Devron was surprised at the swiftness in which they’d made their departure; no doubt Lieutenant Stuart was flying, but who had she found to cover engineering?  With his curiosity piqued, Devron parted company with Andrianakis and Tholakath, to go and investigate.

On arriving at Main Engineering, Devron noted a tall dark skinned man stood facing a large control panel, holding a Padd in one hand whilst using the other to make minor adjustments to the system.  By now the alarm warning of a warp core breach had been cancelled; though it was starting to become clear, that there had been no actual danger.  Even if the ship itself and the monitoring systems at Starbase 86 had been convinced it was happening.

“When did you get back?” Jason enquired with both surprise and pleasure.

Dinari Lyambo turned to face his friend with a big beaming smile on his face. “Roughly five hours ago.” He chuckled. “I was going to surprise you at breakfast, but Lyanna had other plans, as you can see.”

“She kept that one quiet.” Jason replied.

“You know how devious and cunning Orion’s can be.” Dinari winked.  “What sort of a mess are we in?”

“The dark and deadly kind.” Jason informed him.

“So things haven’t changed since I’ve been gone!” Dinari continued.  “I was sorry to hear about Albert, poor guy.  I really like him.”

“Yes, he’s been through a lot.” Devron agreed, sadly.

The pair of them continued to chat for a few minutes; about the ship, its crew and what had happened whilst the now Lieutenant Junior Grade Dinari Lyambo had been away; aboard the Olympic-class medical vessel USS Chapel, training an entire team of engineers, how to operate and maintain its engines and other vital systems.  For someone not long out of the Academy himself, it had been a challenge; but getting to work and spend time with his eldest brother, who was the Chapel’s Captain, had certainly been a great experience.

Devron felt though he’d better make his way to the bridge; their troubles were far from over, and they still had to find a way of getting past the blockade.

“Glad to have you back.” Jason smiled as he made his exit.

“Glad to be back.” Dinari replied, but his friend had already disappeared. “Now if I could just figure out why someone seems to have reconfigured the control interfaces, I’ll be fine.  Bet it was that lot from the Alchemist.”

Grumbling to himself, Lyambo set about altering all the controls back to the way he liked them, and how he’d set everything up when he’d originally took over the position of Chief Engineer, just under a year ago.

**********

When he entered the bridge, he found Doctor Andrianakis standing behind the Captain’s chair, her hands lightly gripping the backrest.  Lieutenant Stuart was at Helm, and Tholakath now occupied Tactical.  Ensign Cho gave him a smile and a nod from her seat at the communications consul.  The most noticeable difference was Ensign Harris sat at the science station.  The ships Caitian science office was currently on leave.  When Lyanna had asked if he’d be seeing M’Niia, C’Rren had gone all shy. His Birthday was this month; he would no doubt be spending a lot of time celebrating with his large family.

“Do you know how to work this thing?” Devron asked Harris out of curiosity.

“Sure.” The New Zealand smiled back. “That thing goes ‘boop’ and that part makes a sort of ‘ping’ noise, and if anything goes ‘werp’, we’re in big trouble!” He pointed at various screens and control surfaces as he spoke.

Jason shook his head in puzzled amusement.  “How very scientific of you.”

Ensign Harris did know the basics of monitoring the science station.  He was nowhere near as well trained as Ensign C’Rren; but there was one important thing they’d all learned as a crew, and that was to have a basic understanding of others roles, so they could assist or jump in to take over when any emergency arose.

Things seemed to be going well; the two Runabouts hadn’t followed them and neither would it appear any of the other vessels currently docked at Starbase 86.  However their sense of triumph was severally dented only a few hours into their escape.

“We have an incoming communication from the USS Advance.” Ensign Cho announced.

Devron looked around at his fellow officers. “Where are they?”

“Not picking them up on our long range scans.” Tholakath answered.

“Brilliant, put them on screen.” Devron asked his Commination’s Office.

Lieutenant Devron had never actually seen a member of the Selay race before, let alone one in command of a starship.  With the looks not dissimilar to a rather large cobra and appearing equally as friendly on first impressions; the reptilian officer leaned forward and possibly smiled.  This did little to improve his overall look.

“I’m Captain Ssismar of the USS Advance.” The Officer sort of hissed, especially whilst saying his own name or words with an ‘S’ in them. “I suggest you and your crew does the right thing and turns your ship around.”

“And the alternative?” Devron enquired.

“We continue to track your every movement and send the nearest available patrol ship to drag you back.” The smile was back only broader.  “I’ll give you ten minutes to think it over.  Advance out.”

The Selay captain disappeared from the main view screen. “Mister Harris are you able to detect anywhere we can hide and evade their sensors?”

“Not within range sir.” Harris replied after a careful look at the surrounding area of space. “And if they already know where we are, they’ll just send ships after us anyway!”

“I think things are about to go ‘werp’!” Jason exclaimed, sitting back in his care and staring at the on rushing stars on the main view screen.

Andrianakis had moved around next to him and took hold of his left hand; gripping it gently. “What if I try?”

Jason looked up at her questioningly.  “You said you didn’t think you were ready.”

“I know what I said about needing the Commanders help.” Phoebe said softly.  “But I feel like he’s in grave danger and we need to reach him, before it’s too late.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Cross your fingers and wish me look.”