S3 - M4: Revival

[Kyan Mackenzie]

:: Katra Station | OOC ::

The lift doors leading to Katra's, from Kyan's perspective, cavernous command center swished open and the Onlie stepped out of the lift. The "lollipop" that the holo-doctor had given him hung out the corner of his mouth. His hair was still ruffled from the run in with the pirates and his uniform bore a few scorch marks from near misses, as well as a sizable spattering of blood on his right sleeve. BUT, thanks to the EMH's ministrations, the scratch on his neck was healed, and he'd been properly compensated for going to sickbay... for once! It was turning out to be a pretty good day.

AND he'd gotten a new knife, which was basically the icing on the cake! He'd nearly forgotten about the jewelled blade he'd pulled off of the pirate, and nearly gotten killed for. As he entered the OOC, he took it out of his boot and looked it over properly. The pommel was a spherical greenish crystal of some sort, held in what seemed to be a bird's claw. The grip was gold with some sort of metal inlay. The guard was worked into an upturned crescent and held an eight inch blade that looked like very good steel. It had to be a ceremonial blade of some sort because there were no knicks in the edge, which also wasn't as sharp as something made for hard use might be. After a quick once over, Kyan put the blade back in his boot and looked around.

Neither Kirok or Briggs was there, nor was Falleg. There was an Ensign over at one of the engineering stations with the XB that he'd once met on the Discovery though. Kyan made his way over and spoke up.

"Hey." he offered casually. "Where's the bosses the now? I've a report to make to them."

[Sirol]

< Katra Station / MedBay >

[Indefinite time before]

Crista walked over to where Sirol was.  "Hi Miss Sirol, I hope Lamar was good, now give your Nantie Sirol a hug and a kiss, and then we can get you back home, there's a surprise for you there, and Mr Mackenzie has promised to tell you a story!"

The other kids had wandered over and gave their own quick hugs and kisses to Sirol, wishing her well soon.  Lamar hanging on just that little bit longer and almost being prised off 'his' Nantie by Crista.  "C'mon littl'un, Nantie Sirol needs to rest.  Be well Sirol, and we'll have a big family meal soon as you're well enough to catch up on everything!"

"Love you Nantie Sirol!"

"Get Better Soon!"

"We Miss You!!!"

the kids called and were ushered out of the Sickbay.

While Sirol did not consciously grasp the situation and the rest of the children having joined by now - she was already back in her semi-lucid dream state - it was still noticeable that she was a tad more comfortable and relaxed as she had been before.
Just lying there, her breath for now had slowed down a little, and Lamar would be able to feel a little resistance of Sirol - even when unconscious - still having a firm and protective grip of his tiny hand.
Once Crista and the other ones left, So did Sirol's reflexes again - for the time being.

__________________________________________________

[Now]

[Medbay - Zex]

Sirol seemed to light up a bit when she talked about her brother.  But there was some sadness there.  So the Deltan decided to leave the topic alone for now.

"Why, of course.   I've met a lot of people in Star Fleet.  But no-one like you.  You do remind me a lot of Kiork though.  Have you gotten the chance to meet him one on one yet?" she asked curiously.

The scientist almost even innocently looking tilted her head, leaning a little towards Zex. She was used to the fact that there were no "˜others' like her. After all, at least in her own culture she and her brother had been "˜special cases', children whose perception was different enough to not immediately fit in, yet bearing gifts useful enough to utilise the both of them...

As Zex mentioned though, that she reminded her of their new CO, she curiously raised an eyebrow.
Truth was, she had only had two brief encounters with him, and only on the second one he had even interacted with her.
The impression she had gotten from him so far seemed based, honest and thoughtful, yet by the end of the day, she had no bit of personal information regarding her new Commander.

"œI"¦ Unfortunately have not gotten the chance to have a deeper conversation with the new CO yet.
Maybe once everything has settled. I suppose I will have to make a few requests with him, so I might as well take the time to assess and analyse him.
Having a familiar mind around would be"¦ Welcome"¦"

She then listened to Sirol speak.  The woman was obviously intelligent.  There was no doubt about that.

"You mean that thing that put us all in a shared psych space around the first of the year?  I think that people reacted differently to it.  It didn't affect me much.  But if it made you feel a certain way that is still lingering, then yes, talking to someone might be good for you" Zex added.

Sirol gave the Diplomatics Officer a slow nod of acknowledgement.
"œI was considering to run a study on the psychological side effects of the Anomaly back then"¦ Back when I"¦ Still had all the memories, and could"¦ Properly compare aspects"¦
See, the Anomaly - I would argue - was the one good, the one real thing to happen to me"¦
All I ever aspired in my life, all the knowledge, all the experience"¦
I was home, and I was"¦ Happy"¦"
She took a deep breath, noticeably sad, almost even crushed...
"œ...It is not the Anomaly that damaged me, it is me being ripped out of it"¦
Like a sore open wound in my mind"¦ All the memories, all the people and planets we shared that day"¦ Their memories systematically faded and still do.
I understand that without proper technological aid it is near impossible to keep that massive amount of memories in your brain. Even the Borg need buffer- and storage technology to handle this amount of information, so forgetting these things was a natural cleansing process"¦
The thing is"¦
If I only had had a little more time"¦ I maybe could have found a method to save these memories. Store them somehow...
I wrote down what I could"¦ Hundreds of pages, but it is just a fracture of what I saw and lived through"¦
That in there, that was... Finally"¦ Me"¦ Free and functional"¦
I was at the peak capacity of my intellectual, scientific and social merit.
And I would do"¦ I suppose"¦ Anything"¦ To at least try and recreate these circumstances"¦
Find my way home"¦ And properly function"¦"

While Sirol started to get to know Eydis' pet, she softly stroked Miracles side.  "Don't you worry. If Kal or Sirol don't want you, you can come home with me" she whispered to the cat.

"Sure I'll look at the footage.  Just send it to my padd.  By the way, you weren't serious about giving your cat away, were you?" she typed back after hearing a ding on her padd.

As Ensign Zex spoke to Miracle it once more crossed her mind as an almost impossible concept.
What would Ensign Jimrec want to give away his pet?
With a little smirk the scientist acknowledged Zex speaking to it and reaffirming that it would be welcome with either company.
Her smirk forming into a little smile, the scientist eventually reached out and gave both, Miracle and Erika a gentle stroke, making sure both of them felt safe and welcome, no matter what anyone else would say.

[Don Damien Addams]

[Katra Station - OCC]

Kal had his head down as he was observing any reports from other security members. Not even one pipe from the locals on the station. It was quiet. Not many visitors was on the station.

Kal looked up from his eyes not moving his head. "It was Eydis who I followed as Ambassador escort from Solluk was in command," he replied. The shade to his face showed a pink shade. It had seemed the XBorg had gotten Kal feeling weird.

Then Ensign Serena King came in the scene where she had gone to Engineering console and a few seconds followed with little Kyan Mackenzie who was lucky that Kal had missed the dagger.

However the console was concealing the blade in the small officer's boot.

"The Captain is in the ready room, Lieutenant," he announced as he was now looking over at Serena and Kyan.

[Kirok]

< Katra Station / MedBay >

[Indefinite time before]

While Sirol did not consciously grasp the situation and the rest of the children having joined by now - she was already back in her semi-lucid dream state - it was still noticeable that she was a tad more comfortable and relaxed as she had been before.
Just lying there, her breath for now had slowed down a little, and Lamar would be able to feel a little resistance of Sirol - even when unconscious - still having a firm and protective grip of his tiny hand.
Once Crista and the other ones left, So did Sirol's reflexes again - for the time being.

__________________________________________________

[Now]

The scientist almost even innocently looking tilted her head, leaning a little towards Zex. She was used to the fact that there were no "˜others' like her. After all, at least in her own culture she and her brother had been "˜special cases', children whose perception was different enough to not immediately fit in, yet bearing gifts useful enough to utilise the both of them...

As Zex mentioned though, that she reminded her of their new CO, she curiously raised an eyebrow.
Truth was, she had only had two brief encounters with him, and only on the second one he had even interacted with her.
The impression she had gotten from him so far seemed based, honest and thoughtful, yet by the end of the day, she had no bit of personal information regarding her new Commander.

"œI"¦ Unfortunately have not gotten the chance to have a deeper conversation with the new CO yet.
Maybe once everything has settled. I suppose I will have to make a few requests with him, so I might as well take the time to assess and analyse him.
Having a familiar mind around would be"¦ Welcome"¦"

Sirol gave the Diplomatics Officer a slow nod of acknowledgement.
"œI was considering to run a study on the psychological side effects of the Anomaly back then"¦ Back when I"¦ Still had all the memories, and could"¦ Properly compare aspects"¦
See, the Anomaly - I would argue - was the one good, the one real thing to happen to me"¦
All I ever aspired in my life, all the knowledge, all the experience"¦
I was home, and I was"¦ Happy"¦"
She took a deep breath, noticeably sad, almost even crushed...
"œ...It is not the Anomaly that damaged me, it is me being ripped out of it"¦
Like a sore open wound in my mind"¦ All the memories, all the people and planets we shared that day"¦ Their memories systematically faded and still do.
I understand that without proper technological aid it is near impossible to keep that massive amount of memories in your brain. Even the Borg need buffer- and storage technology to handle this amount of information, so forgetting these things was a natural cleansing process"¦
The thing is"¦
If I only had had a little more time"¦ I maybe could have found a method to save these memories. Store them somehow...
I wrote down what I could"¦ Hundreds of pages, but it is just a fracture of what I saw and lived through"¦
That in there, that was... Finally"¦ Me"¦ Free and functional"¦
I was at the peak capacity of my intellectual, scientific and social merit.
And I would do"¦ I suppose"¦ Anything"¦ To at least try and recreate these circumstances"¦
Find my way home"¦ And properly function"¦"

As Ensign Zex spoke to Miracle it once more crossed her mind as an almost impossible concept.
What would Ensign Jimrec want to give away his pet?
With a little smirk the scientist acknowledged Zex speaking to it and reaffirming that it would be welcome with either company.
Her smirk forming into a little smile, the scientist eventually reached out and gave both, Miracle and Erika a gentle stroke, making sure both of them felt safe and welcome, no matter what anyone else would say.

< Katra Station / MedBay >

"He is only half Vulcan, but acts 150% Vulcan.  Sometimes you can see him slip below that mark.  But rarely" Zex said.

"I've served with him on more that one ship.  You'll get your time with him.  Everyone does" she added.

Then the conversation got deeper.  The more Sirol talked, the better the Deltan understood her.  Or so she felt.

"When I was on Delta IV, I was with other Deltans.  I always knew what everyone was thinking.  And feeling.  When I left Delta IV, things were different and I had to adjust to that" Zex said sympathetically.

"Are you telepathic at all?  or empathetic?  Or was that your first time being connected with everyone around you?" the Deltan guessed.

[Katra Station - OCC - EQ]

EQ dropped the teasing when Kyan walked in.  It seemed to be upsetting Kal, which was not his intent.  And Kyan was a new, high ranked person.

The XB nodded when Kal told Kyan where everyone was.  "Nice knife.  We just figured out who may have bombed the station.  The zhat vash, every heard of em?   Sir" he said.

[Kyan Mackenzie]

[Katra Station - OCC]

Then Ensign Serena King came in the scene where she had gone to Engineering console and a few seconds followed with little Kyan Mackenzie who was lucky that Kal had missed the dagger.

However the console was concealing the blade in the small officer's boot.

"The Captain is in the ready room, Lieutenant," he announced as he was now looking over at Serena and Kyan.

"Many tha....." Kyan spoke, but stopped mid sentence as he turned to look at the one speaking to him. It was the human with the Klingon House sash that he'd seen in Sickbay. Kyan was happy to see him, and if he hadn't run into him here, he'd have sought him out later anyway.

"Oh! Merry Met Mister Jimrec! Kyan offered. "Kyan Mackenzie's me name, from Earth II... or Miri's Planet, or whatever you grumps is calling it now, and also Cestus III after that. I usually work for SFI sure and I do, but am herethe now temporarily on account of the whole explosion thing." And then without preamble or a pause of any measurable length, Kyan began his curious interrogation. "So did you kill a Klingon and take his sash off him? And his house too? Or did you marry a Klingon woman? And you you have any Klingon weapons? Sure and I do... a whole collection of them, the which is pretty good. I'll show them to you if you want."

It was then that EQ, the XB spoke up.

EQ dropped the teasing when Kyan walked in.  It seemed to be upsetting Kal, which was not his intent.  And Kyan was a new, high ranked person.

The XB nodded when Kal told Kyan where everyone was.  "Nice knife.  We just figured out who may have bombed the station.  The zhat vash, every heard of em?   Sir" he said.

Kyan's eyebrows raised. "Really!? I have but... they dinnae care nothing for regular folk... they only hate Androids and the like. What would they want out here?"

[Sirol]

< Katra Station / MedBay >

< Katra Station / MedBay >

"He is only half Vulcan, but acts 150% Vulcan.  Sometimes you can see him slip below that mark.  But rarely" Zex said.

"I've served with him on more that one ship.  You'll get your time with him.  Everyone does" she added.

Sirol calmly nodded.
"œHybrid individuals deliberately acting out the traits of one of their parent species is an incredibly common assimilation mechanism to metaphorically help them feel like better fitting in with their chosen culture.
It is in fact almost a given with Vulcan hybrids, due to the emphasis' of their society. I am not surprised."
She paused for a moment, then looked up to Zex again and added.
"œI would welcome the chance to get to know him.
I have not had the chance to meet and get to know many of my associates aboard Katra yet, which makes my field of work"¦ Considerably less productive and satisfying than it should be"¦
Either way, I am always willing and trying to establish new contacts."

Then the conversation got deeper.  The more Sirol talked, the better the Deltan understood her.  Or so she felt.

"When I was on Delta IV, I was with other Deltans.  I always knew what everyone was thinking.  And feeling.  When I left Delta IV, things were different and I had to adjust to that" Zex said sympathetically.

"Are you telepathic at all?  or empathetic?  Or was that your first time being connected with everyone around you?" the Deltan guessed.

It took yet another; longer moment for Sirol to let everything sink in and have her form a suitable response.
"œI"¦ Am very sorry to learn about your own process of isolation.
It is admirable to see how well you have learned to cope with it and function outside of Delta's society.
You are a good example for resilience, Ensign Zex."
She did a little bow towards the other.
Learning to live with what could best be compared to a new form of handicap was in fact worthy of recognition, and Sirol made sure to let the other one know.

Towards her next question though, her expression seemed to noticeably get more thoughtful, almost even"¦ Cautious"¦
"œI"¦ It is a complicated subject matter.
Telepathic and empathic individuals are not an accepted or even recognosed part of Romulan society.
Literally anything that evokes memory of the Vulcan way of life has been, and still is - for large parts - to be rejected without question"¦
There is a reason the Remans are treated as property - at best"¦"
She paused for a moment, looking down at her hands, and Miracle and Erika resting with her; a little smile escaping her upon looking at the pets.
Having gathered enough strength to proceed, she looked at Zex again.
"œI had always suspected for my brother to be"¦ You know"¦ Gifted"¦
He and I had an outstanding connection.
One no outsider was ever able to compete with"¦
...With all his difficulties of expressing himself to others; all of his social ineptitudes and - for outsiders - seemingly random mood swings and phases of aggression, I had assumed that I was his point of reference"¦ His consciously utilised mediator to the outside.
But the longer we were separated from one another, the more I began to realise that it was not just him.
We were equal parts; carefully balanced like a unit, and the reason I was able to understand his mindset; his communication, and the communication of all the other outsiders; off-worlders and strangers"¦ That had always been me"¦
My mind was reaching out to his, not the other way around.
It is why I can sense my isolation wherever I am.
Now post Trialus - more than ever before I suppose"¦"

[Eli Ferris]

Lt. Eli Ferris|Katra Station| OCC

Eli had been adjusting the different datapoints received from the runabout's flight and using it to reconstruct what needed to be rebuilt. No doubt Ensign King would be assembling information in a similar way. He was very intent in his work, frustrated by not having a complete picture. He groaned, inwardly, and cursed. How his dad tolerated engineering Starfleet specs he would never know.

His ears picked up at a familiar term, a Romulan one. Rather strange, he thought. He didn't quite place the term, something from old stories his mom would tell about her time escaping from the Tal Shiar. Small details, ones he thought were entirely made up to amuse children. Except, now, EQ was sharing more. And with all the people moving in to the OCC Eli wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

He turned from his console, digesting more data. Well, with Ensign King returning he simply forwarded along his preliminary connections, allowing her to take it where she would. He was more concerned with the Flight Bay.

Mr. Conley, Mr. Drake, I believe our Flight Bay is coming back together. Once the runabout is stowed I want to check our auxiliary craft. 

[Don Damien Addams]

[Katra - OCC]

Reply to Xborg EQ and Kyan

XB mentioned a knife which made Kal look up and down at Kyan. As Starfleet officer he knew security was allowed phasers. Other weapons that was not Starfleet seemed to be frowned down at.

Kal had looked down at the individual who called him Grup. Whatever that was. This was that officer who got a lollipop with the kids in sickbay.

Kal narrowed his eyes at Kyan as he was offending him. As accusing him killing a Klingon for his House sash! Then he mentioned marrying a woman Klingon for it. What is with everyone about marriage!

"No sir. I was raised by my God parents. They were Klingon. House of Jim'rec," then he saw the knife that EQ mentioned. "As security we are no allow non-issue Starfleet weapons. I will need you to remove your weapon or bring it back to back to your quarters, sir. And yes it is a nice weapon," he spoke steadily and not moving his spot. And yes, Kal had believed it was a nice weapon to have in combat.

[Serena King]

[USS Katra - OCC - EQ]

EQ cocked his head.  "How can you have a fiancÁ©', but not be engaged?" he asked like the wiseguy he was.  He smirked as the obviously embarrassed Sec/tac officer.

"Is it Zex?  You do when to follow her around a lot.  She's pretty, don't ya think?" he added.

The XB noticed Ms. King come in.  She went straight into work mode.  "Welcome back.  How does the station look structurally?" he asked curiously.

"Many tha....." Kyan spoke, but stopped mid sentence as he turned to look at the one speaking to him. It was the human with the Klingon House sash that he'd seen in Sickbay. Kyan was happy to see him, and if he hadn't run into him here, he'd have sought him out later anyway.

"Oh! Merry Met Mister Jimrec! Kyan offered. "Kyan Mackenzie's me name, from Earth II... or Miri's Planet, or whatever you grumps is calling it now, and also Cestus III after that. I usually work for SFI sure and I do, but am herethe now temporarily on account of the whole explosion thing." And then without preamble or a pause of any measurable length, Kyan began his curious interrogation. "So did you kill a Klingon and take his sash off him? And his house too? Or did you marry a Klingon woman? And you you have any Klingon weapons? Sure and I do... a whole collection of them, the which is pretty good. I'll show them to you if you want."

It was then that EQ, the XB spoke up.

EQ dropped the teasing when Kyan walked in.  It seemed to be upsetting Kal, which was not his intent.  And Kyan was a new, high ranked person.

Kyan's eyebrows raised. "Really!? I have but... they dinnae care nothing for regular folk... they only hate Androids and the like. What would they want out here?"

[Katra - OCC]

Reply to Xborg EQ and Kyan

XB mentioned a knife which made Kal look up and down at Kyan. As Starfleet officer he knew security was allowed phasers. Other weapons that was not Starfleet seemed to be frowned down at.

Kal had looked down at the individual who called him Grup. Whatever that was. This was that officer who got a lollipop with the kids in sickbay.

Kal narrowed his eyes at Kyan as he was offending him. As accusing him killing a Klingon for his House sash! Then he mentioned marrying a woman Klingon for it. What is with everyone about marriage!

"No sir. I was raised by my God parents. They were Klingon. House of Jim'rec," then he saw the knife that EQ mentioned. "As security we are no allow non-issue Starfleet weapons. I will need you to remove your weapon or bring it back to back to your quarters, sir. And yes it is a nice weapon," he spoke steadily and not moving his spot. And yes, Kal had believed it was a nice weapon to have in combat.

[Katra Station - OCC]

In the span of a few seconds, Serena found herself staring at two people (Kyan and EQ)... Right before a confrontation started brewing between Kyan and Kal. Part of her itched, but the rational (read "Engineering") portion of her held her back. Face isn't an abstract words, it's a philosophy. Among other things and in this context, it's about respect. Those two are establishing themselves to each other, their primacy, if you will. One is security, the other is senior to me. If I dare intervene, I risk things further and causing both of them to lose face.

Dimly aware that the senior officers were now in Kirok's ready room and that everyone else was also minding their own business, she watched from the corner of her eye, kept an ear and part of her consciousness observing. The remainder of her attention, she turned to EQ, who was still near to her. "Uh, hello." She brought up a schematic of the station, highlighting certain areas. "Quite good, structurally speaking. The SIF kicked in as designed and hardened the station. Beyond the affected module, there is almost no effect on the rest of the station. Maybe some 'paint peeling'. The connector arm will need to be examined in more detail. Any thoughts on that?"

[Hrafn Falleg]

[Katra - OCC]

Kal nodded at Lieutenant Hrafn as she approach the center of the universe of the station.

FIANCÁ‰E!

He shot a look of surprise and anger at the news. "œFiancÁ©e what? No. Who started this rumor?" He asked. He was planning to tear their heart out of their chest. His brown eyes had stayed on Hfran.

Then Hrafn claimed it was a family joke. Then he shook his head. "œDon't let it go to far," he warned with a little smug smile.

[OCC - Katra Station]

"Relax Mr. Jimrec... I have noticed recently she's taken more to calling you Uncle Kal... well she even calls the XO and our previous CO 'Uncle'.  I don't think she knows Captain Kirok that well yet but give it time.  Uncle EQ over there tho was dubbed along with several others when we first came here, so you're in good company.  It's more something that we'll tease her about when she actually gets engaged later in life, like my friend's mother claimed she had her first boyfriend when she was 4 years old and going to the base kindergarten!" Hrafn smiled.

"In retrospect I should be glad... if her eventual husband is such a fine, upstanding and good looking gentleman as yourself we won't go far wrong!"

[USS Katra - OCC - EQ]

"Good find.  I believe she is still in the Medbay.  You could probably send it to some down there.  Have them show Zex the picture" EQ suggested.

Then he wondered back to his station.  The available information about the Zhat Vash as on his screen.  "Captain.  Commander, you will likely want to see this" he announced to the room.

[Kirok]

Kirok right eyebrow arched slightly.  "A play on words, but not a joke.  Interesting" he commented.

"Excuse me" the Captain said upon hearing EQ.  "This sounds important" he added.  The walked over to the XBorgs duty station and started to read the information about the Zhat Vash.

It basically said that it was an organization that hated all thing AI.  Specifically androids.   And all other forms of synthetic life forms.

In that moment, the half Vulcan audibly sucked in some air.  He was certain that they had been responsible for the attack on the station and understood their motivation for doing so.  And sadly, he thought that it was possible that he had unintentionally lured them here.

"Kyle.  I need to see you in my ready room.  Ms. Falleg, please join us as well" Kirok said.  Then without preamble he left EQs station and headed directly to his ready room.

[EQ]

"FIANCÁ‰E?  Congrats man.  Include me in your bachelor party.  It will be a night you won't remember" He said after the others left the OCC.

Then he walked over to the man.  Patted him on the back.  "She got a sister?" he asked a bit more quietly.

While walking to the Ready Room, Hrafn heard EQ's teasing.

"Don't make too much of it EQ... it was just Nerys being infatuated with someone for a while, I think because Mr. Jimrec was kind enough to not let a man-eating plant have me for breakfast during an away mission, and she was a little high on sugary doughnuts.  As for a sister, yes, Ruthie... more age appropriate but she has her own infatuation with a fellow Science Cadet, a Bajoran from what I hear at the Academy.  Given the look on Kal's face, I think you may want to change the subject or he'll be asking you to be his next bat'leth practice partner... with safety protocols off!" the Science Officer gave EQ a pat on the shoulder and then turned to Kal.

"Brush it off, you're a mighty Klingon under that human shell... tho, you'd make a fine son in law if I had other older children!! Aside of that, if you'd like to fashion some kind of family badge for House of Falleg-Tekin, you're definitely one of those and you have my support as much as I'd give to my children and husband... you're family." she gave him a wink.

"But if you want a party you won't remember, come to the family dinner then stay after and we'll get the interesting liquids out! Just make sure you have the day off the morning after! Or make friends with Dr. Xiiv!" she gave them a little wave of the hand and walked into the Ready Room with a grin on her face.

[Ready Room]

Hrafn's grin turned to a look of concern as she saw Kirok and Kyle who appeared to be all business, quick as a flick of a coin, she became all professional too.  She had after all once been 2nd Officer of the station and with the exception of Eli, she remained of the old Department Heads, it might be something important that she could give insight, thus, 'Science head' switched on, she turned to them.

"So, what gives?" Hrafn asked. "Looked important."

[Gideon Drake]

"Ensigns are just too darn cute sometimes."  Ser thought as he nodded to King walked out of the runabout, for the most part, he'd stayed out of the conversation.  He didn't chuckle, smirk or coo at the two of them.  The last one being the hardest of all.  Ser was very proud of himself.

"Very nicely done, Mr Drake.  You're do your 'Flyboy' ancestors proud."  Ser said finally letting the mask slip, when they were alone.  "Oh, and to answer your earlier question.  I'm your superior officer, not your instructor.  Your in that seat because you know how fly.  I'm here to get to know you, and kid your doing real good."

Ser got up from his seat and motioned to the exit.  "Let''s head back to ops and see what Ferris has for us."

Lt. Eli Ferris|Katra Station| OCC

Eli had been adjusting the different datapoints received from the runabout's flight and using it to reconstruct what needed to be rebuilt. No doubt Ensign King would be assembling information in a similar way. He was very intent in his work, frustrated by not having a complete picture. He groaned, inwardly, and cursed. How his dad tolerated engineering Starfleet specs he would never know.

His ears picked up at a familiar term, a Romulan one. Rather strange, he thought. He didn't quite place the term, something from old stories his mom would tell about her time escaping from the Tal Shiar. Small details, ones he thought were entirely made up to amuse children. Except, now, EQ was sharing more. And with all the people moving in to the OCC Eli wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

He turned from his console, digesting more data. Well, with Ensign King returning he simply forwarded along his preliminary connections, allowing her to take it where she would. He was more concerned with the Flight Bay.

Mr. Conley, Mr. Drake, I believe our Flight Bay is coming back together. Once the runabout is stowed I want to check our auxiliary craft. 

[Ensign Gideon Drake | Shuttle Docking Module | Katra Station]

"Oh," said Gideon in surprise. Still, if Lieutenant Conely was the superior officer to report to, it made sense; Lieutenant Ferris was the person to look to when there were assignments to be distributed, he being in charge of the Flight Control department.

As much as they were to head to the OCC, they didn't have that far to go. Lieutenant Ferris was informing them to conduct a check on all auxilury craft.

"No problem, Leftenant," said Gideon, responding to Ferris's call. "Anything in particular you want us to look for in our checking?"

[Don Damien Addams]

[Katra station - OCC]

Reply to ALL on OCC:

Hfafn Falleg came with her motherly bubbly personality. That had to be talent. A rare one that is. To be a lieutenant, mother, have kids, bunch of animals like a zoo and a husband who was Captain to a ship. (possible had no skill like a mother. Haha) She was able to manage all that!

Kal would able to smack back to EQ when everyone was here. "Qball perhaps, I will allow a mean eating plant swallow you," he grinned. And some where Q Junior was roaring with laughter - Qball

He had wanted "Qball" to stick to the Xborg nick name. Payback was a bitch. Kal has his moments.

[Kirok]

[Ready Room]

Hrafn's grin turned to a look of concern as she saw Kirok and Kyle who appeared to be all business, quick as a flick of a coin, she became all professional too.  She had after all once been 2nd Officer of the station and with the exception of Eli, she remained of the old Department Heads, it might be something important that she could give insight, thus, 'Science head' switched on, she turned to them.

"So, what gives?" Hrafn asked. "Looked important."

[Ready Room]

Kirok had of course preceded the other two into the Ready Room.  He walked directly to the replicator and ordered tepid water.  He drank it down like a man dying of thirst.  "Sit if you wish.  Do either of you require a refreshment before we talk.  You may find you need it given the amount of information I am about to share" he said before turning back to Kyle and Ms. Falleg.

"What I am about to share is more for Kyle's benefit.  But I asked you to join us Ms. Falleg because we currently do not have a SO.  And in the event that I die or am killed in the near future, you can help support Kyle's reports on this matter going forward" he said after turning toward them.

He paused for a moment, determine where best to start.  There was so much to share.  Condensing it and conveying it might be a challenge.

"Prior to this assignment, I was the Academy Commandant on Earth at HQ.  As you know, when mars was destroyed by androids Star Fleet placed a ban on all synthetic lifeforms.  I never bought into the belief that some programming error caused them all to malfunction at the exact same moment in time.

But I was will to test the hypothesis.  In the various classes I taught.  And no simulation or data or research supported that possibility.

In fact, my students were able to provide a variety of other plausible and even likely explanations as to why all of them malfunctioned at the same time.  All of the explanation, as you might imagine, suggested that an outside source had caused them to ack irradicably.  Thus, the concluding was that the ban was not justified.

That conclusion was not popular at HQ.  So I was brought into meeting after meeting about the topic.  But they refused to listen to logic.

So I made a suggestion.  One that may have put a target on the Katra in hindsight.  One that, I now lead to believe, ultimately resulted in the bombing of the station" Kirok explained.

He had managed to remain still while talking.  He paused though and returned to the replicator again and requested another glass of tepid water.  This one he drank a bit slower, unconsciously delaying the telling of the rest of his confession to the two.

[Eydis]

Erika Erika had a 3 red slashes going down either side of its upper mandible. Erika looked at the feline miracle once again. It's upper arms twitching reflexively.

Uropygi will extremely tough. Able to survive in multitude of environments. And could lose entire limbs and still be 75 percent combat efficient. So having a small lattice crystal inserted into its head was nothing. So upon Eydis promoting the little uropygi would head over to the nearest touch screen located next to sirols bed. Using its upper scythe like arms surprisingly delicately, it would access a music file.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nvfjn3jKYc

Now the oddity was not just because the uropygi could access technology and successfully navigate the interface. But that the uropygi had perceived a emotional state in Sirol. And it sought perhaps after promoting by Eydis over the lattice a solution. This simple act would open a Pandora box of possibility. A drone of hive mind species suddenly given a boost of augmented intelligence. Almost like a like borg xenomorph drone.

It could also be disturbing to think of a simple dumb bug suddenly taking a Great Leap Forward in intelligence.

[Kyan Mackenzie]

[Katra - OCC]

Kal narrowed his eyes at Kyan as he was offending him. As accusing him killing a Klingon for his House sash! Then he mentioned marrying a woman Klingon for it. What is with everyone about marriage!

"No sir. I was raised by my God parents. They were Klingon. House of Jim'rec," then he saw the knife that EQ mentioned. "As security we are no allow non-issue Starfleet weapons. I will need you to remove your weapon or bring it back to back to your quarters, sir. And yes it is a nice weapon," he spoke steadily and not moving his spot. And yes, Kal had believed it was a nice weapon to have in combat.

"Oh! So you're an orphan then." Kyan nodded. "Thats me as well, sure. I was orphaned when me own ma an da shuffled off by way of the LPV Virus. But then the Mackenzies came and adopted me. Of course they're dead too the now, since they was only grups after all and grups get old and die off after a hundred years or so. Ya know." He shrugged before continuing. "But I'm sure you've a good many stories to tell of life on Qo'Nos, which I'd be after hearing if you'd be wanting to tell them to me... maybe at Falleg's dinner thing later. I'm going to it this time as an invited person, and not as a party crasher, the which I was last time... but that's another story so it is, and not a pleasant one."

Kyan paused, mainly to breath, but also to switch gears into Kal's "demand" that he get rid of his weapon. "Oh.. and me blade here."  he said casually as he once again produced it from his boot, "Is from the Orion Slaver ship what tried to kidnap Falleg's kids and other folkks. Me and ole James Dunbar sorted them out though. Sorted 'em right and proper so we did." He made a throat cutting motion and a dead face, tongue out and all before continuing. "And they being the vile nasty creatures that they were, are at the gates right now explaining to the guardians why they was such evil beasties." Kyan then offered the blade to Kal for his inspection. "It's for ceremonies or the like methinks, on account of its not that sharp. But it's a nice knife to be sure. And not something that some scuzzball slaver would have usually, the which is why I swiped it off him before they beamed us back to the Tigris."