Star Trek: Season 7 - Masquerade

[Omra]

While Korridan was certainly grateful for the break in monotony from playing solitaire, and chaperoning the away team; hauling a seriously wound crew member back to the Arabella was not what he had had in mind. 

As he broke the planets atmosphere he could feel Yuki returning to his consciousness, the Japanese phantom appeared in the seat beside him.  She leaned on the center console while looking at him; concern etched her smooth porcelain like features, "How is he?"  Korridan returned the look out of courtesy, even though he knew in the back of his mind that she was not actually there, she was merely an illusion.  He smiled reassuringly, "I have him in a stasis pod, he will be fine." 

He sighed, "Lucky for him I was nearby scanning," he adjusted his course, "I was looking to see if there were any hidden entrances to the burial catacombs that Lt. James and his team are investigating." 

Yuki's almond shaped eyes gazed out of the cockpit windows and watched the planet scroll beneath them.  Korridan watched her from the corner of his eye; she seemed distracted and introspective, but not in the good way, more like a cat trying to figure out how to claw the drapes without getting caught.  He needed to distract her before he got in trouble; she had already cost him one runabout with her scheming, he was not about to lose another one.

He tried to sound interested, "So how was the trip?"  She looked at him with annoyance and suspicion.  He tried again; "You know..." he nodded in the direction of the Aurora.  She went from annoyed to patronizing, "It was interesting..."  This is not good at all, he thought.  She should be as chatty as a little kid coming back from their first day at school.

His eyes narrowed, "You were on a 'one of a kind' warp capable vessel, visiting for six hours with another non biological sentient life form and all you can say is it was... 'interesting'!?!"

She now looked hurt as well as annoyed, "What do you want from me?"  She leaned closer for emphasis, "You are NOT a non-biological life form, I don't know how to describe the experience for you in words or terms you would understand."  She calmed down a bit and took a less aggressive stance, "I thank you for the experience but please do not press me for details, I am still trying to digest it all myself..."

He looked at her warily thinking, "Yeah, right; and Malons are environmentalists."  "You are up to something and it is in my best interests to keep you distracted..."

He pressed on, "Was she nice?"  She just shrugged," I don't know..."  He looked apprehensive, "How can you not know if she was nice or not?"  She blustered and straightened her back up, "I have only met two," she held two fingers up for emphasis, "that is TWO of my kind."  "And one of those meetings was not even in person, it was over subspace communications."  Her jaw clenched, "So I don't exactly have a large demographic sampling to go by now do I?" 

Yike's, it is like we are married...

She threw herself back into her chair dramatically, crossed her arms across her chest and blew out her cheeks while scowling out the front viewport.

Korridan smiled inside thinking to himself, "Good, maybe if she is mad she will stop scheming..." 

But a few minutes latter as they were on their approach to the shuttle bay Yuki's expression abruptly changed.  You could practically hear the loud clicking sound as the pieces all fell into place in her mind; a wry smile crept across her dainty lips.  When she looked askance to Korridan all he could think of was, "Oh TANJ here it comes..."

She leaned across the center console getting close to him.  He tried to ignore her, but there was no point.  She was in his head after all; it was not like sticking his fingers in his ears and loudly singing 'La-la-la-la-la' would do any good.

Her breath tickled his ear as she whispered, "I need you to do something for me my dear Otoosan."

I am so screwed...

[iceman]

Joint post between Iceman and Moyer777


Dr. Peterson, Margon and Lt Witko strolled down a field of red covered grass toward what looked like a very crudely made road that had been worn down through use over along period of time. The air was thick with a heavy mist of fog and the heat and humidity made it difficult to breath. Beads of moisture and sweat appeared to be forming on the foreheads of the landing party due to the humidity. The landing party continued to walk quietly down this makeshift path for hours in silence to conserve as much energy as possible, each locked in deep thought until....

Margon stopped them. "What's that sound?" the men stood silently and heard a whimper from the side of the road.

Lt. Witko searched for a moment and found a native female huddled up against what appeared to be some sort of animal. The animal was obviously dead, but young woman was breathing frantically and whimpering between breaths.

Dr. Peterson strolled over and bent down. As Margon watched he got the feeling they weren't alone. Just as he looked behind him a large Blue individual pounced on him knocking him to the ground! Lt. Witko grabbed the native and pulled him off Margon only to receive a punch in the face.

Margon and Peterson looked at each other in horror as They heard an unhealthy crack come from The young Lieutenants face which was followed by a gush of red Blood.

The blue Man looked on in horror as he saw the the red liquid gush out of Lt Witkos face, He Gasped as he said, "His face, his face is bleeding red blood..." He began to yell and scream something that the translator could not translate as he started to run away from the landing party.

Margon cried out "We can't let him get away!" as he began to chase after the individual...

[Meds]

Theran D'callan sat in his light blue office reading the reports on the recently completed chips. Each one of the recovered Intel chips taken from the victims eyes had not been exactly what he had expected. His own chip had been damaged when being processed but the others, all in tact completed a circuit. Only his damaged one would finally make the circuit work.

In front of him his monitor bleeped on.

"Agent D'Callan"

Theran looked at the screen his commanding officer of this investigation appeared.

"Good morning Sir"

The look on the commanders face did not bode well.

"Theran, we have some bad news. You must transport you out to Penal A1 immediately. They've broken free"

Theran sat back his eyes wide with shock. They were not meant to escape.

"How many?"

The commander took a drink of water and looked down to his pad and the back to Theran.

"Four escaped, three of them have been found dead. Two of our security team also. Theran, the last fugitive is your Father"

Theran looked away anger building in his mind.

"Theran. There is something else. Your brother has been severely injured in a incident with the Arabella away team. We do not have full details yet. I'm afraid for the time being you're orders are to find your Father first and bring him in. Then you will have time to see your brother. Do i make myself clear?"

Theran straightened his jacket and fixing the monitor with a hollow stare answered.

"Understood. Theran out"

The monitor switched off and Theran turned to look at the photograph of Joseph and his mother, a mother he never knew thanks to his Father.

[Meds]

Ensign Dunn had pulled himself together after watching the runabout cloak. He'd earlier watched with small relief D'Callans chest slowly move up and down. Making the decision to leave the two tusks in D'callan could be what will save him, though the white Bubbly foam that oozed from the beasts mouth caused Concern. If the animal had some kind of rabies then D'Callan may not recover. Using his Starfleet training Dunn had put two sample filters one filled with the white foam, the other with the animals blood onto D'Callans body so Drett could investigate any possible problems that may cause concern to the well fair of the fallen security chief.

Keeping an eye on where the young girl had vanished to Ensign Dunn decided to track her. His recent spell in the holodeck simulation now became obvious. He was not now searching for King Arthur he now searched for not only the missing starfleet personal but also the young girl. She would have a family and maybe that family could give answers. Looking back to where the runabout had been Dunn gave one last thought of his fallen commander before putting all his concentration on the mission ahead.

[Jen]

Doctors Drett and O'Leary-Peterson rushed to prepare for their patient's arrival. Myella had been awakened from a deep sleep by Ryla's short hail over the comm. Five minutes later she joined the trill in Sickbay. The two female physicians were prepped and ready for surgery by the time The Courage Of Tiberius left the planet bound for the Arabella. Because of planetary conditions, the CMO's medical tricorder was considered unreliable. On the flight to the ship, a verbal description of the wounds and a report on his stats was the best he could do to prepare the awaiting surgical team.

Doctor Drett had seen many awful wounds in her eight years in the medical field, but the injuries Joseph bore were ghastly and her heart caught in her throat as the med techs brought his bloody body into Surgery on the anti-grav lift. An air of high tension settled in the room as the extent of his wounds became all to apparent. Myella was affected in much the same way as Ryla. Neither doctor was specialized in this type of surgery, but both had preformed numerous minor operations. In order to give Lieutenant D'Callan the best chance of survival, Ryla decided to activate the Emergency Medical Hologram, and assist rather than lead.

The EMH appeared as the nurses quickly removed the tattered remnants of D'Callan's blood-soaked uniform, and began prepping his body. "Please state the nature of your medical emergency," said a wiry, mousy looking man with sandy blond hair and dark brown eyes.

"We have a patient who was gored by a wild animal and he's bleeding profusely," snapped Ryla matter of factly. "Our first task is to stop the bleeding, which happens to be surging from a gaping wound in his abdomen at the moment." Continued the trill.

"Ah, yes... that does look problematic. We should begin immediately."

The surgical support frame was pulled over D'Callan and Ryla activated the steri-field to keep the surgical site completely free of contamination. The radiation field would automatically disinfect their hands and medical instruments each time they entered and exited the field.

Myella scanned the unconscious Chief Of Security and rattled off his heart rate and blood pressure then handed the EMH an autosuture. He wasted no time in attacking the complicated task of closing up the wounds.

Ryla wasn't particularly fond of Emergency Medical Holograms, as they tended to be on the pompous and arrogant side. This one was no different, and he proceeded to lecture the assisting physicians on the proper use of the device that he skillfully wielded.

"The autosuture is a surgical implement used to close and promote the healing of wounds from surgery or deep trauma by stimulating the patient's own anabolism," he began.

Both doctors had used the implement many times. Ryla and Myella exchanged annoyed glances... This surgery was going to be grueling on many levels. The trill only hoped that the end result would be Lieutenant D'Callan's complete recovery.

[Jen]

Ensign Nareen Tev-Awash gazed upon the stone spire that rose from the necropolis like a sword stabbing the sky. Its white surface caught the rays of the sun and shone brilliantly—signaling the importance of the location and the contents hidden within.
How would they move past the heavily armored sentries without being discovered? "Perhaps there is another entrance", thought the young science officer. But if one existed, how would they find it?
She turned her gaze from the blinding edifice to Aeric. "If you were an ancient, royal architect Commander... where would you position the back door?" A smile started to form on his face and she returned it shyly.
They started down a path the lead to the foothills beyond the construct. As civilization shrank in the distance, Ensign Tev-Awash removed a PADD, disguised as a scribed book, from a pack she carried at her side.  The two officers stopped under the shade of a massive tree, as she called up maps of the area, made with images taken from orbiting probes in years past. After studying it a moment, she turned her eyes from the device and pointed at a curiously symmetrical outcropping in the distance.
Aeric nodded approvingly, "Very good, Ensign."

An hour and several kilometers later and they were standing at the mouth of a man made cave. The only way to determine if this was the backdoor, was to step inside and explore its mystery. Aeric removed a small hand held lamp and illuminated the black quarried corridors. "Ladies first." He said.

"Age before beauty," she replied instinctively then flushed when she realized she had said it out loud. Nareen was not at all qualified to take point and was more than a bit nervous at the prospect.

[Meds]

Dunn's eyes levelled the ground and he studied the pathway. the little girl had ran through this way. Running on he caught a goimpse of ovement ahead. Looking through the underbish he saw a few small buildings a couple of people and in the corner he saw  Lt Cdr James studying the on going activity.

Dunn made his way to James, and blended in with the away team.

"Are you alright Ensign?"

Dunn looked straight at James.

"He saved my life sir. He looks in a bad way i..."

James stopped him from speaking.

"We have a mission to do Ensign. Lt D'Callan, Joseph, will be in the medical ward now. Come on. We all need to concentrate on what lies ahead"

[institches]

Mackie had not carefully read the report about the missing scientists, preferring to focus on the biological and botanical details. However, a detail she had skimmed flew to the forefront of Mackie's mind: the missing scientists were two humans and a denobulan: Dr. Era-Khellen! Of course, the woman who had been so enamored of her own work in cloning technology. This was the only Denobulan Mackie had ever met: she had affected an overly sweet smell; perhaps it was her natural pheremone but Mackie suspected it was a perfume.

"Let me demonstrate a little of the power I hold," said the magician, waggling his carefully groomed lavendar eyebrows in a showman's way. From a voluminous sleeve he pulled a shiny metal ring thirty centimeters across. He spoke in a magician's patter familiar on countless worlds. "Tek'fel, my master, is a mighty Blate: he commands many men, willing and," he met Ka'rath's eyes, "unwilling." He spun the ring to show that it held nothing but a thin clear film. "He is most talented at holding that which is not his. He keeps his friends close," he picked up a mottled blood-red gourd from a nearby table, tossed it into the air and caught it on the top of his head. "And his enemies, closer." He dropped the gourd through the hoop and caught it. The clear membrane remained intact, but immediately extruded a second identical blood-red gourd, which he caught in the same hand. He twirled the ring and secreted it back into his sleeve.

He then placed both gourds in Sevryll's hands. "Which is which? Which the mimic and which the original?"
----------------------------

Dr. Era-Khellen ran a hand through her short golden curls, the only untouched part of her anatomy. She had long ago come to regret the green skin, the pointed ears, the smooth face: would she ever be herself again? She looked back at her guards. Bored, they studied the red fields around them, breathing deeply of the sulfur fumes that burped from the springs less than a kilometer away.

If they knew what I really am, would they treat me so kindly? What would they do to an alien, an offworlder? Would they add torture to imprisonment? Or would I still be alive? She touched her right ear, newly tattooed to show her unwilling fealty, and sighed. She had made many mistakes on this mission, but resolved not to betray any more secrets than she already had.

[Meds]

" Why is it black?

Where am i?

I hear voices.

Can anyone hear me?

I can't see anything.

i can't feel anything.

Hello !

Dunn. Dunn are you there, is the girl ok?

The beast.... Is it dead?

I know your voice. Is that you Ryla?

Ryla !

Why won't you answer me?

How did i get hear?

I feel no pain, I, I feel tired.

I did it? I saved them?....... Didn't I ? ........



Am i dead?"

[iceman]

Joint post between Iceman and Moyer777


Dr. Peterson let Margon Run After the blue man as he refocused his attention on Lt Witko, Doctor Peterson looked at Lt Witko's nose and  exclaimed " boy he got you good didn't he, It is definitely broken so after we look after this women you will need to head back to the shuttle, I am afraid this mission is over for you."

The young Lieutenant replied in a somewhat disappointing tone "Yes sir" Peterson Smiled and said "their are a lot of worse ways to be taken off of a mission, I would say that you performed your duties with distinction and my report will reflect that when we get back to the Arabella."

Peterson  moved toward the broken down cart and surveyed the Damage, he saw the broken left wheel and surmised that the accident was the result of a broken Axel which undoubtedly was responsible for the untimely death of the animal pulling the cart. The doctor could hear the buzzing of the flies as they swarmed around the dried blood of the dead animal. The stench was only made worse by the heat and humidity of the morning sun.

As the Doctor Approached the young women who was definitely in her final stages of labour, the bushes from behind the cart parted and the Blue Man who had run away from Margon appeared, he was out of breath and breathing hard but recognized Dr. Peterson as a healer. "We need your help!" he exclaimed. "My wife is with child and her time is now! Our steed has succumbed to death and she is at her time!"

Dr. Peterson quickly responded to him.

"I will need something to wrap the baby in and some warm water." Dr. Peterson yelled out to Lt Witko as he positioned the woman so she would be comfortable and placed his knapsack under her head, He continued to focus his attention on her as she continued her breathing exercises.

Lt Witko had gone quickly to get the water and kept the expectant father busy so that he would not interrupt the Doctor.

"Do you have something to wrap the child in?" he asked the man.

"We have some skins of a denfloan, they are soft and warm" he said as he rummaged through his bag. "Here, will this work? This is our first child.. oh and my name is Roflilio"

"Yes, that will work just fine Rofilio" said Witko. "Come with me, and help me find water please"

Roflilio agreed and led him East.

Lt. Witko had started a small fire and had it ready to heat up the water. It was hard not to use a phaser or technology from the ship. They couldn't risk being detected.

The woman was dilated and the contractions were only a few minutes apart.

"I do not know you healer" she said. "Where are you from?"

"Never you mind, you are in good hands." he said.

"But you don't have the regulator, you need the regulator!" she said looking very concerned.

"The regulator?" he looked at her for a moment.

"Our other healer was given the regulator from the magician, it is a wondrous thing!" she stated. "Can you really help me without it? ,will my baby be safe?"

The Dr. made more small talk and tried to get information from his patient as her contractions came closer together.

After about an hour Margon heard the Doctor yell out " Push, Push" this was soon followed by the cries of a baby who was quickly cleaned up and wrapped in an animal skin blanket before being presented to the proud mother and father. The father looked at the small blue child, raised his head up into the air and made the most amazing sound that the landing party had ever heard. It was as if deep trumpets were being blown. The sound made the little one turn it's head and then much to the amazement of Margon, Peterson and Witko the baby opened it's eyes and smiled.

[Jen]

Joint post by Jen and Just X


Aeric removed a small hand held lamp and illuminated the black quarried corridors. "Ladies first." He said.

"Age before beauty," replied Ensign Tev-Awash instinctively then flushed when she realized she had said it out loud. Nareen was not at all qualified to take point and was more than a bit nervous at the prospect.


"Exactly how old do I look ensign?" Commander James questioned as he led the way down into the cool stone tunnel. He had found himself quite amused at her statement and decided to continue the conversation that she started. "I'm hardly a teen in comparison to your race."

Nareen kept her eyes fixed on her boots as she followed close behind the Lieutenant Commander. "Oh, I didn't mean... I was just... you look..." unable to call upon the proper words, she followed with a pathetic, "I...I'm sorry, sir."

The commander simply laughed. "No offense was taken Nareen. I also think that you should call me Aeric for the duration of the mission. Titles might be a giveaway to our mission."

"Of course, sir....Aeric."

Luckily, the dim passage hid her embarrassment. You were born with both feet in your mouth, Nareen, she thought to herself.


The air around them was stale and humid.  The constant dripping of water filtering through the rock could be heard in the distance. The duo climbed a set of steps craved into the floor of the corridor. It was quite a hike, but before long they cleared the top. Aeric's light illuminated a pair of crumbling statues covered in the dust of bygone centuries. He concentrated for a moment and focused on the weak technological signal and led them in the general direction of the source. "So, what made you decide on this sort of life Nareen?"

The echo of their boots grinding grit into the ancient stone floor accompanied them as they sliced their way through the darkness, "The females on my planet are limited as far as career choices are concerned. They're either wives, concubines, nursemaids or servants. They don't aspire to anything other than that because they don't know anything other than oppression. Its illegal to educate a female. They're not allowed to speak to anyone other than their caretaker. They have no rights and abuse is commonplace.  I was lucky.  My brother taught me to read in secret. He smuggled me off the planet with him when he left for the Federation. Banaron helped me submit my application to Starfleet Academy, and here I am."

"That's an interesting world you have there. Is there anything being done about the society?" He said and turned down another dimly lit tunnel.


"No."

Alcoves carved out of the wall were marked with scripts indicating the name of the occupants. With a few more steps, they reach their destination. In an unmarked crypt rested the mummified body that contained the source of the signal. "Looks like we're here."

"My scientific instincts scream that we should take him to a controlled environment where we can prevent contamination of the samples or damage to the body," said Nareen.

Aeric nodded. "That's a fantastic idea. However, we don't have the tools we need to move the body without being discovered. Once we are back on the surface, we could call for the Aurora to move in and get it from us."

Aeric drew closer to the mummy and simply observe the body. It was almost two meters tall and from casual observation, it would be hard to tell the difference between it and any of the other remains stored there.

The other sarcophagi contained various burial goods, but the one they studied was empty, save the mummy itself. Nareen held her breath in a futile attempt not to exhale on the remains or inhale any foreign particles, and examined the fairly new addition to the necropolis. "We'll have to do an autopsy to determine if he is in fact Ter'Ossick... but his ears look... odd." She removed a pair of gloves from her back and slipped them on. Then she reached into the sarcophagus and traced the cadaver's ear. "Something feels wrong here."



"Wrong how Nareen?" Aeric asked and observed her examination of the corpse. Medical was not his field of expertise and one of the reasons that he developed his nanotech system. It was designed to keep him healthy during those times he had been a solo explorer. "Do you have what you need to figure that out here?"

"While the rest of his body is drying, his ears are in relatively good shape. If the rest of his extremities were in similar condition, I would simply chalk it up to good technique and optimum environmental conditions... but it's dank down here. Humidity and bacteria has taken its toll despite their best efforts to mummify him. Yet his ears remain relatively supple." It flexed under the touch of her gloved hand. "I think his ears are cosmetic, but we should take him with us to confirm my conjecture."



"Do you have any suggestions on moving the body and preserving the condition with our limited resources?" Aeric asked. It would have been much nicer if he could have just transported it out, but conditions on the planet made it hard to do that. "If we can manage to get it to the surface. I believe that we could use a line of sight close ranged transport to beam it to the Aurora, but she might need to get closer to us."

[institches]

Standing on tiptoe, the lithe diminutive woman pulled one leg over her shoulder and stretched, her split silken skirt allowing freedom of movement. She smiled widely, as only a Denobulan can, and fell into a forward roll, ending just short of the elaborately painted wall of her cell. She easily stood and jumped, grasping the perfectly polished window bars overhead. She drew her legs up and hung there, upside down. Not bad for the mother of seventeen, she thought.

Mistress Goldenhair, she heard in her mind. I would have an audience with you. The Blate's sardonic mental voice could not be ignored, nor would she want to. She had experienced the pain he could deliver over a distance.

She dropped and flipped, smoothing her appearance and her mind. Drawing on over sixty years of circus experience, Dr. Era-Khellen was used to putting on a brave face or even a smile while under great duress. This was one of the great performances of her life. She had even learned to fool herself into an everpresent calm, which came in handy with the low-level telepathy practiced by the Blate commander.

It had become easy. She thought once more of her third and most recent husband, Nuun, a human deeply commited to preserving the traditional way of life of his Inuit ancestors. It was that commitment that had first attracted her to the robust man. She had expected to be away from him for two years at most, but since this mission had turned sour, she began to worry. Two years were but a blink to her, but the human attention span was attuned to the human life span. She missed his touch, his deeply human heart, the heat he fostered beneath his parka. After 297 years, her fertility, and her interest, was still intact. Perhaps one day they would graft a human-denobulan mix into the tree of life. A tiny smile pulled at the corners of her mouth and she breathed deeply.

She opened the unlocked door of her prison cell and stepped from the richly embroidered carpet to the stone hallway floor. Two brick-red guards came to attention and followed her to the audience hall.

[Meds]

Taking the soldiers uniform Saul D'Callan looked at I.D tag and tapped the com badge..

"Arron Salun to beam up"

The transporter beam swirled around the old mans body, looking up Saul D'Callan began to smile. He wanted revenge on the people who stopped his experiments. He knew it would take time, but he was out of the asylum and he knew that the only companion he would need would be that of death..

[institches]

The audience chamber was well-lit and sumptuous in its appointments. Purple and gold woven tapestries warred with crystal plates and golden sconces for the observer's attention. A gem-inlaid map of the world took precedence directly across from the commander's heavily padded chair. "It has come to my attention, my dear woman, that you have been withholding secrets again." The Blate commander gestured with a teal-green hand at the jade Ter-ossic peasant seated below him. "Troth, here, tells me you helped his brother."

Era-Khellen pretended to study the man while she envisioned an ancient painting of water-lilies she had once seen. The grey-blue pigments suited her calm admirably. There was no reason to prevaricate; she could speak the truth without fear. "Commander Letwik, I can honestly say that I have never seen this man in my life."

Letwik's eyebrows drew down. "He tells me his brother's heart stopped." The jade man nodded nervously. "You used your," he paused, "otherworldly skills to bring him back to life. Is this true?"

Of course it was. She remembered the day clearly. She had been less than a league from this very stronghold, in the Kerritop mountains. Dr. Era-Khellen had gone out alone, ostensibly collecting samples from the thinning Hoska trees. She had snuck a tiny amount of bio-mimetic material out of the storage container where it was supposed to remain until she received approval for her experiments. But her impulse was strong. She chose the best of the spiny red fruits and duplicated it.

That was when she heard the thump of a falling body. She turned to find a rapidly greying green man lying still in the tall grass. His heart had indeed stopped, probably out of shock from seeing her actions. Medical instincts, long dormant in her current career as biologist clamoured to be used. The Denobulan doctor's oath was remarkably similar to the Hippocratic oath embraced by the Federation medical officers, but there was one notable difference: the oath she had taken stated "Allow no harm," rather than "Do no harm."

The memories flashed into her mind, carefully subsumed by a lullaby she mentally crooned to herself ."Not exactly, Commander. He fainted, and I gave him succor."

Troth spoke up. "No! I was nearby! I hid when I saw....I saw... I saw things..." He shuddered. "You cut him open with mystic light. You placed a horn--" A stint, she thought. "Inside him. Then you sealed his chest--"

The Blate gestured for the frightened man to stop. "No need. It is all there, in the top of your mind."

"Forsooth, sire, I did no such thing. I am but an artisan with small healing skills. He dreamt the whole--"

"Do not attempt to deceive me. I would that you would demonstrate." He narrowed his eyes at the peasant. Troth clutched at his chest, eyes bulging. He collapsed.

[Rico]

The events of recent days had left the normally fairly reserved and calm Lieutenant Zremm a bit out of his element.  With the landing parties still on the surface of the planet he had little time to register everything he was thinking and feeling.  Perhaps a trip to see Counselor Margon was in order when he returned, Zremm thought as he leaned over the science station on the bridge.  He had to admit to himself that the news of Marie's pregnancy had caught him completely off guard.  But he was very happy about it.  Zremm even found himself humming slightly as he worked to adjust the sensor frequency range on the probes now orbiting Ter'Oss placed there by the Arabella. 

"Zremm to engineering."  The blue Andorian spoke into the panel comm system.

"Engineering, Plummer here."  Said the friendly voice from below decks.

"Lieutenant, I'm trying to increase the frequency gain on the sensor probes we placed around Ter'Oss.  How far do you think I can push the power gain before I start frying isolinear chips?"  Zremm said to the engineer.

"Hmmm, let me check.  Oh, Zremm I hear from Marie that congratulations are in order.  It's wonderful news."  Plummer said as Zremm heard her tapping into the library computer banks and running a quick diagnostic.  He was amazed at how fast the news of Marie's pregnancy had spread through the ship.  But he knew she was well liked and had many friends in engineering.  And he certainly had not told her to keep it secret.  Besides, he knew how excited she had been and she wasn't the type to keep secrets.  Just one of the many things he loved about her as he started to hum a little Andorian song from his younger days as Plummer worked on the request he had made.

"Hmmm, oh thank you Elizabeth."  Zremm said between humming the tune.  He had to admit the idea of being a father was starting to sink in a little more each day.  And it was a good feeling he noted.

"Your welcome.  Nice tune by the way.  Remind me to get the name of it from you sometime.  Ok lieutenant,  the computer says this class probe can handle up to 125% past the frequency power cutoff.  But if you ask me I'd say you might be able to go to 130 or even 135.  The engineers build these things with a lot of extra overhead.  Something about Starships always pushing things past the red they say."  Plummer said with a touch of pride in her voice.  Zremm knew how she felt.  So far his sensor probe idea had been slightly successful.  He had been able, for very brief periods, to cut through the Ter'Oss interference.  But it was sporadic and didn't last long.  He had been trying to compensate for it but so far it had been a lot of trial and error.  Two probes had to be replaced when they had been burned out in his attempts.  And he was getting a bit impatient with the results.

"Ok.  Thanks for the information lieutenant."  Zremm said.

"That what we're here for.  Give Marie my best.  Plummer out."  She said as the channel closed.  The science officer then set the sensor controls to 125% over their normal frequency power output.  All readings looked stable for now.  Zremm wanted to wait a little before reporting anything to Captain Quinn.  But he noticed was starting to be able to pick up life signs now from certain areas on Ter'Oss.  The readings were variable and intermittent, but they were better than he had seen until now.  As he sat back slight in his chair, Zremm thought again about how much things had changed in such a very short time.  As his mind wandered a bit again, he found himself humming and smiling as he continued to tweak the sensor grid.