Star Trek: Season 4 - Family Matters

[Jen]

Dennis examined his reflection in the floor length mirror within Sevryll's empty quarters. The hologram that David had designed to watch over his family, looked exactly like his creator—something Sevryll evidently had a problem with. She was concerned that the children would be confused by his resemblance to their father and subsequently requested that Dennis create new, default appearance for himself. 

"Computer, alter form to reflect a Ferengi male." immediately, the chiseled features of the blond-haired, blue-eyed Terran were replaced by the snaggle-toothed , big-eared Ferengi. Dennis lifted his chin and turned his head from side to side to view his new appearance. A razor-sharp smile spread across his face and after a minute and he shook his head disapprovingly, "nope, it's just not me...but it would be great to see her reaction. Serves her right for asking me to change my appearance." He blinked at his reflection a few times before he requested another alteration.

"Computer, modify appearance to reflect a Borg male." Again, his image evolved to imitate a pasty face, bald cyborg with two bionic implants jutting from his eye sockets. Red beams of light reflected in the mirror, striking him in the face, "Ah...oh!" He turned away from the mirror as the pared crimson beams moved around the room—highlighting furnishings and bouncing off the viewports. He reached up to feel his face with a metal pincher, striking one of the eye implants hard. After howling in pain he exclaimed in an electronic voice,  "we hate this appearance! Computer, change us back to our original visage!" Right away, his image morphed into a tall, human male.

Thinking for a moment as he stood before the mirror, he finally said, "add a goatee." Upon his face appeared a thick growth of hair, starting below his nose and ending on his chin.

He considered his reflection for a minute before adding, "change hair color to...brown." The computer responded and his hair darkened to a light brown.

"Now we're getting somewhere," he said.

"Change the eye color to green. Now ...give me a strong jaw line. No, that's too much; reduce. That's better. 

Now, increase the thickness of my eyebrows. Great—now I have a unibrow! Subtract the hair between my eyes."

He moved in closer to examine his handy work in the mirror and smiled. "Make me taller."

"Specify parameters," replied the computer.

"OK, ummm...make me seven feet tall." Instantaneously, his height increased by six inches. Once he stopped growing, Dennis walked slowly around the room to try out his new stature. After trying on his size, he realized he'd have to duck to clear the doorframes.

"Uh, on second thought, make me six feet seven inches tall." He shrank three inches.

"Yeah, that's good. Now, increase musculature...but not too much, I don't want to look like a freak show." Dennis watched as his biceps increased to twice their original size and the thickness of his neck and pectorals doubled as well. 

"Great!" he glanced down at his legs, "but you forgot my legs...I look like a chicken. Increase the size of my calf and thigh muscles. Excellent...." Dennis flexed his muscles, changing position often and squeezing them to obtain the optimum effect.

After a few minutes of admiring his own physique, he made another request, "deepen my voice to a baritone. " The next time he spoke his voice was several octaves lower.

"Now, add some gravel to it...make me sound edgy." He tested out his voice, "you look'n at me? YOU look'n at ME?!" He smiled smugly at himself and sat at Sevryll's personal desk. Accessing the computer, he began to check on the progress made towards equipping the ship with holo emitters.  He leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head as his bearded face stretched into a handsome new smile.

[X]

A cool wind whipped around Aeric as he stood in the arena. Across from his stood his opponent, his daughter Aria. Both were dressed in black fatigues, boots, and shirts. Sand danced across the ground as he circled his foe.

Even without throwing a blow, they were locked in battle. Both were using their telepathic abilities to read the moves of the other. Both were reacting with possible counter attacks in thought alone. Aeric hadn't spent as many years as he wanted training in the martial arts, but he had learned enough to defend himself. Aria, on the other had, was a competitor. She honed the fury of her vulcan heart, not with logic, but with dedication. She had trained in the arts since her youth and she excelled at it. She was far better a fighter than her father in the holodeck, but when fighting someone with a mind, he was better. He could read more opponents at once than she could. It was her father that taught her how to read a foe for the upper hand and she was sure that he didn't reveal all of his secrets.

Between them, they had dispatched a dozen enemy combatants in half the time that they had been facing off. Both were looking for an opening that was almost impossible to find and the moment it was, the other moved to eliminate that opening. Being more skilled than her father, she found openings in his defenses far easier than he found them in hers, but he was better skilled at responding to her thought to close those openings. Each of these fights, she found that her father was getting better. His skill was increasing as he adapted to her thoughts.

With over a dozen training sessions behind them, the results were always the same. They were at another stalemate. Knowing this, Aeric and Aria bowed in unison to signal the end of the battle.

"You are getting better father," Aria said as she pulled her hair back. "I've noticed that some of your defensive moves in the simulations were based on ones that I had intended on using against your attacks in earlier simulations."

Aeric smiled. "Thank you, but I am not getting close to your skill level. I know what my body is capable of doing and I did pick up moves from you, but there is a vast difference in my thinking about executing them and actually executing them. Some of my thoughts were more bluffs than actual skill. I would have committed to the action, but I don't think that I could have pulled them off as well as I thought I could."

Aria laughed softly. "I know. I also know that as long as you are sure that you are going to commit to the action then I would be a fool to open myself to another attack in hopes that the one that you were thinking of would fail."

Aeric nodded. Due to the nature of his nanites, he had a measure of motor and mental control that could rival trained athletes. They both were at the peak of their physical abilities, but not beyond that. Their bodies and minds were honed to the best of their individual abilities, but nothing beyond that was possible with their systems. Each training session pushed their minds and bodies closer to always operating at peak efficiency and both knew that Aria would need every skill and talent she could muster on this next mission.

She wasn't doing it to save some faceless diplomat that got into trouble they couldn't handle. She was doing it to save her grandfather. She was doing it to show her mother that she was worth caring for. She was doing it to show her father that she wasn't a frail creature that he would lose again. She was doing it so that she could feel alive again, so that she could do something with her gifts that mattered. Perhaps they weren't the best of reasons, but they were her reason and she was comfortable with that.

"While that was fun," Aria said. "I need to get into the sonic shower. I have an appointment later."

"An appointment or a date?" Aeric asked as he moved to the arch and manually shutdown the program.

"I'm meeting with some of the crew from the flight deck for an after duty gathering in Five Forward."

"I hope you enjoy yourself." Aeric said as he gave her a hug then headed back to their quarters.

[Duffster]

"Well Lt.", said Tain. "The only strange things I could unearth about are Vulcan, was the lack of information on him. I found some information on his Parisi Squares abilities, his poetry reading, and his love of political debating. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Tain gave Manrique a questioning look.

"In fact I was on my way to file my report when Col. Khev asked for some help. Since there was nothing of interest about Farock, I figured it could wait until we were done here. What was it that made you curious about this particular Vulcan, if I may ask?"

Manrique shrugged.

"There was just something about him that set off my radar. When we're done here, please file that report ASAP Lt. Tain. I will take a look at the data your gathered, and see if I can make anything further out of it."

Manriques brow wrinkled in though.

"It may be nothing, but I still have a weird feeling about Farock."

Manrique shook his head, as to clear away his thoughts.

"Anyway, lets look more at the simulation you and Col. Khev are creating. Oh, and Tain there is one more thing. I was going through some of the security logs, and I saw a discrepency that seems to come from Dr. Lucas's quarters. After you have filed your report, take an ensign and do a more in depth investigation. It's probably a glitch, but with level of sensitivity of this mission, I don't want to leave anything to chance."

Tain nodded back to Manrique.

"Sure thing Lt. We will go over the data with a fine tooth comb. I will let you know what we find. Hey Col., let's show Lt. Manrique what the sim can do on full ineractive mode."

He grinned at Manrique and laughed.

"Are you ready?"

[Rico]

    "Ah, Commander.  Please have a seat I was just cleaning up a bit.  I've been down in engineering poking around a bit.  Tiberius seems to have a fine Chief Engineer and crew down there."  Admiral Talbot said as he motioned for Sevryll to take a seat while he finished dressing.  He moved to open a drawer in a nearby wall panel and pulled out a casual brown tunic.  Talbot tended to prefer more casual clothing when off duty.  The Vulcan science officer noticed as he slipped the tunic on that for someone of the Admiral's age he seemed to keep himself in good shape.  This reassured her as the mission ahead was likely to be both physically and emotionally demanding.

    "Admiral, I don't mean to disturb you, sir.  But Captain Quinn feels we need to discuss further details of the mission ahead.  Would there be a time that is convenient for the three of us to discuss matters, sir."  Sevryll said, a bit more formally than she had intended.

    "Well, I was about to find you and suggest the same thing Commander.  I realized that there are some details we should discuss.  I'm assuming you and the Captain have been discussing the mission and team members.  I will trust your judgment on those areas.  Obviously I will be going as well as my two aides.  What I did want to discuss with you personally is your mother, Sareth."  The Admiral said to Sevryll.  She raised an eyebrow in slight surprise at the mention of her mother.

    "My mother, Admiral?  I'm not sure what you mean, sir."  The young Vulcan woman said as her back stiffened slightly.

    "Well, I'm certain your duty to your Captain and Starfleet has kept you silent with regards to our mission details and for that I am grateful.  However, since your mother is aboard Tiberius I think it might be advisable to inform her of what we are about to attempt."  Talbot said, taking a seat across from Sevryll.

    "And precisely what is it we are going to attempt, Admiral.  I was hoping to have more information by this point, sir."  Sevryll said, trying to contain the slight elevation in her voice.  It was her father that was on the recording that started the events of this mission.

    "First, let me say that I didn't intend to leave you and Captain Quinn in the dark.  I actually have little more to offer beyond what you already know.  I did receive a couple of messages over the past few months from your father on Romulus.  He said that he and Spock had been gaining some ground with various Romulan factions in their unification efforts.  I guess the whole Shinzon incident made the Romulans see the need for a more unified society.  But he did mention that there are still groups on Romulus opposed to any form of unification.  And here is the thing that shocked me.  Krell mentioned that there was talk of an opposing group of Vulcans that were against unification.  I know Vulcans have on occasion been slightly alien phobic over the centuries, however I thought they would see the Romulans as their long lost brethren."  The Admiral said as he got up and went to the replicator.

    "My people at times can be difficult to understand, Admiral.  But I find this news slightly disturbing, sir.  If there are indeed Vulcans opposed to unification we may find ourselves at odds with one of the founding members of the Federation."  Sevryll said.

    "Well, if there are Vulcans against this I have to think is a very small minority.  I spent a long time on Vulcan and I too have trouble understanding this form of logic.  In any case, I do think it would be time to inform your mother of the situation.  My plan is simple.  Slip in to Romulus as quietly as possible, find Krell and Spock and lend whatever assistance we can.  From that last message, Krell appeared to be injured.  I'm hoping it's not serious but we may need medical personnel on the mission too.  And if things are worse than we think, I have no problem pulling your father, Spock and his whole team out if needed.  Of course I hope it doesn't come to that.  I do believe in what they are doing.  Especially considering my own personal mixed heritage.  I know this is a lot to take in at once, Commander.  Perhaps we should continue this with your Captain present.  I'd be happy to go over any plans you have come up with to get us to Romulus and answer any questions I can."  Talbot said as he pulled a glass of iced tea from the replicator.

    "Yes, Admiral.  There is much to consider.  Let me discuss this with Captain Quinn and we shall contact you soon for a briefing meeting."  Sevryll said as she rose and headed to the door.  It opened with a quiet hiss.

    "Sevryll, I've known your mother and father a long time.  They are both strong people.  I can still remember how proud your mother looked at your graduation ceremony from the academy.  Of course she would never admit it, but she is extremely proud of you.  As is your father.  I can see you two perhaps have some issues, but I just wanted to let you know that."  Talbot said, as he smiled at the Vulcan woman's slightly surprised look.

    "Thank you sir.  I appreciate your comments.  I will consider what you have said.  Good afternoon sir."  Sevryll said as she walked quickly out of the door.

    "Well, Sirach you still really know how to put your foot in things."  Talbot said quietly to himself as he went back inside his quarters.

[wraith1701]

Earlier that day-

At his post at Tactical, K'Tan smiled with satisfaction. Although he was still fairly unfamiliar with the full capabilities of the Tiberius, he felt confident that the power distribution profile that he had just enacted would increase the ship's shield power and phaser output by 15% without draining power from any of the ship's other systems.  Not a staggering improvement, but he felt that he could achieve better results given enough time and experience. 

The LCARS configuration he had set his station to allowed him to run several tasks simultaneously.  Taking advantage of this fact, he had the computer run a software diagnostic on the new system settings while he pulled up yet another power distribution schematic. His heartbeat quickened as he imagined the possibilities.

K'Tan was distracted from his study by the sudden opening of the turbolift doors.  He glanced up just as a statuesque, coldly beautiful Vulcan woman stepped out onto the bridge.  K'Tan felt his breath catch in his throat, and quickly looked back to his station readout.

Vulcans tended to made him a bit uncomfortable.

While he always had an appreciation for the technical prowess of the Vuclans, K'Tan just couldn't bring himself to find merit in their cool, unemotional approach to life.  And having been brought up in a society that elevated warfare above all else, he couldn't come to terms with their decidedly pacifistic leanings.

Far outweighing any of these reasons, however, was the simple fact that physically, they closely resembled Romulans. 

K'Tan's adoptive people, the Klingons, had a long and colorful history with the Romulan Empire.  Dating back from the moment the two races first came into contact with one another, their relationship had been marked by brief periods of cooporation interupted by countless instances of brutality, deceit, and betrayal.  Add to that the fact that his biological parents had been murdered by a Romulan raiding party, and K'Tan felt that his unease was justified. 

It was more or less common knowledge that the Vulcans and Romulans shared a common ancestry.  And while the Vulcans seemed to pride themselves on being more controlled and stable than their warlike cousins, K'Tan sometimes had his doubts.  He had heard rumors about Vulcans sometimes loosing control of their tightly restrained emotions.  He had also heard stories about a Vulcan phase called "Pon-something or other", during which their repressed sexuality would finally overcome their emotional controll.  Fueled by lust, these Vulcans would supposedly be driven to fits of homicidal rage, lashing out at friend and foe alike.  K'Tan suspected that despite their claims, the Vulcans had a lot more in common with the Romulans than they would like to admit.

As the Vuclan woman walked towards the center of the bridge, the Captian looked up and acknowledged her.  "Hello Commander," he said.

So, K'Tan thought.  This must be our first officer.  His suspicion was confirmed  as she took the seat next to Capt. Quinn.  Pretending to study his controll panel, K'Tan strained to overhear their discussion.

The woman settled into her seat, then turned slightly towards Quinn. "Captain.  Are we on schedule?"

"Yes we should be rendezvousing with The Titian at 1600 hours," he answered.

The Titan! K'Tan thought with excitement.  The ship commanded by Capt. William Riker- a living Starfleet legend!

The First Officer regarded the Captain. "I have compiled a short list of candidates for the away mission. Yet, I am sure that the Admiral has additions of his own; perhaps we should meet with him to discuss the mission further, so that our choices will be better suited for the operation."

Away mission? K'Tan thought.  What kind of mission could they be going on involving the Titan,one of the fleet's newest ships?  Surely, it would be something glorious; a mission worthy of a warrior, an adventure worthy of song.  K'Tan's mind spun with possible ways he could get himself included on the mission.

As K'Tan brainstormed furiously, the First Officer stood and turned to face the Captain.

"There is another matter I would like to discuss with you sir; it involves my mother and father."  The Captain nodded knowingly, and rose from his chair.

"Let's discuss this in my ready room. Lieutenant Tucker you have the bridge."

As the Captain and First Officer left the bridge, K'Tan's mind reeled with questions.  What was this mission they were heading out on?  And how could he secure an active role in it?

[Jen]

Sevryll reflected upon Talbot's comments regarding her mother. Though tensions between she and Sareth were, for the moment, deferred, there remained many fractures to mend within their fragile relationship.

The admiral had spoken of xenophobic Vulcans, who were opposed to Unification. Though she did not feel it was the appropriate time to address the inaccuracy, Admiral Talbot was in fact, in error. It was not prejudice that caused those individuals to keep other species at arm's length, it was an innate desire to preserve the Vulcan culture and philosophy... and Sareth was one such individual.

Her father referred to the Romulans as estranged brothers and Sareth viewed them as prodigal sons. During one of their many debates on the subject, her father pointed out that Terrans told a story of a prodigal son who was welcomed back to his father's home with open arms. Sareth dismissed the parable for the mere fact that it was an Earth story. Sareth was accepting of other peoples, as long as they did not dilute Surak's teachings with beliefs of their own.

Sevryll's focus snapped back to the corridor that she strode through and she quickly recalled her next appointment. Addressing the computer she asked, "Computer, what is the time?"

"Current ship's time is 1200 hours."

Sevryll considered the work she had left to do and weighed it against the fact that she may not return from their mission to Romulus. Without a moment's hesitation, she changed her course and proceeded towards the makeshift schoolroom.

As she rounded the corner and entered the turbolift, she patted her combadge, "Sevryll to Captain Quinn."

"Quinn here," came his response.

"Sir, I have spoken with the Admiral. He has asked that you arrange a time for a debriefing between the three of us. Apparently, he has further information with which to divulge."

"Understood," said Quinn. "How does 1300 hours sound?"

"It is acceptable, Captain," she responded evenly.

"Excellent. In the mean time, could I interest you in a bit of lunch Commander?"

"I have a prior engagement sir. If you wish, you may accompany me..." She explained where she was going and reassured him she would only spend a half an hour with the children, before she returned to her duties."

[X]

Aurora moved her fingers over the holographic interface reviewing the schematics of a small orb shaped device while Aeric inspected the drive systems of the ship that as was named after. Since she had been brought online, only three people had been allowed to set foot on the ship. Now Aeric had allowed his flight deck chief to not only being training on repairing the Aurora, they were using her aid in fine tuning some of the systems.

Aurora had been discussing the various systems with Chief Grant and even went so far as to suggest that she become outfitted with one of the neural interface units. It was designed to allow members of the crew to directly connect to the ship's systems. Unlike the natural abilities of Aeric and Aria, this was an external piece of hardware specifically calibrated to one person and only allowed access to the Aurora's computer systems and general Starfleet communications. It wasn't just a piece of hardware that could quickly be brought only. Grant would need to undergo a detailed neural scan and that would require her to spend time within the better equipped medical bay of the Tiberius.

Grant was working in the small engineering section of the ship attempting to gain a better understanding of the various systems that made the Aurora unique. She had been more than happy to agree to the hologram's suggestion, but knew that it wasn't as simple as her agreement. For everything that she learned, there were a dozen more that she didn't know. She had yet to be given full clearance to access all of the Aurora's systems. She hadn't even been approved to be equipped with the interface. She would have to go through an additional series of security checks, but felt that her record and career would easily weather the increased scrutiny.

"Grant to Lieutenant James," Rina said as she pulled herself from under the primary quantum interface. "I'm getting a better understanding of the power systems, but my lack of clearance is preventing me from testing that understanding. Is there anyway to speed up the vetting process?"

Aeric leaned back in his chair and tapped his own badge in response. "Chief, I know it's a pain, but I am sure that we can get you cleared by the end of this Romulan mission. I haven't transmitted the requests because of the section of space we are currently in. As soon as we get back to a more secured area, I'll get you officially assigned to the Aurora Project as a part of your duties and that should clear up any of the security issues."

The truth of the matter was that the Aurora Project was Aeric's baby. He had sole ability to assign or refuse people to his project. When Aeric delivered the Corona, he met the obligations of his design agreement with Starfleet. The Aurora was his project alone and even though she and the Corona shared the same systems, they had more than likely branched apart since the completion of the ships. The Aurora was more than a ship to Aeric and his daughter. It was their home. He trusted his chief, but he needed to be absolutely certain of her before he trusted her with all of their secrets.

"Understood sir," Rina said as she glanced at the notes on her PADD. "I am sending you my notes on the power systems. I have been comparing them to the large scaled ones aboard the Tiberius and I've noted what might be a slight phase alignment with the primary plasma conduit."

"Receiving now. Please standby," Aeric said as the report appeared on his display. He quickly reviewed the chief's notes. "Your assessment was right. I'm going to transmit the layouts of the power systems and issue you authorization codes to work on the systems. We need the ship to be operating at full before our people ship out. Remember to store your notes on the onboard systems."

"Thank you sir. Grant out." Rina said. When Aeric invited her to work on the shuttle, he had informed her that all notes and specs would remain on the shuttle until he could get to her background check. Since he had given her access, Rina found herself spending most of her off duty time learning what she could and keeping Aurora company. While there were dozens of new systems and subsystems, they heart of the ship was still of Federation design. It wasn't as if she had to learn an entirely new ship, she just needed to learn on how the new systems interacted with the systems that she already understood. She also had the additional benefit of having been able to study the new power systems on the Tiberius as well. It had helped her in noticing that the power systems on the Aurora could use a little fine tuning.

Back in the cockpit, Aurora and Aeric resumed their individual work assignments. He was finalizing the diagnostics on the interphase and incursion devices while she reviewed the latest simulations of the emitter that her predecessor had began.

"Aeric, I think you are worrying too much," Aurora said as she faced him. "I know that this is the first mission that all three of your children will be going on without you, but you know that we are ready. Aria is more than ready, the ship is more than mission ready, and my new matrix is far more stable than the last one. We're ready for this."

"Is it that obvious?" Aeric asked as he sighed softly. "I'm a little concerned for everyone."

"We will be fine." Aurora said in a way that signaled that it was not up for debate.

"I know. I trust all three of you."

"Then trust us and let us do our jobs."

"Agreed," Aeric said as he rose from his chair. "You have control. I'll be on the bridge if you need me. Make sure you that you help the chief familiarize herself with the quirks of the engines."

"Aye sir," Aurora said with a smile. Although her base outfit was a Starfleet uniform, Aurora wasn't Starfleet. She was an independent hologram on an officially independent shuttle. She was programmed to serve the ship and although she deferred to Aeric and Aurora, she didn't follow the Starfleet chain of command. It was simple reminder that she would do what was best for Aria and the ship. Aeric nodded and moved towards the exit. It was time to finalize his mission plans and get his team briefed on what they would be expected to do. "I'll work to make sure that the chief gets familiar with the systems that she'll need to help fix after this mission."

Aeric just shook his head. Sarcasm and wit were something that he thought was necessary in her subroutines when she was designed and it was only them on the ship. Some decisions came back to bite you, but he couldn't love her any less than he loved his other children.

[Jen]

After an hour of fine-tuning the program, Colonel Khev saved the adjustments and thanked Lieutenants Manrique and Tain for their contributions. "I'm going to speak with Commander Sevryll, to set up a time for her team to begin training. As soon as I find out when, I'll contact you both to let you know." He shook their hands and started to leave, but stopped just inside the doorway, "not that the two of you would need my help, but if you need anything as far as that "Farock" character is concerned, let me know." They nodded and he left the holodeck.

"Computer, locate Commander Sevryll," requested the Colonel brusquely as he wound his way through the corridors.

The computer responded quickly, giving the Section 31 Operative the location of his wife. He smiled when he realized she was having lunch with their children, and promptly requested the deck that the schoolroom was located on. David only wanted to catch a glimpse of them; he'd wait until they were finished before approaching Sevryll.


When he entered, he saw the tall vulcan woman sitting in a miniature chair, at a tiny table, with their small children, eating petite portions plomeek soup. Yet the discomfort did not seem to concern her in the least, and she listened to them intently as they prattled on about their first day of school.

He watched as Sevryll lifted a small spoonful of the broth to her lips, then stopped to indulge their timid three-year-old daughter, as the child halted her mother's hand and blew on the soup to cool it. The act was one that M'rynn had learned from him, and Sevryll had no intention of discouraging the thoughtful gesture. "Thank you M'rynn," she said in a gentle tone. 

David fought the desire to scoop them up in his arms in a smothering embrace. He missed his family and cursed the profession that kept him from them. He watched for several minutes before Mrs. Noguchi approached him.

"Can I help you sir?" she asked.

The woman took him off guard, but his superior acting skills hid the fact. "I came to speak with the commander, but I can see that she's busy. I'll catch up to her later," he said as he turned to walk out of the room.

The teacher touched his arm reassuringly, "Oh, I'm sure she won't mind if you join them. She started across the room towards Sevryll, leaving David no choice but to follow.

Sevryll looked up to see the individual she had long ago felt enter the room. Mrs. Noguchi explained the situation to her and the commander nodded her approval. The children's teacher motioned to a fourth seat. "I'm sorry I can't offer you a larger chair sir," she chuckled. He thanked her and she left them alone.

"Are you sure you don't mind Commander?" asked the human disguised as a Romulan.

"How can I help you Colonel?" she asked coolly.

He lowered himself into the miniature chair and ignoring the question, he smiled down at the M'rynn and N'vall who peered at him curiously. M'rynn made no effort to recoil from the stranger, which both pleased and troubled him. Hopefully she does not suspect that this strange Romulan is actually her father, he thought to himself.

"Let me guess, you're M'rynn and you're N'vall," he said as he pointed at each child.

N'vall was the first to respond. "I am three, " he said proudly displaying three fingers—the response had become his preferred introduction.

"You're practically a man," said David with a chuckle.

He exchanged glances with his wife before turning to M'rynn.

"And you...are you three too?" he asked tenderly.

The little girl smiled, but said nothing.

"Who are you?" asked her twin boldly.

From the corner of his eye, David watched Sevryll straighten slightly. He wished he could answer truthfully, for he was just as tired of the lies as Sevryll was. He worked his jaw a moment as the little dark-eyed boy stared up at him, waiting for a response.

"Call me Khev," he said in a defeated tone.

The boy returned the smile and Sevryll felt a stab of sorrow prick her heart. She swallowed the emotion and interjected before the silence stretched too long.

"What did you come to see me about colonel?" she asked.

He tore his eyes away from their son to answer her question, "I've taken the liberty of creating a hand-to-hand training program on the holodeck. Two of your very capable security officers had a major hand in its development. I was hoping that you and your team would submit to a little extra training before our "trip"."

Sevryll was quite grateful for the opportunity, for she was more than a bit concerned for the outcome of their mission and the safety of her team. She thanked him for the forethought and accepted his offer.

"We should begin right away," he said.

"Of course. I am meeting with the Captain and Admiral in forty minutes, but I will be available afterwards." She replied.

He nodded and began to rise from the table. "Colonel... please stay," she said, resisting the urge to place her hand on his.

He slowly lowered himself back in the small chair and asked, "How's the plomeek soup?"

"It is not as appetizing as my own," she replied.

He countered with a grin, "I knew you would say that."

[Jen]

When crewmen passed them in the corridors, Sevryll and David masked their discussion with talk of the training program. When they were alone, the topic turned to his attempt to leave Section 31. Before his resignation could be formalized, he had to persuade his superiors to let him go. David reminded his wife that this was an exceedingly difficult task to undertake and that it could take years before he would be able to resign completely... he had been trying nonetheless.

"You have a talent for ruse; you could abscond.. change your identity...become someone else," she urged.

"I wouldn't make it far; they know how to track down their own," he said softly, not bothering to tell her about the explosive implant they tagged him with. "I'll figure something out. It's just going to take a little finesse... diplomacy takes time."

She asked the computer to locate Sareth and it pin-pointed her exact location. Sevryll and David entered the turbolift and the Vulcan requested deck 11. As the lift began it's descent, she considered the fact that Aria would be in attendance on the mission. David eyed her, thinking of the scene he watched unfold in Five-Forward with the young woman, who was not his daughter, who called his wife "mother".

Sevryll shifted uncomfortably, as she decided that the logical course of action was to buffer his impending raw emotion, with a cushion of carefully worded essential details. She doubted that it would defuse the inevitable fury, but it was her only option.

He considered his approach regarding "Aria" as well, and decided the best strategy was to simply candidly confront his Vulcan wife. He never was fond of tap dancing.

They turned to each other simultaneously,  and at the same time she said, "there is something we must discuss," he asked, "why exactly does Aria call you "mother"?"

She should not have been surprised that he knew; he was after all a spy, but she was nevertheless stunned. When she didn't respond right away, he continued, "I saw M'rynn approach her in Five Forward and when you entered the lounge, I could tell you were upset. I moved to a closer table so that I could see Aria's face and hear the conversation; I didn't expect the resemblance or the Ancient Golic Vulcan, but I picked out a few words like: "birth", "daughter", "mother" and "father". She's your daughter Sevryll, I heard her refer to you as mother."

Sevryll halted the lift temporarily, "she's not my daughter, she's a binary clone."

"Meeeeaning?" he asked.

"Meaning she was created with the DNA of two individuals," she replied cooly.

Narrowing his eyes he asked, "you had yourself cloned?"

She tilted her head and averted her eyes, "not exactly."

"Then what? How did this happen?"

She could not find a way to delicately word the details so opted for the full truth and proceeded to fill him in on how Aria was cloned. Sevryll was correct in her forecast of his reaction—he was furious, but not at her. It's not her fault...it was the creator of that blasted prototype ship I can't gain file access to! He thought to himself. He gritted his teeth and clinched his fists. She hadn't told him who's DNA made up the rest of Aria, but she didn't have to... David already knew.

"Calm yourself, your anger will solve nothing," she said as she reached for his clinched fist. He took her hand and looked into her eyes; he could see the worry reflected deep within them and he softened his own expression slightly.

He nodded slowly, but she could tell he was still mulling it over in his mind. There was nothing more she could do now, but warn Aria and Areic that a storm was brewing. 

She resumed the turbolift's descent and attempted to continue holding David's hand. She had to let go after only a few seconds, for the anger he held inside was too much for her to manage. When she let go, he understood why and attempted a smile. "Don't worry," he said, "I'm not going to kill him." Within the privacy of his own mind, he pondered how he was going to kick Areic's teeth in without blowing his cover as Colonel Khev. 

[X]

"Computer, access all information relating to security contingent for Admiral Talbot." Aeric said as he worked on reconciling the familiar mind that was serving on the detail. Information and images on the marines quickly scrolled in the air above his console as the holographic interface performed its function. "Computer, do a detailed temporal analysis of Colonel Khev's service record in all available timelines."

Aeric closed his eyes as the information processed and linked directly to his ship's systems. Information flowed through his mind as he reviewed the information and looked for a connection between himself and the colonel. The mental presence of the mind was too familiar and without prying directly into Khev's thoughts he wouldn't be able to place the presence without additional research.  Aeric should have done this investigation when he first sensed the familiar mind, but he had instead focused his time on preparing his team for the mission.

The problem with being a temporally aware being was that he encountered numerous familiar faces and minds. Faces and minds that would fade in one timeline only to reappear several timelines later. Aeric knew that this wasn't the case. The mind was familiar, but the face wasn't. For him to remember it that clearly, that mind had to be attached to someone close to him. There were only a few people that he consistently looked after from time to time and that was where this mystery would be solved.

Aeric thought back on where he first encountered that mind. He thought back on the first timeline that he felt the need to impress the man's presence in his memory. When the realization came to him, Aeric disconnected from his link. He knew the man well. He was also quite aware of how persistent the man could be.

"Computer, transmit an invitation to Colonel Khev to meet to discuss his team's role in the upcoming mission." Aeric then turned his thoughts to Aria and Aurora. Using his talents he initiated an encrypted communications channel with Aurora, who was presently testing her new emitter device within the halls of the Tiberius. "Aeric to Aurora. I need you and Aria to go to one of the holodecks on the Tiberius to do a final run through of the mission. I have some private matters that I need to deal with on the Aurora, but I will advise you of the results when complete."

"Understood," Aurora responded. It wasn't the first time that she had to make herself scarce for certain aspects of their mission. With the addition of Aria to the team it had become her job to also keep her biological sibling protected from some of the aspects of their father's missions. She didn't need to ask questions, she trusted her father enough to understand that he would fill them in if and when it became necessary. "Aurora out."

Aeric sat back in his chair and waited for his guest to arrive. If his suspicions were correct, this might become the turning point that would allow him to fulfill his promises to people that didn't survive to this timeline. The colonel could be his best asset in his mission or his staunchest opponent. Aeric needed to do what was necessary to ensure that the colonel took a similar perspective to his objectives. It was only through having a talk with the colonel could Aeric achieve his agenda. Hopefully the few dinners he had had with the man in other timelines gave him enough information on the core personality of the man. If the personality of this man was close to the man he knew, Aeric could use that to his advantage. If he wasn't, Aeric would have to alter his plan on the spot and that could get dangerous.

"Computer, prepare to initiate a level ten communication lockout on my command. No signals should be transmitted or received while we are in our meeting unless it is an emergency." Aeric said. If this man was anything like the many he knew then there were secrets that both men held and those secrets needed to be protected for the sake of family. Aeric thought that if he had a strip of latinum for every rule he bent or broke for the sake of family, he would rival the Grand Nagus in wealth. "When authorization is given, also initiate a level ten lockdown on all systems to prevent anyone from entering or exiting the ship until I establish otherwise."

"Orders confirmed," replied the computer's voice as it processed the command.

[Jen]

David had to be satisfied with a knowing look in Sevryll's eye for after several crew members boarded the lift, there were no further opportunities to speak with his wife. He nodded respectfully to the Commander and left her behind on the turbolift.

As he settled into the chair at his personal desk, David accessed the computer to check for messages from his agency. The encrypted missive he had received did not come from Section 31, but from the man he sought to confront regarding Aria's creation. Lieutenant Aeric James was inviting him to "discuss matters" aboard the Aurora. Sevryll had told David of a similar secretive meeting with Aria, aboard the same vessel...it seemed Aeric and Aria were rather fond of keeping the ball in their own court.

If he was willing put himself in such a predicament, David would need to ensure that all his bases were covered. He wasn't a stupid man and he wouldn't risk being cornered by the individual who was responsible for stealing his wife's DNA.

He removed a modified transporter node from the desk drawer. Section 31 had duplicated the technology found embedded within the body of "One", an advanced Borg drone formed from the merging of nanoprobes from the reformed Borg, Seven of Nine, and a mobile emitter. The original device allowed "One" to transport himself at will, without relying on external technology. Since Voyager's return, the device had proven quite useful to Section 31.

He attached it to his chest and removed four more implements from the drawer. The first was a miniature device that operated much like a Klingon pain stick. The second was a hand held neural neutralizer, designed for the expressed purpose of selectively eliminating memory engrams from the mind of an individual. He concealed the devices within the pocket of his jacket and fitted his right fist with a pair of Tritanium knuckles. In his trousers he placed a pair of binders.

David decided he would honor his beloved wife by endeavoring to refrain from violence, but if Areic didn't cooperate... he wouldn't hesitate to encourage the jerk physically. Never the type to RSVP, he subsequently transported to Aurora from his quarters on Tiberius.

[3 Ducks in a Man Costume]

Remor entered the arboretum and pulled the padd from his coat. He had planned to review the history of the new crewman in the privacy the arboretum offered, but when he activated the padd, a message blinked three times. "31. Watch your back," it read. When the message disappeared, the file on K'Tan replaced it, but Remor switched the padd off, too distracted to read further.

By Cardassia's infinite sands! Remor felt his guts twist with unease. Brandt and the Tal'Shiar black ops goons were bad enough, but Section 31? Could the Ferengi be right? If he could be trusted, Remor would need to watch his step. The normal Federation folks might be soft and lax in their security, but Section 31 was not an organization to be crossed. These people made the Order nervous—and no one makes the Order nervous. Remor had personally known nine seasoned Order operatives who had gone up against 31 and were never heard from again. The Tal'Shiar had lost far more agents, and rumor had it that 31 had a sympathizer in the Romulan government. This wasn't to say, however, that 31 won all its battles. The Order had captured its fair share of 31 spooks, many of whom took their own lives before being interrogated. Those who were interrogated provided little, but what they did reveal helped the Order reshape its own methods. These people were serious. Remor almost didn't want to know who the agent was, but he finally regained his composure. If he found out the identity of the agent, he or she would no doubt get wind of it, and Remor's life would be over. But if he didn't find out, the agent would eventually find out about Remor's existence (at least as a Tal'Shiar operative), and kill him anyway. At least by finding out, he would have a fighting chance. Before leaving the arboretum, Remor had one final thought. What if he found the 31 spook and revealed his true identity? As part of a defunct spy organization, maybe he could convince the spook that he was a non-threat. He had a few low-level secrets to trade.

And if it came down to it, he could trade Brandt.

[X]

The computer chimed at Aeric's console to let him know that a transport was taking place. Taking a slow breath, Aeric watched as his guest materialized and extended his senses outwards to sense for any technology that might be considered harmful.

"Thank you for coming colonel," Aeric said as he rose from his command chair. He made sure to make eye contact with the colonel as he closed the distance between them. "Computer engage privacy mode."Hearing the word. privacy mode David squeezed his fist so tightly that the Tritainium knuckles dug into them.

With the command given, the Aurora entered interphase mode and began blocking communications and transport to or from the vessel. Aeric knew that this colonel was a trained fighter and if he was the man he suspected he was also a trained killer. If things went bad, Aeric needed to keep the battle in his favor.

"I thought it best that we speak in private. You never know if there is a spy just around the corner." Aeric said as he lifted his PADD and pretended to review the information on the screen. "I have been reviewing your history and I have some concerns. Colonel, for all intents and purposes, you abandoned your family to pursue a career in an organization that is fully opposed to everything your people believe in. Now you might find yourself working hand in hand with them.  For the sake of the mission, I need to know if you are up to that. Have you considered how your family, especially the younger among them, would feel if they knew that you have returned but hid yourself from them for the sake of a career they could never approve of?"

[Jen]

Joint post by Just X and Jen
---

David did not move from the beam in point. "This snake is criticizing me?" he thought to himself. David had become an operative of Section 31 long before he met and married Sevryll. He hadn't abandoned his family, he was trying to abandon the agency. 

It was obvious the man suspected who and what he was; it was also clear to David that he couldn't leave Aeric with that knowledge. He remained calm, his eyes casually scanning the room for countersurveillance. He should have insisted on a neutral area, but that was not a luxury he had aboard Tiberius.

"I came here under the impression that you wanted to discuss the mission, Lieutenant. Instead, you speak to me in riddles." Khev conjured a cheshire smile before continuing,  "I'm no poet, but I have a riddle too, " his smile expanded as he stroked his chin for effect and looked up as if recalling the words.

"Will you walk into my parlor?' said the Spider to the Fly; 'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy.' You do have a very pretty little ship, Lieutenant Spider. Do you use it for ill of for good? I've heard that it was used for illegal activities ...I believe the word cloning was mentioned once or twice."

At the very moment that Areic and David traded witty remarks, Sevryll contacted Aria on her way to collect Sareth for the next debriefing. "Where are you?" came Sevryll's voice through the com. Surprised, Aria had paused her program to give her full attention to the Commander.

She glanced at Aurora and replied, "I'm in Holodeck 2 with Aurora. Is everything alright," she asked.

Not wishing to give the girl any details, she simply replied, "you and Aeric may be in danger."

"What sort of danger?" Aria asked. Her holographic sibling quickly turned her attention back to her controls. "Father sent Aurora and I to the holodeck and I think Aurora knows more then she's letting on."

"He is having a meeting with the colonel and he didn't want to be disturbed." Aurora said. "I don't see a danger in that." Aria nodded and relayed the information to her mother. Sevryll could do nothing more but hope that David would behave himself. She found Sareth and instead of explaining the mission to her on the spot, she brought her back to the Captain's readyroom to attend the debriefing.

On the Aurora, Aeric smiled brightly at David. "Very well, no riddles. Why are you back David? Why haven't you seen the children using your own face? They deserve better than what you have been giving them. Severyll deserves better than that. You screwed up and I'm going to help you fix it because if I messed up, she would have done the same for me in numerous timelines."

Aeric moved slowly towards Khev, hands open, in a gesture to show that he was unarmed. "We have both lost children due to the missions that we have undertaken, because of what we thought was right. Aria isn't just some clone of Sevryll and myself. Her body was grown using the original genetic sources and then implanted with her original katra. In another timeline, Aria was born to Sevryll. In this one, she had to improvise her rebirth. Yet, her new body has been protected from being erased again."

David was pretty sure the man was a Temporal Investigator. Agents from that bureau were pompous and he didn't particularly care for the tone in Aeric's pretentious voice. Ordinarily, he would skin the man alive for suggesting that he had abandoned his family, yet if he peeled his flesh off the guy's bones it might be bad for his relationship with Sevryll.

David was careful not to give Aeric the impression his feathers had been ruffled; instead of reacting with hostility, he ignored the attack on his integrity and coolly responded, "You people are so full of yourselves...so certain that you're protecting the timeline. How do you know it didn't correct itself when Aria disappeared the first time?" He tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes, "you could be in violation of the temporal prime directive simply by bringing back an individual time erased. I won't even ask how that girl came to be the first go-round...I don't want to know. What matters is that you designed something that's a hazard—a potential risk to the Federation. Something that can create life and does it with no regard for the people it violates in order to do so. I can't allow that to continue."

[X]

Joint post by Jen and Just X

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

Aeric frowned. "There is no correct timeline. From the moment beings gained the ability to travel through time, it has remained contaminated. The Federation and your employers have nothing to worry about; the recreation of Aria was a unique situation. As for the temporal prime directive, Aria existed in several timelines before the current one. By the wording of the edict you mentioned, bringing her back would be required under the Temporal Prime Directive, but that's not why we are here."

It was against his better judgment but Aeric motioned to a PADD on the console. In it were the various divergence points in the timelines where Aria was born and the current one.  "It's a lot to digest... I'll give you time to catch up. Then we can discuss how we save both of our children and the people we care about.  While you read about that I want you to imagine what you would do to save the twins if some idiot tampering with history erased their existence."

David hesitated a moment before taking the PADD from Areic. "What's this?"

"Several timelines worth of your history," Aeric started. He already knew that the PADD contained information on every encounter he had with David over the years. Topics of conversation were noted in each of the entries. Aeric and Sevryll were the closest of friends in many alternate timelines and that connection was clear in the notes, images, and logs provided by the PADD. "As you can see, your relationship with Sevryll is a recent development in this timeline. You were persistent in many others, but this is the first where you actually talked her into marrying you. Should we correct that as well? Are you comfortable with the idea of your children just vanishing the next time someone decides to make a change in an attempt to "better the timeline"?"

Aeric gave the man a moment to absorb the information before he continued. "Since you don't remember the changes, you don't have to worry about coping with a loss like that. I however, do. Servyll and her family are family to me even if they don't remember it. If we work together, we can protect the people that we care about and maybe even put you in a place where M'rynn and N'Vall can be proud of their father.  If we work together, we can protect the people that we care about. Are you interested?"

Aeric didn't wait for the man to respond as he walked past him and headed towards the medical bay of the shuttle. Aeric really didn't approve of the career choice of his guest, but he was Sevryll's husband and that meant that his promise to her aunt, Admiral Elisabeth Tucker, extended to David as well. He needed a way to bridge David's distrust of him and there were only a few things that he could achieve that in the time they had left. "When Aurora returns, she can help you remove your prosthetics. The security of this ship will give you time to spend with your wife and the children as their father, before the mission begins. I need to review the technology that you have hidden on you to see if it can be an asset on the mission, but I can do that while you spend time with your family."

"Yeah, like that's going to happen," thought David as Aeric passed him on his way to the Medical Bay. David stood and walked into the corridor so he could keep an eye on Aeric. As he stood in the entry of the hallway, David skimmed through the images and details of he and Sevryll's life in alternate timelines. Apparently he had been nothing more than a unremitting suitor to Sevryll in previous versions of reality; chased off by the cultural intolerances of her mother and Sevryll's submissive respect for the woman.  According to the information Aeric had presented him with, in each time line Sevryll became more independent and self-determining. In David's own timeline, she had finally shrugged off her mother's overbearing narrow-mindedness to pursue her own interests.

He looked up from the PADD and raised his voice so that Aeric could hear him from the medical bay, "you're offering me a job lieutenant? " David stifled a chuckle, "look, I've been trying to leave Section 31 since the day I met Sevryll. They haven't accepted my resignation in the six years that I've known her. What makes you think they'll agree to it now?  Even if I did accept your proposition, there's a device embedded in my neck that will blow my head off the minute they realize I've gone AWOL." He turned back to the PADD. "Then there's the fact that I'm going on this mission with Talbot. The Admiral knows me as 'Colonel Khev', if "David Lock" suddenly shows up... I'll be summarily tossed in the brig. Consequently, I was assigned to this mission to "keep an eye on the old man". I've translated those loosely defined orders to mean: "protect at all costs", and I've naturally extended those commands to encompass my wife and father-in-law.  Nope, I always finish what I start Lieutenant... I'm not going to quit now, too much is at stake."

"I am offering you your freedom." Aeric said as he reentered the hallway. "We have a gentronic replicator aboard that can create body parts on a quantum level. Combine that with my new series of nanites and I'm sure that we can eliminate any unwanted technology inside you. I wasn't suggesting that we remove the prosthetics permanently. They will be put back on after you have had a chance to see your children and tell them that you will be working with their grandfather for a while. Before the mission is complete, the Colonel will suffer a tragic death and what was left of his body will be confirmed by the medical officer aboard the Aurora."

Aeric leaned against the wall and watched his guest as he lowered himself into the chair at the end of the corridor. "When their grandfather finally returns home, he will do so with a close family friend who ends up making a connection with Sevryll and her children," said Lieutenant James