Naris Family Quarters

Naris entered her quarters with several bags in hand, followed by Grace, who seemed a bit down. “Seriously,” Naris smiled, “you were right; that was a lot of fun.” The Trill set the bags down on the nearest chair as she looked back at her daughter, “you didn’t enjoy yourself?”

Grace smirked, “I know how this ends. We had some fun, and now we have to leave.” She noted the look in her mother’s eyes, “tell me it’s not true?” Grace reached inside one of the bags and pulled out a pair of shoes. “These last few days have been fun, that’s all.” 

Naris walked over to her daughter as she wrapped both arms around her, and kissed her forehead. “We still have three more days here,” she smiled, “and today, I saw this place we should eat at tomorrow….”  A transmission from the bridge cut off her words. Naris raised a hand, looking at Grace, “I am sure it’s nothing, don’t….”

Naris tapped her comm badge, “go ahead, bridge.” 

“Captain, we’re receiving a priority message from Fleet Captain Erill’Yun Mek,” the voice of the Helm Officer filled the room.  

“Told ya,” Grace frowned as she tossed her shoes on the sofa. Plopping down into the said sofa, “I knew it.” 

“Ok, drama Queen,” Naris replied. 

“Excuse me, Captain?”

“Not you, Mister Rivers; patch the message through to my quarters.” Naris rolled her eyes as she looked over at Grace, who was looking at her. “Ok, you were right.” 

Grace grabbed her chest as she started to breathe heavily, “oh my god, it’s the big one,” she looked at her mother through nearly closed eyes, “I’m right,” she gasped, “I…never… hear.” Grace stopped talking as a rather large pillow came crashing down on her head.

“Oh, quiet you,” Naris sighed. 

Observation Lounge Deck 1

“Look, I wish I had more answers,” Naris replied, looking around the table. To be honest, significant events like this typically come with orders that read, ‘please hold for more answers.’”  She knew that if the Fourth Fleet was mobilizing, whatever happened, it was necessary.  

Ensign Ireland chimed up from the back of the room, which was very out of character. “These blood dilithium crystals are serious business,” the Science Officer stated, “information about them is scarce, to say the least,” she looked around the room. “Needless to say, they are popping up all over the place….”

“Do we know why,” the Helm Officer blurted out? 

“If,” Ireland stressed rather bluntly, “we did know that I doubt the fleet would be mobilizing everyone.”  She paused, “Sir.”

Malik stood up; they’d been firing the questions surrounding the unknown for some time now. “We can keep circling the same points repeatedly or focus on the mission at hand. Starfleet has ordered us to patrol and maintain safety. Anything else is fuel for ships bigger than us. My genuine concern right now is for the safety of our telepathic crew. We may not have a lot of them, but what we do have, I can’t imagine them going through what I have been reading here on this padd,” he pointed to the small device on the table.

“I’ve ordered the crew with telepathic abilities to wear a monitor that will watch for adrenaline levels. This isn’t going to stop the effects, but it might alert us to problems ahead of time,” the Doctor glanced over their Betazed Counselor, “that way, we can treat things ahead of time with as little trauma as possible.”

Massi nodded to the Doctor, “we appreciate your efforts, Doctor,” she looked to the Captain. “Everyone is handling it well. They are afraid, but they know that this is a part of the job, and,” she smiled, “we’re putting up a brave front for the benefit of the mission.”

“I appreciate that Counselor,” Naris nodded, “just keep an eye on things; if you start to suspect any of this is affecting our people, yourself included, get them to Doctor Parker immediately.” She turned her attention to the entire room, “look, I know there are a lot of unknowns here. We are used to the who, what, when, where, and why being answered; however, we are also trained for the unknown as well. We must rely on our training and those around us to succeed. This is a standard patrol and monitor mission, nothing serious is expected to occur. We are providing support, nothing more.” Naris instantly regretted that last bit. It was almost a challenge to the powers that be. She was baiting them to find something that would hinder her mission.

Sam looked at his Captain, “sounds like a challenge if I ever heard one.” He smirked.

Naris shrugged, “there is no point in continuing this debate until we know more.”

“Commander Malik, go to the bridge and set a course for Starbase 38 warp 7. The rest of you have a job to do, dismissed.”  As everyone stood up and left the room, Naris could see the look of worry in their eyes. This was unlike anything they had ever faced. She placed a hand on the shoulder of the XO as he stood up.  

Leaning in, she whispered, “Sam, while I appreciate the brave faces, keep an eye on them. Our telepathic crew will be the most vulnerable in this adventure. They may be Officers, but I don’t want them to suffer either….”

As the Captain’s words trailed off, Sam smiled, “We’ve got this, Naris.”

Naris sat back down in the chair as the Commander headed to the bridge. She could hear him ordering the course correction as the doors closed behind him. “Computer play Lascia ch’io pianga from the opera Rinaldo,” the Captain ordered. As the small space filled with the sounds of the soprano aria, Naris took a deep breath closing her eyes for a moment. 

 “Computer, pull up everything we have on the Gradin Belt.” She only knew the area by name; in all her years shared with numerous hosts, Naris had never been to that area. Unlike their last mission, she wanted to ensure she was prepared and ready for anything.”