Fandom ST: USS Athena

[Mitheral]

USS Athena
NCC-75925

Odyssey Class
Specs
The newly commissioned USS Athena is prototype Odyssey Class starship. It has a number of new technologies installed. They capabilities listed are a bit off.

Officers 300
Enlisted 850
(At least two-thirds of these MUST be Terran/Human.)
Extremely few civilians. (See the Specs and note the variations. The majority of decks 38-44 have been retasked and are the responsibility of the Prometheans. (This is the space normally dedicated to civilians. In part it houses the additional computer memory for the LHP crew - Longterm Holographic Personnel. Diane calls them Stormtroopers. It also houses fabrication systems and industrial replicators which are powered by microsingularities.)

Crew Quarters
Officers' Quarters are pretty much the norm. Enlisted get the rare pleasure of privacy, no roommates. (A normal Odyssey Class would have 1700 Enlisted and 500 civilians.) Enlisted personnel will also discover that the replicators in the Mess are the equivalent of officers' mess on other starships.

Special Auxiliary Craft
SS Prometheus that belongs to Rhand. Only he and Diane have access to it. (This is NOT the USS Prometheus, which is also a Federation ship in canon sources. It was actually built almost 400 years ago.)
Some of the warp shuttles have been replaced with warp fighters. (Rhand has a military mindset.)

Timeline
We are using a non-retconned timeline, with the Eugenics War taking place 1992-1996.

Ranks
Starfleet ranks
We will be in the year 2387.

Dr Jonathan Rhand and Diane Miller
These are the crew of the SS Prometheus. Their origins are classified. (Bridge personnel and Department Heads are cleared.) They are from the Earth, departing in the wake of the Eugenics Wars and are very possibly Augments (like Khan). However, they theorize that they are second generation Augments. (The Augment efforts began in the early 1950's.) They responded to a "distress" call from a Vulcan science vessel in 2001 caught in the pull of a spatial anomaly. Rhand and Miller sacrificed themselves to save the Vulcan vessel and were instead pulled in. They came out the other side in 2380.

Rhand was accepted to StarFleet Academy. Miller to the Vulcan Academy. Rhand graduated StarFleet Academy in two years in 2382, but declined his commission and instead adopted the civilian title of Doctor. Miller had similar success and joined him.

Five years later they returned with the Athena. Despite his provisional rank of Captain, Rhand prefers to adopt the title of Doctor or simply his name. His primary responsibilities will be most of Decks 38-44. Miller is even more laid back. She is also responsible for Decks 38-44.

 

[Mitheral]

August 24, 2387 1400 hrs
Stardate 64645.3196
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard (of 39 Federation vessels destroyed in the Borg Incursion of 2366)

The new Starbase 925 dwarfed most bases. It was some 75 miles in diameter and had been constructed for the sole purpose of building the USS Athena and turning the sargasso of wrecked ships into a true memorial. Rhand had cleared the region of all of the minor debris to use as raw material in the construction of the Athena. He had created life support on all of the remaining large segments for visitors and included LHP’s (Longterm Holographic Personnel) to conduct tours.

The Athena was the culmination of five years of hard work. Now it was time to build her crew. He had reviewed dozens of candidates, before selecting a short list for StarFleet. The final choice wasn’t his favorite. He thought Marcus White lacked depth of character on paper. The man needed hobbies. But then if one reviewed the biography of James T. Kirk, a similar opinion would have formed. It was the man’s experience that Rhand focused on. The Athena was a flagship prototype. It needed a man unafraid of a weapon, but able to restrain himself. Rhand could only pray he hadn’t misjudged the Captain.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Diane asked.

“Just wondering how our Captain will feel about his return to Wolf 359,” Jonathan suggested.

“Won’t much matter,” she pointed out. “Orders are orders.”

“Yeah,” Jon shrugged. Personally he hated … orders. He had never really cared for authority figures.

“You are just going to have to trust him. We have to start somewhere. They say Earth has grown up.”

“We’ll see,” Jon muttered. “They have improved. I’ll give them that. But they are still making many of the same old mistakes. Lots of mistakes. How is the search going?”

“One hundred. They were persistent. I’ll give them that. I attached a Return to Sender mark and sent them back.” Diane grinned. Jon was asking about Hunter drones. Usually they were tasked with assassination. These were sent to spy on the presumed Augments ever since they had shown up at Wolf 359.

Jonathan laughed. “I’d pay real money - what is it the Ferengi use? Latinum? I’d pay Latinum to see the face of the guy who sent those drones when he finds himself looking at one.”

“Well, they weren’t armed, just spies.”

“I did say we could expect them, what, 5 years ago? I hoped I was wrong. Hell, I was going to give them the Athena anyways. No need to spy on me.”

“Us,” Diane corrected.

“Us,” Jon corrected, wincing inwardly. He sometimes forgot that Diane was a target too.

A feminine voice spoke, that of Athena, the ship’s AI system. “Runabout Conner has entered the system and is on final approach to Anakin Base.”

Rhand nodded. “That would be the Captain. Give him a good view of the station before entering, Then a nice exterior viewing of the ship. This is about to become the largest ship in the Federation Fleet. This will never be the USS Freedom, but I think the new Captain is going to appreciate her.”

“Human?”

Jonathan smiled. “Yes. That’s right. You spent so much time around Vulcans. I can just imagine having to show off the Athena to one.”

Diane’s eyes twinkled with mischief as the teased Jon. “Oh, would someone be a little annoyed to get no reactions - no Ooo’s and Ahhh’s? I am the Great and Powerful Rhand!!! Then … cricket chirps.”

Jon actually chuckled. “I’m not THAT bad, am I?” He tried not to sound too hurt. “Okay, fine. But it IS one heck of a ship. She deserves some Ooo’s and Ahh’s.”

“Got that covered,” Diane gave him her best doe eyed innocent look.

“Oh … guess who else that StarFleet is sending,” he told her, ignoring her innuendo. “Edi.”

“Oh really?” Diane sounded pleased, though not at being ignored.

“Mm hmm. I wonder how that happened.” Jon did not sound thrilled.

Diane looked more serious. “We need her here. We need some sort of connection to the past - even if it is a recent past. I reached out - for both of us.”

“You maybe.” Jon still didn’t sound thrilled. He hated shrinks.

“You too. Even you need people - or you wouldn’t have built this ship. You should talk to Edi. I do.” She sighed as she realized that Jon had gone all stoic again.

“Let’s go and get ready to meet the Captain, shall we?” Rhand took on his business tone.

********************

https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/d52/57d/ede1191cdf416b740d8e982304c2b54484-06-death-star-epcot.2x.h473.w710.jpg
Starbase Anakin
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/s...rius-HD.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080123154034
Felsarious (up close)

Starbase Anakin was huge, dwarfing even the largest starbases in the Federation by many times. It was like a small moon. Jonathan Rhand had, after all, patterned it after the Death Star. But in truth he had adopted a concept in starship design from a ship known as the Fesarius, the flagship of the "First Federation'', which had been modular in design. It’s very existence had struck fear in the minds of Section 31. It was actually questionable whether all of StarFleet could assault such a base. Maybe. If the Borg had caused so much damage with a single Cube, then even with all the upgrades in StarFleet the battle would be a worse mismatch.

Of course, the USS Athena was made of sterner stuff. Literally. The SS Prometheus had a hull composed heavily of nanoplating and ablative armor that was composed heavily of partially degenerate matter. (Neutronium is degenerate matter.) Rhand had designed the Prometheus to explore hypergravity bodies. It was one reason he was willing to risk the vessel to save the Vulcan ship.) The USS Athena utilized some of this technology, though not to the degree the Prometheus did. Critical sections of the ship had been heavily reinforced against precision attacks by enemies who knew the weaknesses of most Federation vessels.

Rhand had created something he called Corbomite Shields. This was really just a regenerative ablative armor that had to be deployed around the vessel. The system employed swarm nanotechnology. In addition to proving protection, it could absorb the energy from attacks and channel it into useful functions - such as augmenting standard shields - or phaser fire. He had named the system after a bluff used by none other than Captain James T Kirk.

Enhanced shielding was the next major advantage. The USS Athena would have, in addition to the standard shields, temporal shielding. Temporal shielding would protect the ship in the event of a temporal event - accidental or otherwise. Next was metaphasic shielding, a development made in 2369 by Dr Reyga, a Ferengi scientist.

The USS Athena also came equipped with an Aquarius Class light escort vessel and 8 Arrow Class Runabouts. Rhand had been bitterly disappointed that he couldn’t buy the current Defiant and refit it. But he only sulked for a few minutes before deciding to build his own light escort - which would fit better anyways - and named it the Defiance. (The Defiance is about half the length of the Defiant and four decks as opposed to five.)

Edi - Lt Commander Elashia Darma Isar, Counsellor

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-o6zdEXsAcxpkD.jpg
Russell Casse
Russell Casse - LHP Pilot

(OOC - Edi is scheduled to arrive via the Runabout Skulley AFTER the Captain and Security officer.)

Edi found her pilot to be a rather eccentric man. Rhand’s LHP’s were more sophisticated than the Voyager EMH or Vic Fontaine of DS9. She recognized her pilot as Rhand’s attempt at humor. She had figured out long ago that he deflected uncomfortable emotional issues with humor. Russell Casse was intended to ruffle her feathers. Truth to tell, she did find it a little amusing. But she soon found the LHP to have a depth of personality that was impressive. No surprise there. That was Diane’s handiwork.

It was hard to turn her mind to her new crew. Casse had a voice designed to draw attention - up to a point. If allowed to talk long enough, she discovered the man would eventually start to drone. At that point she could tune him out. She knew a little about the Captain of the USS Athena. She found Rhand’s choice of places to meet an interesting one. Wolf 259. It was going to bring back memories. So many lives lost. She shuddered. She couldn’t imagine her own life cut short in such chaos.

“Excuse me, Ma’am?” Casse pitched his voice to get Edi’s attention. “We are coming up on Starbase 925. You are gonna want to see this. The place has a name - Anakin.”

The Cloak , Grim Wraithe Stjerna , Epiphany , MechanicalSnake , RPLongAndProsper

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

August 24, 2387 1600 hrs
Stardate 64645.3196
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
Runabout Reese

John sat at the empty conference table at the rear of the Runabout. A once hot cup of replicated coffee sat on the table untouched.

His arms crossed over his chest and his eyes shut, as if asleep or dozing. But the lack of Rapid Eye Movement and long slow breaths would prove otherwise.

It had been years since he was last here and it had not been pleasant. But it had started off that way. Flashes of sunlight and smiling faces, laughter and warmth with the scents of fresh flora play across his minds eye, intermingled with harsh crashes of explosions, cries of pain and fear, anger. The acrid smell of smoke, burning metal and flesh, with the dull ringing that muted all else.

"Master Chief!" The pilot called from the cockpit. "We've dropped out of warp and been cleared for approach at the station."

She was young, but for an officer was good at her job. "Thank you ma'am." He grabbed his coffee and took a sip reflexively, and shuddered at the cold, bitter, artificial taste. But rather then returning it to the replicator, John kept it as he moved forward to join the young ensign.

"I've never been here before..." Hey voice trailing off as she guided them through the Wreckyard. "It's saddening. I can't imagine what it was like." Her voice carried the appropriate hushed reverence, but John could see the awe and wonder on her face.

"I don't have to ma'am. I was here when it happened." The Master Chief took a deep breath in as he drank the coffee he held. Looking through the forward viewport. Tapping the console to transmit his orders to the Deck Officer in order to expedite his check-in.

"Oh!? I didn't know..."

John could feel her looking at him, but trying to conceal it. He smiled and waved it off. "Don't worry about it. It's not something you would have known."

The Runabout gracefully arced through the Wreckyard, giving him a good show off the station, before finally docking in the landing bay. John gathered his single personal bag and exited the craft, taking that first deep breath of recycled air. Half turning to the pilot, the Master Chief, touched his forehead with his right index finger in a nonchalant salute to the young ensign. "Thanks for the ride ma'am." With that he stepped onto the deck and looked around for either the Deck Officer or someone from the Crew of the USS Athena.



Mitheral
The Cloak
Epiphany
MechanicalSnake
RPLongAndProsper

 

[The Cloak]

August 24, 2387 1535 hrs
Stardate 64645.3196
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Raging Queen


Markus sat quietly, resting his eyes aboard the bridge. The Raging Queen, an Assault vessel, was rapidly approaching Starbase 925. While Franklin was calm in the seat next to him, Markus was dreading the moment they left warp. He could feel the pain and fear in the air. The Raging Queen's crew was somber, but the Captain, and old friend of Markus's, knew what this field of debris meant to him.

"Hey Markus, we're dropping out of warp." Franklin said, and Markus opened his eyes. On the view screen, he watched as the warp field evaporated and the wreckage came into view. The amount of debris and death caught Markus off guard, and he lost his breath for a moment. It had been a long time since he had returned, and it didn't make it any easier. He spun the worn ring on his finger, looking out at the wreckage. They passed a bouy, on it was the name of a ship. The USS Liberator. His ship. The one he had control of at the end of the battle. The graveyard of his fiance, and of many of his friends. He looked to the Captain, who was already looking in his direction. The Captain, David Mayweather, tapped a button on his chair and the message tone broadcast through the ship. "This is the Captain. On this journey, we are passing the USS Liberator, destroyed in the battle of Wolf 359. This shipyard holds the memories and hopes of our friends and colleagues, who died before us trying to stop the Borg threat. Their sacrifice is what keeps Starfleet alive, and because of them, we live in freedom and outside of the collective. I want this crew to remember the fallen, so that we can continue to embrace life and protect their legacy. However, without Commander Markus White, I would not be here today. I was one of four survivors from the Liberator, each of them only saved by the actions of Commander White. Today, we have the pleasure of delivering him to the USS Avalon at Starbase 925. Once we're done, we'll resume our original course to the Vulcan home world for our next mission. Shore leave upon Starbase 925 will only be for 12 hours, then we resume course. That is all." he said, releasing the button on his console. "It's hard being here. It's more ominous than I remember." David said. "This is the first time I've been back." Markus said from the railing he was now leaning on, near the Captain's chair. David couldn't seem to muster a reply, and turned to the Helmsman. "Bring us in for final approach. Alert the Starbase that we're docking soon." He said to the young Officer. "Yes sir." The helmsman replied, not looking up from his console.

Once the ship was docked, Markus and Franklin said their goodbyes, and moved on to the platform, heading to the USS Avalon. They made their way aboard, said their hellos to Burns, and had stationed themselves at the nearest access point from the dock loading area to determine the ship's readiness.


August 24, 2387 1604 hrs
Stardate 64645.3196
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Avalon Boarding Area


A large Samoan male stood near the main loading platform, having arrived 4 days earlier. He dilligently watched as the deck crew moved about, trying to load items into the transporter circle so they could be moved to the proper sections of the ship. "If you don't stack it properly now, it won't be fit for flight." Burns said to the ragtag crew who was trying to keep up with the 6 loads Burns had single handedly loaded up and moved to the ship. Burns turned away from them, shaking his head. Just then, he saw Master Chief Conrad enter the main area. "Master Chief! Good to see you!" He said, giving a cheerful laugh and turning to move in his direction. "You want to load your bag up here or carry it on? Franklin and Markus are just inside, they arrived a few minutes ago." He stated, his arms annunciating all of his words.

 

[Mitheral]

August 24, 2387 1400 hrs
Stardate 64645.3196
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard (of 39 Federation vessels destroyed in the Borg Incursion of 2366)

Lt Commander Kasey Jones (Chief Medical Officer)
The Federation never ceased to amaze Kasey. Of course, she had to remind herself that Starbase 925, codenamed Anakin, was a creation of the Prometheans. But that said, she understood that the Prometheans were from Earth themselves. She could remember when the railroad was making the frontier of North America shrink. For over three centuries warp flight had been doing the same to the stars. She wondered how long it would be before humans found a way to do the same to intergalactic space.

She had visited Pearl Harbor over a century ago as the Kimeran ambassador. Being the 50th state of the United States she had had to go. America had been a refuge to her all those years ago. Hawaii was its crowning achievement. The Wolf 359 Memorial reminded her of Pearl Harbor. Why did humans glorify death? She reminded herself that it was about the sacrifices made to save so many other lives. Still, death on this scale never sat well with her.

There was a stark lack of fanfare when she arrived. Most of the personnel seem to be of the virtual variety. But she did appreciate not having to use the transporters. As much as she loved cutting edge technology, she appreciated the old school approach. She was transferred to an EVA pod which told her that she was getting the “former ambassador” treatment. Patiently she tolerated it. She had seen so many starships that one more really didn’t impress her.

Her suspicions soon proved to be correct. She got to see the exterior of the Athena whether she liked it or not. But there was one plus. She didn’t have to use a transporter - and it would have been a 10 mile hike. The EVA pod finished its fanfare approach and docked, opening to allow her to disembark. She hoped her personal effects would make a safe journey.

 

[Mitheral]

Message from StarFleet Command:
Admiral Damien Harcourt

“The DSX Pytheas’ has been overdue for eight standard days. Deep space scans from automated probes in the area have revealed nothing. The last known position of the vessel was near the F2 main sequence star, RSC 8996. That system is known to have 6 planets, one which is classified as marginally habitable, codenamed Thonne. The system is otherwise unsurveyed. What data is available is from a fly-by roboprobe 200 years ago. There is no known phenomena that can account for the death or disappearance of the Pytheas. No radiation sources, gravity point sources, or other ship-killing stellar objects are nearby. No record exists of hostile alien races in that area of space.

“Find out what happened to the Pytheas and follow it up. A full report is needed. Should you find out that aliens are involved, we need to find out about their culture, their technology, and above all we must find their homeworld. Attempt diplomacy if that seems possible, but do not endanger your ship unless that seems necessary to the mission. If you do not return in one month a follow up mission will be launched.

https://home.moltenaether.com/wiki/images/c/c7/Intrepid-plans.pdf

“The Pytheas is an Intrepid Class vessel (i.e. Voyager) that entered service in late 2382 and is under the command of Captain Richard “Dingo” Denton. It was nearing the end of its first 5 year mission. The crew complement was 150 (20 officers, 130 enlisted).

“Regarding your new command you and your Chief Medical Officer are being sent profiles on the Promethean Crew. The Ship’s Counsellor has prior experience with this pair as was present when they were first encountered. They have two children, a girl and a boy, ages 4 and two respectively (names Ele and James). This is largely the reason for the accelerated progress at the Academy and likely played a strong factor in their decision to leave StarFleet. Despite these facts, it is also just as likely that Jonathan Rhand has little trust in StarFleet. He has made claims that he was betrayed by the Eugenics War era American government and that he was targeted by Khan. He chose not to get involved with either side. Forcing the man to reveal his talents has proven disastrous in the past. The USS Icarus earned some gratitude by rescuing his wife, Diane. The Athena seems to be his way of saying thank you and taking a chance.”

The Cloak

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

August 24, 2387 1604 hrs
Stardate 64645.3196
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Avalon Boarding Area

Master Chief! Good to see you!" A large Samoan man smiled and approached. "You want to load your bag up here or carry it on? Franklin and Markus are just inside, they arrived a few minutes ago."

A broad smile creased his face and shook his head slightly. The Master Chief snapped to a crisp attention and equally crisp salute."Sir! Permission to come aboard sir!" It was with all do respect for the deck officer and an old long standing ancient tradition dating back to the age of sail, where boarding a vessel without permission was then considered an act of piracy, plus he knew the lieutenant was not a super formal person and that he preferred more casual installed. Dropping the salute as he reached out to heartily and firmly grasp and shake the larger man's forearm, squeezing his shoulder in the process. "No sir, I'll carry my stuff. I'm not that old." Giving a chuckle and slapping the side of his duffle bag, plus having a few things that the transporters would detect as either restricted or contraband meant it was easier to carry them on board and raise less questions. "It'll be good to seem then again. Oa mai oe?" (How are you doing?) He asked the last part in Samoan, his Haole accent showing through.

Interaction:
The Cloak

 

[Epiphany]

August 24, 2387 1605 hrs
Stardate 64645.3196
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Athena Boarding Area

Coming up next in line, the dark-haired Operations Officer hefted her luggage bag and watched the exchange between the Master Chief and the large Samoan man with interest. The enlisted man's informality, contrasting with the Master Chief's formality, fascinated her. Especially as it had something of a sense of ritual about it. Of course, that 'sense' was derived by spending years among organic humanoids of varying kinds. The Kimberly Series ran the risk of apophenia, false pattern matching, as their Emotional Emulation Engine attempted to approximate 'human intuition' and had a tendency to run away with such analysis to the point of creating numerous false positives and getting completely confused. Thankfully, there'd been a patch ten years ago that more or less consisted of a Kimberly noticing she was potentially seeing something that might not be there was to stop trying to analyze it and instead log it and upload it via Synaptic Synchronization for computation time on the mainframes back on homeworld.

As her EEE was now reminding her to do, so Kimberly promptly quit trying to intuit how these two men might know a common ritual without knowing each other. Instead, she stepped forward. "Tālofa lava," she says to the two men, hopping into the ritual as her Starfleet Academy classmates had encouraged a much younger Kimberly to do. "This is where we load our bags and prepare for ship boarding, isn't it?"

She looks ahead to where the USS Athena lies and gives a low whistle. "Beautiful ship, isn't she? How lucky we are to have a chance to crew her." Then she sticks a hand out, in the general direction of both men for whoever wants to shake. "Lieutenant Kimberly. Kimberly #49 to be specific."

With a crew complement of a thousand, it might be unlikely she'd necessarily bump into either men aboard ship but it never hurt to be polite or to make friends when given the opportunity. She beamed a smile, seemingly a completely normal friendly Terran although a perceptive individual might notice a slight crest-shaped mass, perhaps a necklace, under her otherwise regulation uniform.

Interactions: The Cloak Grim Wraithe Stjerna

 

[Eonivar]

The runabout Ohio warped in outside of the historical debris field and slowly made its way down the designated flight path towards the small moon sized sphere of Starbase 925.

Nerys,

I wanted to drop you a note and let you know that its ok that you could not make it to my Graduation. It was quite alright, I understand well the responsibilities you manage, I am sure I will get back home to Deep Space Nine eventually anyway, maybe my ship will stop by or I will just have some shore leave sometime.

Captain Worf and Professor O'Brien were there. I had not seen Worf in years. I sent you all the details about the Professor's courses, and how he refused to play any favorites with me, I think he graded me harder than everyone else but I still passed. I sent you a picture of us there: Captain Worf, Professor O'Brien with Keiko and Molly.

As you well know, I graduated high in my class, and the highest for a Qualified Helm/Pilot. I was puzzled by my first assignment though, it was not a ship I had ever heard of. The Athena. I was kind of hoping I would serve under Worf, but the Enterprise is a premium assignment even for me. He said in his so very Worf voice.."One has to earn the opportunity to serve onboard the Enterprise, Ensign Opaka. I have no doubt following your current path, we will be serving together in the future."

I am just happy I get to serve somewhere. Every hour, every minute at the Academy I was pressed and asked if I wanted my own command. I do not mind command, I just want to fly in the stars. If that entails me ordering others to fly, that is fine, I like the company anyway. For now I hopefully will get to press the buttons and guide ships across the galaxy, just like I always dreamed. And I have you to thank for helping me realize this dream. I have to thank you again so much for this opportunity, this has been so amazing.

Anyway, the ship is about to dock and I have to report for my assignment. Probably flying a shuttle for VIPs or cleaning out holodeck filters. I am an Ensign, that is what they do after all, and we all must do our part.

I will send another note once I know more of my posting.

Ina

Ensign Opaka Ina pressed "Send" on her PADD and then gazed out, passed the reflection of a young curly chestnut haired Bajoran woman in the Command Division Starfleet Uniform, at the wreckage and debris beyond the marked flight path to the brilliantly lit strange spherical ship that was a Starbase in the middle of a debris field of destroyed Starfleet ships.

The 'Historical Battlefield' did not really impress Ina much. She had seen her fair share of battle fields in space, and had helped her father and other adopted family clear them around Deep Space Nine during the war when she was younger. The biggest distinction to Ina here was the fact all the wreckages were Starfleet vessels, there were no Klingon, Romulan, or Dominion ship husks here. Starfleet's greatest loss. She noticed that not many of the ships had been salvaged in any way, she thought that peculiar and odd, particular in the time after the Battle that occurred here, where ships were in short supply. The Federation loves their memorials.

Of course, Ina thought to herself. This is kind of a holy site, so maybe it should be preserved. The Emissary himself fought and lost his ship and wife in this very battle. If he had not survived, her and Bajor's future would have been very different.

She remembered talking to her Grandmother about the Emissary, and her Grandmother introducing her to him.

She could hear her Grandmother, Kai Opaka's always warm and comforting voice with her proud smile as she would lovingly push Ina's always invading curly mop out of her face. "Yes Ina darling, he is human, but still the Chosen Emissary of the Prophets. You need not be afraid of him. He is a good man. He will lead us with the Prophets to a better place in the Universe. A better future for Bajor and Bajorans."

And this place was part of the Emissary's journey, and now her own Journey intersected with this piece of the Emissary's history, and this place, like it was for the Emissary, is a now turning point in her own life.

The Runabout turned on final approach and Ina got up to prepare to leave. She went to the lavatory to straighten herself up before departing the shuttle. She gazed at herself in the mirror fixing her seemingly out of control curly hair with her regulation Starfleet hair tie, adjusting her silver dja pagh on her right ear. A short muscular woman, the grey black and red uniform did not do her slight but strong physique justice. She spoke to herself in the mirror.

"You can do this Ina"

August 24, 2387 1606 hrs
Stardate 64645.3196
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Athena Boarding Area

She stepped off the shuttle, luggage bag carried easily over her shoulder, and into the busy landing bay, full of coming and going people and ships.

She shook her head at the sign 'Starbase 925, Anakin'.

Ina understood that the name 'Anakin' was some very old human popular culture reference. Humans often puzzled Ina, but she could not help but to respect their drive to explore and innovate.

She was directed to a loading area where she came up behind a trio of humans (or at least human to Ina) the most obvious being a large tall human male, a Lieutenant, Operations Division, with Dark Hair and a big smile, greeting a Master Chief, another tall human, older male.

Ina patiently and quietly stood behind the dark haired female human Lieutenant as she introduced herself to the two men as 'Lieutenant Kimberly Number Forty-Nine'. Ina was truly puzzled and curious by this name alone, but decided to let it wait and play out with these three. Watch and Learn Ina, Watch and Learn. They all were well a head or more taller then her small frame, and she was just a newly minted Ensign after all, they probably would not even notice her.

 

[Mitheral]

August 24, 2387 1610 hrs
Stardate 64645
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Athena Boarding Area

Jonathan and Diane entered the Boarding Area arriving fashionably late, having just escorted another batch of arrivals to the Athena.

“YOU’RE LATE!” Jon announced. Then lowering his voice to a normal level and smiling he told them, “Kidding. Welcome to the Athena. For those not familiar with the various mythologies of Earth, she’s named for the Greek goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft - patron goddess of many Ancient Greek heroes of epic literature such as Odysseus from a period about 3000 years ago. Some of you already have room assignments - according to rank and position. The LHPs can always help if you get lost. And they are discreet … usually.

“I am Dr Jonathan Rhand; this is Diane. We hold provisional ranks of Captain and Commander, but our command is the Prometheus, with duties in the civilian decks. We built this station and ship. The Athena is the newest ship of the line in Starfleet, and quite probably the most powerful. It isn’t easy for me to entrust it to anyone. In my experience even the right hands have always been the wrong hands when it came to my technology. But Diane keeps reminding me that humanity has finally begun to grow up as a culture.

“The Ship’s Counselor and Chief Medical Officer arrived earlier. They already have baseline profiles on all personnel. If anyone has questions regarding the computer or LHPs, ask Diane. If it is about the ship, ask me. I attended the Academy, so the general layout of the ship was according to typical specs. But some technology will be new.

“Captain, if you - or any department - needs me, just ask. Diane and I will be happy to pull our weight should the need arise. Oh yes, and there is a small matter I would like to discuss in your office later when we get a chance. No hurry.”

The Cloak Grim Wraithe Stjerna Epiphany Eonivar

 

[The Cloak]

August 24, 2387 1606 hrs
Stardate 64645
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Athena Boarding Area



The large Samoan male chuckled. "ua ou manuia. Fiafia mo le isi a tatou malaga." (Im well. Excited for our next journey.) He said. He then turned to Kimberly. "Good to see you again, Lieutenant. Yes, you can leave your belongings here, this ragtag crew will get it to your room sometime within the next week. Or you can carry it yourself if you would like, it won't hurt my feelings. And yes, it is a beautiful ship. Can't wait to see how smooth it runs. Between you and me, Markus always ran the Freedom a little rough." Burns said in a slightly hushed, playful voice. "I heard that." A voice said from just inside the loading area, coming around the corner. Markus stood confidently, looking over his fresh crew. Some new, some old. "Greg. Kimberly. Good to see you both." Markus said. He had already read his orders. Easy enough, a rescue or recovery mission. Not surprising. Except knowing Starfleet, he knew he had been given a considerably risky mission because, in reality, not many Admirals liked him after his arrest of the Starfleet Security Admiral. Regardless, he knew this crew was likely the best for the job.

Markus then turned to the young Ensign behind the group of his old friends. "Evening Ensign. Opaka Ina, correct?" He said. He then heard a voice behind him. "YOU’RE LATE!” It announced. Markus turned to see the man of the hour, the Captain of the Prometheus. Markus had heard a little about him, and was curious to see if he was as good as others had claimed. Regardless, Markus had no problem working with a competent person, as long as they didn't get in his way during combat.

he listened to Jon, and gave a some-what friendly but awkward smile. "Of course. Would you like to chat before we depart or once we're underway?" Markus said, and then turned to the Ensign. "Our helmsman is held up with a disciplinary hearing back at Jupiter station, so you'll have the Helm for first shift Ensign." Markus said and Franklin chimed up from the wall he was leaning on. "You're it till your dead or we find someone better." Franklin said with a smile, quoting an old 20th century line from Starship Troopers. Markus shook his head, looking down with a smirk. "Says the 1-legged man." Burns said, getting a fake offfended laugh out of Franklin, who playfully smacked his arm. Franklin lifted his pant leg, showing his prosthetic. "At least it looks better than you." He said to Burns. "Enough, gentlemen. This isn't Jupiter station. I need you both on your best behavior." Markus said in a some-what firm fassion. "Aye aye, Captain." Both Burns and Franklin said, quickly returning to their "professional" behavior, if you could call it that. Burns turned his attention back to the group while Franklin moved on to the nearest control panel. While this was normal behavior to the freedom crew, everyone else likely thought they were crazy.

 

[Eonivar]

August 24, 2387 1606 hrs
Stardate 64645
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Athena Boarding Area

Ina was listening to the interplay between the two officers and chief in front of her, amused to say the least. The woman was beautiful and seemed to have a certain unique charm about her but something else that seemed off in Ina's eyes. The tall large dark haired human man and the Chief seemed pretty nice. She did not understand the language that was being exchanged in pieces, some native earth tongue for sure.

Then a voice from the wall came and everyone took notice, Ina noticed the pips on his collar and realized from the picture in her orders that this was her Captain Markus White. Who after chatting with the others suddenly turned and addressed her directly.

"Evening Ensign. Opaka Ina, correct?"

The petite curly haired Bajoran flushed slightly and turned. Despite the flush and slight surprise from her body language she recovered and spoke calmly and confidently.

“Yes Captain that is correct.”

They were interrupted by a new voice and Ina turned and listened to 'Captain' Doctor Rhand.

Ina seemed a bit perplexed by with 'Doctor' Rhand . He seemed somewhat arrogant. Probably the normal arrogance that comes from such genius and intelligence. He acted as if he was above humans though even though he seemed and appeared human, which she found odd. Ina has dealt with many arrogant friends and foes in her short lifetime, that did not bother her much. But there was something more to these two. Diane was pretty, Jack handsome…and yet they did not seem to fit.

Why would someone build and pretty much give a such an impressive station and ship for Starfleet but then say he did not have much trust in the arrangement? And he went to the Academy? But they have provisional ranking? And they would be accompanying them as part of the ship on their own ship? Who are these strange people?

This whole arrangement puzzled the Bajoran.

Well, it is not my place to question such things, at least I will not be reporting to him directly. I have dealt with my fair share of initially arrogant people in the past, Captain Worf can come off as very arrogant, Mister Odo was very arrogant to me. What is one more.

After he finished, the Captain turned to her and told her she would be on Alpha shift on the Helm. This was a very unexpected turn of events, she was made a Bridge officer on her first assignment and it was a new ship. Her classmates would be so jealous.

Ina's mouth opened and nothing came out initially. "uh...umm..well Thank you Sir!"

Her mind was reeling at the implications of her new role but then Ina then turned to Burns, she finally recognized the laugh and the size. "Lieutenant Burns...I remember you, you served on Deep Space Nine for a time, worked on the engineering team. Opaka Ina? Well now Ensign Opaka Ina. Remember I helped you when you were assigned to replace one of the atmosphere scrubbers below the Promenade...and you almost got stuck...and fried by an old Cardassian trap that I told you not to touch it because the scrubber would not work without the trap and we did not want to replicate a new one because it was below Quark's and Quark refused to close down for us to replace it."

Ina smiled and grinned up at the large Samoan man, now a familiar face even though it had been years ago. It had always taken a lot of the Starfleet engineers time to get used to one of the Bajoran 'experts' on the station itself being a tiny young curly haired Bajoran girl who was somehow a part of the Bajoran Militia even though she was well under the usual age for such a thing but Ina knew the Station inside and out from pylon to pylon. Burns was one of many of the Starfleet Engineers she had gotten to know before she went to the academy.

The Cloak , Mitheral , Grim Wraithe Stjerna , Epiphany

 

[Epiphany]

August 24, 2387 1611 hrs
Stardate 64645.3196
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Athena Boarding Area

The Cloak
The captain, of course, needed no introduction. Kimberly's smile was wide, earnest but she stood at attention as the captain inspected them. "And you, sir," she added in reply to his welcome. The banter between Jones and Franklin was likewise amusing and endearing. She was just glad she wasn't a target. Part of the barbed humor the two employed required a degree of spontaneous reciprocity that she wasn't especially certain she'd mastered. Having fresh opportunities to study it were very welcome.

Mitheral
But upon the arrival of Jonathan and Diane, Kimberly's attention shifted to the newest arrivals, sizing the pair up on their approach. The 'joke' brought a slight smile to her face, as her software prompted her to react to the introduction. The rest of his introduction prompted her to lift both eyebrows in surprise. Two individuals, responsible for building a starbase, a ship and the very vessel she was assigned to? Her logic circuits assigned a high probability that he was lying but she didn't see any long-term gain in doing so. Curious.

At Jonathan's suggestion, Kimberly shifted her attention to Diane. "I'd be interested in hearing more about computer, sir, especially if any of its technology is new."

Eonivar
The unexpected common background between the Ensign and Burns came as a surprise. Which shouldn't be surprising, given Kimberly hadn't had an occasion to download the crew complement and cross reference all profiles. There was always later for that, though. Instead, she watched the Bajoran woman watching the large Samoan man, intrigued and a bit touched by the ease and joy that was evident in the young woman's face. Kimberly #227 had a similar memory of meeting Naisiae Sandlewood, who'd previously served with Kimberly #12, and who'd also been delighted at seeing someone familiar again.

It was...nice. Happy. Organic lifeforms prized and treasured their interpersonal relationships, seemingly above all else, even though they weren't programmed to. Kimberly never failed to find it interesting, because of course she was programmed to prize and treasure her interpersonal relationships!

"It's always nice to meet a familiar face on a new assignment, isn't it," Kimberly said, lightly inserting herself into the conversation between the two. "I'm Lieutenant Kimberly #49. Welcome aboard, Ensign, I hope you find the Athena just as interesting as Deep Space Nine." She readied herself to shake hands but realized she didn't know what Bajoran greeting customs were just yet. A fresh opportunity!

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

August 24, 2387 1611 hrs
Stardate 64645
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Athena Boarding Area

John smiled and chuckled at the comment Burns made. Turning with the smile still on his face to great the other officer. "Ma'am, good to meet you." Kimberly 49 was an odd name and something stuck out him on that, like a bit of information just at the back of brain that he couldn't quite reach. He would have to review all their files later, but he planned on doing that anyways as the Tactical Officer and Chief of Security.

Nodding at the comments about the ship. He was looking forward to getting underway and seeing how she faired and how well trained the crew was, but he was confident he could make then better.

It was then that he noticed the new Ensign standing quietly to the side, either trying to not be noticed or politely trying to noticed to be invited into the conversation. As the Master Chief was about to offer his hand to her, when Captain Marcus joined what he was quickly realizing was the core group of Bridge Officers. He smiled and returned the greeting to his commanding officer. "Sir, good to meet you, looking forward to this."

Dr Jonathan Rhand stepped out.

"YOU'RE LATE!"

Breaking into the conversations of the small group. Giving a whirl wind dissertation on the ship, their roles in it and what could be expected. John was just shaking his head at the whole scene.

Lifting and resettling the bag on his shoulder the Master Chief watched as the new Helmsman recounted her history with Burns. John really needed to sit down and get up to speed on the crew files. There seemed to be a lot of interconnected histories on board.

Mitheral The Cloak Epiphany Eonivar

 

[Mitheral]

August 24, 2387 1613 hrs
Stardate 64645
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Athena Boarding Area

Jon nodded to the Captain. “I’ll see you on the Bridge later when we are ready to launch. Have to make sure the helmsman doesn’t put the silly thing in reverse.”

For that Jon got a playful backhand slap from Diane on his midriff, a sure indicator that he was joking.

“It’s a joke, from an old 20th century children’s cartoon,” Jon explained, confirming any suspicions. “But after all this time, I do want to watch us as we launch.” He glanced at the Captain. “I hope you don’t mind. I will do my best to remember that the Athena has one Captain. Best to refer to me as Doctor, Rhand, Jon. I don’t really stand on formality, but I did grow up in a military family.”

“As did I,” Diane added. “Jon, you should probably go see if you can pry Ele away from Edi.” There was something about Diane’s demeanor that suggested a mild disapproval.

Jon looked blankly at Diane.

“Tidbit. She is going to throw a fit when you try to tell her playtime is over with the cute dragon. Your idea; you fix it.” Diane averted her attention to the crew and shifted her demeanor to a more pleasant one. “I look forward to working with all of you.”

Jon ducked his head a little and winced behind his sunglasses. “ My bad.” He glanced back up at the crew and explained. “Terrible twos.”

Diane made one more pause and looked directly at the Bajoran. “You should be careful if you see Counselor Edi. Tidbit is a natural thief, drawn to anything that sparkles. Earrings are especially tempting as they act like a lure by movement.”

August 25, 2387 1700 hrs
Stardate 64648.4
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Spacedock
USS Athena
Officer’s Lounge - Ten Forward

Crew Present (Mine anyways)
CMO Kasey Jones
Counselor Edi (“Eee - Dee”)
Jonathan Rhand
Diane Miller (Rhand)

Most of the crew of the Athena would be joining them over the next few days with some joining later during a stop at DS9, then a few more specialists at Starbase Sierra on the dge of the UFP territory. During the wait for most of the crew to arrive those who had already had the opportunity to settle into their quarters and get to know the ship.

For Jon and Diane it was a chance to get some rest. That is, with the ship ready to launch they could afford themselves the luxury of a few days off. While Jon had had other ideas, in Diane’s mind it meant mingling with the crew. In spite of his grumbling he did like an audience from time to time. He had a number of hobbies. Among those were his skill as a musician. So he grabbed his guitars and headed for 10 Forward.

He had more than ample time to set up the stage. His usual preference for music was classic rock or country, but he also had a love of instrumentals, as well as movie soundtracks and songs. Truth to tell he had no idea WHAT passed for music in the 24th century - not really. The Federation had grown so much and been influenced by so many cultures he was a little lost.

His guitars were a custom made Gibson and an acoustical Martin. The stage also had a full professional keyboard and drum set. Other instruments could be brought by crewmembers. Both accompaniment musicians and instruments could also be generated by holodeck technology. (Some of the accompaniments are LHP’s with personalities, such as the Skeleton Crew - which look like cybernetic skeletons and play either rock or Phantom of the Opera type music.)

By 1700 hours he was already warming up, playing soft music.

The Cloak
Epiphany
Eonivar
Grim Wraithe Stjerna

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

August 25, 2387 1705 hrs
Stardate 64648.4
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Spacedock
USS Athena
Personal Quarters then Officer’s Lounge - Ten Forward

The Master Chief stepped into the darkened stateroom, the door sliding shut with a quiet hiss and  schunk. "Lights, low, amber." Looking left and right as the computer slowly faded the lights to the requested setting.

Stepping to the L shaped couch, dropping this duffle on the cushion, taking a moment to look out the window at the vast debris strewn starfield. A small pang of sadness and longing tugged at his heart at the sight of where his husband has been lost to him. Letting out a deep breath and a shake of his head John unzipped his bag and took out his duty belt and strapped it around his waist and clicked the high thigh holster tight around his right leg. Next he pulled out a Type-II Pulsed Phase Pistol, doing a quick check of its power cell before sliding it into the holster with a satisfying click.

He would finish unpacking later, but for now it would be good to try and unwind and get to see how the rest of the crew interacted.

He spun on his heel and walked through the door and towards the officers lounge. As the Tactical Officer and Chief Security Officer, even though he was not a commissioned officer, he would not be out of place there and might be expected to be there today or in the future.

Stepping through the door the sound of live music hit him first and was a bit surprised to see the good Doctor playing a guitar. "Classical. Nice." Giving an approving nod before heading to the bar. "Strong black hot coffee please." Leaning on the bar looking to his left and right as he waited for his drink.

Mitheral
The Cloak
Epiphany
Eonivar
MechanicalSnake

 

[The Cloak]

August 24, 2387 1615 hrs
Stardate 64645
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Wolf 359 Memorial Wreckyard
USS Athena Boarding Area

"Ah yes! Little Ina. Good to see you. Come, let's find your quarters. I'm sure they'll be ready by the time we get there." Burns said, ushering the young Ensign ahead of him. After watching the 2 of them depart, Markus turned to Kimberly and Franklin. "Let me know when we're ready to depart. All checks before we launch. I don't want anything keeping us here any longer than necessary." The commander said. He was uncomfortable, sure. The debris of his lowest point scattered around the station, the bone yard signifying the end of an era. "Though I'm sure you both want to do a little relaxing, so it can wait till after you've visited the 10 forward. I'm sure it's as elaborate as this ship." He said. "I'll see you all there in a bit, I need to check my quarters first." He said.

Markus then traveled into the shop and found the Captains quarters. He set up some belongings and then traveled to the 10 Forward. He hoped he could slip the Captain aside later and discuss a separate room, someplace quiet. Someplace with no windows and maybe 1 or 2 beds, like he did on the Freedom. A place he could be alone with his thoughts. He knew it wasn't his ship, so he didn't expect to be able to work it, but he figured trying was the only way to get an answer.

After entering 10 forward shortly thereafter, Markus found Jon playing a guitar, and Grimm getting a drink. Coffee, presumably. He thought to himself. Markus went over to the bar. "Water, please" He said when he was acknowledged by the bartender. The ship was nice, it definitely had a lot of thought put into it. Eventually Franklin and Burns walked in, laughing at the end of a joke. They went to the bar immediately and ordered some alcoholic water known as beer, and proceeded over to a table where they sat, listening quietly to the guitar.

 

[Eonivar]

Diane made one more pause and looked directly at the Bajoran. “You should be careful if you see Counselor Edi. Tidbit is a natural thief, drawn to anything that sparkles. Earrings are especially tempting as they act like a lure by movement.”

Ina looked back at Diane with a confused look and unsure expression at the comment, naturally reaching up to touch her silver dja pagh protectively. "Counselor Edi? Tidbit? uh..ok?" Then Burns spoke to her.

"Ah yes! Little Ina. Good to see you. Come, let's find your quarters. I'm sure they'll be ready by the time we get there." Burns said,

Ina smiled brightly at the tall broad engineer, the Chief Engineers infectious and cheerful demeanor clearing away her confusion and doubt. "Great." and then the dark haired female human Lieutenant chimed in.

"It's always nice to meet a familiar face on a new assignment, isn't it," Kimberly said, lightly inserting herself into the conversation between the two. "I'm Lieutenant Kimberly #49. Welcome aboard, Ensign, I hope you find the Athena just as interesting as Deep Space Nine." She readied herself to shake hands but realized she didn't know what Bajoran greeting customs were just yet. A fresh opportunity!

The Bajoran turned towards Kimberly #49 making eye contact. She seemed human so the hand shake seemed like the right thing to do. Most Bajorans were not so touchy with outsiders with handshakes and such usually, but Ina had learned much about human customs at the Academy. Ina extended her hand to shake with Kimberly #49. "It is nice to meet you Lieutenant. Thank you for the welcome, I am sure the Athena is as interesting if not more so than DS9, although to be fair there is no Celestial Temple here, but it is clearly better than a converted Cardassian space station."

Ensign Opaka Ina kind of looked up at Burns and the others who seemed to want to board and get settled in and then looked back at Kimberly #49 "Lieutenant I think the others want to get on board and settled in. I am sure we will have more time to get to know each other more later. Thanks again for the warm welcome."

Opaka was then shown to her quarters.

The door opened and she looked in and then looked up at Lieutenant Burns. "T-these are m-my quarters? Are you sure? There is no one else here to room with, this whole room is for me alone?" At Burns assurance and farewell for now, Ina stepped into her new quarters, which to Ina was a very luxurious room. The bed was larger, she had a chair and couch, her very own sonic shower, a closet, her own replicator, a desk, a table. She did not even have enough things to put in here. She never kept too much in the way of keepsakes and of those she had left back at home on DS9. And then she looked out the windows into space. She stepped forward to gaze into the blackness of space and the lights of the stars amongst the debris field and part of the massive spherical starbase.

"My own window to look out through."

Ina lost track of how long she stood there and just gazed out her window, much like she used to as a child at her secret viewing places at DS9. She set her things down, sat on the bed a moment and realized how comfortable it was. She felt so alone though here. She had lived most of her life in a communal space with only her bunk that was the only thing that was hers. At the Academy she naturally had roommates. And now here on the Athena, she had these massive quarters (in her eyes) all by herself. It felt a bit overwhelming. Her stomach rumbled a bit in revolt as she had not eaten (or had not had the urge to eat) since she had left Earth. And she did not want to eat alone. She remembered Burns mentioning a social place...mess hall...bar. Ten Forward.

She then left her quarters and made her way to Ten Forward, the soft pleasant guitar music filling her ears as the doors opened. This was a good start. Ina walked in and looked around, feeling out of place amongst the officers even though she knew she was an officer now too. She really needed some calming comfort food. She walked up to the bar. "Could I get some Hasperat and iced black tea?" She knew most Starfleet replicators had a majority of the Bajoran recipes with Hasperat being one of the first added, the dish which has found many humans fond of the very spicy food. Of course for Ina it was more of to see how good the Hasparat was made here and if it would be worthwhile in getting it further on this ship or if she would have to get the ingredients herself to make her own and make it correctly. It was always hit or miss with different places.

 

[Mitheral]

August 25, 2387 1700 hrs
Stardate 64648.4
Starbase 925 (Anakin)
Spacedock
USS Athena
Officer’s Lounge - Ten Forward

Crew Present (Mine anyways)
CMO Kasey Jones
Counselor Edi (“Eee - Dee”)
Jonathan Rhand
Diane Miller (Rhand)

Soon after Ina entered the Lounge, Edi reached up to cover Tidbit’s eyes - which amounted to grabbing the ichthydragon’s whole head. The small dragon bleeped with indignity. Its eyes had already drawn a bead on the dangling dja pagh. “No, no! Bad Tidbit. Bad Tidbit,” she murmured.

Diane’s eyes had caught the movement and she found herself suppressing a grin. “Jon?”

Jon nodded. “I saw it. Been waiting for that little problem to rear its ugly head. Keep the stage warmed up, hmm?” He paused in his playing and set his guitar down. Then he walked over to Edi, pulling out a small velvet covered box. “Now that didn’t take long, did it? Oh Tidbit?” A boyish grin showed up on Jon’s face. He found the small dragon irresistible, a fact he was sure Edi prized as it got him into her office far more than he liked. “I come bearing gifts. Something for the treasure horde.” He was rewarded with curious bleeps.

The black velvet box opened to reveal a fine golden necklace with a faceted mirrored ball on the end. It looked like a miniature disco ball. He reached in and held up the piece of jewelry and dangled it temptingly.

Edi sighed. Well it WAS a diversion. And it would work too.

“Plastic,” Jon explained. Then he added in a voice of temptation, “but it's a sparkly!”

Tidbit’s scales had begun to glow and twinkle to imitate the dangling necklace. Then there was a flutter of wings and the dragon snatched the pendant out of Jon’s fingers before returning to Edi and disappearing into a large pouch.

“Well, it should save the Ensign’s ears for now. I thought it would be a good idea for our new Conn Officer not to have a torn and bloody ear if she has holes drilled in her ears. I’ll never understand why people want to poke holes in themselves. Anyways, back to entertaining.”

**********

Chief Medical Officer Kasey Jones had come to 10 Forward to let down her hair for a little bit. She looked the LHP bartender in the eyes and frowned. She didn’t really like these new EHPs and LHPs. They didn’t feel like real people. Ghosts. But she sighed and tapped on the counter. “I know you have some real stuff back there. I had it shipped here myself. Made it myself.” She tapped on the counter a couple times. “That means make it a double - neat. Tell me you understand what that means.”

“Vodka - bottle to glass - no rocks or anything else to spoil the effects. And in your case - with all the deleterious effects intact.” The LHP sounded a little disapproving. “I should also advise you that I have orders to cut you off if those deleterious effects threaten your performance as the medical officer on duty.”

Kasey glared at the LHP sourly. “I don’t actually NEED your help. I can manage self service just fine.” Her Russian accent began to assert itself.

“You should know that I was never in diapers,” the LHP informed her.

The comment out of the blue surprised her. She found it oddly amusing. She still refused to admit the LHP was a real person, but whoever programmed it had done a decent job. Most people weren’t aware of her true age. But the way the LHP had told her that it had been unexpected and discreet.

The Cloak , Epiphany Eonivar Grim Wraithe Stjerna

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

John Contad looked over as he heard his CO order water. He smiled and held up his cup of steaming black coffee up in a cheers/salute motion. "Captain. Good to see you." He took a sip of the caffeinated dark brown liquid. 'Not bad, one of the better replicated ones.' He thought briefly. "What do you think of your new ship and crew?"

Looking over at the newly minted Helmsman as she ordered some traditional Bajoran items. "She seems to be settling in well enough, think she can handle this Lady and fly your orders?" He has read up on Markus' file at least. Best to know your Captain at least. And knew pretty well how he operated like to run things, which would work well with the Master Chief.

Franklin and Burns were a pair he thought he would have to keep an eye on, they seemed raucous and ruff and the type to cause incidents on shore leave.

As the Chief Medical Officer interacted with the LHP he could not hear what was being said, not it did not seem untoward or reason for concern. And so the Chief Security Officer focused on his Captain in an attempt to get to know him better beyond his official, and unofficial, personnel file.

Mitheral The Cloak Epiphany Eonivar

 

[The Cloak]

Markus had been focused on the glass in his hands, his mind running at a million miles per minute. While midway through the death of his crew, a voice brought him back to the present. He turned to the voice, quickly forcing the thoughts out of his head. "Same to you, Chief. That coffee pretty good or should I ask elsewhere?" He said, trying to distract himself from his mind. "So far I'm impressed. It's not the Freedom but I think I'll like my time here."

Franklin had sat for a while, then checked his watch. While not many people used them, himself and Markus liked to replicate things from the past, specifically time keeping devices. He saw that it had been a few minutes and checked his PADD, checking on the status of the shop. He liked to run a thorough scan of any ship he boarded, and liked to check the specifications and outputs, so he could stay ahead of any surprises. The scan was mostly complete, and he was recording prudent data from the warp core and systems. Burns, one the other hand, was cheerfully greeting people. He was always the best at meandering, and always had a knack for keeping the mood up. Something that neither Markus or Franklin were very good at doing.