"In Charge"
by Lieutenant Mark Thaine
and Ensign Jenara Redman

Location: Jefferies Tubes, U.S.S. Sulu
Stardate 57906.24 09h47

***

Jenara crawled through the Jefferies tubes towards engineering. She whistled softly to herself as she continued to work on the communications grid. Lieutenant Sam had detected a small overload in the grid, and felt it would be better to check now for any minor problems before they became major problems.

An hour ago, Jenara had detected a minor phase variation in the transponder relays, which was causing a 12% signal loss in ship-to-surface communications. Quickly correcting the problem, she had spent the last hour checking other areas to see if anything was out of place.

Satisfied that the rest of the system was in order she began climbing down the ladder into engineering. Reaching the bottom she turned around and saw, standing patiently with arms folded across his chest, a tall, dark featured man with a pip and a half on his collar, looking at her. The expression on his face was unreadable, but it gave Jenara the impression he wasn't too pleased.

"Ensign Redman?" he said, his gaze still fixed upon her.

Jenara stood up straighter as she replied, "Yes, Sir."

"I've been trying to find you all morning. Where the hell have you been?" The gaze turned into a glare.

"Lieutenant Sam had noticed a few errors in the communications system. He asked me to try and correct the problem. I discovered a minor phase variation in the transponder relays. It was causing a signal loss in ship to surface communications and was also causing some minor problems in intraship communications as well. Perhaps your messages weren't getting through to me in the Jefferies tube," she said, hoping he'd be impressed with her problem solving.

Thaine regarded her for a moment, and then nodded. "Just don't ever make me spend another hour chasing you through Jefferies tubes." Seeing her puzzled look, Thaine sighed. "I'm joking with you, Ensign," he said, shaking his head. "Come on, I need your help. I'm Lieutenant Thaine, by the way." He motioned to the doors of Main Engineering, and the two officers began walking towards it. "The crew here say you're a dab hand with a phase inverter....?"

"Yes, sir. May I ask what you needed help with?" she asked with a good deal of confidence.

"Well..." said Thaine, who then proceeded to glance around conspiratorially. Apparently satisfied, he leaned in close to the younger engineer. "I've only just arrived here...and you know this girl a hell of a lot better than I do..." he whispered. And then, with a sense of melodramatic urgency, he added, "but don't you dare let that on to the rest of the crew!

"As for where we're going," Thaine said in a much louder voice as he resumed his normal distance from Jen, "that will be revealed in good time..."

***

"Now, considering you spent the entire morning in the 'tubes, I'm expecting you to be able to tell me exactly where we are, Ensign," said Thaine, as he pulled himself into a sitting position inside the narrow confines of a Jefferies Tube intersection.

Jenara spotted a small identification tag at the corners marked J-516 and J-909 and tried not to let Thaine see it as she responded, "Well, Sir, we are at the intersection of tubes 516 and 909. Perhaps you could tell me why we are here now?" Smiling politely, she waited for Thaine to respond.

"Hmph. Not bad. Alright, you wanna know why you're here?" Mark tried to make himself a little more comfortable in the cramped confines of the 'tubes, but soon gave up. "Well, to cut a long story short, I had a friend once who worked on the Intrepid development program. And he told me quite a few of the...kinks in the design, ones that they didn't have time to iron out before they started building the things. This is one of them." He gestured to the access panel in front of him.

"See, this thing has a habit of overloading. It's not pretty in the middle of a battle, and it's not pretty when someone is in here. So, we need to replace it with a bigger conduit. It's a big job, because this power line feeds directly to the secondary sensor grid...so, we need to re-route it before we turn it off and replace it."

Jenara nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so here's what I want you to do. Go grab whoever you feel would help you the most, and get re-routing. Once that's done, you'll join me down here again and we'll beam in a replacement part, and install it. I need it done fast, because it leaves us vulnerable while we're doing the work, and safely, because it's damaned dangerous if done in a rush. Think you're up to it?"

Jenara paused to think just who might be qualified to do the job but couldn't come up with any immediate names. Her eyes beamed slightly as she looked at Thaine and said, "Sir, I'm not sure who all is qualified to do this. Perhaps you could suggest some people to help with this project?"

"No," said Thaine, bluntly, without even the hint of a smile. "That should be your first task. All the crew's biographies are on the computer, and you should have access to the relevant data. In other words, Ensign...you're in charge for this bit. That pip on your collar gives you the authority, and it obviously means your Academy instructors thought you were capable enough for it. I suggest you prove them right."

Jenara tried not to appear too eager as Thaine left, and paused a moment before heading for the maintenance terminal in the next passageway. Pulling up the engineering manifest, she saw that Petty Officer Patrick Riley and Crewman Korel M'Shanga were both qualified to handle this responsibility. Tapping her badge, she asked the computer to page both of them to her current location.

---

"Reintroductions"
By: Commander Lyrr Tayla
Doctor Sean O'Shea

Stardate 57906.24, 10h17
Location: Main Transporter Room, USS Sulu

***

Lyrr Tayla had done all she could to delegate the duty now appointed to her, but considering Lt. Sam was manning the helm, and Matt was already occupied, she was the only senior staff member left who could perform in this qausi-ambassadorial capacity. Of all the tasks assigned to a commander, greeting the arrival of this particular senior officer was one of them she would prefer wasn't one of her responsibilities.

She arrived in the transporter room early so she could compose herself and mentally prepare the short greeting she would give the new doctor once he materialized before her. As she stood before the empty transporter pad, Lyrr Tayla closed her eyes and sighed. It had been over three years since she'd last seen Sean. She remembered that last shore leave vividly. Still a Lieutenant, but sailing through the ranks, she'd returned to Bajor for a much needed rest, but she could have done that on any planet. Yes, her foster parents were there and she always took advantage of any opportunity to visit them; but it was the prospect of once again bumping into the handsome frontier doctor who, for years, had been practicing advanced medicine in her farming village that drew here home.

Why he had chosen to make his living in one of the more destitute areas of Bajor, she would never know, but his presence alone - tending to Bajorans who doubtfully could have afforded his services had he charged them the money he was worth - was enough to give her an idea of just what Sean O'Shea was all about. If he had been a different kind of man, an amoral one willing to exploit those in desperate need of his services, he would have offered them hope, and taken in return more than they had to give. But not Sean.

She often laughed fondly whenever she thought back to the first time they met. Always wary of outsiders, Lyrr was prepared to drive him out of the province for preying upon her people, who were still recovering from the ravages of the Occupation. Still a young woman full of fire and far less tame than she was now, Lyrr didn't shy away from marching up to him and scolding him on the shamefulness of cheating destitute Bajorans out of the scant amount of money they worked so arduously to save up. She didn't recall spitting on him, but she figured she would have at least thought about doing so. Of course, she stalked off before he could reassure her that his intentions were not as dubious as she apparently thought them to be, but over a series of other encounters, and observing him with the villagers, she soon came to realize his intentions were admirable.

It was a long time before she could bring herself to apologize to him, and after she finally did, they laughed about the incident. She didn't consciously think of their relationship in terms of friendship, but with as much time as they'd spent talking and enjoying laughs together, she couldn't deny now that it definitely was just that. She had looked forward to every shore leave after that, then one day, he was just gone. She felt spurned and for the first time ever, hurt. Of course he had no obligations to inform her of his departure, but a short note would have at least allayed her anger and sense of rejection. Though, what did she expect from a man compared to whom she was still a child?

Lyrr pursed her lips to fend off a curse of frustration and opened her eyes just as the transporter was being activated. Now, that man who had once been her first and only friend was back, and Lyrr had no idea how she would react.

The glimmering stream changed shape and resolved into the figure of the lofty man with a bag hanging from his shoulder, his others materializing at his feet. He was still handsome, even after all those years; in fact, she couldn't help noting how well aging suited his features. The eyes still held that sparkle that had fluttered the hearts of numerous young ladies from her farming village, and which had charmed her on more than one occasion as well. But, she was Commander Lyrr Tayla now, and not one dashing smile or roguish wink would sway her now, and if he thought that was all it would take to gain her forgiveness for the injustice he had dealt to her, Mr. Sean O'Shea would be unpleasantly surprised.

"Doctor," she greeted in her most formal tone of voice. "Welcome aboard the USS Sulu. I'm Commander Lyrr Tayla. I'll be escorting you to your quarters."

Sean was having a hard time believing his eyes. Tayla, a Commander? She had just received her first promotion when last they met. She had been on shore leave. They had spent time hiking in the northern provinces. He served her his homemade hasperat by candlelight on her final night, extra spicy, the way she liked it. They had even made plans for her next leave in advance.

But there would be no more plans, no more pleasant shore leaves spent enjoying each other's company. After years of putting them off, Sean had accepted a position to Starfleet's Advanced Xeno-Biological institute as a researcher, ending his tenure as a general practitioner on Bajor. He barely had time to say goodbye to all the villagers, much less leave a note for Tayla who would not be returning for months.

And she remembered the snub, Sean realized as he looked at her. He could see it in her eyes, in her tone and her posture. The formality was more than the trappings of command. This was an angry unforgiving woman. Why hadn't he taken the time? Why had he never tried to contact her? Even with the Institute's strict policies of non-disclosure, he could have at least sent a quick transmission via subspace.

And now I'm going to pay for it, he realized. She was his XO, his immediate superior. And she was... Well, she was a lot more of everything. The curves were fuller, the face softer yet more distinctive. The hips. The last vestiges of girl had been replaced by woman, and a glorious sight it was.

Enough of that, ye bleeding pillock! Sean told himself. The time for such thoughts were three years earlier, not in the here and now. He composed himself, smiled and nodded. Two could play the formality game.

"Doctor Sean O'Shea, reporting for duty," he replied. "And if it's all the same to you, Commander. My quarters can wait. I have a feeling I'm behind schedule already. So if you can just show me the way to sickbay, I'll get started."

Lyrr sighed sharply, hoping to effectively convey to him how burdensome she found the task of having to escort him through the ship. "As you wish, doctor." The grudge she held against him was an unyielding one, and she would not refrain from exploiting every opportunity that arose to make that blatantly clear to him. Haughtily, Lyrr turned on her boot heels and walked towards the door. "You can leave your bags here. I'll have a crewman attend to them."

They walked in silence down the corridors, Sean trailing a few paces behind, trying to think of what to say to his old friend. Not a word was exchanged as they rode the turbolift one deck down to Sickbay. The two officers stepped through the door, Sean looking around and marveling at the state of the art facility built into the newly commissioned Intrepid class explorer.

"Well, Doctor?" Lyrr asked, regarding him. "Here you are. What do you think?"

"I think I'm going to be the kid in the bleeding candy store!" he said with a twinkle in his eye. "This is marvelous!"

Stubbornly maintaining her air of indifference, Lyrr merely nodded. "I am glad it meets with your approval, Doctor."

"Thank you, Commander," he said, wanting to call her Tayla, but stubbornly refusing to be the first one to break the decorum she established. They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment and then, simultaneously said: "Will you be needing me for anything else?"

Sean laughed softly. "No, I suppose not, and you must be very busy yourself."

Lyrr nodded staidly and straightened her uniform. "Quite busy, in fact," she replied bluntly. "I'm afraid if you require directions to your quarters, you will need to find someone else to oblige you in that. Welcome aboard, Doctor."

Sean's eyes rested on her retreating back as she walked out of his sickbay. He shook his head as if to clear it and exhaled slowly. "It's never simple, is it, Boyo?" he said under his breath. "This is either going to be the best or worst assignment of my career."

---

"Meet and Greet"
By Counselor Resanna Jhenal
Captain Matt Salinger

Location: Transporter Room 2
Stardate 57906.24, 10h24

***

Ripping through the eternal silence of the black void, a typical Type-6 shuttlecraft approached the Intrepid-class Starship in orbit of a large, lushly green planetoid. The much smaller vessel came in, tilting its nose just a quarter turn to give easier access at its target, and waited for acknowledgement from the larger ship.

At the helm, a fresh-faced Ensign opened a channel to the Sulu. "Shuttle Tiberius to U.S.S. Sulu. Permission to transport aboard one passenger and personal belongings."

There was a moment of silence before the Sulu graciously returned the signal.

"Permission granted. And please give our thanks to the U.S.S. Ramses."

Turning in his chair, the Helmsman looked to the aft section of the spacious shuttlecraft. Sitting patiently within the passenger area was an exquisitely and lavishly dressed woman in her mid-twenties, with milky-white skin and dark features. Her long brown hair was styled in an elegant, yet conservative fashion, with silver ornaments to give it a sense of bland color.

"They're ready when you are, Counselor."

Standing to her feet, the Chief Counselor, newly assigned to the Sulu, prepared herself. Firmly taking a hold of her long dress within her right hand, the Counselor moved to the center of the shuttlecraft.

"Thank you for your time." She gave a gracious, yet blank stare to the young Ensign. "I am ready."

Vanishing in a tint of silverish blue swirling lights, Resanna Jhenal passed from her physical state into a world of pure energy and light. Not paying attention to the fact that she had passed from the shuttle's transportation emitters through a vast amount of space to the Sulu's own emitters. In that matter of milliseconds, Resanna had moved from one point in space to a completely new one.

One with a greeting figure stationed in front of the platform on which she was standing. Reaching out her left hand to be held, Resanna found it being delicately held as she stepped down off the transporter platform.

"Lieutenant Resanna Jhenal, daughter of the Third House and Heir to the Divine Scepter of Betazed," she diplomatically greeted, tipping her head slightly as her mother had taught her.

Matthew Salinger gave the woman a congenial smile and nodded. "Captain Matthew Salinger," he said. "Welcome aboard the Sulu, Counselor. I hope your journey here was a pleasant one."

"Surprisingly," she briefly said. Resanna sensed a curiousity spawning from the inner-workings of the Captain's mind. Going into further elaboration: "I'm not one for long space travel in such small shuttlecrafts. Thankfully, the Ramses and Sulu were only five days away at warp four."

Matt laughed. "I can't think of many people who enjoy the cramped confines of shuttles for long journeys," he said. "If you'd like, I can escort you to your quarters. As soon as I received word that you were en route, I had Lieutenant Sam assign you quarters."

Nodding slightly, she said, "It would be a pleasure."

The captain paused, extending a hand to allow Lieutenant Jhenal to exit first. As the doors parted, she stepped out of the Transporter Room and into the silver and gray toned corridor, followed shortly by the Captain.

"How are you enjoying your first command?" Resanna asked, inquisitively. "I understand that you are one of the youngest captains in Starfleet... I believe Captain Baker holds the honorary title." Giving a grin, she turned a curious cheek to the Captain.

Matt led the way out of the turbolift and off toward the cabin that had been assigned to Resanna. As they walked, they talked quietly of each of their careers and previous posts, mainly as a way of introduction and to keep the conversation going. As they were in the turbolift, Matt turned to Resanna once again and smiled. "There is a delicate matter that I should talk to you about," he said. "Lieutenant Xayella Tagliesh has had a very colourful past. I'll have her full record opened and available to you. I've been working with her and trying to...to, I guess, get her to play by Starfleet's rules, rather than making up her own. I'd like for you to talk to her if you could. She'll most likely be very resentful of it, but I can't think of what else to do. She's doing well so far, but I believe there are issues she still needs to work through."

Nodding with interest, Resanna spoke, "The Tagliesh name is well known throughout the quadrant. My mother's title even pales in comparison."

Turning a corner, she continued. "From what I know, people who usually play by their own rules find it hard to adapt to those of others. In Lieutenant Tagliesh's case, she is the daughter of a powerful industrial empire, a princess if you will. Usually the one who likes to be in command, rather than the one taking them."

While speaking to the Captain, the eerie sense of something more wandered along the surface of his mind. From what Counselor Jhenal knew, Salinger was one of the most compassionate and caring captains Starfleet had known to date. Even rivaling that of Admiral Kathryn Janeway. There was more to Tagliesh when he spoke... almost a romantic caring and concern.

Stopping in her tracks a moment, Lieutenant Jhenal turned to the Captain with a tender glare. The Captain as well stopped, curious as to her lack of movement. "As you know, Captain, Betazoids usually do not wish to roam the minds of others without permission," Resanna said, treading on soft water. "Though, I sense a - deeper concern for the Lieutenant. While you can hide it in your body language, it is very apparent in the openness of your mind..."

Matt nodded and then laughed softly. "I care for Xayella," he said. "She is an attractive, intelligent woman and she's been dealt a bad hand in life. She has the heart of a true explorer and she belongs out here doing this. If she gets kicked out of Starfleet, all of that will be wasted. It'd be like building a new, advanced Starship, and then before you give it the chance to explore the cosmos, you send it off to some boneyard."

"But Captain," Jhenal commented with a soft, brazen voice. "Maybe that starship was taken to the 'boneyard', because of its misplacement in its fleet. To be an exploration vessel, it does not need all the extras normal vessels get. Just one of science."

"Give me a starship, Counselor, and I will find a use for it in this fleet." Matt shook his head and sighed. "I want for her to have this chance, and I know she wants it...but I don't know if the personality she has developed during her life will allow her that. I know that I can't give her another chance like I've given her. If she stumbles again, I don't believe I can catch her."

The two continued to walk a few more meters down the corridor, finally reaching the entrance to the Counselor's quarters.

"Sometimes, people who expect the second chances in life do not really deserve them. Lieutenant Talgiesh is a grown woman who has made her own choices in life. For her to be labelled a victim because of her upbringing does not grant her more chances than others. Nor does the fact that she is a daughter of a powerful corporation," the Counselor stated without passion or prejudice. "To be an explorer, you do not have to wear the uniform of a Starfleet officer. You have to have the heart of a scientist." Jhenal nodded her head. "I'm sure you have much to do, Captain. I will bid you a farewell as of now."

The Lieutenant turned from the Captain and entered through the doors as they parted.

Matt watched as the doors closed and couldn't help wondering if he'd missed part of the conversation. With a wry laugh, he turned from the counselor's private quarters and started back toward the bridge. He did have much to do...

---

"Abduction, Part 1"
Lieutenant Xayella Tagliesh
Ensign Tchalla Mel'Chir
Lieutenant Jorell Thalan
Commander Lyrr Tayla
Lieutenant Sam
Captain Matthew Salinger

Location: Captain's Ready Room, USS Sulu
Stardate 57906.24 14h30

***

Xayella couldn't remember a time when she was more relaxed and content. Her night with Matt was a long, pleasurable one, one of the best she'd experienced in a long while. She awoke with a smile on her face and an unwillingness to leave his side, but they both had duties to attend to. However, with the promise made for another dinner date that evening, Xayella's reluctance diminished to the point where she could physically bear to depart, but not until after they'd shared a passionate, fervent kiss. Even now she felt as if she were floating. She had not a single care, and not even the scorching heat of the planet bothered her now.

She sighed dreamily for what must have been the hundredth time that morning, and once again, Ensign Mel'Chir shot her a quizzical smile. Xayella paid no heed to her, however; she was too happy and too engrossed in her whimsical daydreams to even notice. All she could think about was Matt's lips pressed to hers, and his hands roaming across her bare flesh as the sheets tangled around their twisting and writhing forms; the sweat glistening on his brow as the culmination neared, and her voice beginning to soar, crying out, calling his name, until finally--

"Lieutenant Tagliesh? Does this reading look odd to you? It seems almost...as if it doesn't belong. I think it's an energy spike, but the readings are so bad that I can't tell." The Andorian woman raised an eyebrow at the look on Xayella's face, but decided to stick to the question she'd just asked rather than including another that dealt with what must have been going through Xayella's mind.

Xayella appeared startled for a moment. "A what?" She blinked slowly as her mind detached itself from the pleasant memory. She then stared blankly at Tchalla. "I'm sorry. What are you talking about?"

Tchalla held out her tricorder. "An energy spike," she said. "Or that's what it looked like. I can't tell for certain though. It was slightly to the North."

Xayella pulled out her own tricorder and scanned in the direction Tchalla indicated. "I'm not getting anything. Are you sure you picked up something?"

Tchalla looked down at her tricorder and frowned. "I was just a moment ago," she said. "It was about one hundred meters that way." She pointed and then shrugged. "This is a strange planet, Lieutenant."

Xayella raised an eyebrow and nodded her agreement. "Well, it could have been a glitch, but it's a nice day today and we've nothing else much to do, so why don't we go check it out?"

Tchalla nodded. "Sure," she said as she started in the direction the reading had come from. "You're in a very good mood today, Lieutenant. You must have had a very nice night last night."

Xayella refrained from purring and instead grinned. "A very nice night. I'm hoping to have another tonight, but...we'll see."

Tchalla couldn't help giggling as she stepped over a fallen tree limb. "It's very nice to see you this happy. That makes me happy too."

"It does?" Xayella narrowed her eyes curiously at Tchalla. "Why would you care if I was happy or not?"

"Because you're a fellow crew member," Tchalla said. "And, you're a person. I think everyone deserves happiness, especially when they have already had their share of misery in life. I think after being relieved of duty and having me placed as the head of the department, you deserve some happiness." She gave an embarrassed grin. "And, you definitely are happy..."

Xayella cleared her throat and wiped the smile from her face, only to replace it with the stern, severe expression she used to wear before she met Matt. "At any rate, my happiness is otherwise unimportant with regard to this mission. In fact, it's distracting me."

Tchalla nodded. "Still, it was nice to see you happy, even for that short period of time. And, I hope tonight is equally as good for you, ma'am." The young woman looked around and frowned. "The energy signature was here. At least, within twenty meters of this location."

"Could it have been a glitch in the tricorder readings?" Xayella asked. "With all this heat, I wouldn't doubt that."

Tchalla shrugged but her frown didn't disappear. "I suppose so, but...but, I don't understand." Her frown deepened when the buzzing she'd felt earlier tingled the ends of her antennae. She shook her head, and looked down at the tricorder. "It's probably just the heat."

Xayella looked around and sighed. "We can continue forward." She smiled at Tchalla. "Just to be certain."

"It could have moved," Tchalla said, a glimmer of hope rippling through her confidence. Though, she knew that they likely wouldn't find whatever it was that had appeared on her tricorder. She started ahead, holding her tricorder in front of her. She set it for a wider scanning field on a narrower band of energy wavelengths.

"Anything yet?" Xayella asked. She too had her tricorder held out before her, adjusting its settings to try and pick up the energy spike Tchalla had detected. "I'm not reading anything."

"Nothing," Tchalla said. The sensation was getting stronger though. It felt like a vibration running through her entire body now. As she looked at the tricorder held outstretched in her hand, she noticed her hand shaking slightly. "I'm not getting anything at all. I don't understand it. It was there, I know it. But... Maybe it's the heat. I mean...I'm feeling the heat now, I think. I think I need a sip of water."

Xayella looked up from her tricorder and noticed the pale shade of blue Tchalla's face had become. "Ensign? Are you alright?" She rushed forward and gripped Tchalla's arm before the girl toppled over. "You don't look well, Ensign. I think we should get you back to the ship."

"I think I'll be okay, Lieutenant," Tchalla said. "I'm just feeling a little light-headed. Some water and I should be-- It's back!"

Xayella heard the instrument's alarm before she saw the spike in its readings. Once she did, she held out her tricorder in the direction Tchalla's was scanning to verify the strange readings really were more than a glitch. Her tricorder, too, registered the spike. "Recording the readings now.... What is that? It's getting stronger, but..." Xayella looked up, but saw nothing in sight that would have been responsible for what was being read by their instruments. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I'm having a very difficult time isolating the phase differential, Lieutenant," Tchalla said, working to reconfigure her tricorder for a more detailed scan. "It's almost like the energy pattern that would-- Oh no! I'm picking up more...all around--"

Xayella sighed sharply as her eyes flicked across the forest before them. "Ensign, I see nothing!" She growled in frustration and turned around, following the sudden spikes appearing on her tricorder that were growing more numerous each moment that passed. "That's it. Ensign, we're leaving." Xayella spun around again and gripped Tchalla's forearm. Before she could tug the stubborn girl away from the chaotic scene, Xayella emitted a gasp of pain mingled with surprise. Her tricorder plummeted to the ground as her wrist went lax, and her other hand flew to the back of her neck. When she pulled it away, her palm came spotted with blood. "What the...?" Xayella groaned and fell to her knees as her legs became limp beneath her.

"Lieutenant!" Tchalla looked down to where Xayella was struggling to move and losing the battle. She started forward to help the fallen human, but a sudden weight blocked her progress. Reacting quickly she dropped back and kicked outward. Her boot glanced off of something, and there was a disembodied hissing rasp. She readied herself to spin around, but before she could her arm was jerked back, and her head pulled backward. She screamed, but it was cut off. A sharp spear of pain blossomed in her throat, and it was a moment later she saw the two dimples of blood on the back of Lt. Tagliesh's neck. Oh no, she thought as her legs crumbled from beneath her. She expected to fall, but something stopped her. The last thing she saw before darkness consumed her vision was Xayella's body lifting into the air of its own accord.

***

Standing upon a low rock outcropping, he looked out over a small meadow surrounded by jungle. The man cursed to himself yet again. "Dammit!" He and his security team had been over and over again all the areas the items had gone missing from, and found nothing.

With a deep sigh Jorell looked out over the long grasses blowing in the warm and humid breeze. He closed his eyes and let go of his frustration, clearing his mind. That was when his thoughts were intruded upon by a sudden and sharp sound. The man's eyes popped open and he looked about the area below him, but saw nothing and strained to hear the sound again. With a shake of his head he realized it was not an actual sound but something in his mind. Concentrating, he reached out to see if could discover what was there.

The sound started again but Jorell's thoughts were interrupted.

"Lt. Thalan, this is Ensign Gainsborough, please respond."

"Go ahead, Ensign," Jorell replied with a tap of his combadge.

"Sir, have you seen Lt. Tagliesh or Ensign Mel'Chir? I cannot seem to find them anywhere and they have not responded to any of my hails."

"Standby, Ensign," Jorell said and tapped his combadge again. "Lt Tagliesh, please respond." He waited near a minute before trying again, this time calling for Ensign Mel'Chir. When there was no reply a second time, Jorell commented to himself, "What has Tagliesh done now?"

Returning to Gainsborough: "Have you reported this to Lt. Sam, Ensign?"

"No, Sir, he returned to the Sulu about thirty minutes ago."

"Alright, return to your duty and I will look into it. Thank you for contacting me, Ensign. Thalan out."

Jorell considered contacting Commander Lyrr, a smile crossing his face at how delighted she would be to hear that the good Lieutenant wandered off. But he would go looking for her first and see what she had to say for herself, and to get Ensign Mel'Chir involved. Walking back to his security team he arrived to see Petty Officers Kaven and Crewman Daly. He then asked, "Where is Ensign Corrigan?"

Kaven and Daly looked at one another before Kaven replied, "He went to...uh...relieve himself."

"How long ago?" he asked.

"Ten, fifteen minutes ago," they both replied.

"Ensign Corrigan?" Jorell called. And when there was no reply, he tapped his combadge. "Corrigan, please report." There was no answer.

The Chief of Security began to think that perhaps something was wrong. He then contacted the ship. "Sulu, this is Lt. Thalan, we might have a problem down here. Lt. Tagliesh, Ensign Mel'Chir, and Ensign Corrigan are not responding to hails. Can you please scan for them?" And before there was an answer: "Call it a hunch, but can you scan for all those who are planetside and let me know if anyone else is missing?"

Commander Lyrr was the first person to respond, and she did not sound happy. "Lt. Sam is already on it, Lieutenant. Can you tell me how long they've been missing?"

The man thought a moment. "Tagliesh and Mel'Chir, thirty minutes and Corrigan fifteen." He then stood there waiting to see what could be found.

"Well, it seems wherever they are, they're well concealed from our sensors," Tayla replied gravely. "Thalan, keep everyone together. As well, I want you to refrain from any search attempts until I've gotten in touch with Captain Salinger. We can't afford to lose anyone else."

"Yes, Commander," he replied, and then asked, "What of the accounting of the rest of the personnel down here?"

Lyrr nodded, unseen to Thalan, and turned to Sam. "Lt.?"

Sam called up the information on his console and turned to face Commander Lyrr. "Current information indicates that there are thirteen Away Team personnel who are unaccounted for. I have routed a list of missing personnel to your station, Commander."

"Thank you, Sam." Lyrr moved to her seat and studied briefly the list of names on her console. "Lt. Thalan? It would appear six more of your security personnel are missing and the remaining are from the science teams. Stay put, Lt. I'm going to contact the Captain. I'll be in touch with you shortly to give you your orders. Lyrr out." Tayla glossed over the list of missing crewmembers again and cursed quietly under her breath in Bajoran. She tapped her commbadge angrily and called out to Captain Salinger.

"This is Salinger," Matt said from his position in the corridor he'd been walking down. "Go ahead, Commander."

"Captain, I think you should come to the bridge," Lyrr replied. "It seems we have a major situation down on the planet. I'll explain further when you arrive, but for now I can tell you that somehow members of our crew are going missing."

"On my way," Matt said. From the sounds of his boots on the deck, it was obvious he was moving and quickly. "Salinger out." With that he, closed the channel.

Back on the bridge, Lyrr pushed out of her seat and joined Sam at his station. She had to admit that she wasn't so worried about the loss of Lt. Tagliesh, but the rest of the missing crew members was something she wouldn't stand for. "Lieutenant, I want continuous scans of the planet made. If you find anything, anything at all no matter how minor, I want you to report it to me immediately."

"Of course, Commander," Sam said as his hands danced inhumanly fast across the console. "I have been bombarding the planet with isometric pulses from the main sensor array. I was also preparing a probe that will enhance the telemetry data we are able to collect, in addition expanding the range with which we are able to scan."

"What about the caves?" Lyrr asked. "Are the sensors still unable to penetrate them?"

"That is correct, Commander," Sam said. "I have tried to isolate a tight-beam scan, but as soon as it reaches the caves, it fractures. There is a natural obstruction with scanning within the caves, but as Lt. Tagliesh noted earlier, that has been considerably enhanced."

"So, is it safe to hypothesize that our crew are in those caves?"

"It would be a reasonably safe hypothesis, Commander," Sam answered. "It is the only location on the planet that our sensors are unable to penetrate. The only other potential scenario would be a masking field hiding the bio-signatures of the Away Team."

"In either case," Lyrr said, "a foreign party would be required, would it not?"

"That is a correct assessment," Sam said. "For multiple members of the crew to disappear in this manner, it would require intelligence and a mind able to think on a tactical level."

Lyrr let out a deep breath and refrained, this time, from cursing. "So there are sentient beings on the planet we didn't know about. Great. Perfect. I hope, in the future, we won't always be the last to know."

"Commander, it is highly unlikely that these inhabitants would have been found had they not wished to be," Sam explained. "It is likely that either their curiousity or desperation has driven them to this current course of action."

"What course of action, Lt.? We don't even know their motivations yet." Lyrr chuckled dryly. "We don't even know who they are."

"It is merely speculation, Commander," Sam said. "The USS Pascal made no mention of any inhabitants other than the non-sentient creatures inhabiting the forests. Either the inhabitants are new, or they remained in hiding when the Pascal conducted scans. If they were present on Starfleet's first visit to Dorvali, then they maintained their secrecy. Something prompted them to come out of hiding this time."

"Most likely Lt. Tagliesh's arrogant self-praising," Lyrr muttered.

"I find it very unlikely that even Lieutenant Tagliesh's arrogance would prompt a species to act in this manner, Commander."

Lyrr repressed a sigh and patted Sam on the shoulder. "Yes, thank you, Lt." She saw Matt striding onto the bridge from her periphery and so took her leave from Sam. "Keep scanning, Lieutenant," she told him as she moved away to intercept Matt.

"Aye, Commander," the android said before turning his attention fully back to the sensor sweeps.

Matt cast a concerned look around the bridge once he was out of the turbolift, and then found Lyrr talking with Sam. He immediately started toward her. They met halfway, and moved to the center of the bridge near the command chairs. "What's going on, Commander?"

"As I said, some...thing or things have been abducting members of the team. I have Lt. Thalan down there keeping watch. I didn't think it wise for him to carry out a search without a better idea of what we're dealing with."

Matt frowned. "What do we have so far? And, do you have a list of those who are missing?"

Lyrr gestured Matt towards the command console as she moved toward their twin chairs. "All we know is that they've been missing for approximately 30 minutes. Lt. Sam has compiled a list of those unaccounted for, but the first to be deemed missing were Ensign Corrigan, Ensign Mel'Chir, and Lt. Tagliesh."

Matt sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes narrowed briefly and then he looked up at Lyrr. He looked down at the display between their chairs and went over the remaining names in the list. "Damn," he whispered. He looked up at her. "We have to start a search. Six-man teams with compression phaser rifles. The caves are the most likely location, right?" At her nod, he continued. "Overlapping search patterns, with continual reports back to the ship."

"Captain, do you really think it's wise to allow our people to roam about the planet without knowledge of what we're dealing with? We could end up with the entire team missing, not just thirteen."

Keeping his biting comment to himself, Matt nodded. "What do you recommend, Commander?"

"I recommend we have the teams return to the ship where we can interview them and perhaps gain more insight into what happened," Lyrr suggested. "Once we have assessed the level of danger to the rest of the team, and devised a sound plan for attempting a search and rescue, then we send our most qualified security members down to the planet to do just that."

"Interview them? How long do you think it will take to interview the remaining Away Team members? And, how many of them do you think are currently hiding information on the abductions from us? Commander, I want the members of this crew found, and found as quickly as possible. We have no information other than there are members of this crew missing on that planet below, and every minute wasted could be a life lost. If we were wise, Commander, we would have never left our homes and huddled by our hearths at night, never venturing out into space. Order all the Away Teams to regroup at the base camp and get Thalan back up here. Once he's here, I want the two of you to meet with me in my Ready Room."

Lyrr pressed thin her lips before she could utter a protest and nodded her head in assent. She normally trusted Matt's judgement, but his actions were proving far too impulsive for her liking. Any criticism at this time, however, would likely land her in the brig judging by how fired up Matt was. With an imperceptible shake of her head, Lyrr tapped her commbadge and relayed the instructions to Thalan. "He's on his way, Captain," she said tightly.

"Thank you," Matt said, and then strode away toward his Ready Room.

When Matt was completely out of earshot, Lyrr breathed a Bajoran invective and pushed abruptly up out of her chair. Matt seemed to ignore or reject everything she offered in the way of a suggestion. She wondered why she even bothered. "Lt. Sam, inform me the moment Lt. Thalan arrives on board."

"Aye, Commander," Sam said. "He is beaming aboard right now."

"Good," Tayla replied. "When he gets to the bridge, tell him the Captain and I are in the ready room. You have the bridge, Lieutenant." Lyrr marched to the ready room before Sam could finish his acknowledgement. She took the courtesy of ringing the door chime before barging in, but it took much restraint to accomplish that. Upon Matt's permission to enter, Lyrr did just that. She stopped behind one of the vacant chairs and watched Matt with a steady, unwavering gaze. "Captain... I really must express my doubts about this course of action you've taken."

"How long should we wait before sending a team out to rescue our fellow crewmembers, Commander? How many should we give whoever has taken them the chance to kill before we try to save them? How many of the missing are you willing to sacrifice for caution?"

"How many are you willing to sacrifice for hastiness, impulsiveness?" Lyrr shot back. "We know nothing of what we're dealing with, Captain. Yes, I'm eager to get our crew back as well, but we need to step back for a moment and assess the situation before you put the rest of the team at risk."

"That's why I've called Thalan back here," Matt snapped. "Me, you, and our chief of security are going to come up with a plan to get our people back safely and unharmed. And, it will happen quickly, or else there could be nothing to get back. We are going in heavily armed, and we are going to get our people back."

"But after we have a sound plan and a little more insight into what we're up against. We could lose more than thirteen crewmembers if we get ahead of ourselves. I'm not saying we wait long, I'm just saying we take a little time to sort out what's happened before we send our people into battle."

"Commander, explain to me how we get more information than what we already have?"

"By devising a safe method with which to retrieve that information," Lyrr replied.

Matt shook his head and turned away. When he spoke again, his voice was very controlled. "What method do you propose, Commander?"

"I propose we retrieve those of our people still on the surface," Lyrr began. "Then once we have all the details they can provide us with, we combine the information and use that to determine where we will begin our search, and how. We could let them just run rampant on the planet, Captain, but they will find nothing. Every glitch in their tricorder readings, every strange sensation anyone felt while down there.... I want to know about it, and use it to our advantage, Captain."

"Commander, where do you believe our people have been taken?"

"The caves," Lyrr answered. "But storming in there is not the best course of action, Captain."

"What do we know of the caves?"

Lyrr sighed, taking a moment to attempt to solve what Matt was working towards. "They're impenetrable to our scans. We don't know why yet, but they are."

"And, how will we find anything out about the caves since our sensors will not work within them?"

"Captain, I know what you're getting at, but when we do set out to search the caves, we should at least have some prior knowledge of what we might be faced with."

"That prior knowledge isn't going to magically appear in our databanks, Commander," Matt said. "And, none of our crew has gone deep enough into the caves to know anything about them. There is one way, and one way only that we can get any information about those caves, unless we can manage to break through whatever is scrambling our sensors."

Lyrr stepped closer to Matt's desk and gazed down at him. "Then why not try? Why not avoid sacrificing more members of this crew by at least trying to gain information to better prepare us for what we're up against?"

---

"Abduction, Part 2"
Captain Matthew Salinger
Commander Lyrr Tayla
Lieutenant Sam
Lieutenant Jorell Thalan

Location: Captain's Ready Room, USS Sulu
Stardate 57906.24 14h30

***

Matt snapped open a channel to the operations station on the bridge. "Mr. Sam, how are the attempts to get through the interference in the caves?"

"I have not yet been able to break through for a scan, sir. All sensor sweeps result in a refracted image. Normally, I would suggest reversing the refraction to form a complete sensor image. The difficulty in this case is that we are not receiving all of the information back. The effect is very similar to a reflection in a shattered mirror. The data so far has been unusable."

"Thank you, Sam," Matt said, and closed the channel. Once he was finished, he looked up Lyrr and raised an eyebrow. "We are trying, Commander. Our efforts, thus far, have been inconclusive at best."

"Then don't you think we're dealing with something more than just some primitive alien species looking to make a meal of our crew members?" Lyrr retorted. "They were advanced enough to abduct 13 members of our crew without anyone noticing, and might just be responsible for the phenomenon in the caves. Yet still you want to send our officers on a rescue mission." Lyrr threw up her hands and sank down into the chair behind her. "Fine. You're the Captain and the final decision is yours. But this isn't the way, Matt."

"Lyrr, we can't find anything out from up here," he said. "We have to send people in. Right now, it's the only way we're going to know anything at all about those caves. Why are you so adamant against sending a search party? We'll be sending in trained Starfleet officers who will be armed and expecting danger. That in itself will breed caution. I believe whoever is responsible is intelligent, resourceful, and capable of planning something of this sort. They had surprise on their side then, but we are expecting trouble now. I'm not asking our crew to throw down their weapons and run through the caves naked. But, I want us trying to find our missing crew. The fewer mothers and fathers I have to tell that I lost their son or daughter, the better."

"I agree," Lyrr said, "I'm just asking you to wait for a time before you order a rescue effort. Right now, you have our crew huddled in the base camp, waiting for your word to begin attacking. We have science officers down there, Captain. They are hardly trained to lead a search that might end up in them having to take up arms."

"They received the same combat training we did," Matt said. "You're asking me to wait...wait for what? Until we get ransom demands? Until we get back a desiccated corpse? Until Sam manages to break through the interference? What do you propose we wait for?"

Lyrr looked away and took a deep breath to temper her emotions. It seemed all she and Matt did lately was argue, not the best portent for the future of their working relationship. "Captain, when I was in the Resistance, we always planned every attack beforehand. If we'd made it a habit to begin an assault without knowledge of what we would be walking into, I, along with the rest of my cell, would be dead right now. The same will happen if we send our people on this rescue attempt you're so stubbornly set upon."

"Dammit, Lyrr," Matt snapped. "You keep telling me we should wait for more information, more knowledge. Where the hell is this supposed knowledge coming from? Where are we going to get the intelligence you want so we can save my crew!?"

"From the planet!" Lyrr shot back. She'd no doubt everyone on the bridge could hear clearly their argument, not a very good impression on the crew, but that was the last thing she was concerned with. "We should search outside the caves for something - anything that could give us an idea of the capabilities of these aliens, whoever they are. You send our people in there without knowing what they may encounter in those caves, they will be unprepared and people will get hurt. Is that what you want? Because that is what will happen!"

Matt lowered his voice to barely a whisper. "What do you expect to find outside the caves that will give us a clue?" he asked. "What do you expect to give us a completely new understanding of the enemy we face? And, if our people and the aliens are inside the caves while we search the countryside for the needle inside of this haystack, what happens to the thirteen crew members who are being held captive? What if there is nothing outside of the caves? When do you propose we actually start trying to rescue our people trapped on that planet? At what point do you consider taking the risk, and trying to find your fellow officers who have been abducted by an unknown force on the planet below? Or maybe you think we should just wait this out until a rescue effort is no longer required."

Lyrr laughed wryly and shook her head. "It's obvious you don't care what I think. You seem suspicious and unresponsive to everything I propose, and I can only wonder why. I mean, if you don't trust me, Matt, why did you say you did?"

"Maybe I'm unresponsive and suspicious," Matt began, "because every single suggestion you've provided since we began this argument is to sit and wait for an opportunity to present itself. Every minute we waste, the chance for losing one of those thirteen missing crew members increases. Every minute we waste means one more mother or father I have to tell their son or daughter will never be coming home to them again. Every minute we're not trying to get our people free means one more minute of torture, pain, and despair for our people. I trust you, Lyrr, but every suggestion I've heard from you so far is to leave our people in whatever hell they've been thrown into until we understand their abductors."

"So you're willing to learn about them through trial and error, no matter how many crew members we lose in the process?" Lyrr crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Fine, Captain. We'll do it your way. I still don't agree with your methods, but I will do as you order."

Matt turned away from Lyrr, his jaw clenching and unclenching with the anger boiling inside him. "Before Lieutenant Thalan arrives," he said. "I think it might be a good idea for you to look for possible openings on other ships in the fleet. This doesn't appear to be working, Commander."

"Because I don't share your every view, Captain?" Lyrr regarded Matt, completely disillusioned. "I've misjudged you, Matt. I thought you were someone open-minded, a captain who is interested in listening and not just commanding." Lyrr shook her head and rose from her seat. "I really thought you and I would achieve great things together, Matt. I guess it wasn't meant to be. Permission to return to the bridge, sir?"

Matt gazed at his executive officer, a tight knot forming in his gut at the direction things had turned. "How can we achieve great things when we can't even agree on simple command decisions? I want to get my crew back, Commander. I want to get them back before there's no one left to get back." He turned back to meet her gaze. "I misjudged you as well, Commander. I thought you might have some compassion for those you share this ship with, that you might care that some of our people are down there in an unknown situation with an unknown enemy, and you'd want to rescue them from that.

"I do listen, Lyrr, but all you seem to be interested in telling me is that we should let our people languish while we comb the area again for any information not a single one of our scientists managed to find in the days we've been analyzing the planet. Why is it, Commander, that because I haven't jumped to accept your idea of waiting to see how many of the missing crew come back in bags, I'm closed-minded and uninterested in listening? I thought we would achieve great things too, Lyrr, but in order to achieve great things you have to know how to take risks and you have to be willing to look beyond the ordinary. Permission to return to the bridge granted. If Lieutenant Thalan is out there, please send him in."

Lyrr held back her biting comment...barely. It was obvious anything she said, Matt misinterpreted. He could think her cold and dispassionate, but she knew herself better than anyone, and Matt was definitely mistaken. With a stiff nod, Lyrr turned and strode out of Matt's office, most likely for the last time. She moved towards Lt. Thalan, who was approaching the ready room, and as she passed, she gave him a falsely pleasant smile and said, "He's all yours, Lieutenant."

Jorell looked to Commander Lyrr as she departed and could easily tell that she was upset. "Commander," he said in acknowledgment.

The man then walked into the Ready Room and looked over the Captain who also did not seem overly happy. "Captain," he stated with a nod, "I would like to request that the remaining personnel on the surface be transported aboard, until it is deemed safe for them return."

With a sigh, Matt nodded. "Beam up the science personnel, but leave enough of the security team on the planet for the evacuation of the equipment down there. Once the equipment is aboard, then beam the rest of the team off the planet. Give the orders, and then we need to talk about how we're getting our missing crew back."

"Thank you, Sir." Lt. Thalan then proceeded to give the orders to the away team. Things were set into motion a minute later.

Looking back to the Captain: "Was Cmdr. Lyrr not supposed to be here, Sir?"

"Commander Lyrr and I disagreed on how we should proceed with the rescue effort," Matt said. "She said what she wanted to say, and asked to return to the bridge. Now, we've got thirteen missing members of this crew, and we need to get them back. Do you have any ideas on how we can accomplish that with the information we currently have?"

"I see..." Jorell replied and then answered the question put before him, "Honestly, Sir, not really. From what I was able to get from those I talked with briefly, no one saw or heard anything. Which is odd in itself, because with all the people we have down there someone should have seen something. And since there was no sounds of any struggle, whoever took our people was able to do it with great stealth. Perhaps they even have some sort of cloaking technology or ability.

"From what I was able to get, you assume that they were taken into those caves which poses its own problems. Communication and scanning is not possible after you get in there. I had several security teams in there and they did not find anything, so either there are places we did not find or they are not in the caves we discovered. They do stretch over at least a ten kilometer area," the Chief of Security assessed. "If we go in, we go in blind."

"We've already got severe cataracts as it is, Lieutenant," Matt said. "Do you see any options? The caves are an ideal location for anyone who doesn't wish to be found. Do you believe going into the caves is our best chance to find our crew? My thought was six man teams armed with compression phaser rifles."

Shaking his head he answered, "No, Sir, not at this time. Not unless you want to attempt some sort of contact, and don't ask me how to accomplish that." Jorell thought on the Captain's other question and then answered, "To actually find them, I honestly do not know, Sir. There appears to be kilometers of caves and tunnels down there. We'd either find them because we were lucky or because we were supposed to, not because of any skill of ours. Right now whoever has our people has the advantage, those caves and whatever sort of stealth technology they are apparently using."

Matt sighed. "So you have no suggestions," he said. "Very well."

Jorell paused and seemed to be lost in thought, remembering something from earlier. "I do not know if this means anything...but just before we discovered people missing there was these--" the man's face contorted as he tried to think how to put it "--I guess you can call them sounds, but not sounds. It was definitely telepathic in nature but I only caught it by chance and only because I was trying to clear my thoughts of the frustration I was having. I was interrupted as I was trying to find it again."

Matt nodded. "Was it something from our own people? Or possibly one of the beings responsible for nabbing our people? You're certain it was telepathic? Perhaps they were trying to contact us...or, you intercepted something you weren't supposed to. Do you believe this is something we can use?"

"Not anyone from the ship, Sir. I would have recognized it if it were. I do not know who for sure. If it was anyone, I am certain it was telepathic. We might be able to; I would or another with telepathic power would have to give it a try," Jorell suggested.

Matt nodded. "Our new counsellor is a Betazoid as well," he said. "Perhaps there is something the two of you could do together to flush out whoever's down there. I don't know how much time our people have, but we need to get them out of there before what time we do have runs out."

"Maybe, Sir. I can assemble a team and with the counsellor's help we can go in and give it a try and see if it is indeed these aliens and not psychic emanations from another source on this planet." Jorell paused and looked down and then back to the Captain. "I want to get our people back too, Sir."

"Assemble your team," Matt said. "I want to get moving on this as quickly as possible. I leave the selection of the team to your discretion, Lieutenant."

Lt. Thalan nodded once and replied, "Yes, Sir. I'll let you know when my team is ready."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Matt said with a nod. "And, good luck."

The Chief of Security then departed from the Ready Room and walked to the turbolift. Moving in as the doors opened he called, "Security Office." The doors closed and the lift started down.

***

Once Thalan was gone, Matt sighed. After a moment of silent brooding, he tapped open the communications system to the bridge. "Salinger to Lyrr. Commander, please come into my Ready Room."

Lyrr acknowledged Matt by handing control of the bridge over to Sam and promptly sounding Matt's door chime. She figured he wanted to reiterate to her that her time on board had run out, and to ensure she had already begun looking for a new ship to serve on. As she stepped through the parting doors, she prepared herself to once again defend her position, and give Matt a piece of her mind. "Yes, Captain?" she said stiffly.

"Please have a seat," Matt said, indicating the chairs across from his desk. "Lieutenant Thalan picked up some telepathic thought signatures on the planet. He's going to try to use that as a means to track our aliens, or at least to find out more information about them. He's preparing his team now."

Lyrr nodded her head as she took the offered seat...reluctantly. "Is there anything else to report?"

"Not at the moment, though hopefully he'll have something soon," Matt said. "And, I want to apologize for some of the things I said. I'm concerned for my crew, and I have confidence that those we could send down would be careful. But, that's no reason for me to say some of the things I did."

"I understand," Lyrr replied tightly. She cleared her throat and stared with disinterest at the skates hanging on the wall behind Matt's desk. No one ever said she wasn't stubborn.

Matt sighed again. "So how many hot dogs is it going to take to get you to smile again?"

Lyrr shrugged. "I have yet to discover how many I'm capable of eating."

"Once this crisis is over, are you interested in finding out? There's another game in a few days, you know."

As much as the idea appealed to her, reconciling would not be so easy. "You don't trust my judgement, Captain. A hockey game and hot dogs won't change that."

"I trust your judgement," Matt said. "But, I felt taking too much of a delay in searching for our missing crew would mean that we'd be losing crew. You seemed very cautious and reserved, which you didn't strike me as originally. All I know is that I'm sorry for what I said to you."

"And for essentially forcing my transfer off the ship?" Lyrr sighed and shook her head. "Captain, I refuse to serve with a man who deals out threats to those who don't exactly share his opinions. I thought Starfleet was interested in democracy. Instead, you made me feel like I was on Bajor, suffering under the Cardassians' dictatorial regime again. I escaped from that once, and I won't go through it again."

"We still have a chain of command," Matt said. "A starship isn't necessarily run as a democracy. I listen to my senior staff and make decisions based on their input, but in the end the decision is mine." He leaned forward and tried to catch her gaze. "I do value your opinion, whatever you may think. But, it was and is my feeling that our first priority should be finding our crew and getting them out of there. We have a competent and talented crew, and using caution I think they will be able to do what needs to be done to get our missing crew back."

"Very well. Then I will know to reserve my opinions next time until you ask specifically for them. I think that will help prevent any further breaches of the chain of command. Now, I believe one or both of us should return to the bridge to monitor the away team's status. Is this matter ended, Captain?"

Matt set his jaw and knew he was scowling. "No the matter is not ended," he said. "Lieutenant Sam has things in order out there. Now, if you are finished acting like a spoiled child, I would like to get this matter between us settled. Do you want to keep your post as executive officer of this starship or not?"

"Matthew Salinger, you are a most frustrating man," Lyrr said with barely repressed anger. "You're the one who didn't want me here. You're the one who made me feel superfluous. You're the one who began this, and now you think you can fix it by cramming hot dogs down my throat? I'm sorry, Captain, that is not how things work. We can look past this matter and focus on running this ship together, with you in command, and me here to give you advice when you require it. I've never been a commander before and I'm unfamiliar with the captain-commander dynamic, but if you believe this is the way it's supposed to work, I'll follow your lead."

"You're an equally frustrating woman, Commander," Matt said. "You argue your side up to a point, and then you drop it and tell me you'll play your part like a good little executive officer. I want you here, but I don't know if our command styles are compatible. So far, we've come to two problems, and we haven't been able to resolve them. One of them dealt with Tagliesh; this one deals with members of the crew who are missing. Perhaps it comes down to my compassion, and my willingness to give people a chance. And, in this case, wanting to get those people out of there as quickly as possible.

"If all of our command decisions are going to result in fights, then I don't see how we can possibly hope to run this ship," Matt continued. "At least, not without killing each other. I would never throw you off this ship, but if you and I can't work together then you might be happier on a vessel that is more suited to your style of command. Why would you want to be here if you only end up fighting with me and wondering what the hell is going on in my head? Why would you want to be the executive officer on a ship where you wonder about the sanity behind every one of my orders? I'm not trying to get rid of you because we disagreed; I'm offering you the chance to go where you'll not be at odds with the commanding officer. I don't want you to go though, not if there's a way to make this command structure work."

"Then I won't go," Lyrr replied simply. "I don't want to. I like this ship, this crew. And we're not at odds all the time, Captain; it's simply that you and I are used to doing things differently. You lead with your heart, I lead with my head. We need each other to bring about a balance, but that can't happen if you think me unfeeling and indifferent." She smiled wryly at Matt. "Do you actually believe I want our people down there? Do you really think I want to leave them there to die? I've seen enough of my friends killed during the Resistance, Captain, and I don't particularly enjoy it. I want to see those officers back on this ship and safe, and frankly, I'm hurt that you'd think I'd want otherwise."

Matt nodded slowly. "I'm sorry for that," he said. "I never thought that you wanted them hurt, Lyrr. I don't think anyone on this ship would want that, but your plans contained a lot of waiting and hoping. Waiting to find information that would help us, and hoping we got it in time. If I didn't think you'd throw a fit and try to get every medical officer on the ship to restrain me, I'd be down there right now with phaser in hand leading the way through the caves. I know there are risks involved in going in there, but that's all part of the job. 'Risk is our business.' Captain James Kirk said that to a gathering of officers and trainees in Command School almost a hundred years ago. He's right, even today. Taking risks is what we do, every day of our lives. To me, risking whatever's down there to save those people...what if it were me down there? Or you?"

"If it were me, I wouldn't expect anyone to risk their lives for me," she replied. "If it were you?" Lyrr sighed. "I'd be down there myself to rescue you."

"I think there's a humble part of all of us that wishes people wouldn't make a fuss," Matt said. "There are exceptions of course, but when it's any of those around us, we want to do anything we can. I don't know the people down there as well as I should, but I know they deserve no less than what I'd do to save you if it were you. We have to get them out of there, Tayla. We're their friends, their companions, and the closest thing they've got out here to family. I feel we owe it to them to bring them home."

Lyrr gazed inquisitively at Matt as her lips stretched into a soft smile. No one had called her by her informal name in years, and while she would have chided any other for doing so, she found that hearing Matt say it was refreshing, and about the only thing that could have broken the tension between them. "I'll go down with the away team if you think I would be an asset to them. I'll bring your crew home, Captain."

"Keep yourself safe," he said, rising to his feet. "I figure you've probably got more experience than anyone else on this ship at ground assault scenarios. If it turns into that, your experience will be invaluable. If not, then it never hurts to be cautious. Come back soon, Commander, and I owe you dinner and a hockey game."

Lyrr stood from her seat and nodded duteously. "I figure at least six hot dogs should do the trick."

Matt laughed. "With the works," he said. He started around the desk toward the door. "Come on, let's go tell Lieutenant Thalan you'll be leading the team down there."

Lyrr walked with Matt towards the door, then glanced up at him quizzically. "You hate having people angry at you, don't you?"

"Especially people I have to work closely with," Matt said with a smile. "This ship relies on you and I being able to work effectively together. We had a close call today, but I think, after our two arguments so far, we're getting better."

Tayla laughed softly. "Only two? It felt like a lot more."

"Surprisingly, only two," Matt said with a grin. "I'm sure we'll be down to one a day before you know it."

As they exited Matt's ready room, their moods had already changed drastically from what they'd been previously. Tayla was smiling, and Matt was shooting her that crooked smile that would have made any other woman swoon. "I'll meet up with Lt. Thalan in the transporter room. I'll keep you frequently posted on the search."

"Stay safe down there," Matt said with a smile. "And, good luck." He watched from just outside his Ready Room as she strolled across the bridge toward the turbolift. With a satisfied smile, he knew the missing members of the crew's chances had just increased dramatically. Now all they had to do was find them.

---

"Sensor Recalibration"
by Lieutenant (j.g.) Mark Thaine, Engineering Officer
and Ensign Kelzira Rax, Science Officer

Location: USS Sulu, in the corridors near the main Science Lab
Stardate: 57906.24 15h05

***

Mark Thaine took long strides down the state-of-the-art corridors of the USS Sulu. His thoughts wandered as he walked; from the people missing on the planet below to the strange energy field blocking their sensor scans, to feeling so out of control of the situation...and to the letter he was still trying to write to Andrea Rhea, who was back at Outpost Epsilon 4, Mark's previous posting.

He wanted to try to explain to her, to tell her what exactly was going on between them right now...perhaps even just to say a proper goodbye. But he didn't really know how. That sort of thing had never been a strong point of Mark's.

And that situation seemed as beyond his power to change as the current one. A part of him wondered why he kept trying.

Shaking his head, as if to clear such thoughts from his mind, he arrived at the doors to the Science Lab, which opened for him. Stepping in, he glanced around to try and spot the young, blonde-haired Trill he was supposed to be talking to about providing the next away team with some homing beacons or pattern enhancers...anything that could cut through the energy field surrounding the caves, and let the people left on board the Sulu have some way of helping them if things turned nasty.

Or should that have been nastier? Afterall, they'd already lost some of the crew. "Talk about a dark frame of mind," muttered Thaine to himself.

Kelzira had seen the man arrive, but wasn't sure why he was there. She smiled as his gaze swept over her while he took in the lab, and then swiveled her seat outward. "Hello, Lieutenant," she said, her voice enthusiastic and bright despite the crisis. It was always better to keep a positive frame of mind, especially in a crisis. Perhaps her enthusiasm and eagerness would inspire those around her. "I'm Ensign Kelzira Rax. Can I help you, sir?"

The engineer almost visibly winced. He was in no mood for overly happy people. "We'll see," he said, focusing his gaze upon the young Ensign. "I'm Mark Thaine, from Engineering. I'm trying to sort out some way of penetrating this energy field blocking our scans of certain areas of the planet. I figured the Science Department might help me out. Which," he pointed a finger at the Trill, "is where you come in."

Kelzira grinned. "Of course, Lieutenant," she said. "I'll help however I can. I was looking over some of Lieutenant Tagliesh's notes earlier, and that shielding they have in those caves seems fairly advanced. Did you have any ideas yet, or should we just start going over the sensor calibrations to try to break through their field?"

Mark sighed. "No, I've got no ideas. But we may be able to use some pattern enhancer technology to give us a head start. I'd be happy if we could just keep a transporter lock, or even a comm link, with the next away team to go into those caves." The engineer grabbed a chair from a nearby console, and moved it near enough to Kelzira so that they could work at the same console.

Kelzira nodded. "Signals get scrambled once in the caves, but perhaps we can set up relays. But, when the last team returned, I guess the aliens had pulled the beacons right out of the walls of the cave. What about a portable enhancer? Something we won't have to leave lying around for the aliens to steal?"

Thaine nodded. "Yeah, exactly like that," he said, as he sat down next to her. At least the kid was bright. "But we won't be able to do much until we find the right calibration. It would make it easier knowing that we had something planet-side to help us."

"I guess if we had a relay station set up with armed guards around it so the aliens can't get to it," Kelzira suggested. "But, then if we have to run cabling... I don't think we have enough people to guard all of that. There has to be another way to enhance the sensors. Too bad we can't just fire a probe into the caves, have it fly around, and then come back out with the data."

The engineer shook his head sadly. "I wish we could. But we don't have anything on board like that. Nothing un-manned, anyway. And we don't want to send anyone down there because of the dangers..." He trailed off, thinking about the possibilities of hooking up some anti-grav engines to a probe, or maybe just a little sensor package in a torpedo casing...but the construction would take too long. Far too long.

And then he snapped his fingers. "What about Lieutenant Tagilesh's tricorder scans?" he demanded. "She ventured in the caves once, didn't she? And came out again?"

Kelzira thought about it and then nodded. "She did," she finally said. Her hands danced over the computer console as she searched with all of the data uploaded from the science tricorders that had been down on the planet. Please be there, she urged. "Ah ha! Her data was synced with the ship's main computer when she beamed aboard. It's all here." She started looking through and frowned. "And, it's as garbled as anything else. We might be able to run some filters to clean up the scans."

Thaine sighed. "That's gonna take hours." He turned to look at her. "But unless you can come up with any other bright ideas..."

Kelzira chewed her lip as she thought over the problem. "How about--?" She frowned when she realized she'd already suggested that. "Or we could...no, too much interference. Wait a minute-- These patterns, they're not natural. The interference, I mean. That's something generated, not a natural part of the cave." She looked at him. "I wonder if we could come up with a way to overload the field generating the interference."

Thaine raised an eyebrow, and then the other followed as both his eyes lit up with excitement. "That's it! We don't even need to overload it; just use it to our advantage! Look!" Mark stabbed quickly at the computer console in front of him.

Kelzira shifted so she could see the console, peering over his shoulder as she did.

"All we need to do is find the resonance frequency of the field..." The engineer continued working at the console, and Kelzira realised he was creating a theoretical model of the situation. "...and we can use the field as part of our sensor pulses...like this look." Mark turned to her triumphantly, pointing at the screen. "I'm sure this will work! Providing we can find the frequency and modify the sensors."

"That's it! That'll work! It has to!" She turned to him, her features showing her obvious excitement. "Now, I guess we just need to find that frequency."

Mark stood up. "You get the computer working on it. It's gonna take at least a few hours, so I'll look through the crew biographies and put a team together for the sensor modifications." He paused. "You know? First I'm gonna grab a coffee. You want anything?"

"Tea please," Kelzira said as she started adding data for the computer to start working on the sensor problem. "Nothing herbal though. Just...black tea. Thank you, sir."

"Trust me Ensign, we're gonna need the caffeine," said Thaine darkly as he left Kelzira to her work.

---

"Equipment Retrieval"
Ensign Dwayne Sanchez
Lieutenant Sam

Location: Cargo Bay
Stardate: 57906.24 15h25

***

Dwayne was in the Cargo bay as the flora samples were being beamed aboard the ship. He'd been a tad upset at himself thinking about the betrayal that he'd done in informing the captain about the wager. But if it keeps the women safe, it was damned well worth it.

He assisted a Lieutenant with a crate that had just been beamed aboard and they moved it together to stack it against the bulkhead. He nodded to the Lieutenant as they both moved aside from the crate back to the transporter pad to take up the next crate that was beamed aboard.

Another transport and he and the lieutenant went to remove the crates from the pad. He was making sure they kept them categorized according to genus and sub-species. Also between whether or not they were trees or flowering plants or both. On the PADD he was cataloguing them on was close by and while the next group was being beamed aboard, he updated the catalogue.

The doors to the cargo bay slid open and Lieutenant Sam strode through. He held a padd in one hand and had a tricorder still strapped at his hip. He looked around the room, optical array cataloguing everything present. Once satisfied with the results, he moved closer to examine the containers being moved from the cargo transporters to holding areas for further analysis.

Dwayne noticed the lieutenant as he came closer but at that moment another transport had been completed and he and the unnamed lieutenant moved forward to pull the crates from the pad. Again while the lieutenant moved back to the pad after the last crate had been moved, he went back to cataloguing the latest transported cargo. The entire time he was updating the catalogue, he kept glancing to Lieutenant Sam as he made his way around the cargo bay with his own PADD.

Sam noticed Ensign Sanchez glancing in his direction, but as he ran it through behavioral analysis he concluded that it was merely the human response to an authority figure present and observing his progress. Such situations commonly raised the tension level of humans, and created excess anxiety. In hopes of alleviating the ensign's stress, he moved farther down the line of unloaded containers to examine them.

Dwayne finished cataloguing the last bit of cargo and had been informed that it would take a few moments for them to change coordinates so he made his way over to Lieutenant Sam. He handed over his PADD with the catalogue on it and waited for the lieutenant to acknowledge his presence.

Sam read over the contents of the padd quickly and acknowledged it with a nod. "Very good, ensign," he said. "The results of your examination are compliant with those of my own internal computations. There are only two more sections of the planet that still contain equipment to be returned to the ship. They were the last areas examined, and therefore should contain the least amount of equipment. You are doing well."

He nodded and said, "Thank you, sir." Of course he was doing well, this kind of thing was one thing he excelled at and enjoyed. But he wasn't actually done. The transporter chief hadn't called him over yet so he was able to have the conversation he'd been waiting to have. "Sir, I have a couple of requests."

"Of course, Ensign," Sam said, and then motioned for him to continue.

"Well, my first request is for a change of quarters, if that is possible," Dwayne started.

Sam processed the request and then nodded. "Of course," he said. "If you wish, you can log the change yourself when you are finished here."

He nodded. "I wouldn't know how to go about that, sir, and I would need to have a more compatible roommate than Ensign Steele, if possible."

"Very well, Ensign," Sam said. "When I return to the bridge, I will arrange for suitable new habitation."

He nodded again. "Thank you, sir." He swallowed, wondering if this next one would be granted as easily. "My next request is...I'd like a shift change."

"I can have you placed on Gamma shift if that is acceptable, Ensign."

Dwayne sighed, not exactly the shift he was wanting. He swallowed and spoke again, "I was kind of hoping for Alpha shift, sir."

"I would be able to place you at the power distribution station on deck eight if you are interested, Ensign."

The Power Distribution Station? He nearly failed the matter/antimatter stuff at the academy; if he had to calculate something like that he'd really blow the ship to kingdom come. "Uh, no, sir, that's okay. I-I'll stay with Beta shift." So much for more time with Jenara.

"I will keep you informed if any other openings on Alpha shift become available, Ensign," Sam said. "Was there anything else?"

He shook his head no, then the chief called him over indicating that the coordinates had been changed and they were ready to start transporting again. He grabbed his PADD again and headed back over to continue the work he'd started.

---

"Captive"
by Lieutenant Xayella Tagliesh
Ensign Tchalla Mel'Chir
and Ensign Blake Corrigan [NPC]

Location: Caves on Dorvali 449
Stardate 57906.24 15h37

***

Consciousness came slowly, sluggishly, and reluctantly for the ache in her head and the churning in her stomach. It was hell compared to how wonderful she'd felt waking up next to Matt... When? How long had it been? How long had she lain there, insensate and unresponsive? And why was it so cold? She attempted to determine where she was, hoping it was in Matt's bed, but her lids refused to open; they felt as heavy as they had been when they first fell over her eyes so long ago, it seemed. Her body was dead a weight keeping her sprawled on the frigid ground, and her limbs were useless extensions of it. Even her tongue refused to cooperate and form the nonsensical words drifting through her delirious mind. She could, however, groan, but nothing too loud for fear that her parched throat would bleed with as hoarse as it felt.

In response to her feeble vocalization, Xayella heard clicks resembling dripping water droplets from...somewhere. The sounds were complex in their nuances, and vast in their range, from shrill chirps, to guttural, resonant rumbles that sent vibrations travelling throughout her body. This alone forced her eyes open. There was nothing at first, then an uncanny, eerie green phosphorescence emanating from what appeared to be cavern walls. She was in the cave complex, that much she could deduce, but she could see nothing more, not even the source of the unsettling sounds coming from the darkness.

With some effort, she managed to raise her head and strained to turn her neck and gain a broader scope of her surroundings. That's when she noticed the lithe, blue form of Ensign Mel'Chir lying supine above her position. Her blue skin gave off an ethereal glow that was tinted green by the viridescence from the walls, making her extremely visible in the darkness, unlike the others littering the ground who were but shapes without definition. Their faces too were obscured by the darkness, but faint features were made distinguishable by the green light limning them, though she still recognized none.

Sensation soon returned to her limbs, but with it came the knowledge of how weak they were. She focused all her strength on one arm, which she slid up along the soil-covered ground towards Tchalla's foot. Her hand gripped Tchalla's ankle and she squeezed feebly. The girl didn't stir. "Ensign..." she murmured. Xayella squeezed her ankle again, and managed to shake her foot gently. "Tchalla... Wake up."

Suddenly and without warning, the young Andorian woman lurched. She drew in a long, staggering breath and opened her eyes. Her features were washed with confusion as she tried to make out her surroundings, but they finally settled on Xayella. "What happened?" she whispered.

Xayella sighed and struggled to push herself upright. "I don't know." She grunted as she succeeded in sitting, her body propped up by one hand. "Somehow I passed out, and apparently you too. I don't know anything else."

Tchalla brought her fingers up and probed the bite marks on her throat. "They bit us," she said. "They must have had some toxin in their bite that rendered us...unconscious. There are others. How--? How many?"

Xayella shook her head, which she immediately regretted as the room began to spin. She lifted her other hand to her brow and closed her eyes to steady herself. "I didn't see anyone in the forest when we were attacked, and I haven't seen anyone since I awoke. But I've been hearing things. I don't know if it's them, but there's something in here with us." She let out a slow breath and hazarded to open her eyes. "Contact the ship. We have to get out of here."

Tchalla rolled to her side and brought a shaky hand up to tap her communicator...only to have it brush against the thin fabric of her uniform. She frowned and glanced back at Xayella. "It's gone," she whispered. "They took my communicator."

With a quick glance down at her own uniform, Xayella realized the same about hers. "Of course they did," she said sourly. "Ensign, are you strong enough to stand? We have to try and wake up the others. We have to find a way out."

Tchalla pushed herself into a sitting position and looked around. "I believe I am, Lieutenant," she whispered. "My head's still a little fuzzy, but I think it's clearing."

"Good. We may not have much time." Xayella got to her knees and shakily tried to rise. She used the cave wall for support, brushing off some of the incandescent moss attached to the surface and causing it to rain down upon the ground. Once securely upright, she extended a hand for Tchalla and pulled her to her feet. "We have to be very quiet," she whispered. "We don't want them to know we're awake."

"I'll be very quiet," Tchalla whispered as she brushed the dust and dirt from the cave floor from her uniform and bare legs. With the chill in the cave, she was suddenly regretful that she hadn't worn a regular uniform. Of course, if she was cold, she could only imagine what it must feel like for Xayella. "Should we stay together while we wake them?"

"I don't want to lose you in all this darkness, Ensign. Stay close to me." Still holding Tchalla's hand, the two of them approached the first prone body they found upon the ground. Xayella didn't recognize him, only because she was familiar with only those in her department, but his name wasn't important. Waking him up was. She dropped to her knees and gently shook him. Whatever their captors had pumped into them was certainly powerful, for it took almost a full minute to get any sort of response from the officer. "Open your eyes," she whispered to him. "Come on. Wake up."

Tchalla moved to the other side of the prone officer and squatted down opposite Xayella as she tried to rouse him. She didn't recognize him as she looked him over. Suddenly, she started. "Oh my!" When Xayella looked at her, Tchi pointed down to the front of the man's pants, which were wide open.

If the situation were entirely different, Xayella would have found much amusement in the officer's embarrassing situation - or what would have been embarrassing to him if he were awake. "What's wrong, Ensign?" Xayella asked with a grin. "Never seen one before?"

Tchalla shook her head quickly. "No," she whispered back. "At least not a human one. And, the only others I ever saw were my brothers, so that's different."

"Well, now you have - and not a bad one either," Xayella replied, "so help me wake him."

Tchi took one last look and then focused her attention on the officer's face. "Wake up, sir," she whispered as she shook him gently. "Ensign, wake up. We need your help. We need your help...and...and you have to close your pants!"

Xayella sighed impatiently and was about to consider moving on to the next officer when she thought of another method of awakening a heavy sleeper. The sharp sound of her palm slapping against his cheek echoed briefly throughout the cavern; it seemed to do the trick, too, for soon, the ensign began to stir. "Ensign, can you hear me?"

A brief groan escaped Ensign Corrigan's lips, and then he came bolt upright. There was a wild terror in his eyes, that quickly disappeared when he saw Xayella and Tchalla. "What happened?" he rasped. "One moment I was..." With an embarrassed gulp, he quickly closed his pants. "Where are we?"

"In a cave...somewhere on the planet," Xayella replied. "There's no time to explain. We have to try and find a way out. We have no communicators, and I don't doubt that we're without weapons as well. Can you stand?"

Corrigan nodded. "I think so," he said. It took a little effort, but he managed to get himself into a crouch. "Yes, I can. What's your plan?"

Xayella shifted closer to Corrigan, and the three huddled together in a small circle. "I don't exactly have one," she began. "I'm just a science officer, Ensign. But I do know that we're dealing with creatures who have the ability to mask themselves from sight. We won't see them until they're on top of us, if they're even here at all. The chances that we'll find our way out without being detected is small, but while we do search, I want you to take note of our surroundings so we'll be better prepared if we need to make another escape attempt." She looked between the two young officers, then focused on Blake. "So, any suggestions, Ensign? You are the security officer here."

"How many of us are there? I think if we can make a break out of here, that would be best. But, I don't know how many we can take before we're too much of a mob. Perhaps a small group can get to safety, where we can then lead the Sulu back."

Xayella nodded her head, though choosing who they offered a chance at freedom to was something even she found morally troubling. "Focus on security officers. If we have to fight our way out of here, they'll be better suited for it."

Corrigan nodded. "Let's go find out who else is here," he whispered. "I know most of the security officers, and I think we'll have a chance with any of those who were on the Away Team. We'll need to devise some kind of weapon if we can...though, rocks will work if there are any around."

"Ensign Mel'Chir, search for some rocks," Xayella told her quietly. "And collect some of the moss on the walls. If we can gather enough, we can use it as a lighting source to help us find our way. Ensign, you're with me. And, I hope I don't have to tell you both to be absolutely quiet."

Tchalla nodded and silently slipped away to gather rocks and moss. At Xayella's side, Blake Corrigan moved off to check on the rest of the Away Team. He knew they'd manage to get out of this, but the question was how...and how many would end up sacrificing themselves along the way?

In the weak light provided by the moss, Xayella managed to find and awaken three more security officers. She quickly explained their situation to them, and then joined Corrigan and his group to briefly discuss strategy, or what there was of one. "Where's Mel'Chir?" Xayella asked as she looked around the darkened cavern.

Corrigan looked around, trying to differentiate one shadow from another, and then pointed. "There," he whispered. "See that grouping of moss that appears to be floating this direction? That's her. Do we have enough to make a break for it?"

"Do we have a choice?" Xayella sighed. "Okay, get your...weapons from Ensign Mel'Chir, everyone. Use them sparingly and only if absolutely necessary. We don't want to cause too much of a commotion. Ready?" At their nods, Xayella motioned for them to move out.

Whispered murmurs of readiness went around the group. Tchalla handed everyone two rocks and a small supply of moss. After a few moments of double-checking and mental preparation, the group started silently toward one of the exits.

Tchalla edged closer to Xayella. "I can sense something behind us, but it's faint and distant."

"You can sense them?" she asked curiously. "But...in the forest... Why didn't you sense them then?"

"I couldn't see them in the forest," Tchalla said. "Even when they attacked us. But now, if I looked really hard when I was gathering the stones, I could see shapes moving. I can sense the heat of their bodies and I can pick up the vibrations of their movements. I think whatever they did to themselves when they grabbed us, they had a way to block us from seeing or detecting them."

"But you can sense them now?" Xayella smiled. "Good. That's very good. You've just bettered our chances of making it out of here. Ensign, you're with me. We're taking point." She grabbed the Andorian's arm and led her to the head of the group. Xayella looked up and down the tunnel outside of their chamber, then turned her gaze to Tchalla. "Is it clear, Ensign?"

Tchalla closed her eyes and let her natural senses work for a moment. Once she was satisfied the way ahead of her was clear, she nodded. "It's okay."

"Okay, everyone let's go," Xayella whispered. She motioned them along behind her as she and Tchalla started into the tunnel. The direction they chose was indicated by Tchalla, one away from the grunts and clicking chirps coming from somewhere within the cavern. "Tchalla, I want you to inform me immediately if you feel anything, no matter how unimportant you think it may be. We'll need ample warning if we're going to elude these...creatures."

Tchalla nodded slowly, keeping her attention outward and the feelings of nothingness that told her the way was clear. "Nothing yet, sir," she whispered. "We're clear straight ahead."

"Okay, everyone," she whispered to her team. "Let's go a little faster. We'll try to cover as much ground as we can while we still have safe passage."

The group started moving ahead faster, per Xayella's urging. As they passed through another cavern, using only the light from their gathered moss to guide them, Tchalla suddenly gasped. She turned to look back from the direction they'd come. "They know we're gone!"

Xayella gestured urgently to the officers, bringing them all to a sprint down the tunnel. "We have to find a way out now!" she hissed. "Ensign, which way?"

"There," Tchalla rasped, pointing in the direction opposite from where she felt the aliens. "That way!"

"Everyone hide your moss in your pockets! We don't want to signal them to our location. Follow Tchalla's light and hurry!" The team's lights were quickly stuffed away and smothered within their pockets. An ominous darkness fell upon them with only the glow from the moss upon the walls giving some illumination, and that in Tchalla's hand lighting their way. If they hadn't been trained Starfleet officers, the panic would have consumed them and sent them rushing madly towards escape, but they moved in an orderly fashion and none strayed from the path set out by Tchalla. "Have they found us, yet?" Xayella whispered for only Tchalla to hear.

Tchalla looked around frantically, searching for any sign of the aliens. "I don't know," she whispered. "Oh no. I...I can't sense them now. I think...I think they've masked themselves!"

"Dammit..." Xayella was quickly losing hope of succeeding in their escape, but a fork in the tunnel brought her some optimism. She swung her head around towards the team and slowed them to a stop. "We're splitting up. Half to the right and half to the left. It's the only way. Now, go!"

The officers obeyed without question, but not because of any respect for her authority they might have had; Xayella figured they were too desperate to question her orders, so instead, they ran. Xayella and her team sprinted into the other tunnel and again turned things over to Tchalla. "Ensign, please tell me you're sensing something."

"With all the movement," Tchalla gasped, "I can't tell. I think they're behind us, but I'm sensing something to the side now!"

Xayella whipped her head around but saw nothing, although she hadn't really expected to. Her head snapped around in the opposite direction, giving her an instant kink, as a commotion sounded from the adjacent tunnel, the one occupied by the rest of their team. Shouts and accompanying hisses sounded, and Xayella impulsively tightened her grip on Tchalla's arm. "They've found them," she said gravely. "We have to keep going though. We have to."

A cry that was suddenly cut off made Tchalla flinch. "This way," she whispered, and sprinted in the direction she was pointing. "Hurry!"

A bitter taste rose into Xayella's throat at the thought of what was befalling the other officers, and what also might soon befall them. She surprisingly thought of Matt, then, and a slight calm swept over her. He would save them. He wouldn't rest until they were found. It was in what state he would find them that worried her.

A startled shout arose from one of the team members in their group, and when Xayella looked back, she vaguely saw him begin dragged along the ground, away from them, but she could not make out who it was that had seized him. "Oh god... They're here!"

Tchalla cried out and lurched back as Ensign Doyle was being dragged back into the darkness. Before she'd gotten two steps, she slammed into something large and heavy. A quick twist should have rolled her away from the thing, but a vice-like grip clamped down on her arm. She cried out, and then the cry grew even louder when two sharp pricks of pain bloomed in her throat. There was a moment more of struggle, and then darkness.

Xayella managed to get farther down the tunnel than the rest of her team, who were being subdued with a frightening efficiency and speed. She screamed, however, as a cold, leathery hand encircled her wrist and jerked her back. Reacting quickly, she slammed the heavy rock in her free hand down upon where she felt her wrist being constricted. A shrill keen assailed Xayella's ears as the invisible hand released her. Flecks of blue, florescent liquid splattered onto the sleeve of her black uniform and when she looked up again, droplets of the same blue substance were dribbling to the ground, welling from the wound she'd inflicted upon the ghostly creature. As veins of the plasm ran down in all directions, a faint outline of the creature's hand limned in blue blood formed. It would have looked like any other human hand if the claws protruding from the tips of its digits had been absent, claws from which more of its blood dripped.

Xayella hadn't realized she'd stopped breathing until her heart began pounding in her chest, begging her for fresh air. With a shuddering gasp to refill her lungs, Xayella turned and ran. Behind her, the creature emitted a hissing growl, but she didn't turn back. The ground before her trembled as the blue hand, and the invisible body with it, seemed to fall from the darkness above her. Before she could cry out, a weight slammed into her chest and flung her backwards into the wall of the cavern. The impact hadn't quite knocked her unconscious, though with the pain radiating throughout her body, she wished it had.

Xayella lay crumpled and groaning on the ground as she felt the creature approaching. With her last ounce of strength she raised her head and gazed up at the hulking shape now resolving into its substantial, ghastly form. The one thing she saw clearly before she finally submitted to unconsciousness were two burning, red spheres hovering in the darkness and staring down at her. It was then, she knew they truly had entered hell.

---

"Hot Under the Collar"
by Lieutenant Sam, Chief of Operations
and Lieutenant (j.g.) Mark Thaine, Engineer

Location: Main Engineering, USS Sulu
Stardate 57906.24 16h46

***

"What do you mean there's been an abduction?!" Thaine demanded from a nervous young crewman, who almost dropped his tool box in fright.

"I'm j-just repeating what I heard!" the younger engineer responded, panicking more than slightly.

"And nobody thinks to tell me?" responded Thaine, throwing his arms up in dismay. "Typical," he muttered to the world in general. Then his gaze returned to the crewman. "Alright, well done, you. At least you're keeping me informed. Go grab a bite to eat and get ready to come running. I may need you later."

The crewman nodded, and fled. Thaine, on the other hand, glanced around engineering. "Ensign Redman!" he called out, his loud deep baritone penetrating the darkest alcoves of the room. Spotting her, he shouted, "You're in charge down here while I'm gone." And with that, Mark Thaine turned and left engineering with long, slightly hurried strides.

***

The sensors were still incapable of penetrating the shielding of the caves. If Sam were human, he was certain he would be frowning right now. Instead, he merely watched the data filtering across the console with curiousity. He had already devised several theories as to the nature of their hidden enemy, but without further evidence, they were all as valid as a child's bedtime story. Still, it was a perplexity.

The sound of the turbolift opening and booted feed moving in his direction brought Sam's attention up. He noted Lieutenant Thaine approaching him, and adjusted his current processes to accommodate a conversation. "Lieutenant," he said with a brief nod of welcome, "I had not expected to see you here on the bridge. How may I help you?"

"Sure was nice of you to keep me posted on recent events!" snapped Thaine, and then lowered his voice when he remembered where he was.

"Lieutenant, I do not understand the nature of your hostility," Sam said. "If you wish to know of all current events, I will assign the time within my schedule so that you are informed."

"Nevermind," said Thaine, shaking his head. "I heard about it from one of my engineers, and I have a few ideas for locating our missing crew members. You say there's some caves that our sensors can't penetrate?"

"There are caves that our sensors are unable to penetrate," Sam answered.

"I'll have a go at making some modifications to the sensors. The science department might help. And what about the shuttles?"

"As far as I am aware the shuttles are operating at nominal levels."

"We could attempt to reconfigure the sensors on the shuttles and make some low altitude passes over the area. The shorter range might give better performance, if we're dealing with such a small area."

"Before her abduction, Lieutenant Tagliesh took a shuttle to the planet's surface to attempt to get a solid reading of what is inside of the caves. Her attempts were not successful. The information I have gathered so far indicates that there are natural deposits within the caves that obstruct and refract our scans. In addition, it appears that there has been some sort of field erected to further impede our sensors."

Thaine frowned. "What do you mean a field? Just how advanced are these people we're dealing with?"

"We are not yet certain," Sam said. "It would appear that they have not felt the need to contact us; therefore we have very little information about them or their motives."

Mark shook his head, annoyed. "Well...isn't there anything we can do?" Never one to handle being out of control of a situation too well, a slight trace of desperation had crept into his voice.

"We are doing what we can, Lieutenant," Sam said. "I have been running various analyses since we first lost contact with the missing Away Team members. Commander Lyrr is taking another team down to the planet to begin a search. According to the captain, telepathy may be a viable means to locate the aliens."

"Telepathy. Great." Thaine half leaned against the wall, and rubbed his eyes. This wasn't fair. It felt like he had his hands tied behind his back. "I sure do envy how calmly you're taking this, Lieutenant," he said.

"There is no other means by which I would be able to react to this situation, Lieutenant," Sam said. "I have no emotions, and therefore calm is not an emotional state I can experience, nor is agitation. I am merely doing my duty as a Starfleet officer."

Mark's look was one that closely resembled pity for the android, though it quickly faded. "Okay," said Thaine, standing up straight and shaking his head. "How's about this. I'll liase with the science department and try and find some way to get around that field. We might be able to come up with something that will at least allow us to keep a sensor lock on the away team. Maybe they can carry beacons or something."

"That will be acceptable," Sam responded. "I believe Ensign Kelzira Rax is currently in charge of the science department with both Lieutenant Tagliesh and Ensign Mel'Chir indisposed, and Lieutenant Ashbury on the planet with the Away Team."

"Alright then. Thank you, Lieutenant." Thaine turned to leave the bridge.

Sam watched Thaine exit the bridge and shook his head in a passable simulation of the human gesture. With that, he returned to his sensor scans.

---

"Fear"
By: Lt(jg) Samantha Ashbury
Lt(jg) Michael Ashbury

Location: Deck 2 Quarters
Stardate: 57096.24, 19h45

***

"I just don't want to go," Sam said quietly as she leaned against Michael's shoulder. "The last one was...bad."

"I know," Michael said comfortingly. "But I also know that you'll be okay."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Yeah. And to make me feel better too," Michael said wryly. Sam laughed. She'd just been assigned to an away team to search for clues in the disappearance of the Sulu crewmembers. She'd also found herself, unexpectedly, as the senior science officer onboard the Sulu at the moment. That she was one of two xenobiologists onboard the Sulu (the other one was currently MIA) didn't help to avoid this assignment.

"You'll be okay. Commander Lyrr knows your past and so does the Captain. They won't let anything happen to you."

"I know, it's just..."

Michael didn't say anything to that. He didn't have to. Sam still occasionally awoke from nightmares resulting from her Calevere experience.

Sam looked at the clock. It was going on 20h00. The away mission was due to leave in just a few hours. And, as the Dorvali biosphere analysis was her project, she had a report to prepare.

"I'd better get some things together," Sam said with a sigh as she stood up. "I'll be back in a few hours. I think I'll go to the Lounge for some peace and quiet to work."

Michael just nodded, not trusting himself to speak, as Sam kissed him gently before heading out the door.

---

"Long Night, Part 1"
by Lieutenant (jg) Mark Thaine - Engineer, USS Sulu
Lieutenant (jg) Andrea Rhea [NPC+] - Counsellor, Outpost Epsilon 5
Captain Mike Talshan [NPC+] - Commanding Officer, Outpost Epsilon 5
and Lieutenant Sam - Ops Manager, USS Sulu

Location: Primary Sensor Control and Maintenance Room, USS Sulu
Stardate: 57906.24 18h04

***

Mark Thaine watched with folded arms and a carefully guarded expression on his face as the first few wall panels were removed, in order to provide them with easier access to the sensor grid. The team he'd put together consisted of specialists in sensor grid modifications, with a couple of the more older, more experienced engineers working with them to try and provide a calming influence on the youngsters that seemed to form the majority of the crew. If there was one problem with the crew, it was the lack of experience.

At least, he told himself, it was nothing time wouldn't change. A few of them were even looking quite promising already. Ensign Redman, for instance, was a talented engineer and would probably turn into a fine officer. Given enough time.

Unfortunately, as Thaine well knew, the universe had a habit of throwing you in the deep end before you'd quite learnt how to swim. Jenara would have some hard lessons to learn, but Mark was determined to prepare her for them. Even if there was a possibility she'd hate him by the end of it.

The last panel was coming off now. Optical fibre cabling, neural-gel packs, a couple of heavily reinforced, small EPS conduits...the whole lot, open and exposed. This was only the first step, of course; there were still the external modifications to make to the sensors: that would involve a space-walk. And they'd have to do the same thing to a couple of other sections of the grid. At that very moment, Ensign Redman was leading a team to carry out modifications to the power distribution nodes, to provide a larger power supply to the sensor grid. But at least they were getting somewhere.

Thaine had tried to keep the modifications themselves as simple as possible, since they would likely have to change a lot of it back once they were done here. But it was still a huge job. He didn't expect to be finished before mid-morning next day.

The engineers had stopped, he noticed, and were looking to him expectantly. With a cough, Mark shook himself out of his reverie, and began to remove his duty jacket, revealing the standard issue grey top he wore beneath it. "Right," he said to the group at large, as he slung his jacket over one of the off-line consoles in the room. "Let's get to work."

***

Location: Outpost Epsilon 5, near the Romulan border
Stardate: Stardate: 57906.24, 23h11

***

On Outpost Epsilon 5, two figures stood on the small observation deck, their silhouettes framed by the large windows, with a backdrop of stars setting the scene. Through the window, Starfleet tugs could be seen, removing large chunks of the station, entire modules, decks, all to be used as scrap material for the brand new Starbase that was to be constructed a number of light years deeper inside Federation territory.

Andrea Rhea couldn't help but sigh as she watched them slowly take the station apart. Her home for the last year was being disassembled, piece by piece. Giving a sidelong glance to the Captain standing next to her, the counsellor could only imagine the pain he was feeling. It wasn't just his home...it was his, in a way only a captain, or possibly a Chief Engineer, could understand.

Of course, their Chief Engineer was gone now. Partly, Andrea was glad; Thaine would have hated to see the station he had spent so long working on getting pulled apart.

Mostly, Andrea wished he was here. She missed him.

What worried her most was that she wasn't sure if Mark Thaine felt the same way. Their goodbye had been brief; a quick hug, a wave and then gone, into the shuttle and away. She'd asked if he would write, and Thaine had responded in one of his ambiguous half nods, half shrugs. He hadn't written yet, nor had he tried to contact her at all, and Andrea was reluctant to try and force him to talk to her if he didn't want to.

She looked across at the Captain again, and cleared her throat. "You know, Captain...counsellors are here for all the crew. That includes you. If you ever want to talk about something...anything..." Andrea left her sentence hanging in the air.

Captain Mike Talshan looked at her, and gave her a sad smile. "Thanks, Counsellor. But I'm fine. Really."

Andrea nodded, and both officers returned their gazes to the stars, and the tugs moving among them. Another had just warped in. It looked familiar. Hadn't Mark done some work on that one?

She wondered what he was doing now. He was probably having a wonderful time, she decided, wearing himself out trying to work out how some alien technology worked, or trying to get his shiny new ship to go just that little bit faster...Yeah, Mark Thaine was probably having the time of his life.

***

Lieutenant Sam strode down the darkened corridor of the USS Sulu. His optic sensors had adjusted automatically to compensate for the change in lighting level, but he could tell that the illumination in this section of the ship seemed to be less than other areas. Of course, he knew that to be false. The lighting levels were exact, though perhaps it was something less tangible. He put the thoughts into a subprocessor and decided to mull over them at a later time.

He had noticed the fluctuating readings coming from this section, and knew it to be the work Lt. Thaine was doing on the sensors. As he rounded the corner, he noticed the ship's engineering officer bent over a section of optical cable, going over it with a tricorder.

"Lieutenant," Sam said as he approached, "I am here to inquire as to your progress."

"Oh, it's going great," replied Mark, biting sarcasm on every word, as he turned to face Sam. "We're having the time of our lives down here. It's all I've ever wanted to do since I was a boy; rip out the entire sensor grid and reinstall it piece by piece." He paused, stretched, and seemed to regain some composure. "Actually, we're just about to call it quits for the evening. We're over the worst of it, and we could do with some sleep before we finish off tomorrow morning."

"I see," Sam said. "Are the modifications to the Sulu's sensors on schedule? Captain Salinger will request a report soon, and I believe he would appreciate to hear of your progress here."

"Yeah, we're doing fine. Tell him they'll be done be 1100 hours tomorrow morning." He ran a hand through his more than slightly messy hair. "Assuming two hours is long enough to get it working, once we've finished the actual modifications."

"That is very good, Lieutenant," Sam said. "I will add that to my shift report and alert the captain when he contacts me. I am certain he will be pleased with your progress."

Mark shrugged. "I bloody well hope so. We've pulled a double shift here." Then he tapped his comm-badge. "Thaine to all Alpha Shift Engineers on duty. Okay folks, that's it for the night. Make sure everything's safe, and leave it till morning. I'm not having anyone getting injured ''cause of tiredness. Thaine out."

The engineer looked back to Sam. "I don't know about you, Lieutenant, but I'm gonna grab some sleep while I can."

"I have no need for sleep, Lieutenant, but I am due back on the bridge," Sam said. "I shall check in with you in the morning. Good night, Lieutenant Thaine."

---

"Search and Rescue, Part 1"
By: Commander Lyrr Tayla
Lt. Michael Thalan
Lt. (jg) Samantha Ashbury
Lt. (jg) Resanna Jhenal
CPO Brayden Jance [NPC]

Location: Surface of Dorvali 449
Stardate: 57906.24, 20h00

***

With their phasers already drawn, the away team comprised of Lt. Thalan, Commander Tayla, Counselor Jhenal, Lt. Ashbury, and accompanying security officers materialized on the planet's surface, prepared to fend off an attack, if necessary, from the chimeric beings who had already abducted their fellow crew members. Lyrr still disagreed with Matt's hasty decision to begin a rescue attempt, but she too was eager to retrieve the abductees, even though she was anxious about walking into the enemy's territory completely unprepared; they had no idea who or what to look for, or even what kind of weaponry they had in their arsenal. They were going in relatively blind.

After a preliminary scan of the area to ensure it was secure, Lyrr set about getting the mission underway. "Lt. Thalan." She faced the chief of security and gave him a curt nod as he acknowledged her. "I may be the highest ranking officer here, but you are the security head, and that means I'm taking orders from you," she told him with a slight grin. "Although, may I suggest we split the teams in two? The Captain may not think it important, but I believe we should still devote some manpower to investigating the area for any clues these...aliens may have left behind."

Jorell, rifle in hand, looked to the XO and asked, "You wish to remain out here, Commander?" He momentarily looked to the others he had gathered for this detail, many veterans in one form or another, but the new crew, those who had just left the academy or recently signed up, he was worried about them. He then looked to Lt. Jhenal too; she was not a security officer, but her skills may just help in finding those who abducted the crew.

There is no need for concern, Lieutenant, Jhenal responded to Thalan's apprehension. The Counsellor didn't make eye contact or any other suggestion towards Thalan, physically. She didn't want to make others lose faith in their commanding officer, so she eased him telepathically. Some may be young and new-at-heart, but even the most naive can be proven strong with the right leader.

He glanced over to Lt. Jhenal and answered telepathically, Thank you.

Dressed in a much more simplistic dress, a knee-high purple halter top, a planet like this was no place for a regally dressed Counsellor. Her shoes were even more sized down, simple flattops for easy running. Resanna carried no armament, only a tricorder in hand.

"The Commander could be correct," Jhenal spoke aloud. "Perhaps a small team should remain outside, to investigate while the rest of us search the caves."

"I think that would be best," Lyrr interjected with a slight frown for the counsellor. She was more than glad to have the input of others, but she certainly did not need a mere counsellor validating her suggestions. "Along with performing an investigation of the area, it would be wise not to have our entire team wandering through the cave complex in case they encounter the aliens. Lt. Thalan, I'll leave the more experienced officers with yourself." She gave Jhenal a falsely cheerful smile and added, "You may accompany Lt. Thalan, Counsellor. He would benefit more from your talents than I ever could."

"Yes, Commander," he replied and turned to his security team and picked out several men and women and assigned them to Lyrr. "We won't be in contact once we go in there, I'll attempt to contact you in--" the man seemed to think for a moment "--three hours. If you do not hear from me or anyone in this away team, assume the worst and take the appropriate action."

"If I don't hear from you in three hours, Lieutenant, then we're coming in to get you." Lyrr stepped towards him until they were within whispering distance, and added, "Watch the Counsellor. She seems headstrong and willful; make sure she doesn't get herself into trouble." She turned her gaze briefly to the counsellor and bowed her head slightly. "Counsellor."

Jhenal returned the bow with a sign of genuine respect. "I assure you, Commander, I have no intention of getting myself in harm's way. Only if need be. That is why I do not carry a sidearm," she paused. "And perhaps if you believe me to be headstrong or wilful, we can schedule an appointment to discuss it in further detail."

Being of Betazoid heritage, Lieutenant Jhenal only believed in an honest and a forthcoming attitude. Being of Betazoid nobility, Resanna didn't know when to be subtle.

Lyrr's gaze shifted back to Thalan. "Good luck, Lieutenant," she said wryly. Not sparing another moment, Lyrr turned and set out with her team into the forest.

Thalan then looked to Jhenal and removed his sidearm and handed it to her. "Counsellor, if you would please carry this?" He then continued telepathically, I insist, Lieutenant.

Reluctantly taking it, Jhenal held onto it with a soft hand. Hopefully, I won't need to use it.

We can always hope, but I would rather you have the phaser not only for your safety but for the others' as well. I would like to resolve whatever problem these aliens have without fighting, but I know that cannot always be done.

Jorell then turned to the remaining security team, numbering five individuals. "Alright folks, let's move out and be careful in there."

The Chief of Security took a moment to put a head lamp on and then assumed the lead and moved into the caves. Once around the first bend he flipped the light on his rifle on, along with the head lamp. Two beams of light shot forth as he started inward to the first main cavern before the tunnels branched out.

The man looked to the back of the group, his light shining on CPO Brayden Jance. "Chief, after this cavern you can start leaving those tracers. At least someone will be able to tell which way we went."

The man answered in the affirmative and shouldered his rifle and took out what appeared to be a small gun of sorts. As the away team turned and took the middle tunnel he pushed the gun to the rock and pulled the trigger. With a sharp snap a small nickel-sized item was fastened to the stone wall and was flashing green. The party continued deeper and deeper into the caves and at every intersection a small tracer was fitted to the stone.

***

As highly trained as the Sulu's security officers were, Lyrr had still never seen a more collectively tense group of people since her Resistance cell on Bajor set out to hit a heavily guarded Cardassian munitions depot. The difference this time, however, was they couldn't see their enemy. The aliens had the element of surprise on their side; they were apparently undetectable, and Lieutenant Sam even suggested they were capable of cloaking themselves, which meant they had the extra advantage of invisibility as well. But Lyrr wasn't too worried. The worst that could happen was they would be suddenly attacked and be killed while fighting back; she couldn't think of a better way to die than in battle.

She and her team of security officers, accompanied by Lieutenant Ashbury, moved cautiously into a section of the forest Lt. Sam had indicated as Lieutenant Tagliesh and Ensign Mel'Chir's last monitored location. Lyrr warily scanned the area for any visual sign of ambush, since their tricorders were useless in detecting the aliens. She blindly motioned for her team to scatter and perform a more detailed investigation of the area, though she made certain at least two of the security officers remained close by. She had been advised of Samantha's distressing past when the lieutenant had initially been assigned to the Sulu, and now made it a priority to ensure Samantha felt secure and comfortable. With two security officers bearing phaser rifles ordered to protect her if necessary, she hoped Sam was feeling safe enough.

Once her team had the area relatively secured, she nodded to Lieutenant Ashbury. "Go ahead, Lieutenant. I don't mean to rush you, but please try and make this quick. We don't want to spend too much time in one area."

Sam pulled out a tricorder she'd programmed before beaming to the surface and started her survey. First, she eliminated the life signs of the away party. That cut down the readings significantly. Next she eliminated all plant life within a radius of one hundred meters. That left her with approximately two dozen abnormal readings. Sam debated for a moment then eliminated all animal life within twenty meters. Their sensor scans hadn't detected these aliens and it was unlikely that, if they were here, they would be detected anyway. That left her with precisely three abnormal readings she couldn't explain.

The first two were some sort of fluid, similar in chemistry but Sam's gut said different in function. The third was epidermal in nature and not easily visible to the human eye. That would explain how these creatures managed to move around without being seen. How they managed to move without being seen on sensors was an entirely different matter.

Sam knelt near the first reading and scanned it carefully. There appeared to be just enough to gather a small sample for analysis. The fluid was definitely organic in nature and had similar properties to the secretions she would expect to find in almost any humanoid creature. However, this fluid also appeared to have an anti-coagulant and a nerve toxin as well. Sam frowned in surprise. That might explain how the landing members were taken so easily.

She moved over the second reading. This one had to be blood of some sort. There were too many proteins and amino acids for it not to be. Its very structure was designed to deliver oxygen to the necessary cells. Sam picked up minute readings scattered about. She still didn't have enough data to get an idea of what had happened here.

The third and final reading was an epidermal structure of some sort but it wasn't visible to the naked eye. Sam pulled out a hand beacon and adjusted it to the upper UV wavelengths, expecting to the see the tiny scrap of skin. Nothing. She blinked in surprise and increased the wavelength, making them shorter. At the far end of the spectrum, almost beyond what the hand beacon was able to produce, the scrap appeared. It almost looked like what one would expect to find on a Terran reptile but it absorbed light on a scale unheard of before. Almost like a natural cloaking device.

Sam shook her head in puzzlement and stood up, brushing the dirt off her pant legs.

"Lieutenant?" Lyrr noticed the quizzical expression on Sam's face, and of course her curiousity was piqued, along with her concern. "What is it?"

"Commander..." Sam paused for an instant before going on. "I'm not sure what to make of it. The first reading is probably saliva or venom of some sort. It has properties similar to venom you might expect to find in a Terran rattlesnake, although nowhere near as lethal. It has an anticoagulant and a nerve toxin. My guess is that the nerve toxin causes almost instantaneous paralysis and, possibly, death. The nerve toxin is probably used to render victims unconscious for easier transportation to...wherever. The smaller the victim, the more dangerous the toxin. The Sulu crewmembers should be okay with limited exposure to this toxin. I'd recommend having sickbay run a more detailed analysis of it."

Sam handed over her tricorder with all the data. "The second reading is probably blood of some sort. There's just enough for a sample. The initial scans found some fascinating data on possible metabolic rates. Whatever these creatures are, they are probably going to be warm-blooded, and have incredible reservoirs of energy.

"The third and final reading is a scale or skin tissue of some sort. It's highly reactive to light. Light is literally absorbed by the cells in the skin, almost like photosynthesis in plants, except that this tissue absorbs all visible light, not just certain wavelengths. My guess is that it will absorb all light wavelengths up to the higher ultraviolet spectrum. Which makes these things very, very difficult to see. Our hand beacons only have enough power for about fifteen minutes at that level.

"As for us not being able to find them on sensors, that I can't explain yet." Sam's brow furrowed. She wasn't used to not being able to figure things out. "It could be a unique defense mechanism or it could be technological. I think it's probably a by-product of their evolution."

"Whatever the case, we have to find a way around it," Lyrr said. She returned the tricorder to Samantha's possession and smiled. "Good work, Lieutenant. Is there--"

"Commander!"

Lyrr, unappreciative of the interruption, turned around to face the security officer hurrying towards her, prepared to scold him for such a sudden outburst. She frowned curiously at the man as he approached with his palm upturned before him, obviously holding something. Her features changed dramatically to express her disheartenment as the golden insignia of a Starfleet combadge came into focus. "Where did you get that?" she asked the officer.

"It was about three meters from here, where I was scouting. It was just sitting there, glistening in the sunlight, when it caught my eye."

Lyrr sighed as she took the combadge from the ensign's hand and gazed at it gravely. It might be the only thing left of whoever it belonged to, the only thing Matt would be able to give the family of the officer who had once worn it proudly. She closed her fingers around the insignia and shut her eyes for a brief moment. "We should move on. We have some more ground to cover. Lt. Ashbury, have you completed your survey of this area?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'd suggest getting some of those samples back to the ship. We may have a better idea of what we're dealing with with more analysis."

"I agree," Lyrr concurred. "I would also like you in charge of performing those analyses, Lieutenant. You've just given us more to go by than we had before and I trust you to uncover even more." Lyrr looked back at her team and hollered over her shoulder at them to regroup. "Alright, Lieutenant," she said to Sam once again. "You lead, and we'll follow. Hopefully you can find us something else to uncover the identity of these aliens. I want our crew back, and I want them back soon."

"Aye, Commander," Sam replied as she moved off through the foliage.

"Okay, everyone move out." Lyrr watched as her team fell into step behind Lieutenant Ashbury, and once alone for a brief moment, she looked around the area that had most likely been the last place where at least one of her officers had experienced freedom, hopefully not for the last time. With a talented science officer on their side, along with a dedicated team of security members, she held hope that their missing crew would be found...dead or alive.

***

An hour had passed and Jorell had stopped the slow but constant pace and let everyone rest. He sipped from his own water pack as he looked about the small cavern they had entered. There were four other tunnels that came in from other directions and he was trying to decide which one to take. It was a toss up, as the lost people could be anywhere.

With an intake of breath Jorell reached out with his mind, seeing if he could feel any of the crew or what he had heard before in the clearing on the surface. Several moments passed and something shocked him and his eyes popped open, and he looked about but did not see anything. Those of the away team all appeared to be acting like nothing was happening.

He moved over to Jhenal and whispered, "I think I caught something, but it was not like last time and it was only for an instant. Can you try?"

Tearing down the walls around her conscious mind, Resanna opened to the metaphysical world around her. Focusing more on the thoughts than the sensations, it was easy for her to travel out of her own mind and search the ones around her. Feelings of fear and deluded excitement were all around her. Though, these weren't the minds that she was searching for.

Like an expanding sphere of telepathic energy, Lieutenant Jhenal hunted through the open caverns as far as she could. As strong of a telepath as she was, it was impossible to break through the barriers of the thick jagged walls. Continuing on, there it was. What it was, she wasn't sure. Was this what Thalan was talking about earlier? It was so far away, she could only scan the surface of its mind. Whatever it was.

It wasn't Human or Andorian or any other species she had come across before. Violent. Angry. Hard to understand. Violating its territory. Hidden. Curious. So much noise. Sentient. Dangerous.

Snapping open her eyes, Jhenal stepped back a foot from the cavern in which the creature was in.

"My head," Resanna clung to the front part of her forehead, throbbing from the exposure to the alien psyche.

"Are you alright, Counsellor?" Jorell asked reaching out to steady the woman.

"No," Jhenal answered, quickly. Then, to reaffirm herself, "Yes? What? Yes, yes I'm fine. Thank you."

Holding on to Thalan to settle herself, the pain slowly drained from Counselor Jhenal's mind. Fitting perfectly into her own head, it was a warm comfort that she oddly took for granted. Scanning the surface of another, chaotic creature's mind hurt her beyond belief. Not even doing the same to Ferengi was as painful.

"Was it the aliens we are looking for?" the man asked, and continued explaining, "I could not tell if what I sensed was the same as on the surface."

Before the counsellor could respond, and without warning, CPO Jance let out a startled cry. Suddenly the darkness brightened as phaser fire lanced out along one of the cave walls. "There's something there!"

---

"Search and Rescue, Part 2"
By: Commander Lyrr Tayla
Lt. Jorell Thalan
Lt. (jg) Samantha Ashbury
Lt. (jg) Resanna Jhenal
Ensign Kate Hansen [NPC]
CPO Brayden Jance [NPC]

Location: Surface of Dorvali 449
Stardate: 57906.24, 20h00

***

Commander Lyrr and her team had traversed a good portion of the forested area within 25 meters radius of the away team's landing position, but Lt. Ashbury had come up with nothing more than her initial prosperous finds. Lyrr was somewhat relieved that nothing had turned up; each moment they spent searching, she feared they'd discover a dead body or worse, like nothing but a pool of blood to indicate there was a dead or hurt crew member somewhere, yet she had failed in finding them. Lyrr hated failing.

Her team continued along without incident, and Lyrr was about ready to call off their part of the search when the distinct sound of phaser fire rang out from somewhere nearby. Lyrr halted her team immediately and used her finely honed hearing to pinpoint the origin of the sound. During her time fighting the Cardassians, she had found many a time that it paid to listen, and it did; the Cardassians, perhaps as a consequence of their arrogance, couldn't make a silent approach if their lives depended on it, and oftentimes - with her Resistance Cell waiting in the shadows - they did. Aside from saving her life on numerous occasions, training her ear to detect even the softest of sounds had made her hearing remarkably acute, but this time, it helped not at all.

"Okay, team," she whispered. "Divide and find where that noise came from. Report to me--"

A piercing scream cut off Lyrr's orders, and sent flocks of birds nesting in the canopy scattering frantically. This time, she had no doubts about which direction the sound had come from; besides, she could simply follow the continuous phaser fire now.

Sam's eyes flared in surprise. That sound definitely brought back memories. She could almost smell the unique scent of the Caleveran streets beneath her boots and the scent of fear from the guards acting as her escort. Sam swallowed hard as she tried to block the unpleasant memories with only partial success.

"Team! You're following me and be prepared to fight." She was about to give the order to move out, when her eyes fell upon Lt. Ashbury. The woman was proving good at hiding it, but Lyrr could see in her expression and in her posture that the situation was causing her anxiety. Ashbury was a Starfleet officer and part of her duty was going into battle when ordered to. Knowing her past, Lyrr could not demand such a thing of her. "Sorenson. Tates." Both officers stepped forward. "You'll stay here and protect Lt. Ashbury."

Sam blinked in surprise then straightened as the memories receded, and drew a deep breath. "No, Commander. I'll be okay. Besides, you might need everyone down here for this."

Lyrr knew there was no time to argue, and although Ashbury could possibly prove a threat to the rest of the team if her fears got the better of her, she saw no other option but to allow Ashbury to join them. "Lieutenant, are you comfortable carrying one of these?" She held her phaser rifle out to Sam. "It has better fire power. You'll be safer with it."

"Aye, Commander," Sam said as she folded up the tricorder and took the rifle. She'd only handled phaser rifles occasionally, mostly recently during her re-qualification for Starfleet self-defense, but quickly remembered the proper method of handling the large weapon. She took another deep breath and nodded that she was ready to go.

Lyrr placed her hand on Sam's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. Turning back to face the rest of her team, Lyrr armed herself with the spare phaser she had made certain to carry with her, and finally gave the order to proceed. She remained close to Lt. Ashbury as they moved, and even though a lull in the commotion precluded any further auditory detection of Thalan's team, once they came into a clearing before the entrance to one of the planet's cave complexes, she had no doubts about where her officers were.

Lyrr muttered a curse to herself. With sensors inoperative inside, and only their handlights to provide illumination in the thick darkness, they would be out of their element. "Be careful in there, team. We don't want to shoot any of our own."

Shouts and phaser fire erupted from within the cave again, and Lyrr knew it was time to act. Sparing one final, reassuring glance for Lt. Ashbury, Lyrr signalled for her team to advance into the caves, all unaware of what they would encounter when they arrived.

***

Jorell kneeled over Jhenal, having knocked her, as gently as he could given the circumstances when the phaser-fire began, to the ground. Many of the team had turned en masse and fired at a shape that moved across the cavern to one of the other tunnel entrances.

The Chief of Security held his rifle and scanned the area as the phaser-fire stopped. He called out to Jance, "What was it, Chief?"

"I just saw a dark shape," Brayden called. "I didn't get a good look, but it was coming right at us. Thing looked as big as a shuttle in the hand lights."

"Alright folks, look alive..." the man called as he looked down to Jhenal for a moment and then up to catch sight of a something off in the darkness of an adjacent tunnel. Moving his weapon in that direction it briefly illuminated a creature of some sort, brownish in color, standing less than a meter tall. And before he could identify it more, it darted back into the tunnel followed by the fire of several others who also spotted the creature and cried out.

In the subdued light, it was clear that Jance's cheeks had coloured. "Sorry, sir. I-- I think it was a big rat."

Pulling herself from off the ground, the Counselor began to dust herself off. "Its alright, Chief," Resanna sympathetically called to him. "In these types of situations, paranoia is flared and even the smallest thing can be dangerous."

"Hold your fire," Thalan called. He peered into the cavern where the creature had disappeared and saw it laying upon the ground several meters down the corridor. "Wow... this is some rodent. Must have some greater intelligence as well, considering the thought patterns we got from it." He looked to the Counsellor after that comment.

A small smile appeared on his face. "No doubt Cmdr. Lyrr heard our little engagement here and is coming to our rescue."

Brayden looked around in the darkened cave and then back to the security chief. "Sir, I would say that it's not certain that the commander could have heard what happened in here. With the twists and turns we had to take to get here, who can say what happened to the sound we made? Perhaps we should pull back to the front of the cave and regroup with Commander Lyrr's people."

Thalan looked to the CPO. "I would hate to lose all this time we made, but I guess it's prudent. I do not want the Commander to worry about us."

He then spoke up so everyone could hear: "Alright, folks, we are heading back to rendezvous with Commander Lyrr before we continue." He then motioned to Jance. "You have point, Chief."

"Aye, sir," Brayden called, and then started back along the wall with the glowing beacons. After about three steps, he realized each step sent a jarring pain through his leg. Ankle, he realized. It must have happened during the excitement, and vaguely in the back of his mind he remembered stumbling over a loose rock, twisting his ankle as he did. Starfleet boots were good, but not that good. "At least we've got the beacons to lead us back when we're done," he said as he started back up the way they'd come. Perhaps once they caught up with Commander Lyrr, they'd be able to start back down the passage to find the crew. It'd be better with a full away team anyway.

***

Thanks to the luminescent green beacons Lt. Thalan had inserted into the cave walls, Lyrr and her team had no trouble following the route they'd taken within the cavern. They'd been running for the last ten minutes, trying to track down their fellow away team members, and now they did so with increased urgency, especially with the ominous, deafening silence that pervaded. Lyrr preferred it when she could actually hear the shouting and phaser fire; at least then, she had a good idea that her team was still alive.

Only their heavy footsteps and collective accelerated breathing echoed in the cave now, and it was shredding Lyrr's nerves to bits. One glance at Lt. Ashbury, and Lyrr knew she wasn't the only one. The woman, however, was holding up admirably well considering her past, which was a relief for her; Sam was one less person to worry about for the time being.

Lyrr looked over her shoulder next to Ensign Hansen...the other Ensign Hansen. She had met her sister Rachel once in engineering, and the two were identical; that they both wore gold uniforms didn't help matters of differentiation any, either. "Ensign, have you picked up any life sign readings yet?"

"I'm trying to get a clear reading, Commander," Kate said. Every time she thought she had the tricorder calibrated correctly, the pattern would shift again, and there'd be nothing but garbage again. "There's a reflection rate of two two point seven in here, and it's garbling everything. I think I'm picking up life signs ahead...but, I can't be certain. They are in the direction of the beacons though."

"Well, then that's where we'll keep going."

Lyrr and the team did just that, for at least five more minutes. They still had seen no indication of where the other team was, but at least they were still finding green beacons, which meant there was still more of the cave to search, and hence, a possibility that her team was still out there.

A quiet gasp came from behind Lyrr, following the alarming warning sounds coming from the tricorder in Hansen's hand. When she turned her head to look upon the girl, the concerned expression on her face made even Lyrr worry. She slowed her team to a halt and regarded Hansen expectantly. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure, Commander," the ensign said as she looked up. "It's...I can't tell. The signal's getting stronger, but I can't get a positive match on species. I don't know if I'm seeing an advancing group of aliens, or if it's the other team." Her face drained of colour as she looked up. "But, they're coming in this direction!"

"Everyone turn off your handlamps," Lyrr ordered. The entire cave was suddenly flooded with utter darkness, save for the eerie pinpoints of green lights lining the walls. Her team's heavy breathing was indicative of how tense things had just become, and it was understandable considering they might just be encountering the aliens who had abducted an entire team of their crew members.

"Everyone line up against the walls," Tayla whispered. "Try not to keep too much distance from one another, but do trt and spread out. If we have to start firing, I don't want us hitting each other." Lyrr still had a sense of where Lt. Ashbury was, and to reassure the woman, she reached out into the darkness and placed her hand upon her shoulder. "Lieutenant? Are you holding up okay?"

"I think so," Sam replied quietly. "This brings back some very unpleasant memories, Commander."

"Don't worry, Lieutenant. Just stay close to me and everything will be fine." Lyrr smiled, though she held little hope Sam could see it in the darkness. "Okay?"

Sam nodded mutely, concentrating on some Vulcan mental relaxation techniques. The darkness and enclosed surroundings had the unpleasant effect of reminding her of a very unfriendly room on Calevere she'd spent a lot of time in. The sense of a phaser rifle helped to calm her nerves. It was mostly the waiting that she hated; if something was going to happen, just happen and be done with it, Sam grumbled silently to herself.

Kate Hansen levelled her phaser rifle at the opening the approaching beings would come through. In the darkness, she could see nothing, but her ears had become attuned to the silence. Her own breathing sounded extremely loud in her ears, as did the pounding of her heart. Oh cripes, she thought, please don't let me die today.

"Get low, people," Lyrr said, the last order she would give before they maintained their silence again. She had no idea what weapons their enemies had, but she only hoped phasers would be enough to subdue them.

She now heard the strangers approaching and sent a prayer out to the Prophets for strength and guidance, not just for her, for all her team. "Fire only on my mark," she whispered.

The echoes of their footsteps were deafening in the absolute silence now, driving Lyrr mad with anxiety and impatience. If they were going to fight, she wanted it to be now. Waiting was almost worse, but judging from how close the strangers sounded, the waiting suddenly seemed to be coming to an end.

That final moment seemed to stretch out infinitely. At first, the darkness seemed alive with twisting shadows. Kate's pulse pounded at her throat, and she could feel a slick sheen of sweat covering her hands. She closed her eyes briefly and hoped this wasn't it.

Suddenly, the shadows were bathed in the light of handlamps, revealing the other team shambling into the opening. Brayden Jance was limping and mumbling something. The others seemed fine, but they were obviously agitated. Kate let out a slow breath and glanced to Commander Lyrr.

With an inaudible sigh of relief, Lyrr told her team to lower their weapons. She turned on her handlight and first focused it on Lt. Ashbury to ensure the woman was alright, then she shifted it to Lt. Thalan, who was heading his team. "Report, Lieutenant. What happened back there?"

"Commander," Jorell said with a nod as he relaxed, "an encounter with some of the planet's indigenous life." He smiled and continued, "A meter tall rodent to be exact. They also appear to have some intelligence to them. No alien abductors though."

He than motioned to a Petty Officer. "See to Mr. Jance, he's in excruciating pain and I'm getting annoyed at hearing it." He looked to the hurt man and merely said, "Telepath."

As the young officer dug out a med kit, Lt. Thalan smiled briefly to the CPO and than looked to Cmdr. Lyrr. "I assume you will be joining us as we continue, Commander?"

"Not just yet." Lyrr glanced at CPO Jance, hopping slightly on one foot while his other was being attended to. "All that commotion for a little rat?" she teased lightly. She chuckled softly and returned her focus to Thalan. "At any rate, it's safe to assume you did not find the team, is it not, Lieutenant?"

"Correct, Commander. No sign of anyone who was taken." He motioned back to the tunnel they had just emerged from. "Several hundred meters in there is a cavern, it appears to have four other exits than the tunnel in. I think at least a few are interconnected as that rodent seemed to be able to move around us without moving through the cavern."

With a gentle sigh to express her disappointment in not retrieving their missing associates, Lyrr nodded. "Alright. Although I would like to continue, I think it would be best if we got out of these caves now. With the din you made in here, it's no doubt anything occupying these caves has been alerted to our presence. I think it's far too dangerous to remain here and continue." She turned her back to Thalan and his team, and gestured to her team to follow as she started forward, once again using the green lights as a guide toward the exit. "It's a good thing you had those beacons installed, Lieutenant," Lyrr called back. "If you hadn't, we might not have found you so easily."

"Commander..." Jorell called to the XO, and waited for her to turn around before addressing the Bajoran woman. "I have to disagree with you, Sir. If these aliens heard us now, they are going to know we are coming either way. Better to go in now while they may still be organizing than to come back and face a reinforced position. We have nothing holding us back at present." He looked to Brayden hoping that wherever he was hurt he would be able to continue and not slow the group down. "We are good to continue, and it is my recommendation we do so, Sir," he voiced with conviction of his opinion.

"And it is my recommendation that we abandon this rescue attempt and return to the ship while we still can," Lyrr replied. "Now, we've got one injured officer, creatures jumping out at us from the darkness, and no idea about what's waiting for us around the next bend. If you would like to continue on your own, so be it, Lieutenant, but I really must think about what is best for the entire team, and right now, it is in my opinion that we leave. Now, Lt. Ashbury has found some samples that might helpful to us in assessing the threat of these beings, and perhaps determining what they are. Once the science department has had a chance to further analyze them, we can use that knowledge to make further rescue attempts safer. If you have a problem with that, Lieutenant, you can bring it up to the captain when we return safely to the ship."

"Very well, Commander," he said, looking back at Lyrr not too pleased with abandoning his fellow crewmates to the aliens. "If you'd please note my objection to departing, Sir."

"Noted," Lyrr said curtly before she turned away from Thalan and ordered her team to move out.

Thalan took up his rifle and moved over to be sure Chief Jance was able to continue. He then passed by the Counsellor looking to her, making his feelings clearly known before taking up the rear position and following the away team.

The team, acting as a single entity, tramped through the dank cave in relative silence. Lyrr chuckled wryly to herself as she thought back to her conversation with Thalan. In some ways, he was as impetuous as she was, and in others, he was more so. As they came out of a gentle curve in the tunnel, Lyrr came to an abrupt halt and raised a hand to stop her team. "That can't be right," she muttered.

CPO Brayden Jance let out a strangled groan. "What the--? They're-- Someone-- They were bolted directly into the cave walls!"

Ensign Hansen looked at the Chief and frowned, then looked back ahead. "What are you talking about?"

"Someone plucked the beacons right out of the wall!" He rushed forward and examined along the wall until he found one of the locations where a beacon had been. He shined his light on it, while examining and shook his head. "Commander," he began again, "there's some scoring around where the beacon was driven in. Someone came along and pried them out."

With the realization that the party was not alone in the upper tunnels, Thalan said little as he looked behind the team as he waited for possible attack. He also attempted to reach out for any other thoughts other than the away team and came up with nothing.

Kate looked around. "But, it was there just a few minutes ago when we came this way. That means...that means one of them is...is nearby!"

"Everyone calm down," Lyrr snapped. "We don't know that for certain. Let's just work at getting ourselves out of here, then you can panic as much as you like. Jance, do you think you can lead us out of here?"

Jance looked up the long, dark corridor and then back to Lyrr. "It'll be slow-going, Commander, " he said, "but I can get us out."

Lyrr stepped aside and gestured for Jance to proceed. "Do your best, Chief."

"Aye, sir," the chief said, and then started the slow trek back out of the cave. Tensions were high, and no one knew what to expect around each new twist and bend in the tunnel, but eventually they made it out into the waning daylight once more. They were outside of the caves and safe, but that didn't do the thirteen missing crew members any good. Perhaps the next time they ventured into the caves, they'd have better luck.

---

"Job Complete and Shift End"
By Ensign Dwayne Sanchez
and Ensign JR Steele
and Ensign Jenara Redman

Location: Cargo Bay and Mess Hall
Stardate: 57906.24 20h30

***

Steele left his room, still smarting over Sanchez ratting him out to the captain. The Captain seemed to believe Steele when he said it was all a joke, but even still Sanchez had betrayed his confidence, and would have to be dealt with. Thinking of ways to get back at Sanchez he entered the lounge and looked around. Suddenly he spotted her, and the plan immediately came to mind.

Sitting at a separate table, he began to run through the details in his mind. She definitely was pretty, no wonder Sanchez had taken a liking to her. Shame that Sanchez would never get to be with her if Steele had his way. J.R. Stood up and took a deep breath and approached her.

Seated by herself, Jenara Redman glanced over her maintenance report. Crewman M'Shanga and Petty Officer Riley had done an admirable job, and hopefully Lieutenant Thaine would approve of their efforts when the time came to replace the small conduit with a larger one. Jenara didn't even see the pilot approaching until he was standing over her. She looked up and saw him smiling at her. Nodding politely at Steele she went back to reading her reports. J.R. smiled thinking of how shy she was and decided he'd have to initiate the conversation. Clearing his throat he said, "You're name is Jenara isn't it?"

Jenara smiled as she looked at him once again. "Yes...how did you know?"

J.R. laughed. "We had Warp Theory together remember? My name is J.R. Steele."

Jenara looked puzzled as she searched her memory for his face. "I'm not sure I remember you."

J.R. feigned mock angst as he said, "Well I did kind of lay low being as it wasn't exactly my major area of study. I was trying not to look like an idiot around the smarter people in the class such as yourself."

Jen blushed at the compliment and said, "Thank you."

J.R. motioned towards the seat and asked, "Do you mind if I sit down?" Jen shrugged and nodded her head.

A few moments of silence passed as Jen said nothing. J.R. shook his head which caught Jen's eye. Grinning, she asked, "Why are you shaking your head?"

J.R. frowned. "Well I guess I'm a bit upset with what happened today."

Jenara cocked her head to the side as she asked, "What happened?"

J.R. shrugged. "Well my roommate told the captain something to get me in trouble, but the worst part is that I didn't actually do it. I guess I'm just worried enough about this being my first assignment without having to deal with a troublemaker as well."

Jenara flashed J.R. a sympathetic look as she said, "That's a shame. I know my roommate is having problems with her superior officer, Lieutenant Tagliesh. Have you met Tagliesh?"

J.R. had been taking a sip of his drink at that moment and it took all of his efforts not to spit it out all over Jenara. After recovering, he said, "Yes the Lieutenant and I have met, although I admit I didn't get the hard line from her. I'm not saying that she isn't like that, just that in my experience, I got nothing but respect from her."

Jen nodded then started looking back at her reports. J.R. paused a moment for emphasis then asked, "So what do you like to do, Jenara?"

Jen nervously replied, "W-W-Well I like to play sports. I also like to tinker with the engines a lot. I hope to be a chief engineer someday."

J.R. sensed an opening and asked, "Would you like to go to the holodeck sometime and play some baseball or something?"

Jenara blushed and looked at her padd. "T-T-that would be nice." A grin appeared on her face as she looked briefly at J.R. before quickly glancing back towards the PADD.

***

Several hours had passed since he'd spoken to Lieutenant Sam and the job was about done, and he was starving. He hadn't eaten all day and that was about to catch up to him. It'd taken two hours to get the next to last site cleared, and now they were almost finished with the last one. The job had taken longer than he'd anticipated but now they were very close.

Finally, the last crate came from the pad and the rest of them left, while he stayed behind to catalogue the flora. It'd taken him a half an hour to finish that and then wrote up a quick report.

He had started to write his report on the way to the mess. Now this is here, and here is this...no those don't go there... Oh come on Sanchez, keep your mind on the job...

Just then, a few moments later, he walked into the mess hall, his head still tilted, scanning the screen on the PADD in his hands more than he was looking around at the room's occupants.

Dwayne made his way to the bar and took a seat, the PADD still his main focus of attention. No, of course not, that won't work. He went back to re-write that part of his report. His mind still on nothing more than what he had going on in the PADD in front of him.

He waved the barkeep away as she came to see if he wanted anything. He went back through his report a little while longer, then he went back to writing the report. Okay, now this can go here, and this here. This doesn't work at all so I'll delete that. This here, and this here... Okay a table for the different items that were brought up and catalogued, then...voila, all done.

He sat the PADD down on the bar with a self-satisfied smile on his face. Once done, he motioned the barkeep his way and finally ordered something.

Steele saw Sanchez come in and more thoughts of revenge entered his mind as he turned towards Jenara. "Speak of the devil. There he is...my spiteful roommate. I don't know if I want to be in the same room as him."

Jenara followed Steele's eyes and saw Sanchez sitting down by himself. Shaking her head she said, "I can't believe some people. I thought we're all supposed to be one happy crew, yet there are people out there that try to hurt others just to make themselves look better. What kind of person would do such a thing?"

J.R. shrugged. "Well there's one of them I guess. Oh well. The captain seemed to believe me when I told him the truth, so all is well that ends well." Turning to focus on Jenara, Steele smiled at her. "You are definitely not one of those people. I like to think I have a sense about people, and you seem like one of the nicer people I've met in Starfleet. You're also one of the prettier ones too."

Jenara said nothing, just blushed brightly at the comment and brushed a stray hair out of her eyes. J.R. could tell that the comment had struck home and smiled. "Sorry If I'm out of line, I just call it as I see it."

Jenara was barely able to get a "Thank you" out before grinning a little more.

***

Dwayne felt someone's eyes on him and turned till his eyes met Jenara's. Then he noticed who she was sitting with and he turned away, a very hurt expression in his eyes.

The barkeep came over with his order but he really didn't want to eat now. He was grateful to the lieutenant that he wouldn't be living in the same quarters with Steele any longer; the approval for a change in quarters was a good one, but sticking with his current shift was also a good idea. At least there would be little chance of him seeing the two of them together.

What's more, Dwayne wouldn't be going home tonight, not if he had to hear Steele gloat over his success with Jenara. So now he had to find some temporary place to spend his nights till his new quarters had been arranged.

Steele saw the look of defeat in Sanchez's eyes and decided his work for the night was a success. Deciding not to push Jenara too far he looked at her and smiled. "Well, Jenara, I'd love to sit here and continue our conversation, however I have to get up early tomorrow and steer the ship. Perhaps I can call on you sometime and we can go play sports on the holodeck?"

Jenara nodded as she said, "I think I'd like that. It was nice meeting you again, J.R. Have a good night." Her eyes followed him as he started to make his way out of the room.

As J.R. walked towards Sanchez and the door he made eye contact with Dwayne as if to say, "Don't mess with me buddy," before leaving the room.

Dwayne's eyes turned away from Steele the moment their eyes met. He tried to hide the pain in them but he knew, somehow he knew, that Steele'd seen it. Now he sat there picking at his food, not really hungry anymore. He refused to even look behind him to see what Jenara was doing.

Jenara saw Sanchez looking at Steele and shook her head. Thinking to herself, "How could anyone be that spiteful?" She went back to her report.

Dwayne shoved his plate aside, not even having really eaten anything. He didn't even drink any of the drink he'd ordered. Once the doors closed behind Steele, he glanced back to see Jenara working on her report and, grabbing his, he walked over to her, not even saying anything, just waiting to let her acknowledge his presence.

Jenara finally noticed him standing there and couldn't believe he had come over by her. Trying to be polite she asked, "May I help you?"

He just stood there. It was like once she'd acknowledged his presence he couldn't find the words to speak to her. "I-I'd like to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Ensign Dwayne Sanchez." He held his hand out to her to shake with hers. He'd even left the hurt expression at the bar so she wouldn't see it in his eyes when he introduced himself to her. He already knew that somehow she'd already gotten a very distorted picture of who he really was from Steele, and that what he'd done was to protect the very woman who sat before him. Of course Steele would have left all that out. Steele was just that spiteful.

Jenara just looked at him, trying to understand what this spiteful person could possibly want with her, but decided to keep it polite as she replied, "Jenara Redman." She tried to give off the impression she wasn't interested in him, hoping that maybe he'd go away and leave her alone.

He smiled in spite of the cold reception. "I noticed you when we were in orientation. I'd even tried to get a change in shift." The next part went unspoken: so I could spend more time with you.

She didn't seem that interested so he said, "I-I'll leave you to your work. Sorry I bothered you." And he walked away.

Jenara was slightly confused as Sanchez walked away. Muttering to herself, "He didn't seem that spiteful, but some people hide it well." Shaking her head she tried to focus on her report, but decided it was time to turn in for the night. Standing up, she made her way towards the door.

Dwayne stopped as he hit the door. He'd forgotten he wasn't going to be going home tonight and almost went there. He turned back towards the inside of the mess just about the moment Jenara got to the door herself. "Excuse me," he muttered as he walked around her.

Jenara walked past him without saying a word. In a moment she had gone around the bend in the corridor and out of Dwayne's sight.

Dwayne sighed as she walked out and he glanced around. The mess seemed to be emptying out and that suited him just fine. He went over to one of the window seats to settle in for the night, and a night of nightmares besides.

---

"Red-Hots, Part 1"
By: Captain Matthew Salinger
Commander Lyrr Tayla

Location: Main Bridge and Holodeck 1, USS Sulu
Stardate: 57906.24, 21h20

***

Matt Salinger looked up from the padd he was reading as Commander Lyrr Tayla stepped onto the Sulu's bridge. He noted the look she gave him, and nodded. "My Ready Room," he said, and was immediately moving in that direction. "Sam, you have the bridge."

Matt and Tayla disappeared into the Ready Room, and once the door was closed, he turned to face her. "I monitored most of what happened down there. It sounds like the caverns are crawling with ghosts and shadows. Dr. O'Shea is looking over Jance now, as well as those samples you brought in. Lieutenant Ashbury is assisting him." He sighed and looked her over. "You want to give me your initial report?"

"We didn't find them," she stated simply. "Something was there, Captain. They tore those sensor beacons straight out of solid rock. Whoever they are, they're probably unlike anything we've encountered before." Lyrr sighed softly and had been preparing herself the entire trek to the bridge for what she was about to say. "Matt...I'm sorry, but I don't think our crew's alive down there. There's no way of knowing for certain - and we may never know - but each moment they're missing, the likelihood that they aren't dead diminishes."

Matt nodded as he settled onto the corner of his desk. "We'll have to move quickly then," he said. "We can't just leave them there. We have to get them back, even if they're no longer alive. I can't leave them there not knowing."

"I would like to at least wait until Lt. Ashbury has analyzed the samples we've uncovered. I hate to admit it, Captain, but we are at a severe disadvantage, which is quite a dangerous position for us to be in when we do go back down there."

"I've also assigned Dr. O'Shea to assist with analysis," Matt said. "Perhaps they can develop an anti-venom from the samples that you found. That would be very useful. All things considered, you did well down there. I think the deck is stacked against us, but we learned a few things from that mission. Perhaps the next time down we can actually find our people."

"With as passionate as the rest of the crew are about retrieving them, I'm confident we will manage it eventually," Lyrr said. "Lt. Thalan was prepared to remain down there until we found them - he wanted his objection to my order for retreat noted, by the way - but I think whoever's got them knows we want them back, knows we're searching. I think that makes things a lot more dangerous now."

"It does," Matt said. "I wonder... I wonder if it's possible to capture one of them. I don't think we'll be able to make contact with them without forcing it. Perhaps it'd be possible to nominate one of them as their ambassador and see if it's possible to communicate with them."

Lyrr folded her arms over her chest and sighed. "We don't even know if they are capable of communication with us, or if they're even interested in that. Besides, we can't see them, can't detect them yet.... How will we get a message to them?"

"Hopefully our science and medical teams will find something out on that," Matt said. "O'Shea's studying the toxin, and Ashbury's working on that scale that was picked up. Hopefully between their efforts we can find a way to neutralize both problems. And, there's only one way to find out if they have a form of communication we can use."

"And what's that, Captain?" Lyrr asked, smiling. "Stand at the cave entrance and shout a request for parley into it?"

"Capture one," Matt said. "Perhaps with the help of the Betazoids, we might be able to get farther with one right in front of us, rather than hiding somewhere in a cave. If not, we'll have to find another way."

"If we plan it out properly, I think we can do that for you, Captain," Lyrr answered. "Though, the main problem will be making sure we find one alone. I know the scale Lt. Ashbury found may or may not have belonged to one of the aliens, but it had some unique properties that may help us track down any of them if they happen to be roaming about the forest."

Matt steepled his fingers as he thought about what their next step could be. "Why do you suppose they were taken, Tayla? Why would they take them? I think we're dealing with an intelligent species. Why grab members of the away team? Is it food?"

Tayla shook her head. "From what I've seen, that forest area is inhabited with a diverse variety of animal and plant life. If they've managed this long without humanoid food sources, then I doubt they would go out of their way to abduct our people simply for a banquet. From what CPO Jance has said, they've got meter long rodents running around in the caves, just waiting to be eaten. It's got to be something more. I just don't know what."

"Your next trip in, I want you to try to keep an eye out for any sign of technological advancement. I hate working in the dark, but it's all we have now. I want to know what we're up against in there. I know it will be difficult given the mission objective, but we need all the information we can get. You may also want to take Sam with you next time. I'd like to know what his own systems can make out once inside. Also, he'll be impervious to that toxin."

Tayla nodded. "He would prove an asset down there, and I think a smaller team next time around as well. We're not exactly inconspicuous compared to these creatures, and with a horde of officers tramping about in the forest, it's not making us anymore so."

"How about a six-man team then?" Matt asked. "It's a fairly good, small number, and still gives you enough people to throw out considerable firepower if it's necessary. Hopefully it won't be though."

"From what I can tell so far," Lyrr said grimly, "it will be."

"We'll do what we can," Matt said. "How would you assess the team you had with you, and who would you put back on?"

Lyrr glanced back for a moment at the vacant chair behind her, then sank into it, grateful finally to be off her feet. "Well... Lt. Thalan is the head of security, so it would be considered a snub if we left him behind, and I wouldn't even think of doing so anyway. Lt. Sam, of course, Ensign Kate Hansen did surprisingly well down there, but I like the girl far too much to put her in that kind of danger. I would suggest a medical officer just in case, but that really would be your call, Captain. It would mean adding an extra two officers to the team for their protection."

"I would prefer not to put anyone in that kind of danger," Matt said. "If she's good enough, include her on your team. I'd suggest one more security officer, and then a medical officer as well. That'll put us at a six-man team. How does that sound for you?"

"Depending on how much knowledge we gain from the samples we've retrieved, that sounds fine, Captain."

"Good," Matt said with a smile. He paused for a moment, watching her, trying to gauge her mood and demeanour. "How are you doing, Tayla?"

Tayla sighed. "I think I'm doing fine, all things considered. A better question is: How are you doing? You're the captain, and I imagine this is affecting you more strongly than it is the rest of the crew. I know how much you care about the people under your command, but I still can't imagine how hard this is for you."

"I'm surviving," Matt said with a sigh. "Having people I trust out there looking, doing what they can to bring them back...it helps. I wish I could be out there myself. We've got more to go on now, and that helps a lot. I know I'll be able to sleep if we find them...if not, I don't know." He motioned to the pile of padds on his desk. "I've been going through their files."

Lyrr looked upon the padds, all they had left of their crew, and nodded somberly. "Has Starfleet informed their families yet?"

"Not yet," Matt said. "I haven't officially listed any of them as missing in action yet. I really hope we get them back, because I know if we don't this'll be haunting me for some time to come."

Lyrr shifted to the edge of her seat and reached out to place her hand upon Matt's knee. "Captain, you'd better not blame yourself for this. I will not allow you to feel even slightly guilty if we don't get them back. It isn't your fault. You're doing everything you can to save them. Remember that."

Matt smiled and then nodded. "Yes," he said. "I'm going to end up buying you a whole hotdog cart after this, you know."

Lyrr laughed and slapped his knee. "For me? That reminds me..." She rose from her seat quickly and clasped Matt's hand. "Get up. You owe me some red-hots, Captain."

Matt laughed. "I do, don't I," he said as he stood. "Well, we've got some spare time now before the results of the tests are in. Let's go."

"That didn't take much persuading." Lyrr led him out of the Ready Room and nodded to Sam as he looked up at them. "Lieutenant," she called out, "you still have the bridge." She looked back at Matt to make certain he was following and hadn't snuck away to weasel out of the eating contest he'd promised her. "I'm going to make you smile again, Captain," Lyrr said to him once he came up beside her. "It's my duty as your first in command to ensure your happiness...I think."

Matt flashed her a grin as the turbolift door opened for them. "I think that sounds like a very good duty for you, Commander. Now, let's go make ourselves useful by staying out of our people's way while they work toward a solution. It's the least we could do for them."

Matt and Tayla didn't bother taking a detour to change into attire more appropriate for watching a holographic hockey match. "I hope you're hungry, Captain," Lyrr said as she led the way to holodeck 1. "I haven't eaten since lunch, so you might just have your work cut out for you."

"Just be ready to put your money where your mouth is," Matt chuckled as the turbolift doors closed behind them. "I wasn't known as the Hot Dog Champion of Starfleet Academy for nothing."

"That's only because I wasn't there," Tayla riposted. She grinned at Matt as they stopped before the doors of the holodeck and Matt asked the computer to load his program. After the doors opened, Tayla led them to the seats they had taken up during their first hockey match. The players were on the ice warming up, giving them just enough time to have a pre-game red hot. Lyrr signalled for the vendor and hollered their orders at him.

"Okay, ground rules," Lyrr said to Matt as they awaited the arrival of their 'appetizers.' "We don't talk about duty, alright?"

"No duty. No Dorvali. Nothing outside of here until one of our communicators goes off with someone telling us they found something. Now, are we going on a count, or is this a free for all? I just need to know if I have to start stuffing my own face as soon as you start stuffing yours."

"Oh, definitely a count." Tayla blindly held out her hand to receive her hot dog from the person seated besid her. When it was slapped down into her hand, she handed it to Matt. "You should probably start ahead of me. You're going to have some catching up to do in no time, so I might as well be gracious and let you at least feel as if you've got a chance."

"Oh," Matt said with a mock-incredulous look. "You're giving me a head start? I don't think I need a head start. We go together, and may the best bloated, overstuffed contestant win."

"Oh believe me, I will, Captain." Tayla chuckled as her own hot dog was placed into her hand, and slowly, she brought it to her lips in preparation. "I say we start when the puck drops."

"Deal," Matt said as he raised his own hot dog into a ready position. "Final buzzer is the end of this little contest. Are you sure you're up to this?"

Tayla snorted. "Am I sure? Oh, Captain, you wouldn't be asking that if you've seen me eat hesparat made extra spicy, just the way I like it."

Matt regarded her once more with an appraising look. "I see," he said. "Well, I guess there's no turning back now. I'm sure there will be a stomach pump ready when we're done in here, just in case."

"For you maybe," Tayla quipped. "I'll be the one carrying you to sickbay. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone you lost to a girl half your weight."

"And, don't worry, I won't tell anyone what a complete pig the Sulu's first officer is," Matt said with a laugh. "I don't think I even want to know what you're like with drinking. How are you shot for shot?"

Tayla smiled secretively at Matt and slowly shifted her eyes back to her hot dog. "Care to find out about that too?"

"Maybe another time," Matt said with a laugh. "One contest at a time, I think. Everyone's getting ready down there. I think our little challenge is about to begin. I hope you're hungry."

"I won't need to be to beat you...Captain." Tayla gave him a subtle wink, and at the sound of the puck falling upon the ice, she jammed the hot dog into her mouth and tore off a sizeable portion of it.

---

"Red-Hots, Part 2"
By: Captain Matthew Salinger
Commander Lyrr Tayla

Location: Holodeck 1, USS Sulu
Stardate: 57906.24, 21h30

***

"Already beating you!" came the muffled taunt from Lyrr.

Matt laughed and then stuffed half of his own hot dog into his mouth. He said something to her, but whatever it was was lost around the large mouthful of food. He laughed again, and tried stuffing more of it into his mouth while rapidly chewing what was already there.

"You're going to choke!" Lyrr exclaimed, laughing fitfully after she'd cleared her first bite. "Which is not such a bad thing because that would make me the captain of this ship. I guess it wouldn't hurt to help you along." With her free hand, Tayla grabbed Matt's wrist and shoved his half-eaten red hot into his mouth, giggling breathlessly all the while.

Matt managed to keep himself from choking...barely. He was laughing so hard, he couldn't start in on the next hot dog that appeared in his hand. "If I die, who's going to be your executive officer? Besides, choked to death on a hot dog while his first officer was sitting beside him may implicate you. I think it'd be best to wait for natural causes. Or, for me to get hit in the head with a puck."

"We can arrange that next time we're in the holodeck. You have to teach me to play still, remember?"

Matt chuckled as he took another bite of his new hot dog, though he was careful to hold his hand out of Tayla's reach. "Before long, you'll be a hockey expert. Though, I would prefer not to get hit in the head with the puck. It does hurt. Split the back of my head open with one once. A friend was playing around and took a shot while I was still suiting up. Thankfully we had a dermal regenerator nearby."

Tayla held up two fingers to the vendor, who had positioned himself behind them, and soon just that number of hot dogs were being prepared. "We should come by tomorrow. You need the break, Matt. You seemed tense before, and I didn't get that impression just because you threatened to toss me off the ship," she said playfully. "You weren't smiling. That's how I knew."

Matt chuckled and shook his head. "You should have gone into counselling," he said. "However, if you did, then I wouldn't have you by my side on the bridge. I don't think I'd like that."

"Remember that the next time you encourage me to seek transfer." She grinned at Matt, then chomped down on her hot dog.

"Well, that was before we understood each other like we do now," Matt said with a chuckle. "And, I didn't want you to go, even when I said that. I just thought...I figured if we couldn't agree on anything, you might be happier and more productive working with a captain who you got along with better."

Lyrr sighed and shifted in her seat to face Matt. "Do you ever think about yourself, Matt Salinger? Do you ever place your happiness first before that of others?"

Matt chuckled softly and took another bite of his hot dog. "I don't," he said. "At least, I don't think I do. I guess working to help out others just feels so natural, that I think of them first. Also, as a captain, it's my job to see to the safety of my crew. I think it's also part of my job to see to the health of my crew, including the part of their health that includes the sense of belonging here."

"But--" Tayla turned around at the tap upon her shoulder and received the two hot dogs prepared for them from the vendor. She placed them onto her lap and returned her attention to Matt. "But what about your health, Matt?" she asked. "You'll get sick if you continue to worry as much as I know you have been today. If you don't work at finding some contentment for yourself, you'll burn out."

"That's what this place is for," Matt said with a smile. "I think I know my limits, but commanding a starship hasn't fully tested them yet. I got some experience with the Harriman, but I think the real experience will be coming here on the Sulu. I didn't feel right stepping off the bridge or away from the crisis when we were still in the middle of it. Hell, I still feel guilty that I'm not doing something. But, I do recognize that there's nothing I can do right now but let the people who can do something do it. If I didn't think it'd start a mutiny, I'd be leading the next Away Team down there. But, I think you're better suited for the job, so I'll stay on the bridge. But, it's very hard to sit back when things are like this."

"Then I guess that's what I'm here for," Tayla said with a grin. "Since you haven't set limits of your own, I'll be there to always make sure you don't exceed the ones I've set for you. If I see that you're overworking yourself, or carrying too much burden, I'm going to order you to march directly to this holodeck and I'll refuse to let you onto the bridge again until you're sufficiently relaxed. Deal?"

Matt shook his head, and stuffed half the hot dog in his hand into his mouth. "Deal," he mumbled around the food. He then held a hand out to her to seal the deal they'd just made.

Lyrr raised her own hand and looked down at her palm. It was covered with splotches of mustard and ketchup, but instead of cleaning it off, she happily slapped her hand into Matt's hand. "Deal." She laughed softly as she pulled her hand away, leaving Matt's with matching spots, then she popped the remaining portion of her hot dog into her mouth.

Matt looked down at his stained hands and then up at the dab of mustard on Tayla's chin and laughed. "Who's winning?"

Tayla picked up one of the hot dogs in her lap, handed it to Matt, then took up the other one for herself. "I think we're tied." She took a substantial bite out of hers, and managed: "But not for long."

Matt quickly stuffed one end of the new dog into his mouth and munched down greedily. "We'll see about that," he said, though his words came out completely unintelligible.

Tayla paused a moment before taking another bite to chuckle at Matt. To distract him from his goal of finishing his second red hot, Tayla dipped her finger into the thick layer of the ketchup-mustard conglomerate on her dog and smeared it onto his cheek. With a laugh, she chewed off another mouthful of her hot dog.

Matt stared at her with an incredulous gaze. He mumbled an exclamation and shook a finger at her. He reached back behind him and dipped a hand into the pocket of the red hot vendor. He came away with a series of small packets. He looked at Tayla with a laugh, then gleefully ripped strips off the tops of the packets. He then squeezed his hand around the packets, sending a jet of thick red goo at his first officer.

Tayla screeched and attempted to duck away from the volley of ketchup, but her hair was not spared from the attack. She straightened up again, mouth agape, and passed her hand over her head. Her palm came away red, and her lips twisted into a frown as she narrowed her eyes at Matt. With a mix between a laugh and a war cry, Tayla launched herself at Matt and mashed her half-eaten hot into his face. The sight of his arms flailing and his feet kicking wildly spurred Tayla on, so blindly, she reached over and scooped up a handful of pickled onions for her next bombardment.

"Hey," Matt cried. He quickly reached back and grabbed into the nearest container, coming up with a handful of relish. He flung it at Tayla and went back for more. He could already feel the tears stinging his eyes from the onions that she was flinging at him. With another cry, Matt grabbed a handful of wet, stringy white stuff and flung it at her. He grabbed more and decided this was a fight best waged at close quarters.

Tayla coughed as she inhaled some airborne sauerkraut, but she made a quick recovery and seized hold of the entire bottle of mustard. With a single, powerful squeeze, a spray of the yellow condiment splattered onto Matt's uniform, not deterring in the least his next assailment of relish. She defensively turned her back to shield herself from the attack. "Surrender, Salinger!" she hollered.

"Never," Matt shouted as he pelted her with a rapid fire series of hot dog buns. One of them bounced off her forehead and landed in some guy's bubbly beverage. He merely looked up at them and shook his head. Matt nearly slipped on a patch of mustard that had dribbled off his shirt and onto the ground, but managed to right himself on a chair. Desperate for ammunition, he began flinging the hot dogs themselves.

Tayla squawked as a rubbery, replicated meat product grazed her cheek. She held her arms out in front of her to deflect further hits and advanced upon Matt. She was out of ammunition, and the vendor had fled with what remained of his evening's goods, so it was hand-to-hand combat now.

"Matt Salinger!" she shouted sternly. "This is inappropriate behaviour for a cap--" Tayla's admonishment regressed to an abrupt screech as her boot slid on a fallen hot dog and she toppled forward. Groping frantically for something to steady her, she grasped Matt's arm, and with the help of a patch of sauerkraut placed inconveniently under his foot, he came down with her, creating one big tangle of commanding officers.

Matt was laughing so hard he didn't realize he was on the floor until he was actually laying there. It took a moment for him to realize that they'd actually gotten their limbs entangled, and the struggle was only tangling them further. Finally he couldn't do anything else but laugh uproariously. "We've gotten ourselves into quite a mess this time, Commander!"

Tayla's stomach began cramping from the effort of laughing so hard, but even with the discomfort, she was unable to stop. She laid helplessly upon Matt and picked a crumble of bread out of his hair. Tayla broke into another fit of laughter as she tossed the crumb into Matt's face and watched it bounce off his cheek. "This was your doing, Captain!" she managed to holler back.

"I didn't hear you complaining," Matt said with a laugh. "And, you were the one that started it with your ketchup."

"You deserved it," she declared. "You're far too clean-cut. You needed a little smear of ketchup to toughen up your appearance."

"Of course," Matt said with another laugh. "I thought you looked good with a little garnish of sauerkraut on your shoulders. It goes with your...your eyes."

Tayla scowled playfully at Matt and slapped his arm. "This isn't funny! We have to go back to our quarters like this. Everyone will see!"

"I could invoke Captain's Privilege and have us beamed directly there," Matt said with a laugh.

"Then suspicions will be roused," Tayla added. She watched Matt in silence then, noting the large smile of complete contentment he wore, and Tayla couldn't help but smile back. "I hope I've succeeded in bringing at least some joy into your day, Captain."

Matt grinned and then nodded. "Yes," he said, "you did. Though, I'm afraid we will have to go back out there soon and resume our roles as the commander and executive officer of the ship. But, I think it was good for me. It definitely helped relieve some of the stress and strain of worrying. And, it kept me from standing over someone's shoulder."

"Then my duty as Executive officer of this ship, and as your friend, has been fulfilled." Tayla arduously pulled her legs free of the tangle and managed to rise without slipping on anything else coating the floor. As she stood over Matt, she held out a hand to him. "I'll always be here to help you, Matt. Just remember that."

"I will," he said, and reached up a hand to her. "I don't think I could ever forget it, even if I was crazy enough to want to. Thank you, Tayla. You are a good friend."

Tayla pulled Matt up while chuckling softly. "I am a good friend. Good thing I agreed to stay or you'd have no one to have food fights with."

"I could have food fights with the goalie," Matt said with a boyish grin, as he pointed down to where the man guarded one of the goals on the ice. "I don't think it'd be as fun though."

"Of course not," she replied. "He'd just throw a puck at you." Tayla laughed, then motioned for Matt to follow her as she started for the aisle. "Let's get going. You need a shower, I need a shower.... But before that, we have to find a way to sneak out of here unseen."

"I guess we should be thankful the Sulu is a small ship," he said as they reached the top of the steps. "Not as many people, not as far to our quarters. If we're lucky, we can get out of this without any rumours starting."

"Rumours about what?" Tayla asked quizzically. "That the captain beat me in an eating contest, when it's quite obvious I'm the real winner?"

"I think it was a tie," Matt said with a laugh. "I was thinking about rumours of another kind. I can only imagine the number of people who would assume that the commanding officer and first officer are having some sort of secret affair."

Tayla looked back at Matt and laughed in disbelief. "An affair with you?" She snickered and shook her head. "That's almost as insane as saying you're having an affair with...Lt. Tagliesh!"

Matt laughed. "Oh, I wouldn't say it's that insane. Maybe as insane as saying that our replicators are going to start generating little coloured cubes of food and my shirt will get ripped at least once during every encounter we have."

"Which are you referring to, Captain?" Tayla asked curiously. "An affair with me, or one with Lt. Tagliesh?"

"Well, mainly the affair with you," Matt said. "You're very attractive, Tayla, and we do get along very well when we're not fighting, but I think an affair would create problems for our working relationship, don't you? And also, the uniforms now are much more durable than those in Kirk's time."

Tayla grinned. "So, you'd only have an affair with me if I could manage to tear your uniform off?" She thought for a moment, then shrugged. "That sounds reasonable enough. But still, no offense, Matt, but I prefer being on my own. I've never been in a relationship with a man, and I don't plan on being so any time soon." Her mind wandered briefly to her time with Sean, but she'd grown accustomed to pushing thoughts of him away, as she did again now. "I think we're better as friends anyway, Matt," she added. "Let's keep it that way."

"I agree," Matt said. "Especially with our penchant for throwing mustard and ketchup...I think any sort of relationship would pale in comparison to that. So, you can splatter my uniform with condiments, but I don't want you trying to tear it off me. We have a deal?"

Tayla stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to face Matt. She appraised his uniform and made a show of having difficulty coming to a decision. Finally, she threw up her arms and sighed. "I guess we have a deal. Though, I can't ensure that your uniform won't get torn during the heat of battle. For that, I cannot be blamed!"

"Very well," Matt said, feigning resignation. "If that's the way it has to be, then that's the way it'll be. Now, do you suppose we'll attract too much attention if we run?"

Tayla shook her head. "Not if we run fast enough." Lyrr called for the arch, and once it appeared, she glanced over her shoulder at Matt with an impish grin. "Race?"

"Race," Matt said. "If you're going to your quarters and I'm going to mine, though, how will we know who wins?"

"Trust me," Tayla said as she stepped into the open doorway, "I will." Shooting Matt a smug grin, Lyrr bolted into the corridor and got her head start in the race.

Matt started to call out after her, but realized that would just be a waste of time. So instead, he dashed down the corridor after her hoping she didn't leave him stranded waiting for a turbolift.

Showing that she had some sense of fairness in her, Tayla held the turbolift for Matt, and once he entered, she requested that they be taken to Deck 3. Once the doors opened up to reveal the correct deck, Tayla raised her eyebrows at Matt and motioned for him to go ahead. Before he could comply, Tayla pushed him aside and darted out of the lift.

Matt couldn't help laughing as he watched his first officer racing down the corridor. This was definitely going to be an interesting tour of duty. And, despite the worry he felt about his missing crew, the time he'd spent with Tayla had helped to clear his mind and temporarily banish the fear and stress. He knew as soon as he was back in a clean uniform, everything would begin again, but hopefully by that time there would be news. Hopefully by then, he could save his missing crew.

---

"Questions and Answers"
By: Lt(jg) Samantha Ashbury
Lt(jg) Michael Ashbury

Location: Deck 6, USS Sulu
Stardate: 57906.24 21h30

***

Sam breathed a sigh of relief as she checked in her phaser, phaser rifle, tricorder and hand beacon. She hated wearing the damned things. Exploration was supposed to be peaceful not having to gear up like she was heading into battle every single time. Well... Sam changed her mind slightly. Maybe she was, especially on an away team to an unknown planet. At least this away mission had turned out better than her last one. Samantha Ashbury's away mission success rate: 50%. Sam snorted at the thought as she took a padd with the downloaded tricorder data. The genetic samples would be delivered to sickbay and the science labs separately.

She nodded at the chief in charge of the armory and headed out the door to the nearest turbolift.

"Deck 2." Sam abruptly changed her mind. "Halt. Computer, where is Michael Ashbury?"

"Deck 7."

"Deck 7 then."

***

Michael looked up as he carefully set the gel pack in place and connected it to the ship's circuitry. Doing this on his back wasn't especially comfortable but then again, access ports weren't usually made for people of his size either. Unexpectedly, Michael had found himself one of the Sulu's roaming engineers. It certainly made for an interesting work environment and things never got dull. Well, not usually anyway.

"That's an undignified position to find you in," a familiar voice said outside the access port. Michael looked up - or was it down? - and saw Sam's familiar face appear. He chuckled in response.

"How'd it go down there?" Michael grimaced as he connected the last circuit to the new gel pack. There was just something unnatural about these gel packs. They were faster and all but he still preferred a regular isolinear chip. He felt like a surgeon half the time replacing the packs.

"We found a few things." From the sound of it, Sam had taken a seat next to the access port. "No crew members though."

Michael grunted. He didn't personally know any of the mission personnel - most of them were from either Science or Security - but the tension on the ship was nearly palatable. Michael was as worried as everyone else. "Not unexpected though."

"No. Not unexpected." Sam sighed. "Unfortunately. They put me in charge of the analysis team. We found several samples. Hopefully we can get an idea of what these creatures are and what they want."

Michael scooted out of the access port and put the replaced gel pack in his engineering kit before replacing the access port hatch. With any luck, either engineering or sickbay could find out what was wrong with the gel pack rather than having to destroy it. He offered a hand to Sam. "I'm just glad you're back okay. Where are you headed?"

Sam shrugged. "I need to put together a plan for the analysis. That won't start until tomorrow. Until then...wherever. I just wanted to talk for a bit." Sam looked around in curiosity. "Where's Madison?"

"Have you met Rachel Hansen yet?"

"Doesn't she have a twin?" Sam asked.

Michael nodded. "Kate Hansen. I think she was on the planet. Anyway, I got to know Rachel a little and she offered to watch Madison while you were with the away team. They hit it right off."

"Good." Sam just shook her head in amusement. No matter where Michael went, he always managed to find interesting people. 'A people person' her parents called it. Technically, it was an extroverted personality, very different from her. Sam was definitely an introvert. "Where are we going?"

"I just have to drop this pack off in engineering," Michael replied as he punched the command for the turbolift. "Look at an ODN junction on deck 3 and I'm done for the day. Rachel said she'd watch Madison until 2300."

"Madison may have just picked up two big sisters," Sam said wryly.

"Madison and Ash. Rachel thought he was adorable." Michael frowned. "I'm not sure what Ash thought. Last I saw he was either debating on greeting Rachel or having her boots for lunch."

Sam laughed as she doors hissed open in engineering. The cat had the habit of jumping on somebody's boots as soon as they entered the Ashbury quarters. For some reason, he seemed to find it enormously entertaining. She accompanied Michael as he put away the gel pack. She hadn't been in engineering very often and the mere thought of the power running through this place was amazing. Sam knew the statistics as well as any astrophysicist but to actually see it all was still pretty amazing.

She turned to see another engineer talking with Michael as he put away the gel pack. The other engineer laughed as Michael put his engineering kit away, apparently in response to something Michael had said. The other engineer disappeared up a ladder as Michael came back.

"Garret will take care of the ODN junction on deck 3. Get a bit to eat?"

"Sure. That's nice of him." Sam was still looking around with interest.

Michael shrugged. "He said he had something to take care of right there anyway. I'll owe him a favor tomorrow."

---

"Research Break"
by Ensign Kelzira Rax
and Ensign Jenara Redman

Location: Jenara and Kelzira's Quarters, USS Sulu
Stardate 57906.24 21h36

***

Kelzira Rax sat on her bed, another array of padds spread around her. She'd been studying one that detailed the toxicity levels of some of the nastier plants. She'd compared it to some of the medical department's initial reports on the venom samples they'd found, and was discouraged that the link she thought would be there wasn't. She sighed again, and decided that maybe she'd been working too hard.

Can't get anything done if you're not working, she told herself. And besides, you can't do the things that you want to because people would look at you like a slug just crawled out of your gut if you started up a play.

She sighed again, and returned to the task of scanning through reports. At least she didn't have to go down into those caves. She turned suddenly at the sound of the door opening. "Jenara?"

Jenara came into sight with a tired look on her face. She took a moment to stretch her arms as she replied, "Oh hi, Kelzira. How are you tonight?"

"Good," Kelzira said. "Working though. There are lots of samples to go through, and with the missing crew it's even more important to find information. How are you? You look like you could use some sleep."

Redman nodded her head and gave Rax a slight half-smile. "I had a lot of maintenance today. On the plus side, Lieutenant Thaine seems to be showing a lot of confidence in me."

"I think I'm doing alright," Kelzira said as she shifted around to face Jenara. "Lieutenant Tagliesh is one of the people who disappeared. I know she wasn't very nice to me, but I do hope she's found very soon. Who knows what's happening to them down there."

"It's bad enough crew members are disappearing on the planet, but we also have crew members trying to make life miserable up here on the ship too, " said Jenara, not realizing she said it out loud.

"Oh I know! I couldn't believe a person would want to do something like that," Kelzira said. "Well, at least the counsellors are warning people about him."

Jenara appeared confused about the counselors but said nothing. Thinking of J.R., she smiled slightly. He seemed like someone who was genuinely interested in her, and she hoped her nervousness hadn't chased him away. A smile crossed her face as she stood oblivious to her roommate.

"Thankfully haven't met him yet, but I'm going to definitely make sure I avoid him whenever I can. When he was younger, Epharyn met someone like that. He almost fell for him too, but at the very end, I think he saw the bigger picture. The guy was a real sasrid. Thankfully Epharyn wouldn't get mixed up with someone so dishonourable and despicable. I don't know if I'd want those memories bouncing around in my head if he did."

Jenara continued to remain oblivious to Kelzira and made her way over to the mirror. She looked at her loose hair cascading off her head into her eyes and brushed it out of the way as a warm smile spread on her face. Smiling inwardly as well, she began to make her way into her bedroom.

Kelzira followed Jenara with her eyes until she reached the door of her bedroom. "So, have you met him yet?"

Jenara stopped and turned around with a puzzled look on her face. "Met who, Kelzira?"

"Him," Kelzira said, and glanced at the terminal where the message from the counselling department sat. "I think someone checked out of this conversation awhile ago. What's on your mind?"

Jenara blushed a moment and stifled a giggle as she replied, "I met a guy in the lounge. I guess it's surprising since most guys never seem to show interest in me. This one came right up to me and started a nice conversation. He's having trouble with his roommate. The poor guy was falsely accused of doing something, just so his roommate could gain something from it. Isn't that sad?"

Kelzira nodded slowly. "It is," she said. "I can't believe there are people like that. But that's so great for you. At least now he has a friendly face to help him deal with that guy."

Jenara grinned. "I never thought I'd attract a guy. I don't know...I thought I was weird or something. He seemed to like me though, so maybe I've been wrong all these years. I've never had a boyfriend before." Pausing a moment she smiled and said out loud, "Slow down Jenara...don't go thinking too much into it."

"I was going to say," Kelzira said with a grin. "It sounds really wonderful, but don't go too fast. I've had experience from both sides of the dating thing, and all I say is there's still plenty of time and you don't need to rush. So, what's he like?"

Jenara seemed to ponder the question for a moment before she answered. "Well, he seemed sweet, and very polite. He sat down next to me and asked a few questions to get to know me. We seemed to have a few things in common, and I have to say he is extremely attractive." Jenara said the last part with a huge grin.

Kelzira smiled. "Well, I'm very happy for you. Now, don't go too fast and make sure he's always a gentleman."

Jenara nodded her head in agreement. "Don't worry about that, I tend to get tongue tied when it comes to men, so I usually end up putting a damper on anything that begins to go my way." Pausing a moment to think about what she had said, Jenara just shrugged her shoulders and seemed to forget about it. After a moment she said, "Well, I have more maintenance in engineering tomorrow. Lieutenant Thaine seems impressed with me so far and I think I am starting to make a name for myself."

"You're really making a place for you here," Kelzira said. "I'm doing better with Lieutenant Tagliesh away. Not so much pressure and the freedom to do my work without persecution. Still, I'd rather have her back here than...than wherever she is."

"I sure hope we find our missing crew members. Hard to believe that we've been underway for such a short time and may already be facing the loss of a few people already," Jenara replied with pursed lips. Letting out a small sigh she just looked at her roommate with a slightly sad look on her face.

Kelzira nodded. "We'll find them," she said. "It's what Starfleet officers do. Tchalla's down there too. I can't imagine how she must be holding up under this. She's so quiet and reserved... I hope they're all okay." She paused for a long moment, her eyes showing the pain of loss that she'd managed to keep from her face. "Is there anything happy to talk about?"

Jenara thought about it for a moment and said, "We could play a game. I still have a few hours before I wanted to go to bed. Anything you feel like playing, Kelzira?"

Kelzira grinned. "I can as long as it's a quick one," she said. "I have to get back to working on this stuff, but for now my mind is off wandering. So, what game would you like to play? I really only know theatre games, and they're not much fun with only two people and no audience."

Jenara paced around the room for a few moments, her face steeped in deep thought. After a small time she said, "Well, it depends on how active you want to get tonight. We could always go down and play some springball on the holodeck, although it is kind of late. I seem to remember an old Earth game called Jenga that my mother used to play with her sisters from time to time. It's pretty easy to play." Jenara shrugged her shoulders. "It's up to you though."

"I could go for a springball game if you want," Kelzira said with a grin. "I could use some activity other than just sitting and reading. If you want to, I'm in. Or we can play Jenga. I wonder if Commander Lyrr is an expert springball player. You can get into trouble assuming that every member of a species enjoys the activities of that culture." She shook her head, embarrassment flushing her cheeks. "Springball?"

Jenara nodded her head and replied, "Springball it is. I can change down at the holodeck. Shall we?" she asked with a wave of her hand towards the door.

It didn't take much encouragement, and in a flash, Kelzira was off the bed and on her way to the door. "It's been forever since I've played Springball," she said. "I think the last time was on Deep Space Nine, just after the Federation took control."

With that, they headed off for a couple hour's break.

---

"Venom"
By Doctor Sean O'Shea

Location: Sick Bay, USS Sulu
Stardate: 57906.24, 22h30 to 57906.25, 6h45

***

As most emergencies do, this one came upon them suddenly and as usual, a solution was needed yesterday.

For the first few days after his arrival, sickbay had been a rather quiet, unassuming place. Sean and his staff were dutifully analyzing the data from Dorvali 449, checking the atmosphere, the water and the flora for pathogens that the scanners might have missed, writing reports on their findings and entering them into the ship's medical database. It allowed him time to get to know his staff, and meet a few of his fellow officers and crew who had decided to get in early on the mandatory physicals. All in all, it was a great ship with top-notch facilities and staff. On the downside, the Captain seemed a bit elusive and his first officer, Tayla was practicing tossing daggers at him with her eyes. For the most part, he had shrugged it off. Sean considered himself a doctor first and a lieutenant second. Doing his job was more important to him than pleasing his commanding officers. If one of them wanted to ignore him and the other wanted to hate him for past transgressions, then so be it.

When the first casualties started to arrive, Sean and his staff had been caught off guard. He was aware that there were survey missions going to and from the surface, but not that there was any danger. Now, he was learning, the first party had officers missing in action and the rescue party had been attacked and suffered casualties. Neither party had included a medical officer, or even a crewman with paramedical training.

"What were they bloody thinking?" Sean muttered under his breath as he ran a sample though chromatography and electrophoresis scans. What if there had been a crucial injury on the surface, one where life or death had depended on immediate treatment? What if some of the lost crewmen could have been saved through medical intervention? They would never know, because no medical officer had been present. "That is bloody well going to change!" Sean told himself.

Sean looked at his monitor as data began to scroll across it. Behind him, Doctor Jacobs looked over the readings and frowned. "Are those all protein chains?"

Sean nodded. "That they are, Allison. Whatever these beasties are, their toxins are of a proteinaceous nature, similar to snake venom. We are looking at over a thousand proteins and enzymes here. And our job is to narrow them down and find an antidote."

"Where do we start?" she asked. "I'm a surgeon, not a medical researcher."

Sean smiled. "You can start by feeding the raw data into the computer and cross referencing it with all documented venoms, toxins, and poisons we have, and their known inhibitors. I'm going to try and narrow down the search on the fly."

Sean went to work, poring through the data. It had been a while since he'd been under the gun like this, not since the war and his work at the institute. This time at least, he was charged with finding the cure rather than crafting the poison. A slight shudder ran through him at the memory.

He began focusing on a series of hydrolythic enzymes, looking closely at the polypeptides, nucleases and peptidases. "Ah, there you are, you bugger!" he said under his breath. The enzymes produced hypotensors, a type of neuropeptide that could paralyze or kill.

An hour passed. The data search was slowly narrowed down as he eliminated Myotoxins, Hemorragines, Sarafotoxins, and Cardiotoxins from the list. Somewhere along the line, a mug of strong black coffee was placed on his desk. It was nearly cold by the time he noticed but he gulped it down anyway.

"There!" he said, looking up from his holographic display. Doctor Jacobs hurried into the room.

"You found something?"

"Aye, I did. Narrow the search parameters down to known ammodytoxins. This nasty stuff appears to work by blocking the neuromuscular transmitters by keeping the nerve endings from working. Acetycholin builds up and the body can't get rid of it."

"And the body locks up?" Jacobs replied.

"Exactly," Sean said with a half smile. "Now there are plenty of neurotoxins that do that, but not as many ammodytoxins."

"I'll have that entered in under a minute," she said.

From there, progress was swift. They found five matches in the Federation database, creatures from five different worlds that had similar venoms. None were an exact match, but by cross referencing the known anti-venoms and comparing their antigens, he was able to come up with a solution he thought would work.

Sean contacted the science and operations departments and cleared the way for the use of their "incubators." The anti-venom was too complex for replicators. It needed to be vat grown, and quickly in order to make enough to hyper-immunize the landing parties. The technicians got to work at once. Sean asked them to send up a sample as soon as the first batch was ready. There was still testing to do. The serum was going to be monovalent, targeted to destroy the one venom they were combating and would be very strong. Sean and his staff needed to make certain none of the Sulu's member species would have an allergic reaction to the antigens. The last thing he wanted was to send an officer into anaphylactic shock.

Word came in to Sean of a third away team just as the testing of the first batch was finishing. They were going back down. Apparently, Lieutenant Ashbury over in Sciences had discovered a way to detect the elusive aliens and Command did not want to wait another moment to return. Sean acknowledged that his anti-venom was nearly ready to go and that his confidence in its effectiveness was high. He ended by politely but firmly insisting that a medical officer be included in the party, just in case. He was surprised, and somewhat pleased to be given the nod himself.

After giving his data one final look over, to make certain nothing was missed, he loaded two dozen doses of the anti-venom into hypos, making half of them as blue and half as red. The blue doses were inoculations for the new landing party. They would prevent most of the harmful effects of the alien venom for the next 24 hours. The red doses were much stronger and would be used to revive paralyzed officers if any could be found.

Sean finished loading his kit, grabbed his medical tricorder and then, on Command's orders, keyed in security code and unlocked the wall-mounted box in his office that contained his hand phaser. The code was acknowledged by the ops manager on the bridge and the box opened. Sean looked over the weapon, checked the power cell and holstered it. He trained on a regular basis in its use but had never drawn one in combat. He hoped that he never would.

He tapped his comm-badge. "Doctor O'Shea to Transporter Room 1. I'm on my way."

---