I'm getting bored of my music as I keep it on repeat.
Anyone suggest any artists/bands I can listen to?
I basically listen to everything

Cheers :silly:

Marietta and Narciso exited Main Engineering and walked to the turbolift just outside its primary exit. Everything was working perfectly, neither the lights nor the consoles flicked anymore and there were no power surges or fluctuations to deal with. The Engineering team was ecstatic when they determined that no plasma conductors had blown when power was restored with the forced ship-wide reboot Narciso set into motion.

As they entered the turbolift and told the computer that their destination was the bridge, Marietta looked to the shorter male to her right. “How did you fix the power?”

Narciso only smiled and looked up to his best friend. “I flushed the conduit entirely. It was where the virus was concentrated. It was designed to attack a singularity core, not a warp core. But with a warp core, it effectively blockades the flow of our power, which is why the warp core never went offline.”

“All of that was written on that datapad?”

“No, just the information of the ‘Databug’ and its logged uses on Romulan ships.” Narciso lifted his hand, the datapad along with it. “It’s meant to be a one hit K.O. But what bothers me is the fact that the Orion Captain gave an accurate countdown…”

“You mean she’s tested this on Federation Vessels before? Mon Deus… That can’t be good.”

“No it cannot. We’ll have to inform the Captain to alert Starfleet Command and see if any ships have disappeared.” Narciso looked away from Marietta and to the turbolift doors as they swung open, having reached the bridge. Both walked and made their way to their respective places, Narciso sitting to the left of the Captain and Marietta at the secondary tactical station next to Beldon, Narciso holding the datapad dropped by the spy firmly. They all looked to the view-screen as a channel was opened to the Brigand Cruiser.

Captain Mariana now sat with a furrowed brow, due to recent events. But instead of her drawing all the attention, she now shared it with a slim Orion male that stood directly to her right, leaning on her command chair. The two shared extremely identical features, and strangely enough, the male also had a head of hair, reddish-brown in its natural hue. Captain Mariana raised a hand, silencing the male who had been whispering in her ear. She looked directly at Narciso, and then to Marietta and finally to the Captain, who she spoke to. “Dear Captain, it seems that you have a very talented crew on your hands. You have trained them well and in that aspect, you have gain points of my respect.”

“Well then, thank you Captain. As you can see we have regained our ship and purged it of your… very interesting virus.” He motioned a hand towards Narciso who raised the datapad up in his hands. “Thank you for this information. Starfleet will undoubtedly appreciate this.”

Captain Mariana’s eyes went wide and then narrowed as she gazed upon the seal of the Orion Syndicate located on the raised datapad. The crew behind her instantly glared at the male to her side. Before anything else could be done she delivered a swift whip of her fist to the males’ chin, causing him to fall to the floor, blood pouring down his lip. She regained herself and ordered her crew to take him to the brig. “Captain. It seems we are at a standstill.”

“No, not at all.” The Captain placed his right leg over his left knee and leaned onto his left arm. “As I see it, and I can see clearly now that our sensors are back online, I am at the advantage. Your move, Captain. I suggest sacrificing your Queen and escaping with a further unscathed King.”

“You advice is well received Captain. We’ll depart Federation Space immediately…”

Narciso looked to Mariana and then hastily leaned toward the Captain and whispered something within his ear. The Captain instantly straightened his posture and shot Narciso a look, to which Narciso only nodded. Talons then cleared his throat and spoke as authoritarian as possible. “I’m afraid you cannot just leave. You have, after all, trespassed into Federation space. If you’d be willing to show some sort of… let’s call it ‘cooperation’, we’ll then allow you to leave.”

“What kind of Cooperation do you have in mind Captain?” Mariana asked, trying to hide her nervousness.

“Give us the spy that boarded our ship. This will allow us to determine when and where he managed to come aboard our ship.”

“I…” Mariana paused for a moment thinking deeply and letting out a sigh. “You tie my hands Captain. The failure was to be executed upon our arrival back home. You may have him. I trust you will treat him justly?”

“Of course. We do not torture our prisoners.”

“Fine. We’re transmitting transport coordinates now.”

“Coordinates received Captain.” Reported Beldon.

“Bridge to transporter room 3. Energize the prisoner directly to the brig.”

“Roger than Captain. Transporting… We’ve got him Captain, transport confirmed.”

“Thank you Chief.” The Captain returned his attention to his view-screen. “Tell me his name, Captain Mariana.”

“His name…” Mariana paused for a moment then continued her sentence, not looking directly into the viewer. “Is Valla Arin… Mariana. Lokapāla out.” The view-screen of the Pallas Helena returned to normal view and the Lokapāla could be seen turning a few degrees to its starboard and entered into warp, disappearing in the vastness of the star ocean.

The bridge crew was entirely stunned upon hearing the name of their new captive. Captain Mariana had just sent her own family into the hands of the enemy. The Captain turned and looked to Narciso, a questioning look in his eyes. “I can’t believe she handed him over so easily.”

“She didn’t send him to die Captain. She sent him here to save his life. Captain Mariana said it herself; he was to be executed upon their return.”

“Why would she show him pity like that?” Questioned Beldon, confused beyond reason.

“Because, he is her younger brother.”

The crew went silent and stayed that way until the Captain spoke up. “Well. Number One, make a detailed record of this encounter in the ships log. Helmsmen, set course and continue on to Vulcan. Counselor Narciso, would you accompany me to the brig. At the least, he can tell us about this virus they developed.”

“Of course Captain.” Narciso replied as they both arose from their seats and walked to the turbolift. As they did so, Reaver stood up and took the command chair.

“Look alive people!” he said, shaking the pressuring gloom off of the bridge. “We’ve got a mission to complete.”


Captain Talons and Narciso rode the turbolift downwards and then horizontally, just past Main Engineering. The did so in total silence, though Narciso could read the turbulent thoughts of his commanding officer, no doubt trying to put the pieces of this gargantuan puzzle together. They exited and walked a short length down a corridor. Upon entering the Brig, there were only two security officers present and a green-skinned male laying on the prison cell’s bed. They took the necessary steps until they were standing before the cell’s forcefield.

“Captain, he has not moved since we received him. We think they simply knocked him out before transporting him.” Reported one of the security officers.

“If that is the case Captain, then he may need immediate medical attention.” Spoke Narciso.

“Yes… Transporter Room. Do a site to site transport of our prisoner to sickbay. Security to sickbay.” Talons looked towards Narciso with narrowed eyes. “I’ll take no chances.” He then walked out with Narciso following him.

They reappeared inside sickbay, where six security officers stood against the walls. The CMO, Dr. Reeves, was already working on treating the wounds of the prisoner, who laid atop a biobed, naked with a blanket to cover his midsection down to his feet. The wounds on his chest were evident with the large bruises scattered about, some even present on his shoulders, neck and face, and no doubt his back.

“Doctor.” Called out the Captain to gain his attention. However the Doctor did not stop and continued working with haste with two nurses. “Vincent.”

“Not now. He’s got hemorrhaging within his occipital lobe. I need to treat it before he goes blind.” He looked to the Captain only for a second. “They really did a number on him, Rider.”

“They didn’t want him giving out any information. I hope Captain Mariana doesn’t hear about this.” Voiced Narciso as he placed his hands together in front of his abdomen.

“Why Counselor?”

“Because Captain… Well… How would you feel if you learned officers aboard your own ship hurt your sibling so horribly?”

“Good point.”

“Quiet! I need to focus. Nurse, keep an eye on the neural monitor. Christina, hand me the osteo-regenerator and the neural stimulator. Get to work on those bruises with the dermal regenerator. Be sure to get it deep enough if needed.”

“Yes Doctor.” Chrissy replied as she handed him his requested tools and took her own, getting to work on the largest bruises on his chest.

“Captain, the stimulator is relaying an increase in his neurological activity. The action potential of his occipital neurons are stabilizing. Blood pressure in the area is reducing to normal levels. No clots or inner bleeding detected.”

“Good. Now we just have to stich up the bone. We’re lucky he hasn’t bleed out all over the place. Then again the wound isn’t open, thankfully.” The Doctors’ hand moved with precision to apply treatment with the osteo-regenerator. He looked towards the Captain only to give a quick comment. “I’ve healed worse Rider. But if you’re expecting him to talk, you’re out of luck. He needs rest.”

“That is not an option Doctor. Once the procedure is complete you will awaken him.”

Narciso shot a look over to the Captain only to be met with a stern gaze in return.

“Your concern is noted Counselor. But I need answers. We were attacked in an extremely calculated way. A very well practiced operation. I intend to get to the bottom of HOW the Hell this happened.”

Narciso could only look away from the Captain. His determination and resolve was to be respected. And he was in the right. His ship was assaulted, his crew almost killed entirely. He was acting the way that was expected of a Starfleet Captain given the situation.

The Doctor finished his treatment and looked towards Talons, who returned the gesture with a nod of his head. Getting the confirmation, he placed a hypospray given to him by Chrissy on the prisoners’ neck, and injected it. Within seconds the prisoner moaned and his eyes flickered open slowly, the eyelids narrow to compensate the bright overhead lights. He came to, and turned his head to his left, seeing Captain Talons and Narciso standing there.

“Alas, the rest is silent…” he spoke softly before closing his eyes and passing out.

Narciso only blinked at the Orion as he laid on the biobed. The Captain raised a hand and scratched his bearded chin then voiced a question. “Did… Did he just quote the play ‘Hamlet’, from Earth?” Narciso only nodded his head in response, signaling a yes. “Well now… That is just…”

“Who knew Shakespeare was so popular.” Spoke the Doctor only to receive looks from everyone, even the security staff.

Quote by SiranNataan

A lot of this crap got stirred up by Scott Lively, the same American who stirred crap in Uganda. There is a lot of American money behind this stuff.

And a lot of that money comes from people like Orson Scott Card and that Cathy guy from Chik fil e

I do like the "more Tim Gunn" aspects of the new season. I was especially happy he was part of deliberations after the first episode, when all of the judges (except Heidi) were going to let Miranda slide after she ignored the assignment's rules and barely used any of the parachute fabric in her dress. I cheered when he said he would've given her an F. Tim seems to be the voice of reason for both contestants and the judges. :cheer:

Yes, I really like that they have to monitor their spending over the course of the season. Not only does that make it more realistic (whatever that means), but it will put the less diligent budgeters at a disadvantage towards the end, which I think is a great thing to throw in.

I do like some of the structural differences this season:
* the contestants having to keep track of their own funds;
* Tim at the actual runway and in deliberations with the judges;
* the Tim save

It's going to be an interesting season.

The bridge crew looked on at the screen as the brigand cruiser dropped its cloak. Everyone was stunned at the sight, confused as to why an Orion vessel had cloaking technology. Minds raced every which way regarding the how and why, and the implications of such a thing.

“Captain, we are being hailed, audio only.”

“Open the channel.”

“Yes Captain. Channel open.”

“This is Captain Rider Talons of the USS Pa-” The Captain was cut off from his sentence as a determined voice of a female hastily spoke.

“Starfleet Odyssey Vessel. Surrender now or face destruction. You have ten minutes to comply and acknowledge your defeat. Your vessel shall be claimed for the Orion Syndicate.”

“Captain they closed the channel.”

“The nerve they have to order us to surrender!” Shouted Reaver at the view-screen.

“It is a rather bold little speech that woman gave. But we must not underestimate them. Give me a tactical analysis Mr. Beldon.”

“Aye sir. Analyzing.” Beldon’s hands motioned over the tactical console hastily. “I’m reading two disruptor cannons and two disruptor arrays, with two torpedo launchers on their bow. Four disruptor arrays and two torpedo launchers in the aft, sir. Nothing we cannot handle.”

“They only have that, and they are trying to take our ship?” Questioned Marietta. “I say we fire on their weapons and take -their- ship.”

“Now, now. Open a channel to the Orions.”

“Aye sir, Channel opened.”

“Captain, I’m happy to see you being wise and surrendering.”

“Oh no, nothing of the sort. I’m telling you the exact opposite.”

“Come now Captain. I’m sure neither one of us want to fight. No bloodshed is needed here.”

“Precisely. So tell me why you are here.”

“I’m merely invoking the rights of salvage, Captain.”

“On what vessel? We are the only ones here.”

“Why, on yours Captain, of course.”

The Captain shot a look to Reaver and then to Narciso. “I fear we won’t go down as easily as you are implying… forgive me, I didn’t catch your name.”

“The lack of manners is mine, Captain, as I failed to introduce myself. I am Captain Mariana of the IKS Lokapāla.”

“Well, Captain Mariana. As I said prior, we will not go down without-”

“Hush Captain. There is still six minutes and forty three seconds left on our terms. Once that has expired we shall see where you stand. Lokapāla out.”

The Captain placed his elbow on the arm of his chair and then rested his chin upon the palm on his hand, scratching his well-kept beard gently. He pondered for a few seconds then looked over to Reaver. “She’s plotting something. She has something that she has up her sleeve, an advantage of some sort.” He turned his attention to Narciso. “Tell me counselor, what do you think?”

“She is extremely confident, Captain. So much so that she is entirely relaxed. Her fixation with the time she set is beyond intense. She -knows- that she will win.”

“Captain, you don’t think this has to do with…” Reaver asked and was cut off.

“I would bet so. I had hoped the two weren’t connected. They may not be, but we can’t rule out the possibility. We need to act before that time runs out. Mr. Beldon, fire on their weapons system. Shields up, Red Alert.”

“Aye sir.” Beldon sounded the Red Alert and began to power up the phaser banks.

“We’re at the advantage, keep them to our port helmsman.”

“Aye captain, I’ll maintain broadsiding.”

“Fire Mr. Beldon.”

“Yes sir!” Beldon locked onto the Lokapāla’s weaponry and began their precise assault. The Pallas Helena fired two of her port phasers, both of which hit their targets. “Minor damage to their hull, they have lost their forward disruptor arrays. They are returning fire Captain.”

“Maintain shield strength of our port side, power engines, ease to port. Encircle them. Continue firing on their weaponry.”

“Aye sir, keeping steady to port.” Spoke Hal as he piloted the large Odyssey. The mood within the bridge was calm, everything under control.

The Pallas Helena moved forward as her engines powered. It leaned to the port side, curving in that direction to find itself perpendicular to the bow to the Lokapāla, which in turn unleashed a volley of cannon fire. Their spraying attack hit and missed as the circular range of the cannons were just wide enough.

“Minimal damage to port shields. Their weaponry is lacking in power.” Voiced Beldon. “Returning fire.”

The Pallas Helena unleashed it’s only volley of phasers, much better aimed than their opponents cannons. The phasers disabled their targets effortlessly.

“They have lost all forward weaponry Captain. They are not powering their torpedoes.” Reported Beldon.

“Keep course steady, hold fire.” The Captain looked to the view-screen, unsure of why they weren’t attacking in full strength. “Open a Channel…”

“Captain, are you sure-”

“Yes Reaver, I am. Open the channel.”

“Aye, sir. Channel opened on screen now.”

For the first time, they finally saw their would be captors. Orions, all of them. But the one seated took all the attention to herself. Even by Orion standards, she was gorgeous. Her eyes were calm but within them were a determination that matched those of angels rebelling against their Lord. She raised her chin slightly, so as to look down on those upon the bridge of the Pallas Helena. “Well Captain Talons, the time is nearly complete. Have you given up your silly attack and decided to surrender?”

“Tell me. We have disabled your forward weaponry and you still believe with strong conviction that we will surrender. Why?”

“Oh look at the time Captain. 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1. You’re mine!”

As the countdown reached zero the lights of the Pallas Helena flickered and on some decks they were shut off entirely. The Odyssey soon began to rotate to its starboard side, ready to go belly-up. The consoles all shared the same failure as the lights, some having difficulty to stay on and others giving out entirely. The crew began to panic, bombarding Narciso with their worry. He tried his best to filter them out. He raised a hand and lowered his head down onto it, trying to concentrate.

“Captain! Power failures and fluctuations are appearing throughout the entire ship. We’ve switched to secondary reserves, but even that is not holding!”

“Sir the helm is nonresponsive! I can’t stabilize us!”

Mariana was still visible on the view-screen as she leaned her head backward and erupted in laughter, that should the situation be different, would be seen as angelic. She managed to calm herself and wiped away a tear that formed in the corner of her right eye. “Ah, just like the Romulans, you fools just handed over your ship. Thank you for your generosity, Captain Talons. I’ll make good use of your technology! Just as I did the Romulan’s cloacking device. It’s quite handy isn’t it? Allowed me to fire on you without you even seeing me!” Mariana got quiet for a second and then straightened herself on her seat. A seriousness came on her face as she began to speak once more. “You should have surrendered when I asked you to Captain. Had you complied you would have saved your crew. Now I must wait until you lose life-support functions. Then I’ll salvage your ship, just as I said. Goodbye Captain. Shame we could not have become friends.”

The view-screen cut off and went dark without any power being sent to it. The bridge crew remained their calm and cool demeanor. It could be worse; they could be fired upon by the Lokapāla. No doubt that woman had weaponry hidden away. The Captain stayed in his seat, trying to work on his chair’s console. However the thing refused to be powered and was unusable. “Blast! I should have seen this coming!” The Captain cursed out as he slammed a fist into the arm of the command chair.

“Yeah you should have.” Spoke Marietta, only to receive the glare on the entire bridge crew. She shrugged and waved her hands trying to dis-sway their looks. “Sorry, nervous tick. Back to what you were all doing.”

“Enough. We need to get control back of our own ship! Beldon, go to main engineering and-”

“Actually Captain,” Narciso cut in, “Let me be the one to go. I’ll take Marietta with me. Beldon needs to try and regain control of the bridge consoles here. We’ll work in tandem.”

“Fine, make it so Counselor.”

“Yessir, Marietta?”

“Right behind you.”

Narciso arose from his seat and made his way to the turbolift. Marietta walked behind him and suddenly bumped into him as he stopped short.”

“Think this is even working?”

“The reserve power is still on, just fluctuating right? So it should… even with a few hiccups.”

Narciso began to second-guess himself as he walked forward and entered the turbolift. “I don’t want to climb a ladder 20 decks down…”

“I would LOVE to do that.”

“I know you would…” The pair stood inside as the door closed behind them. Turning to face it, Narciso took notice of the flickering lights inside. “Ho boy… Deck 25.” The computer chimed and the turbolift took off on its descent. Marietta nudged Narciso on his arm and laughed slightly.

“See? We’re perfectly fine.” As she finished her sentence the turbolift came to a dead stop. Narciso looked to Marietta through narrowed eyes and she replied by just shrugging. The lights still flickered, so there was some power still being sent to the turbolift. Marietta, not wanting to wait, began cursing at the machine. “You get moving this instant or a swear I’ll-” She delivered a swift kick the back wall and was met with a response in the form of the turbolift once more descending. “See? Sometimes it just needs a little love!” Marietta stood proud of herself, folding her arms under her bust. A few seconds later the turbolift came to a dead stop yet again.

“Still proud of yourself?”

“A little.”

“I think we should just get off on this deck and take the Jefferies tube.”

“We don’t have the time. Hold on.” Marietta gave another kick and the turbolift instantly began to move again. “There, I’ll just do- WAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”

The turbolift was suddenly in a free-fall. Marietta instinctively took hold of Narciso, embracing him tightly as if to protect him. “You’ll just do it, huh!? Way to go Marietta!” Narciso cried out as his face was being smothered in between Marietta’s breasts.

“It’s not my fault!” She cried back, holding him tighter. The two suddenly crashed to the floor of the turbolift as it stopped short. Sprawled and entangled on each other, Marietta moved to get up, careful not to put her heel on Narciso. “Ack! I think I bruised my spleen!”

Narciso groaned slightly as he lifted himself up from his facedown position, trying to move his legs to anchor his motions. “I think I broke my ass…”

“No, not your ass. I know how much you love that part of you.” Marietta joked somberly as she helped pick him up onto his feet. “Okay pry open the doors. We’ll make time to get down to Main Engineering.” Alright let’s try to get some leverage. Take that side.”

“Here we go! Pull!” Marietta chanted that last word as she and Narciso dug their fingers into the opening of the dual doors of the turbolift. They managed to take a firm grip and used their body weight. The doors soon opened, revealing a dark corridor with flickering lights. Marietta peaked through, only to say a few words. “You know, I hate horror movies.”

“I love them.” Narciso spoke as he held the door open.

“You first then.” Marietta said as she placed herself under Narciso and lifted him up and over. The turbolift had stopped between two decks; the bottom door had refused to open so they took the top. Which opened up, much to Narciso’s delight, as he didn’t want to climb any ladders.

“Gentle! Gentle!” Narciso cried as he was pushed through the small opening.

“Quit whining. Now help me up.” Marietta called for him as she raised her hands up. Taking hold in a crossway grip at the wrists, Narciso managed to pull her up and through. Looking around he found a flickering panel, on it was the deck number they were on; ‘24’. “Finally some good news. We’re at the highest level of Main Engineering.”

“Right. Let’s find some rope and propel down like in that really old movie.”

“Or we can walk in through those doors.”

“Tch, buzz kill.”

“Let’s go already, we’re basically there.” The pair ran down the hallway and was met with a door that refused to open, so they once again did the prying tactic that they used on the turbolift doors. Upon the large doors opening, they saw the hectic state that was Main Engineering. People were running back and forth, others at consoles trying to work even though the consoles kept powering on and off.

“This is not going to be easy.” Marietta spoke, looking down at the various Ensigns that scurried about.

Narciso took note that the warp-core was fully functional and pointed to it. “At least the problem isn’t with our power source. Then we would be-”

“Utterly Screwed!” A voice from the floor below shouted up at the pair, finishing Narciso’s sentence for him.

“Cherrosk! What’s going on down here?”

“If we knew that, Marietta, we would already have fixed it! Get down here and lend us a hand!”

“On our way.” Narciso called out as he looked around and found a ladder on the back of the wall which led to all the floors of Main Engineering. He took it and slid down at an easy pace, stopping himself before he hit the floor. Marietta did the same motion, and patted Narciso on the back.

“Looks like you used the ladder anyways.”

“Yeah but it wasn’t twenty-something decks down.”

Cherrosk ran up to the pair and was followed by Ensigns, who took his orders and scurried along. The trio met with each other at a large console that sat before the warp-core. Narciso tried using it and was met with some difficulty.

“It’s like that everywhere. We can’t even use them long enough to pinpoint the problem.”

“This is why I am here.”

“Why’s that Marietta?”

Her response to Cherrosk was simply to raise her leg up high and release it down onto the console, effectively dropkicking the poor thing. Its response was to go completely dead and then spring back to life, operating at its full capacity. “You’re welcome. Now get to work.”

Narciso wasted no time in going directly to work, however he did want to question how she had just did what she did. Cherrosk shared Narciso’s sentiment, but he too hurried to work.

“Analyzing computer Matrix.”

“I’m running a quick diagnostic on the connections.” Voiced Cherrosk.

As the pair above worked Marietta looked around the space. She noted everyone running around in a frenzy. All save one who was standing still and shaking nervously. She narrowed her eyes and walked hastily until she stood behind the person. “I know it’s a scary situation, but we all need to do our duties.”

Marietta’s voice being so close startled the Ensign and caused him to drop a datapad. He spun around, revealing that he was sweating up a storm. “I-I-I’m not s-s-scared.”

Marietta looked him up and down. “Then why are you so nervous?”

“Th-t-t-they haven’t beamed me out yet. I mean – They haven’t been giving me any orders, the chief that is.” Somehow he managed to sweat more.

Marietta’s eyes narrowed even further, and then she glanced down on the datapad. On the scrolling screen was the symbol of the Orion Syndicate. “We have an intruder!” She shouted as she lunged forward in a tackling motion. However the Ensign was gone, having been taken by a red transporter beam. Going directly through her target, Marietta crashed to the floor and cursed out loudly. “Damn it, he got away!” She was helped up to her feet and patted herself off.

“Who got away?” Cherrosk called from his work station.

“An Orion spy! He was an Andorian, a scrawny little guy, roughly Narciso’s size.” She looked down to her feet and saw the same datapad. “Look he dropped this!” She flung it through the air over to Narciso, who caught it and began reading it. “Told you, you usually catch it.” Marietta smirked as she walked towards them.

“This is… Here!” Narciso exclaimed as he tossed the datapad up, which was caught by a fumbling Cherrosk.

“Mother of mercy!” Cherrosk shouted finally getting a firm grasp on the datapad.

“Don’t look at me.” Marietta joked, having finally joined them.

Narciso hastily worked on the console, which soon began to flicker slowly. He pounded away at the screen with fast fingers and just as the console died off completely he declared that he was finished. The entire ship went dark as everything went offline.

“What. Did. You. Do.” Cherrosk asked.

“Again, don’t look at me.” Marietta said as she reached out and took hold of Cherrosk’s chin, and then moved his head to face Narciso.

“Just give it a second.”

“A second!? Even the warp-core shut off! We’re finished! It’s only a matter of time before life-support functions go-” Before he could finish his sentence the entire space of Main Engineering was filled with the loud and rhythmic humming of the warp-core and the power that surged throughout the ship. “Holy shit we’re back in business!” Cherrosk tapped his combadge. “Engineering to the bridge! We’ve got full power back!”

“We see that! Good work down there!” Replied the Captain. “Now we face our aggressors. Power our weapons. Target the Lokapāla. Standby phasers.”

I came out of meditation at exactly 0:15. Went to the dressing area and opened the water. After splashing my face with water and quickly grooming my hair I exited to the corridor. I waited for a moment at the turbo lift and pressed the call button. The doors opened with a swish and I stepped on. Exiting the lift I made my way to the transporter room. An ensign approached quickly and taking me by the elbow led me to a room away from the transporter room.

"You cannot use the main transporters" he said quietly. He tapped his badge speaking "The cargo is ready".

This is all very covert for such a normal mission I thought to myself. I was transported to the Los Angeles. I glanced around only to see that I was on the bridge of the ship. The lighting was dim. "Computer raise lighting 25%". The room lit up so that I could see the bridge crew manning their stations. Not one of them moved. I walked over to a console to log on and set my status.

"Sir, there will be no records of this mission". Stated a rather handsome young man.

"I am sorry, who are you?" I asked.

"I am Lt. Bastion, sir" he replied.

"Care to explain Lt? I asked

"Yes Sir, in your ready room" He responded.

I followed him into my ready room. Once the doors had closed he motioned for me to sit down. In compliance I sat at my desk with him standing opposite.

"This mission, this ship, your crew...none of it exists at this point. Only the Admiralty and a few other officers know what we are doing. We are to attempt to retrieve Dr. Singh and deliver him to Facility 4028. We are to retrieve all of his research as well. His research and equipment will remain aboard this ship. We will then dock at a facility located in the Briar Patch. You will remember this facility. After you expelled the Klingons we took over the base and converted to suit our needs as a secret science station. We now have the ability to hide this ship with in the interior of the station." he finished.

"Fascinating." I stated.

"We have six months to find Singh, imprison him and get settled in the station." Bastion stated. "Captain, I know you have not truly been briefed and have been mostly kept in the dark so far but I am here to change that. While we are en route to Singh's last known location I will bring you up to speed."

"I am in need of food and sleep, Bastion. Can you give me the nickel tour and show me to food and bed?" I asked.

"Of course Captain! I will do everything i can to make you comfortable in your new command. This way please." He stated.

We took a brief tour of the ship. Bastion showed me my quarters, general quarters, sick bay, engineering and then finally we arrived at the canteen. It was empty with the exception of a strange little fellow behind the counter.

I entered the Admirals office not really knowing what to expect. I had served aboard the USS Harbinger 2 years ago. My record was untarnished. I didn't understand the orders to appear before Admiral Quinn to explain myself regarding the incident on the Harbinger. I couldn't figure out what the incident was. As I stood at attention before the Admiral my eyes quickly darted about his office. There were several other officers about the rooms’ interior not paying attention to anything going on with the Admiral. His walls were decorated with various art pieces and artifacts from his missions of exploration. His desk was well kept. Nothing was out of place, except me. A single bead of sweat rolled down my temple.

"Lieutenant Commander, Congratulations on your success with your research into Borg physiology. I am sure your findings will assist us in our war against the Borg.” Stated Quinn.

“Thank you, Sir. I hope that I can be part of the initial testing and…” I replied being cut off.

“No, you will not be part of the testing. I need you working the Klingon Front. You have heard about the Genetic Manipulations being tested by Dr. Singh I assume. It is imperative that you investigate his work. I need you to get all the information you can on what he is doing. Report back to me in six months.” Quinn stated returning to his desk. He sat there staring at me. He had not bothered to explain why I was told to come discuss a previous action.

“Admiral, is this on or off the record?” I asked.

“Most definitely OFF the record!” He relied as he motioned for me to leave.

I had some time to kill on ESD as I was waiting for my formal orders. I was unsure what the official orders would say. I wandered around the shipyard lost in thought. Being a Vulcan raised by humans, I tended to allow some of those traits to take over for me. I should be studying something or other. Or even perhaps meditating. Instead here I was in the shipyard staring at the inside of ESD and admiring the ships docked within. I saw several ships today. There was a new Galaxy class ship docked right by the shipyard. It was partially separated. It looked as though they were refitting the separation mechanisms. Fascinating I thought to my self. I turned abruptly as I felt someone approaching me. It was an ensign, in fact he was hand delivering my orders.

"Odd" I stated as he handed me the padd. "I would have thought these would be sent directly to my padd."

"I don't know sir, I was told to hand deliver this padd to you". He said turning and walking away.

I tapped the screen and it came to life. It was encrypted and protected. I left the Shipyard and found a quiet out of the way spot near the outer ring windows. Sitting down on a couch I examined the padd. The screen blinked a single word. 'Speak'

I hadn't seen this before on a padd. I assumed I would have to speak the code word and it would unlock. I did not know the code word. "Speak? Speak what?" I said allowed. The padd lit up and produced my orders. Apparently I merely had to speak and it unlocked.



After I read the message the padd smoked and was now useless. I looked at the time. It was currently 21:00 what was I going to do with the time I had? I went to my temporary quarters a level below and packed my gear. No sooner had I finished fastening the last container they were beamed away. I knelt on the floor and faded into a deep meditation.