Chapter Alpha

Captain Jamie Taylor woke to the godforsaken *beep**beep**beep* of his alarm. He usually set one because he could be counted on to sleep through ANYTHING. Roger said it was a trauma response. Maybe it was. At any rate, his blue eyes opened to find a swath of golden hair spread across his left bicep. His whiskey- addled brain wracked itself for an explanation. He’d gone to the ship’s bar after work, and…oh yeah. The teacher. What was her name? Mary? Maria? He couldn’t remember. Instead, he tried for “cutesy”.

“Hey, love. Time to get up.” She groaned to life, as well, brown eyes fluttering open to the kisses he placed on her back. Whoever she was, she was nice looking and he was…not ready to face the day yet. However, a voice over his comms system made him roll his eyes to the ceiling.

Captain? It’s LtCdr Johnson. I need to brief you as soon as you’re ready.

He let out a sigh that he was PRETTY sure could be heard all the way back on Earth, but stood, and redressed into his uniform. Luckily, it wasn’t too wrinkled, and he ran a hand through his hair. It would do. He tossed the dress the woman had worn the night before-he assumed?-at her, and watched, a little wistfully, as she dressed, too.

“Had a good time. Thanks for everything.” He said, as he escorted her out of his room, and then turned to Johnson. “Go.” As they walked, the other man talked.

Molly. Johnson nodded at the woman, his face blank of emotion. Ah! That was her name!! Lt. LeFebvre was working the night watch. Picked up a signal. I have it saved for you, but it was essentially an SOS of sorts. Who the hell was LeFebvre? Oh, yeah, the hot blonde tactician. He shrugged.

“The blonde woman? From where?” The other man just nodded.
She’s the one. Uh…I am not sure, but uh, I told her to head towards the signal…

He winced. Johnson was a yes-man, there to “babysit” him. He wasn’t well-liked around the Fleet, and while he understood why (the drinking, the attitude problems, the women), he WAS a full Captain and didn’t need a babysitter. But still. It was the same order he would have given.

“All right. Any idea how long?” He entered the Ready Room, seeing his department heads already gathered. He took a seat after the formalities were done.

A few hours, perhaps. It’s several hundred lightyears out.

Jamie blinked. How far was a lightyear?! Before addressing anyone, he replicated himself a cup of coffee-strong, black, HOT- and let out another loud sigh.

“Fine. What do you have for me, people?” He sat as each person presented their plans for the day, and they discussed personnel matters, and anything else his brain registered as important. After a half-hour, he’d had enough, and dismissed everyone. To Johnson, he spoke.

“I will be on the Bridge in ten minutes. Tell whomever took over for Lt. LeFebvre to put us in The other man nodded, and stepped out of the room. Jamie went back to his quarters, brushed his teeth, splashed some water on his face, and straightened his uniform. He quickly straightened the bed, and then went to the Bridge.

Once he was in his chair, he motioned for the Tactical Officer on duty to share their pass-down.

Sir. We’re heading towards an SOS beacon. Unknown planet. Coordinates are –60° 50′ 2″ We should arrive shortly.

Jamie nodded. Perfect.

“Thank you. Lt. Jackson, keep the shields up. Miller? Alert me to any and all fuckery.” The brunette woman gave him a LOOK, but nodded. He looked to Johnson. “ Sounds like a far flung corner of the Gamma Quadrant, doesn’t it?” His XO stared at him.

Sir?

“Well, if it’s not in the DQ, the next one after that is Epsilon, right?! Then Gamma!! Didn’t they review the Greek alphabet at your fancy prep school?” Jamie hadn’t meant for that to sound as rude as it did. “I am sorry. What I mean is…if you can deduce what it ISN’T, it’s easier to figure out what it IS.”

Johnson seemed to consider this for a moment.

I suppose.

Jamie nodded. “So. It’s probably not technically CALLED the Gamma Quadrant, but we’ll call it that for our purposes. Please alert the MedBay to be on standby. If it’s an SOS, there will likely be casualties.” He let out a sigh. He was too old for this. Or not old enough. Or…something.

As Miller brought them out of Warp, he let out another long suffering sigh. She turned around again.

Sir??

“I was hoping we’d have more time. How are the shields?”

Steady. Nothing visible in my sensors or even a few knots out.

“Great…” As he was about to issue another order, the Tactician interrupted.

Capt. Taylor, sir? I have the signal.

He nodded. “Thank you. Can you share it, please?” The woman nodded, and pressed a few buttons. After a moment, the signal rang into Jamies’ ears.

Please send help

The woman looked back to him and shrugged.

That’s the entire message, sir.

Of course it was. Jamie brought his left hand to his temple, and massaged gently.

“Ok. Maintain course. Johnson, get a security detail at the ready. Take an Engineer with you, and, uh, take the Romulan from Science with you. I forgot his name.” Jamie shrugged. How could be expected to know 500 names in three weeks’ time?!

Johnson nodded, and got moving. He rounded up a six-person team, three women, three men (including himself), and reported back to the Bridge that they were on standby. A moment later, the ship docked with a satisfying *click* noise onto the helipad. He let out a sigh of relief and then shouted.

“Keep the shields up. Johnson, go! Keep your comms on you at all times. DO NOT ENGAGE. Someone get Baker up here.”

Baker was the Chief Tactician, and he’d need the help on the Bridge.

Chapter Beta

Johnson’s POV, Planetside

He blinked once, the bright light of the transporter finally waning. His eyes adjusted to the quickly-dimming light. Wherever they were, it was nearly dusk. And it was eerily silent. As was his unconscious habit, he reached to his waist and felt for his sidearm. It was there, all right. He nodded, and swallowed. He wasn’t the right person for this kind of thing-Red Shirts never really were, if he were honest with himself, a trait that, unlike his Captain, he tried to hone regularly. He pulled it together, though, and spoke, forcing his voice to stay as calm as possible. “You three,” he indicated to his right. “Campbell, Culver, Andrews. Go that way. I’ll take T’Siver and Farr and go this way,” he indicated his left flank. “As Captain Taylor said, keep your comms on, and don’t engage. Just get back to the ship.” He pulled a transponder from his day pack, and turned it on. He watched as the others did the same. Good. If anything untowards happened, at least they’d be able to get everyone back. “Move out.” He stepped to the left, and looked at the Romulan science officer, T’Siver and a female security officer that was called Farr. “Let’s go. Tactical says the signal was coming from the far end of the planet.” In silence, the trio traipsed through high grasses towards the spot where Baker had said they’d find their target. The transponder beeped with urgency-they must be getting closer, but it was ODD-there were zero signs of life. Nearby, a few rocks that perhaps resembled a building, were scattered, as if they had been struck by something. The transponder was going CRAZY, beeping wildly. Ben sighed. There was NOTHING THERE. He looked to the other two. The El-Aurian woman from Comms was looking strangely at him. “What do you…?” She put a hand on her forehead, as if she had a headache, and murmured low. 

My head hurts. Something is here. I don’t know what… 

Ben sighed. He looked to the man, who shrugged. 

All I see are plants, sir. 

He tapped his comms. “Lucas? What do you have?” 

“T’shir is out. Whatever it is is having an affect on the telepaths already.” 

Ben sighed. “Ok, come around. We’ve found…something. Could use another opinion.” He waited a beat, and realized that the female at his flank was having a telepathic crises. He quickly moved into gear. “Here, Lt. Markwin. Sit down. Where’s your canteen?” He was in auto-sailor mode, not really realizing the stupidity of the question. He was by the book, to the letter, and it often came out in ways like this, putting his foot in his mouth. They hadn’t needed gear like that, as it was a recon mission. “Dr. Lucas is on the way.” The woman nodded, but sat on the ground. As she did so, something moved. It appeared to be…a leaf, as if it were moving out of the woman’s way. Odd. He was a mere human, and had no telepathic abilities that he knew of, but maybe the exhaustion of getting a new ship up and running, as well as having to babysit his boss was finally getting to him. Finally, the other three came around the bend, the Romulan being propped up by the other two, slowing them down immensely. Cdr.? I suggest getting these two home, fast.

Ben considered it for a minute. “Maybe that’s a good idea. I’ll radio back to the Ship and talk to the Captain.” He stepped to the side, keeping a careful eye on the other five people-noticing Markwins and T’shir getting markedly worse. After a few moments, Ben returned to the group. “Captain is sending out three folks to take your places; one of them is Doc Harrison, who will immediately transport T’shir and Markwin to the Sickbay. Dr Lucas, you can stay here with LeFebvre and Powers.” The other man nodded, and as they waited the few moments, Ben looked around. The plants were changing, as if an imperceptible wind was moving them, gently, back and forth. A moment later, the three rescue crew were there, and Ben helped Harrison to get the two fallen to safety. A few minutes later, the others had been briefed in and he spoke. “Anyone else notice the plants are being…strange?” Dr. Lucas, the civilian scientist, nodded. 

I did. Chalked it up to wind. No other signs of life, though the scanners went off just as we were approaching. I am sorry, sir, I was preoccupied keeping T’shir upright. 

“I understand. Maybe the scanners are registering us? Can you look, Powers?” The Engineering officer took the machine and inspected it before informing Ben he’d need to take it apart. They didn’t have time, really. “Let’s look at it when we return to the ship, then, thank you, Petty Officer.” The younger man nodded. “I guess we start getting samples for study. Maybe they’ll tell us something, right, Dr. Lucas?” The man nodded, and bent to collect some soil. The rest spread out slightly, just a few paces away from each other-close enough to be nearby in case something untoward happened, but far enough that they had to communicate via radio. The first call was from Andrews. “Sir. I have something you should see.” He motioned for the others to follow him. Around a short bend, they found the man standing in front of what appeared to be a cave. He seemed dazed. Ben spoke up first. “What is it, Andrews?” 

Uh…plants. They’re….well, you just should go see. 

Ben entered the cave, Lefevbre and Powers at his flanks for security. Behind him was Dr. Lucas, Culver, and Farr. 

He stopped dead in his tracks. From behind, someone said the words he was thinking. Holy shit. 

He didn’t turn to see who, but just nodded in agreement. 

Plants. MASSIVE, life sized plants. Moving. Pulsating. Speaking-kind of? He was SENSING something-distress. OHHHH. This is where the SOS had come from. But…HOW? But…WHY??

End Chap. 2 

Lt. Maggie LeFebvre’s POV

The feckless blonde, mid-level Operations Officer was still sleepy. She’d pulled a night shift, and couldn’t sleep. Someone had found her in the officer’s lounge, madly flirting with the new Romulan Exchange guy. Too bad she was a people pleaser, because here she was, on a strange deserted island, instead of back on the ship, SAFE. 

She was now standing, long arm at her side long forgotten. Staring. At plants that her brain registered as…alive. But not in the regular, “plants have cells” sense. In more like the creepy, Little Shop of Horrors-Feed me, Seymour-run Audrey kind of way. 

“Holy shit.” She clapped her hand over her mouth as soon as it came out; she didn’t make a HABIT of cursing at work but this kind of warranted it, in her opinion. “Sorry.” She said, as the others looked at her. The Commander just shook his head, though, as if in agreement with her statement. 

She started to move forward a step, but as her left leg lifted, something happened. In a moment, long tentacles of…plant life? Pulled the Commander to his back, and away from the group, swallowing him whole. She fired a shot, but it was useless. He was gone. Great. How was she going to explain THAT? It was silent a moment before someone spoke. 

So. What should we do, you think? 

She swiveled her head towards the civilian scientist. 

“You tell me, Doc.” The man just shrugged. I guess we appease it. Any of you telepathic?

Why were men so useless?! She let out a long-suffering sigh. “We sent them back, remember?” She realized suddenly that she was the highest-ranking person left. Fantastic. Leadership wasn’t her strongest suit. Still, she could think of something. Quickly, she started issuing orders. “Andrews, send a message back to Captain Taylor. We need an empath out here. One of the Betazoids or something strong like that. You, Culver. Go with Andrews back to the ship. Cover his six like your life DEPENDS on it. Doctor Lucas, science me up a Universal Translator. You, new guy,” she pointed at Farr. “You’re coming with me. Powers, help Dr Lucas. When you have something that works, call me back.” She pulled off her ugly yellow uniform shirt, anddiscarded it near the door. She looked at Farr. “We’re going in.” She dropped to the floor, and combat-crawled in the direction that Ben had been taken. 

Finally, she heard his muffled screams. He seemed to be buried under piles of leafy tentacles. She called out. “Farr, any chance you brought a field knife?” The man extended one, and she started to cut away at the thick branches. She’d only gotten a couple of cuts in when she heard a voice cry out. 

STOP! You’re hurting it! 

Her brain quickly registered the voice as the chief Counselor, a telepathic Betazoid. She stopped, dropping the knife, the *clattering* as it hit the ground ringing out around her. It was quiet a moment, before she stood up, and crossed her arms over her chest. “The hell you mean, I’m “hurting” it?” She asked loudly, crossly. That’s a telepathic pitcher plant. It can FEEL.A WHAT?! Maggie’s head swam. 

“A telepathic PITCHER  PLANT?…” she paused as the man moved towards her, still clearly in distress. “STOP.” 

She held up her hand. “Explain.” She had heard the tales of a globulus being called thusly, but this wasn’t…that. “I mean…I don’t know how or why, but that plant has…powers.” The man said, softly. Maggie raised a manicured eyebrow, but thought a minute. It wasn’t as strange as other things she’d seen out here. “Fine. Tell it I am sorry. Was just trying to save the Commander.” She stepped forward, trying to inch her way out of the mass of fleshy vines. Just as she was nearing the group, the plant reached out to pull her under, too. She fought back, gripping and tearing at the vines with everything she was made of. Still, it proved futile, and she shut her eyes as she was pulled into an abyss. She landed harshly, the “clack” of her stupid, ugly uniform shoes against a hard concrete floor resonating against the walls. She opened her eyes. Where was she? She heard Ben’s voice. “Hello? Uh, Lt. LeFebvre. Where did you come from?” She whirled around. The man looked a little worse for the wear; his uniform shirt was missing, as was hers, and she could see bruises on his arms from where the plant had grabbed him. Same place as you. Tried to come after you…

She shrugged. 

Just to avoid the paperwork, you know?  The man nodded at her. “Thanks, I guess. What’s happening up there?” She glanced around; they were in some type of dimly-lit cavern, and she was actually a little creeped out. 

Counselor Bak is up there, said something about a telepathic plant. Specifically, a pitcher plant. You know, I heard those stories at the Academy, but…I thought that was some kind of phantom alien thing, not a real thing.

Ben’s brow was furrowed. 

“Yeah, that pitcher plant isn’t…this.You’re correct; that thing was some kind of matter that had cellular properties.  This is something else entirely. There’s more to this cavern…a hallway of sorts over there. Want to check it out? Where’s your uniform?” She made a face. He JUST NOW noticed? 

Same place as yours, probably. We’re going to die out here and you’re worried about UNIFORM REGULATIONS. Seriously? 

Ben made a face this time. “Fine. You’re right. We’re not going to die, though.” At least, he HOPED they wouldn’t. From the pocket of his pants that had miraculously stayed on, and found a small pen light. It’d do, seeing as they were without gear packs. She did the same, unearthing a small buck knife she kept on her person for safety reasons. 

“Of course you have a knife on your person.” Another face, and he shut up. Lead the way. Against her better judgment, she followed the man deeper into the caverns. She didn’t think she had another better idea, anyway. 

Chapter Delta Ben’s POV

The ship’s XO had instantly recognized Maggie the first day. They’d attended the Academy at the same time, and though they moved in different circles, he’d always had a small, quiet thing for the blonde. She was smarter than she let on, and gorgeous, besides. His friends said she was friendly, a little airheaded, and just a little fast and loose with the rules. Her personnel file had reflected that, too, though it had ALSO pointed out that she was GOOD at her job once you got her to focus.

He saw her fall through the same chute he’d gone through, though she appeared better for the wear than he. She’d only lost her shirt and her dignity. He’d lost his glasses and weapon. At least his undershirt was intact. He sighed.

“Let’s go, then.” 

He led the way down a hallway covered in dirt and reeds. It reminded him of some of the battlefields of Earth he’d read about in history books. A tropical island type of setting. If it were any other situation, it might be funny. THIS? This was the opposite of funny. He didn’t see much, and it was quiet, and smelled like a basement. Behind him, the soft footsteps of Lt. LeFebvre were silent, but every so often, a whispered curse would escape her lips, and he’d chuckle to himself. He made a mental note to discuss with the Captain about reminding staff to use professional language while on the clock, but he supposed a dressing-down NOW was not appropriate.

Suddenly, he stopped. There was light. Was it light?! He wasn’t sure. He also wasn’t sure how long they’d been walking-it SEEMED like forever but a quick glance at his wristwatch said it had only been several minutes. The light was blue, and was coming from what appeared to be a ceiling vent. Interesting. He shone his pen light into the vent.

Bad idea.

The vent blew off, and a cloud of smoke and dust enveloped them. They were swept away, down the hallway, and deposited unceremoniously on their butts in a ramshackle concrete shed. A loud *BANG* from a far corner snapped him to his feet. A faraway, almost disconnected voice spoke out.

Who are you? Why are you here?

He glanced to Maggie, who had righted herself, and she shrugged. He spoke up.

“Um. I am LCdr. Benjamin Johnson, USS Issedon, Starfleet, Earth.” Next to him, he could HEAR the Lieutenant roll her eyes. The voice spoke again.

I sent out an SOS.

“That’s why we’re here. Lt., uh, LeFebvre here, she…she heard it.” The voice grew closer, though no body was visible, just…darkness. He realized his pen light was missing. Fantastic.

I don’t know anything about this Federation. How can I trust you?

He didn’t know about the Federation?! Ben thought up something, and thought it up QUICK.

“I can give you…this.” He fished his comms badge, now useless, from his pocket, and handed it over, the shiny brass glinting in the tiny amount of light emanating from a faraway source that Ben hadn’t yet pieced together. “It’s our communications device. With that, you can contact our….people. They will vouch for us.” HOPEFULLY Capt. Taylor would be in a decent mood!

A figure appeared in front of them, and the lights popped on. Ben was surprised to see a humanoid figure. A…Devore, if his mental Fil-o-fax was any help, and it almost always WAS. The ridges along his browbone? The protrusion above his nose? Yeah. Devore.

BUT…why was he here? And how come he said he didn’t know about Starfleet? They’d only been fighting the Devore for a half-century, at least. AND why was he this far out of the DQ?

“You’re Devore! You know the Fleet, and…why are you here?” The man sniffed.

I am here because these plants…they are alive. They need to be…eliminated.

Maggie looked at him, dumbfounded. He was, too.

“Ok. But why are you HERE? I mean, why are you outside of your protected airspace? You know that I am now legally entitled to arrest-or kill-you on sight.”

The other man raised a hand, but not before the glint of Lt. LeFebvre’s sidearm caught his eye. He moved his hand behind his back in a “calm down” motion, and saw her release it slightly. Good. He believed that MOST things could be solved by talking things out.

I was following the Blood jewels.

“Blood…jewels?” The Devoran shook his head, and pulled some things from his pocket. Tiny pieces of bright red crystals.

Dilithium. A new type.

Well, that complicated things.

“But you already have warp capabilities. What do you need it for?”

The Devoran laughed.

Stupid human. It’s a valuable mineral across the universe. We can mine it, and sell it.

Yeah, because they needed even MORE reasons to go to war. Ben made a face.

“You will NOT. This is Federation land now.” He said, his voice sounding less firm than he hoped. He looked to Maggie.

“Lt. LeFebvre, take this man into custody, and let’s see if we can figure out a way home.” The woman moved swiftly, taking the alien into a vice grip until she was able to secure him, and then, more forcefully than he would’ve preferred, stuck the tip of her firearm into his side.

Talk. Or I shoot.

If you shoot me, you’ll never find your way out of here.

He heard the woman let out a sigh.

Fine. New plan. You get us out of here, and I will let you go. But you get forty minutes to get off this planet or I DO shoot. Your choice.

Ben raised a hand, telling her to calm down again. He didn’t remember the blonde being so excitable, but it was kind of…hot. He forced his mind back into the moment.

“CALM DOWN, BOTH OF YOU.” He sighed. “What’s your name?”

Joxx. And you’re correct. I AM Devoran. Who are you?

“I am Lt. Commander Benjamin Johnson, USS Issedon, Starfleet, as I said earlier. This is Lt. Marguerite LeFebvre, USS Issedon.”

Thank you.

Back on the ship, Captain Taylor had issued an all-hands alert to MedBay and the Bridge. The civilians who were not integral to the daily operation of the ship were asked to stay in their quarters, and all the staff originally scheduled for time off were asked to stay on that day, as they had a handful of telepaths and empaths already down, and he knew it was just a matter of time before all 50 aboard would be. Just what he needed for his first major mission. He pressed the bridge of his nose with his index fingers, and sighed. It  was going on hour…27?…and he was tired. 

When the team brought the first of the Telepaths back, and reported back about the building with the plants, he was dumbfounded. And then when the other four returned, with news that his XO and Lt. LeFebvre had disappeared into the plant’s underbelly, his incredulity turned to fear. Neither his rouge space pirating job before this, nor Starfleet, had taught him “what to do when a plant eats your 2IC.” 

He was headed from the head back to the Bridge, when he spotted an Engineering team. A young woman was sitting, head in her hands, as a stern looking officer stood over her. “What seems to be the problem?” The man’s name tag read “Treaty.” Treaty spoke. “The Ensign here is Bajoran. I think the other empaths are impacting her.” The young woman shook her head. I am ok. I don’t NEED medical. I just need a minute.

Jamie paused a moment. 

“NO, report to Doc Harrison. We NEED you all to be able to stand duty as soon as possible; the away team will need the relief, as will medical.” The young woman opened her mouth to protest, but Treaty interrupted her. I’ll escort her. The look the young woman gave the man would’ve frozen Hell. He chuckled to himself. “Thank you, Lt. Treaty. Report back to me when she is done with intake, please.” He continued on, stopping at SickBay on the way. He checked in; most of the empaths were OK but on watch, only two were very affected. The medical team seemed to have it under control and he slid back into his seat. “Ops, what’s the news?” He asked. LTjG Baker turned around. 

The planetside team is reporting that both Cdr Johnson and Lt. LeFebvre are MIA. They are requesting a beam back, and to return with a search and rescue team. Jamie nodded. “Call security, and make it happen. I want an air patrol, too.” He issued the order, and then turned to his temporary XO. 

“Do you want to lead the expedition?” The woman shook her head. “I think my skills are better used here, sir.” He nodded. 

“Ok, Miller.” He was interrupted by Treaty then. 

Sir, Ens. Nor is in medical. She’s probably going to kick my six after, but she’ll be ok, I think. She’s tough. 

“Thank you. She seems like it. Please continue on with whatever you were doing before, and if you need another body, shift someone over from Science.” The other man nodded, and stepped back, turning to head back down to the Engineering offices. The rest of the Bridge team gave their reports, and he excused them for the day, and waited for the evening crew to clock in. As he did so, he decided to seek out some counsel from someone a little more…a LOT more in touch with the rules for this type of thing than he’d ever hope to be. He stood, and headed for the Harrison’s suite. Roger would know what to do. Hell, LUCY would know. 

A minute later found him knocking at the door, and Lucy answered the door, looking every inch as beautiful as the last time he’d seen her. He smiled. “Is Roger home?” She stepped aside to let him as she spoke, her blonde ponytail bouncing as she shook her head no. No, he’s back at the Sickbay. He came home for an hour to say goodnight to Minnie, and change his uniform, then went back. Why? “I needed his advice on something.” Lucy furrowed an eyebrow. The problem with the telepaths?  When he looked surprised, she laughed, but indicated he should sit down. Roger told me a bit-never much, but enough that I can figure it out. He’s not the only one with a doctorate degree, you know. 

He laughed. 

“Uh, yeah, I remember. You were always the smartest one in class.” He paused for a moment. Might as well ask her since he was there. “What would YOU do? Pull us out of this place as soon as the rescue team returns? I feel like the Prime Directive says we should stay and discover what is happening, but…I can’t exactly afford for a quarter of my team to be down. More, because the medical staff is working overtime, too. I have everyone on our Emergency Protocols but I don’t know how long that is sustainable. We’re a small crew.” He watched as she settled into a chair across from where he’d sprawled on their couch, and shrug a single shoulder. 

To me, sounds like you know the right answer, but if you want me to confirm it-you stay. And you figure it out. And you don’t leave until the missing crew is found. Because it’s the right thing to do, and for all your bravado and showmanship, you ARE a decent person, and I know it would eat you alive if you didn’t. He hadn’t realized that she was staring him in the eyes; it was almost uncomfortable. He shifted his weight but nodded. 

“I think you’re right. You always are.”  He let out a sigh, but stood then. “Sorry to bother you.” You didn’t, Minnie is sleeping. I am glad I could help. Just…hurry up, because, ya know, I need my husband back. 

She stood up to see him out. As they crossed to the door, he smiled. “I’ll do my best to hurry. I CAN order him home; I am the Captain, but hopefully that won’t be necessary.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek before stepping into the hallway, feeling buoyed by her reassurances. If only he hadn’t fucked things up with Lucy, but actually, she and Roger were perfect for each other and his wistfulness only lasted a moment as he headed for the Sickbay, only to check in on folks. 

Ten minutes later, he was standing next to Roger, listening to his CMO fill him in. Everyone was alive, but all had varying degrees of sickness. As his old friend prattled on, he watched the patients-the sickest were unmoving, but the young Ensign he’d sent earlier was sitting cross-legged on a biobed, fixing him with a stare that would freeze over Alaska. He chuckled to himself but turned to Roger. “Let me know of any changes. Make sure you go home occasionally. I stopped by your suite looking for you and Lucy mentioned you’d only gone home for an hour.” Roger gave him a sideways look like he was meddling but Jamie went on. “I’m just saying! Make sure you’re not neglecting your family. Heaven knows she should’ve just shut the door in my face. Don’t be like me!” He and Lucy had dated for a brief time before he’d left to join the Mercenaries and long before she’d met Roger. HE had met Roger in the Betazed, when the Acadamie was running medicines back and forth across enemy lines and friendly lines. Maybe it had been fate, or maybe whoever was in control of the Universe had a sick sense of humor, but Jamie had found it serendipitous that the three of them ended up together, here, today. As Roger walked him out, the slightly younger spoke, with a fatherly tone that Jamie hadn’t realized he needed to hear. His own was crap, but most other people’s were pretty good. You can handle this. And I can handle THIS, Roger gestured to the packed sickbay. Lucy willbe ok, but I WILL go home after this shift. As soon as Dr. Powers signs on, I’ll feel better leaving everyone in her capable hands.  Dr. Elaine Powers was his ACMO. And-she’d never slam the door in your face. She likes you, despite it all. Her sister, too. 

Jamie laughed heartily. He’d dated her sister very briefly after Roger and Lucy got married, but it didn’t  work out. Mostly because he was an idiot with women, but also because Katie had wanted more than he was willing to commit to at the time. She was set in her career as a teacher, and he still wanted to play Space Pirates. 

He returned to the bridge with some resolve, and asked the Comms officer to tap him into the rescue team. “Lt. Fowler. This is your Captain speaking. Your orders have been changed-you aren’t going to return here after an hour. You’ll return when you find Commander Johnson and Lt. LeFebvre, or their bodies. Understood?” SERE Team understood. Come back with bodies, dead or alive, or don’t bother coming back.  

Fowler was an old grizzled security team guy who was one of those guys who would sit around at the bar and revisit their war stories, embellishing more and more details as the days went on, Jamie just KNEW it. 

“Thank you. Captain out.” He smiled. It was going to be ok. He hoped. 

In the dark room, Maggie stood, hand on her hip. She watched as the Devoran man sidled up the wall with ease. She followed behind, the muscles of her arms aching-it had been a week or so since she’d worked out, and she could FEEL it. She’d been busy with things-work, mostly-and just hadn’t. She regretted it now. Behind her, she could sense Cdr. Johnson following them. Good. She had pegged him as the link weak in the command team, but maybe she was wrong about him.

Suddenly, they stopped in another room, this one appointed like a science lab. It was apparent that the Devoran had been on this planet for AWHILE, as this was no fast job to set up. Maggie didn’t really understand science but she knew how long it took to set up a science lab of this magnitude. A LONG time.

“Where are we?” Next to her, Johnson was standing, taking in the sight, and had crossed to a console table. “Don’t touch things.” He pulled his hand back, but gave her a LOOK.

I wasn’t going to! I am just looking. 

Men! Luckily, the Devoran interrupted. 

Miss Lefevbre, this is a science lab. I was looking at the red Dilihium to determine what is made of and how it came to be here.  And yes, thanks. Don’t touch anything! 

Ben made another face, but stepped back next to Maggie. 

The Devoran made some images appear on the hologram machine. 

It’s a bit different from regular dilithium. Going to be much more valuable. Once I can figure out where it came from, but rumor has it that it has seeded across the Delta Quadrant, and maybe further. 

Maggie glanced at Ben. 

“Further?” The Devoran moved closer to her.

Yes, ma’am. As far as the Gamma Quadrant. 

Maggie inhaled sharply. That changed a lot of things.

“Say you’re correct. What does that have to do with the SOS?”

I killed thier keeper. The plants, I mean. I had to; he was combative. 

“Well, you invaded his planet. Did you expect him to welcome you with open arms?” She asked, her tone both annoyed and dripping with sarcasm.

Suddenly, the Devoran was in her face.

Anyone in our airspace SHOULD welcome us. We are the Devore. 

“Well, *I* am less than impressed.” She knew she was playing with fire but she also knew a thing or fifty about how the male mind operated and she had a plan. “Honestly, if the Commander here would let me, I can just arrest you on the spot, and get this over with.” She was smart enough to figure out a way out of here.

From her periphery, she could see Johnson shake his head firmly NO. She sighed.

“But at least he’s READ the rulebook. Luckily for YOU.” She moved away, toward the console herself.

“If you killed their keeper, who’s feeding them?” The Devoran shrugged.

I don’t know and I don’t CARE. They’re just…plants. 

Maggie made a face.

“If they have the sentience to issue an SOS, they’re more than just plants.” 

Ben watched her, she made a face as if to say “I’ve got this.” 

Fine. I am sorry? 

“You don’t SOUND sorry.” She bent down, as if to tie her shoe, but came up with flexible handcuffs. “Sorry, Commander.” In a swift movement, she had the Devoran on his back, and climbed atop him, cuffing his left hand to a nearby chair as she stood up and drew her sidearm.

“NOW. You will get us back to terra firma NOW and then we’ll talk about what to do with you.” 

Ben crossed to her side.

The hell are you doing? I am in charge of this mission.

“And you weren’t doing anything except indulging him!” 

It’s called negotiation. 

“We don’t have TIME to be nice, Johnson. We’ve already been down here for 20 odd hours. I am tired and I want to go home. And get these plants to safety. Think the Captain will let us leave one of the scientists behind? Surely, we don’t need twelve.”

The look the man gave her could melt a lava flow, so she held up her hands.

“FINE. I am sorry.” She watched as he turned to the Devoran.

Listen, my colleague here is sorry. But I don’t disagree-if you get us to terra firma, I’ll let you go.  He undid the cuff attaching the man to the chair, but kept it on his arm, and unsheathed his own long gun.

Move. 

The Devoran sighed.

Fine. He led them out of a nearby door and into a hallway. After another moment, they arrived back into the plant-filled room. 

See how easy that was? 

Maggie had her weapon trained on the Devoran, but her eyes were taking in the scene before her. A rescue and science team had gathered.

“We’re safe, folks. Get my friend here back to the ship, and into the brig.” One of the medics approached her.

Are you ok?

“Yeah, I am fine!”  She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Commander back there might die of apoplexy, though.”

After replacing her gun on her hip, she joined the others. One of the scientists was barking orders at others, and the last of the telepaths was sitting, crossed legged, eyes closed. She crossed to him.

“Are you ok?”

Yes, ma’am. The plants are thankful, and forgive you. 

She made a face and rolled her eyes but nodded.

“Thanks, I guess? Let’s get you back on the ship, and we’ll send the scientists out. Captain Taylor won’t exactly be excited about having to stay on longer but…That’s why I am not a redshirt.” The telepath had opened his eyes, but just shrugged at her.

Same, Lt. Same.

Maggie could feel…something…niggling at the back of her mind, but it wouldn’t present itself. She hated that. From somewhere else in the room, she heard Cdr Johnson’s take-charge voice. 

Everyone. Fall into a line here if you’re military. Civilians, gather around. 

She stepped into place, as the makeshift platoon leader, and watched carefully as others did the same-except the lone security team member, who had a solid hand on the Devore. Thank goodness for them-she was the type of girl to carry “emergency” handcuffs but not for security purposes. 

I am staying behind to wait for the science team, and a patrol. Lt. LeFebvre, you’ll take Black, Lee, and I’Mor back, and make the exchange, along with the Lt here, his head jerked towards the security officer. Move.

She fell out, and gathered the people, leading the way back to the ship. Once there, she found the Captain, and Bridge team, to give passdown. 

End Chap. 5. 

Back on the ship, security took the Devoran to the brig while Maggie filled in the command team on what Back on the ship, security took the Devoran to the brig while Maggie filled in the command team on what had happened and also why Ben wasn’t back with her. Captain Taylor relieved her for the day, and she headed for her quarters to sleep. The woman was relieved; she was exhausted but also had some things to think about.  

Captain Taylor himself went to the Brig. They didn’t have a JAG-why would they, being such a small ship and all? He hadn’t expected to see action like this…ever. Of course, that’s when things happened, wasn’t it? When you weren’t prepared. 

After a security guard let him in, he approached the man sitting at the table. “You know I will have to pursue this legally. You admitted to murder in front of two of my officers. Two of my officers who have no reason to lie about it. Particularly Cdr Johnson. He’s gunning for Captain in a few years, he would be STUPID to make up something like that.” He paused to give the Devore a chance to speak. You people always believe you’re better because you hide behind the uniform of the Federation of Planets. If you were *really* better, you would HELP people. 

Jamie considered a moment. “I do. I am staying here for now, not just to rescue my crew but to help those plants. And figure out what the hell is going on. My chief Counselor said they’re sentient. Sentient beings deserve at least our attention.” He considered telling the Devoran about his past, but thought better of it. Better to keep detached. “And you’ll notice we’re hardly the best or biggest ship in the Federation; the Isse is an old girl but a sturdy one.”  He watched the alien shrug again. I noticed. With unwelcoming accommodations for the worst of us. 

“Well. Three squares and a cot got me through basic training. I think you’ll be fine. Once we pull out of here, you’ll be transported to the nearest prison ship. What they do with you will be solely THEIR discretion, but I can make some calls. IF you make it worth my while.” He paused a beat, and pulled one of the crimson dilithium crystals from his pocket-Lt. LeFebvre had given him two. “Tell me what you want with these.” The Devoran raised an eyebrow. I just wanted to take one home. Show everyone. I could start a mining operation, you see. Make a killing. 

“Ah, that’s the issue here. Killing. Why did you need to kill the man you did to access these? And what the hell IS it, anyway?” He’d sent the other sample down to the labs for the science team to do whatever they did with their microscopes and stuff. Dilithium. Of a new origin. No idea how it got this far out. I’ve been trailing it since…well. THe Beta quadrant. I think…the color comes from a new compound. I call it Blood Dilthium but I guess the species that don’t bleed might prefer something else. And I had to kill him to kill the plants. The dilithium grew beneath them. 

Jaime just shrugged. Frankly, he thought the idea of alien blood, while once appealing to the man, when he wore a younger man’s clothes, turned his stomach but he wouldn’t let it slip. “Interesting.” He replaced the jewel in his pocket, to pass on to the Science team.  “I am going to let Ms. Clark in the Chem lab take a look, if you don’t mind, at these things.” He patted his pocket. The Devoran seemed to follow his movements, but also didn’t play HIS hand. Jamie rubbed his face. It was going on…36 odd hours and he hadn’t slept once. He’d had a meal a bit ago and the days and nights were all running together. He was feeling his years, and those years were many and filled with weariness. He stood up. “I’m done here. If you need me for anything, send a word with a guard. I’ll see what I can do.” Jamie left for his cabin off the command deck; he needed a nap, and maybe a quick shower. Definitely a meal. Someone find him some rum, too. Once in the sanctum, he lay down, ignoring the fact that his back was irritated with the fact that he had been sitting upright for 28 hours and he hadn’t worked out at all in a week. His mind wandered. What was he going to do? He thought for a minute-no one was going to believe anything about sentient plants, but they would DEFINITELY believe a Devoran was up to some shady things. But what he was going to do PERSONALLY was another thing. Should he release the man to roam unfettered about the ship? Would it be hypocritical of him, given his own past, to blame the alien for HIS? Soon, he was asleep. ——————————————————–

Over in the Medbay, Roger, too, was dead on his feet. He was working overtime, going back “home” for a few hours at a stretch, even though Jamie’s words rang in his ears. His ACMO was down for the count, being a telepath, and half the counseling staff was, too. He was at a loss as to what to do; most were not seriously hurt or ill, but the four that were were having VERY bad reactions. 

Lucy was keeping him alive with a steady stream of coffee, snacks, visits, and sweet kisses but he couldn’t rely on that forever. He was now sitting in his office, the EMH turned on, paging through the machine at rapid speed, searching for SOMETHING, ANYTHING, that would spark an idea. Brain surgery? No, that was too extreme. Shock therapy? Again, too extreme. Letting them just figure it out for themselves? Tempting, but *definitely* against all the ethics he was aware of. Grasping at straws. A shock of dirty blonde hair peeking around the doorway in his peripheral snapped him back to the present. He smiled. 

“Luce! Come in.” 

Roger smiled at Lucy as she took a seat next to him. What are you doing? 

“Looking for some information about how to take care of the telepaths. Where’s Minnie?” 

A quick glance at his clock said that she was likely asleep. Lt. Merrick’s daughter, that engineer? She’s sitting with her for a bit. I needed to get out. I know we’re not supposed to but I came directly here and I’ll go directly back. He laughed. “It’s OK. Jamie won’t care; he knows you can handle yourself. After this is all over, maybe we head home for some R&R? Just the three of us?” He was still paging through the EMH as he spoke to his wife. He noticed her watching the machine, too, and then she stopped him. 

Stop. 

Actually, she was correct. But of course she was. He had learned YEARS ago to trust his wife’s gut instincts-it had hardly let her astray (or THEM, really) before. 

“Transporter psychosis?” He stopped reading the EMH and looked at Lucy. She shrugged. I mean, it’s similar symptoms, right? From what I am reading here? 

He nodded. “In some ways, yes. But Transporter psychosis is ALWAYS fatal. And these patients aren’t suffering from energy displacement.” Lucy shrugged back. 

I mean. They kind of are, aren’t they?  She sipped the coffee in her hands, then looked innocently at him.

Roger was silent a moment. She did have a point. “I hate when you do this, you know. But you’re correct. I’ll look into it some more. Thank you.” He leaned over to kiss her head. 

I know you do. I’m sorry. Next time, I’ll try to be wrong. 

Lucy’s own educational background was in the law, but she was miles more intelligent than he was, and he knew she was likely right. She approached things from a different viewpoint than he did-he was by the book, rigid, exact. Lucy saw grey areas in things. It was one of the reasons they worked so well together. 

“No need. Thank you. Want me to walk you back?” She nodded, and he stood, excusing himself to the nurses and other doctors. After dropping his wife back at their suite, he returned to the Sickbay, feeling buoyed. After he did his hourly rounds, he went back to his office to start some more research. It seemed his best course of action might be to try to treat the psychoses as one might attempt to treat a biological telepathic threat. ANYTHING was worth a try, after all. He radioed to Jamie. ————————————————-

*Deep in the Gamma quadrant, in the no-man’s land of the far-flung stretches of Betazed Colony, the Acadamie’s ship, the Michael the Archangel, was running supplies, bootleg alcohol, and people back and forth. He was hot and heavy with a fellow crewmate, Alex, a Cardassian who defected because she was running from the law. 

A pale hand over his blue eyes and a soft voice brought him back to the plate in front of him. 

Two quarks for your thoughts, Jamie. 

He hadn’t realized he was distant. HIs mind was back on Earth, which was dangerous. GET SHUT OF IT, TAYLOR, he reminded himself. Up here, with what they did? Distraction was deadly. “Just thinking of you.” His face remained blank-a poker face was something he had perfected YEARS ago-a rough life and growing up as he had taught him that the less that people learned that you could actually FEEL things meant that they left you alone to roam the mean streets. It was both an asset-in this line of work-and a detriment to the woman who now stood next to him, half-dressed, tantalizing but unattainable. She was actually perfect-gorgeous, intelligent, headstrong. Much like the women he’d dated in the past. But she wanted things he couldn’t (or really-WOULDN’T) give-a family. He wasn’t that man. He wasn’t *interested*. Or so he told himself. He would have. Once, with one person. But she’d left him behind on his sorry six, and married herself someone stable who WOULD give her the family she wanted, and the stability she craved. And it was what it was. “Dinner is great, thanks.” He quickly shoveled a couple more bites in his mouth. At any rate, he needed to keep himself alive. Noise on the overhead comms system caused him to stand. “All hands to the deck.” It was Mac, the leader of their rag-tag crew of criminals and the discarded. He watched as Alex pulled her uniform shirt over her head-they wore black, because of course they did- and then pull her brown hair back into a ponytail. He led her out of his quarters-THIERS, he supposed, though he hated putting labels on things- and headed for thedeck. Mac, as he was known-and ONLY by “Mac”, a pseudonym if Jamie had ever heard one- was standing, weapon drawn, at a fellow they’d picked up that day. A random alien of a species he’d never heard of-Helivan. The man *claimed* to be friendly. What had changed in the past two hours, Jamie didn’t know, but he was head of security, mostly due to his imposing stature and the fact that he could channel his anger faster and more effectively than any being this side of the Gamma Quadrant, so he spoke first. “Mac? What’s going on?” The other man, with hair the color of fire and a face that had the appearance of burnt leather, turned his blue eyes to Jamie. “Our friend here is…pressing buttons.” Mac’s accent was loud, and reverberated off the walls. He was El Aurian, but had spent years on Earth, in London, running a bootleg operation, with Jamie’s real father. Jamie fought an urge to snicker; Mac had a strange lover’s relationship with this damn sky-submarine, and it was his baby. Alex didn’t have the self-control he did. They’re just buttons, Mac. Maybe you should replicate yourself some coffee and let Jamie handle our friend here. He looked gratefully at Alex; she was many things-some good, some bad, but in this moment? She was his personal hero. Jamie nodded. “I got this, Cap’n.” He stepped forward, and motioned to the Devoran. “Sir, let’s go down to the mess hall. You’ll be out of the way down there, and we can sort out some accommodations for you. Where is Bagley?” Alex shrugged as she hauled Mac out of the room. 

Does anyone EVER know what Bagley does with himself? 

Jamie let out a laugh. No, they didn’t. Bagley was akin to their chief of Staff and would get a room ready for the Devoran (or rather, ask his wife to). In the meantime, Jamie led the way to the hallway. Mess was close. After a moment, he fell to his knees, feeling sick to his stomach. What had Alex even MADE?! He realized that the Devoran he was dreamingabout…changed. To the CURRENT Devoran. What was happening? Was he dreaming? He HAD to be dreaming. Or he was losing his mind. The former was FAR more appealing than the latter but he WAS getting older.  “Alex…” He called out weakly. The Devoran cum Devoran simply smiled, and drove a knife into his chest. What the HELL? He was DEFINITELY dreaming because in real life, he’d have seen THAT coming. “What are you doing?” Let me go. I am fine taking care of myself….Jamie was ready to rally himself, at least to his feet and long enough to find Doc but a ringing in his ears stopped him* 

His blue eyes fluttered open. “Captain? It’s Harrison. Come on down to the Ready Room, I have an idea.” As he sat up, he hyperventilated. Definitely dreaming, but it made things a little more clear. Calming himself, he stood, and slipped his shirt over his head. He knew what the next steps would be, for him, and hopefully, Roger did, too. 

After a moment, he was in the ready room as Roger and a nurse were talking about a treatment for the telepaths. “Quasi-energy treatment?” His brain processed for a few minutes. “But…this isn’t a virus, I thought you said?” 

Roger nodded. Right. Still, it’s my best-and ONLY-idea.  He took in his friend’s demeanor. The man was slumped into the chair, and a hint of desperation tinged his statements. If someone as steady and even-keeled as Harrison was losing it, he had no better choice.  

“Work with Engineering to make it happen. Spare no equipment or expense. I’ll figure it out. Later.” Roger nodded solemnly.  “Ok.” With that, the man and nurse left, and Jamie sighed. Another nap would have to wait. He radioed down to the temporary holding cell. “Let the Devoran out. Assign a guard but let him go.

Ohhh…kay 

came the incredulous response. Jamie fought an urge to radio back that he WAS the Captain, and chalked up the wave of anger to exhaustion. He stood, though, and made his way back to the bridge. 

Unaware of the mess on the ship, Ben himself was running on empty. He was in over his head; like the CMO, Ben’s world ran by the Handbook. The perfect specimen of a Starfleet officer, he strove for great things. Right now? He was ankle deep in muddy waters, having the weirdest experience of his life, and wishing he was back on the boat. Why did he feel the need to play the hero? He should’ve gone back with Maggie. Dammit. 

He was deep in a three way conversation with the assistant Counselor, who was translating Terran to…whatever language the plants were using, and back to him. So far, Ben had learned that the the dead man was an unknown race of friendlies-called themselves Sidians-the plant itself was Sides* and all but five of the Sidians had died of a mysterious illness. The other four-one woman and three children-none related-had left the planet to find help, when a mysterious and dangerous storm had swept through, depositing the strange, blood-red Dilithium jewels, that the young woman from the Chemistry lab was currently mooning over. 

The pitcher plant told him that they were ok by themselves; that the only concern was overgrowth. The strange dilithium only seemed to affect humanoids but not plantae or fauna. Ben was forming an idea in his head, and called his people together. They were going to return to the ship, with the promise to come back, but he needed to get a few things in place first. Beaming them back to the Ship was proving to be a bit of a challenge; this planet seemed to push back against their shields but after a few tries, both Engineering and Science had them back in the Ready Room, and he dismissed everyone that was unnecessary while he waited for the Captain to return with the Medical and Science heads. While he waited, he replicated himself some coffee, and, after a moment, decided he didn’t have enough time to change his uniform. He just hoped he didn’t smell. In a moment, Captain Taylor arrived, with Doc Harrison, the assistant Counselor, Maggie, and a few of the Science staff. All but one gathered around the table-the woman he recognized from science-the Astrometrics girl-stood against the wall, silent, unmoving. Weird. He looked to Jamie, who seemed at once irritated and amused, but began when the man nodded his head. “Dr T’shir here says that the inhabitants of the planet are all deceased from an unknown illness, save for five. The man who they called the caretaker stayed behind, presumably to help the flora and fauna and, you know, keep an eye on things. They were called the Sidians*. The Devoran killed the one left behind; no word on where the other four were headed, and I am not sure if the…pitcher plant even knows.” He winced at that final sentence; that definitely was the weirdest thing he’d ever said, and he’d said some pretty awkward things in his day, trying to impress girls and such. The counselor, who had been with him on the planet and was “translating” for him, nodded in agreement, and matched the Commander’s words with his own. Yes. They assure me-us-that they are fine alone, but it is definitely a symbiotic relationship, as much as any biome is. They rely on the…humanoids to keep overgrowth and disease at bay, and the humanoids relied on them for food and clean air. The new Dilithium is causing them to experience plant rust. Elly? The young woman who’d been mooing over the Dilithium nodded, and spoke excitedly. Yes, sirs! See, she pulled her PaDD out of a bag and placed it upright on the table, it’s almost as if it is surrounding their ability to process CO2 and such. Kind of like a filmy barrier, if you will. My proposal is to bring in the worst of them to the labs, and see if we can figure out how to clean them. I am also having my team investigate how to remove the Blood Dilithium. We could really use a few extra hands down there; with both Dr Kovar and Dr Jones out, we’re running on a skeleton crew, and a few of the nurses had to step in, along with Dr. Maccafferty here, who thinks she may be able to figure out at least which way to go to find the missing four Sidians. Things were moving fast and Ben’s head swam. He had a basic, regular understanding of plant science/botany, but it was elementary. Even worse was his understanding of astrometrics, so when the diminutive redhead produced a visual aide, it was welcome. Aye. I’ve got training in physics, though I don’t prefer it, but they didn’t offer other sciences at Vissia U besides chemistry, and that’s boring. Sorry, Elly, but it is. Anyway. Here we are. She paused a beat as a projector made a map of the galaxy shine on the wall behind Taylor’s head. He ducked out of the way. It didn’t escape Ben’s notice, either, that the young Dr. Maccafferty hadn’t unpeeled herself from the wall. If anything, she seemed to retreat further away, into a corner, as if to melt into the structure if she was able. We are here, she used a laser pointer to punctuate her words. Now, the nearest habitable planet, if Dr. Clark’s team is correct and the Sidians are carbon-based beings, is here, another point to the left hand side of the screen. About five hundred nautical miles. We can warp there in three minutes, likely. You may be able to just *transport* there, really, if your machine is good enough. Ben had forgotten that the woman’s file mentioned a lack of tact in her approaches to people, and, after she made the quip, he remembered, and looked to Taylor. The man just shrugged and let Ben take over. “Thank you both. Dr. Maccafferty, please remember that tact is especially important in meetings such as these. Dr. Clark, work with Engineering to do what needs to be done. Is that ok, Commander?” He turned his head to the CEO, a Vulcan man that Ben didn’t know well yet. The man just nodded. To Fee, he spoke again. “Alright, send the coordinates to my PaDD and we’ll send a team. Dr Harrison, do you have anything to add?” The man shook his head, but spoke softly, as he usually did, a soothing undertone to his voice. Ben had figured out pretty quickly that Jamie and Roger were friends, and that Roger was the calm, even-keeled one while the Captain was reactionary and immature. They played off each other well, and he’d, one day, like to watch them interact off the clock. “I’ll let Captain Taylor fill you in; I’d rather get back down to the MedBay as soon as I can. Fill me in if you need my nurses to fill in still-chemistry is a small part of our training but Dr Clark says it’s the most necessary at the moment. Myself and nurse Rutledge can hold the fort for a bit longer.” Ben nodded. “OK, thank you all. You’re free to go. Captain, if you have a few minutes?” Jamie was halfway out the door, but stopped, made a face, and then nodded. 

Only a few, Johnson. Ben winced at the man’s tone, but did realize that they were in a bit of a pickle, so he nodded. 

“I’ll be quick.” He motioned to the captain to sit, which he did. “I heard that you let the Devoran out of the Brig. Do you think that’s a good idea? They aren’t…exactly the most trustworthy race out here.” Ben knew that Jamie’s mood could easily swing one way or the other, so he tried to tread carefully. Sure enough, a stormy look came to the man’s face, but after a moment, it left. I am sure I know what I am doing, but I appreciate your concern. Ben nodded. “Ok, then. Do you want me to take over so you can rest for a few hours? I’ll arrange another team to go back to the plants. Dr. Clark suspects that the best way to remove the foreign dilithium is…physically. I was going to suggest we try to contact other ships in the area-we *can’t* be the only ones finding things like this-and see what they’re doing. I can arrange that, if you like.” It was silent for a moment as Ben watched his boss’s demeanor. Yes, that sounds good. Also, Doc Harrison is going to treat the empaths and telepaths like it’s a quasi-energy microbe. If he asks for help with that, give him what he requests. Any other choices I leave to your discretion. Jamie stopped talking, and let out a sigh. Ben hadn’t realized how much this had impacted the man, but realized he’d been drying out and it was probably affecting him worse than Ben. 

He nodded. “Thank you.” The two men parted then, heading opposite directions. Ben would need to sleep later, but he was still too dumbfounded to really quiet his mind.

Down in the labs, Drs Clark and Maccafferty were making headway. Dr. Clark, a young (for her race) El Aurian scientist, made the call to the bridge. 

Captain Taylor, sir?? I have news. Ben was at the helm, but he replied back quickly. “The Captain is off duty at the moment, but I can head down there now.” He stood up, and turned to the third in command, the Chief of Staff. “LCdr Bat’leh, I’ll need you to step in.” The Klingon officer nodded, and moved over. In a minute, Ben was in the labs. So, I think I have an IDEA. I’ll need a science team, a medic probably, and maybe a security guard. I am going to try to DISSOLVE the crystals. We’re going to use Dr. T’shir to cause a tantrum, of sorts, and hope it explodes on its own. What we’re going to do is take some cuttings from each flora species and save one each of the fauna, and then regenerate those.

Ben stood, open mouthed, for a minute. “That seems like it would take a long time…” He watched as Dr. Clark’s face fell and then he tried again. “I don’t know much about chemistry, other than what we’re taught at the Academy. Language and words have always been more of my forte. But…wouldn’t an anti-matter approach be…I don’t know…less time consuming? Not that your idea isn’t great! It really is! It’s unique and forward-thinking. But we have a wormhole when we have it, and we don’t have *time* to mess around with regenerations.” He watched as Dr. Clark seemed to consider. I guess you’re right. I’ll call back up to you when the solution is ready. I think we’ll need a lot of it. He smiled. “Thanks, Dr. Clark, that’ll be great. Please keep me posted.” He headed back to the Bridge, but decided to stop in and check on the telepaths and empaths that were there. He walked in to…absolute chaos. Roger was on a ladder, placing a machine of some kind on the ceiling, with an engineer at his side, presumably assisting. Various medical staff ran about, and Dr. Maccafferty had somehow beaten him up here. Damn transporters versus walking! He cleared his throat, and then, from somewhere near the back of the room, heard the call. Commander on deck! Attention!!

He shook his head. Roger looked at him sheepishly but shrugged. “Go back to your work, everyone. Roger, what the hell are you doing?” The man clambereddown the ladder-surprisingly fast, given his age and general state of being-though he was slim, he wasn’t “fit” to the extent that Jamie was, and didn’t work out much. Setting up the biofilter. This, and stasis? We should have the crew back up to normal soon. You can send the research team back up to the planet, though-we’re fine to take more bodies if needed. I put us in all-hands. 

Ben nodded. Jamie had once said that Roger never needed much prodding to get things done. “Alright. If you need me, or anyone, just radio.” He sighed, but made his leave-the sickbay made him nervous-he wasn’t sure if it was the possibility of mortality, or the noise, or the machines, but it made him uncomfortable. Just before he left, he turned to the young Dr. Maccafferty. “Aren’t you astrometrics?” She nodded, but whispered, her face turning red. Aye, but I’ve cross-trained in general sciences so I thought I’d lend a hand. I can look at blood and lab work. He nodded. It made sense. “Very well. Carry on.” He made his way out of the room, and headed back to his helm. He slid carefully into the seat after Ben had let him sit. He excused the other man for the afternoon, and settled in, waiting to see what fuckery the afternoon and evening would hold. He was tired, but he knew that it would be his time to rest, soon.  

In his quarters, Jamie was finally feeling better. He’d drunk two snifters of whisky, washed it down with some gin, and was just rousing from sleep. He was preparing for the next however-long shifts he’d need to do, and he ALSO knew he was going to need to assign a team to find a group of alien beings, about whom they had little information and even LESS involvement with. It could prove to be a dangerous mission, and so he’d have to tread lightly. Maybe asking for volunteers instead of just assigning folks would be the best course of action. He sat up then, wincing against the cool air that greeted him. He *really* needed to start getting his life together-he was getting old, too old to maintain this lifestyle, but also really not wanting to change his habits. They had worked for him this long, hadn’t they? Had they? He shook his head, the voice of his subconscious sounding suspiciously like Alex’s voice. He stood, pulling a fresh uniform from his bureau and readying for a quick shower. After, he changed into the uniform, and looked at himself in the small mirror. He kept his quarters sparse-a bed, a bureau, a desk, chair, and a fake plant that someone had given him once. The mirror was an old, OLD one that was stuck to the wall with barely-still-adhesive engineers’ tape. He was going to shave, but decided he was still too tired, but took a minute to take in his image as he brushed his teeth and combed his hair. He LOOKED like an old man-nose reddened from the alcohol and late nights, lines by the corners of his eyes from that near-constant look of boredom he kept-irises dulled by pain, loss, the weariness of a life hard-fought. Thinning lips he smiled to hide a lot, but some people still somehow figured it out. His carefully-curated visage of “je ne sais quoi” sometimes cracked, when he least expected it-like it NEARLY had that morning, talking to Johnson. CRAP. Johnson. With a quick rinse, he was done with his self-care tasks and headed out of the door. On his way to the elevator, he saw Engineering hauling a large fan in the direction of the medical bay. He knew better than to ask questions he didn’t want an answer to, and, while he ALSO felt that he was the Captain and needed to keep in the loop, he knew that Roger would tell him as soon as he could if it mattered that he knew. After a moment, he was standing in front of Johnson, prepared to take a report. “Commander, what’s the news?” The correct ask was “What is the passdown” but Jamie never stood on tradition, and besides, it brought him a bit of childish joy to mess with the XO just a little bit. Johnson must be tired because Jamie was surprised when the man didn’t even get a LOOK on his face, and instead, just simply answered. Dr. Harrison is proceeding forward with his idea about the transporter illness. I figure it’s worth a shot, right? The young woman from Engineering, the Romulan, she’s helping him out, and the Science team is working on an anti-matter process to clear the blood crystals from the planet. Engineering is on standby to assist them OR the ship if we get blow-back. Nothing new in the atmosphere, and the plants are in the same position as they were when you left, Sir.

Jamie nodded, pleased that Johnson had enough sense to arrange those things. But that’s why he’d probably be Admiral before he was sixty and Jamie would be lucky to be alive at sixty-five. 

“Great. Thank you so much. Any word on the condition of the empaths?” He watched as Ben stood to give him the Helm seat. As well as can be expected, sir. Dr. Harrison said he’d have more information for you shortly. Shall I bring the rest of the team off of emergency protocols? The Devoran is still about but nothing untoward seems to be underfoot. Jamie nodded. “Please do, then you can take your leave.” Ben nodded, issued the orders as asked, and hauled out of the deck room, running into Maggie as he did. She looked a mess; like she hadn’t slept a bit. Lt. Why don’t I take you to MedBay? You don’t look…great. Good job, Ben, just make yourself sound like a total idiot. He shut his eyes for a moment, and then reopened them to see her smirking at him. “I don’t need it, just couldn’t sleep. It happens. Have a lot on my mind. Anyway. Since you took us off emergency protocols, it’s time for me to work.” She looked towards the empty tactician’s seat. He nodded. Alright, but if you start to not feel well, tell the Captain that I said you can leave. She nodded, and he moved past her. He wanted to go back, take her with him to his quarters. Not in a sexual way, just to have something to cuddle so HE could sleep. He wasn’t sure that the pure exhaustion alone was enough. He fell into bed, and let the sleep take him. 

Back on the bridge, Jamie sent an all-call on the Comms system. “Department heads, report to the Bridge immediately, unless you’re in Medical. All department heads, to the Bridge.” He sat back, and rubbed his face. After a few minutes, several people were gathered around him. “Let’s move this party to the Command room,” he stood. “Tacticians, please monitor the systems; Lt. Eastlyn, you’re in charge for the few minutes this should take.” The woman had once been a Fenris pilot, but had come over to the “good” side after sustaining an injury that had almost killed her. He liked her immensely-mostly because of his own background as a space vigilante, but also because she was quiet and never minded his bullshit. After a moment, the Department Chiefs were in the room, seated, and he spoke. “Go back to your departments, and ask for volunteers. I need a small party to transport to a planet that is near-ish, about one warp out, and find the former inhabitants of Sides*. Due to the unfamiliarity of this quadrant to us, it may be dangerous, so make sure you highlight that. I need at least ONE security, and ONE medic, as well-Hospitalman Carter, please relay this to Dr. Harrison.” The young Corpsman nodded. He sighed. “Please report back to me in one hour.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “Thank you.” He stood to return to his command chair. No one stopped him this time, and it was quiet as they all left to return to their departments. He knew that they understood the severity of the situation, and were behaving as such. *I realized I forgot to clarify the pronunciation of this in previous chapters. It’s “see-days”, the planet of the lucid plants.  

Note: This is really disjointed, but wanted to wrap up loose ends, as much as I can. 

An hour later, Jamie had gotten his requested team assembled. A variety of volunteers, from redshirts to enlisted, including one medic and two security officers. A team of seven total people, four men and three women. Perfect. He escorted them into the briefing room. “Everyone, take a seat. I need to let you know that this mission might be dangerous. We don’t know what is out there-Astrometrics only had a short read for us today, due to an incoming storm.  If you are not ok with that, feel free to walk out. You will not be punished for that.” He paused for a moment, but no one stood. Good. Hopefully. “Ok. You will take a shuttle to the planet that we *believe* the aliens to be on. Once there, you will do your best to convince them to return to Sides, and if you can’t, you’ll return to the ship. If you CAN, you will escort them to Sides, get them set up, and then return. You have five days to do this. Lieutenant, you have the command of this.” He looked to Lt. T’Kol, the Vulcan operations officer. The man nodded his understanding. “Whatever you assign when you’re settled on the shuttle is your call. Who is my medic?” A young nurse raised her hand, the same nurse he’d run into a few days ago, assisting Roger. If he thought she was capable, she WAS. 

“Great, thanks. Ok, good luck out there.” The team stood, as did he. They left the area, and he returned to the helm. ———————————————————————-

The shuttle took only an hour, as it could do warp one and the planet wasn’t too far. The team landed, and went about their tasks. 

They were able to get five former residents of Sides to return, and set them up with a new start. Maggie and Ben enter a “will they/won’t they” THING that drives the Captain insane.