Penny for your thoughts "
By: Ian Hunter, Commanding Officer, [PC]
Teilani Dane, Chief Medical Officer, [PC]

Stardate: 58208.11 0800

Hunter, who looked like he was deep in thought broke his attention away from the image of Qul Tuq below.

"Oh, sure Doctor," he replied.

"So how is life on the bridge nowadays?" she asked.

Hunter smiled, "Just fine Doctor."

He watched as she took a sip of tea, "...and how are things in Sickbay?"

"Not bad Sir." she replied sitting down. There was an irry silence between the 2 of them.

"Penny for your thoughts Sir," Teilani asked trying to make some conversation.

"Hmmm? Oh," Hunter paused and then leaned back, "I was just...you know thinking, you know, Commander Wright is down on the station. His review hearing was at 1000 hours."

Hunter shifted in his seat.

"I am sure he will be alright Sir." she replied positively.

"Of course," nodded Hunter. "But I hear review boards can be pretty stressful."

"They are not as bad as a court martial and I m sure the Commander has a good explanation for it all." Teilani said.

"How about you? I hear you have a new nurse on staff," he said trying to keep a dead-serious look on his face.

"Yes indeed, its... a wild one." Teilani responded while finishing her tea. “She managed to colour code all the hyposprays including the meds. She is soo totally out of place"

"How is it possible she even got on this ship?" asked Hunter shaking his head in dismay.

"From what I gather it had something to do with her father," Teilani answered. "Some high ranking Admiral or so."

"I'll do some checking," said Hunter leaning back, "is she competent? I won't permit a risk to the crew like that."

"Nor do I Sir," she responded. "She is qualified, I mean she did finish the academy but she needs a lot of guidance. She blundered during a holodeck training, so I have ask James, Doc McIntyre, to help her adjust."

Hunter nodded and after a brief silence he handed her a PADD, "Did you see this?"

Teilani accepted the padd and started to scroll through it, "hmmm some new hires and some transferrees. Quit a large group Sir."

"We're still not up to full compliment yet," commented Hunter.

"What is actually the minimum requirement to keep the Zion flying?" she asked.

Hunter chucked, "It depends on whether the CMO can pilot the ship too."

She smiled. "Oh No Captain I am not falling for that, flying in a old fashioned sail ship was more then enough for me. Besides I doubt that the crew would accept a female doctor at the helm so to speak.

"Oh," said Hunter, "perhaps they'd trust Doctor McIntyre more...."

"I think so too," Teilani said, a little insulted. She browed the padd a little further.

"Speaking of flying the ship, I see we have a new flight officer coming on board."

She nodded. "Yes he will be waiting at QT. It will be good having some new faces on the ship.

"It looks like we'll finally be getting a science department too," he said with a gesture.

"Do we actually need so many science officers," Teilani asked, "I'm counting about 5 of them."

"Four," he said stirring in his seat, "Sarik has not been able to return from Vulcan due to hostilities in the region. And, we badly needed a good stellar cartographer, I guess we're getting a pretty good one."

"How do you know?" Teilani said, handing Hunter back the padd.

"They both served on the USS Atlanta and came highly recommended."

Teilani cocked her head. "Good to hear then."

"As for the rest of us," said Hunter with a sigh, we receive our new order at 1100 and are leaving Qul Tuq straightaway. "Command had hinted, it might be our longest mission yet.

" Well I better get back to sickbay then and make sure we have enough in storage." Teilani said while getting up. " I surely hope Ms Goldman has not re-arranged my office while I was gone."

"Yes, tell her to shape up or ship out."

She grinned. " I will tell her you said so mon Capitain!!. "Goodday."

Hunter stood up, "Good day then Doctor," he said.

Dirty Work "
By: Gavin McBride , Director of Alliance Intelligence , [NPC]
Ian Hunter, Commanding Officer, [PC]
Maxine Lucinda Tapert, Computer Specialist, [PC]

Stardate: 58208.11 1111

Tappert's combadge chirped, it was Captain Hunter. "Lieutenant Tappert, Please report to the Bridge Conference Room right away."

Maxine nearly fell out of her chair. Not because she wasn't hailed over the comms routinely, but definitely NOT by the Captain. And ordered to his Conference room... "Aye sir, roight away sir, I'm coming roight now!" she replied as she hopped up and made some attempt at making herself look smooth and polished.

"...and Maxine, loose the faery."

"Uhhhh...." she blinked at that and looked at Krystal.

"He means me!" the pixie hologram blinked and then frowned. "But Maxie...."

"Sssttt..." Max held her hand up to silence the hologram and then tapped her comm. badge. "Understood, sir."

"Sorry pixie," she told the sprite as she deactivated the portable holoemitters in her barrette. "Stay here," she commanded as she strode from the Computer Core and made her way to the conference room.

Hunter stood as she entered and promptly introduced the 3 officers present. "This is Director of Intelligence, Gavin McBride, Computer specialist Theodore Schapiro and Federation Technology Analyst Cynthia Shepard."

"Pleased to meet you, sirs," Maxine nodded. She tried to hide the confusion she was feeling. She offered them a hesitant smile.

"Please have a seat," said Hunter.

"Of course, sir. Thank you," Max replied as she sat at the table.

McBride spoke first, "Miss Tappert, I have reviewed your personnel file and found that you have quite a talent for working with computers."

"Yes sir.." Her voice was a little cautious sounding, but at the same time, quite intrigued.

"We're interested in the work you recently did with the Birkoff virus. What can you tell us about the virus that might not have been in your reports?"

Maxine blinked. That definitely wasn't what she expected to hear. "Y'mean besides 'im being a sly, sneaky bastard who thinks on multi-dimensional levels and codes that way?" she asked. "Uhh.. pardon the language," she added when she realized she called Birkoff a bastard.

Shapiro interjected, "To cut to the chase, could you replicate his work?"

Max didn't even hesitate. "Oh sure. I mean.. Yes, sir," she nodded.

"How much do you know about the current technology used by the Federation?" asked Shepard.

"I participated in a system analysis of a captured Federation ship just before my transfer from the Trident to here," she answered.

McBride asked the next question, "Your file also notes that you have developed a A.I.s, most recently, one for a special project."

"That's correct," Maxine nodded and glanced at Hunter, unsure how much she could, or should say. But given at least one of these guys was with Intelligence...

"What can you tell me about their capabilities?"

"I believe their capabilities are unlimited," Maxine admitted. "They begin with the capabilities I code into the, but they have an infinite ability to learn from their environment and make logical deductive decisions based on their input and directives," she went on. She loved working with the AI's, and talked about them as if they were real. "Rahw, for instance, is integrated with part of the ship's systems she's installed on and is able to run them using a sophisticated fuzzy logic program I've written...." She stopped and smiled a little cause she knew she was babbling on. "What do you *want* them to do?"

"Fascinating," answered Shapiro, "how long did it take you to code the A.I. for the Pegasus?"

"Not long," Maxine answered. "About three or four days. But that was just the basic code. It took me a little longer to get the ship's systems coded into her neural processing nodes."

McBride cleared his throat, "Okay, hypothetically speaking, could you design a worm which if released into a Federation's priority one system, could navigate to various subsystems and be made to alter and distort selected data input and output?"

Maxine blinked, opened her mouth to say something, closed it again, frowned, looked at Hunter and then back to McBride before finally nodding. "Yes."

"Do you have a problem with that Miss Tappert?" asked McBride.

"Actually... None whatsoever," she answered honestly and with a little shake of her head. "It's just the first time anyone's ever *asked* me to deliberately design a worm. Catch them, block them, stop them, and kill them, yes," she grinned a bit. "But not make one."

Shepard leaned forward to speak in turn, "Given the current state of the Federation's computer defense how do you propose to get the worm past the I/O parser to gain access to the system?"

"Hmmmm....." Maxine thought for a moment as she recalled what she'd learned from the captured Federation ship, the code literally filling her eyes as she stared a bit blankly. "I think the best way," she blinked and focused on Shepard directly since he was the one who asked the question. "Might be to simply disguise it as an I/O buffer and piggy back it onto one of the encoding converters. Once in place it would replicate itself through out the ODN until it reached the main sub processor," she answered.

"But Krystal and I would need to test it out first because that may need a bit of tweaking."

Shepard looked over at McBride and nodded.

"Miss Tappert, you will immediately go with Shepard here to receive the specifications of your assignment. You will have approximately 2 weeks to develop your program on the Zion while it is enroute to its next mission.

What ever resources you need to take with you need to be requisitioned by tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night. Aye sir," Max nodded. The code was already starting to write itself in her head. Her gaze turned to Shepard then and she smiled just a bit and then had to blink because he started to get coded into the beginnings of her Worm.

McBride stood up, "That is all, carry on then."

"Yes sir!" Maxine hurried to her feet and came to attention, waiting for Shepard.

She gathered up her things as did Shapiro and left the conference area with Max following.

McBride stood up, "We're still putting together some of the last minute details. There will be a full briefing on Friday."

The Medical Review Board "
By: Jonathan Wright, Executive Officer, [PC]
Margaret Rose MacAlister , Marine CO, [RNPC]

Stardate: 58208.11 1300

Wright sat next to Madge in a large audience hall in the Maquis medical section on Qul Tuq. Sitting around them were dozens of medical students all taking copious notes. In front of them was a raised desk where 5 Maquis medical officers sat. Just in front of the desk was a single podium. Standing at the podium was a medical student.

"The use of this treatment plan on a Ferengi shows serious lack of judgment on your part Cadet," said a red haired woman who Wright knew to be Dr. Beverly Crusher. Sitting next to her was Sam Kensington, QulTuq's Chief Medical Officer and next to him was Simmons. Wright was not familiar with the remaining two board members. All of them nodded in agreement with Dr. Crusher.

Wright leaned over to Madge and said in a whisper, "We are watching the end of morning briefing. All medical students with live rotations in the infirmary have to attend, especially when they make a mistake like this young cadet did. It is a pretty effective teaching tool."

"Aye," she leaned close and whispered back. "I ken see that. Verra effective indeed. I do something similar with th' lads, but nae so grand."

They watched as the scared cadet tried to defend his decision. In the end, the panel assigned him extra credits of Xenobiology and medical treatments. Wright felt bad for the student. Now in addition to his normal work load he had additional studies. Wright was certain of one thing though, this cadet would not make the same error again.

As the stressed out cadet left the podium the morning briefing was adjourned and the room started clearing out. The panel left their places at the desk and soon Wright and Madge were the only people left in the big room. "I guess it's my turn," said Wright standing up.

Madge reached out a hand and squeezed his arm as she gave him a reassuring smile and stood alongside him. "Dinnae worry, Commander. Ye are a fine doctor and did th' people of Bajor a service tae be proud of."

He led Madge down a staircase and across the hall and stopped when he reached the podium.

Madge looked around and then to Wright questioningly. "Will I be allowed inside?" she asked him in a hushed voice.

Wright was not sure how they would respond to Madge. He didn't care. "We will find out."

They waited in silence for the board to return and start his hearing. Kensington and Crusher came into the hall first and took their places, then Simmons and the final two members entered and took their places. Wright noted that Simmons was nearly ten minutes late. He was sure that was on purpose.

"Good afternoon," began Simmons. "We are here to discuss the actions of Doctor John Wright of the USS Zion on or about stardate 58206.28. For the record the board consists of Doctors Beverly Crusher, Sam Kensington, Fred Simmons, Neil Young, and Graham Nash." Simmons turned his eyes on Wright and then to Madge, "And I see you have a guest?"

Wright nodded, "I have. Major Margaret MacAlister of the Maquis Marine Corps." Simmons arched an eyebrow and looked at Madge, "She was on Bajor with you and took part in your actions?"

"She was indeed on Bajor and did help me with a emergency situation," Wright replied. He kept his expression neutral.

"This is a medical review of your conduct Wright," said Simmons. "I fails to see--"

"That's Commander Wright," said Wright in a stern voice, "Lieutenant Commander Simmons. You may address me as Commander Wright or Doctor Wright." Wright watched as Simmons' face flushed with anger. He thought he caught a glimpse of amusement from Sam Kensington but was not sure.

"Commander Wright," repeated Simmons. "That brings me to a serious point. On stardate 56206.28 you, a *starship* commander, presented yourself on Bajor as a doctor. Is this not true."

"It is true, I am a doctor and I did present myself as one on Bajor."

"But you are not really a Doctor are you? You gave that up to be in command."

"I maintain full certification and keep current on new technology," Wright replied. "I take all practical examinations each year and score well above the acceptable range. This last time I was in the upper ninetys. What did you get Doctor?"

Simmons ignored his questions and looked at Madge, "Major MacAlister, while you were there did *Commander Wright* tell you that he was a doctor or that he was a Commander of a starship?"

"Commander Wright told me neither," she answered truthfully. "He introduced himself simply as 'John Wright'."

"I see," said Simmons, "so he lied to you then?"

"Nae, Commander," Madge shook her head. "He introduced himself by his **name**, same as did I. 'Tis been my experience that only puffed up ninnies introduce themselves with their rank while on vacation."

Simmons opened him mouth to reply but was interrupted by Kensington, "Right then, Doctor Wright, tell us about the moment when the epidemic began. When did you know something was amiss?"

"At the clinic we several members of the community came in with similar symptoms," Wright began.

"What were those symptoms Commander?" asked Crusher.

"At first the patients presented with acute muscle and joint pain, nausea, vomiting, and high fever," offered Wright.

"That sounds pretty common," observed Lynch.

Wright nodded, "Yes it did. Initially, I treated their symptoms to give them some comfort until the infection had passed but when it did not pass and they started bleeding internally and externally I knew I had a much larger problem."

"And did you ever once think to call for help," asked Simmons.

"Doctor if you have read my report you know the answer to that question," said Wright impatiently. "Of course I tried to contact help. I tried to contact the Bajoran government, Maquis HQ, and I even tried to get a hold of the CMO if the Zion, but I could not get help. Communications were blocked."

"So you took matters into your own hands?" asked Nash.

"I noticed that neither the Major nor myself were infected, however, Clarice was infected but seemed to have a natural defense from it."

"Clarice," began Simmons as he scrolled through his PADD, "that is the half-breed child, correct?"

Wright's teeth clenched and he balled his hands up into solid fists. He leaned hard against the podium in front of him and just stared at Simmons. Seconds that seemed like years ticked by as Wright considered tossing his career aside just for the pleasure he would feel to cause Simmons grievous bodily harm.

Madge had pretty much the same reaction to the term as Wright had, and she picked up on his body language. She cleared her throat and turned her attention to the panel. "Begging yer pardon sirs, but if it pleases the board, I object tae that term of reference, 'half-breed'. 'Tis both derogatory in nature and very prejudicial. On behalf of the child in question, I move to have it stricken from the record." She sounded just like a lawyer addressing the court. All very professional sounding. She also hoped to give Wright a little time to not leap in the middle of the man.

"This is a medical review, not a legal proceeding," said Simmons. "This Clarice is the ah... child that you experimented on?"

Everyone in the room was now gone as far as Wright was concerned. Only he and Simmons existed and Wright's gaze bored into the man, "I collected and analyzed biological data and identified the agent and synthesized a counter-agent," he said through gritted teeth.

"Precisely," thundered Simmons, slamming his fist against his desk as he spoke. "You created a drug with inferior and sometimes alien equipment and then you administered it without proper testing and peer review. Do you understand what you could have done?"

"You mean other than save lives?"

"You could have created a mutant nanophage that wiped out the whole population."

"I didn't though. I made a judgment call. A judgment call that saved lives," Wright thundered back. "There was no communication, no help available, and no time left. I stand by my decision as the morally and ethically correct decision."

"Well then," said Simmons, a sneer spreading across his face, "I guess that wraps up my questions. It seems pretty cut and dried to me. Does anyone else have any questions?"

"Doctor Wright," asked Crusher, "Do you know the Maquis Medical protocols for testing new medications?"

"I do Doctor Crusher," replied Wright.

"And what is your opinion of them?"

"I think under normal circumstances they are true and appropriate. They should be followed to the letter whenever possible."

"And you do not view this Bajor incident as a normal situation?" asked Kensington.

"Anything but normal Doctors," replied Wright. "In emergency situations medical professionals have to be able to take life saving action, even if it steps around beurocratic policies, even good the ones."

The room was silent for a few moments. "Very well then, we will take a short break to discuss the merits...or lack there of, of this case and be back shortly with a decision."

The review board got up and left the room.

Madge turned to Wright. "That went well," she deadpanned.

"He is a pompous, arrogant, fool," said Wright, still clearly upset.

"Aye, Commander, that he is," she agreed. "And full of himself. Th' man needs a good swift kick in the arse if ye ask me. Want me tae sic the lads on him?" She quirked a brow in question, clearly teasing and just as clearly trying to help lighten his mood.

Wright tried to stop it, but a slight smile spread across his face, "Only if I can go with them."

"Ach now, and they'd be glad tae have ye," Madge smiled back. "Ye can be the team's Six," she winked. "Dinnae worry. He's only one."

Wright laughed.

"Excuse me Sir."

Wright turned to see a young cadet standing next to him. "Hello Cadet. How can I help you?"

"I have this message for you Commander," he handed a packet to Wright. "It came in on the transport from Bajor."

Wright took the package from the cadet. "Thank you Cadet. Dismissed." As the cadet left Wright opened the package. "It's from Lyrr," he said. As he read a frown formed on his face.

"Ach, that doesnae look good. What happened?" Madge asked.

Wright handed Madge the letter, "He says Clarice has gone missing. Figures she ran away."

Madge read through the letter, tsking softly as she did. "Ach now. she was such an unhappy lass. But I'm surprised. I thought she was better when we left?" She looked at Wright as she handed the letter back. "What do ye want us tae do?"

Wrigth was about to respond when the review board came back into the room and took their seats. Wright looked at each of the members. Kensington and Crusher looked tired, as if they had suffered a very long day. Simmons wore a smile as did Nash and Lynch. Wright did not need to be an engineer to know the score.

"Doctor Wright, it is the decision of this board on a 3-2 vote that your case warrants further investigation. It is my order that Lieutenant Nash conduct an independent..."

"Belay that order," said Crusher.

"What?" asked Simmons, "Doctor Crusher this is my decision."

"I am taking this matter myself. I will conduct this investigation." Crusher was stern and not smiling as she spoke.

"But..."

"That is an order Doctor."

"Very well then," said Simmons though gritted teeth, his face red with anger. "Doctor Wright your privledges as a doctor are hearby revoked pending the outcome of this investigation. You are to turn over any medical equipment or supplies to the chief medical officer of the USS Zion. This hearing is closed." Simmons got up and stomped away.

Wright turned to Madge wearing an amused grin, "Let's go Mac. We are done." He turned and left the hall. He needed to check on Clarice, but he was sure that if she did not want to be found...no one would find her.

Madge quirked a brow at the amused grin and turned to leave with Wright. "I dinnae see why ye are grinning," she observed and looked across at him. "But I ken there's a reason.."

Wright's grin turned to a smile, "He just won the battle but lost the war."

"Because Dr. Crusher will find ye were justified in every thing ye did, hmm?" Madge smiled.

"I like my chances better with Doctor Crusher than I do with Nash," he said.

Vineyards and Jules Verne "
By: Marcus Campanili , Marine XO , [NPC]
Teilani Dane, Chief Medical Officer, [PC]

Stardate: 58208.11 1430

The arboretum was only half finished but the plants grew lush and rich. Soft smells from unknown flowers filled the air when Teilani entered the room. On the ground an occassional cat footprint was shown. Apperently Chester was a frequent visitor here as well.

Besides her own quarters this was the only place she could have some time to herself, otherwise nurses were barging into her office, or in the lounge she had to listen to the everlasting ship's gossip.

Carrying a book in her hands, she sat down on a little bench, in front of her a view port and stars were streaking by. Carefully she opened the book, it was old and ancient, still made out of real paper.

Marcus Campanili looked up from his own book when he heard someone enter the arboretum and quietly watched as Teilani made her way inside. He was tucked back in a discreet corner that hid his presence from view, and his lips quirked in a hint of a smile when he observed the book in her hands.

His training served him well as he shifted to her position without a sound to mark his movements.

"There is nothing quite like the feel of real paper between your fingers, is there?" he asked in that deep voice of his from just behind and off to the side of her.

Teilani jumped and the book slipped from her hands. "What the..." she quickly turned round and looked. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, haven't your mother thought you you should not startle people?" she said quasi angered and her cheeks suddenly flushed as if she had been caught with her hands in the cookie jar.

Campi's lips quirked in a near smile as he deftly reached down and picked the book off the ground. "I believe she missed that part of my education." He squatted next to her so that his eyes were on the same level as hers. He offered her the book and his mouth finally finished the slight smile. "Your book." The smile widened a bit more and sparkled warmly in the depths of his dark eyes. "Perdonilo prego," he told her in Italian. "Forgive me. For startling you and causing your heart to flutter. It is a side effect of my profession."

Teilani's cheeks became even more rosy as she accepted the book from him, carefully she brushed the dirt from the pages. "What are you doin here hiding.... Captain ... ehrm Campanili wasn't it?" she asked trying to regain her posture.

"Si, Marcus Campanili. And you are Lieutenant Teilani Dane," he watched her closely, his voice and slight accent adding a rather exotic sound to her name; his words giving the impression that he knew all about her. "Ship's doctor and angel of mercy."

Not knowing where to look she lowered her eyes for a second but then green met brown and she smiled. "Ships doctor yes, she retored, "but angel of mercy.... I am no angel." She grinned. "Any way answering your question, there is indeed nothing like old fashioned paper."

"It warms not only the fingers, but also the soul." He remained crouched down to her level, looking quite at home. "Tell me; what brings you to this haven for your reading pleasure?"

Slowly Teilani stood up and gestured at the half finished arboretum. "Don't you see it," she said with passion. "It's alive, the colour and the smells, the quietness. It's like a piece of the garden of Eden. Plant's give life, beauty, they give harmony. Look at this rose," she said, "how the peddles are surrounding the heart, perfection."

Marcus stood as she did and quietly watched her as she spoke, listening to the passion that tinged her voice. His lips quirked in that almost smile he did so well.

She leant forwards and closed her eyes and smelled the rose. "then there is the smell, soft, sweet.. it reminds me of a warm summer morning after the rain."

Campanili stood at that parade rest he so easily adopted and seemed genuinely interested in everything she said. "I see that it draws you."

"You must think I am completely nuts, but this place is like an oasis for me. Just to sit here, look at the stars. It makes me relax from all the hectic in Sickbay... " Teilani answered.

"Nuts?" He smiled and shook his head a bit. "No." He waved a hand to encompass the setting and then lightly touched his book. "Why do you think I'm here? It reminds me a little of home," he admits. "It's just missing a good vineyard."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and regretted the fact that she hadn't gotten her uniform on and her hair neatly in a bun. Nobody had ever seen her in casual cloths on the ship that often and it made her feel naked some how, especially the way this Marine was looking at her.

It was if he could read her mind. Or perhaps it was once again a side effect of his training and he was just very observant to the subtleties of her body language. "You look perfect for this setting," he observed. "Like you should be stomping grapes," he added with another smile.

"Stomping grapes?" she asked while she gestured at the little bench, inviting Marcus to sit.

"To make the wine," he answered as he sat on the bench. "It is tradition. When the harvest is brought in from the vines all the grapes are placed in a huge wooden vat. The celebration begins when all the women of the family and workers begin to mash the grapes. Barefoot," he smiled.

"You are kidding, barefoot??" Teilani asked with disbelief.

"Barefoot," he chuckled at the look on her face. "Oh, there are vineyards that have adopted a much more... modern technique, but the old ways produce a quality of wine that is superior to all others. And the Brandy.. Magnifico," he kissed his fingers and smiled.

"Jee I didn't know that. We don't have vineyards on Mars and the only wine I know is Bajoran spring wine. So what do you call home, judging from your accent and your knowledge from grapevines it must be something southern?"

"I was born in Italy. My family still lives there," he answered her quietly. "I think they will always live there.. because they always have." It was hard to read him because he didn't give much away, but Dane was astute enough to perceive the fondness he held for not only the place, but also for his family and his heritage. "What was it like, growing up on Mars?"

Teilani averted her eyes and stared out the view port and momentarily was lost in thought. "It was hard, although much of Mars has been terraformed we do have to account for the seasonal storms, the heat. Us Marsians are tough people. Despite that, it was a great place to grow up, even during the occupation."

Marcus watched her quietly, his rather brooding dark gaze missing nothing of her body language. "What's it like now? I have to admit that I've never been there."

"I wouldn't know how it is now, I left home quite young. How about you? What was it like growing up in the middle of a vineyard? she asked softly and turned her full attention back to Marcus.

He smiled at the question and shrugged a little expressively. "Beautiful. And hard. Although hard work rather than harsh. Mother Nature can be cruel when she gets a bee up her skirts," he replied. "A vineyard has to be protected and nurtured every day... Cherished..." he added. "Rather like a woman," his smile grew. "Do you ever want to go back to Mars?"

"I don't know to be honest," Lani responded and a flash of pain flew over her face. "I have great memories about home but also bad ones." Teilani grew silent.. "You know Captain, even though the Zion is my home for some years now, there is this longing, wanting to go back to Mars and yet being afraid to go back. Sounds rather silly right?"

"Not at all," he gave her a half smile of understanding and shook his head a little. "It's a very natural feeling to want to revisit your roots. They are what helped make you what you are today," he added with a little shrug.

"What made you choose to become a Marine and not stay in Italy, take care of your family's vineyard, raise a family? If I am too curious just let me know alright?" Teilani said with a smile and studied Marcus's face.

Now it was Marcus' turn to look up and gaze out at the stars for a moment or two while he gathered his thoughts and formed an answer for her. He didn't look hard at all. At the moment he looked rather thoughtful and pensive as if he hadn't visited the thoughts she'd put question to for quite some time.

"Because I was the dreamer," he answered and turned to smile down at her. "My father, my grandfather, and my older brother all run the vineyards. I was the rebel, the fighter between us," he admitted. "Joining the Marines gave me an outlet for that... And I was fascinated by the stars when I was young, so..." he shrugged and his lips quirked in a wry grin. "What better way to experience them, hmm? As to raising a family..." he shrugged expressively. "I haven't found the right woman yet."

"I am sure you will find one when the time is right," she answered softly. Then she grinned as she remembered some of her nurses remarks and she could only hope that Jelly wouldn't get her claws on him. He wouldn't survive that. She observed him closely, now she remembered why she liked dark eyes, they were so mysterious. "It seems Captain that we have more in common then we thought."

"Ahh... but I'm not looking," he told her with a smile, referring to finding the right woman. "And indeed, it seems we do, Lieutenant," he agreed.

"How did you end up on the ship?" she asked putting the book next to her and tucked one leg under the other one, shifting a little on the bench.

"A series of unrelated events." He stretched his legs out and crossed them at the ankles. "The Zion found itself without a proper Marine compliment, the Major, Taylor and the boys and I found ourselves up for reassignment, and Maquis Command decided it was a marriage made in heaven. What about you?" he asked.

Teilani swallowed a lump in her throat, sometimes it still pained her to talk about it. "I was a survivor from the Kittyhawk." she said evenly. "When I was rescued I asked Captain Hunter if I could stay on as the ships doctor, been here ever since."

"Ahhh..." Marcus nodded in understanding. "That must have been a very traumatic experience for you. Would be for anyone not experienced in the rigors of combat," he smiled a bit. "It turned out well though, hmm? You survived, and have a new home here."

Teilani giggled, a bright and clear laughter resonated through the arboretum. "I guess your right but you have to admit it being on the Zion and out in deep space, it sometimes wreck havoc on your social life."

"Social life? What social life? Marines don't have social lives," he scoffed with a semblance of a grin. Joking? Perhaps. It was hard to tell actually. "But I can hardly believe that *you* don't have a very active social life, doctor."

"No honestly," she said still laughing, "I believe this is the first day in weeks I have been able to escape sickbay. I even missed my favorite movie last week due to Ensign Taylor."

"Well... It seems we have something else in common," his lips quirked a bit. "What movie?" he asked curiously. "And who is Ensign Taylor?"

Teilani streched her long legs and removed a strand of red hair which kept dangling infront of her eyes. "Ensign Taylor is working in the belly of the Zion, I believe at the waste disposal units and he is a clutch." Teilani grinned. "I can not disclose doctor patient stuff of course but he is such a goof and he managed to get hurt the night they were going to show Casablanca."

"Ahhhh... Casablanca. A classic," he smiled. "And a pity you missed it. It never gets old, does it?" he asked.

"It surely doesn't." she confirmed. "Perhaps they will show it again, and then nobody is going to stop me." she said determinantly.

He chuckled softly at the determination in her voice.

"What kind of movies do you like," she asked.

"I'm a fan of the classics," he admitted. "Both in reading and viewing. Casablanca is one of my favorites. What about you?"

"Well Casablanca of course, and then Ben Hur, Dial M for Murder. I adore a good murder mystery. Although romantic movies work wonders too, like Gone with the Wind." she said and sparkles came in her eyes as she remembered Gone with the wind.

"What book were you going to read before I barged in here?"

Marcus held the book up for her to see it. "Journey to the Center of the Earth, by Verne. What about you?" he tipped his head in the direction of her book.

"It must be a coincidence." Teilani replied as she showed him the book.

Marcus broke out in hearty laughter when he read the title of the book in her hands. "'20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'. That's priceless," he grinned at her. "Verne's a favorite of mine."

"I also have Around the world in 80 days. If you want you can borrow it."

"I'd like that," he nodded. "And I also have 'From the Earth to the Moon', which I haven't read yet, but I'd be willing to share it."

"Oh I would love to." she replied, and then she got a bold idea. "Marcus, you don't mind me calling you Marcus right?" Teilani asked.

Marcus chuckled and shook his head. "Not at all, Doctor."

"I was wondering, if Casablanca is playing would you like to go with me watching it?" she asked and a small blush appeared on her face. "I mean not as a date date but just as friends or so?"

"I would enjoy that very much," he agreed. "But only if you allow me to call you Teilani," he added teasingly. "You look ten years younger when you blush," he added with a wink.

"Only ten?" she replied with mocked surprise. "Perhaps I should blush more often then, " then Teilani giggled and doubled forward into laugher. "Gosh I feel such a schoolgirl," she said still hickuping from the fun, "blushing is something I have never gotten rid off."

"A curse of your coloring," Marcus grinned. "And I do believe you're pinker," he teased good naturedly.

"Yeah yeah you make fun of it, you guys don't have that problem." she said still chuckling.

Now it was Marcus' turn to break out into deep hearty laughter. "No, No, I dare say we don't. It's one of those little perks we men have that keep you women guessing. After all, we have to have SOME tactical advantages because you have the lion's share of them."

"No we don't...." Teilani said grinning and flicked back her hair and winked.

Marcus laughed heartily. "Spoken like a true woman."

Teilani stood up. "Well its time for me to go back to work again. She patted the book and handed it out to Marcus.

"You can read it if you like."

Marcus looked a bit surprised by the offer, but took the book anyway, smiling at her as he stood up too. "Thank you. But you didn't have to."

"Well it will give you an excuse to drop by sickbay when you bring it back."

He quirked a brow at her and suppressed the full grin that lit his eyes, turning it into an amused smirk. "Indeed it will."

Picking a invisible threat from her dress Teilani turned around. "See you around Marcus." she said with a smile as her green eyes lingered a little longer on him.

"I do believe you will, Teilani," he assured her with a grin and watched as she walked away from him, his eyes traveling and admiring her form and the gentle sway of her hips as she went.

Pixies Gone Wild "
By: Krystal, Hologram, [RNPC]
Maxine Lucinda Tapert, Computer Specialist, [PC]

Stardate: 58208.11 1900

Maxine stepped into her room and her eyes widened in something akin to astonished horror.

"Oh. My. God...."

She couldn't believe her eyes. Was she dreaming? Had she walked into the holodeck by mistake? The room looked like something out of a Fairy Tale Wonderland gone bad. The middle of the room had been transformed into stately ancient oak tree complete with climbing vines and all manner of small wildlife. It was also teaming with buzzing lights and twittering fae of all shapes and sizes.

Maxine watched in fascinated horror as the image shimmered a bit and a section of the tree disappeared, giving her a glimpse of parts of her desk and terminal. It was unstable and parts of it sputtered and flickered in and out of existence. The amount of power it must be drawing was enough that Engineering was going to be after her head.

"PIXIE!" Of course, she really should have been more specific as to *which* pixie she wanted, because a veritable swarm of them descended upon her, squeaking and all talking and buzzing at the same time, and showering her with a rainbow of pixie dust.

"Oh Bullocks!" Max squealed and dove into a small cave that used to look like the underside of her bed, swatting the flying pests away when they followed her. It was to no avail though, because they swarmed over her, giggling and fussing with her hair as they systematically tied it in tiny knots, braided it in tiny braids, and filled it with all manner of trinkets and feathers, bit of vines and flowers, and shiny beads. Several of the pixies and part of the 'cave' shimmered and became transparent, one of them passed through her hair as it tried to complete a knot.

"KRYSTAL!!!" she screamed out again and the pixie AI popped into view. She giggled and waved to the computer specialist.

"Hihihi! We're having a party! And we're drinking nectar! And guess what?? You'll never guess!!!" the AI giggled and turned all red.

"Make them stop!" Maxine was trying to push away the little pixies and sprites who had taken up residence in her hair and were bound and determined to give her a pixie style make-over. Her hand passed through one of them and hit the underside of the bed. "Ow.."

"Oooohhh... It looks pretty!" Krystal informed her. "I met a BOY pixie!"

"Whoa! You WHAT???"

"I met a BOY pixie!" Krystal repeated. "He doesn't have pert breasts, but he likes mine! And Maxie, guess what!!! He has a pert--"

"KRYSTAL!"

The pixie hologram blinked. "What?" Then she broke into a big grin. "You need to relax. Do you want some nectar, Maxie? Everything looks better with nectar," she informed Max sagely and then ruined the whole effect by giggling helplessly and hiccupping several times.

"Krystal... I want you to terminate this subrouti---"

"Whoops!! Gotta go!!" Krystal giggled and wiggled her fingers at Max. "I have a DATE!!! He's gonna show me the porn!" And with that, the little pixie disappeared in a puff of sparkling dust.

"Oh. My. God..."

Max groaned and covered her face with her hands. The little pixies and sprites buzzing around and working so diligently on her hair all giggled helplessly.

And then they started to sing....

"A hundred bottles of nectar on the wall... A hundred bottles of nectar.... Take one down and pass it around...."

Mad Max: The Fury Unleashed "
By: Marp, Engineer, [RNPC]
Krystal, Hologram, [RNPC]
Maxine Lucinda Tapert, Computer Specialist, [PC]

Stardate: 58208.11 1910

It was a new beginning, he thought as he ran through various system checks. Marp smiled happily as he listened to the reassuring throb of the Zion's massive warp core. He was on a new ship and back doing what he should have been doing all along...being an engineer. He had tried being a flyboy on his last assignment, but that turned out to be a disaster.

As Marp was scanning through the ship's power usage logs he noticed an unusually high power drain coming from the crew quarters. He touched several more keys on his console and discovered the quarters in question belonged to Lieutenant Maxine Tapert.

Touching a few more keys at his work station he opened a communications channel, "Engineering to Lieutenant Tapert."

"Yes! I'm 'ere! I'm 'ere!"

"Sorry to disturb you Ma'am, this is Engign Marp in engineering. I am noticing unusually high power usage from your quarters. Is there a problem?"

"Oh 'ell yeah there's a problem! Aaiiiieeeee!" she swatted the pixies who were pulling her hair.

Marp was certain that he could hear giggling in the background. He was wondering if he had interrupted some strange human party. "Do you require assistance?"

"YES! YES! Shut down th' power to my quarters before they pull all my blasted hair out! Now, now, now!" she comm'd back, still swatting at the pixies entangled in her hair.

"Aye Ma'am," said Marp.

While the power was being shut down in her quarters, Max continue to swat at the pixies. "Computer! Execute emergency protocol: Roundup Alpha-Icon. Command authorization Tapert Charlie Zero Zero One Nine Playground," Maxine commanded.

Executing.

"Thank God," Maxine breathed a sigh of relief as her room went dark and the holographic images disappeared. She laid there in the darkness, enjoying the near absolute silence that the lack of power gave her. She reached her hand up and rubbed her fingers over the parts of her scalp that still tingled and hurt from having the hair pulled out of it.

Her silent interlude was brutally interrupted by the perpetrator of the assault on her room and her person.

"MAXIE!! The cops raided us!" Krystal squealed as she popped into view. "My Stud Muffin is goooonnnnneeeeee!!" she wailed.

"Stud muf---" Maxine blinked in disbelief and raised up, only to cry out in pain as she bonked her head on the underside of the bed.

"YOU! Do not speak. Do not even talk to me!" she commanded as she crawled out from under the bed and rubbed at the slight bump that was growing on her head. "I'm so mad at you I could cheerfully delete your program roight now. And not feel a bloody pang of remorse." She stood up and tried to pluck some of the things out of her hair that had been braided and tied into it.

Krystal fluttered backwards and was on the verge of answering Maxine when the computer specialist interrupted her.

"You 'ad a bloody PIXIE ORGY in my room, Krystal!" Maxine accused the hologram as she walked around her quarters in agitation, stumbling in the darkness and stubbing her toe, adding insult to injury.

"I just wanted to have some friends," the pixie's antennae and wings drooped as she was chastised.

"I don't bloody well give a parser rat's fat ass what y'want! You're a 'ologram, Pixie. A 'olographic avatar. You're a bloody computer program with just enough brains to make y'dangerous!" Maxine continued to rant.

"Don't be mad," Krystal sniffed and her wings and antennae drooped even more.

"Well, I bloody well AM mad. You are grounded. G.R.O.U.N.D.E.D." she spelled it out. "Grounded to your PADD until I rework your programming and give you a bloody watchdog. Or maybe just for bloody life!"

"A watchdog? Oh no!!!" the pixie hologram wailed.

"With HUGE bloody teeth! Dragon teeth!" Maxine added because she knew how much the pixie hated dragons. "Maybe even a DRAGON DOG!"

"But! But! But safety protocols were in place! I promise! You can check! Don't do the Dog! Please don't do the Dog!!" the little hologram cried.

"SILENCE!" Maxine rounded on her and pointed a quivering finger at the hologram. Never before had the little pixie seen her creator so angry, and she immediately shut up.

"I am going to The Core to make sure you didn't do anything stupid," Maxine told her carefully, and in an over-controlled voice. "YOU are to stay here. You are grounded to your PADD, and IT is staying here. You have no access to anything other than your PADD. Begin running a level one diagnostics now and keep running it over and over again until I tell you different."

Krystal looked like she was going to open her mouth and say something, but Maxine held up her hand and snapped her fingers. "Disappear. Now," she commanded, and the little pixie simply faded from sight.

Maxine let out a shuddering, exasperated breath that was laced with her residual anger. She gathered her personal computer before she left her quarters and headed to The Core, leaving the Pixie, the PADD, and the room powerless and in the dark.

== 0030 ==

She had been plugged into the Zion's mainframe via her neural implant for hours now as she systematically worked her way through the computer systems, checking for any evidence of malicious code or alien data.

Max yawned as she stood up and stretched before heading to the nearest replicator. "Computer. Coffee, Tapert's Special Espresso Blend. One cup, forty-eight point seven degrees Celsius, add two tablespoons of cream and one tablespoon of sugar." Max had perfected her own replicated coffee that was almost impossible to tell from the real thing. She absently retrieved the cup, her mind still in the mainframe and the Zion's subsystems.

Krystal was right. The safeguard protocols *had* been in place and running. That fact hadn't really appeased Max very much though. She needed to code a subroutine into the AI that would divert any abnormalities somewhere they could be contained and she wouldn't find herself walking into another pixie orgy or a scene from Moby Dick.

She cupped the mug in her hands and took a sip of the strong brew. Her eyes continued to stare at the screen before her, their depths filled with lines and lines of code. Halfway through the second sip something caught her eye and she blinked.

"Whoa. Backup." She sat the mug down and reached up to scratch at the implant. "Stop. Go forward thirty bytes." She continued absently scratching at the irritated neural implant. "Stop." She started using her nails as the itching increased.

Maxine tried to concentrate on the code before her but the itching was becoming more and more of a distraction. "Dammit!" she swore, and tried to disengage the implant. She'd been overusing it, she knew she had. The proof was in the fact that it wasn't disengaging. She frowned and tried again... The itching increased to an almost painful level. This wasn't right. She should be able to disengage the implant from the mainframe before fully forming the thought. Her hand moved up to manually terminate the connection. It didn't work.

The itching became more intense as a dull ache bloomed into life at the base of her skull and began to grow exponentially. There wasn't enough time for Maxine to contact sickbay before she became too lightheaded and disoriented. The pain in her head grew so intense that it finally culminated in a gigantic starburst that consumed her awareness until she ceased to function and all her systems crashed.

Log Index | Go to Stardate 58208.12