The USS Marduk was in repairs, again. Apparently the other two phoenix captains were able to get through the fight without as much damage, so they had already moved on to their next assignments.  Meanwhile, the crew was only just now reacting to Antylion’s sacrifice. 

Desiree sat on her bed in her quarters, staring numbly at the wall.  Sure, she expected that not every mission would have a 100% survivability, but she didn’t expect that on this ship.  One of the reasons she took the position was the relative safety of the assignment.  Phoenix class ships were supposed to be light duty ships that never saw combat.  The previous combat missions were almost whimsical in that no real lasting damage to the crew happened.

“I guess I had fooled myself into thinking the crew would always come out unscathed.  In my mind, we were invincible.” She muttered to herself.

“And that’s why I should have been in charge this whole time.” Came another voice.  

Startled, Desiree stood up faster than a surprised cartoon cat, grabbing her personal phaser while doing so. “Who’s There?”  Scanning the room, she spotted a small persian kitten.

“Yes that’s me.” It said.  “I’m surprised this is how you see me though, a small kitten, really?”

Desiree wasted no time firing the phaser.  Unfortunately, it passed right through the petite feline.

“I thought you would have put it together before this point.  I’m not actually a kitten, this is just how your mind projects me into the space around you.”  The kitten looked a little too smug.

“What are you then?” Multiple possibilities ran through Desiree’s mind. “Changeling? Phantom? Devidiian, Q?”

“Nothing so trite.”  The kitten chuckled.  “I suppose you do need a name for me though.  I believe you used to call me Greystroke.”

James was in his quarters/homemade lab, working furiously.  On the table before him was the burnt-out henshin device, recovered from the debris field surrounding the Marduk when they went looking for Antylion’s body.  Next to the burnt-out device was a similar, but larger casing.  James would alternate between the two devices at a dizzying pace.  The entire time he was muttering to himself as if possessed.

The new henshin device was about a foot long, and had a completely different control scheme, with a full-on keyboard hidden under an opening flap.  The circuitry inside looked twice as complicated, with two spots for the burnout chips instead of one.  Dark bags underlined Olivet’s eyes as he continued to attempt to improve the device.  If one listened closely, they could hear his furious mutterings of not good enough, and failed him.

Doctor Harper wasn’t to be found on the ship, and was instead volunteering in Starbase 514’s medical bay.  She could be found there at all hours, treating survivors of the battle.  It got so bad that Doctor Hartmann, the Starbase’s Chief medical officer, had to drug her to get her to sleep.  One of the nurses asked Dr. Hartmann what’s wrong with Dr. Harper, and he told them “She’s suffering for not being able to save someone.  I’ve seen it many a time.”

On board Starbase 514, there’s a number of ‘speakeasys’ where Starfleet personnel can go to get drunk on synthehol.  In one of these, the Creaky Airlock, Fenris Cooper was drunkenly staring into another bottle of B’varian Whiskey. Three other bottles of various species’ whiskey were stacked around him.

On board the Marduk, Sky sat in his room, which was currently in the ‘office’ setting with the bed folded up against the wall, revealing a desk.  He was staring down a PADD with a half-written letter of condolences on it.  He’d made no progress in the last 2 hours of trying to write this letter.

A chirp came from the door.  Finding this a welcome distraction from the darn condolence letter leaped at the chance to speak to someone. “Come.”

In walked an older officer, a commander by the pips on his collar.  He stood at attention and saluted Sky.

“Commander Vincent Trivano, reporting for duty.”