All NRPG's deleted Compile summary --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2413.10.21 (USS Hades, Deck 8- Holodeck 2, Baylon Trinin, 1406) (USS Hades, Deck 8- Holodeck 2, Dr. Riven Mias, 1407) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2413.10.25 (USS Hades- Sickbay- ACMO Ensign Haywood Parker- 0407) (USS Hades, Deck 8, COUNS, Ensign Anamitra Ripley- 0902) (USS Hades, Deck 8, Senior Counselor's Office, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes- 0904) (USS Hades, Deck 8, Counseling, COUNS, Ensign Anamitra Ripley - 0908) (USS Hades, Deck 8, Senior Counselor's office, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 0913) (USS Hades, 10 Forward, CO Captain Eva Straton, 19:46) (USS Hades - Ten Forward - ACEO Ensign Mac Liam - 19:58) (USS Hades - Ten Forward - CTAC/SC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof – 2000) (USS Hades-Deck 10, Corridor- CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere- 2055) (USS Hades-Deck 10, Corridor- SciO-Ensign Harry Doorman- 2057) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate: 2413.10.26 (USS Hades-Deck 8, Personal quarters- Dr. Riven Mias- 0445) (USS Hades-Personal Quarters-ACMO Ensign (sg) Hawkeye Dolphine-0530) (USS Hades-Personal Quarters- CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere- 0544) (USS Hades-Holodeck-ACMO Ensign (SG) Hawkeye Dolphine-0545) (USS Hades-Sickbay-ACMO Ensign (sg) Hawkye Dolphine- 0555) (USS Hades - Personal Quarters - CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere - 0556) (USS Hades-Personal Quarters- SciO-Ensign Harry Doorman- 0559) (USS Hades- Sickbay - CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere-0600) (USS Hades - Main Engineering - aCEO Lieutenant Darla Wright - 0822) (USS Hades - Main Engineering - Engineer Ensign jg Arysha Tethlin - 0824) (USS Hades, Turbo-lift, Ops Lt. (jg) Rick Darson, 1945) (USS Hades, Ready Room, Ops Lt.(jg) Rick Darson, 1947) (USS Hades, Ready Room, CO Captain Eva Straton, 19:48) (USS Hades, Ready Room, Lt. (jg) Rick Darson, 19:50) (USS Hades, Ready Room, CO Captain Eva Straton, 19:51) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate.2413.10.27 (USS Hades, Observation Lounge, CO Captain Eva Straton, 14:29) (USS Hades, Bridge, SO Ensign T'Sol, 1443) (USS Hades, Turbolift, ACSO Bracken, 14:46) (USS Hades, Turbolift, COUNS, Ensign Anamitra Ripley 1448) (USS Hades, Councillor’s Office, ACSO Bracken, 14:50) (USS Hades, Deck 8, COUNS, Ensign Anamitra Ripley- 1455) (USS Hades, Deck 8, Hallway, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes- 1458) (USS Hades, Deck 8, Counselling, ACSO Bracken - 1458.5) (USS Hades, Deck 8, Counseling, COUNS, Ensign Anamitra Ripley - 1459) (USS Hades, Deck 8, Counselling, ACSO Bracken - 1500) (USS Hades, Ready Room, CO Captain Eva Straton, 17:00) (USS Hades, Bridge, CTAC/SC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof, 1701) (USS Hades, Ready Room, CTAC/SC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof, 1703) (USS Hades, Personal Quarters, CTAC/SC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof, 18:40) (USS Hades, Observation Lounge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 1900 hours) (USS Hades, Bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 1905 hours) (USS Hades, Bridge, CO Captain Eva Straton, 19:07) (USS Hades, Bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 19:08) (USS Hades, Bridge, CTAC/SC Ensign Lo’ren T’Vof, 19:10) (USS Hades, Bridge, ACEO Haywood Parker, 1911) (USS Onyx, Bridge, MXO, Major Kgrik, 19:15) (USS Onyx – Bridge – CE 3rd Lt Aurik Barsh – 1916) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- begin compile Stardate: 2413.10.21 (USS Hades, Deck 8- Holodeck 2, Baylon Trinin, 1406) "And would you be willing to share that moment in time with me Baylon?" Riven pushed. Baylon turned, regarding the man standing in front of him. He stood with a confidence that Baylon used to possess, a knowledge that nothing could defeat him as long as he kept it together and stayed focused on the larger picture. But now a sort of myopic sense of things prevailed, an unwanted and a unpleasant focus on a detail or details that were horrible to behold. They were more terrible than death and mayhem; worse than losing Ranae or friends. It was a painful introspection, a microscopic review of the very fiber of his being. It couldn't be studied, not yet- there was a deep morass of emotions filtering out the light. Riven stood there, confident, white hair flowing over his equally white robes. Small bells woven into the fabric of his clothing as well as into his hair. A perfumed incense smell probably designed to make things more relaxing for the doctor's patient wafted from the man, almost as subtly as the mind healer's confidence and surety permeated the room. Baylon resolved himself, set his jaw, fought down the anger in his eyes. The thought that Riven might be manipulating his emotions in some way was irritating. The ex-security chief shook his head. "Not this time Riven." He said with a sense of finality. "I can't even begin to explain it to you when I myself just have an inkling of the moment myself." "It's not time for that yet, you've gotten enough out of me for one day. I've a lot to consider." he continued, "I think it's time for you to go now. I have a lot of thinking to do and I don't want you to muddle things up with your presence right now." Baylon said not entirely with kindness. "I'm angry, I hurt and I'm confused right now, and I need some time to wrap my head around things. Schedule a follow-up appointment, I'll come see you, we can have tea or something, talk about Betazed. I promise I'll share with you when I'm ready. Right now, I'm just not ready and if you push me, I won't talk, because we both know how damned stubborn I can be." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8- Holodeck 2, Dr. Riven Mias, 1407) Riven stood with his arms loosely at his sides and gaze steady, completely alert and open as Baylon's stare began to smolder, the man's emotions were becoming volcanic and he could feel them as surely as if they were his own. Anger, self-loathing, despair and confusion were beginning to swirl around the man like vultures circling a rotting corpse. The stench of the negative emotions was almost palpable and his own empathic abilities were kicking into gear in a defensive mode as an almost involuntary response. Sometimes there are things people are unwilling or unready to talk about, this was one of those times and it came as no surprise. Baylon shook his head like a lion shaking its mane. "Not this time Riven." He said flatly. "I can't even begin to explain it to you when I myself just have an inkling of the moment myself." "It's not time for that yet, you've gotten enough out of me for one day. I've a lot to consider. I think it's time for you to go now. I have a lot of thinking to do and I don't want you to muddle things up with your presence right now." The words were clipped and fiery as though hurled like flaming darts and Riven knew conclusively he would get no more from Baylon today, he needed time to think things over and that was fine with the mind healer who knew him well, if he was unwilling to talk then nothing would open his mouth. The man had an iron will and any decision he made could not be circuited. He had caught the man at a good time though and had already gained a great deal of insight into his mental and emotional mindset, it was enough ... for today. "I'm angry, I hurt and I'm confused right now, and I need some time to wrap my head around things. Schedule a follow-up appointment, I'll come see you, we can have tea or something, talk about Betazed. I promise I'll share with you when I'm ready. Right now, I'm just not ready and if you push me, I won't talk, because we both know how damned stubborn I can be." Riven's face cracked and he chuckled, his laughter resounding in the chamber. "Indeed I do my friend, indeed I do." Taking in a deep breath of the filtered air of the ship he nodded then. "And you well know I won't push you before you are ready, as for dropping by to visit I assure you I will send you a note on that this afternoon after I get my itinerary for tomorrow finalized, you might be interested in some of the things that have been happening on Betazed during the last five years, I'll catch you up and answer any questions you might have to the best of my ability." He gave the security officer a warm smile before turning away, speaking over his shoulder as he walked out. "And I've just discovered an excellent tea, I believe you will find it delectable." The walk to the door was short and he made no effort to prolong it, leaving the man alone with his thoughts for now, there would be time to deal with what he had discovered about himself later. Right now he needed solitude. The vault slid shut behind him, closing off the rest of the ship from Baylon's sight. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2413.10.25 (USS Hades- Sickbay- ACMO Ensign Haywood Parker- 0407) Haywood was at the point of feeling like a child again, in need of somebody to cling to to shield the Pacific winds. What was he doing, he was supposed to be an adult! He didn't notice Hawkeye's entrance, until he was standing over the biobed. "I was starting to think you weren't going to wake up! It's about time you woke up. You missed all the fun! We had to work on you without your commentary." Hawkeye said with a smile. "In all seriousness Haywood, how do you feel?" ~Like a moron,~ "I ... guess I-I'm allright." He swallowed hard, wondering how long it would take for him to regain the ability to talk like a normal person. Hawkeye spoke again, his smile still intact. "I took a stroll through your chest wall while you were busy dreaming. I didn't see any major internal damage. To be on the safe side however, I placed a chest tube in you to drain any remaining blood that was out of place. You might feel a little tender in your chest for the next few days, but that is to be expected. If you need anything for pain, let one of us know. I gotta tell you pal, you had us all a little worried in there. Next time you decide to do any kind of major damage to yourself at least give us the advantage of a few days notice." Haywood took a moment to think, he normal slowness with words magnified to unspeakable proportions. "But... that's no... fun." He tried to give a smile, but was sure it looked more like a grimace. "Chase should be around in a bit, if I can get him to stop chasing the nurses for a few minutes. I;ll be here all night. If you need something dont hesitate to scream. In the mean time, do what the nurses tell you to do. Physicians can make the hardest patients i tell you." Haywood made a small nod, which he immediately regretted, "Only - if - there's-cake." "Ok pal I.m going to let you rest now. God knows you need it. Behave yourself. and if you need anything at all just let me know pal" Hawkeye then turned to Angeni, "You know you could use the rest too." He said, "I know, I know, it's your sickbay and you'll stay as long as you damn well please. That fact aside, your'e not going to do yoursself, Haywood or this department any good by worrying tonight. Go home, get some rest and put your mind at ease, he's in good hands. If you need anything let me know. I'll be in my office." (Reply Angeni, unless you have, in which case, that shoe will come in handy) With that, Haweye nodded and looked over Haywood's chart. He called for the duty nurse. "Reassess his vitals q 15 mins and give him another 5 million uinits penacillin q 12 hours. We will absolutley stove off the post operative infection and put him back to work in no time flat." And then he turned to disappear into his office. Having no desire to be alone, but also realizing that life had to go on despite his stupidity, he looked over to Angeni, who looked as though she hadn't seen sleep in decades. "He's... right... you know." He finally croaked, the emptiness already building inside his sore chest. "It's - too earrly... to be up." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, Deck 8, COUNS, Ensign Anamitra Ripley- 0902) Ana sat in her favorite comfy chair in her office, sipping a cup of steaming hot Indian Tea and reviewing her daily schedule. Normally she would already be in sessions, but today had turned out to be a light schedule, with her first appointment at 1100 hours later that day. It was a welcomed change, one that meant she could relax a bit, enjoy some quiet time before she started her workday. They may be her crew and her responsibility, mentally speaking, but that didn't mean that Ana couldn't crave a little peace and quiet from time to time. She had no sooner finished that thought then the door enunciator sounded and then the door slid open to admit the scoundrel responsible for interrupting her nearly Zen moment of self reflection. At first she thought that there may have been some terrible tragedy that had occurred, since the person standing in her doorway was none other than Lieutenant Jericho 'Jack' Haynes. It was not that she had any dislike for the man, in fact nothing could have been farther from the truth, she just simply got the impression that he really didn't like counselors. Of course the reception that he had given here in the Holodeck at the beginning of their last mission helped contribute to her surprise at seeing him. She rose, placing the PADD and the cup of hot tea on the small end table near her chair as she did so. "Come in Mister Haynes." She said, giving him a smile and a welcoming gesture. "Hello Counselor, I hope I'm not disturbing you. I saw that you weren't busy and thought it a good time to drop by." he said a little uncomfortably. ~This must be incredibly hard for him.~ Ana surmised, his body language was screaming with the discomfort that he was feeling on an emotional level. "No, not a bother at all. Please come in and have a seat. Would you care for some tea?" she offered. He looked about the room, sucked in a breath and nodded then walked over to the checkerboard table and took a seat. Ana prepared a second cup of tea and brought it back with her to the table. She placed it in front of him along with the honey pot and a sugar dish, and then retrieved her own cup of tea before joining him at the table. She sat and for his appearance, he was very uncomfortable. She said nothing, choosing instead to take a sip of her tea and give him time to formulate whatever it was that he wanted to say to her. He'd come here for a reason and there was no need to rush him, he'd speak to her when he was ready. "Well I have been thinking that we got off on the wrong foot, my behavior when you came into the holodeck during the Waagoshin simulation was a bit ... extreme." "I see." Ana said as she cradled the warm cup of tea in her hands. "Don't worry about it Lieutenant, what's done is done. There's no need to concern yourself with it. There was a lot of things happening during that simulation, the sort of things that bring out the more aggressive qualities in a person's personality." He sighed. "Well... I came to apologize in short, I hope you don't hold my reaction against me. I've ... had bad experiences with a certain counselor in the past and I suppose it isn't really fair for me to take it out on you." ~Ah, so there's the core of it. ~ Ana thought to herself, ~I suspected as much.~ Ana smiled. "Maybe not fair." she admitted, "but to be honest, not completely unexpected. I've seen the files on your treatments." she replied, adding air quotes to accentuate the word treatments. "I clinically don't agree with a single thing that previous counselor subjected you to. As a matter of fact, I've even written a letter of condemnation to the Starfleet board of Psychiatric medicine, recommending that he be placed under review. His techniques were more than barbaric in my professional equipment. No one should be subjected to the sort of half-backed philosophical BS that you had to deal with, especially when they couldn't seem to grasp the severity of the trauma that it had caused you in the first place." "I'm glad you came here today, Jack. I've been considering how I could approach you about this, without making you feel forced or uncomfortable. But since you've come here on your own, it makes things a great deal easier for both of us." (reply Jack) She took another sip of her tea before answering, "For one, it lets us just talk to each other. Get to know one another and establish a working relationship. Certainly as First officer, you realize that my position is one of advise to the senior crew. In addition to helping everyone on this ship when they have a problem they need help with. I'm kind of like an engineer or a scientist in that regards. I help fix things that are broken or help solve problems that crop up that need solving." "I'm not going to rush you. Take your time and know that I'm here to help with anything that you need, whenever you need. It's not only my job, it's my way of contributing. My way of doing my part for the health and well being of the crew as well as giving myself a means to get out and explore the unknown." She added a smile. "And I want you to know I forgave you long before you ever came here to apologize. Is there anything else you'd like to talk about while you're here? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8, Senior Counselor's Office, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes- 0904) The Counselor smiled at his apology. "Maybe not fair, but to be honest, not completely unexpected. I've seen the files on your treatments." Jack forced his wandering eyes to her face and noted her pantomimed sarcastic note in regards to the word 'treatments', that gesture alone helped him a great deal in keeping his attention focused on not only what she was saying but the comforting and concerned look she was giving him as well. "I clinically don't agree with a single thing that previous counselor subjected you to. As a matter of fact, I've even written a letter of condemnation to the Starfleet board of Psychiatric medicine, recommending that he be placed under review. His techniques were more than barbaric in my professional opinion. No one should be subjected to the sort of half-baked philosophical BS that you had to deal with, especially when they couldn't seem to grasp the severity of the trauma that it had caused you in the first place." Well that was a surprise, finally he had met someone who shared his view of the idiot who he had been forced to deal with on the Belmont! The Captain had been good friends with the man and nothing Jack had said could sway his opinion about the callous and bumbling nature of him or his methods. To hear it from someone who shared the same profession was not only refreshing but downright liberating as well and brought a look of shock to his face. That alone engendered a bit of respect in him, for her and the job she was doing here as well. Talk of tough love was all well and good but when you had been subjected to extreme emotional and mental shock at having someone you loved, someone you had shared your very mind with ripped from you under the most intense and debilitating circumstances, having someone tell you that you were delusional with an overactive or hypersensitive imagination was both cruel and inhuman. Not to mention callous and barbaric. "I'm glad you came here today, Jack. I've been considering how I could approach you about this, without making you feel forced or uncomfortable. But since you've come here on your own, it makes things a great deal easier for both of us." His reply was slow and thoughtful as his mind dwelt on how he would absolutely love to be there to testify before the board against the jerk. "In what way Counselor?" He asked as he forced his attention back to the present conversation. She took a sip of her tea which reminded him she had brought him a cup as well, it set on the table before him untouched, a slight wisp of steam slowly rising from it. "For one, it lets us just talk to each other. Get to know one another and establish a working relationship. Certainly as First officer, you realize that my position is one of advisor to the senior crew. In addition to helping everyone on this ship when they have a problem they need help with. I'm kind of like an engineer or a scientist in that regards. I help fix things that are broken or help solve problems that crop up that need solving." He nodded thoughtfully in understanding, the ones she had mentioned including his own profession were problem solvers and free thinkers, always pushing the envelope to find new approaches to old questions and tasked with maintaining or optimizing existing methods. "I'm not going to rush you. Take your time and know that I'm here to help with anything that you need, whenever you need it. It's not only my job, it's my way of contributing. My way of doing my part for the health and well being of the crew as well as giving myself a means to get out and explore the unknown." She gave him a smile. "And I want you to know I forgave you long before you ever came here to apologize. Is there anything else you'd like to talk about while you're here?" He inhaled as he came to a decision. "It depends on whether or not you have a few more minutes to spare." He leaned back in the chair willing his tensed muscles to relax, despite his rough treatment of her on that earlier occasion she had made it clear that she had let bygones be bygones and wanted to start with a clean slate. That was more than fine with him and he was going to take advantage of having someone to bounce an idea off of who would have an informed and professional opinion. (Reply: Ana) "Well I'm not going to bore you with my history..." He began. "... since you seem to be pretty knowledgable about it, anyway it's all in my file I'm sure along with the black marks he gave me but I do want to stress that the telepaths I've met on this ship seem to have come to the conclusion that much of what I've suffered since Shilae's death has been rooted in the full mind link that we shared and its abrupt dissolution. Harry Doorman and even Captain Straton went so far several months ago as to offer their services to me in trying to piece the tattered remnants of my psyche back together." He pursed his lips together as he formulated his thoughts, if he started at the beginning he would be going back over old and painful ground that didn't need digging up, besides everything he had told Jardine would be in his records. "To this day I can still see the fire that killed my wife and family on Andoria during the attack in my dreams or when I talk about it." he shook his head in an attempt to dislodge the memory that reached out and grabbed him by the throat. His voice was husky as he forced it down. "I can see her face and hear the final words she spoke to me in my mind just as clearly as when it hit me on the Belmont. It's still as real and painful and the only reason I can stand it now as much as I do is because I've lived with it for so long. And Lp'ren ..." He closed his eyes for a second then forced them back open. "...Lo'ren has helped me more than she'll ever know. It's not fair to her to have to go through this, seeing my former wife in my dreams and feeling as though she is playing second fiddle to a ghost." (Reply: Ana) He gritted his teeth and gave a terse nod. "Alcohol was my only relief for a long time, it dulled the ache and gave me some peace. I would drink it to pass out at night and get some sleep, just like Baylon had been doing after the battle with the Waagoshin." Lt. Trinin's proclivities had been an open record to the command crew since he had been relieved of duty. Jack had empathized with the man on a lot of levels before that point, perhaps too nuch and he had allowed it to go on too long which had ended up not only hurting the ship but probably Baylon as well since it had delayed the treatment he needed. Perhaps this was one reason why many a ships command crew gained a hard a** reputation, they had to act swiftly to protect not only their ships but their people as well. That could seem cruel to a subordinate but in the long run it was for their own welfare. "That stopped when Lo'ren and I got together, she gave me the strength to overcome that need and gave me an outlet I think to relieve some of that pressure on my mind but once again that has placed an added burden on her, one that she doesn't need nor does she deserve to have. The point is..." he forced himself to cut to the root of the whole thing. "... the point is this. I know Riven is here to help deal with the fallout of what has happened during the mission to Tch'kair but do you think he could help me with this? Lo'ren has been working with him and has really been making strides, she seems to think he could make headway with me on it since he's a mind healer and I want your honest opinion on this. Do you think he can or world be willing to help?' He as much as invited me to his office the minute he came aboard but I respect and want your honest opinion, could he possibly be as good as his reputation says he is?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8, Counseling, COUNS, Ensign Anamitra Ripley - 0908) Jack inhaled as he came to a decision. "It depends on whether or not you have a few more minutes to spare." Then the man seemed to settle into the soft chair he'd selected and seemed to will himself to relax. "Of course, I do." Ana replied with a smile, genuinely pleased to have won him over, "I don't have anything scheduled for the next hour or so, and that means I'm all yours." "Well I'm not going to bore you with my history..." He began. "... since you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about it, anyway it's all in my file I'm sure along with the black marks he gave me; but I do want to stress that the telepaths I've met on this ship seem to have come to the conclusion that much of what I've suffered since Shilae's death has been rooted in the full mind link that we shared and its abrupt dissolution. Harry Doorman and even Captain Straton went so far several months ago as to offer their services to me in trying to piece the tattered remnants of my psyche back together." Ana nodded, but did not interrupt him. She made it perfectly clear that she was paying complete attention to every nuance of what he was saying. He pursed his lips together as he formulated his thoughts, and it was apparent he was mentally reconsidering some painful past experiences. "To this day I can still see the fire that killed my wife and family on Andoria during the attack in my dreams or when I talk about it." he shook his head in reinforcement of her earlier observation. His voice wavered as he dealt with the memory. "I can see her face and hear the final words she spoke to me in my mind just as clearly as when it hit me on the Belmont. It's still as real and painful and the only reason I can stand it now as much as I do is because I've lived with it for so long. And Lo'ren ..." He closed his eyes for a second then forced them back open. "...Lo'ren has helped me more than she'll ever know. It's not fair to her to have to go through this, seeing my former wife in my dreams and feeling as though she is playing second fiddle to a ghost." Ana gave him a more solemn nod. One that spoke of her understanding of his pain. "Losing a loved one is difficult Jack." she said as she reached out and placed her hand atop his. "It's never easy, especially when that loss was a result of violence or anger." "I can only imagine what it would be like to live it out as it happened, to feel the pain, the terror and the agony as some one close to you died. I could quote you statistics that the scientific part of you might appreciate, but it wouldn't help you manage your own pain and guilt." (reply Haynes) "Yes guilt. It's commonly called survivor's guilt. most commonly it's felt between lovers or spouse's or close family members when one of the partners or groups passes on. It's a perfectly natural phase of grieving. And normally it doesn't last long, transitioning into anger and eventually acceptance." "When there's a telepathic link involved there's an occurrence called psychic whiplash that happens. the event is stored into the long-term memory centers of the brain that normally are submerged by the conscious mind and only surface when the subconscious mind is in control. Time's like sleep, inebriation or other emotionally charged moments." "The damage that you've suffered is complex. some of it is natural, but what's unnatural about it is the length of time that these emotions have been surfacing. this is a result of the whiplash, effectively allowing the survivor's guilt to resurface time and time again." (reply Haynes) "Betazoids deal with this sort of emotional strain all the time. They specialize in it as a psychiatric science in fact. That said, I believe that there's a very good chance that Riven can help you develop some techniques that will allow you to repress these recurrences and also allow you to start the normal healing processes I've described to you to resume." "But there's a catch to that." Ana said then, "You're not a telepath and your wife wasn't a Betazoid, so the nature of the link that you had between you was entirely different than one between a Betazoid and another being would be. It affects different portions of the mind, and it may not be possible for a Betazoid mind healer or even a Betazoid guide to truly ever render you enough aid to get back on track with the natural healing process." (reply Haynes) "Well there are other options," Ana stated, "First there's a process through psychological drugs that could help you suppress the affects yourself, but I would consider that as a last resort." "Then there is hypnotic conditioning. In this process, natural defensive barriers are implanted through deep sleep state post-hypnotic suggestions. These defenses become ingrained and instinctive once they are established. They may or may not resolve most of the recurrences that you are experiencing, although the odds of them not helping at all are very slim." "The another suggestion is emotional catharsis. basically forcing yourself to experience the event again, facing the pain and fear and anger head on and coming to terms with it. It can be dangerous and with the added question of telepathic residue it could even drive you insane. It wouldn't be a technique of choice." "But there are aspects of each of these that we can use. Sleep aids to help you sleep, some telepathic training that Riven may be able to provide to help you isolate the other issues associated with the whiplash, and then some hypnotic treatments to help you build up your own form of defenses. And then finally, when there has been enough preparation, catharsis to completely separate you from those emotions, but building acceptance of the fact that she and your son are gone." (reply Haynes) "Of course acceptance is not the same as forgetting them. What I'm referring to is a form of closure." (reply Haynes) "And you have to realize that catharsis may not be needed. It's a very distant option, but as a counselor I need to make you aware of your options so that you are best informed." (reply Haynes) "And Jack, I want you to be very clear on one thing." She added. (reply Haynes) "This isn't going to be a fast fix. It's not going to be easy and you're not always going to like me. But I promise you that as long as you me to help you, I will." (reply Haynes) "I noticed in your records that you found solace in alcohol for a while?" she asked. He gritted his teeth and gave a terse nod. "Alcohol was my only relief for a long time, it dulled the ache and gave me some peace. I would drink it to pass out at night and get some sleep, just like Baylon had been doing after the battle with the Waagoshin." Ana nodded. "Self medication isn't uncommon either. In fact it's very common. Tell me honestly do you have that under control?" "That stopped when Lo'ren and I got together, she gave me the strength to overcome that need and gave me an outlet I think to relieve some of that pressure on my mind but once again that has placed an added burden on her, one that she doesn't need nor does she deserve to have. The point is..." he forced himself to cut to the root of the whole thing. "... the point is this. I know Riven is here to help deal with the fallout of what has happened during the mission to Tch'kair but do you think he could help me with this? Lo'ren has been working with him and has really been making strides, she seems to think he could make headway with me on it since he's a mind healer and I want your honest opinion on this. Do you think he can or world be willing to help?' He as much as invited me to his office the minute he came aboard but I respect and want your honest opinion, could he possibly be as good as his reputation says he is?" Ana nodded slowly as she contemplated his words. "The answer is complex. He could help you. He could make everything better, but only if you want to accept the help. And only if you realize that Humans and Vulcans and Bajorans and Betazoids are very social beings. They need each other. You and Lo'ren NEED each other. You support her as much as she supports you. You haven't the right to decide for her if its unfair to her to lend you support, just as she hasn't the right to so the same where you are concerned. That's a key to any healing, and that is knowing when to accept help, from wherever it may come." "As for Riven's reputation. It's hard won. He's done a lot of good work, but I'd bet you that he's had his share of failures also. People he couldn't help. We all have. I have. It's possible that he may be able to help you, then again he may not. But one thing is certain, NO ONE can help you if you aren't willing and ready to be helped. You'll have to be brutally honest with yourself and that's the hardest thing to do. We lie to ourselves better than we do to anyone, and a lot of times we don't even realize that we're doing it." "If you want to, I'll set up a meeting for you with him. But I want to see you also, to gauge for myself how things are going. Is that something you would like me to do?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8, Senior Counselor's office, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 0913) The counselor reached for his hand as she spoke and nodded in understanding of the emotional trauma he had been forced to endure. "Losing a loved one is difficult Jack. It's never easy, especially when that loss was a result of violence or anger." "I can only imagine what it would be like to live it out as it happened, to feel the pain, the terror and the agony as some one close to you died. I could quote you statistics that the scientific part of you might appreciate, but it wouldn't help you manage your own pain and guilt." Pain yes but guilt? "I don't understand what you mean." Even as his mouth was speaking it he was objectively considering her words, could he actually be experiencing that particular emotion after all this time? "Yes guilt. It's commonly called survivor's guilt. most commonly it's felt between lovers or spouse's or close family members when one of the partners or groups passes on. It's a perfectly natural phase of grieving. And normally it doesn't last long, transitioning into anger and eventually acceptance." "When there's a telepathic link involved there's an occurrence called psychic whiplash that happens. the event is stored into the long-term memory centers of the brain that normally are submerged by the conscious mind and only surface when the subconscious mind is in control. Time's like sleep, inebriation or other emotionally charged moments." "The damage that you've suffered is complex. some of it is natural, but what's unnatural about it is the length of time that these emotions have been surfacing. this is a result of the whiplash, effectively allowing the survivor's guilt to resurface time and time again." He shook his head negatively but inwardly he was coming to understand the point she was getting at. That seemed impossible yet... "Betazoids deal with this sort of emotional strain all the time. They specialize in it as a psychiatric science in fact. That said, I believe that there's a very good chance that Riven can help you develop some techniques that will allow you to repress these recurrences and also allow you to start the normal healing processes I've described to you to resume." "But there's a catch to that." Ana said then, "You're not a telepath and your wife wasn't a Betazoid, so the nature of the link that you had between you was entirely different than one between a Betazoid and another being would be. It affects different portions of the mind, and it may not be possible for a Betazoid mind healer or even a Betazoid guide to truly ever render you enough aid to get back on track with the natural healing process." "Well yes it's true she was human and not a Betazoid," He spoke up. "But she had the gift as she called it and was trained on Betazed, that has to count for something. But in the event you are right..." he grudgingly admitted. "... what other options do I have?" "Well there are other options," she stated, "First there's a process through psychological drugs that could help you suppress the affects yourself, but I would consider that as a last resort." He shook his head emphatically at that one, he had no desire to go through life as a medicated moron as he considered it, a doped up, fuzzy thinking husk of what he had been. "Then there is hypnotic conditioning. In this process, natural defensive barriers are implanted through deep sleep state post-hypnotic suggestions. These defenses become ingrained and instinctive once they are established. They may or may not resolve most of the recurrences that you are experiencing, although the odds of them not helping at all are very slim." That sounded like it might have possibilities though he had no idea how susceptible to implanted hypnotic suggestions he might be or even whether he might be able to BE hypnotized, some people were known to be resistant to the procedure. "Another suggestion is emotional catharsis. basically forcing yourself to experience the event again, facing the pain and fear and anger head on and coming to terms with it. It can be dangerous and with the added question of telepathic residue it could even drive you insane. It wouldn't be a technique of choice." He had to agree with that one, the possible effects were worse than the drugged up stupor option. "But there are aspects of each of these that we can use. Sleep aids to help you sleep, some telepathic training that Riven may be able to provide to help you isolate the other issues associated with the whiplash, and then some hypnotic treatments to help you build up your own form of defenses. And then finally, when there has been enough preparation, catharsis to completely separate you from those emotions, but building acceptance of the fact that she and your son are gone." "And daughter." he added absently. "That sounds like a good plan to me. Just as long as I don't have to forget them which is the same reason I refuse to have my memory of them wiped." "Of course acceptance is not the same as forgetting them. What I'm referring to is a form of closure." He nodded in acceptance. "And you have to realize that catharsis may not be needed. It's a very distant option, but as a counselor I need to make you aware of your options so that you are best informed." "I appreciate that." He answered gratefully. "And Jack, I want you to be very clear on one thing." She added. He had been looking away as he considered her points but that grabbed his full attention. "What is that Counselor?" "This isn't going to be a fast fix. It's not going to be easy and you're not always going to like me. But I promise you that as long as you want me to help you, I will." What had started as an exhale became a snort, "I understand." After that they talked about his former penchant for drinking himself into a stupor, that is before he had found solace with Lo'ren. And after that his question about the Betazoid Mind Healer who had been sent to the ship to render aid. She nodded slowly as she considered that. "The answer is complex. He could help you. He could make everything better, but only if you want to accept the help. And only if you realize that Humans and Vulcans and Bajorans and Betazoids are very social beings. They need each other. You and Lo'ren NEED each other. You support her as much as she supports you. You haven't the right to decide for her if its unfair to her to lend you support, just as she hasn't the right to do the same where you are concerned. That's a key to any healing, and that is knowing when to accept help, from wherever it may come." "As for Riven's reputation. It's hard won. He's done a lot of good work, but I'd bet you that he's had his share of failures also. People he couldn't help. We all have. I have. It's possible that he may be able to help you, then again he may not. But one thing is certain, NO ONE can help you if you aren't willing and ready to be helped. You'll have to be brutally honest with yourself and that's the hardest thing to do. We lie to ourselves better than we do to anyone, and a lot of times we don't even realize that we're doing it." "If you want to, I'll set up a meeting for you with him. But I want to see you also, to gauge for myself how things are going. Is that something you would like me to do?" He paused for an instant to digest the question. One of the reasons he had used to ward off the offers of help from Harry and Eva had been that it wasn't a good time to go through it, that he didn't want anything to distract him from the mission at hand. He had to face hard facts though and that was that there never WOULD be a perfect time, not unless he were removed from duty and forcibly insulated from making a decision or formulating a hypothesis. The possibility of working with Riven was intriguing yes, if he could come through it would be a monumental step for him but he had dithered on that as well, telling Lo'ren he wasn't totally sure the timing was right. He had even gone so far as to ask Ana about the man in an attempt to come to a decision. His jaw was set in a hard line as he gritted his teeth. He had to make a decision on this though NOW. If it was going to get done it would have to be NOW. He couldn't put it off forever or he never WOULD know if it could work. He had as much as told Ana he trusted her judgment and if so he needed to act on it. NOW! He squeezed his eyes shut for an instant as he fought himself, he had come to terms with Ana, he had seen that a Counselor COULD be human and understanding and not a blithering idiot like Jardine ... and Riven was so much unlike any other person that he had met. Ana trusted Riven and Jack felt that he could trust her. He balled his hands into fists as he opened his eyes from the effort of making the decision. His words came out in a rush as though he feared if he didn't say them quickly enough he would bite them back, his voice rising an octave from his normal baritone. "Yes! By all means set up an appointment. I don't care when you make it or where it happens. I've got to try this before I lose the opportunity!" He closed his eyes in relief and sighed as he slumped back in the chair, the words had been said, he had committed himself now and he wouldn't back down from them. And if he tried he knew Ana and Riven would give him no peace until he had fulfilled his end of the agreement, especially Riven. Ana was low key but Riven from what he had seen of him in the transporter room could be the exact opposite. The man would probably hound him incessantly until he either gave in or threatened the Betazoid until he backed down. .. His voice dropped to its normal level as he continued "And follow up visits with you are agreeable, just let me know when you want to see me. I'm sure you and Riven can work out the details." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, 10 Forward, CO Captain Eva Straton, 19:46) "I think someone lost this," Ensign T'Vof said handing Mr. Floppyto Eva. "Thank you," Eva said, taking the blue bunny known as Mr. Floppy. "Mind if I join you? I planned on doing an eat and run, but I wouldn't mind some company," T'Vof asked, indicating one of the empty seats at the table. "If you don't mind a couple rambunctious toddlers," Eva replied, moving back over and handing Mr. Floppy back to Evan. Alexandra giggled loudly and threw her duck, known as Mr. Quackers. Eva who was turning back toward the table snatched the duck out of the air and put it back next to Alexandra. "You two keep it up and I'm going to put Mr. Floppy and Mr.Quackers away." Eva sat down and moved the stroller so she could keep an eye on the twins. Just then the server arrived with their drinks and placed them on the table. Eva thanked the server with a nod, quickly poured the juice into the cups for the twins before turning back and putting the little sippers into their mouths and helping them get started drinking. Once started the twins grabbed the cups with both hands and turned their full attention to drinking and Eva sat down and took a sip of her own drink. "They are a handful," She said, "They take after their father." She continued with a little mischievousness. (Reply T'Vof IYW) A few minuets later Ensign Mac Liam walked over and knelt down in front of the twins and began speaking to them in a language Eva was not familiar with. Her maternal instincts kicked in and she caught herself reading the Ensign's intentions towards her children, not picking up anything nefarious she didn't immediately break his back. Instead she sat back and watched carefully still alert but relaxed. "They truly are lovely children. How old are they?" Ensign Mac Liam asked. "14 months," Eva answered, "Almost 15 months." Eoin nodded. "Last time I was on Earth, my eldest brother's children were round about this age. Wonderful time." He paused for a minute."I'd been thinking a bit about my family recently." "Thinking about having children of your own?" Eva asked, "Usually takes two you know, at least for us humanoids? You could always adopt, always a noble option." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Ten Forward - ACEO Ensign Mac Liam - 19:58) "Thinking about having children of your own?" she asked, "Usually takes two you know, at least for us humanoids? You could always adopt, always a noble option." "Me? Children? No, not for a while. But I love my niece and nephew dearly. For the time being, I'll just remain their favourite uncle. Or as the case may be, the missing uncle." (reply Straton, room for mre) "And you, ma'am, do you have roots somewhere? Any family gatherings coming up?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Ten Forward - CTAC/SC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof – 2000) Lo'ren watched as Captain Straton snatched the toy from the air, almost having anticipated the move. She smiled at the little ones, both waving their toys but apparently listening to the admonition – at least temporarily. The Betazoid woman was obviously more at ease out of uniform and her voice took on a bit of mischief as she settled back once the twins had their cups,eyes crossed as they concentrated on gaining the liquid inside. "They are a handful," She said, "They take after their father." Lo'ren answered Eva in one fell swoop, smiling and shaking her head. “No, I don't mind being near a pair of small children. They remind me of the good things that we strive to protect,” Lo'ren's voice took on it's own sense of fun as she got an image of Sasha as a child, “I can just imagine they take after their father. He got a lot of early time with them, but you'll even the playing field quickly, I'm certain.” Lo'ren grinned widely as Evan dropped his sippy-cup and picked up the little rabbit just in time to wave it practically in Eoin's face. She chuckled as the young red haired engineer spoke gently to the children before addressing the two women at the table. Lo'ren took a sip of her milkshake as she listened to the exchange between the Captain and the engineer. Lo'ren wondered why Eoin dubbed himself the 'missing uncle' and decided to ask, “Missing Uncle? Didn't you go home during the refit, Eoin?” (reply Eoin, Straton rfm) “I went home to Bajor to fulfil my duties to my parents. Father passed away during our five year absence. Jack came with me and then he took me back to Earth and I met his family.” Lo'ren smiled, the greeting the pair of them had received from Jack's siblings and parents had been quite the to-do. She had been absorbed into the family almost immediately and she was quite certain Jack's father had taken his newly resurrected son aside and given some sort of 'don't let this one get away' pep talk. Eoin turned back to the Captain and queried her, "And you, ma'am, do you have roots somewhere? Any family gatherings coming up?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades-Deck 10, Corridor- CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere- 2055) Angeni stood her ground, but internally she was violently shaking. She could feel his anger and it scared her. True, in her haste, she had forgotten about the emotional link, but at the same time, she didn't realize she was projecting any feelings other than deep feelings for a friend. Riven had saved her on an emotional level. Hell, if it weren't for him, she wouldn't be able to love Harry the way she did, but she had to wonder if deep down, she cared for Riven in the same manner. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Suddenly, she became very angry. She didn't know if it was stress fueled or sheer anger at the words Harry was speaking, but what came next even made her pause. "Look. Riven and I are very close friends. I am not going to sit here and explain myself to you as if I were a child and you were my father. If you don't like it, then for all I care you can go jump out the nearest open shuttle bay!" (Reply Harry) She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. She always knew she had one heck of a temper, but she had always controlled it until now. She was ashamed for what she had said, and she knocked down the decibels on her voice a bit. She saw people walking by and staring, and whispering. She felt like a fish in a tank, being watched by every passerby. Her mouth, though, was moving faster than her 'you-shouldn't-say-that' filter could keep up. "I'm not lying to you! I can't believe you'd think I would. Do you just not trust me enough to believe what I'm saying? Of course Riven would say he missed me. In his time frame, it has been over five years since he has seen or heard from me. I miss him because I just do...just like I miss Mason and Cindy and Captain Winters and even Captain Saleke, probably the same way you miss your bygone memories!" (Reply Harry) She kept going, her mouth going a mile a minute. "I don't care, Harry! If you can't handle me being around Riven, then I guess..." Her voice lowered, but the words cut through the air with the same vengence that they would've if she had shouted them. "I guess you can't handle me...." She looked up at him, her deep grey eyes peering into his. Her eyes began to water slightly, and she blinked them away. "If you will excuse me, someone is waiting for me." She took one more look at Harry and she turned on her heels, heading back to Ten Forward. As she entered, she tried to put on a good face in front of Riven. She wanted nothing more than to go to him and have him wrap her in a hug. That's what she needed, a hug. She walked over and sat back in front of Riven, a smile on her face. "I'm sorry, where were we?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades-Deck 10, Corridor- SciO-Ensign Harry Doorman- 2057) Angeni stood there resolute, as Harry expected, but he could be just as stubborn as she could be, and he could also stare her down. Her mouth worked for a moment in sheer frustration before she finally spoke. "Look. Riven and I are very close friends. I am not going to sit here and explain myself to you as if I were a child and you were my father. If you don't like it, then for all I care you can go jump out the nearest open shuttle bay!" She exclaimed. "Hell I might just do that!" he growled back at her, "see how you like it then! It might be a little less painful at least. More merciful by far than having to watch you... flirt!" She closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose and seemed to compose herself. He could tell that his words were biting back, if she wanted a fight, when she was clearly in the wrong, then by all means, he'd accommodate her. "I'm not lying to you! I can't believe you'd think I would. Do you just not trust me enough to believe what I'm saying? Of course Riven would say he missed me. In his time frame, it has been over five years since he has seen or heard from me. I miss him because I just do...just like I miss Mason and Cindy and Captain Winters and even Captain Saleke, probably the same way you miss your bygone memories!" Harry huffed out a half-laugh at that last bit. "I really don't think you have romantic intentions towards all those people Angeni, not like you do with your beloved Riven. Give me a break, do you think I'm stupid? I have a higher IQ than at least half the people on this ship and that's saying quite a bit. I'm not blind either, I can see pretty well what's going on here." His voice although losing some volume took on a more icy tone, more detached and accusing. "I don't care, Harry! If you can't handle me being around Riven, then I guess..." Her voice lowered, but the words cut through the air like a knife blade sliced through unprotected flesh. "I guess you can't handle me...." Harry's mouth popped open then. His voice got stopped up in his throat and he found himself suddenly having difficulty breathing properly. "If you will excuse me, someone is waiting for me." With near military precision, she turned on her heels, heading back to Ten Forward. "Fine" he said quietly, long after she had left earshot. "just fine." Harry turned, now not as oblivious to the occasional stares of the crew that had been craning their necks in the direction of the arguing officers. He caught the eye of one of them and barked, "What the hell are you looking at?" The crewman raised his hands in surrender and disappeared down the corridor at a double-time pace. "Why is it, she's in the wrong and I'm the one that feels like a heel?" He asked no one in particular as he reached the turbo lift. He stepped inside and said, "crew deck." The turbo lift started moving and Harry tried to clear his head as he headed for his quarters, angrier and more hurt than he'd ever been in his entire remembered life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate: 2413.10.26 (USS Hades-Deck 8, Personal quarters- Dr. Riven Mias- 0445) His night had been near sleepless, tossing and turning every half hour or so and when the tone had gone off for him to wake for the morning Riven had to nearly pry his metaphorically matted eyes open. Such a light sleep had been fitful to say the least and every time his almost dormant brain had nearly shut down a picture of last nights events had bloomed in his consciousness. Riven felt guilty, not for how he felt but because of what had transpired. He and Angeni had begun a friendly conversation and had barely finished the pleasantries and gotten to the reason for why they were meeting when someone he had not seen enter ten forward had apparently seen them and taken offense. No, that wasn't the right word, offended; had been aghast. That was better. Some male he didn't know had been shocked, outraged, jealous, angered. You name it. Riven had felt it and turned in time to see the man disappearing out the door and a bouquet of flowers splattered on a shocked server's tray. Angeni had felt or seen it too and been highly shocked herself, she had immediately taken her leave after begging his indulgence and understanding and taken off after the man. He should have known better. He should have known that such a lovely, intelligent and yes sexy woman would have had a boyfriend by now. It may have been only a year or so since she had last seen him although it was over five for him but her entire demeanor and comportment had changed for the better and that type of thing coupled with her obvious charms would draw men like flies to honey. He should have trusted his instincts, listened to his telepathic sense that had found the residue of a telepathic link. He should never have put her in such a spot. He couldn't help himself. He had been truthful with Ana, his point of view and objectivity when it came to her had been compromised. He felt like a louse. Riven wasn't one to cause emotional pain, he was a healer. He had caused someone a lot of pain last night. He had thought heavily about this while getting ready, his head spinning around those points nearly constantly and it was causing him considerable discomfort. He felt he owed her an apology while at the same time wondering if he shouldn't just butt out completely. That idea was no good either, it caused his stomach to do flip flops. Now standing before the window of his room and looking out into space, the view of PX 1354 out of sight on the other side of the ship he wondered what he should do about it. He turned his head and picked up the robe he had placed on his desk and fingered it as he considered the question. The answer as always came back to the same thing. ~Stay out of it~ Followed immediately by. ~That would be even worse, you need to apologize.~ That nagging argument had consumed him while he had carefully brushed his hair and knotted the charms into it after his shower. He spoke into the distance. "Computer, time." [The time is 0545 hours.] The interface obediently intoned. This was a swing time, if he decided to send her a note she might be in sickbay by now or still in her room. He could send it to sickbay but might have to wait before she got it to get a reply. That thought was intolerable. He could send it to her personal terminal but it might miss her until she returned later in the day. That was even worse. Was there a compromise? ~Hmmm. Send it to both places?~ That sounded good and that decision galvanized him to action. "Computer record a voice message to be sent to Dr. Angeni Trommashere's personal and office terminals." [Awaiting message.] The voice replied. He sucked in a breath. "Angeni this is Riven." "Is everything well? I fear I have caused you trouble and for that I apologize but considering the times we spent together in the holdeck before I thought it important you should know how I felt about you. I have thought of nothing else since I saw you in sickbay. Please forgive me." "Computer end message and send." [Message sent to specified workstations.] The machine intoned. He slithered into the robe and slipped on his sandals, Baylon had agreed to an early meeting today and he couldn't afford to make the man wait, fortunately he had been given a cabin on the deck near the offices. He always appreciated such foresight. He had already planned on reporting to Ana what had transpired last night, judging from this morning his report was going to be a lengthy one. He shook his head, flustered at his own weakness, this wasn't like him at all. After checking himself quickly in the mirror and satisfied he was ready he stepped to the door and left his room but not his thoughts behind. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades-Personal Quarters-ACMO Ensign (sg) Hawkeye Dolphine-0530) The day after the staff meeting Hawkeye had some work set ahead of him. If the Captain turned out to be correct, sickbay was going to be flooded with causualties. He had a decent amount of work to do. He had hoped to catch up with Angeni and Chase after the surgery on Haywood . It felt good to be working with his old colleuges again. He caught a sonic shower and headed for the Holodeck. ~Enough time for a space jump before breakfast~ He thought to himself. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades-Personal Quarters- CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere- 0544) Angeni laid in bed, her chest heaving with small sobs. She had only been able to sit with Riven for about ten minutes after her altercation with Harry before she pawned her job off and left. She had just woken up after getting several good hours of sleep, which she needed. She knew that Straton would have her proverbial testicles if this situation impacted her duties, so after buring enough lavendar and Jade incense to let everyone around her think they were in a lavendar field, she was able to fall asleep. She felt guilty about the goings on, and it fueled the heart rendering sobs that came from her throat as she laid there. She opened her eyes, gazing up at the stars above her, marveling at how they hung there like small gems for all to behold. Her mind went back to spending time with Harry, gazing up at those same stars, making plans as lovers do for the next day, week, year, what have you. Part of her felt that she would get the opportunity to spend a very long time with Harry, but there would have to be a very long conversation between them that she wasn't about to start anytime soon. Angeni sat up and stretched her body, feeling stiff and sore. "Nothing that a good shower won't cure..." She said aloud...to an empty room. She hopped out of bed and went straight to the shower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades-Holodeck-ACMO Ensign (SG) Hawkeye Dolphine-0545) Hawkeye put his equipment on and begain to board the shuttle for the trip into the atmosphere when his comm badge chirped. -/\- Sickbay to Doctor Dolphine, sir do you have a minute to stop down here"-/\-. Hawkeye rolled his head, took a deep sigh and then answered his commbadge." On my way" He replied. "Computer save program and end" Hawkeye ordered to the computer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades-Sickbay-ACMO Ensign (sg) Hawkye Dolphine- 0555) Hawkeye rounded the corner and entered the sickbay doors. He glanced around sickbay and his eyes made contact with the duty nurse. "Whats up Able?" Hawkeye asked. From the look in Nurse Able's eyes she was in pain. " I woke up this morning with a severe pain in my lower abdomen. It felt like gastritis, but the pain radiated into my back in a matter of minutes. I felt like I couldn't breathe. The on duty medic gave me a breathing treatment but I thought that you should come take a look." Hawkeye had the duty medic vitalize her as he headed to his office. He accessed the medical file on Nurse Able to see what kind of history she had. He had no sooner opened the file when the duty medic came running into his office. "Hawk, Able is coding!" exclaimed the medic. ~Really? This is how I have to start my day?~ Hawkeye thought to himself while getting up from his desk and running over to Able's bed. The next instant, Hawkeye hit his commbadge, hard. "Hawkeye to Angeni and Chase, I hate to ruin your morning, but I need you guys down here. Able is coding. Looks like a massive anyerism ruptured, I could use some help down here." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Personal Quarters - CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere - 0556) Angeni stood at her dressing table, drying off the last few inches of her hair. Glancing over at her computer, she saw the message light flashing. She ignored it long enough to get dressed, then she sat down on her work-out ball. She rocked back and forth, getting a small bounce going to work out her thighs and calves. She sifted through lab reports and shift reports, then she saw the message from Riven. Her heart skipped a beat as she clicked on the message. As it loaded, she heard her comm badge go off. She jumped up and grabbed it, standing next to her night stand. "Hawkeye to Angeni and Chase, I hate to ruin your morning, but I need you guys down here. Able is coding. Looks like a massive anyerism ruptured, I could use some help down here." "She coded?! Curse the Mother! I'll be there in like...three minutes tops!" Angeni grabbed her lab coat, stumbling through her room. She went head long over her work out ball, and she sprawled on the floor, rug burn on her chin and nose. She touched the spot on her nose, wincing. ~Yeah...try to explain this one!~ She jumped up, pulling out a dermal regenerator. She ran it over her nose and chin, leaving only a red blotch. She didn't have time to put make-up on, so she dropped the regenerator in her pocket and continued out the door, leaving the message from Riven up on her computer screen. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades-Personal Quarters- SciO-Ensign Harry Doorman- 0559) Harry had been running late, simply because he was having a hard time locating the PADD that he had been using the night before to deal with several complex calculations concerning the thermodynamic properties as well as the radioactive convection belts of the magnetar. He had burned out his rage painting some garish post modern abstract after his encounter with Angeni the night before. Now he felt sorry and a little guilty. Maybe he had been too assuming and too upset to really consider that she could be telling him the truth. Still the depth of feelings that he had detected were hard to mistake.There was love there, affection and a deep longing that Harry interpreted as desire. The fact that Angeni and Riven were old friends, and most likely old flames may have clouded his judgment where the situation was concerned. In the end it wasn't a matter of him trusting her, not really, it was a personal insecurity that had caused his anger. He had no real tangible memories of his life prior to becoming Harry Doorman, the Human pacifistic doorstop. His entire life was as fake and contrived as it could be, this was a fact of life. He didn't know if he was a product of the mental alterations that had taken place during the civil war or if he was always this way. His behaviors, history and existence was always in question. Even the little bit of knowledge that he had of his actual parents, those Starfleet intelligence agents that had gone missing during the civil war after hiding critical intelligence of deep plant spies in their son's subconscious was in question. He had discovered a different name, although details of that person's existence were scarce. They were him only in as much as they were a ghost of a prior existence, only half seen or half felt, and Harry Doorman was some faint echo of that former life. The fear that he'd lose one of the only tangible things in his life, Angeni, was the impetus for his rage, he realized. It was an insecurity that he wouldn't be able to keep her, that had sparked him to anger, yet even understanding that fact didn't make it any less painful. He had realized, finally that his search for his PADD was going to be in vain, at least in his own quarters, as the memory resurfaced. he had been carrying the PADD with him when he had headed for Angeni's quarters the night before. When he had expected to find her getting ready for their date. He had decided to leave the PADD there, in anticipation of returning to her quarters after dinner. Now, here he was standing outside her door, uncertain if he should even be here. he thought about the situation for a moment, if she was truly set on breaking up, then she'd have revoked his access to her quarters, and that meant he'd have to face her anyway, but if she wasn't to that stage yet, and there was some hope of reconciliation, then he'd have access and he'd be able to retrieve his PADD without worry. "Computer what is the current location for Doctor Tromashere?" he asked before attempting the door. [Doctor Tromashere is in main Sickbay, deck 10] it responded, taking a great deal of weight from Harry's shoulders. ~It's now or never.~ he thought and reached out to open the door. To his relief it slid open without any difficulty and he knew that the rest of his mission would be simple to complete, all he had to do was recover his PADD. He stepped into her quarters still a little apprehensive about being here, but determined to just recover his work and go. He walked over near her terminal, where the PADD sat resting next to the LCARS console entry PADD. He reached down, picked up his device and started to turn to leave when he noticed the Message blinking on the screen. The sender was none other than Riven Mias. "That dirty sonuva..." Harry swore very uncharacteristically. The message was in standby mode and was waiting to be played. There was a bit of a moral dilemma facing him. Should he pry just a little or should he just leave well enough alone? he knew what some of the people would have told him, that forewarned is forearmed or something to that affect, and in a way Harry agreed. If he could gather some information from watching the message then he'd be able to plan his response better, or maybe it would confirm his suspicions or prove them wrong. As a scientist, he believed in interrogating all the available evidence, when faced with a problem. He definitely had a problem and this was potential data that could help him solve it. So in the sake of empirical observation, he pressed the play button. The image shifted from the standby logo of the United Federation of Planets to that of Riven Mias. The interloper wasted no time in speaking. =^="Angeni this is Riven.=^= he began =^=Is everything well? I fear I have caused you trouble and for that I apologize but considering the times we spent together in the holodeck before I thought it important you should know how I felt about you. I have thought of nothing else since I saw you in sickbay. Please forgive me.=^= "Ha!" Harry blurted out loud as the message ended. he had been right all along, Riven Mias was making moves on his girl and if Harry didn't do something soon, he'd lose her for good. One part of him wanted to not interfere further and to let Angeni decide, but that was a meek and less-than-ideal response. For once Harry had found something worth fighting for, even if such action went against his nature. He hadn't gone in with the assault team on Tch'Kair because of his bravery or his amazing combat skills. No, he'd gone because of his love for Angeni, and he'd be damned if he was going to let some interloper steal her away from him after all of that! Harry reset the message, grabbed his PADD and mumbled, "If it's a fight he wants, well it's a fight he'll get." He turned and stalked out of Angeni's quarters already running a little late for his shift. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades- Sickbay - CMO Angeni O. Windsong-Trommashere-0600) Angeni ran into sickbay, absolutely breathless. She had taken the wrong Turbo Lift that practically put her onto the other side of the ship. As she burst through the doors, what she saw was controlled chaos. Nurses sat huddled in corners consoling themselves while Hawk and a medic whos name she couldn't remember at the moment worked over Able. Her palor was unearthly pale, and her half lidded eyes casted a far away look. Angeni surveyed the scene, trying to mentally take everything in. Able had been with the ship for years, even back with the Myst. Most of these nurses had trained under her, and were not taking the situation well. None of them were going to be any use under any circumstance, so she ushered them all into her office where they could bawl in peace. She walked over to the main table, the garrish OR lights casting a wash of light that seemed to be too intense for the situation. "What do we have?" (Reply Hawk) Angeni looked to the head of the table were the medic was struggling with getting a seal on the bag-valve-mask. She reached over, guiding the medics' hand with her own, forming the E/C seal with his hand. She motioned for him to squeeze the bag, and she watched proper chest rise and fall. She ran her hands over Ables' belly, feeling her skin pulling as tight as a drum. She pulled over the crash cart, rummaging through it, trying to talk out what would and would not work. "Why can't we come up with something that will vaso-constrict without killing the patient. Minute you raise the blood pressure they bleed out from something...want me to go into the belly or do you want the honors..." (Reply Hawk) Angeni cast an eye over the cardiac monitor, and she swore under her breath. The United Federations of Planets' Heart Association (UFPHA...in the 21st century known as the AHA or the American Heart Association) would have fallen into grand mal seizures if they had seen that rhythm "And I'm supposed to do......" The million watt lightbulb went off over her head, and she grabbed the paddles of the LifePak 2000. She put the conducting gel on the paddles, and she turned to Hawk. "I'm going to stop her heart cold. Let's play with some cold saline. It may keep her from bleeding out any further AND we'll have some serious time to operate with. What do you think?" She pressed the charge button, and the high pitched whine came from the machine. Suddenly, a voice came from the device. "Paddles are charged, prepare to shock!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades - Main Engineering - aCEO Lieutenant Darla Wright - 0822) After reading, Arysha nodded, even as she made an unhappy face. She quickly typed her reply and gave the PADD back to the Darla. [Yes, looks like best way to go. So what do now? Problem is what?] The Chief Engineer read the brief question and started typing out a reply. Not accustomed to communicating complex engineering problems completely through writing it took her a few moments to get the problem concise enough but detailed enough to answer the question for her fellow engineer. [Looks like Gamma Radiation caused material transmutation of non-conductive housing materials into superconductive materials. (See attached data reports for comparative).] [This is causing magnetic interference with free electrons in Optical network along superconductive waveguides normally shielded. Excess electrons are interfering with data retrieval and basic programming functions and subroutines and corrupting command prompts.] Satisfied with her answer, Darla handed the PADD back to Arysha. The programmer and engineer started thinking, an act that was easily recognized by the inward contemplation written all over her face. Then, after a few moments, she suddenly sprung into action, her hands flying across the keys like a possessed roadrunner on some sort of super stimulant drug induced marathon. In a few moments a rough outline was presented to Darla on the PADD. Some of the language was tricky and some was well beyond her programming skills, but Arysha was the resident computer expert and if she thought it would do some good, then Darla had no problems giving her the go ahead. Darla looked up at her deaf companion, smiled and gave her a single nod, followed by a thumbs up. She typed simply, [Do it. Take whomever you need, but be careful around critical systems we can't afford for them to be compromised.] She started to hand it to Arysha when another thought struck her, she recalled the PADD and added quickly, [And make certain we can restore after this is all done if needed.] Then she handed the PADD to the engineer and allowed her to take it from her. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Main Engineering - Engineer Ensign jg Arysha Tethlin - 0824) Arysha nodded at the senior officer and started off towards her little corner of the universe. No sense in trying to fix a leaky dam with the wrong tools. She grabbed CPO Harvard Sterling and Ens(jg) Luca Cavinetti indicating that the two other programmers follow her. Turning the corner she nearly got run over by Crewman Ketch Broderick, who was wide eyed with confusion. Arysha turned him around and got him to follow also. Arriving at the programmers' area, she entered the Cave. The junior engineers had dubbed Arysha's personal set of consoles that because her area was set up to practically enclose the quartet that would enter therein. Passing around the PADD, Arysha launched into a long and convoluted signing of the idea she had. These three knew her language and better yet knew her programming style - though they freely admitted that they didn't have her flair or her genius in programming. Once they'd all had a moment of flying hands - questions, answers and suggestions flying back and forth - Arysha sat down in her chair and the three boys each got to work. They each had certain sections of programming to do and it was agreed that Arysha would string it all together in the end. It wasn't long before she was getting strings from the others so Arysha started pulling together a masterpiece of coding. She tossed back code that was subpar or had too many areas and slotted in the things that worked out. An hour later the marathon was done and they were ready to do some testing. Arysha turned to the trio, thanking them. {{Thanks boys. H-Silver, please inform-tell D-Boss, ready to test.}} Harvey nodded and ran off to tell Lt. Wright that they were ready to trial their code and would she like to observe? Arysha got the other two to help her double check for any errors - well triple check, as they'd already ensured it free of errors. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Turbo-lift, Ops Lt. (jg) Rick Darson, 1945) ~The universe could really suck sometimes,~ Rick thought to himself as the turbo-lift hoisted him toward ship's bridge, feeling at that moment like he was being carried through life like so much Ferengi cargo. To end up in the 52nd Fleet, and on the Hades no less. He wondered what cosmic powers hated him so much that they would send him to the one fleet he detested, the one ship he'd least want to be in, and under a captain who was reputedly one of the toughest in Starfleet - and a Betazoid, at that. He rethought himself. There were probably no gods involved in that decision. ~Dad! It had to be.~ His father had been trying to remold his son's character for years. Maybe dear old dad figured pulling a few strings to get him put under the command of a real hard-arse CO would help "whip him into shape." His father had encouraged him to join the service, thinking that military discipline would do his youngest boy some good. He wondered if his cousin or her husband had something to do with it. He decided to find out, and - if true - figure in a little pay back. Nothing really serious. Just enough to make a point. ~This is going to be a very long term of service. But at least I'll be working Ops.~ He'd loved studying starship designs, even when he was a kid. So his work would help get him through any rough times. That and the little package he'd laid neatly inside the closet of his quarters. This wasn't his choice assignment but he would make the best of it. Get to know the right people, then get to know the internal politics of his department and the ship. He would work out his own little comfort sphere somehow. He'd noticed more than a few nice-looking ladies since geting off the shuttle. One good point he'd learned at the Academy. None of the women in Starfleet were boring bubble-heads. They could, at the least, hold a good conversation. The door opened to the bridge. A few heads turned as he entered. A few people nodded in greeting. He returned the gestures before the initiators turned back to their duty stations. After only a short pause to orient himself he moved toward the door of the captain's ready room and buzzed his arrival. ~How does one address the being in charge of Hades.~ he thought with a little smirk, which vanished the moment the door slid open. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Ready Room, Ops Lt.(jg) Rick Darson, 1947) The captain was seated at her desk across the room, He decided she looked pretty good for a woman her age, but he checked that line of thought as he entered and drew near the Betazoid. The door closed behind him, the sound of it accentuating the fact he was cut off from the rest of the universe. Somehow, he didn't feel entirely comfortable. "Captain," the ensign said, not quite sneering the word."Lieutenant Rick Darson reporting for duty." He suppressed an urge to give her an old Hitlerian-style salute. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Ready Room, CO Captain Eva Straton, 19:48) Eva watched as the Lt. walked into her Ready Room her empathic abilities easily picking up his attitude though she didn't really care what he thought of her. He would do his duty or face the consequences. She had read his Star Fleet record, so was well aware of his past and would be watching him carefully. "Captain," the Lieutenant said, with just a hint of contempt in his voice."Lieutenant Rick Darson reporting for duty." Eva's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You can get that chip off your shoulder right now Mister or I will remove it for you is that clear?" Eva snapped. "You will not disrespect myself or any member of this crew. I don't give a Ferengi's arse about your past. While you are serving on this ship I expect you to do your duty to the best of your ability and to adhere to Star Fleet regulations. Is that clear? Speak to me in a disrespectful tone again and I assure you, you will regret it. Now, your orders, Lieutenant." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Ready Room, Lt. (jg) Rick Darson, 19:50) The words were barely out of his mouth when he recognized his mistake. The captain locked a narrowed flinty glare on him. "You can get that chip off your shoulder right now Mister or I will remove it for you is that clear? You will not disrespect myself or any member of this crew. I don't give a Ferengi's arse about your past. While you are serving on this ship I expect you to do your duty to the best of your ability and to adhere to Star Fleet regulations. Is that clear? Speak to me in a disrespectful tone again and I assure you, you will regret it. Now, your orders, Lieutenant." Those penetrating eyes phasered right through his brain and out the back of his skull. Not wanting to push a confrontation with his new CO, he looked away momentarily. ~Now there's a model first impression,~ he chided himself privately. He met her flinty gaze soberly as he handed her the padd he carried containing all of the protocols, transfer orders, and the other procedural what-nots. "Right here captain," Darson told her, and shuffled uncomfortably. "No direct disrespect intended." That was true enough. He hadn't intended to SHOW a bad attitude. It just tended to leak out of his mouth a lot. "I'm not good with people, mam. But you'll find my work more than satisfactory." The excuse sounded pretty lame, but it was better than, my being here is a big mistake, being in Starfleet is a mistake, or life seems like one big mistake. He'd made a lot of mistakes lately. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, Ready Room, CO Captain Eva Straton, 19:51) "Right here captain," Darson said, shuffling uncomfortably as he handed her a PADD. Eva took the PADD from him her gaze unwavering. She pressed her thumb against the PADD's scanner and entered her command code to unlock the PADD's sealed orders as Darson continued. "No direct disrespect intended. I'm not good with people, mam. But you'll find my work more than satisfactory." "We will see about that Lieutenant," She said, as she read over the orders on the PADD. Having verified the orders and the command codes from Star Fleet, Eva put the PADD on her desk before turning her gaze back on Lt. Darson. "You will have your chance to prove just how good your work is. Get settled into your quarters, if haven't done so already, then report to Lt. Adams who is over seeing the Operations Department. He will bring you up to speed and assign you your duty shift. Any questions can go through Lt. Adams and the proper chain-of-command. You're dismissed Lt." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stardate.2413.10.27 (USS Hades, Observation Lounge, CO Captain Eva Straton, 14:29) With all questions answered and all other matters tabled, Eva decided it was time to bring the meeting to a close. They all had a lot of work to do. "If there is nothing else, you are all dismissed," She said,standing indicating that the meeting was adjourned. She gave a nod to Lt.Haynes and Bracken indicating that they should remain behind for their private meeting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, Bridge, SO Ensign T'Sol, 1443) T'Sol stepped onto the bridge just a few short minutes after she had been summoned. She had been told that she would be taking up the Tac II station, and so she did not hesitate as she assumed the otherwise empty station. It was an unusual thing to have two tactical officers on the bridge at the same time unless there was an expectation of trouble. But, since no one had advised the Vulcan Tactical officer of the situation, she chose to avail herself of the needed information by reviewing all the ship's communications and tactical logs beginning a few minutes prior to the call for a senior staff meeting. Her efforts were rewarded by the information that advised her of the loss of contact with the USS Onyx, a Steamrunner class starship, on a diplomatic mission. It also gave her some information as to the nature of that particular mission, although there weren't may details available for her review. To say that the situation could be... what was the human phrase? Dicey? Was an understatement. she then turned her attentions to reviewing the tactical and political data available on the two participating species. It would be better that she be prepared rather than be taken by surprise. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Turbolift, ACSO Bracken, 14:46) "Of course, I'll drop you a note." Haynes winked. "Until then no more worrying about it and that's an order. Are we in agreement" Dale smiled gently, despite the worry which still nagged her mind. “Aye Sir, we’re in agreement” She answered simply. She still genuinely felt embarrassed that this was really necessary, admittedly Dale could see the wisdom behind it, but the fact still remained that she had only been aboard for barely two days and already had been ‘removed from duty’. Sure, it was in effect only an afternoon off, but she should still be on duty at the science terminal on the bridge. Gently she sighed to herself, she’d never been one for time off, through sickness or even leave come to that. Her last true break from everything had been when she was 14, her memories flooded back slightly as she thought of it, it had been the summer she had fallen in love; physics had stolen both her heart and imagination. From that point on she had almost never looked back. Jack gave a slight nod and spoke to the computer interface. "Deck 8." The lift began its smooth movement with a slight whirring noise as it picked up speed, tapping the comm on the wall he spoke again. "Counselor Ripley this is Lt. Haynes, I am bringing a visitor to see you and will be there within a few minutes." =/\=Of course Mister Haynes, It will be a good day to finally see you in my office. I'll make certain I have some time set aside.=/\= Dale listened to the woman’s voice answer over the Comm, the voice sounded friendly, welcoming almost. A man’s muffled giggle filled the background of the conversation, all kinds of scenarios played out in Dale’s mind as the lift continued its journey. Her mind had temporarily been distracted from its troubles, though that changed once more, and Dale felt the wave of desolation wash back over her. The Captain had spoken the truth of Dale’s assumption, there was currently no evidence that any crew were missing, sadly, that wasn’t the only thing on her mind; it had only been the catalyst that had opened all kinds of insecurities and issues in her mind. This may prove to be a stressful afternoon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, Turbolift, COUNS, Ensign Anamitra Ripley 1448) "We've made some excellent progress Leslie" Ana was saying with a broad smile spread across her face. "I'm very glad that you're no longer having nightmares, it's a good sign that your subconscious is starting to heal the wounds that are causing them." Leslie Peterson, nodded his head, sending his auburn red bangs bouncing across his pale forehead. "Thank you counselor. I really think that the sleep therapy is working well. I had my first night of uninterrupted sleep in a long while last night and I feel two-hundred percent better." Ana smiled again, placed her empty tea cup on the small table next to her leather chair. She leaned forward slightly so that Leslie knew she was paying close attention before she spoke. "Well in that case, I see no reason to stop the therapies at the moment. But we have to be cautious. It's important that after a short while we start reducing those therapies so that you can recover your normal sleep cycles without their aid. They can be psychologically addictive if they are used too much." Leslie nodded. "For now," she continued, "Let's use them as prescribed and we'll look at their effectiveness at our next get together, shall we?" Leslie smiled and then nodded happily, "Absolutely!" he replied then rose to his feet. Ana came to her feet as well just as her commbadge chirped. =^=Counselor Ripley this is Lt. Haynes, I am bringing a visitor to see you and will be there within a few minutes.=^= Ana's eyes snapped up to Leslie, whose smile hadn't waned in the least. She cut him a mischievous smile, gave him a wink and replied with a tap of her badge, "Of course Mister Haynes, It will be a good day to finally see you in my office. I'll make certain I have some time set aside." Leslie snickered loudly, then muffled the giggle with his right hand. There was no doubt in Ana's mind that the commbadge had picked it up. (reply Haynes, iyw) "I'll see you soon sir, Ripley out." She had no sooner closed the channel than Leslie dropped his hand and started laughing nearly uncontrollably. His eyes watered and he clutched his gut making sounds of "Oh" and breathing heavily as he struggled to recover his breath. Laughter truly was one of the best medicines known to mental science, and Jack Haynes had just given Ana the perfect tool to help heal Crewman First class Leslie Peterson. Leslie was wiping the tears from his eyes when the door chime sounded to her office. Ana gave him another smile and moved slowly across the room to give the crewman a chance to compose himself. She reached the door and pressed the entry button. normally it would have slipped open on it's own, but when she was in session, it tended not to do so due to the privacy settings. Standing there was the first officer and the new assistant Chief of the science department, Lieutenant Braken. She gestured that they should come inside. Once through the door Leslie quickly excused himself with a brief, "See you next week counselor" to which Ana nodded and waved at him as the door closed behind him. She then turned her attentions to the two new arrivals. "How can I be of assistance?" She asked. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Councillor’s Office, ACSO Bracken, 14:50) Dale entered alongside Haynes, looking around the room as she did so. Before either of them had a chance to speak, an auburn haired Crewman First Class exited his simple sentence of departure, confirming their next week’s appointment, the doors closed behind him, leaving the three officers in the sanctity of the office. The young, attractive councillor turned to both of them, some six inches shorter than Dale, she still seemed to fill the office with personality; despite Dale’s current state of mind, she found herself beginning to relax "How can I be of assistance?" She asked. Dale paused slightly before speaking, not really knowing why, “Councillor, I....I could do with some of your time.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8, COUNS, Ensign Anamitra Ripley- 1455) "How can I be of assistance?" Ana asked. Dale paused slightly before speaking,“Counselor, I....I could do with some of your time.” The woman was definitely in need of someone to talk to and Ana wasn't about to turn her away. "Of course." She replied with a smile. "Have a seat Lieutenant. I'll be right with you. Right after I show Lieutenant Haynes out." (Reply Braken iyw) Ana gestured to the man, gave them both a smile and then stepped forward to place her hand gently on his elbow to guide him towards the door. Once they were fairly well out of earshot of Lieutenant Bracken, Ana spoke softly to he First Officer. "Mister Haynes, I appreciate your escorting personnel here who need counseling assistance, and I suspect that you are doing so under the Captain's orders, so I'll be brief." She paused for a second as she framed her words. "I've found that it is less intimidating for people to need to report to a counselor if they are not escorted here, but rather allowed to report on their own. For the majority of individuals, save for those that could cause themselves immediate injury, they'll report readily enough if given an order to do so. That said, I would appreciate it if you'd stop marching people in need to my door and simply let them know they should report to me directly. Once they've left, a simple communication to let me know they are on the way will be more than sufficient." "Don't get me wrong, it's a noble thing that you're doing, but it's also a bit awkward for the person being escorted. I hope you understand, it can make my job here a lot more complicated." (reply Haynes) "Thank you lieutenant, please convey my thoughts on the matter to the Captain, and let her know that if she requires further information or clarification, I'd be glad to meet with her at her convenience. But for now, I have someone who needs me. If you'll excuse us?" (reply Haynes) Once the lieutenant was gone. Ana turned back to the woman sitting in her office. She smiled and then headed over to join her, stopping just long enough to retrieve a tea service. She took as eat across form the woman, smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Ana." She then offered her hand. (reply Dale) "May I call you Dale?" (reply Bracken) "Why don't you tell me how I can be of service today Dale, and I'll make us some lovely tea to go along with our conversation?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8, Hallway, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes- 1458) "Of course." Ana said to Dale with a smile. "Have a seat Lieutenant. I'll be right with you. Right after I show Lieutenant Haynes out." She gave a nod toward Jack then grabbed his elbow as she walked past him and he walked with her out of the office, after they had moved a bit down the corridor she turned and gave him a look full of meaning and began speaking softly so they wouldn't be overheard. "Mister Haynes, I appreciate your escorting personnel here who need counseling assistance, and I suspect that you are doing so under the Captain's orders, so I'll be brief." She stopped for a pregnant pause and Jack knew he was about to get it in a 'nice' way so he gave a knowing nod as he steeled himself. "I've found that it is less intimidating for people who need to report to a counselor if they are not escorted here, but rather allowed to report on their own. For the majority of individuals, save for those that could cause themselves immediate injury, they'll report readily enough if given an order to do so. That said, I would appreciate it if you'd stop marching people in need to my door and simply let them know they should report to me directly. Once they've left, a simple communication to let me know they are on the way will be more than sufficient." His mouth quirked in a sort of embarassed smile at the polite dressing down he was being given, she had hit the nail right on the head as it were. The truth was he didn't enjoy bringing people down like some sort of armed guard any more than she enjoyed him doing the same and would love to be given an excuse not to do so. "Don't get me wrong, it's a noble thing that you're doing, but it's also a bit awkward for the person being escorted. I hope you understand, it can make my job here a lot more complicated." "Believe me Counselor,: He said with lowered voice matching her own. "I get no enjoyment out of it." "Thank you lieutenant, please convey my thoughts on the matter to the Captain, and let her know that if she requires further information or clarification, I'd be glad to meet with her at her convenience. But for now, I have someone who needs me. If you'll excuse us?" "Of course." He gave a sharp nod. "I will relay your concerns to the Captain and do not anticipate us having this conversation again ." He gave her a quick grin to let her know he empathized. "Good day Counselor." Then turned on his heel and walked quickly down the hallway toward the turbolift, confident Dr. Bracken was in good hands. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, Deck 8, Counselling, ACSO Bracken - 1458.5) "Of course." She replied with a smile. "Have a seat Lieutenant. I'll be right with you. Right after I show Lieutenant Haynes out." Dale nodded and smiled a quiet thanks, before stepping away from the other two, taking a seat that by the layout of the room, looked as though it had been placed for the counsellors patients and visitors. The counsellor herself remained by the door, Dale read her body language as she and the FO spoke, gently, but firmly guiding him out of the office. Once the lieutenant was gone. Ana turned back to her, and smiled then headed over to join her, stopping just long enough to retrieve a tea service. She took as eat across from Dale, and smiled once more, the friendly action dissolving any unease that Dale may have had, gently, she spoke "Hello, I'm Ana." She offered her hand, which Dale took up, each person perhaps reading the other through the friendly handshake. “Hello Ana, thank you for seeing me.” "May I call you Dale?" Dale smiled gently and pleasantly, “Of course, I’d be more insulted if you didn’t. I’m not going to struggle with ‘Counsellor’, ‘Ensign Ripley’ or who knows what else, so I don’t expect you to trip over ‘Lieutenant’, ‘Dr Bracken’ or knows what kind of horrific combination of the above. Dale would be fine. I prefer the informal” "Why don't you tell me how I can be of service today Dale, and I'll make us some lovely tea to go along with our conversation?" “Mmm, tea would be lovely, I drink far too much coffee, Daddy’s always...” She stopped, realising that she was in serious danger of just babbling away. “You of course know of the situation with the Onyx?” She paused once more, putting her thoughts into order in her mind, “Aimee’s father is the ACEO on it.” (Reply Ana) Dale hardly heard the reply, despite her outgoing, whimsical nature; she was quite a private person, lonely to some regard, and generally opened up to very very few people, Ana however, seemed to have a way about her, something about her made Dale want to speak, want to share her troubles. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8, Counseling, COUNS, Ensign Anamitra Ripley - 1459) Dales seemed to be a little more at ease once Ana had introduced herself to the woman. There seemed to be a genuine warmth behind her smile, although there was a hint of worry as well. “Mmm, tea would be lovely, I drink far too much coffee, Daddy’s always...” She stopped, pausing for a moment as she organized her thoughts, “You of course know of the situation with the Onyx?” Ana nodded rather than spoke so as not to interrupt Dale's train of thought. The woman paused once more, as if putting her thoughts into order in her mind, “Aimee’s father is the ACEO on it.” "Ah..." Ana replied, with an understanding that was inherently universal among women. "and you still have some feelings for him?" she added. "I can see why you'd be upset." Ana placed her cup of tea to the side, and regarded the woman with a slight smile. "You know, there's a good chance that the Onyx is just experiencing a minor mechanical problem or some interference that has put her out of contact. So far there's no evidence to suggest that the crew are in any danger." "But even so, that doesn't stop you from worrying." Ana added, empathizing with the woman seated across from her. "it's a perfectly natural state of emotions when there is the potential of someone that you care for being hurt or lost." Ana was doing nothing more than putting words to the thoughts that Dale was most likely feeling at the moment. "Were you close? I mean after Aimee was born?" she asked. "Tell me about it." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck 8, Counselling, ACSO Bracken - 1500) Dale felt herself relax even more as Ana began to speak, reaching for the tea nearest her, and shifted slightly on the seat tucking one leg under the knee of the other before taking a sip. She felt the warm, fragrant blend run pleasantly over her tongue, the aromatic flavours warming her throat and nose. Her Father had always been an advocate of ‘the healing properties of a nice cup of tea,’ Dale herself had always, up until now at least preferred coffee, enjoying the strong, rich flavour, and the punch of the first caffeine of the day, now though, the delicacy of the tea she found soothing. "Ah..." Ana replied, with an understanding that was inherently universal among women. "and you still have some feelings for him?" she added. "I can see why you'd be upset." Ana placed her cup of tea to the side, and regarded the woman with a slight smile. "You know, there's a good chance that the Onyx is just experiencing a minor mechanical problem or some interference that has put her out of contact. So far there's no evidence to suggest that the crew are in any danger." "But even so, that doesn't stop you from worrying." Ana added, empathizing with her. "it's a perfectly natural state of emotions when there is the potential of someone that you care for being hurt or lost. Were you close? I mean after Aimee was born?" she asked. "Tell me about it." Dale nodded gently, “We really fell out during the last trimester I suppose. When we met, He was really sweet. The first time we actually met was when I was still in the med facility recuperating from the severe brain trauma I’d suffered. Details are in my notes I think, I forget exactly. Anyway...” she sipped the tea once more. “Jason had come to fix some faulty equipment and we took a liking to each other. He visited me occasionally, and we started dating when I was discharged.” Dale sighed gently, enjoying the feeling of being able to talk to someone about all of this. “I fell pregnant and things changed more or less immediately. He was still caring and such, but didn’t let me do anything. You don’t know me that well, but I have to be doing something, I can’t just sit by and let things happen around me. That was the reason for the PhD, it was work, hard study, and kept me from going mad during those months. You can imagine, a former CSO/2O like I’d been, being prevented from doing anything? (Reply Ana) Dale chuckled gently, “Got that right. Anyway, roughly the beginning of the third trimester I just snapped, we argued severely, and broke up just after. Jason took a posting on the Onyx a month or two later, he said it was just a random reassignment, but I always knew that it was coming at some point.” She looked at Ana directly, but searched in herself. “Do I still love him? No, Do I still care about him; of course. The major issue is with Aimee though. “I didn’t want the same thing to happen to her as happened to me.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Ready Room, CO Captain Eva Straton, 17:00) "Ensign T'Vof, report to my Ready Room," Eva said, tapping her comm-badge. (reply T'Vof) When the channel closed she nodded at Lt. Haynes who was already seated across her desk from her, drink in hand. They had been discussing ship business for some time. They didn't have to wait long until the door buzzer sounded. "Come," Eva said, before taking a sip of her own drink as EnsignT'Vof walked in. "Have a seat Ensign," Eva said, motioning to the empty seat next to Lt. Haynes. (Reply T'Vof) "Lt. Haynes and I have been discussing various matters of ships business and the subject of Second Officer came up," Eva said, as always getting right to the point. "We discussed several candidates and after much discussion your name rose to the top. Both Lt. Haynes and myself feel you would be perfect for the position. If you're willing to take on the added responsibilities, the position is yours." (Reply T'Vof) "With the added responsibilities comes a promotion to Lt.(jg) as well," Eva continued, pushing the small box containing the small black pip toward T'Vof. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Bridge, CTAC/SC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof, 1701) Lo'ren was seated in the centre chair. After the battle with the Waagoshin,she'd been getting a lot more hot seat time. She wasn't sure if it was because Baylon had been out of touch or if it was easier than calling up Lt.Wright or what but it was an interesting change from sitting at Tactical all day. The comm system chimed and Lo'ren heard the Captain over her badge, =/\=Ensign T'Vof, report to my Ready Room.=/\= Slightly surprised and completely clueless as to why she was being summoned, Lo'ren stood, "On my way, T'Vof out." She closed the link and turned quickly to Rick Darson, "You have the CONN, Lieutenant." (reply Rick iyw) Lo'ren made the short trip to the Ready Room, running through the last few days in her head. ~What did I do?~ She paused before the door and hit the chime signal. =/\=Come.=/\= The door slid aside and Lo'ren walked through. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, Ready Room, CTAC/SC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof, 1703) Eva Straton sipped her drink and then motioned to the empty chair next to Jack. "Have a seat Ensign." Lo'ren slid into the seat, "Thank you, Captain." She was completely at a loss as to what was going on and Jack's emotions were not helping, all she was getting from him was... pride, and she had no idea why. She didn't have to wait long to find out, Eva Straton was not one to beat around the bush. "Lt. Haynes and I have been discussing various matters of ships business and the subject of Second Officer came up. We discussed several candidates and after much discussion your name rose to the top. Both Lt. Haynes and myself feel you would be perfect for the position. If you're willing to take on the added responsibilities, the position is yours." Lo'ren held her breath for a moment, her eyebrow the only outward sign of her surprised state. Clearing her throat she spoke, "Oh. Well, thank you Captain." She fell silent, trying to find words that would be appropriate. Straton pushed the standard mahogany pip box across the desk as she continued, "With the added responsibilities comes a promotion to Lt.(jg) as well." Lo'ren looked at the box, her mind running to the four corners of the universe and back again. Bringing her eyes up, She looked first at Jack and then to Eva, "May I ask what the responsibilities of the position are?" (reply Straton, Jack, rfm?) Lo'ren tilted her head, finding something amusing in that, "If you and Jack agree, Captain... Who am I to argue? I hope I can live up to the trust you've shown me." She picked up and opened the hinged lid, looking down at the new hollow pip. ~Amazing how something so small can be so meaningful.~ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, Personal Quarters, CTAC/SC Ensign Lo'ren T'Vof, 18:40) Lo'ren had her security and Tactical teams running at her personally designated Black Alert levels. Extra drills were being made, those off duty had to post at least one time per day on the Target Range or running Tactical simulations of some kind, rather than the normal three per week.Her standard was a 95% success rate in the simulations and on the range. The posted scores had to fall in that - they could pratice as much as they wanted, or as little - Lo'ren wasn't foolish, she knew how alert statuse scould play havok on abilities. She wasn't ready yet to run double shifts either, except the bridge where being lax could be an issue. Tonight she'd decided to shirk the office, even if she couldn't shirk the duties. Lounging on the couch in the main living area, she was wearing a slimming pair of midnight blue pants with a white button down shirt and a flowing emerald wrap over top. She was still reading reports though and her face was a mask of concentration. Her drill schedule had been sent to the Captain a couple of hours ago, but she was working on rotations should double shifting need to happen. Rubbing her eyes, Lo'ren dropped the padd on the table nearby and sighed.She looked around and set her eyes on her Vulcan Lute, displayed on the wall near the entrance to the bedroom. She smiled, got up and went over to it -releasing the delicate instrument from the wall stand. Moving back to the couch Lo'ren sat down and nestled the instrument next to her neck and shoulder. She began playing a contemplative melody - the same one that she'd concentrated on when she'd worked with Riven in their first session. It layered her emotions and told a story of who she'd become in the past few months. She interwove human melodies with a low Vulcan ostinato and a Bajoran harmony, making an unfamiliarly familiar composition emerge. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be lost in the music. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Observation Lounge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 1900 hours) They were due to arrive at the last known location of the Onyx shortly and due to circumstances surrounding its disappearance the Alpha shift senior officers were on standby awaiting call-up, if something was found to be amiss then they would be expected to resume their bridge posts on a moments notice which conditions the yellow alert signified. The senior officers had then been ordered after 1600 hours to go to their cabins and try to get a bit of rest since there was a possibility they would be needed. Beta shift was currently manning the bridge. The command crew's responsibility ran miuch deeper however, Captain Straton was in her Ready Room and since he was the First Officer though not yet sporting a normal command rank he was hanging around the bridge as well. Once he finished his command training however he had every right to believe that detail would be rectified. If everything turned out OK with the diplomatic vessel then so much the better, they would give the necessary instructions, lend what help was needed if any then retire for the night. Jack was staring out the window sipping a cup of coffee when he his combadge began to demand his attention with three sharp tones. =^= Lieutenant Haynes would you come to the bridge please?=^= It was Ensign Fredricks, the science officer who had been moved to Beta shift recently. "I'll be right there." He said after activating it. Setting his mug upon the table with a sharp 'clop' he stood up and made for the door. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 1905 hours) Long strides carried Jack past the command chair where Lt. Adams was sitting, as an officer with bridge experience he had been cut loose from duty early and brought back once Alpha shift had been excused, he had been manning the conn since. The viewscreen was filled with starry space, no ship had as of yet been detected then. The yellow alert lamp was still pulsing silently. Ens. Fredericks turned the chair at the main science console as he approached. "What is it Mr. Fredericks?" "Nothing sir, scans of the area the Onyx was last reported to be in show no signs of the ship." ~Not good my boy, what next?~ "Begin sweeping the area with long range scanners and then continue out in a thorough search pattern beginning with those coordinates, look for signs of a warp trail or any abnormal activity." "Yes sir." While the officer was carrying out his orders he tapped his combadge. "Captain your prescence is requested on the brdge." It would be her call as to whether the senior crew should be called up to deal with current events. (Reply: Straton) "Sir I'm picking up an abnormally high tachyon emission at 1.2 light years from our present position, coordinates. 45628349." Fredericks called from behind him as the door to the Ready Room swished open, Jack saw Eva striding onto the bridge out of the corner of his eye as he turned. "Bring the sensors to their highest resolution and scan that area thoroughly." He barked. "I want to know what's there and what is causing it." He suppressed the urge to take over the scans himself, as the CSO he had every right to do so but he needed to learn to delegate authority and Fredericks was a deft hand with the sensors, if needed he could step in. "Yes sir." (Reply: Straton) Jack turned to her. "The Onyx is not at her last known coordinates Captain but we are picking up abnormally high tachyon emissions 1.2 light years from our current position. The energy signature is being analyzed now and we'll know soon what is causing this high of a particle signature. There are no known phenomenon currently logged in that area of space that could account for it. I recommend a closer investigation." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, Bridge, CO Captain Eva Straton, 19:07) Eva stepped out of her Ready Room to hear Lt. Haynes barking orders. "Bring the sensors to their highest resolution and scan that area thoroughly." He barked. "I want to know what's there and what is causing it." "Report," Eva said, stepping down to the command deck. Haynes turned to her. "The Onyx is not at her last known coordinates Captain but we are picking up abnormally high tachyon emissions1.2 light years from our current position. The energy signature is being analyzed now and we'll know soon what is causing this high of a particle signature. There are no known phenomenon currently logged in that area of space that could account for it. I recommend a closer investigation." "Plot an intercept course," She ordered, as she sat down in her chair. "and engage the cloak. Call the senior officers to the Bridge.Order the Marines and Sickbay to be standing by." The lights on the Bridge dimmed as the ship cloaked and her orders were carried out and soon the other senior officers began arriving on the Bridge to take over their stations. "Keep an eye out for any other ships in the area," Eva instructed Tactical. "I don't want any surprises." The minutes ticked away as the Hades drew closer to the abnormal tachyon emissions. Eva rested back in her command chair, her eyes on the main view screen waiting for something to happen. Eventually a ship came into view on the view screen. Eva frowned. ~The Onyx.~ The USS Onyx was floating, completely powerless, in space her nacelles normally alive with power were dark and lifeless. Not a single sign of life could be seen on the ship anywhere, yet her hull seemed completely intact. No signs of weapon damage, no hull breaches, no damage of any kind. "Hail them," Eva ordered, "And a full sensor sweep. " "No response," OPS replied a few seconds latter, "Could be because of all the interference. Sensors are also effected, having a hard time getting any solid readings." Eva looked over at Lt. Haynes and with a nod of her head indicated for him to take over the Science station. She waited, giving him a few moments to go over the data coming in and to confer with his people. (Reply Haynes) Eva listened to the report her frown growing. ~Something doesn't feel right about this.~ She thought. "Can we beam over to the ship?" She asked, "Perhaps if we narrowed the annular confinement beam to cut throug hthe interference?" She had been a Combat Engineer and thus was a certified Star Fleet engineer. (reply Engineer on the Bridge) Eva nodded her mind made up. She pushed a button on the arm rest of her command chair opening a comm channel to the marine deck. "Colonel Drizzt, prepare your men for an away mission, and take the Angels with you. We have found the Onyx. She is powerless and apparently lifeless. You and your men will go over and secure the ship and make sure there are no surprises waiting for us on board. If you find any survivors, I want them beamed directly to sickbay. Until we know differently, I am initiating possible biological contaminate protocols. You and your men will go in full EVA mode. Any survivors will be beamed directly to the isolation ward of Sickbay to be cleared by Dr. Trommashere and her staff. I will have Lt. Haynes download all pertinent data to your armors AI." (Reply Drizzt) Her turned to look at Lt. Haynes and nodded indicating that he should carry out her orders. She then opened a channel to Sickbay. "Dr. Trommashere this is the Captain, we have found the Onyx, powerless and seemingly lifeless. I have ordered the marines aboard to secure the ship and search for survivors. I am initiating possible biological contaminate protocols. Any survivors are to be beamed directly to the isolation ward in Sickbay for a complete work up by you and your staff. I don't want to take any chances of a possible unknown contagion getting lose on this ship doctor. Have your staff standing by." (Reply Trommashere) Eva closed the channel to Sickbay and looked over at Lt. Haynes. "After the Marines have secured the ship and we are sure it's not going to explode under your feet, I want you to take over an Away Team and try to figure out what happened over there," She said, "You will need to go in EVA suits until we are sure it wasn't biological in nature. Maybe by then we will have a better idea what we are up against." She looked over at Tactical. "Maintain full tactical alert. Let's not put our guard down just in case someone is out there waiting for just that." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Bridge, FO/CSO Jericho Haynes, 19:08) The Captain didn't hesitate an instant after his recommendation had been made. "Plot an intercept course," She ordered, as she took over the conn Lt. Adams hastily vacated at her approach. He stood to the side and a bit behind the chair in case his further services were needed.. "and engage the cloak. Call the senior officers to the Bridge. Order the Marines and Sickbay to be standing by." He tapped his combadge in response. "Alpha shift officers to the bridge immediately. Lt.s Bradley, Wright, Darson and T''vof your presence is required on the bridge. Respond." (Reply: All mentioned) He then killed the line and tapped the combadge again. "Sickbay on alert, initiate emergency standby protocols." (Reply: Sickbay) After their reply he repeated the procedure. "Colonel Drizzt put your marines on standby and await further orders." (Reply: Drizzt, room for more.iyw) The lights on the bridge dimmed reminding Jack of the old earth submarines on 'silent running' as the outline of the ship wavered in space then disappeared. The called up officers were arriving as Eva snapped out more orders. "Keep an eye out for any other ships in the area," Eva ordered Lo'ren. "I don't want any surprises." “Aye” Was the sharp reply from her as she carried out the Captain's command, Jack turned his head long enough to see her tapping out a message at her terminal, her departments would be ready for anything. The wait seemed interminable as the ship drew nearer to its destination. Finally the object of their labor appeared on the screen, dead in space but outwardly undisturbed. "Hail them," Eva ordered, "And give me a full sensor sweep. " (Reply: Darson) The Captain caught Jack's eye and motioned with her head toward science 1, he wasted no time in taking over the console. His eyes were sliding over the readout before he had dropped into the chair. After he had digested the high points he began deftly running the sensors through a number of calibration and cycle changes in an attempt to get a clearer reading. Frequency degradation and particle interference though were high and the few readings he could get were spotty. Tachyonic radiation 'painted' a false background of clutter that was difficult to separate from the 'clean' scans. A quick series of adjustments and patching in the autofilter failed miserably to clear up the interference. What little he could get clearly was quickly passed along. "Captain I can see no evidence of power readings from the Onyx. Biosigns are offline and unreadable. So are internal environmental scans. Infrared scans though are picking up no discernable radiant signatures, she's indistinguishable from the space background. No signs of EM fields or emanations. For all I can tell she is a dead ship. Scans are intermittent though and inconclusive. Tachyon particle interference is high and I am getting other distortions I can't pinpoint as of yet." "Can we beam over to the ship?" Eva asked, turning to Darla, "Perhaps if we narrowed the annular confinement beam to cut through the interference?" (Reply: Darla) After speaking with the engineering officer(s) the Captain called the MCO. "Colonel Drizzt, prepare your men for an away mission, and take the Angels with you. We have found the Onyx. She is powerless and apparently lifeless. You and your men will go over and secure the ship and make sure there are no surprises waiting for us on board. If you find any survivors, I want them beamed directly to sickbay. Until we know differently, I am initiating possible biological contaminate protocols. You and your men will go in full EVA mode. Any survivors will be beamed directly to the isolation ward of Sickbay to be cleared by Dr. Trommashere and her staff. I will have Lt. Haynes download all pertinent data to your armors AI." (Reply Drizzt) Jack caught her nod and tapped in the code that mated the bridge station to the Marine's AI frequency then dowloaded the data he had gathered so far onto it. The data would be immediately available to the MCO and his troop via the HUD in their Pallas helmets. This was being carried out as she issued instructions to medical. "Dr. Trommashere this is the Captain, we have found the Onyx, powerless and seemingly lifeless. I have ordered the marines aboard to secure the ship and search for survivors. I am initiating possible biological contaminate protocols. Any survivors are to be beamed directly to the isolation ward in Sickbay for a complete work up by you and your staff. I don't want to take any chances of a possible unknown contagion getting loose on this ship doctor. Have your staff standing by." (Reply Trommashere) Jack was next in line once again for instructions, he turned his full attention to her as she snapped out orders in his direction. "After the Marines have secured the ship and we are sure it's not going to explode under your feet, I want you to take over an Away Team and try to figure out what happened over there," She said, "You will need to go in EVA suits until we are sure it wasn't biological in nature. Maybe by then we will have a better idea what we are up against." "Aye Captain." He said as he turned back to the board and began formulating a plan and roster for the away team mission. This was followed by further instructions to tactical. "Maintain full tactical alert. Let's not put our guard down just in case someone is out there waiting for just that." “Yes, Ma’am.” Lo'ren replied. “Captain, you need to know. I can’t bring the Onyx up on my Tactical sweeps. It could be the Tachyon interference, but it could also be something else. I’ve tried several rotations and am still getting nothing.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades, Bridge, CTAC/SC Ensign Lo’ren T’Vof, 19:10) Lo’ren slipped into the Tactical station motioning CPO Andrew Jessiman to go to an auxiliary station rather than leave the bridge entirely. Ensign George Hanvey stayed seated at TAC II. She’d not bothered to change, the ship being in cloak making her presence on the Bridge more pressing than being in proper uniform. If Straton didn’t like it, Lo’ren would take her lumps. She shrugged the bright green silk wrap over the back of the chair, however, to free herself up for the work at hand. "Keep an eye out for any other ships in the area," Eva instructed Tactical."I don't want any surprises." Lo’ren nodded at the order, stating a simple “Aye” as she brought the tactical sensors to bear in a rotating sweep. She sent a quick message to George and Andrew. [George, monitor the cloak and shields. Andrew, check weapons.] The pair simply nodded and got to their jobs. They were capable officers who knew when to keep themselves quiet and when to make noise. Lo’ren felt the tension on the Bridge, and the consternation coming off Jack. Not only were they pulled away from their scientific mission, but now there was a missing ship and a mystery happening. Lo’ren certainly wasn’t immune to it, her sweeps were bringing up nothing and she was as anxious as anyone to find the Onyx and take her crew back home. Time went slowly when you were waiting for anything and so it felt to Lo’ren like hours had passed before the Onyx came into view. Lo’ren tried to bring her scans to bear on the Onyx, she should have been alerted to its presence well before this. ~Nothing.~ She could see it, but she got nothing, much like the Onyx seemed to have aboard her. "Hail them," Eva ordered, "And a full sensor sweep." "No response," OPS replied a few seconds later, "Could be because of all the interference. Sensors are also affected, having a hard time getting any solid readings." The Captain indicated that Jack should take over the Science Station. As he moved Lo’ren felt a bit of relief from him. ~He misses being a full time scientist.~ Lo’ren held onto her feelings of sadness, the distraction would do neither of them any good. (Reply Haynes) The Captain continued searching for answers calling upon the engineer on the bridge to answer. "Can we beam over to the ship?" She asked, "Perhaps if we narrowed the annular confinement beam to cut through the interference?" (reply Engineer on the Bridge) After listening to the information, Captain Straton nodded and called out the Marines. "Colonel Drizzt, prepare your men for an away mission, and take the Angels with you. We have found the Onyx. She is powerless and apparently lifeless.You and your men will go over and secure the ship and make sure there are no surprises waiting for us on board. If you find any survivors, I want them beamed directly to sickbay. Until we know differently, I am initiating possible biological contaminate protocols. You and your men will go in full EVA mode. Any survivors will be beamed directly to the isolation ward of Sickbay to be cleared by Dr. Trommashere and her staff. I will have Lt. Haynes download all pertinent data to your armors AI." (Reply Drizzt) Jack started moving, presumably sending out the needed information as Straton continued to contact departments around the ship, passing orders out like candy. "Dr. Trommashere this is the Captain, we have found the Onyx, powerless and seemingly lifeless. I have ordered the marines aboard to secure the ship and search for survivors. I am initiating possible biological contaminate protocols. Any survivors are to be beamed directly to the isolation ward in Sickbay for a complete work up by you and your staff. I don't want to take any chances of a possible unknown contagion getting loose on this ship doctor. Have your staff standing by." (Reply Trommashere) Eva closed the channel to Sickbay and looked over at Lt. Haynes. "After the Marines have secured the ship and we are sure it's not going to explode under your feet, I want you to take over an Away Team and try to figure out what happened over there," She said, "You will need to go in EVA suits until we are sure it wasn't biological in nature. Maybe by then we will have a better idea what we are up against." The Captain’s head swiveled towards Lo’ren’s station, "Maintain full tactical alert. Let's not put our guard down just in case someone is out there waiting for just that." Lo’ren nodded, “Yes, Ma’am.” She tapped out a message that got sent to every active Tactical Station across the Ship. [Maintain Full Tac Alert. Possibility of Hostiles high.] Lo’ren took the opportunity while the Captain was still turned somewhat towards Tactical, “Captain, you need to know. I can’t bring the Onyx up on my Tactical sweeps. It could be the Tachyon interference, but it could also be something else. I’ve tried several rotations and am still getting nothing.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Bridge, ACEO Haywood Parker, 1911) It was getting old, having everybody tip-toeing around him as though afraid to upset a delicate porcelain statue. Yes, he was still healing, but he'd been deemed by Angeni to be well enough to resume duty, and he expected that much to be respected. However, he had finally found the chance to shave what was becoming a very sloppy beard, and he was now pleased that the stubble on his head outweighed the hair on his cheeks. Never one to over-utilize his office, yet also terribly tired of biobeds, he sat on the floor between to beds, his back against the bulkhead and his PADD balanced on his knees. This was becoming his signature place, and it seemed that the sickbay staff were starting to check here before even bothering with his office when in need of his assistance. The COMM chirped, and seeing that no one else was on the way to answer it, Haywood gathered himself and began the stressful task of getting to his feet. His chest was still sore, and the effort of standing all the way up from the floor agitated a dull ache. =^=Sickbay on alert, initiate emergency standby protocols.=^= It was Jack. Haywood leaned into the button to hold it down. Though it was becoming easier, speaking was still little less than an obstacle, so it took several moments for him to collect his thoughts in order to get them out all at once. "... You gotcha, sir." He finally managed, pleased that the words were all attached like a real sentence. Silence followed, and Haywood assumed Jack had closed the connection. So, he bit his lower lip and turned slowly on his heel as not to trigger the headache he'd been battling for the past two days. "Everyone... on your toes!" He called into the bay. Again, it took a while for him to get the words organized in his head, but it was good enough. "... We're gonna need back-up hypos of ...Ambizine and ... Melorazine as well as some back-up... Borathium and ...Derm-a-line." Slightly annoyed and unsure of the reason 'dermaline' had been so hard to say, He cleared his throat and walked over to his office to ready himself for the upcoming action. Things certainly were fast-paced around here! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Onyx, Bridge, MXO, Major Kgrik, 19:15) Kgrik and his team of marines materialized around the bridge ofthe Onyx weapons raised. The bridge was completely dark, every station was dark and lifeless, and except for the marines the Bridge was complete deserted. Kgrik frowned as he the rest of the marines began to move out in the pitch darkness searching for the crew of the Onyx or any clue of what might of happened to them. The Pallas helmet allowed the marines to move in the pitch darkness of the bridge without and need of an obvious light source. As a Catian, Kgrik's night vision was far superior than his fellow marines but even he couldn't see in total darkness. "Stay sharp marines," Krgik said over the marine only channel, "This place make my tail twitch. I don't like it, not at all. CE's get to work. Hendez, Wendell your with me. We're going to sweep check the Ready Room." =\=I'm getting some odd sensor reading Major,=\= Sergeant Alwood said, looking at the taccorder on his weapon. =\=Me too,=\= Private Marcello added. Kgrik growled in acknowledgment and waved his hand. The two CE's that had been dispatched as part of his team got to work sweeping the Bridge for explosives while Kgrik, Hedez and Wendell moved toward the Ready Room door. Kgrik had been a CE himself for seven years and was still certified as a CE though not technically a member of the Fallen Angels squad, he still carried his own little bag of goodies. He opened his bag and of tools and got to work on the door's locking mechanism. Within a few minutes he was able to cut through the lock and the door popped open slightly. Kgrik checked his taccorder reading and frowned. ~These reading can't be right.~ He thought. He know better than to just go charging through a door without checking for explosives. The readings he'd gotten before he'd popped the door hadn't indicated any explosives, but now he'd gotten just for an instant an indication that the Ready Room was rigged to blow if the door was opened. Now though it was reading clear, no sign of explosives or anything unusual. He shook his head and recalibrated his taccorder to make sure it wasn't an equipment malfunction. Then scanned the room again to make absolutely sure that the room was clear before nodding to Hendez and Wendell to open the door the rest of the way. Kgrik knelt down to one side of the door and raised his rifle as they forced the door. The strength augments in their armor allowed Hendez and Wendell to open the door with one arm while holding their rifle at the ready with their other arm. The door open and no immediate reaction from within, Kgrik, Hendez and Wendell moved into the Ready Room to find it as empty as the Bridge. As they searched the room, Kgrik noticed a half full cup of coffee still sitting on the captain's desk next to PADD. As if the captain had been sitting at his desk when whatever had befallen his ship had happened. "Kgrik to Colonel Drizzt,"Kgrik said, as he turned and moved back toward the Bridge, "The bridge is secured. It's deserted. No bodies, no survivors and completely dead. Even the backup's seem to have failed. Also getting some really odd sensor readings. Almost like sensor ghosts. We're getting ready to move down to Deck 2." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Onyx – Bridge – CE 3rd Lt Aurik Barsh – 1916) Aurik heard the order and quickly started sweeping the port side with his taccorder, motioning his counterpart to sweep the starboard. His sweep was clear all the way around but he kept going and passed the other CE who was going the opposite direction. He listened to the chatter and kept note of the important bits. He frowned at his idiot taccorder and shook it. The readings were varying wildly as he continued on. One minute a whole console was a ticking timebomb. The next, nothing. ~I checked this frell thing before we came.~ Hechecked it, recallibrating it and rescanning the offending console. Aurik hated to sound like an echo but he had to chime in, “Major, My taccorder's giving me some odd readings too.” (reply Kgrik) “Visual sweep is clear, sir. No explosives present. But this is SNAFU, sir.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- end compile