18:30 – Observation Deck – USS Daradax

The USS Daradax coasted along, crossing the Federation border at warp 6 space around her was empty except for the graceful shape of the USS Scimitar, an Akira Class cruiser ship.

For the last month, the Daradax and her crew found the degrees of independence they had been used to since arriving in the Kunhri system vanish as she was assigned to assist the USS Scimitar on the recovery and investigation effort of the Romulan base. This meant that they acted as a ferry between the larger vessel and the asteroid base which the Akria would in places struggle to move through. Over the period of the month, the tension has increasing built onboard the ship as everyone felt sidelined from the job they started since Captain Terilance of the Scimitar felt that the small ship and relatively junior crew had overstepped themselves with such a risker operation that could have resulted in untold deaths. But that was almost at an end.

Kirin leaned back in a chair on the observation deck at the stern of the Daradax putting her feet up on the viewport window sill. Looking out the viewport watching the stars streak by her eyes were drawn to the imposing figure of the USS Scimitar shadowing the Daradax just above and behind them only a couple of kilometres off. She had just come off duty though the thought of ‘off duty’ on a Raven class ship with such a small crew made her let out a snorting laugh. “Off duty, doesn’t work like that here; all day every day…” she said with a chuckle to herself as she reach over and picked up her cup of tea and took a sip letting the warm liquid relax her. She closed her eyes and enjoy the stillness of the moment, one where her continual headaches had not appeared. The moment stretched on, blissfully for minutes but had to end as she was interrupted as her combadge chimed beside her.

“Of course…” she muttered as she leaned over and tapped the badge, “Go for Tarken.”

“Ma’am, Captain Terilance has just sent through a message. They will be changing course shortly and wish us the best.” Came Ensign Dawson’s voice. The sound of her voice and the steadiness in it made Kirin reflect on the changes she had seen in the young women since she joined. Especially the changes since the asteroid. Kerry was more sure of herself, still painfully shy outside of ‘work’ but definitely more confident.

“Just changing course? No meeting request or orders for us?” Kirin said with a sigh. The annoyance clearly coming through in her voice. 

“No, Ma’am. Should I acknowledge?” Kerry responded to which Kirin confirmed. 

A few seconds later Kirin saw the Akria bank to its port side and slide out of view. “Well he didn’t wait long did he…” he mumbled to herself, the moment of calm, she felt before shattered.  Standing up she turned and left the observation deck. “Mine as well go catch up on some work now I guess.” she muttered, “What an ASS… too busy to talk, blah blah,…if only you were more experiences…, blah blah,…such a dick.”

As she walked out the door, stormclouds possibly visible above her, she walked full on into Ril and Belania almost knocking the small Ferengi over. Belania quickly twisted and sidestepped preventing the two of them from walking into each other head-on while Ril just shifted with ease. “Captain, sorry, I should have…” Belania started.

“Stop it Belania,” Kirin said holding up her hand. “That was my fault, very clearly. Are you ok?” She glanced over at Ril, “You both ok?”

They both nodded and said “Yes” while Ril continued and made an exaggerated sigh, “Can’t you just watch where you are going Kirin?” This caused Belania to glare at Ril with a look of annoyance. “Ril she is the Captain you don’t speak to her like that.”

“It’s alright. Ril is completely correct and rank or not I was in the wrong.” Kirin said with a smile, her anger still there but not directed at her crew. “Ril, how did the check-in with the Doc go? He give you the all-clear on the disrupter blast?”

Ril shrugged, “Yeah, it has healed up nicely. The medical team on the Scimitar was able to sort it out.”

“Sort it out,” Belania said with a slight annoyance. “When I beamed you over it took everything the Doc had to keep you alive until the Scimitar arrived. You would be dead if it wasn’t for them.”

Ril laughed, “That isn’t how the Doc sees it, was moaning about how their medics were nothing but a bunch of scalpel jockeys and I was lucky to be alive and in such amazing care as his own…for an EMH he really has an ego.”

“That he does at times. Not sure what is going on with his programming. I plan on having it checked out when we get back to Bravo before we get new orders.” Kirin said with a shrug. “That said, I am glad to hear he is happy with your recovery. I need to go do some work. I will see you later.”

With that Kirin nodded to both of them and walked past them to her quarters leaving Ril and Belania who both shrugged and walked onto the observation deck. 

“What board game have you selected this time Bel?” Ril chided.

“A fun one,” Belania retorted.

19:00 – Bridge – USS Daradax

Kerry Dawson sat on the bridge’s science console, watching the USS Scimitar pull away. She was not one to pick up when people were being underhanded or rude on the down-low but even she had to admit, the Captain of the Scimitar had seemed to enjoy giving the Captain underhand insults.  

“What is up with that guy anyways?” she said aloud without realizing it as she continued to watch the sensors and review a dataset from a nearby star system whose star was undergoing a rather significant set of solar eruptions.

From behind her, a deep and somewhat cold-sounding voice answered making her jump. “Captain Terilance? Hard to say, I don’t think anyone on board has ever met him.” Kerry had thought she was alone on the bridge and cursed silently under her breath, ‘Idiot – why did I check?’

She turned around to see Lieutenant Thanen Th’zalnar standing just inside the doorway to the bridge. His jacket was open and scuffed while his white hair and antenna had clear signs of a dark liquid on them. “Sorry sir, I was just thinking out loud. I didn’t mean….” she said a bit abashed.

Thanen cut her off with a laugh. “It is perfectly fine. I have thought the same thing myself and not in so nice words Kerry. Thinking nothing of it.” he said with a large smile as he walked onto the bridge and headed over to her station. “What are you looking into? Anything interesting?” 

“Oh, ok,” she responded still feeling embarrassed by her comment. Watching him walk towards her for a moment she blinked and turned back to the console “Looking at…um, there was B class, Hyper giant, a few light years back that had no planets but was undergoing a series of very large solar eruptions. I had the scanners focus on it out of curiosity.” Pulling up some of the data and images she slid over so Thanen could see the display clearer. “Nothing out of the ordinary except their size but some of the images are very pretty. I was thinking of framing this in my room,” she said pulling up an image of the star with several substantial X8 and X9 flares coming off its surface.

“I can see why. Pity we could get in closer…don’t think Terilance would have been happy.” Thanen said and frowned. “Did the Scimitar change course? Did we get new orders?”

Shaking her head Kerry simply said, “No orders. Just a notification a couple of minutes go saying they were leaving. Not even a send to the Captain which seemed odd. I let her know and she just told me to confirm acknowledgement though I think she was a bit annoyed.”

“I would think so, but anyways I am sure we will get new orders shortly from Bravo and then who knows where we will end up,” Thanen said with a shrug and smiled. He started to turn and leave when Kerry responded. 

“What got you all messed up in engineering, sir?”

“This,” he said gripping his jacket, “It’s nothing. I was just clearing out some of the power junctions and such. Anyways, I got to replacing a couple of the bio-neural gel packs, pulled one out of the box and the damn thing started to leak. Figure it was faulty maybe or the box was damaged when we fought the Romulan ship.” To which Kerry nodded and laughed.

“Well looks like you could use a shower, sir.”

With a deep laugh back Thanen agreed, “Most definitely, a nice shower, then some food. Care to join?”

Kerry’s face went bright red just as Thanen realized what he said and a look of horror crossed his face as he began to back peddle. “To DINNER, Dinner ONLY, not the shower…I just thought eating alone is never fun…yeah just the food…” he said as he backed away from her. ‘I CAN NOT BELIEVE I JUST SAID THAT. INNOCENT ENOUGH, OF COURSE, IT CAME OFF THAT WAY…’ he thought to himself. 

The thought of the shower made Kerry blush and images pushed into her head which she quickly tossed aside as Thanen back peddled. “Oh, ah, FOOD. Yeah, beats sitting in the mess alone or in my room,” she said her voice a little shaky.

“Ok….I will message you. Do you want to see if anyone else wants to join? Shouldn’t be more than 30 minutes” He added. 

Hearing him ask to see if others would join relaxed her even more, it was a slip of the tongue but one she would have to try not to think on and having others around definitely would make it easier.

21:00 – Kirin Tarken’s QuartersThe USS Daradax continued on its way towards Starbase Bravo after the departure of the USS Scimitar the day before.Kirin sat in her room on the sofa following a rather uneventful day. After a rather energetic sparing match earlier in the day on the holodeck, she finally got around to finishing her complete mission report since the Daradax had entered the former Romulan Star Empire. It had been a trick to capture the final month or so of the deployment without any of her annoyance at how Captain Terilance of the Scimitar had dismissed them, especially her, and ignored more of the common pleasantries one would expect between two ships working together. But with it finished she was able to catch up with several other outstanding messages, such as the rather scathing one from her mother aboard the USS Stormfront; who was not impressed with her lack of communication after she had been kidnapped and almost died.She ran her hands through her hair and began to massage her temples as her ever resent headache slowly built towards more than an annoyance. ‘I should head to bed…’ she thought to her, ‘An early night will help this headache and we will be at Bravo soon enough for orders…shower first…’ Turning to her bedroom she stepped inside and closed the door.21:00 – Observation Lounge“HE SAID WHAT TO YOU!?” Rill exclaimed loudly as she sat up sharply and then burst out laughing. “Wou…HAHAHAHA…ld, HAHAHHAA, you care to Join!? She stammered between laughs, “I wish I had been there to see his face when he realized how it came across…,” she paused for a second and looked a Kerry a wicked grin appearing on her face, “…where you tempted? I bet you thought about it; who wouldn’t.”Kerry and Belania sat with Ril, their chairs in a circle around a small coffee table which held had a board game laid out on the table.Belania chucked at both the story Kerry had just told them and also at Ril’s response. “Give her a break Ril,” Belania said when Kerry’s face went bright red. She reach down and took a sip of the millipede juice and rolled the dice and moved her character, “I’m sure it was only a passing thought or two,” she added with a sly smile and giggle. “You go Kerry.”Kerry sighed, the blush still very evident, “I never should have told you two. It was just a silly slip and of course, he meant dinner.” she said. “And dinner was nice, it was good, nice to talk to Thanen, he is usually so focused on work and quiet.” She reached for her drink and took a sip as she felt her cheeks heat up again. Both Ril and Belania just smiled at her, “You were here you saw that it was just two people eating, I don’t know why you are making such a big deal out of it.” Kerry continued.“Ok, ok,” Ril said as Kerry rolled the dice and moved her piece around the board. “You are just so quiet at times Kerry and this was just a new side of you. Had to tease you a bit.”“Ok fine, but let’s leave it ok”, Kerry said with a smile. She was increasing enjoying her time with both Ril and Belania. Neither was what she had expected and found she was comfortable being herself around them which was rare.  “So any idea what our new orders will be? Think we will go back and survey Sector Fero Psi or somewhere else?”Belania shrugged, “Who knows. I am sure we will find out soon. We should be back at Bravo tomorrow evening and the fleet command will likely have something lined up for us.”“Maybe,” said Ril, “This mission turned out to be a bit more than anyone of us expected”, her hand absently rubbed her side where she had been shot. “I suspect that we will get something along the lines of a survey or come courier duty.” she mused. “I never thought I would say this but a quiet mission would be nice. I would happily get back into the thick of it but not right away.”“That’s fair to say Ril, that was a nasty hit you took. Your lucky to be alive.” Kerry said and Belania nodded in agreement. “I’ll drink to that,” Ril said and held up her drink as the others did the same. “Who’s turn is it by the way?”21:00 – Engineering Thanen leaned back on one of the chairs in the engineering room and read through the novel he had on his PADD. Some would find it strange that he would spend his downtime in engineering but he found the hum of the warp core relaxing.  As he read his mind wandered to the embarrassment he felt the night before. He hadn’t even realized what he had said until it had happened but he was glad that it was in the past and they had a nice discussion over food and then joined Ril and Belania for some board gaming. “Never would have taken Ril to be oppressed with board games,” he muttered to himself.He continued to read and lost track of time until the console beside him chimed that there was an incoming high-priority message for command addressed to himself and Kirin.“Must be our new orders,” he said as he stood up and turned to leave. ‘Best let her know.’21:45 – Kirin Tarken’s QuartersKirin stepped out of her bedroom in her pyjamas with her fuzzy robe wrapped around her just as her door chimed. “Enter,” she said as she adjusted her robe to make sure she was presentable. ‘Goodbye sleep….’The door opened and Thanen poked his head in, “Sorry to bother you, Captain but we had a high-priority message come through just a couple of minutes ago addressed to the two of us. New orders I suspect.” he said.Kirin smiled, and gestured to the sofa, “Grab a seat.” she said. “I won’t lie Thanen I had been about to go to bed, as you likely figured out, but best hear what they are.”She grabbed a seat on the sofa and opened the small computer on the table. Seeing the message she opened it and projected it onto the holo screen above the table.  The image of a Lieutenant Commander appeared before them.

Greetings Lieutenant Commander Tarken and Lieutenant JG Th’zalnar. I saw that your after-action report for the entire mission in the Kunhri system was received today, it will be reviewed shortly. Fleet Command also wanted to congratulate you and your crew on a job well done regarding the Romulan bio-weapon. Keep up the good work. The USS Daradax is being ordered to Risa, you are to rendezvous with the civilian transport, the SS Heritage which is en route. They are transporting a scientist by the name of Doctor Helen Saint-Claire. Once she is on board you are to escort her to Deep Space 9 with all haste.It is likely that you will have several days on Risa before the SS Heritage arrives if you change course immediately. Enjoy but be ready for her arrival.Fleet Out.

The image was replaced with the logo for the Fourth Fleet. Kirin frowned slightly, “Hmmm…looks like we are going to Risa then.” She turned to Thanen. “Can you change course and notify the others? I suspect they are in the lounge at this time.”“Can do,” Thanen said as he stood and took a step towards the door before turning back. “A break on Risa could be good for several of them. I know Ril’s wound has healed but shore leave would benefit her and the others.”“Your likely right Thanen. Let’s see how much time we have when we arrive. Let’s send the Heritage a message to confirm their arrival date and we can go from there.” Kirin said as she stood straightening her robe.“I will do that now. Have a good night,” he said and then left.“Well, I guess I should message my dad if I am going home….” Kirin said as she sat down at her desk. 

8:30 – Bridge, USS Daradax

Lieutenant JG Thanen Th’zalnar sat in the command chair scrolling through the sensor feeds benign feed to the small display on the left armrest as the ship dropped out of warp into the outer edges of the Risian system. Without looking up he smiled and his antennae twitched with amusement as he knew others would think him crazy but he could always feel the slight change in the vibration of the ship’s engines just before the drop from warp.

As expected the sensors showed the system had a fair amount of traffic running from multiple large civilian pleasure cruisers no doubt bringing people to and from Risa as well as numerous smaller craft, some, well many, personal or from small operations, and multiple federations ships alongside the Anchorage-class starbase. Seeing an Akira hanging in orbit alongside an older Nebula and a massive Odessy he could help but admire the ships which were no doubt passing by and taking the opportunity to give their crews some shore leave on the fabled resort planet.

“Sir,” a voice said before him causing Thanen to look up from the display, “we have just received our flight path and orbital pattern from Risian flight control; ETA 45 minutes.” Belania sat at the flight control and eyed him with her always-present smile. 

Nodding, Thanen said, “Great, let’s take her in so we can enjoy some downtime before the Saint-Claire and the Heritage arrives in 2 days.” He stood and stretched. “Guess I should go notify the Captain and the others,” he said and turned and walked off the bridge.

As soon as he left Belania stopped trying to contain her excitement as she began to almost bounce in her chair she locked the flight path into the computer and the ship began to accelerate towards the planet. Smiling she taped her combadge, “Belania to Ril and Kerry, we are here, get ready for some beach time!”

9:30 – Observation Lounge, USS Daradax

Kirin sat in one of the chairs looking out the large observation windows at the stern of Daradax. She kept fiddling with the hem of the lightweight red dress she wore as she tried to keep her nerves in check. Even though she hadn’t been home for years and the distance and her last posting had strained her relationship with her dad; similar to her mother, she was excited to be back in orbit around the planet she was born on. Unlike her mother though who was very much like her and pushed with what she thought best, her dad didn’t push; possibly the Risian nature of his. She had been hesitant to message him as she had not made much effort to keep in touch and was willing to admit to herself that the strain in their relationship was her fault. At that thought, she let out a snort, ‘God, never would have admitted that even a couple of months ago,’ she thought.

Without surprise, her dad responded with nothing short of welcoming her with open arms and the promise of a proper Risian welcome home party for her and her crew. She shuddered thinking what that might entail given what she remembered from her years on the planet and her adventures in her misbegotten teen years.

Standing up she rolled her shoulders and looked at the slight reflection of herself in the mirror and let herself smile a little. It wasn’t often she got to wear a dress and she had to admit she did love them. At times she wished Starfleet would bring back the uniform dress from over a hundred years ago. She brushed her dress to smooth it out in places and did a little twist, allowing herself a moment of self-indulgence as the dress swished around her making her smile.

“Why Captain, never would have taken you for, well, being so girly.” came a voice from behind her, the smile clearly evident in the tone. Stepping up behind her she saw the reflection of Ril appear just over her shoulder. 

“I don’t always strut around in long jackets and tight leathers with disrupters Ril.” Kirin responded with a little laugh before turning to face the half-Klingon ensign. She looked at Ril, up and down and paused, “Your one to talk Ril. That dress is not too different than mine.” Ril just gave Kirin a wicked smiled and slung the duffle she held in her hand over her shoulder.

“I don’t think she can turn off the snarkiness Captain,” Belania said as she stepped out from behind Ril wearing a very colour ensemble which screamed Ferengi. “You look great by the way. Are you heading straight to your father’s?”

“Yeah, figure I should, it’s been a while,” Kirin said as the door opened and Thanen entered getting a frown from Ril.

“Thanen, why are you still in your uniform?” Belania asked. 

“I figured I would finish a couple of things up here and head down later,” Thanen said with a shrug. “Hot planets are my thing. But I can meet everyone later at the hotel.” 

“Anyone knows where Kerry is?” Ril asked. “Leave time is being wasted.”  

“She mentioned she had to finish writing a letter to the Doc she worked with on the USS Dvorak when I saw her earlier, Dr. Pimpinellifolia I think,”  Belania said. 

“The plant guy?” Ril started to say when Kerry entered catching everyone by surprise as they turned to look at them.

“What?” Kerry asked as she stopped just inside the doorway looking at herself to see if she had spilt something. 

Ril let out a laugh, “Just didn’t think you would walk in only in a Bikini and sarong Kerry; well and a large sun hat.” 

“It is a tropical resort planet, right? No point going down if I am not ready. I figure we drop the bags at the hotel room then right to the beach, why waste time.” Kerry said crossing her arms and giving Ril a look of annoyance though her cheeks reddened slightly.

“Fair enough though don’t feel like you have to Thanen,” Kirin said to him and he nodded. “The hotel is part of why I wanted to speak to all of you before we head down.” My dad is part of the management team for the Grand Risian Villas and he booked you each a room, so enjoy yourselves.” She paused and her face grew more serious, “But don’t embarrass this ship or else I will feed you the sharks in those waters. Now onto the important information. You are all invited to a party tonight at my dad’s house, I think, I will confirm and I apologise for it in advance.”

“For what? What does this party entail exactly?” Ril asked, ideas running through her head. 

“Honestly I am not sure, my dad can be well, a bit over the top so who knows,” Kirin remarked as her cheeks reddened slight, she had some guesses. “We are now locked in orbit so feel free to beam down when you like. Just keep your com badges on you at all times.”

With that Kerry smiled, “Yes Ma’am,” and promptly turned on her heels with Ril and Belania close behind her. As they entered the corridor beyond their excited conversation could be heard for a moment before the door closed.

Looking over at Thanen Kirin tilted her head and pursed her lips. “I know Andoria is cold but most Andoirans I know don’t mind the warmth and it isn’t much hotter than the ship at this time of year where we are going.”

Thanen sighed and let out a low laugh, “You caught me, Kirin. I do have a couple of things I wanted to sort out before I head down but it will only take an hour or so. Just figured it would be easier to do a bit of exploring myself before meeting up with the others. Never been before and wanted to see a few sites. I will lock the ship down before I leave.”

Kirin couldn’t help but laugh. “You have stared down Ril when she was angry and been in battle on a couple of occasions but you didn’t want to make the crew think you didn’t want to hang out on the beach with them?” Kirin stepped up to him and put her hand on his shoulder, “Your fret too much Thanen, enjoy your time exploring and don’t hesitate to contact me if you need to.”

“Will do Kirin, I will see you tonight at the party,” Thanen said with a smile. “Enjoy the time with your family.”

With that Kirin nodded and walked past him towards the transporter and home, in a sense.

9:50 – Grand Risian Villas Lobby; Risa

Kerry, Ril and Belania walked into the lobby of a very fancy-looking hotel which had staff and visitors moving around in every direction. They looked at each other and each just mouthed, ‘WOW’ before a young Risian man came up to them. 

“Welcome to the Grand Risian Villas, what can I help you with?” he said.

“We are here to check in, our Captain said there are some rooms booked for us.” Belania said happily.

“You’re the crew of the Daradax under Captain Tarken I assume? We were told to expect you by Keuon. Please follow me. I will get show you to your rooms.” the young man said as he turned and left.

A few minutes later the three ensigns stepped off of the lift onto the 4th floor and followed the Risian to their villas. “All the Villas for your ship’s crew are together here,” he said gesturing to four doors at the end of the hallway which opened up into an atrium. “Each has a view of the beach and the lagoon beyond. The doors are linked directly to you so they will open for you. If you need anything, anything all at please let me or anyone else know. Enjoy your stay on Risa.”

The three of the ensigns looked at each other and smiled. “Five minutes and meet you back out here?” Belania said to which Kerry and Ril both agreed happily.

“Oh, Don’t forget your Horga’hn, Kerry” Ril said just before Kerry walked through her door causing Kerry to blush deeply and quickly close the door behind her.

Belania glared at Ril. “Don’t tease her. Besides weren’t you the talking about jamaharon the last few days.” Which caused Ril to let out a deep and happy laugh as went into her room.

10:15 – Tarken Homestead; Risa

Kirin materialized on the lawn in from of her father’s home. The first thing she felt was the warm breeze as it blew around her making her close her eyes and enjoy the feeling of it and the memories it brought back. 

“KIRIN!” a voice called from ahead of her and she opened her eyes to see her father, Keuon, standing on the porch before her with a large smile on his face. “About time you got here, your ship arrived in orbit almost an hour ago. What took you so long.”

Kirin smiled and let out a sigh, her whole body relaxing. She hadn’t realized how much stress she had been holding onto until this moment. “Dad, how are yo…” she started but was cut off as he took a few large steps and wrapped his arms around her cutting her off. After a moment he relaxed slightly and she was able to speak, “You don’t have to suffocate me.”

“So dramatic, little one,” he said and let her go and turned to the house. “Come inside, we have alot to catch up on and we need to get the party sorted still.”

The day after – Risian Connection Chp 3 – Homecoming 

08:30 – Tarken Homestead; Risa

“So is this what you will do your entire day at home Kiri? Laze about outside?” came the voice of Keuon; her father. 

Kirin groaned as she rubbed her head and blinked her eyes open. She could hear the rustle of the wind in the trees as she opened her eyes and turned her head in the direction of the voice… As her eyes focused she could see the canopy of the trees above her, “Sorry, what?” she muttered.

“Thought you Star Fleet typed were up at the crack of dawn,” he said with a laugh. “The Klingon officer, what was her name…Ril? She was up hours ago along with Thanen I think his name was and the Ferengi woman, Belania. Had some breakfast and headed off. I think they said something about, no point wasting the day…”

“Well goo…”, she started to say before her father handed her a large glass with a reddish pink liquid in it. “Drink this, will help with the head and wake you up.”

Rolling her eyes Kirin sat up and took a sip of the smoothie, “Thanks. So…” she started to say as she looked around at the chairs and tables on the lawn in front of the house. “So…guess I fell asleep out here,” she said with a little snort.

“Yeah, just like whenever you are here,” Keuon remarked with a laugh. “Nothing quite beats sleeping out here under the trees with the beach and waves right there,” he said with a wave of his hands towards the secluded beach only 50 meters away.

“Thanks for the get-together last night, it was good to catch up with everyone.” she said with a snort, “Though I forgot how lively and well indulgence, everyone can get…took me back.”

Keuon looked at her and smiled slightly before he leaned back in the chair beside hers, “Well maybe if you came home more often you wouldn’t forget to enjoy yourself and the one life you have Kiri. Though you did get back into it last night which was nice to see; was nice to see you relax a bit.” To which Kirin rolled her eyes, “Thanks dad…” she drawled with a hit of sarcasm.  

At that, her father burst out laughing, “It’s good to have you home, even if it is just until tomorrow. So tell me; what is your plan for today?”

“Nothing, nothing at all,” she said as she brought her feet up onto the chair and laid back down to watch the leaves rustle in the wind above her.

09:45 – Grand Risian Villas; Risa 

Thanen sat in the garden of the villas the crew was staying at. He was amazed at how quiet it was given the stories he heard for Risa, he thought the hotel would be buzzing with activity but as far as he could see it was only himself in the garden. He could understand why some of his people, Andorians, struggled with Risa and other places like it. It was alot warmer than his homeworld but he had to admit it was nice to feel the heat on his skin. He leaned back on the lounger and set down the PADD with the manual for an Elysion Class Explore he had been skimming through, (the unclassified version of the manual of course). ‘Will finish that later,’ he thought to himself.

He reach over and grabbed the glass of fresh orange juice, something he had fallen in love with when his old academy roommate, Cynndle, introduced it to him.  “When do I get a chance to enjoy this…” he muttered just before he took a sip just as a shadow crossed over him. Normally he knew whenever someone was approaching but he had been so focused on the fresh orange juice he had blocked out all else.

“Morning, sir, um…sorry Thanen. Not on duty and such…” came the voice. He looked up and smiled when he realized it was Kerry. “Morning Kerry,” he said as he sat up in the chair and faced her, swinging his legs down. He couldn’t help but notice she was yet again in swimwear that threatened to break his concentration. “Did you enjoy the party at the Captian’s family home last night?”

Kerry smiled and sat down beside him; their arms brushing. “Yeah, it was nice. I never went to things, well parties, at the academy, you know,” she said looking out towards the garden that surrounds them. “I gathered from what I saw that the others, yourself and Kirin, ah, the Captian, enjoyed themselves. I will admit though,” a slight blush crossing her face, “I didn’t expect so much well, liveliness between the dancing, singing, drinking, food it was alot to take in so I left a bit early. Don’t think I ever had so many people approach me though and ask after me, felt kind of nice.” She said as she looked at him as if waiting for something.

At the last statement, Thanen’s antenna focused on her and he was surprised at the sense of jealousy he felt. He tried to hide the frown that flashed across his face but wasn’t sure how effective it was. “Ah, yeah, I know what you mean. Ril, Belania and I ended up crashing there. Got up this morning and came back. The anti-intoxicants meds are so very helpful; feel almost normal now.” he said with a laugh as Kerry watched him without expression. “Ah, I guess you enjoyed yourself then. I am going to the beach,” she said a bit rushed he felt and she stood up and left. He watched her go towards the beach until she was out of sight and his frown returned. “Odd,” he muttered “Humans are so strange.”

He debated leaning back but his eyes wandered to the PADD on the table beside him and he couldn’t help himself. He was intrigued by some of the design choices within the Elysion class. He picked up the PADD and began to read through the engineering manual with all his focus fixated on it.

14:45 – Galartha, Risa

“I didn’t think you would be one to renege on a promise. Though you liked climbing and a challenge Ril?” Belania said as she glared up at the much taller half-Klingon who stood staring up at the rock face before her. “Besides as the sixteenth rule of acquisition says, ‘A deal is a deal’, and that if you came climbing I would take one of those jamaharon statutes to the party last night. AND I DID!”

Ril let out a scoffing sound as she looked down at Belania, “You NEVER said anything about the hand and foot holds changing as you climb. I may like climbing but this is just asking for an injury.” she said clearly a bit taken aback by what she was seeing. Right before her eyes, the rock wall shifted. Holds that were there one second were gone the next and she could not make out any pattern to it.

Belania let out a short laugh, “The riskier the road, the greater the reward…well profit according to the sixty-second rule. Just think about the bragging rights you will have once you climb this. I know it was one of the walls that the cadets in my climbing club always went on about climbing. Sure there is a risk but don’t Klingons love risk?” Bel said as she actively nudged Ril a bit forward.

“Half Klingon, I think to think I got some sense from my father, wherever he is…” Ril said know she was going to climb the wall. “Fine,“ she said defeated, “I did promise…” she began before laughing slightly, “You did take the jamaharon to the party as you said. I swear everyone asked you about it, made my night!”

Belania rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah. You got your kicks.” she laughed before shrugging, “Though I will admit, the Captain cousin gives a mean massage, I haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time.”

“You just wanted to suck up to the Captain, show you were could get on with her family and such,” Ril said as she adjusted her climbing gear and stepped up to the wall.

“Never hurts, we even have a rule for that one as well. Thirty-third; never hurts to suck up to the boss.” Belania said with a laugh which caused Ril to groan and shake her head.

17:30 – Various Locations, Risa

The commbadges of every crew member from the USS Daradax chimed notifying them they had a pending message for them to pick up.

Hope everyone has been enjoying themselves. I wanted to thank everyone for coming last night to the party. 

Enjoy your final night on Risa, I want everyone to be back on the ship by 08:30. The Heritage is meant to arrive tomorrow afternoon and I want the ship ready to depart the moment we can.

Kirin.

19:00 – Medical, USS Daradax

The lights flickered on in medical and a man appeared out of thin air. Looking around he smiled as he started to sing. “All by myself, Don’t wanna be, All by myself, Anymore,” before bursting out laughing. “Who am I kidding? Of course, I do.”

Bridge – 8:30

Kirin stood on the bridge of the Daradax and looked out the viewport at the blue pearl floating in the void below the ship as well as the other vessels that orbited the planet. The last couple of days had been nice, and restful, something she had not had for a long time. She shifted uncomfortably as she adjusted her uniform collar and top; though they had been designed for comfort in most environmental conditions she always found the uniform a bit uncomfortable especially after being out of it for a few days. One of her old colleagues on Starbase 3, James O’Shea, had suggested to her in private that maybe it was her subconscious telling her she was in the wrong profession and then made several suggestions that had earned him a good-natured smack on the back of his head. At the thought of James, she made a mental note to follow up with him and see how he was doing. She had meant to when she had first heard about his injury on the USS Radiant Storm.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Thanen spoke up from the engineering console, “Ril and Belania have just beamed up. We have a full house.” 

“Excellent, I want to meet everyone in 30 minutes in the observation lounge. We have received our orders regarding Doctor Saint-Claire. It should be straight forward I want this ship ready for departure the second she is onboard.”

“On it,” Thanen said as he sent a ship-wide message to everyone.

“You have the bridge Thanen,” Kirin said and headed to her ready room to review the data packet that arrived first thing this morning.

Observation Lounge – 9:00

Kirin stepped into the lounge and was met with every one of the crew turning to face her, including the EMH who had projected himself into the lounge using the holographic display.

Kirin come to tell right away that Ril and Belania seemed more relaxed though there was some tension she noticed between Thanen and Kerry, they were trying too hard not to look at each other. She noted it and put it aside for a later time.

“I hope everyone enjoyed themselves,” she said before looking at the EMH, ‘He is an odd one,’ she thought, “Sorry you couldn’t join us Doc.” To which the EMH shrugged and responded, “I got the ship to myself, it was great.” Kirin wasn’t too sure how to respond to that so she nodded and made another mental note to check the internal logs to see what the EMH had been up to.

“As you are all aware the SS Heritage will be arriving in orbit in approximately 4 hours. Once here we are ordered to collect Doctor Helen Saint-Claire and travel at our best speed to DS9.” Kirin began. “We do not have much information beyond that but. The brief doesn’t mention what the Doctor will be doing on DS9 and I figure that we happened to be going in the right direction at the right time. That said, she is a civilian who does carry significant sway in the Federation medical council so I want to make sure that this ship is ready for anything. You have four hours to go over all the system reviews from before Risa and make sure nothing was missed. When the Heritage arrives I will let everyone know. I will expect you all to be present when she beams over. Belania, as the unofficial Yeoman on board I would like you to ensure that Doctor Saint-Claire has everything she needs. Any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads and Kirin was about to dismiss them when the EMH spoke up. “I would appreciate the chance to speak to her Kirin Tarken. Saint-Claire’s work on microsurgery and cranial implants are years beyond the norm. I find it intriguing. Additionally, it presents an opportunity to have her review your suppression implant. I would like to ask her to examine it.”

At the mention of the implant, Kirin’s headache began to act up again though she knew it had been there before but ignored it. “Um, well we can definitely ask her when she arrives.” 

“Excellent Kirin Tarken. As we are all aware your condition is a very fascinating one, even among your own species.” The EMH said and then vanished as he jumped back to medical.

Kirin sighed inwardly and dismissed the others, ignoring the glances she got from the others as they all remembered what happened when her last implant was removed.

Bridge – 12:45 

“Captain, we have just received a message from the SS Heritage. They have just dropped out of warp at the edge of the system and heading in how. They have requested, at the order of Doctor Saint-Claire that we met them en route.” Belania said from the con. “The Captain seemed a bit stressed.”

“Very well, Ensign. Set an intercept course and get us moving.” Kirin responded and glanced down at the small screen on her armrest where she was yet again reviewing the good doctor’s file, as limited as it was though. 

“ETA is 15 minutes at impulse,” Belania said.

“Perfect,” Kirin said before activating the intercom. “The SS Heritage is in the system. ETA is 15 minutes.”

Transporter Room – 13:00

Kirin looked back at the rest of her crew standing in the hallway while they waiting for confirmation from the Heritage that their passenger was ready for transport. The Daradax had made good time and rendezvoused with the civilian liner before it had made it a third of the way into the system. When she had called up the Captian of the Heritage he looked tired and relieved that the Daradax had arrived which made Kirin feel a bit uneasy. 

“Heritage has confirmed they are ready for transport,” Kerry said from the transporter room controls. Kirin looked back at her and nodded her permission to activate the transport. For a couple of seconds before Doctor Saint-Claire arrived, she couldn’t help but notice that there was a change within Kerry since the events in Romulan space. ‘She definitely seems more sure of herself.’ She thought as the telltale sound of the transporter activating drew her attention.

A moment later the transporter beam was replaced with a middle-aged woman with a small suitcase and a large satchel. Kirin stepped forward to introduce herself but was cut off before she could start. “Lieutenant Commander Tarken I assume. Of course though, who else would you be, no other Orions on this ship. I am Doctor Saint-Claire. I trust we will depart for DS9 immediately?”

Kirin was taken aback for a moment but quickly regained herself. “I am Lieutenant Commander Tarken, welcome to the Daradax Doctor Saint-Claire. We will be departing to DS9 momentarily.” she said before turning slightly to the rest of the crew, “As you will be with us for a few days I wanted to introduce the rest of the crew, they will be happy….”

Helen cut Kirin off before she could finish her sentence. “I am familiar with each of them. Starfleet send me the manifest so I familiarized myself with everyone. Now if you will excuse me I will go to my quarters can someone please direct me? I will speak with you later Lieutenant Commander.”

Kirin stared at the woman as she moved past her into the hallway again at a loss for words. She had rarely come across someone so dismissive of her. She gestured to Belania. “Of course Doctor.” She said trying hard to keep the annoyance out of her tone. “Ensign Belania where will show you the way. If you need anything do not hesitate to contact either her or myself.”

Doctor Saint-Claire didn’t even acknowledge Kirin but turned to Belania. “Lead the way ensign.” She said as Belania turned to lead her down the corridor. 

Kirin stood with the others and watched the two of them walk down the corridor before she said, “Dismissed,” with a bit more bite than she had intended. With that, she turned and went to her ready room and slumped down into the chair and poured herself a glass of iced tea from the picture she kept on the small table and tried to distract herself from her first interaction with Doctor Saint-Claire. A few minutes later she felt the subtle shift as the ship jumped to warp and she quickly confirmed that they were en route to DS9.

An hour later her door chimed and she looked up as Thanen entered. “Thanen, what can I do for you?” she asked.

The Andorian smiled, “Actually, I wanted to see if there was anything I could do for you. Would have stopped by earlier but thought you might want a moment to yourself.” He walked over to the desk and paced back and forth slightly. “I have to say that was an interesting encounter but what really threw me is she came to engineering less than 20 minutes later and began to grill me on everything I do. I think I understand why the Heritage’s Captain was so relieved we arrived.”

“She went to engineering? Really?” Kirin asked a bit bewildered.

“Yeah, she has a degree in engineering as well as a medical degree apparently so she was curious about the systems we run…” Thanen said with a shrug. “Not that they are any different than most other star fleet ships. But what got me was she was very pleasant about it. Was an odd experience. And she kept asking about you.”

Kirin lent back in her chair and exhaled. “That is odd. Maybe it was just me she doesn’t like,” she said with a forced laugh. “Thanks for letting me know. I will have a chat with her soon.”

“No problem,” Thanen said in response and turned to leave. “Let me know if you need anything or just want to chat if she gets to be a bit much.”

“Thanks, Thanen, appreciate it. We only have her for a few days anyways.” 

Bridge – 7:45

Kirin stepped onto the bridge rubbing her head and holding a hot cup of coffee with her other hand after another restless night due to her consistent headaches. She had been having them for a while and she knew they were due to the replacement pheromone-blocking implant she had but she was also convinced the presence of Dr Saint-Claire was not helping. She had invited Dr Helen Saint-Claire to dinner the night before as was customary and at first, the doctor ignored the message; when Kirin found her in one of the sciences labs questioning Kerry about her work the doctor simply said he was busy though that hadn’t seemed to stop the endless messages she received from the doctor about perceived inefficiencies in the running of the ship. Kirin sat down in the command chair and took a long sip of her coffee.

As expected Belania was at the ship’s CON going about her reviewing the progress of the ship from the night before. “Morning Ensign,” Kirin said as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. “Any updates I should know about? How is the progress to DS9?”

Belania turned around and smiled, “Morning Captain. Nothing to report, we passed within a lightyear of a federation cargo ship but that was about it. As for progress to DS9 we should be there late tonight at our current speed.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “We could get there sooner if we increase our speed.”

Kirin took a sip of her coffee, nodded and slowly rubbed her temple. “Best keep it as is Belania. I expect we will be heading out to the Thomar Expanse and SB47 shortly after we drop the Good doctor off,” Kirin said putting a bit too much sarcasm onto the ‘good’, “and if that is the case that means navigating the badlands which is never easy. Even if not my gut tells me things will be picking up.” Kirin stood up and turned to leave, “I will be in my ready room if anything comes up.”

Belania nodded in understanding and turned back to the CON.

Kirin strolled off the bridge and into the ready room, her home away from home per se on the Daradax. She sat down at her desk and began to review the sensor reports from the night before as she always did when she had time as you never knew what might be missed by the computer. Over the next two hours, she spoke to and got updates from Kerry, Thanen, and Ril as to the status of the ship’s systems which were all in good shape. Following the call with Ril Kirin closed her eyes and stretched as she tried to focus on the end-of-mission report she needed to write. Though it was an easy one given they were a glorified taxi service currently she had trouble focusing on it as her headache had returned with a vengeance.

Medical Bay – 10:45

Kirin rested her hand on the bulkhead outside the medical bay as it felt like someone was driving a pick into the back of her head. After a moment the pain subsided and she was able to move again. As she stepped up to the door to Medical it slid open and, of course, Dr Saint-Claire stood before her. The doctor looked Kirin up and down without a hint of emotion before her eyes came to rest on Kirin’s. “You don’t look well Captian, computer activate EMH.” Helen said as she grabbed Kirin’s arm. 

‘Of course, now she will talk to me,’ Kirin thought to herself as the EM appeared just inside the door and looked over at her. “Ah, the headaches I assume. I told you we shouldn’t have gone to Risa and found a facility to get the implant replaced; to hell with the orders. But why listen to me, I am just a hologram…” the EMH said with annoyance as he and Helen Saint-Claire helped Kirin to the biobed. 

As Kirin lay down she closed her eyes, she didn’t realize how exhausted she was and how bright the lights were. She felt someone put a hand on her arm, “Captain,” the EMH said. “I am going to sedate you for a little bit to see what I can do about this. Doctor Saint-Claire will be assisting, these sorts of implants are her speciality.” Before Kirin could respond she felt a hypospray press against her next and quick, sharp prick before a wave of goosebumps spread over her green skin and she slipped into unconsciousness.

The EMH stood over Kirin as she slipped into unconsciousness; as she did he activated the biobed to begin a detailed neurological scan. As the table came to life he tapped his combadge, “EMH to Lieutenant Thanen Th’zalnar please report to medical.” A moment later Thanen confirmed and walked through the door a minute later.

Seeing Kirin on the table Thanen inhaled sharply, “What is the matter with her?” he demanded as he looked back and forth between the EMH and Doctor Saint-Claire.

The EMH turned to him, “The temporary pheromone inhibitor implant has proven just how temporary it was. I had expected it to have lasted longer but…” he said before Thanen cut him off, clearly agitated. “We have seen her without the implant, wouldn’t a suppressant work like last time until we get to DS9?”

The EMH rolled his eyes and glanced at Helen, “If you had let me finish Lieutenant it appears that her body has responded negatively to this and she has been getting headaches. I will need to replace the implant now or we risk permanent damage, she should have checked in with me more often and,…” turning to look at Doctor Saint-Claire, “I hope that Doctor Saint-Claire’s expertise in the area may be of some use.” Thanen noticeably deflated, “Apologises Doctor, do what you can for her. I will let the other now. We will be reaching DS9 tonight, we can speed up if needed.”

“There will be no need, I have everything here and the replicators will be able to make one of my experiential implants that will do that trick. I had actually been reading up on Kirin’s condition as it is uncommon even within her species and had hoped to ask her about it.” Thanen squinted at Helen for a moment and frowned, “Pretty sure she had given you lots of opportunities since we picked you up for that,” he said before looking to the EMH, “Get her back on her feet doc.” With that, he turned and left.

The EMH let out an audible huff and rolled his eye, “So dramatic, how long do you need?” he asked her. 

Helen took back at him with a puzzled face, she had spoken to the EMH a could of times and he was an odd programme for sure. “Oh, not long, an hour.”  The EMH nodded and turned back to the biobed to review the results of the scan.

Medical Bay – 12:05

Helen came back into the medical bay holding a small box containing the implant replicated from her personal files. “The implant is ready, just needs to go through decontamination before use,” she said as the EMH looked at her. She noticed that Kirin’s uniform had been removed and she was now lying on her stomach and held to the table by surgical straps. 

The EMH looked at her and nodded, “Ok, I will run it through now,” he said, “I could use your help with the operation, wash up.” A few minutes later Helen came back and approached the bed. “Let’s hope this sorts her out,” she said.

Bridge – 14:30

Kerry sat in the chair in from of the science console and looked out the viewscreen as they travelled towards their destination. “You think she will be ok?” she asked aloud to no one in particular. Both Ril and Belania turned to her, the anxiousness they were feeling clearly present on both their faces. “Of course, she has been through far worse,” Ril said to which Belania nodded before responding. “Nothing to worry about, from what I heard after she was shot the surgery is meant to be very straightforward.”

“We will know soon enough,” Thanen said as he looked at the three ensigns from the command chair. “We are arriving at DS9 soon, let’s make sure everything is in place, ok? Keep yourselves busy so you don’t dwell on it.”

All three of the ensigns looked at him and nodded before turning back to their work.

Medical Bay – 17:35

Kirin slowly blinked her eyes open as she could hear garbled voices from nearby. She could feel a dull ache behind her right ear but the headaches and the pressure she had been experiencing were gone. “Wh, what happened?” she said slowly as her eyes came into focus.

“Ah, good your awake,” the EMH said with a smug expression on his face, “Your implant failed and instead of you releasing your Orion pheromones and messing up the crew your body started to attack the implant which had been storing the pheromones, don’t ask me how, and it all but knocked you out, could have killed you. But we got you sorted.” He said gesturing at doctor Saint-Claire who stepped up on Kirin’s other side.

“We used one of the implants I had developed, it isn’t widely available but it is more advanced than the original one you had so there shouldn’t be any issues in the future; and, not that I think you would use it, it can be dialled back if needed,” Helen said.

“Oh, thank you,” Kirin said as she slowly tried to sit up but the sedatives made her who body feel heavy.

“I know we are arriving at DS9 soon but you can take an hour to rest before rushing off,” the EMH said. “I will be back in a minute to check on you,” with that he turned and left.

Helen looked down at Kirin and nodded. “Let me know how it works out Captain,” she said and turned to leave medical before Kirin could say anything else. 

Bridge – 21:00

“Dropping out of warp in 10 seconds Captain,” Belania said as they approached DS9.

“Excellent,” Kirin said from the command chair. She did not feel anywhere close to 100% but she was up for arriving at the station. She glanced around and was happy to see the entire crew on the bridge and doctor Saint-Claire sitting in one of the spare seats. Everyone who came to DS9 wanted to catch a glimpse of the wormhole.

“Dropping out now,” Belania said as the view screen brightened and the rapidly moving starscape was replaced with the ageing, former Cardassian station. The old station generated mixed feelings in Starfleet, especially amongst the Bajorians as some felt it should be replaced as it served as a reminder of the occupation all those years ago. She even had heard some refer to it as a ‘Tacky Cardassian fascist eyesore!’

“Captain, we have received our docking instructions. They are waiting for a Bolian transport to leave in the next few minutes. We have been asked to take up a holding pattern around the station.” Belania said as she entered the new flight path.

“I guess we can just marvel at the large, imposing pylons,” said Ril with a laugh as they flew in close to the station and banked around one of the upper pylons but her laugh stopped short when on their viewscreen the swirling blue, purple and white wormhole to the gamma quadrant appeared.

“Well that isn’t something you see every day,” Thanen and Kerry said almost in synch which caused a round of chucks from everyone even Doctor Saint-Claire.

The Doctor stood and nodded to Kirin, “Thank you for the lift Captain, I will go get my belongs in order and get to disembark,” turning she left the bridge.