Make it Go

[Lorna Holsen]

Lorna had left the bridge, everyone was still talking about the weird warp effect. She was technically off duty but had something very important to do. She pressed the door chime on Cris's quarters.

"Come in," Cris said. She wasn't expecting anyone in particular but she knew both Lorna's shift pattern and her habit of trying to see a ship out of dock so she was not surprised when she entered. She wondered what had happened Lorna seemed twitchy which was rather unusual. Okay, she got twitchy on the job, what medic didn't, but she wasn't on the job now. It could of course be Commander Hawk's condition....

Lorna swallowed hard as she entered Cris's quarters she was very nervous. She clasped one of Cris's hands receiving a brief flash of puzzlement in response and sat down on the couch tugging Cris down to sit next to her. She swallowed again, she hadn't thought this would be so tricky. "You remember back on the Orion we had a long talk..." Lorna's words trailed off, surely even half-betazoids were meant to be more in touch with their emotions than this.

Cris smiled, "Of course I remember, how could I forget..." Their time together on the Orion all 12 weeks of it had been among the happiest of her life, surpassed only by the past few months on the Majesty. Then she had been reassigned and then they had separately decided to join Section 47 and then they had both ended up here. Suddenly some of the words of the 'conversation' Lorna was talking about came into sharp focus in Cris's mind. "I guess it has been over six months now hasn't it?"

Lorna felt a weight lift, they had agreed that should they managed to spend six months assigned in the same place and not end up killing each other then they would finally formalise things. She clasped Cris's hand in both of hers. "Will you marry me Cris?"

Cris broke into a broad grin. "I would love to." She placed her other hand on top of Lorna's. She spoke from honesty and symmetry, "Will you marry me Lorna?"

"Of course." Lorna replied. She stared at her fiancée for a moment and then the two of them simultaneously burst into laughter, seriousness could not last for long when Cris and Lorna were on the case. Lorna had always felt a little lonely when she and Cris were not together, they had always said that if they were meant to work out as a couple then they would end up together. Neither one of them wanted the other to comprise their career although both had talked about it and both and debated it over the years. There had been other people in Lorna's life over the years but only one person had ever felt like they other half of her soul.

"I guess that only leaves one question." Cris said. She had successfully scared off people over the years, Romulan emotions could do that... but Lorna had always been different. A cynical mind and free spirit. It seemed that this was meant to be. "Shall we celebrate by trying to drink each other under the table or beat each other senseless?"

Lorna gave a wry smile. "We could try both." She suggested. And so it was that the two of them headed to find a free work out room and the and table in the lounge.

[Lorna Holsen]

A few hours later....

In the interests of both of them being on the early shift the next day they had tried to drink each other under the table. Thus Lorna was only slightly tipsy but more than slightly bruised as she made her way to find the Captain. Captain Cornette was in her ready-room. Lorna pressed the door chime and when she was asked to enter walked in and stood in front of the Captain's desk. For once she was in this position and smiling.

"I have a personal request, Captain." Lorna said formally. "I proposed to Cris Lieder earlier this evening and she accepted. We would like to be married as in the next few months and would be very grateful if you would conduct the ceremony."

Tag: Captain Cornette

When she left the ready room with one item checked off her check list. Lorna went to locate Commander Chan, she managed to catch the security chief as she left her office.

"Commander," Lorna said coming over all formal once again, this time largely in an effort to get her question asked without her slightly inebriated state making her stumble over the words. "I have a personal request to make of you, I would be honoured if you would be my maid-of-honour."

Tag: Commander Chan.

OOC: If a wedding doesn't get this crew interacting....

[Deleted]

Two hours later....

There was not really that much that needed to be done to the Security/Tactical office – the former CTSO had left it in shipshape order, and so all Xin-Ling had to do was to place her own materials there, and be certain that she could get to anything she needed quickly. This did not take long. That, plus a couple of small pictures of clipper ships on her desk, and she pronounced the office acceptable in a minimal way.

From there, the Asian Warrior looked over the manifests, familiarizing herself with as many names as she could – as well as their current assignments and their performance ratings.

Now that the office was in acceptable order, there remained only the need to finish preparing her quarters and unpacking her belongings, and so she started for the door, leaving the security office on her way to her quarters.

May 18, 2009 16:51:31 GMT Lorna Holsen said:

When she left the ready room with one item checked off her check list. Lorna went to locate Commander Chan, she managed to catch the security chief as she left her office.

“Commander,” Lorna said coming over all formal once again, this time largely in an effort to get her question asked without her slightly inebriated state making her stumble over the words. “I have a personal request to make of you, I would be honoured if you would be my maid-of-honour.”

Xin-Ling smiled broadly. She enjoyed attending weddings, so long as it did not conflict with duty.

However, having only just come aboard, and being the new CTSO, she really doubted there would be time to give Lorna and her fiancé the proper time she should as a maid-of-honor.

“I am flatter that you ask… but you probably should ask another. I will be very busy setting up new security schedules on Majesty.”

Xin-Ling crinkled her nose teasingly.

“Who is lucky guy?”

<Tag – Lorna>

[Lorna Holsen]

“I am flattered that you ask… but you probably should ask another. I will be very busy setting up new security schedules on Majesty.” Lorna smiled. "I imagine the wedding won't be for a while yet. Captain Cornette has agreed to conduct it so there will be very little interference to duty."

Xin-Ling crinkled her nose teasingly.

“Who is lucky guy?”

Lorna's smiled became broader. "Cris Lieder, she's one of the Majesty's civilian medics we met about thirteen years ago and have been on-and-off ever since. Now we decided to make it official."

Tag

[Deleted]

Jun 8, 2009 18:17:58 GMT Lorna Holsen said:

Lorna smiled. “I imagine the wedding won't be for a while yet. Captain Cornette has agreed to conduct it so there will be very little interference to duty.”

This was excellent news to the Asian Warrior.

Yes, she loved her workout sessions, and – when necessary – would not delay in entering a battle. Not that she loved fighting, but she was comfortable in battle situations. She fought when necessity demanded it, and fought well.

But there was a soft side to the petite girl as well. Those who knew her best had occasionally caught glimpses of it. Her close friend, Dr. Barbara Johnson, caught her weeping, her heart torn at Captain Edwards’ bedside, when it was unsure if he was going to survive the attack of the Felaurii several missions back.

Dr. Johnson had assured her that crying in such circumstances was fine. It was not a sign of weakness, but showed that the one shedding tears had a soul.

It was that “soft side” of Xin-Ling that shone brightly the broad smile when she was asked about being Lorna’s maid of honor. …

“Who is lucky guy?”

Lorna's smiled became broader.

At Lorna’s answering grin, Xin-Ling’s heart raced in pleased anticipation. She allowed herself for a brief moment to wonder about the design and color of her gown. She could almost hear the strains of the Wedding March in Majesty’s chapel.

“Cris Lieder, she's one of the Majesty's civilian medics we met about thirteen years ago and have been on-and-off ever since. Now we decided to make it official.”

Xin-Ling wasn’t sure if it was disappointment she was suddenly feeling or simply mild shock....

Had she heard Lorna correctly? “She”? Is that what she had said?

The smile on Xin-Ling’s face vanished swiftly, and an ever-so-brief look of disappointment appeared on her face, a look so light that, unless you were searching hard for it, would not be apparent.

For an instant she looked downward, then once again into Lorna’s eyes. Not a blink did she give as she responded, “I am sorry. I will not be there.”

[Lorna Holsen]

Tired as she was Lorna was not keeping control of her limited empathy very well, all the same it was a shock to feel the disappointment from Commander Chan.

“I am sorry. I will not be there.” Lorna swallowed hard and met the Security Chief's eyes. Xin-Ling's stare seemed a little fixed.

"I am very sorry to hear that, I was hoping that all of our friends on the ship would attend. Is there some problem?"

Tag

[Deleted]

Because of the mild shock, Xin-Ling was not totally prepared for that particular question, though it was one she would normally have anticipated, given the circumstances.

“It is simple. I cannot support that type relationship.”

Xin-Ling’s slight look of disappointment mingled with a smile, like the sun briefly shining through during a rainstorm.

“But though I cannot support, I can support you. You are not relationship; you are person. You are still friend."

[Lorna Holsen]

“It is simple. I cannot support that type relationship.” Despite Xin-Ling's earlier words this response came as a complete surprise to Lorna, it took her a second or three to process the comment and then further time to work out what the 'type' of relationship was that Xin-Ling was referring to. Cris was female, so was she, their relationship was what it was.

Lorna made a move to leave, this conversation was uncomfortable and she had a painful feeling that this wasn't going to end well. Then Xin-Ling spoke again.
“But though I cannot support, I can support you. You are not relationship; you are person. You are still friend."

"Thank-you" Lorna said.

Later
Xin-Ling's words stayed with Lorna and she puzzled over them. She understood that her relationship with Cris was not a traditional one. Then again, a relationship between a half Betazoid half Human and a quarter Romulan three-quarter human who had grown up on a Federation starship and a Beta Quadrant transport respectively was never going to be traditional, which tradition would you go for? Add to that a relationship that had been forged in warzones, disaster zones and sickbays under red alert and you stepped even further from any sort of traditional. Lorna loved Cris she was sure of that. It wasn't the sort of romance she had dreamed of as a young child instead it was a solid bedrock, that had all ready taken them through things neither one would lightly discuss.

[Lorna Holsen]

"Right," Lorna said, "Guest list, or at least the list of people to tell." She was slumped on her sofa with Cris at her side, they had been debating wedding and future related details for a while.

Cris laughed, Lorna sounded so serious, it was almost as if she were planning some complicated military operation. "Well my parents need to know although last I heard they were heading to the far side of the beta quadrant for an extended period so I doubt they'll be back any time soon. As for Leon, I love for him to be there but I haven't had word from him in months."

Lorna nodded and patted Cris's hand, Leon was Cris's twin brother and he worked for the Federation Trading Commission as an undercover agent. He dropped out of sight for months at a time.

"Then," Cris continued, "there's the gang from my tac response team. Last I knew they were all still on the Nightingale" The Nightingale was a medical ship and Cris's posting prior to the Majesty."

"Well, there goes a plan for a quiet ceremony."

Cris laughed, "Come on if you invite your gang from the Academy and the gang from the Orion, then there was never any hope of it being quiet."

Lorna struggled for seriousness and then they both dissolved in giggles. "I think Captain Cornette may have a problem if all of the above descend on the Majesty. It'd be crazy even for this ship. I don't to spend any more time in the brig..." She took a deep breath and returned to her previous train of thought. "Let's see, Mum although I'm not sure off hand where the Feynman is, ditto Nicholas and the Achilles. I ought to tell Neilas 'tho he'll probably all ready know and Kel of course." She caught the look in her fiancée's eye. "I behaved at his wedding so he'll behave at mine. That was our deal."

Cris shrugged. Kel Roan was an ambassador but frequently didn't behave like it. He and Lorna had been friends since their teens. Cris was all ready planning her words to make sure he did cause them any further chaos. To distract from the issue she changed the subject.... It was going to be a long evening.

[Michael Aarons]

Apr 1, 2009 3:31:54 GMT Kaylana Cornette said:

Kay gave the command. “Engage. Hold her steady at warp 7 for 4 minutes, Helm.”

Subconsciously, everyone on the bridge held their breath as the Majesty’s new engines came online. There was no sensation of forward motion. The stars didn’t give off their usual streaking effect. Instead, they blurred and undulated. Colored patterns swirled slightly, enveloping the outer fringes of the stream as it formed. Once the stream coalesced, the stars in the extreme center were fixed and unmoving which gave the appearance of traveling down a long tunnel. Everyone on the bridge silently stared at the viewscreen.

“All stop,” TEG ordered at the end of the allotted time.

Aarons complied. “All stop.”

“Location?” Kay asked.

“.0023 light years from our starting position,” Aarons said incredulously.

Amid raised eyebrows all around, someone softly whistled their amazement.

Well the problem had presented itself; although Michael was correct in that this project was overambitious nonsense, he still felt a little sympathy for his captain's lack of results. He sat back in his seat; something wasn't right.

"Nik, did Engineering exercise every step?" Nik thumbed through all of the telemetry gathered during the flight.

"Yes ma'am, core output was at more than adequate to supply the deflector dish with the power needed to induce slipstream." Kay knew all the nuances of flying a starship; she hated Big Bill for doing her this way, making her first officer and then dumping command on her. The scientists were going to have questions, then the departments would have more questions, and then the admiralty would even more questions just by telling them "it didn't work."

"What do the sensors say?" If a bunch of warp theory brainiacs were going to skewer her with questions it might help to have some answers. Nik pulled up the performance stats.

"During the moment the pocket formed there was a 13% drop in fuel consumption before it just stopped and you called for all stop." Kay could see that this would mean that the Majesty's engine efficiency had been improved. She wondered if they should try on a larger scale.

"It couldn't hurt," offered TEG. Kay pondered whether they should inform the big boys so soon about the results. Michael slid and leaned every which way in his new chair.

"Let's try going an entire lightyear at Warp 7..." Michael scooted back in his seat. "...establishing the pocket as is needed."

"Aye, Captain," the bridge sounded. Aarons sat back in his chair in the only manner he could find comfortable but with the absence of head support, he drooped his head all the way back.

"Is there a problem?" the captain stood over him looking.

"This chair sucks."

Hours later, Aarons strolled down the new corridors of the saucer. He was in no hurry to return to his quarters at least not recently. He diverted himself to the mess hall with a notion of finding something to eat. Michael wanted to be out and just generally away from most of his problems.

The mess hall too had been redecoed if you could take the time to notice it. It was fairly empty especially for the time of day but nothing said it had to be full either. He sat at an open table to ponder; Michael Aarons was extremely difficult to feed. He could probably go without eating if it wasn't for the feeling of hunger. His mind drifted. Although most of the affair with Shel'ak had taken place away from his room, the ordeal had still left a mark on his sanctum. He thought of Liz and how he had shown her his private "collection."

Since the ordeal, Aarons had been prone to drifting to sleep. Although it was believed that he wasn't getting enough sleep, it wasn't true. Since it ended he had spent most of his time laying in bed missing the world. He awoke with a jump to find a woman, Dr. Holsen, sitting next to him. It confounded him to no end why someone would sit next to a stranger unless they had to. She seemed troubled or he thought she did, he didn't know. He didn't recognize her but for some reason it didn't stop him from doing what he did next.

"Is there something wrong?"

Tag: Lorna

[Deleted]

Deck Five:

With a whoosh! the door to the turbolift opened on the deck where Xin-Ling’s quarters were located, about ten minutes’ leisurely walk from the ship’s gymnasium.

This job would take some time. Boxes must be unpacked and the entire quarters decorated to her particular tastes.

Of necessity, space was more at a premium on a starship than it had been on Starbase Conqueror; still, Xin-Ling had a pretty-well established idea how she would prepare her personal living area. After all, this was not the first time she had been in such quarters.

Her living area on Starbase Conqueror had been more ornate and widespread, consisting of a kitchen, dining area, living room, and two bedrooms, each having its own bath. On board ship, however, these separate areas had to be more compact and by necessity, served dual purposes, combining with other rooms that were separate when she lived on the starbase.

Most of the area would have the same basic ambience, that much she knew.

The door of her quarters opened, permitting her entry, where she then stopped, looked around, and smiled approvingly. The designers she had sent had carried out her instructions admirably.

They had decorated it in cool colors, with red accents placed here and there in deference to the Chinese meaning of the color.

Like her apartment on the starbase, Xin-Ling had arranged to install a small fish pond with a few large goldfish four or five inches in length, each swimming gracefully through the pond to a tune provided by a small artificial waterfall. Near the pond were fern plants, gracing the area with a soft effect, offering a serenity that could be exchanged for the day’s tensions.

First-time visitors to her apartment – she hated calling it her “quarters” – would be pleasantly surprised when they entered.

The petite Asian removed her boots and placed them near the pond. She walked onto the carpet the designers had installed and smiled. It felt good… thick, soft, and warm. Xin-Ling undid the duffle bag laying on her bunk, unpacked the boxes, and started to work.

§ § §

When she had finished, the living room had a distinct nautical theme, with several items resembling ships, anchors, and various sea creatures.

The only item in her living room that seemed out of place with the nautical theme was one sizable picture of twentieth-century martial artist legend Li Siu Leung, a handsome young man with a full head of hair and what were very dark eyebrows for an Asian. To either side were smaller framed pictures, each about 5x7 inches, also of the same man. Often Xin-Ling had gazed at the picture – the man was her hero, and she often tried to pattern herself after him.

(Li Siu Leung): farm4.static.flickr.com/3044/2907664035_b491daf835.jpg?v=0

She smiled as she hung his pictures on her living room bulkhead. “It is so good to see you again, sifu.”

[Lorna Holsen]

Lorna was tired, she had got some sleep but her mind refused to shut off. Rather than disturb Cris further she decided that it was worth heading to the mess hall to pass the time.

As it turned out the mess hall was pretty full and Lorna ended up taking a vacant seat at one of the very few quiet tables, the only other occupant was Commander Aarons who had dozed off in his seat. She was working her way through a bowl of tomato and basil soup when Commander Aarons woke up. She was aware of his wakefulness but said nothing, she was lost in her thoughts.

"Is there something wrong?"

His words dragged Lorna back to the present. She shook her head slightly and gave a wry smile. "I've just got a lot on my mind. I just got engaged and I'm trying to plan a wedding." She swallowed slightly. "I don't know if you know my fiancée, Her name's Cris Lieder, she's one of the civilian medics on board."

Tag: Aarons

[Michael Aarons]

Jun 22, 2009 16:53:28 GMT Lorna Holsen said:

His words dragged Lorna back to the present. She shook her head slightly and gave a wry smile. "I've just got a lot on my mind. I just got engaged and I'm trying to plan a wedding." She swallowed slightly. "I don't know if you know my fiancée. Her name's Cris Lieder, she's one of the civilian medics on board."

Not quite sure that he had heard her say "she," he pressed on all the same.

"Sounds like a swell person. How long have you known 'em?" She told him how long.

"We met during a response to a planetary disaster." Michael nodded along.

"Love at first blight. Hmm?" She had definately said "she." Between her slight amusement and his lack something else to say he then blurted, "You're marrying a chick?" Although her lifestyle was one she accepted with pleasure Lorna still found herself unprepared for something quite so... obtuse.

"Um, yes. Is that a problem?" Michael sort of looked at her.

"No, I'd probably marry one too." Amidst his somber but blunt manner, Lorna couldn't help to be amused. She had dealt with her share of brutal honesty today but the sincerity was somehow refreshing. Having little more to say to each other he turned away.

Now she knew where she had seen him before. When she had taken over the post aboard Majesty, he had rather abruptly shot out of sickbay without a word spoken. Now with the unwaking behaviour she had witnessed in him, wondered if it might be a good idea to do some medical examination on him, which would be good for taking her mind off of the wedding. But she was off duty and, judging the hour, likely so was he.

The warp engines had operated on recordedly reduced fuel outputs. In a full lightyear Majesty had used but a fraction of its proper output and only gained two distances inversely proportional to its output indicating slipstream.

"Nik," the captain ordered. "Compile this for analysis. I'll want a report later."

"Yes Ma'am."

"And this time actually do what I tell you to do and not fake it then pretend you did using your silver tongue of technobabble."

"Yes Ma'am."

For some reason, they still weren't reaching slipstream.

[Deleted]

TEG sat at the rear science station reading over the procedures for entering slipstream. As he got to the 12th step in the process, there was a note "Slipstream drive will simply increase fuel efficiency for velocites below Warp 9.2. Once 9.2 is established, a slip stream pocket will form and provide additional speed, Equilivant Warp Velocites of 9.99999995, available as similar fuel consumption of Warp 7."

"Eureka!" TEG exclaimed, "Captain, I believe I know why we are not entering slipstream."

Kay got up from her chair and joined TEG at the Science Station, Nik also joined them from his station. TEG pointed to the passage.

"Figures we would overlook that detail," remarked the Captain, "TEG prepare the crew for another test."

TEG spun out of the chair and returned to his station, calling out orders to crewmen, Engineering, and calling Alpha Shift back to the bridge. Once everyone returned to the bridge the captain called out her orders.

"Mr. Aarons, set a course, 342 mark 127. Warp 9.2. Mr. Greenwood, prepare to activate the slip stream drive at Warp 7.0 and prepare the crew for slipstream velocites. Engage!"

[Deleted]

TEG watched as Micheal adeptly plotted the course and entered the velocity ceiling. Nik was standing next to his console punching a variety of numbers, and calling down to Engineering, where he heard Rachael's response. Once the Captain called engage, Michael tapped the large green symbol on his console. He watched it as it turned from green to yellow, and changed in size. The current velocity was Warp 4.5 when Aarons began to call it out. As the reading climbed higher, Mr. Aarons and Mr. Greenwood made eye contact. At 7.0, Aarons nodded his head, Greenwood pressed the panel in front of him and the count rose much higher, much faster. At 9.2, the ship shuddered for a few moments, then with a flash, the view through the view screen was no longer of stars, but of a blue-green nebular tube.

"I take it, this is slipstream," remarked TEG.

"It appears so, number one," responded Kay, "Now what?"

"I believe we allow Mr. Greenwood to adjust the slipstream drive for some additional speeds," said TEG.

"I agree, Mr. Greenwood, increase power to the Slipstream Drive."

Nik increased the power from 1% to 10%. After 10 minutes, Kay decided that it was time to see where they were and how successful the test was.

"Mr. Greenwood, return power to minimal, once there, Mr. Aarons, reduce speed until below 7.0, then Mr. Greenwood deactivate the Quantum Core, and then Mr. Aarons, full stop." Kay's orders were complex, but executed without error.

Once stopped, Ms. Chan calculated the current location, then the distance traveled.

She then reported, "In the 13.4 minutes since the Captain's 'engage' to full stop, the total distance traveled was 147.43 light years".

TEG thought for just a moment, "That is almost 2 months at maximum Warp, and we did it in less than 15 minutes."

Kay smiled, "...And Commander, we were only at 10% power."

[Deleted]

Xin-Ling’s tension at the never-before attained velocity – at least, by a Federation vehicle – lasted but scant seconds before she settled into alert comfort and enjoyed the sensation.

The briefest of smiles rose to her features at the appearance of the blue-green tunnel through which they began traveling at Warp 9.2. She did not understand why, but there was something distinctly nautical in its feel, at least to her. Perhaps it was the color, if one were to discount the iridescence of the tubular form through which they traveled.

When finally they decelerated and came to a complete stop, her fingers sped over her console.

“In the 13.4 minutes since the Captain's 'engage' to full stop the total distance traveled was …”

The petite Asian paused. It took a second or two for the information to properly register in her.

“… was 147.43 light years.”

There was a slight pause.

“That is almost 2 months at maximum Warp… and we did it in less than 15 minutes."

"...And Commander, we were only at 10% power," commented Captain Cornette.

“Considering time saved,” Xin-Ling said facetiously, “Perhaps it is good time to celebrate success with picnic. I bring the chow mein!”

[Deleted]

There was a buzz in the air. Crewmen and Officers were inspecting every cubic millimeter of the ship, just to make sure that no ill effects had been suffered. TEG was en route to Engineering. As entered through the doors, he saw everything was shipshape. He was a little surprised that everyone there was so calm, considering the energy elsewhere. He spotted Rachael behind the warp core directing a petty officer towards some conduit. As he approached, the petty officer left and Rachael turned toward him. She was smiling. It was the first time he had seen her beautiful smile since just after she had been recovered from the Tal-Opal.

"You up for some dinner?" TEG asked.

"Definately. Everything here came through without even a hick-up, besides, I just got off shift." She Replied.

[Karynn McCormick]

Rarely did Kay get to enjoy a success. She was reserving her celebratory feelings until all reports were in.

"Although your chow mein sounds scrumptious, I think we should wait until we hear from all decks," she lightheartedly chided Chan. "This is the Majesty, you know. We're not known for things going... smoothly."

She sat back in her chair and waited and pondered. So many thoughts crowded her mind. "Big" Bill Kruse would be flabergasted at the modifications to 'his' ship and, she would bet, secretly proud of her as well. Not one to call attention to himself or his accomplishments, he would often extol the merits of his ship and her crew. Kay wished for the millionth time he was here.

Hawk, of course, was also in her thoughts. It had been a long while now since he had left for Falconia with Drake and Falco. Their parting had been brief and she hadn't had the chance to tell him all she wanted to say. In fact, she could never say what she wanted to Hawk. And yet, he always seemed to know her mind better than anyone else. Since taking on command, she had relied on Hawk for strength. She wondered who she could turn to now.

Kay watched as Aarons tinkered with his new consol. She glanced over at Greenwood who looked up and gave her a quick, broad grin before going back to his work. She thought of TEG, her right hand and well-named 'Number One'. She also thought of her newest bridge officers, Xin-Ling and Lorna, and smiled slightly. It had been too long since she had the luxury of female companions on the bridge. Perhaps one of them could rise to her self-made position of trusted confidant. But then, she thought, perhaps they all play their different roles in being exactly what she needed, when she needed it.

[Deleted]

TEG's dinner with Rachael went off without a hitch. They reminisced about old times before she had been lost. After dinner TEG returned to his quarters and began going over the reports of the department heads. According to will all accounts sensor data was pretty much during the slip stream event. So, it appears that to the ship may travel much faster than before, but while traveling is pretty much blind. TEG began to create his report for the captain, in which he'll outline some of his concerns regarding the quantum slip stream drive.

He knew that she was likely still on the bridge. So once he completed his report, he took it on a PADD to the bridge. When he arrived he handed her the PADD. She took it from his hand an asked him to are ready room.

Aarons gave Greenwood a knowing look, like he had some idea of what might be going on. Nik looked back a bit confused.

[Lorna Holsen]

Lorna was tired, it had been a long shift although fortunately there had been no more plasma burns to deal with. An over loaded conduit had cracked the day before sending three engineers to sickbay to be patched up. Fortunately none of them had been seriously hurt and all of them be back on duty. All the same plasma burns alway made her wince internally, her left arm was an ever present reminder of the danger of plasma.

She arrived back at her quarters and found Cris sitting on the sofa reading something. She scuffed a hand through her hair as Cris looked up. "Bad day?"

Lorna sank onto the sofa dislodging Cris's feet in the process. "Not bad just long." She sighed.

"Now we know the new engines are working, we don't know when we're going to get back or where were going to end up." Not that this was exactly an uncommon situation on the Majesty.

Cris patted her fiancee's knee. "It is a pain, although after all this time, maybe we should just be patient." She smiled knowing full well that while they both could be very patient people, neither of them wanted to be patient about their marriage. Cris watched a watery smile flicker across Lorna's face. "
Heck, maybe we should just elope..."

That did make Lorna smile, she turned the idea over in her mind. "... but where would we elope to? Still need someone to conduct the ceremony." She laughed, while I don't know how we'll get away for the honeymoon I don't really want to go AWOL...."

[Lorna Holsen]

"I now pronounce you married" The words were still ringing in Lorna's ears even though the ceremony had been over for several hours now. The party was still warming up though. After some thought Lorna had decided to forgo dress uniform and was swirling round in a flowing ankle length (Earth) sky blue dress. Cris was dressed in a deep green and Lorna had never seen her looking so wonderful.

After all they organisational attempts in the end they had decided to have the ceremony now and have as many parties later as it took to get all their friends included. Due to their duties they weren't honeymooning anywhere yet although some schedule rejigging had given them both the next few days off (unless there was a major emergency of course). Lorna was looking forward to a few days of relative peace but for now she was going to enjoy the party.

[Michael Aarons]

The Majesty had traveled in under 20 minutes distance of 2 months warp travel. All rational expertise would tell you this shouldn't be; not as it had. The telemetry in the ship's system would be invaluable if only as a lesson on how not to do something. Everything that Aarons had ever read would tell him that what they had just done should not have been achievable and yet 'the impossible has happened' and there was no readily available answer.

In the interim of their return, Michael left for the sickbay. In all the mess going on he had developed a headache. In certain warp Fields, as the bubble envelopes the ship, fluctuations in atmosphere density can translate to various individuals as headaches and the rare nausea. Although anyone could dismiss these feelings, Aarons wanted a quick-fix.

When he entered, he expected to run into the plucky Dr. Holsen but she was absent. One of the duty staff informed him that Lorna was attending her wedding. Remembering that Lorna had been engaged to another woman, he felt obliged to attend.

The wedding was nothing particularly remarkable; Lorna could probably tell you more. Once he finally identified which one was Cris, he saw Romulan with a sharp edge to her which no doubt made Lorna smile.

"No wonder she likes her," he uttered.

Back to the business of the ship, the return trip would be of keen interest as the results of the first flight would be invariably duplicated. Kay was particularly ready to get under way while the others were buzzing about the event. Once everyone was settled and had shut up, the captain gave out the orders for Aarons to follow. The warp engines fired up to 8 climbing to 8.6. 9.1 followed and they made warp 9.3, the slipstream drive following suit.

The slipstream extended out past the ship as it raced through space gaining ever quicker velocities in the process. Once the process had settled in everyone was of a simpler mindset. Various persons spoke of the implications of the new development when the stars stopped changing position. Although the engines registered no cessation of activity, the ship was not moving.

"What's happening? What's wrong with my ship?" the captain demanded. Taking a none-too-disappointed tone Aarons responded.

"We've crossed over through the fabric of space occupying a semi-tangible position."

"So we're stuck in subspace? This shouldn't be much of a problem, Nik, talk to me. What are the figures on the QSD? TEG, talk to Engineering, see what they got."

"Captain I don't think you realize... We're a fix point in subspace and we're not exactly in the middle of nowhere!"

[Kaylana Cornette]

Drawn by the massive and brilliant splash of blue, a microscopic speck floated instinctively to the nacelle’s glow. It traveled conduits and spilled out undetected in the engineering decks.

Hours later, Rachael paused mid-diagnostic to see a crewman clutch at her abdomen in pain.

“Adriana, are you all right?”

Crewman Juarez doubled over and groaned, unable to answer. Rachael tapped her commbadge and summoned a medical team. Then, she noticed a bump under Adriana’s sleeve. Pulling back her uniform revealed a small, bulb-like protrusion on her forearm. The pustule was about 4 centimeters in diameter and reddish in color. Rachael watched incredulously while the bump grew slowly before her eyes.

---

Dr. Holsen was none-to-pleased to be called away from her on-board vacation. The medic on duty had said little about why he was interrupting her, but hinted that it was outside his expertise.
Arriving in sickbay, Lorna wasn’t prepared for what she saw. Young crewman Juarez‘s skin was totally covered with boil-like protrusions and she was in intense agony.

“Give her something for the pain!” Holsen shouted.

Benson, the medic on duty replied, “I have. If I give her any more, she’ll be unconscious.”

“Better to be unconscious than in this much pain,” Lorna said as she took the hypo from Benson’s hand. Juarez’s moans subsided, but even in her unconscious state, her body convulsed slightly.

“Computer, quarantine sickbay. Benson, find out who has had any contact with this crewman and order them to report here,” the Doctor ordered.

Holsen picked up an instrument to excise a sample of the affected skin. Before she had a chance to pierce the epidermis, one of the largest pustules burst open, causing her to step back from her patient. What happened next had the experienced Doctor reeling in disgust. Slowly, methodically, Juarez’s body exploded bit by bit until there was nothing left but a bloodied mass clinging to bone.

It took several minutes for the shaken medical staff to resume their duties. Hardened medics who had seen most every type of mutilation now struggled to keep down their lunch.

Lorna, once she had come to herself, gave a flurry of orders to alleviate the panic that was enveloping all of them. Several of the team who were closest to the patient, scurried to decontaminate their uniforms from the splatter. The Doctor didn’t take the time to clean up. She had already realized that if Juarez was contagious, it was too late for anyone in that room.

Holsen once again approached the body for a sample. She found a tiny, unbroken boil and took her sample. She then extended the quarantine field to the adjoining lab. She analyzed the sample. There were signs of a rampant infection – white blood cell counts were through the roof, but there was absolutely no sign of bacterium or viruses. She ran the sample through several analyzers, each ending with no results.

Having no answers for the Captain, she paused long enough from her tests to inform Kay of Juarez’s death. The Captain, of course, was impatient about finding the cause. She ordered the Doctor to keep her informed on the hour, every hour and issued an order of General Quarters to all non-essential personnel. Before closing her comm link with the Doctor, Kay asked her to liaise with Nik to see if there could be a connection to this part of space and Juarez’s death.

The Captain’s suggestion about the possible link between this part of space and her patient’s death set Lorna’s mind churning. On a whim, she called down to engineering.

“I need someone to bring me an Eigler spectrometer and stat!”

“But, that’s used for detecting subspace particle accumulation on the…” the crewman began to protest.

“I know! Just get it up here!” Lorna demanded.

Running the sample through the Eigler spectrometer, Lorna met her nemesis.

It was invisible to the naked eye. If she didn’t know the effects of its ways, she would have called it beautiful. The tiny spec was shaped like a crystalline snowflake. Its feathery appendages were barbed and razor sharp. They invaded the body through the skin. Holsen couldn’t tell yet if they fed and multiplied there, or if the creatures attacked a body in vast numbers. The implications of them being so numerous and already on board were too hideous to imagine. Once inside their victim, they writhed and expanded until the flesh couldn’t hold against the pressure and exploded from within.

Solemnly, she called Kay on the bridge.

After filling her in on her findings, Lorna told Kay, “We’ll need to find out how many of these… things are on board.”

[Michael Aarons]

"Captain, you realize if a starship comes warping along in this part of space where we happen to be, if the Majesty is not out of the way of its trajectory resulting effect will be...?"

"Yes I'm capable of realizing importance of our situation," Kay replied in surprise of her helmsman rather curious demeanor. What she didn't know was that, inside, his heartbeat had elevated slightly.

Nik began pouring over the data. At the point of transition the field geometry grew to substantial size and then narrowed before finally stopping. Aarons tried to engage the ships sub-light engines but they would not initialize.

"Captain, I can't even move us out of the way of the traffic lanes." Kay watched as Michael attempted to feed directions into the computer guidance only for it to do nothing. Just before Kay could call for Engineering she was intercepted.

"Captain this is Lorna. Crewman Juarez... came in with Rachel she was covered in these... BOILS," the shakiness of her voice could be made out over the comm-badge. "We tried to uh, take a sample but Juarez just... exploded. She's dead. I've placed Sickbay under quarantine." Michael was surprised how the curse just flew from Kay's lips as she listened to one more problem on her ship.

"Lorna find a way to remove this from the ship. I want to be kept informed every hour on the hour." She snapped an order to TEG, "Sound general quarters!" TEG got to it.

"This is the XO, general quarters, I repeat general quarters."

"Get with Nik if you have to. If there's some connection between this part of space and what's going on, we need to know!" The conversation ended on that. Michael began to head for the turbolift. "No! You stay here."

"But why?"

"You're too close to this."

"Captain if we want to get out of this we need every person working on at least making sure we don't go from 'Starship Majesty' to 'Speedbump Majesty'! We're stuck in a plane of reality in which the quantum state is fluctuated only on the principle that it is constant simply because it exists. You know what that means?"

"I'm a captain not a science fiction writer."

"It means this dimension is stable for no scientifically law-abiding reason and the fact it is even as stable as it is because we know it to be so," chimed Nik. "In fact only radio signals actually ever cross over into the subspace realm."

"Work with Nik. By all reasoning the impulse engines and thrusters should still be working. TEG...?" The XO was already two steps ahead of her orders. He made straight for the turbolift to see what answers lay in Engineering.

In Sickbay the medical staff including Dr. Holsen were trying to get past the shocking occurrence of Juarez's death so that the answer surrounding all this could be found. On a whim Lorna asked for an Eigler spectrometer. With it she determined the identity of their crystalline nemesis. She hailed the bridge.

"Captain it's a crystalline micro-organism that is tactilely invasive," she was more composed this time despite what she knew came next. "It goes from one to an exponential number; I can't even tell if it multiplies within the host or swarms. They expand. They expand until literally you tear apart." Everyone on the bridge was in a state of awe even TEG, who had remained in contact with what was going on with the bridge. "And Captain..." Kay was silent. "We'll need to find out how many of these... things are on board." The channel went silent except for Kaylana's half breath of an acknowledgment. Eyes darted one to another whispers hissed with cautious attention.

Back in Sickbay a foul undercoating of blood, bile, and a perverse lingering of whatever it was that crewman Juarez was wearing floated in the air. Lorna, bedeviled by this new micro menace knew that it showed no viral or bacteriological properties and as a crystal would not respond to any chemical treatment. Suddenly she heard a rapping on the door that she knew instantly. She eased up to the door and Cris' voice on the other side.

"Not exactly how we wanted to spend our time was it?"

"No." Lorna's hand was shaking. She hadn't realized it had started but felt almost silly letting it happen. "You might have been better off if you hadn't come aboard the Majesty."

"Spend time in a brig facing court-martial for punching some idiot who said the wrong damn thing to me or risk death from Ice 9. You know me better than that. Your hands shaking?" Lorna smiled unwillingly.

"No," she lied. "I could cut 2 millimeter squares with a laser scalpel." They talked more. It was good hearing her there. All the while, Benson was overcome with pain.

"What have you got?" Kay asked her subordinates.

"In trying to 'surf' the slipstream, we invariably engulfed the ship within the slipstream and then compacted it to where we pierced the spacial fabric."

"And a warp field?"

"Usually created outside in normal space. Right now we'd probably be feeding right into the dimension outside," Nik explained.

"Why don't we have impulse or thrusters? They don't work on warp theory. We should be moving."

"Maybe we are," Michael postulated. "But without coming out of subspace how can we measure any such behavior?"

"Nik, what have you found out about the microscopic killer infecting the ship?"

"Again as a condition of this dimension it's possible they only behave as such because of its nature. Bleeding all that energy out into subspace probably drew them to us."

"Where they first appeared in Engineering." As if on Nik's cue, TEG chirped in.

"Captain, there have a few more deaths down here like crewman Juarez's. It's sort of a mess down here." Kay ordered further quarantine. It was now becoming clear that they were faced with an epidemic.

"Just how many of these things are we dealing with?" A spectrograph was ran and highlighted on the screen was a cloud of almost infinite amount. Kay didn't even want to guess how many might be swarming about the ship.

Over in Sickbay it was quiet. Everyone kept to themselves, Lorna remained huddled near the door; Cris' quiet company keeping her solace. Except for Benson whose pain was now unable to be ignored. Benson was keeled over in pain. The others trapped within the quarantine were in an erratic state. Benson's screams were immense until Lorna broke down with the offer of a neural-paralyzer. Benson went to a secluded area, the agony overwhelming and the boils festering. Benson administered the drug and a short time later the sounds stopped. There was a reprieve as the paralyzer took effect and then suddenly Benson was dead.

[Lorna Holsen]

Lorn had not been happy when the emergency call came from sickbay, then again it was hardly the first time she had had leave of one sort or another interrupted by duty. She had left Cris in the quarters with only a few muttered complaints on both sides and had promised to update her wife on the situation when she got a moment. Cris gave a somewhat dark smile, the both knew how long that might take. Cris passed her a fine silver/titanium chain, they'd both got them. Wearing a wedding ring on you finger in a medical situation just wasn't sensible, with a sigh, Lorna slid the ring off her finger and on the chain and then swept her hair off the back of her neck to allow Cris the clasp the chain. The whole procedure took a matter of seconds.

Lorna hurried to sickbay, it was an emergency by so far it wasn't so bad that it required her to site-to-site it. There was a mild panic in the air as she entered sick-bay, not good. Her staff should not be panicking.

Crewman Juarez‘s skin was totally covered with boil-like protrusions and she was in intense agony. Without a second's hesitation Lorna administered further analgesics and made a note to chew the Doctor on duty out later. People were not left to suffer needlessly in her sickbay. Once Juarez was unconscious and not aware of her pain any more Lorna started on the exam. Juarez convulsed. Lorna winced, out of long habit she supressed the instinct to internal only.

As Lorna approached one of the largest pustules burst open, causing her to step back from her patient. What happened next had the experienced Doctor stepping back in disgust. Slowly, methodically, Juarez’s body exploded bit by bit until there was nothing left but a bloodied mass clinging to bone.

“Computer, quarantine sickbay. Benson, find out who has had any contact with this crewman and order them to report here,” Lorna ordered. She knew that Cris was on the list of staff to be called to crew the emergency sickbay. This was not how she had wanted her to find out. If what Juarez had had was in anyway contagious then she and the rest of the main sickbay staff were all ready likely to be infected.

Lorna looked at Crewman Juarez's body and forced herself to keep looking as the wave of horror died down. She had never seen anything like that before, although she would be hard pushed to say it was the worst thing she had ever seen, but that certainly made the top ten.

Lorna, gave out a flurry of orders trying to get the rest of her staff to think. She didn't know how long Juarez had been here before she arrived but it was clear the woman's death had had a serious impact on her staff many of whom were thankfully not as hardened to serious trauma as Lorna was.

Lorna swallowed, there was no denying that she was scared and she made sure her limited empathic senses were switched very firmly to off, she was barely dealing with her own fears adding everyone else's fears to the mix would be too much. She stepped forward again, trying to appear calmer than she was. She found a tiny, unbroken boil and took her sample. She then extended the quarantine field to the adjoining lab. She analysed the sample. There were signs of a rampant infection – white blood cell counts were through the roof, but there was absolutely no sign of bacterium or viruses. She ran the sample through several analysers, each ending with no results. Lorna's frustration level was gradually building.

Having no answers for the Captain, she paused long enough from her tests to inform Kay of Juarez’s death. The Captain, of course, was impatient about finding the cause. She ordered the Doctor to keep her informed on the hour, every hour and issued an order of General Quarters to all non-essential personnel. Before closing her comm link with the Doctor, Kay asked her to liaise with Nik to see if there could be a connection to this part of space and Juarez’s death.

The Captain’s suggestion about the possible link between this part of space and her patient’s death set Lorna’s mind churning. On a whim, she called down to engineering.

“I need someone to bring me an Eigler spectrometer and stat!”

“But, that’s used for detecting subspace particle accumulation on the…” the crewman began to protest.

“I know! Just get it up here!” Lorna demanded.

Running the sample through the Eigler spectrometer, Lorna met her nemesis.

It was invisible to the naked eye. If she didn’t know the effects of its ways, she would have called it beautiful. The tiny spec was shaped like a crystalline snowflake. Its feathery appendages were barbed and razor sharp. They invaded the body through the skin. Holsen couldn’t tell yet if they fed and multiplied there, or if the creatures attacked a body in vast numbers. The implications of them being so numerous and already on board were too hideous to imagine. Once inside their victim, they writhed and expanded until the flesh couldn’t hold against the pressure and exploded from within.

Solemnly, she called Kay on the bridge.

After filling her in on her findings, Lorna told Kay, “We’ll need to find out how many of these… things are on board.”


Lorna had followed the Captain's advice and had contacted Commander Greenwood. It seemed further death's had occurred in engineering. Also it seemed that the cleansing protocols in sickbay weren't working up to spec. She ended each conversation to those outside sickbay with "And let me know as soon as you find anything."

Tag: anyone with info for your friendly, overworked doc

As the hours passed Lorna was running lower and lower on ideas and energy. The horrific nature of the deaths had not faded and it was wearing her staff thin. She wanted a hug but there was no way she'd risk bringing Cris into the contaminated sickbay.