Stealthy Stories

[Wanequelle]

Tom and B'lanna (sp? I want to spell it Bellona ) are like peanut butter and jelly!
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[RealityBreakGirl]

*consults handy Voyager book* Hm...Actually, it's spelled B'Elanna. I should have looked at that earlier

Hm...it is spelled similar to Bellona, Wan...

And actually, there is some cannon for the Tom/Kes thing. There was one episode where Kes had some wierd radiation posioning that had her traveling back in time, only it started waaaay in the future, in an Alternate Timeline. In that timeline, Janeway and B'Elanna had died, Tuvok was blind and several other things had happened during what they termed 'The year of Hell' But in that Alternate Future, Tom and Kes were married. They had had a kid, a daughter, who had also grown up quickly thanks to the Ocompan genes she got from Kes, and had married Harry--wierd, I know--and they had had a kid named Andrew. But that all got erased later. Plus I remember some other times Tom was kinda hitting on Kes, although I think he stepped it up to annoy Neelix!

Ahem, anyways...

Hee! Glad you could see Tom in Rian, Belle! It just kinda happened! And I'm glad you like my characters. Some of them I've had stuck in my head for years, and it's so much fun to finally be able to use them!

Second chapter is written, just not typed up yet. I do need to work on that...
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[link] <--Please read and see if you can help.

[BelloftheSea]

Why can't I remember ever seeing that episode? I thought I'd seen them all but I guess not. I should get the seasons on DVD... not that I have money for that. Aw well. I never really liked Kes all that much. Seven is way more interesting. For that matter I didn't really like neelix... he was always annoying but then there was something about him I couldn't help but love. Am I making any sense?

Anywho, can't wait to see that next chapter!
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[RealityBreakGirl]

Don't worry, you're making sense! I always liked Neelix. Kes was okay, but I liked Seven better too. I don't have the money for the Seasons on DVD either, but I'd love to get my hands on them too!
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[BelloftheSea]

You know, I was thinking about a title and well, why don't you just call it Excalibur? I mean, that's the name of your ship and it runs with the theme. Enterprise... Deep Space Nine... Voyager... Excaliber...

See? It works. And it's a cool name. I didn't mention that earlier. I really like the name. And it fits Leo too. Naturally, Leo would have a ship named after a sword
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[RealityBreakGirl]

Hm...Excalibur as the title...I'll let it muse around in my mind a little. All my titles muse around in my head for a while before their used, to see if I like it.

Heh, when I was naming his ship, I couldn't decide on Excalibur or Excelsior--Excalibur for the sword connection, and Excelior for a Trek connection, as that was the name of Sulu's ship.

Wan and IR helped me decide on Excalibur. But I still managed to work the Excelsior in there, I just haven't gotten in typed up quite yet! *winces* I really need to work on that...
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[link] <--Please read and see if you can help.

[RealityBreakGirl]

Okay, Chapter two is here! More crew stuff, an intro to a couple of them. A little background. Maybe it'll come in handy later, maybe not, but it was fun to write! Don't worry, we'll get into the real meat of the story soon. Got one more chapter after this with the crew, and then the real fun should begin! But this has to be done first. Have fun and leave your thoughts!

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Chapter 2


Leo and Thomas stood in front of the ship’s transmit as it powered down. They had just bid goodbye to the few crewmen that were leaving the Excalibur. It was important, Leo felt, to let crewmembers that left for whatever reason that they would be missed. Now they were waiting for the new crewmembers to arrive.

“Starbase signals ready for transmat, sir.” The transmit chief said.

“Initiate transmat.” Leo ordered.

The transmat lit up and the standard seven people began to reassemble.

“Hey guys.” Cody said as he ambled into the transmit room. “New crew arriving?”

Leo nodded. “Seven arrived earlier, these seven are here now, and there should be three more ready to transmat.”

As Leo spoke, the transmat process completed, and the new crewmembers stepped off, shouldering whatever they had opted to bring up with them, instead of getting shipped on board. Leo, Thomas and Cody greeted them all, and soon they were on their way to find their quarters—and the mess hall for many.

“Starbase signals ready to transmat again.” The chief said. “Says the doctor just arrived, although the xenobiologist hasn’t yet.” Here, the chief frowned. “Says they need to go ahead and transmat anyways. They’re adamant about it.”

Leo frowned and exchanged a glance with Cody and Thomas.

“Initiate transmat, Chief.” Leo said.

As the two individuals reassembled, it became apparent why starbase was so eager to transmat.

“—siest service I’ve ever been given!”

The red-haired woman paused, and blinked for a moment at her new surroundings. Then the scowl returned to her features. “He cut me off. That drackin’ excuse for a starbase manager just cut me off and ‘matted me up!”

Leo blinked at her, then moved forward. “Er…Dr. Craik, I presume?”

“Hm? Oh, you must be Captain Splinterson.” She bent down, picked up her bag, and stepped down off the transmat, her heels clicking and her skirt swishing around her knees. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and swept a critical eye over Leo. “I’ve never seen one of you before. You’re green. Appear reptilian, although appearances can be deceiving. Mm. Report to sickbay in the morning. I’m goin’ over you with a fine-toothed comb. Not that you use combs I would guess.” She moved towards the door, glancing at Cody, Thomas, and the transmat chief as she walked. “I’ll get to the rest of you later, at your own physicals. I’ve got to be up to date on the crew under my care, don’t I? Now, if you will all excuse me, I have some calls to make.”

With that promise—or threat—she left, leaving everyone in the transmat room in varying states of bewilderment.

“Ensign Kam’letan Tulan reporting for duty, sir!” The other girl who was still standing on the transmat spoke up.

She was already in uniform, unlike the doctor, her dark hair pulled up in rather severe and complex bun with decorations placed through out it. Her face was rather expressionless, but her eyes were cold.

“Ensign.” Leo greeted. “Welcome aboard.”

“Thank you, Captain.” She said, sounding like she didn’t really mean it. “May I go to my quarters now?” She sounded like she resented having to even ask the question.

Leo kept his face composed. “Yes, Ensign, you may. I’ll expect you for your shift on the bridge in the morning.

Something akin to indignation seemed to flash through her eyes. “I’ll be there, Captain.” She shouldered her satchel, and left.

Thomas frowned as the door closed behind Tulan. “She’s a hard one. And I daresay dangerous. I don’t like what passed through her eyes.”

“She’s from the Black Planet, right?” Cody asked. “I’ve heard it’s a harsh place, and even harsher if you’re lower class.”

“She could be dangerous. Those decorations in her hair. I recognize them as various weapons, or components of weapons. I don’t think she’ll pull anything, at least not now, though.” Leo said.

“Why not?” questioned Thomas.

“Because I just challenged her. I poked her sense of honor, I think, with telling her I expected her to be on time for duty. And she’ll be there if for no other reason. As for what comes after,” Leo shrugged, “we’ll just have to wait and see.”

There was silence for a moment, then Leo spoke back up. “Status on the xenobiologist?”

“Nothing yet.” The chief said.

“Who is our new xenoboloigist, anyways?” Cody asked.

“We don’t know.” Thomas replied. “We needed a new one so quickly that command just assigned on to us without telling us who. But who wants to bet it’ll be some green newbie?”

“I’ll take that bet.” The chief said, leaning on the console. They all smirked at that, but before anyone could say anything, the transmat console beeped. “Starbase signals that the xenobiologist has arrived. Apparently” the chief said dryly “she got lost.”

“Certainly sounds like a newbie.” Cody said.

“Careful, Cody.” Leo said with a grin. “Remember what they used to call you at the Academy.”

As Cody made a face, Leo chuckled and ordered the transmat to initiate. In a few moments a form appeared—slightly out of breath—and Leo and Cody’s eyes widened.

“Kaylin? Kaylin Roadhouse?”

“Rocky Roadhouse?” Cody asked and Leo stepped up to give her a hand down.

The small, blonde woman rolled her eyes. “Let your love for old-fashioned ice-cream get known, and you’re branded for life.” She hugged Leo “Good to see you again!” She released Leo and moved onto Cody, hugging him as well.

“Captain?” Thomas asked.

“This is Kaylin Roadhouse, Commander. She, Cody and I went to the Academy together. We had some good times,” Leo explained.

“And some interesting ones as well.” Cody said with a chuckle.

“Guess I lost that bet then.” The chief said.

“You did indeed.” Leo said.

Leo took Kaylin’s bag from her, and led her out into the corridor, leaving the chief to smirk as the door closed. Boy, was this going to be interesting gossip to spread around.

Out in the corridor, Leo continued his conversation with Kaylin.

“How did you get this assignment?” he asked.

“I was on the starbase, trying to get a new assignment—long story” she said at Leo’s questioning gaze. “At any rate, I was desperate enough to take anything. So I just happened to be in the right place and the right time when the call that you needed a xenobiologist came through. I jumped at the chance.”

“I’m glad you did!” Leo said. He looked at his friend, gauging just how much she had changed since last they saw each other. Besides getting older, and a new hairstyle, not much. She was still as short as ever, about an inch or so below Leo’s height and generally small statured in body shape too. Her eyes were still their sparkling blue, her blonde-ish, orange-ish hair was cut in a flattering shoulder length style that maximized what body the straight hair had.

“It’s been a while.” Kaylin said “We have so much catching up to…” she let out a yawn “…to do.”

“A little early to be yawning, isn’t it?” Cody teased.

“Is it my fault your ship’s time is so much off of the time of the planet I was on?” she teased right back.

Leo laughed. “Get some sleep, Kaylin. Cody and I often have breakfast together in the Captain’s Mess. Why don’t you join us in the morning, as we can catch up then.”

“Aye, aye, sir!” she said with a grin as she took her bag back from Leo and stepped into a lift. “You go do what you need to. I can find my own way!” With that, the doors to the lift closed, and she was gone.

“Actually, Leo, I’m meeting with Klin in the morning, to go over some ideas.” Cody said, referring to the Chief Engineer. They often went over ideas together. “Tell Kaylin I’m sorry though.”

“I’ll let her know.” Leo said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to go check on our new doctor. She seemed….upset, to put it mildly.”

“Later, Leo!”

“Captain.”

Leo walked down the corridor and Cody and Thomas entered the next lift.

“So…" Thomas began. “What's the reason you're leaving the captain and the new xenobiologist alone tomorrow morning?”

"What? You heard. I'm meeting with Klin" Cody said.

Thomas shook his head. " I happen to know that tomorrow Klin's scheduled a meeting with his head engineers. So what's the real reason?"

Cody looked like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Well…back at the Academy, Leo, Kaylin, and I were all part of the same team, the same 'crew'. " At the academy, the cadets were sectioned off into teams some times called 'crews' usually consisting of the same kind of officers you'd have on a real bridge crew. This was supposed to teach the cadets how to work as a team. They had to help each other, and work to keep the 'crew's' scores up. A lot of 'crews' ended up forming close bonds. Sometimes that helped them, and sometimes that broke them.

Cody continued "There was always a little something between Leo and Kaylin. For a while, they ignored it, but finally they acted on it. They made a great couple, and we were all happy for them. They were happy too. But it was short lived. Something happened—no one's sure what—and it broke off. It was a little awkward, but they managed to work through it, and remained friends. But I always got the feeling it was Leo's decision to stop the relationship, and Kaylin went along with that for some reason."

"So you're playing matchmaker then." Thomas said.

"Not exactly." Cody said with a shake of his head. "I'm just gonna let the crew see them together, and make assumptions from there."

Thomas grinned at Cody. "Jones, people underestimate you. I'm sure glad I met Leslie long before I knew you! Using the whole crew to get the captain and the xenobiologist together. I feel sorry for both of them."

Cody grinned back "What good is it being a genius if you don't use it to help your friends once in a while."

After a couple of moments, Thomas looked over at Cody. "What do you think will happen once Olution and Eina Fets get a hold of this?"

Cody just grinned.


* * *


"Enter!" Dr. Craik's voice came out. The door opened, admitting the Leo.

"Captain." She greeted. "Just a moment." She turned back towards the holoscreen she had pulled up. The space station manager's face was on it. "That was drackin' rude and petty! And if I ever get treated in such a way again that you just cut me off in the middle a what I'm saying, trust me, you'll get more then the earful you've gotten from me this time!" she cut the transmission. "Sorry, Captain. Just a little bit of business I had to take care of. I had to get back to that drackin' excuse of a manager. Heh, he tried to block me, and cut me off again. Good thing my sister taught me some neat little tricks. Now, what can I do for you, Captain? Do you need something? Technically I'm not on duty until tomorrow, but I always keep a small supply of stuff around anyways."

"No, thank you, Doctor." Leo said. "You seemed upset earlier. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Fine, fine." She said, waving it off, and setting some pictures out. "Just a little irritated. I'm a bit if a hothead. Sit, please, Captain. All I'm doing is a little unpacking."

Leo took her up on her offer and sat on the standard mini-couch. He looked at the two pictures—two-dimensional pictures at that—which she had sat on the table next to the couch. He picked the larger one up. There were four teenaged girls—one he recognized as a younger Dr. Craik—and an older man and woman he assumed to be their parents. It seemed that it was taken on an outing to the beach, as all were in bathing suits.

There was a taller girl, with short tightly curled dark hair and dark eyes fighting a shorter girl with wavy brown hair for a beach ball, but in a playful way. The one he assumed was a younger Dr. Craik was splashing water on them, her long ponytail hanging over her shoulders. She was getting tackled from behind by a blond girl whose hair was tightly bound. The girl in turn was getting hit by a stream of water coming from a squirt gun the dark-headed man was holding. And on the beach, the woman was practically rolling, she was laughing so hard, her red-blonde hair dragging the ground as she struggled to stay upright. It looked like they were having a great time.

"Is this your family?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh, yup, that's my parents and my sisters."

"Nice looking family."

"Now, Captain, are you ogling my sisters?" She teased "Cause if you are, I have to warn you that two of them are married, and the other has a mean left hook."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Doctor."

"Good." She said. After a moment, she spoke back up. "The oldest of us is that tall dark headed girl. She's a year older then me. Her name's Riley, now Riley McGinnis. She's a hot head through and through. Looses her temper easy. Heh, should have seen her as a teen. She was quite the firecracker, and there were quite a few spats between the two of us, let me tell you! But it calmed down some when she met her husband. I don't quite know how Dave did it, but he did. They now have two kids with a third on the way. Doesn’t slow her down though. In fact, I think her engineers fear her more in this state! It's kinda funny to watch, actually."

"She's an engineer?" Leo asked.

"Yup. Has her own company. In fact, they designed and helped build this class of ships."

Leo chuckled. "When our engineer finds out, he just might be after you so he can talk to your sister."

"That's alright, I'll give it to him. Nothing like bugging your older sibling." Dr. Craik said with a grin. "Anyway, the shorter, brown-haired girl and I are next in the age line up."

"Twins?" Leo asked.

"Yup. Although if you based it on personality, you'd think Riley and I would be the twins. Anyways, Emma—That's my twin. Anyways, she's in the Fleet too, and the only one of us to still bares the name Jorno."

Leo rubbed his chin. "I've heard of Emma Jorno. First officer on the Excelsior under Captain Gorge Takei. I heard she's hot for a captaincy right now. She organized the crew and took out nearly a whole Tricariton gang when they tried to take over the ship, leaving Boss Zucko high and dry."

Dr. Craik laughed "Yup, that's my twin, alright! Always getting herself into trouble, and yet somehow getting out of it.” She rolled her eyes “Although she has a tendency to get people in situations with her. But what can I say. She’s an adventurer at heart. Anyway, the blonde’s the youngest. Lea Adams. She heads up a research department back home. It’s pretty nice too, because it lets her do what she loves, and still spend time with her kids. John—her husband—works there too. They make one dynamic team, kinda like our own parents did.”

“Your parents worked together?” Leo asked.

“Yup. Everyone in the colony worked somehow. We lived out on a farm, growing food, and tending to animals. Most off-worlders though of us as primitive, or backwards, but the truth was, we had some of the cream of the crop when it came to technology. Dad was a practical engineer, always looking for a new, better, and simpler way to do things. He was also quite qualified in computers, geology, meteorology, that kind of stuff. Mom was a biologist, zoologist, botanist, doctor, psychologist, you name it, and if it had to do with living organisms, she probably new about it. Mom worked with living things, and dad with non-living things. Between the two of them, our farm provided most of the food with just the six of us working it, no farm hands, and no robots to speak of.”

“Sounds like quite the life there. With parents so smart, it’s no wonder you and your sisters have succeeded.”

“Nope, no wonder.” Dr. Craik agreed. “It’s also how I know you’re doing this in an effort to get to a feel for the kind of officer I’ll be in a non-threatening way. My irritation was simply a good excuse.”

Leo blinked for a moment, then smiled. “I guess you are as good as they say.”

“Nope. I’m better.” She said with a teasing tone. “Want something to drink?” without waiting for an answer, she tossed him a small bottle. “Something local from the planet Blooltrub. Don’t know how it works, but it has medicinal properties. I keep a nice supply of this stuff around.”

Leo accepted the drink, and then looked at her. “What about you?”

“What about me?” she asked back

“You’ve told me of your sister and parents. What about you?” He questioned again.

“You could easily look that up in my file.” She pointed out.

“Perhaps.” He said. “But I like to hear about it from my crewmen. Why else would I go through all this rigmarole to get to know you?”

“Mm.” Dr. Craik said. “I always did like a captain with a vocabulary. Nothin’ much to tell. I’m a career woman.”

Leo raised an eyeridge at her. “Surly there’s more to it then that.” He picked up the other picture. It was of a handsome, smiling man, somewhere in his twenties. “For example, who’s this?”

A look of sadness passed over Dr. Craik’s face, and she gently took the picture. “Peter…” she said. She looked up and Leo, giving him a small smile. “He was my husband. I loved him very much.”

“What happened?” Leo asked softly.

She sighed. “We met in medical school. Fell in love. A stupid time to do so, as neither of us had much in the way of money. But we fell in love, and got married anyways. We were happy together. I was dedicated to him, loved him in a way I hadn’t quite realized was possible, and he was the same to me. He would have done anything for me, and I would have let him do whatever he wanted to do for me, just because it showed how much he loved me. He calmed my temper, and he made me laugh. He was wonderful.”

She paused a minute, remembering something, then went on. “We were married for five years, and trying to start our own family. We couldn’t seem to for some reason. We were living in New New York at the time, and this group called The Revolution made a stand. Lots of wounded, lots of dead, lots of help was needed. So, we responded.

The Downtown hospital was full, Midtown was getting there, and due to supplies, many were being routed to the Uptown hospital. Even the military hospital was being used. They needed more hands at the Downtown hospital, and some people at the Uptown hospital to push the doctors up there out of the ‘downtown is beneath us’ frame of mind. Really, most of them didn’t even realize they were doing it.

“Peter insisted that I go Uptown, and use my ‘charming personality’ to spur them on. He went Downtown. We kissed goodbye, and that was the last time I saw him alive. Apparently, he was tending to someone who had gotten caught under some rubble, when the rubble shifted, and came down. I was told that some Street Phantoms were there, helping out where they could, and when that happened, they dove in after him and the patient. But it was too late, the rubble was too heavy.”

She sighed again. “I was devastated. Thirty years old and a widow. I fell into a depression for a while. Mom, Dad, Lea, Emma and Riley all worked to get me out of it. Emma was the one who finally did. She requested personal time off, jerked me out of my bed every morning, kicked my butt quite often, and got me moving again. After I got a enough out of it to realize I couldn’t stay in New New York, she signed me up at the academy, and here I am.” She chuckled “As much as I hated it at the time, I couldn’t have asked for a better sister. Someone who’s not afraid to stand up to ya, slap you a few times and tell you your being an idiot? If ya ask me, that’s the mark of someone who really cares about you.”

She took a swig of her drink “Mm, alright, your turn, O, Captain. You drug my life’s story out of me, it’s your turn. What’s your story.”

It was more of a demand then a question, and Leo raised an eyeridge.

Dr. Craik shrugged “Hey, you can either tell me here, now, or at your physical in the morning, which means it’ll take twice as long. Your choice.”

Leo chuckled. It seemed that Dr. Craik was a force to be reckoned with. “It’s quite a story.” He warned.

She snorted “Like I’ve got anything better to do right now.”

“Alright.” He agreed. “But hold on to your seat, Doctor, it’s quite a ride.”
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[BelloftheSea]

Happiness!

But I wanted to hear Leo tell his story... not that I don't already know most of it...

And sheesh that woman is talkative.

Oh, and I like Kaylin!

[RealityBreakGirl]

Oh don't worry. All that inbetween time will be revealed eventually....



Dr. Craik is one of my favorites. She's been with me in one form or another since I was 13--and I'm 21 now. I had fun re-doing her backstory!

Glad you like Kaylin! She's fun too! Drack, the more I write her and Leo and Cody, the more I start thinking about Leo's Academy days!

Ooo, head over to my Hang Out Spot. I've gotten title ideas! I could use another opinion!
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[RealityBreakGirl]

I know. I know, it's been way too long! I should have updated this ages ago, but well….I kinda lost inspiration for it…and then I lost my jump drive. That made me re-gain my inspiration for it, which was good when I re-gained my jump drive!

Anyway, a little more character development type stuff. The real action should begin next chapter (I think. I don't have my rough draft with me) So look forward to that! And I promise that I won't take as long with the next chapter!

*note: I'm not able to look at my FF DVDs at the moment, so I'm calling the ship's elevators, well, elevators until such a time as I'm told or find out that it's not what they're called. And if anyone knows what they call watches, please, let me know!

Chapter 3:


“And open your mouth.”

The crewman looked up “But, doesn't the scanner—”

Dr. Craik leveled a look at the ensign sitting on the diagnostic table in front of her. “The scanner does, but if you don’t mind, I like to check things both ways. Now open up.” She pulled a tongue depressor out and put it in the ensign's mouth “Besides, it keeps my skills up.”

As she went through the various routines, Craik’s mind floated back to the previous night and the Captain’s story. As he had said, it was a wild ride. Mutations, ninjas, time travel, if it wasn’t confirmed in his record by Jonathan Bishop himself, she wasn’t sure she’d believe it.

Well, she supposed it helped that she had taken the basic scans of the physical last night. The details would have to wait until she got him here in sickbay. Although if the rumors about him and the Xenobiologist were true, it might be a while.

She scowled at the delay, and the problems that could crop up from that and turned her full attention back to the ensign in front of her.

“You’re good, Ensign. If anything comes up, I’ll let you know. You can leave now. Next!”


* * * * *


Eina Fets sat in the mess hall, eating her breakfast and observing the little cloisters of people eating and socializing. It was always fun, she thought, to watch them. She looked up as the door opened, and gave a little smirk with a roll of her eyes.

Rian Olution was walking in with his arm wrapped around a very pretty ensign. They paused in the doorway, exchanged a long, deep, lingering kiss, then parted, she heading off to another group and he getting some food and heading over to Eina Fets.

“Bleh, you eating that salad stuff again.” He said. It had long ceased to be a question.

“I like my ‘salad stuff’” Eina Fets defended. “My mom used to go pick this fresh from the garden each morning. Besides, your breakfast is just as healthy as mine.” She pointed with her utensil at his plate of fruits.

“But these are fruits.” He said “Not vegetables.”

“Whatever, Rian.” She said with a roll of her eyes.

They ate in silence for a moment, until Eina Fets straightened up and poked Rian in the ribs. “Look!” she whispered.

“Ow! What?” Rian said, irritated.

“Look! That woman over there!”

“What about her?”

“That’s Kaylin Roadhouse!”

“Who?”

“Didn’t you hear?”

“Eina Fets, I was kinda…occupied….last night.”

Eina Fets gave a small huff “Kaylin Roadhouse. She went to the Academy with the captain and Commander Jones. I heard that Commander Jones told Commander Thomas that the Captain and Kaylin Roadhouse used to have a thing. Geez, has your head been in the stardrive or something?”

“Not….exactly.” he said as glanced to where the ensign had gone, and then turned to eye Kaylin Roadhouse along with Eina Fets.

“I don’t wanna know.” Eina Fets declared.

“She’s short.” Rian said.

“So’s the Captain.” Eina Fets replied.

“Especially next to you.” Rian shot back with a grin.

“Shut up, Rian!” she growled out.

“She’s going into the Captain's Mess.

“Commander Jones didn’t go in there today.”

Eina Fets and Rian eyed the door that Kaylin Roadhouse had just disappeared into. Then, without a word, they grabbed their stuff and scrambled to the nearest empty table near the Captain’s Mess, opening up their minds, and an ear, in Eina Fet’s case.


* * * * *


“Kaylin! Good morning!” Leo said, standing up from the chair he was sitting in.

“Good morning, Leo! I must say, you're crew is very nice.” Kaylin said with a smile. She sat herself, as did Leo, and looked over the food at the table. “Are those waffles with strawberries and whipped cream?

Leo grinned at her “I remembered you like them, so I had Chef whip some up for you.”

Kaylin laughed. “Leo, I could kiss you! I haven’t had this in months!”

Leo laughed too. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly be opposed to that.”

Kaylin grinned back at him. "So…where’s Cody? Isn’t he going to join us?”

Leo shook his head. “No, he said he had to meet with our Chief Engineer to discuss some things.

"Oh." Kaylin said "I was kinda hoping to catch up with him too." She shrugged "But You have to do what you have to, to keep the ship running."

"Quite true." Leo said.


* * * * *


"What are they saying?" Rian asked.

"Something about waffles. Heh. And the Captain just said that he 'Wouldn't exactly be opposed' to a kiss from her. Now shut up and let me listen."

"Interesting…." Rian said

"Hey! Rian." A guy from the next table called over to Rian. "What are the two of you doing?"

"Listening in on the captain and Kaylin Roadhouse."

"Really?" The crewman and his compatriots at the table looked interested. "What are they talking about?"


* * * * *


"So" Leo said as he began to eat "The last I had heard, you had gotten a posting on the J'holan. What happened after that?"

"I served on the J'holan for a while, and enjoyed it." Kaylin took a bite of her waffles. "Mm. Heavenly. My compliments to the chef."

"Yes, well, when Captain Mendez said I could take anything from the Columbia when I transferred, I don't think she thought I'd take him." Leo chuckled.

Kaylin tsked playfully "Ever sneaky, aren't you, Leonardo Splinterson?"

Leo smiled at her "Of course. How do you think I got so far? But let's go back to your story."

"If you insist." Kaylin said. "So, I was happy on the J'holan for a while. But you know how much I wanted a planet side assignment. So when the opportunity came up to go to Vas'culan, and help learn their culture, I jumped at it, thinking it was my dream job. And for a while it was.

"I loved the culture, the people, the planet; it was all wonderful, all beautiful. The head of the station was great too, letting us be flexible with our schedules, understanding that sometime it was needed. But after a couple of years, he left, to take on a new assignment. A real jerk of a guy was assigned to us then. He was a nephew of Admiral Waymon, so everyone was too scared to speak up about him."

Leo frowned. "What was he like?"

"I hated working under him. Hated it! And I hated him too! He strictly regulated us, keeping us from learning the culture well. He looked at all of us women in a way that made us all uncomfortable. He was rude to the Vas'culans, insulting them. No one liked him, and he always seemed to try to find a way to make assignments where he was paired with one of us women. That was only when he let us go off base, though. Most of the assignments he gave us didn’t allow us to go off base. He was just a jerk in general, and had turned my dream job into a nightmare. I wanted out.

"So that's why I was on Starbase. I wanted a reassignment, I didn't care where. I was arguing with the officer with the call that you needed a new xenobiologist came through. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance." Kaylin chuckled. "I think I scared to poor fellow so much that he just gave me the job."

Leo laughed at that.


* * * * *


"She's telling him about her previous posts…." Eina Fets said. "Whoa. Feel that? That burst of anger?"

"Yeah." Rian said

"She's telling him about the jerk that took over her last assignment….Bleh, I wouldn't want to work for him. Ooo, it was Admiral Waymon's nephew."

A general noise of sympathy sounded, and Eina Fets turned around.

"What the drack?" A crowd of people was gathered around the table.

"What?" Rian said with a cocky grin. "We can't deny the masses their quest for knowledge."

Eina Fet's rolled her eyes, and went back to listening in.


* * * * *


"So what about you? Kaylin asked Leo "How have you been?"

"I can't complain too much. I'm the captain of a good ship with a great crew. I managed to pull enough strings to get Cody as my science officer, as well as getting the best chef in the fleet. I'm….satisfied with my life right now."

"But not entirely happy." Kaylin said.

Leo's face took on a slightly sad look. "No, not entirely happy."

Kaylin smiled sadly at him "You miss them, your family." She stated "Still no way to even contact them?"

"No." he said. "Cody keeps trying, but I think without the tachyons, it's a lost cause."

"Don't worry." Kaylin reached over and grasped Leo's hand. "Don't loose hope. You'll see them again."

"I'm not so sure of that, Kaylin." Leo said. "But at least I have a good life here. Thank, you though."

"No problem." Kaylin said, sensing that a change in topic would be welcome "So. How is Cody anyway?"


* * * * *


"She's asking about the captain. He says he has a good life here, but he still misses his family."

"Mm." Rian said. "Feel like he wouldn't mind a change of topic."

"I agree. And apparently, so does Kaylin Roadhouse. She's been inquiring about Commander Jones and—uh-oh."

Before Rian could inquire as to what had caused her to cut off, the door to the captain's mess opened and Leonardo and Kaylin stood there, blinking at the crowd that had gathered around.

"Uh…."Eina Fets slowly lowered her ear."Good morning, Captain."

"Morning." Leo said looking over the assembled crowd. He raised an eye ridge. "Did I miss something?"

"I was just telling Eina Fets that when she opened an ear and cocked her head, like she does when she's listening to something, she looks like an Ovsophube dog when it's listening to something." Rian said. He shrugged "Somehow we got the whole Mess involved."

Leo looked at Eina Fets, who's ear was still in a half closed position. She was shooting daggers at Rian with her gaze "You don't look like an Ovsophube dog." He turned back to the crowd "Just make sure none of you are late for your shifts."

At that the crowed began to break up and scattered back to their tables."

"Lieutenant. Ensign." Leo said as he left with an amused Kaylin with him.

"Captain." Eina Fets and Rian chorus together. They watched him, and as soon as he went out the door, they sagged against their chairs.

"He…didn't buy that at all." Rian said.

"Nope." Eina Fets responded.

"But at least he let it stand." Rian said.

"Yup." Eina Fets responded.

A moment of silence passed between them, then Eina Fets looked over at Rian.

"An Ovsophube dog?"

"It was all I could come up with on short notice!"

THWACK!

"Ow!"


* * * * *


"Sorry about that." Leo said, chuckling. "It seems my crew is already getting ideas.

Kaylin smiled at him. "It seems like a fun crew, though. You didn't really buy…?"

"That story? No. But I like to give my crew a little leeway. Keeps them happier."

"Why, Leo!" Kaylin said with mock disbelief "You have loosened up some. It looks like some of what I said back at the Academy got through your hard green head."

"I won't deny that. But I think experience has a little to do with it." Leo said "Shall we head on up to the bridge? Or would you rather go to the xenobiological department?"

"I think I better go and check out the xenobiological department first." Kaylin said "Get to know those under me." She paused and tilted her head. "What's your policy on parties?"

"Don't damage anything, be able to function, and save the captain a piece of cake."

Kaylin grinned "Aye, Aye, sir!"


* * * * *


"Cody! Hey, Cody!"

Cody Jones slowed down and looked up from the report on his wrist panel to see who called him.

"Oh! Hey Klin." Cody said.

"Hey." The chief engineer greeted, slightly out of breath. "I heard from Commander Thomas that you told the Caption you were meeting with me." He accused "Why did you do that?"

Cody winced. "Yeah….sorry about that. But I had a good reason."

Barlin crossed his arms. "I hope so."

"Listen," Cody said "Have you heard about the new xenobiologist?"

"Yeah, I heard we have a new one. What about her? And what does she have to do with the captain?"

"The whole crew is talking about it!" Cody said "What, have you had your head in the stardrive or something?"

"…Actually, yes." Barlin said.

Cody blinked.

"There was a destabilization in the particle flow and it would have taken at least a day to correct it conventionally, so I just phased into it and fixed it in a few hours." He saw Cody's incredulous look "Oh, come on. You known when I'm phasing the energy just passes through me, bolstering my energy."

Cody shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder about you Klin. But back to what I was saying, the new xenobiologist is an old flame of the captain's from the Academy. I told him I was meeting with you so they could have some privacy. I'm not sure they've ever gotten over each other. I thought it would be…nice…to leave them alone. Besides, do you have any idea how awkward it can be being a third thruster?"

Barlin paused and looked at Cody. "…yeah. I had an older brother and I hated sitting in on his dates." He clapped Cody on the shoulder. "Com'on Let's go make sure you didn't lie to the captain and get to work on those holo-sims."


* * * * *


Crystal Member scrubbed the sweat from her face with a towel. As far as she was concerned, nothing started the day off better then a good work out. Checking the time she saw that she had just enough time to grab a shower and a compact bar for breakfast before she had to report for duty. She usually preferred a bath, as it got the 'inside' of her 'skirt' cleaner, but a shower would suffice.

She quickly scrubbed her sweat-drenched hair clean and made a quick but thorough cleaning of the rest of her. She emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around her torso. She didn't bother putting anything over her bottom half, as it didn't really matter. All that was, was bright pink skin and muscle. Anything that shouldn't be seen was self contained in her torso by a hard boney plate that could become soft and permeable when needed that was underneath her skirt.

She had explained it to a human once as wearing a mini-skirt. Or bathing suit. Only the Captain really understood. Of course, she hadn't figured out why until an away mission where they were stranded for three weeks and ended up using part of their uniforms for survival. Captain Splinterson had explained that in his younger days he and his brothers hadn't worn clothes, mostly due to their training, and the fact that they didn’t have anything that they had to hide with clothes. It was the same with Member's lower half.

At any rate, most of the crew that frequented the gym was used to the sight by now. And she moved much better without anything that could bind her over her bottom half.

By this time, Member was dried and dressed, with the skirt of her uniform on. For everyday, it didn’t matter to her one way of another, but most of the crew was more comfortable with her wearing it.

Pulling her hair into a high ponytail, she exited, glancing around to see if she saw the captain. I t appeared that she had missed him this morning. Sometimes she was here early enough, or he was later the usual, and they would spar. She rather enjoyed sparing with Captain Splinterson, and she got the feeling that he enjoyed sparing with her too.

It’s too bad Member thought, that he's so busy with his duties and I with mine that we rarely get a chance to spar.

She made a mental note to remedy that as soon as possible.

Passing quickly into the Mess, Member grabbed one of the compact bars and some water, and headed out the door. It gave her pause, though, when she heard talk of the captain and the new xenobiologist, Kaylin Roadhouse. From what she gathered, the two used to have a relationship and nearly everyone on the ship was conspiring to get them together again. She felt a little sorry for them, actually. The captain, she knew, could handle it, but she felt the sorriest for Kaylin Roadhouse. She had no idea what she just stepped into.

Member hadn't met the new xenobiologist yet, so she didn't know much about her. As she entered an elevator she pulled up Kaylin Roadhouse's file on her wrist panel. She nodded as she read through the file. Graduated with honors, one of the cadets involved in the Inversion Incident—no surprise there, as Captain Splinterson was involved too—her defensive and fighting capabilities were slightly above average, even if they didn’t' seem to be as good as they had been when she was in the academy. Helped to break the barrier in the Bre'ifian culture, had a tour of duty on the J'holan, and more plant side service on Vas'cula. Not a bad career, in Member's eyes. Although she wondered why she had given up her last assignment.

Hm…time for a little digging…


* * * * *


Admib Larsh woke up with 43, 975 messages waiting for him. Forty-two were for him, consisting of four from family members, twelve from friends, twenty from groups he was a part of, and four from Command. Twenty were for the captain—nine of which he noticed were from command, and one from Jonathan Bishop as well—ninety-two went to various other command crew members, twelve were for the crew in general—as in announcements from Command—and forty-three went to specific department heads. The remaining 43766 were personal messages for the crew. He took a few minutes to route them to the appropriate people.

Then he got in the shower.

He had a system set up, one that other communication officers were taking to. All the messages, ingoing or out, were scanned for key words. Any that came up with those key words were saved for him to look at, while the rest of the messages were delivered right away. He would take a look over any flagged messages, and send them off, or bring them to the attention of the appropriate person.

He was still working out some bugs—the command ones should have been sent on through—but all in all, it was a very effective system.

It wasn't easy, he reflected as he went through his morning routine, to be the chief communications officer on the flagship of the fleet. Most people thought that al he had to do was answer hails, and send off messages with the occasional routing of a message here and there. But it was a lot more complicated then that.

Every message, coming in or going out, internal or external, came through him. That got hard when people were active in groups, like message boards and other similar things. That's where his system came into play. In scanned to make sure that no sensitive information was being sent out. And with a crew of 1, 947, many of which used message boards to keep in touch with family and friends, it could get quite difficult.

Now if only he could get it to stop stopping the messages from Command.

No doubt, though, that the busiest times for him were in battle. He had to keep an ear out on what was going on, on the bridge, another on the reports he was getting and messages going that were going about the ship—and after that, pick out the most important ones to tell the captain about—and watch the enemy's communications, usually trying to hack them at least somewhat. And then if his station shorted out—Trying to repair it in the midst of a battle was not fun at all.

Then again, the repair work was not what Larsh liked about the job. In fact, he down right hated the repair work. Generally speaking, Commander Barlin and his team would do any major work, but when it came down to on the fly repairs, or the delicate work that sometimes needed to be done, it was Larsh's job. He may not have liked it, but he was good at it.

Then again, he was Omatronian.

His favorite part, by contrast, was the languages. To most Omatronians, Science or Math sung to them. Languages were Larsh's siren call. He loved them. The subtle nuances, the pronunciations, the sounds, the different meanings, he loved them. When he learned a new word, he loved the feel of it in his mouth. The way his tongue would touch sharp on his teeth to create a sound, the movement of his lips to shape the sound that came out, the way his tongue would meet his soft pallet to make a more throaty sound, the way he had to move his tongue to help shape the sounds, it was poetry in motion to him. It was one thing to read the words, but to say them, to hear all their sounds….no feeling could describe how he felt about it. Not in all the languages he knew. He reveled in it, and in the knowledge that it brought.

No matter where he was in the galaxy, he knew what was going on. He could read, he could listen, he could understand. That feeling, that feeling was wonderful!

There was nothing like it, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

As he left his quarters, he resolved to talk with the new xenobiologist. Who knew? She might just speak a few languages herself! It would be fun to have someone to practice with. At least, if the rumors he had heard were true.

That was the other thing about being a comm officer. You found out everything.

Hm. Maybe I'll pump my two favorite informants on the subject. He thought, thinking of Eina Fets and Rian. They're usually 'in the know'


* * * * *


Kam'letan Tulan turned towards two small statues set up in her quarters and bowed. "I will not fail you, my Queens, for I know the punishment if I do."

One of the statues had a graceful smile on her face, her flowing dress and hair looking as if they were being blown by a breeze. A whole myriad of colors swirled in the statue as well, looking as if the person embodied a rainbow.

The other statue was made out of a completely black stone like substance that was a dark as space itself. The dress was slender and formfitting, the neckline having a sharp angle, even though it was off the shoulders. It trailed a little behind her, but ever then, it was not soft. Her hair was pulled up in a tight, complex hairdo, impressive, but intimidating in it's complexity. Her expression was cold, severe, and expectant.

But even though the second statue—the Black Queen—gave Tulan shivers, she considered it more important then the first statue—the Rainbow Queen, the High Queen.

Still, Tulan had a duty to them both, even if to do it she was exiled from her home.

"No, Kam." She admonished herself "You were hand-picked by the Queen herself when the High Queen wished someone for this job. You have a great honor. And sometimes a great honor like this comes with great sacrifices."

It was hard to remember that sometimes, even if it was true. The High Queen had wanted to find out more about the Pan-Galactic Alliance and it's Fleet, before deciding on joining or allying themselves with them the PGA. So she had asked each of the Queens to pick one person to send off for reconnaissance. Each person was sent off at different time with a different goal. They were denounced and exiled from their home world, and then from the system.

It was hard for all, and Tulan was no exception. It was hard enough, not only to possibly never see her home world gain and to be as good as dead to her parents and family, but the exile ceremony was hard. The punishments for the 'crimes' the humiliation, the jeers, only to end up before her Queen in horrible condition and be told that she was henceforth banished from her home world. The branding, then barely making it to the next planet before the tiny rundown craft she was in fell apart.

Of course, they weren't too welcoming to a banished one, but out of duty and tradition, they patched up her ship, and gave her enough provisions to get to The Home world. She had stayed there for a little while, and then committed another 'crime' and was drug before High Queen in another ceremony. It wasn't as humiliating—at least not, in her perspective—as the one she had gone through back on her home world, but it was humiliating nonetheless. She was given a ship, supplies, and a few personal items, and sent away, being told to never, ever return, or she would die.

She was given one other item, though. A small, secret transmitter that she was to use to give her reports.

So, as per her orders, she went to the Pan-Galactic Alliance and applied for citizenship. Once she got that, she joined the Fleet, finally arriving on a ship—the flagship at that!—yesterday. Everyday she recorded her observations, her findings. She even had a small camera that was usually nestled in her hair somewhere. Every so often, she sent her gathered info to an outpost that was made for this purpose. From there it went to the appropriate people.

This was her duty, and this she would do until she was recalled or she died. If anyone found out, she fully expected to die for her actions. But such was life.

She finished paying homage to her Queens, and turned and walked out of her quarters. She was not going to be late for her shift.


* * *


Thomas knew he was going to be late getting to the bridge. But he was not late for duty. Why? Because he had been tending to duties since he exited his quarters that morning. A dispute between crewmen, a duty conflict, three crewmen who needed emergency leave, repairs that needed his authorization, the list went on and on. Plus he tried to keep an ear to the ground as to the crew’s welfare. Of course, that meant hearing all the rumors that were floating about the ship. Rumors weren’t the most reliable thing, but he’d be foolish to ignore them.

Thomas managed to grab an elevator just before it closed and went on to it’s next destination. It started up, giving him a moment to breathe. Drack he missed his wife. He wanted Leslie here with him. He wanted her to tell him to relax, to help with relax, to give him advice, to make him laugh in that way only she could. He missed the looks they shared, the thoughts that they knew the other was thinking. He missed her company, her simply being there with him. He missed the feeling of her arms around him. He missed kissing her. He missed tending to her needs, treating her like the Queen she was to him…

Drack he missed her!

Maybe he could talk to the captain about Leslie spending some time on board soon.

He not-so-easily banished thoughts of Leslie as the elevator doors opened and me emerged onto the bridge. He strode down to his chair, noticing that everyone else seemed to be here already.

“Good morning, Kyle” The captain greeted

“Morning, Captain.” Thomas said back as he looked at the report discs that had been lying in his chair. “Did you have a nice breakfast?”

“Yes, I did. But if you want more details, I suggest you talk to our Helm and Navigation officers. They could probably give you a nice description of it.”

Thomas raised an eyebrow at that, and glanced over at Rian and Eina Fets, both of whom had the good graces to look sheepish and slightly embarrassed. The he glanced back at the captain who gave him a half smile and got back to his own report discs.

Yup. It seemed to be starting out a normal day.
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