The Big Snake...

[Serena King]

[Katra Station | OCC]

"Aye, Captain."

Serena took in a deep breath and returned to her console, logging back in. From a side pocket, she pulled out a small ring, slipping it on the pinky of her right hand. Normally she left it off, but today was a special occasion. Tapping on the console, she started a message:

From: Serena King
To: All Engineering personnel
CC: Captain Kirok, Commander Briggs
Subject: Moving Day

I am an Engineer. In my profession I take deep pride. To it I owe solemn obligations. As an engineer, I pledge to practice Integrity and Fair Dealing, Tolerance, and Respect, and to uphold devotion to the standards and dignity of my profession, conscious always that my skill carries with it the obligation to serve all life by making best use of the universe's precious wealth. As an engineer, I shall participate in none but honest enterprises. When needed, my skill and knowledge shall be given without reservation for the public good. In the performance of duty, and in fidelity to my profession, I shall give the utmost.

These words are an updated version of the Obligation of the Engineer. Each one of us knows what to do next. We have our playbook, we know what we each have to do. Let's put on a show for the history books.

Countdown to launch commences now.

[Hrafn Falleg]

[OCC]

[EQ]

EQ offered the man a nod.  "Cool, but I thought you were going to say the other thing" he replied with shrug.  "Can't say that I remember a Boola.  What species was he?" the XB asked.  "But yeah, I would enjoy getting a drink.  There is a new place I've been wanting to try" EQ offered.

[Kirok]

"Sooner that expected" Kirok replied.  He offered Falleg a small bow.  "I was hoping that you might be able to tell us if there is any data to prove the existence of the big snake.  Any disturbances in space to report?" he asked.

Before she could answer, he turned his attention back to the new Ops officer.  "Rojol, can you please make sure science if fully powered.   Also, we need someone from Flight Control up here if you please?" the Captain requested.

[OCC - Katra Station]

"I'll pull up what we have..." Hrafn said, smiling at Rojol at Ops in recognition of his efforts in getting power to Science.  Then Serena King spoke.

[Katra Station | OCC]

"Tensegrity!"

Serena had logged off the Engineering console and wandered over to the FCO console. Although she and Gideon were still cohabitating, there was some friction between the two. No, that's not fair, I'm... Preoccupied. Both were on duty and while Kirok and Hrafn were talking, Serena went next to Gideon, resting her chin on his shoulder, her arm wrapped around his far shoulder when she noticed the additional shuttlepods in addition to their standard complement of auxiliary craft. She exhaled sharply and wandered back to her console as fast as propriety allowed.

At the Engineering console that she logged back into, she was tapping away furiously. "Captain, I may have an alternative. Tensegrity is... I can't explain it, except similar to a spring. It condenses and flexes itself." Her own console had the feed from the area. "It can't be energy wash, or else anything that can affect that space would probably overload the probes and their instruments. Therefore it's our good friend gravity. Or gravitons again."

She paused to scratch at her head: "The snake cannot be too exotic. The Hunters are biologically humanoid and their food is in line with ours. This snake, whatever it is, must be a carbon based life form that even other humanoids can eat and digest, once you get past a space tolerant outer layer. Although spaceborne lifeforms are relatively rare, they must obey the laws of physics."

Serena tilted her head: "Auxiliary craft, arranged similar to a wedding ring, spaced at intervals along the snake. In addition to their shield generators, we can add in another graviton generator or two to help ease the load. The effect would be similar to running up a steep hill. We can steer this snake where we want to go." She had to restrain her excitement.

"But..." Serena frowned. "We would become an active participant and technically violating the Prime Directive by shaping the Hunters' ability to get food. In addition to which, we would not have enough resources to move the Snake and the station, if we set aside ethics and move to practicality questions."

She wasn't sure why she understood exactly what 'Tensegrity' meant but she did, maybe all the lessons that Serena had been giving Tidu, and her son feeding them back to her in conversation at what was an amazing level of comprehension for a six year old but only marginally overtaxing her engineering-devoid brain, was actually her being taught indirectly by the Engineering Chief too.

"Believe it or not that makes total sense to me, Serena!  And there's me thinking when it came to Engineering I was dead from the neck up!" she chuckled.  "As for the Prime Directive... ugh, it's both my favourite and unfavourite thing simultaneously.  It's in place for very good reasons but, it causes a lot of headaches shall we say!"

[Ensign Gideon "The Gryphon/Griff" Drake | OCC | Deck One | Katra Station]

Frustrated with lack of assignments, Griff felt to get over to the OCC in the event there'd be greater chances of assignments given from the Command officers, either Captain Kirok or Commander Briggs. True, there's the chain of command to consider, but he hasn't heard from Lieutenant Ferris for a while now.

He felt a little better when Serena appeared, rested her chin on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his far shoulder. Maybe it felt reassuring to her as well, what with the friction they've been feeling lately. Then she noticed something and explained something to the Captain. Brilliant as it was, it meant a violation of the Prime Directive.

"That's the crux of the problem," said Griff in reply, agreeing with Serena. "Even if we could do it, it's a bloody violation of the Prime Directive."

"And yes... I'm with you Mr. Drake as well as with Ms. King... a violation is a violation, I personally don't want that on my record... Prophet's know I have enough um.... not strictly protocol things on there..."

She walked towards Serena and Griff and dropped her voice to a whisper "I'll tell you over coffee later if you're interested..."

"...without adding more."

[Katra Station | OCC]

Kirok turned toward King when she started to speak.  "Tensegrity?" he asked.  His right eyebrow rose slightly.

Though he was not failure with the word, King described the meaning well.  But she pointed out the obvious con.  But he was more concerned with the one that came to his mind.

"I agree with Drake.  But The snake is likely a carbon based animal, but it might be something else.  Either way we do not have any scientific data about it yet.  So I am leery as to how it might respond to any prodding.

No.  I believe that we must stay with the plan to move the station.  Let me show you what I propose" he said.

He stood and walked forward to the circular holographic situation display.  The image of the station in it's current location, the meridian sun, meridian and the wormhole were represented on the table.  The sun and station were evenly distances from the wormhole with Meridian further away.

"Using the sun and the station as lower legs on a 90 degree angle.  The station will travel on the hypotenuse of the right angle.  Until we arrive at where the upper leg would met the supposed right angle.

This puts us the farthest point away from Meridian.  But keeps us the same distance from the sun.  Should the snake have an effect beyond that distance or have a negative effect on the sun, then we can move further away from the sun. Thoughts?" he said.

The Chief of Science cupped her right elbow in her left hand, arm across her body then her right arm cupping her jaw, index finger tapping her cheek in contemplation, pacing while she thought...

'I still don't like the idea of moving the station, displacing the Meridians, it took us long enough to get them back into the present here as it was, and that was an operation and a half, even if they have said they're happy to move.  Those people have history with us and we owe it to them to make sure they are protected too.  I'm sorry if I harp on about the Prime Directive too much but there is that to consider and also the fact that if we move for one person and bend over backwards to help, before long we're going to be moving every 2 months to accommodate this or that request.  I'm sorry but, the Prime Directive is precisely called the PRIME... Primero, first... everything else is secondary for a reason.'

Hrafn took several long deep shuddering breaths realising that she was getting a little irate.

'To me, I personally think we should consult with Command Headquarters before we move this station even quarter of an inch that isn't just consistent with drift and our rotation.'

"If you insist on moving the station when we're not in danger of war or whatever, then I would like it put officially on record that several of the staff made their views publicly known that they were against this.  However, you're the boss, Kirok and so of course I'll obey whatever you say.  Also, the mathematics of the scheme if we go ahead are sound, I'll look for this carbon based mammal, and in my experience of snakes there are very few, with one notable exception that being a Selay doctor in the Fleet, are venomous... be that literally or figuratively.  And we need to make sure this one doesn't as the Terran saying goes... 'bite us in the bum'. "

She gave a wry smile.

"I'll liaise with Ensign Sirol on the USS Flatwoods and see what she has out there, that's probably more accurate than what we would get from here, I'm assuming the probes have been launched.  Do we have an open channel to them?"

[Katra Station | OCC]

Serena blinked her eyes, feeling a mild wash of fatigue, but shrugged it off. She locked the console and moved a few steps close, pulling a miniature toy plush penguin and her customary PADD from its lower leg pocket, but stuffing the former back in. Tapping quickly, she nodded a few times. "We could also... Shorten the distance to the sun, set up metaphasic shields as well and have the gravity move us along in a slow orbit. Let it work in our favour. The additional shuttlepods frees up Seleya to be released for close in studies for our own scientific manner, or swing to Meridian, depending on where the action is."

She paused to smile in an evil manner: "There's nothing wrong with suggesting moving the Snake, though. It'll give them something to do while hunting it and also getting them off our station." In an instant, her face went blank, but deep down she was still seething about the Alpha and regained control of herself.

"I was on the Seleya... so I wasn't in any meeting and I didn't get a chance to speak to Ensign Sirol before she left on the Flatwood to compare more than standard data notes.  So, is there any reason you don't like them... I'm a great believer in 'gut-feeling', I don't have any traditional empathic skills but I am telepathic at least with my children, animals and those who allow me to be.  For example Commander tr'Lhoell and I could 'talk' on a Bridge or across the OCC without being audible.  I could try to get an empathic read on them or get one of our Betazoid cre..."

The CSO stopped as she remembered that Kirok was half Betazoid.  "Captain, I'm intrigued, what did you get from them?  Any odd feelings, I understand you might have had your mind on other things but maybe next time you convene for a meeting you could allow that side of you to get a 'feelings' read on them?"

She rolled her neck, it clunking audibly and then continued.

"I much prefer the idea of moving the snake, although poking snakes is a bad idea in my experience, If these people want this snake so much tell them we'll help them find it, and even move it.  Much preferable to moving the whole damn station, easier too.  I remember the last time we did that... job and a half! An animate object moves easier than an inanimate one.  And if these people are meant to die out because their food source is compromised... hello, Prime Directive." she sighed, not meaning to sound like she didn't want to do it but she'd been here when the station was moved into it's present position and she remembered what a task that had been.

[Katra Station | OCC]

Kirok nodded.  The idea to use the gravity of the sun was sound.  And it had the additional benefit of freeing up the Seleya.

"Using the sun's gravity will work and use the metaphasic shields.  After we land at our resting place, I want solar panels installed on out outer hull.  Engineering will be quite busy today.

Drake, please start evacuating all none-essential personnel to New Bajor.  Then plot a course for our new destination.  And stand at the ready to move us" he said, overlooking the last comment about moving the snake.

"Ops.  Contact the Meridians.  We need their to know if they are staying or going" the Captain added with a glance in their direction.

Hrafn squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists to stop herself from screaming, counted to 20, realised that wasn't enough so counted again.

Taking a deep breath she let it out slowly but loudly.

'You're evacuating people to New Bajor? Seriously? While I appreciate you keeping them safe, they've been back maybe 2 months maximum, some of them are still rebuilding their businesses and lives from the catastrophe that Katra suffered a few months back.  Also, I'm sure that Nevir's parents would be delighted to see their grandchildren again, but for the love of Tribbles, are we going to uproot people's lives for every damn little request made to the station to move for this or that?  Sure, if war had been declared and it was almost certain we we were going to come under fire, I'd be the one stuffing them into the shuttles.  But have their opinions been considered, have they been consulted.  I'm not talking about my children, but the adults who just get told 'Oh we're moving the station so you've got to pack up after you've just unpacked and we're sending you to New Bajor.'  Do they even get a choice to stay or go?  They are trying to carve a life out over here... they're never going to have the chance to do this if we keep sending them away every 2 months.' the CSO thought to herself.

Hrafn was visibly upset.  She'd made friends with quite a few of the families on the station, having 3 young children, 2 of whom attended the station school where she'd got to know their friend's parents and learn about their businesses and reasons for wanting to live on Katra Station.  She felt that sometimes, Starfleet didn't care about anyone but Starfleet Personnel.

"Apologies I've had a rough night with little sleep, if we can get that data from the Flatwood, we might even come up with a third alternative that might benefit everyone.  If we're evacuating them to New Bajor may I be given 20 mins or so at some convenient point before they leave to send a quick subspace message to my in laws to expect the grandkids and also to see my children before they go?"

[Katra Station | OCC]

"Aye, Captain."

Serena took in a deep breath and returned to her console, logging back in. From a side pocket, she pulled out a small ring, slipping it on the pinky of her right hand. Normally she left it off, but today was a special occasion. Tapping on the console, she started a message:

From: Serena King
To: All Engineering personnel
CC: Captain Kirok, Commander Briggs
Subject: Moving Day

I am an Engineer. In my profession I take deep pride. To it I owe solemn obligations. As an engineer, I pledge to practice Integrity and Fair Dealing, Tolerance, and Respect, and to uphold devotion to the standards and dignity of my profession, conscious always that my skill carries with it the obligation to serve all life by making best use of the universe's precious wealth. As an engineer, I shall participate in none but honest enterprises. When needed, my skill and knowledge shall be given without reservation for the public good. In the performance of duty, and in fidelity to my profession, I shall give the utmost.

These words are an updated version of the Obligation of the Engineer. Each one of us knows what to do next. We have our playbook, we know what we each have to do. Let's put on a show for the history books.

Countdown to launch commences now.

Trying to take her mind off her tirade, she noticed Serena's ring.  She waited until the young Engineer had finished typing then smiled and nodded towards the piece of jewellery.

"Interesting ring, may I have a closer look?"

[Kirok]

[Katra Station | Ops - EQ]

EQ looked from Hfran then back to Kirok.  The tension seemed to be getting high.  So he waited a beat - for the silence to settle.

"Sir, the Meridians have replied.  They have elected to leave the planet and have requested immediate transport off planet.  They are not known to choice transport over shuttle, so I took it upon myself to have them beamed to the hanger so they can board the vessels destine for New Bajor" Kimball announced.

[Serena King]

[OCC - Katra Station]

"I'll pull up what we have..." Hrafn said, smiling at Rojol at Ops in recognition of his efforts in getting power to Science.  Then Serena King spoke.

She wasn't sure why she understood exactly what 'Tensegrity' meant but she did, maybe all the lessons that Serena had been giving Tidu, and her son feeding them back to her in conversation at what was an amazing level of comprehension for a six year old but only marginally overtaxing her engineering-devoid brain, was actually her being taught indirectly by the Engineering Chief too.

"Believe it or not that makes total sense to me, Serena!  And there's me thinking when it came to Engineering I was dead from the neck up!" she chuckled.  "As for the Prime Directive... ugh, it's both my favourite and unfavourite thing simultaneously.  It's in place for very good reasons but, it causes a lot of headaches shall we say!"

"And yes... I'm with you Mr. Drake as well as with Ms. King... a violation is a violation, I personally don't want that on my record... Prophet's know I have enough um.... not strictly protocol things on there..."

She walked towards Serena and Griff and dropped her voice to a whisper "I'll tell you over coffee later if you're interested..."

"...without adding more."

The Chief of Science cupped her right elbow in her left hand, arm across her body then her right arm cupping her jaw, index finger tapping her cheek in contemplation, pacing while she thought...

'I still don't like the idea of moving the station, displacing the Meridians, it took us long enough to get them back into the present here as it was, and that was an operation and a half, even if they have said they're happy to move.  Those people have history with us and we owe it to them to make sure they are protected too.  I'm sorry if I harp on about the Prime Directive too much but there is that to consider and also the fact that if we move for one person and bend over backwards to help, before long we're going to be moving every 2 months to accommodate this or that request.  I'm sorry but, the Prime Directive is precisely called the PRIME... Primero, first... everything else is secondary for a reason.'

Hrafn took several long deep shuddering breaths realising that she was getting a little irate.

'To me, I personally think we should consult with Command Headquarters before we move this station even quarter of an inch that isn't just consistent with drift and our rotation.'

"If you insist on moving the station when we're not in danger of war or whatever, then I would like it put officially on record that several of the staff made their views publicly known that they were against this.  However, you're the boss, Kirok and so of course I'll obey whatever you say.  Also, the mathematics of the scheme if we go ahead are sound, I'll look for this carbon based mammal, and in my experience of snakes there are very few, with one notable exception that being a Selay doctor in the Fleet, are venomous... be that literally or figuratively.  And we need to make sure this one doesn't as the Terran saying goes... 'bite us in the bum'. "

She gave a wry smile.

"I'll liaise with Ensign Sirol on the USS Flatwoods and see what she has out there, that's probably more accurate than what we would get from here, I'm assuming the probes have been launched.  Do we have an open channel to them?"

"I was on the Seleya... so I wasn't in any meeting and I didn't get a chance to speak to Ensign Sirol before she left on the Flatwood to compare more than standard data notes.  So, is there any reason you don't like them... I'm a great believer in 'gut-feeling', I don't have any traditional empathic skills but I am telepathic at least with my children, animals and those who allow me to be.  For example Commander tr'Lhoell and I could 'talk' on a Bridge or across the OCC without being audible.  I could try to get an empathic read on them or get one of our Betazoid cre..."

The CSO stopped as she remembered that Kirok was half Betazoid.  "Captain, I'm intrigued, what did you get from them?  Any odd feelings, I understand you might have had your mind on other things but maybe next time you convene for a meeting you could allow that side of you to get a 'feelings' read on them?"

She rolled her neck, it clunking audibly and then continued.

"I much prefer the idea of moving the snake, although poking snakes is a bad idea in my experience, If these people want this snake so much tell them we'll help them find it, and even move it.  Much preferable to moving the whole damn station, easier too.  I remember the last time we did that... job and a half! An animate object moves easier than an inanimate one.  And if these people are meant to die out because their food source is compromised... hello, Prime Directive." she sighed, not meaning to sound like she didn't want to do it but she'd been here when the station was moved into it's present position and she remembered what a task that had been.

Hrafn squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists to stop herself from screaming, counted to 20, realised that wasn't enough so counted again.

Taking a deep breath she let it out slowly but loudly.

'You're evacuating people to New Bajor? Seriously? While I appreciate you keeping them safe, they've been back maybe 2 months maximum, some of them are still rebuilding their businesses and lives from the catastrophe that Katra suffered a few months back.  Also, I'm sure that Nevir's parents would be delighted to see their grandchildren again, but for the love of Tribbles, are we going to uproot people's lives for every damn little request made to the station to move for this or that?  Sure, if war had been declared and it was almost certain we we were going to come under fire, I'd be the one stuffing them into the shuttles.  But have their opinions been considered, have they been consulted.  I'm not talking about my children, but the adults who just get told 'Oh we're moving the station so you've got to pack up after you've just unpacked and we're sending you to New Bajor.'  Do they even get a choice to stay or go?  They are trying to carve a life out over here... they're never going to have the chance to do this if we keep sending them away every 2 months.' the CSO thought to herself.

Hrafn was visibly upset.  She'd made friends with quite a few of the families on the station, having 3 young children, 2 of whom attended the station school where she'd got to know their friend's parents and learn about their businesses and reasons for wanting to live on Katra Station.  She felt that sometimes, Starfleet didn't care about anyone but Starfleet Personnel.

"Apologies I've had a rough night with little sleep, if we can get that data from the Flatwood, we might even come up with a third alternative that might benefit everyone.  If we're evacuating them to New Bajor may I be given 20 mins or so at some convenient point before they leave to send a quick subspace message to my in laws to expect the grandkids and also to see my children before they go?"

Trying to take her mind off her tirade, she noticed Serena's ring.  She waited until the young Engineer had finished typing then smiled and nodded towards the piece of jewellery.

"Interesting ring, may I have a closer look?"

[Katra Station | OPS]

Serena stared openly at Hrafn, her mouth quite wide open. The two of them had gotten fairly close and was probably the family and belonging Serena really needed. Knowing she was violating protocol and probably bodily contact, she went over and hugged Hrafn briefly before pulling back awkwardly. Her mouth opened and closed. She was heavily conflicted at this moment. She had said her piece a few times and Kirok was her Commanding Officer. Once given orders, she would carry them out. Oh, it wasn't that she wasn't unthinking of the consequences... It seemed he had his reasons.

Serena turned a shade darker. She knew she was showing cowardice and shame by not supporting Hrafn or Kirok openly. However, she also knew the Science Officer had been aboard for a long time and they were learning to work around each other. In the end, she decided that each had to earn the others' respect, not just for each other but for themselves in their working relationships.

Lips thinning, she spoke softly and handed over the ring: "An Engineer's Ring. You're right, I should talk to Tidu, give him something else to work towards."

[Kirok]

[Katra Station | OPS]

"Thank you, EQ.  Please create an open channel with Sirol.  Place her on standby, if you will" the Captain said to the XB.

Then he turned back to Falleg.  As a rule, he disapproved of in fighting between staff members.  It was unprofessional in his eyes.

Normally he would ignore the comment and proceed with business as usual.  But he needed to address the violation in protocol.  Privately though.

"Can I speak to you in privately, Ms. Falleg?" Kirok asked.  Then walked to his office and entered.  Expecting her to follow.

[Hrafn Falleg]

[Katra Station | OPS]

Serena stared openly at Hrafn, her mouth quite wide open. The two of them had gotten fairly close and was probably the family and belonging Serena really needed. Knowing she was violating protocol and probably bodily contact, she went over and hugged Hrafn briefly before pulling back awkwardly. Her mouth opened and closed. She was heavily conflicted at this moment. She had said her piece a few times and Kirok was her Commanding Officer. Once given orders, she would carry them out. Oh, it wasn't that she wasn't unthinking of the consequences... It seemed he had his reasons.

Serena turned a shade darker. She knew she was showing cowardice and shame by not supporting Hrafn or Kirok openly. However, she also knew the Science Officer had been aboard for a long time and they were learning to work around each other. In the end, she decided that each had to earn the others' respect, not just for each other but for themselves in their working relationships.

Lips thinning, she spoke softly and handed over the ring: "An Engineer's Ring. You're right, I should talk to Tidu, give him something else to work towards."

[OCC - Katra Station]

Hrafn was shocked, pleasantly so, at the understanding of Serena giving her a hug.  Blinking away tears she too stepped back and took the ring and looked it over before passing it back.

"Thanks for the understanding, and yes, Tidu would appreciate that.  I'm sure Sirol has given Nerys more than enough to be thinking about and besides, our little Scientist is more than happy being self driven when it comes to research... she has access to anything that isn't mission specific restricted files that I have so she's happy if she's fed and watered regularly and has a charged PADD!" 

Dashing away the more persistent tears, Hrafn blinked and smiled with a decisive nod of 'Pull yourself together woman, you're the CSO!'

[Katra Station | OPS]

"Thank you, EQ.  Please create an open channel with Sirol.  Place her on standby, if you will" the Captain said to the XB.

Then he turned back to Falleg.  As a rule, he disapproved of in fighting between staff members.  It was unprofessional in his eyes.

Normally he would ignore the comment and proceed with business as usual.  But he needed to address the violation in protocol.  Privately though.

"Can I speak to you in privately, Ms. Falleg?" Kirok asked.  Then walked to his office and entered.  Expecting her to follow.

"Of course, Captain.  Mr. Kimball if you could ask Ensign Sirol to feed the telemetry from the probes to the Science console I'll peruse the data once I return. Thank you."

[Captain's Office]

Hrafn for once elected not to say anything upon walking into the Captain's office.  She had stepped out of line but if someone didn't speak up for people, no one would.  However, it wasn't how a Starfleet officer should behave, so she stood at half-attention... smart but not so rigid that you thought she'd been frozen in place.

She uttered just one sentence, "You wanted a word, Captain?"

[Kirok]

[OCC - Katra Station]

Hrafn was shocked, pleasantly so, at the understanding of Serena giving her a hug.  Blinking away tears she too stepped back and took the ring and looked it over before passing it back.

"Thanks for the understanding, and yes, Tidu would appreciate that.  I'm sure Sirol has given Nerys more than enough to be thinking about and besides, our little Scientist is more than happy being self driven when it comes to research... she has access to anything that isn't mission specific restricted files that I have so she's happy if she's fed and watered regularly and has a charged PADD!" 

Dashing away the more persistent tears, Hrafn blinked and smiled with a decisive nod of 'Pull yourself together woman, you're the CSO!'

"Of course, Captain.  Mr. Kimball if you could ask Ensign Sirol to feed the telemetry from the probes to the Science console I'll peruse the data once I return. Thank you."

[Captain's Office]

Hrafn for once elected not to say anything upon walking into the Captain's office.  She had stepped out of line but if someone didn't speak up for people, no one would.  However, it wasn't how a Starfleet officer should behave, so she stood at half-attention... smart but not so rigid that you thought she'd been frozen in place.

She uttered just one sentence, "You wanted a word, Captain?"

[Captain's Office]

Typically the half Vulcan would have turned and faced the person he invited into his office.  Typically he would offered that person a set or a refreshment from the replicator.  He did neither.

He could feel that she knew that she was in the wrong.  Perhaps even apologetic, but he did not actively probe to determine if that was so.  Besides, she would need to say it to make things right.

So he decided to give her the opportunity to do so, before speaking on the matter directly.  Instead he cleared his throat.  And said:

"Yes.  You asked me a question out there that I could not opening answer.   For various reasons.

I am fully telepathic.  So I have the ability to read thoughts.  Yours, the crew, and Alpha the leader of the Hunters.

It's not so much a secret as it is an advantage that not everyone is aware of.  In the case with Alpha.  I did get an impression and a sense of what might happen if we do not move the station or offer to remove the Meridians from their planet.

In short, he provided a warning.  Not a threat.  But a warning supported by the data from DS9 28 years prior.

The snakes arrival signals the next cycle in which Meridian will phase away again.  And will likely explode or implode.  It is also possible that it might have a similar affect on the station - to cause it to fade away.

Given that it has this affect on a planet.  And possibly could affect the station in the same way.  I can not risk loosing lives in an attempt to move the snake.

And because of how I know this to be true, I am not able to truthfully convey the risk such an endeavor may pose to the crew.   So I can only say, that we don't have enough empirical data about the snake to sufficiently predict how to move it safely and thus can not attempt to move the snake at this time.  However unpopular that decision seems to be."

[Serena King]

[Katra Station | OPS]

"Thank you, EQ.  Please create an open channel with Sirol.  Place her on standby, if you will" the Captain said to the XB.

Then he turned back to Falleg.  As a rule, he disapproved of in fighting between staff members.  It was unprofessional in his eyes.

Normally he would ignore the comment and proceed with business as usual.  But he needed to address the violation in protocol.  Privately though.

"Can I speak to you in privately, Ms. Falleg?" Kirok asked.  Then walked to his office and entered.  Expecting her to follow.

[OCC - Katra Station]

Hrafn was shocked, pleasantly so, at the understanding of Serena giving her a hug.  Blinking away tears she too stepped back and took the ring and looked it over before passing it back.

"Thanks for the understanding, and yes, Tidu would appreciate that.  I'm sure Sirol has given Nerys more than enough to be thinking about and besides, our little Scientist is more than happy being self driven when it comes to research... she has access to anything that isn't mission specific restricted files that I have so she's happy if she's fed and watered regularly and has a charged PADD!" 

Dashing away the more persistent tears, Hrafn blinked and smiled with a decisive nod of 'Pull yourself together woman, you're the CSO!'

"Of course, Captain.  Mr. Kimball if you could ask Ensign Sirol to feed the telemetry from the probes to the Science console I'll peruse the data once I return. Thank you."

[Captain's Office]

Hrafn for once elected not to say anything upon walking into the Captain's office.  She had stepped out of line but if someone didn't speak up for people, no one would.  However, it wasn't how a Starfleet officer should behave, so she stood at half-attention... smart but not so rigid that you thought she'd been frozen in place.

She uttered just one sentence, "You wanted a word, Captain?"

[Katra Station | OPS]

Serena watched the Captain and Hrafn leave. She squeezed her Engineer's ring, the lingering warmth from the Science Officer still on the ring. Although the activity in OPS continued, she sensed everyone's attention wavering a little. All were dedicated Starfleet Officers, just that they needed a quick snap to refocus.

Still standing near the centre of OPS, she clapped her hands briskly and rubbed them, turning to Rojol and EQ at Operations. "Please start sending messages to all consoles in the outer areas of Katra that preparations to move will begin soon; and that any projects should be winding down and information sent to the computer cores." To security, she added: "Start sending personnel to the Promenade to alert them to begin getting their businesses ready for temporary shutdown and they should be aware of emergency procedures for when we do begin countdown to move."

Serena turned to sciences: "Comply with Lieutenant Falleg's direction to ensure probe and sensor telemetry is being received in full, coordinate with Operations to ensure we have enough processing power." Turning to Gideon, she nodded: "I believe we got additional auxiliary craft. Send through to Engineering an updated inventory and a maintenance report, we need to recalculate the resources available. Let's do this right, people."

Taking her own advice to heart, she went back to Engineering and checked on the status of her own Engineering teams and how far along they were with reinforcing the areas and also stationing the teams in the correct places.

[Kirok]

[Katra Station | OPS]

EQ nodded to Falleg after she issued the order before entering the Captain's office. "Yes, Ma'am" he replied.  Then he set up the comm link with Sirol's science team.

With that done, he turned sharply when King clapped her hands.  Sudden noises still did that to him.  Luckily he was without a phaser so didn't pull in on her.

Sure that would have landed him in the brig.  For a day, maybe two.  But the follow up psych eval is what he hated.

Looking at a bunch of ink blots.  'What might this be?  What might this be?'

He had done the test so many time now that he knew the images in order.   By heart.  So he had simply taken to the practice for reciting his memorized list of answers BEFOR each Rorschach card was revealed.

Yes this upset the evaluator, but Kimbal didn't care.  He just continued on with his pre seeing the card answers.  But the best of course was card 10.

Card 10 was multicolored while all of the others were black and white.  As long as he didn't say that he saw faces in the card or any other then they would spring him forthwith.  Because seeing faces was supposed to be a sign or paranoia.

But hell, everyone saw faces in the cards.  Especially on card 10.  To not admit the you saw faces was crazy in his eyes - but he played their game when needed.

Then he was pulled out of thoughts when King started issuing orders.  "Yes, Ma'ma" he replied as was his practice.  But then he turned to Rojol and said quietly "Who died and made her boss?"

[Serena King]

[Katra Station | OPS]

EQ nodded to Falleg after she issued the order before entering the Captain's office. "Yes, Ma'am" he replied.  Then he set up the comm link with Sirol's science team.

With that done, he turned sharply when King clapped her hands.  Sudden noises still did that to him.  Luckily he was without a phaser so didn't pull in on her.

Sure that would have landed him in the brig.  For a day, maybe two.  But the follow up psych eval is what he hated.

Looking at a bunch of ink blots.  'What might this be?  What might this be?'

He had done the test so many time now that he knew the images in order.   By heart.  So he had simply taken to the practice for reciting his memorized list of answers BEFOR each Rorschach card was revealed.

Yes this upset the evaluator, but Kimbal didn't care.  He just continued on with his pre seeing the card answers.  But the best of course was card 10.

Card 10 was multicolored while all of the others were black and white.  As long as he didn't say that he saw faces in the card or any other then they would spring him forthwith.  Because seeing faces was supposed to be a sign or paranoia.

But hell, everyone saw faces in the cards.  Especially on card 10.  To not admit the you saw faces was crazy in his eyes - but he played their game when needed.

Then he was pulled out of thoughts when King started issuing orders.  "Yes, Ma'ma" he replied as was his practice.  But then he turned to Rojol and said quietly "Who died and made her boss?"

[Katra Station | OPS]

Serena didn't hear EQ, but she did instinctively stiffen slightly. She sensed something was said about her, but couldn't place it. Something about the Captain's earlier comments bothered her: installing solar panels? Poking the Engineering console back to life, she set aside an area for calculations while she brought up a diagram of the system. Tapping numbers in, adjusting the model...

"Basin bus lift!" Serena groaned, putting her head in her hands and started muttering: "The only reason we'd need solar panels is if we're going to stay in close orbit for too long. The metaphasic shields are only to keep Katra from getting fried long enough for the Hunters to worship the snake or whatever they do with it, then we move back into place. Our shields can't stay up for such long periods anyway and moving that close means we have to keep the outer segments evacuated. Plus the metaphasic shields would lower the solar collectors' efficiency anyway." Serena groaned again. Physics was physics...

[Hrafn Falleg]

[Captain's Office]

Typically the half Vulcan would have turned and faced the person he invited into his office.  Typically he would offered that person a set or a refreshment from the replicator.  He did neither.

He could feel that she knew that she was in the wrong.  Perhaps even apologetic, but he did not actively probe to determine if that was so.  Besides, she would need to say it to make things right.

So he decided to give her the opportunity to do so, before speaking on the matter directly.  Instead he cleared his throat.  And said:

"Yes.  You asked me a question out there that I could not opening answer.   For various reasons.

I am fully telepathic.  So I have the ability to read thoughts.  Yours, the crew, and Alpha the leader of the Hunters.

It's not so much a secret as it is an advantage that not everyone is aware of.  In the case with Alpha.  I did get an impression and a sense of what might happen if we do not move the station or offer to remove the Meridians from their planet.

In short, he provided a warning.  Not a threat.  But a warning supported by the data from DS9 28 years prior.

The snakes arrival signals the next cycle in which Meridian will phase away again.  And will likely explode or implode.  It is also possible that it might have a similar affect on the station - to cause it to fade away.

Given that it has this affect on a planet.  And possibly could affect the station in the same way.  I can not risk loosing lives in an attempt to move the snake.

And because of how I know this to be true, I am not able to truthfully convey the risk such an endeavor may pose to the crew.   So I can only say, that we don't have enough empirical data about the snake to sufficiently predict how to move it safely and thus can not attempt to move the snake at this time.  However unpopular that decision seems to be."

[Captain's Office]

Whatever Hrafn had been expecting, it wasn't that.  She'd never known Kirok particularly angry in a normal verbal way or anything so she wasn't surprised at his even tone and him not berating her.  In some small way he might even agree with some of her points but she would never know.

She listened to what he had to say.  If that was true, and she had no reason to believe it wasn't, then he was actually doing the only thing possible, and in doing so actually, potentially, saving lives.

"Kirok, Captain... " she began not sure where to start, and which he would be more inclined to prefer at that moment however long they had known each other.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea.  If that is the case then naturally everyone has to be evacuated, both the station and Meridian.  I..."

Her eyes filled with tears and she had to take several deep breaths to steady herself.

"I will of course do everything I can to aid this, and be available for you in any way.  May I have 30 minutes to appraise my children of the situation - by which I mean that they are evacuating, you know what they can be like and they will probably ask some questions, but they already understand that if the station is evacuated its for a good reason, or... well you know, sometimes not good reasons but it's good for them as they have the potential to be safe, and if there's no alert klaxxon going off they'll know it's preventative rather than a massive emergency and someone attacking us!

"I also need to contact my in laws, since unless you have some objection, it would be preferable for them and Ms. LePrant, Mr. Dalton, Mrs. Cunzisht, Ms. V'lur and Mr. McCutcheon to lodge with them as part of my extended family, certainly better for the chidren.  They already know Ms. LePrant and have spoken to Mrs. Cunzisht when she's been in my lodgings and the children have had their weekly chat to their grandparents!

"I shall then return to the Ops Centre and we can set to with a will, working with a smile, at getting this station moved.  Oh and please... I know it wasn't strictly protocol for Ms. King to hug me, but she and I have bonded over my son's predilection to Engineering and she's been giving him some private tuition, to which, I've been told, he's responded very well.  She was just concerned for me, this station's staff is like a big family and the relative newcomers have fitted right into our family and gelled quickly, it was one of the greatest things about Katra's personnel... they work like a finely tuned machine.  If I were sick for example I know there would be a multitude of people offering to take on some of my parenting duties, I know Sciences could function pretty well even if I wasn't here!  But regarding Serena, it explains what she was saying about giving Tidu some problems to work on!  Ensign Sirol has been doing the same for Nerys.  Between our schoolteachers here and your staff, I think Katra will be responsible for some of the finest cadets that Starfleet ever produce... and I'm not just talking about my children there!  May I be dismissed, Sir?"

[Kirok]

[Captain's Office]

Whatever Hrafn had been expecting, it wasn't that.  She'd never known Kirok particularly angry in a normal verbal way or anything so she wasn't surprised at his even tone and him not berating her.  In some small way he might even agree with some of her points but she would never know.

She listened to what he had to say.  If that was true, and she had no reason to believe it wasn't, then he was actually doing the only thing possible, and in doing so actually, potentially, saving lives.

"Kirok, Captain... " she began not sure where to start, and which he would be more inclined to prefer at that moment however long they had known each other.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea.  If that is the case then naturally everyone has to be evacuated, both the station and Meridian.  I..."

Her eyes filled with tears and she had to take several deep breaths to steady herself.

"I will of course do everything I can to aid this, and be available for you in any way.  May I have 30 minutes to appraise my children of the situation - by which I mean that they are evacuating, you know what they can be like and they will probably ask some questions, but they already understand that if the station is evacuated its for a good reason, or... well you know, sometimes not good reasons but it's good for them as they have the potential to be safe, and if there's no alert klaxxon going off they'll know it's preventative rather than a massive emergency and someone attacking us!

"I also need to contact my in laws, since unless you have some objection, it would be preferable for them and Ms. LePrant, Mr. Dalton, Mrs. Cunzisht, Ms. V'lur and Mr. McCutcheon to lodge with them as part of my extended family, certainly better for the chidren.  They already know Ms. LePrant and have spoken to Mrs. Cunzisht when she's been in my lodgings and the children have had their weekly chat to their grandparents!

"I shall then return to the Ops Centre and we can set to with a will, working with a smile, at getting this station moved.  Oh and please... I know it wasn't strictly protocol for Ms. King to hug me, but she and I have bonded over my son's predilection to Engineering and she's been giving him some private tuition, to which, I've been told, he's responded very well.  She was just concerned for me, this station's staff is like a big family and the relative newcomers have fitted right into our family and gelled quickly, it was one of the greatest things about Katra's personnel... they work like a finely tuned machine.  If I were sick for example I know there would be a multitude of people offering to take on some of my parenting duties, I know Sciences could function pretty well even if I wasn't here!  But regarding Serena, it explains what she was saying about giving Tidu some problems to work on!  Ensign Sirol has been doing the same for Nerys.  Between our schoolteachers here and your staff, I think Katra will be responsible for some of the finest cadets that Starfleet ever produce... and I'm not just talking about my children there!  May I be dismissed, Sir?"

[Captain's Office]

There is was.  The apology he needed to so that no formal action needed to be taken.  So he finally turned and faced her.

"Thank you.  I wasn't concerned with the hug.  In the future, though, I would prefer it if you would ask to speak to me in private when there are disagreements like this.

You are dismissed.  I have two things to do and then I will be right out.  You are dismissed" he said.

But before either of them could move, Dillion raised his head and sniffed the air.  He got up on all fours and walked to the window.  Then started howling.

[Eli Ferris]

Lt. Eli Ferris| Flight Control Office| Katra Station

Eli had been busy. The mission preparations had taken their toll on his crew, as he organized each shift in to flights to make sure they were ready. Each flight had its own leader and Eli had a huge task board running in his mind and on his PADD.

Each flight consisted of at least one King Cobra to allow for the coordination with the Engineering crews. Serena was running a tight ship and he found that refreshing. Also a bit intimidating.

"Lieutenant, flight crews are waiting for assignments, sir." His interim assistant stated. Eli stood, handing the officer his PADD. "Very good. I will have Ensign Drake lead the launch. I'll coordinate from OCC."

[OCC]

Eli entered the main hub, activity already buzzing.  Captain wasn't there but King was. He moved up to her. "I have all my auxiliary craft about to launch, Ensign. Mr. Drake will be our main contact out there and I'll make adjustments here."

Ferris to Drake. Report to main shuttlebay. You'll be Alpha Flight Leader.

[Serena King]

Lt. Eli Ferris| Flight Control Office| Katra Station

Eli had been busy. The mission preparations had taken their toll on his crew, as he organized each shift in to flights to make sure they were ready. Each flight had its own leader and Eli had a huge task board running in his mind and on his PADD.

Each flight consisted of at least one King Cobra to allow for the coordination with the Engineering crews. Serena was running a tight ship and he found that refreshing. Also a bit intimidating.

"Lieutenant, flight crews are waiting for assignments, sir." His interim assistant stated. Eli stood, handing the officer his PADD. "Very good. I will have Ensign Drake lead the launch. I'll coordinate from OCC."

[OCC]

Eli entered the main hub, activity already buzzing.  Captain wasn't there but King was. He moved up to her. "I have all my auxiliary craft about to launch, Ensign. Mr. Drake will be our main contact out there and I'll make adjustments here."

Ferris to Drake. Report to main shuttlebay. You'll be Alpha Flight Leader.

[Katra Station | OPS]

Serena looked up, pulled her head out of her hands. "Lieutenant Ferris." She greeted as she absorbed his words, then tapped a commline open: "Spalding, Gardner, Zhai, Rahman, report to main shuttlebay. Spalding, you're with Flight Leader."

She looked over at Gideon, who had been unnoticed at the FCO console. "PO1 Spalding's one of the best. She turned down Chief Petty Officer and her own team to stay with Katra. You're also both redheads, just don't get up to any mischief!" She paused to wink in Gideon's direction before turning back to Eli: "I'd strongly recommend, sir, that you have all other flight crews ready and prepped. They don't have to be on hot standby, just make sure everything else is ready to go."

[Gideon Drake]

Lt. Eli Ferris| Flight Control Office| Katra Station

Eli had been busy. The mission preparations had taken their toll on his crew, as he organized each shift in to flights to make sure they were ready. Each flight had its own leader and Eli had a huge task board running in his mind and on his PADD.

Each flight consisted of at least one King Cobra to allow for the coordination with the Engineering crews. Serena was running a tight ship and he found that refreshing. Also a bit intimidating.

"Lieutenant, flight crews are waiting for assignments, sir." His interim assistant stated. Eli stood, handing the officer his PADD. "Very good. I will have Ensign Drake lead the launch. I'll coordinate from OCC."

[OCC]

Eli entered the main hub, activity already buzzing.  Captain wasn't there but King was. He moved up to her. "I have all my auxiliary craft about to launch, Ensign. Mr. Drake will be our main contact out there and I'll make adjustments here."

Ferris to Drake. Report to main shuttlebay. You'll be Alpha Flight Leader.

[Katra Station | OPS]

Serena looked up, pulled her head out of her hands. "Lieutenant Ferris." She greeted as she absorbed his words, then tapped a commline open: "Spalding, Gardner, Zhai, Rahman, report to main shuttlebay. Spalding, you're with Flight Leader."

She looked over at Gideon, who had been unnoticed at the FCO console. "PO1 Spalding's one of the best. She turned down Chief Petty Officer and her own team to stay with Katra. You're also both redheads, just don't get up to any mischief!" She paused to wink in Gideon's direction before turning back to Eli: "I'd strongly recommend, sir, that you have all other flight crews ready and prepped. They don't have to be on hot standby, just make sure everything else is ready to go."

[Lieutenant JG Gideon "The Gryphon/Griff" Drake | Ops | Deck One | Katra Station]

Griff was just about bored enough. He had just decided, Sod it, I'll just man either the Tigris, or just the scoutship I brought from Earth, the Squall, and I'll just stand by for orders...then Lieutenant Ferris arrived to give Griff an assignment.

"About bloody time," he muttered to himself, then said a little louder, "Yes, sir. Absolutely, Leftenant, sir!" As he made his way to the shuttle bay, Serena stopped him and informed him of the team to meet him there, led by an apparently ginger petty officer.

"Ta," he said. "What mischief? It's nice to meet another ginger fellow."

[PO1 Samantha Spalding | Main Shuttlebay | Docking Saucer | Katra Station]

Samantha reported as ordered to the shuttlebay, per Lieutenant King's orders. Gardner, Zhai and Rahman reported with her. She was glad to still be with this bunch. She turned down being Chief Petty Officer on a new ship, especially when that ship was around for the battle with the Wanderers, because she couldn't bear leaving her old team and her old post. Besides, a huge ship like the Tempest, she was more used to a floating city like Katra than a practical city/fortress like the Tempest.

She was beginning to wonder when their pilot was going to arrive when she heard a "What ho, what ho!" She whirled around and saw an exceptionally handsome redhead...almost exactly like her hair. Almost.

"Leftenant...junior grade...Gideon Drake, mum," he said, pronouncing his "ma'am" as "mum" in British way. "So Leftenant King sent the lot of you down here, eh?"

"Reporting as ordered, sir," Samantha replied. "And...I'm no 'mum,'" she added with a smile. "I'm not even a mother."

"True, lower rank," Griff replied. "Right, get yourselves over to this one, I'm coordinating things as Alpha Flight Leader, you'll be the crew for this," he added, gesturing to a scoutship nearby.

Griff had to admit, it had been a while since he had flown the Squall. Not since he had flown it all the way from Earth, since he picked up Captain Kirok and Commander Briggs and brought the new Captain and First Officer to Katra. He had been assigned a runabout, typical for use of the usual flight assignments. Griff resolved not to use the Squall except in emergencies and in cases of combat, given the Squall can kick arse as well as fly circles. Undoubtedly, he could probably fly circles around the new starship, the Seleya. Today, with this new threat coming at any time, likely, and the chance of evacuations, Griff felt a distinguishable auxilury craft was needed to lead the way.

"Uh, sir," one of the other Engineers, Zhai, responded, "We've been assigned to some King Cobras over there," and he pointed to indicate. Griff noticed them...they probably won't be safe in those little buggers, but on the other hand, the more the merrier. Griff nodded in affirmation and then headed for the Squall.