Episode 2: Post Mission

||USS Fenris
||Bridge
||1630


Marlo was not the happiest camper after the away mission; she'd been short with everyone and had been spending so much time in Engineering, she was sure Gabe was tired of seeing her by now. She'd been so blinded by anger that she hadn't even done the research she'd promised Carlos she'd do. Maybe with all the time she was spending fixing the ship after the space battle, she should look into that instead.

She marched onto the Bridge, and saw Lillian chatting with Derek. She didn't care; she pointed to the captain's ready room.

"Go." She ordered, a frown plastered on her face as she stared at her best friend who was sitting in muddy water at that particular moment in time.

Lillian didn't know what was really up, but she had an idea of what Marlo was mad about as the last mission had gone rather sour and she didn't know how to make this up to her. What exactly did Marlo know? Lillian knew that there was only one way to find out and so she went into her Ready Room and she sat down in her chair.

Folding her hands in her lap she took a deep breath. "What exactly is it, Marlo?"

Marlo couldn't sit...otherwise she'd never even start this conversation, and she very much needed to clear this up. So she paced...back and forth, hands behind her back. There wasn't a good way to approach this gently so Marlo decided to jump right in.

"You betrayed my confidence, Lill. Back in the academy when I was teaching you some of the things Monty and I had discovered, you helped to commit genocide with what I taught you. I didn't want to believe it, but Marshall needed something from me and I'm pretty sure he wasn't lying. I can't just sit on this now that I know, what with what happened to my people...my aunt. So I want you to tell me now...the truth...even if you don't think I want to hear it. My technology showing up on the radar when that colony was wiped out... was that because of you?"

Marlo stopped pacing to look at Lillian. She had to gauge her reactions, to see that she was indeed telling the truth...she wasn't all together sure if she could take it, but without knowing, she'd always end up suspicious, and things would never be the same.

Lillian took a deep breath when the question was presented to her because she had to try and breathe. She had a feeling that Marshall was going to try something and it hurt her more than she could say, honestly. Lillian never wanted Marlo to be against her and she had honestly wanted to be the one to tell Marlo and not have Marshall rat her out for his own damn gain.

"Back in the Academy when Marshall, Melinda and I stopped speaking it was because I found out that he had killed that med student--the one that everyone thought was a suicide in our department?" Lillian asked her, trying to jog her memory. "When I found out I was livid and I actually tried to kill him with my mind but to no avail. Melinda reminded me that it wasn't me and then I...well Marshall is powerful. He's 'Doclin'. I was blackmailed and yes...yes I used your technology, but only because he threatened my family and he could do it. He could do it now. I will not be free from him until he is dead."

"It would be easier if you had come to me immediately, but you hid it for eight years. I was blaming myself for being careless with a schematic or something, but I wasn't...It was my best friend. How could you do that to me? I'm sorry he threatened your family, but tell me this...was that really a reason to help commit taal? Honestly? And would his death really stop anything? The fact that he is Doclin means his networks of contacts is huge, and even if he died--which I'd rather not have any of us turn into even bigger murderers to get revenge--I'm sure he ahs ways of setting things in motion posthumously."

Marlo braced herself against the front of Lillian's desk, with her palms flat against the edge, as she faced her across it. Why was this cycle of genocide being repeated everywhere, Cardassians, Klingons once upon a time, Marshall--what did it prove? That the galaxy hadn't changed in four thousand years?

"It had to be done, Marlo," Lillian said simply, shaking her head. "I had no choice and while he was less terrifying then, he was still able to do terrible things--still able to commit such terrible crimes and I had no choice. I just...I didn't. How could I tell you, Marlo? How? I told you that it wasn't your fault all that time but yeah, I never told you because I couldn't. I couldn't tell you that I had betrayed you like that."

Lillian knew that nothing that she could say could make this better, but she had to explain to Marlo that she really had no choice. She was sorry--she was--but she had had to protect her family and she wanted so desperately to make this better but she knew that she couldn't. How she and Marlo were ever going to get past this she didn't even know.

"Marlo, I'm so sorry," Lillian told her honestly. "I am so, so sorry..."

Marlo sighed and shook her head, using the part of the desk she was half leaning over to push herself back into a standing position. She wanted everything to be okay--like nothing had ever been said to sour their friendship. She'd try to look past this.

"Give me a couple days...I'll try to wrap my head around this...but I can't process this right now. I just needed to hear the truth from you. I wish, I'd been told the truth a long time ago, but now that I know I'm going to try my best to get past this...I just need...I just need time to wrap my head around it all."

"I understand that," Lillian agreed nodding, swallowing even though her throat was dry. "Take all the time that you need, Ito put going to push you."

She looked at Marlo and studied her as the Bajoran seemed to take her leave, wishing that this could be so much easier than it was. Marlo trned to leave as Lillian swallowed again, glancing back over her shoulder.

"And by the way, your fiance still smokes," Marlo pointed out to her.


JP by these lovelies

||USS Fenris
||Transporter Room 2
||1500

His left boot sat on the rear of the transporter chamber as his muscle's strained. Slowly the transporter's main panel came away from the tortured deck as sweat began to pore down Gabriel Sharpe's face. Beside him Lt Ohort grunted with exertion as he too pulled at the panel. Transporter room 2 was the least damaged in the recent attack but things still weren't exactly pretty. Wiring hung from the ceiling, sections of bunkhead bent under the furosity of the attack.

"Damn it, this was meant to be the easier option." He said to Ohort, "I almost think it'd been easier to.." Sharpe's sentence trailed off as he grunted, the main panel coming away from it's mooring, ".. fix the roof in room 1." He added under his breath as his back hit the side of the chamber.

"Yea, this panel wasn't exactly 'playing ball' i believe the human expression is." Ohort replied, wjipping the sweat and dust from his hands before grabbing the two tool kits beside the chamber, handing one to Gabe.

Gabe nodded his thanks to the Andorian and ran his tricorder over the transporter, "Ensign, how are things looking with that console?"

"Mostly done here sir, the console wasn't as badly damaged as the pad." The Ensign asigned to the transporter room replied.

"Good... we're gonna have a bloody job on as it is getting the ship working again." Gabe said, adding with a smile, "for the second time."

Ohort chuckled as he replaced the transporter's damaged pattern buffer as Gabe set to the targetting scanners. Gabe tapped his commbadge once he had a hand free.

"Sharpe to Chief Garren, Can you hear me down there chief?"

Marissa had never been so happy to hear Gabe's voice as she was right then. She had been freaking out a little bit ever since Elena had fainted and she didn't know what to do with Remy panicking. For once in her life she actually wished that Taylor was there to help her to hold everything together, but it was simply just her.

She was all that she could count on.

And then there was Gabe.

She could count on Gabe and he was trying to get them all back home. Marissa wanted to ask about Marlo and Taylor but right now what was important was establishing some form of contact between her and the ship so that Gabe knew things were working. As soon as they got teleported up then she could get Elena to Sickbay and start helping out with things.

"This is Lieutenant Garren. I hear you loud and clear, thank God," Marissa responded with a smile. "How long until you can have us beamed up? Lieutenant Tam isn't holding up so well."

As he heard Marissa's voice Gabe felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, she was okay. Though by the sound of things she was the only one. He wondered if he should risk beaming up Doctor Tam. She'd beamed down there so it was posible she was one of the trills that could handle transporters and he had no idea how long it'd be until the shuttlebay doors were cleared.

"Shouldn't be too long now, just a few quick repairs." He started before catching his hand on a broken section of the pad, "God Damn it!... sorry. We're looking at only a few minutes, what's Lt Tam's condition? I can beam her up but from what Captain Crae said there may be some risks to that."

Marissa thought about that a moment. "I think what matters is getting her to the ship as soon as possible, even if it means transporters. I don't know too much about joined Trills, but I know that Captain Crae is on the ship and she's an amazing doctor--or so it says in her file--and if we've got her then Doctor Tam is in good hands."

She didn't quite know what to do at that point, but she wanted to get Remy and Elena off of the planet's surface as soon as possible and transporting them seemed to be the best option. She didn't want Elena to be any more hurt than she already was but she wanted them to be in a place where they were all able to be treated by the best.

Wait a minute...

Did he just...

"Gabe...what exactly happened to the ship?" Marissa asked.

"Whoever grabbed Taylor and Bakel... and Lilly, also decided to use us as target practice... We're in bad shape up here." He repiled as he used his foot to push the targetting scanner into the misshapen socket, "Frankly he kicked our asses. Poor girl was in better shape when we first got here, I'll explain more once ya home."

Eventually the scanner slid into place as Ohort came back with a test object, with the pad bent backwards he was unable to place it on the pad, instead leaving it in the middle of the room.

"Ok, we're about to test the transporter, so ya should see a small cylinder appear in front of ya for a few seconds before we beam it back... hopefully."

He nodded to the Ensign at the controls and watched as the object disappeared and reappeared a few seconds later. Ohort ran his tricorder over the test object and smiled.

"All good here Commander." The Andorian said, "i'd say we're ready."

"Good, lets get this done, Ensign, go grab yaself a quick drink I'll take over from here." Gabe told the slightly confused Ensign, "Given Lt Tam's species this could go bad, as such I'll take any blame."

The Ensign nodded and left the room, "Ok Marissa, I'm beaming the three of ya directly to sickbay, I'll meet ya down there in a few minutes."

Marissa knew that Gabe would tell her what was up when they had more time to talk, so instead she just focused on making sure that Remy and Elena were ready to beam up with her. She was certain that Elena would be in good hands if Lillian took care of her and she wanted back on the ship. She felt stupid and weak getting phasered like that and it made her want more than ever to train.

She hated that she felt this way.

She hated that she had been ambushed.

Shaking it off she waited until they were transported, helping to get Elena to the bio bed and then making sure that Remy wasn't overly hyperventilating. She knew that the woman didn't do well in these kinds of situations. So she took a deep breath and then she watched the doors like a hawk, waiting for either of Lillian or Gabe to enter.

Gabe made his way down the corridor that would take him to Sickbay, along the way he wandered past more then a few of the ship's engineering staff, some had even teamed up with other crewmen to help reason at least some of the damage done by the Destroyer. A little smoke and the smell of burning still hung in the air as he stepped over a section of deck that was missing it's plating.

"I really need a pay raise." He joked under his breath as he stepped in front of the Sickbay doors. They slowly slid open, no doubt due to damaged bulkheads, he grabbed the edge of the door with both hands and started to pull.

He stepped inside, the wear and tear of the day showing not on only on his face but in the way he walked. He nodded to the surprised nurse and walked over to the away team. He knew professionally his first concern should be for the injured members of the team but he simply hugged Marissa, holding her close as he whispered in her ear, "Thank god ya okay."

Marissa smiled when Gabe held her close and she nuzzled the crook of his neck, kissing it ever so softly to show her affection. He didn't quite know it yet, but the Lieutenant Commander had her affections right now and the fact that he was so worried about her was just working in his favor.

"The Captain should be down here soon, she needs a little time to get over the events of the day as much as anyone else...if not more so. Has the staff got anything on say about Remy and Tam?"

"Lieutenant Life is just shaken up, she'll be fine, and Doctor Tam seems to be in good hands but if they need something, they'll contact Captain Crae," Marissa explained, pulling Gabe close and kissing him hard on the mouth before softening it and pulling back gently. "Are you all right? What happened to the ship exactly?"

It was a change of subject and though she'd rather talk about Gabe, she wanted to know about the ship as well.

"We're still trying to pull all the information together at this stage. Shortly after you and the away team beamed down we were attacked. Whoever it was was able to attack us while they were cloaked... Still love to know how they pulled off that little trick, while placing spies and saboteurs on the ship. At the minute all we can do is limp home. He also took the Captain, Colonel Lucas and Commander Bakel prisoner. From what Lilly said it seems she has a past with the guy, though to what degree i don't know." he said, "As for me, I'm fine... a little tired and achey maybe but otherwise fine, It's been one hell of a day." He added with a smile, "I was going to ask you out on that next date tonight as well, but we don't exactly have a working holodeck at the minute so no evening on the beach for us i'm afraid."

"We have quarters don't we?" she asked him slowly, hands on his uniform. "We can raincheck the beach and just have a quiet dinner just the two of us."

She smiled at him and leaned in slowly, letting their lips connect teasingly. While she didn't want to move along too fast she didn't want to limp along either and she thought it was important to take moments like this and run with them. After all she wanted that date and maybe they needed to unwind here and spend time together after such a catastrophe. Right now was a moment to cease and it made her smile to think that she was seizing the day and with Gabe of all people.

Gabe smiled as he played with a lock of her hair before kissing her, "Ya should know my cooking ability isn't the best." he said stroking her cheek, "So i guess the question now is, your quarters or mine?"

He mentally groaned at the use of those last few words but there was little he could do about it. To him it didn't matter where they were, just that they were together again and a nice quiet dinner was as good as the bench to do that. He felt the pain and anger of the day slide of him as he held Marissa in his arms, it was a feeling he could definitely get used to.

"Mine," she responded without any hesitation, kissing him gently only longer this time. "I'm just glad that you're okay, Gabe. Come over tonight once I've talked to my men and gotten some things under control and showered and changed and I'll half cook, half replicate something for us. Date?"

"Date." He agreed.

Joint Post brought to you be the Beautiful

and the batting about his average

||Main Engineering
||USS Fenris
||1720

After the incident with Doclin's ship the Fenris had been, in Taylor's words, 'well and truly shafted'. This was painfully apparent as Taylor traversed through the ship to find blown relays, wounded crew members and other signs of battle damage. He was still wearing his armour as he walked towards main engineering to have a word with Gabe. He knew that the CEO was an ex-marine and therefore liable to skip any technical details that either would be lost on the Scottish marine or simply of no great interest.

He walked into engineering and headed straight for Gabe before flicking his ear with an armoured figure. "Sup commander? I see you boys and girls have been given a nice, neat workload as usual."

Gabe turned quickly as he felt his ear flicked , "Yea everything around here is nice and... well bollocksed." He replied, rubbing his temples, "So what can I do for ya?"

"Well since you're about to be a busy man I figured I'd let you have a break. Give us a brew mate. Milk, no sugar. I'm sweet enough." the marine said with a grin before leaning against a bulkhead. Taylor just gave a sniff of indifference at the site around him before talking once more. "It seems that no matter where we go someone always wants to kick our teeth in. Between Cardassians, dinosaurs and religious fruitloops I think I'm ready to retire. Barely got my rank pip back and I want to cash it in. Worst part of it is that me and my lads and lassies just have to sit there while you do all the work. You've been a marine...you know what it's like. If you can't help you feel useless. Back on Seven I would have just got the marine engineers to do the minor systems so you and Bakel could focus on the things that matter. Now...now it's all very different. We're more or less alone."

Gabe smiled as he ordered two cups of tea from the vaguely working replicator in his officer and handed one to Taylor before dropping into his chair, grimacing as the chair creeked and leaned back more then usual.

"See this is why I always said marine rec rooms should always have a snooker table and a card table. But yeah, I've sat on my hands in enough barracks back when I wore that armour to understand ya problem. Heck if ya wanna send some marine engineers this way I'm sure H'Var can find something for 'em to do, I'm off duty by captain's orders until tomorrow. Part of me wants to get cracking on repairs but ... well I'm sure she has her reasons." He said, a happy smile on his face.

Taylor just slurped the first sip of his tea and gave a loud sigh of satisfaction at the taste of the beverage. Coffee might be what you need in the morning but after a hard day Taylor always swore by tea. It did wonders for his mood when he was usually boiling over as well.

"That's the problem." he told Gabe. "I have no engineers. Back then I had just above two hundred marines. Front line troops, MAROPS staff, engineers, corpsmen...now all I've got are two rifle platoons. Besides I couldn't tell you captain's reasons for wanting you off the line. Maybe you should do what I do when she knows I'm about to do something stupid and tells me not to; just do it anyway."

Gabe chuckled as he swept a pile of debris from his desk. "I only came down here to drop off my Baker rifle, The barrel got damaged in the attack." he said, nodded his head towards the workbench on the wall. "I figured I'd be safer leaving it down here, otherwise I'd be fixing the thing all night. And well I doubt that'd go down well." He said, taking a drink. "Besides, tonight I actually don't feel like doing something stupid."

"Well I always feel like doing something stupid." replied Taylor rather dismissively as he looked at his cup of tea. "So what do you think of this crew? I don't put much stock in our fighting ability. I mean let's face it Gabe we got our arses kicked severely. Apart from you, me, the marines and security we have a jumpy eager to please yeoman, a jittery science officer that pisses herself whenever a phaser is near her, a retired general suffering from delusion of grandeur and a pregnant captain. Aren't we just a razor edge military unit?"

"Ya know technically we're explorers but I'll let that slip. But yeah we do seem to have quite a crew at the minute. Heck I'm not one to talk, Until recently I spent my time either working or alone in my quarters, the only time I wasn't a loner shut in was during my A-13 days... until that bubble burst and ruined pretty much everything." Gabe replied looking around, "But yeah... we got our asses handed to us this time, but don't worry, soon as we get a trace on the guy, I have a few friends I can call, ya know the kind of friends with lots of weapons and attitude."

Taylor just gave a half chuckle half snort at Gabe's statement. "My favorite kind of people but I'd prefer it if I was the one to kill that bastard. I've got scores to settle and they begin with Doclin. Next time I see him he'll be a dead man for sure. Count on it."

"Sounds fair." Gabe said, nodded and rubbing his head where he'd been wounded eariler, "Damn phantom pains." He muttered before continuing the conversation, "So who is this guy?, He seemed pretty specific on which members of the away team to take... That and the bastard beamed Lil off the ship without tripping the system."

"When I was alone and wandering a group of unknown hostiles chased me from Vega Station, a pirate colony." began Taylor. "After some hunting and killing I confronted a Cardassian who was working for this man; Doclin. Despite my best efforts he didn't give any more information than that. Now I have his face and a name. From what I can tell he's a renowned Starfleet doctor. Doclin is obviously a pseudonym used to hide his identity. He has some history with Lillian and Marlo. As for me...I dunno. He must have heard how much of a good guest I am."

"Well remind me to background check all renowned doctors I use from now on. Makes me wonder where this 'doctor' got a cloaking device, fully armed ship and no doubt a crew of assholes. If ya like I can try and do some digging see what, anything I can find out about this guy."

In response Taylor just shook his head gently. "Man's a ghost. It was only when I cut my way up near the top of his food chain that I got the name and I wasn't exactly subtle getting to that point. All I need to sleep at night is if we're ready next time."

"Oh we'll be ready, Hopefully Lilly will take my advice and get us to starbase 318. We have a good team down here but fixing the ship this time isn't going to be as simple as last time. The warp nacelles are heavily damaged, we're lost about 60 percent of the warp coils, port pylon's got hairline fractured and the starboard one... well that's crack and missing a section or two. I don't intend to give this Doclin fella another chance to cripple us."

"Just get us home Gabe, all I can ask of you. All anyone can ask of you really." said Taylor as he put the mug down. "Thanks for the tea mate, take care."

"I intend to... but not tonight. Tonight i have other plans, plans that don't involve this place." He said with a smile and he drained his own mug. "Look after yaself as well Talyor."

This JP bought to you by :-

and

||USS Fenris
||Lillian's & Taylor's Quarters
||2130


Anger at Marshall. That's what Taylor felt as he looked at his stab wound on his shoulder. Anger at Marshall for putting Lillian through his little game. Not to mention the anger at not being able to settle the score. That time would come but for now Taylor stood in the bathroom as he inspected his wounds in the mirror. A lot of people needed medical attention and he didn't see himself as a top priority. Besides the couple of nicks and the stab had stopped bleeding, they just needed some dressings.

He left the bathroom to sit at the desk in the main living area of the quarters. Taylor went through the paces of cleaning his phaser pistol even though it hadn't been fired yet. He had lost his new carbine, armour and gear. Carlos was no doubt going to have an administrative fit but he'd cross that bridge when he got to it. He had just finished servicing the weapon when he turned to his armour.

The chest piece had been given the typical Saltire/lion rampant drawing. On the left shoulder plate Taylor was actually drawing a winged angel with the paints he had procured to give his armour a bit more of a personal appearance. All his marine stuff surrounded him while he attempted to get everything ready for when he'd have to use them and for the next time the faced Marshall. The ship might have self-destructed but Taylor knew better than to write him off.

Lillian was exhausted--the kind of exhausted that made it almost impossible to sleep. She'd been helping out in Sickbay, knowing that Marshall wasn't gone and feeling like death. She went straight to change into a nightgown before picking her PADD up again and having a seat on the couch to work. This was important and she had a lot to do, especially after some Doclin spy confessions.

"What kind of person am I?" Lillian asked herself sadly, glancing at her stomach. "I am a terrible mother...oh, for the love of the Four Deities..."

She got up and grabbed her medical bag before going to Taylor and smiling sadly as she stood there watching him paint. Letting the bag slink a little, she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say something before closing it. She was the last person he wanted to talk to. Hell, he'd probably been thinking up ways to get out and she didn't blame him--she'd leave her too.

"Can I fix you up, please?" She asked him cautiously.

For a moment Taylor considered telling Lillian that he had managed to do it but right now fobbing her off wasn't going to improve her already down mood. Besides he could have used some support right now. "Aye, go on...I've done a terrible job." said Taylor, pointing to his bandage with a small smile. Right now it was the only thing that he wore as clothing on his upper half after just letting the whole disciplined soldier act drop when he had escaped behind the doors of the quarters.

"Lillian...Doclin told me it all. Said you helped him build some stuff to kill people. Then you said you'd help him build whatever weapons he wanted. I just wanted you to know that whatever you may or may not have done will not change the fact that I'm staying by your side. I'm not exactly innocent of bloodshed. So baby...you ain't a horrible anything."

"Yes I am," she said softly, moving to him and pulling out the dermal regenerater. "He didn't tell you everything or else you'd have already packed."

Her voice was pained and she bit her bottom lip so it wouldn't tremble, fixing up his arm before fixing up the rest of him, all good as new practically. She wanted to tell him everything like she'd told Marlo, but how could she? He'd just get up and walk away and she wanted to keep him. Then again it wasn't fair if he stayed without her being truthful--it was time.

"Melinda? She and I were close and I saved her from M--Doclin once." Lillian explained, taking a deep breath. "That's who she works for. A Merc by every definition of the word. I got out for awhile but my actions betrayed Marlo and they costs hundreds of innocent people their lives. Then I cleaned up after him this two months we were separated. He said he'd tell me where you were, but he lied...he does that. What's worrisome is when he tells the truth. He has men on the ship and I'm just...why do you want this? You told me once you didn't want a family--you can still have that. Here's your chance. I almost got you killed today and I will never let that happen again."

After Lillian's tale Taylor gave a sigh before standing up to his full height before looking down onto Lillian's face. While Taylor was surprised she would ever be involved in something so sinister his reaction was one of understanding. Taylor figured that it wasn't his place to play judge and jury with Lillian. Even with the arm fixed Taylor still felt wounded and drained.

He cupped her face, pulling her close to him by the front of her nightgown before stroking her baby bump. A warm smile crossed his face as he latched his lips over hers, kissing Lillian with deep affection before breaking the kiss off with some lip-tugging and nips. "See how I'm not going for the door?" he crooned, kissing her again.

Once Taylor and Lillian had shared a few kisses he just let his arms form over her to support her as he cradled his love. "Lillian you're the captain, part of your job is sending me off to die." teased the marine with a smile before giving another kiss. "We've both done things we're ashamed of but our lives shouldn't be ruled by the mistakes we make. Just the lessons learned from them. I'm just sorry you had to see my more...professional side. Don't think this is on you, it's on him."

"I just..." she'd tried some more as he stood there.

Soon all that mattered were Taylor's lips possessively capturing hers and she kissed him back lovingly, matching his affection with her own to show him just how much she loved him. She knew that she didn't deserve him, but she had him and he was determined to stay by her side through it all...they really were soul mates. Everything that happened to them just strengthened what they had, and Lillian stroked his hair gently, nuzzling his nose with her own.

"I definitely wasn't expecting it," she admitted slowly. "Norin is...and you...how are you? That couldn't have been easy. This shouldn't be about me--I will find a way to make this us to everyone. How are you?"

Taylor thought his answer over carefully so it both held the truth and didn't give Lillian the wrong idea. "Actually....fine. Honest, completely fine. I done the same thing more or less to get your cure. I've got no qualms of doing what I think needs to be done. You, Sareth, the baby, this crew...I'm willing to do anything to protect you."

Kissing and stroking her face Taylor crooned at Lillian softly as they shared a tender moment. Right now he just wanted to make sure she was ok. Taylor knew that the past being pulled up in front of you wasn't easy. "Are you ok? I'm just glad I got out of those restraints...if I didn't...." He gave a sad look and stroked the belly again. Sitting down on his seat Taylor actually kissed the bump before resting his head on it.

"My family...what did I ever do to deserve you?"

Lillian stroked his hair and smiled down at him, sad and loving. "I couldn't lose you, Tay...I...I wouldn't have been alright though. Not at all. While I could justify losing it because you and I always have the chance to try again, I never would be okay without it...it's our baby."

She was tearing up and she knew it, but she couldn't help it. The child inside of her deserved a chance to live and she was a terrible mother for even considering letting it die. Sitting down with Taylor, Lillian looked him in the eye and then kissed him deeply, thanking him for his heroics even though she knew that they both felt off about the day in a way.

"You deserve this--all of it." Lillian told him, kissing him again. "Taylor, I'm so sorry..."

"You're saying sorry for something that didn't happen." said Taylor calmly, kissing Lillian. "Don't say sorry babe, come on. We've gotten through another barrier together. That is a cause for celebration. Come on...just us..."

With a wide smile Taylor just kissed Lillian some more before stashing away his marine gear into one pile. Work could wait, right now his wife to be needed him to be all the man he could be for her. Right now he needed to prove he was more than just a killer. Not to her, no. To himself. Sure he didn't regret torturing Norin but he regretted Lillian having to see it.

Lillian nodded and snuggled into him close, kissing his neck gently as she let his body cradle hers protectively. They were quite a pair and she was lucky to have him, holding him close to her and nipping at his jaw lovingly. They both deserved some time together and she wanted him to know she still loved him more than anything even after hurting Norin like that. He was protecting her and the baby and though she hadn't wanted to see it, she became quite the aggressive Momma Bear when she needed to be...Taylor was just being a Papa Bear.

"You are my perfect match, Taylor Lucas," Lillian told him gently, stroking his arms. "The day I take your last name will the happiest day of my life."

"Happiest day of my life was happy hour at SB7's marine bar but our wedding will come in close second." teased the Scotsman with his ever wide smile. He loved to tease Lillian sometimes just to get into the playful mood. The experience of being on the Destroyer hadn't exactly been pleasant but Taylor was looking forward to putting it all behind him. Right now it was the future he was looking forward to. New challenges, the family...just the general direction of the ship's future really.

"And you're my perfect match, my captain, my love." beamed Taylor. "Tell you what...I think we need to spend some time in each others arms after today. But...I think we outta work for it...is there anything under that nightgown?" he added with a wink.

"We're rabbits," she teased back as she laughed a little bit, kissing Taylor passionately.

She too wanted to put Marshall behind her at the moment and just focus on the future. She and Taylor were going to get married and have this baby and it would all be perfect. They'd be a family and they would sort everything out as it came up. Right now was time to focus on each other and prove they'd still be together no matter what. So, Lillian rested Taylor's hand on her thigh and tugged on his bottom lip with her teeth.

"You're going to have to find out..." she told him winking, a playful smile on her face.

Nodding with a playful grin Taylor entered a deep kiss with Lillian as he guided her to the sofa away from his desk. Gently he let her fall down and then himself beside her, and kissing her again his hands slid up her nightgown to find no underwear barring his way. Nodding again Taylor undid his trousers, throwing them away while he kissed Lillian in an attempt to keep as much contact as possible. It was time to lose themselves in the sea of emotions stirring between them.

"I love you..."

Lillian slipped her nightgown off over her head and tossed it on the floor, bare and snuggled up against Taylor, reveling in their skin on skin contact. She giggled a little before she kissed him, needing this playful time and also thinking it was rather entertaining just how often she ripped his clothes off and vice versa. It was probably just the 'honeymoon' phase of being back together, but Lillian would milk it for all that it was worth just because she loved him. In fact she always felt more in the mood when those three words escaped his lips and landed on her ears.

"I love you too, Taylor," she whispered against his lips as she cupped his face with one hand and then slipped her other hand down his torso towards his thighs. "I love you now, I loved you before, and I'll love you then. Always and forever."

The soft words of love, the touches, the feel of her heartbeat against Taylor's skin was enough to cause him to give a crooning purr of affection into Lillian's ear. Taylor's hand rested on the baby bump before traveling between her legs, stroking her folds gently as he kissed her. They might have been captain and marine commanding officer but behind the door of their quarters they were something else all together.

"Just relax baby, I think right now we deserve a little closeness and a little bit of intimacy," cooed Taylor as he kissed Lillian's neck, fingers tracing between her legs. "Right now I don't want to think. I want to feel. To lose myself..."

Lillian nodded and moaned softly, her legs parted ever so slightly for Taylor's caresses and she slipped her hand down between his legs even with the baby bump between them. She was going to get as much out of this early part of her pregnancy as possible and she owed this to Taylor. She'd been the reason all of this had happened in the first place and she wanted to feel too. Feel something other than shame and sorrow...feel Taylor close to her. She knew he wasn't going anywhere, so she relaxed, hoping that he would too, and they could just let all of their cares fly right out the window.

"Then no more words...just feel it..."

A smile stained Taylor's face as he let out a gentle sigh of content as Lillian's hand found itself around his member. He let them both stroke and feel, letting the universe pass them by as they tended to each other's needs and desires. As he kissed her soft moans where placed against his lips as she stroked and caressed him. His finger gently slipped into Lillian, coaxing her along with tender strokes inside for a moment before letting his finger roam deeper before pulling out and moving away from the sofa.

Taylor stood up and took Lillian by the hand, guiding her to the bedroom. When they fell softly on the bed Taylor moved Lillian so he was cuddling her from behind, hands on her bump and lips kissing the back of her neck as he parted her legs. Another satisfied sigh left his lips as he felt himself surge into Lillian. Even though he was coming from behind to spoon her Taylor's arms just wrapped around her to make sure she felt loved and close.

Lillian cooed and vocally expressed her appreciation as Taylor knew exactly what to do to her to make her whole body respond to him. She had no qualms at all about moving locations, smiling when she felt Taylor hold her close to him and settling against him as he set the pace of their love making, letting her know he loved and cared through each movement. She murmured his name and ran her fingers through his hair, keeping his body as close to hers as possible--the skin contact was imperative to her.

"I love you Taylor...very much..." she cooed with love.

"I love you too Lillian." replied Taylor with a kiss on the back of her neck. He continued to gently thrust into her, holding her close as lovers do. Taylor pressed his lips to Lillian's ear so he could give his soft gasps right to her, nibbling on her earlobe and sighing happily. One hand on her stomach and the other with its fingers locked between hers, squeezing gently to give her complete tactile contact.

Taylor had a way of making Lillian feel whole and she smiled as Taylor showed her that once again--showed her that they were always going to be together. They were two pieces of a whole, their souls complete now that they had found each other, and neither of them would ever be apart again if they could help it. At least not separated as they had been before. This was it. This was their forever. They would make this last as long as they could and they would both be the better for it.

"Thank you," she whispered as their bodies continued to move as one, "for letting me be your other half."


JP by these lovelies

||USS Fenris
||Main Engineering
||0805

Gabe stepped out of his office, cup of tea in hand. He looked around the still battered and broken engine room, Though at least someone had cleaned his bloodstain off the Master Systems Display. He placed his cup on the MSD and called up the latest repair reports. Hull integrity at 58 percent, main weapons still offline, EPS grid running at 74 percent, Warp nacelles damaged but at least the hairline cracks hadn't opened out any more and that wasn't even a quarter of the list, His people were doing the best they could but it was an uphill battle.

"Well glad i got medical leave for a day..." He said shaking his head, "We really need a dry dock, no way we can repair most of this."

Pulling off his uniform wasitcoat he rolled up his shirt sleeves and took a drink. He started searching the list for a place to start working as he heard the doors slide open, He saw a young man in command red walk inside.

"Mornin' there, anything i can do for ya before i spend the next god knows how long working my ass off?" He asked with a smile.

Kalen had been thinking, wandering the halls rather aimlessly before he had come to the engineering bay doors. Seemingly it all came back to doors like these. He stood in front of them for a few moments before stepping inside. As he did, he immediately spotted the chief. This was his bay and Kalen was a stranger, a visitor. He paused for a moment before approaching further inside, gazing around.

"Good morning sir. And actually, I was curious if there was perhaps something I could do for you on my offduty time. My last station I was an engineer on the Arjento. And I don't like to have time off, sitting on my hands isn't exactly something I can stand sir. So I was wondering if you needed an extra pair around here?" He smiled back at the man. Yes, the helm would always be his station. But a part of him knew that engineering was a second home for him. Something about getting his hands dirty made Kalen happy. And he wasn't afraid to do it. The ship certainly needed every little bit it could get.

Gabe shook his head again, though this time he had a smile on his face, "Ya sound way too much like me kiddo, Fairly certain i used pretty much that line when i transfered to Starbase 7. But anyway." He started offering Kalen his hand, "Name's Gabriel Sharpe, please to meet ya."

He watched the LT carefully and waited for his reaction, in truth the youngest worried him slightly as in truth he DID remind Gabe a lot of himself until recently, It had been Marissa that have given Gabe a reason to stop working himself so hard and actually have a life outside the room he was currently stood in.

He nodded to the man, "Well I hope for my sake that's a good thing sir. After all, idle hands are the devil's tools. Or some such thing." He grinned and shook the man's hand. "Kalen Gespard. And it is my pleasure sir. I hope I can be of good use to you." He looked around the engineering bay for a moment or three. With fewer nacelles, this ship wasn't going to be as complex to learn her ins and outs. He hoped that the work here could take his mind off everything else.

Kalen went to one of the displays to look at the amount of work that needed doing and marveled at the sheer magnanimity of it all. "Where should I get started?" He would be able to help with all of this work, but if they didn't stay docked at the station he had been told of by the captain, they wouldn't be ready to respond to hardly any sort of distress call if it needed any combat expertise. This ship was battered, but she would hold for now. She just needed love to be ready to give it her all again.

Gabe handed Kalen a PADD with a large list of damaged systems, "There's the list, ya can do what i'm gonna do, pick a random place and start there." He chuckled, "I won't lie to ya, we've got a lot to repair before we can do much, hell we're limited to warp 6 until we can get to dry dock and there's little we can do about that unless ya wanna go EVA and start rebuilding the Nacelle pylons oh and that large hole in deck 14."

He took the PADD and walked over the list in his mind. He grabbed the things he would need for the majority of the jobs and just figured he would start at the top of the list and work his way down until they reached dry dock. Like Gabriel said, there wasn't much he could do for the nacelles. He was crazy and loved a good idea when he heard one, but going EVA without hardly any knowledge of how to repair a nacelle wasn't his idea of one. He chuckled, "Well I figure I'll get as much as I can done with the time that I have today and every day that I'm off duty. I'm sure we'll see quite a bit of one another sir. Thank you." And with that he got to work.


The Previous was a joint post by
and

||USS Fenris
||Counselor Alyssa's Office
||1530

Alyssa was waiting in her office. She had asked Kat to inform Lieutenant Kalen Gespard of his appointment. She knew that she was way behind, and it was beginning to frustrate her. Literally to the point where she would start threatening to kill people... mainly Kat and Lieutenant JG Veridian. She could take sitting there any longer. So she got up and began to pace her Office.

Kalen swam through the water like a fish in the ocean. In his childhood, it had been one of the only places he had felt at home. He heard the comm link activate and heard his name followed by orders to report to the Counselor's office. "Computer, end simulation." He strode towards the doors and grabbed up a polo and a towel. He pulled the shirt on over his head as he walked out the door and towards the lift. He mussed his hair dry and got into the lift. After exiting he hoped he at least looked presentable. With his continued efforts to meet most of the crew, he had yet to visit the counselor. He was sure she had been made aware of Starfleet's view of his having a fragile mind. He wasn't about to argue with them. He opened the door and walked into the counselor's office. "Lieutenant Gespard reports as ordered." He stated clearly and simply.

Kim smiled at him, and showed him to Alyssa's office.

"Lieutenant Gespard." Kim announced.

Alyssa looked at him. Wow. He's handsome. She thought then remembered that she had a job to do.

"Thank you, Kim. Hello Lieutenant Gespard." Alyssa spoke. "Please take a seat."

He followed her instructions and sat down in the seat in front of her desk. He wondered what this would be about. He had been evaluated so many times by so many counselors he was wondering if she saw him as only a broken piece of glass that needed fixing. He kept his mouth shut for the moment before daring to assume her intentions. She was certainly far more attractive than any of the other people who poked and prodded at his head to make sure he wouldn't go back into deep space and decide that killing his crew members was suddenly an amazing prospect. He sighed and shook his head.

"Good afternoon ma'am. I apologize for making you wait. I was..underwater." He laughed merrily, "What can I do for you on this fine day?" He thought being cordial was the best option. He would find out her intentions shortly, he was sure. It was probably just a preliminary visit and greeting rather than anything awful.

"Ah. Having fun on the Holodeck." She smiled, leaning on her desk. "This is just a greeting. I'm perfectly aware of your past, as far as it has been put on record. I've fallen a bit behind, so I have every intention of keeping this short. Are you in your right mind? Yes or No?"

He wondered what kind of question that was but figured he would answer it as truthfully as he could. "I...believe so ma'am. I mean, am I supposed to be able to tell if I'm in my wrong mind?" He chuckled warmly. "But yes, to the best of my knowledge, I am in my right mind."

"Good. To tell if you're in the right mind, you have happy thoughts. If you have any desire to blow up the ship, please let me know." She answered. "That also goes for wanting to kill any of the crew members. So, do you have any of those desires?"

He shook his head vehemently. He wanted her to know for sure that she knew that he wasn't planning any of those things. He had never had a thought like that in his life. Well at least, not for more than a second or two. "No ma'am. I wouldn't even dream of the thought of it."

She laughed. "Good. You may leave, unless you have something to talk about."

He pondered for a moment before standing and walking towards the door. They opened in front of him and he hesitated for a moment. He turned his head back towards her. "On a personal note, you are a stunning creature ma'am. Perhaps I can take you dancing upon a different occasion if that isn't a doctor/patient conflict." He chuckled softly and walked out of the room to leave her to mull over her thoughts.



Jp between



&