Episode 2: Karmic Payback

Description:

Finally put together, the USS Fenris is in orbit and has been exploring all sorts of things, on its way to its first real, Starfleet mission from Headquarters. Unfortunately, they are caught by a snag in the plan, close to their destination of the planet Derealia, ambushed my a man with a mission. That man is none other than the arch enemy of Captain Crae, but the crew doesn't know about her shady past...not even Lieutenant Colonel Lucas or Commander Bakel. Such dealings had been kept under wraps for a long time, but her dirty laundry is about to be aired in front of her crew...and they'll have to decide whether or not they can still serve under her or not.

Once ambushed, some officers are taken hostage (you guys can decide which of you want to be captured) on the planet Olean, where they have detoured to scout out some alien plants that could hold vaccines and cures, and others are stuck on the ship over the planet, battling a war ship that practically outmatches everything they can throw at it. Will they have to resort to using the Phase Canon? Will Marshall Frost let them go? What does he want with the crew?


Objectives:

- Away Team on Olean researching plants and animals and finding a trap (Marlo, Reius/Elena, Marissa, Taylor, Remy)
- Enemy ship arrives in orbit and contacts the USS Fenris (Lillian, Charles, Carlos, Gabe when fighting happens)
- Officers are transported to the war ship while the USS Fenris is dead in space (We'll determine this in the OOC)
- A deal must be negotiated (an NPC or two die)
- Continue their journey

||USS Fenris
||Lillian's and Taylor's Quarters
||0920


Lillian was busy trying to get her uniform on for duty as she stood in hers and Taylor's room in front of the mirror grabbing her duty jacket after trying to fasten up her pants. She was trying to figure out how she was this big when she was only 18 weeks pregnant, even though the bump was rather small. Still, she was big enough now that her duty jacket wouldn't zip up over her. Taylor was busy trying to fix up Sareth's old crib for her even though she had been planning on doing it, working on it in a different room.

"Taylor," Lillian said as she tried to fasten up, heading out into the other room and standing there. "Look...seriously, look at this. Your fiancée is getting fat. I can't zip up the duty jacket and my pants are a bit snug."

She was pouting and she knew it, wishing she could still fit into her clothes. Even though she was pregnant and she loved that, and she loved that she and Taylor would be parents, but she was getting bigger. What happened when she was way too fat? How was Taylor going to handle the whole ship knowing about their relationship? What would the crewmen say when they saw that she was getting larger? Would they question her ability to do her job?

"I have hardly been a captain and now I have a visible bulge," she continued after a small pause.

While Taylor worked away on the crib he smiled gently to himself at Lillian's complaints. It seemed that women from any race worried about their weight and physical appearance. He had decided to fix Sareth's old crib for the currently growing bump which the man had given kisses and pats to since waking up. Right now Taylor was wearing his forest green duty shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his duty jacket hung over the chair he worked on.

Something caused him to only catch half of Lillian's sentence causing him to turn around and focus on her instead. The knife in his left hand slipped and sliced the tip of his right index finger causing him to hiss in paint and stick the finger in his mouth and suck so he could taste the copper in his blood. On his left hand was another plaster as well as a healing burn on his arm from when he had cooked dinner last night. It was easier to use the replicator but Taylor liked being the handy man. What he didn't like was his little nicks and cuts.

He took out the marine field kit from under his bed and slapped a small protoplaster over the fresh wound with a sigh. Folding away the kit he looked at Lillian with a sheepish grin. "One more purple heart for the dress jacket. Honestly you don't need to worry about someone killing me. I seem set on it myself." With another grin he walked up to Lillian to let the crib rest...for a moment. Taylor was a stubborn man and was determined that if he could lead marines against the Federation's enemies he could fix a crib. Obviously with some minor incident.

"Not fat. Fat people don't glow radiantly," he cooed at her. "Besides you can either replicate a jacket and pair of trousers or if you want the personal touch you can leave them and I'll get some needles and thread."

"I need the jacket now so I have to replicate, I just...what if this is only now just sinking into the crew? How am I supposed to command people that can't trust whether or not I'm fit enough to do this?" Lillian asked him, taking his hand and kissing the finger he hurt. "And you need to let me heal you a lot more. I miss being a doctor...more than I'll ever admit to anyone."

Resting her hand on her stomach, her duty jacket open as it wouldn't zip, she did smile just a little bit. The fact that life was growing inside of her again was kind of making her more upbeat and optimistic than normal and she kind of loved that. This was Taylor's first baby even though he was already technically a father--would be full time again when Sareth came onto the ship the next week, which Lillian was still wondering how to handle--but it was her second and she knew she had to balance that. Being a parent was scary and though she knew that Taylor could undoubtedly do it, she was trying her hardest to make things easier on him. She didn't want to scare him.

"I can't wait to feel the baby move--for you to feel it move. That's when it's more real." Lillian told him with a gentle smile on her face. "It's when you really know there's life here." She kissed Taylor gently to show her affection and appreciation and then looked at the crib. "How is it coming along in here?"

"Judging by the morning sickness, mood swings from sexually aroused to homicidal and the increase in dress size I was able to deduce you were pregnant long before the need to feel it kick." said Taylor with a laugh. Something made him feel like this was all fake. Him fathering a child. It was nothing if not a strange realization that hit him like several tons of bricks but he would solider on. It was still a scary thought and despite Taylor's often calm cover he was fully capable of panicking.

People often forgot to look past the green uniform, battle plate and usual gruff demeanour to find someone who actually cared about people. It wasn't that he grudgingly let some emotions slip by like some badly acted holo-vid character. The signs were all there. A lieutenant colonel he might have been but Taylor was still a normal man and like all men he worried.

"Coming along fine. Just need to think about giving it some colour. Maybe."

Lillian laughed a moment, kissing Taylor again and nodding. She was quite more of a handful now that she was pregnant than she had been before and wondered how Taylor handled it. She loved him very much for everything that he put up with and wanted this to be as calm a transition as possible. Lillian certainly didn't want to have another panic attack and she didn't want Taylor to feel overwhelmed...she also simultaneously didn't want to underappreciate all of this.

"Maybe when we find out whether its a boy or a girl," Lillian mused with a smile. "Do you even want to know that?"

It dawned on her that she hadn't even thought to ask such and important question and for a moment her whole outfit situation was forgotten. She hadn't thought about colors or names yet seriously and now she had Taylor back and was far enough along to have him to participate in such things as names and colors. They would also need to get more baby clothes as it had been just a little over 5 years since Sareth had been one and she didn't have all she wanted for the new arrival.

"I'm in a job that doesn't like surprises. I'd like to know what that feels like; a pleasant surprise. Been a while since I had one of those." replied Taylor with a smile as he sat on the bed. Sometimes it was a blessing to just wake up and see Lillian all sleepy because he was on some bogus graveyard shift. Hell, it was always a blessing. How the crew rumour mill was working was a different matter. People always talked and the ship wasn't exactly big. News travelled and Taylor wondered what people were saying. Maybe he'd ask one of his NCOs. Deciding that because he was leaving to go on duty Taylor decided to de-personalize the conversation.

"I also have something official. TR-116 request forms. After that thing on DS9 they've been restricted without good reason and of a COs approval for the replicators. My reason is that if we had a mission that requires stealth our normal phaser snipers would be...well, useless. Do I leave them with you or your yeoman? How is he doing by the way? Keeping you relaxed I hope?"

"Then a fresh coat of off white paint and I'll get some green sheets. After all, green is a very symbolic color for us, and next baby we'll do red." Lillian said and sat next to him on the bed. "I might find out, though...then buy some new clothes and hide them away so we're a little prepared and he or she can have some gender specific clothing. I do scan myself sometimes, I'm bound to now eventually."

She reached over and took his hand, holding it and leaning on his shoulder after kissing his cheek. She and Taylor were doing pretty well trying to balance things lately, and Sareth was a week from being on board, ready to leave Betazed and return to his mother's side--see the ship fixed up, as he had seen it before launch with Leonard and Megan. They were in for busy lives her and Taylor, and she wanted it even though it would be a lot of work. She even knew already she wanted more so she kept hinting to Taylor about another...she just hoped he didn't mind that.

"I can handle that," she told him with a gentle laugh as the conversation was now more serious. "Carlos is good at his job and I have more people to rely on. What about you? Liking your marines? Missing James...?"

She didn't know how to bring James up, but she wanted him back in Taylor's life so she knew without a doubt that Taylor was safe off away from her...and happy with his friend.

Taylor nodded at the idea of green blankets but then he caught the second part of her statement in a flash. "What do you mean 'next baby'?" asked the marine who narrowed his eyes. Sure he'd go through it again but right now he was wanting to get past his first child without incident before planning for any more. "How many exactly are you going for? Are we going to take over the ship with our never ending brood? Besides let's see how this one turns out before you get any more ideas."

Chuckling to himself Taylor seemed to frown a little a the mention of James. James Corden had been or currently was his best friend and had fought beside him in the Dominion War, Thesa Prime and their term on Starbase Seven. The pair were as thick as thieves and always had each other's backs. Now he had been deployed somewhere else and Taylor hadn't contacted him in a long time.

"My marines are fine. Not been put through the Lucas paces but a good bunch. As for James...yeah, I am. We're like brothers. Sigma III was the last he saw of me. Probably still thinks I'm dead."

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't be saying things like that. I just really like the idea of having babies with you--I'll slow down." Lillian told Taylor, blushing a little bit.

Truth be told, Lillian had always wanted a slightly large family, but she knew that children was a decision that they had to make together and right now she wasn't even halfway through her pregnancy. She still had six and a half months to go and then Taylor would have to actually deal with a baby 24/7 and what if he didn't want more? What if Sareth and the baby were it for them? Pushing him was the last thing that she wanted to do.

Then he admitted that he was missing James and she smiled sadly at him. Kissing him gently before lying down on the bed that would be Sareth's when he came. They were setting the crib up in Sareth's room even though Lillian wondered how Sareth would handle that if the baby woke up in the middle of the night crying. Sareth had been a fairly quiet baby, but you never knew with babies. No two were exactly the same.

"James and I missed you a lot, Tay," Lillian told him honestly, taking a deep breath. "He's actually one of the main reasons I'm here right now going for the Captaincy, keeping me and the baby safe."

A small pang of guilt rippled through Taylor as he cupped Lillian's face and kissed her forehead. Sometimes she liked to display some parts of him within herself; rushing ahead was one of them. Least that's what he thought. "I suppose we could have another...but let's see how this one turns out. Give it an age gap," he said finally, patting her belly.

"I'm glad that James also convinced you to get your own ship. Thought it would have been a medical ship and it would have been extremely difficult to get me on one of those." mulled the marine. "I'll have to contact him sometime, get a beer in. And as for you....don't you have a duty shift to attend? You know if you're late people panic."

Lillian laughed, nodding at his words. "I'll wait a couple years to ask for another baby, promise."

She wasn't sure what to say about James, but she knew that she wanted them to be in each other's lives again. Positively and she wanted more than anything for them to be happy. Both of them deserved it and she needed to know that she could trust that things were alright when she wasn't around. Then Taylor mentioned her needing to go do her shift and she was up again, nodding.

"Right, I need to replicate a new uniform...you did this to me, you know," she teased, kissing him deeply.


JP by the caring

and of course

||USS Fenris
||Gabe's Quarters
||0929

Chief Engineer's Log, Stardate 64833.96.

After what seems like months, repairs to the Fenris are done and the ship is like new again, as if she'd just flown outta spacedock. I'd be lieing if i said it was an easy job, considering the state the ship was in when we found her, but my crews have worked wonders. I've had to work them hard to get the ship up and running again and to my knowledge none have complained, hopefully they've enjoyed it as much as i have.

Gabriel sat down the PADD he'd been reading and rolled his neck. The last few days had been the hardest of all, crawling through jefferies tubes and ducts to finish the last of the repair work that had taken up a lot of time since he'd taken over as Chief Engineer. Even though he hadn't been pulling as many long shifts since he'd returned from Tercius Prime the ones he'd done felt almost as long. He took a piece of bacon from the plate in front of him and popped it into his mouth.

Now we have something new to take up our time, the refit of the dorsal sensor pod to allow manned operation as well as automatic. There's space up there for extra labs and control stations, it seems silly to waste the space, especially for a exploration ship.

Breaking his egg with a piece of bread Gabe leaned back in his chair and savered the taste. It had been a fair while since he'd had what he called a 'real breakfast', mostly sticked to whatever small snacks he could eat on the way to engineering.

It's going to be a long day but i have a feeling it's going to be worth it.

"Computer, end log." He said as he finished eating his breakfast, put his empty plate into the replicator and pulled on his waistcoat.

||USSFenris
||Holosuite Two
||0945


For Taylor people always had mixed opinions and they depended on when their first impression had been given. He knew that Lillian loved him for sure even though there were some times she probably couldn't put up with him. Others just loathed him from being a marine to just his typical personality. Clashes were guaranteed to happen and the fact that Taylor didn't make an effort for all but the closest relationships. For the thirty marines of the Spartan platoon he was the most evil bastard alive.

After his tender moment with his fiancée his manner could shift when he came out from behind closed doors. However the thirty marines made up of humans, Betazoids, Bajorans, Andorians and various other races were witnessing Taylor in full on 'marine officer' mode. No soft kisses and embraces for them from the Scotsman.

He had ordered a morning run in full kit which meant the armour, helmet, weapons, webbing with beltkit and their load bearing equipment packs which contained enough supplies to last for 48 hours. Taylor ran to the right of the column while the female Bajoran platoon commander on the left. Taylor was the only one not to wear a helmet and he was regretting it since he had changed the humidity and temperature of the training environment to something akin of a jungle. His marines' helmets and armour were keeping them comfortable while Taylor's head was left to sweat and flush red.

Taylor didn't really care about the discomfort and instead was seen grinning as his heart was pounding in his ears. So far they had done three miles and were about to approach the fourth. He could see the distance in his tactical eye display and was about to prepare an order that was going to make him even less popular.

"Lieutenant Sprint for the last quarter mile!"

"Aye, aye sir!" replied the Bajoran who took a few more running steps before continuing. "Platoon, triple time!"

At the order every marine sprinted full pelt for the finish before coming down to a halt. Their little run was done and had left most of them panting. Of course were they in PT gear or something a little bit lighter they could have gone on but the heavy packs had made a simple task more difficult. Taylor waited on the grass and look some time to gather his own breath which was no easy task. Sure he was extremely fit and had a large reserve of stamina but age was creeping up on him. Thirty-eight or otherwise.

"Lieutenant Karin, front and centre." Panted Taylor as he gulped the air that blessed his lungs. Taylor shook off his heavy pack but kept his combat webbing on. The platoon sat and stood patiently; glad of the reprieve they have been given by a man who they currently seemed to give the evil eye.

1st Lieutenant Karin commanded the Spartan platoon and according to her files was an excellent field commander. Taylor wanted to test the blonde Bajoran and her platoon with a simple exercise. She didn't salute him when she walked up to him as they were in combat dress which meant that, even though there certainly wasn't now, a sniper could have been waiting anywhere. The full face helmet hid her face which was currently one of apprehension. Karin had enough experience to know that when a senior officer calls you forward it's usually for fresh orders.

"Reporting as ordered sir, need something?"

Running a hand through his hair Taylor pointed to a far off concrete emplacement that was currently empty. It was just shy of 500 metres and surrounding it was nice open fields with very little cover. Solid cover anyway. Long grass could provide concealment and a small hill could be utilised. For the most part however it was not enough cover, at least for marine standards.

"Computer, generate a full platoon of Jem'Hadar at the CQB bunker. Defensive protocols"

The computer generated the requested Dominion soldiers with an obligatory series of beeps. They moved into the bunker and the surrounding trench line to stave off any attempts to take the bunker from them. Spartan platoon looked at the generated characters, then at each other before resting their eyes on Taylor and Karin.

"Take the bunker lieutenant. I want it under marine control and I don't care if it's a smouldering pile of rubble." There wasn't really that much of a challenge. All the platoon would have to do would be to bombard the bunker with the heavy weapons. Karin knew that because they were a ship-borne unit they wouldn't have access to supportive elements other than the ship itself and even then if there was no risk of collateral damage. An orbital bombardment was not something to be taken lightly.

With a nod Karin marched away from Taylor to rally up her troops with the lieutenant colonel got ready to stand back and see how she handled the order. After all he'd have to sit back sometimes even though he loved to get stuck into the fight. That's how people grew. You let them take charge and Karin seemed rather confident when she stepped up to her platoon.

"Alright Spartan platoon listen up!" she barked. "That bunker is our objective and we're going to bring it crashing down. Spartan One will attack from the right flank and advance by fire until at three hundred metres from the target. You will then suppress with saturation from support phasers and photon rifles. Two and Three will move up to that berm and pound those bastards with mortars and isomags. I want nothing breathing in and around that damn bunker. Move out!"

Karin moved with Spartan Two and Three while Spartan One flanked right and fired as they moved. Five marines would move up while the other five provided supporting fire to keep the other half of their squad covered. Again and again they bounded, orange pulses of phaser energy with the odd larger orange impact of a photon casing. The Jem'Hadar returned fire with their plasma rifles. Purple zips passed the marines' heads and sometimes caused the odd blue shield ripple when they were hit. Spartan One's squad leader ordered the support gunners to halt and provide heavy suppressive fire onto the target which ripped through several Jem'Hadar and causing the others to take cover.

Even though Spartan One was doing their best to keep the enemy focused on them some plasma shots hit the dirt around Karin and the other two Spartan squads. When they reached the berm Spartan Three deployed their mortars quickly, getting the photon shells ready to fling at their targets. With the marines of Spartan One providing co-ordinates with their Tactical Eye Displays. On Karin's orders Spartan Two unslung their two isomagnetic disintergrators and ran to the top of the berm but crouched to lower their target profile.

"Mortars ready lieutenant!" screamed the sergeant who led Spartan Three after the five mortars had been aligned to hit their target with deadly accuracy.

"Fire at will." ordered Karin who aimed with her phaser rifle. The marines of the two heavy weapons squads who were just carrying rifles and support phasers dotted the berm and fired their weapons which caused the whole berm to just erupt in a light of orange. The mortars crumpted dully as photon shells were rammed down their throats and projected out onto the bunker and the area around it. Purple blobs of energy were spat out of the isomags at high velocity and slammed into the side of the bunker causing it to crumble.

Under withering fire the bunker and all Jem'Hadar had been all but destroyed. With a smile on his face Taylor ended the exercise and proceeded to unload his kit with the Spartan platoon. Yeah, he knew they could do their job.

||USS Fenris
||Security Offices
||0955

Marissa was in a bad mood. She had been hearing some whispers within the ranks and she had to put her foot down before anything bad happened and Marlo and Lillian got the wrong idea about what was happening on their ship. She needed this to move along at a much better pace: preferably in a better way.

"Lieutenant JG Kepper," she said firmly. "Over here...now..."

She had just entered the Security Offices and she was visibly upset and worn out.

Nothing pissed her off more than officers undermining her authority.

Nothing.

The grizzled looking man walked over to her, caught off guard by her grabbing him. She had a hold on his arm, twisting it back and holding his arm behind his back. He was already getting people to pay him for jobs and though not all of her officers knew what she did in her free time, she was making a point. It was absolutely unacceptable. Getting on her bad side was a very bad idea and it was about time everyone knew that.

"Your behavior has been unacceptable," she told him as people started to look their way. "Do not cross me."

He smiled a little. "So...this how we do punishment around here?"

Marissa leaned forward to hiss low in his ear. "Next time you cross me I will toss you out of an airlock, are we clear? Clean up your act or I take out the trash."

"Yes, Chief," he responded loudly.

She let him go and smiled at the title. She had told everyone to call her that instead of 'Lieutenant Garren' and she was glad she did. Marissa had their respect and she had their attention and they would listen to her. Now it was time to ready for her Away Mission and check in with Taylor. Even as MCO they would work closely together. With that thought she returned to her office, craving banana pancakes.

||USS Fenris
||Turolift 3
||1000

Gabe stood in front of the turbolift door on Deck 26, after a quick systems check he'd decided to take Captain Crae the new plans he'd drawn up with some of his team to modify the Sensor pod. As he waited for the lift he looked down and saw an egg stain from breakfast.

"Oh ya frakin' joking me?" He said to himself, "I spent 4 hours in the bowels of the ship yesterday without getting dirty and today i get freakin' egg down me first thing in the morning, bloody typical."

He pulled his open waistcoat closed and hoped nobody would notice, at least until he could get to either his office or quarters and clean up. As he finished the lift door opened and he stepped inside, adjusting his jacket again to try to hide the stain, shaking his head as he noticed that some of it was still visible.

"Bridge." He said as the doors closed and the lift set into motion, "I really hope nobody notices."

Marissa gathered up a data padd for Lillian and headed to the turbo lift to take her work to her. In reality she could give it to Carlos too, but she was headed for Lillian. After all it would be good to have some face time with Lillian to figure out how to tell her about her little group of misfits. Better sooner rather than later. She needed this done and then maybe her mood would improve.

She wouldn't need that though.

Gabe was in the lift when the doors opened and Marissa was caught off guard. She smiled though as she got in, looking at Gabe and nodding. He seemed to brighten her up a bit from before and she was grateful. This moment at least was looking up.

"Morning, Handsome," she greeted him.

"Morning Marissa." He replied, hoping his stain hiding job had worked, how would it look to be starting the day with a nice patch of egg on his shirt.

He saw her face light up slightly and took it as a good sign, as far as he was conserned their date on Tercius Prime had gone well and hoped they'd continue what seemed like, to him at least, a good connection. There was something to be said for strong independent women.

"Going my way?" he asked and almost instantly regretted the bad line, "... yea that sounded so much better in my head."

Marissa giggled and shrugged. "I'm headed for Captain Crae and then Lieutenant Colonel Lucas. Mission things to take care of."

She reached out to swish his hair a little, straightening him out and smiling a little bit at the stain. He was a grown man, able to do this on his own, but Marissa liked the contact. Marissa leaned in a little and smiled at him, close to his face as this was technically behind closed doors.

"You've got a little something on your shirt," she told him. "I envy that you've eaten this morning."

"I know, only noticed it before i got into the lift. Typical, After the hours i spent in the bottom of the ship yesterday and managed to stay cleanish,I manage to get my breakfast on me." He said, shaking his head. "Sorry I didn't think otherwise I'd have invited ya around for a bite to eat."

"That's fine." Marissa told him as she smiled. "I'll have time to eat after the talk with the marine, promise."

Gabe tapped the PADD in his hand, "I'm taking Lilly the latest plans for modifications to the Sensor pod to it allow manned operation as well as unmanned, Now that we've got the ship back to 100% I'm moving onto other projects to get my hands on, after that it seems I'll be changing my shirt." He added with a smile, savouring the closeness between him and Marissa...it was something he could really get used to.

Marissa nodded and kissed his cheek before settling into her own space. "That sounds like a good plan to me. I have a few projects of my own I need to run by her, but mostly I'm wondering why an exploration of a planet means marines and security have to go down. It's overkill and I don't know how I feel about..."

For a moment she paused and thought twice about what she was going to say but continued. "I don't know how I feel about Lucas."

There it was out.

He'd heard about the orange juice situation a few days before, the Fenris was afterall a small ship, but he wondered if something else had happened to worry her. In truth Gabe had worried about that had happened during Luca's time 'dead'. He didn't know what happened and was willing to give Lucas the benefit of the doubt, but something didn't seem right.

"I'm guessing ya don't mean that in the romantic sense." he said seriously, "What ya thinking?"

"Of course not. You're the only one I've been thinking about that way." Marissa said.

She didn't notice she'd admitted that out loud but it was true and she knew that whether she had meant to say that or not. Gabriel was in her thoughts a lot and she couldn't help it.

Marissa took a breath. "His bipolar behavior frustrates me is all. I have to work with him and I have no idea how he thinks...so how do I trust him?"

Marissa's admission took Gabe aback slightly, but he recovered as quickly he could, "Well that's good to know." he said with a smile, "Guess i made more of an impression then i thought during that date."

"Yes you did," she admitted with a gentle laugh. "There are dates like that in our future and more, believe you me."

"As for Taylor, he's a good guy at heart but something happened while he was gone, i don't know what it was but i have a good idea." He added, his voice serious, "Sometimes we do things that... break us in a way. Something so wrong that it becomes hard to get past it and the pain just eats away at ya... I know that one from personal experience." He shook his head, his eyes pained and haunted. "I've seen that haunted look and the anger before... Heck i've lived it. For now i'd advise ya keep ya eye on him, i doubt he's a danger but ya never know."

Marissa nodded and tried to let that sink in. Instead, she smiled at Gabe and then leaned in to kiss him, pressing her lips to his to thank him for this. He was too good for her, she was sure of it, but he had a big heart and understood what it was like to have a past. She was glad to have him around and they were practically to the bridge now. What to do, what to do...

"Thank you, Gabe," she told him gently, pecking his lips happily.

As Marissa's lips brushed his, Gabe ran his fingers through her hair gently, "If this is the thanks i get, remind me to be helpful more often." he said with a smile. For a few seconds Gabe felt like a schoolboy, before he reined that feeling in. He reminded himself he was technically working, there'd be plenty of time to feel lovestuck later.

"I think this is our stop, but dinner again sometime?" Marissa asked him as the turbo lift stopped, stealing another quick kiss. "And maybe breakfast after? Who knows, right?"

"Now that sounds like a plan." He replied as the doors opened onto the bridge.

This joint post as brought to you by:

And

||USS Fenris
||Bridge
||1010


Lillian had been on the bridge for a little while delegating and talking to her officers as they neared Olean, having already put together her Away Team with Carlos' help and having tried to keep them all busy. She didn't want them talking about her new uniform as it was very obvious even as slight as the bump was that she was actually pregnant. It wasn't some scare tactic by the new captain to see if her crewmembers would still follow her regardless of her own personal issues.

No, Lillian Crae was definitely pregnant.

On top of that, she didn't want to hear anything about her and Taylor or her engagement ring, as they were on duty. The last couple of weeks things had seemed pretty alright, but she heard the whispers in the corridors and saw the looks that some of the crew gave her. Last thing she needed was for the crew to start talking about her behind her back like she was some topic for them all to discuss. On the one hand she didn't mind, but on the other hand she knew that she needed to make sure she was instilling loyalty in them. She couldn't handle a mutiny.

That seemed like the hormones talking though. The crew was open and friendly with her, knowing she was a Betazoid so she would know if they were lying anyway. Her pregnancy didn't change that and maybe they were all just speculating how it all happened. Wondering how it was that Lillian came to be here. all she knew was that she was on duty and that meant that she was in charge and she was going to lead everyone to the best of her abilities, come what may. Right now, they had some research to do before reaching their real destination: Derealia.

"I have a small favor to ask of you, Yeoman," Lillian said gently, looking at Carlos with a smile on her face.

It was nice to have someone around she knew she could count on that was new in her life. Carlos was turning out to be quite the addition to the crew and she was glad that she had someone to delegate tasks to that she could trust to get some commanding done. She trusted all of her Senior Officers, but it seemed to her that her Yeoman was kind of her right hand man after her XO, and with Marlo going down to lead the Away Team, she knew she'd have Carlos on the bridge still at least to count on.


<Tags: Carlos>

||USS Fenris
||Bridge
||1011

The nice thing about the bridge of a Luna class was that there was an alcove with a computer bank for an administrative officer or yeoman. It did not offer the best view of the bridge or viewscreen, but Carlos still enjoyed the feeling of being part of the nerve center of the ship, where all the action was. It sure beat being confined to a closet office like in some of his previous postings.

Scanning the LCARS in front of him, he idly tapped a finger to the side of his head as he reviewed the names of the members of the away team for the upcoming mission. Most other Starfleet personnel had little idea of the myriad forms, releases, and authorizations required for an away mission, running the gamut from allergy information for certain environments to notification of next of kin in the event things went seriously wrong. The computer handled it all to an acceptable degree, but like all good clerks he liked to check its work whenever he could, since if there was a screwup it wouldn't be the computer who took the blame.

Moving from file to file to crosscheck release status, he mused at the faces of the officers and enlisted personnel preparing for beam down. There was Commander Bakel, who he had realized should not be addressed as Commander Marlo after reviewing Bajoran naming custom. Next, the Chief Medical Officer's file was quite lengthy, and so Carlos only verified that the man was cleared for an away mission. He then noted that both the Chief of Security and the MCO were slated to beam down, something the noncom found a bit excessive for a biological research mission. Judging from what he knew of Taylor, Carlos supposed it was possible the man just wanted to stretch his legs, and maybe this Garren woman wanted to make her presence known on the mission to avoid the appearance of the marines usurping her duties. Carlos didn't much care to get involved in shipboard politics, but that didn't stop him from speculating on them.

Then he came to the file of the Chief Science Officer. He paused for a long time, staring at her picture in deep concentration as he drummed his fingers on his console. There was something there…

At the sound of his Captain's voice he looked up from his station quickly. "Yes ma'am? I've nearly finalized the administrative details for the away mission, just making a final review. If you have any last minute changes I can of course accommodate that with ease," he said with bright enthusiasm, but surreptitiously minimized the science chief's file from his LCARS.

<Tag: Lillian>

||[i]USS Fenris
||Bridge
||1012


Lillian smiled a little bit. "I've been informed that Lieutenant Tam will be in charge of the plant extraction on the planet. She wants to observe and collect-- you can strike off our resident ex-General and let the Lieutenant Colonel and Chief know I only want them bringing a crewman or two. I'm not expecting hostilities from the local inhabitants so I'd prefer to pack light, so to speak."

She rubbed her temples a moment and looked at Derek as she had been feeling him be a bit fidgety ever since nearing the planet and she wondered why. After all, he was staying on the ship and wouldn't have to deal with much...then again it could be a personal problem. Lillian certainly wasn't about to invade his privacy and read his mind. Last thing she needed was for the crew to think she was going to rifle through their minds at the drop of a hat, or hint of emotions that shouldn't be there.

Looking back to Carlos, Lillian made a mental note to ask Derek later because her senses were more sensitive than normal in her current condition and it was going to bother her. She was addressing Carlos, however, and knew she had to focus on one thing at a time. Everyone was exhibiting slightly 'off' emotions and she figured that given all the circumstances, that was somewhat normal and she just had to deal with it. Lillian Crae was good at that--adapting. So this wasn't any different.

Lillian chewed on her bottom lip. "In fact, I think it might be beneficial for it to just be the two of them, no teams. All we've found in scans is wildlife so if anyone needs protecting, they're safe with the two of them. I think a 5 person Away Team is more than enough, especially with Lieutenants Tam and Life doing the majority of the work. Commander Bakel already knows, I just need our Security and Marine detachments to know what's going on."


<Tags: Carlos>

|| USS Fenris
|| Bridge
|| 1016

"Yes ma'am…minimal squads for the people in the yellow and green," Carlos replied chipperly, pleased about his newfound importance aboard the ship, which certainly rivaled the drudgery of his other postings. The sense of belonging made him comfortable enough to speculate further aloud. "Although I doubt neither Colonel Taylor nor Lieutenant Garren will be pleased about beaming down without a fully reinforced group. Oh well." Deftly, he entered the changes into his console, pleased inside that he as a noncom had the authority to enact such radical changes in mission structure. That it was authority derived from Captain Crae did not lessen his sense of accomplishment.

And so he was prepared to change the orders once again as the good captain's whims changed. Carlos sensed some apprehension in her tone, and though initially concerned, he quickly decided it was simply her worrying about Taylor being part of the mission, any mission. He glanced over his shoulder, and nodded reassuringly. "Understood, Captain. I'm trimming the squad roster to Commander Bakel, Colonel Lucas, Lieutenants Garren, Tam, and…Life," he finished, swallowing to clear his dry throat, before dismissing his own mental concerns. "That's a reasonable company for a survey mission, if I may say so, and according to Starfleet recommendations." After quickly verifying that everything was in order with the correction, he finalized it, and turned again to regard his captain.

"One other thing ma'am…I've been looking through the personnel transfers that we took aboard on Tercius Prime. Maybe I'm just reading things wrong, but it appears we took aboard a disproportionate number of weapons technicians there. The thing is, our systems seemed fully crewed according to existing official recommendations. All of these new transfers were assigned to an 'experimental supervisory' role. I did some digging in the files, and though I couldn't verify it, some of these transfers were apparently connected to a 'phase cannon' project aboard. That doesn't match any current approved Starfleet weapons loadout I can find. Now, Captain…is this all in order, as far as I'm concerned, or should I try and confirm more of the details?" he asked tentatively, wishing to point out a possible administrative oversight but not wishing to stick his enlisted nose into something classified.

<Tag: Lillian>

||USS Fenris
||Bridge
||1018


Lillian nodded a little and then shrugged. "Regardless of how they feel about it, it's not a hostile situation. The two of them can more than protect the other three. Thank you, Yeoman, I appreciate it."

She smiled at him and then looked at Marlo and rolled her eyes at the look on Marlo's face as she sat there next to her. Taking a deep breath she glanced at Derek one more time and tried to ignore Carlos' tone when he had said 'Life'. She didn't know what was going on and honestly she knew that whatever it was she could handle it and that was just that. Right now she wanted to focus on the fact that they were practically in orbit above Olean and it was almost time for the Away Team to beam down.

"Bridge is yours, Commander Bakel--I will be in my Ready Room is anyone needs me." Lillian announced, getting up.

Lillian headed into her Ready Room and sat down in her chair, looking over the Away Team information and then settling into her chair as she looked at one of the pictures on her desk. It was her and Sareth and she really missed him. 7 days seemed like far too long to wait to see him again and she just wanted to snuggle him and hold him close. As much as she loved her job and she believed that she was doing the right thing, her family was the most important to her. Soon his visit with his uncle and aunts would be over and he would rejoin her and everything would be better.

"I miss you, Buddy," she said gently.

Tracing her fingers sadly along the frame she made a face and then she rested her free hand on her stomach and wondered what the day would have in store for them. It was a simple enough mission but she felt like something was off and that everyone was acting strange. Either it was her hormones or it was her gut telling her that something bad was going to happen and she had to be prepared for it. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Lillian hoped that she could focus and relax today...

||USS Fenris
||Captain's Ready Room
||1025


Marissa was finding it rather hard to figure out what she wanted to say to Lillian but she knew she had to speak up. Right now she and Taylor were not on solid footing and yet they had to work together to lead and protect.

Just tell her, she'll get it. she thought to herself.

Sighing loudly, Marissa made it onto the bridge and she smiled a little to herself about the ride with Gabe. She knew she had to push the pleasant thoughts aside, but right then she wanted to talk to Lillian and make sure this was what she wanted. Marissa and Taylor. Yellow and Green. Security and the Marines.

Lillian looked up when there was a chime at her door. "Come in!"

She had thought that this morning would run pretty slowly until the Away Team actually shipped off to the planet but apparently she was wrong. Someone already wanted to see her and she would have to delegate some kind of issue or sign off on something and she didn't really want to. No, she did. She just kind of felt like suddenly today was exhausting and she wanted to go back to her happy-go-lucky attitude that morning.

"Hey, Cap," Marissa said when she entered.

She just wanted to get this over with.

Nothing like just saying what she felt, right?

Marissa cleared her throat. "I need to talk to you about the Away Mission."

Well that was certainly right to the point. Lillian laughed a little bit because she wondered if this was going to be one of those cases where the officer wanted out. Then again, maybe she had seen the changes already and really didn't want it to have to be just her and Taylor protecting the Away Team if need be. Either way, Lillian had a feeling this was going to be a less than pleasant talk but she couldn't help but laugh. If anything, Marissa was straight forward and persistent and she liked that in a person--in an officer.

She offered Marissa a seat and then sat up straighter, her hands on her stomach as she looked at the Security Chief in front of her and tried to figure out what to do. All she could do right then was listen and so she stopped with the laughing and just smiled at her so that she could seem just a little bit more professional. Last thing she needed was Marissa thinking that she was off her rocker.

"What about the Away Mission?" Lillian asked her calmly.

Marissa took a deep breath as she took a seat. "I just...is there really a need for security officers and marines?"

She didn't want Lillian to think that she hated Taylor, but there it was. Right down to the point. It seemed like this kind of mission really didn't need security or the marines anyway and yet they were supposed to go down to the planet. Besides, if she couldn't get along with Taylor than how were they supposed to make this work?

"I just...Lucas and I..." Marissa began and then decided to just go for it after a pause. "I'm not sure I like him or trust him."

Lillian nodded slowly at that and tried to figure out what to say to it next. She was the captain and she had to be impartial, but she was also Taylor's fiancée and she didn't want anyone to think ill of him in any way, shape or form. So, she decided that she would have to approach this carefully and figure out what in the world was going on between them. What had happened between them?

"Alright...is there a way that I can help you with that?" Lillian asked her. "I don't want my crew members to hate each other, so it would be nice to have you two working on the same team."

Marissa didn't want to go into detail but she knew that Lillian deserved an answer. It was like telling your friend that their boyfriend sucked and Marissa wasn't trying to make it sound like that at all. She just wanted Lillian to be aware that she and Taylor had some issues that they needed to resolve. She and Taylor could do that, she just wasn't sure she wanted to do this right now before she and Taylor could talk.

That seemed stupid.

That seemed really stupid.

"He and I haven't really...things started off iffy and now I don't know where we stand, I'm just frustrated with him." Marissa admitted. "I'm planning on talking with him, I just thought that you should know."

"Yes, well, it's not negotiable and it's just you and him." Lillian responded, sighing a little bit. "A 5 person Away Team seemed rather perfect and I want you all to find a way to work together. Is that doable?"

Marissa sighed and nodded thinking it all over. "I just didn't want you to be in the dark about it. I'm trying to fix it, I just need to make sure that you're aware that currently you've got a little tension between your security officers and your marine detachment. Other than that, I'm ready to ship out."

She didn't know what else to say, she just knew that she needed to make Lillian clear on this. It wasn't time to tell her about her little team of 'Mercs' and she figured that right then Lillian had enough to deal with.

"Alright, Lieutenant. Dismissed then." Lillian said pleasantly. "Never hesitate to come to me with things."


JP by the lovely

||USS Fenris
||Marine Armory
||1040

Marissa took a deep breath as she headed to talk to Taylor. While she was still pissed off about the smoke in juice incident, he outranked her now and she had to let it go. Besides he was sleeping with the boss. If she made a misstep then she knew that would affect what Lillian thought as well. Last thing she needed was the pregnant captain pissed off before she had license to be.

"Be on your best behavior, Mars," she said gently to herself.

Bracing herself she entered the room and looked around. Mostly she wanted this over with, but she'd seen the list and they had to get along. At least tolerate each other professionally...

"Lucas," she called out, realizing she probably should have been more formal...oh well.

Taylor was currently alone in the armoury taking care of the armour pieces that he had shed from himself. The chest and arm plates were hanging up in his locker as he inspected them. He was still wearing his olive drab fatigue shirt along with the plates of the lower half of the armour suit. His carbine and pistol were lying on the bench near him as he fetched some tools to dismantle them and put them together. For Taylor it was like some ritual to do. Weapon maintenance was like that for every marine.

When he heard Marissa call out his surname he frowned at the familiar voice calling out his surname and spun around to find her standing at the door. "Lieutenant." he said with a small grin. After the rather appeasing training simulation he wasn't in the mood to adhere to the rank calling. For him anyway. For Taylor respect for the rank was everything. Respect for the person wearing it...well, he figured after his stunt in the canteen he'd have a long way to gain any of Marissa's respect. If it ever was winnable.

"If it's about the juice thing, I'm sorry. It's just mercs and me...well, it's nothing personal. Well it is something personal but it's a long tale that I'm sure you're not interesting in. Got enough to do without listen to stories from the old, almost washed up marine officer."

"While I think what you did was rude and uncalled for, you outrank me." Marissa said. "There's no reason to dwell on it. I'm here for other reasons."

She was here to talk about the Away Team and about finding a way to work together. Most people had a problem with true Mercs and while she was frustrated he was okay with it one moment and not the next, she figured that Lillian's influence on him had made him think more about the past.

Nodding at that she shrugged. "You can tell me whatever story you want."

"Well, if you're sure..." said Taylor slowly as he took off his armour and brushed down his combat fatigues. They were still technically uniform but the duty uniforms were a lot more formal in comparison. Even then Taylor had no problem with wearing it himself. He tied his pistol belt around his belt, making sure his Type-IIM pistol was on safe.

"It's nothing specific since I think I already covered the main details of my utter disdain for mercenaries." began the marine as he sat on the bench. "I've fought against them, lost friends to them...all because they want some latinum. They don't answer to any higher authority other than the highest bidder. Sure most of them have a code but only as long as the money keeps coming. Make what you want out of that."

With a small sigh Taylor pinched the bridge when a rush of pent up stress left standing from his training simulation shot through nerves before settling back. Honestly even with Lillian he was always worrying and stressing out about the future and the past. It was like he had finally cut all of the weight off his shoulders and now it had been dumped back on him. Taylor' could feel his legs buckling already. One day the stress was going to make take his eye off the ball. What happened then was up to fate.

"What did you want to talk to me about lieutenant?"

"No, I hear you there and I agree with you. No one should ever be taken advantage of for money and I assure you that won't happen here. I don't feel I have to explain it all to you since you're, well, not going to be part of my team, but we're fighting for the same things here and I want us to be able to get along." Marissa told him as she ran her fingers through her hair.

That said she took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you about the Away Mission. I know that you outrank me and that Commander Bakel is in charge, but I'm hoping that we can find a way to work together on this mission--see eye to eye. It's simple enough but with it just being you and me as protective, I need to know you have our backs."

Making a sound of indifference at Marissa half agreeing with him then withholding whatever details she thought he'd want Taylor just looked at the security chief with an air of neither acceptance nor denial. Taylor hadn't really formed an opinion about Marissa yet till he saw some positive interaction rather than the tense conversations they had previously had. Well, tense bordering hostile.

"Lieutenant there is nothing stopping me from watching your back. You wear that uniform that means you're entitled to the same assistance anyone on this ship would get from myself and my department. I really don't want Marine/Security politics. I just want smooth operations all across the board. Think you can give me that?"

"I don't want them either--ideally we should work together peacfully. Something just changed from the man that came to me for help and the man that I spoke to in the Mess Hall." she explained to him. "You can't expect me to just accept such a change. Would you? If someone was just suddenly different?"

Marissa waved it off just in case it got frustrating. Taylor would do as he pleased and it wasn't her place to question that. All Marissa could do was take this as it was and get over it. They had a mission to do together and they'd work together just fine. Besides, with the faith she had in Lillian she had to blindly trust her MCO choice.

"We should run our men through some simulations together when we get back. See how we work together."

"Course I would, it's called adapting." replied Taylor patiently. "Semper Flexibilis; Always Flexible. We ain't banging, we ain't married and we ain't friends. How we act towards each other is of no concern to me. All that I'm concerned with is that when we go out on a mission we try to bring as many back with us as we can."

Taylor liked the idea of running drills and while he did care about Marissa's well being it was whatever opinion she had cooked up about him if any that he classed as irrelevant. Guess he'd have to do something 'heroic' to get some form of trust out of her. Respect was earned and Taylor wasn't looking for it from anyone in this crew. So was trust but he figured that if he was going to do as he did on Starbase Seven; stick his neck out for people who wouldn't otherwise care he'd need some trust.

"Good idea lieutenant. I wouldn't exactly expect your yellow jackets to stand in a ground exercise and despite being Fleet Protection we're not experts in anti-boarding actions. We're attackers, not defenders. Sure we can switch but marines are used to being on the attack. Could use some pointers. Hell take a took at our weapons and equipment stock. Managed to 'procure' a crate of surplus marine rifles and carbines. Should give you an edge."

"Fair enough," she said with a nod. "I suppose in this line of work you do need to be able to adapt..."

She hated admitting he was right.

She hated more his assumption about her men.

"You'd be surprised about my men. We're not as trained as marines but we handle our own in battle." she said. "You're backed by a good security force. I would like a gander at the weapons though: I like having an edge over my opponent." She smiled at Taylor and patted his arm. "There's hope for the friend part yet, Lucas. You still frustrate me off the clock as I can't figure you out. Not my job though, is it?"

"I'm not doubting the quality of your department than its flexibility." said the marine defensively with raised hands in a posture of submission. The last thing Taylor wanted was to start snide comments between the two combat departments cause that's how it started. Comments. Then the next thing you know there's a fistfight in the mess hall. He had done this dance enough times to know that this was probably a critical moment of ship politics.

"Most try and figure me out for their own reasons." explained Taylor. "Some for romantic reasons, other for professional. Some because they have nothing better to do with their day. Whatever your motive for trying to figure me out all you need to remember that I'll probably piss you off till you either like me or hate me for it. Marines understand me because we think along the same pattern. Captain Crae understands me because I apparently have certain qualities she finds admirable. I ain't looking for a fan base, just ways to make my job easier. I'm all about the job."

"Oh God lets please start over," Marissa said laughing. "I have nothing against you, okay? Sharpe and Crae think you're a good, trustworthy guy and I have no issues working with you. We're moving past this and starting over. After this mission--we can't bring men, according to Cap, by the way--we'll run through some drills and see what happens. That's all I'm offering here. Sound good, Lucas?"

She started backing up toward the door with a smile on her face. "I'm sure you're a perfect addition to this team and I look forward to figuring you out. Not romantically of course. Last thing I need is an engineer and a pregnant captain on my ass. Besides, I have a feeling we're a bit too alike and when we met you didn't make my loins ache. Just gear up and we'll make this work, alright?"

"Just keep up lieutenant." quipped Taylor with a wink and a smile. "Don't let the greying hair fool you. Old dogs and their old tricks always win through."

||USS Fenris
||Mess Hall
||1055


After his training simulation and speaking the Marrisa, the ship's Chief of Security, Taylor decided to indulge in a breakfast-going on-lunch meal. Or something like it. It wasn't Marrisa's fault but Taylor's mood had darkened even though his usual stress relief methods weren't working. Usually a hand-to-hand spar with a hologram or an hour on the phaser range would let him blow off some steam. Even Lillian had a rather unique way of keeping the marine rather relaxed but now it seemed to be too much.

It had all started with PRISM and the few operations he had taken part of. Though Taylor would never go into details, not even with Lillian, he had felt more of a butcher than an actual soldier. That prompted him leaving for a more free-lance role but even then his lack of sleep had plagued him. Thinking about Lillian and the baby got him worried sick to the point that he couldn't focus. Even if Taylor was a do-or-die combat fighter even he could lose a moments concentration. He didn't intend to let Lilly bury him. Not this early anyway.

Either our of fear of being seen in a lesser standing or just generally unwilling Taylor refused to talk about it. Like always it would build up inside, fester and then he'd feel like he was losing a part of his humanity. A rather dramatic view of it all but the man had been through so much and lost so much that it had come to the point where everything was fragile.

Sighing to himself Taylor sat alone at a table drinking some milk. Right now he needed some solitude. Taylor had just finished a fruit salad and some of the milk and splashed from his lip onto his combat fatigue trousers. Normally he would have just wiped himself down and felt like a fool but the little things counted today. In an unknown fit of rage Taylor violently pushed the tray off his table sending the crockery smashing onto the floor. Everyone seemed to stop mid-bite and stare at him, wondering what move he'd make. Instead Taylor just sat their, sour faced.

Madeline had been straightening her office and quarters, making sure everything was just as she liked it. It made her happy to have a ship to work on, it had been too long since she'd had the chance to work on ship and travel through space. Tercius was nice and all, but nothing kept Maddie happier than moving at the speed of light to new worlds.

Her stomach growled, she'd been working straight that she'd forgotten to eat anything all day. She straightened her appearance and went to the turbolift, requesting the mess hall. She bounced a bit in place, now would be a great chance to meet some of the crew and start getting to know people. After meeting Captain Crae she'd kept herself busy arranging herself onboard that she hadn't met anyone else.

Upon entering the hall, she whipped her head around at the sound of crash. She saw an angry marine sitting by a table that had the contents of his tray littered across the surface. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene, it would seem that she had someone to help sooner than expected. She made her way over calmly, trying not to disrupt the tense atmosphere of the room. Once reaching the marine she went to his side.

"Excuse me? Do you need assistance?" She asked, hoping perhaps she could bring him to her office to talk about whatever caused the violence. "Mind if I have a seat?"

When Taylor heard a voice he instantly snapped his head round, tensing up. His fist was clenched ready to make someone's day end in a trip to sickbay but upon seeing the woman he seemed to relax to the point he didn't look like he was about to hit someone. Taylor wouldn't hit a woman or crew member without a perfectly valid and often life threatening reason.

The first thought to cross Taylor's mind when asked if she could sit down he had half a thought to tell the unknown woman to mind her own business without the usual politeness. His face turned from one of aggression to pure defeat. Taking out his anger on a tray was perfectly acceptable but the crew weren't there to be his verbal and physical punching bag. They trusted him to protect them and right now he wasn't exactly doing great to earn that trust.

"It's a public mess hall, I've got no feeling about it one way or the other." he said in his accent.

Madeline sat down, she'd expected a bitter retort of some sort. His shoulders were slumped in defeat and his face looked tired. She folded her hands in front of her on the table top and looked at him, "Tough day?" She asked, starting small always got her somewhere with strangers with problems.

"Day? No....Past year..." replied Taylor who looked at the woman glumly. If the dark circles under his eyes were nothing to go on then the general forced energy to get any type of conversation going. It was like his mind had just decided to let itself relax and thereby causing him to inadvertently become in a state of a near-coma.

When she placed her hands on the table Taylor very unsubtly sat back in his chair and folded his arms. When he folded his arms it was a general sign of disapproval, annoyance or just lack of patience. Taylor wasn't exactly sure which category he should file this under. "Don't think we've met. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Lucas, marine commanding officer. And you are lieutenant....?"

"Madeline Veridian, I'm the new counselor." She said with a small kind smile. She remembered from reading files that this was Captain Crae's beaux, and the father of her second child she was pregnant with. Her curiosity was definitely piqued. She took note of his defensive posture, crossed arms meant protection and hostility, he was wary of her. Her stomach growled quietly, reminding her of the original reason for her trip to the mess hall. "I'm going to grab myself something to eat and return to my office, if you would like to talk it out with someone, feel free to follow me."

Sometimes taking risks were required when meeting new patients, people who need help. Maddie liked taking risks and she liked challenges. She stood up and walked over to grab some food and then made her way back to the turbo lift, not checking to see if he had followed her. She'd extended her hand to help, now it was up to Colonel Lucas to take it or ignore it.

The idea of yomping all the way over to an office to discuss feelings and thoughts seemed to already wear on Taylor's nerves and he hadn't even left the chair yet. "How about you get your chow and sit back here. I'm not adverse to people listening in. Everyone finds out everything eventually. Unless you have anything to offer me like a really, really good cigar the chances of us actually having a conversation in a medical environment are slim."

With both Medical and Counselling he couldn't stand them. Not the people themselves but just...them. He had wasted two years of his life recovering and then having to deal with a blue shirt. He respected what they did but for Taylor he had long decided it just wasn't for him. "Nothing personal lieutenant, just a preference I have."

Maddie turned at the exit of the mess hall to look back at Taylor, she raised an eyebrow and gave him a look that basically said 'bitch please'. "That may be your preference, but I prefer my office, I have some organizing I'm still doing that I would like to finish. But my door is open should you want to talk. You may not care about airing your grievances to the general public, but I much prefer the privacy and comfort of my own office. Take it or leave it colonel." She shrugged, some people just didn't want to be helped. She wanted to help him and talk it out, but he had to come to her. She wasn't going to force him to talk to her.

Nodding slowly Taylor half considered about following Madeline to her office and beginning the process of talking out his problems. That was one way to vent, right? Just talking about it? Then again her expression was less than impressive and didn't do much to change Taylor's mind from indifference. If anything it had cemented his position of not going anywhere near an office that belonged to anyone who tried to figure how what made people tick. "What happened to the preferences of the patient becoming a priority? Not a very good councillor to not be able to fit around how your patient wants to be treated." said Taylor in a half-taunt, half-factual way. Least that's how he saw it.

Maddie shrugged, "You aren't my patient... yet" She said, "Besides, there is a distinct difference between how a patient wants to be treated and how a patient should be treated, and I tend to work off how the patient should be treated." Maddie knew a lot of patients who tried to control everything, it was in their nature. She was okay with that, however she wasn't going to let the colonel get the upper hand. she believed in equality with patients, and she dealt with them on her turf and on her terms. "You don't have to take my help Colonel, but the offer is there should you accept it."

"I believe in referring to the experts when it comes to what method should be used." replied Taylor flatly, still in his defensive stance. Be it plain stubbornness or pride he was loathe to shift on the matter. For now anyway. His mind was open to change so he decided to see how Madeline worked. "You go to an engineer if something within the ship needs to be fixed. So I guess my main question is....do I need your help? In your professional opinion? You must have otherwise you wouldn't have offered. I guess I just to hear you say it." Depending on Madeline's answer Taylor would either follow her to the office or just walk away from the conversation completely. Lillian might have told him to be diplomatic but there were certain points where Taylor would just give up on that avenue.

She took a moment to look at the man, he was challenging her again. He liked throwing down challenges, she could see. She kindly smiled, "Judging by the display I walked in on, I would say you seem like someone with a lot on his mind and in need of someone to talk to. So yes, in my opinion I think you could use some help. But if you honestly believe that you are fine and don't need my help. Than by all means ignore me and I will go back to my office by myself." She was being honest, she wasn't going to try to help or push herself on someone who didn't want her help, but the offer would always be there.

With a heavy sigh and reluctant nod Taylor silently agreed to follow Madeline to her office after she had replicated some food. Talking about whatever would probably help, hopefully anyway. He wasn't looking for advice but maybe just a shoulder to lean on. Taylor knew he could have relied on Lillian to help him through this but she had enough on her plate without seeing him like this. Opening totally up to her about what was ailing him seemed selfish. "Alright." he said finally. "I'll come with you then. Not sure you'll find my problems the most exciting."

Maddie smiled, "Follow me." She lead him to the turbo lift, then down to her office. Upon entering the office she cleared some space on the chairs and couch she had, "have a seat wherever you like, I'm still organizing a bit as you can see." She said, as she grabbed a pad of paper and pen and made herself comfortable at her desk, "Is there somewhere you'd like to start?"

Taylor sighed and sat on the couch but leaned forward as if betraying his apprehensive feeling about being in this room. It might not have held the same clinical stench but the atmosphere of the place wasn't exactly inviting. "That's the question...I guess I should just bat something out for you to work with and see what happens next." said Taylor with a frown. "I'm in a dangerous job, one of the most dangerous jobs on the ship. I'm sent out into the most dangerous tasks by my superiors. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem but now...now I've got a step-son, a new child on the way and a fiancée. Now I want to be there for them. Duty has got in the way before. One of my main worries is...what if it permanently gets in the way?"

Writing a few notes down, Maddie looked up at him and leaned back, this was obviously going to be a long conversation. "I think the first thing you need to ask yourself is if your job is worth it and if you love it enough to keep putting that risk out there on a daily basis. It sounds like your personal life is starting to take a large priority in your life. You say this has been a problem before? Perhaps you can learn from that experience and reorganize your priorities."

"Unfortunately it's not like other circumstances where the family is back home or anything." replied the marine with another heavy sigh. "She's on the ship. So what am I meant to do? Become a civilian and start serving drinks? Being a marine means I can keep her safe the best way I know. If she was on Earth or Betazed then I'd consider retirement but she shares the same dangers as I do. If the ship blew up we'd both be screwed." Of course that was only one of several issues on Taylor's mind but he figured one at a time. Trying to handle a large amount of baggage would get him nowhere. Instead he figured to walk leisurely than run where his psychological health was concerned.

Thinking back to the files she had yet to read, Maddie made a note to look more into Captain Crae and Colonel Lucas' files. Should the Colonel choose to return for another session she would like to be more up to speed on his situation and perhaps talk to Captain Crae as well. "It seems you have a lot on your mind. Why don't you start with the biggest issue that is on your mind and we work from there."

"Biggest problem...oh boy..." said Taylor to himself as he looked at his combat boots. "I'm going to be a father. Am I cut out for this? I kill people for a living. Surely that eliminates me from the eligibility of parenthood." he mused to Madeline. Taylor never got guilt jitters with normal marine duties but his time with PRISM had, well, broken him. Or almost. He didn't expect to fit into his normal life like a piece of the puzzle easily but he didn't expect it to be this hard as well.

"You kill for the sake of protecting the fleet and the ones you love. If anything that makes you honourable and courageous. That also gives you the ultimate eligibility of parenthood, you can protect your loved ones better than most." She knew he could do it, it sounded like he was scared, "It's your first child, you're bound to be nervous and scared approaching this event. A lot of new fathers go through this, as well as new mothers. Do you want this child?" It was an important question for him to ask himself.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, I do." replied the marine without needed a moment's thought. He didn't want to go into all the major details since he felt he should but somehow he didn't feel like he deserved all the gifts life had given him. Taylor was a cautious man in the long run even though in the short term he was the most likely to dive into the fray. It was just that he had a fiancée, a step-son and a child on the way. A high rank, a good job and the platform to build some strong friendships. He also had Nayla who he relied on to give him a shove when he buckled. "All I ever wanted was to give something wonderful to the world. What best way than new life? Just the way I see it."

"I'm sure you'll be a wonderful father, do you get along well with your step-son? Do you have a good relationship?" Maddie asked, happy she was getting somewhere with Colonel Lucas, he'd be obstinate and stubborn in the mess hall. She'd assumed this would be a lot like that, challenging and standing off to see who had the upperhand. She was happy they were on some equal footing and he was opening up about his fears and doubts.

Taylor couldn't help but smile at Madeline's compliment. Sometimes Taylor doubted his parenting abilities and with Sareth gone he felt out of touch with his skills in handling the literally little problems in life. Of course having a new bundle of joy grace his life would put the pressure on but he was excited none the less. "Yeah, Sareth and I got on well. Not seen him in a while though. He's a funny lad so he is. Likes to colour everything he can. If you like your walls how they are don't let him in your office."

"Well I could use a bit of colour in here" Maddie laughed and smiled, the boy sounded charming and sweet. She wasn't surprised after having met Captain Crae, "I'm glad you have a good relationship with him, its important to maintain that so he doesn't feel left out when the new baby arrives. That bond will also prepare you for fatherhood with your new baby and taking care of him or her."

Maddie smiled wistfully, it made her happy seeing new parents and their worries, it was almost endearing to see them doubt themselves but then become the best parents for the child. She almost felt a bit jealous, but waved the feeling away and focused back on Taylor, "So now that the father issue is out of the way, what else is on your mind? You were a bit violent in the mess hall with that outburst." She observed, quite curious as to finding the trigger for such a display of violence.

"Let's just say my time away from normal marine duties has caused me to do some things that I wouldn't even consider doing." Said Taylor sadly with some thought. Yeah, he had crossed lines for the sake of orders and survival. Even in the face of death he'd never betray his principles but after thinking he had been abandoned on Sigma III by the crew of SB7 those principles became...void. "I'm not exactly comfortable talking about them. I guess I feel guilty that I can do them and hey, my old life is back."

"You don't have to talk about these things unless you want to or are comfortable enough to discuss them. The point should be whether you're still doing those things and if they are affecting your progress to become a better person. You may never become the person you used to be, but the person you have the potential of being in the future is far more special and has more to do and learn from." Maddie took notes, she was curious about the things he had done, but she wouldn't push it right now.

"I don't." said Taylor as he stood up. "I don't do any of those things any more. I'm Starfleet again which means there are rules. Rules that let me sleep at night because I know when it boils down to it Lillian...Captain Crae wouldn't order me to do the things I've done. Anyway...thanks for your time Lieutenant."

||DWS Destroyer
||Ready Room
||1120


Marshall Frost took a deep breath as he stroked his small beard in contemplation, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag on it before blowing out the smoke and looking over toward the window. He took a moment to look at the stars before he caught his reflection, staring at the scar that went down his left eye. Part of his eyebrow couldn't grow there because of her. In fact ever since the Academy she had been a right thorn in his side.

Lillian Crae.

While she held potential and she had helped him destroy the entire 300+ members of the colony on Teraedus with the help of the knowledge that she had acquired from Marlo, Marshall hated her. Hated everything about her and her psionic abilities that she possessed, hence making that virus that almost killed her before her beloved Taylor Lucas saved her. When she found out what kind of a person he was, she had used those abilities on him and had fully intended on rendering him useless had Melinda Harrison not stepped in and reminded Lillian that that just wasn't who she was.

No, that was who Marshall was. If he didn't still sort of need her, he would have killed her easily years ago. Mostly he let his men do the dirty work, but he missed what it felt like to feel someone's life slip away from them at his own hands. He had made his first kill at 10, shortly after watching his parents get brutally murdered in front of him for sport. Since then, Marshall had been perfecting his techniques and using his natural prodigy genius to excel in medicine.

So far, he had made it to the rank of Commander and he was a very prominent and sought after doctor in the Federation. No one aside from his core 6 'minions' and the 4 people outside of his organization knew that 'Doclin'--ironically a name that Lillian had given him--was in fact the renowned surgeon and medical genius, Marshall Frost. These days Marshall spent more time as Doclin than as Marshall, however, but that was soon to change. He was soon to be both.

He now had the USS Fenris in his grasp and he was waiting to make his move. Marshall had planted his men on the ship in various departments--none of them knew him by his true identity--all of them watching Lillian's every move and reporting back to him from shuttles under secure channels. He was currently cloaked using a cloaking of his and one of his 6's own making, waiting for Lillian to fall into the trap. He knew their course, and had planted the plants for them. Plants he had already used to find the vaccine they would no doubt be trying to finally create as it had not been done before now, and now he was trying to figure out how to counteract the vaccine.

Lillian could never give up a medical venture, so what better lure? The moment she beamed down the Away Team, his own cloaked team would move in and take the members that he needed and he would just get the others after battering the Fenris in a battle after revealing himself. He had to keep his face cloaked, however. People knew his face as his Marshall persona far too well and he needed to avoid the fame. Then again...no, this he could do.

He would take a shuttle to the Fenris and play his little mind games with Lillian.

In order to do that he would need to make sure that James Corden--a nice little present that had fallen into his lap and made it into his 6 easily--and Thatch were in charge. Thatch of course would be on the bridge as no one would recognize him and James could lead the team on the planet if he felt up to it. That way Marshall knew that everything was going according to plan and he could have his fun with his little Betazoid nemesis. He wondered how he could make her world crumble around her and enjoy it best...only time would tell.

Opening a comm link, Marshall addressed the ship. "At 1220 the plan will commence. Everyone prepare for battle stations and I want my Ground Team to meet in my Ready Room. 6? Come as well, I have special tasks prepared for you."

It was just about time to raise a little Hell...

|| Bridge
|| USS Fenris
|| 1125

From his alcove, Carlos had detached himself from the goings on of the bridge as he lost himself in the morass of forms and authorizations that were his calling. Though it was tedious at times, he took comfort in the fact that his was one of the more vital duties aboard, as there was no way Captain Crae could have been expected to do it all in addition to her command duties. It all required her approval, but he had to make sure her approval wasn't given carelessly by verifying every bit of data that crossed her desk.

And in that capacity, he was now carefully scrutinizing some recent personnel transfers to the Fenris. Weapons technicians and tactical experts…more than what one would expect from a ship of this class. And as far as he could tell, all standard tactical systems were fully manned. It didn't make sense to him, and the issue was tricky enough to distract him from the gnawing sensation of dread that lingered in his stomach since he had thought he recognized a face in the ship's personnel files. Although it might have been connected...

Superfluous crew members could mean a lot of things, but with his experience and training Carlos was concerned about someone cheating the system and sneaking a number of their friends aboard for an easy posting. It had happened before, and was usually up to a sharp eyed clerk like himself to catch the problem. Yet when he'd brought it up with Captain Crae, she'd seemed distracted and just waved it off. So perhaps it was time to follow up with someone else. He stood, and made his way to the center of the bridge to stand behind the officer currently in command.

"Commander Bakel…a moment of your time, if I may?" he asked, somewhat apprehensively. Carlos was a bit unsure how to act around the First Officer, who didn't give off the same air of friendly openness as the captain. More professional, perhaps, but still a little intimidating.

<tag: Marlo>

||USS Fenris
||Bridge
||1125 hours


"Commander Bakel…a moment of your time, if I may?" he asked, somewhat apprehensively. Carlos was a bit unsure how to act around the First Officer, who didn't give off the same air of friendly openness as the captain. More professional perhaps, but still a little intimidating.

Marlo looked up from her book, which rested on her stomach as she lounged with her legs over one arm of her chair, and her head resting against the other. It was a slow day on the bridge—how did other people make it through without something to do—maybe she’d take a night shift now and again…maybe something exciting would happen like when she took the night shift in Engineering.

Marlo could’ve been getting ready for their next away mission like everyone else, but she never suited up—her idea of preparing for an away mission was to pull her long red hair into a ponytail. Besides they were collecting plants…what could possibly go wrong?

“Relax, Yeoman. I’m not going to kill you; I have enough blood on my hands already to last a lifetime. What’s on your mind?” Marlo teased—even though that comment might make her seem more intimidating—not the image she was going for but she’d take it.

Carlos blinked in consternation for a moment, then decided that the unnerving comment must have been Bajoran humor. Shuffling a little and adjusting his uniform collar, the noncom stared at the spot just above Marlo's head to make his report easier.

"Well ma'am, there's a clerical matter that's come to my attention, and I tried to bring it to Captain Crae's attention, but she seemed distracted. So I was wondering…can you tell me anything about these personnel transfers?" He held out a PADD with his findings. "We seem to have surplus crew aboard, primarily in the area of weapons and tactical. I did some digging, and they're all on a 'technical advisory' status." That was vague enough already, considering this wasn't a weapons research-dedicated ship.

Carlos leaned in just a little further for the next bit. "I did a little more digging, Commander, and some unofficial correspondence mentioned something about them servicing a 'phase cannon.' Now, I can't find that weapon in official Starfleet weapons specifications, and I thought at first it might be a typo for phaser or something. But it's still strange sounding, ma'am. So I was wondering…is this legitimate? Or is it a matter that's above my, um, paygrade?" He meant classified, and was fervently hoping that his nose wouldn't get cut off for sticking it into other people's business.

Marlo sat up suddenly at the mention of a phase cannon. She had gotten rid of all plans and references of that weapon there shouldn’t have been any mention of that blasted thing anymore…or so she had thought. She took the PADD with trembling hands, thinking this was her payback for ever creating such a weapon.

She scrolled down the page, and released a breath she wasn’t even aware that she was holding. It was just the one that she and Lillian had moved from the Furling, so that it could stay near Marlo…because if she left it anywhere that she wasn’t, it could be considered dangerous and irresponsible.

“The Phase Cannon, is my baby—I created it, back when I was nineteen, don’t worry about it. As for these tactical officers—I honestly couldn’t tell you anything about them even if I wanted to. I’ll look into it.” She said handing the PADD back. “However, it showed real get up and go, to bring this to my attention. Thanks, Carlos.”

The noncom just nodded gravely for a moment. "You think someone's taken an interest in your project then, ma'am? Maybe…it sounds like you have a better idea what's going aboard - and with good reason, of course!" he added quickly, eternally nervous around all those rank pips.

"But there's more, it seems to me, ma'am. We're also up a few auxiliary research technicians, and one damage control officer who the computer clears but who looks redundant to me," he continued, flipping through the PADD.

"Now, if this is all in support of some mission, I can clear it, but there was no explicit command approval from anyone on the ship. All I could find was a directive that got routed around and around Fleet Command so much that its source is too deep for a lowly yeoman to find. I just wanted to let someone know, Commander; at best it might be someone aboard padding the roster for their own gain, and at worst someone higher up doesn't trust the existing crew to handle this ship." He shrugged, supposing that the notification was the extent of his duties at this point, and the speculation wasn't really necessary.

"Even if someone had taken an interest in the phase cannon--they'll be sorely disappointed with the lack of anything about it. I made sure of that; burned all hard copies, and the only computer files about it are in my possession and thoroughly encrypted. It would take weeks just to get past the first layer of security. I'm very cautious." Marlo admitted.

At least she had become so, after finding her old mentee in possession of a similar weapon. It had been Katsumi who had stolen her original sketch, and she was now serving time in a maximum security prison. Marlo shrugged nonchalantly. There had to be a reason for all this digging Carlos was doing, as well as a reason for the extra officers, however; this was not in Carlos' job description.

"Well this next mission is all about research, so that might explain some of it--we ARE short staffed after all--bringing in experts sounds like a fine idea to me--There's always a reason, Yeoman--and sometimes it doesn't make sense to everyone else. It's about time for me to get going though. I have to go down with the away mission. And as I said, I'll look into it when I get back--thank you for bringing it to my attention. Dismissed."

Maybe she WAS born for power.

Carlos wasn't exactly satisfied by the answer, but he knew to dismiss himself when dismissed. Snapping to attention and clicking his heels, the noncom called out a heartfelt "Yes ma'am!" before spinning around and striding off to the turbolift.

He needed to check up on some things in the Science department now.


JP By: Carlos Salazar and Bakel Marlo

||USS Fenris
||Shuttlebay I, Redemption's Caress
||1120


Lillian was resting in her Ready Room, taking a deep breath as she looked over everything, about ready for everyone to get down on the planet and do their little side quest. Elena had requested it when scans had picked up plants she wanted to play with and Lillian understood that--she understood the Scientific and Medical need to do this and so she had complied. Besides, there were also beings down there that seemed to be animals of some sort and they had no idea if they were hostile or not. Lillian wanted to give the marines something to do, and she wanted Marissa to be able to take her crewmen down to the planet.

Unfortunately, Lillian suddenly felt like something was wrong. Sometimes she thought that her feelings were a bit out of whack, but at this point she knew that she was right on. She had felt these kinds of feelings before when she had been convinced that Taylor couldn't be gone and she knew to run with her gut. So, Lillian sat there a moment and focused, feeling a lot of negative feelings that she was pretty sure were coming from Taylor. He was her Imzadi and she knew that something was wrong just because she knew. Getting up, she left her Ready Room and the Bridge even though she knew that she should probably focus.

Everything looked in order for the mission and Taylor was her priority.

She figured that he would be on his ship, so she followed her senses to Shuttlebay I, getting onto Taylor's ship and heading to the Bridge of it. Lillian just wanted to make sure that he was alright and she could tell that he was distraught. She also knew that she could read his mind but she didn't want to...she wanted to know that she and Taylor could talk about these kinds of things with her. They were going to get married and raise kids and she really wanted to know that they could get through the hard things together as a team.

"Credit for your thoughts?" She asked him calmly.

Taylor sat in the chair with his back to the door of the bridge. Right now he was just pretending to check plasma flow to the engines but it had been a hasty attempt to feign that nothing was wrong. Then the fact that Lillian had managed to track him down either meant that someone had seen his display in the mess and then seen him enter the shuttle bay and reporting it to her or more likely she was following her senses.

He decided to go with the former and keep his back to her. If she was feeling anything it was guilt, shame and general self-loathing. It was a poisonous cocktail of emotions and he wondered how Lillian was taking just feeling that. "I'm a marine, we don't have thoughts. Need to have a brain to have thoughts." Said Taylor in his usual self-deprecating way. His shoulders sagged in the chair but he still wouldn't turn around. He didn't want her to see what he was thinking in his eyes. Or his real one anyway. Even though Taylor knew Lillian could sense what he was thinking he was funny that way.

"Do you remember on Seven, when that thing with Sarah was happening and we couldn't be together? I said I wasn't good enough for you and you told me all the things you loved about me. I feel like that, but worse." Explained the marine with a small huffing sigh. "I've done a lot of bad things when I was in PRISM, now I've been given a second chance. I'm grateful for it. For you…for the baby. I'm just finding it hard to believe I deserve this chance. Or you. Especially after what I've done."

"Well you must have a brain because you're thinking," Lillian said gently, trying to put herself in check with all of the emotions in the room that she was feeling.

The mention of Sarah made her frown a moment and she took in his words, rubbing her temples as she had on the bridge before, shaking her head a bit and wondering what in the world to do. Taylor was feeling all of these emotions she didn't want him to feel and she honestly wished that she knew what to say to make it better. The two months they had been apart he wasn't the only one to do terrible things and why he was suddenly feeling so bad she didn't know--unless he had been feeling this bad and he'd just been hiding it so he wouldn't worry her. What was it that he had done that was making him feel like he didn't deserve this? This was 'third time's the charm'...

"Those reasons are all still true, you know...all of them." Lillian told him honestly, shrugging a little bit. "Even apart I love you and while I have no idea what is going on, I am certain you're being too hard on yourself. There's nothing you could have possibly done to change my opinion of you. I'm still here. I'm always going to be here."

Taylor smiled a little bit when Lillian said that she loved him but it wavered on the 'too hard on yourself'. He figured he wasn't being hard enough. "I'm trying Lilly, honest. I'm looking forward to us having a baby, to seeing Sareth again and see where life takes us all. I really am but it's just well..."

He faltered as he tried to drag up the courage to tell Lillian one of his more shady dealings with PRISM. That was what was eating him. Just knowing that there were six Bajorans somewhere in a mass grave with families not knowing how they died and here he was trying to build a family for himself. Taylor felt like some thief. No, he felt like a murderer. Taking lives had never been hard for Taylor because he had been able to rationalize it as them or the people close to him. Not this time though. Not this time....

"One of the missions I done was PRISM was to arrest a Bajoran freighter crew and recover a scout runabout sensor box. Thing was destroyed, crew killed but the sensor box was intact so they had obviously recovered it by way of salvage. We get them to land, I beam down with a team, arrested them and got the box. When I called in I said it hadn't been tampered with. The next order I got was....no witnesses. I argued my point that they hadn't seen any records on the sensor box but the commanding officer...so I got them lined up against the bulkhead, switched my phaser carbine to auto and....left them in a hole on some barren L-Class. After that a career with PRISM didn't seem all that great."

With a hurt tone Taylor wasn't sure what to say but he turned around and look at Lillian squarely in the face. "So that's the man you want to marry, Lilly. I'm a murderer. I should have done something, anything but obeyed that order. Are you sure you want to marry me now? After finding out that's what I've been doing until now? Just leaving a trail of bodies?"

Lillian opened her mouth to say something and then closed it, chewing on her bottom lip and trying not to waiver. She knew that Taylor knew what the lip biting meant by now and she couldn't show him how at a loss she was right then for words--not in his time of need. Taylor had no idea what she had done and while what he had done struck a painful nerve in her heart, she wondered what he would ever say to her if he knew what she had done for Marshall. Killing six people like that was terrible, she knew that it was and her heart went out to their families, but she'd killed hundreds of people helping Marshall...hundreds. How could she ever judge Taylor?

She didn't want to anyway.

For a moment Lillian even wanted to come clean to him, but she didn't have the words to say and she found her voice faltering a moment. "I...yeah. I can't sugar coat that for you and you don't want me to--that's horrible. You know what, though? You tried to stop it but you followed orders. You always follow orders, Tay. You know what you did after that? I mean it took its toll and you got out because you knew it was wrong. If you didn't have remorse that would make you a terrible person. The things that I've...I...I still want to marry you."

At the moment this was about Taylor and Lillian couldn't find it in her to tell him about what she had done. How could she pull the focus from him when he was so clearly hurting? All she wanted to do was pull him close and assure him that she was still by his side. The world was cruel and sometimes people did things that they couldn't take back and this was one of them. It was serious, yes, but Lillian still trusted Taylor around Sareth and around their baby they would have. He was remorseful and he knew right from wrong, sometimes he just lost his way...and Lillian wanted to be his guiding light back home.

Again another small smiled occurred on Taylor's lips. All it took was for Lillian to know about what he considered his most ruthless act and had accepted his remorse for it. He didn't know if she did that out of blind loyalty or genuine understanding. Taylor kissed Lillian's baby bump, caressed it and then lay his head against it in a sign of affection. "I'm just worried if I'm a good man for all of you. You know how much being a good man means to me. I want Sareth and this new baby to be proud of their father just as I want you to be proud of your husband. Not because I leap and bound into danger but because I'm a good father and husband. A good man."

Taylor smiled and kissed the bump and looked up at Lillian. His main fear of being something he hated wasn't dispelled but at least Lillian accepted him for him. That was all he could really ask for. Any issues he had with himself would have to be dealt with by himself. There was no getting around that. "Heard there's an away mission. My track record isn't exactly great with these, sure you want me down there?"

"Carrying this around has to be eating away at you, baby...I'm so sorry." Lillian told him with a sad look on her face. "You've been through so much that I don't feel like I know about, and I just want to take your pain away. Tell me how I do that."

She wanted him to know that she was always there even though she knew he couldn't always want to come to her with issues. Besides, this was a two way street and if he told her about his past then she had to tell him about hers. Lillian was just afraid that he wouldn't ever be able to look at her the same way again. She hadn't even told Marlo for fear of what Marlo would say and do.

"I am proud of you, and our children will be proud of you too," she told her as she stroked his hair. "As for the Away Mission, trust me, Marlo will keep an eye on you. She finally gives you her blessing to marry me and you just disappear. She's not going to let you out of her sight again, I promise you."

"Just be with me Lilly, take me for the man I am....that's all I can ask and all I can wish for." replied Taylor with his small smile. "I'm not looking for wealth, power or fame. I just want us as a family. Now we have our chance. My chance." It was no secret between them that when it came to duty Taylor would always take it over family. It was just him and even though Lillian loved him for it Taylor knew it made her upset. However Taylor would never leave or if he was going to die, have the courtesy of staying dead.

When she said of how proud she was and how proud the kids would be he stood up and embraced his fiancée with a warm glow from his eyes. Of course the issue at hand wasn't sorted but it had been mended for now. "Trust me, not walking away. I know it'll be hard for you to send me into the fray. Hell...it's hard putting on that armour now. I don't want to leave you worrying. But if it's just a simple Away mission then it'll be alright..."

"If you need help, I suggest talking to a counselor if you can't talk to me," Lillian suggested with a gentle shrug. "They're both good and I don't want you to let this get to you more than it should. I'm not saying forget it, I'm just saying that you're not the terrible person you make yourself out to be. You're a hero. You're not all puppies and rainbows all the time, you have to make tough decisions--welcome to life."

Things between them weren't perfect and their past wasn't perfect, but the two of them were trying and that was all that they could ask for right then. Besides, when it came down to it, Taylor was a marine and Lillian was a doctor. They were so very different, but in ways they were very much the same and they fit together. They could make this work.

"This is our family, Tay...it's always going to be us." Lillian told him as he held her, keeping him close to her and kissing him gently. "I want you as is--all your quirks and all your flaws. I'd like to think by now that I know you, and I'm always behind you whatever you choose."

"Already spoke to the counselor at her invitation." Admitted Taylor with a shrug. Apart from his typical stigma against medical help unless it was forced upon him by Lillian he liked to idea of her being able to sort his problems at heart rather than let some stranger walk him through it all. That way she could always know that she could help Taylor. He knew how good it was to know you can truly help someone in a way that they'd never realize. Taylor hoped that Lillian knew that he could also be the rock that she was for him.

Resting his forehead against hers Taylor just sighed softly. He was a soft hearted guy and Lillian made his melt. Others had to fight a running battle just to tell him why he was down if he looked a bit pissed of. "Well, I choose us. Us and this family. Your orders, my captain?"

Lillian smiled a little bit. "Two counselor sessions already, huh? At this rate you'll have a weekly setup with them."

She didn't know if it was the time for teasing, but she honestly wanted to just a little bit. Lillian liked it when the mood was light and happy and though she felt guilty and a bit stressed, she knew that right now she and Taylor needed to relax. They had to have their wits about them and they needed to make sure that they were giving 100% to their jobs...even though they needed to also find time to have a life. Things were going to get hard for them when the baby came and Marlo was in charge but for now they had each other.

"I believe," Lillian said with a soft smile, kissing him softly, "that we both need to relax."

Lillian slipped her fingers into Taylor's hair and started stroking, keeping her body close to his. She wanted the two of them to try and take deep breaths and relax right now so that they were in their right frame of minds. They would have time to talk about all of this again, but right then they had an Away Mission to do and all of this stress was bad for them. What was even worse was that Lillian was feeling guilty about not telling him about any of the Marshall things, so she kissed him deeply, wanting Taylor to know it was still them.

"I can do relaxed...." cooed Taylor who loved the feeling of Lillian's fingers in his hair, stroking his scalp. A little shiver ran through him in pleasure as he smiled at Lillian. She could make anything better, even his darkest fears which seemed to be eating at him at the moment. Lillian had heard it all now and still accepted Taylor as her man which made the marine almost want to cry a little. Not a fool on storm of tears but must enough to show emotion. Right now all that happened was he beamed and kissed Lillian's nose in a sign of affection.

"So you want me to gear up for the mission now?"

"Not right now..." Lillian said shaking her head, kissing him gently.

She made sure he was sitting in the chair and straddled his lap, kissing him gently. Lillian nipped at his lips and stroked his arms, kissing him deeply as she sat on his lap. More than ever, Lillian wanted Taylor to feel loved and relaxed, hoping that he felt like he was loved and accepted. The two of them could make it through this and right now she wanted him to understand how much he meant to her.

"Not right now..."

With a nod Taylor just let Lillian push him gently into the pilot's seat without a sound or show of reluctance. When she straddled him Taylor just returned the kiss with a hint of passion just to get her fired up. Who knew what mood she was in but Taylor just wanted Lillian to know that he was responding to her actions with eager acceptance. His hand stroked Lillian's leg through her duty trousers as he pulled back to coo softly at her. It seemed Lillian was rather good at curing pains of the heart but Taylor already knew that.

"No...not right now..." he agreed.

She smiled and shook her head playfully, slowly unzipping his duty jacket to signal to him what she wanted. It hadn't started off that way, but Lillian at least wanted his jacket off so that she could put her hands closer to his body. It didn't have to end in anything carnal, she just wanted to be with him...though she couldn't deny that she was always rather in want of him. He was Taylor. He just did those kinds of things to her and she enjoyed that.

"Though we should probably..." Lillian admitted with a small laugh. "Then again remember the shuttle?"

She wiggled her eyebrows a little bit remembering that time when she was still CMO and Taylor was MCO and they had decided to take advantage of a bio bed en route to a distress call. It hadn't been professional, but she and Taylor went through a whole phase and finding alone time on duty and she'd even made a bad first impression on his sister walking into Taylor's office unzipping her duty jacket.

"Actually come to think of it, we didn't know it yet, but I was pregnant then." Lillian said happily.

"I do, best shuttle ride ever." said Taylor with his usual warm grin. When his duty jacket had been unzipped he shrugged it off to reveal his forest green shirt to Lillian. While she moved her hands along his chest Taylor purred happily, wiggling his eyebrows as he went in for the killing kiss. "And look at you now, I can't wait to see our baby for the first time." he replied with a small crooning sound from his mouth.

Taylor stood up while moving Lillian to the console. It had been the same spot they had made love the first day Taylor had come aboard. It seemed to be getting more attention than it was used to when in a hanger. Taylor's fingers loosened Lillian's duty trousers so he could pull them down slightly to set the pace of the event. "Hi...." purred Taylor with a warm glow in his eyes, kissing Lillian's nose.

She moaned into his mouth and then smiled gently, her eyes a little watery a moment when he mentioned being excited about the baby. She was too, and when he moved her to the console to loosen her duty trousers, she shook her head ever so gently but let him do it. Lillian smiled at the kiss to her nose and she nuzzled his with hers, glad he was close to her and wanting it to stay that way for as long as they could drag this out, even though he needed to get ready to go down to the planet.

"Hi," she responded with a coo as she worked on his trousers too. "I want to do it in the chair..."

"The chair?" asked Taylor with pair of raised eyebrows. He let his own trousers drop to his ankles since his combat boots took too long to take off for his trousers to be removed. Lillian's boots however were zipped so Taylor got to his knees and undone her boots, pulling them off along with her trousers. Leaving her duty jacket and shirt on Taylor grasped her hand and stroked it with his thumb. "Are you sure? It might not be the best position for the little one and yourself..."

Taylor cared about Lillian's well being but she did request it. Nodding Taylor kissed Lillian's lips and pulled her over to the chair. Taylor sat down and kissed Lillian's stomach as he sat down. "I promise I'll come back from this mission, alright? I'm coming back in my armour without even a scratch on it. I'm coming back to you. Every mission you send me on."

"I'm sure, my love," Lillian assured him, kissing him gently as she climbed onto his lap, sigh contently at the skin contact. "Pretty soon I'll be too big for this and I want to savor it."

She cupped his face and stroked his cheek, nodding at him and kissing him as she shifted against him, knowing that he was being as sincere as he could be. They didn't have control over the missions that happened, but Taylor was promising that he was going to come back to her if it was within his power to do so and she honestly believed him. He would be the boomerang he'd always told her that he would be and they'd get through everything together just as planned.

"I know you will," she assured him, kissing him deeply. "Besides, we're just getting plants. Now...shut-up and let me make everything better."


JP by the dashing

and of course the lovely

||USS Fenris
||Marine Armoury
||1155

It was the same before any groundside mission. Taylor had undressed himself of his duty uniform, placed it inside his locker before putting on his combat fatigues. Next came the boots and then finally the interlocking armour plates. One by one the sections of metal were locked together before everything but his head was covered. After it had all locked up the armours shields activated along with other systems such as a transport inhibitor which would block beam ins and outs unless for a Starfleet code and a life signs dampener which would keep him hidden unless visually spotted.

Next came the weapons; a Type-IIM pistol slid into the chest holster and a phaser carbine. Taylor loaded up his webbing with a fourty-eight hour food and water supply as well as ammo for his weapons and some photon grenades. It was only a little excursion so Taylor didn't take a large pack to survive from but he sure as hell wasn't stepping off onto an unknown planet with the hardware to support him.

Remy was not looking forward to the mission but excited at the same time. She didn't like having to stay in small groups, forcing her to interact and talk to people in close quarters. But she needed the plants for vaccinations and observations, the samples will help with medicine and research. She was still nervous, she hadn't been on an away mission in years it seemed. Not since before her time orbiting the planet Ngota.

She sighed as she straightened her uniform, she was going to have to find Taylor for help. She went down to the Armoury, figuring it would be the first place to look. She thought it was dumb he was suiting up, the worst they will find on the planet is poisonous plants and even then they would have to be ingested in order to work. She figured in was a paranoia thing. She walked into the armoury, spying Taylor preparing himself, "U-umm...." She couldn't think of something to say, men still made her insanely nervous, especially marines.... "H-hi" she stuttered out quietly.

"Mmm?" mumbled Taylor who turned around as he slung his carbine across his front. He had always fought with a phaser carbine to the point where his hands knew exactly where they needed to be without ever having to think about it. Taylor knew the strengths and limitations of the weapon, where all the settings were and right down to how it shot. There was nothing about his weapons that Taylor didn't know. For him and other marines they were a life line.

"Last place I honestly expected you to turn up. Looking for something?"

"I.....um...." She mumbled a bit. She hated that she was nervous and shy, but it was in her nature, especially with marines. She sighed, taking a deep breath to calm herself, "It's been a while since I've done one of these m-missions, I-I could u-use some h-help." She stuttered more as she spoke. His armor and weapons intimidated her, she'd only ever seen armoured soldiers from a distance before, being in close quarters with one gave her the shakes.

She held her shaking hands in front of her, holding them together tightly so as not to show her nervousness. She new she could trust Taylor, he was a friend and Lillian's other half.

With a nod Taylor gave a small smile at Remy's explanation. It was hard to imagine being so out of touch from away missions by lack of being on the roster. Then again Remy was a scientist so it stood to reason. Hell if Taylor went any higher up the rank ladder it would seriously dampen his abilities to go into the field. Of course Taylor wouldn't have to worry about that. He could just decline promotion and still keep his way of leading from the front.

Racking his brains Taylor sheathed his fighting knife, an obsidian coloured blade that was used when the fighting got really face-to-face. He couldn't help but notice Remy's usual nervous disposition and wondered if it was him or just how she was with people. "Well you won't have to wear armour. This is more or less 'expect the best, prepare for the worst'. Just because nothing shows up on sensors doesn't mean that it isn't there. Hell, I don't show up on sensors with this thing on. So for an away mission of scientific endeavours you'll need a tricorder, water canteen and a phaser...if you really want one. Chances are nothing will actually happen but if it does you'll have the chief of security and myself nearby. Won't let you down."

"I don't think I'll fit into any armour here..." She said, knowing she'd be swimming in the bulky plates and heavy pieces. "Sh-should I c-carry a weapon?" She almost whispered, the thought scaring her. She had no experience save for one failed attempt at a phaser range during her years at Starfleet. If she could avoid it, she would rather not have a weapon on her person or near her.

"Normally I'd say yes it's an order but..." Taylor trailed off because he noticed once more Remy seemed to become a lot more nervous at the mention of weapons. He'd demand that everyone carry at least a Type-II but when he looked into the little scientist's face he couldn't help but feel a pang of compassion for her. Oh why not, let her have her fun and frolic around collecting samples care free. "This time I'd say there is little need. We can always beam up if we need to."

Breath rushed out in a relieved sigh, she felt herself relax a bit, it assured her to know the mission would be safe enough that she wouldn't need to carry weaponry on her person. "Are there precautions I should be aware of? I-I honestly don't know what I'm doing and c-could use some g-guidance." She asked, hoping she wasn't annoying him with her questions. She hoped she wouldn't be a burden on the team, she planned to get her research and samples collected as conveniently as possible so they may be done quickly.

"Typical common sense really. Don't wander off alone. Don't eat anything without scanning it first and don't pick up random strays." replied the marine with a warm smile. "When we get back I can take you onto the phaser range and build you up. Though I know you're obviously a bit nervous around weapons we're on a Starfleet ship and you might have to defend yourself. Trust me, I'll get you sorted out."

Remy's eyes widened at the thought, "C-can't I just hide under my desk while the marines take care of the fighting? I-isn't that your j-job?" The idea of engaging in combat almost gave her palpitations, she knew she would run in the other direction and hide should she see danger approach.

"That's one way." admitted Taylor with a nod. "But what happens if Captain Crae orders us to counter attack or we get a new objective. We can't be everywhere lieutenant and we might end up decks away from you. If I didn't think you were capable of being able to handle a weapon I wouldn't have asked. Trust me, you'll be fine. All you need is a little bit of faith if your abilities. It's just in case...I'm not asking you to be able to fight a war."

"I....I....I....." Remy couldn't speak, incoherent sounds came out of her mouth. The thought of combat, fighting, violence gave her tunnel vision. She felt her pulse pick up and panic build in her chest. She didn't want this, she didn't want to fight and she didn't want to learn how to. She was going to die....

"Crap..." Taylor had seen of this type of thing before. Usually panic attacks could be sorted by calmly reassuring them but Remy didn't exactly look the easy to reassure type. "Remy...Remy look at me." he said, pointing to his face. He made a good point to keep some form of distance from her since he remembered Remey's adversarial attitude to physical contact. "Remy I'm just going to take you to see Elena at the shuttle ok? You just need to calm down and I'll walk you there ok? See my hands? Not going to carry you or anything, we'll walk."

It registered on some level in Remy's head what Taylor was saying, but in her mind images of potential violence and weaponry flashed. Her chest felt tight, the cold weight making it a struggle for her to breathe. She moved timidly, barely aware of Taylor's hulking presence beside her guiding her to the shuttle. She was near catatonic, paralyzed with fear. She wasn't sure what was really happening around her, she was having trouble breathing and struggling to move forward.

What felt like days was actually minutes to get to the shuttlebay. It was quicker to get there than sickbay and Elena would be there anyway. When the turbolift door opened he guided Remy to the sickbay. Taylor didn't feel guilty because he had done nothing wrong really. Right now his main worry was to get Remy some medical attention. "Lieutenant Tam over here! Lieutenant Life needs medical attention!"

||USS Fenris
||Shuttle Bay One
||1125

The problem with owning a ship was maintaining it. Usually a sleazy Vega Station mechanic would take a look at Redemption's Caress but sadly Nayla and Taylor weren't on Vega so it was up to the green beauty to sort things out. Rather than don proper overalls Nayla had opted for a bomber jacket, shirt and shorts that showed a bit more green that it was suppose to. Her pistol and knife belt was on the tool table above her as she lay on her back underneath the fuselage of the runabout inspecting a relay. Her booted feet tapped a tune on a raised piece of deck plating as she worked a hydropanner gingerly. She wasn't an engineer that was for sure but out of pride or fear she had failed to approach the Engineering department for help.

Sparks zapped her green fingers causing her to yelp and stick them into her mouth but a further inspection showed no blood. With a frustrated yelp she tossed the hydrospanner. "Piece of crap relay!" snarled Nayla before she sagged. "I need a bath...hell I need Taylor to come look at this when he ain't too busy rogering the captain..."

Gabe chuckled as the shuttlebay door closed behind him. "I've had a few complaints about the noise in here and now I can see why." he said, placing his toolkit on on the table next to Nayla's weapons, "Ya need a hand or ya just gonna throw more stuff across the room?"

"Gabriel Sharpe, Chief Engineer." He said offering his hand to the Orion

He opened the kit and knelt to do a quick visual inspection of the runabout, wondering if it'd been worth changing his shirt. "That impulse relay looks shot, and the other isn't in much better nick."

"Nayla Pena." replied Nayla as she quickly shook Gabe's hand. "No real title as such. And I've not reached a decision. Throwing things always helps calm me down."

She looked at the relay with scrutinisation at his words and then nodded. It was more or less an accurate diagnoses that Nayla had come to after much umming and ahhhing in thought. Gave obviously knew what he was doing but Nayla remained underneath the craft. "Know how much an impulse manifold costs outside your free to use industrial replicators Sharpe? Either twenty latinum bars or four hours on my back and since Lucas won't do contract work or let me do my 'Orion thing' I've got to fly this thing almost sideways."

"Twenty bars? geez prices have gone up. I remember getting a pair for twenty five a few years ago." he replied with a shrug.

He slid under the runabout, careful not to end up in Nayla's 'personal space'. Opening his tricorder he ran a scan of the rest of the craft, finding most of it in surprisingly good condition. It wasn't top of the line but it wasn't quite falling apart either.

"Well looks like the last person to fix this almost knew what they were doing, I can have it up and running forwards in about half an hour." He said, sliding out from under the front of the craft, "Unless ya have more tools ya wanna bounce off my walls." he added with a chuckle.

"Gives me more free time I guess." conceded the Orion as he followed Gabe and brushed herself down. Almost like primitive reaction Nayla quickly tied her weapon belt around her instantly feeling safe with the protection it gave. Even if she was on a Starfleet ship which Taylor vouched for she still needed the comfort of having a seven inch blade and a plasma pistol on her hip. "I wasn't going to come to you because well...you might have said no."

With a shrug she packed away her tools, even fetching the discarded hydrospanner. Her brow furrowed at the last statement. "Is that a sly but not so sly request to push me up a wall?"

Somehow Gabe wasn't surprised by Nayla's reply, "Sorry, not my style, never been that lonely I feel the need to pay for it, no offense." he said, not even a trace of humour in his voice as he tapped his commbadge. =/\= Sharpe to L'Carn. Ensign can ya bring two type 3A impulse relays to the shuttlebay please.=/\=

=/\= Yesss ssir. I'll be there sssoon =/\= The Catian's voice purred through his badge.

"We'll have that thing running in no time, and for future reference feel free to ask for a hand at least while ya docked here."

She couldn't help but burst with laughter at Gabe's response. It was just such a blindside that it almost hurt her sense of humour. "Starfleet with a sense of humour, that's new. And without a smile. You should do acting." teased Nayla as she gently punched Gabe's shoulder. "I honestly thought most humans were these stoic pink thinks but you've just given me yet another ray of hope. Well I owe you one Sharpe, just keep your favour clean."

"No worries, on two counts it seems and i always keep my favours clean, never know when ya gonna need 'em." He replied as the shuttlebay doors open to admit Ensign L'Carn. He walked over to the pair and handed the relays to Gabe.

"Thankyou Ensign." He said, taking the relays.

"Do you need any help inssstalling them?" The catian asked.

"Nah, but thanks for the offer, I should only be about half an hour." Gabe replied

"Aye Sssir."

Gabe tossed one of the relays to Nayla as Ensign L'Carn left the room. "Think ya can fit that without throwing away my tools?" he said, taking a pair of hydrospanners and handing one to the Orion.

Catching the relay Nayla frowned slightly as she inspected the relay with a look that showed she was unimpressed but only because she was hungry. Right now she wanted to get to the mess hall and here was Gabe more or less delaying that. Of course she could have just told him she was going to the mess but then he'd probably offer to walk her there then she'd need to converse with him while she indulged herself on sugary goodness.

"Ohhh..right, yeah...can you do this for me I have to go check something in my quarters...." she said with a weak smile.

"I'll take that as a no then." Gabe said with mock annoyance, "Fine you go check whatever it is ya need to I'll have this baby purring soon enough, it is my job afterall."

He smiled as the orion left, "Bloody warriors." he said, tossing one of the relays onto the table with a smile, "No stamina when it comes to the hard stuff."

||USS Fenris
||Transporter Room
||1155 hours


Marlo pulled her hair up as she wandered down the hallway towards the transporter room. Her mind was still reeling from all the information she'd learned from Carlos, that she was sure she wasn't supposed to know about. Had K'nok known that this was what was going to happen? Had he wanted to test her's and Lillian's command abilities?

And why was the first officer, a security officer, and a marine going down to collect plants? What had she done wrong in her life to deserve this crap assignment?

Maybe it was her fear of commitment that had landed her in this Hell hole...she rubbed a hand across her eyes in annoyance. She would much rather be taking apart a warp coil, but instead she was being sent down for plant specimens. She wasn't a scientist or a doctor; Viruses and circuits were her expertise, and she didn't pretend otherwise.

"Are we all here?" Marlo asked as she walked through the transporter room doors, scanning the assembled officers. "Let's get this over with. the sooner we get down there, the sooner we return."

Marlo scrunched up her nose, as she stepped onto the transporter pad, and nodded at the lowly ensign. She felt the familiar pull around her navel as the beam engaged, and found herself amongst some dense foliage. The scientists would be ecstatic. Marlo rolled her eyes and pulled out a tricorder, as she leaned against a tree. She'd collect samples all in good time, but for the moment she pulled out her long overdue research into the Kalla-Norah Syndrome. This planet reminded her of Bajor--and her memories seemed to Linger on her aunt Fley Jian on her Father's side.

"Have fun, guys." She said to the away team, and settled down to work.

She was there to make sure everything went smoothly--so she'd help later.



<tags away team. P.S. sorry for the mini post>

||Olean
||Beam-in Site
||1210 hours

When the familiar cycle of being ripped apart and placed right back together again Taylor didn't even bother to check his sector ricky-tick which officially bad operations practice. Of course Taylor knew for a fact that the planet held nothing worst for him that humidity. They might have found him wearing his armour strange and unneeded but the armour's environmental systems kept his body cool. Of course the same couldn't be said for his head as all Taylor wore on top cover was his black Ranger beret.

"Will do Commander, might even get a good couple of photos for the old scrapbook." said Taylor with a smile as he walked through the group. "Keep eyes open, try not to eat anything you don't know about. Lieutenant Garren watch the bottom here. I'll take overwatch up on that rise. Keep our heads above the water."

As he walked passed Elena he signalled her to walk with him since Nayla had come to him in a rather giggly state which made Taylor all the more curious. What exactly had the pair of them talked about? "Spots, with me. Eyes and ears." he said sternly as he fumbled for a cigarette as he took the lead. Right now he needed a smoke and outside of Lillian's view was perfect.

tag: Elena, all

||USS Fenris
||Mess Hall
||1140

Looks and whispers. That's all Nayla got when she entered the mess hall. Most of the looks were from the men but that's because she had opted to wear shorts instead of her usual combat fatigue trousers, a choice she was currently regretting. The bomber jacket and t-shirt under it that barely covered the midriff didn't help things either so Nayla hoped that the seven-inch knife, plasma pistol and combat boots would be enough to deter all but the most suicidal of man. No wonder the women of her race found it so easy to manipulate males if all they did was ogle. The whispers however came from the female crew members and carried a rather disapproving tone across.

Sighing to herself Nayla went for a replicator and ordered vanilla cheesecake and a glass of milk before putting the items on a tray. As she wandered the mess hall men actually tried to offer her a seat beside them which only caused her to sigh again until she found a seat of her own. Not even ten seconds since her rear had touched the seat a man in a yellow duty shirt sat opposite her. Before he engaged in small talk Nayla gently put her finger to his lips.

"You have five seconds to leave this table before I start wounding you." she purred before letting her finger return to her person and making a note to wash it sometime today. "Starting now...."

The man walked away flustered and instantly Nayla had a big grin on her face as she began to eat a little part of her cake. "Starting to like it here..."

Elena sat by herself in the Mess Hall as she normally did, liking the bustle of noise but as usual hating people. It wasn't that she hated company so much, it was that everyone expected her to try and make ties and she just didn't believe in it. Instead of Tam getting to carry the ties over Tam had to forget them, so she didn't see the point in making any. Tam would just lose them and there was no point in putting anyone through that even if she was a little lonely herself.

She was treating herself to some pudding while on her break from working in Sickbay, looking up when suddenly the whole atmosphere of the Mess Hall changed. Sure enough it seemed that the change was due to a very beautiful Orion woman and Elena had to think for a moment as to who she was--Nayla. She'd been in Sickbay because she'd gotten hurt and that was about when Elena was trying to avoid things a bit because Taylor was there and the two had butted heads on the planet they first picked him up on. Nayla and Taylor seemed friendly though.

Other than knowing her as a patient, Elena knew nothing about her.

Something drew her in though as the woman sat and then dismissed an eager looking male and Elena laughed a little. It was nice to see the woman putting them all in their place and she picked up her pudding before walking over to the table and looking at her sitting there. Elena ignored the chatter and the looks as she didn't care what others thought most days, and she smiled at the green woman before motioning to a chair next to her.

"Mind if I sit?"

Nayla's entire body language shifted to cautious as Elena asked if she could sit down. The CMO's lack of social skills and general medical incompetence put her on edge. When you had to tell the head of the Medical department it was a disruptor wound you were suffering from and not a broken leg it was a good time to get concerned.

Of course that wasn't suppose to reflect upon Elena since she knew nothing about the Trill other than what Taylor had told her. From what he had said she didn't really have a sense of humour but she was smiling so...why not? Nayla just wanted to see how far she could push Elena. Like Taylor, she had a thing for games. She just liked them with less clothing.

"Can I call you Spots? If so, sit your cute self down." said Nayla before gulping some milk.

Elena furrowed her brow at the name, but at least this time someone was calling her that with less animosity. She knew that she didn't know Taylor, but he'd pushed her farther than she was willing to admit when they had met. Not to mention her doctor's touch wasn't what others would describe the best and her bedside manner left much to be desired. Still, Elena figured that in getting to know this woman she'd have to endure something and as she was close to Taylor this just happened to be one of those things. She didn't have to like it, but she had to accept it.

"If you have to," she responded, taking a seat. "You seem to be up and about--saw Captain Crae fix your leg before and you haven't been in Sickbay since which is good. Staying out of trouble?"

Smiling at Elena's acceptance of the offer Nayla just shrugged at the question while she took another bite of the cheesecake, cutting away bites with the fork before scooping them up and placing them between her full lips. After eating a few pieces Nayla kind of rocked her head as if giving a visual 'yes and no' answer. "Was fixing my ship. Well...trying to. Till Sharpe stepped in and actually did something for it. I don't have the hands for mechanical stuff."

With a shrug she believed the answer given to the question. "So yeah, no trouble. Just being undressed by eyes...you?"

"You can't get into trouble when you avoid people," Elena said calmly with a shrug.

Elena watched Nayla eat the cheesecake and started to finish off her pudding, trying to figure out exactly where this conversation would end up leading them. While Elena didn't mind having the occasional friend here and there, she wondered why she had come over to this table in the first place as she normally avoided people. Nayla was probably wondering the same thing as she sat there as Elena had just said that she avoided people and yet Elena had been the one to initiate contact. She'd have to figure out why she'd done such a thing later.

"You have a ship?" She asked, making small talk and wanting to know more about her.

"Yup." answered the Orion after some cheesecake mouthfuls. "I'm a pretty good pilot too. I'd take you too her if the engineers weren't working on her. Warp seven flat...seven point five if you make her feel good in the right places. Forward and rear disruptors with one fore launcher. Not to mention a looker. Easily outshines me anyway. Worst part is that Taylor and your captain keep going there...."

Nayla chuckled and gave a wink as she polished off the rest of the cake and milk. "When the engineers are done I'll see about a tour, not that it's a big ship. What about you...any guilty pleasures or hobbies?"

"Nothing like people screwing in your ship to get your frustrated," Elena laughed, licking off the remaining pudding remnants on her spoon before looking Nayla in the eye. "I'd love a tour--I'm not exactly the most mechanically advanced, but still, I appreciate a good ship."

Elena smiled and then chewed on her lip in thought. "I don't know that I have any guilty pleasures. Hobbies...research, Holodeck time surprisingly."

Nayla smiled sadly at Elena, she seemed the lonely type somehow. Or maybe she had plenty of friends within her research group and just found it hard to get the free time. "Spots, you need to get out more. What is it with Starfleet and your holodecks and your research? Have you ever just...you know...gone out? Got all prettied up and out with some friends? Trust me we need to do that. Next time we go shore leave I'll let you borrow something...modest. We can go out...see if we can angle us some men folk."

Elena laughed a little bit. "I do want the record to show that I do get a good screw every now and again, I'm not a complete loner, I just like my solitude. That sounds good though. Checking out prospective fun times and drinking a bit. Been a while since I was out and about so maybe it would be good to do that."

She smiled, which was rare for her, then thought about how much she didn't want to be launching out at 1200, but they'd have to do just that. Then she reminded herself that she had wanted to do this mission and she knew that it would be fruitful and that kind of excited her a little bit. Suddenly it dawned on her that this meant that Nayla probably wasn't leaving...she was probably here for good.

"What are you going to do, sticking around?" Elena asked her with a smile. "It'll be nice to have another woman around who can hold her own."

The question was given some thought in Nayla's mind. She wasn't sure what she was going to do now. Taylor had found Lillian and had gotten his career back on track. What was Nayla suppose to do? Leave? Maybe she should since there was nothing here for her. She didn't need to help Taylor keep himself off track and now she was feeling a bit unsure of where her life was going to go.

"I've not given it much thought." said Nayla with a bite of her lip. "I guess when my ship is fixed I'll leave...I mean Taylor's got his woman back and all that and I've been left...well, with nothing. He's still my friend but there isn't much for me to do here. He got his career with the marines back but I'm not really Starfleet friendly. Besides Taylor I've not got much to stay for have I? No man or woman, no friends. I've really kept myself to myself for the past few days."

"I think that you should give it a go--don't give up and think about it." Elena told her with a smile and then she stood up. "I'm going to keep your offer in mind when I get back from this Away Mission. We can always practice when there are crew members drinking and being merry. It was nice to talk to you more, Nayla."

Why she was being so sweet and cordial she didn't know because it was really out of character. She was cold and guarded and distant and yet...for some reason she was drawn to the Orion. She'd have to figure it out and she knew she would because she was a doctor and a scientist and this couldn't be that hard to figure out. Still, it was going to bug her all mission because she felt almost like she was opening up to someone and that went against all of her rules.

"Alright then, I will." replied the Orion with a smile. "And of course it would be great to do that...let the men of the crew see what they're missing." Standing up Nayla planted a soft peck on each of Elena's cheeks as a sign of friendship before beaming widely and looking who she perceived to be her new friend.

"I heard you're going on the Away Mission. Try to be careful ok? I know it's probably just plants and all but please? Rule of thumb is nothing goes according to plan."

"Talk to the captain--she's a reasonable woman," Elena said with a smile, confused when Nayla kissed her cheeks but still smiling a little bit, nodding. "I'll be safe, promise. I can take care of myself."

She playfully pushed on Nayla's shoulder and smiled, turning to go and head out of the Mess Hall. Elena was still trying to figure out what was going on around here, but she was definitely willing to let this become some sort of friendship or at least working relationship. She just wanted to know why she had approached her. Why she felt close to her. It was going to annoy her the entire mission.


JP by the beautiful Nayla Pena, and the confused Elena Tam

|| Science Labs > Bridge
|| USS Fenris
|| 1200

"All right, thank you sir," Carlos nodded and typed some random characters into his PADD. In truth he didn't care in the least about the xenobiologist lecturing him, or the man's tedious work in micro flora. The yeoman had learned all he could some time ago, and was now just waiting for a chance to make a break out of the labs.

And the scientist's pausing to take a breath seemed to provide a perfect opportunity. With a quick smile and wave of his hand, Carlos did an about face and headed out of the labs into the corridors, deciding he had done enough investigating for one day. And he didn't want to arouse suspicions; his own suspicions were aroused enough as it was.

The noncom had spent the past half hour making casual inquiries into the nature of the Chief of the Science Department…and hadn't learned much. Apparently she kept to herself and wasn't very sociable. Still, that was enough to fire Carlos' imagination; if she was the person he was sure she was, she would want to lead a secretive life. Now he just had to figure out when she planned to make her move against him.

But for now, it seemed like it could wait. He had to get back to the bridge, and besides the object of his suspicions was on an away mission anyway. So for now he was just going to brood on all he had learned. Stepping into the turbolift, he was surprised to see a maintenance technician at work on the lift controls.

"What's going on? The next maintenance check isn't scheduled until three shifts from now," Carlos asked, being intimately aware of that sort of thing by nature.

"It's unscheduled, obviously," the man growled and resumed his work, ignoring the noncom entirely. A bit miffed, Carlos shrugged, and after discovering the voice command input was disabled, manually requested the bridge as his destination. A short while later, he was surprised to discover the doors opening at a shuttle bay. When he expressed his surprise to the tech, the man scowled. "All right, hold on, I'll set it for there. Then leave me alone."

The yeoman blinked in confusion. "Are you rerouting the input matrix or something? That's not really allowed unless we're in drydock, in case of an emergency."

The tech rolled his eyes and grumbled. "I've got it under control. Just get back to your paper-pushing," and ignored him again. The doors hissed open, depositing Carlos on the bridge. A bit put off by the tech's rudeness, the noncom made his way to his station and lost himself in his work, checking occasionally if Captain Crae had returned to the bridge as well.

||USS Fenris
||Sickbay
||1205


Getting to Sickbay was a piece of cake for Marshall, even though his presence was now known at least to the passerbys. Soon Lillian would know that he was here and then when the war ship showed up and attacked her he'd have to make sure he was safe and/or beamed back to his own ship. He had an Engineer to help him hack the shields, so that was all well and good, he just wanted to make Lillian freak out a little bit first. At the same time, like Lillian, Marshall was drawn to Sickbay like a moth to a flame and he wondered exactly what people ran it now that Lillian was stuck in her captaincy...he'd heard rumors.

Then again maybe Marshall just wanted a new fan.

Medical staff and scientists always knew him by reputation. The dissertations and the discoveries and the theorems and his all around genius gave him that edge and he enjoyed the attention. As Marshall he got to be renowned and admired and it made him feel good about himself in a different way than it did to be Doclin--renowned and feared and respected and above all else feared. Marshall wasn't feared. No, as Marshall he was simply looked up to and expected to do things for the greater good even though some people knew that he dabbled in his own little not-so-Starfleet research. He couldn't be perfect.

"Anybody home?" he called out once he entered Sickbay, wearing his teal Commander uniform--if this Reius Rothschild was everything he was said to be, he'd know Marshall somehow, either by face or name and Marshall looked forward to the praise of his accomplishments.

Reius was reading an old earthling book, Pride and Prejudice by a Jane Austen. After almost a century and a half on Earth (and around the galaxy) he had already read about everything the humans had written, but he loved this book. As he was engaging the famous Ball at the Netherfield park with Mister Darcy, he heard a voice. Closing his book without a smile, for the tiny moment he had alone, he walked outside his office to see who was the disturbance. He saw Teal Commander pips, saw the face and simply said, ''What can I do for you Mister Frost?''

Marshall smiled at the recognition and nodded. "Doctor Rothschild, nice to meet you."

Of course he didn't offer his hand to shake or anything of the like, but he hopped up onto the bio bed and looked around, immediately hopping back down and heading over to the research part of Sickbay. It was his most frequented place on his own ship and it was nice to look around at what others were doing as well. He wanted to know about this ship a little bit before he blew it out of the water and every emotion he exhibited right then was sheer glee.

"I came in here thinking I'd find Lillian, but then I remembered that she's a captain now," Marshall told Reius as he looked over one of Elena's projects. "You know us doctors, though--our feet always lead us to Sickbay."

Reius was looking at Elena's project, making sure nothing important was on display, information that the man in front of him should not see. "Yes, I know about that, mine take me in sickbay too...as well as in warfield but that's another situation," said Reius touching his white pips making his word understanding for the man.

''So what were you searching for exactly? Is there any thing you need in my sickbay other than Miss Crae?''

Marshall didn't know if he was being threatened or not when Reius touched his rank pips, but he shrugged it off. He wasn't here to get into it with Reius, he was just here to look around--and Lillian's project wasn't here. It seemed he'd have to pay the Science Labs a visit. More than anything he was just looking to be Marshall and not Doclin right now--even a king sometimes tired of the throne.

"I was just looking about. Tell me," Marshall began pleasantly, "how are you enjoying serving on the Fenris?"

Reius the Scientist, not the man. He didnt trust Marshall enough to tell him personal information. ''Like every ship I've been on I could say. Good and bad situations arise everyday but knowing Miss Crae I'm sure she will do fine in her role as Commanding Officer.''

''And what about you Mister Frost? I've heard a lot of rumor on your research some I've heard when the pips were still green, what could you say about them?''

"Commander Frost," Marshall told him with a laugh, shrugging a little bit. "Most people have heard of my research. I have cured quite a few people and invented quite a few vaccines. Nothing really exciting, just helping people."

He smiled and then leaned on one of the consoles, looking at Reius. "So Lillian...you just blindly following her command or do you know about her past and you just trust her?"

''Humph, do you really think I would have come onto this ship without the knowledge of the main officer? As CMO it is my duty to read the very essence of their profile...and I had decided to join this ship before my temporary retirement from the Marines Corps Second in command. So yes I know very well the past of Ms. Crae.

I've never followed an order without thinking it through first; some may think this is not a regular duty for an old soldier but frankly at my age...'' said Reius with a faint smile to the man in front of him.

''Other than that, was there something you wanted to tell me that I would not know maybe?"

"The Captain's business is the Captain's business," Marshall said with a laugh and a shake of his head. "I just came to look around and it's always nice to meet another doctor. Someone who values the outcome of a bad situation."

He was looking for more but he would never admit that. Marshall had other things to do before he spent time snooping around and he'd be back. His trail would be covered and he'd be welcomed back on the ship just fine and that sent a smile stretching out across his face. For now though, it was best to see Lillian and to get back into his regular attire, out of the Starfleet uniform. He actually couldn't wait to see Taylor all decked out like Marshall and have him not able to really touch him for he'd have no proof.

It was almost as fun as this.

Marshall knew that Reius probably didn't want him in here with his stuff and Remy wouldn't like it either when he stopped by the Science Officers later on to look for the vial. Right now he was really toying with everyone while not doing anything wrong, letting his plans all fall into place exactly the way that he wanted them to. So for now, he was just going to have to play it off like he'd come and seen and conquered and it was time to do something else.

"I think I'll go visit the Science Offices and take a look around before visiting my old friend the Captain," Marshall told Reius with a smile. "We'll be in touch though. I promise you that."

Reius didn't trust anything that man could have to tell; he knew not to. His instincts were telling him he was hiding something and that something was important...he was able to feel his emotions, capture the tiny pieces he was letting free of his mind's wall. "Yes of course we shall Mister Frost, yes...we shall,'' finally said Reius with a fake smile. He wasn't sure he should contact Ms. Crae about that, but he was going to wait until Lillian Crae came to him about it...


JP with Marshall Frost and the Old Man