single thought. Once it was shaped, she grasped it and swam for the surface like a diver rushing for air. Sevryll quickly glanced up at the tall Klingon and asked,  "did you see them vanish Ensign? Did you see them disappear?" her words rushed out like a gust of wind.

"Yes. The same bright light that brought us here took them away." He regretfully replied.

"We have been standing idle for too long." He added  "The doors are open, let us find them...now!  We will assemble a crack team to explore this ship, and find our children.  And, our XO."

Had he said "our children"? Sevryll heard the words but had no time to wonder about their meaning. "I am going with you." The Vulcan quickly emphasized.

"Good idea.  Except I think I found myself."  Quinn appeared as if out of thin air.

"Commander." Sevryll was relieved that Quinn had returned and was well. In her short stint as commanding officer, nothing had "gone right". She was reassured to see that some form of success had been achieved, even though she had nothing to do with the outcome.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

Officer Averik ran quickly through the crowd followed by Lt. Sameria.

"We just heard, what can we do?" Gasped Newol and Sameria, shocked at the calm present in the Lt. Commander.

"AAAHHH" Newol screamed as she noticed Commander Quinn appear suddenly. "What in the name of the Orbs is going on here? Why aren't we doing anything? And...........forgive me Commander." She pulled Lt. Cmdr Sevryll aside and said, "How do we know he is not in on it?"

Sevryll pulled away slowly as Newol realized what she had done in her panic. But they both turned slowly to look at the Commander....

"AAAHHH" Newol screamed as she noticed Commander Quinn appear suddenly. "What in the name of the Orbs is going on here? Why aren't we doing anything? And...........forgive me Commander." She pulled Lt. Cmdr Sevryll aside and said, "How do we know he is not in on it?"

Sevryll pulled away slowly as Newol realized what she had done in her panic. But they both turned slowly to look at the Commander....

Quinn smiled "I can assure you that I'm not in on this"

Sevryll approached "Sir what happen, where did you go, have you seen the children?"

Quinn raised his hand to stop the questions. "First tell me is the Captain here?"

Sevryll escorted Quinn to the Captain's body.

"He has been this way every since we arrived", Sevryll replied

Quinn leaned over the Captain and put his hand over the Captain's forehead. "He's alright" Quinn said but stopped abruptly... "I've never felt this before.. it's as though his being, his conscience is not here. There is nothing we can do for him at the moment." Quinn turned to Sevryll, "Did you say something about the children?"

With no hint of emotions Sevryll replied "Yes, moments before you arrived all the children vanished."

Quinn could hear the crowd around him start to mumble.

"Maybe you should start at the beginning" Quinn said

Sevryll took the next five minutes to explain everything that had happened. Their arrival, the Captain's condition, the artifact, the Ferengi's arrival and their artifact, and the missing children. In turn Quinn explained what had happened to him, the white room, Ensign Took, the questions, the test.

"So you think this is all a test?" Sevryll said calmly

"I don't know. All I know is that Numov told me he was testing us.

Quinn heard a man's voice from one of the doorways.

"Klingons!!! The Klingons are coming."

From another doorway a woman yelled

"Cardassians, they're almost here"

And again from the fourth doorway walked in the Romulans. Quinn could feel the tension in the room rise. He had to do something and he had to do it quick.

TBC

Commander Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

Panic spread around the room as the various races all converged upon the chamber. Voices echoed in the vast space both panicked and angered and scared.

A light glimmer shone down from the celing of the dome, casting shadows from the backs of one and all.

"Be not afraid children" Everyone, no matter what language they spoke, seemed to understand the soothing tones of this voice. "We have slumbered for many a century. The one you have seen is merley our aide be patient with his methods, he means well. Awaken us and we shall set you free with untold knowledges and what has been lost will be found. All you must do is identify and defeat your common enemy. We will speak again when the task is complete."

The blinding light exploded, filling everyone's eyes. When everyone regained their composure they seemed to be outside, in a large field under a deep purple sky. In the distance, around 30-40 kilometers away, stood a tall white Citadel, a shining beacon pulsing from it's peak. next to this beacon seemed to be an enormous landing platform, stretching out from one of the upper spires on which was pearched the Klingon, Ferengi, Cardassian, Romulan vessels and right next to the Ferengi marauder was the Tiberius*. The several hundred personell from every ship were all intermingled together.

USS Tiberius

* [ooc: yes guys this citadel is HUGE, and I mean huge! I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the shops and back but that's nothing compaired to how big this place is, imagine the biggest building complex you've ever seen, now imagine the tallest building you've ever seen, now double it. Well, that's tiny compaired to this, you think you can think bigger then thi.... aww forget it, it's just big ok ;) ]

K'arath could sense the tension and distrust between all the races gathered on the plain. Centuries of aggression, conflict, and dispute tenuosly resolved through treaties and alliances, but never really settled, all threatened to overwhelm them all. Although his Klingon blood bioled for a fight with honor, he realized that all that could result from battle was death to all, a death without honor. Somehow, they would need to work together, but how? Who could lead where so many others had failed?

"Be not afraid children" Everyone, no matter what language they spoke, seemed to understand the soothing tones of this voice. "We have slumbered for many a century. The one you have seen is merely our aide be patient with his methods, he means well. Awaken us and we shall set you free with untold knowledge and what has been lost will be found. All you must do is identify and defeat your common enemy. We will speak again when the task is complete."

The blinding light exploded, filling everyone's eyes. When everyone regained their composure they seemed to be outside, in a large field under a deep purple sky. In the distance, around 30-40 kilometers away, stood a tall white Citadel, a shining beacon pulsing from its peak. next to this beacon seemed to be an enormous landing platform, stretching out from one of the upper spires on which was perched the Klingon, Ferengi, Cardassian, Romulan vessels and right next to the Ferengi marauder was the Tiberius. The several hundred personnel from every ship were all intermingled together.

Quinn looked around for his senior staff, he saw Lt. Commander Sevryll and Ensign Iblis, he waved them over.

"I don't know what just happened but we need to find the rest of the senior staff and gather up our crew. ::Quinn looked around:: Have them meet here by this tree."

Sevryll and Iblis both nodded and headed through the crowd. Quinn heard some arguing close by. He walked over to find a Cardassian and a Ferengi about to fight.

Quinn stepped forward "What's going on here?"

"This is none of your concern Hue-man" said a Ferengi

Quinn stepped between the two "Stop this petty bickering" ::Quinn raised his voice and stood up on a rock:: "we are all in this together. We can't fight amongst ourselves. Our children have been taken, we are being played with like toys. This is exactly what they expect us to do, to fight. You all heard the voice, we must identify and defeat our common enemy."

A Cardassian stepped forward, "The Cardassian people have nothing in common with the Ferengi or Kligons, this is all a trick of StarFleet, they are behind this."

Murmuring began to spread over the crowd.

"This is not a trick of StarFleet, you were all brought here with the same mission as we were to negotiate with the Iconians."

TBC

Commander Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

Few Vulcans had the ability to exchange thoughts and memories through mind melds. Unlike her grandmother, Sevryll possessed this rare gift. The practice was an uncommon and intimate event involving no more than two individuals. She was not accustom to so many voices wrestling to be heard within her. Since the Cardassians, Klingons and Romulans joined the crowd, the link of cognizant voices, including her own, had increased to 15. The anger and confusion permeating from the other beings began to fuse within the Vulcan's mind, becoming a mass of disorder and chaos.

In reaction to the sudden deluge, she squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered; the sensation was like an unexpected plunge into an icy sea. The counselor's voice echoed in her mind, he was fairing much worse than she and Sevryll lacked the aptitude required to break through the torrent of turmoil that separated them from repose. They would require the help of an empath in order to manage the incursion of voices and emotions within them.  Though her eyes were closed she could perceive a flash of bright light. As she opened them, the brilliant sunlight caused her to squint. When her eyes adjusted to the new environment, she found herself standing among others, within a vast lush plain. She could see Commander Quinn several meters away, waving her over. She swallowed hard and jogged over to him.

"I don't know what just happened but we need to find the rest of the senior staff and gather up our crew. ::Quinn looked around:: Have them meet here by this tree."

Sevryll and Iblis found each of the Tiberius's senior officers and instructed them to converge at the designated area. Within thirty minutes the entire senior staff were gathered under the tree.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

I motioned for a nearby security officer, to help me make a makeshift stretcher to put the body of our comatose captains body on.

I briefly remembered my academy days and the words of one of my professors, who stated that despite all of our efforts and breakthroughs in medicine, their is so much about the human body and mind that we do not understand and sometimes all we can do is sit and wait.

Despite all my efforts the captains condition had not changed, he was physically in no danger, this was the part of my job that bothered me the most, not having the answers for something that did not seem possible. I could not wonder if man was really meant to be out hear, but our human nature pushes us to seek the unknown and to find the answers to our undying questions and curiosity unfortunately this curiosity of ours has often resulted in our own demise. I hoped that this would not be the case for us, or our captain.

the security officer helped me put the captains body on the stretcher and then we headed towards where the other senior officers were and I filled the commander in on the Captains condition. Then waited for the others to arrive.

Lt. Commander Severyll's children: N'Val and M'rynn
Somewhere within the Citadel.
----------------------------------------------------------
The white room surrounding N'val and M'rynn was unoccupied, save for one person. He was very big, very old and sat in a giant chair. M'rynn was afraid of him. Her brother N'val held onto her hand, he was afraid too, but something inside him made him stick his tongue out at the big, old man. N'val momentarily let go of M'rynn's hand to grab his little cheeks, pulling down so that the skin around his eyes revealed the pink area surrounding his eyeballs. He then scrunched his nose and growled as he inserted his little thumbs in the corners of his mouth and pulled back revealing his gums. M'rynn always hated it when he made that face...Maybe it would scare the man away. But he  laughed a big laugh instead and beckoned them over to him. M'rynn passionately shook her head.

"Rarrrr!" N'Val jumped with both feet towards the man, hoping to stop his laughing with the scary sound a Klingon boy had taught him. The big man's laugh only became louder until M'rynn released a high-pitched shriek that only little girls knew how to make. She held the scream for as long as her lungs could manage to push the air out. Then she took a breath and screeched again. Because he was so close, the sound made a weird noise in N'Val's ears. The old man put his hands over his own ears and made a face that told N'Val he was going to run away...But he didn't.

He stood up and M'rynn and N'val ran to find something to hide behind, but there was nothing— the room was empty. They huddled together against a wall as the big man stood over them.

"Such brave little children." He said in a deep voice.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Lt. Commander Sevryll
Chief Science Officer
USS Tiberius
http://www.treksf.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572.0

Quinn stood there surrounded by his senior staff and most of the crew of The Tiberius. Captain Bell laid beside him in the makeshift stretcher unconscious. He was about to speak when suddenly he heard some yelling from across the lawn. Next thing he knew the Klingons were fighting the Cardassians, the Romulans were fighting the Ferengi, and Chaos broke out over the fields. Quinn looked at his crew.

"We must protect the civilians", Quinn ordered

As the fighting continued there was a bright flash of light. The next thing Quinn knew was that he and his entire senior staff were standing on the bridge of the Tiberius.

"What just happened??" Asked Servyll

"I don't know." Quinn said as he looked around for the Captain.

"Where's Captain Bell?" Quinn pressed his comm. Badge " Computer please account for the entire crew.

"All crew are present except for Captain Bell" the computer replied.

Before Quinn could say anything the view screen came on, everyone on the bridge turned and stared. It was all white with this white figure completely draped in a white cloak. He spoke.

"My children it saddens me that you are not ready for this journey. Your hatred for each other blinds you to the truth of life. In time we will summon you again to take this journey with us, but this is not the time. Go in peace my children and remember enlightenment comes only when one's soul is at rest with the world. Farwell my children"

There was a loud crack and The Tiberius was thrown through space. Second later it came to rest.

"Report Ensign Iblis" Quinn said

"Sir we are back in the Alpha Quadrant near the delvian sector."  Iblis replied

"Set a course for Starbase 157, I'll be in the Captain's ready room. I need to contact Starfleet. Commander Servyll you have the bridge.

TBC

Commander Quinn
First Officer
USS Tiberius

OOC – I made up the Delvian sector and Starbase 157, Captain Bell will be gone for a while so it's just us. Just have fun with the story. I'm not going to direct where this storyline goes. We are going to Starbase 157 let's see what happens before we get there. Everyone will just build on the other's post. Stories will take twist and turns that you did not foresee or plan. Just go with the flow and will see how things work out and remember just have fun. Thanks.

Margon felt a scratchy wet sensation on his nose.  He slowly opened his eyes and Mr. Mouse meowed and nudged him.  "What the?..." Margon said sitting up quickly.  His head was instantly clear and his thoughts seemed to be his own now.  The last thing he remembered was standing in a field with his fellow crewmates in the Iconian test. He rubbed Mr. Mouses ears and touched his com badge.  "Counselor Margon to Captain Bell..." there was a slight hesitation and then Commander Quinn's voice came over..."Counselor, this is Quinn, the Captain's not on the ship."  he said.  "Oh my," the counselor responded, "Where is he then?" 
"I'll let you in on the details as soon as I get them" said Quinn.
I would suspect we will be meeting soon?" Margon asked.
"Yes," Commander Quinn said, "I've just spoken to Star Fleet Headquarters, there will be a breifing soon.  Are you OK counselor? 

"Yes, I think I'm fine.  The telapathic linkd I shared with the Dr, and Sevyrll seems to have been severed."  Margon said as he rubbed the ridge on his nose.  "My head hurts a little, but nothing I can't handle, let me know when we are meeting, Margon out" 

He got up off the floor and looked around his quarters.  Everything was back in it's place excpet for his couch.  Someone lay unconscious with a blanket strewn across their body.  "A house guest I suppose" the counselor slowly approached the couch and heard what appeared to be... yes, snoring!  The Cat was now on the back of the couch batting at the blanket as it heaved up and down to the sound of the snoring.  "Stop it Mr. Mouse," the counselor said sternly.. he reached down and pulled back the blanket only to find....

"Computer, this is Lt. Commander Sevryll. Are my children aboard?" Asked Vulcan asked as she slowly rose from the Captain's chair.

"N'val and Myrnn are currently on Deck two, Cabin 5." They were in her quarters, but were they alone?

"Where is the Betazoid, Troleen"?

The computer's soothing female voice replied calmly, "Charlong Troleen is not aboard the Tiberius."

Had she been correct in her assumption that the retired teacher, who had briefly served as the children's caretaker, was some how involved in the Iconian scheme? She called out to Lt. Peters.

"Lt., I'm going to speak with Commander Quinn. You have the bridge."

"Aye," replied Lt. Peters. He stepped around to the Captain's chair as Sevryll activated the ready room's door chime.

Peters hesitated a moment before  easing himself into Bell's Command Chair. It felt improper to be sitting there in the Captain's seat. Captain Bell should be here. Shouldn't they be looking for him?! They ought to go back to that place with a heavily armed security detail. They could take him back by force! He sat on the edge of the seat, incapable of relaxing. Peters watched his hands as he slowly lowered them down upon the armrests. He gripped them hard as he lifted his gaze to watch the view screen's display of streaking stars.

"Enter," came Commander Quinn's tired voice. Sevryll stepped into the darkened room and found Quinn's silhouette seated on the floor in front of the view port; his head was bowed and hands were resting upon his crossed legs. She had interrupted his meditation.

"I apologize for the interruption Commander."

"Not at all. What is it that you need?" He asked quietly. The shadows concealed his expression as he turned his face towards Sevryll.

"Are the Iconians holding the Captain hostage?" Like most Vulcans she was always right to the point.

"...I don't know." He replied. He motioned for her to sit.

She sat down on the couch near Quinn, who remained seated on the floor. "Commander, forgive me for being...forward...but I must ask. Why are we going to Starbase 157? Could we not call for assistance and go back to search for the captain?" It was a rare thing to sense tension in a Vulcan. He had felt emotions coming from Sevryll several times in recent days. She had been under a great deal of pressure...they all had.

"What good would that do?" His voice never rose above a gentle whisper. "We were at the mercy of the Iconians—an insect, which has been flicked back to the Alpha Quadrant."

He was right. At the time, they could not even manage to remain in the same room for more than an hour before Iconians instantly transported them to another location.

She looked down at the shadowy outlines of her fingers. The were woven tightly together, her cupped hands were held palms up in her lap.  She quietly replied, "you are right Commander..." They were silent for a moment before Quinn picked up where she had left off.

"The crew is distressed. I can hear their frustrations echoing in my mind."

Sevryll shifted her eyes from her hands to Quinn. He closed his eyes and drew a breath. "What could we have done?" His voice trailed off before he opened his eyes and slowly stood up from his seated position. Sevryll kept her seat as she watched him rise.


"Nothing....," she answered. There was a hint of sadness in her voice.

Silence came once more before Quinn change the subject.

"The caretaker, Troleen...he's gone?" He asked flatly. Her thoughts were held too close to the surface.

"Yes. The children are aboard, but they are alone. I would like to go to them. I have not meditated for several days. The effects of the relic were quite powerful and the stress of the situation has made it difficult to suppress my emotions. If it is acceptable, I respectfully request permission to be relieved of duty for the evening."

END OF SEASON 1