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Chapter Text

Leile Bohannon woke up in her dorm at Starfleet Academy a little later than usual. She didn't have any classes today, so she had shut off her alarm after the celebration she had gone to with Elisa and Zarva the night before. Not that she remembered much of the night before. She vaguely recalled Elisa walking off with R'rak, which must have been why she had the dorm to herself when she woke up.

After a quick sonic shower, Leila began to get dressed. She pulled her uniform tights on, then zipped up her jacket over a thin undershirt, before moving to the mirror display to attempt to tame her wild blonde hair. After a few minutes spent brushing the tangles out of it, Leile pulled it out of her face and wrapped it into a single tight bun. Satisfied, she left her dorm, and walked into the Academy courtyard. She saw Elisa sitting on a bench, looking rather miserable, so she approached her.

"Oh, you look like death, Elisa," Leile said, making the redhead look up at her. Elisa Flores had lightly tanned skin, and deep red hair styled in a neat bob, and she was dressed in a tactical program cadet's uniform, similar to Leile's, but she wore a skirt with tights underneath instead of pants.

"That's better than I feel. R'rak didn't have any hangover medication," she whined.

"Neither do we, before you ask," Leile pointed out, then smiled. "So…did you have fun, at least?"

"From what little I can remember, yes," Elisa said, before glaring at Leile. "And you! You drank nearly twice what I did, and you're just…just…standing there! Like the sun isn't too bright, and the sound of the birds isn't too loud! How!?"

"What, you think the pathetic excuse for alcohol you have here in America is enough to give me a hangover? That'll be the day," Leile teased. "So, are the crew assignments out?"

"Some of them. Not the senior staff. T'Vrell was looking for you, by the way, I think she's down there somewhere," Elisa said, waving a hand down the pathway. "I'm gonna go beg Anna for some medicine. I'll meet you at the admin building in a bit."

"Right. See you there."

T'Vrell was waiting not much further down the pathway, dressed in her Science Cadet uniform. Her pointed ears poked through her black hair as she noticed Leile approaching.

"I wanted to thank you. You encouraged me to retake the Linguistics exam to improve my score, an action that I thought illogical. I was mistaken," the Vulcan said. Leile smiled.

"You mean you passed?"

"Yes. Now I am eligible to serve as both Science Officer, and Communications Officer. I owe this to you, Leile," she said. "I believe Morek wanted to speak with you, as well."

"Everyone does, it seems," Leile commented. She wasn't usually this popular. Usually people just asked for her help with combat drills and tactical exams. Still, she walked over to Morek, a Benzite who was on the medical path.

"Leile! I was looking for you! Captain Masc Taggart is supposed to be the captain on our cruise, and he supposedly still hasn't picked all his senior staff yet. Apparently, he wants to talk to several students, first," Morek informed her, pointing towards the administration building.

"Huh. Did you-"

"I'm the assistant medical officer!"

"Congratulations! I'd better speak with Lieutenant Ferra about it," Leile replied, patting Morek on the shoulder as she headed for the admin desk. She walked up to the Caitian Lieutenant and said, "Cadet Bohannon, reporting for assignment."

"Yes, let me see…Ah! It seems Captain Taggart wants to speak with you in his office," Lieutenant Ferra said. Leile supposed she must have made it to the senior staff. Probably Security Chief, or maybe the Tactical Officer, though Elisa would be a better Tactical Officer. She walked over to the office labeled 'Captain Masc Taggart' and buzzed the doorbell.

"Enter," came the reply through a speaker, as the door hissed open. Sitting at a rather utilitarian desk was a Denobulan man, as evidenced by the ridges on his forehead and around his eyes, dressed in a model of the Starfleet Command uniform that had white fabric on the shoulders, and the four pips on the collar that represented his rank of Captain. He looked up, and his face brightened in recognition. "Ah, Cadet Bohannon. Come, sit."

Leile sat in the chair in front of his desk, and waited for him to speak. He pulled out a datapad, and she caught a glimpse of her record on it.

"You have an exemplary record here, with only one slight blemish in an early incident of a drunken brawl," he said, making Leile wince. "But, then, apparently nearly every graduate in your year participated, and it never happened again."

"Y-yes, that was a long night," Leile said.

"Relax. You are far from the first cadet to get into a bar fight. At least you won. And, I must admit, I won a few bars of latinum betting on one of your boxing matches the next year. Your grades are exceptional, particularly with regards to tactics and command, and your phaser training scores are the best in your class. And that's not including the fact that you scored an…infinity in the survival program?"

"It had just come out. It glitched and didn't register shots to heavy clothes. The programmer thought that it wasn't that bad of a problem. It…was," she explained.

"So I see. There is one last question I have to ask…" he prompted, making Leile sigh. Everyone always asked her the same question.

"Yes, my brother is Eoin Bohannon, Captain of the Odyssey," she said, slightly annoyed.

"Hm? Oh, no, I already knew that. It's in your file. I actually worked alongside him a few times. An amazing officer, if a bit brash. No, I was wondering, how exactly do I pronounce your first name? I'm afraid I've never even seen it before," Captain Taggart said, making Leile blink in shock.

"Oh. Right, uhh, it's pronounced 'Layla.' It's Irish, sir. Well, sort of," she explained.

"I see. Well then, I've named you as my First Officer for this training cruise, Cadet Leile Bohannon. Report to your station on the USS Marquess in 3 hours. Dismissed," he said. Leile tried to keep a straight face as she left the room. He had named her the First Officer? She could barely contain her excitement. "Oh, and send Cadet Flores in as you leave."

"Yes, Captain!" she responded automatically. First Officer! She tried to calm herself down. After all, it was just a training cruise. To Vulcan and back. It probably wouldn't be nearly as exciting as she thought it would be.

The USS Marquess was a Centaur-class starship. An aging design, developed over a century ago, and the Marquess was just as old. It had seen some light action in the Cardassian border conflict, and then some much heavier work during the Dominion War, but it was still holding together, despite everything. Though it did tend to shake a bit more than it should at Warp 5.

Leile was almost certain that the ship would have been mothballed if it weren't for the Klingons declaring war, the Romulan Star Empire and Tal Shiar becoming more hostile than ever before, and to top it off, Cardassian extremists were probing the outskirts of Federation space. They needed every ship they could get, even if that meant hundred year old Centaurs stayed in service. Leile would probably end up posted on a more modern ship, even if it was just as a junior crew member. She just hoped it wouldn't be an Odyssey-class. Eoin captained the USS Odyssey-A, the first of that class, and she really didn't want to spend the next few years trapped in his shadow.

As it was, they were just taking a short round trip cruise to Vulcan and back. Leile had heard that some training cruises stopped by an asteroid field on the way, to let the cadets fire the phasers, but she didn't think Captain Taggart would be going for that. He didn't seem the type. A particularly strong tremor rocked Leile in her seat, making Captain Taggart chuckle.

"I have some crewmen who claim that the shaking keeps them from sleeping. I wouldn't know, I barely-" he started to say.

"Captain, I am picking up a distress call nearby, from a cargo hauler. The SS Break Even, sir," T'Vrell cut him off.

"Let's hear it, then," he said, immediately turning serious.

"It's…just a standard distress call, no additional audio or visual, Captain," T'Vrell said. Taggart frowned.

"Helm, set a course. ETA?"

"10 minutes, Captain," Anne Potter said from the conn.

"Number One, thoughts?" Taggart said, looking at Leile. She hummed thoughtfully before answering.

"The lack of anything other than the automated signal is, at best, a bad sign. At worst, it's a trap. I imagine it's the latter," she explained. "We still must go, regardless, but I recommend we raise shields, and prepare for an ambush, Captain."

"Agreed. Yellow alert, shields up."

The Marquess dropped out of warp roughly 15 kilometers away from the Break Even. Once T'Vrell put it onscreen, Leile could see that it was a standard commercial hauler, leaking warp plasma from several hull breaches. Not a good sign for the crew of the ship, but at least it was a real ship.

"Life signs?" the captain asked.

"None. Wait…detecting a large warp signature approaching!" T'Vrell exclaimed.

"Brace for impact!" Taggart shouted, as something hit the ship hard enough to throw Leile out of her chair, as a console exploded and sparks rained down on her head.

"What the hell hit us?" she asked. T'Vrell climbed to her feet and took a look at her console.

"Shields are down, Captain!" T'Vrell shouted over the alarm claxons.

"Reroute auxiliary power before they beam aboard!" Taggart ordered. Leile looked at the sensor console she had landed next to, and winced.

"Too late! Transporter signatures detected in the lower decks and engineering, sir!"

"Get me a visual on the enemy, now!" Taggart shouted. Elisa pressed a few buttons, and the viewscreen changed to display a massive sphere looming behind the Marquess. The bridge went silent for a moment, save for the alarms and occasional sparks.

"Borg," was the quiet word that left Elisa Flores's lips, a look of horror dawning on her face. Leile took a deep breath, steeling herself for the next few hours.

"Alright. It looks like your training cruise has become much more real," Captain Taggart remarked, then looked over to Razkii, a Saurian classmate of Leile's who had been assigned as Security Chief. He was sitting on the ground, clutching his leg. "Number One, you'll have to take the job of Security Chief. Get down to the lower decks, and get those Borg out of my ship."

"Yes, sir!" she responded, grabbing her phaser pistol and running to the turbolift. The doors hissed open, and nearly got vaporized by a beam of sickly green energy. She flattened herself against the wall of the turbolift before peeking out and depressing the button on her phaser, blasting the Borg drone that had fired at her away.

She saw a group of security officers in a firefight with more Borg down the hallway, so she ran to join them, discharging her phaser carefully. Leile wasn't just firing panickedly, she was deliberately aiming for the central body mass of the Borg before pressing the button. She didn't miss a shot, and soon the hallway seemed empty. One of the security officers, a redheaded woman with a phaser rifle, turned and nodded at Leile.

"Thanks for the save, ma'am! I'm Kaitlyn McMillan. We tried to get to Engineering through the transporter room, but there were too many of them there. This is the faster way!" she said, gesturing down the hallway. Before Leile could protest ignoring the transporter room, her combadge beeped. She tapped it to answer.

"Leile! I was getting worried!" Zarva said through the comms over the sound of phaser blasts. "Listen, we need immediate reinforcements in the engine room! I have your location, just continue down hallway 3-C to reach us, it's fastest-"

Whatever Zarva said next, Leile didn't hear it, because an explosion tore a hole in the hallway ahead of her, and the air began to drag her out of the ship. She managed to grab onto a handrail with her right hand, and then she caught McMillan by the back of her shirt with her left. One member of the security team wasn't so lucky, ending up sucked out of the ship before the emergency shield came on, and they fell to the ground, panting.

"Leile? Are you there? What's wrong?" Zarva shouted on comms.

"Well, we no longer have a hallway 3-C, for one. I'll have to cut through the transporter room. Do try and hold out until then, Zarva," Leile said bitterly, helping McMillan to her feet, then running off into the transporter room, stopping off at the armory to grab a phaser rifle on the way.

The transporter room was indeed overflowing with Borg drones, so she shot the Borg next to the control console first. That should stop them from beaming in any more. Then she just had to deal with the other dozen or so drones. Leile and McMillan managed to clear them out, but they lost another security officer in the process. McMillan looked over at his body tearfully. Leile put her hand on her shoulder.

"Chief McMillan, focus. We don't have the luxury of mourning, that comes later, understand?" Leile asked sternly. McMillan took a deep breath, and then nodded. "Good. Now, let's get to Engineering."

"Wait, look! The transporter chief is still alive!" McMillan gasped. Leile looked down, and saw R'rak breathing heavily on the ground.

"You stay and help him, I'll go ahead," Leile said, running towards Engineering. If the Borg got control of the warp core, they'd all die. She opened the door to see Zarva and a few other engineers pinned down by Borg. She started to pick them off with her phaser rifle one at a time, drawing some of their fire. Zarva used that opening to run over to a different console, pressing a few buttons. The emergency doors slammed down, trapping several Borg in a room with the warp core, and leaving only a few others free. Leile picked them off quickly enough, too.

"Took your time, Leile," Zarva said drily, still typing away at that console. "Aaaand…there! Learned this trick from Commander Data's textbook on Borg countermeasures."

As she spoke, plasma vented from the warp core, disintegrating the remaining Borg. It was haunting, the way they didn't even react to being torn apart at a molecular level. They never stopped banging on the emergency partition until they no longer had hands.

"Nice work, Zarva," Leile commented, checking her friend for injuries. She looked a little dirty, but otherwise, the short Bolian woman seemed untouched. Another engineer walked up, an Andorian woman with an Ensign's pips on her collar. Presumably the supervising officer for the engine room. Starfleet wouldn't just let a cadet station an engine room alone. That'd be irresponsible.

"What she said. And you are a damn good shot, cadet…Leile, was it?" the Andorian woman asked.

"Yes. Leile Bohannon, acting First Officer."

"Ensign Sinta Inzar, Maintenance Engineer. Why are you here instead of our security chief?"

"Razkii was injured in the first hit. But enough of that, you need to get those shields up before the Borg realize the boarding party failed," Leile urged them.

"Working on it. You get back to the bridge, Leile," Zarva said. Leile nodded and started to run back to the turbolift. The bridge itself also had several Borg, with Elisa and Captain Taggart shooting at them. The others seemed to be incapacitated on the ground, so Leile had to pick up their slack. Ducking behind a console for cover as she started to shoot, she eventually managed to make it next to the Captain.

"Number One, status?" he asked as he took cover behind her chair. She noted in slight annoyance that it was going to be much less comfortable on the trip back.

"Engineering and transporter room are clear. Zarva and Inzar are getting the shields back up. If we handle these…"

"Then we'll be Borg free. You heard her, Cadet Flores, lets-"

"Captain, look out!" Elisa shouted, as a drone walked up and extended two wires to stab him in the throat before beaming out with the Captain. Leile swore loudly, then gunned down a Borg trying to do the same to Elisa and smacked another back with the butt of her rifle, giving Elisa a shot. And then the shields came back online, preventing any more Borg from beaming in. Leile immediately moved to help the others to their feet.

"The captain, he's gone!" Potter muttered in shock. Leile nodded, then moved on to T'Vrell.

"Leile…you are acting First officer. That means in his absence…you're the captain," Elisa said softly, making sure Razkii was still alive.

"I know. Alright. Razkii, I know you can't walk, but can you man the sensors? You took a class on that, right?" Leile said.

"I didn't have a very good grade, but I'll try," Razkii responded.

"Potter, back to the helm, get us moving. Flores, get our weapons back online. T'Vrell, send out a distress signal," Leile continued rattling off orders.

"Yes, Captain!" Elisa was the first to comply, followed by Potter, and then by T'Vrell. Meanwhile, Leile climbed into the Captain's chair and took a deep breath before hitting the intercom button.

"Attention everyone. Captain Taggart was captured by the Borg. This is Acting Captain Leile Bohannon. I want a sitrep from every department sent to the bridge," Leile said, then paused, thinking of the best way to phrase it. "I understand that some of you may have reservations about me being in command. Make note of them in your reports to Starfleet Command, because now is not time for that. The Borg are still out there, and we need to be prepared to hold out until reinforcements arrive. Bohannon, out."

"L-Captain. Our communications array has been damaged. I can send a signal, but it won't make it further than the edge of the system," T'Vrell said.

"Can we boost it off a satellite or something?"

"There are none within range, and there is a jamming signal anyway, Leile," Razkii cut in.

"Captain, weapons are back online, and I'm getting confirmation from engineering that the warp core is intact, but it needs time to recharge," Elisa noted. "Ma'am, what about the Break Even? They were used as bait by the Borg, there likely weren't any survivors."

"...T'Vrell, would it be possible to repair the comm dish with parts from the Break Even?" Leile asked.

"It won't matter! They're still jamming our-" Razkii shouted.

"Shut it, Razkii, that isn't helping!" Elisa shouted.

"I believe we could manage it, Captain. It would not be up to normal standards, but it would reach both Vulcan and Starfleet Command. I will highlight where we should use our phasers to cut," T'Vrell said.

"Flores, fire when ready. Once we have the parts, scuttle the Break Even. It's likely just filled with Borg," Leile said.

"Literally crawling with them, actually. Firing…now!" Elisa said, pressing a few buttons. The phaser array shrieked as it cut the ship apart. "T'Vrell, do you have the parts?"

"Transporting…now!"

"Good work. Bridge to Engineering: I need you to get to work fixing our comms. We won't survive this alone," Leile said.

"Aye, Captain!" Ensign Inzari responded.

"It'll take a few minutes, Captain, but we'll get them fixed," Zarva added.

"See to it," Leile responded, before ending the communications. "Razkii, can you find the source of what's jamming our comms?"

"I'll try, but…okay, well. There's three possible sources. I think it's a mirrored signal? I really didn't pay attention in that class, Leile," Razkii said uncertainly.

"Just…send their locations to the helm and tactical. It sounds like we have time to check them all, anyway. Potter, set a course for the closest. Flores, keep our weapons ready."

"Course laid in Captain. Coming up on it now. And…nothing. On to the next, I guess?" Potter asked. Razkii opened his mouth to speak, but shut it when Leile leveled a glare at him.

"Yes, to the next location. Full impulse, it's far enough," Leile ordered.

"Understood, Captain," Potter said, bringing the Marquess around to face the next one, traveling across the debris field at an admittedly sluggish rate, but then, the Marquess wasn't exactly a new ship even before it nearly got torn apart by Borg.

"Within visual range, Captain," Elisa stated.

"Onscreen," Leile commanded. Elisa pressed a few buttons, and an image of a Borg Probe was projected onto the viewscreen. It quickly began to power up, and fired off a volley of energy beams, shaking the Marquess. "Damage?"

"Shields holding, Captain. Returning fire," Elisa said, as the Marquess's phasers screeched out, smashing against the probe's shields.

"I'll bring the ship around, so we can fire torpedoes!" Potter exclaimed.

"No, wait! We only have so many torpedoes. Wait until we knock out the shields, then bring her around. This way our comm dish is covered, too," Leile said. Potter nodded, and maneuvered the Marquess so that the probe was always on the starboard side of them.

"Shields are down. Now, Anne!" Flores shouted. Potter nodded, and turned the ship to face the drone.

"Launching a torpedo. Direct hit, I'm seeing significant damage, Captain!" Flores said.

"Cleared up the signal jamming, too!" Razkii exclaimed.

"Good. Finish it off with the phasers, Flores. Bridge to Engineering: Zarva, tell me you fixed our comms."

"Well, fixed is a strong word, more like…duct taped together, but yes, we're done. The warp core is still recharging, though. Another five minutes, Captain," Zarva said.

"Good enough. T'Vrell, send the distress signal, now!" Leile ordered. T'Vrell immediately began speaking into her headset.

"Leile, I'm picking up a Borg Sphere on approach! I think it's a different one from what we faced earlier," Razkii said. As if on cue, the whole ship shook from a hit.

"Shields down to 70%, Captain!" Flores called out.

"Divert all power from weapons to shields. We aren't going to damage that thing, but luckily, we only have to survive long enough for help to arrive," Leile said.

"Yes, ma'am!" Potter shouted as the ship took another hit.

"Shields at 75%!" Elisa called out.

The sphere fired again.

"50%, Captain!" Another hit caused the lights to flicker. "Shields down to 20%, Captain!"

"Captain, there's another ship coming in! It's the USS Chimera!" T'Vrell shouted, as a phaser spread lit up the Borg's shields, whiting out the viewscreen before it automatically corrected the overexposure. The Chimera was a newer ship, the first of its class. Considerably larger than the Marquess, it kept the same general frame of a Starfleet ship, but with four warp nacelles, squished much closer together than the older Cheyenne class. It was a destroyer, highly maneuverable, but tougher than most escort ships. Armed to the teeth, too, with 20 phaser arrays and 5 torpedo launchers.

The Chimera's phasers quickly tore through the Borg Sphere's shields, and the subsequent torpedo barrage turned it into scrap metal, shaking the Marquess with the blast.

"Captain, the Chimera is hailing us…and so is the Voyager," T'Vrell stated. As if on cue, the USS Voyager dropped out of warp in front of the Marquess. Leile took a deep breath and stood up from the Captain's chair.

"Onscreen," she ordered. T'Vrell nodded, and then the viewscreen was divided into two, with one side showing a Ferengi in a Starfleet uniform, the pips on his collar identifying him as a captain, while the other side showed…

Well, it was Admiral Janeway herself. Leile would be surprised if there was a Starfleet officer who didn't recognize Janeway on sight.

"This is Captain Nog, responding to the distress signal the Marquess sent," the Ferengi said.

"And I'm Admiral Janeway. Looks like I missed the party. Where's Captain Taggart?" Admiral Janeway asked.

"The Borg took him. I'm…Acting Captain Leile Bohannon, ma'am," Leile said.

"I see. Do we know where they took him?" Janeway asked. Leile turned towards Razkii.

"Well, it's not like I was at the console when the ship left, Leile, give me a second," Razkii complained. Leile saw Admiral Janeway narrow her eyes, but she just waited quietly. "Alright, it looks like it warped out in the direction of…the Vega system?"

"There's a colony on Vega! We have to warn them!" Elisa exclaimed.

"Agreed, we-" Janeway started, only for one of her crew members to cut her off.

"Admiral, detecting a massive transwarp signature!" the science officer aboard the Voyager shouted.

"Razkii, onscreen," Leile ordered. The Saurian nodded, and pressed a button, revealing dozens, no, hundreds of Borg ships jumping into the system, with a few of them warping away immediately.

"Oh no…" Elisa whispered.

"Change of plans, Marquess. You go to Vega colony and warn them of an attack, and begin the evacuation. Voyager and the Chimera will hold this fleet off as long as we can. Hurry!" Admiral Janeway ordered, then cut the transmission as the Voyager and Chimera flew into battle.

"You heard her, maximum warp, set a course for Vega colony!" Leile relayed, causing Anne Potter to scramble about her controls before the stars stretched into lines, and the Marquess began to shake worse than before just from going Warp 5.

"I don't see that we'll make it in time," Razkii commented.

"Transwarp jumps tax warp drives quite a bit. Those Borg have to go slow, or their warp core might not survive. It'll still be close, though," Leile explained to him, then settled into the Captain's chair, trying desperately to steel her nerves.

"Captain, we're arriving," Potter said from the helm as they dropped out of warp. Vega colony seemed to be having a busy day, with several cargo ships in orbit. Leile also spotted a comms satellite in upper orbit.

"Take us towards that satellite, let's see if we can hijack it and get a warning out to those ships," Leile ordered.

"Yes, Captain!" Potter exclaimed, doing as she was ordered.

"Ready to transmit, Captain," T'Vrell said. Leile nodded, then took a deep breath. She really couldn't sound as afraid as she actually was, or she might cause a panic.

"All ships in range, this is Captain Bohannon of the USS Marquess. There is a large Borg invasion force headed here right now. I highly recommend that you exit the system, while we evacuate Vega Colony," Leile said, then gestured for T'Vrell to cut the transmitter. "Loop that, T'Vrell."

"Already done, Captain. We're being hailed by one of the civilian vessels, the SS Nightbringer."

"Onscreen," Leile said. The Captain of the Nightbringer was an older Andorian man, with a full beard.

"Captain Bohannon, this is Captain Shev Ch'thonas of the Nightbringer. I took a vote from my crew, and it was unanimous. We want to help with the evacuation. We're empty, we could hold at least 200 colonists in our cargo bays," he said. Leile bit her lip. She didn't want to endanger a civilian ship, but…they wouldn't be able to save everyone otherwise.

"Very well, move to lower orbit over the colony, and prep for mass transport," Leile agreed hesitantly.

"Leile, incoming Borg ship!" Razkii alerted her.

"Red alert, charge phasers and arm photon torpedoes," Leile commanded. She watched as the viewscreen changed to show a Borg drone. The Marquess's phasers weakened the shields enough for a torpedo to destroy the opposing ship, sustaining little damage in return.

"Leile, it looks like another ship managed to land on the colony. Transport signals are weak," Razkii said.

"Could you get us down there?"

"There's no point if we can't get you back up," Razkii protested.

"If we can get down there, we can stop whatever is jamming us," Leile explained, exasperated. "Flores, T'vrell, with me. Uhhh, Potter has the conn, I guess? Yeah, that'll do."

"Quite a training cruise, huh?" Elisa commented as they entered the turbolift.

"You're not kidding. I'm about at my limit here, Elisa," Leile admitted.

"Giving up now would be illogical. I believe that we will soon be either safe, or dead, with no other alternatives," T'Vrell chimed in.

"Very reassuring, thanks T'Vrell," Leile responded drily as they entered the transporter room.

"Captain, I can get you down, and these beacons that Zarva found will get people up, but we can't beam large groups up until you disable whatever is jamming us," R'rak said.

"That's fine, R'rak," Leile said, then took a deep breath, nodding. "Energize."

As soon as they appeared, they noticed the Borg ship perched over the colony. And then they saw the Borg walking towards them. Leile's hand immediately shot to her phaser, zapping the first few Borg in the time it took T'Vrell to reorient herself. Elisa was faster, diving for cover and taking out a few Borg herself.

"Come on, the town square is that way!" Leile shouted, and they began to slog through the near endless flood of Borg, finally reaching a gate.

"Let us in, we're Starfleet!" Elisa shouted as Leile kept firing. The gate opened just enough to let them duck underneath it, before slamming shut again. Leile turned around, and saw a Saurian Starfleet officer holding a rifle.

"Hello, I'm…Acting Captain Bohannon, of the Marquess, we're here to help," Leile introduced herself.

"Ensign Kolez, Security. What do you need me to do?" he immediately responded.

"Captain, the source of the jamming signal is directly underneath that ship," T'Vrell said. Leile winced, and tilted her head in acknowledgment.

"Help us get over there and destroy the jammer, I suppose," Leile said. Kolez nodded, and led them through another gate.

"I gathered all the civilians I could and set them in the mayor's house, and moved our defensive turrets to protect them. It's the closest to the transporter pads," Kolez explained, then glanced at Leile. "We aren't saving the colony, are we?"

"No, we aren't," Leile admitted. "But maybe we can save the people."

They came to a stop at the top of a hill, taking cover behind a few rocks. Leile peered over the rocks down at the ship that had landed, and grit her teeth at what she saw.

"Is that…it is! It's Captain Taggert!" Elisa exclaimed.

"He seems to be less integrated than most drones, almost like what happened to Captain Picard," T'Vrell said.

"Does that make a difference?" Kolez asked. Leile nodded.

"From what I understand, if we can remove him from the Collective, we can remove his knowledge from the Collective, too. We can't say for certain that killing him will have the same effect," Leile said, glancing at T'Vrell for confirmation.

"That is correct, Captain. Furthermore, considering his knowledge of Starfleet academy, I believe it is imperative that we do our best to liberate him," T'Vrell agreed.

"Alright, so we save the one guy, and take down the others. What else?" Kolez asked.

"That machine in the center is preventing mass transporting. We need to destroy it," Elisa added.

"Alright. T'Vrell, we'll try and keep the others off you, while you incapacitate the captain. Once that's done, we destroy that machine, and beam out," Leile commanded. The others all nodded at her. She must have sounded more in control than she felt, because she was pretty sure they were all going to die.

Even still, she charged down the hill, her phaser flashing constantly to thin a never ending herd of Borg while T'Vrell made a bee line for their Captain. She first tried to inject him with something, then when that failed because of all the metal, T'Vrell just swept his legs out from under him and choke slammed him onto the ground before firing half a dozen blasts of the stun setting at him, at point blank range.

He didn't get back up after that, so Kolez focused his rifle's fire on the Transporter Inhibitor, making short work of the device, as T'Vrell put a marker on the Captain. Leile and Elisa continued to fend off the Borg, even as they were beamed out, along with around two dozen colonists.

"T'Vrell, get him to the brig, do your best to help him. R'rak, the other colonists?" Leile asked.

"Aboard the Nightbringer. They're already spooling their warp core, Captain. Err, Leile, not…you know," he responded, stumbling over his words.

"Good. We should do the same," Leile said, making her way to the bridge.

"Glad your back, because we're all dead if we don't leave," Razkii said angrily, putting a squadron of Borg Cubes onscreen.

"Captain, I can get us out of here…but the Nightbringer still needs a minute," Potter said from the helm, looking to Leile for orders. Leile wasn't quite sure when that had happened, but she was really growing tired of it. Because there was only one course of action they could take.

"Two dozen civilians on board, vs the two hundred on the Nightbringer…set a course for the enemy ships, shields up, weapon systems online," Leile ordered quietly. For once, not even Razkii had anything to say in response, everyone simply went about their jobs.

"Shields at 80%, Captain!" Elisa shouted as a blast shook the Marquess. A console in the corner of the room erupted in sparks as a second cube began to fire on them. "50%, Captain."

"Leile, the Nightbringer finished charging their warp core! They're gone!" Razkii shouted.

"Potter, get us-" Leile started, only for a particularly rough hit to throw her from the Captain's chair. Potter slowly pulled herself to her feet, and let out a small sob.

"Warp core is nonfunctional. We'd need time to repair it, but…" Potter said.

"...Well, I guess that's it, then. I suppose this is where I say it was a privilege, but some of you were a pain in my ass," Leile said, a wry grin on her face. Elisa, Potter, and Razkii all chuckled lightly.

And then an alarm went off on the sensor console. Razkii checked, and then cheered out loud.

"Multiple Starfleet ships approaching. The first to arrive…it's the Enterprise!" he shouted. Sure enough, the Odyssey class ship came out of warp, phasers blazing as it tore through a cube almost instantly. Not long afterwards, the Voyager, the Rhode Island, the Chimera, and the Khitomer all followed suit, clearing up the Borg left in the Vega system.

Leile collapsed back into her chair, relieved.

"We're being hailed, Captain. It's the Admiral," Elisa said.

"Onscreen."

"Well, the Marquess has seen better days. Can you make it to spacedock?" Janeway asked. Leile checked the console on her right before answering.

"Yes, if you give us a few minutes, we can get the warp core working, Admiral," she answered.

"Good. Return to ESD for debriefing. Offload any wounded, and get some rest, Bohannon," Janeway ordered.

"Happily, Admiral," Leile responded, then the transmission ended. "Zarva, get us moving. Doesn't have to be fast, just get us home."

"Best news I've heard all day, Captain. Shouldn't be long, but we'll cap out at warp 2."

"Good enough for now, Bohannon out."



It was actually the next day before Leile was called for a debriefing. The intercom at Earth Spacedock called her to Admiral Quinn's office. It wasn't far from where she was standing, looking out the window to watch all the ships come and go. Several were more than a bit damaged. She could tell from the scorch marks what had hit them. Plasma beams had small bolts arcing off of the main beam, leaving a pattern resembling a lightning bolt when they hit. Disruptors had a wilder, almost chain reaction effect, but most of those scorch marks were in bursts, coming from cannons. Phasers were more precise, just lines of damage drawn onto a ship.

These were all different from what she saw that day. The Borg's cutting beams could outright disintegrate entire sections of a ship, or just cut it in half. It really didn't act like a weapon, it was more like an industrial tool, deadly if necessary, but used right it was a precision instrument. Attempts at replicating it for combat had all failed, due to the sheer power draw it required.

Leile entered Fleet Admiral Quinn's office at the center of the station, and noticed Admiral Janeway standing nearby, glaring at Quinn. She desperately hoped she wasn't about to end up in the middle of two Admiral's arguing.

"Cadet, come in, have a seat," Quinn said, gesturing to the seat across from him. Leile sat down, very nervous about her debriefing.

"Before we begin, I'm sure you'd like to know that Captain Taggert is expected to make as close to a full recovery as possible. Your science officer, T'Vrell, and your Doctor, Movot, did good work. The Borg liberation procedure can be tricky, the first few hours are critical, and your actions may well have saved his life," Admiral Janeway informed her. Leile felt a weight she didn't know she was carrying fall off of her shoulders. At least she hadn't actually gotten her captain killed on her first mission.

"Unfortunately, he will still need at least a month of physical rehab, and likely more to recover psychologically. Which leaves Starfleet short a captain when we desperately cannot afford to be," Admiral Quinn stated. "From your written report, and the testimony of Admiral Janeway and Captain Nog, you seem to have performed remarkably, especially under such dire circumstances."

Janeway's glare deepened the longer Quinn spoke. Leile was beginning to suspect why, and she really hoped she was wrong.

"I'm going to give you the Marquess, as her captain. With the crew you had, you'll only need to be a Lieutenant to outrank them all," Quinn said, confirming her fears. Then he paused. "Of course, you could choose to refuse this assignment."

Not if she wanted a career. Refusing a promotion like this? From the Fleet Admiral himself? She'd probably never make it past ensign if she did that. No wonder Janeway was so angry, Quinn was using her testimony to turn Leile's graduating class into the next Red Squad. Actually, Captain Nog must be downright furious.

"I…accept. The same crew, in the same positions?" Leile said hesitantly. She saw a twinge of sympathy on Janeway's face.

"Unless you, or they request otherwise, then yes. My advice? That security officer of yours, Razkii didn't seem to respect your authority. It was a bad situation, but the way he spoke to you was unacceptable. I'd have him transferred to another ship, and accept Kolez's request to join your ship as Chief of Security," Janeway suggested. Leile nodded. She'd noticed the way Razkii was acting, but had let it slide in the moment.

"Agreed. R'rak also already requested I speak with you about getting him a nicer desk job. The Borg beaming onboard right in front of him…he probably needs some therapy, honestly," Leile mentioned.

"Of course. I could use a new personal assistant, anyway. I'll make sure he's treated well," Quinn agreed easily. "I haven't yet broken the news to your crew, I'm sure you want to handle that yourself, Lieutenant. And…get a proper uniform fitted for yourself while the Marquess is being repaired. You have a week to get ready for your first mission. Dismissed."

"Yes, Admiral," Leile said, standing up and leaving. She went through the uniform fitting in a bit of a blur, taking a step outside, and almost running into a Ferengi in a Starfleet uniform, with a captain's pips.

"Tell me you said no," he said immediately.

"Nice to meet you too, Captain Nog," she replied wryly.

"Yes, a pleasure, Cadet, but please, tell me you didn't accept," Nog demanded. Leile silently pointed at her collar, where she had her Lieutenant's pips. "Dammit!"

"I'm not exactly happy about it either, you know."

"Then why did you accept?!"

"Because I don't want to get blacklisted from promotion for refusing the Fleet Admiral. It wasn't really a question, Captain, I only had the one choice," she explained.

"I know. I'm…sorry. Listen, I have to go, but if you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask me, okay? The situation you're in is very unfair to you. In ways you don't even realize," Nog said, before running off. Leile silently wondered what she didn't realize, before making her way to the bar frequented by the non commissioned crew. It didn't take long to find who she was looking for.

"Hey, it's the Acting Captain who saved all of those people!" Kaitlyn MacMillan cheered as Leile walked up, then her eyes narrowed at Leile's collar.

"Can I…speak to you in private, please?" Leile asked, glancing nervously at the other members of her new crew.

"Sure, sure," MacMillan said, pretending this was still a casual chat as they walked away. "Lieutenant? That's a little fast, huh? I mean, congratulations, but-"

"Quinn is giving me the Marquess," Leile cut her off, causing MacMillan's jaw to drop.

"Wh-seriously?! That's…"

"A horrible idea, yes. But it wasn't exactly something I could refuse. So…I'm going to need your help. Most of the officers will be from my graduating class, I know how to handle them, but the rest of the crew…I'll be blunt, this isn't fair for any of us, but we have to work with it. Please help me with them?" Leile said nervously. MacMillan stared at her for a short moment.

"Well, I have to say, you made the right decision coming to me. That you're aware that the crew likely won't respect is good, though you do give yourself too little credit. The first thing you did on the ship was personally fight off a Borg boarding party, that goes a long way. Not to mention, you saved my life," she said.

"I just did what anyone would have," Leile protested.

"No, you did what Starfleet does. When do we ship out, Captain?" MacMillan asked.

"The ship is supposed to be repaired in a week, so we have at least that long."

"Good. That's enough time for me to ask around, get the actual feelings of the crew for you. I suppose I'll find you in your ready room?"

"I…yes, I guess that's correct. I'll have to figure out where to put Captain Taggert's things while he recovers. Do you know if he had any family? I should probably write them, let them know he's okay. And…and the crew we lost, too," Leile said.

"I'll get you a list of the crew we lost, Captain, but it's the responsibility of Captain Taggert's commanding officer to inform his family, unless you knew them personally. Which is probably good, he's a Denobulan, he has like, 30 siblings," MacMillan corrected her.

"Right. Thank you, Chief," Leile responded.

"You know…there is someone you could ask, unless your last name is a coincidence, Captain Bohannon," MacMillan pointed out.

"Eoin's currently deployed to Deep Space 9, he's a ways away from hearing the news. Which is probably good, for Admiral Quinn's health, at the least," Leile noted.

"Ah. Yes, let's not get the Fleet Admiral hurt. I'll do my best to help you and your officers, Captain. I look forward to serving under you," MacMillan said, though she refrained from saluting.

"Thank you. You know where to find me, I guess," Leile said, then made her way back to the Marquess. The repairs didn't keep her from entering the ship. There was one thing she knew that she should do as captain.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 86379.6. After a disastrous graduation flight, I've been given command of the USS Marquess, a Centaur-class starship…"

Chapter Text

Captain Eoin Bohannon stormed down the hallway towards the operations center on the station, ensigns and crewmen clearing the way as he moved. Most didn't want to be in the way of an angry captain, especially not one who was over six feet tall. Eoin entered Ops, and moved towards Captain Kurland.

"Eoin! The Admiral is waiting for you on the USS Nelson, in the ready room," Kurland said, looking nervous. Eoin knew the Nelson, it was an Intrepid-class in the same fleet the Odyssey was in. A fast ship to get an Admiral from place to place, and tough enough to withstand any attacks.

"I'll fucking bet she is," he growled, walking to the transporter pad, and nodding at the technician. A short walk through the Nelson, and he arrived at the ready room.

"Enter," the Admiral's voice called. He walked through the door, and turned to look at the desk, where Admiral Carais Cantrelle was sitting, along with another woman in a Science Officer's uniform. Admiral Carais was a relatively young looking Trill woman with light brown hair and matching eyes. Eoin slammed his hands onto Carais's desk. She turned to the woman sitting across from her, a pale human with dark black hair and green eyes, and said, "Stay calm, he's mad at me, not at you."

"You're damn right I'm mad at you! Nova Squadron! Red Squad! Either of those ring a bell?" Eoin bellowed.

"The failed squadron of ace pilots at Starfleet Academy who attempted a highly dangerous maneuver, and the Elite squad of cadets fielded in the Dominion war to disastrous consequences," the woman sitting across from Carais said, as if reading from a database entry. Eoin glanced at her, before Carais answered.

"Yes, I'm aware. Captain, I know what this is about, and-"

"Then why the hell did the Admiralty just try round three? Third time's the charm doesn't apply with human lives, dammit!" Eoin shouted.

"I know!" Carais finally shouted at him, her own frustration showing. She took a deep breath, running her hands through her hair before continuing more calmly. "I know. Your sister's promotion was out of my hands. Fleet Admiral Quinn outranks me, and even if he didn't, she's not under my command. I understand you're angry, and with good reason, but it's done now. The best we can do is make sure she doesn't end up like those others. I'm doing my best to keep a few captains I know in the vicinity of her missions."

"I'd like to have a word with Quinn about this, too," Eoin said bitterly. "Which captains?"

"Captain Thelin, on the Kirk, right now. I have Captain Sulu on the Poseidon, Captain Nola on the Musashi, and Captain Four of Ten on the Victory keeping an eye out to help her when they can. Captain Nog, of the Chimera also took a liking to her, I hear," Carais answered.

"That's something. Does Quinn even realize just how badly he's hurting her? Depriving her of a peer group who rose through the ranks with her?" Eoin asked, then shook his head. "The Odyssey is still scheduled to return to Starbase One at the end of the month, right?"

"Right. You'll have two weeks shore leave, before you ship out with new orders. I can't promise she'll be there, but as of right now, Quinn is assigning her orders himself. She's officially on the Klingon Front," Carais explained.

"I see," Eoin said. He was actually just going to do his best to introduce her to a few other captains, try and build her some connections within Starfleet, so he didn't necessarily need to meet with her, but he still wanted to see her. He glanced at the woman who had been patiently waiting while they conversed. "So…who's she?"

"Your new science officer. Meet Doctor Soji Asha," Carais said, gesturing towards her. Eoin blinked.

"What happened to Tolvar?" he asked.

"He requested a transfer. Something about meeting Captain Pike?"

"Captain Pike is a wonderful person. Very friendly. Phenomenal cook," Eoin said.

"He also died several hundred years ago. Regardless, I decided to grant his request. He'll be serving on board the Iskander, under Tallassa," Carais continued. Eoin hummed in thought. Tolvar was an excellent officer, who whined an awful lot about temporal anomalies. His transfer request was at least a year old. Carais had no reason to accept such a request. Unless…

"Doctor Asha, yes? Doctor of what? What field, where?" Eoin switched tracks.

"Anthropology, I studied on Alpha Centauri, Class of 2407," Soji Asha said. Eoin blinked. Anthropology…was not exactly the ideal specialization for a Starfleet science officer. Something else was going on here.

"Oh, yeah? My brother, Iain studied there, same class. Did you ever meet him?"

"Iain Bohannon? Yes, I think I had a Warp Physics class with him," Soji said, confirming Eoin's suspicions. He shook his head, then leaned down to look her in the eyes.

"Who are you hiding from, Soji Asha?" he asked, causing her to look at the Admiral, her eyes widening.

"I told him nothing," Carais said, a smirk on her face.

"Then how-"

"Because Eoin Bohannon is the best Captain under my command, not just the most famous. He's clever, quick on his feet, and you are a bad liar," Carais explained.

"What? I don't have tells," Soji said, sounding completely sure of herself. Eoin took a seat next to her at Carais's desk, smirking.

"And I don't have a brother. Next time you get asked if you met someone at the University of Alpha Centauri, your answer should be something like, 'I don't know, I may have seen him in the halls, but the name doesn't ring a bell,' or another non answer. The place is huge, you could easily get away with that," Eoin said. Soji tilted her head to one side. "You said you don't have tells. You weren't defensive, you know for a fact that you don't. Your ears are too round to be a Vulcan, but you recited the database information on Nova Squadron and Red Squad exactly."

"What is your point, Captain," Soji said, her voice cold as she went completely still. As in, completely still in a way a human cannot do.

"You do have a tell, by the way. When pushed far enough, you stop breathing. Like right now. I'm guessing…android?" Eoin said. Soji glanced at the door, then back at him and the Admiral.

"It's alright, Soji. He's not going to tell anyone. Your secret is safe with him," Carais said.

"But I will require you to tell all the relevant health details to the Odyssey's CMO, Doctor Carson. It'll be under confidentiality, but for, you know, safety purposes, he needs to know what to do if you get hurt," Eoin countered.

"Right. Right. I'm…Soji Asha, a Bio-Synthetic lifeform created by Doctor Bruce Maddox from scans of a positronic neuron of Commander Data. I didn't know until recently. My memories are fake, but the knowledge…all real. I am, for all intents and purposes, a Doctor in Anthropology," she said, sounding a bit offended.

"Sorry, Doctor Asha. So, I assume that isn't your only knowledge? You can do the job you're filling?" Eoin asked.

"Of course. I've gone through all the schematics, and several lectures on Warp Physics and most other relevant fields on the way here. I…still need to catch up on my Xenoarchaeology, and Psychology, though," Doctor Asha said.

"By 'several lectures' she means she watched about 40 full remote courses at a ludicrous speed. She's qualified, I assure you," Carais said.

"Good. So, back to my first question. Who are you running from, Doctor Asha?"

"There's a secret sect of Romulans, more secret than the Tal Shiar, they call themselves-"

"Zhat Vash? Or is it that other one helmed by Praetor Taris?" Eoin asked, cutting her off instantly.

"Um. The first one? What? How did you…?" she said, confused.

"Eh, I've worked on the Romulan Front for a bit. It's quiet now, but I heard whispers. They hate synthetics as a rule, don't they? Any sort of android, right?"

"Yes. They hacked the synthetics on Mars, and were responsible for the devastating attack," Doctor Asha said. Eoin raised an eyebrow, looking to the Admiral for confirmation. Carais nodded silently.

"Well, if you know that, then that explains why they're after you specifically," Eoin said.

"No, they're after me and my sister, Dahj, because we are undetectable as synthetic lifeforms. Just about anything short of a full dissection wouldn't notice us as anything more than human. Zhat Vash can't allow a synthetic life form to be indistinguishable from a natural one, for a variety of reasons, both practical and ideological," Soji explained, then paused. "Sorry, should…I be worried about Praetor Taris's secret cabal?"

"Well, on one hand, rumor has it they have the power to destroy planets, on the other hand…they destroyed their own planet, so…" Eoin shrugged. "You have a sister? Where is she?"

"I don't know. We split up and have purposefully lost track of each other," Soji admitted.

"I see. And you come to the flagship of the 7th Fleet as one of her bridge crew to hide?" Eoin asked.

"I actually came to Admiral Carais because she's on record as being politely opposed to the ban on synthetics. I figured Starfleet was safer from secret organizations than just about anywhere else," she explained.

"That's a little naive. There's-"

"Eoin." The Admiral said harshly, glancing around the room pointedly, implying the room was bugged.

"And whose fault is that? Why are you here and not on the Calypso, anyway?"

"It's undergoing some refitting right now," Carais replied. "I assume you agree to take Doctor Asha on as your new Chief Science Officer?"

"I do. What's the official story on her Starfleet background? We don't just recruit civilian doctors to our bridge crews, after all," Eoin said.

"Lieutenant Commander Soji Asha was one of the science officers onboard the Calypso, and before that did a stint in Ops on the USS Zimbabwe. Her midshipmen cruise was on the USS Yeager," Carais said.

"The Zimbabwe was decommissioned a year ago, and the Yeager was destroyed in a battle against Klingons five years ago," Eoin noted idly. "And no one aboard the Calypso will contradict your word. Airtight alibi, assuming she can perform all of those roles."

"I can," Doctor Asha said, confident.

"Good. Well, as I mentioned, you will be telling Doctor Carson of your…nature. He'll keep your confidentiality, I promise. I'd also recommend you inform Commander Kordan, my XO. He's smart enough to figure it out eventually, and you'll be working with him enough that you might struggle to keep it a secret," Eoin advised her.

"Right. I mean, yes, Captain," she said, correcting herself.

"That was all I wanted from you, Captain. You're both dismissed," Carais said, so Eoin and Doctor Asha both left the room.

"Come on, we can't beam straight to the Odyssey while it's docked. Well, we can, but the station commander doesn't like it, and you should get a look around Deep Space 9 anyway. It's where we've been working from this whole deployment, anyway," Eoin explained.

"Of course. I've heard stories about Quark's bar," Doctor Asha said as they walked to the transporter room.

"Well, no drinking while you're on duty. I understand it might not affect you, but if you're keeping that a secret, just don't drink at all."

"I can get drunk, it's just…hard," she admitted, stepping onto a transporter pad.

"How so?" Eoin asked, before nodding to the transporter chief, beaming them back to the station.

"Well, before I became aware of what I was, I could get drunk just like you would. Ever since, I seem to have to make a conscious effort to become intoxicated, and at any moment, I can somehow cease to be drunk. It's…difficult to do, and usually not worth it," she explained.

"Huh. You know, this is actually the second time a Doctor whose very existence is illegal has been on this station. Last time, Doctor Bashir's work ended up loosening Starfleet's restrictions on eugenics, if only a little," Eoin mused. Doctor Asha blinked, then glanced at him sharply.

"You think the Admiral is using me to try and do the same for synthetics? Using me to push her own political goals?"

"Oh, definitely. I mean, maybe I'm wrong about the goal she's pushing towards, but she's definitely using you. And me. It's how she operates, she never has only one reason to do anything. She did this now to distract me from the not insignificant fuck up that just went down with my sister, swung a new Chief Science Officer for Captain Tallassa like she's wanted for a while, found you somewhere safe-ish to be, and is getting some use out of you, both in the immediate sense and in the long term with regards to some political or tactical goal," Eoin elaborated, making Doctor Asha's eyes widen with each point.

"That's a little…manipulative, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but it's not all bad. Just because she didn't do it just to help you out, doesn't mean she wasn't doing it to help you out, you know? Somewhere in Carais's motivations is usually 'It's the right thing to do.' She just tends to bury it under pragmatism and drown it in caffeine," Eoin said, smirking.

"She does seem to drink a lot of coffee," Doctor Asha noted drily.

"Well, I'm pretty sure raktajino is more important to this station than oxygen. I certainly couldn't survive without it. Now, let's get you settled in, we should just have a boring patrol today. Nothing too fancy," Eoin said, desperately hoping he just jinxed them, but he highly doubted it. The renegade Cardassian faction had more or less calmed down, for the moment, to the point that the Admiral had outright said the Odyssey would be deployed somewhere else after the next shore leave. But, maybe he would end up with all the action, and Leile would end up bored out of her mind. He could only hope.

"Captain's Log Stardate: 86406.7. Admiral Quinn has assigned the Marquess to retrieve Ambassador Sokketh from Vulcan, and transport him to P'Jem. Some monastery, I'm told. We've been outfitted with a small shuttlecraft, since the Ambassador has some sort of phobia of transporters. Very illogical, if you ask me, but this should be a simple mission, to help me get used to the Marquess and her crew."

Leile ended the recording and walked over to the replicator as the doorbell to the ready room chimed. "Raktajino, extra strong. Enter."

Elisa walked in, looking more than a bit nervous. "Captain?"

"Elisa, when it's just us, you don't have to be so formal with me," Leile chided her.

"Right, sorry. It's just a big change, is all. Are you…sure we're ready for this? I mean, most of the command crew are from our class, the only experience we have is nearly getting killed by the Borg," Elisa said, readjusting her collar. She, like the rest of the crew, had changed into the Sierra pattern uniform. Those uniforms were designed as a deliberate callback to the uniforms used by station crews in the early 2370s; a standard black shirt with the shoulder section colored to fit the wearer's department. The biggest difference was that the entire shoulder section of the Sierra uniform was made of a glossy material, segmented at the joints instead of a solid coloring in the fabric. Both Elisa and Leile wore red, being Tactical and Command officers, respectively.

"No. Actually, I'm pretty sure that our promotion was a horrible idea in ways that we are fundamentally unaware of, but to say no would have likely stalled all of our careers indefinitely," Leile responded, taking a sip of her raktajino.

"Well, at least this should be a simple mission. Deliver Sokketh to P'Jem, right?"

"Elisa-why would you say that? I'm pretty sure someone on the Voyager said 'Simple Mission' before getting launched to a different quadrant! You've cursed us!" Leile said, grinning and shaking her head.

"Ha. So, to be clear, you named me First Officer, Kolez is Tactical Officer, and Chief MacMillan is our Security Chief? I got some…odd looks when I submitted the roster, Leile," Elisa said.

"Given that Admiral Quinn and Janeway recommended Kolez be Security, I'd imagine. But he can't police a crew he doesn't know, and I need Chief MacMillan to keep me in the loop about the crew that weren't in our class. Besides, I think being Number One, and my Tactical Officer would be a bit much out of the gate, don't you?"

"I appreciate the concern, but worrying about putting too much on us at once is an exercise in futility, Leile," Elisa pointed out, then stood up, looking at the clock. "Ten minutes to Vulcan, by the way."

"Thank you. I'll be right out," Leile said, moving to finish her raktajino. With all the paperwork and new responsibilities, she hadn't slept much in the past week. She was reasonably certain that once she got more settled into her command, her time management skills would improve. She gulped down the last of her raktajino, then placed the mug back in the replicator tray to be disassembled, then walked out of the ready room onto the bridge of the Marquess.

"Captain on the bridge," Kolez announced, being the first to notice her. The Saurian Ensign was standing at the tactical station, awaiting orders. He wasn't very talkative, she'd noticed, but he was competent, and followed orders. She just hoped he wasn't too shy to speak up if he needed to.

"Thank you, Ensign. Status report everyone, starting with Helm, how are we holding up?" Leile asked, turning to Potter.

"Repairs seem to be good. No new shaking or odd noises. Handling is…well, not amazing, but good for a ship this old," Anne Potter replied.

"Energy levels are steady. Additionally, the deflector is operating at acceptable standards, Captain," T'vrell added. The Marquess hadn't been assigned an Operations Chief, so the Vulcan had to fill that position, and the Science Officer's position.

"Zarva here, containment field steady, warp bubble strong, everything's good down here, Captain," Zarva said over comms. Despite Ensign Sinta Inzar having both seniority and experience over Zarva, Quinn had insisted that Zarva be the Chief Engineer. In theory, this was true, but in practice…Inzar was doing most of the work, while trying to teach Zarva the role and responsibilities so she could transfer to a different ship. Leile couldn't blame her, the position should have been hers.

"The medbay is up and running, Captain, but I must request that you not make use of us," Doctor Movot said. Admiral Quinn had attempted to insist that Morek also take over medical onboard the ship, but was firmly vetoed by the Surgeon General; Morek needed more than an Academy degree to qualify as Chief Medical Officer aboard a ship.

"Phasers are fully functional, and our stock of torpedoes was replenished," Kolez sounded off.

"Excellent," Leile said, then tapped her combadge. "Captain to Security. Chief MacMillan, are you prepared for our guest?"

"Aye, Captain. I have a security team set aside just for him. They'll be waiting for you in the shuttlebay," the Chief responded.

"Good. I'll be there shortly," Leile acknowledged, heading towards the turbolift as the Marquess dropped out of warp in the Vulcan system.



Leile set the shuttle down a short climb from the ambassador's position, in a desert clearing designated for her. She opened the door of the shuttle, and winced as the oppressive heat of Vulcan washed over her. Vulcan's had a higher tolerance for heat, especially considering the robes they wore even on the hottest days. She walked up the steep incline towards the structure at the top of the hill. That was where Sokketh was supposed to be, taking part in Kal Rekk, a Vulcan holiday of sorts.

Upon reaching the top of the hill, it was quite easy to spot the ambassador, dressed in red and gold colored robes. They weren't opulent, Vulcans were too utilitarian for that, but they were visibly of higher quality than the robes the other Vulcans were wearing, with pointed shoulders. Vulcans and Romulans both loved pointy shoulders. Leile briefly wondered if there was some sort of tactical use for them, before dismissing the thought as silly.

"Ambassador Sokketh? I'm Lieutenant Leile Bohannon, Captain of the USS Marquess. We are prepared to escort you to P'Jem whenever you're ready," Leile said as she approached the bearded Vulcan.

"Good, good. Unfortunately, High Priest Savin refuses to grant me permission to set foot on P'Jem. I must go on this pilgrimage, but he is being most difficult. Perhaps you could convince him. He is over there, speaking with aide, T'Pela," Sokketh said, pointing in the direction of a hooded Vulcan speaking with a much younger looking Vulcan woman. Leile inclined her head, and approached Savin.

Savin noticed her approach, and turned to face her, his hand held up in the traditional Vulcan salute. Leile mimicked the gesture as he began to speak, a bit of approval in his eyes at her salute. "Greetings, Captain. Or, should I say, Lieutenant?"

"Both are correct. My rank is Lieutenant, but my position is Captain. Whichever you're comfortable with is fine, since we aren't on the ship," Leile informed him.

"And if we were on your ship?"

"Then I would insist you call me Captain, as I am the one who sits in the Captain's chair. If I were to step down and name someone else Acting Captain, then they would also be Captain, regardless of rank," Leile said, then paused. "I suppose there isn't really any logic behind my insistence, most of the time, it's more of a tradition."

High Priest Savin raised an eyebrow and said, "Fascinating. I believe I know why you are speaking with me, Captain. You, like T'Pela, wish for me to allow Ambassador Sokketh to travel to P'Jem."

"That's right. Though, I must admit, I am curious to know precisely why you won't allow him to go on this pilgrimage," Leile said.

"I find that Ambassador Sokketh is acting highly illogical in his interactions with me," Savin said.

"As the Ambassador's aide, I have not encountered any illogical behavior from him. He seems to be exactly as he always has been," T'Pela cut in.

"And though logic would dictate that T'Pela, who is closer to him, would have a better baseline for his behavior, he has adamantly refused to disclose his reasons for visiting P'Jem to me, which I find troubling," Savin conceded. "You see, Captain, P'Jem is a place of great importance to the Vulcan people. The monastery was, to my people's shame, used for political gain against the Andorians once in the past. This led to the destruction of the original monastery. It is my duty to ensure the safety of the monastery, no matter what."

"You believe Sokketh may wish to use the monastery for some ulterior motive?" Leile asked, beginning to understand the issue.

"Yes. I believe that his unwillingness to share his true motives with me might come from a desire to merely omit information instead of lying. It would explain his illogical behavior, as well," Savin confirmed. Leile hummed thoughtfully. She knew from T'Vrell that the idea that Vulcans couldn't lie was itself a lie, but they still greatly preferred not to. It was possible that Sokketh was omitting details in order to use the monastery for his own gain, but she couldn't imagine what that entailed.

She was aware of the incident Savin was talking about, of course, but that was before the Federation was formed, when Andorians, Vulcans, and Humans barely got along. Now, they were some of the closest knit species in the whole United Federation of Planets, and there was nothing to be gained from the monastery with regards to Federation politics.

"Perhaps…perhaps I could ensure that Ambassador Sokketh does not do anything that puts the monastery at risk? I can personally oversee his visit, and prevent any foul play from occurring," Leile suggested.

"Is your mission not to simply act as a diplomatic escort for Ambassador Sokketh? Do you have the authority to disobey him?" Savin questioned.

"I do not…unless an important spiritual figure assigned me with the task of doing so, under threat of negative repercussions for Vulcan's position in the Federation should I fail," Leile said. "After all, I have a duty to defend the Federation as a Starfleet officer."

"I see. Very well, Captain. On the condition that you accompany him to the surface, I will allow Sokketh to make his pilgrimage to P'Jem. Live long, and prosper," Savin said, punctuating the sentence with the traditional farewell and salute. Leile did the same, then returned to Ambassador Sokketh.

"High Priest Savin has agreed to allow your pilgrimage…as long as I accompany you," Leile informed him.

"If that's what it takes, then I'll allow it. Let's hurry already," Sokketh said, walking swiftly towards the shuttle. Leile raised an eyebrow, but followed him anyway.



Leile guided the shuttle into the shuttlebay at the front of the Marquess, where a security team was waiting to protect the Ambassador. She stepped out of the shuttle, and introduced Sokketh to them, though he seemed rather irritated at their presence, even as they guided him towards the room set aside for him. Strange, Leile had thought he'd be more content once he was getting what he wanted.

"Chief MacMillan…keep an eye on him. Something seems…off about this whole mission," Leile ordered.

"You got it, Captain!"

She took the turbolift back to the bridge, and stood in front of her chair, deep in thought. Should she call off the trip? Sokketh really was acting strange, but she couldn't just go with her gut, she needed proof. And…she needed more information. If Sokketh wanted to use P'Jem to advance a political position, she'd best learn his political positions.

"Everything alright, Captain?" Elisa asked her.

"Remains to be seen, Number One. Ensign Potter, plot a course for P'Jem. Warp…Two," Leile ordered.

Potter paused, then turned to face Leile. "Captain…at Warp Two we would take two hours to arrive."

"I'm in no hurry."

"Okayyy…course laid in, Captain," Potter said.

"Engage," Leile ordered, watching as the stars stretched into streaks as the warp engines kicked in. "I'll be in my ready room."

Leile sat at her desk, looking around the room. She hadn't yet customized it, it was still pretty barren. She knew Eoin kept models of every ship he had served on mounted on the walls of his ready room, but Leile only had the Marquess. She grabbed a PADD and pulled up records of Sokketh's political career.

He had negotiated several trade agreements beneficial to both Vulcan and the Federation at large. He could…theoretically be planning to use P'Jem as a stop on a new trade route. The close proximity to both Vulcan and Andoria would make it an ideal place for a station, if it didn't have such importance to the Vulcan people. But…there weren't many species in a position to use such a station.

No, there had to be something else. Further reading revealed that Sokketh had strongly argued against aiding the Klingons against the Gorn in light of a possible Undine infiltration of the Gorn. He had claimed that Voyager's last encounter with them proved they weren't a threat, and that they had no motive to invade. Of course, this was met with resistance from several current and retired Starfleet Officers.

Including Admiral Janeway and Captain Tuvok. Both of them argued that the resolution they had come to with the Undine was temporary, and the Klingons accusations were worth investigating. The Federation Council ignored them, causing Ambassador Worf to resign his commission, and the Klingons to withdraw from the Khitomer Accords entirely.

Which, of course, was the first step towards all out war between the Federation and the Klingons. And the loudest voice in opposition to aiding the Klingons was Ambassador Sokketh. Leile still didn't have anything solid, but…this wasn't looking good.

She couldn't scan him without violating his diplomatic immunity…and he refused to use transporters because they passively scan anyone they transport. His aide, T'Pela, didn't seem to think he was acting strange…but Undine were a highly telepathic species. He could have used that to replicate her memories of the Ambassador's behavior.

"Captain, we have an urgent transmission from Vulcan for you!" Elisa's voice called over the intercom. Leile exited her ready room, walking onto the bridge.

"Onscreen," she said, and an image of T'Pela flickered into existence in front of her.

"Captain, I have terrible news!"

"Is it that the Ambassador we have on board is an imposter?" Leile asked. T'Pela blinked in shock, then nodded.

"Yes, I have discovered the true Ambassador's body. You must not allow him to reach P'Jem!"

"Noted. Security, detain Ambassador Sokketh immediately. Set phasers to maximum stu-"

"Captain, Sokketh was just beamed off of our ship!" T'Vrell interrupted Leile.

"What? We're at warp! Scan for nearby ships. Um, T'Pela…I'll call you back," Leile exclaimed, cutting the transmission.

"There is an Undine dreadnought nearby. It could not have been there a moment ago. Sensors indicate it is powering up weapons, Captain," T'Vrell said, putting an image of the massive bioship on the main viewer.

"Red alert! Drop out of warp!" Leile ordered. If they dropped to impulse it might overshoot them, giving them time to prepare. "We're no match for that thing. Call Starfleet for reinforcements!"

"I already have, Captain, they're a minute out," the Comms officer said. Leile really ought to learn his name, so she could praise his fast thinking later.

"Captain, recommend we divert auxiliary power to shields, and focus fire on their plasma torpedoes," Kolez advised, using what must have been all of his words for the day.

"Do it! Helm, evasive pattern delta-5!" Leile ordered, as she watched the ship turn and begin to fire upon the Marquess. The ship rocked slightly, but the shield seemed to be holding.

The phasers screeched as they shot a torpedo before it could collide with them, the explosion briefly whiting out the viewscreen. Then the Undine ship fired a thicker, spiral shaped beam that shook the whole ship as they were physically propelled across space. T'Vrell was the only one who remained mostly unfazed by the sudden movement, staring intently at the sensors, one eyebrow raised.

"Captain…I'm reading several Klingon Birds of Prey decloaking," T'Vrell announced. "They appear to be…defending us against the Undine. Fascinating."

"Captain, our Starfleet reinforcements have arrived!" the Comms officer shouted, as the USS Challenger, the USS Kirk, the USS Rideout, the USS Terev, and the USS Texas warped into the area, opening fire on the Undine Bioship.

Between the two groups of reinforcements, the Undine ship was quickly shredded, exploding in a massive shockwave that jostled the Marquess even from the distance they were at.

"Captain, we're being hailed. By both the Challenger, and the Klingons," the Comms officer said.

"Put them both through, please."

"Aye, Captain."

"Captain Bohannon, this is Captain LaForge of the Challenger. Glad we arrived in time. And it seems you had some help?" Captain LaForge said, clearly meaning the Klingons. He was a dark skinned man with graying hair and a beard, and bright blue eyes that Leile knew were artificial.

"I am Captain K'Tak, of the IKS Amar. It appears that the mighty Federation must now acknowledge the Undine as a threat," K'Tak snarled. He was a younger looking Klingon, with a scar under his left eye, tracing his cheekbone.

"I must admit, I'm surprised you aided us. We are at war," Leile stated.

"Our mission was to find and eliminate the shapeshifter disguised as your Ambassador Sokketh. I assumed he was on that ship. Was I mistaken?"

"No. The real Sokketh's body was discovered on Vulcan just recently. How did you know he was an Undine?" Leile asked.

"Ha! As if I would tell you how Klingon Intelligence operates!"

"Captain Bohannon, they are trespassing, but they did provide you with assistance you desperately needed. This was your mission, I'll leave the decision to you," Captain LaForge said. Leile hummed as K'Tak growled.

"Regulation says that we must detain them…unfortunately, that blast seems to have done some minor damage to our sensors. I imagine it would take around…5 minutes to repair them," Leile said, making LaForge grin in amusement.

"Well, K'Tak? You heard her. 5 minutes to leave. And you'd better head straight back to Klingon space. We'll be watching you," LaForge mentioned.

"Grrr…very well, Starfleet. Today…is not a good day to die. I imagine we will meet again, some day. Be prepared," K'Tak warned, before cutting the transmission. The Klingon ships proceeded to jump to warp, decloaked, likely as a show of good faith.

"Do you think they have it marked on their calendars? Or is it by the days of the week? 'Can't die on a Tuesday, but Fridays…Fridays are perfect,'" Leile mused out loud. Captain LaForge choked on a laugh.

"I'll have to remember that one next time I see Worf," LaForge said, grinning. "Better get back to ESD, I'm sure they want a full debrief."

"Right. Thank you again for the assistance, Captain LaForge," Leile said.

"We were in the area. And, hey, maybe one day you'll return the favor," LaForge replied, before cutting the transmission.

"Helm, set course for Earth, Warp 5," Leile ordered, sitting back down in the Captain's chair.



"I have to admit, this was not what I intended for your first official mission. I was hoping this would be a simple escort. To think the Ambassador was an Undine. Their infiltration runs deeper than I could have expected," Admiral Quinn said. Leile carefully schooled her facial expression. He probably didn't mean to essentially admit that the Klingons had been right the whole time, and this war was entirely avoidable. But she'd definitely be keeping that knowledge tucked away for later.

"I read the autopsy. Sokketh has only been dead for about a month. I came to the conclusion that he was an Undine based mostly on behavior from 8 years ago. I suppose I was right for the wrong reasons," Leile admitted.

"Regardless, you managed to realize something was wrong where others hadn't. Your choice to stall and travel as slow as you did probably kept him from reaching P'Jem before Ambassador T'Pela discovered his body," the Admiral commended her. "That kind of intuition is invaluable to a Captain. I made the right choice putting you in command."

Leile wasn't quite certain that was true, but that wasn't an acceptable response, so instead she said, "Thank you, sir."

"I'm sending the Marquess to patrol a section of space, here. It's not on the Klingon border, but we have heard reports of Orion's in the area. Be prepared for anything, Lieutenant," Admiral Quinn said. "I've already had the details sent to your console on the Marquess. You're scheduled to leave in 10 hours. Make good use of that time."

"Yes, sir," Leile said, leaving his office with her brow furrowed. That was rather soon. Did he think she didn't know that? She knew there wasn't urgency to a standard patrol, usually she'd be given at least a day's warning. Maybe someone who didn't have a Starship Captain for a brother would-

He wanted to keep her from contacting Eoin. With him at Deep Space 9 it would take roughly 12 hours to get a subspace communication to him. Given that she would be on a mission, she would be restricted to essential communications only. Ironically, Leile had no urgent desire to talk to Eoin, until now. Maybe it was to find out what Quinn was so scared they would talk about, or maybe she wanted to relay what she'd learned about the Undine to a more prominent Captain that she trusted.

Or maybe she was just a bit of a contrarian. Well, it wasn't like he could keep them from speaking for long. Eoin would be on leave soon, and he would make it happen, somehow. Until then, she just had to cope.

Chapter Text

Soji Asha woke up before her alarm went off, at the exact time she had intended to wake up when she went to sleep. Ever since she had been 'activated,' she discovered a new disturbing ability every day. And every time, she was never surprised. It was as if she always knew she had a perfect internal alarm clock, or that she could survive in a vacuum for up to two hours. And naturally she could punch through reinforced duranium bulkheads, and aim a phaser with perfect accuracy while blindfolded.

That was what disturbed her the most. How it felt like her life, her memories, her experiences were retroactively changing, and she would have to reconcile the new information about who she was with who she thought she was.

Soji was jolted out of her thoughts by her alarm actually going off, reminding her that she had work to do. She quickly made herself ready for her shift, putting on her new uniform. It was a different configuration than what she had worn while pretending to serve on the Nelson.

Instead of having the entire shoulder section devoted to the type of officer she was, only a single line across her shoulders and upper chest was blue, with the rest of the uniform being in shades of black. Except for Captains, who had white shoulderpads, to make themselves immediately recognizable. Apparently, this was the Odyssey uniform configuration, made specifically for this class of ship.

Once she had gotten dressed, Soji put on her combadge, grabbed her PADD, and left her quarters, walking towards the turbolift. Before the doors closed, a tall, well built Andorian woman with neatly cropped white hair and pale green skin entered the lift beside her.

"Doctor Asha," the woman said, nodding, before turning towards the door.

"Lieutenant Commander Thell," Soji replied. Ty'renn Thell was the Tactical Officer aboard the Odyssey. She had an impressive record, having served with Captain Bohannon on his first command, the USS Avila, before following him to the Odyssey. Soji also knew that her unique coloration was the result of at least one of her four parents being an Aenar, if not more than one.

"Settling in, Doctor Asha?"

"More or less," Soji responded, then sighed. "I think some of my department are hazing me with late reports."

"Probably. Don't let them push it too far, or you'll never have control of them," Thell told her.

"I know. But, it's just standard stuff, nothing really important. I'll let them have it, for now," Soji said, as the turbolift doors opened to the bridge.

The Odyssey's bridge was spacious in a way that the Nelson's wasn't. It felt even more so due to the viewscreens on the ceiling giving the effect of a skylight. Soji walked over to the sensor console, nodding to Commander Kordon as she did.

Kordon was an Enolian, a near-human species with distinctive ridges on the cheekbones. He was a very tall man, almost seven feet tall, with dark brown hair. He was also one of three people on the ship who knew that Soji was an android. He swore to keep her secret from the others until she wanted to tell it. He was sitting in the Captain's chair while Eoin did…something in his ready room, presumably.

Soji walked up behind the officer on duty at her station and spoke up. "Lieutenant Myles."

"Oh! Doctor, I didn't see you there," the redheaded man said, spinning around to face her.

"Yes, you must be concentrating hard on the report you owe me," Soji said drily. "Go, you're off duty, early, leaving you plenty of time to fill it out and have it at my workstation by tomorrow."

"Yes, Ma'am," Myles said, smirking as he walked off. Soji watched him enter the turbolift, then shook her head.

"I'm not getting that report, am I?" she said out loud.

"Ha! Not on time, that's for sure," Kordon replied, chuckling.

"I could put him in the brig for you, Doc," Garv, the Tellarite Security Chief, said in his odd drawl. He was a cheerful and friendly Tellarite, with bushy brown eyebrows and a thick, graying beard.

"No, no. That's…a bit of an overreaction, I think. I'll handle it," Soji said. She needed to be respected by her people on her own merit, not because she was friends with the Security Chief. Besides, she truly didn't mind some light teasing, as long as the important things got done on time. The report Lieutenant Myles was withholding was just a sitrep to familiarize herself with the work her predecessor was doing, nothing that would interfere with their current patrol.

The door to the ready room hissed open as Captain Bohannon walked out. Eoin Bohannon was a tall blonde man, almost as tall as Kordon. But where Commander Kordon was skinny, Eoin was much more solidly built, with broad shoulders and muscular arms. Everyone stood up to salute him as Kordon declared, "Captain on the bridge!"

"At ease, everyone," Eoin said, in a bizarrely neutral blend of accents that just barely leaned towards Irish, as he took his seat. "XO, anything interesting so far?"

"No, Captain, just a few trading vessels on their way to DS9. Sensors aren't picking up anything out of the ordinary. I think Kurland was right, the Defiant and the Odyssey being here are scaring the True Way too much to try anything," Kordon answered.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Soji said.

"It is and it isn't. The longer they stay quiet, the more time they spend planning their attacks. If there is no chance of even a slight victory, they're just going to wait us out, and swarm our relief when we go back home for maintenance," Eoin explained.

Soji tilted her head to one side as he spoke. "I see." She blinked as her sensor console beeped at her. Long range scanners were picking up… "Woah."

"Doctor?" Eoin questioned.

"Some massive power readings from a planetoid a few lightyears away. Growing stronger as we speak," Soji reported.

"A weapon of some kind?" Lieutenant Commander Thell asked.

"No, I do not believe so. It seems to be radiating outwards, similar to the energy waste on older generators. Maybe if I change the freque-Fascinating," Soji said, grinning slightly.

"What?" Kordon asked.

"It's whited out our long range sensors. Whatever this is, it's generating so much power that we can't actually read them from here."

"Should we divert course, Captain?" the helmsman asked.

"Hmm. No. We'll take the Aquarius. The new girl has to learn how to fly it eventually. Doctor Asha, Garv, gather the equipment you need and meet me at the Aquarius's docking bay," Eoin ordered.

"Aye, sir," Garv replied, then turned to Soji. "Need a hand, Doc?"

"Someone to carry heavy things? How could I refuse?" Soji said, smirking as they walked to the turbolift.



"Since when, unf, was survey gear so heavy?" Garv questioned, struggling to carry the large crates in his arms.

"Well, we might not need all of it, but I figured mineral analysis would be good, to see who might have put the power source there, and how long ago. It wasn't on the previous scans we did of the planetoid," Soji explained.

"R-right…nothing I can't handle…" Garv grunted as they stepped into the turbolift again. Soji smirked at him, amused. The truth was she could have carried it all herself, but it would probably look suspicious for someone her size. Garv set down the crates, and took a deep, gasping breath. "So, you ever flown an Aquarius-class before, Doc?"

"No, there aren't even holodeck simulations available for it yet, it's too new," Soji replied.

"Huh. What about a Runabout? Flown one of them?"

"Yes. Why, is it similar?"

"Yeah. It has more engine power, but it handles just as well. Don't worry, the Captain will make sure you don't crash us or anything. Oop, here we are," Garv said, then grunted in exertion as he lifted the crates again. They weren't that heavy, he was either overblowing it, or really out of shape.

"Ah, good, you're here," Eoin said, grabbing one crate off the top of the stack Garv was carrying and slinging it over his shoulder with ease. "Where do you want these, Doctor Asha?"

"Wherever we can secure them to the deck? Some of it is a bit delicate," Soji suggested.

"Cargo hold it is. She's got a nice lab, but it doesn't have secure anchor points. I've recommended the change, but instead they just keep giving us software updates that break something each time," Eoin complained, as he led them to the cargo hold.

"I haven't noticed anything broken since I came on board," Soji noted, helping Eoin secure the crate to the floor with straps and hooks.

"It's the atmosphere controls," Garv said, doing the same with his crate. Soji tilted her head at him quizzically. "The temperature won't stay at what you set it to. It's damned annoying, but it hasn't posed a major issue yet."

"I really hope it does pose a major issue, otherwise they'll decide it's not a big enough problem to swap out and we'll all have to cope with waking up in the middle of the night because our room is suddenly 90 degrees," Eoin commented, tugging on each crate a few times to make sure they were secure. "This is what I get for commanding an NX ship."

"Right. We're still a testbed for the other Odyssey-classes. Because it would be embarrassing if they broke the Enterprise with a software update," Soji joked.

"Yeah, that wouldn't be the best look," Eoin chuckled. "Alright, come on. The bridge is up this way. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the hang of flying her in no time."

Soji shot him a quick glare, then carefully schooled her expression before Garv noticed as they walked into a turbolift. "The Aquarius is bigger than I thought it was," Soji admitted.

"Yeah, it looks so small on the schematics because the Odyssey-class is huge," Eoin replied as the turbolift opened again. "Go on, the helm is yours, Doctor."

"Yes, sir," Soji nodded, climbing into the pilot's seat. There was an LCARS console directly in front of her, with several switches above her head, where she could reach them while sitting down.

"Alright," Eoin said, climbing into the copilot's chair. "Odyssey, this is Aquarius, requesting permission to deploy."

"Aquarius, this is Odyssey. Permission granted. Safe travels, Captain," Kordon's voice crackled over the comm system.

"Alright, disengage docking clamps," Eoin instructed, pointing towards the button on the console. Soji nodded, tapping the interface on her console and feeling the ship jerk slightly. "Good. Now, use the rear two maneuvering thrusters to push us backwards and separate us from the Odyssey."

Soji activated the maneuvering thrusters Eoin had specified, the auxiliary craft gently sliding out of its docking bay at the rear of the Odyssey. "And…done."

"Good. If you ever have to do this in combat, you'll only really need to halt our momentum and angle the way you plan on shooting. But for now, give us 180 degrees pitch, then 180 degrees roll with the maneuvering thrusters, please."

"Right," Soji said, nodding as she flipped the Aquarius onto its back then rolled it over until it was facing the opposite direction as the Odyssey was.

"Extend the nacelles into flight mode," Eoin said, then gestured over her head. "The blue switch above you, on the right."

Soji nodded, flipping the switch and listening as the nacelles locked into place, the warp core humming to life along with the impulse engines.

"Now, use maneuvering thrusters to get us 200 meters from the Odyssey, then you can switch to impulse. Be gentle, though, she's more powerful than a Runabout," Eoin said. Soji nodded, piloting the ship to the safe distance before kicking on the impulse drives at one quarter impulse. The ship shot forward a little faster than Eoin and Garv were ready for, jostling them in their seats, the ship shaking as it exited the Odyssey's shield bubble.

"Ahhh! Definitely more powerful than a Runabout. Oops," Soji said sheepishly, though, in truth, she had done it on purpose. It was her first time flying an Aquarius-class starship, she shouldn't be perfect at it on the first try. Not without drawing unwanted suspicion to herself.

"Well, that is why you're learning now, and not in a more pressing situation, Doc. That way if you do need to fly her urgently, you'll know how powerful the ship is," Garv said.

"There are manual controls, if you would prefer. I think the menu to bring them out is somewhere in the top left button? I don't think I've used it since I was shown it when I was first brought on to the project," Eoin said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"I've never even driven a hovercar with manual controls. I doubt it would help me," Soji admitted. That was actually true, every hovercar she had memories of used either LCARS, or a civilian knockoff of the interface. "I'm kinda shocked such a new ship has them at all."

"Captain Paris insisted. Actually, last I checked, he is pushing for most of our smaller craft to be equipped with a tactile method of flight control, in the case of visually impaired personnel," Eoin said, then pressed a few buttons. "Laying in a course for your planetoid. Let's take it easy on the engine, keep it at Warp 7, Doctor."

"Yes, Captain," Soji replied, lining the ship up with the course he set.

"Engage," he ordered. Soji nodded, and set the ship to warp towards their destination.

"ETA…10 minutes," she stated after checking the computer for the answer.

"Good work. Not the worst first flight I've seen," Eoin said, glancing back at Garv.

"The damage wasn't that bad!"

"If, for some reason, the dock at the rear becomes too damaged to dock, the Aquarius will just barely fit into the Odyssey's shuttle bay, after some rearranging," Eoin informed her.

"Good to know. I think," Soji said. After a short silence she glanced at the Captain. "So…am I supposed to pretend I wasn't in the room when you were shouting at the Admiral, or…?"

"Oh, no, please don't, I am dying to know what they were arguing about this time!" Garv interjected immediately. Soji and Eoin both stared at him for a moment. "I've got a scoreboard set up between them. It sounded like Admiral Cantrelle won this one."

"Admiral Carais. And it was probably more of a tie," Eoin corrected.

"You would say that, Captain," Garv said, grinning.

"No, no, that's actually accurate. I think Admiral Carais would have done everything she could to help, if there was actually anything she could do to help," Soji agreed.

"...now I'm even more curious," Garv said after glancing between the two of them for a second.

"Well…if you must know…Admiral Carais Cantrelle is a Joined Trill. The Cantrelle symbiont is very old, and her training wasn't quite complete, so when she gets called 'Cantrelle' she has to manually sort through her identity in her head. Cantrelle is fourteen different people, Carais is just the one person. Hence why Admiral Carais prefers to be addressed by her first name," Eoin elaborated, smirking.

"Right, that makes sense…and is not anywhere near what I was asking!" Garv protested.

Soji nodded in understanding, then began to explain, "To clarify, some Trill are eligible for a process known as Joining, where they join themselves to a-"

"Also not what I meant! You two, ganging up on an old man like this," Garv complained, cutting her off. Soji smiled.

"So, Doctor. Have you managed to settle in alright? I mean, off duty. I know transferring starships can be difficult," Eoin asked.

"More or less. I've been trying to get some paints, since our replicators haven't actually had them programmed in, and Quark offered…but I suspect I shouldn't take him up on that offer," Soji admitted.

"Probably not, no. We'll be headed back to Earth Spacedock at the end of the month, so if you can wait that long, you ought to be able to get them there," Eoin answered.

"Yeah, in my experience, if it isn't booze, best not go to Quark for things," Garv said.

The navigation console beeped a few times, so Soji checked it. "We're arriving. Dropping out of Warp…now."

The white lines of the stars faded back into an almost static looking backdrop, with a small, reddish brown planetoid in front of them.

"Are the energy readings still there?" Eoin asked.

"Yes. I've got a much better reading on them now. I think I see the source," Soji said, tilting her head to one side.

"Take us in," Eoin ordered.

"Yes, Captain."

Soji angled the Aquarius towards the planetoid, into a steep dive, and set the impulse engines to half power. It was small, so gravity would take a while to latch onto them, and–

The ship shook and rumbled as friction began to heat up the armor. Soji immediately pulled back the angle, diffusing the heat throughout the belly of the ship.

"Easy there, Doctor, don't–"

"That's atmospheric friction! This planetoid doesn't have an atmosphere!" Soji said, her head tilting to one side as she read the scanners. "Hold on, it has higher gravity, too!"

Soji cut the impulse engines, and powered up the thrusters, slowing their descent gradually, until they were falling at a much more comfortable rate.

"I take it the atmosphere wasn't there in our databanks?" Eoin asked her, once the ship stopped shaking.

"It wasn't there when I scanned the planet 15 minutes ago! The gravity shouldn't be this strong either," Soji replied.

"I suspect we've discovered the purpose of the massive energy readings," Eoin said.

"Atmosphere control and artificial gravity shouldn't be this much of a power drain, unless it's truly ancient technology. We have to investigate further, Captain," Soji insisted.

"Here, the strongest readings are coming from this region. Set us down close to there. The Aquarius lands like a Runabout, but you have to deploy landing gear first. Shouldn't be too hard," Eoin said, sending Soji some coordinates. She altered course, bringing the ship up over a mountain before descending to land in a valley.

She deployed the landing gear, gently landing the Aquarius on the surface of the planetoid, roughly 50 meters from the coordinates Eoin had designated, which were actually underneath a mountain.

"Good news: We can breathe the air. Also, there's a cave leading into that mountain a short hike from here," Soji said.

"Then let's see what we can find," Eoin said, walking down to where the survey gear was located. Soji followed him, gathering up a few pieces of gear from the crate.

"Garv, mind carrying those field modulators?" Soji asked.

"Sure. Ehhhh…"

"The metal rods with tripod stands," Soji clarified, rolling her eyes. "We need five of them, placed in equidistant intervals around this valley to scan for any energy field fluctuations. Grab the tricorder that's wrapped around them, too. It'll tell you where to place them."

"Right, I'm on it," Garv said, grabbing the equipment and leaving, as Soji grabbed some of her own out of the other crate.

Eoin waited for Garv to leave before he turned to her. "Awfully smooth landing for someone who's never flown an Aquarius-class before. Garv didn't notice, but you should be more careful, Doctor."

Soji winced. He was right. "I was thrown off by nearly incinerating us earlier."

"Fair enough. Thraask is not going to be happy about the scorch marks, by the way," Eoin mentioned.

"Ugh. I can't wait," Soji groaned, walking out of the ship and pointing the tricorder wand at the ground as Garv placed the field modulators in the valley. "It seems that it is not just the atmosphere and gravity, Captain. I'm detecting considerable nutrient levels in the soil that should be impossible without an atmosphere. I'll have to analyze some soil samples back at the lab on the Odyssey to be sure, but it seems to me that the ground is being altered to support plant life."

"The air isn't quite Earth standard. It's a little more oxygen rich. Not enough to pose a problem for even a prolonged stay, but still enough to detect," Eoin noted. He knelt down and placed a hand on the ground, before looking at Soji.

"I feel it too. The ground is vibrating like a starship in flight," Soji said before he could ask. "I suspect scanning for energy fluctuations will tell us more."

"Does that mean I finished at the right time, Doc?" Garv asked, walking up and handing Soji the tricorder. Soji grinned and passed it back.

"I don't need a second tricorder, I just didn't want you to get lost. Let's see…" Soji trailed off, swapping her tricorder to scan for energy emissions. "No real change in the energy field, though this rock now has a magnetic field protecting it from cosmic radiation."

"You mean you didn't check before we disembarked?" Garv asked, disturbed.

"I activated the Aquarius's extended life support shielding. Even if the atmosphere and gravity stops now, we'll be fine," Eoin reassured him as Soji pointed her tricorder at the ground.

"Ah. The energy readings we were getting are subterranean. And flowing. That must be what we're feeling, we're basically standing on top of a giant EPS conduit," Soji surmised. Eoin leaned over to read her tricorder, curious.

"That's enough energy to power a dozen Odysseys. Where is it coming from?" Eoin asked, then rolled his eyes. "No wait, let me guess…the spooky looking cave?"

"It's not really all that spooky looking, as caves go," Soji protested. "But, yes. The cave."

"Alright, fine. Let's go. This is why we brought the Security Chief, after all," Eoin said, walking towards the cave.

"I thought that was because you can't aim for shit," Garv commented. Soji covered her laugh with a cough.

"Hey! I'm within Starfleet's standards!"

"I'm trying to think of something less reassuring you could have said," Garv countered, as they walked into the cave.

"Let me know how that goes. In the meantime, one of you turn on a light, please?" Soji asked. She could actually see just fine in the dark, but she was pretending to be a human, and that was not something humans were capable of. Garv activated a hovering flashlight from his belt, illuminating the interior of the cave. All three of them stopped as the light came on.

"Now, I'm not actually a Science Officer or anything, but this is not a natural cave, is it?" Garv asked, looking at the angular, metallic surfaces gleaming under some of the rock walls.

"As an actual Anthropologist, no, this was definitely made by someone. These rock formations seem to have grown around the metal and over the top of it. The tricorder dates them back to somewhere between 200,000 to 300,000 years ago," Soji noted. She scanned the metal. "Shine the light here, please? I can't tell if these are carvings and symbols on the metal, or just random patterns formed by weathering."

"Could even just be aesthetics. Either way, this seems to predate both Bajoran and Cardassian space flight by an order of magnitude," Eoin said, looking at the ceiling as he walked further into the cave. He looked around a bend. "Hey, there's lights this way!"

"What? Let me see!" Soji said, excitedly running ahead, straight past Eoin. This was the kind of discovery that she got her degree to be a part of. Or, at least, that was how she remembered it.

"Ack! No, let the security officer go first! Dammit," Garv groaned, struggling to keep up. Soji turned the corner and skidded to a halt, seeing a massive open room, with a collection of consoles in the center, and a blindingly bright stream of glowing white liquid pouring from a repository above the consoles, into a large hole in between the group of them.

"Is that plasma?" Eoin asked, walking up behind her. "Also, try not to outrun people a foot taller than you, it raises questions, Doctor."

"Sorry. I got…excited," she replied sheepishly. "It seems to be some kind of plasma, yes. It's similar to the electro-plasma running through our ships, though the amount of energy inside of it is far greater than what we use. It's far more potent."

"So…don't touch it then?" Eoin said. Soji gave him a flat look, then walked over to the console, as Garv finally made it into the room, panting heavily.

"Just…in case…you two…forgot…Tellarites…have…short legs!" he panted.

"You're natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances," Eoin said, making Soji snort.

"I find that comparison racist!" Garv replied, suddenly angry.

"No, you just want to argue with me. Maybe later. We have interesting discoveries to pore over," Eoin countered, making Garv deflate and nod.

"So…giant glowing waterfall?"

"Massive open air EPS conduit," Eoin summarized.

"Ah. Anything from the consoles, Doc?" Garv asked.

"A lot of dust. There's impressions in the dust on the screen on this one, I'm trying to scan it," Soji said, prompting Eoin and Garv to walk over and look.

"Eh, don't bother, that's the crease of a glove, I think. You won't get any finger prints or skin samples off of it," Eoin told her.

"Check for natural oils," Garv suggested. Soji glanced at him as she set her tricorder to do just that. "Most species secrete them from pores in the skin. You won't identify the person, but perhaps the species…"

"Cardassian," Soji said, reading the results of the tricorder. "Good call."

"Tricks you learn trying to identify the owner of contraband," Garv explained.

"Hm. This is a bit strange, though, whatever button they hit, they didn't wipe any dust off beforehand," Soji noted.

"Like they already knew what to press?" Eoin questioned.

"Exactly! Which would indicate that there are other structures like this, and they are already familiar with them," Soji confirmed.

"Huh. We'll have to ask Councilor Skyl about this," Eoin said, then he looked up. "Say, that EPS waterfall is likely to be powering this massive terraforming thing, right?"

"Somehow, I just need more time to figure out how," Soji answered, kneeling down to scan the base of the consoles.

"Right. But the energy is coming from that repository up there."

"Yes. Why?" Soji said, looking at the repository, then frowning. "Oh. What's the range on the Aquarius's life support field?"

"Not nearly this far," Eoin said. "At the rate that's depleting, we have…five minutes before it all shuts down."

"So…we should be leaving, then?" Garv proposed.

Soji grimaced. "Just when we were finding interesting stuff. Yes…we really should."

"I'll have Starfleet send a full scientific team down to perform a full analysis. It's just unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be a way to shut this off on a timer, so they can see it in action," Eoin said regretfully.

"Right. Not enough time to get to the ship and come back in an EVA suit," Soji replied. As interesting as the discovery was, she was not willing to expose her true nature over it. Even if she could survive in a vacuum for several hours.

"Alright, before you too science types come up with a good enough reason to wait it out, let's go," Garv interjected.

"We were going, we were going," Eoin said, as Soji regretfully grabbed her things and followed them out. She still had so many questions.

Who built a massive, hypereffective terraforming device? And where did they go?



"So…why are we in the medbay?" Soji asked Eoin.

"Standard procedure after contact with an unknown atmosphere," Doctor Carson answered instead. Michael Carson was a shorter black man, with a neatly shaved head and a mustache.

"But it wasn't an unknown atmosphere, I did detailed scans of it beforehand!" Soji protested.

"That's not really how we define that in the medical department," Doctor Carson said, scanning her with a tricorder. On the other bed across from her, Eoin wiped some sweat from his brow and tugged at his uniform, before pausing and grabbing a medical tricorder and scanning himself.

"It's not you, Captain, it's that damn computer patch. Our atmosphere controls are messed up," Doctor Carson said, noticing what Eoin was doing.

"Doesn't that mean you're exposed to an unknown atmosphere?" Soji questioned.

"Nice try. You're all clear, Doctor Asha, go complain to your department about my bedside manner. I know you all do it," Doctor Carson said, rolling his eyes.

"No need. I called one of them here instead," Soji said, turning to Lieutenant Myles.

"Ma'am. You wanted me to break you out of here?" he said, looking up from his PADD.

"A little late for that. Here, trade with me. Take this data to the lab and start analyzing it," Soji ordered, yanking the PADD out of his hands and giving him hers.

"Hey, I have stuff on there!"

"I'm gonna fix the thermostat, before this place can't be kept sterile anymore. Objections, Captain, Doctor?" Soji asked.

Eoin leaned back. "None here. This ought to be good."

Doctor Carson gestured for her to continue, at which point she grabbed a nearby hydrospanner and walked over to the control system, disconnecting the panel next to it. Then she proceeded to bypass the computer and wire the entire primary medbay's atmosphere controls into Lieutenant Myles's PADD.

"Here. Set it to whatever you need it at, Doctor Carson," she told him.

"Thank you, Doctor Asha," he said, smirking as he pressed a few buttons, the room immediately beginning to cool off.

"Don't let Thraask see you do that, or he might kidnap you and force you to work for him," Eoin noted.

"Hey, um. That…was my PADD. Now I have to requisition a new one," Myles said, slumping over.

"Yes. From your department head," Soji said, smiling politely. "I'm sure your department head is a wonderful and kind superior officer, who would be happy to give you a new one. As long as she had a report that said exactly what you were using it for, that is, Lieutenant Myles."

Myles hung his head in shame. "But…the report was on the PADD!"

"Then I guess you'd better replicate a pen and paper and get to work replacing it," Soji ordered. "Now, go, get that data to the lab. And I expect you to deliver reports on time, in the future."

"Yes, ma'am," Myles said miserably as he walked out of the medbay.

"Hey, why didn't Garv have to sit through this?" Soji asked suddenly, upon realizing he was missing.

"He ran off before I could grab him. Nicely handled, by the way," Doctor Carson said.

"I don't really know why Science Departments insist on hazing their bosses like that. It was done to me on the Darwin. Swapping equipment around, harmless stuff," Eoin mentioned.

Soji hummed in acknowledgement. Doctor Carson turned to look at him as he scanned the captain with his tricorder. "What did you do?"

"Well, we made a stop at DS9, and I decided to join their Tongo game, as an amateur who had never played before, and certainly not at Quark's," Eoin said.

"...didn't you tell me your parents met at Quark's?" Doctor Carson asked.

"They did," Eoin said, grinning. Soji's face broke out into a scandalized smile.

"You swindled your own subordinates?" Soji asked, disbelieving.

"Just the once. I bought them drinks with the latinum I won," Eoin said defensively. "I wasn't as nice as you were."

"How come you never pulled stunts like that on the Socrates?" Doctor Carson asked.

"Leile was with me. I had to manage her in my down time," Eoin reminded him.

"That's right," Doctor Carson nodded, then paused for a moment, glancing at Soji. "I…heard about her…position."

"You don't need to be vague. Doctor Asha was there when I talked to the Admiral about it."

"'Talked' is not the word I'd use," Soji commented.

"One day, Admiral Carais will actually reprimand you for shouting at her, Eoin," Doctor Carson warned. Eoin just stared into the distance. "You're worried."

"Of course I'm worried. You were there with me on the Avila. I had years of experience, and I still made so many mistakes. Leile doesn't even have that!" Eoin pointed out.

Soji glanced at the hallway, in the exact direction of the nearest computer terminal, before making sure no one was within earshot of the three of them. "Lieutenant Leile Bohannon and the U.S.S. Marquess answered a distress call from a Bolian freighter, the S.S. Azura. She had been attacked by Orion raiders. The Marquess easily fought off the pirates, and rescued the entire crew of the Azura, though the ship itself was lost. They have since been sent to reestablish contact with researchers on Kassae IV."

Eoin looked up at her, alarmed. "Soji, you really can't just hack Starfleet orders and fleet movements like that! It could get you in serious trouble!"

"I hacked your personal communications with Captain Sulu, that you've been too busy to read, actually," Soji revealed. "Starfleet's actual encryption takes me a few seconds to break into."

"Okay, don't go through my private messages without my permission. And don't hack into Starfleet encryption without my permission either," Eoin told her, before sighing. "But…thanks. Wasn't the Azura Danna Brott's ship?"

"Yes," Soji answered, earning a sharp glance. "What? I already read the whole message, I was just summarizing earlier!"

"Maybe I should look into better encryption," Doctor Carson mused.

"I don't read patient files," Soji reassured him.

"Danna occasionally brings some shipments to and from DS9. I guess Morn is gonna have to go without his favorite drinks for a while," Eoin explained.

"Ugh. He's already spent the last week complaining," Doctor Carson noted, pinching his nose. "Oh, you're done here, Captain."

"Right. Now, we just need to talk to Rugan Skyl about those ruins. And maybe Kai Kira. Not that I think they'll have answers for us," Eoin said cynically.

"Kind of annoying. We don't know who activated it, or why. We don't know who made it, or what happened to them. At least we might figure out how it works, and if it could be implemented on Federation terraforming projects," Soji lamented.

"I doubt it. That was a lot of energy. I suspect it would be massively impractical to implement for our technology," Eoin noted as they both walked towards the lounge that oversaw the gardens on the ship. "It was probably the True Way, though. That turned it on."

"What makes you say that?" Soji questioned.

"Instinct, mostly. They knew we were in the area because we weren't hiding it. They needed to move, but we would have noticed a warp signature. So, instead they whited out our sensors for that whole area of space so we didn't notice them leave," Eoin theorized, then stopped at the doors to the lounge. "Wait, is it karaoke night?"

"No, that's tomorrow. I already signed up," Soji said, walking in. "Why? Do you sing, Captain?"

"No, Starfleet generally frowns upon captains torturing their crews," Eoin joked. "I generally avoid karaoke night, but if you're any good, I might stop by tomorrow."

Soji smirked. "I am an amazing singer, Captain. If only I was better as an officer, we might have actual answers."

"You're doing great. This is just how it is sometimes. We can't get all the answers at once, and we don't always end the day with a heroic space battle. Half the time, we don't even finish things. We discover old ruins, we notify Starfleet, and they send a couple Nova-classes to actually handle things," Eoin said, walking up to the replicator. "Hasperat and raktajino, please."

The replicator generated his food and drink, a steaming blue cup of the Klingon coffee and the spicy Bajoran wrap on a plate. Eoin grabbed it and waited for Soji to order.

"Hlai'vnau, grilled and tea, Vulcan spice, hot," Soji requested, smiling as the replicator made her a steaming hot grilled bird and an equally warm cup of tea. She grabbed it and followed Eoin to a table where most of the command crew were seated, with the exception of Garv and Doctor Carson.

"Doctor…what did you just order?" Lieutenant Commander Thell asked, sitting in the corner, nursing a small glass of bright blue Andorian Ale, with a bowl of fried rice in front of her.

"Vulcan spiced tea? It's not caffeinated, but it has a nice kick to it, Commander Thell," Soji answered.

"We're off duty, call me Ty'renn. And I meant the meal, Doctor," Ty'renn specified.

"Soji, then. And, hlai'vnau is a Romulan poultry dish," Soji explained.

"You eat Romulan food?" Eoin asked.

"You eat Bajoran food?" Soji shot back.

"She has you there, Captain," Lieutenant Commander Thraask pointed out. Thraask was a large Gorn, who took up quite an entire side of the wide table for himself, simply because of his sheer size. He had a large plate of some kind of raw red meat in front of him, and what looked like a small barrel of Bloodwine in his hand.

"My mother was stationed around DS9 a bit. Picked up a fondness for Bajoran foods and Raktajino. And I picked the former up from her. The raktajino came during the Academy, with an inadvisably big classload," Eoin admitted, then turned to Soji expectantly.

"I had…a really crazy ex who was Romulan. He tried to kill me, actually. But he introduced me to several Romulan foods that I enjoy. Romulans make excellent sweets," Soji admitted. Pretty much all of it was true, though a few key details were left out of her story.

"I've had a few exes that tried to kill me. Never did pick up any of their foods, though," Ty'renn chimed in, before changing the subject. "So. Any interesting stuff out there?"

"Ancient culture with hyper advanced terraforming machinery," Eoin said in between bites of hasperat.

"We have some data to go over later, but we didn't get as much as I'd have liked before it ran out of energy. And since we can't spend the next month examining it…" Soji trailed off, pouting.

"Well, you're gonna be the one to brief the other team Starfleet sends, so you could ask to be kept in the loop when you do that," Thraask pointed out. "Don't feel too bad. We come in and take over for others a lot. Mostly in military actions, but occasionally our facilities are better suited to handle something."

"Downsides of these Odyssey-class ships. We're so big we can handle anything effectively, but it's very hard to find a task that's actually going to make effective use of our capabilities. We're hard to deploy effectively," Eoin admitted after finishing his meal. He proceeded to down the entire rest of his raktajino in one gulp. "Alright, well, I have more reports to go over, and I actually wanna get to sleep tonight, so I will see you next shift."

Soji finished her own tea, and stood up from the table. "And I think I might sulk in private, before I keep bringing the mood down."

"If you insist. See you tomorrow, Soji," Ty'renn said, waving alongside Thraask as Soji left the lounge, making her way through a turbolift, back to her quarters.

She looked around her room and noticed an alert on her terminal. She started to remove her uniform top, leaving her dressed in the undershirt and pants. "Computer, display alert on large viewscreen."

The big viewscreen on her wall lit up, an image of a handwritten report of Lieutenant Myles's recent and ongoing projects, his specialties, and what equipment he regularly uses and has set aside in the lab.

Soji grinned in amusement as she sat in the chair across from the viewer. She could have found worse places to hide from the Zhat Vash. Being on the Odyssey was going to work out for her.