S2 M6 - The Spaces Between Us

[L'mar Camili Rhade]

[ Dr Amarande Xiiv | [ Deck 22 - Medbay | Katra Station ]

"You had a hot date with a micro plasma leak," she replied quietly. "But you got lucky. I've got treatments going on for the burns and with luck, minimal to no scarring. Try not to move around too much. If the pain is bothering you I can pull the dosage up a little for you."

"Scars are rare these days, unless you want some rakish battle scarring," she half-hummed.

"Oh, yes. They're looking very good now. In a few hours we can start on a dermal regenerator to repair them completely."

[ Provisional Junior Lieutenant L'mar Rhade - EARLIER ] | [ Deck 22 - Medbay | Katra Station ]

�I got lucky? What was his name?� L�mar joked, with a fanged grin which hurt but he pushed through it and chuckled, �was it Marrek?� He asked with hope, Rhade hadn�t seen much of Ensign Marek Lovok lately, he realised. Though they were both working hard on their duties, once he was out he�d have to go find his Romulan roommate.

�Thank you Doctorr.� L�mar said and smiled warmly at Xiiv. �I�m glad you werre nearrby.� When he heard the words battle scar, Rhade shook his head a little. �I wanna keep the battle scarrs.� He added proudly, although they weren�t earned in actual battle. Rhade considered all the engineering dangerous just the same as battle.

[Tess tLhoell]

Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell (5 months pregnant)
[Katra Station - Deck 18 - Arboretum]

Tess glanced up at Rayek with a smile after she took the bowl of wing-slug curry from him. "Thank you", she smiled as he sat down beside him, the unspoken 'ciccino' hinted at the end of the sentence.

Tess had Jada's 'warning' regarding the taste of the wing-slugs in mind as she dipped her spoon into the curry and then lifted it up to her lips - her eyes happening to catch Phara's just as she did the exact same thing. It had Tess chuckling softly before she slid the spoon into her mouth.
The taste of the curry was very mild and pleasant. She chewed down on the slugs and was actually pleasantly surprised when they weren't as rubbery as she had imagined. Yes, they were kinda elastic but not that bad. She was not exactly a fan of the subtle bitterness, but the curry didn't make that taste linger long on her tongue.

At Phara's exclamation that she liked it, Tess smiled and nodded her head in agreement before she heard Rayek beside her asking her what she thought of it. "It's quite alright. I guess after all the warning I heard about the slugs I was expecting something worse", she chuckled while she stirred the curry once before taking another spoonful. "And you?", she asked Rayek back before she looked over to Lared for his reaction. "How do you like it, Mr. tr'Movel?", Tess asked curiously.

The Romulan didn't seem to be particularly fond of it as he held the bowl in both his hands, resting in his lap after he had taken a bit to test it. The direct question seemed to make the man feel slightly uncomfortable, before he smiled with a small shrug. "My wife always had been the 'foodie' of the two of us. My tongue is not very adventurous." He smiled apologetically and then glanced to his wife lovingly. "Phara proved me wrong more than once though."

[Amarande Xiiv]

[ Provisional Junior Lieutenant L'mar Rhade - EARLIER ] | [ Deck 22 - Medbay | Katra Station ]

�I got lucky? What was his name?� L�mar joked, with a fanged grin which hurt but he pushed through it and chuckled, �was it Marrek?� He asked with hope, Rhade hadn�t seen much of Ensign Marek Lovok lately, he realised. Though they were both working hard on their duties, once he was out he�d have to go find his Romulan roommate.

�Thank you Doctorr.� L�mar said and smiled warmly at Xiiv. �I�m glad you werre nearrby.� When he heard the words battle scar, Rhade shook his head a little. �I wanna keep the battle scarrs.� He added proudly, although they weren�t earned in actual battle. Rhade considered all the engineering dangerous just the same as battle.

Pfft. She laughed at his joke and smiled shaking her head.

"Glad I was close by, too," Amarande said, carefully and skillfully administering something for the lingering pain.

""Keeping them it is." Controlling the level of healing to allow the scarring was always a delicate operation but one she did well. "I admit I was a little worried when the computer told me about the leak. Dangerous business, as dangerous as anything else out in space, really. I just...wanted to make sure your recovery went as smoothly as possible."

[Kirok]

[Saucer 3]

After finalizing all of the arrangements for the party and after confirming them with Beja, Zex set about sending out invitations.  In this case they would need to be electronic.  There was just no way around it.

So she started with the newest arrival.  This one, though, deserved the personal approach.  So she headed back to Saucer 3, climbed back into her evo suite, and waited for Eydis to arrive for a meeting.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Ensign Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Deck 18 - Arboretum]

[Arboretum, Deck 18]

Jada chuckled. 'Careful, they can be an acquired taste.' she joked before waving her off.

'Thanks, Commander.' Jada returned with a smile, purposefully forgetting his new and ignominious rank. 'And... I thank you too, sir. You were open to working with me, taking the time, and learning my way, with me, and with everyone, and I appreciate that... And about the Atrosians � for what it's worth, I would've done the same thing. And I did, in a way. Just maybe not for the same reasons.' she added with a tight smile and a slight nod toward where Tess had walked off. 'I like to have two good reasons for doing anything.' she ended and let him go.

The wing-slug was, as Jada warned, an acquired taste. Live and raw, they would've been utterly revolting, and were reputed to be one of the most disgusting things in the galaxy. But cleaned, cooked, and flavoured/disguised with strong spices, they merely tasted strange, a dark and complex buggy meaty flavour with a subtle bitterness and heat from the residual caustic slime, with rubbery texture eased by their small size. It was like a cross between a shellfish and an olive, so Tess could tell why Jada would've liked it with Alpha and Omega's Greek seafood. It was a love-it-or-hate-it dish, something someone could enjoy instantly, or grow fond of with familiarity, or else despise forever from first bite. Maybe it was a good choice of national dish for the Orions, the kind that would either appeal or annoy outsiders and amuse the Orions themselves.

Rayek rose from his bow and nodded appreciatively towards Jada as, like Saxon earlier, she seemed to think he deserved a reminder of his former position.  Being reminded of what he lost was rather paining but he understood what both were trying to get across - their continued respect - so tried to respond positively.

Having Jada actually say she would have done the same was a bit of a mixed statement to the Romulan.  On one hand it felt good to know he wasn't alone in his decision, that someone else at least understood his reasons.  But on the other, to have that person be someone who also was demoted for punching the Atrosian Admiral did reinforce that those sorts of decisions weren't acceptable and that he was in the wrong.

Rayek couldn't bring himself to reply to that so merely nodded before moving away and going off in search of Tess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell (5 months pregnant)
[Katra Station - Deck 18 - Arboretum]

Tess glanced up at Rayek with a smile after she took the bowl of wing-slug curry from him. "Thank you", she smiled as he sat down beside her, the unspoken 'ciccino' hinted at the end of the sentence.

Tess had Jada's 'warning' regarding the taste of the wing-slugs in mind as she dipped her spoon into the curry and then lifted it up to her lips - her eyes happening to catch Phara's just as she did the exact same thing. It had Tess chuckling softly before she slid the spoon into her mouth.

The taste of the curry was very mild and pleasant. She chewed down on the slugs and was actually pleasantly surprised when they weren't as rubbery as she had imagined. Yes, they were kinda elastic but not that bad. She was not exactly a fan of the subtle bitterness, but the curry didn't make that taste linger long on her tongue.

At Phara's exclamation that she liked it, Tess smiled and nodded her head in agreement before she heard Rayek beside her asking her what she thought of it. "It's quite alright. I guess after all the warning I heard about the slugs I was expecting something worse", she chuckled while she stirred the curry once before taking another spoonful. "And you?", she asked Rayek back before she looked over to Lared for his reaction. "How do you like it, Mr. tr'Movel?", Tess asked curiously.

The Romulan didn't seem to be particularly fond of it as he held the bowl in both his hands, resting in his lap after he had taken a bit to test it. The direct question seemed to make the man feel slightly uncomfortable, before he smiled with a small shrug. "My wife always had been the 'foodie' of the two of us. My tongue is not very adventurous." He smiled apologetically and then glanced to his wife lovingly. "Phara proved me wrong more than once though."

Rayek smiled hearing Tess' reply.  That she seemed to be okay with it, meant that Rayek would add it to their replicator program.   He took another large spoonful of his curry as Lared answered Tess.  Phara smiled chuckling at her husbands honesty.  "He takes after his mother in that he's not very keen on trying foods from other places.  Both would content for me to prepare viinerine for our meals everyday."  She sighed then dug into her overly large shoulder bag a moment before pulling out a metal container which she opened to reveal a heated serving viinerine.  "Thank you for at least trying it, deyhhan."  (translation: husband)

Rayek observed the interaction between the Romulan couple, smiling slightly around his next mouthful.  While no where near as formal, Phara's care of her husband reminded Rayek of his own mother.  Perhaps that's why he'd taken to her so readily during the wedding outfit fittings.

Knowing that his time was drawing near, Rayek hurried took another few bites before setting it aside and socially inquiring after the elder t'Movel.  "Speaking of your Hru'hfirh, how is Karinne?  Keeping healthy, I hope." As he said this he gave a sly look towards Tess.  "My wife no longer has the time for one on one care like she used to."  (translation: Head-of-House)

[Beja]

USS Katra - Counseling Offices

After her lunch with Kalem in the Arboretum, Beja made it back to the counseling office in time for her next appointment. Bora had a session today with her, to go over how he was doing since his accident.

�I�m sorry for the interruption, please excuse me,� Beja said to Bora. She tapped her comm badge, �Hello Zex, I�m currently in a counseling meeting right now, but you can  send me the information to my PADD. Thank you.�

Beja then smiled back over to Bora, �Please do go on, you were talking about the prophets?� Beja herself hadn�t been too familiar with the Bajoran religious beliefs but had done her research since Bora�s accident on the Healy in the Devil�s Vortex. He and two others had been killed but thankfully an emergency medical program had kept the three engineering crewmen in stasis and allowed for their bodies to be mended so that they could be brought back to life.

At Captain Solluk�s request Beja had shared counseling sessions with all three. They had all made the adjustment to their new lease on life well. No lingering side effects were found, and all had gone back to their duties. But Bora had the most unusual of the three cases, where he had found a deep religious faith. That wasn�t all that surprising to Beja, when a traumatic experience happened such as a near-death experience, it tended to at times create a deeper faith in their deities and religious beliefs.

Beja wasn�t exactly troubled by Bora�s new found faith, it was a normal reaction to what he had been through. Death was a difficult topic for people to handle, and Bora actually experienced it first hand himself. She wouldn�t discount his feelings and experiences of that.

�The prophets Miss Beja, they have set all of this in motion. They had me die so that I could be born anew, and I could see the true path I am to follow. My path is clear now! I see it so vividly!� Bora leaned forward, the excitement running through his body, �I�m to bring the true emissary to the Bajoran people!�

Beja quickly typed in a few notes onto her PADD, she�d have to research some more to see what an emissary was in the Bajorian faith. And she�d need to consult Arrun if he had time and was feeling up to it. The freighter Captain used to be a priest and he might be able to give her more insight that would help Bora in his counseling sessions.

�Well Bora, why don�t we make another session for next week at this same time? I�d like to talk more in depth about this new role that the prophets have for you,� Beja quickly typed in the new session into her calendar, and then helped to see Bora back out so that he wouldn�t be late for his work assignment in engineering.

Beja sat back down at her desk, �Computer, bring up all information on the Bajoran Emissary�� No time like starting that research than right now.

[Tess tLhoell]

Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell (5 months pregnant)
[Katra Station - Deck 18 - Arboretum]

Ensign Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Deck 18 - Arboretum]

Rayek smiled hearing Tess' reply.  That she seemed to be okay with it, meant that Rayek would add it to their replicator program.   He took another large spoonful of his curry as Lared answered Tess.  Phara smiled chuckling at her husbands honesty.  "He takes after his mother in that he's not very keen on trying foods from other places.  Both would content for me to prepare viinerine for our meals everyday."  She sighed then dug into her overly large shoulder bag a moment before pulling out a metal container which she opened to reveal a heated serving viinerine.  "Thank you for at least trying it, deyhhan."  (translation: husband)

Rayek observed the interaction between the Romulan couple, smiling slightly around his next mouthful.  While no where near as formal, Phara's care of her husband reminded Rayek of his own mother.  Perhaps that's why he'd taken to her so readily during the wedding outfit fittings.

Knowing that his time was drawing near, Rayek hurried took another few bites before setting it aside and socially inquiring after the elder t'Movel.  "Speaking of your Hru'hfirh, how is Karinne?  Keeping healthy, I hope." As he said this he gave a sly look towards Tess.  "My wife no longer has the time for one on one care like she used to."  (translation: Head-of-House)

Tess too smiled at the interaction between the two. She really liked Lared, he was a modest man. And his wife seemed to be a very sweet person. "Viinerine?", Tess echoed curiously while she took another spoonful of wing-slug curry - which might taste not as bad as Jada had warned because it probably was covered with the pleasant spices of the curry.

Lared accepted the small metal container of his wife and smiled at her lovingly. "Hann'yyo, e'lev" (*Thank you, my love), he murmured to her, knowing the caring woman his wife was. He then turned to Tess who seemed to be curious about the dish. "It is a traditional Romulan dish, I'm sure your husband is familiar with it too." He nodded respectfully to Rayek. "As it is with many traditional dishes there are many different recipes, many families have their own one." He glanced back to Phara. "My wife makes a very decent one, though." He smiled.

Tess smiled and then lifted her gaze up to Rayek. "Did I have viinerine before?" She knew Rayek had introduced her to a row of Romulan dishes of which most she liked. But she couldn't recall right now if viinerine had been among them.

Lared replied to Rayek's question after his mother after he had taken his first bite of the Romulan dish. "Oh, my mother is very well", he replied with a small smile, all of them probably recalling the time when the elderly Romulan woman had been in Tess' care. "I'm sure she'll have another 20 or 30 years with your excellent care." He made a small bow to Tess in respect.

"I'm glad", Tess smiled, but Rayek's comment reminded her that she didn't have as much contact with the patients as she used to and how much she truly missed it. "Of course she is still welcomed to consult me directly, if she has any questions or concerns or doesn't feel well", she offered. "As my husband said, I won't be able to make as much time for her as before, but would like to stay available as her doctor if she wishes to."

[L'mar Camili Rhade]

She laughed at his joke and smiled, shaking her head. "Glad I was close by, too," Amarande said. "Keeping them it is. I admit I was a little worried when the computer told me about the leak. Dangerous business, as dangerous as anything else out in space, really. I just...wanted to make sure your recovery went as smoothly as possible."

[ Provisional Junior Lieutenant L'mar Rhade - EARLIER ] | [ Deck 22 - Medbay | Katra Station ]

�Thank you,� L�mar said but blinked as memory started to return. �Though it wasn�t plasma, unless you can call atmospherric heat a forrm of plasma.� He commented but smiled again. �But it is done, I must warrn you I will become anxious to rreturrn to worrk soon Doctorr.�

He actually wanted to go back to work now to finish on the Tholian Embassy interior as their crystalline guests will be arriving soon if not already. Rhade knew his engineers would soon visit and that was going to be a headache. �So arre you enjoying yourr assignment herre?� L�mar asked as he seemed to think that small talk could help distract him.

[Amarande Xiiv]

[ Provisional Junior Lieutenant L'mar Rhade - EARLIER ] | [ Deck 22 - Medbay | Katra Station ]

�Thank you,� L�mar said but blinked as memory started to return. �Though it wasn�t plasma, unless you can call atmospherric heat a forrm of plasma.� He commented but smiled again. �But it is done, I must warrn you I will become anxious to rreturrn to worrk soon Doctorr.�

He actually wanted to go back to work now to finish on the Tholian Embassy interior as their crystalline guests will be arriving soon if not already. Rhade knew his engineers would soon visit and that was going to be a headache. �So arre you enjoying yourr assignment herre?� L�mar asked as he seemed to think that small talk could help distract him.

[ Medbay - Deck 22]

"Don't worry, you'll be out of here soon enough. I can't just keep you here if you don't need to be. I just want to make sure you've not sustained anything that I can reasonably fix. Memory is fickle enough."
Amarande hummed thoughtfully and nodded, taking the regenerator away and leaving a clean white dot on the last of his arm wounds. His face wasn't too bad, for sure, and she touched up another section of it with a soft smile.

"Thus far, yes. I'm still waiting to see what other troubles I'll see that I haven't before. Being on this side of the wormhole will have its challenges."

[Kirok]

USS Katra - Counseling Offices

After her lunch with Kalem in the Arboretum, Beja made it back to the counseling office in time for her next appointment. Bora had a session today with her, to go over how he was doing since his accident.

"I'm sorry for the interruption, please excuse me," Beja said to Bora. She tapped her comm badge, "Hello Zex, I'm currently in a counseling meeting right now, but you can  send me the information to my PADD. Thank you."

Beja then smiled back over to Bora, "Please do go on, you were talking about the prophets?" Beja herself hadn't been too familiar with the Bajoran religious beliefs but had done her research since Bora's accident on the Healy in the Devil's Vortex. He and two others had been killed but thankfully an emergency medical program had kept the three engineering crewmen in stasis and allowed for their bodies to be mended so that they could be brought back to life.

At Captain Solluk's request Beja had shared counseling sessions with all three. They had all made the adjustment to their new lease on life well. No lingering side effects were found, and all had gone back to their duties. But Bora had the most unusual of the three cases, where he had found a deep religious faith. That wasn't all that surprising to Beja, when a traumatic experience happened such as a near-death experience, it tended to at times create a deeper faith in their deities and religious beliefs.

Beja wasn't exactly troubled by Bora's new found faith, it was a normal reaction to what he had been through. Death was a difficult topic for people to handle, and Bora actually experienced it first hand himself. She wouldn't discount his feelings and experiences of that.

"The prophets Miss Beja, they have set all of this in motion. They had me die so that I could be born anew, and I could see the true path I am to follow. My path is clear now! I see it so vividly!" Bora leaned forward, the excitement running through his body, "I'm to bring the true emissary to the Bajoran people!"

Beja quickly typed in a few notes onto her PADD, she'd have to research some more to see what an emissary was in the Bajorian faith. And she'd need to consult Arrun if he had time and was feeling up to it. The freighter Captain used to be a priest and he might be able to give her more insight that would help Bora in his counseling sessions.

"Well Bora, why don't we make another session for next week at this same time? I'd like to talk more in depth about this new role that the prophets have for you," Beja quickly typed in the new session into her calendar, and then helped to see Bora back out so that he wouldn't be late for his work assignment in engineering.

Beja sat back down at her desk, "Computer, bring up all information on the Bajoran Emissary..." No time like starting that research than right now.

[Saucer 3]

=/\=Acknowledged.  I will have a brief outline over to you shortly.  Zex out=/\= the Deltan had replied.

She took out her padd and started to type on in.  "I have three potential places in mind for the diplomatic summit and will order them in regard to my preferences.  Number 1 is the promenade.  Eydis, our Tholian delegate, requested old Earth German music to be played at the meeting.  The promenade has a German restaurant and the owner is familiar with the specific music in question.  In addition, the promenade offered food from other species that we would supplement with selected foods requested by the delegates - possibly served by the wait staff of local food provider.  The downside, of course, is that we will have to close the promenade down to the public while we host the party" she wrote.

"In 2nd place I would suggest Meridian.  That location offered the advantage of allowing us to choose a lovely garden for the summit.  It would allow the delegates to see our host planet.  And it would help to recognize the president of the planet as an important person" she added.

"Option 3 is one of our lounges or rooms typically held for such events.  That allows us to fully control all aspects of who comes an who goes, so is the best in terms of security.  But it looses the advantages the other two options offer" she continued.

"Obviously I like option 1 the best.  What do you think?  Please let me know as you are able.  Most sincerely, Zex" she concluded and then sent the text.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Ensign Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Deck 18 - Arboretum]

Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell (5 months pregnant)
[Katra Station - Deck 18 - Arboretum]

Tess too smiled at the interaction between the two. She really liked Lared, he was a modest man. And his wife seemed to be a very sweet person. "Viinerine?", Tess echoed curiously while she took another spoonful of wing-slug curry - which might taste not as bad as Jada had warned because it probably was covered with the pleasant spices of the curry.

Lared accepted the small metal container of his wife and smiled at her lovingly. "Hann'yyo, e'lev" (*Thank you, my love), he murmured to her, knowing the caring woman his wife was. He then turned to Tess who seemed to be curious about the dish. "It is a traditional Romulan dish, I'm sure your husband is familiar with it too." He nodded respectfully to Rayek. "As it is with many traditional dishes there are many different recipes, many families have their own one." He glanced back to Phara. "My wife makes a very decent one, though." He smiled.

Tess smiled and then lifted her gaze up to Rayek. "Did I have viinerine before?" She knew Rayek had introduced her to a row of Romulan dishes of which most she liked. But she couldn't recall right now if viinerine had been among them.

Lared replied to Rayek's question after his mother after he had taken his first bite of the Romulan dish. "Oh, my mother is very well", he replied with a small smile, all of them probably recalling the time when the elderly Romulan woman had been in Tess' care. "I'm sure she'll have another 20 or 30 years with your excellent care." He made a small bow to Tess in respect.

"I'm glad", Tess smiled, but Rayek's comment reminded her that she didn't have as much contact with the patients as she used to and how much she truly missed it. "Of course she is still welcomed to consult me directly, if she has any questions or concerns or doesn't feel well", she offered. "As my husband said, I won't be able to make as much time for her as before, but would like to stay available as her doctor if she wishes to."

When Tess asked about having tried viinerine before Rayek took a moment to recall back to their holodeck honeymoon to Romulus, then shook his head.  "No. While viinerine is a common staple, it is exact that - common. Much like 'French Fries' on Earth.  So common that it isn't appropriate to serve for a special occasion - like a honeymoon.  My mother made sure to welcome you with more exotic dishes like the Jumbo Molluscs."

Rayek noted Lared giving his wife a perplexed look.  No doubt questioning how Rayek's mother had done any such thing when Rayek had mentioned to Phara that his family had all died.

He turned to the s'Movels to explain a bit awkwardly, unsure how they might view his recreating something they had lost as well.  "I created a holodeck program of Romulus... Ki Baratan..  where my parents lived... so to be able to show Tess where I grew up, and so that she could in essence meet my family."   Of course he had edited certain biases out of the program but he felt that it was a close representation of what it might have been like.

Rayek glanced between Tess and s'Movels while they took in that information.  It was Phara who spoke first, offering him a smile as she did.  "Rayek, that is so thoughtful of you.  What a lovely idea."  She turned to Tess.  "I hope you enjoyed your time there.  Ki Baratan is the Capital you know.  I only got to visit there once, as a child to see the Hall of Senate on a school trip.  It was very inspiring."

A little later when the talk turned to Karinne, Rayek nodded at Lared's answer, though he gave a slight frown to Tess when she offered to remain as the sour woman's doctor.  He wanted to ask if Tess were certain but felt that really wasn't his place.

A chime on his chronometer alerted him that his meal break was just about up.  He looked to Tess apologetically as stood up.  "I need to get back to work, e'lev."  By this point Rayek, didn't think the s'Movels would be offended that he wasn't fully professional in his addressing of his superior officer.  A kiss goodbye however might be a bit much, tempting though it was.

"Message me if believe you will be late, otherwise I will see about having viinerine ready for dinner when you are off-shift." then in a quieter voice he added "I-jol au."

He turned then to the s'Movels and offered the couple a slight bow.  "I apologize for having to leave so abruptly.  It was good to spend time together.  I enjoyed it.  Jolan'tru"

Phara, who had been stifling her smile throughout Rayek's goodbye to Tess, smiled warmly at him.  "Thank you, Rayek, we too had an enjoyable time. Jolan'tru."

She watched as he left a moment then turned to Tess, "And thank you Commander... or may I call you Tess?  I feel I know you so well already just from how much Rayek spoke of you during his fittings.  Actually...  you obviously have dinner plans tonight but perhaps sometime this week or next you and Rayek might consider joining us at our residence for a family meal?  I have the sense that Rayek is really good with kids and would love for you both to meet our children."

[L'mar Camili Rhade]

[ Medbay - Deck 22]

"Don't worry, you'll be out of here soon enough. I can't just keep you here if you don't need to be. I just want to make sure you've not sustained anything that I can reasonably fix. Memory is fickle enough. Thus far, yes. I'm still waiting to see what other troubles I'll see that I haven't before. Being on this side of the wormhole will have its challenges."

[ Provisional Junior Lieutenant L'mar Rhade ] | [ Deck 22 - Medical | Katra Station ]

Rhade blinked. �You haven�t been to the Gamma beforre?� L�mar asked a little shocked, though he may not have noticed if any Starfleet ships were coming and going. He had to assume there were many pitstopping at Katra Station before heading off into the unknown.

�A worrd of warrning,� L�mar said then blinked again, �okay a few worrds of warrning.� He smirked and showed one fang but went serious. �Be carreful what you wish forr.� He imagined that there were ghostly sounds around them then realised he actually made them himself and started laughing.

[Jada]

[Arboretum, Deck 18]

'Looking for someone, Chief?'

Turning, Jada looked back to the next person in line � it was Bexx, and behind her, Murv, Talie, Park, and Lambe, all in civilian clothes. 'No-one... You lot are out of uniform.' she pointed out with a wry grin. Bexx had been her friend and offsider since she'd started on Tempest; she'd thought of her as lacking initiative at first, when they'd first worked together, but maybe it had been the kind of solid reliability Starfleet favoured. After all, Bexx outranked her now. And yet Jada was still "Chief", always would be. Ask anyone, and it would be an Orion nickname now, the respect accorded to a clan chief. What mattered was how high she'd risen, not the fall after.

'Well, you got slime over ours.' Bexx returned the same smile. 'And besides, we won't be needing them for a while.'

Something stalled in surprise inside her. 'You didn't...'

'We all put in for leave and transfers back home. We've finished out here too.' They hadn't, not quite, they were still in Starfleet, not totally disillusioned yet. But Jada was touched, and shocked, by their show of solidarity. There'd be no more T.M.P.S.T. on Katra, not without her to lead it. She sincerely hoped Katra would have no further need of it, but they couldn't keep fighting for this besieged station. She and any one of them would have fought and bled and died for the people of Katra and Meridian, and they had. Yet it wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference, not while their leaders kept summoning bastards from the Outer Dark to menace them. In the end, they were only dying for Starfleet's pride, and that had soon stopped holding much value. At some point, you had to say that you'd done enough, you needed a rest. You needed something good and worthy in your life. So, leaving to cause a change was surely a better sacrifice to make than dying to keep things the same. Let them fight their petty wars now, without T.M.P.S.T. to do the dirty work. Only McMahon it seemed would be staying behind, the last of them, Saxon's problem now. And Ginger, of course.

'You've earned it. I suppose you'll be coming back on the Tempest with me?' Jada said, coming around the table to hug them all, one by one.

'Yup. We're all outgoing, to track back together on our home-sweet-home sky-ship.' Talie cheered.

'It's a pretty long way. With a little luck, we might find something to keep us busy...' Jada suggested with a grin. One last adventure...

'What will you do after, Chief?' Lambe wondered.

'I'm going home, back to my clan on Holcomb's Planet.' She could tell them the sad news about Commander K'lizh, their former second officer, later, at a less happy time. 'I'm thinking I'll apply for something in planetary defence, or the police department, or even just the ranger service. Something quiet, but with just enough trouble over the Orion border to keep things interesting.' Her skills would be wasted, of course, but she was sure she would ultimately feel more fulfilled. 'I'm tired of fighting the next crukking war. I want to protect peace for a change.' she said to a round of nods; they all did.

[Kirok]

[Saucer 3]

While Zex waited for a reply from Eydis and Beja, she contemplated returning to the Arboretum after she completed the party preparation.  She had felt bad leaving Jada's going away party so early, but duty always trumped fun and socializing and Jada likely understood Zex's decision to leave.  Still though, Zex was very new to the ship and craved making friends with her new ship-mates.

[Beja]

USS Katra - Counseling Offices

While Beja was researching more on the Bajoran religion and the significance of an emissary in their faith, a soft ping rang out from her PADD. A notification that she had a message. She tapped and opened it up, and saw that Zex had informed her of the Deltan�s plans for the diplomatic meet and greet for the embassies on Katra. Not too long ago, Katra hadn�t had any embassies and now they had grown to having 6! A sign that Katra was really making an impact in the Gamma quadrant.

Beja was happy to see that Zex had put a lot of thought into the party and had three options for her to review. She read through all of the options, glad to see that Zex had been able to glean information from the different diplomats when she had made her introductions with them. Beja had hoped that Zex would learn from each of them, and take the different groups' needs into consideration. Diplomatic gatherings always had challenges with them, as different species had different needs and cultural ideals.

Beja typed out her reason to Zex and sent it over to the Deltan so that Zex could finalized the plans and party arrangements.

Thank you Zex for having found such thoughtful options for the upcoming diplomatic party. You did a wonderful job in coming up with a lot of different options for us. I think that right now option 3 is the best route to go. With the promenade being an important economic center, we don�t want to have to shut down their commerce, with taking over that space.

And as much as we all would enjoy the space and environment of Meridian, it would show favoritism to them with the other diplomatic groups, which we do not want to do. We want all the embassies to be treated the same and feel welcome here at Katra.

Your third option will work out best for this gathering I believe, and will allow our own security the best ability to keep everyone protected. I have total confidence that you will be able to bring the music and atmosphere that all the diplomatic envoys will enjoy and make them all feel important. If you need me for anything, please don�t hesitate to let me know.

Lieutenant Beja