Star Trek: Season 5 - Boldly

[Jen]

Joint post by Jen and Startrekfanatic5
---
Much like an extended series of sneezes, the sensations of laughter felt invigorating and at the same time very awkward. The unexpected emotion subsided gradually as the vulcan woman choked it down to a cycle of muffled chuckles. A smile was all that lingered after Sevryll triumphed and subdued the uncouth outburst. The first officer shook her head once and raised her dark eyes to meet the Captain's. The very rare and beautiful smile slowly shrank as she acknowledged Nathan Quinn's stunned expression, which was fixed like a stone statue upon her.

"Forgive me, Captain..."

Quinn dropped into his chair, "are you okay number one?"

At that, the last vestige of a smile dissolved into her typically stoic air. Underneath the mask of impassiveness she felt embarrassment. "I don't know," she replied. Her brow furrowed as she looked down at the mess that she made on the table.

The water Sevryll had spilled, which began her eruption of emotion, dripped off the captain's table and onto the floor of his quarters. She lifted the towel from his slack hands, "let me help you," she offered.

He favored her with a thin smile, "no, no don't bother.. I can take care of this." Quinn eyed her curiously as she nervously tucked a long strand of hair behind one ear, and cast her gaze back to the mess on the table. "Umm... have you had an outburst like this before, Sevryll?" He asked.

Silence stretched between them as she pondered the question. She looked up once more, "not since I was a child," she answered.

"Captain, I have been... feeling on edge since shore leave. With the abduction of my father, and our recovery mission there has been little time for rest or meditation..."

"Maybe that's it," replied Nathan. "Well, our trip to Vulcan should be uneventful. That should give you plenty of time to relax."

Avoiding the captain's curious gaze she asked, "are you sure you don't require assistance?"

Quinn stood from his chair to reclaim the towel from Sevryll.  "No need, are you ready for dessert?"

A smile returned to her lips once more, "...yes."

[Geekyfanboy]

Ensign Nicholas Took began his evening shift at 1800 hours, being an ensign meant he worked the delta shift but he didn't mind. There were always fewer people around and he could focus on the job at hand. Nic checked his hair one last time in the mirror before grabbing his tool kit and exiting his quarters.

As he walked down the corridors he hummed a little tune, something from his childhood that he hadn't heard in years. As he passed by fellow crewmen he would give them a nod and a quiet "evening". This common gesture wasn't unusual but to Ensign Took it was a big step. He normally kept to himself, eyes down and didn't speak to anyone, but today Nic was in a great mood.

His continuing breakfasts with Captain Quinn were wonderful. Nic and Nathan were becoming closer, Nic knew he could call Nathan a friend and to Nic who spent most of his life with no friends was a big deal. Not only was Nathan his friend but he was the Captain. He knew that Nathan didn't have breakfast with him because he felt pity for him, he genuinely enjoyed his company.

Ensign Took enters Engineering.  "Good evening Lt. Plummer", Lt. Plummer looked surprised but gave Nic a slight smile. She handed him a padd "Well Mr Took today you will be in jefferies tube 36, It seems that one of the gel packs is malfunctioning, See if you can locate the problem." Nic took the padd and used it to give Lt. Plummer a slight salute, "You got it Lieutenant," he said with a smile. Plummer's smile grew as she turned to another crewmen who had just entered and was awaiting his assignment.

[iceman]

Joint Post by Iceman and Jen

Doctor Ryla Dret twirled a short lock of blond hair with her index finger as she read Ensign Sherrla's medical file. There weren't many families aboard Tiberius and the Obstetrics/Pediatrics specialist liked it that way— their low numbers allowed her to be more personable and involved in her patients' lives. Yes, friendships were the best medicine in her opinion.

The Chief Medical Officer entered the Sickbay. "Good evening Doctor Peterson." He returned the greeting and sauntered over to Krell to check on his status.

"I preformed another neuropsychological scan. Unfortunately, his condition hasn't changed since this morning," said Ryla as she crossed the floor to stand beside the vulcan's bed. "If the away team hadn't removed him from that place, the Romulans would have killed him. The mind probes severely damaged his brain. But it's too soon to know if it has caused any long-term impairment."

Doctor Peterson nodded and turned his gaze from the comatose diplomat, to the woman standing on the other side of Krell's biobed.

"Yes, I know. Thank you for holding down the fort," he said with a smile. He started towards his office and stopped. Running his hand through his hair he turned back to Doctor Dret. "Doctor, I could use your help. I have been reviewing your personal records...and think its time that you take on some additional duties. It is one of my roles as the Chief Medical Officer to broaden my staff's medical expertise. You're already an accomplished Obstitrician... But I want to help you achieve your goal of becoming a CMO one day. Acquiring other specialities will get you promoted and propel you towards that aspiration... so, to foster your goal I would like you to bone up on Vulcan neurology and help me come up with a treatment plan for Krell. I'll assign Nurse Christine to assist you, and of course, I will oversee your work and aid you when necessary."

He noted the Trill's nervous expression, "I know neurology is not your specialty, but I think it is important for us physicians to occasionally step out of our comfort zones, as we never know when we may be forced or needed to help out in a time of crisis. Does this interest you Doctor?"

Ryla was specialized in a field that very few physicians bothered with these days... she chose Obstetrics for that reason— it made her a valuable staff member. It wouldn't hurt to expand her knowledge in order to better herself, but one couldn't be great at everything they studied... but perhaps she would be more help to Peterson if she accepted his offer.

"Yes, thank you doctor. I will accept, but I don't know about finding a treatment for Krell. Vulcan Neurology isn't something you 'bone up on'. It's a specialty that takes many surgeons decades to master. I would be happy to assist you, but I doubt I would be capable of finding the key to his treatment simply by reading over files on the subject." She tucked the blanket around Krell tighter as she continued, "the Commander stopped by to check on her mother and father—Doctor Sareth, stayed here all night. Commander Sevryll told me that we are taking her father back to Vulcan so that he can be assessed by a Vulcan Master. I've read about their techniques. They are quite remarkable and the percentage of successful outcomes is very high."

When she looked up, she noticed Doctor Peterson had closed his eyes and was massaging his temples. "Are you OK Doctor?" She asked.

Casey Peterson forced a smile, " I am sure it is nothing, just a bad headache—probably a result of all the overtime I have been putting in lately."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing, " I know this may seem like too much to take on, but I would not have asked if I thought it was too much for you."

Ryla nodded and watched him walk to his office. When she turned back to the patient, Doctor Peterson took the opportunity to open his desk drawer and remove a small flask that he kept for just such occasions. He lifted the authentic Saurian brandy to his lips, took a shot and closed his eyes until the throbbing in his head subsided.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Isaac got up from the Ops station as another Ensign took over.  He walked solemly to the turbolift.  "Deck 5" he said quietly.  He had to do something and it was about time he did it.  The turbolift whirred to its destination carrying the young ensign along with it.  Isaac could not help but feel like he had screwed up in some way.  But he should have seen it coming.  'The Romulans would have been destroyed anyway, it was just a matter of when.  I suppose, they chose their fate.  But what is mine?...' 
The turbolift door opened to deck 5 and he walked quietly along to his quarters.  When he entered, he saw that his two Sugar Gliders were asleep.   'Its amazing they could have slept through that battle.'  Not wishing to wake them as he had things to do outside of his quarters, Isaac went over to his personal computer terminal in the other room and began to speak.
"Isaac's personal encrypted log.  My mission has led me to see many things.  Kindness, sadness, cruelty, madness, sickness, health, laughter, companionship, death, destruction...I could go on.  But perhaps my first assessments of them were wrong.  Perhaps there is still hope that they may do, what we could not.  I hold hope that they will avoid what happened to us."  Isaac stared out the window and a single tear rolled down his cheek.  'Mother, Father' he thought quietly.  "Therefore, my mission, as of this date, is over.  My fate is sealed with whatever force exists out there.  What happens to me, happens.  I only hope I can do some good before whatever end happens.  End personal log and encrypt."  The computer chirped in confirmation.  As he stood, the voice in his head no longer said anything.  'Peace, if only for a short time'.  He left his room and his feet took him down the corner.  'Fate & destiny.  I await both.'  Then he realized something as his hand came up his face.  His eyes widened, "No, it can't.  It can't be!"


King Linksr

[Bryancd]

The lateness of the hour combined with the relative quiet status of the ships current disposition allowed K'arath the opportunity for some much needed time in the holodeck. He preferred late night sessions where he could have as much time as he wanted to run his simulations. Whereas other Klingon's used the holodeck to stage mock battles as a form of physical and mental therapy, K'arath preferred the relative isolation and individual challenge of long and perilous quests. This evening, he had spent the better part of 4 hours in an attempt to run through a recreation of The Forge on the planet Vulcan. It presented an entirely new set of environmental challenges he had never faced all of which put his strength to the test. Having never been to Vulcan, he looked forward to seeing the real thing upon their arrival. He would have to ask Commander Servyll about that. Perhaps she would consider joining him if her time permitted.

Sweat dripping down his brow ridges, sand and dust stains marking his one piece jumpsuit, he strode down the empty corridor having finished this evenings activities. Rather than immediately returning to his quarters, he decided to stop by Engineering to see how the new Delta shift team was doing under Lt. Plummer. She seemed very capable and competent. The doors slide open and he entered his domain. The Lt. was giving shift duty orders to a a few of the new Ensigns. As they took notice of him, he could feel the tension in the room increase a little. It made him smile. Even after all they has been through on their last mission, the trail by fire, so to speak, it was good to see he could still keep them on their toe's.

[X]

"You should eat something," the holographic woman said as she and Lieutenant James sat in the engineering section of the Aurora. They had been designing, redesigning, modeling, and fabricating the components for their project.

"I'm fine," Aeric said as he applied the micro weilder to the support frame of the small orb-like device. "Aria and I just had a big dinner."

"That was thirty-six hours ago Aeric," Aurora said as she looked him. He had been up for a days now and it was obvious to anyone that cared to look. The normally clean shaven officer now sported several days growth of facial hair. His normally pristine uniform had become wrinkled and taken on a scent much like one you would find on a klingon battlecruiser. While she understood that he could push himself if he found it necessary, she did not understand the need to currently push himself. "You should try getting some rest. The designs are the best we could come up with. Now that the power cores are assembled and the control matrix is assembled, it's just a matter of assembly and testing."

"I just want to put togther the second sphere then I'll get some rest," Aeric said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "It should only be a few more hours."

Aurora touched the shoulder of her creator and sighed. "You don't need to do this. Aria and I were well on the way to finishing the units. we just got a little busy with the away mission. Why don't you test the new modification with the prototype and then we can incorporate the changes to the orbs."

"That's actually a great idea." Aeric smiled as he jumped from his seat and stripped off his tunic as he headed for the sonic shower. "Aurora transfer holomatrix James-canine-alpha to the prototype orb. Make sure that the hardware intergrates the physical response subroutines into the matrix."

"Just go shower, I know what to do," Aurora said as she rolled her eyes. Her fingers moved swiftly over the engineering console as she watched Aeric enter the head.

Aurora smiled as the smaller tennis ball size device chimmed to indicate that the transfer had been completed. "Computer activate Laika hologram."

As soon as she had spoken the words, the prototype orb rose and the integrated emitters began to generate a small canine hologram. It had been Aria's idea to name the test hologram after an early Earth canine space explorer. While they continued to process the data they recieved from the prototype, they made modifications to the alpha and beta orbs.

Aurora smiled as the dog yipped and hopped off of the table. It had been painstakingly designed to match the physical appearance of the Earth canine that it had been named after. As she scanned the dog, she smiled as the tricorder reported that Laika was no different from a normal canine. That had been her contribution to the prototype. Instead of using standard hographic emitters, she had suggested they use the Hirogen modified Federation design.

Aurora stroked the fur of the dog and smiled again as it responded to her touch. The smaller prototype held all of the function that the newer designs would feature, but the limited data storage, processing power, and energy output of the prototype limited the size and cognititive abilities of the hologram. When Aria suggest that they use a canine hologram as the test program, it fit perfectly with the design limitations.

Less than an hour after Aeric had shaved and showered, he found himself walking down the deck of the Tiberius with the small white and black dog in tow. Telemetry from the prototype was constantly being streamed to the Aurora, but Laika needed to stay active for as long as possible for him to fine tune the emitter designs of the scaled up models.

He needed a good place to leave the dog that would keep it occupied and it had occured to him that children would be the best assistants in the research. Aeric found himself pausing at the quarters of the first officers and pressing the chime. He hoped that they would find the dog interesting enough to keep it entertained while Aurora gathered the necessary data.

[moyer777]

Counselor Margon picked up his quarters and stopped to stroke the Cat's fur.  The cat purred and rubbed against him.
"You're in a good mood" the counselor said. 
The cat stared at the counselor as if to say "you don't spend enough time with me"
The counselor had been involved in an intense study of psyco therapy and holo therapy theory.  It had been long and involved, but with all the telepaths on the crew he needed to know how treat and help them.  It was easier with non telepaths to use the techniques that he had learned in school.  After all, he used to be a barber, and the gift of gab is what got him interested in helping people as a counselor. 

"I've been couped up too long, I've got to get stretch my legs." 

He instantly thought of the children.  He and Sevryll's kids had gotten along so well. 

He thought of a wonderful idea--  "Computer" he said "do Sevryll's children have any allergies?"

The computer chirped and replied "negative counselor"

The counselor picked up Mr. Mouse and held him tightly.  "Let's go for a visit Mr. Mouse"

The doors opened and Mr. Mouse looked up and meowed.  He wasn't used to many trips through the ship and became a little nervous at the onset of their journey.

The counselor arrived at the 1st officer's quarters and hit the chime.  The doors opened and in what seemed to be a flash Mr. Mouse jumped from his arms into the room. 

The expression on Aeric's face was priceless, but not as much as Sevryll and the children!  The dog took one look at the cat and it was all over.  Things in the room began falling everywhere as the dog barked and mr. mouse ran.  It was like a blur of fur through the room.  The counselor just stood there with a stunned face.  He and Aeric met eyes and simply opened their mouths. 

Aeric's dog was getting a lot of information, but Mr. Mouse didn't know he was a hologram.  The cat hissed and scratched, the dog barked and the children laughed.  Sevryl looked at Margon. 

"Counselor, I didn't know you would be visiting."

"I just needed to stretch my legs, and I thought the children would enjoy a visit from Mr. Mouse"
said Margon as the cat ran up his leg and held tightly to his vest.  His claws now fully extended in the counselor's arm. 

Red blood leaked out of his blue skin.

Aeric looked at Margon.  "Counselor, um, sorry for the problem, I didn't know there was a cat on board."  He smiled.  The counselor rolled his eyes and let out a whimper.  "It's ok Aeric, no harm done, except to our first officers quarters and my arm.  I think I'll just take Mr. mouse back to my quarters." 

Aeric apologized again and restrained the pup who was still barking.  The children again smiled widely and tried to pet the dog.  The counselor began to back up toward the door when Mr. Mouse let out a hiss and jumped from his arms out into the corridor... just in time for the dog to leap from Aerics embrace into the hall after him.  The doors closed leaving Aeric and the counselor stunned. 

"Oh oh" said the counselor.....

[Rico]

The blue skinned Andorian ran his hands across the science station on the bridge of the Tiberius with practiced ease.  Assistant Chief Science Officer, Lieutenant Zremm was enjoying a relatively quiet shift at his post.  Since coming aboard Tiberius several weeks ago when the ship had been in the Sol system, Zremm had quickly become at ease aboard the Starship.  Much of this was due in no small part to Commander Sevryll.  They had known each other for several years after meeting on Vulcan during a conference on the teachings of Surak.  Sevryll had found it quite odd to see an Andorian attending a seminar on the teachings of logic and discipline of the mind.  She had approached Zremm and was shocked to be greated with the traditional Vulcan hand gesture and salutation of peace and long life.  Her experiences over the years with other Andorians had been generally rather strained.  Even though both worlds were founding members of the Federation, their two people's had an early history of distrust and conflict.  He still recalled their first meeting quite vividly as he worked on calibrating the port sensor array.

"Peace and long life."  Zremm said as he parted the fingers of his raised right hand in greeting to the Vulcan woman approaching him.  Even though she didn't do it intentionally, Sevryll's right eyebrow lifted up with some surprise.

"And to you as well, lieutenant, ahh...."  Sevryll said as she returned the traditional Vulcan hand greeting.

"Lieutenant Zremm, science specialist on the USS Shepard.  I know, it must be a bit of a shock to see me here."  Zremm said to the tall Vulcan woman.

"I must admit, lieutenant I was a bit surprised.  Normally the teachings of Surak are not subjects I have found that Andorians, or most non-Vulcans, are generally interested in."  Sevryll said, trying to not sound condescending.  The lieutenant returned her comments with a grin.

"Yes, my people can be fairly narrow in their thinking, at times.  I though have always been fascinated and intrigued by Surak and his message of peace and logic.  In fact, I have one of his earliest works in book form right here that I read often.  Let me show you."  Zremm said as he pulled a large tome out of the bag he was holding.  As he moved towards Sevryll a nearby bird cried out and Zremm's antennae amplified the high pitched sound.  The lieutenant became dizzy and stumbled sending him crashing into Sevryll.  He ended up on the ground on top of the young Vulcan.

"Are you injured, lieutenant?"  Sevryll said noticing the pained look on the Andorian's face.

"Just my head.  Still a bit dizzy.  Those birds have always given me a headache and problems when I visit.  Normally I get a hypo injection before coming to lessen the effects but I didn't have chance this time."  Zremm said as he began to notice Sevryll under him.

"Well if you are uninjured, perhaps you would be able to lift yourself up.  I think that might make it easier to continue our discussion."  Sevryll said with a tiny bit of sarcasm in her voice as she raised her eyebrow once more.

"Oh, yeah.  I'm very sorry commander.  I'm not the most graceful at times."  Zremm said as he pulled himself up and helped Sevryll to her feet.

"No need for an apology, lieutenant.  Unless it was your intention to knock me down."  She said as her new acquaintance looked away, trying to avoid Sevryll's stare.

"Oh, no ma'am.  Maybe we should continue our discussion while we eat.  Our short rest break will be over in 20 minutes."  Zramm said trying to make amends as he picked up his book.

"That would be agreeable lieutenant."  Sevryll said as she walked towards the dining area.

Just then a tiny flashing light on Zramm's control interface brought him back to the present, and the Tiberius.  The sensors were picking up a quasar like phenomenon approximately 2.3 light years away.  A quick check of the stellar cartography database revealed that this was an uncharted occurrence.  Time to get down to business Zramm said to himself and stop dwelling on the past.    But he had to admit he might not be here working with Sevryll on Tiberius if that first very awkward meeting they had years ago had not taken place.   

[Jen]

joint post by Jen and X

Seeking peace and solitude, the mother of two left her small children playing with Dennis, the hologram her husband had programmed to watch over his family in his absence.  Sevryll finished her tea, entered the privacy of her bedroom, and closed the door.  No more than five minutes had passed when her eyes opened suddenly.  A rapid succession of shrill barks stabbed at her ears and demanded her full attention.  An instant later, Dennis appeared in her room. "Some guy showed up with a dog... you want me to take care of him?" 

"You left the children with him? Who is it?" she replied in an irritated tone.

"Some guy...you want me to show him the door?" a smile stretched across his face that told Sevryll his idea of showing their guest the door, was quite different from her own.

"No," she replied as she got to her feet... the barking continued, resurrecting the dull headache that had only recently abated.

"You sure?" asked Dennis disappointingly.

"Quite," she answered in a scratchy voice.  Feeling somewhat muzzy, the vulcan abandoned her mediation to investigate the source of the painful yapping.

Standing in the entry to her quarters was Lieutenant  James and a small, white dog with a big brown spot on her side. The rude little beast continued barking as the children's giggles grew increasingly louder.

"Good evening Commander, " said Aeric between shooshes, as he tried to calm the holographic pooch.

Severyll cringed at the noise, yet resisted the urge to cover her ears.
"What is the purpose of your visit lieutenant?"


"I thought that the children could use a new playmate," Aeric smiled as he continued. "Laika is completely house broken and well trained. The pup is also a test platform for a holographic emitter system that we're working on. I need more data on the matrix stability and every child needs a good pet."

"Laika, sit." Aeric commanded in a soft but firm voice. Upon recognizing the command, the canine quit its yelping and lowered, taking a seated position. "It's not your sehlat "Sheshleck", but I believe that he's just as durable. If we can stabilize the holomatter matrix, we can incorporate the updates into the beta units we are working on. Laika is as real as we could make the pup. The only features it's missing is a digestive system, but normal tricorder scans will still register it as organic."

He simply observed the reactions of the children and their mother after he spoke. Had he considered giving the pup to the children before they designed the prototype, he would have increased the size of the matrix to support a sehlat pup. It would have been a more fitting gift and if they could fix the matrix, it could be later updated.

"Laika means barker in Russian— an appropriate name for such a vocal animal." Sevryll's next words were interrupted, by the door chime. "... "ENTER!" She said, a little louder than intended.

The door opened to reveal a happy blue man with a very large cat tucked in his arms. The children, excited at having a dog, were quickly under the impression the cat was a gift as well. Sevryll glanced down to see their little faces frozen in eager anticipation. A moment later, M'rynn shrieked with glee as the two animals locked eyes for a brief moment... Then unparalleled chaos followed.

Sevryll pulled her toddlers to her, as the cat leaped from Margon's arms and the holoterrier gave pursuit. The commander grimaced as the beasts knocked over her harp, breaking the fragile instrument it in half.

Mr. Mouse seemed to defy gravity as it bounced off the vulcan artwork on her walls, and tore the children's drawings in an attempt to evade the small menace chasing him.

"Counselor, I did not know you would be visiting," Sevryll shouted over the barking.

The woman and her two giggling toddlers deftly dodged the feline as he darted past, with a dog fast on its heals. She watched as the cat scaled the counselor, and climbed upon his shoulders.

"I just needed to stretch my legs, and I thought the children would enjoy a visit from Mr. Mouse."

Sevryll's eyes widened when she saw that the cat had drawn Margon's blood. Aeric apologized profusely as he scooped up his squirming terrier—while M'rynn and N'Val rushed to pet her. Their quick movements once again frightened the traumatized Mr. Mouse. No longer willing to endure his present company, the rotund cat sprang from his perch on Margon's shoulders and dashed from the quarters. Aeric tried to restrain the dog, but she flew from his arms—tearing after the furry feline.

"Oh oh" said the counselor.....

Unable to contain their excitement, M'rynn and N'vall scurried after the animals with Margon and Aeric close behind. When the coast was clear, Dennis appeared beside Sevryll, "You should have let me take care of him." The brawny hologram turned his grin towards the slight vulcan and quickly recoiled at the sight of the twisted scowl she fired at him. In silence, Sevryll surveyed the devastation caused by the furry beasts, drew a slow, deep breath, and calmly exited her quarters...to locate and collect her toddlers.

[Geekyfanboy]

Quinn prepared breakfast for his guest. He has been enjoying his breakfasts with Nic the past few weeks.  As he brought a large plate of french toast over to the table the door chimed.

"Come in" Quinn said as he placed the plate on the table. As the door slid apart Quinn could see the smiling face of Nicholas Took. "Good Morning Captain" Nic said as he entered Quinn's quarters. Quinn shook his head "How many times do I have to tell you when we are off duty you can call me Nathan." Nic nervously laughed " I know and I'm trying sir... umm I mean Nathan."

Quinn sat down as he motioned for Nic to do the same. "So how was your shift?" Quinn asked as he poured large amounts of syrup over his french toast. Nic took the syrup from Nathan and started to pour. "It wasn't too bad, I had to replace three bio-gel packs today." Quinn looked up, "Is there something wrong?" "No, I'm sure everything is fine" Nic said as he took a sip of orange juice. "These bio-gel packs are organic in nature, like the humanoid body, they can succumb to viruses or colds just like you or I. Normally when one malfunctions or becomes sick it shuts down so not to infect the surrounding ones but for some reason this one did not and whatever problem it was having went to the two adjacent packs. So I removed the infected ones and replaced them with new ones. It's a pretty basic procedure."

Quinn smiled as he took a drink of water. "So standard procedure would have you take the infected gel packs to sick bay for analysis." "That's correct, I drop them off on my way here." Nic said as Quinn tapped the sides of his mouth with a napkin, "I'll have to make it a point to stop by sickbay later today and see what's going on."

[wraith1701]

Secluded in his dimly lit quarters, Lt. K'Tan was finding it difficult not to stare into the mirror.  Try as he might, he couldn't escape the feeling that the person peering back at him was a stranger. 

It had been almost a week since the medical techs had reversed the cosmetic changes called for by his recent away mission, and he was almost back to normal. 

Almost, but not quite. 

Granted, he no longer looked like a Romulan; his temporarily lightened skin had finally gone back to its normal rich brown color, and his ears no longer tapered up into points.  His neatly trimmed goatee was coming in nicely as well.  But his hair...

K'Tan ran a hand over his head in frustration, alternately studying his left and right profile.  To complete his disguise, the mane of black hair that he had worn in a ponytail since childhood had been sheared off to match the pageboy style commonly worn on Romulus.  Upon his return to the Tiberius, the techs had tried to shape his remaining hair into something more in keeping with Starfleet regs, which had left him with a short, military-style cut.  K'Tan doubted that he would ever get used to the feeling of air on his bare neck; without his hair, he felt almost naked.

" Dor-sho-gha!", he cursed, then turned and trudged to his room's replicator. "Roast Targ; rare, and earth vegetable mix number 9," he ordered.  With a soft buzzing whirr, a covered platter materialized before him.  Stomach growling in anticipation, K'Tan took the platter to his table and sat down.  His mouth watered as he pictured himself biting into the tender cut of meat. 

His sartorial concerns temporarily forgotten, K'Tan removed the lid from the platter with a flourish, then froze in shock.

Sitting on the plate before him was a mass of sickly-yellow tube grubs. 

The Lieutenant slammed the lid back on the platter with a clang, and sprung to his feet.  "This is not Roast Targ and vegetable mix number 9!" 

K'Tan shivered in revulsion.  Having been raised as a Klingon, he had a firm appreciation for many aspects of his adoptive culture.  He had not, however, developed a taste for eating bugs.  In fact, during his youth, it had taken roughly a dozen fist fights to convince his peers not to tease him about his fear of gagh.  Hell; he'd even won a few of them.

The hint of a smile formed on K'Tan's face.  Good times, he thought.

K'Tan returned the platter to the replicator, and after watching it disappear in a shimmering swirl of lights, turned to exit his quarters.  Perhaps I'll have better luck in 5-forward, he thought to himself.  As the door whispered closed behind him, K'Tan strode down the gently curving hallway.  Thinking back on his last visit to the Tiberius' main lounge, he felt his mood steadily improving.  Food always seemed to taste better in social settings. 

[Duffster]

Sargent Mike Tarent looked down at the holographic gameboard in front of him and sighed. He couldn't think of a single way to get his entrenched batallion away from incoming mech group that had almost miraculously appeared from nowhere on his rear flank. He looked accross the board at the large Orion officer lazily sitting back in his chair, casually smoking a foul smelling black cigar, and blowing smoke rings accross the board.

"Dammit Tain", said Tarent, "how the hell did you sneak that group over there? I'm gettin real tired of losing like this. You sure you ain't got this sim rigged?"

Tain looked over at Tarent with a look of pure innocence.

"Now Mikey", said Tain with a grin, "you have know me for near on 20 years. Would I do something like that??"

Tarent glared back at Tain.

"It's the fact I've know you that long that makes me ask the question Lieuntenant!! Bah..the game is yours....again!"

Mike Tarent ordered the computer to reset the sim.

"Let's try this again. I've made some interesting changes in the parameters of this map, let's see how you cope... Mudric! You make the first move"

Tarent grinned as he watched Cedric Tain grimace at nickname Tarent had gifted him with the many years ago. As he watched Tain look over the board and start distributing his troups, his he couldn't help but think about the irony of Tains new situation. Tarent had know Tain when he was a shiney new recruit. The kid was born to be a soldier. Tarent watched as the youngster rose through the enlisted ranks, and showed over and over his leadership. Tain had always followed the orders of his officers, from all apparent appearances, although he generally joked of their incompetence with his fellow non-coms. You could always tell the incompetent officers though, they rarely lasted. Whether it was a request for transfer, or an accident, the never seemed to last long. Tarent thought it was very ironic that Tain was now an officer himself, something that Tarent needled him about constantly. Although he wouldn't make a big deal out of it, Mike Tarent was very pleased that Tain had been assigned to the Tiberius. These days old friends were hard to come by.

Tarent was jerked back to the present by Tain annoucing that he was done with his setup and it was Mikes turn. As Mike turned to the board to begin anaylizing his move, the board seemed to waver. He felt himself getting lightheaded, and off balance. This was followed by a blinding headache.

"Man Ced", said Tarent, "I feel like it just got a boot to the head. I think I am gonna have to call it a game for now and get back to my quarters."

Cedric laughed.

"What's a matter Mikey, not up for another razing?"

Tain noticed the look of pain that was written on Tarents face.

"Oh wow, you do look like your in pain. Maybe you should head down to sickbay, and see if there is anything wrong."

Tarent waved off Tain.

"Ha, it's gonna take more then a headache to get this old horse to see those vultures! I'll be fine, just need to get some shuteye. You know, it's probably the smoke from that stinkin thing you call a cigar giving me a headache."

Tarent elabroately waved the smoke from the air and headed towards the door.

"I'll be back tomorrow when I am off duty to take my revenge on you Tain. Don't you go messin with any of the setup of that sim!! I'll know if you do!"

Tain watched his old friend leave the room and quickly started looking at the parameters of the game sim.

"Nothin sayin I can't just look though,is there??"

Tain smiled as he tried to delicately hack the sim, but stopped almost as soon as he started. He told the computer to save the sim as it was and sat back in his chair. He couldn't exactly say why, but for some reason he had a really bad feeling about his old friend. He almost opened a channel to Tarent to ask him if he was alright, but stopped himself.

"Bloody fool", he said to himself, "ain't nothing wrong with that old goat that didn't come from not driking synthahol. I call him and he is just gonna call me an old dothering nanny. I ain't gonna give him the pleasure"

Tain snubbed out his cigar and prepared to hit the sack.

[wraith1701]

As the doors to 5-forward swept open, K'Tan's ears were assaulted by what sounded like a party in full-swing.  The vast room was almost filled to capacity, and there was an eclectic mix of both uniformed and civilian patrons eating and drinking at the various booths, tables, and barstools. 

At a booth near one of the large viewports flanking the bar, he saw a particularly boisterous group.  Three uniformed men and a woman, all wearing Ops gold, were laughing and pointing at another officer who appeared to have fallen out of his seat. 

Glancing from the officer sprawled on the floor to the numerous empty glasses and tankards scattered across the table, K'Tan figured that synthahol might have played a role in the scene playing out before him.  As the tall, female officer bent down to help her comrade back into his seat, K'Tan smiled to himself.  The scene reminded him of the mess hall of a Klingon ship, where the warriors played with at least as much vigor as they fought. 

This looks like my kind of group, he thought with a smile, and slowly made his way to the booth. 

As he waded through the milling crowd, he caught the eye of one of the harried waiters.  As the waiter quickly and efficiently wiped down one of the few unoccupied tables, K'Tan tapped him on the shoulder.  Looking up, the waiter asked "Can I help you, sir?"

"I was just wondering," K'Tan rumbled, "why it seems busier than normal in here.  Is there some kind of holiday or something?" 

"I wish I knew," the waiter replied.  "Business seems to have really taken off in the last few days.  I guess people are just tired of eating in their quarters."

As the waiter rushed off, K'Tan stepped up to the booth and loudly cleared his throat.  The tall, dark-haired female officer looked up with a challenging grin. 

"Well, what do we have here," she exclaimed with a smile.  "Another Yellow-Shirt.  Pull up a chair, friend, and join us!" 

As K'tan took a seat, one of the male officers slid a mug of something down the table to him and flashed a smile.

"Drink up, buddy!",  the balding man said, then turned to glance at the bleary-eyed floor-sprawler sitting beside him.  "I don't think Lt. Johnson here wants anymore."

Warming to the boisterous group, K'Tan felt himself smiling.  "Thanks, but I'll pass.  I never did like synthehol.  Drinking it feels too much like playing 'make-believe'."

As the group broke out into a fresh bout of laughter, K'Tan looked about in mild confusion.

The Female officer gave him a solid slap on the back.  "Who said anything about synthehol," she said with a wink. 

"I've got a few connections," she continued.   "This here is the real mccoy; pure, unadulterated saurian brandy."  The woman noded to the glass before K'Tan.  "Help yourself," she said with a grin.  "Unless, of course, you're afraid."

Meeting the woman's piercing blue stare, K'Tan returned her grin and took a long pull of the potent drink.  Eyes stinging from the vapors rising off of the brandy, K'Tan finished it in three determined swallows, then slammed the empty glass on the table.  The drink blazed a trail of icy-fire down his throat, then settled in his stomach, creating a warm, pleasant, glow.  As the warmth slowly spread from his stomach to suffuse his whole body, K'Tan was faintly aware of the cheers of his new friends. 

"That's what I'm talking about," someone yelled.  "Bartender; another round!"

[Jen]

A joint post by Jen and Iceman
---

Ryla Dret looked up to see Doctor Lucas leveling her with an icy stare. The man looked like warmed over Tibble feces—but she wasn't about to tell him that. She loathed confrontation and did just about everything she could to avoid its unpleasantness—especially with regards to "Doctor Ima Jerk". He made it know to the medical staff that he wasn't very fond of happy people, so Ryla decided to avoid his crotchetiness—for fear that it may be contagious.  The middle-aged terran looked flushed and his forehead was beaded with perspiration...he didn't look well at all. She had asked if he was ill, but he waved her off with a boorish gesture and continued to work.

As the Trill busied herself with various mundane duties around sickbay, she recounted an earlier event... 

Ryla watched the fresh-faced young officer as he approached the transparent double doors of Sickbay. The ensign had a bounce in his step that made her smile—he entered, looked about the room and approach Doctor Lucas. "Ensign Took from Engineering, sir. I discovered three infected bio gel packs. Procedure requires me..."

The stodgy Lucas cut him off, "yes. Yes... I know. Hand them over." Without bothering to look up from his work, Doctor Lucas stretched out his hand to receive the hermetically sealed package that contained the biohazard in question.

Ryla watched the young man's bright smile fade slightly...it was then she decided to intervene.  "Hello, Ensign. I'm Doctor Dret, but you can call me Ryla," she said amiably as she drew near the two. "What do you have there Mr. Took?"

The young ensign glanced at Ryla, then back at Lucas who happened to be shooting daggers at the Trill that had intercepted the bio gel.  "Three infected gel packs, ma'am," he answered as he passed her the packet.

She ignored Lucas's heavy glare, "thank you, Ensign. If you have the time, I'll show you how we process these thingy-ma-bobs after we receive them from your department." She knew what they were called, but enjoyed the fact that the substitute word bothered Doctor Lucas—he reacted as though she had called his mother a bloated targ.

Ensign Took sidestepped the frigid terran who had been so rude, and followed Ryla. "Sure. I have a few minutes, he said as he returned her smile."

While Ryla scanned the bio gel packs, she looked up at Took who had felt Doctor Lucas's eyes on his back and turned to glance at the coarse physician.  Dret cleared her throat to gain the young man's attention, "don't you pay any attention to him Mr. Took—he's just having a bad day."

She then proceeded to make small talk with the ensign, and by the end of the bio gel processing, Took had invited her to join a small group on his Camelot program's first run. 'A kindred spirit,' she thought as her mind surfaced from her recollection.

She glanced up to see Doctor Peterson rubbing his temples once more. Headaches weren't common these days, and she was beginning to worry about him. She set down her medical tricorder and strode towards his office on the opposite side of the room. He glanced up and smiled as she knocked on the translucent wall. "Please come in," he said.

"Sir, did you receive my report on the gel packs?" she asked.

"Yes, I did. Thank you Doctor Dret."

While continuing to massage his temples, Dr Peterson's shifted his eyes back to her report. "I've been working too hard lately...I needed to get some sleep soon", he thought.

Peterson glanced up at Dr. Dret again and asked, "what do you make of these findings? They don't make sense to me. This virus seems to be mutating at a rapid rate. In fact, it's changing so rapidly that the my scanner can't keep track of the variations."

Dret examined the microscan and witnessed the rapidly replicating organism. "It's extremely dynamic to say the least— you're right, it's producing high yield, short replicating viral quasispecies at an alarming rate. I've never seen anything like it, Doctor."

"Would you report these findings to the Engineering? I will send the results to the Captain and Commander Sevyll," said Peterson.

"Please repeat the tests on the Gel Pack as soon as possible... Let me know how the results of your second analysis turn out. If they are similar, I will ask Commander Sevryll to take a look. I will be in my quarters for the next few hours... please notify me of the results once they are ready."

"Yes, sir," replied Ryla.

[Geekyfanboy]

Joint Post Startrekfanatic5 & Jen

Ensign Took exited Captain Quinn's quarters, "have a good day Nathan, I'll see you tomorrow." Nic smiled as the doors slid shut and Nathan turned to start cleaning up the breakfast table.

As he worked, the Captain could hear Phil and Grant squeaking at him from their cage near by, and he walked over to peer in on them. "What are you guys going on about? You want some food?" He grabbed a left over piece of French Toast and dropped it into their cage. The rodents attacked it hungrily. "Man you guys act like I never feed you," he chuckled. He watched them for a brief moment before finishing up the cleaning, straightened his tunic and headed out of his quarters to start his day. Nathan passed several crewmen in the corridor; each nodded and said "good morning", as he made his way to Sickbay.

The doors of the medical bay parted obediently, and he entered with a confident stride. Ryla saw him coming, quickly straightened her lab coat and greeted him, "Hello, Captain."

"Hello, is Doctor Peterson around?" He asked.

"I'm sorry sir, Doctor Peterson is off duty. Is there anything I can do for you?" replied Ryla brightly.

"Yes.  Ensign Took dropped off a few infected gel packs this morning. I was wondering if the had been analyzed yet."

"Yes sir. Before he left, Doctor Peterson said he sent the lab results to you."

"Hum, I just checked my communiqués... I received nothing from Peterson," said Quinn as he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"He was so tired when he left... he may have forgotten. I'll pull them up for you right away." Nathan followed Ryla into her modest office, and sat as she gestured to a small stool near her desk.  She blushed as she watched him shift uncomfortably upon it. "I'm sorry Captain, I don't usually receive many visitors in my office."

"Oh, don't worry about it—it will keep me humble," he said with a smile.
Ryla quickly accessed the microscan imagery on her terminal and pivoted the monitor to show the captain.

"I'm currently running the tests again, to verify the results. But as you can see, this is an extremely prolific and aggressive virus. No one in our staff has ever seen anything like it. Doctor Peterson said he would contact Engineering to notify them of our findings, but perhaps we should make sure they receive his message."

Quinn sat there for a moment looking over the data, he had never seen anything like it before. So many questions were forming in his mind. How did the packs get infected? Did we catch it in time or has it spread to more of the gel packs?  Can we fix or cure them? Quinn noticed Ryla staring at him. "I'm sorry Doctor, I've never seen anything replicate to quickly before. I need to get down to engineering immediately. Please keep me informed on your progress. I want you to make this a priority."

Ryla nodded, "Yes sir"

Quinn stood adjusted his tunic and headed out of sickbay.