4.4 Convergence

[Magellan Lin]

The curved window reflected Magellans features. He was staring through his own reflection into space. The station span ever so gradually on its axis. Below, the orange orb of Qualinost hung. It looked so peaceful up here. Everything seemed easier when gazing into space. He turned from the window as he heard the door open. Commander Ramsey entered the room.

"Admiral" he greeted with a curt nod.

"Ramsey, good to see you again." Magellan stated extending a hand.

As if waiting for their FO to arrive the other members of the Nevada command staff began to appear, Dantrek, Connor, Lucille and Josh.

"I m waiting for one more" Magellan noted as they all settled down, "He should be here shortly."

Whilst they waited Magellan moved to the head of the table and the large view screen. He called up a map of the region upon which the disposition of Tholian and Klingon fleets were marked.

Presently the door opened and a Vulcanoid entered in long dark robes.

"This is Elder Ji'Zahn of the New Debrune Imperium. I have asked him here as the Debrune are an elder race and may have some input to this mission"

Tag JiZahn

Magellan waited for the Elder to sit and then began his briefing.

"As I have already mentioned the Tholians have been colonising Demon class planets in other territories. We have allowed this but the Klingons have not. They are currently engaged in a protracted war. The problem is that Tholian Space is seperated from Klingon Space by Us!!

Both sides have promised not to engage in our space but we all know that won't happen. We are also rendering engineering and Rand R support to the Klingons due to our alliance.

President Zahara has made it very clear that the Federation is to remain neutral and if possible broker a peace. I ve been working on the peace for the last 6 months and have got nowhere mainly because the Tholians wouldnt reveal why they were colonising other planets. Last week I found out why."

He paused and called up another image, this time of a planet in the Betreka Nebula.

"This is Aenvolis, a Tholian colony in our space. I was taken here and met by Ambassador Kaskrene, he explained what was going on. The Tholians are a private and hard to understand race but there need is much like any race - safe procreation. Traditionally they use specific nest and larval sites. These are on Demon Class planets. These hatcherys are vitally important to the survival of their race.

16 years ago the Tholians encountred a new race... The Kasan-thar" Magellan paused to see if the name meant anything to Ji'zahn, he looked up but gave nothing away.

"The Kasan-thar like the Tholians are silicon-based, but they viewed the Tholians as completely inferior nothing more than cattle. They fought violently for awhile before the Kasan-thar disappeared. 2 years ago they returned and with an appetite. They consider the eggs and the young of the Tholians as a high delicacy and began regularly raiding the hatcherys. The devastation beceame so great that the Tholians began to reach the brink of extinction and so began to hide as many hatcherys as possible wherever they could find Demon-class planets.

On Aenvolis I met a Kasan-thar. A prisoner they had managed to take. They are superior. One of them killed 36 tholians in hand to hand barely breaking a sweat. They are incredibly hard to kill and aggresive. It is our mission to make first contact. This is a new power and a possible enemy. We need to meet them, assess them and if possible ensure they do not become a threat to the Federation. Ji'Zahn have you heard of them?"

Ji'Zahn looked at Magellan and shrugged,
"I have heard of the Kasan, they are in our mythology as perfectionists. But I know little more. There might be more in our archives."

"Thankyou. They could be the same species" Magellan mused " We'll take the Nevada and a skeleton crew. I won't lie to you, this is very dangerous. We know how they treat Tholians but not how they may treat us. Questions?"

[Deleted]

After the introductions to Cmdr. Reo who sat down across from Lucy, Lt. Stephens commented, "I suppose it would be more interesting if I knew more about it. Cloak and dagger and all that. I can understand the Admiral's reluctance to get into it further here, but--well, I'm just curious, I guess."

Lucy looked over at Lt. Stephens with her head tilted wondering if they had been told anything of their mission or if it had been her imagination.

Cmdr. Trek repeated the mission parameters as they knew it and then said his good-byes. Lucy nodded approvingly at the commander's intention of communicating with his son. She knew plenty of Starfleet officers that sent off a simple "good-bye, I'm leaving now" rather than a real message. As a counselor, she was aware that those were the kinds of messages that left regret behind.

She nodded and smiled at Connor and Josh in turn. "I don't think we know anything more than we knew before we got here. But the food was good. I haven't eaten anything like this before. The taste is a bit different... spices I'm not familiar with at all. Can I call you Connor? And Josh?" Lucy asked, swinging her head back and forth waiting for their nods.

"Yes, you can call me Connor, Lucy."

"We're due for a briefing in the Admiral's ready room, lieutenants," Josh remarked, standing.

Connor stood and held Lucy's chair while she got up. Waving her to precede him, the three of them left the cafe together.

"This is Elder Ji'Zahn of the New Debrune Imperium. I have asked him here as the Debrune are an elder race and may have some input to this mission," Admiral Lin said, introducing the Vulcan.

By the time the admiral finished speaking, Lucy was working hard at not squirming. Her grandfather, Vice Admiral Grey, had met with the Tholian's in a diplomatic setting. Lucy had gotten a glimpse of them before she was found and ordered back to her grandmother.

"Do we have an image of a Kasan-Thar?" Lucy asked quietly. Any race that could overpower the Tholians in hand to hand combat would have to be formidable.

<Tag>

[connorstephens]

"16 years ago the Tholians encountred a new race... The Kasan-thar" Magellan paused to see if the name meant anything to Ji'zahn, he looked up but gave nothing away.

"The Kasan-thar like the Tholians are silicon-based, but they viewed the Tholians as completely inferior nothing more than cattle. They fought violently for awhile before the Kasan-thar disappeared. 2 years ago they returned and with an appetite. They consider the eggs and the young of the Tholians as a high delicacy and began regularly raiding the hatcherys. The devastation beceame so great that the Tholians began to reach the brink of extinction and so began to hide as many hatcherys as possible wherever they could find Demon-class planets.

On Aenvolis I met a Kasan-thar. A prisoner they had managed to take. They are superior. One of them killed 36 tholians in hand to hand barely breaking a sweat. They are incredibly hard to kill and aggresive. It is our mission to make first contact. This is a new power and a possible enemy. We need to meet them, assess them and if possible ensure they do not become a threat to the Federation. Ji'Zahn have you heard of them?"

Ji'Zahn looked at Magellan and shrugged,
"I have heard of the Kasan, they are in our mythology as perfectionists. But I know little more. There might be more in our archives."

"Thankyou. They could be the same species" Magellan mused " We'll take the Nevada and a skeleton crew. I won't lie to you, this is very dangerous. We know how they treat Tholians but not how they may treat us. Questions?"

"Do we have an image of a Kasan-Thar?" Lucy asked quietly

<Tag>

Stephens loked at Lucy. He knew that she was fresh from the Academy, and with the nature of this mission, he was sure that she was feeling quite apprehensive, just as he was. He kept thinking about the scenario: a new ship with which they were not all that familiar, a pitifully small crew contingent, most with little or no experience in the field at all, a CO who was just appointed to his first command post--it was not a scenario Stephens would have envisioned as one likely to succeed. On the other hand, though, the possibilities were intriguing and enormous. A first contact situation, the possibilities for scientific exploration and new knowledge, the bonding of a new and inexperienced crew into a working tested band of shipmates who could trust and depend on each other.

"A first contact situation. The possibilities here are enormous. We have an opportunity for exploration and gaining new knowledge. I must say," Stephens said, "that I am quite intrigued by it. But I still don't quite understand the secrecy of it. It's rather hard to hide a ship of this type, and the Tholians and Kasan-Thar are going to learn who we are."

<Tag Lin>

[Magellan Lin]

"Do we have an image of a Kasan-Thar?" Lucy asked quietly

"No" Magellan replied curtly, the image of the Kasan warrior he had encountered burned into his memory, "I ll provide details en route, but they are vaguely reptillian, about 7ft, lithe. They wear some kind of energy reflectant body armour. They are bipedal with sharp talons on both feet. The teeth are pretty sharp too. However they may look though they seem highly intelligent and technogically an equal of ours"

Stephens loked at Lucy. He knew that she was fresh from the Academy, and with the nature of this mission, he was sure that she was feeling quite apprehensive, just as he was. He kept thinking about the scenario: a new ship with which they were not all that familiar, a pitifully small crew contingent, most with little or no experience in the field at all, a CO who was just appointed to his first command post--it was not a scenario Stephens would have envisioned as one likely to succeed. On the other hand, though, the possibilities were intriguing and enormous. A first contact situation, the possibilities for scientific exploration and new knowledge, the bonding of a new and inexperienced crew into a working tested band of shipmates who could trust and depend on each other.

"A first contact situation. The possibilities here are enormous. We have an opportunity for exploration and gaining new knowledge. I must say," Stephens said, "that I am quite intrigued by it. But I still don't quite understand the secrecy of it. It's rather hard to hide a ship of this type, and the Tholians and Kasan-Thar are going to learn who we are."

"Secrecy is vital" Magellan asserted, "To our current knowledge no member of the Federation has met a Kasan-thar and the Tholians believe they havent ventured this way in millennia. It is our aim to make first contact but not to open the Federation up to any threat of attack. And definetly not to let them find our space. This is fact finding nothing more. Should the Kasan-thar be a threat and threaten to take any of us or the ship I will not hesitate to enable a memory purge and set the auto destruct." Magellan lightened a little, "But it wont come to that. We may not even track them down the Tholians do not know where their home systems are and we have only a vagure location of where they maybe. The secrecy also helps ensure the Klingons or the Romulans try and make First Contact themselves, I think its best we try first. So if there are no more questions I suggest we ship out in the next hour."

[Deleted]

Ambassador Vebn S'Khellian stood alone on the arcade. The Romulans stern exterior seemed to act like a forcefield repelling all who came near. It didnt bother Vebn he was far too deep in thought.

A month ago all was right in the world but now everything was in tatters. Years of careful manipulation had been ruined his attempts to unify the Romo-Vulcanoid world was now a distant hope oncemore. His allies on Romulus had all been arrested drawn out of hiding accidentally by himself and arrested by his own daughter.

He had returned to Assailant to find out that D'beren the Debrune Holy child had been critically injured and the one person who could have helped in his re-unification, High Preist Kale was fighting for his political life with the other Elders.

The only plus side was that he had finally managed to make some common ground with the recalitrant Tedak.

He returned to his embassy office briefly to see if his Federation contacts had replied but they hadnt even they seemed to have vanished. Wearily he decided to retire to bed. As he passed the main dock he noted a new Akira class vessel in dock. It was odd he noted, there shouldnt be one here now. He peered through the thick glass to try and read the name and registry but both seemed to be absent.

He was distracted from his thoughts by a voice,

"Ambassador"

Vebn turned round to see High Priest Kale approaching.

"High Priest. I m surprised to see you here."

"Elder Ji'Zahn has made it abundantly clear I m not welcome on Qualinost at the moment. He seems to blame me for the accident and is intent on getting me stripped of rank and position"

"But surely he can't do that on his own."

"No he would need the support of Elders Lork and Cra'mel and a majority of the council. I won't make it easy for him. Mine is a religous post his a political one. But his word carrys much weight these days. But worry not I still have a few aces up my sleeve"

Vebn shrugged,

"Without you in the hierarchy I doubt the reunification of our peoples and the vulcans will ever occur."

"That is the least of my worries for now" Vebn noted coolly "But perhaps myself and Tedak can be of some service."

"Go on?" Kale asked

[leodenart]

Leo watched as a shuttle flew into view and began it landing procedures. "who could that be?" he wondered, hoping it was Ji' Zhan to come and speak with him again. Leo had made a discovery that every other report had failed to notice, either that or someone had taken it out of the reports on purpose.

Leo watched as the Mercy's came into view, with a sigh he went to greet them. "I wish to see it," T'Val demanded, "my son was nearly killed. I wish to see what killed him." "I thought you would" Leo said, before turning to show them the crash site. Following behind them as they walked, Leo kept an eye on the others in his little search party, giving them encouraging nods when they passed by.

OOC well, what do you want to know about my crash site?

[davidramsey]

David sat back and listened to all the admiral said. This mission was not exactly what he'd consider hopeful, but if anything, atleast he had experience in "staying under the radar". He considered this new race and prospective first contact.

"A first contact situation. The possibilities here are enormous. We have an opportunity for exploration and gaining new knowledge. I must say," Stephens said, "that I am quite intrigued by it. But I still don't quite understand the secrecy of it. It's rather hard to hide a ship of this type, and the Tholians and Kasan-Thar are going to learn who we are."

David turned about at the comment and looked at Lieutenant Stephens. However, he did not respond, instead the admiral jumped right in.

"Secrecy is vital" Magellan asserted, "To our current knowledge no member of the Federation has met a Kasan-thar and the Tholians believe they havent ventured this way in millennia. It is our aim to make first contact but not to open the Federation up to any threat of attack. And definetly not to let them find our space. This is fact finding nothing more. Should the Kasan-thar be a threat and threaten to take any of us or the ship I will not hesitate to enable a memory purge and set the auto destruct." Magellan lightened a little, "But it wont come to that. We may not even track them down the Tholians do not know where their home systems are and we have only a vagure location of where they maybe. The secrecy also helps ensure the Klingons or the Romulans try and make First Contact themselves, I think its best we try first. So if there are no more questions I suggest we ship out in the next hour."

"Well, I think the best way to find them is to go to the source of all these problems," he said, "If we wanna find these people we need to find a Tholian hatchery ... One that has been frequented by these creatures. I am not sure how willing the Tholians would be to give us that information, but it's our surest way to find the Kasan-thar. We know what they want after all ... outfit us with a cloak and we can follow them back to their own space. As for the intregue and the thought of uncovering new knowledge, Lieutenant ... don't forget, these creatures eat the children of other sentient creatures. Don't ever forget that ... or it could cost us our lives."

[connorstephens]

"As for the intregue and the thought of uncovering new knowledge, Lieutenant ... don't forget, these creatures eat the children of other sentient creatures. Don't ever forget that ... or it could cost us our lives."

"Understood, Commander. I am aware of the risks. But as a scientist, I am also aware of the possibilities inherent in this mission, and those intrigue me. At this point, we have only hearsay and Admiral Lin's experience with one Kasan-thar. To prejudice ourselves before the facts might limit our ability to interact with a species on equal footing. I am only suggesting that we keep all doors open until we can determine the truth of this situation, and of these people."

<Tag Ramsey, Lin>

[Magellan Lin]

"I agree Commander. Despite the situation this is still a first contact mission. We're trying to make friends here but we have to be prepared otherwise. Its why I selected the Nevada, a good science and engineering team to assess and help make contact. I suggest you get the ship ready. Commander Ramsey. You will be in command of the ship. Just think of me as a passenger for now. I ll see you in an hour." Magellan replied.

[Ji' Zhan]

Being called to a briefing on the base was something that Ji'Zhan didn't normally have the opportunity to do. Most Starfleet missions were something he only read about afterward and then only if it concerned Qualinost or the Nebula. The situation of the Tholians had been talked about several time during the Council meetings.

After being introduced to the others in the briefing, Ji'Zhan sat back and took in the information about the Kasan-thar and the Tholians.

Magellan was filling in some information only to a point. Ji'Zhan knew that he wasn't telling the whole story as he knew of the Starfleet 'need to know basis' style of briefings. Magellan turned to Ji'Zhan and asked, "Ji'Zahn have you heard of them?"

Shrugging his shoulders to imply that he didn't know very much on this matter Ji'zhan said, "I have heard of the Kasan, they are in our mythology as perfectionists. But I know little more. There might be more in our archives."

"Thankyou. They could be the same species" Magellan mused.

Ji'Zhan, staying in the meeting but using the stations computer to access the Qualinost data started to look.

After the briefing was over and Magellan had instructed for the ship to be readied, Ji'Zhan was finding out what he thought he would ... simple stories and nothing more."

Magellan, with the room now empty of everyone except the two, walked over to read over Ji'Zhan's shoulder.

Ji'Zhan started to tell the Admiral the story. "This story," pointing to the screen, "was back before the Debrune came to be on the planet Qualinost. As you know, the Debrune had been moving from planet to planet trying to find a home. During this period of time, my people were on a planet you classify as a Class-L. We had started to build underground housing when a build team uncovered something that looked plant based. The story goes this wasn't a plant based organism at all but some-type of cacoon. The build team was told to seal off the chamber and move to another area. As the years went by, stories of people missing became more and more prominent. The stories of that time read with sayings such as ... 'tongues full of deadly poison' ... and 'generation of vipers' ... 'Their tongues are like a serpent; poison is under their lips'."

Ji'Zhan went own describing more stories but concluded his findings in Deburne history of the period. "The Debrune finally were drove from that planet by an unknown and unseen race of people. Only a few people saw shadows in dark corners and unknown objects in the sky. One story told the sightings in this way, 'Having seen the beast swallow the moon, the Elders wept causing the waters to rise'. Our people pulled up and left that planet, most with only what they could carry on their backs."

<Lin>

"These are only stories, mer stories that were told to children to keep them wondering off in the night before our people became more learned and advanced. I don't see how these could be the same race." Ji'Zhan added after the Admiral spoke. "I could send with you a Debrune historian if you would like. However, I'm not sure how our mythology could help."

[Deleted]

The four people followed Denart across the crash site and T'Val leaned heavily on her mate as she gazed out over it. She couldn't even recognize the shuttle as being one belonging to Starfleet. She could only see it was one because of some of the debris she saw, and she had known it was a Danube class shuttle.

Behind the Mercy's, Tedak trailed along, supporting the farmer's wife. "If you want to go, I'll talke you back to the city," he offered, "I'm sure your mate will want you at his side."

"He would. Thankyou for your kindness." she paused on the edge of tears, "Now I have lost everyone and everything"

Meanwhile, T'Val wantered among the debris, then knelt down beside a toy rabbit. Stiffling a sob, she picked it up, examined it then pressed it tightly to her chest, burying her face in it. She only looked up when she felt Stuart touch her, then pull her to her feet. "This was Bunny," she whispered, "he will want to have this."

T'Val beckoned the aide that had guided them to the crash site. "Please see to it that this is cleaned up, sterilised and then brought to my son. I want him to have this with him, please." The aide nodded in silence and went to see to her request, sure that it wouldn't be a problem.

"I want to go home," she then told her husband, "there is nothing more here for us. I want to go home and get back to our normal routine." This time, she made no effort to remain composed. "I will miss him," she sniffed as they walked back to their transport.

"We will all miss him," Tedak responded, "I too have to return to Qualinost, but first I will escort Miss S'Lar back to her husband. Stuart, could I meet with you in your office, in private when I return? There is something I need to share with you, regarding my mission to Romulus. It may be important."

(Stuart)

Then he held his arm out to S'lar. "Ma'am, where may I escort you?"

As the Romulan wandered away, T'Val turned to Denart. "Thank you for showing us," she whispered, taking his hand in hers. "Please let us know when you find the cause of the crash?"

(Denart)

" Back to the medical facility. I would like to be with D'beren for awhile." S'lar replied quietly.

[mercy]

Having landed a few hundred meters from the actual crash, Stuart and T'Val walked slowly and solemnly. Stuart could see men milling about where the shuttle first touched the ground, leaving behind a sliding trail that was only untouched when the shuttle had skipped off the ground.

As they got closer it became obvious to see that anyone's survival was by the grace of God, the Prophets, or any other supreme beings that the various species believed in. What used to be the bow section was completely smashed in, encroaching all of that metal into the interior of the cabin. The engines had scorch marks on them, but the flames must have been snuffed out as the shuttle skidded across the tarrain.

They had gotten to within 20 feet of the shuttle. Together they had stopped, neither one willing to take another step further. It was already too much to bear, to imagine what it must have been like inside during the ordeal. T'Val began to sob uncontrollably again.

After a few long minutes She finally insisted that she wanted to see it, a closer examination of the crash. Tedak took S'Lar in her hand as they followed Stuart and T'val being led by Denart. 'Bunny' had been found, bringing more tears from everyone. T'Val gave explicit instructions to a nearby helper. They continued, circling the remains of the shuttle. After one full rotation around it, they had all had enough. It was time to go home.

Stuart had remained silent throughout the whole process, there were no words for him to speak. Even when Tedak asked if he could see him later on, Stuart simply nodded an affirmative before they had seperated for their return home.

OOC: T'Val had tagged anyone with her NPC, Rayna, in her last post. No one has replied yet!

[Deleted]

After the briefing ended leaving Lucy with a jumble of incoherent questions in her mind, Reo, Stephens, Trek (the first to leave the room, the counselor noted) and Ramsey made their way to the doors, leaving the admiral with Ambassador Ji'Zhan.

Counselor Grey stopped just outside in the corridor, looking back into the room. A secret mission, one she wouldn't be able talk about to anyone other than the crew of the Nevada. Her first real introduction into Starfleet. How very exciting!

Shaking her head minutely, Lucy turned to see Lt. Stephens looking at her. She smiled at the handsome man.

What is it about a man in uniform? she asked herself.

Before Stephens could speak, Lucy said, casually, "I have a couple of things to pick up on the promenade. Would you care to join me? That way, I won't wander around the station trying to find the correct docking port."

<Stephens>

In only moments, they were strolling along the wide walkway, Lucy watching for the small shop she'd seen and wanted to visit.

"Ow!" a young woman exclaimed as she bumped into Lucy, sending both of them sprawling. "Can't you watch where you're going?" she snapped, jumping back to her feet, straightening her tunic.

Thoroughly taken aback by the tone of voice, Lucy allowed Connor to help her get up, saying, "I believe it was you that was remiss!" Breathing heavily with the frustration of being accused of something she had no control over, Lucy could feel her face turning slightly red.

<Rayna>

[Deleted]

Rayna glared at the two humans before her, tucking her hair back behind her pointed ears. "Was it now," she gasped, "you weren't watching where you were going." She was perfectly ready to start an argument, but she was really not in the mood for one.

"Oh great now I don't remember where I was going..." she murmured as she straightened her tunic again.

Fire gone from her expression, she glanced back up at the humans. "I'm sorry, Im just so..." She broke off. "Friends of mine just lost their child in a terrible, terrible accident. I haven't heard yet if the child actually did survive or if the rumours are true."

She wiped her hands across her face, rubbing her eyes, trying to keep them from seeing her tears. Taking a few deep breaths, the Romulan composed herself. "I'm Rayna, and I'm a nurse here in the civillian ward. I work with Doctors Stuart and T'Val Mercy. I first came here with Admiral Loskene and Healer Mercy, formely of the USS Jefferson. You are?"

[connorstephens]

Before Stephens could speak, Lucy said, casually, "I have a couple of things to pick up on the promenade. Would you care to join me? That way, I won't wander around the station trying to find the correct docking port."

Stephens smiled. "Yes, well, I'd be delighted to join you."

In only moments, they were strolling along the wide walkway, Lucy watching for the small shop she'd seen and wanted to visit.

"Ow!" a young woman exclaimed as she bumped into Lucy, sending both of them sprawling. "Can't you watch where you're going?" she snapped, jumping back to her feet, straightening her tunic.

Stephens was greatly surprised at the collision. He was even more surprised it hadn't been him. "That's the kind of thing that always happens to me," he thought. He reached to take Lucy's hand and help her up.

Thoroughly taken aback by the tone of voice, Lucy allowed Connor to help her get up, saying, "I believe it was you that was remiss!" Breathing heavily with the frustration of being accused of something she had no control over, Lucy could feel her face turning slightly red.

"I'm sure it was an accidental mishap, ladies. The same thing happens to me sometimes."

Fire gone from her expression, she glanced back up at the humans. "I'm sorry, Im just so..." She broke off. "Friends of mine just lost their child in a terrible, terrible accident. I haven't heard yet if the child actually did survive or if the rumours are true."

She wiped her hands across her face, rubbing her eyes, trying to keep them from seeing her tears. Taking a few deep breaths, the Romulan composed herself. "I'm Rayna, and I'm a nurse here in the civillian ward. I work with Doctors Stuart and T'Val Mercy. I first came here with Admiral Loskene and Healer Mercy, formely of the USS Jefferson. You are?"

Stephens extended his hand, then thought that maybe he shouldn't, then did anyway. "I'm...uhhh...Connor Stephens. Lieutenant, you know. On the Nevada. And this is Lt. Lucy Grey. She's with me. I mean, on the Nevada. Well, I mean, she's with me now too, but what I meant was, she's assigned with me, you know, to the Nevada. And who are you? Again?"

<Tag Rayna>

"Yes, I see. You did say that." Stephens clacked his hand to his head. "I was thinking about you and Lucy here, and hoping everything was ok, and I wasn't hearing you completely. Sorry. I don't know those people you mentioned."

<Rayna>

Stephens still didn't understand the references to those people, but it wasn't so unusual for him. He looked at Grey and she had the same blank expression he felt like he had. In a gracious tone, he said, "Well, Ms Rayna, it's been a pleasure. Except for being on the floor, of course. Lucy and I we have...some business to attend to, and a time pressure, too. Maybe later we could talk some more, you know, if it's convenient and all."

<Rayna, Grey>

[Deleted]

As the Briefing ended, Dan got up and left quickly. Kasan-thar. He had heard of them. Like the Debrune, the Kasan appeared only in myth and legend, though as great conquerers as well as perfectionists, alluded to by the reports. They were a distant power, never given much second thought. The thoughts of his son had thrown off his concentration during the meeting, and only now did useful questions come to his mind. Was this race telepathic in anyway? He made a note to find out, either from the database or from the Admiral himself. It was likely, given the reported technology and intelligence. But, he shifted his focused and centered it on the task before him.

Just one hour. That's not alot of notice to get the ship ready for departure. Good thing the crew had already been working all night on it. The Admiral had mentioned that the Nevada had been chosen partly for its engineering team. It was up to him to make sure all systems were at their peak. Again, good thing that was already underway.

He returned swiftly to the Nevada, and Engineering. Along the way he made notes of what he wanted to have happen, on a PADD that he had brought to the briefing for such purposes. As he entered Engineering, Florkem looked up at him from her duty station.

"We think we've got that shield generator variance down to what you wanted, though it'll take a field check to verify that. So, what are we in for on this one?" she asked, leaning against a support strut and folding her arms, an interesting sight given her three-segment arms. It was looked rather like a cross between folding her arms and clasping her hands together.

"First contact mission," Dan said simply. "Technologically advanced, aggressive, and rather dangerous species from the sounds of it. What I've wanted us to be at should probably be a minimum now. We've got to give the Captain, and Admiral, whatever advantages we can. Especially the sensor systems-"

At that, Florkem called out, "Jax," and gestured over with her head. A humanoid with fur covering his whole body came over.

Jax was a sensor specialist, so Dan just plowed on. "We need to sensors to be as powerful and efficient as possible. And the improvements have to be made while in flight. Suggestions?"

"Well," Jax offered after a moment of thought, "We could streamline the computer pathways that handle that, tweak various other fields and emissions that interfere with sensor readings..."

Florkem started to look around to pull in more staff, but then stopped. "We might as well call a senior staff meeting on this one."

"Are we ready to shove off?" Dan asked, concerned about more pressing matters.

"Just about," Florkem noted. "Only stuff left is little details the technicians will handle anyway."

Dan nodded. "Let's do it then."

A couple minutes later, the "inner circle" of the Engineering staff was gathered around the master systems display. "Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our first offical, if last-minute, staff meeting. Now, to get right down to it, the task at hand. We're going on a first contact mission, and I want to do the best we can to improve the capabilities of our sensor arrays. Suggestions?"

Narla, the computer systems specialist, spoke up. "I could see what I can do to speed up the processing within the sensor pallets. Get us the information a little faster."

"We could also modify the shield harmonics to cut down on the slight amount of static the shields give the sensors," Ridden noted.

"The protocols could also be modified to provide finer control of the scans and therefore more verstality," Yaj suggesed.

"Alright, let's get to it," Dan said. "Just don't neglect the launch protocols we have to go through while we're working on this."

[Deleted]

"Report from the EPS relay inspection, Lieutenant," a crewman said, handing Yvez, the power systems specialist, a PADD.

"Thank you," she said, taking it and looking it over.

Dan looked up. "How's it look?"

"Well..." she said, beginning to look it over. "We-"

Just then, a somewhat-frazzled officer ran into the room, and went to a console, beginning to work, his shoulders a little hunched. It seemed as if he was trying not to be noticed. "You're late again, Baker!" Florkem called over.

"I-I-I know, Comm-m-mander. I'm sorry," he stammered, looking toward Belrug, but not actually at her.

"Doesn't make a good first impression in front of a new Chief," she said, gesturing toward Dan.

Baker looked up at her at that comment. "New Chief?" he asked, then looked around, and spotted Dan, and noted his rank, and went as stiff as a board. "Sir."

"At ease, Lieutenant, before you hurt yourself. Continue with your work," he said, then nodded and smiled.

After Baker turned back to the console, Dan sent Florkem a questioning look, gesturing toward Baker.

"Lieutenant Jonas Baker," she said, dropping her voice. "Transferred when we got the new Nevada. He came with a glowing report, but he has yet to come anywhere close to his past reviews. Always late, his work is barely satisfactory at the best of times. He's a pain."

"Well, we shall have to see what we can do to fix that," Dan said.

Yvez threw him an amazed look, looking up from the PADD. "You mean you want to keep him?"

Dan nodded. "I prefer to correct problems than just hand them off to someone else. Anyway, how do we look?" he asked, gesturing to Yvez's PADD.

"Not so good," she said, looking back down at it. "We've got EPS relays with unexplainable damage in spots all over the ship. These relays are barely even in use. This might get worse once they actually are."

"Well, that'll have to we're out of spacedock," Dan said. "We don't have too much longer, and there's a few more things to do."

"Commander," Florkem said tentatively, "I hope you'll forgive me but I was reading your file while you were at the briefing, and..." Dan nodded, so she went on. "And I happen to notice...your arm," she said, looking at the left one.

"Ah," he said, and rolled up his sleeve. Exposing the holographic arm, he deactivated it. Yvez stared in amazement. "Your hand is a hologram??"

"Holographic prosthetic is the technical term," Dan said in confirmation. "I was in a shuttle accident a year and a half ago at the beginning of my last retirement. Quite a way to start a retirement, eh?"

"That's quite the sophisticated emitter," Florkem noted. "Is it completely grafted on, or is it removable?"

"Oh it's removable," Dan said. He grasped the emitter with his right hand, twisted, and pulled it free, leaving a metal stump. "The stump it attaches to is grafted, though," he said, and held out the emitter. "Quite the marvel, isn't it?"

"Commander?" said a voice behind him.

Dan turned, and Ramsey was standing a few meters behind him. "Captain!" he said, quickly reattaching the emitter, activating the arm, and rolling back down his sleeve. "What can I do for you, sir?"

Ramsey looked down at the arm, then back up at Dan's face. "Status?"

"Everything's on schedule, sir. We'll be ready to ship out when the time comes. We're also working on some improvements to the sensors, to give us a little more capability, since we don't know what we're dealing with."

<Capitan>

[Magellan Lin]

Magellan placed the last of his gear into the standard issue duffel bag. He pulled the cord tight and checked his uniform. He had changed from his Admirals uniform into a duty one. He had left the belt and extra insignia behind on the desk. All that marked him as an Admiral now were his rank pips on his collar.

He stared at himself in the mirror. He could see through the brown eyes the other personalities within him. He could sense Toya excitement at meeting a new species, Gethins preparedness, Brysons non-chalance and Lorans cold heartedness. He himself brought a resigned determination. Too much in the past year had gone wrong because of him. He had allowed his past hosts controlled him, stolen the Hanson and whilst 'playing' in the lab ruined the fledgling peace treay between the Tholians and the Klingons. He was frankly surprised the Admirals pips remained on his collar. He certainly didnt deserve them.
Redemption he thought quietly to himself, a powerful motivator and one that would have to do.

Operations was quiet Commander Zoilip stood stoically behind the vast viewscreen and traffic control consoles.
"Sir" the Bolian greeted with a nod.
Magellan smiled weakly. He still saw the wounded Zoilip of the future dying before him everytime he looked at his oldest friend. Had they done enough to avert that future?
"You sure I can't persude you to take me along?"
"No Zoilip. The Nevada has a perfectly good CTSO. With Savali gone I need you here to watch the barn while I m gone."
Zoilip shrugged but the irritation was still evident.
"We'll be fine" Magellan stated, "And so will you. You know the base better than most. Just keep an eye on the Debrune business I sense an approaching storm there."
"Will do sir. And good hunting"
"Hunting! I m hoping its nothing so...violent. Thanks though. See you on the flip side. And don't blow up my station while I m gone"


It had been a very long time since Magellan had set foot on an Akira class vessel. This particular was designed as a thru-carrier for Federation Fighters. The complement to be assigned to her had yet to be delivered to the new starship but Magellan had pulled some of Gold Squadron of Assailants rotation to put aboard her. Four fighters would have to do. A skeleton crew has been selected by Ramsey who was settling into his new FO role nicely. Definetly command material. The other senior staff seemed good as well. Dantrek he knew, but Reo, Stephens and Grey all had outstanding Academy listings. He had taken time to study each. Those three would perhaps be the most important in this mission and Dantreks engineering wizardry would ensure they would come to no harm.
He made his way the short distance to the bridge, wrinkling his nose at the niggling smell of new carpet.

"Everything's on schedule, sir. We'll be ready to ship out when the time comes. We're also working on some improvements to the sensors, to give us a little more capability, since we don't know what we're dealing with."
<Capitan>

"The time is now gentleman."

The two officers turned round.
"Get your people on board and lets get underway. As I said before this is your boat Mr Ramsey. I m just a passenger. So if you could find someone to direct me to my quarters I will be greatful. Oh and join me for dinner I have...aspects I need to discuss with you."

Tag Ramsey

[connorstephens]

After taking their leave of Rayna, Stephens and Grey continued on their errand, the one that Grey had before the Nevada departed. It was a pleasant time, even with the time constraints, and both of them smiled and laughed often. It was a way of putting off the tension of an unknown mission looming, certainly, but it was also a geniune pleasure in each other's company.

But the time passed, and soon enough they found themselves boarding the great new Nevada-B. Stephens, of course, had flown in her from Risa to SB Assailant, and was somewhat familiar with her. Grey, on the other hand, had not set foot on her decking until now. The look on her face was priceless; Stephens wondered if he had had the same look on his face at first, and he knew he would rememeber hers for a very long time.

They took the turbo to the bridge, and exiting, reported to Commander Ramsey. The task of finding quarters would come later. As Stephens moved to the Science 1 console and entered his codes, he looked once more at Lt. Grey. A smile as wide as a nebula was spread across her face.

[Deleted]

Lt(jg) Grey commisserated with the nurse, Rayna, until Lt. Stephens was able to pull her away.

As a counselor, Lucy understood what the civillian nurse was going through. She called on her memory of being told her parents were missing. It was a real tactual sensation. The feelings went deep and she wondered constantly what she would do or say if her parents were to appear before her.

What if the young boy regained his senses? What if he came back? It was a frightening idea.

::later::
:USS Nevada Bridge:

Lucy stood at the rear of the command pit. If she could have seen the look on her face, it would have shown a mixture of joy, fear, awe and wonder.

Walking slowly forward, she could see the bridge crew at their consoles, sitting with a relaxed posture in their seats, fingers playing over the keys in front of them.

She wanted to bust out laughing in sheer delight. She felt like dancing around the bridge, over and around the equipment that was laid out in an orderly path, curving around and ending in front of the viewscreen.

Her first ship and her first mission! Would she ever overcome her pleasure at looking out into space?

Okay, she admitted, so there were pylons and the rib of the docking port..... But beyond that, was space!

[Deleted]

T'Val watched Tedak depart with S'lar. She had no desire to return to the hospital right now, it would be too much for her. Instead, she wanted time to herself, time to come to terms with the fact that she might never have her son back as he used to be. And in order to do that, she needed to be where she was most comfortable: her home on Assaillant.

"Are you ready?" she heard Stuart ask and she nodded quietly. Together they boarded the shuttle that would take them back to starbase.

Several long minutes later, the shuttlecraft landed and the couple departed. "Look," T'Val pointed, "a two new ships. One unnamed and of unfamiliar class and one that bears the name Nevada."

They walked out of the bay and returned to their quarters. T'Val sighed miserably, noticing the emptiness the absence of their child was causing. "I am going to sickbay," she announced, "if there are two crews present on base, then there are bound to be accidents too. I need something to do to keep my mind distracted."

T'Val knew that as much was true for his mate, and even though he wasn't officially D'Beren's adoptive father or even official guardian, she knew he felt the loss as much as she did. Perhaps even more, because of her inability to get pregnant. She did know he was working on something to help her, though at present she had no idea how he would be able to. She was certain he'd tell her when he had found something conclusive, but in the mean time she was regularly subjected to intensive scans by either himself or Jill T'Somba.

"T'Val!" The Vulcan turned to see someone race up to them, then recognized Rayna. "Oh I'm so glad to see you. How is he?"

T'Val sighed. "He lives," she answered flatly, "please I do not wish to discuss this right now. Perhaps later, but not now. Are you headed for sickbay?"

Rayna shook her head before flashing an uncertain smile at Stuart. "I'm headed home. Just ran into two Nevada crewmembers, though they didn't stay to chat. They seemed in a hurry. Admiral Lin's been in conference with them just about all day. Can't wait to find out what that was about."

T'Val and Stuart shared a curious look. "I shall be looking forward to hear whether we shall be going on a mission again," she confided to her mate. "In fact, I would welcome the opportunity. I am certain Magellan will inform us when our presence is required."

[leodenart]

Leo turned away from the departing, mourning couple before returning to his work with the shuttle. "major, we think we found something" one of the LT. said as he walked over to the marine. Leo followed him until they reached the fuselage of the shuttle, which was barely recognizable. The Lt. reached down and grabbed a panel of wires, or what used to be wires, the remnants had been burned badly. "What is it Lt.?" Leo asked, before grabbed it from the debrune and examining it closer. "the wires, they were cut"

"Sabatage?" Leo asked outloud, rhetorically. "i think so major" the Lt said, watching Leo look over the panel, which looked as if it was the controls, but could have been a different system. Leo returned to the other end of the shuttle, were he had found anothe system of wires that had been cut, comparing the two he sat and thought for a moment.

OOC sorry for the shortness and lack of posting before.

[mercy]

With a complement of two new ship's crews on the station, T'Val was probably correct, there would be some injuries transferred to the starbase hospital. He also knew that the ship's doctors would have taken care of the serious and that anything afterwards merely required watching and follow up care. Stuart didn't feel like dealing with patients as he needed his own time alone from the ordeal.

They had required no words as they kissed and departed into opposite directions. Stuart headed for the nearest holodeck. He was going to need something to occupy his mind as well, something where he could let out some of his aggressions as well.

Before reaching the holodeck he had gone home to change into his soccer outfit, he was going to lay a game of soccer. Once inside the holodeck, Stuart called up the preregistered program of a modern day indoor soccer complex. Then he asked for the traditional seven players for the opposing team, and six to join him for his team. "Lily, make level of play professional and aggressive please."

{Level of play has been set. Enjoy your game.}

~Oh, I will!~

The first five minutes started out harmlessly enough. His team was the hometeam, so it was the other side that had begun with the kick off. Stuart had found himself playing the defensive midfield position, helping the back when the other team came in for an attack. It also allowed him to help bring the ball forward if the situation allowed and presented itself.

The members were aggressive, but not enough for Stuart to allow himself to retaliate the way he wanted to. "Freeze program. Increase level of aggression."

*Bleep-Blurb* ...was the response he got letting him now the adjustment was completed. "Continue program."

During his next run for a free ball Stuart had to give it his all to get there before his opponent. As he slightly did so, he quickly turned his back towards the opponent to try to shield the ball. He took about two steps trying to take off in a sprint, but his opponent had other ideas. While trying to get around Stuart, he had caused his feet to get entangles with Stuart's, which in turn caused the opponent to lose his balance as he was starting to go down.

As he didn't want to goo down by himself, and it became quite obvious that Stuart was going to get away, he had grabbed a handful of Stuart's shirt right at the back of hs collar. Stuart began to go down with him, falling in a backward motion. As Stuart fell backwards and the opponent was falling beneath him, Stuart could only brace himself for impact onto his back. As he did so, he extended his elbows to take the brunt of the fall by driving them to the rear.

The next thing he felt with his right elbow was the crunching of his opponent's nose as they landed on the ground. Stuart rose, with said opponent still down holding his nose. Blood started to pool all over the turfed field they were playing on. The referee came rushing in to look at the damage, while Stuart just walked away...with a slight smirk on his face. "Lily, end program."

The holodeck returned itself to its infinite looking gridlined network. A door opened at one end indicating the exit. It was time to go home, take a shower, and just rest for a while.

[Deleted]

(OOC: Covering for the Captain here..)

Ramsey nodded after Dan's report. "Good, good. Commander, would you mind accompanying me on the Bridge?"

Dan looked to Florkem. "I can handle things here," she said, in answer to his unspoken question.

"Well then, after you," Dan said, gesturing with his arm toward the door.

As they left Engineering, and headed for the Bridge, Ramsey was looking up at Dan's collar. "Commander," he began, but shook his head. "Do you mind if I call you Dan?"

"Certainly not, Captain. I prefer it," was Dan's honest reply.

"Dan, can I ask you a personal question?" he asked, and Dan sensed slight hesitation.

"Not at all, sir."

"Well, as you've probably noticed, you're a Commander 1st Class with a Commander for a Commanding Officer. And you've been an Acting Commanding Officer yourself. Do you, and answer me honestly, do you have any objection to having a Commanding Officer of lower rank?"

Dan was a little surprised by the question. "I wouldn't have accepted this assignment if I did, Captain. Though, if it would help matters..." He reached up and pulled off his fourth pip. "Better?" he asked smiling.

David grabbed it from his hand, and placed it on his own collar. "Now it is!" he said, and they both laughed. David took the pip off and handed it back to Dan, who replaced it on his collar. The turbolift opened, and they stepped onto the Bridge. "Report," he said.

The helmsman spun in her chair. "We're on schedule, Captain."

"Excellent," was the simple reply.

Stephens and Grey reported in, and David directed Stephens to his station. Grey just hung back, observing. Dan noticed she was especially looking out the viewscreen.

Admiral Lin stepped onto the Bridge, and approached Dan and David, unnoticed. "The time is now gentleman."

They spun around to face him. "Get your people onboard and let's get underway. As I said before this is your boat Mr Ramsey. I'm just a passenger. So if you could find someone to direct me to my quarters I will be grateful. Oh and join me for dinner I have...aspects I need to discuss with you."

"Aye, aye, sir," Ramsey said, and went over to a panel and pressed a button. "Computer, open a channel to all Nevada personnel, both on ship and on the starbase."

"Channel open."

"Attention Nevada crew, this is Commander Ramsey. Aaaall aboooard!" he called like an old train conductor. The humans present chuckled, but Dan did not catch the joke. "All hands prepare to depart."

Dan meanwhile turned to an officer working at a science station next to Stephens. "Ensign, would you escort the Admiral to his quarters?"

She nodded and approached the Admiral. "This way, sir," and they headed for the turbolift.

Dan drifted over to Counselor Grey, who was still looking out. "Amazing, isn't it?" he said to her. "I've been serving time in space on and off for 128 years, and it never ceases to bring pleasure to me to gaze out at the stars."

[Magellan Lin]

The quarters Magellan had been led to were a quarter of those he was used to on Assailant but he wasnt especially choosy. Before Assailant he had served on Starships, the Victory in particular and it felt strangely reassuring to be aboard one again.

He dropped his kit bag onto the bed. He pulled it open and withdrew a phaser. He clipped it to a holster and afixed it to his uniform. A precaution.

The Kasan-thar, the name itself was strong and frightening. Nothing he had yet seen nor heard dissuaded him from that view. The Tholians were not an easily scared race they had dealt with the Shedai and who knows what other horrors out on the edge of the galaxy but when he had met Kaskrene the Ambassador had been near hysteria...well as much as Magellan could assertain. Tholians were so alien, so difficult to comprehend and he knew the Tholians viewed them the same.

The Nevada would be underway in a matter of moments to who knew what. He realised he best prepare the crew as best he could. Whilst Ramsey and Dantrek commanded the ship he would go and see the Science staff, they and the Counsellor would be his main crutch in this mission, that was if things didnt go violently wrong from the off.

He checked himself briefly in the mirror, a force of habit. As if he could see his previous hosts reflected in the glass before him.
He was unfamiliar with Akira vessels and so tapped a console in the corridor.
"Computer Display route to main Science Labs."