Star Trek: Season 4 - Family Matters

[Jen]

collaboration between Just X and Jen
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A glittering eddy of particles, combined to create the graceful form of woman, within the confines of Aurora's forward cabin. When Sevryll had fully materialized, Aria greeted her in the fashion customary to Vulcans—it had been a long time since she last made the ancient gesture. "Peace and long life," she said to her guest. Some how, the parting of her fingers and the utterance of the greeting, felt like an affirmation of her existence as a living, breathing person.

Sevryll studied the face of the young woman standing before her—the resemblance was extraordinary. She was tall and slight, like herself, and bore a number of comparable facial features. She raised her hand and returned the salutation.

Aria stared back at Sevryll for a moment, trying to gauge her disposition,"there was none that she could see, for her face was completely impassive. The young woman motioned to a chair nearby and Sevryll sat down, tucked her hair behind her ear and waited for Aria to begin.

"Thank you for meeting with me. I assume that my creation has caused you some discomfort, and I regret that, but it was a necessary act that needed to occur within a specific timeframe," she said as she moved to a chair across from her biological mother. "I am not aware of the exact reasons, but I am fortunate that the process was successful." Sevryll held Aria's gaze, and when she failed to respond, the clone continued. Drawing upon the information that Aurora had left her about the project, she gave Sevryll a detailed summary of her lineage in an alternate time line.


"Aurora selected you as a donor, because you are a near genetic duplicate to my birth mother," she said. "In my time line, Charles Tucker and T'Pol had two children, a daughter named Elisabeth and a son named Krell." Aria folded her hands and placed them in her lap as she continued. "My version of Krell met and married your mother, and another version of you was born. The Sevryll in my time line, met my father, Aeric James, through my great-aunt: Admiral Elisabeth Tucker—the first Human/Vulcan hybrid. In this time line, had she survived, she would have been your aunt." She paused momentarily to allow Sevryll the time to digest the information she had just given her. Sevryll inclined her head coolly, signaling Aria to continue.  "My mother and father, worked on early projects for my great-aunt. It was during an extended mission with him, a little over two decades ago, that my mother entered an earlier than expected Pon Far, which resulted in my conception. When the time line changed and Elisabeth died, it set forth a chain of events that would prevent my parents from ever meeting."

"Up until her temporal dissolution five years ago, you and my mother's lives, except for my birth, were virtually identical," Aria took a deep breath and let the nanites inside her do the work of suppressing the anxiety that should have been raging in her.

Aria's story, regarding parallel time lines, was intriguing. When Sevryll agreed to meet the clone, she never imagined that the subject of temporal shifts would be apart of her explanation. Yet, regardless of her scientific interests, Sevryll was troubled by the lack of regard shown for her rights as an individual. "Had I been approached initially, I may have contributed the genetic material necessary for your attempt. Instead, my DNA was collected without my permission. My right to make that decision was disallowed. Why?"

[Geekyfanboy]

Quinn rushed around trying to pack up all his things. The crew of the Tiberius still had three days left on its shore leave but the appearance of the Admiral last night plans have changed. Took appeared outside Quinn's door. "Nathan you ready to head back". Quinn zipped up his bag "Yep.. all packed and ready". Quinn and Took headed down stairs where Anashta and Jerrad sat waiting. As Quinn approached his father he took him into a one armed hug. "It was great seeing you again, good luck Captain". Anashta then pulled Quinn into a tight bear hug. "I wish you would visit more my special one," said Anashta with tears in her eyes as they separated she pushed a bag into Quinn's arms.  Quinn looked down at the bag and smiled "Mother we have replicators for this." Anashta waved her hand in the air, "It's not the same, there is nothing like home cooking". Quinn gave Took a look and saw him holding back a smile. Anashta then turned to Took. "It was a great pleasure to meet you.  I can see that you make my son very happy" Both Quinn and Took blushed as Quinn quickly headed out the door while Jerrad patted Took on the back.

[iceman]

The doctor was relieved that shoreleave was over, to him it had been anything but relaxing, The trauma of the last mission had left him scarred and emotionally drained, but shoreleave although traumatic for him had allowed him to come to accept his friends death and accept The purple heart, that he had come through much trauma to realize that he deserved.

It would take time for him to get over the last mission and it would leave him with a deep psychological scar that would take some time to heal, but he knew with the help of his friends, lots of Romulan ale and time he would heal.

For now he was glad to be back in an environment that he was comfortable in and looked forward to the routine. He was now ready for the next mission to begin....

[Jen]

Collaboration between Just X and Jen
--------------

"Had I been approached initially, I may have contributed the genetic material necessary for your attempt. Instead, my DNA was collected without my permission. My right to make that decision was disallowed. Why?"

Aria answered quickly, "if it were my decision alone, I would have sought your permission before obtaining your genetic sample, but I am certain that Aurora made her determination based on legal precedence, and did not wish to entertain the possibility of your refusing her request."

Sevryll intuitively raised a single brow, "the legalities concern me less than the lack of ethics involved in your methods. Whatever your intentions may be, the process nonetheless, proceeded without my knowledge or consent. Lab animals are managed with more consideration than you have offered me." Sevryll's voice never deviated from an even tone, yet her words rolled with a crispness that suggested she harbored a deep indignation beyond the composed, emotionless facade.

"Had there been time for discussion, I am certain that Aurora would have consulted with you," the younger woman responded. She understood that there was an invasion, but she also knew that Aurora had been driven to complete the project.

"Also, to be clear, it was not my doing. Aurora and I are two distinct beings. She was the custodian of my katra and I was the core of her matrix. While I possess much of Aurora's knowledge, there are certain memories that I was not privy to when my katra was restored to flesh. It is my summation that an unexpected occurrence caused Aurora to take drastic measures, but there is insufficient information as to the event that transpired. Aurora felt that you and Aeric, my mother and father, would need my help in the coming times. What little I could access of Aurora's logs, indicated that she was also concerned for my siblings, your children—I will not apologize for my birth, if I was brought forth to protect them."

She looked away from Sevryll's glare...it was obvious Sevryll was not pleased that Aria had brought M'rynn and N'Vall, her children in this time line,  into the conversation. After a short pause, she took a breath and managed to meet the commander's eyes once more, " A void was formed with the loss of my family, yet the greater emptiness is the discovery that the family I once knew, never existed. I believe Aurora did this to save me from non-existence, and I will not ignore the sacrifice that she made for my sake. I was not responsible for the time shift that altered you and erased me—my choice in this matter was refuted as well."

Sevryll stood abruptly in preparation to depart, but hesitated to tap her com badge. Seeing that Sevryll was preparing to leave, Aria rose with her. She hoped to convince her 'would-be mother' to stay, for she wanted more time to reverse the affront and turn the direction of the conversation. Aria opened her mouth to speak, but Sevryll cut her short,"I recognize your right to exist and I consent to your presence aboard the Tiberius, but do not expect to be received as a daughter. My husband and I chose to create our children, but where you are concerned, my free will was denied. You say that you were created to protect us, but all I know for certain is that I have been violated for the purpose of your continuation, and because of your actions...Aurora's actions, my perception of you...her" Sevryll closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to mentally, detangle, the nest of confusion. After a few seconds, she managed to dredge the appropriate words from her vocabulary, "my perception of those involved in your creation...is not a positive one."

She knew the terms expressed were difficult to hear, but they were honest and she did not believe it was right to entertain Aria's hopes of creating a mother/daughter relationship. Aria had mentioned "protecting" the twins, but Sevryll could not be sure any of what she was told was the truth. She glanced down briefly, in an attempt to compose herself. After a long moment, she forced herself to look at the young woman once more, only another Vulcan would recognize that Aria was shaken. She noted the astonishment in Aria's eyes and softened her manner, "a day may come when my opinion is amended, but earning my trust is requisite to my acceptance of you as anything other than a passenger aboard the Tiberius." The last words trailed away wistfully as she tapped her badge to request transport back to the ship.

Aria watched as the woman vanished. The nanites regulating her emotions had to triple their activity to keep her from crumbling into tears. It wasn't the meeting that she had imagined, nor was it within the extremes that she had anticipated. Yet Servyll, the mirror image of the woman that first gave birth to her, had not closed the door on a familial relationship. Despite the emotional suppression, Sevryll's parting words gave Aria hope. She had a full life ahead of her now, and time to make things right with her mother. Aurora's gift was now protected from temporal non-existence,and she would not make the same mistakes as her father. She would not allow her new family to vanish, due to the folly of inconsiderate time travelers. Soon she would have the means to protect them from one threat, but she could only wonder if it was the threat that she was born to help them against.

[X]

Aeric stood at the controls of the newly converted reactors. In a few moments, he would be shutting down the fusion reactors and bringing the quantum generators fully online. Taking a look over the newly integrated quantum generator room, Aeric smiled at the progress.

Due to the small size of the four micro reactors, they would only double the output of the reactors, but that would be more than enough for him to continue the projected upgrades. Had they remained in drydock, full size reactors and more than enough power to fuel the drives, but they would have to make due with the smaller reactors until a full refit could begin.

"James to engineering," Aeric said as he linked his mind to the communications systems. "Permission to shut down all onboard fusion reactors and bring the quantum generator room online."

Aeric needed the power transfer to be done perfectly. The power conduits weren't designed, even with the upgrades, to handle a sudden flow of power from both systems. At the same time, there were still issues with just shutting down the power and activating the other. It had to be synchronized. Hopefully the chief would appreciate the new doubling in power from the reactors.

[3 Ducks in a Man Costume]

The spaceport buzzed with activity. People and creatures of all shapes and sizes walked purposefully this way and that, all looking for their morning transports to a hundred different places. A lone Breen looked lost and confused, its enormous refrigerator-suited frame bumping into just about everyone in his meandering path. A pair of rosy-cheeked Starfleet cadets sprinted through the crowd, ducking and dodging, being especially careful to avoid a collision with a trio of Nausicaans.

Firrak Remor adjusted his lone duffel bag and made his way through the crowd toward terminal 12 Delta, the departure point for the USS Tiberius. Booking passage as a civilian had not been difficult, but given the characteristically lax security at Federation spaceports, he doubted going through official channels would have been necessary. Still, if anything, it provided him with an open legitimacy that allowed him to relax and concentrate on preparing his mind for possible telepathic probing. Perhaps the most irritating aspect of Federation living was all the telepaths. For the most part, he sensed that they were keeping their minds to themselves (Federation social etiquette!), but occasionally, he felt someone probing his thoughts. As a child on Cardassia, he had been a privileged Gul's son and had attended the most prestigious school in the entire Union. Although at the time, the mind training programs he had gone through were most unpleasant, they ended up providing him with unparalleled discipline and focus. Combined with his Obsidian Order training, his mind had been practically restructured and forged into a nearly impenetrable fortress against psychic incursion. Still, it took a fair amount of preparation to camouflage himself against powerful telepaths like the Betazoids.

Remor boarded the shuttle with a few minutes to spare before takeoff and took a seat next to a nervous-looking Vulcan junior officer. "This is your first mission, ensign?" Remor asked with the steady, measured meter expected of Vulcans. The emotionless existence of the Vulcan was another irritating aspect of his cover, but for some reason, his Vulcan ears itched much less than his Romulan ears had.

"Yes,"? said the young ensign, regaining some of his composure. Then he added, "Was it so obvious?"

"I had a first mission, once," Remor said. The ensign nodded in acknowledgement.

The conversation with the young Vulcan would have to wait, though, because through the hatch walked a man Remor had heard about: Nathan Quinn. The captain took a seat several rows away, sitting next to a Bolian civilian with an unusually wrinkly head. This was going to be a test of his mind's discipline. He knew he would eventually be discovered as a Tal'Shiar agent, but his identity as a Cardassian must remain hidden. Being a spy for the Tal'Shiar was dangerous enough; doing it as a double agent for a defunct Obsidian Order was ludicrous. And keeping tabs on a rumored Section 31 presence all the while would be practically suicidal.

As the shuttle rose through the atmosphere, Remor caught a glimpse of the Tiberius through the porthole. He had heard it was an unusually big ship, but seeing it firsthand was incredible. It was massive. But the bigger the ship and the more passengers there were, the easier it would be to camouflage oneself and one's thoughts.

Remor's Vulcan exterior almost cracked a smile.

[Bryancd]

Lt. Aeric's message sounded through K'arath's com badge. He briefly hesitated, his hand paused above the device to activate his response. Although intrigued by the Lt's plans to upgrade the primary ship power system by utilizing zero point reactors which draw power from subspace as opposed to a more traditional matter anti-matter reactor, he had concerns. The system was a complete mystery to him, he had never read about it in any Starfleet technical journals and though the concept was sound, the partical application might be anything but. The Captain had approved all of Aeric's work, and K'arath's Klingon dedication to duty would allow no further debate.

"Acknowledged," he replied after taping the com badge. He glanced over at the quantum reactor which in a moment would become active, silencing the main warp core in the cenetr of his engineering bay.

"Khalis, give us stregnth," he said to himself, looking around at the anxious eye's of his staff.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Isaac had beamed aboard the Tiberius with his two Sugar Gliders and Joseph.  He said his goodbye to Joseph who went straight to his quarters which Isaac went to what some called the "Main Replicator Station" room.**  It was essentially a room with several advanced, high power replicators that were more suited to complex items that standard replicators couldn't handle such as fancy wine glasses and complex art.  Though not perfect, they were still very accurate.  There was also a station where a crewmember could reorganize and add things to his room.  This was done with a combination of replicators, transporters, and an ensign if needed.  Of course, depending on your rank, you have a limit of how much you can do.  His quarters were made up of two small rooms.  One being the main living/sleeping area and the other being the closet/sink area.  He had a small part of his living area farthest from the door transformed into a mini-habitat for his two new pets.  It was nothing complex, just a bunch of wooden poles, branches and vines that made the small area resemble a very tiny sparce forest.  After inputing all this into the computer, it stated that it would take 20 minutes for the changes to be complete.  Before it started, he put his things into his room. 

However, when he left the room, he heard the Sugar Gliders make a lot of fuss.  He quickly reentered the room and found that they had actually knocked over the cage.  He reached out with his mind to sooth the upset creatures.  'Apparently they are so attached to me that they cannot be out of my sight.'  Of course, he remebered that the store clerk had stated that they were still very young.  He had the replicators change his uniform so that he could have his Sugar Gliders in his pocket.  When he looked at the changes in a mirror, it looked as though he an invisible phaser on his right side.  'These things are already trouble' he sighed. 

He left his quarters as the computer began making the neccessary changes.  He decided to go to Five Forward and get a drink.  Occasionally, as he walked to the nearest turbolift, the Sugar Gliders would peek their heads out of his pocket but for the most part would stay asleep.  Which, he found, was preferable to when they were awake.  He found himself in Five Forward and ordered a glass of water.  He sat at a table nearest to the windows looking into space.  The Sugar Gliders themselves also looked out of his pocket.  Isaac decided to open his mind and envelop Tiberius.  He wasn't probing, just simply gathering the general emotions of the crew and the nearby drydock.  Once again, he sensed two minds...both were nearby yet he couldn't figure out who they were.  'Its like touching evil itself' he thought.  He became concerned as he suspected that this new mission was more dangerous than any he had ever been on before. 

TBC

King Linksr


**For a visual reference, see the TNG episode: Data's Day

[Darkmolerman]

Andrus, Margon, and the Doctor then passed the ship rental.

"you passed it" Said Margon

"I know! I sort of errrr beat it up enough to buy it..."

"But this ship looks perfect!"

"Well the computer thinks I can buy the ship."

The computer screen on the dashboard chirped.

*would you like to buy your damaged ship?*

"Yes...*would you like... "Credit Card"

*please swipe*

Andrus swiped it, it then said "insufficient Funds" "pay now or later?" Andrus pressed later. Andrus then pushed the pedal down and then flew to the Tiberius

[3 Ducks in a Man Costume]

Remor stepped through the shuttle hatch and onto the Tiberius. He paused briefly to give his thumb scan to an eager young ensign, who then gave him a padd containing a welcome message, quarters assignment (which he instantly memorized), and a map of the vessel with both permitted and restricted areas clearly marked. Sliding the padd into the side pocket of his duffel, he thought to himself how lax these Starfleet types were on security. Not that it was all bad. In his years collecting information for the Tal'Shiar, he noticed that the freedom of movement was actually quite refreshing. It certainly made his job easier. But there was something more to it. Some part of him knew that of all the people who could have conquered Cardassia and the Dominion, the Federation wasn't a bad option. Certainly better than the Klingons, those savages. Or the Romulans. After living with them--being one of them--for years, he was certain they would be as bad as the Klingons, if not worse. Of course, he'd never openly admit this to anyone, even himself.

Reaching his quarters, he punched in the code to unlock his door. If Romulus was notorious for its never-ending grays, Federation starships were known for their solid beige interiors. For such an imaginative race, they seemed to give little thought to a decent color scheme. Ah, well. Now that the ship had begun filling with officers, crew, and civilians, he let his mental shield relax a bit, though he did feel a tingle in the back of his head. A few telepaths on board must be orienting themselves to the emotions on board, he thought. No matter. It wouldn't even scratch the surface.

Finally alone, he sat on the edge of his bed and then laid back, his short Vulcan hair falling back from his forehead. "How do they stand it, all that hair just above their eyes?" he asked himself for the billionth time. He missed his own hair, though he had almost forgotten what he really looked like. Hopefully he would be able to get his old body back soon. All he had to do was find a way to get away from the Tal'Shiar, but here he was, headed right back to Romulus.

For now, it was time for a nap. He would need his strength and wits about him soon.

[X]

Aeric issues the commands that shifted power to the new systems and deactivated the old. It was a near flawless transfer with less than a picosecond of interuption to the power. There was almost no drain on the batteries that held the systems on in that brief time.

"James to engineering," Aeric said as he adjusted his uniform. "Transfer was successful and new power flow is functioning well within specifications."

He had done his part to get the ship ready for this new mission, but it was time for him to deal with other matters. With the new influx of crew a passengers, he needed to make sure that the shuttlebay for the Aurora was classified correctly. Biometrics had been installed to only allow the proper personel into the shuttle bay and there was no way anyone was getting on the Aurora without his personal approval.

Aeric's mind reached out to the ship as he moved towards it. Internal sensors revealed that Aria was still aboard and that her guest had already gone. He wasn't excatly avoiding the XO, but with the past that no longer existed and a present that was more than complicated, he wanted to take his time in meeting the mother of his child.

With everything that was happening, he wasn't in a hurry to make new friends. The windows that he had given himself to initiate the upgrades had suddenly been changed and he hadn't even had the time to run new completion projections.

It would have to wait until after dinner. He had plans to meet the girls on the holosuite and visit a nice little cafe in Roma. He wasn't going to miss it for a few reports that no one was even expecting yet.

[moyer777]

Mr. Mouse ran to meet the Counselor.  He purred loudly and rubbed up against Margon's legs. 

"Hey little fellow!  How are you?  You must have missed me!" he said in silly sweet overtones.  He picked up the cat and rubbed it's ears.  The cat squinted it's eyes and relished in the attention. 

The counselor sat the cat down on the counter and unpacked his things.  He was glad to have had some quality time with Dr. Peterson and Andrus.  They were getting to be some great friends, and Margon trusted them. 

The Counselor went to the replicator "Root beer, cold with ice" the soothing sound of the replicator made Margon feel at home.  He took the glass and sat down at his desk. 

"Computer, update me" he called out.  The data screen came alive and began to update the counselor on the new crew members, status of ship operations and appointments for the next couple of weeks. 

"I can't believe all of the telepaths we have on board" he chuckled, "I'm the counselor and my only advantage is that I'm blue!"  He smiled and thought how it was nice to be able to sleep at night without anyone elses thoughts in his head. 

The computer inquired "Please re-state your request"

"Oh, don't worry about it computer.  Disregard."  he sipped on his drink.

Margon got up and sighed.  Looking out the window at the stars, he wondered what the next adventure would be for the crew of the Tiberius.  This is what he liked about serving aboard a ship like this.  The adventure.    His fellow crewmates were from such different backgrounds that his job was much more complex than a ship full of humans.   His research on the social development of the many cultures on board was fascinating to say the least. 

He was rested and ready. He took a deep breath and patted Mr. Mouse one more time.   Now, to his first task... finding Brex.

[Jen]

David slowly traced two up-swept eyebrows with his index fingers, as he examined the unfamiliar features reflected in the mirror before him. The Adigeon Carvers had done a number on him, but their work was utterly flawless—it had to be where he was going.

Not only were his outward features altered, but his internal organs had been rearranged as well. The change was necessary in order to fool nosy Romulans equipped with medical scanners. In addition to the awkward placement of his heart, he now sported inner eyelids, resequenced genes and additional sub dermal tissues that would bleed green blood if damaged. Essentially, David Lock was indistinguishable from the Romulans he would soon be surrounded by.

The Romulan raised a single eyebrow. He often mimicked his wife's tendency, and was fairly confident that his imitation of her would be the icing on the proverbial cake. Yet, he knew the physical alterations would never fool Sevryll—lucky for him, they didn't have to.

David was an agent of Section 31—an organization that existed outside Starfleet Intelligence's authority. It was often compared to organizations such as the Romulan Tal Shiar and the Cardassian Obsidian Order. However, unlike those organizations, Section 31 did not exist to enforce government policy or punish traitors, but rather to defend against external threats to the Federation. And, unlike the Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order, both of whom were greatly feared within their populaces, most Federation citizens had never heard of Section 31 and most likely would never encounter it.

David smoothed his raven hair and winked at his reflection. A wry smile crossed his face as he closed the remaining fasteners on his uniform. His new alias was Lieutenant Colonel Khev—the son of Romulan soldiers who were exiled on Vulcan. The story was that his "military roots" didn't like the soil on Vulcan, so he spread his wings and flew to Earth in hopes of becoming a Starfleet Marine...a touching story. David only recently became apart of Admiral Talbot's elite marine duo. The genuine Lieutenant Colonel Khev met with an untimely end, no thanks to Gaius. The real Khev just needed to go away on a long vacation, but his partner saw to it that the Marine would never come home. David always thought Gaius, or Mr. Smith as he was fond of calling himself, enjoyed his job a little too much.

Khev grabbed his bag and hurried to the Admiral's office. After a debriefing, the three men would depart for the Tiberius. His new assignment would be as critical as any other mission he had accepted, but this one had side benefits. Though it was unlikely he would have an opportunity to speak with her alone, he was anxious to "run into" Sevryll, on the trip to Romulus. Additional precautions would be required, but he longed to see his children as well.

[X]

"How  did your meeting go?" Aeric asked as he watched his daughter work on the Aurora's power relays.

"It was adequate," she said as she sat up and faced her father. " In theory, it could have been worse, but it still hurt to see her and explain what happened."

Aeric nodded and sat beside her on the floor. "That bad?"

Aria nodded. "How do you do it? How do you go through these timelines, watching people you care for change or vanish? How do you look into faces that are familiar to you and only see confusion or unfamiliarity reflected back at you?"

"Sometimes I don't know myself. When I lost you, I tried to never get attached to anyone again, but it's not a life worth living. I can't tell you how to deal with this existence; I'm still trying to learn that for myself. I was born like this and you were reborn like it. Even while you were connected to Aurora, you lived the same existence. Things change and people die, but it is our fortune and burden to weather these temporal changes."

"Why?" Aria asked as she pushed stray strands of hair behind her ears. "This wasn't something that you signed up for."

"No, it was something that I was born for. Something you were born for. We are gifted to not just live in this universe. We exist and are aware of the multiverse. We can look into places that few have knowledge of existing. We can see the folly of time travel and remember what was lost. If there are no witnessed to a tragedy, then how do we know it exists? How do we learn from past mistakes if others are not even allowed to know of those mistakes?"

Aria nodded. "We are witnesses. We are scientists that have the honor to see the multiverse for what it is. We can learn from those actions and build a better tomorrow. I can see how that can give you some comfort, but does the pain ever stop? If I didn't have my supressors, I would still be in tears. My own mother doesn't know me. To her I am little more than a thief or worse. How is it that in one lifetime she loves me and is there for me, but in this one, I never existed simply because Elizabeth never survived?"
"That's the problem with time travel. Even breathing the air of the past changes it and once that folly is open, this universe and every other one suffers. For most of my life, I thought that the Borg was the greatest threat to life, but in recent years, I've seen otherwise. The Borg, in all of their incarnations, are in the pursuit of perfection on a racial level. Most time travelers are only in pursuit of their own gains or remaking the universe into the image that they want."

Aria nodded again. "So we have taken it upon ourselves to be protectors and not just silent witnesses."

"Something like that. When I watched you vanish, I knew that it was impossible to save everyone in the universe, but looking at you here and now, I see that it is possible to protect individual people. Even when the Tiberius gets all of the upgrades, we still can't save everyone, but what if we can protect the people here? What if we can use what we have learned to keep what happen to you from happening to the people on this ship?"

"Wouldn't that only share our burden and let them lose as we have?"

"Yes, but I think that if given the choice between potential pain and potential non-existence, people will choose to exist. We can give some of the crew here that choice and we can, as a crew, protect the timeline. Sure, we might loose some of those that we care for if the timeline changes, but a shuttle doesn't really compare to the resources of a fully crewed starship."

"I need you to convince my mother to agree to this. Even if she doesn't remember me, I don't want to lose her again."

"As soon as the process is ready, I swear to you that I'll bring it up to your mother. I still haven't met her yet, so it might be a difficult task to convince her of the project."

Aria stood. "Have her mind meld with you, but explain the risks to her. She can see herself, she can see our family through your eyes and maybe she will agree. Maybe she will find a place in her heart for me."

"Aria, it's not that simple. I have a lot of memories. I have a lot of pain."

"You can use your own psychic abilities to filter the transfer. She doesn't have to be in danger, but I need her to know me."

Aeric sighed, there was no way he could win this argument. There was no way that he was going to deny his child. All he could do was take a deep breath and nod. "Fine, I will speak to your mother about the quantum stabilization nanites and her previous timeline. I wouldn't like to become so involved, but I'll do it this time."

[Jen]

Sareth sat alone in Five Forward, watching the shuttlecraft moving crewmen to and from Tiberius. After wandering the corridors in search of her quarters, for what seemed like decades, she decided to have a glass of water in the lounge that she had passed for the second time.

Brex flashed a brilliant smile as he set the glass of lukewarm water before her. The contrast between his teeth and the blue of his face was quite distinct, and she found it difficult not to stare. Sareth was relieved when the Bolian's grin tapered to a closed-lip smile. "Can I get you anything else?" He asked.

"No, thank you, the water is sufficient," she nodded politely and returned her gaze to the glowing blue orb that filled the viewport before her.

"Beautiful isn't she? I've been to a lot of planets, but Earth has the prettiest blue hue, of all the oceanic worlds I've visited."

"Beauty is irrelevant, yet Earth has unique qualities I find agreeable," replied Sareth.

Brex's smile shrank a little. Vulcans' and their logic—they are always so uptight. "Pardon me for prying, but will you be staying aboard long?" Brex pulled out a chair at Sareth's table, and sat across from her.

She turned her head slowly in his direction. He was clearly what humans called an "extrovert". Sareth raised her brows and replied, "I am a guest—I will be aboard as long as my host is willing to continue offering hospitality."

Brex smiled, "if you don't mind my asking, who's your host?"
Sareth inclined her head and considered the Blue bartender before answering. His incessant questions reminded her of her daughter. "Commander Sevryll." She answered flatly.

Before Brex could continue his interview, Ensign Enoch Iblis approached the table. "Excuse the interruption," he said in a gruff voice. "You talk to much. Leave this lady alone to her thoughts, you little blue inquisitor."

Brex turned to look up at the rude individual standing behind him, his face was blank for all of two seconds, before a laugh erupted from deep within. "ENOCH! My friend! What can I get for you?"

Enoch presented a grin of sharp Klingon teeth. "Brex, I would like you to meet my wife!"
The tall Klingon motioned to a woman seated across the room from them. Lieutenant Abby Brant waved and smiled from the bar. "We were wed during shore leave," said Enoch.

"You got married!? And to a red head no less!" Laughed Brex. "Watch out Enoch, humans say red heads are as fiery as Klingon women."

Enoch let a full belly laugh fill the room. "What they say is true Brex! That's why I married her!"