Tal Tel-ar

Tal had to duck his head in order to step out of the shuttle. As he did the heat struck him like a living thing. It was an intense dry heat that could suck the moisture from an exposed man and leave him a withered husk if he was not careful. It had been almost 4 years since he had last been here. Back then he had been just a simple Lt. with a simple job. Unfortunately it had been one that had blown up in their faces. Now he had a bounty on his head. One that would pay more than most of these people could hope to make in 2 lifetimes. Some would think him crazy for coming back here, to this cess pool of a planet. Back to Cart’hen III, but it was something he had to do. Soon he would be going to Earth. The home world of the woman he was going to ask to be his wife. And he could not do that. Not until he had gotten revenge. Revenge for the savage injuries he had suffered while in police custody. Injuries that had left him flat on his back closer to death than alive. Injuries that had taken 6 months of constant surgeries just to give him back the hope that he might walk again one day. After that he had been confined to a hover chair for over a year. Now, finally after 4 long years he was back to normal. His life was back on track. In fact it was going better than he had ever thought it would. He was now the first officer on the USS Challenger-A and soon if every thing went right he would be married to Elina Rose Kincade. A dark haired beauty with fire and spirit. A sudden sound snapped him out of his memories and instantly Tal noticed what had caused it. The rattle and clanking came from what passed as public transportation around here. It was a large, heavy, rusted contraption that moved on wheels. From the sounds of it the thing was on its last legs but would probably still be in use long after he had left. Behind the engine with its driver were 2 flatbed ore cars. The vehicle stopped and the driver yelled out some mish, mash that passed for the local slang. Fortunately Tal understood him. It was probably the only good thing to come from his previous visits here. For a moment Tal considered walking. It would probably take about as much time to get to the city as riding on that thing and he would probably not be sore as hell once he arrived. Unfortunately that would make him stand out. Right now he wanted to blend in so he walked forward, paid his fare and moved to the last ore car where he climbed up and sat with his legs hanging over the sides. As he waited patiently for the vehicle to move his thoughts drifted back to his last visit here. Everything had gone wrong. Someone had informed what passed for a government around here of their arrival. That and enough about their mission that steps had been taken to stop them. Tal had been acting as the advance scout. The initial meeting with their contact had proceeded as planned but then the city police had appeared and Tal had been forced to run with the girl. They had made a good try at escaping. Unfortunately the girl had been tagged and they had followed her with ease. They had run right into a trap, one that had cost the girl her life and left Tal bleeding and unconscious. When he had regained consciousness he had been hanging from the ceiling in a small dark room. A couple of the police men worked him over good before he met with their superior. That’s when the real pain had started. After that it was all a blur. The sudden jolt as the vehicle started moving snapped him out of the memory and back to reality. Tal forced him self to relax. To ignore the choking clouds of dust that soon covered him and made his eye’s sting. After what seemed an eternity the painfully slow and cumbersome vehicle made the long 3 mile trip from the landing field over the rim and down the inside of the old strip mine to where the city lay at the bottom of the pit. As soon as it rumbled to a stop Tal hopped off, slapping at the robes that he was wearing. Each slap resulted in a small cloud of dust which he ignored as he glanced around. It took only a few moments for him to spot his contact. She looked so much like her older sister that is was almost uncanny. For a moment he regretted risking her life like he had her sisters. Still he vowed that this time he would not fail. The tall slim, yet curvy girl walked over. She appeared nervous. She kept starting to glance around but stopped herself. As she got closer she refused to look at him. Her large green eye’s kept shifting, as she looked anywhere but at his face. Instantly Tal reached up to pull the hood back and off his head. He needed his antenna to be free in order for him to be able to use them to their maximum effect. Almost instantly he managed to overhear something that made him reach for one of the 2, Andorian phaser’s he had under his robes. As he did Tal kept scanning the crowds. He kept shifting his gaze quickly back and forth as he twisted to see behind him as well. There, over near the alley between two dilapidated buildings were 2 police officers. There was no way he would ever forget those uniforms. “Duck!” Tal yelled at the girl as he grabbed her with one hand and opened fire with the other. He could see the fear on her face as her pale amber skin flushed a deeper shade of yellow. “We have to run.” She managed to reply. “They mean to make an example of you.” “How did they know I was going to be here?” Tal asked her as he propelled her ahead of him into the closest alley way.” “I don’t know.” She replied. “They were waiting for me at my place 2 days ago. They gave me a choice. Lead you into a trap or spend the rest of my life in prison.” Tal glanced out and fired a couple more shots. What had been a crowded little market area was now empty. It was empty except for the dozen or so uniformed policemen who were leapfrogging towards them through the ramshackle mess of overturned carts and crates. “Where to?” Tal asked her as he glanced back at where she crouched down behind him. She looked back up at him. Her big eye’s wide and her face a picture of indecision. As soon as he saw the look Tal knew he was in trouble. “They have the area covered. We’re trapped.” Tal returned his glance to the front as he reached into his robes and pulled out the other phaser. Now with one in both hands he felt better, more confidant of their chances. “In that case follow me!” Tal called as he charged out into the open. As he did Tal fired with both weapons and he kept up a steady stream of fire as he moved as swiftly as his 6’4” athletic form would allow him. “Are you crazy!” she shrieked from behind him but Tal never even slowed down. As he figured it his only chance was to break out of this trap before they could close the jaws tight around him. When he reached the closest open alley way on the other side of the market area he slowed to look behind him and to fire a few more shots. He was a little surprised to see the girl ducking and weaving as she tried to catch up. As he had expected the cops were ignoring her and the majority of the weapons fire was directed towards him. As soon as she had entered the alleyway Tal turned and took off. Even with all the hours he had spent memorizing the maps for this city he was still not sure where he was or where he was going. Still anyplace was better than here. With that in mind Tal forced himself to move as fast as he could which when you considered the narrowness of many of these alleyways and the breadth of his shoulders made it pretty hard. Even with that Tal was pretty sure they were moving fast enough that they should be able to out pace the cops who were following them. That is until he burst out into an open street to see a large tactical vehicle with city police markings all over it. For a second Tal debated weather it would be safer to dash into another alley or to back track his steps. That is until he spotted the face of the man he had returned here after as one of the men in the vehicle. At that point his mind kind of went into overdrive and everything around him seemed to slow down. With out a single pause in his forward motion Tal rushed to the side of the vehicle and thrust his weapons in through the open firing ports and started shooting as fast as he could trigger his weapons. It was only the sudden tugging on his arm and the freaked out shrieks of the girl that snapped him out of it long enough to let his logical mind take over. A quick glance showed that everyone in the vehicle was stunned. If they were lucky they had a few minutes left before there pursuers caught up to them. Tal opened the door and reached in. One by one he pulled the unresisting police men out of the vehicle and then dumped them into the dirt and filthy of the street. The last one he pulled out was the man he had come back here for. His dark features still retained a degree of superiority and cruel vindictiveness. “Are you crazy. Do you know who that is? “ The girl asked in a panicked tone. “Yes. I know who it is. He is the man who killed your sister and then tortured me almost to death.” Tal replied in a voice that was as hard and unforgiving as steel. “Him?” the girl replied in a stunned tone. Then her face twisted up with hate as she started to hit him with her tiny fists. “You son of a [...]." You motherless targ humping dung eating #$%^&*.” For a moment Tal let her vent her anger. Then he dropped the man and reached out to grab her. “We don’t have time for this. Get in.” Tal commanded. For a second she continued to struggle and kick out, but then she finally stopped. Tears were trickling down her face and she had to stifle the sobs of fear and loss. With one last good kick she gave it up and entered the vehicle. As for Tal he looked down at the man he had come so far to find and kill and was surprised to find that the suppressed rage and hate was gone. Maybe seeing the young woman venting her rage had snapped him out of it. Or more likely it was his renewed belief in the vows he had taken as a Starfleet Officer. Regardless Tal knew he could not kill the man in cold blood. Still he could make the man pay for the many acts of cruelty that had marked his climb to power. With a slight smile on his face Tal reached down and easily picked the man up. For a brief second Tal just held him. Then he smashed the man down onto his bent leg. Tal could feel his spine snap like a twig and even stunned as he was he still gasped out in pain. Then he dropped the body like a sack of meal and leapt into the open door of the vehicle. He was just in time. Weapons fire struck around him and he felt the sudden hot burn of pain as he was hit in the side. Spinning around Tal slammed the door closed and then he turned to climb into the driver’s seat. As he did the engine started and the vehicle lurched into motion. A single glance showed it was the girl. After a few seconds it was also apparent that this was her first time driving as the vehicle bounced off first one building and then rebounded to hit one on the other side of the narrow street. Tal was bounced around like a tennis ball for a few moments until she got the hang of it. “Head up to the shuttle pad.” Tal told her as he finally found a safe and comfortable location in which to survive her driving skills. “What good will that do?” she asked. “It’ll get us clear of the jamming devices and I can call for a beam out.” “Oh. So you’re leaving.” “We’re leaving. It’s the least I can do. After all I owe you. If not for me your sister might still be alive.” “It wasn’t your fault.” “I know that. Still I can’t leave you behind. Especially after that. Your life would be in constant jeopardy.” She shot him a glance but remained silent. All her concentration geared towards trying to keep the vehicle on what passed for a road. In a lot less time than it had taken to travel down into the city, Tal found himself transported back up and out of the huge pit that it had been built in. Instantly he dug into a concealed fold in the robes he was wearing and pulled free his comms badge. At the first tap a signal connection was established and he allowed a slight smile to appear on his normally stoic features. “Lt. Cmdr Tel-ar to Runabout Neptune, 2 to beam aboard.” A few seconds later the familiar transporter affect shifted their molecules thousands of meters into the sky and out into the depths of space. There to reappear inside the craft in question. “Sir is everything OK?” asked the youthful Bolian male who sat in the pilots seat. “Everything’s Ok Ensign. Take us back to Starbase 118.” “Yes Sir.” He replied as he turned back to the controls and proceeded to obey orders. Tal turned to where the girl sat, seemingly stunned. “Are you OK?” he asked. She turned to look at him, a faint look of wonder on her face. “I’m in space?” Tal relaxed and moved to sit down on the closest seat before he answered her. As he did he spoke in a soft, almost gentle tone. “Yes. Your in space.” “What… where will I go?” she asked in wonder. A little bit of fear and panic breaking through. “Don’t worry. I can think of a number of worlds where you can go to live. All of them a 100 times nicer than that dust pit below us.” She seemed about to ask another question but Tal spoke before she could. “Enough questions for now. You must be tired. There is a bed back there that you can sleep in.” As he said it Tal pointed the way for her. She gave him a tired smile as she allowed herself to be distracted. Then she got up and moved towards the bed. As she did Tal let his thoughts wander. He might not have killed the man responsible for making his life a living hell for 2 years but he had gotten revenge. Even better he had been able to safe the sister of the young woman who had lost her life trying to help him back then. Tal allowed a slight smile to temporarily sweep across his face. He could live with the results of this trip. Now all he had to do was find a ring. One with a large enough stone to impress Elina’s family and as his friend Jason would say. Seal the deal.

Captain Adams turned to gaze towards his first officer. A slight smile on his face as he asked the question. “Let me guess George. Local folklore says this system is taboo, right?” His friend and first officer turned to face him. He had a tall slim angular face, slightly pale with very short dark brown hair frosted with gray at the temples. “Not taboo. Just off limits to those who want to survive,” he replied in a soft drawl. “Of coarse.” Adams replied as he shook his head. “Why am I not surprised.” “Maybe because you know me so well.” “Better than I care to admit.” The Captain said jokingly. “So tell me more.” “Not much to tell really. System 628 is empty except for a huge asteroid field circling a red dwarf star. According to our records it’s never been examined except by long range sensors.” “Standard Federation protocol.” “True. However while I was on Felona IV, I found out that a number of vessels have been lost in this system never to be seen again.” “So your curiosity sparked you into talking me into taking the time to do a proper survey of the system.” “Basically.” Replied George in the same soft drawl that was so distinctive. “I hope we find something more than the last half dozen times.” “They have not all been a total waste of time. What about Sigma Corvin II?” “Sigma Corvin II! I got shot, stabbed, punched…” the Captain exclaimed. “And found the origin of the space eel legend.” His friend interrupted him to say. Just then the USS Bobcat, a defiant class vessel slipped out of warp speed to slow to a complete halt. The interruption serving to halt the current line of conversation as they both turned to look forward. “Edwin, run a complete set of scans.” “All ready on it sir.” “Good man.” Replied the Captain. “Sandra take us closer to the asteroid field.” “As you wish, sirhh,” responded the delightful blonde bombshell. As always the sound of her soft, sexy voice was startling and stimulating to the males on the bridge. Especially as they all knew that her voice was just a small part of what made her the most enticing female on the ship. And while her looks and voice were what kept the men looking and wishing, it was her skill as a pilot that had made her so valuable to the Captain. Slowly the image on the view screen changed as the asteroid field in the distance slowly came into view. “Sir. System is clean except for the asteroid field.” “Nothing?” asked the Captain as he turned a cynical eye towards his first officer. “Well nothing in the system. However there seems to be something weird regarding the scans of the asteroid field.” “What do you mean weird?” asked the Captain as he spotted the sudden “I told you” grin on his friends face. “None of the readings make any sense. I can’t get any reliable data from within the field.” “All stop.” Snapped the Captain as he stood and stalked forward to glare at the view screen. He stood like that for a few moments then turned to look at his science officer. “Any ideas or thoughts as to why or how our scans are being blocked?” “Honestly sir. I can’t even confirm they are being blocked. Just that the readings don’t seem to make any sense.” “Care to explain that?” “My scans show multiple asteroids with the same exact readings. Right down to the weight and content.” “How mysterious,” replied the first officer in a pleased tone. “What would you say the odds were against that. 100 to 1 “ he asked. “No sir you don’t understand. It’s not just a few asteroids. It’s hundreds, maybe thousands of them.” Exclaimed the science officer. “Hundreds! Thousands! Are you sure?” asked the first officer. “Yes. I double checked my findings 3 times.” “Edwin, launch a class 3 probe.” Ordered the Captain. “Hopefully that will give us some answers.” “I hope so sir.” The young man replied as he got busy with his sensors and readouts. The Captain turned towards where his first officer was still sitting. A concerned look on his face as he asked, “Ok. So maybe there is something to this local tall tale. Just what do we know?” “Well. According to what I could find out this system has long been considered as a kind of Bermuda Triangle. Ships come in and vanish with out a trace. So far I found records for over 60 ships over a 100 year period.” “Anything else?” “Well the last missing ship was over 10 years ago but that is because the locals all avoid this system and there is really no reason for anyone else to come any where close to it.” “There’s got to be more to it than that,” replied the Captain. “True. According to some very old documents I found while on leave this system use to be the home to a race called the As’akani. A very old space faring race that suddenly vanished. An investigation by the few species close enough that had space worthy vessels showed that the planet was gone. Replaced by this asteroid field. That would be about 180 to 185 years ago. After that it’s all speculation.” “Great. That means we could be dealing with some kind of alien defensive system that survived the destruction of their homeworld.” “SIR! The probe. It’s gone,” exclaimed Edwin. “The Captain spun to confront the young man. What do you mean gone?” “Just that sir. One second it was there and then it was gone.” “A probe just can’t vanish. Something had to happen to it.” “I know Captain. But the only readings I have don’t make much sense.” “Explain Lt.” “Well. If I didn’t know better I would swear that the drone passed into some kind of cloaking field. Just before it vanished it recorded an increase in tachyon emissions and accelerated particles.” “So there may be something out there?” “Maybe sir, but I can’t be positive.” For the next few minutes the Captain paced back and forth. He claimed that it helped him think but it was also a good way to work off some nervous energy. And right now he was nervous. Something had been eliminating ships in this system for a very long time. “George. Just what kinds of ships have vanished in this system?” “Mostly freighters. However there have been a few warships. The most famous would be the heavy cruiser B’Ran. It was lost about 60 years ago and belonged to the Tovin Confederacy. It would be about equivalent to one of our older light cruisers.” “Great. Just great. So what ever is out there would easily out class us.” “Probably,” responded the first officer. Again the Captain paced back and forth. As he did he occasionally glanced at the main view screen. Finally he stopped pacing and faced front. “All right. Ensign Ravig open a comms channel to Starbase 111.” “Yes sir,” replied the eager young Bolian. “Channel open.” “This is Captain Marcus Adams of the USS Bobcat. We are currently in system 628 investigating unusual energy readings located inside the asteroid field. There have also been numerous reports of missing vessels within….” Just then the comms officer interrupted the Captain.“ Sir our comms signal has been jammed. I’m trying to bypass the interference but it’s just to powerful.” “Did any of the message get out? Asked the Captain urgently. “Maybe half.” He replied in an agitated manner. “Right. Sandra move us away from the asteroid field. Maximum impulse power.” “Yes sirhh!” As the ship started to move away Sandra suddenly exclaimed, “Sir. 4 ships just appeared. High levels of tachyon emissions and particle acceleration detected as they decloaked .” “All stop. Open a hailing frequency.” Snapped the Captain. “Channel open.” “This is Captain Marcus Adams of the Federation vessel USS Bobcat. This is unclaimed space. What are your intentions?” For a few moments nothing happened. Then the image on the view screen changed. It was replaced by the image of a cloaked individual with a hood over their head that completely hid their appearance. They were seated and behind them was a strange emblem of gold on red. “We are the As’akani. This is our space. You will follow us or be destroyed.” “No. I don’t think so,.” replied the Captain. “We are a peaceful ship conducting a routine survey of this system. If you detain us it may be considered an act of war and while the Federation is a peaceful coalition of species and planets they can and will defend themselves.” “We are the As’akani. This is our space. You have no right being here.” “According to our records this is an empty system. Half of the sentient species with in 20 light years of here are members of the Federation and they have no record of this being an inhabited system.” “We will defend our world. All trespassers are to be detained or destroyed.” “Before you do something you may regret. Let me remind you that part of our message got out. Also the Federation has a record or where we are and why we are here. But even more importantly the Federation is made up of more than 100 species and over a thousand worlds. I would suggest you contact your superiors before you do any thing.” Just then the view screen went blank. “I guess that means we wait,” quipped his first officer. “I hope so,” responded the Captain. “I sure hope so.” Now they waited. Time seemed to drag by slowly until a new image appeared on the main view screen. This time is was an individual wearing a gold robe and hood.” “The As’akani have heard of the Federation. We do not wish to engage in any hostile actions but we do not want our presence known.” “I understand. However I cannot make any promises. That’s for my superiors to decide.” “We understand. We will wait for their decision.” Again the view screen suddenly went blank followed a few moments later by the 4 ships slowly fading from view. “Interesting. Who would have guessed this would turn into a first contact situation,” said the first officer. “Yeah, well the next time you discovery another myth you want to investigate. Save it for your own command,” replied the Captain. “I’m getting to old for this.” "What ever you say old bean," replied George with a shake of his head.

Thank you for the compliment Lt JG Thomas Gregory I just finished reading your entry... nice work... Also an interesting approach to the subject. I think thats one of the things I enjoy the most about this challenger of writeing original short stories. Seeing just how varied the responses are to a single simple topic or subject. In most cases no 2 entries are even slightly similar. I think from what I have seen of this rounds entries that the judges really have their work cut out for them again this time. Good luck to everyone who entered.

I found this to be one of the more challenging topics so far. I must have started a couple different stories only to see them petter out and fail to convey what I had been trying to achieve. In the end I started over and went with a totally different concept. Not sure how well it meets the writeing challenge concept but I just ran out of time and gave it my best shot.

Looking up, Tal shielded his eye's. The star that shown down onto this world was bright. It appeared to be yellowish, yet it's intense rays were warm against his blue skin. The slight breeze that was ruffling his short white hair was also warm. But what he noticed most was that the star was not as intense as that of Ten-nok VII, but was stronger than that of Andor. Shaking his head Tal dropped his gaze to the strange world around him. He had never imagined a place like this. So... different. Not only did it look unlike anything he had ever seen before it also smelled different. And what a smell. His antenna twitched from the strong salty stink. In response Tal walked away from where the pounding waves were crashing onto the pale, granular ground. In many ways it reminded him of home. The vast deserts of Ten-nok VII. Except there the ground was reddish, black. As far as the eye could see with out any waves and very little water. But not here. Oh no. Here there was so much of it that he could not even see the other side. He had never seen so much water at one time before. Not even when he had been taken from Ten-nok and transported to Andor. Now true he knew there were large bodies of water on Andor, he just had never seen them. In fact the only memories he had of Andor was of small dark rooms. Individuals who taught him to read and speak Andorian and Federation standard. Of tall majestic cities and the ice cliffs of the south pole. Now he was here. Banished from Andor. Cast out by his people. Fortunately for him they spoke Federation standard here. Even if he found it hard to understand some of them. Still it amazed him that they had so much water, water that was so useless. He still remembered taking a drink. The taste had shocked him. He had quickly spit out the little left in his mouth. It had been foul, tasting unlike anything he had every tried. Tal walked away from the water towards where he could see some people. They were clustered near some weird looking plants well back from the sand and water. Tall slim brown stalks thrust up into the sky, naked for more than 10 meters and it was only at the very top that some peculiar looking leaves could be found. They were about a meter in length and intense green in color. They did not seem to be of any use but the people moving around near them were to busy to notice much. Least of all the plants around them. As he got closer Tal noticed that there appeared to be a number of different species gathered in this location. A large number of them had dark skins of various shades but a few were tan or pale. They were all dressed fairly similarly, but Tal could not determine what kind of uniform it was. If it was a uniform. Something about it did not quite seem right if they were uniforms. As he got close they noticed him and suddenly stopped what ever it was they were doing to turn and face him. They also seemed to assume a rather aggresive nature but Tal was not sure. All aliens were a mystery to him. "Ay. Wat's yo prob!" demanded one of them. He had a hard face and dark eye's. He moved out from the others with a kind of swagger. "I do not understand your question," Tal replied as he stopped walking. Something was not right. All his senses told him to be on his guard. "Tupid blu skin. Git ouut ere for I ctt offf yurr preakin dyck," he snarled back as he pulled out a large blade and waved it before him in a menacing manner. For a moment Tal almost moved forward. The desire to fight warred with his common sense. In the end he backed off. If he was going to live on this world he would need to learn more about it's laws and customs. He ignored the jeers and yells as they seemed to celebrate his leaveing. Shaking his head Tal was puzzled. It had been obvious to him that the man knew very little about knife fighting yet the others all seemed to consider him a leader. Once he was back on the pale, tan, granular material the bordered the huge body of foul tasting water he walked back towards the taller buildings. From the looks of things it would soon be night. He should find his destination now while there were still people around to ask directions from. However if they all spoke Federation standard like those back there he may have more difficulty than he had expected. In the distance he could see some strange construction high above the water. It stretched from one side of the large bay to the other. Behind it towered the tall, gleaming structures of the main part of this city. These towers were so massive with clean straight lines. Unlike the ones on Andor. After he had walked for a while he reached the place where he had originally walked down to see the water. It was not very far from the shuttle pad where he had been dropped off early this morning. Here he turned and walked away from the water. His eyes looking eagerly for some sign, some indication of where he should go next. Soon he had passed the landing pads, some of them were empty and others held silent shuttles. In no time he had passed by some large buildings to exit onto a large grassy area with trees and numerous walkways made of some pale hard substance. Here he stopped and looked around. Tal remembered that this morning someone had told him that his destination would be plainly marked but he could not see anything that might be a sign. "Excuse me. Can I help you?" asked a soft feminine voice. Tal spun, slightly suprised that he had not noticed anyone approach. What he saw was a tall, slim female with ebony black skin who was almost as tall as he was. She was obviously athletic and had a strong, confidant manner. "Yes... Could you direct me to the Academy." "No problem. Just head towards that building over there." she said as she pointed towards a large gleaming structure in the distance. "Thats the main Administration building." "Thank you," Tal replied as he turned away and walked off with long quick strides. Such a strange world this planet Earth was. Would even 4 years here make it any less a puzzle?

Gul Monak stood quietly, stareing out the window onto the alien world before him. It must have been an impressive city before the fall. Even now the enormity of the ruins stretching as far as he could see, blocked out any sight of anything else. Not that he really cared. This [...] world was a curse. When would the High Command learn. The occupation of Earth was bleeding the empire dry. They had lost over 50 warships in the last year trying to protect the freighters assigned to bring in supplies, troops and equipment. 50 warships... that did not even take into consideration the number of freighters they had lost, and for what. Barely enough raw resources to build what... maybe one or if they were lucky 2 replacements. The outgoing transports were being hit even harder than the stuff comeing in. He knew what they were saying back home on Cardassia Prime. That he had failed. His glorious future was gone. Even he had to admit it. There was no way he could redeem himself now. Not after loseing so many men. "[...] there eye's!!!" he roared as he clenched his fists at his side. All he had left was his pride. He would break these filthy humans. Make them pay until the planet ran red with their blood. No way would he let them continue to make him look like a fool. No. He turned and stalked away from the window. His grim face a ridgid mask hideing his anger, but his eye's could not hide that anger. They were dark black pools of boiling rage. Eye's that seemed to pierce right to the soul. He did not pause, but left his office. As he exited the room his elite bodyguards automatically fell in behind him. Another reminder of just how badly everything was going. He even needed them here, here in the heart of their command headquarters. In moments he reached the lift, stepped in and turned to face the door. His cold hard voice barely restrained as he requested his destination. His men again silently moveing to shield him on all sides as he did. "Sub-basement detention cells." A slight grin appeared like a ghost as he considered the prize awaiting him. His men had finally captured a number of rebels. Terrorists that he was looking forward to breaking. His hands clenched into fists as he anticipated the terror and agony that his specially trained examiners could inflict. They would be begging him for death before long. His pulse quickened at the thoughts of the screams that would be wrenched from the pits of their souls. Filthy disgusting animals. How dare they try to resist their masters, but they would learn. Soon they would..... BBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!! He was tossed like a rag doll, to bounce off first one body guard and then another. The lift bucked and screeched. The sound of metal against metal like a rusty blade thrust deeply into the ears. As sudenly as it started it ended. He found himself on the floor. It was tilted at an odd angle and one of his men was lying on top of him. He could hear moans and someone was screaming. The voice a shrill wail of unbelievable agony. Not unlike the ones he had been anticipateing hearing shortly. "Get off me," he commanded and the weight lifted off. As he pushed himself up the lift suddenly dropped another couple of feet. He slid, stopping when he struck the wall behind him. A glance around showed him the lift was destroyed. Two of his bodyguards were dead. It only took that one glance to be sure. After all one of them was missing half his head and the other had a jagged piece of metal almost the thickness of his arm sticking out of his chest. His glance also showed the source of the scream. It was another of his bodyguards. The man was covered in blood. He lay on the floor. His face was missing. The off white colored bone of his skull showing through the last few raw s[...]s of flesh that remained. It was obvious the man was useless. His eye's were also missing. With out thinking he picked up a disruptor that lay near him. Set it to maximum and shot the screaming man in the face. Then he stood and looked around. Only one of his body guards was still alive. The man stood near him ready to obey even with the look of shook that he quickly wiped from his face. The lift was a total loss. Half of it was missing. He could look out over the city through the gaping hole. Unless he was very saddly mistaken the humans had somehow managed to plant an explosive on it. From the sounds of the creaks and groans it was only a matter of time before the remains ripped free of the building and plunged to the ground below. "Throw them out." He commanded as he waved towards the 3 dead men. "Sir?" He spun to glare at the man. Was he stupid. "Throw them out before their weight kills us." He orded in a tone that made it clear that if the man was stupid enough to question another order he would be joining them in their freefall escape from this death trap. Then he turned his back on the man as he started to search for a possible way out. As he moved along the twisted metal doors he could hear the groans and subdued curses of his remaining bodyguard as he manhandled the bodies one by one towards the missing wall. Suddenly the lift bucked and dropped a dozen feet. For a second he was floating in the air but he quickly seized the closest piece of exposed metel. He gritted his teeth as his hand was cut to the bone when the lift stopped and he was smashed against the floor, ripped from his hand hold. Then he started to slid accross the floor. He snatched desperately at anything, kicking out with his feet as he searched for something to brace his body against. Suddenly his foot smashed into something soft that gave way with a scream. The moments contact was enough to slow his movement enough for him to stop his fall. He dragged in a deep breath and glanced behind him. He was alone but then he had expected that. That scream had obviously come from his last bodyguard. He could just see the mans body falling away far below. Looking around he could see that the lift was barely holding on. It was now tilted out from the building at such an extreme angle that he was amazed that it had not fallen all ready. As he held on he wondered what was taking his men so long. Were they complete morons. He swore under his breath as the lift shuddered under him. When he got out of here he would make them pay. All of them. Suddenly the lift dropped another couple feet. His legs now dangled over the missing wall, only his death grip on a jagged piece of exposed metal preventing him from falling. It cut into his fingers. His blood makeing the metal slick as it dripped drop by drop onto his face. The anger came back, hot and savage. He refused to let them win. He would survive. When he got out of this he would order thousands of them to be put to death. They would regret ever being born by the time he was finished. They would..... "AAARRRGGHHHH!!!!" He screamed as he lost his grip and plunged through the gap towards his death. His arms and legs flailing till the last second when he struck with so much force that the concrete was shattered. ******************** High above in the security office 3 men watched. All of them were highly ranked officers within the occupation forces. Normally they would not be in here. The room would be full to overflow with dozens of highly trained men monitoring the various devices. Not now. They had all been ordered out before the explosion had occured. "Well thats over." said one of the men. His tired frame sagging to let him sit on the edge of one of the desks. "Good ridance. He was going to be the death of us all." said the oldest man. One side of his face a mass of scar tissue. "True. Now maybe we can convince the high command that this is a total waste of men and resources." "I hope so." muttered the first man. "I hope so." Then one by one they all left. The last to leave was the tired man. His face sad as he glanced behind him one last time. His vision resting for a long lingering moment on the monitor that showed the dead body of Gul Monak. The commander of the occupations forces on Earth. "Goodby brother.... goodby." he said as he turned and slowly shuffled out of the room.

This needs to be advertised accross the fleet if you want to get any response. I did not even know that they were up and going again. in Aug.

Good Name for a Shuttle Pain. The first thing he felt was pain. Everything hurt. It even hurt to open his eye's. Well one eye. The other one refused to open. His head felt strange. Still opening the one eye had been a harder task than he had expected. Much harder. Not that he could see much. It was dark. The only light some sparks from some exposed wires and control panels. For a second he felt light headed. Everything seemed to spin out of control. His mouth felt dry and he could smell something burning. He tried to move. His leg was pinned. He could't budge what ever it was. Somehow he managed to sit up. Just doing that left him breathless and covered in sweat. He took a few minutes to catch his breath. The spinning of the room slowed and finally stopped. Blinking he was finally able to focus. To see where he was. Around him were the shattered bodies of the rest of his squad. The shuttle they had been in was destroyed beyond repair. That was obvious to him. Not even one of those supposed engineering miracle workers from one of the larger starships could have probally fixed the thing. A glance towards the front showed that the pilot was a lost cause. Too bad she had been friendly, with an amazing smile. For a second a lump formed in his throat. Then he shook it off and set about moveing the debrie pinning his leg. It took him a while. Especially as he obviously had some cracked ribs to go along with all the other bruses, contusions and lacerations. Still he managed. Mind you he had to rest for a few seconds when he was done. That concerned him more than he wanted to admit. That and the wheezeing sound he was makeing while trying to breathe. NO. He didn't have time for this. He had to check the rest of his squad. He had made it, maybe some of them had to. He forced himself to move. Slowly mind you but move he did. He had no idea how long it took. One by one he checked them all. Bad tempered Toa'xx, the scrounger Jigger, crimson skinned Din'Ov'ok and lovely Kincaide. They were all dead. With a feeling of deep loss he closed Kincaide's eye's. He could feel himself start to lose it. He hadn't cried since he was a kid and his pet dog Bullet had been killed in an accident. He smashed his fist against the bulkhead again and again, screaming his rage into the silent interior. The echoes screamed back. Finally he stopped. They were gone. He was alone and knowing the enemy they would soon come looking to make sure they were all dead. He had to get his head out of his [...] and get prepared or he would join his friends. With a snarl he started to check the bodies again. Looking for anything that was still useable. It took a while. At one point he was sure that he had passed out again. He was unsure. Just he was face down on the floor and he did not remember how he got there. He had found some stuff. From the med kit he took a hypo-spray and gave himself a small dose of adrenaline. It perked him right up and he was able to finish searching the bodies. Then he tried to open the rear hatch. It did not respond. Not supriseing with out any power to work it. He shook his head. Their was a way to open them in an emergency... he had to think... what was it... Then he remembered. Poping the cover on the control circutry he managed to activate the emergency release. As he did the hatch blew out, the shaped charges flipping the hatch away from the ship to land a few feet away. As soon as he did the heat hit him, sweeping in instantly and makeing him start to sweat. Their was a glare off the rock that he could see. Obviously caused by the sun. If he was going to survive out there he would need shelter but as far as he could see the ground was rough but fairly flat. No vegetation, hills or other possible locations for shelter. Guess he would have to improvise. *********************************** He leaned back against the hull of the ruined shuttle. So exhaused that he could barely keep his eye's open. He had used up 1 whole power cell in a hand phaser creating this shelter. Over half of it was underneath the shuttles smashed hull. That provided a welcome relief from being melted alive out in the blast furnace that was the surface of this bleak world. It was still hotter than heck but anything was better than being out there. It also gave him space in which to store all the supplies he had been able to save. Not alot really. If he rationed the food and water he could probally survive for a week. Weapon wise he had enough firepower to hold off an army if need be. After a few moments he forced himself to get up. It was a struggle. His body was starting to run low on energy and the heat was quickly sapping what little he had left but he wanted to make one last sweep of the interior of the shuttle and make sure their was nothing else left that he might be able to use. As he slowly climbed up out of his shelter he suddenly lost his balance just as... PPHHHSSSSSSHHHHH.. Spalng!!!! He ducked, reaching for the phaser on his belt. His cheek felt like it had been melted even thou the shot fired at him had not hit him, just come [...] close. Weapon ready he lifted his head to take a peak and sand exploded up into the air as another shot struck the ground just in front of him. He dropped back shakeing and curseing under his breathe. He was [...] lucky to be alive. Especially after makeing such a bone headed rank recruit move like that. As if he was going to be able to spot anything out there. Moron. He reached over and grabbed the scanner. Activateing the 4 seperate visual scanning devices he had concealed among the rubble near his shelter and the crashed shuttle. Slowly he checked the area. It took longer than he wanted but he spotted them. From the looks of it an entire squad of Jem'Hadar. Now it was a waiting game. *************************** He looked at the canteen and licked his lips. They were cracked, his mouth and throat so dry he could not remember what liguid felt like. Somehow he held off takeing a drink. It was the last of his water. He let his eye's close. They felt scratchy. A week. He had been able to hold them off for a week. There had been a few times he thought he wasn't going to make it. They had almost cought him two days ago while he was napping but fortunately the last of the anti-personnel mines he had buried in the ground had been triggered by one of the sneaky [...]s. For what seemed the hundredth time his mind drifted back. Memories sweeping over him. His childhood back home on Earth. The heat, sweating like crazy while rideing a brama bull at the local rodeo. His father's smile when he won the junior competition. Then 2 years later when he won the seniors. "I'm proud of you John." At the voice he looked to the side. There was his father. That slight twist to his lips that told you he was happy. The silver gray hair cut short. Those deep blue eye's of his. Even the twinkle was there. He crouched beside him wearing that same thing he always wore. A pair of old faded blue jeans. A faded brown checked shirt, worn cowboy boots and that old battered stetson he always wore outside. In his hands he held the antique rifle that normally rested on the wall above the fireplace. "Thanks Dad. What are you doing here?" He asked in a puzzled voice. His dad should be back on earth. "Didn't think I would let you hold the fort all by yourself did ya." Something about this didn't make any sense. "Dad?" "Yes" "You better get out of here dad. I'm not going to make it." "I know son. Thats why I'm here." "I tried dad." "You done great son." "Thanks dad." The older man then looked around. When he glanced up a smile appeared on his face. As it did he jerked his thumb towards the shuttle. "At least your fighting the good fight under a proud name son." What? He glanced up to where his dad had pointed. There it was. In big letters. Slightly damaged but still legable. USS Alamo. How had he never noticed that? Just then his father spoke again. His voice urgent. "Here they come." He started to reach for the phaser rifle on his lap but pushed it aside to grab 2 hand phasers instead. As he did he swallowed, amazed that he could. Blinking to clear his vision he twisted to face towards the enemy. As he did he could see his father, smile on his face lift up to open fire with his antique. "Take that you rascals." Then he glanced over at his son. "Ready?" "Yeah. Ready as I'll ever be." "Good. Lets teach them a lesson." The old man said as he jumped up and started to charge towards the enemy. "Coming dad." He said as he moved as fast as he could. He climbed up and out, almost falling down as he did. His knee slammed down onto a rock. The sudden pain flairing up his leg and makeing his eye's water. Somehow he regained his feet, running forward fireing with both phasers as he did. The enemy were faint images, blurred by the heat. His dad was screaming that silly old war cry he always used to open the rodeo with. For some reason it just seemed right. So he joined in. "REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!!"..........................................

I also agree with the spirit of getting this up and going again. And while I understand some of the concerns regarding the manner of voteing and who wins I thnk those are matters we can address once we have been able to get this up and running. As for some of the other comments... well this is for well written sims... to me that means a sim that can stand alone and be read by anyone even if they have no idea of the crew, ship, mission or shore leave that it takes place in. Haveing served on 4 different ships within the fleet so far I can honestly say that I have seen a large number of excellently written stand alone sims. They are out there and in many case's well worth shareing. Regardless lets breath some life into this puppy and then work on improveing it once we have some interest generated.

Between a Rock and Space "So what are our chances?" asked the slim young man with the long greenish hair. His amber skin was speckled with beads of persperation even though he was from a desert planet and normally use to temperatures much greater than they were now suffering through. "Honestly." responded the bald ebony skinned man in a tone that was almost impossible to hear as the upper half of his body was stuffed into an access hatch that was frankly smaller than he was. "Yeah." "Slim to nill." he managed to say before lapseing into silence. Standing the young man moved over to look out the front of the small craft. What he saw made him even more nervous. They were drifting through a huge asteroid field. As he watched a massive rock easily 50 times the size of their tiny shuttle blocked out the light from the distant sun as it slowly turned. "OK. Pull me out kid." came the faint voice from inside the access hatch. For a second the young man stood still, then he responded quickly by moveing back and bending down. Then after takeing a firm grip he started to tug. At first he could not move the man and he had a momentary flash of panic. What if the guy was stuck? How was he going to get him out? Then suddenly half of his upper body slid out of the hatch. The sudden movement made him lose his balance and he landed on his [...], smacking the back of his head against the bulkhead behind him. For a moment he was seeing double and felt dizzy. By the time the feeling had passed and he was able to focus on the image of the pilot, the man had managed to squirm the rest of the way out of the hatch. The persperation on his ebony skin made it shimmer faintly in the soft glow from the emergency lights. However the grim expression on his face did nothing to relieve the young man's feelings of impending doom. "So?" "Huh?" the pilot responded as he stoped in mid turn. "Oh... The engines are shot. Completely fried." The young man felt his faint hope slip away. Now he would never get home. Never see his family again. Worst of all he would leave his betrothed wondering. Did something happen to him or had he changed his mind. It was only when he noticed that the pilot had moved forward and settled into his seat that the faint spark of hope returned. "I thought you said the engines were fried?" "They are. I didn't waste my time with them." "So what did you do?" "Transfered emergency power to the manovering thrusters. They won't get us to your planet but they should get us out of this asteroid field." "WATCH OUT!!" exclaimed the young man as he instinctively covered his eye's. He cringed awaiting the inevitable impact as the shuttle was smacked into tiny little fragments by the sudden protrusion of gray stony material that seemed to appear like magik in front of the ship. When nothing happened he opened his eye's to see the asteroid slowly moveing out of the way. It took him a momment to realize it was the other way around. The pilot was manovering them towards an opening that hopefully would lead to the relative safety of space. It was only then that he noticed that his hands hurt. Looking down he saw that he was gripping the back of the seat in front of him so hard that his knuckles had turned white. "Relax kid. 10, 15 minutes tops and we chould be clear of any danger." "Go..good." he managed to respond. Still it was the longest 15 minutes of his life.

Well it is a finished story but I leave that up to you. I have no idea how to add that blue arrow symbol along the side unless... Is it the post icons (optional at the bottom) I will try that now

Talk about a lot of opinions and very good ideas. After haveing read what everyone else suggested I was tempted to keep my thoughts to myself. However I am attempting to become more involved so here I go. I think only 1 submission per writer per sim contest should be the limit. That would keep down the number of submissions and ensure that only the best make it to the contest for consideration. Also as there are a number of people who are not active here on the forums why not have 1 or 2 people, say the command staff for that ship nominate a sim when they think it is worthy of notice. That way even people who are not active on the forums can get the recognition they deserve for a well written sim. This way all the crews would have the same chance of representation. As for the question of self nomination. I have posted a few sims of my own in the last part of last year. I had a hard time doing so and probally will not do so in the future as I really think being nominated should be based on the reactions that your sim has garnered from your fellow crew. Writing stories for the writing contest is more than enough chance for you to showcase what you think is your best efforts. I think the Best Sims contest should be a chance for your fellow crew to advance what they think was a very well written post. A chance to showcase the best sims from your ship and crew during that contest period. Regardless of how this contest is changed in the future. It is still an excellent chance to expose the Fleet to the writting abilities of some of the better sims.

Ta'ar wiped the sweat from his face. It always amazed him how much he could sweat this far under ground away from the sweltering heat of the desert above. Still his shift was almost over, for which he was grateful. He was just glad that today he was working close to the main vertical shaft. Yesterday it had taken him almost 2 hours to get out of the tunnels and make his way up to the bowels of the city above. Today he would probally be able to make the trip in less than a half hour. Maybe he would take the time to go by the Targ's [...] for a few drinks after he had eaten and cleaned up. Not that he really drank much there. No, if truth be told he never ordered anything stronger than fruit juice. Still cost him twice what a shot of gut churning fire water would have cost. No. He went to watch the girls. OK. 1 girl. Be're. One of the few Cart'hen females he had ever seen working these dives. He was pretty sure she was only a half breed. Her features were softer, with a much darker colorization than most of his people. Added to that was the long dark brown hair she had. None of his people could grow hair that long. Still, she was a beauty with her short, silky, tan body fur, trim, athletic body and sensual movements. Crack!!! "Get back to work ya maggot." snarled a gravelly harsh voice behind him. The sound and the sudden shot of pain let him know that one of the overseer's had spotted him slacking off. He took it. He had learned early that if he wanted to keep the job he had no choice. In fact none of the other mines would hire him. Not after all the trouble he had caused at some of them. He had been lucky to find this job. Other wise he would have had to travel on foot over 500 km accross the desert to the city of Toith to find another job. No. As much as he wanted to feed the man his own whip, Ta'ar just gritted his teeth and continued to feed fuel into the fire. Not much longer and his day would be over. Maybe he would get lucky and run into the gutless worm topside. Not much chance of that. Besides all he really wanted was to clean up, get something to eat and have a huge pitcher of cold water. Oh yes, and go see Be're dance. Yes he would go to the Targ's [...] tonight. He might even spend 10 credits and get her to dance for him in private. WHHHOOOOOOO!!!!! A smile crossed his face at the sound of the steam whistle. Quittin time. Ta'ar moved to join the rest. Waited in line to turn in his tools and be signed out. Then he had to hurry over and join the line waiting for the cargo lift. By the time he stepped off the lift onto solid ground again and moved off into the lowest levels of the city he was ready for a change. No, not just ready. Eager. He pushed through the crowds of smelly, filthy, rag wearing people. one hand at his belt, the other ready to strike if need be. Yes, tonight he would visit the "Targ's [...]", but first he would stop at the "Good Eats". It was one of the few places that served native dish's. Not that the food was really tasty. In fact depending on the day it could be rather disgusting. Still it was better than trying to eat some of the stuff the other races laughtingly called food. Just as he was about to enter the place he spotted a face he knew, followed by another. NO. It could not be. He would have never expected to see them here in the city. They hated any and everything alien, and the city was pure 100% alien. Still they were here. And if they were here then something serious must be wrong somewhere. As he moved to join them, they spotted him as well. It was obvious they did not approve of his manner of dress. They wore the tradition robes and garments of the desert, while he dressed just like the rest of the aliens around him. Still they said nothing, greeting him in silence. "What do you want," Ta'ar demanded. "You must return to the tribe," replied the elder of his 2 cousins. "What! Which part of NO and Never do you not understand?" "You must Ta'ar. It's your turn to lead our people." It took a second for the meaning behind those word to filter in. For them to come looking for him after the tragic disaster that had resulted in his swearing never to return. The only possible reason was that the rest of his family was dead. Just the thought made his legs feel weak. As much as he had argued and fought with them he had loved his grandfather and both older brothers. Ta'ar turned away. His mind a confused jumble of questions and memories. It was only the firm hand on his shoulder that kept him from wandering off in a daze. How? Why? When? "Why must it be this shola," grumbled his younger cousin. "Because it is his destiny." "He spat on our traditions when he joined these... $%^&*." "Ki'er!" snapped his older brother. "Take care." "Why. It should be you leading our people. Not him." "No. Ta'ar may be many things. But he is also our chief." "Quit argueing." Snapped Ta'ar as he shook off the hand. He spun to face them. His eye's a little wild. His voice hard, strong and commanding as he demanded. "What happened to the others?" "Your grandfather took your brothers into the desert. They were going to undergo the rite of Pra'tok. When they failed to return we went looking." At this point the older mans voice became more somber, his eye's moist as his mind drifted back along the river of his memories. "We found them scattered among the dunes and rocks. They had been killed. Shot and stabbed." "Those [...] Klingons did it." exclaimed the younger cousin. "For what reason," asked Ta'ar. "How should I know. They are bloody butchers." "Yes they are. But they never kill with out a reason." replied Ta'ar. "I believe you may be right." answered his older cousin. "I have seen many men killed by the Klingons. Nothing about the injuries or damage done to their bodies after they were dead have I ever seen a Klingon do." "Where did this happen?" demanded Ta'ar, as he locked his eye's with those of the older man. "Your grandfather went deep into the desert, to the edge of the black rock region." "That is less than 10 days journey by foot from here." replied Ta'ar. "Yes." Ta'ar considered what he had heard. His thoughts slowly crystalizeing before he looked up at the city above him. Then he suddenly let go with a primal scream of rage and loss. "AAAAAGGGGHHHHHUUUUUUU!!!!!" He knew why they had died. The aliens. The [...], filthy, cut throat, scum that controled this stinking hell hole. This pestulant wallow of death, disease and crulty that they called the city of Mith. "Ta'ar!" exclaimed his older cousin as he reached out a hand. "Are you OK!" "Yes!" snapped Ta'ar. "I am ok. Better than I have been in many months." "So. You will return?" "Yes." he replied as he looked around him. A look of disgust on his face. "We leave as soon as I have taken care of a few things." "You will not do anything stupid?" "No cousin. I do not have a death wish." He sighed and clenched his hands into fists. "No. I have credits that need to be spent. The money will be useless to me once I return to the tribe." "Very well." Ta'ar considered where he might buy weapons for the best price. He knew of a few places. Everyone who lived in the lower city knew where to find just about every preversion, drug and sin. Right now all he wanted was weapons. Turning he stalked away. His 2 cousins close behind him. He had made his choice. The Targ's [...]. It would let him take care of all his errands and escape from this city as fast as possible. Plans and dreams slowly formed as he stalked along. He did not even notice how the crowds instinctively moved out of his way, but his cousins did. Ta'ar entered the dive, pauseing just long enought to let his eye's scan the crowd. Then he weaved his way through the crowd till he reached the young dancer. His hand reaching out to grab her arm and pull her to him. She was startled and let out a gasp. Before she could call out for help, she glanced to see who had grabbed her. The sight of Ta'ar and the intense look in his eye's stopped the yell from forming. "Get your stuff. Your leaveing here now." "Wha... I... " she was confused, stunned. She knew who he was, but he had seldom talked to her. "I don't understand?" "I'm leaveing the city. I'm takeing you with me. Now!" That simple statement stunned Be're more than anything in her life. But what shocked her even more was the fact that she felt so strange. Her tummy was all a flutter and her mouth was dry. This made no sense, but neither did her reply. "O...OK..." A smile suddenly appeared on his face. It was supriseing in how it transformed his features. "Good." Then he turned to his cousins. "Ki'er! Guard her with your life." "Yes Ta'ar!" he responded. Stunned by the transformation that had overcome his cousin in the last hour. Then he spun and walked away. He moved swiftly towards the back. He knew that he would be able to buy the weapons he wanted here. After that he would return to his people. As he walked he had to smile. It seems he could not out run his destiny after all. When he had left the tribe he never would have expected to someday lead them. His only regret was that his grandfather had to die before he inherited his birthright.

It is complete... sorry... still learning how to do things here in the forum area...

((USS Eagle - Bridge)) ::Tal tried to make him self comfortable in the Captain's chair... it was hard... he prefered to stand and since being confined to that [...] hover chair he had probally spent more time sitting than at any other other time in his life...:: ::still it was a strange feeling... being responsible for the ship and crew... he was not sure if he would ever get use to it... then again he was still amazed to be in charge of the security department... not something he had expected to happen...:: ::Looking around the bridge he saw everyone hard at work... they all had things to do... and here he sat... doing nothing... just watching... at least he had been able to get updated repair estimates... with the help of the technicians from the New Haven station they should be able to make 93% of all the repairs in less than 48 hours...:: ::Still Tal wished he could be doing something... anything other than sitting here...:: Reed: =/\= PO Reed to Lt. Commander Tel-ar... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Report... =/\= Reed: =/\= We've finished searching the ship, No other stowaways on board at this time sir. =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Good. Anything else? =/\= Reed: =/\= No Sir. We now have all the prisoners confined to the brig. =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= I though their leader was still in sickbay? =/\= ::he said as he sensed someone approaching him... a glance to his side showed that it was the Captain's Yoeman... she was a tall attractive blonde human with blue eye's... as his old friend and room mate from the academy would have said... she was stacked and built for pleasure...:: Reed: =/\= No Sir. We just returned him to his cell a few momments ago. =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Good. Maintain double security on the prisoners and make sure that we keep 1 officer in sickbay till otherwise ordered. =/\= ::he replied as he took the padd from the smileing woman... nice even white teeth... great smile... Jason would deffinately have made a play for her...:: Reed: =/\= Understood Sir. Anything else. =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Thats all. Carry on. Tel-ar out. =/\= Devitt: Sir i need you to review and acknowledge these reports... ::Tal glanced at them... they were confirmations of the data he had requested from Sickbay and Engineering...:: I believe these are for the Captain... Devitt: Yes they are... however you requested them and since you are the acting Captain... you have to recieve and acknowledge them first before I give them to him later... ::Tal could sense a vibrant quality to her voice... it was... what would Jason have called it... oh yes... sensual... it did seem to have a stimulateing quality about it... Tal could feel his antenna twitch... then lean towards her... the soft exotic sent then hit him... he knew it was a perfume... but it was so delicate... not like he was use to from humans... usually they seemed to bath in the stuff... not this woman...:: ::Tal found himself turning to stare at her... yes... she was intoxicating... it took a force of his will to drag his eye's back to the padd...:: Devitt: (in a low throaty voice) it's Cavorian Passion. ::Tal was startled into almost dropping the padd as he turned to look her right in the eye's...:: Excuse me... Devitt: The perfume... ::she replied with a slight giggle...:: it's Cavorian Passion. Tel-ar: Oh... Ummm... very nice... Devitt: You think so... I'm glad, by the way Sir, are you OK... your face it's slightly purple... Tel-ar: Uh... no... it's just perfect... ::he replied as he handed her back the padd quickly... just what he needed... getting distracted by a female...:: That will be all... Devitt: Yes sir...:: she replied before turning and walking away...:: ::Tal could feel his antenna following her... the heady scent of her perfume lingering... it also seemed like the whole bridge was stareing at him... he wanted to snarl at them to mind their own buziness but fought it down... outwardly he was calm... relaxed...:: Hitchman: Sir... ::At the voice Tal turned to look... as his senses had told him it was the human Lt. William Hitchman... a strange one... he was tall and slim... so slim that it looked like he was malnurished... his face was also slim with a high forehead, deepset eye's and slightly sunken cheeks... still he was a good tactical officer... he had shown Tal a thing or two about Intrepid class vessels when they had first come aboard...:: Tel-ar: Yes Lt. Hitchman: Just thought you might want to see this... ::he said as he handed over a padd...:: ::Tal glanced at it... then sat up a little straighter as he looked up at William...:: Are you sure of this? Hitchman: No question... the Evangeline exploded less than 5 minutes ago... totally destroyed... Tel-ar: Any survivors? Hitchman: I couldn't tell... it was at the extreme range of our sensors... Tel-ar: But your sure it was the Evangeline? Hitchman: No question... we never lost it from our sensor's... Tel-ar: If we never lost them then they could have tracked us here right? Hitchman: I don't believe so sir... I checked with our records and then talked to someone in C&C from the station... They just barely detected the explosion but had no idea who it was... Tel-ar: So our scanners and sensors are superior to theirs... Hitchman: That's correct sir. Tel-ar: Alright... thanks for bringing this to my attention Lt. Hitchman: Yes Sir... then he turned and left the bridge... ::As for Tal he considered how they could put that piece of info to use... even as he tried to ignor the faint lingering scent that seemed to demand attention...:: Vak: Sir. Station C&C wish to speak to you... Tel-ar: Thanks you Lt. Put them on the main view screen... ::Suddenly in front of him the screen changed to show an image of Lt. Twain... her face seemed a little tense... even that did not mar her beauty...:: Twain: =/\= I'm sorry to bother you but we have confirmed that the Evangeline did explode... we have decoded a distress signal that seems to indicate that most of the crew were able to reach the life pods... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Good... we have 3 members of her crew in our brig at the moment... =/\= Twain: =/\= OH... Thats right Arista told us you had a run in with them... anyway for the time being we request that you take your warp core off line... it does not have the proper shielding to prevent detection like our stations own power source... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= I would prefer it if we did not... =/\= Twain: =/\= Maybe I wasn't clear Lt. Commander... Take your warp core off line now! =/\= ::Tal looked at her on the screen... it was clear that she was not joking... if they wanted to they could destroy them without even trying...:: Tel-ar: =/\= OK... I will inform Engineering to shut down our warp core... =/\= Twain: =/\= (sigh) Thank you... as a show of a our gratitude my commander has authorized the use of another 5 repair bots to work on your exterior... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Tell her thank you Lt. =/\= Twain: =/\= I will convey your message... New Haven C&C out... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Lt. Commander Tel-ar to Engineering... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= Lt. Chalmers here sir... how can I help you? =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Take the warp core off line now... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= I can't do that sir without either the Captain's autorization or the Chief of Engineerings... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= I know that... take it off line now... I'm currently the acting Captain till Captain Taboo can take care of some important business... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= Ok sir... if your willing to take responsability... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= I am... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= Ok... I'll get on it right now... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Good... oh by the way how are the repairs to my hover chair coming? =/\= Chalmers: =/\= You can forget it... the power unit's completely fried... so's the entire electronic control system... in fact I don't think their is even one circut that we can salvage from it... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= I was afraid of that... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= We can't even use the industrial replicator to replace it... some of the internal works are to delicate... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Please tell me you have a better solution to my problem than what my security staff came up with... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= Yes... I think we can do a little better than that... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Good... not that I did not appreciate their effort but the last thing I want is to be carried everywhere by 2 enormas humans like I was a broken piece of furniture... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= (chuckle) I understand... best we can do till we get back to our reality is what was called a wheel chair back in the 20th century... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Thats pretty primative... =/\= ::Tal said as he detected the return of Yoeman Devitt... it was impossible to mistake her distinctly femine walk for that of anyone else... besides once she got close enough that heavenly scent was all he could smell...:: Chalmers: =/\= I know... but with our current condition and our haveing to make so many repairs to various systems the majority of matter in our replicator supply have to be reserved for parts... it's the best I could do... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Well in that case I'll take it... anything to avoid them two as bookends again... =/\= ::Tal glanced to the side... she was standing their... padd in her hands... waiting... the slight smile on her face was intrigueing...:: Chalmers: =/\= I'll have one of my men bring it up shortly... anything else? =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= No that will be all... Tel-ar out... =/\= Devitt: Here Sir... ::she said in that distinctive voice she had as she handed him her padd...:: I need you to acknolwledge that you ordered Engineering to take the warp core off line... Tel-ar: Very well ... ::he replied as he made the entry then handed the padd back...:: Devitt: Thank you sir... ::she replied... then she turned and left...:: ::against his better judgement Tal shifted in the Captain's seat just enough so that he could watch her walk away... her hips swayed with a hypnotic movement that was simple unbelievable... yes... Jason would have made a play for her... probally succeeded as well knowing Jason...:: ::When the door closed behind her... Tal continued to stare off into nowhere... his thoughts drifting... thinking... what next? :: ******************* Lt. Commander Tal Tel-ar Chief of Security NPC - Petty Officer Gerrard Reed Security NPC - Petty Officer Darla Devitt Captain's Yoeman NPC - Lt. William Hitchman Tactical NPC - Lt. Sha No Vak Operations NPC - Lt Dara Twain New Haven C&C NPC - Lt. Edward Chalmers Engineering ALL but one serveing on the USS Eagle Simmed by Lt. Commander Tal Tel-ar

Once upon a time, long, long ago, deep in the heart of the Klingon Empire there was a single green orb. A peaceful planet of average size and density. The only jewel to orbit it's red sun. Far from most other systems it was unimportant. A place of intense greens and strange tales. For the Klingons it was a banned world. Off limits. No reason or explanation given and none needed by most. Except Krin'tok was not your average Klingon. He was ambitious, strong with a ruthless streak matched only by his fearlessness. Some would say it was recklessness but he knew he was destined for greatness. He was sure he would find something on that world that would make his house stronger. Now true he was not the smartest Klingon, but he was crafty. He knew that the planet would not be posted off limits unless there was something there the Emperor did not want anyone to find. So he plotted very carefully. Took only his most loyal men, 1 single small light cruiser that he had altered for troop deployment and slipped off to conduct landing exercises. Krin'tok made sure they were not followed. No need to advertise his disobedience after all. Before he knew it they settled into orbit around the planet. Scans showed nothing, nothing except dense woods everywhere, but he knew there had to be something there. He took all six troop shuttles with 3/4 of his men and landed in the only clearing to be found. They disembarked and at his order spread out, searching for anything. They found nothing. Nothing except huge trees, shrubs, grass and vines everywhere. No ruins, no people, not even any animals. As it grew dark they returned to the clearing. When they arrived they found that there shuttles were gone. Vanished with out a trace. They were stranded. There were no more shuttles on their ship. Where could they have gone? It got even worse when some of his men never returned from the forests. The men grew angry, but Krin'tok bellowed. Calling them P'tah, cowards to fear nothing. At his command they made camp. Half kept watch while the other half slept. They cut down trees and made huge fires to light the night. It did not help. More men went missing. Vanished into the night. By morning they were all awake. No one went anywhere with out a weapon in his hand. Fearful eyes watched the trees for anything. Ready to shoot anything that moved. Krin'tok took a head count. Almost half his men were gone. No one had seen anything. They were fearful. They demanded that Krin'tok find a way to remove them from that demon cursed world. He killed the loudest malcontents, breaking the rest to his will. Even then he knew he would learn the secret of that world. Again they scattered, searching the land for anything. And still they found nothing. By this time he was down to less than a dozen men. No sign of the others could be found. Krin'tok raged, throwing back his head, screaming his defiance, swearing vengeance while his last few men stood by watching. Why are you here? came a quiet calm voice. Krin'tok spun to see a strange looking man. He was of average height but naked except for leaves and vines. He stood at the edge of the clearing, watching them. Seize him, Krin'tok ordered, and his men jumped to obey. They rushed the unarmed man. Their faces contorted with rage and anger, but with just a minor wave of his hand they vanished. Krin'tok could not believe his eyes. Was this the secret. If he could harness that power he could rival the Emperor himself. He grinned as he walked forward, not a single though was wasted on the men he had lost. What do you want for the power to do what you just did, asked Krin'tok. Silly mortal fool. I warned your kind to stay off my world and out of my garden, he said as he walked forward. His body changing, growing, taller with huge ropy bands of muscle appearing on a form that finally stopped growing at 14' tall, but it was the blazing amber eyes that... "Bah! Why do you waste your time with this silly old fool?" snarled the Klingon warrior as he shook his head in disgust. "I had thought the story would have a point," replied Kirag as he stood up ready to go. "A point, yes their was a point," mumbled the old man. His voice had lost its intensity now that the story had been interrupted. "The point is do not let your arrogance blind you to the risks you take, because if you do your life can change in the wink of an eye." "Stop wasting your time with that silly old fool and come drink some more blood wine with us Kirag." "I'm coming my friend," Kirag replied as he stopped to toss a coin in the old blind mans cup. "So what are we drinking to tonight?" "Why women and victory, what else," he bellowed in joy. The voice's faded into the background, drowned out by the sounds of many people going about their business. And as for the old man, he sat hunched on the floor. His frail crooked back leaning against the wall. Long strands of pure white hair hung down to conceal most of his face. A face etched with the lines of defeat. In a soft, quivering voice he spoke to no one. "Ah youth... I remember mine so well... all gone now... lost the day I looked into those amber eyes... the last thing I ever saw..."

((USS Eagle - Bridge)) ::Tal tried to make him self comfortable in the Captain's chair... it was hard... he prefered to stand and since being confined to that [...] hover chair he had probally spent more time sitting than at any other other time in his life...:: ::still it was a strange feeling... being responsible for the ship and crew... he was not sure if he would ever get use to it... then again he was still amazed to be in charge of the security department... not something he had expected to happen...:: ::Looking around the bridge he saw everyone hard at work... they all had things to do... and here he sat... doing nothing... just watching... at least he had been able to get updated repair estimates... with the help of the technicians from the New Haven station they should be able to make 93% of all the repairs in less than 48 hours...:: ::Still Tal wished he could be doing something... anything other than sitting here...:: Reed: =/\= PO Reed to Lt. Commander Tel-ar... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Report... =/\= Reed: =/\= We've finished searching the ship, No other stowaways on board at this time sir. =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Good. Anything else? =/\= Reed: =/\= No Sir. We now have all the prisoners confined to the brig. =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= I though their leader was still in sickbay? =/\= ::he said as he sensed someone approaching him... a glance to his side showed that it was the Captain's Yoeman... she was a tall attractive blonde human with blue eye's... as his old friend and room mate from the academy would have said... she was stacked and built for pleasure...:: Reed: =/\= No Sir. We just returned him to his cell a few momments ago. =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Good. Maintain double security on the prisoners and make sure that we keep 1 officer in sickbay till otherwise ordered. =/\= ::he replied as he took the padd from the smileing woman... nice even white teeth... great smile... Jason would deffinately have made a play for her...:: Reed: =/\= Understood Sir. Anything else. =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Thats all. Carry on. Tel-ar out. =/\= Devitt: Sir I need you to review and acknowledge these reports... ::Tal glanced at them... they were confirmations of the data he had requested from Sickbay and Engineering...:: I believe these are for the Captain... Devitt: Yes they are... however you requested them and since you are the acting Captain... you have to recieve and acknowledge them first before I give them to him later... ::Tal could sense a vibrant quality to her voice... it was... what would Jason have called it... oh yes... sensual... it did seem to have a stimulateing quality about it... Tal could feel his antenna twitch... then lean towards her... the soft exotic sent then hit him... he knew it was a perfume... but it was so delicate... not like he was use to from humans... usually they seemed to bath in the stuff... not this woman...:: ::Tal found himself turning to stare at her... yes... she was intoxicating... it took a force of his will to drag his eye's back to the padd...:: Devitt: (in a low throaty voice) it's Cavorian Passion. ::Tal was startled into almost dropping the padd as he turned to look her right in the eye's...:: Excuse me... Devitt: The perfume... ::she replied with a slight giggle...:: it's Cavorian Passion. Tel-ar: Oh... Ummm... very nice... Devitt: You think so... I'm glad, by the way Sir, are you OK... your face it's slightly purple... Tel-ar: Uh... no... it's just perfect... ::he replied as he handed her back the padd quickly... just what he needed... getting distracted by a female...:: That will be all... Devitt: Yes sir...:: she replied before turning and walking away...:: ::Tal could feel his antenna following her... the heady scent of her perfume lingering... it also seemed like the whole bridge was stareing at him... he wanted to snarl at them to mind their own buziness but fought it down... outwardly he was calm... relaxed...:: Hitchman: Sir... ::At the voice Tal turned to look... as his senses had told him it was the human Lt. William Hitchman... a strange one... he was tall and slim... so slim that it looked like he was malnurished... his face was also slim with a high forehead, deepset eye's and slightly sunken cheeks... still he was a good tactical officer... he had shown Tal a thing or two about Intrepid class vessels when they had first come aboard...:: Tel-ar: Yes Lt. Hitchman: Just thought you might want to see this... ::he said as he handed over a padd...:: ::Tal glanced at it... then sat up a little straighter as he looked up at William...:: Are you sure of this? Hitchman: No question... the Evangeline exploded less than 5 minutes ago... totally destroyed... Tel-ar: Any survivors? Hitchman: I couldn't tell... it was at the extreme range of our sensors... Tel-ar: But your sure it was the Evangeline? Hitchman: No question... we never lost it from our sensor's... Tel-ar: If we never lost them then they could have tracked us here right? Hitchman: I don't believe so sir... I checked with our records and then talked to someone in C&C from the station... They just barely detected the explosion but had no idea who it was... Tel-ar: So our scanners and sensors are superior to theirs... Hitchman: That's correct sir. Tel-ar: Alright... thanks for bringing this to my attention Lt. Hitchman: Yes Sir... then he turned and left the bridge... ::As for Tal he considered how they could put that piece of info to use... even as he tried to ignor the faint lingering scent that seemed to demand attention...:: Vak: Sir. Station C&C wish to speak to you... Tel-ar: Thanks you Lt. Put them on the main view screen... ::Suddenly in front of him the screen changed to show an image of Lt. Twain... her face seemed a little tense... even that did not mar her beauty...:: Twain: =/\= I'm sorry to bother you but we have confirmed that the Evangeline did explode... we have decoded a distress signal that seems to indicate that most of the crew were able to reach the life pods... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Good... we have 3 members of her crew in our brig at the moment... =/\= Twain: =/\= OH... Thats right Arista told us you had a run in with them... anyway for the time being we request that you take your warp core off line... it does not have the proper shielding to prevent detection like our stations own power source... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= I would prefer it if we did not... =/\= Twain: =/\= Maybe I wasn't clear Lt. Commander... Take your warp core off line now! =/\= ::Tal looked at her on the screen... it was clear that she was not joking... if they wanted to they could destroy them without even trying...:: Tel-ar: =/\= OK... I will inform Engineering to shut down our warp core... =/\= Twain: =/\= (sigh) Thank you... as a show of a our gratitude my commander has authorized the use of another 5 repair bots to work on your exterior... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Tell her thank you Lt. =/\= Twain: =/\= I will convey your message... New Haven C&C out... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Lt. Commander Tel-ar to Engineering... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= Lt. Chalmers here sir... how can I help you? =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Take the warp core off line now... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= I can't do that sir without either the Captain's autorization or the Chief of Engineerings... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= I know that... take it off line now... I'm currently the acting Captain till Captain Taboo can take care of some important business... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= Ok sir... if your willing to take responsability... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= I am... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= Ok... I'll get on it right now... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Good... oh by the way how are the repairs to my hover chair coming? =/\= Chalmers: =/\= You can forget it... the power unit's completely fried... so's the entire electronic control system... in fact I don't think their is even one circut that we can salvage from it... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= I was afraid of that... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= We can't even use the industrial replicator to replace it... some of the internal works are to delicate... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Please tell me you have a better solution to my problem than what my security staff came up with... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= Yes... I think we can do a little better than that... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Good... not that I did not appreciate their effort but the last thing I want is to be carried everywhere by 2 enormas humans like I was a broken piece of furniture... =/\= Chalmers: =/\= (chuckle) I understand... best we can do till we get back to our reality is what was called a wheel chair back in the 20th century... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Thats pretty primative... =/\= ::Tal said as he detected the return of Yoeman Devitt... it was impossible to mistake her distinctly femine walk for that of anyone else... besides once she got close enough that heavenly scent was all he could smell...:: Chalmers: =/\= I know... but with our current condition and our haveing to make so many repairs to various systems the majority of matter in our replicator supply have to be reserved for parts... it's the best I could do... =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= Well in that case I'll take it... anything to avoid them two as bookends again... =/\= ::Tal glanced to the side... she was standing their... padd in her hands... waiting... the slight smile on her face was intrigueing...:: Chalmers: =/\= I'll have one of my men bring it up shortly... anything else? =/\= Tel-ar: =/\= No that will be all... Tel-ar out... =/\= Devitt: Here Sir... ::she said in that distinctive voice she had as she handed him her padd...:: I need you to acknolwledge that you ordered Engineering to take the warp core off line... Tel-ar: Very well ... ::he replied as he made the entry then handed the padd back...:: Devitt: Thank you sir... ::she replied... then she turned and left...:: ::against his better judgement Tal shifted in the Captain's seat just enough so that he could watch her walk away... her hips swayed with a hypnotic movement that was simple unbelievable... yes... Jason would have made a play for her... probally succeeded as well knowing Jason...:: ::When the door closed behind her... Tal continued to stare off into nowhere... his thoughts drifting... thinking... what next? :: ******************* Lt. Commander Tal Tel-ar Chief of Security NPC - Petty Officer Gerrard Reed Security NPC - Petty Officer Darla Devitt Captain's Yoeman NPC - Lt. William Hitchman Tactical NPC - Lt. Sha No Vak Operations NPC - Lt Dara Twain New Haven C&C NPC - Lt. Edward Chalmers Engineering ALL but one serveing on the USS Eagle All simmed by Lt. Commander Tal Tel-ar

This topic was made for LtCmdr Tel Telar's submission to the challenge. Surf's Up Lt. Stone staggered out of the large emergency field hospital... his vision was slightly blurry and his mouth was dry... the tangy metalic scent of Cardassian blood was permanently stamped in his mind... but what else could he expect... he had just finished over 20 hours of emergency surgery... He stopped... the brisk wind ruffled his blonde hair as it tried to whisk the smell of blood away... all it managed to do was mix it with the salty smell of the nearby ocean... the steady rythmic crash of the waves had been steadily increaseing over the last few hours... "Here you go." At the sound of the voice Stone turned to see his Cardassian assistant... she looked almost as tired as he did. "Thanks, what is it," he asked as he took the steaming mug from her hands. "Well according to the portable replicator it's coffee." she replied. He took a sip, then winced. "Is it that bad," she asked, the concern evident in her voice. "Yes, but it's better than nothing." Then he took another deep sip before he turned to gaze out over the endless waves as they continued to pound onto the nearby shore. "Have they found anymore survivors?" he asked as he continued to stare into the distance. "No. All they're finding now are bodies." "About what I expected, too much time has passed for us to expect to find any more alive." "True," she replied in a melancoly tone. "But on the bright side we were able to save a majority of the survivors." "Most is not all," he mumbled as the vision of the young mother and her baby flashed accross his memory. He had tried everything but the damage had been to severe. Nothing he could do... he was only human... "Are you ok sir?" she asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" "Because your crying," she replied. "I'm OK." he replied. Then he just stood their for a few moments before he took a deep breath, gulped down the rest of the coffee and turned to her. "Get me another cup of that stuff will you." "Sure. You going to be OK?" "Yeah. I'm going to get changed." "Thats a good idea. If you don't mind my saying you look like something out of one of those stupid slasher vids you showed me." He glanced down at his medical gown. It was caked with gore and dried blood. "Yeah I guess I do." Then he turned and walked away towards where the temporary shower and sleeping tents were located. His assistant watched him walk away. She saw that he only stopped by the portable generator and it's industrial replicator for a moment before proceeding into one of the tents. Then she walked over to the area set up as a temporary mess hall. She tapped the replicator interface activateing it, "Terran coffee, black, medium heat." waited the few seconds for it to fill her order then took it over to one of the tables. Then she sat and relaxed, her eyes closed and she rested her head on her hands. "Gria, wake up." She must have drifted off because she was startled awake by his voice. "I'm sorry sir. I must have fallen asleep." "Go to bed. Get some sleep." he told her. She looked up at him to reply but was startled by what she saw. He was wearing some strange looking form fitting black material and holding what appeared to be a weirdly shaped board that was as tall as him but with a smooth surface. It was brightly coloured and trim, with graceful curved sides. "What's that?" she asked as he picked up the mug and took a deep drink of the black liquid. "Oh this." he replied as he moved the board. "This is just what the doctor ordered." Then he took another drink, put down the mug and walked off with a big smile on his face. She turned to watch him as he started to run towards the ocean. The ocean! She jumped to her feet and raced after him. Was he crazy. The waves were over 10 feet high. He'd kill himself if he tried to swim in those waves. Then she slowed and finally stopped as she watched him ride the waves. The board was supporting his weight. Lifting him up to the crest then dropping him from sight into the gap behind the wave. Bit by bit he managed to work his way out till she could just see him. Then she watched as he turned the board, climbed to his feet and stood. Stood! She could not believe her eye's. He was standing, standing on the board and rideing the waves. His body bent at the waist, shifting back and forth. In no time he had been swept close to the shore. Then with yell of pure joy he dropped off the board into the water. Shaking her head she turned and headed towards her bed. When first she had been told it had left her confused. Not now. Now it finally made sense. "Men will be boys as long as they have their toys." If nothing else that was probally the best description she had heard yet to describe what she had just watched. With a slight grin on her face she continued towards her bed.

((Cart'hen III - City of Mith - Shop of Secrets)) ::The door opened and let in a large bald man... he walked with quick sure strides... his hard cold eye's swept the room... he was dressed well... obviously armed and very sure of himself... when he spoke his voice was deep, strong with a vibrant maleness about it that seemed to command attention...:: Crossbones: Avalia! I hope you have a few minutes to spare... ::he asked but it was obviously not a question...:: ::The Orion woman looked over a box she had been rummaging through. Her mischievous blue eyes sparkled with little surprise. What a special delight to an otherwise dull day. It had been little over a day since the departure of her ‘guests’ and since business was slow. Nothing like seeing good ol’ Crossbones. She greeted him with a jab of sarcasm.:: Avalia: Tsk, tsk Crossbones. Don’t you know how to be polite and knock? Crossbones: I just thought I would drop by and let you know that your plan worked... ::he said as he moved to place his back out of line with all the windows and doors...:: Avalia: The cherry to top off my evening. What wonderful news! Ha, ha! ::The smile she had been wearing grew darker. Pushing the box aside, the tall woman threw back her head, stretched the ache from her muscles and ran her hands through her luxurious hair as it poured around her body like black satin. It seemed to flow and blend with the purple velvet robes she wore.:: Crossbones: You can tell your Mother that we'll keep our end of the deal... ::he said as he watched her... he was no fool... this woman might be stunning but she was also very dangerous... way more dangerous than her twin brother on the Council...:: ::She looked back at him, arching a thin eyebrow. He appeared to be a little distracted and she knew the source. She continued the conversation casually.:: Avalia: No last minute changes, I hope? Mother would not appreciate any new stipulations. Crossbones: As agreed... Mom gets to pick one of the replacements on the council... I pick the other one... Avalia: That will please her old bones. And the rest? What of that? Crossbones: As for their holdings... well Dad and your mother already worked out that deal... Avalia: Ah, so I suppose we’re in the dark then? Masterminding little plots in secret. What rats. ::The Lady of Antiquity, as she was called, strolled over to the other end of the room with the box in her arms, past a few glass cases of weapons, as a faint tinge of anger heated her blood. She wasn’t going to act all irrational like her twin, Arthos, but she couldn’t help but feel a little slighted when Mom kept things from them.:: Crossbones: They don't have to tell us everything... ::he replied as he watched her walk away... it was obvious she was [...]ed about something and he could guess what... still it was enjoyable... she moved with such fluid grace... for a second he wondered what it would feel like to hold that perfect body...:: Avalia: Well, whatever they believe is best… the less they reveal, the better. I guess. ::She set the box down on a dusty crate, not looking back to the man in her place of business.:: Avalia: My price for my end of the bargain remains the same, Crossbones. When can I expect payment? I charge interest you know. Crossbones: You'd have to ask Mom... I have no idea what your pay off will be... ::Maybe... maybe it's worth the risk... as Dad always told us... some of the best things in life are always worth a little risk... he thought as he walked towards her... carefully feeling his way so as to make no noise...:: ::Avalia just closed her eyes and shook her head.:: Avalia: If my services are to continue, it had very well be in full and rather speedy. After all, a Lady needs to afford a little play after a full day's plotting. ::Crossbones stopped less than 2 feet from her as she turned to face him with a wicked smile.:: Crossbones: I agree... ::he said as he reached out with one hand to slide his fingers into her long hair... his hand stopping with the back of her head cupped in his massive palm...:: any chance of us working out a more agreeable working arrangement? ::She breathed, not all at shocked at his abruptness.:: Avalia: What did you have in mind? Crossbones: I'm not just interested in your brain... although it is one of your most impressive features... ::He rumbled in his deep voice while his other hand slide behind her... nestled in the small of her back... his eyes searched hers... his hold on her was gentle... it was obvious that she could escape anytime she wanted... all he did was just stand there... holding her... it was obvious that he wanted to pull her closer but... it seemed like he was waiting for some sign from her...:: Avalia: Here we are talking about business and you insist on talking about my ‘impressive’ features. Crossbones, Crossbones… Do you really want to tangle yourself in the web I weave? Crossbones: I'm not an idiot like your brother... I know your 10 times the man he could ever be... same as I know your way more than just a shop keeper... you’re very important to your Mom's organization... way more important than your brother... Availa: Mmmm… ::She looked at his lips and purred.:: Avalia: ARE you looking for trouble with Mom then? Crossbones: No... I'm not looking for trouble with your Mom... not as long she keeps her word... ::His eyes looked deep into hers... for a second his grip tightened... it was obvious he could snap her spine without half trying... but his grip relaxed... once again the gentle touch that was so surprising from a man with such a bloody reputation... Avalia took the next action and wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders, shortening the distance between them and tempted his lips with hers. They almost touch but don’t. She pulled her head back but still held him close, her eyes alight with hunger.:: Avalia: I would be so easy for me to throw my inhibitions in the wind, but fortunately for you… ::In one quick movement, she slipped out of his hold and planted her hands onto her hips. She gave him a false look of contempt as she stepped backwards.:: Avalia: …there is nothing in my standing orders that allows me to mix business with pleasure. ::It wasn’t a secret that she held an attraction for the main man on the Council, but she would be dumb to offer herself so freely. It was in her interest, and a lot more fun, to play hard to get. She turned her back towards him and resumed her usual arranging of antiques and cleaning up dusty corners, acting as if the last few moments hadn’t happened.:: Avalia: You know your way out… Crossbones: Very well... till next time... ::he rumbled in his deep voice softly... then he turned and walked out...:: ************************** NPC - Avalia Lady of Antiquity - City of Mith - Cart'hen III Member of the Orion Syndicate Simmed by Lt. Commander Arista Devar & NPC - Crossbones Han'drin Leader of the Council of 11 - City of Mith - Cart'hen III Member of the Black Daggers - Orion Syndicate Simmed by Lt. Commander Tal Tel-ar

((USS Eagle - Chief of Security's Office)) ::Tal gazed at the monitor screen... a little puzzled by the message he was reading... it had obviously been sent to Lt. Commander Dar as Chief of Security... it was a request from Andor for an update on one Lt. Commander Tal Tel-ar... what was puzzleing him was the nature of the request... medical files... performance evaluations... mission reports... phycological profile changes...:: ::It was the requests for his current medical and phych info that concerned him... for that matter why was anyone back on Andor curious about him... he was an outcast... no clan would or could claim him... he had been shunned... offered no chances... no life among his own people...:: ::So why were they requesting this info... even more daunting was who was requestion the info... the request came on behalf of the ruleing council, the Andorian Science Institute, the Academy of Medical Research, Dr. Anichent Thann Chreviss and Professor Thririshar Chen Dravoss plus about a dozen others...:: ::It was the last 2 names that were really freaking him out... both of them had been in charge of his testing... OK... the living hell that he had underwent when he was first brought to Andor... they had put him through so many tests... taken so many blood and DNA samples that he feared he was loosing body mass as a result...:: ::They were probally the most important current living Andorian doctor and Andorian geneticist in the Federation... they were in charge of the Institute and the Academy... as he knew they had the clout to make even the ruleing council stand up and take notice...:: ::That showed in the request... but that did not make it any easier for him... no... in fact that was what was freaking him out...:: ::Why would they be asking such questions... and if they were asking questions now... had they in the past???:: ::With that thought Tal started doing a search... as he did he could feel a sense of dread creeping over him... he was finding out just how bad it was... every test... medical... phych evaluation from the Academy had been copied and sent to Andor... his posting on the USS Triumphant had been requested by Andor... his reassignment to the USS Eagle was also requested by Andor... every single report every submitted with his name on or in it had been copied and sent to Andor...:: ::Tal leaned back in his seat... his mind stunned... WHY!!! Why were they so interested in him???:: ::When he finally sat back up... his mind still numbed by what he had read... Tal started to close the file... then stopped... he had been so stunned that he had failed to notice the other name... this one had also recieved copies of everything since he had joined Starfleet... this one was not Andorian... it was Dr. Gabriel... a quick check proved it was the same Dr. Gabriel that was currently on board the Eagle...:: ::What was going on??? curious as to why Dr. Gabriel was getting copies of his records Tal looked at the early records again... the ones from the Academy... his search pulled up a file from prior to his enrollment in the Academy... a file that he was blocked from opening... :: ::It took Tal a few minutes... but he was eventually able to bypass the security lock out... what he saw was even more stunning... he had failed his entrance exam... he had not earned a spot at the Academy... certain important persons on Andor plus the good Dr. over ruled the result and requested he be accepted...:: ::It was the statement submitted by Dr. Gabriel that really confused him... "the subject, an Andorian by the name of Tal Tel-ar will be given a place with in the next Academy class. It is imperative that he be placed within an environment in which his every movement can be observed and recorded. Also all records regarding his medical or phycological status will be considered Alpha Red 7. Copies of these records will be transmitted to both myself and Dr. Anichent Thann Chreviss of the Andorian Academy of Medical Research and Professor Thririshar Chen Dravoss of the Andorian Science Institute"...:: ::Alpha Red 7... that was strange... the only people with a security clearance high enough to view his medical files would have to be an Admiral or a Doctor of at least Lt. Commander rank...:: ::Not sure if he could Tal decieded to try and fool the system... Dr. MacGowan was a Lt. Commander and the CMO... maybe he could get into his file by useing the over ride codes... kind of make it look like he was the CMO...:: ::It took him a lot longer than he thought... in fact Tal was on the verge of giveing up when he finally cracked it... the amount of data was just unbelievable... over 90% of it was over his head... so Tal just scanned it... looking for any notes that might have been made...:: ::When he finally found some it was again from Dr. Gabriel..."Under no circumstance is the subject to be told about the genetic anomalies present in his DNA. An indepth investigation is currently under way to determine who altered his DNA and why"... then later in the files their was another set of notes again from Dr. Gabriel..."their is no doubt that who ever created the subject now called Koriander is also the individual who conducted the genetic experiments on the Andorian Tal Tel-ar. It is still unknown as to why such genetic experimentation was conducted on the Andorian. His height, musclature, enhanced strength and senses are only the obvious signs of tampering with his DNA. The more confuseing and radical problem is that he no longer falls within any of the 4 classifications for normal Andorians when it comes to procreation. While all normal Andorians are bonded in their late teens into bond groups of 4, one from each of the 4 types needed for reproduction Tal Tel-ar is totally different. He is a male who only needs 1 female partner in order to reproduce."...:: ::Tal turned it off... the confusion inside him boiled over into rage... rage that made him smash his fist into the monitor... shattering it and knocking it flying off his desk...:: ::Tal spun the hover chair... then drove it out of his office ignoreing the startled looks from those around him... a couple of whom had to jump to prevent being run over as he pushed the chairs speed controls to their max...:: ::In the hall he raced to the lift... slidding to a stop and waiting impatiently... his hands clenching and unclenching...:: ::Once the lift arrived he entered... but the rest of the trip was a blur... becouse the next thing Tal knew he was bargeing into Dr. Gabriels office... his hover chair flying forward to crash into and know the desk flying... while Tal managed to spin the chair to bring him around the mess and into contact with the Dr...:: Tel-ar: WHY? Why the hell didn't you tell me!!! ::Tal snarled... his voice a twisted mix or rage, pain and confusion...:: Dr. Gabriel: respond Tel-ar: What do you mean, tell me what? That I'm a freak! Just another stinking lab rat to be poked and prodded... Dr. Gabriel: respond Tel-ar: I don't give a [...]!!! It ends now... Dr. Gabriel: respond Tel-ar: I know what you did... I've seen the records... read the files... Dr. Gabriel: respond Tel-ar: Stop playing with my life... I'm not here to satisfy your scientific curiosity... Dr. Gabriel: respond Tel-ar: You may have gotten me the door... but I [...] well know I earned everything else... not even you can take that away from me... Dr. Gabriel: respond TAG ****************************** Lt. Commander Tal Tel-ar Chief of Security USS Eagle