The USS Cochrane's space trials had finished less than twenty-four 
hours ago and Chief Engineer Argyle had crews working around the clock 
already, trying to improve performance. Commander Nganga had ordered 
the ship to be above standard before the new Captain's arrival. Argyle 
was currently working with Ensign Bak Xiam on updating the replicator 
subroutines according to the crew manifest. It was particularly hard to 
find Garman and Atlarian menu items in standard programs.

---------------------------

A chirp on the ship's computer reminded Commander David Nganga that the 
first of the new personnel would be arriving momentarily. The Utopia 
Planitia design and engineering teams would be cleared off the ship 
over the next few hours. Nganga exited his quarters and contemplated 
the many months he had spent overseeing the construction and testing of 
the Cochrane. He was proud, damn proud. Argyle's engineers were moving 
through the corridors in little black and gold streaks, like bees 
gathering pollen.

----------------------------

Lt. Commander Evory Dekelley could feel the excitement and anticipation 
rampant throughout the ship, despite his best efforts to block the 
waves of emotion. He wanted to speak with the Commander before the 
arrival of the new Captain. "Computer. Please locate Commander David 
Nganga."

The soft, feminine voice answered, =^= Commander Nganga is on deck 
eight, forward corridor. =^=

"No doubt heading toward the turbolift."

=^= Request not understood. Please restate. =^=

"Cancel request." Dekelley exited his quarters, attempting to overtake 
the commander. Within moments, he spotted the commander entering the 
turbolift. "Hold please!"

Commander Nganga placed his hand over the door's sensor, holding it 
open long enough for the Lt. Commander to board. "Good morning, 
Counselor." 

"I believe you have been avoiding me."

"Nonsense. I have just been busy getting the ship up to specs."

"I don't believe that Starfleet would have certified a ship that would 
have failed to meet specifications."

Nganga looked over at Dekelley and smiled, "Up to my specs, Counselor"

"Still feeling a bit of ownership over this vessel?" Dekelley smiled 
quizzically. "Seriously, though. You've been in charge of this ship 
from day one. When it was just a concept on paper. How are you going to 
feel about turning command over to another officer?"

"Quite all right. It was my idea actually. I was offered the command 
and turned it down. That feeling of ownership you mentioned, it could 
easily be a liability if I were in the top spot. Besides, I was an 
engineer a long time before I transferred to command. I got used to 
sharing my toys years ago."

The turbolift arrived on deck six, as the two men exited and walked 
down the hall towards the transporter room. Heading in their direction 
was a blue-skinned man carrying what appeared to be a fishbowl. 
Dekelley noted a feeling of playfulness from the Bolian.

Chief Petty Officer Marlo Salvitor stopped to greet the officers. "Good 
morning, sirs. I'd salute, but my hands are rather full."

Commander Nganga asked "There's no need; saluting is hardly required in 
Starfleet. What seems to have you occupied at the moment? You're four 
decks from your garden."

"I'm glad you asked. I have here a Atlarian Water Lily. Quite rare, 
actually. I was thinking you might need it when our next batch of 
officers arrive."

Dekelley leaned over to the commander, "I do believe he's up to 
something."

Salvitor answered innocently, "Who me?"

"What's the catch, Moss?" Nganga asked, catching the playful mood.

Salvitor explained, "Don't let the Lily touch oxygen. It will wilt and 
die in seconds. That, and you will need this anitgravity platform to 
carry it." He raised the bowl far enough up for the two men to see the 
bowl sitting on a hovertray. He glanced at his wrist, as if he were 
actually wearing a watch, "My, is it that late already? I really must 
get back to my garden," as he quickly passed the bowl to Nganga and 
hurried on his way.

Nganga looked down at the bowl, speechless. Of course, Dekelley didn't 
need words to understand Nganga's thoughts. Nganga simply handed him 
the bowl, "Counsel this." The two men continued to the transporter room.

-------------------------

Jayngo gently pulled at the sleeves of his jumpsuit, instantaneously 
snapping enough fibers to relax the wristband without ripping the 
sleeve completely off. Once sure that the cloth would allow him to move 
without ripping to shreds on his body, he bent over to pick up the few 
belongings he had brought with him from home on the new assignment. 
Flipping the away bag over his shoulder, he exited the guest quarters 
aboard the USS Victory, which had brought him from Earth to Utopia 
Planitia.  Walking past a porthole, he was able to see the Cochrane 
hanging in space. It looked like any other Galaxy class ship from the 
outside, but Jayngo knew that it was like no other. And it was about to 
become home.

He made his way down the corridor quickly, not realizing his own speed 
until he ran into a young ensign. Before she had a chance to leave her 
feet, he had reached out, caught her - carefully measuring the amount 
of force used as to not hurt the young woman - and gently placed her 
back on her feet. "Excuse me, ensign. I guess I was in a bit too much 
of a hurry."

"Not a problem..." The ensign looked the tall man from stem to stern 
and back again. "No problem at all. My name is Aeth Nik, Ensign Aeth 
Nik. Where you off to in such a hurry, big guy?" Her eyes continued 
upward until her craned neck reached the pips on his collar. "Excuse 
me. Lieutenant Big Guy."

"Actually, its Doctor. Doctor Jayngo. I'm on my way to my new 
assignment aboard the USS Cochrane."

"Really?" The young Bajoran's smile brought an extra wrinkle to her 
nose. "Me too. It looks as though we may be spending a lot of time 
together."

"Well, a pleasure to meet you, Ensign Aeth."

The attractive young woman reached up and touched the massive man's 
earlobe. "The pleasure is all mine." She then lowered her hand to 
interweave her arm into his. "We had best get going. We don't want to 
be late for our first day of work." Jayngo made sure he lowered his arm 
from chest level to waist, allowing for his newfound companion a level 
of comfort.

-------------------------------

Ensign Salex operated the transporter panel. Two crewmen were in the 
transporter room, awaiting the arrival of Commander Nganga. The 
Commander and Dekelley entered the transporter room, causing the two 
crewmen to look quizzically at the fishbowl in the Counselor's hands. 
Salex addressed the Commander. "Two from the USS Victory, requesting 
permission to board, sirs."

Commander Nganga nodded his approval to the young Vulcan. The ensign's 
hands danced across the board for a moment before the telltale whine 
and shimmering lights of the transporter appeared. The young ensign 
appeared clearly first, with the doctor's pattern filling in more 
slowly. Dekelley was able to tell instantaneously that the Atlarian was 
experiencing transporter deja-vu, but was either unaffected by it or 
used to the effect by now. Once they were fully aboard, Nganga stepped 
forward with a hearty, "Welcome aboard."

Jayngo stood even straighter, extending to his full 199 centimeters. 
The crisp salute with his free hand ruffled the Commander's hair. 
"Thank you, Sir. Doctor Jayngo reporting for duty."

Ensign Aeth smiled beside him. "Yeah. Me too. Sir. Ensign Aeth Nik."

The Commander smiled at the large mound of flesh in front of him as he 
ran his fingers through his hair. "At ease, Doctor. No need for such 
formalities." The Commander then took the data pads from the two with 
their orders.

Counselor Dekelley stepped forward, fully understanding Marlo's gift as 
he looked at man in front of him. "I believe this is for you," handing 
forward the Water Lily-in-a-bowl. "Our Chief of Hydroponics thought you 
might like it."

The doctor looked down at the flower, a slight look of confusion across 
his face. "Where on Atlarius did he get that from? They are extremely 
rare, and completely out of season right now."

Ensign Aeth pouted. "What, no flowers for me?" A small mischievous 
smile crossed her face.

::If I had only known ... :: Nganga thought looking over the ensign 
with an appreciative eye, and adjusting his turtleneck.

Jayngo looked down at the ensign, not seeing her face, but hearing her 
words. "Flowers presented to returning heroes is a regular custom on my 
planet, but I am neither returning nor a hero. Please," gently taking 
the bowl from Dekelley and handing it over to Aeth. The weight of the 
bowl took her by surprise, but the doctor kept hold until she 
compensated. "I would be pleased if you accepted this in my stead." 
Dekelley wouldn't have needed to read minds to know what the young 
woman was thinking. And he was going to need a cold shower in a short 
time at this rate.

"Excuse my formality," Dekelley stated. "You have just met Commander 
Nganga, and I am Counselor Dekelley. Please call me Rory. Our esteemed 
transporter operator is Ensign Salex, and I will allow these crewmen 
introduce themselves as they escort you to your quarters."

Nganga nodded. "Please feel free to familiarize yourselves with the 
ship and your departments. There will be more crewmen boarding 
shortly." He looked directly at Jayngo. "Our first senior staff meeting 
will be tomorrow at 0800 hours in the Captain's Briefing Room."

Jayngo nodded, replying with "Would it be all right for me to begin 
scheduling physicals this afternoon?"

"That should be fine," Nganga replied.

Dekelley added "I would like to consult with you so that I can arrange 
psych evaluations around your schedule."

"I'll have a schedule on your desk by noon, sir. I mean, Rory." The 
doctor's smile could have lit up the room.

"Who do I have to dismember to get to the top of that list?" asked Nik.

"With an attitude like that, no one. I'll see you immediately," the 
Counselor replied.

"That's not what ..." The ensign looked over at the Counselor and 
smiled. "Hey, Why not. I'd be willing to get on your couch."

Dekelley smiled, not at the comment, but due to the underlying thoughts 
he picked up from the girl. "That's not what .... Okay, that one was a 
freebee. I'll see you around Doctor Jayngo's schedule."

The doctor looked back down at the ensign. "Make sure you don't expose 
the flower to oxygen, or it will die."

"Perhaps you can swing by and help me take care of it." Aeth Nik 
suggested.

::I wonder what it gives off as a product of photosynthesis? Ozone?:: 
Nganga wondered.

The two crewmen stepped forward as Jayngo answered the Bajoran, "I'd be 
happy to."

As the crewman closest to Jayngo stepped forward, "Yeoman Franks at 
your service, sir. Can I carry your bag for you?"

"I'm not sure," Jayngo answered.

"I'll be careful with it sir," the yeoman said with a questioning look. 
He reached for the bag as the doctor began to explain his protest, 
pulling it from off his shoulders and falling to the ground under its 
weight. "What do you have in here, mini-anvils?"

"I try to travel light," said Jayngo, reaching down and retrieving his 
bag. "Are you all right? We can stop by sickbay before my quarters, if 
you desire."

"No, that's ..." As the yeoman tried to stand, a sharp pain shot 
through his groin, toppling him over once more.

"I don't need a tricorder to recognize a hernia when I see one." 
Casually flipping the bag back over his shoulder, Jayngo bent over and 
picked up the ensign as if he was a rag doll and headed for the door. 
"Lets get you fixed up."

Ensign Aeth Nik followed the other crewmen, grinning to herself.

"What does he have in that bag that is that dense? And what is the bag 
made of?" Nganga asked.

Neither Rory nor Salex had an answer.


The lull of soft conversation washed over him. He sat at the bar of the 
Watering Hole, a nondescript little tavern on Utopia Planitia. The 
Watering Hole is often filled with the traders and porters bringing 
supplies to Utopia for Federation shipbuilding. Most of the talk 
centers around the Cochrane and its upcoming departure. Is the 
Federation making a mistake is it not making a mistake dominate the 
majority of them.

Suddenly, a hand comes to rest on his shoulder and he turns. "Skepti, 
you've got a lot of nerve coming here." It is Retlev, an ex-Obsidian 
Order agent. Conversations silence as the veteran traders spot the 
possibility of trouble in their midst.

Calvin stands slowly, wary to make any sudden moves. He doesn't say a 
word, knowing the Cardassian is hoping he can get him to do something, -
anything- Retlev can use to start a fracas. Calvin smiles and opens his 
jacket. The Cardassian glances down wide-eyed at the Federation jump 
suit the human is wearing. The pony-tailed man speaks, "That's right 
Retlev. I've gone straight and got a job with Starfleet. I'm managing 
the civilian arcade on the Cochrane. Have a drink and cool off." He 
turns and steps away nodding to the bartender as he goes. When he 
reaches the hallway outside the Watering Hole he speaks into his 
communicator with a sigh tingeing his hoarse voice, "Calvin Skepti, 
Boardwalk Manager, requesting to come aboard."



=^=Bridge to Commander Nganga,=^= Lieutenant Jr. Grade Norallah called 
over the communicator system.

"Nganga here," the Commander tapped his comm badge. "What is it 
Norallah?"

=^=We have an incoming transmission from outside one of the civilian 
bars. Says he is the boardwalk manager.=^=

"Route it here, please." 

=^=Calvin Skepti, Boardwalk Manager, requesting to come aboard.=^= The 
voice was slightly hoarse.

"Salex, can you get a fix?" Nganga asked.

"Aye, sir. I have a lock." the young Vulcan said.

Nganga tapped his badge again. "Mr. Skepti, this is Commander Nganga, 
first Officer of the Starship Cochrane. Permission granted. Prepare for 
transport." He turned to Salex, "Energize."

Lt. Commander Evory Dekelley watched the young Vulcan officer work the 
transporter controls. Betazoid telepathic abilities are far more 
developed than those of the Vulcan race. Yet Dekelley was impressed 
with the Vulcan officer's mental control, he gave off no background 
noise, not even surface thoughts. His mind was as secure as a Ferengi 
savings vault. 

The sound and lights from the transporter brought Dekelley's attention 
back to the transporter pad.  Soon, the outline of Skepti began to 
appear.  Rory could sense the materializing human's disturbance, and 
addressed the Commander, "Manager Skepti seems troubled by something."

Commander Nganga replied, "That may be why he called for a lift, rather 
than going to one of the transporter stations," then he turned to the 
new arrival. "Mr. Skepti, welcome aboard. I'm Commander David Nganga.  
This is Counselor Evory Dekelley, and Mr. Salex."

The man was quite an unusual sight for the Starfleet officers. His 
grizzled beard, long hair in a thick pony tail, and eye-patch were not 
exactly regulation, it made a stark contract to the Arcade Managers 
green and gray civilian uniform. However, neither of the bridge 
officers needed to consult their PADD's to recognize Mr. Skepti. Calvin 
Skepti reputation proceeded him. He had spent years in and out of the 
Federation's criminal rehab. Proof that the federation rehabilitation 
efforts were successful, he now commanded the "deck 10, forward 
section, civilian habitat," affectionately called the "Boardwalk" by 
some. 

Dekelley offered his hand to the boardwalk manager, "It's a pleasure to 
meet you Mr. Skepti. I'm sure we will be see plenty of one another for 
the duration."



Security Chief's Personal Log
USS Cochrane
Stardate 56002.5

Crew arrival is progressing smoothly. I have been monitoring the 
arrival of the crew through our transporter room. The DNA sequencer I 
installed into the transporter buffer is working very well. So far, 
everyone is who they claim to be. One thing puzzles me however. The 
scanners could not identify the contents of Dr. Jayngo's bag. I will 
have to investigate this further.

Training of security personnel is going as smoothly as I hoped. The 
only exception is Ensign Hurt. He seems motivated and well intentioned 
but can be a little clumsy at times. He actually managed to break his 
magnetic boots during a zero G exercise outside the ship last week. It 
took a team of engineers to detach him from the hull.

Reviewing the files of our crew, I have a few concerns. First has to do 
with Mr. Skepti. I have heard some troubling things concerning this man 
from contacts I made while on Cardassia. I will be keeping an eye on 
him. My second concern has to do with our soon to arrive dignitary 
Ambassador Atylori. Our captain's aid, Aeth Nik, was born and raised on 
Bajor.......I don't know how she will react around our dignitary.

So far, security precautions are coming along nicely. Command Nganga 
seems to be deferring to my judgement on most security issues.

Weapons training begins tomorrow using the new Mark V Phaser pistols. 
What a great weapon!

-End of Log-

Lt. Klaus left the security station and walked to the turbolift.

"Sickbay."

Time to ask the new doctor a few questions....



<<The Cochrane: 10 Forward>>

Standing in the center of the room looking around to make sure 
everything is perfect. "Yes, I have enough table and they are space to 
give everyone just enough room so they do not feel crowded" The 
holographic bartender stopped his eyes on a picture behind the bar and 
began to shake his head and moving quickly to the picture. "Well that 
one should be by the door for it will give a better welcome feeling," 
taking the picture down and moving it to replace the one at the end of 
the bar near the door.

Turning and smiling ::Now maybe I will have more than engineers in that 
will know how to relax and have a good time.::

Ensign Bak Xiam and Chief Marlo Salvitor arrived at deck 10, forward 
section, civilian habitat on the same turbo lift. Salvitor was smiling 
and whistling to himself. The ensign suspected he was up to something, 
again. When the doors opened, both men could see the immaculate park 
and miniature shrubbery centerpiece of the boardwalk. They stepped of 
the lift, passed through the security checkpoint, and Bak commented 
"Beautiful." 

Salvitor's grin widened and he nodded, "Thank you Ensign." Then he was 
on his way to tend to his greenery.

The Ensign was on duty but strolled casually through the civilian 
habitat on his way to 10 forward. Shopkeepers and some families were 
busy readying for the arrival of the Cochran's crew. He thought, nearly 
as busy and the engineering team. Argyle had everyone working double 
shifts to prepare the ship to Commanders Nganga's expectations. It 
might be very hard having one of the ship's designers also being that 
ships XO. He glanced at the schedule on his PADD, 10 forward would be 
the next station to received replicator upgrades. Subroutine 
programming could be done from engineering, but new hardware had to be 
installed by hand. 

As he entered 10 forward, he could see the LBH re-hanging a picture 
near the bar door. He still expected the program to say, `Please state 
the nature of the medical emergency.' Not this hologram, whom was 
independent of his original programming. The LBH turned from the 
picture, "Welcome Ensign Bak, how may I be of service."

Bak shook his head, "No thanks, this is not a social call. I'm on 
duty." Handing the PADD to the bartender, "Your replicators are due for 
an upgrade."

"We have not even left dock yet…" 

Ensign Bak, removed a panel below the replicator, "These upgrades are 
to ensure our crew can have all the comforts of home. Even if they 
weren't part of the replicators original design." With panel in hand, 
he looked at the hologram, "I'd like to ask personal question, feel 
free not to answer if it is inappropriate. But, your program was 
designed to be a brilliant surgeon, and with your independence you 
could have become anything you choose. So, why a bartender?"

Smiling widely at Ensign Bak, "Well, lets see........(holding up his 
fingers and start counting on them) there is the content companionship 
of member from the crew, and don't have to order you for your annual 
physical, or see you only in times of pain or some injury from the 
holodeck programs....then there is the comfort of knowing you can come 
here and I can still cure your daily blues with some drinks and music 
here in my off....my bar..."



**Just a tad to port, … yea, that's good. More thrusters … whoop, there 
…angle 5 degrees, no, six … smooth sailing D.J. …**

David Paxton lounged in the simulator flight chair, his hands gliding 
smoothly over the controls. On the screen in front o f him, he watched 
his shuttle glide past an obstacle course of rock formations and 
canyons.

**Whoa, hard to starboard …**

On-screen, the small shuttle narrowly grazed the side of the canyon. An 
annoying, computerized screech of scraping hull assaulted David's ears 
from the overhead speakers.

**That turn always gets me …**

"What'cha doing?"

David didn't know he had an audience. He glanced briefly to his left to 
find the voice now seated in the co-pilot's seat (**when did he sneak 
in?**), then continued watching his trajectory on-screen. His hands 
never stopped working.

"Just relieving some stress," he muttered, barely loud enough for the 
kid (**8 years old? 9?**) to hear.

"You're really good … did you learn to fly like that in Starfleet?"

**Ugh, Starfleet** Yea, he was wearing his uniform, he suddenly 
remembered.  "Not quite," he said. "I guess you could say I learned how 
to fly trying to get away from Starfleet." Under his breath, David 
added, "… or at least my parents."

David's body juked to the left, reflexively dodging the spire on-screen 
before his shuttle could slam into it. Watching, the kid dodged with 
him.

"My dad's in Starfleet … we're going to live on that ship in the dock." 
The excitement and awe flowed from the kid as he spoke. "Dad's going to 
take me over soon to look at where he gets to work."

"Thrilling …" David mumbled, continuing to look straight ahead. "I bet 
you'll have loads of fun watching your dad work all the time," he said 
icily.

"Yea, I'm going to be in Starfleet too when I grow up." The kid just 
kept going, either ignoring, or not understanding David's disdainful 
tone. "He said that …"

"Oooaaah …" David hissed audibly, ducking his head down as the shuttle 
sailed under a large outcrop.

Not missing a beat, the kid continued, "… we'll have lots of fun, and 
it's just like a space station, and there's a park and everything. 
Before, me and mom weren't allowed to stay on the ship he worked on, 
but now that he's reassigned, we'll get to see him all the time." David 
saw the kid smile, with that indescribable-yet-unmistakable Starfleet 
"gaze-to-the-future" look used in all the PR on Earth.

**Time to burst a bubble**, David thought. "Sure kid, if he's not too 
busy cleaning the warp core, visiting new planets, or entertaining 
ambassadors, he might have some time after all his paperwork and 
reports are filed … unless he's off spending down-time with the 
officers, or …" The simulator interior dimmed as something blocked the 
light from the outside.

"Aren't you a little old to be playing video games, Ensign?"

David stopped. The new voice was older, refined, and standing to his 
right. He glanced up. (**Let's see, one … two pips … and a circle …**)

Jumping to his feet, David's head knocked against the roof of the 
simulator. His hand massaging the top of his head, and trying to hold 
back a wince, he straightened up before the Lt. Commander. "Uh, no sir, 
… er, I mean yes sir. Sorry sir." Behind him, he heard a loud boom come 
from the speakers. So much for his game.

"Ensign, your name, please?" the officer asked.

"Ensign David Paxton, sir."

"Ensign Paxton, what is your assignment aboard the Cochrane?"

"I'm assigned to the Helm, sir." Still looking at the officer, David 
saw his eyebrows raise. Was that a smirk on his lips, or a grimace?

"Well, helmsman … I hope you can maintain better concentration while 
flying the Cochrane?" The officer glanced behind David to the simulator.

Nudging his head around, David saw the charred, crumpled remains of his 
shuttle in flames amidst the canyons. (**Hey, high score!**) David 
hoped he wasn't turning red. "Uh, yes sir, I certainly will, sir."

"Good. Now, I believe boarding has already begun for the crew. 
Shouldn't you be getting over to the Cochrane to get settled, and 
familiar with your …" glancing at the simulator again, " … new work 
station?"

David held a breath in before release. "Yes, sir, I'll head to the 
transporter immediately and beam over." David reached down next to the 
simulator and pulled the satchel he had stashed there over his shoulder.

"Very good Ensign. I believe Commander Nganga is greeting the crew as 
they arrive aboard the Cochrane, in the transporter room on deck six, 
so I wouldn't keep him waiting too long." Then, to the child still 
sitting in the simulator, "Come on Stephen, let's go find your mother."

The child hopped out and ran over to his dad. With one last look at 
David, the officer turned and walked away with his son. Stephen peaked 
behind his father as they walked, raising a tentative hand and a smile 
in David's direction. David's shoulders slumped, even as he half-
heartedly waved back at the kid.  **Great. I'm badmouthing Starfleet 
and the kid's father in front of both of them …**

Head hanging slightly, David started walking towards the exit. Slowing 
his walk, he turned his head to watch as the officer and the kid 
(**Stephen**) left via another exit of the recreation area. Stopping, 
David watched the doors close behind them. Glancing around to see if 
there were any other officers around (**nope**), he ran back to the 
simulator. Reaching down, he fingered the controls and entered: D.J.P.

Waiting just long enough to see his initials scroll down the screen 
next to his score, David turned and sped for the exit. **Well, guess I 
should stop putting this off.** Sighing, David headed for the 
transporter room. **Time to go to work …**



Skepti grunted non-committaly hesitantly saluting the Commander. ::Am I 
supposed to salute as a Civilian?:: He frowns, while taking Dekelley's 
hand and giving it a firm shake as he steps from the pad. He offers a 
curt nod to the Vulcan and speaks to all three present, "Thank you. 
This is the welcoming committee?" One brown eye-brow quirks up above 
the patch, "Commendable."  He takes a deep breath and straightens his 
bomber jacket. "I'm Calvin Skepti, your Boardwalk Manager. I'd love to 
stay and chat, but, I suppose I should be off to inspect the 
Promenade." He pauses a moment, waiting to hear if he has any orders.



The transporter pad lit up, and was filled with familiar blue shimmer 
of materialization. A few seconds later, the lights dimmed back to 
normal, the materialization was complete. Yet the officer remained 
standing there. A tap of the comm badge: "Starkin here. I made it over 
in one piece. Thanks for the lift."

=^=Acknowledged.=^=

Starkin paused and looked at the empty transporter bay, contemplating 
the path that led to here. Sure, it was a career full of many such 
transporter bays - even the rarely used auxiliary bays like this one.  
But it still felt different. It was more exhilarating. More personal. 
It was not too unlike the first walk through the house Clairus had 
found for them in Aram Ejad, all those many years ago on Jace.  Knowing 
that this place, this new place, was their new home. And unlike other 
starship "homes" owned throughout the years, Uriell Starkin knew this 
one had the same thing as the Aram Ejad home: direct responsibility.

Finally stepping off of the smaller transporter pad, Starkin saw the 
doors open to a dark skinned officer wearing the gold-orange colors of 
engineering. On his face he wore a look of annoyance and slight 
bewilderment. Just before he could ask "what the hell are you doing 
there," he noticed the number of collar pips. His face quickly went to 
full-blown confusion and then to an almost successful attempt at stoic 
neutral.

"C..Captain. What a surprise! If.. we knew you were coming in here, we 
could have had someone meet you..."

"Relax, Ensign. It's alright. I didn't want to make a big deal with my 
arrival. I'd rather slip in quietly and let the crew continue working. 
There's a lot to get done."

"Yes sir. Shall I contact Commander Nganga to let him know that you're 
here?"

The answer came with a slight smile: "Thank you, but no, please don't." 
The bay doors opened. "I'd much rather let him know myself. Besides, 
this way I can get to see this ship of his. Dismissed."



"Lieutenant, I think you ought to see this," Ensign Hurt said.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Norallah turned her workstation chair around 
and faced the ensign at the security station. They were the only people 
on the Cochrane's bridge at the moment, and as the ranking officer she 
had been given the conn. "What is it?"

"A message from shipyard security. One of the Cardassian 'civilians' 
who is a crewman on one of the supply vessels has been identified as a 
former member of the Obsidian Order." the ensign said.

"He's a walking cadaver?" She arched her left eyebrow, disbelieving the 
concept of a 'former member of the Obsidian Order.'

"That's just what it says. He was recently seen in the Watering Hole."

"Which is right near where our new 'Arcade Manager,' or whatever, was 
beamed from. "We'd better let Nganga and Klaus now."

"Bridge to Commander Nganga; Bridge to Lt. Klaus..." Reg started 
calling.



In transporter room 2, Calvin Skepti was still waiting to see if he had 
specific orders other than checking the civilian boardwalk he would be 
managing.

"Excuse me," Nganga said after Hurt called, "Nganga here." After Klaus 
had likewise responded, Ensign Hurt relayed the message from Shipyard 
security.

"Sir," Salex spoke, "That establishment is within thirteen meters from 
where I just beamed Mr. Skepti from."

"Mr. Skepti, if you could wait a moment, please, Nganga said, raising 
his left hand slightly, then towards his badge. "Lt. Klaus, considering 
who one of expected arrivals is, I don't like the sounds of members of 
the Obsidian Order being about. Opinions?" 

Skepti nods slowly letting out a soft, inaudible grunt. He reaches over 
to adjust the abnormally large glove on his left arm and hand. 
::Wouldn't you know it. I haven't been on board for more than thirty 
seconds and I'm already being held over.::



::All right. I'll admit it. I'm taking the scenic route. But who would 
blame me?:: 

Uriell Starkin had been walking around the ship for some time now, 
exploring its various sections. The rights and privileges that came 
with being the Captain were most appreciated, especially the ability to 
go into even the most restricted of areas. 

::Danielle would - she'd remind me to not to abuse my position. And 
she'd be right. Being the captain can be.. WILL be great, but the 
blessing can turn into a curse VERY quickly if it's not done right.::

The new captain looked across the ceiling. ::It will take weeks to see 
the whole ship. As enjoyable as this has been, duty calls.:: Starkin 
stopped at one of the many wall terminals that lined the hallways. 
::Besides, there will be plenty of time to do more exploring:: 

Smiling at the thought, the Captain asked, "Computer, where is 
Commander Nganga?"

"Commander Nganga is in Transporter Room Two, deck six."

::He's still there. Good -- I was already headed that way anyway. Well, 
sort of…::



After setting Yeoman Frankes down on a biobed, Jayngo lowered his bag 
to the ground and picked up a hypospray.  "I'm going to give you a 
muscle relaxant.  It will dull the pain, but not your movement.  I'm 
going to need you to sit still, and after we're done you are going to 
have to take it easy for a couple of hours.  Understood?"  The Yeoman 
nodded and Jayngo placed the hypospray against the patient's neck.  A 
quick hiss, and he replaced the hypospray with a medical tricorder.  
Slowly moving it over Frankes' waist, Jayngo stated "have you lifted 
something heavy recently?" 

"You mean besides your bag?" 

"Yes, and the bag wasn't that heavy.  According to my readings here, 
you have an enflamed hernia.  It looks as though it has been active for 
about 32 hours.  The weight of the bag only inflamed it, probably due 
to the unexpected weight." 

"I've been working in tactical the past few days, moving photon 
torpedoes.  They are wanting everything in order before the Chief 
Tactical Officer arrives.  I didn't want to waste the time to get an 
anti-grav cart, so I was just carrying them." 

Jayngo pulled out a muscle-regenerator and began running it over the 
top of the yeoman's inner hip.  " So let me guess.  You hurt yourself 
earlier, but figured you'd just 'walk it off'." 

"Sort of.  Yes, sir." 

"Call me Jayngo.  All my friends do.  Just do us all a favor and don't 
lift with your legs or your back.  Take the extra couple of minutes to 
get the cart." 

"Understood.  Can I go now?" 

"Yes, but remember to take it easy for the next few hours.  No lifting 
whatsoever." 

"Thanks, Jayngo." 

As the yeoman left the room, Jayngo once again picked up his bag and 
entered his office.  :: My office.  What a novel concept. ::  It was 
better than he could have dreamed, especially back on the Desperado.  
He gingerly set the bag on the floor and looked around, especially 
noticing the hydrochloric rejuvenation system with fish tank stand in 
the corner.  He would have to thank the hydroponics chief and get the 
stand over to Ensign Aeth. 

A large box lay across the top of his desk.  As Jayngo opened it, he 
found a blue coat inside, with a note.  "Jayngo.  Congratulations on 
the assignment.  Do me proud boy, and wear this with honor.  Richard 
Campbell."  :: After all he's done for me, and he buys me a gift too.  
I never would have thought it the first time I me Doc, but I miss the 
old coot. ::  Jayngo removed the item and slid it on.  A perfect fit, 
and almost a dead ringer for the one his mentor had worn, only much 
larger. 

He walked over to the replicator on the wall, and quickly browsed 
through the menu items.  He was shocked to find several items from home 
available.  :: They are going all-out to make me feel at home here. ::  
Jayngo smiled as he ordered "Vantara Tea, 48 degrees Celsius, with 
three ounces of Atlarian honey."  The replicator hummed to life as a 
large mug appeared on the pad.  Jayngo wrapped his hand around it, 
pulled it to his lips, and took a long drink.  :: Mmmmm.  Just like Mom 
made at home.  Professor Marcus at the academy seemed to like it too.  
Said something about figuring this was as close to the nectar of the 
gods as he had tasted. Of course, he never got the chance to try mom's 
Tevel Cider. :: 



Lt. Klaus walked down the corridor toward sickbay with the assured 
confidence that his training instilled. As the doors to sickbay were 
about to open.....

*Chirp*

"Lieutenant, Ensign Hurt here. We were just notified from shipyard 
security that a Cardassian civilian has been identified as a former 
member of the Obsidian Order. Sir, Commander Nganga also informed me 
that Mr. Skepti just beamed up not far from where this Cardassian was 
sighted. What are your instructions?"

Klaus paused for a moment. "Contact shipyard security again and get all 
the information they have on this individual. Also, pull up a full 
background on Mr. Skepti. See if he has had any past contacts with ANY 
intelligence agencies. Monitor his whereabouts and notify me 
immediately if he comes close to any sensitive areas. Questions."

"Not at this time, sir."

"Very well. Klaus out."

*Chirp*

"Lt. Klaus, Commander Nganga here."

"Go ahead, sir."

"Have you been notified of the situation in the shipyard?"

"I have."

"Lt. Klaus, considering who one of expected arrivals is, I don't like 
the sounds of members of the Obsidian Order being about. Opinions?"

"Is Mr. Skepti with you now?"

"He is."

"Very good. I am taking all appropriate security precautions. I don't 
believe in coincidences and plan on having a little chat with Mr. 
Skepti. A security detail should be there momentarily to escort Mr. 
Skepti to the security office. I will contact you as soon as I know 
more."

"Very well. Keep me informed."

"Aye, sir."

Klaus made a mental note to contact one of his friends he made during 
his tour on Cardassia....  Well, Doctor.....our little chat will have 
to wait.....



Lieutenant Klaus was finishing his conversation with Commander Nganga 
when the Sickbay doors behind him opened.

Doctor Jayngo looked up and saw the Lieutenant in the corridor and 
motioned him over. "Good morning. What can I do for you today?"

"Doctor Jayngo? Lieutenant Christopher Klaus. I was just on my way to 
speak with you."

Jayngo moved around the desk, extending his hand to the Security Chief. 
"Pleasure to meet you, sir. What can I do for you?"

Klaus intercepts his hand with a firm shake. "Doctor, one of my duties 
is to inspect all items that come aboard. Whether it is via sensors or 
by hand, I must know if anything poses a danger to the crew or the 
ship. For whatever reason, the contents of your bag could not be 
identified by the security scanners. May I ask to see the contents of 
that bag?"

"Oh, of course." Jayngo smiles broadly. "I should have realized that 
the bag would give you problems. I used to be in security my self, what 
seems like a lifetime ago. The bag was replicated on my planet, and 
therefore is made of a bit more dense material." Jayngo reaches down 
and gently places the bag on his desk.

"Security you say?" Klaus thought this conversation was just getting 
interesting. "Was that before your Starfleet career?"

"Actually, it was the beginning of my Starfleet career. Got shoehorned 
in because of my abilities." Jayngo reached into his bag and pulled out 
a three-fold picture frame made out of Atlarian steel. "I had really 
wanted to be a doctor from the beginning though. Returned to the 
academy after the war to enter medical."

"May I see that?" Jayngo hefts it into Klaus' right hand. The sheer 
weight almost caused Klaus to drop it. "It's lovely. But why is it so 
heavy?" Klaus then opened his scanner and started to inspect the item.

"Mainly due to the metal it was made out of. I made it in ninth grade. 
Used steel native to my home planet."

The metal scans to be six times more dense than normal steel.

"Very impressive." Klaus returns the item to the table gently. The 
security chief then began to examine the inside of the bag. "Where were 
you stationed when you were in security?"

"The U.S.S. Desperado. Worked day-shift in security, then nights in the 
sick bay." The bag is filled with knickknacks of the same caliber as 
the frame, all made out of very dense materials.

Klaus' scanner concurred. Multiple objects made of Altarian steel. 
"Very well doctor. You and I should have a drink sometime and swap 
security stories. Right now, I have to get to the transporter room."

"Oh, that sounds fantastic. I will also need to schedule the routine 
medical exam. When would be a good time for you? You're going to be 
very busy over the next couple of days. I'll be more than happy to work 
around your schedule."

Klaus grumbled to himself. He knew he should have sent one of his 
subordinates. Maybe he could stall... "I will have to get back to you 
on that, Doctor. We are going to have some dignitaries come aboard and 
I must make preparations for their arrival."

"Understood. Just when you get a few moments. Shouldn't take very long. 
Just give me a few moments notice to get everything in order. But 
remember, the sooner the better." Jayngo's smiled once more, instantly 
instilling confidence and appreciation.

"Very good, Doctor." The ploy worked! Or did it? Klaus could see that 
Doctor Jayngo was very insightful. Such talents certainly helped him a 
great deal during his security and medical careers. Klaus made a mental 
note to delve into his service record a little deeper. "Good day to you 
Doctor."

"Good day, Lieutenant. I'll look forward to meeting with you again 
soon." Jayngo began to return the items to the bag to take to his 
quarters.

Replacing the scanner in his belt, Klaus left sickbay and proceeded 
towards the Turbolift.



With that, his conversation with Mr. Klaus was complete, and Commander 
Nganga turned back to the more recent arrival. "Thank you for waiting, 
Mr. Skepti."

He looked over the man. It was an odd case. He was a civilian working 
for Starfleet, but not in Starfleet. But he was in charge of the 
Arcade, so...

"Our first mission will be to transport several dignitaries to a 
conference. Given the nature of our ship, it is likely that they will 
be spending a lot of time in the Civilian Arcade, so the sooner you 
know the better I think. There are both Bajorans and Cardassians on the 
manifest. And hearing that a member of the Obsidian Order was spotted 
in the civilian docking area. Well, it gives us cause to be concerned. 
Please be prepared to co-operate with Lieutenant Klaus about the 
security arrangements." 

Skepti shove his right hand into the pocket of his bomber jacket and 
nods. ::Dismissal if I ever heard one.:: "Will do, Commander. I 'spose 
I'll get to the Arcade, then." Skepti begins to move towards the exit 
as the newest arrivals from the transporter file towards the exit.  



Jayngo repacked his belongings into his dufflebag.  He saw the look on 
the Security Chief's face when he mentioned the exam; he recognized it 
right off the bat.  Klaus was going to be a difficult one to get into 
sick bay.  But that wasn't abnormal.  Even with modern medical 
advances, people still hated to visit the doctor.  It seemed especially 
prevalent in security, command and medical personnel.  It was probably 
a fear of mortality and blissfulness in being unaware. But he had a job 
to do, and it would get done in time. 

He momentarily debated going in search of his quarters, as he never did 
get taken there, but instead pulled back the chair of his desk and sat 
down.  The standard issue seat quietly moaned under the pressure.  :: I 
will need to put in a requisition for a sturdier chair.  I am sure 
there will be days that I'll want to just collapse for a few, and I 
can't have it deciding to break at that moment. ::  He activated the 
computer console in front of him and called up a crew manifest to begin 
scheduling appointments.  While the groups he thought of before where 
particularly hesitant to visit, people in general didn't relish being 
called in by the doctor.  With the exception of Ensign Aeth.  But her 
reasons were obvious. 

After several minutes of work, Jayngo had broken the crew down into 
departments, realigning his thought process to accept the fact that 
there was also a Board Walk crew of civilians that he would have to fit 
in as well.  He also checked according to work rotation, figuring it 
would be easier to assign them appointments while on duty rather than 
taking their personal time, with the exceptions of Engineering and 
Security.  Both departments were going to be very busy until the ship 
was actually well under way.  He would save those departments for 
last.  He moved the medical staff to the front of the list, including 
Councilor Dekelley - :: That's Rory :: - he told himself.  He figured 
that the councilor could give him his psych review at the same time as 
the physical.  Then the two could work together on the rest of them. 

He no sooner entered in the name Yures Kuehl as the doors to sick bay 
opened again and a bajoran male stepped through wearing blue.  He was 
carrying a medical tricorder on his belt, along with several supplies 
in his arms.  "Good morning," Jayngo said though his smile. 

The Lt.J.G. jumped slightly and looked into the office.  "Good morning, 
sir.  I didn't realize that you would be in already.  I was hoping to 
get a few more things prepared before your arrival." 

"Not to worry.  Ended up coming here directly.  Had a slight mishap 
with a yeoman.  Had to fix a hernia.  Pleasure to meet you ..."  Jayngo 
looked back down at his screen, taking note of the man's personal 
history.  "Is it Mr. Yures, or Mr. Kuehl?" 

"Mr. Kuehl, actually.  Though thank you for asking, instead of just 
assuming.  Take after my father's side in that regard."  Jayngo noted 
the ear ring; that he did follow some of his mother's traditions as 
well.  "You must be Doctor Jayngo." 

"Just call me Jayngo.  Titles aren't important among friends." 

"Well then, call me Yures.  A pleasure to meet you too.  Is everything 
up to your specifications?" 

"Oh, very much so."  The doctor stood again, with the chair letting off 
a whine of relief.  Jayngo and Yures exchanged a look, and smiled. 

"I'll get you a new chair ordered right away." 

"No need to put yourself out.  I could take care of it." 

"That's OK.  I'm hear to help you out." 

"Thank you."  Jayngo could tell all ready that the young man was going 
to work out well.  "I'm working on putting together a first exam 
schedule.  I have put you down for 1230 hours.  I want to get all of 
the medical staff out of the way first.  Then we can work our way 
through the rest of the crew." 

"Fine by me.  I'm going to go ahead and put these things away.  Just 
give me a yell if you need me."  With that, the bajoran headed into 
sick bay. 

Jayngo next filled in the command crew, setting them up for later that 
afternoon and into the early evening.  Everyone was scheduled to be 
aboard within the next 48 hours, but he wanted to give them enough time 
to get settled before having to brave the sick bay.  He did, however, 
take note that the Captain was listed as aboard.  The Commander hadn't 
said anything, but there was no reason for him to.  :: Garman, huh.  
That's a new one.  Better put ... :: he double-checked the records, :: 
... her towards the bottom of the list so I can do some research. :: 

Filling them in one-by-one, he lined up the Board Walk and Science for 
the following day, and then Engineering and Security once they were 
underway.  He made sure to put Klaus at the very end of the list.  He 
noticed the medical report on the Board Walk manager - Skepti - and 
allotted an extended session for him.  He was also pleasantly surprised 
to find T'Vala on the list as Chief Tactical.  Noting that she had yet 
to board, he had the computer make note to inform him of her arrival. 

Yures had left again by the time Jayngo had finished the schedule, 
shipping a copy off to Dekelley for confirmation before sending it out 
to the crew.  He didn't think anything of the door hissing open again 
until a female form was standing in front of him.  He looked up to see 
Ensign Aeth standing before him.  :: She's persistent, I'll give her 
that. ::  "What can I do for you?" 

"Well, doctor, I thought I'd come in for my physical now." 

"Call me Jayngo.  Is there anything wrong?" 

"Well," she smiled, "there is a certain tightness of breath when I do 
this."  She placed both of her elbows together behind her back, 
accentuating her chest. 

"I would have to recommend you not do that, then."  He had taken a few 
seconds to glance through her profile while setting up the 
appointments.  He knew what he was dealing with a little better now. 

Her smile turned into a playful frown as she put her hands together in 
front and leaned in front of him on the desk.  "What's the matter, 
Jayngo?  Do I make you uncomfortable?" 

"Not in the slightest.  Actually, it seems the only person you are 
making uncomfortable is yourself.  Why don't you have a seat?"  She 
leaned backward and slid into the chair behind her.  "May I be honest 
with you, Ensign Aeth?" 

"Call me Nik." 

"OK, Nik.  Here's the thing.  You are a very beautiful woman, and I'm 
very flattered." 

She looked at him questioningly.  "Your not ..." 

He smiled.  "No.  However, there are two things that are bothering me.  
Number one is the forthrightness at which you make your intentions 
known." 

"I'm the type of girl who knows what she wants as goes after it." 

"Understood.  But I'm what my people call a contemporary man.  My race 
had to do several things to ensure its survival, including taking on 
many partners often to ensure a population growth.  I, however, will be 
looking for a long-term relationship." 

She looked at him as if he were speaking a foreign language. 

"And secondly, I would end up hurting you." 

This, she thought she understood.  "That's OK, Doc.  All relationships 
are about chance.  If it didn't work out, we move on." 

"That's not what I meant.  I mean I could cause you serious injury.  
Case studies of Atlarians mating with other races have proven to cause 
injury when not careful." 

"Oh."  She looked at him half unbelieving, half intrigued. 

"You are a woman with great potential as an individual, and as an 
officer.  I look forward to the opportunity to get to know you, both as 
a person and as a friend, if you'll allow me." 

"Are you sure you're not ..." 

"Positive." 

"All right then."  She seemed a bit dumbfounded, as if not expecting 
the visit to turn out this way.  "Friends.  I guess I can try that 
out.  I'm up for anything once." 

"In celebration, let me buy you a nonalcoholic drink in ten-forward.  
There is a great drink from home that you would love.  We can drop my 
bag off at my quarters," he once more picked up his duffle with one 
hand, the tank stand with the other, "and this at yours for the water 
lily, and we can go." 

"Lead the way, Jayngo.  I'm all yours."  She smiled as he headed out 
the door, mumbling under her breath as she watched him walk from 
behind.  "Friends. I guess I can handle that for now." 



Security at the Utopia Planitia Fleet yards was tight, yet Retlev, the 
former Cardassian obsidian order agent had almost been able to 
penetrate it. His name and identity had been divulged as a war criminal 
to the Federation as part of the Dominion's peace negotiations. He was 
intelligent and crafty. Although he had come to Mars unarmed, he had 
managed to cobble together a crude disruptor from parts, bartered, 
borrowed, or stolen. His only mistake had been coincidence, when he had 
met his former associate Calvin Skepti. Skepti had called for an 
unscheduled beam out, and security procedure required the fleet yard to 
run a routine scan that revealed Retlev's position. 

A dozen security officers chased after the caged Cardassian, but they 
had too be careful to avoid their worst fear of civilian casualties. He 
was using his disruptor, indiscriminately destroying equipment and 
vehicles. Only pure luck had kept casualties from happening. Luck that 
was bound to run out. Transporter officers scrambled to get a lock on 
his position, but he had either a pattern scrambler and/or transport 
inhibitor on his person. A lock was impossible. Force fields flew up 
before the fleeing Cardassian, but he managed to overload EPS conduits 
and lower the fields before security could apprehend him. 

The Starfleet officers had time and home field advantage on their side. 
Soon they had him surrounded, and he had only one resort left. He took 
a hostage, an elderly Vulcan advisor from the Science Academy. He 
shouted threats at the security officers and at his hostage. They could 
not let him flee, nor could they negotiate. As it would turn out they 
did not need to, all had underestimated to old Vulcan. He moved with 
the skill and athleticism of an Olympic athlete. He disarmed the 
Cardassian and managed a nerve pinch before the villain could react. 

Now, the Cardassian was being interrogated. He was too well conditioned 
he would not talk. Someone would have to take other measures.



David continued his leisurely stroll down the Utopia Planitia corridor. 
The extension actually ran along the exterior of the shipyards, 
allowing him to gaze out at the on-going projects through the windows. 
From his current vantage, he could see the Cochrane in its dock, 
spotlights trained on the hull as last-minute teams checked over its 
structure.

**Hmmm, wonder if the captain's taking an inspection tour …** David 
leaned forward, his hands pressed against the glass as he tried to get 
a better glimpse of the vessel. **Nope, don't see anything**

Continuing his walk, David checked his chronometer, and quickened his 
pace.  **I should at least "look" like I'm busy** Since David had left 
the Rec Room, what should have been a five minute walk had easily 
become thirty as he took plenty of unnecessary detours. **Spent enough 
of my life aboard starships already, don't need to hurry over to see 
sterile hallways and cramped quarters. Just give me some color and open 
air.**

David was no longer sure if his antagonism was genuine, or just a knee-
jerk reaction from his crummy upbringing. **Something I can talk to the 
counselor about … okay, maybe not** David thought as he smirked. The 
last thing he needed was for some know-it-all to tell him what he 
thought, and that Starfleet was A-Okay. **Besides, as long as I do my 
job, what I think isn't any of his business. It's not like he can read 
minds, or anything**

With a final resigned sigh, David proceeded to the transporter room. 
Six crewmen were fading away before him while a "hmmmm" ringed in his 
ears. As the next group took their stations atop the pads, an Ensign 
wearing a gold jumpsuit approached David. "I'm Ensign Carter. Can I get 
your name, please?" He seemed entirely too pleased to be assigned such 
a drudge job.

"David Paxton"

Punching his name into a portable datapad, the Ensign looked up. "Yes, 
Ensign Paxton. Welcome. I see you're assigned to the bridge crew … 
Commander Nganga will be pleased to know that his helmsman is arriving. 
I believe Lt. Norallah is currently manning the bridge … we'll let her 
know you're beaming over now.  She'll consult with the commander and 
let you know if you have any immediate responsibilities you should 
attend to."

**What, I don't even get to move in and unpack before being put to 
work?**  David kept himself from rolling his eyes, and forced a smile 
to his face.  "Thanks," he said noncommittally as he stepped aside, 
awaiting his turn. The cheery (**too cheery**) Ensign Carter continued 
registering new arrivals.  Another Ensign standing behind the controls 
(**she looks familiar … where've I seen her face before?**) ran her 
fingers up the board. With a flash of light, six more crewmen were 
ripped into millions of particles and transmitted to the Cochrane.

When it was his turn, David trudged up the steps to the pad, five other 
people right behind him. Turning around, he watched the young ensign 
(**At the Academy, maybe?**) program in her information, before sending 
them into temporary limbo. Trying to place her face, David was 
unprepared when she glanced up briefly and met his stare. Caught, David 
averted his eyes as the familiar, high-pitched "hmmm" invaded his 
senses. Taking a last look back before he lost his vision, he noticed 
what could have been a slight smile on her downturned face as she 
regarded the controls.



While the transporters resumed their busy work of transporting more of 
the crew onto the Cochrane, the situation with the Obsidian Order agent 
being spotted troubled Nganga. He had no idea how cooperative Skepti 
would actually be with Klaus. And ultimately, he was only the first 
officer. Once the captain arrived, it would be his decision how to 
handle things.

"Salex, do we have an ETA for the Captain?" Commander Nganga asked, 
turning away from Mr. Skepti.

"Captain Starkin's shuttle is scheduled to be making the inspection 
tour now, sir." said the efficient young Vulcan.

"Commander, are you acquainted with the Captain?" asked Counselor 
Dekelley, picking up the first officer's thoughts.

"I... I think so. Several years ago, when I was the Chief Engineer on 
Deep Space Two, there was a Starkin on one of the ships that made 
regular supply runs. He sat in on our poker games half a dozen times. 
Went with him to the O-Club a few times. I think he said he was a 
Garman, but that was a long time ago."

"You may be able to recognize the Garmans by their skin tone," said 
Salex. "My understanding is that Garmans have copper based blood, like 
the Vulcans and the Romulans, but in their case it gives them a 
somewhat greenish complexion."

"Here I thought it was the food on DS2." Nganga replied.

"But sir, wouldn't you have been eating standard replicated food?"

"He was joking, Mr. Salex," Rory said. Salex managed to both squint 
(cringing one eyebrow) and raise the other eyebrow at the same time. 

The transporters pad lit up as six more crewmembers carrying various 
pieces of luggage and equipment.

Nganga continued, "Then... why don't Vulcans have green skin?"

"A few do, though it's very faint. For the most part however, the 
Vulcan form of melanin blocks it out." 

Glancing at the back of his hand, Nganga replied, "Understood."

As the doors opened to the departing crewmen, a dark haired woman 
worked her way though the people into the room.

"Well then," Dekelley said as Salex prepared to beam aboard the next 
set of people, "hopefully that will make it easy for us to recognize 
the Captain when he comes on board."

"I certainly hope it does."

The officers and Skepti turned towards the newcomer.  The woman's skin 
had a slight green tint to it, as did her dark hair's highlights. Her 
Starfleet uniform's inner jumpsuit bore the red colour of command. She 
wore a slightly amused smile on her face and four pips on her collar.

There was a brief silence in the air. Perhaps they were too surprised. 
Perhaps they didn't recognize her after all. Perhaps they just didn't 
know what to say. Rather than let things get too awkward for too long, 
the woman stepped forward with I smile, "We haven't all been 
introduced. I'm Captain Starkin. I'm looking forward to working with 
you."

"And I you, Captain," David Nganga said, straightening his back 
somewhat. "I'm Commander David Nganga." He then gestured to Rory, "This 
is Counselor Dekelley, and Ensign Salex." The Vulcan bowed slightly as 
Nganga gestured his way. 

Skepti turned towards the woman as she strode in from his spot near the 
exit among the most recent arrivals. His grizzled features screwed into 
a grimace as she moved over towards the other commanding officers of 
the Cochrane. 

Nganga turned to the charming fellow trying to elbow his way out, "This 
is Calvin Skepti, our Arcade Manager."

"It's a pleasure." with an extended hand.

Skepti replied with a short grunt.

::Oh, this should be fun...:: But before Uriell could respond, Mr. 
Klaus entered the transporter room. He recognized Skepti immediately, 
but his attention quickly turned from the Boardwalk Manager to the 
Captain. He cleared his throat, "Captain, your arrival was not 
scheduled until 2000 hours."

With a small smile, "Captain's prerogative." Dekelley did not read his 
captain, but decided the unannounced arrival was only partially 
playful, the Captain was testing her crew. 

The first officer's communicator chipped, =^= Bridge to Commander 
Nganga. =^=

"Mr. Salex, you may resume with your duties," Starkin said quietly.  He 
nodded and activated the control panel.

Nganga tapped his communicator pin, "Go ahead."

The room gradually solidified around David Paxton as the ringing in his 
ears subsided.  (**Yea, it's a transporter room, all right …**) Given 
the hype surrounding the Cochrane project, David had half expected 
something special, but so far (**well, this room, at least**) the ship 
looked just like any other Starship interior.

The soft voice from the bridge continued, =^= We are receiving reports 
from fleet yard security. There was some commotion and disruptor fire; 
no reported casualties. They've captured a Cardassian believed to be 
part of the Obsidian Order. =^=

The commander had a grave expression on his face, "Understood, I'll 
inform Mr. Klaus. Nganga out." He nodded to the chief of security.

Taking a moment to get his bearings, D.J. stood still to regain his 
equilibrium while the crewmen he had beamed over with began dismounting 
from the pad and leaving to their duties. Down by the controls, he 
noticed a Vulcan Ensign, and four officers on the floor: Lieutenant, 
(**gold colors, uptight … looks like security**), Lt. Commander, 
(**blue colors … the ship's Doctor, maybe?**), Commander (**so, that's 
Nganga … yea, he looks like a work-aholic**), and … (**Is that the 
captain? Here? Didn't realize I was so important**) he thought, 
controlling a smirk.

David slowly stepped down from the transporter pad, knowing he should 
introduce himself (**after all, I report directly to two of them**), 
but not wanting to interrupt their conversation.

Skepti turned and nudged the nearest person, an ensign by the looks of 
him.  "Quit yer gawkin'. Let's move along now." 

Counselor Dekelley first felt the anxiety from Mr. Skepti after his 
arrival, but soon after Mr. Paxton arrived in a similar agitated state. 
Dekelley made a mental note to add these two to the top of his 
interview list, but he did not want to press the issue this very public 
environment. 

Before any of her officers could speak again, the captain suggested, 
"Perhaps we could move this meeting to my ready room. Say in one hour." 
The captain did not need to be a Betaziod to see that Skepti and Paxton 
had only just arrived.

Nganga nodded, "Agreed."

Dekelley, could feel relief from all the officers present. Nganga had 
not finalized his final report, Skepti and Paxton had only just 
arrived, and Klaus wished to speak with Skepti. The captain had just 
given them an hour to get their act together. He thought :: So the test 
begins… ::

The officers and boardwalk manager approached the transporter room 
doors. The security chief, wearing one of his usual hardened 
expressions, walked close to the boardwalk manager. He addressed the 
civilian, "May I accompany you to your quarters, I have some 
questions?" Dekelley and Skepti realized it was not really a request. 
The counselor almost made a similar request to Paxton, but decide to 
review Dr. Jayngo physical's schedule first. 

As the two left, Starkin knew she'd get an explanation of all that 
within the hour. She then saw the unsure ensign still lingering near 
the transporter pad, and her eyes flashed with recognition. "Ensign 
Paxton," she said. (**Oh man! She DOES know me! I shouldn't have stuck 
around!**) "I'd like you to join us too."

Her knowing Paxton's name caused both of Nganga's eyebrows to perk up, 
but the mild surprise that (**What are they saying I did now? Am I in 
some kind of trouble?  Maybe she knows that I'm late!**) "uh.. Yes 
sir.. I mean, ma'am" he stammered.

Trying to ease his obvious discomfort, Starkin placed a reassuring hand 
onto his arm. "Relax, Ensign. I just wanted you to meet with the rest 
of the bridge crew. One hour, in my ready room."

He breathed hard and recomposed himself as he realized he wasn't 
busted, and a sense of nervous relief washed over him. 

"Dismissed."

**Great, not onboard for an hour, and I'm attending meetings. Well, 
it's not like I can avoid it …**

"Alright," David murmured, taking a quick step towards the door of the 
transporter room. Suddenly, he remembered his protocol (**well, all 
those years aboard dad's ship were at least good for something**). 
"Thank you, Captain."

Before he could be roped into further obligations, or engaged in more 
conversation, David left the room, not noticing Dekelley's stare and 
slightly raised eyebrow. (**Could my first beam-over be any more 
awkward?!**)

Nganga, noticing the Captain's interest in the Ensign, also made a 
mental note to make a point meet this unknown ensign sometime. He then 
turned to the captain, "Oh, and in case no one has said it, 'welcome 
aboard.' I hereby formally turnover command of the U.S.S. Cochrane, NCC-
2069, over to you Captain Starkin."

It was only her years of experience that let Starkin hold back the 
sense of reckless exuberance she felt.  Nonetheless, her joy was 
practically radiating off of her like a plasma conduit. "Thank you, 
Commander," she said with a big smile. "I hereby formally accept." The 
two firmly shook hands. She glanced around and continued, "This is a 
fine ship you've made Commander. I... WE'll... take good care of it."

"I'm sure we will, Captain." David Nganga said.

"Commander, would you accompany me to the Bridge?" Starkin said. As the 
Captain, it really wasn't much of a question.

Soon, the captain and first officer were walking to the turbolift that 
would take them five decks up.

"Bridge," they said in unison as the lift door closed. They grinned.

"Captain, if I may, do you have a brother or cousin who's also in 
Starfleet? I met a Starkin several years ago. Like you, he was a 
Garman."

"Tell me, Commander. Did you ever learn to stop squinting with your 
left eye only when you're bluffing?" the Captain asked.

"Yes, that was right ... Did he tell you about that?"

The Captain just grinned as the turbolift doors opened.



Klaus reflected upon his first introduction to the captain and he and 
Mr. Skepti approached the turbolift. Security Chiefs don't like 
surprises of any kind. Now his new captain had not only arrived 
unscheduled, but was the wrong gender according to her(?) personnel 
file. He made a mental note to himself to investigate the details of 
her race further.

Mr. Skepti was another unexpected surprise today. While he expected 
trouble from the man - his list of priors was taller than the new 
doctor - he didn't expect anything like the Obsidian order being 
involved. Klaus had run into those Obsidian operatives during his tour 
on Cardassia. In his experience you couldn't trust any of them. Without 
the organization existence since the defeat in the Gamma quadrant, the 
order had no direction. They became more mercenaries driven by their 
own sense of loyalty or greed....or both.

He asked himself, "Could it be possible that some who were in the order 
are now reorganizing? To what end? And why are they talking to Skepti"

Skepti glanced over, "What did you say Lieutenant?"

"Never mind." Klaus replied.



Ensign Paxton continued down the hallway, his thoughts too distracted 
to pay much attention to the dιcor (**it's all the same, anyway**), or 
the crewmen he passed. (**How did the Captain recognize me?**) 
Reflecting, David couldn't remember her ever being on his dad's ship 
while David was on board … (**and if she never met me before, why would 
she have pulled up my file to know what I looked like beforehand?**) 
Right turn. (**Is that standard captain procedure?**) Left turn. (**… 
wouldn't she have more important things …**)  Another left. (** … to 
worry about right now?**) Another left.

David stopped. The intersection looked like every other intersection 
he'd passed. Coming to his senses, David grimaced and rolled his eyes. 
(**I have no idea where I've been going … idiot**)

"Computer, indicate present location, and location of Ensign David 
Paxton's quarters."

Listening to the computer chirp its response (**why were the voices 
always female? Something about being more soothing and calm … wasn't 
that it?**), David started walking again.

(**God, hope no one noticed that … at least the counselor's not 
around**) The turbolift doors swished shut as David indicated the 
desired floor. The steady hum (** no doubt also designed for it's 
calming effect**) of the rising lift echoed through the tiny room.

=swish= David took a step out of the turbolift doors, and took a right. 
(**Man, with my luck, the Betazoid in the transporter room was the 
counselor, and not the doctor …**) Right turn. (**Is it still standard 
to do psych evals of the new crew … wonder how long I can put that 
off?**) Left turn. (**I can't put it off, I'm just an Ensign … **)

(**Wonder what'd be worse … volunteer for double shifts to avoid the 
counselor, or just bite the bullet and listen to him babble about me 
needing to open up more**) Left turn.

Reaching his quarters, David entered. Throwing his duffle on the chair 
by the door, David looked around. "Computer, lights." The lights came 
on, revealing a neat but sparse room. (**Hey, only one bed!). Having a 
roommate all through the Academy, and before that living with his 
parents (**even if only one at a time**), David felt himself relax 
slightly. (**Finally, my own space. No awkward introductions … 
conversations … getting used to each other's boundaries… **)

David glanced at his chronometer. He didn't feel like unpacking, and 
with only about 45 minutes until the Captain's meeting, there was no 
point in changing into casual clothes. Maybe afterwards, if he wasn't 
assigned to anything immediately …

**Still, I can at least have a look around the ship until the meeting … 
didn't that kid mention a park or something?**



Lt. Indigor had just came aboard. He found his quarters, through in his 
duffle, and headed straight for the bridge. ::I'll make a good 
impression,:: he thought, ::showing up before I'm actually on duty.::

When he showed up, the only people on the bridge were the Navigator, 
apparently either a Trill or a Bajoran, and a human working the 
Security station.

"May I help you, sir?" Norallah asked the Andorian.

"No, I just thought I'd get the feel of my work station." Inidgor 
replied, and sat down at the Helmsman spot.

"Well, Lieutenant, as we may be working together, I'm Norallah. Pleased 
to meet you," she lied.

"Hi, I'm Reg." said the security man.

"Pleased to meet you... Ensign," came the cold reply.

The bridge was uncomfortably quiet for the next several minutes as Lt. 
Indigor inspected 'his' workstation. Norallah turned and rolled her 
eyes at Reg.

A few minutes later, the turbolift arrived. Commander Nganga stepped 
out of it with a female officer no one recognized.

"Commander Nganga," Norallah said, acknowledging her (as far as she 
knew) still-commanding officer.

The commander looked at Norallah, then glanced and gave a slight nod 
towards the accompanying officer, then back at Norallah with a slight 
smile.

A look of understanding crossed her face, but before she could append 
her statement...

"Captain," Indigor said, noticing the four pips on Starkin's neck. 
"Welcome aboard."

Were Lt. Commander Dekelley present, he would have distinctly 'heard' 
the thought "brown noser" (or possibly "blue noser") from somewhere on 
the bridge.  Its exact origin would have remained unknown.

Not having Dekelley's Betazoid talent, the only thoughts Starkin heard 
were her own, and they were currently preoccupied. She paused and 
looked across the bridge. Again, she faced the feelings of "yes, it 
looks like just another bridge; but it still feels different." And 
despite knowing that this bridge, this ship, served the entire crew, 
she couldn't help but feel the warm sense of pride and ownership.

The awareness that one of 'her' officers had addressed her brought 
Starkin back from her brief reverie (amplified by the mild expression 
of awkwardness coming from the blue skinned helmsman), she tilted her 
head towards the crewmen, "Thank you. It's good to be here." Turning 
towards the other bridge crew "Is everything as one would expect?"

Again, before Norallah or Reg could say anything, Indigor said 
confidently, "Of course, sir. I've been checking it myself, and 
everything looks just fine."

Dekelley would again take notice of the less than pleasant thoughts 
spiking through the bridge. To their credit, the officers let nary a 
trace of their annoyance show. Likewise, the Captain's expression 
remained unchanged as she made mental notes about the lieutenant's... 
eagerness... and his fellow officers' subtle reactions. Realizing he 
was again waiting for some kind of acknowledgement, she said, "Very 
good.  Carry on."

As Starkin walked down the ramp, Nganga's thoughts returned to the 
puzzle placed before him. ::Could they just be a very close family... 
unless...:: He stopped the thought when he saw Starkin pause by 'the 
chair.' Smiling, "The seat is yours."

Uriell looked at the pylons of dry-dock. "Well,... we're not going 
anywhere just yet." She then walked back up the other side. "And we do 
have things to do." Looking at the ceiling, "Though I must tell you, 
Commander-- I like the fact that you've kept the ship, especially the 
bridge, well lit. It seems like so many of the ships I've been on 
lately have kept everything quite dim. It's a welcome change."

"Thank you, Captain. I've found that having only work station lighting 
on tends to make crews edgy and more aggressive," Nganga explained. He 
then glanced at his PADD.

"Captain, with your permission, I'd like to have the lieutenant here," 
Nganga indicated Indigor, "apply his expertise to inspect the Secondary 
Bridge." Privately, Nganga wondered if anyone realized that he 
deliberately avoided using the term 'Battle Bridge'. 

Starkin looked towards Nganga. "Yes, " turning back towards Indigor, 
"That sounds like a excellent idea." The word "But..." all but formed 
on Indigor's blue lips. "You are up to task, aren't you Lieutenant...?"

"Indigor, sir. I... " Straightening up. "Certainly, sir."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'm glad we can count on you." If the captain 
was being sarcastic, it certainly wasn't indicated by what she said or 
how she said it; her words were sincere and without exaggeration.

There was an awkward pause as Indigor realized that they meant now. "At 
once, Captain. Sir. (to Nganga)" With military precision, Indigor 
nodded to the two higher ranking officers. He then gave a slight nod to 
Norallah, spun on his heels and went to the turbolift (completely 
ignoring Mr. Hurt.)

As the turbolift doors closed, Starkin turned to Norallah and Nganga, 
"I assume Mr. Indigor is not scheduled to be at the helm at this time?"

"No ma'am." Norallah relied. "Since we're not going anywhere, someone 
at helm wasn't really necessary.  Although I think an Ensign Paxton 
would eventually man helm, if I understand correctly. I know he's 
beamed aboard, but he hasn't checked in yet."

A 'disciplinary' look went across Nganga's face as he looked at the 
Captain.

"It's alright. I just saw him in the transporter. He's probably just 
settling in. He'll be at the meeting in about an hour, so he should be 
checking before then."

"I'll be sure he does," Nganga said quietly.

"If there's nothing else...." Starkin looked around at the bridge 
officers.

Norallah stood quietly - she had already mentioned the absent helmsman. 
She followed Starkin's shifting glance towards Ensign Hurt. He had a 
blank look on his face. Reg obviously had nothing to say at this time.

"Good then. Keep me posted."

Nganga chided himself at his tone about Paxton. He doesn't know him and 
he really hasn't done anything to warrant this attitude
except, maybe, take some time to see the ship. If the captain saw him 
in the transporter room, he hadn't had that much time to settle in yet. 
Nganga realized that Indigor's brownnosing was getting under his skin. 
The fact that the captain new the ensign at least by sight was why the 
ensign was lead Flight Controller instead of the more experienced 
Andorian. That and the fact that Indigor was ... someone McGintly might 
like to work with.

"Aye Captain." Nganga moved over the starboard side chair of three that 
were the center of the bridge, and picked up his PADD. He still had 
that report to finish.  He stood waiting to see what the captain did.

Once Starkin entered her Ready Room, he sat down and went to work.



<Shortly after the transporter room is cleared.>

The world spun and danced around T'Vala until it slowly came to a halt 
in the transporter room. After some delays she had finally arrived on 
the Cochrane. As she had been taught from an early age she instantly 
took in her surroundings. The young Vulcan behind the controls seemed 
calm, as is only proper but an excitement still hung it the air. There 
was something about the ensign that made her uneasy. This was not a 
feeling she liked, or did she? Inside she cursed her immature self. 

T'Vala decided to leave and take a tour of the ship to get acquainted 
with her new home. Even her Vulcan calmness could not make her contain 
her growing excitement. Hoping to get a feel of the ship decided to 
make the Boardwalk her fist stop.

The doors hissed open allowing her first glimpse in. Anyone looking at 
her would have thought she was almost bored but deep down she could not 
help but be impressed. T'Vala noticed that most of the population with 
in was crew. 

As she glanced around she noticed someone moving towards her that she 
thought she would never see again. But what surprised her the most was 
the color he wore. Jayngo in blue?



Having stopped by their individual quarters, Doctor Jayngo and Ensign 
Aeth arrived on level 10. The computer had notified him that Lieutenant 
T'Vala had beamed aboard while they were aboard the lift, but he told 
Nik that he would catch up with his old friend later. As the turbolift 
doors opened, they both took in a deep breath of awe at the wide-open 
space in front of them. A large park, filled with trees, plants and 
foliage from multiple worlds, accompanied the spread of storefronts. 
Nik was the first to utter words. "The grass is so green."

Jayngo: "There has to be at least a dozen worlds represented here. To 
have them all thrive in the same environment is a feat by itself, but 
on a starship no less ..."

In unison, they both said, "amazing."

As they stepped from the turbolift, two security officers standing on 
either side of the doors greeted them with a "Welcome to the 
Boardwalk." Jayngo know that there were sensors already in place to 
register clearance to and from the boardwalk; that these men were 
merely a precaution. But their pleasant attitude as greeters offset the 
very clear military presence for the civilian section on the ship.

The two officers were no sooner through the entrance when Jayngo's 
communicator activated. =^= Rory to Jayngo. =^=

"Go ahead, Rory."

=^= I have just checked over your schedule. It is very ambitious. Other 
than the command staff, I think I will entrust your staff to handle the 
exams. If anything jumps out at you as needing my attention, forward 
them on. Otherwise, I'm going to take it a little slower. After all, 
I'm only one man. =^=

"Fine by me, Counselor. I will see you, then, at your appointment at 
1400 hours."

=^= Good. Actually, however, you will probably see me before then. The 
Captain is having a meeting for his senior staff in about a half-hour 
in his Ready Room. =^=

"Thank you for the information." Jayngo looked to Ensign Aeth to make 
sure she heard as well. She nodded yes. "We'll be there. Jayngo out."

They proceeded down the path, admiring the hard work that had gone into 
the renovated section, when Nik grabbed Jayngo by the hand and 
attempted to pull him towards the grass. "It's so beautiful. Let's walk 
through it in our bare feet."

"I don't think so," was Jayngo's only reply.

"Oh, come on. It'll be fun."

A voice from behind her startled her, and a Bolian in a Boardwalk 
uniform walked up behind her. "It would be fun for you, but the grass 
wouldn't enjoy it much. You would be fine, but your big friend there 
..." Before Ensign Aeth was able to utter the question, the man 
extended his hand and said, "Marlo Salvitor."

First Nik, then Jayngo shook the man's hand. The doctor responded with, 
"you must be the groundskeeper. You have performed a miracle here, sir."

"Nonsense. The miracle-working takes place down in engineering. Here 
it's just a matter of TLC. And don't call me sir. You outrank me."

"In this case, sir is a manner of respect for your work. You can call 
me Jayngo."

"Good to meet you, doctor. I appreciate your kindness towards the 
plants."

Nik finally threw in her two cents worth. "Why can't he walk on the 
grass?  What good is grass if you can't walk on it?"

Jayngo looked back at his companion and simply stated, "my mass would 
be too much for the plants and soil to support."

"For the record," Marlo put in, "there is a section of grass, over near 
the left-hand side of the bandstand, that you will be fine in. That is, 
of course, if you were capable of walking on the grass back home."

All three looked in the direction the groundskeeper was pointing. While 
all of the grass was beautiful and green, one section, now that it was 
pointed out, was even more so.

Jayngo: "You didn't. You couldn't have."

Marlo: "The soil was a bugger to cultivate; like plowing through 
concrete.  But with a controlled status field limited to ground level 
to keep that one area from turning into a forest area overnight, we 
managed to bring it in."

Jayngo: "Amazing. Between that, the water lily - thank you, by the 
way - and the culinary delights from home, you all have gone far above 
the call of duty.  I am eternally grateful."

Marlo: "My pleasure, Jayngo. If you will excuse me, my kids are around 
here somewhere, and I need to make sure they aren't pulling up the 
daffodils again."

As Jayngo watched the groundkeeper wander off, he took notice of his 
children and the officer that seemed to be watching them. He also 
noticed a blonde-haired member of command walk into ten-forward. "Nik, 
I'll meet you in 10 Forward. I see someone that I want to talk to."

Nik replied in a pouty voice, "sure, why not. Not like we have plans or 
anything."

"I will catch up to you momentarily. In fact, order three Vantara Teas, 
48 degrees Celsius, with three ounces of Atlarian honey in each. We 
will be right behind you."

"OK. But don't keep me waiting."

Jayngo smiled at her and took off walking down the path that led to the 
other side of the pavilion. Within moments, he was approaching his old 
shipmate and friend. "T'Vala. It's good to see you again."

T'Vala had obviously been keeping up with her Vulcan training, as his 
arrival showed nothing on her face. "Jayngo. I was not expecting to see 
you here. I knew you had returned to the academy, but I did not realize 
it was for the sciences."

"Medical, actually."

"I am sure you will make a fine doctor."

"Thank you, T'Vala. I'm glad to see you were able to get back into 
Tactical.  You seemed to enjoy it more."

"Enjoyment is irreverent. This ship already had a Security Officer and 
needed a Tactical. I am able to fill the need."

"If you say so. I also noticed you ended up as Chief of Security aboard 
the Desperado. You deserved it."

"I was their second choice, but thank you for the sentiment. My 
replacement is a capable officer. She will continue with the efficiency 
that I trained her to uphold."

"Well, there is a meeting in the Captain's ready room in a half hour 
for senior staff, which means we have until then to catch up on old 
times. I have a new friend waiting for us in ten-forward with drinks 
that I'm buying. Let's go."

Jayngo suppressed a smile out of compassion for his old friend. He knew 
that down deep inside she was thrilled, but as always she tried to hold 
back her passions in exchange for her Vulcan stoicism. Before she had 
the chance to protest, Jayngo gently took her by the arm and escorted 
her to ten-forward.



=swish=

(**Hey, not bad**) David strolled out of the turbolift and into the 
park.  Stepping off the sidewalk, David began cutting across the park. 
The ground was soft beneath him, and David stopped long enough to kneel 
down and touch the grass. (** … feels real**) Ripping a few strands 
from the ground, he sniffed (**smells real**). David grinned his 
approval, and kept walking.

Of course, it would never surpass something outdoors, and the park was 
altogether too busy with the civilians and shops nearby. (**If it's 
this busy when people are still moving in, it'll be chaotic once 
everyone's settled**).  Still, the park was a nice touch (**I ought to 
be able to find some quiet niche around here**).

Wanting to get out of the way of the bustle going on around him, David 
kept on towards the Ten Forward section. Since David was still in 
uniform, the guard at the checkpoint paid him little attention other 
than a quick glance-and-a-nod. Not stopping to chat or introduce 
himself, David kept walking.

Distracted by a pretentious-sounding voice to his left (**shouldn't he 
be in sickbay?**), David glanced over to see what looked like an EMH 
(**wha … aren't they bald?**) gesturing in the air, behind a bar filled 
with bright and … interesting … paintings. Approaching, David 
overheard: " … then there is the comfort of knowing you can come here 
and I can still cure your daily blues with some drinks and music here 
in my off … my bar …"

(**who is he talking to?**) Just as David was opening his mouth to ask 
the question, a young ensign stood up from behind the bar, tools in 
hand. David glanced over to see an open panel, and tool kit lying on 
the floor next to it.  Noticing David for the first time, the new 
Ensign introduced himself. Holding out his hand, he said, "Hi, I'm 
Ensign Bak Xiam, welcome aboard."

Grasping the proffered hand, David returned the greeting. "Ensign David 
Paxton. Thanks."

The hologram, his conversation with Ensign Bak disrupted, turned 
towards the new arrival.

Looking at the new arrival, a smile crossed the EMH face. "And I am 
your bartender and welcome to 10-Forward Ensign David. What can I get 
you?"

With out waiting the hologram bartender grabs a tall thin, aqua glass 
from below the counter top and sets it on the bar and then places both 
of his hands on the bar.

David looked over to the EMH (** or should that be EBH - emergency 
bartending hologram?**). Of course he was aware of the Hologram 
Liberation Movement, and the impact that the EMH from Voyager had had 
since its return from the Delta Quadrant. Still, to see one in a 
bartending capacity … well, it just didn't seem as close and personal. 
Although David himself rarely shared anything with anyone, he knew that 
many people liked to "open up" to their bartenders … (**Will a hologram 
really have the experiences to be able to relate to people as a 
bartender?**)

"Er, no thanks … maybe later," David said, with a nod towards the glass 
on the bar. "I've got a meeting coming up, and want to look around a 
bit more beforehand."

Ensign Bak chimed in, "Yea, it's a great place, what I've seen … though 
I haven't had much time to look around since the Engineering team's 
been working round the clock to make sure everything's up to speed … 
speaking of which … excuse me for a moment …"

Ensign Bak disappeared beneath the bar. Looking over, David saw him 
pull a new tool from his case and aim it at the interior paneling. As 
the tip of the tool glowed a soft-yellow, a low-pitched buzz emitted 
from it.

The bartender turned to watch Bak do his work. There was a look of 
concern coupled with impatience carved on his stiff face. Head slightly 
cocked to the right, with his left-eyebrow raised, the bartender spoke. 
"I trust you know what you're doing, Ensign? My livelihood and 
performance depend upon those replicators operating up to full 
capacity, and in some cases beyond. Why the mere thought of them 
malfunctioning … I'd never be able to live it down if I inadvertently 
served anything inappropriate due to an internal error . I've worked 
quite hard at making certain my programming is as complete as it can 
be, and the thought of my reputation being sullied because of a crossed-
wire, or computer error …"

"You have nothing to worry about," Ensign Bak replied, before the EMH 
(**no, he's not medical now**) could continue spouting his concerns. 
"As a matter of fact," he said, as the buzzing of his instrument 
heightened to a crescendo and then shut off, "I'm all done." Placing 
his tools neatly back into the case, he replaced the paneling.

"Well," said the bartender, "I must say, that's a relief. Why, suppose 
the captain had shown up requesting some service, and I wasn't able to 
satisfy the request because the replicators were inoperable? What would 
that say about me?"

"Relax, the captain isn't even due on board until 2000 hours. I think 
he's …"

David cut off Ensign Bak, "Actually, the captain's already on board."

"There, you see, Ensign Bak?" The bartender crossed his arms, a smug 
look on his face.

Standing, Bak looked at David. "Really? All our scheduling indicated 
we'd have more time. Did he take his shuttle tour already?

"Well, I don't know anything about that, but she was in the transporter 
room with the commander when I beamed over. She's holding a meeting 
with Sr. officers and bridge crew in … " David checked his chronometer, 
" … about 30 minutes." (**Well, I've got a little more time, yet**)



------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the desk of Admiral Walters 
TO: Captain Uriell Starkin USS Zephram Cochrane, Commander David Nganga 
USS Zephram Cochrane
RE: First Assignment 

Gentlemen, 

I hope that everything is well with the arrival of your personnel and 
the civilian population of the U.S.S. Cochrane.  Your first assignment 
has been determined and you will need to make sure you are prepared to 
leave within the next 48 hours. 

You are to rendezvous with a delegation of diplomats on Earth.  Your 
mission will be to escort them to a conference at Camp Khitomer that 
will take place two weeks later.  You have been given an extremely long 
window for transit.  Take the long way and show off the ship's 
capabilities.  We do not want to see you any earlier than two weeks.  
Keep them busy and allow them to enjoy the pleasure cruise. 

The dignitary manifest is as follows: 

Vedek Tow San of the Bajoran Council 
     with three aides 
General Melorf of the Klingon High Council 
     with two guards and three family members 
Starfleet Diplomatic Team consisting of 
     Ambassador Solen of Vulcan 
     Ambassador Henry Charles of Earth 
     Ambassador Kenzel Tem of Trill 
     Ambassador Femel of Andorian 
     Commander Veral Jackson of Betazed 
     with five aides and twelve family members 
Ambassador Dovenka Atylori of Cardassia 
Sub-Commander Serino of Romulus 
     with four aides and eight family members 

Make sure you show them a good time. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------



Captain Starkin got herself acquainted with what was effectively her 
office. She hadn't gotten the chance yet to really personalize it, but 
there should be enough time for that later. Right now, there was just 
an old picture of Clarius and a young Vartine, and a newer picture of 
Danielle. ::I can't wait for her to come on board. There's so much to 
show her!:: But such was Starfleet sometimes. Many keep their civilian 
lives separate from their professional ones, especially in Starfleet. 
::Well, it doesn't have to be that way here.:: Uriell was glad that 
they will get the luxury of having those two words shared - a luxury 
usually found on star bases.

::But that's not going to happen if I don't get more work done.:: She 
thought about the senior staff meeting, the one that would be in this 
room. She ran through her head, who should be there. ::Hmm. Might be a 
little crowded.:: Then she remembered, ::Oh yes, the doctor.:: She 
started to pull the information on "Doctor Jayngo" up on her PADD. 
::Atlarian?  Interesting...:: She looked around the room again.  ::We 
are NOT going to all fit in here.:: "Starkin to Commander Nganga."

=^= Nganga here, Captain. =^=

"Commander, I think we need to move this meeting into the conference 
room. It would be too crowded. Can you make the arrangements? Let the 
appropriate, people know about the change?"

=^= The senior staff? =^=

"Yes. Plus Ensign Paxton. But I'll let the doctor
know myself. I'd like to talk to him."

=^= Aye, Captain. =^=

"Starkin out." ... "Captain Starkin to Doctor Jayngo."



=^=...Starkin to Doctor Jayngo.=^= 

Jayngo and T'Vala were about to enter ten-forward when the call came 
in.  Extending his index finger to indicate a pause to the Chief 
Tactical Officer, Jayngo tapped his communicator.  "Jayngo here, 
Captain.  What can I do for you?" 

"We're having a senior staff meeting in the conference room in about 25 
minutes.  Can you be there?" 

"I was already planning on it, sir.  Councilor Dekelley informed me of 
the meeting.  I take it that it has been moved from your ready room?" 

"That's correct.  A little more space available.  And Doctor, ... are 
you familiar with Garman physiology?" 

"I haven't been able to go over the records yet, sir, but I was 
planning on it before our appointment.  But I could easily move it up 
on my schedule. Is there something you need?" 

"I'd appreciate it.  I'd like for you to help me do a little explaining 
to our crew." 

"Of course, sir.  I may show up in the conference room a few minutes 
early, then, in order to get any answers of my own before the rest of 
the senior staff shows up.  Would that be OK?" 

"Of course.  I'll meet you there in, say, ten minutes." 

"Thank you, sir.  Jayngo out." 

Jayngo turned to T'Vala and said, "I'm very sorry." 

"You are the ship's doctor.  There is a medical situation.  To do 
otherwise would be illogical." 

"Would you ..." 

"Extend your condolences to the young lady inside?  Of course.  I will, 
however, inform the bartender that you will still be paying for the 
drinks." 

Jayngo smiled.  "Of course.  And thanks."  With that, the doctor took 
off for his office to do some quick studying



Lt. Commander Dekelley returned to his quarters after leaving the 
transporter room. The counsel at his desk indicated that he had a 
message from Dr. Jayngo. He reviewed the message and the attached crew 
physical schedule, and he tagged all of the senior staff for follow up 
evaluations and marked Skepti and Paxton as priorities.  Then he 
contacted the Doctor via communicator with his comments. 

The chronometer indicated that he still several minutes before the 
staff meeting in the bridge conference room. He tapped the button on at 
his desk counsel, "Computer, begin letter. Use file address Imzadi."

"Imzadi, each day I miss you more that then last. I wish you would 
reconsider my request and join me on the Cochran. The ship is 
marvelous. You should see the boardwalk. Chief Marlo has turned a 
sterile metal deck into a thriving lush green park. I know you only met 
him in passing on the job, but I'm sure he would enjoy seeing your 
familiar face. I know that I would.

Thing are a stir around here as we prepare to depart for our first 
assignment. And now the captain has joined the ship in a surprise 
visit. I'm preparing for our first staff meeting in the next hour. The 
new captain will surly be keeping us on our toes. It has been a 
pleasure serving with Nganga during the ship's trial. You know from my 
letters just how stressful those times can been even when everything 
goes right. Hope to see you soon, Love Rory."

He again tapped the button on at his desk counsel, "Computer, file 
letter, and send." His time was short now and he did not want to be 
late to the meeting. He had to rush to the turbolift, and nearly ran 
into a group of cadets who were getting a tour of the Cochrane. He 
exited the lift on the bridge and headed toward the conference room. He 
made it with some time to spare, but was nevertheless the last to 
arrive. 



David Nganga sat down. He could have justified sitting in the center 
chair still, but he decided to sit in the chair that was now his. 
Besides, he was more accustomed to the off center view from the first 
officer's chair. 

He contacted Skepti and Klaus about the change of locale for the 
captain's briefing, but he kept the conversation short, figuring they 
were still discussing Skepti's past or whatever. When he contacted 
Rory, it seemed as if the Councilor's thoughts were a million miles 
away, and he wondered if Rory really noticed.

"Computer, has Ned McGintly boarded?" the Commander asked. 

=^=Commander McGintly is on deck nine.=^= came the computer's response.

"Bridge to Lt. Commander McGintly," Nganga said.

=^= McGintly here. And this is? =^=

"Commander David Nganga. Pleased to meet you. The Captain is aboard 
and has called for a senior staff meeting."

=^= Oh. Oh! I just came aboard. How soon? =^=

"Thirty-three minutes, Commander." 

=^= I'll be there, and please, call me Ned. =^=

"Okay Ned. See you in a few. Nganga out."

"Commander?" Ensign Hurt spoke up.

"Yes, Reg?"

"I've never served on a ship where the Chief Tactical Officer was 
someone other than the head of Security. Is Lt. T'Vala considered 
senior staff, and should she be contacted about the meeting?"

"You're right; it is uncommon," Nganga said. "I believe when it occurs, 
it's because it's the captain's purgative to have the positions 
separated. As we have a Chief Tactical Officer, I assume the Captain 
would consider T'Vala to be Senior Staff."

::I wonder who I answer to.:: Reg thought, looking down at the security 
readouts on the tactical bar.

"Dave?" it was the Operations Manager.

"Yes, Norallah?" Nganga replied.

"Should I also plan on attending?" the unjoined Trill asked.

"Yes," Nganga replied. ::Especially, if the captain has gotten word 
from Starfleet about my putting you up for promotion last month.:: 
Nganga thought, wanting to surprise the efficient young officer.

"All right. Ensign Bak is my scheduled relief officer. Shall I have him 
return to the Bridge?" Norallah asked.

"Yes, Biff will just have to do without the loaner from Ops. More of 
his regular engineers should be aboard. Which reminds me, I'd better 
contact him about the meeting."

And Commander Nganga contacted Lt. Commander Argyle about the meeting, 
and then he finally finished his report.



Mr. Skepti's crew quarter doors hissed shut behind Security Chief 
Klaus. Before advancing down the corridor, he took a moment to reflect 
to himself. He ran a hand through his short hair and rubbed the back of 
his neck and over the scar there. For a moment he recalled the 
circumstances under which he received that scar. Recognizing the 
distraction, he silently scolded himself.

Mr. Klaus tried to pull in all he knew about the current situation. He 
was no stranger to covert operations....far from it. Although he was 
never an undercover operative, his special forces background did 
provide a great deal of advanced training in the area. His stint on 
Cardassia had also introduced him to what the Obsidian Order was 
capable of.

Usually, he thought, I can at least determine a hint of their purpose. 
"Not this time, however", he said with a growl on his face.

Skepti was absolutely no help. As could be expected, he denied 
everything.... except for the part about talking to the Obsidian Order 
agent. Oh, he fully admitted that. But he claimed the man just made a 
mistake in identity and thought he was something else. Klaus wasn't so 
easily fooled. What gave Skepti away wasn't anything so advanced as a 
frontal cortex scanner or pheromone detector. This was simple neuro-
optical reflex.

When humans access their memory, they generally look up and to the 
right, accessing their logic and memory centers located in the left 
side of the brain. Mr. Skepti looked up and to the LEFT indicating that 
he was accessing the right side of the brain.....the location of the 
creative portions of the human brain. An old technique....one that 
dated back to the 20th century....but VERY accurate.

The thing was, was that Klaus didn't think Skepti was trying to hide 
anything. He didn't believe that Skepti was mixed up with any of the 
plans that this Cardassian had made. He felt that Skepti was merely 
trying to stay clean and not drudge up anything from his past. He did, 
after all, have a legitimate position of worth on a brand new Galaxy 
class vessel. Wasn't that something to try and protect?

Unfortunately, that didn't bring him any closer to finding out what was 
going on.

Klaus then made his way to the security office. Glancing at his 
terminal, he saw that he still needed to have that physical with the 
doctor. He was not looking forward to that. He sat down and folded his 
hands.

Klaus was a man that trusted his instincts. He didn't believe that 
Skepti would lead him to much of the current situation....other than 
possibly some background on the man in custody. His trust in his 
instincts did not take the place of prudence....

"Computer, place Mr. Skepti under level two surveillance. Monitor 
whereabouts, communications, and correspondence until further notice. 
Authorization Klaus sierra three five."

He placed a message to a long time friend on Mars who was chief of 
security there. Klaus hoped that his friend could provide a transcript 
of the interrogation of the Cardassian operative.

Klaus also put a notation on the agenda for the next security briefing. 
He would have to review counter intelligence procedures with the staff.

The security chief considered his actions for a moment. Mr. Skepti may 
be a civilian, but he was serving aboard a military vessel. The only 
judge's approval he needed here was the Captains.....

Lieutenant Klaus grasped the PADD containing his security briefing for 
the Captain. As he headed for conference room he thought about all that 
had occurred in the last 48 hours. This was not shaping up to be the 
boring cruise he thought it was going to be....



Captain Starkin had to admit she was just a _little_ nervous... but it 
thankfully didn't show. Probably only Danielle would be able to tell, 
were she there.  Fortunately, Uriell had gotten very good at 
controlling emotions, at least on the surface (as many Starfleet 
officers do.) Her thoughts (including her apprehensions) were hers 
alone... except for maybe the ship's Councilor. But even then, he 
wouldn't catch anything too out of the ordinary or troublesome.  
Another part of the discipline of command - casting aside things like 
fear or doubt and acting with the confidence everyone (especially 
oneself) expects.  Confidence then becomes almost instinct.

But it's not always that easy, and this was a little more personal, at 
least with some of the information she was going to share with her 
crew. It wasn't so much embarrassing - no shame in being what you are - 
but it was awkward, knowing the wide range of how other species react 
to such information. Still, Uriell had dealt with this before. Having a 
sense of humor sometimes helps, and lets her use her species uniqueness 
to provide her with some amusement (as she recently did with Nganga.)

Her physiology was just one part of it, though. She was meeting new 
people, a new crew, and they would meet her. She wanted to start off on 
the right foot, set the right tenor. This was going to be a friendly 
ship, a family ship... and at the same time there'd be no lack of 
discipline, nothing sloppy: a ship to be proud of. She had to make sure 
her expectations were high yet never unattainable. She was already 
proud of the ship, and she wanted everyone on board to feel the same 
way. So she knew it was important to do things right, from the start.

Uriell looked over the roster, glanced through the personnel files she 
had, making a few last mental checks. Then she went over her notes, 
going over what she wanted covered at the meeting. After seeing all 
things in order, she got up from her ready-room desk to head to the 
conference room.



(** It was never like this on the Bozeman **) Lieutenant J.G. Mary 
Scott came into Ten Forward. No one could tell from looking at her that 
she'd been born 123 years ago, in 2255. Spending 93 years in a temporal 
loop in the Typhon Expanse could do have that effect.

The past seven years since being freed hadn't been what she would've 
chosen, either. Her family, as she knew it, was long dead. Most of her 
friends, save for a few Vulcans, had also perished in that time. Then 
came the retraining. She had been trained as an engineer, but that was 
over five score years ago.  Mary had needed to be retrained.

And it wasn't just a century of technical advancement. Starfleet, as an 
organization had made modifications. Little things, really, but just 
enough that when she, or anyone from the Bozeman, got a little detail 
wrong she felt like she was under a mass spectrometer, with the 
universe staring at her. So she had to remember, there was no longer a 
rank called "Commodore", but two grades of Rear Admiral. The helm and 
navigation station were merged into one, so now instead of helmsman or 
navigator, there was a flight controller, who's station was usually 
abbreviated to "the Con". She wasn't sure about the clerical staff. She 
figured that the clerks were still called yeomen, and why change a 
millennium old navy tradition, right. She just hadn't seen any clerical 
staff.

Right now, though, she had work to do. Lt. Commander Argyle had sent 
her to the Arcade Level to take of few things, including a check of the 
holo-emmitters in the lounge at the front of the ship.

"Ensign Xiam? What are you doing here?" Mary exclaimed.

"Argyle asked me to help out, so I am. And it's either 'Ensign Bak' or 
'Xiam', unless you want to be 'Lt. Mary'." Xiam smiled.

"But you're the relief Ops guy aren't you? Not an engineer."

"I know. I was just telling my friend here," he gestured towards 
Paxton, "how Argyle was running his engineering crew ragged. As soon as 
I came aboard and reported in, he asked me to help out since I've had 
some engineering training, and he was short handed. As such I haven't 
seen that much of the ship yet."

"Oh. Okay, so you helped out the bartender here?"

"Yep." Bak's comm pin blipped.

=^= Norallah to Bak, =^=

"Bak here."

=^= Who's back where? =^=

"No, 'Bak here.' I've got an ancient film or two to show you sometime, 
you know that?"

=^= Fine. But, in the meantime, I have a meeting to attend in a little 
while. I'll need you to give you apologies to Commander Argyle, and 
actually take your assigned station in twenty minutes. =^=

"Aye. I'll see you in fifteen. Bak out."

"You want her to backout of her meeting?" Lt. Scott asked.

Relief Operations Manager Bak Xiam wasn't sure if he was ready to see 
his name turned into a 500-year-old joke.

Lt. J.G. Mary Scott looked at the holographic bartender, "So of all the 
gin joints in the universe, why'd you have to come to work in mine?"



Jayngo entered the conference room to find not only the Captain, but 
Ensign Aeth as well. The Captain motioned for the Doctor to wait for a 
moment as she finished talking with Nik. "So you see, I really don't 
have any need for a Yeoman, at least at the moment. But I feel as 
though your skills would much better serve on the conn."

"As a support officer."

"Correct. Mr. Paxton will be the Chief Flight Controller."

"OK, Captain. I can handle that. My typing was never my strong suit 
anyway. I take it, then, that I won't be needed for this meeting?"

"Correct."

"Very good, sir. Thank you." Nik turns to walk past Jayngo and smiles. 
"I ended up coming to report in instead of going to the bar. I'll catch 
up with you later." The Ensign then left the room.

Making a mental note of a relationship, Starkin called the Doctor in. 
"So, Doctor. Any questions?"

The Captain took a seat at the head of the table, motioning for the 
large man to sit to her left. Upon doing so, Jayngo removed a datapad 
from his lab coat and reviewed over the information he had downloaded 
from the system.

"Just a few, Captain. And thank you for the clearance rating to receive 
your information."

"It was needed for you to do your job. I couldn't expect you to walk in 
blind."

"Yes ma'am. First, do you maintain any control over the change of 
season, or is there any way of tracking when the change is about to 
occur?"

This was a little awkward for Starkin to explain.  "Control? No. My 
body pretty much does what it does... although there have been studies 
on Jace to try to better control things using various drugs.  Garman 
physiology is much more stable, much more predictable on Jace than 
outside of the system, we've discovered. I'm pretty self aware in terms 
of my body changes, and over the years I've gotten pretty good at 
predicting the patterns, knowing how my own changing cycle works. But I 
also know there have been exceptions."

"I see. So there will be some form of advanced notice to the 
transformation."

"Yes, I go through the same thing as what most Garmans experience," she 
said, tapping his PADD. "Although the 'advanced notice' will be noticed 
by just me... and probably Danielle. The first indicators are very 
personal, and I'd rather we not discuss those kind of details at the 
meeting." She added, "Of course, once I have to switch uniforms, it's 
pretty obvious to everyone else."

"Of course. I see in your file that you are married to a human female, 
this Danielle you mentioned. I assume that none of this is a shock to 
her."

"Not at this point." Starkin's lips curled slightly and her eyebrows 
quickly raised up and down.

"Good. Well, that covers it for the moment. I may have more questions 
later, during your physical exam, which has been scheduled for later 
this afternoon.  But at your convenience, of course."

"It shouldn't be a problem. I've learned it's important to stay checked 
up, especially with how complex we can be. We run health risks for both 
genders, you know." She rolled her eyes. "But for now, I want to make 
sure the others get informed as simply as possible."

"I'll make sure that it is taken care of."

With that, other members of the senior staff began to arrive.



Out on the bridge, Klaus and T'Vala were inspecting their stations, 
discussing the configurations, how they might be customized and so 
forth. Commander Nganga rose from his chair with his datapad in hand, 
heading towards the conference room. Norallah was already following 
him. "Shall we?" he said to his crew. Klaus looked at the chronometer 
and nodded.  He and T'Vala walked towards the conference room as well.

"Ensign Bak, you have the bridge." Nganga looked at the drydock and 
added, "Don't let us go anywhere."

"Yes sir," Bak grinned.

Starkin and Jayngo watched the four officers enter the room. Lt. 
Commanders McGintly and Argyle were chatting as they walked in soon 
after. Skepti looked less than thrilled as he swaggered in. His eye 
took in every corner of the room. He wasn't impressed. He did pause as 
he and Klaus matched glances. He smirked as he gave Klaus a less than 
sincere nod, and then deliberately went to a seat away from him.

=swish=
David Paxton entered the room. The doors shut behind him. **Oh, geez … 
lot a people here already.** Looking around, he noticed most of the 
attendees huddled in groups around the table, talking. **Well, 
everyone's occupied … I'll just sit over here … hopefully this won't 
take too long.** David walked towards the table, away from the head 
where the captain was currently talking with a **Huge! Good lord, what 
does he eat in the morning** man (?) in blue. (**Blue, must be the 
ship's counselor … make sense for the captain to be talking to him 
right before the meeting**) Sitting down near the other end of the 
table, across from a ragged looking man with an eye-patch 
(**Starfleet's lowered it's standards on uniforms …**), David exhaled. 
The man across from him just grimaced (**or is that how he always 
looks?**) as D.J. pulled his chair in.

Over the varied conversations, one voice caught D.J.'s attention and 
registered in his mind. He looked over his shoulder to see a Lt. 
Commander (**oh, gee … from the rec room …**) speaking with someone 
David assumed was the Chief Engineer.

The Lt. Commander caught David's roaming eye. D.J. gulped. The 
officer's conversation stalled only for a second, but David could tell 
he was recognized from their previous encounter. The officer looked 
back to the engineering officer, and continued their conversation. 
(**Great … can anything else go against me?**) David shook his head as 
he slumped back in his chair.

=swish=
Lt. Commander Evory Dekelley stepped through the door to the conference 
room and noticed he was the last to arrive. Captain Starkin looked his 
directions with a smile and thought pointedly ::Thank you for deciding 
to join us Counselor.:: Dekelley felt his checks flush with 
embarrassment, even though he had time left before the meeting was set 
to begin. He made a mental note to come very early to all future 
meetings. There was a lot of mental activity in the room and he had to 
concentrate to reduce the mental white noise to a dull hiss in the back 
of his mind. He decided to break the tension with a joke. "I guess 
you're wondering why I called you all here."

"You called us all here?" Nganga asked. "I thought I called us all 
here."

"No, I'm pretty sure I called us all here." Norallah added.

"Are you sure? I thought I called this meeting," Argyle said, trying to 
fit in. 

::I guess they've hit a rhythm having been here.:: McGintly thought.

"Then I guess I'm glad I decided to show up," Starkin said in a 
powerful voice. The room quieted. She was glad to see the good-natured 
camaraderie the crew had already developed in her absence. Nganga had 
done a good job. "So what then is this meeting about?" 

All those who said something turned and looked at Dekelley, being the 
ring-leader on the running gag. Except Nganga, "Why ask us, Dr Jayngo 
called the meeting." All eyes except Paxton turned to the big man next 
to the Captain.

Jayngo smiled and said, "I am sure I would rather defer to far more 
qualified personnel." He then looked back to the Captain.

**Huh?** D.J. looked over at the huge man, then over his shoulder to 
the Betazoid in blue (**you mean he's not the …**) David slumped even 
deeper into his chair, his eyes rolling up. He hoped his face wasn't 
flushed.

Dekelley looked at Ensign Paxton and smiled while tapping the PADD 
before him on the table. The then looked toward the captain, "Captain, 
in my professional opinion, several members of your crew are suffering 
from delusions of grandeur and may need serious counseling." 

Starkin rubbed her temples. "Yes, and I think you need to start with 
me."

Rory smiled and added, "Seriously, I will be scheduling sessions with 
all of the bridge crew, but we can discuss that after the meeting."

"Oh yes, the meeting. We really should get down to business." The 
Captain waited for the assembled crew to take their seats at the 
table.  Pulling out a chair, Counselor Dekelley took a seat next to 
David Paxton. Intentionally avoiding the counselor's eyes, D.J. tried 
to look relaxed, though he didn't think he succeeded. Rory just smiled 
as he consulted his PADD.

"I suppose introductions are in order. I'm Uriell Starkin, Captain of 
USS Cochrane. And as most of you know, this is Commander David Nganga, 
my First Officer." She glanced at her PADD. "And this is Lt. Commander 
Ned McGintley, CMC, my Second Officer." McGintley straightened up with 
his name. "Along with the continued training of the crew, Commander 
McGintley will be the primary officer for the 3rd shift. I'm sure that, 
if you wake us up, it will be for a good reason." She continues with 
the introductions around the table until reaching Paxton. "Ensign 
Paxton will be our Chief Flight Controller, working the conn under the 
Commander and myself. My recommendation is that McGintley take Lt. 
Indigor on 3rd shift with him. I am sure you will find him a capable 
officer." Before the CMC had the chance to ask any questions, the 
Captain continued the introductions, finishing with, "and Chief 
Operations Officer Norallah Tam." Starkin pulls a small case out of her 
pocket while walking down the table and places it on the table in front 
of the Lt. J.G. "Congratulations on your promotion, Lieutenant."

Starkin returned to her seat. "I'm sure you've all noticed the absence 
of a science officer at this meeting. Rest assured that the Chief 
Science Officer will be joining us after we arrive at Earth. Official 
introductions will be made at that time."

"And, I'd like to welcome Calvin Skepti to our group." Uriell nodded 
towards Skepti, seated at the far end of the conference table. "Mr. 
Skepti is joining us as the Boardwalk manager." Addressing her crew, 
she continued, "While technically part of our civilian complement, I 
felt it would be important for introductions to be made now among the 
Senior Staff. Since the Cochrane is a new concept among starships, and 
since Mr. Skepti will be dealing with a large amount of civilians and 
Starfleet crew in his position, his position is rather unique. I know 
that as my Senior Officers, you will all represent Starfleet's highest 
standard during your business on the Boardwalk and with Mr. Skepti. And 
with that Mr. Skepti, you're free to resume you duties on the Boardwalk 
unless you have any questions."

Grunting a reply, Skepti rose from his seat and practically stormed out 
of the room.

"Commander Nganga, I believe you have a status report for me," the 
Captain said, moving on to her next item of business.

Commander Nganga handed Starkin his PADD, "The short version is that 
things are running quite well. Mr. Argyle's engineering crews have the 
ship in top shape." He nodded to the Chief Engineer. "Most of the crew 
is going to be aboard by 2000 hours. The rest will be coming aboard 
when we reach Earth. Several of the shops in the Arcade are all ready 
up: the Quark's franchise, the Soj dealer, the Theiss' Clothing Shop."

As the meeting continued, Starkin asked Klaus for an update on the 
Obsidian Order situation. In fine detail, the Security Chief relayed 
all pertinent information. After he was finished, Klaus placed his PADD 
back on the table and looked towards the Captain. Taking a longer 
moment than normal, Starkin exhaled slowly and addressed her crew. 
"This next bit is a bit personal, but I wanted to share it with you to 
resolve any confusion you may have. Some of you might have thought 
'Captain Starkin' was a man. And I was. And I will be again." She 
expected the looks of confusion on her crew's faces that she saw. 
"Doctor, if you would."

"The Garmans are a trans-gender race. They metamorph between being male 
and female. Our Captain is obviously in her female season, but at some 
point will become male."

"When will that be?" asked McGintley.

"I wish I could tell you," Starkin replied. "If I were back on my 
homeworld of Jace, I could probably tell you, as our patterns are 
fairly predictable. However, space travel seems to alter those 
patterns, making it somewhat unpredictable."

Jayngo took over once more. "Please keep in mind that this is a 
perfectly normal bodily function, and should be treated with the utmost 
respect. We are all Starfleet officers, and should be able to take 
cultural differences in stride." He directs this comment to Argyle, who 
appears to be trying to stifle a chortle. Until he noticed that the 
giant doctor was looking right at him.

Nganga was glad that humanity, generally, had moved past the point 
where it thought bodily functions were humourous. "So, Captain, you 
have served on the Copland?"

"Yes Dave, that was me. And I was lucky to keep my uniform that time…" 
She turned back to the crew and saw Norallah's face. "It was in 
poker."  She sighed and shook her head slightly. "Anyway, regardless of 
which form I'm in, I'm still me. And I'll still be the captain." She 
paused for a moment. "Since not too many Garmans travel off world, and 
Jace isn't even part of the Federation, most races aren't aware of what 
has proven to be a unique quality."

Releasing a breath, she continued. "Personally, I don't consider it 
that big a deal. It's a fact of life. But I know others react 
differently, so I'd rather you know ahead of time. If any of you do 
have a problem with it… work it out on your own time."

Dekelley piped in. "I'll be happy to see any of you in my office."

"Unless there's anything else…." She looked around the room. "Your 
first assignments will be or have already been sent to you, including 
our shakedown mission." She smiled, "I'm looking forward to this, to 
working with all of you. We have a job to do, and I'm sure we shall 
excel.  Meeting adjourned."



**Well, this was fun** D.J. backed his chair away from the table. To 
his side, Counselor Dekelley was making notes on his PADD. "Excuse me 
please," David said as he stood up.

The counselor stopped his notes for a moment, and glanced up. "Why, of 
course Ensign. And, I don't think I got a chance to say it in the 
transporter room, but welcome aboard. I look forward to working with 
you."

**yea, I bet you do … uh, gotta stop thinking like that around … oops, 
there I go … er** "Thanks," David said, with what he hoped was a smile. 
Nodding once towards the counselor, David turned for the door. On 
route, David saw he was on an intercept course with the Commander. 
(**not out of the woods yet …**). "Commander Nganga," David said with a 
nod, addressing his superior.

"Ensign Paxton, pleased to meet you." Nganga motioned with one arm 
towards the door, while gesturing with the other towards D.J. "After 
you, Ensign … I was going that way myself."

"Thank you, sir." D.J. started walking again, the commander in stride 
next to him. Holding up one finger, the commander motioned for David to 
hold a moment. Confused look on his face, D.J. paused. Eyebrows raised 
in question (**try to look neutral, David**), D.J. waited for the 
commander to act.

Smiling, Nganga looked straight at D.J. Although they were the same 
height, D.J. couldn't help but feel a bit over-shadowed by Nganga. His 
presence was very strong, and unconsciously D.J. felt himself 
straighten a little more before the commander. "You know, Mr. Paxton, 
now that you're the lead Conn officer, you may actually want to check 
in."

D.J.'s eyes went wide. (**Oh, sh …**) "Sir, I'm sorry sir. Before beam 
over I was told you'd let me know of any immediate duties, and then, 
well, the captain mentioned the meeting, and dismissed me. I guess, 
well, … I guess I assumed I was free until the meeting."

D.J.'s back was perfectly straight now. He bit his tongue as he waited 
for the commander's response.

"I didn't say anything about before the meeting, Ensign," Nganga 
smiled. "I was referring to now, after the meeting. However," Nganga 
entered something on his ubiquitous PADD, "now you're checked in. 
Relatively painless, really."

::Boy, he seems nervous. Maybe even a little defensive.::

D.J. exhaled out of the side of his mouth, while displaying something 
crossed between a grimace and a smirk on his face. (**That could have
gone a little better on my end**)

"Uh, yes sir. Thank you commander. I, uh … if you'll excuse me, … I, … 
I suppose I should familiarize myself with my station."

"Certainly Ensign. Carry on."



As the crew filed out of the conference room, the Captain noticed 
Lieutenant Klaus remaining behind.

"Something on your mind Lieutenant?"

"Yes Ma'am." Klaus replied.

"At ease Mr. Klaus. What's on your mind?"

After a moment, Klaus' shoulders relaxed and he looked his new captain 
in the eyes. "Have you had the opportunity to read my report concerning 
Mr. Skepti?"

"I have, Lieutenant. I am just as concerned as you are concerning our 
boardwalk manager. Before I give my approval concerning his 
surveillance, I would like to hear what you really think of Mr. Skepti. 
Tell me what wasn't written in your report." Let's see how open he can 
be with his captain, she thought. It had always been her personal 
philosophy to have a tight knit relationship with her senior staff. 
Protocol and discipline were necessary, but to have them be a barrier 
to honest communication and innovation went far beyond their purpose. 
It always takes a little longer with security chiefs, she 
thought....they are distrustful by nature. I wonder how this one will 
do......

While a sensitive man to politics and subtlety, down deep Klaus liked 
being direct. He sensed this also in his new captain. He also had the 
feeling that this conversation was not just about the captain's 
evaluation of Mr. Skepti. He knew from the captain's background that 
she was highly adept at studying and observing others. He felt himself 
under this same magnifying glass. Let's see what kind of relationship 
we are going to have....

"Mr. Skepti is an opportunist and I don't trust him. While I am not 
convinced that he has anything to do with the Obsidian Order's current 
plans, I cannot discount the possibility either. I honestly believe 
that he is trying to make a legitimate start for himself on this 
ship....and I respect that. However, he lied to me concerning the 
history he shared with that Cardassian. No matter what the purpose, 
dishonesty is something that I do NOT tolerate."

Starkin took that all in and nodded. It looked as if they were going to 
get along just fine. "If that's truly what you feel, then why the 
surveillance?"

"This man has a long criminal background and obviously has had dealings 
with at least one Order member in the past ....... In my experience 
with the Order, you rarely get a warning of their activity or a lead 
concerning one of their members. Trust me Captain, we need to follow 
this lead until it ends because I doubt that we will have another."

"Very well, Lieutenant. Surveillance approved. I expect regular reports 
concerning your progress."

"Thank you, Captain."

"Good luck on your hunt, Lieutenant. Dismissed."



The unjoined trill operations officer caught the attention of the 
officer who performs operations. "Doctor," Norallah said to Jayngo. 
"May I see you on the bridge for a moment? It's about ... a ... hurt 
back."

"Certainly," Jayngo replied.  "What seems to be the problem?" 

Norallah leads Jayngo to the Bridge.  Nganga pinches his sinuses ::Oh 
no.  Oh no.::  "Doctor Jayngo," Norallah says and then points to the 
Ops station, "This is Ensign Bak."  Then she turns to the Security 
station.  "And this is Ensign Hurt." 

"A pleasure to meet you, gentlemen."  Jayngo begins to form a 
questioning look on his face.  Then he gets it.  "Hurt.  Bak.  Gotcha." 

And Norallah starts laughing at her little joke.  "I'm sorry Doctor.  
The opportunity presented itself. Since Xiam and Reg were the only two 
left on the bridge." 

"That's fine Lieutenant.  I'm fine with jokes.  Find them rather funny 
myself.  I'll prove it in two days .... at your exam appointment."  
With that, Jayngo smiles and walks away.  He misses Norallah smiling 
right back. 



=shhh=
David walked through the door and onto the bridge. The commander 
followed behind him. In front of him, the doctor was talking with Lt. 
Norallah.  Sidestepping the massive figure, D.J. walked down the ramp 
to the front of the bridge and his station. (**well, seat looks 
comfortable …**)

Behind him, David heard Lt. Norallah. "This is Ensign Bak. (pause) And 
this is Ensign Hurt."

David sat in the flight controller's seat. (**still has that brand-new 
smell …). Sitting "side-saddle", right arm lounging on the control 
panel, David ran his left hand over the seat's back support as he 
examined its construction.

Dr. Jayngo replied behind him, "A pleasure to meet you, gentlemen."

The right side of D.J.'s mouth turned upward in a partial grin as he 
examined his chair. (**I suppose if I'm going to be sitting down for 8-
hour shifts, this is the chair to do it in**). He turned in his seat to 
face forward, the workstation now properly in front of him.

Behind him, Dr. Jayngo continued, "Hurt. Bak. Gotcha."

David's hands glided across the control panel. (**Let's see, there's 
the …**)

Laughing interrupted his thought process. Swiveling in his chair to 
look behind him, David saw Lt. Norallah to be the source. The doctor's 
face seemed to be recomposing itself from confusion to understanding. 
Behind both of them, David could see Commander Nganga, head slightly 
down and eyes closed as he pinched his sinuses.

Lt. Norallah said, "I'm sorry, Doctor. The opportunity presented 
itself.  Since Xiam and Reg were the only two left on the bridge."

**Huh? Wonder what that's about?** David didn't want to interrupt, but 
didn't look away, either, hoping that in their conversation, someone 
would say something to help him understand what just happened.

"That's fine Lieutenant," said the doctor. "I'm fine with jokes. Find 
them rather funny myself. I'll prove it in two days … at your exam 
appointment."

**Joke?** David watched the doctor exit the bridge. Norallah, Bak, and 
Hurt just smiled.

Giving up on any sort of explanation, D.J. turned back to his station. 
**Well, that didn't explain anything**

Xiam looked at Norallah with a questioning look. Pointing at D.J.. "He 
the primary? Cool."

He then got up, letting Norallah resume her station. He then walked 
over to D.J. "Hi, I'm Xiam. Ensign Bak Xiam. Pleased to meet you. 
That's Ensign Reg Hurt over at the security station."

"Hello," Reg said.



As Jayngo walked down the corridor, he started working ahead on who he 
would be seeing within the next day, and mentally dividing up the crew 
amongst his medical staff. For the most part, he had handpicked the 
entire group, save for Doctor Agra and Nurse Kuehl. They would be able 
to work through a larger number of crewmen if they all worked in teams 
for twelve-hour shifts, and Agra pulling the swing shift for basic 
examinations.

As he approached sickbay, however, the denoted volume of a one-sided 
argument drew his attention and caused him to pick up speed. As he 
entered the room, he noticed that an Andorian member of the command 
crew had one of his people cornered. The officer was stating loudly, 
"If I wanted to be examined by a lowly crewman, do you think I would 
have signed up aboard a galaxy-class starship? Who do you think you 
are!?"

"But sir," the crewman attempted to countermand, "you were the one 
insisting that it had to be taken care of immediately."

"Is there a problem here?" Jayngo's voice was stern, but still had the 
markings of friendliness as he approached the duo. He noticed as the 
Andorian's eyes darted directly to the area that pips would be on a 
normal person, followed up to their actual location, then continued up 
even further to Jayngo's face.

"I'm looking for the Chief Medical Officer. I'm here for my physical."

"I'm Doctor Jayngo. I don't recall scheduling any appointments this 
early.  You are ...?"

"Lieutenant Indigor. I thought I would come in early and get it out of 
the way."

Jayngo smiled, though it lacked the good nature and pleasantness of his 
normal grin. "Well, Lieutenant, I'm sorry I wasn't here to serve you 
personally, but I was in the Captain's Senior Staff meeting. But I am 
sure that Crewman Tarses could have helped you."

"I wasn't notified of a senior staff meeting. I hope the Captain will 
forgive my absence."

"I don't think that will be a problem. Everyone she was expecting was 
present."

Indigor's surprise registered on his face. "She didn't want Flight 
Control present?"

"Yes, she did. And the Chief Flight Controller was there."

"I was under the impression that I was ranking Flight Control Officer 
aboard."

"That may be," Jayngo let loose of his patented smile, "but that 
doesn't make you Chief."

Indigor's temper was clearly rising, but held in check in front of the 
large doctor. "Anyway, I can't have just anyone running my examination. 
The Andorian physiology is far more complex ..."

"Than a hand-picked member of my staff can handle?" Jayngo finished. 
"Mr. Tarses is well versed in physiology of over fifty Federation 
races, including Andorian's, and had the distinction of serving aboard 
the Federation flagship for a year. He has my full faith and support." 
As Jayngo watched Indigor begin to stammer and Tarses' lip curl up in 
appreciation, he completed with, "however, if you would feel more 
secure in having me do the exam, I can oblige. Mr. Tarses, could you 
get me a set of rubber gloves?"

Indigor's look turned to panic. "Gloves? What for?"

"For the exam, of course. You see, scanners are very thorough, but I 
believe in getting in there and doing hands on searching." Jayngo took 
the gloves from Tarses and slowly pulled them over his large hands, 
snapping the edges as he finished. "My other doctors believe in just 
relying on the scanners, but I'm just as happy with the old-fashioned 
ways. Mr. Tarses, you may need to get me a tube of lubricant out of the 
drawer over there. Mr. Indigor looks like a small man and I may need 
the assistance."

Indigor turned a sky blue. "You know, on second thought, I am kind of 
busy right now. Maybe I'll come back for my scheduled appointment."

"That may be best. Dismissed, Lieutenant." As the Andorian quickly left 
the sick bay, Jayngo turned to Tarses. "Remind me, Simon, to make sure 
his appointment is with Doctor Sule. It should be an interesting 
experience for him. And get rid of these for me," he said while 
removing the gloves, "I'm glad we keep such novelties around for acts 
such as this."