Nashinarhr

[Deleted]

~~24 hours before Larok was in the Majesty’s sickbay with the Captain and Hawk~~

Hawk entered the sickbay at his normal time to visit Falco but had another agenda on his mind as well. He headed for the Doctors office straight away to question the Doctor about a memory of his. Hawk’s mind was indeed a mess but he kept seeing a picture of a person outside of sickbay that he believed could be his Father. It was more of a feeling than a fact but he had to ask the question to be sure.

Hawk heard a sound coming from Falco’s room and diverted his course from the Doctor to Falco. He entered the room and saw Falco going through what seemed to be another nightmare. Hawk grabbed his hand and spoke softly to Falco hoping it would help.

The Doctor entered the room soon after Hawk.

“Commander it is good to see you here” the Doctor said greeting him.

“Falco’s condition does not seem much better and I have some other questions for you Doctor” Hawk said with a deep concern.

“I will answer all your questions Commander but you must leave while I make the patient more comfortable. Please wait for me in my office and I will join you shortly” Holsen insisted.

Hawk paced back and forth with thoughts of Falco and his Father and both distressed him. He needed to know the truth about both and yet he feared what the truth would say to him. Hawk still had some flash backs of what happened to Falco and his body while his mind was in the sehlat.

The Doctor entered her office saying, “Falco is resting easy again and I am hoping to get Colonel Larok’s help in treating your friend” Lorna informed Commander Hawk.

“That is fine Doctor and I thank you for your devotion to my friend’s condition however I have a question of a different matter” Hawk explained.

Dr. Holsen had a puzzled look on her face with this new interest of Commander Hawk.

“Well Mr. Hawk what is on your mind?” inquired Lorna.

“I need to know all you can tell me about the man who was outside of sickbay the day that Ensign Quinn brought the sehlat to the sickbay on the Klingon ship” Hawk said with nervousness in his voice.

<Tag Lorna>

[Lorna Holsen]

Back posting to catch up.

24 hours before the Captain arrived in sickbay.
Commander Hawk was visiting Falco, Lorna was grateful for his frequent visits to sickbay as it gave her a chance to unobtrusively monitor his condition. This time though he seemed have some questions for her. She ushered him into her office and joined him as soon she had finished tending to Falco.

“Well Mr. Hawk what is on your mind?” inquired Lorna.

“I need to know all you can tell me about the man who was outside of sickbay the day that Ensign Quinn brought the sehlat to the sickbay on the Klingon ship” Hawk said with nervousness in his voice.

Lorna paused for a moment as she thought back, her mind still wasn't in perfect shape. She hoped she hadn't made a mistake in allowing the man to see Hawk. "Heb was a freighter officer, said he was a friend of yours and I guess he must have come some way to get here. He gave his name as Aves, Condor Aves." Lorna paused, remembering the visitor's concern for Hawk.

"Do you know him?" Maybe it was a redunant question as Lorna was nearly certain that the answer was yes but she had to ask.

(Hawk)

*****************************************************

The next day.

After the Captain departed, Larok turned to face the Doctor." I have been cleared for duty by the Vulcan healers. They agree with me that I suffered no lasting effects, and my meditations have been enhanced by the presence of the Sehlat. If the Captain has no objections and it does not upset Commander Hawk I would like to keep him as a pet. As for helping Commander Falco, I am ready when you think he is."

Lorna wasn't quite sure how to react to the marine, he wasn't like any marine she had ever met. She had thought when they had first met that he had simply been thrown but her mindsense's ability to detect him, now thought it seemed as if he 'simply' was a very unusual vulcan with an even more unusual outlook.

"I think Lieutenant Falco is as stable as he is going to get. I would however like to monitor his bain waves during this. give me five minutes to get things set up."

(Larok)

Lorna set up the necessary monitor devices and Larok arrived at her side. Lorna wondered what precisely was going to happen next.

[Deleted]

*Larok approached the doctor and awaited her approval to proceed with the mind meld. At a nod from the Doctor Larok applied his hands to Falco's face; at Larok's touch Falco started to struggle and scream.
"Get your hands off me you dirty Vulcan, I will kill you for what you have done to my friends." Larok just reached out with his other hand and pressed down on Falco's chest pinning him in place.

"My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts" *As Falco's mind grasped that this was not one of the Vulcans that had been tormenting him and his friends he began to relax and listen to what the Marine had to say.* "You have been through much I could make you forget it all but you would loose some of your spirit, so I will set up a mental filter so you can view the events as they were a bad dream and dismiss them as you wish or deal with them with out them overwhelming you." *Larok broke contact and stepped back ready to move back in if needed. Turning to the doctor he informed her of what had transpired and.....*

" Doctor I will stay with Falco for a while in case he needs someone to talk to. But I imagine he will sleep for a few hours while his subconscious deals with the events of the past few days. His mind is strong and I think it best to let him deal with these events it should only make him stronger. I can see that sometime in the future you and I will have to have a little chat to satisfy your curiosity about me. * With that Larok sat down and closed his eyes to meditate and prepare to help Falco further if needed.*

[Lorna Holsen]

Lorna watched as the Vulcan marine initiated a mind meld with the unconscious Falco. Falco's brain activity spiked during the start of the meld but soon returned to more normal levels. Larok's actions were definitely helping Falco, Lorna was sure of that and it certainly wasn't something she could have done for him herself.

She watched in silence, knowing better than to disturb a mind meld, then Larok ended the meld and opened his eyes. Falco's brain waves indicated that he was in a much more natural sleep now.

"Doctor I will stay with Falco for a while in case he needs someone to talk to. But I imagine he will sleep for a few hours while his subconscious deals with the events of the past few days. His mind is strong and I think it best to let him deal with these events it should only make him stronger. I can see that sometime in the future you and I will have to have a little chat to satisfy your curiosity about me."

Lorna smiled. "Am I that obvious?", Lorna was very keen to satisfy her curiosity, particularly after this mission. Still, she waited while Larok mediated.

OOC: Cris turns up at this point.

[Kaylana Cornette]

“Commander, wait up.” Kay jogged after Hawk who was just slinking out of sickbay.

“Yes, Captain, what can I do for you?”

“Why do I have to need something? You’ve been avoiding me. I thought I’d talk with you a while, … you know… catch up.”

Hawk had been avoiding her. Truth be told, with all the residual animal characteristics bubbling around in him, he didn’t trust his responses. Normally, it took a certain extra amount of care to shield his thoughts and feelings around Kay. With recent events, - the surprise visit from his father, and the precarious health of Falco - Hawk was unsure he could maintain his usual stoic distance. Due to the bestial nature the sehlat introduced to his psyche, his primal instincts to nest and mate were stronger than ever. And Kay… well, Kay always had been his first choice though timing had never been optimum. He blushed as he thought of their last embrace.

During her bout with amnesia, it had been so easy to love her. Once her memory had returned, he had feared she was still too vulnerable and if there’s one thing the captain can’t be, it’s vulnerable. That last embrace, so tender from her, wasn’t returned. He had wanted to tell her a thousand times since why he’d been so cool. But, words were too difficult and inadequate. She had made her own assumptions and their lives once again split on separate tangents.

“I’m on my way to my duty shift.” He lied. And she knew it was a lie.

“Alright, maybe some other time, then,” Kay answered, hiding her hurt with an upbeat tone. She walked on.

Hawk turned to watch her silhouette glide down the corridor. His mind flashed back to the drug-induced raw animal behavior and his unanswered Falconian mating drive he fought daily to put on hold. His mind snapped and he let out an ear-piercing Falconian mating screech that caused the Captain to fall unconscious.

It is rumored that a male Falconian mating screech can heighten a female Falconian’s mating desires, however, no one is sure what effect if any it has on other female species.

Hawk swooped down the passageway with renewed vigor just in time to catch Kay before she met the cold steel deck plates.

Later, in Hawk’s nesting place, Kay was attended by two Falconian maidens. Her body was surrounded in a pool of intoxicatingly fragrant, warm liquid. The air around the pool was chilly causing tendrils of steam to rise lazily from the water’s surface. Citrus-smelling, purple lotus flowers spun slowly atop the water. The bath itself was adorned with jewels. From the adjoining room, she heard the sounds of someone stirring. The attendants heard it too. They offered Kay a robe spun of fine, indigo-colored feathers and she slid from the warm bath into the robe’s cocoon. Her hair hung in damp, loose curls, highlighted with small blue flowers which also gave off a pleasurable aroma. The maidens dismissed themselves and she drifted quietly into the next room where he lay dozing. Kay lightly touched his cheek with the back of her hand.

He was roused by her fragrance more than her touch. He breathed in deeply, taking in her exotic scent. He reached for her, his eyes still closed, pulling her warm body closer. Her voice was in his ear now, breathing warm and quiet words. He smiled, thinking of the taste of her lips as his eyes fluttered open.

“Hawk?” Kay was leaning over her COO gently trying to wake him. “Are you ok?”

“What... where… what happened?” Reluctantly, he raised his head from her lap.

“We had better get you to sickbay. You just fainted for a few seconds.”

[Lorna Holsen]

OOC: I think we're all on the same day now someone PM me if I got it wrong.

Lorna listened to Cris's list of adventures since they had last met. It seemed that Cris was a civilian medic who was currently attached to the Majesty, still specialising in rescue work and post-disaster medicine. The latter had always been a bit of joke between them as Cris certain ended up in a fair number of disasters and Cris and Lorna as a pair were worse.

Lorna was grateful that Cris was still civilian as that meant while they would be working together they would not be directly in the chain of command.

"So," Cris said, "what have you been doing?"

Lorna laughed and began to tick points off on her fingers. "Let's see: two warzones, a Romulan battle cruiser, a large unhealthy dose of Finoan plague and some Yttrium poisoning." She paused for a second "That was a quiet year, then I joined Section 47 got transported to the delta quadrant and attacked by Borg." Cris patted Lorna's hand knowing she had been through the Battle of Sector 001. Lorna brightened slightly." Then there was some very interesting surgery to remove implants from to of the crew, then I got trapped in a holodeck and had to deal with a disease out-break on a starbase. Then I got taken prisoner by the Nashinarhr. Not-so quiet year so far."

She took a look around sick-bay, Larok was still resting and Lieutenant Falco was sleeping, there was nothing that neede her immediate attention. She grinned and Cris walking to the most open space in the room. "You up to this?" She asked.

Cris smirked. "Of course, I'm not the one who's just spent two weeks as a prisoner" Cris threw a well telegraphed but by no means light punch at Lorna who deflected it with a wry grin.

"You're not trying." Lorn threw a less telegraphed shot of her own and they settled into a sparring match/ interesting debate. It was quite probably the same 'debate' that they had started on the Ganymede 12 years ago. Cris caught Lorna in an elbow lock and pinned her against an empty biobed. Being one quarter Romulan meant Cris was stronger than the average human or even the average betazoid/human, so there wasn't much Lorna could do, at least, not much that wouldn't do a serious amount to damage to Cris, she sighed.

"You got me." Cris leaned fowards, mouth close to Lorna's ear. "Hmmm, what shall I do now then." Lorna squirmed a bit, she could hear a slightly predatory tone in Cris's voice. Cris planted a kiss on Lorna's cheek. "It is good to see you again. I've missed you."

There was a slight noise then, possibly a throat clearing possibly not. Cris let Lorna up and she looked around. Standing in the doorway was Captain Cornette with a rather groggy looking Commander Hawk leaning heavily against her. Lorna headed towards them. Cris stepped to one side. "I'll catch you when you get off shift."

Lorna give brisk nod as she scooped up her tricorder and approached the other two officers. "What happened?" she asked

OCC: Edited post in light of the Captain's comment below.

[Kaylana Cornette]

OOC: (it was Hawk, not Kay, that did the nosedive to the deck plates.)

"It's the Commander. He erupted in a horrible screeching noise then fainted," Kay summarized quickly. She helped him to the biobed as the doctor assisted. Even with the two of them it was slow-going for the Falconian was still groggy from his faint. A nearby civilian lended a hand and they all three wrestled him to the bed. Hawk tried to protest.

"There's nothing wrong with me... I just need a moment," he groused.

"Let's let the doctor decide that, shall we?" Kay gave him the look that told him he had better comply.

Lorna scanned him thoroughly while the Captain made small talk with the civilian, Cris.

After a detailed exam, Lorna asked the Captain and her dear friend to leave. Doctor/Patient confidentiality required her to discuss Hawk's condition with him first. Then, if the diagnosis hampered his ability to carry out his duties, she could then inform the Captain.

(Tag Lorna and Hawk)

Kay trusted the skill level of her newly acquired doctor and excused herself readily. She still needed to meet with her new CTSO, Elizabeth Quinn.

[Deleted]

Larok sat down at his new desk and began to dig through the pile of pads and paper files covering every inch of the area. "Well no job is done until the paper work is finished."

Picking up the first pad he started to organize them by priority and those reports that need to be read and initialed then sent back to the originator. After 3 hours of paper work Larok had it down to a manageable pile; when he came across a note dated two days ago to report the the Co at the earliest convenience.

"Computer; locate the Captain."

"The Captain is in Sick Bay"

Larok got up and proceeded to Sick bay arriving just as the Co exited. "Captain Lt Colonel Larok reporting as ordered."

<tag Co>

[Lorna Holsen]

"It's the Commander. He erupted in a horrible screeching noise then fainted," Kay summarized quickly. She helped him to the biobed as the doctor assisted. Even with the two of them it was slow-going for the Falconian was still groggy from his faint. A nearby civilian lent a hand and they all three wrestled him to the bed. Hawk tried to protest.

"There's nothing wrong with me... I just need a moment," he groused.

"Let's let the doctor decide that, shall we?" Kay gave him the look that told him he had better comply.

Lorna fought down a smile hearing the Captain talk like that. Co operative patients certainly made her job easier. She took a detailed scan of the Commander. She had to ask Cris and the Captain to leave (Cris although technically medical staff was not on duty and thus should not have been in sickbay). When she had the privacy she wanted so looked at Commander Hawk who was by now nearly recovered from his faint.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

[Lorna Holsen]

Flashback II, Stardate: 2382.0326 USS Ganymede in orbit of Sephus II

Lorna had worked for 20 hours straight on the planet and then at least another 12 in sickbay. She had lost track now, it was ship's night but she was so tired she didn't know if she could sleep. She staggered out of sickbay and immediately collided with someone. She sat stunned on the deck for a moment trying to make herself focus.

"Hi Lorna, sorry about that. I was just looking for you." Cris said. She looked at the woman on the floor and held out a hand. "Come on let's get a drink. I think we could both use a moment to decompress." Cris had done nearly 25 hours planetside and had only narrowly escaped with all of her fingers intact. It was all she had been able to do to get the medics on the Republic to patch her up rather than knock her out and schedule surgery. Still she'd escaped the Republic's sickbay now and had come over to the Ganymede to find Lieutenant Lorna Holsen. Who she had now located.

"He survived." Lorna said. "Two hours in surgery, they had to clone a new femur but he's stable now."

There was no doubt in Cris's mind who 'he' was. Their final patient, the one who had been pinned under the rubble. The one they'd worked side-by-side to save as the temperature around them plummeted. Cris had come close to loosing fingers to frostbite and Lorna had torn a shoulder muscle. It had been a hard rescue, one of the hardest that Cris had ever been part of but he had survived and the two of them were now okay. It was a bit of hope after the darkness.

She took the offered hand and was pulled to her feet quickly. She staggered for moment as a wave of emotion surged into her. Normally her limited empathy was firmly switched to 'off' particularly when she was on duty now though tiredness was making it hard to block out everything. Cris had such powerful emotions.

Cris caught Lorna as she stumbled getting to her feet. It seemed she was more tired than she appeared; and she appeared to be nearing exhaustion. Still it was possible that there was more to it than that. One of the reasons Cris had trained as an emergency responder was her powers of observation were good and they were telling her that this was a very interesting situation.

"You're not an empath are you?" Lorna asked, it was a blunt question and perhaps even rude but Cris knew there was more behind it than it might appear. She shook her head.

"No, I'm not an empath", she caught a look in the Lorna's eyes, "but I take it you are?" The redhead nodded slightly. Cris gave a slight shrug. "Quarter Romulan, I'm told my emotions can be a little 'strong' at times."

Lorna nodded slowly. That made perfect sense. "Half betazoid," she volunteered in answer.

Cris cackled her sense of humour tended to go a bit funny (no pun intended when she was tired. "Well we're an interesting pair of hybrids then. "Shall we go get a drink and decompress then?" She smiled and offered her hand to Lorna once again.

Lorna, this time ready for Cris's 'strong' emotions took the offered hand and the two of them headed for the ship's lounge.

[Deleted]

Hawk replayed for a minute what his mind had envisioned only moments ago. He knew he could not tell the Doctor what he believed had happened and he was not really sure what was going on with his body yet but he had a feeling that the drugs injected into his body my have thrown it into biological overdrive.

Lorna sensed deep desire and willful restraint from Hawk at the moment the Captain spoke to him. She knew that this had something to do with Hawk’s feelings for the Captain but was still unable to be sure just what it was.

Hawk looked into Lorna’s eyes, shaking his head to clear his thoughts and said, “No I would not. I am fine Dr. Holsen, really.”

“Well Commander, you are not leaving here without a full neurographic and microcellular scans just for starters,” Lorna said with frustration.

“Very well Doctor, run your test, but I can tell you nothing.” Hawk closed his eyes and turned his head away from Lorna.

~~^~~ A few hours later ~~^~~

The test results finally came in and Dr. Holsen was very disturbed by what she saw.

“Holsen to Captain Cornette” she called with a sound of urgency.

“Captain here, what is it Doctor?” Kay replied.

“Captain, I think you should come to sickbay. I have found something in the tests I ran on Commander Hawk and well… I think you should see this” Lorna said with anxiety in her voice.

Kay felt that there was something very wrong in the tone of the Doctors voice.

“On my way Doctor” Captain Cornette said with a feeling of anxiousness.

[Deleted]

TEG paced around the bridge, hating sitting in the Captain's chair when she was on board, or there was work to be done. With all that had happened and after a major debriefing, Starfleet Command had reactivated the commission of Rachael, and TEG was glad to know that she had something to do, as see had become the acting Chief Engineer, especially since she was the only one who figured out how to fix the deflector array so the Majesty could actually break Warp 2. Now humming along at Warp 7, the repair crews were continuing to work, trying to repair as much as possible in order to reduce the time required at Bellicose.

Only a few days left before arrival, the bridge was still smashed, but at least some of the consoles worked, but it pained him to see seats on the bridge devoid of familiar faces, most especially that of Hawk who was in Sickbay again. Or Nik, who received new orders and would be transferring when they arrived at the starbase. With the next mission a few weeks away, after all repairs are affected and the new warp matrix installed, TEG resigned himself to the fact that change in inevitable and this will be no different.

[Deleted]

TEG was trying to tweak his chair on the bridge, as it was wobboliy, when Aarons spoke.

"Approaching Starbase Bellicose. Outer Marker approaching in 5 minutes."

"Prepare to drop out of Warp, and execute standard approach vector. Hail Belicose and inform them of our arrival and request base and final vectors to the space docks or the dry docks."

"Aye."

TEG tapped the working part of his console, "Bridge to Captain."

=^=Go Ahead Commander=^=

"We are approaching the Belicose, estimated arrival, 15 minutes."

=^=I'll be up in a few minutes. Cornette out.=^=

TEG watched the viewscreen, as the streaks of stars morphed back into single points of light, then as some traversed the screen as the ship adjusted course to enter the controlled space. The space dock that everyone referred to as the starbase was just visible in the distance, but the ship yards and dry docks were not yet. He knew that even at 1/4 c it would be a short time before the true grandeur of the starbase would be in sight.

A little sooner than TEG thought, Kay had arrived in the Turbolift.

[Lorna Holsen]

Lorna sighed and stared at the screen full of data, her gaze flickered to the Falconian on the biobed. She did not know enough about his species that was for certain. Admittedly the last several days had given her the opportunity to learn a lot in a very short space of time. She wished it hadn't been under these circumstances though. Hawk's neurochemistry was all over the place and there were a lot of chemicals in his bloodstream that she couldn't place. They seemed to be hormones but she could not place their precise purpose. It seemed as if every cell in his blood were powering up for something. She sighed and looked again at the more puzzling results. She was worried, 'what you don't know can't hurt you', was a human saying. At the moment though, what she didn't know could very likely kill Hawk.

The scanner beeped again. More information, did not help, it made things worse in this instance. There was one person on the ship that Lorna knew might be able to help further. she tapped her comm badge.

=/\=Doctor Holsen to Captain Cornette=/\= Lorna tried and failed to keep the urgency out of her voice.

=/\=Captain here, what is it Doctor?=/\=

=/\=Captain, I think you should come to sickbay. I have found something in the tests I ran on Commander Hawk and well… I think you should see this=/\= Lorna said with anxiety in her voice, she wished she could be more specific it sounded as if she didn't know anything but at the moment she didn't.

=/\=On my way Doctor=/\= Captain Cornette said.

[Kaylana Cornette]

No sooner than Kay exited from the turbolift and onto the bridge, she was summoned over the comm. link.

=^= Dr. Holsen to Captain Cornette. =^=

Kay answered, taking note of the Doctor’s tone, shrugged at TEG and said, “No rest for the weary, I suppose. Keep minding the store for me, Number One.”

Arriving outside Sickbay, Kay was met at the door by her Senior Marine Officer.

"Captain Lt Colonel Larok reporting as ordered," he stated flatly.

“Huh? What?” Kay searched her mind. “I asked you to report to me?”

“Yes, although your request was several days ago.”

With all that had transpired during the last few days, Kay had forgotten Larok. “Why have you waited until now? Are you habitually late in answering your commanding officer’s requests?” She gave him her best poker face. Larok intrigued her and she knew little of him personally. She studied him closely to see what response her chiding would invoke.
(Tag Larok)

“I’ll have to meet with you later and explain further. Suffice it to say, the brass is looking to put a fighter squad aboard a starship. The Majesty is one of the ships they’re considering modifying. I thought you may need a bit of a heads-up.” Kay hurried away, offering one last word before out of earshot. “Think about it and let me know if you think you can handle the extra work it will cause you.” She turned and smiled to herself leaving Larok to watch her retreating frame.

Kay made it to Sickbay where the anxious Doctor met her at the door and ushered her into her office.

“Please tell me what’s going on with Commander Hawk,” she said perfunctorily, without any regard for protocol. Her worry about her patient overrode the necessity for formality.

“I assure you, I have no idea. Why do you think I would know?”

Lorna sighed, “I’m sorry. I thought since you’ve known him the longest, you might have a hint of what might be wrong with him.” She began to pace the breadth of her office. “I think it may be related to some hormonal abnormalities but I know so little about Falconian physiology… and he’s not offering any information.” The doctor paused, not knowing how to proceed with her next line of questions. She swallowed hard and continued. “I don’t want to be indelicate, but even in the short time I’ve been aboard, I’ve noticed a… connection between you and Hawk. I was wondering if that may be at play here.”
Kay felt a slight flush in her face. “Why would that have any bearing on his physical condition?” She would tell her anything and everything if it would make Hawk better. However, this was her personal life and she dared not share it with anyone – especially a fellow crewmember.

“What he’s going through is reminiscent of the Vulcan ponn-farr.”

Kay’s memory was jogged. “There was a time… a few years back… where Hawk went through something like that. I… uh… helped him through it then.” Kay’s face blushed brighter. “Do you think this is the same?”

“How did you help him then?”

Kay turned away, her embarrassment overwhelming her. “It was a private thing - very private. He didn’t ask me to keep it a secret, but it… Did you ever know something without being told, Doc? I knew it was something sacred and meaningful to him. So, I kept it secret. I’ll not betray that secret now, unless you think it’s absolutely necessary to save Hawk.

(Tag Lorna)

[Deleted]

TEG sat at his post a little dumbfounded as Kay shrugged her shoulders and returned to the turbolift. As the ship was just basically following commands from the starbase, they could just clear the bridge, altogether, but traditionally, everyone stayed at their post, incase something happened. As they slowed to 1/4 impulse the ship quickly banked to port around a marker buoy, then approached a drydock that had a distinct onyx color to it, unlike the traditionally silver color that they usually bore. He could only assume that this was where the repairs and upgrades were to be conducted. The ship slowed further, to less than 100 kph, while TEG watched umbilical supports descend from the structure to connect to the ship.

A few minutes after the ship stopped moving, he was signaled with the all-clear. As he had discussed with Kay, he ordered all non-essential crewmen and officers to debriefing and shore leave on the station, and the others to report to the recreation lounge, where Kay and other senior officers would brief them on their next mission and the nature of the experimental drive system.

TEG contacted the Captain and informed her of their arrival and his completion of her orders. She suggested that he grab the plaque off the bulkhead before he left the bridge, as they would be swapping out the bridge module, and she didn't want them to misplace it. He made sure everything of intrinsic value was with him, before he removed the plaque, entered the turbolift and took one last look at what was left of the bridge he had become familiar with over the years.

[Kaylana Cornette]

The Doctor’s prolonged silence was deafening. Kay read her face and knew. She knew it was going to be necessary to expound on the most sacred of Falconian rituals.

Slowly, Kay outlined the behaviors Hawk experienced prior to her ‘help’. His usually silver-feathered hair took on a purplish hue. His moods were erratic and uncharacteristically volatile. Inquiries into why he was acting so strangely were ignored. Finally, after much pressing, Hawk revealed his actions were indeed due to his suppressed mating cycle.

In a very private, very ritualistic holodeck simulation, Hawk recreated his home world. Kay, being the only human he trusted implicitly at the time, chose to participate while he ceremoniously performed the mating rights. Although no physical contact occurred, the act of the ceremony itself seemed to satiate his needs.

“This is different, Doc,” Kay continued. “There’s been no outward physical changes – his hair, for instance, isn’t changing color. And, I do believe he told me then that the cycle can be suppressed. Why is it different now?

“That’s a question I can’t answer yet. Maybe it has something to do with what he went through on the Nashinarhr vessel.” Holsen sighed loudly. “I wish the medical database was more complete. I can’t find enough useful information on Falconians.”

“That’s the way they prefer. His race is extremely reclusive and mistrustful. They’ve had to be in order to survive.” Kay turned away from the Doctor’s gaze. “I feel as if I’ve broken a trust today.”

Lorna moved closer to her captain, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “No, Captain, you may very well have saved his life. At least now I have a direction – a trail to follow.”

Kay smiled at her weakly. “Thanks… but I still feel as if I’ve violated something very sacred to Hawk.”

As if his name conjured him into the room, Hawk appeared from the adjoining alcove. He paused a moment, as if thinking about whether or not to speak to both women. Whether he was hesitant to speak in front of the Doctor or in front of his captain was uncertain to the observers. Slowly, he moved toward them, his feet shuffling forward, willing his weakened legs to support him.

“Mister, you should be in bed!” the Doctor shouted. She moved to him and shouldered his weight.

“No, wait, I have to tell you.” He took a long, labored breath. “It’s good that both of you are here, I guess.” He looked intently at Kay, pulling his next words from deep within him. “I regret to inform you, Captain… that I must resign my commission effective immediately and return to Falconia.”

[Deleted]

Larok stood his ground at attention and let the Co finish her say.

“Why have you waited until now? Are you habitually late in answering your commanding officer’s requests?”

Larok allowed one eyebrow to raise and replied;" I requested your location 2.3 seconds after reading the summons. For some reason it was delivered to my office on a pad and not through my terminal. I will have my adjutant look into the reason for the delay. Though my having been in sick bay attempting to help Commander Hawk might have added to the delay."

Larok listened to her heads up about adding a fighter squadron to the ship. "Aye Aye mam there should be no problem integrating a fighter squadron into our TO&E. I will start work on the preliminary requirements now.

As the Co headed to Sick Bay Larok started going over what changes would be required to add Fighters to the Marine TO&E


off: TO&E Table of Organization and Equipment.

[Lorna Holsen]

"That’s a question I can’t answer yet. Maybe it has something to do with what he went through on the Nashinarhr vessel.” Lornasighed loudly. “I wish the medical database was more complete. I can’t find enough useful information on Falconians.”

“That’s the way they prefer. His race is extremely reclusive and mistrustful. They’ve had to be in order to survive.” Kay turned away from the Doctor’s gaze. “I feel as if I’ve broken a trust today.”

Lorna moved closer to her captain, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “No, Captain, you may very well have saved his life. At least now I have a direction – a trail to follow.” She didn't bother mentioning doctor-patient confidentiality but she promised herself that she wouldn't entering anything more than necessary into his file and that she would lock that information to senior medical staff only. The Captain seemed only marginally reassured by her words.

Kay smiled at her weakly. “Thanks… but I still feel as if I’ve violated something very sacred to Hawk.”

Lorna was going to say something more reassuring but in truth she was also worried about how this might affect the Captain, emotionally she was obviously under stress as a result of Hawk's condition but an unexpressed mating drive could force someone to do things that they would never otherwise do and their partners often came out the worse for it. The Vulcan pon farr was the commonly cited medical example but the changes being wrecked on Commander Hawk's body suggested that the Falconian version was going to be pretty hard on him.

Hawk appeared from the adjoining alcove. He paused a moment, as if thinking about whether or not to speak to both women. Whether he was hesitant to speak in front of the Doctor or in front of his captain was uncertain to the observers. Slowly, he moved toward them, his feet shuffling forward, willing his weakened legs to support him.

“Mister, you should be in bed!” the Lorna shouted. She moved to him and shouldered his weight. She was worried about how easily he was accepting her help. he was obviously worse off than he looked and he didn't look well.

“No, wait, I have to tell you.” He took a long, labored breath. “It’s good that both of you are here, I guess.” He looked intently at Kay, pulling his next words from deep within him. “I regret to inform you, Captain… that I must resign my commission effective immediately and return to Falconia.”

Lorna felt that him returning home was the best thing for him but at the moment, she doubted that he could survive the trip. Not that she was 100% of the location of Falconia. She left the Captain to deal with his resignation.

"Of course, Commander," she said as she guided him back towards his bed. "However, starfleet or not you are still my patient. At the moment you are not in a fit state to pilot yourself home, what little I know of Falconians suggests that they wouldn't appreciate the Majesty arriving so we are going to have to arrange some transportation for you and in the mean time please stay in bed. Your system is under a lot of stress and I don't want you to push yourself too far.

Tag: Hawk.

Having got the Commander settled Lorna went back to the Captain. "I believe he does need to return home, although I don'ty think he needs to resign, a leave of absence would probably given him enough time. I don't think I know enough about his species to help him and I am pretty sure that this is going to continue to get worse. Possibly until it kills him." Lorna hated putting so many qualifiers in one sentence but there were simply no absolutes in the situation.

Tag: Kay

[Kaylana Cornette]

Kay mentally wrestled with the Doctor’s words and with Hawk’s. She knew Lorna was right. And she knew that Hawk would never say he was resigning his commission without meaning it.

She lingered in Sickbay and watched as Hawk struggled back to the biobed. He was severely weakened by his efforts and once settled in, was immediately asleep. The doctor quickly scanned him again and darted away to her office. Once Kay knew she was alone with Hawk, she quietly approached his bed, picked up his hand and tenderly stroked it with hers. She bent close to him and whispered, “I’ll see that you make it back to Falconia… somehow.” She gently brushed back a few stray silvery feathers from his forehead. “We’ve been through so much together. I need you. You’re my strength…” Her voice broke a bit. Kay bit her lip and brushed away a tear with the back of her hand. “You rest now. Let me be your strength this time.”

Lorna quietly re-entered the room. When the Captain noticed her presence, she immediately dropped Hawk’s hand and turned away to discreetly wipe her eyes. Kay sniffed softly and still looking away told the Doctor to do whatever she could and keep her updated on his condition. Then, Kay bolted for the door.

Once outside in the deserted corridor, the tears flowed freely until a crewman appeared. Kay tried again to compose herself and managed to acknowledge him. He shot her a weak, understanding smile and, thankfully, did not ask any questions or make any remarks.

Kay knew she had to get out of eyesight. It would not do for the crew to see her like this. She ducked in to a small storage room and the door swished closed behind her. She leaned her head against the bulkhead, the cool surface against her cheek, and sobbed.

The river of tears had just begun when her commbadge twittered to life.

=^= Captain? =^=

It was TEG. Kay frantically took a few moments to gather herself before answering.

=^= Captain? Do you read me? =^=

=^= Yes, Number One… what is it? =^=

=^= I’m sorry to interrupt… but I wanted you to know that everyone’s assembled in the rec lounge… ready for you’re briefing. =^=

=^= Thank you… I’ll be right there. Kay out. =^=

Had there been a video connection, Kay would have seen the raised eyebrow of her First Officer as he puzzled over her succinct retort.

[Kaylana Cornette]

Everyone who should be there was, save one. The sight of Hawk's empty chair made a knot in Kay's stomach. Thinking he may never again be there at her side nearly overwhelmed her with emotion again. She swallowed hard and composed herself quickly.

"I've been in contact with the brass about what upgrades are in store for us, and the only answer I can get is that they are extensive." Kay took her seat before continuing. "I've tried to get details from them but this new propulsion system is cutting edge - top secret - they're extremely tight-lipped. Now, I do have the list of generic repairs and upgrades we're also to undergo. TEG has already begun to distribute those to the department heads."

Those around the table nodded as they scanned over their PADDs. They read the details for a new bridge module, several outer hull plates were to be replaced, and the conversion of the shuttle bay and adjoining cargo hold into a fighter/shuttle bay leaving only a few shuttles in service.

Kay went on. "We're probably going to be here at the Shipyards for several weeks. I've scheduled a meeting with Omicron's CO and as soon as I hear back, I'll let Number One know if we can take some R&R." Kay paused briefly. "Any questions?"

(Tag anyone)

"Alright, then, let's make this as painless as possible. Report any problems to Commander TEG immediately. I'd like to get back on the road as soon as we can." She looked blankly at the table in front of her, wondering how she could manage getting Hawk to Falconia as she had promised.

Time passed for a awkward moment until TEG finally said, "Dismissed."

As everyone filed out, TEG lingered. Kay let the silence pass between them, knowing he was there for her, supporting her.

"I'm fine, really," Kay said at last. "The Doctor will figure out some way to keep him alive. And if things look like they're getting worse, I'll commandeer a passing freighter and take him to Falconia myself, if I have to."

TEG chuckled softly. "I believe you would."

The comm whistled and TEG answered it. It was Omicron telling them that Commodore Steven Smith had arrived and would meet with the Majesty's Captain immediately.

[Kaylana Cornette]

Omicron Shipyards was abuzz with activity until you stepped away from Repair and Refit. The innards of it were sparse – a few restaurants, a gym, a barbershop of sorts and a laundry facility or two – the bare essentials for the transient workforce. The only establishments that seemed to be in abundance were those of the Pub House variety, which obviously catered to the rough clientele. Not much of a respite for any of the Majesty’s crew. Shore leave would be limited.

The Research and Development area of Omicron was vast – and relatively empty save one section of labs and offices. Kay wandered through until finally stumbling upon a living, breathing officer. He smiled and stuck out his hand.

“Captain Cornette, I presume. I’m glad to finally meet you. I’m the welcoming committee… name’s Steven Smith.”

“I’m overwhelmed by the… um… grandness of your facility,” Kay said tactfully. She was impressed by the Commodore’s easy, friendly manner.

“Big… and deserted.” Smith smiled throughout. “We’re in the process of powering things up again. I’m only here for a short stint to get things rolling. I’m newly assigned here to see if we can’t justify keeping her going. You caught me here on a fluke. I’m not stationed here. No, I’ll have to do most of my overseeing of Omicron from the bridge of the Oly.”

“Ah, yes, you command her. I thought I recognized your name from somewhere.” She smiled. “I don’t envy you having all this responsibility.”

“Comes with the pips, me dear.” The Commodore winked, not wanting her to think he was seriously flaunting rank.

Kay pretentiously huffed, “You can keep ‘em.”

Noticing a schematic spread across the desk, Kay moved to it. “Is this our new engine design?”

“Oh, no. That’s locked away. I’m not even allowed to see it yet.” He gave another easy smile. “They probably think I’ll steal it for the Olympia… and they’re probably right. The design promises to be something revolutionary, as far as Starfleet standards go.”

“Really?” Kay was dying to know, but played it cool. She let her word linger in the air, hoping Smith would offer more. When he didn’t, she prompted, “Any hints as to what it is? I can’t get the brass to tell me anything.”

Smith dramatically lowered his voice, “I could tell you… but then I’d have to kill you.”

Kay playfully punched his arm. “You tease.”

“That’s what all the ladies say.”

“Fine.” Kay moved away, playing on the moment. “I can always go over your head. Elron will tell me.”

Smith arched an eyebrow. “Elron, is it? On a first name basis with the Fleet Admiral, are we?”

Kay smirked.

“All right. I can give you a hint.” He closed in, darting his eyes furtively left and right before speaking in hushed tones. “It’s powered by….

OOC: Yes, I’m leaving you hanging! I have a few ideas but haven't settled on one. I'm consulting with real life Elron before I decide.